It was on 23rd August 2017, almost two years after the launch of the Galaxy Note 5 that the Galaxy Note 8 launched. While the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 did make a debut, the company, for a faulty battery, recalled the Note 7. Despite the fact, the South Korean electronics still leads the smartphone market in 2018. At an event in New York, Samsung has launched the new Note series smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
Specifications
Sharing the same design as the Note 8, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 features a glass front and back and an AMOLED display. The smooth chamfered edges and the long aspect ratio are also the same as the last Note smartphone. The Super AMOLED panel is 6.4-inch 2960 x 1440 px 18.5:9 aspect ratio display. The front and rear panels of the Galaxy Note 9 use the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection. The smartphone houses the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, right below the camera module. Previously, the fingerprint sat to the right of the camera module on the Note 8.
Samsung is big on AI this year, as are many other companies as well. However, Samsung claims that it is almost “impossible to take a bad photo” with the Galaxy Note 9’s camera. The AI assisted module on the Note 9 is a triple camera setup with two at the rear and one at the front. The primary camera has a wide-angle 12MP lens with a f/1.7 aperture and the secondary camera has a 12MP telephoto lens with a f/2.4 aperture. The rear camera is capable of taking slow-motion 30fps videos at 720p resolution. While the secondary camera is an 8MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) with Samsung Experience 9.5 UI on top. The smartphone has two chipset variants, one for the US & Canada and the other for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The US and Canadian variants will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset and the Adreno 630 GPU for graphical performance. For the EMEA variant, the smartphone will use Samsung’s own Exynos 9810 chipset. For graphical performance, the Exynos chipset will use the Mali-G72 MP18 GPU. Both the Qualcomm and Exynos chipsets are octa-core processors.
The S-Pen has been in the Note family since the first Galaxy Note released in 2011. The S-Pen is a Samsung proprietary stylus which the company provides with both the Note and the Tab series. What makes the new S-Pen standout is its improved functionalities and Bluetooth connectivity. The S-Pen is now usable as a camera shutter trigger, making it easier to take photos and especially selfies. The S-Pen SDK will soon be available for developers to build their app around the stylus and integrate it seamlessly with their apps.
Pricing And Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will be available starting from August 24th, in major markets including US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and in India. The base price for the Galaxy Note 9 starts at £899 (Rs. 79,534.53 approx) for the 128GB variant. The 512GB variant will cost £1,099 (Rs. 97,206.07 approx). Once the device is available globally we will provide our in-depth review of the smartphone, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, take a look at the official images of the Note 9 directly from the launch.
Undoubtedly, Marvel Cinematic Universe has been cashing a lot of cheques with movies like Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther. The recently released Ant-Man & The Wasp made the franchise US$76 million in its opening weekend. Also, the Tom Cruise-starring Mission Impossible: Fallout which released on 25th July made US$153.5 million at the box office. However, those who missed the above-mentioned movies should not fret as the year 2018 still has a lot of good movies up its sleeves. Here is a list of the top 10 upcoming movies in 2018, in a chronological order.
1. Venom (Release Date: 4th October 2018)
With the third trailer already viewed more than 2.5 million times on YouTube, Venom is on the top of the list of top 10 upcoming movies in 2018. Tom Hardy, previously starred as the antagonist in the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises. In Venom, Tom plays the role of Eddie Brock, a news journalist who gets possed by an alien parasite called the Symbiote. The parasite provides the hosts with superhuman abilities while making their hosts more violent and capable of killing someone. The Venom releases on 4th October, here’s the latest trailer.
2. Bohemian Rhapsody (Release Date: 24th October 2018)
Critically acclaimed for his role in the TV series, Mr. Robot, Rami Malek will star as the iconic lead singer of the rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury. The movie will take us through the journey of the British band’s fame and how Freddie tries to move away from Queen in pursuit of a solo career. This is definitely one of the top 10 upcoming movies in 2018, releasing on 24th October.
3. The Girl in the Spider’s Web (Release Date: 9th November 2018)
This is a sequel to the 2011 released movie, The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo. The Girl in the Spider’s Web is the second instalment in the movie adaptation of the novel. From cybercrime to government corruption, this movie has it all. The movie releases on 9th November in the US and would hit the theatres in India soon after.
4. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Release Date: 16 November 2018)
When the first instalment of the movie released in 2016, it earned US$ 81.25 crores at the box office. Now the sequel, which revolves around how the Magizoologist, Newt Scamander teams up with a young Albus Dumbledore in order to stop Gellert Grindelwald (played by Johnny Depp) from unleashing utter chaos on non-magical beings (or No-maj). Watch the trailer as the movie releases on 16 November 2018 in the United Kingdom.
5. Creed II
The Creed franchise is a spin-off of the Rocky series which had Sylvester Stallone in the lead role as an underdog boxer. In the Creed series, Michael B. Jordan plays the son of the athlete Apollo Creed whom Rocky defeated in his boxing days. Michael B. Jordan was critically acclaimed for his role as the antagonist, Kill Monger in Black Panther. Creed II is definitely one of the top 10 upcoming movies in 2018.
6. Robin Hood (Release Date: 21 November 2018)
Taron Egerton who plays the lead role in this movie previously starred as a young spy in the Kingsman franchise. Robin Hood is a story about two war-hardened men, Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton) and Petit Jean (Jamie Foxx) who start a revolt against the rich and corrupt people of England. The trailer for the movie shows a lot of action-packed sequences and the rustic vibe of the movie. Robin Hood will release on 21 November 2018 in the USA.
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Release Date: 13th December 2018)
The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an upcoming Marvel animated movie which is based on the Miles Morales comic book. This is a story about a young boy from New York who must deal with his high school life and his superhero alter ego when one he realizes there are more than one Spider-Man. The movie will release on 13th December 2018 in Singapore.
8. Aquaman (Release Date: 14th December 2018)
Jason Momoa, better known for playing the chief of the Dothraki tribe, Khal Drogo, first debuted as the Aquaman in the Zack Snyder-directed Batman Vs Superman in 2016. After almost two years, the king of the underwater is getting his standalone movie. In this movie Arthur Curry (Aquaman) finds himself dealing with the chose above the sea-level and the underwater Atlanteans who are ready to revolt. Watch the movie as it releases on 14th December 2018.
9. Bumblebee (21st December 2018)
When Micheal Bay released the first Transformer movie in 2007, Bumblee instantly became a fan favourite character. Nearly 11 years after the first movie, Bumblee has recived his standalone screen time in this Travis Knight directed movie. Watch the trailer below as the movie hits the theatres on 21st December 2018.
10. Alita: Battle Angel (Release Date: 21st December 2018)
With a budget of US$ 20 crores Alita: Battle Angel is a James Cameron produced a movie about a cyborg named Alita who has no memory of who she is, neither any recollection of her whereabouts. Watch as Alita explores the streets of Iron City, Ido while also trying to discover her mysterious past. The movie will release on 21st December 2018 in the US.
The Huawei sub-brand, Honor sold 20 million smartphones in the first six months of 2015, two years after the brand was announced. Continuing the trend, Honor is currently one of the top-selling brands globally, including the Indian market. At an event in India today, the company announced three devices, its gaming smartphone, the Honor Play. The smartphone will make its way to India via an exclusive Amazon sale on 6th August from 4 PM. The company first launched the smartphone in China via an event in Beijing on 31st July 2018.
The company is marketing the Honor Play as a mid-range gaming device. The smartphone sports a 6.3-inch IPS LCD panel with 2340 x 1080 px resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Unlike the Note 10, this smartphone has a notch-display. The device features a 3.5 mm headphone jack with support for Histen Audio. This audio technology allows users to enjoy an immersive 3D output with 7.1 surround sound experience. The smartphone also claims to offer a 4-D gaming experience with what the company calls a Smart Shock, a haptic feedback mechanism.
Honor Play Headphone Jack
The Honor Play uses a custom Huawei layer called the EMUI 8.1 which is based on Android 8.1 (Oreo) OS. The smartphone runs on the Kirin 970 SoC which is also found on other flagship smartphones from Huawei like the P20 Pro. The Kirin 970 is an octa-core chipset with four cores running at 2.4 GHz and the other four at 1.8 GHz. The chipset uses the Mali-G72 MP12 GPU for its graphics performance. The smartphone will feature the GPU Turbo which will squeeze out better graphics and battery performance. A dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) is also included in the smartphone for enhanced AI capabilities.
There is a triple camera setup on the Honor Play smartphone. The two rear-facing sensor includes a 16 MP sensor withf/2.2 aperture and a 2 MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The NPU will have a major role to play in the shots taken with the smartphone’s rear camera sensors. A single front-facing camera of the smartphone is a 16 MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The smartphone will be available in two RAM variants; 4/6GB RAM option with 64GB storage. However, the storage for the smartphone can be further expanded using a microSD card of up to 256GB.
Pricing And Availability
The price of the Honor Play in India starts at Rs. 19,999 for the 4GB RAM variant and goes up to Rs. 23,999 for the 6GB RAM variant. Smartphone manufacturers are making sure that users get an uncompromising experience without having to spend a lot of money. Thus, it will be interesting to see how the Honor Play fairs against the competition. You can watch the unboxing video below.
Electric cars have a history dating back to as early as the 1820s. It was in the year 1828 that a Hungarian inventor, Ányos Jedlik, put together an electric motor. The inventor used this motor to create the first electric car. The idea behind electric cars was to replace the current and expendable source of fuel like petrol and gasoline. Since an electric car ensures zero gaseous emission, it is also safe for the environment. With this in mind, Elon Musk launched a lineup of electrically powered cars, named the Tesla in 2008.
The first car in this lineup to hit the streets was the Tesla Roadster launched in 2008. This car used a Li-Ion battery to produce a total of 248 hp. The car could accelerate from 0 to 97 KM/h in 3.7 to 3.9 seconds. Several models of the Tesla have since been launched an announced, but the one thing they have in common is the centre console display. This large touchscreen is extremely responsive and allows you to control most of the car. According to reports, the company is planning to push a new update to allow Tesla drivers to play classic Atari games on these displays.
The news comes straight from the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk himself. In a tweet today, Elon announced that the Tesla software update V9.0 will bring Atari games as an Easter egg to the Tesla cars. Some of the earlier Easter eggs include a drawing pad which the Tesla owners can use to create showcase their artistic talents to the world by publishing their work online. Another fun Easter egg converts the map on the touch-screen panel in the car to a Martian map. And with the new update, the company will bring class Atari games to its cars. It is not the first time that idea of gaming inside a car is explored. A YouTube creator by the name Pog converted his luxurious Lamborghini into a racing simulator. He used the rig to play the Xbox game called Forza Horizon 7, here’s the video.
The video above gives a brief idea of how Elon Musk could go about implementing the Atari games. While of primitive graphics, the classic Atari games like Asteroid (1979), Missile Command (1980) seem like a fun time to spend inside a Tesla. The V9.0 update will be publically available in the next four weeks, after which we can safely say, the driveway of Tesla owners will be the new proving grounds.
When the Shenzhen based company, OnePlus first entered the smartphone industry, it took the world by surprise. The company launched its “flagship-killer”, the OnePlus One in India on 2nd December 2014. It was the first smartphone under the Rs. 30,000 price bracket which offered flagship-like features. The smartphone had two versions of Android 4.4.2 KitKat, a CyanogenMod 13 variant and an OxygenOS 2.1.4 variant. Currently, OnePlus is among the top smartphone brands in India. The recently launched OnePlus 6 sold close to Rs. 10 Crore worth of smartphones in the first ten minutes of the sale. Now with the rumours of a OnePlus 6T possibly launching soon, here is a list of top ten feature we’d like to see in the smartphone.
1. Bezel & Notch-less Display
Oppo and Vivo are leading the industry with their first no-notch and almost all-screen display smartphones. Both the Oppo Find X and Vivo NEX managed to sport a notch-less display and achieve a screen-to-body ratio of over 85%. This is something that even the iPhone X could not achieve. The display of both the formerly mentioned smartphones makes for a good movie watching experience. Hence, a notch-less display is among the top 10 feature we would like to see in the OnePlus 6T.
Vivo NEX Notch-less Display
2. Pop-up Camera Alternative
According to the recent rumours, OnePlus 6T might feature a pop-up front-facing camera. While the Pop-up camera is the best way to achieve a notch-less display, we would still like OnePlus to come up with a better alternative. For instance, the Mi Mix 2 featured a bottom-chin mounted sensor. Although, this lead to the smartphone featuring a bigger chin, it still is an area the company could explore.
3. Stereo Speakers
While the OnePlus 6 has a considerably good speaker, it still tends to sound tinny at high volumes. Whereas smartphones like the iPhone X, Pixel 2XL or the Galaxy S9 Plus have a great stereo speaker setup. The issue with having a single speaker like the OnePlus 6 is its placement. When the phone is held in the landscape mode, the user’s palm tends to cover the speaker leading to a muffled sound output. A stereo speaker on the other hand, uses two separate speakers so you get relatively better output even with one speaker covered.
Pixel 2 XL
4. In-display Fingerprint Sensor
Despite having a pop-up camera, the Vivo NEX also features an in-display fingerprint sensor. While many claim that a face-unlock is safer than fingerprint sensor, the latter comes in handy to easily access the phone. Among the top 10 features an in-display fingerprint sensor is also something we would like to see on the OnePlus 6T.
Vivo NEX In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
5. 3D Face-Unlock
The face unlock on the OnePlus 6 is considered to be one of the fastest. However, it is nowhere close to being as secure as the Apple Face-ID. In fact, there have been cases where users were able to access a OnePlus 6 just with a photograph of the smartphone’s actual owner. Hence, a 3D face-unlock is among the top 10 features we want to see in the OnePlus 6. A 3D face-unlock would not only be more secure but also work well in low light conditions. A 3D face unlock works by using a combination of hardware and software. It uses both cameras and a few other sensors such as infrared to get a 3D scan of the subject’s face. The face unlock mechanism on the OnePlus 6 is a 2D recognition system, which is considerably less secure.
Face-unlock
6. Corning Gorilla Glass 6
Corning recently announced their new Gorilla Glass 6. The new glass panel is not only more durable than the Gorilla Glass 5 but also has customizability options. Which means, manufacturers can choose to give any type of texture to the glass panel that they would like. If OnePlus 6T features a Gorilla Glass 6 panel for both the front and the back, then we could expect some other colour and texture variants of the smartphone. Hence, this is among the top 10 features we look forward to seeing in the OnePlus 6T.
Wooden Finish On Gorilla Glass 6
7. IP Rating For Waterproof Or At Least Water-resistance
When the OnePlus 6 launched, everyone expected that the smartphone will have a IP (Ingress Protection) certification since rumours said that it will be water-resistant. Although the rumours about it being water-resistant were true, OnePlus did not mention if there was any IP certification for the smartphone. Despite not having an IP rating the smartphone is water-resistant under rainy conditions or if it takes a plunge in puddles. However, an IP rating, which is an international standard of measuring how effectively a smartphone is sealed and protected against external elements like dust and water. While IP68 would be appreciated for the OnePlus 6t, we would also be happy with IP67.
8. Keep The Jack
OnePlus is among the few companies which have not yet ditched the headphone jack from their smartphones. Even their latest flagship, the OnePlus 6 has a headphone jack. But since OnePlus launched the bullets wireless , there exists a slight possibility that the may remove the headphone jack. While Bluetooth earphones are relatively more portable than wired headphones, the level of details a good-quality wired headphone can provide is far superior than a wireless headphone. Also, most people own earphones with a 3.5 mm plug and would not want to buy a new earphone especially if they own a premium pair of earphones/headphones. Hence, a headphone jack is among the top 10 features we would like to continue to see in the OnePlus 6T.
OnePlus 6 Headphone Jack
9. Improved Camera Setup
Even though OnePlus 6 has a considerably good camera setup, it still lacks the finesse seen in the cameras of Pixel 2, Galaxy S9 and even the iPhone X. What is worth noting is that the latter devices are significantly more expensive than the OnePlus 6. However, we still think that OnePlus could do slightly better job in the camera department, along with motor improvements in the camera app and software. The company recently release the Google Camera replacement for the OnePlus 6, which could be a step in the right direction for improved camera capabilities.
10. Wireless Charging
While Oneplus has stayed away from this feature due to their dash charging, a wireless charging feature may not be difficult to add. The feature will be well received by customers and OnePlus fans.
Bonus : Sand Stone Variant
The OnePlus One launched with a sandstone finish for the rear panel. It was the first that any company had ever thought of launching phone with such a textured rear-panel. The company later discontinued the sandstone panel after the OnePlus 2 but offered it as back panel covers. We would like to see the sandstone rear panel make a comeback with the OnePlus 6T even if they do it for a limited run.
OnePlus 2 Sandstone Black
OnePlus 6T will likely launch in December this year. However, in an interview, Carl Pei, co-founder of OnePlus said, the company might not release a OnePlus 6T unless there is something new to offer. This is good news for people who bought the OnePlus 6 and would like to enjoy their smartphones for a while before the company replaces it with the T variant. However, OnePlus has been releasing T variants of its smartphone since the OnePlus 3 so it is highly-likely that the company will release a OnePlus 6T as well. The only question is, how soon and how many of these features will the smartphone have. Have a feature you would like to see in the next OnePlus device. Let us know in the comments.
The guys over at Turing Space Industries (TSI) must have their offices next to some real interesting plantations. The company that once had big plans to launch futuristic phones, never seems to give up. TSI originally became popular for their Turing phone which was a crowd funded failure. A lot of people initially bought into the idea of an impressive phone, but the company failed to deliver. And hence, people cancelled their purchases leaving TSI with a massive failure.
A few years ago, the company claimed to be working on more revolutionary devices, A Turing Monolith Chaconne and a Turing Cadenza , both phones that would never see the light of day. And how would they claiming to be built on technology that doesn’t exist.
The Turing Hubble Phone takes this dream to an all new level. The company claims that the Turing Hubble Phone will launch in 2020 with a dual Snapdragon 855 chipset, a chipset not yet announced. The company also claims that the phone will have a Snapdragon X50 5G modem, yet another mythical hardware unicorn. TSI also claims the phone will be sold to those still dinking radiator water in 2020 for a mediocre price of $2,749 (starting).
Turing claims that the Hubble Phone will have three operating systems as well, because why wouldn’t it. The first will be Android P, apparently still the latest in 2020, and Turing Keplerian OS which will be in the top part of the phone ( aka the Top Deck ) the lower part or Main deck will get a combination of the two OSs in the top deck but also Sailfish 3 OS.
The company also claims that the phone will have a 5 x 12 MP CMOS sensor camera setup , 2 on the front of the “Top Deck”, 1 on the rear of the top deck and 2 on the rear of the bottom deck aka the main deck. Both decks will also have dual SIM card slots each, hence the phone will handle 4 SIM cards simultaneously. Sure to be a success in India, but that 1.8 Lakh price may dissuade buyers.
The Turing Hubble Phone will also have Emotional Machine Intelligence and Lip reading capabilities along with “Emotional detection”. The body of the Hubble phone, a name it probably gets for its telescope like design, will be made from Titanium Aluminide,a lightweight metal alloy resistant to oxidation and heat. The phone will be IP68 dust/water proof (up to 1.5m for 30 mins).
The Hubble phone also has a total of 3 AMOLED capacitive touchscreen displays. A 5.44 inch along with a 5.41 inch on the top deck and a 11.81 inch one on the main deck which as you see will fold over all the electronics. The dual SD855 chipsets , each deck gets their own, with 8 x 2.96 GHz on the clock. the lower deck gets the SDX50 5G modem.
HubblePhone includes an Artificial Reality (AfR) messaging application which allows users to send 3D animated messages projected into the recipient’s immediate physical surroundings. Honestly it doesn’t get any more ridiculous at this point. At least the company is not claiming a ridiculous 64GB of RAM , and endless battery via a non available technology. Since they already claimed those with the Cadenza and the Chaconne. The Hubble phone will have a paltry 8 GB of RAM in each deck with 256GB for each deck too. The battery will be a seemingly doable 2800 mAh in the upper deck and 3300 mAh in the main deck.
TSI does claim that the camera on the Hubble phone will be impressive with a 15x optical zoom. And, the phone will have a game mode allowing you to play PUBG endlessly while you are on a space train to mars.
A prototype is also shown off, which appears to be the phone, or a dual glass slab model with a led ring light. The hinges are claimed to be made of liquid metal, Apparently TSI doesn’t know that this is a material that Apple exclusively plans to utilise thanks to the over 40 Patents granted to Apple for exclusive usage in several scenarios.
The Huawei sub-brand, Honor sold 20 million smartphones in the first six months of 2015, two years after the brand was announced. Continuing the trend, Honor is currently one of the top-selling brands globally, including the Indian market. At an event in Beijing today, the company announced three devices, the Honor Note 10, Honor Play and the Honor Magic Book. While the Note 10 could make a global debut on 30th August, the Honor Play will make its way to India via an exclusive Amazon sale on 6th August.
While the Honor Note 10 is a productivity-oriented flagship smartphone, the Honor Play is marketed as a gaming-oriented mid-range handset. The Honor Play sports a 6.3-inch IPS LCD panel with 2340 x 1080 px resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Unlike the Note 10, this smartphone has a notch-display. The device features a 3.5 mm headphone jack with support for Histen Audio. This audio technology allows users to enjoy an immersive 3D output with 7.1 surround sound experience.
Honor Play Headphone Jack
The Honor Play uses a custom Huawei layer called the EMUI 8.1 which is based on Android 8.1 (Oreo) OS. The smartphone runs on the Kirin 970 SoC which is also found on other flagship smartphones from Huawei like the P20 Pro. The Kirin 970 is an octa-core chipset with four cores running at 2.4 GHz and the other four at 1.8 GHz. The chipset uses the Mali-G72 MP12 GPU for its graphics performance. The smartphone will feature the GPU Turbo which will squeeze out better graphics and battery performance. A dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) is also included in the smartphone for enhanced AI capabilities.
Honor Play CPU
Honor Play sports a triple camera setup. The two rear-facing sensor includes a 16 MP sensor withf/2.2 aperture and a 2 MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The NPU will have a major role to play in the shots taken with the smartphone’s rear camera sensors. A single front-facing camera of the smartphone is a 16 MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. The smartphone will be available in two RAM variants in China; 4/6GB RAM option with 64GB storage. However, the storage for the smartphone can be further expanded using a microSD card of up to 256GB.
Honor Play Camera
Pricing And Availability
The price of the Honor Play in China starts at CNY 1,999 (Rs. 20,056.72 approx) for the 4GB RAM variant and goes up to CNY 2,399 (Rs. 24,070.07 approx) for the 6GB RAM variant. Smartphone manufacturers are making sure that users get an uncompromising experience without having to spend a lot of money. Thus, it will be interesting to see how the Honor Play, will perform. We will cover the story in-depth once the smartphone is available globally. So, stay tuned.
Arguably, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is one of the most anticipated smartphones by Samsung in 2018. Scheduled for 9th August 2018, Samsung could unveil the Galaxy Note 9 at the Unpacked event. There are other rumours which suggest there could also be a Galaxy Tab S4 unveiling at the event. So, before the smartphone and possibly the tablet unveils at the event, we have decided to round up everything we know about the Galaxy Note 9 so far.
Samsung unveiled the first phablet smartphone in October 2011, people were sceptical about a device with such a large screen. Later, in December 2011, that the Galaxy Note had sold 1 million units in two months. Clearly, the smartphone was a great success for the company. Samsung went on to release 8 versions of the Galaxy Note lineup. In 2016, Samsung launched the Note 7 which the company had to eventually recall due to issues with the battery. This led to severe damage to Samsung’s reputation and sales. In the year of 2017 however, despite several rumours of Samsung not continuing with the Note series, Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 8 which went on to become one of the most popular smartphones from the company. Samsung soon caught up in the race with a 20.5% market share in the first quarter of 2018. Now, the company is ready to unveil the 9th edition of the Note lineup; the Galaxy Note 9.
Galaxy Note 7
[section label=”Specification”]
Specifications
Rendered images of the Galaxy Note 9 revealed that it will feature a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. Also, through these renders, we got a rough idea about the smartphone’s design. This smartphone could share a lot in common with its predecessor, Galaxy Note 8. There is only one noticeable difference between the Note 8 and the “alleged” Samsung Galaxy Note 9. The fingerprint sensor on the Note 8 is alongside the cameras, whereas, the Galaxy Note 9 features the fingerprint sensor below its camera setup.
Galaxy Note 9 Render
The display on the Galaxy Note 9 could be a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED panel with 2960 x 1440 px resolution. While there is no notch on the display, Samsung’s “Infinity Display” could make for an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Since the Corning Gorilla Glass 6 is already unveiled, we expect Samsung to use it for its front and rear panels. As Corning allows design-customizability, we expect there to be a special edition smartphone featuring such a panel.
Galaxy Note 9
Samsung debuted the company’s first smartphone with a dual rear-facing camera with the Galaxy Note 8. The smartphone featured a triple-camera setup. The primary camera had a 12 MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture and a 12 MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture. This time around as well, the Galaxy Note 9 could have a 12MP wide-angle sensor along with a 12MP telephoto lens.
Galaxy Note 8 Camera
Under the hood, the smartphone could run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset for the US and South Korean markets. For the rest of the markets, the smartphone might run on the Exynos 9810 chipset which is a Samsung SoC. There may be three variants of the smartphone with 6GB of RAM along with either 64GB/128GB/256GB storage which will be expandable via microSD card. Samsung has also released a teaser video suggesting that the smartphone could sport a massive storage, further confirming the rumours. The most exciting news yet, is that the smartphone may feature a vapour chamber heat pipe. This is a cooling system, which was also featured in the Asus ROG Gaming Phone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16i8TH6lxmo
Samsung recently posted a video on YouTube which hinted at a possibly large battery for the Galaxy Note 9. So, we expect that the smartphone will have a 4,000 mAh battery with QuickCharge 4.0 support. Out of the box, the device could run on Android 8.1 Oreo with Samsung’s Experience 9.0 UI on top.
[section label=”Pricing And Availability”]
Price And Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 could start at a price of US $1,228 (Rs. 84652.18 approx) for the 128GB variant. This is quite close to the price of the iPhone X, which was launched in 2017. As previously mentioned, there could be three storage variants of the device and price may vary accordingly. However, leaks suggest that the 64GB and 256GB variants will not be sold in the European market. The 512GB variant of the smartphone may have a price tag of $1,465 (Rs.1,01,004.43 approx).
[section label=”New Features”]
New Features
Samsung also plans to launch the Galaxy Note 9 bundled with month-long exclusive rights for Fortnite on Android. So this means that smartphone could be marketed as a gaming oriented device. This also means that the smartphone could support Samsung Gear VR, which is the company’s virtual reality headset to offer VR-gaming with the smartphone. We will be closely covering the further leaks of the smartphone, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, you can go back to our first look and unboxing of the Galaxy Note 8.
OnePlus has become a major smartphone brand in just a. few years. The OnePlus 6 is the company most popular device yet. And, if the company sticks to it launch pattern, then we will likely see the OnePlus 6T in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, before the smartphone launches, several renders of the device have surfaced which suggest that the smartphone might feature a pop-up selfie camera, much like that seen on the Vivo Nex. OnePlus has made sure that its fans get flagship specifications at a reasonable price. We are hoping that the trend continues with this smartphone as well.
OnePlus 6 Avengers Edition
What Do The OnePlus 6T Renders Reveal?
There are several image renders and video showcasing what a OnePlus 6T with a pop-up selfie camera could look like. The images of the smartphone also hint at in-display fingerprint sensor. What is also worthing noting, is that the rear panel of the smartphone reveals a third camera sensor for the primary camera setup. Except for the lack of notch and the third camera, the aesthetics of the smartphone follow the same pattern as the OnePlus 6. The pop-up selfie camera also has dual sensor, which means the smartphone could feature a more evolved face-unlock mechanism. Similar to the ones found on the Oppo Find X and even the iPhone X.
Our Predictions For The OnePlus 6T
The CEO of OnePlus announced previoulsy that the company would launch a OnePlus 6T only if there is anything new to offer. Since then, companies like Oppo launched its Find X smartphone and Vivo launched the Vivo Nex. Both of these devices feature an almost all-screen display with a pop-up selfie camera. These smartphones have potentially ushered the industry into a new domain of display real-estate. Which gives OnePlus an incentive to launch the OnePlus 6T. Corning Gorilla Glass have also announced their new Gorilla Glass 6which can be customized to create beautiful looking glass-back smartphones. This is also something the company could make use of.
We also predict that the smartphone will feature the same Snapdragon 845 found in the OnePlus 6. It is important to note that these are just image renders and could only be speculations.
As a smartphone brand, Huawei is now fully back and operational in the Indian market. The company has entered the Indian market for various price segments. While the Huawei P20 Pro is a top of the line flagship, the company also has the lite variants and now two new phones. The company has launched the Huawei Nova 3 and Nova 3i today. These smartphones will go on sale exclusively via Amazon. You can buy the smartphones here.
While a lot is common between the two smartphones, the Huawei Nova 3 and Nova 3i target two different price segments. Huawei Nova 3 is a flagship smartphone, whereas the Nova 3i is more of a mid-range device. With that said, what you will find in common with these two devices are their display panels. Both the smartphones have a 6.3-inch IPS LCD panel with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and a resolution of 2340 x 1080 px. Both of these devices use a custom Huawei EMUI 8.2 ROM based on Android 8.1 (Oreo).
The camera for both the smartphones have a total four sensor. This is where the similarity ends as the primary camera setup on the Nova 3 has a 16 MP sensor with a f/1.8 aperture and a 24 MP black and white sensor with a f/1.8 aperture. While, the primary camera on the Nova 3i has a 16 MP sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 2 MP depth sensor. The secondary cameras of both the Nova 3 and Nova 3i have a 24 MP and a 2 MP depth sensor.
The Huawei Nova 3 runs on the company’s flagship Hisilicon Kirn 970 chipset with the Mali-G72 MP12 GPU. The Nova 3 will also feature the company’s GPU Turbo functionality which makes the smartphone an ideal choice for gamers. While the Nova 3i runs on the mid-range Hisilicon Kirin 710 chipset with the Mali-G51 MP4 GPU. For storage option, you can get the Nova 3 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. Whereas, the Nova 3i is available with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. Both the smartphones support storage expandability via microSD card of up to 256GB.
Pricing And Availability
The Huawei Nova 3 and Nova 3i will be available exclusively on Amazon. The higher spec’d smartphone, Huawei Nova 3 will start at a price of Rs.Rs. 34,999. While the mid-range Huawei Nova 3i will cost Rs. 20,990. What sets the Huawei Nova 3 and Nova 3i apart is the chipset configuration. With the Kirin 970 SoC, Nova 3 accomplishes to implement face-unlock and the company’s version of Apple’s Animoji which they are calling Qmoji. Huawei was already implementing AI into its smartphones now the company has entered into the AR segment as well. It will be interesting to see how well the smartphone performance once we do a full review of the device. Meanwhile, you can check out our unboxing video for the Huawei Nova 3 below.
Apple is about to launch its new line of iPhones for 2018 at its September event. The leaks and rumours about the smartphone suggest there will be a relatively cheaper iPhone along with the usual flagship this year. Apple iPhones going forward may not use Qualcomm wireless chipsets in favour of Intel modems.
There is a state of turmoil between Apple and Qualcomm. The chipset manufacturing company wanted to charge Apple a percentage of the company’s revenue for using Qualcomm’s modems. This led to the company suing Qualcomm for a hefty amount. In the US, Qualcomm might have to pay $1 million. Now, according to the Chief Financial Officer of Qualcomm, the new 2018 iPhones will not be using the company’s modems. Instead, the smartphones may launch with an Intel modem. There are still a few months before the 2018 iPhones will launch so this news should not affect the launch whatsoever. However, it is worth noting that iPhones have been using Qualcomm modems for a long time. For Apple to switch over to Intel for its wireless chipset is natural since Qualcomm and Intel are the two of the biggest chipset manufacturing companies.
How Will This Affect The New Apple iPhones?
iPhone X
As mentioned previously, the decision to go with an Intel modem may not affect the iPhones all that much. However, it will be interesting to see how the Intel LTE modems perform as compared to ones by Qualcomm.
In 2017 the Apple filed the first lawsuit against Qualcomm and the two have been exchanging lawsuits since. The 2018 iPhones will remain unaffected by the company’s decision to not use Qualcomm chipsets. However, Intel announced that it will not be able to produce 5G ready modems by 2019 so it will be interesting to see what Apple decides to do in 2019.
The mid-range segment for smartphones gives prospective buyers a lot of options to choose from. Sometimes the option can get a little overwhelming. The price bracket of Rs. 15,000 – Rs. 20,000 has the phones like the Redmi Note 5 Pro, the Zenfone Max Pro, and the latest Mi A2. The Zenfone Max Pro will go on sale with its 6GB variant tomorrow. Check out the full details of the launch here. With that said, it’s only natural that we put these smartphones side by side to see which one performs better. Given that the smartphones have a lot in common.
Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Zenfone Max Pro vs Mi A2, What’s Same And What’s Different?
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Zenfone Max Pro and the Mi A2, all follow the same design of glass front panel with an aluminum body. All the three smartphones have a 5.99-inch display with a 2160 x 1080px resolution with an 18:9 aspect ratio. Under the hood, the Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Zenfone Max share the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset. While the Mi A2 runs on the Snapdragon 660. The Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Mi A2 is available with 4B or 6GB of RAM. Whereas, the Zenfone Max Pro is available with 3GB, 4GB, or 6GB of RAM. The Zenfone Max Pro has two storage variants, either 32GB or 64GB. The Redmi Note 5 Pro has is only available with 64GB storage. The Mi A2 has three variants with 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB of storage. All three smartphones have expandable storage using microSD card slot.
When Xiaomi launched the Mi A1 back in September 2017, it also revealed the company’s sales figure for the month. Moreover, the Mi A1 was also the company’s first Android One device. The was also the company’s first smartphone in the Mi A series. Xiaomi claimed that it had sold close to 10 million devices in the month of September alone, making the Mi A1 one of the most bought smartphones of the year. Now, in the month of July 2018, the company has launched the Xiaomi Mi A2 and A2 Lite. While not much has changed from the Mi A1 to the Mi A2, there are still a few things that the company has decided to differently with the latter. The smartphone has launched on 24th July globally in Madrid, Spain.
The only similarity which both the Mi A1 and the Mi A2 share is that both of them are Android One devices, other than that, the company has introduced a lot of changes. The Xiaomi Mi A2 has a front glass design and an aluminum body. The display on the Mi A2 is a 5.99-inch panel with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 2160 x 1080 px. This display is an IPS LCD panel. Whereas, the Mi A1 has a 1920 x 1080 px IPS LCD panel.
Mi A2 Lite
Powering the Xiaomi Mi A2 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset with the Adreno 512 GPU. Whereas, the Mi A1 had the Snapdragon 625 with the Adreno 506 GPU.
The camera setup on the Mi A2 consists of a total of three sensors. The primary camera has a 12 MP sensor with a f/1.75 aperture and another 20 MP sensor with a f/1.75 aperture. Secondary camera of the device is a 20MP sensor with front-facing LED flash and a f/2.2 aperture. While the Mi A1 had a primary dual-camera with two 12MP sensors.
Mi A2 Camera
What Xiaomi could have also done differently is add a fast charging capability to the Mi A2 since the chipset supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4 technology. There are three storage variants of the Xiaomi Mi A2, a 4GB RAM and 32GB storage, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, and a 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant.
Why The Mi A2 Lite?
Even though the Mi A1 did really well, especially in the Indian market, many complained that the smartphone was slightly on the expensive side. To address this issue, Xiaomi has launched announced the Mi A2 Lite. The smartphone is advertised as the “entry-level Android One king”. Entry-level, because, the price of the Mi A2 could be under the Rs. 15,000 price bracket.
MI A2
While there is no word about whether this device will be launched in India, but we can expect it to arrive in India under another alias.
The display on the Mi A2 Lite is a 5.84-inch panel with an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a resolution of 2280 x 1080 px. The Mi A2 Lite sports a notch-display. Both the Xiaomi Mi A2 and A2 Lite have an IPS LCD panel. The Mi A2 Lite is powered by the Snapdragon 625 with the Adreno 506 GPU. This chipset also featured in the Mi A1.
Pricing And Availability
The Mi A2 starts at a price of €249 (Rs. 20,071.20 approx) for the 32GB variant, with the 64GB costing around €279 (Rs. 22,500.42 approx), and the 128GB variant around €349 (Rs. 28,145.69 approx). While the Mi A2 Lite will start at €179 (Rs. 14,434.23 approx). The Mi A2 will go on sale in Spain starting 10th August, in France on 27th July, and in Italy and India on 8h August. While the Mi A2 will be available in India, the Mi A2 Lite will be sold in countries other than India.
Xiaomi celebrated its first Android One anniversary with the launch of the Xiaomi Mi A2 and A2 Lite. The company has also emphasized the AI capabilities of both the smartphones through the launch. While you have to wait for our full review of the Mi A2, we already have an unboxing video ready for the smartphone. Take a look.
Honor has launched, what effectively is their update to the Honor 9 lite, the Honor 9N. The new phone from the company has a starting price of Rs. 11,999. Honor continues to stress the fact that smartphones don’t necessarily have to cost a lot to offer flagship-like features. The company plans on selling the smartphone exclusively via Flipkart from 31st July at 12 PM. We can expect this to be a flash sale so prospective buyers should be ready to place their orders as soon as the device is live on Flipkart. The smartphone will also be available on Honor’s own website.
Display And Design
The Honor 9N, while a mid-range smartphone, has impressive specifications and features. Starting with the display, the phone features a 5.84-inch Full HD+ 2160 x 1080 px screen. The display follows a 19:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone has a striking similarity to the Honor 9 Lite. One of the reasons for this could be that both devices belong to the same lineup. With the exception of a microphone, which sat between the rear-facing camera and LED flash in the Honor 9 Lite. In the case of the Honor 9N, the two microphones sit on the top and bottom of the device.
Honor 9N Display
Specifications
Honor 9N uses the EMUI 8.0 which is the company’s custom ROM based on Android 8.0 (Oreo). We can expect the phone to later be updated to Android 9. The smartphone is powered by the Kirin 659 chipset which is an octa-core SoC. Out of the eight cores, four run at 2.3 GHz and the other four at 1.7 GHz. The SoC has the Mali-T830 MP2 GPU in it as well. The smartphone also has three storage variants. The 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage variant will cost Rs. 11,999. The 4GB RAM and 64GB variant will cost Rs. 13,999. And lastly, the 4GB RAM and 128GB variant will cost Rs. 17,999. The smartphone also has a microSD card slot allowing users to expand storage up to 256GB.
Camera
Huawei has been proactively implementing AI to its smartphones and the Honor 9N is no exception. The major area where the AI capabilities of the device will be evident is in the camera. The camera setup on the smartphone consists of a total of 3 cameras. The primary camera has a 13 MP sensor and 2 MP sensor. The secondary camera on the device is a 16MP sensor which the smartphone will also use for face-unlock.
The Honor 9N is yet another mid-range smartphone offering a neat design and a value for money performance. The current trend of mid-range smartphones goes out to show that you do not have to own a flagship in order to enjoy a similar experience. Smartphone manufacturers are making sure that users still get an uncompromising experience without having to spend a lot of money. Stay tuned to iGyaan for a full review of the smartphone. Here’s the link to buy the Honor 9N.
India has been subject to a lot of violence because of fake news spreading across social media platforms. Because of fake WhatsApp news going viral in the district of Tiruvannamalai, a family of five lost their lives. Facebook currently owns the messaging platform and is now planning to bring major changes in the way WhatsApp works. In their latest announcement, Facebook said that they will limit the number of messages users can forward.
The limit currently in India for forwarding a message is 250. The new WhatsApp update will bring this down to just 5 in India and globally the limit will be 20. The latest case of violence happened in Tamil Nadu. 65-year-old Rukmani and other four family members were travelling to a temple in Tiruvannamalai. They stopped at a village close to the temple to ask for direction when a woman wrongly suspected the family as child lifters. The rumour spread across the village via WhatsApp. The woman called her son who was ready with a mob. To avoid them, the family decided to turn back but found themselves surrounded by another mob in the neighbouring village. Again, because the news spread via WhatsApp. The family was then murdered.
The above mentioned is just one of the many cases where the victims were subject to brutality because of fake news. This led to a dire need for some serious changes in the way the social media platforms work. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India raised its concerns about fake news to WhatsApp. Which is one of the reasons why the update is now the messaging platform’s top priority.
WhatsApp
Social media platforms are a space where people can share their opinions. However, people take this freedom of speech for granted. Regulations and protocols for people on social media is still a grey area. It is reassuring to see platforms like WhatsApp taking steps to manage and hopefully control the spreading of such fake information.
