A lot of people are eagerly waiting for the launch of the Moto G5 Plus in India. Flipkart and Moto both, have been teasing the launch of the phone over their social media platforms, and now have officially announced that the phone will be a Flipkart exclusive. The Moto G5 Plus was announced at MWC 2017 and comes with a complete redesign of the G Series. An all metal body along with some serious upgrades on the inside the phone will start selling 15th March onwards and shipping soon after.
While no details of pricing are available, the Moto G5 plus is expected to launch around the Rs. 15000 price bracket, much like last year’s Moto G4 Plus. Also much like last years launch, the company will only sell the Moto G5 Plus initially and later launch the Moto G5, and possibly a “Play” variant down the line.
The Moto G5 has a 5-inch LCD display, while the G5 Plus has a bigger 5.2-inch screen, both of which have a 1920 x 1080 px resolution. The optics on the Moto G5 consist of a 13-megapixel Sensor along with an Aperture of f/2.0 with phase detect autofocus with a 5 Mp front camera, the G5 Plus, however, gets a 12-megapixel f/1.7 camera with dual-focus pixels and can record 4K video, while the G5 is limited to 1080 p Full HD. The Moto G5 Plus too has a 5 MP front camera.
The Moto G5 Plus gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with 2.0 GHz octa-core CPU and 650 MHz Adreno 506 GPU. Stay tuned for more updates.
Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus have received a significant Rs. 10,000 price cut on all its variants and all colours. The iPhone 7 which was originally selling for Rs. 60,000 for the 32GB variant is now available for Rs. 49999 for the same variant and the price changes apply for all variants all the way up to the 128 GB iPhone 7 plus which originally sells for Rs. 82000 but is now available for Rs. 71999. This also includes the Jet Black colour which was on high demand at the time of the launch of the iPhone 7. The deal however does not include the iPhone 7 Plus at 256 GB which still remains pricey at Rs. 92000.
This news comes in wake of ever growing rumours of Apple’s next iPhone which, as a tenth anniversary upgrade, is expected to have some radical changes to design and technology. iPhone’s have usually never received price cuts in India, however, since this trend started in 2016, it has helped Apple move huge number of handsets and achieve record high sales for a phone segment which is now leads. This may possibly be the best time to grab an iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with the next upgrade a good 6 months away, your shiny ( or matte) iPhone can be bought for a good discount. The deal also appears to be a limited time offer.
Samsung has made a lot of official announcements for the launch of the Galaxy S8 and possibly the S8 Plus, the phones that will mark a comeback after a 6 month lull for the company. The phones are expected to launch on March 29th, and if leaks are anything to go by the phones are going to be pretty impressive.
— Samsung Mobile India (@SamsungMobileIN) March 1, 2017
Samsung is working on a design that will stretch the display on both sides making the screen to body ratio of the phone pretty impressive, and near the 90% mark. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 plus will also have the latest Snapdragon 835 along with 4 GB of RAM and 64 Gb of onboard storage with microSD expandability.
The company may not launch the S8 with dual cameras, and keep that feature an exclusive for the Galaxy S8 Plus. A new image leaked by evleaks points to what is possibly the best look yet at the new Galaxy S8 . If we merge Samsung’s teasers with the image tweeted by evleaks, the similarities are uncanny. Check out the merged image below.
Lenovo launched the Moto G5 and Moto G5 plus at MWC 2017, the revision to the popular Moto G series phones now sport an aluminum unibody design along with pricing that can excite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo6bFoC_3f8
The Moto G5 and G5 Plus will run Android Nougat out of the box and, the regular G5 has a Snapdragon 430 processor, while the G5 Plus gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with 2.0 GHz octa-core CPU and 650 MHz Adreno 506 GPU. The G5 has a 5-inch LCD display, while the G5 Plus has a bigger 5.2-inch screen, both of which have a 1920 x 1080 px resolution.
The optics on the Moto G5 consist of a 13-megapixel f/2.0 system with phase detect autofocus with a 5 Mp front camera, the G5 Plus, however, gets a 12-megapixel f/1.7 camera with dual-focus pixels and can record 4K video, while the G5 is limited to 1080 p Full HD. The Moto G5 Plus too has a 5 MP front camera.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASpz0-PrQXs
The Moto G5 is available in 16GB or 32GB of storage capacities with support for microSD cards up to 256GB. The G5 Plus will have options between 32GB or 64GB with expandability unto 256GB. Depending on the model you either get 2 GB, 3GB or 4 GB of RAM. Both the Moto G5 and G5 plus will support dual-SIM capability along with VoLTE. The Moto G5 has a removable and replaceable 2,800mAh battery while the Moto G5 Plus gets a sealed 3,000mAh battery.
Features on the phones include Moto Display for notifications, and the Moto gestures, just as other Moto phones.Both the Moto G5 and G5 Plus will get the Google Assistant when they launch later this quarter.
The Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus will launch worldwide including India in March in with two color options that include the fine gold which is almost identical to the Moto M and the Lunar gray color.The Moto G5 will start at €199 (Rs. 14000) with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, while the G5 Plus will set you back Rs. 15000 with 2GB RAM and 32GB of storage.Motorola is expected to launch these phones in India Mid-March, stay tuned for more info.
This ends the Rumors , the Nokia 3310 is finally back and with all glory in a brand new avatar. The new colorful 3310 keeps the iconic design hues of the popular Nokia 3310 that sold 126 Million units back when it was launched. The 2017 Nokia 3310 works on the Nokia’s Series 30+ , with a 2.4-inch QVGA display, supports expanded memory via a microSD slot.
The new Nokia 3310 is not a weighted power tool, like the earlier edition. The re-design is a lighter, smaller and thinner unit which looks more refined yet keeps the rugged polycarbonate exterior.
The phone is missing the original Snake game, but is replaced by a modern Snake game. What are the features you ask? the Nokia 3310 has a standby time of 31 days, and a talk time of 22 hours. The Nokia 3310 will now have a 2 MP camera with LED flash along with an FM radio and a Micro USB Charger, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
The phone is expected to go on Sale in Q2 2017 for a price of 49 euros ($52/ Rs. 3500).
The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be an important phone not only for Samsung fans, but also for Samsung. The company has had a bad half year, with the Note 7 blowout, barely in the rear view mirror for the South Korean company, the word looks on to the S8 and S8+’s arrival.
According to new reports Samsung will launch the phone on March 29 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 along with supposedly the larger Samsung Galaxy S8+ will go on sale on April 21st in certain parts of the world including the US market, UK and UAE. The Indian counterpart is expected to arrive early may according to our Samsung sources.
Samsung has put in motion a large marketing plan and their largest push promo budget yet, to make the Galaxy S8 a success. In India, the company will finally look for Brand Ambassadors for the flagship phone, signing on celebrities that target the youth.
The news report from a Korean publication suggests that Samsung will have ample supplies of the phone to have sales steady by May – June 2017. The company has reportedly invested large sums of capital in battery design and management making the phone safe, which will be explicitly demonstrated during their global launch. Samsung’s new phones have also raked in the largest order of Snapdragon 835 chips from Qualcomm limiting supplies for other brands like LG and HTC.
Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ with different screen sizes – 5.7-inches and 6.2-inches respectively. The phones may feature their new Assistant Bixby and 6GB of RAM as standard. The S8 and S8 plus will also be available with upto 256 GB of storage and microSD expandability like the S7 edge, along with IP68 or better water resistance. Wireless charging and new wireless charging accessories are also expected.
A new leak has also shown off the New Gear VR from Samsung which comes with a remote controller built into the body. The Gear VR is expected to be priced at US $ 199 in India retailing for Rs. 14999.
LG will try to one up the Samsung Galaxy S8 by launching the LG G6 as early as 26th Feb at MWC in Barcelona with the phone hitting the markets by 10 March. The company has already teased some features of the LG G6 including an all new design, QuadDAC support FullVision display and the LG UX 6.0 running Android 7.1.
Tipster Evan Blass also recently leaked the image shown above, which are from case manufacturer Speck showing both the LG G6 and Samsung Galaxy S8 in their full render glory.
New leaked design renders from KGI securities show that the iPhone 8/ iPhone X, which will possibly be the next iPhone from Apple, and also the 10th anniversary iPhone from the company, will have a larger screen in the same form factor.
The iPhone 7 has a 4.7 inch display with an IPS LCD panel along with the home button below the display. The iPhone 8 however will feature a 5.15 inch OLED panel according to the information in the image and will hide the home button behind a bar of fiction keys, much like the touch bar on the latest MacBook.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states that the real size of the display will be around 5.8 inches however the display area will be only 5.15 inches while retaining the iPhone 7 form factor. The next iPhone much like previous leaks suggest will hide the home button and fingerprint scanner in all entirety being the OLED panel allowing for a larger appearing display.
The reports also mention Apple may also completely do away with touch ID for an alternative form of verification like facial or iris recognition, which was seen on the Galaxy Note 7 ( oh, the Galaxy Note 7, how you are missed !) . It seems unlikely that apple will kill possibly the most used thing on iPhones, i.e the touch ID.
However, this will not be the only iPhone launched in 2017, but, one of the 3 phones that launch this year. The other two will be identical in design and screen dimensions like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus, possibly with improved specifications.
Lenovo Owned Moto is gunning for the glory of their best selling handset as the prepare the revision for 2017. The Moto G5 and G5 plus said to succeed the Moto G4 and G4 plus and to be launched at MWC 2017 will bring about a lot of changes for the category hit.
Lenovo will reduce the pricing in certain regions of the Moto G5 and G5 Plus. The Moto G5 will be available in 2GB + 16GB for 189 Euro and 3GB + 16GB for 209 Euro which is considerably lower than the 240 Euro price for the Moto G4. What is interesting is that Lenovo may do this by supplementing the Snapdragon chipset with a cheaper Mediatek chipset, a move that may not go down well with the fans of the Moto G series.
Previous leaks tell us that the Moto G5 will have a 1.7 aperture equipped Sony IMX362 primary camera sensor with PDAF and a 5.2 inch 1080p display with a 3000 mAh battery. Images show that the fingerprint sensor will remain in the front along with an all metal unibody design, which is much like the Moto M. The Snapdragon chipset might still be in play in sensitive markets like India, however, prices may be increased.
The Moto G5 launch is said to happen on Feb 26th and the phone is expected to launch in India a week post the MWC announcement. Expect pricing to fall well under the Rs. 15000 price mark.
HTC is working on a new smartphone for select markets including India. A new leak from our tipster shows a front design which is scarily identical to the iPhone 3G. What is interesting is that the phone has no buttons or fingerprint sensors in the front. Which is unlike HTC, who like putting a physical home button or a fingerprint sensor on the front of their devices. We can spot the power button and volume rockers to the right of the handset.
The tipster also claims that the un-named HTC phone has low-end specs with just 2GB RAM and 16GB storage alongside a MT6735 chipset and a 3000 mAh battery. However the cameras include a 16 MP main camera and a 7 MP front facing camera. While its difficult to ascertain whether this is just a test device or a development device, If you look closely at the bottom left of the image you can see a case which is very identical to HTC design for their Desire series of their phones.
The bottom chin of the phone holds the HTC logo and is missing any physical or touch capacitive keys.
HTC India reps have refused to comment on the the device. However, the company had confirmed that they will launch some budget ended devices in coming weeks at their previous event in India. The new unnamed device could be HTC working towards more entry level phones.
The phone is expected below the Rs. 10,000/ US $ 150 price for markets like India, China, Bangladesh etc. Take this with a pinch of salt while we dig more.
Update : We found the following info about the phone. The Model number is a37dj dugl and it is running on Android 6.0 with the January 5, 2017 security patch.
The Stranger Things 2 trailer aired during the Super Bowl and while everything about “Stranger Things” gives us goosebumps the trailer also reveals that the next season will be coming to Netflix during Halloween 2017.
Netflix :
Stranger Things 2 is coming. Halloween 2017.
A year after Will’s return, everything seems back to normal… but a darkness lurks just beneath the surface, threatening all of Hawkins.
Xiaomi is hard at work in prepping it’s next Android flagship to be launched around MWC. The Xiaomi Mi 6 much like the Mi 5 will feature an under clocked chipset. Samsung is partially responsible for the lack of 835 chipsets for manufacturers. Samsung has placed a big order for the first lot of Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipsets making it difficult for companies to keep up. The Snapdragon 835 will not be available to LG and HTC according to a new reports. LG will use the dated Snapdragon 821 and while HTC will delay the launch of the next HTC flagship in order to get sufficient supply of the 835 chipset.
Xiaomi’s Mi 5 also had a similar fate when the company decided to use an under-clocked Snapdragon 820 chipset which in no way affected the sales of the phone and allowed the company to reduce prices considerably. The Xiaomi Mi 6 is expected to be launch soon with reports of a Feb 6th launch, the Mi 6 may launch with a dual edge display much like Samsung flagship phones.
This may also be the first time Xiaomi launches a Mi flagship series phone with resolution of 2560 x 1440px. The Mi 6 is also expected to show up in storage capacities of upto 256 GB. Earlier leaks claim that the Mi 6 will launch in three different variants powered by either the Helio X30 chipset and Snapdragon 835 respectively. The Helio X30 variant is to be priced at RMB 1,999 ( Rs 19,600) and the variant with the top of the line Snapdragon 835 is expected at RMB 2,499 ( Rs 24,500). this one will also feature 4GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage.
LG’s G6 is already expected to drop the modular features as the next iteration is targeted for the MWC 2017 launch. The phone which is expected to run the latest hardware including Snapdragon 835, up-to 6 GB of RAM, will be available in up-to 128 GB storage options. The Verge has posted new images of the LG G6 claiming that they are actual images of the phones.
According to the publication, the LG G6 will feature a 5.7 inch display and have an aspect ratio of 2:1 with a thin bezel all around. The expected display to body ratio is more than 90%. The design is much more like the Mi Mix and also the rumored Samsung Galaxy S8 which too will have a dual edge AMOLED display.
The LG G6 nail continue to have the 3.5 mm headphone jack and will also feature the same rear setup as the G5, with dual cameras and fingerprint sensor placed at the back.
Whatever the case, some new exciting products are expected at MWC 2017 and we simply cannot wait.
Lenovo P2 as a smartphone offers an interesting mix of hardware and features, focusing more on the massive 5100 mAh battery which offers an impressive battery life on the phone which is just 8.3 mm in thickness. But, do the rest of the features match up with the price of the smartphone? And, is the Lenovo P2 worth your money? Let’s find out!
[section label=”Video Review”]
[section label=”Build And Design”]
Build and Design
The Lenovo P2 has a well built and solid, scratch resistant unibody aluminium design which should look good for long periods of time, if you don’t manage to ding and drop your phone a lot. The shell is well built and looks premium. The dual chamfers, one on the front and one on the back along with chrome accents around the camera, led flash and buttons makes the phone look clean and well made. The manufacturing of the phone is in India. So, Make in India for the win.
Design is very reminiscent with the phones we have seen in the past, with placements of the camera and led flash much like vibe phones seen recently, especially the K6 Note. If you liked the design on those phones, then the P2 does offer up improvements.
[section label=”Hardware”]
Hardware
The hardware is not top notch, with the Snapdragon 625 chipset based on 14nm tech offering octa-core at 2.0 GHz and an Adreno 506 GPU (similar to the Redmi Note 4) the Lenovo P2, is available in 3 GB or 4GB RAM options with 32 GB or 64 GB of Storage. You can add an upto 256 GB card but you lose the 2nd SIM slot on the hybrid tray (boo). The main camera is 13 MP with an f/2.0 aperture and the front camera is a 5MP shooter and the phone is powered by a massive 5100 mAh battery.
[section label=”Performance”]
Performance
The phone features a less powerful 625 chipset, so do not expect this to be a performance monster. The Lenovo P2 scores mediocre benchmark scores, and does decent multitasking Gaming experience is good , but no the best. The phone manages RAM well and despite a stock Android feel, some optimisations in the UI allow for smooth multitasking and everyday use, despite several weeks of usage.
The phone manages heat really well and we did not find the phone heating up extensively even when handling heavy tasks and high end graphics.
[section label=”Multimedia and Display”]
Multimedia and Display
The Super AMOLED display is a perfect example of technology trickling down to mid range phones. Super AMOLED, which is traditionally restricted to Samsung flagships, is now being used by Lenovo on their P2, giving it exceptional viewing angles and good depth of colour and brightness. The indoor and outdoor visibility is good and Black-levels are deep. The display does over-saturate the colours, a problem with most Super-AMOLEDs, however colour profile options allow for some basic changes. Switching to the Normal display mode in the settings shows some natural colours which definitely are flatter to the eye.
The viewing angles and colour quality of the display make watching videos and movies on the phone a great experience. You also have a decent speaker, but the included earphones are poor. Buy yourself a good pair of headphones (/earphones) to enjoy the good multimedia output from the headphone jack.
The P2 does not have Dolby support, and possibly the only phone in Lenovo’s arsenal to miss this out, Strange!
[section label=”Operating System”]
OS and UI
The Lenovo P2 runs on Android 6.0.1 out of the box, with a promised upgrade to Nougat in Late March 2017, which is a bit of a let down. You can expect to start hearing news of Android 8 around that time. However, it is good that the company has given a clear timeline of the updates.
The UI is fast and responsive and thanks to the RAM management stays that way for a long time. The UI is also close to stock much like their Moto phones, and the experience does feel much more like a Moto phone. Little bloatware is preloaded which can easily be uninstalled for those who do not need the unwanted Apps.
The Ui also has some interesting features, like using the Home button/fingerprint scanner for navigation and hiding the Nav-bar for a fuller-screen experience. You also have the ability to have two instances of apps like WhatsApp and Facebook installed so you do not have to log-out of apps and then log-in again. Helpful for those managing both personal and work social profiles.
[section label=”Battery”]
Battery Life and Charging
The Lenovo P2 lives up to expectations of a long battery life. Mixed with a 14nm architecture and a massive battery of 5100 mAh, the Lenovo P2 is a battery king. Expect 2 days of use for most advanced users and longer for average users. The ultimate power mode converts the Smartphone into a feature phone extending the battery life for weeks on an end.
[blockquote]The Lenovo P2 may be a truer battery and charging king [/blockquote]
The included fast charger is speeds up to the point where it delivers an impressive 12V 2A charge making the phone charge to a full in around 1.5 hours. When compared to Dash Charge, the Lenovo P2 may stay back in percentages, i.e achieving 40% vs 60% on the OnePlus 3 in the same time.
However, in real life numbers, it charges 2040 mAh of battery in the same time the Dash Charge charges 1800mAh and that too on a micro USB port. Lenovo has some interesting battery capability here.
Talk Time : 14 Hours
Screen On Time : 20 Hours +
Internet Browsing : 15 Hours +
Video : 10 Hours +
With the battery life, and optimisations, the Lenovo P2 becomes an impressive companion for travellers and media consumption junkies.
Netflix-athon anyone?
[section label=”Camera”]
Cameras
The Lenovo P2 has a 13 MP main camera which has a 21mm f/2.0 aperture equipped lens. Offering an impressive field of view and good depth of field. HDR works well and images look good in well-lit conditions. The phone also manages decent low light images, but you will find yourself using the flash a lot to get good pictures, if lighting is not adequate.
Colors can turn out flat, and images look definitely better on the Super-AMOLED display of the Lenovo P2 than they do on a LCD or LED panel at your home. The main camera also captures 4k video at 30fps, which allows you to get some high resolution video with a chipset that most manufacturers have restricted to Full HD. You also get electronic IS for video which is good for shaky hands, though, you lose some resolution and field of view once you enable this feature.
The front camera is good only is proper lighting, otherwise shots are over processed and noisy. For selfie-lovers the beauty mode cleans up most post processing needs. However, we found turning this off worked better for more natural and sharper looking images. Video on the front is restricted to 1080p and will come in handy for basic usage.
[section label=”Conclusion”]
Conclusion
The Lenovo P2 is designed for those who either travel a lot or forget charging their phone often. Features like a super fast charge, ora long battery life is a boon to a lot of people who work long hours too. Performance is good for most users but the phone is not designed for hardcore gaming enthusiasts and performance junkies.
The Lenovo P2 has a fast UI and some interesting features that can come in handy for new business owners like the dual apps and dual profiles on some social apps. The phone has excellent network strength, and works well with 4G and VoLTE. The hybrid SIM slot is a no-no for us but the option of buying the phone with a big storage of 64GB is an option. An option however, that is not currently on sale.
Another option to consider is that the Lenovo Z2 Plus which features a Snapdragon 820 chipset is now available for as low as Rs. 14999 which supersedes the value of the Lenovo P2 as a better price for spec ratio phone. Making the smartphone space more complicated than ever before.
Moto might be planning a revision of the Moto Z with a faster and more competent chipset. Sporting a Snapdragon 835 the new Moto Z leaked on benchmarking site GeekBench scoring 6207 on the multicore benchmark.
The RAM remains the same at 4GB which may just mean that the processor is the only area seeing improvements. Moto could be refreshing the lineup to keep in trend with the constant new arrivals slated in the coming few months.
Smartphones running flagship hardware are expected from Samsung, LG , HTC and even Nokia around the time of MWC, and this might be an excellent time for Moto to refresh their hardware and show off their abilities.
This could also be a completely revamped Moto Z phone with the same identifier running completely refreshed hardware. For now just the benchmark will do.
Fresh new information coming in for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8. New reports suggest that the new Samsung Galaxy S8 will feature an iris scanner along with an autofocus front camera. The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be the first big phone from the company after the failure and recall of the Galaxy Note 7.
The new Samsung Galaxy S8 is already expected around MWC in February sporting a large display to body ratio crossing 90% and a new buttonless fingerprint sensor that sits behind the display. Samsung is pulling all stops to ensure that the Samsung Galaxy S8, just like the Galaxy S7 is a huge success. The company will also be removing the 3.5 mm headphone jack and bundling wireless earphone inside the box of the Samsung Galaxy S8.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be available in two sizes according to reports, that include the 5.7 inch Samsung Galaxy S8 and the 6.3 inch Samsung Galaxy S8 plus. The phones will also see S-Pen compatibility and Samsung is expected to introduce the S-pen as an extra-optional accessory. Samsung will also launch more accessories, including a keyboard case and new s-window flip cases for the phones.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to hit markets including the US, UK and India in March of 2017 sporting a price tag of US $799 for the base model Samsung Galaxy S8. the phones will offer storages upto 256GB, something that Samsung has already done with the recent launch of the Black Pearl Samsung Galaxy S7 in select markets.