The year 2019 will be remembered as a significant year in the history of Smartphones. The year will see the launch of several smartphones with a foldable display. At least some information about foldable devices from Samsung, Xiaomi, LG, Huawei is already available but Apple nowhere seems to be in the picture.
A senior Samsung executive has shared crucial information about a foldable Apple phone. The executive claims that the display on the foldable Apple phone, unlike the Galaxy F, might fold outwards. The information can be considered trustworthy as large companies usually keep track of their competitor’s strategies.
Reasons For Using A Outward Folding Display
The clear advantage of using an outward folding display on a Smartphone is its ease of production. The outward folding display allows for a much higher turn radius than an inward folding display thus being the first choice out of the two options.
The foldable glass that is currently available can only bend up to a certain angle. Beyond this safe angle, the glass would either crack or won’t return to its original wrinkle-free state. This is one reason why the first foldable phone, the Royale FlexPai has an outward folding display.
Expectations From Apple
Apple is the richest company that knows no financial boundaries and continuously pushes technology with new innovations. The notch on top smartphone display’s that is slowly becoming the industry standard was also launched by Apple with the iPhone X. Apple’s FaceID is still unmatched. Apple holds the power to surprise the world with an unusual and novel foldable phone. But, will the company actually do that may be a different question.
Although Apple has not made any comments about the launch of a foldable phone. Analysts claim that a foldable Apple phone will launch in the year 2020.
Amazon is back with the first Great India Festival Sale of the year 2019 which will be held between 20-23 January. Top smartphones from companies including OnePlus, Xiaomi, Realme, Samsung and many more will be available at huge discounts. Here is a list of all the top smartphones that will be available at discounts during the Amazon Great India Festival Sale.
Samsung Deals
Samsung A8+
Resplendent in metal and glass, it’s thoughtfully designed to fit comfortably in your hands. A work of art, you won’t want to put down. Lose yourself to an expansive view on the Galaxy A8+ with the Infinity Display. Its 15.36 cm (6.0”) large display makes any view, simply captivating. And the 18.5: 9 screen ratio provides a stunning cinematic experience that’s truly immersive. It’s time to turn pro with the Galaxy A8+. Its rear 16 MP camera takes stunning pictures that are bright and clear. The dual front camera 16 MP FF (F1.9) + 8 MP (F1.9) with Live Focus mode takes selfies to another level. Blur the background, add bokeh effect to make you and your friend stand out and if that’s not enough, readjust the effect later on.
Regular Price: Rs. 29,990/-
Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 23,990/-
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (6GB RAM, 64GB Storage)
More screen means more space to do great things. Go big with the Galaxy Note 8’s 16.05cm (6.3 inches) screen. It’s the largest ever screen on a Note device and it still fits easily in your hand.
Regular Price: Rs. 43,990/-
Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 39,990/-
Samsung On7 Pro (Gold, 2GB RAM, 16GB Storage)
With LTE Cat 4 support, you can download HD movies, enjoy web browsing and music streaming, all at lightning-quick speeds. Experience seamless network connectivity via speedy Wi-Fi connection. Bluetooth-enabled to allow you to pair it with a headset, tablet or other devices.
Regular Price: Rs. 7,990/-
Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 6,990/-
Xiaomi Deals
Redmi 6 Pro
The eldest sibling of Redmi 6 Series, the Redmi 6 has pro has a 5.84-inch notch LCD display with 432 ppi pixel density. It has a huge 4,000 mAh battery and runs on the Octa-Core Snapdragon 625. The device has 12 MP + 5 MP dual rear cameras and a 5 MP front-facing camera. The Redmi Note 6 is available in two storage variants: 3/4 GB of RAM paired with 32/64 GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card.
Regular Price: Rs. 10,999/-
Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 9,999/- (32 GB)
Redmi Y2
The Redmi Y2 has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The handset has a 5.99-inch HD display with a resolution and 1440 x 720 pixels. The device’s display has an 18:9 aspect ratio and a rear fingerprint scanner for securely unlocking the phone. The phone has 12MP+5MP dual-rear cameras and a 16MP selfie camera with AI capability. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. It has a 3080 mAh Li-Ion battery.
MRP: Rs. 10,999/-
Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 9,999/-
Redmi 6A
Xiaomi’s cheapest offering, the Redmi 6A has a 5.45 inch LCD display with a 295 ppi pixel density. It runs on the Quad-Core Mediatek Helio A22 chipset and is powered by a 3,000 mAh battery. The phone has a 13 MP, f/2.2 aperture equipped rear camera and a 5 MP front camera. The device is available two variants: 2/3 GB of RAM paired with 16/32 GB ROM which is expandable up to 256 GB via a microSD card.
Open Sale
Price: Rs. 5,999/- (16 GB)
OnePlus 6T
OnePlus launched the OnePlus 6T late last in India. It has a 6.4 inch AMOLED display with 492 ppi pixel density. It runs on the Octa-Core Snapdragon 845 chipset and is powered by a 3,700 mAh battery with dash charge support. The phone has 20 MP + 16 MP dual rear cameras and a 16 MP selfie camera. The device has two variants 6 GB/8 GB of RAM paired with 128 GB/256 GB of ROM.
Price: Rs. 37,999/-
Huawei P20 Lite ( 4GB RAM, 64GB Storage)
The P20 Lite comes with a 19:9 Notch Display and 2.5D curved glass back with glittery textures that make it look classy and sleek. It runs on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, with Huawei’s EMUI 8.0 skin on top. The storage capacity is 4GB RAM and 64 GB ROM. The 24-megapixel camera up front features 3D facial recognition with 96 recognition points; a new beauty algorithm that modifies shadows, colour temperature, and skin tone; and augmented reality effects in the form of selfie stickers. The P20 Lite can also take selfies with a bokeh effect using software algorithms.
MRP: Rs. 19,999/- (64 GB)
Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 12,999/-
Honor Play
Honor Play – the fastest phone in the market is powered with Huawei’s Flagship Kirin 970, AI processor and GPU Turbo enabling crazy speed and efficiency. It boasts of dual primary cameras of 16MP + 2MP with AI scene recognition and 16MP AI selfie. Up to 6GB of RAM will ensure phone runs smoothly, even the most memory intensive applications show no signs of lag. 64GB of internal storage will be open for expansion up to 256GB via a microSD card. The phone comes with large 3750 mAh battery to support its 6.3-inch FHD+ screen with IPS LCD display having a resolution of 1080 x 2340 at 409 PPI.
MRP: Rs. 19,999/- (64 GB)
Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 13,999/-
RealMe 1
The Realme 1 comes with stunning unique designs – Diamond Black and Solar Red – packing a beautiful 6-inches FHD+ 18:9 screen and a powerful AI enabled Helio P60 processor.
Amazon Great India Sale deal price: Rs. 12,990/- (6GB + 128 GB)
Xiaomi launched the Mi Mix 3 smartphone back in October 2018. At the time of its launch, the company promised that a 5G compatible variant of the same will be launched in the year 2019. An invitation poster that has now been taken down revealed that Xiaomi will launch the 5G compatible Mi Mix 3 a day before MWC. Except for the Snapdragon 855SoC that has the 5G modem built-in, the new device will have similar specifications as the regular variant.
MWC or Mobile World Congress is one of the most significant tech events in the world, especially for mobile devices. The MWC event will be held in Barcelona, Spain between the dates 25-28 February. Usually, MWC sees the launch of flagship smartphones from several manufacturers but this year could be a bit different. Samsung has also scheduled its Galaxy Unpacked 2019 event for 20 February where the company will launch its Galaxy S10 lineup and the foldable phone.
Why Launch The 5G Compatible Mi Mix 3 Before MWC ?
Apparently, Xiaomi wants to grab the maximum attention possible at the time of launching one of the worlds first 5G compatible smartphone. Launching the 5G compatible Mi Mix 3 at an event full of other excellent products can undervalue the significance of the former. Additionally, Xiaomi will likely be able to maintain the sense of appreciation for the smartphone throughout the MWC event.
Mi Mix 3 Features & Design
The Mi Mix 3 has an innovative design with a sliding back that conceals the front-facing cameras. On the front of the smartphone sits a 6.39-inch AMOLED display with a very high screen to body ratio of 93.4%.
The Mi Mix 3 has dual neodymium magnets that provide it with the sliding functionality. According to Xiaomi, the sliding mechanism has been tested up to 0.3 million times which provides a reference point about its durability.
Under the hood, the 5G variant of the Mi Mix 3 will feature the latest Snapdragon 855 SoC that is fabricated using 7 nm manufacturing technology. The chipset consists of an Octa-Core Kryo 485 CPU and Adreno 640 GPU.
For photography, the Mi Mix has dual 12 MP + 12 MP rear cameras and dual 24 MP + 2 MP front cameras. The rear cameras of the Mi Mix 3 can capture 2160p videos and the front camera can capture 1080p videos.
The rear of the Mi Mix 3 is made of Ceramic which harbours the dual rear camera setup and a fingerprint sensor for securely unlocking it. In terms of memory and storage, the 5G compatible Mi Mix 3 is expected to be available in three storage capacities like the standard variant which are as follow:
The price of the 5G compatible Mi Mix 3 will be announced at the time of its launch. However, it will surely be more than the standard variant which starts at 3,299 ¥ (around Rs. 34,800/-) and goes all the way up to3,999 ¥ (around Rs. 42,200/-).
Redmi, since becoming a separate brand from it’s parent company Xiaomi has been working towards building a strong portfolio of phones. The Redmi Note 7 recently sold out in a matter of minutes in China and now it seems like new rumours have surfaced regarding the Note 7 Pro. Xiaomi had announced at the Redmi Note 7 launch that the Redmi Note 7 Pro will debut next month.
The Note 7 Pro will reportedly feature a Snapdragon 675 SoC, as reported by a tipster on a popular Chinese social networking website. Like the Note 7, the new Note 7 Pro will also feature a 48-megapixel primary sensor at the back but instead of the Samsung ISOCELL GM1 sensor, it will use Sony’s IMX586 primary sensor.
Redmi Note 7 Specifications
The Redmi Note 7 was launched with a Snapdragon 660 chipset along with an Adreno 512 GPU. The phone’s screen is a 6.3 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass 5 for extra protection. The Redmi Note 7 came in two variants. This includes a 64 GB storage, 4 or 6 GB RAM variant as well as a 32 GB storage 3 GB RAM variant. We can expect the Redmi Note 7 Pro to pack atleast 6 GB RAM and 256 GB of space.
Apart from that we can also expect a micro SD card support like the Redmi note 7. Qualcomm had launched the 674 SoC last year and it has support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+ technology. Whether or not the company decides to have wireless charging enabled on the phone we will have to wait and see.
The phone launch is scheduled for sometime around the Chinese New Year next month and according to another tipster, it might cost CNY 1499.
Xiaomi has a notorious reputation for borrowing design and features from high-end flagship smartphones. Nevertheless, the company is slowly emerging as a leader in technological innovations. Earlier this month a unique Xiaomi smartphone with a three-fold display was leaked online. Xiaomi’s Chief executive has shared a video on a Chinese social media platform that boasts a smartphone with a large in-screen fingerprint scanner.
Xiaomi Smartphone With Large In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
Lin Bin, the co-founder and president of Xiaomi shared a video of a smartphone with a massive in-display fingerprint sensor. The demo handset with a wide notch looks reminiscent to the Poco F1 and the Mi 8. The fingerprint scanner on the unidentified Mi smartphone is much larger in comparison to devices like the OnePlus 6T and Mi Mix 3 which have a similar feature. The user in the video first demonstrates the fingerprint setup process followed by unlocking the device by touching a different area on the screen.
Notably, the fingerprint sensor appears to be very fast and accurate. The user even unlocks the smartphone without looking at the screen. This shows that Xiaomi has achieved a praiseworthy technological feat. The company representative also revealed that the unlocking area on the demo device measures 50 mm by 25 mm. According to the source, the unlockable surface area on the demo device is five times more than current UD scanners and fifteen times more than a standard rear mounted scanner.
Unfortunately, Xiaomi has not revealed any details about the launch date of such a device. However, Xiaomi is a company that does not hold back technology for a long time, therefore, the company can surprise everyone by soon launching a smartphone with a large in-display fingerprint sensor.
Samsung has scheduled the Galaxy Unpacked 2019 event on February 20 where the company will unveil the Galaxy S10 lineup and the foldable phone. The company is expected to launch four variants of the Galaxy S10 which includes the Galaxy S10 Lite, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10 X. The Galaxy S10+ featuring the Snapdragon 855 chipset has been spotted on Geekbench which reveals its key specifications.
Galaxy S10+ Geekbench Score
The benchmark score of the Galaxy S10+ was first uploaded on January 16 on Geekbench’s website. The device carries the model number ‘SM-G975U’ and the chipset is listed as msmnile. The device registers a single-core score of 3413 points and a multi-core score of 10256 points.
The scores registered by the Galaxy S10+ are very similar to that of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. The Galaxy S10+ features the Snapdragon 855 SoC which is made using 7 nm manufacturing technology. Also, the Kirin 980 chipset on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is made using 7 nm manufacturing technology. Hence the two devices have similar benchmark scores. Huawei Mate 20 Pro
The Galaxy S10+ in the Geekbench listing has 6 GB of RAM however Samsung is expected to launch higher RAM capacity variants of the smartphone. According to the listing, the Snapdragon 855 on the handset has a base frequency of 1.80 GHz. Other specifications of the smartphone including screen size, camera resolution are unavailable as of now but we won’t have to wait for long as the launch date of the device is approaching fast.
The Galaxy S10+ along with the other members of the Galaxy S10 family is set to launch on 20 February 2019 in an event that will be simultaneously held in London and San Francisco.
Apple was riding the wave of becoming a trillion dollar company, but in the field of tech nothing is certain. Each company has good days and bad days. In a recent report by a reputed news website, Apple has been reported to be planning to cut back on hiring new employees. This indicates that the company may be entering a period of financial problems soon.
Possible Reasons
Apple’s CEO recently sent out a revised revenue forecast in the light of major issues and challenges that the company is facing. One of the biggest issues is that of iPhone sales in China. China’s economy began to slow down in the second half of 2018. The ban of sales of older iPhones due to a dispute with Qualcomm over patents also played a part. The strong US dollar and the US – China trade tensions didn’t help either. Apple has faced a backlash in emerging and price sensitive markets as well. Chinese manufacturers have taken these markets by storm with their low priced higher spec’d phones.
Batterygatealso harmed the company quite badly. They had to provide replacement batteries to consumers at a lower than expected price. This led to a lot of consumers jumping on the opportunity and getting their batteries changed at just $29 instead of buying new phones. According to the news website, the slump in hiring forecast was made by the CEO of the company in a meeting held a day after the Letter to investors was published.
That being said, it is not unusual for companies to hire lesser number of people. And it definitely isn’t as bad as not hiring any new employees or laying off the ones who work in a company. It might just be a small dent in Apple’s trajectory and may not be a horrible financial problem as most news websites are making it out to be.
Android as an operating system was developed with safety and security in mind. Over the years, operations within the OS have become very complex, the protection of sensitive user data has become a top priority. Late last year, Google announced a major update to boost security on apps available on the Play Store. The company found that certain types of applications do not need access to user data to function properly. Therefore, the company asked application developers to update respective applications to comply with new Play Store policies.
New Call Log/SMS Permission Policy
The new Google Play Store policy is designed to ensure that an application that has access to Call Log/SMS is manually approved by the device administrator. The company granted a 90-day window to the developers to either update their apps as per the new policy or submit a permissions declaration.
Developers that fail to choose either option will result in removal of their application from the Play Store. Google has, however, provided an option even for the developers who fail to do so. Even after the removal from the play store, the developer has the following options available:
submit a new version of the application with these permissions.
submit a new version of your app that retains the permissions. Doing so will require you to complete a permissions declaration form inside the Play Console (coming soon) and will give developers an extension until March 9th to remove the permissions or receive approval for their use case.
Apparently, Google has taken this step to improve the user’s confidence in the security of Android OS. The users will be able to manually select applications that have access to their sensitive data in the form of Call logs and SMS.
Korean Electronics Giant, Samsung is preparing for the launch of M-Seriessmartphones that is targetted towards young millennials. A latest leak indicates that the company will also launch the Galaxy A50 shortly. The Galaxy A50 was spotted on Geekbench which reveals that the device will pack impressive specifications.
Samsung Galaxy A50 Geekbench
The Geekbench score of the Galaxy A50 was first uploaded on January 15 and it gets a single-core score of 1700 points and a multi-core score of 5078 points. The smartphone is listed as model number ‘SM-A505GN’ on Geekbench’s website and going by name scheming on past devices, it will be called the Samsung Galaxy A50.
According to the benchmark result, the smartphone runs on the latest Android 9 Pie which will likely be skinned with Samsung’s One UI. The handset is kitted with the Exynos 9610 SoC. Samsung’s website reveals that the chipset is manufactured using 10 nm FinFET technology and consists of an Octa-Core + G72 MP3 GPU.
The Octa-Core CPU in the Exynos 9610 is comprised of two clusters of four cores. For power saving and long battery life, it has Quad Cortex A-53 cores that have a maximum clock speed of 1.7 GHz. While the quad Cortex A73 cores have a turbo clock speed of 2.3 GHz which will be used for running resource-intensive applications.
In terms of RAM, the Samsung Galaxy A50 has 6 GB of RAM and a 4 GB variant of the device has also leaked the past. Samsung’s website again reveals that the SoC has LPDDR4x type of RAM which is very fast. Other specifications like the display size, battery capacity and camera resolution are currently unavailable but it might have the following specs.
Specs & Features
According to rumours, the Samsung Galaxy A50 will be powered by a large 4,000 mAh battery with the support for wireless charging. The device is also rumoured to have a 24 MP rear camera and in-display fingerprint sensor.
Launch Date
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Samsung yet to confirm the official launch date of the Galaxy A50 but the increasing number of leaks indicate that it will launch soon. The company might unveil it alongside the M-Series which is set to launch on 28 January in India or at the MWC 2019.
Apple might have had a patchy 2018 due to several reasons(1) but the company is working rigorously to bounce back with 2019 iPhone models. Several leaks and rumours of the upcoming flagship iPhone allegedly called the iPhone XI has already surfaced online. A fresh render shared by a famous leaker exposes an all-new design of the highly anticipated device.
iPhone XI Prototype Renders
The latest renders of the alleged iPhone XI were shared by the leakster OnLeaks who had previously another render set of the device. The source has shared several renders of the device that provides ample details about its design. The front of the iPhone XI is identical to the iPhone XS and XS Max. Notably, the bezels and the notch on the device are thinner in comparison to its predecessors.
The right side of the iPhone XI seems to house the power button while the volume rocker and mute switch are placed on the left. The new device has curved edges which are reminiscent to the current iPhone models. The rear of the device gets a completely new design. The rear of the device is made out of glass flaunts the Apple logo and a horizontally placed camera setup.
According to the source, the rear camera setup on the iPhone XI consists of triple sensors which include dual telephoto lenses and a TOF (Time Of Flight) sensor. In addition to the three camera sensors, the rear camera setup includes a LED Flash and a microphone pinhole.
The leakster claims that the shared prototypes are 100% legit and the 2019 iPhones in a very early production process. Prominently, the upcoming devices are in the EVT (Engineering Validation Test) stage. Therefore the company might make some changes to the device. Except for the iPhone XI, Apple is reportedly also working on a large screen iPhone XI Max and the iPhone XR‘s successor.
Last year Apple apologized to customers for purposely slowing older iPhones via a software update. Angry iPhone users accused Apple of deliberately slowing down older iPhones that would force them to upgrade to a new device. However, the company later explained it was done in an effort to prolong the battery life of ageing devices. To make peace with anguished users, Apple offered battery replacement for the affected devices at highly discounted prices.
Before the battery replacement program, it would cost US $ 79 to replace the battery on an iPhone 6 or later which was later brought down to US $ 29. A notable Apple blogger, John Gruber in a post reported that during the battery replacement program Apple swapped batteries on 11 million iPhones which are several folds compared to 1-2 million in previous years. However, Apple is yet to confirm the actual figures. The replacement program was kicked off in December 2017 and it concluded on 31 December 2018.
Also Read:Samsung S10 Launch Billboards Suggest Galaxy Fold Will Launch In February
Battery replacement on affected devices prior to the program would cost Rs 6,500 in India which later came down to only Rs 1995. This exchange program has hugely affected the revenue forecast for Apple. Analysts originally forecasted revenue of $ 91 Billion which fell sharply to $ 84 Billion for the first fiscal quarter of 2019.
Xiaomi launched the Mi Laser Projector in the first half of 2017 which was warmly welcomed. Reportedly it raked in sales worth CNY 10 Million in just 2 hours after it first went on sale. The Mi Laser projector was able to project images and videos of 1080p resolution. Mijia, a subsidiary of Xiaomi has launched 4K Projector with the same design. Despite the image resolution bump from 1080p to 4K, the new projector has the same price as the Mi Laser Projector.
Features
The Mijia Laser Projector 4K has the same design as the original Mi Laser Projector but the new model is available in dark grey colour whereas its predecessor was available in white. It has a 0.233:1 large depth of field and has an ultra-short focal lens design. The device has a compact footprint and can rest on top of a TV cabinet and the wall can be utilised as a projectable area.
The Mijia Laser Projector 4K can produce a projection of maximum 150-inch. To project an image of this size, it needs to be placed 49 cm away from the projection area. It can also produce smaller size projections for which the projection area distance can be further reduced. The distance for different screen sizes is as follows:
120-inch- 34 cm
100-inch- 24 cm
80-inch- 14 cm
Most notably, the lens on the projector does not require manual adjustment as it can self adjust depending on screen size selection. According to the company, the lamp on the Mijia 4K projector has an illumination life span of 25,000 hours. For reference, the lamp can be used for 17 years if it is used for 4 hours every day during that span. The projector can reach a maximum brightness level of 1500 lumens when projecting a 150-inch screen. It diffuses the light in such a manner that the screen has a low effect on the viewer’s eye.
The Xiaomi Mijia Laser Projector 4K also has built-in speakers, one USB port, three HDMI ports, sockets for audio and RJ45 connector for internet connectivity. It runs on the same OS as MI smart TVs and is shipped with a wireless remote for controlling different functions.
The Mijia Laser Projector 4K will go on its first sale on 18 January at a price of CNY 14,999 (around Rs 1,57,600). But the company has also announced a presale where the device will be available for only CNY 999(around Rs 1,05,000).
Apple first launched the iPod Touch in the year 2007 along with the first-gen iPhone. Essentially, the iPod Touch is an iPhone without phone call capabilities and a low-resolution camera. The company has periodically updated the iPod Touch with the latest models of the iPhones. The current 6th generation device was launched in the year 2016 alongside the iPhone 6.
Rumours in the past claimed that Apple will phase out the iPod Touch but a latest report suggests otherwise. Several suppliers at CES 2019 reportedly told a Japanese site, Mac Otakara that a 7th Generation iPod Touch might be in development. It is possible that the suppliers were restrained to reveal confidential information of the unlaunched product. In the year 2017, Apple officially killed the two other available iPods, the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. Therefore, to keep the rich heritage of the revolutionary iPod alive, Apple might launch a 7th-Generation iPod Touch.
iPod 7th-Gen Expectations
Even though Apple suppliers did not provide any information about the specs and features of the 7th-Generation iPod Touch, consumers would surely appreciate the following features on a future device
Larger Display & Battery
The current iPod Touch sports a 4-inch retina display and a 1043 mAh battery. The battery capacity on the current iPod surely seems small but the highly-optimised iOS allows the device to provide decent battery backup. A larger 5.8 inch display like the iPhone X and XS would surely be appreciated. In terms of battery, anything upwards of the current 1043 mAh battery capacity would be a nice addition.
Faster Chipset
The iPod Touch 6th Generation packs the Apple A8 chipset and since 2016 Apple has launched several iPhones with faster SoC’s. Therefore the iPod Touch 7th gen can have the faster A10 or A12 chipset.
Notch Display & FaceID
First seen on the iPhone X, the notch display created a lot of buzz in the industry. However, it has become a common sighting even on Android smartphones. With the iPhone X, Apple did away with a fingerprint sensor and introduced the revolutionary FaceID which again has become very popular. Hence, iPod Touch 7th-generation can adopt both these features from its elder siblings.
USB Type-C Connector
The current iPod has the lightning connector at the bottom for charging and data transfer. While Apple launched the iPad Pro with a USB Type-C port and reports claim future iPhones will have this type of connector. It is highly likely that the expected iPod Touch 7G also gets this type of port.
Whether these features make it to the final device or not is yet unknown. However, the device will surely attract attention.
The massively popular Redmi Note series saw another phone being added to the lineup recently. The Redmi Note 7is a budget phone that was launched with a massive 48 Megapixel camera. The company had their first flash sale today and like other Redmi Note phones, it sold out in just a few minutes!
The company in fact sold 100,000 devices in just 8 minutes 36 seconds. This was reported by a senior Xiaomi executive on a popular Chinese social media platform. The company also said that they wish to sell 1 million Redmi Note 7s by the end of January.
Features And Specifications
The phone features mostly budget smartphone specifications but the main attraction is the 48 MP main camera along with a 5 MP, f/2.4, depth sensor lens. The camera also 1080p at 30/60 and 120fps. It features a Snapdragon 660 chipset along with an Adreno 512 GPU. The phone’s screen is a 6.3 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen. It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Another great feature is that the phone’s memory is expandable. It supports microSD card up to 256 GB which takes up the SIM slot 2.
The Redmi Note 7 comes in different options. This includes a 64 GB storage, 4 or 6 GB RAM variant as well as a 32 GB storage 3 GB RAM variant. While the product hasn’t come to India yet, we are expecting it to drop sometime in February but for now, the Chinese price for the phone is set to CNY999 for the cheapest option.
Downside Of Flash Sales
Flash sales allow a company to have limited stock and clear stocks easily and swiftly. Inventory management and storage makes a large part of the cost incurred by phone manufacturers and flash sales help in negating that. However, flash sales have a downside as well. Many have criticised flash sales because it creates a market for bootlegging and grey marketing. Many of these high demand products are bought in bulk by sellers during these flash sales and sold on different websites on a higher mark- up. This has been a growing trend at the moment and is especially prevalent with Xiaomi’s phones. We sincerely hope that the companies do their best to stop this from happening and keeping a constant check on the online websites to flag them and ban the users from further selling or purchasing of goods.
Xiaomi has a vast array of products from home electronics, smart home, kitchen appliances, smartphones, televisions, computer appliances – almost everything imaginable. Xiaomi also has had launched projectors in the past, one of which had also won Japan’s 2017 Good Design Award! Now, the company has launched a small portable projector called the Mi Home Projector Lite that can be a perfect fit if you are a movie buff or like to consume your entertainment larger than life. This will be the company’s second projector after the Mi Laser Projector 150 which was released in early 2017.
Specifications
The projector is a compact long-throw projector which is perfect for smaller houses with relatively smaller rooms. However, the small size does not mean that it is less powerful. The projector can project 1080p images between 40 and 200 inches in size with a native aspect ratio of 1.2:1. It also features 500 ANSI LED lamp that has a life of 30,000 hours. The projector supports HDR10 which is great for viewing quality videos.
The projector also features a built-in speaker, along with Dolby Atmos and DTS support which are all handy features to have. But the most impressive feature is it’s built-in Mi TV functionality along with voice control. The projector supports different kinds of wired input connections and has HDMI, USB and aux inputs. It is quite understandable from the name of the product that Xiaomi is aiming to sell these projectors for homes and not necessarily for workplaces.
The projector however will be only available only in White colour and will be sold in China for the moment. It will be amazing to see this sold in India, but there is no news of that yet. The projector is currently up for crowdfunding and will be available for CNY2199 ($320) which will later increase to CNY2499 ($364).
The clear advantage of using an outward folding display on a Smartphone is its ease of production. The outward folding display allows for a much higher turn radius than an inward folding display thus being the first choice out of the two options. 
