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Huawei Honor 6X And Honor 8 Pro Available On Discount On Amazon

Huawei sub-brand Honor has recently launched the Honor 7X in India. While the 18:9 aspect ratio and dual cameras on the back at such a price point are a great proposition, the Honor 6X is still a solid phone, and it is now available at a discount. The Honor 8 Pro is also on discount right now. The Honor 6X, which is usually priced at Rs. 11999 for the 32GB variant and 13999 for the 64Gb variant and the Honor 8 Pro is priced at Rs. 29,999. After the discount, the Honor 6X will be priced at Rs 9999 and 11999 respectively while the Honor 8 Pro will be available for Rs. 25999 after a Rs 4000 discount.

Honor 6X

Huawei’s sub-brand Honor’s budget offering, the Honor 6X is a budget-friendly smartphone in the sub-15K category and offers a dual-camera set up as well. It features a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display along with the Kirin 655 chipset and an octa-core processor. It sports a 12Mp + 2MP dual camera setup at the back and an 8MP front-facing camera.

Honor 8 Pro

Competitively priced, great performance, big battery, and a dual-camera setup, the Honor 8 Pro was launched as a competitor of the OnePlus 5. The Honor 8 Pro has 5.7 inch 2560 x 1440 px display which is ideal for media consumption via VR. The Honor 8 Pro has 128 GB of storage along with 6GB of RAM. The Honor 8 Pro runs on the Kirin 960 chipset which is an octa-core chip – four high-performance Cortex A73 cores clocked at 2.4GHz and four low-power Cortex A53 cores clocked at 1.8Ghz.

The phone also has a large 4000 mAh battery and fast charge capabilities, with long battery modes built into Honor’s user interface. The camera setup consists of two cameras, 12+12 MP shooters, where one is a monochrome camera while the other is RGB. The front camera is an 8 MP shooter with an f/2.0 aperture.

December 12, 2017
This iPhone X Clone Might Have One Thing That iPhone X Doesn’t

The Apple iPhone X was launched in September after months of anticipation and speculation. The iPhone X was a huge departure in terms of design from all the previous iPhones launched over the course of 10 years. While the design of the phone is extremely modern with thin bezels and a tall display, it has a notch on the top of the display which people love to hate.

iPhone X

However, as is with every iPhone, the iPhone X and its notch is well on its way to start the trend of notches on smartphone displays even though the Essential Ph-1 was launched way before and had a cyborg-like cutout on the display to house the front camera. A few days ago, we reported that the OPPO R13 phone might be the iPhone X clone you were looking for but, this new leak of a smartphone from LEAGOO might be the closest thing to an iPhone X yet. And, it has one thing that even the iPhone X doesn’t have.

The images reveal the design of what could be the LEAGOO S9. It is uncannily similar to the iPhone X and even has a fingerprint sensor placed on the back of the phone. While the bezels are thicker than the ones found on the iPhone X, the notch and the vertically placed dual camera resemble the iPhone X.

Unlike the OPPO R13, the LEAGOO S9 (tentatively named) has a fingerprint sensor, something which a lot of iPhone loyalists asked for from Apple. So, is this the ultimate iPhone X you were looking for? Let us know in the comments!

December 12, 2017
Fossil Misfit Vapor Smartwatch Launched In India At A Price Of Rs. 14995

Fossil Misfit has launched its smartwatch lineup called Vapor in India at a price of Rs. 14995. The smartwatch is available in three colour variants, Black, Blue, and Grey and is sold online via Flipkart exclusively.

The Misfit Vapor has a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with 326ppi and a 44m stainless steel case around it available in Jet Black or Rose Gold colour. A touch bezel allows users to browse Vapor’s menu of watchfaces and applications, and respond to notifications, without obscuring content on the display.

Under the hood, the Vapor smartwatch has the Qualcomm Wear 2100 chipset, 4GB of onboard storage and a battery that is supposed to last up to two days on a single charge.

People use smartwatches for various reasons, and tracking fitness is one of them. The Vapor smartwatch has an accelerometer, altimeter, gyroscope, optical heart rate sensor, and GPS to track your movement. It even has a microphone to give voice commands and invoke Google Assistant, since the watch runs Android Wear 2.0, it has Google Assistant built-in.

The Misfit Vapor is supposed to ‘swim proof’ and water resistant at up to 50 meters.

As far as compatibility with devices is concerned, you can connect it to an iOS device running iOS 9 and above and Android devices running Android 4.3 and above.

December 12, 2017
Face ID Rivals On Android “Stink”, Says Phil Schiller

Apple launched the iPhone X back in September with a number of changes in hardware and design from the previous generations. The most notable and talked-about change is the removal of the iconic home button and introduction of Face ID. While facial recognition and iris scanning has been prevalent in Android phones for years, Face ID brought mainstream attention to the facial recognition technology.

Ever since the iPhone X was launched, Huawei has come out and announced its take on Face ID and claimed that it’s much faster and more accurate than Apple’s Face ID technology. There have been rumours that Samsung is working hard on its iris scanning technology which will enable it to work even when it is too dark.

In an interview with Dutch outlet Bright, Apple’s Marketing Guru Phil Schiller has strong opinions about the Android rivals to Face ID. “They all stink,” he said.

They don’t work in all the ways we need Face ID to work. We’re very aware that through the years the simple thing, this Home button, that started as the way you click to get to the Home screen, grew into doing so many things for us. We added Touch ID, it took you to the multitasking screen, paged Siri, activated Apple Pay. All through this one mechanical button.

So for Face ID we needed the best way we know of to enable us to easily unlock our device with our face, in a protected way with the Secure Enclave, and support all these other things. We had to solve all of that. Other things that people have tried with face haven’t been anything like that. Face ID is a very unique implementation.

Face ID has been compared to OnePlus’s facial recognition technology on the OnePlus 5T even though OnePlus has conceded that its facial recognition is more for convenience than security.

Face ID has also come across a few stumbling blocks. Recently, it was cracked by an elaborate experiment with some expensive gadgets and a lot of time. With the bezels getting thinner and Apple investing so much in Face ID, it appears that Touch ID will slowly be phased out of remaining Apple devices, especially as FaceID becomes more convenient and more reliable.

December 12, 2017
This App Lets You Use iMessage On Android

There are plenty of instant messaging apps for both Android and iOS platforms like WhatsApp. However, iMessage is an instant messaging app which is for iOS devices only. A new app called weMessage however, lets Android users get the experience of iMessage as well.

In-app screenshots

weMessage is an app and server combination that was created by 16-year-old developer Roman Scott. He posted about the new messaging solution on Reddit, and it received a lot of attention:

My name is Roman, and I am a 16 year-old app developer. I have recently published my first app to the Play Store, called weMessage. weMessage is an app that allows you to use iMessage on your Android phones or tablets.

I created weMessage due to the inability of people on Android to use iMessage’s ecosystem. Although it is allows you to use iMessage on your Android device, I cannot close the gap between Android and Apple completely because weMessage is reliant on an Apple computer, which I will explain below.

weMessage is composed of two pieces of software: the Android app itself and a messaging server that I called the weServer. In order to use weMessage, you need to install the weServer on a Mac computer. The weServer acts as a “bridge” between the Mac computer and your Android device.

It is worth noting that cross-platform iMessaging solutions have been published on the internet before. The reality is that developers who have done this in the past have seen their solutions blocked by software updates from Apple. Until Apple takes the app down, you can download weMessage here. You can also log on to the weMessage website to learn more about the app and how to download and install the solution.

December 12, 2017
This Could Be The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3

In 2016, Xiaomi grabbed a lot of eyeballs with its then-futuristic tri bezel-less design of the Mi Mix. in 2017, it followed that up with a more polished and flagship phone worthy Mi Mix 2 and it appears that the Mi Mix 3 which will launch in 2018 might have a different design altogether. A new leak has revealed that unlike the previous two iterations, the new Mi Mix 3 will have rounded corners and a dual-camera setup.

In the image above, the most noticeable aspect of the back panel is the vertically placed dual-camera setup. Unsurprisingly, it looks uncannily similar to the iPhone X. The fingerprint sensor cutout appears to be at its normal spot and the ‘Mix Design’ text also reinstates that this could indeed be the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Mix 3.

Mi Mix 2

This is not the first time that Xiaomi will opt for vertically placed dual cameras as it was previously found on the Mi 5s Plus as well. However, the design implementation on the Mi 5s Plus was completely different from what we see in this leaked image.

Mi Mix

It is still early days for the Mi Mix 3 rumours and this image might as well be a prototype of the Mi Mix 3.

December 12, 2017
Apple Acquires Music Recognition App Shazam

Last week, it was reported that Apple was on the verge of acquiring of Shazam. On the 11th of December, Apple confirmed the acquisition of the popular music recognition app, Shazam. While neither of the concerned companies disclosed the value of the deal, a report by TechCrunch claims that the deal is worth US $400 million and that Snap and Spotify were potential buyers as well.

Acknowledging the acquisition, Apple said in a statement:

We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement.

Shazam, one of the most popular music recognition app was launched back in 1999. Since then, the company has claimed that the Shazam app has been downloaded over 1 billion times and its users have used the app to recognise songs over 30 billion times. Shazam released a statement as well, seemingly confirming that the standalone Shazam app will continue functioning:

Shazam is one of the highest-rated apps in the world and loved by hundreds of millions of users and we can’t imagine a better home for Shazam to enable us to continue innovating and delivering magic for our users.

Shazam was one of the first few services that took advantage of AI and offered it to a broader audience. As Apple prepares to invest big in AI and make its AI assistant, Siri smarter than the competition, this acquisition might go a long way in doing so.

Google Assistant, of all the AI assistant, might be the smartest in terms of music as of now, but, with Shazam onboard Siri can definitely compete and even come out on top in the battle of AI assistants. Even some analysts believe that Shazam could add significant value not only with its own service but also by making Siri smarter about music.

Music is an important part of Apple’s business, particularly as the company prepares to launch its HomePod smart speaker. Slated for a late-2017 launch, the smart speaker will now be launched in early 2018. Apple Music, Apple’s subscription-based music streaming service has roughly 30 million subscribers which is not even a half of what its direct rival Spotify has. Spotify has 60 million paying users as of July and 80 million more on its free service.

Apple HomePod

Analysts are saying that this acquisition is similar to one that Spotify made in 2014 when it purchased a music intelligence firm called The Echo Nest. The Echo Nest creates technology that generates music recommendations which is one of the most important features of Spotify.

Apple’s entry into AI and now the acquisition of Shazam means that Apple is willing to take on Spotify for the number one spot. As of now, the Shazam app redirects users to either Apple Music or Spotify to listen to the recognised song but, that might change in a bit and that might lead to a potential user acquisition.

December 12, 2017

Harman Kardon Launches Allure Speaker In India, With Alexa Voice Control

Harman International has announced the launch of its new smart speaker, the Harman Kardon Allure in India at a price of Rs. 22,490. The smart speaker will be available exclusively via to Amazon Prime members as of nowThe Alexa powered, Harman Kardon Allure can be controlled via voice commands, much like several other speakers in the market. i.e. Google Home, Amazon Echo etc.

The smart speaker lets you order pizza, play music, read the news, control your smart home appliances, make purchases from Amazon, and much more. Harman Kardon Allure features far-field voice technology which allows the speaker to hear commands even from a far distance. The speaker’s 360-degree ambient lighting that glows in tune with the music is a nifty little feature as well.

The Harman Kardon Allure was first launched at IFA 2017 in August at a price of US $249.95 (Rs. 16,000 approx.) and the Indian variant has all the same features as the global variant of the smart speaker.

Amazon Alexa was officially launched in India in October. The service brings a lot of India-specific skills from sectors like Travel, Food, Sports & Entertainment updates, News and Education, and Home Services and much more.

Key Features of Harman Kardon Allure

Amazon Alexa Voice Control

Dual-band WiFi

Far-field Voice Recognition

Built-in four microphones with advanced noise cancellation

360-degree sound

Ambient lighting

Bluetooth 4.2

December 11, 2017

First Ever Mobile Food-Testing Lab Launched in India

Goa chief minister Mr Manohar Parrikar launched the country’s first ever mobile food testing laboratory. The vehicle, worth Rs 41 lakh was unveiled in Goa in the presence of the Goa Food and Drugs Administration minister Vishwajit Rane. Mr Parrikar said:

It is entirely funded by the Centre, which will also bear the maintenance cost for five years.

The laboratory, mounted on a bus will travel across the state and check food samples on the spot. Mr Parrikar said this would be the first ever ‘Food Safety on Wheel’ vehicle in the country. The laboratory will help in the on-the-spot testing of food items and curb adulteration. He continued:

Besides this, it will also educate people about nutrition and importance of safe food. The mobile lab will do away with the need to get the food samples to the FDA laboratory near Panaji for tests. It will cut the delays. As the time would be reduced, action can be initiated immediately, if the food samples are found unsatisfactory.

The laboratory, even though mobile, doesn’t slim out on the technology that it needs to function daily. The van comes fully equipped with gadgets such as a milk analyser, hot air oven, hot plate, mixer grinder, digital weighing scale, power generator, air conditioner, and more. It will be used to conduct tests for common adulterants in milk, water, edible oils and other food items, and make it possible to draw on-the-spot samples and generate instant reports of the analysis.

This is the first ever mobile food testing laboratory in India, and it might prompt the rest of country to launch more of such labs in the country to try and curb the problem of adulterated food.

December 11, 2017
Samsung Galaxy S9 Iris Scanner Will Work In The Dark

The Samsung Galaxy S9 is expected to be a revision to the Popular Samsung Galaxy S8 which was launched in early 2017. We have seen several leaks so far, including one which mentions a record-breaking screen-to-body ratio. Samsung Galaxy S9 may be an incremental upgrade as far as design is concerned but, there might be a few monumental upgrades as far as hardware and software are concerned. A new report claims that Samsung will upgrade the iris scanner on Galaxy S9 to 3MP from the 2Mp scanner found on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note8.

An industry source familiar with the matter told the publication that the iris scanner in the Galaxy S9 will have an improved camera lens and functions to help it better recognise users’ eyes. This move, as much as it is an upgrade, can be attributed to the rise in popularity of Apple’s Face ID and Huawei’s unveiling of its own facial recognition technology.

The source said:

The iris lens will be improved to 3-megapixels from 2-megapixels of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 to capture clearer images. The scanner will better recognize users’ irises even when they wear eyeglasses, move their eyeballs or are in a too dark or too light environment.

Samsung is expected to introduce the iris scanning feature in its upcoming mid-range phones as well, such as the Galaxy A8+. A leak revealed that the Galaxy S8+ will have an infinity display, which was exclusive to Samsung’s flagship phones so far. Introduction of iris scanner in the Galaxy A series might not be far-fetched.

Samsung Galaxy S8+

“Iris scanner is the safest biometric authentication (among iris, fingerprint and face recognition) and we will continue to improve the system for upcoming smartphones for safer banking transactions,” a Samsung spokesperson told the publication, without making any reference to the Galaxy S9.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are expected to be launched at either MWC in February or at a separate event in March (similar to the Galaxy S8 and S8+).

December 11, 2017
OnePlus Is Giving Away 10,000 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Tickets
OnePlus burst on to the scene back in 2014 with “flagship killer” OnePlus One. Three years on, the Chinese company is preparing to launch the Star Wars limited edition OnePlus 5T in India on the 14th of December. To celebrate 3 years in India, OnePlus is giving away 10,000 tickets for the upcoming movie, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Vikas Aggarwal, General Manager at OnePlus India said:

The OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition is dedicated to the OnePlus and Star Wars fans in India. We are humbled by the phenomenal response to our smartphones this year that has made OnePlus the best selling smartphone in premium segment and has reinforced the trust that our fans have instilled in us.

The tickets will be given away for the following cities, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi. In order to win the tickets, one has to simply:
- Visit oneplusstore.in and register your OnePlus IMEI number (If you have registered your IMEI previously, you can skip this step). Choose your city and confirm the movie date and time (tickets are available for 16th and 17th December at select PVR and Cinemax theatres). Click ‘Get It’ button & your ticket coupon code will be generated (Depending on availability)
- Step 2: Once the ticket coupon code is generated, follow the link to the Paytm website, to select from the available shows and complete the checkout process
The Star Wars limited edition OnePlus 5T will be launched on the 14th of December at an event in Delhi. While the hardware specifications will remain the same, there will be a few unique changes in the limited edition phone such as a red colour alert slider and a white coloured back panel.

There is no word on the pricing of the limited edition variant so far and the rest of the details will be announced at the launch event.
December 11, 2017
Samsung Galaxy A8+ Specs Leaked

Samsung introduced the first infinity display in 2017 with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ and also used it with the Galaxy Note8. In 2018, it is expected that the infinity display feature will trickle down to Samsung’s mid-range smartphones as well, and the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A8+ appears to be one of them. A new video reveals what the Galaxy A8+ will look like and the user in the video also goes through the specifications of the phone.

In the video, the user goes through the camera app and clicks a sample photo. There is a dual-camera setup at the front of the phone, which is a first for a Samsung device. At the front is a 16MP+8MP camera setup, the 8MP camera will allow for live focus portrait shots similar to the Galaxy Note8.

According to the video, the Galaxy A8+ will have a 6-inch 2220 x 1080 px display. We can expect it to be a Super AMOLED display similar to the previous generation Galaxy A phones.

Under the hood, the device will have the Exynos 7885 SoC, an octa-core processor with two 2.2GHz high-performance cores and six 1.6GHz low power cores, 6GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which will be expandable via microSD card, presumably up top 256GB. The Galaxy A8+ will also have an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.

Powering the device will be a 3500 mAh battery which will charge via USB Type C which suggests that it will support fast charging.

Another major change in the design will be the fingerprint sensor placement. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note8, the fingerprint sensor on Galaxy A8+ is placed below the rear-mounted camera and it might hint at a major design change for the upcoming flagship ‘S’ and ‘Note’ lineup as well.

The back of the phone also houses a 16MP camera. Detailed specifications of the camera were not listed in the video.

The Samsung Galaxy A8+ is expected to be launched in January 2018 with the prices ranging from US $300 – US $350 (Rs. 21000 – Rs. 26000 in India)

You can watch the entire video here.

December 11, 2017
Xiaomi Mi A1 Receives Permanent Price Cut

Xiaomi launched the Mi A1 back in August at a price of Rs. 14999. Now, one of the best budget camera phones, the Mi A1 has received a permanent price cut of Rs. 1000 and will now retail for Rs. 13999.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 offers something different than the rest of the Xiaomi phones available in India or the global market. It has stock Android OS thanks to the Android One program which means that the Mi A1 will receive Android 8.0 Oreo and Android P updates faster than other OEM phones in the same price bracket. This gives the Mi A1 a slight advantage over its closest competitor, the Moto G5s Plus which also has similar specifications and price. The price cut may also be attributed to the competition from other smartphones such as the Honor 7X which also offers a dual-camera setup and is priced at Rs 12999.

Even though there has been no announcement for Android 8.0 Oreo update for the Xiaomi Mi A1, it is expected to be rolled out by the end of January 2018.

The smartphone has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px LTPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection along with an aluminium unibody build.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 8x ARM Cortex A53 2.0GHz 64-bit processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card. Handling the graphics under the hood is the Adreno 505 GPU. The pyrolytic graphite sheet will help in heat management as well, Xiaomi claims. The Xiaomi Mi A1 has an IR blaster to control appliances in your home or office. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device below the camera. Xiaomi has also included a dedicated headphone amplifier for better music listening experience.

Powering the device is a 3080 mAh battery and 2A charging through the Type C port.

Even though the phone has stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat, Xiaomi has retained a few apps, such as the Mi camera app since the Google Camera app doesn’t support dual-camera functions right now.

The smartphone features dual sensors at the back, a 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.2 aperture (26mm) and 12MP wide-angle lens with an f/2.6 aperture (50mm) setup with 1.25-micron pixel size. The telephoto lens allows the user to take bokeh effect shots with blurred background and a 2X optical lossless zoom. For landscape shots, Xiaomi has introduced a wide angle lens while on the front is a 5MP camera.

At a price of Rs. 13999, there is a lot going on for the Xiaomi Mi A1 and with the holidays coming up, this might be the ideal smartphone for you to upgrade to.

Watch our full review to know more-

December 11, 2017
Samsung Galaxy S9 To Launch With The Same Display As The S8 In A Smaller Size Shell

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the most successful smartphone of 2017. Rumours and leaks pertaining to the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S9 and its bigger sibling, the Galaxy S9+ have just started to pick up their pace. A new report from a Dutch outlet has revealed that the Samsung Galaxy S9 phones will have the same screen size as its predecessors but, in a smaller body.

This report corroborates a previous leak that suggested that the upcoming Galaxy S9 devices will have a whopping 90% screen-to-body ratio. However, there have been rumours that the devices will sport a 21:9 aspect ratio display which, this new report quashes. It claims that the S9 and S9+ will have the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio with a smaller footprint.

This claim seems legitimate as the two new devices are expected to be an incremental upgrade over its predecessors rather than drastic new phones with a host of new things to offer. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are expected to have a 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch Super AMOLED displays, respectively.

It has been reported earlier that the upcoming flagship phones from Samsung might be unveiled at CES 2018. However, Samsung came out and said that it is ‘unlikely‘ to happen, which means that the S9 and S9+ may be unveiled either at MWC in February or at a separate event in March, just like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+.

December 11, 2017
Another Hint That Google Is Working On A Touch Enabled Google Home

A new job listing by Google spotted online suggests that the company is indeed working on a touchscreen Google Home. The job listing reads:

In this role, you’ll work on the next generation of Google Hardware to enable the best multi-touch user experience.

Google might be working on a multi-touch Google Home as a rival to Amazon’s Echo Show. Multi-touch gestures could also find their way to speakers like the next revision of the Home and Home Max.

Google has not had the best of times with its hardware this year. Back in October, its Google Home Mini speaker forced the company to permanently disable the touch sensor at the top of that device. That happened because of some bug, the Home Mini was recording everything around it even when no command was given. And while the decision to protect the customer privacy was the right one and to Google’s credit, it worked on the fix right away but, doing so crippled some of the Google Home Mini’s capabilities and appeal.

Even Google’s Pixel phones have received a lot of flak for its under-performing hardware. It will be interesting to see Google’s approach to its products from now on and the integration of AI and machine learning in it upcoming smart devices.

December 11, 2017

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Honor 6X

Honor 8 Pro