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Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 To Launch In India On October 10th

Xiaomi launched the second iteration of its 2016 bezel-less flagship, the Mi Mix 2 globally on 11th September. Now, country head of Xiaomi India, Manu Jain took to twitter to announce that the Mi Mix 2 will be launched in India on October 10th. The Mi Mix 2 was launched in China at a starting price of CNY 3,299 (Rs. 32,000 approx.) The Mi Mix 2 will be the first of the Mix lineup to be launched in India.

The wait is over.. #MiMIX2 is coming to India! Come Oct 10 and hail the Mi MIX 2 #TheOriginalX ? @XiaomiIndia

RT if you are excited ? pic.twitter.com/ohsLuH9HkV

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) October 4, 2017

While the Mi Mix had a 6.4-inch display with a 17:9 aspect ratio, the new Mi Mix 2 has a 5.99 inch 2160 x 1080 px LCD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The Mi Mix 2 has a 12% reduced bottom bezel and a screen-to-body ratio of 80.8%. The device features a cantilever piezoelectric ceramic acoustic speaker and ultrasonic proximity sensor. The device is powered by a 3,400 mAh battery which is considerably smaller than the previous generation Mix’s 4,400 mAh battery. The Mi Mix 2 runs Android 7.1.1 with Xiaomi’s custom MIUI 9 on top. Under the hood, the flagship smartphone has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, Adreno 540 GPU, 6GB RAM and storage options of 64GB, 128GB or 256GB. A special edition Mi Mix 2 with a full ceramic body, 8GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage has also been announced. The onboard storage will not be expandable due to the absence of a microSD card slot. The fingerprint sensor is placed at the back of the device just below the camera.

On the optics front, the Mi Mix 2 has a very unlike-2017 flagship single camera setup at the back. The smartphone sports a 12-megapixel Sony IMX386 sensor with 1.25-micron pixels, an f/2.0 aperture 4-axis optical image stabilisation, 5-piece lens, and facial recognition. On the front is a 5MP which features facial recognition as well.

As far as pricing is concerned, the 6GB RAM/64GB storage variant is priced at CNY 3,299 (Rs. 32,000 approx.). The 6GB RAM/128GB variant will cost CNY 3,599 (Rs. 35,300 approx.) and the 6GB/256GB variant will be priced at CNY 3,999 (Rs. 39,200 approx.) The special edition full ceramic body variant with 8GB RAM/128GB storage is priced at CNY 4,699 (Rs. 46,000 approx.). There is no word on the price of the Mi Mix 2 in India.

October 4, 2017
Honor 9 To Be Launched In India On October 5th

Huawei’s sub-brand Honor is expected to launch the Honor 9 in India on October 5th. The company revealed the launch plans while replying to someone on Twitter. Flipkart also announced that the phone will be a Flipkart exclusive device however, it didn’t confirm the name of the smartphone.

The Honor 9 has a 5.1 inch 1920 x 1080 px display. Powering the device is a 3200 mAh battery and runs Android 7.1 Nougat with Honor’s custom EMUI 5.1 on top. Under the hood, the Honor 9 has the HiSilicon Kirin 960, an octa-core processor, Mali-G71 MP8. The smartphone was launched in three variants – 4GB RAM/64GB onboard storage, 6GB RAM/64GB onboard storage and 6GB RAM/128GB storage. The fingerprint sensor is housed inside the home button just below the display.

On the optics front, the camera has a dual-camera setup at the back. The primary 20MP camera has a monochrome sensor and the secondary 12MP has an RGB sensor equipped with 2X lossless zoom. The lossless zoom allows users to click bokeh effect images. On the front is an 8MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

In China, the phone was launched for 2299 Yuan (Rs 23000 approx.) for the 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant. It is not yet clear as to which variant will be launched in India and what the price will be when it is launched.

October 4, 2017
Google Launch Event Is Less Than 10 Hours Away – What To Expect

The 4th October launch event by Google is just a few hours away and the anticipation is increasing with every passing minute. Apart from the new Pixel devices, there are a few other products that might be unveiled by Google today.

Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

The two new smartphones have been leaked for a while now and a lot of information about the phones is more or less clear. The Pixel 2 is expected to have similar thick bezels as the Pixel from 2016. The Pixel 2 XL will have a more 2017 flagship design with thin bezels and the recent leaks reveal a design very similar to the LG G6, which is possible considering LG is making the Pixel 2 XL for Google this time around. There is also an omission of the 3.5mm headphone jack and addition of front firing stereo speakers.

You may also like – Everything we know about the new Pixel smartphones.

Google Home Mini

This has been rumoured as well ever since the Amazon Echo Dot released. The smaller sibling of the Google Home will compete with Amazon Echo Dot and will be powered by the Google Assistant. The smart speaker will be available in Chalk, Charcoal, and Coral colours. The Home Mini will be priced at US$49 (Rs 3200 approx.).

New Daydream VR

The Daydream VR headset will be the second iteration of the wearable product by Google. Just like the Pixebook, no specific details have been revealed by the website. The colour variants, however, have been revealed and the Daydream VR will be available in Charcoal, Fog, and Coral colours. Just like the previous generation, a remote controller can be seen alongside the new generation VR headset in leaked images. The new wearable will reportedly cost US$99 (Rs. 6,400 approx.).

Pixelbook

The Google Pixelbook succeeds last year’s Chromebook Pixel. The laptop will be another high-end offering by Google and will be the first iteration that can be folded into a tablet. the Pixelbook will be accompanied by a pressure-sensitive stylus called the Pixebook Pen. No other details about the laptop have been revealed other than the storage variants and their prices. The 128GB base variant will be priced at US$1199 (Rs. 77,200 approx.), while the 256GB and 512GB variants are expected to be priced at US$1399 (Rs. 90,000 approx.), and US$1749 (Rs. 1.12 lakhs approx.) respectively.

You may also like – Google Assistant Might Be Heading To Chromebooks

October 4, 2017
Top Tech Under Rs 500

A new month means a new addition to our top tech series. We bring you top ten tech and accessories under Rs 500 for a budget shopping spree this festive season!

Portronics Phoni Retro Handset

The Portronics Phoni is a cool accessory to replace your traditional earphones with something more retro. The handset has a nice matte finish and a grey colour that screams old school. The inline button to end or receive calls is a nice addition and the coiled cable just adds to the whole “landline” look.

Philips ActionFit Earphones

The Philips ActionFit Earphones are an adequate replacement to the default earphones you get with your smartphone. The earphones get really loud and even at the highest volume, the sound doesn’t shriek or get tinny, which happens with a lot of earphones in the price point however, there is no inline mic for calls. There is an included carrying pouch which is a nice touch by Philips.

Kodak Power Bank

This red coloured small power bank can come in handy when your phone is at 2% and you still have a long commute left. The capacity is only 2500 mAh and that makes it possible for the power bank to be compact. The main purpose of this power bank isn’t to power your device during a long hike but, to charge it during these small commutes or when a meeting gets extended and you need to keep the battery percentage in your phone intact.

Live Technology USB Hub

The LT USB hub has 4 USB 2.0 hubs that work simultaneously. The hub is well built and is very compact. It serves its purpose well and at the price point of under Rs 500, you really can’t go wrong with this one.

Taslar cable Winder

If you hate the sight of cables dangling about on your desk, then these cable winders are an easy solution which won’t break the bank. Three wires can be organised with one winders and it retails in a pair. Simply attach it to the back of your desk or wherever your plug points are, put the cables through it and have an organised desk.

Portronics USB Speaker

If you’re on the hunt for a speaker which is better than what you get on your laptop but, won’t cost a lot as well then these USB speaker is a safe bet. The speaker gets adequately loud and the inline volume scroller controls the volume of the speaker instead of the source it’s connected to. Unlike a lot of speakers in the price, the sound reproduction isn’t tinny and the sound stage is balanced instead of being heavy bass, which a lot of times results in shaky sound.

iVoltaa Smart Car Charger

The iVoltaa car charger has two USB ports to charge your devices. The charger automatically adjusts the voltage received from the vehicle so that your connected device always charges at a constant rate.

MoArmouz AUX cable

The company claims that this 3.5mm AUX cable can take up to 10000 bends. The cable is tangle free and the 3.5mm pins are gold plated which results in better sound reproduction.

Aeoss Waterproof Sport Armband

If you work out with your headphones on, you need to carry your phone with you. Running or jogging with a phone flailing about in your pocket can be annoying and that is where this armband comes in. It is waterproof to keep your phone safe from sweat or rain. The armband is light and spacious enough to keep two phones together. The bright colours make it useful for people who like outdoor running in the dark.

Photron Universal Travel Charger

If you travel abroad a lot and struggle with the different output pins, the this one stop solution is ideal for you. The Photron Travel Charger has three detachable compartments for you to choose from and and they all attach back to form a small adaptor that is easy to carry and can be thrown into the luggage without worrying about breaking it.

October 4, 2017
Top Smartphone Deals On Amazon Great Indian Festival

Amazon India is back with it Great Indian Festival sale as we approach the festive season. Here are the top deals for smartphones for the budget shopper in you.

Nokia 6

The Nokia 6 has a 5.5 inch display with a Full HD 1920 x 1080 px resolution. The phone has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. The rear camera on the Nokia 6 is a 16 MP shooter with dual tone LED flash, whereas, the front camera has an 8 MP sensor with auto-focus and a wide-angle lens. Under the hood is the Qualcomm Snapdragon Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset, 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage.

Lenovo K8 Note

he Lenovo K8 Note features a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display with a pixel density of 441ppi and a Corning Gorilla Glass with oleophobic coating for scratch and smudge resistance. The K8 Note is also splash resistant due to its P2i coating, although the resistance might decrease with time due to wear and tear of the nano coating. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device under the cameras. The Lenovo K8 Note comes in two colours – Venom Black and Fine Gold. The smartphone the MediaTek MT 6797D Helio X23 a Tri-cluster, 64-bit chipset with a 2.3 GHz high-performing deca-core processor and the Mali T-880 MP4 GPU, 4GB RAM and 64GB expandable onboard storage.

Xiaomi Redmi 4

The Xiaomi Redmi 4 has a 5-inch 1280 x 720 px LCD display and a 4100 mAh battery. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset, and 2GB RAM/16GB storage or 3GB RAM/32GB storage variants. On the optics front, the device has a rear facing 13-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture, PDAF, and LED flash. On the front is a 5MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture.

LG Q6

The LG Q6 was recently launched in India for a price of Rs 14,990. It sports a 5.5 inch 2160 x 1080 px IPS LCD display. The device is powered by a 3,000mAh non-removable battery and runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat with LG’s custom skin on top of it. The LG Q6 packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 chipset with a 1.4GHz octa-core processor and Adreno 505 GPU along with 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card up to 2TB. It features a single 13MP rear-facing camera with a single LED flash and on the front is a wide-angle 5MP sensor.

Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime

A budget offering from Samsung, the Galaxy J7 Prime has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display. Under the hood, the device has the Exynos 7870 chipset, 3GB RAM and 16GB onboard storage which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card. The rear-facing 13Mp camera has an f/1.9 aperture and on the front is an 8MP camera with an f/1.9 aperture. The phone is available in two colours – Black and Gold.

Moto G5S Plus

The G5S Plus has a 5.5 inch 1920 x 1080 px display. The fingerprint sensor sits below the display and can double up as a single-navigation button as well and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The highlight of the device is the 13MP dual-camera setup with an f/2.0 aperture. The dual camera captures Bokeh, and selective focus shots, along with other capabilities of background replacement and exposure management. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with 2.0 GHz octa-core CPU and 650 MHz Adreno 506 GPU, 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card.

October 4, 2017
Top Tech Lightning Deals On Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale Right Now

As the Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale begins, here are the top tech lightning deals that are on right now. The time frame in which the deals will be active in will vary.

Seagate Backup 4TB Hard drive

This Seagate 4TB storage hard drive is ideal for people who hate deleting their old data and like to carry it with them wherever they go. The hard drive has USB 3.0 transfer speeds and is backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports at USB 2.0 transfer speeds. The hard drive comes with 3 years of warranty as well. It retails at a price of Rs 22,199 but, during the sale, it will be available for a price of Rs 9,498.

SoundBot Bluetooth Speaker

The Soundbot Bluetooth Speaker has 40mm premium drivers for both active outdoor and indoor use. The speaker comes equipped with Bluetooth 3.0 and has a 3.5mm AUX output as well. The speaker is shipped with 1 year of manufacturer’s warranty as well. The average battery life of the Soundbot Bluetooth Speaker is 10 hours.

JBL GO Speaker

The JBL GO Bluetooth Speaker is a great budget bluetooth speaker. It is available in 8 colours for you to choose from. At 132 g, it is extremely light and portable. It has a 3.5mm jack to connect your device via an AUX cable and charges through a micro-USB port. It has a built-in microphone to receive calls as well. The JBL GO speaker usually retails for Rs 3,490 but is available for a price of Rs 1,899 right now.

WD Elements 2TB Hard Drive

This WD hard drive is light, portable and gives you an extra 2TB of storage in case you run out of the onboard storage on your desktop or laptop. This hard drive also has USB 3.0 transfer speeds and a 2-year warranty.

Bose Quiet Comfort 25

The premium noise canceling headphones by Bose are critically acclaimed and available at a great price right now. The wire can be detached for easy carrying and the case for the headphones make it easier to carry the over-the-ear headphones around. The Bose Quiet Comfort retail for around 25000 but, right now are available for a price of Rs 15,100 on Amazon!

1More Piston Earphones

The 1iMore earphones are sturdy, look premium for a price of Rs 999 and have tangle-resistant cables. The sound is bass-heavy and the fit comfortably in the ears. If you are looking for a budget-friendly pair of earphones which offer a bass-heavy sound, the 1More earphones are worth a shot.

October 4, 2017
Lenovo Yoga 720 Review

Lenovo Yoga 720 as an ultra portable offers good specs and features, for a light and compact form factor, with a little to be required from Graphics and Display.

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Watch our Unboxing:

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October 3, 2017
Honor Holly 4 Launched In India

Honor has launched the Holly 4 in India and is targeted at the offline consumer market.

The Holly 4 has a 5 inch 1280 x 720 px display. Powering the device is a 3020 mAh battery and it runs Android 7.1 Nougat with Honor’s custom EMUI 5.1 on top. Under the hood, the device has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset, 1.4GHz octa-core processor, 3GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage. The onboard storage can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card. The fingerprint sensor sits at the back of the device just below the camera and flash. At the front of the device, there are no buttons, meaning the phone will have onscreen navigation buttons.

In terms of optics, the smartphone has a rear-facing 13MP camera with dual-LED flash and PDAF. The front of the device houses a 5MP camera.

The Holly 4 is priced at Rs 11999 in India and will be available offline only in three colour variants – Black, Gold and Silver. Honor has launched the device in the festive season to give consumers another option in the budget smartphone category. If the recent Amazon and Flipkart sales are anything to go by, it is certain that Indians like buying smartphones during the festive season. P Sanjeev, Vice President – Sales, Huawei Consumer Business Group India, commented on the launch:

Holly 4 is part of our festive offering to consumers wanting to buy a great device in a budget. Sporting a sleek, elegant metallic design with a fast fingerprint sensor we are confident that this smartphone will be a big winner.

The Holly 4 will be up against the likes Of Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Lenovo K8 Note, Lenovo K8 Plus and even the Moto G5 Plus in the budget category. With its concentration solely on the offline market, it will be interesting to see how the Honor Holly 4 performs with the festivities at bay.

October 3, 2017
Samsung May Not Feel All that Bad If The iPhone X Is A Success

Samsung and Apple may be rivals in the smartphone domain but, Samsung has always manufactures key components of the iPhone including the displays. And it looks like with the iPhone X, Samsung is poised to make a lot of money. Studying the costs of the components Samsung has made for the iPhone X, it reveals that the South Korean tech giant will earn about US$110 for every iPhone X sold.

A market research study conducted for the Wall Street Journal says that Samsung also makes batteries and capacitors for the flagship iPhone X. The highest-profile Samsung component in the iPhone X is also the most expensive, the new OLED screen. This is a custom-made display built to Apple’s specifications. The analysis reports states:

Samsung is likely to earn about $4 billion more in revenue making parts for the iPhone X than from the parts it makes for its own flagship Galaxy S8 handset. Counterpoint expects Apple will sell 130 million iPhone X units, earning Samsung $110 on each through the summer of 2019, while Galaxy S8’s global sales are expected to be 50 million, earning Samsung $202 each from components such as displays and chips in its first 20 months of sales.

You may also like : iPhone X Vs The Competition

The analysis, even though notes the irony is not a fair comparison. The research notes the profit Samsung’s component division makes for the Galaxy S8 but, not the mobile division makes for Galaxy S8 sold. Samsung obviously makes more money by selling its own smartphone because it makes more components for it but, since the iPhone X is expected to sell in far higher volumes, the total value of component sales will be higher for the iPhone. A report by investment bank CLSA estimated that Apple’s component orders make up more than a third of Samsung’s revenue. Oh, the irony.

October 3, 2017
Apple’s A11 Chipset Way Ahead Of Its Competition – Geekbench Founder

Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset was the incremental update to 2016’s Snapdragon 821 chipset and has largely been excellent in performance. Smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Note8, OnePlus 5 and Galaxy S8/S8+ have the latest flagship chipset and their performance has been top-notch. On September 12th 2017, Apple announced its three new iPhones and talked a lot about the new chipset inside the iPhones, the A11 Bionic chipset. The first ever chipset from Apple that has six cores, but, still less than the eight cores found in the Snapdragon 835. The iPhone 8 was launched and the customary benchmark tests were performed in which the A11 chipset blew the Snapdragon 835 out of the park on multi-core results.

Founder of Geekbench John Poole, a popular CPU testing portal in a recent interview said:

At this point, you’ve got desktop-class performance in a handset. There’s no way of looking at it any other way. I wouldn’t have thought to use my first-generation iPhone to edit video. I would’ve thought you were crazy. Everybody looks at the A11 scores and they go, ‘Holy crap, this is . . . what does this mean? Are these even comparable? The thing that I don’t fully understand is why performance has seemed to stagnate on the Android side. Where you don’t see these big leaps forward. I don’t understand what’s happening there.

The disparity of scored between the Snapdragon 835 and A11 Bionic is astonishing, considering the A11 has six cores while its counterpart has eight cores. So much is the dominance of the A11 chip that the benchmark results are close to that of a MacBook.

October 3, 2017
More Images Of The Google Pixel 2 And Pixel 2 XL Leaked

Just a day before the official launch of the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, more images of the two phone have been leaked. Prolific leaker has tweeted images of the two new phones revealing the front, back and home screen launcher.

These are the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL https://t.co/cXCs560jNH pic.twitter.com/f3P47aeZ2I
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) October 2, 2017

The images show three colour variants of the two phones, Black & White, All Black and Light Blue. The design of the smartphones at the back is more or less similar and in line with other recent leaks with a glass window and two-tone colours. Interestingly, both the phones have front-facing stereo speakers. The Pixel 2 has thick bezels and looks more similar to the 2016 Pixel while the Pixel 2 XL, which is being made by LG looks similar to the LG G6. The Pixel 2 XL has a forehead and chin similar to the LG G6 and Google has fit front-firing stereo speakers in the those tiny bezels, which, if true will be quite commendable and appreciated.

You may also like – Everything We Know About The New Pixel 2 Smartphones

As for the specifications, we know both the phones will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, and not the eariler rumoured Snapdragon 836 chipset. The Pixel 2 will be powered by a 2700 mAh battery while the Pixel 2 XL will be a powered by a 3520 mAh battery. Both the phones will run Androi 8.0 Oreo out of the box and have 4GB of RAM with two storage options – 64GB or 128GB. Just like the previous gen Pixel phones, there will be no microSD card support for storage expansion. Something unlike the Pixel 2016 will be the absence of a 3.5mm headphone jack which has been revealed in multiple leaks and renders. The Pixel 2 will have 5-inch 1920 x 1080 px display while the Pixel 2 XL will have a 6-inch 2880 x 1440 px display.

The launch event is just a day away and all the rumours will be put to bed when Google raises the curtain and introduces the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. And in case you were wondering and hoping against hope, there won’t be an “Ultra Pixel.”

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October 3, 2017
Messenger Lite For Android Launched In US, Canada And Other Countries

Facebook has launched the ‘Lite’ version of its data inhaling app, Messenger for Facebook in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland. The app is an Android-only app so far and was primarily targeted at people who live in areas where the internet isn’t equipped enough to handle the data intensive tasks of the regular Messenger app. But, the expansion of the app to Facebook’s top developed markets mean that people who want to save data charges like teenagers can take advantage of the app. However, Facebook has no plans as of now to introduce the app for iOS devices.

We’re excited to bring Messenger Lite to Android users in four new markets, including Canada, Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S. Messenger Lite is a slimmed-down version of Messenger that offers the core features of the app, while giving everyone the opportunity to stay connected to their friends and family, regardless of device or quality of internet connectivity.

Lead by India and Brazil in terms of downloads, the Messenger Lite was first introduced in October 2016 in five countries before its near global expansion in April. As mentioned earlier, this rollout could be beneficial for Facebook as potential low data costs could help the company attract teenagers who are active on the social media platform and want to stay in touch at all times. The Messenger Lite app could help them make full use of the app’s core features while skimming out on the data charges.

One of the main reasons cited by Facebook to introduce Messenger Lite was that there are over a billion people who still don’t have access to high speed 3G or 4G network. This move to bring the Lite app in developed markets with proven high speed internet means that the company can now target people who like to cut costs but, not necessarily like to give up using their phones for chatting.

October 3, 2017
Apple Might Revert To LCD Displays For The iPhone 9

The yet to be released iPhone X was met with great response after it was announced that it will finally sport an OLED display. Apple has been using LCD panels for its iPhones for the longest time and the need for a display with more vibrant colours and deeper blacks was on the rise. Apple satiated those needs with the iPhone X but, it looks like the dream of an OLED display on all iPhones will be short-lived. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Apple is interested in buying LCD display panels from a Japanese manufacturer, Japan Display. But, the LCD panels won’t be any ordinary LCD panels, in fact these LCD displays are called Full Active and are expected to make up 70% of Apple’s display orders for its next lineup of iPhones which will launch in September 2018.

Full Active LCD screens apparently make it easy for smartphone manufacturers to make edge-to-edge phones even more compact. As compared to OLED screens, Full Active LCD screens are only 0.5mm thick (or thin), or half the thickness of OLED screens. Apple’s desire to switch Full Active LCD screen suggests that the Cupertino-based tech giant is on the move to make its smartphones even more bezel-less than the iPhone X. It may also be a case of Apple sticking to LCD screens for its non-marquee smartphones. This also makes sense as LCD screens are cheaper to produce than OLED displays.

The fact that the iPhone X doesn’t come out till November is enough for us to believe that its preliminary to hear things about the 2018 iPhone. It is more than possible that Apple is bulk-ordering these screens for its budget-tier iPhones like the iPhone SE.

October 2, 2017
OnePlus 6 To Launch In Early 2018, No OnePlus 5T To be Launched

In a deviation from its previous smartphone launch plans, OnePlus won’t be releasing a OnePlus 5T in late 2017. In fact, reports suggest that the OnePlus 6 will be launched in early 2018. This is a detour from OnePlus’ smartphone launch activity from the recent past. In 2016, OnePlus launched the OnePlus 3 and the OnePlus 3T was launched in late 2016 with a new chipset and a bigger battery.

According to a report, OnePlus 6 might be a major departure from the design language that OnePlus has adopted for its smartphones till now. The OnePlus 6 might have a bezel-less display, which would result in a screen larger and taller than the 5.5 inch display we’re used to seeing on OnePlus smartphones. One thing is certain, whether the company decides to launch the OnePlus 5T or the OnePlus 6, the specifications of the phone will be top notch. It was earlier reported that the OnePlus 5T will be launched in late 2017 or early 2018 and have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 836 chipset. This incremental move would be similar to what OnePlus did with the 3 and 3T in 2016.

But, it was reported that a Snapdragon 836 chipset is not in the works and doesn’t feature in the company’s future plans. This might have impacted OnePlus’ plan of releasing a ‘T’ variant of the 2016 flagship, the OnePlus 5. On the other hand, if the OnePlus is launched in early 2018, it could feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. Apart from that, the smartphone might have similar variants of 6GB RAM/64GB and 8GB RAM/128GB storage. The dual-camera setup is expected to retain its place and just like the OnePlus 5, the implementation of the dual cameras will be a much discussed point.

OnePlus so far, has been hard at work rolling out updates for its three smartphones and recently launched a limited edition variant of the OnePlus 5 in association with French artist Castelbajac. OnePlus has also tied up with Croma to expand its offline presence.

October 2, 2017
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Renders Suggest Thinner Bezels And Dual Cameras

Xiaomi’s upcoming Redmi Note 5 might have thin bezels and a dual camera setup. Xiaomi recently launched the Redmi Note 5A and the Redmi Note 5 is expected to be the bigger sibling of the two.

According to leaked renders shared by 91Mobiles, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 might have a 5.5inch 1920 x 1080 px display with thin bezels. The Redmi Note 5 may have a dual-camera setup at the back, which is expected to be a combination of a 16MP and 5MP sensors along with dual-tone LED flash. On the front is expected to be a 12MP camera.

The Redmi Note 5 will have a metal unibody design reminiscent of the Redmi Note 3 and Note 4. The fingerprint will found in a similar centrally located placing at the back.The three navigation buttons will be placed below the display as Xiaomi refuses to take the onscreen button route. On the top of the phone will be a 3.5mm headphone jack and an IR blaster. The device is expected to be have either the Snapdragon 630 or Snapdragon 660 chipset based on the 14nm process. The smartphone is also rumoured to be available in three variants, one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB onboard storage, and the one with 4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB storage. The device is said to be powered by a 4000 mAh battery and support quick charge through the USB Type C port placed at the bottom of the device. The Redmi Note 5 will run Android 7.1 Nougat with Xiaomi’s custom skin, MIUI 9 on top.

The price of the Redmi Note 5 is expected to be similar to that of the Redmi Note 4. The 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant might be priced at 1200 Yuan (Rs. 11800 approx.), 4GB RAM and 32GB storage at ,400 Yuan (Rs. 13700 approx.), and the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant at 1500 Yuan (Rs. 14700 approx.).

At the end of the day, these are renders and not actual phone leaks so take them with a pinch of scepticism. There is no rumoured date of launch yet for th Redmi Note 5 but, similar to the Redmi Note 4 the phone might be launched globally early in 2018.

October 2, 2017