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Can LeEco Make Good on its Promises?

LeTV rebranded itself as LeEco to reflect its new direction forward. The company held an event yesterday in India where it spoke about its new brand, which involves an open ‘ecosystem’ with a connected world. To do this, LeEco is diversifying itself. The company that started with television and content (hence the original name) has moved on to other venues like smart cycles, internet-linked electric cars, and smartphones.

LeEco’s Ecosystem

Yesterday, LeEco launched three new smartphones in India – Le Max, Le 1s and Le Max Sapphire. The first half of the event, however, was used to talk about the brand’s new ideology. The company’s move towards a comprehensive ecosystem incorporate’s four aspects – Culture, Technology, Internet, and Platform. The idea is to have a broad, connected reach. LeEco has already begun this by launching smart accessories, online content, TV, mobile, and electric vehicle by partnering with Faraday Future.

Flash Sale: Can it Deliver the Goods?

Indeed, LeEco wants to be everywhere. But the question is whether the company can deliver. In India, after launching the smartphones yesterday, the company stated that it will hold its first flash sale on Flipkart on the 2nd of February. There are some reasons why customers in India may feel a little hesitant in going with LeEco’s new offerings.

Firstly, one needs to give props to the company in terms of pricing, especially for the Le 1s which is priced at a very impressive Rs 10,999. The company could have easily priced it a few notches higher given the device’s specs and premium look. Now, the Le 1s looks to give devices like the Lenovo K4 Note a run for its money. But will it?

Lenovo has established a good base in India and is one of the more trusted names. The company also held a flash sale recently on Tuesday and Wednesday for the K4 Note. The company also stated that it sold 10,000 units in less than a second. Registrations, however, shot up to 4 lakh. The uncertainty is how much of its K4 Note units Lenovo managed to deliver. Certainly there must have been a lot of disappointed fans.

LeEco sold over 4 million smartphones last year making it the fastest selling newcomer in the market. It beat the likes of Xiaomi, Meizu and OnePlus on that front. For comparison sake, Xiaomi took a year to sell 400,000 units while Meizu sold 600,000 units.

LeEco’s flash sale will put to test just how well its ‘superphones’ will be received in India. The company’s refusal in providing a figure when asked how many units it plans on selling is not a good sign as it does lead one to question if the company is prepared for the Indian market at all.

No Physical Stores Will be a Hindrance

Moreover, without brick and mortar, it’s hard to imagine how LeEco will sustain in the Indian market. On that note as well the company refused to answer when asked when it plans to open up physical stores in India.

Even today, physical stores remain key to sales of smartphones. Companies cannot rely solely on e-commerce sites like Flipkart and Amazon for sustainment. Granted, LeEco is still early in its entry into a myriad of businesses, but the company does have enough financial backing for brick and mortar.

On a number of occasions at yesterday’s event, LeEco did not shy away from taking jabs at Apple. The company not only compared its Le Max to the iPhone 6s, but also criticised Apple’s closed ecosystem. However, one has to wonder that in naming Apple over and over again, isn’t LeEco establishing the Cupertino giant’s dominance?

When it comes to demand and supply, Apple has delivered on units in surplus. LeEco has a tough job ahead if it wants to entry the top three brand in the country as it claimed yesterday. Given its track record in China, LeEco has done exceedingly well. However, without a proper manufacturing base in India it may see some hiccups. While the company begins to establish itself in the country, it needs to be careful on how much it can deliver initially. A disappointing flash sale will in effect damage the company’s image before it even gets started.

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January 21, 2016
Apple Files Application to Set Up Retail Stores in India

Amid growing concerns over the stagnating economies in the western markets, and slowing pace of its own sales in China, Cupertino-based tech giant, Apple Inc, is looking for new markets to expand its business to. On that list of unconquered lands for Apple, India finds itself at the top.

Apple which has seen a jump of 90% in sales in the country during the last fiscal year is zooming in increasingly on India as the new frontier for its products. To Apple’s credit the company has been quietly building infrastructure for such a move by boosting advertising, logistics network, and most importantly lowering prices for old phones to start making deeper inroads into the homes of millions of customers.

The next step in this process it seems will be Apple setting up shop in the country. The company plans to bring to Indian customers its very own Apple Stores in the coming months. These stores which are renowned world over for encapsulating Apple’s DNA in their ambience and design will soon start selling you the whole Apple experience.

According to reports, Apple Inc. has filed an application with the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) to open its own branded stores in India. “We have just received Apple’s proposal. We are examining it,” said DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant.

Apple already has over 460 branded stores worldwide, but there is no information as of now regarding how many such stores Apple wants to set up in India. The move comes on the heels of the government easing foreign direct investment (FDI) rules for single-brand retail in the country. According to new rules, the government has relaxed the mandatory local procurement stipulation for technology manufacturing companies and allowed single-brand retail permission holders to sell their products directly online.

Apple along with its own branded stores also plans to set up mini stores within stores in a bid to promote its brand. The first set of these could be seen opening at Chroma in the near future.

January 21, 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 Antutu Leak Confirms Hardware

Samsung is being tipped to launch the Galaxy S7 during the Mobile World Congress next month, and as expected the internet has gone into overdrive with rumours and leaks of this upcoming phone. Latest set of leaks about the phone confirm to us the underhood specs of the Galaxy S7.

As it had been reported for some time now, the S7 would come in two variants, the S7 Edge, and the flat screen S7. The curved screen Edge is expected to sport a Snapdragon processor with a 5.1-inch QHD screen along with 4 GB of RAM. The other model, the Galaxy S7 will come equipped with a Exynos processor.

All this news comes from Antutu’s Weibo page. The Galaxy S7 (SM-G930F), apart from sporting the new Exynos 8890, will also come with a 5.1″ 1440 x 2560 pixels screen, 12 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of internal storage.

As it is visible, the only difference between the S7 and the S7 Edge is the choice of the SoC. Sporting two different processor is not a new strategy for Samsung. The Galaxy flagships have done so in the past, except for last year’s lineup which dropped Snapdragon altogether from the show.

January 21, 2016
Xiaomi Mi 5 Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Xiaomi is exactly a month away from unveiling its newest flagship smartphone, but leaks and rumours over the past few weeks have let little to the imagination. The specifications are all but confirmed and some images and renders of the phone have also told us what the Mi 5 is going to look like. And just because fans cannot have enough of leaked photos, there’s one more that shows the device in its glorious white body.

This new photo shared by Weibo has the Mi 5 lying on its back showing the white frontal glimpse with its 5.2-inch screen and a home button which is likely to house a fingerprint scanner. The image is in line with previous leaks of the handset. The glass top is surrounded by a metal frame, and the headphone jack is placed on top.

Xiaomi has made some obvious changes to the Mi 5 compared to its predecessor. The home button is present now and the device sports a curved look moving away from the box-like design of the Mi 4. Other specs that are hardly a secret now include a Snapdragon 820 chipset with 4GB of RAM. The storage is 16GB, though a 64GB option is very likely. The device will run MIUI 7 (based on Android 5.1).

On the camera front, the Mi 5 is set to sport a 16MP camera on the back with dual-LED flash and an 8MP selfie camera. The device is complete with a 3,600mAh battery. The Mi 5 is also a dual-SIM handset, both 4G LTE-enabled.

Pricing of the Mi 5 will be revealed at the launch later in February. Rumours have suggested that the Mi 5 will cost more than its predecessors given the next-gen specs involved. We’ll know more when the device s unveiled on the 21st of February at MWC.

January 21, 2016
Samsung Galaxy J7 Revealed in Benchmark Test

Samsung has been really keeping busy updating its J-series lineup. We’ve already seen the J1 go on sale in Dubai and the J5’s specs listed on GFXBench. Now the Galaxy J7 has been spotted on GFXBench benchmark listing revealing key specs of the upcoming mid-range device.

The 5.5-inch device comes with a Full HD display this time around with 1920×1080 pixel resolution. Samsung has updated its RAM from 1.5GB RAM to 3GB while the processor and GPU remain the same at Snapdragon 615 and Adreno 405, respectively.

The camera is the same, at least on paper. The primary shooter is at 13MP while the front is at 5MP. The J7 successor will run on Android 5.1 Lollipop and is likely to be launched in February along with the J5 at the Samsung Forum that will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the 4th.

As is the case with the J5, pricing will be key here. We know that Samsung wants to push out devices that fill each and every price range, especially the budget to mid-range categories. Samsung will have to price the updated J series around the same price tag as its predecessors, which means the Galaxy J7 is likely to cost around Rs 15,000 when it hits the Indian market.

January 21, 2016
Apple, Samsung, Microsoft Amongst others face Child Labour Claims

Several big-name tech firms, including Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Sony have been accused by Human Rights Organization Amnesty of using kids for sourcing minerals used in their various products.

Citing a report that it did into cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it found children as young as seven were working in unearthing cobalt that these large incorporations use for their Lithium Ion batteries.

The African country produces over 50% of the world’s cobalt. Miners working in the area face long-term health problems and the risk of fatal accidents, according to Amnesty. Amnesty also claimed that at a minimum of 80 miners had died underground in the country between September-December last year.

The report by Amnesty is the first comprehensive account of cobalt mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo. To arrive at their conclusions, Amnesty International along with Afrewatch visited five mines in DRC in April and May 2015. They interviewed 90 workers, 17 of them children.

According to Amnesty, “more than half of the world’s total supply of cobalt comes from the [DRC]. According to the government’s own estimates, 20 percent of the cobalt currently exported from the DRC comes from artisanal miners in the southern parts of the country. “There are approximately 110,000 to 150,000 artisanal miners in this region, who work alongside much larger industrial operations.”

The report further reveals, ” the miners who are referred to as ‘creuseurs’ in the DRC, mine by hand using the most basic tools to dig out rocks from the tunnels deep underground. Artisanal miners include children as young as seven who scavenge for rocks containing cobalt in the discarded by-products of industrial mines, and who wash and sort the ore before it is sold.”

Not surprisingly, these major tech firms such as Samsung, Sony and Vodafone denied any link to this supply chain or to DRC sourced Cobalt . Apple informed that it is evaluating alooking at a number of different materials, including cobalt, to identify both labor and environmental risks. Microsoft on the other hand said it hadn’t traced cobalt use in Microsoft products all the way to the source “due to the complexity and resources required.”

January 20, 2016
Australia to Have 5G Network by 2020, Says Vodafone

We all know that 5G is the next big thing. We are also aware that the speeds 5G promises will be massive. While many countries still try to have an established 4G network, including India, Australia is one country which wants to stay ahead of the pack. According to Vodafone, Australia will likely have 5G mobile network by 2020.

The development of the fifth-generation mobile network has invited a number of eager investors. After all, the next-gen network promises supremely fast speeds and will be the guiding factor for everything from ‘Internet of Things’ to driverless cars.

Vodafone’s Australian chief Benoit Hanssen believes Australia will be among the first countries to have 5G network by 2020. “Australia adopted the smartphone enthusiastically — smartphone penetration is one of the highest in the world,” he said. “There is a readiness to adopt new things, and you have a population that can largely afford to adopt new things. We do think that as 5G comes out, Australia will be there.”

Indeed, Australia has embraced 4G greatly with almost 70% of Vodafone customers on 4G phones. Hanssen expects the figure to cross 90% this year. 5G is all set to break speed records if the tests have anything to show for it. In 2015, British scientists claimed they broke speed records during tests of 5G data connections, reaching one terabit per second. According to the BBC, with such a speed, it “would be theoretically possible to download a file 100 times the size of a feature film in about three seconds.”

Spectrums have and continue to be the main reason behind the delay of not only 5G but 4G as well. In fact, many countries still face a lack of 3G connectivity. The release of spectrum is being negotiated globally. We wonder how long it takes before we can even begin talking about 5G in India, which is still being introduced to 4G network slowly.

January 20, 2016
Facebook Extends Tor Support to Android Facebook App

Facebook has revealed that it’s Android app now offers Tor support to users concerned about keeping their social networking activity private. While this functionality has for some time now allowed Facebook users to directly access its site via Tor’s browser on personal computers, this support for Tor on the Android app will be welcomed by users who majorly use facebook through their phones.

This step is expected to give users a relatively easy way to encrypt their Facebook viewing on the road. The user along with Facebook Android app will need to download the Orbot proxy app to make it work with Tor.

The Tor access support will take some time before all users can take advantage of it. For now, Facebook is looking at gathering as much feedback on the app as possible. The whole idea still requires a lot of polishing, but nonetheless, it’s worth a try if you’re paranoid about privacy when it comes to Facebook. Also, just in case you were wondering, Facebook does not intend to extend this Tor support functionality for its iOS users anytime soon.

January 20, 2016
TRAI Takes on Free Basics After Response from Users

In what will come as welcome news to millions of netizens across the country, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) in its latest communication to Facebook, has in rather stern words intimated to the company that it does not approve of the manner in which Facebook is misrepresenting the results of its ‘support Free Basics’ campaign, and what it seems to be suggesting is a subtle attempt at nudging the voice of the people out of the decision-making equation.

This letter from the desk of TRAI’s joint advisor K.V Sebastian, pulls up Facebook for the way it has conducted itself through the campaign to save Free Basics from being shut down. TRAI has suggested that Facebook is guilty of not conveying the full text of the regulator’s message to users who had supported Free Basics, and hence is misleading them into making uninformed choices.

TRAI had earlier asked Facebook to convey to its users in support of Free Basics and zero-rating campaigns four specific questions which the telecom regulator wanted answers to before taking any final decision on the matter. Facebook, for its part responded to TRAI’s request by sending back a highly charged template response in favour of saving Free Basics which it claimed reflected the sentiment of its users.

TRAI’s reply to this read,

“Your response is silent on whether the text of TRAI has been shared with users as was specifically requested by TRAI. In light of the tangential natures of the responses by the users to the questions asked, the communication of the text was vital to demonstrating and ensuring that those who are responding to TRAI are making informed decisions.”

The letter further goes on to say that in light of Facebook not disclosing crucial information to users, TRAI does not accept Facebook’s assertion that the initial template responses in support for ‘Free Basics’ and ‘Digital Equality’ are an appropriate representation of what people are saying.

TRAI, not mincing its words, has also slammed Facebook in this letter over what it calls as ‘self-appointed’ spokesmanship on behalf of its users who it says “have not authorized Facebook of speaking on their behalf collectively.”

It has further said that it does not approve of this practice of Facebook, and believes that what the company is doing through these uninformed template responses is curbing “public consultation” which it believes “has the flavour of reducing this meaningful consultative exercise designed to produce informed decisions in a transparent manner into a crudely majoritarian and orchestrated opinion poll”.

January 20, 2016

LeEco Launches Le Max and Le 1s ‘Superphones’ in India

Tin Mok, Asia Pacific CEO, took the stage at LeEco’s (formerly known as LeTV) official event today where the company launched Le Max with the tag-line”Go Big, Go Bold”, and Le 1s, along with revealing the new logo for the company. LeEco established over 1 million fans Facebook fans in barely 63 days. While the Le Max boasts of big specs inside a big frame, the Le 1s is aimed at the mid-range market.

LeEco Logo

Le Max:

The Le Max has dominant hand-settings which cater to the user’s preferred hand -left or right. The UI is faster, convenient and has one-step access. The Le Max features a 6.3-inch screen with 2K display and sports a metal body design with slim bezels. The device is powered by a Qualcomm 64-bit 2GHz octa-core Snapdragon 810 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM. It is available in 64GB and 128GB storage variants.

On the camera front, the Le Max comes with 21-megapixel and runs on Android 5.1 with custom EUI running on top. The device comes equipped with multiple desktops – Application Desktop, LeView Desktop, Live Desktop -different screens for the phone that makes different applications, live streaming of events and multimedia available to the user conveniently and smoothly.

LeEco has also tied up with Yupp TV, which offers over 250 channels across 12 languages that can be accessed through the smartphone. The company has further partnered with Eros International to make Bollywood films available to users. Users wouldn’t have to look for content or download multiple apps -the content would be simply available along with a year’s premium subscription of Eros to consumers.

With an AnTuTu score of 83851, Le Max beats Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One A9. World’s first bezel-less ID, full floating glass design, 0.8mm display border and no heating issues are some of its other highlights.

Additionally, the Le Max includes Smart PA-SPK box speakers, full-metal unibody, and is available in two colours -Gold with 128 GB and Silver with 64 GB. The phone further has a Type-C USB port and a hypersensitive fingerprint sensor

Le 1s:

The Le 1s sports a 5.5-inch Full HD display and is powered by a MediaTek’s Helio X10 processor. It features a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The smartphone will run on Android 5.1 with custom EUI on top. It is a Dual-SIM device with an AnTuTu score of 55844, beating HTC One M9.It has a type-C USB port which ensures 3.5 hours of usage in 5 minutes of charging, along with a double chamber, symmetrical design, and super-slim, full-metal body with 7.5 mm of thickness. The finger-print scanner of the device called LeTouch, is mirror-surfaced with 99.3% accuracy and .15 seconds flash recognization.

Find below the specs of Le Max and Le 1s.

Specs	Le Max	Le 1S
Le Display	6.33-inch, Gorilla Glass 3, 2K Sharp display	5.5-inch Full HD display
Resolution	2560 x 1440 resolution (464ppi)	1920 X 1080 (403 ppi)
Processor	64 bit octa-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 810	2.2 GHz MediaTek’s Helio X10
GPU	Adreno 430	VR G6200
RAM	4 GB	3 GB
Storage	64GB/ 128GB	32 GB
Rear Camera	21 MP OIS, Sony Imx 230 sensor, 6P lens, 6 layers, 2K resolution, Dual 14 bit ISP image processor, HDR more vivid than standard HDR, Dual tone flash	13 MP, High-Definition, f2.0 aperture, ISOCELL technology, PDAF, 4K video
Front Camera	4 MP ultra pixel 5p, f2.0 aperture	5 MP
Expandability	No	No
Battery	3,400 mAh	3,000 mAh
Connectivity	4G LTE, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, 3G, 4G	dual SIM slots, 4G LTE support, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, 3G, 4G
OS	Android 5.1 with custom EUI running on top	Android 5.1 with custom EUI running on top
Price	Rs. 32,999 for the 64 GB variant	Rs. 10, 999 for 32 GB variant

LeEco also launched what it calls its “ultimate flagship”, the Le Max Sapphire today. The device is pink in colour and has a sapphire crystal display. It’s priced at Rs. 69,999 for the 128 GB variant.

The devices will be available on Flipkart with 10% cash-back for Axis Bank users as part of the opening day deal. The registrations for the device start today, till 11 am on 2nd Feb with the first round of flash sales for Le 1s on 2n February, and for Le Max on 16th February. The company also offers free home pick-up and drop-off services should the consumer need any.

January 20, 2016

New Moto X Force Teaser Takes a Dig at Samsung This Time

Motorola has come out with yet another teaser for its latest device, the ‘shatter-proof’ Moto X Force. Following suit with the previous teaser which mocked iPhone 6s for its delicate body, the new one takes a dig at Samsung Galaxy S6.

https://youtu.be/BDRGaGvFekI

Though the new teaser isn’t as witty as its predecessor, the message is just as clear. Moving away from Cupertino, Motorola has now taken the challenge to the Korean tech-giant.

The highlight of the device is its super-hardy screen. Motorola claims to have integrated a ‘Moto Shattershield’ technology in the display of Moto Force which, it says, is the first shatterproof screen in a phone ever. The company feels confident enough to affirm the screen would stay intact for up to four years, owing to the multiple layers of different materials used in making it capable of absorbing shock and providing protection against cracking. The phone also boasts of two touchscreen layers, which make sure that the smartphone can be used even if one of the layers is cracked.

Needless to say, Motorola cannot stop talking about its first ever shatter-proof phone in the world. Let’s see if Moto X Force manages to live up to all the expectations. Watch this space for all the updates

January 20, 2016
Microsoft To Donate $1Billion in ‘Cloud Computing Services’

Microsoft yesterday took a giant leap towards fulfilling its mission of giving back to society, and acknowledged through philanthropy the growing importance of cloud computing in the modern age.

The Redmond-based company made an announcement yesterday to donate $1 Billion worth of ‘cloud computing services’ to university researchers, and non-profit organizations. These services, billing into multiple digits, would be doled out to these universities, and over 70,000 such organizations over the span of next three years.

Microsoft’s Hyderabad-born CEO, Satya Nadela, who was at the heart of this decision said that he believes that cloud computing has become a vital resource for addressing the world’s problems that many of these institutions and non-profit organizations are trying to fix, and as such this is the best way to help them in their cause.

In an online post Satya Nadela elaborated on the reasons behind this decision. He said,

” Last fall, world leaders at the United Nations adopted 17 sustainable development goals to tackle some of the toughest global problems by 2030, including poverty, hunger, health and education.
A careful read of those goals reveals the central role that data and cloud computing must play for analysis and action.”

This particular project will be a part of a greater three-part Microsoft donation program.In what will be welcome news to the various organizations who will be helped by it, yesterday’s announcement will see the company expand its global donation program to include its full suite of cloud services.

The particular suite will include Microsoft Azure, allowing nonprofit organizations to use Microsoft’s vast data centers for their apps and Enterprise Mobility Suite that will enable the organizations to manage all their devices/apps/data on a cross-platform basis.

January 20, 2016
Huawei P9 Will Reportedly Have Multiple Variants

For the past couple of days the crowded corridors of social media have been abuzz with leaks, and news about Huawei’s next flagship, the P9, and adding to it, more information has surfaced on the internet regarding this phone.

Last week, we saw leaked schematics, and Antutu benchmarks of the P9 and today sources have revealed that this much-awaited phone will come in multiple variants. What is expected is that Huawei besides launching its top of the line P9, will also come out with a cheaper P9 Lite, and a phablet the P9 MAX. The last variant which Huawei plans to bring to the market as a treat for all its fans will be a beefed up variant of the P9, and will come with premium features.

The fourth model is set to offer a display whose size would lie between the P9, and the P9 MAX, with QHD resolution output. It will also feature additional RAM and storage. The fourth variant on top of this will feature an improved camera: a dual lens, dual (12 MP) sensor configuration described as a second-generation technology.

In a move to give itself more time to perfect the upcoming devices, it is believed the company has also decided to launch these devices at separate events after the MWC where a lot of its big name competitors are expected to parade their fancy arsenal to eager eyes.

Source

January 20, 2016
Apple Wins Lawsuit Against Samsung, 9 Samsung Devices Banned from Sale

Say hello to yet another courtroom drama between Samsung and Apple. As always, the bone of contention was patent infringement where Apple accused Samsung of having stolen features like word recommendations and unlock gestures.

Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern California District San Jose court agreed with Apple leading to banning of Samsung’s flagship devices from 2012. The list of devices now banned from sale in the US includes Samsung Admire, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy S II Skyrocket, Galaxy S III and Samsung Stratosphere.

The lawsuit had been stretched over a period of three years before the final verdict was passed. This means there has been three new generations of smartphones since the first violation of patents. Other than many sellers making some extra dough by selling these banned Samsung devices for a higher-than-normal price on eBay, one wonders what else this verdict could lead to. While Samsung may not feel too amused at this point, this is a blow it will definitely recover from without much effort.

Besides, it wouldn’t be too long before Samsung’s gets a chance to even out the two scores once the two companies find themselves pitted against each other again in another courtroom scenario. Hold your breath until then.

January 20, 2016
Samsung Forum 2016: What to Expect

Samsung is all set to host its annual two-day SEA Forum starting from the 4th of February in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Forum will see the Korean giant launch some new products across various categories from smartphones to televisions to home appliances. The products showcased at the Forum are India-bound, which means that their arrival in India will be shortly expected after.

Last year at the Forum which was held in Bankok, Thailand, Samsung had unveiled a number of 4G-enabed smartphones like the Galaxy J1 along with Galaxy A7 smartphone and Galaxy Tab Active.

Although the products have been kept under wraps, we expect to see the new Galaxy J5 and A8 smartphones to be launched for the Indian market. The new J5 successor that was spotted on GFXBench just today is likely to sport a 5.2-inch screen with 720p resolution, a 12 or 13 MP (most likely 13MP) rear camera with LED flash, a 5 MP front, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of built-in storage. The device is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 410 chipset, which comes with a 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU, and will run Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

Meanwhile, the massive new Galaxy A9 that was launched in China last month is also likely to be launched for the Indian market at the Samsung Forum. The 6-inch device sports a Full HD AMOLED display and a metal frame. Powering the device is a Snapdragon 652 (earlier named 620) chipset with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage.

The new handset also features a fingerprint scanner embedded in its home button, and will run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. The device features a 13 MP primary camera with a wide f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilisation, and an 8 MP front. The Galaxy A9 also packs a massive 4,000mAh battery with QuickCharge support.

While these are the likely phone launches expected at the Forum, Samsung may also give an early sneak peek at the upcoming S7 flagship smartphone. Furthermore, the Forum will also see some products that were unveiled at CES 2016 such as the KS9500 series SUHD TV – available in 65-,77-, and 88-inch sizes – that come with the thinnest bezels you’ve ever seen and a smart fridge that comes with a giant 21-inch touchscreen display. The smart fridge is part of Samsung’s ‘Family Hub’ lineup of home appliances.

iGyaan will be on the ground at the Samsung Forum and will bring you all the latest launches that are set to take place.

January 19, 2016