Dyson Zone noise-canceling headphones serenade the user’s face with filtered air

By

-

Mar 30, 2022

Dyson has entered the noise-canceling headphones market with the innovative Dyson Zone set of headphones. The Dyson Zone is acclaimed to have been designed before the coronavirus pandemic that started in early 2020. The new set of Dyson Zone noise-canceling headphones is capable of blowing filtered air at your face while in operation.

The Dyson Zone air purifying and noise-canceling headphones come with a detachable visor on the lower part of the wearer’s face that blows the filtered air to the nose, mouth, and chin. The mechanism operates like that of a portable fan that is dedicated to the lower half of the user’s face. A smaller version of the air filtration system is also integrated into each of the earcups for added protection against pollution. It is unclear why the device is being introduced now, two years after the pandemic broke out.

While the Dyson Zone set of air filtering headphones may not be seen as a direct response to the pandemic, its features fit snugly with one of the non-pharmaceutical protocols for enhanced protection against the virus. It was conceptualized in 2016 as a means to help users breathe cleaner air whenever they use the device. It is both an air filtration system and a noise-canceling headphone. In the words of the company, the Dyson Zone headphones deliver pure air and pure sound.

A few users have been privileged to test the Dyson Zone headphones but commercial production is still on the books. The company says it engineered the device to fit comfortably and distribute weight evenly using several cushions. The spongy and soft ear cups are comfortable to use and offer excellent noise-canceling capabilities. The air blowing function of the Dyson Zone is another exciting feature that could also be useful as a mobile air-conditioner for the face especially in the summer when temperatures ramp up.

There are many possibilities presented by the Dyson Zone prototype which has gone through a tremendous transformation during its development. Dyson has not provided pricing and availability details for the noise canceling headsets yet. We do not know a few other things about the device but we expect the company to provide more details going forward.

RELATED:

(via)

Samsung Galaxy M33 5G price in India revealed before official launch

By

Pranav Sawant

-

Mar 30, 2022

Samsung has scheduled a launch event for April 2 for the release of the Galaxy M33 5G in India. Before it arrives, the tipster Yogesh Brar has shared the pricing and availability details of the smartphone.

The tipster reveals that the Samsung Galaxy M33 5G will come in two variants – 6GB RAM + 128GB variant and 8GB RAM + 128GB variant. The former variant will carry a box price of Rs. 24,999(~$330), but will be available for Rs. 21,999(~$290).

On the other hand, the top variant will have the box price of Rs. 26,999(~$356), but it will be available for Rs. 23,999(~$317). The phones are touted to get up to Rs. 2000 discounts.

Apart from the pricing, the tipster reveals that the device will come in three color variants. The color options aren’t revealed, but we have already seen the Blue and Green shades on the launch poster. The third one could be the Black option. Moreover, the phone will go on sale next week.

Earlier this month, the company revealed the phone’s specs via a press release. Samsung Galaxy M33 5G has a 6.6-inch TFT display with Full-HD+(1080 x 2408 pixels) resolution.

It will have a quad-camera system with a 50MP main lens. This sensor has an aperture of f/1.8. It is accompanied by a 5MP ultra-wide lens with an f/2.2 aperture, a 2MP depth, and a 2MP macro sensor. It has an 8MP front camera with f/2.2 for taking selfies.

It has the Exynos 1280 5G SoC paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The phone will come with a microSD card slot with 1TB of expandable memory. It will pack a mammoth 6,000mAh battery with some sort of fast charging support. It will have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and boot on One UI 4.1 based on Android 12 OS.

RELATED:

ColorOS 12 live for OPPO K7, Reno3 Pro 5G, Reno3 Vitality Edition, & Find X3 Pro Photographer Edition in China

By

Sudhanshu

-

Mar 30, 2022

As announced before, OPPO has started rolling out the ColorOS 12 update based on Android 12 for the OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G, the Reno3 Vitality Edition, the OPPO K7, and the OPPO Find X3 Pro Photographer Edition smartphones in China.

OPPO commenced the ColorOS 12 beta program for these devices in late February, and the devices are now beginning to receive stable Android 12 updates about a month later.

According to the official announcement post on OPPO Community China, the update is live for the following models,

In order to receive the update, users should be running firmware version C.13 on the Reno3 Vitality Edition, and the K7. The Reno3 Pro 5G should be on firmware version C.15 or above and as for the Find X3 Pro Photographer Edition, the devices need to be at least on the basic version A.14 and A.15.

To download and install the update, they need to navigate to Settings > Software Update > Gear Icon > Upgrade Early Adopters > Official Version Application > Agree to Privacy Policy > Apply Now > Check for Updates.

The above procedure is only for those who want to try the update right away. The update will be made available for everyone via regular OTA from Settings > Software Update in the coming days if these early adopters don’t face any major issues.

RELATED:

Black Shark 5 RS with Snapdragon 888/888+ SoC and 120W fast charging unveiled!

By

Pranav Sawant

-

Mar 30, 2022

Black Shark 5 RS is the third device in the series and stands in between the Black Shark 5 and 5 Pro that launched today. Unlike the other two devices, the 5 RS retains the old Black Shark 4S design and brings some improvements.

The Black Shark 5 RS costs CNY 3,299(~$520) for the 8GB + 256GB variant and CNY 3799(~$599) for the 12GB + 256GB variant. It has a Black and Green shade. It will go on sale in online and offline markets from April 2.

Black Shark 5 RS Specifications

The Black Shark 5 RS sports a 6.67-inch punch-hole with a Full-HD+(2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. It is an E4 AMOLED panel with a 720Hz touch sampling rate, 1300 nits peak brightness, and a DCI-P3 color gamut.

Powering the device is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 paired with 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 + SSD storage. There’s another variant with Snapdragon 888+ SoC that has 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 + SSD internal storage. It features magnetic shoulder buttons for gaming.

The phone has a triple camera system with a 64MP main lens, a 13MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 5MP telephoto unit. On the front, it has a single selfie snapper. It packs a 4,500mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging technology. The smartphone has a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio and a USB Type-C port for charging. It boots on Android 12 OS and has Joy UI 13 on top.

RELATED:

Garmin D2 Mach 1 is a premium aviator smartwatch with an AMOLED display

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Mar 30, 2022

Garmin just launched a new high-end smartwatch aimed at pilots, and it’s the D2 Mach 1, which starts at $1,199.99. Physically, it is similar to the Garmin Epix (Gen 2), with a sapphire crystal dial, titanium bezel, and a tiny bit of exposed screws for accents. As for the strap, the D2 Mach 1 is available in oxford brown leather and titanium ($100 price difference). The watch is the second aviator-focus smartwatch from the brand after the D2 Air X10.

The Garmin D2 Mach 1 sports a 1.3-inch AMOLED screen with a UTC hand and a 24-hour bezel to the dial, complemented by seven customizable data fields. Operationally, users can not only navigate with traditional button-like controls on the side but also access features such as maps through a responsive touchscreen interface.

In terms of health monitoring, the D2 Mach 1 is also quite complete, including health snapshots, fitness monitoring, heart rate/stress tracking, sleep quality/advanced sleep monitoring, and dynamic breathing/hydration tracking.

Wearers can also view animated information on real-time endurance and metrics while exercising, as well as reference daily workout recommendations from companion apps such as Garmin Coach.

For pilots, the Garmin D2 Mach 1 also offers an additional set of functional options, including all the key details needed in flight – such as airport information, TUV/time zone, flight log/weather report, as well as barometric altimeter, pulse blood Oxygen Sensor, HSI Course Needle, and Meteogram.

Notably, the watch can also set customizable notifications for METAR and TAF reporting (even manually set vibration alerts) with direct connection to marked locations/waypoints in the global aeronautical database, so pilots know when to switch fuel lines or perform other time-critical tasks.

For leisure travelers and adventure enthusiasts, the Garmin D2 Mach 1 offers accessibility features that also help you navigate uncharted locations – with access to high-precision global positioning systems including GLONASS and Galileo.

In addition to displaying location coordinates in a dual format, it also allows viewing geographic features such as terrain outlines, elevations, peaks, parks, coastlines, rivers, lakes, etc. through TopoActive Maps.

In privacy scenarios, Incognito Mode can also be activated to disable wireless connections and prevent the storage and sharing of location information. When necessary, a self-destruct switch can also securely wipe all data stored on the device.

In addition, the Garmin D2 Mach 1 can be paired with inReach devices to send SOS emergency signals, preset messages to designated contacts, and other standard smartwatch functions (such as smart notifications/music playback/Garmin Pay contactless mobile payments).

In terms of battery life, the watch can last for 24 hours in GPS / SpO2 mode. But if you switch to pure smartwatch mode, it can be extended to 11 days.

Finally, the Garmin D2 Mach 1 premium pilot smartwatch is now available, with oxford brown leather and titanium strap versions priced at $1199.99 and $1299.99 respectively.

RELATED:

(source)

Sony PlayStation Plus Extra & Premium India pricing revealed

By

Sudhanshu

-

Mar 30, 2022

Yesterday, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the new videogame subscription service for the PlayStation dubbed the PlayStation Plus. The service is Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass and is expected to launch across most PlayStation Network territories by the first half of 2022.

Now, ahead of its launch, the Indian pricing of the subscription service has leaked revealing how much the new PlayStation Plus will cost across different tiers. According to a tweet by Industry insider Rishi Alwani, the new service will start at Rs 800 per month ($11) for the PlayStation Plus Extra subscription.

India pricing for PS Plus Extra and Premium confirmed. pic.twitter.com/30wgXH5A5b

— 0xSkeptic (@RishiAlwani) March 29, 2022

The PlayStation Plus Premium subscription on the other hand is said to be priced at Rs 1,000 per month ($13), Rs 2,500 ($33) for a quarterly subscription, and Rs 6,000 ($79) for a 12 months subscription.

For those unaware, the PlayStation Plus Extra will provide players with a catalog of 400 downloadable games including blockbuster hits from the PlayStation Studios catalog and third-party partners.

On the other hand, the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription provides all the benefits from the Extra tier and adds up to 340 additional games including PS3 games available via cloud streaming and beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2, and PSP generations. This tier will also offer time-limited game trials so so customers can try select games before they buy.

At launch, Sony plans to include titles such as Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal to the PlayStation Plus service. SIE has also revealed the prices of their subscription service for various territories like the US, Europe, UK, and Japan which you can check out on their official blog post.

RELATED:

WhatsApp launches health awareness chatbot for young women in India

By

Sudhanshu

-

Mar 30, 2022

In partnership with non-profit Girl Effect, WhatsApp announced on Wednesday that they will be launching Artificial Intelligence (AI) based chatbot ‘Bol Behen’ (colloquial Hindi for ‘Speak, Sister’) in India to help adolescent girls and young girls women with queries around general health and sexual wellbeing.

The app is designed to provide content on topics related to women’s reproductive health, sexuality, and relationships in a chat format on the instant messaging app. The users can talk in “Hinglish,” a mix of English and Hindi languages, with the chatbot. Users can also ask questions on different topics.

To access the Bol Behen chatbot, users will have to send ‘Hi’ to the number +91-7304496601 on WhatsApp or by visiting its profile on the Web. WhatsApp said the new chatbot is targeted at adolescent girls and young women in the Hindi belt of India who typically use low-end smartphones with limited Internet bandwidth.

The chatbot is projected to reach millions of girls across India to answer their health curiosities and concerns and connect them to vetted services in the future.

Previously, Girl Effect first launched the Bol Behen chatbot in India on Facebook Messenger in 2020. It reached around 100,000 lakh conversations, with over 1.6 million messages received. The chatbot was inspired by a similar chatbot launched in South Africa named Big Sis to offer non-judgemental advice on topics related to women’s sexual health and relationships.

Kanishk Kabiraj, Girl Effect Country Lead for India said, “WhatsApp’s technology offers us the opportunity to forge closer links between girls and the health services they need, providing content that solves her concerns and encourages her to access healthcare, through connection with curated and vetted providers.”

He also added, “This will help us to deliver more seamless, personalized healthcare journeys in the future — for example, leading to girls booking appointments, getting reminders, and sharing feedback all within Bol Behen.”

Girl Effect works to reach girls and young women across Africa and Asia with chatbots, chat shows, and TV dramas to give them knowledge about their bodies and health. This new chatbot targeting young adolescent girls in India will undoubtedly lead to faster transmission of authentic information regarding women’s health.

RELATED:

Black Shark 5 Pro, Black Shark 5 launched with 144Hz display, 120W Fast charging, and UFS 3.1 + SSD storage

By

Pranav Sawant

-

Mar 30, 2022

Black Shark on Wednesday launched the all-new Black Shark 5 gaming smartphone series in China. The series comprises the vanilla Black Shark 5 and Black Shark 5 Pro. Both bring a new design as opposed to the predecessors and have the latest hardware in their sleeves. The phones come with the fancy SharkEye RGB light effect at the back and the Pro bags DXOMark’s top-ranked speaker setup.

Black Shark 5 Series Pricing and Colors

The Black Shark 5 starts at CNY 2,799(~$441) for the 8GB + 128 variant, CNY 2999(~$472) for the 12GB + 128GB variant, and CNY 3,299(~$520) for the 12GB + 256GB variant. The phone comes in Black, Dawan White, and Exploration Gray colors.

The Black Shark 5 Pro is priced at CNY 4,199(~$661) for the 8GB + 25GB variant, CNY 4,699(~$740) for the 12GB + 256GB variant, and CNY 5,499(~$866) for the 16GB + 512GB variant. It has Meteorite Black and Tiangong White colors.

The phones will go on pre-order starting today and the sale in offline and online markets start from April 2. The series can be bought from Black Shark stores, Xiaomi stores, and other authorized stores like JD.com.

Black Shark 5, Black Shark 5 Pro Specifications

The Black Shark 5 and 5 Pro come with a 6.67-inch FHD+(2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution display with up to 144Hz refresh rate. It is a Samsung E4 AMOLED panel with 1300 nits of max brightness, DC dimming, and 100% P3 color gamut. It has HDR10+ support and 1.07 billion colors. The screen has a 720Hz touch sampling rate and has a dual-zone pressure-sensitive screen which is said to be useful for gamers. The display also has SGS Blu-ray certification and an 8.3ms multi-finger touch response delay.

The Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 and 512GB UFS 3.1 + SSD storage. This combination of storage is called the Disk Array 2.0 technology, and thanks to it, the read and write speeds have increased by 55% and 69%, respectively. The vanilla Black Shark 5 has the Snapdragon 870 SoC paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

The Pro’s AnTuTu scores were revealed and it has scored 1,129,716 points on the test. The duo has a VC cooling system and the Pro packs a 5320mm² large VC area. Since both are gaming phones, they have magnetic lift-up shoulder trigger buttons offering a better gaming experience.

The duo has a triple camera system with the Pro having a 108MP Samsung S5KHM2 main lens, a 13MP OmniVision OV13B10 ultra-wide sensor, and a 5MP Samsung S5K5E9 telephoto lens. The vanilla Black Shark 5 has a 64MP main lens, + a 13MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP macro sensor. Upfront, both have a 16MP sensor for selfies.

The phones house a 4,650mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging technology. The company claims that the phone can be fully charged in just 15 minutes. The Pro comes with a speaker setup that scored an impressive 86 points on the DXOMARK audio test. Both phones boot on Android 12 OS and have JoyUI 13 on top. As for connectivity, there’s Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth v5.2.

RELATED:

Possible iQOO Neo 6 with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 12GB RAM spotted on Geekbench

By

Sudhanshu

-

Mar 30, 2022

Earlier today, an iQOO smartphone with the model number I2126 was spotted on the Geekbench database. The device is believed to be the upcoming iQOO Neo6 Indian variant and runs the Snapdragon 778G chipset. Now, another iQOO device with model number V2196A has been spotted on Geekbench (via MySmartPrice), this time running a flagship Qualcomm chipset.

iQOO Neo6 Play Console — Alleged iQOO Neo6’s image from Play Console

A recent TENAA listing revealed some of the specs of the Vivo V2196A smartphone. the device is rumored to launch with the iQOO Neo6 moniker in China.

Coming to the Geekbench listing, the device comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC with the motherboard codenamed “taro”. This is none other than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. The SoC hosts an octa-core processor which comes with one core clocked at 3GHz, three cores clocked at 2.5GHz, and four cores clocked at 1.79GHz.

The listing also reveals that the phone will come with 12GB RAM, however, it will likely offer more RAM and storage configurations at launch. The database listing reveals the smartphone running an Android 12 operating system.

Other than that, the recent TENAA listing revealed that the iQOO Neo6 will have a 6.62-inch Full HD+ OLED display which is rumored to offer a 120Hz refresh rate. The device will pack a 4700 mAh battery and come with 80W fast charging support. The overall dimensions of the device are revealed to be 163×76.16×8.5mm. It will most likely be available in 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage configurations. The Neo6 could be available in black, blue, and orange colors in China.

RELATED:

NIU’s fastest e-scooter – the MQiGT EVO launched for the European market

By

Jed John Ikoba

-

Mar 30, 2022

NIU MQiGT EVO e-scooter was unveiled in November 2021 during the Milan Motorcycle Show and it is now making its way into the European market. The MQiGT EVO is NIU’s fastest and most powerful electric scooter yet and it will also enter the North American and Israeli markets subsequently.

Europe is NIU’s major hub and it was important that the first deliveries of its fast and powerful e-scooter were done there. The NIU MQiGT EVO looks similar to some of the company’s previous models but it comes with some added functionalities, speed, power, and range. The performance specs of the new scooter are quite impressive.

It has a top speed of 100km/h which is the best so far among NIU e-scooters. The NIU MQiGT EVO e-scooter has a 5kWh electric motor that provides the needed power and speed rating.

NIU says the MQiGT can comfortably compete with 125cc models in the market whether petrol or electric. It also has a better acceleration time than most of its peers in the market, thanks to the powerful electric motor which can peak at 6.5kW. Deliveries will proceed across Europe, Israel, and North America in the coming weeks.

RELATED:

(source)

Samsung Galaxy A13 5G live images surfaced online before India launch

By

Pranav Sawant

-

Mar 30, 2022

While Samsung announced the Galaxy A13 4G this week in India, the brand is yet to launch the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G in the region. Earlier this month, we learned that the phone’s production has started in India. Now, 91Mobiles has shared live images of the back and sides of the smartphone.

The live images showcase the back panel of the phone in White color. This will be amongst the other shades of the smartphone. The design looks similar to the Galaxy A13 4G with triple cameras at the back positioned vertically. There’s also a cut-out for the LED flash beside the sensors.

On the left side, we see the SIM-card tray, while on the right, there’s the power button and the volume rocker. The smartphone has a USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom. There’s also the microphone and speaker grille sitting at the bottom. The front isn’t visible, however, it is tipped to have a water-drop notch screen.

1 of 3

The Samsung Galaxy A13 5G is already available in the US and it offers budget specs. The smartphone sports a 6.5-inch LCD display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 1600 x 720 pixels resolution. It has a 5MP selfie camera and a triple camera at the rear. The rear setup goes by a 50MP main lens, a 2MP macro sensor, and a 2MP depth lens.

In the US, the phone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It houses a 5,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging support.

RELATED:

realme Smart TV Stick to launch in India on April 7, key specs are already out

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Mar 30, 2022

In October 2021, realme debuted its first streaming device in India dubbed as realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick. Five months after its launch, the company is now teasing to launch a toned-down version of this product in the country. Let’s check out what all it will offer.

The second streaming device from realme is officially called the realme Smart TV Stick. It is set to launch in India on April 7. As the name suggests, unlike the original model, it neither supports 4K resolution nor Google TV.

According to a teaser page on Flipkart, the upcoming realme TV stick will be limited to 1080p (FHD) streaming. However, it will have support for 60fps and HDR10+ standard.

The device will be powered by an unknown SoC comprising a quad-core ARM Cortex-A35 CPU. The chipset will be paired with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage.

It will come with an HDMI 2.0 connector, and therefore, it can be used on any non-smart or smart television with an HDMI port. Finally, since the stick will boot Android TV 11, it should have support for Chromecast built-in, Google Assistant, Play Store, and leading streaming platforms.

The original realme TV stick with 4K support, Google TV UI, and 2GB RAM currently retails at ₹3,999. Hence, the upcoming watered-down variant will likely cost around ₹3000 or less.

After Ola, Pure EV e-scooters catches fire in Chennai, raises thermal safety concerns of e-scooters in India

By

Sean

-

Mar 30, 2022

Just earlier this week, we had reported on an Ola S1 Pro electric scooter catching fire in Pune, Maharashtra. Now, another e-scooter has been involved in a fiery accident, but this time its from the brand, Pure EV.

For those unaware, Pure had launched its EPluto 7G electric scooter last year. But in a new video that was uploaded on YouTube, we can see the brand’s electric scooter on fire in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The short video captured the tragic incident where we can see the scooter being engulfed in dark fumes from battery fire in a parked state on the side of the road. Notably, this incident is one of multiple other occasions where an electric scooter had faced a fire related accident.

In other words, it has raised major concerns in India regarding the thermal safety of electric scooters. With the onset of summer, the Indian subcontinent will see high temperatures across most of its states and cities. But while the peak summer is still a while away, it appears that e-scooters are already struggling in India. There have been four cases recorded since last Saturday alone, which paints a bad image for the EV industry.

In an official statement, Pure EV stated that “We are investigating the incident and will do a thorough assessment. We adhere to the highest safety standards through rigorous internal testing as well as special phase change materials being implemented in our battery packs to avoid rapid fire/blast kind of scenarios.” Keep in mind that Chennai is one of the hottest states in India that also sees high humidity as well. Thus, the Road Transport Ministry has asked the Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) to investigate the two cases in the defence laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

RELATED:

Realme sells over 100,000 units of Realme GT Neo3 in first sale

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Mar 30, 2022

After one week since it was announced in China, the Realme GT Neo3 has been made available for purchase in China. Soon after making it available for purchase, the GT Neo3 exceeded 120 million Yuan mark in the first 10 hours. A separate Weibo post from the brand revealed that it sold over 100,000 units of the smartphone in the first 10 seconds.

The Realme GT Neo3 comes in two battery variants. The regular model has a 5,000mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging. It is now available in China in a variety of configurations, including 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. These devices are priced at 1,999 Yuan (~$314), 2,299 Yuan (~$361), and 2,599 Yuan (~$408), respectively.

The Realme GT Neo3 also comes with a 4,500mAh battery option, which supports 150W fast charging. The GT Neo3 150W comes in configurations such as 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. These cost $2,699 Yuan (~$424) and $2,899 Yuan (~$455), respectively.

Realme GT Neo3 specifications

The Realme GT Neo3 houses a 6.7-inch AMOLED FHD+ panel that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. It boots to Android 12 OS and Realme UI 3.0. The device is equipped with a Dimensity 8100 chip, LPPDR5 RAM, and UFS 3.1 storage.

For selfies, it has a 16-megapixel front-facing camera. The back of the phone has a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 main camera with OIS support, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. For security, it has an in-screen fingerprint scanner.

RELATED:

Upcoming Xiaomi flagship could come with Leica-branded cameras

By

Zohaib Ahmed

-

Mar 30, 2022

Leica-branded phone cameras have mainly been Huawei’s thing, but as MIUI’s Gallery Editor app hints, Xiaomi may have already teamed up with Leica for the development of the camera systems, allegedly for the upcoming Xiaomi 12 Ultra.

As spotted by XDA Senior Member kacskrz, on the 0.7.5 update of the Gallery Editor app, there are strings highlighting new filters you’ll be able to use while editing photos and videos on the upcoming phone. These filters have ‘Leica’ in their names.

xiaomi 12 ultra leica code — Via Xiaomiui

There are four filters all in all that mention the German camera maker, namely Leica Monochrom, Leica Monochrom HC (High Contrast), Leica Natural, and Leica Vivid. While they haven’t gone live on the Gallery Editor app just yet, it’s highly likely that they’ll be present on the Xiaomi 12 Ultra.

According to Xiaomiui, these code snippets were added to the app not long after a Xiaomi device codenamed “unicorn” made an appearance, meaning the two things are very likely to be related.

News of a Leica x Xiaomi partnership first emerged in November 2021 from Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station. While it was expected back then that one of the Xiaomi 12 models that were launched in December 2021 will have Leica-developed cameras, it hasn’t been the case. The Xiaomi 12 Ultra will likely thus be the first from the lineup to have a Leica camera.

RELATED:

Redmi Note 11 Xiaomi Fan Festival Special Edition goes official

By

Sudarshan Ravichandran

-

Mar 30, 2022

Yesterday, Xiaomi unveiled three new Redmi Note 11 smartphones for international markets. At the same time, the company also announced a limited edition of the vanilla Redmi Note 11. This device is officially Redmi Note 11 Xiaomi Fan Festival Special Edition.

Xiaomi is known for hosting fan festivals every year. During these days, the firm offers discounts on a wide variety of its products worldwide.

The festival was officially called the ‘Mi Fan Festival’ (MFF) till 2021. Now, as the company has dropped the ‘Mi’ branding, it will be called the ‘Xiaomi Fan Festival’ (XFF) going forward. The 2022 edition is scheduled to start from April 6.

Ahead of that, Xiaomi has announced a special Redmi Note dubbed as ‘Redmi Note 11 Xiaomi Fan Festival Special Edition’. It also goes by the name of ‘Redmi Note 11 XFF Special Edition’. This version of the handset has the same set of features as the regular model.

The only difference is that the limited edition phone comes in a single Star Blue colorway with the Fan Festival logo embossed on its rear. Also, it ships in a customized box with some stickers.

Unfortunately, Xiaomi has neither revealed the availability nor the price of this smartphone yet. Going by the previous iterations in the series (Redmi Note 10 Pro, Redmi Note 9S), it will be most likely limited to certain markets.

Infinix Hot 12i real-life images and specifications leaked ahead of launch

By

Zohaib Ahmed

-

Mar 30, 2022

Infinix is set to lift the curtains on the next iteration of its Hot series. The lineup will comprise three models, namely Hot 12, Hot 12i, and Hot 12 Play, much like last year. While the launch date of the trio is yet to be confirmed by the company, specifications and real-life images of one of the models — Hot 12i — have been leaked in full.

The Infinix Hot 12i comes with a 6.6-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a 720×1612 resolution. Under the hood, there’s the MediaTek Helio A22 chipset paired with up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. For photography, you get 13MP primary, 2MP ultrawide, and 2MP macro units. The front snapper has a resolution of 8MP and it looks like it will also be having a flash.

1 of 4

In terms of sensors, you get a G-sensor, a proximity sensor, an L-sensor, and finally a fingerprint sensor at the rear. The phone retains a headphone jack and features a USB-C port at the bottom. The battery is sized 5,000mAh, but the charging speed goes unspecified.

Out of the box, the Infinix Hot 12i will be booting in Android 11 Go Edition, and its 2GB of RAM can be expanded through another 2GB of virtual RAM.

Judging from the leaked images and the specifications, the Infinix Hot 12i will be an entry-level device and may launch for around Rs 10,000 — maybe lower — for Indian markets.

RELATED:

Apple Watch Series 7 reportedly charges like a sloth following watchOS 8.5 update

By

Zohaib Ahmed

-

Mar 30, 2022

Several Apple Watch Series 7 users have complained that following the watchOS 8.5 update, the wearable fails to charge at the usual speeds.

Apple says that with fast charging, the Apple Watch Series 7 battery level can go from 0-80% in about 45 minutes, which is about 33% faster than the previous generation.

However, following the update, the charging speed has plummeted to being slow enough to fill up the battery by 5% in 15 to 20 minutes (via 9to5Mac). The speeds look variable, though, as another user claimed that their watch charged 5% in a whole hour.

While it initially appeared that only users filling their Apple Watch Series 7 with the Belkin BoostCharge Pro were affected, it now seems that all users are affected — including those using Apple’s own USB-C Magnetic Fast Charging Cable.

There’s no word from Apple on the problem as of yet so until then it’s best to skip the update if you’re concerned about your charging speeds.

The Apple Watch Series 7 is available in 41mm and 45mm versions, with a larger screen-to-body ratio and faster charging. The smartwatch is compatible with Apple’s own 18W, 20W, 29W, 30W, 61W, 87W, 96W USB-C chargers, and it also adapts to third-party USB-C chargers.

watchOS 8.5 was released on March 15 and introduced support for Unicode 14 emojis, updated irregular heartbeat recognition, and fixed an email privacy protection vulnerability that could expose IP addresses.

RELATED:

Alleged iQOO Neo6 series phone for India seemingly spotted at Geekbench

By

Anvinraj Valiyathara

-

Mar 30, 2022

A new iQOO device with an I2126 model number is said to be in the works for India. Recently, iQOO phones with I2124 and I2125 model numbers were spotted in the database of an IMEI certification site. These IMEI listings reveal that these devices could be heading to India as the iQOO Neo6 and Neo6 SE. Hence, it is being speculated that the I2126 model number may belong to the iQOO Neo6 series. As usual, the Geekbench listing (via. MySmartPrice) has revealed some of the key specs of the iQOO I2126 handset.

The iQOO I2126’s Geekbench 5 listing shows that it has scored 756 and 2651 points in the single-core and multi-core tests of Geekbench, respectively. The listing states that it is powered by a Qualcomm chip with ‘lahaina’ codename. The chip offers a base frequency of 2.4GHz.

The source code of the Geekbench listing shows that it is equipped with Adreno 642L graphics. This means that the phone is running on the Snapdragon 778G chipset, which is used in phones like the iQOO Z5, Realme GT Master Edition, and Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G.

Coming back to the Geekbench listing, it has been found the device has 6 GB of RAM onboard and runs on Android 12 OS. Unfortunately, there is no other information on the specifications of the device.

iQOO Is expected to soon announce the iQOO Neo6 smartphone in China. It may go official on April 13 in the home market. However, it is unclear whether the iQOO Neo6 SE will be made official alongside it.

Reports surrounding the iQOO Neo6 variant for China have revealed that it will come with a 6.62-inch AMOLED FHD+ 120Hz display, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, and a 4,700mAh battery that supports 80W fast charging. It will most likely be available in 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage configurations. The Neo6 could be available in black, blue, and orange colors in China.

RELATED:

Dell launches Alienware X15 & X17 R2 gaming laptops in India, with 12th Gen Intel CPU & RTX 3080 Ti

By

Sean

-

Mar 30, 2022

Dell has just launched two new gaming laptops in India under its popular Alienware gaming sub brand. The two models are the Alienware X15 R2 and X17 R2 that was first unveiled back in CES 2022 back in January.

As the name suggests, the Alienware X15 R2 arrives with a 15.6 inch while the X17 R2 comes with a 17.3 inch panel. the former is offered in three different options, namely a FHD 165Hz, FHD 360Hz, and QHD 240Hz variants. On the other hand, the larger 17 inch model can be configured in a FHD 360Hz or UHD 165Hz. Both laptops support NVIDIA’s G-Sync display technology as well. Under the hood, the new laptops are equipped with Intel’s latest 12th Gen Core processors. Customers can choose between the Core i7-12700H or Core i9-12900HK processors, which is paired with the Iris Xe integrated graphics and up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM.

Since these are gaming laptops, it also features a discrete GPU, which can be up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti that has 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM. For storage, the laptops can be purchased with up to a 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen 4 SSD. Connectivity options include, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port with PowerShare, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C port with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, a Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, a Universal Audio Jack, and an HDMI 2.1 port. Notably, both models feature an 87Whr battery with support for ExpressCharge Boost fast charging.

The newly released Dell Alienware laptops are currently available for purchase through the company’s exclusive stores, its official website, large electronics retailers, and other multi brand outlets. The Alienware X15 R2 starts from 249,990 INR (roughly 3,300 US Dollars) while the Alienware X17 R2 begins from 299,990 INR (roughly 3,955 US Dollars).

RELATED: