According to the latest survey by IDC research firm, the smartphone shipments in India have significantly increased to 39 million units in the third quarter of this year mainly due to the pre-Diwali sales. For the first time ever in a quarter, India accounts for 10 percent of the global smartphone shipments. Also, Xiaomi now possesses the same market share as Samsung in the country.
More than 80 million smartphone shipments were recorded in Q3 2017. IDC claims that there has been rise of 40 percent in smartphone shipments in comparison to the previous quarter. When compared to Q3 2016, the smartphone shipments have grown by 21 percent.
When it comes to top five smartphone vendors in India, Samsung and Xiaomi are now tied at first position with each having a market share of 23.5 percent. The research firm adds that it is because of the aggressive pricing strategy that Xiaomi has adopted, it has managed to sell plenty of devices online.
By shipping 4 million units in Q3 2017, the Redmi Note 4 remains as the best-selling smartphone in the country. Also, the shipments of Xiaomi devices have increased by twofold as the company is also generating revenue through offline partners and Mi stores. A recent report by Counterpoint has cited that the Redmi Note 4, Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A are the three top selling smartphones in India in Q3 this year.
Samsung that has a market share of 23.5 in India attained 39 percent sequential growth QoQ and 23 percent YoY. The top selling smartphones for Samsung in Q3 2017 are Galaxy J2, Galaxy J7 Nxt and Galaxy J7 Max.
Lenovo (including Motorola) has regained the third sport after two quarters. In comparison to Q2 2017, the Chinese firm has managed to increase its third quarter shipments by 83 percent. In Q3 2017, it held a market share of 9 percent.
Vivo had an impressive second quarter this year, but since its shipments have decreased it has now slipped to fourth position with a market share of 8.5 percent. With the arrival of new smartphones like Vivo V7+ and Vivo Y69, the company is now regaining lost ground since September.
In Q317, OPPO had its biggest sell-in quarter in the country as shipments grew by 40 percent sequentially and 81 percent in comparison to Q3 2016. It held a market share of 7.9 percent.
Will Xiaomi’s market share surpass Samsung in Q4 2017 in India? Share us your views by commenting below.
From April this year, Microsoft started selling Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus smartphones in its brick-and-mortar stores. Now, the company has also started selling the devices through its online store.
The Microsoft Edition Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus comes pre-loaded with a range of productivity tools from Microsoft, including Cortana, MS Word, Excel, OneNote, and Outlook among others. It also comes with the new Microsoft Launcher which gives the ability to access calendar, documents, and recent activities in personalized feed.
The unlocked version of the Microsoft Edition Galaxy S8 costs $724.99, while its bigger variant — the Galaxy S8 Plus is priced at $824.99. The pricing is similar to the devices’ pricing on the Samsung’s official website. In addition, Microsoft is also offering carrier versions of the device from the likes of Verizon and AT&T.
Microsoft has already revealed that there will be a big discount on both devices as part of the company’s Black Friday deals. During Black Friday sale, both the smartphones will carry a discount of $150.
As a refresher, the Galaxy S8 features a 5.8-inch display while the Galaxy S8 Plus comes with a 6.2-inch display. The Super AMOLED display comes with a scree resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels, with an aspect ratio of 18:5:9. Under the hood, both the devices are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset which provides eight Kryo CPU cores clocked at up to 2.35GHz along with an Adreno 540 GPU and 4GB of RAM. Both the smartphones have 64GB of internal storage and supports microSD card of up to 256GB for expanding storage.
There is a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with optical image stabilisation (IOS), LED flash and a f/1.7 aperture, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera with f/1.7 aperture and autofocus. While the Galaxy S8 is powered by a 3,000mAh battery, the S8 Plus packs a bigger 3,500mAh battery. Currently, the smartphones run Android Nougat OS but an upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo is already in the beta stage.
2017 is definitely the year of bezel-less phones. Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 started the trend at the end of 2016, and now most of the best flagships in the market have a borderless display. Oppo R11s Plus vs Huawei Mate 10 are the two major high-end phones released by the Chinese companies this year. With this comparison, we want to explain to you which is best among the two, and we will try to help you decide which one fits your need in the most appropriate way.
Design and Build Quality
Both these devices have a very futuristic design thanks to their borderless display and premium materials used for their bodies.
It is very hard to notice antenna bands on these phones at first glance, which makes them even more attractive. Oppo R11s Plus measures 164.8 x 80.2 x 7.3 mm and it has a weight of 182 g. Huawei Mate 10 has a size of 150.2 x 77.8 x 8.2 mm and a weight of 186 g. Both are big phablets, so you cannot expect compact ergonomics. Oppo R11s Plus is slightly bigger so its opponent is more ergonomic, but on the other hand, it has a bigger screen and is thinner.
In both cases, there are metal bodies and the Gorilla Glass protection by Corning for the display (Gorilla Glass 5 for R11s Plus and an unspecified version for the Mate 10). While Oppo R11s Plus does not have any certification for dust and water-resistance, Huawei Mate 10 is IP53 certified, so it is splashproof and dust-resistant (but not completely as the highest grade is IP6X). For its original look and a slightly higher attention to detail and build quality, the Huawei Mate 10 wins in terms of design, according to us.
Oppo R11s Plus vs Huawei Mate 10: Display
There is no challenge between the displays of these phones, as they both have outstanding screens.
Oppo R11s Plus has a huge 6.43-inch display that shows images at a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels with AMOLED technology. It has an 80.7% screen-to-body ratio thanks to the 18:9 aspect ratio, and a pixel density of about 376 ppi. Huawei Mate 10 has a classic 16:9 display with IPS LCD technology and a size of 5.9 inches. But its resolution and pixel density are outstanding: it has a Quad HD resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels and a density of about 499 ppi. The screen to body ratio is superior to R11S Plus’ 80 percent here as well (about 81.6%) but there is still some space for a front Home key integrating a fingerprint reader.
While Oppo R11s Plus has more vivid colors and deeper blacks due to the AMOLED technology, Huawei Mate 10 has an outstanding level of detail. Further, the Mate 10 has a better color accuracy thanks to HDR10 technology, that is also supported in important apps like YouTube and Netflix (coming soon). It should also be much more legible in sunlight thanks to its peak brightness of 730 nits. Even without the 18:9 aspect ratio, Huawei Mate 10 has a display which is definitely better than the one of its opponent.
Oppo R11s Plus vs Huawei Mate 10: Hardware
Oppo
Huawei
Oppo R11s Plus AnTuTu benchmark score: 104.000 (appr.)
The difference between these phones is big in terms of hardware as well.
Oppo R11s Plus has an octa-core Snapdragon 660 SoC running at a max frequency of 2.2 GHz, composed of Kryo custom cores by Qualcomm. It is the best midrange processor by Qualcomm, but it stays a mid-range SoC. Huawei Mate 10 has the best processor ever made by Huawei, an octa-core Kirin 970 with a frequency of 2.4 GHz (which also supports AI).
The RAM is 6 GB on Oppo R11s Plus and 4 GB on Huawei Mate 10, while the internal storage is 64 GB in both cases. The memory is expandable, but they both have a hybrid micro SD slot, so you would have to say goodbye to the secondary SIM slot. The capacity supported goes up to 256 GB. You can charge Oppo R11s Plus through a micro USB 2.0 port and Huawei Mate 10 through a USB-C slot. They both have Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity standards.
Both the handsets can deliver incredible performances, but Kirin 970 is faster and smoother in every situation, gaming included. However, Oppo R11s Plus can manage the multi-tasking experience better thanks to a higher amount of RAM and a slightly bigger display that is useful for the split screen feature. But we believe Huawei Mate 10 is better in performance here.
Oppo R11s Plus vs Huawei Mate 10: Software
Even though they have great performances, the user interface of these phones is nowhere near to stock Android and it has been highly customized by the company. But the software for these phones adds many important features as well. Oppo R11s Plus has been launched with ColorOS 3.2, based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Among the features, there is an advanced split screen mode and facial unlock with artificial intelligence which is able to recognize the user and unlock the phone in just 0.08 seconds. AI plays an important role in selfies as well, as there is a beautification mode based on AI. It allows to highlight eyes, cheekbones, nose or jawline in selfies, it can brighten eyes and enable a Portrait Mode with an advanced artificial blur.
Huawei Mate 10 is powered by EMUI 8.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo, the latest version of the OS by Google. The Kirin 970 has a dedicated Neural Processing Unit, and this means that AI features are even more advanced than the one of its opponent, with machine learning supported as well. You can use AI to translate languages and for scene recognition from the camera. There is an advanced Always-On mode to see time, notifications and other info when the phone is on standby. You can also transform this device into a PC. It is possible to connect it to a DisplayPort monitor for a desktop-like use, with the user interface adapting to the monitor, naturally. These are only some of the many innovative features available. Clearly, the Huawei Mate 10 has a software which is much more advanced.
Oppo R11s Plus vs Huawei Mate 10: Camera
Oppo R11s Plus and Huawei Mate 10 can be considered among the top camera phones in the market, even though the latter is in a league of its own.
Oppo R11s Plus has a dual camera setup with resolutions of 16 + 20 MP with a f/1.7 aperture (both sensors), 1.0 µm pixel size, and Phase Detection autofocus. The selfie cam has a 16 MP resolution (f/2.0) sensor and AI-based features that we described above. Huawei Mate 10 has a dual camera with a resolution of 20 + 12 MP, it has Leica lens, optical stabilization and it can do 2x optical zoom. The aperture is f/1.6, the lowest (largest) ever seen on a smartphone. The selfie camera has an 8 MP resolution with a f/2.0 aperture.
The flagship by Oppo shoot great photos from the main camera, with a high level of detail, but we do not think that its primary camera will have the same performance as the Mate 10. The flagship by Huawei manages to shoot photos with outstanding detail and good color accuracy, and even in low-light conditions, it is great. On the other hand, the selfie camera is much better on Oppo R11s Plus. But, even if the secondary camera is more innovative besides offering incredible performances, we choose Huawei Mate 10 as the winner of the camera comparison, because it offers photos which are way better, in every lighting condition.
Oppo R11s Plus vs Huawei Mate 10: Battery
The battery life is the main problem of most flagships, but not in this case.
The battery of Oppo R11s Plus has a huge capacity of 4000 mAh and it also supports fast charging thanks to VOOC Flash Charge technology (5V / 4A). Huawei Mate 10 has a battery with a 4000 mAh capacity as well, and it supports fast charging: you can reach 58% with just 30 minutes of charging.
If we only talk about flagships, these are the phones from the last generation which have the biggest battery capacity and also the longest battery life. Huawei Mate 10 can last one day and a half with a normal use (making some calls, listening to music, navigating the internet and some video streaming). If we set a high brightness (not the max) with video playback it can last about 10 hours, which is incredible. Regarding Oppo R11s Plus, there are still not enough battery tests to evaluate its battery life perfectly, but we believe it may last even more than Mate 10. Its display has a Full HD+, and this means a lower power consumption. Further, the Snapdragon 660 is optimized very well in terms of energy consumption.
Oppo R11s Plus vs Huawei Mate 10: Price
Prices are very different, and in both cases, we are talking about low prices if we compare these phones with the most famous devices on the market. The main problem of Oppo R11s Plus is the availability: Oppo is still not a worldwide company, so the phone will be sold only in Asia. Anyways, its listing price in China is about 580 euros ($685). Huawei Mate 10 instead is going to be available in many selected markets, and its listing price in many regions goes around 700 euros ($824). Oppo R11s Plus cheaper without any doubt, but Huawei Mate 10 has a great value for money.
Oppo R11s Plus vs Huawei Mate 10: Winner
It is not hard to establish a winner in this comparison. We are talking about phones for slightly different targets, but there is no doubt about the fact that Huawei Mate 10 is a superior phone. Oppo R11s Plus has just a more innovative camera department and, maybe, a slightly longer battery life. But Huawei Mate 10 has a better design, display, a higher level of performances and more features on the software side. Anyways, note that, at this price, the Oppo R11s Plus is much cheaper to buy.
Huawei Mate 10: PRO and CONS
PRO:
Outstanding display quality
Flagship performances
AI and innovative features
Great camera
Long battery life
CONS:
Price is not so low
Average selfie camera
Oppo R11s Plus
PRO:
Innovative, complete and high-level camera department
After months of leaks, HTC has finally unveiled a new standalone VR headset dubbed as Vive Focus. It was unveiled through Vive Developers Conference that was held in Beijing, China. Even though the Taiwanese firm has officially introduced the Vive Focus VR headset, it has not disclosed its specifications. Also, the company is yet to confirm on the pricing of the new VR headset.
Vive Focus VR headset can be mounted on the head. It features a high-resolution AMOLED screen and it is fueled by Snapdragon 835 chipset. The trackpad available on it is similar to the one found on the bigger Vive devices. Since the device is free from cumbersome cables and tracking beacons, the Taiwanese company calls it “world-scale.”
The design of the Vive Focus is similar to Sony’s PlayStation VR and HTC’s Vive Deluxe Audio Strap. It has an attractive blue finish and has a slightly rounded design. According to the official website, the Vive Focus is enabled with WorldSense feature which delivers six degrees of movement such as left, right, up, down, forwards and backwards.
Vive Wave VR open platform will allow developers to create VR-ready content for Vive Focus. Content created for Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream VR is also expected to come soon on Vive Wave. HTC will be also bringing games and VR experiences through Vivereport on Vive Focus.
The HTC Vive Focus is expected to first release in China. However, as mentioned above, the company is silent on the release date and pricing. There is no confirmation on whether the VR headset will be made available in western markets.
As far as HTC’s plans for the U.S. is concerned, the company has confirmed that it won’t be bringing Vive-branded standalone headset for Daydream VR. Google has confirmed that a standalone daydream headset by Lenovo will be heading towards the U.S.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, one of the most successful smartphone from Xiaomi in the Indian market, has now received a price cut of Rs. 1,000. The announcement was made by Xiaomi India’s Managing Director, Manu Kumar Jain, who shared the news on Twitter. He wrote, “We are announcing a permanent price drop of Rs. 1,000 on India’s #1 selling smartphone: #RedmiNote4.”
As a result of this price cut, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 with 3GB RAM is now available at Rs. 9,999, while the variant with 4GB RAM is now available at a price of Rs. 11,999. The price drop is applicable on both — the company’s own Mi.com Store and Flipkart.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 features a 5.5-inch Full HD with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a 2.5D Curved Glass on top. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC octa-core processor.
In India, the smartphone was launched in three variants — 2GB RAM, 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB internal storage, respectively. However, the 2GB RAM model has been unavailable from sometime and is possibly discontinued.
The device comes with a 13-megapixel camera sensor at the back and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Connectivity options on the phone include 4G VoLTE, GPS, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with dual-band support and WiFi Direct.
The smartphone runs on Android Nougat-based MIUI and the company has recently rolled out the latest MIUI 9 update as well. It packs 4,100mAh non-removable battery and comes in three colour options — Black, Dark Grey, and Gold.
Within just 45 days of launching the device in India, Xiaomi claimed that it managed to sell over one million units of Redmi Note 4. In the first six months of launching the device, the company touched a milestone of selling 5 million units of Redmi Note 4 smartphone in India. The phone was also named as the highest shipped smartphone in India in Q1 2017.
Xiaomi has now grabbed the leading spot in the Indian market in terms of smartphone shipments, edging out Samsung which used to dominated the market. As per the IDC report, the China-based company managed to ship a record 9.2 million smartphones in the third quarter of 2017 in India. A Counterpoint research report has crowned Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A as the top 3 selling smartphones in India.
Chinese smartphone maker, 360 Mobiles is the latest to apply for a trademark but this time what it wants trademarked seems like a stretch. Sources say the manufacturer has applied to trademark the phrase “Flagship Device”.
360 Mobiles is known for making smartphones that pack impressive specs with super affordable price tags. However, most of its phones are more mid-range than flagship. The information available about the trademark application says the phrase “Flagship Device” will cover smartphones, phone cases, protective films, and more.
The application is currently pending and if approved may prevent other manufacturers from referring to their phones as flagship devices. Nevertheless, the chances of it being approved are slim. The trademark office is said to be cautious when it comes to granting trademarks for words that may cause controversies.
LeEco (LeTV) is said to have applied to trademark the phrase “Full Screen” in March. Up till this moment, the application is said to still be awaiting review.
A Twitter user, who goes by the name “Elliot Anderson” (named after the lead character of Mr Robot TV show) has discovered that OnePlus accidentally left in place a diagnostic testing application. He further added that the application can be exploited in order to grant root access which could effectively act as a backdoor.
The mobile application in question is a system app that was made by Qualcomm and customized by OnePlus. Named as EngineerMode, the application is provided by Qualcomm to OEMs for easily testing all hardware components of the device.
Named as “EngineerMode”, the application comes pre-installed on OnePlus devices, including the OnePlus 5, 3T and 3. It is used to run system tests for GPS, vibration, screen brightness, as well as for checking root access and performing a series of automated tests.
When the twitter user decompiled the application, he found that by launching the ‘DiagEnabled’ activity found in the APK with a specified password, the device could actually be rooted. One of the system property allows the user to run ADB as root which enables the user to acquire full root access on the phone without unlocking the bootloader.
The ‘DiagEnabled’ is a Qualcomm made activity so there is a possibility that other Qualcomm devices could possibly be affected by this. To check if your device has EngineerMode installed, go to Settings -> Apps -> Menu -> Show system apps and search for “EngineerMode” in the list.
This appears to be a massive security issue as hackers may find ways to use it to gain access to OnePlus handsets. The developer has said that he plans to release an app for rooting OnePlus devices soon.
Meanwhile, in response to this, Carl Pei, CEO of the company, said that they are looking into the matter. This security issues comes into light just days before the company is set to launch its upcoming smartphone — OnePlus 5T in New York.
The Gionee S11 is set to launch soon but it appears Thailand may get it first. The official Gionee Thailand Facebook page already has an ad of the upcoming phone that confirms some of its specs.
The advert confirms that the Gionee S11 will have dual front and dual rear cameras. The front cameras are a 16MP + 8MP sensors just like the Gionee S10. It is unknown if the sensors are exactly the same as those of its predecessors. On the rear, there is also a 16MP primary sensor but paired with a 5MP sensor instead.
The quad cameras are not the only key features of the Gionee S11. It will also come with a 5.99” FHD 2.5D Full View display. The ad confirms it will have 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage but doesn’t mention the processor powering the phone. Based on the phone’s GFXBench and TENAA listings, the S11 may have a MT6763 or Helio P25 processor under the hood.
Another info the advert confirms is that the phone will come in blue, pink, and gold. Based on the official replies to fans’ comments, the Gionee S11 doesn’t yet have a launch date (in Thailand) yet. Although Gionee has an event scheduled for November 26 where it plans to unveil a bunch of new phones in Shenzhen, China, there is a chance the S11 will be unveiled there first.
Xiaomi continues its giant strides in terms of smartphone shipments both globally and in India. Xiaomi India’s head Manu Jain has disclosed that the company shipped a record 9.2 million smartphones in the third quarter of 2017 in India. This is the first time since Xiaomi first entered India three years back that the company was hitting such monumental stride in phone shipments.
The Chinese tech giant was able to ship 100,000 smartphones in the third quarter in its debut season in the country where it first sold its phones on Flipkart. While in Q3 2015, it crossed the 1 million mark. Xiaomi’s fortune continued to rise as it hit 3 million units in shipments in the third quarter of last year and now it surpassed 9 million units in Q3 2017. The massive sales recorded in Q3 2017 could be traced to the huge success recorded in the Diwali sales festival which ran from September 20 to October 19 and during which period Xiaomi revealed it sold over 4 million smartphones.
Manu Jain also revealed that research firm IDC now ranks Xiaomi as the number 1 smartphone brand in the whole of India. Xiaomi occupies the number 1 spot in the third quarter of 2017 edging out Samsung who was revealed to have the highest market share in Q2 2017. OPPO, Lenovo and Vivo also fall behind Xiaomi once again in the pecking order.
In addition, the Xiaomi India head also hinted at another record which his company clinched and this time it comes from Counterpoint research. The research firm is credited to have crowned Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A top 3 selling smartphones respectively in India for the third quarter of this year. With the festive season still on, we expect another strong finish for the fourth and final quarter of the year from China’s Apple.
Mobile phones OEMs continually formulate innovative concepts in order to make smartphones more appealing to users which in turn leads to better sales. The latest trend has been the highly popular full-screen design which has found its way into almost all flagship models released in the second half of this year. The full-screen design is also getting an appreciable amount of usage in the mid-range and budget segment as well.
We may be seeing a slight shift from full-screen phone designs to dual screen foldable phones next year. There is a new rumour in town that many mobile phone manufacturers have got the foldable dual-screen phone in the works. This isn’t the first time we are getting such hint and sure, we are not talking about concept design anymore. ZTE recently announced the Axon M with a dual foldable screen design but the reception for that design hasn’t been encouraging. Sharp had also announced a dual screen foldable phone in the past.
Despite that, the latest news from the Taiwanese industrial chain shows that Huawei, OPPO and South Korea giants Samsung and LG are all actively developing dual-screen foldable phones. However, the design is said to be what would set the models apart as they are trying to eliminate a separation of the two screens in order to get a good visual experience. Huawei Consumer Business VP Yu Chengdong is reported to have disclosed in an interview with CNET that his company is developing a foldable smartphone and the prototype is already out. The Huawei VP also disclosed that the company is trying to perfect the foldable phone design. Yu Chengdong also disclosed that Huawei foldable phone may launch next year depending on how soon they are able to perfect the display. We can’t say for sure when that will be but be rest assured that as soon as the perfect foldable full-screen phone is launched, the market will get busy with different foldable models.
Xiaomi is expected to launch new full-screen smartphones under the Redmi line very soon. Fans of the brand have been eager to get their hands on the devices following their appearance on TENAA but they still haven’t been officially released. Fresh details have surfaced explaining the reason for the delay.
According to the source, Xiaomi’s CEO and founder, Lei Jun initially released a statement attributing the delay to the desire to meet a certain level of stock before release. Latest report says mass production has been underway since then and available stock should be available to prompt a release by the end of the month or early in December.
Xiaomi’s Redmi line is very popular and is usually out of stock in a short period. Xiaomi is likely trying to avoid a repeat of situations like that, so its trying to build up enough stock to cover for the initial rush when the phones first go on sale.
Xiaomi is expected to release three full-screen smartphones – Redmi 5, Redmi 5 Plus and Redmi Note 5. The phones will differ with respect to screen-size, screen resolution, and processor, but will share a common feature – an 18:9 aspect ratio.
The Redmi 5 will be the cheapest of the lot as it is rumored to have a ¥799 (~$120) price tag. It will have a 5.7” HD+ (720 x 1440) display, a Snapdragon 450 processor and 3GB of RAM.
The Redmi 5 Plus will pack a 5.99” FHD+ screen, 3GB/4GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of built-in storage. The Snapdragon 625 will be the SoC of choice and pricing is said to be ¥999 (~$150) and ¥1299 (~$195) depending on the storage variant.
We have seen a few leaks surrounding Xiaomi‘s upcoming Redmi Note 5 smartphone. Now, a new image of the smartphone has surfaced online through JD.com listing, revealing that the phone will feature a full-screen display, as rumoured earlier.
As the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 smartphone has been listed on Chinese retailer JD.com, it is believed that the launch of the smartphone should be imminent. Do note that the listing suggests 8,888 Yuan as the phone’s pricing but that is just symbolic and doesn’t reflect the smartphone’s actual price.
A couple of weeks ago, two smartphones — Redmi MET7 and Redmi MEE7 appeared through TENAA which are believed to be the variants of the Redmi Note 5 smartphone. Both devices differ in terms of memory and storage capacity only.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 will be featuring a 5.9-inch Full HD IPS LCD display with a screen resolution 2160 x 1080 pixels and 18:9 aspect ratio. It will come with a full-screen design with thin bezels around the display. Earlier, the phone was speculated to have a 5.7-inch Full HD+ display.
Under the hood, it is powered by a 2.0GHz octa-core processor, but the chipset version is not yet known. We are expecting the device to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor.
The smartphone will be available in two variants — 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM with 64GB of internal storage. It also has a microSD card slot, allowing users to expand the storage capacity.
While the company has been focusing on the camera department, it doesn’t seem to the focus point for the Redmi Note 5. The device is expected to comes with a 12MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. It will support Dual SIM connectivity along with dual standby feature. It will also have the usual set of connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
In terms of software, the phone will run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat-based MIUI 9. It will be fuelled by a 4,000mAh battery. According to the earlier TENAA leak, the smartphone will be available in Black, Rose Gold, White, Blue, Gold, Pink, Red, Grey and Silver colour options.
While the pricing details on the JD.com listing of the device is symbolic, previous leaks related to the Redmi Note 5 suggests that the smartphone could be priced around 1,599 Yuan (~ $241).
There was a time Motorola used to make tablets. This was before it was acquired by Google and before Lenovo purchased it from them. Its tablets were released under the XOOM series and were powered by chipsets from Nvidia and Texas Instrument. After a 5 year hiatus, Motorola is returning to the tablet scene with the Lenovo Moto Tab launching on Friday.
The Lenovo Moto Tab is made for media consumption and that is why it is an AT&T exclusive for their DirecTV Now streaming subscription.
The device packs a 10.1” FHD display, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It is powered by the Snapdragon 625 mobile platform which means you should get enough juice out of the 7,000mAh battery.
The Moto Tab has dual front facing speakers with Dolbly Atmos, a fingerprint scanner buried beneath the home button and a USB-C port. It also runs Android 7.1 Nougat.
While it may actually be aimed at entertainment, Lenovo will also sell a productivity pack which includes a keyboard and mouse just like it does for the Tab 4 series. You can also purchase a home assistant pack which is its smart speaker with a dock for the tablet, for an experience similar to the Echo Show.
This festive season is usually a busy period when e-commerce experience a boom in sales. We just saw the 11.11 Singles day sales in China where record sales were made by some of the top retailers. The Singles Day is arguably the biggest shopping festival of the year in China and it falls on November 11 every year. This year, Xiaomi has revealed its sales figure on Tmall for the Singles Day 24-hour sales and it is massive!
Xiaomi has reportedly broken all its previous record this year on Tmall with a total revenue of 2.46 billion Yuan (about $370 million). This record sales place the tech giant as the top smartphone company in terms of units sold for the fifth consecutive year running. As a matter of fact, Xiaomi is said to occupy four out of the top 10 smartphones sold on Tmall. In addition, the company also emerged tops in the IoT products sales due to the popularity of its IoT products. This help Xiaomi clinch the top position for the third consecutive year in the smart devices category and it also ranked number one in terms of TV sales.
The highest sales record Xiaomi has ever achieved on the platform before now was during its successful 2014 run when it sold 1.56 billion Yuan on the platform during 11.11. That figure was broken in 10 hours this year, as the company hit¥ 1.6 Billion ((US$ 240 million) in 10 Hours 42 Minutes. Xiaomi is yet to disclose the sales from other channels but we expect the figures to be huge also.
US-based wireless network operator T-Mobile has launched a new smartphone — Revvl Plus. This is the successor of the Revvl smartphone, which was launched by the carrier earlier this year in August.
The company says that the phone is “heavy on features but light on the budget.” Compared to the Revvl launched earlier this year, its successor comes with a bigger display, a bigger battery and an upgraded processor.
One of the highlight of the smartphone is the dual camera lenses on the back of the smartphone. The device comes with a 13-megapixel lens and a 5-megapixel shooter at the back. As per the company, the dual-camera setup will allow users to create bokeh effects. On the front, there is an 8-MP selfie camera.
The smartphone comes with a 6-inch Full HD display with screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. While most smartphone manufacturers are now offering 18:9 aspect ratio for the display, this one comes with the old-school 16:9 aspect ratio. It also has a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass on top protecting the display from minor scratches.
Under the hood, the device is powered by a 2.0GHz oct-core processor. However, the company has not revealed which chipset is used. It packs 2GB of RAM and offers 32GB of internal storage. There is also a microSD card slot, allowing users to further expand the storage capacity.
Just like its predecessor, the Revvl Plus also runs on Android Nougat operating system. There is a fingerprint sensor at the back, just below the camera module. The smartphone is powered by a 3,380mAh battery.
The Revvl Plus is priced at $199 in the US. In addition, users will also be able to lease it for $9 a month through T-Mobile’s Jump On Demand Program or pay it off in 24 monthly installments of $8 after making a down payment of $8. The smartphone will be available in stores from November 17, while the special edition with black-and-magenta colour will be exclusively available online.
Huawei’s sub-brand Honor is planning to launch Honor 7X smartphone in the Indian market by the end of December. While the launch date is not yet confirmed, the company has opened registrations for the device on its own website and on Amazon India. The company has said that the smartphone will be exclusively available online via Amazon India.
Amazon has already created a landing page for the Honor 7X, without explicitly mentioning any details about its price or availability. The terms and conditions page of the registration campaign reveals that the smartphone will go on sale sometime in the last week of December, following the closure of the registration window.
Honor is also giving away 150 power banks of 10,000mAh capacity and 850 earphones with mic to select registrants, and the winners for the same will be announced on January 8, 2018. While not yet official, this could be the date from when the Honor 7X will go on sale in India.
The company said that there will be twenty winners who will receive Honor 7X devices after taking part in the ‘Amazon Registration and Amazon App Event’. For the bumper prize, seven registered users will win holiday packages from Yatra worth Rs. 75,000.
Honor 7X features a 5.93-inch Full HD+ full-screen display with thin-bezels and 18:9 aspect ratio with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. It is powered by an octa-core Hisilicon Kirin 659 chipset, along with 4GB of RAM. The phone comes in three options in terms of internal storage — 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB, and also supports storage expansion through microSD card up to 256GB.
It sports a dual-camera setup with 16-megapixel and 2-megapixel sensors on the rear and an 8-megapixel camera sensor on the front. The smartphone packs a 3,340mAh battery and runs on Android 7.0 Nougat-based company’s own EMUI 5.1 custom skin.
Earlier, Honor’s Global President George Zhao said that the phone will come with an “unbeatable price”, but refrained from confirming any exact price information. In India, the phone is expected to be available in Gold, Aurora Blue and Black colours.
The 32GB storage model of Honor 7X is priced at CNY 1,299 (~$200) in China, while the 64GB model is priced at CNY 1,699 (~$260) and the top-of-the-line model with 128GB storage costs CNY 1,999 (~$304).
Samsung has continued to lose market hares in the Chinese market and that downward spiral isn’t likely to end very soon if a recent prediction by Strategic Analytics is anything to go by. According to the research firm, Samsung’s share of the Chinese smartphone market will further decline to below 2% in the fourth quarter of this year.
Recent research data shows Samsung ranked 9th in the third quarter with a 2% share but that is expected to drop to 1.6% by the end of the year. A previous market survey of the second quarter had revealed that the South Korean company’s market share has dropped to such an extent it is on the sixth position in the list of top smartphone brands in China.
The reason for the global tech giant’s decline is attributed to the new market trend in China which shows that customers prefer buying cheaper smartphones from local brands. It wasn’t always so, as Samsung was once a dominant force in the Chinese market. In 2015, Samsung’s China market share reached 20% but right now, we see the rise of cheap and premium-looking smartphones, some mid-range devices. The rise of Chinese OEMs like Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo is responsible for the decline of the Korean giant. The duo of Samsung and LG may further experience a decline in their market share unless they get more competitive against these Chinese firms.
OPPO A79 is an upcoming smartphone from the Chinese firm. This smartphone was spotted at TENAA in the previous month. The rumor mill has now revealed a leaked render of the OPPO A79 phone. It reveals that the smartphone would be arriving with full screen design.
The render shows that the front panel of the OPPO A79 is mainly occupied by its full screen display. It suggests that the screen will deliver a high screen-to-body ratio. The rear side of the phone features a single camera lens and a fingerprint reader. The bottom side of the phone has a USB-C port and a 3.5mm audio jack.
The appearance of the OPPO A79 is quite similar to the recently unveiled OPPO F5 selfie expert phone. Through its TENAA listing, it has been found that the OPPO A79 measures 157.3 x 76 x 7.2mm and its weight is 140 grams.
The OPPO A79’s TENAA listing has also revealed that it will be arriving with a full screen display of 6.01 inches. The 18:9 aspect ratio display will carry support for full HD+ resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. It is likely to be powered by MediaTek MT6763T (Helio X23) chipset and 4 GB of RAM. It is expected to come with a native storage of 64 GB. There is no confirmation on whether it features a microSD card slot
It is expected to feature a 16-megapixel rear camera and a 16-megapixel snapper is rumored to be present on its front. It is likely to arrive with a 2,900mAh battery. It will come preloaded with Android 7.1 Nougat OS.
The OPPO A79 is rumored to arrive with a price tag of around 2,399 Yuan (~$360). Recent reports have revealed that the OPPO A79 may get unveiled on Nov. 30. If it is true, OPPO may confirm on the official launch of the A79 in the near future.
A report from the previous week had claimed that Apple will be introducing two OLED iPhones in 2018. Fresh information shared by the very reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states that there will be three new iPhones next year including an iPhone with TFT LCD panel.
According to Kuo, there could be a 6.5-inch OLED iPhone and a 5.8-inch OLED iPhone in 2018. Also, an iPhone with 6.1-inch TFT LCD screen may also arrive next year. The 5.8-inch iPhone may offer a pixel density of 458ppi. The 6.5-inch OLED may produce a pixel density of around 480 to 500 ppi. The 6.1-inch TFT LCD iPhone may support a pixel density of around 320 to 330 ppi.
The two OLED iPhones that are speculated to arrive in 2018 are expected to feature flagship specs. The smaller among the two may be of same size as the iPhone X. The 6.1-inch LCD iPhone that is speculated to support lower resolution could be Apple’s entry-level smartphone and it is likely to cost around $649 to $749.
Kuo predicts that the three iPhones that may launch in 2018 will have the same edge-to-edge design found on the iPhone X. Since these iPhones will have the same appeal, they are unlikely to feature a Touch ID sensor. The 2018 iPhones with full screen design will continue to sport a u-shaped notch above the display that will be housing the TrueDepth Camera system and Face ID.
As Apple has been doing every year, it is speculated to announce the next-generation iPhones at the end of third quarter of 2018. However, it is too early talk on the specs of the upcoming iPhones. Hence, we advise our readers to digest the above report with a pinch of salt.
In July, a smartphone labelled as Samsung SM-G9650 had appeared on Geekbench. The aforementioned model number suggested that it could be the upcoming Galaxy S9 smartphone. Now, a Samsung phone with model number SM-G965F has emerged on the benchmarking site. It is speculated that it could be the forthcoming Galaxy S9+ flagship.
The appearance of the alleged Galaxy S9+ on the benchmarking platform suggests that Samsung could be testing it now as it is rumored to get unveiled in the first quarter of 2018. According to Geekbench listing, the Samsung SM-G965F is running on Android 8.0 Oreo.
It is driven by “universal9810” chipset. This indicates that it could be powered by the newly announced Exynos 9810 chipset. The SoC is coupled with 4 GB of RAM. On Geekbench, the alleged Galaxy S9+ has scored 1191 in single-core test and 3835 in multi-core test.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ come in Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895 chipset variants and include 4 GB of RAM. The appearance of the alleged Galaxy S9 and S9+ duo indicates that these flagship phones may feature 4 GB of RAM. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are expected to arrive in Snapdragon 845 and Exynos 9810 chipsets for different markets. There could be a 6 GB RAM variant that may head to markets like South Korea and China.
A recent report has revealed that Samsung may begin the mass production of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in December as it has aborted plans to add in-screen fingerprint reader on these phones. Recent reports have revealed that the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will arrive with the same-sized Infinity Display S-AMOLED panels that are available on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones.
New renders of the Galaxy S9 suggests that Samsung will be introducing vertically stacked dual cameras on its back panel. The Galaxy Note 8 has a horizontally arranged dual rear cameras. Also, in order to prevent users from accidentally touching the camera lenses while accessing the fingerprint scanner, Samsung is speculated to place the biometric recognition feature below the dual camera module.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 duo are rumored to get unveiled in the first quarter of 2018. The South Korean company is known for announcing its Galaxy S series flagship phones a day ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC) event. Since MWC 2018 will be held between Feb. 26 and March 1, it is speculated that the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be official on Feb. 25.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
