Paytm Mall began its Independence Day sale on Tuesday before Flipkart’s Big Freedom Day Sale, and Amazon Great Indian Sale kicked off. The Paytm sale will last an entire week leading up to August 15. Discounts and cashback offers are given on smartphones, laptops, home appliances, clothing, and accessories. As part of the Paytm sale, you can get the iPhone 7 for up to Rs. 8,000 cashback, the iPhone SE at 15 percent off, and Rs. 3,000 cash back. The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is also available as part of the sale.
Paytm cashback offers up to Rs. 20,000 on Apple, HP, and Lenovo laptops. DSLRs, TVs, and washing machines have similar offerings, while some watches from Titan and Fastrack are available with 40 percent cash back. If you spend more than Rs. 1,499 during the Paytm Mall sale period, you can enter to win an iPhone 7.
Xiaomi Mi 5X could be on its way to India next month; Mi Note 3 may have a QHD display. Jain said it would be Xiaomi’s first dual-camera phone in India, leaving the 5X as the main contender. It has two 12-megapixel sensors on the back, an af/2.2 wide-angle lens, and an af/2.6 telephoto lens. The Xiaomi Mi 5X was launched for CNY 1,499 (about Rs. 14,200) in China, so it should cost less than Rs. 20,000 in India.
Meanwhile, a new Xiaomi Mi Note 3 leak revealed that the device might come with a Samsung-developed 2K (1440×2560) OLED display. The phone will also reportedly carry the Snapdragon 835 and have a nearly bezel-less display, so Xiaomi is aiming for the Galaxy S8.
OnePlus 5 Soft Gold variant made official OnePlus 5 now has a new limited-edition color option: Soft Gold. Interestingly, the color is only available with the lower 6GB/64GB RAM storage variant – which costs Rs. 32,999 – and will go live on Amazon India and the OnePlus website on Wednesday, August 9, at noon. This new OnePlus 5 color option could put buyers in a dilemma as Soft Gold is reserved for a lower variant, and Midnight Black is locked for the higher-end 8GB/128GB option. The only common choice is Slate Gray.
Moto X4, Lenovo K8 Plus, Google Pixel 2 Leaks Lenovo’s upcoming Moto X4 will have a unique dual-camera design, judging by the new leaked render shared by Evan Blass. It goes against the previous render he shared, which he says didn’t reflect the final product. In the new one, the two cameras sit side by side in a round housing with the flash mount on top.
In other Lenovo news, the K8 Plus has been spotted on the benchmark site Geekbench ahead of the K8 Note’s launch in India on Wednesday. It runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat, is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P25 chip, and has 3 GB of RAM.
Finally, the Google Pixel 2 has appeared in leaked live photos, pointing to wide bezels (ugh) and stereo speakers. A picture of the back shows a single camera and a fingerprint sensor.
Galaxy S8 Active, Samsung U Flex unveiled Samsung has launched the rugged, more durable version of its flagship – the Galaxy S8 Active – which comes with a shatterproof screen. It can be pre-ordered for $28.34 (about Rs. 1,800) per month for two and a half years through AT&T Next or $849.99 (about Rs. 54,100) if you pay upfront. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Active will be available in American stores from Friday August 11; It is unknown when the S8 Active will be launched in other countries.
Available in Meteor Gray and Titanium Gold color variants, the S8 Active has a metal frame and bumper that protects it from impact, abrasion, tipping, or twisting. While that’s all well and good, the case takes away the borderless glare of the Infinity Display. According to Samsung, the Galaxy S8 Active has passed the tests with military specifications (MIL-STD-810G). Regarding specifications, the Galaxy S8 Active is on par with the standard version, except for a battery pack that goes up to 4,000 mAh.
In addition, Samsung announced wireless headphones in U Flex, which takes its name from the bendable neckband. The U Flex also has a dedicated button for Samsung’s digital voice assistant Bixby, which can be reconfigured to choose from the clock, timer, Samsung Health, or favorites. We don’t have any pricing or availability details yet, though those will likely arrive with the Galaxy Note 8 launch on August 23.
iPhone 8 design leaked again. The next iPhone launch is still more than a month away, but the steady stream of leaks has given us several new perspectives on the upcoming models. An image shared by Evan Blass echoed the bezel-less design we’ve seen before for iPhone 8, which includes a wraparound display for the front-facing camera, sensors, and earphones. An image shared on Weibo shows that we may get a new Copper Gold color with the new iPhone.
Meanwhile, Foxconn VP Luo Zhongsheng is said to have told reporters that the iPhone “will not be cheap” due to supply chain issues as yields are low on the new OLED display provided by Samsung.
SoftBank is now in direct talks with Flipkart. After Snapdeal’s founders called off merger talks with Flipkart, its largest investor SoftBank has entered into direct talks with Flipkart, CEO Masayoshi Son said. “We respect the decision of the Snapdeal founders, and we are committed to Flipkart,” Son said after the second quarter results were announced. SoftBank owns 35 percent of Snapdeal and is said to have brokered the sale in recent months. The Japanese company now wants to invest $2 billion in Flipkart.
Disney apps can spy on your kids. Last week, a class-action lawsuit filed in California alleged that 42 apps created by Disney in conjunction with three companies — Upsight, Unity, and Kochava — collected personal information about children and used it illegally. They were shared with advertisers without parental consent. US law prohibits companies from enrolling anyone under 13 as part of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In a statement, Disney said it has a “robust COPPA compliance” program and plans to defend itself in court.
LG V30 spotted in video contest entries, launches August 31. LG may have unintentionally unveiled the look of its next flagship — the LG V30 — thanks to an online contest in partnership with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s HitRecord production company. Participants will get early access to LG products, and their videos – although not highly available, give a clear idea of what the V30 will have. The back of the phone has a dual-camera setup with a fingerprint sensor and the name ‘V’ etched underneath. The LG V30 is ready for the pre-IFA 2017 launch in Berlin on August 31.
Google rolls out YouTube’s in-app messaging to everyone. YouTube’s in-app messaging system, which allows you to share videos and chat with your friends and family within the app, is now rolling out worldwide for Android and iOS users. When you tap the share button, you can choose from people with Google accounts. Once you do this, or if someone shares a video with you, those conversations will be available in the Shared tab. Google may have lost the battle on social media, but it still owns the world’s largest open video platform, so this new addition may well keep the platform they watch the most.
Disclosure: Paytm’s parent company, One97, is an investor in Gadgets 360.
