Samsung Galaxy Note 8 was launched for Rs. 67,900 in the country today, making the Indian debut of Samsung’s new flagship. Pre-orders for Galaxy Note 8 have begun, and deliveries will start on September 21. Thanks to its global unveiling a few weeks ago, we already know all about the new Samsung phone: it has a 6.3-inch Infinity Display screen, a built-in stylus that continues to attract Samsung Note loyalists, and a dual camera on the front. Back, the first for a Samsung phone. At the event in New Delhi, Samsung also announced Bixby voice support for India, which the company says can understand regional dialects and accents and will be available on the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note 8 from September 30.
The Note 8 will be available in two color variants – Maple Gold and Midnight Black – but only one storage option: 64 GB. All early orders are guaranteed to receive a free wireless charger and a one-time screen replacement. HDFC credit card users can charge Rs. 4,000 cashback, and Reliance Jio also has a 448GB data promo. You can get it from the Samsung website, stores, and Amazon India.
Meanwhile, Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh has said pre-orders for the Note 8 have been the highest for the series, which is surprising given the price hikes in international markets and last year’s Note 7 recall disaster. The phone will go on sale in select markets on September 14.
Here’s what made even more news in the world of technology today:
Apple devises Leak Before Launch Over the weekend, details of Apple’s new devices – which launch tonight – were filtered in after two Apple blogs, 9to5 Mac and MacRumors, got their hands on the final version of iOS 11. On Monday, the BBC independently confirmed that the links to the build had been intentionally leaked to the press by an Apple employee rather than found by chance.
Later that same day, credit card company Discover accidentally listed an updated version of its Apple cashback offer, naming the new iPhone models: iPhone 8, iPhone 8+, and iPhone X Edition. It also confirmed a new Apple Watch Series 3, the 4K-enabled Apple TV (2017), and iPod Touch (7th generation). Chances are, these will be the last names.
Another developer leak claims the new Apple TV will be called “Apple TV 4K”. It comes with a three-core A10 Fusion processor and 3GB of RAM. It also has support for Dolby Vision and HDR10.
Xiaomi Mi A1 went on sale in India for the first time. Priced at Rs. 14,999, it was available through Flipkart, Mi.com, Mi Home stores, Croma, Vijay Sales, E-Zone, Sangeetha, Poorvika, Big C, LOT, UniverCell, as well as Mi Preferred Partner stores. If you missed the sale, you’d have to wait again until next Tuesday, September 19, at noon.
The smartphone has stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat software with pre-installed Xiaomi apps such as Mi Camera, Mi Remote, and Mi Store, as well as Google Photos and Google Assistant. As for the hardware specs, Mi A1 comes with a 5.5-inch full-HD display, octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB of RAM, 12-megapixel dual rear cameras, 5-megapixel front-facing camera. , 64 GB storage, and a 3080 mAh battery.
Qualcomm digs for Apple With Apple and Qualcomm embroiled in a bitter lawsuit, the latter struck the former on the day of the launch of its new iPhone. In a long and saucy blog post, Qualcomm said Android makers are always the first to bring new advanced features to their devices, then shared 20 samples of the same. That included fingerprints under the display (Qualcomm Reference Design Handset), borderless design (Xiaomi Mi Mix), OLED display (LG Flex 2), and facial recognition (Samsung Galaxy S8).
Earlier this year, Apple sued Qualcomm for about $1 billion for claiming royalties for technologies it had nothing to do with. The chipmaker rejected Apple’s accusation, then contradicted US trade regulators’ request to ban imports of iPhones over patent infringement.
Samsung Galaxy A5, Galaxy A7 get Android Nougat Samsung has started rolling out Android Nougat for Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017) users in India. You may have to wait a few more days if you don’t see it yet. Clocking in at 1.4 GB, the update includes multi-window support and an Always-On display, among other features. Before downloading and installing the update, ensure you back up your device and are connected to Wi-Fi. The Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017) recently received price cuts in India, dropping their respective prices to Rs. 22,900 and Rs. 25,900.
Oreo feature turns into a bug for Pixel users A new feature in Android Oreo, which turns off mobile data when the phone reaches its monthly quota, is becoming a major problem for some Pixel and Nexus users. According to users, this Oreo bug eventually disables mobile data, even for those mobile apps offered by carriers with zero-rated data. It’s a tricky situation that Google already seems to know. According to a Pixel community manager, a fix will be released soon.
Paytm Payments Bank Users Get RuPay Debit CardsPaytm has partnered with NPCI to launch a RuPay-powered digital debit card, which allows Paytm Payments Bank (PPB) users to transact at merchants that accept debit and credit cards. The RuPay card is issued to all existing PPB users. Those not yet on Paytm’s new offering can take advantage of it by completing a KYC process.
Jio hits back at Airtel with a “misleading” claim too. After Airtel accused Jio of “misleading” TRAI regarding interconnect usage charges (IUC) last week, claiming it suffered a loss of Rs. 6,800 crores due to low rates, Jio has hit back with its own “misleading” claim. Jio believes that the loss figure is made up and a smokescreen attempt to hide the ill-gotten gains.
Facebook is testing Instant Videos, Private Profiles. In its effort to push more video content, Facebook is testing Instant Videos on its Android app, which works much the same as Instant Articles. Instant videos have the same lightning icon as Instant Articles. The videos are preloaded over Wi-Fi, and you can watch them later on the go, even if you don’t have mobile data.
The social networking giant is also testing private profiles on Android, which are intended to help users share things with a smaller circle of friends. It’s not clear how this works, as the feature didn’t work for the users it appeared for, and it’s worth noting that you can already do this by changing the audience for your Facebook post.
Disclosure: Paytm’s parent company, One97, is an investor in Gadgets 360.
