Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be launched in India on Wednesday. Ahead of the launch, Flipkart unveiled a special showcase for Samsung’s new flagship devices on its website. The page reads “launching on April 19,” so you should expect pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ to open immediately after Wednesday’s event in New Delhi. The phones have already shipped to some markets.
Some buyers of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ in international markets have reported discoloration issues with their displays, claiming it has a red tint that won’t go away. While an industry analyst claimed this could be due to a color balance problem in the production of OLED panels, Samsung has ruled out a “quality issue”. It said it could be customized from the phone, and those who still have problems can have their Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ replaced at service centers.
Meanwhile, Samsung has blocked the Bixby button’s reconfiguration with an over-an-air update. It appears the company was unhappy with the system-level solution users found and wants to keep it committed to its own digital personal assistant.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will go on sale on April 21 in Samsung’s two largest markets — the US and South Korea. Ever for the Korean market. That’s not surprising, considering Samsung reported 720,000 pre-orders in the first seven days after the pre-orders went live on April 7.
This is what made even more news in the world of technology today.
Reliance Jio partners with Vivo for IPL-themed offerings. With the IPL season in full swing, Vivo has signed a deal with Reliance Jio to promote its brand. On Tuesday, Jio announced the Vivo Jio Cricket Mania offer, which will allow owners of Vivo smartphones to get up to 168 GB of free data if they’re willing to jump through some hoops. To register for the Reliance Jio Vivo IPL offer, select your favorite IPL team and send a message with your Jio number.
After that, the amount of data you get depends on your team’s performance. A win gives you 3 GB, a draw 2 GB, and a loss 1 GB. It’s a bit like football, except you still get something even if you lose. And if the team qualifies for the knockout rounds, Jio will double your data quota. You’ll get three times as much free data if the team finishes in the final. Should they eventually win the IPL trophy, you’re looking at a quadruple bonus from Reliance Jio.
Timex IQ+ Move launched in India for Rs. 9,995Timex dives deeper into the world of smartwatches with IQ+ Move, which retains the company’s expertise with analog watches and combines it with the functionalities of a fitness tracker. It can track your steps, calories, and sleep without having to charge as there is no digital screen to power it. It can sync with your Android or iOS phone to display all the stats you need, plus it’s waterproof to 50 meters if you get the rubber band.
The Timex IQ+ will be available in two variants: a silver case, a white dial with gold accents, and a brown leather strap, a gray silicone strap, a case with a gray finish, and a black dial with blue accents. It costs Rs. 9,995.
Vivo V5s ready to launch in India on April 27 Vivo is adding to its existing V5 lineup – the V5 came in 2016 and the V5 Plus early this year – with the Vivo V5s, which will launch in India on April 27. The Vivo V5s has a metal unibody design and a 5.5-inch HD display covered with a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass. Inside you get the MediaTek MT6750 SoC, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB expandable storage, and a 3000 mAh battery.
The Vivo V5s aims to match Vivo’s focus on selfies, which explains the 20-megapixel front camera, which features a Sony IMX376 sensor with f/2.0 aperture and LED flash. You get a 13-megapixel camera with PDAF and f/2.2 aperture on the back. And despite its arrival in mid-2017, the Vivo VS still runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
Snapchat user data allegedly leaked by Indian hackers. While Snap has denied the “poor country” allegations against its CEO Evan Spiegel, it appears that the Indian community at large has not been given a reprieve. According to a report in The Independent, anonymous Indian hackers claim they dug up data from 1.7 million Snapchat users and released it on the deep web. The Snapchat parent has denied such a leak.
Netflix announces nearly 100 million members in a new revenue report. On Monday, Netflix announced its revenue for the first quarter of 2017, revealing that the streaming service now has 98.75 million paying members worldwide. Netflix also said it expects to cross the 100 million mark by the end of this week. The company also revealed data on its most popular content, and one piece of information, stood out.
Netflix said subscribers had streamed half a billion hours of Adam Sandler movies since December 2015. That figure is split across three of his Netflix productions: The Ridiculous 6 (2015), The Do-Over (2016), and Sandy Wexler (2017).
Trump to sign a new executive order restricting H1-BTrump doesn’t seem interested in slowing the pace of enacting new executive orders. His next, to be signed in Wisconsin on Tuesday, will focus on the H1-B visa program used to hire skilled foreign workers to force companies to hire more Americans. For President Trump, this plays on the “America First” rhetoric he engineered and wielded with influence during his campaign.
This could affect Indians studying or planning to study in the US as they will face greater barriers to getting the same jobs. Trump has spoken out against using H1-B to cut wages. Senior Trump administration officials said the new executive order is intended to tackle “fraud and abuse” in the US immigration system.
HTC Vive will arrive in India on May 17 HTC Vive, the virtual reality headset, will be available in India on May 17, according to multiple sources who spoke to Gadgets 360. The sources also claim that Amazon India will start pre-orders in two days on April 20 and will be a timed exclusive for the Seattle-based giant. Dell will be selling it offline through its retail stores next month.
HTC reached out for comment, saying, “We’re getting ready to launch Vive in India soon. We’ll keep you posted once we finalize the details.” Due to the strict import duties in India, the HTC Vive is expected to cost Rs. 93,000. In comparison, the PlayStation VR is available for Rs. 41,990.
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Leaks in New Images In addition to launching the Mi 6 on Wednesday in Beijing, Xiaomi is also expected to unveil the Mi Max 2, which has been leaked in new images. They show the phone with a metal body, with the camera – a 12-megapixel rear camera with a Sony IMX378 sensor – and flash at the top left, which resembles an iPhone. On the bottom, it also resembles Apple’s phone – the charging port (USB Type-C in this case) is flanked by grilles with two speakers.
However, Xiaomi has kept the 3.5mm audio jack, which can be found at the top. The leaked images do not show the front of the phone, although it is expected to have a 6.44-inch full-HD display. It will likely run on the Snapdragon 626 chip and 4 GB of RAM, with a higher specification variant powered by Snapdragon 660 and 6 GB of RAM. It costs between CNY 1,499 (approximately Rs. 14,000) and CNY 1,699 (roughly Rs. 15,900), respectively.
The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 has Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box and should go official in a day.
