The Vivo V7 smartphone with a 24-megapixel selfie camera with ‘Moonlight Glow’ soft flash has launched in India as a Flipkart exclusive for Rs. 18,990. Pre-bookings for the smartphone have begun, and will go on sale on Friday, November 24. Launch offers include an exchange discount of up to Rs. 18,000, one-time free screen replacement, free vouchers for a few movies worth Rs. 500 from BookMyShow, free EMIs, and 5 percent off Axis Bank Buzz credit card purchases, as well as priority delivery. The main specs of the Vivo V7 include a 5.7-inch HD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, a custom skin based on Android Nougat, an octa-core Snapdragon 450 SoC, 4 GB RAM, 32 GB internal storage, microSD support up to 256 GB, a 16-megapixel rear camera, and 3000mAh battery.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Listed Online Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 specs have been leaked again via an online listing in China. This time it was Oppomart who made a list, showing that the phone will have a 5.99-inch full-HD+ (1080 x 2160 pixels) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, Android 7.1 Nougat software, Snapdragon 625 SoC, 12-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel selfie shooter and 4000mAh battery. The Redmi Note 5 would come in two variants, one with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage and another with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.
The company announced today that it would discontinue software support for six aging Xiaomi smartphones. This list includes Mi 2/2S, Mi 4i, Redmi Note 4G, Redmi 2, Redmi 2 Prime, and the Mi Note, and these handsets will not get updates after MIUI 9.
Xiaomi Mi A1 Rose Gold variant in India, new device coming soon The Chinese brand has also released the Rose Gold variant of the Mi A1 Android One smartphone in India today. It will go on sale in India on Tuesday, November 21 at 12:01 PM via Mi.com and Flipkart, along with Mi Home stores, Mi Preferred Partner stores, and retail partner stores. The price of the new Rose Gold model is the same as that of the Black and Gold options, Rs. 14,999. Specifications of the Mi A1 also remain the same, with the smartphone sporting a 5.5-inch full-HD display, octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB of RAM, Android 7.1.2 Nougat software, dual 12-megapixel cameras. On the back, a 5-megapixel front camera, 64 GB internal storage, up to 128 GB microSD card support, and a 3080 mAh battery.
Manu Kumar Jain, head of Xiaomi India, also hinted on Twitter at the launch of a new device simply by teasing the letter ‘I. There are four dots on the letter instead of one, with the top three colored saffron, white and green, the colors of the Indian flag. It is unclear whether the new device is a smartphone, but we can expect more clarity in the coming weeks.
Is Apple coming with dual-sim iPhone next year? KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reportedly said in a research note that Apple plans to launch iPhone models with dual SIM support in 2018. The company is working on supporting two LTE networks on the device, unlike the LTE + 3G configuration of most dual-SIM phones. Intel is looking for 70-80 percent of its baseband chip requirements to deliver faster connectivity compared to Qualcomm chips. Another report says Apple is opting for a 5G modem, though the 5G-enabled iPhones are unlikely to hit the market next year and some other time.
Nokia 2 launched in the US for $99. Nokia 2, the entry-level smartphone that is said to have a battery life of 2 days, has launched in the US via Amazon.com. Unveiled in India and first released in Russia, the Nokia 2 costs $99 (about Rs. 6,500) as an unlocked device compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile networks; it’s not clear yet if it will support other US operators like Sprint and Verizon. Although it was unveiled in India, it has yet to become available here, and the local price tag remains a mystery. The main features of the Nokia 2 include a 4100 mAh battery, Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS, Snapdragon 212 SoC, 1 GB RAM, 8-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera, and 8 GB storage with microSD card. Support up to 128GB.
Samsung is working on improving the Galaxy S9 iris scanner to beat Face IDFace ID, one of the big highlights of iPhone X. To no one’s surprise, Samsung is said to be working on improving its facial recognition technology to beat Apple’s. The South Korean company is reportedly not looking for a hardware upgrade in iris scanner settings and is instead working to reduce delays in recognizing users’ faces and scanning their irises through software tweaks. . The upcoming Galaxy S9 may have a configuration similar to iPhone X’s TrueDepth to offer facial recognition similar to that of Apple’s new flagship.
Honor V10 specs leaked. Just a week before the official launch, the Honor V10 was spotted on the Chinese certification body TENAA’s website. The listing reveals that the upcoming smartphone will have a 5.99-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, a Kirin 970 chipset, 6GB of RAM, 64GB and 128GB of storage options, a 16-megapixel + 20-megapixel dual rear camera, a 13-megapixel selfie camera, Android 8.0 Oreo software, and 3.5mm audio jack. The accompanying image shows a metal body. Previous Honor V10 leaks and teasers have revealed that the smartphone will have AI integrations and a price tag of CNY 3,000 (approximately Rs. 29,500).
OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T get Android Oreo-based OxygenOS update OnePlus 3, and OnePlus 3T will soon get OxygenOS 5.0 build, based on Android 8.0 Oreo. The two phones will receive the update as an OTA update from Sunday. The new features that the OxygenOS 5.0 update brings to the 2016 flagships is Picture in Picture mode, autofill, smart text selection, similar apps, and a new quick settings design. As for the OnePlus Launcher, OxygenOS 5.0 gets new notification dots, a revamped app folder design, and the ability to upload photos directly to Shot on OnePlus.
Google Pixel 2 buzzing sound issue is to be fixed with an upcoming update. The fix will be released in the coming weeks via a software update. Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have been bombarded with complaints about nagging issues, which Google has acknowledged.
In some good news for owners, Google has begun rolling out Lens’s visual search feature to the first batch of Pixel and Pixel 2 smartphones. Integrated into Google Assistant, it can recognize addresses and books, among other things. In the Photos app, Lens can be activated while looking at an image or a screenshot. The feature will also be added to cameras and other apps.
