After launching the F5 in Philippines on October 26, Oppo today launched the selfie phone in India. The highlight of the event was the Facial unlock and the AI Beauty Technology which the company claims as the first AI based beautifying technology in India.

Following the big-screen trend, the Oppo F5 features 6-inch full HD+ display resolution (2160x1080p), aspect ratio of 18:9 and a screen to body ratio of 84.2 percent. Powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT6763T processor, the phone will come with 4GB and 6GB RAM variants with an internal storage of 32GB and 64GB respectively. The storage is expandable upto 256GB via microSD card, and two nano-sims. It runs on ColorOS 3.2 based on Android 7.1 with a battery capacity of 3200mAh.

Oppo F5 is the latest addition to the company’s selfie expert series after Oppo F3. In continuation, the company has launched the F5 with a 20-megapixel front sensor measuring 1/2.8-inches with a f/2.0 aperture and the AI Beauty Technology. The technology includes a database of human faces from around the world which captures the details of the user on the basis of the skin tones, gender, age etc. thus giving the best selfies to the user. In addition to this, the phone can identify more than 200 facial recognition spots while clicking selfies and has a customized beauty effect. It has a 16-megapixel primary sensor with an aperture size of f/1.8. It also has a fingerprint sensor placed below the camera lens at the back.

The other features of the phone include Game Acceleration, Facial Recognition, Split Screen and O-Share which is claimed to be 100 times faster than Bluetooth. For connectivity, the phone has 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, USB and GPS.

Apart from this, Oppo also announced the launch of Oppo F5 Youth which it will start rolling out from December onward. The phone will also feature the same  6-inch full HD+ display and AI Beauty Technology. We earlier reported that the Oppo F5 might be launched in three variants and with this announcement, the news has been confirmed.

Price and availability

While the sale starts from Nov 9, the phone can be pre-ordered on Flipkart starting today till Nov 8. The 4GB and the 6GB variant of the phone are priced at Rs 19,990 and Rs 24,990 respectively. The former will be available in Black and Gold and the latter will be sold in Black and Red. 

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A day after Xiaomi launched the Mi Mix 2 in India, Honor has teased an imminent bezel-less smartphone launch soon. Huawei's sub-brand has already sent press invites mentioning the date and venue of the launch event. According to the invite, the event is scheduled for December 5 in London. While there is no official word from the company about the phone, the invite has gained a lot of attention because it consists of a template most associated with a minimal bezel phone.

Huawei Honor's secret smartphone invite comes with the tagline- "Max your view" which suggests that the company might take wraps off of Note 9 or a new flagship. There are two phones in the invite but it's unlikely that we get both of them. The case here might be that Huawei launches two smartphones, a normal variant and a Pro version.

Additionally, the invite also comes with a hashtag "#IOOI" which indicates that the smartphone(s) in question will, in fact, come with dual cameras. We can also speculate on the fact that the recently announced Kirin 970 chipset might make its way onto the smartphone.

Huawei recently launched Honor 9i in India with a dual camera setup on the front and the rear. It is one of the first phones to come with four cameras. While dual camera setup has been in trend for quite a long time but these days bezel-less phones are gaining more popularity in the market. We recently saw Apple going bezel-less with its iPhone X. Also, the Mi Mix 2 which we have mentioned earlier falls in this category with other phones like Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG G6.

After launching Mi Mix 2 globally, Xiaomi finally launched the device in India today. It is the successor of the flagship device Mi Mix which was launched last year. At the global launch event, Xiaomi’s Senior Vice President, Xiang Wang announced to launch the phone in Indian market soon which was later on confirmed by Xiaomi India VP Manu Kumar Jain.

Coming back to the phone, the Mi Mix 2 features a 5.99-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, Full HD+ resolution and DCI-P3 support. To provide a bigger display to its users, the company has reduced the upper bezel with guided earpiece design and an ultrasonic proximity sensor which is placed below the display. Also, they have shifted the front camera at the bottom right corner to serve the same purpose. In addition to this, the chin size of the phone is also reduced to some extent which is 41.1% shorter than the iPhone 8 Plus, claimed the Lead Product Manager, Jai Mani at the event.

For design, Xiaomi again teamed up with the world-renowned designer, Philippe Starck who also designed the original Mi Mix. The phone comes with four-sided curved ceramic body along with aerospace grade aluminium alloy frame which is light, firm and resistant to corrosion.

The phone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with a clock speed of 2.45Ghz. The company claims that it is the world’s first 10nm processor which promises to improve the performance by 27 percent. The processor is supported by a 6GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB internal storage along with Adreno 540 GPU. It runs on MIUI 8 based on Android N. It also has a fingerprint sensor and USB Type C port which supports Quick Charge 3.0.

In terms of optics, the phone comes with a 12MP rear camera with 18k gold-plated camera rim, Sony IMX 386 sensor and 1.25um pixel size. Its 4-axis OIS stabilization promises to offer great shots in low lighting conditions and also provide steady shots in motion. The front camera comes with a 5MP sensor covered with Super Black lens coating which allows the camera to completely merge with the body when the display is off.

The Mi Mix 2 also features global LTE support with 43 bands across 6 network modes which promise to operate in around 226 regions across the world. Apart from this, the phone has Bluetooth 5.0, dual SIM and multi-function NFC. A 3400mAh battery sits under the hood and provides enough fuel to the phone to last for the whole day.

Price and availability

Priced at Rs 35,999, the Mi MIX 2 will be available at special preview sale for Mi Fans on October 17 at 12 Noon on Mi.com and Flipkart.

Following this, the phone will go on sale across Mi.com, Flipkart, Mi Home stores and on all offline partners during the first week of November at a 0 percent interest EMI scheme.

At an event held in Mumbai today, Jio in partnership with Apple unveiled the newly launched Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in India. The phones were launched by Akash M Ambani, Director, Jio. Tim Cook and Mukesh Ambani also expressed their delight and addressed the audience through a special video message. 

We witnessed the launch of both the phones on Sep 12 at the Steve Jobs Theatre along with iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K. Since then, speculations were made about the availability of the products in India as well.

Jio is offering the phones with some offers and exclusive tariff plans. One such offer is 70% buyback scheme under which the user will can claim 70% of the MRP of the iPhone 8 as the buy back amount on returning the phone after one year. 

In his speech at the launch event, Akash M Ambani said that such buyback offers are available in US and Europe. This is the first time that any such offer is introduced in the country. Users can avail this offer from My Jio App, Jio store, Reliance Digital store, Amazon India and enterprise partners of Jio. Apart from this, an additional cashback is also provided to Citi Credit Card and World Debit Card users.

Jio has also announced special tariff plans for both the phones. Priced at Rs 799, the plan will provide 90GB of data per month to the users, meaning they will get 3GB of high speed data per day along with free voice calls, SMS and subscribed Jio apps. The offer is applicable for a month to postpaid users and prepaid users.

Apart from launching these phones in the Indian market, both the brands will work together to bring Mac Labs and iPhone X in the country within next few months.

Price and availability

Both the iPhones will be available in 64GB and 256GB variants on Reliance Digital outlets located in 900 cities across the country. The iPhone 8 64GB variant and 256GB variant are priced at Rs 64,000 and Rs 77,000 respectively. Buyers have to shed an additional amount of Rs 9,000 for 64GB and 256GB variants of iPhone 8 Plus.

Right before the festive season kicks off, Samsung India has announced its special Samsung Shop Anniversary sale on Samsung India's online shopping platform, Samsung Shop from September 25 to September 30, where the company will be offering discounts and special deals on across its wide range of products. The list of product includes a number of smartphones along with televisions, wearables, mobile service packs and audio accessories.

Commenting on this, Sandeep Singh Arora, Vice President, Online Business, Samsung India, said- “Samsung Shop is a one-stop online store for our consumers who love to purchase the latest Samsung gadgets and accessories. We are happy to spread the joy on our anniversary with these special offers on our bestselling products. With special features like free delivery, no cost EMI financing schemes and live chat, we will continue to provide a superior experience to our valuable consumers”.

The smartphones listed for the deals include Galaxy S8, S8+, Galaxy On Max, Galaxy On Nxt 64GB, Galaxy J3 Pro, Galaxy On7, On7 Pro, Galaxy On 5, On 5 Pro. The customers can also exchange their old phone for a new Samsung phone. Moreover, Samsung is also offering 5% cashback for ICICI Bank Credit Card customers.

Other offers include free delivery, no cost EMI, delight delivery and live chat. There is also a special offers section for corporate employees where they will be getting exclusive deals on Samsung products for 365 days a year.

Samsung is already running a ‘Never Mind’ offer where it is offering one time screen replacement on select phones and tablets at a price of Rs. 990. The offer is valid up to Oct 21. On top of everything, there is a Triple Zero Offer on the smartphones which includes zero down payment, interest rate and processing fee.

After launching the Nokia 8 last month in London, HMD Global is all set to launch the handset in the US. The manufacturer, HMD Global will be launching a buffed up variant of the phone that will feature 6GB RAM and 128GB storage at an event expected on Oct 20.

According to a report by Nokia Power User, the US FCC listing by the company shows a variant with slight changes in specs as compared to the phone that was launched globally. The changes now suggest Nokia 8 to come with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage in the US market. The report also mentions that the phone will have ANT+ and WCDMA Band IV support.

To recap, the Nokia 8 features a 5.3-inch QHD display with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor mated with a 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage which is expandable up to 256GB. It runs on Android Nougat 7.1.1 and a 3090 mAh battery sits under the hood. The phone has twin 13-megapixel camera setup at the back in a stack of RGB and monochrome sensor. 

The cameras come with a “bothie” feature which allows the user to capture images and videos simultaneously from both the front and rear cameras. It also has the IP54 rating which is listed as splash proof in the spec sheet of the phone. However, this does not confirm whether the phone is waterproof or not.

The company will be launching the Nokia 8 4GB variant in India tomorrow at an event in New Delhi for which the invites are already sentN. We expect the price of Nokia 8 to be set around Rs 45,000. At this price point, the Nokia 8 will compete against the recently launched Sony Xperia XZ1, while most other phones with Snapdragon 835 fall either under 40K mark or above it. However, the Mi Mix 2 may join the league soon once it's made official in India. 

Micromax recently rolled out its new Bharat series of affordable smartphones for India, adding up to the series, the company today unveiled two new phones— Bharat 3 and Bharat 4. The new smartphones aim to bring better camera, battery and display features to the budget segment. For enhanced camera and graphics, the company has joined hands with the infamous chip maker MediaTek. 

One major highlight of the phone is the of latest Android 7.0 Nougat. Moreover, the Bharat 3 comes with a 4.5-inch display with a 2.5D curved glass on top. Under the hood, it is equipped with MediaTek MT6737 quad-core processor coupled with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. The phone is powered by a 2000mAh battery, which the company claims can serve you with a talk-time of 6-7 hours.

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The company claims that the processor can save up to 30% power and the 1GB RAM is optimised to deliver Large Capacity Rapid Access, which translates into compact storage, better performance at low power and a lag free multi-tasking experience.

The Bharat 4 features slightly bigger screen than Bharat 3. It comes with a 5-inch screen with a similar protection layer of 2.5D curved glass on the top. It is powered by the similar processor and RAM combination but supports an internal storage of 16GB which is 8GB more than what is offered by Bharat 3. The phone has a 2500mAh battery that fuels up the phone for a talk-time of 7-8 hours.

In terms of optics, both the phones have a 5-megapixel front camera. On the rear, the Bharat 4 has a 5-megapixel camera, whereas the Bharat 3 is limited to 2-megapixel sensor. 

Moreover, both the phones include support for 22 Indian languages, Smart Key, Dual SIM slot and OTG support that provides users with mass Storage, serial communications and more.

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Price & Availability

The Bharat 3 and Bharat 4 are priced at Rs 4,499 and Rs 4,999 respectively. Both the phones will be available on offline stores from September 18 onwards.

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At an event held today in China, Xiaomi launched the much awaited Mi Mix 2 with ultra thin bezels and a reduced chin size of 12%. The Mi Mix 2 is the successor of the Mi Mix that was launched year.

Last year at the launch of Mi Mix, the company launched a special edition of the phone having 18k gold rims around the camera and fingerprint sensor. Continuing this trend, it has launched a special edition of Mi Mix 2 as well that sports a similar gold ring around the rear camera. Let’s take a look at what more the company is offering with this phone.

Display and design

Unlike Mi Mix that comes with a screen size of 6.4-inch, the Mix 2 has a 5.99-inch full HD display. So, the size of the device has actually gone down which should make it more portable. These days most of the flagships are coming with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and the Mi Mix is no different. There is not much difference as the Mi Mix comes with the aspect ratio of 17:9, it is a minor tweak, but this new resolution is being now widely adopted which will make a big difference. 

For providing a much wider viewing experience, the company has reduced the bezel size from bottom by 12% in Mi Mix 2. Also, the new phone comes packed in a four sided curved ceramic body placed inside in an aluminium frame and weighs 185 grams. On the other hand, the predecessor lacks the aluminium frame and weighs around 209 grams. So overall, this is much smaller and lighter phone which should make it better for most consumers.

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Processor

The newly launched Mi Mix 2 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor clocked at 2.45 GHz. This alone is one of the biggest updates to the phone. Compared to the Snapdragon 821 which was there on the Mi Mix, the 835 is much faster and more efficient and that happens despite it having twice as many cores as the Snapdragon 821.  

The big reason for this is that Qualcomm is using a 10nm manufacturing process. It also has 6GB RAM as opposed to 4GB RAM on the standard Mi Mix.  There’s also a special version of the phone which gets 8GB RAM matched only by phones like the OnePlus 5 and the Asus ZenFone AR. This is a pretty massive upgrade for the phone.

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Camera

In the imaging department, the Mi Mix 2 sports a 12-megapixel camera with dual tone flash and a 5-megapixel front shutter with facial recognition. On the back, Xiaomi is using the superb Sony IMX 386 sensor with 1.25 um pixels. This alone is quite a big update because the original Mi Mix had a horrible 16-megapixel camera so no matter what Xiaomi did the camera was bound to be better, but this is a huge update. The front camera retains the same 5-megapixel resolution but only time will tell if it also is a big update.

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Software 

Xiaomi has launched the Mi Mix 2 with MIUI 9 based on Android 7 Nougat which is better than MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow in Mi Mix. The MIUI 8 has features like dual apps and dual spaces so it is expected that the new UI may offer much improved features.

Battery

The Mi Mix 2 comes with a 3400mAh battery which is smaller as compared to Mi Mix that has a 4400mAh battery to fuel it up. However, both the phones have the Quick Charge 3.0 that promises to increase the charging speed by 20%.

The interesting bit out here is that as this phone uses a more efficient processor and a smaller screen coupled with a newer version of Android with some battery enhancements, the end result could be the same.

Some other goodies

As discussed above, the Mi Mix 2 also has a special edition variant. While the standard phone comes with a 6GB RAM that can be coupled with 64GB, 128GB and 256 GB storage capacity, the special edition features a 8GB RAM combined with a storage space of 128GB. Sadly, the storage cannot be extended just like Mi Mix.

Similar to Mi Mix, the Mi Mix 2 comes with Cantilever piezoelectric acoustic technology and ultrasonic proximity sensor. This differentiates Mi Mix and Mi Mix 2 from other smartphones falling in the same price range.

The Mi Mix 2 also comes with global LTE support having a deck of 6 modes and 43 bands.

Apart from Mi Mix 2, the company also launched Mi Note 3 and Mi Notebook Pro at the event.

The festive season is almost here and like always, electronic brands have kicked off promotions for attractive offers on their products. Recently, we have seen Jio and other network providers like Airtel, BSNL and Idea offering high speed data and calling plans at minimal cost. Also, the telecom operators partner with OEMs to provide free data and voice benefits as a launch offer with most handsets. 

Similarly, domestic handset maker Intex has partnered with Jio to offer high speed additional data benefit to its customers. Starting today, all the new Intex smartphone users, using the Jio connection will get an additional 25GB 4G data on top of what they usually get on the standard recharge.

The data is limited to five recharges, that is, the 25GB 4G data is divided into five parts. Users will get the 5GB 4G data on a regular recharge of Rs 309 or above every time they recharge the phone, thus summing up to 25GB.

The news of Intex teaming up with Jio also came before the release of JioPhone where it was speculated that Intex will be producing a phone for Jio. But, this got trashed after Reliance Jio announced the self-made JioPhone. With the phone, the company also announced the Dhan Dhana Dhan offer where it provides 84GB 4G data with unlimited local and STD voice calls, SMSs and access to Jio’s suite of apps for Rs. 399 with a validity of 84 days. 

Commenting on Intex’ partnership partnership, Nidhi Markanday, Director & Business Head - Mobiles, Intex Technologies said, “With this (Jio) partnership, Intex is catering to the needs of the never-ending data appetite of today’s tech savvy consumers especially during the festive season when data consumption will be limitless.”

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