After Samsung axed the camera module from its smartwatches after the first Galaxy Gear it appeared that was the end of the feature, but it looks like LG has other ideas. 

The South Korean company has recently filed a patent with the USTPO (United States Trademark and Patent Office) for a design of a smartwatch with a camera module. 

The patent was spotted by LetsGoDigital showing a "a smart watch comprising a camera" and includes a couple of designs of how a camera could integrated. 

The patent also has references for 'mobile terminal' features, hinting that the smartwatch might come with cellular connectivity as well.

Strap only

While several camera integrations are detailed in the listing, they all have one thing in common - they're all built into the strap, rather than the actual body of the smartwatch.

For example, an adjustable wrist band could allow the wearer to change the angle of the camera, while another option could be to include a metal link for the watch band, where one link comes with an integrated camera. 

A third possible solution could be to attach a spring click that can be placed anywhere on the watch band.

Examples within the application claim you could take a picture of your food and then track your calorie intake, or even scan the barcode/QR code at the supermarket. If the real-world practicality and applicability could be brought to overlap, this could be a real winner.

A patent filing doesn't necessarily mean that product will make it to the market (it could be found to be nonviable and therefore be abandoned).

• Best smartwatch 2019

Via GSMArena

PUBG Mobile has had quite the year, becoming one of the most popular mobile games. To welcome the new year, developers Tencent Games has released two new wallpapers of the game, and asked users to use the hashtag #pubgmobilenewyear to tweet about how they are celebrating the new year. The company is hosting a giveaway, and a few tweeters will win PMSC-themed items by January 5.

PUBG Mobile recently collaborated with Japanese clothing company A Bathing Ape, commonly known as BAPE. The two has first collaborated back in October, and last week, another collaboration brought some new, exclusive clothing to the game. The new BAPE outfit pack is not available only on PUBG Mobile- it will not be coming to either the PC or console versions of the game.

The BAPE outfit pack is priced at 3600 Unknown Cash or UC, and consists of the BAPE City Camo Hoodie, BAPE City Camo Pants, and BAPE StaMid shoes. In Rupee terms, 190UC costs Rs 249, while Rs 7900 can buy 8100UC.  Cosmetic and clothing items are the most important source of income for the game developers, as the mobile game is free (unlike the other versions). 

• 9 New Year's resolutions smartphone manufacturers should make

It looks like 2019 will be the year the dual rear camera becomes passé. According to GF Securities, Xiaomi’s market performance report hints that the Mi 9 will be the first smartphone from the Chinese company to feature three cameras on the back of the phone. Additionally, the Mi Mix 4 might have a periscope lens, which allows for optical zoom without taking up more space on the phone’s body.

Both the Mi 9 and the Mi Mix 4 are touted to be Xiaomi’s flagship devices for 2019. They will reportedly have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. The Mi 9’s 5G-enabled model is still expected to be the first 5G phone from Xiaomi; now, rumour has it that the Mi Mix 4 could also be 5G-enabled. 

Some rumours even suggest that the Mi Mix could have a foldable display, though these are still just that- rumours. Meanwhile, the company is gearing up for the launch of the 5G version of the Mi Mix 3 in European market, set for sometime in 2019. One thing is not rumour- 2019 looks to be quite the action-packed year for Xiaomi.

• 9 New Year's resolutions smartphone manufacturers should make

Although the Samsung Galaxy A8s has yet to hit Indian markets, we can safely expect it to do so soon, given that the company brings all its offerings to the country, and moreover, its closest competitor, the Honor View20, is set to come to India in a short while. Meanwhile, the South Korean company is busy working on the launch of its upcoming flagship phones, the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, which are expected to launch at or around the Mobile World Congress on Feb 25, 2019. And it appears that the company is also working on two other mid-tier phones, the Galaxy M20 and Galaxy A50.

The M20 is expected to launch before the S10, but it seems that the A50 will only go official after the Mobile World Congress 2019. Previous rumours that the A50 would pack a 5000mAh battery have now been denied; it seems it will pack a 4000mAh one instead.

Additionally, the Samsung Galaxy A50 will support more than one rear camera, and the primary one will have a 24MP sensor. The device will be powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7 9610 chipset, an octa-core processor with four Cortex-A73 cores and four A53s. There will reportedly be two storage variants of the A50- a 4GB/64GB version, and 4GB/128GB.

The A50 is expected to run Android 9 Pie out of the box, based on its own One UI. Judging by this information, the A50 will probably launch after the Galaxy S10 and S10+, since the yearly flagship phones are usually the first to launch with the latest software, and the Galaxy S10 series is said to run Android 9 Pie out of the box as well.

Further reports place an in-display fingerprint sensor on the A50, but it is said to be an optical sensor rather than the ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor expected in the S10.

• Honor View 20 to be sold exclusively on Amazon India

There’s a mole in the house: only a few days after the leaks about the Moto G7 series, a new set of leaked renders now show the so-called Motorola P40 smartphone. It is said to be the successor to the Motorola P30, and we’ve got some specs as well as some photos via 91mobiles.

The renders indicate a new direction in Motorola’s design aesthetic, as the company adopts the display hole front camera feature. We’ve seen that on several recent devices from brands like Samsung, Honor, and Huawei, and it looks like Motorola might be going the same way.

The pictures have the selfie camera as a hole on the top left of the 6.2-inch display; camera details are currently unavailable. The display has uniform bezels on the sides and the top, and is relatively thicker at the bottom.

The back panel is highly reflective in the renders, indicating that it might be made of glass. It features a slightly protruding dual camera setup- one sensor is reportedly 48MP, while the other one is still unknown. Below the rear camera is a dual LED flash, and the fingerprint scanner appears built into the Motorola logo at the centre.

The Android One logo can also be seen at the back of the P40, near the bottom. Ergo, the phone is part of the Android One programme, and will therefore receive security and software updates in a timely manner.

The renders show the SIM tray to be on the left, the power and volume buttons on the right, and a USB Type-C port at the bottom on the phone, along with a microphone hole and a speaker grille. The device also has the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack at the top. The phone’s dimensions, according to the report, are 160.1x71.2x8.7mm.

• 10 smartphones launches to look out for in 2019

Sony India launched the WH-CH700N wireless headphones on Wednesday, specially designed for long hours of music playback, adding to its range of noise-cancelling headset devices in India. The headphones feature Sony’s Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancellation (AINC) technology, which analyses background noise to adjust performance with the surrounding environment.

The WH-CH700N also comes with voice assistance support, a built-in voice microphone for voice commands and hands-free call support, as well as a dedicated NC button to activate noise cancellation with a simple press-and-hold. The device will also be optimised for Google Assistant via a software update

• Google Assistant comes to Sony's top-tier noise-cancelling headphones

The headphones have a Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) to boost the quality of compressed music files. They also have 40mm drivers with a sensitivity of 97dB/mW, enabling a frequency response between 7Hz to 20,000Hz. The impendence rating is 20 Ohms.

The Sony Wh-CH700N headphones have Bluetooth v4.4 and NFC connectivity. A single-sided, detachable cable, 1.2 metres long, also come in-box, to allow for playback through a traditional 3.5mm jack.

Sony claims that a single full charge (which will take about 7 hours) will provide up to 35 hours of battery life. There is also Quick Charge technology, which is touted to give an hour of playback time with just ten minutes of charge. Additionally, using the cable-and-jack option can even extend the battery life to up to fifty hours.

The headphones are designed to work with the Headphones Connect app, which is available for both iOS as well as Android devices. The app lets your tune the headphones as per your preferences.

• The best wireless headphones available in India

Oppo-spinoff brand Realme might be launching another budget Android smartphone in India soon, according to a tip from leakster Ishan Agarwal to DroidShout. The leak gives the name of the upcoming device as the Realme A1.

The A1 will be positioned below the recently-launched Realme U1 in the company’s lineup, which leads to speculation that it could be priced around Rs 10,000. There is little information at the moment about the hardware specifications of the Realme A1, except that it will be available in Black and Yellow colour options at launch.

• Realme U1 allegedly scores better than Redmi Note 6 Pro and Honor 8X on AnTuTu

Based upon the U1’s hardware and software specs, and the tip about the positioning of the upcoming device, DroidShout speculates that the Realme A1, which is expected to be more affordable than the U1, will be powered by a MediaTek Helio P60 or a Snapdragon 600-series chipset, along with a Dewdrop-style notch similar to the U1. As far as software is concerned, the A1 is expected to run Android 8.1 Oreo-based ColorOS 5.2 out-of-the-box.

The Realme A1 smartphone is expected to launch in India before debuting in other markets. The launch is tipped to be sometime in the first quarter of 2019.

• Honor View 20 to be sold exclusively on Amazon India

On Tuesday, Micromax launched two new smartphones, the first of its new Notch series, the Infinity N11 and Infinity N12. Both devices will be available both online as well as in major offline retail stores across the country starting December 25.

“We are extremely excited to launch two powerful variants of smartphones under this Infinity N series.”

So far, the company has only announced the colour variants of the Infinity N12- Blue Lagoon, Velvet Red, and Viola. The variants for the Infinity N11 are still unknown.

Specs and offers

Both phones feature a 6.19-inch HD+ (720x1500 pixels) notched display, with 18.9:9 aspect ratio. There is a dual rear camera with identical specs on both devices- one 13MP sensor and another 5MP sensor. The selfie camera for the N11 has an 8MP sensor, while the N12 features a 16MP front camera. Both smartphones are powered by the MediaTek Helio P22 SoC clocked at 2GHz.

Both the N11 and N12 run Android 8.1 Oreo, and Micromax has promised an Android Pie rollout in the next 45 days. The devices have a 4000mAh battery, and 32GB internal storage, which is expandable via microSD card. The Infinity N11 comes with 2GB RAM, and the N12 features a 3GB RAM configuration.

In terms of connectivity, the smartphones have 4G VoltE, Wi-Fi, GPS/A-GPS, a micro-USB port, and a 3.4mm headphone jack. Onboard sensors include a proximity sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, and an ambient light sensor. The back also features a fingerprint sensor, and the front sensor comes pre-loaded with Face Unlock technology.

As a result of its collaboration with Reliance Jio, Micromax offers Rs 2200 worth of cashback as well as 50GB free data for Jio users, along with its Rs 198 or Rs 299 monthly plan.

Micromax began as one of the important made-in-India players in the Indian smartphone market, but lately has taken a few hits due to popularity of competitors like Xiaomi. Their new Infinity N series seems like a good budget option, and a chance for the brand to re-evaluate and reinvent itself. 

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WhatsApp had introduced the Picture-in-Picture mode for the Android app back in October, but at the time, it was available only to Android beta users. Now, the new feature has been rolled out for all WhatsApp users on Android (v.2.18.380).

The Picture-in-Picture feature allows users to watch Facebook, Instagram and YouTube videos on a small window within WhatsApp itself; you can scroll through your chat while the video’s playing. It works on individual chats as well as groups; but this feature doesn’t apply to video clips that have been shared natively on the app.

How it works: users don’t need to enable any new option in Settings, or install a separate plug-in like with WhatsApp stickers. The PiP feature will automatically work with Facebook, Insta, and YouTube links shared on WhatsApp. Simply hit ‘play’ and a video window will pop up at the top of the chat window.

You can pause,  and also enter fullscreen mode, where you can move the playback forward/backward. To close, simply swipe the video window to any side, out of the phone screen. Alternatively, just exit the chat.

If you don’t have the PiP feature yet, you’re probably due for an app update- head over to the Play Store and install it ASAP. This feature has been available to iPhone Whatsappers since January 2018.

• TechRadar's Holiday Gift Guide 2018

The  gaming-centric Red Magic smartphone from Nubia is set to launch in India on December 20. The confirmation came via the Nubia India Twitter account.

The device, which targets the mobile gaming community, was launched in China back in April. 

The Red Magic’s price in India is still a matter of speculation; the price in China starts from CNY 2499 (around Rs 25,800), while it was priced at EUR 450 upon its European debut at the IFA awards earlier this year.

Made for gaming

The Nubia Red Magic is a dual-SIM phone, which runs stock Android 8.1 Oreo, and features a 5.99-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) LTPS TFT display with 18:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by this year's flagship Snapdragon 835 chipset and comes with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM.

The device has a single 24MP rear camera with f/1.7 aperture and 4K video recording support at 30fps. The front camera has an 8MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture.

True to its intention to provide a high-end mobile gaming experience, the Red Magic has air-cooling technology with nine air radiation slots, along with three-layer graphite lamination technology. The dedicated gaming button activates the gaming mode, which allows users to disable incoming calls and all other notifications. The button also enables a ‘turbo acceleration mode’ which boosts phone performance to enhance the gaming experience.

The Nubia Red Magic packs a 3800mAh battery that supports NeoPower 3, and Nubia fast-charging technology. In terms of storage options, the device has both 64GB and 128 GB onboard storage option variants. It supports 4G VoltE, dual-band 2X2 MIMO Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GLONASS, BeiDou, has a USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Nubia has been a frequent visitor in the Indian smartphone market. Although, the name is still not among the key players when it comes to competition. However, we can't deny that we've seen great potential in its phones like Nubia Z11 Mini and Z17, and we expect to see similar on the Red Magic.

• Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics pop up in HP laptop leak

Xiaomi claims that it has sold 700,000 units of the Poco F1 smartphone in India, and to celebrate, has announced a permanent price cut of Rs 1000, applicable on all variants of the device. The announcement came via company's Twitter handle yesterday.

The Poco F1 is touted to be Xiaomi’s most powerful offering in India, being the only one to run on Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845 processor. It has been set up as a rival to the OnePlus 6T, which is priced at Rs 37,999 onwards.

Post-cut, the 6GB RAM base variant of the Poco F1 (with internal storage of 64GB) will be available for Rs 19,999. The other two variants- 6GB/128GB, and 8GB/256GB- will be priced at Rs 22,999 and Rs 27,999 respectively. The base variant also now tops the list of most powerful smartphones under Rs 20,000.

The Poco F1 is now the cheapest smartphone powered by the Snapdragon 845. For those unaware, it features a 6.18-inch full HD+notch display with 19:9 aspect ratio and 2246x1080 pixel resolution. At the back is a dual camera setup, with one 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor with dual LED flash, and another 5MP secondary Samdung sensor. The selfie camera features a 20MP sensor and support for IR  face unlock. The device has a 4000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support. 

Features AND affordability: the case for a true rivalry with the OnePlus 6T just got stronger.

• 7 upcoming flagship phones we expect to feature the Snapdragon 855

Lin Bin, President of Xiaomi, posted on Weibo that the Chinese smartphone maker is working to release a smartphone with a 48-megapixel camera. Soon afterward, MIUI confirmed an upcoming smartphone that would run the MIUI 10 system, which would be based on Android 9 Pie.

Xiaomi’s smartphone cameras have never been their strong point; with this new teaser, they seem to be moving in on this issue. It’s as yet unclear how many lenses the 48MP camera will contain, but based on the photo teased by Lin, it’s right next to a volume rocker, which would place it at the top left corner on the back of the phone.

The exact model of this smartphone is another matter of mystery- rumor has it that it’s the Mi 9, but it’s no sure bet yet. The mystery phone could feature either the Sony IMX586 48-megapixel sensor (which was announced in July) or the Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 48-megapixel sensor (announced in October). Sony reportedly began shipping the samples of the IMX586 in September, whereas the South Korean company has kicked off mass production of the ISOCELL GM1. 

If all goes well, Xiaomi could well jump to the front of the camera race with the world’s first 48MP smartphone camera, overtaking Nokia’s record 41MP on the Lumia 1020, or more recently, Huawei’s Mate20 Pro and P20 Pro offerings, which feature 40MP sensors.

• Oppo R17 Pro with triple-camera setup and Super VOOC Flash Charge launched in India

Google has announced that Pixel 3 phones in India will get eSIM support in upcoming months. Airtel and Reliance Jio will be the two operators providing eSIM support in the country. Meanwhile, Sprint and EE will do the same in the USA and UK respectively, while Truphone and Gigsky will provide the same support in various other countries in the coming months.

The company has also rolled out its December security patch  for the Nexus and Pixel smartphone lines. This newest update resolves the RAM management issues which had cropped up for multiple Pixel 3 users. Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 users will also see an improvement in camera performance, while Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will witness better notification visibility and improved hotword performance while using Pixel Stand.

The security patch also brings improvements in Always On Display and USB-C audio accessory detection. It improves audio performance while using Android Auto in certain vehicles, along with improved contouring on HDR colour on certain media apps for Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.

• WhatsApp and Google directed to store UPI-based payment data exclusively in India

A handful of OnePlus 6T users have reported on the company forums that they are affected by a display issue that is causing occasional static waves on the screen. There seems to be no definitive trigger.

A thread on the OnePlus forum has multiple users reporting this issue. It seems to be sporadic, but one user manage to capture it and has uploaded a video to YouTube.

The glitch manifests as a short burst of static-like waves on a small section of the screen. While there doesn't seem to be any serious problem with the device, the company will have to investigate.

Users on the forum are discussing likely causes and solutions, but it seems to be happening differently for everyone. The glitch is seen on both on the phone’s lock screen as well as when the device is unlocked. A factory reset doesn't seem to be solving the problem.

The OnePlus 6T was launched in early November in India, and also got a new Thunder Purple colour variant recently. We have been using the phone as a primary driver, but we haven't experienced such issue with our unit. We have reached out the brand about the issue, expect an update as soon as we hear from them.

• OnePlus 6T review

eNovus Enterprises has launched the Easyfone Star smartphone, which has been specially designed for children’s safety and connectivity.

It comes with a number of safety features- call restrictions (incoming and outgoing) to only preconfigured numbers to ensure that the child can only talk to known people; no internet browsing capabilities, and a GPS which allows parents to track their child when required. It also comes with a dedicated SOS key which allows children to quickly seek help in emergency situations.

All important phone settings can only be changed on the company’s website, via a service called CareTouch, thereby ensuring that phone settings cannot be changed by any external parties. CareTouch is designed to be tamper-proof but is also elastic enough to allow parents to remotely change settings on their child’s phone.

The Easyfone Star is also packed with features which help children to be more responsible and efficient. Parents can set ‘do not disturb’ time slots, as well as reminders and schedules for homework, study time, activities, birthdays, and other periodic activities.

The easyfone Star addresses the needs of parents who want a phone that helps their kids be more safe & connected – but without the downsides that existing products offer.

The Easyfone Star is available in five colors, at a pocket-friendly (child-friendly?) price of Rs 3490, on the company’s website as well as leading e-commerce platforms. eNovus has plans for more such products for children, as well as products for those with special needs which existing products do not address.

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