Weekly Roundup: Xiaomi Mi MIX 3, Black Shark Helo, Samsung Galaxy A6s, HTC EXODUS 1 and more

Xiaomi earlier this week has launched the Mi MIX 3, Black Shark Helo Gaming Phone. It also launched the 6GB RAM variant of the Mi A2 in India. Meizu has launched the Note 8, OPPO introduced the R15x in China and lots more from this week in our weekly roundup. Xiaomi’s Black Shark launched the Black Shark Helo Gaming Phone has a 6.01-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with HDR support even in games with independent image processing chip, is powered by Snapdragon 845 SoC with up to 10GB RAM, two liquid cooling pipes to keep the phone cool when gaming by reducing the CPU’s core temperature by up to 12-degree, compared to 8-degree in the predecessor. The Xiaomi Black Shark Helo is priced at 3199 yuan (US$ 416 / Rs. 33,920 approx.) for the 6GB RAM with 128GB storage version, 8GB RAM with 128GB storage version costs 3499 yuan (US$ 504 / Rs. 37,100 approx.) and the top-end 10GB RAM with 256GB storage version with both right and left gamepads costs 4199 yuan (US$ 605 / Rs. 44,520 approx.). It will be available for order from today and will go on sale in China from October 30th. Xiaomi also announced Mi MIX 3, the company’s latest flagship smartphone in the ...

Apple iPhone XR teardown reveals large rectangular battery, modular SIM card reader

Apple iPhone XR smartphone went on sale few hours back in over several countries and territories globally. As usual, folks at iFixit have already managed to grab the iPhone and have given at a teardown treatment as usual. We already know that the iPhone XR has a 2942mAh battery. The teardown reveals an 11.16Wh battery (2,944 mAh at 3.79V), which is bigger than the iPhone XS's battery, but it is slightly smaller than the 3,179mAh battery on the iPhone XS Max. It is thicker since it packs more juice. This reveals a recetangular battery, unlike  L-shaped battery on the iPhone X, XS and XS Max. This has a rectangular single-decker logic board. Apple has used 64GB flash storage from Toshiba (TSB3243VC0428CHNA1) and 4GB LPDDR4X RAM from Micron Technology (MT53D384M64D4SB-046 XT:E). It has Apple 338S00383-A0, 338S00375-A1 power management IC from Dialog Systems. This time Apple has gone solely with Intel’s LTE modem, as confirmed by Qualcomm earlier. All the models have PMB9955 Baseband Processor (Modem) and Intel PMIC (PMB5829). It is Intel’s XMM7560 modem, which is the company’s fifth-generation LTE modem designed via Intel’s 14nm manufacturing process. This offers download speed of up to 1 Gbps download (Cat 16) and 150 Mbps upload (Cat 13) speed. It reveals a modular SIM card reader, a first for iPhone. ...

Microsoft completes $7.5 billion GitHub acquisition

Microsoft has announced that it has completed its acquisition of GitHub in a $7.5 billion all stock deal that was signed back in June. As both the companies already said, GitHub will retain its developer-first ethos, operate independently and remain an open platform. Nat Friedman, former CEO of Xamarin (acquired by Microsoft in 2016) will be taking over as GitHub’s CEO, reporting to Scott Guthrie, Microsoft Cloud + AI Group Executive Vice President. Nat Friedman, GitHub’s CEO, said: We will start by focusing on the daily experience of using GitHub and will double down on our paper cuts project. We will improve core scenarios like search, notifications, issues/projects, and our mobile experience. And of course we are excited to make GitHub Actions broadly available. We believe in the power of communities—that we can all achieve more when we collaborate with others. As the world’s largest developer community, GitHub brings together over 31 million developers to create, collaborate, share, and build on each other’s work. Our vision is to serve every developer on the planet, by being the best place to build software. This is a dream opportunity for all of us at GitHub, and we couldn’t be more excited to roll up our sleeves and start ...

Xiaomi confirms Android Pie update for range of smartphones

Xiaomi has finally released the list of smartphones eligible for Android Pie/Oreo update, these devices are supposed to get Android Pie/Oreo update before the end of this year. Xiaomi has mentioned that the smartphones which have already received two major Android updates are unlikely to receive further Android updates. The list of smartphones eligible to receive Android update includes both Mi and Redmi range of smartphones. List of smartphones confirmed to receive Android Pie: Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S Xiaomi Mi 8 Xiaomi Mi 8 Explorer Edition Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro Xiaomi Mi 8 SE Xiaomi Mi Max 3 List of smartphones confirmed to receive Android Oreo: Xiaomi Redmi 5A Xiaomi Redmi 5 Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus (Redmi Note 5 in India) Xiaomi Mi 5X Xiaomi has not mentioned any plans regarding Android update for Mi 6X and recently-launched Mi 8 Lite. Xiaomi has also published a list of devices which have already received Android Oreo update, the list includes, Xiaomi Mi MIX Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 Xiaomi Mi 5 Xiaomi Mi 5S Xiaomi Mi 5S Plus Xiaomi Mi 6 Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Xiaomi Mi Note 3 The list is applicable for devices running on MIUI China ROM and it is not clear whether MIUI Global ...

Lenovo Z5 Pro with full-screen display, slide-out design, in-display fingerprint sensor to be announced on November 1

After the Z5 and S5 Pro, Lenovo is all set to introduce the Z5 Pro smartphone in China. The company's CEO Chang Cheng has announced that the phone will be introduced on November 1st. He also posted a teaser of the smartphone that reveals a slide-out design, which is the latest trend in smartphone. The design reduces the bezels, offering high screen-to-body ratio. The slider has an earpice with front cameras on either side of it. It will also come with dual rear cameras with AI features. He also confirmed that the phone will come with an in-display fingerprint sensor, making it the first Lenovo to come with this feature. We still don't have any other specifications, but we should get the image and specifications when the phone is certified by TENAA in a few days. We will know all the details when the phone goes official next Thusrday. Source 1, 2

Micromax Spark Go Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone launched for Rs. 3499

Micromax has launched Spark Go, the company’s latest Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone. It has a 5-inch FWVGA display, is powered by a Quad-core SC9832E SoC with 1GB of RAM, has a 5-megapixel rear camrea, 2-megapixel front-camera, both with LED flash and a 2000mAh battery. Micromax Spark Go specifications 5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) FWVGA display 1.3GHz Quad-core SC9832E processor with Mali-T720 GPU 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) Go Edition Dual SIM 5 MP rear cameras with LED flash 2MP front-facing camera with LED flash Dimesions: 145 x 72.8 x 9.7mm 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS 2000mAh battery The Micromax Spark Go comes in Silver and Gold colors, is priced at Rs. 3499 and is available exclusively from Flipkart. It comes with 25GB of 4G data and 5GB of additional data benefits on a recharge of Rs.198/Rs.299 for a maximum of 5 recharges for Reliance Jio users. Commenting on the launch, Vikas Jain, Co-Founder, Micromax Informatics Ltd. said: With the growing preference of e-commerce in India, today’s discerning online consumer is always on the look-out for a multitude of options. Understanding these evolving needs and preferences of our audience, we are very excited to launch ...

Sony Cyber-Shot WX800 world’s smallest high zoom compact camera launched in India for Rs. 34990

Sony India has launched DSC-WX800 compact camera with  world’s smallest body in the Cyber-shot line-up. It offer versatile zoom range from 24mm at the wide end up to 720mm super-telephoto. In addition to 4K recording, it has BIONZ X image processing engine combined with a front-end LSI that delivers high-speed continuous shooting at up to 10 fps with a buffer limit of up to 155 images. Furthermore, it offers fast AF speed of 0.09 seconds. It has Eye AF, Touch Focus/Touch Shutter function, and location data acquisition via Bluetooth and several more features. It has ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T 24-720mm High Magnification and High Image Quality Lens packed into compact body. Image stabilisation is controlled with Optical SteadyShot™which effectively negates the camera shake blur that often occurs during handheld and telephoto shooting. The Upgraded BIONZ X  image processing engine and newly implemented front-end LSI offer impressive stills. It inherits Eye AF technology from the α siblings for perfect portrait shots. It features Touch Focus/Touch Shutter and 180-degree Tiltable LCD for easy framing of selfies and group shots. Sony DSC-WX800 Specifications  18.2 Megapixels 1/2.3 type (7.82mm) Exmor R CMOS sensor, ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T 24-720mm4 zoom lens 4K video recording with full pixel readout Fast Intelligent AF and Eye AF to instantly capture the moment 2.95-inch 921,600 dots TFT LCD ...

Alphabet records $33.7 billion in revenue with 21% YoY growth in Q3 2018

Alphabet Inc. has announced financial results for the third quarter of the year that ended September 30, 2018. Google reported a total revenue of $33.74 billion with 21% YoY growth and 22% increase in constant currency revenues year over year. The company had an operating income of $8.3 billion with 25% operating margin, up 7% versus last year, this is including the fines. The company has recorded a net income of $9.192 billion with Diluted EPS of $13.06. The Google properties revenues reported $24 billion, network Members’ properties revenues $4.9 billion, Google advertising revenues $28.954 billion, other revenues $4.64 billion. Google segment revenues $33.594 billion and other Bets revenues were reported $146 million, Google operating income came around $9.490 billion. On the other hand, Traffic acquisition costs for Google Network Members was around $3,427 million, paid clicks on Google properties improved 10% YoY and Cost-per-click on Google properties has witnessed a 2% growth. The Accrued performance fees for Q3 2018 was around $315 and gain on equity securities is around $1,382. Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google said: Our business continues to have strong momentum globally, led by mobile search and our many products that help billions of people every day. Alphabet revenues were $33.7 billion, up 21% versus the third quarter ...

Twitter reports $758 million revenue, 29% YoY growth in Q3 2018, has 326 million monthly active users

Twitter, Inc. has announced financial results for its third quarter of 2018 which had a total revenue of $758 million, an increase of 29% year-over-year. The company's advertising revenue totaled $650 million, an increase of 29% year-over-year. Twitter's total ad engagements increased 50% year-over-year and the cost per engagement decreased 14% year-over-year. The company's data licensing and other revenue totaled $108 million, an increase of 25% year-over-year. US revenue totaled $423 million, an increase of 28% year-over-year and the international revenue totaled $335 million, an increase of 30% year-over-year. Twitter's Q3 GAAP costs and expenses totaled $666 million, an increase of 14% year-over-year. Q3 non-GAAP costs and expenses totaled $570 million, an increase of 22% year-over-year. The Q3 GAAP net income was $789 million, compared to a net loss of $21 million in the previous year. Twitter's average daily active users (DAU) increased 9% year-over-year with 326 million, compared to 330 million in the same period of the previous year and 335 million in the previous quarter. This change is impacted by a number of factors including GDPR, decisions The average US MAUs were 67 million for Q3, compared to 69 million in the same period of the previous year. The average international MAUs ...

Facebook said to be working on TikTok-like Lasso video music app

Facebook is said to be working on a standalone app; Lasso where users can record and share videos of themselves lip-syncing or dancing to popular songs. The app is designed to be a standalone competitor to Musical.ly which later was acquired by Bytedance and re branded to TikTok.  According to a report, “It’s basically TikTok/Musically. It’s full-screen, built for teens, fun and funny and focused on creation. A lot of what they’re doing is just trying to be cool.” This new product is being built by members of Facebook’s video and Watch team guided by the company's principal lead product designer Brady Voss. Voss previously worked on Facebook’s TV app as well as the recently shut down Hello standalone app. Facebook is also said to have been investigating the teen music app space since 2016. Earlier this year, Facebook started secured licensing deals with all the major record labels. At first, this just kept users’ videos, including Musical.ly-style lip syncing clips, from being taken down for copyright infringement. Later, the company launched music stickers on Instagram that let you add soundtracks to your Stories, and that feature was rolled out to Facebook. The company also began experimenting with a Lip Sync Live feature for live-streaming karaoke, and today, Facebook has opened it ...