Global refurbished smartphone market saw 13% growth 2017, 140 million units shipped: Counterpoint

According to Counterpoint, Global refurbished smartphone market was up 13% in 2017 with over 140 million units shipped. 2017 has been a complete contrast with the global smartphone market that grew a mere 3% last year and is outperformed by the refurbished smartphones. Refurbished phones are usually pre-owned smartphones that are rejuvenated or repaired to be sold again in the market. According to Counterpoint, a total of 25% of pre-owned phones are sold in the market. These sales depend on available quantity, demand for a specific model or variant including color, storage, and brand. Of all the refurbished brands, Apple and Samsung dominated the market  much like the new smartphone market. The two brands combined hold responsible for close to three-fourths of the refurbished smartphone market. However, Apple leads by a significant margin and in terms of revenue, the two smartphone giants generate more than 80% of the revenue in the refurbished smartphone market. Commenting on this trend, Research Director, Tom Kang, said: With 13% growth, refurbished smartphones are now close to 10% of the total global smartphone market. The low growth of the new smartphone market in 2017 can be partially attributed to the growth of the refurb market. The slowdown in innovation has made two-year-old flagship smartphones comparable in design and features ...

WhatsApp beta for Android gets adaptive launcher icon

WhatsApp V2.18.74 beta for Android brings adaptive launcher icon which is a part of the Android O. The latest icon looks almost similar to the one that we have seen years ago replacing the older more shadowy one. WhatsApp rarely changes its identity, but falling in line with Android O, WhatsApp has made the icon more modern even if you don't like it. The new icon is similar to the old one, except that it is now placed in an encased mask that takes shapes depending on what you set your adaptive icons. If you're using a launcher that supports these icons you can now set it to default which is a circle, square, rounded square, squircle, and teardrop. WhatsApp beta with version number V2.18.74 brings the new set of adaptive launcher icons. You can download the WhatsApp beta from Play Store if you're already a beta tester, if not you can grab the APK from here and side-load it manually. Via

Huawei P20 Lite with 5.84-inch FHD+ display, dual rear Leica lens cameras gets certified

Huwei P20 Lite image and specifications surfaced last week after the phone got certified by the FCC last month, now the smartphone has been certified by TENAA in China with model numbers ANE-TL00  and ANE-AL00 confirming entire specifications of the phone as well as its notch design. This shows 16-megapixel + 2-megapixel dual rear cameras with Leica lenses and a 5.84-inch FHD+ display. It also shows that the phone will just be 7.4mm thin and just 148.6mm tall, even though it has a  5.84-inch screen. This reveals a 24-megapixel front camera even though earlier rumors hinted at 8-megapixel and a some rumors said that it will have a 16-megapixel front camera. Huawei P20 Lite rumored specifications 5.84-inch (1080 x 2280 pixels) Full HD+ 2.5D curved glass display Octa-Core Kirin 659 processor (4 xA53 at 2.36GHz + 4 x A53 at 1.7GHz) with MaliT830-MP2 GPU 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Android 8.0 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.0 16MP rear camera with LED flash, Leica Lens, Hybrid zoom, secondary 2MP camera 24MP front-facing camera Fingerprint sensor Dimensions: 148.6×71.2×7.4mm; Weight: 145g 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS / GLONASS 3000mAh (typical) / 2900mAh (Minimum) battery The Huawei P20 Lite is expected to come in Blue, Black, Rose Gold and Gold ...

Xiaomi teases new smartphone launch in India on March 14, Redmi 5 expected

Xiaomi today launched its new Mi TV 4A series in India. It released a 7 minute 38 second product video for the TVs. At the end of the video around 7 minute and 31 second mark it has teased a smartphone showing of only the side profile. This shows that camera bump and two lines on the top and the bottom parts of the back, similar to the Redmi Note 5 that was introduced as Redmi 5 Plus in China, so this will likely be the Redmi 5, successor of last year's Redmi 4. It also mentions March 14th launch date for the smartphone. Hope we can expect dedicated SIM slots for the phone, like the Redmi 5A. https://youtu.be/mScH9bwa-xI?t=7m31s Xiaomi Redmi 5 specifications 5.7-inch (1440 × 720 pixels) HD+ 18:9 2.5D curved glass display with 450 nits Brightness, 72% NTSC Color Gamut, 1000: 1 Contrast Ratio 1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 450 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 506 GPU 2GB RAM with 16GB storage / 3GB RAM with 32GB storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) with MIUI 9 Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) 12MP rear camera with LED Flash, 1.25μm pixel size, f/2.2 aperture, PDAF 5MP front-facing camera with LED flash Fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor Dimensions: 151.8 ...

Huawei Y9 (2018) with full-screen display, dual front and rear cameras, 3900mAh battery passes through the FCC

Amidst the P20 launch, Huawei is also busy prepping the Y9 (2018) as it is now spotted passing through the FCC. It comes with 18:9 aspect ratio full-screen display, quad-cameras (two dual and two front cameras), a 3900mAh battery. According to a report, the Y9 (2018) was expected to go official on March 15th. Going by the leaked images, the Y9 (2018) will sport a full-screen display, ultra-thin bezels on all the corners.  It packs four cameras much like the recent phones from Huawei's Honor brand. It also has a fingerprint sensor on the rear including Huawei branding. The bottom side of the phone features a 3.5mm audio jack, a microUSB port, and an external speaker. The volume rockers and the power button are present on the right, while the left houses the SIM tray. However, rest of the specifications are a bit off a mystery for now since FCC didn't reveal much. But according to TENAA listing, the Y9 (2018) sports a 5.93-inch Full HD+ display with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels. It is also expected to have 3GB / 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, run on Android 8.0 Oreo with EMUI on top. Of the dual rear cameras, one is a 16MP sensor and ...

Xiaomi Mi TV 4A 32-inch and 43-inch Smart TVs launched in India for Rs. 13999 and Rs. 22999

Xiaomi today launched its new Mi TV 4A series in India as it had promised. It comes in 32-inch HD ready and 43-inch Full HD models. Both are smart TVs and come with Patch Wall, a UI layer on top of the Android OS that’s based on deep learning AI technology that can curate content based on recommendations. It brings all the content from the STB and seamlessly integrates right on your homepage. Xiaomi also said that these have 20W dome speakers that has been specifically introduced for the Indian market. These also have 3 HDMIs compared to two in the Chinese model. Unlike the Mi TV 4 that came with Mi Bluetooth remote, these come with 11-button Mi IR Remote. Xiaomi Mi TV 4A 32-inch specifications 32-inch (1366×768 pixels) HD LED display with 178-degree viewing angle, 6.5ms dynamic response 1.5GHz quad-core Amlogic  962-SX Cortex-A53 processor with 750MHz Mali-450 MP3  GPU 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory MIUI TV based on Android with PatchWall WiFi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4 GHz), 3 x HDMI (1 contain ARC), AV,  USB 2.0 x 2, Ethernet,  S/PDIF port Supports MPEG1/2/4, REAL, H.265, H.264 2 x 10W dome speaker Stereo, DTS Xiaomi Mi TV 4A 43-inch specifications 43-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display ...

Lenovo S series smartphone with slim, durable body to announced on March 20, Lenovo S5 expected

Lenovo has sent out invites for the announcement of a new 'S series' smartphone in China on March 20th. Text on the invite translates to 'Think, it cannot be durable ? ? ?' which hints that the phone will have a slim, yet durable body. The company's CEO Chang Cheng also teased good battery life for the phone and said that it will have offer the best experience that everyone wants to have. His weibo posts are from unannounced Lenovo S5 smartphone, so this will likely be the name of the phone that will be announced later this month. Back in January, he had posted a teaser image of the bottom part of the back of a Lenovo smartphone that is curved and reflective, so the phone could come with a glass or a metal back. We should know more details about the smartphone in the coming weeks. Source | Via

Nokia 6 3GB RAM version gets a price cut in India

HMD global introduced the Nokia 6 along with several other Android smartphones in India back in June last year, which went on sale in the country in August at Rs. 14,999. It also launched the 4GB RAM version of the phone in the country last month at Rs. 16999. Now the 3GB RAM version has received Rs. 1500 price cut and is available for Rs. 13,499 on Amazon.in. Amazon says that only limited stocks will be available. Looks like the company is clearing the stocks ahead of the arrival of the new Nokia 6 Android One smartphone, which is expected to launch in India sometime in April. Nokia 6 specifications 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) 2.5D curved glass display with 450 nits brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 ( 4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor with Adreno 505 GPU 3GB / 4GB LPDDR3 RAM, 32GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 7.1.1 (Nougat), upgradable to Android 8.0 (Oreo) Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) 16MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, PDAF, 1.0um sensor, f/2.0 aperture 8MP front-facing camera, 1.12um sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 84˚ wide-angle lens Fingerprint sensor 3.5mm audio jack, Dual ...

Google Tez payments app gets new chat option to take on Paytm, WhatsApp

Google in order to take on Paytm and WhatsApp has now integrated the new chat option in its Payments app; Tez. Currently, it has over 13.5 million active users and it runs on Unified Payments Interface. The feature is initially rolling out in batches. The new option allows users to quickly chat within the app alongside sending and requesting money. With WhatsApp testing its Payments feature, Google has an edge with the new Chat option and no limit in transactions like WhatsApp. However, it is not available to everyone right away, but will gradually be available in batches. The chat function will only be accessible if both parties are running the latest version of the Tez app on their mobile devices. The dedicated chat button is present right next to the 'Pay' and 'Request' buttons. It has options like block contacts or disable any particular chat thread. Paytm, on the other hand added Inbox button back in November with features including share photos, videos, and location and recall sent messages. Google's spokesperson in a statement said: We’ve added a feature to Tez that allows you to send simple messages back and forth to your contacts about the payments you make. Source

Google Bristlecone 72-qubit quantum computing processor announced

Google at the annual American Physical Society meeting in Los Angeles has introduced the Bristlecone quantum computing processor with an aim to provide its researchers a testbed for into system error rates and scalability of its qubit technology. It is also expected to bring applications in quantum simulation, optimization, and machine learning. Google's Bristlecone chip features 72 qubits and uses the same technology as company's previous 9-qubit linear array technology which demonstrated low error rates for readout at 1%, single-qubit gates at 0.1% and lastly two-qubit gates 0.6%. In order to investigate the applications and most importantly quantify a quantum processor’s capabilities, Google's theory team designed a tool which can be used to assign a single system error by applying random quantum circuits to the device and checking the sampled output distribution against a classical simulation. If the quantum processor can be operated with low enough error, then it can easily outperform a classical supercomputer on a well-defined computer science problem, which is an achievement known as quantum supremacy. It is believed in the industry that it takes 49 qubits to achieve quantum supremacy, but Google cautions that a quantum computer isn’t just about qubits. In order to run a device like Bristlecone at low system error, it requires an understanding of technologies ranging from software ...