Yandex.Phone with 5.65-inch FHD+ display, dual rear cameras, water-resistant body announced

Yandex, the leading Internet company in Russia has introduced Yandex.Phone, the company's latest Android smartphone. It has a 5.65-inch FHD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, is powered by Snapragon 630 with 4GB of RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Yandex Launcher, has a 16-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 5-megapixel secondary camera for portait shots, and a 5-megapixel camera on the front that also has an LED flash. It has a glass back with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, IP54 ratings for dust and water resistance, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and a 3050mAh battery with support for fast charging. Yandex.Phone specifications 5.65-inch (2160 x 1080 pixels) 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection 2.2 GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 630 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 508 GPU 4GB LPDDR4 RAM,  64GB internal memory, expandable memory with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Yandex Launcher Dual SIM 16MP rear camera with LED flash, 5MP secondary 5MP front-facing camera with LED flash Dust and water resistance (IP54) Fingerprint sensor 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio Dimensions: 150.1 × 72.5 × 8.28mm; Weight: 163g 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 5, GPS, USB Type-C 3050mAh built-in battery with fast charging The Yandex.Phone comes in Black color is priced 17,990 ...

Xiaomi smartphone with 48MP camera sensor, Snapdragon 675 to arrive in January, could use Sony IMX586 sensor

Xiaomi President Lin Bin has posted an image of a Xiaomi phone with 48-megapixel camera on weibo. This shows a large sensor along with dual LED flash. It also shows a new design and possibly a pop-up front camera offering an all-screen display like the Vivo NEX. He also shared that the phone will be released in January 2019. The smartphone could use the Sony IMX586 which was introduced as the world-first 48MP smartphone camera sensor with ultra-compact pixel size of 0.8 μm. It already started shipping to OEMs from September 2018, so Xiaomi would have already started testing it on its smartphone. Currently only the Snapdragon 675 11nm Mobile Platform supports up to 48-megapixel camera. Xiaomi at the 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong in October confirmed that the company will launch Snapdragon 675-powered smartphone next year. The Snapdragon 675 Mobile Platform based on 11nm process technology, 2 performance (based on new Cortex A76) cores and 6 effciency cores (based on Cortex A55) as well as enhanced AI Engine, Spectra 250 ISP, Kryo 460 CPUs and Adreno 612 GPU. It has support for up to three front and rear cameras, and supports features such as telephoto, wide angle, and super-wide image capture, enhanced portrait mode (Bokeh) as well as 3D face ...

Indian wearable shipments reach 897,000 units, up 17% YoY in Q3 2018; Xiaomi continues to lead: IDC

The smart wearable market in India has shipped a total of 102,000 units in Q3 2018, according to IDC. This also marks the first quarter where wearable market crossed 100,000 units shipment in the country.  The overall India wearables market saw a 17% year-over-year (YoY) growth in the third quarter as vendors shipped a total of 897,000 units in the country. However, the overall shipments declined 11% from the previous quarter largely because of the double-digit decline in the basic wearables. July and August remain flat in terms of new shipments, September did observe a recovery as vendors started gearing up for the online festival sales. As expected, Xiaomi topped the segment for the 5th consecutive quarter with 41% market share in Q3 2018. However, the shipments witnessed a decline of 20% quarter-over-quarter, but it saw a healthy growth of 77% in this quarter when compared to the same time a year ago. The newly launched Mi Band 3 helped the company. GOQii continues to hold the 2nd position with a healthy 47% YoY growth and 19% market share in Q3 2018. It remains the leading player in the commercial segment, as two-thirds of its shipments fall under the enterprises corporate wellness program. Titan phased out its ...

Apple iOS 12.1.1 update with expanded eSIM support, redesigned FaceTime with live photos and more released

Apple has rolled out iOS 12.1.1 update, it is the third update to the iOS 12 operating system since its September launch. However, it is a minor update comparatively. It brings the ability to capture a photo during FaceTime call and save the moment. It requires the person you're video chatting with to have the "FaceTime Live Photos" setting toggled on. FaceTime also includes a reworked bottom bar with new buttons for muting a call and flipping the camera. Sliding up on the bottom bar brings up additional options with conversation participants. The 12.1.1 expands eSIM support on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR to additional carriers across Europe, including Swisscom in Switzerland, Orange in Spain, and Three in Sweden and Denmark. AT&T in the US, Rogers, and Fido in Canada, and Many Other Carriers Rolling Out eSIM Support on Latest iPhones. The eSIM support is rolling out to 1010, CSL, China Mobile, and SmarTone in Hong Kong; M1 in Singapore; APT in Taiwan, and AIS, dtac, and True Move in Thailand. Airtel and Jio in India have already rolled out eSIM support. On the iPhone XR, the iOS 12.1.1 update introduces support for Haptic Touch with notifications. Haptic Touch can now be used to ...

ASUS Zenfone Max M2 with 6.3-inch 19:9 display, Snapdragon 632, dual rear cameras, 4000mAh battery announced

Asus, along with the Zenfone Max Pro M2, also introduced Max M2 in Russia. It packs a 6.26-inch HD+ 19:9 aspect ratio display with a notch, is powered by Snapdragon 632 SoC with up to 4GB of RAM, has a 13-megapixel rear camera along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera for capturing depth information in portrait shots and an 8-megapixel camera on the front, both the LED flash. It has a metal back, comes with dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots, Dual 4G VoLTE, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 4000mAh battery. ASUS Zenfone Max M2 (ZB633KL) specifications 6.3-inch (1520x720 pixels) HD+ 19:9 2.5D curved glass display 1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 632 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 506 GPU 3GB LPDDR3 RAM with 32GB storage / 4GB LPDDR3 RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory upto 2TB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD) 13MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, EIS, secondary 2MP camera 8MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture, LED flash Fingerprint sensor 3.5mm audio jack, NXP Smart Amp, FM radio Dimensions: 158.41x76.28x7.70mm; Weight: 160g Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS 4000mAh battery The ASUS Zenfone Max M2 comes in Black, Blue and Gold colors, starts ...

ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 with 6.3-inch FHD+ display, Snapdragon 660, dual rear cameras, 5000mAh battery announced

ASUS has announced Zenfone Max Pro M2, successor of Max Pro M1 and the Max M2, sucessor of Max M1 in Russia. The Max Pro M2 has a 6.3-inch FHD+ display with Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection, is powered by Snapdragon 660 with 4GB of RAM, runs stock Android 8.1 (Oreo), has a 12-megapixel rear camera along with a 5-megapixel secondary camera and a 13-megapixel front camera, both with LED flash. It has a glass back, rear mounted fingerprint sensor, dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots, Dual 4G VoLTE support and a 5000mAh battery, but it still has micro USB port without fast charging. ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 (ZB31KL) specifications 6.3-inch (2280 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 display with 94% NTSC Color Gamut, 450 cd/m2 brightness, 1500: 1 contast ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protection Octa Core Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2.2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 512 GPU 4GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64GB / 128GB storage, expandable memory upto 2TB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD) 12MP rear camera with LED flash, Sony IMX486 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 1.25μm pixel size, PDAF, EIS, PDAF, secondary 5MP camera 13MP front camera with ...

Facebook Messenger Lite for Android gets the ability to send Gifs, support for Emoji, file sharing and more

Messenger Lite for Android is getting a new update which brings the ability to express themselves more in chats by sending and playing animated GIFs. However, you still need a third-party keyboard to search and send Gifs. It is also finally bringing support for various color choices and emojis. To use emojis, all you have to do is tap the info button in the top right to change the colors, nicknames, and emojis as many times as you want. When you make a change, the people you’re chatting with will see what updates you selected. You can now share a file, picture, a video, or an audio file. To share a file, tap the “+” sign, select file or video from the popup, and hit send. Despite being under 10MB in size, Messenger Lite has the ability to make video calling, thanks to the continued investments to the quality and speed of Messenger Lite. The company said that it is also making investments to more promptly address bugs or violating content so users can have the most positive experiences possible in Messenger Lite. Source

Google confirms it will shutdown Allo messaging app in March 2019, will upgrade Hangout users to Hangouts Chat and Meet

Google has finally announced that it is giving up on Allo after it stopped investing in the app earlier this year. The app will become non-functional in March 2019. The company officially announced that it will upgrade users to Hangouts Chat and Meet at some point and they will remain a primary focus for the team. It also mentioned that it is fully committed to supporting Hangouts users in the meantime. The company said that it is leaning the mistakes it made with Allo and put it to use on Messages app to make it even better. This year, Google introduced iPad and Android tablets, Chromebook, and smart display support for Duo video calling. It also launched the ability to leave a video message and said that it will continue to bring more quality improvements based on machine learning that make video calls with Duo simple and reliable. Google, in a blog post, said: We’re excited by the progress we’ve made with our communications experience over the past few years, and ready to take what we’ve learned from Allo and put it to work to make Messages even better. And by refocusing on Messages and Duo for consumers and Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet for ...

Samsung 860 QVO SSD with up to 4TB storage launched in India starting at Rs. 11249

After launching it globally last week, Samsung has launched the 860 QVO SSD  its new consumer solid state drive (SSD) lineup in India. The new SSD lineup comes with up to four terabytes (TB) of storage capacity and is built on the high-density 4-bit multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash architecture. It is based on the SATA interface and sports a 2.5-inch form factor. The 860 QVO fits perfectly in most standard laptops or desktops. Also, by offering both high capacity and performance in a single, affordable drive, the 860 QVO eliminates the need to use a combination of an SSD and an HDD for booting and storage. It features a sequential read and writes speeds of up to 550 megabytes per second (MB/s) and 520 MB/s, respectively, the 860 QVO achieves the same level of performance as today’s 3-bit MLC SSD. The drive is also integrated with Intelligent TurboWrite technology, which helps to accelerate speeds while maintaining high performance for longer periods of time. The 860 QVO will be available in India from January, 2019 and the pricing starting at Rs. 11,249 for the 1TB model, Rs. 18,749 for 2TB Model and Rs. 37,499 for 4TB model. Sukesh Jain, Senior Vice President, IT and Mobile Enterprise Business, ...

OnePlus to launch first commercial 5G smartphone powered by Snapdragon 855 in Europe with EE in 2019

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Technology Summit 2018 has announced that its next flagship will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform. The company will release a commercial 5G smartphone with carrier network EE in the UK in 2019. OnePlus also mentioned that it is in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies on 5G development since 2017. In October 2018, OnePlus achieved another breakthrough in 5G research, by releasing the first 5G tweet. Both the companies, together have made significant strides in designing a device ready for 5G integration and commercialization in 2019. Pete Lau said at the event: OnePlus only makes flagship smartphones, and we believe that the Snapdragon 855 is the best and only choice. We are thrilled by its powerful performance and 5G capabilities. OnePlus will continue to bring its users the best technology and the best user experience possible. Alex Katouzian, senior vice president and general manager, mobile, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc We are proud to work with OnePlus to continue to bring breakthrough mobile experiences to consumers. Snapdragon 855 is designed to deliver multi-gigabit 5G, industry-leading AI and immersive extended reality (XR) ushering in a new decade of wireless experiences to come.