HUAWEI Mate X foldable 5G smartphone launching in India this year

HUAWEI introduced Mate X foldable 5G smartphone at an event in Barcelona last month. Today the company has confirmed that it will launch the smartphone in India later this year. India will not get 5G this year, but it will be one of the first 5G smartphones to launch here. It has a 6.6-inch OLED screen on the front and 6.38-inch screen on the back that expands to a 8-inch screen when unfolded. It features a Falcon Wing design with a stretchable hinge for a smooth and flat finish on both sides of the device. The screen doesn’t over stretch while folding or bulge in unfolding. It is just 5.4mm at its thinnest point. It is powered by Kirin 980 7nm SoC with Dual NPU and Balong 5000 5G modem, runs Android 9.0 (Pie) with EMUI 9.1.1 on top, has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner embedded into the power button. The phone packs a 40MP main camera, a 16MP ultra wide-angle camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera. It has an NM Card slot, that lets you use replace the second SIM with a NM Card and comes with world’s first 55W (10V/4A) HUAWEI SuperCharge fast charging technology that lets you charge the phone’s 4500mAh batery from ...

Opera browser for Android gets built-in free VPN, support for crypto-pairing and more

Opera browser for the desktop already offers free VPN. After the beta update last month that got built-in VPN, Opera browser for Android stable version 51 has received VPN support. This lets you hide your physical locationmaking it harder for others to track your behavior on the Web. The VPN is free and can be enabled easily from the top left corner of the browser. It also does not log web traffic. This means that the VPN servers do not log and retain any activity data, all to protect the privacy of the user. It also brings support for crypto-pairing as it rolls out for Opera for desktops in the stable release soon. This enables convenient and secure access to mobile-based Crypto Wallet in Opera for Android on computer. The update also brings several features including: Support for crypto-pairing with the upcoming stable release of Opera for computers Improved startup time Speech-to-text API support Improvements to the new fast scroller Chromium 72 Support for Jelly Bean (Android 4.1 – 4.3) has been deprecated as the Chromium browser engine no longer supports Jelly Bean You can the Opera browser for Android when it rolls out through Google Play or grab the APK from here and side-load it manually, ...

HP Reverb VR Headset with spatial audio, smart assistant-compatible dual microphones announced

At the HP Reinvent, HP unveiled Reverb Virtual Reality Headset that has been redesigned from the ground up. This has 2.89-inch 90Hz LCDs with 2160 x 2160 panel per eye with double the resolution1 and 114-degree field of view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPmMOe_yYt4 It is ultra-light (1.1 pounds) and the company says that it has redesigned optics to increase the visual 'sweet spot.' It also features integrated headphones with spatial audio and smart assistant compatible dual microphones for a greater immersive experience and collaboration in multi-user VR environments. It has integrated Bluetooth with pre-paired motion controllers right out of the box, without the need to pair and support for Windows Mixed Reality and Steam VR. With Windows Mixed Reality’s inside out tracking, setup is even easier — just plug in the VR headset and start the experience. For multi-user environments there are removable, cleanable facemask cushions. The HP Reverb Virtual Reality Headset Consumer Edition is priced at US$599 (Rs. 41,280 approx.) and the Pro Edition costs US$649 (Rs. 44,730 approx.). Both will be available starting late-April in more than 50 countries worldwide in April. Both these come with HP VR Headset, 3.5m headset cable for desktop and mobile PCs, 2 motion controllers and 1 DisplayPort to mini-DisplayPort adapter in the package. The Pro ...

Instagram adds ‘Checkout’ feature to facilitate shopping without leaving app

Spending money just got easier now with Instagram! Facebook-owned Instagram has introduced 'checkout' feature on Instagram. With this feature, you can now buy a product without leaving the app. How does it work? When you tap to view a product from a brand’s shopping post, you’ll see a “Checkout on Instagram” button on the product page. Tap it to select from various options such as size or colour, then you’ll proceed to payment without leaving Instagram. You’ll only need to enter your name, email, billing information and shipping address the first time you check out. Once the first order is complete, your information will be securely saved for convenience the next time you shop. You’ll also receive notifications about shipment and delivery right inside Instagram, so you can keep track of your purchase. This feature is available currently in closed beta for businesses and available to people in the US. On the other hand, Instagram is said to be internally testing a web version of Instagram Direct messaging that lets users to chat with others without the app. When this feature rolls out, the Direct message will be available on the desktop, Android, iOS and the mobile web browser. Source

PUBG Mobile 0.11.5 update with Royale Pass Season 6, G36C rifle, 1st anniversary rewards and more released

Tencent games has rolled out a new PUBG Mobile update which brings the version number to 0.11.5, and this time it didn't take down the servers before the update. This brings new Season 6 and the new Royale Pass with more rewards and points, G36C rifle for Vikendi, Tukshai a three-wheeled bus replacing Jeep, Dacia and Mini Bus, Dynamic weather for Erangel and Miramar and as a part of Anniversary celebration  you get anniversary rewards, new crates and more.  Prime and Prime Plus subscriptions will be available in early April that will offer free daily UC, Royale Pass points, daily 80% discount on Crates, purchasing from the shop with BP and more. The update has just started rolling out to iOS and Android and should be available for everyone soon. Royale Pass**:** Players can now view RP rankings of the entire region and your friends directly from the royale pass page. Elite Pass Plus purchase now has additional rewards besides instantly gaining 25 ranks. Weekly challenges now award more points. Point rewards can now be collected with just tap. Anniversary: Birthday parties on Spawn Island! Light fireworks and collect crates during matches. Open the collected crates after the match to get anniversary rewards. Find randomly spawned birthday cakes in matches for a surprise! General**:** Dynamic weather ...

LG V40 ThinQ Review: A capable flagship that can’t keep up

Technology as a whole got matured right now especially in the past couple of years. In the case of smartphones, 2018 has been a fruitful year where the transition happened so fast. From thick bezel to notch, physical fingerprint scanner to in-display scanner, bump up to triple camera setup from double and more. Even though it's not mind-blowing, it is good to see the OEM's figuring out new ways to stay relevant according to the trend. In this contest some win, some lose and some go unnoticed. LG V40 ThinQ, ladies and gentleman belong to the last category, and we are not surprised. Tagged as the most underrated smartphone of 2019 already, LG V40 ThinQ incorporates power-packed specification on papers one could ask for. If you are not aware, the LG V40 ThinQ sports one of the best displays, latest SoC available in the market right now, Penta-camera setup, solid design and of course 3.5mm audio jack with support for Quad DAC. With this specification on papers, nothing can go wrong, right? Well, you are partially right, but not completely. We got hold of LG V40 ThinQ for a good amount of time and here is our take on it. Why you should buy ...

Nokia 5.1 Android Pie update starts rolling out

After rolling out Android Pie update for the Nokia 6, Nokia 3.1 Plus and Nokia 2.1, HMD Global has started rolling out Android Pie update for the Nokia 5.1 smartphone, as it had promised. The phone was introduced back in May last year running Android 8.1 (Oreo). A timeless classic has been redefined! Nokia 5.1 now runs the latest Android 9, Pie. Nokia smartphones just keep getting better! #GetSmart pic.twitter.com/OrAAgapOTV — Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) March 19, 2019 Android P includes Adaptive Battery that uses machine learning to prioritize system resources for the apps, App Actions that helps you raise the visibility of your app and help drive engagement using machine learning, and Slices are a new way to surface rich, templated content in places like Google Search and Assistant. We can expect Android Pie update for other older Nokia smartphones in the coming weeks. What’s New New system navigation, settings menu and notifications Adaptive Battery power prioritisation for users’ most commonly used apps/services Adaptive and optimised brightness levels Predictive Application Actions

LG V40 ThinQ Camera Samples – Triple Rear and Dual Front Cameras

A few days back, LG launched its flagship V40 ThinQ in the Indian market at a price of Rs. 49,990. This is one of the few smartphones to come with a 'penta-camera' setup in the market. Talking about the camera specification, it has triple rear cameras with 16MP 107-degree super wide-angle, 12MP standard angle and 12MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom. Further, it has 5MP wide-angle lens and 8MP standard camera on the front for bokeh effect with an on-screen slider to adjust the amount of background blur. Take a look at the camera samples below (Click the image to view the full resolution sample): [caption id="attachment_278025" align="alignnone" width="574"] Daylight[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278046" align="alignnone" width="574"] Daylight wide angle[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278045" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Selfie wide angle[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278044" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Selfie[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278043" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Portrait[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278042" align="alignnone" width="574"] Portrait[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278041" align="alignnone" width="574"] Lowlight wide angle[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278040" align="alignnone" width="574"] Lowlight telephoto[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278039" align="alignnone" width="574"] Lowlight[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278038" align="alignnone" width="574"] Daylight Macro[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278037" align="alignnone" width="574"] Indoor Macro[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278036" align="alignnone" width="574"] Macro[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278035" align="alignnone" width="574"] Macro[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278034" align="alignnone" width="574"] Outdoor Macro[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278033" align="alignnone" width="574"] Portrait[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278032" align="alignnone" width="574"] Indoor[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278031" align="alignnone" width="574"] Indoor[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278030" align="alignnone" width="574"] Indoor HDR[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278029" align="alignnone" width="574"] Outdoor[/caption] [caption id="attachment_278027" align="alignnone" width="574"] Outdoor HDR[/caption] Video https://youtu.be/lGdgemIqUfw https://youtu.be/lXX2RXOkEhA Check out the complete LG V40 ThinQ ...

Samsung Galaxy A40 with 5.9-inch FHD+ AMOLED Infinity U display, dual rear cameras, Android Pie unveiled

After the press shots surfaced yesterday, Samsung  Galaxy A40 (SM-A405F) has been listed on an online site in Europe revealing the complete specifications of the phone. This reveals a 5.9-inch Full HD+ Infinity-U Super AMOLED display, Exynos 7885 octa-core 14nm processor with 4GB of RAM, Android Pie, 16-megapixel rear camera along with a 5-megapixel Ultra Wide-angle lens and a 25-megapixel front camera. It has a 3D Glasstic back, similar to the A30 and A50, but it has a smaller 3100mAh battery comapared to the 4000mAh battery on the Galaxy A20, A30 and the A50. Samsung Galaxy A40 specifications 5.9-inch (2280 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ Infinity-U Super AMOLED display Octa-Core (2.2GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Hexa) Exynos 7885 14nm processor with Mali-G71 GPU 4GB RAM, 64GB Storage, expandable up to 512GB via micro SD card Android 9.0 (Pie) with  Samsung One UI Dual SIM 16MP rear camera with LED flash, 5MP ultra-wide angle camera with f/2.2 aperture 25MP front camera Fingerprint sensor Dimension:144.3 x 69.1 x 7.9mm 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS, NFC, USB Type-C 3100mAh battery The Samsung Galaxy A40 will come in Black, Blue, White and Orange colors, is listed for 249 Euros (US$ 282 / Rs. ...

Xiaomi posts 52.6% YoY increase in revenue in FY 2018, smartphone revenue up 41.3% YoY

Xiaomi has reported its earning for the fourth quarter (Q4 2018) and the whole financial year of 2018 that ended December 31, 2018. It reported revenue of 174.9 billion yuan (US$ 26.05 billion) for FY 2018, an increase of 52.6% compared to FY 2017, among which international revenue grew 118.1% year-on-year to 70.0 billion yuan, accounting for 40% of its total revenue. Net profit for year 2018 was approximately 13.478 billion yuan. Adjusted net profit (Non-IFRS Measure) was 8.6 billion yuan, up 59.5% YoY. Smartphones segment posted 113.8 billion yuan (US$ 16.95 billion) revenue for 2018 up 41.3% year over year, mainly driven by notable grown in both smartphone sales volume, and the average selling price (ASP).  Smartphone shipments reached 118.7 million units, up 29.8% over the previous year. Revenue from the IoT and lifestyle products segment surged 86.9% on a year-over-year basis to 43.8 billion yuan Global cumulative shipments of its smart TVs were 8.4 million units, up 225.5% In addition to smart TVs and laptops, Xiaomi achieved outstanding sales performances across multiple product categories such as Mi Band, Mi Electric Scooter and Mi Robot Vacuum Cleaner. Revenue from the internet services segment grew 61.2% YoY to 16.0 billion yuan Advertising revenue ...