An interview with Carl Pei – Co-founder, OnePlus on What’s New and What’s Next for OnePlus

We recently had a talk with Carl Pei - the co-founder and Director of OnePlus Global, and we asked questions that would answer all your queries regarding the company, OnePlus smartphones, their business model and more. This was an interview with him on What's New and What's Next for OnePlus. The company recently launched the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro smartphone in India. You can check out our review of the OnePlus 7 Pro. On with the interview.. FoneArena: Hello Carl, Can you first tell us about the Carl Pei before OnePlus. How did you end up in your current role? From Sweden to China to BLR to London. Carl: Thank You, Varun. It’s a lot to talk about. I grew up in Sweden and spent most of my time there, a short time in China after my high school just to check out and later on moved to China in 2011. It’s been 8 years now since I moved to China and as we had to set up our operations in London, spent some time there, moving across countries. We are a known brand now and as we would like to diversify it, we are building a team right now in ...

POCO F1 MIUI Software Update Tracker [Update: MIUI V10.3.5.0]

Xiaomi's sub-brand POCO launched the POCO F1 smartphone in India back in August 2018 running MIUI 9.6 Global Stable on top of Android 8.1 (Oreo). Xiaomi doesn’t follow any fixed update frequency for the MIUI Global Stable ROM but on an average, the Global Stable ROM is updated once in 20-40 days. This post will help our readers in keeping track of MIUI updates for POCO F1, also check out our POCO F1 content, POCO F1 Hands-on and First Impressions POCO F1 Rosso Red Edition Photo Gallery POCO F1 Review: Deal of the Century How to Install Oxygen OS on POCO F1 MIUI updates rolled out for the POCO F1 so far: [June 15, 2019]: Xiaomi has started rolling out MIUI 10.3.5.0.PEJMIXM stable update. The update is 387MB in size, adds new Lock screen clock customization, Wi-Fi security optimizations, fix for Dual apps and also includes Android security patch for May, 2019 . [Download Link] [April 4, 2019]: Xiaomi started rolling out MIUI 10.3.4.0.PEJMIXM with March security patch, this update brought several features including 4K 60fps video recording, Game Turbo, Face unlock for App Lock, Widevine L1 support to play HD content on Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar, along with several bug fixes and optimizations to the smartphone. [Mar ...

Xiaomi’s component supplier Holitech Technology inaugurates its first component manufacturing plant in India

Xiaomi today announced that Holitech Technology which is its key component supplier has inaugurated its first component manufacturing plant in India located in Greater Noida in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The company was invited by Xiaomi back in Q1 2018 to investigate local manufacturing opportunities during its ‘Supplier Investment Summit’. Last year  Holitech Technology signed an MOU with the state of Andhra Pradesh to start local manufacturing in the city of Tirupati. Holitech Technology also announced that it will invest about US$200 million over three years in the country and would be manufacturing Compact Camera Modules (CCM), Capacitive Touch Screen module (CTP), Thin Film Transistor (TFT), Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC), and fingerprint module locally. The plant is spread across 4 factories and spans over 25000 square meters in the city of Greater Noida and will start mass production with a production capacity of over 300 million components per year. It also boasts of class 1000 and class 100 clean room, an industry first, said the company. A cleanroom is a contained space where provisions are made to reduce particulate contamination and control other environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity and pressure. Holitech Technology in partnership with the government of Uttar Pradesh is also organising ...

Redmi smartphone with Samsung’s 64MP GW1 sensor said to be in the works

Samsung introduced its 64MP ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor earlier last month. There were reports of the upcoming Galaxy A70S with the 64MP GW1 sensor to launch later this year. Today, new reports suggest that an upcoming Redmi smartphone will also sport the 64MP ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor and is expected to come in the second half of 2019. According to reports, Samsung is planning to debut its latest 64MP ISOCELL sensor on one of the upcoming Galaxy A series model and surprisingly, an upcoming Redmi smartphone is also said to come with the new 64MP sensor. The 64MP sensor uses Pixel-merging Tetracell technology and the remosaic algorithm offers 16MP images in low-light environments where four pixels are merged to work as one to increase light sensitivity and highly-detailed 64Mp shots in brighter settings. It also supports real-time high dynamic range (HDR) of up to 100-decibels (dB) that provides richer hues. It is to be seen how well the upcoming Redmi smartphone and the Galaxy A series smartphone would perform in low lighting conditions and make use of the full potential of the 64MP GW1 sensor. The Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor is currently sampling to OEMs and is expected to enter mass production in Q2 ...

Xiaomi suspends MIUI Global Beta ROM, will release stable updates more frequently

With more than 300 million global users Xiaomi’s MIUI is amongst the most popular Android skins. MIUI Global ROM has different versions such as Stable and Beta to cater to different users. Xiaomi smartphones come preloaded with MIUI Global Stable ROM pre-installed, and these builds are claimed to be most stable and are recommended for day-to-day usage to normal users by the company. MIUI Global Beta ROM is designed keeping smartphone enthusiasts in mind who want to be amongst the first ones to experience new features, but Beta ROM is not as good as Stable ROM in terms of stability. To learn more about MIUI versions, refer to this post. Now, Xiaomi has decided to discontinue MIUI Global Beta ROM development for the devices which can be attributed to the introduction of multiple series of devices under Redmi sub-brand, as per the official announcement MIUI Beta ROM will not be released after 1st July. The post from Mi Community admin says, As more Mi Phone models got introduced to the market, more users started using MIUI Beta through different channels. Very often, they use it on a day-to-day basis on their main phones. However, MIUI Beta is made for public testing and requires ...

Google Pixel 4 surfaces in live images

It is that time of the year when leaks and rumours of the upcoming Google Pixel phones emerge. Recently, a render of the Google Pixel 4 was released revealing a square camera bump and the possibility of an in-display fingerprint scanner and eventually Google officially teased the smartphone officially. Today, live images of the upcoming Pixel 4 have surfaced revealing the square camera bump, fabric case and more. According to the leaked images, it shows the rear camera housed inside a square bump and the placement is identical to the one shared officially by Google recently. It also reveals the microphone which is present at the top of the smartphone. The forehead of the smartphone reportedly seemed large and also had the dual front-facing cameras from last year's Pixel 3 XL. Apart from this, the image also shows the phone housed inside a fabric case and it is not clear if it is the official case that Google sells. Regarding the specifications, we can expect Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, 6GB RAM, and the latest Android Q. Google Pixel 4 is expected to be unveiled in October, and we should know more information in the coming months. Source

JBL launches new in-ear wired, wireless neckband, on-ear wireless, over-ear noise cancelling and true wireless headphones in India

JBL has launched new LIVE 100 in-ear wired, LIVE 200BT wireless neckband, LIVE 400BT and 500BT on-ear wireless, LIVE 650BTNC over-ear noise cancelling and Endurance Peak true wireless headphones in India. The Live Bluetooth headphones are optimized for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, as well as Ambient Aware, TalkThru and offers personalized listening experience via My JBL Headphones App. JBL LIVE 100 features Large 8mm drivers drive full-bandwidth, powerful sound. Easily control music, phone calls and access your voice assistant with the one-button remote control and microphone. Premium materials help the headphones look as good as they sound. Tangle-free fabric cable makes the headphones easy to carry and use. Carry case for easy transport and safe storage. JBL LIVE 200BT features 8mm Dynamic Driver with the legendary JBL Signature Sound as found at concerts, in the studio and in the home is now available in a headphone. Effortlessly switch from listening to music on your portable device to a call from your phone, so that you never miss a call. Easily control music, phone calls and access your voice assistant with the one-button remote control and microphone. Magnetic ear tips ensure tangle-free convenience while the headphones are not in use. Designed to flow naturally with ...

Samsung patents a smartphone with rollable display having expandable display area

Samsung patented a smartphone with foldable display back in 2017 and earlier this year, the company launched its foldable smartphone, Galaxy Fold. However, eventually, it was delayed citing display issues. Today, new reports have emerged that Samsung has patented a smartphone with a rollable display having an expandable display area. The patent was submitted on 28 November 2018 and was published on June 6, 2019. The patent submitted by Samsung with WIPO(World Intellectual Property Office) reveals an unannounced smartphone with a flexible display and the display can be pulled out, creating an extra screen surface. There are two rollers placed in the housing which ensure that the screen can be rolled in and out correctly. The upper bezel of the smartphone houses the earpiece as well as an LED indicator and the receiver seems able to extend outward from the phone. Along with the receiver, the upper bezel will house camera lenses like telephoto, wide-angle, etc. It also reveals that an elongated screen surface can be created by pulling out the display using a slider system and by this mechanism, the total surface mechanism is increased by no less than 60%. The possible damages from outside can be prevented as the extendable display ...

Lava Z62 with 6-inch FullView display, Android 9 Pie launched in India for Rs. 6060

Lava International Limited launched its mid-range smartphone Z92 with FullView display, Helio P22 SoC and more in India earlier this year. Today, the company is adding another smartphone to its 'Z Series' with the launch of Z62 in India and is the successor to the Z61 Go edition launched last year. Lava Z62 sports a 6-inch FullView display with 2.5D curved glass and there is no information on the display resolution. It is powered by a quad-core MediaTek Helio A22 SoC clocked at 2GHz along with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. The storage can be expanded up to 256GB through MicroSD. It is 8.85mm thick, runs on Android 9 Pie operating system and is backed up a 3380 mAh battery. Regarding the optics, Lava Z62 sports an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP camera with front facing flash as well along with different modes like AI Photo Studio, Professional Mode etc. Additionally, it has support for Face Unlock, OTG and comes in Midnight Blue and Space Blue colour options. Lava Z62 specifications 6-inch FullView IPS 2.5D curved glass display 2GHz Octa-Core MediaTek Helio A22 (MT6761) 16nm processor with 650MHz IMG PowerVR GE83200 GPU 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, expandable memory ...

Motorola One, One Power, Moto G7 and G7 Power get a price cut in India

Motorola launched the OnePower Android One smartphone last year in India for Rs. 15,999 and earlier this year, Moto G7 was launched for Rs. 16,999, G7 Power for Rs. 13,999 and Motorola One smartphone for Rs. 13,999 as well. Today, the company has slashed prices of these smartphones by up to Rs. 3000 and are available to buy at the new prices. Moto G7 has got a Rs. 2000 price cut and now it is available at Rs. 14,999. The G7 Power has got a Rs.1000 price cut and now it is available at Rs. 12,999, against its original price of Rs. 13,999. Motorola has also slashed prices on the OnePower and One smartphone. Motorola One has got a Rs. 1000 price cut and it is available at Rs. 12,999. The One Power was launched at Rs. 15,999 and it got a price cut recently and now, it is available for Rs. 12,999. The revised prices for the G7 Power, Motorola One and Motorola One Power are live on Flipkart and is expected to be revised soon for G7 as well. These smartphones will be available at new prices in offline stores too. Smartphone Old Price New Price Price cut Moto G7 Rs. 16,999 Rs. 14,999 Rs. 2000 Moto G7 ...