India surpasses USA to become 2nd largest smartphone maker in the world in 2019: Report

During Q3 2019, India's smartphone shipments reached 49 million units and subsequently during Q4 2019, Xiaomi and Samsung continued to lead the smartphone market in India. Now, according to a report from Counterpoint Research, India has surpassed the US to become the 2nd largest smartphone maker in the world after reaching 158 million shipments in 2019. There has been a 7% YoY growth and the main reason is due to the growth of the mid-tier segment with Chinese OEMs launching many flagship-grade features and capabilities on smartphones, and also to capture demand from users who are upgrading their smartphone. According to the report, in 2019 Xiaomi grew 5% YoY followed by Samsung which showed a 5% decline YoY. On the other hand, Vivo grew 76% YoY, realme grew a massive 255% YoY, OPPO grew 28% YoY, and other brands showed a 39% decline YoY in 2019. Similarly, in Q4 2019, Xiaomi's smartphone market share was 27%, the same as during Q4 2018, and it is followed by Vivo with 19%, up from 10% during Q4 2018. It is followed by Samsung with 19%, down from 20%, OPPO with 12%, up from 7%, realme with 8%, the same as during Q4 2018. Other brands exhibited ...

Redmi smartwatch likely to launch soon in India as it receives BIS certification

Xiaomi's Redmi brand recently unveiled Redmi-branded routers, power banks in China and while the company hasn't launched those products here, it is likely to change soon. After filing a trademark for Redmi-branded laptops in India, Redmi-branded smartwatch is likely to launch soon in India as it receives BIS certification.  Redmi smartwatch with model number HMSH01GE and registration number R-41150517 has received BIS certification. This clearly suggests that the company is likely to launch the smartwatch soon in India. There is not much information known about the smartwatch yet, but Redmi's Lu Weibing Weibo post reads "How do you feel about the first Xiaomi watch? Looking for a Redmi watch?", hinting about Redmi smartwatch. Based on rumors, Redmi smartwatch is said to be running on Wear OS platform and is said to be powered by Snapdragon Wear chipset. In comparison, Xiaomi Mi Watch has a 1.78-inch AMOLED touch screen with support for over 100 watch faces, is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 with 1GB of RAM, runs Wear OS with MIUI for Watch on top with over 40 apps and has support for eSIM for 4G VoLTE calling through all the major operators in China such as China Telecom and China Unicom. It ...

realme 5i Review — Goodness of realme 5 with a refreshing design

In 2019, many OEMs came up with their sub-brands and online-only series of smartphones which eventually is working out well for the brands. Realme Mobiles brand was once such a company that was introduced under OPPO earlier last year. realme 1 was the first smartphone from the brand and later on, the company started to branch out from OPPO to start functioning independently. Within a year, realme launched an array of smartphones and the company is on a roll. After the launch of realme 5, realme 5 Pro, realme XT, realme X2 Pro, and realme X2, the latest smartphone from the company is a new budget smartphone - realme 5i. realme 5i is positioned below the realme 5s and comes with a new 'Sunrise' design. But, is it just old wine in new bottle? Let's find out in this review. Box contents realme has changed the color accent of the box of the 5i and this time around, it has a striking yellow color all over the box and as usual, the key specifications and other details are mentioned. The packaging is minimalistic as upon opening the box, you will find the realme 5i, a 10W wall adapter, micro USB cable, SIM ejector, ...

LG announces Android 10 update timeline for 9 smartphones

In a world where smartphone manufacturers like OnePlus, Nokia, etc. have already pushed out Android 10 software updates to their devices, we still have companies like LG that are extremely slow with theirs. LG have only now announced their roadmap for Android 10 updates in 9 smartphones, with some phones only getting it in Q4 of 2020. We do have to give some props to LG as earlier it wouldn't even bother updating their devices to the next version of Android. This change came about as it launched their dedicated global Software Upgrade Center. However, this is still an extremely slow pace compared to other smartphone companies. At the moment, only two phones are running the latest version of Android; the G8 ThinQ and Korean units of V50 ThinQ 5G, which is quite poor for a company as large as LG. In the press release, LG revealed which smartphones will get the Android update. These include the LG V40 ThinQ, international units of the V50 ThinQ, G8X ThinQ, G8S ThinQ, G7 ThinQ, K50S, K40S, K50 and Q60. LG Android 10 update roadmap: February, 2020 LG V50 ThinQ Q2 2020 LG G8X Q3 2020 LG G7, G8S and V40 Q4 2020 LG K50S, K40S, K50 ...

Vine founder Don Hoffman launches Byte App; another 6-second video platform

Ever since Vine was shut down back in 2016, the internet has been yearning for some short form video sharing service. Now Vine's founder, Don Hoffman has announced the launch of a successor to Vine called the Byte App. It is similar to Vine in that it is a platform for shooting or uploading and then sharing 6-second videos on the internet. The Byte App, for the moment, contains the necessities of any social media app with a feed, Explore page, notifications, and profiles. It is definitely not as feature packed like the popular TikTok with no remixability, augmented reality filters, transition effects, etc. Vine, even during the height of its popularity, faced the problem of lack of effective monetisation techniques for creators on the platform. Even today, apps like TikTok and Snapchat do not offer any clear way for creators to make money on the platform. This is a key area where Byte App hopes to make a difference. They have announced an early focus on helping content creators making money, beginning with a  pilot version of their partner program which will use their revenue share + supplementing with their own funds to pay creators. Byte has already acknowledged that they are launching ...

Lenovo M10 FHD REL with 10.1-inch display, dual front speakers, Dolby audio, 7000mAh battery launched in India for Rs. 13990

Lenovo has launched Lenovo M10 FHD REL, the company's latest Wi-Fi tablet in India. It packs a 10.1-inch FHD LCD screen, is powered by Snapdragon 450 with 3GB of RAM, runs Android Pie, features 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. It packs two front firing speakers with Dolby audio and a 7000mAh battery. Lenovo M10 FHD REL specifications 10.1-inch (1920 x 1200 pixels) FHD IPS display with 320 nits brightness, 70% Color Gamut 1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 450 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 506 GPU 3GB RAM, 32GB internal memory, expandable up to 256GB via microSD Android 9.0 (Pie) 8MP auto focus rear camera 5MP fixed-focus front-facing camera 3.5mm audio jack, Dual front-facing speakers, Dolby Audio, FM Radio WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, micro USB 7000mAh battery The Lenovo M10 FHD REL comes in Slate Black color, is priced at Rs. 13,990 and is available from Flipkart.

POCO X2 with ‘extreme’ refresh rate, 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor, liquid cooling launching in India on February 4

After teasers POCO India just confirmed that it will launch the POCO X2 smartphone in India on February 4th. The teaser image confirms 'extreme refresh rate', which will likely be 120Hz, Sony IMX686 64-megapixel 1/1.7″ sensor along with a secondary camera, Snapdragon SoC with support for liquid cooling. The liquid cooling image also shows something like a pop-up front camera and confirms a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, below the camera module, so it should be an LCD screen. It also confirms support for fast charging, USB Type-C port, bottom-ported loudspeaker and a 3.5mm audio jack. Since the phone doesn't show antenna cutouts so it will likely feature plastic body, similar to the POCO F1. We should know more details about the POCO X2 smartphone in the coming days.

TVS iQube Electric scooter with smart features launched for Rs. 1.15 lakhs

TVS has launched iQube Electric, the company's first electric scooter with 4.4 kW electric motor, max speed of 78 kmph, acceleration of 0 to 40 kmph in 4.2 seconds and 75km range. It features TVS SmartXonnect platform and comes with advanced TFT cluster and TVS iQube app and has multiple features such as Geo-fencing, Remote Battery Charge Status, Navigation Assist, Last park location, Incoming call alerts/SMS alerts among others. Other features include Q-park assist, Multi-select economy and power mode, Day and Night display and Regenerative braking and says that it provides noiseless and comfortable ride. Highlights of TVS iQube Electric Top Speed 78kmph, Range 75 km (Eco-mode) 4.4kW hub-mounted motor ensures minimal loss in power transmission 0 to 40km in just 4.2 seconds, 140Nm peak torque TFT dashboard with Day/Night screen for navigation, charge and speed status, Incoming call alerts/SMS alerts Remote charge status, Geo fencing, last park location and smart statistics using iQube app LED Headlights, Tail Lights, Indicators, Side stand indicator, Battery level indicator, Low battery indicator, Service reminder, Vehicle malfunction light 118 kg (kerb weight) 90/90-12, Tubeless tyres on the front and back, Front - 220 mm Discand Rear - 130 mm Drum brakes, Front - Telescopic suspension and Rear ...

MIUI Launcher Alpha version brings App Drawer support

Xiaomi’s MIUI is well-known for the customizations it offers, despite being user-friendly and customizable, people had some complaints with MIUI such as Notification Shade and MIUI Launcher. Xiaomi hugely improved the notification shade with the last two iterations of MIUI but MIUI Launcher didn’t get much improvements and features. Last year, Xiaomi introduced Hidden Apps feature on MIUI Launcher and also introduced App Drawer on MIUI China ROM. A few weeks ago, MIUI launcher received an update bringing App shortcuts and App sharing shortcut features and now, an alpha version of the MIUI launcher has surfaced on the web that finally brings much-awaited app drawer to the MIUI launcher but it is not enabled by default, users can turn on the app drawer mode under Home Screen settings. [gallery size="large" ids="303207,303208,303209"] MIUI launcher gets a lot of features from the POCO launcher, be it app suggestions, app categories, app drawer background or the search bar at the bottom of the app drawer. [gallery size="large" ids="303210,303211,303212"] Users also get an option to change the Icon size and Home Screen layout. [gallery columns="2" size="large" ids="303207,303213"] You can download the alpha build on devices running MIUI by clicking here and install it on your device, but note that this is ...

Noise ropes in Rohit Sharma as its brand ambassador, will launch NoiseFit Fusion hybrid smartwatch

Noise, popular for its smart accessories has announced that it has roped in Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma as its Brand Ambassador. "As an entity, Noise stands for the passion that drives the youth to break the mold and follow their dreams at will. It aims to enable the same through all its upcoming campaigns, and is excited about the intangible value Rohit Sharma will add to the brand’s message at its core," said the company. In the near future, Rohit will launch Noise’s freshest addition to its smart wearables category – NoiseFit Fusion, which the company says it India's first full touch hybrid smartwatch. He is seen wearing the smartwatch in the image above. Furthermore, Rohit Sharma will be launching his own Limited Edition through the brand as well. Commenting on the partnership, Gaurav Khatri, founder of Noise, said: We’re delighted to announce our partnership with Rohit Sharma, who truly is one of the greatest cricketers of our time. His dedication to the sport adequately mirrors the commitment we feel towards providing our customers with the best. Together, we look forward to propagating a positive message; One which resonates with youngsters, advocates following one’s passion, and encourages the youth to listen more ...