Sony WF-XB700 truly wireless earphones and WH-CH710N Noise Canceling Headphones

Sony has launched two new products in the US which are the WF-XB700 truly wireless earphones and the WH-CH710N Noise Canceling Headphones.  Among its features, the truly wireless WF-XB700, being part of the 'XB' family has excellent bass reproduction while the WH-CH710N claims good noise cancellation with its Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancelation (AINC). Starting with the WF-XB700, it features Sony's EXTRA BASS technology that creates precise, punchy bass rhythms while maintaining vocal clarity, perfect for those who love the EDM or Hip-hop genre. It is designed with a Ergonomic Tri-hold structure that will provide for a comfortable fit and it is rated for IPX4 water resistance. It has quick charge technology that can provide for 60 mins of playback in just 10 mins of charge, while the total listening time with the charging case is 18 hours. The WH-CH710N is part of Sony's upper mid-range ANC headphones that has a premium feeling design with an adjustable metal slider, NFC, and soft oval-shaped earpads. It features Sony's newer Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancelation that works with its dual microphones to constantly analyse environmental ambient sound components, and accordingly set the best noise-canceling mode. It also features quick charging, 60 mins with 10 mins of charging, and ...

HONOR Play 4T to be announced on April 9, HONOR 30 and HONOR 30 Pro on April 15

HUAWEI's HONOR brand today announced that it will unveil HONOR Play 4T mid-range smartphone in China on April 9th. HONOR product manager said that the phone will be an interesting product in the Honor Play series. The image in teaser shows no-notch display, but this might just be an image for representation. Few days back HONOR confirmed that it will introduce the HONOR 30 series that includes the HONOR 30 and the HONOR 30 Pro, successor of last year's HONOR 20 and HONOR 20 Pro smartphones in China on April 15th. The company also showed the back of the phone in Blue color with matte-like finish on a glass. Earlier this month HONOR phone with the model number BMH-AN10 got certified by 3C revealing 5G support and 40W fast charging, and it has also surfaced on TENAA certification, but this doesn't reveal any specifications yet. We should know more details about the phones in the coming days. Source 1, 2

GST Rate Hike: New Prices for Xiaomi, realme, Samsung, iQOO, OPPO, vivo smartphones

Last month, the GST Council in its 39th meeting increased GST rates for several products including mobile phones from 12% to 18% applicable from April 1st, 2020 and earlier today Apple, POCO announced the new prices. Now, Redmi, OPPO, vivo, realme, Samsung, and iQOO have announced the new prices of their smartphones and here's a list of smartphones with new prices post-GST Rate Hike. Redmi Model Old Price (INR) New Price (INR) Price Hike Redmi 8A (2+32GB) Rs. 6499 Rs. 6999 Rs. 500 Redmi 8A (3+32GB) Rs. 6999 Rs. 7499 Redmi 8 (4+64GB) Rs. 8199 Rs. 8999 Rs. 800 Redmi Note 7S (3+32GB) Rs. 8999 Rs. 9999 Rs. 1000 Redmi Note 7S (4+64GB) Rs. 9999 Rs. 11,999 Rs. 2000 Redmi Note 7 Pro (4+64GB) Rs. 9999 Rs. 10,999 Rs. 1000 Redmi Note 7 Pro (6+64GB) Rs. 10,999 Rs. 12,999 Rs. 2000 Redmi Note 7 Pro (6+128GB) Rs. 11,999 Rs. 13,999 Redmi K20 (6+64GB) Rs. 19,999 Rs. 21,999 Rs. 2000 Redmi K20 (6+128GB) Rs. 22,999 Rs. 24,299 Rs. 1300 Redmi K20 Pro (6+128GB) Rs. 24,999 Rs. 26,999 Rs. 2000 Redmi K20 Pro (8+256GB) Rs. 27,999 Rs. 29,999 Rs. 2000 realme Model Old Price (INR) New Price (INR) Price Hike realme 6 (4+64GB) Rs. 12,999 Rs. 13,999 Rs. 1000 realme 6 (6+128GB) Rs. 14,999 Rs. 15,999 realme 6 (8+128GB) Rs. 15,999 Rs. 16,999 realme 6 Pro (6+64GB) Rs. 16,999 Rs. 17,999 realme 6 Pro (6+128GB) Rs. 17,999 Rs. 18,999 realme 6 Pro (8+128GB) Rs. 18,999 Rs. 19,999 realme C3 (3+32GB) Rs. 6999 Rs. 7499 Rs. 500 realme C3 (4+64GB) Rs.7999 Rs. 8499 realme X50 Pro (12+256GB) Rs. 44,999 Rs. 47,999 Rs. 2000 realme X50 Pro (6+128GB) Rs. 37,999 Rs. 39,999 realme X50 Pro (8+128GB) Rs. ...

HUAWEI P40 Pro rear and front cameras top DxO Mark benchmark score

HUAWEI's P series flagship smartphones have always performed well in the camera department and its newest P40 Pro smartphone is no slouch either. As of today, it holds the highest score in DxO Mark's camera benchmarks for both the rear and front camera, with 128 and 103 respectively. For its rear camera, the P40 Pro has a quad camera setup that includes a 50MP f/1.9 Ultra Vision Camera with 1/1.28-inch sensor, 40MP ultra wide camera with f/1.8 lens, telephoto 12MP with f/3.4 (125mm-equivalent) lens and ToF 3D depth-sensing camera (78-degree FOV). HUAWEI's method of using pixel binning in the main camera contributes to its increase in dynamic range and low-light capabilities, notes DxO Mark. The ultra wide camera, while not as wide as the ones found on Samsung and Apple, still has a good combination of high resolution and fast f/1.8 lens. Zooming in the P40 Pro is also excellent as HUAWEI uses technology that they call field-of-view fusion and AI RAW, a combination of optical and algorithm-powered digital zooming that adapts to the chosen magnification factor. The dual front camera setup of the P40 is also leading the benchmark with a combined score of 108. DxO Mark notes that the P40 Pro ...

POCO M2004J11G passes through EEC, could be POCO F2

POCO F2 has been a mystery in the smartphone world for last one year, POCO didn't launch any smartphone in 2019 and the company made a comeback in the Indian market back in February but with a new mid-range X series. Even after POCO's comeback, POCO F2 remains a mystery, recently MIUI Camera app codes hinted that Redmi K30 Pro 5G might be launched under POCO in India and everybody assumed it as POCO F2. A couple of days later, POCO GM, C Manmohan clarified that Redmi K30 Pro will not be rebranded as POCO F2 in India and also said that POCO F2 is in works and will definitely not be priced around INR 20,000. Now, a mystery POCO smartphone with model number M2004J11G has appeared on multiple certification websites. The smartphone appeared on Russian certification website EEC which suggests it might launch globally. Last week about 346 units of same smartphones were sent to Pakistan from China, as per Exim Trade Info. As per EEC data, this particular model is listed as a POCO smartphone, while we do not know the model name, it is likely to be POCO F2 because POCO F1 has a global variant called POCOPHONE F1. EEC ...

WhatsApp for Android could get expiring messages, multiple device support and more soon

WhatsApp has pushed yet another update for its Beta app in android, bringing the version number to 2.20.110. It makes a few changes including renaming delete messages, testing support for multiple device login and reducing WhatsApp Status video length for Indian users. WhatsApp has been testing the concept of messages disappearing after a set interval in its beta apps for quite a while now. It has undergone three name changes, from Disappearing messages to Delete messages and now its called Expiring messages. Initially the feature was only available for Groups, but WhatsApp made added the feature for individual chats too. In the new update, they have added an indicator for those chats who have expiring messages enabled. It will show both in the chat list and in the chat itself. The next feature that WhatsApp appears to be working on is simultaneous multiple device login (finally). This will users to sign into multiple device like a phone and tablet with a single account at the same time. The feature is not visible publicly, with WhatsApp making a lot of under-the-hood changes to ready up the feature. For example, when a user logs in/out of multiple devices, the security code for end-to-end encryption changes. And the ...

POCO X2 gets a Rs. 1000 price hike after increase in GST

Earlier last month, the GST Council in its 39th meeting increased GST rates for several products including mobile phones from 12% to 18% applicable from April 1st, 2020. As announced, mobile brands have increased the prices of their smartphones and earlier today, Apple increased prices of the iPhone lineup. Following that, POCO has also announced that a Rs. 1000 price hike across all variants of the POCO X2 smartphone. After the price hike, POCO X2 6GB + 64GB variant costs Rs. 16,999, against its previous price of Rs. 15,999. The 6GB + 128GB variant now costs Rs. 17,999, against its previous price of Rs. 16,999, and lastly the top-end 8GB + 256GB variant now costs Rs. 20,999, against its previous price of Rs. 19,999. The revised prices are already live on Flipkart but due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, it is temporarily unavailable. Model Old MRP (INR) New MRP (INR) % increase POCO X2 (6+64GB) Rs. 15,999 Rs. 16,999 6.25 POCO X2 (6+128GB) Rs. 16,999 Rs. 17,999 5.88 POCO X2 (8+256GB) Rs. 19,999 Rs. 20,999 5 To recall, POCO X2 packs a 6.67-inch Full HD+ “Reality Flow” 120Hz LCD screen with 4.38mm, a dual-punch-hole screen with 91% screen-to-body ratio, thanks to 4.25mm ultra-narrow bottom frame, is powered by Snapdragon 730G with up to 8GB ...

Dark Sky hyperlocal weather app purchased by Apple; loses Android app

Dark Sky, a very popular hyper-local weather app, has been acquired by Apple for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will result in a number of changes that include integration of Dark Sky into the iOS native Weather app and removal of the Android app and its APIs. In a blog post today, Dark Sky explained how it has a new home for its app and what it means for its support on other platforms. For iOS, the app will remain available in the App Store, however we can expect Apple to soon integrate Dark Sky into the iOS native weather app to boost its functionality. In the past, Apple has used Yahoo Weather and it currently uses The Weather Channel for its weather services. Regarding Android, Dark Sky has stated that its app on the Play Store will be no longer be available from today. For existing users, the app will continue to function till July 1, 2020, which is also when weather forecasts, maps, and embeds will stop functioning on its website. Importantly, Dark Sky will end its API support for Android in 2022, which is currently in use with other weather apps like Carrot Weather, DuckDuck Go, Microsoft, Runkeeper and more. ...

Uber India launches UberMedic service for COVID-19 crisis

The whole world is fighting the coronavirus pandemic and the outbreak has impacted many. As many places in the world are under lockdown, many companies are introducing special measures to help people. On similar lines, Uber India has now introduced UberMedic Service to assist healthcare providers with its technology and wide network of drivers. With UberMedic service, Uber will facilitate top-rated drivers and dedicated cars to the hospitals through its platform. The safety of the drivers will also be taken care of by the company, and they will be provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including face masks, hand sanitizers, gloves, and disinfectant sprays. The company will be making available its wide network of drivers to healthcare providers who need to be mobile during this crisis. Furthermore, riders will not be allowed to sit in the front passenger seat and the drivers will be trained in related safety protocols. UberMedic Service will be available 24/7 and Uber will provide dedicated phone support to riders who use this service. Uber India in a statement said: The COVID-19 crisis is being felt across India. Our teams are working 24/7 to assist health and medical care authorities in their response to the pandemic, and to take actions that ...

Fitbit Charge 4 with swimproof design, built-in GPS, up to 7 days battery life launched in India starting at Rs. 14999

Fitbit has launched  Charge 4, the company’s next-generation fitness  tracker in India after it launched the Charge 3 back in 2018. It has built-in GPS and Spotify (Premium required), features a swimproof design, an inductive button, a scratch-resistant screen, a bright, crisp touchscreen display that is easy to view in natural light and promises up to 7 days of battery life. Features of Fitbit Charge 4 Active Zone Minutes, a new personalized standard based on your resting heart rate and age that tracks any workout that gets your heart pumping, from indoor biking to yoga, measuring the time you spend in each heart rate zone toward a weekly goal of 150 minutes. As the first Fitbit tracker with built-in GPS, you can leave your phone at home and get optimal performance for activities like running, walking and other outdoor excursions. Now with the ability to track your pace and distance in real-time, in addition to the 20+ goal-based exercise modes, you can access seven GPS-enabled exercise modes, including a new outdoor workout mode for any outdoor activity like hiking, running or a brisk walk. After completing a GPS-enabled workout, sync your device for a GPS-powered heat map in the Fitbit app ...