Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite Android 9.0 Pie stable update starts rolling out

Xiaomi launched the second-generation Android One devices – Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite back in July at an event in Spain. At the event, Xiaomi and Google promised Android version updates along with monthly security patch updates as the device was launched under the Android One program. Xiaomi started rolling out Android 9.0 (Pie) to Mi A2 last week in India and now it has started rolling out Android 9.0 to Mi A2 Lite in some regions after announcing Android Pie Beta testers recruitment couple of weeks ago. [gallery columns="3" link="file" size="large" ids="269599,269601,269600"] Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite Android Pie update is 1008 MB in size and also includes Android security patch for November 5, 2018. The update brings FM Radio support to Mi A2 Lite, however it doesn't enable Cam2API yet. The update brings various Android Pie features including Adaptive Battery that uses machine learning to prioritize system resources for the apps, Adaptive Brightness, new Pill based navigation gestures and recommended Apps and Actions based on user context using machine learning, to know more about these features refer to this post. Source 1, 2

Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) Benchmarks

Samsung launched the Galaxy A9 2018, world’s first smartphone with quad rear cameras in India last week. We already brought you the unboxing, here we have the benchmarks.  The phone is powered by an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 64-bit 14nm Mobile Platform that has four Kryo 260 CPUs clocked at 2.2GHz per core and other four Kryo 260 CPUs are clocked at 1.8GHz per core, comes with Adreno 512 GPU and has 6GB of RAM, however it also comes in 8GB RAM version. It runs Android 8.1 (Oreo). Check out the synthetic benchmark scores. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y2NUi-VDgw AnTuTu Benchmark 7 It scored 1,41,356 points in the AnTuTu Benchmark 7 and grabbed the second spot. Geekbench 4 Single-Core It scored 1602 points in the Geekbench 4 Single-Core benchmark and grabs the third spot, behind the Mi A2. Geekbench 4 Multi-Core It scored 5711 points in the Geekbench 4 Multi-Core benchmark and grabs the second spot, behind the OPPO F7. 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited It scored 25674 points in the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited GPU benchmark and grabs the fourth spot, behind the A8 Star. Basemark OS II In Basemark OS II benchmark it grabs the third spot scoring 2800 points. These are just synthetic benchmark scores. We will bring real life performance test results in the complete review soon.

Nokia 7.1 Android 9.0 Pie update starts rolling out

After rolling out Android Pie update for the Nokia 6.1 and Nokia 6.1 Plus smartphone last month, HMD Global today started rolling out stable Android 9.0 (Pie) update for the Nokia 7.1 smartphone as it had promised at the launch last month. Since the update has started rolling out, it might take sometime to reach everyone. Note that, as always, we have a phased roll-out to ensure we deliver you the highest quality and experience - some markets with longer technical approval cycles will follow as soon as possible. — Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) November 27, 2018 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. The company already announced that Android Pie update will be coming to Nokia 8 and Nokia 8 Sirocco in November, so we have to wait for few more days to find out.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus powered by Exynos 9820 8nm SoC surfaces in benchmarks

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S10 will be powered by the Exynos 9820 that is an 8nm SoC with Tri-cluster CPU, integrated NPU, up to 2Gbps LTE-Advanced Pro modem. Before the official launch, the first Galaxy S10 Exynos 9820 benchmark has surfaced online. It is internally referred to as “beyond2” and should be branded as the Galaxy S10+ when it goes official. Samsung’s Exynos 9820 processor that is announced two weeks back will power the Galaxy S10. It features a fourth-generation custom processor, an LTE Advanced Pro modem and a separate neural processing unit for artificial intelligence tasks. The specifications of the device used to run this benchmark include a 6.4-inch 2280×1080 pixel resolution display. However, the resolution of the display shouldn't come as a surprise as these tests don't always give a full picture of the specifications. The Exynos 9820 processor is coupled with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There’s also the Mali-G76 MP12 graphics processor which promises a 40 percent improvement in performance compared to the Galaxy S9’s Exynos 9810. The highest frequency of the chipset clocked in this benchmark was 2.7GHz. Whether or not this will be the final frequency remains to be seen. This Galaxy S10 Exynos 9820 benchmark scored 325,076 points on AnTuTu. It’s ...

OnePlus McLaren launch event scheduled in India on December 12, OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition expected

OnePlus and McLaren just sent out invite for a joint ‘Salute to Speed’ launch event on December 11th globally and December 12th in India. The partnership incorporates both McLaren Automotive and McLaren Racing, one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3JzkyEcAHQ OnePlus is expected to launch the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition at the event, which might be in Red or Orange color as teased in the invite. OnePlus teamed up with Parisian retailer Colette to produce the OnePlus 3T x Colette 20th Anniversary Edition, and the company worked with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to produce the OnePlus 5 x JCC+Limited Edition. Earlier this year it teamed up with Marvel Studios for OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Limited Edition. The event takes place at Richardson and Cruddas, Byculla, Mumbai, 6PM IST on December 12th. It takes place at McLaren Technology Centre in the UK on December 11th at 9:30 AM GMT (3PM IST). Commenting on the partnership, OnePlus CEO & Founder, Pete Lau said: McLaren and OnePlus were born in a similar way - with a big dream to create something special. Starting from nothing, we challenged ourselves to never settle. Today we unveil a true testament to innovation, a salute to speed. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, said: The OnePlus brand ...

Toreto BRIO 2 10,000mAh power bank with LED display launched in India

Toreto has launched the all-new “BRIO 2" 10,000mAh power bank in India. it is the new addition to the company's existing products. It is compatible with both Android and iOS and comes with an LED display that flashes the battery status. It features a 10,000mAh battery capacity with a dual USB input and output (5V-2.1A) and 1-meter cord length. It is very compact as it easily slips in your pocket so you can carry it everywhere you want. The Toreto BRIO 2 10,000mAh  Power Bank costs Ra. 2,399 but is available through all leading e-commerce platforms including Amazon.in, Flipkart, and Toreto online store for as low as Rs. 1,749. The power bank will also be available through all retail stores across India. The company in a statement said: BRIO 2 is a perfect fit for every individual in every situation. Managing work, home and every other chore, BRIO 2 allows us to win at the game of dying batteries.  The design of BRIO 2 includes dual input as well as output ports allowing charging of power bank twice as quickly and sharing the same with two other devices. It is compatible with every mobile, BRIO 2 enhances the performance of the devices.

WhatsApp chief business officer Neeraj Arora resigns

WhatsApp’s chief business officer, Neeraj Arora has quit WhatsApp roughly one year after WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton exited from Facebook. WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014 and the company mentioned that it would allow WhatsApp to operate independently under Acton and co-founder Jan Koum, who served as its chief executive officer until abruptly quitting over privacy and data concerns in April. Neeraj Arora joined WhatsApp in 2011 from Google, was rumored to be the frontrunner to replace Koum as CEO. Now it remains to be seen who would lead WhatsApp. In a statement on his Facebook profile, Neeraj said: "I am deeply indebted to both Acton and Koum, who entrusted me to be their business companion for so many years." Facebook subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram are facing tough times as original founders of the platforms are exiting their positions. According to reports, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook over the course of the last year, had begun to assert more and more control over Instagram which in return is upsetting its leaders. Source

Honor 8X Red color variant launched in India

Huawei’s Honor brand launched its mid-range Honor 8X smartphone in India last month in Black and Blue colors starting at Rs. 14999. Today the company has launched new Red color variant of the smartphone in the country. Other features are same including a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display, Kirin 710 SoC with up to 6GB of RAM, 20-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, AI scene recognition, 2-megapixel secondary camera , 16-megapixel front camera , face unlock and AI beautify, fingerprint sensor on the back, dedicated dual SIM and microSD card slots and a 3750mAh battery. Honor 8X specifications 6.5-inch (2340 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:5:9 2.5D curved glass display, 85% NTSC color gamut Octa-Core Kirin 710 12nm (4 x 2.2GHz Cortex-A73 +4 x 1.7GHz Cortex-A53) with ARM Mali-G51 MP4 GPU 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, 6GB RAM with 64GB / 128GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 400GB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.2 Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD) 20MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, 2MP secondary camera, 480 fps slow-mo recording 16MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture Fingerprint sensor Dimensions: 160.4×76.6×7.8mm; Weight: 175g Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz / 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS 3750mAh (typical) ...

Huawei Mate 20 Pro with 6.39-inch QHD+ OLED HDR display, Leica Triple rear cameras, in-display fingerprint sensor launched in India for Rs. 69990

Huawei has launched its flagship Mate 20 Pro smartphone at an event in India, as it had promised.  It has a 6.39-inch QHD+ OLED DCI-P3 HDR display with 86.90 screen-to-body ratio,  powered by Kirin 980 7nm SoC with Dual NPU, runs Android 9.0 (Pie) with EMUI 9.0 on top, has an in-display fingerprint scanner with 10-level Dynamic Pressure Sensing (DPS) technology and 3D Face Unlock as well as 3D Live Emoji and AI live model. It has triple rear Matrix camera system with OIS. It is equipped with a 40MP main camera, a 20MP ultra wide-angle camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera. Together, the trio of lenses supports a wide range of focal lengths (equivalent to the performance of a 16-270mm zoom lens). The AI Portrait Color video mode uses AI to isolate human subjects and desaturate the colors around them to dramatically highlight the person. AI Spotlight Reel identifies clips with a shared theme and auto-generates a montage, made entirely of highlights. It has NM Card slot, that lets you use replace the second SIM with a NM Card, making these first phones with the feature, features a glass back with unique Hyper Optical Patterns glitter in the emerald green version that offers good grip and is resistant ...

HMD Global schedules an event in India on December 6, Nokia 7.1 with FHD+ HDR PureDisplay, Dual rear cameras with ZEISS optics expected

HMD Global has started sending out invites for the launch of a new smartphone in India on December 6th in Delhi. Based on the 'Expect more' teasers, the company is expected to launch the Nokia 7.1 with a notch that was introduced in October. Stay tuned to #ExpectMore from your display and experience old memories in a new way. pic.twitter.com/DQ2DGpFYgz — Nokia Mobile India (@NokiamobileIN) November 26, 2018 The phone has a 5.84-inch Full HD+  19:9 screen with a notch, 80% screen-to-body ratio, has support for HDR and also supports SD to HDR real-time conversion. With HDR10 support; 1 million: 1 dynamic contrast ratio; 500-million pixels processed per second providing smooth and accurate HDR video.The display also adapts to indoor and bright outdoor sunlight. The company calls it PureDisplay. It runs on Android 8.1 (Oreo) but the company has promised Android 9.0 (Pie) update . It has a 12-megapixel (RGB) + 5-megapixel (Monochrome) dual rear cameras with ZEISS Optics and fast accurate autofocus. The 8-megapixel AI enhanced front facing camera supports facial recognition.  It has a 6000 series aluminium frame and uses dual-anodised diamond cut coloured edge. It packs a 3060mAh battery with support for USB Type-C fast charging that can charge the phone from 0 to 50% ...