Weekly Roundup: LG G5, Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 edge, Xiaomi Mi 5 and more from MWC 2016


 

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This week, we reported from Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The South Korean giants LG and Samsung launched their 2016 flagship devices a day before MWC kick-off, and there were quiet a few launches that made the tech world buzzing.

The LG G5, as the name suggests, is the fifth generation of the flagship G series smartphone. We went hands on with the LG G5 in Barcelona, check our first impressions.

httpv://youtu.be/9M9mlJq_w_A

The G5 packs a dual rear cameras and a hardware expansion slot. It has a 5.3-inch (2560 x 1440 pixels) Quad-HD Quantum always-on display that lets you can check the time, battery status, and notifications without waking the phone. The display’s backlight only illuminates one small part of the overall display, so only 0.8% of the phone’s battery drains in a hour, according to LG. It is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with LG UX. Check full details here.

Samsung alongside flagship Galaxy S7 announcement at Unpacked 2016 event in Barcelona unveiled the curved edge variant and the successor of Galaxy S6 edge dubbed the Galaxy S7 edge. Check our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.

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The Samsung Galaxy S7 has a 5.1-inch Quad HD (2560×1440 pixels) 577 PPI Super AMOLED display, similar to the S6, but this has always-on feature. It is powered by a Quad-Core Snapdragon 820 or Exynos 8 Octa 8890 processor depending on the market, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), has a 12-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, OIS and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The Dual pixel rear camera promises brighter and sharper images, even in low light.

httpv://youtu.be/MnbkkZxKYVM

The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge has a bigger 5.5-inch Quad HD (2560×1440 pixels) 535 PPI Super AMOLED always-on display, is powered by a Quad-Core Snapdragon 820 or Exynos 8 Octa 8890 processor depending on the market, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), has a 12-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, OIS and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The Dual pixel rear camera promises brighter and sharper images, even in low light.

httpv://youtu.be/QfsMoff-XPE

These devices feature internal cooling system that keeps it from overheating. It has hybrid dual-SIM support that lets you use the second slot as a expansion slot when required.

Samsung Galaxy S7

Both – Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge – come in Black Onyx, Gold Platinum, White Pearl and Silver Titanium colors and will be available starting March 11th, 2016.

Xiaomi announced Mi 5, the company’s latest flagship smartphone this week. It has a 5.15-inch 1080p curved glass display, is powered by a Quad-Core Snadpragon 820 processor and runs on MIUI 7 based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). Check Xiaomi Mi 5 and Mi 5 Pro hands on.

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It has a 16-megapixel rear camera with two-tone LED flash, phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF), resulting in a quick focus, DTI pixel isolation technology, Spectra image processor, 4-axis optical image stabilization (OIS), 4K video recording and a 4-megapixel front-facing camera with pixel size of 2 microns.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdRKtJTmbq4

The fingerprint sensor is present It has a 3D glass body with strong glass on the back, is 7.25mm thick and weighs just 129 grams. It has USB Type-C port and packs a 3000mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 that will offer talk time of up to 2.5 hours with just 5 minutes of charge. The Xiaomi Mi 5 will launch in India soon, but no details about the time frame.

The Chinese firm also announced Mi 4S. It has a 5-inch 1080p display, is powered by an Hexa-Core Snadpragon 808 processor and runs on MIUI 7 based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with two-tone LED flash, phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF) and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

Xiaomi Mi 4S

It has dual SIM support, 4G LTE connectivity, also comes with a fingerprint sensor on the back and microSD expansion slot that were absent in the Mi 4c, and also has a larger 3260mAh battery. It has a metal frame and a glass back. The Xiaomi Mi 4S is priced at 1699 Yuan ($259 / Rs.17,832 approx.). It will be available in China starting from March 1st.

HTC

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Oppo

Gionee

Huawei

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More MWC Announcements

Weekly Launches in India

Timex launched its Metropolitan+ watch in India. It is an along watch that also acts as a activity tracker with a look of a traditional analog watch. The unique fourth hand tracks daily steps, distance and percent to goal right on the dial. It uses Bluetooth technology to connect to the Timex app on Android and iOS devices that tracks daily activity, including steps, distance and calories burned. The phone app stores your data so you can access and analyze it at any time.

Timex Metropolitan+

It also features quick release straps so you can easily change the bands easily. It has a 42mm brass casing, comes with a silicone strap and also includes an additional nylon strap in the box. The Timex Metropolitan+ is priced at Rs. 9,995 and is currently available exclusively from Amazon.in online and will be later made available through Timex stores.

Xolo launched Era X, the company’s latest budget 4G smartphone in the Era series. It packs a 5-inch HD screen, is powered by a quad-core Spreadtrum SC9830A processor, runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) OS, which is upgradable to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), comes with a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera that also has a LED flash. It comes with dual-SIM support and has 4G LTE connectivity.

Xolo Era X

The Xolo Era X comes in Black color, is priced at Rs. 5,777 and is available exclusively from Amazon.in.

BLU launched its new Life Mark smartphone in India. It packs a 5-inch HD display, is powered by an Quad-Core 64-bit MediaTek 6735 processor and runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop). It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

BLU Life Mark

It also has a fingerprint sensor on the back, comes with dual SIM support and has 4G connectivity with support for LTE bands 3,7,28 and 40. The BLU Life Mark is available in White color, is priced at Rs. 8,999 and is exclusively available from Amazon.in.

After launching the LYF Flame 1 earlier this month, Reliance Retail launched LYF Wind 6, a new 4G smartphone. It has a 5-inch FWVGA display, is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 210, SoC, has a 5-megapixel front and rear cameras and dual SIM support. It runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop).

Reliance LYF Wind 6

The LYF Wind 6 comes in white, black, and gold colors, is priced at Rs. 7,090 and is available from the Reliance Digital online.

Lava launched Twinpad, its latest Windows 10 2-in-1 with inbuilt 3G SIM support and a detachable keyboard with trackpad. It has a 10.1-inch (1280×800 pixels) IPS 5-point capacitive touch screen with a stylus support and the screen can be reversed. It is powered by a quad-core Intel Atom processor, has a 2-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, has 32GB of built-in storage with expansion slot and a 7400mAh battery.

Lava Twinpad

The Lava Twinpad comes in silver color and is priced at Rs. 15,999. It will be available across   all national retail stores, multi-brand outlets and online platforms.

TP-LINK launched Archer MR200 (AC750) Wireless Dual Band Wireless Router in India. It also has a 4G SIM slot, in addition to Ethernet port, so that you can also share 4G LTE/3G connection with other devices. 

TP-LINK Archer MR200

The TP-LINK Archer MR200 is priced at Rs. 8,999 (MRP) and is available across India. It is backed by a warranty of 3 years.


Author: Hitesh Arora

From making Gadget and Auto videos for TV and online media, this guy landed up in Tech Writing. He has his heart at the right place when it comes to finding deals online. You will always find him suggesting people which device to buy. Hitesh calls himself a TV buff, who loves cooking, eating, dancing, and sleeping. You can follow him on Twitter @hitesharoraa