This week Xiaomi announced Mi Max 2, Asus launched Zenfone Live, Huawei launched Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus, Nubia launched N1 Lite and more. Let’s take a look at all the announcements and launches that took place this week.
Xiaomi announced Mi Max 2 phablet at an event in China. It packs the same 6.44-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display as the predecessor, but this has 0.7mm ultra narrow bezel on the side. It is powered by Snapdragon 625 processor, has an improved 12-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX386 sensor, 1.25μm pixel size, PDAF and dual-tone LED flash. The phone has a huge 5300mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging.
The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 comes in Golden color and is priced at 1699 yuan (US$ 247 / Rs.15949 approx.) for the 4GB RAM with 64GB Storage version and the 4GB RAM with 128GB storage version costs 1999 yuan (US$ 290 / Rs. 18770 approx.). It will go on sale in China from June 1st.
Gionee announced S10 with dual rear and front cameras in China. The main highlight of the smartphone is that it has four cameras, two on the back and two on the front. It has 16-megapixel rear camera with an 8-megapixel secondary camera and a 20-megapixel front camera along with an 8-megapixel secondary camera. It has a 5.5-inch (1920× 1080 pixels) Full HD LTPS 2.5D curved glass display and is powered by Octa-core MediaTek Helio P25 processor. It also has a fingerprint sensor. The Gionee S10 comes in Cherry Gold, Dark Black, Indigo Blue and Primrose Green colors and is priced at 2599 yuan (Rs. 24,404 approx. / US$ 378 approx.)
Huawei announced Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus, its latest smartphones in the ‘Nova Series’. The Nova 2 packs a 5-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display, while the Nova 2 Plus comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display. Both the phones are powered by an Octa-Core Kirin 659 SoCs, run Android 7.0 (Nougat), have a 12-megapixel rear camera and a secondary 8-megapixel camera for capturing depth information, optical zoom and also has portrait mode. These also have a 20-megapixel front-facing camera, unibody metal design and are just 6.9mm thick. There is also a fingerprint sensor on the back on both the phone and these come with AK4376A Hi-Fi audio chip for 3D surround sound experience.
The Huawei Nova 2 and Nova 2 Plus come in Aurora Blue, Grass Green, Gold, Obsidian Black and Rose Gold colors.
Acer announced two new 10-inch tablets – New Iconia Tab 10 (A3-A50) and new Iconia One 10 (B3-A40FHD). Both these are powered by quad-core MediaTek processors and run Android 7.0 (Nougat). The Iconia Tab 10 (A3-A50) features a 10-inch (1200 x 1920 pixels)display with Quantum Dot technology that promises a wider color range with higher brightness, deeper saturation and better accuracy. The Iconia One 10 (B3-A40FHD) comes with a 10-inch 1080p IPS display and has dual micro-USB ports as well as OTG support.
DJI introduced a mini drone called as Spark that is small enough to fit in your hand. It can be controlled by hand gestures which means users can launch, guide, take photos, and land the drone without remote control devices. Spark features two-axis gimbal that can help stabilize images and a 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor that captures 12 megapixel photos and shoots stabilized HD 1080p videos.
DJI Spark is available for pre-order for and is priced at $499. It comes in five different colors: Alpine White, Sky Blue, Meadow Green, Lava Red, and Sunrise Yellow.
HP unveiled Windows 10 powered Spectre x2 which sports 12.3 inch 3K2K (3000×2000) display with 6 million pixels. It has a 13MP rear camera, 5MP WDR wide-view front camera and an IR camera for logging in quickly and securely with Windows Hello. The laptop comes with a kickstand is designed to stand up to everyday use and has the ability to function flat up to 165° degrees, optimized for using Windows Ink. The HP Spectre x2 is planned to be available in June at HP.com, starting at $999.99.
Huawei’s Honor brand announced Honor 6A, a new budget smartphone with 4G VoLTE support in China. It has a 5-inch HD display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 430 Mobile Platform, runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat) with EMUI 5.1, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with PDAF offering focus in 0.5 seconds and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has a unibody metal design, has a fingerprint sensor on the back that can unlock the phone in 0.5 seconds. The Honor 6A comes in Gold, Silver, Blue and Pink colors and is priced at 799 yuan (US$ 116 / Rs. 7,500 approx.)
The Honor Band A2 fitness tracker has a 0.96-inch OLED touch display and heart rate sensor with continuous heart rate tracking. In addition to fitness and sleep tracking, it can also track bicycle rides and provides real time data for it. It is also IP67 ratings for water resistance. The Honor Band A2 comes in Black color with straps in Black, Green, White and Red colors, is priced at 199 yuan (US$ 29 / Rs. 1870 approx.)
Huawei’s Honor Brand introduced Honor Play Tab 2 in 9.6 and 8-inch versions with HD displays. These are powered by Quad-Core Snapdragon 425 Mobile Platform, run Android 7.0 (Nougat) with EMUI 5.1, 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. These have 7.95mm slim unibody metal design and come with both WiFi and 4G LTE versions. The 8-inch version has an earpiece for voice calling and the 9.6-inch version has hands-free calling in the LTE versions.
Huawei announced MateBook X that features an 88 percent screen-to-body ratio and 4.4mm bezels with a 3:2 aspect ratio. It comes with HUAWEI Space Cooling Technology, Microencapsulated Phase Change Material – commonly used in the aerospace field. The device sports a 13-inch 2K display screen with Corning Gorilla Glass and eye comfort technology It is powered by a 7th Generation Intel Core i7 or i5 processors. It has a fanless design and there is a 41.4Wh battery.
LG announced X Venture, the company’s latest smartphone in the ‘X Series’. It has IP68 ratings for water and dust resistance, has passed 14 MIL-STD 810G tests designed for the U.S. military, is resistant to extreme temperatures, shock and water, and can be immersed in 1.5m of water for up to 30 minutes. It has a 5.2-inch 1080p display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 435 Mobile Platform, runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat) and also has a fingerprint sensor on the front with hardware buttons on either sides.
Asus launched ZenFone Live, the company’s latest budget smartphone with 4G VoLTE support in India. It has a real-time beautification with live-streaming beautification app. It lets you see your skin smoothed and blemishes removed in real time, says Asus. It has BeautyLive app integrates seamlessly with Facebook, YouTube, and many other popular streaming apps. The front-facing 5-megapixel camera has large 1.4µm pixel size and a soft light LED selfie flash.
The Asus ZenFone Live comes in Shimmer Gold, Rose Pink and Navy Black colors, is priced at Rs. 9999 and will be available from Flipkart, Amazon.inand other online retailers as well as offline stores across India.
Nubia launched Nubia N1 Lite budget smartphone in India. It packs a 5.5-inch HD display, is powered by a Quad-core MediaTek MT6737 processor, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera that also has a soft-light flash. The Nubia N1 Lite comes in Black with Gold color, is priced at Rs. 6999 and is available exclusively from Amazon.in.
Zen Mobile launched Admire Sense budget smartphone with 4G VoLTE support. It has a 5-inch FWVGA screen, is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), has a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The Zen Admire Sense comes in Blue and Champagne Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 5999.
Lava launched 3GB RAM version of the Z10, compared to 2GB of RAM in the original version. Other specifications including 5-inch HD display, MediaTek MT6735 and 2650mAh battery. It has 8MP rear camera with LED Flash, and 5MP front-facing camera with LED flash. The Lava Z10 comes in Gold color and is priced at Rs. 11,500 (MRP), same as the original Z10.