Weekly Roundup: Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, InFocus Turbo 5, Canon EOS 6D Mark II and more


Qualcomm fingerprint sensor heart beat

This week Qualcomm introduced its mid-range Snapdragon 450 mobile platform and also unveiled new fingerprint sensors, Canon introduced EOS 6D Mark II and EOS 200D, Infocus launched Turbo 5 smartphone, Lava launched Helium 14 laptop and more from weekly roundup.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 specs

Qualcomm at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2017 introduced the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Mobile Platform successor of last year’s Snapdragon 435. Targeted at mid-range smartphones and tablets, this is the first one in the Snapdragon 400 series that is based on 14nm FinFET process and has up to 1.8GHz ARM Cortex A53 cores and Adreno 506 GPU promising 25% increase in compute performance and graphics performance compared to the predecessor.

New Under Glass, Metal Ultrasonic fingerprint sensors

It also introduced new Fingerprint Sensors, next-generation ultrasonic fingerprint solutions at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2017. This consists of sensors for Display, Glass and Metal, detection of directional gestures, and underwater fingerprint match and device wake-up. The ultrasonic-based mobile solution can also detect heart beat and blood flow for improved mobile authentication experiences, making to first in the world to be announced with the feature.

Vivo Under Glass fingerprint scanning solution

Vivo announced Under Display Fingerprint Scanning Solution called Vivo Under Display that offers under-display fingerprint scanning. The company demoed it for the first time at the MWC 2017 Shanghai on a prototype and will be used it its future smartphone. This can be used under the screen, behind the metal shell, or even in the frame.

Infocus Turbo 5

Infocus launched Turbo 5 smartphone with 5000mAh battery in India. It has a 5.2 HD On-cell IPS 2.5D curved glass display, is powered by MediaTek MT6737 SoC, has 2GB or 3GB RAM and runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat) OS. It comes in Pure Gold and Mocha Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 6999 for the 2GB RAM with 16GB storage version and the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version costs Rs. 7999. It will be available exclusively from Amazon.in starting from July 4th.
Lava Helium 14

Lava launched Helium 14, its first Windows 10 laptop in the new Helium series. It has a 14.1-inch 1080p display, is powered by a quad-core Intel x5-Z8350 processor, has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, which is expandable with microSD. It comes in Silver and Purple colors, is priced at Rs. 14,999 and is available exclusively from Flipkart online and will also available at select retail stores and other multi-brand outlets from the first week of July.

TCL movetime

TCL launched Movetime smartwatch in India. It comes with a heart rate monitor, calorie counter, sleep tracking, distance covered and sport activity tracking. The watch offers notifications for calls, messages, social media, calendar and more. It offers gesture control that lets you take a snap or play music by twisting your wrist.

It is priced at Rs. 9,999 and will be exclusively available on Amazon.in  starting June 27, 2017.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Canon introduced EOS 6D Mark II, a new Full-frame DSLR targeted at budding photographers. It has a 26.2MP Full-frame CMOS Sensor, has DIGIC 7 Image Processor and is dust and water-resistant. Canon says that it has several enhancements over its predecessor, but it still has maximum 1080p video recording. It is priced $1,999 (Rs. 1,29,255 approx.) for body only, $2,599 (Rs. 1,68,050 approx.) with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 STM lens and $3,099 (Rs. 2,00,390 approx.) with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM II lens. It will be available late July 2017, but we don’t have pricing or availability in India yet.

Canon EOS 200D

It also introduced EOS 200D / Rebel SL2, a new entry-level DSLR with a compact body with a grain-finish for a premium feel and weighs just 453 grams. It has a Dual Pixel CMOS AF, 24.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and the latest DIGIC 7 image processor. ISO speed reaches 25600, helping in reducing motion blur caused by slow shutter speeds, which is common especially under low light conditions.

It comes in Black, Silver and White colors and is priced at Rs. 47,495 with an EF-S18-55 IS STM kit lens and also comes with an EF-S18-55 IS STM + EF-S55-250 IS STM lens at Rs. 60,495. It will be available in India at the end of July.

Alcatel Idol 5S, A30 Plus and A50

Alcatel this week announced Idol 5SA30 Plus and A50 smartphones in the U.S. The Idol 5S is a mid-range phone with a 5.2-inch 1080p screen, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 Mobile Platform and runs on Android 7.1 (Nougat). Both the A30 Plus and A50 are powered by MediaTek SoCs, run Android 7.0 (Nougat) and come with a HD screen. The A50 has separate SNAPBAK covers that adds function of your smartphone, same as the Alcatel A5 LED.

Alcatel Idol 5S

The Alcatel Idol 5S comes in Crystal Black color and is priced at $279.99 (Rs. 18,070 approx.), the Alcatel A30 Plus comes in Black with Metallic Silver colors and is priced at $129.99 (Rs. 8390 approx.) and the Alcatel A50 comes in Metal Silver color and costs $149.99 (Rs. 9680 approx.). These are available in the U.S. via Amazon’s Prime Exclusive program and the Prime version requires owners to view ads on the lock screen.

Canon PIXMA TS3170

Canon this week launched PIXMA TS3170 and E3170, All-in-One inkjet printers in India. Both support Print, Scan, Copy and have similar design and features such as WiFi, on-touch direct wireless connection and more. TS3170 is best suited for occasional printing and is compatible with affordable cartridge Canon PG-745s and CL-746S. E3170 is best suited for everyday printing and is compatible with ink efficient cartridges PG-47 and Cl-57s which provides low cost printing of upto 400 monochrome documents and 180 color documents.

The Canon PIXMA TS3170 and E3170 are priced at Rs. 4,995 and Rs. 5,995 respectively and are available across India.


Author: Srivatsan Sridhar

Srivatsan Sridhar is a Mobile Technology Enthusiast who is passionate about Mobile phones and Mobile apps. He uses the phones he reviews as his main phone. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram