Weekly Roundup: Xiaomi Redmi 4, Redmi 4A, Huawei Mate 9, Samsung’s dual display flip phone and more


xiaomi-redmi-4

This week, Xiaomi announced Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A, its two new smartphones in China.

The Redmi 4 comes in two variants with a unibody metal design. The standard variant has a 5-inch HD 2.5D curved glass display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 430 SoC and has 2GB of RAM. The high-end version has a 5-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 SoC.

Both these run on MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), packs a 13-megapixel rear camera with PDAF for 0.1 second focus, dual-tone LED flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, have a fingerprint sensor on the back, come with hybrid dual SIM support and packs a 4100mAh battery. Check full details and pricing here.

xiaomi-redmi-4a

The Xiaomi Redmi 4A is a budget 4G smartphone in the Redmi series along with the Redmi 4, but it doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor like the Redmi 4. It has a 5-inch HD display, is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 425 processor and runs on MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with PDAF, LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Xiaomi Redmi 4A comes in comes in Gold and Rose Gold colors and is priced at 499 yuan (US$ 74 / Rs. 4930 approx.). It will go on sale in China starting from November 11th.

The company also introduced Mi Air Purifier Pro , the third generation air purifier. It is slightly larger than the compact second-generation model, measuring just 260mm x 735mm, but claimed to be more powerful.

xiaomi-mi-air-purifier-pro

It also has a new OLED display to accurate display real-time air quality and working conditions. It can also automatically adjust brightness to view clearly sen in the daytime. It can be used to purify air up to 60 square meters indoor area, compared to 37 square meters in the previous generation. The Mi Air Purifier Pro is priced at 1499 yuan (US$ 221 / Rs. 14,770 approx.).

Huawei unveiled Mate 9, its latest flagship smartphone and a fitness watch Huawei Fit this week at an event in Germany.

huawei-mate-9

The Huawei Mate 9 packs a 5.9-inch 1080p display with 2.5D glass, is powered by an Octa-Core HiSilicon Kirin 960 SoC with IntelliSense i6 sensor hub and runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat) with Emotion UI 5.0 on top and Google DaydreamVR support. It has a second generation Leica dual-lens camera with 12-megapixel RGB sensor, 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and Hybrid Zoom, featuring 2x magnification, dual-tone LED flash, laser auto focus, optical image stabilization (OIS) and uses Huawei’s own ISP. It also an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Huawei Mate 9 is priced at 699 Euros (Rs. 51605 approx.) and will roll out in China, Malaysia, France, Poland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, Japan, Thailand, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates.

porsche-design-huawei-mate-9

Along with the Huawei Mate 9, Huawei also announced Porsche Design Huawei Mate 9 limited edition smartphone in partnership with premium-lifestyle brand Porsche Design. Check full details here.

The Huawei Fit watch comes with heart rate monitoring, automatic step counting, sleep tracking and support for multi-sport activities such as Walking, Running, Cycling, Treadmill and Swimming. It also provides comprehensive and customized running programs and offers real-time coaching; after a run the watch displays VO2 max, recovery time and a training score. More in detail here.

huawei-fit

The Huawei Fit comes in Titanium Gray and Moonlight Silver colors with Black, Blue or Orange straps in large and small sizes and is priced at 149 Euros (US$ 165 / Rs. 11,015 approx.).

Meizu announced M5– and PRO 6s smartphones, and Meizu Box– its Android TV box based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) with Flyme TV UI.

meizu-m5

The Meizu M5 packs a 5.2-inch HD 2.5D curved glass screen, is powered by a 1.5 GHz octa-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6750 processor and runs on Yun OS with FlyMe UI on top. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF) that lets you focus in just 0.2 seconds and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Click here for pricing.

meizu-pro-6s

The Meizu PRO 6s is company’s latest flagship smartphone and the successor of PRO 6 that was introduced back in April. It has the same 5.2-inch 1080p AMOLED display with 3D press that perceives different levels of pressure on the screen, is powered by Deca-Core MediaTek Helio X25 SoC, 5-megapixel front-facing camera and runs Flyme OS 5.5 based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), but this has a 12-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX386 sensor, pixel size of 1.25μm, four-axis optical image stabilization, dual-tone 10-LED ring flash, phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF) and laser auto focus.

The Meizu Box is a triangular-shaped box that runs on Flyme TV based on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). It can access Youku, Sohu and other streaming services in China and comes with Bluetooth remote with voice function. You can also control the device using Android app.

meizu-box

It should support 4K decoding, similar to Xiaomi’s Mi Box. The Meizu Box comes in Black color and is priced at 299 yuan (US$ 44 / Rs. 2,950 approx.). It will be available in China from November 11th.

Samsung announced W2017 (SM-W2017), the company’s latest premium flip phone in China, which is the successor of the W2016 that was introduced last year. It packs dual 4.2-inch 1080p Super AMOLED displays, so that you can use the phone even when it’s closed. You can flip open to use the other screen with a keyboard.

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It is powered by a Quad-Core Snapdragon 820 processor, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), has a 12-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has metal frame and a glass back, similar to the predecessor, has a fingerprint sensor on the back along with a heart rate sensor. The Samsung W2017 comes in Black and Gold colors. No details about the pricing or availability yet.

iBall launched Slide Brace-X1 4G, the company’s latest tablet in the Slide series, which is also the successor of the Brace-X1 3G tablet that was launched last year. This has the same  10.1-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) IPS display, comes with dual chambered speakers that promises load and clear sound, has 4G support with voice calling and packs a 7800mAh battery.

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But this is powered by an Octa-Core Cortex A53 processor, runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) OS, has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The iBall Slide Brace-X1 4G comes in bronze gold color and is priced at Rs. 17,499 (MRP).

Micromax launched of its latest budget 4G VoLTE smartphone dubbed as Canvas Spark 4G. The smartphone will be exclusively available for sale on Snapdeal through flash sale starting from November 10th, 12PM.

micromax-canvas-spark-4g-q4201

As a token of gift, the customer will also get a preview Jio 4G bundled along with Canvas Spark 4G smartphone. Micromax Canvas Spark 4G comes in White Champagne color and carries a price tag of Rs. 4,999. The pre-booking for the smartphone has already started on Snapdeal.

Lava launched Ivory POP tablet in India. It sports a 7-inch HD display, is powered by a 1.0 GHz quad-core Intel processor and runs Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box. The Lava Ivory POP also supports 3G connectivity along with dual SIM card on board.

lava-ivory-pop

The Lava Ivory POP comes in Black color and is priced at Rs. 6,299.

TP-LINK aunched Archer C60 (AC1200) Dual Band Wireless Router in India. It leverages the 802.11ac technology and has three dedicated at 2.4GHz and two at 5GHz that have been arranged alternately to optimize its dual band signal for maximized coverage, minimized interference.

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The TP-LINK Archer C60 is priced at Rs. 2,999 and is available exclusively from Flipkart.

General Mobile announced GM 5, its latest budget 4G smartphone in the ‘Android One’ lineup in partnership with Google. It runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat), but this has almost similar specifications as the General Mobile 4G that was introduced last year that includes 5-inch HD display, Snapdragon 410 SoC, 13-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

general-mobile-gm-5

The General Mobile GM 5 comes in Black, Space Gray and Gold, will be available with Single and Dual SIM versions in November. It will be available in 20 countries, but doesn’t include India.

Intex launched LED-5800 FHD TV and LED-6500 FHD TV, 58-inch and 65-inch models These have digital video processing technology (DNR) that helps in reducing the amount of random noise, providing a more detailed and realistic viewing. These also have fast response time that promise crystal clear images ensuring clarity and an immersive experience. Check full details here.

intex-led-6500

The Intex LED-5800 55-inch TV is priced at Rs. 74,999 and the LED-6500 65-inch TV is priced at Rs. 99,990.

OnePlus launched its new Bullets V2 in-ear earphones, successor of the Bullets Earphones that was introduced back in 2014. It has a simple design and the company says that it has been designed with premium materials to complement the OnePlus 3. It has partnered with the German audio experts over at LOFO and ARYPHAN polyarylate diaphragm, known for its light weight and high vibration frequency.

OnePlus Bullets V2

It has an aluminum coil wrapped in high-end Japanese black copper that promises more consistent listening experience. The OnePlus Bullets V2 comes in black and white colors, is priced at Rs. 1199 in India and is available from Amazon.in and OnePlus Store.


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