After so much hype, Apple has officially announced the iPhones which broke the news this week. The company has introduced three new iPhones; the iPhone XS, XS Max, Xr which is a budget offering. Apart from iPhones, Apple has also introduced the Apple Watch Series 4. Motorola has introduced the Moto G6 Plus which was long overdue. Let’s have a look at the things that happened this week.
The new iPhones have 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch 458PPI Super Retina HDR displays with support for Dolby Vision and HDR 10, as well as 120Hz touch-sensing. Both these have Face ID for unlocking. These are powered by new Apple A12 Bionic chip based on 7nm platform, first in the industry, before the Huawei’s Kirin 980 next month. The chip with 6-core CPU with two performance cores promises 15% fast performance and 40% lower power, and 4 efficiency cores will offer up to 50% lower power compared to A11 Bionic.
It has 6.9 billion transistors, can perform 5 trillion operations per second, up from 600 billion in A11. The Apple iPhone XS 64GB – Rs. 99,900, iPhone XS 256GB – Rs. 1,14,900, iPhone XS 512GB – Rs. 1,34,900, iPhone XS Max 64GB – Rs. 1,09,900, iPhone XS Max 256GB – Rs. 1,24,900, iPhone XS Max 512GB – Rs. 1,44,900. These new iPhones will be available in India from September 28th.
Apple along with the iPhone XS series, also introduced the iPhone XR, a cheaper version with a 6.1-inch LCD 326ppi Liquid Retina display, which it calls the best LCD display ever made. It has the same A12 Bionic 7nm Chip, however, this loses the secondary 12-megapixel telephoto lens while retaining the wide-angle lens. It has an Aluminum and Glass Design, comes with Face ID and is splash- and water-resistant, with IP67 ratings.
The Apple iPhone XR comes in white, black, blue, yellow, coral and (PRODUCT) RED colors starting at $749 (Rs. 53,860 approx.) in the U.S. and is available for order starting from October 19th. It will go on sale in India along with over 50 countries from October 26 at Rs. 76,900 (MRP) for 64GB, Rs. 81,900 (MRP) for 128GB and Rs. 91,900 (MRP) for 256GB through Apple Authorised Resellers.
Apple has even announced the Apple Watch Series 4 announcement. The new Apple Watch Series 4 packs a stunning new display with an edge-to-edge curved display to perfectly match the shape of the watch. The company says that the screen is over 30% larger than the predecessor. It is powered by the next-generation S4 chip with a custom 64-bit dual-core processor. It brings new health capabilities, including a new accelerometer and gyroscope, which can detect hard falls, and an electrical heart rate sensor that can take an electrocardiogram (ECG) using the new ECG app.
The Apple Watch Series 4 GPS edition starts at $399 (Rs.28,686 approx.), the Watch Series 4 (GPS + Cellular) starts at $499 (Rs. 35,875 approx.). Apple Watch Series 4 will be available in gold stainless steel along with silver and space black stainless steel models. Apple Watch Series 4 GPS edition will be available to order from September 14th in 26 countries and territories and Apple Watch Series 4 (GPS + Cellular) will be available to order in 16 countries and territories. Both models will be available in stores from September 21. India is not on the list, but it is expected to be available here soon.
Motorola has launched Moto G6 Plus smartphone, months after it was introduced back in April, as it had promised. It has a large 5.93-inch Full HD+ Max Vision display, is powered by Snapdragon 630 with 6GB of RAM, has a 12-megapixel rear camera along with a secondary 5-megapixel camera for portrait shots and a 16-megapixel front camera with LED flash and 4MP adaptive low light mode. The Moto G6 Plus comes in Deep Indigo color, is priced at Rs. 22499 and is available exclusively on Amazon.in as well as Moto Hub stores offline.
OPPO has launched the F9 smartphone in India, it sports a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with Waterdrop Screen with screen-to-body ratio up to 90.8% for a more immersive experience, is powered by Octa-Core MediaTek Helio P60 12nm processor, packs a 16MP rear camera with LED flash, and secondary 2MP camera, similar to the F9 Pro, but this features a 16-megapixel front camera, packs 4GB of RAM and it packs the same 3500mAh battery. The OPPO F9 comes in Mist Black and Stellar Purple colors, is priced at Rs. 19,990 and will go on sale in India from September 15 online exclusively on Flipkart as well as offline stores.
OnePlus announced Type-C Bullets, the company’s latest in-ear earphones. The company said that it is more than just an update on Bullets V2 that was launched back in 2016. It has several improvements and modifications to deliver crisp, powerful sound. It has a metal design, cable made of aramid fibers that make the Type-C Bullets more resistant to stretching. The OnePlus Type-C Bullets will be launched alongside the company’s next flagship (6T) in Q4 2018 for Rs. 1,490 and will be available across online and offline channels.
Huami’s Amazfit has launched Cor fitness band and Amazfit Pace Multisport GPS Smartwatch with support for tracking 12 different sports. The Cor has 5 ATM water-resistant rating and the Pace has IP67 ratings. The Amazfit Cor comes in Charcoal Black color, is priced at Rs. 3999 and is available exclusively from Amazon.in. Amazfit Pace comes in Black color, is priced at Rs. 9999 and is available exclusively from Amazon.in.
Micromax has launched Canvas 3 Smart TVs in 32-inch HD, 40-inch Full HD, and 50-inch Full HD sizes. These run Android 7.0 (Nougat) and have Aptoide App store to download the apps. Wireless Smartphone Control lets you simply connect your smartphones with the TV and play games as well as operate the entire TV at the touch of just a few buttons. The Micromax Canvas 3 Smart TV starts at Rs. 13,999 for the 32-inch HD-Ready model and the 40-inch Full HD model costs Rs. 19,999. The 50-inch is expected to go on sale soon. These are available exclusively from Flipkart.
Samsung Electronics announced its new SmartThings Tracker, which is its small, lightweight GPS tracking device connected through an LTE-M network that can easily be attached to backpacks, a set of keys, pet collars and more. This makes it easier to locate a gym bag or backpack, a laptop case, pets. Items can be easily tracked in real time through Samsung’s Android and iOS compatible SmartThings app.
The Samsung SmartThings Tracker will be available through AT&T from September 14 on Samsung.com, select AT&T stores, and other major retailers nationwide. It is priced at $99 (Rs. 7,160 approx.) with AT&T service included for the first 12 months at no additional charge. After the first 12 months, pricing for AT&T service is $5 a month or $50 per year. The company also mentioned that it will be available through Verizon later this year.
Huawei has announced Maimang 7, the company’s latest mid-range smartphone in China, as it had promised. It packs a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with a notch, is powered by Kirin 710 SoC with GPU Turbo, Google AR Core support, 6GB of RAM, has a 20-megapixel rear camera with AI scene recognition along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera for portrait shots, comes with a 24-megapixel front camera, HDR Pro, 3D Qmoji and a 2-megapixel secondary camera for portrait selfies.
The Huawei Maimang 7 comes in Black, Blue and Gold colors, is priced at 2399 yuan (US$ 349 / Rs. 25,375 approx.), is available for order from today and goes on sale in China starting from September 15th.
Vivo has introduced Y97 with a notch display. It has a 6.3-inch Full HD display with slim bezels, 90.3% screen-to-body ratio, is powered by MediaTek Helio P60 with 4GB of RAM, has a 16-megapixel rear camera along with a 2-megapixel camera for portrait shots, AI scene recognition, and a 16-megapixel front camera with AI beautify feature. The Vivo Y97 comes in Black, Aurora Blue and Rose Gold colors, is priced at 1998 yuan (US$ 290 / Rs. 20,975 approx.) and is already on sale in China.
ASUS has announced Intel Optane Memory equipped VivoBook X510 in India. It runs on Windows 10 and packs 4GB RAM + up to 16GB intel optane memory, offering 20GB of memory and has NVIDIA GeForce MX130 graphics. It also offers one-touch access via the fingerprint sensor.
The Asus VivoBook X510 sports a 15.6-inches display with NanoEdge Full-HD display with 7.8mm slim bezel & 80% screen to body ratio. It supports 178° wide-view technology ensuring optimum colors and contrast, even when viewed from sharp angles. It is extremely portable and weighs at 1.7 kg at 19.4mm profile. The Asus Vivobook 15 X510 is available offline at Asus exclusive stores and other retail outlets. It is priced at Rs.45,990.
FiiO Electronics Technology launched the M3K Portable High-Resolution Lossless Music Player in India. It sports a 2.0-inch IPS screen with capacitive buttons + touchpad for operation. There are five sets of touch buttons to make getting around the UI easy: next/previous track, confirmation, back, and menu keys. The FiiO M3K is priced at Rs. 6,990, but it is available for order at fiio.co.in for as low as Rs. 5,900. It will also be available from leading online & retail stores starting 17th September.
Blaupunkt, the Germany-based consumer lifestyle and technology brand has entered into Indian TV market with eight LED TVs in Family, Smart Sound and 4K UHD series. Both the Smart Sound and 4K UHD series are Android-powered smart TVs and some models also come with external sound bars. These were unveiled at the IFA Berlin 2018 in August. The company has tied up with Flipkart to sell the TVs exclusively. These new Blaupunkt LED TVs will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting September 18, 2018.
Blaupunkt 32-inch HD Ready LED TV (BLA32AH410) – Rs. 12,999, with External Soundbar (BLA32AS460) – Rs. 16,999. The Blaupunkt 43-inch Full HD LED TV (BLA43AF520) – Rs. 22,999, with External Soundbar (BLA43AS570) – Rs. 28,999. The Blaupunkt 43-inch- Ultra HD LED Smart TV with In-built Soundbar (BLA43AU680) – Rs. 30,999. The Blaupunkt 50-inch- Full HD LED Smart TV with External Soundbar (BLA50AS570) – Rs. 34,999. The Blaupunkt 49-inch- Ultra HD LED Smart TV with In-built Soundbar (BLA49AU680) – Rs. 40,999. The Blaupunkt 55-inch Ultra HD LED Smart TV with In-built Soundbar (BLA55AU680) – Rs. 47,999.
Portronics has launched Harmonics 208 Bluetooth Stereo headphones with a compact design and magnetic latch. It comes with Bluetooth 4.1 to connect to Bluetooth enabled devices and lets you connect with two devices simultaneously with ease. It packs easy controls button allows you to control music and calls effortlessly and accurately with one-touch controls. It has a 200mAh battery offers up to 430 Hours standby, 12-14-hours talk/play time. The Portronics Harmonics 208 comes in Black, Blue, and Red colors and is priced at Rs. 2999, but you can get it for as low as Rs. 2,099 on Amazon.in.