Srivatsan Sridhar | Fone Arena

Meizu 16s Pro with 6.2-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, Snapdragon 855 Plus, triple rear cameras, in-display fingerprint sensor announced

Meizu just announced the Meizu 16s Pro, the company’s latest flagship smartphone at an event in China, as it had promised. It has a 6.2-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with ultra narrow bottom bezel, is powered by Snapdragon 855 Plus with up to 8GB of RAM, Hyper Gaming, runs Flyme OS 8 based Android Pie with One Mind 3.5 AI, has a 48-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX586 sensor, four-axis OIS, 20-megapixel secondary telephoto lens with Sony IMX350 sensor for 3x lossless zoom and a 16-megapixel Sony IMX481 117° ultra-wide angle lens that also lets you shoot 2.5cm macro. It also has a 20-megapixel camera on the front for 0.2-second face unlock, AI beauty features.

Vivo Z1X with in-display fingerprint scanner, triple rear cameras launching in India on September 6

After the launch of Z1Pro last month, Vivo just announced that it will launch Z1x, another mid-range smartphone in India on September 6th on Flipkart. The official teaser image confirms in-display fingerprint scanner, so it should have an AMOLED screen, and the image shows a waterdrop notch, compared to punch hold screen on the Z1Pro. The image also confirms triple rear cameras and a gradient back.

Realme XT Unboxing and First Impressions

Realme didn’t hold any separate event to introduce the realme XT, which was supposed to go official in India by the end of September, but the company set out units to test it out before the launch. We got hold of one, and here is out unboxing (in Tamil) and first impressions.

Vivo NEX 3 5G smartphone with ‘waterfall screen’, Snapdragon 855 Plus to be announced in September [Update: Teaser video confirms popup front camera, triple rear cameras]

Vivo has posted a new teaser video that confirms that the phone will feature a pop-up front camera and circular triple rear camera module.

Amazfit Smart Sports Watch 3, Amazfit GTS with AMOLED display announced, Amazfit X with curved AMOLED screen coming in 2020

Huami today announced its Smart Sports Watch 3, as it had promised. It has a circular color display, promises up to 14 days of battery life on a single charge, can track 19 sports activities, features FIRSTBEAT professional sports analysis and more. The company also introduced the Amazfit GTS with Super Retina Grade AMOLED Screen, Custom Modular Dial, Colorful Light Metal Body, 14 days of battery life and can track 12 sports activities. Both these have BioTracker PPG bio-tracking optical heart rate sensor, NFC support, GPS, and have 5ATM or 50 meter water resistance so that you can take them for swimming.

Samsung Galaxy A10s with 6.2-inch Infinity-V display, dual rear cameras, 4000mAh battery launched in India starting at Rs. 9499

Samsung just launched the Galaxy A10s smartphone in the ‘A series’ in India, an improved version of the A10 that was launched earlier this year. It was announced earlier this month and packs a 6.2-inch HD+ Infinity-V display, is powered by new Exynos Octa-Core processor and runs Android 9.0 (Pie) with Samsung One UI. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera along with a 2-megapixel secondary camera for portrait shots and an 8-megapixel front camera with face unlock.

HUAWEI Nova 5T with 6.26-inch FHD+ display, 8GB RAM, quad rear cameras, 32MP in-screen camera announced

HUAWEI just announced Nova 5T at an event in Malaysia, as it had promised. It packs a 6.26-inch Full HD+ LCD curved glass screen with a 32-megapixel in-screen camera, is powered by Kirin 980 7nm SoC with Dual NPU, runs Android 9.0 (Pie) with EMUI 9.1, GPU Turbo 3.0, and features Leica quad-lens cameras with 48-megapixel sensor, a 16-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, 2-megapixel sensor for 4cm macro and a 2-megapixel for portrait shots.

Sharp launches new Air Purifiers with De-Humidifier in India

SHARP has launched the new Air Purifier with De-Humidifier, ‘DW-J20FM-W’ and ‘DW-E16FA-W’, designed specifically for India’s humid climate. This will help in reducing and maintaining the level of humidity in the air while eliminating musty odour and will also help in preventing the growth of mild dew by extracting water from the air to facilitate a healthy and comfortable environment, says the company.

LG to introduce new smartphones with LG Dual Screen support, NAVER Whale ‘omnitasking’ browser at IFA

Earlier this month LG confirmed that its IFA event on September 6. Today the company has announced a partnership with South Korea’s largest search engine provider NAVA for the Whale browser optimized for use on LG Dual Screen to offer the best multitasking experience. The company also confirmed new smartphones at the IFA with support for LG Dual Screen that will come with NAVER Whale preinstalled.

Redmi K20 and K20 Pro get a price cut in China [Update: K20 8GB+256GB as well]

Update: August 27, 2019 – Redmi has announced price cut for the K20 8GB RAM with 256GB storage version as well in China, which now costs 2299 yuan (US$ 321 / Rs. 23,050 approx.) after 300 yuan price cut. This version has not been launched in India.

Realme XT 64MP quad camera phone teased in official image, will be powered by Snapdragon SoC

Realme at the realme 5 series launch event last week confirmed that it will launch the realme XT with 64MP quad rear cameras in India in September. Today the realme China CMO Xu Qi Chase has posted an image of its 64MP Quad Camera phone without revealing the phone’s name. This should launch in India as realme XT since it has the same yellow ring around the first camera that we had seen on the prototype the company showcased at the camera event.

This also reveals a glass back with reflective patterns in White color, which looks different from current realme phones. There is no fingerprint scanner on the phone, so we can expect in-display fingerprint scanner and an AMOLED screen, similar to the realme X, but it is not clear if this will feature a pop-up front camera.

The CMO also confirmed that the phone will be powered by a Snapdragon SoC without revealing the model number. The Redmi Note 8 Pro, which also uses the same 64MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor will be powered by MediaTek Helio G90T SoC. In addition to the main 64MP camera, it willl feature Ultra wide angle, Ultra Macro and Telephoto lens. It will also have Expert Mode, Nightscape and Chrome Boost.

Yesterday the company posted a clue for the China launch event which hinted at September 4th launch date and Q Series, so the realme XT could launch in a different name in China. We should know more details in the coming days.

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OnePlus opens its first R&D facility in India in Hyderabad; to invest Rs. 1000 crore over the next 3 years

OnePlus today announced its first Research & Development (R&D) facility in India in Hyderabad. It plans to invest INR 1000 crore into its R&D facility over the next 3 years. “The facility will not only play a critical role in the development of Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning in OnePlus products but will also drive innovations that are centric and relevant to the company’s Indian community,” said the company. Moreover, it will also leverage the experienced and ingenious talent from Hyderabad, one of the biggest IT hubs in the country. Ramagopala Reddy Palukuri will be the Vice President and R&D Head of OnePlus India.

OPPO Reno 2 with 6.5-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, quad rear cameras gets certified ahead of India launch on August 28 [Update: More Images]

Update: August 26, 2019 — OPPO has posted official images of the phone and confirmed that it will launch in China on September 10th.

Redmi Note 8 Pro — 4500mAh battery, 3D Glass back, TÜV Rheinland network certification confirmed, durability tested

Xiaomi’s Redmi brand already confirmed the launch of Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro in China on August 29th. It also confirmed that the Redmi Note 8 will be powered by MediaTek Helio G90T SoC, Liquid cooling, support for gamepad and other accessories and improved camera performance with 64MP ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor. Now it has revealed more details about the smartphone.

Google Nest Hub with 7-inch display launched in India for Rs. 9999

Google today has launched the Google Nest Hub with built-in Google Assistant in India. It was originally introduced as the Home Hub in the US last year, and lets you use your voice to get the best of Google—Search, YouTube, Google Photos, Calendar, Maps and more—right on Google Nest Hub’s display. It comes with a 7-inch touch screen display that fit right into your home.