Airtel Wi-Fi calling service is now compatible with 100 smartphones from 16 brands.
Airtel was the first company to launch Wi-Fi calling service in India back in December. Now, the company has confirmed that its Wi-Fi calling feature now works with every broadband service provider available in India. Earlier, the company's Wi-Fi calling service was only available for its own Airtel Xtreme broadband service.
Apart from this, the company has also announced that its Wi-Fi calling service is now compatible with 100 smartphones from 16 brands. Earlier, the service was only compatible with up to 30 smartphones.
5G is almost here. But do you know how it will affect your daily life? Here's everything you need to know about it.
As of now, 4G is the best widely available telecommunication technology available across the globe. However, its been in use for over a decade. And the biggest news is that researches have been trying to improve it for the entire decade. Now, the improvement in telecommunications technology is just at the brink and we cannot wait for it to go global.
Selected carriers had started rolling out the next generation 5G technology in select cities around two years ago. Now, it is expected to see a global rollout this year. This will put the human civilization into the 5th generation of mobile communications.
As of now, it seems like there are more questions about 5G than there are answers. Many are wondering what is 5G and how will it impact our lives. Others are waiting for 5G services to launch in their area. Some are also wondering whether their phones will be able to run on a 5G network or not. Today, we will be answering all these questions.
The first question that most of you might want to ask is, what is 5G?
The answer is pretty simple, 5G is the next generation of mobile broadband that will eventually replace or at least augment your 4G LTE connection much as 4G did to 3G almost a decade ago now.
The 5G network will bring exponentially faster download and upload speeds. This will also affect the latency/ping or in layman terms, the time taken to connect with a server in a positive manner.
The next question that might arise in your mind is, how does the 5G network work?
There are several factors that affect how 5G works and it is very different from how traditional networks like 4G LTE work. One of the biggest factors is the spectrum. It works on different spectrum bands, which might not seem important to a layman, but will have a dramatic effect on daily usage.
The first one is the low-band spectrum, which can also be described as a sub 1GHz spectrum. Most 4G LTE network work on this and the bandwidth is nearly depleted, that's why we have started facing a number of network problems these days. It offers great coverage area and wall penetration capabilities, but the data speeds peak at 100Mbps.
Then there comes the mid-band spectrum, which provides faster speeds and lower latency compared to low-band networks. However, its wall penetration capabilities aren't so great when compared to the low-band spectrum. Users can expect speeds to peak at around 1Gbps.
Lastly, there is the high-band spectrum, which delivers the highest performance for 5G. However, all that power comes with a number of drawbacks. The high-band spectrum is referred to as mmWave. It can offer peak speeds of up to 10Gbps and has extremely low latency. All this sounds like a dream, but its coverage area and then wall penetration capabilities are not so good.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency in the United Nations with the sole purpose of setting up technical standards for communication technologies. It also sets the rules for radio spectrum usage and telecommunications interoperability. The standards set by them for the 5G performance targets are as follows:
Peak data rate: 5G will offer significantly faster data speeds. At its peak, the data rates can hit up to 20Gbps downlink and 10Gbps uplink. That will be the speed shared by all the users from an endpoint. While the peak data rates for 5G sound pretty impressive, actual speeds won’t be the same. Users will experience up to 100Mbps download speeds and 50Mbps of upload speeds.
Latency: The time it takes data to travel from one point to another on the internet is known as the latency. In ideal circumstances, it should be around 4 milliseconds. In high priority cases, it can drop up to 1 millisecond. This will enable video calls in sensitive situations like surgeries.
Efficiency: Radio interfaces, in theory, will be energy efficient when in use, and will drop to a low-energy mode when not in use. In a perfect world, the change between low-energy mode and out of it should take less than 10 milliseconds.
Spectral efficiency: The optimised use of the spectrum and the bandwidth to maximise data transfer with minimum transmission errors is called the spectral efficiency. 5G theoretically should have a slightly improved spectral efficiency over 4G LTE.
Connection density: 5G networks should be able to support many more connected devices than LTE, thus having a way larger bandwidth. The standard states 5G will be able to support about 1 million connected devices per square kilometer. Considering the slew of IoT based devices launching every week, this absurdly high number is necessary for the future.
Improve broadband: With so many people using the mobile broadband network with the bandwidth almost full, in order to continue using mobile broadband without any issues, the move to 5G is absolutely necessary. Also, there is an added benefit of speed. With increased bandwidths, we will see a lot more reliable networks.
Autonomous vehicles: We are expecting the rise of autonomous driving vehicles. In order to make sure it communicates with other vehicles on the road properly without any issue, 5G networks will help a lot.
Imagine, if the car brakes in front of you and that is communicated to your car and it brakes, it will save many lives. They can also communicate about traffic conditions and more, helping users decide the route in advance.
Remote device control: Since 5G support has remarkably low latency, remote controlling heavy construction machinery and more will become much easier. Keeping people out of harm's way while working in hazardous environments like mines.
Health care: The benefit of ultra-low latency extends in health care too. Things like telemedicine, remote recovery and physical therapy via AR, precision surgery and even remote surgery in the coming years might be a reality with 5G.
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are currently the only two telecom operators in India to enable the Wi-Fi calling feature on their respective networks. While Airtel rolled out the feature last month, Jio has started rolling it out now and says the rollout will complete by January 16. The Anant Ambani led telecom company also aims to bring the feature in every city across the nation. Here's how you can enable it on your smartphone.
How to enable VoWi-Fi on Android?
Open Settings app on your phone
Go to SIM and Network settings
Enable the option labelled "Wi-Fi calling" or "VoWi-Fi" or "Make calls over Wi-Fi"
How to enable VoWi-Fi on iPhone?
Open Settings
Scroll down and look for "Phone" and click on it
Tap on Wi-Fi calling
Now toggle the switch on "Enable Wi-Fi calling on this iPhone" option
Apple: iPhone 11 series, iPhone X series, iPhone Xs series, iPhone XR, iPhone 7 series, iPhone 8 series, iPhone 6S series and iPhone SE
Xiaomi: Poco F1, Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro
Google: Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 3a XL
Vivo: Vivo V11, Vivo V11 Pro, Vivo V15, Vivo V15 Pro, Vivo V9, Vivo V9 Pro, Vivo 1904, Vivo Y81, Vivo Y81i, Vivo Y91, Vivo Y91i, Vivo Y93, Vivo Y95, Vivo Y15, Vivo Y17, Vivo Y91 and Vivo Z1 Pro
Infinix: Infinix Hot 7 Pro, Infinix Smart 3 Plus, Infinix Hot 6 Pro, Infinix S4
Key features of Lenovo Ego includes 24 hour real-time heart rate monitoring, water resistance up to 50 meters, 42mm anti-shine reflective display, night light mode and 20 days of claimed battery life.
Lenovo Ego HX07 is now available on Amazon. To recall the watch was launched last year and was made available exclusively on Flipkart. It is priced at Rs 1,999 and has seen no price drop since its launch.
The watch is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones and can be controlled via the Lenovo Life app. One point to note, that the watch is only controllable via the app and the users cannot even change the time without pairing it with their smartphones.
Key feature of the Lenovo Ego includes 24 hour real-time heart rate monitoring, water resistance up to 50 meters, 42mm anti-shine reflective display, night light mode and 20 days of claimed battery life.
The watch comes with a 1.6-inch anti-reflective monochrome display, which is backlit. It comes with water resistance up to 50 metres and according to the company can map calories burnt and stroke style while swimming.
It comes with an in-built heart rate monitor and can track various sports like walking, running, cycling, swimming and more. It also includes a sleep tracker and has different vibrating patterns based on the notification alerts.
One smart feature that might be as redundant as it could have been is that it can help take pictures on your smartphone with a tap on the display. This will only come handy when you have a phone placed far away from you with the camera app open.
Overall, we would recommend that you either go in for the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 or the Mi Band 3, both of which are in the same price vicinity. As they offer much more than this one. You can also wait for Realme to launch its own fitness band, which according to leaks is looking quite promising.
There is still no news about the launch of the Galaxy Note 10 Lite in India.
Samsung recently unveiled its Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy Note 10 Lite, globally. Just after the unveil Flipkart started teasing the launch of the Galaxy S10 Lite in India. Now, according to a report by IANS, Samsung will launch the device in India in the first week of February between Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 45,000.
The report also mentions that the launch deals will bring the prices of the device closer to Rs 40,000. There is still no news about the launch of the Galaxy Note 10 Lite in India.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite sports a 6.7-inch full HD+ Infinity-O Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400x1080 pixels. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor paired with an Adreno 640 GPU. The device comes with 6GB/8GB of RAM along with 128GB of internal storage expandable via a microSD card up to 1TB.
It runs Google's Android 10 operating system with the company's own OneUI 2.0 skin on top. All of this is backed by a 4,500mAh battery with support for the company's own Super Fast charging technology.
As for biometrics, the device comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor and also supports face unlock via the front camera.
Coming to the cameras, the device sports a triple camera setup on the back consisting of a 48-megapixel primary sensor with Super Steady OIS, paired with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor, and a 5-megapixel macro sensor. On the front, it features a 32-megapixel sensor for taking selfies.
Here is a list of the top 5 features of the new Motorola Razr.
After a long wait, Motorola launched its much-awaited flagship of the year, the Motorola Razr. It also marks the comeback of its 2004’s Razr V3 design. It was released on November 13 in Los Angeles globally.
Some people are also calling it the reinvention of Motorola's legendary flip phone in the form of a foldable smartphone.
According to various reports and company hints, we expect the device to be priced around Rs. 1,00,000. According to industry speculations, the Motorola Razr is expected to launch in India this month or early February. However, manufacturing delays that have recently hit the company can extend the timeline.
Top 5 features of the new Motorola Razr:
Motorola has designed the flip phone into a new dimension, possibly making it the cushiest foldable phone so far. The new Motorola Razr feels like a phone because the flexible screen that folds completely in half to give it the traditional clamshell look. While the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X turn into a mini-tablet.
It runs Google's Android 9 Pie at its core, which brings a possibility of users not relating it with the original Razr. Motorola knew this, which is why it has preloaded the Razr with a secret Retro Razr mode. Essentially, the Retro Razr mode is an Android skin specifically designed to mimic the 2004 feel of the device.
The skin brings the old-style T9 style keyboard found on the original Razr, along with other elements back to this version. Despite packing a touchscreen now, the Retro Razr mode will work as if it were a T9 keyboard phone.
The foldable screen features a 6.2-inch P-OLED Flex display, which gives the Motorola Razr its unique advantage. It is a vertically long display with a resolution of 2142x876 pixels. The display folds in half from the centre, facilitated by two hinges at either side. The lower chin sports a fingerprint sensor and the Type-C port.
It also brings back the small display on the front cover, which we got accustomed to back in 2004. It’s now called Quick View Display and measures 2.7-inch in size. The display is essentially a storehouse for all notifications, alerts and allows music playback. It also allows users to click selfies when the device is closed.
Motorola has packed a single 16-megapixel 1.7 primary camera on the phone that acts as a selfie camera in the phone's folded state and as its primary camera while it’s opened. The company has added Night Vision mode in the camera software to make sure the phone takes good photos even in low-lighting conditions. Also, there is a 5-megapixel camera inside the Motorola Razr present inside of the notch. It can be used to take selfies when you don't want to close the phone or need more screen space to properly capture your selfie.
OnePlus Concept One comes with an invisible camera setup on the back.
OnePlus, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer recently teased its first-ever concept smartphone. The device was set to unveil at CES 2020 with a feature borrowed from McLaren. Now that the OnePlus Concept One has been unveiled, here's a closer look at the invisible cameras of the smartphone.
OnePlus Concept One is the first phone ever to use an electrochromic glass technology to hide its cameras at the back. The technology is usually spotted on luxury cars like the McLaren 720S that use this technology for their sunroofs. While this feature has set OnePlus apart from others, it has also opened numerous possibilities for future OnePlus smartphones.
Commenting on the unveil, Pete Lau, CEO and Founder of OnePlus, said,“This concept phone is a significant experiment into the future form of smartphones. OnePlus started this initiative with the goal of bringing the “burdenless” user experience to the next level. The invisible camera stands as a new form of camera design, one that spares the user from the compromises of current camera layouts. The rear camera lenses are hidden by the dynamic electrochromic glass and only become visible when the camera is in use. This optimal solution is what OnePlus calls “Electronic CMF”—a new approach in industrial design.”
Jo Lewis, Colour and Materials Design Manager at McLaren Automotive, said, “At McLaren we select the best quality leathers produced in the UK; it’s a material that exudes luxury and we are keen to offer our expertise in the design of this OnePlus concept device. The soft grained semi-aniline leather gentle to the touch and its natural grain has a beautiful silky feel. Our design philosophy at McLaren embraces the natural features of the leather through its subtle grain variations, giving each car its own unique character – which is echoed in this OnePlus concept device”.
With its industry-first disappearing rear camera, the #OnePlusConceptOne is a testament to our untiring passion for challenging convention. Witness the beauty of the unseen at #CES2020, January 7-10. pic.twitter.com/b5I4ma25pE
OnePlus claims that the electrochromic glass used on the OnePlus Concept One is one of the most advanced glass panels made as thin as 0.35mm. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer further claims that the colour shifting on the glass will take as less as 0.7 seconds to shift colours.
On the inside, the phone is basically a OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition. It's just the back that has been customised with the electrochromic glass and papaya orange leather.
Realme X50 5G was just launched at Yuan 2,499 (approximately Rs 25,900) for the base variant. (Representational Image: Realme X2 Pro Master Edition)
Realme shipped approximately 25 million smartphones in 2019. Now it wants to double that and ship 50 million in 2020 according to a statement it made at an event announcing its first 5G smartphone.
The company has made this statement after it saw rapid adoption in India in 2019 and is slowly turning its focus to its home market, China. It hopes that consumers will heavily purchase its new smartphones compatible with the expanding 5G infrastructure.
5G compatible smartphones have started showing up in huge numbers after a rapid growth have been seen in China in terms of telecommunication infrastructure. The country already has over 1,13,000 base stations in service according to various reports.
This upgrade in infrastructure has given Chinese smartphone brands an incentive to boost domestic sales, which dropped by 4.5 percent annually back in October 2019, according to data provided by the government.
Realme X50 5G was just launched at Yuan 2,499 (approximately Rs 25,900) for the base variant. Other than this Huawei and Oppo also have launched four 5G models to date. Whereas, Xiaomi has launched three 5G compatible smartphones. Apple is also rumoured to be launching 5G compatible smartphones later this year.
To recall, Realme was started as a sub-brand by Oppo and was soon spun off as an independent brand. To put a context Vivo, Oppo, Realme and OnePlus are all smartphone brands owned by BBK Electronics Corporation.
Realme was able to grow shipments in India nearly four-fold between Q3 2018 and Q3 2019, according to data released by the research firm, IDC. In a report, IDC researcher, Will Wong stated that Realme's success in India to its affiliation with Oppo, as both brands are known to give retail partners higher margins on device sales than competitors. Even though China is a new market for the company, it will steadily become a priority as 70 percent of the market is still low-end to mid-range.
itel A25 is powered by an unnamed 1.4GHz quad-core processor.
itel A25 launched in India priced at Rs. 3,999, which makes it one of the most affordable smartphones offering features like an HD display, face unlock and more. The device is already available via the offline market in three colour options: Gradation Blue, Sea Blue and Gradient Purple.
Key features of the device include face unlock, multi-language support, Google Lens, Dual 4G VoLTE, Android Pie 9 (Go Edition) operating system and more.
itel A25: Specifications
itel A25 sports a 5-inch HD display with a 720p resolution. It is powered by an unnamed 1.4GHz quad-core processor. The device comes with 1GB of RAM along with 16GB of internal storage expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card.
The device runs Google's Android 9 Pie (Go Edition) operating system and is backed by a 3,020mAh battery. It does not come with any sort of fast charging support.
Coming to the cameras, the device features a 5-megapixel primary sensor on the back. Whereas, it comes with a 2-megapixel sensor upfront for taking selfies. Both the back and the front cameras have a dedicated flash and they also support Google Lens.
Connectivity options include dual 4G VoLTE/ViLTE support, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. For biometrics, the device does not come with a fingerprint sensor, however, it does come with the Face Unlock feature.
The device apart from Hindi and English supports 12 regional languages, which include Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Urdu, Malayalam, Nepali, Assamese and Oriya.
Realme has confirmed that the ads will appear in the Phone Manager, Download Manager and on the Security Check page after installing new apps.
Xiaomi back in 2018, due to it not charging a huge profit margin for its smartphones from customers, started showing ads in MIUI, to float itself. Back then many brands like Realme mocked this decision.
Now Realme, one of the company's that mocked Xiaomi's decision has announced that it will start showing ads to its users. The company via its official forum made the announcement stating that all devices running ColorOS 6 and above will now start showing users recommended ads.
"To continue offering more surprises for you and maintain a healthy and sustainable business model, we have introduced commercial content recommendations in the OS," stated the company in a forum post.
The company has confirmed that the ads will appear in the Phone Manager, Download Manager and on the Security Check page after installing new apps. However, if you do not want to get these ads and disable them, you can do it simply by following the steps provided below.
Head into the Settings panel of the device.
When inside of the 'Settings' menu, scroll to 'additional settings' and open it.
There you will find a get recommendations button, which you need to tap.
Inside of the setting, you can now disable the get recommendations toggle, which will stop the ads altogether.
It seems a bit silly when you think that Realme mocked Xiaomi for running ads on their smartphones and now are doing the same.
The ads are not region-specific and have started showing on Realme phones across the globe.
Realme has had tremendous growth since its launch. The company has been able to maintain such a high growth trajectory thanks to the extremely competitive prices. Ads are one way to ensure that device pricing stays low. However, it does seem a bit silly when you think that Realme mocked Xiaomi for running ads on their smartphones and now are doing the same.
