Harman, an American company and a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics known for their audio quality collaborated with Amazon to introduce the Harman Kardon Allure. The Harman Kardon Allure is an intelligent speaker with Amazon Alexa Voice Service. The Allure boasts 360-degree Harman Kardon sound and was first unveiled at IFA, in Berlin in August 2017. The speaker is launched in India at a price of Rs. 22,490 and is available exclusively for Prime members on Amazon India starting today.
“We’re excited to launch this much sought-after product in India. Ever since its launch at IFA in August - we have seen tremendous interest and demand for the Harman Kardon Allure from our Indian customers” said Sumit Chauhan, Vice President - Lifestyle Audio Division at HARMAN India.
Harman Kardon Allure is hands-free and controlled by voice commands which are taken by Alexa. Alexa can do multiple tasks which include play music, read the news, make purchases from Amazon and much more. Interestingly, the speaker can hear the commands even in noisy environments. It also uses a proprietary far-field voice technology which allows the speaker to hear commands from a far distance.
Alexa has grown over time and now users can enjoy skills from across sectors like Travel, order Food and hear recipes Users can also get Sports and Entertainment updates, News and Education, Home Services as well as control their Smart Home devices with their voice.
Other features of the Harmon Kardon Allure include 360-Degree ambient multicoloured lighting and wireless Bluetooth streaming.
Xiaomi, a few months ago, launched the Xiaomi Mi A1 in collaboration with Google to bring back the Android One to the market. The smartphone got immensely popular in the market due to its fluid experience which is given by stock Android. The popular Mi A1 has now got an official price cut of Rs. 1,000 bringing its price down to Rs. 13,999. The company has taken a bold move as this will give the smartphone an edge over most of the budget-oriented smartphones.
The announcement was made by Manu Kumar Jain, Managing Director of Xiaomi India. Jain made the announcement via his official Twitter handle and also confirmed that the price drop is applicable to both, Mi.com as well as Flipkart.
Great news Mi Fans: announcing a permanent price drop of ₹ 1000 on Mi A1! ?#MiA1: picture perfect flagship dual camera phone. Now available for a perfect price of ₹13,999!
As far as the specifications are concerned, the Xiaomi Mi A1 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels. The device packs in 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage which is further expandable up to 128GB using a microSD card. The Mi A1 runs on stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat out of the box and will soon be updated to Android Oreo. Under the hood, there is a 3,080mAh battery.
On the optics front, the Xiaomi Mi A1 sports a 12-megapixel dual camera setup at the back with a dual tone LED flash. Up front, there is a 5-megapixel selfie shooter.
Currently, Xiaomi Mi A1 is priced at Rs. 13,999 and is available in Gold and Black colour variants. Xiaomi might bring a Rose Gold variant soon. At the current price, the smartphone sets a tough competition for smartphones like Moto G5 and Honor 7X.
OnePlus, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer has completed three years in India. To celebrate this milestone, the company is giving away 10,000 complimentary tickets for the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jeldi which is set to release on December 15. The tickets will go live in two phases on December 13 and on December 15 at 10 am on the company's official website oneplusstore.in and Paytm.
Commenting on the event, Vikas Agarwal- General Manager at OnePlus India said, “The OnePlus 5T Star Wars Limited Edition is dedicated to the OnePlus and Star Wars fans in India. We are humbled by the phenomenal response to our smartphones this year that has made OnePlus the best selling smartphone in the premium segment and has reinforced the trust that our fans have instilled in us.”
“We are delighted to celebrate our third anniversary with our community with the complimentary tickets of the latest edition of Star Wars franchise for our fans in nine cities. We are determined to constantly push boundaries to bring premium flagship smartphones and deliver the best user experience possible to the OnePlus community.”
Apart from the movie tickets, the winner will also be one of the firsts to experience the OnePlus 5T: Star Wars Limited Edition across Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi.
OnePlus users will need to go through a few simple steps in order to stand a chance to get one of the free movie tickets
Step 1: Visit oneplusstore.in and register your OnePlus IMEI number (If you have registered your IMEI previously, you can skip this step).
Step 2: Now choose your city and confirm the movie date and time (tickets are available for 16th and 17th December at select PVR and Cinemax theatres).
Step 3: Click the ‘Get It’ button and your ticket coupon code will be generated (Depending on availability)
Step 4: Once the ticket coupon code is generated, follow the link to the Paytm website and select from the available shows
Step 5: Now just complete the checkout process where Re. 1/- would be charged as token processing fee towards the complimentary snacks including popcorn and a cold drink with every movie ticket.
Smartphones are one of the essential needs in today's lifestyle. Nowadays, everyone needs a phone for purposes like connectivity, work and much more. The ever-growing smartphone industry moves so fast that we often buy a phone which is outdated in just a couple of months. However, not everyone grabs a new phone as soon as the new model is out. So, here is our list of top 5 reasons which will make you consider buying a new smartphone.
1.) An outdated Software
Most of the Android smartphones get the Android updates for only 2 years and in some cases, manufacturers even provide updates for a three-year-old device. If your device has gone out of the update period and you have stopped receiving any types of updates from your OEM, it might be the time to upgrade to a newer smartphone to secure yourself for another 2-3 years. Apple, however, provides updates for more than 3-years and after the 3 year period, you would most likely change the phone.
2.) Damages!
Smartphones have become more fragile over the years which makes them even more prone to damages. Companies like Samsung and Apple have moved towards glass backs which are breakable but give access to wireless charging. In case you drop your smartphone and break your display, you might consider buying a new one. People usually get a new glass installed, but if the smartphone is old enough, it is highly recommended to spend some more money and get a new one.
Batteries installed on a smartphone are made only for a certain number of charge cycles. After a certain period of time, batteries start to give lesser backup. Nowadays as most smartphones come with a sealed battery, they cannot be replaced easily and it is always better to go in for a new smartphone after the battery is worn out. So, once you start noticing that your phone is not even able to withstand a full charge for a few hours, it might be the right time to consider a new smartphone.
4.) Slow Performance
After a few years of usage, one tends to start noticing lag or stuttering on the operating system of his smartphone. The problem can be temporarily fixed by doing some tweaks or sometimes even formatting the device. However, for a permanent fix, one will need to invest in a new smartphone with some a set of hardware that is latest and can be worked with for a few upcoming years.
5.) Screen Burn-Ins
After a certain period of time, the display of a smartphone starts showing burns which are actually a part of image stuck onto the screen for a few minutes. When you start noticing such problems or any problems related to the display, you might need to consider a new one.
As Christmas and New Year is just around the corner, companies are bringing attractive offers for its customers. Samsung and a PayTM Mall have partnered up to bring up to Rs. 8,000 cash back on the company's smartphones. The best part of this deal is that people do not have to be scared of any online scam, as to avail this the customer will need to walk-in to a Samsung store. Once the person selects the smartphone at the store, he will just need to scan the Paytm Mall QR code at the store and pay for the device.
“Our partnership with Paytm Mall will make it easier for customers to buy Samsung smartphones at never-seen-before prices. This offer gives us an opportunity to give more value to our customers. We will continue to wow our customers with such offers. This partnership is also a great example of Samsung’s ‘Make for India’ initiative in our distribution channels. We strongly believe in co-prosperity and this partnership gives us the perfect opportunity to work together with our trade partners on an unprecedented scale,” said, Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Samsung India.
The cashback offer is currently valid on the flagships Samsung Galaxy S8, S8 Plus and Galaxy Note 8. There is also cashback offers for the popular Galaxy C9 Pro, C7 Pro and the mid-range Galaxy J5 Prime. Aside from the PayTM cashback, the company is also conducting a 'Christmas Carnival' sale where they will be offering attractive deals and great discounts on the range of smartphones, speakers, audio accessories, wearable devices and televisions. The sale will be from December 8 to 15, 2017 and will also have no-cost EMI options on the recently launched Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro and Gear Sport.
Meanwhile, Samsung is also hosting 'Happy Hours' sale on Amazon India on December 12 from 12 PM to 2 PM where the company will offer discounts of up to Rs. 6,700 on its smartphones.
The smartphone industry is drastically growing where companies have started to manage to give good devices to customers at a cheaper price. As the bezel-less displays became a trend in the premium segment of smartphones, companies like Xiaomi and Honor bought the same to the mid-range segment. Currently, the mid-range market is being dominated by Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus, Honor 7X and the Xiaomi Mi A1. Here is a quick comparison which will help you choose one of these mid-range titans.
Honor 7X
Honor recently unveiled their budget-oriented Honor 7X with a bezel-less display to bring a tough competition for LG Q6 and the Micromax Canvas Infinity. The Honor 7X sports a 5.93-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080x2160 pixels and an 18:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone runs on the company's homegrown HiSilicon Kirin 659 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM. There are two storage options for the Honor 7X which include 32GB and 64GB.
On the optics front, the Honor 7X features a dual-camera setup at the back consisting of a 16-megapixel sensor combined with a 2-megapixel sensor. Up front, there is an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. Under the hood, there is a 3,340mAh battery powering up the internals.
Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus
The Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus was recently launched by the company and just like most Xiaomi devices, this one also has a lot going on under its hood at a relatively cheaper price. The Redmi 5 Plus features a 5.99-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080x2160 pixels and an 18:9 aspect ratio. The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC coupled with Adreno 506 GPU. The device is available in two variants, one with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and the other with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.
The Redmi 5 Plus is backed by a 4,000mAh battery and runs on MIUI 9 based on Android 7.1.2 Nougat. In the camera department, the Redmi 5 Plus sports a 12-megapixel camera at the back while there is a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calling.
Xiaomi Mi A1
Xiaomi Mi A1 was launched by Xiaomi in collaboration with Google under the Android One programme. The smartphone delivers great performance but does look a bit outdated due to the huge bezels. The Xiaomi Mi A1 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor which is an octa-core chipset clocked at 2GHz. The smartphone features a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels. The device packs in 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage.
As for the optics, the Mi A1 comes with a 12-megapixel dual camera setup at the back with a dual tone LED flash. Up front, there is a 5-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calling. The Mi A1 is backed by a 3,080mAh battery and runs on stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat which will soon be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo.
Verdict
No matter whichever device you choose from the above options, they will satisfy your basic smartphone needs easily. The choice you make depends on your extra needs like the ones who want the best camera out of the lot can opt-in for the Honor 7X while performance nerds can go in for the Xiaomi Mi A1. The people who are on a tight budget and want to get the cheapest of the lot without losing much of features can just grab the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus.
Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 about 7 months ago while the Note 8 is on the market not for so long. As Samsung likes to spice up the things over stock Android by using their own UI which they currently like to call Samsung Experience UI. As the Experience UI is a bit heavy and the smartphones come with a bunch of bloatware, these devices tend to get a bit slow over time. So here are few simple steps that will make your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note 8 faster than before.
1.) Turn on Performance mode
Samsung likes to optimize its devices in such a way that the smartphone manages between delivering a decent amount of battery life and a decent performance. Most people forget to change the default settings and use the device as it was delivered out of the box. The company offers few tweaks on the Settings page which can boost up the performance of your device maxing up your smartphone's CPU but decreasing the battery backup. To turn on the performance mode, head over to Settings>Device Maintenance and select Performance Mode.
2.) Keep it Updated!
It is highly recommended to keep your Android or iOS smartphone always up to date. These updates bring optimisations, improvements and much more. If you receive any OTA (Over-the-Air) software update or any app updates on the Google Play store, just make sure your install every update.
3.) Keep it Lite!
Keep your Galaxy Note 8 or Galaxy S8 free of junk by deleting unnecessary data and applications. To uninstall unnecessary applications, head over to Settings>Apps. Here you will find a list of applications out of which you can go and uninstall the ones you do not need. Also, you can consider installing Lite applications like, Facebook Lite, Skype Lite and more which are optimized to take up less space and use less CPU which will ultimately give you better performance.
4.) Tweak the Resolution
With the new Samsung devices, the company lets its users choose one of the three resolutions which let people decide battery life or quality. Higher the resolution, more the GPU would be used which will cause a mild decrease in performance as well as battery life. We recommend you to keep the resolution at FHD+ as that can offer the perfect balance.
If the above steps did not help you enough to bring up the speed, these tweaks might help.
Head over to Settings
Tap on About Phone and go to Software Information
Now tap 7 times on Build Number
These steps will enable Developer Options which will be available on the bottom of the Settings page. Go to Developer Options and scroll over to Window animation scale. Now change all the Animation scales to 0.5x from 1x. This will not speed up your phone's performance, however, it will make your smartphone feel a lot faster as the animations will run quicker.
In 2017, most of the smartphone manufacturers shifted to an all-new full-screen design by minimizing the bezels and switching the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 18:9. There was this one brand who stuck to their standard design, Sony, even with its flagship devices of the year. However, the company might have decided to change the story for its upcoming devices of 2018. Sony's upcoming smartphones have been leaked on a Georgian website showing of a near bezel-less display.
Source: Vortex.ge
The leaked images of the upcoming Sony Xperia devices show off the new design language with minimal bezels and a dual camera setup at the back. Two devices have been leaked where one has a glass back and looks a lot similar to the Xperia XZ Premium. The other device looks to have a metal back and has a fingerprint scanner at the back below the camera setup. A rear-facing fingerprint scanner is something new to see with Sony's smartphones as they usually place the sensor on the power button.
The images also give us a clue that the upcoming devices will come with a USB Type-C port for charging and data syncing. As we do not see a 3.5mm audio jack, the Type-C port could also be used for audio output. According to the rumours, the upcoming flagship by Sony will sport a 5.5-inch 4K display and will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. The device will pack in 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Both the upcoming devices will run on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.
Oppo, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has launched the Oppo F5 Youth in India which is a much affordable version of the company's flagship. This smartphone was also teased during the launch of the Oppo F5 in India and was then first seen in the Philippines. The highlights of the smartphone include the 18:9 display with minimal bezels and the 16-megapixel selfie shooter.
Specifications
In terms of specifications, the Oppo F5 Youth features a 6-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080x2160 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The smartphone is powered by the MediaTek MT6763T Helio P23 chipset which is an octa-core chipset clocked at 2.5GHz. The device packs in 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage which is further expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The Oppo F5 Youth is backed by a 3,200mAh battery and runs on ColorOS 3.2 based on Android 7.1 Nougat.
On the optics front, the Oppo F5 Youth sports a 13-megapixel at the back with an aperture of f/2.2 and a LED flash. Up front, there is a 16-megapixel selfie shooter with f/2.0 aperture. The phone also comes with a fingerprint scanner at the back below the camera setup. The device comes with support for Dual Nano SIM, 4G LTE, VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, microUSB 2.0 and A-GPS.
Price and Availability
The Oppo F5 Youth is launched in India at a price of Rs.16,990. The smartphone will go on sale in the country starting today, December 8 via both online and offline markets. The phone will be available in Gold and Black colour variants.
OnePlus recently unveiled their latest flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 5T. The smartphone has already started receiving update fixing some of the software issues making the experience better for its users. The latest OxygenOS 4.7.4 brings improvements to the Camera app for which the company has received feedback from the users. The new software update also brings optimizations in audio performance from the speakers and earphones along with some battery performance improvements. OnePlus has also tuned the vibration settings and improved the stability of fingerprint sensor and the GPS.
OnePlus 5T
The OxygenOS 4.7.4 update is still based on Android Nougat and the OTA should hit the devices soon at a size of approximately 285MB. The update is mainly focused on the camera improvements and bring other optimizations and improvemts to the table. The company is also working on bringing the Open Beta Android Oreo update for those who want to test an early build of the operating system on their OnePlus 5T.
To recall, OnePlus recently released OxygenOS 5.0 OTA update which brought Android 8.0 Oreo along with features like Picture-in-Picture mode and Parallel application. The update was released after being under beta testing for a few weeks. The company also released the OxygenOS Open Beta 1 update for the OnePlus 5 which is based on Android Oreo and brings a couple of features. OnePlus 5T is also expected to get the Android Oreo-based OxygenOS stable update earlier next month.
