Fossil makes some of the premium WearOS based smartwatches
Fossil has been manufacturing some really good Android Wear based smartwatches over the past couple of months. The fashion and accessories brand managed to impress Google got impressed and Google agreed to pay 40 million USD (roughly Rs. 280 crores) to acquire the company's smartwatch section.
According to the deal, Fossil Group's smartwatch research and development team have joined hands with Google. While the Texas-based company will manufacture watches according to Google, the California-based giant will work on an optimised software for the smartwatches.
"Wearables, built for wellness, simplicity, personalization and helpfulness, have the opportunity to improve lives by bringing users the information and insights they need quickly, at a glance. The addition of Fossil Group's technology and team to Google demonstrates our commitment to the wearables industry by enabling a diverse portfolio of smartwatches and supporting the ever-evolving needs of the vitality-seeking, on-the-go consumer," said Stacey Burr, Vice President, Google Wear OS division.
Greg McKelvey, chief strategy and digital officer at Fossil, commented on the deal, "We've built and advanced a technology that has the potential to improve upon our existing platform of smartwatches. Together with Google, our innovation partner, we'll continue to unlock growth in wearables."
This deal will allow Google to create their own series of premium smartwatches and compete head to head against Apple, Samsung and other smartwatch manufacturers. Google's WearOS has an edge over Apple's WatchOS and Samsung's TizenOS as it has way more apps and support for both iOS and Android.
Oppo recently launched mid-range smartphones in India, the Oppo F9 and F9 Pro. The latter comes with VOOC Charging support and better set of cameras. It does look quite beautiful, thanks to its flashy design. Here's our full review of the Oppo F9 Pro:
Oppo F9 Pro Review: Specifications
Oppo F9 Pro sports a 6.31-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080x2340 pixels. It is powered by the MediaTek MT6771 processor coupled with 6GB of RAM. For storage, the device gets 64GB of onboard storage, which is further expandable using a microSD card. It runs Android 8.1 Oreo-based ColorOS 5.2. All of this is backed by a 3,500mAh battery, which supports the company’s VOOC charging technology.
Price: Rs. 21,990
Oppo F9 Pro Review: Design
It comes with a gradient back design
Design is something where Oppo has focused most of its attention on for the Oppo F9 Pro. The phone gives a really premium look due to the glass design and the water drop notch, up front. The glass panel at the back has a gradient finish with a glittery look on top. This makes the back look quite flashy and prone to fingerprints. To negate the effect a bit they have provided a silicone case bundled with it, which also offers some protection to the device.
Oppo F9 Pro Review: Display
Oppo F9 Pro sports a 6.3-inch IPS LCD display with a water drop style notch. It features a resolution of 1080x2340 pixels and offers 409ppi. The glass lacks any sort of protection, due to which the company does offer a pre-applied screen protector out of the box. Due to the smaller waterdrop design notch, you will get a much larger screen to body ratio to play with. This also makes the Oppo F9 Pro a good smartphone for media consumption.
The screen is quite good and is legible even under direct sunlight. Oppo F9 Pro also allows you to change the colour temperature of the display according to your liking. However, you cannot change the display modes or tweak the more advanced settings such as saturation.
Oppo F9 Pro Review: Software & UI
Just like most other Chinese smartphone manufacturers, Oppo likes to heavily customise the UI skin that is layered on top of Android. Oppo F9 Pro runs ColorOS 5.2 UI based on Android 8.1 Oreo.
ColorOS takes time to get used to
During our review period, we also learnt that the phone comes with support for Google's Project Treble, which basically means it is eligible to get faster Android updates. Coming back to the UI, it has a high learning curve for most people that are shifting from any other Android device. However, if you have been using Oppo smartphones in past, you will get used to it relatively faster.
Oppo F9 Pro Review: Performance
Oppo F9 Pro is powered by the MediaTek Helio P60 processor. It is an octa-core core chipset with four Cortex-A73 cores running at 2GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores running at 2GHz. The graphics power is pulled from the Mali-G72 MP3 GPU.
Oppo F9 Pro manages to work through any task thrown at it. The presence of 6GB of RAM also helps in good multi-tasking.
Oppo F9 Pro gets respectable scores on AnTuTu and GeekBench
However, when it comes to gaming, the things get a bit complicated. Games like Subway Surfers and Hill Climb Racing run without any hiccups.
But running heavy games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 8, we did notice lag and frame drops throughout the gameplay. The games were not unplayable but we expected a better experience in this department.
The camera segment is one where Oppo smartphones tend to shine the most and the Oppo F9 Pro doesn't disappoint. We were quite impressed with the dual-camera setup found on the back of the smartphone. It consists of a 16-megapixel primarysensor paired with a 2-megapixel secondary sensor.
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Images taken in ample light came out pretty good and the dynamic range was also good. Its secondary lens helps in bringing bokeh effect to the photos, which is not the best we have seen.
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Wireless headsets are becoming quite common these days
On the front, there is a 25-megapixel selfie shooter with f/2.0 aperture. The front-facing camera captures some really good selfies. Oppo's camera interface also offers plenty of options to the users including an HDR mode, Depth effect, Super Vivid mode, stickers and much more.
Oppo F9 Pro Review: Battery
During our test, it was able to last through a day
Oppo F9 Pro is backed by a 3,500mAh battery, which is enough to get you through a full working day. During our review period, we were able to get through a full days worth of usage including around a few hours of calling, replying to a few e-mails, scrolling through various social media apps and a little bit of gaming.
However, when we did need to plug it in, the device charged up quite quickly, due to its support for the company's VOOC charging technology. Do note that to get fast charging speeds, you will need to use the charger and the cable that come bundled inside the box.
Oppo F9 Pro Review: Verdict
It is all about style
Oppo F9 Pro is a good looking smartphone with a number of good features. The device also sports a good set of cameras. The phone is made for people who care a lot about their smartphone's design and need a good smartphone camera without spending a fortune. However, people who are looking for pure performance should lean towards Xiaomi Poco F1, which except for the design offers everything else.
Honor is offering discounts on its smartphone range
Honor in an effort to boost sales and offer it's customers some discount on the occasion of the Republic Day. There are heavy discounts starting from Rs 3100 and go all the way up to Rs 9800 will be applicable on Honor 9N, Honor 9 Lite, Honor 7A, Honor 7S, Honor 7C, Honor 8X, Honor 8C, Honor Play.
The company is offering discounts across the range of their products including the Honor 9N, Honor 9 Lite, Honor 7A, Honor 7S on Flipkart while users shopping on can Amazon discounts will get discounts on Honor 8X, Honor 8C, Honor Play and Honor 7C.
Those discounts will be inclusive of things like the exchange offers. SBI and HDFC card holders that are willing to use their cards for online payment will get instant 10% discount over the complete range of Honor's tech related products, not limiting to the above mentioned smartphones.
Republic Day offers on Flipkart
The Honor 9N (3GB+32GB variant) will have Rs 6349 discount on the original price of Rs 13999. The Honor 9N(4GB+64GB variant) which is available for Rs 15999 will be available with a discount of Rs 6549. The Honor 9 Lite(3GB+32GB variant) will have a discount of Rs 6349 on the original selling price of Rs 13999. The Honor 9 Lite(4GB+64GB variant) has discounts of Rs 7099 from the original selling price of Rs 16999. The Honor 7A(3GB+32GB variant) which sells for Rs 10999 will have a discount of Rs 4249. The Honor 7S(2GB+16GB variant) which sells for the price of Rs 8999 will have a discount of Rs 3599.
The Honor 8X(4GB+64GB variant) is available for MRP 17999 and will have Rs 5500 discount including the exchange bonus. The Honor 8X(6GB+64GB variant) costs Rs 19999 and will have a discount of Rs 6700 Off including exchange discounts. The Honor 8C(4GB+32GB variant) which costs Rs 12999 will have a discount of Rs 3100.The Honor Play(4GB+64GB variant) is available for Rs 21999 will have a discount of Rs 9400. The Honor Play(6GB+64GB variant) which is available for Rs 25999 will have discounts of Rs 9800. The Honor 7C(3GB+32GB variant) is available for Rs 12999 and will have discounts of Rs 5350.
These offers can be availed across Flipkart and Amazon starting from 20th January to 22nd January and from 20th January to 23rd January respectively.
It is now commonplace for our personal information and details including contacts, emails and more to be stored on our Android smartphones. If such information is hacked and misused, then it can be very stressful.
In the digital era, the odds of getting your Android smartphone hacked are high. There are several forms of malware, many of them spying on your smartphone activities every minute. Due to this, cybersecurity and data privacy has come into limelight. There are some tips and tricks that you need to follow to shield your smartphone from such malware.
Many of us are glued to these portable and compact yet powerful devices, widely termed as smartphones. The gadget is capable of handling easy jobs like making calls to complex activities such as photo editing and banking. Considering the mammoth usage of Android smartphones across the globe, the odds of getting them hacked are high and it’s no surprise that users with social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) face a 46% higher risk of being a victim of identity theft than those without.
It is now commonplace for our personal information and details including contacts, emails, photos, bank details and passwords to be stored on our Android smartphones. If such information is hacked and misused, then it can be very stressful. To overcome the problem, there are many free privacy apps for your Android smartphone that would help make your smartphone experience more private and safe. Secured web surfing is one of the simplest ways to increase your privacy on Android.
If you are a web-surf junkie
For a safe browsing experience, you need to alter your web surfing behaviour a bit. Getting a more secured and alternative browsing app is a great move. DuckDuckGo is one good app for your Android smartphone, which automatically restricts unseen third-party trackers, protecting your web-browsing behaviour on the regular basis. It is the internet browser that offers you the freedom to browse anything online securely. The primary benefit of the search engine is that it erases users’ entire browsing history with a single tap to kill recently opened tabs and browsing data.
If you want to be more private
Other ways to keep your smartphone hack-free are virtual private network (VPN) apps, password manager app, app lock among others. Express VPN is an effective app for your Android smartphone. The app will enable you to hide and secure your online activities from hackers and surveillance agencies. With this app, data transmissions become more private and secure, even on Wi-Fi networks.
If you keep passwords for everything
If you keep different passwords for each mobile application, then LastPass Password Manager is a perfect app. The app secures and manages your passwords. It is commonly seen that plain negligence can allow online hackers to get into your password making your privacy at risk. It creates and maintains non-hackable and unique passwords for all types of apps and sites on your smartphone.
If you are an e-mail man
Several reports have claimed that online search engines use users’ browsing patterns and store data to showcase high targeted advertisements and personalised recommendations. Several email service providers are not end-to-end encrypted. For Android smartphones, many apps are available allowing email-users to share password-protected emails and messages which get redundant after a certain period of time.
If you are on a sharing spree
It is commonly seen that online users are rampantly sharing videos, photos, data, or any other personal information using messaging apps. On Google PlayStore, you will get several apps that let users message other people with end-to-end encryption. One such messaging app is Telegram that allows you to send personal data without ever being accessed or stored on a server.
Considering the trend of tracking the online behaviour of internet users and manipulating it for monetary purposes, the demand for data privacy has gained attention. As digital users keep all the personal information on their smartphones, there are n-numbers of Android privacy apps for your smartphone that would boost privacy and security.
Samsung Galaxy S8 users can now test out the beta version of One UI
Samsung recently announced the rollout of Android 9 Pie based One UI beta for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Now, the company has also made the update available for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ users. As the software is under a beta stage, it might have a few bugs and issues. However, users can join the beta program to help Samsung in resolving all the bugs and issues.
How to install One UI Beta
Step 1: Head over to the Google Play Store on your smartphone.
Step 2: Search for 'Samsung Members' and install the app.
Step 3: Once the app is installed, open it and look for "Registrations Open for One UI Beta Program".
Step 4: Now tap on "Register".
Registrations are now open for Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8 users in India
Step 5: You will be greeted by a page where Samsung will give you details about One UI and the Beta program. Where you will be required to tap on Register.
Step 6: Now head over to the device's Settings app and tap on 'Software Update'. Click on Download updates manually, in order to search for updates.
Your Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+ or Note 8 will now show an available update, which will weigh in at around 1.5GB. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the latest update. Once your device reboots, you will be welcomed by the latest Android 9.0 Pie based OneUI.
Disclaimer: As the software is currently in Beta, we recommend that you don't try doing this on your primary device. BeetelBite won't be responsible for any damages that occur during the process, so please do it at your own risk. There might be data loss during the process.
Samsung has finally started rolling out the official version of Android 9 Pie based One UI update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in India. The company rolled out the beta software almost two months ago. After receiving feedback from users and fixing the issues, the company has now started rolling out the stable version of the software.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 users who were already on the beta version of One UI have received an OTA update weighing in at around 132MB. As for the changelog, the company has not mentioned much except the end of the beta program.
One UI a new custom user interface by Samsung built on top of Google's Android 9 Pie operating system. The new UI is aimed towards providing easier single-handed usage with large devices like the Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9+. The update also makes the animations faster, resulting in faster and smoother user experience.
As for the features, the update brings in all the features that Google introduced with Android 9 Pie including gesture-based navigation and more. Apart from Android 9 Pie features, the update brings in features like Night Mode, Lift to wake, a new Always-on-Display with a Tap to show option and much more.
Samsung has started rolling out the update in India and South Korea. The update should receive your device soon and you will receive a notification once the OTA update is available. While the update is safe to install, we recommend backing up your important files before hitting the install button.
One UI is based on Google's Android 9 Pie operating system
Samsung recently started rolling out the stable version of Android 9 Pie based One UI update for Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ and Galaxy Note 9 in few regions. As the latest flagships are being served with the taste of Pie, the company has already started testing out the latest Android version on Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
How to update to One UI Beta?
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 users can head over to the Samsung Members app, which can be downloading via the Google Play Store. Once you open up the application, you will find a banner stating that the Beta program is now available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Notably, the update is currently available only in India and South Korea.
You need to enroll into the beta program using the Samsung Members app and your Samsung account. Once you have successfully enrolled for the program, head over to Settings > System Update in order to download and install the latest beta firmware.
One UI is Samsung's latest user interface developed on top of Android 9.0 Pie. Apart from what Google has introduced, the update brings in features like Night Mode, a new user interface and much more.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 comes with a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1440x2960 pixels. It is powered by the Exynos 8895 octa-core processor coupled with 6GB of RAM. It comes in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage options with support for further expandability using a microSD card. All of this is backed by a 3,300mAh battery.
On the optics front, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 features a dual-camera setup at the back consisting of two 12-megapixel sensors. Up front, there is an 8-megapixel selfie snapper with f/1.7 aperture.
The smartphone will go on sale starting January 20
Honor India has just announced the launch of its latest mid-range smartphone, the Honor 10 Lite. The smartphone comes with a water drop style notch, 24-megapixel front facing camera, gradient back design and more. So, here are the top 5 reasons why you should consider the Honor 10 Lite as your next smartphone.
Design
With the past few smartphone launches, Honor has been doing really well with the design of their smartphones. Honor 10 Lite is one of the very few phones in its segment to offer a gradient back design. The glass sandwich design offers a premium look and feel. The waterdrop style notch also adds up in the look of the smartphone.
Performance
Honor 10 Lite comes with the powerful HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor coupled with up to 6GB of RAM. The Kirin 710 chipset is based on the 12nm manufacturing process, which helps in lesser power consumption and more performance. It also brings in higher AnTuTu benchmark scores when compared to the Snapdragon 660 or MediaTek Helio P60.
GPU Turbo 2.0
With Honor's custom UI, EMUI, the company has also brought in something called the GPU Turbo 2.0 technology. It helps in improving the efficiency of the onboard GPU in order to bring a lag free and high frame rate gaming experience. So, long gaming sessions on PUBG Mobile or Asphalt 8 should not be an issue.
Honor 10 Lite comes with a dual-camera setup at the back consisting of a 13-megapixel primary and a 2-megapixel secondary sensor. Up front, there is a 24-megapixel selfie shooter with f/2.0 aperture. The cameras on the Honor 10 Lite are also backed by AI, which can help in detecting up to 22 different scenarios to enhance the image quality accordingly.
Price
Honor 10 Lite is available at a starting price of Rs. 13,999
Since its introduction in the smartphone industry, Honor has always been quite aggressive about its pricing. Honor 10 Lite is available at a starting price of Rs. 13,999, which makes the competition tough for the likes of Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro and Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2.
Huawei's sub-brand Honor has launched a new mid-range smartphone in India, the Honor 10 Lite. The smartphone comes with a water drop style notch up front and a glass sandwich design. The successor to the Honor 9 Lite is available at a starting price of Rs. 13,999. Here are some alternatives to consider before buying the Honor 10 Lite.
Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2
Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 runs on stock Android
Asus ZenFone Max Pro brings stock Android, glass sandwich design and a notched display. It is currently offering the best value under Rs. 15,000. It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC paired with up to 6GB of RAM. It runs on a nearly stock version of Android. Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 is currently available at a starting price of Rs. 12,999.
Realme 2 Pro
Realme 2 Pro sports a water drop style notch up front
In case you are looking for the best camera smartphone under Rs. 15,000, the Realme 2 Pro should justify the price. It sports a dual-camera setup at the back and a 16-megapixel selfie shooter. It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor coupled with up to 6GB of RAM. The phone features a water drop notch up front and it is currently available for a starting price of Rs. 13,990.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro
Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro comes with a total of four cameras
While its just an incremental update over its predecessor, Redmi Note 6 Pro brings in a notched display and a dual-camera setup at the front as well as the back. It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor coupled with up to 6GB of RAM. Xiaomi Redmi Note 6 Pro is currently available at a starting price of Rs. 13,999.
With the launch of Honor 10 Lite, the company might just have confused you between the Honor 8X and the 10 Lite. Both the smartphones come with the Kirin 710 processor coupled with up to 6GB of RAM. Honor 8X sports a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels. It packs in 64GB of onboard storage which is further expandable using a microSD card. Honor 8X is available at a starting price of Rs. 14,999.
In case you are willing to spend a little more, consider the recently launched Huawei Y9 (2019). Just like the Honor 10 Lite, the Huawei Y9 (2019) also runs on EMUI and comes with the Kirin 710 chipset. It also has an AI backed dual-camera setup at the back. Huawei Y9 (2019) is launched with a price tag of Rs. 15,999 in the country.
Tukshai vehicle is a part of the new PUBG Mobile update
PUBG Mobile is one of the most popular mobile games in the market right now. Tencent Games, the makes of PUBG Mobile has confirmed what their latest update will bring. The update 0.10.5 will be bringing the stable version of the Vikendi map which was in beta till now. The new map is aimed at bringing new experiences to their player. The new map introduces a ton of new weapons, new suits, a snow bike, new jump locations and more. PUBG Mobile is also brought many updates to the Chinese New Year themed version including night mode for Vikendi Snow Map, and also a cooperative mode where players airdrop together and have mini quests like to defeat monsters and dragons to get new loot to help them win the game. All of this will be coming to the new Arcade mode soon.
What are the changes in the new version?
The update 0.10.5 promises to bring in a brand new zombie mode along with many new weapons including SMG guns. However, the biggest update that the users have been waiting for is a stable version of Vikendi map which is still in the beta stage. It will also bring in the night mode for the snow map. PUBG Mobile has not explicitly confirmed these features but the company says "bring better tweaks to the loot distribution in Vikendi".
The snow map Vikendi which is available to play right now in the version 0.10.0 update is in its beta version. Players have complained about gameplay lags, latency issues, and the kind of loot distribution on the map for the beta version. Players have reported being able to find weapons like SMGs on the map while finding AR and sniper rifles is a commitment. In a tweet, PUBG Mobile is said that they will be tweaking the loot distribution in Vikendi.
Here is a complete changelog that helps us clear things out.
PUBG Mobile Update 0.10.5 Changelog:
Monster hunting mode
Snow Bike
Vikendi Weather
Vikendi Stable Map
FPP Driving
Tukshai
New voices
New Emotes
Zombie mode
MK-47 Mutant rifle
Players can expect to encounter hordes of zombies coming at them. Players will have to survive waves of zombie with each wave getting difficult and difficult.
