Monthly Archives: April 2018

Moto G6 vs Moto G6 Plus vs Moto G6 Play: Here are the key differences

Motorola announced the Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus, Moto G6 Play series yesterday. The Moto G series has been the mid-range offering from the company and among its most successful phones. Moto G6 puts emphasis on a new design with 3D glass on the G6 and G6 Plus variants. Here’s a look at the difference between the specifications and prices of the Moto G6 phones.

Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus and Moto G6 Play: Design, display

The Moto G6 Plus is the largest variant in the series with a 5.9-inch IPS display. Motorola is calling its take on the full view 18:9 aspect ratio as Max Vision display. The Moto G6 Plus has 3D glass design, but there’s a fingerprint scanner the front. So Motorola has not eliminated the bottom and top bezel on the G6 series, even though it has introduced the new 18:9 aspect ratio.

Coming to the Moto G6, this also has the 3D glass back design. However, the display on the G6 is 5.7-inches with full HD+ resolution (1080p), though the aspect ratio remains 18:9. The Moto G6 also has a fingerprint scanner embedded on the front. Both the Moto G6 and Moto G6 Plus sport a Type-C USB charging port at the bottom.

Also read: Moto G6, Moto G6 Plus, G6 Play and Moto E5 series launched: Price, specifications

Moto G6 Play has a 5.7-inch HD+ resolution display (720p) and gets a Polymer glass body design. There is no fingerprint scanner at the front of the phone, instead the scanner is now at the back as part of the Motorola M logo.  All three phones have a water-resistant rating of p2i and are splash-proof. The Moto G6 Play is also the heaviest of the three phones weighing 180 grams in comparison to Moto G6 and Moto G6 Plus, both of which weigh 167 grams.  Finally, both the Moto G6 and Moto G6 Plus get a face recognition feature for unlocking the devices. The Moto G6 Play does not have this feature.

Source:http://indianexpress.com/article/technology/mobile-tabs/moto-g6-vs-moto-g6-plus-vs-moto-g6-play-specifications-differences-prices-5144925/

Nokia 8 Sirocco Review

HMD Global has a pretty interesting smartphone lineup for 2018. All of its mainstream and high-end offerings are part of Google’s Android One programme, which means you’re guaranteed to get regular security updates and major Android version updates for two years. This in itself is a big deal, considering how most Android smartphone manufacturers struggle to keep up with Google’s update cycle. Out of the new Android One Nokia smartphone family announced during MWC 2018, we’ve so far reviewed the Nokia 7 Plus (Review) and the new Nokia 6 (Review), and both have managed to impress us with their performance considering their respective price points.

Today, we’ll be reviewing the Nokia 8 Sirocco – a special edition of last year’s Nokia 8 (Review) smartphone that’s an ode to the original Nokia 8800 Sirocco. With exotic materials also comes a higher price tag. This special version of the Nokia 8 is priced at Rs. 49,999, which puts it in Google Pixel 2 (Review) and HTC U11 (Review) territory. So, is the new Nokia 8 Sirocco just a pretty face or does it have enough substance to justify this premium pricing?

Source:https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/reviews/nokia-8-sirocco-review-1838648

Redmi S2 Budget Phone With Dual Camera, Face Unlock Reportedly Coming to India

Xiaomi is reportedly planning to launch the Mi 6X (Mi A2 in India) at event it is hosting on April 25, but it might not be the only new handset coming our way. A new leak has revealed that Xiaomi plans to launch the Redmi S2 budget smartphone in China and India. While this is the first time the Redmi S2 has been mentioned in a leak, there are enough specifications and features leaked to give us a good enough idea about what the handset will offer to buyers. However, there are questions about the Xiaomi Redmi S2 pricing, launch date and release date that remain unanswered, but will hopefully come out as the weeks pass by.

A XDA Developers report has revealed the specifications of the Xiaomi Redmi S2 based on firmware files obtained by Funky Huawei of FunkyHuawei.club. According to the files, the smartphone will sport a HD+ (720×1440 pixels) LCD display with 18:9 aspect ratio. However, the size of the display is unknown, as of now. The smartphone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, similar to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Redmi 5 Plus, Mi A1, Mi Max 2, and more. The firmware files also suggest one 16GB inbuilt storage variant of the handset. There is also no information available on how much RAM the Redmi S2 will be equipped with.

Coming to optics, the smartphone is expected to have a dual camera setup 12-megapixel Sony IMX486 sensor or the 12-megapixel OmniVision OV12A10 sensor as the primary sensor, according to the report. It will also have a 5-megapixel Samsung S5K5E8 secondary sensor. The smartphone could have a 5-megapixel Samsung S5K5E8 sensor on the front camera. The highlight of the cameras will be the presence of EIS, Portrait mode, and Face Unlock.

Other specifications of the Redmi S2, revealed in the report, include a 3080mAh battery and Android Oreo support. There is no information on the release date of the smartphone, but the report says that the firmware files explicitly mention the Chinese and Indian markets are the release regions.

Source:https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/redmi-s2-india-launch-leak-specifications-dual-camera-face-unlock-feature-1838872

iOS 11.3 Reportedly Makes Some Aftermarket iPhone 8 Displays Unresponsive

While iOS 11.3 brought a bunch of new features to enhance the user experience, the same iOS update is reported to make the touch functionality of the iPhone 8 unresponsive if it uses an aftermarket display panel. This newly reported issue certainly pushes iPhone users – once again – to opt for an authorised repair channel to fix their faulty handsets. In early 2016, the iPhone maker was found to use a similar move when it started bricking devices that were repaired from an unauthorised shop.

As reported by Matthew Gault of Motherboard, iOS 11.3, which was released late last month, gives touchscreen issues to iPhone 8 users who have opted for aftermarket screens. Gault notes that a third-party repairing source is usually cheaper than an authorised source and sometimes it’s the only effective option. However, Apple doesn’t encourage its customers to opt for a third-party source.

It is believed that iOS 11.3 is making the iPhone screen unresponsive through a microchip that powers the display. Third-party screen suppliers are said to have already worked out the issue by upgrading the chip. However, this process requires re-opening of the faulty iPhone. “This has caused my company over 2,000 reshipments,” Aakshay Kripalani, CEO of Injured Gadgets, told Motherboard. “Customers are annoyed and it seems like Apple is doing this to prevent customers from doing third-party repair.”

Apple hasn’t clarified whether the issue is intentional or accidental. Moreover, it is so far spotted that only aftermarket iPhone 8 displays are not responding to touch inputs after installing iOS 11.3. This means if you own an older iPhone model, you can opt for a third-party repair, if you so desire.

Source: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/ios-11-3-update-aftermarket-iphone-8-displays-unresponsive-1835846

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Leaks Suggest 6.4-Inch Display, 4000mAh Battery

Samsung is expected to launch its Galaxy Note 9 flagship smartphone sooner than usual this year. While there have been several leaks surrounding the upcoming smartphone, the biggest doubt is regarding the introduction of an in-display fingerprint sensors. While some reports has said that the South Korean giant will launch the Galaxy Note 9 with the new technology, some have debunked the rumours. However, the latest rumours are not regarding the in-display sensor, but about the display itself. Rumours claim that the Galaxy Note 9 will sport a bigger 6.4-inch screen. Also, a report has suggested that the handset will pack a larger 4000mAh battery.

A popular tipster posted on Twitter that the Galaxy Note 9 will come with a 6.4-inch display instead of the 6.3-inch screen, Sammobile notes. The smartphone is expected to sport the Infinity Display 2.0 design that debuted with the Galaxy S9, the handset should come with slightly trimmed bezels compared to the Galaxy Note 8. While the change may be small, it will widen the difference between Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy S9+.

Also, as per another tipster, the Galaxy Note 9 will sport a larger than usual battery. The smartphone may come with either a 3850mAh battery unit or Samsung could be preparing a 4000mAh unit as well. If the rumours turn out to be true, it would be the largest ever on a premium Galaxy smartphone, and definitely bigger than the 3300mAh battery in the Galaxy Note 8.

To recap what we know so far, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 recently received an official support page on some country-specific websites. The handset is expected to pack a Snapdragon 845 SoC, coupled with 6GB of RAM, and runs Android 8.1 Oreo

Source: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/samsung-galaxy-note-9-6-4-inch-display-4000mah-battery-specifications-1836475

This upcoming Android phone didn’t just beat the iPhone X’s benchmark scores, it crushed them

Apple’s iPhone lineup has a long history of confusing Android fans. By that, we mean that new iPhone specs don’t typically appear all too impressive on paper. They always have processors with fewer cores and lower clock speeds than the latest Android flagships, and they typically have less RAM as well. Despite the edge Android phones have always had on paper, iPhones have absolutely crushed every Android-powered rival in real-life speed tests and in benchmark tests. In fact, previous-generation iPhone models typically beat brand new Android phones in these tests, that’s how far ahead of the competition Apple’s iPhones have always been… until now.

Android phone makers and key component suppliers like Qualcomm have made huge strides over the past year. Couple that with RAM management problems and other performance issues in iOS 11, and a changing of the guard has taken place that continues to surprise us all.

Apple’s latest iPhones continue to have the edge in some key areas. For example, no Android phone on the planet comes anywhere close to touching the iPhone 8 or iPhone X where single-core processor performance is concerned. But multiple Android flagships have managed to top Apple’s iPhone in some important benchmark tests like AnTuTu. What’s more, several recent Android phones have managed to outperform the iPhone 8 and iPhone X in real-world speed tests, which is something we never thought we would see happen.

Moving back to the AnTuTu benchmark test, a score achieved by an upcoming Android phone has absolutely obliterated Apple’s latest iPhones. The iPhone 8 and iPhone X were among the first phones in the world to ever score more than 200,000 on AnTuTu’s popular test, and we’ve seen their scores climb as high as nearly 230,000. That’s impressive, of course, but it’s nothing compared to the upcoming Huawei Mate 20.

A new leak from Chinese tech news blog CNMO supposedly reveals AnTuTu benchmark scores for the Mate 20, which is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin 980 chipset. How did the phone do? Well, see for yourself:

Source: http://bgr.com/2018/04/10/iphone-x-vs-android-huawei-mate-20-benchmarks/