Motorola Razr Gen. 2 with Snapdragon 765, 5G connectivity said to be in the works [Update: New render]

Update: July 27, 2020 A new render of the phone reveals the design of the 2020 Razr model codenamed Odyssey. This reveals similar design as the predecessor, but the fingerprint on the bottom chin is missing.

Motorola’s first attempt at entering the foldable smartphone market with the Razr wasn’t exactly successful, with design flaws and creaking hinges. However, they appear to be dedicated with that form factor as details and specs of Motorola Razr Gen. 2 has surfaced.

The next generation Motorola Razr will have the code name “smith” and model name “XT2071-4”. It is said to be powered by the mid range Qualcomm Snapdragon 765, have 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and a bigger 2,845mAh battery. It will also integrate the Snapdragon X52 modem for sub-6GHz 5G connectivity.

The camera was a weak performer in the first Motorola Razr, and they might upgrade the next phone with a Samsung 48MP ISOCELL Bright GM1 sensor and 20MP sensor for the front camera. Out of the box it will run Android 10 and like before, there will be many enhancements focused around the Quick view Display.

There is no word on a release date for the device yet nor do we know about any design and price changes. The leaks have just begun, and we should start knowing more about it soon.

Google Pixel 4a said to be unveiled on August 3

Update — July 27  2020: According to a new tweet from leaker Jon Prosser, the Pixel 4a announcement will happen on August 3rd, after being pushed for several times.

Update — May 13, 2020: According to a new tweet from leaker Jon Prosser, the Pixel 4a announcement might happen on July 13th, but sale might happen only on October 22. It might only come in Black and the Barely Blue might have been scrapped.

Update — May 21, 2020: According to the tweet from leaker Jon Prosser, the Pixel 4a launch is delayed again. It was expected to be introduced in June at the Android 11 beta launch, now the launch is reportedly pushed to July 13th. There will only be a 4G version, and he also said that there are no proofs of a Pixel 4a XL model, so we might see only the smaller 4a. He added that Google is ready to ship, but the company has not decided to launch it next month based on the market analysis.

Earlier — May 13, 2020:Renders of the Google Pixel 4a surfaced last year, and live images with specifications surfaced in March, and even the retail box of the phone surfaced last month. Earlier rumours said that the Pixel 4a will be introduced by the end of May with shipping date of May 22nd, now a new report says that the phone has been delayed until June with the shipping date of June 5, 2020 according to Vodafone Germany.

This hints that the Pixel 4a might be introduced at the Android 11 Beta launch shows that Google has scheduled for June 3rd. To remind you, the Pixel 3a series were introduced at the Google I/O event last year starting at $399 but it was launched in India starting at Rs. 39999. This year’s Pixel 4a  might cost more in India due increase in GST.

Google Pixel 4a rumored specifications

• 5.81-inch (1080 x 2340 pixels) FHD+ OLED 18.5:9 display, 443 PPI, HDR support
• Octa Core (2.2GHz Dual + 1.8GHz Hexa) Snapdragon 730 Mobile Platform with Adreno 618 GPU, Titan M security chip
• 6GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64GB / 128GB (UFS 2.1) storage
• Android 10
• 12.2MP rear camera with LED flash, Dual PD autofocus, OIS, EIS, 4K video recording at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps and 720p at up to 240fps
• 8MP front camera with 84° ultra-wide lens
• Dual SIM (optional)
• Fingerprint sensor
• 3.5mm audio jack, 2 microphones
• 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac 2x2MIMO (2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 5 LE, GPS, USB Type-C Gen 1, NFC
• 3080mAh battery with 18W fast charging

Vivo V19 gets a price cut in India within months of launch, now starts at Rs. 24990

After delays, Vivo V19 smartphone was launched by the company a couple of months back in India starting at Rs. 27,990. Within two months of launch,  both the variants of the Vivo V19 have got a price cut of up to Rs. 4000 in India.

The vivo V19 8GB+128GB variant is now priced at Rs. 24,990, against its launch price of Rs. 27,990 and the 8GB+256GB variant is now priced at Rs. 27,990, against its launch price of Rs. 31,990. The base variant has got a price cut of Rs. 3000 and the top-end variant has got a Rs. 4000 price cut. The revised price is already reflecting on vivo India e-store, Flipkart, Amazon, and should be revised in offline stores as well.

Smartphone	Old Price	New Price	Price Cut
vivo V19 (8GB+128GB)	Rs. 27,990	Rs. 24,990	Rs. 3000
vivo V19 (8GB+256GB)	Rs. 31,990	Rs. 27,990	Rs. 4000

To recall, the vivo V19 sports a 6.44-inch FULL HD+ Super AMOLED Ultra-O display that houses a 32MP camera and an 8MP ultra-wide camera. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 SoC paired with 8GB of RAM, Copper Tube Liquid Cooling for heat dissipation and features a glass sandwich design. The phone packs a 48MP main camera along with an 8MP wide-angle cameras, as well as 2MP depth and a 2MP macro sensor. It runs on Funtouch OS 10 based on Android 10 and packs a 4500mAh battery with support for 33W vivo FlashCharge 2.0 through USB Type-C port.

Nubia RedMagic 5S with 6.65-inch FHD+ 144Hz AMOLED display, Snapdragon 865 5G, up to 16GB RAM announced

ZTE’s nubia brand just announced the RedMagic 5S, the company’s latest flagship smartphone as it had promised. It packs a 6.65-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate, follow-up response time of 14.9ms, a sliding response time of 45ms, and a click response time of 32.2ms. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 865  with GPU BOOST technology and up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM.

It comes with upgraded multi-dimensional cooling system ICE 4.0 (air-cooling + liquid-cooling) with high-efficiency centrifugal fan with a speed of up to 15,000 rpm + transparent air duct design along with aerospace-grade nano thermal material as well as 10 intelligent temperature sensors, and L-shaped liquid cooling tube.  It offers 4D intelligent vibration, features dual IC game Shoulder Trigger Buttons that have also been improved to have 320Hz touch refresh rate compared to 300Hz in the predecessor.

The phone has biometric In-screen fingerprint scanner, comes with 64MP Sony IMX686 main camera, along with a 8MP wide angle lens, and a 2MP Bokeh lens, and a 12 MP front camera. It packs a 4,500mAh battery with 55W fast charging with air-cooled turbo fast charge that can charge the phone up to 68% in 20 minutes, and 100% in 39 minutes. It has also released Ice Dock cooling accessory.

Nubia RedMagic 5S specifications

• 6.65-inch (1080 × 2340 pixels) Full HD+ 19.5:9 AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh rate
• 2.84GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 865 7nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 650 GPU
• 8GB /12GB / 16GB LPDDR5 RAM with 128GB / 256GB (UFS 3.1) internal memory
• Android 10 with Redmagic OS
• 64MP rear camera with 1/1.72″ Sony IMX686 sensor, 0.8μm pixel size, f/1.8 aperture, LED flash, PDAF, 8MP 120-degree ultra-wide lens, 2MP macro camera
• 8MP front-facing camera
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Dimensions:168.56×78×9.75mm ; Weight: 220g
• 5G NSA /SA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6 802.11 ax (2.4GHz + 5GHz + 5.8GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
• 4500mAh battery with 55W fast charging

The nubia RedMagic 5S comes in Sonic Silver and  Pulse colours, is priced at 3799 yuan (US$ 542 / Rs. 40,630 approx.) for the 8GB RAM with 128GB storage version, 4399 yuan (US$ 628 / Rs. 47,035 approx.) for the 12GB RAM with 256GB storage version and the 16GB RAM with 256GB storage version costs 4999 yuan (US$ 714 / Rs. 53,450 approx.). The Ice dock is priced at 179 yuan (US$ 25.5 / Rs. 1,915 approx.).

Amazfit Bip S Lite with 1.28-inch color touch display, up to 30 days battery life launched in India for Rs. 3799

Huami has officially launched the Amazfit Bip S Lite, a cheaper version of the BIP S smartwatch in India, as it had promised. It has a 1.28-inch colourful transflective display true offering bright colors with 64 Gamut and easily readable outdoors even under bright sunlight. The BIP S Lite integrates Huami-PAI, indicator of personal activity that gives you details about your heart health and overall fitness, helping you reach or maintain your personal best.

The smartwatch has 5 ATM water resistance, battery life of up to 30 days, Bluetooth music control, but lacks built-in GPS which the BIP S has. It is equipped with 8 sports modes including Treadmill, Outdoor running, Walking, Indoor cycling, Outdoor cycling and more. Huami said that its self-developed optical sensor provides high-precision continuous heart rate tracking, heart rate warning and heart rate interval values.

Amazfit Bip S Lite features and specifications

• 1.28-inch ( 176 x 176 pixels) colour Always-on reflective touch display with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection + AF coating provides at-a-glance view for time, date, steps, weather, sports stats etc.
• Receive notifications for calls, messages, emails, weather and other apps on the always-on colour touch display
• 8 sports modes (Treadmill, Outdoor running, Walking, Indoor cycling, Outdoor cycling, Yoga, Elliptical trainer, Freestyle.)
• Optical heart rate sensor for heart rate zones, Tri-axis Accelerometer + Tri-axis Gyro
• Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Compatible with Android and iOS
• PAI health analysis
• Control music on the phone
• Water-resistant up to 50 meters (5ATM)
• Amazfit OS; Compatibility: Android 5.0 or iOS 10.0 and above
• Dimensions: 42 x 35.3 x 11.4mm Weight: 30 grams with strap and 18 grams without strap
• 200mAh battery with up to 30 days battery life with basic use, 30 days standby

The Amazfit Bip S Lite comes in Charcoal Black, Oxford Blue, and Sakura Pink colours, is priced at Rs. 3,799 and is available from Flipkart as well as in.amazfit.com as a part of flash sale

Samsung launches Referral Program, Student Program and Shop 20K Advantage initiative in India

Samsung’s online store has seen a surge in traffic and sales during the last few months, as the pandemic has forced people to buy products online. To celebrate their customers in India, Samsung is launching three new initiatives – the Samsung Referral Program, the Student Program and the Shop 20K Advantage initiative.

With the Samsung Referral program, a referrer can an help their friends and family get exciting rewards (up to 8% off) on purchase of a range of  mobile and consumer electronics products when purchased via Samsung.com. The referrer will also get up to Rs.1500 per successful transaction. The program is applicable on 15+ devices, which include smartphones, tablets and wearables.

The Student program is designed to give student community access to a special catalogue of products consisting smartphones, tablets, wearable and accessories, all of which will be at a special price along with services like complimentary insurance, easy exchange and convenient EMI options. To enter the program, students must sign in via their official college email id or be validated by an authorized student credentials verification agency.

And finally, the Shop 20K Advantage initiative will offer the following:

• Samsung Shop App users get the opportunity to unlock 10 shopping vouchers worth INR 20000 in total value by registering on the Samsung Shop App with their contact details
• These vouchers bring the best of Samsung’s cross-category portfolio to consumers. There is one voucher for each of the following categories – Smartphones, Televisions, Washing Machines, Refrigerators, Microwaves, Tablets, Smartwatches, True Wireless Audio, Accessories & Harman/JBL products
• Each voucher gives a consumer up to INR 2000 shopping benefit, depending on transaction value and category and is valid for 365 days

Commenting on these initiatives, Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India, said:

As India’s largest consumer electronics company, we are constantly innovating to create new shopper journeys and consumer affordability programs to make Samsung.com the most exciting destination for consumers. The innovative programs address existing loyal Samsung consumers and first time users including the young tech savvy student community that is looking to access the latest technology across product categories. For Samsung, the Online Store (Samsung.com) is a key focus area for growth and we are targeting 10% of our overall business in mobiles and consumer electronics through this important channel

HONOR 9A listed on Amazon India for Rs. 11,999 ahead of launch on July 31

HONOR is all set to launch its HONOR 9A, HONOR 9S, and HONOR MagicBook 15 laptop in India on 31st July after it was announced in Russia back in April this year. A day before the official launch in India, Amazon has jumped the gun and listed the HONOR 9A on its site and has started accepting orders too.

HONOR 9A (3GB+64GB) variant in Phantom Blue color has been listed on Amazon.in for Rs. 11,999 and the e-commerce site has started accepting orders already. The product page also reveals that the HONOR 9A is available to ship in 1-2 days. It is to be seen if Rs. 11,999 is the actual price of the HONOR 9A in India or if it just a placeholder. However, with Amazon India accepting orders already, that could be the actual price of the HONOR 9A in India. Nonetheless, we should know more information soon.

In case you missed, here are the specifications of the HONOR 9A

Honor 9A specifications

• 6.3-inch (1600 × 720 pixels) HD+ 20:9 display
• Octa-Core MediaTek Helio P22 (MT6762R) 12nm processor with IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPU
• 3GB RAM, 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 512GB with microSD
• Android 10 with Magic UI 3.0.1
• Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD)
• 13MP camera with f/1.8 aperture, LED flash, 5MP ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture, 2MP depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture
• 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture
• Dimensions: 159.07 × 74.06 × 9.04; Weight: 185g
• Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/GLONASS, Micro USB Port
• 5000mAh (Typical) / 4900mAh (Minimum) battery