This week Samsung has introduced J6, Galaxy J8, A6, and Galaxy A6+ smartphones in India. Huawei’s Honor brand has launched the Honor 7A and 7C smartphones in India. LG has announced the Q7, Q7+, and Q7α. Let’s take a look at the more stuff that happened this week in our weekly roundup.
Samsung has launched the Galaxy J6 and Galaxy J8, the company’s latest smartphone in the ‘J Series’ in India, as expected. The Galaxy J6 and J8 have 5.6-inch and 6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED 18.5: 9 Infinity 2.5D curved glass displays. The J6 is powered by an Octa-Core Exynos 7870 14nm SoC, while the J8 comes with Snapdragon 450 with up to 4GB of RAM. Both the phones run Android 8.0 (Oreo) with Samsung’s own UI on top.
The Samsung Galaxy J6 and J8 come in Black, Gold and Blue colors. The Galaxy J6 is priced at Rs. 13,990 for the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version and the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage version costs Rs.16,490. It will be available starting from May 22nd exclusively on Flipkart as well as Samsung Shop, Paytm Mall with cashback and Rs. 1500 cashback on ICICI bank cards as well as one-time screen replacement offer. The Galaxy J8 is priced at Rs. 18,990 and will be available from July.
Samsung along with the new J series smartphones also launched the Galaxy A6 smartphones that were introduced earlier this month. Both the phones come with Super AMOLED Infinity displays with 18.5:9 screen ratio, but the A6 comes with a 5.6-inch HD+ screen while the A6+ features a 6-inch FHD+ screen.
Both the phones have a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/1.7 aperture, and the A6+ also has a secondary 5-megapixel rear camera with Live Focus mode that lets you control the depth of field and bokeh effect before or even after the shot is taken. The Galaxy A6 has a 16-megapixel front camera and the A6+ features a 24-megapixel front camera, both with LED flash.
The Samsung Galaxy A6 and A6+ come in Black, Blue and Golden colors. The Galaxy A6 is priced at Rs. 21,990 for the 32GB storage version, and the 64GB storage version costs Rs. 22,990. The Galaxy A6+ costs Rs. 25,990 and comes only in 64GB storage version. Both these will be available exclusively from Amazon.in starting from tomorrow, May 22nd.
Samsung has also introduced the rumored Galaxy S8 Lite smartphone as Samsung Galaxy S Lite Luxury Edition (SM-G8750) in China. It has a 5.8-inch Full HD+ Infinity display, is powered by Snapdragon 660 with 4GB RAM, comes with a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front camera, both with f/1.7 aperture. It runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) with Samsung’s own experience UI on top.
The Samsung Galaxy S Light Luxury Edition comes in Black and Burgundy Red colors, is priced at 3699 yuan (US$ 579 / Rs. 39,410 approx.) for a limited period when it goes on pre-order from today before it goes on sale on June 1st. After that, it will cost 3999 yuan (US$ 625 / Rs. 42,600 approx.).
LG has also announced Q7, the company’s latest smartphone in the ‘Q series’ and the successor of last year’s Q6. It has the same 5.5-inch FHD+ FullVision Display and packs the same 3,000mAh built-in battery, but this is powered by a new 1.5GHz Octa-core / 1.8 GHz Octa-core SoC and runs Android 8.0 (Oreo). The top-end Q7+ comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, as well as a 16-megapixel rear cameras, while the Q7 and budget Q7α features a 13-megapixel rear camera, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.
The LG Q7 and Q7+ come in Aurora Black, Moroccan Blue, and Lavender Violet colors, and the Q7α comes only in Moroccan Blue color. The new Q7 series will roll out starting from Europe from early next month, followed by countries in the Americas and Asia. No word on the pricing yet.
Honor launched the Honor 7A and Honor 7C, the company’s latest budget smartphones in the ‘7 series’ in India, as it had promised. Both the phones have a 5.7-inch and 5.99-inch 18:9 FullView 2.5D curved glass displays, respectively, come with a 13-megapixel rear camera along with a 2-megapixel secondary camera to capture depth information in portrait shots. There is also an 8-megapixel front camera with LED flash on both the phones.
Razer has announced the new Razer Blade laptop and Core X Thunderbolt 3. The new Razer Blade laptop comes with a 15.6-inch display, 8th Gen Intel Core processor and according to the company, it is the world’s smallest 15.6-inch Gaming Laptop. The Razer Blade packs a 15.6-inches Full HD display with 144 Hz refresh rate, while the 4K display variant comes with multi-touch functionality and 100% Adobe RGB color support.
It is powered by the Intel Core i7-8750H (8th Gen) processor, 2.2 GHz with Turbo Boost Upto 4.1 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q Design/ NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q Design. The Razer Blade laptop base variant with 15.6-inch Full HD 60Hz display starts at $1,899.99 (Rs. 1,29,138 approx.) While the same model with 144Hz display starts at $2,199.99 (Rs. 1,49,610 approx.). The Razer Blade laptop with 4K display costs $2,899.99 (1,97,213 approx.).
Razer also introduced the Core X is a Thunderbolt 3 external graphics enclosure for gaming-grade performance. The company announced that Razer Core series of external graphics enclosures including the Core V2 and Core X is now compatible with Mac laptops with Thunderbolt 3. It transforms integrated graphics laptops into desktop-class gaming machines by adding an external graphics card. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac. The Razer Core X is now available to order in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China. It is priced at $299 (Rs. 20,332 approx.).
Comio has launched X1 Note, the company’s latest mid-range smartphone in the ‘X series’ in India. It has a 6-inch Full HD+ 18:9 display, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek processor with 3GB of RAM, runs Android 8.0 (Oreo), has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash along with a 5-megapixel secondary rear camera to capture depth information for portrait shots. There is an 8-megapixel front camera as well with LED flash.
The Comio X1 Note comes in Royal Blue and Sunrise Gold colors, is priced at Rs. 9999, and will be available through Snapdeal, Flipkart, Amazon India, ShopClues, Paytm as well as through retail stores across the country.
Vietnam-based Mobiistar has forayed into the Indian market with the XQ Dual. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, is powered by Octa-Core Snapdragon 430 Mobile Platform with 3GB of RAM and runs Android 7.1 (Nougat). The main highlight of the smartphone is its 13-megapixel front camera and an 8-megapixel secondary front camera with 120-degree wide-angle lens. The Mobiistar XQ Dual comes in Black and Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 7999 and will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting from May 30th. The company says it will have 1000 service centers across India from Day 1. Check out the review here.
Mobiistar has also launched the CQ, a budget selfie smartphone in India. It has a 5-inch HD screen, is powered by a quad-core Snapdragon 425 SoC with 2GB of RAM, runs Android 7.1 (Nougat), has an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 13-megapixel camera on the front with face beauty. The Mobiistar CQ comes in Black and Golden colors and is priced at Rs. 4999 and will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting from May 30th.
HTC has officially introduced its flagship U12+smartphone. It has a 6-inch QHD+ display with support for HDR10, Corning Gorilla Glass protection, is powered by Snapdragon 845 with 6GB of RAM, runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) with HTC Sense UI, has a 12MP Wide-angle rear camera with HTC UltraPixel 4, OIS along with a 16MP Telephoto camera. There is also 8MP dual front camera 84° field of view, Bokeh mode, AR sticker, Face unlock.
The HTC U12+ comes in Translucent Blue, Ceramic Black and Flame Red colors, is priced at $799 (Rs. 54,630 approx.) for the 64GB storage version and the 128GB storage version costs $849 (Rs. 58, 050 approx.). It is available for pre-order in the U.S. and Europe and ships later this month or early next month depending on the region.
Acer has announced a bunch of products including the Predator Helios gaming notebooks, Swift 5 Notebook, Chromebooks, Predator Orion Gaming Desktops, and Nitro 50 Desktops at its New York event. Except for the Chromebooks, all these products are powered by the Windows 10. The Predator Helios 500 gaming notebooks will be available in North America in June starting at $1,999 (Rs. 1,36,641 approx.). It is also scheduled to be available in markets like EMEA and China. The Acer Chromebook Spin 15(CP315-1H) will be available in North America in July starting at $449, and in EMEA in June starting at €449.
The Acer Chromebook 15 (CB315-1H/1HT) will be available in North America in July starting at $349, and in EMEA in June starting at €399. The Predator Orion 5000 gaming desktops will be available in North America in July starting at $1,499 (Rs. 1,02,464 approx.) The Predator Orion 3000 gaming desktops will be available in North America in October starting at $999 (Rs. 68,286 approx.). The Acer Nitro 50 gaming desktops will be available in North America in July starting at $799 (Rs. 54,615 approx).
iVOOMi has launched iVooMi i2, the company’s latest budget smartphone in India. It has a 5.45-inch HD+ display, is powered by MT6739 SoC with 3GB of RAM, it has a 13-megapixel rear camera with a secondary 2-megapixel rear camera to capture depth information for portrait shots with bokeh effects. It has an 8-megapixel front camera with LED flash, face unlock. The iVooMi i2 comes in Bronze Gold, Olive Black, and Indigo Blue colors and is priced at Rs. 7499 and is available exclusively from Flipkart.
HARMAN International has launched the JBL GO 2 in India. It is a portable, compact Bluetooth speaker that is waterproof with the IPX7 rating. Since it is Bluetooth, users can wirelessly stream music or with a wired connection from any smartphone or tablet. The company claims that it can last up to 5 hours on continuous playtime. It also comes with built-in echo and noise canceling speakerphone offering crystal clear phone call experience. The JBL GO 2 is priced at Rs. 2,999 and is available at various retail stores and chains, and at 350 key Samsung brand stores across the country.
Samsung in partnership with SK Telecom has announced the Wide 3 smartphone which like its predecessor will be exclusive to South Korea. The Galaxy Wide 3 sports a 5.5-inch HD display, and packs a 13MP rear camera. The Samsung Galaxy Wide 3 is powered by an Octa-Core processor, packs 2GB of RAM with 32GB storage. It runs on Android Oreo right out of the box. The Samsung Galaxy Wide 3 will be available in silver and black colors and is priced at 297,000 won ($275 or Rs. 18,829 approx.). The phone is already available.
Vivo announced Z1, the company’s latest smartphone in the new ‘Z series’ in China. It comes with a 6.26-inch FHD+ 19:9 2.5D curved glass display with a notch, 90% screen-to-body ratio and narrow bezels. It is powered by Snapdragon 660 AIE with 4GB RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Funtouch OS 4.0 on top and features a 13-megapixel rear camera along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera to capture the depth information for portrait shots. The Vivo Z1 comes in Black, Red and Blue colors, is priced at 1798 yuan (US$ 280 / Rs. 19,215 approx.), available for order from today and goes on sale from June 4th in China.
Xiaomi has introduced four new Mi TV 4 models Mi TV 4S 55-inch curved 4K HDR TV, Mi TV 4X 55-inch and Mi TV 4S 43-inch 4K HDR TVs and Mi TV 4C 32-inch HD TV in China. All these have PatchWall, on top of the Android OS that’s based on deep learning AI technology that can curate content based on recommendations and also has DTS Audio.
The Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 55-inch curved, Mi TV 4X 55-inch, Mi TV 4S 43-inch and Mi TV 4C 32-inch are priced at 3299 yuan (US$ 516 / Rs. 34,990 approx.) , 2799 yuan (US$ 438 / Rs. 29,690 approx.) , 1799 yuan (US$ 281 / Rs. 19,085 approx.) and 999 yuan (US$ 156 / Rs. 10,600 approx.), respectively and will go on sale in China from May 31st.
Vivo also announced Y83 smartphone and it sports a 6.22-inch HD+ screen with 19:9 aspect ratio and minimal bezels, and it is the world’s first smartphone to be powered by MediaTek’s latest Helio P22 Octa-Core 12nm SoC that was introduced earlier this week. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, and an 8-megapixel front camera with AI beauty features and face unlock. The Vivo Y83 Aurora White, Black, and Red colors and is priced at 1498 yuan (US$ 234 / Rs. 15,890 approx.).
Meizu has announced M8c, the company’s latest budget smartphone and the successor of last year’s M5c in Russia. It has a 5.45-inch HD+ 2.5D curved glass screen with 18:9 aspect ratio, is powered by Snapdragon 425 with 2GB of RAM, runs Android 7.0 (Nougat), comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel camera on the front. The Meizu M8c comes in Black, Blue, Red and Gold colors, starts at 9,990 rubles (US$ 160 / Rs. 10,900 approx.) in Russia and is expected to go on sale in other countries soon.