This week Optiemus launched the BlackBerry Evolve and EvolveX smartphones in India, Honor introduced the Note 10 smartphone, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab S4 and the new Tab A 2018 10.5″, Motorola introduced the Moto Z3, and lots more from this week in our weekly roundup.
Optiemus launched the BlackBerry Evolve and EvolveX smartphones in India, as expected. Both the phones have a 5.99-inch Full HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, run Android 8.1 (Oreo) with secured DTEK app and feature a 16-megapixel front camera.
The Evolve is powered by Snapdragon 450 with 4GB of RAM and dual 13-megapixel rear cameras, while the EvolveX is powered by Snapdragon 660 with 6GB of RAM, and has a 12-megapixel rear camera along with a secondary 13-megapixel camera with real-time depth of field effect for portrait shots. These pack a 4000mAh battery and the Blackberry EvolveX also comes with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support and wireless charging. These come with soft touch back panel and grade 7 aluminium frame, and have a fingerprint sensor on the back.
The BlackBerry Evolve and EvolveX are priced at Rs. 24990 and Rs. 34990, respectively and will go on sale exclusively on Amazon.in with EvolveX available from end of August and BlackBerry Evolve available from mid-September 2018.
Huawei’s Honor brand announced the Honor Note 10 smartphone, as it had promised. It has a 6.95-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with HDR10 support along with AI image quality enhancement that promises 20% increase in quality, dual speakers and Dolby Atmos audio experience. It is powered by Kirin 970 SoC with up to 8GB RAM and CPU Turbo, GPU Turbo and Double Turbo mode with a dedicated hardware button to launch it, for an ultimate performance.
It has a 24-megapixel rear camera along with a 16-megapixel secondary camera, with AI scene recognition and the 13-megapixel front camera also comes with intelligent scene recognition. The Turbo button also doubles up as the camera shutter button. It features a 5000mAh battery with support for 5V/4.5A super fast charging technology.
It comes in Midnight Black and Phantom Blue colors, starts at 2799 yuan (US$ 409 / ₹ 28,115 approx.) for the 6GB RAM with 64GB version and is already on sale in China.
Motorola introduced the Moto Z3, the company’s latest flagship smartphone in the Moto Z series with support for Moto Mods, as expected. It has a 6-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display, is powered by Snapdragon 835 SoC with 4GB of RAM, has 12-megapixel dual rear cameras with depth-sensing AI photo features.
It has Corning Gorilla Glass protection on the front and back and lightweight, aircraft-grade 6000 series aluminum frame. It has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, but it doesn’t have a home button the bottom. The phone supports Moto Display, Moto Actions and packs a 3000mAh battery with support for Turbo charging.
It also introduced 5G moto mod with built-in 2000mAh battery that will make the Z3 world’s first smartphone with access to Verizon’s 5G Network when it launches in select areas in 2019. Motorola said that it has partnered with Qualcomm to achieve this utilizing the flagship Snapdragon X50 modem and millimeter wave components. After the Z3, the Moto Z2 will get support for 5G.
It comes in Ceramic Black color, is priced at $480 (₹ 32,940 approx.) in retail or on contract at $20 a month for 24 months exclusively through Verizon starting on August 16. The 5G moto mod will be available in the US exclusively in early 2019, but no details about its pricing.
Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab S4. It has a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED WQXGA screen, is powered by a Octa-Core Snapdragon 835 SoC and runs on Android 8.1 (Oreo). It has quad-stereo speakers tuned by AKG by HARMAN, similar to the predecessor and comes with an an enhanced S Pen. It has got rid of the fingerprint scanner and the home button on the front for Iris scanner. It comes in Black and White colors, and starts at $649.99 (₹ 44,400 approx.) and will be available in the US from August 10, 2018.
Samsung also introduced the Galaxy Tab A (2018) with a 10.5-inch WUXGA display. It is powered by Snapdragon 450 with 3GB of RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) and comes with quad-speakers built into each corner of the tablet with support from Dolby Atmos. It packs a huge 7,300mAh battery. It comes in Black, Blue and Grey colors, is priced at €329 (US$ 383 / ₹ 26,195 approx.) for the Wi-Fi version and will roll out starting from August 24th.
After the launch of Galaxy J8 smartphones in the ‘J Series’ in India recently, Samsung launched its online-only version, the Galaxy On8 (2018) in the country. It has similar specifications, but it costs Rs. 16,990, cheaper compared to the J8. It will be available exclusively from Flipkart and Samsung Shop online starting August 6th.
OPPO this week launched the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage version of the A3s smartphone in India for Rs. 13990, soon after the launch of 2GB RAM with 16GB storage version. It is now available from offline stores, and should be available from Flipkart as well soon.
Infinix launched Smart 2, the company’s latest smartphone in its new ‘Smart series’ in India. It has a 5.45-inch HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display, is powered by MediaTek MT6739 with up to 3GB of RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) with XOS 3.3 on top, has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and 8-megapixel front camera with dual LED flash.
It lacks a fingerprint sensor, but it comes with face unlock that can unlock the phone in 0.3 seconds. It features dedicated dual SIM slots and a microSD card slot, Dual 4G VoLTE and packs a 3050mAh battery. It comes in Sandstone Black, Serene Gold, Bordeaux Red and City Blue colors, is priced at Rs. Rs 5,999 for the 2GB RAM with 16GB storage version and the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version costs Rs 6,999. It will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting from August 10th.
Vietnam-based Mobiistar forayed into the Indian market with the XQ Dual and CQ selfie smartphones back in May. This week it launched five new selfie smartphones – C1 Lite, C1, C2, E1 Selfie and X1 Dual in the country for the offline market. The Mobiistar C1 Lite, C1, C2, E1 Selfie and X1 Dual will be available at ₹ 4,340, ₹ 5,400, ₹ 6,300 ₹ 8,400 and ₹ 10,500, respectively, and will be available through 600 distributors across the country.
Sony launched new HT-S500RF and HT-S700RF Home Cinema Soundbar Systems with Bluetooth in India. Sony said that these come with exclusive India sound setting offering powerful bass sound with clear vocal sound. These offer 1000W output with high volume boxes using tweeters and rhombus-shaped high aperture ratio grill. Special tweets in these model reproduce high frequency sounds offering the perfect audio experience.
The Sony HT-S500RF and HT-S700R are priced at Rs. 29,990 and Rs. 37,990, respectively and will be available through all Sony Centers, major electronic stores across India and on e-portals like Amazon and Flipkart from August 10th.
LG announced new Signature Edition smartphone, the company’s latest premium smartphone in the ‘LG SIGNATURE’ series and the successor of last year’s Signature Edition in Korea. It is made of premium materials such as zirconium ceramic back cover that prevents scratches. Customers can also engrave their name on the back of the phone, similar to the predecessor. It comes in Black and White colors. The company will make only 300 phones and will start selling it from 13th August for 1,999,800 won (US$ 1,790 / ₹ 1,22,820 approx.) after taking pre-orders. It also comes with a free Bang & Olufsen (B & O) Beoplay H9i headphones.
1MORE launched Triple Driver Over-Ear Headphones in India. The company has collaborated with internationally acclaimed Grammy Award Winning producer, mixer, and sound engineer Luca Bignardi to perfect the final tuning. It is priced at Rs. 19,999 and comes with a 1-year warranty and is available at India.1more.com and many leading stores across India. Those who pre-order can get a flat 25% discount by using the code: 1MORE25.
Qin AI Phone, a new 4G VoLTE feature phone is now available for order from Xiaomi’s crowd funding platform in China. It has a 2.8-inch QVGA color display with T9 keyboard and runs Android-based Mocor 5 OS. The main highlight of the smartphone its AI voice features that promises real-time voice translation in 17 languages. It comes in Black and White colors, is available for pre-order from Xiaomi’s crowdfunding platform for 199 yuan (US$ 29 / ₹ 1,990 approx.), and is expected to start shipping from September 15, 2018.
iBall launched the Aasaan 4, the latest addition to the Aasaan series. The Aasaan series phones are targeted at senior citizens. The company says that the Aasaan4 focuses on the holistic needs of seniors with a bigger screen. It is priced at Rs. 3,499 and is already available offline.