Weekly Roundup: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Note 5 Pro, Mi TV 4, Moto Z2 Force and more


This week Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 5 series of phones and also launched the most-expected Mi TV 4 in India, Motorola launched the Moto Z2 Force with TurboPower Mod, OPPO launched the A71 (2018) Edition, and lots most in our weekly roundup.

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 5 with 5.99-inch FHD+ 18:9 full-screen display, Snapdragon 625 with up to 4GB of RAM, Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) with MIUI 9.2, 12-megapixel rear camera with 1.25μm pixel size sensor, dual-tone LED flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera with selfie flash, fingerprint sensor on the back and a 4000mAh battery.

It comes in Black, Gold, Rose Gold and Lake Blue colors, is priced at Rs. 9999 for the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version and the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage version costs Rs. 11,999.

It will be available exclusively from Flipkart as well as Mi.com and Mi Home Stores starting from February 22nd. It also comes with Rs. 2200 cashback offer and 100% additional 4G data for Reliance Jio customers.

Along with the Redmi Note 5, Xiaomi also launched the Redmi Note 5 Pro.It has the same 5.99-inch Full HD+ 2.5D curved glass screen and runs Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) with MIUI 9.2 on top, but this is powered by Snapdragon 636 SoC with up to 6GB RAM, has a 12-megapixel primary rear camera with 1.25μm pixel size sensor, dual-tone LED flash, same as the Redmi Note 5, but this also comes with a secondary 5-megapixel camera to capture the depth information for background blur.

It also has a 20-megapixel front-facing camera with selfie flash and offers A.I based portrait selfies. It will get Face unlock  via OTA update by the end of March. It has a fingerprint sensor on the back and packs a 4000mAh battery, same as the Redmi Note 5.

It comes in Black, Gold, Rose Gold and Blue colors, is priced at Rs. 13999 for the 4GB RAM version and the 6GB RAM version costs Rs. 16,999. It will be available exclusively on Flipkart as well as Mi.com and Mi Home Stores starting from February 22nd. It also comes with Rs. 2200 cashback offer and 100% additional 4G data for Reliance Jio customers.

Xiaomi also launched Mi TV 4 with a 4K panel with support for HDR. It has  a 4.9mm slim frameless design and comes with  Patch Wall, a UI layer on top of the Android OS that’s based on deep learning AI technology that can curate content based on recommendations. It brings all the content from the STB and seamlessly integrates right on your homepage.

It is priced at Rs. 39,999 and will be available exclusively from Flipkart as well as Mi.com and Mi Home Stores starting from February 22nd. It also comes with free 3 months subscription to Sony LIV and Hugama, free Mi IR cable and free on-site installation for first three months of launch. Check out the first impressions of the TV here.

Motorola launched its flagship Moto Z2 Force smartphone in India. It has a 5.5-inch Quad HD AMOLED shatterproof display, and the company even offers warranty against shattering and cracking of display and embedded lens for 4 years. It has a 6.1 mm slim body made of 7,000 series aluminum. It is powered by Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform, coupled with 6GB of RAM and runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) out of the box.

It has 12MP dual rear cameras, one monochrome and one color that offer blur effect to the background or foreground of images using depth of field.  Even though it comes with just 2730mAh battery, it has Turbo Charging that promises 8 hours of power in just minutes. It also comes bundled with 3490mAh Moto TurboPower pack worth Rs. 5999.

It comes in Super Black color, is priced at Rs. 34,999 and is available exclusively from Flipkart as well as Moto Hub stores across India.

OPPO this week launched A71 (2018) in India as the successor of last year’s A71 smartphone. It has similar specifications as the predecessor, including a 5.2-inch HD display,  Android 7.1 (Nougat) OS with ColorOS on top, 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and 5-megapixel front-facing camera, but this is powered by Snapdragon 450 SoC instead of MediaTek MT6750 SoC. It comes in Gold and Black colors, is priced at Rs. 9,990 and is already available from Flipkart.

Nokia 6_fonearena-03

HMD global launched the Nokia 6  4GB RAM version, compared to 3GB RAM in the original version. Other specifications are same. It comes in Matte Black color, is priced at Rs. 16999, and will be available exclusively from Flipkart starting from February 20th.

Celkon launched Uniq, the company’s latest smartphone. It has a 5-inch HD 2.5D curved glass screen, is powered by a quad-core processor with 3GB of RAM, runs Android 7.0 (Nougat), comes with a 16-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera with moonlight flash.

In addition to Jio VoLTE support, it also has support for Airtel VoLTE, features dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots. It has a metal-like finish, features a fingerprint sensor on the home button and packs a 2700mAh battery. It comes in Grey and Gold colors and is priced at Rs. 8,999.

Karbonn, in partnership with Airtel has launched Titanium Jumbo 2, the company’s latest budget smartphone with Airtel cashback offer of Rs. 2000.  This gets Rs. 169 plan that offers unlimited calling and 0.5GB 4G data per day for 28 days. It comes in  Black, Champagne and Coffee colors, is priced at Rs. 5999 (Rs. 3999 after Airtel Cashback), and is available exclusively from Amazon.in.

Intex launched Aqua Lions T1 Lite, the company’s latest budget smartphone with 4G VoLTE support. It has a 5-inch FWVGA 2.5D curved glass screen, is powered by a quad-core Spreadtrum SoC with 1GB RAM, runs Android 7.0 (Nougat), has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera with flash for capturing better selfies in poor lighting conditions. It comes in Royal Black, Steel Grey and Champagne colors and is priced at Rs. 3899.

Alcatel launched POP4 10″, the company’s latest tablet in India along with the WiFi version of the A3 10 that was launched last year. The POP4 10 packs a 10.1-inch Full HD display, is powered by an Octa-Core Snapdragon 430 SoC with 2GB of RAM, bit it runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow), has a an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 4G LTE connectivity via SIM as well as voice calling capabilities.

The Alcatel POP4 10 comes in Black color, is priced at Rs. 10,999 and is available exclusively from Flipkart. The Alcatel A3 10 WiFi is priced at Rs. 6,999 and is already available from Flipkart.

Vu 65-inch 4K HDR LED TV

Vu this week  launched the 65 and 75-inch Quantum Pixelight LED Tv in India. The TV comes with 1500 nits brightness making it the brightest LED TV in this segment. The LED panel promises to deliver an immersive life-like TV viewing experience with its vibrant color gamut and impressive picture quality using quantum pixel technology.

The Vu Quantum Pixelight 65 and 75-inch 4K LED TVs are already available and are priced at Rs. 2.6 lakhs and Rs. 4 lakhs respectively, but you can get it for Rs. 1,51,999 and Rs. 3,19,999, respectively from Flipkart


Author: Srivatsan Sridhar

Srivatsan Sridhar is a Mobile Technology Enthusiast who is passionate about Mobile phones and Mobile apps. He uses the phones he reviews as his main phone. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram