It has been a pretty exciting week for technology enthusiasts. Various new phones, including the OnePlus 6, Honor 10, Realme 1, and Nokia X6 were launched in India or abroad. Many other phones were leaked, including the OPPO F7 Youth, Redmi Y2, and the Xiaomi Mi 8. If you’ve missed out on all the exciting…
It has been a pretty exciting week for technology enthusiasts. Various new phones, including the OnePlus 6, Honor 10, Realme 1, and Nokia X6 were launched in India or abroad. Many other phones were leaked, including the OPPO F7 Youth, Redmi Y2, and the Xiaomi Mi 8. If you’ve missed out on all the exciting news and launches over the past one week, our weekly wrap is a good way to catch up without spending much more than a few minutes of your time. So, let’s start, shall we?
Starting off with the launch of the OnePlus 6, after a series of leaks and rumours, the phone was finally launched on Thursday. The phone features a Galaxy S9 and iPhone X like glass-and-metal design, which is quite different from its predecessors. It has a 6.28-inch Optic AMOLED screen with 19:9 aspect ratio and a screen notch. There’s a Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB/8GB RAM and 64GB/128/256GB internal storage. The phone also has a rear-mounted fingerprint reader and IP53 certification for dust and splash resistance.
The OnePlus 6 has a 16MP+20MP rear-facing camera with f/1.7 aperture, OIS, background blur effect mode, and 4K video recording at up to 60fps. The front-facing 16MP camera has f/2.0 aperture and 1080p video recording at 30fps. The phone has a dual-SIM card slot, 4G LTE, VoLTE, dual-band gigabit Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi- Fi Direct, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0 (with A2DP, EDR, LE, aptX, aptX-HD), NFC, USB 2.0 Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone port. In spite of an increased screen size, the OnePlus 6 still uses a 3300mAh battery, which supports Dash Charge. The phone misses out on wireless charging and stereo speakers.
The 64GB storage variant of the OnePlus 6 is priced at Rs. 34,999, while the 128GB and 256GB storage variants of the phone are priced at Rs. 39,999 and Rs. 44,999, respectively. The 256GB storage capacity is only available in the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Edition. The non-Avengers Edition variants of the phone will be available in Midnight Black, Mirror Black, and Silk White colours. It will be available starting the midnight of May 21.
The Honor 10, which was launched in China a few weeks ago, was made it to India on May 15. The phone is priced at Rs. 32,999, and is being sold exclusively through Flipkart on a pre-order basis. It can be seen as a stripped down version of the Huawei P20. The phone has a 5.84-inch IPS LCD screen with Full HD+ resolution and a screen cutout. It runs Android 8.1 based EMUI 8.1, and uses the Kirin 970 processor, 6GB RAM, and 128GB internal storage. The phone has a front-facing fingerprint reader.
There’s a 16MP+24MP dual-camera setup at its rear. The 16MP camera uses an RGB sensor and f/1.8 aperture, while the 24MP camera uses a monochrome sensor. The camera can record 4K videos and capture images with background blur effect. The 24MP selfie camera uses f/2.0 aperture and records Full HD videos. The phone has a dual-SIM card slot, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, GPS, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, IR port, USB Type-C port, and 3.5mm headphone port. It has a 3400mAh battery and rapid charging.
The Realme 1 is the first phone from OPPO’s sub-brand Realme. It is designed to compete with the likes of the Redmis of this world. It is nothing different from the OPPO F7 Youth, though. It has a 6-inch IPS LCD screen with Full HD+ resolution, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p video recording, and an 8-megapixel selfie camera. Both cameras use AI for better image quality. Since there’s no fingerprint reader on this phone, which is a shame, you’ll have to rely on Face Unlock.
The phone runs Android 8.1 based ColorOS 5.0, and uses a MediaTek Helio P60 processor, 3GB/4GB/6GB RAM, 32GB/64GB/128GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot. It has a dual-SIM card slot, all the essential connectivity features, and a 3410mAh battery. The 32GB variant is priced at Rs. 8,990, the 64GB variant is priced at Rs. 10,990, and the 128GB variant is priced at Rs. 13,990. The phone will be available starting May 25,2018, exclusively through Amazon.in.
The Nokia X6 was unveiled in China. It’s a mid-range Android smartphones, and has a starting price of CNY 1,299 (around Rs. 13,000) in China. The company is still contemplating its launch in the Indian market, so we don’t know whether or not it will be launched in India.
The Nokia X6 has a 5.8-inch IPS LCD screen with a notch, a Snapdragon 636 processor, 4GB/6GB RAM, 32GB/64GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot. There’s a 16MP+5MP dual-camera at the rear with 1080p video recording, and a 16MP selfie camera. There’s a rear-facing fingerprint reader, a dual-SIM card slot, all the latest connectivity features, and a 3,060mAh battery.
The Mi 7 was expected to be launched during MWC 2018, but Xiaomi launched the Mi MIX 2s there, leaving us all thinking about the fate of the Mi 7. Last week, we reported that the company is going to skip the Mi 7 naming and jump straight to the Mi 8.
There will be a Mi 8 8th Anniversary Edition as well, to mark the 8th anniversary of the Mi series. The higher-priced variant of the phone will feature a 3D facial recognition system, first among all Android phones. You can read about the specifications of the Mi 8 and the Mi 8 8th Anniversary Edition smartphones here.
Xiaomi has teased the launch of the “Best Selfie Phone” for the Indian market, and going by the first teasers, the phone appears to be the Redmi S2, which was launched in China a few days ago. The phone will be launched on June 07,2018 in India. The Redmi S2 features a 6-inch HD IPS LCD screen, a 12MP+5MP rear-facing dual-camera, a 16MP front-facing camera with LED flash. Both cameras feature AI algorithms for better images.
It runs Android 8.1 Oreo based MIUI 9.5, and uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 3GB/4GB RAM, 32GB/64GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot. It has a dual-SIM card slot, a fingerprint reader at the back, and a 3080mAh battery which charges through a microUSB 2.0 port.
The OPPO F7 Youth was expected to be launched alongside the OPPO F7 as its stripped down version. However, it appears that the company shelved those plans for the Indian market at least, since it launched the Amazon-exclusive Realme 1 which has the same specifications and design as that of the OPPO F7 Youth. Now, the company might launch the OPPO F7 Youth in international markets.
