Steam Summer Sale Brings Discounts on Battlefield V, Fall Guys, Many Other PC Games

Steam Summer Sale is live and it brings impressive discounts on a wide variety of games. Some franchises are discounted up to 89 percent so this would be the ideal time to splurge. The sale is live till July 8.

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Microsoft Windows 11 goes official with new design, features and more

Microsoft has officially launched Windows 11, the next version of its operating system, six years after Windows 10. It will be provided as a free upgrade to existing Windows 10 users sometime later this fall. Microsoft has redesigned Windows 11 with tons of new features and personalization options. Moreover, the company has optimized Windows 11 for touch-based interactions on 2-in-1 devices and more. Windows 11 also supports Android apps through its revamped app store.

Microsoft has upgraded the start menu on Windows 11, the taskbar now has centrally arranged icons and we get all new widgets. Windows 11 is also optimized to deliver powerful PC gaming experiences through features such as DirectX 12 Ultimate, DirectStorage API, Auto HDR and support for Xbox Game Pass with over 100 PC games. 

New Start Menu

Microsoft has designed Windows 11 to give it a modern look and feel that seems very minimalist and simple. The Start button is now in the centre of the taskbar and shows the apps installed on the PC in a grid layout. It is also integrated with Microsoft 365 and cloud to pull your most recent files and display them in the start menu. 

Snap Layouts

With Windows 11, Microsoft has introduced Snap layouts, groups and desktops for increased productivity and ease of use. The Snap layout will let you arrange the windows for multitasking and you can have as many as four different apps opened simultaneously to fit the screen. The Snap desktop allows users to have multiple desktops, each with its specific set of customizations. So, you can have a desktop for work and another one for gaming or entertainment. 

PC gaming redefined

Microsoft has optimized Windows 11 to provide enhanced gaming experiences with features like DirectX 12 Ultimate that enables great graphics at higher frame rates. There’s support for DirectStorage API that allows games to load faster and Auto HDR for an immersive gaming experience with vivid visuals. Windows 11 also has Xbox Game Pass which gives access to over 100+ games.

Widgets and personalized feed

Windows 11 has added new widgets and an AI-backed personalized feed that slides across the screen with a transparent background. You can check up on news, weather or notifications from this feed and add or remove widgets as per your preference. Microsoft also believes that widgets open up a new avenue for creators and publishers to deliver personalized content across Windows 11.

Android apps now on Windows 11

Microsoft has redesigned the app store with a clean UI that goes along with the rest of the Windows 11 design. The new app store offers curated recommendation of apps, games, TV shows, movies and more. Some of the first-party and third-party apps include Disney+, Adobe Creative Cloud, Zoom, Canva, Visual Studio and Microsoft Teams. 

Furthermore, Android apps are coming to Windows 11 with Amazon Appstore that is built into the Microsoft Store. So you can use apps like Khan Academy, Kindle and more. This is made possible with Intel Bridge Technology and Microsoft’s partnership with Amazon and Intel.

Improved touch interactions

Microsoft has improved touch-based interactions in Windows 11 for when you use it on a tablet or a 2-in-1. There is more space between icons on the taskbar, visual cues that make resizing and moving windows easier and gestures that are an extension of the gestures on the trackpad. 

Windows 11 also supports voice commands and can recognize punctuations for you. This comes in very handy for when you do not want to type and can just dictate the words to Windows 11.

Microsoft Windows 11 availability 

Windows 11 will be rolled out as a free upgrade to Windows 10 users starting the holiday season later this year. Microsoft will release an early build of Windows 11 for its Insider program next week.

 

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Vivo V21e 5G launches in India powered by Dimensity 700 processor: Price, specifications and availability

Vivo V21e 5G has officially launched in India and is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor. The V21e is a thin and lightweight smartphone in the Vivo V21 lineup. The Vivo V21 was launched back in April in India and was one of the thinnest and lightest smartphones available at the time until Xiaomi launched the Mi 11 Lite earlier this week. Here is a brief look at the price, specifications and availability of the Vivo V21e.

Vivo V21e 5G price and availability

The Vivo V21e 5G is priced at Rs 24,990 with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. It is available to purchase from the Vivo India store and Amazon India.

Vivo V21e 5G specifications

The Vivo V21e 5G features a 6.44-inch AMOLED display that offers Full HD+ (2404x1080 pixels) resolution with a waterdrop notch cutout for the selfie camera. The screen is certified for HDR10+ playback and has minimal bezels on three sides. The V21e is being offered in two colours: Dark Pearl and Sunset Jazz. The Dark Pearl colour variant has a thickness of 7.67 millimetres and weighs 165 grams while the Sunset Jazz colour measures 7.79 millimetres and weighs 167 grams.

The V21e is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor that has an octa-core CPU and Mali-G57 GPU. This is paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage with an option to add a microSD card for storage expansion. It runs on Android 11 based Funtouch OS 11.1

It has dual cameras on the back that includes a 64MP primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 119-degree field of view. The rear cameras can record in 4K UHD with support for EIS. There is a 32MP selfie camera on the front for selfies.

The V21e has a 3.5mm jack and an in-display fingerprint reader. It is equipped with a 4,000mAh battery that supports 44W fast charging out-of-the-box.

 

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JioPhone Next to be worlds most affordable smartphone Available starting September 10

At Reliance’s 44th Annual General Meeting, Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, announced JioPhone Next - an optimized and affordable Android phone jointly developed by Jio and Google. JioPhone Next will target consumers who are stuck on 2G and will use 4G for the first time. 

JioPhone Next Features

JioPhone Next Specs weren’t revealed at the conference, but Mukesh Ambani and Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc and its subsidiary Google, did talk about some features. JioPhone Next will integrate a voice assistant, support automatic read-aloud of screen text, language translation, smart camera with AR filters, and more. 

Google has especially optimized a version of Android OS for the JioPhone Next and the phone will offer support for the latest Android updates. The images of the phone show a slightly dated design with beefy bezels, a single rear camera and a rear-mounted speaker. Perhaps these flaws will be forgivable for the lowly price. The images also reveal that the JioPhone Next is likely to come with Facebook, Google, and Jio apps pre-installed. 

“This is a testimony to a global technology giant and national technology champion working together to make truly a breakthrough product that can be first introduced in India and then taken to the rest of the world,” said Mukesh Ambani during the launch. 

“For Google, the past year has brought renewed purpose and a greater urgency to our mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. At a time when so many aspects of our lives and work are moving online, it is even more important to make technology accessible and helpful for everyone. This goal is at the heart of our partnership with Reliance Jio. Our mission is to bring affordable access to information for Indians in their own language, to build new products and services for India’s unique needs, and empower businesses with technology, " said Sundar Pichai in his launch statement. 

Pichai also talked about a new 5G partnership between Google Cloud and Jio. "It will help more than a billion Indians connect to faster and better internet. Support businesses in digital transformation, and help Jio build new services in sectors like health, education and more, laying a foundation for the next phase of India’s digitization," he added.

As part of this collaboration, Reliance will also shift its core retail businesses to Google cloud solutions.

Reliance JioPhone Next Price and Availability 

Reliance didn’t announce the JioPhone Next price in India but promised that it will be the most affordable phone in the country and globally. The JioPhone Next will be available in India starting from September 10 on the auspicious day of Ganesh Chaturthi. 

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Realme Narzo 30 5G Review: Essentially the fourth storage variant of the Realme 8 5G

There's no denying the sheer power of the Realme Narzo 30 5G when it comes to performance. Whether you're a light user or an avid gamer, the phone will keep up with almost anything you throw at it. The phone also has a massive battery, fast refresh rate support and 5G connectivity, making it a lucrative offering at this price point. However, the phone is clearly a Realme 8 5G clone with some extra RAM thrown in, so it is confusing why Realme chose to release this phone in India.

The Indian smartphone market is seeing a boom in the affordable smartphones category, with new launches coming in at lightning speed from various companies. Realme is one of the companies at the forefront of this massive influx of budget smartphones in the Indian market, with several releases in 2021 alone. The latest budget smartphone from Realme is the Narzo 30 5G, a budget 5G-enabled device that is eerily similar to the Realme 8 5G (review) that released just a couple of months ago. The phone is priced at Rs 15,999 for the sole 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. The launch of the Realme Narzo 30 5G in the Indian market is a surprising one since it basically has almost identical specs and features as the Realme 8 5G. The question that needs to be answered is if both devices have their own place in the Indian market or if the newly-launched Realme Narzo 30 5G is just competing with, or perhaps eclipsing, its own brethren. 

Realme Narzo 30 5G: Specifications

Much like the Realme 8 5G, the Realme Narzo 30 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC that is based on the 7nm process. The CPU features two ARM Cortex-A76 performance cores clocked at 2.2GHz and six ARM Cortex-A55 efficiency cores clocked at 2GHz. For graphics, the Dimensity 700 chipset comes with the Mali-G57 GPU. This is paired with 6GB LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB UFS 2.1 storage. The RAM is one of the few differences between the Realme 8 5G and the Narzo 30 5G where the former comes with 4/8GB RAM while the latter has a fixed 6GB of RAM. You also get RAM expansion technology where internal storage or ROM gets converted into vRAM or virtual RAM. 

The phone houses a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging, which is the same as the Realme 8 5G. Something to note is that the 4G variant of the Realme Narzo 30 comes with 30W fast charging support, so it’s slightly disappointing to not see that on the 5G version. Moving on to the display, the Realme Narzo 30 5G houses a 6.5-inch IPS LCD panel with Full HD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. As for the optics, the Realme 8 5G comes equipped with a triple camera setup consisting of a 48-megapixel primary lens, a 2-megapixel Portrait lens, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. For selfies, you have a 16-megapixel selfie camera. This exact camera setup is seen on the Realme 8 5G.

So, when it comes to hardware, the Realme Narzo 30 5G and the Realme 8 5G are unmistakably identical. We spoke to Realme about the similarities and we were told that while the hardware is almost the same, the phones are positioned differently. The Realme Narzo 30 5G is more performance-focused while the Realme 8 5G is positioned as a phone for the youth, so it focuses on the camera, display, and battery. Nevertheless, when both phones have all the same hardware except for the RAM, it's hard to see why they're positioned differently.

Realme Narzo 30 5G: Performance

Let’s get right into the meat of the matter, which is the performance of the Realme Narzo 30 5G. Since the company says the phone is a performance-focused device, it’s only right to start here. The Realme Narzo 30 5G houses the MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, the same chipset used in the Realme 8 5G that impressed us with its commendable performance. This is paired alongside 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. 

In our benchmarking tests, the Realme Narzo 30 5G delivered outstanding results for the price. The phone clearly outshone both the Redmi Note 10 (review) and Redmi Note 10s (review) in most benchmarks. In AnTuTu, the Narzo 30 5G beat the Note 10S by a decent margin while absolutely decimating the Redmi Note 10. In GeekBench 5, the Realme Narzo 30 5G scored a 569 in the single-core test and 1777 in the multi-core test, easily outshining both the Note 10 and 10S again. The phone scored 11,515 in PCMark Work, leaving both the Note 10 and 10S considerably behind. These benchmarks, however, should be taken with a grain of salt though since MediaTek SoCs are sometimes linked with boosting performance for benchmarking tests. 

Moving to GPU performance, the Realme Narzo 30 5G delivered convincing results yet again. The phone beat both the Redmi Note 10 and 10S in 3D Mark Wild Life. However, in GFX Bench, the Redmi Note 10S managed to beat the Narzo 30 5G in all the tests we ran. We also played Call Of Duty: Mobile for our gaming test where the Narzo 30 5G recorded an average FPS of 60 running at 91 per cent stability. The Redmi Note 10S showed similar results but the regular Note 10 lagged behind with an average FPS of 48 at 58 per cent stability. Benchmarks aside, the Narzo 30 5G does swimmingly when it comes to mobile gaming. The gameplay was super smooth with no signs of lag or stutter whatsoever. The device did heat up slightly during gaming, but it's manageable amounts of heat.

When it comes to using the phone for day-to-day tasks, the phone rarely falters. Performing basic tasks such as calling, texting, browsing the web and social media happens without any hitches and multitasking is a smooth affair as well. You can keep several apps running in the background and switch between them effortlessly. The phone also appears snappier due to the 90Hz refresh rate. All the games we played ran smoothly, so the phone is something we'd definitely recommend to a mobile gamer. Even if you're not into mobile gaming, the phone's performance is reliable for almost anything you throw at it. 

The software isn't our favourite though since it is loaded with bloatware. While Realme UI looks pretty clean, it comes with a plethora of third-party preinstalled apps such as Amazon Music, Booking.com, Duo, Netflix, Soloop, and others. There are numerous Realme apps preinstalled on the device as well that cannot be uninstalled. Nevertheless, Realme UI does provide a lot on the customisation front. Users can do a lot within the settings of the device, so if you like tinkering with your phone's looks and abilities, you'll be happy with the options Realme UI provides.  

Realme Narzo 30 5G: Build and display

The Realme Narzo 30 5G is a sleek, good-looking 5G smartphone that is sure to turn a few heads with its unique rear panel design. The device is pretty lightweight for a 5G device, weighing merely 185g, and isn't too thick either at 8.5mm. The rear panel is made out of polycarbonate and features a glossy texture that, unfortunately, ends up being a fingerprint and dust magnet. The back panel has a striking design with a raceway pattern strip with reflects light. There's a pretty simple Narzo logo at the bottom of this strip.

The back also houses the rectangular camera island that juts out only slightly. While the phone felt good in the hand, we preferred to use it with the silicone case provided in the box to prevent creating a fingerprint mess at the back of the device. The phone comes in two colours – Racing Silver and Racing Blue, both of which look pretty aesthetically appealing.

The Realme Narzo 30 5G houses the power button on the right side of the device. This button also doubles as a fingerprint sensor. The sensor's response is impressive and the button itself is very tactile. On the left, you have the volume buttons and the SIM tray. The tray can house two NANO SIMs and a microSD card expandable up to 1TB. The bottom of the device features a single speaker, a USB-C charging port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. It's disappointing to see the lack of dual stereo speakers on the phone since competitors such as the Redmi Note 10s come equipped with it. While the audio output of the device is decently loud, stereo speakers would have definitely cranked up the auditory immersiveness when watching content or gaming.

Moving on to the display, the Realme Narzo 30 5G comes packing a 6.5-inch display with Full HD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate support. The fast refresh rate ensures that scrolling and flicking between apps appear buttery smooth. There's also adaptive refresh rate support, where the display selects the adequate refresh rate for the app and applies it. This goes a long way in conserving battery. The panel also has a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera on the left side of the screen. The panel's output is vivid and crisp, however, it is not the most colour accurate. Also, the readability of the display goes down in harsh sunlight since the max brightness, in our tests, was only 276 nits.

Realme Narzo 30 5G: Camera

The Realme Narzo 30 5G houses the exact same camera setup as the Realme 8 5G. The camera setup is headlined by the Samsung GM1 48MP sensor alongside a 2MP portrait lens and a 2MP macro shooter. The phone misses out on an ultrawide lens which is present in competitors such as the Redmi Note 10S. You also get a 16MP selfie camera on the front. 

Despite the Narzo 30 5G and Realme 8 5G housing the exact same primary lens, our experience with both cameras were significantly different. The Realme 8 5G didn't have the best dynamic range with shadows being crushed and detail being absent even in daylight shots. This was not the case with the Narzo 30 5G and the dynamic range was significantly better. It's still not the best we've seen in this segment, but it's a considerable improvement. Realme told us that this was the result of software optimisations for the camera. Here are some camera samples from the Narzo 30 5G. Do note that these images have been resized for the web.

The primary camera of the Narzo 30 5G also produces good colour and detail overall, making it a pretty capable shooter in daylight. However, in photos with tricky lighting, the camera still struggles at times. Close up shots in daylight look detailed and crisp with a decent amount of natural blur. Portrait mode shots are not the best though, with poor edge detection, unnecessary smoothening of textures, and inaccurate colour.

Night Night off (Left) vs Night Mode on (Right)

In low light photography, the camera’s performance is decent. There is some noise in the shots and the camera does struggle to lock focus on subjects at times, but it generally produces pretty serviceable shots, especially with Night Mode turned on. Realme's NightScape mode does a good job at brightening up shots and returning some amount of detail. 

The macro lens on the phone is pretty decent but it doesn't take good shots consistently. This is largely since the lens struggles to lock focus on subjects. The 16-megapixel selfie camera shoots good selfies with ample detail, however, be sure to turn off the beauty filters before using the selfie camera. The filters aggressively alter your face's shape and tone, so if you like natural images, it's best to turn off beauty mode. Moving on to video, you get pretty decent video output in daylight, however, there’s no stabilisation so they suffer from shake when you're walking or running. Low light videos are not up to the mark since they have quite a bit of noise and lack detail.

Realme Narzo 30 5G: Battery

The Realme Narzo 30 5G houses a massive 5,000mAh battery that performs decently well for the price. The phone also comes packing a 90Hz refresh rate display that cuts down the battery life considerably if kept on at all times. However, if you use the adaptive refresh rate mode or simply default to 60Hz, you're looking at a phone that can easily last more than a day with moderate usage, and a full day with heavy usage. 

In our tests, streaming Netflix for half an hour drained the battery by merely 5 per cent and 15 minutes of COD: Mobile brought it down by only 4 per cent. The phone supports 18W fast charging, which is slightly underwhelming. The phone took 2 hours and 10 minutes to charge from 0 to 100% battery, so it’s definitely not the fastest in this price segment.

Realme Narzo 30 5G: Verdict

There's no denying the sheer power of the Realme Narzo 30 5G when it comes to performance. Whether you're a light user or an avid gamer, the phone will keep up with almost anything you throw at it. The phone also has a massive battery, fast refresh rate support and 5G connectivity, making it a lucrative offering at this price point. However, the phone is clearly a clone of the Realme 8 5G with some extra RAM thrown in. It is downright confusing why Realme chose to release this phone in India when it could just be a fourth storage variant of the Realme 8 5G. Regardless of the slightly confusing choice to release the device, if you're looking for a budget 5G smartphone, the Narzo 30 5G is a great all-rounder at a compelling price that we can’t really ignore. However, if you're looking for the same phone but with different storage configurations, just go for the Realme 8 5G since it is essentially the same device

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Realme Narzo 30 4G, Narzo 30 5G, 32-inch Smart TV and Buds Q2 launched in India

Realme has officially launched the Narzo 30 4G, Narzo 30 5G alongside the 32-inch smart TV and the TWS Buds Q2 in India. The Realme Narzo 30 4G and 5G models join the existing phones in the lineup, the Narzo 30A and the Narzo 30 Pro 5G that were both launched in February in India. Alongside, Realme has also announced a new 32-inch Full HD smart TV and Buds Q2 truly wireless earbuds. Here’s everything you need to know about the Realme Narzo 30 4G, Narzo 30 5G, 32-inch smart TV and Buds Q2.

Realme Narzo 30 4G price and specifications

The Realme Narzo 30 4G features a 6.5-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) display that supports a 90Hz refresh rate. There is a punch-hole notch cutout in the top-left corner for the selfie camera. The phone measures 9.4 millimetres in thickness and weighs 192 grams. 

It is powered by the MediaTek Helio G95 processor with an octa-core CPU and Mali-G76 GPU. This is paired with upto 6GB RAM and 128GB storage and there is an option to add a microSD card for storage expansion. It runs on Realme UI 2.0 which is based on Android 11.

The Narzo 30 4G has a 48MP primary camera, 2MP macro camera and 2MP depth sensor. There is a 16MP selfie camera as well and the rear cameras can record in 4K UHD at 30FPS with EIS support. 

The Realme Narzo 30 4G is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery that supports 30W fast charging out-of-the-box.

Realme Narzo 30 4G is priced starting at Rs 12,499 for the 4GB+64GB storage variant and Rs 14,499 for the 6GB+128GB model.

Realme Narzo 30 5G price and specifications

The Realme Narzo 30 5G features a 6.5-inch Full HD+ display that supports upto a 90Hz refresh rate. There is a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera. The phone measures 8.5 millimetres in thickness and weighs 185 grams. 

It is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor with an octa-core CPU and Mali-G57 GPU. This is paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage and has a microSD card slot for storage expansion. It runs on Realme UI 2.0 based on Android 11.

The Realme Narzo 30 5G has the same set of cameras as the 4G model and it is also equipped with a 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging.

The Realme Narzo 5G is priced at Rs 15,999 and goes on sale from June 30 on Realme India store, Flipkart and offline stores. There is an introductory discount of Rs 500 on the Narzo 5G.

Realme 32-inch Full HD smart TV price and features

The new Realme Full HD smart TV features a 32-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. Realme claims that the screen of its latest TV supports upto 85% of the NTSC colour gamut and offers upto 400 nits brightness.

The Realme 32-inch smart TV has minimal bezels on three sides and is equipped with 24W quad stereo speakers tuned by Dolby Audio. It runs on Android TV 9 with a built-in Chromecast. 

The Realme 32-inch Full HD smart TV is priced at Rs 18,999 and the interested buyers can avail the early bird price of Rs 17,999. The TV goes on its first sale from June 29 on Realme India store, Flipkart and soon in offline stores.

Realme Buds Q2 price and features

The Realme Buds Q2 is a truly wireless earbud featuring active noise cancellation and is equipped with a 10mm bass boost driver. It is a slight upgrade over the Realme Buds Q that launched last year in India. 

The Realme Buds Q2 is equipped with a 480mAh battery that provides upto 28 hours worth of battery life on a single charge. There is a dedicated gaming mode that offers upto 88ms low latency. The Buds Q2 also supports Type-C fast charging and can provide 3 hours of playback with just 10 minutes of charge. 

Realme Buds Q2 is priced at Rs 2,499 and goes on its first sale from June 30 on Realme India store, Amazon India and soon in offline stores as well. 

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Philips Momentum 559M1RYV Is a New 'Designed for Xbox' 4K Gaming Monitor for an Immersive Experience

Philips Momentum 559M1RYV 55-inch 4K HDR 'Designed for Xbox' gaming monitor has been launched. It supports a variable refresh rate of up to 144Hz and the company's Ambiglow technology for an immersive experience.

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