Redmi X is not the name of the Snapdragon 855-powered flagship, Redmi General Manager clarifies

There are posters doing the rounds on Chinese social networking site about the upcoming Snapdragon 855-powered Redmi flagship. The posters claim the phone will be named Redmi X and will debut on May 14 in China. However, Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing was quick debunk the posters stating the flagship device will not be called Redmi X. As a result, it seems like the posters doing the rounds on Weibo  fake.

Weibing said in a Weibo post, “not called Redmi X, there will be a better name.” Redmi has been teasing the Snapdragon 855-powered phone for quite some time now, building up to the launch. The company is yet to release a launch date or a formal name for the flagship.

So far, we know there is a Redmi flagship under works which will be powered by the Qualcomm flagship chipset. It’s likely that the phone will sport an edge-to-edge display replete with an in-display fingerprint sensor and a pop-up selfie camera. However, there have also been reports of another Redmi phone that’s powered by the newly announced Snapdragon 730. This could very well be a lighter version of the Snapdragon 855-powered flagship.

The Redmi phone with the Snapdragon 730 SoC might feature a 48MP+8MP+13MP camera stack on the back and come with a 4,000mAh battery. It’s also expected to come with an AMOLED display and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

If at all we are taking guesses at what the Redmi flagship could be called, there’s some precedence in history. If at all Redmi launches a Snapdragon 855-powered flagship, it will likely be taken as the successor to the Redmi Pro that was announced back in 2016. The phone came powered by MediaTek’s Helio X25, the flagship chipset of that time along with dual rear cameras. Could it be that the upcoming flagship be called the Redmi Pro 2?

Speaking of budget flagships, Realme is also rumoured to be launching a device possibly called the Realme X. Leaked specs of the phone reveals an in-display fingerprint sensor, VOOC 3.0 fast charging, triple rear cameras and Snapdragon 730. The phone is expected to come in 6GB RAM + 64GB storage, 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB variants.

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ISROs Chandrayaan-2 set to blast off in July and touch Moon in September

It appears India’s second uncrewed mission to the Moon has finally got a launch date, or a scheduled launch window, to be more precise. According to a press release sent out by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) yesterday, Chandrayaan-2 will blast off from Earth sometime between July 9 and 16 this year. After a successful launch, it will then be expected to land on the Moon on September 6. As usual, the launch is expected to happen at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

According to ISRO, Chandrayaan-2 consists of three modules: the orbiter, lander (Vikram), and rover (Pragyan). The first two will be interfaced mechanically and stacked together as a single integrated module inside the launch rocket. The rover, on the other hand, will be packed inside the lander. When Chandrayaan-2 reaches the moon, the lander (and the rover inside it) will separate from the orbiter and soft-land in the south polar region of the Moon.

Outline of Chandrayaan-2

The lunar south pole is a point of interest among many moon explorers as it contains traces of water ice. Sunlight does not reach the bottom of many craters in this region. Hence, these craters are cold and expected to contain fossils of the early Solar System. Pragyan, whose name stands for “wisdom” in Sanskrit, is expected to move about on six wheels around the lunar south pole and conduct chemical analyses of the lunar surface. For navigation, the 27-kilogramme rover will use a couple of NAVCAMs on the front side, whose feed will be relayed to the Earth team.

The rocket responsible for Chandrayaan-2’s launch will be the GSLV Mk-III. The space agency’s long-standing three-stage Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle has two solid strap-on boosters, a core liquid booster, and a cryogenic upper stage. The launch vehicle can carry a maximum of 4,000 kilogrammes to geostationary transfer orbit and a maximum of 8,000 kilogrammes to low earth orbit (up to 600 kilometres from the planet’s surface).

Inline image courtesy: ISRO

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Realme First Anniversary Sale: Discounts on Realme 2 Pro, Realme U1, Re 1 deals, new Realme 3 variant and more

Relame is celebrating its first anniversary in India with its Realme First Anniversary Sale event. The sale on Realme devices will take place from May 2 till May 4. The phone maker is offering considerable deals and discounts on a range of devices including Realme smartphones and its accessories like the Realme Buds and the Realme Tech Backpack. Realme users who are active members of the community can also win some prizes and there’s a game with a giveaway of coupons worth Rs 1 crore up for grabs. Additionally, the Realme has announced a ‘Jackpot Prize’ and ‘Lucky Draw’ where users who purchase Realme smartphones, online or offline, can win some gifts.

Starting with the discounted Realme smartphones, the Realme 2 Pro and the Realme U1 (review) are up for grabs with a Rs 1,000 discount till May 4. The Realme 2 Pro (review) can now be purchased starting at Rs 10,990, while the Realme U1 will be available at a starting price of Rs 8,999. There’s also a 15 percent Mobikwik supercash offer available on purchase of the devices. The 3GB RAM + 64GB storage variant of the Realme 3, which is a new storage variant, will also be available for Rs 9,999 during the sale. Additionally, the company’s latest handset Realme 3 Pro will go on its second sale at 12 PM on May 3. 

There will also be Re 1 “Super Deals Feast” every day from May 2 till May 4. While the first two deals for May 2 have expired, there’s still a chance of buying the Realme Tech Backpack for Rs 1 at 8PM on May 2. 60 units of the backpack will be up for grabs when the sale goes live. As for the other deals, Realme users can collect likes and share coupons worth Rs 1 crore. These coupons can be used only on smartphones, except when buying the Realme 3 Pro and the Realme 3. You can go through the details and rules of this contest here. 

Those who buy Realme devices between May 2 and May 4 will also be eligible to participate in  a ‘Jackpot Prize’ and ‘Lucky Draw’. The jackpot prize includes giveaway of four Bullet 350 standard bikes, 32 Realme U1 and 320 Realme C1 smartphones, 640 Realme Tech backpack and 5000 realme Earbuds. Head here to buy phones from the Realme First Anniversary Sale.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2XXJHWX

AMD possibly confirmed 2020 launch for PS5

Is it possible that AMD just confirmed the launch date of the PS5? According to GameRant, “During AMD’s Q1 2019 financial briefing, Dr Lisa Su, the President of AMD, said that the company is “very pleased” with its partnership with Sony on its next-generation consoles,” the publication reports. She has also said that the semiconductor business will grow in 2020 without naming the client. So it is possible that this client could be Sony with the PS5. 

In an interview with Wired, Sony has confirmed the existence of the next generation console and has also confirmed that the upcoming console will not ship in 2019. Sony has decided to skip the annual gaming conference E3 in 2019 as well. It is possible that the company will bring back it's PlayStation experience event in December 2019 and tease the console. It is also possible that the console will be unveiled at E3 2020. 

In the exclusive conversation with Wired, Lead Architect of the upcoming PlayStation, Mark Cerny talks about some of the capabilities of Sony’s next console. When it comes to the hardware powering the consoles, it is confirmed that the system will have third generation eight-core AMD Ryzen CPU coupled a custom variant of the Radeon Navi family GPU. It is also expected to house an SSD. You can read more about the confirmed details of the PS5 here. 

As far as games lineup goes, it is speculated that the much anticipated Death Stranding will be a cross-gen game and some speculations suggest that Horizon Zero Dawn 2 will be a launch title for the PS5. It is also confirmed that the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PS4 games. With the backwards compatibility confirmed it will be interesting to see how the cross-gen games differ on the two consoles and whether the PS4 copy of the game will be able to take advantage of the power of the PS5. 

Sony has been tight-lipped about the PS5 as a whole and it is expected that Microsoft will show off their upcoming successor to the Xbox One at E3 2019. Microsoft has already announced the Xbox One S All Digital edition that forgoes a disc drive. This is the first step towards an all-digital gaming console. Sony, on the other hand, has confirmed that the PS5 will have a disc drive. 

2019 is also the year when Microsoft will release public testing for its cloud gaming service Project XCloud and Google will jump into the gaming ring with Stadia, which is also a cloud gaming service. You can read more about Project XCloud here and Stadia here. 

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2GXVcrG

FIFA 20, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, and Other EA Games Won’t Be Exclusive to Amazon India Anymore

FIFA 20, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, Need for Speed 2019 and the rest of EA's lineup won't be on Amazon India exclusively, and will soon be available via Flipkart and other channels.

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Realme X Pro might rival Redmis Snapdragon 855 handset, Realme X tipped to feature Snapdragon 730

Realme recently posted a promo video teasing its upcoming smartphone that it is expected to launch in China. The phone was seen featuring a nearly bezel-less display and a pop-up selfie camera, but no other details regarding it were released. Later, the company’s CMO, Xu Qi, tipped that it could be called the Realme X. Now, a new leak reveals more information about the upcoming phone and suggests that there could be two models of the device, Realme X and Realme X Pro. Citing a Weibo post, a tweet by @I_Leak_VN claims that the Realme X will be launched in the aforementioned two versions; one with Snapdragon 730 and another with Snapdragon 855 SoCs. 

The Realme X is said to launch running on Snapdragon 730 SoC and come with a pop-up front camera. While the new leak doesn’t give away the details of its display, the phone was previously spotted on TENAA. It is listed to come with a 6.5-inch display OLED display that sports a Full HD+ resolution. The new report adds that the Realme X Pro’s display could be protected by Gorilla Glass 5 and come equipped with a sixth-gen optical in-display fingerprint sensor. In line with previous reports, the new leak suggests 48MP + 5MP dual rear cameras on the back. While there’s no info on the front camera’s resolution, the TENAA listing hinted at a 16MP sensor. 

The Realme X is tipped to come in three configurations. It might be announced in 6GB RAM + 64GB storage base version, which could be priced at CNY 1,599 (Rs 16,500 approx). It could also be announced in a 6GB RAM + 128GB version and a top-end 8GB RAM + 128GB storage version, which are said to be priced at CNY 1,799 (Rs 18,500 approx) and CNY 1,999 (Rs 20,600 approx) respectively. 

Coming to the Realme X Pro, it’s expected to be the company’s new flagship phone running on the latest Snapdragon 855 SoC. It is expected to take on Xiaomi’s upcoming Redmi handset, which will also run on the same Qualcomm chipset. There is not much info about the device as of now but the new report hints at its variants and pricing. The smartphone might come in two variants, both with 128GB of internal storage and with options to select from 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM models that could be priced at CNY 2,299 (Rs 23,700 approx) and CNY 2,599 (Rs 26,800 approx) respectively. We advise that you take this information with a pinch of salt since it’s not from an official source. 

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2LjJ5tl

Huawei to launch worlds first 5G-enabled 8K TV in 2019

Huawei Technologies is planning to branch out of its smartphones, wearable devices and PC business into high-end consumer electronics as per a new report by Nikkei Asian Review. The company is reportedly planning to launch a 5G-enabled 8K television as early as this year. The TV will be equipped with a 5G modem, possibly made in-house, a source close to the development told Nokkei Asian Review.

If the report is to be believed, this will be Huawei’s first venture into the television hardware industry and the 8K 5G connected TV will be the first of its kind in the world. Currently, most smart TVs are Wi-Fi enabled for internet access, but a 5G-capable television will ensure that Huawei’s TV supports the next generation of network technology.

It is believed that Huawei could source 8K panels from Chinese display-makers like BOE or China Star Optoelectronics, however, Samsung is still the largest vendor of 8K OLED displays.

With its ability to connect to 5G networks, The Huawei TV could offer ultra-fast video downloads, quality streaming experience and 360 degree views of content such as sports. At MWC 2019, we saw how 5G will enable 360 degree sports-watching experiences, letting users switch camera angles while they watch content like cricket matches. The Huawei 5G TV could also enable virtual reality experiences.

While the Huawei 5G 8K TV would not need fiber connectivity or broadband, it will require telecom operators to support the network infrastructure. Huawei does make 5G network equipment as well and that will work in the company’s favour of closing off the ecosystem loop. The company is also the second-largest TV ship supplier in the world, so it already has experience in that area of the business. Add to that, Huawei already has its own 5G-enable chipset called balong 5000, which also powers its foldable phone Huawei Mate X.

However, the hurdles that Huawei might have to cross is that the availability of the TV would have to be restricted to a handful of markets because 5G is still in development in many countries. The 8K 5G TV will also be price-restrictive for many consumers to buy because of its novel technologies and the lack of 8K content would add to the TV’s limitations.

Besides the TV, Huawei is also reportedly targeting a spot in the list of the top 5 PC makers in the world. The company aims to achieve this position by 2022. The company is said to be developing its own CPUs to lower its reliance on Intel for processor chips that feature in its laptops. According to IDC, Huawei shipped 1 million units of its laptops last year and gained 4 percent market share in China with its MateBook and MagicBook series. Huawei is also expected to launch its MateBook laptop series in India sometime this year.

Huawei is not the only smartphone-maker planning to enter the TV industry. OnePlus is also expected to announce the OnePlus TV sometime soon. The OnePlus TV will play on AI rather than network technology. OnePlus is also looking to enter the PC space, but has not detailed any plans for it just yet. With both Huawei and OnePlus in the television and PC verticals, Samsung and Apple will see their position challenged in two of their biggest businesses. Huawei is already giving both tech giants a run for their money in the smartphone industry and was the only brand, amongst the top three, to register a hike in market share in Q1, 2019.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2GTmyOe