Asus ZenBook Duo, Pro Duo with dual screens, updated ZenBook 131415, VivoBook S14S15 launched

It's been a little over a month since Asus launched the VivoBook X403 in India and already it's back with an array of new laptops for the country. Today's launch, held in New Delhi, marks the introduction of the new ZenBook Pro Duo and ZenBook Duo in the Indian market, whose prominent feature is the inbuilt second screen. Asus also launched the updated ZenBook 13/14/15 and VivoBook S14/S15. Asus' new laptops start at Rs 65,990 and are available on online and offline stores across the country.

ZenBook Pro Duo, ZenBook Duo

The Asus ZenBook Pro Duo and ZenBook Duo were first announced in Taipei, Taiwan earlier this year just a day before Computex 2019 commenced. While the ZenBook Duo is a 14-inch model, the ZenBook Pro Duo is a larger 15.6-inch model. Both laptops feature ScreenPad+, which is Asus' way of saying they come with a second screen on the keyboard island. This one builds on the ScreenPad that Asus first introduced on the ZenBook Pro 15 last year. You can read more about that in our review here. Asus claims the ScreenPad+, which is equipped to display up to three windows side by side, improves multitasking and overall productivity. You can read our first impressions of the ZenBook Pro Duo here.

The ZenBook Duo (UX481) is powered by Intel's 10th Gen CPUs (Core i5, i7), an Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics card, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage on PCIe NVMe x4 solid-state drives. The laptop's 14-inch Full HD IPS LCD screen is complemented by a 12.6-inch Full HD ScreenPad+ unit on the keyboard island. The ZenBook Duo starts at Rs 89,990.

The meatier ZenBook Pro Duo (UX581), on the other hand, is powered by either an Intel 9th Gen Core i7 CPU or an Intel 10th Gen Core i9 CPU. Discrete graphics on the top variant comes in the form of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card with 6GB of video RAM. System RAM goes all the way up to 32GB and storage goes up to 1TB on PCIe NVMe x4 solid-state drives. The laptop's 15.6-inch UHD OLED panel is complemented by a 14-inch 4K ScreenPad+ unit on the keyboard island. The ZenBook Pro Duo starts at Rs 2,09,990.

ZenBook 13/14/15

Asus has given the existing ZenBook models an update. The ZenBook 13, ZenBook 14, and ZenBook 15 now feature ScreenPad 2.0, which is an improved version of the original ScreenPad seen on last year's ZenBook Pro 15. This feature essentially refers to the laptop's touchpad that doubles as a second screen. The only difference is that it's not as large or feature-filled as the ScreenPad+ seen on the ZenBook Duo series. 

The top variant of the 13-inch ZenBook 13 (UX334) continues to be powered by an Intel 8th Gen Core i7 CPU with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage on a PCIe NVMe solid-state drive. Discrete graphics comes in the form of an Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics card. The ZenBook 13 starts at Rs 84,990. Internationally, Asus sells the special all-white leather-wrapped ZenBook Edition 30 (ZenBook 13) to commemorate the company's thirtieth anniversary but it won't be sold in India.

The 14-inch ZenBook 14 (UX434) and 15.6-inch ZenBook (UX534), on the other hand, are now powered by Intel 10th Gen Core series CPUs, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage on a PCIe NVMe solid-state drive. The ZenBook 14 shares its discrete graphics card with the ZenBook 13 but the larger ZenBook 15 gets a gaming-grade Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card with Max-Q design. The ZenBook 14 and ZenBook 15 start at Rs 84,990 and Rs 1,24,990, respectively.

VivoBook S14/S15

Lastly, Asus has updated its VivoBook S series as well. Like the updated ZenBook laptops, the 15.6-inch VivoBook S15 (S532) comes with Asus' proprietary ScreenPad 2.0 unit. The top variant of the VivoBook S15 is powered by an Intel 10th Gen Core i7 CPU with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage on a PCIe NVMe solid-state drive. Discrete graphics comes in the form of an Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics card. Weighing in at 1.8 kilogrammes, the VivoBook S15 starts at Rs 69,990.

Sadly, the 14-inch VivoBook S14 (S431) does not get the ScreenPad 2.0 feature. It also misses out on Intel's latest chips and a discrete graphics card. It's powered by an Intel 8th Gen Core i5 CPU with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage on a PCIe NVMe solid-state drive. Weighing in at 1.4 kilogrammes, the VivoBook S14 starts at Rs 54,990. You can read our review of the VivoBook S14 (S431) here.

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Yamaha YAS 109 and YAS 209 launched in India priced at Rs 23,990 and Rs 35,490 respectively

Yamaha Music India has launched new soundbars in India - the YAS 109 and YAS 209. The YAS 109 is priced at Rs 23,990 and the YAS 209 is priced at Rs 35,490. Both the soundbars come with Alexa built-in. The biggest difference between the two is that the YAS 109 doesn't have a subwoofer and the YAS 209 has a wireless subwoofer. Both the soundbars come with built-in support for Spotify and Amazon Music but no Chromecast. 

Kicking things off with the specifications of the YAS 109, the soundbar has two 2-⅛ inch drivers, two 1-inch tweeter and two 3-inch built-in subwoofer drivers. It has a total power output of 120 W and weighs 3.4 kgs. When it comes to connectivity, the soundbar has an HDMI ARC port, optical in, in addition to Bluetooth 4.2 and WiFi (2.4GHz only). The device also has one HDMI port for passthrough (50 / 60 Hz YCbCr=4:4:4, HDR10, HLG and HDCP2.3). 

Moving over to the specifications of the YAS 209, the soundbar has four 1-3/4 inch drivers and two 1-inch tweeters. It has a 6-½ inch wireless subwoofer. It has a total power output of 200 W. The bar weighs 2.7kgs and the subwoofer 7.9kgs. When it comes to connectivity, the soundbar has an HDMI ARC port, optical in, in addition to Bluetooth 4.2 and WiFi (2.4GHz only). The device also has one HDMI port for passthrough (50 / 60 Hz YCbCr=4:4:4, HDR10, HLG and HDCP2.3). 

Commenting on the launch, Mr Keegan Paes, Asst. Manager Marketing, Yamaha Music India Pvt. Ltd, said, “The Yamaha Music YAS 109 and YAS 209 soundbars with built-in Alexa voice control will set a new benchmark in the Indian audio market. The powerful blend of immersive and life-like audio experience, an ultra-slim design and an array of advanced features, will certainly make it a treat for music and movie enthusiasts.”

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Nubia Red Magic 3S with 855+ SoC, 90Hz AMOLED display launched in India: Price, specs and all you need to know

Nubia has launched its latest Red Magic 3S gaming-centric smartphone in India. The new device adds to the growing list of gaming smartphones being announced in the country, which includes the likes of Asus ROG Phone II, BlackShark 2, and others. The Red Magic 3S succeeds the Red Magic 3, which was announced back in June this year. The handset is powered by the new Snapdragon 855+ SoC and is the most affordable handset with the processor in the Indian smartphone market right now since it starts at Rs 35,999. Other phones like the Asus ROG Phone II and OnePlus 7T are priced starting at Rs 37,999.

Nubia Red Magic 3S specifications and features

The Nubia Red Magic 3S comes equipped with a 6.65-inch Full HD display that has a 90Hz refresh rate and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ SoC and comes in 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB UFS 3.0 storage versions. Running on Android 9, the smartphone sports a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and is backed by a 5000mAh battery. The battery supports 27W fast charging and as per the company, it can deliver more than six hours of gameplay on a single full charge.

The original #GamingGod #RedMagic3S is here! Available on @Flipkart from 21st October in two unique colors Mecha Silver 8/128 GB for INR 35,999 and Cyber Shade 12/256 GB for INR 47,999. #Nubia #CoolestGamingPhone #GodModeOnPlus. Click to know more - https://t.co/NuPt732q6v pic.twitter.com/Li3MLKmxxR

— Red Magic India (@RedMagicIN) October 17, 2019

In terms of optics, the Red Magic 3S is equipped with a single 48MP sensor on the back that is paired with an f/1.8 aperture lens. The main camera can record 4K videos at 30fps and 8K videos at 15fps. On the front is a 16MP sensor that has an f/2.0 aperture lens and is capable of capturing full HD videos at 30fps. 

As for some additional features of the gaming phone, it comes with a Game Boost button that is said to enable better system performance. The device is equipped with an inbuilt cooling fan and sports liquid cooling technology, along with thermal modelling techniques to lower the device temperatures while gaming. There are also touch-sensitive trigger buttons on the phone that can be configured and custom mapped to suit a user’s needs. The handset also supports customisable RGB lighting. 

Nubia Red Magic 3S price and availability details 

The 8GB RAM variant of the Nubia Red Magic 3S comes in a Mecha Silver colour (Space Grey) and is priced at Rs 35,999. While its 12GB RAM version costs Rs 47,999 and will be available in Cyber shade (Red and Blue). It will be available for purchase from October 21 via Flipkart during the Diwali Special sale. There will also be a complete mobile protection offer for the phone at Rs 499.

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Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal says current tariffs are unsustainable and need to go up

Reliance Jio commenced commercial operations in September 2016 and upended the telecom sector. The telco promised free calls and offered data at a much lower rate than the competition. However, it recently announced that its users will be charged 6 paise per minute on voice calls to other networks as Interconnect Usage Charge (IUC), which Jio was apparently paying from its pockets. While users of Jio’s service might be crying foul, rival telcos are mocking Jio’s decision on social media. However, the CEO of Airtel, Gopal Vittal has now said that the tariff being charged currently is unsustainable and should go up.

At a panel discussion that was held at the recently concluded Indian Mobile Congress 2019 (IMC 2019), Vittal said, “We believe tariffs are unsustainable. We believe tariffs need to go up. We have always maintained this stand. If investments don't come in this industry, we will not meet the aspirations that Digital India has. In the last five years, the investment that has happened in this industry needs to be put back again in the next five years.”  However, the executive declined to comment when asked whether Airtel is planning to increase tariffs. 

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) proposed bringing down IUC charges to zero by the end of 2019, after reducing it to 6 paise from 14 paise. However, it now proposed extending the IUC charges that are being levied from telcos.

As mentioned earlier, Jio is now charging its users 6 paise per minute for voice calls that are placed to users on other networks like BSNL, Airtel and Vodafone. The prepaid recharge plans by Jio have also been revised to include IUC top-ups, which are priced at Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. While calling other Jio and landing users is still free, one will be charged when calling other users. You can read more about ṭhe revised recharge options by Jio here. 

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Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite colours revealed: Report

It was only a few days ago that we learnt of Samsung's plans to launch a ‘Lite’ version of two of its popular flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10. While we know little about the Galaxy Note 10 Lite (SM-N770F), we've received some leaked information about the Galaxy S10 Lite (SM-G770F). According to a recent report filed by Sammobile, the  Galaxy S10 Lite is expected to come in ‘some familiar paint jobs’, including white, black, and blue. A green and yellow option, as seen in the Galaxy S10e, could be added in the future.

Because the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite belongs to the Galaxy S10 family, it is expected to come in ‘Prism’ colours, like the Prism Black, Prism Blue, and Prism White the Galaxy S10 is currently available in. While the upcoming Lite handset is likely to borrow the green and yellow options from the more affordable Galaxy S10e, it's unlikely it'll come painted with the Aura Glow option the more expensive Galaxy S10 Note is available in. We'll just have to wait and see how Samsung decides to play this.

From what we know so far, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is a repackaged Galaxy A91. For all we know, the two devices could end up being one and the same, and sold under the Galaxy S10 Lite moniker. It is expected to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage space (expandable up to 512GB using a microSD card). The handset should run Android 9 Pie out of the box with Samsung's proprietary One UI.

The display on the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is anticipated to be a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED unit with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The phone's rear panel could have as many as up to three cameras, including one 48MP primary sensor with an aperture of f/2.0 and phase-detection autofocus, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor with an aperture of f/2.2, and a 5MP depth sensor with an aperture of f/2.2. The selfie camera will most likely be a single 32MP shooter with an aperture of f/2.2. We expect to learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite in the coming weeks. In the meantime you can read our review of the Galaxy S10 here.

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Google Stadia Controller will need a physical USB connection to smartphones and PCs at launch

Google has confirmed that gamers will only be able to use the Stadia Controller wirelessly with the Chromecast Ultra. If you plan on using the service on your laptop or PC or Pixel smartphone, you will have to connect the controller using a USB cable. A Google Community manager on Reddit said, “You'll need a Stadia Controller in order to play games through the Chromecast Ultra that's connected to your TV. As for wireless gameplay, this is limited to Chromecast Ultra. When plugged in via a USB cable, the Stadia Controller acts as a standard USB HID controller and may work on other platforms depending on the game and setup.”

This means that the demo we saw at the Stadia announcement event where Assassins Creed was shown playing on a number of devices via the Stadia controller wirelessly is still some time away. The USP of the Stadia controller is that it connects over WiFi directly with the server to help with latency. So does this mean it will work like a traditional controller when connected to a smartphone or PC?

Another thing to consider is that when Google talks about Stadia, it is positioning the device as a competitor to consoles and not the PC. The company has gone on stage to say things like you don't need to upgrade the box under the TV every few years, and also spoke about the fact that you need to wait for the game to download or wait for a patch to install. With the Chromecast Ultra, you are getting a 4K gaming experience on your 4K TV through Stadia but the question that remains unanswered is lag. 

Google Stadia is launching in 14 countries on November 19. India isn't one of the launch countries. As far as internet speed is concerned, Google has said that that a 10Mbps connection is enough to run the game at 720p 60fps. For 1080p gaming at 60fps with 5.1 sound, it recommends a speed of 20Mbps. For 4K gaming at 60fps with 5.1 sound, Google recommends a speed of 35Mbps. However, the key question is the bandwidth consumption during gaming which is yet to be answered. 

30 games will be a part of the Stadia launch lineup including Doom 2016, Red Dead Redemption 2 (read our review here), and many more. You can check out our in-depth FAQ about Google Stadia here.

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MIUI 11 Global Stable ROM rollout begins October 22 to these Xiaomi phones first

Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro yesterday. Along with the launch of much-anticipated phones in India, Xiaomi also announced the roll-out date of MIUI 11. The company revealed a roadmap of Redmi devices that will be getting MIUI 11 this year as well. The official MIUI 11 roll-out begins on October 22, and the Poco F1 is one of the first devices to receive the updated UI later this month.

Interestingly, the Redmi Note 8 Pro, which was launched yesterday, will get MIUI 11 by the end of the year. The update will roll-out in four phases. Moreover, Xiaomi has said that the dates are based on their current testing plans, so actual roll-out dates may vary. 

You can check out the entire list of Xiaomi smartphones that will be receiving MIUI 11 below.

Phase 1: October 22-31

Poco F1 Redmi K20 Redmi Y3 Redmi 7 Redmi Note 7 Redmi Note 7s Redmi Note 7 Pro

Phase 2: November 4-12

Redmi K20 Pro Redmi 6 Redmi 6 Pro Redmi 6A Redmi Note 5 Redmi Note 5 Pro Redmi 5 Redmi 5A Redmi Note 4 Redmi Y1 Redmi Y1 Lite Redmi Y2 Redmi 4 Mi Mix 2 Mi Max 2

Phase 3: November 13-29 

Redmi Note 6 Pro Redmi 7A Redmi 8 Redmi 8A Redmi Note 8

Phase 4: December 18-26

Redmi Note 8 Pro

MIUI 11 will have new icons, ultra power saving mode, system-wide dark mode, and more. The MIUI 11 is said to add a cross-device sharing feature that Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are collaborating on. Further, the new MIUI 11 adds new features to the 'Always on Display’ as well.

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