MediaTek has brought about a revolution of sorts among budget smartphones in India, with most brands opting for the company’s Helio G-series to power their smartphones. The G-series chips are touted particularly for their powerful CPU and GPU, and it seems MediaTek is far from being done with improving budget smartphone performance. New leaks indicate the Taiwanese chip designer is working on two 5nm chips that could potentially disrupt the budget segment.
The leak comes courtesy of Chinese leakster, Digital Chat Station, who claimed two MediaTek chips, MTK6839 and MTK6891 are being manufactured on a 5nm process, making them the first MediaTek chips to be made using the new technology. The two chips are also reportedly going to have cores based on the new ARM Cortex-A78 architecture, which could enable a significant jump in performance over the last generation. There’s also a big improvement in power efficiency that is expected.
So far, not much else is known about these two chips. Whether these will be under the Helio G-series or the Dimensity series, is also unknown at this point. It’s likely going to have a 5G modem built-in, considering the top-end MediaTek chips are now all 5G powered.
We also don’t know when the chips will hit the market. There is a chance we could hear about them from MediaTek before the year comes to a close, and phones powered by the chip should start cropping up early next year.
MediaTek has maintained an edge over Qualcomm this year, in the budget and mid-range segment, especially in India. Most smartphones priced below Rs 20,000 are now powered by a MediaTek chipset. With Qualcomm chips becoming more and more expensive over the years, MediaTek was able to dominate primarily by keeping the prices low, enabling OEMs to offer a better deal with a MediaTek chip onboard.
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The Micromax In Note 1 and the Micromax In 1B have officially launched as the budget and lower-midrange offering buy the company in India. With its feature-set, the In Note 1 goes up against the likes of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 and Realme Narzo 20 while the In 1B finds its counterparts in the form of Poco C3, Xiaomi Redmi 9, Realme C11 and the Realme C15.
Both the phones are aimed squarely at offering best in class specifications at an affordable price point, however, it remains to be seen if the new Micromax phones can take on the might that Xiaomi and Realme have amassed in the segment. The Micromax In Note 1 and In 1B are fairly different smartphones for two different set of use cases, however, there are some similarities too as they are cut from the same cloth.
Micromax In Note 1 vs In 1B: Pricing
Micromax In Note 1 is priced starting at Rs 10,499 for the base variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage and Rs 12,499 for the 4GB+128GB variant.
The Micromax In 1B starts at Rs 6,999 for the base variant with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage, while the 4GB+64GB model is being offered at Rs 7,999.
Micromax In Note 1 vs In 1B: Design and Display
The Micromax In Note 1 and In 1B both have a glossy back panel, however, the In 1B seems to have a dual-tone design on the back across three colours-- blue, purple and green. The In Note 1 is offered in two colours-- Green and White with the former having an X-shaped pattern on the back.
The In Note 1 features a 6.67-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution display with a punch-hole cutout in the middle for the selfie camera. The In 1B, on the other hand, has a slightly smaller 6.52-inch HD+ (1560 x 720 pixels) resolution display with a waterdrop notch. Both phones use an LCD panel with minimal bezels and while we are yet to hold either of them in our hands, going by the pictures the In 1B seems to have a slightly wider chin.
Micromax In Note 1 vs In 1B: Under the hood
The Micromax In Note 1 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 processor that has an octa-core CPU with Mali-G52 MC2 GPU running at 1GHz. It has two high-performance cores running at upto 2.0GHz and six power-efficient cores clocked at 1.8GHz. The Helio G85 has been optimised with HyperEngine gaming technology that ensures dynamic resource allocation for a smooth gameplay experience.
As for the In 1B, it is powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 processor with an octa-core CPU and is paired with PowerVR GE8320 graphics. There are four high-performance cores clocked at 2.3GHz and four power-efficient cores clocked at 1.8GHz.
The In Note 1 is being offered with 4GB RAM and upto 128GB storage while the In 1B is available with upto 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option to choose from.
Both phones run on stock Android 10 and Micromax promises system upgrades for the next two years. The In Note 1 and In 1B, both have a dedicated Google Assistant button that can be used to give voice commands to the AI assistant.
The Micromax In Note 1 has quad-cameras on the back in a rectangular camera module that consists of a primary 48MP camera, a 5MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 115-degree field-of-view, 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, there’s a 16MP selfie camera housed within the punch-hole cutout with features like bokeh effect and beauty mode.
Being a budget offering, the In 1B makes do with a dual-camera setup on the back that consists of a primary 13MP camera and a 2MP depth sensor. It uses an 8MP camera on the front for selfies.
Also present on both phones are rear fingerprint readers, face unlock, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G VoLTE support, 3.5mm audio jack and USB Type-C port for charging.
Micromax In Note 1 vs In 1B: Battery
The Micromax In Note 1 and Micromax In 1B, both are equipped with a 5,000mAh battery, however, the former supports 18W fast charging while the In 1B has to make do with regular 10W charging speeds.
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Among Us developers InnerSloth have released a patch for the game that adds options for anonymous voting, among other things. Other features introduced in the update include added task bar modes, new symbols for the fix wires task, and cosmetics to meeting screen.
November is not only the festive month in India, but this year it is special as we will see the launch of the next generation gaming consoles, the PS5 and the Xbox Series S/X. This time, however, one of the key changes is backward compatibility. Not only are the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X compatible with their respective previous generation, but game developers are also offering enhancements for those that purchase a game on the current-gen consoles and then move to the next-gen. But not all the games will get free next-generation upgrades.
Both Sony and Microsoft have announced the official list of games that are getting a free next-gen upgrades to the new console at no extra cost. It can become confusing trying to understand which games you should purchase now and which you should wait for, but here's a list of games getting next-gen upgrades.
PlayStation 5: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Atelier Ryza 2 Borderlands 3 Bugsnax Control(Only for Ultimate Edition) Cyberpunk 2077 Dead by Daylight Destiny 2 DIRT 5 DOOM Eternal Far Cry 6 FIFA 21(Till the release of FIFA 22) For Honor Ghostrunner Guilty Gear Strive Hitman 3 Horizon Forbidden West Immortals Fenyx Rising Kena: Bridge of Spirits Little Nightmares II Madden NFL 21(Till the release of NFL 22) Maneater Marvel’s Avengers Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate NBA 2K21(Only for Mamba Forever Edition) No Man’s Sky Outriders The Pathless Planet Coaster: Console Edition Praey for the Gods Riders Republic Sackboy: A Big Adventure Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege The Elder Scrolls Online The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Watch Dogs Legion WRC 9 Yakuza: Like a Dragon How is the free upgrade actually going to work?
The PS4 to PS5 upgrades depend on the publisher’s support to which version of the game is eligible for an upgrade and which one is not. If you purchase a digital version of a game on PS4 then you are eligible for a free upgrade to the digital copy of the same game on PS5. If you own a physical copy of the game on PS4 then you would require the same disc to run the game on PS5. So if you have a PS4 and you get a PS5 digital-only version, then all the games that have physical media would not be playable on the PS5 digital version.
Xbox Seres X/S: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Call of the Sea Chorus Crossfire X Cyberpunk 2077 Halo Infinite Hellblade 2 Gears 5 Dirt 5 Destiny 2 Scarlet Nexus Second Extinction The Ascent Manifold Garden Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Yakuza: Like a Dragon Metal: Hellsinger Doom Eternal The Elder Scrolls Online Far Cry 6 Forza Horizon 4 Gears Tactics Grounded The Gunk Ori and the Will of the Wisps Psychonauts 2 Sea of Thieves Tetris Effect: Connected Watch Dogs: Legion
On the Xbox, the company has introduced a feature called Smart Delivery. This tech is basically used to bridge the gap between the previous-gen and the next-gen consoles.
Microsoft has announced that smart delivery will be available for all the first-party games from Xbox Game Studios such as Halo Infinite and Hellblade 2. But this smart delivery is optional for third-party developers.
If you buy Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on Xbox One and then get an Xbox Series X, the new console will automatically download the Series X version of the game and would also transfer the progress on the game from the cloud.
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After the success of games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Hearthstone, it would seem pretty apt that Activision Blizzard would look to bring their other franchises to mobile. In it’s Q3 2020 earnings report, the company’s investors expressed their interest in bringing all its franchises to the mobile gaming space.
When asked about the company’s views on platforms beyond next generation consoles. Daniel I. Alegre, President and Chief Operating Officer of Activision Blizzard said that the company was “really well-positioned to take advantage of this expansion in platforms and also the associated economics.” Alegre further added that Activision Blizzard was “making sure: that it’s enabling its franchises on the billions of mobile devices available. “That's by far our biggest opportunity, and we're investing meaningfully to capitalize on this and to take all our franchises to mobile over time. That's really, really important for us,” he noted
The list of franchises owned by Activision Blizzard includes Call of Duty, Warcarft, Starcraft, Overwatch, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro The Dragon, The Tony Hawk video game series, and one of the newest IPs, Sekiro. This of course, does not include the franchises owned by King, which is already primarily focused on creating mobile games like Candy Crush Saga.
While Call of Duty is obviously amongst the biggest franchises owned by Activision Blizzard, there are some very notable franchises from Blizzard's side of things. This includes series such as Warcraft and Diablo. Robert A. Kotick, Chief Executive Officer & Director at Activision Blizzard notes that Blizzard has “dedicated creative talent” that is focused on delivering multiple mobile experiences in the coming years. He also added that it’s franchises were “well-suited for global, mobile, console, and PC gaming audiences. And we're determined to deliver compelling mobile experiences for both existing fans of our franchises and the hundreds of millions of players around the world who haven't yet played our games.”
Diablo: Immortal was a game that was announced back in 2018. However, saying that its announcement was poorly received by the hardcore PC gaming audience would be a massive understatement. However, Alegre notes that the game is shaping up to be quite good with a positive response from testers. He said, “amongst multiple Blizzard mobile titles under development, Diablo Immortal saw a hugely enthusiastic response in internal testing in the third quarter and will soon enter external regional testing.”
Of course, Call of Duty: Mobile’s popularity remains strong on mobile. Kotick noted that Call of Duty: Mobile has been downloaded over 300 million times worldwide and has become the highest grossing new game in the US App Store since its launch in October last year. “By expanding to mobile, we have brought in tens of millions of new players in countries far beyond our traditional audiences.” Back in June, Sensor Tower reported that the game had crossed the 250 million downloads mar
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We got a very elegant teardown of the PS5 from Sony itself where the company revealed not only the slot for expandable storage but also the large fan and cooling technology meant to keep the PS5 whisper quiet. If you missed that teardown, you can check it out here.
However, today we have an unofficial teardown of the PS5 DualSense controller. This one comes from TronicsFix who quite meticulously tears down the DualSense controller.
Once he opens up the controller, he compares it to the DualShock 4 controller found on the PS4. You can see that the haptic motors are quite different when compared to the vibration motors found on the PS4 controller. The battery on the DualSense controller is a lot bigger than its predecessor but it remains to be seen how much of a difference there is in the battery life of the 2 controllers.
There are also more chips on the DualSense controller when compared to the DualShock 4 to obviously cater to the new tech in the new controller. One thing to note is that the analog sticks on both the controller are exactly the same, as far as the hardware is concerned.
When it comes to the haptic motor, it is a lit larger than the vibration motor found on the DualShock 4. Moving over to the adaptive triggers, it looks like there is a spiral motor. When the motor rotates, it increases/decreases the tension on the DualSense trigger. TronFix says that the adaptive triggers have a modular design which should help with repairability.
One thing to note is that the controller has a lot of rubber dampers, on the motherboard, on the triggers and more to help control the amount and spread of vibration to a different part of the controller and more importantly, to the motherboard.
YouTuber Austin Evans also got his hands on the DualSense controller and shows it working on an Android smartphone to play Xbox games via xCloud. He also breaks the controller while trying to take it apart. You can check out his video here.
Image courtesy: TronicsFix
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The ongoing border tensions between India and China did put a dent in the market share of Chinese companies, but the military and political stand-off has also caused a beloved Indian smartphone brand to rise from the ashes. Micromax made a comeback to the Indian smartphone market with a new smartphone line-up called ‘In’. The company launched two new smartphones under the ‘In’ brand — The Micromax In Note 1 and Micromax In 1B.
Right at the start, the Micromax co-founder stressed that the company is fulling manufacturing the smartphones in India, at a plant in Rajasthan using SMT equipment from FUJI, which is used to assemble the phones. The chipset used in the smartphones comes from Taiwan, but the origin of the rest of the components are unknown at this point. For now, here’s what the smartphones have to offer —
Micromax In Note 1, In 1B price and availability
The Micromax In Note 1 comes in two variants. The 4+64GB variant is priced at Rs 10,999 while the 4+128GB variant is priced at Rs 12,999. The Micromax In 1B starts at Rs 6,999 for the 2+32GB variant while the 4+64GB variant starts at Rs 7,999.
Both smartphones will be available online on Flipkart.com and on Micromax’s own e-commerce portal. The Micromax In Note 1 will go on sale from November 24, 2020 while the Micromax In 1B will go on sale from November 26, 2020.
Micromax In Note1 specs and features, comparison
The Micromax In Note 1 sports a glossy rear panel with an X-shaped gradient that reflects light. On the front is an 18:9 display with minimal bezels and a punch-hole front camera in the center.
The Micromax In Note 1 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 SoC with the ARM G52 MC2 GPU. The chipset is also widely used by Realme and Xiaomi in their mid-range smarphones like the Narzo 20 and the Redmi Note 9. It’s an octa-core chipset built on a 12nm process, and comes with two ARM Cortex A75 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and six ARM Cortex A55 cores clocked at 1.8GHz. There’s 4GB RAM on both variants, with the storage going up to 128GB.
The In Note 1 also comes with a 6.67-inch FHD+ display with a punch-hole camera in the center. There’s a 5,000mAh battery inside that tops up using a 18W fast charger.
As for the cameras, the In Note 1 is right up there with the competition, at least in terms of the hardware. The In Note 1 rocks a 48MP quad camera stack with a 5MP ultrawide camera, a 2MP depth camera and another 2MP macro camera. On the front is another 16MP selfie shooter.
Preliminary comparisons based on the hardware specifications indicates the Micromax In Note 1 is aggressively competing with the likes of the Realme Narzo 20, the Redmi Note 9, and the like. Most smartphones in this price range are indeed powered by the MediaTek Helio G series SoCs, while the Snapdragon 720G is also just within reach in the POCO M2 Pro.
Camera wise, the In Note 1 competes toe to toe, but it’d ultimately come down to how well the cameras are tuned, and the camera app itself. The battery life and fast charging support, on the other hand are pretty much at par with the competition.
Micromax In 1B specs and features, comparison
The Micromax In 1B is the budget offering, priced aggressively starting Rs 6,999. It’s powered by the MediaTek Helio G35 SoC, that’s also present in the Realme C11, C15 and the POCO C3. It’s also an octa-core chipset built on 12nm process. Only this uses ARM Cortex A53 cores clocked at up to 2.3GHz. The phone is offered in 2GB and 4GB RAM variants with 32GB and 64GB storage respectively.
The Micromax In 1B features a 6.5-inch HD+ display with a waterdrop notch, and a 5,000mAh battery keeps the lights on. There’s a 10W charger in the box.
The In 1B sports a modest dual camera setup at the back with a 13MP primary camera and a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, it gets an 8MP selfie shooter.
With the In 1B, the challenge is going to be primarily with the Realme C11, POCO C3, both of which rely on the Helio G35 as well. The rest of the specs are also quite similar, and here the In 1B is quite aggressive.
Earlier, the company had posted a video announcing its comeback into the market, with an obnoxiously racist “Cheeni Kum” campaign. Mind you, this is the same company that would previously just rebrand wholesale Chinese smartphones to sell in India. Just how much of the new smartphones are indigenously manufactured and designed? Well, that remains to be seen.
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