Nokia 24

The Nokia 2.4 is a jack of many trades. It has a good display, a decent camera and good battery life. For basic work like social networking, document editing, attending online classes and some productivity, it gets the job done. You can also play some casual games on it. It has a good build and an attractive design as well. But for the hardcore multitasker, avid gamer and performance enthusiast, there are other options to consider.  

Over the past year, we have seen some impressive smartphones launch at around Rs 10,000. Some of them have targeted gamers while others have tried to bring a better camera and some even focused on battery life. We have seen devices like the Redmi Note 9 and the Realme Narzo 20 fight for the top spot in the 10K budget smartphone segment. But today, we have with us a different contender in this price segment - the Nokia 2.4. The smartphone isn't the heaviest hitter when it comes to specs on paper, but then again it doesn’t need to be as that’s not the audience it is targeting. So, who is this phone right for? Well, read on and find out. 

Key specifications at a glance Dual SIM: Yes Weight: 195 grams Display Size: 6.5-inch  Display Type: IPS LCD Display Resolution: 720 x 1600  OS: Android 10 (stock) CPU: MediaTek MT6762 Helio P22 GPU: PowerVR GE8320 RAM: 3GB Storage: 64GB Rear camera: dual - 13MP+2MP Front camera: 5MP Battery: 4500mAh Build and design

Before we get into the design of the Nokia 2.4, know that the smartphone is available in Charcoal Grey, Fjord Blue and Dusk. The one we have with us today is the Fjord Blue. Did you know that a Fjord is “a long, deep, narrow body of water that reaches far inland”? Well, I didn’t, and one of the more striking things about this smartphone is its colour and design. Keep it face down on a table, and it will definitely turn heads. From a certain angle, when light reflects off the back of the smartphone, it looks as though the smartphone is changing from light blue to dark blue. Needless to say, you don't want to hide this back with a protective case. 

Speaking of covers, you really don't need one as the smartphone has a 3D nano-textured finish at the back, adding to the grip. While one would expect to put a cover on a smartphone with a glass back to protect it, this one looks like it can withstand usage without a cover. 

The back of the phone also houses the fingerprint sensor which is very responsive, once set up. Unlike other smartphones that have a slight indent at the back where the fingerprint reader rests, that isn’t the case here. This means finding the fingerprint reader takes some getting used to before you’re comfortable with where it is. The back of the phone also houses the dual camera (more on that in a bit). 

Coming to the ports and buttons, we have the power button and volume rocker on the right and a dedicated Google Assistant button on the left along with the SIM tray. The top has the endangered 3.5mm headphones jack and the bottom, a micro-USB port. The micro-USB port is accompanied by the speaker as well. The phone is tall, making one-handed use difficult. It has a small notch on the display which houses the front camera. 

Overall, the build of the smartphone feels top-notch and the design is unique. I am the kind of person that prefers a premium polycarbonate finish as opposed to glass, but that’s a personal preference. 

Performance

Let’s get the obvious out of the way; if you are looking for a beast of a phone to multitask like a ninja and play Call of Duty: Mobile at high settings, then this isn't the phone for you. You are better off looking elsewhere. For comparison’s sake, below is a look at some benchmarks of the Nokia 2.4 and how it stacks up against the competition. 

Using the Nokia 2.4 as my daily smartphone for a few days, there are some things to appreciate and some that left me wanting more. Let’s begin. Starting with the obvious; calling, texting and social networking, all worked well on this phone. The apps may take a heartbeat longer than I’d like to switch between when multitasking, but it wasn’t something that removed me from the experience completely. From watching videos on YouTube to switching to Twitter, then Instagram and Facebook, this phone got the job done quite well. The tall screen made it handy to use an app like Twitter and even for me to read books on the Kindle app. The typing experience on the phone was also ergonomic and comfortable. Needless to say, if you type long emails on the go, this phone’s ergonomics can definitely work well for you.  

Moving over to gaming, as we said before, if you are looking to play Call of Duty: Mobile in all its fidelity, then this isn’t the smartphone for you. Call of Duty Mobile is playable and at low settings we got an average FPS of 44 with 77 percent FPS stability. So, you can play the game for sure, just not at high settings. However, playing games like Brick Breaker, or Galaxy Attack or Ludo, Chess, Othello, etc. all ran perfectly well. So, if casual gaming on a smartphone is what you want then this phone gets the job done.  

The Nokia 2.4 runs on stock Android and that's a good thing. There is no bloatware that hampers the experience on the device. With a guarantee of 2 years of Android OS updates and 3 years of security updates, you don't need to worry about the longevity of the smartphone. 

Display

For video consumption, the Nokia 2.4 can do a maximum of 720p at 60Hz on YouTube and because it lacks Widevine L1, it can only manage SD for a service like Netflix. While watching YouTube on this phone was enjoyable at 720p with punchy colours and crisp looking videos but on a service like Netflix, it had a slightly blurry image as it played back in SD, lacking the crispness for an enjoyable content consumption experience. Coming to the audio, the speaker is loud enough to enjoy a movie trailer, podcast or even the occasional news bulletin, but it is mono only. 

Battery

Moving over to the battery, the smartphone can run for a full 2 days of use quite easily thanks to the 4500mAh battery. With average use of a few calls, messaging and social networking, the phone was ready to go back on the charger in the evening of the second day - not bad. When leaving the brightness on auto and connecting a pair of headphones via the 3.5mm port, we lost a little over 5% battery with consuming content on Netflix. So, this phone can definitely be your companion for those long binging sessions. My only problem with the battery is that the phone takes more than 3 hours to go from 0 to 100% charge which means you are better off plugging the device into the wall before going to sleep. 

Considering that Document apps work well on this phone and YouTube works fine, along with a decent speaker and battery life, the Nokia 2.4 is a prospective smartphone for kids who need to watch online classes. The display is decent for content consumption as well. The stock Android nature of the device also adds to this experience, but as we said above, heavy multitasking can cause the device to stutter. 

Camera

Put simply, the camera gets the job done in well-lit situations. It has a decent dynamic range, and you can get colours to pop if the lighting in the room is right. It has a dedicated secondary camera to click portrait photos and while edges of objects and things like your hair or ears can merge with the background blur, it does work well, for the most part. 

Low lit photos do harbour noise and even though we did manage to get some social media-worthy photos from the camera in low lit situations, it was the absolute low light that made the camera falter. The images not only seem to be too noisy but also lack detail. Not to mention, shooting in low light can also result in shaky shots due to slow shutter speeds, rendering your photos unusable.

The phone can record 1080p videos at 30 FPS and can catch audio from a distance of 6-8 feet quite easily. So, shooting those family videos of the kids running around should grab their audio as well. 

The below camera samples have been resized for web.

Bottom Line

The Nokia 2.4 is a jack of many trades and is looking to cater to a very specific audience. I can see someone like my mom using this device. She makes calls, attends Zoom meetings, chats with the family on WhatsApp, and reads a lot of news and takes the occasional photo. She is also the kind of person that prefers stock Android (without known that's what it is called). If you are a gamer looking to spend all night playing CoD: Mobile or a photography enthusiast or looking for a performance beast on a budget, then sure, there are other options to choose from. But, if you are thinking of getting a phone for the parents who are not tech-savvy, or getting a second phone for online classes for the kids, then this can work well. It has a good build, the promise of regular updates for a few years and a good display. The camera can click some good photos too. The phone has a decent battery life as well but can take a really long time to go from 0 to 100% charge.

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The KFConsole will keep your KFC chicken hot while you enjoy playing games

KFConsole (read: KF Console) is turning out to be a real deal as the world’s first PC with a built-in chicken chamber. No, you did not read it incorrectly, the KFConsole does claim to offer you a hot chicken wing in between your gaming sessions and can run games in 4K UHD at 240FPS. It’s not entirely a console per se but the KFConsole is riding on the console wars hype-train and so you can’t blame it either.

The console wars are . Introducing the KFConsole. #PowerYourHunger pic.twitter.com/k7AM6g61Ip

— KFC Gaming (@kfcgaming) December 22, 2020

That said, the proposition of grabbing a piece of KFC’s fried chicken wings while you enjoy gaming from the PC that looks like a chicken bucket does look enticing. The KFConsole has been built in partnership with KFC and Cooler Master and claims to be VR-ready with 4K gaming and Ray Tracing support. The chicken chamber inside utilizes the heat generated by the powerful hardware and uses the airflow system to keep your crispy chicken warm between gameplay rounds.

The KFConsole is designed by Cooler Master’s Mod team led by Swedish designer and case-modder Tim Malmborg. It is based on a custom Cooler Master NC100 chassis and features a removable tray to store chicken wings with a red power button in the centre and LED ring light at the bottom. While extensive details about the KFConsole are still kept under wraps, the I/O ports could be at the back though we do see two USB ports along with a headphone jack on the top.

Powering the KFConsole is the Intel Nuc 9 Extreme Compute Element that includes 9th generation Intel Core i9-9980HK processor and is paired with a swappable Asus-powered graphics card. The system is also equipped with two Seagate BarraCuda NVMe 1TB SSD storage drives offering upto six-times faster speeds. This hardware is capable of driving some of the latest AAA titles and will also run Crysis easily. No news on whether it'll run Cyberpunk 2077 smoothly, but that's a story for another day!

The KFConsole is also VR-ready, supports Ray-tracing games and users can connect it to a 4K TV and game at upto 240FPS. “The KFConsole has arrived. Forged from the fires of the KFC ovens and built by Cooler Master from the ground up, there has never been a tastier way to experience the latest titles in stunning 4k, 240fps,” reads the listing on the official website.

More details about the KFConsole including prices, configurations and availability are yet to be revealed so there is still some time before this chicken-bucket-lookalike gaming PC is released for consumers globally. 

 

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Amazfit GTS 2 Mini launched in India at almost half the price of GTS 2: Whats different

Huami has launched the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini in India two days after launching the GTS 2. As the name suggests, the Mini is a more affordable and toned-down version of the original GTS 2. The company had launched the GTS 2 Mini in China earlier this month and just three weeks later it debuts in India at Rs 6,999. The entry-level smartwatch will go on sale starting December 26 via Amazfit's online store and Amazon India.

Amazfit GTS 2 Mini vs GTS 2: Which one is for you?

At almost half the price of the Amazfit GTS 2, the GTS 2 Mini offers a lot of similar features, but what's makes them different from each other?

The Amazfit GTS 2 has a 1.65-inch Super Retina display with 3D glass, whereas the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini has a slightly smaller and less sharp display. It is a 1.55-inch AMOLED with a 354 x 306p resolution, 450 nits brightness and 301ppi pixel density. 

It also offers always-on functionality and will come with 30+ always on patterns and 50+ watch faces. 

What's commendable is that there's no compromise on the materials. Both the smartwatches come in the same quality aluminium alloy case. The key differentiators are finish and form factor. The GTS 2 Mini is 8.95 mm thin and weighs only 19.5g in comparison to 9.7mm thickness and 27g weight of the GTS 2. 

In terms of features and sports modes, the GTS 2 has more modes than the Mini, but it still offers more than 70 modes. The GTS 2 Mini has a women-focused feature that tracks the menstrual calendar along and can give reminders. Other notable features available on both the watches include heart rate monitoring, SpO2 measurement and sleep tracking.

Now, a few features that the GTS 2 Mini misses over the GTS 2 include built-in storage that lets you save your own songs on the watch. The Mini also lacks support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth calls, so you cannot pick calls because it only has a mic but not a speaker like the GTS 2. All of this impacts the battery life of the watch.

The GTS 2 Mini has a 220mAh battery that is said to last 14 days on typical use and 21 days on basic watch mode. Its battery is said to be charged in 2 hours. Contrarily, with a bigger 246mAh battery, the GTS 2 claims of 7-day battery life on typical usage and 20 days on basic watch mode.

Just like the Amazfit GTS 2, the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini has Amazon Alexa voice assistant, so you can set reminders, ask questions, and control compatible smart home products.

Which one is for you?

The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini brings most of the useful features at almost half the cost of the GTS 2. What it still lacks is the internal storage, Wi-Fi and a speaker to take calls, which might matter to a set of buyers. If this is something you can compromise, the GTS 2 Mini makes for a more value for money entry-level smartwatch in a sleeker and lighter form factor.

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The new PS5 update lets you know if you are playing a PS4 version of the game

Sony looks like it has fixed one of the biggest cross-generation problems with its latest PS5 update. The update will let the user know when they are playing a PS4 version of the game, and notify them once the optimized version for PS5 is available to download.

The feature was first spotted by Twitter user Tidux and aims to give users more details about the version of the game they are playing. As we already know, the PS5 offers backwards compatibility for all PS4 titles. Users can mistakenly download the PS4 version of the game quite without knowing that a newer or optimized version of the game is available for download. The update will be quite helpful in the future as more and more games will be added to this list. Interestingly, the option is only shown in games that offer a free-next gen upgrade. Games that have remastered versions like DMC5 (Devil May Cry 5) will be available as a separate download title.

New? #PS5Share pic.twitter.com/JEY2BU37H4

— Tidux (@Tidux) December 22, 2020

Nonetheless, with the new update, any game that receives a PS5 next-gen upgrade from the previous version such as Control will be notified of the new update when it releases on 2 February 2021. Microsoft with its Smart Delivery program automatically installs the best version of the game available for your console which is a simpler approach.

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Free Fire Continental Series: Thailands EXP Esports wins Asia Series, Indias Total Gaming comes 8th

The Free Fire Continental Series (FFCS) has concluded, and we have our winners for all three regions. To recall, the FFCS was held in three regions, namely Asia, EMEA and the Americas. Each region’s Grand Finals saw 12 teams compete in the same format. All teams battled over six rounds, across all three classic maps. This included Bermuda, Purgatory, and Kalahari. Points would then be awarded based on round placement and the number of kills. Sbornaya ChR (CIS), Team Liquid (Brazil), and EXP Esports (Thailand) won for EMEA, Americas and Asia respectively. Each team picked up US$80,000 of the combined US$900,000 prize pool.

India’s representatives in the Asia Series Grand Finals, Total Gaming, tried hard, but fell short and placed eighth overall. The team scored 70 points and 17 kills. Vatsal “TG_VasiyoCRJ7” Garasia, from Total Gaming Esports, said: “Winning and losing are part of the game. And seeing the overwhelming support from the fans really motivated us and made us feel really good! For that, we are grateful and will continue to work even harder!”

However, the victors of the Asia series were Thailand’s EXP Esports, which managed to beat their compatriots, King of Gamer’s Club by a single point. The fight for the final podium spot was even more closely contested with Indonesia’s RRQ Hades and EVOS Esports ending on the same score of 133 points. However, RRQ Hades was awarded the win by having a higher number of placement points.

Garena also claims some impressive viewership figures for the event. The Asia Series was said to offer over 2.5 million Peak Concurrent Viewers (PCV), which is said to be a new record for Free Fire esports. The Americas Series and EMEA Series got over 1.7 million and 300,000 PCV respectively. By comparison, the Free Fire World Series (2019) obtained slightly over 2 million PCV last year.    Over in India, the Hindi stream of the Asia Series Grand Finals obtained a staggering 47 million views on YouTube alone.

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Realme Watch S series and Buds Air Pro Master Edition launched in India: Price, features and availability

Realme Watch S series has made its debut in India alongside the Realme Buds Air Pro Master Edition. The company has been teasing the launch of its smartwatches from a while now after teasing the Watch S Pro during the IFA 2020. Realme Watch S made its global debut after being unveiled in Pakistan in November. Both the Realme smartwatches feature SpO2 blood-oxygen monitor and offer a decent set of fitness and activity tracking features.

Alongside the Watch S series, Realme also announced a special edition of the Buds Air Pro dubbed Buds Air Pro Master Edition that has been designed in collaboration with José Lévy. The special edition of the Buds Air Pro has a reflective silver finish that is inspired by science fiction elements. Here’s a brief look at the pricing, features and availability of the Realme Watch S series and Buds Air Pro Master Edition.

Realme Watch S series pricing and availability

Realme Watch S is priced at Rs 4,999 while the Master Edition is priced at Rs 5,999 in India. The Watch S goes on its first sale from December 28 from 12 PM on Flipkart and Realme India store.

The Realme Watch S Pro is up for grabs at Rs 9,999 and goes on sale from December 29 on Flipkart and Realme India store. The Silicone straps are priced at Rs 499 while the Vegan leather straps can be purchased for Rs 999. 

Realme Watch S Pro features

Realme Watch S Pro features a 1.39-inch round dial with an AMOLED touchscreen. The watch has a stainless steel build that is paired either with silicone straps or Began leather straps and it weighs 63.5 grams. The silicone straps are being offered in four colours including black, blue, orange and green while the leather straps are available in brown, black, blue and green colours to choose from. The screen is protected through a layer of 2.5D Gorilla Glass for regular wear and tear. The smartwatch has features like always-on display and supports 100+ watch faces that the company claims you can use “for 3 months without repeating.”

The Watch S Pro is 5ATM certified making it resistant water ingress for upto 50 meters underwater so you can take it swimming without any worries. It is also equipped with a blood oxygen monitor and a heart rate sensor that tracks heart-rate in real-time and offers reports and analysis. The watch comes with preset 15 sports modes along with a swimming mode. Some of the other features include music playback, notifications, remote camera control and more. The watch pairs to the phone via Realme Link app and is compatible with devices on Android 5.0 and above. Support for iOS 9 and above is coming at a later date.

Realme Watch S Pro is equipped with a 4,20mAh battery and is claimed to offer 14-day battery life. The watch can charge from the magnetic charging base that takes around 2 hours to fully charge it from 0-100%.

Realme Watch S features

Realme has also announced the Watch S and the Watch S Master Edition designed in collaboration with Grafflex and features custom straps. It features a 1.3-inch LCD screen that is topped with a layer of Gorilla Glass. The screen has a photosensitive sensor that automatically adjusts the display’s brightness. It has a circular dial with aluminium frame and plastic rear panel that also houses the sensor array. The Watch S has received an IP68 rating making it resistant to dust and water for upto 1.5 meters.

The Realme Watch S is equipped with a real-time heart rate monitoring sensor that can keep a track of your heart rate regularly and provides a detailed report. It connects to the smartphone via the Realme Link app and offers 16 sports modes and support for 100+ watch faces. There’s a SpO2 blood oxygen monitor on the watch as well that measures the oxygen levels with just a tap. It is equipped with a 390mAh battery that the Realme claims can last for 15 days on a single charge. Realme provides a magnetic charging base with the Watch S to charge it. 

Realme Buds Air Pro Master Edition features and price

Realme collaborated with French designer José Lévy to design the special edition Buds Air Pro Master Edition. The company says that it is inspired with “space capsules and sci-fi” and is made using a vacuum plating process that gives it a reflective silver sheen. Rest of the feature set remains the same as the Buds Air Pro including 10mm drivers, 25 hours worth of playback time and more.

The Realme Buds Air Pro Master Edition is priced at Rs 4,999 and goes on sale from January 8 at 12 PM on Realme India store and Flipkart. 

 

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Apple could finally bring multiple user support to iOS

One key feature missing from iOS is multiple users. Even though the feature is present on the Macs, the iPhone and especially a device like the iPad really needs multiple user support. It looks like this is about to change as Apple has been granted a patent which details support for multiple users. As spotted by Apple Insider, the patent granted to apple is titled "Provision of domains in secure enclave to support multiple users."

While the patent details more than one user being able to use a device, it also highlights the security aspects of the patent. According to Apple Insider, the patent reads, "A computing device can employ several passcodes and associated encryption keys, where multiple passcodes or encryptions keys may be associated with each different user account on the system”. Even though the patent says computing device, it could be more indicative towards the iPad or the iPhone as Macs already support multiple users. Also support for multiple passcodes and encryption keys could mean secure login to the device and associated apps and services that require a login. 

The patent also goes on to highlight other security measures to ensure that there is no way in which multiple user support could lead to a breach of data. This isn't the first time a multiple user patent has been published. According to Forbes, the first multi-user patent was published back in 2013.

Multiple user support on a device like the iPad seems like a no-brainer. For a professional using an iPad as his primary computing device and then coming back home, the rest of the family can use the device for gaming, entertainment or simply social networking. 

If you are in the market for an iPad Air, you can check our review of the 2020 iPad Air here. You can also see what the rumour mills are saying about the upcoming 2021 iPad here.

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