Apple begins iPhone 12 assembly in India

Apple has started assembling the iPhone 12 in India, the Cupertino has officially announced. The company is looking to ramp up production in India starting with the standard iPhone 12 assembly while the other models including the iPhone 12 Pro, Pro Max and Mini will still be imported from China. Apple started manufacturing iPhones in 2017 in India with Foxconn and Wistron but has not confirmed if either of the suppliers is making the new iPhone 12.

“Apple is dedicated to making the best products and services in the world to delight our customers. We are proud to be starting production of iPhone 12 in India for our local customers,” Apple said in a statement to the media. Apple already manufactures the iPhone 11, iPhone SE 2020 and the iPhone XR in India and the iPhone 12 will now be manufactured likely by Foxconn in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Nice to see our efforts to make India a big hub of mobile and components manufacturing is attracting global attention. This will create jobs in large numbers. pic.twitter.com/1GCyTK1Phm

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) March 11, 2021

This development comes after the Indian government’s PLI (Production-linked Incentive) scheme came into effect last year which offers significant tax benefits to companies that source and produce products locally. Apple suppliers Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron are also included amongst the ten companies approved under the PLI scheme for boosting local production in India. Furthermore, these three suppliers combined will invest over $900 million to manufacture iPhones in India backed by the government’s Make in India program.

Apple managed to ship over 1.5 million iPhones in 2020 which is double what it achieved the year before. Still, Apple has a minuscule market share in the Indian smartphone market that is dominated by the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, to name a few. The company is looking to expand its presence in India as well if rumours of the launch of the first Apple Store are to be believed. 

Back in 2020, Apple halted iPhone production in India as violence erupted at its supplier’s Wistron Bengaluru facility. Having said that, the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad hailed Apple’s latest move and said it will “create jobs in large numbers”.

 

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HP Pavilion Laptop 13 review

HP has been manufacturing laptops under its Pavilion line-up for many years now, but I can't remember the last time I used a Pavilion laptop that managed to impress me as much as the Pavilion Laptop 13 did. From its classy aesthetics to reliable performance for day-to-day usage, I have a slew of things on my checklist that makes it a no-brainer purchase in this price segment.

The HP Pavilion series has been the go-to option for value-buyers looking to get the most out of their purchase. In fact, that's been the Pavilion's strongest selling point for years, with more premium features reserved for the Spectre and Envy series. The new Pavilion Laptop 13 also sticks to the same idea but there are some surprising additions that make it feel more like a premium machine without costing nearly as much. But does it justify the price tag? We try to answer that in our detailed review.

HP Pavilion Laptop 13 Specifications

Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7 RAM: 16 GB DDR4-3200 Storage: 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD Display: 13.3" FHD IPS panel, 250 nits brightness.

HP Pavilion Laptop 13 Performance

The HP Pavilion laptop 13 unit we received for review comes with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor and the Intel Xe graphics. The Intel Xe graphics come standard on this SKU and there's no word on an AMD or an Nvidia option available at the moment. You also get 16GB of DDR4 RAM and 512GB NVMe SSD. I went into this review with an open mind and kept my expectations in check with what the laptop can do and how it can help me with my day-to-day workload.

We'll be dividing this particular section into two parts - One showing you some detailed Synthetic benchmark scores and the other one with real-world tests.

I ran all the benchmark programs on Windows' Best performance mode for the best results. The Intel Core i5-1135G7 is a quad-core CPU based on the 10nm process. It has 8 threads and has a max Turbo frequency of 4.20Ghz on paper. Starting off with PCMark 10, Pavilion Laptop 13 managed to score 4,704 when we tested its office-centric benchmark tool. The score is higher than Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition that's powered by the Intel Core i7-10710U processor.

On Cinebench R20, the HP Pavilion Laptop 13 score 1599. It's, in fact, higher than what the Dell XPS 13 had managed to score with its Intel Core I7-1065G7 when we tested it. We got similar results on Cinebench 15 and Cinebench 11.5 in which the HP Pavilion Laptop 13 managed to beat some of the laptops that we had reviewed earlier here at Digit.

For testing the GPU, I loaded 3DMark's Fire Strike benchmark and ended up with a score of 2909, putting it high up on the list of mainstream laptops we have tested. All test runs were successfully completed without any software or hardware issues. That's always a good sign because some Windows laptops tend to break down at times during these benchmark tests.

Now coming to the real-world tests, the laptop managed to hold its own without giving up on me at any point. It was easily able to handle the notorious Chrome browser with about 25-30 tabs spread across multiple windows. Switching between them was a breeze and it was also comfortably sitting in the background while I was working on something more resource-intensive like Photoshop.

I also did some gaming on this laptop to see if the Intel Xe GPU can keep up with your gaming needs. AAA titles like GTA V and Witcher 3 will give you playable frame rates at low settings. It is, by no means, an ideal way to play these games but it's nice to have the ability to play them.

We usually run our games at max and one setting below that for testing, but this is not a gaming laptop and anything above low settings will make you reconsider your idea of gaming on this laptop. Esports titles like CS:GO and Apex Legends will also run perfectly fine as long as you keep your expectations in check. Overall, I would say the HP Pavilion Laptop 13 will keep up with your gaming needs every now and then.

Under heavy load, the laptop gets noticeably warm to touch on both the bottom and on the top around the keyboard. That's not to say that it was very uncomfortable to use the laptop at any given point. It is also worth pointing out that the laptop did not throttle due to the thermals. I did experience minor stutters at times but I have no reason to believe that the laptop was crying for help due to the thermals.

Lastly, I tested the 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD using the CrystalDiskMark. I ran all the sequential read and write tests along with other KiB random tests to see how it performs. The CrystalDiskMark program gave sequential read and write speeds of 2301.58 MB/s and 1066.47 MB/s respectively. It's not as fast as some other machines like HP's own Spectre X360, but it's serviceable for a mainstream laptop at this price.

HP Pavilion Laptop 13 Display

The HP Pavilion Laptop 13 comes with a 13.3" FHD IPS display which reveals itself as you open the lid. The display has an aspect ratio of 16:9. It is surrounded by plastic bezels on all four sides, which as I have mentioned in the design section of this review, looks very cheap compared to the other parts of the laptop. The 720p HD camera on the front is good enough to handle your Google Meet and Zoom calls.

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Infamous anti-cheat system Denuvo is making its way to the PlayStation 5

The Denuvo anti-cheat system is making its way onto the Sony PlayStation 5. The company behind the anti-cheat, Irdeto, announced that it is now available to developers and publishers as part of the PS5 Tools and Middleware program, which will allow them to add an extra layer of security against cheaters and hackers.

Irdeto mentioned in a post that it has been providing its services across various gaming platforms, including consoles, PC and mobile gaming – both iOS and Android – for sometime now. The company claims to have secured over 1000 games successfully, and has provided security for 2 billion+ unique game installs across all platforms. Their goal, as mentioned in the post, has always been about protecting the game during the first few weeks from launch, which is when roughly 70% of the revenue is earned, for most titles. In addition to that, their anti-cheat is used to secure online gameplay against cheaters and hackers. There's also the fact that certain titles on the PlayStation 5 are already running Denuvo's anti-cheat software. So it doesn't really come as a surprise that Denuvo, and Sony, are creating an easier way for PlayStation 5 devs and publishers to get access to the tech.

It's always nice to not have to deal with cheaters in your online game. And from a developer perspective, not having to worry about your game being pirated soon after launch is also great. So this is an overall win for PlayStation 5 owners and devs. However, we say overall pro because, well, Denuvo is a term PC gamers are already quite familiar with, and not too fondly. While the software has been known to be hard to crack (it has been done pretty fast a few times though), it has also been known to cause game performance issues. From FPS drop issues, to connection problems, to crashes on launch and more. Two major PC releases last year, Metro Exodus and Doom Eternal (review), both dropped Denuvo as it was causing performance issues within the games. Let's just hope it's not the same for the PlayStation 5.

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Poco X3 Pro close to India launch as company shares cryptic teaser

Poco has been quite aggressive in the Indian market this year, and now it appears the company could be set to take things up a notch by launching a new phone in the country very soon. Poco India has hinted at the same through a cryptic teaser. 

Poco India has shared a letter with fans through its Twitter handle. While the letter itself talks about the growth of the company, the tweet accompanying the letter mentions a  hashtag “#PROformance”. This appears to be a clear indication that the company is teasing the Poco X3 Pro. 

While there is no confirmation yet, the tweet by Poco drops enough hints to suggest the company is referring to the Poco X3 Pro. In an apparent hint at the Pro device, the tweet also adds “Same madness, only more!”. This in addition to the “#PROformance” hashtag, appears to be a clear hint that the Poco X3 Pro is closer than ever before. 

Same madness, only more! Get ready for #PROformance coz ONLY a POCO can beat a POCO. pic.twitter.com/PeW2AX0ZjL

— POCO - Madder By the Minute (@IndiaPOCO) March 10, 2021 Poco X3 Pro India launch

For now, there's no official information about the launch date of the device. However, reports in the past have suggested a March 30 launch date for the device. In fact, there have been reports about the device that have detailed the hardware and pricing details of the device. Reports claim the phone may be priced at EUR 250 for the 6GB+128GB model and EUR 300 (roughly Rs. 26,000) for the 8GB+256GB storage option. 

As for the hardware, the phone could feature a full-HD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate. The chipset inside may be the Qualcomm Snapdragon 860 SoC with the phone using a 5,200mAh battery pack to keep the lights on. Apart from this, the device is tipped to come with 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, and NFC. For now, no other details about the device are known. However, we expect more details to start coming in as we get closer to the date of launch.

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The RTX 3060 Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop for INR 89,990 costs the same as a similarly powered RTX 3060 desktop PC

Acer has launched their new Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop powered by NVIDIA RTX 3060 graphics and an Intel Core i5-10300H 10th Gen processor for Rs. 89,990 in India. This isn’t the first gaming laptop to feature an RTX 30-series GPU but it certainly happens to be the first with an RTX 3060 GPU. ASUS already has RTX 3080 and 3070 based gaming laptops and MSI seems to be gearing up to have their units in the Indian market as well. The new Acer Nitro 5 also comes with 8GB RAM and a 15.6-inch 144 Hz IPS panel with a claimed response time of 3ms. The laptop weighs 2.3 kgs and supposedly provides up to 10 hours of battery life for normal use. Acer is selling the new RTX 3060 powered Nitro 5 gaming laptop on Amazon and their own Acer store for Rs. 89,990. And there’s also another unit with twice the RAM (16GB) for Rs 93,990 which is more appealing for gaming. The funny bit here is that this might be the only way for anyone to get an RTX 3060 in India. 

Speaking on this occasion of the launch, Sudhir Goel, Chief Business Officer, Acer India said, “With the new Nitro 5 gaming laptop using the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, we are entering a new era of high-performance gaming. Our Nitro 5 gaming laptop range has been a huge success in the Indian market and provides the perfect stepping stone to competitive eSports. The close collaboration between Acer and NVIDIA has resulted in a laptop which has the performance, design, cooling and portability which is unmatched at this price point and we are excited to bring this to the Indian market.”

Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, NVIDIA South Asia said, “A new era of laptops begins today featuring the NVIDIA Ampere architecture, with the launch of the Acer Nitro 5. This next-gen laptop will increase energy efficiency by up to 2x, accelerate performance dramatically, and introduce third-generation Max-Q technologies for thin and lightweight designs. Along with this, the new series laptop promises to deliver stunning ray-traced gaming experiences in top game titles. We are confident that the new Nitro 5 gaming laptop will offer an incredible gaming experience and enable content creators to generate unbelievable work using hundreds of GPU-accelerated apps.”

Cheaper than a desktop gaming PC?

Not quite. If you happen to be part of the Indian PC community then you must be well-aware of the effects of taxation on PC components in India and how they’re sold at higher rates than what consumers in the EU or US markets have to pay. While this has improved over the years, we’re still subject to higher prices at the end of a day. And given the ongoing global chip shortage, most desktop graphics cards are currently selling at about twice their advertised MRP. There are barely any cards arriving in the country because of the shortage, and local distributors have also been arm-twisting vendors to clear out unsold inventory if they wish to source more graphics cards. As a result, the average cost of an RTX 3060 is around 52K as opposed to its launch price of 28K

So if you were to build a desktop PC that’s similarly capable, then you’ll have to spend near about the same amount as the laptop. This was never the case until now. Let’s say if you paired an Intel Core i3-10100 with an H410 board, 8 GB of RAM, 550W power supply, 1TB hard drive, 256GB SSD, the cheapest 144 Hz monitor (not IPS) and an RTX 3060, you’ll end up spending about 94-95K. This price is provided if you do get an RTX 3060 to buy since stocks are abysmal. You’ll most probably end up paying just about the same. The above components provide just about the same performance as the Acer Nitro 5 gaming laptop.

Pitting the desktop against the laptop isn’t exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. The TDP and TGP of the CPU and GPU are quite different across both form factors and the desktop does end up giving a little extra performance but the gaming laptop is more appealing considering that you get portability. 

Acer Nitro 5 RTX 3060 Gaming Laptop Price

Acer is selling the new RTX 3060 powered Nitro 5 gaming laptop on Amazon and their own Acer store for Rs. 89,990. And there’s also another unit with twice the RAM (16GB) for Rs 93,990. The units went on sale today.

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Call of Duty: Mobile Season 2 update: Everything you need to know

The Season 2 ‘Day of Reckoning’ update for Call of Duty: Mobile has finally rolled out to players and as always, there is a lot to take in. The update should be available to all players, and they will be prompted to download the update in order to continue playing. Here’s a quick look at what the new update has to offer.

Season 2: Day of Reckoning... is a GO! New Battle Pass Shoot House & Shipment New BR Mode - Tank Battle Mace - Back for More Alex & more! A new season has launched and is available NOW in #CODMobile! pic.twitter.com/9XnRUos5DT

— Call of Duty: Mobile (@PlayCODMobile) March 11, 2021 New maps in the Call of Duty Mobile Season 2 update

The Shoot House map will be the first of the two new maps that will be available to players. The map is available for selection and is a part of the new Shoot House 24/7 featured set of maps. The other map, Shipment-Modern, will release sometime later.

New Scorestreak

The Napalm Scorestreak is now available to all players. It is available upon reaching Tier 14 in the free Battle Pass. The new scorestreak calls in a plane that will rain napalm along its path. The napalm will not only burn enemies caught in the path but will also generate smoke that will obscure vision.

New Weapons

The Season 2 Day of Reckoning update in Call of Duty: Mobile will add two new weapons to the game. Right now, only the AS VAL assault rifle is available to players. The weapon is available for free when players reach Tier 21 in the free Battle Pass. The other new weapon, the SPR-208 is a new Marksman Rifle and will be made available later, most probably via a Seasonal Challenge.

New Battle Pass 

There is a new, paid Battle Pass for Call of Duty Mobile players. The pass is available for 220CP and immediately grants users Mace - Back for More operator, HVK-30 - Jumper Cable weapon blueprint and the Beatdown legendary calling card. Players can also purchase the Battle Pass bundle that includes all the benefits of the paid Battle Pass and skips 12 Tiers. It also includes additional items. The most notable being the Glow Stick blueprint for the knife. When equipped, it transforms the knife into a glow stick, complete with changing colours.

Other additions in the Call of Duty: Mobile Season 2 update

Besides the new map and weapon, the Call of Duty Season 2 update will also bring other new additions to the game. This includes the new Recon perk, Tank Battle game mode for Battle Royale mode and new operators. These will most likely be available via Seasonal or Feature Challenges. As a bonus, all players will also get the Charly operator for free.

The training is over and it's time to join the fight with S2 Day of Reckoning! Get the latest intel on S2 here https://t.co/sQMXdIksGI A brand new season is deploying in #CODMobile later today at 4PM PT! pic.twitter.com/9HEJDxutUd

— Call of Duty: Mobile (@PlayCODMobile) March 10, 2021

 

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Samsung Galaxy A52 5G unboxing video reveals design, key features ahead of launch

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G has leaked yet again, this time in an unboxing video posted on YouTube. Samsung is hosting the Galaxy unpacked event on March 17 where it is expected to announce the Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 smartphones. However, the latest video shows-off the phone in its entirety, leaving very little to the imagination.

A Samsung Galaxy A52 5G unboxing video was posted on YouTube by Moboaesthetics that essentially gives us a first look at the retail box and the phone ahead of its rumoured launch. The video starts with unboxing the Galaxy A52 followed by the setup process. This is followed by several performance tests such as the cameras, fingerprint, audio, gaming which also gives us a look at the key specifications of the phone.

Samsung has scheduled its next Unpacked event for March 17 from 8:30 PM IST (10 AM ET/3 PM GMT). Here is everything we know about the Galaxy A52 so far.

Samsung Galaxy A52 leaked specifications

Samsung is rumoured to launch a 5G and a 4G variant of the Galaxy A52 with a similar feature set. The Galaxy A52 5G is expected to have an aluminium-glass build measuring 8.4 millimetres in thickness and weighing 187 grams. It is also rumoured to be IP67 certified making it resistant to dust and water ingress. 

The Galaxy A52 has been leaked featuring a 6.5-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution Super AMOLED display with a punch-hole cutout in the centre for the selfie camera. The 5G variant has support for upto 120Hz refresh rate while the 4G variant will have to make do with a 90Hz refresh rate.

The Galaxy A52 5G is likely powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 619 GPU. Meanwhile, the 4G variant is expected to have a Snapdragon 720G under the hood with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 618 GPU. This is paired with upto 8GB RAM and upto 256GB storage options to choose from. The phones will likely run on Android 11 based One UI 3.0 and has a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

Samsung has equipped the Galaxy A52 with quad cameras that consists of a primary 64MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 123-degree field-of-view, 5MP macro camera and 2MP depth sensor. The rear cameras can record in 4K UHD at 30FPS and 1080p at 120FPS. Additionally, there’s a 32MP selfie camera on the front housed within the notch cutout.

The screen is also home to a fingerprint reader and the phone is equipped with a 4,500mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging out-of-the-box.

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