Google wants to bring more Pixel smartphones to India this year: Report

Google wants to double-down its efforts for selling Pixel smartphones in India, ahead of the rumoured launch of Pixel 5a. The Pixel 4a (Review) was the only smartphone from Google to launch in India in 2020. However, the Mountain View giant did launch the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G phones globally. In 2021, Google wants to increase its presence in the Indian smartphone market where it has started seeing growth in the affordable mid-premium smartphone segment with its a-series Pixel phones.

According to a report by Danish Khan of ET Telecom, Google is looking to expand its inventory for the upcoming Pixel smartphones this year in India. Moreover, the company is also “exploring possibilities” to manufacture Pixel phones in India. Recently, Apple also started assembling its latest iPhone 12 in India and many smartphone manufacturers have been testing waters for expanding their presence domestically.

Google’s push to bring more Pixel phones

A Senior Executive at Google told ET Telecom that "Google doubled inventory for Pixel for India last year and this year the intention is to further increase the focus and get a larger share from global inventory for the India market.” Google largely owes its recent success to the Pixel 3a and Pixel 4a smartphones that were launched in 2019 and 2020 respectively priced in the sub-Rs 40,000 segments. 

The company also aims to be available in more price segments in India going forward. "We also want to play brand value in the smartphone segment. Pixel awareness is in the market now,” the executive adds. Google registered a growth of 36% in 2020 in comparison with 2019, according to Counterpoint Research. This year, however, many smartphone manufacturers are pushing 5G as a key selling point and most upcoming processors are already compatible with 5G networks. So it’s not very unlikely that Google could launch a 5G phone in India as well.

Why Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G did not launch in India?

Google had the 4G Pixel 4a as its only offering for India for the year 2020. Now, the company executive has revealed to ET Telecom that the reason why Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G did not launch in India was due to the unavailability of 5G networks in India and it would not have translated well with the pricing of the phone.

"Why do we want an expensive phone when Indians can't use 5G. Because of hardware cost, 5G variants weren't launched in India,” the company executive said.

Google Pixel 5a is rumoured to launch sometime in June and the latest leak also revealed its alleged specifications. The Pixel 5a is expected to feature a 6.2-inch Full HD+ OLED display with support for high-refresh-rate and could have the same build and finish as the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5.

The phone is expected to have dual cameras on the back along with a rear fingerprint reader and stereo speakers. We will know more about the upcoming Pixel 5a as we near the official launch which could be held in June.  

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Netflix password sharing could soon come to an end, company experimenting with warning messages

It’s been a common practice to share passwords to your Netflix account with friends and family. But there’s some bad news on the horizon for you guys. Netflix is currently testing out a message that asks users to create their own accounts if they do not live in the same house as the current account owner. As of right now, the test is only rolling out to select users but if it does work, we could see the message pop up globally. Netflix has not announced anything regarding this. According to GammaWire, who first reported the feature, the number of users that have received the message seems to be rather small. Although, there have been a few reports that specific users have received warnings on Twitter but nothing has been confirmed yet. 

Netflix is testing out warning messages to curb password sharing

Exchanging passwords between friends is a common occurrence, but it does kind of violate the terms of service on Netflix. It’s actually surprising that it has gone on for this long. When a user tries to log into an account that does not belong to them, they will receive a message that says, “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.”. If you do want to proceed, the original owner of the account will receive an OTP to verify the login attempt. Again, this could be easily bypassed as a simple phone call or message from the original account owner should suffice. But, it’s an extra step to just be able to watch content on Netflix. 

Some users have also reported that clicking the ‘Verify Later’ button caused the message to disappear, but again, nothing has been officially announced as yet. In terms of testing out new features, Netflix is also experimenting with a Rs 299  Mobile+ Plan that will allow users to access HD content on a single screen. You can read more about that here. 

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Vivo X60 series confirmed for March 25 India launch

The Vivo X60 series is finally set to launch in India, with the company deciding to make the phones official on March 25. The series is set to bring with itself three new phones -- X60, X60 Pro and the X60 Pro+. All three devices will be coming to India after being previously launched in the Chinese market. 

The information about the phone's launch comes after we exclusively revealed Vivo's plans of launching the series towards the end of this month -- something that was also confirmed by the company during an interaction at a later date. While the company has not revealed any information about the hardware of the devices, we have previously received exclusive information from sources close to the matter that the X60 series will be powered by the Snapdragon 870 and Snapdragon 888 SoC. 

Vivo X60 series: Expected specifications

Aper our source, Vivo plans to equip the X60 and X60 Pro with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset. This recently launched chip is an enhanced version of the Snapdragon 865 SoC. Based on 7nm process technology, this chip comes with a Kryo 385 CPU and has a tri-cluster architecture. As for the X60 Pro+, Vivo will equip the device with a Snapdragon 888 SoC -- the most powerful Qualcomm SoC available at the moment. This chipset has already been used on a number of flagships this year and promises flawless performance for all tasks, including gaming, photography, and multitasking. 

Apart from the chipsets, we don't have any other confirmed information about the Indian models of the X60 series phones. However, we expect them to feature similar specs to what's available on the models launched in China.  As such, the Vivo X60 and X60 Pro will likely flaunt 6.56-inch Full HD+ (2376 x 1080 pixels) resolution displays that use an AMOLED panel with a 120Hz high refresh rate and offer HDR10+ playback certification. Paired with the above-mentioned chipsets could be up to 12GB of RAM on the phones. 

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OnePlus Nord Android 11 update rollout paused as users face performance issues

OnePlus has temporarily paused the OxygenOS 11 rollout for OnePlus Nord after several users faced performance issues. OnePlus released the stable Android 11 based OxygenOS 11 build for Nord earlier this month after conducting many Open Beta tests. However, some bugs crept into the stable update and now the rollout has been paused.

Over at the OnePlus Forums, Community Consultant dsmonteiro posted a message informing users that the Android 11 update for Nord has been paused temporarily and the company is working to fix the issues in an updated build that will be released soon. 

“We've noticed that many of you have queries about the availability of Nord's Android 11 update. The update has been temporarily paused to ensure a smooth user experience, due to some bugs that have been detected. We are now trying our best to investigate and will release an updated build ASAP in the near future. Users who have installed the previous version can get the issues fixed through the later version updates. Thank you very much for your patience,” the message reads.

Many Nord users have taken to the forum reporting about the issues they are facing after updating to the latest version of the OxygenOS. There have been reports of battery issues, app lock, bugs in the gallery app and more. The new Android 11 based OxygenOS 11 brings several changes to the interface along with new features like always-on display and more. 

OnePlus is currently working on a new updated build of the OxygenOS 11 for the Nord, but it has not shared a detailed timeline for when users might start receiving it. The users who updated to the latest build and are facing issues will have to wait for the upcoming build that will fix those bugs.

Following the successful run of the OnePlus Nord, it’s the successor to the OnePlus Nord 2 that has been leaked earlier this month. The OnePlus Nord 2 reportedly is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor that was launched in January. Having said that, we are still months away from the launch of the purported OnePlus Nord 2 and there’s a lot that could potentially change between now and when the phone officially launches.

Also Read: OnePlus Nord 2 could be the first MediaTek-powered phone from OnePlus

 

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OnePlus teases photos with true-to-life colours with the Hasselblad cameras on the OnePlus 9 Pro

OnePlus is all set to launch the new OnePlus 9 series this month. While the official launch date is still a couple of weeks away, the company has started teasing the phones across different channels.

Now, the company has posted a short 15-second video on its YouTube channel, talking about the OnePlus 9 Pro's camera prowess. For those of you who don't know, OnePlus has partnered with Swedish brand Hasselblad to improve camera performance on the OnePlus 9 series.

Both OnePlus 9 Pro, and the standard OnePlus 9 variants, will have cameras that are tweaked and fine-tuned by Hasselblad. The new video, however, only shows the OnePlus 9 Pro in action. The video shows Hasselblad ambassadors Sarah Cooper and Nina Gorfer using the OnePlus 9 Pro to capture some images. “What if the colours we saw in the real world were the same colours we could keep in our memories,” the video narrates.

OnePlus is clearly hinting that the phone will be able to capture images with true-to-life colours. The photos look very promising, but it remains to be seen how the cameras will perform in real-world testing scenarios. 

The teaser video also shows the phone from the back, and you can see the curved back and the OnePlus logo in the middle. We are looking at a silver colour variant of the phone, but we already know the other colours variants, thanks to this leak OnePlus 9 Pro leak from yesterday.

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Samsung Galaxy M62 5G likely to be launched as rebadged Galaxy A52

Samsung is tipped to launch the Galaxy A52 5G as a new M series device. The phone is likely to be called the Galaxy M62 5G. This information comes courtesy of reports that a new Samsung phone has appeared with model number SM-M626B and SM-M626B_DS on the Bluetooth SIG listing. Interestingly, the listing is also said to mention a device with the model number, SM-A526B and SM-A526B_DS which is said to be the upcoming Galaxy A52 5G. 

Interestingly, it is not the first time we are hearing of the Galaxy M62 5G. In fact, we've had reports about the device and how it could make 5G more accessible to the masses. There is also a 4G model of the M62 which was launched in Thailand last month. The Galaxy M62 was launched as a rebadged version of the Galaxy F62 from India. And now, when the Galaxy M62 5G goes official, it is expected to be a rebadged version of the upcoming Galaxy A52 5G.

Samsung Galaxy M62 specifications and features

For now, there's little we know about the specifications of the Galaxy M62 5G. Rumours suggest the Galaxy M62 5G will come equipped with a big 6.52-inch Super AMOLED Full HD+ display with support for 2400 x 1080 resolution. The phone is also said to offer support for 90Hz refresh rate. Apart from this, other features of the Samsung device are expected to be Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset, 64-megapixel quad-cameras, and a 4,500mAh battery with 25W charging.

As mentioned above, the phone is likely to be a rebranded version of the Galaxy A52. This phone will also bring pretty much the same specs as the Galaxy M62 5G. And if reports are to believed, both phones will be launched in markets across Asia. However, the Galaxy A52 is likely to be launched without support for 5G in these markets, while the Galaxy M62 5G will offer support for the next-gen baseband.

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Oppo Find X3 and Find X3 Pro officially launched: Pricing and specifications

Oppo Find X3 and Oppo Find X3 Pro have officially launched as flagship smartphones from the company. The Find X3 series features top-of-the-line specifications that Oppo has been teasing ever since the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 launched. While the Oppo Find X3 Pro has launched globally, the standard X3 is only available in China for now.

The new Find X3 and Find X3 Pro both have a new design and built that looks pretty premium since the back panel is made from a glass moulded to the fit. Being a flagship, Oppo offers tons of new features and functionality with the new Find X3 lineup. Let’s take a brief look at the specifications and pricing of the Find X3 and X3 Pro.

Oppo Find X3 Pro specifications

The Oppo Find X3 Pro has a metal-glass construction that measures 8.3 millimetres in thickness and weighs 193 grams. The phone is also IP68 rated, making it resistant to dust and water ingress. It features a 6.7-inch QHD+ (3216x1440 pixels) resolution display that uses an LTPO AMOLED panel with support for 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ certification.

The Find X3 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 660 GPU. This is paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. It runs on Android 11 based ColorOS 11.2 out-of-the-box.

The phone has quad cameras on the back that consists of a primary 50MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture, 13MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom, 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 110-degree field-of-view and a 3MP macro camera that offers upto 60x magnification. The rear cameras can record 10-bit video and videos in 4K UHD at 60FPS backed by EIS and OIS. On the front, there is a 32MP selfie camera housed within the punch-hole notch cutout.

The Find X3 Pro has stereo speakers, in-screen fingerprint sensor and is equipped with a 4,500mAh battery that supports 65W fast charging, 30W fast wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging as well.

The Oppo Find X3 Pro is priced at EUR 1149 for the 12GB+256GB storage model and is being offered in glossy black or matte blue colours to choose from.

Oppo Find X3 specifications

The standard Find X3 shares a lot in common with the Find X3 Pro save for the processor and memory variants. The Find X3 has the same build quality and design as the Find X3 Pro. It also uses the same LTPO AMOLED display that is capable of reproducing over 1 billion colours and supports a 120Hz refresh rate.

The Find X3 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 650 GPU. This is paired with upto 8GB RAM and upto 256GB storage options to choose from. It runs on Android 11 based ColorOS 11.2.

The Find X3 has the same quad camera setup as on the Find X3 Pro with two 50MP cameras, a 13MP telephoto camera and a 3MP macro camera. Just like the Find X3 Pro, the standard Find X3 is also equipped with a 4,500mAh battery that supports 65W fast charging, 30W fast wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging.

The Oppo Find X3 is being offered in black, blue and white colours to choose from and is priced starting at CNY 4499 for the 8+128GB variant and CNY 4999 for the 256GB storage variant.

There’s currently no word on the official launch of the Find X3 series in India yet.

 

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