BIS is standardising USB Type-C Charging Ports for devices like smartphones

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has defined standards for the USB Type-C charging port, now that the government is all set to introduce common charging ports for wearable electronic devices and mobiles. Department of Consumer Affairs is mandating common charging ports in order to make things more convenient for users and to reduce e-waste. As a result of this, one will see the same charging ports for tablets, smartphones, and electronic wearables. 

The government is mandating common chargers

Speaking about the new mandate, the Consumer Affairs Secretary, Rohit Kumar Singh, said to PTI "In the last meeting, a broad consensus had emerged among stakeholders on the adoption of USB Type – C as a charging port for, smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. The BIS has notified standards for Type C charger," 

He also confirmed that the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur is working on studying the feasibility of the single charging port, and will be supporting a report to the government. 

Why is the government mandating the common chargers?

Speaking about the need to mandate the common chargers, the Secretary said, "We have to align with the European Union (EU) timeline i.e. 2024 because the mobile and electronics makers have a global supply chain and they don't supply to India alone."

This is a significant step towards the LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) mission which calls for ‘mindful and deliberate utilization' by people worldwide instead of ‘mindful and wasteful consumption' and was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP-26. 

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iPhone 14 available at a discounted price on Flipkart: Heres how much you can save

Flipkart is trying to make buying the latest Apple iPhone much sweeter in the last week of this year. The iPhone 14 is currently available at the lowest price ever in the Flipkart Year End Sale that ends on December 31. This phone is the base model of the series that was launched a few months ago by the tech giant. It was launched along with other models like the iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The phone is said to have a number of similarities with its predecessor, the iPhone 13. So, let’s check out the reasons to pick the iPhone 14 over the iPhone 13. 

In the sale, you can get the phone from the online shopping website at just 

₹50,590. This is, though only available on Exchange offers of select models that can offer buyers a discount of up to ₹20,500 off on this phone. 

Such discounts are also available on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 pro max wherein the discount on exchanging your phones and buying a new one can go up to ₹17,500 off. 

iPhone 14 vs iPhone 13: What are the upgrades?

There are a lot of claims of how the iPhone 14 is not much of an upgrade from its predecessor but still there are some changes. While it may be using the same A15 chip, there is an updated internal design which provides better thermal performance to the users.

And when it comes to the camera, it sports a 12-megapixel wide camera that has a large sensor and an f/1.5 aperture. This is paired with a TrueDepth camera which has a f/1.9 aperture.Another new feature is the Photonic Engine that is said to improves low-light photography across all cameras of the iPhone 14.  

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Redmi 11 Prime 5G gets a price cut in India Available at a starting price of Rs 12,999

The price of the Redmi 11 Prime 5G in India has been slashed by Xiaomi. The smartphone was launched in September at Rs 13,999. However, now it has received a price cut of Rs 1,000, and so it is now available at a starting price of Rs 12,999 in India.

When the Redmi 11 Prime 5G was launched, it came out in two variants, 4GB/6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB storage. It also came out in three color variants, Chrome Silver, Meadow Green, and Thunder Black.

Redmi 11 Prime 5G Price, availability and specifications

After the price cut, the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant of Redmi 11 Prime 5G will cost Rs 12,999, and the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant will cost Rs 14,999. These are available on Amazon, and on Xiaomi’s official website.

Coming to the specifications, the Redmi 11 Prime 5G offers a 6.58-inch FHD+ display with a resolution of 2408 x 1080p, and a refresh rate of up to 90Hz. It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It also supports MediaTek Dimensity 700 system-on-chip (SoC) which is paired with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. The storage can also be increased using a MicroSD card up to 512 GB. It also comes with Android 12-based MIUI 13. The phone has a dual rear camera setup, with a 50MP primary lens and 2MP depth sensor along with an f/2.4 aperture, and the front camera is 8MP with an f/2.2 aperture.

The phone has a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. It also has dual SIM support, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, AI face unlock technology, and hi-res audio quality. It also comes with Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth 5.1.

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Google Contacts get a Highlights tab: Whats its use

From being a two-tab application, ‘Google Contacts’ has now become a three-tab application with the addition of a new ‘Highlights’ tab. 9to5Google has shared screenshots of this Google Contact feature. Seems like the icon is not the only thing that Google has changed for the Contact app this year. 

Google Contacts Highlights tab: What’s its use

To know where you can find this new tab, you just need to go to the app and it shall appear between ‘Contacts’ and ‘Fix and Manage’ in the bottom bar. The 'Favourites' appear below the search tab. The 'Highlights' tab is more user-friendly because it is denser than ‘Favorites’ and contacts can be more easily added in this tab. 

The ‘Highlights’ tab is the one that people may shift to, to interact with the app as a whole. Why do we say so? Well, it takes out the need to scroll through contacts and one can just look for the contact. And other than that the grid format in which it is set in makes the application more interactive and accessible than the list. 

Hence the ‘Highlights’ app may have given a smarter approach to the app as a whole. 

What are the other tabs available on Google Contacts?

Other than that, there is also the ‘Recents’ tab that starts with ‘View Recently’ and each of the contacts comes with details of ‘view date’ and the overflow menu lets you, as a user, clear the history. Also available is the ‘Added Recently’ which provides the list by rounding it up and is possibly the most useful part of the new ‘user interface’.

‘Fix and Manage’ was a feature introduced for users to be able to edit or delete their contacts easily but it remains unclear now whether or not there was a requirement for a tab just for that purpose.

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Samsung Galaxy S22 FE existence tipped and is said to come with Exynos 2300 SoC

Contrary to the previous belief that such a device doesn’t exist, a recent leak claims that Samsung Galaxy S22 FE does, perhaps, exist and may be equipped with a MediaTek chip. A Korean leakster who goes by Connor tweeted that the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE will be launched alongside the Galaxy Buds 2. Dohyun Kim, another leakster, also confirmed the same, while saying that there won’t be a Samsung Galaxy S23 FE model. 

Cooming Soon  pic.twitter.com/3ulUkMR744

— Connor / 코너 / コナー (@OreXda) December 24, 2022 Samsung Galaxy S22 FE launch date (Rumoured)

The event concept is being prepared, apparently this would be too long for just 1 time There "might" be unpacked part 2 S22 FE will replace A74 next year HM 6 108mp, exynos 2300 4nm Same price as A7 Tab S8 FE, same exy 2300 Tab S9 series might kicked to unpacked 2, Q3 08 https://t.co/LHBwkii4ok

— RGcloudS (@RGcloudS) December 23, 2022

As per the recent leaksters, the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Event will take place on February 1, and the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE might get launched on the same day. Another tipster named RGcloudS has stated that the brand may just announce the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE and Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 FE during the second half of the event. The tipster also claimed that the smartphone might be intended as a replacement for the Samsung Galaxy A74. 

Samsung Galaxy S22 FE specifications and price (Expected)

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE used as a representative image.

Rumours about the Samsung Galaxy S22 FE specifications have already begun circulating. It is believed that the smartphone will come with an Exynos 2300 chipset and a Samsung ISOCEL HM6 108-megapixel primary camera. The Samsung Galaxy S22 FE price is believed to be $499 (which is around ₹41,285). However, note none of these details is confirmed yet and hence to be taken with a pinch of salt. 

Check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE to know whether the Fan Edition smartphones are worth it! 

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Right-to-repair portal launched in India by Piyush Goyal: How it aims to help

Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Food and Consumer Affairs has launched some new initiatives including a right-to-repair portal, an NTH mobile app and new premises for the National Consumer Helpline centre in Delhi on the occasion of National Consumer Day. So, after the United States and the United Kingdom, India has also launched the right-to-repair portal. The right-to-repair will reduce the dependency of consumers on the manufacturers for repairs. Rather, they could go to third-party repair centres and save time and money in the process. It also favours the local repair shops.

India’s Right to Repair portal: How it aims to help

Source: Apple

Consumers get manuals along with the products they will buy according to the new rules and regulations of the right-to-repair initiative. They can use it to fix their products by themselves or get them fixed by third parties rather than depend on the original manufacturers.

The right-to-repair launch will cover electronic products, consumer durables, mobile phones, farming equipment, and automobiles for now. 

As pointed out in the Repairs.org portal, “manufacturers do not have any rights to control property beyond the sale. Limitations on repair have become a serious problem for all modern equipment that also limits how equipment can be traded on the used market”. Even Steve Wozniak chimes in his approval for the right to repair movement.  

Piyush Goyal (Source: Flickr)

"I think action speaks more than words. The Department of Consumer Affairs was not so much in limelight ...and suddenly it has found life in their workings," said Piyush Goyal after the launch on National Consumers Day. Mr Goyal said there will be an increase in the disposal of pending cases and elimination of the backlog in the days to come.

Fixing products by the original manufacturers takes a lot of time and they have unnecessary policies and costs which trouble customers. So, with the new right-to-repair portal, consumers get to repair their products on their own without seeking help from the original manufacturers. In the process, they could save both time and money.

And as they go to the local repair shops, the latters’ business also booms.

Finally, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, National Consumer Redressal Commission President said that the pendency of consumer cases is reducing which gives confidence to consumers that they will get justice.

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Fire Boltt Gladiator smartwatch comes with a design similar to Apple Watch Ultra: Know price and specs

Indian smartwatch brand, Fire Boltt, has launched a new smartphone christened the Fire Boltt Gladiator. This smartwatch has been gaining a fair bit of attention for looking like the Apple Watch Ultra. The smartwatch comes with a 1.96-inch display, 123 sports modes, and a claimed 7 days of battery life. 

Fire Boltt Gladiator also offers features such as heart rate monitoring and blood oxygen monitoring. It is a crack-resistant smartwatch, that also has an IP67 rating and is dust resistant. Let’s go over the  Fire Boltt Gladiator price, specifications, and availability. 

Fire Boltt Gladiator Specifications

Fire Boltt Gladiator comes with a 1.96-inch display with an HD resolution and an ultra-narrow frame design. The smartwatch offers 7 days of battery life, along with a claimed 20 days of battery life on standby. The makers claim it only needs a 10-minute charge to offer 24 days of battery. 

The Fire Boltt Gladiator offers 24x7 heart rate monitoring, SpO2 monitoring, sleep monitoring, menstrual cycle tracking, 123 sports modes, and GPS-assisted modes (like GPS running, GPS trail, GPS walking, GPS onfoot, and GPS cycling). 

Fire Boltt Gladiator price and availability

The Fire Boltt Gladiator is available for ₹ 2499. It will hit markets on December 30, 12:00 pm, and will be available on Amazon. 

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