Gadgets
Samsung Galaxy A8+ review
NEW DELHI: South Korean giant Samsung leads the pack when it comes to flagship Android smartphones, but Chinese smartphone players like OnePlus and Huawei’s e-brand Honor have until now ruled the popular Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 segment in India.
With an aim to make a dent in their market share, Samsung has introduced the Galaxy A8+ for Rs 32,990 for 6GB RAM and 64GB on-board storage, which will compete with OnePlus 5T and Honor View 10.
Is it time for Samsung’s rivals to pull up their socks? Let us find out.
Take a glance at Galaxy A8+ and you’re sure to mistake it for the pricier flagship Galaxy Note 8. Well, at least from a distance.
Having said that, the device has lost the curved edges on the display and, at 8.3-mm, it is less thicker than the Note 8.
The smartphone makes use of shiny glass and metal for an ergonomic body. Without any creeks, the design is sturdy and has a premium feel to it.
It is not a slim device. However, the curved edges on the rear fit nicely in the palm.
Unlike the previous A-series devices, Samsung has increased the screen-to-body ratio by removing the home button and physical navigation keys.
The fingerprint sensor has been moved to the rear but unlike Note 8 and Galaxy S8, it sits below the camera sensor. The camera lens and scanner combine to make for an interesting soda can pull tab-like design.
We found the fingerprint sensor snappy, but the unlock animation was a bit slow.
The device sports a six-inch Full-HD Super AMOLED Infinity Display with 18.5:9 display ratio and skinny bezels which is great for immersive experience while watching videos or long gaming hours.
The display was bright with punchy colours and, as always, AMOLED made blacks look deep with great contrast. Viewing text and images under direct sunlight was a delight.
Samsung joins the bandwagon of selfie-centric smartphones with the device that sports a 16MP+8MP dual-front camera with f/1.9 aperture and returned high-quality photos.
Selfies were rich in detail and colours and the dual lenses made for great selfie shots with “bokeh” effect.
The 16MP primary camera with f/1.7 aperture and flash captured clear and vivid pictures in well-lit as well as the low-light conditions.
The lack of a secondary sensor on the rear was not much of a put-off as the camera blurred the background of the subject while shooting macros.
The camera app also includes “Bixby” vision that works like Google Lens and identifies objects once the lens is pointed at them.
The IP68 certification for water and dust resistance is worth mentioning here, which neither Honor View 10 nor OnePlus 5T offer.
Bucking the trend, the smartphone retains the 3.5-mm headphone jack that is housed alongside a USB Type-C port at the base.
Unlike Note 8 or S8 and S8+, the device does not house a bottom-firing speaker. It is loud and now sits on the right, making it a distinct design element.
Performance of the device was smooth, thanks to 6GB RAM and the company’s homegrown mid-range “Exynos 7885” octa-core chipset.
A generous 3,500mAh battery with fast-charging technology powers the smartphone which seemed to last longer than Honor View 10 that has a slightly bigger 3,750mAh battery.
We got more than a day’s life on moderate-to-heavy usage that included streaming videos on YouTube, running social media apps or playing games.
OnePlus 5T, on the other hand, houses only a 3,300mAh battery but its proprietary “Dash Charge” for quick charging was definitely faster.
What does not work?
The smartphone features Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS with Samsung’s custom skin “TouchWiz” on top. The fans of stock Android may not like the experience.
However, it is worth mentioning that the company has now revamped its “TouchWiz” with minimal bloatware.
Galaxy A8+ houses Samsung’s own Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based digital assistant Bixby. But for some reason, it is a toned-down version on Galaxy A8+.
Unlike Note 8, there is no dedicated Bixby button and no support for voice functionality and, thereby, no “Hi Bixby” as well.
Conclusion: Galaxy A8+ from Samsung gives some serious competition to Chinese rivals in terms of great build, performance and value for money. We would recommend the smartphone to those who do not want to spend hefty money on a flagship and yet want to own a premium-looking device.
Source: IANS
NEW DELHI: Global technology brand OnePlus on Friday announced its schedule of pop-ups across seven cities in India, which will take place on February 11, where attendees will be the first to get their hands on the newly launched products OnePlus 11 5G and the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, starting at 11 a.m.
At the OnePlus pop-ups, the first 11 people to buy the all-new OnePlus 11 5G will receive exclusive OnePlus 11 goodies, such as OnePlus products and merchandise.
In the seven major cities, the pop-ups will take place at OnePlus Experience Store, Phoenix Palladium, Mumbai; OnePlus Boulevard, Brigade Road, Bengaluru; Select Citywalk Mall, Saket, New Delhi; OnePlus Experience Store, JM Road, Pune; OnePlus Nizam Palace, Himayat Nagar, Hyderabad; OnePlus Experience Store, Phoenix Market City, Chennai; and OnePlus Experience Store, CG Road, Ahmedabad.
At the Cloud 11 launch event, OnePlus announced an array of its products — 11 5G, 11R 5G, Bus Pro 2, TV Q2 Pro, Pad, and 81 Pro keyboard.
The new line-up of products is distinguished by purposeful designs, industry-leading technology, and advanced interconnectivity, which is set to take the brand’s fast and smooth experience to all new heights.
The OnePlus 11 5G was launched at a starting price of Rs 56,999 which comes in two colourways — Titan Black and Eternal Green.
It features a 6.7-inch display that comes with a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
The smartphone comes equipped with the 3rd Generation Hasselblad Camera for Mobile with a “three-main-sensor” triple-camera system — 50MP+32MP+48MP.
The smartphone also comes powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with up to 16GB of RAM.
OnePlus has also designed the ideal companion to the OnePlus 11 5G — the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, which promises to deliver a full-bodied, stereo-quality audio experience with crystal clarity.
The Buds Pro 2 is the second generation of its flagship earbuds, which is priced at Rs 11,999.
Apart from the first 11 buyers, other buyers will get an instant discount of Rs 1,000 on the OnePlus 11 5G, on purchase through ICICI Bank Credit Cards and EMI transactions, and up to 12 months No-Cost EMI on purchase using major credit cards.
Source: IANS
NEW DELHI: Taiwanese tech giant, ASUS, today announced the launch of the Vivobook 14 touch (X1402) in India. Vivobook 14 will be available on Flipkart. Strengthening the Vivobook portfolio in the country, ASUS has introduced the new Vivobook 14 (X1402) with touch screen capability as well as technologically sophisticated versatility in a sleek form factor.
The laptop is designed to deliver comfort, convenience, and exceptional battery life. Built for youth and working professionals, the laptop allows users to multitask with a compact style while rendering great performance.
ASUS Vivobook 14 is equipped with up to the latest 12th Generation Intel Core i5-1240P processor which is available at a truly affordable price starting from INR 49,990, making it even more accessible to users in India.
Commenting on the launch, Arnold Su, Business Head, Consumer and Gaming PC, System Business Group, ASUS India, said, “Flipkart, being one of the leading e-commerce platforms in India, promises the best customer experience and we’re delighted to partner with them and bring our customers all new powerful Vivobook 14 (X1402). We look forward to continuing our long-term association for better customer experience and growth.”
NEW DELHI: Taiwanese tech giant ASUS has announced the expansion of its consumer PC lineup with the launch of India’s first ProArt series laptops. Designed for content creators and consumers with the creative edge, ASUS’ ProArt series feature industry-first innovations in the form of ASUS Dial and a touchpad that can support the stylus.
Along with the flagship ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED, ASUS has also launched a series of VivoBook across AMD/ Intel and 14inch/ 16inch variant – VivoBook Pro 14 and VivoBook Pro 15 OLED, VivoBook Pro 14X OLED, and VivoBook Pro 16X OLED, to offer a personalized choice for consumers. The product pricing starts from INR 75,000 and will be sold across online (ASUS e-shop/ Amazon/ Flipkart) and offline (ASUS Exclusive Stores/ ROG Stores/Croma/Vijay Sales/Reliance Digital) channels starting 14th December. The ProArt Studiobook range will be available from January.
ASUS has incorporated innovative designs and cutting-edge technologies in every ProArt product, not only to create unparalleled aesthetics but also to provide powerful performance and an excellent user experience. In addition to the creator series PCs, ASUS has also announced ASUS ProArt Lab, a dedicated program for emerging and established creators across the industry to come together, share and learn from one another. A one-of-a-kind program for upcoming artists, designers, music producers, creators is designed to provide an innovative platform that offers to inspire and train budding creators from the bests in the industry. ASUS ProArt Lab will go live with its first session on 22nd December 2021. For more information please log on to – www.asus.com/in/ProArt/ProArt-Labs
Leon Yu, Regional Director, System Business Group, Asus India & South Asia, said, “At ASUS, we strongly believe in building a complete ecosystem for our consumers, by equipping them with not just innovative machines but also enabling proper grooming for them. We have designed and curated a program for budding content creators to learn from the best in the Industry. With the Asus ProArt Lab, we are bullish to create success among the creators’ community through our new ProArt product line-up. India is an important market for us and we will continue to introduce innovation designed to meet the emerging needs of the Indian community.”
The new ProArt laptops are built to remove creativity barriers from our workflow to offer incredible performance, design, and the burgeoning ecosystem for creators, who are always on the move and those who prefer to work in their dedicated workspace. To satisfy content creators in various fields, the ProArt series brings an array of products equipped with unique/ industry-first features such as ASUS Dial design and a touchpad that can support a stylus. Designed to meet the growing requirement of creators, designers, vloggers, and artists, the new StudioBook and VivoBooks are committed to democratizing OLED panels on laptops while featuring the high-end processors from both Intel and AMD, along with NVIDIA Studio and RTX graphics for better compatibility and performance across a range of creative applications. The laptops under the series not only provide accurate image color but also offer powerful and stable performance, along with an exclusive Creator Hub, a tool designed to help professionals optimize system settings, calibrate connected monitors, and quickly access vital apps.
Commenting on the launch, Arnold Su, Business Head, Consumer and Gaming PC, System Business Group, ASUS India, said, “The recent times have proven to be a catalyst in driving new trends in the industry and has motivated the creators’ fraternity to opt for specialized machines that cater to their specialized requirement. At ASUS, we strive to be the pioneer whenever there is an opportunity for introducing new technology, and the launch of our ProArt series is a step towards bringing something special for the creators’ community.
We are thrilled to announce the launch of the one-of-a-kind program, ASUS ProArt Lab, which aims to further empower the creators’ community enabling them to unleash the unexplored creativity. We’re certain that the new lineup and platform will enable an incredible experience for creators across genres while allowing us to channelize the growth in the creators’ industry.”
ProArt is the fusion of Pro and Art, created by creators, for creators that will kindle the creative flame, capturing the sparks of one’s inspiration, to let you create the uncreated. ASUS has worked with the best creators across the globe to make the best creators’ notebooks in the ProArt series, while the lab inspires to rightful learn from the best in the industry to build a future in the industry.
Product Details:
ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED (H5600)
To turn creative visions into reality, ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED leverages powerful AMD Ryzen 5000 series (H5600) and fast NVIDIA GeForce up to RTX 3070 (H5600) graphics. For outstanding driver stability, the laptop features NVIDIA Studio Drivers to ensure maximum performance, rock-solid reliability, and wide software compatibility. A 16-inch 4K OLED HDR 16:10 display delivers stunning visuals with a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, PANTONE Validated and Calman Verified certifications, along with factory-calibrated Delta-E < 2 color accuracy and VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black accreditation. For streamlining creative work, the laptop comes equipped with ASUS Dial for quick, intuitive adjustments while working incompatible Adobe apps, such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Photoshop Lightroom Classic, and After Effects. ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED also offers extensive connectivity with ultrafast PCIe 3.0 x4 or PCIe 4.0 x4 SSDs, up to 64 GB of 3200 MHz DDR4 RAM or USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (H5600) ports, plus HDMI 2.1 and an SD Express 7.0 card reader.
VivoBook Pro 14X/16X OLED (M7400, M7600, N7400, N7600)
Creators can shape the future with VivoBook Pro 14X/16X OLED, the ultimate powerhouse for next-generation creativity. VivoBook Pro 14X/16X OLED delivers the speed and accuracy needed to realize creative visions, with a 14-inch or 16-inch NanoEdge 4K OLED display, AMD Ryzen 5000 H Series Mobile Processors or Intel Core i7, and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics. The exclusive DialPad allows precise and intuitive control of creative tools, and the dual-fan cooling design with up to a 96 Wh high-capacity battery empowers users to work in undisturbed peace. VivoBook Pro 14X/16X OLED also offers the anodized-metal 0° Black and Cool Silver or weave-coating Meteor White and Comet Grey color options, inspiring users to unleash the possibilities for a bright, colorful future.
VivoBook Pro 14/15 OLED (M3401, M3500, K3400, K3500)
The modern, unique VivoBook Pro 14/15 OLED shows its true colors to the world: its two distinctive color options, Quiet Blue or Cool Silver, give off a bright, positive vibe. With its stunning 14-inch or 15-inch NanoEdge 2.8, K/FHD OLED display, and awe-inspiring Harman Kardon-certified audio, VivoBook Pro 14/15 OLED immerse users in whatever they are doing, whether work or play. Featuring the latest AMD Ryzen 5000 H Series Mobile Processors or Intel Core™ i7, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, a dual-fan cooling system, and ultrafast Wi-Fi 6, the ultra-stylish VivoBook Pro 14/15 OLED lets users achieve their true potential.
| Model Name | Model No | CPU | Asus Estore/Offline(ROG/AES/MFR/Other all offline Store) | Starting Price |
| Vivobook Pro 15 OLED | K3500 | Intel | Flipkart/Asus Estore/Offline(ROG stores/Asus Exclusive Stores) | ₹ 74,990.00 |
| Vivobook Pro 14 OLED | K3400 | Intel | Flipkart/Reliance/Croma/Vijay Sales | ₹ 74,990.00 |
| Vivobook Pro 14 OLED | M3401 | AMD | Asus Estore/ Offline(ROG stores/Asus Exclusive Stores) | ₹ 94,990.00 |
| Vivobook Pro 14X OLED | N7400 | Intel | Amazon/Reliance/Croma/Vijay Sales/Asus Estore/ Offline(ROG stores/Asus Exclusive Stores) | ₹ 94,990.00 |
| Vivobook Pro 15 OLED | M3500 | AMD | Flipkart/Asus Estore/ Offline(ROG stores/Asus Exclusive Stores) | ₹ 1,04,990.00 |
| Vivobook Pro 14X OLED | M7400 | AMD | Flipkart/Asus Estore/ Offline(ROG stores/Asus Exclusive Stores) | ₹ 1,09,990.00 |
| Vivobook Pro 16X OLED | M7600 | AMD | Asus Estore/ Offline(ROG stores/Asus Exclusive Stores) | ₹ 1,24,990.00 |
| ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED | H5600 | AMD | To be available from January 2022
Flipkart/Amazon/ Offline(ROG stores/Asus Exclusive Stores) |
₹ 1,69,990.00 |
