Samsung to launch Galaxy M02 for less than Rs 7K next week
Expanding its entry-level smartphone segment in India, Samsung is set to launch another affordable smartphone billed as Galaxy M02 and priced under Rs 7,000 next week. Galaxy M02 is likely to have a large 6.5-inch infinity-V display and a dual camera setup at the back, industry sources told IANS on Wednesday. After Galaxy M02s, this would be Samsung’s second smartphone launched below Rs 10,000 this year. Earlier this month, Samsung launched its new budget smartphone ‘Galaxy M02s’ in the India market. Galaxy M02s is priced at Rs 8,999 for the 3GB+32GB variant and Rs 9,999 for the 4GB+64GB variant. Galaxy M02s also comes with a 6.5-inch Infinity-V display for immersive viewing, content streaming, video calls and attending online courses. The device comes with 5000mAh battery along with 15W fast charging support. Samsung’s Galaxy M portfolio did extremely well in India, helping the company rise to top ranking in the third quarter last year. Designed for young millennial and Gen Z consumers, the ‘M’ series was launched in Q1 2019, and instantly became a hit in the country. Samsung sold 15 million ‘M’ series smartphones in India in 2020, with a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $2.5 billion. (IANS)
Samsung new chipset to beat Apple A14 Bionic’s functionality
South Korean tech giant Samsung is reportedly working on a new chipset in the first half of this year with an aim to beat the performance of the Apple A14 Bionic. Samsung launched its Exynos 2100 chipset with the latest Galaxy S21 series smartphones. Though the Samsung Exynos 2100 is a big improvement over the company’s Exynos 990, the chipset still lags behind when compared to the Apple A14 Bionic chipset that powers the Apple iPhone 12 lineup, reports GizmoChina. While the Exynos 2100 matches the Snapdragon 888 in pure CPU-only tests, an earlier speed test shows that performance drops when the GPU is stressed. That’s probably why Samsung seeks AMD’s expertise to optimize the next chipset’s performance and efficiency. The Samsung Exynos chip will reportedly have the Cortex X1 Prime core, clocked at 2.9GHz, alongside Cortex A78 cores, which will be clocked at 2.8GHz and four small A55 cores clocked at 2.2 GHz. Since the company is using the 5nm process, the chip’s power efficiency should be at par with what Qualcomm and Apple produce. (IANS)
Sony Xperia Pro launched as brand’s first 5G phone
Sony has launched ‘Xperia Pro’ as its first smartphone with 5G support in the US for
$2,499.99. Sony is targeting the device at professional users, who it hopes will use its HDMI input to turn the phone into an external camera monitor and its 5G connectivity to quickly upload or live-stream footage, reports The Verge. The phone’s unique 360-degree antenna design offers better connectivity no matter how the phone is mounted or held. Although the Xperia Pro is unlocked, it only supports LTE and sub-6GHz 5G on AT&T and T-Mobile. The smartphone features a tall 6.5-inch 21:9 aspect ratio OLED display and sub-4K resolution of 3840 x 1644 pixels. The device is power-driven by the nice recent 865 processor and packs a good 4,000mAh battery. The smartphone comes with a triple 12MP camera that offers phase-detect autofocus on all sensors with support for human and animal eye autofocus and 20 fps shooting with AF (autofocus) and AE (auto exposure). Xperia Pro uses the same imaging technology as the Xperia 1 II. According to Sony, the phone was developed with help from the Alpha camera engineers. (IANS)
Over 10 lakh units of Poco M2 sold in India
Chinese smartphone brand Poco on Wednesday announced that it has sold over 10 lakh units of Poco M2 in the Indian market. The device is priced at Rs 9,999 for the 64GB storage variant and the other variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage is priced at Rs 10,999. “Accolades for POCO M2 started coming in early; in fact, Poco M2 is recognised as the bestselling phone online in the country, as per Counterpoint Market Research. With 6GB RAM, triple camera and more, Poco M2 has built a lot of salience for itself within a short span of time,” the company said in a statement. Poco M2 features a 6.53-inch Full HD+ display, with a resolution of 2340X1080 and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The smartphone comes with a MediaTek Helio G80 octa-core processor with two Cortex-A75 cores at 2.0GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8GHz, coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The device houses a 13MP primary sensor, 8MP ultra-wide sensor, 5MP macro sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. There is also an 8MP selfie camera with night mode. The smartphone comes packed with a 5,000mAh built-in battery, powered with support for 18W fast charging (10W charger inbox). (IANS)
Apple launches limited edition Black Unity Collection Watch
Apple has launched a limited-edition Watch for the ‘Black History Month, with a unique band and a new face. Available from February 1, the new hardware is part of what the company is calling the Black Unity Collection, a group of products designed to “celebrate and acknowledge Black history and Black culture.” Apple says the limited-edition Watch will be available in “over 38 countries and regions.” It hasn’t yet confirmed international prices, but the $399 Watch starts at 379 pounds or AU$599. The band will also be available separately for $49. Apple Watch users can participate in a new Unity Activity Challenge and earn the limited-edition award by closing their Move ring seven days in a row during February. As part of this effort, Apple is supporting six global organisations to help advance their missions in promoting and achieving equality and civil rights in the US and around the world: Black Lives Matter Support Fund via the Tides Foundation; European Network Against Racism; International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights; Leadership Conference Education Fund; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and Souls Grown Deep. In addition, Apple announced a number of other initiatives for Black History Month this year. There will be a hub in the App Store highlighting Black-owned businesses and developers; Apple Music will get “curated playlists, essays, original videos” and other content highlighting Black artists; and Apple Maps is getting curated recommendations from EatOkra, which highlights Black-owned restaurants. (IANS)