Samsung gives a glimpse of new foldable phone in surprise ad during Oscars

The ad comes two days before its Galaxy Z Flip phones are due to be unveiled at an event in San Francisco.

Samsung Electronics, the world's top smartphone maker, gave a glimpse of new square-shaped foldable phones in a surprise TV commercial aired during the Academy Awards on Sunday.

The ad, broadcast only in the United States, comes two days before its Galaxy Z Flip phones, which open and close vertically like a flip phone, are due to be unveiled at an event in San Francisco.

While there were many shots of the phones, which come in at least purple and black, there were few other details.

They are, however, expected to be less expensive than the $1,980 Galaxy Fold which opens like a book and was launched in September, delayed by several months after problems with its screens.

"The new Galaxy Z Flip foldable phone will create a halo effect for Samsung's brand and help it better compete with Apple's pricey models," said Tom Kang, an analyst at research firm Counterpoint, adding that Samsung had taken the lead in foldable phones at a time when Chinese rivals looked set to leap into the nascent market.

Technology News

Huawei to soon launch Kirin 990 chipset-powered 5G-ready devices in India

According to the company, the 5G version of the chip will be available in India with the upcoming line up of Huawei smartphones.

China's Huawei Consumer Business Group on Tuesday announced that it will bring its flagship Kirin 990 system-on- chip (SoC) in India soon. The Kirin 990, world's first 5G-integrated mobile chipset, is the first mobile SoC to come with 10.3 billion transistors, thus making it incredibly fast and efficient.

According to the company, the 5G version of the chip will be available in India with the upcoming line up of Huawei smartphones.

"As one of Huawei's key markets, customer-centric innovation is at the heart of everything we do in India. We have always believed in bringing the very best to our consumers by continuously focusing on innovation and making the experience better, every single time.

"The Kirin 990 is the very pinnacle of smartphone technology today and will leapfrog consumers into a new era of 5G. We are glad to announce a chipset that will revolutionise the way people use their smartphones," Tornado Pan, Country Manager (Huawei Brand), Consumer Business, said in a statement.

Kirin 990 and Kirin 990 (5G), launched during the IFA earlier this month, are also designed to bring elevated performance, energy efficiency, AI capabilities and photography experience to an extensive group of 4G smartphone users.

Featuring 7 nm+ EUV manufacturing process, Kirin 990 (5G) is integrated with a 5G modem, and occupies a smaller area while consuming less power.

The Kirin 990 SoC features a three-level power efficiency structure, comprising of two ultra-large cores, two large cores, and four small cores, with a dominant frequency up to 2.86 GHz.

Business Standard

Apple to Samsung: 75 new smartphone models to kick off festive season sales

The euphoria is clearly visible in activities of the smartphone majors.

Amid a potential slowdown, the country’s smartphone makers are gearing up for bumper sales ahead of the festival season. To draw consumers, at least 75 new smartphone models have been lined up and that may add momentum to the already growing sector.

Initial estimates — based on trends of the past two months — suggest that during the July-September quarter smartphone shipments may touch an all-time high. While last year, during the corresponding quarter, nearly 42.6 million units were shipped in, this year the number may surpass 45 million, analysts estimate.

Prabhu Ram, head of industry intelligence group, CyberMedia Research, says smartphone shipments will grow 8-10 per cent year-on-year during the quarter. “Smartphone brands have lined up many exiting launches, backed by attractive offers. Online shopping festivals will further pique customers’ interest,” he said.

The euphoria is clearly visible in activities of the smartphone majors. Market leader Xiaomi is planning to launch Redmi Note 8 and 8 Pro, extension of its flagship Note series. Second-largest player Samsung has lined up launches under its current online-only series M that directly competes with Xiaomi. The Korean giant will also launch new models under its yearly flagship Galaxy S series in September.

Samsung’s rival in the super premium segment — Apple — is not behind. New iPhone models are expected to be unveiled in the country by October — days ahead of Diwali. OnePlus, another heavyweight in the premium category that frequently beats Apple and Samsung in their own turf, is launching OnePlus 7T — replacing the bestselling OnePlus 6T this month.

Vivo, Oppo, and Realme, the third-, fourth- and fifth-largest players currently, have their own flagships lined up. Vivo Z2 Pro, Z1X Pro, and Z5, Realme XT, and Oppo Reno 2 series are in the pipeline. Other leading brands like Nokia, Huawei, and Honor are coming out with Nokia 6.2, 7.2, and 8.2, Huawei Mate 30 series, and Honor 9X series, respectively, during the festival season.

Lenovo is relaunching its mother brand after it withdrew Lenovo smartphones from the market over a year ago. The Chinese major is planning to lap up its dual-brand strategy this season — with Lenovo and Motorola — targeting different sets of consumers.

Business Standard

Apple likely to launch three iPhones in 2020 with 5G support: Report

Apple might use Qualcomm's 5G chip in its first generation 5G phones, despite the fact that it now has access to Intel's smartphone modem chip business.

American technology behemoth Apple is likely to launch three models of its iPhone smartphones with 5G network support next year, according to the company’s analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst earlier in his statement said that Apple might add 5G network support to at least two models of the three new iPhones planned in 2020. However, the company’s recent acquisition of chip-maker Intel’s smartphone modem business and revived relations with Qualcomm has fast tracked this process. The analyst believes that the company now have the resources to build 5G-ready iPhone in time to compete with its competitors, especially Android original equipment manufacturers – according to a news report in the Apple-centric technology news platform Macrumors.

The news report also states that Apple might use Qualcomm’s 5G chip in its first generation 5G phones, despite the fact that it now has access to Intel's smartphone modem chip business. This is because Apple will take time, until 2021, to build its own modem chips using Intel technology. Additionally, according to Kuo's earlier statement, the iPhone 2020-series might feature 5.4-inch to 6.7-inch screens. All three smartphones are expected to boast OLED panels.

ALSO READ: Apple to launch three iPhones in 2019 with optic & haptic upgrades: Report

Meanwhile, Apple is currently working on 2019 iPhones which are expected to launch sometime in September. The upcoming iPhone 2019-series is expected to get three models of different screen sizes, like the current generation iPhone. Codenamed the N104, D42 and D43, the upcoming iPhones are reported to be successor to the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, respectively.

According to a recent news report in the 9to5mac, the upcoming iPhone models would come with a lightning port. All three 2019 iPhone models are also reported to be powered by A13 processor, details of which are still not known. Touted to be named the iPhone 11 series, it is expected to come with a new Taptic Engine, which is expected to replace Apple’s 3D Touch feature, which has been there in all iPhones since the 6S.

Business Standard

Huawei Mate 20-series launch: Watch livestream, know likely specs, features

The Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro would be Huawei's first smartphones to use company's proprietary Kirin 980 system-on-chip. These phones would also have triple camera module on the back, similar to P20 Pro.

Huawei, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, would be unveiling the Huawei Mate 20-series today (October 16) in an event in London, UK. Like previous Mate¬-series launches, the company is expected to unveil at least two new premium smartphones. 

Named the Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro, these smartphones would be the first to be powered by company’s proprietary Kirin 980 system-on-chip with dual neural processing units (NPUs) for advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. These phones would also be the first in Mate-series to get triple camera module on the back, which was first introduced in the Huawei P20 Pro (review).

Although, no information with regard to the upcoming smartphones have been officially confirmed, the rumour mill hints at some of the specifications and features of the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro that might turn out to be true eventually. Let’s take a look at what to expect from the duo of premium smartphones:

The Pro edition in the Mate 20-series is expected to be the higher-end variant. The phone is expected to get a curved OLED screen of QHD+ resolution.

The screen would have a notch on the top that would accommodate front camera, earpiece and sensors, along with infrared sensor and dot projector for advanced face unlock mechanism. The Pro edition would also get an in-display fingerprint sensor.

The Mate 20, on the other hand, is expected to get an IPS screen of fullHD resolution. It would also have a notch on the top, but a tiny one that would accommodate only the front camera. The earpiece and sensors would move to the thin bezel area above the screen. The phone would support face unlock mechanism, but not the advanced version that would require infrared sensor or dot projection. Therefore, for fast, secure and efficient unlocking, the phone would get a regular fingerprint sensor on the back.

Both the smartphones would get Leica-tuned triple camera modules on the back, which is expected to feature a combination of a 40-megapixel primary lens, mated with a 20MP telephoto lens and an 8MP wide-angle lens. Like the P20 Pro, the phones’ camera would get 5x lossless zooming capabilities.

The Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro would be unveiled at 6:30 PM (IST) and it will be livestreamed at Huawei social media channels and YouTube.

Business Standard