Amazon fab phones fest: Deals on OnePlus 6T, iPhone X, Xiaomi Mi A2, & more

The Amazon fab phones fest is currently live and will continue until March 7. Here are some of the deals to check out.

Amazon India is hosting a three-day sale on smartphones in which the e-commerce platform is offering discounts, bank offers, exchange offers, and no cost equated monthly instalment options on smartphones across various brands. Named the Amazon fab phones fest, the sale is currently live and will continue until March 7. Here are some of the deals to check out:

OnePlus 6T:

This flagship smartphone from the stable of Chinese maker OnePlus is eligible for Rs 2,000 extra exchange value as a part of exchange offer. The phone is also eligible for no cost EMI, and the e-commerce portal is offering additional Rs 2,000 off on EMI orders and Rs 1,500 off on non-EMI orders on Kotak cards – subject to terms and conditions.

iPhone X:

The last year flagship from Cupertino, US-based technology giant Apple is available at a discounted price of Rs 74,999, down 18 per cent from its listed price of Rs 91,900. The phone is eligible for no cost EMI, valid only on HDFC bank credit cards and Bajaj Finserv EMI cards.

Honor View20:

The 2019 flagship from the stable of Chinese smartphone brand Honor is eligible for Rs 4,000 extra exchange value as a part of exchange offer. Besides being eligible for no cost EMI on all major credit cards and select debit cards, the phone is also eligible for no cost EMI option on Bajaj Finserv EMI cards.

Xiaomi Mi A2:

This second-generation stock Android-based smartphone from the stable of Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi is available at a discounted price of Rs 11,999, down 31 per cent from its listed price of Rs 17,499. The phone is eligible for no cost EMI on all major credit cards and select debit cards.

Samsung Galaxy M10:

This 2019 budget phone from South Korean electronics major Samsung is now available on open sale. The phone is eligible for Reliance Jio double data offer, valid on recharge of Rs 198 and 299. The phone is eligible for five per cent instant discount on HDFC bank credit and debit card EMI transaction. The phone is also eligible for no cost EMI on Amazon Pay ICICI credit cards.

Business Standard

OnePlus 6T has minor, yet interesting upgrades over predecessor: Know more

Apart from new format screen and in-display fingerprint sensor, the OnePlus 6T gets an improved operating system and host of new software-based features that makes it an interesting upgrade.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus on October 29 unveiled the much-anticipated OnePlus 6T in New York, marking its foray in the US smartphone market. The smartphone will launch in India today (October 30) at 8:30 PM and go on sale from November 2 at select offline stores, besides online sale exclusively on Amazon India.

Unlike previous launches, the difference between the OnePlus 6T and its predecessor is subtle, yet interesting. Speaking of the upgrades, the OnePlus 6T gets a new format 6.41-inch screen of 2340 x 1080 resolution with a tiny notch (waterdrop) on the top, accommodating just the front camera. The earpiece and sensors have moved to top bezel area, similar to how it has been in the Oppo F9 Pro and Vivo V11 Pro. The new format screen also gets an in-display fingerprint sensor, which turns a part of screen into a fingerprint recognition module to unlock the screen. However the phone does away with a headphone jack in favour of a bigger capacity battery of 3,700 mAh.

The OnePlus 6T has dual camera module on the back, featuring a 16-megapixel primary sensor and a 20MP secondary sensor. There is a 16MP lens on the front. This is the same configuration taken forward from the predecessor. However, the camera is now clubbed with additional modes such as nightscape and studio lighting for enhanced output. The Nightscape mode helps the phone take better shots in low light conditions and the studio lighting mode improves the overall output of portrait shots. ( Business Standard )

Except for a larger battery, the phone has identical specifications compared to its predecessor. The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip. Though the phone continues with three RAM and storage configurations – 6GB/128GB, 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB – the base model got a storage upgrade to 128GB from 64GB in predecessor. The phone boots Android Pie operating system-based OxygenOS, which supports gesture-based navigation.

Mukesh Ambani-owned telecommunication service provider Reliance Jio on October 29 announced that the phone will be available at Reliance Digital stores. The phone’s price is still unknown, but Jio has announced it will be offering an instant cashback of Rs 5,400 in the form of 36 recharge vouchers of Rs 350 each. These could be redeemed on successive recharges of Rs 299 or more.

OnePlus 6T teaser shows all-screen design, in-display fingerprint sensor

The OnePlus 6T launch is expected to be on October 17. However, there has been no official confirmation to back this claim so far.

OnePlus, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, is expected to unveil the OnePlus 6T sometime this month. Before the launch, the company has been teasing the upcoming smartphone features on its social media platforms. The recent teaser shows a phone with all-screen design and in-display fingerprint sensor, the two major upgrades that the phone would get as a part of upgrade. Speaking of upgrades, the OnePlus 6T is confirmed to get an in-display fingerprint sensor technology in which the fingerprint sensor is placed beneath the screen, allowing the phone to sport a unibody design. 

The in-display fingerprint sensor technology allows a part of the screen to double up as a biometric recognition module for identifying fingerprints to unlock the phone. OnePlus’ sister company, Vivo, has been offering this technology in some of its premium models, such as the Vivo X21, Vivo Nex and the Vivo V11 Pro.

The OnePlus 6T is also confirmed to lose the 3.5mm audio jack. More of a downgrade than upgrade, the trade-off is defended by the company as a must to utilise the space for new hardware, or maybe a bigger battery.

Apart from the changes mentioned above, the OnePlus 6T is also reported to get a new screen format, with a tiny notch on top. Though the notch area in the OnePlus 6 is among the smallest when compared with other notch screen-based smartphones, it would be trimmed even more and reduced to a size of a big dot, enough to accommodate just the front camera. The Vivo V11 Pro or the Oppo F9 Pro are two smartphones that currently boast such screen designs.

Imaging is another area that is expected to get improvements. The OnePlus 6T is expected to get a dual camera module with several software-based enhancements such as artificial intelligence-based automatic scene recognition, better low light photography, etc.

Speaking of technical specifications, the upcoming smartphone is expected to be similar to the OnePlus 6 i.e. Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip (SoC) and three RAM & storage configurations – 6GB/64GB, 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB. The phone is expected to come in midnight black and mirror black colour options, and a white and red colour options will be added later.

As for the price, OnePlus surprised its community last year by keeping the price of the OnePlus 5T similar to the OnePlus 5. However, chances are slim that the company would repeat the step with the OnePlus 6T. The phone is expected to get a nominal price hike. It is expected to cost less than Rs 40,000 – at least the base model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The OnePlus 6T launch is expected to be on October 17. However, there has been no official confirmation to back this claim so far.

Business Standard

OnePlus 6T teaser goes live on Amazon, TV ad with Amitabh Bachchan out too

The OnePlus 6T is expected to be launching in the middle of October, with retail available shortly after the launch.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is gearing up to launch the OnePlus 6T soon. The phone teaser is now live on e-commerce platform Amazon, and a television commercial featuring Bollywood celebrity Amitabh Bachchan is out too. 

This is exactly how OnePlus started promoting the yesteryear flagship OnePlus 5T before the launch. With the teaser page out and television commercial featuring on different channels, it is safe to assume that the launch is now only days away.

While the teaser on Amazon India does not reveal anything, the television commercial provides some details on the design aspect of the upcoming OnePlus flagship.

 In the commercial, Amitabh Bachchan is seen holding the phone and his index finger resting below the rear camera module. The phone shown in the advertisement wears midnight black design (matte black edition) that was introduced with the OnePlus 6. In recent reports, the OnePlus 6T was speculated to feature a tri-camera module on the back. In the commercial, however, the phone is shown sporting a dual camera module and Amitabh Bachchan’s index finger strategically covering rest of the space, leaving the speculation unanswered.

ALSO READ: Apple leads global premium phone market; OnePlus enters top 5: Counterpoint

Speaking of other upgrades, the OnePlus 6T is confirmed to get an in-display fingerprint sensor technology, where the sensor is placed beneath the display panel. This allows a part of the screen to double up as a biometric recognition module for identifying fingerprints for the phone's unlocking mechanism.

The in-display fingerprint module will free up the space on the back of the OnePlus 6T without compromising on the overall design theme. OnePlus’ sister company, Vivo, has been offering this technology in some of its premium models, such as the Vivo X21, Vivo Nex and the Vivo V11 Pro.

The OnePlus 6T is also reported to get a new screen format, with a tiny notch on top. Though the notch area in the OnePlus 6 is among the smallest when compared with other notch screen-based smartphones, it would be trimmed even more and reduced to a size of a big dot, enough to accommodate just the front camera. The Vivo V11 Pro or the Oppo F9 Pro are two smartphones that currently boast similar screen format design.

As for the trade off, the OnePlus 6T is confirmed to drop the 3.5mm audio jack to accommodate a bigger capacity battery. Other technical specifications of the upcoming smartphone are expected to be similar to the OnePlus 6 i.e. Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip (SoC) and three RAM & storage configurations – 6GB/64GB, 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB.

Article Source Business Standard

OnePlus 6T to use finger-on-display; will look slightly different than OP6

Apart from in-display fingerprint sensor technology, the OnePlus 6T is also expected to feature a new format screen with a tiny notch on top. The phone is expected to arrive in October.

The OnePlus 6T will feature an in-display fingerprint sensor as one of the biometric tools to unlock the device, other would be the face unlock. Named finger-on-display by Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus, this feature was first intended to debut on the OnePlus 5T. However, according to company’s statement, the technology was not ready then, therefore it was delayed until now. 

The company also had to tweak the internals to accommodate the finger-on-display technology, making the OnePlus 6T design slightly thicker than the OnePlus 6, according to a news report in the CNET.

The in-display fingerprint technology was first introduced by another Chinese smartphone brand Vivo. The company was also the first one to roll out consumer ready device in the market. In India, Vivo X21 was the first smartphone to feature in-display fingerprint sensor. As noticed in the product review, the in-display fingerprint sensor is not as fast and accurate as the conventional fingerprint sensors. However, the new generation fingerprint sensor used in the Vivo V11 Pro, which was launched in India recently, showed improvement with respect to fingerprint recognition and accuracy. Important to note, Vivo is one of the three smartphone brands that are owned by Chinese smartphone manufacturer BKK electronics. The other two are OnePlus and Oppo.

Therefore, it is expected that the OnePlus 6T would take the technology from Vivo.

Unlike the conventional fingerprint sensors, the in-display fingerprint sensor technology is embedded under the screen, making it a discreet addition without compromising on the phone design. According to the report in CNET, the finger-on-display technology would allow the OnePlus 6T to feature a unibody look.

As seen in Vivo smartphones with in-display fingerprint sensor technology, a specific area on the lower side of screen doubles up as a biometric unit to recognise fingerprints.

The area is lit up with an icon to make it easy to identify where to touch to register a fingerprint. Featuring a fingerprint sensor on the front allows smartphone users to follow lesser steps to unlock the screen, compared to devices with fingerprint sensor on the back.

Apart from in-display fingerprint sensor technology, the OnePlus 6T is also expected to feature a new format screen with a tiny notch on top. The phone is expected to feature glass-metal-glass design. It is also expected to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor.

The OnePlus 6T is expected to arrive in the last quarter of this year.

Article Source BS

OnePlus captured 40% of Indian premium smartphone mkt in Q2, beats Samsung

In terms of best-selling models, OnePlus 6 was the best in the premium segment followed by Samsung S9 Plus and OnePlus 5T.

Riding on the success of its OnePlus 6 device, Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus captured 40 per cent of the premium segment in India in the second quarter of 2018, a new report has said.

Samsung captured 34 per cent share of the premium segment while Apple 14 per cent - its lowest ever.

According to Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research, the premium smartphone segment (Rs 30,000 and above) grew 19 per cent annually and 10 per cent sequentially during Q2 2018.

"The uptick in consumer demand in the premium segment was driven by increasing offers around the new launches as compared to a year ago," said the report, released late on Monday.

The top three brands -- Samsung, OnePlus and Apple -- contributed 88 per cent of the overall premium market as compared to 95 per cent a quarter ago.

"This is due to the entry of new players in the segment led by Huawei (P20), Vivo (X21), Nokia HMD (Nokia 8 Sirocco) and LG (V30 Plus)," the report added.

Samsung captured over a third of the total premium smartphone market during the quarter with promotions around its flagship S9 series remaining strong.

In terms of best-selling models, OnePlus 6 was the best in the premium segment followed by Samsung S9 Plus and OnePlus 5T.

"The steady focus on high-end flagship smartphones and unprecedented community connect helped OnePlus earn user trust and spread brand awareness through word of mouth," said Neil Shah, Partner and Research Director, IoT, Mobile and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research.

Article Source BS