Category: Tech Launches

At Exhibit Tech, discover the latest tech releases and new tech that you definitely won’t want to miss out on. From Apple to Android, our experts reveal everything you need to know about the latest gadgets and much more. Join us as we bring you to the best launches we had the great opportunity to be invited to.

Instagram Will Soon Allow Users To Post Through Desktop

One of the most searched questions on the internet is can we post pictures on Instagram from the desktop? Earlier, we’re only authorised to view Instagram posts through a desktop website and used to get alternative options as an answer, where we could use third-party tools to create posts on desktops, but now, to do it directly, Instagram is testing on a long-requested functionality of publishing posts through desktop, and soon, we all could post pictures through the desktop as a post, with the help of plus icon.

The new trial feature for the desktop website was first spotted by social media expert Matt Navarra, who shared several screengrabs on his Twitter feed. The screengrabs manifest now we’re allowed to create more on Instagram through the desktop website. Unfortunately, the trial feature is not accessible for everyone, but Instagram could roll it out soon for all the users only if it works smoothly.

Alongside Matt Navarra, Facebook’s spokesperson Christine Pai has confirmed regarding the test in a statement, “We know that many people access Instagram from their computer, and to improve that experience, we’re now testing the ability to create a Feed post on Instagram with their desktop browser.”

The in-browser experience advances many of the same features which we see on a mobile app: a plus icon to upload a photo as a post, various filters, primary editing tools and an option to choose an aspect ratio where they can choose from Original, Square (1:1), Portrait (4:5), and Landscape (16:9). Along with an option to post pictures, users are also entitled to add a caption, location, tag people, and most of the advanced features like turning off comments, hiding likes-views and more. 

When it comes to posting a video through a desktop browser, the process is a little different, where users can select any specific frame from the desired video to put it as a cover or thumbnail. The new feature also offers an option for turning the sound off or on. Instagram has always been slow to implement features, especially on desktop, but the problem is solved now, and now we can post our favourite cat and food pictures on Instagram with the comfort of a desktop.

Realme Sub-brand DIZO Will Launch It’s First-ever Product On July 1

Back in late May, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme unveiled its first AIoT sub-brand, DIZO, focusing on smart home gadgets, accessories, lifestyle, and entertainment products. Now the company is gearing up to launch its first product under its all-new DIZO sub-brand on July 1. DIZO is expected to launch new wireless earbuds, headphones, smartwatches, and feature phones in India, but their first product could be TWS headphones as the brand is teasing us with all the music-related tweets.

The Vietnamese e-commerce website Shoppe has been teasing the upcoming products from the Realme sub-brand, which are claimed to be called the DIZO GoPods, DIZO GoPods D, and DIZO Watch for weeks now, and all these leaked products are similar to Realme Buds Air 2, Buds Q2 and Watch 2, respectively, with a few exterior changes. As per the leaks, along with these products, the brand is also planning to bring a Bluetooth speaker and a vacuum robot.

The feature phones have come a long way and a number of people, mostly old-age people still prefer them first. Most of them can now support WhatsApp, Google, YouTube, and Gmail apps. DIZO is expected to launch two feature phones allegedly called DIZO Star 500 and DIZO Star 300. 

The launch of these feature phones will mark the debut of Realme in the feature phone segment. DIZO feature phones have already created hype around the Indian market, and once they launch, they would surely offer a decent fight to the old bosses of the feature phone market, Jio, Samsung, and Nokia. 

The company aims to launch over 100 new AIoT and lifestyle products in 2021; the long list includes TWS products, affordable smart TVs, smart plugs, trimmers, smart bulbs and more. All the recent leaks and speculations hinted that DIZO would be rebadging some of the existing Realme products and will share more teasers about the products to build the hype.

Samsung & Vivo Emerged As The Worlds Fastest-Growing 5G Smartphone Brands In Q1-2021

Samsung and Vivo emerged as the world’s fastest-growing 5G smartphone brands in the first quarter (January to March) of 2021, with 17 million and 19.4 million shipments, respectively. The latest research done by Strategy Analytics shows that Samsung grew by 79%, and Vivo grew by 62% in 5G smartphone shipments compared to the last quarter (Q4 2020), which includes a cycle from October to December.

Vendor Q4 2020 shipments (million) Q4 2020 Market share Q1 2021 shipments (million) Q1 2021 Market share Quarterly growth
Apple 52.2 40.7 40.4 29.8% -23%
Oppo 13.9 10.9% 21.5 15.8% 55%
Vivo 12.0 9.4% 19.4 14.3% 62%
Samsung 9.5 7.4% 17.0 12.5% 79%
Xiaomi 11.8 9.2% 16.6 12.2% 41%
Others 28.7 22.4% 20.8 15.3% -28%
Total 128.1 100.00% 135.7 100.00% 6%

 

“Global 5G smartphone shipments grew a healthy 6% quarter-on-quarter and hit a record 136 million units during the first quarter of 2021.” quoted Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics, during a statement. The demand for 5G smartphones is on another level, particularly in China, United States, and Western Europe and by the end of 2021, the shipments will reach a record 624 million units, Hyers added further.

Samsung’s growth was pushed by significant demand for the Galaxy S21 series across South Korea, the US, and Europe. At the same time, Vivo emerges as the second fastest-growing 5G brand, with strongholds over China and Europe. The success of Vivo was driven by its iQOO U3 5G and U7 5G smartphones. 

Oppo, with a 55% increase and Xiaomi with a 41% increase, complete the top-four makers’ list; both of these companies grew dramatically due to solid hold in China. There’s no doubt, Samsung and Vivo have topped the Quarterly growth based on shipment percentage, but Apple still holds the lead with total shipments of 40.4 million.

Apple dipped with -23% quarter-on-quarter, following a spree during last quarter’s holiday period where the new 5G iPhone was wildly popular. However, the American tech giant still stands strong with a 29.8% market share in Q1 2021, and it will soon bounce back in the percentage of the shipment.

OnePlus Announces Its Official Integration With Oppo

Everyone knows that OnePlus has always been associated with Oppo behind the curtains, and to make the grip tighter, OnePlus is now officially merging with Oppo after working together on some level for the last one year. OnePlus and Oppo are popular smartphone brands in India, both owned by the Chinese parent group BBK Electronics that also owns brands such as Vivo and Realme. 

Earlier, both the companies collaborated closely for a while, and now OnePlus has announced that it will further integrate with its sister smartphone brand Oppo, with OnePlus becoming an Oppo sub-brand; however, it will continue to operate independently. 

The dramatic move appears after premium smartphone maker OnePlus CEO Pete Lau took on additional responsibility as Oppo’s chief product officer to develop a product strategy for both OnePlus and Oppo. Lau said in the forum post, “Since then, we have integrated a number of our teams with Oppo to streamline our operations better and capitalise on additional shared resources”.

The formal integration will give OnePlus additional resources to develop and create even better products for the consumers. “We’re at a turning point for the future of OnePlus, and I’m confident that this change will be positive for our community and our users. It will also allow us to be more efficient, for example, bringing faster and more stable software updates for OnePlus users,” he wrote further in the post titled “A New Journey for OnePlus”.

Furthermore, Lau said in the post; the OnePlus brand will continue to operate its events and customer feedback channels independently. The move might also merge the mid-premium segment play of both brands, the Nord and Reno series. Also, the OnePlus spokesperson for the company confirmed that OnePlus products and regional markets would run the business as usual and continue to compete in the markets the same way they previously did.

Apple Announces AirTags With Better Privacy & Promises An Android App

Apple launched AirTag item trackers at the company’s event in April, and recently, the tech giant has announced a bunch of changes designed to improve the privacy of AirTag item trackers. Apple is upping its privacy efforts with AirTags a week before the Worldwide Developers Conference Event is a brilliant move made by the company. 

The new update in AirTag item trackers will change the time window for when it will make a sound to alert others of a lost tracker. Previously, AirTag trackers would only make a sound after three days of the tracker being separated from its owner, but with the new update, to restrict users from using AirTags to track people without their awareness, the separated AirTag will now make a sound at a random time, between 8 and 24 hours.

Apple updated the AirTag trackers to avoid unwanted tracking a little over a month after they went on sale for ₹3,190 a pack and ₹10,900 for a four-pack. Currently, only iPhone users and Android devices equipped with NFC can detect an unwanted AirTag tracker, and they can disable the tracking by tapping on it with their respective devices, as it leads them to instructions on how to disable the unwanted tracking. 

But what if someone owns an Android device and is dealing with unwanted tracking? To overcome such issues and reassure people about its AirTags, Apple is developing an app for Android users where they could use the Find My-enabled accessories option and check if an abandoned tracker is around them. 

“The recent introduction of AirTag included industry-first proactive features that discourage unwanted tracking,” Apple said in a statement. The upcoming app will allow Android users to receive proactive notifications to alert them from unwanted tracking. The American tech giant told CNET that it’d release an Android-friendly unwanted tracking app later this year.

Redmi Watch: One Of the Best Affordable Smartwatch Under ₹5000

Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi recently launched the Redmi watch alongside the Redmi Note 10S. Redmi’s first smartwatch comes with a 1.4-inch LCD colour display, and its battery can stay as long as ten days. 5 ATM water-resistant Redmi watch has been affordably priced at Rs. 3999 and offers over 200 watch faces. Here we will be looking at what the new Redmi Watch offers and let you know all about it.

Design:

The Redmi watch has an overwhelming resemblance to the Apple Watch design, but it still has many good design elements. The watch looks stunning and has one of the most sophisticated designs in the category of affordable watches. At the price of ₹3,999, Xiaomi’s latest affordable wearable competes against the Amazfit Bip U and the Realme Watch. 

The watch is available in Ivory, Black and Blue case colour options, and the strap uses a simple buckle design with four strap colour options: Ivory, Black, Blue and Olive. The display is covered by 2.5D glass that curls gently around the edges, and the back of the watch has a small bump with the optical sensor for heart rate monitoring.

Display:

The Redmi Watch has a 1.4-inch, 320 x 320 resolution IPS LCD type display, and when turned off, the black coloured 2.5D curved glass makes the watch look very premium. The colours aren’t vibrant, but the display has reasonable image quality for the price. The viewing angles also aren’t as good as OLED panels, and elevated black levels are also typical of LCD panels; that’s the apparent reason the black background doesn’t match with chunky black bezels, especially when outdoors.

Features:

The Redmi watch packs fitness tracking features like a heart rate monitor, sleep tracker, and GPS, all inside a traditional watch-shaped, water-resistant body. Along with these features, Redmi Watch can help you get notifications, control music, set alarms, check the weather, and more. The watch comes with 11 sports modes, including trail running, walking, hiking, indoor cycling, swimming, swimming, freestyle, cricket, treadmill, and more.

Software:

The Redmi Watch has a simple, easy-to-navigate User Interface. The home screen consists of three pages: the main time dial, a heart rate page, and a music control page. One can swipe down to access your recent notifications and swipe up to access a control centre of sorts with some quick access buttons. Along with these, one can also browse the extensive collection of Watch Faces inside the Xiaomi Wear app.

Battery & Verdict:

The Redmi Watch has a claimed battery life of ten days, but it will discharge the watch within five days when used extensively. The charger is designed well compared to its competitors and has the potential to charge the watch 100% in one and half hours. The Redmi Watch is attractive, with good material quality. The software is simple and easy to use. So, if you’re looking for budget-friendly watches under Rs. 5000 then you should definitely go for this one.

Reliance AGM On 24th June: Jio 5G Smartphone, JioBook Laptop & More Rollout Expected

The 44th Reliance AGM 2021 date has been officially revealed, and the much-awaited meeting is scheduled for later this month on June 24 at 2 PM IST. In the last couple of years, it turned its path from an annual investors’ meet into an annual tech event that introduces new telecom and technology ventures. 

The AGM will be expected to be live-streamed through YouTube as well as social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, as it happened over the past few years. We expect Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani to address the shareholders at the AGM 2021 and announce a low-cost Jio-Google 5G smartphone, Jio laptop, Jio 5G rollout timeline, and a few other 5G related services by the telco.

Expected Launches at Reliance AGM 2021:

Jio-Google 5G Smartphone: Last year, Reliance Jio announced it had partnered with Google for the Jio-Google 5G phone launch in India, where Jio received ₹33,737-crore investment from Google for its 7.7 percent stake. Recently, Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that the tech giant is working actively with Reliance Jio to develop the affordable 5G smartphone, which will run on a JioOS, theorised to be a custom fork of Android suited for budget devices. As per early reports, Jio could launch the 5G smartphone around Rs 2,500, far cheaper than the current most affordable 5G smartphone in the country, priced at Rs 13,999.

Jio 5G Services: Along with the Jio 5G smartphone, the Reliance AGM 2021 may witness Jio’s plans to roll out its 5G network. In December 2020, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani revealed that Jio 5G services would begin in India in the second half of 2021. Reliance Jio has already achieved speeds of over 1Gbps in its 5G trials, which states a lot about Jio’s 5G launch plans.

JioBook Laptop: Another fundamental expectation of the event is an announcement of a low-cost JioBook laptop. The laptop is claimed to have 4G LTE connectivity and is based on Android-based JioOS. It could be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset, which makes sense considering Jio’s ongoing partnership with Google and Qualcomm. The laptop is rumoured to have two variants, one with 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage and another with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage.

100% Charge Within 8 Minutes: Xiaomi Brings Vision Into Reality

Xiaomi launches a 200W HyperCharge fast charging technology and excites other smartphone manufacturers in ongoing charging wars. The Chinese smartphone brand claims to charge a 4,000mAh battery in less than 8 minutes, and with that, Xiaomi brings a long-awaited vision into reality. Along with 200W HyperCharge fast charging technology, the company has introduced 120W wireless fast charging technology that fills the same battery capacity in under 15 minutes.

Xiaomi became the first Original Equipment Manufacturer to come up with a practical concept of 200 W HyperCharge technology in a smartphone. Last year, the company introduced 120W wired charging and 80W wireless fast charging in the Mi 10 Ultra. Along with Xiaomi, currently, Realme has its 125W UltraDART, and Oppo has its 125W Flash Charge in the wired charging war that claims to charge a 4,000mAh battery in 20 minutes.

The Chinese tech giant announced the invention of 200W charging on Twitter along with a video, where the experiment took place with a custom-built Mi 11 Pro with a 4,000 mAh battery instead of the 5,000 mAh regular model. We can see in the video that the phone reaches 10% charge in 44 seconds, 50% in just 3 minutes, and accomplishes the benchmark of 100% within 8 minutes with the wired fast charging technology.

On the other hand, we can see a 10% charge on the wireless charging test in less than a minute, followed by a 50% in seven minutes and ultimately a 100% charge in 15 minutes. HyperCharge fast charging technology looks excellent at first glance, but only regular usage will tell us whether it’s a good invention or not, as such kind of fast charging might harm the device.

Xiaomi is a top-five vendor in over 47 countries worldwide and one of the most popular smartphone makers in India. Though, the company has announced 200W wired and 120W wireless charging technologies but hasn’t shared a timeline of when we can expect to see these two chargers in the box and which phones will get it first. However, it’s expected to debut this year with the upcoming flagship models from the company.

The Upcoming Mid-range Master – Google Pixel 5a Will Hit The Market Soon

Google has struggled to secure profitability in the smartphone business, but after launching several affordable Pixel smartphones, they bounced back strongly in the market. Recently the company wrapped up the annual I/O event, but unfortunately, it went off without mentioning a much-awaited mid-range device, Google Pixel 5a.

However, as per the leaks and sources, the upcoming Pixel mid-ranger is now expected to launch in the US market after September, and the phone will come up with many of the Pixel flagship’s best features. The upcoming Pixel 5a will come out of the box with Android 12, and the phone is expected to be priced around 30k-35k and will be launched in India during the 4th quarter of the year. 

The Pixel series is meant to deliver high-quality smartphone photography, and till today they’ve done their best to stay top in the camera department. The Pixel 5a is supposed to come with a 12.2MP sensor with upgraded software with an aperture of f/2.2, 16mm focal length. These cameras are destined to remain similar to what we have seen on the Pixel 4a 5G and the Pixel 5.

The Pixel 5a will remain in the same midrange category of phones as the current Pixel 4a, and it will hit the market with a 6.2-inch Full HD+ OLED display along with a pixel density of 413ppi. The smartphone is expected to feature a design similar to the Pixel 4a 5G or Pixel 5 in a polycarbonate body. 

Qualcomm’s 730G SoC may power the Pixel 5a, and it will have a punch-hole cutout on the top left corner like Pixel 4a, along with a similar power button in different colour and a rear-mounted physical fingerprint print sensor. The upcoming smartphone from Google may get an upgrade in the battery department and come up with a 3,840 mAh battery with 20W fast charging support. 

So far, there has been no word on the Pixel 5a refresh rate, but it is supposed to feature a 90 Hz refresh rate. The upcoming pixel 5a is expected to see at least 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Sadly, Pixel 5a and further Pixel devices will not appear with the unlimited Google Photos storage like the previous Pixel devices as per the policy change.

OnePlus Nord CE 5G Specs Leaked Ahead Of Its India Launch

Last year, OnePlus added a new lineup of phones by launching the OnePlus Nord in the market, and this year they’re coming with another Nord sibling, the OnePlus Nord CE (Core Edition), which is set to launch in India on 10th June and will be available for sale on Amazon once released. It is expected to be the company’s cheapest 5G phone in the country yet and will have additional features compared to OnePlus Nord.

According to the leaks, the Nord CE will arrive with the Snapdragon 750G chipset and a 6.43-inch AMOLED panel. The phone will feature a 64MP primary camera, a 16MP camera at the front, and a 90Hz refresh rate, twinning to the one already on the OnePlus Nord. The leaked features directly point out the OnePlus’ strategy to compete with the recently launched Mi 10i and Samsung’s Galaxy A52 5G; both of these devices also come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor.

Furthermore, the upcoming OnePlus Nord CE 5G smartphone will fall in a similar pricing category as the Mi 10i and Samsung’s Galaxy A52 5G to give them healthy competition in the market. So, we can expect the phone to be priced between the range of 20k-25k, which will ultimately make the OnePlus experience more accessible than ever.

As the name suggests, the OnePlus Nord Core Edition 5G will go down deep to the core to provide you with a wholesome experience, and the phone will surely deliver all the features you would expect from a OnePlus flagship smartphone. The upcoming Nord CE 5G has already been listed on the Amazon India website with the notify me option; if you’re interested in buying one, you better click the option to get notified once the phone comes in stock.

Vivo Promises to Provide 3-Years of Android OS Update in X-Series phones

Who doesn’t like to have time to time updates for their smartphones? With every software update, your phone gets better. Last year Samsung announced that it would provide three generations of Android OS updates to its devices and hand over a list of about 40 devices that are eligible under its three-year updates’ pledge. Later, in the past month, HMD Global promised to offer two years of Android OS updates and three years of security updates to its Nokia X phones. The client inclined decision by Samsung and HMD Global gathered attention, which helped them gain more buyers.

With that aim and target, Vivo recently announced in a press statement its plan to offer three years of major Android OS updates for the future X series smartphones, an excellent move by Vivo to attract buyers. The update cycle includes three major Android updates and minor security upgrades for select Vivo X smartphones launched after July 2021. The company said in a press statement, the update thread will comprise the European, Australian, and Indian markets.

“Featuring top-of-the-line hardware, the X series flagship phones are built to last and we want to make sure that our customers get software support that lives up to their expectations. We always innovate with the user in mind. With this pledge, we are making a promise to our customers that they will be able to enjoy a premium smartphone experience for an extended period and continue to benefit from the latest software features” Yujian Shi, Senior Vice President and CTO of Vivo, said in a press meet when asked about the latest move by the company.

However, Vivo hasn’t disclosed the complete list of eligible models for the extended software updates, but the non-eligible ones will continue to receive regular Android security updates as planned. Three years of OS updates is a major improvement over the previously designed standard updates of two years. All the top smartphone manufacturers could extend it as much as four years in the future to stay up in the market and enhance the competition.

The announcement will undoubtedly create pressure on Oppo and OnePlus to follow Vivo’s example as all three of these smartphone manufacturers yield massive competition to each other. Currently, the OnePlus policy offers two years of Android version upgrades and three years of security updates, while Oppo provides two years of security updates and two generations of Android OS updates.

Furthermore, Vivo is yet to reveal details about its new X series phones. Although, the rumours suggested that the Vivo X70 Pro+ could be one of the forthcoming models. The smartphone is rumoured to have a 1/1.28-inch sensor supported by Zeiss optics and include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, the successor to the Snapdragon 865-series chipset.

Everything We Know About The iPhone 13

The iPhone 13 is expected to launch in the second half of 2021, and we can’t wait anymore. Like always, there are a number of rumours about what Apple has in store for us, which gives us an overall rough idea about what to expect from the upcoming iPhone 13.

Apple’s chief Tim Cook revealed that the iPhone 12 was the most sold and popular smartphone in the series so far, which unquestionably raises expectations for the iPhone 13. Last year’s iPhone 12 family brought 5G connectivity, a refreshed design and a new powerful chipset. We’ve heard from the rumours that iPhone 13 will feature a trimmed down notch design and an in-display fingerprint sensor as the company focuses on refining the design and improving the internals. Apart from these, Apple is supposed to bring more powerful cameras that capture sharper photos and a bigger battery.

There are possible chances that Apple could name the 2021 iPhone lineup either the iPhone 12s or iPhone 13, but till all these things befall to us officially, let’s call it iPhone 13 and here’s everything we’ve heard from all different types of sources about the forthcoming iPhone 13.

Design, Touch ID & Ports:

After a substantial number of changes to design and features in the iPhone 12, the iPhone 13 will likely remain nearly the same, but we can expect changes like a shrunken notch and Touch ID-based in-display fingerprint scanner in Apple’s next flagship phone. According to the Japanese site Mac Otakara, Apple will continue offering four iPhones in 2021 with the same size structure as the iPhone 12 family, but the thickness and weight could increase a little due to larger batteries. 

We could see significant changes in the camera lens position, like lenses arranged diagonally instead of a vertical design, but the device will continue to offer the same Wide and Ultra-Wide lenses along with powerful updates. Leaked dimensions have also shown that iPhone 13’s rear camera system will be considerably larger. 

The iPhone 13 models could feature a different matte finish on the outside and come in a matte black colour and stainless steel coating that reduces fingerprints marks. 

Apple is working on a Touch ID-based in-display fingerprint scanner, which would be made available in addition to Face ID, a convenient option for iPhone users who struggle to unlock their iPhones with facial recognition while wearing masks. Also, there were reports that Apple would introduce a portless iPhone in 2021 with no external ports or buttons, but it looks like that’s not going to happen very soon, as future iPhones are expected to continue the conventional lightning ports.

Display:

Multiple rumours suggested that the iPhone 13 lineup could feature a 120 HZ display, but only on two of the four iPhone 13 models. The two models with 120 Hz are expected to be the Pro models, which are the ones that are claimed to adopt ProMotion technology. 

The rumours also said that Samsung and LG would be the suppliers of LTPO OLED displays that will permit Apple to implement the 120Hz refresh rate in the 2021 iPhone models. Another major rumour in the pipeline is that the iPhone 13 screen might feature an Always-On display that will show a clock and battery charge level on a lock screen.

Chipset & Storage:

We can expect an A15 chip in the upcoming iPhone lineup, a successor to the very powerful A14 Bionic in the iPhone 12. The A15 chip will boost the overall performance and efficiency of the phone. On the storage front, we can expect the iPhone 13 to range from 64GB and 512GB, though some rumours suggested that Apple might skip the 64GB storage option in the iPhone 13 lineup and upgrade the maximum storage from 512 GB to 1 TB. Furthermore, the iPhone 13 is tipped to come with Wi-Fi 6E, an upgrade on the Wi-Fi 6 standard that will support even faster wireless speeds.

Price:

Current leaks do not provide any information about the iPhone 13 pricing, but it may come at a starting price of around Rs. 80,000, a slight increase compared to its predecessor. The second half of 2021 is yet to come, so expect many more leaks about the new iPhone until its launch.

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