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“The understanding of Indian market is pTron’s biggest strength”

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Team My Mobile
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There is no looking back for pTron in India ever since it came into being in 2014. The domestic brand has evolved over the years and diversified its product portfolio to gain a strong foothold in the mobile accessories market. The company aims to make technology affordable and accessible to all, even as consumers have always seen it as a value for money brand. Ramesh Kumar Raja talked to Ameen Khwaja, Founder and CEO, pTron, to discuss the brand’s positioning and offerings in India, besides its strategy to be a prominent player in the given space. Excerpts:

You offer a wide range of products, from earphones and Bluetooth speakers to smart wearables and handset accessories. Which among them is a dominant vertical for pTron?

pTron is poised as a challenger brand, making waves in the mobile phone accessories segment across categories. Our current catalogue comprises 200-plus SKUs ranging from wired earphones, wireless earphones / headsets and true wireless earbuds to Bluetooth speakers, smart wearables, power banks, chargers, cables and more. True wireless and wireless neckband are predominantly an important category for us. Our Bassbuds and Basspods series of TWS that sell across online and offline platforms are the best-performing and largest selling category.

Please tell us something about R&D and innovation at pTron?

pTron focuses on component level detailing of all its products and has an extensive control over its cost and quality. This implies having strong relations with cost efficient and reliable manufacturing partners. With these capabilities and having our own in-house design team, we are developing our product design competence and have filed several patents already. Thereby, we can vouch for the originality and distinctiveness of our products. Also, we have a strict quality control procedure in place, through which all our products go through five levels of quality check to ensure that a consumer does not face any issue with our products. Additionally, pTron offers six months to a year of replacement warranty on all the products.

Our biggest strength is our control over manufacturing and understanding of Indian market and the consumer. More importantly, all our products are certified by FCC (US), CE (Europe), BIS (India) and Bluetooth (by BQB labs). Very few Indian brands in our segment and category can claim to have these.

In the last three years, pTron has been known for bringing breakthrough and innovative mobile audio and lifestyle accessories to the Indian market. With easy access to industry leading technology and world-class teams of designers and engineers through our solution partners globally, we are able to bring innovative and affordable products to the market much faster than our competitors. With BOM level access to components and PCBs, we are able to create and make new technologies accessible to our consumers even in this highly-crowded market due to our trusted and reliable partnership with manufacturers who we work with.

You have recently ventured into production in India. Could you comment on that and share your future plans to further this initiative?

Our vertical capabilities in design engineering and manufacturing makes it possible for us to delight the customers with amazing, affordable and well-built products that disrupt the fast-paced mobility market.

We are constantly growing, and to overcome the challenges of the manufacturing landscape induced by the COVID impact, we kick-started our India plant at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh in August 2020. We are the first Indian company to design, engineer and manufacture a true wireless earbud in India under the government’s Make in India initiative. We have trained and skilled manpower who have the expertise to precisely integrate electronic and mechanical components of a variety of materials into tight spaces without compromising performance. At pTron, form factor no longer limits performance.

As we continue to drive the audio accessories market in India, we are focused on ramping up our capabilities in terms of skilled manpower, advanced machinery and equipment, and a dedicated team of trained and experienced resources for advanced testing and research as we scale up gradually to include more products under our Make in India catalogue.

India can become the next hub of consumer electronics manufacturing through the “Make in India” initiative. Manufacturing base of certain products like PCBs and moulds can be brought back to India, provided the manufacturers are given subsidies and infrastructure for manufacturing. By doing this, we can have better control on the product quality and pricing. This will also generate huge job opportunities in India. However, we need to organize and strengthen local infrastructure, availability of raw materials and machineries, and skilled human resources.

“We are the first Indian company to design, engineer and manufacture a true wireless earbud in India under the government’s Make in India initiative. We have trained and skilled manpower who have the expertise to precisely integrate electronic and mechanical components of a variety of materials into tight spaces without compromising performance”

How’s the brand pTron positioned itself in a hyper-competitive market like India which has a number of big and small players from India and abroad?

pTron’s vision is to make technology affordable and accessible to all. Until 2019, pTron’s products were in demand from consumers who mostly wanted to make a switch from unbranded accessory to more reliable branded accessory with warranty. But now, we are competing with many global and national brands in almost all the categories. In fact, we are the best sellers in the TWS category followed by the wireless neckband category. Consumers have always seen pTron as a “value for money” brand and it sells more organically by word of mouth than by large branding and advertising spend. So, we provide the products with the comparable features and quality as the competitor at 25-30% lesser price, in most of the cases.

How are your products gaining traction in the market?

We have reached a milestone of selling 3 lakh pieces per month and hope that we will reach a target of selling 6 million pieces per year, in the next two to three years. We also plan to increase the SKUs to about 250.

Which are the areas from where maximum demand is coming for the pTron products in India?

Our consumer base is equally distributed across the country geographically. However, in the last 6-7 months, we have seen 30-35% more demand from South India where the maximum pull is from online customers spread across various marketplaces – Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Reliance Digital and many more.

What is your approach to the “after-sales service” which remains an issue for the majority of electronics companies?

As an industry trend, the number of issues reported in lifestyle accessories is generally higher as compared to other appliances and gadgets. Though our products are built to last and supported by brand warranty, there can be occasions of failure as most of these products are made for active usage. Unlike other brands, we have a dedicated in-house and trained team to take care of post-sales consumer queries and guide customers on troubleshooting and warranty claim process as the case may be. We are able to resolve most cases with a positive response within the specified TAT (turnaround time).

What do you do to increase the recall value of your brand?

In the past few years, we have worked enormously to establish the right association with our customers through good storytelling and visibility across platforms where our consumers are present.

We closely work with content creators and storytellers on social media. There is a constant focus on generating great visual content that adds depth to the brand’s identity and makes it memorable. We are constantly developing strategies, ideas, experience and collaboration that create the recall for pTron in the consumers’ mind.

There is a parallel grey market in India thriving on counterfeit accessories and devices. How do you deal with them?

Lot of awareness has been created by brands like pTron for the consumers to be able to choose the right product. There is a shift in consumer preference, customers have now become more careful in purchasing decisions and for a marginally higher price, if one gets a product with warranty, a product that is safe to use, then consumers gravitate towards such a brand. This is precisely why pTron has succeeded and continues to do so. We strongly believe that stringent laws and consumer awareness will help in eliminating this parallel grey market to a large extent. With increasing consumer demand, we are also seeing regulatory reforms coming in, like requirement of BIS certificate for chargers and power banks.

The emergence of IoT has opened a new avenue of growth for many tech companies. Is pTron leveraging this trend?

Right now, consumers are focusing on smart wearables like fitness activity trackers and smart watches which help them maintain an active lifestyle. IoT within the possibilities that exist today, seems the most obvious thing to happen next.

Whether it’s helping you keep a track of your heart rate, ensuring you have your daily dose of water, the number of calories you burnt etc. All these gadgets can improve your life. I strongly feel that IoT is the next big thing. It has been developing at breakneck speeds since the very moment of its inception, often rapidly changing directions and taking new and unexpected forms – from leisure to workplace to healthcare.

With rapidly evolving consumer demand, IoT has become a commonplace, faster than many people anticipated. We are already planning to launch our own range of IoT products. Though consumers currently find other brands expensive, pTron will launch its IoT products at such price points that most consumers will find it reasonable and affordable. We are game for the opportunities this fast-evolving industry brings to us.

“pTron’s vision is to make technology affordable and accessible to all. Until 2019, pTron’s products were in demand from consumers who mostly wanted to make a switch from unbranded accessory to more reliable branded accessory with warranty. But now, we are competing with many global and national brands in almost all the categories”

Online or offline – which platform yields maximum revenue for you?

pTron products are mostly sold online. Initially, we were only selling it online and targeted tier-1 cities. pTron’s growth has been promising since its inception. Till now, we have sold more than 7 million units of pTron mobile accessories in various categories.

pTron products are available at around 1,000 retail outlets in India with a strong distribution network in a number of states like Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, etc. For FY 21-22, we will work aggressively on expanding our online and offline distribution to sell additional 5 million units of pTron gadgets.

Tech NewsWrap: Mi 11 Lite 5G camera ties with Google Pixel 4a…and more

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Team My Mobile
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Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G’s camera ties with the Google Pixel 4a on DxOMark tests

Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Lite 5G’s camera has impressed the reviewers at the noted benchmark site DxOMark. The recently launched Mi 11 Lite was awarded a total score of 111, and has tied with the Google Pixel 4a in its price segment. Also, it is worth mentioning that the score has been given to the 5G variant of the Mi 11 Lite, which is yet to be launched in India.

Solar storm likely to hit the Earth, can impact GPS and mobile signal

A high-speed solar storm, at a speed of 1.6 million kilometers per hour, is approaching the Earth. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it is likely to hit the magnetic field of our planet later today, affecting communication infrastructure and electricity supply. As per the report quoted by SpaceWeather.com, this collision will produce beautiful light. People living on the North and South Pole will be able to see this light during the night. The satellites in the Earth’s upper atmosphere are also likely to get impacted by the incoming flares. This will directly impact mobile phone signal, GPS navigation and satellite TV.

Google Play launches ‘play as you download’ for Android games

Google, on Monday, announced ‘play as you download’ for its upcoming Android 12 update. This will help the players to be able to play the game during a download so that they won’t have to wait as long to jump into a game. According to Google, the feature works with games that use the Play Asset Delivery system so the developers won’t need to do anything to turn the feature on.

Apple’s redesigned iPad Mini 6 expected to launch this fall

Apple’s next generation iPad Mini is likely to launch later this year. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple iPad Mini 6 with revamped design is on track for release this fall, while Apple is also continuing to work on a larger iMac with Apple Silicon. It is expected that iPad Mini’s newer model will come with some major design overhaul, including thinner bezels.

Reliance Jio adds 4.7 million mobile users in April

India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio continued to lead the market as it rose to 1,203.4 million at the end of April. According to the latest subscriber data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reliance Jio added 4.7 million mobile users in April and its subscriber base swelled to 427.6 million.

Maxima unveils ‘Max Pro X4’ smartwatch with Realtek chipset at Rs 3,799

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Team My Mobile
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Popular watchmaker Maxima is going to introduce the Amazon Exclusive smartwatch ‘Max Pro X4’ during Prime Day on July 18. The X4 has been carefully crafted to meet the expectations of the customers in these challenging times. The smartwatch features a 1.3-inch TFT IPS full touch round active display with an ultra-bright screen topping 380 Nits for an enhanced viewing experience. The smartwatch will be introduced in three colour variants with premium quality strap, the company said.

Priced at Rs 3,799, the smartwatch is equipped with Realtek chipset for high-end performance and responsive touch. To give you accurate SpO2 readings, it consists of LC 11 heart rate monitor and superior battery life for up to a 15 days run time.

Adding to it, X4 boasts features like 10 functional sport modes to keep one healthy, configurable watch faces, call alert, social-media notifications amongst others. A superior build quality has allowed it to provide an IP68 certification for total peace of mind.

Manjot Purewal, Managing Partner, Maxima Watches, said, “We are so excited to announce the launch of this latest and most advanced smartwatch in association with Amazon India. Our underlying endeavour through the development of the X4 was to build a product with truly smart functionalities, effortless style, and performance that surpasses all expectations. I am confident that we have achieved this and look forward to our exclusive introduction through Amazon India.”

Max Pro X4 can be linked to the upgraded and improved Coolwear App, compatible with Android versions 5.0 and up, as well as iOS versions 9.0 and above. With stunning aesthetics and premium look, X4 will come in black, blue and gray variants with both silicone PU and mesh strap.

“We are excited to announce the launch of Maxima watches’ newest collection ‘Max Pro X4’ on Amazon.in during Prime Day 2021. Prime Day will offer Prime members the opportunity to discover joy and enjoy deals on unique products across categories with over thousand new product launches, blockbuster entertainment and more… The launch of Maxima watches on the marketplace, matches the needs of our stylish and fashion-forward customers who seek precision, latest tech features, affordability and contemporary designs. Amazon’s wide outreach across pin codes in India will further ensure that the brand is made accessible to more customers countrywide,’’ said Saurabh Srivastava, Director and Head, Amazon Fashion India.

5G rollout: Juhi Chawla’s plea deferred by Delhi HC, judge recuses himself from hearing the case

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Team My Mobile
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The Delhi High Court on Monday deferred hearing on Juhi Chawla’s plea in connection with the dismissal of her lawsuit against 5G wireless network technology. Justice Sanjeev Narula recused himself from hearing on the actor’s plea and directed that it be listed before another bench on July 29.

On June 4, the Delhi High Court dismissed actress Juhi Chawla’s plea challenging the 5G wireless network technology and slapped a fine of Rs 20 lakh on the actor, saying the plea was “only for publicity. The High Court had also rejected the plea of the actress regarding the evaluation of fees.

Earlier, the Court had termed the behavior of Juhi Chawla and others as “shocking”. On the petition filed against the refund of court fees and fine of Rs 20 lakh, Justice J R Midha said, “The court, taking a very liberal approach, did not file a case of contempt of court against Juhi Chawla. Otherwise the case would have been made. I am shocked to see the behavior of the petitioners.”

Juhi Chawla claimed in her petition that once 5G is implemented, no one will be able to avoid exposure. The actress said that these 5G plans threaten to have serious, irreversible impacts on humans and can cause permanent damage to all the ecosystems of the earth.

Oppo Reno6 5G latest update: MediaTek Dimensity 900 chipset to power the smartphone

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Team My Mobile
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The much-awaited Oppo Reno6 5G, which is set to be launched on July 14, will be India’s first smartphone with MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC. The chipset is built using the latest power-efficient 6nm production process, making it light on power and extends battery life even for demanding users. It supports Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, ultra-fast FHD+ 120Hz displays, and up to 108MP main camera for an all-around experience.

“Since the very beginning, Oppo has been at the forefront of technology innovation and the upcoming Reno6 5G testifies this fact once again. A power-packed device needs an advanced powerful chipset to back it up and this made us bring in the MediaTek Dimensity 900 chipset. Reno6 5G will be India’s first smartphone to be powered by this chipset. The phone and the chipset are truly powerful when it comes to speed of use, immersive gaming, videos, and videography, promising you a smooth, seamless, and lag-free experience,” said Tasleem Arif, Vice President India R&D, Oppo India.

Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India, said, “The MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor, equipped with next-generation features and exceptional performance, reiterates our commitment towards popularizing 5G in India and empowering consumers with incredible experiences. MediaTek and Oppo’s association dates back several years and together we have launched several leading devices which have captured user’s attention worldwide. The Oppo Reno6 5G powered by the advanced features of the MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor is a step forward in this direction and is designed to deliver a seamless and unparalleled 5G smartphone experience. We look forward to more such attractive launches in association with Oppo in the near future.”

Oppo Reno6

The MediaTek Dimensity 900 is a 5G octa-core processor which is built on 6 nm manufacturing technology and brings the latest Arm Cortex A78 CPU. It also supports Wi-Fi 6 and dual SIM 5G. The chipset is equipped with an octa-core central processing unit (CPU) consisting of two Arm Cortex-A78 processors with a clock speed of up to 2.4GHz and six Arm Cortex-A55 cores operating at up to 2GHz. Dimensity 900 supports LPDDR5 memory and UFS 3.1 storage and can adapt to a 120Hz screen refresh rate, bringing brilliant performance improvements and a smooth experience.

The chipset of this MediaTek powered-smartphone integrates an Arm Mali-G68 MC4 graphics processing unit (GPU), along with an independent artificial intelligence (AI) processing unit (APU) that delivers optimal power efficiency for extended battery life. The 3rd generation of MediaTek’s AI processing unit is tremendously power-efficient to support a wide array of AI applications and 4K high definition resolution (HDR) videos.

The Dimensity 900 features MediaTek’s latest HyperEngine 3.0 with Networking Engine 3.0 that searches and connects to the lowest latency cell tower available to minimize online ping. Additionally, the third generation 5G Call and Data Concurrency allows users with dual SIM 5G to game uninterruptedly while also making or receiving calls on the second SIM. As both the 5G modem and Wi-Fi are integrated into the chip, it enables them to work closely together for better power efficiency; this Super-Hotspot technology gives up to 33% of power savings when tethering other devices.

Alongside the Oppo Reno6 series, the company is announcing a new colour variant – Blue for its flagship EncoX truly wireless Bluetooth earphones. The Oppo EncoX true wireless earphones are the majestic combination of Oppo’s seasoned mastery of acoustics and the Nordic audio giant Dynaudio’s expertise, indeed a delight for audiophiles.

Eufy RoboVac 35C with Boost IQ Technology and Voice Control Assist is available on Flipkart at Rs 14,999

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Team My Mobile
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Eufy by Anker, BoostIQ RoboVac 35C features WiFi connectivity, 3x improved suction, a large dustbin container, and quieter functionality. The Robotic Vaccum cleaner is available at Rs 14,999 with 12 months warranty on Flipkart.

The super-slim and powerful RoboVac 35C comes with a 3-point cleaning system – three brushes and strong suction power effectively loosens, extract, and vacuums dirt to give a superior clean. Its strong suction with Boost IQ Technology sucks up dirt and dust with 1500Pa of suction power ensures the floors, carpets are clear of all dirt, dust, and crumbs. With WiFi built-in, all cleaning needs can be managed from the smartphone. RoboVac 35C combines a dual-layer, triple filter, and one high-performance filter to achieve a clean home.

RoboVac 35C takes on dust-busting around the home. Its multiple cleaning modes and auto–clean scheduling ensures effortless, thorough clean while you relax. Refined from the inside and out, it assures quiet vacuuming with zero hassle. RoboVac cleans with the equivalent sound of an operating microwave and has been reduced to only 2.85-inch tall to clean under low-hanging furniture with ease.

A larger 0.6L dustbin allows RoboVac to pick up dirt and dust to take full advantage of 100 minutes of continuous cleaning, eliminating the need to empty it halfway through cleaning. Its unique drop-sensing technology and dual hall sensors, enables worry free cleaning. Engineered with the latest technology and impressive looks, the anti-scratch material cover provides superior protection when in use. When the vacuum is finished cleaning or has less battery, it goes back to its charging base and connects automatically with no assistance required.

RoboVac 35C can be controlled through the EufyHome app, Amazon Alexa, and the Google Assistant voice control services that accomplish the vacuuming needs with zero effort.

RoboVac 35C is a well-rounded and versatile robot vacuum. Eufy has several successful robotic vacuum cleaner models in India which includes G10, G30, H11 and S11 Go. The stand-alone accessories for several Eufy products are available on e-commerce portals.

Top 5 Smartphones in India to buy now

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Team My Mobile
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Mobile phones are taking over the world! They are becoming more powerful as the technology is getting advanced. Today’s smartphones can do more work than before. Many flagship smartphones are currently more powerful that the first laptops. You can get 8GB of DDR4 RAM, which is more than the RAM present in many laptops available in today’s era. If we talk about the display, the top class flagship smartphones have started coming with 2K resolution, which is more than the display of the TV in your house.

Here, we are providing you with a list of 5 best mobile phones available in India which are as powerful as laptops available. In this list, you are going to get the top 5 smartphones available in any budget in the country. These mobile phones will help you get the best mix of performance, camera and display apart from design. Let’s dive in!

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G mobile has aluminum on the FE. Over on the front, the AMOLED display is covered with an unspecified glass. The smartphone comes with a 6.50-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, the smartphone comes with 8GB of RAM. As far as the cameras are concerned, the mobile phone on the rear packs a 12-megapixel primary camera; a 12-megapixel camera, and an 8-megapixel camera. The rear camera setup has autofocus. Also, Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G sports a 32-megapixel camera on the front for selfies. The phone runs Android 10 and is powered by a 4500mAh battery. Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G price in India starts at Rs. 47,999.

Mi 11 Ultra

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra has an aluminium frame, a curved display with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, and a ceramic back. The back of this smartphone has a 1.1-inch OLED display that can be used to show the notifications, battery level or even use it as a viewfinder in the camera app. In the phone, you will get a 6.81-inch WQHD + E4 AMOLED display, which comes with 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone has an optical in-display fingerprint scanner for biometrics. Apart from this, you will also get a secondary display in the mobile phone, which is a 1.1-inch screen. Powering the phone is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS3.1 storage. The smartphone has three rear cameras – the primary 50-megapixel + 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera + 48-megapixel telephoto camera. Powered by octa-core Qualcomm processor, the smartphone runs Android 11. The Mi 11 Ultra is priced at Rs. 69,999 in India.

OnePlus 9 Pro

Compared to the previous model, OnePlus 9 Pro comes with 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display. Its pixel resolution is 1440 x 3216. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, it comes with 8 GB RAM with 128 GB of internal storage. The OnePlus 9 Pro is powered by a 4500 mAh battery. The mobile phone has 4 rear camers – 48-megapixel + 50-megapixel + 8-megapixel. OnePlus 9 Pro runs on Android 11 operating system and is powered by 4500mAh battery. What’s new is faster wireless charging – OnePlus has introduced its Wrap Charge 50 wireless charger, which can now wirelessly charge the smartphone at up to 50W. OnePlus 9 Pro price starts from Rs. 64,999 in India.

iQOO 7

Vivo iQOO 7 Smartphone comes with 6.62-inch AMOLED. Its pixel resolution is 1080 x 2400 and its pixel density is 394 inches. Powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor, it comes with 8 GB RAM with 128GB onboard storage. iQOO 7 sports a 6.62-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution at 1080×2376 pixels. It gets intriguing in the battery segment, as the built-in 4,400mAh unit supports 66W fast charging technology via USB Type C port. You get a 48MP primary sensor, 13MP ultra-wide sensor and 2MP sensor. On the front, the phone has 16MP selfie camera with support for video calls. iQOO 7 runs on Android 11 operating system. iQOO price starts from Rs. 31,990 in India.

OnePlus Nord 5G

OnePlus Nord 5G Smartphone comes with 6.44-inch Fluid AMOLED with a holepunch for the selfie camera. Powered by Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon 765G processor, this phone comes with 8 GB RAM. It comes with 48MP+8MP+5MP+2mp quad rear camera. The phone carries 32MP+8MP front dual camera. OnePlus Nord 5G runs on Android 10 operating system and is powered by 4115 mAh battery. OnePlus Nord 5G is available at Rs. 27, 978.

iQOO Z3 Review: A solid performer in mid-range segment

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Team My Mobile
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With the imminent 5G network becoming the talk of the town, Vivo’s spin-off brand iQOO is all geared up to cash in on the opportunity. All four smartphones, including the more recent iQOO Z3, launched by the brand till date support 5G. With gaming being at the core of the smartphone brand, the iQOO Z3 falls in the mid-range segment and comes in three RAM/ROM (6GB+128GB, 8GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB)configurations and two-colour options- Ace Black and Cyber Blue. Having some really interesting features and specs, this is the first smartphone in India powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G SoC. Meanwhile, the one that I had for review was the top-of-the-line 8GB+256GB variant priced at Rs 22,990. Although it looks solid on paper, is it so in practical too? Let’s find out.

Design

The Cyber Blue review unit that I received will give you a feeling of the Vivo V20 Pro with vibrant shades of blue colours on the rear panel. It’s lightweight and thin and has not compromised on the design front. The smartphone’s frame and rear panel are made of polycarbonate with matte finish on the back to resist fingerprint smudges.

The smartphone flaunts an eye-catchy design at the rear panel with a protruding vertical camera module on the top left and an iQOO branding at the bottom. While the left side of the device is plain, you get the volume rockers and the power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor on the right. There is a SIM card tray at the top, whereas at the bottom you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB-C port, and a speaker.

Going with the trend, the smartphone is dust and water-resistant, thanks to the IP52 rating. Although it’s a foolish idea to submerge any device in water, this feature is enough to give you the confidence of protection against light splashes of water and dust. Overall, the iQOO Z3 is solid in build quality and will give you a premium feel in your hand, aided by the curved edges and the non-slippery finish at the backside.

Display

The smartphone houses a 6.58-inch Full-HD+ IPS LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate, both of which aid the phone’s multimedia and gaming capabilities. The company has added ‘Smart Switch’ mode in the display setting for a smooth user experience. It allows the phone’s screen to use variable refresh rate in accordance with on-screen content requirements. It has a 90.61 screen-to-body ratio which is not bad. The screen further comes with Panda Glass protection layered on top for scratch resistance. The display has very thin bezels on the sides and a big one on the chin, which looks a bit awkward at this price point. The waterdrop-style notch that houses a selfie camera, is another minor but prominent design element that shows corners are cut to keep the pricing low.

The display offers a pixel density of 401ppi and is HDR10 compliant. It looks sharp and offers good viewing angles. It’s a good deal for watching movies, reading texts, viewing web pages and playing games. The screen is good for indoor use but struggles a bit in sunlight conditions owing to limited peak brightness level and glossy glass.

Platform

As mentioned above, iQOO Z3 is the first smartphone in India powered by the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G system-on-chip paired with integrated Adreno 620 GPU. The 8GB RAM model that I reviewed comes with virtual RAM features, which treats a portion (3GB) of storage as RAM to facilitate demanding tasks. As for its operating system, the iQOO Z3 5G runs Android11 based Funtouch 11.1 and uses LPDDR 4X RAM and UFS 2.2.

In terms of performance, the smartphone is super smooth and will not let you down. It performs really well while multitasking, video streaming and gaming, besides normal usage such as browsing the internet and social media. Its solid performance is further complemented by thermal efficiency, as the handset features a five-layer liquid cooling system, which helps in keeping the thermals in check. It’s also good for a long-duration GPS navigation stretch, as the phone doesn’t get hot.

Since gaming is a part of the iQOO gene, the smartphone works reasonably well. It covers a wide spectrum of in-gaming enhancements. There is an ‘Ultra Game Mode’ which optimises CPU/GPU, RAM, and more when playing games. Taken as a whole, it’s a seamless smartphone for gaming.

On the flipside, there’s lots of bloatware present, which you have to manage as per your preference.

Cameras

The iQOO Z3 packs a strong triple rear camera setup, featuring a 64MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP sensor with an f/2.4 lens. It sports a 16MP sensor on the front, for selfies and videos.

Performance-wise, the cameras work categorically well in everyday photography with crisp and sharp pictures. The 64MP sensor, in particular, does its job suitably, and photographs in both dim light and excessively bright, broad daylight do well to retain colour accuracy and acceptable dynamic range. The 16MP selfie camera is good too. It takes vibrant pictures with good colour tones and sharpness. The cameras, however, struggle a bit in low-light conditions.

On the videography front, the camera is capable of recording 4k videos at 60 fps. The rear camera supports EFB (eye, face, body) autofocus tracking, and Super Night Mode supported by several filters for low light photography.

Interestingly, the iQOO Z3 breaks the stereotype of gaming smartphones where cameras are usually not considered a strong area.

Battery

The latest smartphone by iQOO comes equipped with a 4,400mAh battery backed by 55W FlashCharge fast charging. Standing tall on its claim, the phone takes merely 20 minutes to charge 50 per cent and nearly an hour to charge fully. It lasts for about a day on regular usage including gaming, watching videos, photography and browsing the internet and social media. Its battery life is definitely quite impressive.

Conclusion

The iQOO Z3 looks pleasing to the eyes and is future-ready owing to 5G support. It has some outstanding features and specs such as Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G processor, which are not present in every mid-range smartphone. It excels in gaming but definitely not that good in photography because of its average low-light camera performance. It has unpredictable custom-made Android 11 OS but is good enough to be shortlisted. Taken as a whole, it’s a great value for money phone.

Superhit game Returnal’s PS5 version has an Indian connect

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Team My Mobile
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Lakshya, India’s leading game art and animation services company, has recently developed and created art and animation for the popular global hit PS5 game title ‘Returnal’.

Returnal is Sony PlayStation 5’s exclusive game from the house of Finland-based game developer- Housemarque. It is a hard-hitting third-person shooter rogue-like video game that puts the gamer’s capability with the controller to test with spontaneous decisions of fight or flight. The player starts with a basic pistol but quickly discovers other weapons. The more the player uses a weapon, the more weapon proficiency increases, and this applies to each weapon class. Returnal is the best PS5 exclusive so far and is at top of every gamer’s list.

Speaking on the collaboration with Lakshya, Niko Mäkelä, Art Manager, Housemarque, said, “Lakshya joined us quite early in production of Returnal for Playstation 5, expanding our reach in rigging and animating a wide range of in-game creatures. Lakshya created a good number of props and key environment assets in 2020. Most of the latter were epic in size but still detailed. Through our collaboration, we were able to find common grounds and atmosphere of shared investment and responsibility. Our contact points at Lakshya were cordial, attentive, and quick to react to changing requirements or course correction.”

Gurugram headquartered Lakshya started working on the Returnal project in 2018 and has created several environment pieces and props for the game. Lakshya has also worked on character animation and rigging.

Manvendra Shukul, Founder, Lakshya, said, “It was very exciting to work on a hugely popular global game like Returnal. The project brought out the true expertise of Lakshya team in creating props, including key environment props, rigging and animation of creatures. With the addition of our Bengaluru studio at the beginning of this year, we are looking forward to continuing to contribute to more such cutting-edge global game titles in future as well.”

Lakshya is a leading game art studio in India that works for major game developers like Sony, Microsoft etc. and is one of the few companies globally to have six game development teams globally. Lakshya has presence in Gurugram, Bengaluru and Pune in India, Seattle in USA, Tokyo in Japan, and London in UK. With the leadership team in place, the new Bengaluru studio began operations in March 2021.

With India emerging as a key game development services destination, Lakshya, one of the very first game development services companies in the country, has worked on several popular global games like State of Decay, Just Cause 3, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Dauntless, Nier Automata, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Sea of Thieves and Last Stop, which is yet to be launched. The online gaming segment is estimated to be a $1.1 billion opportunity by this year, according to Google-KPMG. By then, India is expected to have more than 190 million gamers.

Oppo Reno6 series smartphones set to launch on July 14, to feature matte texture with shiny appearance

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Team My Mobile
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Smartphone brand Oppo is gearing up for the much-awaited launch of the Reno6 series. The 5G smartphones Reno6 Pro 5G and Reno6 5G will come packed with industry-first craftsmanship and the Oppo’s exclusive Reno Glow design.

According to Oppo, the all-rounder series brings in the latest features, packed by highly customized OS- ColorOS 11.3, flagship-level chipsets, and camera features backed by AI algorithms such as the industry-first Bokeh Flare Portrait Video, AI Highlight Video, and other select features that will enable you to capture DSLR quality videos and more.

Through a dedicated manufacturing process, the glass back cover of the phone is created to achieve two seemingly paradoxical properties of the Reno Glow effect – matte texture and shiny appearance. The unique AG glass process makes the smartphone shine like millions of diamonds embedded into the glass body. The Oppo Reno6 series smartphones have a sleek design, with a gorgeous metal edge frame, durable AG glass back, making it easy-to-hold and feels light on the hand. It is further combined with the fingerprint and stain-resistance properties.

Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G and Reno6 5G are set to launch in India with two distinct colour variants, Aurora and Stellar Black.

The ColorOS 11.3 includes extraordinary features like 4D immersive gaming experience with Game Focus Mode, Quick Startup, Hyperboost 4.1 in Reno6 Pro 5G and Hyperboost 4.0 in Reno6 5G, O-Relax mode, amongst many other Oppo software update features, providing this series with an exceptionally high-performance. Additionally, RAM expansion will ease up the system and boost performance while privacy and security features will help to protect personal data.

Just around the unveiling of Reno6 Pro 5G and the Reno6 5G, Oppo India will be launching the Oppo Tech Studio Program, a first-of-its-kind opportunity for Oppo Community users and new users to get a lucrative chance to become Oppo tech influencer and win attractive Oppo e-store vouchers along with an opportunity to experience Oppo Reno6 series The Oppo Tech Studio recruitment is on till July 14 and the experience program will be released soon.

Tasleem Arif, Vice President India R&D, Oppo India, said, “At Oppo, it is our constant endeavour to push boundaries and deliver products that stand out. The look and feel of smartphones are very important for users as they begin to identify with them. With the Reno Series, we have redefined smartphone designs with Reno Glow, Diamond Spectrum, and a five-layer gradient process, adding a lot of personality to the devices. We have also built-in performance-enhancing and high personalisation capabilities with ColorOS 11.3 which makes the smartphones deliver a lot more than ever before. As a customer-centric brand, we will also launch a unique customer engagement initiative, ‘Oppo Tech Studio Program’ as a platform to directly engage with Oppo fans and users.”

Oppo Reno6 Pro and Reno6 5G will usher in the new era of smartphone videography with its industry-first Bokeh Flare Portrait Video, AI Highlight Video, focus tracking, and a lot more.

The smartphones will be launched on July 14.

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