It has a 5.45 inch display at HD+ 1440 x 720 pixels resolution.
Price: Rs 5,999 onwards Rating: ****
Specs: Mediatek MT6739 quad core, 2/3GB RAM, 16/32GB storage (expandable, dedicated micro SD slot), 13MP f2.0 PDAF rear camera with dual LED flash, 8MP f2.0 front camera with dual LED flash,
Pros: 18:9 HD+ 720p display, good performance & battery life, responsive camera delivers good results for the price, fairly fast face unlock
Cons: Pre-installed bloatware, polycarbonate body attracts smudges
Smartphone buyers spending about 6000 Rupees are generally conditioned to not expect much. This would typically be a first time smartphone buyer - someone upgrading from a feature phone because the lure of apps and games is too hard to resist.
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But what does expect - even at this price - is something that is functional for all basic use and durable enough to last a couple of years. Icing on the cake would be to get an 18:9 tall display, dual SIM with dual VoLTE support, latest Android, face unlock and a good camera experience. Enter the Infinix Smart 2. This is the online-only brand from Transsion Holdings and also one of the few brands offering an Android One device (Infinix Note 5 - but that's another review). With a spec-for-spec comparison, there's not too much direct competition for Smart 2 apart from the new Redmi 6A. The camera is responsive, offers fast PDAF focusing and 1080p video recording. It has a 5.45 inch display (fast becoming the standard for budget phones) at HD+ 1440 x 720 pixels resolution. There’s a Mediatek MT6739 quad core processor, 2/3GB RAM, 16/32GB storage, 13MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, dual SIM with dedicated microSD and a 3,050mAh battery. This doesn’t set any speed records but it gets the job done. For basic multimedia, messaging and gaming, it does just fine.
You’ll also get a pre-applied screen protector though there is no case or earphones in the box. The face unlock works pretty well, recognising and unlocking 9 out of 10 times. You also get a theme engine, basic gestures, eye care mode and phone master (clean up, blocklist, app/data management etc). There’s a Mediatek MT6739 quad core processor, 2/3GB RAM, 16/32GB storage, 13MP rear camera, 8MP front camera, dual SIM with dedicated microSD and a 3,050mAh battery. The company has tried to give a good camera experience for the price. The camera is responsive, offers fast PDAF focusing and 1080p video recording. The results have good colour and sharpness, very good for this price. Front camera has a relatively wide f2.0 aperture and comes with a dual LED flash (flash brightness can be adjusted in three levels). There’s no portrait mode but you do get adjustable beauty mode.
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One thing we did not like was the smooth finish polycarbonate back that attracts a lot of smudges. If a basic soft case was included in the box this issue could be avoided. There are two variants on sale (2/16 and 3/32) and 4 colours to choose from - black,
blue, gold and red. Since this phone has a completely removable back panel (but not removable battery), there’s an opportunity to provide colour/texture back panels as an accessory. As for competition, we already mentioned Redmi 6A which is priced exactly the same and offers very similar specs.
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Oppo Find X, Xiaomi Mi 8 & Other Upcoming Phones Worth Getting Excited About
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July is turning out to be one of the most interesting months for smartphone launches. We’re going to see a lot of action across price segments says Karan Bajaj, as he does a round-up of the most interesting ones.
In Pic: Oppo Find X (L) and Xiaomi Mi 8 (R).
July is turning out to be one of the most interesting months for smartphone launches. We’re going to see a lot of action across price segments says Karan Bajaj, as he does a round-up of the most inte..
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The Find X was launched just a few weeks ago and India is expected to be amongst the first lot of countries to get it. The Find X has a beautiful glass body with a motorized camera module. The front has a 6.4-inch curved Amoled display (without a notch) giving it a screento-body ratio of 93%. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage and a 3,730mAh battery. The motorized camera module hides a 16MP + 20MP dual rear camera and a 25MP front camera. It also has a 3D face scanning face ID feature (with infrared emitters, similar to the iPhone X) and VOOC fast charge support. Other features include dual SIM slots, USB Type-C port and Android 8.1.
Expected Price: Rs 60,000 onwards(Image: oppo.com)
The Find X was launched just a few weeks ago and India is expected to be amongst the first lot of countries to get it. The Find X has a beautiful glass body with a motorized camera module. The front ..
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The Zenfone 5Z will be the second smartphone to be available in India with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. It has a 6.2-inch IPS display in 19:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 2246 x 1080 pixels. The phone is expected to be launched with 6/8GB RAM and 64/128/256GB storage options. In the camera department, it has a 12MP + 8MP dual camera setup with OIS on the rear and a 8MP front camera. Other features include 3,300mAh battery with fast charge support, Hybrid dual SIM slot, expandable storage, rear fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port, and Android 8.0 with Face unlock. Asus seems poised to take on OnePlus and we therefore expect them to undercut OnePlus prices by a significant margin, making it one of the cheapest Snapdragon 845 phones around.
Price: Rs 29,999 onwards
(Image: asus.com)
The Zenfone 5Z will be the second smartphone to be available in India with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. It has a 6.2-inch IPS display in 19:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 2246 x 1080 p..
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NEX is the other unique phone expected to arrive in India this month. Doing away with the screen notch, the phone has an 8MP selfie camera module that pops out on top. It has a 6.59-inch amoled display giving it a screen to body ratio of 91%. The phone comes in two variants: NEX A and NEX S — we expect Vivo to only launch the topend NEX S in India because they’re gunning for the premium market. The NEX S runs a Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage and has a 4,000mAh battery with fast charge support. It also has a under screen fingerprint scanner, 12MP + 5MP dual rear camera with OIS, dual SIM slot, USB Type-C port and Android 8.1.
Expected Price: Rs 50,000 onwards
NEX is the other unique phone expected to arrive in India this month. Doing away with the screen notch, the phone has an 8MP selfie camera module that pops out on top. It has a 6.59-inch amoled displ..
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Xiaomi’s previous premium device in India was the Mi Mix 2, launched last year. The company has announced the Mi 8 in China as their new flagship and it is expected that the phone will launch in India this month. The Mi 8 features a notched 6.2-inch amoled display in 19:9 aspect ratio and a 7000 series aluminium frame. It comes with an 3D Face unlock similar to the iPhone X (with infrared), rear fingerprint scanner, dual SIM support and runs the latest MiUI 10 based on Android 8.1. Hardware includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 6GB RAM, 64/128//256GB storage and a 3,400mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0 support. It has a 12MP + 12MP dual camera setup with OIS and dual pixel phase detection autofocus on the rear while the front has a 20MP selfie shooter. The Mi 8 is also the first phone in the world with dual-band GPS (purported improved accuracy of 3 to 5 times).
Expected Price: Rs 35,000 onwards
Xiaomi’s previous premium device in India was the Mi Mix 2, launched last year. The company has announced the Mi 8 in China as their new flagship and it is expected that the phone will launch in Indi..
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Motorola’s E range of smartphones have always focussed on the budget conscious buyers. The upcoming smartphone in the range, Moto E5 Plus, features a 6-inch 18:9 aspect display with a resolution of 1440 x 720 pixels and weight of 197 grams. The primary reason for the 197 gram heft is probably the massive 5,000mAh battery. Other specifications include a Snapdragon 425 processor, 2/3GB RAM and 16/32GB storage. Motorola has also paid extra attention to the camera on the E5 Plus — it has a 12MP rear camera with f2.0 aperture, phase detection and laser autofocus. On the front, it has a 5MP camera with LED flash. Other features include fast charge support, dual SIM slots, expandable storage, rear fingerprint scanner and Android 8.0.
Expected price: Rs 9,000 onwards
Motorola’s E range of smartphones have always focussed on the budget conscious buyers. The upcoming smartphone in the range, Moto E5 Plus, features a 6-inch 18:9 aspect display with a resolution of 1..
