Flipkart Mobile Bonanza sale 2018: Poco F1 for Rs 18,999 & other deals on phones

In the Mobile Bonanza sale, Flipkart is offering discounts, cashback, exchange offers and no cost equated monthly instalments on Xiaomi, Realme, Asus, LG and other mobile phones.

Flipkart, a home-grown e-commerce marketplace, is currently hosting a four-day sale in which the online shopping portal is offering discounts, cashback, exchange offers and no cost equated monthly instalments on mobile phones. Named Flipkart Mobile Bonanza, the sale started on November 19 and will continue until November 22.

Launched earlier this year, the LG G7 ThinQ (review) is a flagship smartphone with top-notch specifications and features. In its price segment, it is the only phone that comes with IP68 water and dust resistance protection, artificial intelligence-based imaging and wireless charging support. In the sale, the phone is available at a discounted price of Rs 29,999. Flipkart is also offering up to Rs 17,900 off on exchange and an additional Rs 3,000 off over regular exchange value. The phone is also eligible for no cost EMI.

Coming from the stable of Xiaomi, the Poco F1 (review) is one of the cheapest smartphones with the flagship processor and features. The phone comes in three RAM and storage configurations – 6GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB. All three variants are currently available on Flipkart at a discounted price of Rs 20,999, Rs 23,999 and Rs 29,999, respectively. The phone is also eligible for additional Rs 2,000 off over regular exchange value. The phone is also eligible for no cost EMI.

Launched earlier this year, the Redmi Note 5 Pro (review) is a value for money smartphone with dual rear cameras, 6-inch fullHD+ screen and a mammoth 4,000 mAh battery. The phone comes in two RAM and storage configurations – 4GB/64GB and 6GB/64GB. The phone recently received official price reduction, bringing down the cost of both variants by Rs 1,000. The phone is now available on Flipkart at revised rates. It is also eligible exchange offer in which the online platform is offering up to Rs 13,000 off on exchange.

The Honor 9N (review) has a premium design, notch-based screen and capable dual rear cameras. It comes in 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB RAM and storage configurations. In the current sale, the base model is available at a discounted price of Rs 9,999 and the premium edition is available at Rs 11,999.

This phone is the most affordable in the current range of Realme smartphones. In the sale, the phone gets a flat discount of Rs 991, along with an additional Rs 1,000 off on exchange value on select mobile phones. The Realme C1 (review) is eligible for Jio Realme bonanza offer in which the telecom operator provides benefits worth Rs 4,450 and up to 1.1TB of 4G data on a minimum recharge of Rs 198 or Rs 299.

Business Standard

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 goes on sale today: Better than Redmi Note 5 Pro?

An efficient operating system, coupled with a mammoth battery and top-notch performance makes yej Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 a challenger to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro in the budget smartphone segment.

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Taiwanese computer peripheral manufacturer Asus, known for its wide portfolio of smartphone across price bands, is eyeing a larger share of the budget segment in India’s price-conscious smartphone market with its latest offering, the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1.

Aiming to end Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi’s monopoly in the budget segment, the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 made its global debut on April 23. This budget smartphone comes in two variants – 3 GB of RAM and 32GB storage, and 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage – and the company has also confirmed that a premium 6 GB RAM variant would be added to the portfolio later. The 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB variants would go on sale exclusively on Flipkart, starting May 3.Touted as a smartphone designed for Indian consumers, the Zenfone Max Pro M1 has stock Android Oreo operating system, a modern 18:9 aspect ratio screen, dual rear cameras, and a mammoth 5,000 mAh battery.
The smartphone offers a competitive propositions in budget segment, but can it compete with the Redmi Note 5 Pro? Business Standard reviewed the Zenfone Max Pro M1 to test its overall performance, and here are the observations:

Design

The Zenfone Max Pro M1 looks similar to other modern budget smartphones like the Redmi Note 5 and Note 5 Pro and sports a tall stance due to its 18:9 aspect ratio screen. The front is covered with curved glass that blends seamlessly with the metallic chassis. The back, on the other hand, is made of metal with a patch of plastic work on top and bottom. The back has a fingerprint scanner on the upper middle-centre and a dual-camera set-up on the top-left corner. Interestingly, the phone’s rear camera unit does not bulge out, unlike the Redmi Note 5 Pro, and has a subtle protruding rim to protect the glass. That apart, the back looks bland and has little more to offer.

In terms of usability, the phone feels light and has good ergonomics, with a tall stance making it easy to hold and comfortable to carry in a pocket or pouch. However, because of its ultra-wide display, the phone is difficult to operate using one hand.

Display

The smartphone has a 6-inch 18:9 aspect ratio screen of fullHD+ (2160 x 1080) resolution. Though an IPS unit, the screen lacks vividness and has a reflexive nature hampering sunlight legibility. On the positive side, the rounded corners of the screen look better than pointed edges. There is no shift in colours when looked from angles and the slim side bezels leave enough space to hold the device without accidentally touching the screen area.

Camera

The Zenfone Max Pro M1 has a 13-megapixel primary lens paired with a 5MP wide-angle lens on the back and an 8MP shooter on the front. Both the front and back cameras are supported by soft LED flashes.

In terms of output, the rear camera unit manages to take satisfactory images in daylight conditions. However, the photos taken in low light look grainy with visible noise levels.

Unfortunately, there is no manual mode to tweak the settings and the built-in night mode requires steady hands to take good shots. The camera has portrait and beauty modes. The portrait mode, just like Redmi Note 5 Pro, manages to take photos with enhanced blur and no artificial artefacts or hallows around the object. The beauty mode is not as strict as found in Asus’s other budget devices. Speaking of video, the resolution maxes out at 720p only and the quality is sub-par.

The Zenfone Max Pro relies on the Snapdragon Camera app, which is not as polished as the camera app found in ZenUI, Asus’ proprietary customised theme based on Google Android. However, the app has been custom-tuned to make it easier to understand and use.

Performance and battery

The Zenfone Max Pro M1 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, which is an octa-core SoC built on a 14 nanometre (NM) process. The phone boots Android Oreo 8.1 operating system out of the box, with only a few Asus apps pre-installed.

The phone performs consistently with no signs of lags or stutter. The UI looks neat and the phone handles power-intensive apps without breaking sweat. The phone keeps the thermals in control as well while using power-intensive tasks for extended hours. It does get warm but not so much as to make phone unstable.

Importantly, the phone’s 5000mAh battery keep the show running for more than a day and a half. Even with exhaustive use, which involves online video streaming and continuous multiplayer online gaming, the phone manages to go for one full day before asking for charge.

The only downside is the battery charging time from zero to 100 per cent – that ranges between two-and-a-half to three hours.

Verdict

The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is priced at Rs 10,999, Rs 12,999 and Rs 14,999 for 3GB/32GB, 4GB/64GB and 6GB/64GB RAM and storage variants. At these price points, the phone offers a performance that is on a par with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro.

The phone is meant for people who like vanilla Android experience more than theme-based UX. The phone’s efficient operating system, coupled with a mammoth battery and top-notch performance, makes it a strong option in the budget smartphone segment. However, the phone’s camera is a downside putting it behind the Redmi Note 5 Pro, which has better photography and videography capabilities.

 

Xiaomi Redmi S2 leak shows Redmi Note 5 Pro-inspired design: Details here

The India-bound budget-centric smartphone is reported to sport dual rear cameras and feature face-unlock mechanism. Here are all the details you need to have for the upcoming Xiaomi smartphone.

 

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is closely working on a new Redmi device that is also expected to make its way to India. Touted as the Redmi S2, the budget-centric smartphone is reported to sport dual rear cameras and feature the face-unlock mechanism, according to a report by online technology-based forum XDA-developers.

Now, the phone’s purported image renders, shared by a Czech-based online publication SvetAndroida, show Redmi S2’s front and back views. Based on renders, the phone would sport a tall 18:9 aspect ratio screen on the front and dual cameras on the back, along with a fingerprint scanner. The phone’s back seems identical to the Redmi Note 5 Pro, which was launched in India on February 14. However, the dual antenna lines on top and bottom have a different design and, therefore, the phone seems to bring some design element changes too.

In terms of specifications and features, the report in XDA hinted that the Xiaomi Redmi S2 would sport an 18:9 aspect ratio screen of HD+ (1440×720) resolution. It would be powered by a Qualcomm MSM 8953 system-on-chip (SoC), which is a Snapdragon 625 processor. In terms of storage, the phone would have a

16GB variant, though other storage models are also likely, and there would be a microSD card slot for storage extension. As for memory, the phone would likely come in 2GB and 3GB RAM variants.

Talking of imaging, the phone would have a dual-camera set-up on the back, which will either have the 12-megapixel primary sensor of Sony IMX486 or OmniVision OV12A10, and the 5MP Samsung S5K5E8 as the secondary sensor. On the front, there would be a 5MP Samsung S5K5E8 sensor.
The Xiaomi Redmi S2 would have a 3,080mAh battery and boot Android Oreo 8.1 out-of-the-box.
Based on most of the specifications and features, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 seems like a mixture of the Redmi 5 and Redmi Note 5 (Redmi 5 Plus) with added dual cameras on the back. While most of the specifications, such as HD+ screen and storage and RAM variants put it in line with the Redmi 5, the Snapdragon 625 processor would give the Redmi S2 a huge boost in terms of processing power.
Comparison with Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro
The Redmi Note 5 Pro made a global debut with its India launch on February 14. The smartphone offers a modern design, powerful processor, iPhone X-inspired dual camera set-up, mammoth battery and price tags of Rs 13,999 and Rs 16,999 for the 64GB/4GB and 64G/6GB variants, respectively.
The Note 5 Pro does bring substantial upgrades to the predecessor, the Note 4.

Redmi Note 5 Pro camera
The phone uses a 12-megapixel sensor sourced from Sony in combination with a 5MP sensor sourced from Samsung together to deliver refined performance. However, because the secondary camera in the Note 5 Pro is not telephoto lens, the 2x zooming capabilities are missing. On the positive side, the camera boasts portrait mode, powered by some sort of artificial intelligence.
On the front, there is a 20MP selfie camera assisted with LED flash. The front camera also features the portrait mode, which utilises company’s AI algorithms to create the bokeh effect for artificial blurs.

Redmi Note 5 Pro specs and features
The Redmi Note 5 Pro was the first global device powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, which is an octa-core SoC built on 14 nanometre (NM) process. The phone boots MIUI 9, which can now be updated to MIUI 9.5. The Android-based customised operating system looks neat and the phone keeps the thermals in control while using power-intensive tasks for extended hours.
Importantly, a 4,000 mAh battery keeps the phone working for almost one full day. A 4,000 mAh battery in the Note 5 Pro is good 100 mAh less than Note 4, yet it manages to deliver almost the same on-battery time or even better. However, the phone takes more than one-and-a-half hours to replenish its battery from zero to 100 per cent.

Other competitors

Infocus Vision 3 Pro
American smartphone brand Infocus recently launched the Vision 3 Pro, which is an upgraded version of its 18:9 aspect ratio screen-based Infocus Vision 3. Priced at Rs 10,999, the budget-centric smartphone boasts a powerful processor, 64 GB of internal storage, 4 GB of RAM, a dual-camera set-up on the back, and a mammoth 4,000 mAh battery.

Infocus Vision 3 Pro specifications and features
The phone sports a modern 5.7-inch HD+ ultra-wide screen on the front and a dual-camera set-up placed horizontally on the upper left side of the back. Talking about imaging, the rear dual-cameras on the back sports 13-megapixel and 8MP sensors. There is a 13MP selfie camera on the front, however, without the selfie flashlight that the competitors offer.

The Infocus Vision 3 Pro is powered by a 4,000 mAh battery that keeps the show running for almost 2 days on a single charge. The phone boots Smile UX, which is a customised Android 7.0 Nougat-based operating system.

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