The HMD 105 is a no-frills feature phone designed for simplicity and reliability. It’s not a smartphone packed with cutting-edge technology, but it excels in its own niche. So, who is the ideal user for this device?

The HMD 105 can be bought by these people

Seniors and those with limited tech skills: Its user-friendly interface, large buttons, and clear display make it easy to navigate for individuals who prefer a straightforward device. While the display isn’t the brightest, it’s perfectly fine for those who’ll be mostly using the device indoors. Moreover, the keypad is backlit which also makes it convenient to identify the keys in darker environments. Then, there’s a dedicated dual-LED flashlight at the top so elderly can also use it if they have vision constraints in some environments.

Budget-conscious individuals: Offering essential features without breaking the bank, at just Rs 999, the HMD 105 is an excellent choice for those seeking affordability.

People seeking a minimalist lifestyle: For those who prioritize simplicity and want to reduce digital distractions, the HMD 105 provides a basic communication tool. It provides users with functions like regular Messages, music playback, calculator, GS Pay, which allows for UPI payments, alarm, contacts access, calendar, and Radio.

Those who prioritize battery life: With its 1000mAh battery, the HMD 105 is ideal for outdoor enthusiasts, travellers, or anyone who needs a phone that can endure extended use without charging. HMD claims the device can last up to 8 days, but it was less used by us. The battery life entirely depends on how much time you spend with the device. Whatever the case may be, the device can easily last beyond two days, at the least. Because it doesn’t have a lot of things to power, even a 1000mAh removable battery is enough for the device for extended use.

Read More: Exclusive: HMD Skyline Coming to India For Around Rs 35,000

Individuals in noisy environments: The device’s loud speakerphone makes it suitable for use in bustling or noisy settings. However, the quality of the earpiece isn’t the best, as it could become difficult for me at times to understand what the person on the other end was saying. Aside from that, the device also has a voice recorder function.

People who need a reliable backup phone: The HMD 105 is a compact and affordable option that can serve as a dependable backup device. Furthermore, because it’s built well and is also IP52 rated, it can withstand some amount of rugged use, including a few drops on the ground and splashes of water.

Who might not be the best fit for the HMD 105

Tech enthusiasts and early adopters: If you crave the latest features and cutting-edge technology, the HMD 105 won’t meet your expectations.

Heavy smartphone users: If you rely on a multitude of apps, social media, and internet browsing, a feature phone like the HMD 105 will fall short.

Gamers or multimedia consumers: The HMD 105 lacks the processing power and display capabilities for gaming or enjoying high-quality multimedia content. It does have a single game and that’s the iconic title called Snake, but that’s about it.

Individuals who need advanced camera features: The HMD 105 lacks any camera and is not suitable for photography enthusiasts.

Those who require frequent internet connectivity: The HMD feature phone has limited data capabilities and may not be suitable for those who need constant internet access.

The HMD 105 is a solid choice for those who prioritize simplicity, reliability, and affordability in a mobile phone. If you’re looking for a device that focuses on core phone functions and long battery life, the HMD 105 could be the perfect fit for you.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE development was confirmed to be progressing a few months back and now, it seems like the device is going to launch soon with a new leak detailing most of the specifications of the handset such as a new Exynos chip. Here’s what you can expect with the upcoming Galaxy S24 FE.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Specs

The leak from Android Headlines says that the device will launch with a larger 6.7-inch display compared to its predecessor, and will sport up to 1,900 nits of peak brightness. Under the hood is the Exynos 2400e processor, which should be much more efficient than the Galaxy S23 FE, and seems to be a variant of the Exynos 2400 SoC which launched with Galaxy S24 earlier this year.

We saw some significant improvements in Exynos 2400 over its predecessor when we used the Galaxy S24+ and the Galaxy S24. We expect similar improvements to be a part of the Galaxy S24 FE, too. With a 4,565mAh battery inside, the Galaxy S24 FE is claimed to offer far better battery life despite having a marginally larger cell. It will offer up to 78 hours of battery life when listening to music and audio or about 29 hours when watching video.

Then, this Samsung phone will also be running at least One UI 6.1.1. This is because it runs the Portrait Studio feature, which is only available on One UI 6.1.1. Its unclear whether all the Galaxy AI features will be made available on the device or only selected ones.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Launch Timeline

The Galaxy S24 FE will be available in at least five colors including Graphite, Blue, Silver/White, Green and Yellow. There’ll be likely two more options that will be exclusive to Samsung’s website. The device is expected to break cover in October this year, when the Galaxy Tab S10 series is also rumoured to arrive.

When choosing a flagship smartphone, durability is a key aspect that many people consider. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, Samsung’s flagship smartphone model for 2023, has set a new trend in this area. Released to widespread acclaim, this device has not only met but also exceeded expectations, demonstrating exceptional durability and performance that stand the test of time. Today, we’ll explore why the Galaxy S23 Ultra has become Samsung’s most long-lasting smartphone in recent times based on our experience with it. It offers a combination of cutting-edge technology and robust design that continues to impress users long after its initial launch.

Launched in February 2023, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is about 1.5 years old at this point. Despite being old, it still stands as a relevant device today, not only in terms of hardware but also software. It gets a large QHD+ 120Hz panel that supports up to 1750 nits of peak brightness.

While the value of nits may not match the more advanced panels used in recent flagships by other brands and even Samsung itself, the panel still has no issues providing clear readability under bright sunlight. It’s sharp and vivid, supports HDR in apps like Netflix, and still matches (if not exceeds) the overall quality of display panels used in current-generation flagships.

For optics, the device has the same primary and ultra-wide angle Sensors as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which shows how Samsung still believes in the sensors to provide quality-centric photos during a time when brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo, and others are pushing significantly in the optics department. The Samsung device still doesn’t disappoint in most lighting scenarios and shows how well the sensors have been tuned. Surely, the cameras are not perfect by any means, however, they still compete well with present generation top-end models from other brands. If you are just a casual photographer like me, the Galaxy S23 Ultra will give you results beyond your expectations.

The handset’s design still feels and looks modern, considering the premium-quality materials used by Samsung in making the device. It is well protected on the front with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which is still one of the best Corning has to offer. Corning does offer Gorilla Armour, but the S24 Ultra is the only device used now. It also offers the S-Pen, which is a plus point for anyone who’s looking to get creative on their smartphones.

The stereo speakers on the device are loud and clear and pack a bassy punch, while the Haptics are tight and strong. Even compared to the likes of the OnePlus 12, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, Motorola EDGE 50 Ultra, and more, the Galaxy S23 Ultra maintains its identity as a flagship in terms of looks and doesn’t appear old-fashioned in any way.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra packs a 5000mAh battery with 45W fast wired charging along with wireless charging support. It is still the same amount of battery and Fast charging speed the Galaxy S24 Ultra offers. While Chinese brands are pushing for bigger batteries in their devices, the battery in the S23 Ultra is still more than enough for a day of use or even more if you are not a heavy user. Surely, the 45W wired charging isn’t as fast as, say, 100W but again, that’s the best Samsung has to offer as of now in any of its smartphones across its whole portfolio.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra truly excels when it comes to software. Samsung has given the majority of the Galaxy AI features of the S24 Ultra to the Galaxy S23 Ultra as one of its best moves. The S24 Ultra was marketed as a smartphone packed with Galaxy AI, but so was the Galaxy S23 Ultra, despite getting launched at a time when AI hadn’t taken centre stage. Not only that but to make things even better for Galaxy S23 Ultra users, it’ll even be getting the Galaxy AI features that were recently introduced in One UI 6.1.1 with the launch of Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra launched with One UI 5 based on Android 13 and has received one major OS upgrade till now, and that’s One UI 6 based on Android 14. The device will receive three more Android OS upgrades until Android 17, which means you are all set for two more years of updates, considering the Android 15 launch is right around the corner. It also gets monthly security patches and is expected to get Android 15 before the end of the year. This provides an added benefit for those seeking reassurance with regular smartphone updates.

Performance-wise, the S23 Ultra hasn’t lagged or showed signs of struggle during any task in the past 1.5 years, be it a demanding one like playing Call of Duty at maximum graphics or a lighter one like browsing social media or chatting. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 under the hood of the device is still quite a powerful chip and paired with 12GB of RAM; we feel the S23 Ultra will easily be able to sustain the smooth performance for a couple of more years and perform like how it did on day one.

To sum up, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has aged like fine wine. It not only has relevant hardware in today’s time but has also received enough new AI features from Samsung to attract new buyers and satisfy existing ones. If you are looking for a flagship to purchase this year and have a tight budget, we think you should reserve a spot for the S23 Ultra in the list of smartphones you are considering. As people who deal in stocks say buy on dips, we would say buy whenever an interesting price offer comes up.

Samsung has begin seeding the August 2024 security patch to a load of its smartphones, including the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy M55 5G, Galaxy F55 5G, and more. The new update is a major one despite being mere a security patch update, as it fixes a flaw known as CVE-2024-32896, which deals with a “systemic weakness” within Android OS.

At the moment, Samsung has made the latest security update available to the European and Indian variants of the Galaxy S24 models, bearing model numbers SM-S921B, SM-S926B, and SM-S928B. The new firmware has version S92XBXXS3AXGF and should make its way to more models across various regions soon. The update sadly doesn’t contain any camera improvements users have been expecting.

Next, the carrier-unlocked variants of the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra in the United States, having model numbers SM-S911U1, SM-S916U1, and SM-S918U1, respectively, are now also getting the August 2024 security patch. The Galaxy S23 FE is also a part of the list of phones getting the August 2024 patch.

Read More: Samsung’s Galaxy AI coming to Galaxy A55 5G, Galaxy A35 5G: Report

Again, the update should expand to more regions soon. Users were expecting that the older Samsung flagships would receive One UI 6.1.1 within the August update considering the One UI 7 Beta got delayed due to it. However, that isn’t the case, and you are only getting the security patch as of now.

The Galaxy F55 5G and the Galaxy M55 5G, which are essentially the same devices, are now also getting the update in India. The update for the F55 has the firmware version E556BXXU3AXG7 and has a download size of around 455MB. The update for the M55 has the version number M556BXXU3AXG7.

You can check whether your unit has received the update by heading over to Settings, then Software Update, and then tapping on Download and Install.

Vivo unveiled the V40 Pro in India with Zeiss optics, at a price point that’s crowded with options from other brands, one of which is the Realme GT 6. Here’s a comparison between the two, purely on the basis of on-paper specs, to help you decide whether you should purchase the Realme GT 6 or the Vivo V40 Pro.

Display

Vivo V40 Pro features a 6.78-inch AMOLED Display with a 1.5K 2800×1260 Pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, punch-hole cutout, 20:9 aspect ratio, 89.9% screen-to-body ratio, 452 ppi, 4500 nits peak brightness and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut.

The Realme GT 6 sports a 6.78-inch 1.5K Resolution (2780 x 1264 pixels) AMOLED Display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 360Hz touch sampling rate, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, 450 ppi, 10-bit colours, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, and 6000 nits peak brightness.

As you’d notice, the Realme GT 6 and the Vivo V40 Pro sport a panel that’s identical in size, resolution, and even refresh rate. However, the GT 6 takes the lead because the panel on the device is not only brighter, but is also better protected with a stronger Victus 2 glass.

Read More: Vivo V40 5G Review

Performance & Software

The Realme GT 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Chipset paired up to 16GB LPDDR5x RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The phone runs on Android 14 with Realme UI 5.0 skin on top. As for the Vivo V40 Pro, it is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+, paired with up to 12GB RAM and up to 512GB of storage. Performance-wise, both of them have quite capable processors that won’t disappoint you with demanding tasks.

However, with Realme’s handset, you get more RAM which is a plus point for those who multitask a lot on their devices. While Vivo’s handset won’t struggle with multitasking either, because we are considering on-paper specs only, the more the RAM the better, due to which Realme’s GT 6 wins in this segment too.

Further for software, both of them come with Android 14 based on their respective Android skins. Herein, we feel the Vivo V40 Pro lacks slightly behind the Realme GT 6, because of what we saw with the Vivo V40’s software which suggests the V40 Pro would offer a similar experience. In case of Realme GT 6, the software would be more polished and would be smoother with animations too. Moreover, the GT 6 is set to receive 4 major OS upgrades while Vivo’s device will receive only 3.

Cameras & Battery

As for the optics, the GT 6 has triple cameras on the back, including a 50-megapixel f/1.69 Sony LYT-808 primary sensor with OIS, an 8-megapixel f/2.2 IMX355 ultra wide angle lens and a 50-megapixel f/2.0 Samsung JN5 2x telephoto sensor as well. Meanwhile, the front houses a 32-megapixel IMX615 f/2.45 selfie camera.

At the back, it gets a 50MP Sony IMX921 primary camera sensor with OIS, a 50MP Sony IMX816 f/1.85 Telephoto sensor with 2X Optical and 50X Digital Zoom, and a 50MP Ultra Wide-Angle sensor. On the front also, it gets a 50MP sensor for selfies.

Read More: Vivo V40 5G Camera Review: Zeiss Works Its Magic

While we can’t comment on which one’s the better camera setup as it requires real-world comparison of the two, we’d still say the Vivo V40 Pro has better optics over the Realme GT 6 considering the on-paper specs.

As for battery, both of them have a 5500mAh battery but Realme’s device supports faster 120W charging compared to Vivo’s 80W charging in V40 Pro.

Verdict

The Vivo V40 Pro is a decent smartphone but still doesn’t manage to beat Realme GT 6 if we consider the price to performance ratio. The GT 6 does almost everything better than the Vivo V40 Pro, and that too at a cheaper price tag, where its top-end model costs Rs 44,999 while Vivo’s device starts at Rs 49,999.

MediaTek’s Helio lineup hasn’t seen a new addition in a while now, but that’s changing today as the chipmaker has introduced a new Processor in the series, called MediaTek Helio G100. While the chip is essentially the same as the Helio G99, it differs in terms of optics, bringing support for up to 200MP cameras compared to 108MP sensor support in Helio G99.

MediaTek Helio G100: Specifications

MediaTek Helio G100 is built on TSMC’s 6nm process, consisting of an octa-core CPU with two 2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 cores and six 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 units. It supports LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage, while the maximum display Resolution supported is 2,520 x 1,080 pixels running at up to 120Hz refresh rate. Graphics are handled by the Arm Mali-G57 MC2 GPU.

The major upgrade comes in the camera department, where the Helio G100 now supports up to 200MP single cameras. It also features support for dual 16 + 16MP Sensors and 32 MP video shooting at 30 fps. As for connectivity, there’s support for 4X4 MIMO, 2CC CA, 256QAM, TAS 2.0, HPUE, IMS (VoLTE\ViLTE\WoWi-Fi), eMBMS, Dual 4G VoLTE (DSDS), Band 71, Wi-Fi 5, and Bluetooth v5.2.

The chip includes support for GPS, QZSS L1+ L5, Galileo E1 + E5a, BeiDou B1C + B2a, and NAVIC. Finally, the MediaTek Helio G100 also gets an “Elevator Mode,” which promises to swiftly restore cellular connection after emerging from coverage-deprived spaces like tunnels or elevators.

MediaTek is already offering the chip to general public, and the first device to launch with it was the Tecno Camon 30S Pro which debuted last week. The detailed specs of the handset are mentioned below.

Read More: MediaTek and JioThings Launch 4G Smart Android Cluster, 4G Smart Module for 2-Wheelers

Tecno Camon 30S Pro: Specifications

The Tecno Camon 30S Pro sports a a 6.78” curved AMOLED screen with a Full-HD+ resolution and up to 120 Hz refresh rate, along with 5000000:1 HDR Contrast Ratio, 100% P3 Color Gamut, 1300 nits HBM peak brightness, TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification, 1.07 Billion colours, and 2160Hz High-Frequency PWM Dimming.

The device is powered by the Helio G100 processor from MediaTek, paired with 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. For optics, it gets a 50MP Sony IMX896 primary sensor with 1um Pixel size and OIS and a 2MP depth sensor along with a tertiary lightt sensor. At the front, there’s another 50MP sensor for selfies with Autofocus support.

Connectivity options on the device include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth v5.2, FM, GPS, NFC, and a USB-C port for charging. Further, the handset is IP53 rated and gets stereo speakers which support Dolby Atmos sound. The device is backed up by a 5000mAh battery with 45W fast wired charging and 20W wireless charging support.