Samsung has announced the launch of the Galaxy F14 in India, a 4G handset that is priced below Rs 10,000. The Galaxy F14 4G differs quite a lot when compared to the Galaxy F14 5G that launched in India in March last year, and is a rebranded Galaxy M14 4G.
Samsung Galaxy F14: Price, Availability
The Galaxy F14 is priced at Rs 8,999 for the single 4GB + 64GB model. Available in two colours, such as Moonlight Silver and Peppermint Green, Galaxy F14 will be available at select retail stores and consumers can also avail No-Cost EMI offers while purchasing the smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy F14: Specifications
The Galaxy F14 is equipped with a 6.7-inch FHD+ Infinity-U LCD display with 1080 x 2400 pixels resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. In addition, the phone is powered by the Snapdragon 680 Processor paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage that is expandable. It packs a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging support.
Galaxy F14 4G has a triple-camera setup on the back. It includes a 50MP f/1.8 main camera sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor. There is also an LED flash module next to the camera sensors. For selfies, the phone gets a 13MP f/2.0 front camera.
Besides, the device runs on Android 14-based OneUI 6.1 custom skin out of the box. It is slated to receive two years of OS upgrades and four years of security patches. For security, it also comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and face unlock support. Further, the connectivity options include 5G, dual-band Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth v5.2, GPS, 3.5mm Headphone jack, and a USB Type-C port.
HTech India has announced the launch of the new Magic 6 Pro 5G flagship smartphone in India. The new Honor Magic 6 Pro 5G comes with a 180MP telephoto sensor on the back among other sensors. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Processor and gets 512GB of storage. How does the Honor Magic 6 Pro compete with the existing top-end flagship from OnePlus, the OnePlus 12, which offers a similar set of specs but at a cheaper price point? Let’s have a look.
Honor Magic 6 Pro 5G: India Price, Availability
The Honor Magic 6 Pro 5G gets a price tag of Rs 89,999 for the sole 12GB + 512GB model. It will be available for purchase via Amazon India, Explore Honor website, and mainline retail stores near you starting August 15, 12PM IST. It can be availed in Epi Green and Black colours.
Honor Magic 6 Pro 5G: Specifications
Honor Magic 6 Pro sports a 6.8-inch curved OLED HDR LTPO display with 1.5K resolution (1280 x 2800 pixels), 120Hz refresh rate, 5000 nits peak brightness, 10-bit colours, 4320Hz PWM dimming, and has an in-display fingerprint scanner for biometrics. It is powered by a 4nm octa-core Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Chipset paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of inbuilt storage.
For optics, the Honor Magic 6 Pro gets a triple rear camera setup including a 50-megapixel f/1.4 – f/2.0 primary sensor with OIS, a 50-megapixel f/2.0 ultra-wide angle sensor and a 180-megapixel f/2.6 periscope telephoto sensor with OIS. The front camera is equipped with an 50-megapixel f/2.0 sensor that also has 3D depth sensor along with it.
It boots on Magic OS 8.0 based on Android 14. The handset is backed by a 5600mAh battery with support for 80W wired charging and 66W wireless charging. Connectivity options of the device include support for 5G, Wi-Fi 7, NFC, Bluetooth v5.3, and a USB Type-C port. The device is IP68 rated and gets stereo speakers.
HTech states that currently, only Airtel and Vi networks support 5G on the Magic 6 Pro 5G. The company is “actively working” with Jio to enable support for Jio 5G on the device.
Honor Magic 6 Pro 5G Vs OnePlus 12 5G
The OnePlus 12 5G sells for a starting price of Rs 64,999 and goes up till Rs 69,999 for the top-end 16GB + 512GB model. At that price, it costs about Rs 25,000 less for the base model and Rs 20,000 less for the top-end model in comparison to Magic 6 Pro 5G. To make it a sweeter deal, Amazon is offering a Rs 7,000 bank discount with ICICI bank cards which brings down the starting price of the OnePlus 12 5G to Rs 53,999, and we think you should consider that over the Honor handset.
We made our decision on the basis of specs and what else the device is offering for its price, which in some cases is better than Magic 6 Pro, such as the display. The display of the OnePlus 12 is sharper than that of Magic 6 Pro 5G, with a QHD+ resolution compared to the 1.5K resolution of Honor’s device.
Both of them pack the same chipset, but the OnePlus 12 offers you more RAM for lesser price paired with the same amount of storage as Honor Magic 6 Pro. As for battery, the OnePlus 12 has a slightly smaller 5400mAh cell compared to 5600mAh in Magic 6 Pro. However, it makes up for it with faster 100W wired charging (over 80W in Honor’s handset). OnePlus also offers the charger in the box which is another plus point over Honor. Wireless charging speed of OnePlus 12 is slightly slower at 50W, but still enough to charge it quick.
In terms of cameras, that’s one department where Honor does better, at least on paper. That is because it gets a better periscope telephoto lens on the back and a better selfie sensor too, that’s paired with a 3D depth camera for enhanced facial unlocking. Both the devices are IP68 rated as well, and get stereo speakers too.
By now, you’d have understood that the OnePlus 12 is not only the phone that offers you more value for its price, but is also the more economical one. While Honor Magic 6 Pro 5G may have a better camera system, we don’t think its enough to justify the steep price tag when flagships like the OnePlus 12 5G exist.
Google Maps has redesigned yet another element in its app on Android, and this time, it’s the bottom bar. The new update is aimed at simplifying the bottom bar to make it less cluttered and make options more easily accessible. Here’s what exactly the redesign in Google Maps in Android offers.
As reported by 9to5Google, Google Maps is reducing its tabs from five to three, removing the Go and Updates tabs in the bottom bar with only “Explore,” “You,” and “Contribute” tabs remaining. The Explore tab remains unchanged, while the Go tab’s functionality is now integrated as “Saved trips” under Your lists in the center feed. Further, the “Saved” tab has been renamed to the “You” tab, while still offering the same functionality as before.
Old UI (left), New UI (right)
In addition, Notifications and Messages from the old Updates tab have been relocated to the top-right corner, with Following already included in Explore. Additionally, Google has removed the search bar from this view.
The new redesigned bottom bar in Google Maps on Android comes shortly after it got the Sheets UI. The new sheets in the UI, with their more rounded corners, display the map more prominently, highlighting the background layer. This redesign not only helps preserve context while navigating the App but also gives Google Maps a lighter appearance.
Meanwhile, Google Maps got a load of new features specifically tailored for India last week. These new features are designed to make journeys more efficient and sustainable, powered by AI and local partnerships. These innovations in Maps, as per Google, address unique mobility needs of India, including navigating narrow roads, flyover indication, locating EV charging stations, and booking metro tickets in collaboration with ONDC and Namma Yatri in newer regions. One of the most anticipated features was Flyover callouts, which helps you anticipate upcoming flyovers and prepare ahead of time to get onto the flyover.
Google has announced a new School Time feature for Android smartphones, tablets, and select watches running Wear OS. The company says it has focused on developing tools to help each family set their own ground rules. The result was the School Time feature, providing tailored supervision experiences for teens. The feature first debuted on the FitBit Ace LTE smart wearable earlier this year.
School Time for Android Devices: What is it?
School time enables parents to set their child’s personal device to a dedicated home screen with limited functionality during school hours, which helps reduce distractions during class. Parents can schedule and select which apps are allowed during School time in Family Link, our parental controls app. Parents will also have the option to allow calls or texts from specific contacts.
In addition, School time can also be turned on outside of class when it may be time to focus or take a break from screens. For teens who are not supervised by a parent through Family Link, Google offers Focus mode on Android devices to prevent notifications and limit distractions during a specific time period.
Aside from School Time, Google is developing additional settings for teens and teen supervision, such as new Supervision tools in YouTube. In an update rolling out later this summer, parents and teens will be able to link their accounts, enabling parents to gain visibility into their teens’ activity on YouTube.
Further, in Family Link, supervision can be enabled for all ages. This helps give parents flexibility to determine the apps, products and experiences their teens can use, while also continuing to monitor their activity and set digital ground rules such as screen time limits or location sharing.
For those under 18 years of age, Google has default safety measures in place. This includes turning SafeSearch on, implementing content restrictions and turning autoplay off on YouTube. It recently introduced new safeguards that limit recommendations of videos with content that could be problematic, especially for teens, if viewed in repetition – such as content related to body image.
School Time for Android Devices: Availability
Over the next year, Google will expand School time to even more devices including select Android phones, tablets and Samsung Galaxy Watches. FitBit Ace LTE is already having the feature. Surprisingly, Google doesn’t mention support for its own Pixel Watch as of now.
Sony has announced the launch of PlayStation Portal in India, allowing users to play their PS5 console over their home Wi-Fi with console quality controls. The Portal allows you to play PS5 console games in a portable format, meaning if you aren’t in the same room as the PS5. Here’s what it has to offer.
PlayStation Portal: India Price, Availability
The PlayStation Portal will be available across Sony Centres, Amazon, Flipkart, Croma, Reliance, Vijay Sales, Blinkit & other participating retailers from August 3, 2024 at a price of Rs 18,990.
PlayStation Portal: Features
“PlayStation Portal remote player brings the PS5 experience to the palm of your hand,” according to Sony. It includes the key features of the DualSense wireless controller, including adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. The 8-inch LCD screen is capable of running content in 1080p Resolution at 60fps.
PlayStation Portal is the perfect device for gamers in households where they might need to share their living room TV or simply want to play PS5 games in another room of the house. PlayStation Portal will connect remotely to your PS5 over Wi-Fi, so you’ll be able to swiftly switch from playing on your PS5 to your PlayStation Portal. Using the portal is easy, where you just need to turn it on, press a button to connect to your PS5, and then begin playing.
PlayStation Portal can play supported games that are installed on your PS5 console and use the Dualsense controller. It also includes a 3.5mm Audio Jack for wired audio. Further, Sony notes that PS VR2 games, which require the headset, and games that are streamed through PlayStation Plus Premium’s cloud streaming, are not supported
Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 series about six months ago and it seems like the Galaxy S25 series is now also six months far, considering Samsung’s previous launch timelines. Ahead of the launch, a Samsung executive has confirmed that the Galaxy S25 series will be packing some big upgrades over the former models.
Daniel Araujo, the Vice President of Samsung MX, said during the Q2 2024 earnings call (via Seeking Alpha), “For camera and display specs in particular, where we’ve been leading, the S25 at launch will have top-of-the-line upgrades. And we’re also preparing industry-best APs and memory to boost AI performance and offer an overall premium experience.” It’s unclear what these “top-of-the-line” upgrades are but leaks already point to what we can expect, at least from the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Rumors also indicate that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will feature significant camera upgrades, including a 50MP 3x zoom and a 50MP ultra-wide lens (up from 10MP and 12MP respectively, on the Galaxy S24 Ultra), aligning with the new 50MP 5x periscope. In contrast, the Galaxy S25 and S25+ are rumored to receive no camera upgrades.
In addition, the Galaxy S25 series is expected to employ the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, while there could be models that may pack MediaTek’s Dimensity and Samsung’s own Exynos processors. In addition, the Ultra model is also in line for a RAM upgrade according to latest reports, where it would be bumped up from 12GB to 16GB on the top-end model.
We expect the display on the S25 series to be brighter than before. However, there have been no leaks regarding that so far. Whatever the case may be, we’ll have to wait for next year before any official announcements from the brand come in.
Google Chrome has added support for a set of new AI features after announcing a couple of them earlier this January. Google Chrome will now support Google Lens so you can search for anything on your screen without opening a new tab, making it more convenient and easier. Here’s everything the new update to Chrome offers.
With the latest Chrome update rolling out over the next few days, Google will be bringing the same capabilities of Google Lens seen in smartphones, directly to your desktop browser. This means you’ll be able to easily select, search and ask questions about anything you see on the web, all without leaving your current tab.
To do this, users will have to select the Google Lens icon in the address bar, then click or drag over anything that they want to search. One can also invoke Google Lens from the right-click or three dot menu. After the user makes a selection, he/she will see visual matches and results in the side panel. One can then use multisearch to refine their search by color, brand or another detail, or can ask follow up questions to dive deeper into a topic. “Depending on your question, you might get an AI Overview response that brings together the most relevant information from across the web,” said Google in a blog post.
The next new feature is Tab Compare, that presents an AI-generated overview of products from across multiple tabs, all in one place. Google explains the feature with an example where it says that imagine you’re looking for a new Bluetooth portable speaker for an upcoming trip, but the product details and reviews are spread across different pages and websites.
Soon, Chrome will offer to generate a comparison table by showing a suggestion next to your tabs. By bringing all the essential details — product specs, features, price, ratings — into one tab, you’ll be able to easily compare and make an informed decision without the endless tab switching. The feature will first come to the US in the next few weeks and should later expand to other regions.
Finally, with the last feature, Google is making it easier to search for those visited sites in a more natural, conversational way with the help of AI. Starting in the U.S. in the coming weeks, users will be able to access their history and type something like, “What was that ice cream shop I looked at last week?” and Chrome will show them the relevant pages from their browsing history. Using this feature will be entirely optional. You can easily turn it on or off in your settings. This feature will also never include any browsing data from incognito mode.
Poco has announced the launch of the Buds X1 TWS earbuds in India at a price point of Rs 1,799. The new Buds X1 offers a good amount of features, such as Active Noise Cancellation, transparency mode, gaming mode, and much more. However, in a crowded market such as India where hundreds of more options are available from other brands, can the Poco Buds X1 stand out from the crowd? Let’s find out.
Poco Buds X1: Comfort & Design
The Poco Buds X1 are available in a single Titanium shade with yellow accents. The Poco branding in yellow resides on the back, while the inner part of the case is also made from yellow. The case has a matte finish and is quite compact to carry. The lid feels rigid and closes and opens with a spring mechanism, which helps it stay in place and keeps it from getting loose.
Then there’s a white light at the front that lights up when you shut or open the case or when you place the buds inside to charge. Overall, the case feels premium in the hand and also looks elegant. Coming to the buds, the ear tips also have a dual-tone look with transparent gray and yellow elements.
The buds have the commonly found stem design and fit well in the ear. They are lightweight and comfortable at the same time, which makes them easily wearable for extended periods of time. These buds also feature touch controls that can be customised via the Xiaomi Earbuds app. One can double tap, triple tap, or tap & hold to perform various actions that can be changed via the app, such as skip or go backwards, trigger voice assistant, control volume, and more.
Design-wise, I’d say the Poco Buds X1 look and feel top-notch. They have a distinct look with the yellow accents and also don’t feel cheap by any means.
Poco Buds X1: App support, Sound & Call Quality, Battery Life
The Poco Buds X1 packs 12.4mm dynamic titanium drivers and supports SBC and AAC codecs. They also support 40dB Active Noise Cancellation, dual mics on each earbud, and Bluetooth v5.3.
The audio quality of the Poco Buds X1 sounded decent during our testing. However, the mid-range frequencies are tuned slightly higher than the low-end and high-end ones, which may cause the audio to sound muffled at times.
The vocals are clear, and the bass has that kick to it. You can clearly feel the bass hitting in which those who prefer a bassy sound signature would love. The bass doesn’t overpower other frequencies, which is a good thing.
However, a bug or maybe a defect in our unit ruined our audio experience for the most part. We could make out our observations during a short period of time when the buds worked fine because, after that, a bug would degrade the audio quality and would cause an imbalance. The imbalance in audio quality often lowered the volume in the left earbud, and the sound signature also kept fluctuating.
We don’t know whether it’s a software bug that could be solved with a firmware update or a hardware defect with our particular unit.
Noise Cancellation is close to average, as it neither cancels out noise well nor has the best transparency mode. Despite supporting cancellation up to 40dB, I didn’t find it the most effective with fan noise, traffic noise, etc. Further, the transparency mode feels like a gimmick because the sound is majorly muffled even when it’s turned on.
Connectivity performance is decent. However, there’s no multipoint connection support.
The app supports a decent number of features, such as showing the battery left in buds and cases, changing Noise Cancellation modes, and customising the touch controls, as discussed above.
Furthermore, the “find your earphones” feature offered through the app is practically useless because the sound volume of a song is louder than the alarm tone the earbuds play when you use this feature.
Next up, you also get the ability to set equaliser either from the four predefined options or a custom one where Poco offers you to customise the sound signature with a 10-band equaliser which is amazing at this price point. Out of all the options available, I found the custom one to be the best as I could tune the audio to my liking.
The call quality of the Poco Buds X1 is good, but it doesn’t come without drawbacks. While my voice was clear to the recipient for the most part, the person on the other end complained of some disturbance in my voice, which caused them to be unable to make out what I was saying. Additionally, the buds pick up background noise to some extent during calls, but not in a manner that could hamper the quality.
Finally, for the battery life, Poco claims the buds can last up to 36 hours with ANC off and up to 22 hours with ANC on. They can run for up to 3.5 hours on a single charge with ANC turned on and up to 7 hours with ANC off. However, these stats are Poco’s own when the earbuds are at 50% volume.
In the real world, the buds lasted about 3 hours and sometimes less on a single charge as I listened to them at higher volumes. While we couldn’t exactly get close to Poco’s claimed battery backup numbers, we think Poco could have done better in this area.
Poco has announced the new Poco M6 Plus 5G in India and like all other lower-end Poco devices, this one also comes with Glance Smart Lock Screen pre-installed. While some of you may prefer to keep it enabled, others might not need it and want their own custom photos on the lock screen or set one of HyperOS’ custom lock screen styles. For those who belong to the latter section, here’s a guide on how you can turn off Glance Lock Screen in your Poco M6 Plus smartphone, or any other Poco or Xiaomi smartphone that comes with it.
Step 1
Go to the Settings App in your Xiaomi or Poco devices.
Step 2
Tap on the “Lock Screen” option.
Step 3
Now click on ‘Glance for Mi’.
Step 4
Now turn off the switch at the top. Next, mention the reason due to which you are turning off the feature and then tap on “Turn off.”
This was how you could turn off Glance Smart Lock Screen on your Xiaomi and Poco devices, including the latest Poco M6 Plus 5G. Glance lock screen comes pre-installed on a bunch of other devices from various OEMs, such as Samsung, for which we also have a guide on how you can turn the feature off in mid-range and lower-end Galaxy devices.
Meanwhile, we recently also reviewed the newly launched Poco M6 Plus 5G. For a starting price tag of Rs 13,999, we feel the Poco M6 Plus is a decent performer with some drawbacks especially in Camera and Display department. However, if you want a long-lasting smartphone with a good amount of features on offer and are also on a strict budget, the Poco M6 Plus can be considered over the competition.
Google Pixel 9 series launch is right around the corner and each day, we are getting new leaks for the devices. A fresh new leak reveals a surprising yet disappointing detail about the handsets, which says that the Pixel 9 series may launch with Android 14 out of the box and not the latest Android 15. In a separate leak, details about the Tensor G4 Processor have also been revealed.
The leak stating that Pixel 9 series will come with Android 14 preloaded and not Android 15, comes from Android Headlines. Google, in its history of Pixel devices, has never launched the device with an older version of Android and if the leak is true, it would be the first time Google would ever do so. This is surprising, considering the launch of Android 15 is quite close and it was expected that it will be released alongside Pixel 9 series, coming preloaded on the devices.
While Pixel 9 would soon receive an OTA as soon as Android 15 is released in the stable state, it’s still disappointing that out of the 7 years of OS updates the Pixel 9 series is slated to receive, one would be counted towards the version that should have came with the devices out of the box.
We’ll see if the leak is true or not on August 13. Meanwhile, another leak from the same publication states that all the devices in the series will come with 128GB base model which is again a disappointing move if correct. That’s because Pixel 9 series is the flagship smartphone series from Google and they’ll be priced in that manner too, for which 128GB in the base model isn’t exactly the most value-for-money choice.
A separate leak from Android Authority has shed light on the upgrades Google’s upcoming Tensor G4 will bring over the Tensor G3. The report says that Tensor G4 will be quite a minor upgrade over the G3, so much so that the publication calls it the “smallest upgrade to the series so far.”
The Tensor G4 will constitute of a more conventional 4+3+1 CPU core arrangement and uses newer ARMv9.2 cores from Arm, which will include the Cortex-A520, Cortex-A720, and Cortex-X4. All the cores are also clocked slightly higher than Tensor G3, which used a 9-core setup that included “four low-power Cortex-A510 cores, four Cortex-A715 “mid” cores, and a single Cortex-X3 big core.”
While the multi-core performance of the chip is expected to drop due to the removal of one core, it will still bring some performance improvements. The new cores in the Tensor G4 are reportedly faster and more efficient than their predecessors, and removing one from the chip significantly reduces power draw with almost no loss in performance.
In addition, the Tensor G4 will also pack a newer Exynos Modem 5400 that will enable satellite connectivity support and up to 50% better power consumption than the Modem 5300 used in Tensor G3. Users of Pixel 8 series have complained of connectivity issues online and Pixel 9 series should solve that. However, the Pixel 9a in the series may not benefit from this newer modem as it could get the older one used in Tensor G3.
The Tensor G4 also includes the same Mali-G715 GPU as the Tensor G3, but with a higher clock speed of 940 MHz, up from 890 MHz in Tensor G3.
Aside from this, elements of Tensor G3 such as EDGE TPU (ML accelerator), GXP (Digital Signal Processor, primarily used to accelerate camera tasks), BigWave (AV1 encoder/decoder), Titan M2 security chip, and more, remain the same in Tensor G4 with no changes to them at all.
