OnePlus has announced that it will be offering the OnePlus Nord 4 up to 6 years of software support, including security patches, which is longer than its own top-end flagship devices, the OnePlus 12 and the OnePlus Open. The OnePlus Nord 4 is all set to launch on July 16 worldwide.

OnePlus made the announcement via an X post and via its microsite for the OnePlus Summer Launch event as well. OnePlus will be providing 4 Android OS updates and 6 years of security updates to the OnePlus Nord 4, which means the device will be supported up till Android 18 if we talk of OS updates and up till 2030 if we consider security patches.

If we talk of competition in the space, there’s the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G that would be competing with the OnePlus Nord 4 on the basis of the leaked pricing of the Nord. The Galaxy A55 5G gets 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security patches, which reiterates that OnePlus would be ahead of the competition.

Read More: OnePlus Nord 4 5G May be Priced Lower Than its Predecessor in India

Moreover, OnePlus will surpass its own OnePlus 12 and OnePlus Open in terms of the duration of software support provided to the Nord 4, which is surprising. The OnePlus Open and OnePlus 12 have been promised 4 OS updates and 5 years of security patches. There’s a possibility that OnePlus would either announce an extension of software updates for the Open and 12 or it could announce that the 4+6 years of update policy would be the new norm for all its upcoming flagships as well as the mid-range Nords.

The OnePlus Nord 4 will seemingly start at Rs 27,999 including bank offers. Without the offers, the device could cost close to Rs 31,000 for the baseline model. We are still unaware of the memory configurations the device will be offered in, but one can expect at least 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Back in April, Samsung confirmed that it was planning to give Bixby a major upgrade with new AI smarts that would bring it in line with its competitors. On the sidelines of the Galaxy Unpacked July 2024 event, the brand once again confirmed that Bixby will get the AI makeover later this year itself.

As confirmed to CNBC by TM Roh, Samsung’s mobile head, Samsung will launch an upgraded AI-powered Bixby experience later this year. Not only that, the AI technology behind Bixby will be Samsung’s own, meaning it will take advantage of the brand’s Large Language Model (LLM) and not ChatGPT or Google Gemini, like how Apple is playing it out with its Siri.

”We’re going to advance Bixby with application of Gen AI technology,” Roh said in Korean via a translator. Aside from that, Samsung confirmed that it will still offer consumers the ability to set multiple voice assistants on its devices as default. Bixby is now the only voice assistant left that needs to get an AI makeover, with Siri being the latest entrant in the AI arena.

Read More: Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch 7 1st Impression: Changing Times

With the launch of Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Z Fold 6, AI has once again taken the front seat, as we noted in our initial impressions of the two foldables. Over the previous Galaxy AI features which debuted earlier this year, Samsung has introduced newer ones, such as a new Interpreter mode, Photo Assist features, along with the ability to turn any of your photos in various designs, such as 3D cartoons, painted art, and more.

Making the most out of the cover display on the Flip 6, there’s an AI-powered feature that’ll automatically suggest you a layout for your Lock Screen based on the wallpaper you have set.

Manufacturers have been working on making their products widely accessible with the help of features that can support users who have any disabilities. Google, being one such manufacturer, is planning to add support for customisable colour correction ability in Android 15 via an intensity slider in its accessibility settings for those who are colour blind.

As spotted by Mishaal Rahman (via Android Authority), Android 15 could be expanding colour correction settings by adding an intensity slider. While this slider is not available yet in the latest Android 15 Beta 3.1 release, Rahman was able to enable it manually. The slider will have three values, ranging from low, medium, to high, that tweak the intensity of the colour balance changes for each colour correction mode, which includes the likes of deuteranomaly, protanomaly, tritanomaly, or monochromacy.

As shown in the screenshots shared by the publication, the hue of each colour is drastically affected by the intensity slider. “This slider, thus, could help compensate for varying degrees of deuteranomaly, protanomaly, or tritanomaly,” reads the report.

The change will help colour blind users adjust the colour correction settings as per their own preferences, depending on how it affects their usage experience.

In news related to Google, the company is going to hold a new launch event on August 13 where it will be unveiling its next generation of Pixel smartphones. Pixel 9 series will include three smartphones this year, including the Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro, and the Pixel 9, as per leaks. All three devices will have a similar design.

The whole camera bar is now pill-shaped, compared to rectangular on the Pixel 8 Pro, with only the camera cutout inside it having the pill shape. The devices may also get an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the display.

Lava has debuted the new Blaze X smartphone in India, which is positioned in the budget segment of devices. The new Blaze X offers a curved display below the price tag of Rs 15,000 and also comes with Android 14 preloaded. However, is it worth considering over the newly launched CMF Phone 1? Let’s have a look.

Lava Blaze X: Price, Availability

The Blaze X comes in three models, including 4GB + 128GB, 6GB + 128GB, and 8GB + 128GB, priced at Rs 14,999, Rs 15,999, and Rs 16,999, respectively. As a part of a special launch offer, you can get Rs 1,000 off when purchasing via select bank cards. The handset will go on sale from July 20 at 12 AM IST via Amazon and Lava E-store. It can be purchased in Starlight Purple and Titanium Grey colours.

Lava Blaze X: Specifications

The Lava Blaze X 5G sports a 6.67-inch FHD+ screen with a 120 Hz Refresh Rate. The display comes with 1.07 billion colour depth and supports HDR. It can reach up to 800 nits peak brightness and has 394 PPI. It is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 6300 SoC, coupled with up to 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 onboard storage.

For optics, the Lava Blaze X 5G packs a dual rear camera unit, headlined by a 64-megapixel Sony primary lens, accompanied by 2-megapixel macro sensor. For selfies, it features a 16-megapixel sensor at the front.

It includes an in-display optical fingerprint scanner for Biometrics and a USB Type-C port for connectivity. It packs a 5000mAh battery with 33W charging.

Lava promises a clean Android 14 experience with no bloatware, ads, or unwanted notifications. It also promises an upgrade to Android 15 and assured quarterly security updates for two years. Connectivity options include dual-SIM 5G, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth v5.2, a USB-C port, and GPS.

Lava Blaze X Vs. CMF Phone 1

Lava Blaze X goes up to Rs 16,999 for the top-end 8GB RAM model, while CMF Phone 1 starts at Rs 15,999 and costs Rs 17,999 for the 8GB RAM variant. For a thousand bucks extra, CMF Phone 1 offers you some advantages, such as a much more powerful chipset, a brighter display, a better software experience based on what we have seen within Lava and Nothing’s software skins, microSD card support, IP rating, along with longer software support for 2 years and 3 years of security patches.

There are also additional optional features that you can benefit from, such as attachable accessories, interchangeable back panels, and more. However, with Lava, you save some bucks and get a curved display, which may appeal to many people. It also offers a charger in the box, which is not the case with the CMF Phone 1, so many factors are at play here. We won’t comment on the camera performance of the two as we haven’t tested the Lava Blaze X yet.

CMF Phone 1 is essentially a better phone in most aspects, going by the specs. You pay a little extra for those benefits, which we feel is worth it. Lava can be considered by those who want a curved display, but we don’t think that’s a feature appealing enough to drive the sales of the smartphone.

Samsung just unveiled its next lineup of foldables, including the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the Galaxy Z Fold 6. As we got to spend some time with Z Flip 6, here are our first impressions about the device and what all it brings to the table. Not only the hardware of the Flip 6 has changed over the Flip 5, but the software too, has received a good amount of attention from Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is available in two models including 12GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB, priced at Rs 1,09,999 and Rs 1,21,999, respectively. The device will go on sale via Samsung’s website, Amazon, Flipkart, and other leading offline and online retailers.

Customers pre-ordering the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will receive a cashback of Rs 8000 on HDFC Bank cards along with 9 months no-cost bank EMI or an Upgrade Bonus of Rs 8,000 along with upto 9 months of no cost EMI.

Existing Samsung flagship smartphone customers can choose to avail an upgrade bonus of Rs 15,000. All customers who pre order Galaxy Z Flip 6 will get Galaxy Z Assurance wherein they will get an industry-first two screen/parts replacements at Rs 999.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 has refined hardware over the Flip 5, with the sides having a matte finish. Not only that, but these are now also flatter than before, resulting in better grip. The switch from a glossy finish to the matte one not only makes the device feel more premium in hand, but gives it a more premium look as well. The hinge now feels much smoother while folding or unfolding the device without any tensions during the process.

The buttons and ports placement remain the same as the Z Flip 5. While we can’t comment on the performance of the handset just yet due to our brief time with the handset, we can say that it shouldn’t be a problem, considering its powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy processor. Moreover, the Flip, for the first time, gets 12GB of RAM, a significant bump from 8GB on previous generations.

As for the software, the handset runs on One UI 6.1.1 based on Android 14. Over the previous Galaxy AI features which debuted earlier this year, Samsung has introduced newer ones, such as a new Interpreter mode, Photo Assist features, along with the ability to turn any of your photos in various designs, such as 3D cartoons, painted art, and more.

Making the most out of the cover display, there’s a feature that’ll automatically suggest you a layout for your Lock Screen based on the wallpaper you have set.

In addition to the improved performance and software, the Flip 6 also gets a vapour chamber for the first time that will be able to handle thermals more efficiently. The primary camera sensor has also been upgraded from a 12MP sensor to a 50MP sensor.

The ultra-wide angle sensor remains the same as before. With the new Auto Zoom, FlexCam automatically finds the best framing for your shot by detecting the subject and zooming in and out before making any necessary adjustments. The night capturing feature is now also available in-app on Instagram, aside from being inside the camera app.

The Galaxy Z Flip 6 also gets a bigger 4000mAh battery, similar to the Galaxy S24. Samsung promises much more efficient and longer runtime than what you got with the Flip 5.