Samsung has introduced the next generation of foldables in its Z Fold lineup with the Galaxy Z Fold 6. The new foldable has subtle redesigned elements compared to the last three generations and features an improved hinge, more powerful hardware, and new AI features. Here are our first impressions of the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is available in three models including 12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB, and 12GB + 1TB, priced at Rs 1,64,999, Rs 1,76,999, and Rs 2,00,999, respectively. The device will go on sale via Samsung’s website, Amazon, Flipkart, and other leading offline and online retailers. It can be availed in colours like Silver Shadow, Navy, and Pink. The pre-orders for the device are now live.

Customers pre-ordering the Galaxy Z Fold 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 Fold 6 will get Galaxy Z Assurance wherein they will get an industry-first two screen/parts replacements at Rs 999.

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with a major redesign over its predecessors. The Fold 6 now has a flatter frame made up of Samsung’s improved Armor Aluminium. The frame gets a matte finish, departing from the glossy one on the Flip 5. The cover display is now also slightly bigger with a minor change in the aspect ratio as well.

Based on our brief usage time with it, we’d say that it’s not a major difference over the Fold 5 or the Fold 4, but making it a little wider allows for better fitting of the on-screen content. The corners are now sharper than before, notably curved on the Fold 3, Fold 4, and Fold 5. As for the hinge, it feels fluid and can hold one-half of the device at any angle.

The display, both the cover and the main one, looked good at first glance. They were sharp, vivid, and were impressively responsive. As for the crease, we couldn’t notice any changes to make it less noticeable.

Aside from the hardware, Samsung has also refined the software experience with One UI 6.1.1. It gets a newly embedded transcript feature that enables transcription, translation and summarizing of voice recordings directly in Notes. Texts in PDF files can be translated and overlaid through the PDF overlay translation feature in Notes – and it even supports text in images and graphs.

A newly added Composer from Samsung Keyboard generates suggested text based on simple keywords for email and supported social media apps. For social media in particular, the Composer creates text that reflects your tone by analyzing previous posts.

The S Pen experience has also been improved, thanks to Galaxy AI. An all-new Sketch to Image feature allows you to create more sophisticated art pieces by generating image options when you simply sketch or draw on the photos in the Gallery or Note screen.

Galaxy Z Fold 6 offers an upgraded gaming experience as well. It packs a 1.6x larger vapour chamber for the ability to game for longer. Further, it also supports Ray Tracing. Other AI features on the Fold 6 include an AI-powered ProVisual Engine, Live Translate, Portrait Studio, and more.

The battery and camera Sensors on the Fold 6 remain the same as those on the Fold 5. We’ll explore these details in the full review, so stay tuned.

Motorola India has launched a new budget handset in India, dubbed Moto G85 5G. It’s the same handset as the Motorola S50 Neo which debuted in China last month. Here’s what it has to offer.

Moto G85: Price, Availability

The G85 is available in two models, 12GB + 256GB priced at Rs 19,999 and 8GB + 128GB priced at Rs 17,999. Moto g85 5G will be available in three pantone curated colours and finishes in India, namely – Olive Green (Vegan leather), Cobalt Blue (Vegan leather), and Urban Gray (Acrylic Glass – PMMA). It will go on sale starting 16th July 2024, 12PM onwards on Flipkart, Motorola.in and leading retail stores across India.

As for launch offers, these include Rs 1,000 Instant Discount on leading bank credit cards and credit card EMI transactions. Users can also avail Rs 1,000 exchange top-up (only on Flipkart and applicable only on exchange of old devices) and upto 9 month No Cost EMIs starting at Rs 1,889 per month from leading banks.

Moto G85: Specifications

The handset sports a 6.67-inch curved pOLED screen with an FHD+ Resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, 395 ppi, and a support for 1,600 nits of peak brightness. The screen also has a built-in optical fingerprint scanner.

The handset is powered by the Snapdragon 6s Gen 3 Processor with up to 12GB RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage that is expandable up to 1TB. There’s a 50MP f/1.8 Sony LYT-600 primary rear camera with OIS, paired with an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle sensor. It gets a 32MP f/2.5 sensor on the front for selfies.

The device is packed with a 5000mAh battery and 30W fast wired charging support. Connectivity options on the handset include Bluetooth v5.1, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, NFC, 5G, and a USB-C port for charging. It further gets stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos technology.

The handset competes with the recently launched CMF Phone 1. While Motorola’s handset has an inferior processor, it does offer features the CMF Phone 1 lacks, such as stereo speakers, OIS, NFC, and also a curved screen which many prefer over flat displays.

Xiaomi has announced the launch of a new budget-oriented 5G smartphone in India called as Redmi 13 5G. The new handset comes with a Snapdragon Processor under the hood and is paired with a 108MP primary camera sensor on the back. Here’s what else the new Redmi 13 5G has to offer.

Redmi 13 5G: Price, Availability

The Redmi 13 5G has been launched in two variants in India, including 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB, priced at Rs 13,999 and Rs 15,499, respectively. It comes in Black, Pink, and Blue colour options and will be available for purchase via Amazon, Mi online store, Xiaomi retail stores, and other leading retailers, beginning July 12 at 12 noon.

Redmi 13 5G: Specifications

The Redmi 13 5G sports a 6.79-inch IPS LCD FHD+ display that has a peak brightness of 550 nits, a 120Hz refresh rate, and 240Hz touch sampling rate. Under the hood, it is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Accelerated edition chipset.

The Redmi device gets 6 GB and 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM options and up to 128 GB of UFS 2.2 storage. For additional storage, the device is equipped with a microSD card slot which can expand storage up to 1TB. It runs on HyperOS based on Android 14.

For optics, there’s a 108-megapixel f/1.8 Samsung HM6 primary camera and a 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro sensor. On the front, it features a 13-megapixel selfie shooter. The power button, located on the right side of the device, is integrated with a fingerprint scanner. The smartphone is backed by a 5,030mAh battery with 33W fast charging.

Connectivity options on the smartphone include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.1, GPS, 4G LTE, 3.5mm Headphonejack and a USB-C port for charging. The device has an IR Blaster as well and a single bottom-firing speaker. It is also IP53 rated for water and dust resistance.

HMD announced about a month ago that it will be introducing the first smartphone in India under its own brand, dubbed HMD Arrow. However, due to legal reasons, it seems like the brand can’t go further with the model name “Arrow,” due to which it has renamed the device to HMD Crest.

“We were thrilled by your incredible response to the #HMDNameOurFirstSmartphone contest! While we selected “Arrow” as the name for India’s first HMD smartphone, legal reasons unfortunately prevented us from using it. Rest assured, the contest entries are still valid, and we will be announcing five winners who will receive their well-deserved prizes,” said HMD in a post on X.

Then it announced the name of the first HMD smartphone in India to be “HMD Crest.” A couple of months back, we reported that HMD Arrow isn’t a mere rebrand of the HMD Pulse smartphone that debuted globally and in the US (with model name HMD Vibe) but instead, it’s a completely new handset. “HMD Arrow will have a completely new design, more powerful specs, different processor, 5G connectivity, and camera specs,” one of the sources close to the development of the device told The Mobile Indian.

We can safely assume that while Arrow has been renamed to Crest, other specifications it possesses should remain the same. The brand has been simultaneously working on multiple smartphones and even a couple of tablets which we’ll the see the launch of, in the upcoming months.

A recent leak shed light on the specs of HMD Nighthawk. According to the leak, the HMD Nighthawk will sport a 6.67-inch Rigid OLED panel which will have an FHD+ resolution and a Refresh Rate of 120Hz.

The handset will draw power from the Unisoc T750 5G processor, coupled with 8GB of RAMand two storage options such as 128GB and 256GB. For optics, there will be dual cameras on the back, including a 108MP primary sensor with Optical Image Stabilisation support, along with an additional 8MP lens which could be an ultra-wide angle sensor. The device may be able to shoot videos in up to 4K resolution running at 30 fps.

Update 8:10 PM IST: Nothing Phone (2) is now also receiving the Nothing OS 2.6 update. Aside from the same changelog as the Phone (2a), Nothing Phone (2) has received the CMF Phone 1 exclusive wallpapers as well.

Original Story Below

Nothing is rolling out a new update for the Phone (2a), its latest mid-range smartphone that debuted earlier this year in March. The new Nothing OS 2.6 update for the Phone (2a) not only brings a couple of new features but some bug fixes as well. Here’s what to expect from the update.

The Nothing OS 2.6 is the same version of software the CMF Phone 1 comes preloaded with. CMF Phone 1 is Nothing sub-brand’s first smartphone it launched earlier today. For the Phone (2a), the update weighs in at about 160MB. As for the changelog of the update, it is as follows:

New features & improvements

• New support for CMF Watch battery level display in the Quick Settings Bluetooth tile.
• Added a new swipable Date Widget.

Game Mode enhancements

• Tap the left sidebar for quick access to the Game Dashboard during games.
• Incoming calls during games can now be displayed in a pop-up.
• Added support to reject third-party App calls during gameplay.
• Support for one-tap callback after rejecting a call.
• Optimised light notifications to show more information during games.
• Support for blocking notifications during gameplay to reduce distractions.

Bug Fixes

• Resolved an issue affecting voice and call recording in WhatsApp.
• Fixed an issue causing the Atmosphere wallpaper effect to disappear in certain scenarios.
• Resolved an issue causing overlapping of the Lock Screen display in certain scenarios.
• Fixed an issue causing photo previews to display incorrectly when taken in landscape while the device was locked.
• Improved Portrait mode in the camera to avoid incorrect blurring.
• Optimised camera stability.
• Other general bug fixes and experience improvements.

While the changelog doesn’t mention it, we can confirm that the Nothing Phone (2a) has also been updated to the latest July 2024 security patch with the Nothing OS 2.6 update.

To update, head over to the Settings app, tap on System, and then click on System Update. Tap on Download and once the update installation is finished, restart the device.