MEDOLOGY

• Xiaomi Mi A2 6GB RAM, 128GB storage version launched in India for Rs. 17999
• WhatsApp Stickers finally starts rolling out [Update: Officially announced]
• Sony Home Theater 5.1 HT-S700RF Review
• WhatsApp beta for Android gets Picture-in-Picture mode for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook videos [Update: Swipe to Reply now available for all]
• Meizu Note 8 with 6-inch FHD+ display, Snapdragon 632, dual rear cameras announced
• OnePlus 6T to be exclusively available from Amazon-owned SOUQ.com in UAE
• OnePlus 6 dominates Indian premium smartphone segment yet again
• Realme will be the first to launch MediaTek Helio P70-powered smartphone globally
• LG Q3 2018 profits up 47.9% YoY as mobile losses narrow
• Infinix HOT S3X with 6.2-inch 19:9 display, dual rear cameras, 16MP AI front camera launched in India for Rs. 9999

Xiaomi Mi A2 6GB RAM, 128GB storage version launched in India for Rs. 17999 Xiaomi launched the Mi A2 Android One smartphone in India in 4GB RAM with 64GB RAM version back in August. It also launched the Red Edition last month. At the launch the company said that it will launch the 6GB RAM with 128GB storage version soon. After over three months, the company has launched the top-end version of the phone in the country. It doesn't have any other changes other than RAM and storage. Xiaomi Mi A2 specifications 5.99-inch (2160×1080 pixels) Full HD+ 2.5D curved glass display with  1500:1 Contrast ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection Octa Core Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2.2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 512 GPU 4GB LPDDR4x RAM with 64GB (eMMC 5.1) storage /  6GB LPDDR4x RAM with 128GB (eMMC 5.1) storage Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android 9.0 (Pie) Dual SIM 12MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.75 aperture, Sony IMX486 sensor, 1.25μm pixel size, EIS, 20MP secondary camera with Sony IMX376 sensor with f/1.75 aperture, 4 in 1 – 2.0um pixels 20MP front-facing camera with Sony IMX376 sensor, 4 in 1 – 2.0um pixels soft LED flash Fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor Dimensions: 158.7×75.4×7.3mm; Weight: 168g Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz / 5GHz), Bluetooth ...

WhatsApp Stickers finally starts rolling out [Update: Officially announced] Update - October 26: WhatsApp has officially announced the stickers feature through a blog post. It also said that it has added support for third-party sticker packs to allow designers and developers to create stickers for WhatsApp. To do this, it has included a set of APIs and interfaces that allow developers to build sticker apps that add stickers to WhatsApp on Android or iOS. This can be published like any other app to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, and users who download and install the app will be able to start sending those stickers right from within WhatsApp It said that Stickers will be available for Android and iPhone over the coming weeks. Earlier: After testing back in July in preview, WhatsApp has finally started rolling out Stickers for its Android app in beta from today. You can click the Emoji button next to the text box, and choose the sticker option next to the GIF to select the sticker pack. You can also check out the sticker pack or add them to favorites when someone sends a sticker. [gallery link="file" size="full" ids="267115,267113,267114"] WhatsApp currently offers 12 sticker packs that can be added by clicking the '+' from the sticker menu. ...

Sony Home Theater 5.1 HT-S700RF Review With all the new pocket friendly televisions hitting the market lately, it's been good times for budding cinephiles. The one caveat is of course the rather poor sound output from most of these televisions.  Sony's all new HT-S700 RF Home Theater aims to help you upgrade to a high-quality surround sound cinematic experience at a price that won't pinch your pocket. Does it work well? Let's find out.  Sony Home Theater HT-S700RF specifications 1000W output 5.1 channel surround sound 18cm (HT-S500RF) and 20 cm (HT-S700R) sub woofer size Rear speakers – Tall Boy speakers (HT-S700R) / Book Shelf Speakers   (HT-S500RF) Connectivity: Bluetooth v4.2, USB x 1, HDMI x 1, Optical-in x 1, Analogue Audio Input x 1 Metal Punching Grille design S-Master Amplifier Sony Music Center Mobile Application Design The Sony HT-S700RF uses a hybrid design where the front three channels are combined into a single sound bar. That leaves you two rear 'Tall Boy' speakers as well as a sub woofer. Getting all the components within a single frame proved to be exceedingly hard, so we're going to leave you Sony's product image for that. So, as we mentioned earlier, the centre, left and right channels are combined into a single, well-built soundbar. The ...

WhatsApp beta for Android gets Picture-in-Picture mode for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook videos [Update: Swipe to Reply now available for all] [Update - October 25: WhatsApp has rolled out Swipe to Reply feature for all the Android users] Earlier: WhatsApp is rolling out yet another beta update to Android which brings the version number to 2.18.301. This update brings the Picture-in-Picture mode. This mode enables users to play videos on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram right within WhatsApp. From now, when you receive a link to videos in WhatsApp, you can play the videos within the app and don't have to leave the conversation. This feature was earlier spotted in testing back in August and it did take a good two months time to enter into beta. If you remember, WhatsApp has rolled out the update to iOS back in November 2017. Post the update, when you tap the play icon, WhatsApp will show you the video in Picture in Picture mode, so you can continue to navigate in the chat while the video is playing in the background. However, when you switch to another chat, the PiP disappears which doesn't happen on iOS, so we can expect an update for Android that will fix this small issue. So, if you haven't updated WhatsApp, you can sign up for the beta to try out the feature. A couple of days back Android ...

Meizu Note 8 with 6-inch FHD+ display, Snapdragon 632, dual rear cameras announced Meizu has announced Note8, the company's latest mid-range smartphone in China, as it had promised. It has a 6-inch Full HD+ 18:9 aspect ratio display, is powered by Snapdragon 632 with 4GB of RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) with flyme OS on top, has a 12-megapixel rear camera with Dual PD auto focus,  Sony IMX362 sensor, f/1.9 aperture along with a 5-megapixel secondary camera for portraits. It has an 8-megapixel front camera with support for face unlock. It has a metal body, fingerprint sensor on the back, and packs a 3600mAh battery with support for mCharge fast charging. Meizu Note8 rumored specifications 6-inch (2160 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 aspect ratio display 1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 632 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 506 GPU 4GB RAM,  64GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Dual SIM Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Flyme OS 7 12MP rear camera with LED flash, Sony IMX362 sensor, f/1.9 aperture, Dual PD auto focus, 6P lens, secondary 5MP camera 8MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture Fingerprint sensor Dimensions: 153.64×75.56×7.95mm ; Weight: 168g 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS + GLONASS 3600mAh (typical) / 3500mAh (minimum) battery with mCharge fast charging The Meizu Note8 comes in Black, Blue, Purple and ...

OnePlus 6T to be exclusively available from Amazon-owned SOUQ.com in UAE OnePlus has announced a partnership with SOUQ.com to launch its upcoming flagship; the OnePlus 6T to consumers in the UAE, marking its entry in the Middle East. It is a well-known fact that the OnePlus 6T will be launching globally on 29 October at an event in New York City. The company says that consumers in UAE can pre-order the OnePlus 6T on SOUQ.com from 31st October. As for the OnePlus 6T, it will come with a tear-drop notch at the front along with a Screen Unlock technology, which uses an in-display fingerprint sensor. The company says that 'Screen Unlock' is all set to be the fastest in-display fingerprint sensor available in the market today. It will be powered by the Snapdragon 845 SoC with the latest Android version - Android Pie 9.0 out of the box. Following the successful partnership with Amazon in India, OnePlus is all set to team up with Amazon-owned, SOUQ.com to bring OnPlus 6T to more users in UAE. Pete Lau, CEO, and Founder, OnePlus said  We believe in the huge opportunity in the Middle East with its discerning and tech-savvy audiences. Now, we cannot wait for the people of the Souq.com customers to experience the OnePlus 6T and become a part ...

OnePlus 6 dominates Indian premium smartphone segment yet again Since its inception a few years back, OnePlus has written many success stories, out of it, one that really prevailed over the other is the success of its premium flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 6. In spite of being on sale for just 5 months, OnePlus yet again dominates the premium smartphone segment for the second successive quarter, capturing 30% of the market driven by the strong performance of its OnePlus 6. According to Counterpoint research, this is nothing but the result of positive word of mouth along with an effective social media strategy in targeting a new user base. In addition to it, the company continues to increase its points of sale by launching its offline and exclusive stores across key cities, in turn helping the brand to reach out to larger user base as well. The Counterpoint Research's most recent analysis also added that the Indian smartphone market especially the premium smartphone (>INR 30,000/US$400) shipments reached an all-time third-quarter peak during Q3 2018. This is due to various attractive offers and deals during Flipkart's 'Big Billion Day' and Amazon's 'The Great Indian Festival Sale'. At present, the top three brands, Samsung, OnePlus and Apple contributed to 83% of the overall premium market ...

Realme will be the first to launch MediaTek Helio P70-powered smartphone globally MediaTek introduced the MediaTek Helio P70 SoC yesterday. At the MediaTek event today at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2018, Realme has confirmed that it will be the first brand to launch MediaTek Helio P70-powered smartphones globally. "The next Realme will be powered by P70 and it is coming soon," said Madhav Seth, Chief Executive Officer, Realme India. Realme India CEO at the event said that Realme 1 did very well achieving 4.5 out of 5 stars as an average rating on Amazon.in. Realme 1 was powered by MediaTek Helio P60, which is the P70's predecessor, however the company went with Snapdragon 450 for the Realme 2 and the Snapdragon 660 for the Realme 2 Pro that were launched recently. The MediaTek Helio P70 is based on the same TSMC's 12nm FinFET technology as the predecessor, but this comes with multi-core APU operating at up to 525 MHz for fast and efficient edge-AI processing. The AI engine promises a 10 to 30% AI processing boost compared to the Helio P60. It has a slightly over clocked ARM Cortex-A73 2.1 GHz CPUs and four ARM Cortex-A53 2.0 GHz CPUs in an Octa-core big.LITTLE configuration as the P60. It has ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU operating at up ...

LG Q3 2018 profits up 47.9% YoY as mobile losses narrow LG Electronics has reported revenues of 15.43 trillion won (US$ 13.76 billion) for the third quarter that ended September 30, 2018, which is up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. It posted profits of 748 bilion won (US$ 667.7 million), up 45% YoY, while net profit was 497.1 billion won (US$ 436.5 million) from 336.1 billion won, up 47.9% YoY. Increase in profits is due to strong returns from the home appliances business, however mobile sector has continued to post losses. Mobile Communications sector reported a quarterly revenue of 2.04 trillion won (US$ 1.82 billion), down 1.4% QoQ and 23.8% YoY due to weak global smartphone demand and intensifying competition. The Mobile sector posted a operating loss of 146.3 billion won (US$ 130.5 million), compared to loss of 139.7 billion won a year ago, however it was less compared to 185.4 billion won (US$ 165.6 million) loss it posted in Q2 2018. "Despite the weakening demand for smartphones worldwide and increased competition, the company significantly reduced its operating deficit as a direct result of its business plan and its stronger focus on mid-range products, said LG. It expects V40 ThinQ smartphone to boost sales in the fourth quarter. In Q4, it expects the competition in ...

Infinix HOT S3X with 6.2-inch 19:9 display, dual rear cameras, 16MP AI front camera launched in India for Rs. 9999 Infinix has launched Hot S3X, the company's latest mid-range smartphone and the successor of the Hot S3 in the 'Hot S' series in India. It has a 6.2-inch HD+ 19:9 display with a notch, has a 12-megapixel rear camera along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera for portait shots and a 16-megapixel front camera with selfie flash, 4-in-1 pixel technology merges 4 pixels into one pixel, which helps in capturing more light for better quality selfies, AI beauty algorithm that scans up to 255 facial points to create a more detailed and beautiful selfie. It also comes with AI Bokeh mode that blurs the background to make the subject stand out.  It is powered by Snapdragon 430 with up 3GB RAM, runs Android 8.1 Oreo with the company's own XOS Hummingbird V3.3 on top. It has a glass back, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots and a 4000mAh battery. Infinix Hot S3X specifications 6.2-inch (720 x 1500 pixels) HD+ 2.5D curved glass display with 19:9 aspect ratio Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 ( 4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex A53) Mobile Platform with Adreno 505 GPU 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) with ...