Mi 7 Launch Unlikely at MWC 2018, Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S Expected Instead: Reports

Xiaomi Mi 7 may not be the showstopper at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 as the company is now reported to have no plans of making any major announcements at the forthcoming convention. Apart from rumours around the Mi 7, there were some also speculations towards the Mi Max 3 that are not likely to become a reality at MWC 2018. Instead, the Chinese company is said to be preparing the Mi MIX 2S that could be showcased in Barcelona to grab some eyeballs from the upcoming flagship offerings by Samsung and Sony.

While Xiaomi has already secured its place as an exhibitor at this year's MWC, a report by AndroidHeadlines, citing a high-level employee, claimed that there are no plans to make any major announcements at the venue. This hints that the Chinese giant would take the route of HTC and LG, both of which are also not expected to bring their top-end smartphone models to Barcelona. The reason for abandoning the Mi 7 launch at this year's MWC might be to avoid Samsung and its Galaxy S9and Galaxy S9+ that are set to launch ahead of MWC 2018 on February 25. Sony is also in the headlines for reportedly preparing the launch of the Xperia XZ Pro on the same date to rival the new Galaxy family.

Nevertheless, if we believe a Weibo tipster, Xiaomi is planning to launch the Mi MIX 2S sometime around the MWC. This would help the company get some global attention as well as play a safe game against the Galaxy S9 series. There aren't any details available about the Mi MIX 2S. However, the Weibo tipster points to the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, which will certainly debut on the Mi 7.

Xiaomi last month announced its partnership with Qualcomm for choosing the Snapdragon 845 for the new Mi 7. Also, there are reports that the Xiaomi Mi 7 will come with a 6-inch bezel-less 18:9 OLED display and will feature a 3D face sensing technology similar to Apple's Face ID feature that was launched with the iPhone X last year. Xiaomi last month announced its partnership with Qualcomm for opting the Snapdragon 845 on the new Mi 7.

Mi 7 Launch Unlikely at MWC 2018, Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S Expected Instead: Reports

Xiaomi Mi 7 may not be the showstopper at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 as the company is now reported to have no plans of making any major announcements at the forthcoming convention. Apart from rumours around the Mi 7, there were some also speculations towards the Mi Max 3 that are not likely to become a reality at MWC 2018. Instead, the Chinese company is said to be preparing the Mi MIX 2S that could be showcased in Barcelona to grab some eyeballs from the upcoming flagship offerings by Samsung and Sony.

While Xiaomi has already secured its place as an exhibitor at this year's MWC, a report by AndroidHeadlines, citing a high-level employee, claimed that there are no plans to make any major announcements at the venue. This hints that the Chinese giant would take the route of HTC and LG, both of which are also not expected to bring their top-end smartphone models to Barcelona. The reason for abandoning the Mi 7 launch at this year's MWC might be to avoid Samsung and its Galaxy S9and Galaxy S9+ that are set to launch ahead of MWC 2018 on February 25. Sony is also in the headlines for reportedly preparing the launch of the Xperia XZ Pro on the same date to rival the new Galaxy family.

Nevertheless, if we believe a Weibo tipster, Xiaomi is planning to launch the Mi MIX 2S sometime around the MWC. This would help the company get some global attention as well as play a safe game against the Galaxy S9 series. There aren't any details available about the Mi MIX 2S. However, the Weibo tipster points to the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, which will certainly debut on the Mi 7.

Xiaomi last month announced its partnership with Qualcomm for choosing the Snapdragon 845 for the new Mi 7. Also, there are reports that the Xiaomi Mi 7 will come with a 6-inch bezel-less 18:9 OLED display and will feature a 3D face sensing technology similar to Apple's Face ID feature that was launched with the iPhone X last year. Xiaomi last month announced its partnership with Qualcomm for opting the Snapdragon 845 on the new Mi 7.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Camera Capabilities Spotted

About a month ahead the launch of the new flagship models at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, Samsung has revealed its new ISOCELL family that come with technologies such as Tetracell and Smart WDR to enhance image results. The new camera sensor technologies will probably enable features such as a variable aperture and slow-mo video recording that are rumoured to debut with the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ next month. Also, as some early rumours suggested, the new technologies will blend with the company's Dual Pixel sensors to uplift the overall camera experience. First in the new line is the ISOCELL Bright that uses the presence of Samsung's Tetracell technology to improve light sensitivity in low-light conditions by amalgamating four neighbouring pixels into one giant pixel. The technology was originally announced back in last October. Moreover, Samsung has integrated its Smart WDR feature that enables the sensor to capture multiple exposures in a single shot. This is apparently to beautify selfies and the shots mainly taken by the front-facing camera. The mix of Tetracell and Smart WDR will enable the new camera sensors to capture greater detail in both bright and dark environments over what has been offered by the company so far.

Airtel Rs. 149 Pack Updated With Unlimited Call Benefits on Roaming

Airtel had a busy weekend. While the telecom operator was seen to have revised its Rs. 399 prepaid recharge to increase its validity from 70 days to 84 days, it was also spotted to have upgraded its Rs. 149 prepaid pack. While formerly the pack offered unlimited calls on the Airtel to Airtel network, it now offers unlimited local, STD, and roaming calls on any network. The Airtel Rs. 149 pack's validity remains the same, as do other benefits.

Notably, the Airtel Rs. 149 prepaid pack is limited to only a few regions in India – specifically, the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana circles. The new plan was spotted by Telecom Talk, which noted it is a segmented offer and not available to all users in all of Airtel's circles. The report also notes that with the revision, the Airtel Rs. 149 has become the cheapest pack from Airtel to offer unlimited call benefits for 28 days. Other benefits of the revised Rs. 149 prepaid pack from Airtel include 1GB data 3G/ 4G data (formerly, it offered 1GB 4G data only) per 28-day validity period, and access to 100 SMSes a day.

Airtel Rs. 149 Pack Updated With Unlimited Call Benefits on Roaming

Airtel had a busy weekend. While the telecom operator was seen to have revised its Rs. 399 prepaid recharge to increase its validity from 70 days to 84 days, it was also spotted to have upgraded its Rs. 149 prepaid pack. While formerly the pack offered unlimited calls on the Airtel to Airtel network, it now offers unlimited local, STD, and roaming calls on any network. The Airtel Rs. 149 pack's validity remains the same, as do other benefits.

Notably, the Airtel Rs. 149 prepaid pack is limited to only a few regions in India - specifically, the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana circles. The new plan was spotted by Telecom Talk, which noted it is a segmented offer and not available to all users in all of Airtel's circles. The report also notes that with the revision, the Airtel Rs. 149 has become the cheapest pack from Airtel to offer unlimited call benefits for 28 days. Other benefits of the revised Rs. 149 prepaid pack from Airtel include 1GB data 3G/ 4G data (formerly, it offered 1GB 4G data only) per 28-day validity period, and access to 100 SMSes a day.

WhatsApp Business App Launched for Small Businesses; Only Available on Android for Now

The WhatsApp Business standalone app was announced by Facebook on Wednesday in an effort to make business communication with customers more streamlined for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) on the popular messaging platform. A part of its WhatsApp for Business initiative that was first officially announced back in September last year and tested with businesses like BookMyShow and MakeMyTrip in India since, the new app for SMEs is now available to download via Google Play in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the UK, and the US. The WhatsApp Business app is free, and will be rolled out across the world in the coming weeks, which is when it can be expected in India. It will be only available for Android phones at launch, but the company will eventually have a version for iPhones too.

Motorola to Open 50 Moto Hub Stores in Delhi

In the second phase, the company plans to bring the Moto Hub experience to over 100 cities.

"More than two-thirds of the smartphone customers in the country buy devices at retail stores. Moto Hub addresses this need by offering a complete platform to interact, engage and purchase," Mathur added.

The Moto Hub stores will offer the entire portfolio of Motorola devices, including online exclusives such as Moto X4 smartphones and Moto Mods -- magnetically attachable modules that transform the smartphone into a TV projector, a powerful speaker or a camera. The clip-on accessories work with its Z-series of Motorola phones.

Meizu M6s With 18:9 Display, Super mBack Button Launched: Price, Specifications, Features

Meizu M6s price

The Meizu M6s has been announced in two variants in China. The Meizu M6S price starts at CNY 999 (roughly Rs. 9,900 ) for the 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage model and goes up to CNY 1,199 (roughly Rs. 11,900) for the 3GB RAM/ 64GB storage model. The two storage variants launched in China will be made available in Champagne Gold, Matte Black, Moon Silver, and Cobalt Blue colour variants. The smartphone is already up for registrations, and goes on sale from 10am on Friday, January 19 via Lynx, Suning, and Jingdong, before being made available via the Meizu Store on Saturday, January 20, and offline retailers soon after.

Amazon Says Created Over 6,500 Temporary Jobs Ahead of Great Indian Sale

E-commerce giant Amazon India said it has created over 6,500 temporary jobs for its mega sale later this month. Amazon.in will host its Great Indian Sale from January 20 to January 24, 2018. More than 5,500 of these "seasonal positions" have been created across Amazon India's network of fulfilment centres, sortation centres and delivery stations, Amazon India Vice President (Customer Fulfilment) Akhil Saxena told PTI.

Saxena added that another 1,000 associates have been added to the company's customer service sites to cater to higher customer demand expected during the sale period.

"This enhancement will be instrumental in driving an exceptional experience during the upcoming Great Indian Sale. These thousands of associates will help in augmenting our capabilities to serve our customers better and enable us to deliver consistently high levels of customer experience," Saxena said.

These positions have been created in metros as well as cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, among others. Saxena said the company's service partner stations have also hired additional seasonal associates to enable faster deliveries during the sale.

WhatsApp now lets Android beta users directly switch between voice and video calls

hatsApp Android beta users will now be able to directly switch between video and voice calls. The Facebook-owned messaging platform has been testing this feature for over quite a few months now. By introducing this feature, WhatsApp is basically aiming to save user's time when switching between video and voice call or the other way around. The feature is currently available for WhatsApp beta for Android and we can definitely expect the feature to debut soon for all Android users around the world. The rollout timeline is still unknown though.

WhatsApp has introduced a dedicated button to switch from video to voice call or vise versa. So, how does this feature really works? Imagine you are on a voice call via WhatsApp with your friend, and suddenly decide to make a video call instead. Currently, to switch between calls, you need to cut the voice call, go back to the chat, and then separately make a video call by clicking on the dedicated video call icon. This consumes a lot of time, and WhatsApp - though late - has now realized that.

Pixel 2 Portrait Mode Available on Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel (2016) With Camera NX v7.3 App

The Portrait Mode on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones has been one of the most talked about features since launch. A new APK has now been released that lets users borrow Portrait Mode on earlier models including the original Pixel range (2016), the Nexus 5X, and the Nexus 6P. Called Camera NX V7.3, this app claims to unlock all camera features of the Pixel 2.

The new app, reported by Chromloop, is a Google Camera mod and lets users activate the Portrait Mode on their Nexus (2015) and Pixel (2016) smartphones. Based on Google Camera 5.1.016, this APK enables Pixel Detector (PD) data in the camera.experiment2017 library, which is responsible for activating Portrait Mode in the Pixel 2 range. Also, this app will replace the Lens Blur mode, in the earlier smartphones, with Portrait Mode.