TECH NEWS : XIAOMI Mi MiX 2S, Mi EXPRESS DELIVERY, HONOR 7X LIMITED EDITION

TECH NEWS

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S specs leaked

Two Xiaomi phones have been making rounds on the internet since the last one month. With MWC 2018 around the corner, speculations are rife that either the flagship Mi 7 or the Mi Mix 2S will get unveiled at the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry. There is no official word on this, but recent reports claim the Mi 7 won't get launched before April.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, on the other hand, is more likely to debut at the upcoming MWC in Barcelona later this month. The smartphone has already visited AnTuTu benchmark database, revealing its codename, performance score and a few other details as well.

If you recall, the Mi Mix 2's design was touted by Xiaomi as Full Screen 2.0. The new leak suggests that the Mi Mix 2 could come with a Full Screen 3.0 design. This means, it will feature a higher screen-to-body ratio compared to its predecessor. The bezels on the smartphone appear to be slimmer than ever.

As per the image, the front camera of the Mi Mix 2 will be relocated to the top-right corner. You can also notice a thin earpiece at the top bezel. The specs-sheet reveals that instead of a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, the smartphone will feature an in-display fingerprint reader.

The smartphone appears to sport a four-sided curved ceramic unibody. At the rear part, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S also has a vertically stacked dual camera setup.

Mi Mix 2S specifications

As far as the specifications go, the Mi Mix 2S is said to come equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC. The processor is likely to be teamed with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 25GB of high-speed UFS internal storage.

The specs sheet indicates that the rear dual camera setup of the Mi Mix 2S will be comprised of two 12MP image sensors and with optical zoom. Like its predecessor, the smartphone is speculated to carry support for global 4G LTE bands.

Mi Mix 2S price and availability

If existing reports are to be believed, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S will cost about 3,000 Yuan in China, which translates to around Rs. 29,770. The smartphone could go on sale in China sometime in March, after an initial showcase at MWC 2018.

Valentine's Day Limited Edition Red Honor 7X

Honor, Huawei's e-brand for digital natives, has announced that the limited edition red variant of its Honor 7X smartphone, was sold out in two minutes during open sale on Amazon.in today 9th February.

The Honor 7X limited edition red variant comes at a price tag Rs. 12,999 (for 4GB RAM 32GB storage); and a no Cost EMI offer on all major credit and debit cards. The new Red variant of Honor 7X was available to the Amazon.in customers via open sale model.

As for the specifications, the smartphone sports a 5.93-inch full-screen display with 1080 x 2160 pixel resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by 1.7GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 659 processor backed by 4GB of RAM. Storage wise the smartphone features 32GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card.

The Honor 7X comes equipped with a dual camera setup comprising of a 16MP and a 2MP sensor, while there is an 8MP front-facing camera for selfies. The smartphone runs Android 7.0 Nougat.

On the connectivity front, the smartphone offers Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB OTG, 3G and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on board include Compass Magnetometer, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor and Gyroscope.

It measures 156.50 x 75.30 x 7.60 (height x width x thickness) and weigh 165.00 grams. The smartphone draws power from a 3340mAh battery. Recently, the company also started rolling out Android 8.0 Oreo update for two of its smartphones -- Honor 8 Pro and Honor 9.

Both devices are now receiving the update in the UK and in India apparently. Few Honor 8 Pro users in India have also reported that their devices have got the update. However, the company is yet to confirm the availability of the update for Indian users.

Huawei announced its EMUI 8 that runs on Android 8 Oreo platform back in January. The in-house user interface incorporates AI-powered Real-Time Scene and Object Recognition, Smart Tips, and AI Accelerated Translator.

Google plans big for Assistant

Google will soon be integrating its digital voice Assistant to Chrome OS and Chromebooks other than the Pixelbook. According to XDA Developers, this update will disable the Assistant by default. There will an additional setting that will allow or prevent Chromebooks from listening from responding to 'Ok Google' or 'Hey Google' hotword.

This will also allow manufacturers to confine the Assistant to a button press. On the Pixelbook, users can either use voice command to activate the voice assistant or the Assistant key on the bottom left of the device.

The search giant hinted at Assistant support for Chromebooks back in October last year, when the Google Home app added Chromebooks to the list of compatible devices for a chat with the Assistant.

The Assistant integration for Chrome will further smoothen the integration between Chrome OS and Android. This also indicates that Google wants to groom Chrome OS in order to power large-screen computing.

In December last year, Google announced an initiative to start blocking ads with Chrome browser. To do so, the users have to add the ad blocking extensions on Chrome. Google wants its users to enjoy ad-free browsing experience, so the company announced that it will block ads from Chrome browser starting from February 15. The browser will block ads from the company as well.

But hold on, there's more to this. Google will only block these ads if the website does not pass its 'Better Ads Standards.' Website admins can use Google's Ad Experience Report in order to identify the ads that do match with Better Ads Standards. If the website does pass the status, then the ads will continue to appear as usual. If the status is not cleared within 30 days, then Chrome will no longer display those ads.

Xiaomi's new Express Delivery Service

Xiaomi has launched a new Express Delivery service in India for orders placed via its Mi.com website and Mi Store app. Currently only available in Bengaluru, this service will deliver orders in just one day and customers won't have to pay any extra amount. It seems like, the Chinese phone maker is committed to provide a better buying experience to its customers.

In order to avail this new service, you need to have an account in the Mi.com site. Once you have created your account, go to the 'Order Information' page where you will find the 'Express Delivery' option.

If you want to place an order from the Mi Store app, you need to select the 'Delivery Service' option after proceeding to checkout. If eligible, the 'Express Delivery Service' option will be there and you need to tap on the 'Confirm' button.

It is important note that the Express Delivery service does come with certain terms and conditions. Firstly, you need to place your orders between 9 AM to 4:30 PM and the service is valid for only one of the eligible products. Secondly, the Cash on Delivery (COD) option will not be there if you have opted for the express deliver for your orders. Finally, the service is not available on Sundays.

The products that are eligible for the Express Delivery include the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Redmi 4, Redmi Y1, Redmi 5A, Mi Max 2, and Mi A1. However, the availability for the service may vary depending on the region.

Apparently with its new Express Delivery, Xiaomi intends to take on the e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart. In any case, it remains be seen how will the company's delivery system work out.

Earlier this week, Xiaomi also introduced a new service called 'Mi Bunny' in India. It is a free WhatsApp-based service that will push instant updates about the latest Xiaomi news, product launches, latest deals, reminders for sale, weekly MIUI update notifications and reminders about the upcoming MI Fan meet ups directly to your phones.