Realme XT review: Impresses with camera, comes close to be a game changer

Realme has been on a launching spree, especially in the budget and midrange smartphone category. Last month, it launched Realme 5 and Realme 5 Pro with quad cameras. It’s new product is called Realme XT, which has has the first 64MP camera in smartphones.

Here is our review of the device:

Design: Realme has shed polycarbonate back for a glass body (Corning Gorilla Glass 5) to improve its looks and avoid fingerprints, too. The quad camera setup sits on the left and a metal frame around it highlights it well. The phone features a 6.4-inch full-screen AMOLED display with 16-megapixel camera housed under dew-drop notch. The bezels on the sides are minimal but the bottom bezel is slightly thick. There is an in-display optical fingerprint scanner.

The speaker grille, USB-C port, microphone and headphone jack sits on the bottom. The SIM tray and the volume buttons are on the left while the right of the phone has the power button. The buttons are accessible to fingers and make one-handed operation a bit easy.

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Apple does a Jio with TV+, offers content subscription at Rs 99 per month

With over 1.4 billion active installed base of devices globally and millions in India – iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, Macs, iPod touch and more – Apple has finally flexed its muscles to take on content streaming giants like Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime and Disney with aggressive pricing, free offers and all-original stories.

The announcement of a much cheaper Apple TV+ subscription than expected (Rs 99 a month in India and $4.99 in the US and other countries) immediately saw shares of Netflix, Disney and Roku tumbling down as Apple, which has nearly $210 billion cash at its disposal, has sensed the mammoth streaming opportunity that lies ahead and is going to open its coffers for creating more originals, even in regional languages.

Indians today spend 30 per cent of their phone time and over 70 per cent of mobile data on entertainment and movies are their preferred choice on smart TV and larger screens.

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Smartphone firms storm smart TV market, thanks to low data tariffs

Leading smartphone brands such as Xiaomi, Micromax, Redmi (a sub-brand Xiaomi) and OnePlus are set to disrupt the smart television space, which has so far been dominated by electronics giants Sony, LG, Samsung and Panasonic. Internet-enabled smart TVs, which are a relatively new segment in India, are expected to see a major boost on the back of lower data tariffs, which have resulted in a massive uptick in online video consumption.

While Xiaomi is already present in this space, its sub-brand Redmi, whose smartphones are quite popular in India, is expected to launch smart TVs soon. Given the value it offers for its price point in the smartphone space, Mi TVs are also likely to be available at competitive prices.

This week, OnePlus, the maker of the hugely popular OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T handsets, too announced that it would come out with smart TVs in September. The Chinese phone-maker is expected to woo consumers with smart TVs that are as aggressively priced as its feature-rich phones. Read Complete Article

Netflix unveils mobile only subscription plan in India at Rs 199 per month

Aiming to come close to its rivals like Amazon Prime and Hotstar in India, American video streaming giant Netflix on Wednesday unveiled a mobile subscription plan for India at Rs 199 per month.

The plan will enable users to view content in standard definition (SD) on one smartphone or tablet at a time.

This is Netflix’s fourth Indian plan, in addition to the existing basic, standard and premium plans which are priced between Rs 499 and Rs 799.

“Our members in India watch more on their mobiles than members any other country in the world — and they love to download our shows and films. We believe this new plan will make Netflix even more accessible and better suit people who like to watch on their smartphones and tablets — both on the go and at home,” Ajay Arora, Director, Product Innovation, Netflix, told reporters here. Read Complete Article