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OnePlus 6 was launched in India yesterday, bringing to the country the Chinese company's latest flagship smartphone. Here, we take a look at how the OnePlus 6 compares with the OnePlus 5T, the last flagship in the company's stable. Of course, the latest flagship is more expensive than the last, with the company continuing its upward trend. The phones have several similarities, with both the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 5T bearing bezel-less displays, however, the newest flagship features an even taller display that's been offset with the use of an iPhone X-style notch. Both the smartphones also feature dual rear cameras, full-screen gestures, displays that support both the sRGB and DCI-P3 colour gamuts, apart from having similar base model configurations - 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. Of course, this article is about what's new and different on the OnePlus 6, compared with the OnePlus 5T, so let us not just dwell on the similarities.
OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 5T: Price in India differences The OnePlus 6 price in India is Rs. 34,999 for the base 6GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant and Rs. 39,999 for the 8GB RAM/ 128GB storage option. The standard 8GB RAM/ 256GB storage variant is not being launched in India, but those who want the top-end variant can go for the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Limited Edition model.
Priced in India at Rs. 44,999, it comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, sports a custom design inspired by the hit Marvel franchise, and will be available in limited quantities only. OnePlus 6 price starts at $529 (roughly Rs. 35,800) for the 6GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant, $579 (roughly Rs. 39,200) for the 8GB RAM/ 128GB storage variant, and $629 (roughly Rs. 42,600) for the 8GB RAM/ 256GB storage variant. In contrast, the OnePlus 5T price in India starts at Rs. 32,999 for the 6GB RAM/ 64GB inbuilt storage variant, and goes up to Rs. 37,999 for the 8GB RAM/ 128GB inbuilt storage variant. In the US, the OnePlus 5T 6GB RAM/ 64GB storage variant is priced at $499 (roughly Rs. 32,600), while the 8GB RAM/ 128GB storage variant is priced at $559 (roughly Rs. 36,500).
OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 5T: Design differences The biggest differences between the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 5T can be seen in the design department. While the company boasts the OnePlus 6 fits a bigger screen in a form factor that's roughly equivalent to the OnePlus 5T, there are some differences in dimensions and weight. The OnePlus measures 155.7x75.4x7.75mm and weighs 177 grams, while the OnePlus 5T measures 156.1x75x7.3mm and weighs 162 grams. This means the OnePlus 6 is shorter, wider, and thicker than the OnePlus 5T, whilst also being 15 grams heavier. While the OnePlus 6 sports an all-glass body, featuring Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides of the smartphone, the OnePlus 5T sports a metal unibody design, built with anodised aluminium - it only bears the Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the front. Despite the use of glass, OnePlus claims the OnePlus 6 has been tested to be as durable in terms of falls and shocks compared to previous generations of the company's smartphones. Of course, we'd be remiss not to mention another major design difference - the use of the iPhone X-like notch on the OnePlus 6. The company has squeezed the front camera, proximity sensor, and earpiece into the notch, whereas on the OnePlus 5T these components were present on an upper lip above the bezel-less display. This, as you would imagine, helps maximise visual real estate on the smartphone, with less space taken up on the front panel for things apart from the display.
Both smartphones feature fingerprint sensors on the rear panel, at the centre of the smartphone. Along this line, we also have to mention that the OnePlus 6 has a vertical dual rear camera setup, once again in the centre of the rear panel, whereas the OnePlus 5T bears a horizontal dual rear camera setup, placed on the top left of the smartphone. The last major design difference we'd like to talk about is the colour variants available. The OnePlus 5T was launched in Midnight Black, but made available in special edition variants such as the Lava Red and Star Wars (White). The OnePlus 6 on the other hand, has been launched in Midnight Black and Mirror Black colour variants, with a Silk White special edition variant announced for release next month.
OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 5T: Hardware differences Let's start with the cameras. As we mentioned, both the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 5T feature dual rear camera setups, and while there are some similarities, there are some major differences. First off, OnePlus has used a vertical dual camera setup on the OnePlus 6, compared to horizontal dual camera setup on the OnePlus 5T. The OnePlus 6 has a primary 16-megapixel Sony IMX519 sensor with a 1.22-micron pixel size, f/1.7 aperture, OIS, and EIS. The secondary 20-megapixel Sony IM376K sensor has a 1-micron pixel size and an f/1.7 aperture. The rear cameras are supported by a dual-LED flash module, and the company is touting Slow Motion video recording up to 480 frames per second. On the other hand, the OnePlus 5T has a 16-megapixel Sony IMX398 primary sensor with 1.12-micron pixels, and an aperture of f/1.7. The secondary camera has a 20-megapixel Sony IMX376K sensor and a telephoto lens, with a 1-micron pixel size and f/1.7 aperture. Its rear camera setup also has a dual-LED flash. The OnePlus 6 sports a 16-megapixel front camera with a Sony IMX371 sensor, 1-micron pixels, f/2.0 aperture, and EIS. It also supports Portrait Mode on the front camera, with an AI algorithm offering depth-of-field effects. The front camera on the OnePlus 5T on the other hand has a 16-megapixel Sony IMX371 sensor with 1-micron pixels and an aperture of f/2.0 - it doesn't have a Portrait Mode feature.
Another major difference between the two smartphones are the displays. While the OnePlus 6 bears a 6.28-inch full-HD+ (1080x2280 pixels) Full Optic AMOLED display with a 19:9 aspect ratio and an 84 percent screen-to-body ratio, protected by Gorilla Glass 5, the OnePlus 5T bears a 6.01-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) Full Optic AMOLED with an 18:9 aspect ratio, and Gorilla Glass 5 protection. Screen-to-body ratio for the OnePlus 5T has not been provided. The OnePlus 6 also sports the latest, greatest silicon from Qualcomm, and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC coupled with either 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, apart from the Adreno 630 GPU. The OnePlus 5T on the other hand sports a Snapdragon 835 SoC, with either 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, coupled with the Adreno 540 GPU. While both processors are 10nm based, OnePlus claims the newer processor provides an improvement in performance of up to 30 percent, and 10 percent greater power efficiency. As for the GPU, OnePlus claims a 30 percent improvement in performance compared to the last generation. The last major hardware difference between the smartphones is the inclusion of a 256GB inbuilt storage model on the OnePlus 6. The OnePlus 5T on the other hand offers a maximum of 128GB of inbuilt storage. Neither smartphone supports storage expandability via microSD card.
OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 5T: Software differences Both the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 5T run OxygenOS, the smartphone maker's custom Android ROM, with several customisation (Reading Mode, Gaming Mode) and personalisation (Themes, Accents) options over and above stock Android. While the OnePlus 5T was launched with OxygenOS 4.7, it has since been upgraded to OxygenOS 5.1 - something the OnePlus 6 will launch with out-of-the-box. Both are based on Android 8.1 Oreo. As such, there are no major discernible differences in the software features offered on both phones. The company did say however, that it has further optimised the OnePlus 6 for speed, making improvements for app launch times, the caching for frequently used apps, as well as overdraw reduction.

The OnePlus 6 is finally official, and it is all set to go on sale in India. Ahead of the launch, OnePlus has been teasing the smartphone with a tagline “The Speed You Need.” Now, Samsung has taken a subtle dig at OnePlus with its marketing campaign with a tagline “More than just speed.” But wait, Samsung is not talking about its latest Galaxy S9 flagship smartphones, instead it is highlighting last year’s Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy A8+ (2018) that was launched earlier this year. Here’s how the OnePlus 6 competes with the Galaxy S8 in terms of price, specifications and features.
Price in India and availability The OnePlus 6 price in India starts at Rs 34,999 for the base variant with 64GB storage. The other two variants with 128GB storage and 256GB storage are priced at Rs 39,999 and Rs 44,999, respectively. It will go on sale via Amazon India starting May 21 for Prime members, and open sale starting May 22. The Samsung Galaxy S8, on the other hand, is priced at Rs 45,990, but after Rs 8,000 cash back from Paytm, the effective price comes down to Rs 37,990. You can also buy the smartphone on EMI starting at Rs 5,110 for a tenure of 9 months.
Display The OnePlus 6 features a 6.28-inch full HD+ display running at a resolution of 2,280×1,080pixels, and an aspect ratio of 19:9, and notch on top. The Galaxy S8, on the other hand, comes with a 5.8-inch QHD+ display running at a resolution of 2,960×1,440pixels and aspect ratio of 18.5:9.
Chipset, RAM and storage OnePlus 6 is powered by the latest Snapdragon 845 octa-core SoC paired with 6GB of RAM with 64GB storage. Other variants with 8GB of RAM with 128GB storage and 256GB storage are also available. Sadly, there is no option to expand the storage further. Samsung’s Galaxy S8 is powered by an Exynos 8895 octa-core SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage. An option to further expand the storage using a microSD card is also available, but as it is a hybrid SIM slot, you can either use two SIM cards or one SIM and one microSD card.
Cameras Dual cameras are all rage today, and the OnePlus 6 features a dual rear camera setup. One is a 16-megapixel primary sensor, and other is a 20-megapixel sensor which helps in adding depth effects to your photos, and also enables 2X optical lossless zoom. Up front, there is a 16-megapixel camera for selfies and video calling. The Galaxy S8, on the other hand, only comes with a single rear camera of 12-megapixel resolution, and f/1.7 aperture. Up front, is an 8-megapixel auto-focus sensor for selfies and video calling.
Battery and connectivity To keep things ticking, the OnePlus 6 comes with a 3,300mAh battery with support for Dash charging. The Galaxy S8, on the other hand, comes with a 3,000mAh battery and supports both fast charging and wireless fast charging. In terms of connectivity, both smartphones feature dual SIM card slots, 4G LTE with VoLTE connectivity, GPS, and Bluetooth. For charging and data transfer, both smartphones come with a USB Type-C port.
Software, security and extras On the software front, both smartphones run on Android Oreo OS, with OnePlus putting its OxygenOS skin on top, whereas Samsung using its TouchWiz UI. In terms of security, both smartphones come with a fingerprint sensor placed at the back. And while the Galaxy S8 comes with an iris scanner, the OnePlus 6 features face unlock. The Galaxy S8 is also water and dust resistant with IP68 certification, and comes with Samsung Pay, an NFC based cardless payment solution.

Nokia X6 was launched a couple of days ago in China as HMD Global's new mid-range smartphone. The Nokia X6 joins the club of Android phones openly copying the notch first introduced by the iPhone X. Also, the manufacturer has introduced a dual camera setup in the handset that comes with AI and HDR features. It is not clear whether the Nokia X6 will arrive in India, but the company is clearly aiming at the affordable smartphone segment, which is dominated by Chinese rival Xiaomi and its latest handset, the Redmi Note 5 Pro. The key Nokia X6 specifications include a 19:9 display, an octa-core Snapdragon 636 processor, up to 6GB of RAM, a 16-megapixel front camera, Quick Charge 3.0, Android 8.1 Oreo, and a Do Not Disturb mode for gaming.
Notably, it has the same SoC as the Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1, two of the popular budget warriors in the Indian market. At this price range, the Nokia X6 will also compete with both Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1. While the Redmi Note 5 Pro is arguably dominating the market with its compelling hardware and MIUI features, the new ZenFone Max Pro M1 had arrived with a list of attractive features to take on the competition, including a dual rear camera setup, thin bezel display, metal body, a large battery, and a stock Android experience. Here, we take a look at the Nokia X6 price and specifications and compare them with those of the Redmi Note 5 Pro and Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1.
Nokia X6 vs Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 price The Nokia X6 price starts at CNY 1,299 (roughly Rs. 13,800) for the 4GB RAM, 32GB storage variant, going up to CNY 1,499 (roughly Rs. 16,000) for the 4GB RAM, 64GB storage variant, while the 6GB RAM, 64GB storage variant is priced at CNY 1,699 (roughly Rs. 18,100). The smartphone will be available on JD.com, Suning.com, and Tmall.com, with reservations opening from May 16, and the first sale on May 21. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro price in India, on the other hand, is set at Rs. 13,999 for the 4GB RAM, 64GB storage variant, and Rs. 16,999 for the 6GB RAM, 64GB storage variant.
It comes in Black, Gold, Lake Blue, and Rose Gold colour options and is available via Flipkart and Mi.com through a flash sale model. Meanwhile, the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 price in India is Rs. 10,999 for 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage variant, whereas its 4GB RAM, 64GB storage model is available at Rs. 12,999. The handset comes in Midnight Black and Grey colour options. It is available for purchase exclusively through Flipkart. There will also be a 6GB RAM variant that will be launched later, priced at Rs. 14,999.
Nokia X6 vs Redmi Note 5 Pro vs Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 specifications The dual-SIM (Nano) Nokia X6 runs Android 8.1 Oreo and sports a 5.8-inch full-HD+ (1080x2280 pixels) display with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 for protection. It is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 636 SoC, coupled with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM. The Nokia X6 bears a dual rear camera setup with a primary 16-megapixel sensor and a secondary 5-megapixel monochrome sensor, sporting an f/2.0 aperture and 1-micron pixels. On the front, it offers a 16-megapixel camera with the same f/2.0 aperture and 1-micron pixel sensor. The company is touting the presence of Bothie, AI features as well as HDR support. It also supports Face Unlock. It features 32GB of 64GB of inbuilt storage, expandable via microSD card (up to 256GB).
Connectivity options on the Nokia X6 include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB Type-C port. Sensors on board include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and proximity sensor. It bears a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel. It is powered by a 3060mAh battery that when coupled with an 18W charger can deliver up to 50 percent of charge in 30 minutes, thanks to Quick Charge 3.0. It measures 147.2x70.98x7.99mm (excluding the lens), going up to 8.59mm with the lens, and weighs 151 grams. Meanwhile, the dual-SIM (Nano) Redmi Note 5 Pro runs Android Nougat-based MIUI 9 and has a 5.99-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 2.5D curved glass. There is an octa-core Snapdragon 636 SoC, paired with Adreno 509 GPU and up to 6GB of RAM. The smartphone has a dual rear camera setup with a 12-megapixel primary sensor along with an f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor that has an f/2.0 aperture. On the front, the handset has a 20-megapixel camera sensor with a selfie LED flash. On the storage front, the Redmi Note 5 Pro has 64GB of inbuilt storage that is expandable via microSD card in a hybrid dual-SIM format.
The smartphone has 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Lastly, it packs a 4000mAh battery and measures 158.6x75.4x8.05mm. In contrast, the dual-SIM (Nano) Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 runs pure Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box and is expected to receive Android P and Android Q upgrades. The handset features a 5.99-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) IPS FullView display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. It comes with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC, paired with Adreno 509 GPU and either 3GB or 4GB RAM. The smartphone has a dual camera setup on the back that includes a 13-megapixel primary Omnivision sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel secondary depth sensing sensor. On the front, there is an 8-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture, 85.5-degree wide-angle lens. Both camera setups have an LED flash. In terms of storage, the ZenFone Max Pro M1 has up to 64GB of inbuilt storage, expandable via microSD card (up to 2TB). The smartphone has 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack, and Micro-USB. Besides, it packs a 5000mAh battery and measures 159x76x8.46mm.

Five years after the launch of the original, the second-generation Honda Amaze is here. While the first-gen found over 2,50,000 buyers, Honda will be looking to delve into an even bigger piece of the pie with the all-new Amaze. But it won't be easy in a segment as jam-packed as a Mumbai local. There's the king of the segment, the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, the facelifted Hyundai Xcent, the Aspire - which is due for a facelift this June, the Volkswagen Ameo - which recently got a smaller, 1.0-litre petrol engine, and the Tata Tigor - which is now available with an AMT for the petrol variant. Here's how the new Honda Amaze matches up with its rivals, on paper.
Dimensions The second-generation Honda Amaze is built on an all-new platform, which is ready to meet future crash safety regulations. Compared to its predecessor, the new Amaze's weight is down by almost 40kg, thanks largely to the use of high-tensile steel, which is lighter and stronger than conventional pressed steel panels. To put it into perspective, the lightest variant (E petrol) weighs just 905kg, while the heaviest variant (V diesel CVT) tips the scales at 1,039kg. While that makes it lighter than most of its rivals, it's still a shade heavier than the Dzire, which ranges from 860kg for the petrol to 990kg for the diesel.
The Amaze has grown in every dimension and is longer, wider and taller than the outgoing car, while the wheelbase is a significant 65mm longer. It's not as wide as the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, but at 2,470mm, has a longer wheelbase. That said, it's shorter than the Ford Aspire’s 2,491mm wheelbase. More importantly, at 420 litres, the new Amaze’s boot is now 20 litres more than before, making it the biggest in its class. The Tata Tigor's boot comes a close second (419 litres), with the Hyundai Xcent's not too far behind with 407 litres. The Dzire’s 378-litre boot is small in comparison but is bigger than the Aspire’s (359 litres) and the Volkswagen Ameo’s (330 litres).
Engine and gearbox The new Amaze gets a 90hp, 1.2-litre, four-cylinder petrol, and a 100hp, 1.5-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine, mated to either a five-speed manual or an automatic (CVT). Yes, for the first time ever, the Amaze will be available with a diesel-CVT combo. The diesel-CVT makes 20 percent less power compared to the manual (80hp and 160Nm), and this has been done to preserve the life of the transmission as well as ensure smoother performance. Maruti Suzuki has stuck with the tried-and-tested 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine and the 1.2-litre petrol for the Dzire. The diesel makes 75hp and 190Nm, while the petrol churns out 83hp and 113Nm of torque. Apart from the five-speed manual gearbox, both engines also get the option of AMT. In comparison, the Hyundai Xcent has a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder diesel motor that makes 75hp and 190Nm of torque. The power and torque output is similar to the Dzire’s, and even the 1.2-litre petrol motor makes similar power and torque outputs – 83hp and 114Nm.
Hyundai offers a four-speed torque converter auto gearbox with the Xcent petrol, but the diesel is only available with a five-speed manual gearbox. The Tata Tigor has the smallest diesel motor of the lot at 1.05 litres and also makes the least power at 70hp and 140Nm. Its 1.2-litre petrol motor, however, makes 85hp and 114Nm of power, which is par for the course. The Tigor is offered with a five-speed manual, and the petrol variant also gets the option of a five-speed AMT. It is the VW Ameo that has the most powerful diesel motor in this class, with its 1.5-litre unit making 110hp and 250Nm of torque. While Volkswagen has paired this motor with a five-speed manual, you can also opt for a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic (DSG) gearbox. However, its 999cc, three-cylinder petrol motor is the least powerful here with 75hp and 95Nm of torque, and is mated to only the five-speed manual. The Figo Aspire offers a choice of two petrol engines – a 1.2-litre and a 1.5-litre, developing 88hp and 112hp, respectively. While the former is mated to a five-speed manual, the latter is the only petrol-DCT (dual-clutch transmission) model in this segment. The Aspire’s diesel engine is a 1.5-litre TDCi unit making 100hp and 215Nm, mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The Aspire facelift will bring in the new 1.2-litre, 96hp Dragon petrol engine which also powers the Freestyle cross-hatch.
Fuel efficiency Speaking of fuel efficiency, Honda claims the new Amaze petrol will do 19.5km to a litre (19km for the CVT), while the diesel will return 27.4kpl, a figure that drops to 23.8kpl with the CVT. Top of the heap is the Dzire, with the petrol returning a claimed 22kpl, and the diesel returning 28.4kpl. The figures stay the same on the AMT variants. Ford claims the Aspire petrol (1.2) returns 18.16kpl, while the diesel does 25.83kpl. The Hyundai Xcent is more or less on the same level, with the petrol doing 20.14kpl and the diesel returning a pretty similar 25.4kpl. The Ameo petrol, being as small as it is, does 19.44kpl, and its most powerful diesel engine is also the least efficient here, returning 21.66kpl with the manual and 21.73kpl with the DSG.
Price With prices of the new Amaze petrol ranging between Rs 5.60 lakh and Rs 7.58 lakh, and the diesel variants priced from Rs 6.60 lakh to 8.68 lakh, the difference between the Amaze and its rivals isn't all that much. The base trims are a touch more expensive than the Xcent's and the Dzire's, but are cheaper than the Aspire's and the Ameo's, while the top-end VX variant (both petrol and diesel) undercuts the Dzire ZXi+/ZDi+ by Rs 38,000. The Tigor is by far the least expensive of the lot, with prices ranging from Rs 4.84 lakh to Rs 6.31 lakh for the petrol, and Rs 5.72 lakh to Rs 7.19 lakh for the diesel. The differences become clearer when you look at the automatic versions. The Amaze CVT is available in the S (Rs 7.4 lakh for the petrol; Rs 8.4 lakh for the diesel) and V (Rs 8 lakh for the petrol; Rs 9 lakh for the diesel) trims only.
These are about Rs 47,000 more expensive than the Dzire ZXi/ZDi, and while they undercut the ZXi+/ZDi+, they're not as well-equipped. The only other diesel-automatic option is the Ameo, which offers a more sophisticated dual-clutch gearbox, but depending on the variant, is Rs 30,000 to Rs 1 lakh more expensive than the Amaze V CVT. At Rs 6.48 lakh, the Tigor AMT is once again the most affordable automatic compact sedan there is. Do bear in mind that the Amaze's prices are introductory, and are likely to go up after the first 20,000 units are sold (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi). These are the facts. How different these cars are from each other and what they're truly capable of is what we'll find out when we get the whole bunch together, soon.

Reliance Jio has announced a new postpaid plan starting at Rs 199. The biggest highlight of the plan are international calls starting at 50 paise/minute. Wonder how the Jio's new postpaid plan compares to that of plans from Airtel, Vodafone and Idea? Here we have compared Jio's all-new Rs 199 plan with similar postpaid plans from the company's three rivals.
1. Relaince Jio Rs 199 postpaid plan: 25GB 4G data; unlimited local, STD and national roaming calls; ISD calls starting at 50 paise/per minute (activation free)
2. Airtel Rs 399 postpaid plan: 20GB 4G data; unlimited local, STD and national roaming calls; ISD calls starting at Rs 50/per minute (after paying Rs 149 per month for international roaming activation fee)
3. Vodafone Rs 399 postpaid plan: 20GB 4G data; unlimited local, STD and national roaming calls; ISD calls starting at Rs 8/per minute (after paying Rs 149 per month for international roaming activation fee)
4. Idea Rs 389 postpaid plan: 20GB 4G data; unlimited local, STD and national calls (roaming calls chargeable); ISD calls can be made after a security deposit of Rs 3000 (Rs 1000 for ISD calls + Rs 2000 international roaming) after paying Rs 149 per month for international roaming activation fee

There’s a captivating race on in the word of technology at the moment. Google and Amazon are going all out to get customers in becoming ‘smart’ by purchasing their Google Home and Amazon Echo smart speakers respectively. While Amazon has had an edge in terms of first mover advantage, Google is playing catch up. We used the Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers to see how they stack up against each other. Here’s the comparison between the two smart speakers
Setting up process: Both are equally good A steady Wi-Fi connection and a smartphone are the pre-requisites for using either of the devices. Without either of the two both the Amazon Echo and Google Home are worthless. For Google Home, you need to download the Home app whereas for Amazon Echo, you need to download the Alexa app. The setup process is nearly the same: connect the phone to the Echo or Home through Wi-Fi. You will then need to follow the simple steps to setup the device. Both devices are easy to set up but in our experience the Echo took considerably longer to set up than the Google Home.
Surprisingly, we did try the Amazon Echo Spot – the newest speaker by Amazon – and it connected in a jiffy compared to the Echo. Some points to remember: for Google Home, you need to be within four feet of the Wi-Fi router to get it up and running. No such thing is required for the Amazon Echo. The Google Home works only when you use two wakeup commands, “Ok, Google” and “Hey, Google”. For the Echo, you can say Alexa, Amazon, Echo and even Computer to get it going.
Design and controls: Amazon Echo is better In terms of design, both devices have gone minimalistic and kept thing simple. While the Google Home has a peculiar shape and comes in white colour – though the bottom fabric can be changed – the Echo has a cylindrical shape. The Google Home has capacitive touch buttons with LED lights in ‘Google’ colours – looks classy for sure. The Amazon Echo is more ‘flashy’ as it has LED lights that are powered every time you wake the device. On top of the Echo, there are the volume buttons, microphone button and another button for other commands. Google has kept it simpler – and better – as there are no buttons on the top of the device. Just tap the surface of the Google Home to increase or decrease volume.
There’s a button switch off the microphone which is on the rear side of the Google Home. The Echo is definitely heavier than the Google Home but that’s moot point as neither of the devices work without being connected to a power socket. So, portability isn’t an option with these smart speakers. Both Amazon Echo and Google Home can be connected to other speakers through Bluetooth. The Amazon Echo gives you an additional option of connecting another device through a 3.5-mm port which is lacking in Google Home.
Sound quality and audio performance: Google Home is better In terms of sound quality and audio performance is hands, the Echo has a slight edge over Google Home as it is certainly louder. Even when it comes to voice recognition, the Echo is better equipped as it has seven far-field microphones inside it for better recognition. The Google Home’s audio performance is much better. The voice texture is good as is the bass response when compared to the Echo. The Echo is certainly louder but lacks the finesse and almost every song you play sounds pretty same as it doesn’t manage instrument separation very well. As far as playing music is concerned, both devices support third-party apps such as Gaana and Saavn. While Amazon has a treasure trove of music on its Amazon Music, Google has the option of Google Play Music.
Smart assistants: Google Home has a slight edge It’s a bit tricky to judge these devices on the performance of their AI-based voice assistants. We asked the same questions to Amazon Echo and Google Home and got a mixed bag of responses. For example, we asked the Amazon Echo “Alexa, remind me to watch the Manchester United match at 9pm”. At 8.56, there was a reminder that buzzed on the Echo. With Google Home, we gave the same command and got a notification reminder on the smartphone also. Both devices are equally capable of setting alarms and answering basic questions, telling jokes (they aren’t funny ones)play music on command. Having said that, the Echo does a better job of playing regional music as it understands other languages better than Google Home – as of now.
Google Home has a big advantage that it has the backing of Google’s powerful ecosystem, so its Assistant is certainly smarter. Having said that, if you are deep into Amazon’s shopping, music and Prime – then the Echo has the edge. Google Home also has the added advantage of Chromecast as you can ask it to play videos on YouTube or stream content from Netflix. The Echo, surprisingly, doesn’t have support for its Fire Stick at the moment.
Amazon Echo vs Google Home: Both are good We tried certain smart devices – like the Philips Hue bulb --with the Echo and Home and both worked smoothly. It’s fun to ask the speakers to dim the light or brighten it. While the ecosystem of smart products is still very limited, do keep in mind that these devices cost a lot. Their functionality is not in doubt and both the Echo and Home do a fine job of managing it.
Which is the better choice? Depends on what you prefer Like most devices, both the Amazon Echo and Google Home have their share of pros and cons. Google Home has an edge over Echo in terms of its bigger and powerful ecosystem. Not to forget, that one is more invested in Google than one is Amazon – at least at the moment. If you’re an online shopper and Amazon is your go to website, then the Echo is the perfect buy as it really eases the whole process. As standalone music devices, the Amazon Echo is louder than the Google Home.
Amazon Echo’s voice recognition is also better than the Google Home but in terms of overall audio performance, the latter offer a superior experience. At the moment, Amazon might have had a head start on Google but simply for the fact that one is more reliant on the search giant, gives the Home a slight edge. Having said that, the Echo is a powerful device that won’t let you down either. In the end, the choice will come down to what appeals most as both devices are reliable and powerful.

Huawei P20 Pro, the flagship smartphone with a Leica-branded triple-camera setup, has been officially launched in India. The smartphone has been launched exclusively on Amazon India and will go on its first sale on May 3. The Huawei P20 Pro is priced at Rs 64,999 and comes only in one storage variant. Huawei is launching its P-series after a gap of more than a year. It launched its P9 flagship in India but decided against launching the P10 and P10 Plus. This year, however, Huawei is bringing P20 Lite and P20 Pro to the Indian market and has decided against launching the standard P20. For anybody interested in smartphones, it is easy to say that Huawei P20 Pro is one of the most interesting smartphones in the recent times. Huawei P20 Pro’s major highlight is the triple-camera system with Leica-branded lens but however, the Chinese smartphone maker has also taken deep care to make its flagship outstanding in terms of design and overall aesthetics. One of the key element of that attention to detail is the new twilight color which changes its hue as soon as you tilt it around a light source. It is unlike anything else in the market but it also comes with very strong competition. The Huawei P20 Pro’s direct competitors in India would be the Galaxy S9+ and Apple iPhone X.
Huawei P20 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X: Design and Display This is probably the most difficult area to compare these three devices since all of them have their own distinct styling. Let’s start with the P20 Pro; Huawei has used a nice mix of metal and glass with a texture on its back that makes it stand out when stacked against other premium smartphones. However, the Galaxy S9+ with its fused metal and glass casing and curved edge display is a killer in terms of looks. Then there is iPhone X, which is understated at first but uses stainless casing, Gorilla Glass back and edge-to-edge display to stay worthy of that premium branding. However, when it comes to display, Huawei falls miserably short of matching Samsung and Apple.
The Galaxy S9+ features a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED display with a Quad HD+ resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels and 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The iPhone X features a 5.8-inch Super Retina OLED display with an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The Huawei P20 Pro, on the other hand, features a 6-inch AMOLED display with a resolution 2280 x 1080 pixels and aspect ratio of 18.7:9. It just doesn’t cut in areas like saturation and color reproduction. The Galaxy S9+ and iPhone X have far brighter and color accurate display panels. It is also worth noting that iPhone X and P20 Pro have a notch or cut-out at the top of the display, which may or may not beneficial.
Huawei P20 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X: Specifications Since these three smartphones are flagship, they definitely come with flagship-grade specifications as well and all three devices use their own indigenously developed mobile processors. The Huawei P20 Pro uses company’s own Kirin 970 chipset with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The octa-core chipset also comes with a dedicated neural processing unit for executing AI applications like voice assistant and object recognition. Huawei is offering the smartphone in only one storage option. Samsung has also equipped its Galaxy S9+ with top-shelf specifications. Under the hood, it gets an octa-core Exynos 9810 SoC with some support for machine learning and neural processing. It comes with 6GB RAM as standard but can be purchased with option for either 64GB or 128GB or 256GB of storage.
Samsung is trying to cover a wide range of audience here and with a price difference of just Rs 4,000 between these storage variants, the South Korean company seems to have properly sorted its product offering. Apple iPhone X is undoubtedly the most powerful smartphone ever made. In synthetic benchmarks, the iPhone X is far, far ahead of Galaxy S9+ and Huawei P20 Pro. It is as powerful as some of the mainstream computer chipsets right now. On the hardware side, it has just 3GB of RAM and option for either 64GB or 256GB of storage but Apple has optimized its iOS mobile operating system to such an extent that the iPhone X will never slow down that easily. On the contrary, Huawei P20 Pro runs Android 8.1 Oreo with its own EMUI on top of it. The Galaxy S9+ runs Android 8.0 Oreo layered with Samsung experience. Over the long term, this could prove to be the biggest disappointment for these two devices since neither Samsung nor Huawei have a very proven record in the software department and are known to offer duplicate apps and bloatware.
Huawei P20 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X: Cameras That brings us to cameras, an area that Huawei P20 Pro owns. The P20 Pro comes with not one, not two but three cameras at the back. The triple-camera setup and the selfie camera combined have a resolution of 92-megapixels, if that sounds overkill then it is. The triple camera setup is comprised of a primary 40-megapixel image sensor, a secondary 8-megapixel telephoto sensor and third 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. The P20 Pro also uses larger sensors than what we have seen on smartphones so far. In terms of camera results, the P20 Pro holds its own ground as one of the best smartphone cameras but it is hard to decide whether it is any better than Samsung or Google or Apple’s offering. One of the highlight of the P20 Pro is night mode where the camera automatically switches to 4-second long exposure and with bigger sensor, the result tends to be better than rivals. But Huawei also tends to do over process its image compared to Samsung or Apple.
The Galaxy S9+ features a dual 12-megapixel rear-camera system with its primary 12-megapixel sensor supporting mechanical aperture. With the Galaxy S9+, users can manually switch between wider f/1.5 and narrower f/2.4 aperture. In low-light, Samsung tends to absorb more light due to its wide aperture but the daylight pictures are where it shines with crisp details and not a lot of software processing. Apple has the most neutral stance of the pack here. The iPhone X also features dual 12-megapixel camera setup and captures natural looking photos most of the time. It is, however, not the best when it comes to dynamic range. If one area where iPhone X outshines others then it would be in 4K video recording at 60 frames per second. The Galaxy S9+ and Huawei P20 Pro offer a unique super slow-motion video recording at 720p resolution. You won’t go wrong with either of the three devices but Huawei does better of the pack here since it has more sensors and new software features.
Huawei P20 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S9+ vs Apple iPhone X: Pricing Huawei P20 Pro is priced at Rs 64,999, which makes it competitive against Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Apple iPhone X. The Galaxy S9+ starts at Rs 64,900 while the iPhone X seems too expensive for a starting price of Rs 95,390. Huawei has done well with the pricing and its feature set does help it come out on top of Galaxy S9+ and iPhone X. However, it lacks the familiarity of these two brands, and it might be hard to convince a lot of people to spend Rs 65,000 on a Huawei smartphone.

Motorola has finally taken wraps off its latest Moto E5 series of smartphones. Along with the Moto G6 series, the Lenovo-owned company unveiled the Moto E5, Moto E5 Plus, and Moto E5 Play. While the lineup is more about budget pricing and less about raw specifications, the Moto E5's features are positioned right in the middle of the other two handsets. The Moto E5 is expected to be released in the next few months, and the key features include Android 8.0 Oreo, fingerprint scanner, water-repellent coating, LED flash for selfie camera, and 18:9 display.
The Moto E5 will launch in India later this year as an entry-level smartphone, a segment that is already flooded with options from major OEMs like Xiaomi and Nokia-licensee HMD Global. Xiaomi's two smartphones - Redmi Y1 and Redmi Note 5 - are two great options in the segment. While the Redmi Note 5 comes with a 5.99-inch display and 4GB of RAM, the Redmi Y1 a youth-centric selfie smartphone. Nokia 5 is also a decent offering from the Finnish company, and it comes in 2GB and 3GB variants. We take a look at the Moto E5 price and specifications and compare them with those of the Redmi Note 5, Nokia 5, and Redmi Y1 to help you choose the best smartphone.
Moto E5 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 vs Nokia 5 vs Redmi Y1 prices compared The Moto E5 will be rolled out over the coming months in various countries in the Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America with a starting MSRP of EUR 149 (roughly Rs. 12,100). Notably, the release date and prices of the Moto E5 lineup with respect to India has not been disclosed yet. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 price in India begins at Rs. 9,999 for the 3GB RAM, 32GB storage variant and goes up to Rs. 11,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant.
The Nokia 5, on the other hand, was launched in India priced at Rs. 12,499. Interestingly, the Nokia 5 3GB RAM variant had recently received a price cut, going down from Rs. 13,499 to Rs. 12,499. Coming to the Xiaomi Redmi Y1, the smartphone's price in India starts at Rs. 8,999 for the 32GB storage and 3GB RAM variant, going up to Rs. 10,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant.
Moto E5 vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 vs Nokia 5 vs Redmi Y1 specifications compared Moto E5 comes in dual-SIM and single-SIM (Nano) variants and runs stock Android 8.0 Oreo. The smartphone sports a 5.7-inch HD+ (720x1440 pixels) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. It is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Snapdragon 425 SoC paired with 2GB of RAM. In terms of optics, the Moto E5 has a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and LED flash and on the front, is a 5-megapixel selfie camera. Also, the smartphone is equipped with 16GB of inbuilt storage, and microSD support up to 128GB. Connectivity options in the Moto E5 include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC (in single SIM variant only), and 3.5mm audio jack. Sensors onboard are an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, and proximity sensor. It is fuelled by a 4000mAh battery. The smartphone measures 154.4x72.2x8.95mm, weighs 174 grams and will be available in Flash Gray and Fine Gold colour models. Meanwhile, the dual-SIM (Nano) Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 runs Android 7.0. The smartphone comes with a 5.99-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080x2160 pixels.
It is powered by 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, coupled with 4GB of RAM. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 packs a 12-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The phone is equipped with 64GB of inbuilt storage that can be expanded via microSD card. Connectivity options on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headphone jack, and Micro-USB. It is powered by a 4000mAh battery, with 5V/2A fast charging. The power adapter it ships with has been designed for India, said to withstand power surges common in the country. It measures 158.5x75.45x8.05mm and weighs 180 grams.
Sensors on the Redmi Note 5 include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, magnetometer, and proximity sensor. It is powered by a 4000mAh non-removable battery. When it comes to the Nokia 5, the dual-SIM (Nano) smartphone runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat and is upgradable to Android Oreo. It sports a 5.2-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS LCD panel with 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass protection. Further, it is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC, coupled with 2GB or 3GB of RAM. The smartphone sports a 13-megapixel rear camera sensor with f/2.0 aperture, PDAF lens and dual-tone flash. At the front, it has an 8-megapixel autofocus camera sensor with an f/2.0 aperture, 84-degree field-of-view lens. The smartphone has 16GB inbuilt storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). Connectivity options on the Nokia 5 include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.1, FM radio with RDS, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB with OTG, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Sensors on board include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and proximity sensor. It is powered by a 3000mAh battery that's non-removable, and measures 149.7x72.5x8.05mm excluding the camera bump - which takes it up to 8.55mm. Finally, the dual-SIM (Nano) Redmi Y1 runs the MIUI 9 software version, based on Android Nougat. It sports a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display, and is powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 435 SoC, coupled with 3GB of RAM. The smartphone bears a 13-megapixel camera with PDAF and dual-LED flash. There is 32GB of inbuilt storage on the Xiaomi Redmi Y1, which is expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB) with its own dedicated card slot. It has standard connectivity options, including 4G VoLTE. The handset is powered by a 3080mAh battery. It weighs 153 grams, and measures 153x76.2x7.7mm.

Last week, I penned a quick opinion piece about how embarrassing it is that in 2018, Android vendors are still willing to copy Apple’s iPhone designs so blatantly. It was titled “Good lord, Android phone makers, please just stop,” and it was a plea to Android phone makers to, you know, please just stop.
It’s fine to take cues from rivals on occasion, but to shamelessly clone each new design borders on pathetic. Many of these companies have huge R&D budgets, so why aren’t they researching and developing? That opinion piece triggered Android fanboys, and I got a ton of teary-eyed emails soon after it ran.
Some of them complained that Apple is the copycat, and it always has been. Fair enough, Apple copies plenty of things from rivals. Other emails whined that Essential released a phone with a notch before Apple, which is also true. Of course, even if we play make-believe and pretend that Apple hadn’t finalized the iPhone X’s design long before Essential’s PH-1 was announced, one need only look at a single picture to see two important things.
Not only is Apple’s design is nothing like Essential’s, but it’s beyond apparent that Android phone makers are copying Apple, not the Essential phone. While we’re on the subject of companies that copy Apple’s designs, two pieces of news on Thursday morning prompted me to revisit this tiresome topic. First, news comes from reliable leaker Evan Blass that the LG G7 is indeed a real phone that will be released this year. Blass had reported earlier that the G7 would never see the light of day, but it appears as though that isn’t the case.
The LG G7, as you’ll recall, is a pitiful iPhone clone. It has almost the same design as the iPhone X, but it’s not exactly the same. LG surely wanted it to be exactly the same, but it couldn’t pull off the brilliant internal design that allows Apple to extend the display almost all the way to the bottom of the phone. This, of course, is half the reason the notch exists on the iPhone X — it allows the bezel surrounding the phone’s screen to be uniform on the sides, the bottom, and in the top corners.
This isn’t the case on the LG G7. The phone still has a big “chin” on the bottom, so the notch at the top of the screen isn’t at all about maintaining a consistent bezel width. Nope, it’s about copying Apple, plain and simple. Next up, we have the newly announced Vivo V9.
We’ll never see it in the United States, thankfully, but it’s still worth mentioning because it’s so damn hilarious. So, the Vivo V9 is a pretty standard upper mid-range Android phone in terms of specs (and in terms of design, since almost every notable Android phone is an iPhone clone this year).
It features a Snapdragon 626 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 6.3-inch display, and Android 8.1 Oreo. It also has a notch just like the iPhone X, and it’s once again pointless just like the notch on the LG G7, since the phone still has a “chin” at the bottom.
For good measure, he V9 also blatantly copied the iPhone X’s vertically oriented dual-lens rear camera. Sure, why not? But here’s the kicker. Vivo wasn’t content merely copying the iPhone X’s design… Do these companies have no shame? Do they have any pride at all? I’m sure I’ll get plenty more emails once this post is published, but man oh man this is getting more tiresome by the day. I’ve been covering consumer tech for 15 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this.
Rival companies have followed Apple’s lead in the smartphone market ever since the iPhone was first introduced in 2007. But the extent to which Apple is now being copied, and the brazenness with which dozens of Android phone makers are cloning Apple’s iPhone, is completely unprecedented. The best part? We’ll get to watch all of these notched displays start to vanish — coincidentally, of course — as soon as Apple ditches the current iPhone X design, which could happen as soon as next year.

Chinese smartphone maker recently launched the successor of its Redmi Note 4 smartphone in India. Named as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, the device is the first in the Note series to come with a bezel-less display and selfie flash. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor and packs a 4000 mAh battery. The device is expected to a give tough competition to the Nokia 5 and the recently launched Honor 7X because of its competitive pricing and specifications. Wonder how the devices will square up against each other. We have compared all the three of them to help you decide.
Display: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Honor 7X come with bezel-less display (18:9 ratio) The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 comes with a bezel-less display. This is the first time that the company has introduced a full screen display in this price segment. The device sports a 5.99-inch full HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio and 2160x1080 pixel resolution. The display is also protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass. The Nokia 5, on the other hand, sports a 5.3-inch HD display with 720x1280 pixel resolution. This one also comes with a coating of Corning Gorilla Glass on top.
The recently-launched Honor 7X also features a full screen display. The smartphone comes with a 5.93-inch full HD+ bezel less display with 2160x1080 pixel resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. This one is also covered with Corning Gorilla Glass. Although both Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Honor 7X comes with full screen display but the Redmi Note 5’s display is slightly bigger so it is ahead of the other two devices.
Processor: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 has an edge here as it runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is powered by the same processor as its predecessor. The handset packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. It is an efficient processor and it also offers a lag free performance.
The Nokia 5 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor which is found in many budget smartphones. However, it is a less powerful processor when compared to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625. The Honor 7X is powered by the company’s own Kirin chipset like the other Honor devices. The Honor 7X comes with Kirin 659 processor.
Operating system: All the three run on Android 7.0 Nougat Despite being the first launch of the year from Xiaomi, the Redmi Note 5 runs Android 7.0 Nougat operating system topped with the MIUI 9 of the company. It comes with all the standard Xiaomi apps such as Mi remote, Anti-virus and others.
The Nokia 5 also came with Android 7.0 Nougat operating system out-of-the-box. The device gives stock Android experience and will also receive Android 8.0 Oreo update as announced by the company earlier. The Honor 7X also runs Android 7.0 Nougat operating system topped with the EMUI 8.0 UI layer of the company. It is not clear that whether the device will receive an OS update or not. So, it seems that Nokia 5 is ahead of the other two devices as it will surely receive Android 8.0 Oreo update.
Camera: Honor 7X is the only one that sports dual rear camera setup Xiaomi has also not innovated much in terms of the camera capabilities of the Redmi Note 5. The smartphone comes with the same 12MP rear camera with dual LED flash and a 5MP front shooter with selfie light for capturing low light selfies.
The Nokia 5 boasts of a 13MP rear camera with dual tone LED flash and an 8MP front shooter for selfies. The camera is also capable of recording HD videos. The Honor 7X, on the other hand, comes with a dual rear camera setup. The device sports a 16MP primary sensor and a 2MP secondary shooter at the rear of the device accompanied with LED flash. The front houses an 8MP selfie snapper. The Honor 7X is the clear winner in this segment as the other two devices offer single rear camera.
RAM and Storage: Nokia 5 lags here as it comes with 2GB RAM, the other boast of 3GB RAM The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 comes in two variants -- 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. Users can also add a microSD card of up to 128GB to increase the storage. The Nokia 5 comes in 2GB RAM and 16GB storage which is less as compared to the Redmi Note 5. However, users can expand the storage up to 256GB by adding a microSD card. The Honor 7X also comes in two storage versions -- 32GB and 64GB.
Both the versions offer 4GB of RAM. The device also supports microSD card of up to 256GB. The Honor 7X is also excels in this segment as it offers a microSD card of higher value.
Battery: Redmi Note 5 is the winner here as it packs 4,000 mAh battery The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 packs a 4000mAh battery which is a bit less powerful as compared to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. Despite that the handset is capable of delivering a days battery backup on single charge. The Nokia 5 is backed by a 3000mAh battery which is smaller in capacity as compared with the Redmi Note 5. Lastly, Honor 7X houses a 3340mAh battery, which is again smaller as compared with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5. The Redmi Note 5 is the winner in this category as it offers highest battery capacity.
Price The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 comes with starting price tag of Rs 9,999 and the Honor 7X comes with a starting price tag of Rs 12,999. On the other hand, the Nokia 5 is priced at Rs 11,750.

Xiaomi has finally launched its much-awaited Redmi Note 5 smartphone in India. Successor to the last year launched Redmi Note 4, the device comes with a starting price tag of Rs 9,999. Going by the price the device will compete against the Moto G5 Plus and the recently launched Honor 9 Lite. Wonder how the device will excel against it competitors.? We bring you a spec-by-spec comparison of all the three smartphones.
Display Taking the bezel-less display trend ahead, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 also comes with a full screen display. The smartphone sports a 5.99-inch full HD+ display with 1080x1260 pixel resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. The display is also protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla glass. The Honor 9 Lite also comes with a full screen display with 18:9 aspect ratio.
The device features a 5.65-inch full HD+ display with 1080x1260 pixel resolution. The smartphone is made scratch resistant with a coating of Corning Gorilla glass. The Moto G5 Plus sports a 5.2-inch full HD display with 1080x1920 pixel resolution. This one is not a full screen display but it definitely comes with a coating of Corning Gorilla Glass 3. In the display segment both Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and the Honor 9 Lite excels.
Processor The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is powered by the same processor as its predecessor Redmi Note 4. The handset packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, which promises to offer 14 hours of video playback, 27 hours of audio and 8 hours of continuous gaming. The Honor 9 Lite is powered by the company’s own octa-core Kirin 659 processor.
The company claims that the processor is capable of running graphic rich games with ease. The Moto G5 Plus is also backed by the same processor as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5. The device runs Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. So it seems that all the three devices give tough competition to each other in this segment.
Operating system The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 runs Android 7.0 Nougat operating system topped with the MIUI 9. The device comes with all the standard Xiaomi apps. The company has also revealed that they are working on the Android Oreo update but has not revealed any timeline of the roll out. The Honor 9 Lite runs Android 8.0 Oreo operating system out-of-the-box. The company has also topped it with its EMUI 8.0 UI layer.
It comes equipped with latest AI features and is also optimised for better user experience. The Moto G5 Plus also runs Android 7.0 Nougat operating system out-of-the-box. The smartphone offers stock Android experience and comes with no UI skin. The company has also revealed that the smartphone will receive an Android Oreo update by April this year. The Honor 9 Lite comes as winner in this segment as it is already offering what the other will.
Camera The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 boasts of a 12MP rear camera with LED flash and aperture f/2.2. The company claims that the smartphone offers all the standard shooting modes and options. On the front, the handset packs a 5MP shooter with LED selfie light. The company claims that users will be able to capture good selfies even in low light with the smartphone. The Honor 9 Lite comes with a quad camera setup.
The smartphone comes with a 13MP and 2MP camera setup with LED flash on both front and rear end. The camera is capable of capturing images with bokeh effect and also supports gesture control. Moto G5 Plus also offers the same camera setup as the Redmi Note 5. It comes with a 12MP rear camera and 5MP front shooter for selfies. This one also offers all the standard shooting options. So, we can see that the Honor 9 Lite excels in this department as well.
RAM and storage The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 comes in two variants -- 3GB RAM and 32GB storage and 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. The Honor 9 Lite also comes in 3GB RAM and 4GB RAM with 32GB and 64GB inbuilt storage respectively. The Moto G5 Plus also comes in two version -- 3GB RAM and 32GB storage and 4GB RAM and 64GB storage.
Battery Just like its predecessor, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 is also backed by a 4,000 mAh battery, which promises to easily last a day on single charge. The Honor 9 Lite packs a 3,000 mAh battery. The company claims that they have incorporated fifth generation battery saver technology in the smartphone which claims to offer a days backup in single charge.
The Moto G5 Plus also houses a 3,000 mAh battery with quick charge support. The device also promises to last you a day on single charge. So, in terms of battery the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 beats the other two.
Price The Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 comes with a starting price tag of Rs 9,999. On the other hand, the Honor 9 Lite and the Moto G5 Plus comes with a starting price of Rs 10,999 and 10,999 respectively.

WhatsApp this week launched a new payments service that officially makes it more than just your regular messaging platform. The WhatsApp Payments feature, which allows users to send and receive money, has started rolling out to Android users and India is among the first markets to get the new service. In India, WhatsApp Payments will be directly competing against the likes of Paytm, Mobikwik and Google Tez.
Today, Paytm and Mobikwik are established players in the e-wallets game as they offer a lot more services than simply sending and receiving money. This means that they are not likely to be as affected by WhatsApp Payments as the more recent entrants like Google Tez, which was launched in India just a few months ago in September. Tez being a fairly new payments app in India will see some challenge from WhatsApp in more ways than one.
Both WhatsApp Payments and Google Tez are UPI-based and both the companies have partnered with several Indian banks such as Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI and State Bank of India among others that support UPI. For the uninitiated, UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is a real-time payments system that enables digital transactions between banks without the need to input NFSC code and other bank account details. All users need to do is make sure is that their mobile number is linked to their bank account(s).
-- The biggest reason WhatsApp already wins this competition before it even gets going is thanks to the numbers. WhatsApp being the most popular messaging platform today enjoys over 200 million monthly active users, while Tez is slowly growing with 12 million users as of December 2017. While WhatsApp Payments is still rolling out and is yet to be made available for iOS users, we're still seeing a substantial number of users for the service compared to Tez. -- Pretty much everyone with a smartphone in India is on WhatsApp as it is the defacto messaging service.
This makes it terrifically simple to transfer or receive money between friends and family as they can perform the action from within the messaging service without the need to download another app. Tez, on the other hand, requires both the sender and receiver to download the app to enable payment using Cash Mode or via mobile number. A Tez user can also send money to a non-Tez user but that will require the other person's bank account details which makes it a slightly tedious process.
Google Tez is also limited in that it does not come with messenger feature. WhatsApp being a messenger service first, makes it easier for users to communicate with each other and transfer money on-the-go. Essentially, WhatsApp is a more holistic service as it allows for messaging and digital payments. -- WhatsApp's overall popularity gives it a boost over new players like Google Tez that is still new and still working to establish a user base.
As far as convenience is concerned, people are likely to prefer WhatsApp to send and receive money rather than download a separate app to do so. -- That being said, WhatsApp Payments also comes with its own limitations. As of now, the service only allows peer-to-peer transactions and nothing more. Meanwhile, services like Google Tez, Paytm and Mobikwik allow users to pay bills and enable transactions with merchants and businesses as well.
For users who rely more on digital transactions for various purposes, WhatsApp Payments will not be enough. -- The other big question mark is with regards to fraudulent transactions on WhatsApp. The messaging service has been a haven for spam letters and the payments feature could now enable fraudulent transactions by duping uninformed users. Google Tez, on the other hand, is less likely to cause such cases as it doesn't come with a messenger.
On the face of it, WhatsApp's peer-to-peer payments service already has the numbers and convenience factor going for it which gives it a leg up over services like Google Tez. However, without features like bill payment, WhatsApp Payments is limited. If one goes deeper one can see that WhatsApp Payments just adds to a plethora of digital payments services currently existing in India which may just add to the saturation of it all. It will be interesting to see how Tez grows amidst existing competition like Paytm and new challengers like WhatsApp Payments.

Last week Reliance Jio announced an all-new Rs. 49/- plan as a part of its Republic Day offer. The plan offers unlimited data with 1GB of high-speed data and unlimited call benefits for 28 days at the lowest rate in India (as of February 1, 2018).
Alongside the Rs. 49/- plan, the company also launched affordable data add-ons at Rs. 11/-, Rs. 21/-, Rs. 5/-1 and Rs. 101/- for Jio Phone users. Jio had announced its 4G VoLTE-enabled Jio Phone last year. It is available at an effective price of Rs. 0/-.
Jio’s Predatory Rs 49 Plan The launch of Jio’s new Rs 49 plan came as a big blow for Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. Now, these telecom operators will be releasing similar plans to compete with Jio’s low-cost plan. As per industry sources, these telecom operators are planning to unveil some attractively priced tariff plans with mobile data bundled with voice calling, exclusively for feature phone users. The feature phone market primarily consists of voice on 2G, which accounts for around 65-70% of India’s billion-plus mobile user base and 50% of telecom sector revenues. The feature phone segment plays a critical role for India’s older operators Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, BSNL and others, who want to prevent users migrating to the newer entrant, Jio.
Other Telecom Operators Are Worried The Jio’s Rs. 49 per month plan offers the sector’s lowest price plan possible with free voice-calling for life and unlimited data, which includes 1GB of high-speed data, over a period of 28 days. The new plan could help the newest mobile carrier to eat into the feature phone market of incumbents who currently dominate the 2G market and rural markets unless the companies come up with similar aggressive plans.
Already the Jio Phone has captured 27% of the feature phone market in India and recently toppled Samsung to become the feature phone segment leader.
Jio’s Rs. 49 Plan Forcing Airtel, Vodafone & Idea For VoLTE-based 4G The telecom sector in the country is engaged in a fierce price competition. The cut in the interconnect rates have compounded the pressure on voice and data businesses amid continuing price wars. Kotak Securities has said that Jio’s new pricing moves target to add millions of 2G feature phone customers from the incumbent carriers, and this would would further damage their already weak financials.
This would force the operators to take tough calls like shutting down their 2G and 3G networks ahead of the current plans and would force the other telcos to roll out VoLTE based 4G networks on a war footing. The latest price move by Jio will intensify the competition even further in the telecom space.