Another day, another OnePlus 5 leak. This time it’s about the OnePlus 5 release date. According to a leaked internal email, the latest flagship killer from the company is out on June 15. If this is true, it means it will be available in just two weeks. Furthermore, a tweet from the company hints at a major change in the way shots in low light are taken. Interesting times ahead for those in the Android smartphone camp.
Intel Core-X series desktop CPUs unveiled, includes new Core i9 chips
The rumours were real. At Computex 2017, Intel revealed its new high-end processor offering with the Core-X series along with the new X299 chipset. Usually Intel’s top-of-the-line CPUs have been a generation behind what’s available for the mainstream. Now, Intel brings its high-end SKUs on par with architecture seen on the mainline with Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X CPUs. India pricing and availability will be announced in the months to come.
Essential Phone with modular accessories launched by ‘Father of Android’ Andy Rubin
Andy Rubin, known to be the ‘Father of Android’ by many, left Google to start his own company, Essential Products. One of the first devices from it is the aptly named Essential Phone. Sporting top-of-the-line specifications such as a Snapdragon 835 SoC, it comes with a bezel-free display and sports add-on modules like a 360-degree camera. There’s the Essential Home too. It’s a smart speaker with a big display running a new operating system called Ambient OS.
Moto Z2 Play leaked in images showing Moto Mods, camera bump, and more
Essential isn’t the only company with modular designs. Ahead of an official announcement, the Moto Z2 Play has been leaked kudos popular tipster Roland Quandt. It is said to be 5.99mm thick even if the camera bump included takes it to 8.49mm. The Z2 Play appears to have a similar design to its predecessor with a 16-dot connector for Moto Mods on the rear. In terms of specs, it’s rumoured to have a Snapdragon 626 SoC, 4GB RAM, and 64GB inbuilt storage along with a 5.5-inch full-HD AMOLED.
Xiaomi Mi 6c ‘Jason’ spotted on GFXBench
A new Xiaomi smartphone is reportedly in the works thanks to benchmarks spotted on GFXBench. Codenamed Xiaomi Jason is believed to be a flagship version of the Xiaomi Mi 6 known as as the Mi 6c. The ‘c’ nomenclature has been used by the company in the past for pared down variants like the Xiaomi Mi 4c and the Mi5c. It’s specced with an octa-core Snapdragon 660 processor clocked at 2.2GHz coupled with 6GB RAM and will pack 64GB on-board storage. The smartphone can be seen featuring a 5.1-inch full-HD display and run MIUI based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat. On the camera front, the alleged Jason device is said to sport a 12-megapixel rear camera alongside a 4-megapixel front camera. It’s worth pointing out that the alleged Xiaomi Jason could very well launch with a different name.
LG, Qualcomm working to integrate Snapdragon 845 SoC in LG G7: Report
It seems that LG has begun working with Qualcomm to integrate the Snapdragon 845 SoC in next year’s LG G7. According to Korea Herald, there’s no mention of this being a timed exclusive akin to Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ deal. Instead it claims that work on chip integration has started. Little is known of the Snapdragon 845 SoC aside from it being built on the 7nm process and expected to be 30 percent more powerful than the Snapdragon 835 SoC.
Computex 2017: Nvidia’s new Max-Q design promises thinner and faster gaming laptops
At Computex 2017, Nvidia unveiled its Max-Q design approach. Fancy name aside, it promises to make gaming laptops thinner, quieter, and faster. How thin? Try the size of a MacBook Air. It will feature GeForce GTX 1080, 1070, and 1060 GPUs from OEMs such as Acer, Asus, Alienware, Lenovo, and MSI to name a few.
Snapdeal Raises Over Rs. 113 Crores From NVP, Founders; Swiggy Raises $80 Million
Embattled e-commerce site Snapdeal raised Rs. 96.26 crores from early investor Nexus Ventures. In addition to this, founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal contributed Rs. 8.45 crores each as per a regulatory filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
It is not clear how long the fresh financing round will help Snapdeal in continuing operations as it faces intense competition from rivals Flipkart and Amazon.
In other funding news, online food delivery platform Swiggy said it has raised $80 million (over Rs. 517 crores) in series E funding led by global Internet group and technology investor Naspers. The funding saw participation from other existing investors Accel India, SAIF Partners India, Bessemer Venture Partners, Harmony Partners and Norwest Venture Partners. The new infusion of funds will help it introduce new products and service offerings to augment the consumer experience, Swiggy said in a statement.
Sony reveals new PS4 bundle for India; ends PS3 production
India gets what’s possibly the most generous PS4 bundle to date. Rs. 28,990 nets users a 500GB PS4 Slim, Horizon Zero Dawn, Ratchet and Clank, Driveclub, and three months access to PS Plus — Sony’s online multiplayer service. Meanwhile, the company’s Japan operations has confirmed that the PS3 production has “ended” in the country, implying that sales for the 2006 console could end globally as well.
