Realme 2 Pro review: Impressive design, capable hardware at midrange price

The Realme 2 Pro is capable to play graphic intensive games, has modern outlook and satisfactory battery life that makes it a value-for-money proposition in midrange segment

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme is not even a year old, yet it has built a niche for itself as a value-for-money brand in the price conscious India’s smartphone market. Although the company continues to cater in the budget segment, its recent Realme 2 Pro smartphone is in a different league altogether. Price at Rs 13,990 for the base model, it would not be fair to call it a budget smartphone. However, considering the phone’s specifications and features, it undercuts other value-for-money proposition by a huge margin.

The Realme 2 Pro is what a modern day premium budget device should be. It takes a design cue from premium midrange flagships and clubs it with capable hardware prowess that results in a refreshing offering that does not look or work like any other budget or midrange device. Let’s take a look into the detailed review to know more:

Design and display

The phone is big for one hand operations, but the rounded polycarbonate chassis has a good grip to it that makes it easy to hold and operate. The phone has glass-metal-glass design. The back side of the phone is made of multiple laminated layers that give it glass-like outlook and makes it heat and scratch resistant, according to company’s claim. The back side is prone to smudges and is a fingerprint magnet, therefore requires regular cleaning to keep the glass intact.

The front is dominated by a 6.3-inch fullHD+ screen with a tiny notch on top and a thick bezel on the bottom. Due to the new format screen, the front looks refreshing compared to other notch-based screen smartphones. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. It might not be the best display, especially for multimedia content, but has ample brightness to stay legible in sunny outdoors, good contrast levels and satisfactory colour rendition.

Performance

Powering the smartphone is a capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 mobile platform. The phone comes in three RAM and storage configurations – 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB and 8GB/128GB – giving multiple options to choose from. The phone boots Android 8.1 Oreo covered under the Colour OS 5.2 user interface, which is similar to the user interface seen in Oppo-branded smartphones.

Specifications aside, the phone is a powerhouse and works seamlessly all across. It shows no lag or any sign of weakness even with graphic intensive game titles like PUBG and Asphalt 9 Legends. The phone also keeps thermals under control. It does warm up a bit after extensive gaming sessions, but not to a point where it becomes uncomfortable to use. While everything works in favour of the device, the user interface is tricky and takes time to get used to. Speaking of downsides, the phone does not support near-field communication (NFC) and lacks FM radio chip too. (more)

Oppo F9 Pro: Capable midrange smartphone with gradient design, fast charge

Business Standard reviewed the Oppo F9 Pro to test its overall performance and the VOOC charging technology. Here are our observations

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo was one of the first Android original equipment makers (OEMs) to introduce a smartphone with an iPhone X-like notch-based screen. With the launch of the Oppo F9 Pro, it also became the first brand to introduce a screen with a tiny notch. A phone with a waterdrop design, the F9 Pro has a notch of the size of a water drop, and it accommodates only the front camera. The earpiece and sensors have been moved to the thin bezel area above it. Though the phone has a fresh design with a new screen format on the front and glass with a gradient design on the back, it is the phone’s fast-charging capability that gives it an edge in the midrange smartphone segment. The phone features Oppo’s proprietary VOOC fast-charging technology, which according to the company provides two hours of talk time in five minutes’ charge.

Business Standard reviewed the Oppo F9 Pro to test its overall performance and the VOOC charging technology. Here are our observations:

Design and display

The Oppo F9 Pro looks identical to its predecessor, the Oppo F7. However, with a new screen format on the front and a gradient glass design on the back, the phone looks refreshing and has a premium appeal. The back of the smartphone looks dazzling, especially with its gradient design giving it a 3D look. However, with the fingerprint sensor placed in the middle-centre and horizontally aligned dual-camera module on the top-left-centre, the back lacks a uniform look and is, therefore, cluttered.

The front is dominated by a new 6.3-inch screen format of the fullHD+ resolution, stretching in a 19:9 aspect ratio. The screen has a tiny notch screen area accommodating just the front camera. Interestingly, the earpiece now sits under a thin bezel above the display, along with sensors on its right. The new screen format gives the phone a tall look, making it somewhat difficult to operate it using one hand.

Being an LCD unit, the display is bright and has good sunlight legibility. It has a good saturation and contrast ratio. However, the colour rendition is not satisfactory and a fullHD+ resolution on such a big panel looks a bit pixelated, especially while reading text, playing games and watching videos.

Camera

The smartphone has a dual-camera module on the back featuring a 16-megapixel primary sensor, mated with a 2MP depth-sensing lens. The main camera has a large f/1.8 aperture size and the depth-sensing lens sits behind f/2.4 aperture. The camera fixes autofocus quickly and takes detailed shots in all light conditions. However, in low light, the camera softens the output and shows noise across the frame. (more)

There are more cons than pros in Apple Watch's new heart monitor app

The watch will also have an "irregular rhythm" notification feature, which alerts people to potential problems and there's every reason to believe it will generate many false positives

The newest version of the Apple Watch will feature a heart monitor app that can do a form of an electrocardiogram. Many have greeted this announcement as a great leap forward for health. The president of the American Heart Association even took part in the product launch.

For a more measured response, it’s worth looking at potential downsides, and it turns out there are a few.

The upside potential is twofold. First, doctors could monitor — at a distance — how patients with known heart problems are functioning outside the office. Second, the device could diagnose heart problems in people who don’t know they have them, picking up abnormal heart rhythms earlier than would otherwise be possible.

With respect to monitoring from a doctor, the Food and Drug Administration “cleared” the app — an easier hurdle to surmount than “approval.” But it specifically said people with diagnosed atrial fibrillation, one of the most common heart arrhythmias, should not be using the app.

If that’s the case, the major potential for the device — which will arrive later this year — is to pick up arrhythmias in otherwise healthy people. That’s still a big selling point. Picking up abnormal function earlier could theoretically lead to improvements in health, such as reductions in strokes.

But just because something seems like a good idea doesn’t mean it is. No screening test is perfect. In the simplest sense, whenever we consider the results of medical tests, they can be “positive” or “negative.”

In general, we would like people who are sick to have a positive screening result, and people who are well to have a negative result. Unfortunately, people who are sick sometimes have a negative result. Those are false negatives. People who are well sometimes have a positive result. Those are false positives.

ALSO READ: Apple blocks possibilities of third-party repair on 2018 models of Macbook

Both of these outcomes are worrisome. A false negative might leave someone who needs medical help with a mistaken sense of assurance. Given that relatively few people have serious, undiagnosed arrhythmias with no symptoms (if people did, we would be screening for this more often), this isn’t the major concern. False positives are, because they cost us time and money, as well as cause emotional distress.

The health care system is already busy, if not overloaded. No physician wants to field calls from patients who have no problems. Such patients will require visits and further testing, and will potentially receive interventions. They’ll generate bills and harms without benefits.

The watch will also have an “irregular rhythm” notification feature, which alerts people to potential problems. There’s every reason to believe it will generate many false positives. Before granting clearance, the FDA reviewed data collected by the Stanford Heart study for 266 people who got such a notification. Most of the notifications were wrong.

Motorola One Power review: A promising smartphone with all-round strength

Priced at Rs 15,999, the Motorola One Power seems the company's new beginning in the right direction

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Motorola, now owned by Lenovo, has for a while been trailing in the mobile phone segment, thanks to its delayed software upgrades, pricey new launches and irregular product refreshes. However, things look set to change with the company’s new Motorola One Power smartphone.

Unlike any other Moto-branded smartphones, this one has a new design, modern notch-based screen, a capable hardware and the Android One promise of timely software and security upgrades. Interestingly, it is the 5,000 mAh battery that makes this phone an attractive bet in the mid-range smartphone segment.

Design and display

In terms of outlook, the Motorola One Power looks nothing like any other Moto-branded smartphones. It has a metallic body with plastic on top and bottom, and antennas underneath. The phone has a tall stance due to a mammoth 6.18-inch screen of the 19:9 aspect ratio on its front. The screen has a notch on top to accommodate the front camera, soft LED flash, earpiece and sensors. Compared with other smartphones in the same segment with notch-based screens, the Motorola One Power’s notch is neither too big nor too small in size. However, it would appear to some that a smaller one would have been better.

Speaking of the display output, the screen is vivid and has ample brightness to stay legible in bright sunny outdoors. The colour rendition is good and the overall pixel-per-inch (PPI) density is satisfactory, thanks to a fullHD+ panel. However, due to its curved edges, the on-screen content gets cropped and that is noticeable while watching multimedia content like images and videos.

Coming on to the back side of the device, there is a dual-camera module placed vertically on the top-left corner. The camera module protrudes from the chassis, making the phone uneven when kept on flat surfaces like table. Thankfully, there is a metallic rim keeping the glass on the camera module safe from scratches. The back is also home to a circular fingerprint sensor with the Moto logo embossed on it. The sensor’s placement is well within the reachable zone while you access it with your index finger.

Overall, the design of the Motorola One Power is nothing extraordinary, but it looks refreshing when compared with other Moto devices. But if you compare it other companies’ offerings, the new design is neither interesting nor exceptionally innovative; it resembles the likes of the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1.

Software and performance

This is one area where the phone exceeds expectations. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 system-on-chip, paired with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage, the phone boots Android Oreo.

But it is planned to get the Android Pie soon. (more)

Are wireless chargers really useful or just a marketing gimmick?

When both types of chargers - wireless and wired- were on the same wattage, wireless was about 15 per cent slower

wireless chargers Besides getting bigger, smartphones keep getting — for lack of a better word — glassier. From front to back, the bodies of many of the newest smartphones are composed of glass.

The trend is not part of a broad conspiracy to make you shatter your phone so that you buy a new one. Instead, glass lets energy pass through the phone so that it can be charged wirelessly. The technology relies on magnetic induction, which involves using an electrical current to generate a magnetic field, creating voltage that powers the phone without your plugging a wire into it.

Many people are excited about charging without cords. A study by SurveyMonkey found that wireless charging was the most anticipated feature in last year’s new iPhones. Yet in a survey by the research firm IHS, only 29 per cent said they used wireless charging last year.

That may be because wireless charging isn’t truly wireless. People typically need accessories from companies like Samsung, Mophie and Anker — which generally look like mats and stands that you can set your phone on — to wirelessly power up. And while you don’t have to plug a cable into the phone, the accessories themselves have to be hooked up to a power outlet.

There’s a trade-off, too: Wireless charging is less efficient at transferring energy than a wire, and is thus slower at refilling a battery. (Mophie said that generally, when both types of chargers were on the same wattage, wireless was about 15 per cent slower.)

So what’s the point?

Charlie Quong, vice president of product development for Mophie, said placing wireless chargers in areas where people spent a lot of time — like their bedroom, car and office — could enable them to top off their phones more frequently by removing the hassle of plugging in.

The products help people “get charged throughout their day without having to deliberately park their phone down,” Mr. Quong said. “It’s really, really convenient.”

As a longtime skeptic of wireless chargers, I was eager to find a useful application for the technology. So I scattered the chargers around the focal points of my daily routine: on my nightstand, in my car, in my briefcase, on my office desk and on a living room table.

In the end, I would consider keeping a wireless charger only in the bedroom or in a briefcase. Here’s what I found.

In the Bedroom

Two types of wireless chargers can be placed on a bedside table: pads and stands.

The pad is a disc, and you lay your phone down on it. The stand keeps your phone upright so that the screen faces you while it charges. I tested a Mophie charging pad and Anker’s PowerWave stand. (more)

Honor announces Flipkart Big Billion Day offers; aims to sell 1 mn units

Here is a look at some of the best offers on Honor smartphones during the Flipkart Big Billion Day sale:

In the Flipkart sale, the company would be offering discounts, along with bank offers, on Honor-branded smartphones like the Honor 9N, Honor 9 Lite, Honor 7S, Honor 9i, Honor 10 and Honor 7A

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei's sub-brand Honor on October 3 announced some exciting offers on its smartphones during the Flipkart Big Billion Day sale. The aim is to sell one million devices during the festive-season sale starting from October 11 on the e-commerce platform. In the sale, the company would be offering discounts, along with bank offers, on Honor-branded smartphones like the Honor 9N, Honor 9 Lite, Honor 7S, Honor 9i, Honor 10 and Honor 7A.

As part of its sale offers, the company has announced price reduction on the above-mentioned smartphones and their variants. The company also announced a 10 per cent instant discount to HDFC Bank debit and credit card customers and no-cost equated monthly instalments on Bajaj Finserv cards.

ALSO READ : Honor 9N review: Mid-range device with premium design, average performance

The sale offers are valid across Honor-branded smartphones and their variants, including the Honor 9N, Honor 7A, Honor 7S, Honor 9 Lite, Honor 9i and Honor 10. In the budget segment, the company would offer Honor 7A and Honor 7S at a discounted price of Rs 7,999 and 6,499.

In the premium budget segment, Honor is offering the Honor 9 Lite 3GB/32GB at a discounted rate of Rs 9,999. The phone’s 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant would be available with a Rs 3,000 exchange offer which would bring down the effective cost to Rs 11,999.

In the midrange segment, the company is offering the Honor 9N with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage at discounted prices of Rs 9,999 and Rs 11,999, respectively. The quad-camera-based Honor 9i would be available at a discounted price of Rs 12,999 and the premium Honor 10 would come with a discounted price of Rs 24,999. These devices are also eligible for Flipkart's complete mobile protection plan at an additional cost of Rs 199.

OnePlus 6T launch soon: Know confirmed features, expected specs and price Edit

Like previous OnePlus smartphones, the OnePlus 6T will be an Amazon-exclusive device. The phone's promotion page is already live on the e-commerce platform, with a 'notify me' option for updates

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is gearing up to launch the OnePlus 6T soon. Like previous launches, the key changes that would be part of the upgrade from the current-generation flagship have already been confirmed by the company. These changes include the use of an in-display fingerprint sensor and the removal of the 3.5mm audio jack. Apart from these changes, several other enhancements are expected from the upcoming smartphone, such as a new screen format, enhanced camera module, bigger battery, etc. Though there has been no official confirmation on these features, the company’s past record hints that these features would make way in the OnePlus 6T.

OnePlus 6T confirmed upgrades

Speaking of upgrades, the OnePlus 6T is confirmed to get an in-display fingerprint sensor technology in which the fingerprint sensor is placed beneath the screen, allowing the phone to sport a true unibody design. The in-display fingerprint sensor technology allows a part of the screen to double up as a biometric recognition module for identifying fingerprints to unlock the phone. OnePlus’ sister company, Vivo, has been offering this technology in some of its premium models, such as the Vivo X21, Vivo Nex and the Vivo V11 Pro.

The OnePlus 6T is also confirmed to lose the 3.5mm audio jack. More of a downgrade than upgrade, the trade-off is defended by the company as a must to utilise the space for new hardware, or maybe a bigger battery.

OnePlus 6T other upgrades

Apart from the confirmed upgrades mentioned above, the OnePlus 6T is also reported to get a new screen format, with a tiny notch on top. Though the notch area in the OnePlus 6 is among the smallest when compared with other notch screen-based smartphones, it would be trimmed even more and reduced to a size of a big dot, enough to accommodate just the front camera. The Vivo V11 Pro or the Oppo F9 Pro are two smartphones that currently boast such screen designs.

Imaging is another area that is expected to get improvements. Though the OnePlus 6T was earlier rumoured to get a tri-camera module, the recent reports hint that the upcoming flagship would sport a dual camera module. Even the official television advertisement featuring Amitabh Bachchan suggests that the phone would feature a dual camera module. It is expected that the camera module in the OnePlus 6T would bring added enhancements such as artificial intelligence-based automatic scene recognition, better low light photography, etc.

more about OnePlus 6T other specifications