Technology - Google News

Samsung's new Galaxy M devices are designed to win back India - The Verge
Google says Apple's iPhone XS has a laughably bad camera - ZDNet
Apple Leaks Predict New iPads, iPad Mini And, Astonishingly, A New iPod - Forbes

Samsung's new Galaxy M devices are designed to win back India - The Verge

Posted: 28 Jan 2019 04:58 AM PST

Samsung is unveiling its new Galaxy M Series in India today, in a bid to compete against Chinese rivals like Xiaomi. The two Android handsets, the M10 and M20, both include Samsung's new "Infinity-V" teardrop display, and are designed to be successors to the A series of handsets. Samsung is clearly targeting millennials with the Galaxy M, and the company has partnered with Amazon India for its launch.

The Galaxy M20 has a 6.3-inch display (1080 × 2340) with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and it's powered by the new Exynos 7904 quad-core processor. Samsung is offering two variants of the Galaxy M20, with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Surprisingly, Samsung is including a 5,000 mAh battery on the Galaxy M20, which should give it good battery life for such a budget-friendly smartphone.

Samsung's Galaxy M10 has a 6.22-inch display (720 × 1520) with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Samsung is powering the Galaxy M10 with the Exynos 7870, which should make it more power efficient. There's a smaller 3,400 MaH battery as a result. Both devices will have dual rear cameras, with a 13-megapixel F1.9 main camera, alongside an ultrawide five-megapixel F2.2 camera. Samsung is also including a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, USB-C, and a headphone jack on both the Galaxy M20 and M10.

Both of these handsets are important for Samsung. Data from Counterpoint reveals that Xiaomi overtook Samsung's Indian market share in late 2017, and has held onto the lead throughout 2018.

Samsung has been struggling to fight back against the strong competition in India, and the gap between Samsung and Xiaomi is now starting to widen. Samsung's Galaxy M Series is a strong attempt to try and regain the top spot in 2019 and beyond.

Samsung's Galaxy M10 will be priced starting at Rs. 7,990 ($112), and the Galaxy M20 starts at Rs. 10,990 ($155). Both will be available in ocean blue and charcoal black variants from February 5th at Samsung's online store or Amazon.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Google says Apple's iPhone XS has a laughably bad camera - ZDNet

Posted: 28 Jan 2019 07:13 AM PST

Well, that's clear, isn't it?
Screenshot by ZDNET

Featured stories

You didn't buy an iPhone XS, did you?

Is it too late to give it back? Or perhaps you could sell it on eBay or your nearest street corner?

You see, I've just heard that the XS has a terrible, awful, truly no good camera.

Also: Phones and more: The best of everything mobile

I know that Apple keeps plugging it with its "Shot on iPhone" campaign, but Google insists that the minute you try to take a picture in the dark, you'll end up with a picture that's, well, almost entirely dark.

I judge this from an entirely enthusiastic tweet emitted on Saturday night by Google's VP of product marketing, Marvin Chow.

It presented two images. On the left, a night scene allegedly shot on an iPhone XS. On the right, the same scene allegedly shot using the Pixel 3's Night Sight feature.

You'll be stunned into torpor as you see that the person shooting with the iPhone XS might as well have not bothered, while the fortunate soul with the Pixel 3 should instantly enter their photograph into every award show on Earth.

When things are placed in such stark relief, it's inevitable some might wonder whether this is all a touch exaggerated.

I have yet to hear too many iPhone XS owners curse the fates for forcing them to buy a phone that fails to faithfully record their nocturnal adventures.

Indeed, my colleague Jason Cipriani reviewed the XS and observed it has "an amazing camera."

Here, though, I'm supposed to believe that it's an embarrassment akin to wearing a fur waistcoat to a PETA party.

Some might fear, given the timing of Chow's tweet, that this is a mere warm-up to Google scorning the iPhone XS during next weekend's Super Bowl.

It would surely be painful for the Apple faithful to see their flagship phone humiliated, just as I hope Patriots coach Bill Belichick might be during the game.

Also: Patriots vs Rams: How to stream Super Bowl 2019

Then again, Pixel 3 doesn't appear to have made a vast breakthrough in capturing consumer minds. Rather like the Pixel 1 and 2.

That's not to say it isn't a fine phone. It's just that few have found it compelling and, indeed, its marketing hasn't exactly inspired vast swathes of commitment.

It's instructive that when phone brands seem to struggle to sell their wares, they choose to compare themselves to the iPhone.

In 2014, Samsung insisted the reason to buy a Galaxy S5 was because the iPhone's camera was visibly, risibly poor.

In first introducing Night Sight, Google offered a fine ad, but chose not to deride the iPhone.

It seems that this may not have been effective enough, so it's time to denigrate the iPhone.

Selling phones in a declining market is hard. People are generally happy with the phone they've got and aren't often moved by the thought of spending four figures on a new one.

Also: Phones to expect at MWC and beyond

Indeed, not so long ago I went to a Verizon store and asked a salesman for the most compelling reason to buy a Pixel 3.

No, he didn't say the camera.

Instead, his answer was that it's not an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy.

Rumors suggest this may be a low-cost iPad mini (the current one is pricier than the entry-level 9.7in iPad), in which case I’ll say that I think the design will exactly match the iPad mini 4. There is a chance, though, that it won’t be a budget version, in which case there may be some update to the design. And I predict it will be compatible with Apple Pencil, as the current iPad is.

As for the new iPod, little is known, though the absence of Face ID is no surprise. More surprising is the lack of Touch ID. If correct, it certainly indicates a new design, perhaps a larger display than before and probably thinner bezels around the screen.

It’s certainly curious, though, that Apple would deliver a new iPod without security beyond a passcode.

Apple iPad 2018.Apple

Wait, there were seven codes registered with the commission, I thought?

Correct. This is not surprising as sometimes there are extra codes for products suited to different territories. The Commission works in five countries: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, so it may be that different versions are needed altogether.

Note also that Apple’s system of coding changes. One year for Apple Watch, for instance, there were different codes depending on size and material. The next year, one code covered all materials, aluminum, stainless steel and ceramic, in a particular case size.

In other words, Apple doesn’t like to be predictable.

The invite from Apple's 2018 iPad event in March last year.Apple

So, can we expect an event this spring?

That’s what happened in Chicago last March, but it’s also possible the next hardware will simply be released to stores with no attendant event, as was the case in Spring 2017.

If there is an event, when will it be?

Apple favors Spring events like this and last year’s was held on March 27, 2018. Given that the registration has happened a little sooner than it did last year, it’s possible that an earlier date might be in Apple’s mind this time. Then again, the company likes to keep its products on the shelf for at least a year between upgrades, so February seems unlikely to me, but any time in March is possible.

_______

If you enjoyed this story, you might also like these:

AirPods 2 Rumored To Be Here Within 6 Months With Surprise Upgrade

Apple AirPods 2 May Follow AirPower, Rumored To Be Incoming Soon

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 First Look Review: Powerful Slick Slider

Apple AirPods' Brilliant Live Listen Feature And Eavesdropping: Here's All You Need To Know

16 Best Gadgets Of The Year From Apple To Bose, Sonos To Sony

Let's block ads! (Why?)