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@MyMobileMag @mymobilemag Your gateway to the world of mobility Nord, the Nerd?

Market Insight Shipments Slip

Face to Face Truecaller, Chingari, Mitron TV and Trell

Feature The Evolution of Mobile Games!

Tested , Find X2, Vivo TWS Neo, Oppo Enco W11 and many more...

firstcall

s expected, the smartphone shipments declined by 51% YoY to just over 18 million units in Q2 this year in India, according to A the latest research from Counterpoint. The EDITORIAL nationwide lockdown imposed by the Government of Pankaj Mohindroo | Editor-in-Chief India to combat COVID-19 resulted in zero shipments Haider Ali Khan | Deputy Editor during April. However, the market is starting to return to normal. In June 2020, Indian smartphone Ramesh Kumar Raja | Assistant Editor shipments registered a mild decline of 0.3% YoY, Vivek Singh Chauhan | Correspondent thanks to the pent-up demand as well as a push from brands. Due to concerns over potential COVID-19 infection, consumers prefer contactless purchasing and Pahi Mehra | Correspondent online channels. Smartphone brands are also recognizing this trend by pushing more inventories to online channels. has been successful in retaining the DESIGN

top spot with 29% market share, followed by at 26 per cent and Vivo Ajit Kumar Parashar | Sr. Graphic Designer getting 17 per cent buyers.

Editor’s Page Editor’s India is a home to more than 400 million feature phone users and the feature phone market was the worst affected segment as it declined by a massive 68% MARKETING YoY in Q2 2020 as consumers in this highly cost-sensitive segment tried to save Puja Mohindroo | Manager - Business money by reducing discretionary purchases. In the near-to-mid term, this could Sandeep Kumar | Sr. Manager – Marketing actually boost the used and refurbished market that mobile phone plants were shut for more than seven weeks contributed majorly to this decline. Reliance Jio has also planned its move by inviting the likes of Facebook, , OPERATIONS and to invest in its Jio Platforms to work on more self-reliant or Deepak Kohli | Sr. Manager – Accounts Aatmanirbhar India. Jio is expected to launch its own branded and wallet by Diwali 2020 or probably in the beginning of the 2021. If it happens, this would be a game-changer for the mobile industry. As Reliance Jio has already CIRCULATION

disrupted the ailing telecom sector since its launch it is bound to reshape the B. G. Mathur | Manager- Production & Circulation mobile market dynamics in India which is largely dominated by Chinese players. Jio had also announced its 2G-mukt slogan which means that the India’s largest conglomerate may no longer focus on Jio Phones which are 2G-based handsets. ADVISORY BOARD Jio is not only targeting the internet based services but through its wide network Bejon Misra and reach it aims to capatalise on the underserved markets in Tier 3 and Tier Rajan Mathews 4 towns, small kiranas, and MSMEs. Jio has started projects like grocery and S.D. Saxena e-commerce app, JioMart, mixed reality headset Jio Glass, JioMeet, Jio Health Subhash Chandra Club, a platform that provides end-to-end healthcare services, and Jio TV+, a Sunil Dutt platform aiming to aggregate all streaming platforms like Netflix and YouTube, Sonu Bhasin it is only a matter of time before Reliance captures the huge growing segment of Uvaraj Natarajan consumer market in India. With growth of digital landscape across various avenues

right from retail to healthcare, the company is set to give tough competition to GET IN TOUCH rivals be it domestic or international. Known for its disruptive ideas and business Editorial : [email protected] models, Reliance Jio continues to capture Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea user Marketing : [email protected] base and enjoys almost one-thirds of total telecom market share in India. Circulation : [email protected] Meanwhile, Government continues its app-ban policy and has extended it to Phone : 011—46206161 Fax : 011—41520637 the ‘Lite’ version or the Clone apps. Happy Independence Day and Happy Reading! n Edited, published, printed and owned by Pankaj Mohindroo, Published from 203, Kanchenjunga Building | 18, Barakhamba Road | Connaught Place | New Delhi-110001. Printed at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201306 The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and the views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to Pankaj Mohindroo Follow Us: seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in editor-in-chief Facebook this publication, which is provided for general use and may not facebook.com/mymobilemag be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. Twitter twitter.com/MyMobileMag Volume XV, Issue VII, august 2020 04 | august 2020 MYMOBILE

contents

24 28

32 40

Corporate Communications, and CEO, Truke Style Notes Truecaller 09  Newsbits 32 Sumit Ghosh – Co-Founder iN Focus 13 big News and Chief Product Officer, 34 Prevalence of open OS in Chingari smartphones has greatly facilitated inclusion of 16 Just In 36 Shivank Agarwal – Co-Founder vernacular languages: ICEA Get a close look at new and CEO, Mitron TV smartphones now in the 40 Ban on TikTok creating way for market 38 Pulkit Agarwal – Co-Founder, Indian short video platforms Trell 24 Lead Story 48 Muneer Ahmed – Business Burn Test Nord, the Nerd? Head, ViewSonic India 42 Vivo X50

44 Market Insight 52 Robin Ghose - Business Development Manager (Profes 28 Smartphone Shipments Slip 45 Vivo TWS Neo sional and Consumer), 61 Quad-Camera Handsets To Audio-Technica India 46 oppo Enco W11 Push CIS Sensors Sales 54 Amol Roy – Founder, The consumer Shutter Cast Face To Face iNsight 30 Hitesh Raj Bhagat – Director, 68 Pankaj Upadhayay – Founder 51 Long Battery Life, Fast-

06 | august 2020 MYMOBILE

contents

Charging Matter Most For India– Teja Gudluru, Founder speakers to Smart TVs and Consumers and CEO, UDo-now.com smartbands 58 Mobile Speeds Rise Quickly Post-Lockdown 62 Feature 106 Vantage Point 60 News Apps Witness Explosive The Evolution of Mobile Wi-Fi 6: A much needed Growth in 2020 Games! technology to cater to future contingency – John Dong, Director, Tenda India By Invitation 69 apptastic Sense.bio 56 Technology and healthcare can work together in a 71 My Guide post-pandemic world – Ruchir The most comprehensive Mehra, CEO and Co-Founder, feature and price list of mobile

What's Inside What's Remedo devices 66 Mobile apps accelerating digital transformation in 93 add Ons The latest and the best of gadgets and accessories, from 62 71 earphones and 58

51 56

66

69 Total number of pages = 108

MYMOBILE newsbits

Google to launch low-cost smartphones in around to reach the back panel. On the number of new patents that were under the India to enable feature phone users shift back, there is a second display that starts display and electronic equipment title. to smartphone just millimeters from where the front one The description reveals a new display ends. There’s only one physical key (power technology and an electronic device. button) and a secondary mic at the top, What’s interesting is that the display is whereas the bottom houses the speaker, flexible, with multiple layers.T he flexible primary mic, and USB Type-C port. Earlier, display will be connected to a protective the company also patented a new dual- layer through a type of adhesive. If the display smartphone with quad rear reports are to be believed, the display is cameras set-up. made of three parts, with the first and Internet major Google recently announced second being protective layers that its plans to launch low-cost smartphones Apple’s developers in India focusing on surround the third layer that is the flexible in India so that feature phone users can design, using native tech display. The emphasis on display protection become smartphone users. Caesar is likely to provide a solution to the issue Up What’s Sengupta, GM & VP of Payments and Next that the current generation of flexible Billion Users at Google, addressing the displays faces, which are easier to damage virtual Google for India 2020 event said than conventional screens. that the company has tied up with several hardware manufacturers that can provide to launch multiple smartphones in low-cost Android phones. He added that late Q3 or early Q4 the company will launch high-quality Apple’s app developers in India are HMD Global is reportedly working on Android phones at reasonable price so that increasingly building native apps with the more people can have access to the recognition that their customers value the internet. Among several other plans that better performance and functionalities the company revealed during its virtual that come with it. According to reports, the conference, Google also announced that it company’s App Accelerator in Bengaluru has formed a new partnership with CBSE, has also changed its approach to cater to Skill Education and Training. “By the end these more evolved needs. Ola, Paytm, of 2020, we will enable over 1 million Redbus, MakeMyTrip, Sharechat, Oyo, teachers in 22,000 schools across India BigBasket, Hotstar have all gone native, to deliver blended learning that combines and it’s said to be enabling many of them multiple Nokia smartphone launches in the classroom approach with online to improve customer retention rates and different categories. A lot of rumors have learning, using free tools like G Suite for revenue. A native application is one that is surfaced in the past but a new report states Education, Google Classroom, YouTube developed specifically for use on a that the development for the Nokia 9.3 and more,” Google said. particular device or (OS), PureView, .3 and .3 are on using mostly the device or OS-specific track and will launch by either late Q3 or Xiaomi patents smartphone with all- hardware and . The alternative is early Q4 2020. According to some media around screen, 108MP camera to use cross-platform technologies. In the reports, sources close to the matter have mobile world, the use of cross-platform revealed that the development of the technologies allows developers to write aforementioned handsets is still on their app once and run it on both Apple schedule, despite various constraints and Android devices. caused due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Although, the exact launch Vivo applies patent for foldable smartphone date for different countries still depends display on how the situation is being handled across the globe. As per the report, HMD Global is currently testing Nokia 9.3 PureView, Nokia 7.3 and Nokia 6.3 Xiaomi has patented a new smartphone prototypes and is making steady progress. with an all-around screen like Mi Alpha Furthermore, the upcoming lineup will with a single 108MP camera. The patent Vivo might also be joining the foldable also include 5G handsets from the Finnish was filed by Xiaomi in January but the smartphone club very soon. The company brand. documentation as well as images were recently updated its patent list by applying published only recently, as per reports. In a new application that suggests a possible to announce HarmonyOS 2.0 for terms of design, the main display flows foldable handset. According to some wearables, PCs and cars in September over the edges of the device and even loops media reports, Vivo recently applied for a Chinese tech behemoth Huawei, which

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 09 newsbits

was banned by the US last year, has extensive consumer research has shown reportedly taken some major steps towards that improved drop and scratch performance reducing its reliance on other companies are key components of consumer purchasing decisions,” said John Bayne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mobile Consumer Electronics. In lab tests, Victus achieved drop performance up to 2 meters when dropped onto hard, rough surfaces. Competitive 1000 for flagship 5G smartphones to the aluminosilicate glasses from other Dimensity 800 and 700 series for more manufacturers typically fail when dropped accessible 5G mid-tier devices. “This chip from less than 0.8 meters. According to the is highly power-efficient, has impressive company, Gorilla Glass Victus also performance and advanced display and What’s Up What’s surpasses Corning Gorilla Glass 6 with up imaging technologies, ” Yenchi Lee, Deputy to a 2X improvement in scratch resistance. General Manager, Wireless Communications and launched its own operating system Additionally, the scratch resistance of Business Unit, MediaTek, said in a known as HarmonyOS. Now, according to Gorilla Glass Victus is up to 4X better than statement. With two Arm Cortex-A76 big some media reports, Huawei is all set to competitive aluminosilicate glasses. cores operating at 2GHz in the octa-core launch the second-generation version of CPU, the chipset aims to improve the the operating system in September this Lt Gen SP Kochhar appointed as COAI responsiveness of applications for a fluid year as ‘HarmonyOS 2.0.’ When launched, Director-General user experience. The Dimensity 720 also the HarmonyOS (aka HongMeng OS) was packs an Arm Mali G57 class GPU, fast aimed at several different types of devices LPDDR4X memory and universal flash but we haven’t seen many devices powered storage (UFS) 2.2 for fast read/write by the same. But the upcoming version speeds. The chipset supports the latest aims to take it a step forward and will be connectivity technologies including two running on computers, smartwatches, and carrier aggregation (2CC CA), Voice over even cars – in line with the roadmap New Radio (VoNR) and 5G and 4G dual previously shared by the company. SIM, dual standby (DSDS) to provide users Recently, Huawei filed a number of with the best possible connection. trademark applications for the names like HarmonyOS Connected, HarmonyOS Lt Gen Dr S P Kochhar has been appointed With Jio, WhatsApp Pay to empower Linked and more. This further indicates as the Director-General of the Cellular millions of Indians that the company is expanding its capability Operators Association of India (COAI). and device compatibility. Kochhar, a decorated military veteran, retired as Signal Officer in Chief, the head Corning introduces toughest Gorilla Glass of the ICT wing of the Indian Army, where yet he was responsible for planning, executing and operating Telecom and IT networks of the Army. Prior to that, he was Additional Director General Personnel of the Indian Army. He was till recently the CEO of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has Telecom Sector Skill Council of India. reiterated his commitment to launch Kochhar takes over from Rajan S Mathews, WhatsApp Pay for over 400 million users who served as the Director-General since of the messaging platform in India. He said 2010. that the Reliance Jio partnership is a huge opportunity to enable small businesses and Corning has launched a new product for MediaTek launches chip for mid-range individuals in the country to buy and sell display protection called Corning Gorilla smartphones things through WhatsApp. Talking to Glass Victus and the company claims that Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company analysts during an earnings call recently, this is the toughest glass built for MediaTek recently launched the Dimensity Zuckerberg said that a lot of people use smartphones, laptops, tablets and 720 5G chipset for mid-range smartphones WhatsApp, especially in India. “We want wearables. According to the company, the that supports both standalone (SA) and to enable that. That starts with enabling new glass provides better drop and scratch non-standalone (NSA) sub-6GHz networks. payments. A big part of the partnership that performance compared to competitive The Dimensity 720 is part of MediaTek’s we have with Jio will be to wire up and get aluminosilicate glasses. “Corning’s 5G chipset family that includes Dimensity thousands of small businesses across India

10 | august 2020 MYMOBILE newsbits

on-boarded onto WhatsApp, to do overseeing the next phase of growth in the commerce there,” the Facebook CEO company’s mobility business and ensuring emphasised. Facebook-owned WhatsApp safety for riders and drivers across India, has been testing its payments platform in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Prabhjeet, an India for quite some time now but has not IIT Kharagpur and IIM-A alumnus, joined been successfully launching it owing to Uber in August 2015 from McKinsey and regulatory hurdles. Co., where he was an Associate Partner. in the performing arts like music, comedy Since, he’s been part of the core team that VideoMeet announces four-state expansion and dance by influencers, celebrities and adapted the global business model to plan, white-labeling for organizations international artists, the company said in a Homegrown video conferencing platform statement. Gaana HotShots will offer VideoMeet has rolled out its expansion plan videos from prominent influencers like to four states – Maharastra, West Bengal, Riyaz Aly, Jannat Zubair, Avneet Kaur, and

Tamil Nadu and Gujarat – with an singers like Neha Kakkar, Darshan Raval, Up What’s investment of around Rs 2 crore. The Tony Kakkar, Jass Manak and Sunanda expansion is needed to provide Sharma among others.

Reliance Jio launches video conferencing app JioMeet India, launched multiple new cities and led Reliance Jio Platforms, which recently several India-first innovations, including concluded a $15.2 billion fundraise run, scaling up Auto and Moto categories and has finally launched its video conferencing building a multi-modal platform, which platform JioMeet to take on the likes of have been exported to other emerging Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. markets. Former India SA President, Like Zoom and Google Meet, JioMeet offers Pradeep Parameswaran, is now the uninterrupted and secured video calling unlimited number of free calls in high Regional General Manager APAC and service to its growing user base. IT resources definition (720p) to users and supports as Vidhya Duthaluru, former Director, like high capacity servers need to be many as 100 participants on a call. But Engineering, has also recently been deployed in the four states for hosting interestingly, it appears to not impose a promoted as the global head of engineering larger meetings without any technical for the customer care platform. glitches, the company said in a statement. Rajasthan-based IT firm Data Ingenious Airtel Thanks app now supports 8 regional Global Ltd, which owns VideoMeet, aims languages to deliver better connectivity, data security Telecom major Airtel has launched regional and reduce data overload on their servers language support on its Airtel Thanks app. located in Rajasthan. The application Prepaid mobile customers of Airtel will now expects user base to grow incessantly, and short time limit on a call’s duration. Jio be able to access Airtel Thanks app in would not want to compromise on its Platforms says a free call can be various Indian languages, including Hindi, quality at any cost. The highlights of the uninterrupted for “up to 24 hours” long. Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, platform remain its set of features like The service currently has no paid plans and Malayalam and Punjabi. The regional recording, screen share, music share, flip it’s unclear if Jio Platforms, which has a cameras, celebrate, chat during video call, reputation of giving away services for free etc. for years, plans to change that. Jio Platforms, which began beta testing Gaana comes up with short video platform JioMeet in May this year, said the video ‘HotShots’ conferencing service offers “enterprise- Music streaming service Gaana has grade” host controls. These include: launched a new platform HotShots that password protection on each call, multi- language support feature is already live on allows users to create and share short device login support (up to five devices), Android and will be available on iOS soon. videos and stories. This move comes at a and ability to share screen and Further, the telco is looking to add support time when short video companies in India collaborate. for several other Indian regional languages, are witnessing unprecedented demand including Kanadda, Assamese and Odia in from consumers after the ban of Bytedance- Uber appoints Prabhjeet Singh as President the coming weeks. Airtel’s chief product owned TikTok along with 58 other Chinese India and South Asia officerA darsh Nair said, “At Airtel, we are apps recently. The platform, which Ride-hailing platform Uber has roped in obsessed with solving customer problems currently has more than 150 million users, Prabhjeet Singh as President Uber India and making their experience better through will offer “challenges” across various areas and South Asia. He is tasked with digital technologies. As India transforms

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 11 newsbits

into a smartphone nation, close to 35% of campaigns on Ketto and raise funds to brand’s offerings are in line with the style, Airtel Thanks app users now come from Tier support their essential business expenses. ideologies and preferences of the new 2/3 towns and rural markets. With deep As a part of this initiative, a small business generation tech users, intending to use vernacular support, Airtel Thanks app based in India, with a website holding an contemporary technology for its advanced becomes even more relevant and accessible active .in, .co.in, org.in, net.in or IND.in offerings. With Ingram Micro as its new for these customers and enables them to domain name, can apply to start a distribution partner, AVITA now aims to unlock the full potential of Airtel’s exciting crowdfunding campaign on Ketto to capture a 5% market share with its digital services.” support their business. GoDaddy will work innovative products. with Ketto to evaluate the applications Homegrown video platform BoxEngage. based on a set of eligibility criteria. Tech-enabler Shopmatic registers 200% com goes viral in absence of TikTok growth amidst global pandemic With TikTok being banned in India, recently- Homegrown gaming platform Rheo launched homegrown short video platform witnesses 2x growth in users Boxengage.com claims to have gone viral Following the COVID-19 lockdown and the What’s Up What’s with the former’s influencers joining the recent ban on 59 Chinese apps, domestic latter in large numbers. BoxEngage.com game streaming platform Rheo has At a time when businesses are struggling saw a massive 10X surge in active-user witnessed a phenomenal jump in the to cope with the impact of COVID-19 mark within 24 hours of the TikTok ban. number of new downloads on its Android pandemic, e-commerce enabler Shopmatic app. Further, the number of new users on is set for a very promising growth trajectory Rheo has increased by up to 200% per day, this year. With its tech-enabled solutions and the total number of users on the for the country’s SME sector, Shopmatic platform have doubled (grown by 2x) during has registered a 2x growth in transactions, this period. Rheo aims to redefine the GMV and revenues during the April-June gaming industry in the country by making quarter over the previous quarter. As an use of streaming channels to build e-commerce solutions provider, Shopmatic BoxEngage.com is specially designed for communities and encourage conversations, brings different elements of the e-commerce the requirement of Indian customers for both professional as well as hobby landscape onto a single platform to help wherein both the content creators and gamers. While ushering a gaming-based SMEs and individual entrepreneurs take visitors can do much more than simply their businesses online. From creating a follow or comment on their influencer. Via customized online store, selling through BoxEngage.com, any kind of content social and chat commerce, selling on creator across all categories can connect multiple marketplaces with integrated with their followers via multiple ways, such global payment options and shipping as live streaming, posting videos, or even solutions, creating and promoting digital holding private sessions with their celebs advertising, Shopmatic makes it easy for or influencers and this engagement-based anyone to sell online. platform is making users stick much more on the platform. entertainment ecosystem that drives Compaq joins hands with MX Player for superior engagement and monetization for their upcoming smart TVs GoDaddy, Ketto team up to support streamers, Rheo’s vision is to bring gaming Compaq Televisions, which will soon pandemic-affected local businesses in and e-sports to the same league as that of be launching its range of high-anticipated India cricket and Bollywood in India. smart televisions, has joined hands with India’s leading entertainment Nexstgo partners Ingram Micro to augment streaming platform MX Player, to create its distribution footprint in India integrated and seamless content US-based Nexstgo has joined hands with experiences for Indian viewers on technology distributor Ingram Micro India big/TV screens. This partnership will to amplify its distribution network across give Compaq customers access to a the country. Through this partnership, vast range of MX Originals and other Internet domain registrar and web hosting Nexstgo will leverage Ingram Micro’s premium content, allowing the former company GoDaddy has joined hands with extensive channel base in India, to bolster to augment diversified content offerings crowdfunding platform Ketto to help the reach of its cutting-edge technology on its platform. Currently, MX Player financially strengthen India’s local business and IoT products among its target audience. offers content across varied categories ecosystem. The partnership is designed to Over the past few months, Nexstgo has including TV shows, movies, web series, support local Indian businesses recover launched a range of offerings including sports, news and music in 10 different from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic laptops and IoT products, under its languages. n by enabling them to start crowdfunding consumer brand AVITA in India. The [email protected]

12 | august 2020 MYMOBILE bignews

47 more Chinese apps banned in India

he Government of India has now Tbanned 47 more Chinese apps, saying that the apps were acting as the clones of the previously banned 59 Chinese apps. These banned clones include TikTok Lite, Helo Lite, SHAREit Lite, BIGO LIVE Lite and VFY Lite. The development comes close on the heels of the Indian government’s warning to the makers of the banned 59 Chinese apps to strictly comply

with the ban order. Up What’s On June 29, the Indian government had issued an order to ban 59 apps with Chinese links, citing that the apps were a ‘threat to the sovereignty, integrity, and security of the country’. The list of banned apps includes short video app TikTok, CamScanner, SHAREit, UC Browser, among others. Meanwhile, India has reportedly drawn up a list of 275 apps to reports, the list includes gaming app PUBG backed by China’s that it will examine for any violation of national security and user most valuable internet major Tencent, Zili by handset maker Xiaomi, privacy, signalling heightened scrutiny and the possibility of more AliExpress by ecommerce giant Alibaba as well as apps like Resso Chinese internet companies being banned in the country. According and ULike from TikTok-owner ByteDance.n

Google to invest $10 bn in India over 5-7 years

ech major Google has announced a $10 billion (Rs 75,000 new products and services relevant to the country’s unique needs, Tcrore) ‘Google for India digitization fund’ in India over the course empowerment of small businesses and leveraging technology and of next 5-7 years to support small businesses/startups, online AI for social good, in areas like health, education, and education for the country’s digital transformation. Sundar Pichai, agriculture. the Indian origin CEO of Google and Alphabet Inc., said during the The tech giant has backed many startups in India in mobility, company’s first virtualG oogle for India event that the investment edtech, fintech and telemedicine spaces through its growth equity will happen through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and investment fund, CapitalG. Pichai said that this will be possible operational infrastructure and ecosystem investments. “This is a through partnership with the Indian government and private reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital businesses to share Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a economy,” Pichai said. The Google CEO said that the $10 billion digital India. While praising the fast growing app economy of India investment in India will focus on four areas including enabling and its 2500 Youtubers who have a huge following online, Pichai accessibility to information for India in their local language, building said that that the accessibility to low cost smartphones and affordable data has paved the way for the same. Pichai said that Google’s several initiatives for India including its rural internet programme, Internet Saathi, payments platform, Google Pay and reading tutor app, Bolo have proved to be a hit in India and the company has plans to scale these projects for the global users. Google also announced new initiatives as part of its ongoing efforts towards the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.n

august 2020 | 13 bignews LG planning to scale up smartphone production in India by 15 times

outh Korean electronics behemoth LG is Sreportedly looking to capitalize on a “window of opportunity” that has opened up in the Indian market. The company is scaling up its local smartphone manufacturing in the region by 15 times after recent anti-Chinese sentiments have gripped the nation. According to some media reports, the company has seen a massive increase in sales of its smartphones in the What’s Up What’s past few months, solely because of the growing anti-Chinese sentiments and the boycotting of products from China. Furthermore, LG is also planning on applying for the PLI (production-linked incentive) that the local government offers to scale up production. As per the report, the key market segment that at this rising unease surrounding China and its products as an LG is planning to focus on is the mid-segment smartphone opportunity. By August, the company plans to launch six phones category. This segment has typically been dominated by Chinese across all segments starting from Rs 10,000 category with plans giants like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and even in India. However, to expand through online and offline channels. Similarly, by the with recent military clashes along the Indo-China borders, the time Diwali rolls up, LG aims to have its production rise by 12- friction between the two nations has escalated. Thus, LG is looking 15x.n

Qualcomm to invest $97 million in Reliance Jio platforms S-based fabless semiconductor company Qualcomm has telecommunications market by offering cut-rate voice and data Ubecome the newest high-profile backer of four-year-old plans. It has amassed nearly 400 million subscribers to become Reliance Jio Platforms, which has raised more than $15.7 billion the top carrier in the world’s second largest internet market in less in the past few weeks from many investors. Recently, Qualcomm than four years of its existence, as per reports. Ventures said it will invest $97 million in Reliance Jio Platforms Its dominance in the Indian telecom space while maintaining to acquire a 0.15% equity stake “on a fully diluted basis” in the an ARPU (average revenue per user) that match those of its rivals top Indian telecom operator. Qualcomm said it will help Jio has made Reliance Jio Platforms – a subsidiary of Reliance Platforms “roll out advanced 5G infrastructure and services for Industries, India’s most valued firm – an attractive firm for a roster Indian customers.” Reliance Jio Platforms, which competes with of high-profile investors. Facebook,S ilver Lake, General Atlantic, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea in India, has disrupted the Indian Intel are some of the firms that have backed Jio Platforms at the height of a global pandemic. Jio Platforms has sold 25.24% stake in the firm during the period. The digital unit for Reliance Industries also operates a number of digital services including streaming services for music, live TV channels, and movies and TV shows. More recently, the Indian firm added a new service to its arsenal, a video conferencing service.n [email protected]

14 | august 2020 MYMOBILE justin

Realme C11

ealme has launched a new Rentry-level smartphone in the country -- the Realme C11. The smartphone is available in India on selected partner store, realme.com, and Flipkart. The Realme C11 comes in two colours -- Rich Green and First Look First Rich Grey -- and with 2GB RAM and 32GB ROM. It is priced at Rs 7,499 in India. The Indian version is the same as the global version. Realme C11 features a 6.5-inch screen with a resolution of 720×1600 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. It is powered by 12nm MediaTek Helio G35 processor with LPDDR4X RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It includes an expandable storage option via microSD card. The Realme C11 boasts a large, 5000mAh battery, enabling users to enjoy non-stop gaming, audio, and video experience. In terms of camera, the phone includes a 13MP primary sensor at the back along with a secondary 2MP depth sensor. On the front, there’s a 5MP image sensor for selfies. The phone includes a mini drop notch. The company also launched a new Realme 30W dart charge 10000mAh power bank. The power bank is compatible with all fast charging phones and not just Realme and comes in two colours -- Black and Yellow. It is available on Realme.com and Flipkart at Rs 1,999. n

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 15 justin

Infinix Smart 4 Plus

nfinix recently launched the Smart 4 Plus smartphone in India. The all- Inew handset is a successor of Smart 3 Plus that earned good reviews last year. Infinix Smart 4 Plus is the first in the sub 8K segment to come with a 6,000mAh battery along with AI Smart power saving feature which claims to give a two-day power back-up to the device. In terms of specs, the Smart 4 Plus sports a 6.82-inch HD+ drop notch display and 90.3% screen to body ratio along with a brightness of 480 nits. Powered by Helio A25 octa-core processor with 3GB RAM and 32 First Look First GB storage, the brand new Smart 4 Plus smartphone operates on Android XOS 6.2 Dolphin. It also comes with a dedicated 3-in-1 SD card slot for expanding the memory up to 256GB. All of this combines with a stunning gem-cut texture design with 2.5D curved glass unibody finish. Talking about cameras, the all-new Infinix phone comes equipped with a 13MP AI dual rear camera that has a triple LED flash along with an f/1.8 large aperture. The smartphone also features an 8MP selfie camera with f/2.0 aperture, AI-driven beauty mode and multiple camera modes such as portrait and wide selfie. A cutting-edge AI framework boosts the camera capabilities of the phone, enabling auto scene detection from 10 different modes to adjust the image accordingly. Additionally, the rear camera is also equipped with AI HDR+ composition for an exceptional exposure along with a 3D body shaping feature. The smartphone also comes with sensor and face unlock for enhanced security along with VoWiFi/ VoLTE support. The viewing experience offered by this handset is backed by a powerful audio experience enabled by DTS surround sound in four modes for maximum engagement. As discussed, the big battery claims to offer a standby time of 31 days that delivers up to 23 hours of nonstop video playback, 38 hours of 4G talktime, 44 hours of music playback, 23 hours of web surfing and 13 hours of gaming. Available exclusively on Flipkart at Rs 7,999, the Smart 4 Plus comes in three colours- Ocean Wave, Voilet and Midnight Black. n

14 | june 2020 MYMOBILE justin

Realme 6i he newly launched Realme 6i smartphone comes with a 6.50-inch Ttouchscreen display with a resolution of 1080x2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9. Priced at Rs 12,999, the smartphone is available in two colours variants -- Lunar White and Eclipse Black. Realme 6i is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G90T processor. It comes with 4GB of RAM. The Realme 6i runs and is powered by a 4300mAh non- First Look First removable battery. The Realme 6i supports Quick Charge fast charging. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Realme 6i on the rear packs a 48MP primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture; a second 8MP camera with an f/2.3 aperture; a third 2MP camera with an f/2.4 aperture and a fourth 2MP camera with an f/2.4 aperture. The rear camera setup has autofocus. It sports a 16MP camera on the front for selfies, with an f/2.0 aperture. The Realme 6i runs Realme UI based on Android 10 and packs 64GB of inbuilt storage that can be expanded via microSD card (up to 256GB). The Realme 6i is a dual-SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. The Realme 6i measures 162.10 x 74.80 x 8.90mm (height x width x thickness) and weighs 191.00 grams. It was launched in Lunar White and Eclipse Black colours. Connectivity options on the Realme 6i include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ ac, GPS, Bluetooth v5.00, USB Type-C, 3G, and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, compass/ magnetometer, , proximity sensor, and fingerprint sensor. The Realme 6i supports face unlock. n

www.mymobileindia.com feabruguuaryst 2020 | 2117 justin First Look First

TECNO SPARK 5 Pro hinese smartphone maker TECNO has launched SPARK 5 Pro Cin the Indian market at Rs 10,499. TECNO SPARK 5 Pro is designed to cater to the needs of the ‘Greater Bharat’ who are the aspiring, value-seeking consumers looking for premium features at an affordable price. SPARK 5 Pro has Super Big 6.6-inch HD+ Dot-in display coupled with 90.2 per cent screen to body ratio and 20:9 aspect ratio. The immersive display and wide aspect ratio will add a new spark to movie watching and gaming experience. The quad rear camera (16MP+2+2+AI lens) on SPARK 5 Pro boasts of a 16MP primary AI camera with F1.8 apertures, 2MP with 120-degree ultra-wide lens and macro lens for capturing wide frames and 4cm extreme close up shot, and a 2MP depth lens that allows you to click breathtaking portrait photos that can be shared across social networks. Additionally, you can enjoy the AR mode on both front and rear cameras to enhance the fun aspect of photography. For selfie lovers, the front sports an 8 MP AI dot-in selfie camera with dual front flash. Further, the device comes with an AI beauty mode that helps you click real and clearer selfies.N ight or low light photos are also brighter with F1.8 large aperture and Quad flash in rear camera and dual flash in the selfie camera TECNO SPARK 5 pro comes with a high-density large capacity battery 5000 mAh. TECNO SPARK 5 Pro is a complete ‘value package’ and yet a genuine all-rounder which brings in the combination of unique offers. The SPARK 5 Pro is available in three colour variants – Seabed Blue, Spark Orange and Ice Jadeite for purchase across 35000+ retail stores pan India. n

16 | july 2020 MYMOBILE justin

POCO M2 Pro Look First

hinese smartphone vendor POCO has launched its second 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 5MP macro camera along with a Csmartphone of the season, POCO M2 Pro. 2MP depth sensor. While the 8MP ultra-wide camera allows The smartphone is available on Flipkart with a starting users to take pictures with a field of view of 119 degrees, the price of Rs 13,999. 5MP macro camera details the close-up shots comes with POCO M2 Pro comes with a 720G auto-focus and can shoot videos in 1080p. The Selfie lens is processor and features an 8nm fabrication. The processor a 16MP shooter. features eight Kryo 465 cores (2 x Gold – Cortex-A76 clocked The M2 Pro has a 6.67 fullscreen display, a side-mounted at 2.3GHz and 6 x Silver – Cortex-A55 clocked at 1.8 GHz), fingerprint scanner along with Z-Shocker Haptics. and the Qualcomm 618 GPU. It features triple Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and is protected Paired with up to 6GB of LPDDR4X by P2i’s nano-coating for splash and dust. RAM, POCO M2 Pro features UFS2.1 POCO M2 Pro will be available storage up to 128GB with a dedicated in 4/64GB, 6/64GB and microSD slot for further expansion. 6/128GB storage variants for It has a 5,000mAh battery with Rs 13,999, 14,999, 16,999, 33W fast charger in-box. respectively in Out of the Blue, Green POCO M2 Pro comes with and Greener, and Two Shades of Black a 48MP wide camera, an colour variants. n justin First Look First

Motorola One Fusion

otorola quietly revealed shooter with a 118-degree field of view. Mthe One Fusion+ They are joined by a 5MP macro camera without an announcement and 2MP depth sensor. last month. In terms of power, the One The previously leaked Fusion has the mid-range Qualcomm non-Plus Snapdragon 710 SoC, 4GB of RAM, Fusion model was nowhere to 64GB of storage, and a 5,000mAh be seen, but today the battery. company is making both devices The display is 6.5-inches with a centre (more) official in a blog post published today. notch for the 8MP selfie camera and is 720p in resolution. The The Motorola One Fusion is a slightly less powerful model phone launches with Android 10 and Motorola’s than the Fusion+. One of the biggest areas of focus for Motorola customizations. is the camera. The main camera is 48MP and it has Quad The Motorola One Fusion is available across various countries technology, so photos are 4-in-1 binned down to 12MP for better in Latin America. It comes in Emerald Green and Deep Sapphire images in low-light conditions. The second camera is an 8MP Blue colours. n

20 | august 2020 MYMOBILE justin

ASUS ROG Phone 3

aiwan-based smartphone maker has launched the new stereo speakers. TASUS ROG Phone 3 at an online ceremony. For photography, the ROG Phone 3 packs a triple camera The ROG Phone 3 presents with several cutting-edge setup on the back including a 64MP Sony IMX686 main camera technology and improvements over its predecessors. with f1.8 aperture and 1.6um large pixel size. There is also a With the Snapdragon 865+ mobile platform onboard, 144Hz 13MP ultrawide sensor and macro camera. For selfies, the notch- refresh rate and more, the gaming phone is tailored towards less display houses a 24MP sensor. achieving the best gaming experience. The ROG Phone 3 runs Android 10 out of the box, customized The Asus ROG Phone 3 features a 6.59-inch AMOLED display by the ROG UI. ASUS also announced a number of its cool with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The phone sports a Full HD+ resolution gaming accessories including the Kunai 3 gamepad, Aeroactive of 1080 x 2340 pixels, as well as a refresh rate up to 144 Hz, Cooler 3, Twinview Dock 3, ROG Cetra RGB in-ear gaming the highest ever seen on a phone. The display will not be the only headphones. The lighting armour and neon cases were also light on the phone: on the rear side, there will be a LED-lit ROG unveiled. logo which lights up during gaming. Apart from this the company also announced the India specific The processor is paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM as availability details for the phone. well as 512GB UFS 3.1 flash storage. There are also 12GB RAM The phone is available in 8GB+128GB and 12GB+256GB and 8GB RAM variants. at Rs 49,999 and 57,999 respectively. The ROG Phone 3 is There is a 6000mAh battery under the hood as well as dual available in India via Flipkart from August 6. n

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 21 justin

Redmi Note 9

hinese smartphone brand Xiaomi has Cannounced the latest Note 9 for the Indian consumers. is available in three colour variants, Pebble Grey, Arctic White, and Aqua Green in 4GB+64GB, 4GB+128GB and 6GB+128GB storage variants for Rs 11,999, Rs 13,499 and Rs 14,999 respectively across mi.com, India, Mi Homes and Mi First Look First Studios. While brought balanced, all-round performance, Redmi Note 9 aims to cater to the growing need of high- performance smartphones in the segment. The performance and gaming focussed octa-core MediaTek HD+ (2340×1080) Helio G85 feature two Cortex-A75 cores clocked up to 2.0GHz resolution which offers and six Cortex-A55 cores clocked up to 1.8GHz. an immersive experience. The 5020mAh battery allows up to 2 days of usage without Redmi Note 9 features a quad- breaking a sweat. The 22.5W fast charger (available in-box) camera array consisting of 48MP charges the Redmi Note 9 in no time. The Type-C charging port Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1, 8MP supports 9W reverse charging. ultrawide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth Redmi Note 9 features Aura Balance Design, introduced first sensors. with the Redmi Note 9 Pro series. The 16.5cm (6.53-inch) Software optimisations across photography and video DotDisplay offers maximum screen real estate coupled with Full enable a slew of camera modes like LOG video capture, RAW photography, pro video, and a 21:9 movie frame. For enhanced productivity and fun, features such as pro-colour, document scanner and kaleidoscope also make their way to Redmi Note 9. A 13MP AI selfie sensor takes up the front camera. n

MYMOBILE justin International Nubia Red Magic 5S

ubia has unveiled the all-new Red Magic 5S in China that The device features the same 6.65-inch FHD+ AMOLED Ncomes with 144Hz display, active cooling fan. display with a 144Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling, and The new Nubia Red Magic 5S is a minor upgrade over its an in-display fingerprint scanner. predecessor and it packs in Qualcomm’s latest flagship Snapdragon The Red Magic 5S includes an improved cooling system, with 865 Plus chip, coupled with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a silver-plated cooling pad called ICE Ag accompanying the up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. 15,000 RPM built-in fan for better thermal performance under load and while charging. Speaking of which, the device retains the 4,500mAh battery from its predecessor that supports 55W fast charging. In the camera department, the Nubia Red Magic 5S still packs in a 64MP IMX686 primary sensor, coupled with an 8MP wide-angle camera, and a 2MP macro camera on the back. The device also features RGB lighting zones and capacitive touch triggers that offer a touch sampling rate of 320Hz. Along with the Red Magic 5S, Nubia has also unveiled its new Red Magic TWS gaming earphones that feature a unique design and boast of a low-latency gaming mode that can drop the delay to just 39ms. The company has also launched a pair of neckband-style wireless earphones that also feature the same low latency gaming mode. The Nubia Red Magic 5S is currently available in China via sale. The device comes in three RAM/storage configurations -- 8GB+128GB, 12GB+256GB and 16GB+256GB at CNY 3,799, CNY 4,399 and CNY 4,999 respectively. Along with the distinct red and blue two-tone colour variant, the Red Magic 5S will also be available in a new silver colour option. The device is expected to launch globally later this year in September. n [email protected] [email protected]

august 2020 | 23 lead story Nord,

Limelight the Nerd? OnePlus has launched its ‘affordable’ smartphone Nord in India and tries to define affordability in its own way. Would the Nord turn out to be the ‘Nerd’ for OnePlus and its flagship range or would it disrupt the competition? By Haider Ali Khan

ffordable’ seems to have a income of India stood at Rs 11,254 in below 30K buyers but, does it make sense new benchmark in India. 2019-20 and in such a country companies for a premium brand to look back? A few months ago, the define affordability by their own methods. It “Generally, if we look at premium American company, Apple, is upto you to decide whether a smartphone brands across product categories that have ‘Alaunched its second-generation iPhone at Rs 24,000 or more sounds, looks or feels attempted to enter a relatively affordable SE 2020 and priced at around Rs 42,990 ‘affordable’ to you. segment, the results have and called it ‘affordable’. Similarly, the OnePlus has cleverly placed Nord in the not been Chinese label, OnePlus, has launched its competition and now tries to expand own version of ‘affordable’ smartphone in its reach for the India, the OnePlus Nord, which sells at Rs 24,999. The per capita lead story Limelight

encouraging. This is primarily because the of what was being expected of it and has brands compromise on quality and create a defined a new space for itself under 25K new value proposition on the price-quality with Nord, thus calling it ‘affordable’. continuum. Apple’s C series of iPhones This is purely an aftereffect of the Corona is an example to it,” said Faisal Kawoosa, pandemic. Founder and Chief Analyst at techARC. The economic situation and the lukewarm response to its last premium Role Reversal flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 8 series, Upasana Joshi, Associate Research Manager have been the reasons for this reverse gear at IDC India says, “In India, One Plus began by OnePlus. The buyers, mainly corporate, operating in late 2014 with an aim to join did not have cash in hand at that time, the league of premium smartphone makers salaries were deducted or not being paid such as Apple or Samsung. They built “a at all, thousands lost their jobs in this tech fan community” who preferred future- pandemic, and because of these reasons, ready phones with the latest specification the OnePlus 8 series did not see much of but not as heavy on the pocket as flagships buyers. from other brands. Starting as an invite- The ‘Sold Out’ on the e-commerce portal only launch on Amazon with its unique is a different ballgame of marketing. We referral-based purchase, it really created can never know the exact number of units a unique approach to market and spreader sold. The same happened with OnePlus the word of mouth. Over the years, it’s TVs as well. The Chinese company brought product offerings which are very tech- down the prices of its newly launched TVs, heavy, superior build quality and designs, Y, and U series, to Rs 12,999 for the 32- brand association through community- inch model. So you have understood why based programs, the opening of multiple OnePlus was forced to look back in terms experience stores, etc., have led to a of products and their pricing. Samsung. So far the brand’s phones were strong affiliation of loyal customers of “For the brand, in terms of business, this in a segment that sells not more than 9 OnePlus especially in the US$400—600 is a significant move. It has been primarily million smartphones a year. Now it has segment.” playing in the premium segment and after widened that to cater to a segment where The COVID19 has done what trade war, 7 Pro launch, it had kissed the Luxe (above 12-14 million smartphones are sold competition, and demand could not do. 50k) segment. By that journey, it was annually in India. We estimate OnePlus OnePlus, a brand boasting itself to be the getting into a less opportunity segment, should be able to increase its sales in terms king of premium smartphones, i.e, beyond confining its addressable market. And then of unit volumes by 25-30% in the next 6-12 30K price barrier, dived complete opposite in Luxe, we have a dominance of Apple and months. This is owing to its strong equity

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 25 lead story

in the premium segment and some level 10.5. with a difference in the chipset.” of aspiration in the affordable segment Faisal says, “In the case of OnePlus which it has just rung,” feels Faisal. Nord, there does not seem to be Pandemic Planning, Is it? any compromise in quality and Amit Sharma, Research Analyst, Industry OnePlus Nord experience over which OnePlus has built Intelligence Group, CMR, said, “The OnePlus Nord is launched at a starting its reputation over the years. So, its aim affordable smartphone segment is one price of Rs 24,999 for the 6GB RAM and of brining equitable experience to the of the largest in India accounting for 64GB storage variant. The 6GB model is affordable segment seems to have been close to 75% of the market. We do not only limited to India. The 8GB/128GB achieved.” view the OnePlus move to go back to and 12GB/256GB models will sell at Rs The ‘affordable’ Nord sports four roots with the Nord as a reaction to the Limelight 27,999 and Rs 29,999, respectively. The cameras at the back that include a 48MP pandemic. Rather, it’s a strategic move to basic 6GB/64GB model will be available Sony IMX586 primary sensor, 8MP ultra- widen the OnePlus user base by catering in September. The other two variants will wide lens, 5MP depth sensor and a 2MP to the consumer demand in this segment. be available starting August 4. macro lens. For selfies and video calls, The OnePlus Nord checks all the specs “We are excited to finally bring a it has a 32MP primary shooter and a that one needs, including the dual selfie more accessible OnePlus smartphone secondary 8MP ultra-wide image sensor. cameras, and being future 5G ready. All said Indian consumers, have traditionally viewed OnePlus as a Premium Smartphone brand that is synonymous with quality.” There’s no denying that OnePlus has tried to make Nord a complete package, someone a buyer in that segment will look for otherwise in Xiaomi or Realme smartphones but, there are options available in the market with more or less same features such as Realme X3 and Xiaomi . This BBK-Electronics prodigy has understood the Indian market and its dynamics in the last six years of operations. “During these unprecedented times of COVID, where economic health of the country is shaken, IDC expects the low and mid-end price segment phones to garner more volumes in comparison to high-end flagship devices. Nord fits decently in the mid-price segment backed up by the brand value of OnePlus which that confidently stands alongside other The phone runs on a 4,115mAh battery has rather gathered consumer mind share products in the OnePlus family,” said supported by the Warp Charge 30T fast similar to Apple/Samsung over the years,” Pete Lau, Founder, and CEO of OnePlus on charging technology. added Upasana. its launch. Upasana adds, “OnePlus Nord, the The bulk sale continues in affordable The OnePlus Nord has a 6.44-inch latest affordable offering from OnePlus and entry segment smartphones. The AMOLED display that offers a 90Hz aims at extending its product line further OnePlus now did not want to miss on that refresh rate. Nord is powered by Qualcomm up to larger masses by bringing similar front as well but, in doing so it will also Snapdragon 765G chipset paired with tech-heavy products at lower price points. kill its own flagship smartphones such up to 12GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB, Most of the features of Nord resonate as OnePlus 8 series and OnePlus 7, etc. and UFS 2.1 storage. The OnePlus Nord with the flagship OP-8 like the number Neha, my colleague, has just purchased runs on Android 10 based on OxygenOS of cameras, megapixels, refresh rate, etc. OnePlus 8 at a staggering price of Rs

26 | august 2020 MYMOBILE that made people talk about it. You could entiretheonsocial mediums available wasn’t seen before. It’s justnothing pure extraordinary marketing or something which of OnePlus Nord you will realise that it has INR20-30K segment.” in norm new a is which 6GB/128GB 845/855 series and storage variants like segment especially with advanced SDM INR30K than less in offerings better vendors and Samsung which have similar/ face competition from other China-based affordable pricing. However, OnePlus to aspiring for flagship type consumers featuresand devices, segment end at much low- from upgraders youth, the targeting expected to fuel more volumesU for OnePlus, Competition horizon,” added Faisal. sales its widen to OnePlus of attempt ofCovid-19. Iwould more believe it an don’t subscribe to it being an aftereffect decision that isn’t taken overnight. So, I breaking into a new segment is a strategicfacie,in just such ashort span. Also, especially which looks complete prima don’t think so. You can’t design a product, millennials. differencefor a makes thatfour, and lenses whereas the OnePlus 8 has only camera, OnePlus Nord of has a terms total In of six chipsets. Snapdragon’s Qualcomm generation seventh the and similar configuration barring the eighth with cheaper 17,000 Rs selling Nord 42,000 and now she feels cheated with pasana feels, “This series will be be will series “This feels, pasana If you look deep into the specifications Elaborating the COVID19 scenario, “I www.mymobileindia.com as there is some aspirational equity. Also, easierfor it to make a substantial move much becomes it segment, affordable relatively a enters brand premium any there isatoughturf.However, whenever Chinesebrands. By that dynamics, yes like Xiaomi, Realme are flocking among beenableachieveto this,many others themselves in it and Vivo has considerablyWhile Vivo and Oppo are trying now goingto through intenseestablish competition. in September. base model. You can only get it somewhere question arises on the availability of the equation at the moment in India. Another the 5G factor yet, it’s completelyimproved out ofchipset the than 765G. Doprice notwhich iscount any day a much better and Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 at a similar deal-breaker foryouths.You canalsoget 25,000minusexpandable storage a is Rs at 6GB/64GB The platform. its on Nord is the most sought after smartphone in India, came with a report that OnePlus years six last the since partner standing e-commerce platform,Amazon,itslong- imagine, just two days after the launch, “In India, 25-30k price band is right to fight for plus Samsung. hence it has all the BBK-ownedOnePlus. companiesXiaomi plays on a largeOppo, scaleVivo, andand Realme are not aOnePlus threat rather it tohas been the opposite. Samsung is yet to eat into thedistracted. seem not didOnePlusterritories but, of Indians can afford. of everything packed at bit a decent price which a with smartphone complete has become synonymous with an overall productofferingsquality.and OnePlus buyersandthat’s onlybecause theirof the pandemic blues. strategically placed smartphone tosmartphones. counter The ‘affordable’ Nord is a but, that we rarely see when it comes to sentiment could be a factor at the moment definitely vouch for Nord. The anti-China will millennials but, not or it like may affordable people will flock for it. Critics gimmick but, marketing when a be a premium could Nord brand OnePlus goes Conclusion The brand perception is positive among mid-rangebetweenbuyers.andluxury bridgea itself.brandworksasforThe concludes. positively,”OnePlus for Faisal work will segmentwitha notch-up.thinkthat I So, it essentially helps consumersso farposition only accessible to sensepremium of segment.pride in owning apeople in brandthe affordable segment whichget some was Competition has been around for a while OnePlus has definitely created a niche lead [email protected] n story augst 2020 |

27 Limelight Market insight Smartphone Shipments Slip Pent-up demand after April, May lockdown pushes the June 2020 volumes to pre-COVID levels and the smartphone user base in India Trendz beyond the half a billion mark, says Counterpoint Research

he smartphone shipments the market witnessed a surge in sales as the the India-China border dispute during declined by 51% YoY to just lockdown restrictions were slowly lifted. The June.” over 18 million units in Q2 quarter was thus marred by both demand “However, local manufacturing, R&D this year in India, according and supply constraints which led OEMs to operations, attractive value-for-money Tto the latest research from Counterpoint’s rethink their go-to-market strategies. On offerings and strong channel entrenchment Market Monitor service. The nationwide the supply side, the factories were shut by Chinese brands leaves very few options lockdown imposed by the Government down in April and started operating in May, for consumers to choose from. Additionally, of India to combat COVID-19 resulted in which resulted in supply shortages for some in the era of globalization, it is difficult to zero shipments during April. However, the manufacturers. Some brands maintained label a product based on country of origin as market is starting to return to normal. In the supply of their products by importing components are being sourced from many June 2020, Indian smartphone shipments fully assembled handsets. Additionally, the different countries. This development has registered a mild decline of 0.3% YoY, last week of the quarter saw components given a window of opportunity for brands thanks to the pent-up demand as well as being held up at customs, which also like Samsung and local Indian brands such a push from brands. Due to concerns over impacted the supply chain.” as Micromax and Lava, to recapture market potential COVID-19 infection, consumers Commenting on how the pandemic share. Further, Jio-Google’s partnership prefer contactless purchasing and online has been shaping the competitive to bring a highly affordable 4G Android channels. Smartphone brands are also landscape, Shilpi Jain, Research Analyst smartphones could also gain ground, recognizing this trend by pushing more at Counterpoint, noted, “The contribution banking on the growing #VocalforLocal inventory to online channels. of Chinese brands fell to 72% in Q2 2020 sentiment,” she said. Commenting on the market dynamics, from 81% in Q1 2020. This was mainly India is home to more than 350 million Prachir Singh, Senior Research Analyst due to the mixture of stuttering supply feature phone users and the feature phone at Counterpoint, said, “The COVID-19 for some major Chinese brands such as market was the worst affected segment as it pandemic wiped-out almost 40 days Oppo, Vivo and Realme, and growing anti- declined by a massive 68% YoY in Q2 2020 of production as well as the sales of China sentiment that was compounded by as consumers in this highly cost-sensitive smartphones due to the nationwide stringent actions taken by the government segment tried to save money by reducing lockdown. During May, the government to ban more than 50 apps of Chinese origin discretionary purchases. In the near-to-mid allowed shops to open and online channel and delay the import of goods from China term, this could actually boost the used and deliveries for non-essential items. As a result, amid extra scrutiny. This all resulted from refurbished mobile phone market.

Market Summary: • Despite supply constraints and rising negative consumer sentiment towards China, Xiaomi continued to lead the Indian smartphone market in Q2 2020. Models like the dual, Redmi Note 8 Pro, and Redmi Note 8 continue to attract consumers’ interest due to competitive pricing, strong value propositions, and good channel reach. During the quarter, the brand entered

54 | june 2020 MYMOBILE Vivo • Realme • Samsung • www.mymobileindia.com though its share declined to 11% as it of June. full manufacturing capacity by the almost reach end to brand first the was It maintain a steady flow of components. to its competitors, which helped it to diversifieda supply chain compared in the Indian market. Samsung the brand to further alsorestore its position has schemes like Samsung Care+ helped it in offline channels together withRevamping new the M-series and launching2020 from 16% duringQ2 in 26% to theshare its lastincreasing quarter. Xiaomi, followed closely brand The the second largest brand in Q2 2020. pre-COVIDbecominglevelsof 94% brand to recover fast in June. Y30 to its Y-series portfolio helped the addingmoresmartphones likeY50, and V19 flagship its of launch The up its production output postAdditionally, lockdown. it also managed to ramp level. pre-COVID 60% with quarter lockdown demand well as it exited the strategies that worked in its favour. the COVID-19 situation are some focus,of theand timely actions to respond hearables.to Good planning, customer launch of a smart vacuum cleaner and the ecosystemportfoliowithIoT its devicecontinued5Gand expand to 45,000 ~ $597) with (>INR its segment flagshipultra-premium the Mi10 India Xiaomi Tot O OPP Realme VIV Samsung thers was O Smartphone Shipment Market Share (%) al

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Market Market Although • Apple • OnePlus • Itel • HugeopportunitieslieaheadforIndia • Online • During • consumers appeal. broaden to A-series affordable its attractive hearables. It also revamped of its5Gflagship,FindX2seriesand (>INR 45,000 ~ $600) with enteringthethe ultra-premium segment launch by share mind gain to managed it the quarter due to supply constraints, this segment. to further capitalize on momentum in budget segment and it the will in well performed look series Narzo forward all of May. However, its newly-launched series, which also comes with 5G. 8 OnePlus newly-launched its with premium market (>INR 30,000 ~$398) purchases and social distancing. contactless preferred Consumers 45% of sales, a second-quarter record.highest ever level, accounting for almost partners. demandand support offline channel channelstrategy catertopent-up to vivo, Samsung, OPPO initiated the O2O OnePlus in Q2. shipments, though it lost some 45,000share ~ $600)to driven by iPhone (>INR 11 segment ultra-premium the India. to China from production smartphone 20% shift to planning also is Apple scheme. PLI the leverage to India to shift its handset production from China to planning also is brand homegrown a Lava, example, For India. in bases OEMs are planning to set up production April, in scheme PLI 41000 INR the government’s push.Afterthelaunchof Indian the to owing handsets for hub to becomeamanufacturingandexport ever share of 24% in the quarter. feature phone market reaching its highest remains

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augst 2020 | in

29 Trendz face to face “We are a company of Swedish origin but with an Indian heart”

Recently, Truecaller was restricted for use by the Indian Armed Forces as Government of India clamps down heavily on the apps alleged of threat to our National Security. Truecaller believes that it got caught in the cross-fire between Indian Security Agencies and Chinese apps which led to this unfortunate move. To clear the mist, Haider Ali Khan had a quick chit-chat with Hitesh Raj Bhagat, Director of Corporate Communications, Truecaller, on this ban, its effects and much more. Edited Excerpts:

In Conversation In Truecaller registered its protest to include it in the list of 89 apps banned for armed forces but, what had led to it? What were the reasons given to you before or after this move? It was unfortunate that Truecaller was included in the list of 89 apps banned by the Indian Armed Forces for their personnel. As far as our app and services are concerned, we see no reason to be included in this list. It’s important to note that this is limited only to serving armed forces personnel and does not, in any way, hinder the functionality of the app for any of our 170 million active users in India. Our users trust us to provide a vital service (Caller ID & Spam blocking),

which is why over 140 million people in what extent? We provide a very India out of 170 million active users open important utility to our users, which is the app multiple times a day to use all why they use our app and also love us this our services like SMS messaging, Instant much. We don’t see this ban impacting Messaging, private Group Chat, VoIP growth of Truecaller in India but we are calling, Flash Messaging, UPI payments definitely disappointed by this step taken and instant digital loans. by the Armed Forces.

Did you approach Indian government to rethink How many Indian users other than armed their decision? We have communicated to forces uninstalled Truecaller post this the relevant authorities that we stand ready announcement? We have not seen a spike to submit any clarifications and address in uninstalls post the announcement by the any concerns they may have. Armed Forces. This reaffirms to us that we enjoy a lot of trust from our user community Do you expect this ban would impact and gives us the confidence to work towards the growth of Truecaller in India and to making our app even better.

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Where do you store the data Indians generate and how safe are they? All our Indian user’s data is stored in India and our storage and data practices conform to the highest level of security protocols. We take the security and privacy of our user’s data very seriously.

What do you have to say on this app ban phenomenon? In a way, the ban on Chinese apps seems to have worked in our favour. A lot of people seem to think that Truecaller is either Chinese or has Chinese links and investments. Obviously, neither of these statements are true but after this government order, we actually saw a spurt in new user registrations. On 2 July, we crossed the milestone of in India. getting over 4,00,000 new registered “It is important Finally, we believe every user has users in one day in India. All of this to note that we do not store the right to their own data and how happened organically, through any sensitive data like bank they appear on Truecaller. This is word of mouth. That said, we account numbers, credit/debit card why users can set up or alter their also believe that user privacy profile on Truecaller themselves, and the integrity of our nation numbers, financial transactions, etc. Our they can disable any permissions remains paramount. Pay platform is secured by two of the they don’t want to give (we show biggest banks in India i.e. ICICI Bank them how) and they can even How do you assure your 17 choose to unlist themselves crore Indian users of privacy and Bank of Baroda. All financial from the database with a few and data security that it won’t be services are completely in simple steps. used against them? There are three compliance to the UPI and It is important to note that we aspects to this: do not store any sensitive data like First, Truecaller exists to make all BBPS platforms” bank account numbers, credit/debit card communication safer and more efficient. numbers, financial transactions, etc. Our We are constantly communicating this Pay platform is secured by two of the mission and our core values to our users origin but with an Indian heart. It’s not just biggest banks in India i.e. ICICI Bank and - through our social media channels, the a majority of our users and user data but Bank of Baroda. All financial services are Truecaller Blog and through stories in the also a majority of Truecaller employees completely in compliance to the UPI and media. that are based in India. We are a team of BBPS platforms. n Second, we are a company of Swedish 230 globally and 120 of those are based [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 31 face to face “Chingari is ready to set ablaze the India market” The recent ban on 59 Chinese apps in India has given a new lease of life to homegrown players who were struggling to make their presence felt in their respective categories. Short video platform Chingari, which is said to be an Indian rival to TikTok, is one such application that has grown leaps and bounds ever since the government’s directive came into force. Chingari (at the time of going to press) has garnered over 22M downloads, 5M daily active users and over 2M reviews on Google Play Store. Sumit Ghosh, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Chingari, speaks more about the app and its growing popularity, in

In Conversation In an interaction with Ramesh Kumar Raja. Ghosh lauds Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Innovation’ challenge that allows the IT workforce of India to come forward and show the potential of homegrown apps. Excerpts:

Please tell us about the journey of Chingari. irrespective of the success of TikTok. Where were you when your Chinese counterparts were raking in moolah in India? The ban on TikTok and other similar platforms From starting as an unrecognized app to might have given a new lease of life to one of the fastest-growing mobile apps Chingari. How do you look at this development that have achieved the feat of 11 million and the response so far on Google Play and downloads in less than 22 days, the journey App Store? The response Chingari is getting of Chingari is incredible. We have always is so unreal. We cannot deny that the ban been rooting for developing an all-in-one on TikTok has brought light to Chingari. We app that provides the two most important have witnessed over 3 million downloads in things, videos and news. And finally, just 10 days and over 500,000 downloads made it happen in November 2018 when in just 72 hours. There’s a huge increase we launched our app. While developing in our retention numbers and daily app the app, our priority was consumers, that user’s engagement time. But at the end they should enjoy and have a good time of the day, what matters to us is, people using it. are appreciating our efforts and enjoying After launching Chingari, we started using the app. working on making it better in terms of We have garnered over 22M downloads, features, user-interface and data security. 5M DAUs (Daily Active Users) and over Though TikTok had already gained 2M reviews on Google Play Store after the popularity at that time, we were sure Chinese app ban. with our ideas and efforts that Chingari We see this situation as a once in was altogether a different a lifetime opportunity to make people platform built with a understand the power of ‘Made In India’ different perspective apps, and therefore, our team is working and would get round the clock to set the bar high. noticeable downloads Is it the beginning of a new era for homegrown sooner or later, apps which were biting dust owing to

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coming up that will hopefully that become popular on the app. For every make users enjoy using Chingari video that users upload, they get points and attract new flaming talents per view that can be redeemed for money. on the hot new stage to set the We’re also approaching content creators to world on fire. join our app. In the coming days, Chingari is ready Content moderation is an issue to set ablaze the market with new unique of concern for social media AR filters, amazing features, and suchU ser platforms. How do you handle Interface people will love. dominance of Chinese players? Yes, it is it? The dissemination on surely the beginning of a new era for social media sites of disinformation, Can you please tell us about the funds you homegrown apps. Our Prime Minister misinformation, hate speech, and are raising and how they are going to help Shri Narendra Modi has also initiated the violent and extremist content heated your business model? Chingari’s popularity ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Innovation’ challenge is growing at a fast speed and the company to allow the IT workforce of our nation to “We cannot deny is growing. But as you know to expand, come forward and show the potential business needs funds. Yes, we are in talks of homegrown apps. that the ban on TikTok has with investors to raise funds.

It is undoubtedly a brought light to Chingari. We have This is definitely going to help Conversation In revolutionary move, and witnessed over 3 million downloads in Chingari to flame higher, come also very essential at the up with high tech visual features same time to empower the just 10 days and over 500,000 downloads which users can add in their sovereignty and security in just 72 hours. There’s a huge increase in video, fresh filters, collaboration of the country, looking at our retention numbers and daily app user’s programs and much more. As the the potential threats from engagement time. But at the end brand evolves and new users and neighboring countries like market requirements fall in, funds China. of the day, what matters to us is, will definitely play a major role to people are appreciating our help Chingari succeed. It must have been a surreal efforts and enjoying using experience for Chingari with regard Since short video platforms have emerged to its user base. Are your servers capable the app” as a big marketing tool, are you also looking of handling such huge traffic? Chingari has for corporate clients to increase your source seen an upsurge in the number of users debate in 2019. Considering all these, of revenue? We always welcome strategic reaching 100,000 downloads per hour we trumpeted the potential benefits of alliances that are mutually beneficial, since the TikTok ban and now has more applying Machine Learning algorithms to whether it be corporate, media, or any than 5 million daily active users. We are implement content policies that help to other client. working on the AWS cloud servers and are better interpret the sense, complexity, and now successfully able to handle millions context of language needed to recognize What Chingari is doing to ensure the of users seamlessly. The videos are only online abuse and bullying. We have human security of data in India? We understand 15 seconds to 60 seconds, and we can content moderators along with it, who the importance and the need for data accommodate without any hassle. review and delete the content if it exceeds security and leaving no stone unturned the threshold. to not compromise with it. We are using a What are you doing at the value addition dedicated and secured AWS cloud server to front to make your platform more exciting? What efforts you are putting into marketing store our data and strictly taking protective We were leading top in the Google Play to make Chingari more popular and increase measures to keep unauthorized access out Store, even with the basic features. its recall value amid growing competition of it. Therefore, we are working hard to make in this sector? To make Chingari more Our team is making sure to not only our application more seamless. We are popular, we are focusing on providing users bring new features in the coming days actively working to make our UI/UX more a golden chance to create and share their but will also bring extra security with every interesting, and there will definitely be many music on the platform. Also, Chingari will update. n more exciting features and improvements pay the music composers for their songs [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 33 in focus

Prevalence of open OS in smartphones has greatly facilitated inclusion of vernacular languages: ICEA

ith the widespread initiatives taken by the Government to adoption of smartphones encourage and leverage the rising popularity

running on open of smartphones for digital governance. Spotlight operating systems (OS) “With over 450 million smartphone Wlike Android, there are currently more users in India, mobile devices play a than 300 government applications, which significant role in India’s socio-economic are facilitating essential citizen services, development. The affordability of mobile including information dissemination, devices driven by open operating systems direct benefit transfers, education and and low mobile data rates have led to healthcare. The prevalence of open OS widespread adoption and use of digital in smartphones has greatly facilitated the governance services in India,” the ICEA inclusion of vernacular languages and said. reduced the time taken to build supporting A key finding of the report is that mobile applications, feels the Chairman of smartphones and e-services can be Indian Cellular Electronics Association leveraged by the government to unlock 80 (ICEA). per cent improvement in efficiency and 8x Industry body ICEA represents mobile reduction in processing time. and component manufacturers such as The growth in internet users in India Motorola, Xiaomi, Oppo, Nokia, Foxconn, is expected to be driven by rural users, Apple, Wistron, Flextronics, Lava, Vivo and many of whom will use these devices in others. local languages. The report finds that the “This momentum towards Digital essential elements for digital governance Governance has various benefits such apps and portals include local language as increase in efficiency, reduction in capabilities, offline functionality, low processing time and most importantly storage requirements and integrations with the government to reach citizens across access to citizens. The prevalence of Open other governance platforms. the country through apps like Aarogya OS in smartphones has greatly facilitated All of these features are enabled by Setu, which has more than 13 crore the inclusion of vernacular languages and open operating systems like Android, with downloads and is available in 12 Indian reduced the time taken to build supporting more than 300 essential government languages. mobile applications,” Pankaj Mohindroo, services being made available through “Smartphones have facilitated access Chairman, ICEA, told reporters through a mobile applications on the Play Store. to a rapidly expanding range of digitally video conference. India is the fastest growing app market delivered services through apps like “With the goal to digitally equip and in the world and #1 in app downloads as Umang, Digilocker and Bhim and also connect every citizen in the coming of 2019. Key services such as education, through mobile-friendly websites,” said years, India is utilizing smartphones and healthcare, finance, utilities, justice and Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY. technologies to stride towards a truly digital transport have become more accessible “Smartphones are helping transform nation,” Mohindroo added. to the general public through mobile the lives of Indian citizens, both urban To celebrate the “Fifth Anniversary of applications. and rural, through communication and the Digital India” program, Indian Cellular Several state governments are also assimilation of information. They are and Electronics Association (ICEA) recently accelerating digital initiatives through essential components for delivery and released a detailed report on “Contribution select government apps. Smartphones improving the effectiveness of e-governance of Smartphones to Digital Governance have also been vital to the government’s initiatives,” Sawhney added. n in India”, capturing various steps and response to the COVID-19 crisis, enabling [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 34

face to face “Mitron TV was downloaded by millions of Indian users, even before the ban on Chinese apps” In Conversation In

Mitron TV was launched and then removed from Play Store and again listed back. It has emerged as one of the most popular Indian alternatives to TikTok. The app allows users to reimagine digital entertainment and engagement which is designed for people to showcase their innovative videos online with the theme of light humour. You can create, edit and share your videos as well as browse through a library of top videos across the globe. By crossing 25 million downloads, early last month, Mitron TV app has become one of the most downloaded apps in India during the last two months with 40 million video views per hour. The app has been rapidly enhancing the product with several improvements for the users including an updated video upload process, enhanced audio library, a feature that enables users to flag any inappropriate content easily. Our correspondentVivek Singh Chauhan spoke to the Co-founder cum CEO of Mitron TV, Shivank Agarwal, to know how the ban on Chinese apps, including TikTok, increased its growth prospects, expansion plans etc. Here is the edited excerpt of the interaction.

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What has been Mitron TV’s journey so far? unprecedented ban on Chinese apps. behaviour cannot be mimicked. Personally, I always had a desire to have Immediately after the ban on Chinese We have done VAPT (Vulnerability an Indian social media platform which apps, Mitron TV traffic went up 11-fold. Assessment and Penetration Testing) for abides by Indian community guidelines. It Within 10 days of the ban, more than 4.2 all the existing APIs (data exchange) and pained me to see so many videos of hate billion videos were viewed on Mitron TV made it as part of the process for any new and violence on different international which is beyond all expectations we had. development. Additionally, we are building platforms, with no respect for the law of the Earlier this week, Earlier this month, our privacy/visibility control for users where land. Additionally, our thought process has downloads crossed 25 million (2.5 crores) they will be able to control the visibility always been that Indian consumers should and the momentum is strong. Our goal is (public/private/friends) of their videos. be served by an Indian platform and Indian to build Mitron TV as a short-form video data should always be secured on Indian What are the long term plans of Mitron servers. TV? Mitron TV team has been super- My co-founder Anish Khandelwal and “Immediately agile and the product is being improved I spent a lot of time brainstorming on our after the ban on Chinese rapidly with 8 releases in the last 6 weeks. startup idea before we decided to build apps, Mitron TV traffic went Further improvements planned include Mitron TV. Our mission is to build a short- up 11-fold. Within 10 days of optimization to handle media at scale, a form video app that reimagines digital recommendation engine for bubbling up engagement and entertainment while the ban, more than 4.2 billion good videos, search capability, improved Conversation In being sensitive to the users in our market videos were viewed on video editing tools, real-time feedback in and compliant with our local laws. Mitron TV which is beyond search rankings and personalization. all expectations With so many social media apps like Mitron Can you share some metrics of the app and the TV coming up, what is unique about your app we had” per cent increase of the same? We crossed and how do you advertise it? As a company 25 million downloads earlier this month. based in India, we are very respectful of app that reimagines digital entertainment Users are viewing 40 million videos per the nature of content that appears on and engagement while respecting the local hour on Mitron. our platform and we show a high degree cultural norms and regulatory framework. of sensitivity to local cultural norms and Mitron TV app was downloaded by millions Can you shed light on the behaviour of the users laws. We are seeing amazing traction with of Indian users, even before the ban on who use the app? India has over 500 to 600 millions of downloads on a daily basis. We Chinese apps, confirming our belief that million Internet users, of which more than believe our product is good and it is getting users wanted an alternative to the Chinese 150 million are new users who came online better fast and our focus is on building a apps. during the last 1-2 years. Most of these world-class product and that’s what will users engage in social media platforms like ultimately determine the winner. How do you ensure data privacy and data WhatsApp, TikTok, Facebook, Youtube etc. security? We are completely aligned On average, Indians spend 2.4 hours a day Has a ban on TikTok changed any industry towards data privacy and security and have on social media apps. scenario? What kind of changes Mitron TV taken several measures to make sure that intends to make to the app to leverage the it is reflected in our product. We ensure What are your thoughts on the future of market opportunity that is now available? that all our users’ data is stored on Indian social video apps? Mobile internet usage We launched Mitron TV well before the servers and are accessible only by Mitron is rising rapidly, driven by Social Media TV servers running on Indian and Entertainment apps. The rapid data centres. Users have control increase in the usage of social media and of their data and can choose to entertainment apps is driven by access to delete any content uploaded cheaper smartphones and low-cost data by them. Any user specific plans. During the current COVID lockdown, interaction is performed with a the usage of such apps is only rising, with signed token which is issued and people staying at home and looking for verified by our servers so that user digital entertainment. n [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 37 face to face “Trell is more of a storytelling platform rather than a talent stage”

Trell is the go-to platform for users to share their experiences, recommendations, and reviews across various categories including health and fitness, beauty and skincare, travel, movie reviews, cooking, home-décor and much more. The lifestyle vlogging platform allows users to create 3-5-minute videos in their native languages along with a ‘shop’ feature that lets them purchase the In Conversation In products featured in the vlogs. Additionally, the platform also allows users to earn rewards, goodies and vacations through its interface. The app’s users can share or view experiences and reviews in categories such as cooking, movie reviews, beauty, and skincare through videos of not more than five minutes. The lifestyle community-commerce platform is breaking all the records by witnessing 15 million downloads in a matter of just 8 days, just after the bold decision made by Indian government to promote Atmanirbhar Bharat. Trell has recently launched its platform in three new languages; Marathi, Kannada and Bengali, making the total count to 8 languages (Additionally, Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam) active so far. Our correspondent Vivek Singh Chauhan spoke to Pulkit Agarwal, Co- Founder, Trell, to know how ban on Chinese apps can create a difference for Indian short video platforms. Here’s an edited excerpts of the Interaction.

What has been the impact of the Chinese creator community has also grown by 5X Security was one of the main concerns for mobile applications ban on your business? with over 5.5 Lakh+ new creators who have the ban in India. How is Trell managing its The impact has been massive. Even before joined our platform and are creating unique customer database so as not to face a similar the Chinese apps ban, Trell was growing content every day. ban from other countries? We are an Indian rapidly at a rate of 25 per cent every company and all our user data is stored month. Since the ban, we have received How much has your subscriber base within the boundaries of the country. We an overwhelming response from our users increased (domestically and internationally)? comply with all the national regulations and where we have seen an influx of over 15 At the moment, Trell only caters to Indian user privacy and security is of the utmost Million downloads in a matter of just 8 days. audiences, we have grown 10X since the importance to us. We have now crossed the DAU of Pinterest ban, and our total user base now stands and Twitter apps in India. Similarly, our strong at 46 million+ downloads in total. Where is your main source of funding coming

38 | august 2020 MYMOBILE face to face

from? How are you managing liquidity amid its segment? How are you competing with with right now. the pandemic? We have been fortunate other apps? Despite all the current market enough to be backed by some very well comparisons, apart from the fact that we Chinese apps were banned in India, Trell can known Investors in the Industry today. We have user-generated original videos, Trell is be considered as a suitable alternative for have raised a total of $5.5M from Sequoia’s more of a storytelling platform rather than which of these apps? The Chinese app ban Surge, KTB Network, Beenext, WEH a talent stage. A typical content length on has definitely left a vacuum to be filled. Ventures, Sprout Ventures, Rajan Anandan, Trell ranges from 2-4 mins as compared Trell is picking up on this opportunity and Aprameya Radhakrishna, (Co-founder of to 30s snippets on the other app . As a seeing a lot of organic traction. However, Vocal and TaxiForSure), Ramakant Sharma business, we are into social commerce our platform is not an alternative for any (Co-founder, LivSpace), Nitin Gupta (Co- and are focused on building a strong of these Chinese platforms. We are very founder, PayUMoney), Anupam Mittal interest-based/ passion-based community focused on building a tight-knit community (Founder, Shaadi.com), Amit Lakhotia (ex- in India that engages the audience with Tokopedia, Paytm), Shanti Mohan (CEO, meaningful, life-altering lifestyle content. LetsVenture) in its existing list of angel “The Chinese investors. Even during the pandemic, we app ban has definitely What is your revenue model? Trell is an Indian have seen an upsurge in the users on the left a vacuum to be filled. We Lifestyle Community Commerce platform platform which was already preparing us are very focused on building a where KOL’s (key-opinion-leaders) share for more to come. tight-knit community in India their lifestyle product recommendations Conversation In that engages the audience with based on their personal experiences. Going forward, what will be your major focus These KOL’s are connected with suitable areas? What are your expansion plans? Our meaningful, life- brands that have unique offerings that primary area of focus at this point is to altering lifestyle will benefit our audiences and also help ensure that our community is growing content” them make suitable lifestyle choices. and fostering, our users are mankind These products are then identified and meaningful connections among them and have unmatched experience on the platform by easily sharing their lifestyle tips, stories, and experiences with a like- minded audience. Secondly, we are strategically working towards phase 2 of giving our users more personalized content and match-making those on the basis of taste/interest-graph by diving deeper into advanced Machine Learning Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence to further stimulate our product. Also, new features like a ‘Reaction Maker’, ‘Talk Show Hosting’ are going to be launched soon to give our creators more options to engage with their audiences in unique ways. We are presently witnessing the most extraordinary growth and support from our of content creators (KOL’s) and their auto-tagged through our algorithms and Indian community, to reinforce this and audiences in multiple Indian languages are available on ‘Trell Shop’ for users to scale further; we are in the process of hiring that enable our users to make well informed purchase. Trell makes revenue on every an energetic, creative and experienced and suitable purchase decisions for better purchase made on the platform and also team that understands the nuances of our lifestyle choices. Hence, at the moment, shares a part of the revenue generated with Indian audiences. there is no other Indian platform which is the KOL’s for their long term sustenance focused on solving lifestyle needs in the and monetization. n What differentiates Trell from its peers in Indian languages that we are competing [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 39 in focus Ban on TikTok creating

Trendz way for Indian short video platforms By Vivek Singh Chauhan

ikTok, which had 120 million Mitron TV have seen a surge in downloads More power to you...” Anand Mahindra monthly users in the country, after the ban and can be a turning point tweeted. has been banned in India for India’s app economy. The Bangalore-based founders of the over privacy concerns by app, Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Tthe government and is no more available Here are a few domestic Gautam are ecstatic to see the app for download. It has been removed from short video platforms: trending on number one spot at Google Google Play Store and Apple App Store. While TikTok was limited to uploading Play Store, leaving behind Mitron TV, a For those who don’t know, the government videos and exploring content in a news TikTok clone app. It is downloaded more recently banned 59 Chinese apps in feed-esque fashion, Bengaluru-based than 10 million on Android. the country citing security and privacy Chingari, in addition to these features The home-grown app has raised concerns. The decision was taken under allows users to interact with new people, close to $1 million in seed funding from section 69A of the Information Technology share content with them and also provides AngelList, a US-based online platform for Act. MeitY, in an official release, stated trending news, entertainment news, love startups, angel investors and job-seekers that it has banned the apps that are quotes and more. Chingari pays content looking to work in startups. “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity creators based on how viral a video Mitron TV was launched and then of India, defence of India, the security of becomes. For every video that a user removed from Play store and again listed the state and public order.” uploads on Chingari, they get points per back. It has emerged as one of the most To recall, this isn’t the first time that view which can be redeemed for money. popular Indian alternatives to TikTok. the Indian government has banned TikTok The Chairman of Mahindra group The app allows users to reimagine digital but the app was made available soon. But proudly claimed on Twitter that he has entertainment and engagement which what is more important for us is that the never downloaded TikTok but will now is designed for people to showcase their recent ban on the app is helping Indian download Chingari. innovative videos online with the theme short video platform to grow big as Indian “I hadn’t ever downloaded TikTok of light humour. You can create, edit short video platforms like Chingari, Trell, but I have just downloaded Chingari... and share your videos as well as browse through a library of top videos across the globe. By crossing 25 million downloads, earlier this month, Mitron TV app has been one of the most downloaded apps in India during the last two months with 40 million video views per hour. The app has been rapidly enhancing the product with several improvements for the users including an updated video upload process, enhanced audio library, a feature

74 | january 2020 MYMOBILE in focus Trendz that enables users to flag any inappropriate content easily. “We launched Mitron TV well before the unprecedented ban on Chinese apps. Immediately after add-on for users to create the ban on Chinese apps, Mitron TV traffic and edit videos creatively went up 11-fold. Within 10 days of the using their extensive list of ban, more than 4.2 billion videos were filters. viewed on Mitron TV which is beyond all You can use Roposo app expectations we had,” Shivank Agarwal, Mobile in an exclusive conversation. in several languages such Co-founder and CEO, MitronTV told My “Since the ban, we have received an as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Mobile. overwhelming response from our users Kannada, Gujarati, Punjabi, Trell is the go-to platform for users to where we have seen an influx of over Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, share their experiences, recommendations, 15 million downloads in a matter of just Odiya and Assamese. The and reviews across various categories 8 days. We have now crossed the DAU channels at the Roposo app including health and fitness, beauty and of Pinterest and Twitter apps in India. are named creatively like skincare, travel, movie reviews, cooking, Similarly, our creator community has Haha TV, Bhakti, Look Good-Feel Good, home-décor and much more. The also grown by 5X with over 5.5 lakh+ new and more. These channels cater to specific lifestyle vlogging platform allows users to creators who have joined our platform and topics so that people can enjoy the content create 3-5-minute videos in their native are creating unique content every day,” they want to see. languages along with a ‘shop’ feature that Agarwal added. Currently, the Roposo app has 50 lets them purchase the products featured Trell has recently launched its platform million downloads and 4.5 stars on Google in the vlogs. Additionally, the platform also in three new languages; Marathi, Kannada Play Store, as of the time of writing this allows users to earn rewards, goodies and and Bengali, making the total count to 8 article. vacations through its interface. languages (Additionally, Hindi, English, Gurugram-based regional language The lifestyle community-commerce Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam) active so far. short-video platform Bolo Indya is platform is breaking all the records by The app’s users can share or view preparing to help creators monetise their witnessing 15 million downloads in a experiences and reviews in categories videos from the get-go. Unlike other matter of just 8 days, just after the bold such as cooking, movie reviews, beauty, short-video apps, which are being used decision made by the Indian government and skincare through videos of not more for content commerce for brands, Bolo to promote Atmanirbhar Bharat. than five minutes. Indya, on the other hand, claims to focus “The Chinese apps ban has left a The Roposo app is a free India-based on content commerce for services. vacuum to be filled. Trell is picking up social media platform designed for people Users can create and share short on this opportunity and seeing a lot of to replace Chinese apps like TikTok. The videos in several languages including organic traction. However, our platform app is reportedly have been launched in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, is not an alternative for any of these the year 2014 and it provides users with Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi and Odia. Bolo Chinese platforms. We are much focused content that they find very intriguing. Indya currently has 100,000+ downloads on building a tight-knit community in The app features numerous channels in the country. The app is available on India that engages the audience with that are designed to provide users with Google Play store but not on Apple App meaningful, life-altering lifestyle content,” contents on a specific topic such as comedy store. n Pulkit Agarwal, Co-Founder, Trell told My and more. The seamless interface is an [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 41 burntest Tested Vivo X50 & Photogenic but, Pricey

he Dongguan- based smartphone The visibility Tried Tried company, of the screen is very TVivo, which is good and you can quite easily considered as one of the view the screen even under giants in the smartphone volume rockers bright daylight. The screen industry is all geared up to which are quite easy to holds 398 density and has take the competition to a reach whereas the left side of a resolution of 1080x2376 new extent and is primarily attractive with its mono AG the phone remains blank. At pixels. focusing on providing new frosting color with matte the top side of the phone lies innovations that were not seen finish also the rear panel the secondary mic for noise Platform before. Changing its focus is immune to the smudges cancellation whereas at the The new Vivo X50 is running a bit, Vivo has now entered which keep the beauty intact bottom side of the phone lies Funtouch OS 10.5 on top of the premium price segment of the phone. The rear panel a USB Type-C port, a SIM tray Android 10. The updated OS in the Indian smartphone holds vertically placed quad- with no slot for expanding the offers various new features market with the launch of camera sensors. In the Vivo internal storage and a speaker and also we don’t get to Vivo X50 and X50 Pro. This X50, the company has used grille. see the apps banned by the review of ours will be focused flat display with very sleek Indian government. We see on Vivo X50 where we will be bezels which are sometimes Display the new Vivo X50 running providing deep insight into the not noticeable. At the top of The new Vivo X50 sports a a new processor which various features and functions the display lies the punch 6.56 inches Super AMOLED Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 of the phone. hole camera sensor which is capacitive with SoC processor with eight placed very intelligently as 16M colors. The display is cores where the cores are Design it does not come in the way very vibrant and the colors divided into three segments The new Vivo X50 is surely while watching any videos. produced are very sharp to efficiently tackle any task an eye-catchy phone with The display also holds the and vivid. The touch of the and their configuration is its sleek body design. The fingerprint sensor which display is superfluid and such one core clocked at 2.4 phone looks great from both, when tested stood out to be this is because the phone GHz Kryo 475 Prime and one the front and the rear side, very quick in response. The possesses the combination core clocked at 2.2 GHz Kryo plus the camera frame at the security feature of the phone of 10-bit HDR support and 475 Gold and six cores are rear side is giving the phone also supports the face unlock 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz clocked at 1.8 GHz Kryo 475 a unique identity, not like feature which is also very touch response rate. The Silver. The everyday apps the regular quad-camera quick and accurate in every 90Hz refresh rate not just lets ran very smoothly without sensor frames which we lighting condition. On the you smoothly carry out any any glitch as the processor are seeing for a long time. right side of the phone lies task but also adds more thrill is quite powerful but the The rear panel looks very the power button and the to the gaming experience. question arises whether is it

42 | august 2020 MYMOBILE burntest enough power to take on the very impressive and even and blending with the lighting Battery likes of the processor offered in when the resolution was conditions quite impressively. The new Vivo X50 holds a OnePlus 7T which possesses raised there were the very low The selfie camera of the Vivo battery power of 4,200mAh comparatively more powerful level of noise distortion and X50 is 32MP with an aperture which is quite a power bank in processor within the same graining. The new Vivo X50 of f/2.5. The selfies captured itself. The ability of the phone price range. The phone has sports quad-camera setup were good and we did not see to last a whole day was tested 8GB RAM which is impressive where the primary camera or any unwanted AI coming into while reviewing and we found and also it supports the RAM the main camera is a 48MP play to alter the end result out that the battery stood out Tested quite nicely to keep every Sony IMX598 sensor with after clicking the selfie. There a whole day quite easily even process in check without an aperture of f/1.6. The are various effects that you after hours of playing games working up the phone too secondary lens is the portrait can use to make adjustments and watching movies. The & much. The GPU on board lens of 13MP with an aperture while clicking the selfie. The configuration of the processor is Adreno 620 which offers of f/2.5 and 2x optical zoom, selfies captured at daylight plays a vital role in maintaining high graphics support while the third sensor is of 8MP were very impressive and the the charge with a low rate of playing games plus the 90Hz which is the ultrawide lens selfie captured at night was discharge. The charger is a refresh rate enhances the with an aperture of f/2.2. The equally impressive with proper 33W Flash charger which fills gaming experience. But to be fourth sensor is a macro lens up the battery tank rapidly.

color balance and clarity. The Tried true the new Vivo X50 is not of 5MP with an aperture of color saturation level in the much of a gaming phone. The f/2.5. The daylight shots are images was up to the mark Conclusion internal storage of the phone surely exceptional but the with no enhanced or unwanted Vivo X50 is predominantly a is of 256GB which is non- night shots are equivalently rise in the color gradient. The camera-centric smartphone. expandable in nature. superb with proper detailing clarity of the images is really The overall photography of the impressive and in such a price phone is far superior to Vivo’s Cameras verdict range, the new Vivo X50 surely previous smartphones such The USP of the Vivo V50 is its holds one of the best camera as V17 Pro. Effects have been Looks 09 /10 camera power as the tagline Sleek sensors which one can come added, software optimisation of the phones is that it is Cameras 09 /10 across. Another worth noticing is done to present a completely Brilliant going to redefine photography point of the rear camera is its different perspective. The Performance 08/10 and believe me the phone is Balanced ability to maintain stability Night or low-light photography living up to its claim. While Battery 08 /10 while capturing the videos. The is worth trying. The mid-range testing the camera ability of For a Day gyro-EIS stabilization feature processor is decent. Designing the new Vivo V50 we were Value For Money 08 /10 allows you to record the videos has also improved, phone For Camera very impressed with the without stability even when is light weight, sleek and OVERALL 84% quality of the images that the the phone is moving. The premium. Battery is sufficient phone managed to capture phone also comes preloaded for the daily tasks. no matter what and how the with features such as an Astro Starting at Rs 34,990 for lighting conditions were. The Mode, Extreme Night Vision, 8GB/128GB, Vivo X50 is camera managed to capture PROS Cons Super Night HDR, Pro Sports priced higher than it should Lightweight, Pricing every macro to micro details Mode, Motion AF Tracking, and have been. A mid-range Camera with accuracy. The 20X digital an Instant Vlog. phone is charged as (For detailed specifications, zoom is one of the features please refer to My Guide) premium, and after the to look out for as the level of launch of OnePlus detailing which it managed Nord the equation has to capture was completely changed. Vivo needs to rethink its pricing strategy in India. n [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 43 burntest Oppo Find X2 Elegant, Exquisite but, Price Matters

PPO has previously launched OPPO its curved screen molds itself surely is very impressive. The

Tested always been Find X which surprised with the rest of the body. The display of the OPPO Find X2 experimental everyone with its motorized phone is quite comfortable to is a 6.7-inch AMOLED with a in its approach camera module. But the hold and operate despite its 1440x3168px resolution in a when it comes to launching new OPPO Find X2 does not long body appearance. The 19.8:9 aspect ratio. Space is

& O smartphones as it has no possess such a unique has an aluminum frame no issue as one can perform specific price segment where module to surprise rather running across the body which any task quite comfortably be it stresses a lot. We are going it has some other ways of matches the color of the rear it gaming or watching videos. to provide an insight about surprising the users which we side. The rear side holds just The new Find X2 is equipped the recently launched OPPO will be telling in this review. the vertically placed camera with a smart algorithm that Find X2 in India which will be sensors in a frame followed by automatically boosts the Tried Tried competing against the likes Design an LED flash. The front fascia quality of the videos when of OnePlus 8 Pro, Samsung The new Find X2 in terms of of the phone has a high-end watched. It is also capable of Galaxy S10 and iPhone 11. looks is quite simple looking thin bezel curved edged Super a refresh rate of 120Hz, so The new OPPO Find X2 is with a unicolor glossy body but AMOLED screen with a punch you can simultaneously set the upgraded version of the it does possess that aesthetic hole. OPPO has also fitted both the resolution and the appeal to make it look quite smartly a loudspeaker refresh rate at the maximum appealing especially the way just above the screen which level. The colors produced on also acts as an earpiece. The the screen are very bright and placement of the buttons punchy. The display on the is usual as we have seen in Oppo Find X2 is an HDR10+ every OPPO phone that is the compliant as well to give you volume rockers are placed on high definition quality videos. the left side and the power OPPO Find X2 is IP54 rated button is placed towards the meaning it is not completely right side of the phone. Down waterproof but can resist dust on the bottom is where OPPO and some splashes to some placed the SIM card slot with extent. But to be frank IP68 no extra slot for the microSD rating would have been more card. Right next to it is the preferably better in such high primary mic pinhole and the flagship phone. USB-C port is in the middle, while the primary loudspeaker Platform is behind a three-slot grille to The Find X2 runs Android 10 the right. The fingerprint is on with Oppo’s latest ColorOS display which has a very quick 7.1 which is a minor update response time. We also tested over the 7.0 release. With the face unlock feature which the new update, you get a worked very well in every choice of Standard mode with condition. no app drawer and all your apps on the Home screens, a Display two-tiered solution with home The display of the new OPPO screens and an app drawer, Find X2 is one of the main and then a Simple mode with highlights of the phone which large widely-spaced icons that

44 | august 2020 MYMOBILE burntest also changes the system text telephoto lens with optical camera too. Autofocus which is quite impressive. to what can best be described zoom and has an aperture functionality is one of the best as huge. of f/2.4. The third sensor is capabilities of the Find X2. Conclusion OPPO Find X2 is powered an ultra-wide lens of 12MP It helps you to get close to Overall in terms of by the latest Qualcomm with an aperture of f/2.2. It’s subjects and do both realistic performance, display, battery Snapdragon 865 SoC also has a 16:9 sensor that angle shots and close-ups. The the OPPO Find X2 is quite processor which has eight allows you to record videos in 20X zoom of the phone allows good and is capable of Tested cores in a smart configuration ultra-wide mode. The camera you to get a clear shot of the remaining in top charts when to be able to handle tasks sensor has quite fast autofocus distance at far although the compared to other phones easily where one core is which becomes very useful focus and the color level might but the price of the phone clocked at 2.84 GHz Kryo 585 while capturing images. The distort a bit with some traces is something which will & then three cores are clocked images out of the Oppo Find of noise effects. The low light make the users think before at 2.42 GHz Kryo 585 and X2’s main camera are sharp shots are also very impressive approaching the phone. The four cores are clocked at 1.8 and capture good details. of Oppo Find X2. In low light, Find X2 series has maintained GHz Kryo 585. The processor The images captured are very the Find X2’s AI algorithms its premium-ness in design, undoubtedly performs every crisp and dynamic. The color applies some low-key Night display and processor like its task with ease and runs big balance of the images is very mode action in Photo mode as predecessors. The Find X is Tried and heavy applications quite good plus the saturation level well. You get a pop-up in the easily even without showing is also quite good as there were viewfinder that serves to alert any sign of heating or slowing no over the top effects coming you of what’s going on, but it’s of the phone. The touch into play. The Find X2’s ultra- also a button giving you the interface is very smooth which wide-angle camera upsets the option to disengage it. The could be easily felt when you ultrawide lens also performs are using the phone which verdict very nicely in low light is the result of the 120Hz Looks 10 /10 conditions. The selfie sensor Elegant refresh rate of the screen plus is of 32MP with an aperture Cameras 09 /10 the powerful processor. The Brilliant of f/2.4 and with HDR. The phone has 12GB of RAM and Performance 10/10 selfies captured were good 256GB of internal storage. The Super Smooth both in the daytime and at gaming experience is superb Battery 09 /10 night. The selfies captured Lasts a Day and every game ran in their were very detailed and the Value For Money 08 /10 top quality with no downfall in Brand Matters subject detection was also on the graphics level. OPPO Find OVERALL 92% point. X2 is surely amongst the top- performing phones and can Battery surely give a tough competition The new OPPO Find X2 is to the likes of OnePlus, powered by a 4,200mAh PROS Cons Samsung, Vivo, etc. Display, Pricing battery. The ability of the Processor battery to last for a whole day Cameras (For detailed specifications, was tested and we found out OPPO Find X2 has a triple please refer to My Guide) that the latest processor and its camera setup where the main smart configuration boosts up camera is a 48MP unit with distortion a little and comes the lasting capability through known for exquisite design a 1/2.0” Quad Bayer sensor with a much more narrow smart consumption of the philosophy but, price remains with 0.8µm pixels. The lens dynamic range than the main battery. The phone lasted a day a concern for it because if has a 26mm equivalent focal lens, which in turn means it quite easily. The phone comes you go in luxury segment it length and an aperture of has a relatively wide dynamic with a Super VOOC 2.0 fast has to compete with Apple f/1.7 and also features optical range as ultra-wide goes. This charger of 65W. We were able and Samsung which is really stabilization. The second also offers strong sharpness to charge the battery full from tough. n sensor is of 13MP with a and clarity, for an ultra-wide 0-100% within 40-50 mins [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 45 burntest Vivo TWS Neo Pricing is a Huge Turn Off

he competition quite comfortable to wear amongst the but it would have been more smartphone comfortable if the company Tested companies are not has used the rubber tips at the Tjust limited to the smartphones end of the earbuds because as we have seen recently the all-plastic body sometimes

& in the past few months the might feel uncomfortable in competition has gained a the ears. The new TWS Neo new platform where each has an IP54 rating which company is trying to stand out means you can wear the on the top. The new sphere earbuds even while working of competition which we are out also it can withstand minor earbud to feature Bluetooth Often, the earbuds sense

Tried Tried talking about is in the Wireless splashes of water. 5.2 which offers more strong when you wear them and headsets/Earbuds and we have connectivity. However, the attach, signaling it with a seen that every smartphone Features chip supports the new aptX brief sound. In case you want company is launching them The Vivo TWS Neo has touch Adaptive technology from to make calls with a single and the latest addition in the control features where you Qualcomm which can boost earphone you should use them competition is from Vivo which can control the volume level the transmission feature of one at a time. Another function has launched Vivo TWS Neo by sliding your fingers on the the earbud. Vivo TWS Neo can for calls is the cancelation of which will be reviewed here. outer wall of the earbuds. keep the delay about 88ms AI noise to remove noises that You can also play and pause when it comes to transmission, will interrupt your call like the Design the tracks by double tapping and there is practically no wind. The Vivo TWS Neo comes and can also initiate Google disconnection while playing. The Vivo TWS Neo headphone in an oval glossy pod that Assistant. You can also And if you turn on the more will play 5.5hrs in normal holds the pairing button, accept and rejects calls. Vivo informative aptX Adaptive AAC mode, and 4.2hrs when LED light indicator, and a TWS Neo also allows us to mode to play local music in it flips on aptX Adaptive. Vivo Type-C charging port. The customize all these controls. 24bit/48kHz, the headphones TWS Neo can play for up to 27 earbuds are charged by putting still play smoothly. Only the hours with the charging box them in the pod as the buds Platform Vivo X50 series is compatible and can play 2.5 hours with possess the charging chips in The Vivo TWS Neo is equipped with Vivo TWS Neo-compatible charging for 15 minutes. them. The earbuds are light with Qualcomm QCC3046, Vivo phones, and other Vivo to wear and look very much which supports Bluetooth phones can only launch AAC Conclusion similar to the old iPhone 5.2, Qualcomm TrueWireless communication and do not Overall, the earbuds offer quite earbuds. The earbuds are Mirroring technology. Vivo have full-featured settings. a dynamic sound TWS NEO is the first wireless effects but, we noticed that Audio the voice cancellation feature Vivo TWS Neo is not on point as there were is equipped some noise effects noticed with a 14.2mm when we used the earbuds moving coil unit. Additionally, outside. Also, there are this time Vivo incorporated various wireless earbuds stereo effects from DeepX. available at a lower price like Aside from the unit and realme earbuds, Oppo Enco sound effects, the chip- W11 which will make the supported aptX Adaptive is competition a little tough for also the reason for enhancing Vivo TWS Neo. n headphone sound output. [email protected]

46 | august 2020 MYMOBILE burntest Oppo Enco W11 Decent Pick

ppo is quite well find out whether the buds are known for the connected or not is through the smartphones it sound which is heard when it produces but, gets connected. Unlike other Orecently we have seen that the wireless earbuds, the new Enco company is now competing in W11 possesses Bluetooth the current and growing trends connectivity in both earbuds of the attractive features of allow to answer calls and to of wireless earbuds. Oppo has making it hassle-free while the earphone is its IP55 rating activate voice assistant. launched Enco W11 wireless pairing up with the phone which allows it to be worn even buds which are considered ensuring stability. The case on while working out as it is water Battery the cheaper version of the the front has an LED indicator and dust resistant. The battery capability of the previously launched wireless to show the charging status. new Oppo Enco W11 is also buds form the company which Both the earbuds have an Features very good as it provides 5 hours was Enco W31. The launch individual microphone which Oppo Enco W11 features call of playback on a single charge of Enco W11 will surely be becomes very handy while noise reduction which we and 20 hours of playback making the competition talking on calls. tested while reviewing and together with the charging tougher for the likes of realme found out that on the other end case. When we tested the Buds Q, Redmi Earbud S, and Audio of the call people were able to lasting capacity the headphone similar wireless headsets under The new Oppo Enco W11 hear quite clearly as there was was able to stand 5hr quite such price range in which the houses an 8mm dynamic no noise disturbance. The noise easily with a single charge. new Enco W11 falls. driver with titanium platted cancellation feature works composite diaphragms very well even in the outside Conclusion which enhances the sound Design environment so you unwanted Oppo Enco W11 is a nice The buds come in a very quality. The sound quality noise of the crowd and vehicles performing earbuds with compact case that has Type-C of the earbuds is good. For won’t affect the sound quality decent sound quality and USB port for charging the connectivity, it has Bluetooth while taking any calls or other features. The quality earbuds. The new Oppo Enco 5.0 support. Also once the listening to music. The earbuds is manageable, the battery W11 is very light to wear and headphones are paired they hold smart features like you can backup is mediocre, not fits very well in the ears due to will connect automatically with control the volume levels by bad. The IP55 rating is an its bean-shaped design. The your phone when the phone touching them. The users can advantage. Enco W11 sells at buds do not possess and LED comes under the 10 meters change the tracks as well by around Rs 2,499 but, there are light to show whether they range of the headphones. One double-tapping on the earbuds options available in the form of are charged or not and even and with a single tap, the users realme buds which are cheaper whether it is connected to can pause and play the videos and rise on occasions. n your phone. The only way to or the songs. The earbuds also [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 47 face to face “The current scenario has affected our marketing approach and we have

In Conversation In adapted to these changes in the best possible way”

When it comes to visual technology, there are very few companies present in India which offers the best products, and ViewSonic Corp. has successfully managed to mark its position as one of the best in India. The company has been present in India from quite some time and it is amongst the top projector companies for their innovative and uniquely designed projectors in the market. Apart from providing the best projectors the company has another successful product line called the myViewBoard. In these testing times, the world is all going digital in a best way possible, and when it comes to education video assisted learning is the best new thing. When asked about the myViewBorad product line in India and how the company is dealing with the Covid-19 situation, Muneer Ahmed, Business Head, ViewSonic India, shared some insights with Pahi Mehra.

According to you what are the current distance learning is becoming the new while most of the professionals are working scenario and growth prospects for visual normal, the educators and institutes are from home currently. technology devices? Owing to the worldwide looking at expanding their traditional Even the usage of monitors has pandemic, the dynamics in every industry ways and exploring new possibilities. increased immensely, the gaming industry has changed including the technology Digitisation of Education is the future, is also booming, and passionate gamers sector. Interactive Flat Panels (IFPs) have schools are now aggressively preparing for are investing more in good quality gaming gained popularity in the recent past and virtual classrooms. monitors. We are expecting a further rise the demand for IFPs and myViewBoard Even in the Corporate sector IFP’s and in the demand, especially with amongst are rising. myViewBoard are gaining popularity as it the people working from home for a better Especially, in the Education sector, makes it easy to conduct virtual meetings flexibility.

48 | august 2020 MYMOBILE face to face

We are also expecting a rise in the sales environment that is engaging, interactive, can guide them in these testing times. of home entertainment smart projectors as and effective. myViewBoard enables teachers to conduct the multiplexes will remain shut for a while With myViewBoard teachers can: distance learning facilitating students and and even when they reopen, audience will • Broadcast their lesson through Facebook/ their learning outcomes wherever they be hesitant to visit public places. Hence, YouTube live streaming happen to be. It is easy to use and allows they will most likely spend time in the • Host live Q&A Sessions using features real-time collaboration through video comfort of their homes, streaming movies like pop quiz, polling and huddle audio conferencing, huddles and digital online and on developing a home theatre • Instant save and share resources in and whiteboarding. with projectors and adequate sound system from various cloud storages We are also in the process of introducing to experience the cinematic effects of the • Record a lesson that student can view at a web-based platform ‘myViewBoard films. their leisure classrooms’ with a capacity facilitate • Learning management system multiple students by allowing two-way How does the myViewBoard makes virtual software can also be integrated with audio communication. It is designed as learning different and interactive, what are its myViewBoard a collaborative learning tool for delivering features? The myViewBoard, an exclusive • Drag and drop images from embedded teaching, visual learning and participation digital whiteboard software used for digital browser for interactive teaching for a full class, individuals or groups of learning through Interactive Flat Panel • Available in multiple language like students to help build and uplift the Displays allows users to write, highlight, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi digitization of education in India. edit and transform documents and drag • Embedded Browser and drop images on the screen in real • Annotation on top of any apps Do you think Video-Assisted learning is the time. myViewBoard enables teachers to • Artificial intelligence Pen new future? Yes, video – assisted learning conduct distance learning through an open in the next big thing in the education and agnostic platform, facilitating students So how is ViewSonic making a difference sector. With the improvement in internet and their learning outcomes wherever they in these testing times due to the pandemic? connectivity and evolution of digital happen to be. It is easy to use and allows ViewSonic has been a supporting the space, combined with technology has real-time collaboration through video digitization of Education to support the helped to make video a fundamental audio conferencing, huddles, and digital Education fraternity in the best way part of most learning environments and white boarding, supporting a variety of possible. We are providing ‘myViewBoard’ many teachers have been able to refine pedagogies with an emphasis on virtual premium subscription free of cost to student engagement through video- classroom. Through its inclusive features, support distance learning. The students assisted learning. In particular, the ability myViewBoard helps create a virtual learning can learn themselves at home and teachers to enhance the learning experience, find

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 49 face to face

suitable content easily, and make videos is facing right now due to the pandemic? in constant innovation and strive to launch available for repeat viewing can play a The current scenario has affected our new products with latest technology. In the crucial role in enabling students to achieve marketing approach and we have adapted Projector category, we have a few home better outcomes. to these changes in the best possible way, entertainment projectors like M2, an Finding the right content can be a we can at this time. Physical retail market android based projector and X100-4K little challenging at times, especially is really slow right now, since everyone is for high end home theatre projection when teachers use other video streaming avoiding unnecessary human contact and experience, which is set to launch in the platforms like YouTube, as the content travelling. This has led to a slight dip in coming months in India. available caters to all genres and is not the sales as people prefer to take a demo Another product that will hit the shelves meant for education purposes only. In before investing in a product like projector, in the near future is the new IFP50-3 series such platforms content can be abruptly monitors or IFPs. The employee’s and in Q3 with a much more elaborative user interrupted with inappropriate or featured customer’s health and safety is our interface than its predecessors. advertisements which can be a hindrance prime concern so we are not indulging in Later in the year we are expecting to in the on-going lessons. product demos at the moment. We have launch two new portable monitors TD1655 With myViewBoard teachers can access also observed, some drop in demand in (Touch Display) and VG1655 (IPS Panel) over two million ad free educational videos the government sectors due to pandemic which will assist in overcoming the problem

In Conversation In for more than 40 Subjects provided by crisis. The government is investing most of one-screen limitation outside the office 120+ media brands. This commercial- of their time and resources to cope up by extending your content from laptop and free, fully copyright cleared, and curated with Covid-19 crisis in the country, as it mobile devices platform empowers teachers to integrate should be. However, in terms of education educational video into their teaching plans, sector, we are doing quite well, since What is the overall performance of without worrying about inappropriate many schools/institutes are exploring ViewSonic in India? We have received an content or use. possibilities of Distance learning and our overwhelming response from the Indian ViewBoard integrated with myViewBoard audience. According to Future Source report we became the #No.1 short throw projector brand in India in 2019 from a non-existent brand. We also became the #No. 1 IFP Brand in Q1 as per the Future Source report. We will continue to deliver the best quality product at the best possible price and we look forward to more customer associations.

Could you share the expansion and growth plans of ViewSonic? We are not comfortable disclosing our plans at the moment due to the uncertain Covid-19 situation

What are your plans for the future? We will continue to focus on the EdTech sector with new and innovative products and services. Our vision is to become the leading EdTech Even in the corporate sector, with has a lot to offer to this sector. solutions provider in India. virtual events on the rise, videos play a We have also started to explore more We will also continue to divert our very crucial role. They can prove to be a opportunities in E-com platform for our resources and energy to create unique better tool for presenting ones ideas and B2C products. lamp free projectors which have more thoughts and keep the audience/ listeners life, are environment friendly, are cost – engaged. Apart from the myViewBoard, what are the effective and are less harmful to eyes, to new technological innovations ViewSonic serve our customer better. n What are the major challenges your company coming up with? At ViewSonic we believe [email protected]

50 | august 2020 MYMOBILE Consumer insight Long Battery Life, Fast-Charging Matter Most For Consumers Consumers are so much concerned about battery life that they turn down screen brightness, turn on battery saver mode, close battery-consuming apps, and in extremely critical circumstances, even turn off Wi-Fi and location services, finds a study

mid COVID-19 pandemic, basics, such as smartphone battery. So disappointed, while others experienced the reliance on smartphones much so that the battery is a key factor a range of emotions, from feeling bad is more than ever before, for in smartphone purchase priorities,” said (19%) to being angry (13%). work as well as for catching-up Satya Mohanty, Head- Industry Consulting • Battery back-up (97%) and fast Awith loved ones. In line with the same, Group (ICG), CMR. charging (95%) are critical must-haves consumers today are not just interested in for premium smartphone users. long battery life of their smartphones but Key Findings: • Consumer satisfaction is high with believe fast-charging innovations too play • Seven in every eight users charge their smartphone brands that offer long battery a very significant role in their daily life, smartphone at least once in a day. back-up as well as swift charging. finds a new ‘Insights On the Go Survey’ Average duration of charging in a day is • When it comes to consumer satisfaction by CyberMedia Research (CMR). When 66 minutes. with battery life, Oppo users scored the asked about the importance of smartphone • Two in every three users feel anxious brand the highest (94%), followed by features, 61 per cent cited battery life as a when the smartphone battery is dead or those of Samsung (92%) and Realme key consideration, just behind smartphone about to die. (91%). camera. • When battery gets discharged, 25% felt • In terms of swift charging, consumer “The smartphone is centric to the lives satisfaction is highest with Oppo of the consumers. And, more so, in a home (95%), followed by OnePlus (93%) and bound economy! Whether it be an endless Samsung (91%). stream of work-related calls, or catching up “The survey results illustrate that with family and friends, the smartphone consumers accord a premium to battery battery life plays an essential role. For life as well as swift charging speeds. consumers, a long battery life, as well as Smartphone brands that invest in strong quickly amping up the battery juice – both “While smartphone brands R&D and intellectual property resulting in are critical,” said Prabhu Ram, Head- push newer technological industry leading innovations, will stand to Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR. innovations, consumer gain big in terms of consumer acceptance Consumers are so much concerned priorities are equally and approval,” added Prabhu. about battery life that they turn down screen The CMR Insights On the Go Survey brightness (70%), turn on battery saver centered around the basics, was conducted across top six Indian mode (66%), close battery-consuming such as smartphone battery. cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, apps (63%), and in extremely critical So much so that the battery Bangalore and Hyderabad, covering 2,000 circumstances, even turn off Wi-Fi (56%) smartphone users in the age group of 18-30 and location services (50%). is a key factor in smartphone years. The study focused on uncovering “Our latest survey results illustrate the purchase priorities” consumer perspectives around satisfaction significance of smartphone battery for – Satya Mohanty, with smartphone battery life and charging consumers. While smartphone brands push Head- Industry Consulting speed, in the overall backdrop of satisfaction newer technological innovations, consumer Group, CMR with smartphones, in general.n priorities are equally centered around the [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 51 face to face “India is a large and important part of Audio-Technica’s global strategy”

Audio-Technica is a worldwide group of companies devoted to the design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of problem-solving audio equipment. Established in 1962 in Japan’s Tokyo, it was initially known for state-of-the-art phonograph cartridges. A-T now creates high-performance microphones, headphones, wireless systems, mixers and electronic products for home and professional use. Robin Ghose, Business Development Manager (Professional and Consumer) at Audio-Technica India, speaks more about the company and its specialities, in a conversation with Ramesh Kumar Raja. Ghose

In Conversation In also talked about the Audio-Technica’s growing focus on the India market. Excerpts:

How has the brand Audio-Technica positioned in audio products around the world, Audio- products gaining traction in the market? itself in a hyper-competitive market like Technica offerings are today synonymous Which are the areas from where maximum India? With over 50 years of experience in with quality. demand is coming for the Audio-Technica providing Japanese quality and innovation The key in India has been putting products in India? In our professional together a strong distribution network and segment, a lot of our products are used a customer-oriented after-sales service in the entertainment industry and fixed support network. This has ensured that installation market. We also see a lot of we can get the products to customers and our professional products such as studio also provide them with the right support headphones and microphones being used post-sales. We have launched products in in a “pro-summer” fashion. We also have market designed in line with the needs of good traction with our Bluetooth products the Indian customers, bringing us closer in the consumer headphone segment. to them and helping us reach and address new demographics and channels. Since working from home/ studying at home has become the new normal post Since you offer a wide range of wired/wireless Covid-19 lockdown, what are the solutions consumer and professional products, which you offer understanding the current among them is a dominant vertical for Audio- challenges?Keeping in touch, open and Technica? Currently, our professional regular communication is the key to headphones, microphones and audio productivity while working remotely. Voice electronics product segments are the is the most critical component of any more dominant vertical, but the communication system because it creates consumer headphone a personal connection between people vertical is catching and the ability to enhance voice clarity up quickly and I see and ensure every nuance is heard and this as becoming a understood, both ways, this can make the dominant segment difference between a successful meeting in the coming or a frustrating exchange that ends in years. misunderstanding. Since much of our communication is now conducted from How are your home over computers and other electronic

52 | august 2020 MYMOBILE face to face

devices, audio quality has become a more service reports in India. The failure rate pressing an issue. The spotty quality of our products is far below the industry of a device’s built-in microphone and average which is a testament to the speakers over extended period causes a manufacturing quality of Audio-Technica. lot of annoyance and disruption. At Audio- Technica, we offer a comprehensive set of headphones, microphones and other “The failure rate audio electronics that enables a very of our products is far below high-quality experience. the industry average which is a

How is India market different from testament to the manufacturing other countries where you operate quality of Audio-Technica. However, in? India is a very different when they do go wrong, we ensure market from any other country good after-sales support, with our where we operate in. There are many differences that make it network of service centers under our distinct from other markets, but distributors spanned across the innovation at Audio-Technica? Audio- I think the biggest difference is the length and breadth of Technica has been synonymous with sheer size and complexity of the market innovation across segments. The core coupled with the massive cultural diversity the country” of the company is our engineering team across the regions. that works across the globe to ensure However, when they do go wrong, we ensure that we bring innovative, high quality Which platform yields maximum revenue good after-sales support, with our network products that address customer needs for Audio-Technica – online or offline? of service centers under our distributors to market. Over the years, we have had While typically we have quite an equally- spanned across the length and breadth of many firsts including ultra-compact install balanced number between brick and the country. microphones, Dante network microphones, mortar and online, over the past year we 2.4Ghz wireless microphones, dual phase have seen our online revenues exceed the What are your outreach and investment plans push pull headphone drivers, pure digital offline business. Now with the Covid-19 for India? India is a large and important drive headphones and so on. While our crisis, needless to say, online is taking the part of our global strategy. The company core competency has always been audio lead. is committed to making the required and transducers, the company has also investments in people, marketing and all diversified to providing solutions in the What is your approach to the “after-sales other efforts needed to grow and further our Japanese domestic market such as visible- service” which remains an issue for majority business here. laser collimator units, print related cleaners of electronics brands? One of the things that and even robotic sushi machines. n I take pleasure in is reading our monthly Please tell us something about R&D and [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 53 In Conversation face Amol Roy, productsandindustries. sea change,havebroughtaboutentirelynewaudiences,services, ofthis has grownexponentiallyduringthecoronaviruspandemic.Mobileapps,beingapart communicate withthetargetaudienceandsustainbusinessgrowth,digitaltransformation From beingexpenditureforacompanytonowthemostefficientandinnovativeway be at thecore ofappdevelopment” “Innovation and creativity should element of a business on a single platform. Excerpts: element ofabusinessonsingleplatform. one shouldkeepinmindwhilegettinganapporwebsitedevelopedtobringtogetherevery transformation, inaconversationwith transformation, to

Founder, TheShutterCast,

face themselves. customers the by managed be can friendly,user are they – wise and easier reasons – design and segment or offering work that they liked and then create an sample select and research thorough applications.We suggest thema doto while developing their own websites and to adapt newer technological innovation from the crowd. website We recommend to development isour what makes approach clientsit stand out transparent Shutter Cast’s unique client centric and development? app/website for services offering companies/platforms of number a are there when time a at What’suniqueso about TheShutter Cast extensive customization for multiple for customization extensive interesting concoction of their selection, New technologies do not requirenot technologies doNew need and ideas. Ramesh KumarRaja. also cost effective in many ways. ways. many in effective cost also efficient and satisfactory but but satisfactory and efficient Since most of the businesses are found them to be not only only not be to them found adopting quick solutions such Joomla and Wordpress, we Wordpress,we and Joomla as Wordpress and Joomla, Joomla, and Wordpress as Talking about about Talking them? help can Cast Shutter The how speaks more about the evolving trend of digital speaksmoreabouttheevolvingtrendofdigital The The

times they tend to hire the cheapest one often unsatisfied with the end result orthat at they come across, and are moretend thanto sign up with the first developers showcase on their website. Many brands agood market research and analysis to thing that they need foremost is to have add reachfortheirbusinesstogrow. The website in order to create credibility and evolved enough but need applicationsMany businesses and and startups areentity? developing notapp any approaching yet What a business should keep in mind before of mouth. via mutual connection and positive word clients bring us more and more business workingmethodology, service and such most of our clients have appreciated our influencersretainerouras clients and for ourservicessofar. We havesomebig so far? The response has been How phenomenalhas been the response of your services designing, cost and time. functionality,client, the of requirement Flutter etc and it always depends on the with a lot of options and iOS, Android and Web?choice Technologies like comeNative, involved in building enterprise-gradeCan you please tell us about appsthe technicalities for Roy also talked about what Royalsotalkedaboutwhat MY MOBILE

face to face

and results aren’t different. Remember to required by the clients. Again by learning, Covid-19 pandemic? During the pandemic, check and do a little market research before I don’t mean the technology, I mean the marketing has witnessed changes and selecting a developer. Mobile app or web working. I don’t know much about legal evolved leaps and bounds. From being a developer is as personal as your business things yet I sit with CA to discuss about it huge expenditure for a company, to now id for you, so saving cost should not be the and listen to him. being the most efficient and innovative way prime motive but a company should be to communicate with the target audience careful on how they will be represented. and sustain the growth of their business, App and Website development requires “Mobile app or marketing and digital transformation is a lot of details to be provided by the web developer is as personal as necessary. The whole market scenario is respected clients, each piece your business id for you, so saving heavily relying on micro influencers of UI / UX, designs, strategy, as a way to connect to their utilization is critical because cost should not be the prime motive but a customers. Also, while we talk of scarcity of screen space company should be careful on how they about digital transformation, factor and to make it intuitive will be represented. App and Website the positive side about this and not overcrowded. If an epidemic was that it really app developer asks you a lot development requires a lot of details to be impacted the behavior change. of questions about how you provided by the respected clients, each piece Mid to the senior leadership want your app to work, it’s a of most organisations, and sign that they want to do the of UI / UX, designs, strategy, utilization is consumers from 35 to 44 best for you. critical because of scarcity of screen age bracket, increased their Having clarity on your needs space factor and to make it intuitive internet consumption by 11%, helps the creator understand the while millennials observed an average requirement better. For example, I was and not overcrowded” increase of 5-7%. working with a client who was charged 80K by their agency to make an account Where do you see the company in next five on Amazon AWS, which is free. So, lots and How the innovative website/app design and years? We are expanding our business, lots of people are duped everyday because development has helped SMEs grow? I believe as we are hiring more people and trying of lack of knowledge. that innovation and creativity should be to resolve smaller and big tech problems at the core of anything. Along with that, faced by startups and SMEs. Along with What are your pain points in dealing with usability, security and performance are that, we have started exploring some other the people/clients to make them understand other factors that should be considered domains as well; for instance, we have a the whole concept of app building, as many important. We as a company have to blog and a Youtube channel by the name of the old-fashioned businessmen still understand that website and app is just of ‘shutterandvoyages’ both are doing fairly hesitate in giving a digital makeover to their a medium through which we can connect well. businesses? There are a few challenges the product to the consumer. So, we curate Business growth is the prime focus that we face every day. People at times do and customize our services the way where for me and we are soon venturing into not understand technology but we are fine customer’s product/service stay in the focus the custom PC business. Five years down with it. However, smaller things like server and the technology is just a tool which it the line, I believe, we would expand the upgrades because the business has grown was meant to be. business by manifold. Technology and to bigger things like we want an app like transformation is the future and we are on “X company which is literally $100bn in What are the changes and trends that you the right path. n market cap” there is still lots of learning are seeing in the digital marketing amid [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 55 by Invitation Technology and healthcare can work together in a post-pandemic world By Dr Ruchir Mehra Guest Column Guest

ealthcare industry across medicinal services exchange between even to remotely situated patients. It the world has faced the patients and the doctors. Data and will also ensure better productivity on enormous setbacks in the communication, involving the internet their part as they will be able to treat past few months when the technology, are utilized for recording more patients virtually than they could Hnovel coronavirus affected millions of lives patient’s history, past or ongoing clinical otherwise. Countries, including India, are in most fatal manner. The industry was all diagnosis or treatment and reviewing taking interests in this sphere and what is set to conquer the world when an unknown the reports. Telemedicine-empowered the need of the hour could become a new disease put public as well as private health machines convert the patient’s location typical order of the future. sector companies in a difficult situation. into a fully equipped clinic. The prognosis Wearable technology: Researches have As social distancing becomes the is communicated to the patient via internet claimed that data from a wearable gadget new normal, here’s how the healthcare alongside consultation and a prescription, can detect coronavirus side effects days and technology could change in a post meaning geography will not prevent them before you even acknowledge you’ve been pandemic world: from having access to medicine. infected. That simply changes the purpose Telemedicine: Telemedicine is a Medical experts report how patients are of a fitness tracker from counting steps and comprehensive term for giving remote gradually taking interest in telemedicine calories to detecting viruses. The reports services. While it is still believed that tele- suggest that Fitbits and Apple Watches health industry may be an obstruction may end up being a viable early-detection when it comes to doctor-patient framework and they could help revive work relationship, current situation and home environments — and advance has demonstrated that it really from customer tech oddities into health improves this relationship instead, essentials. This will empower patients as with high degrees of fulfillment, with the help of technology and wearable particularly as it gives patients quick devices, they will be aware of their health and consistent access to clinician. and hygiene. In a world after the pandemic As these organizations develop where social distancing must be prototypes that are increasingly inspired by strictly followed, telemedicine can healthcare, wearables of the future could prove to be helpful. We are looking at come with more sensors. For example, a future in which allied services such as Fitbits now gather heart information while nutrition consultation, physiotherapy, an Apple Watch application can recognize psychology, etc will move from clinics to an atrial fibrillation and both Apple at-home facilities. Telemedicine increases and Google, are also planning to set up doctors’ capacity for providing healthcare, contact tracing technology for wearables

60 | august 2020 MYMOBILE by invitation

which could make the detection process In emergency clinics, specialists are building frameworks to help grow smooth. and medical attendants, relatives and and automate the contact tracing and tell Artificial Intelligence: Healthcare is even receptionists are utilizing robots to users who may could have become possibly another such industry that is witnessing communicate with patients while standing infected. super-fast changes with the introduction in a permissible range of contact. They are Contact tracing is a three-step process of AI. In a worldwide exertion to make cleaning rooms and delivering medicines, involving test, trace, and isolate. While healthcare progressively comprehensive taking care of the charts and other additional testing is irrefutably the top priority, it is with expansive advantages, while making work. They are even shipping samples (of also important for the health professionals it more financially savvy, accurate and infected patients) to research centers for to discover the individuals who have been fast, the industry is utilizing the most testing. infected. Contact tracing is indispensable recent AI innovations as a key to foster In public, the public healthcare providers for preventing a fatal disease from spreading development. Computing, networking and are utilizing robots to splash disinfectant fast. When the infected patients have been security automation are driving constant in open spaces. Drones are giving thermal distinguished, the doctors can put those and unprecedented growth of AI’s role in imagery to help recognize contaminated individuals in an isolation center before healthcare sector. residents and implement isolation they spread the virus further.

It is because of advent of artificial techniques and social distancing norms. Programmers are working strenuously Column Guest intelligence and its influence on the Robots are also helping in broadcasting to manufacture applications, services and healthcare that home diagnostics and at- health awareness messages and helping frameworks for a reliable contact tracing: home care is possible today. Patients can the people learn about the infection and recognizing and telling every one of the capture their health data through at-home social distancing. diagnostic devices, combined with home Open Surveillance servicing of lab tests which help them track for Contact Tracing: their conditions, share it with their doctors Covid-19 won’t remotely and get consultation. Artificial be the world’s Intelligence has been able to guide patients last pandemic, so and help doctors with accurate and fast this conceivable clinical support. not so distant Telecommunication in the field of future situation healthcare is going to increase as people could only be the get used to ‘quarantine’. The quantity of beginning. There is tele-health consults has risen exponentially a wide assortment of during this pandemic and it will increase advanced innovations manifolds once it’s over. During this time, turning out far and wide to help check the individuals who have met an infection with a rise in patient queries and lack of spread of the novel coronavirus. Contact bearer. Some of them have been proven to one-to-one contact with doctors, AI-fueled tracing, specifically, helps in surveillance be brief, while others are invasive. Since customer assistance can be utilized as the and study of the distribution and patterns this is the means by which innovation front line of correspondence. Dissimilar to of diseases in a confined area, which makes can help set up a new world order for old IVR’s, AI-empowered client care will it an area of interest and investments for the another pandemic, administering bodies comprehend the patient’s needs and chat government. are required to take control and set up bots could make the transition easier. It is how health professionals can guidelines for ethical contact tracing. Robotic Technology: Research labs and identify the primary bearer of the virus Science has been proven to make companies are making robots, including followed by people he/she may have significant discoveries when it comes one intended to let healthcare workers infected, to disengage those in danger and to diseases, by seeing how it works, and remotely take blood tests and perform stop the virus from spreading. It’s a reliable finding better approaches to stop it. mouth swabs. These robots could have a examination technique that has been Doubtlessly, the coronavirus pandemic will significant effect in the future debacles as used to effectively battle several diseases likewise require a reconsidering of needs more countries are taking interest in the including measles, HIV and Ebola. Nations and reorientation of methodologies as technology. around the globe and now it is being used social distancing becomes inevitable. n Robots are helping first responders in to contain the coronavirus. Simultaneously, The author is CEO and Co-Founder, many ways, such as: organizations such as Apple and Google Remedo, a telemedicine platform.

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 57 consumer insight Mobile Speeds Rise Quickly

Trendz Post-Lockdown Opensignal analyzed the Download Speed Experience seen by Indian smartphone users in the last five months to understand how their mobile network experience changed during COVID-19 compared to that observed before the lockdown.

s India adapts to the new workers from cities to their hometowns in experienced a negative impact on download normal that includes social suburban or rural areas, which means users speeds during the initial phases of lockdown, distancing, quarantines and may be spending more time in parts of and this trend was more pronounced in Tier 2 lockdown due to the COVID-19 the country where operators originally may cities compared to Tier 1 cities. However, more Apandemic, access to the internet has become have not designed network infrastructure to recently – when lockdown measures were critical. With users now spending more time manage large traffic loads. partially or completely relaxed – Download connected to the internet for a wide range of Mobile analytics firm Opensignal Speed Experience improved significantly, day-to-day activities – including working from analyzed the Download Speed Experience especially for users in Tier 1 cities. home, virtual classes, and entertainment – seen by Indian smartphone users in the For this insight, Opensignal used the Indian government’s three tier classification system for cities, where Tier 1 cities have the largest populations and Tier 3 cities have the lowest.

Tier 2 cities were the most affected during the lockdown While users in most of the cities experienced similar download speeds during the first seven weeks in Opensignal’s analysis, they observed a significant change in the third week of March (starting March 16) – when the government introduced the Janta Curfew (a one-day lockdown). In the following three weeks, when a strict countrywide lockdown was imposed, Opensignal recorded a sharp decline in overall download speeds, suggesting congestion on mobile networks. “Our users saw their Download Speed Experience decline by 16%, while their counterparts in Tier 3 and Tier 2 cities it has become crucial for mobile network last five months to understand how their saw greater declines of 23% and 25% operators to provide users with quality mobile network experience changed during respectively, on average,” Opensignal said services. The lockdown has also led to a COVID-19 compared to that observed before in its analysis. This trend continued until the mass migration of India’s interstate migrant the lockdown. It found that Indian users end of Phase 1 of lockdown – the second

58 | august 2020 MYMOBILE Consumer insight

Indian users in cities saw mobile speeds rise quickly post-COVID-19 lockdown Average percentage variation of Download Speed Experience compared to the median value of the first 11 weeks of the year (pre- lockdown period) by city tier type Trendz

Data collection period: 30 December, 2019 - 12 July, 2020 Source: Opensignal week of April (ending 12 April) – as more same time, users in some of the cities started their network can handle. “Similar to this, and more users stayed at home, and likely to see significantly faster download speeds, we have seen video providers like Netflix and consumed more data on mobile networks. and we saw this trend expanding to more Youtube reduce video quality to grapple with The mobile users in Tier 2 cities saw some cities during the period when lockdown was bandwidth stress,” it said in the analysis. of the major declines in Phase 1, especially relaxed from July 1 onwards. This pattern But why have the speeds significantly in cities such as Solapur, Ludhiana, Nashik, appeared earlier in Tier 1 cities, where there improved during the later phases in many of Surat and Ahmedabad, where average was a more pronounced improvement in India’s cities? One explanation, according to download speeds dropped by 35% or more download speeds. Opensignal, is the change in the location of compared to pre-lockdown levels. In the last week of its analysis (week mobile usage, as millions of Indians working As India moved further into the second ending July 12), users in Delhi saw in cities have moved back to their hometowns phase (April 13-May 3) of the lockdown, the the greatest improvement of 38.1% in in suburbs or rural areas to mitigate the users continued to see significantly lower download speed, followed by users in risks from losing their livelihood. “When download speeds compared to pre-lockdown Mumbai (33.5%), Hyderabad (33.1%), we looked at the national Download Speed levels, although the speeds gradually Ghaziabad (32.4%) and Chennai (30.4%). Experience, we observed that the average improved over time. In the third phase (May That said, Dhanbad, Kanpur, Solapur and download speeds may have returned to 4-May 17), the speeds returned to pre- Thiruvananthapuram were the exceptions normal in the later phases of the lockdown. lockdown levels in a majority of cities. where users continued to see significantly However, we didn’t see any significant Overall download speeds showed slightly lower download speeds throughout the improvements when lockdown was relaxed, different patterns in Tier 1 cities. Bangalore period when lockdown loosened. unlike in Tier 1 cities,” Opensignal noted. and Chennai did not see any significant Although it may seem intuitive that It was noteworthy that users in Tier 1 cities decrease in download speeds, while users in an increase in mobile data usage, fueled saw a greater improvement in Download Pune saw a decline of 6.9%-12.5% which by removal of data limits or cheaper data Speed Experience compared to their was limited to Phase 1 of lockdown. Also, packages from operators, caused the fall in counterparts in Tier 2 cities: speeds in Tier in the remaining Tier 1 cities the speeds overall download speeds, there are multiple 1 cities improved by 24% compared to 6% started returning to normal in the second other factors that also affected the experience. increase in Tier 2 cities, in the last week of phase (April 15-May 13). An example, as per Opensignal, was mobile the analysis (ending July 12). Also, users usage happening at different hours of the in many Tier 2 cities like Raipur, Nagpur India’s urban users day. With shifts in users’ behaviour occurring and Nashik didn’t see any improvement. experience faster download during the lockdown, the average speeds This suggests that relatively fewer numbers speeds post-lockdown started falling during non-peak hours, of users were connecting to mobile data Towards the end of the fourth phase of bringing down overall speeds. It is also worth services in the largest cities, generating less lockdown (May 18-31), the overall download considering that operators may have taken demand and underutilizing the network speeds for users in a majority of cities had pre-emptive measures to reduce the risk of infrastructure that is meant to support large returned to normal, showing no significant outages by reducing the maximum speeds traffic loads, it concludes.n difference from pre-lockdown levels. At the for many users to reduce the amount of data [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 59 consumer insight News Apps Witness Explosive Growth in 2020 Trendz Marked rise in news consumption signals a new trend during the global pandemic, as per Adjust

n the first half of this year, consumers informed as the global pandemic has have relied on news organizations unfolded,” said Paul H. Müller, Co-Founder more than ever to keep them informed and CTO of Adjust. “Our data suggests about the rapidly evolving situation mobile apps have become a major channel Iaround COVID-19. New data from app for this increase in news consumption, marketing platform Adjust shows consumers which could change the way people interact are increasingly turning to their phones to with news organizations more broadly over consume news, suggesting that their favorite the long-term.” media apps may get a long-term boost in The data also sheds light on regional attention. trends, as countries around the world “Consumers have relied The data shows that daily installs of grappled with lockdown measures and ever- more heavily on news News apps grew by 37% between January changing regulations: and April 2020. Installs peaked in March, • The United States saw one of the most organizations during this before returning to near pre-COVID levels dramatic spikes in use: daily installs period of uncertainty, in May. Daily sessions also saw a huge increased 53%, while daily sessions highlighting the media’s rise, increasing 59% between January and soared 104% between January and April. April. But daily sessions only saw an essential role in keeping While sessions peaked in April, they 8% decrease between April and May, populations informed decreased by just 13% the following month suggesting many users have stayed the as the global pandemic -- and sessions are still trending far higher course. has unfolded… Our data than in 2019, or at the start of 2020. This • In EMEA, daily sessions grew by 69% signals a shift in how users consume media, from January to April 2020 -- peaking suggests mobile apps have with more people turning to the convenience in March, in line with when lockdown become a major channel of News apps compared to traditional measures came into place across much for this increase in news channels. of the region. Germany and France “Consumers have relied more heavily in particular saw huge spikes in daily consumption, which on news organizations during this period sessions, increasing by 75% and 71% could change the way of uncertainty, highlighting the media’s respectively. people interact with news essential role in keeping populations • In Asia, Japan’s rates followed a similar pattern to the organizations more broadly rest of the world, over the long-term” with installs and – Paul H. Müller, sessions increasing Co-Founder and CTO, 23% and 44%, respectively, Adjust between January and April, and 11% between April and May. n sessions decreasing [email protected]

64 | january 2020 MYMOBILE Market insight Quad-Camera Handsets To Push CIS Sensors Sales The global shipment of smartphone CMOS image sensors (CIS) is likely to reach 5 billion units this year as quad- camera smartphone designs witness great momentum despite the COVID-19 pandemic, says a report

he coronavirus pandemic has adopting quad-camera setups, collectively Looking at the quad-camera and made a clear impact on the accounting for 83% of all the quad- above setup at the brand level, the fast- global smartphone industry, and penta-camera-based smartphone growing young brand Realme was the and the market is expected to shipments during Q1 2020. most aggressive brand to ride on this Tbe dragged down to the level of shipments trend. Almost two-thirds of its smartphone in 2014, slightly over 1.3 billion units, volumes in Q1 packed a quad-lens system. representing a nearly 10% year-on-year The next brand squeezing more camera decline in comparison to 2019. sensors into the rear camera module was However, as a beneficiary of the Oppo accounting for more than half of its continuous improvement in technology smartphones shipped in Q1 2020. Xiaomi and feature sets, the sales volume of trended above the market average, whereas CMOS image sensors (CIS) for smartphone Samsung and Huawei, which are still applications increased eightfold over the selling lots of lower-end models, had quad past decade, reaching more than 4.5 camera systems in less than a third of their billion units in 2019, shows a recent study smartphones shipped during the quarter. by Counterpoint Research. “As camera function has Commenting on the importance of Talking about this trend, Ethan Qi, camera in smartphones, Tom Kang, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint, become a key differentiator Research Director at Counterpoint, noted, said, “Although the strong growth in smartphones, we expect “As camera function has become a key momentum is expected to soften amid the the quad-camera feature differentiator in smartphones, we expect pandemic fallout, thanks to the irreversible will become a standard the quad-camera feature will become trend towards multi-camera setups and the a standard moving forward. Leading spreading adoption of 3D sensing systems, moving forward. Leading smartphone brands will continue enriching the smartphone CIS segment will likely still smartphone brands will and enhancing the photography and video register high-single-digit shipment growth continue enriching and capture experiences, as well as exploring in 2020, hitting an all-time high of close AR applications, by leveraging diversified to 5.0 billion units.” enhancing the photography lens and sensor combinations along with According to the findings of and video capture the increasing AI computing power.” Counterpoint’s Component Tracker, each experiences, as well as Meanwhile, new technologies will smartphone shipped in 1Q20 packed exploring AR applications, by continue to emerge to ease the cost more than 3.5 image sensors on average. pressure. For example, Immervision, The growth is primarily driven by the rising leveraging diversified lens a Canadian company specializing in penetration of quad-camera designs in and sensor combinations wide-angle optics and image processing the high- to mid-end smartphones, which along with the increasing AI algorithms, is developing an innovative jumped to nearly 20% during the period. computing power” wide-angle design, which enables sharing Chinese smartphone brands Oppo, – Tom Kang, the high-megapixel main camera for Xiaomi, Huawei, as well as South Research Director, Counterpoint panorama capabilities. n Korea’s Samsung were at the forefront of [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 61 Feature The Evolution of

Insight Mobile Games! By Pahi Mehra

echnology has a major role huge world-spanning industry. be much more boring and unattractive. to play in transforming the Nowadays, thanks to multimedia Tworld we live in. Its main How it all started? expansion, the easier interface, and contribution is the smartphones, people Mobile games have sure come a long interactive gaming are what capture the no longer just use their phones for way since its inception, and there are player’s attention. Especially when it simple texting or calling there more to main reasons behind it, first is the rapid comes to competing against friends or it. Smartphone technology is constantly evolution of the smartphones itself and random players, mobile gamers can enjoy bringing something new to the table. the second is the availability of access to exciting tournaments together with their We have witnessed some of the latest high speed internet. Now these are very friends. The 20s have introduced players technological advancements incorporated crucial points and reasons behind the to new technological advancements that in the smartphone display or software. evolution of mobile gaming but that not improve the gaming experience to a very Thanks to smartphones, online just it! high level. gaming has also been on the rise in Let’s look back at how it all started! the last decade. Gaming is a popular The early beginning of mobile gaming Advancements and a particularly important feature for date back to the 90s when the game used The biggest changes came when the the users now, especially the younger to be non-interactive and way too simple. smartphones became more than just generation. If we look back, ten years ago Since then, mobile gaming has become devices, it became an everyday tool, an mobile gaming was still in its infancy, an extremely popular trend among online essential part of our daily lives. Later the with both big and small developers game players. However, puzzle games introduction of touchscreen technology still figuring out the platform.A s the remain popular mobile games even in brings a much simpler gaming console smartphone tech evolved, so did mobile this century. The early solutions to mobile that simplifies the whole gaming gaming. gaming were a simple interface and experience. The biggest advantage It has come a long way since the first easy gaming consoles. Nowadays, the of smartphones is their mobility and mobile game launched, starting out mobile game’s interface is much more portability. The online gaming industry as tiny time killers on comprehensive and user-friendly. has recognized the potential of small devices to Back then mobile gaming used to smartphones to make gaming becoming a on-the-go, while

66 | august 2020 MYMOBILE Feature

on the bus or lying on the sofa. mobile phone industry. iPhone touchscreen mobile phones Remember the times when you had It was a black and white 2D game were becoming a thing. Advancement to spend money on physical gaming with pixelated graphics. The main aim of has its plateau, and if you don’t adopt CDs? Smartphone apps also save the this game was to keep the snake moving something new, you will be blown away player’s money. It’s much simpler to just within the screen area without hitting in no time. download the app on your smartphone any obstacles. This game amazed such a A Finnish game company named device. It has definitely made mobile huge audience at that time when only a Rovio incorporated physics into a new Insight gaming much more accessible to the few of us had access to cell phones. and unique game where players need general audience. Now, mobile games Space Invaders: In 2002, SPACE to slingshot weird looking birds to have striking visual graphics, almost INVADERS became available on mobile break down walls. And that is exactly cinematic-quality graphics, as well as phones. It was originally an arcade game how Angry Birds came into existence. innovative gaming mechanisms. Since its launch in 2009, it has been And we are here to take a look at how continuing to shake the mobile gaming the mobile gaming has changed with industry and attracting millions of users the time! around the world. With this game and its focus on real The Mobile Gaming through life physics, mobile games transformed the years! to something more realistic, something Tetris: Not a lot of people know that the that we witness in our daily life. A very first mobile game wasT etris that developed by Tomohiro Nishikado and decade and already this amount of appeared in 1994 with the Hagenuk released in 1978. It took some time advancement in mobile gaming. MT-2000, a phone designed and to became popular, a lot of different Fruit Ninja: Before the novelty of manufactured in Denmark by the versions were developed later, and it had worn out, tapping and Hagenuk corporation. Tetris is the also released on Nokia phones with a wildly popular video game based on different name. It was classic version of rapidly stacking tetranomial shapes. It Stars Wars. is still there with a lot new versions and As the mobile games were developing advancements, but this game is one of and new ideas and animations were the classics, a pioneer, which actually coming out, in 2007 Apple released its started the trend of mobile gaming. first iPhone with the trademark home Snake: Now this was the initial times button, a metal rear casing, and a 3.5- both for the mobile phones as well as inch touchscreen display. The debut swiping arcade games were everywhere. of iPhone opened a new era for mobile Yet, none had such a simple but brilliant gaming. The mobile games nowadays premise as Fruit Ninja — slashing have fantastic artwork, high definition watermelons, oranges and pineapples graphics, and real-life movement and with a swipe of your finger, as they fall sound effects. rapidly across your screen. Angry Birds: Now this was the starting Released in 2010, Fruit Ninja is of a new decade and new advancements a skill-based puzzle game developed gaming. We only had a small black and by Australia-based Halfbrick Games, white screen and old fashioned keypads also known for Jetpack Joyride. In Fruit with bulky bodies. Snake was one of the Ninja, players control a blade via their firsts and wildly popular mobile games, smartphone’s touchscreen, slicing up it was first released in the year 1998 falling fruit and avoiding obstacles. The by Nokia. This marked the beginning of game is the ninth highest downloaded mobile gaming with a bang, with over game across Android and iOS of the past 350 million players around the world, and technology were coming out decade as per App Annie. this game paved the way for the whole aggressively. Following the launch It has been published on a variety of

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 63 Feature

platforms, including making its way to OS iOS and Android made the game so got left out in the competition. Sadly the Xbox 360 with motion control support enjoyable. for Age of Empires lovers, it never made via the Kinect camera, and even with VR Subway Surfers: Just like the Temple it to mobiles phones, but that doesn’t Run another game made it to the charts, Subway surfers. Released in 2012, Subway Surfers is an endless runner game that was developed by Danish Insight companies Kiloo and SYBO Games. It can be considered amongst the pioneers of the genre, and is available across mobile and desktop platforms. The game has several milestones to necessarily mean that war strategy based its name – such as becoming the first games came to an end. game to cross 1 billion downloads on With Clash of Clans, released in 2012, Google Play in 2018, and then crossing a company named Supercell brought the two billion mark within 6 months of that Age of Empires experience to mobile the original feat. It’s also App Annie’s top phones and made it even better with mobile game in terms of downloads in the awesome multiplayer capabilities. People could form their own villages, join clans support for the HTC Vive, Oculus Quest, past decade, across the App Store and and fight for their virtual land anytime and PS VR. Google Play. This was the time with anyone around the world. This Temple Run: Just like technology Candy Crush Saga: superb connected gaming once again games were also evolving fast, Puzzle reminded us that mobile phones were based or shooting games were becoming meant to connect us to people who were monotonous and boring, it was time for thousands of miles away. some fast paced action, and that paved My Talking Tom: Tough it was nothing the way for one of the most popular new at this point of time, Talking Tom was games in history, Temple Run. almost everyone’s favorite, released in in It released in 2011 and this game 2013, My Talking Tom is a virtual pet app was one of a kind, featuring smooth 3D graphics and an endless running experience for the first time in mobile game history. Talk about addictive, Temple Run really stole the crown for that title, with millions of players sticking to when people started to connect overs their phone swiping their screens in all games on Facebook, and the spark of four directions. challenge and entertainment. Released in 2012, Candy Crush Saga is a tile matching game developed by Malta- based King Digital Entertainment. Acquired by Activision Blizzard in 2016 for a massive sum of $5.9 billion, King specialises in socially-connected games that let players associate their social developed by Slovenia-based Outfit7.T he network profile, and share their progress children’s game is part of several Talking with friends, thereby competing with Tom and Friends apps, first released in them or inviting them to play alongside. 2010 in the form of Talking Tom Cat. Clash of Clans: When all the genres The app has also spawned a Web of games were making their way into Vast availability of touchscreen phones series and even a television series. My our pockets, there was one genre which featuring both the most prominent mobile Talking Tom players have to raise and

64 | august 2020 MYMOBILE Feature

nurture a cat named Tom. Another draw has actually ironed most of its flaws out The game is was instant hit when it for children was that words spoken into throughout the years and today it offers launched in 2019. With over 100 million the microphone could be repeated by Tom a full and rich experience that you can downloads in a just a month, it is not in a synthesised voice. enjoy with friends. Despite its diminished only our pick for game of the year, but Alto’s Adventure: Alto’s Adventure playerbase, Pokémon Go remains one of currently the most popular shooter on released in 2015, is beautiful and the most influential mobile games of all Google Play.

masterful in its simplicity. This indie time. As expected, the game doesn’t have Insight PUBG Mobile: This game slashed all a campaign, but it offers a variety of the gaming record of two decades. PUBG multiplayer modes, including a battle Mobile released in 2018 might have a royale. Thankfully, although they exist, different approach to the battle royale microtransactions don’t affect gameplay. gameplay, but what they have in common Call of Duty Mobile also plays up the is their explosive popularity. It was the nostalgia with a number of classic maps and characters from the franchise making is the type of rare mobile game which an appearance. The gameplay is as fun offers a zen-like experience. It achieves and as competitive as ever, and with it thanks to a combination of minimalist numbers like these, Call of Duty Mobile graphics, an atmospheric soundtrack and will likely stay on top of the charts for wonderful gameplay. Alto’s Adventure is quite some time. simple to pick up, but the difficulty racks up quickly without being frustrating. On 5G is coming! the contrary, mastering the game is a slow The trend of mobile games if going crazy but satisfying process. battle royale pioneer that defined the with all the new advancements and All of these factors combined made it genre. The game was created with PC and technologies already, now think about an instant hit that has influenced many console in mind, but it transitioned to what will happen when 5G will drive the mobile games that came after it. However, mobile with ease and success. next-gen mobile games. the closest you can get to the original Today this game is among the All these games show off the potential experience is the game’s official sequel — pioneering mobile esports. They of 5G already, whether its battling in Alto’s Odyssey. provide all of the excitement of their PUBG, or steering through an asteroid Coming out of our TV Pokémon Go: PC counterparts without the need for a field. Imagine if you could stream in high spec PC, along with smooth and far more data. The enhancement of the thrilling gameplay that’s easy to pick games would be way quicker and more up but difficult to master.T hey might seamless. have appeared at the end of the decade, Current mobile games cannot pull this but their influence can already be felt off, even those adapted from console/ everywhere. This game has become desktop titles. 5G could enable much screens directly to our smartphones, an important feature and aspect when more dynamic gameplay...eventually! Pokémon Go, was a huge success among buying a mobile phone nowadays. Technically it’s there but the the millennials. The game was a true Call of Duty: Riding on the popularity infrastructure needed is huge. However, augmented reality pioneer, when it came we won’t see that 5G-enabled next- out, it achieved what at the time seemed generation of mobile gaming arriving impossible brought video games into the anytime soon. Next some years may be real world. all about validating the technology first, It was a true global phenomenon then seeing if and where it can be useful when it came out in 2016, although its to consumers. early implementation had its problems. But whenever it arrives, the mobile It made you feel like you were a part of gaming future will be nothing like what a real Pokémon adventure, appealing waves created by PUBG Mobile and any of us have imagined. n to both young and old. Pokémon Go Fortnite comes Call of Duty Mobile. [email protected]

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 65 by Invitation Mobile apps accelerating digital transformation in India By Teja Gudluru

oday an increasing number deliver your marketing messages. business will be left behind. Even if you have of companies are busy software and tools that help you in day-to- formulating their digital But first, let’s see what is day handlings, you still need to update them transformation strategies. Digital Transformation? otherwise, you will be making your company TOf all the innovative technologies that Sprinkling different technologies across the vulnerable to competitor attacks. Guest Column Guest are accelerating the growth of digital departments isn’t digital transformation Moreover, digital transformation transformation, mobile apps have indeed at all. In fact, to organize a sound digital primarily changes how you operate and proven to be among the most disruptive. transformation strategy that will change deliver value to customers. That’s how it In this digital era where technology is a and move company’s processes, activities, aids companies to create new business crucial factor for success, it will be a welcome and models forward, so that the business models, rethink their leadership style, and step for your business to use mobile apps becomes modern is digital transformation. create products that gain a competitive technology benefits and get the most out of edge. Digital transformation not only it. Mobile apps make it easier for customers One should definitely adopt digital helps you in retaining the customers you to find you, learn about company’s products transformation because, without it, your already have but also commence ways to and interact. Also, apps allow one to acquire new customers. Instead of relying reach a wider range of customers, on old marketing tactics to drive your and they offer you new ways to consumers to the company, you can

66 | august 2020 MYMOBILE by invitation

reach them through mobile apps, social media and tools without putting in too much effort.

Mobile apps: A face of digital transformation A mobile app is the top credo of digitalization and thus plays a crucial role in digital transformation success. Today, apps totally dominate the mobile minutes spent online, from general browsing to reading emails, everything is being done through the use of mobile. It provides a broad scope to the businesses to make use of the technology to bring together every element of their business on a single platform. improved user experience. by geographic location at the most suitable Right from how the interface responds to time. Why Mobile App? the way it was designed, mobile apps are the A mobile app is usually a crux part of any new orchestrator of customer experiences. Brings more flexibility and company’s digital transformation strategy, Incorporating mobile apps in your digital agility whether you want to build a public-facing transformation strategy is prominent to Innovative software tools can be simply app or an ERP app for an internal usage. enhance customer experiences through integrated to create one space that There are 2.71 billion smartphone users benefits provided by mobile apps. Mobile serves different business departments or worldwide. It is one of the most convenient app advancement trends are changing for functions. In this way, you avoid the severe and accessible mediums to connect with good, and their central focus like always mistake of slowing your data by department. people. A mobile app is the easiest way to has been improving the user’s experience, This is how organizations can become more reach towards a wide population and engage along with ensuring smooth business agile and responsive to evolving customer them in alike fashion. Besides, you also processes. needs. have the option to upgrade the capability of your mobile app at any point of time, Providers of on-demand Conclusion provided you have initially worked with the services A digital transformation journey has right mobile app development company Mobile apps expedite the pace of information no endpoints. And to move forward with experience in secure, building robust, exchange and business transactions every time, you have to assure that you and scalable apps. between customers and business. In this choose scalability and modernization in method of information exchange, mobile every attribute of the business. A Let’s discuss how mobile apps play a pivotal app users create a extensive amount of mobile app that is widely accessible role in digital transformation- data which will benefit marketers. The allows you to do so. Investing in a Enhanced customer data collected from location-based services mobile app can not only help experience can be used by marketers to send targeted accelerate the digital transition of your Today customer experiences refer to the promotional content at the most convenient company, but also lets you achieve a real usability and utility of mobile apps. They time to drive more sales. Moreover, mobile competitive edge. n can be effective at driving sales and can provide the customer’s location, The author is Founder and CEO, UDo- increasing profits, all while delivering an marketers can target specific customers now.com.

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 67 face to face “Truke seeks to deliver innovation-laden products at low prices” Although it’s a very new player in the personal audio segment, Truke wants to make it big in India with a number of products lined-up to be launched this year. Truke, which claims to deliver the best tech-features at remarkably low prices, has some aggressive plans with regard to expansion of mobile accessories segment. Ramesh Kumar Raja talked to Pankaj Upadhayay, Founder and CEO, Truke, to discuss the brand’s outreach and investment plans in India. Excerpts:

How are you positioning Truke in India which AI and noise-cancellation in our devices a one-year warranty on the condition already is a hyper-competitive market? Truke in the future. that the customer must register online was formed in the month of December on our social media channel or through

In Conversation In 2019 and since then it has made a definite Which are the areas you are targeting and e-mail within a span of 10 days after mark in the Indian sound-ware segment. whom do you consider your potential buyers? purchase. Any discrepancies in product The mobile accessories are a highly We primarily cater to customers aged performance are dealt with our service unorganized sector with an incredibly huge between 14-45 who seek high-performance team personnel who duly arrive to repair gap between the price margins of reputed feature-rich products that compete with or replace after the customer signs up brands and lesser known ones. We seek the best names out there in terms of quality online. Though currently we do not have to tap into this void by offering the same and are yet affordably priced. We further any physical service center, we are in the quality and experience of high-end brands seek to expand operations in the western, process of opening about 50-100 service but at a significantly lesser price. Our brand southern and northern zones of the country, centers in the near future depending upon philosophy revolves around delivering the looking to scale our presence at a pan-India our sales projection. best tech-features and innovation-laden level. Our prospective customers range products at remarkably low prices. from those who appreciate true sound and What are your outreach and investment beauty such as acoustic professionals, plans and which platform you are going You have a very limited number of products techies and audiophiles. to exploit more- online or offline? We are to offer. How has been the response so far currently focusing on an exclusively online and what’s your product-expansion plan to What is your approach to the after-sales outreach through effective social media make Truke large? We have launched five service? All our products come with and strategic PR campaigns. On the unique models comprising 2 TWS earbuds investment front, we are allying with the and 3 neckbands. We managed to sell over pioneering vision of PM Narendra Modi’s 30,000 units until the COVID-19 pandemic ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat’. We also envision struck which halted our operations for a collaborating with various manufacturers while. Then as the situation gradually post September 2020 and opening improved, we witnessed our second production of different set of products product launch in July when we unveiled a for offline channels by December 2020 new TWS model, Truke Fit Pro, which has based on the market outlook. While as clocked over 7,000 units until now. Now, of now, we exist solely through the online we plan to launch 10 more models -- 7 channels of commerce such as Amazon, TWS and 3 neckbands – and we also aspire we aspire to shift 40 % of our sales to venture into the mobile accessories to offline channels by September segment, furnishing world class this year. We are presently active USM cables, chargers and wired in countries such as Thailand, earphones at amazing prices. Vietnam and Indonesia We also envision incorporating besides India.n advanced technologies such as [email protected]

68 | august 2020 MYMOBILE Apptastic Sense.bio A one-stop platform for your fitness and health needs

ense.bio is an IoT-based fitness calories burned and water consumed. and health app that helps you with In the Activity section, you can track the home workout, diet plans, and your physical activities segregated S Review simultaneously monitors your health. into 3 parts- Indoor Activities (Without model, the premium version of which will It provides fitness, wellness, nutrition, Equipment), Indoor Activities (With give people access to personalized and family health monitoring on a single Equipment) and Outdoor Activity. This customized diet recommendations and platform. will help to track your fitness both when allows you to interact with nutritionists working out inside the gym and when and health coaches. Overall, with the Downloading the app working out in your home. Then comes help of Sense.bio, you can keep a track The mobile app is currently available the Diet section in which you can feed on the health and fitness of your entire on Google Play Store for free. It has a the meals you had and keep a track of family, based on individual preferences. user rating of 4.9 and has over 100+ your calorie, carbs, fats and protein daily The special features like water intake and downloads. The app size is only 16.81 intake. It acts as your personal dietician pill reminders are a boon in this hectic Mb, so it doesn’t impact the functioning as well. work schedule. Towards a healthier life, of your phone. The last section is Monitor, where you Sense.bio is one of the best suitable can find the option toS tart Scan. Once apps. It helps in everyday tracking with Getting started you tap on that, you will be provided with proper date-wise details. n On opening the app, the first thing you the option to select from Mobile camera [email protected] have to do is sign up via phone or social or Bluetooth device. Using Bluetooth media account and register yourself with device you can scan other family it. Once registered, you need to feed member’s health as well. The app helps the information like your name, gender, you check your heart rate, respiration date of birth, weight, height to get rate, oxygen levels and blood pressure suggestions. through your smartphone, without stepping out of your home with the help How it works of a sensor device. You just need to put Offering a variety of features within just the index finger on the camera and cover one app, Sense.bio enables users to track the entire camera lens with the fingertip. their fitness regime by logging in their Through sensor scanning, the app reads activities, steps, calories, ingredients, all the details. The same process can be and also measurements like BMI and repeated daily to track the health of you weight. Adjusting to the user’s access to and your loved ones. equipment, Sense.bio also recommends It suggests you diet plans and home workout and diet plans. It provides the workout plans according to your access to option to add your family member’s the equipment. Additionally, it also gives details and can track their health as you a pill intake reminder for your pills well. Through one app, you can track the and monitors your water intake along with health of all the family members just by your likes and dislikes in food items. The adding a few details about them. app also keeps a track of your aliments/ On opening the app, you can see four habits and routine schedule to help you sections on the top i.e Home, Activity, achieve your fitness goal. Diet and Monitor. In the Home section, you can access your daily dashboard Conclusion which displays the details of step count, Although Sense.bio works on a freemium

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 49 Offer

Offer

Offer

Terms and Conditions: The offer is valid in India only. Gift will be deliverd within a month after clearing of the cheque.Please allow 4 - 6 weeks for processing your subscription. Any request for cancellation of subscription will not be entertained. Copies will be sent by ordinary post. The actual model of Subscription gift may vary from the model shown above. This subscription offer is valid till stocks lasts. All disputes subject to competent courts of Delhi only. Devices featured in the My Guide have been segregated into different categories based on price and colour- coded as:

Up to Rs. 2,499

Rs. 2,500 – Rs. 5,999

Rs. 6,000 – Rs. 9,999

Rs.10,000 – Rs. 14,999

Rs.15,000 – Rs. 19,999

Rs. 20,000 – Rs. 29,999

RS. 30,000 and above.

Tablets

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G P pin connector to the separate separate microphone and headphone jacks of the the sound card. to connector pin 2.4 four- the adapts to and meters movement of range extension cable. an with comes also privacy isrequired.Thegamingheadset when microphone the mutes and volume such functions cable as important controls its as predecessor. polyurethane robust same the from madeis 300 MMX Beyerdynamic new the on smartphones or tablets. tablets. or smartphones laptops,with well performs also it and console gaming of controller the to connection for ideal is which cable, long a with 1.2-metre comes 300 MMX gaming headset, MMX 300, in India. Track yourfitnessroutinewiththissmartband Boat ProGear B20 which which 8 can be set as modes. active of out modes workout 14 offers It display. coloured touch smartband hasasmoothandresponsive0.96-inchfull- launch ofProGearB20inIndia.TheBoat For yourultimategamingexperience Beyerdynamic MMX300GamingHeadset www.mymobileindia.com INR 1,799 INR Price: T he he gaming headset comes with HiFi sound and it comes debuted into the smart fitness band segment with the the with segment band fitness the smart into debuted now has Boat products, audio for known opularly erman audio equipment maker Beyerdynamic has has come up with the second generation of its premium Beyerdynamic maker equipment audio erman T his cable doubles the the doubles cable his T he remote control in the the in control remote he T he connection cable cable connection he T T his includes the his likes includes he Beyerdynamic he Beyerdynamic INR 29,999 INR Price:

at you ever wanttotakeabreakfrom life.Onecanpurchaseit if feature DND a offers further It backup. battery of faces. dial dynamic One can customize their Boat ProGear B20 with 5 built-in forever. you miss a never that you feature, moment want to capture into the wilderness. With a smart camera shutter control resistant, get ready for the long workouts and expeditions iOS Apptore.With IP68,dust,sand,water, andsweat- download the download Boat Pro monitor. quality a sleep with along manual or automatic to be set can which monitor rate heart a 24-hour includes top. on cherry a are band the via music controlto ability the and messages and calls incoming single glance. Features such as real-time notifications for like daily steps, calories burnt, and activity duration at a playing soccer and basketball. It shows various statistics of running, walking, hiking, working out at the gym, or even Amazon. T o make the experience even more seamless, one can can one seamless, more even experience the make o T in and he rugged frame pairs with three voguish colours. he colours. with pairs frame voguish three rugged 300 premium headset is sold via Headphonezone. n with a cockpit-proven microphone. It takes its its takes It microphone. cockpit-proven a with Heilbronn, Heilbronn, Amazon. construction frompilotheadsets,which at the company’s headquarters in in headquarters company’s the at are Beyerdynamic developed for the the for developed Beyerdynamic are T aluminium yokes. It is handcrafted handcrafted is It yokes. aluminium private aviation sector.aviation private he smart band offers up to 10-days 10-days to up offers band smart he G design attenuates ambient noise ambient attenuates design G by 18 decibels. It comes with with comes It decibels. 18 by sprung steel headbands and solid solid and headbands steel sprung ear ear app from the speech clearly that it seems like like seems it that clearly speech a cardioid true condenser condenser true cardioid a gaming headset is built with with built is headset gaming n microphone that transmits transmits that microphone ermany. ermany. online gaming team members team gaming online distracting ambient noise. ambient distracting cancellation reliably suppresses are in the same room. T he Beyerdynamic MMX MMX Beyerdynamic he add-

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93 Gadgets Corner add-ons

Boult Audio Truebuds Perfect for day-to-day activities

remium audio brand Boult The device comes with HD PAudio has introduced its latest bass which gives a delightful offering, ‘Truebuds’ in the truly listening experience. It wireless category and is available also offers ultra-low for purchase on Amazon and latency and provides 8 Flipkart. The Boult Audio hours of single playback Truebuds earphones are with a total of 24 hours of designed for comfort which playtime with a charging case makes it a perfect reason to that makes it a go-to earpiece buy. The device offers the for gamers. The all-new Boult latest touch control features Audio device comes with dual that allow users to answer colour which can be changed Gadgets Corner Gadgets calls, change music, enable as per preference. It comes with Google Assistance and IPX7 rating, so it’s waterproof volume can be changed which makes it perfect by long press for 3 sec. for day-to-day activities The device has Bluetooth like workouts, trekking, 5.0 which enables lag- swimming, cycling, running free audio with a range of or commuting.n up to 10 meters. Price: INR 2,499

Hohem iSteady X Say goodbye to shaky videos with this smartphone gimbal

ccessories maker and just one touch on the button or App AH o h e m r e c e n t l y screen. “For example, if you want to take a announced the launch of perfect rotation video, and you don’t need a new smartphone gimbal to do it manually. Just choose inception called ‘iSteady X’ in India. mode on the app, and iSteady X will rotate It will be available for automatically. It will let you experience a purchase from Amazon. whole new way of playing and receive a The Hohem iSteady X simple and fun feeling of ‘hi-tech’,” the gimbal can handle the company said. “Other than a stabilizer, shaky movements and users will get the iSteady X could also be your selfie stick, Price: stabilized quality of the video. It comes a great helper for watching drama, live INR 6,990 with 3.0 anti-shaky stabilization and broadcast and Instagram Story videos. Price: 3-axis system, which offers you a smooth iSteady is more flexible than you think, INR 1,499 result of any footage. and it can be used in many places. So, if The all-new device weighs just 259 you want to create some amazing content grams and it is an ultra-compact gimbal or aspire to be a pro video maker then with foldable features. It comes with go buy the Hohem smartphone gimbal simple control buttons and App guide, so iSteady X . You will be amazed at how good that even beginners can learn quickly on it is and fall in love with this product,” the how to use the gimbal with a few steps, brand noted.n

MYMOBILE S G quality. quality. audio immersive for speakers fidelity high with equipped control. button multi-function a and endurance, long design, egg goose 5.0, Bluetooth offers Another masterpiecefromthehouseofInfinix Snokor iRockerEarbuds available exclusively on Flipkart. Flipkart. on exclusively available brand, the under earbuds wireless the comfort ofyourroom the comfort Enjoy bigcinemaexperiencein Soundbar Blaupunkt SBW500 possible way, itadded.So,whowilllovethissoundbar? technology, design and materials come together in the best said. You cantrusttheGermanrootstomakesurethat part, however small, adds to the the performance, company sophistication. functional efficient Germanlifestyles.Thereisanelegantyetvery separation. andclarity with woofer’s coupled the is as sound deep T equalizers. 7 and preset display LED pairing, auto sound, surround channel 5.1 like of features an array boasts and soundbar, which is a wired one, is magnificently powerful INR 1,499 INR he audio reproduction delivers a big cinema experience experience cinema big a delivers reproduction audio he Like every portfolio with the launch of iRocker, it’s first truly truly first it’s iRocker, of launch the with portfolio audioits augmented has Infinix brand martphone erman audio brand Blaupunkt has launched yet yet – launched soundbar has another Blaupunkt brand audio erman Price: Price: T he he S T

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can quickly switch off one of the earbuds to take calls calls take to earbuds the of one off switch quickly can one for safety. With noise feature, this to background hear it when is essential driving while the pair, mainly between switchseamless a ensuring double, and single modes: splash-proof. and sweat them makes that rating 4 IPX has and gm 4.6 weighsearbuds using the of Each commands. voice phones simple their control to users allows that support exclusively on the bass.TheBlaupunktSBW500soundbarisavailable will love the clarity of every frequency and the richness of about music feel passionate it People creates. theater-like the and separation sound its in delight will lovers Movie level.next the to things takes system this that realize instantlywill perform it to listens Well,who everybody and keep the other ear free to be in touch with outside outside with touch in be to free ear other the keep and Perfect for outdoor activities, the earbuds come in two two in come earbuds the activities, outdoor for Perfect white colours. traffic. closing. closing. fitted inside to ensure smooth opening and opening smooth ensure to inside fitted with fine titanium coating, which not only not which coating, titanium fine with charger box/ earbuds case has a magnet magnet a has case earbuds box/ charger Amazon. the batteries within a few minutes. few a within batteries the gives them gives a look but premium also makes with a quick charge feature to replenish replenish to feature charge quick a with them durable. Equipped with 300m with Equipped durable. them hours hours of the also playtime, earbuds come 40m he buttons are made of high-end PU high-end of made are buttons The T he he Ah*2 batteries that offer up to 20 n T n INR 14,990 INR Price: W S earbuds come in black and and black in come earbuds add- ons A The h h + august 2020 |

95 Gadget Corner add-ons

Soundcore Rave Mini Crafted for party lovers

nker’s audio sub-brand Soundcore has come up with Aan 80W party speaker called Rave Mini in India. It’s Price: portable, having waterproof build along with the beat INR 9,999 driven light show, all personalized with the Soundcore app. It is available on Flipkart for sale. Like a classic boombox, the Soundcore Rave Mini speaker comes with a built-in handle that makes it easy to pick-up and party. It is powered by a 10,000mAh battery that ensures 18 hours of playtime. An IPX7 waterproof casing keeps the music playing, while its buoyant build ensures that even Soundcore when the speaker gets fully submerged it will float back app that lets

Gadgets Corner Gadgets up to the surface. you remix the The speaker houses a 5.25-inch woofer, 2-inch tweeter LED show, or tap and 5.25-inch passive radiator. The Anker’s unique and to layer sound effects patented BassUP technology takes the body shaking bass over a song. The app also comes with three iconic party and exaggerates it in real time, intensifying every single games to keep the spirits going. The speaker comes with song. The unique custom rave party lighting algorithm Bluetooth 5.0 technology and 3.5 mm audio jack along and independent DSP syncs the LEDs to the beats, to with the option of built-in USB port to charge while you create a dazzling display. Personalize your party with play. It operates in the range of 20m.n

Truke Fit Pro Earbuds Made for music enthusiasts

udio brand Truke has introduced its latest true quick charge for 1-hour playback, and compatibility with Awireless earbuds called Fit Pro in India. The premium 99% of smartphones and gaming devices, are available quality innovative dolphin-designed open fit earbuds for sale on ecommerce platform Amazon. featuring universal Type-C charging interface, 15 mins The Truke Fit Pro earbuds have been ergonomically engineered for maximum comfort and is backed by a 500mAh charging case to get up to 24 hours of music Price: INR 999 playback. Available in three trendy colour variants – Basil Green, Royal Blue and Carbon Black, the earbuds instantly pair with devices and promise high fidelity sound w i t h i t s 1 3 m m Price: INR 24,990 (24,990); dynamic driver.n INR 21,990 (D43QFS)

96 | august 2020 MYMOBILE add-ons

RAEGR AirDrums 400 TWS Speaker Enjoy your music wherever you go

omegrown lifestyle tech brand RAEGR has launched Hnew ultra-portable AirDrums 400 TWS mini Bluetooth speakers in India. The RAEGR AirDrums 400 is a tiny twin- speaker kit. Key features of the device include loud 3W distortion-free audio, with HD sound, deep bass, 10 hours of battery life and in-built microphone. Based on Bluetooth v5.0, the two tiny speakers are quickly able to pair with each other and with the Bluetooth-enabled device along with lower power consumption and lower latency, and as far as 10 meters away from the source. Each AirDrums 400 speaker has built-in 520mAh rechargeable Lithium battery that allows users to enjoy their favourite music for as long as 10 hours on a single charge. Each speaker can charge

up to 100% in as little as 1.5 hours. Corner Gadgets Each speaker also has an in-built microphone, so users who pair it with their smartphones can easily make and receive calls. The kit consists of two speakers and can be used individually with different devices, or paired together Bundled with the speakers is a pair of lanyards and USB to create a stereo sound. Each speaker is equipped with a cables each. It comes in Black and White colour variants strong and durable nylon lanyard so that you can hang them and is available on Amazon India.n safely to your backpack or bicycle. The speaker weighs Price: INR 1,499 (twin speaker pack)/ just 56.5g each and measure just 48mm x 30mm in size. INR 799 (single unit)

JBL Club Series Headphones Inspired by the pros and designed for everyday remium audio brand JBL from the house of Harman with other online and retail outlets across the country. The PInternational has launched the all-new Club series JBL Club 700BT is priced at Rs 11,999, while the JBL Club headphones in India. These include Club One, Club 950NC 950 is priced at Rs 17,999. The JBL Club One, on the other and Club 700BT available in both over-ear and on-ear design hand, is priced at Rs 29,999. options. The new range of products come equipped with JBL All three Club series headphones come equipped with Pro Sound Personi-Fi technology along with advanced noise Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa voice assistant services. cancellation and native voice assistants. The new JBL Club Users can customize their listening experience from the “My series headphones are available on JBL online store along JBL Headphones” app. The newly-launched headphones are equipped with a 1.2m audio cable and microphone and are Price: INR 24,990 (24,990); outfitted with full metal hinges for added durability. The INR 21,990 (D43QFS) JBL Club 700BT is claimed to have a battery life of up to 50 hours, while JBL Club 950NC is said by the company to last for up to 55 hours. JBL Club One comes with up to 45 hours of battery life. It features high-res certified graphene drivers and True Adaptive Noise Cancellation + SilentNow technology. It is an over-the-ear headphone which comes with replaceable ear cushions, a dual-aux audio input and a flight adaptor.n

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Thomson SPP 24 50W 2.1 Multimedia Speaker A party material

uropean electronics brand Thomson EAudio has launched the SPP 24 50W 2.1 multimedia speaker system with 50 watts power which is enough to Price: INR 3,699 get the beats on. The subwoofer is enough to start a party guaranteed to be big fun. It provides enhanced bass and music wirelessly from any Bluetooth compatible device

Gadgets Corner Gadgets full sound, so one can enjoy listening to the music or including MP3s, mobile phones, tablets, gaming devices, movies at theater-like frequencies right in the living room. etc. It offers multiple connectivity options like Aux, USB They are built solid so that it can deliver more thumps. The and FM. It has two satellite speakers which are designed multimedia speaker system gives pure bass, no vibrations to complement the system and sound even better. Their and no disturbances, the company said in a statement. unique curved form allows sound to flow out with a wide It is targeted for the Indian youth. One can stream angle. n

VingaJoy Beat Brothers Neckband CL-130 An ideal workout companion obile accessories brand VingaJoy Mhas announced the launch of a new wireless neckband, Beat Brothers Neckband CL-130 in India. The neckband offers a playtime of up to 12 hours on a single charge along with HD audio quality. This magnetic sports wireless neckband is available at retail stores. Another important USP of this neckband is its unique magnetic absorption design for a comfortable wearing Price: INR 1,399 experience, which is handy, compact and portable. The design also allows protection of the cable from accidental damages when not in use. It also provides passive isolation as it successfully eliminates ambient noises along with a built-in mic facility for call connectivity.n

98 | august 2020 MYMOBILE add-ons

Zoook Clicker Turn your home into smart home

rench brand Zoook has launched an innovative device Fnamed Clicker, which can be installed wirelessly and replace all the infrared-based remote controls for AC, set-top boxes, sound systems and all other devices that support IR remote. The device has a compact and robust built with ABS material protection. It weighs 35 grams only. Zoook Clicker enables you to turn on/off or schedule turn on/off for more than 80,000 devices. Besides, users can mute/unmute, control TV volume or turn on/off air conditioner, set the temperature of AC and manage more functions as per device suitability. For connectivity, the device relies on WiFi as well as a mobile hotspot. The functional (IR) range of Zoook Clicker is 8 meters. It easily connects with smart speakers such as Amazon Corner Gadgets Echo Dot, Google. Users can also control devices via their smartphones. It is compatible with Android 4.4 and beyond; iOS 8.0 and beyond. Additionally, the device operates smoothly within 0-degree C to 500-degree C and Price : INR 1,299 within 85% RH humid environment. One box of Clicker compounds one Clicker WiFi IR Remote Controller, one one Certificate of Authenticity. It’s available for sale on USB Cable, one Double-sided Sticker, one user Manual, Amazon.n

U&i Airplane It’s a Youth thing

obile accessories brand U&i has come up Mwith the Airplane wireless earbuds in India. The U&i TWS-3330 Airplane is a next-generation wireless earphone that is designed to deliver high bass and HD sound for your favourite music or listening to calls. The device comes with a 12- hour battery backup and music time. The wireless earphone is equipped with LED indicator on its case for displaying the charging process to the users. The earphone comes with Bluetooth 5.0 that gives a coverage distance of 15 metres. The charging case has a battery capacity of 300mAh and the earphone’s in-built battery capacity is of 25mAh. The U&i Airplane wireless earphone comes in White colour. It can be bought from all the leading retail stores and e-commerce platforms.n Price : INR 2,999

august 2020 | 99 add-ons

Shinco S43UQLS 4K Smart TV Slim, sleek and stylish

omegrown television brand Shinco has Hintroduced the S43UQLS 4K smart TV with Bluetooth connectivity and dbx-tv audio technology in the Indian market. It comes with A55 quad- core processor, has 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM, 3 HDMI ports and 2 USB ports and is powered by Android 9.0. The 43-inch TV is exclusively available at www.shinco.in and Amazon.in. In Price : INR 20,999 terms of display, the Shinco S43UQLS features

Gadgets Corner Gadgets A+ grade panel, HDR10 and has 3840x 2160 screen resolution with Quantum Luminit Technology. The HDR10 like Hotstar, Zee5, Sony Liv, technology gives more realistic experience. Voot ,Sun NXT, Jio Cinema, Eros Now, The dbx-tv audio technology feature creates the best Hungama Play, Alt Balaji, and many more. The TV also sound possible from the built-in high-performance comes with the Content Discovery Engine in which you speakers. The 20 watt speakers technology includes Total can search for anything around the app by just entering Sonics, a complete range of audio technologies working the keyword on your TV. The intelligent Uniwall-UI brings together for optimal audio quality. With its Uniwall-UI 1500000+ hours of content along with the Movie Box (Cloud TV Certified AOSP, Android 9), it includes apps App. n

Astrum ET270 Enhance your listening experience with this neckband

ew technology brand Astrum has come up with its new wireless Nneckband, ET270, in India. It comes with a powerful and 10mm deep bass with passive noise cancellation that reduces background noises and provides crystal high-quality sound with an ultra large 10mm bass boost driver. The ET270 neckband is ergonomically designed, which comes with built-in magnets to prevent the earphone from sliding off when not in use. With its comfortable in-ear design, the headset makes sure it stays on even when you are running, cycling or exercising. It comes equipped with three buttons and a mic so that you Price : can control your music and calls directly. Additionally, it also INR 3,299 comes with the Voice Assistant support with Google and Siri, which allows easy operation so that the user can control the device through voice commands. It gives up to 8 hours of playtime and 200 hours of standby time. The neckband features Bluetooth 5.0 technology that enables to connect up to two devices at the same time and it can work within a distance of 10 meters. The device is sweat proof and comes under 1 year warranty service. It’s available at Flipkart. n

100 | august 2020 MYMOBILE add-ons

Cadyce USB-C to Lightning cable - CA-CLC A top of the line product to charge Apple devices

adyce recently launched its USB-C to lightning Ccable that comes with all premium features which would satisfy an Apple user in his day-to-day life. The USB-C to lightning is a kind of cable which Price : INR 1,410 - INR 2,200 is used to charge iPhones, iPads, Siri remotes and External materials are also many other Apple devices when these are connected thick and waterproof, which is with the USB-C port. The USB-C to lightning cable is another plus point in terms of more flexible and easy to use, provides fast-charging its durability. It has maximum experience and helps in fast data transmission. The bend capacity so you can carry MFI-certified product comes with a very reliable and it anywhere easily without losing compact design. The metallic connector can resist its property. Also, it comes with a heat easily. The length of the cable is around 3.9 feet reversible Type C connector, and / 1.2 meters, so you can charge any device without is compatible with Thunderbolt stretching so much, and that’s too tangle-free. 3 and USB 2.0. One can get In terms of quality, the CADMiUM lightning cable Cadyce’s CADMiUM lightning is made of premium quality materials that pledge cable on the company’s website its durability. It comes with Aluminium forming in two colour options- Black and plugs, which is strain resistant. The fiber materials Space Grey.n control solidity and sturdiness inside the cable.

Hisense Smart TVs Enhance your television viewing experience onsumer electronics brand Hisense is entering the brings out the ultimate brightness, colour and contrast on CIndia market with a range of smart televisions – screen. Moving audio on screen of Dolby Atmos transports 100-inch Laser TV, 86-inch 8K TV, Dual Cell QLED TV you to the middle of action for a breathtakingly immersive and OLED TV. The upcoming Made in India television experience. The Quantum Dot technology in the TVs create series of Hisense, 4K LED TVs are specially designed, huge amount of colour combinations to present stunning manufactured and packed with innovation and top-notch picture quality. technology features at the most competitive price points. In The entire range of Hisense televisions come equipped collaboration with Dolby, Hisense 4K TVs will be equipped with the officialA ndroid TV 9.0 Pie operating system and with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos for full immersive officialG oogle Play Store app preloaded giving access to and engaging cinematic experience. Dolby Vision, the 500,000+ TV shows and movies. The entire range has advanced form of HDR with its frame a built-in Google Assistant and built-in Chromecast for by frame processing a seamless casting of any HD or Full HD content on the big screen. The range also comes with one- touch access feature on the remote – the applications Youtube, Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Prime Video can be easily browsed through the press of a button. The entire range of smart TVs will be available online on Amazon, Flipkart, TataCliQ and Reliance Digital.n

august 2020 | 101 102 | august 2020 Gadgets Corner add- E fashion, and perfectly blending into the home décor. and made function the look device super slim, combining and offer soothing darkness and immersive and viewing experience. brightness adjust to dimming micro abrupt sound fluctuations while switching channels, and automatically adjustthedevice’s volumeandeliminate the latestadvancedfeaturesincludingsmartvolumeto your livingroom in Super slimtofitperfectly TV TCL S6500FSSmart on-screen objects. objects. on-screen the TVpanelbacklighttoboostpeakbrightnessof algorithm, thisfeatureautomaticallyadjustsanddims range. in price this of brands ahead other The full HD Maximize yournetworkcapacity Netgear OrbiMeshRouterRBK852 HDR is another feature that makes this makes that feature another is HDR of its affordable smart smart affordable its of giant lectronics ons Android LED INR 89,999 INR : Price T T he Dolby decoder optimizes the the optimizes decoder Dolby he CL has rolled out out rolled has CL TV comes packed with some of T Vs, exclusively on on exclusively Vs, S U 6500F sing a sing unique V stand TV A TCL has mazon. mazon. S , one one , N retailers. partners and other reseller channels, e-commerce sites and major Orbi Wi-Fi 6meshsystemisavailablethroughauthorized Netgear both 2.4GHz and 5GHz front haul along with a 5GHz backhaul. The Orbi Wi-Fi 6 uses Netgear’s tri-band mesh technology and has ethernet connectionsoneachsatelliteaswellthemain router. wiredfour are there and meters), square 465 (about feet square Netgear OrbiWi-Fi 6two-packpromisesacoverageareaof5,000 interruptions. any without connected stay easily can one so to deliveronthedemandofmostblazingWi-Fi meshnetwork customers especially during the recent times. the performanceandcapacitytomeetincreasingdemands of today and for years to come. generated by the multitude of connected devices that are in the home The Orbi Wi-Fi 6 mesh system has the capacity to support the traffic technologies forwirelesshomenetworkingi.e.meshandWi-Fi 6. system. flagship system (RBK852) joins the Orbi mesh lineup, the company’s existing daily networking challenges.

The new addition to Netgear’s mesh family will set a new bar for Wi-Fi Mesh technology lineup to tackle the dead spots andspots dead the tackle to lineup technology Mesh Wi-Fi etworking major Netgear has added a new product to its existing and sound. imagesboth optimizing by events sports live-action of sports mode dedicated to offer users an feeling immersive the Moreover, commands. voice simple using anything play and search to users enabling home. Italsocomesequippedwithsmartvoicesearch sound, giving users a superior cinematic experience at TV’s sound quality and delivers immersive 5.1 surround n he RBK852 is a combination of two biggest two of combination a is RBK852 The

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TECNO Hipods H2 For wholesome listening experience

xpanding its footprint into the truly wireless audio device Fspace, smartphone brand TECNO has launched Hipods H2 Bluetooth earbuds in India. The TECNO Hipods H2 offers stereo sound effects augmented by advanced audio coding (AAC) technology that claims to provide a wholesome listening experience. In-built with a 45mAh battery in each earbud, the Hipods H2 can run for six hours on a single charge, and up to 24 hours when used with its portable charging case. It can play for two hours with a mere 15-minute of charging. The earbuds are also equipped with environment noise cancellation (ENC) technology that can effectively reduce ambient sound to provide crisper audio and allows Corner Gadgets clear voice calling. The device is also equipped with smart touch controls, IPX4 water protection, smart pop-up interface for instant pairing and comes with the Bluetooth 5.0. The Hipods H2 is available for sale on Amazon and at the company’s Price : INR 1,999 offline retail network of 35,000 outlets. The device comes in two colour variants- Black and White.n

Jabra Elite 45h Headphone High on power with great music

anish audio brand Jabra has come up with the Elite 45h on- Dear headphone in India. The headphone comes equipped with MySound technology co-developed by Jabra and its sister company GN Hearing that allows users to optimize and personalise sound experiences based on their hearing habits. The Jabra Elite 45h weighs 160g and it comes with soft and moldable memory foam Price : INR 9,999 ear cushions that make the headphone comfortable when wearing for long periods. It is equipped with 40mm drivers for enhanced listening experience. Also, Jabra has added dual-microphones in Elite 45h and the company says that this will help suppress surrounding noise for better call quality. The Jabra Elite 45h features Bluetooth 5.0 as the connectivity option and it also comes with built-in Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri support. It is also compatible with Jabra Sound+ app that allows users to customize music equalizer as per their preferences. The headphone claims to offer 50 hours of battery life on single charge and it also supports fast charging that claims to offer 10 hours of listening time in just 15 mins of charge. It’s available in Copper Black colour on Amazon.n

www.mymobileindia.com august 2020 | 103 104 | august 2020 Gadgets Corner add- An idealchoiceforgaming,musicandfitnessenthusiasts Boult AudioProbuds H faster compared to wired charging. charging. wired to compared faster A device. charging flash ofthe use efficient and safeenables it regulators, control temperature strict and algorithm encryption advanced an With industry. charge technological breakthrough for the mobile phone T as in as well India. charger charger the flash mini 110W mini 50W portable ultra-small the charge, When charginggetsanewaddress SuperVOOC Chargers Oppo 125W, 65Wand50WMini he he 125W marks flashthe chargetechnology latestflash irVOOC wireless flash charge allows users to charge charge to users allows charge flash wireless irVOOC he 50W mini 50W The flash charge, the 65W 65W the charge, flash 125W the unveiled recently Oppo maker andset ons uperVOOC charger and the 110Wthe and charger SuperVOOC A irVOOC wireless flash flash wireless irVOOC INR 2,999 INR Price : : Price S uperVOOC uperVOOC T

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P comfort and excellence with its super-soft silicone silicone super-soft its earbuds. with excellence and comfort Flipkart. on wireless category. It’s available for purchase exclusively has come up with its latest offering, ‘Probuds’ in the truly music and fitness enthusiasts. gaming, for choice it right the makes features advanced its with Probuds fit. snug a offers and colour dual with Boult Audio’s Combining premium and comfort design, gaming. the device comes for perfect it makes which case a with a with of charging of 24 total playtime hours playback single of hours 6-8 provides and latency low earbuds as soon as the case is opened. It also offers ultra- S experience. listening and quality audio redefined mic high to sensitivity deliver woofer driver construction, witch Bluetooth 5.0, which automatically pairs the the pairs automatically which 5.0, Bluetooth witch T efficiency. charging improve to MCU integrated highly a and industry-leading ratio, multiple tab structures, battery charge pumps breakthrough with cells double-6C with the 6.25 at 20V minutes 20 to up of scheme in charging a support it can It rate. fastest charge fully and minutes 4,000m a is charge to which able technology charging direct uses technology flash first VOOC the Oppo’s of for technology.charge innovations introduced unique are are time which charger flash he device offers the latest latest the offers device he remium remium audio brand Boult its innovative designs and superior sound quality, quality, sound superior and designs innovative its T he device comes with extra bass, micro micro bass, extra with comes device he he Boult The n A . In terms of battery, it is equipped equipped is it battery, of terms In . udio Probuds is designed fordesigned is Probuds Audio he Oppo’s 125W flash charge flash 125W Oppo’s The A n A h battery up to 41% in 5 in 41% to up battery h udio, udio, which is known for S mart Hall Magnetic Magnetic Hall mart [email protected] MY MOBILE

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Wi-Fi 6: A much needed technology to cater to future contingency By John Dong

Last Word Last s the world is grappling with speeds should be up to 40% higher with down when you’re in a crowded place Covid-19 crisis, people are Wi-Fi 6 compared to Wi-Fi 5. with a lot of Wi-Fi enabled devices. The forced to work from home Wi-Fi 6 accomplishes greater speed new Wi-Fi 6, also known as 802.11ax, due to social distancing and bandwidth by efficient data encoding, incorporates many new technologies Anorms to restrict the spread of the viral resulting in higher throughput. Mainly, more to help with this. One way this is disease. But certainly, it has also created data is packed into the same radio waves. accomplished is with a technology known a new problem, as a big population of our The chips that encode and decode these as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple workplace is working from home and using signals are more powerful and can handle Access (OFDMA). This allows a wireless Wi-Fi connectivity on a large scale creating the extra work. channel to be divided into a number of internet problems. But evidently, technology sub-channels that can each be used to is the solution to the persisting problem and Advantages of Wi-Fi 6 carry data for a different device. This allows this particular problem can be decoded by Wi-Fi 6 is more than just a new name. a single access point to communicate with using a new version of internet connectivity There are many significant improvements more devices simultaneously. called “Wi-Fi 6”. that are incorporated into Wi-Fi 6 that will make it much more useful to wireless users When we can use Wi-Fi 6? What is Wi-Fi 6? around the world. Here are some of these Officially, Wi-Fi 6 was introduced in the year Wi-Fi 6 is the newest version of Wi-Fi and advantages: 2019 but many major IT and networking is based on the IEEE 802.11ax standard. • Greater data transfer speed: Every Wi-Fi companies are still to come on Wi-Fi by It offers a number of advantages over generation has provided greater data introducing new devices that can work older Wi-Fi technology. Wi-Fi 6 isn’t a new transfer speed and Wi-Fi 6 is no exception. on the same platform i.e. Wi-Fi Routers, means of connecting to the internet like The theoretical speed of Wi-Fi 6 is smartphones, laptops, etc. Currently, there fiber - rather, it’s an upgraded standard that 10Gbps. It achieves this increased speed are some Wi-Fi routers that work on Wi-Fi 6 by combining dual spectrum bands of but they are hugely expensive. However, in 2.4GHx and 5GHz and also by employing the coming years more and more enterprises MU-MIMO technology for both uplink and will be shifting to the newer generation of downlink data transfers. Wi-Fi. • Increased battery life: Another important benefit of Wi-Fi 6 is the increased battery Future Scope of Wi-Fi 6 life that devices accessing a Wi-Fi 6 As we have witnessed connectivity network will enjoy. Battery life is extended problems due to the overloading of the compatible devices, particularly routers, can through a feature known as Target Wake internet grid from multiple usages in the take advantage of to transmit Wi-Fi signals Time (TWT). TWT enables the Wi-Fi times of Covid-19, Wi-Fi 6 is a blessing for more efficiently. Basically, it is designed to access point to communicate with your future contingencies. It can provide faster enable users to more easily understand the device to tell it when exactly to turn its internet speed by evenly distributing the type of devices they are using. Wi-Fi radio to wake up and go to sleep. spectrum to different products and can also This helps conserve power as your device help in sustaining IoT (Internet of Things) Difference from Other Wi-Fi will spend more time in sleep mode than applications that are going to come handy in The latest Wi-Fi standard offers faster data with previous Wi-Fi generations. future technology. All in all, Wi-Fi 6 is what transfer speeds. If you are using a Wi-Fi router • Better performance in congested and 5G is to telecommunication. n with a single device, maximum potential restricted areas: Wi-Fi tends to get bogged The author is Director, Tenda India.

106 | august 2020 MYMOBILE