India may get a cheaper Poco M4
When Xiaomi came up with yet another of its impressive value-for-money phones under the Poco brand, we knew it would keep the flag flying. And so it proved with the Poco M4 Pro 5G that had a large 6.6-inch screen, 90Hz refresh rate, a MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset and a big 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging.
The handset, which is a rebranded Redmi Note 11 5G, was first unveiled in China in the first half of November, before making its appearance in the European markets in the budget handsets category. We didn’t hear any reports of the device landing on Indian soil, and with good reason.
For, the Xiaomi-owned Poco is all set to launch a slightly watered down version of this handset as the Poco M4, a direct successor to the Poco M3 smartphone that had launched in February of 2021. The handset came with Snapdragon 662 chipset tied to 6GB RAM, a 48MP triple-camera setup and an 8MP selfie shooter.
Reports of Xiaomi getting ready to launch the Poco M4 in India came through a leak from tipster Mukul Sharma via MySmartPrice. According to the leaker, the Poco M4 will arrive in early February across Asian markets and possibly other geographies.
From Techradar
OnePlus 9RT and Buds Z2 confirmed to launch in India on January 14
The OnePlus 9RT, which debuted in China in October last year, will soon make its way to the Indian market. OnePlus India has confirmed in a new post on its Community forums that the value flagship will debut in the country alongside the OnePlus Buds Z2 earbuds at a “Winter Edition” launch event on January 14.
From Android Central
Lava is offering a free Agni 5G for everyone who returns their Realme 8s 5G
The Lava Agni 5G was launched as “the first Indian 5G smartphone” with a Taiwanese chipset back in November, and the phone has some intriguing mid-range specs, such as a quad-cam setup on the back, big 6.78” LCD with Gorilla Glass on top, and 90 Hz refresh rate.
The brand has decided to launch a one-of-a-kind deal where it will give a free Agni 5G to every customer who returns a Realme 8s 5G. That’s right – the trade-in is only for this specific Realme smartphone.
From Gsmarena
The Galaxy A03 is Samsung’s first phone of 2022, set to debut next week
Samsung entered the new year in force and, three days into 2022, the company already unveiled a new line of smart TVs, new soundbars, and the world’s first 4K 240Hz monitor. But, there’s more, and while all this was happening at CES, the company’s latest low-cost phone — the Galaxy A03 — got an official launch date and MSRP.
Samsung announced the Galaxy A03 a couple of months ago without talking much about pricing and availability. But today, the company confirmed it scheduled the Galaxy A03 to debut in Vietnam on January 10 for a starting price of under $150.
The Galaxy A03 is going on sale in Vietnam on January 10 for VND 2,990,000 ($130). That’s for the model with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage. The Galaxy A03 with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage will set you back VND 3,490,000 ($152).
The official spec sheet also mentions expandable storage, a 6.5-inch HD+ display, a Unisoc T606 8-core chipset, a 5,000mAh battery, a 5MP selfie sensor, and a 48MP primary camera paired with a 2MP depth shooter. The Galaxy A03 will be available in Vietnam in three color options: black, dark green, and red.
From Sammobile
Xiaomi 12 global launch tipped to take place at a later date than usual
Xiaomi may take some time to launch its latest flagship phones outside of China. The Xiaomi 12 series is tipped to be released globally by the end of February or early March.
According to Mukul Sharma, a regular tipster, the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro will make their international debut during these months. MySmartPrice was the first to report on the new claim, and if this is correct, the phones will be available outside of China a little later than when the Xiaomi Mi 11 series was released globally last year.
Xiaomi’s latest challengers to the best Android phones are also said to arrive in India soon after the global announcement.
It is not clear why the phones’ international versions will take longer than usual to arrive, but the delay will put their arrival one to two months behind last year’s release schedule. As a brief recap, the Mi 11 series debuted in China in late December 2020 and launched overseas in February 2021.
A separate claim by Digital Chat Station also sheds light on when the Xiaomi 12 Ultra will break cover. As reported by GizmoChina, the higher-end model could be unveiled in China sometime in the middle or by the end of February, with a periscope super-telephoto lens as its headline feature. This means the Ultra model could see a global release a few months later.
The latest devices were unveiled in China late last month, though Xiaomi has remained tight-lipped about their global release. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset powers both the standard Xiaomi 12 and its Pro variant. The Xiaomi 12 Pro also has a 6.73-inch QHD+ LTPO OLED display, while the regular model has a 6.28-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution.
In terms of pricing, there has yet to be any official word on the phones’ retail prices outside of the Chinese market. To recap, the Xiaomi 12 costs 3,699 yuan (approximately $580), while the Pro model costs 4,699 yuan (approximately $738).
From Android Central
The 2nd-gen AirPods Pro’s killer feature could be lossless audio
One of the most anticipated Apple products of 2022 is the second-generation AirPods Pro, which is expected to bring a new design to the iconic high-end earbuds. But a new report by Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac) claims that Apple might have an even more exciting trick up its sleeve.
Kuo says Apple’s next-generation AirPods, which are due to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2022, will add support for the Apple Lossless (ALAC) format in Apple Music that began rolling out in June, making them the first pair of AirPods and one of the only true wireless earbuds to support the higher-quality format. Apple previously brought lossless support to the HomePod with the launch of iOS 15.1 but has been unable to deliver lossless for AirPods due to the bandwidth limitations of Bluetooth.
From Macworld
Apple’s rumored new monitor could be a lot more affordable than the Pro Display XDR
Even the stand for Apple’s 32-inch, $5,000 Pro Display XDR is famously expensive, but its next external monitor might be more reasonable, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. In his latest Power On newsletter, he said that Apple’s next external monitor is “destined to be about half the price of the Pro Display XDR.”
Gurman also said that he’s “hoping” it launches in 2022, so it’s not super clear if that’s from an informed source. Previously, he said that the cost of building that monitor (which uses LED backlit but not mini-LED technology) “has likely come down, and with a few tweaks and perhaps a slight drop in brightness, Apple might be able to get to a similar quality monitor (at a slightly smaller size) at perhaps about half the price.”
Apple is reportedly working on some smaller 24- and 27-inch displays along with a successor to the Pro Display XDR, as 9to5Mac pointed out. The latter could use an A13 Bionic chip and Apple’s Neural Engine to accelerate learning tasks. Apple was forced to ditch its “far beyond HDR” claim for the current Pro Display XDR model and was ridiculed by display expert Vincent Teoh for comparing it to a professional Sony reference monitor.
From Engadget
Samsung’s new lineup includes world’s first 4K 240Hz gaming monitor
Samsung has announced three new monitors ahead of its CES 2022 event. The Odyssey Neo G8 is the world’s first 4K monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate. The new lineup also includes the Smart Monitor M8, which has a built-in webcam, and the High Resolution Monitor S8.
The Odyssey Neo G8 (G85NB), similar to the Odyssey Neo G9, uses a MiniLED display for impressive blacks and up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness. It has a 240Hz refresh rate, 1ms grey-to-grey response time, a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and full-array local dimming. The monitor supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, Nvidia G-Sync, and HDR10+.
From Sammobile
Alienware Concept Nyx offers a holistic view of gaming at home
The prototype implementation we saw essentially combines a game server, which is more or less a game PC on steroids, a smart controller and software that ties them together. Notably absent is a console like the Xbox Series X or S, PS5 or Nintendo Switch, because that way lies a technologically complicated can of worms. Nor does Alienware want to displace a power gaming desktop or laptop, though games installed on the server might connect to a big screen directly.
The box itself would park near your modem or router, directly connected to it via Ethernet and broadcasting games that are either installed on it or streaming from the cloud to your devices over Wi-Fi. It’s intended to let members of a household play different games simultaneously (as well as multiplayer games together) without slowing your Wi-Fi or input lag to a crawl.
From Cnet
Tesla Shatters Record With Nearly A Million Delivered Cars In 2021
Tesla has had a very good year.
On Sunday, the electric car maker released its vehicle production and deliveries report for the fourth quarter of 2021. The company says it produced more than 305,000 vehicles and delivered 308,000 vehicles in Q4, well above the estimates of most analysts.
In 2021, Tesla delivered “over 936,000” vehicles, the company said. This is a new record for Tesla, and nearly double the result from 2020, when the company delivered a total of 499,500 cars.
From Mashable
