Smartphone sales in India grow 12% in 2021
The smartphone market faced its fair share of challanges in 2021, but the total sales in India went up a healthy 12% compared to the also disrupted 2020. The start of the year was tough for makers, but not nearly as tough as the previous year and then another strong comeback in the second half of the year saw 162 million devices pushed.
Realme was the biggest gainer, posting a 25% growth in sales and rising to third place, with Tecno and Infinix also growing significantly. Those last two significantly boosted the performance of the “Others” category as they didn’t make the top 5 at this point.
From Gsmarena
Apple is preparing ‘a feast of new products’ this year
In his weekly Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple is planning “the widest array of new hardware products in its history” as it prepares “more minor or complementary products” for its first event in March or April. He expects the year to shake out in a relatively traditional fashion as far as timing goes, but notes that Apple has a lot of products on the way. Here’s how he breaks it down:
March/April: iPhone SE and iPad Air
June: Higher-end Mac mini or 27-inch iMac with M1 Pro chip
September/October: iPhone (four models) and Apple Watch Series 8 (three models), AirPods Pro upgrade, low-end iPad
October/November: Updated iMac, revamped MacBook Air, Mac Pro, iPad Pro
From Macworld
Galaxy S22 European pricing leaks, hints towards less RAM for the Ultra model
Tipster Roland Quandt has published the pricing for the entire Galaxy S22 series. If the information is correct, the vanilla Galaxy S22 will start at €849 for the variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage will reportedly be priced at €899. The Galaxy S22+ will come in similar configurations as the Galaxy S22. The 128GB version will cost €1,049, while the 256GB version will be priced at €1,099.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra will reportedly come with a starting price tag of €1,249, but it will only feature 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. In comparison, the entry-level version of the Galaxy S21 Ultra had 12GB RAM and 128GB storage. The 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant of the smartphone could be priced at €1,349, and the 12GB RAM + 512GB storage version of the phone could have a price tag of €1,449 in Europe.
- Galaxy S22 (8GB RAM + 128GB): €849
- Galaxy S22 (8GB RAM + 256GB): €899
- Galaxy S22+ (8GB RAM + 128GB): €1,049
- Galaxy S22+ (8GB RAM + 256GB): €1,099
- Galaxy S22 Ultra (8GB RAM + 128GB): €1,249
- Galaxy S22 Ultra (12GB RAM + 256GB): €1,349
- Galaxy S22 Ultra (12GB RAM + 512GB): €1,449
From Sammobile
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S coming on February 9
After several certification appearances and a launch teaser, Redmi India today confirmed the Note 11S will launch on February 9. The device will feature a 108MP main camera and will be powered by a MediaTek chipset but we don’t have the exact details at the moment.
Past rumors suggest the phone will bring an 8MP ultrawide camera and a 2MP macro unit. There will be at least three configurations with a baseline 6GB RAM and 64GB storage model alongside a 6/128GB middle option and an 8/128GB version. We’ll be on the lookout for more specs details and will update you accordingly.
From Gsmarena
Google Pixel 6a rumored to launch in May
Google is rumored to launch a midrange Pixel 6a later this year featuring the in-house Tensor chipset and less impressive camera hardware than the flagship Pixel 6 phones. Earlier rumors said the device will not launch before August but well-known tipster Max Jambor thinks otherwise saying the device will be official come May. Past Pixel A-series phones like the 5a 5G and the 4a came in August so this would be quite the shift by Google.
Apart from the Tensor chipset, Pixel 6a is said to share the same basic design as its more expensive siblings with a punch-hole screen on the front and a camera visor setup on the back. The phone will likely come with a 6.2-inch OLED screen while its dimensions are rumored to come in at 152.2 x 71.8 x 8.7mm.
The camera hardware will be less flashy, we’re expecting a 12.2MP Sony IMX363 main sensor, the same main camera as on the Pixel 4, Pixel 4a, and Pixel 5. It will be joined by a 12MP Sony IMX355 ultrawide shooter while the selfie cam is expected to come in at 8MP. The phone will also bring an in-display fingerprint scanner which would be a first in the Pixel A-series.
From Gsmarena
Moto Edge 30 Pro leak shows a familiar face, but a better Motorola phone is coming
The last Motorola phone to launch in 2021 was the Moto Edge X30 which debuted in China in December but, at least at the time of writing, it hasn’t made its way outside the country.
Rumors suggest it could eventually show up as part of the Motorola Edge 30 range, which we’re expecting to show up in mid-2022, but we’re not yet sure which member will be a rebranded X30. Lots of rumors suggested the X30 would be the Edge 30 Ultra, but a new leak thinks it’s actually the Edge 30 Pro.
This comes from tech website MySmartPrice, which has shared leaked renders and specs for the Edge 30 Pro… these are almost identical to the Edge X30, with the site suggesting the 30 Pro is just a rebranded X30 for global markets.
That means it has the same 6.7-inch FHD+ 144Hz screen, 5,000mAh battery, 68W charging, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, 60MP selfie camera, 50MP+50MP+2MP rear camera combination, and Android 12 software. At the top of this article, you can see promotional material for the phone, shared at the X30 launch.
We don’t yet know when the Motorola Edge 30 line will debut, but we hope we won’t be waiting too long, or the novelty of the X30 could wear off.
From Techradar
Some iPhone 13s are suffering from pink screens, but there might be a simple fix
The iPhone 13 and its siblings are excellent phones – when they work, but a growing number of users seem to be encountering a concerning problem with the range, namely that the screen will sometimes turn pink.
As 9to5Mac notes, this issue was first reported back in October, with an iPhone 13 Pro user posting on an Apple Discussions forum thread that their two-day-old phone was unusable as its screen would keep turning pink for a few seconds before reloading.
Apple replaced that device, but since then numerous similar reports have rolled in across the web, and not every user has been fortunate enough to get a free replacement phone.
The specifics do vary though. In some cases the whole screen goes pink, while in others the status bar icons remain white. In some cases the issue happens repeatedly or continuously, in others it’s happened once of twice and then the user’s phone has so far seemed fine.
However, the issue seems to be limited to the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, and iPhone 13 mini, with older Apple phones unaffected.
From Techradar
Google is reportedly working on a new Chromecast device with Google TV
Google is reportedly working on a new Chromecast device in the same lineup, which might one-up the current model.
9to5Google has spotted evidence of this upcoming Chromecast with Google TV device in an APK teardown. The teardown includes mentions of a new device codenamed Boreal, which belongs to the same family as Sabrina — the current Chromecast with Google TV device. The report further reveals that Boreal is directly connected to the same Google TV software as the current model, but it doesn’t shed any light on the device’s hardware specifications.
From XDA
Samsung shipped over 30 million smartphones in India last year
Samsung has faced tough competition in the Indian smartphone market for the past few years. And 2021 was particularly tough due to supply chain issues and the ongoing global chip shortage. However, the company still managed to post a small growth last year.
According to the latest numbers from market analysis firm Canalys, Samsung shipped over 30.1 million smartphone units in 2021. That’s a 5% growth compared to 28.6 million shipments that the South Korean firm registered in 2020. The company ranked second in the Indian market. In Q4 2021, Samsung shipped 8.5 million smartphones in India and captured a 19% share of the market.
From Sammobile
Scientists Propose Creating Mechanical Trees to Suck Up Evil Carbon Dioxide
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In a new interview published yesterday in Inverse, Arizona State University professor Klaus Lackner, a pioneer in direct air capture and carbon storage, explained his mechanical trees and the future of capturing CO2 directly from the air to stave off climate change.
“They’re tall vertical columns of discs coated with a chemical resin, about five feet in diameter, with the discs about two inches apart, like a stack of records,” Lackner told Inverse. “As the air blows through, the surfaces of the discs absorb CO2. After 20 minutes or so, the discs are full, and they sink into a barrel below. We send in water and steam to release the CO2 into a closed environment.”
From The Byte
