Once launched, the software will debut as the successor of the MIUI 11 that was launched by Xiaomi earlier in 2019. Here's what we know about it so far.
HIGHLIGHTS
Xiaomi has teased its upcoming MIUI 12 OS
MIUI 12 could be launched very soon
The software will be the successor to the MIUI 11
Xiaomi’s officially teased its MIUI 12 software and said that it will be unveiled soon. The announcement was made through Xiaomi’s Weibo account which has posted a teaser to confirm the development of this new version of Xiaomi’s popular OS for its Android-based smartphones.
Once launched, the software will debut as the successor of the MIUI 11 that was launched by the Chinese in September last year. To remind users, Xiaomi first introduced MIUI 11 to global markets in October and the software soon found itself finding space on phones such as the Redmi K20, Redmi Note 7 Pro, and Poco F1 soon after revealing its global update roadmap in India.
The teaser that’s gone up on Weibo reveals a number of interesting things about the upcoming Android-based OS. This teaser hints that the MIUI 12 software is likely to include new system fonts and retain the minimalistic design that we saw on MIUI 11. However, since the teaser shows a gradient effect on the digit 12, we’re expecting Xiaomi to add new shades and colour schemes on the new MIUI version.
Apart from this, there is little else that’s known about Xiaomi’s upcoming software. The company hasn’t revealed what all the new changes that will be bringing to MIUI 12. However, more on this is expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Talking about Xiaomi, the company is also expected to launch the Mi Note 10 in India very soon. Currently, the Mi Note 10 is the only commercial phone in Xiaomi's lineup to come with the 108-megapixel camera. Xiaomi launched the Mi Note 10 in November of 2019 and it was the first smartphone to launch with Samsung's 108-megapixel sensor. The phone also debuted Xiaomi's first penta camera setup for the back. Earlier rumours suggested that Xiaomi could bring this phone to India by December but it now seems that it is launching in February.
While sporting impressive specs, the Mi Note 10 is not expected to be the most affordable of devices in the market. The expectation is that it will go on sale in India at a price that rivals the OnePlus 7T
Xiaomi, India’s fastest smartphone selling brand has announced its third manufacturing plant in India and the first facility for power banks. Earlier the company has set up two plants in Siri City, Andra Pradesh. This is the third manufacturing plant in partnership with Hipad Technology and is located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
Hipad Technology’s manufacturing unit is a dedicated Power Bank facility for Xiaomi and the Mi Power Bank 2i will be assembled at Hipad Technology’s facility in Noida. The starting production capacity for the facility is about 7 Power Banks a minute during its operational hours.
The company has launched two power banks made in India – Mi Power Bank 2i with 20,000 mAh and 10,000 mAh capacity. The 10,000 mAh power bank is priced at ₹7,99 and the 20,000 mAh power bank is priced ₹1,499. These power banks will be available from 23rd November on Mi.com, Flipkart, Amazon India as well as at offline stores.
About the Mi Poer Bank 2i, the one with 10,000 mAh capacity features a double anodized aluminum design with 14.2 mm thickness. It has up to 85% conversion rate, i.e. it can charge Mi A1 up to 2.2 times or Redmi Note 4 up to 1.5 times. For the 20,000 mAh power bank, it features a polycarbonate case with a perforated exterior for extra grip. It also has a conversion rate of up to 85% and boasts Quick Charge 3.0 technology.
Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi and Managing Director, Xiaomi India said,
“Xiaomi India has seen exponential growth in India and today it enjoys market leadership in the smartphone segment. I believe a key reason for our success in the smartphone segment has been our commitment to India. We want our India Mi Fans to enjoy the best quality technology at an affordable rate, and manufacturing locally helps us achieve our vision. We are extending our commitment of building a truly localized company and hope to bring the ecosystem of world’s best power banks to India with our partners Hipad Technology.”
“We spoke to the team at Hipad Technology a year back, and encouraged them to look at the Indian market to set up a Power Bank facility. Hipad is our partner in China for Power Banks and their constant support has helped Xiaomi become the most popular power bank brand in the world. We thought with the growing market size of Power Banks in India, it is important that we bring our manufacturing partners to India to provide Mi Fans a truly localized product and extend our commitment to Make in India”, he further added.
Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus announced the OnePlus 5T last week. The OnePlus 5T is a mid-cycle refresh to the OnePlus 5, just like the OnePlus 3T was to OnePlus 3. The OnePlus 5T in India is priced exactly the same as the OnePlus 5, and, it will go on its first flash sale in the country today. While the OnePlus 5 is also currently available for purchase in India, it will be discontinued once it’s out of stock.
OnePlus 5
In an interview with The Indian Express, OnePlus India’s General Manager Vikas Aggarwal has confirmed that the OnePlus 5 will be discontinued once it is out of stock. Well of course, that means once the OnePlus 5 is out of stock, the company won’t be replenishing it, which is very obvious, as they will now be promoting their latest offering – the OnePlus 5T.
OnePlus 5T
Moreover, with the OnePlus 5T now launched, it doesn’t make sense to buy the OnePlus 5, especially in India, as both of them are priced exactly the same. The 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage variant of both the OnePlus 5 and 5T is priced at ₹32,999, whereas, the 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variant is priced at ₹37,999.
Besides, there also aren’t much differences between both these smartphones, except that the OnePlus 5T now comes with a modern looking design, bigger display and better camera.
“If you look at our previous phone, the OnePlus 3T the last batch was sold out during Diwali and now the product will be discontinued. The same goes for the OnePlus 5, which will also be sold out in sometime, and we’ll have only one product OnePlus 5T in the market. As a brand we want to make sure there is one device which is the latest, and the previous devices are usually sold out once the new product launches.” said Vikas Aggarwal, General Manager, OnePlus India.
OnePlus 5T Specifications
CPU: 2.45 GHz Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor
RAM: 6/8 GB LPDDR4X
GPU: Adreno 540
Operating System: OxygenOS based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Display: 6.01-inch Full-HD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels) Full Optic AMOLED display with 18:9 aspect ratio, 2.5D curved glass, Gorilla Glass 5 and sRGB/DCI-P3 color coverage
Rear Camera: 16 MP (Sony IMX398 with f/1.7 aperture) + 20 MP (Sony IMX376K with f/1.7 aperture) with Portrait Mode, Video Stabilization and dual-tone LED flash
Front Camera: 16 MP Sony IMX371 with f/2.0 aperture
Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, USB Type-C, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Other: Fingerprint Scanner (at the back), Face Unlock, Parallel Apps, aptX and aptX HD support, Dirac HD Sound
Battery: 3300 mAh with Dash Charge technology
The OnePlus 5T will go on its first flash sale in India today on Amazon.in from 4.30 pm onwards. However, today’s sale is only restricted to Amazon Prime members. That said, open sales will kick off from November 28, and the OnePlus 5T will be available for purchase on both Amazon India and OnePlusStore.in.
Xiaomi announced MIUI 9 – the latest version of MIUI – back in July this year. And, earlier this month, the company announced the Global ROM of MIUI 9 in India. At the event, Xiaomi said that MIUI 9 will be rolled out to more than 30 smartphones. However, the company has now announced that MIUI 9 will be the last update for some of its smartphones.
In a post on MIUI Forum, Xiaomi has announced that MIUI 9 Global Stable ROM will be the last update for Mi 2, Mi 2S, Mi 4i, Redmi Note 4G, Redmi 2, Redmi 2 Prime, and Mi Note. Xiaomi also said that post November 17, updates for these devices – both closed beta and public beta – will be suspended.
The Global Stable ROM of MIUI 9 for aforementioned devices, including the Redmi 1S, will be released gradually from December 2017 to January 2018. The update will be rolled out over the air, however, if you have flashed the device with Global Beta ROM of MIUI 9, Xiaomi will soon share instructions on how to flash MIUI 9 Global Stable ROM on these devices, so keep an eye out on MIUI Forums.
“MIUI ROM has been updated regularly ever since its first version was released. And MIUI Team has been committed to providing the best experience to users of all devices. Therefore, MIUI performance is constantly improved to deliver a better and better system experience to all users. However, to ensure the best performance of MIUI, we have to make a tough decision of suspending the update of 6 devices after a long-time discussion and evaluation about the release time of devices, active users, hardware performance, etc.” said Xiaomi in a post on MIUI Forum.
Having said that, Xiaomi does deserve a pat on their back for rolling out the MIUI 9 update for a device like the Mi 2 which was launched way back in 2012.
Have you received MIUI 9 on your Xiaomi smartphone yet?
Vivo added another selfie-oriented smartphone to its stable flaunting a 24 MP front camera, the highest megapixels ever brought in a smartphone. And what’s fascinating about this phone is it takes DSLR-like Portraits from its 24 MP front camera. Launched at a price of ₹21,990, how well it goes with its selfie camera in terms of competition? Take a look at these Vivo V7+ 24 MP selfie camera samples and find it out.
Vivo V7+ Camera Specifications
Front Camera: 24 MP, f/2.0
Camera Sensor: OmniVision OV16880
Optical Image Stabilization (OIS): N/A
Front Flash: Moonlight Glow Single LED Flash
Features: Normal, Face Beauty, Group selfie, Portrait mode, LIVEOn, Watermark, Touch Capture, Voice Capture, Palm Capture, Timer, Mirrored Selfie, Geo-tagging, Tap to Focus, HDR, Color Filters, Burst Shot
Video Recording: 1080p/720p/480p videos @30fps
Vivo V7+ Selfie Camera Samples
The front camera on the Vivo V7+ does capture details and the photos will definitely amaze you if you are a selfie lover. The result is a sharp image with beauty and bokeh effects. On the flipside, there are hardly any smartphones in this segment that click selfies like this. If we take the example of its own selfie flagship Vivo V5 Plus, it’s the best phone till date and even better than the Vivo V7+. The Live photo feature is a thing known from the iPhones and Vivo V7+ has it.
The bokeh effect or Portrait mode sometimes blurs the part of the object or the bokeh effect isn’t accurate, so you will have to snap the selfie perfectly. Another thing I noticed in the camera is when you capture a Portrait with more than one person, the bokeh effect doesn’t seem convincing. Plus there’s no option to control the blur amount. However, these are the little disappointments we encountered. This wasn’t an issue with the Vivo V5 Plus, it took perfect selfies with its dual selfie camera without any problems. In future, software OTA updates may solve the problems.
Nevertheless, as its a single 24 MP camera, the software algorithm is so advanced that the bokeh effect works with one camera. It’s surprising for us that the camera takes amazing selfies with bokeh effects even with just one camera. The beauty mode is great, skin tones are brightened, the face looks beautiful, Moonlight Glow comes handy in low-light conditions.
Vivo V7+ is all about the selfie and it turns out to be the best selfie phone after the Vivo V5 Plus. But how is the overall phone? You will have to wait for the full review of the Vivo V7+. Let us know what you think about the Vivo V7+ selfie camera samples.
After releasing multiple developer previews of Android O over the past couple of months, Google finally announced that Android O is Android 8.0 Oreo. The update is currently only being rolled out to Google devices like Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel and Pixel XL, however, other manufacturers should start rolling it out to their devices in the next couple of months, with some devices hopefully getting the Android 8.0 Oreo update by the end of this year.
Well, we agree that the Android 8.0 Oreo update isn’t anything revolutionary and doesn’t come with any major design overhaul. However, it does come with many under-the-hood refinements that should enhance your daily experience. Irrespective of whether or not you own any of the aforementioned devices, we are pretty sure you must be interested to know more about this update. Well, here are the top Android 8.0 Oreo features that you should know.
Top Android 8.0 Oreo features
1) Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode
Google has added native support for Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode in Android 8.0 Oreo, just like it added native support for Multi-Window in Android 7.0 Nougat.
With PiP mode, Google takes multi-tasking to a new level. With this mode, a user can reduce the size of his video call screen to a small rectangle and move it around the display while also being able to open other apps and do multiple things at once. However, this isn’t restricted to video calls, as you can also minimize the YouTube videos and continue to use other apps at once.
2) Notification Dots
Many custom Android skins from Android smartphone manufacturers come with notification badges which show the number of notifications a certain app has. For example, if you have 10 messages on WhatsApp and 20 emails on Gmail, you will see the WhatsApp and Gmail app icons displaying the number 10 and 20 respectively.
This feature was missing natively from Android until now, however, with Android 8.0 Oreo, Google has introduced it with a difference. Now with Android 8.0 Oreo, whenever any app on your smartphone has a notification, it will display a dot on its app icon. What’s interesting is that these Notification Dots are adaptive, meaning that they will adapt the color based on the color of the app icon.
3) Notification Snoozing
We think this one’s self explanatory. Many a times it happens that we have tons of notifications and we have no time to read and respond to them. Sometimes, out of annoyance, we just clear them all at once only to realize later that some of them were very important.
Image Credit: Android Police
Well, Google comes to the rescue with the introduction of Notification Snoozing on Android 8.0 Oreo. Now whenever you have any notification in the notification shade, instead of swiping it left/right to get rid of it, you can snooze it for either 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour. For that amount of time, that certain notification won’t show up in the notification shade, however, it will pop back up after the snooze period is over.
4) Autofill Framework
Until now, we have seen autofill in action in Google Chrome and some other browsers which automatically fills in the information in text fields. Well, with Android 8.0 Oreo, user information like email, username and password will be automatically filled inside the apps.
For example, if you open Twitter, and if you have already given the permission to remember your login details, you will just have to tap on the Login button and you will be logged in to the app instantly.
5) Smart Text Selection
We all know how cumbersome it can be to select-copy-paste something on Android, especially if it’s an address that you want to search or a phone number that you want to dial. Well, not anymore, as Google has introduced the Smart Text Selection feature on Android 8.0 Oreo.
Now whenever you select an address or a phone number or a URL from within an app, you will get an option to open a certain app which would perform a certain action based on the information selected. For example, if you select an address, you will see an option to search for it in Google Maps. If it’s a phone number, you will see an option to dial it from the Google Phone app. Same goes for a URL. Pretty handy, isn’t it?
6) Adaptive Icons
If you have owned more than one Android smartphone from different manufacturers, you must have noticed that the app icons appear differently on different smartphones. Sometimes its good, but sometimes, it can be annoying, especially for app developers who have to create different icons for different manufacturers.
Well, to deal with this, Google has introduced Adaptive Icons. Now, developers can create icons that the system displays in different shapes based on a mask selected by the device manufacturer. The system will also animate the interactions with the icons and also use them in the launcher, shortcuts, settings, sharing dialogs and in the overview screen.
7) More control over installing apps from unknown sources
One of our favorite things in Android is the ability to sideload apps. For those unaware, sideloading an app means installing an app on your device that’s not downloaded from Google’s Play Store (termed as Unknown Sources). By default, you aren’t allowed to install apps that are downloaded from unknown sources, however, you can turn that security feature off.
Image Credit: 9to5Google
Once that security feature is turned off, you can install all the apps that are downloaded from unknown sources. This changes with Android 8.0 Oreo. From now onwards, you will have to allow the installation of apps downloaded from unknown sources on per-app basis. Well, we appreciate this change as users often forget to enable the Unknown Sources security feature after they are done sideloading an app.
8) Pinned Shortcuts
Until now, users were able to add widgets to the homescreen of their devices. With Android 8.0 Oreo, users can add shortcuts to their homescreens from within an app.
Not just that, users can also create special activities which they can customize to their liking so as to get things done faster.
9) Customize Lockscreen Shortcuts
You must have noticed shortcuts on the lockscreen on your smartphone. These shortcuts may vary based on manufacturer. Some smartphones have shortcuts to Google Voice Search and Camera app while some have shortcuts to Camera app and Phone dialer. These shortcuts, most of the times, cannot be replaced with any other shortcut.
Image Credit: Android Police
Well, this changes with Android 8.0 Oreo as Google now natively allows changing lockscreen shortcuts. You can access any app or setting you want from the lockscreen now.
10) Customize Navigation Bar
Apart from being able to customize lockscreen shortcuts, users can now also customize the navigation bar on Android 8.0 Oreo. You can now add a button on the left and right side of the original three navigation buttons. Apart from that, you can also adjust the spacing and layout if you want.
Image Credit: Android Police
At this moment, this feature isn’t said to work properly, however, with future updates, you would be able to customize it to your liking to perform different tasks or launch your favorite app.
11) Android Instant Apps
The Android Instant Apps, which were announced last year during Google I/O 2016 conference, now comes integrated with Android 8.0 Oreo. Google has been rolling out the Instant Apps feature to many devices across different parts of the world, including India, however, it’s nice to see that it will come built-in with Android 8.0 Oreo.
The way Instant Apps work is that if you open any link to a service, and if it has its Instant App available, then you will be taken to that Instant App instead of being taken to its web service or having to install its mainstream app from the Play Store.
12) Downloadable Fonts and Emoji
You must have noticed that the fonts in certain apps differ from the font that appears elsewhere in your device. This is because the developers bundle custom fonts with their app which increase the app size. Well, with Android 8.0 Oreo, developers need not do this as they can now load the fonts from a shared library. This would help them reduce the size of their app. The same applies for emoji as well.
13) Project Treble
One of the major complaints about Android is slow software updates. Thanks to fragmentation, Android is marred with slow software updates. However, with Project Treble, Google plans to tackle this issue. Project Treble is a a modular architecture that makes it easier and faster for hardware makers to deliver Android updates without having to make any modifications to their own implementations.
Hence, all the devices with Android 8.0 Oreo and beyond should get updates faster once released by Google. This is something we have high hopes on.
14) Play Protect
Another major issue that Android faces is malicious apps. Even though Google removes suspicious apps from the Play Store, there are some that manage to creep in to our devices. To deal with this, Google announced Play Protect last month, which has now made its way to Android 8.0 Oreo as well.
Google Play Protect works automatically in the background to scan malicious apps and remove them. Not just that, Play Protect also helps you locate your device if you lose it while also allowing you to lock it or erase the data in it remotely.
15) Redesigned Emoji
Last year, Google brought in some new emoji with Android Nougat. Well, Google continues to do that with Android 8.0 Oreo as well. Google has not only redesigned the emoji on Android 8.0 Oreo, but, it has included over 60 new emoji in this latest version of Android. Time to talk the emoji language now. Isn’t it?
16) Rescue Party
There are many high-end Android devices that have a reputation of going into bootloops which ultimately become a problem for their owners. Sometimes, these bootloops render a device useless, making them nothing more than a paperweight with a screen. Well, Android 8.0 Oreo comes with a feature called Rescue Party that prevents your device from going into a bootloop.
This feature “sends out a “rescue party” when it notices core system components stuck in crash loops. Rescue Party then escalates through a series of actions to recover the device. As a last resort, Rescue Party reboots the device into recovery mode and prompts the user to perform a factory reset.” Well yes, you would loose your data after you factory reset your device, but hey, at least your device won’t turn into a paperweight.
17) System Optimizations and Better Battery Life
With Android 8.0 Oreo, Google has said that users will be able to start tasks quickly. The boot times have also been decreased which means you don’t have to wait longer while your device reboots.
The company has also introduced background limits to prevent your device battery from being overused by apps and drained quickly. Google has put automatic limits on what the apps can do in the background, in terms on location and Wi-Fi scans as well as execution.
18) Wide-gamut color for apps
Developers of imaging apps can now take advantage of the new devices that have a display capable of wide-gamut colors. This can be useful to professionals who rely on their Android devices for editing on the go.
So, these are the top Android 8.0 features that you would be able to get your hands on when the update reaches your device. Which of these features are your favorite? Also, if you think we missed out on any Android 8.0 feature, then do let us know in the comments down below.
Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio disrupted the Indian telecom sector with its entry last year by first offering its services for free to the customers, and then offering them at rates which were deemed “predatory” by the incumbents. Later in July this year, Reliance Jio surprised everyone again with the launch of JioPhone. While other telecom operators were already catching up with Jio’s affordable plans, they are also planning to counter the JioPhone by launching their own 4G phone. And, Airtel, who is one of those operators, is now reported to launch its 4G smartphone in India in the first week of next month.
According to the information received by 91Mobiles from “trusted sources”, Airtel will launch its 4G smartphone in India before Diwali. Well, in the first week of October to be precise. Past reports have suggested that this Airtel 4G smartphone would be priced at ₹2500, however, according to the latest information, it will be priced below ₹2000.
Also, it’s worth noting that while the JioPhone is a feature phone, Airtel’s phone will instead be a 4G smartphone and will come with better specifications which should attract more customers as opposed to JioPhone. However, specs alone may not be enough as it also boils down to how attractive and affordable plans Airtel comes up with for its 4G smartphone. The ones offered by Reliance Jio for JioPhone start from as low as ₹153/month with free voice calls.
Having said that, the source who tipped pricing and launch details of Airtel’s 4G smartphone to 91Mobiles has also confirmed the rumored specs of this smartphone. According to past rumors, the Airtel 4G smartphone will come with a 4-inch display, have quad-core processor which would be paired with 1 GB RAM, and most importantly, it will will run Android 7.0 Nougat which would give more freedom to users over downloading apps. This also means that Airtel 4G smartphone users will be able to use WhatsApp which currently isn’t available on JioPhone.
Airtel 4G smartphone specifications [Expected]
CPU: Quad-core processor
RAM: 1 GB
Operating System: Android 7.0 Nougat (Android Go)
Display: 4-inch
Camera: Front and Back
SIM: Dual SIM
Other: 4G VoLTE
Battery: Between 1400 and 1600 mAh
Well, going by these specs, the Airtel 4G smartphone sure looks like an attractive buy for under ₹2000. However, like we said, it also depends on how much attractive plans does Airtel bundle along with this smartphone.
If launched for under ₹2000 with aforementioned specs, would you prefer buying the Airtel 4G smartphone? Or would you rather go for JioPhone? Do share your thoughts in the comments down below.
More than two weeks ago, on September 12, Apple unveiled three new iPhones – the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. While the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are more of an iterative upgrades, the iPhone X is the one which many are drooling over. It’s been launched by Apple to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the first iPhone. However, there’s still more than a month’s time before it goes on sale. But, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are already available for purchase in many countries, and today, they have been launched in India together with Reliance Jio at an event in Mumbai.
Apple iPhone 8 (right) and iPhone 8 Plus (left)
There aren’t many differences between the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Both of them are powered by the A11 Bionic Chip and run iOS 11. They also have the Touch ID home button that’s removed from iPhone X, and, both of them are offered in 64 GB and 256 GB storage variants.
Apple iPhone 8 Plus
The 64 GB variant of the iPhone 8 is priced at ₹64,000 whereas the 256 GB variant is priced at ₹77,000. On the other hand, the iPhone 8 Plus 64 GB variant carries a price tag of ₹73,000, whereas, the 256 GB variant sets you back by ₹86,000. Having said that, there are many launch offers that you can take advantage of to save some money.
Both these iPhones are available for purchase via Flipkart, Amazon India, Jio.com, Reliance Digital outlets and thousands of other offline retail stores. Let’s take a look at all the available offers on both these iPhones.
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Offers on Flipkart
Extra 5% off if purchased using Axis Bank Credit Cards
Exchange discount of up to ₹23,000
Cashback of ₹10,000 if purchased using Citi Bank Credit Card or Citi World Debit Card (valid only for today)
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Offers on Amazon India
Exchange discount of up to ₹16,500 on 64 GB variants
Exchange discount of up to ₹12,100 on 256 GB variants
Cashback of ₹10,000 if purchased using Citi Bank Credit Card or Citi World Debit Card (valid only for today)
70% buyback via Reliance Jio after 12 months
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Offers on Reliance Jio
Cashback of ₹10,000 if purchased using Citi Bank Credit Card or Citi World Debit Card (valid only for today)
70% buyback after 12 months
₹799 prepaid plan with 12 month contract: 3 GB 4G data per day, unlimited voice calls, unlimited SMS, Jio Apps subscription worth ₹1250, validity of 28 days
₹799 postpaid plan with 12 month contract: 3 GB 4G data per day, unlimited voice calls, unlimited SMS, Jio Apps subscription worth ₹1250, validity of one billing cycle
So, are you buying the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus? Or are you going to wait for the iPhone X?
उपलब्ध कराए गए हैंडेसट में 4 फीसदी की गिरावट दर्ज की गई
गिरावट की मुख्य वजह 1 जुलाई से जीएसटी लागू होना है
मार्केट रिसर्च फर्म कैनालिस ने बुधवार को एक रिपोर्ट जारी की जिससे यह पता चला कि भारत में स्मार्टफोन मार्केट पहली बार धीमा पड़ा है। रिपोर्ट में दावा किया गया है कि देश में पिछली तिमाही में स्मार्टफोन निर्माता कंपनियों द्वारा उपलब्ध कराए गए हैंडेसट में 4 फीसदी की गिरावट दर्ज की गई है। गिरावट पिछले साल के आलोच्य तिमाही की तुलना में दर्ज की गई। रिपोर्ट में कहा गया है कि गिरावट की मुख्य वजह 1 जुलाई से जीएसटी लागू होना है। क्योंकि नई कर नीति आने के बाद मार्केट में असमंजस की स्थिति पैदा हो गई थी।
GST के असर के बारे में कैनालिस के विश्लेषक रुशभ दोशी ने कहा, "मार्केट में जीएसटी को लेकर असमंजस का माहौल है। लोग इस बदलाव को लेकर पूरी तरह से जागरुक भी नहीं हैं। नई कर नीति का कीमत पर होने वाले असर को लेकर डिस्ट्रीब्यूटर और रिटेलर ने इंतज़ार करना ज़्यादा मुनासिब समझा।"
दूसरे रिसर्च फर्म की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, साल की दूसरी तिमाही में भी एक बार फिर चीनी स्मार्टफोन निर्माता कंपनियों का बोलबाला रहा। सैमसंग भले ही टॉप पोजीशन पर रही। लेकिन शाओमी, ओप्पो, वीवो, जियोनी और लेनोवो एक साथ 50 फीसदी से ज़्यादा हिस्सेदारी हासिल करने में कामयाब रहीं। जीएसटी के असर पर कैनालिस का मानना है कि स्थिति इतनी भी बुरी नहीं है। मार्केट में एक बार फिर मजबूती देखने को मिलेगी। अनुमान है कि मार्केट में पहले की तुलना में और मज़बूत हो जाएगा।
Samsung ने दूसरी तिमाही में भारत में स्मार्टफोन उपलब्ध कराए जाने के लिहाज से 25 फीसदी हिस्सेदारी ली। Xiaomi ने 48 लाख यूनिट हैंडसेट मार्केट में उपलब्ध कराए। 34 लाख यूनिट के साथ वीवो तीसरे स्थान पर रही। कंपनी ने छोटे शहरों में जबरदस्त लोकप्रियता हासिल की। वहीं, Oppo ने Lenovo को पछाड़कर चौथा स्थान हासिल कर लिया। 19 लाख हैंडसेट के साथ लेनोवो पांचवें स्थान पर रही।
कैनालिस रिसर्च विश्लेषक इशान दत्त ने रिपोर्ट में कहा, "चीनी मार्केट में इस तिमाही में गिरावट दर्ज किए जाने के बाद इन स्मार्टफोन निर्माता कंपनियों के लिए भारत बेहद ही अहम मार्केट बन गया है। चीनी कंपनियों के कारणसैमसंग बहुत ज़्यादा दबाव में है। अभी जे-सीरीज के किफायती हैंडसेट के कारण वह आगे रहने में सफल रही है।"
