OnePlus has launched its latest flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 10 Pro, an extension of its Never Settle product philosophy. What does one expect from a flagship device? A top of the line processor, more than enough RAM and storage, a great camera, and a premium design. And this is exactly what the OnePlus 10 Pro has to offer.
Design
It’s very difficult for a smartphone to stand out in the market since most of them look just the same. OnePlus 10 Pro is anything but a routine looking smartphone. It comes in two distinct colours – Volcanic Black and Emerald Forest and comes with a not-so-regular glass back. The back of the Volcanic Black model has micro-crystals that make the smartphone look like glittery grains of sand are boxed in it. The camera unit is the star aspect of this smartphone. The camera effortlessly blends into the metal frame of the smartphone and flows to the side of the phone.
Specifications & Price
The OnePlus 10 Pro has a 6.7 inch 2K AMOLED display with a 120hz refresh rate and comes with dual-colour calibration, a one-of-a-kind technology that ensures the delivery of natural and accurate colours. The triple camera setup consists of a 48 MP main sensor, a 50 MP ultra-wide sensor and an 8 MP telephoto sensor.
The smartphone runs on OxygenOS and is based on Android 12. The phone has a 5,000 mAh battery which can easily go through a day of heavy usage. In addition, you get an 80W SuperVOOC charger in the box. OnePlus 10 Pro runs on Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. The 8 GB RAM /128 GB Storage variant is priced at ₹66,999, while the 12 GB RAM + 256 GB Storage is priced at ₹71,999.
Conclusion
The OnePlus 10 Pro manages to deliver better performance, camera, and other aspects than the OnePlus 9RT, which was released last year. It also stands out from other smartphones in terms of design which is one of the major challenges for most smartphones.
The father of Canadian photojournalism, Ted Grant, once quoted, “When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes, but when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!” The quote is true to every word, as the colour duo, black and white, is said to be more realistic as it contains all colours, and at the same time, it excludes all, but we all know in which era we’re living and how much colours are important in today’s times. Then, why would our gadget-makers stay behind?
Colour plays a vital role in the world we live in and has always been a prominent aspect of human life. However, the gadget making companies took a lot of time to put coloured clothes on their products. Since the mid-50s, we have been witnessing coloured devices in the form of telephones, radios, speakers, etc. But later on, in the mid-90s, colours moved a little away from us, at least in the gadget sector, due to several concerns and again put on a band of bland colours, including black, white, grey and sometimes blue.
The phones in the early days mainly came in one or two colours, offering limited options for the customer as the companies were bound not to manufacture phones with particular colours as each geography in the world has colours for good and bad omens. Also, customers are treated like a god in most countries, and companies have to show sensitivity to people’s sentiments before launching a global variant. Though in recent times, everything has changed and now gadget makers are competing fiercely over coloured gadgets.
The First Step
Since Apple launched its first iPhone in 2007, whatever happens in the world of tech is directly co-related to Apple. It’s more like when other companies do things they seem ordinary to us, but it becomes cool when Apple tries the same with their products. Apple unveiled the iPhone 5C in 2013 and brought life to their phones with 4-colour variants – banana yellow, bubble gum pink, kiwi green, and Slush Puppie blue.
Since then, almost every smartphone manufacturing company has become colour obsessed. Being one of the top smartphone manufacturing companies globally, Apple has always come up with impressive marketing ideas that attract consumers. For instance, every time someone buys an iPhone with PRODUCT RED colour, they contribute to the Global Fund’s support of AIDS programmes and COVID‑19 Response.
The company has been collaborating with RED for the last 15 years and has raised nearly $270 million since the inception of the idea, including a $21 million donation to the Global Fund’s COVID‑19. Recently, Vivo launched India’s first colour changing smartphone Vivo V23 & V23 Pro. The smartphone has Fluorite AG glass that changes colour when exposed to sunlight and other sources of artificial UV rays.
Along with smartphones, various gadgets boast colours nowadays, and the list includes earphones, headphones, speakers, tablets, smart home gadgets, smartwatches, power banks, and portable mouses. The arrival of various colours in devices made consumers happy as it opened more options. When smartphones were introduced to the world, companies wanted to play it safe, so they only experimented with neutral colours.
Samsung was one of the first who introduced smartphones with colourful backs, but they created a kind of blue and red for their LTE-A phone that is fresh and new to people, which helped them stand apart. Nowadays, people are more open to trying different colours than in the earlier days when people were not welcoming towards various colours, and it allows companies to come up with more colourful designs.
Why are smartphones coming in a coloured back panel?
The younger generation prefers to flaunt colours in every way possible, and all over the world, these fellas are very casual towards new things, especially gadgets. Also, when you can have a smartphone or gadget in your favourite colours, which adds some joy to your life, why would you go for the neutral ones! The smartphone maker understands this mindset and decides to implement the same.
Polycarbonate back panels are usually considered the cheapest material as most mid-range smartphones come with them. Glass has been the preferred smartphone material in the past couple of years, and most flagship smartphones come with glass panels. The glass-panelled back on the smartphones looks premium, and it can be painted in different colours, which paves the way for smartphone makers.
The brighter and gradient colour panelled back in the smartphones was popular among Chinese smartphone makers, but the world accepted it when global players such as Apple and Samsung launched their phones with coloured panel backs. In the future, we might witness something more advanced in this back panel sector where we could get an option to change the colours according to the touch.
After the rivalry between Marvel and DC, the only rivalry the young generation is curious about is PlayStation Vs Xbox. In November 2021, which is considered the sales month of the year for the video game business, Xbox beat PlayStation, of course, due to a more comprehensive range of availability and price difference.
However, if you look at the overall statistics, PlayStation has dominated the console market, especially over the last few years. The Japanese multinational conglomerate has sold 37.5 million consoles alone in the US, about 5+ million more than Xbox, which clearly shows its supremacy in the market.
Since the arrival of OTT platforms and their subscription-based services, the world has changed for a good. Offering a subscription service to the consumers is a new flex, and every company wants to be a part of it. In the gaming world, Microsoft was the first one who introduces subscription-based services.
Now following the path of Microsoft, Sony announced the PlayStation Plus subscription service with three tiers. The company is planning to launch the services by June with a reimagined PlayStation Plus, which combines the streaming service PlayStation Now with the PlayStation Plus membership.
The new PlayStation Plus will be available in three tiers:
The PlayStation Plus Essential:
Allows you to have two free games a month and access to online multiplayer. The basic package costs $10 a month and $60 a year.
The PlayStation Plus Extra:
Allows you to have the same benefits as the PlayStation Plus Essential, along with a selection of 400 PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 downloadable titles. The most-competitive package among the three tiers is priced at $15 a month or $100 a year.
The PlayStation Plus Premium:
The most expensive package allows you to have 340 more games than the PlayStation Plus Extra and will enable players to play a selection of PS2, PS3, PS3, PS4 and PS5 games over the internet. It is priced at $18 a month or $120 a year.
Games such as Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Mortal Kombat 11 and Returnal will be a part of these tiers. Also, there will be a time-limited trial option, letting gamers play games on a trial basis before they decide to buy. The launch will happen in parts, first being launched in Asia, followed by North America, Europe, and then the rest of the world.
Being a top-ranked tech giant globally, Samsung has introduced us to many techie items. The latest one from the South Korean company is the Smart Monitor series, the M8, which was initially announced during CES 2022. The versatile new M8 boasts Samsungs iconic slim design and is available in four colours – Warm White, Sunset Pink, Daylight Blue and Spring Green.
The Monitor is available in 32-inches with 4K (3,840 × 2160x) resolution VA type LCD with a 60Hz refresh rate and 16:9 aspect ratio. The monitor is designed for modern-day users, and it offers work efficiency and style. The monitor is three-quarter slimmer than the previous models, and it allows users to consume OTT services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV.
The new monitor from Samsung has built-in AirPlay 2, wireless Samsung DeX support, two 5W speakers, and a detachable 1080p SlimFit camera with tilt functionality. The M8 monitor runs on Tizen OS and has preloaded audio, and it can be used as a controller for all your smart home devices.
The 9.4 Kg monitor offers a perfect home office environment that helps you increase your creativity. The smart monitor has a magnetic and removable SlimFit cam which helps you to keep your desk neat, clean and wire-free. The monitor can be connected through the IoT hub called the Smart hub.
Last year, Google launched its Pixel Pass service in the US, a subscription-based service that costs $45 per month for the Pixel 6 and $55 per month for the Pixel 6 Pro. The service lets the subscriber have the respective phones along with YouTube Premium with ad-free watching, YouTube Music Premium with ad-free listening and 200 GB of Google One cloud storage.
Now, following the path of Google, Apple is planning to start a subscription-based service for iPhones and iPads where users will pay a fixed fee each month and get an iPhone (of course, the one they wants to have) with free upgrades. The service will also allow subscribers to change their iPhones with the new models every time a new iPhone is announced.
Currently, the Cupertino-based tech giant offers various services for the customer benefits, such as paying the phone amount in different instalments of 12, 24 or 36 months. The existing Apple ID account holders can bundle up this subscription for free to get Apple Care and Apple One Services, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+.
The subscription service is not confirmed by the company yet, but according to the trusted sources, Apple might launch the service by the end of 2022 or early into 2023. The service would initially start with iPhones, followed by Apple’s hardware lineup, including iPads, MacBooks and Apple Watch. The service amount is not yet unveiled but it would be around 20$-40$.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. today announced its entry into the NFT (non-fungible token) universe, with the release of its first tranche of tokens, becoming the first Indian automotive OEM to enter this space. NFTs are at the forefront of blockchain technology and have captured the interest of the digitally savvy and constantly connected generation. The entry of Mahindra into the NFT universe is yet another testimony of their continued focus on digital initiatives in the country.
The first NFT offerings from Mahindra will be based on the iconic Thar and will be released in collaboration with Tech Mahindra. Thar exemplifies the Mahindra promise of ‘Explore the Impossible’. Additionally, its larger-than-life imagery is suited to the futuristic, socially wired landscape of NFTs. This first-ever series comprises four NFTs that will be put up for sale via an auction starting the 29th of March 2022, on Tech Mahindra’s NFT marketplace christened ‘Mahindra Gallery’.
All proceeds from the auction will go towards Project Nanhi Kali, to support the education of underprivileged girls in India. Access to education helps the girl child in fulfilling her dreams and lays the foundation for an equal society. The Thar experience doesn’t end with buying an NFT. The winners of the auction will be invited to the Mahindra Adventure Off-road Driver Training Academy (Igatpuri, Maharashtra) or to the new state-of-the-art Mahindra SUV Proving Track (MSPT, Chennai), to experience the thrill of 4×4 motoring.
Commenting on the launch, Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd said, “Mahindra & Mahindra has always been a pioneer in adopting new-age digital innovations to enhance customer experience. The launch of NFTs is another exciting step for us to leverage the next frontier of digital marketing.We will be able to offer a whole new set of experiences to our customers, build communities for our brands, and also increase brand awareness and loyalty. With our entry into the NFT space, we are all set to harness the countless possibilities of interacting and adding to the Mahindra brand and all our nameplates, and there is no better brand for this debut than the Thar.”
CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra, said, “At Tech Mahindra, we believe in innovating for the future. As an industry front runner, we have significantly contributed to digital transformational strategies and solutions. In line with our aim to reimagine the customer experience, engagement, and brand equity through digital transformation, we are launching an NFT marketplace in collaboration with Mahindra Group. This market place titled ‘Mahindra Gallery’, is a one-stop-digital assets and collectibles marketplace for all patrons of the Mahindra Group, and this platform-of-the-future will emerge as a key lever to showcase the rich archives and history of the Group that everyone can own in the form of NFTs, ushering in the next wave of digital ownership.”
When Nothing launched Nothing Ear (1) earbuds in September 2021 at the price of ₹5,999, it grabbed a lot of attention, mainly due to its standout design (which looks as iconic as Apple’s AirPods) and marketing strategies. Now, the same company is planning to debut its first smartphone in the market this summer, which would be a second product from the London-based tech company.
The first Nothing smartphone was announced at a global event last evening. The phone will be called the Phone 1, which will run on an Android-based operating system Nothing OS and be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. While talking about the upcoming smartphone, Nothing CEO and Co-founder Carl Pei cited, “the idea is to take on Apple, not OnePlus”.
Nothing OS is built on an open and seamless ecosystem that will effortlessly connect and integrate Nothing products and products from other world-leading brands. Nothing OS is designed to deliver a fast, smooth and personal experience. It captures the best features of pure Android, distilling the operating system to just the essentials, where every byte has a purpose.
“Having raised $144M, and secured support from trusted partners like Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, we are ready for phone (1) to mark the start of change for the sleepy smartphone market,” said Carl Pei. “We are also doing a new $10M round of community investment, so that our supporters get the chance to be part of our journey going head to head against the giants of the industry.”
Furthermore, he mentioned, Nothing aims to be “the most compelling alternative to Apple” with products that connect and perform seamlessly. The short teaser trailer suggests that the Nothing smartphone could have a series of light strips with a transparent back design built into its back. As per the trusted tipsters, the phone will get its components from key suppliers such as Samsung, Sony and Visionox.
The Nothing Phone (1) is on the verge of the launch days, but the company deliberately avoided mentioning any specifications of the upcoming smartphone or even a price. The first-ever product from the Nothing – Nothing Ear (1) was hyped marvellously before the launch, but it basically had Nothing to satisfy. Hope the upcoming Phone (1) will do the job and clear the path for Nothing.
What do people usually expect from sunglasses? Of course, the basic mundane things with a touch of modern technology, but what if I tell you, you could have a pair with the capabilities of a computer, possibly by the first half of 2023.
Yes, Nimo Planet, a company based out of India, recently unveiled a new smart glasses that acts as a multi-screen computer, fits in the pocket, and helps you work from anywhere.
The smart glasses are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR1 processor which makes it a mini-computer that sits on your head. It features a dual 720p display on the edge of each lens, which aids you to view multiple virtual screens and watch movies, work, or play games.
A core team of 10 people based out of Kerala are working on the project, and the aim of the company is quite simple, they want you to replace your laptops when you’re on the go.
The company is working on these glasses for more than four years and expects to ship the glasses in the first half of the next year, and they will be available at the price of $799 in the select cities of India and the US.
iQOO is a newbie in the world of smartphones, but in just 3-years, the company managed to grab millions of eyes and thousands of customers. Their latest launch, the iQOO 9 series is one of the most awaited flagship series’ in recent times which includes 3-smartphones – iQOO 9 Pro, iQOO 9 and iQOO SE.The one we received for the review was an iQOO 9 – BMW Motorsport Edition, and this is the first iQOO phone I ever used as a primary device. Let me tell you one crucial forte upfront, the iQOO 9 series’ launched in China, and the one launched in India is altogether a separate series of phones in many aspects.
First Impressions
Let’s begin with the packing – the company has made sure to come up with an innovative packing to grab your attention. The box contains a device, a 120W charger, a few other necessary things and yes, a 3.5-mm adapter. The smartphone looks stunning at first sight, and you couldn’t stop yourself from saying, “Wow!”
Design & Display
The phone looks premium, and the one thing that makes you go weak at the knees is its design, particularly the camera module and the rear side that features BMW’s tri-colour stripes. A single look at the iQOO 9, and you would say, oh, finally, somebody’s working on the design and appearance.The smartphone has a 6.56″ punch-hole AMOLED display in the front and is coated with matt gorilla glass at the back, not prone to fingerprints. The iQOO 9 Pro and iQOO 9 have almost similar-looking BMW stripes on the back, but if you look closer, the iQOO 9 Pro has a slightly different shade of white, making it more attractive.The power button brings an absolute charm to the phone as it has a blue-coloured tone. The phone is not massive and can fit into average-sized hands. About the display, it has a pixel density of 398ppi, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and it supports HDR in the Netflix app, which is like a cherry on the top moment.
Chipset & Performance
iQOO has been known to manufacture powerful smartphones such as iQOO Z3, iQOO Z5, iQOO 7, and 7 Legend, but the iQOO 9 series is on another level when it comes to performance. The smartphone runs on a Snapdragon 888+ chip and directly competes with the OnePlus 9 RT. The unit we had for a review was loaded with 12GB RAM and up to 256GB storage.
Camera
The iQOO 9 sports a triple camera set-up – a 48 MP primary camera with f/1.8, 25mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF, gimbal OIS and 13 MP telephoto camera with f/2.5, 50mm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom. While the third one is a 13 MP ultrawide camera, f/2.2, 16mm, 120˚ and 16 MP selfie camera, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3.1″, 1.0µm with support for 1080p@30fps.
Gaming & Battery
The smartphone scores 851,613* on AnTuTu but still offers average gaming performance. One can’t play Marvel Future Revolution fluently on this smartphone due to the frame drop issue, but one can have a little fun on low graphics. In the case of Asphalt 9, it runs well and doesn’t cause any trouble. iQOO has claimed the charger will take only 18 minutes and a few other necessary items. Maybe that’s one of the reasons BMW teamed up with the iQOO.
Verdict
Being the first flagship smartphone from iQOO, we were expecting a lot, but iQOO 9 disappoints us with many elements. The smartphone is priced at ₹42,990 and packs a lot of features, especially when you’re taking a look at the other smartphones from BBK electronics. At first, iQOO seems like a decent and premium smartphone, but you’ll encounter a few troubles on the way. At this price range, other smartphones are available that offer very classy features.
NFT is over the moon, but ironically no one really knows what it is and why it is creating hype all over the globe! The artwork that brought NFT term in most households of the world was Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days, sold in an auction for $69,346,250 (38,525 ETH).
The viral news created a curiosity between people, but it didn’t create much hype on Indian soil until Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s NFT collections, which includes his father’s famous poem ‘Madhushala’, autographed vintage posters of himself, and his other works sold for a whopping $9,66,000.
Later on, Yuvraj Singh came in and hit the NFT ball out of the world by sending his NFT bat into space, which became the first-ever minted NFT ever to be sent in orbit. And this is when some intellectual people started searching for what is NFT and diving deep into the ocean of serendipity.
Until now, most people know NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens, and they can be traded or exchanged but only with an equivalent item. I’ll put it in an example to make it more clear to you, suppose you have digitally owned Nike Shoes, valued at ₹23k, then you can exchange them with another digital item priced at ₹23k.
Whereas fungible tokens such as Bitcoins are more like physical money, and they can be traded or exchanged. You can exchange the Bitcoin with one for another, but you can’t do the same with NFTs as they’re cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes that distinguish them from each other.
In the last few months, NFT has dominated the investment sector and occupied massive space in the digital market space. The artforms that sold for millions of dollars played a remarkable role in the growth of NFTs, and it aided the marketplace to become a multi-billion-dollar industry in a short span.
In 2020, the NFT marketplace was in the initial stage, and the total investment was about $100 million, but it boomed like a missile in 2021 and reached the mark of $20 billion. Thanks to the brands like Nike, Adidas and Gucci, who invested heavily in the NFTs (in the name of limited editions) to open up new revenue streams.
NFT platforms are a kind of jackpot for artists who are associated with graphics, music, and programmable art forms. When you create an NFT, you get an option to tag it with a specific value, and it can be anything at the initial stage. A number of artists are earning millions due to NFT platforms, all thanks to the hype.
Suppose an artist tags an NFT at 0.1 Ether, but later on, when people start taking an interest in it, or it gets viral, the value of NFT can reach any number, and this is how the owner of NFT will earn. It’s simple like an IPL auction – if the player performs well in a couple of seasons, every franchise will try to get him in their team in the next auction. In simple words, yes, NFTs are definitely worth an investment.
Let’s Talk Business: How to Create NFTs in India?
NFTs are focused on specific sectors like digital artworks, images, audios, videos, and even tweets. So far, they can be bought only with cryptocurrencies, and that’s the reason people who have already invested tons of money in cryptocurrencies are the people who are incredibly excited to buy them. NFTs are worth an investment, but they have a slight risk involved. Get in at your peril, but never test the depth of a river with both feet.
Here are a few provisions and steps you’re going to need before creating NFTs.
We can create and sell NFTs on many platforms, but we recommend OpenSea and Rarible, especially when you’re a newbie to the world of NFTs, as these two are the most popular platforms for NFT trading. When we tried our hands at NFT, we went with Rarible as we got to know that they’re offering to sell/list NFTs without any gas fee, which no one else is willing to offer. Let’s get to the steps quickly before someone else uploads and sells their selfies as NFT.
Step 1:
Search “Install MetaMask” on Google and click on the first link, which will lead you to the MetaMask homepage. Then, click on the download option, install MetaMask on your browser and add it as an extension.
Step 2:
Then, visit Rarible.com and sign in with MetaMask. The page will lead you to the new window. Now, click on the Get Started option, and if you already have a wallet, then click on import wallet; otherwise, go for, create a wallet.
Step 3:
Next up, read the policy text, click on the I agree option, set a password, and click on create. Hit the next button, watch the video and click on the blurry text. Yes, it is your secret recovery phrase.
Note: Write down the secret phrase on paper and keep it safe somewhere. Never share this secret phrase with anyone.
Step 4:
Later, click on the next option. You’ll see something like this. Now, select the secret phrase words in order and click on it till you finish the task and then hit confirm, followed by all done.
Step 5:
Hit next, and then connect. Now go back to the rarible site and sign in with MetaMask. Click on create, and the page will lead you to choose the blockchain option, where you’ll see three options – Ethereum, Flow and Tezos.
Step 6:
Click on Ethereum and then choose to create a wallet. Then, choose single or multiple as per your choice. If you’ve created something very unique, then go for a single otherwise, go for multiple to sell one collectible multiple times.
Step 7:
The page will lead you to create a collectible on Ethereum. Upload your preferred file by choosing the file. Next up, set a price or select open for bids. Then, turn on the option of unlock once purchased and enter your secret phrase.
Step 8:
Turn on the free minting option to avoid gas fees and a name along with a description of your NFT. Also, enter the percentage of royalties, number of copies and click on create item option.
Step 9:
A number of small windows will appear on the right side of the screen; scroll them down and click on the SIGN option every time it appears there. Congrats, you’ve successfully created your first NFT.
Step 10:
Lastly, check your NFT by clicking on the “my profile” option. You’ll find it on the same line where the create option can be seen. Refresh the page and click on the owned option to see your first NFT.
That’s it! Now, you can share the on sale NFT with anyone by clicking on the share option.
