Xiaomi Mi A2 (Review) arrived in India this week, while Samsung unveiled its much-anticipated new phablet flagship - the Galaxy Note 9. Online marketplaces Amazon India and Flipkart had their 'Freedom' sales ahead of India's Independence Day, while Google launched the stable version of Android 9.0 - and called it Pie. Huawei sub-brand Honor brought its gaming focused Play smartphone to Indian shores, and Epic Games finally revealed when and how the Android version of its popular Fortnite game will first become available. Microsoft also brought the Surface Book 2 and Surface Laptop to India. These were just some of the tech news highlights of the week past, so stick around, we've got more for you in this weekly roundup.
As we mentioned, Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi launched its second generation Android One smartphone - the Mi A2 - in India on Wednesday. The Xiaomi Mi A2 is the successor to the Mi A1, which as a part of Google's Android One initiative was certified to feature an optimised stock Android experience and to receive timely updates. It is a variant of the Mi 6X, which launched with MIUI 9 earlier this year. Xiaomi has launched both the 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage and 6GB RAM/ 128GB storage variants in the country, however, the latter doesn't yet have a price or exact release date yet. The Mi A2 price in India starts at Rs. 16,999 for the aforementioned base model in the country.
To recall, Gadgets 360 had reported ahead of the launch that for India, Xiaomi would be skipping the 4GB/ 32GB base model it had launched in Europe. The India variant also features a 3000mAh battery that supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+, rather than the 3010mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support that the EU model came with. The Xiaomi Mi A2 is currently up for pre-orders in the country on Amazon India and Mi.com, and will go on sale on August 16 via the above-mentioned online sale channels, apart from Mi Home and Mi Preferred Partner StoresThe dual-SIM (Nano) Mi A2 runs stock Android 8.1 Oreo and sports a 5.99-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio - protected by 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass 5. It is powered by a Snapdragon 660 SoC, and sports a dual rear camera setup, with a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 20-megapixel secondary sensor. On the front, the Xiaomi Mi A2 has a 20-megapixel camera and a soft-light flash module. Notably, the smartphone sports a USB Type-C (v2.0) port, and Xiaomi has decided not to include a 3.5mm headphone jack. It features a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel.
On Thursday, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note 9 at an event in Brooklyn, New York City. The latest phablet flagship from the company, the Galaxy Note 9 comes with an improved S Pen, a bigger 4,000mAh battery, and a massive 6.4-inch bezel-less display. The company has decided to go with a horizontal dual camera setup, and offers some top-end specifications - up to 8GB of RAM and 512GB of inbuilt storage. This is further expandable up to 1TB, with a 512GB microSD card.
Samsung has also revealed the Galaxy Note 9's price in India, which starts at Rs. 67,900 for the 6GB RAM/ 128GB inbuilt storage variant, and goes up to Rs. 84,900 for the 8GB RAM/ 512GB inbuilt storage variant. The smartphone is up for pre-orders in the country via Amazon, Flipkart, and Samsung's online store, with pre-booking offers including a discount on the Gear Sport, cashbacks, and exchange discounts. Pre-orders last till August 21, which indicates that regular sales will begin the next day. Airtel has also announced a contract plan for the smartphone, with a downpayment of Rs. 7,900.The dual-SIM (Nano, hybrid) Samsung Galaxy Note 9 runs Android 8.1 Oreo with the Samsung Experience UX - it bears a 6.4-inch Quad HD+ (1440x2960 pixels) Super AMOLED Infinity Display, and in India, it runs on the Samsung Exynos 9810 SoC instead of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC that's available in regions like the US. The rear dual camera setup is identical to the Galaxy S9+, apart from a change in orientation, featuring with a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens. On the front too, the Galaxy Note 9's identical to the Galaxy S9+, with a 8-megapixel autofocus camera. The company is touting features like a scene optimiser, flaw detection, HDR and live focus modes, and an AR Emoji feature. A fingerprint sensor sits below the rear cameras, and the smartphone supports wireless charging. The Galaxy Note 9 also has an AKG-tuned embedded street speaker, and features a Bluetooth-powered S Pen stylus with new features like remote control camera shutter and presentation control, amongst others..