Highlights:
- Redmi 6 Pro was announced in China; price in India yet to be revealed
- WhatsApp got a bunch of new features
- Apple finally said it would be revamping its Maps
Big news this week came in the form of the Redmi 6 Pro launch in China, Xiaomi's latest budget smartphone. The OnePlus 6 Midnight Black 8GB RAM/ 256GB storage model made its way into India, representing the cheapest price point yet in the country for the top configuration. This week also saw the Lenovo brand Moto tease the arrival of the Moto E5 Plus on Indian shores in the coming month, while Samsung and Flipkart teased the launch of a new budget smartphone with an Infinity Display, thought to be the rumoured Galaxy On6. Of course, Indian telecom operators were not to be left out from headlines, with a bunch of new plans and offers. Popular apps like WhatsApp and Instagram also announced major updates this week.
Let's start with the launch of the Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro, which is an upgrade over the Redmi 6, but looks like a Redmi Note 5 Pro. The company's latest budget smartphone comes with a 5.84-inch 19:9 display sporting a iPhone X-like display notch and dual rear cameras. The Redmi 6 Pro was launched starting CNY 999 for the 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage variant, with the 4GB RAM/ 32GB storage variant priced at CNY 1,199 (roughly Rs. 12,500), and the 4GB/ 64GB variant priced at CNY 1,299 (roughly Rs. 13,600). For now, Xiaomi has not revealed a Redmi 6 Pro price in India or release date.
Other highlight features of the Redmi 6 Pro include its AI features, including face unlock, beautification, portrait, and a voice assistant. Powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 625 SoC, the Redmi 6 Pro sports dual cameras at the rear, with a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a 5-megapixel secondary sensor. The front camera sports a 5-megapixel sensor, while the smartphone has a fingerprint scanner embedded on the rear panel.
The Redmi 6 Pro comes with a dedicated microSD card slot, supporting up to 256GB cards. The smartphone's connectivity options include the standard 4G VoLTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2, a Micro-USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. All this is powered by a 4000mAh battery. The smartphone will be available in Black, Blue, Gold, Red, and Rose Gold colour variants.
Alongside the Redmi 6 Pro, Xiaomi launched its Mi Pad 4 tablet, also running Android-based MIUI. It sports an 8-inch full-HD display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 660 SoC - Xiaomi is also touting a 'smart game acceleration' feature. The company has launched three variants of the Xiaomi Mi Pad 4, with the 3GB RAM/ 32GB inbuilt storage Wi-Fi model priced at CNY 1,099 (roughly Rs. 11.500), the 4GB RAM/ 64GB inbuilt storage Wi-Fi model priced at CNY 1,399 (roughly Rs. 14,600), and the 4GB RAM/ 64GB inbuilt storage Wi-Fi + LTE version priced at CNY 1,499 (roughly Rs. 15,600). The Mi Pad 4 is powered by a 6000mAh battery.
Before we get to the other mobile-related news from this week, let's take a look the latest announcements from the telcos. Airtel had a couple of changes to make in its offerings. The first saw the Rs. 649 plan upgraded to offer 90GB of 3G/ 4G data in the month-cycle, along with unlimited voice calls on local, STD, and roaming without an FUP limit. The plan is also eligible for the data roll over facility, and 100 SMS messages a day. The Rs. 649 plan had earlier offered 50GB of 3G/ 4G data.
Airtel also downgraded two of its prepaid packs - Rs. 149 and Rs. 399. The telco reduced data benefits for these plans, a month after offering up to 2.4GB of daily data to select customers. Instead, the Rs. 149 pack by Airtel now offers 1GB of data per day for 28 days - as before, while the Rs. 399 pack now offers 1.4GB of data benefits for 84 days - or 70 days in the cases of some users. Previously, these plans offered unlimited voice calls and 100 SMS messages per day, and they continue to do so.
