Right after the launch of the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, Daniel Desjarlais, communications director at Xiaomi, confirmed on X (previously Twitter) that the new foldable phone “will be available exclusively in Mainland China.” That is not new considering the previous generation Mix Fold smartphones launched over the last few years have also remained exclusive to China. But the anticipation with which Xiaomi fans await the launch of the company’s new foldable each year in hope of an international release is usually high. For those fans, it is bad news, if nothing else.

Is Xiaomi losing the race?

Xiaomi’s foldable phones have improved dramatically over the past few years, so it is a shame that it is not releasing outside of the company’s home market. On the other hand, other Chinese companies such as Oppo, Vivo, Huawei, and Tecno have all launched their foldable phones in more than one or two markets. OnePlus, another Chinese smartphone brand, is also planning to launch its first foldable smartphone in more than one market soon. Korea’s Samsung, which currently dominates the foldable smartphone market, sells different generations of its foldables in different markets.

In India, Xiaomi consistently topped the smartphone shipments charts for more than three years, before giving away its spot to Samsung. Since foldables are already mainstream, Xiaomi could use the demand for foldables in its favour and bounce back in rankings. Although the biggest revenue driver for Xiaomi is its low- and mid-range phones, it can rival Samsung and other brands with the variety.

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 specifications

The new Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 comes with an 8.03-inch LTPO main display that features a resolution of 1960×2160 pixels and a variable refresh rate of 120Hz. The screen also has an Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) and supports both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. The cover screen uses a 6.56-inch LTPO OLED panel that has the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for protection and Full-HD+ resolution. Powering the smartphone is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. It has a 4800mAh battery that charges at up to 67W speed for wired connections and up to 50W for wireless connections. It runs Android 13-based MIUI 14 software.

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Here’s why you should wait for the iPhone 15

The Apple iPhone, which is usually priced at around Rs 70,000 is now available at Rs 68,999 on Flipkart. That’s not it. Additionally, there’s a Rs 4,000 instant discount on HDFC bank Credit and Debit cards taking the final price down to Rs 64,999. Now, this is a fantastic deal since you get a brand-new iPhone with 128GB of internal storage under Rs 65,000. But here’s why you shouldn’t buy it now.

If your budget is anywhere between Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000, then you’d be better off waiting for the upcoming iPhone 15. That’s because the upcoming iPhone will most likely start in that price range and bring several new changes.

On other the other hand, if you are already stretching your budget to buy a shiny new iPhone then we suggest you have a look at the iPhone 13. The Apple iPhone 13 is way cheaper and has almost no cosmetic changes when compared to the iPhone 14. It does the same 4K 60fps video recording and offers similar battery life. It’s fast and powerful as the iPhone 14 since both pack the same Apple A15 Bionic chipset.

A brand new Phone 13 will cost you Rs 58,499, and with HDFC bank offers, it can be bought for Rs 54,999 on Flipkart. Having said that, the answer is clear.

Tight on budget but want an iPhone as fast and powerful as the latest iPhone? You could purchase the iPhone 13. Can spend anywhere between Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000? Buy none of these and wait for the upcoming iPhone 15.

For starters, the iPhone 15 will change many things. Starting with the display to the cameras and to the new chipset. The device will come with a Dynamic Island, which means it will have a punch-hole-like camera similar to the iPhone 14 Pro. It is rumored to boast a 48MP main camera and pack the A16 Bionic chipset. It will also get the much-awaited USB Type-C.

Apple is speculated to launch the iPhone 15 in September, i.e. next month. The smartphone could start under Rs 80,000. Expect new colors like the Green shade. Shipping of the phone may begin later in October.

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The use of the technology will also require an individual’s consent, the CAC said in a statement. It added that non-biometric identification solutions should be favoured over facial recognition in cases where such methods are equally effective. Biometric identification, especially facial recognition, has become widespread in China. In 2020, local media reported that facial recognition was used to activate toilet roll dispensers in public toilets, which triggered both public and regulatory concerns at the time.

Many Chinese courts and local governments have since ruled against and fined companies for facial recognition overuse, according to the South China Morning Post. CAC’s draft rules on Tuesday said image-capturing and personal identification devices should not be installed in hotel rooms, public bathrooms, changing rooms, toilets, and other places that may infringe upon others’ privacy.

The regulator added that image-capturing devices should be installed in public places for only public safety purposes and with prominent warning signs next to them. The draft rules come amid Beijing’s effort to tighten data regulation by issuing an array of rules and laws. Most notably, China introduced its first law focusing on user privacy, the Personal Information Protection Law, in 2021 in a bid to rein in companies’ overuse of user data.

Does India need its own laws on facial scanning?

Although several government institutions, as well as private organisations, use facial scanning technologies, there are no laws in place that legalise the deployment of such technologies in India. In the absence of a framework to guide the implementation of facial scanning technologies, the scope is not defined, which often leads to misuse of the technology. There is no legislation that mandates the safeguarding of the facial data collected by both government and private firms, often without consent.

As China accelerates the demand for legislation that makes seeking approval from the authority before implementing a facial scanning technology, it makes it more urgent for India to come up with its own laws for facial scanning. Since experts believe facial scanning technology falls under the technologies related to collecting sensitive personal data, there should be clauses concerning the technology, as well as the storage of personal data of users without their knowledge or consent.

— Written with inputs from Reuters

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Google Pixel Tablet is currently available for pre-order in selected countries and the list does not include India. The tablet is priced at USD 499, which is approximately Rs 41,000 and is offered in Rose, Porcelain and Hazel colours.

It comes with an 11-inch screen and is powered by a Google Tensor G2 processor with a charging speaker dock that keeps the tablet charged 24/7.

Google has just made its entry into tablets where Samsung is already present for the past several years. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE (4GB RAM and 64GB storage) is the closest competitor of the Google Pixel Tablet if you compare them based on their price. 

Here we will look at five things that make Google Pixel Tablet better option than Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE. 

Five things that make Google Pixel Tablet better than Samsung Tab S7 FE

Display

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE has a bigger 12.4-inch display than Google Pixel Tablet’s 10.9-inch display and both offer LCDs with the same resolution. However, they differ in their pixel density. 

Pixel Tablet offers a higher 276 PPI and Tab S7 FE has a lower 243 PPI. Further, Pixel has a higher 120Hz refresh rate and Tab S7 FE refresh rate is limited to 60Hz. 

Based on these two factors, Pixel Tablet will offer a sharper and smoother viewing experience while Tab S7 FE is good enough for watching videos and reading books. 

Memory and storage

Google Pixel Tablet comes with 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB and 256 GB UFS 3.1 storage options.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE comes with 4GB and 6GB RAM options and 64GB and 128GB storage options, which can be expanded to 1TB with microSD.

Pixel Tablet offers high multitasking power and faster storage than Tab S7 FE. 

Processor

Google Pixel Tablet comes with a Google Tensor G2 chipset based on a 5nm process and a Titan M2 security coprocessor.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor based on 8nm process. 

Here, Pixel Tablet has an advantage over Tab S7 FE due to its AI capabilities and integration with Google services as it is custom-made by Google. Further, Samsung has no security coprocessor. 

Battery and charging

Google Pixel Tablet comes with a built-in 27-watt-hour battery and offers up to 12 hours of video streaming, as per the company’s claim.

The tablet charges via Charging Speaker Dock, which is included with the tablet, or it could be charged with a USB-C charger, which is sold separately.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE has a 10,090mAh battery that lasts for up to 13 hours for video playback, as per the company’s claim and supports 45W fast charging via USB-C. 

Pixel Tablet offers wireless charging, which is not available in Tab S7 FE. This makes Pixel much more convenient than Tab S7 FE.    

Charging Speaker Dock

Google Pixel charging speaker dock comes with a magnetic docking interface with a pogo pin connection and 15W max charging rate. In addition to this, it has a 43.5mm full-range speaker. This Charging Speaker Dock even turns it into a smart display when not in use.

No such option is present in Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE. 

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Apple CEO Tim Cook was recently questioned about the company’s plans of using the generative AI technology in the company’s products and services, to which he responded that the company remained ‘deliberate and thoughtful’ in its approach to these technologies. He also said that while Apple doesn’t comment on future roadmap of its products and services, there are a lot of issues that ‘need to be sorted’ before the company starts using generative AI in its products and services.

“As you know, we don’t comment on product roadmaps. I do think it’s very important to be deliberate and thoughtful in how you approach these things. And there’s a number of issues that need to be sorted, as is being talked about in a number of different places,” Cook said while answering a question during Apple’s recent earnings call, adding, “But the potential is certainly very interesting.”

While answering the question on the use of generative AI, the Apple executive also stressed on the fact that Apple was already using artificial intelligence and machine learning models in its products such as Apple watch and that the company would continue using AI and associated technologies in its products “on a very thoughtful basis.”

“And we’ve obviously made enormous progress integrating AI and machine learning throughout our ecosystem and we weaved it into products and features for many years as you probably know. You can see that in things like fall detection and crash detection and ECG, these things are not only great features, they’re saving people’s lives out there,” Cook said.

“And so we are, we view AI as huge and we’ll continue weaving it in our products on a very thoughtful basis,” he added.

What does this means for Apple and why isn’t it a bad thing?

Apple’s cautiously approach means that the company will not be rushing to release its Large Language Models (LLMs) and deploy a ChatGPT or Google Bard competitor anytime soon, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While these tools are simplifying the usage of various tools that we use in our day-to-day lives on one hand, they are also making them increasing complex and vulnerable to hacks, bugs and leaks. At the same time, they are creating a world that increasingly depending on technology for smallest of things.

Many technocrats and scientists have warned about the use of AI.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has cautioned that AI could possibly attack humans one day. “Could a machine decide that humans are a threat, conclude that its interests are different from ours, or simply stop caring about us? Possibly, but this problem is no more urgent today than it was before the AI developments of the past few months,” he recently wrote in a post on Gates Notes.

Similarly, Twitter CEO Elon Musk has cautioned that AI could cause ‘civilisation destruction’.

More recently, Godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, quit Google to warn the world about the dangers of AI. “I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn’t done it, somebody else would have,” he said in an interview with New York Times.

At a time like this, Apple’s cautious approach means that that it remains cognizant of the impact that this technology could have on the mankind and that it aims to use to enrich and improve its products and services rather than offering this technology as a product.

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Tipster who goes by yeux1122 from the Korean social network website Naver said Apple is unlikely to use the LTPO-enhanced 120Hz ProMotion display on the regular iPhone 15 models. That is a bummer, especially for the potential buyers who have been waiting for a display upgrade on the vanilla iPhone models for two years now. The iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus, which might arrive in September, are, thus, more likely to stick to the regular 60Hz refresh rate. Even though the conventional 60Hz refresh rate on iPhone displays offers smoother animations than their Android counterparts, it is still no match for the level of smoothness of animations you see on ProMotion displays.

Apple’s ProMotion displays not only makes animations look smooth but also help give a high-end gaming experience. Last year, Apple introduced more differences between Pro and non-Pro models by upgrading the processor of just former iPhone models. So, besides the size, cameras, and display, the processor also became a differentiating factor between standard and Pro iPhone models. Apple is likely to continue with those differences for the upcoming iPhone 15 series. And this could be a deal-breaker, once again, for people enthusiastically waiting for the next iPhone.

Apple has a reputation for being slow to adopt certain industry trends, even though it is the pioneer of some. Unlike the notch — which became a butt of a joke and gave rise to several controversies, Apple has not entirely embraced high refresh rate displays on iPhones. Maybe that is because of technological complexity or the inability to meet Apple’s strict standards for its products. It may also be a part of Apple’s strategy. Limiting the features of standard iPhones will eventually, gradually push customers to go for the Pro models.

The existing Pro iPhone models offer the complete flagship experience. They have the best cameras, the fastest processors, and the best displays. Sure, they cost drastically more than the standard models, but considering the life of an iPhone, a few customers would not mind paying extra. Don’t take my word for it. Take a look at the numbers. Although the sales figures are not out, Display Supply Chain Consultants’ analysts last month cited supply chain data to mention the iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max cornered maximum shipments of display panels. The demand for the display panels for the iPhone 14 Plus was the least. The underwhelming demand for the Plus model is a story for another day, but for now, we have an idea that Apple has asked its supply partners to ramp up the production of display panels for the Pro models.

Whatever the reason may be, Apple is in no mood to give the standard iPhone models a massive facelift even this year. That is bad news.

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I do not see a reason why the Vivo Pad 2 should not come to India. The tablet market in India is not as diverse as the smartphone market. But thanks to Chinese companies, which recently began releasing their tablets in India, the options improved. So did the competition, resulting in tablets that offer better specifications at aggressive prices. A look at the Vivo Pad 2 specifications and you will know that it can easily suit the needs of creators, students, and even those users who need a tablet just for binge-watching.

Before I talk about why bringing the Vivo Pad 2 to India makes sense, let us get the specifications of the tablet out of our way.

The Vivo Pad 2 is available in two RAM configurations and three colours – Clear Sea Blue, Far Away Mountain Ash/Grey, and Nebula Purple. The tablet is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC, uses a Mali-G710 10-core GPU, and includes up to 12GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 storage. It feaures a 10,000mAh battery and runs on the OriginOS 3 which is based on Android 13.

Coming to display, the newly launched tablet comes with a 2.1-inch LCD screen with a 2.8K resolution (2800×1968 pixels) and a refresh rate of 144Hz. The screen offers a peak brightness of 600 nits and supports HDR10. In addition to this, the tablet can support a stylus and keyboard. On the camera front, the tablet has a circular camera module on the back with houses a 13MP primary sensor and a 2MP macro lens along with an LED flash unit. Furthermore, there is an 8MP selfie camera on the front.

Vivo’s sister brands Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme have already launched their tablets in India. However, Vivo has refrained from launching its tablet here, while in China, it has come up with a second version of its tablet. If it is some business strategy, then it is not good news for tablet customers in India, who, by the way, have a small assortment to choose their next tablet model from. The entry of the Vivo Pad 2 will give them more choices, especially in the premium market where Samsung solely dominates the Android market and Apple the overall market.

In China, Vivo Pad 2 is available at a starting price of CNY 2,499 which is approximately Rs 29,800. At around Rs 30,000, the Vivo Pad 2 can undercut Samsung’s top-end Galaxy Tab and the recent one from Lenovo. OnePlus is coming up with its first tablet for around Rs 40,000 in India later this month. Vivo’s tablet would undercut that, as well, and offer as many features. The bottom line is that the tablet market in India has seen a long stagnation and now that Chinese smartphone brands are bringing new tablets, there is no reason for them to restrict their availability to just China and not bring them to India. It’s a win-win for both brands and customers.

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“Inspired by the iconic Kaali Peeli taxi art unique to Mumbai, the Apple BKC creative includes colourful interpretations of the decals combined with many Apple products and services that will be available for our customers to discover,” the company said in a statement.

According to industry experts, Apple-owned flagship stores are a crucial pillar in Apple India’s playbook to win in a strategic growth market. The premium smartphone segment in India continues to be immune to macroeconomic pressures and has been growing in double digits. Offline retail continues to be key in a large, diverse market like India, where consumers love to touch, feel and explore the products.

“Apple would seek to replicate the famed Apple retail experience – including, overall consumer experience, staff knowledge and expertise, and service standards, amongst others – in India, and steer greater market growth in the years ahead. In the recent past, Apple has enjoyed an unprecedented growth momentum in India, including an increased share of domestic manufacturing, aggressive marketing and affordability initiatives, and the success of the Apple India Online store,” Prabhu Ram, Head- the Industry Intelligence Group at CMR told Techlusive.in.

As per according to Counterpoint Research, ‘Make in India’ shipments from Apple grew 65 percent (on-year) by volume and 162 percent by value, taking the brand’s value share to 25 percent in 2022, up from 12 percent in 2021, a new report has shown. The contribution of exports in ‘Make in India’ smartphone shipments reached the highest ever in 2022 both in volume (20 percent) and value terms (30 percent). Overall, ‘Make in India’ smartphone shipments declined 3 percent YoY in 2022 (January-December) to reach 188 million unitsThe major factor behind this decline was the softening of consumer demand due to macroeconomic headwinds, especially in the second half of the year.

“I think the branded stores will further strengthen the overall experience of being in an Apple ecosystem. Apple will be able to control the end-to-end user experience and this will further take its brand image to one level up. We have seen many stories worldwide of consumers sharing positive purchase experiences from Apple-branded stores and India will be no different. As per Counterpoint research city-level tracker- Mumbai contributed to 10 percent of the iPhone sales and the second largest for Apple ( After Delhi),” Tarun Pathak, Research Director, Devices and Ecosystems at Counterpoint Research mentioned.

Apple sold 2 million iPhones in India in the holiday quarter (Q4) of 2022, registering 18 percent growth (quarter-on-quarter) for its flagship device. The Indian market share of iPhones reached 5.5 percent for 2022, an 11 percent growth (year-on-year) and with the offline presence, the overall presence of Apple in India will go up.

“While Apple has taken time to open its store in India, it makes sense now more than ever. The Indian consumer is maturing and spending more, especially at the premium end which makes India the next big growth market in the next decade for Apple – across product and service categories,” said Navkendar Singh, Associate Vice President with IDC India.

Apple is also reportedly planning to pluck India out of the existing consolidation including Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India and make it a separate sales region to increase its focus on the South Asian country that has emerged as a top alternative to China. The surge in the iPhone demand in India has likely encouraged Apple to reshuffle its international sales operations to make India as prominent as China. In addition, the company is looking forward to expanding its offline presence too in the country.

“The smartphone industry is poised to see a new wave in retail for which brands are proactively preparing to show up their presence. At the same time, the Apple moment has arrived in India owing to its continuous growth momentum in the past few years. The Apple Mumbai store intersects these two trends indicating where the future is heading,” Faisal Kawoosa, founder and Chief Analyst at Techarc concluded.

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