Chinese brands continue to set notable records in Indian smartphone market, Xiaomi topped with 28%

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In the second quarter (Q2) 2019, Chinese phone makers have set another record in the Indian smartphone market by shipping 37 million units which are larger than the previous shipments, Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service revealed yesterday.

Since the growth was based on new launches, price cuts on older devices and offline channel expansion across brands, Samsung's shipments declined by 7 percent year-over-year (YOY) due to not-launching new handsets compared to other smartphone makers. Samsung's shipment, however, remained growing due to the latest price cuts and the popularity of its A-series and M-series phones.

Xiaomi topped with 28% market share and grew to 6% over the previous year. Xiaomi's marketing strategy was primarily driven by portfolio expansion in the budget segment and expansion of the offline market. It also increased investment in the ATL/BTL campaigns and resulted in an increase in market share.

BBK Group-owned subsidiaries Oppo, Vivo, Realme and OnePlus grew 30% in the second quarter, becoming a leading smartphone maker in India with its combined share. Due to the popularity of Realme C2 phone and various discount offers, this device has been shown to reach 8 million smartphone shipments in the Indian market. The handset remained one of the best choices among the Indian consumers, the report reveals.

Huawei's trading ban seem to be affecting its market share in India, but the company succeeded in rising in the top 10 smartphone brand category, the reports read.

Brands focused on online as well as offline stores have set a noteworthy record. This indicates that offline channels play an important role in smartphone market share. As long as we understand, most people tend to buy new phones via offline stores. I the editor of PhoneSpeck live in a village. My 60% of neighbors choose to buy products via offline channels.

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Microsoft suffers a technical error, released internal Windows build with a new Start menu

Image credit: @NTAuthority / Twitter

Microsoft's previous technical error, which occurred in 2017 caused some devices to enter the restart loop, and now, the mistake, different from the previous one has been repeated once again by accidentally releasing an internal-only version of Windows 10 build 18947 to Windows Insider testers.

The mistakenly-released version is said to be designed for internal Xbox development, but the company revealed it externally to all Windows 10 testers using 32-bit devices. However, shortly after the error was identified, the software giant provided step-by-step instructions for affected users to switch the system back to the previous operating system.

According to the screenshots shared by a twitter user @NTAuthority, the unexpectedly released build appears to have a redesigned Start menu that looks similar to Windows Lite. the lite build has been in Microsoft testing mode for a long time and is still in development.

The 18947-build that also a GIF search tool was rolled out in preview, fast ring, and slow ring testing, however, it has been halted and is currently no longer available.

In a conversation with The Verge, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that it was not less than a technical error which caused the 32-bit-based systems to receive Internal-Only Windows 10 Build.

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Lenovo K11 specs leaked, confirmed to come with 6.2" display, 4GB RAM

Lenovo has launched a sequence of smartphones belonging to the K-series, and now, China's smartphone manufacturer is constantly striving to launch another k-series handset Lenovo K11, which is said to be the company's an entry-level handset.

The device has been spotted in the Android Enterprise Directory as well as at Carrefour UAE. Both sites have revealed the specifications and features of the phone. However, UAE's Carrefour knows more about the technical details, while Android Enterprise shows the display size, RAM and operating system in a nutshell.

Lenovo K11 will be featuring 6.2-inches display. The device in the talk will have 4GB RAM + 32GB onboard storage. The power capacity revealed by the Carrefour UAE is a non-removable 3,300mAh battery and is likely to come with a tighter design and waterproofing feature.

MediaTek Helio P22 chipset will power the Lenovo K11 and is confirmed to run on Android 9 Pie operating system. Apart from this, the device sports a 12-megapixel sensor with autofocus features.

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Samsung Galaxy S10 series receiving a new software update with July Android security patch

Samsung is rolling out a new software update for its s10 series phones over-the-air. The update bearing version number G973FXXU3ASG8/*FXXU3ASG8 has been reportedly released for Samsung Galaxy S10, Samsung Galaxy S10+, and Samsung Galaxy S10e devices.

The new firmware update is being rolled out for some regions at the moment, and other regions are expected to receive the said update once a broader rollout will occur. The latest firmware update not only brings improvements to the camera, bluetooth and Wi-Fi but it also includes the Android security patch level to July 1.

The said firmware weights more than 388MB in size and is currently available to Swiss and German customers. India, Pakistan, Australia, Canada, and other countries will receive the new software update in the next few days.

Meanwhile, if users want to manually install the firmware on their s10 series smartphone, they need to go to the phone settings and then access the software update to check for available updates. If their phone returns "No updates available", their phones will receive it soon once listed for *3FXXU3ASG8.

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Vivo Z5 specs teased via Weibo, confirmed to come with Snapdragon 712 SoC & 48MP camera

Vivo, a BBK-owned brand, has recently launched a new phone Vivo Z1 Pro in India. Since then, the company announced another phone Vivo S1 for the Indian market, but it was not the end of Z-series devices. The brand's new smartphone Vivo Z5 appeared on Chinese microblogging website Weibo that has confirmed the Z5's specifications.

The upcoming device Vivo Z5 is officially a new phone launching under the z-family which will be featuring a triple camera setup consisting of 48MP + 8MP + 2MP sensors and a 32MP selfie camera on the front. The device comes with a 6.38-inches AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, and 404 PPI will be the display density. It has a bezel-less display with waterdrop notch.

As seen on other smartphones, the Z5 is confirmed to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 mobile platform and runs on the Android pie operating system, paired with 6GB/64GB expandable storage up to 256GB. The phone's battery power capacity of 4,500mAh is designed with a non-removable lithium-ion battery that will be supporting for 22.5W fast charging.

Vivo Z5 is likely to arrive in Black and Aurora Blue color options, however, there is no confirmation of the market-based colors. For instance, the phone will be launched in China with Black and Aurora Blue colors, but for the Indian market, it is still a mystery for us.

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Samsung Galaxy Fold issues fixed, now confirmed to be released in September this year

The Samsung Galaxy Fold was originally announced February 20, 2019, but the device was delayed for several months due to a defect found in its screen. Now, the South Korean smartphone maker Samsung has confirmed that its first foldable phone is getting ready to enter the selected markets in September 2019.

The Galaxy Fold's display failure reported in April led the company to delay its foldable phone. But at that time, Samsung cautioned that the "special protection layer" should not be removed to make the phone work without a problem. The Galaxy Fold is Samsung's first phone that has been under development for a long time since its initial release.

According to a report published on Samsung Newsroom, the improved version of this smartphone will be coming with many hardware improvements and additional features added during the development period. Apart from this, the device is now optimized for overall user experience i.e., foldable UX.

The company said in a statement that new protection caps added to the top and bottom of the hinge area will be strengthening the foldable hardware elements. Furthermore, metal layers added underneath the Infinity flex display have also been included as a screen protection feature. Not only the metal layer, but the space between the hinge and body of Galaxy Fold has been reduced, the statement reads.

The new (improved phones) will only be launched in certain markets, and the remaining markets are said to hit by Galaxy fold in the next coming weeks. The United States, Korea, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and India will be the first countries where Galaxy Fold can be purchased from September.

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Huawei Y9 Prime (2019) launch date teased, arriving in India on August 1

Huawei Y9 Prime (2019) has been confirmed to arrive in the Indian market next month on August 1. The very recent Amazon page dedicated to Huawei Y9 Prime smartphone has revealed the launch date of this phone.

The Chinese smartphone maker Huawei is bringing this phone to the country as the superior model of previously launched phone Huawei Y9 (2019), which received a price cut of Rs. 3,000 in June. Previously released mobile has attracted a lot of Indian customers, but the company is making it's Y-series mobile phones more catchy by launching another prime model from the said series.

Huawei Y9 Prime 2019 handset features 6.59-inches Full View display and has a fingerprint scanner on its back instead of the on-screen positioned scanner. It comes with a pop-up selfie camera with an image sensor of 16-megapixel. A 16MP (wide), 8MP (ultra wide) and a 2MP depth sensor are the main cameras used on the phone.

The Y9 2019 smartphone is equipped with a 4,000mAh lithium polymer battery which is non-replaceable like other phones available in the market. Runs on Android pie operating system licensed earlier before getting revoked, it is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 710 chipset and Mali-G51 MP4 graphics processor.

It comes with a 4GB / 64GB storage option that can be extended via a microSD card up to 512GB. There is no confirmation of the price set for Huawei Y9 Prime 2019, however, it is expected that it will be launched at INR19,500 - INR19,990 exclusively via Amazon India.

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