Heena Sharma Blog

  From entry-level budget ones to premium, smart televisions now come at all price points. Irrespective of price-point, however, every smart television aims to offer better contrast, light control and vibrant colours. These parameters are important because they can truly elevate your home entertainment experience, be it while watching video, listening to music, and playing games. Business Standard lists five best smart televisions across market segments that deliver top-notch experience for their prices. Take a look: Sony A8H OLED The Sony Bravia A8H is among the best 4K smart TV that your money can buy. From exceptional picture quality to immersive sound experience, there is no parameter where the Sony Bravia A8H seems lacking. It boasts a plush design, OLED screen with support for most high dynamic range formats, actuators-based sound system, Android operating system with Play Store for TV for apps, and support for Amazon Alexa, Apple AirPlay and Apple HomeKit, besides Googl...

  Qualcomm Inc on Tuesday released its new top-tier smartphone chip aimed at premium-priced Android phones with features like sharper photos and graphics than handsets using chips from rivals. The San Diego, California-based company is the biggest supplier of the chips at the heart of many Android phones, competing against rivals such as Taiwan's MediaTek Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which uses Qualcomm chips in some of its phones but self-supplies chips for some models. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip released Tuesday will have similar computing cores to rivals like MediaTek, which this month announced a chip aimed at premium phones. But almost every other part of the chip are custom designed by Qualcomm, including those playing a role in the visual quality of photos and graphics-intensive apps like games. Alex Katouzian, senior vice president and general manager of mobile, compute and infrastructure for Qualcomm, said the company has been crafting software that will l...

  Xiaomi needs to be credited for popularising low-cost wearables in the mass market. The first Xiaomi band priced under Rs 1,000 attracted a fair number of users in India. However, the market has changed. Fitness bands have given way to watches that are also replacing traditional timepieces. Apple’s revolution is becoming familiar at lower rungs, with players like Realme, boAt and Amazfit.   Realme earlier launched its Watch and Watch S versions and followed them up with second iterations. Now it has launched a pro version of the Realme Watch 2 . The screen size has increased, and battery life has got a bump. And Realme is also trying to improve its tracking features. All of these under Rs 5,000. Design There is not much to complain about design. Most other companies have either copied the Apple or Samsung model. The rectangle or the square can vary from one manufacturer to another. For the new Realme offering, an improvement is in screen size. The bezels are not as ...

  Realme is set to launch in India its performance-centric Realme GT 5G series smartphones on Wednesday at 12:30 pm. Alongside, the Chinese electronics maker will debut the Realme Book Slim series laptops, expanding its product portfolio in India beyond smartphones, wearables, televisions and internet of things devices. Both the Realme GT 5G series smartphones and Realme Book Slim will be launched through a virtual event, which will livestream on company’s social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook. Alternatively, you can watch the Realme GT 5G series and Realme Book Slim launch at the video feed embedded below. As for the product details, the Realme GT 5G series will include two models – Realme GT 5G and Realme GT Master Edition 5G. The Realme GT Master Edition 5G will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor. It will boast features like 65W SuperDart Charge and 120Hz Super AMOLED screen. For thermals, the phone will use ‘Stainless Steel Vapor Cool...

  The market is flooded with low-cost Bluetooth earphones with collar bands these days. Such is their appeal that Realme had to go ahead and launch an ultra-low-cost brand, Dizo, so as not to miss out on the opportunity. With this new brand launch, Realme also upgraded its wireless earbuds. When the phone manufacturer launched its first iteration of buds, there were only a few competitors in the space. The stylish design and battery life ensured that Realme stayed ahead of the competition. The company’s new offering seems to build on the previous gains. Design One thing that Realme had going in its favour with the first earphones was design. It had made the buds lightweight and attractive. While the company has kept to the colour aspect, the design element has been revised. Personally, the earphones have been made to look bulkier. Even though they are still lightweight and ergonomically better than the previous model, the bulky design makes them stand out, and not in a good ma...

  From neckband-style earphones to true wireless earbuds, Realme is one smartphone brand that has significantly expanded its audio range despite being new to the segment. Importantly, the Chinese brand has been consistently democratising premium features like active noise cancellation in its inexpensive offerings. Fresh in its line-up is the Realme Buds Q2 , priced at Rs 2,499. These true wireless earbuds seem to be undersell for someone to experience active noise cancellation (ANC) for the first time without actually having to pay much. But how does the product fare in real-life scenarios? Let’s find out: Design The Realme Buds Q2 come in active black and calm grey colour themes. Made of plastic, the active black (review unit) colour model has a matte finish with glossy film on the touch area that reflects blue hues. The earbuds are IPX5-rated for protection against water ingress. As for the earbuds’ charging case, it is a pill-shaped unit with a matte black finish. It is cu...

  The Realme X7 Max 5G and Realme Smart TV 4K go on sale on Friday at 12 pm on Realme online store, Flipkart and other mainline channels. Launched on May 31 in India, the Realme X7 Max is the first smartphone in the country powered by MediaTek Dimensity 1200 system-on-chip. It is a flagship grade smartphone with super AMOLED screen of 120Hz refresh rate, stereo speakers with Hi-Res audio and Dolby Atmos support, 64-megapixel based triple camera array on the back, and 50W fast-charging capability. The Realme Smart TV 4K, on the other hand, boasts UHD screen with support for Dolby Vision and HDR10 content, DTS surround sound and Dolby Audio, and hands-free voice assistant through built-in far-field microphones. The Realme X7 Max will be available in mercury silver, asteroid black and milky way colours. It will be available in 8GB/128GB and 12GB/256GB configuration, priced at Rs 26,999 and Rs 29,999, respectively. The Realme Smart TV 4K comes in 43-inch and 50-inch screen sizes ...

  Realme C20 , Realme C21, and Realme C25 will make their India debut on Thursday. They are all budget phones. The brand has been trying to expand its portfolio in India, recently launching the Realme 8 series smartphones. A virtual live event has been scheduled for the launch through the company’s social media accounts. The three smartphones are already available in other parts of the world. While Realme C20 made its debut in Vietnam in January, Realme C21 and Realme C25 were unveiled in March in Malaysia and Indonesia. The India launch event for Realme C20, Realme C21, Realme C25 will start at 12:30pm IST and the smartphones will be available on Flipkart. Realme C20 specifications The Realme C20 smartphone comes with a 6.5-inch HD+ (720x1600 pixels) IPS display. It’s a dual sim (nano) smartphone and it runs on Realme UI which is based on Android 10. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G35 SoC which is supported by 2GB of RAM. It has an internal stor...

  Smartphone maker Realme on Wednesday said it expects to get 10-15 per cent share in the 4G handsets segment priced in the range of Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000 a unit with the launch of new 8 series devices. The company will have all devices above Rs 20,000 price range enabled with 5G technology. "With the launch of realme 8 series , we are aiming to penetrate deeper into the Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 mid-range 4G market, and capture the young users across the country. "We plan to increase our market share in this segment to 10-15 per cent with the launch of the 8 series," Realme Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer (India and Europe) Madhav Seth said on sidelines of launching the new series. The company unveiled two new models, Realme 8 Pro, first smartphone with 108 megapixel ultra-quad camera and Realme 8 with 64 MP AI quad camera. Read More

  Realme is one of the smartphone brands that regularly upgrade their product lines. But the changes in new devices are often incremental in nature. One such Realme smartphone upgrade is the recently launched Realme Narzo 30 Pro . Among the smartphone’s noticeable upgrades are the 5G network support, a screen of 120Hz refresh rate and Dimensity 800U mobile processor. Other than these upgrades, there is barely anything new worth mentioning. Moreover, you will be surprised to notice that industry-leading 65W fast-charge technology, which was part of the Narzo 20 Pro, has been replaced by a 30W fast-charge technology. So how do these changes affect the Realme Narzo 30 Pro experience? Let’s find out: Design The Realme Narzo 30 Pro looks similar to its predecessor, except that its rear-camera module has a smaller footprint. Starting with the back profile, the smartphone has a minimal design with a smooth frosted glass-like finish on the back cover. Though the build quality is top-...

  Active noise cancellation (ANC) is one premium feature still scarcely available in true wireless earbuds, especially in the budget segment. That said, there are no other earbuds better at present than the recently launched Realme Buds Air 2 to experience the ANC for the first time without actually having to pay much for it. Fourth in the Realme’s Bud Air series, the Buds Air 2 is a completely reworked model with a fresh design, improved acoustics, and ANC among its core features. Starting with the design, the earbuds come in two colour options – black & blue and silver & white – with a dual-tone accent for novelty. These in-ear earbuds have a stem-based design with earbuds donning a white glossy finish and silver theme on the stems (review unit – silver & white). With each earbud weighing about 4.1g, the Buds Air 2 is comfortable for extended usage. As for the earbuds’ charging case, it is a pebble shaped unit with a glossy white finish. It looks similar to the O...

  Realme is going to unveil its latest 5G smartphone, Realme GT 5G , on Thursday. The model will be launched in China and later in India too. While Realme is yet to confirm dates for India launch, thanks to promotional teasers and leaks, we already know some of the features of the phone. Keep reading to find out more about the upcoming smartphone Specifications According to reports, Realme is working on a MediaTek version which will be part of its “Dual Platform-Dual Flagship” strategy. The smartphone will be equipped with Super AMOLED display and a 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is likely to have Ford GT inspired design and will be a mix of black and yellow colours with dual tone vegan leather design, according to reports. It might get a punch-hole display design and feature a single cut out for a selfie camera. Realme GT 5G will have Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 processor. The processor is based on a 5nm process. The same processor is also expected to power One...

  Realme on Wednesday launched in India the Narzo 30 Pro and Narzo 30A smartphones, and Buds Air 2 wireless earbuds. The Realme Narzo 30 Pro is the Chinese smartphone maker’s cheapest 5G offering that also happens to be the most affordable 5G smartphone in Indian smartphone market to date. The Realme Narzo 30A, on the other hand, is a 4G LTE smartphone. Both the smartphones are touted by the company as gaming-centric smartphones. Speaking of the Realme Buds Air 2, they are affordable pair of true wireless stereo earbuds with active noise cancelling feature. Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G: Price and specifications The smartphone sports a 6.5-inch IPS LCD screen of fullHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate. The screen is stretched in 20:9 aspect ratio for a touted screen-to-body ratio of 90.5 per cent. The screen is rated to have 600 nits of peak brightness. Powering the smartphone is the MediaTek Dimensity 800U system-on-chip, paired with up to 8GB RAM (LPDD...

  If early smartphone market trends are anything to go by, 2021 is going to be the year of 5G smartphones. In the midrange segment, Xiaomi and OPPO have already taken the early lead with the launch of the Mi 10i 5G (review) and the Reno 5 Pro 5G (review), respectively. Next in line is another Chinese smartphone brand, Realme, which has recently launched not one but two 5G smartphones under its X-series line-up. Named the Realme X7 and Realme X7 Pro , the former is price-wise more accessible and the latter a premium-midrange smartphone. Business Standard took the Realme X7 Pro out for a spin to test the phone’s performance in real-life scenarios. Here is how it fared on key parameters: Design The Realme X7 Pro looks similar to the Realme 7 Pro (review) in more ways than one. But it has new colour themes, including a special edition (review unit) named ‘Fantasy’ with ‘Dare to Leap’ subtly engraved on its reflective back cover. If not up to your liking, you can ditch the Fantas...

  Realme is set to launch in India the Realme X7 Pro and Realme X7 smartphones in its X series lineup. The virtual launch event will start at 12:30 pm on Thursday at 12:30 pm, and the event will livestream on Chinese smartphone maker’s official YouTube channel and social media accounts. Launched in China last year in September, the smartphones will be powered by MediaTek mobile platforms with 5G network support. Realme X7 series launch event livestream Part of the Realme X7 series, the Realme X7 Pro and Realme X7 will be launched on February 4 at 12:30 pm. The launch will livestream on company’s India YouTube channel. Live updates from the launch will also be available on the Realme India’s social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, etc. You can also watch the Realme X7 series launch event livestream through the video embedded below. Realme X7 Pro: Expected specifications The Realme X7 Pro will sport a super AMOLED screen of 120Hz refresh rate. It will be powered by Me...

  Realme on Monday announced that it has scored the seventh position in the global smartphone market. According to market research firm Counterpoint's global smartphone report for the fourth quarter in 2020, Realme, which grew at 65 per cent Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) and shipped 42 million smartphones last year, was the fastest-growing smartphone brand globally in 2020. "At realme, we follow our philosophy dare to leap into the forefront of innovation, design and product value, which is something that young people can resonate," Madhav Sheth, Vice President, Realme and CEO, Realme India and Europe, said in a statement. The smartphone brand is also set to launch two new devices -- Realme X7 and Realme X7 Pro -- in India in the first week of February. Industry sources told IANS that Realme X7 and X7 Pro will be powered by MediaTek octacore Dimensity 800U processors and support 5G connectivity. While X7 Pro features the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ SoC, the Realme X7 will ...

  Smartphone maker Realme on Friday announced that it has started rolling out the update for UI 2.0 for its 5G flagship Realme X50 Pro 5G. According to the company, based on Android 11, the Realme UI 2.0 is one of the most customisable and seamless OS in the market, created for a highly personalized UI experience for the Gen Z user.   "Realme has worked closely with Google and was one of the first phone manufacturers to provide Android 11 to its users after Google officially released it in September," the company said in a statement. With the Realme UI 2.0, customers can choose notification bar colours, shortcut buttons, settings for interface icons, and other 23 interfaces. Realme UI 2.0 also offers exciting features that enhance social media experiences. Read More

  Aiming to sell 30 lakh Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) in the festive Q4 quarter, Realme on Friday said that 2021 will see the company further cement its position as the leading tech-lifestyle brand beyond just smartphones. The company has already sold over 20 lakh AIoT products in the ongoing October-December quarter, among which more than 190,000 are Smart TVs. "We aim to launch more than 100 new AIoT and lifestyle products in 2021 with a comprehensive AIoT range like trimmer, smart bulb, etc so that customers can get all that they need for a smart, connected lifestyle," Madhav Sheth, Vice President, Realme and CEO, Realme India & Europe, told IANS. "Our fans will see a versatile, and really exciting AIoT product portfolio in the upcoming months. We are still working on the 2021 AIOT strategy, roadmap and general target. The ambition is big and we will announce more on it soon," Sheth elaborated. Read More

  Realme on Thursday announced Black Friday sale offers on its smartphones and AIoT products. Starting from November 27 at 12 noon, the sale will continue for 24 hours on Realme online portal, Flipkart and Amazon. In the sale, the Chinese electronics maker is offering discounts on products, besides bank offers and no interest equated monthly instalment option on purchases. Here are the Realme Black Friday sale details: Smartphones In the Black Friday sale, Realme is offering discounts worth Rs 1000 on the Realme C3, Realme 6, Realme 6i and Narzo 20. The company’s midrange smartphones the Realme X3 and Realme X3 SuperZoom get Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 discount, respectively. The Realme X50 Pro gets a discount of Rs 7,000 in the sale. These discounts are available on Realme online portal. Audio In the audio products, Realme is offering its Buds Air Neo earphone at a discounted price of Rs 1,999, the Realme Buds Wireless Pro at Rs 3,199 and the Realme Buds Air Pro at Rs 4,299....

  Chinese electronics maker Realme recently expanded its smart TV portfolio in India with the launch of the Realme Smart TV SLED 4K, a 55-inch model with a new breed of display technology (SLED) for improved viewing experience. Said to be better than conventional LED TVs, the Realme Smart TV SLED 4K promises enhanced contrast ratio, deep blacks, and a wide colour gamut. But is SLED a real breakthrough in display technology or just another marketing gimmick? Let’s find out: Design The Realme Smart TV SLED 4K is a well-built television for its size – it neither has thick bezels around the screen nor does it protrude too much on the back. Its slim profile makes it convenient to mount on the wall. However, it is best for a table-top set-up as ports on the back are difficult to access in a wall-mount set-up. The TV comes with a premium-looking metal-made side legs for a table-top set-up. Unfortunately, the legs fit on extreme ends and require a wide table for setting up. A centre...