Technology companies such as Xiaomi, Samsung, Sony, HP, Signify, and Vivo among others, launched new smartphones, laptops, projectors, smart TVs, air purifiers, speakers, and more this week (August 9-15).
DH's Gadgets Weekly edition lists the latest prominent personal technology products to keep you abreast of everything that's happening in the world of consumer electronics.
Samsung 'The Premiere’ 4K Ultra Short Throw Laser Projector
It comes in an all-in-one compact, space-saving design. Samsung says that it blends perfectly into a variety of settings and arrangements in any living space.
As it is an ultra-short-throw projector, The Premiere can be placed on a coffee table or chest of drawers at just a fist-sized distance (11.3 cm) away from the wall to project a high-quality screen of up to 130-inch.
It boasts a minimalist white design, rounded edges, and an aesthetically pleasing fabric finish. It doesn't come with a complex installation procedure. It will be made available in 130-inch and 120-inch screen size models – LSP9T and LSP7T.
The LSP9T variant is touted to be the world’s first HDR10+ certified projector with triple laser technology. It promises to deliver revolutionary contrast details and offer a peak brightness of up to 2,800 ANSI lumens (a unit defined by the American National Standards Institute that measures the overall amount of light output by a projector) that ensures bright and clear pictures even in the daytime.
Both the models support Filmmaker Mode, the first of its kind for a projector. It allows users to enjoy watching movies as the director intended. The smart projector comes equipped with Samsung’s Smart TV platform and experience full of streaming video apps from major content partners such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, etc., and mobile connectivity features such as Tap View and Mirroring. Consumers can also enjoy an immersive, vivid gaming experience on a screen size of up to 130-inch with the Game Mode.
As far as the sound is concerned, they come with built-in woofers and Acoustic Beam surround sound, which reduces the need for additional bigger sound equipment in tighter spaces.
The Premiere’s Acoustic Beam technology delivers up to 40W and 4.2 channel sound for the LSP9T and an output of 30W and 2.2 channel experience for the LSP7T. This means that consumers do not need any additional sound device as the sound is in-built into the projector and the living space becomes a theatre or auditorium.
The LSP9T model of The Premiere is available at Rs 6,29,900 while the LSP7T is available at Rs 3,89,900 at Samsung’s official online store, Samsung Shop, and at select Samsung Smart Plazas.
Sony BRAVIA XR-77A80J and KD-85X85J series
The new BRAVIA XR-77A80J sports a minimalistic slate design and the KD-85X85J feature a flush design so that the large screen TVs seamlessly blend with your living room
The BRAVIA XR-77A80J OLED and KD-85X85J come with Cognitive Processor XR and X1 4K HDR picture processors respectively and promises to deliver an exceptional viewing experience.
They come loaded with supreme gaming capabilities such as HDMI 2.1, 4K120, ALLM & VRR.
Sony's new TVs support Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced along with Ambient optimization and Acoustic auto calibration technology.
The new XR-77A80J and KD-85X85J also boast XR TRILUMINOS Pro and TRILUMINOS Pro respectively with a 3D colour algorithms reproducing true-to-life colours.
Both large screen TVs support smart home entertainment package with Google TV, Apple AirPlay 2, HomeKit, and Hands-Free voice search (only in 77A80J)
The large screen size coupled with 3D Surround Sound in XR-77A80J OLED and X-Balance Speaker in KD-85X85J provide an unmatched immersive sound experience in any environment
The new XR-77A80J costs Rs 5,49,990 and will be available from August 25 onwards. Whereas the KD-85X85J is already available for Rs 4,99,990. For a limited time, the company is offering Rs 20,000 discount on both TVs for customers who purchase using partner bank cards at authorised retail stores.
HP Envy 15, 14 series laptops
HP Envy 14 series features a 14-inch display, 11th Gen Intel Core processors, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q graphics, IR thermal sensor, thin-blade fans, and heat pipes to keep the PC cool throughout the day. It promises to deliver 16.5 hours of battery life and features an adaptive battery optimizer to protect battery health.
As far as the connectivity is concerned, users can attach up to three external displays, and transfer huge files in a snap with Thunderbolt 4 with USBC offering up to 4x the throughput with a 40Gbps signaling rate.
It supports HP QuickDrop to transfer photos, videos, documents, and more, wirelessly between PC and mobile devices.
It features HP dual speakers and audio by Bang & Olufsen, providing users with the power to produce high-quality content. It also comes equipped with AI Noise Removal to block out background noise so users can record videos, conduct meetings, and calls, or host virtual events hassle-free. Its price starts at Rs 1, 04,999.
On the other hand, HP Envy 15 comes with a 15.6-inch display, 11th Gen Intel Core processors, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (MQ). It also offers gaming-class thermals to power through intensive workloads. The HP ENVY Portfolio is equipped with optimum power up to 16.5 hours of battery life and is optimized with creative software programs and tools typically used by creators including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Lightroom, and more. The Portfolio also facilitates collaboration by offering HP QuickDrop to transfer photos, videos, documents, and more, wirelessly between PC and mobile devices. Its price starts at Rs 1, 54,999.
Must read | Everything you need to know about HP's two new Envy laptops
Sony X-series range of speakers
The new X-Series range of the speakers is designed to provide a powerful and wide-spread sound to compliment any genre of music. They come with innovative X-Balanced speaker units with Mega Bass and Live Sound Mode for an enhanced music experience.
Also, they support Music Center and Fiestable mobiles. Users can utilise them for Karaoke and as a Guitar Amplifier. They promise to offer close to 30 hours of playtime.
Furthermore, Sony speakers come with Waterproof and Dustproof features with IP66 and IPX4 ratings. The new SRS-XP500 speaker costs Rs 26,990, whereas the SRS-XP700 speaker and the SRS-XG500 Speakers are priced Rs 32,990.
Signify EcoLink Air Purifier with UV-C technology
The new air purifier is designed to purify and disinfect air at the same time and is equipped with a HEPA filter and UV-C lamps.
The HEPA filters help purify the air by removing dust, pollen, and other particulate matter, and the UV-C technology helps to inactivate airborne pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2.
It works in a two-step process, wherein the air first passes through an H12 HEPA filter, that filters out dust, allergens, spores, pollen, pet dander, and other particulate matter. Next, the hi-powered UV-C lamps inside the chamber emit UV-C radiation, inactivating all known bacteria, viruses, and other microbes giving out pure and healthy air. The UV-C lamps are placed inside the HEPA drum which in turn also helps to inactivate microbes and pathogens that may be trapped in the filter itself.
The smaller model is good enough for a 100 sq ft room size and costs Rs 24,999. There is another variant for cleaning the air of a 400 sq ft room size priced at Rs 39,999 and the one for bigger places of up to 600 sq ft will be available for Rs 59,999.
Vivo Y53s
The new Vivo Y53s comes with a 6.58-inch full HD+(2408×1080p) LCD screen, side-mounted fingerprint sensor, three dedicated slots (nano SIM-1 + nano SIM-2 + microSD card), a 12nm class MediaTek Helio G80 oct-a-core processor, 950MHz ARM Mali-G52 2EEMC2 GPU, 8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128GB storage (1TB with microSD), Android 11-based FunTouch OS 11.1 and a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging.
As far as the photography hardware is concerned, it comes with a triple camera module--main 64MP(f/1.79) + 2MP depth sensor + 2MP (f/2.4) macro sensor with LED flash on the back. It features a 16MP (f/2.0) snapper on the front. It costs Rs 19,490.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3, Flip3, Galaxy Watch 4, and Buds2
Both the new Galaxy Z Fold3 and Flip3 come with a more refined design, big upgrades such as Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 silicon, improved camera hardware, and most important more durable than ever before. Also, for the first time ever, they come with IPX8 water-resistant rating.
Also, the Galaxy Watch 4 too, comes with big enhancements in terms of processor (Exynos W920) and better display.
It boasts 5 ATM, IP68, and MIL-STD-810G military-grade durability standard ratings. It will come in Steel and Aluminium case options. It also comes with come with Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Heart Rate + Electrical Heart + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, and Light Sensor.
The key aspect of the new Galaxy Watch 4 is the BIA sensor. It can measure skeletal muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, body water, and fat percentage of the body.
Also, it is the world's first smart wearable to run advanced Wear OS, developed jointly by Google and Samsung engineers. It will have several key features of Tizen OS seen in previous generation Samsung smart wearables.
The new Wear OS is said to offer a simple but effective user interface and better optimization with hardware to deliver smooth performance and long battery life.
On the other hand, the Galaxy Buds2 is designed for a comfortable fit made to be worn all day and promises to provide premium sound quality.
It comes with dynamic two-way speakers (with Woofer + Tweeter driver units) to deliver crisp, clear high notes and deep bass, while Active Noise Cancellation helps block out unwanted noise. Users can also simply tune back in with three adjustable ambient sound levels.
Must read | Price, key specifications, and availability details of the new Samsung products launched at Galaxy Unpacked August 2021 event
Xiaomi Mi Mix 4
The new Mi Mix 4 is the company's first-ever device to boast an under-display camera. The new-age design makes the camera hidden behind a fully functional display and yet take brilliant pictures.
Thanks to this technological feat, Mi Mix 4 phone's front panel has a fully functional display with no obstruction to watch content in full view. Also, the bezel around the edges now is slim and uniform on all sides.
"While the camera is virtually invisible to the eye, Xiaomi MIX 4 combines its hardware and software capabilities to ensure the resulting photographs and videos captured using the front camera retain true colors and details. This is done through Xiaomi’s CUP technology, which minimizes light diffraction through a special circuit design, as well as a new transparent curved wiring Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) material coupled with imaging algorithms," the company said.
Nokia C20 Plus
It features 6.5-inch HD+ (1600×720p) LCD display with a V-notch design. It comes with dedicated three slots of two nano SIMs and one microSD card.
Inside, it houses a 1.6GHz Octa-Core Unisoc SC9863A chipset with IMG8322 GPU, 2GB / 3GB RAM, 32GB (eMMC 5.1) storage (expandable up to 256GB), and a 4,950mAh battery, which is more than enough for the phone to last up to two days under normal usage.
Also, it runs Google's pure Android 11 Go Edition and is guaranteed to get a minimum of two years of security updates to thwart cyber threats in near future.
As far as the photography hardware is concerned, it comes with a dual-camera module-- the main 8MP with a 2MP depth sensor and LED flash on the back. It features a 5MP front-facing camera. Its price starts at Rs 8,999.
Must read | Everything you need to know about Nokia C20 Plus