Gadgets Weekly: Apple iPhone SE (3rd Gen), MarQ ACs and more
Technology companies such as Apple, Garmin, Redmi, Samsung, and Tecno, among others launched a new line of smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and more this week (March 7-13).
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.
Apple iPhone SE (3rd Gen)
It features a 4.7-inch Retina HD screen and the trademark home button, which also doubles up as the TouchID fingerprint sensor, IP67 rating, new 12MP (ƒ/1.8) Wide camera on the back and it promises to offer good computational photography benefits, including Smart HDR 4, Photographic Styles, Deep Fusion, Portrait mode, 7MP FaceTime camera, and A15 Bionic, the same chipset we see the ultra-premium iPhone 13 series mobiles.
More new features coming in the device are-- support for 5G and a bigger cell capacity for longer battery life. Its price starts at Rs 43,900.
Apple also unveiled brand new Alpine Green iPhone 13 series. All four devices— iPhone 13, 13 Pro, 13 mini and 13 Pro Max— with new nature-inspired colour will be coming to the stores near you on March 18. The prices start at Rs 69,900.
Apple iPad Air (5th Gen)
The new Pad Air features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with full lamination and an anti-reflective screen coating.
Inside, it comes with a powerful PC-grade M1 silicon. It comes with the 8-core CPU, promising to deliver up to 60 percent faster performance, and the 8-core GPU delivers up to 2x faster graphics performance compared to the previous iteration.
Combined with the CPU and GPU, a 16-core Neural Engine will boost the advanced machine learning (ML) functions on the iPad Air.
Also, it features the new Ultra-Wide 12MP front camera. It supports the Center Stage feature that can automatically pan to keep users in view as they move around. On the back, it houses 12MP Wide camera that can support up to 4K video recording, and be used to scan documents and play AR games and apps. It also supports multiple 5G bands. The device's price starts at Rs 54,900.
Read more | Everything you need to know about iPad Air (5th Gen)
Apple Studio Display, Mac Studio
The new Mac Studio looks like a beefed-up version of the Mac mini M1. It measures 7.7-inches wide and 3.7-inches tall. Inside, it features an innovative thermal design that enables the device to perform at peak speed without any fuss. It comes with a unique system of double-sided blowers, precisely placed airflow channels, and over 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom of the enclosure guide air through the internal components and help cool the high-performance chips.
It is powered by M1 Ultra, the latest and most powerful Apple silicon to date. The chipset features all-new UltraFusion architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips, creating a system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities, and consisting of 114 billion transistors, the most ever in a personal computer chip. Apple also offers a second option with-- M1 Max chipset.
Mac Studio comes with multiple ports— four Thunderbolt 4 ports to connect displays and high-performance devices, a 10Gb Ethernet port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a pro audio jack for high-impedance headphones or external amplified speakers. It also supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 as well.
Also, Apple has incorporated two USB-C ports, which on M1 Max supports 10Gb/s USB 3, and on M1 Ultra supports 40Gb/s Thunderbolt 4 on the front.
Apple also unveiled an all-new Studio Display. It sports a 27-inch 5K Retina screen with more than 14.7 million pixels. It offers a peak brightness of 600 nits, a P3 wide colour, and support for over one billion colours.
It also comes with the True Tone technology that can automatically adjust the display’s colour temperature as the environment changes for a more natural viewing experience. It comes with an anti-reflective coating that will help greatly reduce the reflection issue on the screen particularly while reading content on the screen. And for workspaces with bright light sources, including sunlight, Apple says that the Studio Display comes with an innovative nano-texture glass option. Nano-texture glass, first introduced on Pro Display XDR, scatters light to further minimise glare while delivering outstanding image quality.
Also, it features a slim-bezel screen with an all-aluminum enclosure. It has a built-in stand that allows the user to tilt the display up to 30 degrees. To meet the needs of a variety of workspaces, Studio Display also offers a tilt- and height-adjustable stand option with a counterbalancing arm that makes the display feel weightless as it is adjusted. A VESA mount adapter option is also available and supports landscape or portrait orientation for even more flexibility.
Inside, Apple has used an A13 Bionic chip for the smooth operation of the camera and audio system. It features a 12MP Ultra-Wide camera with Center Stage, a feature that automatically keeps users centered in the frame as they move around for even more engaging video calls.
The new Mac Studio price starts at Rs 1,89, 900 for customers and Rs 1,70, 910 for students with valid college/school IDs. The Studio Display is priced Rs 1,59,900, for regular customers and Rs 1,43,910 for students.
Read more | Everything you need to know about Apple Display Studio, Mac Studio
New line of MarQ ACs
Flipkart-owned MarQ launched a new line of 4-in-1 convertible ACs in India. They come with inverter compressor technology that reduces energy consumption.
MarQ ACs feature 100 per rcent copper and also boast Blue Fin Technology for effective protection for coils from water droplets, salt, and acid deposition. The range also allows for stabilizer-free operation and comes with an R32 Eco-friendly refrigerant.
The new ACz come in multiple variants-- 0.8 ton (3 star) Inverter model- for Rs 25,999, 1 ton (3 star) Inverter model for Rs 27,490, 1.2 ton (3 star) Inverter model for Rs 28,990, 1.5 ton (3 star) Inverter model for Rs 29,990 and 1.5 ton (5 star) Inverter model for Rs 32,990.
Garmin Instinct 2 series
Garmin Watch comes in two sizes— a larger 45mm bezel and a new Instinct 2S with a smaller 40mm bezel.
Garmin Instinct 2 boasts MIL-STD-810 certification, meaning it is capable of surviving in a wide range of environmental conditions, 10ATM rating, advanced sensors to track biometric vitals such as blood oxygen, calories burned, heart rate, respiration rate, sleep score, and women’s health including the menstrual cycle. Also, it offers a sleep score and can track stress.
Besides the standard health tracking, it offers more details such as VO2 Max, Fitness Age, Training Status/Load/Effect, Recovery Time, HIIT, and Daily Suggested Workout. The price of the device starts at Rs 36,990.
Samsung Galaxy S22 series
Earlier this week, Samsung's Galaxy S22 series hit stores in India. It comes in three variants-- Galaxy S22 Ultra, S22 Plus and S22-- with prices starting at Rs 72,999.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with 6.8-inch Quad HD+ (3088 x 1440p) Infinity-O-Edge Dynamic 2X AMOLED display, Vision Booster, up to 1,750 nits to good visibility outdoors, 12GB RAM, 256GB/512GB storage, Android 12-based One UI 4.1, a 5,000mAh battery with a 45W charger, quad-camera module-- 108MP (with OIS, f/1.8) + 12MP 120-degree Ultra Wide sensor (f/2.2) + 10MP telephoto lens (with 3x zoom, f/2.4 OIS) + 10MP Periscope lens (10x zoom, f/4.9, 100x Space Zoom) with LED flash, laser autofocus and supports 4K video recording at 60 fps (frames per second) and even 8K at 30fps. On the front, it boasts 40MP (f/2.2).
Must read | Key difference between Galaxy S22 Ultra, S22 Plus, and S22
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series
Like the Galaxy S22, the Galaxy Tab S8 series comes in three models-- Tab S8 Ultra, S8 Plus and S8 with prices starting at Rs 58,999 in India.
The top-end Tab S8 Ultra comes with 14.6-inch WQXGA+ (2960 x 1848p) super AMOLED screen, 240 ppi pixel density, 120Hz refresh rate, an in-display fingerprint sensor, dual-camera 12MP (wide) + 12MP (ultra wide) on the front, Android 12 OS, 8GB/12GB/16GB RAM, 128GB /256GB /512GB storage (expandable up to 1TB) and a 11,200mAh battery with super fast charging capability.
Redmi Watch 2 Lite, Redmi Note 11 Pro series
The new Redmi Note 11 Pro comes in two variants-- a standard Redmi Note 11 Pro and a top-end Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G-- with prices starting at Rs 17,999. Both come with IP53 water-splash-resistant coating.
The regular Redmi 11 Pro model features a 6.67-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, 360Hz touch sampling rate, offers 1200nits peak brightness. It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 shield, hybrid SIM (nano SIM-1+ nano SIM-2 or microSD card), IR blaster, and features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
It is powered by a 12nm class MediaTek Helio G96 octa-core CPU with Android 11-based MIUI13 OS, 6GB / 8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB UFS 2.2 storage (expandable up to 1TB), triple camera module--108MP + 8MP 118-degree ultra-wide-angle camera + 2MP macro camera + 2MP with LED flash on the back, 16MP (f/2.4) for selfies and video chatting and a 5,000mAh battery with a 67W charger.
The top-end Redmi Note 11 Pro+ sports a 6.67-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 8nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 octa-core CPU, Adreno 619L GPU, 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB/256GB UFS 2.2 internal storage(expandable up to 1TB), triple-camera module--main 108MP + 8MP 118-degree ultra-wide-angle camera + 2MP macro camera with LED flash on the bac, a 16MP front camera and a 5,000mAh battery with 67W charger.
The Redmi Watch 2 Lite features a 1.55-inch TFT LCD screen with 320 x 360p resolution. It comes with a 5ATM (50 meters) water-resistant rating.
The company is offering more than 100 watch faces for the colour display of the Redmi Watch 2 Lite and giving users more options to match their clothes on a particular day.
It supports Bluetooth 5.0 to pair with Android (v6.0 and later) mobile and iPhones (with iOS 10.0 and later). The user also has to install either of the two apps- Xiaomi Wear or Xiaomi Wear Lite to get good insights on health and fitness statistics. The data can also be merged with Strava and Apple Health.
The device comes with an optical heart sensor for 24/7 heartbeat monitoring and with an array of sensors accelerometer, gyroscope, electronic compass, GPS, it can help track more than 110 fitness activities. It costs Rs 4,999.
Samsung Galaxy F23
Samsung’s Galaxy F23 features a 6.6-inch full HD+(2408×1080p) LCD screen, fingerprint sensor, 8nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G octa-core processor with Adreno 619 GPU, 4GB / 6GB RAM, 128GB storage (expandable up to 1TB), Android 12-based Samsung One UI 4.1, support 12 5G bands, triple camera module-- main 50MP (f/1.8) backed by an 8MP 123-degree ultra-wide-angle camera (f/2.2) and a 2MP macro camera (f/2.4) with LED flash on the back, 8MP(f/2.2) front camera and a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging support. The device's price starts at Rs 17,499.
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