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Qualcomm Launches Quick Charge 5 Fast Charging That Can Fully Charge a Phone in 15 Minutes

By
Punkaj Kumar
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Qualcomm Launches Quick Charge 5 Fast Charging, Can Fully Charge a Phone in 15 Minutes

In today’s times of smartphones and digitization, new technologies keep coming up every next day. One is the fast charging technology for smartphones. Many mobile phone companies like Oppo and OnePlus have their own fast charge tech. But the Quick charge technology of Qualcomm is still more prominent. Recently, Qualcomm revealed the Quick Charge 5, its new fast charging technology. According to the company, it can charge devices with 4,500 mAh battery, from 0 to 50 percent in just 5 minutes. Quick Charge 5 is the successor of Quick Charge 4+ that the company had released back in 2017.

Qualcomm launched Quick Charge 5
Image credits: Qualcomm

The new technology is being touted as the “world’s first commercially viable fast charging platform to support more than 100 W charging power in a smartphone.” According to Qualcomm, it is 70 percent more efficient than its previous tech and supports 2S battery and 20 Volts of power delivery.

Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 Features

Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 Features
Image credits: Qualcomm

The new quick charge technology supports more than a 100W power output capabilities. On the other hand, its predecessor, the Quick Charge 4+, supported 45W charging. Also, compared to its all predecessors, the Quick Charge 5 is 10-degree Celsius cooler on a 4,000 mAh battery. It can charge a device fully in just 15 minutes.

One new feature of Quick Charge 5 is that it is backward compatible with Quick Charge 2.0, 3.0, 4, and 4+. Additionally, it is also compatible with other existing handsets powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform. In terms of charging pins, it is optimized for both USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) and USB Type-C charging technologies.

Effect on Battery Life

Other than its physical features, it also comes with features like Qualcomm Battery Saver and the Qualcomm Smart Identification of Adapter Capabilities technology. These technologies help in extending the battery life cycle on devices. The technology is currently in its testing phase, and the new devices based on this technology may start coming in the third quarter of this year.

Also, it is initially supported on Snapdragon 865, 865+, and other high-tier Snapdragon platforms. The manufacturer may enable its presence on smartphones based on Snapdragon 700 and earlier generations in the future.

OnePlus Buds with 30-hour Battery Life, Warp Charging Launched at ₹ 4,990

By
Kirtik Singh
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OnePlus Buds with 30 Hour battery Featured Image
Image Courtesy: Android Authority

OnePlus finally stepped into the Truly Wireless Earbud segment, with its newly launched OnePlus Buds. The OnePlus buds boast off touch controls, 30-hour battery life, Warp Charging, and in-ear lightweight design. The OnePlus Buds have been priced quite aggressively to compete with the likes of Xiaomi, Realme, Noise, and many other brands in this segment of devices.

OnePlus Buds with 30 Hour battery life
Image Courtesy: OnePlus Forums

Must Read: OnePlus Nord Availability in India and Pre-Order Information

OnePlus Buds: Specs and Features

The main focus of the OnePlus Buds is the battery life and charging. The launch event too, focussed on these elements a lot. After all, the 30-hour battery life with the case is what differentiates the OnePlus Buds from the competition. Each Earbud has a 35mAh battery, while the case has a battery of 430mAh. OnePlus claims about 7 hours of use with full charged buds out of the case. Meanwhile, the small and pocketable case can recharge the buds up to 4 times again, giving a total 30 hours for the battery life figures. There’s even fast charging support with 10 minutes of charge to the case giving 10 hours of total battery life! Meanwhile, 10 minutes of charging the buds in the case will give you around 2 hours of playtime. These are some amazing figures here!

OnePlus Buds with 30 Hour battery life
Image Courtesy: xda developers

As for the design, OnePlus has kept it simple with a half in-ear design, much like the AirPods. The buds themselves are shiny, with touchpads on each ear, containing a concentric-circle pattern. This is reminiscent of previous OnePlus earphones. Coming to the case, it has a matte finish and consists of a small LED and a device pairing button to the back. The entire package is quite lightweight, with the case weighing 37 grams, and each bud weighing just 4.7 grams.

OnePlus Buds Sound Quality and Connectivity

Being a half in-ear design, we offer the buds to provide less than average noise isolation, due to the lack of rubber tips. However, the 13.4mm dynamic drivers should match up to deliver decent, if not great sound quality. They also have Dolby Atmos Support, alongside support for low-latency Fnatic mode on OnePlus devices. There is also Fast Pair support for superfast pairing for devices and the touchpads on the buds allow for various functionality says OnePlus.

Also Read: Asus ROG Phone 3 has a Hidden 160Hz Refresh Rate

Pricing and Availability

The OnePlus buds are priced at just ₹ 4,990 in India and are available in 3 striking colors – White, Gray, and Nord Blue. The first sale for the OnePlus Buds starts at 10 AM, 31st July 2020 on oneplus.in. The Amazon Page though, suggests the first sale to be on 4th August 2020. While OnePlus has decided to not launch the OnePlus Nord in the United States, it will be releasing the Buds, starting at $79 in Gray and White colors. The Nord Blue color is limited to India and Europe for the time being.

Asus ROG Phone 3 Defeats Rivals with Hidden 160Hz Option

By
Kirtik Singh
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ROG Phone 3 160Hz display overclock

Asus launched the feature-packed ROG Phone 3 last Wednesday with ridiculous specs. The latest Snapdragon 865+, 144Hz display, up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM, you name it! The phone’s 144Hz display was a visual treat already. Meanwhile, it was one of the very few displays to give 5 display steps – 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, and auto. Interestingly, it seems like ASUS was/is also testing a 6th option – a staggering 160Hz for the ROG Phone 3.

Asus ROG Phone 3 Launched
Image Courtesy: Flipkart

While XDA developers were digging into the phone’s settings to learn how it does this variable refresh switching, they discovered a hidden 160Hz option. This can be turned on by using ADB Android Debug Bridge on your PC. If you haven’t used ADB before, here is a guide.

How to Turn ON 160Hz Option on ROG Phone 3

Once you have set up ADB on your PC, all you need to do is run it and place the following command:

adb shell setprop debug.vendor.asus.fps.eng 1

After doing this, just reboot your phone. Once you have done that, you can go to the display settings (Settings -> Display -> Refresh rate), where you will see an option for 160Hz. You might wonder if this actually works, since a minor jump from 144Hz to 160Hz may not be visually perceivable by the naked eye. To test it, you can visit testufo.com and see the frame rates of the UFOs show there. Secondly, you can also try the Fluid Simulation app and set the refresh rate to 160 in the app settings. Lastly, there is always the option to play a game that supports 144Hz. If you are wondering if any of those also support 160Hz, there’s a good chance that games allowing 144Hz gameplay are unlocked, and will support a frame rate as high as the phone allows it to be. Something like Pac-Man, for example, will support 160Hz. Try it out for yourself!

Asus ROG Phone 3
Image Courtesy: Android Authority

Stability and Calibration

It is fair for you to have wondered if doing something like overclocking the display is safe for your phone or not. What we think is that ASUS having this option in testing means that the display must’ve been capable of achieving this feat. It appears though, that the display panel may not have been properly calibrated for the same. FYI, Higher refresh rates raise costs and make it difficult to maintain color accuracy and response time. You can tweak some settings in Settings -> Display -> Splendid until you find a suitable configuration that looks great to you.

We hope ASUS can safely test it for use and enable it via an OTA update in the future! The ROG Phone 3 certainly has the muscle for it, from the Snapdragon 865+ to the 6,000 mAh Battery, so why not?

How to Turn OFF 160Hz Option on ROG Phone 3

If you feel like putting the phone back to its standard settings, you can turn this feature off using ADB again. Just run this command and reboot your phone afterward:

adb shell setprop debug.vendor.asus.fps.eng 0

Samsung to Use S20 Series as Official ID in Germany

By
Punkaj Kumar
-
Samsung to Use S20 Series as Official ID in Germany

As the world is becoming increasingly digital and mobile, various new technologies are popping up day-by-day. The smartphone and telecom companies seem to have taken up the lead. The electronics company Samsung announced that it has partnered with the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Deutsche Telekom Security GmbH, and Bundesdruckerei (bdr) to allow its Galaxy S20 series to serve the official ID in the European nation. Samsung Galaxy S20 will be the first smartphone in Germany which is allowed to carry the mobile ID solution. German citizens can use this mobile ID to open bank accounts and access various government services. The company said that the eID solution will become available later this year.

The embedded Secure Elements (eSE) dedicated security chip found in the Galaxy S20 series makes the solution possible. According to Samsung, eSE Security Chip is the highest level of encryption currently available. Germany has shown its confidence in Samsung’s tech by allowing the company to participate in its national eID framework.

How Samsung S20 Will Work as an ID

Samsung to Use S20 Series as Official ID in Germany
Image credits: Gadgets360

Germany government and Samsung are working on an app that will utilize the framework created by Samsung to store IDs securely. The app will enable the e-identification process in Germany and will be available on the Google Play Store.

Samsung said that all the four partners have developed a “holistic security architecture centered around the foundation of smartphone security – the hardware.” The company credits the highly secure chip built directly into the phone. This chip stores the information locally on the device and gives the users full control over their data.

The Samsung’s eID solution is also compatible with European Union eIDAS Regulations. EU eIDAS regulations are a set of rules mandated by the European Union to allow the citizens of its nations to use their electronic IDs across borders. It brings a possibility of broader adoption of the standard in other parts of Europe as well.

Astrophotography and Starry Nights with Galaxy S20 Ultra

By
Kirtik Singh
-
Galaxy S20 Ultra Astrophotography
Image Courtesy: Techradar

Smartphones are ever-evolving and so are their cameras. Over the last few years, smartphone photography has taken huge leaps, particularly in low light. With night modes, starry night modes, ultra-stable steady shots, etc., smartphones are getting better each day with shooting bright and life-like images. One of the best phones for shooting photos today is Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra, especially great for astrophotography.

merged night sky
Image Courtesy: Samsung Mobile Press

With a huge 1/1.33-inch 108-megapixel primary sensor with F1.8, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra captures a large amount of light, one of the best in business. This large sensor and aperture size allow it to intake more light than smaller sensors on most smartphones. This makes it better not just in low light, but also for astrophotography.

How 2 Photographers Shot Stunning Skies Using S20 Ultra

Hyuk-ki Lee and Seok-Joon Hong belong to Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business. They work for Samsung – overseeing production or working towards digital marketing during the day for the department of smartphone cameras. After getting free from work, they moonlight as astrophotographers. They recently set out to capture the Milky Way in South Korea, using a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, and got results that they hadn’t expected.

  • Galaxy S20 Ultra clicking photos of stars
    Image Courtesy: Samsung Mobile Press
  • Image Courtesy: Samsung Mobile Press

Lee said, “I felt a sense of awe for the mysteries of the universe at a young age”. This awe turned into making his own optics, as he completed a telescope back in high school, envisioning mysteries of the night sky. Hong’s love for astrophotography also started in childhood, with his first camera. Astrophotography is not easy, including dealing with low lighting conditions, pollution of city lights, and lugging heavy camera gear to remote areas. With cameras like Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra, Hong says those astrophotography challenges are getting easier to win over.

Astrophotography with the Galaxy S20 Ultra

The idea of astrophotography seems to have a steep learning curve. Hong encourages people to take up the craft, with the Galaxy S20 Ultra being a great beginner camera for the same. “If you’ve got the Galaxy S20 Ultra and a sturdy tripod, you’ve got more than you need as a beginner,” he says. When the sky is clear, astronomy apps can also be used to find constellations, using compass and navigation features, and other sensors of the phone.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra is equipped with a 108-megapixel sensor with nona-binning technology. This is one of the largest sensors on the market in any smartphone camera. This is great for capturing night skies. Hong suggests it to be a “must-have” tool in a camera kit. Not only is it highly portable, but it also has the advantage with its “Pro Mode”, giving full manual control over photos.

Night sky images with Galaxy S20 Ultra
Image Courtesy: Samsung Mobile Press

How to Use Your Phone for Astrophotography

You should plan your shoot before you go, knowing what your subject will be. Carrying a good flashlight and backup phone battery/charger is a good idea as well. Long exposures and low shutter speeds are required to capture night skies. A remote/timed shutter and a tripod are also necessary to keep your phone steady while capturing these long exposure shots.

Using the Pro Mode, ISO, shutter speed, and other settings can be adjusted according to the composition you want. You should also play around with various options to switch to a different setting until you achieve the desired results. White balance should usually be between 3500K to 4500K. Meanwhile, ISO should be set carefully, to reduce noise as well as maintain enough detail in the photo. Lastly, pictures should be saved in RAW for post-processing, instead of JPGs or PNGs.

Win Samsung Microwave This Rakshabandhan With Samsung’s #AddMoreMithas Social Media Contest

By
Punkaj Kumar
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CONTEST ALERT: Win Microwave With Samsung's #AddMoreMithas Contest This Rakhi

India is excitedly waiting for its upcoming festival of Raksha Bandhan that falls on August 3 this year. The auspicious festival is dedicated to a pious bond between a brother and sister. While the country prepares for the celebrations of this festival, Samsung has announced its unique #AddMoreMithas social media contest. The company will offer a microwave oven for the lucky winner. Samsung, through a news release said that the company has launched a contest on its social media platforms and is inviting the entries through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It launched the contest to celebrate the “incredible bond of love between brother and sister.”

Samsung #AddMoreMithaas Contest for Raksha Bandhan
Image credits: Samsung

Samsung Contest Details

Samsung India said through a tweet that the participants have to take a screenshot of their brother’s favorite dessert from the contest video to participate in the contest. They then have to upload the screenshot in the comments section using the hashtag #AddMoreMithaas and tag @SamsungIndia.

The contest entries start from July 26 and end on July 28, 2020. For more details and terms and conditions of the contest, read the official Facebook note from Samsung.

Prize for Lucky Winners

According to Samsung India, there will be two winners. Winners will receive SlimFry Smart Ovens to “enjoy their favorite desserts.” Samsung will announce the winners on August 13, 2020.

How to Participate in Contest

To participate in the #AddMoreMithaas social media contest from Samsung, first open your social media profile (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram). Watch the contest video and take a screenshot of your brother’s favorite dessert from the ones provided in the video. Post the screenshot on your social media account with the hashtag #AddMoreMithaas and tag @SamsungIndia. Samsung will choose the winners randomly, and if you’re lucky, it will send you a SlimFry Smart microwave oven.

OnePlus Nord Availability in India and Pre-Order Information

By
Kirtik Singh
-
OnePlus Nord
Image: OnePlus/Amazon

OnePlus Nord has been launched on July 21st but there is still a lot of confusion in the minds of people regarding its availability. Those who bought the AR online event passes to the ones who preordered the phone, are confused as to when they will receive their rewards. OnePlus silently posted regarding the same on their online community forum.

OnePlus Nord Launched in India Main Image
Image Courtesy: TechRadar

In this post, we came across quite a few facts which had earlier been perceived differently by users and fooled the in a way by purchasing the AR event passes for Rs. 99, and/or the Pre-order box at Rs. 499. We can call this as false marketing strategies and despise such practices followed by OnePlus for their Nord smartphone launch.

AR Event Pass Assured Gift

All those who bought the AR invite worth Rs. 99 were to get an assured gift via a lottery. These gifts include OnePlus Nord, TV, Bullets Wireless, or an Amazon cashback (which can be redeemed on purchasing OnePlus Nord). This is slightly disappointing as “assured gift” is only for those who purchase the phone. Such a condition was never made public while the invites were being sold. Here are the steps as mentioned by OnePlus Nord’s Instagram handle:

OnePlus Nord AR Invite Assured Gift
Image Courtesy: OnePlus Nord Instagram Handle

OnePlus Nord Online Pop-up event

Prior to open sale, OnePlus is also hosting its first-ever online Pop up event. This will enable selective users to get early access to the OnePlus Nord. For more details on participation, check out our article here.

Blind Pre-Order Information (15th July worth Rs. 499)

For those who preordered the phone before the launch on 15th July by paying Rs. 499 on Amazon.in, here is the information:

  • If you purchase any variant of OnePlus Nord on amazon.in before August 31st 2020 (subject to availability), Amazon will send a coupon code along with a web-link for the 2nd gift box.
  • You can redeem the 2nd Pre-order Gift from the web-link provided at no extra cost. The 2nd Gift Box contains a OnePlus Bullets Wireless V1 and a OnePlus Nord Sandstone Case.

This is also a slight deviation from the original terms and conditions. Back on 15th July 2020, OnePlus had mentioned in its Terms and Conditions that the 2nd preorder box will contain Blue colored Bullets Wireless Z earphones and a Blue Sandstone Case for OnePlus Nord. Now, they have changed it to giving their customers much older Bullets Wireless V1, which is quite a disappointment too.

OnePlus Nord Preorder Terms and Conditions
Image Courtesy: Amazon.in

OnePlus Nord Sale Dates Timeline:

OnePlus Nord will be available in 2 colors – Blue Marble and Gray Onyx. The availability for different variants of these are as follows:

  • Offline Pre-booking for the phone starts from 22nd August via OnePlus retailers or stores across India.
  • Online Pre-booking via Amazon starts from 28th July onwards.
  • Exclusive sale for Red Cable Club members on 3rd August at OnePlus stores and Oneplus.in(limited stocks).
  • Sale for pre-booking starts on 4th August:
    • 8/128 variants of both colors, and 12/256 GB variant of the Gray Onyx color will go up on sale starting 4th August.
    • 12/256 GB variant in Marble Blue color goes on sale starting 6th August via Amazon Prime day sale.
    • 6/64 GB variant will only be available in Gray Onyx color, but sometime in September this year.
  • Open Sale for those who haven’t pre-booked the device starts 6th August onwards.
  • Exclusive sales at Reliance Digital and My Jio stores across India from 7th-10th August.
  • Open sales via all platforms and channels start 12th August.

Realme 6i is All Set for Its First Sale on July 31, Here’s How You Can Get One

By
Punkaj Kumar
-
Realme 6i is All Set for Its First Sale on July 31, Check How You Can Get One
Realme 6i / Realme / AndroidFist

The smartphone maker company Realme yesterday announced a budget range smartphone, Realme 6i in India. Realme 6i, which is essentially a sibling of Realme 6 is powered by MediaTek Helio G90T processor and runs Realme UI based on Android 10. The first sale of Realme 6i will start on July 31 (Friday) at 12:00PM on its official website and Flipkart.

The company today again reminded its fans about the sale through a tweet and boasted about the phone’s features. The tweet also carried an embedded link to the upcoming sale page on Flipkart. There is always a limited stock for initial online sales of smartphones hence phones get booked on a first come first basis. If you’re a fan of Realme and want to secure a piece of Realme 6i, opt for the notification so that you won’t miss it.

How to Buy Realme 6i

The Realme 6i will go on its first sale on Realme India online store and Flipkart. If you are looking forward to buying the latest smartphone from Realme then visit the respective sale pages on Realme.com or Flipkart. Click on the “Notify Me” button to get yourself notified beforehand so that you don’t miss. Once the sale goes live on July 31, you will get the option to buy.

Specifications and Price

Realme 6i is powered by Mediatek Helio G90T processor and 90Hz ultra-smooth display. A 48 megapixel AI quad-camera setup lies at the back side of the phone aligned vertically. The phone also supports a 30W flash charge. The price for Realme 6i starts at ₹12,999 for the 4G RAM + 64GB storage variant. The 6GB RAM + 64GB storage variant is tagged with a price of ₹14,999. The smartphone is available in two colors — Lunar White and Eclipse Black.

OnePlus Announces First Online Pop-up Sale Event for the Nord

By
Punkaj Kumar
-
OnePlus Announces First Online Pop-up Sale Event for the Nord

Earlier this week, after a long marketing campaign OnePlus launched its Nord smartphone series in India. OnePlus Nord is a midrange phone and features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G processor with RAM up to 12GB and 256GB storage. The company held three limited pre-order rounds before the launch. Now it will hold its first pop-up sale event on July 29. If you didn’t pre-order the smartphone and were waiting for the launch event, this is an opportunity for you to get one.

How to Secure Your Purchase

OnePlus has outlined a few steps to get registered into the Nord online pop-up sale queue. Go through the following steps to try your luck in getting into the pop-up sale queue:

OnePlus Announces First Online Pop-up Sale Event for the Nord

1. Go to the OnePlus Nord Pop-up Sale page, create an avatar and share it on their Instagram account with #NordPopUp.

2. Now log into your OnePlus account and submit the link of the Instagram post for a chance to win an invitation code.

As per OnePlus, the first 100 participants are guaranteed entry.

3. Sign up to the newsletter using your email address. You will receive an invitation code if you win the phone.

Those who are lucky and successfully get the invitation code will receive a Nord pop-up box. The box will contain a Nord smartphone, a Nord Creator Case, and some awesome merch (maybe a water bottle or tote bag). Those of you who don’t make it to get a code need not be disappointed, OnePlus has something special for you.

Important Dates

The registration for the online pop-up sale event has already begun on July 22 and will end on July 26 (Sunday). OnePlus will send out the codes codes on July 29 and 30.

Summary of OnePlus Nord

OnePlus Nord is a quite affordable 5G phone right now and purchasing it won’t cause disappointment in any case. As mentioned in the beginning, Nord is powered by a Snapdragon 765G processor and comes in two variants, ie. with internal storage capacity of 128GB and 256GB. As far as cameras are concerned, it has a quad rear camera and dual selfie cameras. It also has a 4,115mAh battery and supports 30W charging.

In India, the pricing for OnePlus Nord starts at ₹ 24,999 and goes up to ₹ 29,999.

Realme 6i with Helio G90T, 90Hz Display Launched in India

By
Kirtik Singh
-
Realme 6i Launched in India
Image Courtesy: Realme

Realme 6i pricing starts at Rs. 12,999 in India. Here are some of its key features.

Realme has yet again announced a budget range smartphone in India, making its budget smartphone lineup all the more confusing. The Realme 6i is a younger sibling to the Realme 6, competing with the likes of the Poco M2 Pro, Redmi Note 9, and Samsung’s M-series devices.

Realme 6i Launched in India
Image Courtesy: Realme

This can be seen as a way to fill in the gap that the Realme 6 created after its price went up from Rs. 12,999 to Rs. 14,999 after the 6% GST hike in India. The 6i is essentially a rebrand of the Realme 6s launched in Europe in May this year. It will offer a similar 90Hz experience as the Realme 6 did, with some minor downgrades.

Realme 6i Key Features

Realme 6i is essentially a Realme 6 with some things changed for cost-cutting. Powered by the very popular and powerful MediaTek Helio G90T processor, the phone should be great for gaming. It runs Realme UI based on Android 10 on a fast and smooth 6.5-inch Full HD+ 90Hz display. What this means is that the phone feels fast and fluid in day to day usage. The brightness peaks out at 480 nits, which can be quite low, but more in our full review.

The camera setup is quite interesting too. The only change from the Realme 6, is the main sensor on the back. Powering 6i’s photography department is a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel 119-degree FoV ultra-wide lens, a 2MP portrait lens, and a 2MP macro lens. To the front is a small punch-hole style 16-megapixel camera. The power button holds the capacitive fingerprint scanner, and Realme touts the 6i to be splash resistant.

Realme 6i Cameras
Image Courtesy: Flipkart

Battery life should be amazing with the phone’s 4300 mAh battery which supports up to 30W Flash charging. The phone only comes with a 20W charger in the box though. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but something you should be aware of! Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, dual 4G VoLTE, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The phone features a triple slot for 2 nano-sims and a microSD card up to 256GB.

Pricing and Availability

The Realme 6i will go on sale on Flipkart and Realme’s Indian Website, starting 12 PM on 31st July. Pricing starts at Rs. 12,999 for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant and goes up to Rs. 14,999 for the 6GB + 64GB variant of the phone. The smartphone is going to be available in 2 colors — Eclipse Black and Lunar White.

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