Category: Tech

India Smartphone Shipments Saw 1 Percent Dip in Last Quarter, Xiaomi Leading Brand: Counterpoint

India’s smartphone shipments are down by 1 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the January-March quarter of FY22. Owing to the shortage of components and a sharp decline in demand, smartphone shipments hit 38 million units in Q1 2022. The data has been revealed in the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, which reflects the effects of COVID-19 on the smartphone market in India. The third wave of the pandemic, which hit the country in January this year, resulted in a slow start to the quarter, which gained some speed in the last few weeks of March quarter.

As per a report by Counterpoint Research, despite the decline, Chinese brands dominated with over 74 percent market share in Q1 2022. Just like the first quarter of last year, Xiaomi remained at the top position in India’s smartphone market with 23 percent share. However, its YoY market share came down by 13 percent year-on-year. Counterpoint’s shipments figures for Xiaomi include the Poco brand. The Chinese smartphone maker managed to lead the market even in the presence of intense competition, component shortages and inflation. The brand has also won the second spot in 5G shipments for the first time in the Indian market.

Xiaomi was followed by South Korean smartphone brand Samsung, which has driven the consumer demand with the introduction of the Galaxy A series. Interestingly, the company retained the top position as the top-selling 5G smartphone brand in India for the second consecutive quarter. With a 1 percent YoY decline in Q1 2022, Samsung held 20 percent market share in smartphone shipment.

Next in the list is Realme, the only brand among the top five to see a YoY growth of 40 percent in Q1 2022. Realme’s market share stands at 16 percent, up from 11 percent share last year in Q1. The shipments for Realme models saw a quick pick after the festive season. Other factors that worked in Realme’s favour are use of Unisoc chipsets, targeted product portfolio, and aggressive channel strategy.

Vivo and Oppo captured fourth and fifth position, respectively. While Vivo faced an 8 percent YoY decline, Oppo’s shipments declined 18 percent YoY in Q1 2022. However, Vivo’s market share for smartphone shipment stands at 15 percent, while Oppo captured a 9 percent share. Counterpoint’s figures for Oppo do not include the OnePlus brand.

Apple registered 5 percent YoY growth in Q1 2022, being the top-selling brand in the premium segment, the report.

India’s overall handset market shares
Photo Credit: Counterpoint Research

 

As for the overall India handset market (feature phones + smartphones), Counterpoint reports shipments 16 percent YoY, and the feature phone market specifically saw a 39 percent YoY decline in shipments. Itel lead the feature phone market, with a 21 percent share. When combining all the Transsion Group brands – Itel, Infinix, Tecno – the company took the fourth spot in the overall handset market.  Meanwhile, OnePlus grew 347 percent YoY in Q1 2022, credited to the success to OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G and OnePlus 9RT shipments. OnePlus also captured third position in premium segment.

Out of the total smartphone shipment share, 5G handsets contributed more than 28 percent, along with 314 percent YoY growth. The share is expected to cross 40 percent in coming quarters.

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Apple Introduces HidrateSpark Smart Water Bottle Accessories: All You Need to Know

Apple’s latest offering in the accessories section is not another pair of AirPods or a keyboard. The Cupertino-based company has now launched a smart water bottle from the brand HidrateSpark. As the name suggests, these smart water bottles claim to keep you hydrated by monitoring your water intake. To use the smart features of this smart accessory, one needs to sync the HidrateSpark to the Apple Health app via Bluetooth. The HidrateSpark smart water bottles are currently only available in the US. Interested buyers in India might have to wait a little longer to get their hands on these.

Apple HidrateSpark Smart Water Bottle price

Apple‘s product listing page in the US is currently displaying four variants of the smart water bottles – HidrateSpark 3, HidrateSpark Pro Steel, HidrateSpark Pro, and HidrateSpark Steel. The most expensive of these variants is the HidrateSpark Pro Steel, which is currently listed at $79.95 (roughly Rs. 6,100), while the Pro version is available at $59.95 (roughly Rs, 4,600). The other two variants are priced at $69.95 (approximately Rs. 5,400).

Apple HidrateSpark Smart Water Bottle features

The HidrateSpark smart water bottle, being listed on Apple’s website and retail stores, can monitor your daily intake of water while syncing it with your Apple Health. The device helps in achieving personalised hydration goal using LED sensors placed at the bottom, and sends alerts to Apple Health whenever water is consumed.

To sync it with Apple Health, one needs to download the HidrateSpark app on their iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. After creating an account, the app will ask for access to Apple Health to track personal info and other data. If the person is drinking water from any other source than the HidrateSpark PRO bottle, it can be added in the data for seamless calculation of water consumption. The bottles keep your water BPA free. They can be easily washed in a dishwater and the sensor can be wiped using a damp cloth.

The Hidrate Spark 3 Smart Water Bottle comes in three colour options — White, Yellow and Black. It comes packed with a Lithium cell CR2477 battery, which has a life of approximately six months. The dimensions of the water bottle are 10.4 x 3 x 3.25 inch. To access it on your devices, one needs to have iOS 13 or later, while Apple Watch must run watchOS 4.3 or later. It comes with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. The package contains the smart water bottle, finger loop, a battery, and instruction manual.

The HidrateSpark Pro Steel Smart Water Bottle is currently available in black and silver colour options. With a stainless-steel, vacuum-insulated chug, the smart bottle packs a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which runs 10-14 days on a single charge, which takes about 2.5 hours to charge. It has connectivity compatibility for Bluetooth 4.0 and Bluetooth 5.0 and can be charged using a USB cable. The dimensions of the bottle are 11.3 x 3.8 x 3.8 inch. User should have iOS 12.3 or later on iPhone and watchOS 4.3 or later on Apple Watch to connect the HidrateSpark app.

Next in line is the HidrateSpark Pro Smart Water Bottle that comes in Tritan Plastic Sea Glass body with colour options green and black. User should have iPad or iPhone with iOS 12.3 or later, or an Apple Watch that runs watchOS 4.3 or later, to connect the app. The features of this water bottle are similar to HidrateSpark Pro Steel Smart Water Bottle, while the dimensions are 10.9 x 2.8 x 2.8 inch.

Another product in the line-up is the HidrateSpark Steel with dimensions 10.7 x 3.2 x 3.2 inch. With the same features as the above two bottles, the HidrateSpark Steel is available in silver and black colour options.

Apple HidrateSpark Smart Water Bottles availability in India

Apple India may take some time before introducing the HidrateSpark smart bottle in the country. As of now, the product has been not listed on Apple’s website in India.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Getting Galaxy S22 Series’ Swipeable Smart Widgets, Other Tablets May Follow: Report

Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series’ premium smartphone has turned out to be one of the best-selling phones for the company. One of the smartest features that sets apart the Samsung Galaxy S22 from other models is the introduction of Smart Widgets that the users can swipe through. Now, the South Korean smartphone maker appears to be bringing the swipeable Smart Widgets to all tablets, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8. These Smart Widgets were limited to the latest One UI 4.1 phones for a long time, before Samsung decided to feature it on its Galaxy tablets, including the Tab S8.

As per a report by 9to5Google, the feature currently is rolling out to Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 users. A few of these tablets running the March security patch released on April 15 have the Smart Widget available in the Widgets list. These widgets are available in three sizes — 2×2, 4×1, and 4×2. While the smallest size of 2×2 widget is not resizable, users will be able to resize the other two widgets to fit the full width of the screen.

To get easy access to the customisation options for the current widget, one has to long-press on a grouping. Apart from adjusting size, the user can also remove any widget, or add a new one. This allows users to decide the apps that they want to place on their phone or tablets. Much like Apple’s stackable widgets, the Smart Widgets for Android allow users to select and combine multiple widgets into one, available with just one easy swipe.

The long press also provides user the option to remove the entire smart widget, or look into the Settings, where one can switch to full screen interface and turn ‘Auto rotate widgets’ on and off.

If you have used Smart Widget on the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Samsung Galaxy S22, it will be easy to access the feature on the tablets as the functioning is similar. To cycle through widgets, one can swipe left or right. The feature that allows to swipe widgets was reportedly added with the mid-April update and is currently limited to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8. We’ve reached out to the company to comment on the rollout, and will update this space when we hear back.

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Cloudflare Manages to Block Massive DDoS Attack on Unnamed Crypto Platform

Cloudflare, a company that specialises in web security has confirmed that they have successfully stopped what they believe to be one of the largest distributed denial-of-service or DDoS attacks on record, which targeted an unnamed cryptocurrency company. The attack was detected and mitigated automatically by Cloudflare’s defense systems, which were set up for one of its customers on a paid plan. At its peak, the attack reached a massive 15.3 million requests-per-second (rps) which, according to Cloudflare, makes it the largest HTTPS DDoS attack ever mitigated by the company.

The attack reportedly lasted less than 15 seconds and targeted a crypto launchpad, which Cloudflare analysts in a blog post said are “used to surface Decentralised Finance (DeFi) projects to potential investors.”

The blog post adds that the botnet used by the attacker comprised of about 6,000 unique bots that originated from more than 1,300 different networks in 112 countries around the world, with about 15 percent of the traffic coming from Indonesia. Other countries generating the most traffic included Russia, Brazil, India, Colombia and the US.

Cloudflare researchers didn’t name the botnet but said it was one that they’ve been watching and had seen attacks as large as 10 million rps that matched the same fingerprint.

As described by Cloudflare, a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is essentially an attempt to “maliciously disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic.”

“DDoS attacks achieve effectiveness by utilising multiple compromised computer systems as sources of attack traffic. Exploited machines can include computers and other networked resources such as IoT devices,” adds Cloudflare.

In an HTTPS attack – such as the one used this time to target the crypto platform, the botnet attempts to overwhelm the target’s server with a massive number of requests, with an attempt to consume compute power and memory with the same goal of making it near impossible for legitimate users to access the website.

“HTTPS DDoS attacks are more expensive in terms of required computational resources because of the higher cost of establishing a secure TLS encrypted connection,” the Cloudflare threat-hunters wrote. “Therefore, it costs the attacker more to launch the attack, and for the victim to mitigate it. We’ve seen very large attacks in the past over (unencrypted) HTTP, but this attack stands out because of the resources it required at its scale.”

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Tata Play Dhamaka Offer Unveiled for Tata Play Binge+ and Tata Play HD Connections: Details

Tata Play (formerly known as Tata Sky) has unveiled the Dhamaka offer for HD and Binge+ connections. With the latest offer, the direct-to-home (DTH) operator is offering Tata Play HD set-top box and Tata Play Binge+ set-top box for free for customers. Customers can avail free HD set-top box by recharging with a one-time amount of Rs. 4,000. Similarly, a recharge of Rs. 6,000 is required to get the Binge+ set-top box. The Tata Play Binge+ Plus Dhamaka package comes with over-the-top (OTT) content access from select streaming services on compatible devices.

As per the Tata Play website, with the new Tata Play Dhamaka offer, customers making a lumpsum recharge of Rs. 6,000 can enjoy Tata Sky Binge+ set-top box connection. With a one time recharge of Rs. 4,000, interested users can get Tata Play HD set-top box connection for free.

Existing HD customers and viewers with standard (SD) connection can also upgrade to Binge+ by making a single recharge of Rs. 6,000 or more in their Tata Play account. The company is offering one year warranty with the Dhamaka offer. 

Currently, the price of the Tata Play HD set-top box is Rs. 1,699. The Binge+ set-top box plan cost Rs. 2,199 and it offers satellite TV content and allows streaming from select OTT platforms including Eros Now, Hungama, Disney+, ShemarooMe, and Zee5. The offer was first spotted by TelecomTalk.

Recently, the company launched the Binge Starter pack for accessing OTT content on mobile devices. The Tata Play Binge Starter come with a price tag of Rs. 49 and has 30 days of validity. It includes a seven-day free trial and users will get access to OTT content across three mobile devices simultaneously through the Tata Play Binge app. Tata Play’s Basic and Premium packs are available at Rs. 149 and Rs. 299, respectively.

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Flipkart Big Saving Days Sale to Begin From May 4 With Deals, Discounts on Smartphones

Flipkart is hosting its Big Saving Days sale starting May 4. The online sale will be live until May 9, and customers can expect to see deals, discounts, and offers on smartphones and other consumer electronics during the sale. Offers on popular smartphones such as the Galaxy F12, the Realme C20, the Poco M3, and iPhone models have been teased by the company ahead of the sale next week. Flipkart Plus members will have access to deals 24 hours earlier than other customers, as is the case with most sales on the e-commerce platform. Meanwhile, shoppers can also avail of a 10 percent instant discount for SBI Bank Credit Card and EMI transactions, according to Flipkart.

The e-commerce website shared details of the upcoming Flipkart Big Saving Days sale on a microsite that shows a list of smartphones that will be discounted during the sale. Smartphones from Poco, Redmi, Samsung, Vivo, Realme, Infinix, and Moto will be sold at lower prices, according to Flipkart. As with previous sales, the upcoming Big Saving Days sale will also bring limited time deals for customers, available only at specific timings.

Here are some of the best deals on smartphones you can avail of when the Flipkart Big Saving Days 2022 begins on May 4.

Flipkart Big Saving Days sale: Deals and offers on mobile phones

Samsung Galaxy F22

Flipkart will sell the Samsung Galaxy F22 at a discounted price of Rs. 9,999 during the sale, down from the listed price of Rs. 14,999. The discounted price will be inclusive of offers, according to Flipkart. The smartphone is currently on sale for Rs. 11,999 on the website. The Samsung Galaxy F22 (Review) is equipped with a 6.4-inch AMOLED display, is powered by a MediaTek Helio G80 processor, and sports a 48-megapixel triple camera setup.

Buy now at: Rs. 11,999 (MRP Rs. 14,999)

Poco M4 Pro

The Poco M4 Pro is being sold at Rs. 16,499, which is lower than the MRP of Rs. 19,999. According to Flipkart, the smartphone will be priced at Rs. 13,999 during the Big Saving Days sale, inclusive of offers. The handset runs on Android 11-based MIUI 12.5 for Poco, powered by a MediaTek Helio G96 SoC along with 6GB of RAM. The smartphone sports a 6.43-inch AMOLED display, features a 64-megapixel triple rear camera setup, and packs a 5,000mAh battery.

Buy now at: Rs. 16,499 (MRP Rs. 19,999)

Redmi Note 10s

Flipkart is currently selling the Redmi Note 10S at Rs. 13,999, down from the listed price of Rs. 16,999. During the upcoming Big Saving Days sale, the smartphone will be available for purchase at a discounted price of Rs. 11,999, which also includes offers, according to Flipkart. The Redmi Note 10S (Review) is powered by a MediaTek Helio G95 processor, paired with 6GB of RAM. It features a 6.43-inch AMOLED display and runs on a 5,000mAh battery. It is equipped with a 64-megapixel quad camera setup, along with a 13-megapixel front-facing camera.

Buy now at: Rs. 13,999 (MRP Rs. 16,999)

Realme GT Neo 3, Realme Pad Mini, Realme Buds Q2s to go on sale

In addition to the smartphones listed above and other deals that will be revealed by the company ahead of the upcoming Flipkart Big Savings Sale, the newly launched Realme GT Neo 3 will go on sale for the first time on May 4, when the sale begins. Pricing starts at Rs. 36,999 for the base 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. Meanwhile, the Realme GT Neo 3 150W model is priced at Rs. 42,999 for the sole 12GB + 256GB variant. As part of the launch offer on May 4, customers can avail of a Rs. 7,000 instant discount via Flipkart on SBI debit card, credit card, and EMI transactions.

On May 2, the newly launched Realme Pad Mini will go on sale on Flipkart, along with the Realme Buds Q2s. Realme Pad Mini price in India begins at Rs. 10,999, while Realme Buds Q2s is priced at Rs. 1,999. Customers will be able to avail of a Rs. 2,000 discount on the Realme Pad Mini until May 9, when the Flipkart Big Saving Days sale ends.

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Airtel Rs. 999 Prepaid Plan With Amazon Prime Subscription Launched

Airtel has launched a new Rs. 999 prepaid plan that comes with Amazon Prime Subscription, free access to any one of the select Xstream channels, among other benefits. The development comes 10 days after Airtel halved the validity of Amazon Prime membership available with its postpaid plans. Instead of a year’s subscription, users are getting Amazon Prime access for six months now. The change was brought to Rs. 499, Rs. 999, Rs. 1,199, and Rs. 1,599 Airtel postpaid plans.

Airtel has launched the Rs. 999 prepaid plan as an unlimited pack that offers Amazon Prime subscription for 84 days, access to one Xstream channel (SonyLiv, LionsgatePlay, ErosNow, HoiChoi, ManoramaMAX) for 84 days, 2.5GB data per day, unlimited talktime, and 100 SMS per day. It is to be noted that Amazon Prime membership fee for 90 days is Rs. 459. The plan is listed on the telecom operator’s site.

Other benefits include Rs. 100 cashback on FASTag, free Hellotunes, 3 months of Apollo Circle membership, Shaw Academy courses, and Wynk Music. Gadgets 360 was able to spot the plan listed on Airtel website, and the company confirmed it was launched on Thursday. The new plan’s listing was first spotted by OnlyTech.

A few days ago, the telecom giant revised the validity of Amazon Prime membership available with Rs. 499, Rs. 999, Rs. 1,199, and Rs. 1,599 Airtel postpaid plans. Airtel cut the subscription duration from one year to six months.

Earlier this month, Airtel expanded its prepaid portfolio by launching the Rs. 296 and Rs. 319 recharge plans. The Rs. 296 Airtel prepaid recharge plan offers unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS messages per day, and a total of 25GB data for 30 days. The Rs. 319 Airtel prepaid recharge plan comes with unlimited voice calls, offers 100 SMS messages on a daily basis, and 2GB high-speed data per day for a month. Other benefits include three months of Apollo 24×7 Circle, and a Rs. 100 cashback on FASTag. The plans also come with free access to Wynk Music.

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PS Plus Subscription Stacking Now Unavailable Ahead of June Revamp

PlayStation Plus prepaid code redemption and new purchases have been disabled for existing subscribers, preventing users from “stacking” their subscriptions to the paid service for PlayStation owners. The move to block gamers with an active PS Plus subscription from adding on additional months comes ahead of Sony’s scheduled revamp of its PS Plus service in June. The Japanese company recently announced three subscription tiers — PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra, and PS Plus Deluxe — and revealed that gamers would be upgraded to an equivalent tier for the duration of their longest active membership.

Users on Twitter and gaming forum Resetera first reported the inability to stock up on their PlayStation Plus subscriptions, as spotted by Pushsquare. Users attempting to redeem repaid promo codes are shown an error code that states: “The pre-paid card could not be redeemed. Please try again later.”

According to the report, even purchasing a PS Plus subscription via the PS Store, on the browser and on the console, while already on an active membership shows users an error message that reads: “Can’t purchase. Can’t add to cart. You’ve already purchased this item.” Previously, gamers were able to purchase a subscription even if they already had an existing one, which would effectively be “stacked” over the existing subscription.

Gadgets 360 has independently verified that PS Plus subscriptions cannot be stacked. We received the same error as above.

Shop To, a retailer that has temporarily stopped selling PS Plus prepaid codes, responded to a customer stating codes will not be redeemable until mid-June while on an active subscription. Sony had disabled stacking subscriptions to stop players exploiting the carrying over of subscriptions, according to Pushsquare. Sony is yet to officially admit whether the stacking of subscriptions has been blocked until the new subscription service is introduced in June.

Announced in March, Sony’s revamped PS Plus subscription service will be launched first in Asian markets, followed by the Americas and Europe (including India). The PS Plus subscription will be available in three tiers — PS Plus Essential, PS Plus Extra, and PS Plus Deluxe. The highest tier offers cloud streaming access in select markets, where it’s known as PS Plus Premium.

Earlier this week, Sony also revealed pricing for the new PS Plus service in India. The lowest tier, PlayStation Plus Essential, will be priced the same as PS Plus today, starting at Rs. 449 a month. The middle tier, PlayStation Plus Extra is priced at Rs. 749 a month. Finally, the highest tier, PlayStation Plus Deluxe will cost gamers Rs. 849 a month. Quarterly and annual plans are also available.

The new PlayStation Plus is set to launch on June 22 in India.



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Apple Being Sued by Russian Law Firm for Withdrawing Payment Service From Country

A Russian law firm on Friday said it had filed a lawsuit against US tech giant Apple seeking RUB 90 million (roughly Rs. 9.7 crore) in damages for consumers affected by Apple withdrawing its payment service from Russia.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Law firm Chernyshov, Lukoyanov & Partners said Apple had violated Russian consumers’ rights after the company restricted the use of its built-in Apple Pay service on March 1 in response to Moscow sending troops into Ukraine.

The lawsuit, which it said had been filed with a Moscow court, is seeking RUB 90 million (roughly Rs. 9.7 crore) in damages, which it said included compensation for “moral damage” caused to citizens.

It also wants Apple to resume operation of Apple Pay services for Russian users.

The total figure could rise as the law firm is still inviting more claimants to join the suit.

Senior Partner Konstantin Lukoyanov said Apple’s main US company had made the decision to suspend sales of Apple products and restrict services offered in Russia.

“Therefore, our lawsuit’s claims are directed firstly at the parent company and secondly at its subsidiary units,” he said in a statement.

The law firm said Apple’s decision to halt Apple Pay services in Russia had reduced the functionality of its devices sold on the local market, thereby lowering their value, actions it said were unfair and discriminatory under Russian law.

The same law firm is pursuing a similar lawsuit against streaming company Netflix, which in March suspended its service in Russia.

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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Claims He’s More Interested in Web 3 Than Crypto

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, has recently disclosed his views on the emerging blockchain industry, expressing that what fascinates him the most is not cryptocurrencies but the future of Web 3. Schmidt who’s also served as chairman for Google noted that “tokenomics” is a notion that piques his interest in Web 3. However, he did disclose that he has invested a “little bit” of money in digital assets too. Schmidt goes on to state that if he were in a position to start his career as a software engineer today, he would focus on AI algorithms or Web 3.

“A new model [of the internet] where you as an individual [can] control your identity, and where you don’t have a centralised manager, is very powerful. It’s very seductive and it’s very decentralised,” Schmidt tells CNBC in an interview. “I remember that feeling when I was 25 that decentralised would be everything,” he added.

He further pointed out that Web 3 would birth new models of content ownership and ways to compensate people for their creation. Schmidt added that, “[Web 3′s] economics are interesting. The platforms are interesting, and the use patterns are interesting,” Schmidt says. “[It] doesn’t work yet, but it will.”

Moving to the topic of crypto, Schmidt admits that he admires cryptocurrencies, but added that most blockchain networks spend a lot of time ensuring no one attacks them. According to the former Google exec, the move is incredibly wasteful. Despite admitting that he holds some cryptocurrencies, Schmidt didn’t name the specific coins he has invested in.

Though his time as Google CEO was over a decade ago — 2001 to 2011, to be precise, Schmidt still served as the internet giant’s executive chairman until 2017, and its technical advisor until 2020. Since leaving the company, he’s spent most of his time funding research in artificial intelligence, biology, and energy. However, on the cryptocurrency front, he also became a strategic advisor for Chainlink labs in December.

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