CTC BLOG

FP StaffMay 30, 2022 13:44:27 IST

Elon Musk has once again raised the issue of spambots on Twitter and stated that the social media platform has very ‘very bot friendly rules. Elon Musk has actually put the $44 Billion deal on hold indefinitely, citing this very reason.

Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal has stated that about five per cent of Twitter’s daily users are fake or consist of spambots. Twitter has also stated the same in a filing with the SEC or the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A Twitter follower of Elon Musk, tweeted out to him, saying that none of the limits regarding changing details about a user on Twitter, is aligned with human to human interactions. He cited that Twitter allows a user to put out 1 tweet every 36 seconds, during a 24 hour period, which, isn’t humanly possible. The user also pointed out that bots can change the email associated with their Twitter accounts 4 times in an hour because Twitter allows it to. This is something that no human being would ever need in a realistic setting.

The Tesla CEO replied, saying “Totally, these are very bot-friendly rules!”

Twitter allows about 1000 direct messages or DMs in a day. It also allows a user to send about 2400 tweets per day.

Because the takeover bid has to meet certain compliances, Musk has asked the SEC to investigate Twitter’s claim of having five per cent bots among its daily active users on the platform. Musk claims that by all logical indications, the number is at least 20 per cent.

Musk has also claimed that Twitter’s CEO, Agrawal, has refused to present any evidence that proves the platform’s claim of having less than five per cent bots.

“20 per cent fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be much higher. My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate,” Musk tweeted.

“Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of less than 5 per cent. This deal cannot move forward until he does,” he had added.

Musk, at a conference in Miami this month, said that Twitter could have at least four times more fake accounts than what has been revealed in its filing.

Mehul DasMay 30, 2022 16:25:14 IST

One of Apple’s most anticipated events, the WWDC or the Worldwide Developers Conference is just a week away. Although Apple will perhaps not be launching any new hardware at this event, which is scheduled to start on the 6th of June this year, like each year, it will be announcing a number of new features and what the company’s strategy will be for software across its products.

One of the major highlights for this year will be iOS 16, which has been codenamed Sydney. iOS is going to be a major upgrade, meaning the new operating system will be chock full of changes. There is also likely to be a major makeover, which would significantly change how the new operating system looks and feels to use. One of the major cosmetic changes is going to come to the lock screen.

With the new iOS 16, Apple is planning some major enhancements, including special wallpapers and more importantly, some new and reworked shortcuts, as well as new lock screen widgets.

This time around, the iPhone 14 may be getting an always-on lock screen, a feature that Apple had hoped it would introduce with the iPhone 13. Given that the iPhone 14 will come with a newly developed and better OLED panel, implementing an always-on feature that doesn’t impact the battery life shouldn’t be a challenge for Apple.

This should also allow the iPhone 14 to turn down the refresh rate of the panel, when the device is locked, similar to what Apple does with the newer Apple Watches.

As per Mark Gruman, a noted Apple leakster, the always-on mode will be exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max models, codenamed D73 and D74, if the feature indeed ends up making the cut in time.

The iPhone 14 Pro will include a new front-facing camera and Face ID cutout, an A16 chip and a 48-megapixel back camera. There’s also the possibility of sending emergency texts over satellite networks.

The Health app will also be adding new features that work with the iPhone and Apple Watch. Apple also is making significant improvements to watchOS that affect day-to-day operating and navigation.

As for any new hardware announcements, any new hardware being revealed at the WWDC, will likely be on the Mac side. The company has been aiming to launch the next MacBook Air with M2 chips at the conference.

FP StaffMay 30, 2022 17:24:56 IST

Apple packs its iPhones and iPads with a bunch of neat hidden features, and more seem to be added with each update. Plus, more upgrades are likely coming soon with iOS 16. The follow-up to iOS 15 is expected to debut at WWDC, Apple’s annual developer’s conference, in June, but it’ll probably be in beta until the fall.

There are plenty of iPhone and iPad features to try out, from SharePlay to Focus. And while many hidden features can be found in the iPhone’s settings, other iOS tricks are built directly into the interface, like the secret trackpad for your keyboard. Trust us, once you discover this feature and start using it, you can’t help but get accustomed to it super quickly.

When you’re editing text, you probably hold your finger down on the screen and move the cursor around all the letters, numbers and punctuation to get to where you want. A magnifying bubble provides some help, by enlarging the text underneath your finger, but there’s another way to move your cursor.

Here’s how to bring up the hidden trackpad on an iOS device:

Step 1: Bring up your keyboard and press and hold your finger down on the space key until the keyboard goes blank. You should feel a bit of haptic feedback and see the cursor enlarge for a second, which means you can now use the keyboard as a trackpad.

Step 2: With your finger still pressed down, move it around the entire keyboard to move your cursor, just like you would on your Mac’s or Windows laptop’s trackpad.

Step 3: To place the cursor, simply lift your finger off the screen. You can then use any of the other keys, like Delete, to make any edits to the text. If you want to move the cursor once again, press your finger down on the space key to bring up the hidden trackpad.

Ameya DalviMay 30, 2022 11:28:18 IST

Sonos has made a name for itself as a pioneer in multi-room wireless home audio. Subsequently, they have focused on other home audio products like soundbars. Typically a premium audio brand, the company has just announced its most affordable soundbar in India, the Sonos Ray. The product will be available for purchase here only by September 2022.

Sonos Ray is a compact soundbar with a surprisingly punchy sound output for its size. The bar is less than two feet in length and fairly portable weighing under 2 kg. Despite its portability, it is not to be mistaken for a wireless Bluetooth speaker as it needs to be powered to function; it doesn’t have a built-in battery. But yes, once powered, you can always use it as a party speaker in a mid-sized room.

The bar packs four Class-D amplifiers, two tweeters and two midrange drivers. The Bass Reflex System comprising a proprietary low-velocity port design takes care of the low end frequencies while minimising distortion. It has capacitive touch controls to handle playback functions and volume. Further control of the device can be achieved through the Sonos app that offers you bass and treble adjustments, Speech Enhancement to boost vocal frequencies for better dialogue clarity and Night Sound for a more soothing output, among other things.

The company claims that the Sonos Ray has custom-designed waveguides that project sound from wall to wall to map your room and adapt the sound for that particular space. Once it is set up, you can control this bar with the TV remote, the Sonos app, Apple AirPlay 2 and certain music streaming apps. It can even connect to 2.4 GHz WiFi networks. The audio input is limited to just optical in but the company officials confirmed that an optical to HDMI adapter would be bundled to connect this product to an HDMI ARC port of a TV.

While the Sonos Ray is a complete product in itself, it is quite versatile and can also be a part of a larger multi-speaker system. For instance, the Ray can be used as front channels and paired with surround speakers from the company to have a surround sound system. Similarly, you can add a subwoofer to the setup to boost the bass or sync it with any other product from the company for multi-room listening.

The Sonos Ray will be priced at Rs 37,999 and available for purchase in India from September 2022. Buyers will have a choice between black and white colour shades. We will reserve our opinion about its sound quality and ease of use for another day after we have a review unit in hand.

Mehul DasMay 23, 2022 10:39:01 IST

Security researchers have found a number of severe vulnerabilities in some very popular Apple products that could enable hackers to take control of their devices and use data obtained from these devices for rather nefarious activities.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is the Central cyber security agency for India, has warned about some severe vulnerabilities in the Apple Watch, certain versions of Macs, iPhones, as well as iPad. Given the boom of smartwatches and fitness trackers in India, and the number of people who have gone for an Apple Watch, the device is likely going to be the most targeted one.

CERT-In warned of multiple vulnerabilities in the Mac operating system and the vulnerabilities were classified as ‘critical’, which is the most serious rating in cyber security parlance.

“Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in the Apple Mac OS which could be exploited by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code, bypass security restrictions and cause a denial of service conditions on the targetted system,” the advisory stated.

What this means is that a hacker could run any commands or code of their choice on a target device after gaining control of the device using the vulnerability. 

Apple has released patches for both the vulnerabilities, which can be installed by downloading the latest updates to the products. However, what makes the matter even more serious is that, by Apple’s own admission, these vulnerabilities might have already been exploited by hackers.

“Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited,” Apple said in a statement regarding the two vulnerabilities on its official website.

Apple devices running iOS & iPadOS versions prior to 15.5 have been rated highly severe. macOS Catalina prior to security update 2022-004, versions of macOS Big Sur prior to 11.6.6, and versions of macOS Monterey prior to 12.4 have been rated critically severe.

As for the Apple Watch, any device running watchOS versions prior to watchOS 8.6 is highly severe. Users who are using older versions of these OS should update their devices as soon as they can. If updating your device isn’t an option, the least you can do is remove all sensitive, and critical data from these devices.

People in the cyber security community have an unwritten rule, according to which, whenever a researcher finds a vulnerability in a product, they inform the manufacturer first and give them ample time to resolve it, before making their research public. This is done so that the manufacturers can fix these issues and release updated software patches for the vulnerabilities.

Given how often we store a ton of personal data, and vital information such as our PAN and Aadhar data, as well as our banking and social media credentials, on our smartphones, these vulnerabilities can wreak havoc in a person’s life when a hacker gets access.

FP StaffMay 24, 2022 11:43:27 IST

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 was due for an update that would enable it to support Google Assistant for a long time. Samsung’s attempt to integrate its own personal assistant, Bixby, was received with mixed reactions, with a vast majority of Galaxy device users, not taking to it. Needless to say, Bixby was a disaster for Samsung.

Given that how Samsung and Apple both plan to take on Apple and have been working on a joint plan to achieve the same, we saw the two come together for the latest Galaxy Watch, sporting a hybrid version of Google’s wearable operating system the companies christened, “Wear OS Powered by Samsung.” It was a return to the OS after nearly a decade of focusing on the open-source Tizen, now offering a kind of hybrid approach between the two. 

The deal meant Samsung’s devices dramatically improved their access to third-party apps through the Play store, while Wear OS got a big boost in market share ahead of the Pixel Watch’s release.

Another benefit that the partnership between Samsung and Google, especially for users, is the increased access to Google’s services on Samsung’s wearable devices. Galaxy Watch 4 owners will now be able to download and use Google Assistant on their wrist, bringing enhanced voice commands to the small screen.

Having said that, Bixby is still going to be sticking around, at least until the next Galaxy Watch shows up this year. 

Google has, no doubt, promised Samsung increased focus on Wear OS, which has largely been treading water in a market dominated by a single player, the Apple Watch.

It will be interesting to see how this partnership plays out and evolve when Google finally launches its own Pixel Watch at their Fall event, along with the Pixel 7 series. Google will be hoping to take on Apple directly and emerge as the defacto Android smartwatch. Whether they will be able to win over first-time smartwatch buyers, and more importantly, convert Apple Watch users. If not, it is likely to eat into Samsung’s share of the wearables market.

FP TrendingMay 24, 2022 13:06:28 IST

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has never failed to amaze its followers with pictures of distant galaxies and black holes. The latest to join the list is the image of the Whirlpool Galaxy posted by the space agency. Also known as galaxy M51, the image of stunning celestial body was captured by NASA’s Hubble Telescope.

The image shows a swirling mass of red, yellow, pink and blue, culminating in what looks like a grand spiral staircase. The red in the image represents hydrogen within star-forming regions as well infrared light. The yellow colour comes from older stars, while the blue colour denotes hot young stars. The image was shared by NASA on 23 May. Check it out:

https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1528500653693222913?

“Round and round we go… Let yourself be whisked away by the Whirlpool Galaxy’s curving arms, pink star-forming regions, and brilliant blue strands of star clusters,” was the caption of the image. Several users were left awed by the photo. Many called it beautiful, while others said they could take their eyes off the picture.

The galaxy is located in the constellation Canes Venatici, about 31 million light-years away. The spiral arms in the photograph are a hallmark of “grand design spiral galaxies” such as M51. These arms, which actually consist of long lanes of stars and gas laced with dust, are star formation factories. They create clusters of new stars by compressing hydrogen gas, as per the American space agency. 

The Whirlpool Galaxy can be easily spotted with a small telescope easily in May. According to NASA, the galaxy’s arms are especially prominent as an effect of a close encounter with the NGC 5195 galaxy. The NGC 5195 is a small yellowish galaxy present at the outermost tip of one of the M51’s arms. It has been gliding past the Whirlpool Galaxy for hundreds of million years.

This is not the only image shared by NASA that has gone viral in recent times. The American space agency has recently shared a picture of the Lagoon Nebula, delighting space enthusiasts.

What are your thoughts about this image?

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Mehul DasMay 26, 2022 11:21:16 IST

The much-hyped phone from OnePlus’soriginal founder, Carl Pei, the Nothing Phone 1, is all set to be one of the most sought after Android phones of 2022. It is expected that the manner in which OnePlus disrupted the flagship market back when it launched, Nothing would do the same for the mid-tier-premium segment. We have known very little about the device in terms of its launch date and availability, up until now. However, details around the device’s launch are now leaking online.

Several new leaks suggest that the Nothing Phone 1 will be launched by the company on July 21, and will be priced around $500-550. The leaks also indicate that the device will be available first in China and Europe, and will then be slowly rolled out to the rest of the world., The device will be available in India given how OnePlus phones and Nothing Ear 1 Earbuds have been received in India. However, in India, the device is likely to be available from mid-August onwards.

Given that the device is priced around $500-550 in Europe and the United States, the Nothing Phone 1 will be going up against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE and the Google Pixel 6a, which also becomes available for pre-order on July 21st. It will be interesting to see how Nothing’s first smartphone stacks up in the increasingly competitive premium-mid-range category.

Carl Pei also revealed how the device will look like. Staying true to its design philosophy, Nothing will be making with a clear back, showcasing its internal circuitry, just like it did with the Nothing Ear 1 Earbuds.

Nothing Phone 1 will be sold in India through Flipkart and will be exclusive to the platform.

Although there are no confirmed leaks about the specifications of the Nothing Phone 1, rumours suggest that it will be getting the Snapdragon 778G SoC, 8GB RAM, a 4500mAh battery and a 6.43-inch FHD+ display, with support for a 90Hz refresh rate and HDR10+.

The base variant of the device will have 128GB of storage. As for the cameras, Nothing Phone 1 supposedly carries a triple camera setup at the rear, with the primary camera having a 50MP sensor. We also get an 8MP and a 2MP shooter, for ultrawide and macro photography.

FP StaffMay 27, 2022 10:47:06 IST

Google was planning to launch one of its most anticipated devices, the Pixel Fold, by the end of this year. Now, a new report on 9to5Google says the launch of the foldable smartphone has been postponed, and in all likelihood, will be launched by the end of spring in 2023.

While chip shortages and issues with global supply chains may be a major issue, the main reason why the Pixel Fold or Pixel Notepad, as it is being called in some circles has been delayed, is the fact that the engineers at Google are simply not happy how the device’s development has been up to this point.

One of the major reasons why development has been slow, and why production will be even slower for the Pixel Notepad is the supply of foldable panels. The Pixel Notepad was reportedly going to have a foldable, 7.58-inch main display manufactured by Samsung Display, but the company is busy producing panels for Samsung’s own devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and hasn’t been able to allocate resources and production facilities for other customers.

The phone is now scheduled for a launch next spring. Notably, Google unveiled a bunch of new and upcoming products at its Google I/O conference in May, and Pixel Notepad was not one of them, despite several rumours that Google was just putting some finishing touches to the phone.

The Pixel Notepad, if it ever launches, will be Google’s first foldable smartphone. Earlier reports say it would sport Google’s Tensor chip, and the same camera setup as Google’s Pixel 6a, though if the phone really launches nearly a year from now, these specifications are likely to change.

The Pixel Fold is slated to be priced at around $1400 when it launches. Although this would make the Pixel Fold substantially more expensive than the cheapest Pixel 6, as well as Pixel 7, it would still be about $400 cheaper than the cheapest Galaxy Z Fold 3 & the Galaxy Z Flip 3. However, do keep in mind that for the upcoming fold devices, Samsung plans to reduce the price significantly. Moreover, Google will be very late to the party with the Pixel Notepad, so any chances that it had of undercutting the Samsung Z Fold 4 are out of the window.

Most travelers these days use their phones to navigate. Perform a simple Google search on an address, and a detailed map with voice directions, nearby attractions, gas stations, restaurants, hotels and more is just a tap away. Still, there are companies that build additional features into mapping to try to stand apart from the reliable, but maybe not-so-sexy Google Maps. Wayze and Tripit are two examples, while Roadtrippers is still another. So is it worth adding Roadtrippers to your crowded app drawer? Maybe.

The major benefit of Roadtrippers is its friendly, easy-to-navigate interface. When opening the app, you can tap the “Nearby” button and you’ll be presented with large icons ranging from “Breakfast” to “Take a Walk.” Tap one of those and you’ll see what’s in your location in that category on a map. Tap further and you’ll get a description of the destination along with reviews and hours of operation, if available. In our tests, the app provided useful information just about 40 percent of the time. 

Once you have your destination chosen, you can choose to “Start Trip,” which will take you to your phone’s mapping app, or “Navigate,” which leads to a screen asking you to download Roadtripper’s beta turn-by-turn navigation system. We can’t imagine why you’d do that when your native mapping app should be just fine.

Where Roadtrippers really shines is through the use of its “Start A Trip” function. Here you simply enter a destination and choose which attractions you’d like to highlight along your route. You can choose to focus on pretty much anything you’d find on a road trip from national parks to nightlife. You can add and remove different categories to suit the focus of your trip, and the “nearby” function is still available to show you what’s in your immediate area as you drive.

Roadtripper allows you to add up to seven destinations along your route in the free version; any more than that and you’ll need to upgrade to Roadtrippers Plus, which costs $29.99 per year. 

Another standout feature of Roadtrippers is the free guide section. These are articles built around a theme such as “48 Hours in New York City,” or “007’s America.” They can help you plan a unique vacation or you can just enjoy them as fun armchair travel adventures.

Roadtrippers is available online and as an iOS and Android app.

Download The Roadtrippers App Here

FP StaffMay 27, 2022 13:17:40 IST

One of the most anticipated smartphones to release this year has to be the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. Although Samsung hasn’t confirmed anything related to the smartphone, it is only natural for them to give one of their most iconic and highly sought after devices an annual refresh.

A few leaks have surfaced online, which reveal that the device is likely to launch by the end of August or early September, and will be priced around $1600. Earlier, we saw a leak suggesting that it would be getting one of the best camera modules in the business. Similarly, several leaks have suggested what sort of specifications should we be looking for.

Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 4:

Price and Launch Date
Although Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, if history is anything to go by, Samsung will be launching the Galaxy Fold 4, along with the Flip 4 by the end of August or early September, in the USA and South Korea, and then after 2-3 weeks, worldwide. Although Samsung has stated that this time around, they will price their Z devices more competitively, the Z Fold 4 is expected to start at $1600-1800.

Specifications
Rumour has it that it’ll be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 (SM8475) SoC that’s fabricated on TSMC’s 4nm process. This chipset is more efficient than both Samsung’s Exynos 2200 and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Just like with the Z Fold 3, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is likely to have 12GB RAM and up to 512GB of storage. It is likely to be powered by a 4,400 mAh battery with support for fast charging. Additionally, we should also see a good array of 5G bands, stereo speakers and support for an S Pen.

Cameras
The Z Fold 4 is bound to get a massive upgrade in the camera department. The South Korean tech giant is planning to provide the Galaxy Fold 4, with a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide sensor, and a 12MP telephoto camera with 3X zoom, making it one of the most potent camera setups in a smartphone. In all likelihood, the front facing camera will either be a 4MP under-display camera or, the same 10MP ultrawide camera that we see in the S20 Ultra.

Displays
The new foldable is expected to have slightly tweaked aspect ratios for the displays, especially the main, internal one. The tweak may not seem to make a significant difference but we think it’s enough to make the device look boxier than the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 had an internal display aspect ratio of 5:4, while its external display came in at 24.5:9. The upcoming Z Fold 4 will have an internal screen ratio of 6:5, and an external screen ratio of 23:9. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is expected to feature a 6.2-inch cover display and a 7.6-inch main display. The main inner display QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a refresh rate of 120Hz. The outer display is likely to be HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with again, a refresh rate of 120Hz. 

A reworked and better hinge
Although Samsung has vastly improved the quality of their hinges between all three generations of the Z Fold, there still are some pertinent issues that they need to resolve. Over the last year, hinge design in a number of foldable devices from manufacturers like Oppo has improved significantly. The Fold 3 has a gap between the two folds, right where the hinge is placed, whereas the Oppo Find N has its folds stay flush against each other. Samsung will surely try and implement a mechanism like that into their hinge design.

Mehul DasMay 27, 2022 17:53:33 IST

Every photography nerd worth their salt, has imagined what it must be like to shoot with a Hasselblad or a Leica. Even seasoned professionals can’t help but lust after the engineering marvels that the boffins at Hasselblad and Leica make. 

The legacy that these camera brands have is simply unmatched. No matter how great a camera brands like Sony, Canon, or Nikon make, they will never come close to the stature that Hasselblad and Leica have. In fact, this is exactly what the situation is right now.

Sony, Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm make some of the most technologically advanced cameras that are great to shoot photos as well as videos. So good is the picture quality of some of the cameras made by these brands that they have been used in feature films and documentaries. Sure, they do not compare to the Arri or Red cameras, but they are pretty close.

Hasselblad and Leica on the other hand, don’t have cameras that can shoot videos nearly as well as your latest Sony A7s, Nikon Z9 or Canon R3. And yet, people are more than willing to shell out up to 10 times more money to get a Leica or a Hasselblad.

The cheapest Hasselblad that money can buy is the X1D II 50C mirrorless medium format, which goes for about $5,750 or just over Rs 4.5 Lakhs, for the body only. That means you will need to shell out another $2,000 Rs 2-4 Lakhs for a compatible lens. At a minimum, you’re looking to spend at least Rs 6-8 Lakhs. And that’s not even their current best selling camera. That will have to be the H6D-100c, which starts at $32,000, or roughly Rs 28 Lakhs, again, just for the body. Add in a couple of lenses, and you’re looking to spend about Rs 35-40 Lakhs easily.

Leica has a similar story. So why do people spend so much on these cameras and lenses, when clearly there are many cameras that offer “better value for money?”

Resolution and Detail

Although the resolution of a sensor is not the absolute parametre to judge a camera, it does matter especially when you’re working professionally. A Hasselblad like the H6D-100C comes with a 100MP medium format sensor medium, which is bigger than that of a full frame sensor that is normally found on high-end Sony, Canon and Nikon Cameras. Hasselblad even has a camera with a 400MP sensor. Similarly, Leica’s current most popular selling camera, the M11, has a resolution of 60MPs. 

And mind you, these are bigger pixels, than what is used in most consumer cameras, so the quality of each pixel is anyway much better. Furthermore, unlike most consumer grade entry level cameras and smartphone cameras, Hasselblad and Leica don’t use pixel binning. Pixel binning is a practice where smartphones take the average value of 8-16 pixels, and count it as one. What this allows them to do, is to come up with resolutions like 100MP or 200MP which looks great for the marketing team, but actually, outputs an image that is close to a more manageable 12MP. Simply put, Hasselblad and Leica don’t need to bin pixels. In fact, because Hasselblads use 120MM sensors, they are better than Leica in that sense.

The lenses

Hasselblad, Leica and Zeiss make some of the best lenses in the world. These legacy brands make some of the sharpest and most colour accurate lenses. No matter how great a sensor you put inside a camera, if it is not being used with a good lens, the resolution, the dynamic range, everything falls flat. Scientists often use lenses from these manufacturers for astrophotography, as well as to shoot images of flora and fauna to catalogue them. 

In fact, a number of space research organisations, develop camera modules and sensors to be sent into space after spending millions of dollars and use standard, commercially available lenses from Zeiss, Leica and Hasselblad.

Dynamic range

One of the biggest criteria that either makes or breaks a camera is the dynamic range. Hasselblads and Leicas have some of the best dynamic range among all brands of cameras. What this allows them to do to is accurately capture the tiniest of details in the brightest as well as darkest portions in a single photograph, without having to expose the same frame, twice, or composite two different frames. This, combined with the unbelievably high resolution of its sensors, means that anyone who shoots on these cameras can get a hoarding printed straight from the camera, without the need to process it. 

Colour science

Every camera brand develops its own colour science. To put it in very rudimentary terms, colour science is basically the process and the calculations used to record what a sensor sees. No camera sensor is actually able to replicate the exact colours of an object. Basically, no camera is ever able to capture the true, real life colours of an object. Even in humans, every pair of eyes has its own colour science. No two pairs of human eyes see the same shade of blue when they look at the sky. Hasselblad and Leica are no different. However, of all the camera makers in the world, they come the closest. 

Durability

Hasselblads and Leicas are bult like a tank. Hasselblads have often been taken on space missions simply because of the wide range of hostile environments they can work in. In fact, all the images that we see from the first moon landing were taken using a Hasselblad. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin used a silver coloured HDC camera along with a Zeiss 60mm f5.6 lens.

Similarly, the Leica has been to the summit of mountains like K2 and has been taken on expeditions to Antarctica and Siberia, some of the coldest places on Earth. These cameras work perfectly well without a hiccup in situations where most electronic and mechanical items simply give up.

Quality control

Now, this may not seem like a very important aspect, but each Leica and Hasselblad camera is assembled by hand. Following that, each and every camera that is built is thoroughly tested for colour accuracy, sharpness and robustness. In a given year, both of these manufacturers can produce at the most 10,000 units. In comparison, Nikon produces 10,000 units of their best selling cameras every couple of days.

Leicas and Hasselblads may not be the most rounded cameras that are available on the market. There are far cheaper cameras that work wonders for most people, professionals included, that can also shoot great videos. But if you’re looking for a pure photography camera, if you want to understand what photography was always meant to be, you can’t choose anything other than a Leica or a Hasselblad.

There are almost as many travel apps out there as there are travel destinations. In general, they all do some things well, and some things not so well. WikiCamps is certainly in the same, erm, camp. With a focus on – you guessed it – camping, the app can help you find nearby places to pitch your tent, park your RV, or take in some local sites. And while it can certainly be helpful, the app also suffers from so not-so-great features that might make it not worth paying to own it.

Like many apps, WikiCamps comes with a 14-day free trial. After that, it costs a one-time payment of $1.99 for lifetime access. The free trial period is well worth it because you can try out different destinations to see just how well it will work for you. Many users report a lack of data on local attractions and campsites, while our tests were data rich, so it might just depend on where you’re looking. It seems WikiCamps has a strong following in Australia, so the crowd-sourced information it relies on might just take some time to fill in around the rest of the world.

Beyond the actual data it contains (or doesn’t contain), WikiCamps has a wealth of smart features. Tap the hamburger button in the top-left of the screen, and you’re presented with a list of nearby attractions, campgrounds, hotels and more. Or you can enter a destination to see what might be in the area where you intend to travel.

Tap on any one attraction and, if available, you’ll find contact details, photos, web links, user ratings and a mapping button that lets you load directions into your favorite mapping app such as Wayze, Google Maps or TomTom Go. You also get a week-long weather forecast for the site. Plus, because this is a Wiki built by members, you can edit the site if you notice that something is wrong or if you want to add additional information or photos, and you can also leave and read reviews from other users.

A filter button lets you sort sites according to what you’re looking for and helps clear the clutter. You can for example, switch the toggles to include only free campgrounds that accept pets and have water facilities. You can see results either on the map or the list. One unfortunate thing is that the app seems to use Google Maps, so you wind up seeing all of the destinations that Google provides, but they aren’t all clickable so things can get a bit confusing. 

Another nice aspect of WikiCamps is the ability to download offline data on a state-by-state basis, so you can access sites even in remote areas where you might not be able to get online. Also, there is a travel forum where you can ask others any questions you might have about destinations.

While the app offers a trip-planning function, we found it difficult and confusing to use. You can search on your destination, but there seems to be no easy way to indicate that you want to add it as the end point in your trip. Instead, you can try to build a trip by tapping on sites and tapping “Add To Planner,” but it’s a cumbersome way to go about things. 

Because WikiTrips is built by the community, it can be hit or miss in terms of the information it provides. Some spots have lots of entries, while others are fairly bare. And the Trip Planner doesn’t seem to have much utility. But, for just $1.99 it might be a worthwhile tool to add to a frequent-camper’s resources, and it’s certainly worth taking the two-week free trial out for a spin.

Download WikiCamps Here

FP StaffMay 27, 2022 16:04:40 IST

One of the harshest realities of social media is the hostility that women face on any given platform. From incessant trolling to rape and death threats for speaking out, to unsolicited messages and dick picks –  the list goes on and on. Well, one tech company is looking to change the dynamics of how a traditional Web2 based social media platform like Facebook or Instagram functions.

‘Coto’ or ‘Coming Together’ is the latest offering from Eve World, a Web3 women-only social community platform that seeks to build a positive and valuable digital experience for women. Coto promises to “narrow the gender divide” on social media, where men outnumber women and therefore, only allows women and transgenders to be users on the platform

“In order to make the internet empowering and inclusive, it is imperative to have a safe space where we can freely express ourselves. Women don’t get the chance to have intimate conversations, which leads to self-censorship,” says Aparna Acharekar, co-founder of Eve World.

Rampant sexism, misogyny, and trolling have become almost synonymous with social media for women. On top of that, we really don’t have many actionable laws that would safeguard women and transgenders. And even social media platforms like LinkedIn, where the entire premise is to inculcate professional connections, have failed women and transgenders miserably.

“The platform will enable members to freely create, curate, consume and own content. The decentralised nature of blockchain will help in overcoming issues with privacy,” says Tarun Katial, CEO, Eve World. “Think of this as WhatsApp into Instagram or WhatsApp into Reddit or Reddit into Instagram but only for women,” he added.

The platform will be based on Web3, or third generation internet, which, using blockchain technology and the principles of decentralised ownership, meaning the members on the platform will be able to freely create, curate, consume and own content, all the while overcoming issues with privacy. Furthermore, members on the platform will not be bogged down with data breaches, algorithm based manipulation, and identity theft which actually is a major problem that women face.

Despite the fact that the internet has forever changed the manner in which we interact with the world and with each other, how information is disseminated and ideas are exchanged, women, especially in India, unfortunately, have not had a level playing field where they could take advantage of that.

One of the main things Acharekar felt was missing from “legacy social media platforms” is intimate conversations.

“Women tend to feel restricted as there is always a concern regarding abuse and harassment. Hence, no one feels free to talk about issues like menopause, motherhood and sexual problems. We want to open them up and have women make their own groups and talk about such issues,” she said.

While women will be allowed to post anonymously on ‘coto,’ safeguards have been put in place that kicks in during the registration process.

In order to set up an account on ‘coto’, a user will have to go through a basic KYC process, that will involve facial recognition. This is done so that the platform knows if a user is a woman or a trans person. If a person does not want to be discovered at all, they can choose to withhold their identity while engaging with other members of the community, once they register.

The platform also intends to monetise and help members showcase their business products via online marketplaces for women entrepreneurs on the platform.

FP StaffMay 26, 2022 13:55:23 IST

Samsung is planning to exit the feature phones market in India after it found out that the segment contributed about 1 per cent of its market value in the first quarter of 2022. Overall, the feature phone market in India fell by about 39 per cent.

As per a report, Samsung’s last batch of feature phones is yet to be manufactured this year. Once that is done, the South Korean tech giant will no longer be manufacturing features phones in India. The plan is to eventually shift the focus and resources to slightly higher priced smartphones. Going forward, it is very likely the cheapest Samsung that one can buy in India, will start from Rs 15,000.

Samsung is among two major MNCs to contribute to the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. Samsung, according to ET, is mandated to get sops only on the production of handsets worth over Rs 15,000 factor price. That might be the biggest reason why Samsung wants to start making phones that hit that price point at the very least.

Feature phones have been on the decline in India. According to a Counterpoint Research report, the market saw a 39 per cent year-on-year decline in the first quarter of 2022. Samsung, which was leading the market till a few years back now falls behind Itel and Lava in the feature phones market, the Counterpoint Research report said.

The report also stated that the feature phone segment contributed just 1 per cent in value and 20 per cent in volumes for Samsung till the end of March this year. Samsung executives said that the company expects to grow in double digits in the second quarter of 2022. In the first quarter of 2022, Samsung was the best-selling brand in the Indian market again, with a 22 per cent market share, dethroning Xiaomi to become the market leader in the Android segment.

Mehul DasMay 26, 2022 16:08:15 IST

Given how Sony and Microsoft update their gaming consoles with a more powerful “Pro” version a couple of years after they launch a new console, rumours regarding updated versions of the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles have been making the rounds ever since the PS5 and the Xbox Series S & Series X were announced. 

Now, a couple of major manufacturers have all but confirmed that the two gaming giants are working on the next generation of their gaming consoles. The new versions of these consoles are expected to come with a significant performance and graphics boost.

AMD who makes the processors for both the PS5 as well as the Xbox Series X recently started hiring an SoC verification engineer for the next-gen RDNA family graphics which reportedly are meant for the new consoles. 

Also, electronics manufacturer TCL has claimed that it expects the PS5 Pro and the new Xbox Series X consoles to arrive by the end of 2023 or early 2024. The company hosted a press event to showcase its latest televisions and shared some details about the consoles getting a refresh or an upgrade. As per TCL, the new consoles will be more than capable of offering gameplay of up to 120 FPS at 2160p resolution with the most demanding of titles and they will be able to play games in 8K at respectable framerates, without breaking a sweat 

The company also expects PS5 Pro and the next Xbox Series X with SoCs that will be at par with the upcoming Radeon RX 7700 XT. Given that neither Sony nor Microsoft has confirmed any of these details yet, readers should be taking the finer details around the consoles, with a grain of salt.

Both Sony and Microsoft have a history of releasing newer and updated versions of their gaming consoles. With the PS4, Sony launched the PS4 Pro, whereas Microsoft updated the Xbox One S with the One X. 

It only makes sense to see that both the companies will follow the same strategy for the current-gen consoles. Besides these, the companies may also be looking at renewing and updating their manufacturing cycles and processes with the refresh of the consoles as the stocks for their current gen consoles, the PS5 and Xbox Series X, have been limited since the day they were launched, having been plagued by chip shortages and other supply chain disruptions.

FP StaffMay 26, 2022 17:33:47 IST

Imagine this – you’re speaking to your friend and planning a trip to Goa, or are thinking of buying that latest sneaker over a call and suddenly you are inundated with advertisements about holiday packages in Goa, or the different discounts that different shopping platforms offer on those exact sneakers. Sounds familiar? Well, you aren’t the only one.

If you have seen an ad in your email box or via SMS based on your smartphone conversation with your wife or a colleague, don’t get shocked as a survey revealed on Wednesday that nearly half of all Indian smartphone users have confirmed seeing ads based on their private voice conversations.

About 53 per cent of citizens said they have had one or more instances in the last 12 months where they saw advertisements on the web or some social media app based on their phone conversations, according to a survey by community social media platform LocalCircles.

The results also indicated that a majority of Indian smartphone users have given microphone access to their handsets for audio/video calls to various social media apps and audio recording third-party apps.  

“A large number of people have been raising the issue of seeing contextual advertisements post their private phone conversations and this is very concerning,” said Sachin Taparia, Founder of LocalCircles.

“Such practices must be investigated and any apps requiring microphone access must be required to give clear declarations of where a user’s information will be used and seek explicit consent,” he added.

The Indian government is yet to approve the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019, aimed to provide legislative and statutory protection to users’ or citizens’ personal information and recognise protecting the data of individuals as their right.

LocalCircles said it will share the survey findings with the IT Ministry, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) and the RBI for necessary action.

“If this is not done at the earliest, such access could easily lead to financial frauds and people’s personal information getting compromised with no accountability of how it happened,” Taparia said.

Among those who had such an experience, 28 per cent said it happens all the time, 19 per cent said it has happened several times, and 6 per cent said it has happened a few times.

Only 24 per cent of citizens said that it has never happened while 23 per cent did not have an opinion.

About 84 per cent of smartphone users admitted to having given their contact list access to WhatsApp, 51 per cent had given access to Facebook Messenger, Instagram or both, and 41 per cent had given access to caller information apps like Truecaller.

If you found this article, you likely already know what a VPN is and what it’s used for, but just in case you need a brief refresher, here’s a rundown. VPNs are essentially a server that you connect to before you do most of your online activity so that any services, sites, or networks that you connect to see the IP of the VPN, not your own. It’s useful for things like avoiding firewalls, geographical barriers and keeping your personal IP address from falling into the hands of suspicious sites.

Now that that’s out of the way, we can get to the real meat and potatoes of all of this. Which VPN should you be looking into?

In this article, we’re taking a look at two big contenders among the very best VPN services on the market: IPVanish vs ExpressVPN. Both of them fulfill just about every standard requirement of your typical VPN service, but they both have their strong suits, and they both offer unique features that might just make them a more attractive choice for you than the other, depending on how you plan to use them.

IPVanish

IPVanish started in 2012 as nothing but a few dozen servers with some windows software. Now, it has grown into a powerhouse of the VPN market and is consistently rated one of the best VPNs out there. This is why it’s such a shame that IPVanish isn’t talked about nearly as much as certain other names.

IPVanish has grown exponentially as a service in recent years, and its features are now in line with all the other top dogs on the VPN market. It’s consistently rated in the top 10 available VPNs.

ExpressVPN

Starting all the way back in 2009, ExpressVPN is now one of the world’s most extensive VPN services out there. It typically fights with the other prominent heads of the game and has made efforts to offer more features, better service, and more reliability as a result.

Because of this, ExpressVPN is able to contend year after year for the spot of top VPN, and while it can be debated whether it’s the one true king (or queen) of the VPNs, it’s undeniable that its quality certainly earns it the recognition and high placement that it holds on most lists.

The Comparison

Both of these VPN services are clearly pretty impressive. If you’re on the market for a VPN, it’s very unlikely you’d be dissatisfied with either choice. However, we’re writing this article to help you pick the BEST choice for you, not a good choice. So buckle in because here comes the comparison. Let the battle between these two VPN titans commence.

Speed

One of the first factors worth looking into is data speed. No matter which service you use, your download and upload speed are going to take at least a minor hit when you connect to a VPN. In short, this is because when you’re connecting to a website, you don’t just make a direct connection. You access the VPN, which then has to connect to that site. This creates an extra barrier that will add some delay no matter how quick the service is.

The goal is simply to keep that delay as low as possible, and some VPNs do this better than others. While speeds will vary heavily depending on what area you’re trying to connect from and whether or not the VPN has servers around that region, we can still compare the average overall speeds.

Unfortunately for IPVanish, ExpressVPN has them pretty heavily beat in the speed department.

While this gap between the two has certainly diminished in recent years as IPVanish has expanded their server count, ExpressVPN still commonly gets speeds much faster than IPVanish in most regions, especially areas such as the UK.

While your circumstance will vary depending on your location and original internet speed, most users report their original download speed decreasing by about 40-50% with ExpressVPN, and about 50-60% with IPVanish.

That isn’t to say IPVanish is slow. It’s still one of the faster VPNs on the market. But when it’s directly compared with ExpressVPN, the Mbps speeds begin to show a pretty drastic difference.

ExpressVPN wins this one.

Base Location

While this part isn’t exactly a competition, it’s still an essential piece of knowledge to know. Every VPN service has a location that they are based from; their main hub. While this doesn’t tend to affect the service too much, it does play a part in where most of their servers would likely be to offer the fastest and most reliable connections and what country’s laws dictate the services that VPN can provide.

ExpressVPN’s home base enjoys the warm sun of the Caribbean, stationed in the British Virgin Islands.

IPVanish, on the other hand, is based in Orlando, Florida, in the United States.

This round doesn’t really have a winner.

Supported Platforms

VPN services typically offer software to make using their servers easy for customers. Most big names on the market make this software compatible with all major systems, but some cover more than others.

IPVanish’s software is compatible with Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Linux, Android, Chrome OS, and Fire TV.

It’s a wide, versatile range that would suit a majority of users’ needs. However, the app itself has been reported to have problems occasionally. Crashing and timing out, unfortunately, isn’t all too uncommon when attempting to connect to a server. 

The software even occasionally tends to mess with your network settings. Reddit user B_Wease, for example, stated that when they turned the service off, they couldn’t connect to their own internet on that device.

The app does show a lot of information and helps check every detail about your connection, but some users might find it a bit cluttered, especially if you don’t know what a lot of that info is even for.

You can download IPVanish’s software here.

ExpressVPN’s software is compatible with Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Linux, Android, Chrome OS, Fire TV, Firestick, Kindle Fire, and Chromebook. ExpressVPN covers an even greater range of devices, impressively enough. Not only that, but most report their service to be far more reliable, as complete crashes are infrequent when connecting to various servers. With their software, usually, the worst you’ll experience is a short delay.

You can find download ExpressVPN’s here.

This round goes to ExpressVPN.

Servers & Countries

The following criteria will be the number of countries each service spans and how many servers each has. We’ll be upfront about this one. ExpressVPN takes this round as well, hands down.

That is, of course, due in part to them having been in the game longer than IPVanish. Every service slowly expands its arsenal and reaches further across the globe to suit the needs of their customers as they grow. ExpressVPN has had more time to do that and has been more successful in doing so.

That isn’t to say IPVanish is struggling in this department. Covering 57 countries with a server count of over 1,900, it has one of the bigger server counts on the VPN market.

Unfortunately, it just doesn’t compare to ExpressVPN’s 3,000+ servers over a total of 95 countries.

ExpressVPN takes this round as well for a hat-trick.

Simultaneous Connections

While things may be looking grim for IPVanish as our underdogs, things might just turn around for them here. All VPN services have a limit on how many connections you can make with their VPN at once. This keeps customers from overloading their servers with too many requests at once and slowing things down for themselves and others. However, the hard limit that services put on their VPNs vary.

ExpressVPN has its limit at five. Five simultaneous connections are relatively standard for most VPNs, and most customers wouldn’t struggle too much with that limit.

IPVanish, however, has its limit at ten. This is actually fairly generous, as most VPNs don’t allow nearly as many simultaneous connections, especially for a standard package. This limit would hardly be a problem for most people to ever wrestle with, as it’s pretty rare for a room to be filled with more than ten computers that all desperately need to access the VPN right this instant.

IPVanish is on the board with a win!

Privacy

This next comparison will be one of the more important ones for many people looking into a VPN service. It’s the main reason why VPNs have become so popular recently. As the digital world grows, people want to feel secure, and knowing your personal IP can be tracked at any time leaves people with an uneasy feeling. This is what has led to the success of the VPN.

So how do you compare privacy? Well, there are two main factors that we’re going to be looking at. The first is the encryption system that each service uses.

Both ExpressVPN and IPVanish use something known as AES 256-bit encryption for their services. AES, or Advanced Encryption Standard, is an encryption method that supports the largest possible bit size and encrypts data to the point where it’s essentially impossible for hackers or anyone who comes across that data to use brute force to access the information. It was initially created for use by the federal government, so yes, it’s pretty secure.

So if your connections are unreadable when you make them, what about after they’ve already been made? What about the logs and records of each connection you’ve made to a VPN?

That’s a significant factor that most people look into for VPN services. Since the whole point of a VPN is to let customers be secure on the internet, the last thing they want is to know that a log of every connection they make is kept somewhere. What would happen in the event of a data breach of their logs? If a record is held somewhere, a hacker could find out even more information from someone using a VPN than if someone wasn’t!

Luckily, neither service keeps logs or records of any kind of traffic. This is one of the features that make both VPNs so popular. It’s quite rare to find services that keep no logs on their user activity whatsoever. ExpressVPN and IPVanish, however, both state that they maintain no data or records of connections from their customers.

This round is a tie!

Customer Support

In a perfect world, it wouldn’t matter what the customer support is for each service, as the product itself would work flawlessly. But until VPNs start singing and butterflies come out of our routers when we connect to them, yes, we will occasionally need customer support.

Both services offer live chat service on their websites, available 24/7. They also both have email support if you prefer to get your help the old-school way.

We have ourselves another tie!

Pricing

Last but certainly not least, we have the price for a plan in our ExpressVPN vs. IPVanish battle. Both of these services offer multiple payment plan options, where you will receive a discount for buying longer-term plans. However, for this, we’ll be looking purely at the monthly plan for each.

Both of these services have prices that put them right at about the average for most VPNs. For a monthly plan, ExpressVPN will cost you $12.95, whereas IPVanish costs a cool $9.99, making it actually on the lower end of average VPN costs.

IPVanish takes this last round.

ExpressVPN vs. IPVanish, which is better?

While both of these services are excellent, there’s a reason why ExpressVPN is fighting to take the crown. Under most circumstances, ExpressVPN does offer a higher quality service. Its speeds are superior, it has higher server counts, and it’s frequently rated as one of the best VPNs out there.

However, there are a few places where IPVanish takes the lead, such as the generous ten simultaneous connections that it allows you to have at one time. The cheaper pricing all makes it a serious contender. If ExpressVPN’s prices feel a little steep to you, IPVanish offers a genuinely excellent service for a reduced plan cost.

Here is a visual of everything to keep in mind between the two.

	IPVanish	ExpressVPN
General Rating	4.8 / 5	4.9 / 5
Based In	United States	British Virgin Islands
Unlimited Bandwidth	Yes	Yes
Unlimited Server Switching	Yes	Yes
Country Count	57	95
Server Count	1,900+	3,000+
Encryption	AES 256-bit	AES 256-bit
Logging	No	No
Simultaneous Connections	10	5
Customer Support	24/7 Live Chat + Email	24/7 Live Chat + Email

Just remember, if you choose either of these, rest assured that you will be getting a quality service no matter what. Both are trusted, both are reliable, and both are high-end VPNs.

In the end, it comes down to customer preference.

FP StaffMay 25, 2022 13:42:43 IST

Xiaomi has launched the Mi Band 7 in China alongside the Redmi Note 11T series, Redmi Note 11 SE, Redmi Buds 4, and Redmi Buds 4 Pro wireless earbuds. The seventh gen Xiaomi Band, formerly known as Mi Band has a larger 1.62-inch AMOLED screen with always-on functionality while retaining its predecessor’s 14-day battery life promise. There are new fitness smarts too including improved blood oxygen level or SpO2 tracking and more workout modes.

The main highlight of the Xiaomi Band 7 is the new 1.62-inch colour AMOLED display, which is almost 25 per cent larger than the outgoing Mi Band 6. The screen has a resolution of 490×192 pixels and can top 500nits, which is again an improvement over the last model. This version also lets you, finally, keep the display always on.

The Band 7 has a six-axis accelerometer and can monitor heart rate and sleep quality index, specifically, how well do users get REM sleep. Because it is 5ATM-certified, the Band 7 is swim-proof and is able to recognise swimming strokes. The Xiaomi Band 7 also comes with a female health tracker and more.

It can monitor your blood oxygen level and automatically inform you when the level goes below 90 per cent. It also supports 120 training modes and automatic workout detection. A Personal Activity Intelligence score meanwhile can give you insights into your workouts. You can also compete with friends based on those scores.

Just like with the previous model, this one also gets an NFC option to allow digital payments. The Band 7 comes with a 180mAh battery with 15 hours of constant usage.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 7 has been launched in two variants – one with NFC and the other a non-NFC variant. The NFC variant has been priced at 299 Yuan, whereas the non-NFC Xiaomi Band 7 has been priced at 240 Yuan. In India, they are likely to be priced at Rs 3500, and Rs 2900 respectively.

The smart band will be available for pre-order in China and will go on its first sale on May 31. The launch date for the device in India has not been revealed yet, but considering Xiaomi had previously launched all the Mi Bands in India, it will surely bring the Mi Band 7 as well.

Ameya DalviMay 25, 2022 16:42:32 IST

Pros:
Soothing and eco-friendly design
Flagship processing hardware
Excellent display with variable refresh rate
Dual 50MP cameras are impressive 
Good battery life with fast charging
Android 12; Realme UI 3.0 is user friendly
Competitive pricing

Cons:
No IP rating or wireless charging support
No telephoto or macro cameras
Too much bloatware

Summary: The Realme GT 2 Pro is currently the most affordable smartphone in India with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. On top of that, you get an excellent 2K display, competent cameras and the latest version of Android under Rs 50,000 making it a compelling proposition.

Price: Rs 49,999 onwards

Rating: 4.3/5

These are weird times when traditionally premium brands like OnePlus are looking at the lower midrange pastures, while a brand like Realme who has almost mastered the mid-range segment is looking to play the flagship game. The Realme GT 2 Pro, as the company claims, is indeed their ‘most premium flagship ever’, but that’s not it. Most of its key features are eerily similar to those of the OnePlus 10 Pro which sells at a significantly higher price point. That leaves little doubt about who its prime target is. Can the GT 2 Pro pull off a giant killing act? Let’s find out.

Realme GT 2 Pro: Design (4/5)
Among the plethora of glass clad phones, the Realme GT 2 Pro stands out courtesy of its unique back panel which is meant to be environment friendly too. According to Realme, it is made of a bio-based polymer that leads to 35.5% lesser carbon emissions, and the overall packaging per million units leads to an equivalent of 3.5 million fewer plastic bottles (size not specified) being produced. Naoto Fukasawa is the lead designer again, who has styled a couple of Realme phones in the past. 

The back panel of the Paper Green and Paper White variants does look and feel different. It is supposed to feel like paper to touch; almost, but not exactly. It is quite elegant though and easy on the eyes, also helps in keeping the weight under 190 grams. If you find it a tad plasticky and prefer glass, there’s always the Steel Black variant with a glass back. The biopolymer back panel is sturdy and blends smoothly into the Aluminium frame. It should be able to handle a few more drops than a glass panel. From personal experience, there wasn’t any wear and tear after a month of use, which is good. 

The bezels are extremely narrow and the chin isn’t too prominent either. The placement of the volume rocker and the power button along the edges on either side of the display is spot on, and you don’t have to stretch your fingers much to access them. The same can be said about the location of the in-display fingerprint scanner. A USB-C port, a speaker and the SIM tray are placed on the bottom edge. A 3.5 mm headphone jack has been given a skip and you don’t have a MicroSD card slot either, as with most flagship phones.

Realme GT 2 Pro: Display (4.5/5)
The Realme GT 2 Pro screen is one of the best around with accurate colours and excellent sharpness. It has a 6.7-inch 10-bit LTPO 2.0 AMOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate ranging between 1 to 120 Hz. The screen resolution stands at 3216 x 1440 pixels, which translates into a 525 PPI pixel density. The HDR10+ compliant display can get up to 1400 nits bright and has a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus to protect it from scratches and cracks. 

The adaptive refresh rate feature automatically adjusts the refresh rate depending on the app or the content being viewed on the screen and helps in saving battery. For example, it goes up to 120 Hz when scrolling in compatible apps to give you a flicker-free experience, and then drops significantly when watching an image or a video which does not require the screen to be refreshed that often. Gamers may not be able to take full advantage of this display yet as the refresh rate is capped at 60 Hz in games.

Realme GT 2 Pro: Hardware and performance (4.5/5)
Realme has gone all in with the processing power on the GT 2 Pro. It is powered by Qualcomm’s current flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. You can choose between 8 GB RAM and 128 GB UFS 3.1 storage or 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage, which we got for review. No surprise that the phone scored some top marks in popular benchmarks. While I did not have scores for phones powered by the Snapdragon 888 chip in current versions of benchmarks, we can still look at where the new Qualcomm chip stands in comparison with the Snapdragon 870 and Mediatek Dimensity 1200.

The Realme GT 2 Pro steers clear of the last generation chips with scores of 1246 and 3262 in single-core and multi-core Geekbench 5.4 benchmarks. In comparison, the OnePlus 9R with Snapdragon 870 gets 974 and 3101 points and the Nord 2 with Mediatek Dimensity 1200 manages scores of 815 and 2762 respectively in those tests. Similarly in the Work 3.0 productivity benchmark, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip races away with a score of 13414, while the 9R and Nord 2 can only get to 11266 and 8075 respectively.

We have some great news for gamers too as the 3DMark scores here are the highest we have ever seen, and not by a small margin either. The Adreno 730 GPU on the Realme GT 2 Pro literally scores double in the Wild Life and Wild Life Extreme benchmarks in comparison to the 9R and Nord 2. I know this is not an apples to apples comparison, but it gives you a fair idea about the raw power of the new Qualcomm chip. On the topic of gaming, the phone does heat up after 30 minutes of gaming but there were no heat related crashes or restarts.

In day to day operations, things were absolutely smooth. Be it opening multiple browser tabs or switching between a dozen open apps or photography, the phone sailed through without a hiccup, and it barely got warm. But clicking a few photos back to back or recording videos does make it noticeably warm, nothing alarming though. The initial issues with heat related malfunction of the camera app were addressed in a subsequent software update.

The performance of the phone in other departments gave us no reason to complain either. The call quality and reception were perfectly fine. The dual speakers on the phone are fairly loud and offer punchy sound output for phone speakers with a good stereo effect. Wireless connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.2 and dual-band WiFi with support for a/b/g/n/ac/6 standards.  

Realme GT 2 Pro: Camera performance (4.25/5)
The rear camera combination on the Realme GT 2 Pro is quite interesting and impressive at the same time. There are two 50MP cameras, the primary with a Sony IMX766 sensor and optical image stabilisation (OIS) and the ultra-wide shooter with a Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor. The third (3MP) camera at the back is quite unique with a micro lens and acts as a microscope to magnify objects 20 times over. There are no telephoto or macro cameras on the GT 2 Pro.

The primary camera captures some excellent shots in varied lighting and modes. The photos have great detail and impressive dynamic range. Colour reproduction is equally impressive and pretty close to that of the actual object or scene. The 2X zoom here is essentially digital but the captured images are fairly sharp and usable. As you zoom in further, the images start to look washed out. Portrait shots work well with human subjects despite the absence of a dedicated depth sensor, which frankly has become redundant for a while now. 

The ultra-wide camera here is one of the best around, and the colour reproduction and dynamic range are comparable to the main camera, especially in good light. Again the captured images have a good amount of detail and the noise is manageable. Other than the standard wide FOV, it can capture 150-degrees ultra-wide shots too and then there’s the fish-eye mode for you to try out. There are a handful of other modes to explore too.

The low light performance is topnotch here, especially the main camera doing a fabulous job. The captured images have surprisingly good detail, accurate colours and hardly any noise. And all this even without using the night mode. The night mode makes the objects appear brighter than actual, but the details are well preserved. The ultra-wide camera does a reasonable job in low light too, but I would suggest sticking to the main camera when the light drops unless you need a wider field of vision.

And lastly, the 3MP micro camera is a cool new addition. It provides 20X magnification when you focus on objects from up close and gives fascinating results. Do check the camera sample to know what I mean. The LEDs get switched on automatically in this mode to highlight the subject. There’s a 40X magnification option too but it’s digital. The 32MP selfie camera does what is expected of it. This phone can record videos up to 8K resolution but EIS is available only when recording in 4K or lower resolution. The recorded 4K videos are quite impressive and 1080p videos aren’t bad either.

Click here for uncompressed camera samples:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fFAS5CzyHB7cjiUS7

Realme GT 2 Pro: Battery backup (4/5)
The battery backup of the GT 2 Pro is quite good. It has a 5000 mAh battery that keeps the phone running for a day and a half of moderate use, with an hour of gaming included. With a lighter load, it even lasts for two days. If you opt to play games on it for the better part of the day, you better keep the charger handy. Speaking of which, Realme bundles a 65W SuperDart charger that juices the phone fully in just about 37 minutes, which is quite brisk.

Realme GT 2 Pro: OS and User interface (4/5)
The Realme GT 2 Pro runs the latest Android 12 with Realme UI 3.0. It does add some customisation on top of stock Android UI, but the latest iteration of Realme UI is quite polished and user friendly. There are ample options to tweak it further if you wish to. The learning curve is not steep at all even for one switching from a different user interface. 

Despite having the ColorOS gene, it remains more pleasant than the mess OnePlus has made with OxygenOS 12. Realme UI 3.0 is fluid and lag free. There is one thing it could have done without though, and that’s the amount of bloatware preinstalled on the phone. The good part is that most of it can be uninstalled; still, an unnecessary chore for the user to engage in.

Realme GT 2 Pro: Price, verdict and competition
The Realme GT 2 Pro starts at Rs 49,999 for the 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant and Rs 57,999 for the 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage option with a one year warranty. That makes it the most affordable smartphone currently with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC. In comparison, the OnePlus 10 Pro with similar specifications (and not just the chipset) is priced at Rs. 66,999 and Rs 71,999 respectively for similar RAM and storage variants.

For that big a price delta, the Realme GT 2 Pro does not miss out on anything major in comparison. Yes, it may lack features like a telephoto camera and wireless charging, but it offers more than plenty for its asking price. You get a solid all-rounder with a pleasant design, excellent 2K display with variable refresh rate, flagship processing hardware, impressive camera department, latest Android with a user-friendly UI, good battery backup with fast charging and more under Rs 50,000. That makes it an easy recommendation for those in search of a flagship device without breaking the bank.