CTC BLOG

Ameya DalviOct 31, 2022 16:00:31 IST

Pros:
– Lively and loud sound output
– Useful sound presets
– Lightweight and comfortable fit
– Compact and pocketable charging case
– Good battery life
– IPX4 splash resistance
– Programmable touch controls including volume control

Cons:
– Below-par call quality
– Sounds a bit too bright at high volume
– No multi-point support

Price: Rs 1,999

Rating: 3.8/5

Not too long ago we reviewed the Oppo Enco X2 TWS earbuds, the company’s flagship product, and totally relished them. While that caters to a different set of users, what we have for you today is targeted at the masses, given its attractive price tag. The Enco X2 managed to raise the performance bar around the Rs 10,000 mark. Can the Oppo Enco Buds2 do the same in the sub-2K segment? Let’s find out.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Oppo Enco Buds2: Design and Comfort (8/10)
The design of the buds is not very different from some of Oppo’s previous products, but drastically different from its predecessor. They look a lot like the Oppo Enco Air 2 Pro rather than the Enco Buds. Having said that, it doesn’t look bad at all if you like TWS earbuds with stems. You only get the black variant at the moment, and it largely sports a matte black finish with just a hint of gloss on the buds as well as the case. The inside of the case has a pleasant light blue shade, which looks cool.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The circular charging case is quite slim and easily pocketable. Despite its slim profile, it hosts a sizable 460 mAh battery and weighs just 38 grams. A charge indicator LED and a USB-C charging port are located at the bottom of the case. The earbuds are fairly light too and weigh just 4 grams each. They are extremely comfortable to wear for long hours and snug enough to not pop out of the ear during a workout or a jog. 

The right-sized silicon tips offer very good passive noise isolation. Two extra pairs are bundled in the package but a USB charging cable is absent. The touch-enabled zones are present at the top of the stems, and the area is flattened out to give you an idea of where to tap. The touch sensitivity is good and the buds produce a small click every time you tap in the zone. It supports single tap, double tap, triple tap and ‘touch and hold’ gestures.

Oppo Enco Buds2: Features and Specifications (7/10)
The Enco Buds2 are IPX4-rated splash resistant, but not dust resistant as well like its predecessor. Having said that, a special mention for the fluid resistance of these Oppo buds. I had a small mishap on a flight and spilled coffee all over the buds. Two weeks later, they are still functioning perfectly fine with no change in sound quality. Thankfully, the charging case was not involved in this coffee-tasting session as that does not have any ingress protection.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Each earbud is fitted with a 10 mm Titanized dynamic driver and a microphone for calling and ‘AI Deep Noise Cancellation’ for calls. There is no active noise cancellation (ANC) or wear detection sensors here, which is acceptable in this budget. These earbuds are Bluetooth 5.2 compliant and support SBC and AAC codecs. There’s support for Dolby Atmos too when paired with compliant phones. The latency can supposedly go as low as 94 ms in Game mode.

You don’t need to install any app if you use these buds with a OnePlus, Realme or Oppo phone. You get access to a bunch of customisations for the buds in the Bluetooth settings itself. For all other phones, you will need to install the HeyMelody app and sync the earphones with it to tweak certain features of this product. The app lets you alter the sound profile, configure the controls and update the firmware. The use of double tap as a camera shutter is limited to Oppo phones only, I suppose, as it did not work on the OnePlus phone I was using.

You can allocate functions to a single tap, double tap, triple tap and ‘touch and hold’ gestures for the left and right earbuds. You can assign play/pause, previous/next track, voice assistant, Game mode or nothing to the first three gestures. Not all functions are available for each gesture. Volume control can only be assigned to a ‘touch and hold’ gesture, but it’s great to have that option on the earbuds itself so that you don’t have to reach for the source device to alter the loudness.

Oppo Enco Buds2: Performance (8/10)
These buds are among the loudest around, and the volume level mostly stayed between 40 to 50% during the course of my testing. That is sufficiently loud indoors as well as outdoors. I wouldn’t advise taking them beyond 70% as they sound a bit too bright and harsh on the ear. Oppo offers you three sound profiles for these TWS earbuds – Original sound, Bass boost and Clear vocals. Interestingly, all three are usable, though I preferred the default Original sound profile over the other two.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The default sound signature is reasonably balanced for a pair of budget wireless earphones. The bass is punchy but tight and doesn’t majorly impact the midrange frequencies. The vocals sound sharp and lively. The highs have a good presence too but could have been tempered better, especially the S sounds that tend to sound a tad harsh in certain tracks. While I found the bass adequate, some may crave more. That’s where the Bass boost preset comes in handy. 

It does boost the bass at the cost of certain lower midrange frequencies but doesn’t overdo it. It gives you a more traditional V-shaped sound that the masses prefer. The Clear vocals preset is better suited for podcasts and other voice-heavy content, and not so much for music. The soundstage here is not too broad, but that’s what you generally get in this segment. We faced no latency issues with no perceptible lag between the video and audio when watching videos on my phone. The wireless range is pretty standard with a strong connection of up to 10 metres with a clear line of sight. 

Oppo Enco Buds2: Call quality (6/10)
The call quality on the Enco Buds2 is not very impressive. It is decent indoors, and while the vocals aren’t the sharpest, people on the line did grasp what I was saying without much effort. When outdoors, the ‘AI Deep Noise Cancellation’ didn’t really work for me with people complaining of too much background noise being audible to a point that it would impact the conversation. Generally, Oppo TWS earphones are pretty good for calling. This one needs more work, especially the noise cancellation algorithm.

Oppo Enco Buds2: Battery life (8.5/10)
The battery backup of the Enco Buds2 is quite impressive. The company claims 7 hours for the buds and 28 hours overall with the charging case. Given the battery specs and that there is no ANC here, these numbers seemed doable. With the loudness mostly between 40 to 50% during testing, the earbuds managed to go on for close to six and a half hours, and the case could recharge them thrice over. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

That translates into an overall battery backup of close to 26 hours for the buds and case combined, which is quite impressive. They also support fast charging, but the numbers are modest at best. A 10 minutes charge promises an hour of playtime, which is handy, not spectacular. The product can be fully charged in a couple of hours, while the buds alone take about 90 minutes to charge. The battery level of each earbud and the charging case is visible in the Bluetooth settings of the synced device or in the HeyMelody app. 

Oppo Enco Buds2: Price and verdict
The Oppo Enco Buds2 is priced at Rs 1,999 with a one-year warranty, and can often be spotted for 10% lower online. For that price, you get a pair of TWS earphones with a neat design, lively sound output, multiple sound profiles, configurable controls and impressive battery backup. That makes it one of the best TWS options in this segment.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Of course, there is competition in this segment, but there’s only one option that can truly give these Oppo buds a run for their money. The Realme Buds Q2 which sells for a similar price offers most of the features that the Enco Buds2 do as well as comparable sound output. In addition to that, it also offers functional ANC, something quite rare in this segment. However, the battery life is at least 25% lower. Both are excellent products that offer great value, and neither would disappoint you if you have a budget of 2K.

CNBC-TV18Oct 31, 2022 17:43:47 IST

This has been a big year for Google smartphone fans in India — the tech giant first released the very capable Pixel 6a (review) in July and, barely three months later, released its next-generation flagship phones — the Pixel 7 and the 7 Pro — powered by Google’s in-house second-generation G2 Tensor chips.

Image Credit: Google

The phones were launched on October 6 in India — the Pixel 7 starts at Rs 59,999 and the Pixel 7 Pro goes for Rs 84,999.

The specifications
Google Pixel 7

• Display: 6.3-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90 Hz
• Camera setup: 50 MP wide-angle lens, 12 MP ultrawide lens
• Battery: 4335 mAh with 20W fast charging, 20W wireless fast charging and reverse wireless charging
• RAM: 8GB
• Storage: 128GB
• Rated IP68 for water and dust resistance

Google Pixel 7 Pro

• Display: 6.7-inches LTPO Quad HD+ AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate of up to 120 Hz
• Camera setup: 50 MP wide-angle lens, 12 MP ultrawide lens, 48MP telephoto lens
• Battery: 5000 mAh with 23W fast charging, 23W wireless fast charging and reverse wireless charging
• RAM: 12GB
• Storage: 128GB
• Rated IP68 for water and dust resistance

We had both smartphones for just under two weeks, and here are our thoughts.

It is very clear right from the outset just how similar the 7 and 7 Pro are to their predecessors — barring a few physical changes, such as the camera housing which is made of metal this time instead of glass. The Pixel 7 is slightly smaller than the 6, and sports a 6.3-inch screen, while the Pixel 7 Pro has similar dimensions to the Pixel 6 Pro, but instead of the sharply-curved screen of last year’s flagship, the curve is less pronounced this time.

We can’t help but feel that this is what Google intended for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro to be — the new smartphones are more a refinement of last year’s lineup than a radical new upgrade. That said, it is odd that Google offers both phones in just one storage variant — 128GB — leaving potential buyers who need more storage with no choice but to look at other brands.

The Obsidian Pixel 7 (Image: Google)

We received the Obsidian variant of the 7, which is essentially black, and the Hazel variant of the 7 Pro, which is olive green with gold accents. Despite it being a fingerprint magnet, we absolutely loved the stealth black of the 7, which sports a matte black unibody aluminium sides and camera housing, and a glass back. 

But even prettier is the Hazel 7 Pro — the olive green of the back is brilliantly complemented by the polished gold aluminium frame and looks every inch a flagship.

The Hazel Pixel 7 Pro (Image: Google)

Now that the looks are out of the way, how do the phones perform? 

As with every smartphone, we tested five aspects — screen, camera, battery life, user experience and software, the last two of which have significant overlap.

Screen
The Pixel 7 has a 6.3-inch full HD flat display that’s absolutely gorgeous to look at, though one could argue that a sharper resolution could not have hurt. The colours are accurately reproduced on the screen, videos are rendered well, and we were able to view the screen’s contents in bright daylight without too much trouble.

The Pixel 7 Pro predictably kicks things up a notch. The 6.7-inch display is a stunner, and at peak brightness, absolutely sails through any lighting condition. Overall, it is a superior display to its smaller sibling.

Battery life 
This was the most impressive part about both these phones. Both handsets easily lasted me a day of moderate-to-heavy use, with the 7 Pro crossing the 40-hour mark before it died on me. The Pixel 7 just made it to 27 hours before it needed charging— colour me impressed.

Your mileage obviously will vary but not by too much. Google has been knocking it out of the park with the battery life on its phones this year — the Pixel 6a too held up quite well during testing.

Both phones support wireless charging and reverse charging, so imagine the kick we got out of wirelessly charging the Pixel 7 using the battery share feature on the 7 Pro, which effectively turned the Rs 85,000 flagship phone into a wireless charger.

Camera
Now we come to the meat of this review. The cameras have always been the standout feature of Pixel devices, and the 7 and 7 Pro do not disappoint. Though we spent most of our time testing the beefier camera setup on the 7 Pro, we can attest that the 7 is no slouch. In fact, for reasons we will list out later in the review, the 7 is a better package overall.

So, how did the 7 Pro do? The phone comes with a triple-lens camera array. Of course, we played with the setup quite a bit. More than the physical specifications, it’s always Google’s computational prowess that stood out. And, even on a cloudy morning, the camera took some impressive photographs. The colours are saturated just right, with all three lenses — primary, ultrawide and telephoto — maintaining colour consistency while capturing the same subject.

The telephoto lens (Image: Vijay Anand | CNBCTV18)

The primary lens (Image: Vijay Anand | CNBCTV18)

The ultrawide lens (Image: Vijay Anand | CNBCTV18)

The yellow is perfectly set off against the green foliage, though the primary shooter struggled a little with the dynamic range. (Image: Vijay Anand | CNBCTV18)

This, for our money, is a stunner at 10x optical zoom — the lens captures an impressive amount of detail without oversharpening the image. (Image: Vijay Anand | CNBCTV18)

The camera has other fun features, such as 360-degree photographs (which would be impossible to reproduce here), fisheye mode, wide-angle, vertical and horizontal ‘Photo Sphere’ modes.

Also making its debut this year is the cinematic video mode, but the 7 Pro is a little too aggressive on the blur effect, making the final video feel a teensy bit artificial. Apple didn’t hit the target either on its first attempt at cinematic video capture on the 13 series last year but refined it on the 14 series. Expect Google to do no different in the 2023 lineup.

Overall, using the camera app is super fun with all the different modes, and the results are reliable, making for a smooth photography experience.

User experience and software
This is where Google absolutely crushes it. Google is the most natural bet to take on Apple by virtue of it making the operating system (Android) and hardware (Pixel phones). The company’s strategy, however, has wavered in previous years with some truly puzzling decisions, such as not bringing any flagship phones to India for a couple of years.

But with the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, the company is slowly catching up to the iPhone maker. For the first time in many years, the hardware and software designs are absolutely in sync, and that makes for a delightful experience.

That is not to say it’s all smooth sailing — there are a few rough edges. The odd bug pops up to ever-so-slightly mar the experience, but overall, it’s refined, well-packaged and more importantly, smooth as butter.

Android 13 runs like a charm on these devices and Google’s special touches, such as live captions and live transcribe, have made our life as journalists that much easier. I’ll admit it — the Pixel experience is, for our money, one that is very practical and extremely useful.

In conclusion
The Pixel 7, thanks to its compact size, matte aluminium side rails and lower asking price, is the better value of these two devices, but the 7 Pro is definitely more eye-catching. If you can spare the extra Rs 25,000 and absolutely need the larger screen size and that extra camera, go for the Pixel 7 Pro.

But if you want a bang-for-buck, quintessential Pixel experience in a delightful little package, buy the Pixel 7. Either way, at least from our experience, you can’t go wrong.

CNBC-TV18Oct 31, 2022 16:51:48 IST

Around 5.07 billion people use the internet around the world at present, which is equivalent to 63.5 per cent of the world’s total population

With a penetration rate of 47 per cent of the total population of the country, India is one of the leading countries with the highest number of Internet users. In January 2022, India had 658 million Internet users, according to the World Population Review.

China has the highest number of Internet users. India ranks second in the number of Internet users, although only 20 per cent of its population uses the Internet. The penetration rate of countries like the UK and the US is more than 90 per cent.

On International Internet Day, here’s a look at the top 10 countries with the highest Internet users in 2022.

China
China had 1.02 billion Internet users as compared to its population of 1.45 billion in January 2022.

India
While the World Population Review said India had 658 million users in January 2022, a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)-Kantar in July revealed that there were 692 million active Internet users in the country at present.

United States
There were 307.2 million internet users in the US in January 2022. The country has an Internet penetration rate of 92 per cent of the total population.

Indonesia
As compared to the total population of 277.7 million in January 2022, Indonesia had 204.7 million Internet users.

Brazil
Brazil had 165.3 million Internet users at the beginning of the year. The country has an Internet penetration rate of 77 per cent of the total population.

Russia
There are 129.8 million internet users in Russia in January 2022, while the total population of the country is 145.9 million. This means that 16.04 million people in the country were not using the Internet at the start of 2022.

Japan
Japan has 118.3 million Internet users and a 94 per cent penetration rate.

Nigeria
Among African countries, Nigeria has the highest number of Internet users at 109.2 million.

Mexico
Mexico’s total population stood at 130.9 million in January 2022, while the number of Internet users in the country was 96.87 million.

Germany
Germany had 78.02 million Internet users in January 2022. The country has an Internet penetration rate of 93 per cent of the total population.

Mehul Reuben DasOct 26, 2022 10:50:13 IST

It seems that Elon Musk is finally going to close the Twitter deal rather soon. In a closed-door meeting with investors, banks and other lenders, Musk reportedly said that he is going to close the deal with Twitter by this Friday, and will soon be signing the papers necessary to get the deal closed.

Musk has told investors and lending banks that he would close the Twitter deal by Friday. He was also able to get $13 billion as debt from the banks to close the deal. Image Credit: Elon Musk | Twitter

In the process, Musk was also able to raise $13 billion as a loan from banks and lenders to go ahead with the transaction. All of this implies that the only thing left to do is for Musk and Twitter’s teams to get the papers signed and filed to the relevant authorities. According to people familiar with the matter, this will be the final stage before the funds are given to Musk.

The banks handling the debt received a borrowing notice on Tuesday. According to people familiar with the matter, the cash is expected to be held in escrow on Thursday.

Sources claim that the investors who are backing Musk in his acquisition bid to buy Twitter include equity investors like Sequoia Capital, Binance, Qatar Investment Authority and others.

The banks that committed to funding Musk’s buyout of Twitter have finished putting together the final debt financing agreement and are in the process of signing the necessary documents.

When the news broke out that the deal will finally be closed this week, Twitter shares jumped on the news and were trading up 3% at $52.95 on Tuesday, closer to Musk’s offer price of $54.20.

If everything goes through the way it is supposed to, Musk will need to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which covers the $44 billion price tag and closing costs.

If no new issue comes up this week that could potentially derail the acquisition process, Musk will be holding up his side of the bargain of finishing up with the acquisition process by October 28, the deadline that was set by the Delaware Court listening to the arguments in the Twitter v. Musk case. 

As reported earlier, there is a very slight, albeit real possibility that the US government may have to step in and stop the acquisition from going through, by invoking national security. As slim as those chances are, there is a very good reason as to why the US government may consider doing that. 

Twitter, meanwhile hasn’t responded to the developments and is waiting for an actionable moment to respond to this.

FP StaffOct 26, 2022 11:33:15 IST

One of the most anticipated foldable devices of this year, the Moto Razr 2022 from Motorola has finally been launched globally, after almost three months the device was first launched in China.

The international market will only be getting the 8GB + 256GB variant of the Moto Razr 2022. Image Credit: Motorola

The device will be available in select European markets starting this week, and will then find its way over to other Asian markets including India as well. However, the device will be sold in limited numbers in these markets. Motorola is not ready to share the availability date for now, but we can expect that to be revealed soon enough. 

Moto Razr 2022: International version specifications
The Moto Razr 2022 features a 6.7-inch foldable P-OLED panel with a punch-hole for the camera. The screen has an FHD+ resolution, which supports a 144Hz refresh rate, 10-bit colours, HDR10+, and DC dimming. 

There’s a redesigned hinge mechanism and the chin from the previous Razr models is now gone. The back panel of the device features a 2.7-inch P-OLED secondary display. The secondary display has more functionality than what the Galaxy Z Flip 4 offers and can be used as a viewfinder for rear cameras, to check for messages, or even to play games that support the smaller screen size. 

Powering the device is a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset from Qualcomm, which has been paired with up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage for the Chinese variants. International markets will get a single, 8GB + 256GB variant.

The device boots to Android 12 OS, which is overlaid with MyUI 4.0. The device comes with support for Ready For 3.5, which allows users to connect it to an external to take advantage of a full-blown desktop PC experience.  

Above the secondary display is a horizontal dual-camera setup, which has an OIS-enabled 50MP camera, and a 13MP ultra-wide shooter, which also functions as a macro camera. The display punch-hole on the display houses a 32MP camera.  

The Moto Razr 2022 comes with a 3,500mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging. For connectivity, the device gets dual SIM, 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, and a USB-C port.

Moto Razr 2022: International version pricing
The European market is set to get only the 8GB + 256GB variant, which will be priced at €1,200 across Europe, and £949 in the UK. The same 8 GB + 256 GB variant is priced at 6,499 Yuan or roughly $970 in China.

The pricing of the devices in India will be similar to what we see in the international market, plus some taxes. The device was supposed to have an India launch by the end of this month. However, seeing that the international launch was delayed, the Indian launch is also likely to be pushed to either the end of the year or the beginning of 2023.

FP StaffOct 26, 2022 12:45:29 IST

Google announced the Pixel 6a in May this year and then launched the device in July. It turns out the device is proving extremely successful and profitable for the tech giant.

One of the reasons why Pixel 6a was so successful was because of Google’s aggressive pricing, and the constant discounts that were put on the device. Image Credit: Google

During Alphabet’s Q3 2022 Earnings Call, Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat credited the Pixel 6a as being primarily responsible for solid growth in hardware revenues. Google’s Hardware Revenue, like from the sales of Pixel 6a , is reported as part of “Google other” revenues with $6.895 billion in Q2 2022 compared to $6.754 billion in the same quarter in 2021. 

That category includes paid YouTube subscriptions, with Porat similarly crediting YouTube Music Premium and YouTube TV for delivering ongoing strong growth. 

Earlier in the call, Sundar Pichai said that Google “recently had [its] highest selling week ever for Pixel” in reference to the 7 and 7 Pro. In February, the CEO previously touted a “quarterly sales record” for Pixel phones after the 6 and 6 Pro launch.

Pichai also stated that Google Hardware is an important area of investment for the tech giant. They are investing deeply from the silicon to the OS to powerful software experiences, because “it’s a big opportunity to move computing forward and build deeper relationships with people who love using Google products. It also really helps to guide the Android ecosystem beyond just building the underlying platform.”

Another aspect that has helped Google may have to do with the fact that the Pixel 6a was the first Google device that was being sold in a number of countries, after a long hiatus. Furthermore, unlike its predecessors, the Pixel 6a was priced very competitively and was actually affordable. 

On top of the original pricing, Google had started dishing out discounts very aggressively, as well. For example, in India, the device has an MRP of Rs 43,999 but it is easily available on Flipkart, Google’s e-commerce partner for as low as Rs 34,199.

Mehul Reuben DasOct 26, 2022 14:50:15 IST

In case you have tried to purchase the iPhone 14 Pro or the iPhone 14 Pro Max from an authorised retailer in Delhi NCR in the last couple of weeks, chances are that you may have heard from a number of retailers that the devices are not available with them. And for good reason.

While it was announced that Apple, in a bid to reduce its reliance on China, will start making the iPhone 14 and the iPhone 14 Pro series in India. However, a number of reports have surfaced that claim that Apple is not making the iPhone 14 Pro series in India, just the regular, vanilla version of the iPhone 14. The iPhone 14 Plus’ production has been suspended mainly because of a lack of demand.

The devices that people are looking for the most, the base variant of the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max, are not readily available in India, at least in Delhi-NCR. This has turned out to be a golden opportunity for players in the black market and for private sellers, who are making money hand over fist.

Says Nilesh Kamra, one of the many mobile phone sellers who operate out of New Delhi’s Gaffar Market, “We are not aware of any such shortages, we are getting our devices regularly.” When asked how much is he selling the devices for he stated, “We sell the iPhone 14 Pro 128GB version for about Rs 1,05,000, without the bill and accept only cash.” 

The same variant costs Rs 1,29,900 when you buy it from authorised channels, with a bill. While sellers like Nilesh claim that the devices are India-ready and that Apple will entertain warranty claims for these devices in India, the refusal to provide a bill is a major red flag. 

Gaffar Market is known for its electronics shops and the fact that devices such as gaming consoles, laptops and smartphones are sold here at much cheaper prices. The catch is, that in most cases, because the products are bought in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other places in the Middle East, they are far cheaper, and they don’t have any paperwork with them. As a result, authorised service centres will refuse to entertain any warranty claims raised on these devices.

The availability of devices in such markets is never an issue. And despite the fact that devices that are sold in the black market do not have any applicable warranty or taxes and duties paid, people still buy them.

Because sellers who sell on the black market are able to pocket a much bigger portion of the money that a customer spends on a device, private sellers as well as authorised resellers have started dabbling in a similar practice. 

In the past, we have seen the authorised showrooms of a number of Chinese smartphones, such as Vivo and Xiaomi acting in a similar manner – first claiming that they do not have the devices and then offering the device after “getting it arranged from another store.” The conditions that they will sell you under? You will have to pay in cash, and the bill, if it is being provided, will be of an earlier date. However, this is the first time that we are seeing Apple devices being sold like this.

Govind Kushwaha, a salesperson who works with one of the oldest mobile phone sales centre in Laxmi Nagar, said “We have been instructed to turn customers away If they are looking to buy an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max with a bill and using UPI, or credit card, or if they need a bill. If they are okay with not getting a bill or a predated bill under a different name, we give them the phone.” 

But what happens if stores don’t have the phone? “We can arrange it in half an hour tops. In case the customer is willing to wait for that half an hour. If they plan to return and pick up the phone on some other day, we ask them to pay some Rs 10,000-20,000 as an advance. Shortage really isn’t an issue.”

This, however, does not mean that there isn’t a shortage of the iPhone 14 Pro series in Delhi-NCR – there genuinely is a shortage of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, mainly due to the sporadic lockdowns in China. When a Twitter user flagged Apple, the Ministry of Home Affairs and a bunch of other government officials complaining about the fact that private sellers are selling iPhone 14 Pros in black, Union Minister of State for Electronics & Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar responded to the tweet – 

I hv spoken wth Apple n they hv said while iphone14 demand is being met also wth india productn, the iphone14 pro demand has surged n is facing supply constraints which they r addressing

pvt sales are probably “alternate” supply channels https://t.co/wLxJdxbFi9

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) October 26, 2022

To their credit, Apple, is trying to get on top of the situation and is trying to manage its supply chains in such a manner that all of its sales regions get an equitable distribution of the devices.

FP StaffOct 26, 2022 17:16:04 IST

There have been numerous instances where smartwatches have saved the lives of people using them regularly. Now a number of doctors in the US have started prescribing smartwatches such as those coming from Fitbit, Samsung, Apple and Google for the life-saving technologies that they come loaded with.

A case in point would Dr. Thomas Ficho. Dr Ficho himself met with an accident after he fell down a basement, and lost consciousness. At that time, he was wearing his Apple Watch Series 5. After the fall, the Apple Watch’s fall detection feature kicked in and called emergency services on Dr. Ficho’s behalf. Although Dr Ficho regained consciousness within minutes, the Apple Watch had alerted local emergency services who had already dispatched emergency responders to Dr Ficho’s location, who reached him, right as he came to his senses.

Good smartwatches often come loaded with features that can act on your behalf and save your life, by getting you help in the nick of time. Google and Apple’s crash detection, for example, has proven to be a must-have if you indulge in dangerous activities or are required to frequent a stretch of road that happens to be an accident blackspot.

Just like Apple, most smartwatch makers have a fall detection feature that can literally save your life. In April this year, a 60-65-year-old woman in Delaware fell down in her bathroom and broke her back. She was wearing a smartwatch from Samsung, but because she couldn’t move she couldn’t call for help. Luckily for her, the smartwatch sent out an SOS alert to one of her emergency contacts, who then asked the emergency services to visit the woman.

Smartwatches have proven to be great diagnostician tools as well. Doctors are increasingly relying on the data from smartwatches to monitor their patients’ cardiac activity. Most smartwatches come with a basic heart rate monitor, but there are a few out there which give you a very accurate and detailed reading. This not only helps doctors determine whether their patients have any sort an Arrhythmia and if yes, what exactly may be the problem. 

We recently saw the story of a 12-year-old girl, who was able to detect that she had a rare form of cancer, because her smartwatch consistently gave out heart rate alerts that were off the charts. Such cases are not uncommon.

Smartwatches can also help you with your sleeping disorders. While most smartwatches cannot diagnose what exact sleeping ailment a patient is suffering from, they can help record and track changes in the sleeping pattern of their wearers.

Given that there are a ton of smartwatches out there, do keep in mind the features that you may be needing, while you shop around for one. Also, it would be better to remember that certain manufacturers oversell their features. These are not exactly smartwatches but oversized fitness bands and should be avoided. As far as smartwatches are concerned, go for something from a known and reputable brand.

If you’re looking at VPNs, you’ve likely heard of at least one of these two names before. NordVPN and ExpressVPN are the two biggest VPN providers on the global market and are renowned for their premium quality and rapid speeds. 

As the world becomes an increasingly digital place, internet security is of the utmost importance, and tools to protect your privacy become more vital every day. Enter VPNs, an easy way to hide from prying eyes and keep personal details hidden when surfing the web.

With this article, we’re going to compare NordVPN vs. ExpressVPN to decide which service offers the best quality of all and which is worth your dime.

Overview

	ExpressVPN	NordVPN
Lowest Pricing	$8.32/month	$3.67/month
Server Count	3,000+	5,000+
Country Count	94	62
Number of Devices	5	6
Money-Back Guarantee	30 days	30 days
Encryption	256-bit AES	256-bit AES
Accessibility	10/10	10/10
Live Support	Yes (24/7)	Yes (24/7)
Logging	Strict no-logging	Strict no-logging

What is NordVPN?

NordVPN is the first example of a VPN provider becoming a downright household name. With its massive advertising budget, it has swept the world by storm, quickly becoming the single most commonly-used VPN app worldwide. 

As you’ll notice, NordVPN’s software goes for an excellent minimalistic design, bringing a blend of easy user accessibility and efficient manoeuvring to get to where you need. It runs beautifully on all devices and is nearly identical across different platforms, with all the same features. 

This is a rarity for most services but is extremely handy for switching between devices freely without having to memorize a different interface for each one. It makes the process of using the VPN with different devices completely stress-free.

You can freely swap between any server that NordVPN has available at any time. In case you’re new to VPNs, Nord has the fastest and most reliable server for your location selected by default as a way to recommend it to you if you’re not sure which server to pick. It also comes loaded with any number of useful features you might need, such as split-tunnelling, killswitch, etc.

NordVPN’s Speeds

In testing, we were all but certain that NordVPN’s speeds would be lightning-fast. Even still, they managed to surprise us. Simply by the way a VPN works, they are almost always expected to drop your internet speed by at least a small margin. A VPN’s speed decides how much that margin really is.

We tested on a connection that clocked in at about 100 Mbps without any VPN enabled. Upon enabling Nord on the quickest server it could find for us, we ran the test again. NordVPN managed to pull a stable 94 Mbps, less than a 10% drop in speed.

That kind of speed is unheard of for most services, which tend to range commonly around a 50%-30% drop at best. Not just this, but NordVPN also offers alternative connection methods, such as Nord’s WireGuard protocol service, NordLynx. When testing with NordLynx, the speeds were even more impressive, clocking in at a consistent 98 Mbps, and in some cases, even going higher than our original speeds.

It’s safe to say that NordVPN is one of, if not the single fastest service currently on the market. Even if you somehow manage to find a location that isn’t near one of NordVPN’s 5000+ dedicated servers, testing at further locations never dropped our speeds below 90 Mbps.

NordVPN User Feedback

On Reddit, real-life users of Nord sing its praises more than any other provider. Its reputation is supported by trusted experts and hobbyists alike who have used the service for years.

Whether you’re brand new to the VPN world, or an experienced veteran, you’ll find it hard to come across a better all-purpose VPN than Nord.

You can download NordVPN here.

What is ExpressVPN?

ExpressVPN is a revered service that is commonly known as the fastest VPN available. It offers some genuinely great features, such as highly secure torrenting support and well-optimized software for all major devices. It has a large number of servers spanning almost 100 countries, meaning there are few places in the world where you’d be hard-pressed to find a close, quick connection.

Its software is extremely easy to use with quick drop-down menus and easy-to-navigate settings. It has one of the lowest learning curves of any software we’ve tested, meaning you should be able to navigate and customize the VPN like a pro within a matter of minutes after purchase. It performs so well that you could leave ExpressVPN running and not even notice it as you go about your business.

Like everything else about the software, switching servers is fast, fluid, and reliable. We never had a single crash or ‘infinite loading cycle’ like with certain services. However, should the need ever arise, the instant killswitch works perfectly, as well as any other feature you could want from a VPN (except for, curiously, an adblocker).

ExpressVPN’s Speeds

One of ExpressVPN’s claims to fame is being the fastest there is. While it might dominate most other services, does it really compare to what NordVPN is capable of? We tested it on the same 100 Mbps speed in order to find out.

First, we tested its speeds with the recommended server for the fastest connection. After a few tests, we found ExpressVPN to hold a consistent speed of about 92 Mbps. That’s less than a 10% drop, which is excellent for any service! However, it doesn’t beat Nord’s lightning-fast speeds.

Finally, we tried using further servers. We were pleasantly surprised to see that even using servers on the other side of the world from us didn’t drop ExpressVPN’s speeds to anything lower than 85 Mbps. Once again, astounding speeds for any premium service, but just below Nord.

ExpressVPN User Feedback

Similar to Nord, ExpressVPN finds high praise on sites like Reddit, where users are willing to forgive the high price tag in exchange for a truly outstanding service.

It’s true, ExpressVPN has quite the hefty price tag to it (its cheapest plan coming out to a little under $100 a year), but if that doesn’t turn you away from wanting to give it a try, we guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

You can download ExpressVPN here.

Best VPN per category

Category	VPN	The Verdict
Best VPN for Windows		While ExpressVPN is without a doubt a high-quality service, NordVPN’s software and servers run so smoothly on Windows that it would be an outright crime to call it anything less than the single best Windows VPN available.
Best VPN for Mac		NordVPN’s highly optimized software and excellent reliability make it a perfect pick for Mac users. The ability to choose your protocol to find your best fit also makes it able to perform so much more smoothly on Mac devices than ExpressVPN can.
Best VPN for Android		Unfortunately for NordVPN, ExpressVPN’s speeds don’t falter over any of their devices, offering consistent speeds with mobile as well as desktop. NordVPN’s speeds hiccup slightly with Android devices, leaving ExpressVPN as the winner here.
Best VPN for iOS		Just like with Android, ExpressVPN wins with iOS devices as far as speed, stability, and consistency. While the features are nearly identical, NordVPN’s software and servers just seem to have the occasional struggle with iOS mobile devices.
Best VPN for Torrenting		ExpressVPN provides airtight security for P2P connections that is almost unbeatable. While NordVPN’s built-in protection comes close, it only allows P2P for specific servers, and none of its protocols offer the level of security and performance that ExpressVPN does for torrenting.
Best Overall VPN		While ExpressVPN has Nord beat in the mobile department, overall, NordVPN’s service is just too much to compete with on desktop devices. Its speeds, reliability, performance, and software features all trump what ExpressVPN can offer, even if by just a small margin.

Our verdict

Overall, NordVPN seems to win this rivalry. However, it’s important to note that ExpressVPN has some strengths over Nord, such as its torrenting and mobile support. While Express has some excellent versatility in its functions, NordVPN has it beat as an overall VPN. Its reputation in the VPN community doesn’t just stem from its enormous advertising budget. It really does deserve its praise.

That said, we can’t stress enough how incredible both of these services are. Every VPN is tailored to different users, and if ExpressVPN looks as if it would better suit your interests, there’s a good chance it would. A large portion of it comes down to preference, and we can assure you that both of these providers get a thumbs up from us when it comes to their premium quality.

FP StaffOct 28, 2022 13:42:43 IST

After months of speculation of will he-wont he, Elon Musk finally closed the deal with Twitter and acquired the microblogging site. His first order of business was to clean house – his first act as the owner of Twitter, was to sack some of the top executives of the platform. This included CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and General Counsel Vijaya Gadde.

In all of this drama, it seems Parag has emerged as the real hero, at least for Twitter and the people working there. It would be wise to remember that had it not been for Agrawal and his team, Elon Musk would have walked away from the deal, having tanked Twitter’s stock valuation.

Agrawal himself is walking away with a severance package that may be well over $42 million, just like other top executives who were fired. Reaslitcaly, there is no reason to feel bad for Agrawal and other top executives who were sacked.

When Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s former CEO gave up his position and had Parag take over his position, Musk wasn’t exactly dissatisfied with Parag. However, he did have issues with Parag even back then.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2022

Musk found the Twitter management incompetent and his leaked chats were testimony to the fact that he disliked Agarwal and wanted to get rid of him as soon as he acquired him.

Initially, Parag and Elon were on civil terms. However, ever since Musk publicly tried to take over Twitter in a hostile manner, things changed between the two. Musk has often berated Agrawal and even mocked him for holidaying in Hawaii. Musk believed that Agrawal was not the kind of man who could run Twitter, and had conveyed so to Jack Dorsey.

One also has to consider just exactly how the takeover bid was initiated. 

Then, there’s also the fact that there have been numerous occasions where Musk tied to troll Parag brutally. Parag was forced to take a stand against Musk a number of times, and it seems, that in most instances, he emerged victorious.

Agrawal surely must have known that if indeed Musk would acquire Twitter, he would be the first one to be shown the door. And yet, this did not stop Parag to make Musk go through the acquisition process that he had initially started.

Make no mistake about this, but had it not been for the court case and subsequent discovery that was looming over Elon, he wouldn’t have bought the company. Not just that, Elon actually tried to back out of the deal a second time as well, after Twitter and its legal team filed a case against Elon. 

One of Parag’s most significant moves in this entire drama was to get Twitter’s case listed in front of a court which has a history of going tough on people, if they deal in bad faith.

Besides forcing Musk to go through with the merger, Parag also ensured that he bought Twitter at the price that Musk had originally offered, even though, the current value of Twitter is nothing close to the sum. Musk always knew that paying $44 billion for Twitter was a mistake. Many industry insiders believe that Musk’s decision to feign and pull out of the deal was an elaborate ruse to get the board members at Twitter let Musk make a much smaller offer.

In 2021, Agrawal’s total compensation 2021 was $30.4 million, most of which was paid to him in stock awards. When Parag was made CEO, he was replacing Jack Dorsey, the founder & CEO of Twitter at that point. Parag’s contract stipulated that Agrawal is entitled to get $42 million from Twitter if he were terminated within 12 months of a change in control as a severance package, some component in the form of a bonus, and all of his wages that were accrued to him.

‘The bird is freed’, tweeted Elon Musk shortly after he completed his $44-billion acquisition of Twitter, following months and months of back and forth.

His first piece of business as Twitter chief was the ouster of CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, and head of legal policy, trust and safety, Vijaya Gadde.

With this move, the billionaire behind SpaceX and Tesla brings to a close a saga that saw Twitter go to court to hold the multi-billionaire to the terms of a takeover deal that he had tried to escape.

However, if you think the Musk-Twitter saga is over, you’re sorely mistaken. The real drama is yet to come.

In April while he was still on good terms with now ousted CEO Parag Agrawal and was about to join the board, he had written in a text message to Agrawal, “I have a ton of ideas. I just want Twitter to be maximum amazing.”

So, what ‘amazing’ changes could be coming? How will the eccentric yet genius billionaire change the social media platform?

If you have been following the drama, Musk has been throwing hints at the way he wants to transform the platform. For those who haven’t been following the saga, but are interested, read on.

Make Twitter a ‘free speech’ platform

Musk has consistently stated that his reasoning to buy Twitter is that he wants it to be an open digital town square of ideas, without intervention.

A self-styled “free speech absolutist” who has been critical of Twitter’s moderation policies has said that he would allow anyone to say anything on the platform, as long as it’s legal.

Back in April, he had tweeted his explanation of ‘free speech’.

In June, he reiterated his ‘free speech’ stance, saying, “I think people should be allowed to say pretty outrageous things that are within the bounds of the law, but then that doesn’t get amplified, it doesn’t get, you know, a ton of reach.”

How Musk will achieve that through Twitter as of now is unknown. But, on Thursday, he did try to address concerns about his hands-off approach to content moderation in his public memo to advertisers.

He wrote that Twitter “cannot became a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” and added that he wants Twitter to be a place “where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.”

The Twitter headquarters in San Francisco. With Elon Musk’s takeover, there are bound to be internal as well as operational changes to the platform. AP

Reinstate Donald Trump and other suspended accounts

On 8 January 2021, Twitter had permanently suspended the former US president after the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol.

Since then, Musk has been critical of Twitter’s decision and said that he plans to reverse Trump’s ban from the platform even though the former US president said he doesn’t plan on coming back.

When asked about Trump in May, he had said, “I would reverse the permanent ban,” adding that Twitter was “left-biased”.

Speaking to the Financial Times, the SpaceX CEO had said, “I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice. Banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the right, and that is why it’s morally wrong and flat-out stupid.”

Other suspended accounts such as US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and, in the UK, the rightwing commentator Katie Hopkins could also be reinstated.

Republican’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose personal Twitter account was suspended this year for repeatedly sharing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, could also be allowed back.

***

Explained: How Elon Musk got $44 billion to buy Twitter

From flamethrowers to challenging Putin to combat, why Elon Musk is the king of publicity stunts

Nine things we want from Elon Musk, Twitter’s new owner

***

Getting rid of bots

Through this long saga of acquiring Twitter, Elon Musk has repeatedly shone light on Twitter’s bot issue.

Musk has said that even though Twitter maintains that bots represent less than 5 per cent of all accounts, the number is much higher — almost 20 per cent or even more.

In fact, he had used the bot issue as a legal way to get out of the deal, saying that the company had defrauded him and investors on the matter.

On April 21, Musk tweeted if a Twitter bid succeeds “we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!” and “authenticate all real humans.”

Introduce an edit button

Twitter users have long asked for a way to edit their tweets for typos and other problems, but the highly requested feature hasn’t been at the top of the company’s priorities.

Elon Musk has long been in favour of introducing an edit button for all users and on 4 April, 74 per cent of his supporters said they supported adding the edit feature.

In September, the company did introduce the edit option for select users. But Musk may now expedite the process now that he is in charge.

But there are still concerns that the edit feature could be used with malicious intent to spread misinformation or harmful messages.

Transform Twitter into a super-app

Musk wants to make Twitter much more than a social media app: turning it into a “superapp.”

In June, Musk told Twitter staff that the company should emulate WeChat, the Chinese “superapp” that combines social media, messaging, payments, shopping, ride-hailing — basically, anything you might use your phone to do.

“You basically live on WeChat in China,” Musk said in June. “If we can re-create that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success.”

This is by far one of Musk’s most ambitious plans and the closest thing he has to a real business strategy. However, he faces competition from Snap’s Evan Spiegel and Uber, who have also been pursuing the “super-app” idea.

A receptionist works in the lobby of the building that houses the Twitter office in New York. There are fears that with Musk controlling the platform it will become a free for all — allowing for hate speech and misinformation. AP

Overhauling Twitter Blue

The billionaire has been critical of Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription service that offers exclusive features like bookmark folders and ad-free articles for $4.99 a month.

In April, he had said that all Blue members “should get an authentication checkmark,” similar but different to the blue checkmark that ‘verified’ public figures receive.

He also said that subscribers should pay $2 per month rather than the $4.99. However, this amount should be paid for 12 months up front.

Cut costs and staffing changes

With Musk taking control, Twitter will also see an internal shake-up. As already reported, the current CEO Parag Agrawal has been asked to leave, fuelling speculation that Musk, who already runs multiple companies, could take the reins himself.

In the run-up to Musk’s takeover, many employees began quitting disheartened by Musk’s plans to overhaul the company.

Musk, himself, told Twitter employees on his first visit to the company on 5 October that he did not plan to lay off that many workers. However, he is still expected to make some cuts.

What happens next in the Musk-Twitter saga is unknown, but it’s apparent to all that the next few months will be turbulent for Twitter employees and Twitter users.

With inputs from agencies

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FP StaffOct 28, 2022 16:31:49 IST

Currently, Apple’s brand new M2 12.9-inch iPad Pro is the biggest tablet in the market from their tablet division. However, it seems that Apple will be going all out with their next iPad Pro in 2023. A new report suggests that Apple is working on a 16-inch iPad Pro model with a mini-LED display which may launch towards the end of 2023.

Apple will indeed launch a new, huge iPad Pro. However, all the other details, such as Apple launching it by the end of 2023, and that it would be a 16-inch iPad, should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Apple shook up its iPad lineup earlier this month, with the release of the more expensive entry-level iPad with USB-C as well as the new and updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro. 

Apple tracker Mark Gurman mentioned a 14- to 15-inch iPad back in 2021, and he recently said a larger model could launch in the next year or two. Supply chain analyst Ross Young backed up this prediction in June and said we could see a 14.1-inch iPad Pro with Mini LEDs and a ProMotion display as soon as next year.

A 16-inch iPad Pro would be ideal for creators. On paper making the device and the screen size a bit larger looks easy, but it would take a humongous effort from Apple to package the device properly, and give it the strength to withstand stress.

The upshot, however, is the fact that Apple will finally be able to integrate the iPad Pro with its MacBook and MacBook Air laptops, something that executives and engineers at Apple have been hoping for a long time.

Introducing a premium 16-inch iPad could help add some sense to Apple’s lineup. This would likely establish a wider price gap between the entry-level iPad and the larger high-end model.

Apple surely knows this, but the introduction of a 16-inch iPad will surely cannibalise the sales of much of the MacBook and MacBook Air lineup. The MacBook Pro, because of its specifications shouldn’t be that adversely affected.

Ameya DalviOct 28, 2022 18:37:06 IST

Pros:
– Cool design, sturdy build, IP68 ingress protection
– Comfortable around the wrist
– Excellent AMOLED display
– Very good battery backup
– Simple and elegant user interface
– A bunch of useful features

Cons:
– No built-in GPS, REM sleep tracking
– Steps and distance tracking is erratic
– Not swim-proof

Rating: 3.5/5

Price: Rs 4,999

OnePlus Nord, which started off as a budget smartphone series for the company, now has a third product category under the series. After a couple of Nord-branded TWS earphones earlier this year, the company has added a fitness watch to its portfolio. The OnePlus Nord Watch doesn’t promise the world but aims to do the key things right at an affordable price point. After having spent a couple of weeks with the watch, let’s see if it earns our recommendation.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Cool design, rugged build, comfortable to wear

The OnePlus Nord Watch design lacks a wow factor but it’s quite pleasant. The design is polished with a rectangular frame and no rough edges. A solitary physical button allows you to access different functions of this watch along with the touchscreen display. The display has curved edges that blend into the frame. The frame has a glossy finish, while the base of the watch has a matte finish. The watch comes in two shades – Midnight Black and Deep Blue, and they both look cool. 

Either the black variant has a bluish frame or I somehow got a mix of the two variants with a dark blue frame and black straps. Either way, that combination looks good. The default silicon straps have a nice texture similar to the one you get on the OnePlus Watch, with a simple and standard locking mechanism with a stainless steel buckle and hoops. And yes, the straps are replaceable.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The watch weighs a little over 50 grams with the straps, which is a bit on the heavier side, but doesn’t feel that way once you wear it. Wearing it for long hours does not cause sweating or skin irritation. The build quality is quite solid and has IP68 dust and water resistance. While that makes the watch rain-proof and splash-proof, it is not enough to make it swim-proof. So it would be advisable to take it off before you dive into the pool.

Excellent AMOLED display but limited watch faces on the watch

The OnePlus Nord Watch has an excellent 1.78-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 368×448 pixels, 500 nits brightness and 60Hz refresh rate. The images and text look extremely sharp on this screen thanks to the 326ppi pixel density, and the colours are vibrant. There is no mention of any scratch-resistant glass or anti-fingerprint coating for the screen, but I couldn’t spot any scuff marks on the screen even after 3 weeks of use. The smudge marks and fingerprints were also a lot lower than usual, and I didn’t have to wipe the screen frequently.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The screen has auto and manual brightness controls and is perfectly legible outdoors even under bright sunlight at a little over 75 per cent brightness. When indoors, even 50 per cent is good enough. One thing to note is you get a proper brightness control slider as you get on smartphones rather than the 5 predefined levels that you see on most budget fitness watches; this gives you more granular control. You need to flick your wrist or press the physical button to turn on the screen. Flick gesture works well most of the time, which can also be turned off during your sleep hours. 

You get close to a hundred watch faces for the OnePlus Nord Watch in the companion app with a fair mix of digital, analogue, data-heavy and animated faces. The transfer process is fairly brisk, but you can store only four faces of your choice on the watch in addition to the default option that cannot be replaced. I did not see an option to manually remove or replace a particular watch face in the app, and it happens on a ‘first in first out’ basis on the watch. 

Smooth user interface, basic but uncomplicated companion app

OnePlus has opted for a new companion app for the Nord Watch. You need to download the N Health app and sync your device with it over Bluetooth (the watch is Bluetooth 5.2 compliant). The process is fairly smooth. While several settings of the device can be accessed from the watch itself, there are a few that are available only in the app. Things like fitness goals, reports and watch faces are available in the app in addition to a few more. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The N Health app is fairly basic, but uncluttered and easy to understand, which is exactly what the target audience of the Nord Watch would prefer. It shows a synopsis of your daily/weekly/monthly activity, workouts and sleep patterns along with certain health parameters like heart rate and blood oxygen level. Tapping certain modules give you a further breakdown of that activity, but not an in-depth analysis. While the user interface of this watch is quite easy to grasp even for a novice, it also happens to be the most polished I have come across in watches under 5K. 

I am not sure if Amazfit has anything to do with it at some level, but there are a lot of similarities, which is not a bad thing. The UI is smooth with lively colours, cool animations and transition effects. You can swipe down on the home screen for quick settings, swipe up for notifications and swipe left or right to browse through various widgets like daily activity progress, heart rate, sleep data and more. The physical button acts as a shortcut for all the watch functions from the home screen and doubles up as a back button on all other screens. 

Generally reliable fitness tracking, but misses out on a couple of key features 

Before we head to fitness tracking, let’s take a quick look at the other useful functions this watch offers. For starters, it does not support Bluetooth calling that you get these days on several watches, but you can silence or reject calls from the watch screen. You can choose to receive notifications and messages from most of the popular apps present on your phone. The messages are clearly legible on the watch screen, but you cannot reply back from there.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

You also get music playback controls, a remote camera shutter, a calendar, a calculator and a handful of other utilities on the Nord Watch. As for sensors, you have a heart rate monitor, SpO2 sensor and a 3-axis accelerometer. If you wear the watch right and keep your hand steady, you get an accurate oxygen score (comparable to an over-the-counter oximeter) in less than 30 seconds. You also get one tap measurement for three health parameters in 75 seconds. It measures your heart rate, oxygen level and stress level in one go. 

This watch can track 105 different activities and sports that include your usual walking, running, cycling, swimming, free training and their variations. It also claims to monitor popular sports like cricket, football, table tennis, badminton etc., along with a few dance forms. I did try walking, running and some strength training wearing this watch but not the rest. The Nord Watch lacks a built-in GPS module and as a result, the distance tracking is not all that accurate. 

The number of steps recorded during an outdoor walk was still in the usual ballpark but the distance reported was a good 10-12 per cent lower than the actual. That’s a bit on the higher side with 5-7 per cent considered tolerable. Also, this watch reports a few false steps occasionally, especially when travelling in a train or car. So at times, it downplays your achievements and sometimes makes you believe that you have been more active than actual.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Sleep tracking works well here. The overall sleep duration from the time I fell asleep till I was up seemed correct. It tracks the quantum of light sleep, deep sleep and awake time, but no REM sleep. As a result, the deep sleep figure seems significantly higher than what other watches with REM tracking suggest. You get a sleep score in the app based on the quality and quantity of sleep. Stress monitoring is also available on this watch along with menstrual cycle tracking. You get some assisted breathing exercises as well as sedentary reminders with the coolest of animations I have come across in watches if you are stationary for long. 

Very good battery backup

OnePlus claims a battery life of 10 days on a full charge for the Nord Watch with the following usage scenario – all-day wear, intelligent heart rate detection enabled, Do Not Disturb mode on during nighttime sleep, message notifications enabled (up to 150 messages), the screen waking up to 150 times per day, SpO2 monitored twice a day, and an average of 90 minutes of exercise per week. We believe that’s a conservative estimate. With double the weekly exercise duration, fewer notifications and wearing it to bed alternate nights during the testing period, it went on for a good two weeks, which is impressive.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

What’s even more impressive is the standby time, which the company pegs at 30 days. In reality, it only drops by 1 or 2 per cent if you don’t wear the watch at all for a full day. At that rate, it should go on for way more than a month. Of course, one wouldn’t buy this watch to cast it aside for that long like a new year’s fitness resolution, but it’s good to know that you don’t lose the reserves much on days you don’t use it. It takes about an hour and a half to charge its 230 mAh battery fully with the bundled magnetic pin charger. 

Price and verdict

The OnePlus Nord Watch sells for Rs 4,999 in India with a one-year warranty. While it may not be the most feature-rich watch in the segment, it does offer plenty of useful features and a lot of finesse to justify the price tag. At that price, you get a fairly stylish fitness watch with a sharp AMOLED display, simple and smooth UI, generally reliable fitness tracking (barring distance) and very good battery backup. It does miss out on features like built-in GPS, 5ATM water resistance and REM sleep tracking though.

As for competition, there are three options that the Nord Watch will go up against. I don’t think there’s any watch under Rs 5,000 that has all the features that this OnePlus product offers along with the ones it misses. The Realme Watch 3 Pro does come close with built-in GPS but its battery backup is drastically lower, and that isn’t swim-proof either. The Amazfit Bip 3 Pro offers most of the features, and for a few hundred Rupees less, but you will have to make do with a regular LCD screen instead of AMOLED. 

If you increase your budget by a thousand bucks, you can get the newer version of the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini that does have an AMOLED display, though a little smaller, along with built-in GPS, 5ATM water resistance, comparable battery backup and a more detailed Zepp app. The design is a bit more elegant too. Thus spending the extra money would not be a bad idea at all. However, if you wish to stick to the 5K budget or prefer a bigger screen, the OnePlus Nord Watch is a solid option as long as GPS is not a requirement.

Ameya DalviOct 28, 2022 18:26:22 IST

The festive sales are finally over, or so it seems. There were some great deals on smartphones across various budgets over the past month or so. For some reason, if you missed the sales or didn’t have a need or reason to buy a phone then, but now you do, worry not. We have you covered as we look to refresh our smartphone lists starting with the best on offer under Rs 10,000. We have five options for you with at 4 GB RAM, 64 GB internal storage, good display and more than decent cameras. Take your pick.

Best phones to buy under Rs 10,000 in India

Samsung Galaxy F13
Surprise surprise! A Samsung phone at the top of the list in this budget! The Samsung Galaxy F13 offers some real good features for its selling price. It is amongst the few phones under Rs 10,000 that flaunts a Full HD+ display. Its 6.6-inch screen is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5. This phone is powered by Samsung’s Exynox 850 chip, and comes with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB of internal storage that can be expanded further up to 1 TB with a microSD card.

The photography department is quite varied here for a budget phone with three rear cameras comprising a 50MP primary camera, 5MP ultrawide shooter and a 2MP depth sensor. You also get an 8MP front camera to handle selfies and video calls. A big 6000 mAh battery keeps the phone powered for close to two days of moderate use, and also supports 15W fast charging. The Samsung Galaxy F13 runs Android 12 with One UI 4.1. 

Samsung Galaxy F13 price in India: Rs 9,499 for 4GB RAM/64GB storage

Infinix Hot 11
The Infinix Hot 11 retains its place in our list courtesy of a well-rounded feature set. It is another phone in this bunch with a Full HD+ screen, and sports a  6.6-inch IPS display. This phone is powered by a Mediatek Helio G70 SoC, which is not a bad option in this budget. This too bundles 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage that can be expanded further using a microSD card. The camera department is modest with a 13MP primary camera assisted by a depth sensor. The 8MP front camera is decent enough for selfies and video calls.

This smartphone has a 5200 mAh battery that keeps it running for well over a day and a half of moderate use. The Infinix Hot 11 runs XOS 7.6 based on Android 11. You do get a 2022 variant of this phone for the same price that offers a slightly larger 6.7-inch screen and a Unisoc T610 processor. The battery capacity is marginally lower at 5000 mAh. Rest of the specifications are the same as its previous iteration. We still prefer the older variant though, while the stocks last.

Infinix Hot 11 price in India: Rs 8,999 for 4GB RAM/64GB storage

Micromax IN Note 1
The Micromax IN Note 1 remains a very good option in this budget. It has a 6.67-inch screen with a Full HD+ resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and a tiny punch hole at the top that hosts a 16MP selfie camera. This phone is powered by a Mediatek Helio G85 chip, which is a pretty decent option for the segment, and you get 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage that can be expanded further with a microSD card.

The X-shaped pattern at the back of the phone is eye-catching and adds a bit of style. The Micromax IN Note 1 has four rear cameras consisting of a 48MP primary camera, 5MP ultrawide shooter, 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor. A 5000 mAh battery keeps the phone powered for over a day and a half of moderate use, and supports 18W fast charging. The phone launched with Android 10, and an Android 11 update was expected this year.

Micromax IN Note 1 price in India: Rs 9,990 for 4GB RAM/64GB storage

Motorola G22
The Motorola G22 is a neat little option in this budget. Some of its features are quite interesting for this budget category. Let’s start with the photography department that has a 50MP primary camera, accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide shooter, a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor. The 16MP front camera should please the selfie enthusiasts. The phone has a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a 90 Hz refresh rate, a rare feature in a phone priced under 10K.

The Motorola G22 is powered by a Mediatek Helio G37 chip, and you get 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage that can be expanded further up to 1 TB with a microSD card. Its 5000 mAh battery keeps the phone running for close to two days of standard use, and even better, it supports 20W fast charging. The phone runs Android 12 out of the box, and like all Motorola phones, you get a near-stock Android user interface. Long story short, this is a great all-round phone under Rs 10,000.

Motorola G22 price in India: Rs 9,499 for 4GB RAM/64GB storage

Redmi 10
Though not better than some of the phones above, the Redmi 10 from Xiaomi is a good budget smartphone for those looking for decent processing power, a large display and long battery life. It has a 6.7-inch HD+ display with a resolution of 1650 x 720 pixels protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC which is a very good option in this budget. You get 4 GB RAM here too along with 64 GB of internal storage that can be expanded further. 

This phone has a 6000 mAh battery that powers it for well over two days of moderate use. You get two rear cameras with a combination of 50MP primary camera and a 2MP depth sensor. A 5MP selfie camera is located in a drop notch at the top of the screen. The Redmi 10 runs Android 11 with a layer of Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 on top. 

Redmi 10 price in India: Rs 9,499 for 4GB RAM/64GB storage