The week gone by marked the first week of February, bringing to us a host of new smartphones, as well as gadgets from various other categories. After a brief lull in the preceding week, there were plenty of smartphone launches this week, including the Realme X7 Pro and X7 5G, the Poco M3 and a bunch of other devices. Other product categories also chipped in, including the official availability of the Sony PlayStation 5 in India. Here’s looking at the week gone by in tech, in terms of the biggest product launches across various tech categories through the past week.
*Editor’s note: The following list is not comprehensive, but includes a list of gadgets and products that were notably launched through the week, and would be of the most relevance for buyers to know.
Realme X7 Pro 5G, X7 5G
The Realme X7 Pro 5G became the first phone to bring the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ SoC in a phone in India, and in our review, we noted its excellent overall performance. The Realme X7 5G, on the other hand, uses the Dimensity 800U SoC from MediaTek as well. While its performance is quite good, its overall package has flaws in terms of build quality, software and the overall camera performance, making it a sub-Rs 30,000 phone that is an also-ran in the category. The cheaper Realme X7 5G still has a strong point in terms of the value that it brings to the table.
Poco M3
Starting at Rs 10,999, the Poco M3 is the company’s mid-budget segment offering. It runs on the Snapdragon 662 SoC from Qualcomm, has up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, and a 48MP triple rear camera. Other features include a side-mounted physical fingerprint sensor, a massive 6,000mAh battery pack, and 18W fast charging as well. The smartphone arrives in a hotly contested segment that already has strong presences from Xiaomi, Samsung, Realme, Nokia, Motorola and even Poco itself.
Itel A47
Priced at Rs 5,499, the Itel A47 aims to offer the most basic smartphone features particularly for first-time smartphone buyers looking for a budget device. It offers a 5.5-inch HD+ display, 2GB RAM and 32GB storage, a 5MP dual camera setup at the rear, and a 3,020mAh battery. It runs on Android 9 Go Edition, and joins the ranks of India’s most budget-segment offering, having been launched in exclusive partnership with Amazon India.
Fossil Gen 5E
Fossil’s Android Wear OS smartwatches are among the most popular wearable devices for Android users. The new Fossil Gen 5E smartwatches will sell alongside the Fossil Gen 5 smartwatches, and offers slight changes in terms of features, along with a new price tag of Rs 18,495. It gets a single button for all operations that can be rotated to scroll through the menus. It has a 1.19-inch AMOLED display, with a neat overall design that is available in 42mm and 44mm watch sizes.
Samsung Galaxy M02
Also catering to the lowest budget segment of smartphones in India is the Samsung Galaxy M02, the entry level variant of the Samsung Galaxy M series smartphones. Priced at Rs 6,799, the Galaxy M02 offers the MediaTek MT6739W SoC, up to 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, a 6.5-inch HD+ display, 13MP dual rear cameras, a 5,000mAh battery, and the full version of Android with Android 10.
Sony PlayStation 5
While not being a new launch per se, the much awaited Sony PlayStation 5 finally went on sale this week in India. Even though stocks remain limited, Sony will now sell the PS5 in India through both offline and online channels, and the new generation gaming console costs Rs 49,990 for the Blu-Ray edition, and Rs 39,990 for the Digital edition. We noted in our review that the Sony PS5 is an excellent console that offers super sharp 4K graphics at up to 120fps, and delivers this performance consistently, without any hiccups.
Other launches
Among the other product launches of the past week include Panasonic’s first box-style, Netflix certified full-frame professional mirrorless camera, the Panasonic Lumix BGH1. Also launched in the cinema category is the Sony FX6, a cinema camera with a lightweight body and a 10.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor. The camera body costs Rs 5,99,990, and its paired 16-35mm T3.1G lens uses an E-mount for added compatibility, albeit belonging to the ‘C’ (or Cinema) range of Sony lenses. There is also the Realme V11 in China, a budget 5G phone powered by MediaTek’s new mid-range Dimensity 700 SoC. Samsung chipped in with the launch of its budget wireless earphones, the Samsung Level U2. Nokia has a new Android Go-based budget phone, the Nokia 1.4, that should launch in India in the coming days. Finally, Apple marked its celebration of Black History month by unveiling a special, limited edition Apple Watch Series 6 Black Unity Edition.
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