Articles by Harish Jonnalagadda

Here’s what we know so far about OnePlus’ 2021 flagship.

OnePlus recently released the OnePlus 8T, but the company is already looking ahead to what’s next. The OnePlus 9 will continue the Chinese manufacturer’s push in the high-end segment, and while the company did not fare well in this category for 2020 — with the OnePlus 8 series series not meeting its sales goal — that will only push OnePlus to do better with the OnePlus 9.

We’ve had a few nuggets of information on the OnePlus 9, including an earlier-than-usual release window that will see the phone launching in March 2021. Here’s what you need to know about the OnePlus 9 release date, specs, pricing, and availability.

Setting a high bar

OnePlus 8T

$750 at Amazon

The new standard

With a new design backed by a sublime 120Hz AMOLED display and insane 65W fast charging, the OnePlus 8T is a performance monster. The phone runs Android 11 out of the box, and has a ton of exciting software features along with a bold new v…

Samsung’s next big version update is now available.

One UI 3.0 — Samsung’s custom interface for Android 11 — is finally starting to arrive. Between official rollouts and public betas, Samsung’s well underway with its update process for the new software. The stable release is now rolling out to the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 devices as well as older Samsung flagships.

One UI 3.0 comes with exciting new features, subtle UI tweaks, and optimizations across the board. Here’s what you need to know about the One UI 3.0 update, the list of eligible phones slated to receive the stable update, and when you’ll get the stable OTA update on your Galaxy phone.

The default choice

Samsung Galaxy S20+

$950 at Amazon
$950 at Best Buy

A great all-round option

The Galaxy S20+ is one of the best phones on the market today, with a gorgeous design coupled with enticing hardware. You get a stunning 120Hz AMOLED panel, global 5G connectivity, Snapdragon 865 chipset, outstanding cameras, and all-d…

The Snapdragon 480 further lowers the barrier to entry for 5G.

What you need to know

The Snapdragon 480 is Qualcomm’s first 5G-enabled chip in the 400 series.
The chipset has a built-in X51 5G modem that delivers both Sub-6 and mmWave 5G connectivity.
Qualcomm is touting a 100% performance improvement for both the CPU and GPU.
Nokia, OPPO, and Vivo will launch the first wave of phones powered by the Snapdragon 480.

A few months ago, Qualcomm teased the launch of a 5G-enabled Snapdragon 400 series chipset that will make its debut in 2021. The chip vendor is formally announcing the chipset today: the Snapdragon 480 5G will be making its way to sub-$250 phones later this year.

Qualcomm has steadily lowered the barrier to entry for 5G with the introduction of the Snapdragon 765G, 690, 750G, and now the 480. Basically, you can look forward to the best Android phones under $300 now offering 5G connectivity in 2021.

The Snapdragon 480 features an integrated X51 5G modem that inclu…

The PS5 will be going on sale in India from February 2, with pre-orders kicking off January 12.

What you need to know

The PS5 finally has a release date in India; the console is going up for pre-order from January 5, and will be on sale from February 2.
The pre-orders will kick off at 12pm on January 12 at Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance Digital, Games The Shop, and retail outlets.
The PS5 retails for ₹49,990 ($685) in India, and the PS5 Digital Edition is available for ₹39,990 ($550).

Sony launched the PS5 in most global markets on November 12, but it didn’t reveal any details regarding Indian availability. Customers in the country have been hounding Sony India’s Twitter account for the last two months for more information on the console’s release, and Sony has finally shared information on the same.

The PlayStation 5 will be up for pre-order in India starting January 12, with retail sales kicking off from February 2. The console will be available on Amazon, Flipkart, Relianc…

OnePlus’ first wearable will be a fitness band that is aimed at the budget segment.

OnePlus has confirmed that it is working on a smartwatch that is slated to release in 2021, and while that particular device will be powered by Wear OS, OnePlus has another wearable in the works, one aimed at the budget segment.

We can now reveal via our insider sources that the OnePlus Band will be the company’s first wearable device, and that it will debut sometime in Q1 2021. The fitness band will be positioned against the likes of Xiaomi’s Mi Band series, and will retail for around $40.

OnePlus Band: What we know so far

With the OnePlus Band, OnePlus is emulating a similar strategy that we’ve seen with the manufacturer’s phone business. The upcoming OnePlus smartwatch will be aimed at upmarket buyers, and like the Nord, the OnePlus Band will be catered to the budget segment.

The fitness band will share a lot of similarities with the Mi Band 5, including water resistance, an AMOLED screen, and…

Plugging your phone overnight will be a thing of the past.

2020 was bad for most things, but we got meaningful charging-related innovations. The best Android phones had 25W wired charging as default, but we also got 50W USB PD charging from Xiaomi on its Mi 10 Pro flagship, and OPPO introduced an insane 65W fast charging system on its Find X2 Pro.

This 65W charging tech was licensed by OnePlus for the OnePlus 8T, with Warp Charge 65 using the same dual-cell battery design to deliver 32.5W charge to each cell simultaneously. The result is that the Find X2 Pro and 8T can fully charge their batteries in under 40 minutes, going from zero to 50% in just 15 minutes.

OPPO and Xiaomi are leading the charge for battery tech.

Chinese brands have always led the way for battery innovations, and that’s set to continue into 2021. Xiaomi has already introduced its 120W charging system in the Mi 10 Ultra, but that particular device is limited to China at the moment. We should see the tech ma…

Google Pixel 4a

Camera king

$350 at Amazon

Pros

Class-leading camera
Compact design
Clean software with no bloatware
Three years of platform updates
3.5mm jack

Cons

Available in a single color
Limited global availability

The Pixel 4a is all about the camera, with Google offering the same camera quality as the Pixel 4. That means you get a flagship camera that takes outstanding photos in just about any scenario, making the Pixel 4a stand out in this segment. You also get a clean interface, three years of platform updates, and the compact design is ideal for one-handed use.

Samsung Galaxy A71

Big, bold, beautiful

$445 at Amazon

Pros

Gorgeous design
Powerful hardware with 5G
Great battery life with 25W charging
Vibrant AMOLED screen
Three years of platform updates

Cons

No wireless charging

The Galaxy A71 has a modern design with an attractive gradient finish at the back and the large AMOLED panel is great for streaming movies and playing games. The Snapdragon …

OnePlus will expand its numbered flagship series with a new Lite model.

What you need to know

The OnePlus 9 series will have three models at launch: OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and OnePlus 9 Lite.
The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will be powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 chipset, but the 9 Lite will get the Snapdragon 865.
All three devices will be unveiled in Q1 2021.

OnePlus makes some of the best Android phones money can buy today, and the Chinese manufacturer is set to launch its 2021 flagship phones in the coming months. We already got a good look at the design of the OnePlus 9 thanks to leaked photos of the device, and we can now reveal additional details around the internal hardware.

OnePlus 9 series: OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus 9 Lite

According to my insider source, the OnePlus 9 series will offer three models at launch: the OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and OnePlus 9 Lite. The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will feature Qualcomm’s latest 5nm chipset, the Snapdragon 888, but t…

Samsung’s next big version update is now available.

One UI 3.0 — Samsung’s custom interface for Android 11 — is finally starting to arrive. Between official rollouts and public betas, Samsung’s well underway with its update process for the new software. The stable release is now rolling out to the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 devices as well as older Samsung flagships.

One UI 3.0 comes with exciting new features, subtle UI tweaks, and optimizations across the board. Here’s what you need to know about the One UI 3.0 update, the list of eligible phones slated to receive the stable update, and when you’ll get the stable OTA update on your Galaxy phone.

The default choice

Samsung Galaxy S20+

$950 at Amazon
$950 at Best Buy

A great all-round option

The Galaxy S20+ is one of the best phones on the market today, with a gorgeous design coupled with enticing hardware. You get a stunning 120Hz AMOLED panel, global 5G connectivity, Snapdragon 865 chipset, outstanding cameras, and all-d…

Xiaomi’s first QLED TV delivers great picture quality and costs significantly less than Samsung.

To say that Xiaomi has turned the TV segment on its head in India would be an understatement. The brand sold over five million TVs in the country following its entry into the category back in February 2018, and it has been the number one smart TV brand for ten consecutive quarters.

Much like its phone business, Xiaomi’s momentum with the Mi TV comes from value-focused offerings. With its TVs starting off as low as ₹14,499 ($196), Xiaomi has lowered the bar to entry for those looking to pick up a smart TV in India.

While it dominates the budget segment, Xiaomi doesn’t really have a premium option to go up against the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony, OnePlus, and others. The manufacturer is now fixing that with the launch of its first QLED TV, the Mi QLED TV 4K 55. The 55-inch TV is now available in India for ₹54,999 ($745), and Xiaomi is significantly undercutting Samsung here.

Xiaomi s…