BRILLIANT BUZZWORTHY AND - Most desirable and game-changing luxe gadgets - Omediaa
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BRILLIANT
Google
Mini
WEARABLES
WITH SLEEP
AND
TRACKERS
November 2019 / `50/ www.gadgetsngizmos.in
BUZZWORTHY
Most desirable and
game-changing
luxe gadgets
Sony Z9G 8K
LED TV
(98 inches)
Bowers &
Wilkins 802
D3 Speakers
HiCan Smart
Bed
iPhone 11 Pro
DCP No. F.2(I/I) Press/2009
GG www.gadgetsngizmos.in
Editor-in-Chief: Aroon Purie
Associate Editor: Nidhi Singal
GADGETS
AND GIZMOS
CONTENTS
Deputy Art Director: Amit Sharma
Assistant Art Director: Raj Verma
Group Business Head: Manoj Sharma
Associate Publisher(IMPACT): Anil Fernandes
IMPACT TEAM
Senior General Manager: Jitendra Lad (West)
General Managers: Upendra Singh (Bangalore)
Kaushiky Gangulie (East)
Sony Z9G 8K LED TV
Cover Story
6 Brilliant and Buzzworthy
Most desirable and game-changing luxe gadgets
2 10
Launch Pad Wearables with
Apple AirPods Pro Sleep Trackers
Avision Self Printer Use wearable devices to
track your sleep
Voot Kids
patterns
Alexa goes multi-lingual
Volume 13, Number 04;
November-December 2019 12
Reviews
iPhone 11
Kindle Oasis
Copyright Living Media India Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world.
Reproduction in any manner is prohibited. India Today does not take
Mi Smart Water
responsibility for returning unsolicited publication material. Purifier
Cover Design: AMIT SHARMA Mi TV 50 inch
APPLE
AIRPODS
PRO PRICED
AT `24,900
GOES ON
SALE IN
INDIA
By NIDHI SINGAL
APPLE’S all-new AirPods Pro with remaining noise detected by the slider in Control Center on iPhone
noise cancellation feature priced at microphone. Noise cancellation and iPad to control settings.
`24,900 is now available in India. continuously adapts the sound The headphones are lightweight.
Featuring active noise cancellation signal 200 times per second. As Each earbud will be accompanied
in an in-ear design, Apple claims noise cancellation cuts out envi- with three different sizes of soft,
that the new buds are designed for ronment noise, AirPodsPro also flexible silicone ear tips. It also uses
immersive sound. features a new Transparency mode a vent system to equalise pressure,
Active noise cancellation is com- that provides with the option to minimising the discomfort common
mon in over-the-ear headphones. To simultaneously listen to music while with in-ear designs.
implement that in the in-ear buds, still hearing the environment. This Apple claims that the new
it uses two microphones combined has been implemented using the AirPods Pro offers a battery life of
with advanced software to continu- pressure-equalizing vent system five hours of listening time. In the
ously adapt to each ear and head- and advanced software. Active Noise Cancellation mode, it
phone fit. Apple says this removes Switching between Active Noise delivers up to four and a half hours
background noise to provide a Cancellation and Transparency of listening time and up to three and
uniquely customised, superior noise- modes is simple and can be done a half hours of talk time on a single
cancelling experience that allows a directly on AirPods Pro using a new, charge. And the wireless charging
user to focus on what they’re listen- innovative force sensor on the stem. case juices up the AirPods Pro for
ing to – including music as well Users can also press on the volume over 24 hours of listening time or
as a phone conversation. The first over 18 hours of talk time.
microphone is outward-facing and The new AirPods Pro is the
detects external sound to analyse To implement active top-of-the-line offering and will join
environmental noise. noise cancellation, the existing lineup that includes
AirPods Pro creates an equiva- two microphones are AirPods with charging case priced
lent anti-noise that cancels out combined with at `14,900, AirPods with Wireless
background noise before it reaches advanced software Charing case priced at `18,900.
the listener’s ear. A second inward- to continuously adapt Those planning to buy the stan-
facing microphone listens toward to each ear and dalone wireless charging case, the
the ear, and AirPods Procancels headphone fit same is retailing for `7,500.
2
Opera Mini Introduces
Offline File-sharing
Taiwan-based Avision has will have a 250 sheets capacity ple will be able to print and copy
launched what it claims to be tray, can print up to 30 copies per by searching for Avision SSC
the world’s first self-service minute and will support mobile nearby. In the first year itself, we
copier (SSC) machine in India. printing, cloud printing, USB plan to set up at 3,000 locations
Designed for the Indian market, printing and ID card copying. The and within three years to 10,000
the X2030 self-service copier machines can work 24*7. units.” As Avision and its partners
integrates cloud printing, mobile Claire Sung, Marketing Head, will invest in the copiers and
payment and IoT technology to Avision, says, “Avision self- system, the company expects to
offer printing and copy service service copier is a unique product break even insix to 12 months.
to the public, eliminating the in the market. It can provide Most of the end-users in
need of a computer or service the printing and copy service in the country don’t invest in a
personnel. public areas such as airport, gov- printer/copier because the car-
Making the copier easy to ernment offices, banks, schools, tridges run dry quickly if not used
operate, the machine will have libraries, hotels and more. Peo- regularly. Users often rely on the
a 4.3-inch colour touchscreen local photocopy and document
display. Eliminating the need to The copier will have a printing shops.
connect to an ethernet cable, 4.3-inch colour For payments, Avision self-
it will connect to the available touchscreen display, service copier will support UPI
4G WiFi hotspot. The machine and will connect to mobile wallets. Once the file
will be equipped with high-yield the available 4G WiFi will be uploaded or copied to
4,000-pages toner cartridges, hotspot the system, the Avision SSC will
generate a QR Code using which
consumers will be able to make
the payment. Users will be able
to use the Avision SSC applica-
tion for mobile printing as well
as for the locations where the
machines have been installed.
With privacy being one of the
biggest concerns, Sung explains,
“Our cloud server is set up in
India by Microsoft cloud service
with high-security structure. We
will follow Europe GDPR regula-
tions for Avision SSC system.”
Avision Self-Service Copier is
the commercial heavy-duty ma-
chine and the company expects
them to work for at least three
years. These machines would
require paper/toner change that
Avision’s service team will take
care of.
Avision entered the Indian
market in 2004 and has been
working with government agen-
cies and banks in the country.
3
Viacom 18
launches Voot
Kids, focuses
on building
a premium
experience
and superior
content play
By NIDHI SINGAL
EXPANDING ITS DIGITAL eco- three pillars of product experi- tion space with Voot Kids is the
system, Viacom 18 Digital Ventures ence, content and safety making it first step in our journey towards
has launched Voot Kids, a platform India’s first and only multi-format building an entire digital ecosys-
to offer fun and learning experience kids app offering fun and learning. tem under brand Voot. Our digital
for kids. A stand-alone applica- Our focus right now is to build a play Voot is the second largest
tion, Voot Kids is Certified by Early premium experience and superior video-on-demand platform in the
Childhood Association (ECA) and content play on the app. This is a country today,” adds Rakshit.
has a collection of 20,000 videos, category-creating product,” says Although restricted to Android
e-books, stories and quizzes. This Gourav Rakshit, COO, Viacom18 and iOS platform to start with, the
is a subscription-based ad-free Digital Ventures. company will continue to explore
application available for iOS and The company says that being distribution partnerships and plasn
Android platforms. They will be a subscription product, Voot Kids to soon build a wide network of
available in monthly and annual provides an ad-free, curated and distribution partners across telcos,
subscription plans of `99 and `799, kid-safe environment, which is its original equipment manufacturers,
respectively. edge against free services. handset makers, TVs and more.
With a mission to make screen “Viacom18 has grown over However, Voot Kids is not
time meaningful, the app has been the years by focusing on white the only streaming platform for
designed for kids aged two to eight. spaces that are challenging and children. Recently, Hungama
It will offer a holistic experience yet have tremendous potential. As had announced the launch of its
focussed on viewing, reading, a network, we have been the un- subscription-based Hungama
listening and playing. For content, disputed leader in kids’ entertain- Kids, a platform for kids, parents,
Viacom 18 has partnered with Nick- ment content since the past five and teachers to access specially
elodeon, Oxford University Press, years. The foray into the subscrip- created and curated content at
Warner Media, Green Gold, Ceebee- subscription fees of `30 per
bies, TV Asahi, Sony Music, Hasbro, month or `299 per year. Popular
Mattel, Lego and many more. All Viacom 18 has OTT player Netflix too has a kids
the existing content available on partnered with profile that has a wide catalogue
the Voot app has been migrated to Nickelodeon, Oxford of movies and TV shows. These
Voot Kids to create a safe environ- University Press, subscription-based streaming
ment for kids. Warner Media, Green services will face stiff competition
“The app has been built on the Gold, Ceebeebies, from YouTube Kids.
4
In Hindi, Alexa can
respond in diverse
content such as
jokes, shayari,
games, Kabir ke dohe,
Panchatantra stories,
Bollywood dialogues
and even spellings in
ting, they can ask the Alexa to
update the same using “Alexa,
check for software updates”
command.
Additionally, users can also
ask, “Alexa, how can I setup
multi-lingual mode” for help with
the setup. This is Amazon’s major
step to make Alexa more ‘Indian’
as it will be able to understand
Alexa’s multi-lingual mode to customers speaking to her
completely in Hindi or Hinglish,
interact in English, Hindi or in multiple contexts, and varied
regional accents and dialects.
Hinglsih simultaneously goes live “India has uniquely chal-
lenged our AI teams with its
cultural and linguistic diversity.
After introducing Hindi and customers to switch between We are thrilled to bring a suite
Hinglish language support for its English and Hindi when talking of AI advances in multilingual
digital assistant Alexa, Amazon to Alexa without changing the understanding so that customers
has now rolled out the multi- language setting. For example, if can interact with Alexa in differ-
lingual mode for the Indian audi- a customer asks about the festi- ent regional variants of colloquial
ence. The digital smart assistant val of Diwali in Hindi, Alexa will Hindi. We are also grateful to In-
powering Echo range of speakers reply in Hindi, and when asked dian customers who contributed
can now interact and respond for information in English, it will to Hindi development through
in English, Hindi and Hinglish si- respond in English. To setup this the Cleo skill,” says Rohit Prasad,
multaneously. Alexa is the brain new feature, existing Echo cus- Vice President and Head Scien-
that powers Echo hardware, tomers can change their device tist, Alexa AI, Amazon.
which was introduced in India language to English or Hindi via Alexa can be used to answer
almost two years ago and sup- the Language options inside the questions, play music, read the
ported the English language until Device settings on the latest ver- news, set timers and alarms,
last month. Amazon says this sion of the Alexa App. check the calendar, provide sports
multi-lingual mode can be useful For the Echo devices with scores, control lights at home,
in Indian households where us- display including Echo Show and use over 30,000 English skills
ers speak both Hindi and English Echo Spot, users can also swipe and much more. In Hindi, Alexa
interchangeably. down from the top of the screen can respond in diverse content
Until now, consumers had to to access the settings section such as jokes, shayari, games, Ka-
switch between Hindi and Eng- and change language. This works bir ke dohe, Panchatantra stories,
lish to interact with Alexa in the on the latest software and if Bollywood dialogues, more than
respective language. The launch the users are unbale to see the 500 Alexa skills, and even spell-
of this new feature will allow above mentioned language set- ings of words in Hindi.
5
Cover Story
BRILLIANT AND
LUXURY IS ATTENTION TO
DETAIL, originality, exclusivity, and
above all, quality, said Angelo Bonati,
the longtime CEO who turned Italy-
BUZZWORTHY
based Officine Panerai into a cult
watch brand before retiring last year.
If you also believe the luxury veteran,
take a look at these innovative and
gorgeous pieces of technology. A few
Discover the most desirable are available online, but it is best to get
and game-changing luxe in touch with the respective companies
gadgets to stay ahead of the pack. and buy from them. As expected, many
of these are insanely priced but blend
By NIDHI SINGAL perfectly with an opulent lifestyle.
Sony Z9G 8K LED TV (98 inches)
AN 8K MASTERPIECE is finally here to adorn your living room. With double the resolution of 4K, high brightness
(specially developed to match the superb resolution) and projector-quality visuals, this television promises the most
spectacular big-screen viewing that money can buy. It also features a Netflix-calibrated mode, developed especially
for Netflix Originals, and reproduces the same picture quality on a TV as on a studio-grade screen. Besides, it is an
IMAX-enhanced product (a licensing and certification programme for home entertainment), and the colour, contrast,
clarity and sound offer a fully immersive experience. The four front-firing speakers also provide a surround sound-like
effect for a captivating audio-visual performance. It is neatly designed, with all the cables hidden in the stand and
held in place with the supplied cable holder. You can sit back and relax as Alexa support would help you control all
essential functions such as switching it on, volume control and channel changing using voice command via Echo
speakers. And a quick command to Google Assistant will help you discover your favourite content.
WHAT IT COSTS: $69,999.99
6
iPhone 11 Pro
WITH THE INDUSTRY look-
ing up to Apple for its new
iPhones, the Cupertino giant
has taken the experience a
notch higher. The new iPhone
11 Pro's frosted matte finish
makes it stand out of the
clutter of glossy smartphones
of today. With IP68 certifica-
tion, the phone can withstand
water up to four metres for 30
minutes. The near bezel-less
OLED screen with a wide
notch at the top is super
bright, reproduces sharp and
natural-looking colours, and
with spatial audio (for im-
mersive, theatre-like surround
sound experience) tops the
gaming and video stream-
ing experience. The imaging
proficiency is quite high. The
wide, ultra-wide and telepho-
to camera each uses a 12MP
sensor and using smart HDR
along with machine learning
results in sharp, detailed and
natural-looking images.
Apple has used A13 Bionic
chip with Neural Engine that
handles everything from
video and image editing to
gaming flawlessly. The all-new
iOS 13 is a little buggy but has
features such as system-wide
dark mode, support for more
Indian languages, and more.
A single charge lasts a heavy
day usage with a couple of
hours of imaging and video
capture, gaming, emails,
social networking and more
with still over 30 per cent
charge left.
WHAT IT COSTS: iPhone
11 Pro Max with 5.8-inch
display costs `1,31,900 for
512 GB variant
7
Cover Story
HiCan Smart Bed
WHAT ALL DO YOU EXPECT from a smart bed, a perfect combo of technology and design? Yes, it tracks your sleeping
pattern and provides feedback and insights for sleep improvement. But this personal cocoon offers much more. Boasting a
4K video projector with a retractable 70-inch screen and a state-of-the-art audio system, as well as a multimedia PC and a
gaming console, this could easily become your bespoke entertainment hub. Plus, there is a pair of dimmable LED lights for
reading, an adjustable bed base, motorised blackout blinds and more. It also has a wake-up alarm with audio notifications,
syncs information from Google Calendar and provides weather updates. These beds are manufactured in Italy, and it takes
around 90 days to build one and around one month for shipping and installation.
WHAT IT COSTS: $40,000
IQAir Perfect 16
DO NOT LET THE ALARMING rise in air pollu-
tion bother you. You can control the quality of the
air you are breathing, at least when you are indoors.
Switzerland-based tech company IQAir is not just
into air purification but also protects people from
airborne pollutants. And its Perfect 16 air purifier
can be ducted into an existing HVAC system to
clean the air of the entire house. It has four high-
performance air filters arranged in a ‘double-v’ con-
figuration with more than 170 sq. ft of filter media.
The air is sucked in from the grills in common areas
such as hallway and living room, passed through the
filter-fitted HVAC system and delivered back via the
supply ductwork and diffusers located in each room.
WHAT IT COSTS: Price depends on
installation area.
8YOU GET NEEDLE-
SHARP ACOUSTIC
DETAIL WHEN
LISTENING TO
HIGH-FREQUENCY
AUDIO
Bowers &
Wilkins 802 D3
Speakers
CONNOISSEURS
DESERVE best-quality
audio, and these flagship
speakers from the UK-
based Bowers & Wilkins
have been designed to
offer a pure sound experi-
ence – replicating the
depth and detail of any
musical performance as
if you were there, sitting
next to the artiste. Each
in-room, floor-standing
speaker features a turbine
head made from a single
piece of aluminium, a
three-way, vented box
system, and an all-new,
solid-body tweeter (treble
speaker) assembly that
does away with thin-body
cabinet resonance and
other distortions. The
outcome: Needle-sharp
acoustic detail when you
are listening to high-
frequency audio. A new
midrange cone driver
further enhances clarity,
and the bass is also solid
and dramatic. All this
is housed in a beauti-
ful body that would
complement your home’s
aesthetics.
WHAT IT COSTS:
$22,000 per pair
9SLEEP TRACKER
coming out of deep sleep and helps
with mental restoration.
An easy way to track sleep cycles
Wearables
is by using the new age fitness bands
and smartwatches. Here are some.
Mi Smart Band 4: `2,299
One of the most accurate activity
With Sleep
tracking bands in the market, the
all-new Mi Smart Band 4 has a 24/7
heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking
along with over two weeks of battery
backup. The band accurately tracks
light and deep sleep along with the
Trackers
heart rate during sleep. The detailed
information including deep sleep,
light sleep and time awake is neatly
presented in the Mi Fit app. The band
can also be used to track walking,
running and cycling sessions. It has
AN EASY WAY TO TRACK SLEEP CYCLES IS TO USE a 0.95-inch colour AMOLED display
FITNESS BANDS AND SMARTWATCHES. HERE ARE and weighs 22.1 grams.
SOME THAT DO THE JOB WELL
By NIDHI SINGAL
Huawei Watch GT Fortuna-B19S
Sport: `10,999
Boasting a classic watch design,
the Huawei Watch GT has a ceram-
ic bezel design and a stainless steel
shell. It features Huawei TruSeen 3.0
S
heart rate monitoring technology that
the company claims to provide an effi-
for emotion regulation, memory, and cient and accurate real-time person-
the peak stage of protein synthesis al measurement of the heart rate by
at the cellular level, which ensures using a self-learning algorithm and
that multiple processes in the body- innovative sensors.
work properly. Surprisingly, Indians Offering scientific sleep monitoring,
and Japanese get only 77 minutes Huawei’s TruSleep 2.0 accurate-
of REM sleep on average, the lowest ly identifies common sleep-related
in the world. Fitbit also recorded 57 issues and provides with more than
minutes awake time (on an average) 200 potential suggestions to help the
each night users' sleep, which rep- user sleep better. The watch pairs
resents close to 13.5 per cent of their instantly with the 'Huawei Health' app
leeping helps heal the human body. nightly sleep. that makes it easy to access. As per
However, according to the latest Sleep tracking is normally catego- the company, the watch has a 2-week
study by Fitbit, India is among the rised in four – awake, light sleep, deep battery backup.
top few sleep-deprived countries in sleep and REM sleep. Fitbit explains
the world. The sleep insights revealed that being awake for brief periods Honor Band 5: `2,599
by Fitbit states that Indians are the – 10-30 times – is a normal part of Featuring a 0.95-inch AMOLED
second most sleep-deprived with sleep. Light sleep usually makes up touch display with adjustable screen
an average nightly sleep of 7 hours half your night and is good for memo- brightness, Honor claims to have a
1 minute after the Japanese who ry and learning. SpO2 monitor that tracks oxygen
get an average sleep of 6 hours 47 Deep sleep is important for the saturation level in the bloodstream
minutes. Rapid eye movement sleep immune system and physical recov- for analysing how the body is adapt-
(REM) is referred as a crucial aspect ery. REM typically occurs when you’re ing during the workout or at high
10altitudes. Even this one features sci
sci-
Mi Smart entific sleep monitoring that allows
Band 4 sleep status recognition, collection
and analysing data.
It has a 24-hour accurate real-time
heart rate monitoring and warnings
and can be used to track various
activities.
Amazfit Bip Lite Smart Watch:
`3,999
A lightweight smartwatch with up
to 45 days battery backup, it offers
24-hour continuous heart rate mea mea-
surement and even notifies when
inactive for too long. It can automat
automat-
Fitbit
ically monitor sleep. It measures
Versa 2
total sleep, light sleep, deep sleep
and awake time to give an analysis
of the sleep patterns.
Honor When connected with the smart smart-
Band 5 phone, the watch receives notifi notifi-
cations for incoming calls, emails,
messages and other smartphone
applications while working-out,
without having to pull out your
phone. The vibration-based wake-up
alarm can be set up on the watch.
Fitbit Versa 2: `22,999
One of the most popular names in
fitness wearables, Fitbit (recent
(recent-
Amazfit ly acquired by Google) Versa 2 is
Bip Lite a one-stop solution for physical
health. Boasting a premium design,
it not just tracks heart rate 24/7 but
focuses on sleep. This fitness watch
comes with Amazon Alexa built-in
and gives access to various apps.
For sleep tracking, it automatically
records sleep and the sleep duration
can be reviewed in the Fitbit app. The
app shows sleep stages that include
light, deep and REM.
Based on the heart rate, time asleep,
restlessness and breathing, it gives
a personalized score that helps in
better understanding of the quality
of sleep each night.
Moreover, the tracker can be used to
wake you up in the morning with a
quiet vibration. Even the Fitbit Inspire
HR for `8,999 and Fitbit Charge 3 for
`15,999 also offers sleep tracking.
Huawei Watch GT
Fortuna-B19S Sport
11Standing Tall BY NIDHI SINGAL
A
the brightness of the screen based highlights text and allows you to
on ambience lighting. This ‘screen share quotation over e-mail, Twit-
warmth’ will ‘gradually change with ter and more. I also found the Word
sunset and sunrise’ or you can man- Wise option quite convenient. When
ually adjust the shade and schedule turned on, it loads simple defini-
the timing as per your preference. It tions of difficult words so that you
nother new Kindle is here to en- can vary from white light to warm need not look them up and continue
tice book lovers, and going by its amber, and you can go all sepia to your reading uninterrupted.
design and features, it is the most recreate the ageing, yellowed look Its long battery life is another
premium piece from Amazon’s of old books. The latest Oasis has plus. This edition of the Oasis lasted
stable. The 10th-generation Oa- 25 built-in LEDs in place for front me close to two weeks on a single
sis boasts an elegant aluminium lighting, which makes the screen charge as I read a couple of hours
body, a tapered back for one-hand brighter. The IPX8 waterproofing every day and kept the auto-bright-
gripping and physical buttons for also ensures that the Kindle is safe ness turned on. However, this one
navigating up and down and flick- near a pool or on the beach, mak- still comes with a micro-USB port
ing through the pages (touching ing it an all-time reading companion instead of the ubiquitous USB-C,
the screen also does it). The physi- even when you are chilling out. which means an additional cable to
cal buttons are most convenient as Getting started is easy – sign carry and store.
your thumb automatically rests on in using your Amazon account or My review unit was the top-end
those, making navigation easy and register if you are a first-time user. model with 32 GB of storage, Wi-Fi
quick. Better still, this can be com- The user interface is clutter-free – and free 4G connectivity. When Wi-
fortably used by both right-handers My Library (already downloaded Fi is not available, it automatically
and left-handers as the orientation books) appears at the top, followed switches to the mobile network, but
changes depending on how you are by recommendations. The overall there will be no monthly charges in-
holding it. experience is as delightful as ever. volved (Amazon pays). At `28,999,
The 300 ppi display is smarter It takes you to the last page read, this variant is a bit expensive, but
now as Amazon has added an adap- can play audiobooks if you have you can opt for a Wi-Fi-only, 8 GB
tive front light to the 7-inch e-ink Bluetooth headphones, gives in- variant for `21,999 or a 32 GB, Wi-
screen that automatically adjusts stant access to a built-in dictionary, Fi-only version for `24,999.
12KINDLE OASIS
10TH GEN
PRICE
`21,999
7-INCH TOUCH
SCREEN
WITH AUTO-
BRIGHTNESS
PAGE UP
AND DOWN
BUTTON
IPX8 RATING
MAKES IT
WATERPROOF
13REAL-TIME 7-LITRE STORAGE
INFORMATION ON TANK WITH UV
TEST BENCH TDS OUTPUT, FILTER
LIFE AND WATER
STERILISATION
CONSUMPTION
PRICE
`11,999
AMBIENT EQ
MI SMART LIGHT SENSOR
WATER PURIFIER FOR DISPLAY
ADJUSTMENT
PRICE
`11,999
PLACE-IT-
YOURSELF
FILTERS
14Smart and
Good-looking
BY NIDHI SINGAL
A
water purifier is an essential kitchen appliance, but not While testing, we put in tanker water with a
many companies have thought of making it smart and sleek. TDS of over 250 ppm; the TDS of the output
Xiaomi is an exception, though. It has come up with a con- was 4 ppm.
nected gadget that works smart and looks flaunt-worthy in However, it is also believed that the RO
matte white. But given the oil-based cooking done in most takes out all necessary minerals from the wa-
Indian kitchens, it is likely to get dirty very quickly. ter, and this may not be healthy in the long run.
As for efficiency, it is quite thorough in its job and follows The smart functionality of the Mi gadget
a multilevel purification process. To start with, the PPC (poly- is not restricted to design and water purifi-
propylene cotton and activated carbon) filter intercepts all cation but also maintenance. Just like other
large particles such as residual chlorine. The second one is Xiaomi products, this one can be paired with
the reverse osmosis (RO) filter, taking out heavy metals and the Mi Home app. After that, I could connect
nanoparticles such as bacteria and viruses. The third one, a it to my home Wi-Fi network and see all nec-
post-activated carbon (PAC) filter, absorbs odour and other essary information via the app. This included
organic substances. The water purifier has been customised tap water TDS, output TDS and the amount
for the Indian market. A seven-litre storage tank added to of water consumed on a daily, weekly and
the top starts refilling when 30 per cent of the stored water monthly basis. Better still, the app shows how
is consumed. The gadget uses ultraviolet (UV) sterilisation much filter life is left, along with an option to
to keep the stored water clean, and the UV light gets acti- buy one, thus eliminating post-sale services.
vated every four hours, for 25 minutes. Filters can be replaced by opening the front
The TDS (total dissolved solids) level of the tap water panel and following the instructions available
at my home was 135 parts per million (within the standard on the app. In fact, I was able to remove and
acceptable level of 200 ppm in India). After purification, it plug them back in without any hassle. A set of
was down to 1 ppm, which makes the water quality excel- three filters costs `3,997.
lent. Unlike some RO systems where the expected TDS level
is adjusted during installation, this one works in real time. @nidhisingal
15A New
TEST BENCH
Star is Born BY NIDHI SINGAL
T
his year’s iPhone 11, instead of being a successor to Design: iPhone 11’s is still made
the iPhone XR, seems to be a younger sibling of the new of aluminium with the glass at the
iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. Frankly, the OLED back. Slightly bigger than the iP-
display does not matter till the time you have used it. hone 11 Pro, the 11 continues with
Apple’s dual-camera setup with a wide-angle and ultra- the 6.1-inch LCD (liquid retina dis-
wide angle has the same sensors minus telephoto lens play) with thick bezels. The wide
as on the premium models. You might argue that An- notch at the top incorporates the
droid phones have started featuring quad-camera set- True-depth camera and sensors
up at `10,000. While the iPhone 11 continues to feature powering the secure FaceID. The
just two, the focus in on quality over quantity. placement of the SIM tray, volume
16mersible in up to 2-meter water till videos at 60fps can be captured us-
30 minutes. ing both ultra-wide and wide lens.
APPLE IPHONE Display: You get 6.1-inch LCD with Performance: Just like the Pro
11 1792x828p resolution and 326 PPI. models, even the iPhone 11 is pow-
PRICE The display is bright, offering great ered by the A13 Bionic chip with
`64,900
colour accuracy and viewing angles. neural engine and runs the latest
Unlike the Pro models, it does not iOS 13. From loading apps to heavy
have an OLED display. The blacks graphic games to editing videos,
aren’t deep. However, it also sup- there wasn’t any lag. Playing the
ports Apple’s True Tone technology new Arcade games was a delight.
that automatically adapts the white On the performance front, it is no
balance to match the colour tem- less than the iPhone 11 Pro. There
perature. wasn’t any heating issue with the
device either. What enhances the
Camera: Apple popularised the experience is the user-friendly iOS
dual-camera setup with the iPhone 13. Swipe keyboards have been
7 Plus. But since then, the entry- popular on the Android platform for
level iPhone models continued to long and the swipe-to-type feature
have a single camera lens. As this introduced with iOS 13 works well.
year’s Pro models house a triple- System-wide dark mode has been
camera setup, the iPhone 11 has neatly implemented.
graduated to dual-lens. There is a
12MP wide lens and a 12MP ultra- Battery: Apple does not disclose
wide lens. The only thing you don’t the battery capacity for iOS devic-
have onboard is the telephoto lens. es. But in terms of usage, it lasted
I was able to switch between me a little over a day with heavy
the wide-angle and ultra-wide-an- use. However, it comes with the 5W
gle camera with one tap – the 1x charger which isn’t a fast charger
icon in the photo mode. The camera and takes over three hours for a full
app even helps the user understand charge. The device does support
what an ultra-wide lens will be able fast charging and you can invest in
to capture – a slightly faded frame. one for a better experience.
The much-awaited night mode
kicks in automatically. A yellow in- Verdict: If the screen isn’t that big
dicator illuminates on the top right a deal and you can manage without
displaying the exposure time (usu- the telephoto lens, look no further.
ally 2-4 seconds) it would require Starting at `64,900, one can avail a
to capture an image. cashback of `6,000 with HDFC Bank
While capturing portraits, there cards, which brings down the cost
is finally an option to control the to `58,900. And this isn’t a compro-
background blur. Moving beyond mised device but it comes across as
just faces, it also identifies objects the entry-level model for the new
controls, lightning port and speak- now but is a little erratic. And unlike iPhone 11 line-up. Just like you have
ers continue to be the same. But the Pro model, I could not zoom in the Samsung S10 e with dual cam-
the rear is an all-new story. The when in portrait mode. era and the S10 with a triple camera.
glossy rear with support for Qi- The new tweaks within the cam- With Apple losing out to the An-
based wireless charging has got a era apps make capturing videos droid commotion over the last few
small squarish module housing the quick and easy. years, the iPhone 11 comes across
camera on the top left. However, The front camera module is the as Apple’s masterstroke that puts
the glossy rear attracts a lot of fin- same as in iPhone 11 Pro and cap- it right on the top.
gerprints. There is a slight bump in tures good selfies. Shooting videos
water resistance too; IP68 is sub- on the iPhone 11 is a delight as 4k @nidhisingal
17TEST BENCH
XIAOMI MI TV
4X 50 INCH
PRICE
`29,999
A Fully
Loaded TV
BY NIDHI SINGAL
X
iaomi stirred up the smart TV market with the launch
of its 55-inch smart TV in February 2018. As many new
companies stepped into the game including OnePlus and
Honor, Xiaomi has stayed ahead of the curve. The latest
launch - Mi TV 4x 50-inch packs in a 4K HDR 10 panel
with 3840x2160 pixels and 60 Hz refresh rate, 20W
speakers Dolby+ DTS-HD, PatchWall and Android TV
OS, multiple ports and hotkeys for accessing Netflix and
Prime Videos for an aggressive price point of `29,999. But
does it perform?
Design: Unlike the bezel-less design on the Mi TV 4Pro
55-inch launched in 2018, this new 4X 50 inch TV is sim- easy to look for relevant content. On
ple looking yet sleek. All ports including three HDMIs, the other hand, Android TV UI has
two USB, S/PDIF and more are placed towards the right a row-based UI with small icons. I
rear. The TV is accompanied by a wall mount - two side tested this TV alongside my parents,
stands and not the centre stand. The remote is also sleek and they found the PatchWall TV UI
with minimal buttons. There is a Google Assistant voice intuitive to use. Moreover, switching
search button, circular navigation pad with select button, between the two was easy as there
dedicated keys for PatchWall and Android TV UI along are dedicated buttons for both. Voice
with hotkeys. search powered by Google Assis-
tant came in handy when searching
Best of both worlds: Most smart TVs have access to for content, but it wasn’t as fast as I
apps for watching content over the internet, eliminating would have expected it to be. It also
the need for connecting a set-top box or any additional supports Chromecast.
hardware. But most of the content available requires
subscription. In the Mi TV 4X 55-inch, Xiaomi has includ- Content: The PatchWall UI dis-
ed support for PatchWall TV as well as Android TV OS. play has content from various part-
The PatchWall TV UI is rather neat and simple in-front ners. Most require subscription. To
of the Android TV one. It’s visually dominating, making it start streaming content on Netflix
18and Prime Video, the hotkeys came easiest part on an Android TV. I had standard, news, movies, game and
in handy. Both the apps took a little to exit what I was watching and custom. If you want better immer-
while to load. But there wasn’t any head to the settings. The display set- sive sound, you might want to get a
issue in streaming content. Users tings had a few preset modes and I soundbar along with this 50-inch TV.
can also connect their set-top boxes could manually adjust the settings
to watch traditional TV. using custom. Same is while access- Verdict: For `29,999, the Mi TV 4x
ing sound settings. Which is quite a 50-inch isn’t a bad deal. There are a
Display: I streamed a mix of 4K and cumbersome process. few shortcomings but can be easily
full HD content on high-speed Airtel overlooked considering the price tag.
Fibre connection and the streaming Sound: The 20w speaker onboard This one seems to be the best in its
part mostly worked fine. While most offers decent sound but is nothing price category.
of the content streamed appeared extra-ordinary. The biggest chal- Tip: if planning to buy an Android
sharp and bright, it could have been lenge with all TVs out in the market TV, go for the one with Android TV
better. There was an issue with col- is the lack of balance between vo- OS and not Android KitKat etc. Go
our accuracy with some movies and cals and background music; it was for a company that regularly releas-
shows as reds and pinks appeared the same with this TV too. While the es update patches.
oversaturated. sound was loud, some content was
Tweaking settings isn’t the not clear. The sound mode includes @nidhisingal
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