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• How to Record Calls on Android Smartphones After it is Disabled for Third Party Apps
• Infinix Hot 12 Play Will Launch in India on May 28 – Check Specifications
• Smartphone Prices Going Up Is Making Life of Indian Telcos Difficult
• Broadband Plans That Will Not Cost You a Fortune From Jio, Airtel and More
• India’s TWS Market Witnesses a 66% YoY Growth on the Back of Local Brands
• Airtel Africa Posts Profit of $240 Million for Q4 FY22
• iPhone 14 Series Said to Feature Larger Displays than Ever
• Active and Paying DTH Subscribers Reducing Every Quarter
• Netflix Could Launch New Ad-Based Plan with Fees for Password Sharing
• iPhone 13 Price Drops Further in India
• Private Enterprise 5G Might Not See Light of the Day in India
• 5G Smartphone Shipment Records a 300% Hike in Q1 2022: Says CMR Report
• Oppo Reno 8 Series – Monikers and Design Details Surface Over the Web
• Vodafone Idea Sees a Rise in 4G Users for Three Straight Quarter
• Top 300 Mbps Broadband Plans Available Right Now
• Google I/O 2022 – Announcements That Users Can Expect
• iQOO Neo 6 Will Arrive in India with Different Specifications
• Vodafone Idea ARPU Up by 7.5% QoQ to Rs 124 in Q4 FY22
• Best 4G Data Vouchers for You in May 2022
• Vivo X80 Series India Launch Date Announced, What You Should Know

How to Record Calls on Android Smartphones After it is Disabled for Third Party Apps Posted: 11 May 2022 08:49 AM PDT Following the implementation of the new Play Store policy introduced by Google, users will now not be able to record calls via third-party apps such as Truecaller. The new Play Store policy prohibits third-party apps from using Accessibility API for call recording on Android phones, however, you will still be able to record calls using the built-in apps. Moreover, Google's Phone will also have the ability to record calls. In this article, we are going to take a look at everything one should know about recording calls on Android smartphones. Recording Calls on Android Devices While the first and foremost option is the native phone apps which will still allow the call recording function, unlike the third-party apps. However, this feature might not be available for all the users as OnePlus devices have already stopped coming with the call recording feature. In such scenarios, the Google Phone app might be the best option. You can simply get the Google's Phone app through the play store whereas some smartphones have it pre-installed. After installation, open the Google Phone app and click on the three dots which represent the 'settings' option and then click on Call recording and enable "Numbers not in your contacts." Selecting this option enables auto call recording for numbers that are not in your contact list. To record the calls with the saved numbers, you will have to manually turn them on every time. OnePlus users with newer handsets will find the Google Phone app installed on their phones as the auto call record function on the devices is not available anymore. Old OnePlus phones allow for auto call record feature. Samsung users will find similar functionality on their devices as well. Users can simply go to the Phone app and tap on the three-dotted icon, after which they will be able to access the Settings section. Here, you will see a" Record calls" option, just tap on it and enable Auto-record calls. As far as other smartphones are considered, users can open the dialer app, and visit the settings section.

Infinix Hot 12 Play Will Launch in India on May 28 – Check Specifications Posted: 11 May 2022 07:23 AM PDT The popular Hong Kong-based smartphone manufacturer Infinix is all set to launch its Infinix Hot 12 Play smartphone in India. The smartphone has already been launched in Thailand and apparently, it's coming to India very soon. As a matter of fact, the handset will make its debut in the Indian markets on May 28. The brand has also announced that it will be launching Infinix Note 12 series on May 20. It is very likely that the smartphone will arrive with the same specifications as it did in Thailand. Let's take a closer look at what we could expect from the Indian variant. Infinix Hot 12 Play Specifications Infinix Hot 12 Play will arrive with a 6.82-inch IPS TFT panel with an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1612 pixels. The display also features a 90Hz fluid refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate which makes it quite compatible for gaming. The device measures 170.47 x 776. x 8.32mm and weighs around 195 grams. The device is powered by a MediaTek Helio G35 chipset coupled with 6GB of RAM which can be virtually expanded up to 5GB. The device features 128GB of internal storage and has a slot for a microSD card to further expand the storage. The handset operates on Android 12-based XOS 1.6 UI out of the box. The smartphone is backed by a 6000mAh battery and comes with support for 18W fast charging. As far as the camera specifications of the device are considered, it has a dual setup at the back headlined by a 13MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture along with an AI lens and quad-LED flash setup. The front of the device features an 8MP selfie snapper. Other notable features of the Infinix Hot 12 Play include dual-SIM support, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, a USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Smartphone Prices Going Up Is Making Life of Indian Telcos Difficult Posted: 11 May 2022 06:49 AM PDT The smartphone vendors and manufacturers have increased the price of their 4G and 5G devices. They had to do so because of the rising cost of manufacturing new products. There's a global shortage of chipsets for electronics. Further, the shipment costs have also risen since the time the coronavirus pandemic hit the world. Other components of smartphones, such as displays, have also become expensive. Because the manufacturers of components and chips are concentrated in a few parts of the world, they are regulating the price as they want. India doesn't have a local semiconductor manufacturing base, nor does it produce enough smartphone components to make a difference in the market. Most of the companies which are manufacturing in India are mostly into assembling the gadgets. Apple, for example, brings components from outside and only assembles them in India. While this is being looked at by the Indian government through the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme worth $10 billion for the manufacturing of semiconductors and displays in the country, it will still take a long-time for India to stop being dependent on other nations for components and chipsets. Because of this, in the short term, at least for 2022, smartphones are going to be more expensive than they ideally should be. Realme Not Planning to Introduce Sub-Rs 10,000 5G Phone this Year Realme, one of the major Chinese smartphone manufacturers, has no plans of introducing any affordable 5G phone under the Rs 10,000 bracket. This has been confirmed by the company CEO to ET. There are many affordable options under Rs 10,000, but all of them are 4G phones. Since the launch of 5G is so near, a lot of users are hesitant to spend money on a 4G device. Even if it is in the budget category, users want to go for devices which are 5G supportive. This makes sense as well since they won't want to upgrade from their recently bought devices to 5G phones just for the sake of 5G. Telcos Find it Hard to Push Legacy Network Users to Shift to 4G/5G Right now, it is just 4G in India. But very soon, it will be 5G as well. The telcos are already finding it hard to push legacy network users to start consuming 4G network services by first purchasing 4G devices. They won't be able to do it for 5G either if the prices of the smartphones keep going up. There's no saying when this global chipset shortage will be over. But the thing is, since the prices are already up, there's hardly any company that would want to lower the prices of smartphones in the future even when the manufacturing costs go down.

Broadband Plans That Will Not Cost You a Fortune From Jio, Airtel and More Posted: 11 May 2022 06:09 AM PDT Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country not only high-speed high-end broadband plans but also offer affordable plans for their users which also provides good connectivity speed. These plans are suitable for first time users, students, individuals or anyone who wants to go for a budget option. Mentioned below are some of the most affordable broadband plans available that will not cost you a fortune and are quite reasonable. Jio's 30 Mbps Plan Jio is one of the country's leading ISP that offers broadband plans with up to 1 Gbps. However, the most affordable option from the company offers connectivity with 30 Mbps speed. JioFiber provides a 30 Mbps internet speed data plan at the price of Rs 399 per month. The FUP limit set on this plan is 3300Gb or 3.3TB. Using the 30 Mbps plan from JioFiber, customers can get access to smooth and seamless internet across multiple devices. This is one of the best budget plans as users also get a symmetrical download and upload speed. It is to be noted that the price of the plan is exclusive of GST. Airtel Broadband 40 Mbps pack Airtel with its Xstream Fiber connection offers one of the fastest broadband connections and users can get access to the 'Basic' pack which provides 40 Mbps of internet speed at a monthly cost of Rs 499 exclusive of taxes. Users get 3.3TB or 3300GB of monthly fair-usage-policy (FUP) data with this plan. Airtel also provides 'Airtel Thanks Benefits' with its broadband plans which in this case includes a subscription to Wynk Music and Shaw Academy. Connect Broadband Affordable Plan Connect Broadband is a popular company which provides FTH connections in a few of the northern states of India such as Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. The company provides budget plans with ample internet speed and the most basic 40 Mbps plan from the ISP comes with a price tag of Rs 499 per month and offers fully unlimited data along with completely unlimited Local and STD calls. Netplus' 40 Mbps Plan Netplus is an ISP that offers its services in seven Indian states in the North. Netplus can provide connectivity with up to 1 Gbps of internet speed. However, the company also provides a truly unlimited plan offering 40 Mbps of internet speed at a price tag of Rs 499 per month which is exclusive of taxes. Users get unlimited data and calling benefits with this plan. Netplus also offers OTT subscriptions with its higher-priced plans for users that are interested. Data offered by Netplus is truly unlimited and no FUP data is levied.

India’s TWS Market Witnesses a 66% YoY Growth on the Back of Local Brands Posted: 11 May 2022 05:17 AM PDT   The latest research report from Counterpoint's IoT service informs that the TWS (Truly Wireless Earbuds) market in India has registered a sturdy growth of 66% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021. As a matter of fact, the significantly stronger growth came on the back of a strong value proposition offered by local brands outperforming the Chinese manufacturers. Moreover, the increase in the number of celebrity endorsements and domestic manufacturing of the products also helped in surging the demand. The Indian TWS Market The senior research analyst Anshika Jain in a statement said that Indian brands managed to take over 72% of the total market share in India as their shipments more than doubled in the first quarter of 2022. She added that the top four positions were taken by India-based brands which captured more than half of the total TWS market. She informed that Indian brands put more emphasis on targeting the low-price tier which is under Rs 2,000. Anshika Jain stated that there was an overall YoY decline of 19% in ASP in Q1 2022 because of the growing emphasis on domestic manufacturing. She said that it is very likely that the brands will push to release more made in India products in the second half of this year as well. One of the leading brands in India – Boat is expected to manufacture more than half of its products in India. Other notable brands such as Noise and Realme will also focus on launching locally manufactured products in the first half of 2022 itself. Liz Lee – a senior research analyst talked about the growth of the premium segment in the TWS market informing that the premium segment which accounts for the price range above Rs 5,000 registered 53% YoY growth in Q1 2022 led by Apple, Samsung and Sony. She added that Apple and Samsung shipments remained strong because of the loyal customer base whereas Sony became the fastest growing brand in the premium segment because of the two newly launched devices. Apart from these, the first quarter saw some emerging brands in the TWS market in India as well. India's own brand Mivi maintained a position in the top 10 list due to its focus on domestic manufacturing. Oppo on the other hand grew 365% YoY due to the good performance of its low-priced model. Airpods 3 helped Apple get the top spot in the premium segment while Nothing maintained a position within the top five premium brands due to its competitive pricing and innovative design.

Airtel Africa Posts Profit of $240 Million for Q4 FY22 Posted: 11 May 2022 04:19 AM PDT Airtel Africa recently released its financial performance for Q4 FY22 as well as the entire FY22. The company has posted a net profit of $240 million for the quarter. It is a 56% jump YoY and 33% QoQ. However, the customer addition and the average revenue per user (ARPU) of the telco fell slightly. Airtel Africa's revenue during the last quarter of FY22 was $1.222 billion, which was 18% YoY and 0.2% up sequentially. The net debt of the company fell 3.5% sequentially to $2.941 billion in the quarter ending March 2022. Airtel Africa's Monthly Churn Rises to 4.3% Sequentially It is worth noting that while the telco has made good profits, the monthly subscriber churn rate is higher than ideal. Airtel Africa reported a monthly churn rate of 4.3% sequentially, which is a marginal increase over the previous quarter. In addition to this, the telco's ARPU fell to $3.2%, which was a sequential decline of 3%. However, the telco's data revenue grew 28% YoY and around 1.3% sequentially to $398 million. At the end of the quarter, the data customer base of the telco stood at 46.7 million, up by 3.6% sequentially and 15% annually. Airtel Africa also received a full payment service bank (FSB) license in Nigeria. According to the CEO of the company, this license will pave the path for Airtel Africa to maximise and improve its revenues from the mobile money business. Airtel Africa is also eyeing to roll out 5G networks in key markets initially. The company has not yet acquired spectrum for 5G services though, and is looking forward to doing so. However, the CEO said that the major focus would be 4G only as the countries where it operates have very low 4G customer penetration. Thus, the major focus right now would be to expand the data customer base by leveraging the 4G networks that the telco has already deployed in many regions.

iPhone 14 Series Said to Feature Larger Displays than Ever Posted: 11 May 2022 03:19 AM PDT Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 14 series later this year. One rumour that now almost every Apple enthusiast might know is that the iPhone 14 series will not feature the mini variant devices anymore. Instead, Apple will go with a new Max device. While the launch of the iPhone 14 series is still months away, new information about the series has surfaced. The update comes from DSSC's Ross Young, a credible tipster of Apple products. iPhone 14 Series Will Come with Larger Displays Compared to iPhone 13 Series The iPhone 12 and the iPhone 13 series were almost identical when it came to the display size. But the thing is, the iPhone 14 series is said to come with an even larger display. According to Young, the iPhone 14 Pro will feature a 6.12-inch display which is bigger than the iPhone 13 Pro's 6.06-inch display. Further, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is said to feature a 6.69-inch panel, which is slightly bigger than the 6.68-inch screen on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. These are not huge differences, and most of the users won't even notice them. But for tech geeks, these new larger displays are slightly more satisfying, regardless of how negligible the difference is. Young said that the difference in screen size for the Pro models would be there because of the change in notch design. Now, these are some interesting developments for iPhone fans. If you have been thinking about getting the iPhone 13 Pro or the iPhone 13 Pro Max, maybe you should wait it out for a few months. This will be because of the new design that Apple is most likely going to introduce with the iPhone 14 series. Further, the camera system of the iPhone 14 series is also expected to be way more powerful than what users saw on the iPhone 13 series. The launch date hasn’t been announced by Apple yet.

Active and Paying DTH Subscribers Reducing Every Quarter Posted: 11 May 2022 02:12 AM PDT The Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators are clearly struggling to keep active and paying users in their subscriber base. For consecutive quarters now, the number of active subscribers in the DTH sector has dipped. From 68.89 million users at the end of September 2021, the number of active paying subscribers for the DTH industry reduced to 68.52 million at the end of December 2021. If this feels like a small negative change that can be neglected, understand that this has been happening for a long-time now. According to the data shared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the number of active paying DTH subscribers has fallen from 70.99 million in the December 2020 quarter to 68.52 million at the end of December 2021. Just once in the June 2021 quarter, there was a positive addition of subscribers, but apart from that, in each quarter, the subscriber count has gone down. Check out the data in the graph below. Credit- TRAI What's Going Wrong with the DTH Sector of India? The DTH sector isn't necessarily in the wrong; it is just that the era of over-the-top (OTT) content has already started, and there's nothing that can be done about it. Indian users have access to cheap internet and OTT applications. Thus, many are opting to pay for OTT platforms so that they can access content on the go instead of paying the DTH service providers, who basically charge everything at a premium compared to the OTT platforms. But the DTH sector still has a lot of legroom to grow in India for the next four to five years at least. There are still rural areas in the country where optical fiber can't be deployed. Thus, the internet services aren't much good there. This means that OTT platforms won't be able an impact there. However, DTH companies can go here and provide satellite TV services at nominal costs to improve their customer base and revenues. In the long run, however, for more like a decade, the DTH companies will have to evolve with the market and change the way they do business. Otherwise, the OTT sector will eat up the DTH companies.

Netflix Could Launch New Ad-Based Plan with Fees for Password Sharing Posted: 11 May 2022 01:17 AM PDT Netflix, a globally famous over-the-top (OTT) platform might shake up things a little after a poor performance in the last few quarters. The company is reportedly soon going to change its business model by introducing new plans with support for advertisements. Further, the company is also expected to go ahead with its plans of charging money from users to share passwords with others. The New York Times got hold of an internal memo of the company which said that users will get to see a new cheaper plan with support for ads. Extra Fees for Sharing Password Might Come as Well on Netflix Netflix had recently said that there are more than 100 million households which are using Netflix but not paying for it. They are simply getting it from their friends or colleagues. Thus, the company plans to introduce a charge for sharing the password with other people. Netflix is actually a little late to the party when it comes to rolling out cheaper plans with ad support. Major streaming platforms such as Disney+ Hotstar, HBO Max and more are already offering users such a plan. It allows the streaming platforms in keeping their revenue in check plus also gives users a little more room in their budget to add their favourite OTT platform to the expense list. Just how cheap the ad-free plan from Netflix would be is something that can't be said for now. But it is definitely a model of business that the company desperately needs. Netflix has lost a large number of subscribers in the previous quarter and is expecting to lose a few more in the June quarter. This signifies that users are not willing to pay for Netflix's premium plans anymore. There are a lot of reasons why Netflix has started going down. The company will be counting on its new plans to bring some much-needed respite and help in gaining new users.

iPhone 13 Price Drops Further in India Posted: 11 May 2022 12:22 AM PDT iPhone 13, the flagship smartphone series from Apple for 2022, has received another price cut. E-commerce retail giants Amazon is offering the iPhone 13 for a very low price compared to what users will get on the official Apple online store in India. Even Flipkart is offering a discount, but not to the extent that users will get when they shop from Amazon. iPhone 13 Price in India Right Now The price of the iPhone 13 has gone down by Rs 10,000 since its launch on Amazon. The iPhone 13 is now available for a price of Rs 69,900 on the e-commerce platform. Back in September 2021, the device was launched for Rs 79,900. This was the price of the base variant, which came with 128GB. This effectively means that you can get the 128GB variant of the iPhone 13 for less than Rs 70,000. Further, users can save Rs 1,500 more in the form of an instant discount if they use the Bank of Baroda credit card for non-EMI transactions. Users can also exchange their old device for the iPhone 13, which will allow them to get a further discount on their purchase. With the Bank of Baroda card, if the user is making an EMI transaction, then he/she will get an instant discount of Rs 2,000. Note that the iPhone 13 mini, which is the slightly smaller version of the iPhone 13, is available for Rs 64,999 on Amazon. We are again talking about the base variant, which comes with 128GB. However, at the moment, users won't be able to get their hands on the iPhone 13 mini at this price because the base variant is out of stock. Users can, however, go for the 256GB variant of the same on Amazon, which is available for Rs 73,999. It will be interesting to see how many more price cuts will arrive until the launch of the iPhone 14 series.

Private Enterprise 5G Might Not See Light of the Day in India Posted: 10 May 2022 11:21 PM PDT The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has not given the green light to TRAI's (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) recommendation for private enterprise 5G. The rejection of the recommendation is partial in nature as the telecom body has allowed the enterprises to request for private 5G networks to be set up and managed by the telecom service providers (TSPs) in India. This simply means that the DoT is not going to allocate spectrum directly to the private enterprises. However, if the enterprises really need private 5G, they can request the telecom operators for it. TSPs can use their spectrum acquired in the spectrum auctions to provide 5G network services to the enterprises. Enterprises Can Use Network Slice from TSPs for Private 5G According to a MoneyControl report, DoT has sided with TRAI's recommendation for the use of network slice for providing private 5G services to the enterprises. Through network slicing, the telcos can divide their network and allocate a part of it to the enterprises. This will allow the enterprises to have full control of the network, meaning the speed and performance can be customised as per needs. Further, a network slice means that it is separated from the public network. Thus there will be no common security concerns with the private 5G service offered to the enterprises. This is in line with what the telecom operators wanted as well. The telcos had a problem with the regulator's recommendations which said that the private enterprises should be allowed to set up their own internal 5G networks by allocating the spectrum directly to them. This would have meant the telcos would have lost a major part of their enterprise revenues. This wasn't sitting well with the telecom operators of the country, and thus they had requested the telecom department not to let this happen. But the enterprises were all up for the direct spectrum allocation for private 5G. Enterprises believed that there would always be a demand for services from TSPs and private 5G is not really a threat to them. Regardless, DoT has shared its decision, and private 5G with self-owned spectrum is not something the Indian enterprises are going to get right now.

5G Smartphone Shipment Records a 300% Hike in Q1 2022: Says CMR Report Posted: 10 May 2022 10:13 PM PDT A newly released report suggests that the 5G smartphone shipment in India has witnessed a significant hike of 300% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022. The report has been released by Cybermedia Research on Wednesday according to which Samsung and Xiaomi led the 5G smartphone market. Samsung managed to have a 23% market share in the 5G segment whereas Xiaomi had 18% of the market share. Let's take a closer look at the 5G smartphone segment performance in Q1 2022. The Smartphone Market The Analyst-Industry Intelligence Group at CMR Menka Kumari in a statement said that 5G smartphone shipments posted robust growth in Q1 2022. The overall smartphone market has posted a considerable growth of 16% compared to the pre-pandemic levels of Q1 2019. The research firm in its report also stated that there was a 1.6% overall growth in the market year-on-year in the first quarter of this year. The report predicts over 170 million units to be shipped in the calendar year 2022. According to the report, Xiaomi with 24%, Samsung with 19% and Realme with 15% were the top three brands in the first quarter followed by Vivo with 14% in the fourth and Oppo with 8% in the fifth position. Samsung and Realme registered a 7% and 40% year-on-year growth in their shipments respectively whereas Xiaomi suffered a 13% decline in shipments. Apart from these, the popular manufacturer OnePlus witnessed a 50% year-on-year growth in its shipment whereas Apple registered a 20% year-on-year growth according to the data provided by the research firm. The data reveals that Apple led the super-premium price segment which is between Rs 50,000 to Rs 1,00,000 as it had about 77% of the market share. However, most of the research reports have hinted toward a decline in shipment in the first quarter of 2022 because of the supply issues and inflation scares. According to a report from International Data Corporation (IDC), smartphone shipments in the country dropped to 37 million units in the first quarter. It suggests that there was a 5% year-on-year decline in the shipment in the first quarter of 2022. Xiaomi managed to maintain its first position in the market whereas Realme was the only brand which witnessed an increase in its shipments in the quarter.

Oppo Reno 8 Series – Monikers and Design Details Surface Over the Web Posted: 10 May 2022 09:23 PM PDT The popular smartphone manufacturer Oppo is expected to introduce its flagship Reno 8 series of smartphones this month itself. Previous reports have informed us about some of the specifications we can expect from these devices. Now in a new development, known tipster DigitalChatStation has revealed the monikers of the smartphones that will constitute the Reno 8 Series lineup. The tipster has also shared some of the design specs of these handsets. Let's find out. Oppo Reno 8 Series Smartphones Apparently, the upcoming Oppo Reno 8 Series will consist of three distinct models the Reno 8 SE, Reno 8, and Reno 8 Pro. Recent rumours suggest that the Reno 8 SE might be powered by the Dimensity 1300 chipset. The base Reno 8 model could come with Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 and the Pro model might feature the Dimensity 8100 chipset. The tipster has revealed some of the design specs suggesting that the Reno 8 series will have a top-left / centre single punch-hole design. Moreover, as far as the back panel is considered Reno 8 series might have a similar design to that of the OnePlus 10 Pro. Previous renders of the devices have suggested the same. As far as the specification of the devices is considered, the Reno 8 Pro model, as mentioned above will be powered by the Dimensity 8100 chipset coupled with MariSilicon X NPU. Apart from this, not much is known about the Pro model as of now. However, it is being speculated that the Reno 8 model will arrive with a 6.5-inch AMOLED FHD+ display with support for a 120Hz refresh rate. It is likely that the base model will be powered by the Snapdragon 7 Gen1 chipset and will feature LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. The device will operate on Android 12 OS with ColorOS UI on top. Reno 8 will be backed by a 4,500mAh battery with 80W fast charging support. The smartphone is expected to feature a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 50MP main camera along with an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP depth/macro sensor for the camera specification.

Vodafone Idea Sees a Rise in 4G Users for Three Straight Quarter Posted: 10 May 2022 07:57 PM PDT Vodafone Idea (Vi) recently announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of FY22. From the results, it is evident that the company has been adding new 4G users for three consecutive quarters now. This is how the numbers looked for the 4G subscribers of Vodafone Idea (Vi) – a) Q1 FY22 – 112.9 million; b) Q2 FY22 – 116.2 million; c) Q3 FY22 – 117 million; d) Q4 FY22 – 118.1 million. This is a positive development for the telco on the back of a rising ARPU (average revenue per user) figure. Along with this, the average data use by 4G subscribers also grew to 14,195MB in Q4 FY22 from 14,008MB in the preceding quarter. While all of this is good, there are still areas where the telco needs to improve. Vodafone Idea Losing VLR Subscribers at an Alarming Rate The telco's subscriber churn rate hasn't been good. In the last quarter of FY22, it was 3.4%, the same as the previous quarter. Vi lost 3.4 million active users in Q4 FY22. So even while the ARPU is going up, the more paying customers the telco loses, the lesser the effect of rise in ARPU in general. The telco will have to get aggressive in improving network coverage and capacity to reach or potentially surpass the kind of network experience Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel offer. The more tariff hikes come, the more will be the expectations from users for a quality mobile calling and internet experience. If Vi is unable to provide that, customers will shift to Jio or Airtel. The ARPU of the telco should rise further in Q1 FY23. A good thing to notice in the results was the narrowing loss for the quarter. Vi had announced a lot of partnerships during FY22. Whether these partnerships will bring any positive change for the telco will be known by the results in the coming quarters.

Top 300 Mbps Broadband Plans Available Right Now Posted: 10 May 2022 06:33 PM PDT When it comes to high-speed broadband plans, a lot of internet service providers offer a variety of plans. Although you can get plans up to 1 Gbps which are quite expensive, 300 Mbps plans offered by the operators not only provide ample speed but are also comparatively reasonable. These plans provide seamless high-speed connection across multiple devices at once and allow you to work online, stream content, have a gaming experience and much more. Mentioned in the article are some of the top 300 Mbps broadband plans currently available in the country. 300 Mbps Plan from Jio JioFiber which is the broadband connection offered by Reliance Jio offers an appealing 300 Mbps plan that comes with amazing additional benefits. The plan offered by JioFiber comes at a price tag of Rs 1,499 per month (30 days) and offers 300 Mbps of internet speed with a FUP data limit of 3.3TB or 3300GB. The plan also offers unlimited calling and an equal upload and download speed set at 300 Mbps. Jio additionally offers a ton of OTT subscriptions which include access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar and thirteen others. The Amazon Prime Video that comes bundled with this plan has a validity period of one year. It is to be noted that the price of the plan is excluding GST and it will be charged as applicable. Users can access the plans from the official website of Reliance Jio. Airtel's 300 Mbps Plan Airtel offers a 300 Mbps unlimited data plan as well which is called the 'Professional' plan. Users can get the Airtel Xstream Fiber connection to access the 'Professional' plan which comes with a subscription to Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Wynk Music and Shaw Academy as a part of the 'Airtel Thanks Benefits' offered by the ISP along with its broadband plans. The plan offers 300 Mbps of high-speed internet data at a cost of Rs 1,499 for a month as well. The FUP data for the unlimited plan is 3500GB or 3.5TB. The price of the plan is excluding GST and it may be charged as applicable. It is to be kept in mind that this plan is for the city of Delhi and plans may slightly vary across various cities. 300 Mbps Plan Offered by BSNL One of the major ISPs of the country – the government-owned BSNL provides a 300 Mbps plan which is also the most high-end plan offered by the telco. The plan is called 'Fibre Ultra' and comes at a price tag of Rs 1,499 per month too. Users can get access to 300 Mbps of internet speed for the data limit set to 4000GB beyond which the speed of the connection is reduced to 4 Mbps. The plan offers unlimited data download and unlimited local and STD calls. This plan from BSNL also comes with access to free of cost Disney+ Hotstar Premium Pack. In addition to this, the plan offers a special benefit where users can get a 90% discount up to Rs 500 on the first month of rent. Excitel's 300 Mbps Plan Excitel provides broadband connectivity only with 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps or 300 Mbps of internet speed. Thus, the 300 Mbps plan is the most premium plan offered by the company. The 300 Mbps plan from Excitel comes at different price tags as well. Excitel provides users with a 300 Mbps plan for a month at Rs 899. Users can also get the plan for 3 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months for Rs 752, Rs 636, Rs 600, Rs 533 and Rs 499 respectively. The plans from Excitel are truly unlimited and no FUP data limit is levied.

Google I/O 2022 – Announcements That Users Can Expect Posted: 10 May 2022 09:28 AM PDT Google I/O 2022 is almost here and it will be very exciting to see what Google has in store for us. Nothing has been officially revealed by the company, however, there are plenty of rumours and specifications in the market. Google I/O 2022 is scheduled for May 11 and May 12. It is known that Google I/O will majorly focus on developer-rated news and advancements. Although, we can expect a number of good announcements for the consumers as well. Let's take a look at a list of significantly dependable rumours as to what we can expect from Google I/O 2022. Android 13 Android 13 is definitely going to be one of the major announcements that we could witness at Google I/O 2022. The first developer preview was released in February and the first Beta version was rolled out on Pixel devices on April 26. A number of features that will arrive with Android 13 are known already such as Photo Picker, Quick Settings Tile, Material You Design, Optimized experience for tablets, foldable, and Chromebooks, smart home control, MIDI 2.0 support and more. Google Pixel 6a Even though the company is not known for introducing its a-series smartphones at Google I/O, recent speculations have hinted otherwise. A known tipster has stated that the Google Pixel 6a might be announced during the Google I/O 2022, however, will be made available for sale only in July. The phone is said to possibly come with a Google Tensor processor and a nearly identical design language compared to the Google Pixel 6 series. Google Pixel Watch Another consumer electronic product that could be announced at the Google I/O 2022 is the Google Pixel Watch. The wearable is expected to be launched somewhere in the price segment of $ 300 – $ 400. It is also rumoured that the device will be launched in two different sizes and four colour options. A New Nest Hub Google already has its Nest Hub (2nd Gen) and Nest Hub Max which are actually pretty good display devices. However, recent rumours suggest that Google is coming up with something else that is sure to catch your attention. The company is apparently working on a new generation Nest Hub which will have a key feature – a detachable display. Not much is known about this device as of now.

iQOO Neo 6 Will Arrive in India with Different Specifications Posted: 10 May 2022 07:36 AM PDT The Chinese smartphone brand iQOO launched its iQOO Neo 6 smartphone in its domestic market last month in the mid-premium price segment. iQOO Neo 6 happens to be one of the most affordable devices to feature Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset and is also going to arrive in India. The company has also just launched its iQOO Neo 6 SE which will also be launched in India. Now new information has surfaced regarding the launch of the iQOO Neo 6 smartphone. Let's find out. According to the known tipster Mukul Sharma, iQOO Neo 6 will be launched in India as the first Neo series handset. Although the tipster has informed that the specifications of the smartphone will be different from the one launched in China. The iQOO Neo 6 in India will be priced somewhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000. It seems from the price mark that the device will be an affordable flagship and will compete against the smartphones from Realme, Xiaomi and OnePlus. iQOO Neo 6 Specifications (China) iQOO Neo 6 was launched in China with a 6.62-inch AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution of 2400x1080pixels. The device comes with support for a 120Hz refresh rate, 360hz touch sampling rate, and 397ppi pixel density. The device also comes with a display chip just as it did in its predecessor – iQOO Neo 5. This dedicated chip makes sure that the screen is producing accurate colours and automatically adjusts to the environment to offer a better experience in low brightness situations. Powering the device is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset coupled with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. iQOO Neo 6 is backed by a 4,700mAh battery unit with the support of 80W charging. The smartphone runs on Origin OS based on Android 12 out of the box. Additional features on the device include an in-display fingerprint scanner, dual speaker setup, dual linear motor for rich vibration, and noise reduction algorithm. Talking about the camera module on the device, iQOO Neo 6 features a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 64MP main sensor with an f/1.9 aperture. The device also features a 12MP ultra-wide lens along with a 2MP portrait sensor. The smartphone comes with a 16MP selfie snapper at the front. The rear camera offers optical image stabilization (OIS) and 4K 60fps shooting as well.

Vodafone Idea ARPU Up by 7.5% QoQ to Rs 124 in Q4 FY22 Posted: 10 May 2022 06:53 AM PDT Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telecom operator in the country, has just announced its financial results for the last quarter of FY22 as well as the complete financial year. From the data, it can be seen that the telco's average revenue per user (ARPU) jumped to Rs 124 from Rs 115, up by 7.5% QoQ. In addition to this, the telco's average daily revenue also grew 7.7% QoQ (the highest for a quarter since the merger). EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation) improved to Rs 21.2 billion compared to Rs 16.2 billion in Q3 FY22. The telco's ARPU jump during the quarter was largely owed to the prepaid tariff hikes implemented during the last leg of Q3 FY22. Vodafone Idea's Loss Narrows for the Quarter After taxes, Vi's loss for the quarter stood at Rs 65,449 million compared to Rs 72,309 million in the previous quarter. The subscriber churn rate during the quarter was 3.4% which is the same as the previous quarter. This is an area where Vi needs to work. The subscriber churn rate of the telco needs to go down to stop losing subscriber market share to Jio and Airtel. While the subscriber churn rate hasn't worsened during the quarter, it hasn't improved either, which is also a sign of worry. The telco's VLR subscriber base has also been declining for continuous quarters, which poses a great threat to its overall revenues. Vi said that its total broadband sites (3G + 4G) went up from 450,330 million to 455,264 million. 4G data users are also consuming more data on average. In Q4 FY22, the average data consumption from the 4G users of Vi was 13.9GB which is more than 12.9GB compared to a year ago. The subscriber churn rate needs to go down while the ARPU needs to go up fast for the telco to self-sustain in the short-to-medium term.

Best 4G Data Vouchers for You in May 2022 Posted: 10 May 2022 06:12 AM PDT Most commonly used plans are the daily data packs that not only provide unlimited calling but also offer a fixed amount of data each day till the validity of the plan. Users can choose from plans offering 1GB/day to up to 3GB/day. However, in many instances the daily data limit might not be sufficient and for such users who are in need for additional data, the telcos of the country offer 4G data vouchers that provide additional data at a comparatively lower cost. Mentioned below are the best 4G data vouchers offered by the three telcos – Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea and Airtel. 4G Add-On Packs Jio offers four 4G data vouchers – Rs 15, Rs 25, Rs 61 and Rs 121 that offer 1GB, 2GB, 6GB and 12GB of 4G data respectively. In addition to this, Jio also offers 'Work from Home' packs that also offer additional data and come with a validity period of 30 days. Users can purchase 'Work from Home' packs from the official website of the company at a price tag of Rs 181 which offers 30GB of data, at Rs 241 which offers 40GB of data and lastly Rs 301 that provides 50GB of 4G data. Vodafone Idea or Vi has recently added a new 4G data voucher which comes at a price tag of Rs 82. This pack provides 4GB of data along with SonyLiv subscription for 14 days. Vi offers two work from home plans that offer considerably higher data. For Rs 298, users can get a total of 50GB of data for 28 days. Lastly, users can also get 100GB of total data at Rs 418 that comes with a validity period of 56 days. Just like the above two telcos, Airtel offers data packs as well, all of which have the validity period same as the existing active packs. Rs 108 plan from Airtel offers 6GB of total data but also gives access to free trial of mobile edition Amazon Prime Video. For Rs 148, users can get 15GB of 4G data that also comes with the added benefit of Xstream Mobile pack. Airtel also provides a data pack that offers higher 4G data. Rs 301 plan from Airtel gives access to 50GB of 4G data with added benefits of Wynk Music Premium.

Vivo X80 Series India Launch Date Announced, What You Should Know Posted: 10 May 2022 05:45 AM PDT The Vivo X80 series is soon going to launch in India. The X80 series from Vivo will be the flagship smartphone series from the company in 2022. Vivo's X series flagship devices are known for their powerful cameras. This is something we can expect from the Vivo X80 series as well. The company has confirmed the launch of the X80 series in India on May 18, 12 PM. It is worth noting that the Vivo X80 series has already been launched for the China market, so we can sort of guess or expect what we will get with the devices in the series. Vivo X80 Pro Specifications (Expected) The Vivo X80 Pro is expected to come with a 6.78-inch E5 2K AMOLED display with support for 120Hz refresh rate. It could be powered by either the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1 coupled with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. It is expected to come with a quad-camera setup at the rear with a 50MP OIS main camera, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 12MP portrait sensor, and an 8MP telephoto sensor. For selfies, the device might come with a 32MP sensor at the front. It could pack a 4700mAh battery with support for 80W fast-charging (wired) and 50W fast-charging (wireless). Vivo X80 Specifications (Expected) The display specifications are almost the same as Vivo X80 Pro, while the device might be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC. In the camera department, the device could come with a 50MP OIS camera, 12MP ultra-wide-angle sensor, and a 12MP telephoto sensor. For selfies, the device could come with a 32MP snapper at the front. It could pack a 4500mAh battery with support for 80W wired-fast-charging. This device is most likely to miss out on wireless charging.

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