Apple Patents Lightning Compatible Wired-Wireless Headphone System

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple patent today that describes a hybrid analog/digital stereo headphone system capable of switching seamlessly between wired and wireless audio modes (via AppleInsider).

The patent for “Audio class-compliant charging accessories for wireless headphones and headsets” distinguishes the system from traditional headphones by its use of an electrical connector capable of transmitting both digital and analog signals, which would make it compatible with Apple’s proprietary Lightning connector protocol.

The wired contacts in the connector utilize “differential signaling” that enable it to transfer power and audio data through a single cable without compromising sound quality, while the wireless component of the headphones comprises an internal battery, processor, memory, and antenna for communicating with a source device such as an iPhone.

Design details are sparse, but the patent notes that the hardware would fit into in-ear, on-ear and over-ear styles of headphones.

As with all Apple patents, the usual caveat applies in that the invention may not see the light of day in any future product. That said, the system it describes is consistent with rumors that Apple plans to ditch the headphone jack for the fall 2016 iPhone 7 in favor of a Lightning-equipped headphone accessory or Bluetooth-based wireless listening solution similar to the Bragi Dash headphones.

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Rival Handset Makers Face Inventory Losses Following China iPhone SE Launch

The launch of the iPhone SE in China has squeezed market share from local brands causing handset makers to rein in their inventory stockpiling for future component shipments, according to sources in the supply chain (via DigiTimes).

The introduction of the relatively low-priced iPhone SE into the Chinese market has reportedly affected the performance of brands including Huawei, Xiaomi Technology, Vivo, and Oppo. The intensified competition means handset makers are reluctant to build up inventories based on what they now perceive as over-confident shipment prospects, said the sources.

The conservatism follows similar trends last year when shipment numbers failed to meet expectations. Camera module makers in particular were exposed to a high level of inventories in 2015 after optimistic shipment projections, but ended up shipping only 70 to 80 percent of their stockpiles. As a result, camera module suppliers have grown skeptical of prospects from vendors marketing smartphones with dual lenses.

Sources also noted that Apple’s efforts to upgrade the internal voltage of its power supply devices from 15 volts to 20 volts to improve charging efficiency has left power supply makers with excessive inventories.

Apple is expected to include a dual-lens camera in the iPhone 7, set to be released in the fall of this year. However, according to respected KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the dual camera will be exclusive to Apple’s 5.5-inch iPhone.

Tag: digitimes.com
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B&O Play BeoPlay A1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Credit B&O Play for creating a Bluetooth speaker that doesn’t look like anything out there already. The new dome-shaped Beoplay A1 is not only the smallest wireless speaker from the Danish company, but also the most affordable at $249 or £199 in the UK (pricing for Australia hasn’t been announced but that roughly translates to AU$319).

Designed by well-known Danish furniture designer Cecile Manz, the aluminum-clad A1’s clearly meant to take on Bose’s popular SoundLink Mini II wireless speaker, and it’s one of the best sounding mini-Bluetooth speakers I’ve heard, though it better be considering its elevated price point.

The BeoPlay A1 charges via USB -C and has an audio input.

Sarah Tew/CNET

While it looks sleek and has no protruding buttons B&O Play says it’s “robust enough to handle the bumps and scrapes of everyday use.” It comes with a leather carrying strap, though no protective carrying pouch, which is too bad.

The speaker has two drivers — a 3.5-inch mid cone woofer and a 3/4-inch tweeter. It manages to play very loud for its size, delivers a surprising amount of bass, and is very strong in the mid range where vocals live. That said, like all these small speakers, it does have its limitations, and has a harder time resolving more complicated tracks (a lot of instruments playing at the same time) at higher volumes. That said, it will fill a small room with sound and would work well in a kitchen, bathroom, home office or dorm room.

BeoPlay A1 (pictures)
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As its shape implies, it also doubles as a speakerphone and it’s a good one. The other plus is the strong battery life — it’s rated at 24 hours thanks to a 2,200mAh internal rechargeable battery and an efficient adaptive power management system. It’s worth noting that it charges with a USB-C cable, not a standard Micro-USB cable.

Yes, you can certainly get mini-Bluetooth speakers that cost a lot less and perform pretty well for their size. But if you don’t mind the high price, this is very nice speaker that offers impressive sound for it size.

Here are the A1’s key specs:

• Measures 5.2 inches by 1.9 inches (133mm by 48mm) and weighs 1.3 pounds or 600 grams
• DSP algorithm with advanced high-slope filtering creates a spacious 360-degree soundscape
• Up to 24 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels
• Charges with included USB-C cable
• Speakerphone capabilities
• Available in moss green and natural for a suggested retail price at $249, £199. Both colors are available in B&O stores, on the B&O website and at select third-party retailers.

Acer Predator gaming laptops, desktops, projector and more hit India

Acer has taken the wraps off its Predator range of gaming-focused machines that are headed to India. That includes Acer Predator laptops, desktops, monitors and projector.

The Acer Predator range is in the same market as the Dell Alienware or Asus Rog machines that are focused on top end gaming. The Predator line should help to extend the offerings for mobile and desktop gaming to Indian buyers.

This is high-end stuff though with only the more serious gamers likely to spend the big money required to own one of these high performance machines.

So what’s available?

Acer

Acer Predator 15 and 17 laptops

Acer will launch two gaming laptops at around 15-inch and 17-inch sizes. Each will be powered by sixth gen Intel Core i7 processors, Nvidia graphics, DDR4 memory and solid state hard drives. All that is cooled by a triple fan setup that allows performance that includes 4K video rendering. That’s the speed taken care of then.

Of course the look is also a big part for gamers. The Predator laptops will feature a black chassis with symmetric lines and red accents throughout. They will also feature grippy soft texture coatings for maximum gaming performance comfort.

On the sound front the laptops will offer built-in subwoofers and Dolby Audio surround with the 17-inch version sporting SoundPound 4.2 and the 15-inch getting SoundPound 2.1.

The screens vary across the lines. The Predator 15 comes with either a 15.6-inch Full HD screen or a 4K UHD option with 3840 x 2160 resolution. The Predator 17 features a 17.3-inch display but only comes in the Full HD version.

Both laptops ship, running Windows 10, in April and start at Rs 1,79,000 which is about £1880 or $2700.

Acer

Acer Predator G6 and G3 desktops

The Acer Predator G6 and G3 desktop gaming rigs come packing sixth gen Intel Core i7-6700K processors that can be overclocked, 64GB of RRD4 dual-channel RAM and up to 4TB storage, all cooled by an IceTunnel system.

The larger G6 comes with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980 GPU and UHD 4K2K display for a 3840 x 2160 resolution, plus Sound Blaster X-Fi MB5 audio.

The Acer Predator G6 and G3 desktops will start at Rs 1,20,000 which is about £1260 or $1810.

Acer

Acer Predator Z650 projector

The Acer Predator Z650 projector offers a 100-inch screen from 1.5 metres away. It’s 1080p with a 20,000:1 contrast ratio and offers 3D projection for gaming PCs connected to it. There’s also built-in DTS Sound with dual 10W stereo speakers.

The Acer Predator Z650 will cost Rs 1,29,000 which is £1360 or $1945.

Acer

Acer Predator X34 G-sync and Z35 gaming monitors

The Acer monitor range for the Predator series includes the curved 21:9 G-sync Predator X34 with Nvidia G-sync tech, DTS audio, two 7W speakers, zero-frame and aluminium base plus ambient lighting. The IPS offers 100 per cent sRGB and a 178-degree viewing angle.

The Z35 is a 35-inch curved G-sync panel with up to 200GHz refresh rate and feature Dolby HD audio from the 9W stereo speakers.

The Acer Predator monitors start at Rs 39,000 which is £410 or $588 and goes up to Rs 1,10,000 which is £1160 or $1660.

READ: PlayStation 5 might never happen, reveals Sony

Scientists design fast, flexible transistor for wearables

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have devised a cheap method to make impressively fast and flexible silicon-based transistors. Their technique involves using beams of electrons to create reusable molds of the patterns they want, as well as a very, very tiny knife to etch minuscule trenches into those patterns. The result is a small, bendy transistor — though not as small as a the Navy’s single-molecule design — that can transmit data wirelessly and has the potential to operate at a whopping 110 gigahertz. In other words, it’s capable of some extremely fast computing and could lead to wearables a lot more powerful than those available today.

Lead researcher Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma says it’s possible to scale up the manufacturing process for mass production. Manufacturers could, for instance, use rolling pins to stamp the patterns onto rolls of flexible plastic. Ma and his team, who have published their study in Scientific Reports, said their process is ready for use in the real world:

“We don’t want to make [flexible electronics] the way the semiconductor industry does now. Our step, which is most critical for roll-to-roll printing, is ready.”

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Opera Web Browser for OS X Gains Free Unlimited VPN Feature

Norway-based company Opera Software has integrated a virtual private network (VPN) feature into the latest developer version of its free Opera web browser for OS X.

A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel from the user’s computer to the VPN server, hiding browsing activity from other users on the local network and enhancing security and privacy online. A VPN shields a user’s real IP address, allowing them to bypass firewalls, block tracking cookies, and access geo-restricted content regardless of their true location.

VPNs usually come in the form of separate plug-ins or apps that require a paid subscription, making Opera one the first major browsers to include one as standard. The launch of the feature comes after Opera’s acquisition of U.S. VPN company SurfEasy last March.

Currently Opera’s built-in VPN allows users to choose virtual locations in the US, Canada, and Germany. Opera says more countries will be available when the feature makes it to the stable public release of the browser.

Mac users can download Opera 38 developer release and give the free, unlimited VPN a try. After installation, simply click “Opera” in the menu bar, select “Preferences” and toggle the VPN switch on.

According to Global Web Index, more than half a billion people (24 percent of the world’s online population) have tried or are currently using VPN services. According to the research, the primary reasons people use a VPN are for better access to entertainment content, browser anonymity, and the ability to access sites restricted by their workplace or country.

In January, Netflix began blocking users who try to bypass country-based content restrictions by using a VPN. Canadian subscribers to the streaming service appear to have been the latest targets of the crackdown after VPN-tunnelled users in the country began seeing error messages on their screens over the weekend when trying to access the service’s much larger U.S. catalogue of movies and TV series.

Tags: privacy, Opera browser
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Xiaomi Mi 5 review: Incredible hardware, irritating software

The Mi 5 offers great hardware, but software drawbacks and availability issues continue to hold the device back.

Quick take:

Xiaomi was quick to roll out the Mi 5 in the Indian market, with the vendor trying to make a statement in the country after seeing sluggish sales over the course of the last 12 months. However, the Mi 5 available is the 32GB edition with 3GB of RAM and an underclocked 1.8GHz Snapdragon 820, and not the Pro model with 4GB of RAM and 128GB storage. Combine that with a confounded flash sales model and software that’s reminiscent of the KitKat era, and you get a phone that feels overpriced at ₹25,000.

The good

• Great display
• Premium design
• Fast hardware

The bad

• Annoying flash sales
• Software niggles
• Camera not great in low-light
• No microSD slot

Almost there

Xiaomi Mi 5 Full review

India is a huge market for Xiaomi. With 2015 turning out to be a dismal year, Xiaomi is betting big on the country this year. The vendor launched its budget behemoth, the Redmi Note 3, earlier this year, and is now following up with its 2016 flagship, the Mi 5. The phone is available in India barely a month after its debut at MWC, which in itself signifies Xiaomi’s commitment to India.

Xiaomi’s claim to fame thus far in the country has been with budget devices sold under ₹20,000 that offered great value for money. The vendor has been largely successful at doing just that over the course of the last two years. However, with the Mi 5, it is trying to break away from its shackles as a budget vendor. The base variant of the Mi 5 is priced at ₹25,000, putting it firmly alongside the OnePlus 2, Samsung Galaxy A7, Moto X Style, and others.

The price is certainly on the higher side considering Xiaomi’s pricing strategy thus far, but you’re getting a lot for that price, most notably the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC. But the question remains: is the Mi 5 worthy of its ₹25,000 price tag? Let’s find out.

Nerdgasm

Xiaomi Mi 5 Specs

Display	5.15-inch Full HD IPS display | Pixel density of 428 ppi
SoC	1.8GHz Snapdragon 820 510MHz Adreno 530 GPU
RAM	3GB of LPDDR4 RAM
Storage	32GB UFS 2.0 flash storage
Camera	16MP camera with 4-axis OIS, dual-LED flash, PDAF 4MP front camera
Connectivity	USB Type-C, LTE (bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 38, 39, 40, and 41) Wi-Fi ac MU-MIMO, NFC, IR blaster
Software	MIUI 7 with Android 6.0
Battery	3000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0
Dimensions	144.6 x 69.2 x 7.3 mm
Weight	129g
Colors	White/Black/Gold

Full Metal Jacket

Xiaomi Mi 5 Design

The first thing you’ll notice about the Mi 5 is its lightness. Weighing in at just 129g, the phone is unbelievably light. For comparison, the Galaxy S7 comes in at 152g. When it comes to the design, Xiaomi borrowed heavily from last year’s Mi Note, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing as that device saw limited availability.

There’s 3D glass at the back of the Mi 5, which curves along the sides where it meets the metal frame, leading to excellent in-hand feel (or “hand feel,” as Xiaomi calls it). The build quality is top-notch, as you’d expect from a vendor aiming to challenge the likes of Samsung, and the glass back and chamfered metal frame give the phone a premium look that wouldn’t look out of place on a device that costs twice as much.

Xiaomi scores a design win over the Galaxy S7 and the iPhone 6s with the rear design, which sees the camera sensor sitting flush with the body. An impressive feat when you consider the fact that the camera comes with a four-axis optical stabilization module. You can place the phone on a flat surface and not have it wobble when you interact with it. Although it is a metal-and-glass design, the Mi 5 has proved to be fairly resilient to tumbles (well, more than the Galaxy A7 anyway).

Xiaomi designed the front of the Mi 5 to appear virtually bezel-less, and while the effect looks great, the edge of the display does tend to stick out sharply against the metal frame. A 2.5D curved finish would not be amiss here. The entire frame of the phone is metal, barring the plastic antenna lines at the top and bottom. Although there are two grilles at the bottom, the phone doesn’t offer stereo sound. The right grille houses the speaker, with the left grille incorporating the microphone.

The power and volume buttons are on the right, and they offer a decent amount of tactile feedback. There’s a dual-SIM card tray on the left, and the 3.5mm jack and IR blaster are located at the top. The physical home button at the front is interesting, as it comes with an embedded fingerprint sensor. The home button is narrower than the one you’d find on the Galaxy S7 or S7 edge, but the sensor itself is just as fast at reading fingerprints. The button is made out of ceramic, and unlike the S7 edge, is yet to attract any scratches after two weeks of usage.

The back and recent buttons are unmarked, and Xiaomi allows you to switch out the configuration of the buttons according to your preference. It takes a few days to get accustomed to the unlabeled buttons, but that’s a decent trade-off considering the customizability on offer. As for color choices, we received a white review unit, but the black version of the phone looks far better. There’s also a gold version that offers a textured back. There’s no mention as to whether either model would be made available in India. For now, the white color option is the only one available to customers in the country.

Trailblazer

Xiaomi Mi 5 Hardware

With the Galaxy S7 in the country offering Exynos 8890, the Mi 5 is the first phone with the Snapdragon 820. As such, it is a good time to look at all the architectural changes Qualcomm has undertaken with the Snapdragon 820, starting with its new Kryo cores.

With the Snapdragon 810, Qualcomm decided to stick to regular ARM Cortex cores, breaking its tradition of developing custom CPU cores that offered better performance. It also went with octa-core designs partly due to the insistence of Chinese vendors, and to counter MediaTek’s rise. The troubles that the move introduced are well-documented at this stage, so this year the vendor went back to a custom-core implementation with Kryo.

Qualcomm has also reverted to a quad-core CPU configuration, shifting to a 14nm FinFET architecture. The quad-core Kryo cluster sees two high-performance cores clocked at 1.8GHz, and two energy-efficient cores at 1.53GHz. Manufacturing is done on Samsung’s second-gen 14nm LPP (Low-Power Plus) node, which offers additional energy gains when compared to last year’s Exynos 7420.

The Mi 5 is offered in three variants: the entry-level 32GB model is clocked at 1.8GHz, with the 64GB and the Pro 128GB models offering the 2.15GHz edition of the Snapdragon 820. Other limitations of the 1.8GHz variant include throttling the frequency of the Adreno 530 GPU to 510MHz, and the RAM to 1333MHz (compared to 1866MHz on 2.1GHz).

That said, the 1.8GHz Snapdragon is still plenty fast, and comes close to matching the Galaxy S7 on synthetic benchmarks. These benchmarks are not indicative of real-world performance, but they offer an insight into how fast (or slow) a device is at a quick glance.

In India, it looks like the 32GB edition is the only one that will be available, which is a shame considering that the phone does not offer a microSD slot. However, you get a lot for the asking price, including NFC, an IR blaster, and USB-C connectivity. The 32GB storage uses Samsung’s UFS 2.0 standard, which is the same internal memory used in the Galaxy S6 and this year’s Galaxy S7. The phone also offers VoLTE, which comes in handy as voice services over LTE are set to take off in the country later this year.

Even with class-leading hardware, the Mi 5 was sometimes weirdly laggy.

Even though it has class-leading hardware, the Mi 5 isn’t without its drawbacks, as the phone turned out to be weirdly laggy at times. This wasn’t an issue when playing visually-intensive games, but we saw the phone stuttering quite badly when handling routine tasks like making a Hangouts video call or scrolling web pages in Chrome. Usually, we’d ignore it if it were the case once or twice, but the situation occurred enough times that it turned out to be an annoyance.

As for connectivity, the Mi 5 offers 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MU-MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2, and LTE. The phone comes with Indian LTE bands (3 and 40), and if you’re looking to use the handset overseas, it supports TD-LTE bands 38, 39, 40, 41, and FDD-LTE bands 1, 3, 5, and 7. The limited LTE bands means that you can’t use the Indian variant of the Mi 5 on any U.S. carriers.

Thankfully, there’s no thermal overheating during normal usage.The only times we saw the phone getting uncomfortably hot was during while charging and 4K video recording.

LEDs everywhere

Xiaomi Mi 5 Display

The 5.15-inch Full HD display with a pixel density of 428 ppi won’t match up to the 577 ppi on offer with the Galaxy S7, but the IPS LCD screen is one of the best we’ve seen this year. Xiaomi says that it used 16 LEDs under the display instead of the usual 12, and the result is a screen that has a maximum brightness of 600 nits and a minimum of 0.7 nits. The extra LEDs are also the reason for the 5.15-inch size of the display.

The IPS LCD screen is one of the best we’ve seen this year.

The display has high saturation as well as sharpness, and comes with a Reading Mode that filters out blue light. There’s also a Night Display that turns down the brightness, and a Sunlight Display feature that lets you view the screen under harsh sunlight. Sunlight Display adjusts the contrast of each pixel in real-time, making the screen readable under glare.

You can enable a double-tap to wake the screen, and alter the color temperature of the screen from warm to cool based on your preferences. Contrast settings can also be tweaked, and there’s a one-handed mode located in Settings -> Additional settings -> One-handed mode that lets you shrink the size of the screen to either 4.5, 4.0, or 3.5 inches. One-handed mode is accessed by swiping left to right across the navigation buttons.

The only complaint in terms of the screen is that even though it’s protected by Gorilla Glass 4, we’ve seen a litany of micro-scratches all over the surface in the two weeks we’ve used the device.

Stuck in a KitKat world

Xiaomi Mi 5 Software

There was a time when users on Nexus devices would make the switch to MIUI for all the features it offered. Now, that situation has been reversed. Users are clamoring for stock ROMs to be available on Xiaomi’s handsets. And the reason for that is because there isn’t a noticeable difference between a phone running MIUI 7 based on KitKat and one that’s on Marshmallow. There is something to be said for software consistency, but that goes out the window when a vendor doesn’t introduce any visual changes in nearly three years.

This is based on Marshmallow, but a lot has changed.

Even though MIUI 7 on the Mi 5 is based on Marshmallow, there are several key features missing, including runtime app permissions and Google Now on Tap. Apps designed for marshmallow (API 23 and above) are granted access to all permissions during the installation phase, and there’s no way for you to selectively allow access. You have to head into security settings and manually enable permission manager, which cedes control over to MIUI. Through permission manager, you can control individual app-based access to things like location, camera, internal storage, and such.

Let’s see how this works with Zomato’s app. With permission manager disabled (which is its default state), Zomato has access to your device’s GPS, camera, accounts, internal storage, and the ability to make phone calls and view messages. All of this is grayed out as you can see in the first screenshot, which means that all permissions are enabled by default. Once the permission manager is enabled, you’ll have granular control over which permissions to give access to.

You can enable permission manager by navigating to System -> Security -> Permissions -> Permission manager. Considering the nature of permissions, this is something that you should absolutely enable as soon as you start using the phone.

For its lack of visual flair, MIUI does offer a bevy of settings that let you customize the phone to your liking. You can change the system icons, backgrounds and fonts from the themes store, where there’s a selection of free and paid content.

There’s a Mi Remote app that lets you use the IR blaster to control your set-top box, TV, air conditioner, and more. Fleksy as well as Google Keyboard are pre-installed, which is great. Mi Mover is a nifty utility, which lets you transfer content from your older device wirelessly with ease. If you’re moving from another Xiaomi device, you can access Mi Mover from Settings -> Additional settings and get started. If you’re switching from another handset, you can download the app from the Play Store and transfer content. MIUI also offers pinch in and pinch out gestures, which you can use to get previews on the recent apps window and the notification shade.

MIUI itself is constantly updated, with bi-weekly updates rolled out based on suggestions from Xiaomi’s user community.

Shake it off

Xiaomi Mi 5 Camera

The camera on the Mi 5 uses a 16MP Sony IMX298 imaging sensor with an f/2.0 lens and dual-tone LED flash, phase detection autofocus, and 4-axis optical image stabilization. You get incredibly detailed shots in bright conditions, but the camera struggles to keep up with the likes of the Galaxy S7 or LG G5 when it comes to low-light photos. That has always been a downfall of mid-range cameras, and the same holds true for the Mi 5 as well.

Xiaomi’s camera app is easy to navigate, with the interface offering quick shooting modes for stills and videos, as well as toggles for HDR Auto, flash, and switching between the front and rear cameras. You can access panorama mode, manual controls, timer, tilt-shift, beautify filters, fish-eye mode, and more by pulling up the settings menu through a swipe left gesture, while a swipe to the right gives you access to 12 different filters that offer real-time previews.

Juice me up

Xiaomi Mi 5 Battery life

Battery life from the 3000mAh cell was decidedly average over the first week of using the phone, but it balanced itself out after that. You will be able to get a day’s worth of battery life with conservative usage. If you’re one to use location-based services and consume a lot of cellular data, you’ll be plugging in before the end of the day.

The phone offers Quick Charge 3.0, but the charger that’s included in the box is Quick Charge 2.0 — in real-world usage, this doesn’t make a huge difference in charge times.

How is this still a thing?

Xiaomi Mi 5 Availability

Even if you’re interested in shelling out ₹25,000 for the Mi 5, which in itself is a sizable investment, you’ll have to put up with Xiaomi’s flash sales model to get your hands on one. The whole idea behind the flash sales model is that Xiaomi is able to eke out the maximum cost-savings on a phone by producing in small batches, eventually making profits as the cost of the individual hardware comes down.

This Mi 5 is a sizable investment, and you have to put up with a flash sale to get it.

Thus far, the move made sense as in return for going through flash sales, you were getting a value-for-money device that was sold at near manufacturing cost. That’s not the case with the Mi 5, as the edition that’s on sale in India is being sold with premium pricing. As such, Xiaomi should have made the device available for purchase in general sale. But that’s not the case. You’re going to have to struggle to get your hands on the phone.

In the two sales we were registered for, we saw the phone up for grabs for barely a second, and in both instances we failed to procure one. That’ll be the case for a majority of customers lining up, as Xiaomi draws huge numbers — numbering in the millions — and sells relatively few units. It’s great for the vendor to tout that it was able to sell its stock of units in two or three seconds, but it’s the customers — who have registered and lined up to buy the phone — that come away with nothing.

This time around, the vendor is also rolling out something called F-Codes. Essentially, you have to stalk Xiaomi’s social media accounts, and partaking in contests will let you stand a chance to win F-Codes, which will allow you to buy a phone or accessory without having to wait in line during a flash sale. As you’d imagine, they’re hard to come by.

Not good enough

Xiaomi Mi 5 Bottom line

The Mi 5 is a great phone, offering incredible hardware in the mid-tier segment. Overall refinement is still missing when you compare the Mi 5 to the Galaxy S7, but then again Samsung’s offering costs twice as much.

With the Mi 5, you’re getting a great display, and the phone’s design with its curved glass back is sure to turn heads. However, the software is badly in need of an overhaul, and Xiaomi needs to address availability issues. There’s also the camera, which isn’t great in low-light conditions, and the battery isn’t going to last an entire day.

Should you buy it? Nope

Ultimately, Xiaomi’s reputation will be its biggest hurdle in the Indian market, as the vendor has built up its market share in the entry-level segment, and that’s what consumers associate with the brand. The most difficult part for Xiaomi will be to convince customers to fork out ₹25,000 for the Mi 5. Over time, the price of the phone will come down, making it a much more palatable option. For now, it’s just not worth the money or the hassle to buy.

ASUS is doubling down in India

ASUS is looking to scale up its operations in India, targeting a 5% market share in the country. The Taiwanese vendor wants to double its local production capacity to 600,000 phones this year, with Foxconn handling the actual assembly. To increase its presence in the market, ASUS will launch budget phones in the sub-₹6,000 segment and mid-tier handsets that will retail for over ₹20,000.

Speaking to ET Tech, ASUS’ Regional Head for South Asia and India Peter Chang said:

Internally, we’re thinking we should make India as our home base, especially in smartphones. We would be doubling our marketing budget this year, from 2-3% of revenue, because we want to have 5% market share. Asus Corporate will support some extra funding on top of our profit and loss, to increase our marketing.

Chang also talked about the challenges in setting up a base in India:

Vivo and Oppo have a big home base, they can take from home and invest in India. For us, it’s difficult to compete the same way… we have no way back.

The vendor’s ZenFone 2 was well-received in India, and with its successor slated for an official unveil next month at Computex, the company will have a strong contender in the mid-range segment.

PlayStation 5 might never happen, reveals Sony

With all the talk of a PlayStation Neo, PS4K or PS4.5 (whichever moniker you fancy) it seems that Sony is looking to morph its current console into something more powerful and proficient.

Where does that leave the next generation though? If Sony is able and happy to upgrade rather than overhaul its technology, will there even be a PlayStation 5? Will there be a need for one?

The head of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, suggests not.

Oddworld’s creator Lorne Lanning has revealed that Yoshida told him that PS5 isn’t a when, it’s an “if”.

READ: Sony PlayStation 4K: What is PS4.5, when is it coming and how will it affect VR?

During a video podcast with Game Informer, Lanning detailed a discussion he had with the Sony executive: “I asked Shu question at dinner a few nights before DICE (in 2015). I said, ‘What’s the PlayStation 5 look like?’ And he said, ‘You mean if.’

“I said, ‘Are you willing to say that on a stage?’. He said, ‘Yeah, it’s an if.’ He didn’t give me a clear answer, but he’s hinting that we need to be more agile. None of us know what the future looks like, so how do we adapt to it faster?”

READ: 20 years of PlayStation: The consoles and accessories that changed gaming forever

The PS4.5 certainly fits that ideal. Updating and upgrading technology quickly rather than waiting six or seven year cycles for another device.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer also hinted at a similar concept for the Xbox One. At the Xbox Showcase event in February, he suggested the current machine will be upgraded rather than replaced any time soon.

Lanning also stated during the podcast that he believes virtual reality devices to be upgraded every “six months”. VR technologies will be more like smartphones in that there will be new devices coming out quickly from now.

Opera is the first big web browser with a built-in VPN

If you’ve wanted to use a virtual private network to improve your web privacy or (let’s be honest) dodge content restrictions, you’ve usually had to either install a third-party client or use a relatively niche browser with the feature built-in. As of today, though, you have a more mainstream option: Opera has released a developer version of its desktop web browser with native VPN support. You only have to flick a virtual switch to get a 256-bit encrypted connection that hides your connection details and prevents sites or governments from blocking content they don’t want you to see.

The preview version only gives you three simulated locations for the VPN (Canada, Germany and the US), so this won’t give you access to a whole lot until the finished browser is ready. However, the VPN is free. If all you want is to access a forbidden streaming service or make it harder for snoops to monitor your traffic, this might be your easiest and most affordable solution.

Source: Opera