Weekly Wrap-Up #5 : Reliance LYF, LG G5, iPhone Error 53, Galaxy S7, Firefox OS, Gionee S6 & More….

Here is our latest weekly wrap-up covering all the news and the latest happening in the mobile industry over the past seven days. The 2016 Mobile World Congress will be held later this month, and we got some interesting updates regarding the flagship smartphones from major manufacturers that will be launched at the event. Apart from that, we also have few device that are launched this week in India.

• This week we have seen Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS crossing the 1% adoption mark of the total active Android devices. Android 4.4 Kitkat still hold the major share with 35.5% but is slightly decreased from last months 36.1%. With a market share of 34.1%, Android Lollipop stands second, and we can expect it to reach the top position in the next couple of months. While all the upcoming flagships will be running on the latest Marshmallow OS, we can expect its share to grow faster.
• Is your Apple device repaired by an unauthorized person? Then Apple might brick your device making it unusable. The company has intentionally pushing the ‘Error 53‘ when you are looking to the update the iPhone. The users who had gotten their iPhone Touch ID repaired are facing this issue. Though few websites state that the users are facing this issue from September 2014, the users who are reporting this error has grown exponentially in the last few months. (In case, if you are one of those users out there who had faced this issue, leave your story in the comments section below.)

• After the disaster failure of Firefox OS, Mozilla has confirmed to shut down it’s mobile OS in order to concentrate more on IoT. In early 2013, the company has partnered with Spanish-based mobile manufacturer GeeksPhone to launch two low-cost devices. The Asian brands like Spice, ZTE and TCL also launched the device running on this Firefox OS and are priced lower than Rs. 3,000. According to George Roter, Mozilla developer, the devices running on Firefox will not receive any support from Mozilla starting from May this year.

• As teased earlier, this week Motorola has launched its Shatterproof smartphone ‘Motorola Moto X Force‘ in India. The display of this device comes with a total five layers making it completely shatter proof, and the company is also giving four years of warranty on the display. Apart from that, the device comes premium features like QHD display, Snapdragon 810 processor, and 3GB of RAM. The device comes in two variants with 32GB and 64GB storage variants priced at Rs. 49,999 and Rs. 53,999 respectively. It has a 21MP rear camera, 5MP selfie camera, and a 3,760mAh battery. The device can be purchased exclusively through Flipkart and Amazon.

• Google has released the February security updates via OTA update for their Nexus devices. The new update fixes one of the severe security vulnerabilities of remote code execution while processing media files and also through the Wi-Fi drivers. Apart from the security patches, there are no changes on the UI front. Among all the Nexus devices, the Pixel C is the latest device to join and is receiving its first update this month. Apart from the Nexus devices, the Blackberry Priv is the only smartphone to release the Security updates on par with Google. Unlike Google, Blackberry hasn’t revealed the information regarding the security fixes.

• The mid-range Sony Xperia M5 and Xperia M5 Dual SIM have started receiving the Android 5.1 Lollipop update. Both these devices came with Android 5.0 Lolipop with Xperia UI overlaid. The update also includes the January Security updates and comes with a size of around 596MB. According to the changelog, the update brings improvements to volume controls, and the camera on Xperia M5 can be controlled by Sony SmartWatch 3 to capture pictures. (Update Xperia M5 & M5 Dual to Android 5.1 Lollipop by going to ‘Settings’ and then select About Phone > System Updates > Check for Updates)

• Reliance retail has collaborated with Grofers, the app-based hyper-local delivery service to deliver the LYF branded smartphones. All the Grofer users from the major cities can order the devices directly from Grofers app and will be delivered in just two hours. The list of LYF smartphones available to purchase are LYF Earth 1, LYF Water 1 and LYF Water 2. Apart from this, all the three devices are available to purchase from Reliance Digital stores spread across India. Coming to the pricing, the LYF Earth 1 is priced at Rs. 23,990 while the LYF Water 1 and Water 2 are priced at Rs. 14, 999 and Rs. 14,690 respectively.

LG G5

LG has announced the next flagship ‘LG G5’ to be officially launched on 21st February at the MWC 2016. This is the same day that another South Korean company Samsung will unveil its Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones. There is no official information regarding the device, but few leaks suggest the device to come with a dual rear camera and will also sport a fingerprint sensor on the rear. The volume rockers are shifted from the rear of the device to right edge.

It is said to feature a slightly smaller 5.3-inch Quad HD display when compared to the 5.5-inch display on the LG G4. The device will be powered by Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. We expect the device to come with a removable battery as seen with the earlier LG flagships. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the-box with LG UX UI laid on. The device comes with dual rear cameras along with dual LED flash and laser autofocus.

HTC Desire 626

After launching the device in other Asian countries a year back, HTC has unveiled the Desire 626 mid-range smartphone in India this week. It comes with the upgraded specification when compared to the earlier launched variant. It is priced at Rs. 14,990 and will be available in the colors Blue Lagoon and White Birch options. It comes with a 5-inch HD display and is powered by a MediaTek MT6752 octa-core processor. There is 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage.

Talking about the camera, it has a 13MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture and LED flash and a 5MP front camera with fixed focus. The Desire 626 runs on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with Sense UI overlaid, the last year variant of the same device came with Android 4.4 Kitkat. It is backed by a 2,000mAh battery and measures 8.19 thickness. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/GLONASS, and a MicroUSB 2.0 port. The device will be available within the next few days via major retails stores across India.

Samsung Galaxy S7 & Galaxy S7 Edge

Samsung has sent out the press invites for the launch of its upcoming flagships Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on February 21st at the MWC 2016. The devices will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 or the in-house Exynos 8890 SoC. Based on the rumors, the Galaxy S7 will feature a 5.1-inch display while the S7 Edge is said to sport a larger 5.7-inch display. The devices will run on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with the latest TouchWiZ UI overlaid.

The Super AMOLED displays on S7 and S7 Edge will be of Quad HD resolution. There will be 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM along with an internal storage of 32GB & 64GB. Even the devices are mentioned to last more than 17 hours of video playback at full display brightness. We can see the rear camera downgraded from 16MP to 12MP, but is said to capture better low-light pictures with an aperture of f/1.7.

Gionee Elife S6

The Gionee Elife S6 is the latest mid-range smartphone from the company. Apart from launching Marathon Series device, Gionee launched the Gionee S+ exclusively for India. While the S+ is the Gionee device to sport a USB Type-C port, now the Elife S6 will be next device to that. It is priced at Rs. 19,999 and comes with all metal body. It was first launched in China in November last year. It comes in Gold, Silver and Rose Gold color can be purchased through Flipkart.

Talking about the specifications, it has a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with Full HD resolution along Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The device is powered by MediaTek MT6753 octa-core processor along with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. The dual SIM device comes with 4G LTE along with VoLTE support and other basic connectivity options. On the camera part, it has 13MP rear camera with PDAF, 5MP selfie camera, and a 3,150mAh battery.

Lava x3

Lava X3 is one of the best entry-level smartphones launched by an Indian smartphone manufacturer. The device supports dual SIM dual standby and runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop OS. It comes with a 5-inch HD (1280 x 720) display and is powered by a 1.3 MediaTek quad-core processor. There is also 2GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage. Coming to the camera department, it has an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and autofocus, and a 2MP front camera for selfies and video calls.

The device is backed by a 2,500mAh battery that can last upto a day of mixed usage. The one thing that was missing on this device is the 4G LTE support, with which the can be a good alternative for many other Chinese devices at its price range. The device measures 144 x 72 x 8.45 mm and weighs 141 grams. It is priced at Rs. 6,499 and comes in the White color with Silver and Gold color back panels.

InFocus Bingo 21

The InFocus Bingo 21 that was launched this week will be the direct competitor for the earlier mentioned Lava X3. This device also supports 4G LTE connectivity which was missed on the Lava X3. It is priced at just Rs. 5,499 and comes with a polycarbonate body. The device sports 4.5-inch IPS display with FWVGA (854 x 480 pixels) resolution. It runs on InLife UI 2.0  based on Android 5.1 Lollipop. It comes powered by a Spreadtrum SC9830 quad-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz.

It has 2GB of RAM and 8GB of built-in storage that can be expanded additionally upto 64GB. The USP of the device in its camera, at this price range, the Bingo 21 comes with an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie camera along with an LED flash accompanying both the cameras. It comes with a 2,500mAh battery and offers basic connectivity options. The device can be purchased exclusively through Snapdeal via flash sales that starts from February 11th.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) & Galaxy A7 (2016)

Apart from the rumors and leaks about the upcoming flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, this week we have seen the launch of Galaxy A5 (2016) and A7 (2016) in India. In December 2015, the company has launched these two devices along with 2016 Galaxy A3 in China. 2016 A5 and A7 comes with same design and almost sports same internals. The new Galaxy A5 comes with 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display, the Galaxy A7 features a 5.5-inch display. Both the displays come with Full HD resolution and protected by a Gorilla Glass 4.

They are powered by an unknown Exynos octa-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz and the A5 sports 2GB of RAM while the A7 comes with 3GB of RAM.  There is 16GB of internal storage along with a Micro SD card slot for storage expansion. The physical home button on both these devices comes with a fingerprint sensor that enables the virtual payment option via Samsung Pay. There is a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and OIS, and a 5MP selfie camera on the front.

The Galaxy A7 (2016) is backed by a 3,300mAh battery while the 2016 A5 comes with a slightly smaller 2,900mAh battery. Both the smartphones support dual SIM dual standby and offers Cat.6 LTE. Other connectivity options on these devices are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPS, ANT+, and a MicroUSB 2.0 port. Talking about the pricing, the Galaxy A5 (2016) is priced at Rs. 29,400, while the Galaxy A7 (2016) costs you Rs. 33,400.

Gionee P5W

A few weeks ago, the Gionee P5W was listed on the company’s official website. Now it was officially made available in India priced at Rs. 6,499. The device comes with basic specifications but lacks the 4G LTE connectivity. It runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with customized Amigo 3.1 UI overlaid. The P5W features a 5-inch HD (1280 x 720) IPS display and comes powered by a 1.5GHz MediaTek MT6735 quad-core processor.

It has 1GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage that can be further expanded upto an additional 16GB. On the camera front, the device has a 5MP sensor on the back with an LED flash and 2MP selfie shooter. The device comes backed by a 2,000mAh battery that can be expected to give not more than a day of usage. It sports a single stereo speaker, and it also supports DTS 3D Surround sound technology.