Xiaomi launches the ultra-affordable Redmi 3S in India

Xiaomi's ultra-affordable smartphone, the Redmi 3S, that was launched in China back in June, has now arrived in India. At a launch event streamed live on Xiaomi's community website as well as their social media accounts, the company's vice president (Global), Hugo Barra, showed off the different variants of the Redmi 3S and explained its features.

The Redmi 3S is an upgraded variant of the Redmi 3 and Xiaomi has mostly stuck to the same design this time around. The upgraded itineration does come with a refresh in terms of hardware though, with Qualcomm's new 64-bit class Snapdragon 430 octa-core SoC and Adreno 505 graphics engine powering the device, instead of the Snapdragon 616 octa-core processor and Adreno 405 GPU inside its predecessor.

Everything else remains the same, including a full metal body with a 5-inch HD screen, a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front facing shooter. What will definitely catch your eye is the whopping 4,100mAh battery packed inside the Redmi 3S, which the company boasts can provide up to two days of battery life with moderate usage.

You've got to hand it to hand it to Xiaomi for being able to pull of this engineering feat by packing such a huge battery inside a phone with a 5-inch screen, considering that its larger than the 3,200 mAh battery inside the Redmi Note 3 which features an even bigger screen of 5.5 inches. Xiaomi is obviously proud of this achievement and has even coined a slogan "Power At Last" for the Redmi 3S.

For the Indian market, Xiaomi is offering two variants of the smartphone, the Redmi 3S with 2GB RAM/16GB storage and the Redmi 3S Prime, with 3GB RAM/32GB storage, with both having storage expansion capabilities of up to 128 GB via a microSD card. Do be aware that the Redmi 3S Prime comes with a rear fingerprint sensor, which is not included in the regular Redmi 3S.

Xiaomi also announced that the new MIUI 8 will be coming soon to Redmi 3S, bringing exciting new features, such as the ability to take scrolling screenshots, calculate currency conversions, create dual app log-ins, or access split phone profiles. The company also plans to soon kick off a road show in India to promote the Redmi 3S.

As usual, Xiaomi is selling both the models at a price point that will prove very hard to beat for its rivals, with the Redmi 3 selling for approximately $105 (Rs 6,999) and the Redmi 3S Prime for about $135 (Rs 8,999).

If you're in the market for an affordable smartphone with a great battery life, you should go for this deal and could be among the lucky ones to pick up the device at a flash sale which kicks off on August 9 at 12 PM IST on the Xiaomi India website. Good luck!

Let us know in the comments below if you manage to get your hands on the Redmi 3S or the Redmi 3S Prime!

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15.2% of Android devices are now running Marshmallow

Android Developers

Google has updated its Android distribution chart for August, and while KitKat is still in the lead, Marshmallow's presence has increased to 15.2%. The team behind Android releases information on platform versions regularly to show the number of devices running a given version of the Android platform.

Android Developers

Compared to last month, the only two versions that saw an increase are Android 5.1 Lollipop and 6.0 Marshmallow. Android 5.1 increased by 0.6 percentage points and is now present on 21.4% of all active Android devices. Marshmallow, on the other hand, saw a more generous gain with a 1.9 percentage point increase. This means 15.2% of all active Android phones are running on the latest available Android version.

Although it may not be a huge increment, especially when compared to the 3.2 percentage point increase that Marshmallow saw last month, the general trend is looking pretty solid for Google.

It makes sense for older versions of Android to slowly and steadily phase out, and the distribution chart for August confirms just that: the presence of Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, and KitKat is continuing to decrease.

Currently, KitKat powers a majority of smartphones at 29.2%, but it should be only a matter of time until Lollipop and Marshmallow take the lead. Curiously enough, however, Froyo's meager 0.1% presence has doggedly stayed the same since last month: who on earth is still using a phone that runs on Android 2.2 Froyo?!

With Android 7.0 Nougat's launch allegedly just around the corner, we are happy to see that Marshmallow's market presence finally broke the 15% threshold.

See also: Is Android N starting to fix fragmentation?73

Which Android version is your phone running on? Are you amongst the 0.1% of Froyo users? Let us know your favorite version of Android by leaving a comment below!

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the first phone to use Gorilla Glass 5

Despite being made of glass, the Note 7 is looking to be a durable beast as far as everyday use will be concerned. It can plunge as far as five feet down into water and emerge unscathed, thanks to its IP68 certification. You can also drop it to the ground from the same height and the upcoming Galaxy Note 7's face will likely remain unblemished, thanks to Samsung's inclusion of Gorilla Glass 5 in the phablet's build.

Rumors had put Gorilla Glass 5 on the faces of both the Note 7 and the upcoming iPhone 7, and with today's announcement, Samsung has beat Apple to the punch. During the Note 7 announcement, Samsung confirmed that Gorilla Glass 5 will protect the Note 7's 5.7-inch sAMOLED display when the handset launches on Aug. 19. Gorilla Glass 5 is Corning's latest and toughest glass cover for mobile devices. Citing lab tests, the company says phone faces protected by Gorilla Glass 5 have an 80 percent chance of emerging unscathed after falling from heights of up to 1.6 meters of 5.25 feet.

The inclusion of Corning's latest glass cover might be big news for you if you're a millennial. A Verizon commissioned KRC Research study recently found that millennials drop their phones about four times each week on average, about twice as often as Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. That same KRC Research study found that about 43 percent of smartphone users considered dropping their handsets into water to be the most embarrassing way to damage their devices. If you feel the same, well the Note 7 and its water resistant build has you covered there too.

Elsewhere in the Note 7, Samsung has installed a microSD card slot so that you can add an extra 256GB of space to the phone's native 64GB of internal storage. The Android 6.0 Marshmallow device will also deliver a 12 MP rear shooter, 5 MP selfie cam, USB Type C connection, fast charging and wireless charging. For more details on the Note 7, be sure to check out our other hands on coverage. 

See also: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 officially announced: everything you need to know33

So what's the bigger deal for you: the Note 7's Gorilla Glass 5 cover, its expandable memory or its water-resistant build?

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Nexus 9 and Pixel C get Remix OS Marshmallow

The Pixel C has had a bit of a rough run. The device kind of landed in no-man's land upon its launch, nestling awkwardly in the wasteland between Tablet and Chromebook. One of the reasons that many people speculated that it was such a strange device is that the original intent for the Pixel C was supposedly to run Chrome OS. Now that supposed intent can be actualized with Remix OS, which is essentially the closest you can get to Chrome OS.

That's right. Jide's desktop-styled skin of Android has been updated to be more in alignment with Android Marshmallow and as such it is now available for the Pixel C. If you're interested in giving this OS a spin on your HTC Nexus 9, you can now do that too.

See also: Nexus 9 review: Google's best tablet yet isn't perfect101

If you want to see how your device feels with a more desktopy feel, head on over to Remix OS's Facebook announcement post to give it a whirl. This software is currently only available via torrents. If you need a walkthrough on how to get this running on your Nexus 9 or Pixel C, then Jide has put together a handy tutorial on how to flash Remix OS onto your device right over here.

What are your thoughts regarding the arrival of this desktop-themed version of Android arriving on the Nexus 9 and Pixel C? Will this give the Pixel C the balance that some feel it has lacked? Let us know your take in the comments below!

Next: Google Pixel C review23

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Get $400 of app purchases when you buy a Galaxy Note 7

As if the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 deal wasn't already sweet enough, the Korean tech titan is making it even sweeter still by packaging the device with their Galaxy Game Pack. This pack is worth approximately $400 and includes a wide variety of benefits that Samsung isn't particularly specific about.

See also: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs iPhone 6s Plus first look5

This Galaxy Game Pack seems similar to the one offered for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, meaning you can expect it to include in-app giveaways for games such as Hearthstone, Hungry Shark World, Hit, Need For Speed: No Limits, Vainglory, Olympus Rising, Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, Asphalt 8, and more.

Not only will you get access to top tier titles, but we are expecting bonuses to be made available in the form of in-app currencies and upgrades. Samsung also boasts that recipients of the Galaxy Game Pack will have access to "an easier redemption process" and "new user benefits."

We'll keep you posted on what exactly this package entails as we learn more, but for now it's probably worth noting that the promotion will launch on August 20 and will stay live through the end of January 2017. If you're picking up a Galaxy Note 7, make sure you take advantage of all the app-related goodies you're entitled to!

See also: This is the Samsung Galaxy Note 7130

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Galaxy Note 7 S View Standing Cover and Battery Pack hands on

At the launch of every flagship, manufacturers often announce a slew of new compatible accessories and Samsung is no different as, at the launch of the Galaxy Note 7, the company unwrapped a couple of accessories that it feels perfectly compliment your new smartphone.

What are the new accessories and are any of them worth buying? Let's take a look in this quick hands on.

Galaxy Note 7 S View Standing Cover

Yes, Samsung is back with another s view case for yet another smartphone but this one is slightly different. For what seems like the first time in several years, the S View case has got a physical upgrade (rather than software-based one) and it's actually not surprising that Samsung have taken this route.

Related: Best Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge cases28

Traditionally, the S View cover has always been a wrap-around case with a lid that covers the screen, but with the Galaxy Note 7 S View standing cover, there's also the addition of a back plate that wraps around the back of the Note 7. As a result, you can now use the cover to 'stand' your Galaxy Note 7 up while watching a film (or, anything really). Simple, easy and hopefully a change that sticks around.

Galaxy Note 7 Backpack charging case

For every new generation of iPhone, we see a slew of battery cases – but the choice is somewhat less when it comes to Android flagships. Mophie is one of the biggest manufacturers on the planet and offers battery cases for a lot of Android phones, but if you've been waiting for an official battery case, look no further: the Galaxy Note 7 Backpack is exactly this.

The Backpack moniker pretty much explains the design of this case and with a capacity of 3,100mAh, it holds enough capacity to charge your phone to around 70-75% from full. Yes, it has a capacity of 3,100 mAh and the Note 7 battery is 3,500mAh, but as Gary Explains, it's not quite as simple as that.

Hands on: This is the Samsung Galaxy Note 7129

Capacity aside, it's a cleverly designed case that, while adding a bit of bulk to the back of the Note 7, could easily be kept on your Note 7 permanently for a monstrous battery. For those that would prefer a thicker phone for the sake of a much larger battery, this case is the perfect accessory. For everyone else, it's great for those times when you're running low and don't have time to top up your battery.

The other accessories

Of course, Samsung hasn't only made two accessories for its new device but none of the others are new per se; although a new size (to fit the Galaxy Note 7), they are essentially the same accessories that were available with the Galaxy S7 Edge, and in some cases, with last year's Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6.

The accessories include:

• LED view cover with distinctive LED icons so you can customise notifications for quick and easy recognition
• Semi-transparent Clear View cover that aims to offer a stylish way to protect your phone
• Leather Cover made of a "premium leather finish" that has been "designed with the utmost attention to detail"
• The Keyboard Cover that aims to offer a pop-on physical keyboard for those that want one
• The Lens Cover which allows you to add interchangeable lenses to the back of the phone to help you "shoot like a pro without lugging around all that heavy gear".

Samsung is likely already working on other accessories and could introduce them later this year and of course, we can expect a range of third-party accessories to launch in various outlets and online in the next few months.

Recommended:

• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 officially announced: everything you need to know
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge First Look
• Galaxy Note 7 vs Galaxy Note 5 first look: the difference a year makes
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 iris scanner: here is how it works
• Note-worthy: Taking a closer look at the new Galaxy Note 7 S Pen

If you're looking for a case, protection or other accessory for your smartphone, are you going to buy Samsung's new official Note 7 accessories or wait for something else? Let us know your views in the comments!

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Facebook steals Snapchat “story” feature for Instagram

To be a person in these times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the most social and well-documented society imaginable. Forget the promise of innovation and diversification, for in the grim dark future there is only Facebook. Yes, as part of their ambition to become the one and only social medium, the friendly giant has announced that their image sharing platform Instagram has gained a "Story" feature that looks suspiciously similar to Snapchat's.

Stories on Instagram just launched earlier today. Essentially, they create a set of moments that will appear in a slideshow format, much like Snapchat stories, which can be viewed by your followers for up to 24 hours, much like Snapchat stories, and which then disappear without remaining on your permanent profile, all together now: much like Snapchat stories.

See also: Comedic video highlights the woes of being an 'Instagram Husband'2

Instagram designers say that this is to assuage concerns that you may be overposting. Now you don't have to worry about spamming your followers with ephemera; you can simply lump all of your thai food and cat selfies into your story and keep trucking.

What's more is that Instagram is giving you the ability to natively add text, stickers, and drawings to photos in your story. These features look very familiar for some reason, but we can't put our finger on it. Oh right, it was Snapchat.

Stories are now available on the latest version of Instagram which you can snag by clicking the button below. Is this a natural addition for Instagram or something that feels tacked on? Give it a spin, then let us know what you think in the comments below.

Get it in the Play Store Next: Court rules Snapchatting others in toilet stalls criminal after teen suicide37

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