OnePlus 6 price to cheaper iPhone, MIUI 9.5 update: Weekly tech round-up

The world of technology last week saw a few important developments like leaks on OnePlus 6, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, and pricing of the new Apple iPhone: Here is a weekly round-up of top tech stories

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With every successive generation, the prices of the OnePlus smartphone have increased. Yet, the company has managed to build smartphones at an effective cost much lower than other premium flagships. Now, the next iteration, the OnePlus 6, is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2018. But the phone’s purported price has been leaked on the web. The smartphone’s price, according to a price comparison sheet doing the rounds of the internet, will be more than its predecessor, but still be in range to give it an 'inexpensive flagship smartphone' tag. The screengrab of a slide uploaded on Chinese social media platform Weibo hints that the phone would cost $749. By comparison, the launch prices of the Apple iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy S9+ were $1517 and $1200, respectively. Based on the price comparison, it is safe to assume that the prices revealed are in Canadian dollar terms and, therefore, the phone would cost less in the United States – somewhere around $575. At this price, the OnePlus 6 costs slightly more than its predecessor, which had been launched at $559 in the US. ALSO READ: OnePlus 6 to be inexpensive flagship but cost more than predecessor

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Xiaomi is gearing up to announce the the Mi Mix 2S, the next iteration of its bezel-less smartphones, on March 27. Before the official launch, however, the phone’s official promo material has been leaked and it drops a few hints on what to expect from the device. Unlike the previous leak, which showed the bezel-less smartphone with all-screen display and a minute cut-out on the top-right corner for a selfie camera, the new leak shows an altogether new design, in line with the current breed of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2. Based on the new leak, the Mi Mix 2S would sport a Mi Mix 2-inspired design, with three-side bezel-less screen and a minimal bezel on the bottom. However, the front camera placement is not clearly visible and the phone might get a new space to host it. Xiaomi has also uploaded a video highlighting the advanced face-recognition capabilities of the upcoming smartphone. The video teaser shared on Chinese social media portal Weibo shows faces of famous artists like Van Gogh with an unlock symbol, suggesting the Mi Mix 2S would sport a facial recognition feature that would identify faces irrespective of the difference that comes to a face with beard and without, with a cap or without cap, etc. ALSO READ: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S to resemble bezel-less flagship Mi Mix 2

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The Apple iPhone X was the first smartphone that crossed the $1,000 price mark -- the smartphone was launched at $999 and $1149 for 64GB and $256, respectively. However, according to Digitimes research analyst Luke Lin, the company would launch a new 5.85-inch iPhone this year with OLED screen that would cost much lower than the iPhone X. According to Lin, who cited information from Apple's upstream supply chain, the next-generation iPhone’s manufacturing bill for materials will be over 10 per cent lower than that for the iPhone X. He added, that the MBOM of the iPhone X was more than US$400 in 2017. In the past, Lin also alleged that Apple was preparing for a new inexpensive smartphone similar to the iPhone SE for 2018, featuring the wireless charging functionality, but without 3D-sensing technology. ALSO READ: Cheap Apple iPhone: With 5.85-inch OLED, 2018 model to cost much less than iPhone X

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Chinese technology product maker Xiaomi on March 20 announced the rollout of its next iteration of Android-based operating system MIUI. Dubbed the MIUI 9.5, the Android-based OS global stable ROM would roll out to 30 of Xiaomi’s smartphones, including the recently launched Redmi 5, Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro. The rollout would take place in three batches, the first of which would get the over-the-air (OTA) update starting from the last week of March. The supported devices in the first batch include the Redmi Note 3 Special Edition, Redmi Note 3 Qualcomm, Redmi Note 4 Qualcomm/Redmi Note 4X, Mi Max, Mi Max Prime, Redmi 3S, Redmi 4 Prime, Redmi 4A and Redmi Note 4 MTK. The second batch of devices would get the update in early April and the supported devices are the Redmi Note 5A Prime/Redmi Y1, Redmi Note 5A/Redmi Y1 Lite, Redmi 5A, Redmi 5 Plus, Redmi Note 5, Redmi 5, Mi Max 2, Mi 5, Redmi 4X, Mi 6 and Mi MIX 2. The last batch of smartphones would get the update in mid-April. The supported devices in the last batch include the Mi Note 2, Mi 5s, Mi MIX, Mi Note 3, Mi 5s Plus, Redmi Note 2, Redmi 3, Redmi 4, Mi 3, Mi 4. Though the company has charted out a plan for the update, it has so far stated that the dates are estimated and likely to change.