As this week winds down, the tech industry shows no signs of slowing. This past week was packed with launches, teasers, and major announcements from some of the biggest brands in the game. From Redmi’s controversial Note 14 series to vivo’s hyped X200 series to MediaTek gearing up for a new launch, there’s plenty to unpack. Let’s dive into this week’s biggest highlights, including software updates, e-commerce changes, and more.
Launches
Redmi Note 14 Series Launched in India:
- Note 14: Dimensity 7025, starts at ₹19,000.
- Note 14 Pro: Dimensity 7300, better durability, and downgraded main camera, starts at ₹25,000.
- Note 14 Pro Plus: Adds 2.5x telephoto camera, starts at ₹31,000.
Read more here.
Redmi Buds 6: TWS earbuds with ANC and dual drivers launched for ₹2999 in India.
realme Buds 3: Wired earphones launched with Type-C connectivity, 9mm bass driver, and mic. Not compatible with iPhones or a lot of Samsung devices.
Motorola G35 Launched: Priced at ₹9,999. Features: Unisoc T760 chipset, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB storage, 6.7-inch 120 Hz display, 5000 mAh battery, 18W charging. Read more here.
vivo X200 Series Launched in India:
- X200 with Dimensity 9400, 50 MP + 50 MP + 50 MP 3x rear, 32 MP selfie, 5800 mAh battery, and 90W, starting at ₹65,999.
- X200 Pro with Dimensity 9400, 50 MP + 50 MP + 200 MP 3.7x rear, 32 MP selfie, 6000 mAh battery, 90W charging, at ₹94,999.
- Read more here.
Huawei Mate X6: Foldable device now available globally at €2000.
iQOO 13 Sale: The device was apparently sold out. It was launched for ₹54,999 (effective price ₹51,999 after offers).
Upcoming Launches
HONOR GT Phone: Yes, this is launching on December 16 in China with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 50 MP OIS main camera, and 12 GB RAM.
realme 14 Pro Series: Teased on December 9, the realme 14 Pro series will be launching soon. It will be powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 SoC, as per the teaser and a Geekbench listing. Leaker Yogesh Brar has also confirmed the camera specifications of the realme 14 Pro+, which is going to be the same as the realme 13 Pro+: 50 MP LYT701, 50 MP W periscope, 8 MP ultra-wide, 32 MP selfie. Read more here.
realme 14x Launch: Launching on December 18 with Dimensity 6300 5G and IP69 rating. Read more here.
MediaTek Dimensity 8400 Launch:
- Launching December 23.
- Specs: 1x core at 3.25 GHz, 3 cores at 3.0 GHz, 4 cores at 2.1 GHz, and Immortalis G720 7-core GPU
- First devices: Redmi Turbo 4 and POCO X7 Pro (India).
POCO M7 Pro: Launching December 17 with Dimensity 7025 Ultra, HyperOS Android 14, 2 + 4 OS updates, 48-month lag-free experience, and 50 MP f/1.5 main camera.
Lava Blaze Duo: The Amazon listing and teaser are already out. It will launch with Dimensity 7025, 8 GB RAM, and dual AMOLED screens, like the Lava Agni 3.
Lava O3 Pro: Rebranded version of the Lava Yuva 4 with the Unisoc T606. It’s listed on Amazon India at ₹6,999 with 5,600 mAh battery.
Leaks
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Flip FE: Expected with Exynos 2500 chipset.
One UI 7.1 to come with an AI Audio Eraser feature, allowing to adjust the volume/mute different kinds of sounds like people, nature, music, etc. Read more here.
POCO X7 Neo: Spotted on Geekbench with Dimensity 7025 and Android 14.
Google Pixel 9a Specs Leak: Smaller 1/2-inch main camera sensor, G4 chipset, 5100 mAh battery, same bezels, and no camera visor. Read more here.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Camera specs spotted: 23.2 mm focal length, 12.5 MP output, which is the same 200 MP sensor as the S24 Ultra. Read more here.
Apple Watch Ultra 3: Rumored to include satellite messaging; may launch with the iPhone 17 series.
Xiaomi Pad 7: The Xiaomi Pad 7 was teased at the Redmi Note 14 launch event, and it’ll soon be coming to India. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 SoC. No Pad 7 Pro for India, though.
Updates
New feature on Pixel devices: 80% charge limit enables bypass charging as a side effect. It works only if your device is getting charged, has the 80% limit turned on, and the limit exceeds. Read more here.
OnePlus Software Updates: Oxygen OS 15 stable update released for OnePlus 11 and Open. OnePlus 11R to get the OxygenOS 15 update soon.
Nothing OS 3.0 Beta: Nothing OS 3.0 Beta is now released for CMF Phone (1), Nothing Phone (2a) Plus and Phone (1).
Nothing OS Gallery App is now available on the Play Store for NothingOS 2.6 and above devices.
iOS 18.2 Released: Stable iOS 18.2 has been rolled out to iPhones with features including Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools enhancements, and Siri with ChatGPT.
Samsung’s XR Headset: A new XR headset by Samsung, made in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm. It looks very similar to the Apple Vision Pro. It’s mostly a productivity-first headset that runs on Google’s Android XR software. It is likely to be announced at the Galaxy S25 series launch event. The commercial release is expected to happen after that.
Google Gemini 2.0: Multimodal image/audio output and agentic AI is out now. Read more here.
Google’s Willow Quantum Chip: It’s a new leap in supercomputers: it can do a computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years (10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000). Although it’s not yet for real-world usage, Google has released a roadmap that could make it viable in the near future.
WhatsApp Updates:
- New feature: Call a specific person in a group without alerting others.
- Channel updates translation and image layout UI in testing.
Misc
A user’s CMF Phone 1 exploded, leading to one fatality and an injury. The company is yet to issue a statement on this. Read more here.
iPhone 17 Air mass production has started, indicating the launch is next year, alongside the iPhone 17 series.
iPhone 14 and iPhone SE to stop selling in the EU.
vivo’s Jovi Sub-Brand: Aimed at affordable pricing and clean UI. Devices registered include Jovi V50, V50 Lite, and Jovi Y39 5G. Global launch slated for the coming months. Read more here.
E-Commerce Changes:
- Amazon: ₹7 handling fee for cash-on-delivery payments.
- Flipkart: ₹50 return charge and ₹20 cancellation charges.
- Myntra: ₹20 cancellation charges.
Amazon to start its 15-minute quick commerce service called Tez.
Samsung Highlights:
- Galaxy S26 Series: Rumored return of Exynos.
- Galaxy Ring: New sizes (14 and 15).
And.. that’s a wrap for this week.
