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A 40-Minute Orbital Exclusive With Realme’s Madhav Sheth

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A 40-Minute Orbital Exclusive With Realme’s Madhav Sheth
Realme has been growing its presence in India by launching new devices on a regular basis. The company owned by China’s BBK Electronics has a range of smartphones to take on the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi. Alongside phones, it also offers various connected devices including smartwatches and truly wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds. Realme also recently ventured into apparel and personal care by introducing sweatshirts, t-shirts, caps, and even electronic toothbrushes and hair dryers. Earlier this week, Realme expanded its Realme GT flagship lineup in the country and launched the Realme GT Neo 2 as its most affordable offering in the new series.

On this week’s episode of Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital host Akhil Arora and Reviews Editor Jamshed Avari speak with Madhav Sheth, Vice President of Realme and Chief Executive Officer of Realme India, Europe, and Latin America, who takes us behind the scenes at Realme.

Sheth says that with the arrival of the Realme GT series, the company has departed its earlier Realme X family. The new series is, however, claimed to be built on the legacy of the Realme X lineup and is aimed to deliver a flagship-like experience at compelling price points.

Realme GT Review: An All-Rounder at the Right Price

“You will see very soon a lot of GT products coming in the portfolio from Realme,” Sheth says. He also indicates that the company is planning to bring new Realme GT phones next year with 125W fast charging support.

Unlike its other series, Realme is aiming to deliver a full-fledged, all-round experience through the Realme GT series, the executive tells us during the conversation.

“You do not pay the price for logos, you pay the price for the technology. And I think if you are paying for the price of the technology, you should feel it. And that’s what GT is all going to be about,” he mentions.

Realme GT series expanded with the addition of the Realme GT Neo 2 on Wednesday. The new Realme phone comes with features including a 120Hz display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC to compete against models such as the Samsung Galaxy M52 5G, Mi 11X 5G, and Poco F3 GT.

The Realme GT Neo 2 also comes with 5G connectivity and 65W fast charging. It is the third model in the Realme GT series after the Realme GT 5G and Realme GT Master Edition that is going on sale in India. Realme GT Neo 2 price in India starts at Rs. 31,999 for the base 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant and goes up to Rs. 35,999 for the 12GB + 256GB model.

Realme GT Neo 2 First Impressions: This One’s for the Gamer

Alongside the Realme GT series, Sheth talks about Realme’s ongoing research and development in India. He also touches upon the existing ‘Make in India’ move by manufacturers like Realme to localise their production in the country.

“Where India is at this point of time is all about assembly and the semi-manufacturing,” he says, adding that he is optimistic on seeing the country moving towards the direction of reaching complete local production over time.

Sheth also highlights the growth Realme achieved so far in the ongoing festive season sales. He says that the company managed to generate Rs. 3,500 crores of sales during the sale and became number one brand on Flipkart across product categories including smartphones, laptops, and audio and ANC (active noise cancellation).

Alongside online sales, Realme is planning to grow its offline presence in the country. Sheth says that there are plans to have 1,000 offline stores next year where it would showcase its entire ecosystem of products to consumers.

We also ask Sheth on how Realme is differentiating the experience while launching multiple products on a regular basis. He says that the aim of hosting a number of product launches is to grow the community.

“It’s not about whether we are launching so many products at the same time or where people are getting confused, but they are all different categories of products. We are giving more choices to the users. We are getting more options for the users to select from what their current portfolio is all about in the market,” he says.

Realme GT Neo 2T Colour Options Teased, Tipped to Be Launched in India Soon

Later, the Realme India chief also talks about why we’re seeing 5G phones all around despite the fact that telecom networks are yet to roll out their next-generation cellular services.

You can listen to our complete wide-ranging 40-minute conversation with Sheth by hitting the play button on the embedded player above.

Orbital is available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Gaana, JioSaavn, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Also, don’t forget to follow the Gadgets 360 podcast wherever you’re listening. Please rate us and leave a review.

New Orbital episodes release every Friday, so make sure to tune in each week.

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Apple to Face Lawsuit Claiming AirTags Are Weapon of Stalkers

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Apple to Face Lawsuit Claiming AirTags Are Weapon of Stalkers


Apple Inc. lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that its AirTag devices help stalkers track their victims. US District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco ruled Friday that three plaintiffs in the class-action suit had made sufficient claims for negligence and product liability, though he dismissed the others.

About three dozen women and men who filed the suit alleged that Apple was warned of the risks posed by its AirTags and argued the company could be legally blamed under California law when the tracking devices are used for misconduct.

In the three claims that survived, the plaintiffs “allege that, when they were stalked, the problems with the AirTag’s safety features were substantial, and that those safety defects caused their injuries,” Chhabria wrote.

Apple had argued it designed the AirTag with “industry-first” safety measures and shouldn’t be held responsible when the product is misused.

“Apple may ultimately be right that California law did not require it to do more to diminish the ability of stalkers to use AirTags effectively, but that determination cannot be made at this early stage,” the judge wrote in allowing the three plaintiffs to pursue their claims.

A spokesperson for the company didn’t immediately return an email requesting comment on the ruling.

Apple was accused in the case of negligently releasing the AirTag despite warnings by advocacy groups and others that the product would be re-purposed for surveillance. “With a price point of just $29 it has become the weapon of choice of stalkers and abusers,” according to the complaint.

Apple developed a feature that alerts users when an AirTag might be tracking them, but that and other safety measures aren’t enough, according to the suit.

Tile Inc. is facing similar allegations that its tracking devices connected to Amazon.com Inc.’s Bluetooth network lack adequate protections against stalking.

The case is Hughes v. Apple, Inc., 3:22-cv-07668, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

© 2024 Bloomberg LP


(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Panasonic Launches Matter-Enabled Room Air Conditioners in India

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Panasonic Launches Matter-Enabled Room Air Conditioners in India


Panasonic has launched its new lineup of air conditioners (AC) for 2024, which includes its range of Matter-enabled room ACs. Matter is a new universal standard of connectivity for smart home appliances that allows interoperability through brand-agnostic mobile apps. With this launch, Panasonic has become India’s first brand to launch ACs that follow this protocol. The Japanese brand has launched 60 models, including the Matter-enabled ACs in 1.0-ton, 1.5-ton, and 2.0-ton variants.

Announcing its lineup of ACs, Fumiyasu Fujimori, Managing Director, PMIN, Panasonic Life Solutions India, said, “The new line-up of ACs, comprising of India’s first Matter-enabled RACs will not only provide inter-operability but is simple to use, reliable and secure. By seamlessly connecting with other Matter-certified devices and platforms, they will facilitate a smarter and more efficient use of energy, optimizing comfort while minimizing environmental impact.”

The Matter-enabled ACs can be connected through the company’s Miraie app, which also adopts the same connectivity standard. Users can also use any other Matter-enabled app to control the appliance. These new models are available across major offline outlets, e-commerce platforms and through the company website.

What is Matter, the universal standard of connectivity for smart home appliances

In recent years, a big focus in the consumer tech space has been on interoperability and unified solutions. Last year, Xiaomi launched its HyperOS, which replaced the MIUI system to bring a single interface to connect and unify all its IoT devices. On the hardware side, Apple finally ditched the Lightning port in the iPhone 15 series in favour of the USB Type-C port to comply with the European Union’s new rules of bringing a unified port for all consumer electronic devices.

Matter is a similar protocol for software unification and connectivity of smart home and IoT appliances. The universal standard was brought up by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (formerly known as Zigbee Alliance), a group of more than 500 companies. The first time this protocol made the headlines was in 2019 when Apple, Google, and Amazon joined hands with Zigbee Alliance to create a single unified connectivity system for smart homes.

It solves a core issue for smart home owners, which is managing multiple apps to control the various smart appliances in the house. The situation has become similar to the late 90s and early 2000s when users were forced to keep multiple remote controls to use their appliances till universal remotes came about. Matter aims to mirror a similar solution through a networking protocol to connect compatible devices and systems regardless of their brand, model, or origin of manufacturing.

The universal connectivity standard focuses on a four-pronged solution. First is interoperability, which will allow users to buy any smart home appliance, from a smart TV to smart lights, without worrying about downloading its companion app to control it. The second is simplicity, as it ditches complex setup processes and offers a simple UI to connect all the devices in your home via WiFi. The third issue it tackles is security, as Matter uses an encryption system to ensure the data shared between the different devices are protected from any outsider trying to hack the user. Finally, it also addresses the reliability problem as the protocol is designed to evolve and adapt to newer smart devices that might be invented in the future.


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Amazon Great Republic Day Sale 2024: Best Amazon Devices Under Rs. 30,000

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Amazon Great Republic Day Sale 2024: Best Amazon Devices Under Rs. 30,000


Amazon Great Republic Day sale is now open to all customers, 12 hours after it began at midnight for Prime members. As part of the ongoing sale, Amazon is offering discounts on several products — including its own Kindle, Fire TV, and Echo devices. You can pick up an Amazon device during the company’s sale events at much lower prices, with discounts of up to 15 percent on Kindle readers and up to 60 percent off on Fire TV models.

As part of the ongoing sale on Amazon, customers can purchase the Echo Dot (5th Gen) for Rs. 4,949, down from the listed price of Rs. 5,499. Meanwhile, the Echo Dot (4th Gen) which is equipped with a clock, is currently priced at Rs. 3,749. For those looking to pick up an even more affordable smart speaker, the Echo Pop speaker is on sale for Rs. 3,449 (previously Rs. 4,999). The Echo Show 5 with a 5.5-inch display is currently priced at 5,999 instead of Rs. 8,999 during the sale.

If you’re looking to purchase a Kindle e-reader, you can pick up the standard model with a 6-inch display at Rs. 8,499 (previously Rs. 9,999). The Kindle Paperwhite and Paperwhite Signature model are priced at Rs. 13,999 and Rs. 17,999, respectively. You can also buy the Kindle Oasis (10th Gen) at Rs. 18,999 instead of its previous price of Rs. 21,999.

The Redmi 43-inch 4K LED Fire TV is currently priced at Rs. 24,500 (it was launched in India at Rs. 26,999). You can purchase the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote and Fire Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote at Rs. 2,999 (previously Rs. 4,999) and Rs. 3,999 (previously Rs. 5,999), respectively.

Product MRP Deal Price
Echo Dot (5th Gen) Rs. 5,499 Rs. 4,949
Echo Pop Rs. 4,999 Rs. 3,449
Echo Show 5 Rs. 8,999 Rs. 5,999
Kindle (6-inch) Rs. 9,999 Rs. 8,499
Kindle Oasis (10th Gen) Rs. 21,999 Rs. 18,999
Redmi 43-inch 4K LED Fire TV Rs. 26,999 Rs. 24,500
Fire TV Stick with Alexa Remote Rs. 4,999 Rs. 2,999
Fire TV Stick with Alexa Remote Rs. 3,999 Rs. 3,999


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Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2024 hub.



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