MediaTek Dimensity 1200, 1100 launched, Vivo Y31 launched

 It was an interesting day in the world of technology today. On one hand, MediaTek launched the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1100 SoC. On the other hand, Vivo launched the Y31 smartphone in India. In Addition to that, Microsoft today announced the entire list of games that will be available in Xbox Game Pass this month.

MediaTek Dimensity 1200, 1100 launched

MediaTek today launched the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1100 5G processors. These SoCs will be available in smartphones at the end of Q1 and the beginning of Q2 this year.

Vivo Y31 launched in India

Vivo today launched the Vivo Y31 smartphone with triple rear cameras, a 5,000mAh battery and Snapdragon 662 processor. It is priced at ₹16,490 in India and it comes in black and blue colour variants.

Airtel Play Safe launched

Bharti Airtel today introduced a new feature ‘Airtel Safe Pay’ to make digital payments more secure. The layer is in addition to the standard two-step verification process and it is free to use.

Microsoft announces Xbox Game Pass titles for 2021

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review

 The Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung’s vision of smartphone excess, with five cameras, a 108MP sensor, two telephotos cameras, 100x zoom, 5G, up to 16GB of RAM and S Pen stylus support – all packed into a single Android phone with a 6.8-inch 120Hz Quad HD display.

This is the first new Android phone we’ve tested in 2021, along with the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21 Plus, and it sets the bar high. Samsung has retooled the autofocus of its camera system to remedy the problems we had with last year’s Galaxy S20 Ultra, tweaked the specs and features for faster performance, and comes in at a significantly cheaper launch price.

It’s still mighty expensive to buy the S21 Ultra for most consumers – more than the iPhone 12 Pro Max even – but Samsung is offering a larger, brighter and more capable curved screen, 10x optical camera zoom (vs 3x), and stylus support, something Apple has yet to do on any iPhone. Depending on what’s important to you, Samsung may be offering more value for your money.

What’s the catch? We started out saying that the S21 Ultra is Samsung’s vision of excess. You’ll have to let go of what doesn’t fit into the company’s new roadmap. Gone is the microSD card slot for expandable storage, and you won’t find a charger inside the box. Like Apple before it, Samsung is citing e-waste as the reason this power brick is no longer included. 

If you just got over the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack in smartphones, brace yourself for more change. But all of the positives of the Samsung S21 Ultra offers to outweigh any minor discomfort for a phone that should land on our best phone page after further testing.

Samsung has set the Galaxy S21 Ultra release date for Friday, January 29 2021 after the phone was unveiled on January 14. Pre-orders for the handset are now live in the US, UK and Australia.