Thursday, August 2, 2018

BlackBerry Evolve and BlackBerry Evolve X launched in India with 4,000mAh batteries

RIM BlackBerry Logo Feature Image Cyan

Optiemus Infracom is the brand licensee of BlackBerry in India. The company makes BlackBerry-branded phones for India and neighboring markets. A week ago, the BlackBerry KEY2 was launched in India with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip and a hardware QWERTY keyboard for ₹42,990. Now, Optiemus Infracom has launched the BlackBerry Evolve and the BlackBerry Evolve X in India.

The BlackBerry Evolve is a "mid-range" phone powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, which is a budget system-on-chip. On the other hand, the BlackBerry Evolve X is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, which is a powerful upper mid-range SoC that powers phones such as the Xiaomi Mi A2, Nokia 7 Plus, Vivo X21, and others.

Let's take a look at the full specifications table of the BlackBerry Evolve and the BlackBerry Evolve X:

BlackBerry Evolve and BlackBerry Evolve X – Specifications at a glance

BlackBerry Evolve BlackBerry Evolve BlackBerry Evolve X
Specifications BlackBerry Evolve BlackBerry Evolve X
Software Android 8.1 Oreo Android 8.1 Oreo
SoC Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 (8x 1.8GHz Arm Cortex-A53 cores); Adreno 506 GPU Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 (4x 2.2GHz Arm Cortex-A73 + 4x 1.8GHz Arm Cortex-A53 cores); Adreno 512 GPU
RAM and storage 4GB of RAM with 64GB of storage; microSD card slot 6GB of RAM with 64GB of storage; microSD card slot
Battery 4,000mAh; Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, USB-C Power Delivery 4,000mAh; wireless charging; Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, USB-C Power Delivery
Display 5.99-inch Full HD+ (2160×1080) IPS LCD with 18:9 aspect ratio, 500 nits brightness 5.99-inch Full HD+ (2160×1080) IPS LCD with 18:9 aspect ratio, 500 nits brightness
Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Ports USB Type-C port (USB 2.0), dual nano SIM slots, 3.5mm headphone jack USB Type-C port (USB 2.0), dual nano SIM slots, 3.5mm headphone jack
Bands GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
HSPA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz
FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE
GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
HSPA: 850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz
FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE
Rear camera 13MP RGB camera with f/2.0 aperture, dual-tone LED flash

13MP monochrome camera, f/2.0 aperture

12MP primary camera with f/1.8 aperture
13MP telephoto camera with f/2.6 aperture, 1.0um pixels
Front-facing camera 16MP fixed focus sensor with f/2.0 aperture, 78-degree FoV, Tetra Pixel technology, real-time bokeh mode, and LED flash 16MP fixed focus sensor with f/2.0 aperture, 78-degree FoV, Tetra Pixel technology, real-time bokeh mode, and LED flash

The BlackBerry Evolve and the Evolve X have a series 7000 aluminium frame, and a textured plastic panel. The Evolve X supports wireless charging, and BlackBerry will sell its own wireless charging pad alongside the phone, but pricing details about the charging pad haven't been revealed yet.

Both phones have their fingerprint sensors placed on the back, and the sensors themselves are claimed to have an unlock time of 0.3 seconds. The phones are also the first BlackBerry-branded phones to have Face Unlock, which is said to unlock the phones in 0.4 seconds.

The differences between the BlackBerry Evolve and the BlackBerry Evolve X deal with the SoC and the rear cameras. The BlackBerry Evolve is powered by the Snapdragon 450, which is positioned as a low-end SoC. The same SoC powers phones such as the Xiaomi Redmi 5, which start at ₹7,999. In fact, more powerful phones such as the Realme 1 are also available starting for just ₹8,990. In terms of performance, the BlackBerry Evolve cannot compete against phones like the Xiaomi Mi A2, Nokia 7 Plus, and the Oppo F7.

The BlackBerry Evolve X, on the other hand, is powered by the significantly more capable Snapdragon 660 SoC. This SoC won't match the Snapdragon 835, but until the Snapdragon 710 arrives in more phones, it remains one of the best mid-range SoCs. The problem here is that the BlackBerry Evolve X competes with phones such as the OnePlus 6, the Asus ZenFone 5Z, the Honor 10, and the Huawei Nova 3 in terms of pricing. All of these phones have flagship SoCs such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or the HiSilicon Kirin 970, which means that the Evolve X can't compete on the basis of performance.

In terms of cameras, the BlackBerry Evolve has a RGB + monochrome setup with dual 13MP rear cameras, while the BlackBerry Evolve X has a 12MP primary camera coupled with a 13MP telephoto camera with f/2.6 aperture.

Software

The BlackBerry Evolve and the Evolve X come with BlackBerry Power Centre—an app that uses deep learning to analyze users' usage and optimize battery settings. The app also lets users modify RAM allocation for each app and create custom battery profiles as well.

Both phones feature built-in Dolby audio. The BlackBerry Evolve X supports Dolby Atmos. DTEK is included on both phones, and the BlackBerry Hub brings together communication apps into a single app to help users navigate through their social media accounts.

In terms of security, the BlackBerry Password Keeper app helps secure users' passwords in a vault and is also said to help in creating new secure passwords.

Pricing and availability

The BlackBerry Evolve will be available for ₹24,990 ($364) in India for the single 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant, while the BlackBerry Evolve X will cost ₹34,990 ($510) for the single 6GB RAM/64GB storage variant. The Evolve will go on sale by the end of August, while the Evolve X will be available starting mid-September. Both phones will be made available initially via Amazon India, but they will also be sold subsequently via offline retailers. Launch offers include benefits "worth ₹3,950" for Jio users and no cost EMI.

The BlackBerry Evolve X faces heavy competition from the OnePlus 6 in particular, which is the dominant phone in its price segment. The Asus ZenFone 5Z, the Honor 10, and the Huawei Nova 3 are all capable competitors as well. The Evolve, on the other hand, is far too low-powered in our view to pose serious competition to phones such as the Nokia 7 Plus and the upcoming Xiaomi Mi A2.

Let us know your opinions about the BlackBerry Evolve in the comments below.


Via: Gadgets 360



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