Camera megapixel war in smartphones: Picture perfect or just a gimmick?

Agencies
October 22, 2019

In 2012, Nokia, which was at the top of the mobile industry, brought 808 PureView, a Symbian operating system (OS)-based smartphone with an insane 41MP camera that created quite a buzz.

Since then, Android-based smartphones started gaining traction and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) began adding more megapixels to the cameras to lure the crowd.

Now Chinese smartphone makers have sounded the bugle for a megapixel war and the users are in for some sweet deals as camera sensors grow in specifications at affordable price points.

In India, Realme, which initially started off as a subsidiary of Chinese handset maker OPPO, became the first to introduce a 64MP camera smartphone -- Realme XT -- few weeks ago followed by Xiaomi, which has recently unveiled its Redmi Note 8 Pro with 64MP.

Samsung has even created a 108MP sensor for upcoming smartphones.

As many as 50 per cent of smartphones sold globally will have three or more camera sensors by the end of 2021, says Counterpoint Research.

According to industry experts, it is an attempt by the brands to differentiate themselves from competition and remain at the top of the consumers' mindshare.

"It should be seen as a marketing plank, which enables brands to showcase innovation for a feature which is important for smartphone consumers these days," Navkendar Singh, Research Director-Devices and Ecosystem, India & South Asia, International Data Corporation (IDC) told IANS.

These numbers indicate the availability of the sensor size at a cost that can let smartphone brands bring it in a model at affordable price points.

"In early 2020, we should expect launches with 92MP and 108MP in the market. Beyond a certain megapixel capability, a normal consumer cannot feel the difference in the photograph purely from a megapixel viewpoint," Singh noted.

According to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi was at the second spot with a 17 per cent share in the Rs 15,001-Rs 20,000 price segment in India in Q2 2019, while Realme ranked sixth with 6 per cent share in the same period.

However, Realme inched up to the fourth position with 12 per cent market share, whereas Xiaomi slipped to the fifth spot with a share of 9 per cent in July-August.

"In Q2 2019, 14 per cent smartphones shipped with 48MP lens cameras and 70 per cent with two or more rear cameras.

"However, merely adding a bigger megapixel sensor does not determine higher picture quality," Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research told IANS.

There are multiple factors, such as the lens, the size of the aperture, Image Signal Processor (ISP), software algorithms, AI, etc. which come into play while determining the quality of the picture.

"The tech advancements, exemplified by Samsung eISOCELL Bright GW1', the 64MP image sensor, used by the likes of Realme and Xiaomi, are essentially pushing the envelope for better, low light HDR photography and brighter, detailed photographs mimicking very closely the human eye vision," Prabhu Ram, Head, Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, told media.

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Agencies
March 10,2020

New Delhi, Mar 10: Crisis-hit Yes Bank on Tuesday said that it has enabled inward IMPS and NEFT services.

The move allows people to send money from other bank accounts to their Yes Bank account through IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) and NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) mode.

In a tweet, the bank also said that Yes Bank customers can pay their credit card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts.

"Inward IMPS/NEFT services have now been enabled. You can make payments towards YES BANK Credit Card dues and loan obligations from other bank accounts. Thank you for your co-operation. @RBIA @FinMinIndia," said tweet.

Last week Yes Bank was placed under moratorium and a withdrawal cap of Rs 50,000 was imposed till April 3.

The administrator of Yes Bank, Prashant Kumar and Rajnish Kumar, the Chairman of the State Bank of India are hopeful that moratorium would be lifted within a week.

As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) draft reconstruction scheme for the crisis-hit private lender, the SBI will take up 49 per cent in the bank by investing Rs 2,450 crore.

The new board of directors will stand constituted from the appointed date. It will comprise a CEO and MD, non-executive chairman and non-executive directors. The SBI will have nominee directors appointed on the board of the reconstructed bank.

The RBI may appoint additional directors to the board, who shall continue in office for one year, or until an alternate board is constituted by Yes Bank.

The SBI will not reduce its holding below 26 per cent before completion of three years from the date of infusion of the capital.

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Agencies
June 9,2020

Soon, you may be able to withdraw cash from an ATM without touching any part of the machine. AGS Transact Technologies, a provider of cash and digital payment solutions and automation technology, on Monday said it has successfully developed and tested a touchless ATM solution in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ‘contactless' solution, currently under demo at interested banks, enables a customer to perform all the steps required to withdraw cash from an ATM using the mobile app itself. 

The customer simply has to scan the QR code displayed on the ATM screen and follow the directions on their respective bank's mobile application. 

This includes entering the amount and mPIN required to dispense the cash from the ATM machine. 

According to the company, the QR code feature makes cash withdrawals quicker and more secure, and negates the chances of compromising the ATM Pin or card skimming.

"The new Touchless ATM solution is an extension of the flagship QR Cash solution which ensures safety of the users and will provide a seamless cash withdrawal experience with enhanced security," said Ravi B. Goyal, Chairman and MD, AGS Transact Technologies Ltd.

With minimum investment, the banks can enable this solution for their ATM networks by upgrading the existing software.

AGSTTL has so far installed, maintained and managed a network of over 72,000 ATMs across the country and also provides customised solutions to leading banks. 

The company earlier introduced UPI-QR based Cash withdrawal solution in partnership with Bank of India. 

This is how the solution works.

Open the Bank mobile application on your smartphone and select QR Cash Withdrawal. Enter the amount you wish to withdraw on the mobile app and scan the QR code on the ATM screen.

Next, confirm the amount by clicking on ‘proceed' in the app and enter the mPin to authenticate the transaction. Now collect the cash and receipt and you are done.

"The seamless, cardless and touchless withdrawal method is designed to provide easy transaction flow, without the need to touch the ATM screen or enter the pin," said Mahesh Patel, President and Group Chief Technology Officer, AGS Transact Technologies.

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Agencies
June 26,2020

Facebook will introduce a new notification screen on its platform that will warn users if the article they are about to share is over 90 days old, the company announced on Thursday.

“We’re starting to globally roll out a notification screen that will let people know when news articles they are about to share are more than 90 days old,” Facebook wrote in a blog post.

The social media platform had previously introduced a context button in 2018 that provides information about the sources of articles in the News Feed. Building upon that, the new feature will inform users about the timeliness of the article.

“To ensure people have the context they need to make informed decisions about what to share on Facebook, the notification screen will appear when people click the share button on articles older than 90 days, but will allow people to continue sharing if they decide an article is still relevant,” Facebook said.

The social media giant stated that timeliness is important in understanding the context of an article and curbing the spread of misinformation on the platform.

“News publishers, in particular, have expressed concerns about older stories being shared on social media as current news, which can misconstrue the state of current events. Some news publishers have already taken steps to address this on their own websites by prominently labelling older articles to prevent outdated news from being used in misleading ways,” Facebook added.

Apart from this, the platform will also be testing a similar notification screen for information related to the global Covid-19 pandemic. The notification screen will provide information about the source of the link shared in a post if the link is related to information on Covid-19. It will also direct people to its previously introduced Covid-19 information centre for “authoritative” health information, it said.

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