While one of India’s biggest festivals just went by, the festive season isn’t close to the end. With Christmas and New Year’s coming up, festive décor is still all the rage, and smart lighting has become one of the most effective ways to refresh your home ambience. These appliances are practical, energy-efficient and increasingly integrated with voice assistants or smart home ecosystems. So here’s everything you should know about them.
Qubo Smart Bulb
What to Look for Before You Buy Smart Lights
In the Indian market, choosing the right smart lights involves more than just picking a brand and colour. First, check for compatibility with your existing voice assistant, like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Seamless integration makes it easy to control lights by voice or schedule. Many Indian smart lighting brands now offer voice control and scheduling features.
You should also look for connectivity options (Wi-Fi vs Bluetooth) and whether the bulb requires a hub. Some brands like Philips Hue expect you to add a bridge, while others are “plug-and-play”. Versatility is another big aspect to consider, like color hues, brightness levels, and app features like scene creation or sync with music make a big difference during celebrations.
Top Smart Light Picks for India
Philips Wiz 9 W Wi‑Fi Smart LED Bulb: A strong premium choice, backed by Philips’ brand reliability and app + voice-assistant support. Great for living rooms where quality and ecosystem stability matter.
Mi Smart LED Colour Bulb B22: A value brand offering full-colour capability, decent brightness and minimal setup. Ideal if you want an easy upgrade without huge spend.
Wipro Garnet 9 W Smart LED Bulb: An India-based brand focussing on affordability and practicality. Good for rooms where you want smart control without premium pricing.
Qubo Smart Bulb 12 W E27 LED: A mid-tier option with slightly higher wattage, decent app control and decent colour options. For users who want a step up in brightness.
Orismart WiFi 16‑Million Colours LED Bulb: A strong “value colour” choice that is ideal for accent lighting, decorative setups, or places where you want the festive light-effect more than maximum brightness.
How These Fit the Festive Season
During festivals, homes often shift from ordinary lighting to decorative and mood lighting. Smart bulbs give you flexibility, create warm white scenes for dinner, bright white for cleaning/organising, or vibrant colour scenes for celebration. Many apps allow scheduling so lights can auto-dim or shift tones as evening begins. We already covered the Diwali tech essentials a while back, and these options are also great for upcoming festivals like Christmas. The end of the year usually also brings family time and big dinners, which can be further enhanced with the right lighting.
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Over the last couple of weeks, reports of the next Xbox started circulating online. While Microsoft has failed to compete with Sony’s PlayStation in the console wars, the brand isn’t giving up on consoles yet. Xbox as a platform is evolving, and the next console could be leading this charge as it combines PC gaming, cloud gaming, and other aspects. So here’s everything we know about the next Xbox.
When it might arrive
Most credible leaks and reporting point to a release window that could be between 2026 and 2027. Microsoft could be planning on launching the next Xbox sometime in 2027 or as early as late 2026. This new console is reportedly in the works at the moment, with rumors hinting at the upcoming Xbox hardware being in late stage development. If this is true, the expected release timeline puts Microsoft on a roughly seven year update cycle, which is in line with the previous generation.
Hardware
Under the hood, the biggest change will likely be a jump to much more powerful custom AMD silicon. Multiple sources point to an upgraded Magnus APU, which pairs Zen 6 CPU cores with RDNA 5 graphics hardware. This powerful combination might allow the next Xbox to hit 4K/120fps performance and advanced ray tracing while also enabling PC level features like AI acceleration and broader driver support.
Rumors even suggest a beefier memory subsystem (wider bus and GDDR7 in some leaks), which would let Microsoft push higher fidelity assets and better frame-rate targets. So simply put, the latest Xbox console would offer a major jump in performance over the Xbox Series X.
It’s more than just one console
Microsoft has been clear with its plans for the Xbox name. The focus isn’t on making new hardware/consoles, but also expanding cloud gaming, the Xbox Game Pass gaming library and its accessibility, and even via strategic collaborations. An example of such a partnership is with ASUS, which recently released the ROG Xbox Ally series of gaming handhelds that launched with special optimizations that made it closest to an actual portable Xbox console.
Soon, these hardware partners might also launch TV units and other Xbox Ally-like consoles, which would help bring “Windows in the living room” vision. It remains to be seen how the next Xbox fits in all of this, but it will likely arrive as a “true” Xbox experience, blending PC gaming level hardware with a TV console experience.
Software & ecosystem changes
Perhaps the most strategic shift is software openness. Microsoft has publicly signaled its next Xbox won’t be locked to a single store. Rather, games could be sold across multiple storefronts, with another focus on backward compatibility with the entire Xbox library.
Combine that with Game Pass, cloud streaming ambitions and tighter Windows integration, and the next Xbox is less a single product and more a distributed gaming ecosystem. For consumers, this could mean more choice about where to buy games and smoother cross-device play, assuming platform partners and publishers cooperate.
What this means for gamers
If the leaks and early statements are accurate, gamers should expect three practical outcomes: first, significantly higher peak performance for native console titles (4K/120 and better ray tracing); second, a broader set of Xbox-branded hardware options so you can pick the device that fits your use case; and third, a more open marketplace that might reduce friction when buying games across devices. However, these upgrades likely come at a cost, with the most immediate being a more premium price tag.
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Following the surprise release of the Moto Edge 70, Motorola has now unveiled the Moto X70 Air as its latest thin smartphone in China. This is a mid range smartphone with a premium new design, so let’s check it out.
Meet the Moto X70 Air: Slim Phone with Solid Hardware
Moto X70 Air
Apart from the name, the Moto X70 Air is basically the China exclusive version of the new Edge 70. So it also sports a 6.67-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1.5K resolution, 4500 nits of peak brightness, and Gorilla Glass 7i for protection. Under the hood, the Moto X70 Air is equipped with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC, which is paired with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage.
Despite its slim 6mm body, the Moto X70 Air houses a sizeable 4,800mAh battery pack that supports 68W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging. The body also weighs just 159 grams and comes with an IP68 + IP69 rating for water and dust resistance. For optics, the rear has a 50MP dual camera setup, while the front houses a 50MP selfie shooter. Other notable features include stereo speakers and Android 16 OS out of the box.
Mtoto X70 Air
Motoroal just announced the Moto X70 Air model in China for an introductory price tag of 2,399 Yuan for the 12GB + 256GB starting variant. On the other hand, the 12GB + 512GB version will carry a 2,699 Yuan price tag. You can purchase this model in multiple color options.
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The Wiko X70 has officially been launched in China. This model was just announced in the region, with some features not commonly found in budget phones. You also get a bunch of other capable features as well, so here are all the details.
Wiko X70: What makes it special?
The Chinese brand has officially announced the Wiko X70, with support for satellite connectivity that is powered by BeiDou. It works independently of a cellular signal, so you don’t need a mobile connection. This is a feature often found in top of the line flagship smartphones and can be useful in emergency situations. On the front, the device sports a tall 6.7-inch OLED display with an FHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and Kunlun glass.
Wiko X70
For optics, the rear has a 50MP main camera, while the front houses a 32MP shooter for selfies and video calls. The Wiko X70 features an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance. A massive 6,100mAh battery pack powers this model, which supports up to 40W wired fast charging. Other notable features include dual SIM support, a USB 2.0 port, and a slim 7.6mm body.
Huawei just announced the Wiko X70 in three color options in China, namely black, white, and light green. It is also available in three storage configurations, which include 8GB + 256GB, 12GB + 256GB, and 12GB + 512GB. This model has a 1,599 Yuan price tag, which is roughly 224 US Dollars.
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The Vivo X300 Pro recently made its debut as the brand’s latest flagship smartphone in China. Now, this model is getting a wider release, with the premium camera phone arriving in Europe along with its exclusive photography kit. So here’s everything you need to know.
Vivo X300 Pro Hits the Global Market
Similar to the base Vivo X300, the company unveiled the Vivo X300 Pro in Europe with one major change, which is the battery capacity. It is also seeing a downgrade from a 6,510mAh cell to a 5,440mAh battery in the global variant. But apart from this, you still get a tall 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 1.5K resolution, 1.1mm uniform bezels, and a 120Hz refresh rate.
Vivo X300 Pro
Under the hood, the Dimensity 9500 powers this model, promising smooth performance in gaming, AI tasks, and everyday workloads. The main highlight is still the cameras, which include a 50MP Sony LYT-828 sensor (1/1.28″, f/1.57), paired with a 50MP Samsung JN1 ultra wide (1/2.76″) and a 200MP Samsung HPB telephoto (1/1.4″) for detailed zoom shots. For selfies and video calls, the front houses a 50MP JN1 sensor (with autofocus). Vivo is continuing its collaboration with Zeiss for the camera system on its latest flagships.
Other notable features include Android 16 OS based OriginOS 6 custom skin out of the box, stereo speakers, an IP68 + IP69 rating for water and dust resistance. This time around, Vivo is even introducing its photography kit outside of the Chinese market. This is basically a telephoto lens extender, offering Zeiss 2.35x zoom. This model is also available in only a single 16GB + 512GB storage option, which costs 1,399 Euros.
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Following its Chinese debut from earlier this month, the Vivo X300 is now hitting the global market. The brand’s next gen flagship smartphones have officially been unveiled in Europe, carrying a hefty price tag and an unfortunate downgrade. So let’s check it out.
Vivo’s X300 Arrives in Europe: Heavier Price But Smaller Batteries
The Chinese tech giant’s base X300 model also comes with MediaTek’s latest and greatest Dimensity 9500 SoC. It sports a relatively compact 6.31-inch BOE Q10+ LTPO AMOLED display with a 1.5K resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, 1.05mm uniform bezels, and an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. The Chinese variant of the Vivo X300 packed a large 6,040mAh battery pack, but the global version is getting a noticeably smaller 5,360mAh battery in EU.
Vivo X300 5G Halo Pink
Although, you still get support for 90W wired fast charging and 40W wireless fast charging. The rest of the specs remain identical as well, so you still get Zeiss triple camera lenses on the rear with three 50MP cameras, and a 50Mp selfie shooter on the front. This model also runs on the Android 16 OS based OriginOS 6 custom skin out of the box. Other notable features include Bluetooth 5.4, IP68/69 rating for water and dust resistance, and dual stereo speakers.
The Vivo X300 was just announced in the European market in a single 12GB + 256GB storage configuration, which costs 1,049 Euros. To recall, the same variant in China costs 4,399 Yuan, which is nearly half the EU pricing. It is also listed in two color options, namely Phantom Black and Halo Pink.
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DJI has officially unveiled the Neo 2, a compact but highly capable drone. This palm sized drone features various upgrades over its predecessor, high resolution recording, improved stabilization, and much more. So here are all the details.
What’s special about DJI’s new mini drone?
The popular drone maker just announced the Neo 2 model in its home market of China. This release also arrives just ahead of the DJI Neo 2’s global release, which is tipped for November 13. The Neo 2 is slightly larger and heavier than the original Neo, measuring 151 grams in weight (160 grams with the Digital Video Transmission Module attachment). In comparison, the DJI Neo featured a 135 gram body. But despite the added heft, it offers a similar flight range and speed.
DJI Neo 2
Under the hood, this tiny drone is powered by a 1,606 mAh (11.5 Wh) battery pack and features a built-in storage of 49GB. DJI equips the Neo 2 with a 1/2-inch camera sensor with a 119.8 degree FOV, f/2.2 aperture, and 4K/60 or 4K/100 fps video recording options, with a peak video bitrate of 80Mbps. The compact drone features dual axis gimbal for improved image stabilization, along with gesture controls, and an omnidirectional obstacle avoidance system that uses the front facing LiDAR sensor.
The DJI Neo 2 was just announced in China for 1,499 Yuan (roughly 211 US Dollars), marking a 200 yuan increase in price. Users can even buy the drone along with the batteries and a charging case for 1,999 Yuan, while the bundle with the RC-N3 controller costs 2,499 Yuan. Lastly, one can even buy the Motion 3 controller and Goggles N3 with the drone for 3,699 Yuan.
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Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana opened up at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 about the vandalism of its cars and how the company pushes back on government surveillance requests.
The company's so-called Pathfinder software can look at almost anything — buildings, tree-lined roads, even aerial views — and quickly match it to a database and generate real-time navigation.
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