Xiaomi 4th Mi Anniversary Sale to Begin on July 10: Major Offers, Deals Revealed

Having entered the Indian smartphone market four years ago with the launch of the Mi 3 smartphone, Xiaomi is celebrating its fourth Mi Anniversary in India by bringing a number of offers. The annual Mi Anniversary sale will kick off on the Mi.com website on July 10 and run till July 12. While the three-day Mi Anniversary sale will be live for regular customers from July 10 to July 12, priority access will be provided to Reward Mi members at 12 noon on July 9. Among other attractive deals, the Xiaomi sale will host Rs. 4 flash sales for the Mi LED Smart TV 4 (55-inch), Redmi Y2, Redmi Note 5 Pro, and Mi Band 2. There will also be discounts on handsets such as the Mi Mix 2 and Mi Max 2.

Xiaomi has also partnered with SBI, Paytm, and MobiKwik to offer instant discounts and cashbacks. Customers making purchases during the Mi Anniversary sale using an SBI credit card will receive a flat Rs. 500 discount on a minimum transaction of Rs. 7,500. Similarly, purchases of minimum Rs. 8,999 through Paytm are eligible for cashback worth Rs. 500. There is also a Rs. 1,000 cashback on flight booking and up to Rs. 200 cashback on movie tickets booking through Paytm. Furthermore, MobiKwik purchases are eligible for receiving 25 percent SuperCash (maximum worth Rs. 3,000).

Mi Anniversary flash sales

Xiaomi will host the Rs. 4 flash sales daily on Mi.com at 4pm between July 10 and 12. Under this sale, the company will offer the Redmi Y1, Mi LED Smart TV 4 (55 inches), Mi Body Composition Scale, Redmi Note 5 Pro, Redmi Y2 and Mi Band 2, all at Rs. 4.

Special discounts

Alongside the flash sales, Xiaomi is set to offer discounts on some of its key models during the Mi Anniversary sale. The Mi Mix 2 under the sale will be available at Rs. 27,999 (MRP Rs. 29,999), Mi Max 2 at Rs. 14,999 (MRP Rs. 15,999), Travel Backpack at Rs. 1,899 (MRP Rs. 1,999), Mi Earphones at Rs. 649 (MRP Rs. 699), and Mi Band 2 at Rs. 1,599 (MRP Rs. 1,799). Xiaomi has also offered a Travel Combo that includes the Mi Travel Backpack (worth Rs. 1,999) and Mi Selfie Stick Tripod (worth Rs. 1,099) together for Rs. 2,948. Similarly, the Mi Band HRX Edition (Rs. 1,299) along with Mi Band Strap Blue (Rs. 199) is available under a Lifestyle Combo at Rs. 1,398.

Limited-quantity offers

Xiaomi has also revealed some limited-quantity combo offers under the title of 'Blink & Miss Deals' that will take place at 6pm between July 10 and 12. The Redmi Note 5 and Mi VR Play 2 combo will be available at Rs. 9,999, while the Redmi Y1 and Mi Bluetooth Headset combo will go on sale at Rs. 8,999. Likewise, there will be the Mi Pocket Speaker and Mi Earphones Basic combo at Rs. 1,499, while the 10000mAh Mi Power Bank 2i and Mi Rollerball Pen combo will hit the Mi.com site at Rs. 899. All these combos will be limited to 200 units. Besides, there will be 50 units of the Mi Air Purifier 2 along with a Filter at Rs. 8,999.

Aside from the major offers, there will be coupons that will be available at 10am throughout the Mi Anniversary sale. These coupons will be available in denominations of Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 200, and Rs. 500 and will be valid on purchase of accessories with a minimum transaction value of Rs. 600. Xiaomi will also offer annual souvenirs to Mi VIP Club members and special giveaways for Platinum and Diamond Class members. Additionally, the Mi Anniversary sale will include Mi Exchange under which you can purchase a new Xiaomi smartphone in lieu of your old handset. The sale will also offer Mi Protect with a starting price of Rs. 469. Also, the sale will bring cases and protectors for your existing Xiaomi handset at a price starting at Rs. 29

SAMSUNG S9

Galaxy S9 price, release date and specs: Samsung confirms MWC launch for S9, S9 Plus

                                                                                 THE GALAXY S8 may have arrived on shelves mere months ago, but reports claim that Samsung has already started production of next year's flagship: the Galaxy S9. 

We've done some digging, and this isn't all we know about the so-called Galaxy S9, so we've rounded up everything we know about the handset so far. 

Specs- 5.8in / 6.2in QHD+ Super AMOLED curved display (570ppi / 529ppi)
- Android 8.0 'O'
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (US) / Samsung Exynos (UK)
- Cat 18 LTE support (1.2Gbps download speeds)
- Display embedded fingerprint scanner
- Dual rear-facing camera
- Bixby AI assistant with dedicated button
- USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack

Release dateSamsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will launch at MWC in February, where it will also spill details on the handset's release date. 

Price
There's no word yet on pricing for the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. If anything like the S8, expect handsets to fetch around £689 and £779 SIM-free.

Latest news 
10/1/17: Samsung's mobile boss DJ Koh has confirmed that the Galaxy S9 will launch at Mobile World Congress in February. Speaking during a press event at CES, attended by ZDNet, Koh said that the handset at the trade show in February with the sales date also to announced at the event.

8/1/17: A new leak courtesy of China's Weibo claims to have details on the RAM and storage configurations of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. If legit, expect the Galaxy S9 to be offered in two versions - one with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, and the other with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. The Galaxy S9 Plus will be offered with 6GB RAM as standard and will be made available with a choice of 64GB, 128GB or 256GB storage. The post also notes that Samsung could launch a 512GB model of the phone, but this likely will be "temporary" and offered in "select markets" only. 

3/1/18: The first hands-on images of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have appeared online (above), courtesy of Weibo (via Androidandme). The in-the-flesh snaps don't reveal much we don't already know, but appear to confirm rumours that the handsets will feature the same shiny, glass design as their predecessors, along with a repositioned fingerprint scanner. While the also Galaxy S9 on left has just one camera, the Galaxy S9+ on the right has a dual camera setup.

2/1/18: New renders of the Galaxy S9 (below) appear to confirm that the smartphone will, er, look near identical to its Galaxy S8 predecessor. The images, shared on Weibo, do suggest that some changes are coming though, including an iPhone-esque vertical dual rear camera, a repositioned fingerprint scanner and - despite earlier rumours - a 3.5mm headphone jack.