APUS Launcher Review

APUS Launcher which was launched recently, has already garnered over a million downloads.It boasts of being the fastest and smallest launcher.

"APUS Launcher, the smallest launcher in the world with only 1MB; the fastest launcher for app organization and recommendation."

Let's find out whether this is true!

Apus launcher is a clean,simple,neat and definitely a fast and lightweight launcher.It draws inspiration from IOS and is single dimensional and does not have an app drawer.To avoid the homescreen from turning into a mess,APUS automatically groups all similar apps together and creates various folders based on their functions.It groups the applications into various folders like Game,Media,Communication,News,Tool etc.Once you open any folder,APUS also smartly recommends various  popular applications similar to the ones already installed on your phone.It also puts the most frequently used apps on your homescreen,so that you don't need to waste time searching for them.Pretty neat!!

APUS also adds a permanent widget to your notification bar,which is pretty useful.The Launcher isn't very customizable and offers only the basic features.But customization isn't really its goal.It aims at reducing RAM usage and providing a small and fast launcher and definitely does get that right.It also uses very little juice and hence your phone lasts a bit longer.

To sum it up,Apus is fast,smart and small and does what it's supposed to do.People low on storage and RAM will absolutely love it.The only problem is with it being one dimensional,but with the smart folders,Apus ensures that the homescreens are clutterless.Also,this is not the app for people who love to customize,and one cannot expect those features in an app as small as this.I recommend this app to everyone who wants a launcher which is Small and Fast and  something that just works!!

Link-Play Store

Xiaomi in India

It has recently been a trend for Chinese Manufacturers to enter India,as it opens up a huge market.Following suit,Xiaomi,touted as China's equivalent of Apple recently announced on July 15th that they would be entering the Indian market from July 22nd with the arrival of their flagship MI3,and other phones like the Redmi Note and the Redmi 1s to follow.

Xiaomi like many other manufacturers of late has gone Flipkart exclusive.

Xiaomi first announced that the MI3 will be available on Flipkart from July 22 onwards for Rs13,999.They will follow a registration-buy system just like they do in other countries i.e only people who register to buy the phone will be allowed to purchase it on a specific date.

The specs of the MI3 are as below:

Chipset
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 8274AB
CPU	XT 712
GPU	Adreno 330

Camera
Camera (back)	13 Megapixels
Aperture	f2.2
Wide-angle	28mm
Flash	dual-LED
Camera (front)	2 Megapixels
Sensor type	Stacked CMOS Both cameras (front and back) support 1080p HD video recording

Battery
Capacity	3050mAh lithium-ion battery

Display
Display	5-inch Full HD 1080p LCD touch display
IPS	IPS Retina display manufactured by Sharp or LG
PPI	441
Resolution	1920x1080 FULL HD
Touch sensor	Supported

RAM
RAM	2GB RAM
Flash Memory	16 GB

Xiaomi are known for their competitive and aggressive pricing and they have followed the same strategy in India.These kind of specs are usually found on phones which are priced above Rs30,000.The MI3,on benchmarks,performs better than even the ~Rs38000 priced Samsung Galaxy Note 3.Therefore at Rs13,999,the MI3 is a steal and will definitely be most sought after for.

Xiaomi also announced that their other smartphones,the Redmi 1S(Rs 6,999) and RedmiNote(Rs 9,999) will be launched soon.Both these phones have also been in great demand in China and Singapore with Xiaomi creating record sales.

Xiaomi  also introduced their popular MI power bank(5200 and 10400 mah) which will be released soon.

Xiaomi has come to India with strong intent and with a plan of attacking the mid-range and budget price categories and I'm sure they'll do well in the Indian Market as the phones are the best bang-for-buck.It's going to be very interesting to see the strategies of other companies now,as Xiaomi has blown away the competition and offer way more than the others.It's definitely heating up in the Smartphone Industry!!