Tech Wrap Nov 18: OPPO Find X9 series, Kodak TVs, Dolby Vision on Instagram

OPPO launches Find X9 series. Kodak launches MotionX QLED TVs. Instagram now supports Dolby Vision on iOS. OnePlus 15R launch. ASUS ExpertCenter P500 SFF, P400 AiO series. iOS 26.2 beta 3

OPPO Find X9 series launched in India starting at ₹74,999

 

After the debut in its home country, Chinese smartphone maker OPPO has launched the Find X9 series in India on November 18. The series, comprising the Find X9 and Find X9 Pro, is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chipset. The Pro model sports a 6.78-inch display with a 7,500mAh battery, whereas the base model sports a 6.59-inch display with a 7,025mAh battery. The OPPO Find X9 series will be available from November 21.

 

SPPL launches Kodak MotionX QLED TV series

 

Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL), the official brand license for Kodak TVs in India, on November 18 launched Kodak MotionX series in 55-inch, 65-inch And 75-inch screen sizes. According to the company, the MotionX QLED range is capable of producing up to 1.1 billion colours and reaches 550 nits of brightness. The TVs also support HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR, aiming to deliver a more immersive viewing experience. 

Instagram for iOS now supports Dolby Vision HDR

 

Instagram’s iOS app now supports Dolby Vision HDR videos and ambient viewing environment metadata, marking a significant upgrade in video-quality support on the platform. Meta confirmed that HDR videos recorded on iPhones will now retain key metadata such as amve (ambient viewing environment) and Dolby Vision specifications, enabling more accurate colour, brightness and contrast across different iPhones and displays.

 

OnePlus 15R to be launched in India soon, preview page now live

 

After launching the OnePlus 15, OnePlus has announced that it will debut the OnePlus 15R smartphone in India, soon. The smartphone’s product page has gone live on the company’s website, confirming that the OnePlus 15R will come with Android 16-based OxygenOS 16 out of the box. The OnePlus 15R is expected to be a rebranded version of the OnePlus Ace 6, which was launched in China last month. 

 

ASUS ExpertCenter P500 SFF and P400 AiO series launched

 

ASUS has launched two new ExpertCenter business PCs in India: the ExpertCenter P500 Small Form Factor (SFF) desktop and the ExpertCenter P400 All-in-One (AiO) series, which includes the 23.8-inch P440VA and 27-inch P470VA models. Both product lines feature up to 13th-Gen Intel Core H-series processors, MIL-STD 810H durability, enterprise-grade security and support for up to 64 GB DDR5 memory.

 

Apple releases iOS 26.2 dev beta 3

 

Apple has released the third developer beta of the iOS 26.2 update for eligible iPhone models. The new build introduces several fresh features and changes, including a new AirDrop feature, access for third-party health apps to read Hypertension Notifications from Apple Watch, and more. The beta also contains references to an upcoming option for reassigning the Side Button to launch third-party voice-based assistants instead of Siri, though this capability is expected to remain limited to select regions.

 

OPPO Find X9 Pro review: Good cameras, swift performance, marathon battery

 

OPPO has traditionally used its Find X lineup to showcase its strides in the camera tech, and the Find X9 Pro follows the same philosophy with upgraded hardware. The flagship smartphone features a triple-camera array anchored by two 50-megapixel units alongside a massive 200MP telephoto lens. On paper, it has everything it needs to appeal to mobile photography enthusiasts. But how well does that translate to real-world performance?

 

Meta rolls out tool for Facebook creators to defend content from mimics

 

Meta is introducing a new way for Facebook creators to protect their Reels from being copied or misused across its platforms. The company has launched Facebook content protection that can detect when a creator’s original Reels are being reused without permission. Once flagged, creators can choose to block visibility of the copied Reel across Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, they can monitor how the content is performing on other accounts or add attribution links so viewers can trace it back to the original creator.

 

Apple to open iPhone side button access to Gemini, Alexa in this country

 

Apple is reportedly opening up yet another corner of its tightly controlled ecosystem, and this time, it’s the side button functionality on iPhones. New developer documentation confirms that iPhone users in Japan will soon be able to remap the side button to launch third-party voice assistants like Google Gemini or Amazon Alexa, instead of being locked to Siri.

 

Apple N1 in iPhone 17 series beats most Android flagships in Wi-Fi: Ookla

 

Apple’s in-house N1 networking chip is powering a major jump in Wi-Fi performance on the iPhone 17 series, reported networking and connectivity insights platform Ookla. For everyday users, this simply means faster, more stable Wi-Fi, especially in crowded homes, offices, cafes and airports.

 

Google boosts AI Mode with travel tools, AI agent for bookings

 

Google is rolling out major upgrades to its AI Mode in Search. With the latest update, AI Mode can help users plan detailed trips, compare hotels and flights and even book reservations directly from Search. The new features include Canvas for trip planning, an expanded Flight Deals feature and agentic booking tools.

 

Microsoft offers 365 Personal with Copilot AI for free to students in India

 

Microsoft is offering college students a one-year subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal with no subscription fee. It will give eligible users access to the full suite of productivity tools, including Copilot AI integration in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams. Additionally, the plan offers 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage and AI tools like Copilot Deep Research, image-to-video generation and more. The company said that students can check their eligibility using their official college or university email address.

 

WeatherNext 2: Google adds AI weather forecasts to Gemini, Search, Pixels

 

Google is upgrading weather forecasts across its products with a new AI model called WeatherNext 2, which promises faster and more accurate predictions. The new AI model is powering forecasts in Search, Gemini, Pixel Weather and soon Google Maps, giving users more precise hour-by-hour updates and better alerts for changing conditions.

 

Apple designer Abidur Chowdhury, who introduced iPhone Air leaves company

 

The Apple Inc. designer who helped develop the iPhone Air — and even starred in its introduction video — has left, marking the latest setback for the company’s design group. Abidur Chowdhury, an industrial designer, recently departed the iPhone maker for an artificial intelligence startup, according to people familiar with the move. His exit made waves internally, given his rising profile within the design team, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

 

Is Big Tech betting wrong? Meta's AI pioneer says LLM boom is a dead end

 

The world’s biggest technology companies are investing enormous sums into artificial intelligence, especially into "large language models" (LLMs), the systems behind ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Llama. But one of the field’s most influential voices believes this approach is flawed. Yann LeCun, who until recently led Meta’s AI efforts, publicly questioned the global rush toward LLMs during an event in Brooklyn on Sunday evening. "LLMs are great, they're useful, we should invest in them — a lot of people are going to use them," he said as quoted by Business Insider. "They are not a path to human-level intelligence. They're just not."