Panasonic has launched two new Eluga smartphones in India – the Eluga Ray Max and Eluga Ray X, at an event in New Delhi. Both devices come with Arbo, a smart AI assistant built by the company. The company’s new Arbo virtual assistant that’s claimed to be intelligent and evolve with the user’s usage patterns.
According to Panasonic- Arbo virtual assistant uses machine learning to provide intelligent usage suggestions to users. The name is derived from Esperanto, and means a framework used to support climbing plants. It learns the user’s behavior, alongside time and location, to provide profile-based suggestions like prompting Settings changes and highlighting commonly used apps. It also prompts Bluetooth pairing if users have previously paired their smartphones with a nearby device.
The company also says these are early days for Arbo, and several new features can be expected to be included in ‘Phase 2’ – including making changes to third-party apps once permissions are granted. All that Arbo learns will be taken forward into future Panasonic smartphones that the user buys.
Note: Both the smartphones will get the Arbo virtual assistant one to two weeks after it releases – and is expected in April 2017.
Let’s have a look in specifications of both the devices-
Panasonic Eluga Ray Max
This dual-SIM (Micro+Nano) smartphone sports a 5.2-inch full-HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It is powered by a 1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM. The Panasonic Eluga Ray Max will be made available in two inbuilt storage variants – 32GB storage and 64GB storage. Both can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.
On the software front, the smartphone runs on Android Marshmallow. Panasonic Eluga Ray Max is equipped with a 16-megapixel rear camera with LED flash. For selfies, there is an 8-megapixel camera up front, along with a LED flash. The device is backed up by 3000mAh built-in battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support.
Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio with RDS, and Micro-USB with OTG support. It also has a fingerprint sensor.
Panasonic Eluga Ray Max specifications
- Display: 5.2-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- Processor: Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 ( 4 x 1.2 GHz Cortex A53 + 4 x 1.5 GHz Cortex A53) 64-bit processor with Adreno 505 GPU
- RAM & Storage: 4GB LPDDR3 RAM, 32GB / 64GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD
- Operating System: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
- SIM Slot: Dual SIM
- Rear Camera: 16MP rear camera with LED flash
- Front Camera: 8MP front-facing camera with LED flash
- Fingerprint sensor: Yes
- Connectivity Options: 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, USB OTG
- Dimensions: 148 x 73 x 9.5mm
- Weight: 165g
- Battery: 3000mAh built-in battery with Quick Charge 3.0
- Color Options: Rose Gold, Space Grey and Gold
Price And Availability
The Panasonic Eluga Ray Max comes with the price tag of Rs. 11,499 for the 32GB version and Rs. 12,499 for the 64GB version. It will be available exclusively on Flipkart starting April 1st and ship with a bundled screen guard.
Panasonic Eluga Ray X
Panasonic Eluga Ray X flaunts a 5.5-inch HD (720p) display with 2.5D curved glass and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Under the hood is a 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6737 64-bit quad-core processor paired with Mali-T720 GPU and 3GB RAM. There is 32GB storage on offer, which can be expanded using a microSD card. The dual-SIM (Micro+Nano) smartphone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
As far as the camera is concerned, it has a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio with RDS, and Micro-USB with OTG support. The device is backed up by 4000mAh built-in battery.
Panasonic Eluga Ray X specifications
- Display: 5.5-inch (1280 × 720 pixels) HD 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
- Processor: 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6737 64-bit processor with Mali-T720 GPU
- RAM & Storage: 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, expandable memory with microSD
- Operating System: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
- Rear Camera: 13MP rear camera with LED Flash
- Front Camera: 5MP front-facing camera with LED Flash
- Fingerprint sensor: Yes
- Connectivity Options: 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS
- Dimensions: 153.4×77.0×10.5mm
- Weight: 193g
- Battery: 4000mAh built-in battery
- Color Options: Rose Gold, Space Grey, Gold
Price And Availability
The Eluga Ray X smartphone comes with the price tag of Rs. 8999. It will also be available exclusively from Flipkart and ship with a bundled screen guard.
Commenting on the launch, Manish Sharma, President & CEO, Panasonic India & South Asia, and Executive Officer, Panasonic Corporation Said:
Panasonic has always strived onto creating a sustainable connected environment for its customers across the world. With the launch of our first AI-enabled smartphone, we are now expanding our product offerings which will help empower our consumer base and assist them in performing tasks in a smarter way. AI has been dubbed as the technology which in future will shape the product interface and the way we interact with our smartphones, with this pilot advancement we hope that this will not only enhance our market share but will also further strengthen our position within the industry.
AI has been dubbed as the technology which in future will shape the product interface and the way we interact with our smartphones, with this pilot advancement we hope that this will not only enhance our market share but will also further strengthen our position within the industry.
Pankaj Rana, Business Head – Mobility Division, Panasonic India, said:
With hectic work schedules and over-burdened social lifestyles, Arbo is the best virtual assistant for working professionals. Today we are delighted to present before you Eluga – Raymax and Ray X, Panasonic’s first AI assisted smartphones powered by Arbo, a perfect blend of innovation and style. The features embedded within the smartphone will provide our customers with on the go access to high speed information and content at a value-based pricing.
Commenting on their exclusive partnership with Panasonic, Ajay Yadav, Vice President – Smartphones BU, Flipkart, said:
Disruptive technologies like AI are increasingly shaping the way consumers connect with the world around them. At Flipkart, our continuous endeavour has been to make innovative and high-quality products easily accessible to Indian customers at affordable price points. With the launch of the Panasonic Eluga Ray Max and Eluga Ray X smartphones, we are confident that consumers in India will be able to enjoy an immersive mobile experience.
Flipkart has been the most preferred e-commerce platform for brands and customers, and we are confident that this exclusive partnership will enable us to provide our customers with the best-in-class technology experience and build further on customer delight.
