Daily updates 19 September 2019

National

1. GoI inaugurates 15 power projects in Jammu & Kashmir

• Union Minister of State for Power RK Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik have jointly inaugurated 15 power projects.
• They also laid the foundation stone for 20 other different Centrally-sponsored schemes in Srinagar.
• Under a scheme, 1 lakh LED (light-emitting diode) street lights will be installed in Srinagar city, saving ₹29 crores annually to the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. The government is working to ensure 24 hours electricity supply to all the citizens of the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh region.

2. International Workshop for National Water Museum

• The Jal Shakti Ministry is planning to develop a National Water Museum to increase awareness among people on the conservation of the natural resource.
• The Jal Shakti Ministry is also organising an International Workshop which will be attended by experts from India and abroad.
• The outcome of the workshop will be a blueprint for establishing the proposed National Water Museum under the aegis of Jal Shakti Ministry.
• During the workshop, possible broad composition, the content of the museum including highlighting importance of water and its current state in different regions of the country, possible solutions, traditional and modern water management practices and localised success stories are proposed to be discussed.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• Union Minister of Jal Shakti: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

3. India Post expands speed post service to 6 new foreign countries

• India Post expanded speed post service to six new foreign destinations in Asia, Europe and South America.
• The Department of Posts has announced commencing of International Speed Post (EMS) Service to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and North Macedonia.
• EMS or Express Mail Service is a premium service that enables its users to send documents and merchandise faster and with the added facility of being able to track the movement of the item on the internet.
• This facility is expected to augment people to people contact with these countries and foster trade as EMS is a popular channel for small and medium enterprises.
• The EMS service to these countries will henceforth be available at major Post offices across India.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• Secretary, Department of Posts & Chairperson, Postal Services Board: Ananta Narayan Nanda.
• Headquarters: New Delhi; Founded: 1 April 1854.
• Director-General: Meera Handa.

State News

4. Delhi Police's launches Tatpar app for citizen-centric servicesr

• Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal launched 'Tatpar' app, developed by the Delhi Police, which is a one-stop destination for access to over 50 citizen-centric services.
• The app amalgamates all the websites and mobile applications of Delhi Police, and over 50 services which can now be accessed with a single touch in the app.
• Through the app, citizens can navigate to their nearest police station, traffic pit and prepaid taxi booth. On a single touch, the user will be provided with the directions as well as the complete contact details of the concerned Station House Officer (SHO) of a police station.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal

Appointment

5. ADB president Takehiko Nakao resigns

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao has announced his resignation. He became the president of ADB on April 28, 2013.
• He expanded the operations of the funding agency from USD 14 billion in 2013 to USD 22 billion in 2018.
• He also ushered in the merger of Ordinary Capital Resources and concessional lending operation of the Asian Development Fund (ADF) and steered the launch of ‘Strategy 2030.
• The new president will be elected in accordance with an open, transparent and merit-based procedure.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• Headquarters of ADB: Manila, Philippines; Founded:19 December 1966.
• Member of ADB: 68 countries.

6. GoI Appoints Four Supreme Court Judges

The Centre has cleared four names recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for elevation as judges of the apex court. The four appointed judges are

• Himachal Pradesh High Court: Chief Justice V. Ramasubramanian
• Punjab and Haryana High Court: Chief Justice Krishna Murari
• Rajasthan High Court: Chief Justice S. Ravindra Bhat
• Kerala High Court: Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy

The Supreme Court vacancies had increased its judicial strength from 31 to 34 following the enactment of the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Bill of 2019.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• Chief Justice of India: J Ranjan Gogoi; Founded: 26th January 1950.

7. Robert O'Brien becomes National Security Adviser of US

• Robert O'Brien has been appointed as the National Security Adviser of United States of America.
• Robert O'Brien will replace John Bolton as the NSA of US.
• Robert O'Brien has had a long career in foreign policy working for both main US parties and currently heading the hostage negotiations at the State Department.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB Clerk Mains:

• US President: Donald Trump; Capital: Washington, D.C; Currency: US Dollar.

Ranks and Reports

8. Indian diaspora largest in the world at 17.5 million: UN Report

The International Migrant Stock 2019 was released by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The report provides the latest estimates of the number of international migrants by age, sex and origin for all countries and areas of the world.

As per the report, India was the leading country of origin of international migrants in 2019 with a 17.5 million strong diaspora.

Some important findings of the report:

• The top 10 countries of origin account for one-third of all international migrants. India is the leading country of origin of international migrants with 17.5 million persons living abroad. Migrants from Mexico constituted the second largest diaspora (11.8 million), followed by China (10.7 million).
• Europe hosted the largest number of international migrants (82 million), followed by Northern America (59 million) and Northern Africa and Western Asia (49 million). India hosted 5.1 million international migrants in 2019.
• Among the international migrants in India, the female population was 48.8% and the median age of international migrants was 47.1 years.
• In India, the highest number of international migrants came from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.
• In terms of age, one out of every seven international migrants is below the age of 20 years.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS RRB PO Mains:

• UN Under Secretary General for Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Liu Zhenmin.

Awards

9. Anand Kumar felicitated with Education Excellence Award 2019

• Super 30 founder and noted mathematician Anand Kumar has been felicitated in the US with a prestigious Education Excellence Award 2019.
• The Foundation For Excellence (FFE) awarded him on the occasion of the organisation's 25th anniversary.
• Anand has been running a highly innovative Super 30 programme for the last 18 years. He mentors 30 students free off cost through a year-long residential coaching for India's premiere IIT-JEE.

Summit and Conferences

10. Home Minister chair the meeting of Northern Zonal Council in Chandigarh

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair the 29th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council.
• The grouping comprises states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan besides union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar is the vice-chairman and host of the meeting.
• The zonal councils discuss a broad range of issues, including boundary disputes, security, infrastructure-related matters such as roads, transport, industries, water and power besides matters pertaining to forests and environment, housing, education, food security, tourism and transport.
• Five zonal councils were set up in 1957 under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The Union home minister is the chairman of each of these five councils.

Defence

11. Rajnath Singh becomes 1st Defence Minister to fly in LCA Tejas

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh becomes the first defence minister to fly in the indigenously-built light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas. He flew in the Tejas fighter aircraft from the HAL airport in Bengaluru.
• Defence Minister was accompanied by Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari, who is also the Project Director, National Flight Test Centre, ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) in Bengaluru.

Sports

12. Anurag Thakur announces cricket and sports academy for Leh

• Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur announced that a cricket and sports academy will be set up in Leh, Ladakh.
• This cricket and sports academy will ensure that talented athletes of the region get the required training to excel. He also joined Army personnel in Leh to carry out a cleanliness drive to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 69th birthday.

13. Vinesh Phogat wins bronze medal in Wrestling World Championships

• Vinesh Phogat won the bronze medal at the Wrestling World Championships held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
• She defeated Maria Prevolaraki of Greece in the 53 kg freestyle event.
• Vinesh Phogat has also won India an Olympic quota in the 53 kg freestyle event of Tokyo Olympics.

Obituaries

14. Veteran Malayalam Actor Sathar Passes Away

• Veteran Kerala actor Sathar passed away. He made his acting debut in 1975 with Malayalam movie Bharyaye Aavashyamundu directed by M. Krishnan Nair & in 1976 with Vincent Master’s directorial Anavaranam. He was acted in more than 300 films, majority of them in Malayalam.

Miscellaneous

15. Beijing 2022: Paralympic and Olympic mascots unveiled

• A smiling panda and a walking Chinese lantern will be the mascots for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, China.
• The mascots were revealed at a ceremony at the Shougang Ice Hockey Arena in the Chinese capital.
• The mascot, named Bing Dwen Dwen, is a chubby giant panda wearing a suit of ice was revealed as the official mascot for Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.
• Chinese lantern Shuey Rhon Rhon was declared as the official mascot for Winter Paralympics 2022.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Mains:

• President of China: Xi Jinping; China Capital: Beijing; Currency: Renminbi.

Best QuickBooks Alternatives

QuickBook is considered a standard not only among the accounting software programs but the whole of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications. The reason is its simple and comprehensible dashboard which is easy to use and doesn't require an accountant for bookkeeping. With that said, some companies find QuickBooks' pricing expensive and some don't like the recent transition to Intuit. Apart from that, high credit-card processing charge is forcing many companies to look for alternatives. So, if you are in search of a suitable replacement, you have come to the right place. In this article, we have sorted a list of 10 best QuickBooks alternatives which are priced modestly and offer similar features.

Best QuickBooks Alternatives

Here, we have mentioned 10 various alternatives to QuickBooks based on many factors such as pricing, features, business size, region and more. Also, almost all the mentioned programs are web-based so you can access them from any platform including macOS and Linux. Apart from that, we have also dedicated a few listings for freelancers and solopreneurs. With that said, let's begin the article without further ado.

1. Xero

QuickBooks is singularly popular because of its user-friendly interface which does not require much accounting expertise. However, there is another service which beats QuickBooks in terms of clean design and that is Xero. Besides the great dashboard, Xero is packed with almost every feature that QuickBooks offers. You can integrate your online bank to Xero seamlessly and can manage accounting books in no time. And similar to QuickBooks, Xero categorizes all your transactions into expenses and incomes giving you a clear picture of the cash flow. Further, you can manage your inventory, keep track of sales, generate invoices, and also schedule recurring payments.

Apart from that, Xero comes with Payroll integration which is a popular feature of QuickBooks. You can easily deposit money with automatic fillings across 50 states in the US. And that is not all, it also has a mobile app which lets you manage your business on the go. Not to mention, Xero is completely cloud-based service so no matter if you use Linux or Mac, you can always access Xero from a web browser. Further, Xero can move all your QuickBooks data to its server within three hours so you don't have to worry about data loss. To sum up, if you are looking for a more user-friendly accounting solution then Xero is simply the best out there.

Features: Web-based, Excellent dashboard, Track sales and generate invoices, Manage inventory, Access insightful reports, Payroll integrated, Schedule reminders and payments, Has a mobile app, Move from QuickBooks to Xero without any data loss

Visit Website (Free trial for 30 days, Starts at $9/month)

2. Wave

If you are looking for a free alternative to QuickBooks then there is no better service than Wave. It's truly a free accounting software which lets you manage bookkeeping in a slick interface with all the details like cash flow, expenses and more. So what is the catch? Well, there is no catch and Wave makes it clear that accounting features are completely free which include online banking integration, invoicing, expense tracking, and receipt scanning. So how does Wave make money? Well, it offers payroll and payment processors separately as paid services which make money for Wave.

So to break it down, Wave facilitates all the essential accounting features that QuickBooks offers without you paying anything. You are only going to need the payroll service if you are running a large business and a payment processor, in case you don't have one which is very unlikely to happen. I would say Wave is a great alternative to QuickBooks if you are a freelancer or run a small business. So go for Wave without any second thoughts and I am pretty sure you are going to love the service.

Features: Web-based, Free and best for freelancers and small-sized businesses, Invoicing, Tracking expenses and incomes, Receipt scanning, Offers a mobile app

Visit Website (Free)

3. Zoho Books

Zoho Books is another great alternative to QuickBooks which is plenty good and comes with endless features. If you are already using Zoho CRM then picking Zoho Books as your bookkeeping service will be a lot seamless and easier to manage. In comparison to QuickBooks' interface, Zoho Books looks quite good with comprehensible graphs of expenses and incomes on the dashboard. Basically, you will be able to gauge your financial performance just by peeking at the dashboard. Other than that, you have hosts of accounting features such as banking integration, invoice generation, inventory management and more.

Similar to QuickBooks, there are also many helpful features including payment reminders and scheduling, expense tracking and vendor billing. You also get a dedicated mobile app to manage all your financial books no matter where you are. All in all, Zoho Books is another near-replacement of QuickBooks in terms of both features and ease of use. So, you can definitely give Zoho Books a try if QuickBooks is not cutting for you.

Features: Web-based, Best for Zoho users, Excellent dashboard, Detailed graphs, Invoicing, Inventory management, Schedule reminders and payments, Track expenses and bills, Offers a mobile app

Visit Website (Free trial for 14 days, Starts at $9/month)

4. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is a promising accounting program which is a bit expensive, but given the unique features, it's definitely worth it. I would go as far as to say that, FreshBooks is one of the best QuickBooks alternatives in terms of automating several account management tasks. You can set up schedules for tax payments, vendor billing, automatic invoice generation, and hassle-free bookkeeping. In a way, FreshBooks is quite good at organizing accounting data and collecting various financial reports for your perusal. Similar to QuickBooks, the interface is quite straightforward which updates cash flow metrics and recent purchases in real-time.

Apart from that, you have all the standard accounting features like invoicing, expense tracking, report generation, inventory management and more. There is also a project feature just like QuickBooks Project which allows you to collaborate with employees or clients and conceptualize a financial deal before final purchase. Simply put, if you want a more advanced QuickBooks alternative and don't mind the slightly steep price then FreshBooks can be a great alternative.

Features: Web-based, Advanced accounting software, Automate accounting tasks, Automatic payments, Insightful reports, Invoicing and inventory management, Expense tracking, Payroll integration, Schedule reminders, and payments, Offers a mobile app

Visit Website (Free trial for 30 days, Starts at $15/month)

5. ZipBooks

ZipBooks is another free alternative to QuickBooks which is surprisingly good and does not cut many corners under the free plan. You can achieve almost all the account management things like bank account integration, tracking expenses, keeping a tab on cash flow, invoicing, accepting payments and more. So in a nutshell, you are getting all the key features of QuickBooks without any charge and that is simply amazing. Now, you must be wondering, what is the catch again? Well, ZipBooks only lets you connect one bank account under the free plan which can be limiting for big businesses. However, if you run a small or medium-sized business or you are a solopreneur then ZipBooks is the perfect pick for you.

And in case, you want to go for the premium plan, you get lots of additional goodies like team collaboration, integration with multiple bank accounts, access to insightful reports, payment scheduling and more. There is also a standalone mobile app to keep track of your finances wherever you go. All in all, ZipBooks is an awesome free accounting software which can replace QuickBooks for all the essential needs.

Features: Web-based, Free and best for solopreneurs and small businesses, Simple dashboard, Invoicing, Track expenses, and incomes, Insightful reports, Schedule payments, Offers a mobile app

Visit Website (Free, Starts at $15/month)

6. Sage Business Cloud Accounting

Sage is one of the largest companies in the world which offers enterprise software to many financial firms around the globe. Among the many products it offers, a cloud-based accounting solution is one of them which is primarily built for medium and small-sized businesses. Also, if you are from the UK and looking for a QuickBook alternative, Sage is the best pick for you. Now coming to features, Sage has a pretty cohesive interface given their experience in the financial world. You can connect your bank account and it will categorize all the transactions giving you a lucid overview of your business.

It shows multiple metrics like sales, growth rate, credit, quote estimation, etc. on the dashboard along with detailed graphs. I would say Sage offers a 360-degree view of your business in a very neat fashion and surpasses QuickBooks in terms of dashboard overview. Having said that, you get all the standard accounting features such as invoicing, payment scheduling, real-time reports, inventory management, collaboration with team members et al. It's clear that Sage is a feature-packed accounting software just like QuickBooks and you can definitely give it a try.

Features: Web-based, Best for UK based companies, Superior dashboard, Invoicing and payment scheduling, Inventory management, Collaboration, Offers a mobile app

Visit Website (Free trial for 30 days, Starts at $10/month)

7. GNUCash

GNUCash is an open-source alternative to QuickBooks which is completely free and has many bookkeeping features to organize your business accounts. First of all, it's not a web-based accounting software instead, GNUCash offers a desktop client for all major operating systems including Windows, Linux, and macOS. If you were using Quicken desktop client for QuickBooks then GNUCash is the perfect replacement which does not cost a dime. GNUCash is capable of importing all your bank transactions using the OFX (Open Financial Exchange) protocol that many banks and financial services currently use.

Further, it can split the transactions into Checkbook-Style Register which is kind of old-school bookkeeping, but if you are well-versed with this system then it may work wonders. GNUCash also shows incomes and expenses in a tabular format along with graphs for better understanding of your cash flow. Besides that, similar to QuickBooks, it comes with invoicing, bill payments, vendor tracking, and tax payments. You can even schedule transactions and pay your vendors before the due date automatically. One thing is clear that GNUCash is not for everyone. So, if you know a bit of accounting and want a free program like QuickBooks then GNUCash can be a solid alternative.

Features: Free and open-source, Desktop client, Best for Windows, Linux, and Mac, Connect bank accounts, Graphs, and detailed reports, Invoicing and recurring payments, Offers an Android app

Visit Website (Free)

8. SlickPie

If you want a simple accounting software which can do most of the accounting stuff then SlickPie is a really good alternative to try. The best part about SlickPie is that it comes with a free plan without any major restrictions. You can integrate as many bank accounts you want and it will organize all your accounting data in a readable format. Further, you can view the cash flow with visual graphs and detailed reports. Granted, the dashboard is not as cohesive as QuickBooks, but it shows all the major metrics which allows you to gauge your financial performance.

Apart from that, SlickPie can track expenses, schedule recurring payments, generate personalized invoices and more. Basically, you get all the standard QuickBooks features under the free plan. There is also a MagicBot which scans all your receipts and auto-fills the data in your balance sheet automating a major chunk of accounting task. So to bare it all, SlickPie seems a complete accounting software and without any major omission. I would say, it's one of the best free alternatives to QuickBooks and you should definitely give it a try.

Features: Web-based, Best free alternative, Decent dashboard, Invoicing and track expenses, Magicbot for scanning receipts

Visit Website (Free, Starts at $39.95/month)

9. FreeAgent

If you are based out of the UK, FreeAgent is another QuickBook alternative to consider. It's quite affordable and offers all the major bookkeeping features. For starters, you can integrate your online bank account and seamlessly import all the transactions to FreeAgent. Thereafter, it categorizes the data into income and expenses providing a detailed overview of your balance sheet in real-time. The best part about FreeAgent is that it offers in-person accountants in case you need onsite support.

Besides that, FreeAgent is packed with all the usual accounting features which can make your job hassle-free. You can generate and send invoices, track expenses, file various kinds of taxes, find estimation and quotes and a lot more. In tandem, you are getting almost all the QuickBooks feature at an affordable price. So, as I said above, if you run a business in the UK, FreeAgent can be a great alternative.

Features: Web-based, Best for UK based businesses, Pretty good dashboard, Real-time cash flow, Generate invoice, File taxes, Offers a mobile app

Visit Website (Free trial for 30 days, Starts at £9.50/month ~ $10.50/month)

10. Kashoo

Kashoo is our final pick in this list which is quite good and offers a comprehensible dashboard to make sense of your finances. Just like other services, you can connect multiple bank accounts and import the data to have a detailed overview of your business transactions. Kashoo shows all the accounting data in the form of pie charts to visualize complex metrics and make it easy to understand. There are hosts of other features as well including invoicing, expense tracking, payment scheduling, report assessment, etc.

The best part about Kashoo is that it's equipped with a smart scanner which can turn any physical receipt into a digital copy. Besides that, you can manage unpaid bills and schedule automatic payments for a specific date. You can also personalize invoices with your brand logo and digital signature. All in all, Kashoo seems a decent alternative to QuickBooks and you can surely give it a try.

Features: Web-based, Great dashboard, Pie charts, Invoicing and expense tracking, Smart scanner, Automatic payments, Personalize invoices, Offers a mobile app

Visit Website (Free trial for 14 days, Starts at $19.95/month

Manage Your Accounting Data Like a Pro

So that was our list of the 10 best QuickBooks alternatives which are simple to use and also priced competitively. We have ensured that most of the accounting programs are web-based so you can always keep track of your finances no matter which platform or device you are using. Anyway, that is all from us. If we helped you find a suitable QuickBook alternative then do let us know in the comment section below.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro.

Huawei may be enduring a tough time due to the U.S-China trade war, but the Chinese giant isn't taking a back seat just because the U.S is pressuring it. Instead, it has gone ahead and added a new flagship smartphone to its world-famous Mate lineup. Yeah, the company has launched the much-anticipated Mate 30 Pro at its launch event in Munich.

And well, this smartphone is every bit a flagship, right from the design to the powerful internals. Mate 30 Pro comes backed by Huawei's flagship chipset, quad rear-cameras which could take on high-end DSLRs in terms of photography, a waterfall display, huge battery with super-fast charging, and much more. So, here's everything you'll need to know about Huawei Mate 30 Pro:

Mate 30 Pro: Specs and Features

• Design

Starting off with the design, like always, Huawei revealed that it has derived inspiration from cameras for the construction of the Mate 30 Pro. Yeah, Mate 30 Pro boasts a Halo Ring design, which refers to the circular camera ring on the rear panel, which looks like your camera lens. It's IP68 water and dust resistant, which we obviously expect from a flagship smartphone.

Mate 30 Pro features a waterfall screen on the front, same as the recently launched Vivo NEX 3 and you can read all about it down below. It includes a physical power button, which will have to be the power button on the right side. You can utilize the invisible virtual keys on both sides as the volume rocker, as well as a camera shutter button (that you can move around based on your comfort). And I have to say I love this feature, but we'll have to see how accidental touches are handled.

• Display

Mate 30 Pro features a 6.53-inch Flex OLED Horizon Display, as Huawei likes to calls its new waterfall screen. It's a beautiful panel that curves at an 88-degree angle, which is higher than the curvature of Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 lineup. The display here touts an 18.4:9 aspect ratio, 2400x1176 pixels resolution (just a tad higher than Full-HD+), along with support for HDR 10 and DCI-P3 wide color gamut.

Huawei further boasts that its new flagship doesn't feature any size bezels (compared to other flagship competitors) but there's a notch up-top. It may not look smaller than the Mate 20 Pro's notch, but it definitely is. There's a bottom bezel onboard as well, but it's really tiny.

Huawei on stage called the Mate 30 Pro's notch the "most sophisticated notch" on a smartphone, which I never thought I would hear in this lifetime. But, yeah we did and it does include 2 cameras, as the rumors had suggested. The notch, as you can see in the screenshot below, includes a 32MP selfie camera, 3D depth camera (used for Face ID), and a gesture sensor that allows hands-free control. The speaker unit sits under Mate 30 Pro's display similar to the P30 Pro launched earlier this year.

The gesture controls, as per the demo on stage, looked similar to what we expect to the Motion Sense feature that Pixel 4 lineup may come equipped with. You can flick before a Mate 30 Pro to scroll up/down and pinch to capture a screenshot, which is gimmicky but cool.

This smartphone offers two biometric unlocking options - 3D Face Unlock and in-display fingerprint sensor. All of this data is protected by the highest security standard, i.e. TEE with proprietary microkernel OS, which is great to hear from the Chinese giant.

• Internals

Powering the Mate 30 Pro is the newly launched Kirin 990 chipset that Huawei unveiled during its IFA 2019 presentation. This chipset is built using the 7nm EUV process node, featuring two Cortex-A76 (clocked at 2.86 GHz), two Cortex-A76 (clocked at 2.36 GHz), and four Cortex-A55 (clocked at 1.95GHz) architecture. It's an octa-core chipset that's coupled with a 16-core Mali G76 GPU, dual-NPUs, Balong 5000 5G modem, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of internal storage.

• Cameras Specs

As we have already seen in the slew of leaks, Huawei Mate 30 Pro has a circular camera setup with a primary 40MP (f/1.8) Sony IMX600 RYYB sensor (Super Sensing wide camera) with OIS, a new 40MP ultra-wide-angle sensor (termed the Super Sensing Cine camera), an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and OIS, and a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor to round up the kitty. It even houses a Xenon flash and other sensors on the left of this circular module, which I quite like, to be honest.

The primary 40MP RYYB sensor captures 40% more light as compared to other sensors, thanks to the biggest 1/1.7-inch size - which is one of the biggest on a smartphone. It's also been revealed that it has 137% more light intake than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. This means you'll still be able to capture some stunning Night photos without switching to a dedicated camera mode.

Well, thanks to Huawei's SuperSensing technology being carried forward with the ultra-wide-angle lens, you will be able to capture crisp night shots with this sensor as well. It isn't an RYYB sensor like their primary sensor though. This is a 40MP RGGB sensor (with 3:2 aspect ratio to make it possible to capture sharp dual-1080p videos) and it's super-sensitive to light as well.

The host of cameras onboard can reach maximum ISO 409600 as compared to the 6400 industry standard and offer a 45x zooming range, which is lower than the P30 Pro, which provided 50x digital zoom. Mate 30 Pro supports 3x optical zoom, 5x hybrid zoom, and up to 30x digital zoom.

• Video Features

Thanks to the multitude of video features, Huawei is calling Mate 30 Pro the world's first smartphone with a dedicated 40MP Cine Camera. It sounds exciting and Mate 30 Pro now boasts the highest video light sensitivity on a smartphone, i.e ISO 51200, which is certainly remarkable. It supports up to 4K/60fps video recording, which is something we have seen on many flagship phones in the past but it's a first for Huawei.

Huawei boasts that its newest flagship has the highest frame rate on a smartphone, i.e. 7680 fps, making it possible for the Mate 30 Pro to shoot ultra slow-mo videos. Huawei showed off a demo video, where it captured a slow-mo video of a bursting balloon and compared it with a professional DSLR -- but it was captured at 1920 fps, so we are not confident whether the device supports 7680fps ultra slow-mo mode or not.

Apart from the amazing ultra slow-mo video mode, Mate 30 Pro also packs support for capturing real-time Cinematic bokeh video, 4K cinematic time-lapses (the demo video shown was fantastic), ultra-stable recording with Huawei AIS (thanks to OIS+EIS+AI), ultra low-light ultra-wide timelapse (sounds so much fun), and a lot more.

• EMUI 10

Huawei Mate 30 Pro is one of the first smartphones to run Android 10 out-of-the-box. It doesn't run a licensed version of Android though instead, it's an AOSP fork which comes pre-installed with the HMS core instead of GMS (Google Mobile Services) core. Well, we already this as Huawei itself had confirmed that Mate 30 Pro won't come with Google's apps and services onboard.

It features a new always-on display, where you can pick from a number of styles and the color of the text changes - based on the time of the day. One of the most significant additions to EMUI 10 has to be the dark mode (what can I say? I'm a dark mode fiend), which is coupled with a Dark Mode Engine that will allow you to force dark mode in apps that don't support the darker theme.

The Mate 30 Pro also supports multi-screen collaboration with Huawei laptops and brings along a much-needed feature called AI Auto-rotate, which Huawei says will follow where you're looking and rotate the screen accordingly or not when you go from sitting on the couch to laying down. It solves one of the biggest nuisances which we encounter on the daily.

• Battery

Talking about the battery, Mate 30 Pro comes equipped with a massive 4,500mAh battery pack but the smartphone shouldn't feel bulky as it weighs just 198 grams. The company has comfortability and use in mind while building the device, along with much superior battery life. Huawei claims that its flagship could last up to 8.2 hours on heavy usage, which is great.

Even if the Mate 30 Pro dies on you while gaming, you have got a super-fast wired and wireless charging technology onboard. It supports 40W wired SuperCharge and 27W wireless fast-charging support, which is just outstanding. Huawei has baked inside a "Graphene Film Cooling Technology" to keep the temperature in check, keeping the device up to 3.9-degrees cooler as compared to other flagships.

• Connectivity

In terms of connectivity, Mate 30 Pro boasts that it has the "most advanced antenna" design and houses 21 antennas in total. Out of these, 14 antennas will be employed for enhanced 5G connectivity. It also supports the most number of 5G bands to provide the most reliable connectivity around the globe, with seamless dual-SIM 5G-enabled calling experience. It includes the same dual nano-SIM tray that we saw on Huawei's P30 Pro.

• Mate 30 RS Porsche Design

Just like the previous year, Huawei also unveiled a new Porsche Design flagship at its Munich event. Mate 30 RS Porsche Design features premium hand-crafted leather on the rear, which encases the glass panel at the center (inspired by race car tracks), housing a quad-camera setup we just saw on the Mate 30 Pro.

The Mate 30 RS Porsche Design is a premium incarnation of the flagship Mate 30 Pro, so we don't really need to talk about the specifications. You get the same internals as your Mate 30 Pro flagship, including the powerful chipset, quad-camera, and all the goodness we've already talked about.

The beautiful Mate 30 RS Porsche Design will come in two colors, Red and Black, with an exorbitant 2,095 euros (around Rs. 1,65,250) price tag.

Mate 30 Pro: Price and Availability

Huawei Mate 30 Pro has been priced starting at 1,099 euros (around Rs 86,500) for the 8GB+256GB base variant without 5G connectivity. You will have to shell out 1,199 euros (around Rs 94,500) for the 5G-enabled variant, which is quite similar to the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G variant.

It comes in four new shiny color variants namely Space Silver, Cosmic Purple, Emerald Green (this variant has a dual-tone finish with a matte finish at the bottom that blends seamlessly into the glossy upper half), and Black. Huawei introduced 2 'Vegan Leather Edition' Mate 30 Pro variants as well and they come in Orange and Forest Green colors.

Huawei has already confirmed that Kirin 990-powered smartphones would soon land in India, so there's a possibility that Mate 30 Pro, without any Google apps or services, is going to land in India in the next couple of months. Would you be interested in buying Huawei's latest flagship? or would you skip it for, let's say, OnePlus 7T? Do share your opinions with us in the comments below.