The cheapest smartphone with the most powerful processor has a major flaw
Gadgets Now Bureau | Aug 31, 2018, 09:18PM IST
Xiaomi few days ago stirred the Indian smartphone market by launching the F1 smartphone under its new sub-brand Poco. The smartphone’s highlight is its Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor offering for as low as Rs 20,999. The handset also comes in different variants based on RAM and storage capacities and is also currently the cheapest handset sporting the flagship Qualcomm processor. But it looks like there’s a limitation in the handset that might be a major let down for users.
It has been found out, and has also been tested by Gadgets Now, the Poco F1 smartphone cannot run videos on some of the popular streaming services. The smartphone does not support Widevine L1. For those unaware, Widevine exists to prevent content from being pirated as it gets streamed over different devices. It protects content in three different levels of security – L3, L2 and L1. Most of the Android smartphones support L1 or L3 levels of security. If in case the smartphone is only L3 certified, it will only play content in resolution lower than standard HD. L1 lets it stream videos in HD and higher resolutions.
With Poco F1 missing on the Widevine L1, users won’t be able to stream HD content on platforms like Amazon Video, Hulu, BBC and the most popular of all – Netflix. It is worth adding that the handset does support L3, which means it can stream 540p resolution videos but that’s not a good resolution to look at on the handset’s 6.1-inch FHD+ (2246x1080 pixels) display.
What makes situation worse is that Widevine L1 is something users cannot install. It is not possible to enable it with an OTA update.
Xiaomi Poco F1 went on sale a couple of days ago in India. The handset comes in three different variants -- 6GB RAM + 64GB storage, 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage. All three smartphones are priced at Rs 20,999, Rs 23,999 and Rs 28,999 respectively.
It has been found out, and has also been tested by Gadgets Now, the Poco F1 smartphone cannot run videos on some of the popular streaming services. The smartphone does not support Widevine L1. For those unaware, Widevine exists to prevent content from being pirated as it gets streamed over different devices. It protects content in three different levels of security – L3, L2 and L1. Most of the Android smartphones support L1 or L3 levels of security. If in case the smartphone is only L3 certified, it will only play content in resolution lower than standard HD. L1 lets it stream videos in HD and higher resolutions.
With Poco F1 missing on the Widevine L1, users won’t be able to stream HD content on platforms like Amazon Video, Hulu, BBC and the most popular of all – Netflix. It is worth adding that the handset does support L3, which means it can stream 540p resolution videos but that’s not a good resolution to look at on the handset’s 6.1-inch FHD+ (2246x1080 pixels) display.
What makes situation worse is that Widevine L1 is something users cannot install. It is not possible to enable it with an OTA update.
Xiaomi Poco F1 went on sale a couple of days ago in India. The handset comes in three different variants -- 6GB RAM + 64GB storage, 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage. All three smartphones are priced at Rs 20,999, Rs 23,999 and Rs 28,999 respectively.
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Ridiculously exaggerated , hope rivals are not involved in this article
Lol...as if everyone is buying it for streaming...major flaw???? Are these people on drugs??.
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