Opening thoughts. Chances are, you’ve mostly wondered how much it would cost to actually acquire every piece of the Apple ecosystem. I’ll point you to the least money you’d have to part with, underlined by last week’s latest launches.
- The iPhone 17e ( ₹64,900), a MacBook Neo ( ₹69,900), an iPad ( ₹34,900), an Apple Watch SE 3 ( ₹25,900) and the AirPods 4 ( ₹12,900) work out to ₹2,08,500.
In comparison, trying to replicate the ecosystem experience in the Samsung’s newest portfolio stacks up something like this:
- A base Galaxy S26 ( ₹87,999), a Galaxy Tab S11 ( ₹91,999; though one could argue the A-series tablets are less costly, but they aren’t iPad equivalents), a Galaxy Book 5 ( ₹81,990), a Galaxy Watch 8 ( ₹25,999) and the Galaxy Buds 4 ( ₹16,999)—and that totals up to ₹3,04,986.
Food for thought? I’d surely think that is the case?
Editor’s Corner: Duroflex Avalon Elite Mov.E
We often talk of smart homes, and most of that conversation revolves around smart plugs, appliances with WiFi paired to an app on your phone, and of course the old favourite—smart lighting. We often ignore smart seating, which is why when the good folks over at Duroflex pointed me to their newest Avalon recliner range, I had to give it a shot. Good timing too, because part of the experience happened to be the impressive Xiaomi X Pro QLED 75.
First things first, Duroflex is a brand that’s well known for sleep solutions, and they’ve put quite a bit of technology there too—the Airboost mattress, for instance, has more than 1,00,000 air knit fibres in a unique 3D matrix pattern that allows the mattress to cool down and maintain temperature better than rivals.
The Avalon Elite mov.E motorised reclining sofas (prices start ₹31,499; options for single, dual and three seaters) have a rather interesting element which I’ve missed in most recliners till date—dual USB charging ports on either side, a USB-A and a USB-C. Specifically the latter, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra reports super fast charging when plugged in, and this can be a handy for iPads and Android tablets too. Laptops, I’m not entirely sure—that’ll depend on native charge speeds.
Duroflex has gone a slightly different way with the fabric choice for the Avalon Elite mov.E, instead of the typical leatheresque finish that is more common. Instead, it’s the 360 GSM soft-touch fabric, which the brand insists is “high performance”. It’s a very plush, luxurious fabric, and the build quality for the most part is top notch. Except perhaps at the rear of the recliner, where the Velcro strips and fabric flaps covering the mechanicals aren’t always well aligned, leaving some creases visible if the recliner isn’t lined up close to a wall.
Also, missing is any space to hide away the cabling for the dual reclining system (this is the three-seater sofa; the middle seat remains static), as well as the big power adapter. The recline mechanism is driven by a motor, which is quite silent, so much so that the sound of the fabric stretching can be heard!
What stands out after living with it is how quickly a recliner like this stops feeling indulgent and starts feeling infrastructural to the living room. Duroflex seems to understand that the modern sofa now competes not just on comfort, but on how well it fits into a screen-filled, device-charging, always-on home. The Avalon Elite mov.E gets much of that brief right, even if the last mile of design polish—particularly cable management and rear finishing—still reminds you that smart furniture, as a category, is evolving slower than the smart home around it.
Car Corner: Tech Missteps
Over the past couple of years, driving in most Indian cities has become incredibly infuriating. And I say this as someone who loves to drive. The car is my happy place. One of the elements would inevitably involve someone dawdling distracted at 30km/h, hogging the faster lanes, while watching a YouTube video on their car’s infotainment system.
These systems are almost always aftermarket because carmakers by default block video playback, especially when the vehicle is in motion.
What caught my attention a few days ago was a launch by Portronics, for a product they call Tune Prime. And it is quite an irresponsible product, from the outset. (As is something, I discovered later, called the Tune Plus.)
I’ll not even detail the specifics and advantages otherwise of this receiver, which connects to the car’s infotainment system to enable wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto—because on that basis alone, it would be absolutely fine. But the product pitch goes ahead and notes—“Stream YouTube, Netflix, JioHotstar on Car Screen.” Not just from your phone, but also a microSD memory card slot and 4G mobile connectivity.
Someone at Portronics must have thought this was a good idea because, after all, it has a fairly premium price tag of ₹11,999. At no point is this Tune Prime smart enough to detect when a vehicle is in motion or not, and I derive that from the almost after-thought-esque warnings from Portronics, marked with an asterisk — “Do not watch videos while driving” and “Watching videos while driving is dangerous. Use the video feature only when parked” — in the user manual.
I’m all for the convenience of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in a vehicle, and I’ve personally had extensive experience with Portronics’ own Tune ( ₹1,999) which is impressively reliable. Yet, you would never find me using any device that enables video on the screen that’s primarily for navigation and music controls.
Purposefully unlocking a feature that distracts the driver and endangers other road users is highly irresponsible. And in this case, weak corporate judgement. The Portronics Tune Plus isn’t a feature or a convenience. It is a distraction, with a branding.
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