Opening thoughts. I like to begin our weekly conversation on a positive, cheerful note. At least as much as possible. Analysing Microsoft’s fairly standard ineptitude is the last thing I’d want spoiling your mood and my mood, but well, some days are just like this. We’ve to top through the annoyance. For months, users have been telling Microsoft that they absolutely don’t want that Copilot AI forced down their PCs. But Microsoft simply wouldn’t listen, that transition to Microsoft 365 Copilot for workplace apps including Word and PowerPoint, a recent example of that obduracy. If Microsoft doesn’t want to listen to customers, that’s their prerogative. But one would hope common sense prevails at some stage, and they listen to one of their biggest partners in the PC space. Dell says very clearly that consumers don’t care about AI PCs, and aren’t buying PCs for AI features. So much so, Kevin Terwilliger, Dell’s head of product, said on an interview with the PC Gamer that, “ I think AI probably confuses them more than it helps them understand a specific outcome.” It is unlikely Microsoft will recorrect the obsession with Copilot across all things Windows. What’s your bet?
TECH SPOTLIGHT: PHILIPS OIL FILLED RADIATOR CX3013/01
Let me start by simply saying this — “smart” doesn’t always mean Wi-Fi connectivity, a companion app or something electrical. The winter season continues, particularly noticeable north of the Vindhayas, where winter is generally underlined by sharp temperature drops. With the northern plains, central India and East India facing a harsh winter yet again, chances are your attention has again turned to be most efficient OFR for your home. Some of you may remember my analysis of the Nuuk Hot Blox oil-filled radiator (OFR) a couple of weeks ago. The space is undoubtedly getting attention at this time of the year, and rightly so. This week, we must talk about a fine proposition from Philips, as part of their latest line-up refresh. Prices on Philips’ own online store start at ₹13,999 for the CX3011/01 (this has 11 fins) and you’ll pay ₹15,999 for the 13 fin CX3013/01 model. The latter is the one we’re analysing today, a slightly better fit for larger indoor spaces such as a unified living and dining room hall space. Mind you, the former is more than ideal for separate living room or dining spaces, or even large bedrooms.
The Philips Oil Filled Radiator CX3013/01 takes a rather simple approach to the proposition, which itself is rare in this age. While Nuuk’s 11 fin OFR played up impressive Wi-Fi capabilities and smart app connectivity for management as well as monitoring, Philips is keeping it simple with no smart home integration and instead using that bandwidth to include a blower instead. That addition really dials the heating efficiency, as well as the speed at which it makes a large indoor space comfortable on successive (very) cold Delhi NCR nights. It’s your choice — smartphone app connectivity, or a heat blower. I’d prefer Philips’ approach of heating versatility, any winter day.
OFRs these days are beginning to use something called the “M-shaped fin” design, which they say provides up to 30% faster heating than traditional, flatter designed fins. That claim is true in the real world, and perceptibly so. Additionally, the integration of the positive temperature coefficient ceramic (PTC) rod-based blower heater helps get this warmth across the room much faster. Convenient too, if it’s a larger group of people, more than can snuggle someplace around the heater. There are five adjustable heating levels, with power consumption rated between 400-watt and 2800-watt depending on what you set this at. There isn’t a display on the OFR — perhaps something displaying the set temperature levels, or the room’s ambient temperature, might have been useful. But it may have been too close to the PTC blower, perhaps.
The Philips Oil Filled Radiator CX3013/01 is extremely well built, and that will be a crucial long term advantage over its lesser priced rivals — those may seem better value now, but when the build starts to fray, not so much. Philips hasn’t left any cards on the table to give this the complete package of not just speedy room heating performance, but also a perceptibly premium high temperature resistant finish. Little details matter — the castor wheels are really high quality, and a cord winder integrated into the design for neatly storing the power cable, elements that are unmissable. While the utility and value checklist is certainly ticked off, it may be time for Philips to earnestly consider the ‘smart’ element too. That would have been the proverbial cherry on the cake.
EDITOR’S MARGIN: CASHBACK CARDs IN YOUR WALLET
You may have noticed this, perhaps you didn’t. I did, and you’ve nothing to worry. The point I’m trying to make is this — isn’t India’s credit card story unfolding in reverse? While most markets evolved from credit cards to digital payments via their phones (or smartwatches, in some cases, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Watch range), banks and fintechs in India are busy convincing what has become a UPI-educated population that plastic (or in case of some cards, that feeling of metal) still matters. The question isn’t whether co-branded credit cards can survive in a nation that processes over 2,000 crore UPI transactions monthly—it’s more of a habit, and can the lure of cashbacks get more users to switch to a card instead, at least for certain transactions?
The numbers will immediately tell you a contradictory tale. India’s 11.16 crore active credit cards seem impressive until you place them against China’s 70 crore or America’s 82 crore. But that’s where I argue that we’re perhaps measuring something that’s too obvious anyway. In a country where UPI has democratised payments with zero merchant fees (though that’s changing, particularly for RuPay cards on UPI) and instant settlement, credit cards must not only compete on convenience, they’ve to surmount a bigger challenge I see emerging from conversations I have with people — most don’t understand the finer workings of a credit card, particularly due dates, minimum payment amounts, carry forward and interest rates on that, and so on.
This is where the co-branded model reveals its true ambition. Banks aren’t simply partnering with Flipkart, Airtel, or PhonePe to offer rewards; they’re hoping to embed credit into the daily rituals of digital India. When Tata Neu and HDFC Bank celebrate issuing 2 million cards, they’re not just counting plastic sent to users via courier — they’re counting people who’ve crossed the threshold from cash-and-debit to formal credit. While formal credit penetration remains stubbornly low, these partnerships aren’t loyalty programs but gateways to building that credit economy. Yet herein lies the fragility. The IndusInd EazyDiner credit card benefit devaluations last year punished genuine users after widespread gaming of the system—exposes the Achilles heel of certain structures of rewards-driven loyalty. The risk here is, when a value proposition is arbitrarily revised (I don’t often blame banks, but as a consumer, you’ve a right to feel shortchanged; particularly for paid cards), you’re not building loyalty. Axis Bank’s Arnika Dixit’s emphasis on “habitual usage” over “sharp rewards” suggests the industry is learning this lesson, albeit slowly. The future belongs not to the highest cashback, but to the most indispensable integration
When BOBCARD’s Ravindra Rai speaks of co-branded cards as “entry points for first-time credit users,” he’s describing not just a business strategy but a social experiment in financial inclusion. Perhaps the most profound shift is philosophical. Banks are being forced to acknowledge what fintech founders have known instinctively — in India’s market, no single institution’s balance sheet can shoulder the nation’s credit appetite. The collaboration between Google Pay, PhonePe, CRED, and traditional banks isn’t just commercial pragmatism or only an admission, but a coming together to build India’s credit future that can be distributed, platform-native. The co-branded credit card, then, is less a product and more a revolution. Something that more than one institution hopes, will be a success.
CAR CORNER: CHINA IS WHERE COMMON SENSE PREVAILS
China’s door handle reckoning isn’t to be taken lightly. The country’s intention to ban powered door handles on all passenger cars that weigh under 3.5 tonnes (that’s under 3,500 kg) is an implementation of common sense over the pursuit for tech driven aesthetics which often fail in crush moments. From 2027, passenger cars sold in China must have the mechanical door handles as we’ve known them over the years. At least till tech companies convinced car companies to integrate powered handles that pop out when a car is unlocked and then retract to stay flush with the rest of the bodywork. Looks good, but this potentially becomes a nightmare in case of a rescue scenario in the event of a car accident — electrical tend to fail at that stage, and these lovely door handles will not pop out (this reminds me, I have issues with electronic parking brakes too — always prefer to buy cars with manual handbrake systems).
China’s Ministry of Information and Technology (MIIT) is absolutely right in making the choice for carmakers who can’t seen to choose right — function over form factor, because safety is paramount. One would hope these proposed rules see the light of day in this iteration. The draft also specifies standards for door handle release as well as vehicle power-off systems, and also handle placement specifics. From whatever I have read in the Chinese media, they suggest online reaction from citizens has been mostly supportive of this draft proposal. Car makers don’t need to hide door handles to make cars beautiful. I hope most of these boffins working at car companies don’t transition to aviation. They’d probably create some sort of a nightmare for the flight crew. Time for carmakers in India also to take notes, I would hazard a guess? A few carmakers have been on this trajectory, the new Mahindra XUV 7XO being an example.