Honor 20 Review: Victim of Circumstance

The Honor 20 series was introduced at arguably the worst possible time. With Huawei’s
Android license pulled
 – which also affects Honor – the future of the Chinese company’s smartphone business is uncertain. In fact, we’re seeing some of the effects right now: even though the Honor 20 has been launched in Malaysia, we still don’t know exactly when it will go on sale.

Despite that, the Honor 20 is really quite a good flagship smartphone. When (or if) the device goes on sale in Malaysia, it is worth considering for those who want a competent, affordable flagship smartphone. However, whether or not it’s a wise decision to purchase a Honor or Huawei smartphone right now…is an entirely different question.

Specifications

Display
6.26-inch FHD+ LTPS (2340 x 1080)
Chipset
Huawei Kirin 980 2.6GHz octa-core
GPU
Mali-G76 MP10
RAM
6GB
Storage
128GB, non-expandable
Camera (rear)
48MP f/1.8
16MP f/2.2 (super wide)
2MP f/2.4 (macro)
2MP f/2.4 (depth)
Camera (front)
32MP f/2.0
Battery
3,750mAh
Dimensions
154.3 x 74 x 7.9 mm
Weight
174g
OS
Magic UI 2.1 based on Android 9 Pie
Connectivity
LTE
NFC
Bluetooth 5.0
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz)
USB Type-C

Powered by the same chipset found in the
Huawei Mate 20
 and
P30
 smartphones, the Honor 20 has flagship-tier performance. On top of that, it also has reasonably good RAM and storage capacities, even though it doesn’t support expandable storage.

Besides that, this phone also has a quad camera system, not to mention a pretty generous 3,750mAh battery. This may not be the biggest battery capacity on a smartphone this size, but it can return
very
 respectable battery life. I’ll elaborate more further down this review.

Design

Surprisingly enough, there aren’t that many smartphones with
hole-punch screen cutouts
 like the Honor 20, which gives it a distinguishing feature. Aesthetically, it looks very similar to the Honor View 20’s display – it looks good without being too intrusive.

I’ve always preferred a hole-punch design, and I think it’s a great compromise between the use of pop-up cameras for an all-screen look – which in turn introduces moving parts that are susceptible to breaking – and a notched display. A hole-punch screen doesn’t have any moving parts, and it doesn’t take up as much space as a notch.

Overall design of the Honor 20 is also pretty minimalist. At least, that’s the case with the Midnight Black model I have here. It doesn’t have the shimmery effect of the Sapphire Blue variant, and it looks understated enough for those who want a device that isn’t quite as striking.

In terms of build quality, the Honor 20 feels premium and solid. The metal frame and glass back are nice to the touch, and the rounded corners of the phone help a lot with ergonomics. That being said, the glass and metal construction does make it a really slippery phone – I lost grip on the phone more times than I care to admit.

Without a doubt the Honor 20 feels like a proper high-end smartphone, and that is always a good thing for an affordable flagship device. If I were to nitpick, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor does feel sharp around the edges.

User Experience

That’s right, the Honor 20 has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that also doubles as the power button, and it works great. Like most capacitive fingerprint sensors, it is very accurate, and it can unlock the phone lightning fast. However, there were some instances where it took some time for the phone to wake from sleep.

Now, I don’t think that’s the fault of the fingerprint sensor. Rather, I suspect it’s a software side issue. It’s an oddity I’ve noticed on other Honor smartphones too, where it occasionally takes slightly longer for the phones to respond once I clicked on the power button. While it doesn’t happen too often, it’s still worth pointing out.

Speaking of software, the Honor 20 runs on Magic UI 2.1 based on Android 9 Pie. As far as I can tell, it feels and looks a lot like Huawei’s EMUI software. Both versions of Android are almost indistinguishable from each other, which leads me to believe it’s merely one way for Honor to differentiate itself further from Huawei.

Regardless, Magic UI 2.1 will take some time to get accustomed to. The app drawer is not enabled by default, the user interface may not be to everyone’s taste, and there are some bloatware here and there. Overall, however, it’s still a responsive, lightweight version of Android with no serious shortcoming.

Next, we have performance, and the Honor 20 simply flies in this regard. The Kirin 980 is a very capable chipset, and I can multitask seamlessly with this phone. Switching from one app to another in quick succession proved to be a non-issue, and gaming on it is simply a joy. I’ve played a couple rounds of PUBG Mobile on the Honor 20, and I was getting high and consistent frame rate – very impressive.

Even though it doesn’t have a fancy OLED display, this phone’s 6.26-inch 1080p IPS display looks great. It has relatively neutral white balance, good viewing angles, and punchy, vibrant colours. Sure, you don’t get the deep blacks of an OLED panel, but this
is
 an affordable flagship; expectations have to be managed.

But what really blew my expectations is the Honor 20’s battery life. Packed with a 3,750mAh battery, I can consistently get over
eight hours
 of screen on time with this device, and I’m quite a heavy smartphone user. That’s
insanely
good battery life, and I reckon lighter users can get up to two days of usage effortlessly.

Charging rate of the Honor 20, on the other hand, is decent. Within 30 minutes of charging, the phone got up to 46% from empty.

I thoroughly enjoyed using the Honor 20 as my daily driver for this review, even if the software experience isn’t the best in the market. Plus, the excellent battery life and performance more than make up for this.

Camera

There are four cameras on the back of the Honor 20: the primary 48MP camera, a 16MP wide angle shooter, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens. Even though there’s no telephoto sensor, the camera can still do “2x zoom.” It’s merely digital zoom, of course.

16MP wide angle
48MP primary
2x digital zoom

Without a doubt the primary 48MP sensor takes the best-looking shots. Like most smartphone cameras with 48MP cameras, the Honor 20 uses pixel binning to improve low light performance and reduce the image size to 12MP. The result? Well, very good camera performance regardless of lighting condition.

That being said, the shooting experience could definitely be better. The camera interface is not particularly responsive (it gets especially sluggish in low light conditions), and there is noticeable shutter lag in between shots. As a whole, however, the Honor 20 is still a capable shooter. The Super Macro mode – which uses the 2MP macro lens – is quite fun to play around with too.

2MP macro

Considering its relatively affordable price tag for a flagship-tier smartphone, you’re getting very respectable camera performance with the Honor 20. It is by no means better than class leaders like the
Samsung Galaxy S10e
, but it doesn’t cost as much either.

Competition

Retailing at RM1,699 for the sole 128GB variant with 6GB of RAM, the Honor 20 is one of the most affordable flagship smartphones in Malaysia. At this price point, it has a number of tough competition.

Xiaomi Mi 9

This is the closest competitor to the Honor 20. Even though the RM1,699 base model of the
Xiaomi Mi 9
 only offers half the amount of storage at 64GB, it has a number of advantages. It feels more premium, it has slightly better camera performance, and its AMOLED display is more pleasant to look at.

But there are also a number of areas where the Honor 20 is superior. It has much better battery life, its hole-punch display looks a lot better than the Mi 9’s notched display (although this is subjective), and I’d argue Honor’s Magic UI offers better software experience than MIUI 10.

That last part, however, could dramatically change in the near future. Now that Honor’s Android license has been pulled, it remains to be seen if Magic UI will even be relevant by the end of the year.

Honor View 20

If you want a different device that has a lot of similarities with the Honor 20, there’s the Honor View 20. It has the same Kirin 980 chipset, a larger 4,000mAh battery, and more importantly, you can get it
at a lower price point
 right now.

If a good, flexible camera system is what you want, the Honor 20 will be better in this regard. Not only does it have a wide angle sensor the View 20 lacks, it also features a macro lens. Besides that, I personally prefer the Honor 20’s side-mounted fingerprint sensor over the View 20’s rear sensor.

Conclusion

On its own, the Honor 20 is a very competent flagship smartphone that doesn’t cost all that much. It has fantastic battery life, a capable camera system, fast performance, and a premium design. If it weren’t for the company’s Android licensing issue with Google, I would not hesitate to recommend this phone to anyone.

But that really is the biggest issue plaguing Honor and Huawei smartphones right now. Even if the Honor 20 goes on sale in Malaysia in the next few weeks with all of Google’s services intact, software updates will be another area of concern. Chances are, this phone will not receive Android Q officially.

Granted, Magic UI 2.1 in its current state is still a very functional version of Android. And if you don’t care about Android updates anyway, this issue will not be relevant to you at all. But do note that you will miss out on new features introduced in later versions of Android, and Honor may not be able to do the same.

Having Huawei’s Android license pulled is an unprecedented turn of events, and unfortunately enough, the Honor 20 is caught in the middle of it all. It’s a victim of circumstance, and it makes the phone tough to recommend
not because
 it is a bad product, but due to an issue that is out of Honor’s control.


Deal: Xiaomi Mi A2 Price Drops Even Further

Previously, we stumbled upon a
pretty good deal
 on the Xiaomi Mi A2. Surprise surprise, the price dropped even further today. You can now get the Android One device
from only RM639
.

Compared to the original asking price of the 64GB Mi A2, this would
save you exactly RM260
. On top of that, this deal is offered by Xiaomi’s official store on Lazada. Unfortunately, only the Gold model is in stock; the other colours are unavailable.

As for the higher-end 128GB Mi A2, it sees a pretty good price drop too. Usually retailing at RM1,099, Xiaomi is now listing it
for only RM829
, saving you RM270. Unlike the 64GB model, this variant comes with more colour options: you can either get it in Gold or Black.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 may not be the best mid-range smartphone money can buy, but its Android One status promises quick Android updates and excellent software experience. If that’s what you look for in a smartphone, look no further than the Mi A2,
especially
at these prices.


Oppo Reno 10x Zoom Retails at RM3,399 in Malaysia

A couple of weeks ago, the
standard Oppo Reno
 was launched in Malaysia. Today, it’s the bigger brother’s turn: the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom Edition is now available for pre-order on our shores until 17 June. As a full-fledged premium smartphone, the Reno 10x Zoom also carries an equally premium price tag – it goes for RM3,399 in Malaysia.

At this price point, the Reno 10x Zoom is unmistakably a costly smartphone. But is it worth its asking price? Let’s find out.

Design wise, the Reno 10x Zoom looks and feels a lot like its more affordable sibling, even though it has a slightly larger 6.6-inch 1080p OLED display. It feels like a proper flagship smartphone, and I love the frosted glass-like finish on the back panel of the Ocean Green variant.

And then we have the all-screen design of the Reno 10x Zoom. While there’s still
a bit of a chin
 at the bottom of the display, the top bezel is free from
any notch or hole-punch cutout
. It gives the phone a very sleek aesthetic, and it really is one of the most visually appealing smartphones in the market now.

In order to realise the all-screen design, Oppo equipped the Reno 10x Zoom with a motorised “shark fin” 16MP f/2.0 pop-up camera. As I’ve mentioned in my
hands-on of the standard Reno
, the unique camera mechanism is a lot quieter to activate, but it is also slower to move up. Overall, however, the slightly slower pop-up action shouldn’t affect regular use too much.

What differentiates the Reno 10x Zoom from the standard model are a couple of notable hardware. Not only is the former powered by a much more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset (instead of the regular Reno’s Snapdragon 710 SoC), it comes with a much more sophisticated camera system too.

Naturally, as its name suggests, the Reno 10x Zoom model can do 10x hybrid zoom, thanks to its triple camera system. It consists of a 48MP f/1.7 shooter, a 13MP f/3.0 telephoto camera, and an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle sensor. The camera system also uses a periscope-style lens arrangement, which makes it possible to have that impressive zooming capability without added thickness.

So how does the 10x hybrid zoom perform? Well,
it works as advertised
. Without a doubt both optical and digital zoom are used to achieve 10x zoom, but the results do look quite promising. Then again, this is only my first impression of it: I wasn’t able to test out the phone’s zooming performance extensively.

Camera performance of the Reno 10x Zoom as a whole, on the other hand, is quite good. In fact, it’s very similar to the standard Reno’s image output, though this 10x Zoom model does have the added flexibility of a telephoto lens (obviously) and a wide angle shooter. I’ve only tested the camera’s performance under ideal lighting, so it remains to be seen how well it would perform in low light conditions.

As for performance, the Reno 10x Zoom has ample amount of power. The Snapdragon 855 under the hood of this phone is a very capable chipset, and it lends to a very pleasant user experience. In my brief time with the device, I didn’t notice any stutter or lag; as expected of a flagship smartphone.

Much like the standard model, the Reno 10x Zoom also comes with an OLED panel. It’s a slightly larger 6.6-inch 1080p display, and it has very deep blacks, punchy colours, and great viewing angles – common traits of OLED screens. A 1080p display may not sound impressive (especially for a flagship phone at this price range), it does have one major advantage: power efficiency.

Since it is a bigger phone, the Reno 10x Zoom also has a larger 4,065mAh battery. With the combination of the generous battery capacity and 1080p display, you can expect to get good battery life out of this device.

All in all, the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom Edition is a good flagship smartphone – great, even. Its zooming capability is impressive (even if the
Huawei P30 Pro
 has a similar camera system), it has a sleek design, and it is a fast smartphone. But the thing is, it’s also priced on the higher side of things.

Sure, RM3,399 isn’t all that bad for 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, but Oppo’s decision to bring in only one variant of the Reno 10x Zoom also means there is no lower price of entry. Even if you don’t want that much storage space, you don’t have any other choice.

Of course, the Reno 10x Zoom Edition’s feature set and design could justify its steep asking price, and it’s only fair to reserve judgment until I’ve got the device in for a full review. Nonetheless, if you really fancy the phone’s camera system and all-screen design, I reckon it is worth checking out.

Plus, this is an Oppo flagship smartphone – it’s rare for the company to release any device in this particular segment.


Asus ZenBook Pro Duo Reimagines The MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar

Computex 2019 is upon us, and one of the most interesting new products announced so far comes from Asus. This is the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo, and it has
two
 4K displays: one at the top, and another below the main display, right above the keyboard.

This isn’t the first time we see a similar concept, but the ZenBook Pro Duo does take it further by introducing a much larger secondary display. Asus calls it the ScreenPad Plus, and there are a couple of…interesting use case scenarios for it.

If you think the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar is interesting, this laptop may be right up your alley.

So why would you need a secondary display as big as the one found on the ZenBook Pro Duo? Well, Asus outlined a number of applications for the 14-inch 3840 x 1100 ScreenPad Plus, which are aimed at content creators. You can use the bundled stylus (or any active stylus) to write or draw on the screen, use it as a control panel of sorts, or just simply treat it as extra screen real estate.

In reality, the ScreenPad Plus functions just like any standard secondary display in Windows, and it can be used as an extension of the main display. Alternatively, you can even open separate windows on the ScreenPad – we imagine multitaskers will love this feature.

Moving beyond the ScreenPad Plus, the primary display of the ZenBook Pro Duo is very eye-catching. Much like the secondary screen, the 15.6-inch main display also has 4K resolution, but it is a far more impressive OLED panel. According to Asus, the OLED display has 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, not to mention very deep blacks and vibrant colours.

On top of that, the ZenBook Pro Duo has very high screen-to-body ratio of 89%, thanks to the minimal bezels on all four sides of the screen. Without a doubt this is a very sleek-looking laptop, and it doesn’t have a display chin like most laptops in today’s market.

Hardware wise, the ZenBook Pro Duo is quite powerful. It packs an Intel Core i9-9980HK or i7-9750H processor paired with up to 32GB of DDR4 2666MHz RAM, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, up to 1TB of fast PCIe SSD storage, and the webcam even has Windows Hello support.

However, all of that hardware really weigh down the laptop. Tipping the scales at 2.5kg, the ZenBook Pro Duo isn’t something you’d want to lug around too long in your backpack. On top of that, measuring 24mm thick, it’s not particularly slim either.

Unfortunately, pricing of the ZenBook Pro Duo has not been revealed yet, but expect it to cost quite a bit. After all, that 4K OLED screen, processor, and GPU combo do not come cheap.

If you want something more affordable, but still offers the same kind of features, there’s the Asus ZenBook Duo. Basically, it’s a smaller version of the Pro model, albeit with some hardware downgrades here and there to keep the price low.

Instead of the Pro variant’s impressive 4K displays, the standard ZenBook Duo only gets a primary 14-inch 1080p display, and a 12.6-inch Full HD ScreenPad Plus. Besides that, you can only equip this model with a Core i7 chip paired with up 16GB of LPDDR3 2133MHz RAM; the GPU is heavily downgraded to an MX250 too.

Even though the regular ZenBook Duo isn’t a very powerful laptop, it makes up for it in portability. Weighing only 1.8kg with a 19mm thin chassis, it’s a much more practical machine for those who are always on the go.

Much like the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo, we still don’t know how much the ZenBook Duo will retail at. But you won’t have to wait too long to find out: both laptops are set to be available sometime in the third quarter of this year.


Redmi K20 Official: All-Screen Design, 48MP Camera, 1,999 Yuan Price Tag

The long-awaited Redmi K20 is now official, and it is Redmi’s first-ever flagship smartphone. Sporting a fast processor, an all-screen design, and a 48MP camera, the K20 is priced
very
competitively. In fact, this could very be the most attractive sub-RM2,000 flagship smartphone yet.

On top of that, there’s a very good chance the K20 will arrive in Malaysia sometime next month in June 2019. Should you be excited about Redmi’s first flagship phone? Well, let’s find out.

There are two variants of the Redmi K20: the standard K20, and the K20 Pro. Interestingly, what separates the two phones from each other are only the choice of chipset and charging rate. The K20 Pro comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 with support for 27W fast charge, while the regular K20 sports a Snapdragon 730 and 18W charging rate.

Beyond that, these two devices are identical to each other. They have 6.39-inch 1080p AMOLED displays, 4,000mAh batteries, in-screen fingerprint sensors, 48MP f/1.75 + 8MP f/2.4 (telephoto) + 13MP f/2.4 (wide angle) triple camera systems, and 20MP f/2.2 pop-up selfie shooters.

In terms of RAM and storage capacities, both phones can be configured with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

Aesthetically, the K20 and K20 Pro are pretty sleek-looking devices, thanks to the all-screen design without any notch or hole-punch cutout. However, like most modern smartphones in the market now, there is a small chin at the bottom of the display, though it doesn’t really take away from the phones’ sleek look.

On the back, the K20’s rear panel has a “flame texture,” which is said to change in appearance based on ambient lighting. Personally, I quite like the unconventional design. Those who want a more subdued look can opt for the black model; it has a carbon fibre-like finish instead.

As mentioned, the K20’s all-screen design is possible with the use of a pop-up selfie camera. According to Redmi, the camera mechanism can be activated over 300,000 times without any issue. Chances are, it should be durable enough to outlast the phone itself – emphasis on the “should.” With all moving parts, there is always risk of it breaking.

If you’re a music lover, you’ll appreciate the K20’s audio-centric feature. It’s equipped with Qualcomm’s Aqstic audio codec (WCD 9335), which has an integrated DAC that “supports Hi-Fi audio playback up to 192kHz/24bit PCM,” as Qualcomm puts it. Naturally, this phone also has a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Redmi also emphasised on the K20’s improved in-screen fingerprint sensor. Even though it’s still an optical sensor (instead of an ultrasonic one found in Samsung’s latest flagships), it’s said to be faster and more reliable. If the
Xiaomi Mi 9
‘s fast in-screen sensor is any indication, the K20’s sensor should perform really well too.

When it comes to photography, users will appreciate the K20’s flexible triple camera system. It has all the tools you need for all kinds of shots: there’s the 48MP primary shooter, a 13MP wide angle camera, and an 8MP telephoto sensor.

Of course, the 48MP sensor takes advantage of pixel binning to improve the camera’s low light performance, which also reduces the image size down to 12MP. So far, this is the most sophisticated camera system on a Redmi smartphone – it’ll be interesting to see how it performs in real life.

Pricing has always been the main appeal of Redmi smartphones, and the Redmi K20 continues this tradition. In China, the standard K20 with 64GB of storage retails at 1,999 Chinese yuan (about RM1,210), while the 128GB model goes for 2,099 yuan (approximately RM1,270). Both models also come with 6GB of RAM.

But the model you
really
 want is the K20 Pro: the 6GB variants with 64GB and 128GB storage capacities go for 2,499 (RM1,515) and 2,599 (RM1,575) yuan respectively, while the 8GB models in 128GB and 256GB options retail at 2,799 (RM1,695) and 2,999 (RM1,820) respectively.

Needless to say, these are
very
 competitive pricing for a device of the Redmi K20’s calibre. If Xiaomi Malaysia can offer the K20 on our shores in the neighbourhood of this price range, the company may have a winner on its hands. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait too long for the Redmi K20 series to arrive here.


The New Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 Is Finally a Competent Laptop

Dell’s range of XPS laptops have always been some of the best productivity laptops, and at Computex 2019, the company finally updated the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 properly. Now sporting a new design, a more powerful processor, and a taller display, the convertible laptop is better than ever.

Personally, the XPS 13 2-in-1’s lack of power has always been my biggest qualm with the laptop. But now that Dell has addressed this – among other things – it is now a competent, attractive convertible laptop. In fact, it is potentially better than the standard XPS 13.

Unlike its predecessor’s use of Intel’s Y-series CPUs, the new XPS 13 2-in-1 comes with the chipmaker’s latest generation Ice Lake CPUs from the U-series. The new processors promise up to 2.5 times better performance, making this productivity laptop a lot more capable.

However, switching to the more powerful processors also necessitates better cooling. Unlike the previous model’s passive cooling system, the revamped convertible has physical fans to cool down the internals. Is it a worthwhile trade-off? In my book, it sure is.

Another area where Dell improved upon is the XPS 13 2-in-1’s display. Previously, the laptop only had a 16:9 display, but the new model is now equipped with a taller 16:10 screen. Basically, it’s the same aspect ratio as Apple’s range of MacBook laptops, and that is a very good thing.

When it comes to productivity laptops, a 16:10 display makes a lot more sense for one simple reason: you have more vertical space to work with. Scrolling and reading through documents would be easier, and the display wouldn’t look as narrow as a conventional 16:9 screen. It may seem like a small change, but the extra screen real estate is a godsend on compact laptops like this.

Nonetheless, the 13.4-inch InfinityEdge display of the XPS 13 2-in-1 can be configured with two resolutions: a regular 1920 x 1200 screen, or a more impressive 3840 x 2400 panel. Whichever resolution you opt for, you will still get a touch display. This is, after all, a convertible laptop. It would make little sense to have a non-touch screen.

In line with the standard XPS 13’s new design, the XPS 13 2-in-1’s webcam is finally at the top of the display. You don’t have to deal with awkward camera angles anymore, and the top bezel still remains very thin. Speaking of which, the overall bezel size is very minimal too; there’s no chin to be found here.

And then we have the XPS 13 2-in-1’s new maglev keyboard. If you’re wondering, it is the same keyboard found on the XPS 15 2-in-1. Chances are, the typing experience should be very similar too. I’ve tried out the maglev keyboard on the XPS 15 before, and truth be told, it is not for everyone.

See, the maglev keyboard relies on magnets to provide tactile feedback, and while it does a very good job in this regard, the key travel is
very
short. This, in turn, makes for a shallow typing experience. I don’t particularly mind this, but if you’re not a fan of the MacBook’s butterfly keyboard, you wouldn’t like the maglev keyboard either.

Rounding out the specifications of the updated XPS 13 2-in-1 are up to 32GB of LPDDR4 RAM, three choices of PCIe SSD storage (256GB, 512GB, or 1TB), a 51WHr battery, and a fingerprint sensor built into the power button.

The new Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 does not have a release date yet, but it will retail from $1,000 – that comes up to about RM4,190. Yes, it’s not an affordable convertible, but the XPS lineup has always been positioned as a premium offering.


Deal: Samsung Galaxy S10e Price Hits Below RM2,000

The Samsung Galaxy S10e is the most affordable phone in the S10 series, and it just hit its lowest price yet. In fact, it is currently
going below the RM2,000 mark
 – that’s a really good price for Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone.

This deal is offered by well-known Lazada retailer Wow Phone. Originally retailing at RM2,699, the Galaxy S10e is offered
for only RM1,989 now
. On top of that, you can even collect a RM10 voucher from Wow Phone,
further reducing the price to RM1,979
.

Of course, Wow Phone is offering original Malaysian units of the Galaxy S10e, so any warranty claim from Samsung Malaysia should not be an issue. It is also offering all three colours of the device: Prism White, Prism Black, and Prism Green.

As far as flagship smartphones go, the Samsung Galaxy S10e’s compact form factor and overall feature set make it one of the most
unique high-end phones
 in the market now. To learn more, check out our
comprehensive review of the S10e
.


Should You Buy a Gaming Laptop Now?

We’ve seen
pretty interesting gaming laptops
 in recent times, and with the introduction of
Nvidia’s mobile GTX 1660 Ti and GTX 1650 GPUs
, even more affordable gaming laptops are very capable now. In fact, right now is arguably
the best time
 to buy a gaming laptop.

However, now that Intel’s latest generation Ice Lake CPUs are official, should you hold out a bit longer? Or should you just take the leap? We’ll look at either sides of the argument.

Why You Should Wait

One of the biggest reasons to hold out from purchasing any gaming laptop right now is to wait for Intel’s new 10th generation processors. Even though the company already unveiled some Ice Lake processors for the generation, the H-series lineup has not been announced yet – that’s the one typically found in gaming laptops.

What makes the Intel’s 10th generation CPUs exciting is the die shrink: it is Intel’s first real batch of 10nm chips. With the smaller manufacturing process, better power efficiency is the most immediate benefit, and that is always a good thing.

At the moment, there’s not much detail on upcoming 10th generation Intel chips specifically for gaming laptops. Who knows, perhaps there will be other important features that will make these CPUs superior to the current 9th generation H-series processors, especially in terms of processing power. Creative professionals will definitely appreciate that.

Why You Shouldn’t Wait

While it is important to have a capable CPU that will not bottleneck the system, it is the GPU that affects gaming performance the most. Sure, a faster, more power-efficient CPU is always desired, but it doesn’t bring
that
 much of a difference in terms of raw gaming performance.

Of course, future processors will definitely be faster and better than current 9th generation chips found in gaming laptops, but Intel only introduced these processors…well, last month. Although the performance gain isn’t particularly great, it will still take quite some time for the chipmaker to introduce the next generation.

Even if you don’t mind waiting, the current crop of mobile GPUs in the market right now already offer some of the best value for money. Take the GTX 1660 Ti: it’s only slightly slower than the higher-end RTX 2060 GPU, but it costs considerably less. The
Asus TUF Gaming FX505
, for example, retails at RM4,399 for the GTX 1660 Ti model, and it’s a very capable gaming laptop.

And if you’re looking to get something even more affordable, great news: the GTX 1650 fits the bill. You can easily get a gaming laptop with that GPU in the RM3,000 price range, and it has very good performance for the money.

While it is not quite as fast as the older GTX 1060, the GTX 1650 is a lot faster than its direct predecessor, the GTX 1050 Ti. In fact, it will be relatively easy to get over 60fps in popular games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Apex Legends, and Fortnite at 1080p with high graphics settings.

The point is, whether you’re looking to get a gaming laptop with the best value for money or gaming performance, you have plenty of options to choose from right this instance. As we speak, a number of manufacturers are already bringing in more gaming laptops with the new GTX 1660 Ti and GTX 1650 GPUs to Malaysia.

Conclusion

Those who are looking to get a gaming laptop right now shouldn’t be worried about missing out on “the next big thing.” Current gaming laptops in the market already offer excellent performance for the money, and if you’re already eyeing a particular laptop, there’s little reason to wait any longer.

Plus, no matter what, future gaming laptops will always be more capable than current offerings; it’s inevitable in the tech industry. But how big of a leap that would be still remains to be seen, but rest assured, it won’t happen anytime soon.


Oppo Reno Review: A Mid-Ranger in a Flagship Shell

The Oppo Reno series is quite interesting. Unlike other smartphone series, the Reno lineup has two devices from separate segments. The standard Reno is a mid-range smartphone, while the
Reno 10x Zoom Edition
 is a high-end, flagship device.

I’ve used the regular Reno as my daily driver for the past couple of weeks, and even though it’s “only” a mid-range smartphone, it has some elements of a proper, flagship smartphone too. That being said, it’s also quite a costly mid-ranger. So is it worth getting? Let’s find out.

Specifications

Display
6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED (2340 x 1080)
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 2.2GHz octa-core
GPU
Adreno 616
RAM
6GB
Storage
256GB, non-expandable
Camera (rear)
48MP f/1.7 (primary)
5MP f/2.4 (depth)
Camera (front)
16MP f/2.0 (motorised)
Battery
3,765mAh
Dimensions
156.6 x 74.3 x 9 mm
Weight
185g
OS
ColorOS 6 based on Android 9 Pie
Connectivity
LTE
NFC
Bluetooth 5.0
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz)
3.5mm headphone jack
USB Type-C

Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset, the Reno is comfortably an upper mid-range smartphone. Even though it’s not quite as fast as a flagship device, it’s still plenty capable. On top of that, the reasonably big 3,765mAh battery can return good battery life too.

Unfortunately, the Reno doesn’t have a microSD card slot, but it does come standard with 256GB of internal storage. The downside? It drives up the price of the phone quite a bit. Nonetheless, having that amount of native storage should be sufficient for most users.

Design

As it shares the same design language as the higher-end Reno 10x Zoom model, the standard Reno feels like a flagship smartphone. It is very well-built, it feels great in the hands, and most of all, it looks really stunning in person.

What makes the Reno unique is its rear glass panel, which has a frosted glass-like finish. It’s reminiscent of the
Oppo R17 Pro
‘s design, and while it does make the phone quite slippery, it feels really nice to the touch. However, this finish is only available on the Ocean Green colourway; the Jet Black model has a glossy, more fingerprint-prone finish instead.

On the front, the Reno has an almost all-screen design with a bit of chin at the bottom of the display. Among all screen types in the current market (notch,
hole-punch cutout
, you name it), this is the most aesthetically pleasing design, even if it is not the most practical solution.

Like most smartphones with an all-screen design, the Reno has a “shark fin” 16MP motorised pop-up camera. It’s a good solution in theory, but as with all moving parts, there’s always a chance it will break sometime in the phone’s lifespan. However, Oppo claims that the camera module can be activated over 100 times daily for five years without issue.

That kind of assurance is good, but do note that it can gather dust quite easily. While a quick wipe is enough to clean it, it’s still quite unsightly.

Overall, the Oppo Reno is a mid-range smartphone that looks and feels like a phone above its segment. In fact, if it had a more powerful chipset, I wouldn’t hesitate to call it a flagship smartphone.

User Experience

ColorOS 6 on the Reno is quite similar to other versions of Android from Chinese phone makers. There is no app drawer (but there is an option to enable it), and there are some bloatware here and there.

Now, I don’t particularly mind bloatware if they can be uninstalled easily, but that’s not the case with ColorOS. There is one app in particular that got my attention: the Oppo App Store. As its name suggests, it is the company’s app store, and occasionally, it would even send push notifications.

I
could
 block the app from sending notifications, but to not be able to outright uninstall it from the phone is quite annoying.

Regardless, it’s a good thing other aspects of ColorOS 6 are good. It is lightweight, there is no major bug, and it feels fast and responsive. One particular feature that I really appreciate is the always on display, although I do wish it was more functional – it only show notifications from specific apps.

Beyond software, the in-screen fingerprint sensor of the Oppo Reno is quite good. It’s not the quickest sensor around, but it can consistently identify my fingerprint accurately. I can’t say the same for the vast majority of in-screen sensors.

In the performance department, the Reno’s Snapdragon 710 chipset is fast enough to provide a pleasant user experience. I can switch between different apps relatively quickly, I can play games like PUBG Mobile and Hearthstone without issue, and the phone as a whole doesn’t feel sluggish.

That being said, you will notice the deficit in performance if you compare it to a flagship smartphone in the same price point. As capable as the Snapdragon 710 is, it’s not in the same league as the Snapdragon 855. It’s not even comparable to last year’s Snapdragon 845, for that matter.

Let’s move on to something more positive: the Reno’s 6.4-inch 1080p AMOLED display. Just like every other AMOLED panels, the Reno’s screen has very deep blacks, vibrant colours, great viewing angles, and good brightness level. I’m also quite impressed with the display’s colour temperature: it’s neither too cold nor too hot.

Battery life is also quite good on the Reno. ColorOS doesn’t allow me to check the screen on time of the phone, but I’m confident it’s somewhere between four to five hours. While this isn’t particularly impressive for a phone with a 3,765mAh battery, I’m a heavy user, and never did the Reno run out of juice before the day ends throughout the review period.

Oppo’s proprietary VOOC 3.0 fast charging technology on the Reno is quite decent too. Within 30 minutes of charging, the phone got up to about 50% from completely empty.

Using the Reno as my daily driver was a mostly positive affair. ColorOS 6 could definitely still use some work, but you can do a lot worse with other versions of Android.

Camera

In a market dominated by triple and quad camera systems, it’s pretty surprising to see only two rear cameras on the Reno. The primary shooter is a 48MP f/1.7 camera, while the 5MP f/2.4 sensor is for capturing depth information. So how does the dual camera system perform? Pretty good, actually.

Whether it’s daytime or nighttime, the Reno can take good-looking shots. To improve low light performance, the 48MP sensor takes advantage of pixel binning, which also reduces the file size of images it takes to 12MP. Basically, you won’t be disappointed with the Reno’s camera performance.

However, having only one “real” camera sensor does limit the Reno’s versatility. After all, it only has one focal length to work with, and the “2x zoom” option in the camera interface relies solely on digital zoom.

Normal shoot
2x digital zoom
Night mode disabled
Night mode enabled

Most – if not all – of the Reno’s competition have a wide array of focal lengths to choose from, so its dual camera system certainly pales in comparison. However, you do get very good camera performance with this phone, and the night mode (even if the results can look artificial in certain conditions) improves low light performance even further.

Does it have the best camera performance in this price range? Well, not exactly. But I definitely enjoyed shooting with this phone.

Competition

Only one variant of the Oppo Reno is offered in Malaysia, which is the 256GB model with 6GB of RAM. That’s a generous amount of storage, but retailing at RM1,999, the Reno has to contend with a number of smartphones that are not only more capable, but also offer better value for money.

Xiaomi Mi 9

At this price point, the
Xiaomi Mi 9
 is arguably the best smartphone to get. Compared to the Reno, it has a faster Snapdragon 855 chipset, a much more capable and flexible camera system, as well as a better in-screen fingerprint sensor. Although the RM1,999 variant of the Mi 9 only has half the storage at 128GB, you’re still getting a lot more value for your money here.

Of course, there are areas where the Reno is superior. Aesthetically, I’d argue this phone is a lot sleeker than the Mi 9, especially with its all-screen design and unique glass back. That is not to say the Mi 9 isn’t good-looking, but its notched display definitely isn’t quite as eye-catching as the Reno’s notch-free screen.

Samsung Galaxy S10e

Officially retailing at RM2,699, you can easily get the
Samsung Galaxy s10e
 around the
RM2,000 price point now
, putting it in the same price bracket as the Reno. The S10e is a smaller device, yes, but it has a more impressive Dynamic AMOLED display, water and dust resistance, superior (and more versatile) camera system, and support for expandable storage.

But, again, design is where the Reno comes up on top. The Galaxy S10e simply cannot compete with the Reno’s all-screen design and beautiful glass back. Next to Oppo’s offering, the Galaxy S10e looks…pedestrian. Then again, that’s not a bad thing if you want a more minimalist, understated smartphone.

Conclusion

To sum it up, the Oppo Reno is a handsome, sleek mid-range smartphone in a flagship shell. After all, it shares the same chassis as the higher-end Reno 10x Zoom model, which is a proper flagship smartphone. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to dub the Reno a “premium” mid-ranger for this reason alone.

However, you will be paying quite the premium simply for the Reno’s aesthetics. See, other aspects of the phone simply aren’t up to par for a smartphone at this price point. It doesn’t offer the latest flagship chipset; it doesn’t have the best camera performance in this price range; and its software experience isn’t particularly fantastic either.

The only saving grace for the Reno is the generous 256GB internal storage, which is probably why it is so costly in the first place. If Oppo were to bring in a more affordable 128GB variant, I reckon that particular model would make a lot more sense for a mid-ranger like the Reno.

For what it’s worth, I thoroughly enjoyed using the Oppo Reno as my daily driver. I love how it looks, it feels great in my hands, and the all-screen design never gets old. Just know that you are paying a premium not for a faster, more capable smartphone, but simply for the Reno’s sleek design.

And I’m sure some folks are willing to do just that.


Apple WWDC 2019 – The Biggest Announcements

Apple’s WWDC event this year has a couple of pleasant surprises. As usual, a bunch of software updates are coming to Apple’s range of products, but (arguably) the star of the show is the new Mac Pro. It’s a big update, considering the fact that it hasn’t been refreshed in six long years.

There are quite a number of things detailed at WWDC last night, so here are the biggest announcements from the keynote.

The Most Expensive Mac Pro Yet

As Apple’s most powerful Mac device yet, it’s no surprise the Mac Pro will cost a small fortune. Set to retail
from
 $5,999 (that’s a whopping RM25,050 starting price) once it arrives later this fall, the base model of this machine comes with an octa-core Intel Xeon processor paired with 32GB of RAM, an AMD Radeon Pro 580X GPU, and a 256GB SSD.

If you so desire, the Mac Pro can be customised with a 28-core Xeon processor paired with up to
1.5TB of RAM
. According to Apple, the Mac Pro’s cooling system is robust enough for the 28-core Xeon processor to sustain peak performance at all times. In the graphics department, you can fit up to four AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPUs into the machine, giving you up to “56 teraflops of graphics performance and 128GB of video memory,” as Apple puts it.

Besides its raw hardware power, what makes the new Mac Pro an even more impressive machine is its modular design, which addresses one of the biggest shortcomings of the outgoing “trash can” Mac Pro. However, it remains to be seen just how easy it is to swap out parts and upgrade the Mac Pro, and whether or not consumers can actually do the upgrading themselves.

A $999 Monitor Stand for a $4,999 Display

Announced alongside the new Mac Pro is the $999 Pro Stand (about RM4,170) for the equally costly Pro Display XDR monitor that retails at an eye-watering $4,999 (approximately RM20,865). Yes, even the stand costs over RM4,000, and it has a counterbalance arm that can tilt, heighten, lower, and rotate the monitor.

As for the Pro Display XDR itself – XDR stands for extreme dynamic range – it is a 32-inch 6016 x 3384 Retina 6K LCD monitor with bezels only 9mm thin. Its brightness level is also very impressive, peaking at 1,600 nits with the ability to sustain 1,000 nits of brightness. On top of that, it also has Apple’s True Tone technology, P3 wide colour gamut, and 10-bit colour depth.

Just like the new Mac Pro, both the Pro Display XDR and Pro Stand will be available in fall 2019.

iOS 13 Introduces Dark Mode and Faster App Launch

As expected, Apple also detailed some key new features coming to iOS 13. The highlight? A new system-wide dark mode, of course. All first-party apps from Apple will support the new mode, and chances are, every aspect of the user interface will be darkened accordingly too.

Visual update aside, iOS 13 also promises better performance and some new features. Apps will supposedly launch up to two times faster, Face ID will unlock 30% quicker, the keyboard now supports swipe typing (similar to SwiftKey and Gboard), and iOS 13 can finally recognise external storage.

Beta version of the iOS 13 will be available for developers to test out starting today, while the public beta program will take place sometime in July. The final consumer version, on the other hand, will arrive in fall 2019.

iPad Gets Its Own OS

That’s right, iPad will run on its own OS in the future. Aptly dubbed iPadOS, the new platform makes iPads a lot more suitable for productivity tasks. It has a redesigned home screen, there’s now mouse support, it can recognise external storage (much like iOS 13), and there’s also a new copy and paste gesture – you can pinch with three fingers to copy, and then do a three-finger spread to paste.

Beyond that, iPadOS will still be very familiar to those who are used to iOS, but that will change moving forward. Apple will further differentiate the “iPad experience” from iPhones through gradual changes here and there, and it’ll be interesting to see where Apple will take iPadOS in the future.

Expect the consumer version of iPadOS to roll out later this fall.

macOS Catalina Adds iPad App Support

Last but certainly not least is the upcoming macOS Catalina update. Arriving sometime in fall 2019, one of the biggest changes is the splitting of iTunes into three separate apps: Podcasts, Apple TV, and Apple Music. It’s worth noting that these applications have already been available on iOS devices for years, so it’s merely macOS catching up here.

Nonetheless, Catalina does add a couple of noteworthy features; one of them is Sidecar, which lets you use an iPad as a secondary display for your Mac. This can be done wired or wirelessly, and certain apps even let you use an Apple Pencil with the iPad as a drawing tablet. Apps that support this include Adobe Illustrator, iWork, and Final Cut Pro X.

Perhaps the most interesting addition to macOS Catalina is Project Catalyst. It’s a framework that allows developers to port iPad apps to macOS, and if Catalyst takes off, it will further bolster the Mac’s selection of apps.

WWDC 2019 brought quite a number of interesting news, and we will see for ourselves how these software and hardware will pan out once they are officially released sometime in fall 2019.


Google Stadia Game Service Launches November 2019 – What You Need to Know

After several months
since its introduction
, Google finally revealed more information on its cloud gaming service, Google Stadia. We now know how much it will cost, exactly when it will go live, and even what games that are coming to the service – it’s quite a respectable lineup too.

That being said, not all of Stadia’s touted features will be available at launch, including the ability to play alongside your favourite YouTuber. Nonetheless, here’s what you need to know about Google Stadia – it’s set to be an exciting game streaming service.

First of all, let’s talk about the most important part of Stadia: pricing. Many were referring to Stadia as the “Netflix of gaming,” but that is not really the case here. In fact, Google even went as far to say that you should expect to
buy
 games on the streaming service (for the same price you pay on other platforms too) rather than rent them.

However, there will be a list of free games for those who subscribed to the Stadia Pro service that costs $10 (about RM40) a month. The caveat? Only Destiny 2 is in the list right now, and even that has a free-to-play version that’s coming out later this September on Steam.

If you don’t feel like spending any amount of money on Stadia just yet, good news: a free tier will be introduced sometime in 2020. Unfortunately, it remains to be seen what aspects of Stadia will be available to free users, but the stream quality will be limited to 1080p at 60fps.

You’ll need 20Mbps of bandwidth to play at that quality, but if your connection isn’t quite as fast, you only need 10Mbps of bandwidth to stream at 720p60. That’s pretty good quality with only 10Mbps of speed to work with.

Of course, those who are subscribed to Stadia Pro can get much better stream quality. 4K, 60fps streaming is available to these users, and it will come with HDR support and 5.1 surround sound too. In order to get this stream quality, 35Mbps of bandwidth is required.

Now then, what kind of games will be available on Stadia? As mentioned, Destiny 2 is in the list, along with Baldur’s Gate 3. In fact, the latter will launch
simultaneously
on Stadia as well as PC. Not bad for a brand new cloud gaming service.

In total, there are at least 31 titles coming to Stadia at launch, and these include the Tomb Raider trilogy, Final Fantasy XV, Borderlands 3, Mortal Kombat 11, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and even Metro Exodus. Also, there are two exclusive titles in the list: Get Packed and Gylt from Coatsink and Tequila Works respectively.

Other big publishers like Capcom, Electronic Arts, and Rockstar Games are also on board Stadia, though they have yet to introduce any titles for the cloud gaming service yet. Regardless, Google promises that more exclusive titles will be added to Stadia in the future.

Google Stadia will be available in 14 territories come November 2019, which include US, UK, Canada, and selected European countries. Unfortunately, Malaysia isn’t in the list, and it remains to be seen when (or if) Malaysia will receive the cloud gaming service.

Markets that will get Stadia at launch can opt to purchase the $129 (around RM535) Founder’s Edition, which include a limited-edition Stadia controller in Night Blue, as well as a Chromecast Ultra to plug into your TV to start streaming. On top of that, a three-month subscription to Stadia Pro is also thrown in for you (and a friend).

Hopefully, Google Stadia will be available in more markets after its November launch later this year. It’s an interesting game service, and it’s likely the reason why other big players in the gaming industry like PlayStation and Microsoft are focusing more on their respective cloud gaming services.

Nevertheless, the cloud gaming space is one to watch in the coming months.


PlayStation Days of Play Shopping Guide – What You Should Buy

If you’ve been waiting to get a good deal on any PlayStation 4 titles, great news: the PlayStation Days of Play sale offers just that, and many more. A bunch of exclusive games are heavily discounted right now; if you haven’t gotten any of these titles yet, you should definitely check them out.

On top of that, you can get further discount by playing PlayStation’s Ultimate Gamer Trivia quiz, which offers a 15% discount code. Without further ado, here’s how you can make the best of the Days of Play sale, and which games you
really
have to pick up.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

This is the first time Marvel’s Spider-Man can be bought below the RM100 mark. The PlayStation 4 exclusive title is now going
for only RM84.50
, and if you want the Deluxe Edition, it can be
yours for RM112
.

Out of the two choices, the Deluxe Edition is arguably the better buy. It bundles The City That Never Sleeps DLC, which provides three additional chapters in the story. Taking into account the small price difference between the standalone game and Deluxe Edition, the latter is very worth it for the extra content.

God of War

In the
previous PlayStation sale
, God of War was still quite costly, but that’s not the case anymore. The game itself now
costs only RM74.50
, while the Deluxe Edition is
listed at RM99.50
. The latter includes some in-game items, digital comic and artbook from Dark Horse, as well as a dynamic theme for your PlayStation 4.

And great news for those who have not caught up to the God of War story yet: God of War III Remastered is
going for merely RM9.90 now
. Needless to say, that’s a ridiculous good price for a game of this pedigree.

Detroit: Become Human

Quantic Dream’s latest game is arguably the developer’s best one yet, and it is now more affordable than ever. Detroit: Become Human used to retail well over RM200, but it is now
just RM47.40
.

Even though Detroit: Become Human relies mostly on QTE sequences, the game’s compelling storyline makes it a really enjoyable title to play through. Plus, the branching stories (impacted by the decisions you make in the game) also increase the game’s replay value.

Days Gone

Released quite recently in late April 2019, Days Gone can now be bought
for RM157.74
. Considering the fact that it’s a relatively new exclusive game for the PlayStation 4, this is a reasonably good offer. If you’re into zombie apocalypse action games, Days Gone may be worth checking out.

The Last of Us Remastered

Of course The Last of Us is in our list of exclusive games you have to buy. The Remastered version was released back in 2014 for the PlayStation 4, and it is now going
for only RM29.60
. That’s a fantastic price for anyone that hasn’t played the game yet.

On top of that, the Remastered edition also runs at 60fps, and it bundles together the Left Behind DLC. Basically, you’ll get to experience the full story of The Last of Us.

Uncharted 4

Much like The Last of Us, Uncharted 4 is also developed by renowned studio Naughty Dog. It’s a really good entry that ends the series on a high note, and it is now listed
at only RM29.60
. That’s a very attractive price for a proper AAA title like Uncharted 4.

PlayStation Plus Subscriptions

Unfortunately, PlayStation Plus subscriptions across the range will be more expensive come 1 August 2019. The 12-month subscription will go up to RM159 (from RM129), the 3-month plan RM69 (previously only RM43), and the one month subscription increases to RM29 from RM21.

Thankfully, the Days of Play sale is offering the 12-month PlayStation Plus plan at a really good price now: you can get it
for only RM90.30
. On top of that, you can stack the subscription too. In fact, one of our colleagues already stacked his membership
until 2022
.

Those who don’t have an active PlayStation Plus subscription can also get the 3-month membership
for only RM30
. However, this offer is not applicable to current PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Finally, you can head
here
 to play the Ultimate Gamer Trivia quiz to get further discount. As its name suggests, it’s a trivia game about everything PlayStation. Once you have collected 300 coins, you can use it to redeem a 15% discount voucher.

PlayStation’s Days of Play sale will end on 17 June 2019, so make sure you purchase these games and renew your PlayStation Plus membership before that to enjoy the discounts.


Xiaomi Mi Band 4 Launched with Colour Display – What You Need to Know

The Xiaomi Mi Band 4 has just been launched in China, and it is superior to its predecessor in almost every way. It has a larger, sharper AMOLED display now (no more monochrome screen here), a bigger battery, and even support for voice control.

Most importantly, the Mi Band 4 retains the company’s very competitive pricing strategy. So should you buy it? Let’s find out.

What differentiates the Mi Band 4 from its predecessor the most is definitely the new colour screen. The 0.95-inch 240 x 120 AMOLED display (protected by a 2.5D glass) is not only bigger and sharper, it’s also said to be brighter than the OLED display of the Mi Band 3.

And with that new display, the Mi Band 4 is a lot more customisable now. There are various watchfaces for the new wearable, and Xiaomi also collaborated with a few names like Overwatch to release their own custom watchfaces.

In retrospect, this level of customisation is really quite impressive for a wearable at this price point. Despite the bigger display, it’s worth noting that the Mi Band 4 can still return up to 20 days of battery life.

Voice control is also available on the Mi Band 4 now. Yes, it has a dedicated microphone, and you can give specific voice commands to it. Xiaomi demonstrated several use case scenarios for this new feature, some of which can be really useful.

Naturally, the Mi Band 4 works in tandem with Xiaomi’s range of smart home products, so you can issue voice commands to the wearable to control them. You can use the Mi Band 4 to, say, dim your lights, open the curtains, or play some music through a connected smart speaker.

It doesn’t just stop there, of course: voice commands on the Mi Band 4 goes further than just controlling connected devices. It’s possible to ask the wearable to show your heart rate, start a timer, or even set a reminder. At a glance, it’s almost as powerful as a dedicated digital assistant.

However, as impressive as the voice command is on the Mi Band 4, it remains to be seen just how much of the feature will be retained outside of China. Hopefully, it will be just as useful once the wearable is available globally.

Just like its predecessor, the Mi Band 4 has two models: one with NFC support, and one without. On top of that, it supports payment via QR code with Alipay too, though it’s not confirmed if this feature is only available in China.

Besides the two variants of Mi Band 4, there is also a special limited edition model of the wearable: an Avengers-themed version. It comes with a custom Avengers watchface, a collection certificate, and three different straps – that’s right, three.

One of the straps is modeled after the Avengers itself, while the other two are inspired by Captain America and Iron Man. It’s quite a neat-looking limited edition model, and we imagine fans of the franchise would be keen to get it.

That being said, you’ll have to pay quite the premium for the Avengers-themed Mi Band 4: it retails for 349 Chinese yuan, which comes up to about RM210. While that’s not awfully expensive, the standard versions of the wearable are a lot more affordable.

The regular, non-NFC variant of the Mi Band 4 retails at only 169 yuan (approximately RM100), while the NFC model goes for 229 yuan (around RM135). All three variants of the Mi Band 4 will be available from 14 June onwards in China.

Needless to say, the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 is one of the most impressive wearables unveiled so far, and it’s certainly Xiaomi’s best offering to date. Its sheer value for money alone makes it a very compelling product, and hopefully, it will be available in more markets soon – especially Malaysia.


Deal: Grab the Samsung Galaxy S10+ Below RM3,000

It’s been quite some time since the
Samsung Galaxy S10 series
 was launched in Malaysia, and naturally, it is a lot more affordable now. In fact, you can now get a brand new unit of the Galaxy S10+
below RM3,000
.

Originally going for RM3,699, Preferred Shopee retailer GPA Mobile is offering the Galaxy S10+ 128GB
for only RM2,999
 – that’s RM700 worth of savings. However, that is only for the Prism Black Model; the Prism White and Prism Green models retail at RM3,049 and RM3,099 respectively.

Needless to say, RM2,999 for the Galaxy S10+ is a very good price. Of course, GPA Mobile is also offering original Malaysian units of the device, so you won’t have any trouble claiming for warranty from Samsung Malaysia – if it becomes necessary.

If you want the get the Samsung Galaxy S10+ in Prism Black for only RM2,999, you may want to act fast: only
four units are left at the time of writing
. To learn more about the Galaxy S10+, check out our
comprehensive review of the phone
.


Nubia Red Magic 3 with 90Hz Display & Snapdragon 855 Coming to Malaysia for RM2,199

Here’s a phone maker you don’t hear about very often: Nubia. Formerly a subsidiary of ZTE, the now independent company will be releasing the brand new Nubia Red Magic 3 gaming smartphone in Malaysia soon, and it’s a
very
 interesting device.

Not only is it powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, the Red Magic 3 also has a fast 90Hz display, a built-in physical cooling fan (we kid you not), and a RM2,199 price tag. Needless to say, it offers great value for money.

If you’re looking to get the Red Magic 3, here’s what you need to know about Nubia’s latest gaming phone.

As a gaming-centric smartphone, it’s no surprise Nubia put a lot of focus on the Red Magic 3’s cooling performance. As mentioned, complementing the phone’s liquid cooling system is a built-in fan, which should come in handy to cool down the phone in prolonged gaming sessions.

Would it result in noticeably better thermal performance? Well, we’ll have to test it out for ourselves once we have the Red Magic 3 in for review. Chances are, it wouldn’t be game-changing, but we’ll reserve judgment until we’ve tried it out.

Another interesting hardware of the Red Magic 3 is its 90Hz display. It’s a 6.65-inch 2340 x 1080 AMOLED HDR-capable display, and it doesn’t have any
notch or hole-punch cutout
 to distract your viewing experience. Instead, it has small bezels at the top and bottom of the display.

If the
OnePlus 7 Pro
 and
Asus ROG Phone
‘s 90Hz displays are any indication, the Red Magic 3’s fast display should be very pleasant to use and game on. You’ll definitely notice the difference in fluidity compared to a conventional 60Hz screen.

As mentioned, under the hood of the Red Magic 3 is a fast Snapdragon 855 chipset. It’s the default SoC for flagship smartphones this year, and paired with 8GB of RAM, you won’t have any performance issue with this gaming smartphone.

But the Red Magic 3 won’t be a gaming smartphone if it doesn’t have any gamer-centric feature. Beyond the fast display and built-in fan, this phone also has two capacitive shoulder buttons on the side. In fact, this is very similar to the ROG Phone’s AirTriggers, which will be very useful in shooters like PUBG Mobile and Fortnite.

If there’s any reason to get the Red Magic 3, it would be for these shoulder buttons. Oh, and perhaps for the phone’s 3.5mm headphone jack and huge 5,000mAh battery too – it should be able to return very good battery life.

And then we have the Red Magic 3’s design language. While the front design is relatively conventional, the rear panel looks a lot more aggressive; there’s even an RGB strip to complete the look. It’s unmistakably a gaming smartphone, that’s for sure.

In the camera department, the Red Magic 3 has a 48MP f/1.7 sensor, and…that’s it. In a market dominated by smartphones with
multiple camera sensors
, it’s interesting how Nubia is sticking with only one camera module for this phone. Then again, it
is
marketed as a gaming device; it’s inevitable that non-gaming aspects of the Red Magic 3 won’t get as much emphasis.

For selfies, this phone has a 16MP f/2.0 front-facing camera.

The Nubia Red Magic 3’s combination of flagship-tier hardware and competitive price tag make it a really compelling high-end smartphone.
According to DirectD
, the 128GB variant of the phone with 8GB of RAM will be arriving in Malaysia on 21 June for RM2,199.

At this price point, there are not many phones that can match the Red Magic 3’s feature set. Yes, there’s the much more affordable
Xiaomi Mi 9
, but it doesn’t have a 90Hz display or capacitive shoulder buttons; features that are appreciated by mobile gamers.

As far as 2019 gaming smartphones are concerned, the Red Magic 3 is arguably the most interesting one yet – even in comparison to the
Black Shark 2
 – thanks to its competitive pricing and good hardware. It’ll be interesting to see how the Red Magic 3 will stack up to future smartphones in this segment, especially once Asus takes the wraps off the ROG Phone 2.


HP Omen 15 with 9th Gen Intel Chip & RTX GPU Arriving in Malaysia for RM6,399

Beside launching the
HP Spectre Folio
 today, the PC maker also showed off its latest gaming laptop in Malaysia, the HP Omen 15. Packing Intel’s latest 9th generation processors and Nvidia RTX GPUs, it’s a reasonably powerful premium gaming machine.

If you’re in the market for a new gaming laptop, the Omen 15 is worth a consideration, and you won’t have to wait too long to get it either: it is coming to Malaysia as early as next month. I’ve spent some time with the Omen 15 earlier today, and here are my first impressions of it.

Aesthetically, the Omen 15 is a little bit more understated than its predecessor. Gone are the red accents on the laptop’s lid for a more minimalist single tone design. Personally, I quite like the new design, but I do wish the Omen logo was done in a different colour to make it stand out a tad bit.

Build quality of the Omen 15 is very impressive too. The all-metal chassis gives the laptop reassuring durability, and almost every part of the laptop is nice to the touch – almost. For some reason, HP decided to use plastic for the Omen 15’s screen bezels, which slightly take away from the premium build of the laptop.

Plastic or not, I do dig the relatively minimal bezels of the Omen 15. Yes, the bottom bezel is a little bit too big for my liking, but the overall bezel size is small enough to give this gaming laptop a modern appearance. On top of that, there’s enough space for HP to pack a webcam at the top of the screen.

Speaking of which, the Omen 15 for the Malaysian market will receive a pretty darn good display. Only one screen option is available here, which is a 15.6-inch IPS display with a fast 144Hz refresh rate. It’s a screen befitting of a premium gaming laptop like the Omen 15, and the laptop’s GPU should be able to take advantage of the high refresh rate.

There are two GPU options for this gaming laptop in this side of the world: you can either get it with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 or RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics card. Both are highly capable GPUs, and they should be able to deliver good frame rate in modern AAA titles effortlessly. This is especially the case for the RTX 2070, even though it’s the Max-Q version.

Choice of processor for the Omen 15, on the other hand, are available in three options: an Intel Core i5-9300H, a faster Core i7-9750H, or even the very powerful Core i9-9880H processor with eight cores. Unfortunately, HP Malaysia did not specify which of the three chips will be fitted in the Malaysian-specific Omen 15 – not yet, at least.

Connectivity wise, this gaming laptop offers three USB 3.1 ports, a USB Type-C connection with Thunderbolt 3 support, an HDMI output, a mini DisplayPort, and an RJ-45 port. Oh, there’s also an SD card slot – an increasing rare feature in today’s laptops.

And then we have the keyboard of the Omen 15, and…it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The key travel is quite limited, lending to a shallow typing experience, and the keyboard layout feels quite crammed too. Thankfully, the keys don’t require a lot of force to actuate. This, combined with the good tactility of the keys, actually make it a comfortable keyboard to type on
despite
the short key travel.

As for the trackpad, it’s pretty good. It can track my fingers accurately, it can recognise gestures well, and there are no glaring faults with it. If I were to nitpick, it would’ve been great if the trackpad itself wasn’t static. It’s quite odd to not be able to click on a trackpad, even if it’s on a gaming laptop.

The HP Omen 15 is set to arrive in Malaysia sometime in July next month, and it will retail from RM6,399. The exact specification of the base model has not been revealed yet, so it’s a little tough to compare it to other laptops in this price range.

Chances are, however, the most affordable Omen 15 will come with an RTX 2060 GPU. That’s a reasonably good price tag for a RTX 2060 laptop, but whether or not it offers good value for money will depend on what kind of processor it gets – the RAM and storage capacities will play a vital role too.

But as far as first impressions go, the Omen 15 does appear to be a competent, premium gaming laptop. If you’re keen to get it, you’ll have to wait until July 2019 to see exactly what RM6,399 gets you.


Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019) Quick Review: Get It for the S Pen

Whenever someone comes up to me and asks for a tablet recommendation, I would almost always suggest one of Apple’s iPad tablets. After all, they offer excellent user experience, and in most usage scenarios, iPads are simply more suited for the job than Android-based tablets.

But when I was offered the chance to review the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2019), I was more than happy to accept for one reason: the S Pen. See, this 8-inch model is the only tablet in the series that comes with Samsung’s signature S Pen, and it is the very reason why you would want to pick it up over any other iPad.

At the end of the day, however, the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 is still an Android tablet with a number of shortcomings. Whether or not you can live with it will depend on how much you value the power of the S Pen.

What It Is

As its name suggests, the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 is an Android tablet with an 8-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS display. It also comes with a Samsung Exynos 7904 1.8GHz octa-core processor paired with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, a 4,200mAh battery, and of course, an S Pen.

Surprisingly enough, despite its rather affordable price tag (RM1,099), the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 runs on Samsung’s polished One UI software based on Android 9.0 Pie. Basically, you will get a similar software experience as the
Samsung Galaxy S10
 series – that’s a really good thing.

The Good Stuff

Let’s start off with the best part: the S Pen. If you’re accustomed to the S Pen found on the newer Samsung Galaxy Note smartphones, you will be right at home with the Galaxy Tab A 8.0. As far as I can tell, you’re getting all of the S Pen’s functionalities here, except for the Galaxy Note 9’s Bluetooth-enabled features.

Those who need the pinpoint accuracy of the S Pen will absolutely love this tablet. It’s very intuitive to use, there’s a dedicated slot at the bottom of the tablet to store the S Pen, and if you need to do written edits on documents on the go, look no further than this tablet.

Yes,
the new iPad mini
 can also do the same – while also providing superior performance – with an Apple Pencil, but it is not as practical as the Galaxy Tab A 8.0. The Apple Pencil is not as compact as the S Pen (it’s also a separate purchase), and you can’t even store it anywhere inside the iPad mini. Practicality will matter a lot to users who are always on the go.

Beside the S Pen, the compact form factor of the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 is a plus point too. It’s easy to bring around, it’s not as tiring to hold while watching videos for long periods of time, and it fits just nicely in my hands. While it’s not quite as nice to hold as the iPad mini, it
is
 a much more affordable tablet.

And then we have the 8-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS display, and it’s of reasonably good quality. The colours are vibrant, it can get really bright, and not surprisingly, viewing angles are great too. For the tablet’s asking price, you definitely won’t be disappointed with the screen’s quality.

In the software side of things, One UI looks good and feels lightweight. After all, it is a very polished version of Android, and it shows on this tablet. However, it does suffer from some stuttering here and there, which brings me to my next point..

The Bad Stuff

Without a doubt the Galaxy Tab A 8.0’s biggest shortcoming is in the performance department. Throughout my time with the tablet, the Exynos 7904 showed its weaknesses in a number of key areas. The Tab A 8.0 would gradually feel more sluggish the more apps I have running in the background, switching between different apps also takes some time, and…apps just don’t feel particularly responsive on this tablet.

That is not to say the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 doesn’t have adequate level of performance; you just have to manage your expectations accordingly. Editing documents with the S Pen is a fuss-free affair, it works just fine when I’m casually browsing the web, and it can even run PUBG Mobile relatively well.

Sure, there is some stuttering here and there in the battle royale game, but I did manage to secure a chicken dinner with the tablet. That’s not too bad now, is it?

Is It Worth It?

Ask yourself this question: do you want the functionality of the S Pen? If the answer is yes, then the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 will serve you very well. It may not be the fastest or most sleek-looking tablet in the market, but the practicality of the S Pen makes it a really good buy for those who need it – the S Pen is one of the biggest reasons the Galaxy Note series is so successful.

On top of that, even though the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 officially retails at RM1,099, some retailers are offering it at a much lower price point. In fact, you can now get it
for only RM928
.

For that kind of money, the Galaxy Tab A 8.0’s shortcomings are a lot easier to accept, especially in the performance department. It’s not the most impressive tablet out there in the market now, but you won’t be paying top dollar for it either.

And you’re also getting the excellent features of the S Pen – that’s a very important plus point for the Galaxy Tab A 8.0.


Deal: Samsung Galaxy S10+ Price Drops to RM2,859

Previously, the
Samsung Galaxy S10+
 can be bought
for RM2,999
. Now, however, you can get it at an even lower price point: it’s currently retailing
at only RM2,859
.

This deal is offered by Senheng’s official store on Lazada, so it doesn’t get any more legitimate than that. Listed at RM3,059, you can use the discount code SHSR200 to get RM200 off, reducing the price down to only RM2,859. All three colours of the Galaxy S10+ are offered by Senheng, which include
Prism White
,
Prism Black
, and
Prism Green
.

For only RM2,859, the Galaxy S10+ is a very,
very
 good buy. It is easily one of the best flagship smartphones you can buy right now, and at this price point, not many devices can offer the same level of performance or value for money.

If you’d like to learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S10+, check out our
comprehensive review of the smartphone
.


OnePlus 7 Hands-On: 2019 Edition of the OnePlus 6T

The
OnePlus 7 Pro
 may be catching all the headlines with its sleek design and 90Hz display, but you shouldn’t dismiss the more affordable device in the series: the standard OnePlus 7. It is also a flagship smartphone through and through, and the best part is, it’s more affordable too.

Although the regular OnePlus 7 is not available in Malaysia yet, you can expect it to be priced lower than the Pro variant. I’ve got my hands on the OnePlus 7 for a quick hands-on session, and if the Pro’s price tag doesn’t entice you, the standard model may be worth a consideration.

If the OnePlus 7 looks familiar, you wouldn’t be wrong: it’s almost identical to the
OnePlus 6T
, right down to the notched display. That’s right, unlike the Pro model’s all-screen design, the OnePlus 7 still has a notch at the top of the display – the motorised pop-up camera is exclusive to the higher-end Pro smartphone.

That being said, it’s not an entirely bad thing. With no motorised camera module, there are also no moving parts to fail. Theoretically, then, the OnePlus 7 should be more robust than the Pro in the long run. Only in theory, of course.

Beyond the notch, the OnePlus 7’s 6.41-inch 1080p Optic AMOLED display looks great, as an OLED panel should be. The display has true, deep blacks, vibrant colours, and great viewing angles. It may not be as fast or as sharp as the Pro’s 1440p 90Hz display, but the 1080p panel will help with power consumption. Plus, the excellent in-screen fingerprint sensor of the Pro is also found here.

Speaking of which, the OnePlus 7 has a 3,700mAh battery; the exact same capacity as the OnePlus 6T’s battery. Chances are, this phone should be able to return similar battery life. In
my review of the 6T
, I managed to get between five to six hours of screen on time.

Compared to the OnePlus 7 Pro, the standard OnePlus 7 feels a lot lighter, which really surprised me. Sure, tipping the scales at 182g, it’s not exactly a lightweight smartphone. But for the sake of comparison, the Pro weighs 206g. After using the Pro as my daily driver, I actually prefer the lighter OnePlus 7.

Build quality of the phone, as expected, is excellent. It feels very solid in my hands, the metal frame is nice to the touch, and I really dig the Red colourway of the OnePlus 7. Hopefully, the Malaysian market will receive both the Red and Mirror Grey models once the phone is officially in Malaysia.

Software has always been one of the main strengths of OnePlus smartphones, and the same remains true for the OnePlus 7. OxygenOS’ interface looks great, it feels lightweight, it’s very zippy, and it is reminiscent of stock Android with its no-nonsense approach. The last part is especially important: it’s what makes the software so popular among Android purists.

Then again, OxygenOS is just one part of the equation. What makes the OnePlus 7 so responsive can be attributed to the phone’s fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset paired with up to 8GB of RAM. It’s the same SoC found in the Pro model, so you should be getting similar performance level.

When it comes to processing power, you won’t be short-changed with the OnePlus 7.

But it’s a different story in the camera department. Unlike the OnePlus 7 Pro’s more sophisticated triple camera system, the OnePlus 7 only has two rear cameras: a 48MP f/1.7 primary shooter, and a 5MP f/2.4 depth sensor. There’s no wide angle camera here, and neither is there a telephoto lens.

While it lacks the versatility of the Pro’s camera system, the OnePlus 7 does seem to be a rather competent shooter. The camera interface isn’t particularly responsive (the same issue that plagues the Pro model), but the image output looks promising with good detail preservation and dynamic range.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try out the camera’s low light performance yet – that would be the real test of the camera’s true capability.

The OnePlus 7 is not quite as impressive as the OnePlus 7 Pro, but it does offer the same software experience and performance at a lower price point. These two similarities alone may appeal to some consumers, especially for those who want the most value for their money.

However, at the end of the day, we still don’t know exactly when the OnePlus 7 will be arriving in Malaysia, though we were told it will be coming here in the near future. Nonetheless, until the local pricing of the OnePus 7 is revealed, it remains to be seen if the standard model is worth picking up over the Pro variant – the price gap has to be big enough.


OnePlus 7 Pro Review: Going Upmarket

Every time OnePlus releases a new smartphone, it moves up the price bracket bit by bit. No other smartphone from the company shows this upward trend quite as clearly as the OnePlus 7 Pro, which is also the very first “Pro” model in OnePlus’ range of devices.

Retailing from RM2,999 up to a whopping RM4,199, this is OnePlus’ most costly smartphone yet. But is it worth getting? Is it every bit as good as it’s claimed to be? Well, I’ve used the OnePlus 7 Pro as my daily driver for a couple of weeks to find out.

Specifications

Display
6.67-inch QHD+ Fluid AMOLED (3120 x 1440) 90Hz
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 2.84GHz octa-core
GPU
Adreno 640
RAM
6/8/12GB
Storage
128/256GB, non-expandable
Camera (rear)
48MP f/1.6 (primary)
8MP f/2.4 (telephoto)
16MP f/2.2 (wide angle)
Camera (front)
16MP f/2.0 (motorised)
Battery
4,000mAh
Dimensions
162.6 x 75.9 x 8.8 mm
Weight
206g
OS
OxygenOS based on Android 9 Pie
Connectivity
LTE
NFC
Bluetooth 5.0
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz)
USB Type-C

Without a doubt the standout hardware here is the 6.67-inch 1440p Fluid AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. There are only a handful of smartphones with a fast 90Hz screen in the market now – most of them are
gaming-oriented phones
 too – so the OnePlus 7 Pro is definitely unique in this aspect.

Other hardware of this phone are definitely high-end. It has a fast Snapdragon 855 chipset paired with up to 12GB of RAM, a generous 4,000mAh battery, and a very capable triple camera system. Unfortunately, there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack or support for expandable storage here.

Design

Aesthetically, the all-screen design of the OnePlus 7 Pro is one of the headline features of this phone. Thanks to the use of a motorised pop-up selfie camera, there’s no need for a
notch or hole-punch cutout
 anywhere on the display. While there’s still a bit of chin at the bottom of the phone, it’s minimal enough to not be bothersome.

As for the 16MP pop-up camera itself, it can activate fast enough to take a quick selfie. If you’re worried about the durability of the camera module, OnePlus claims that the front camera can be activated over 150 times a day for 5.5 years without issue. That assurance is good enough for some peace of mind, but as with all moving parts, there is always a chance it would malfunction over the years.

Personally, however, I think it’s a worthwhile trade-off to get the all-screen design of the phone.

OnePlus’ build quality has gotten better over the years, and the OnePlus 7 Pro is a testament of this. It is
very
 well-built, it has a nice heft to it – though some of my colleagues think it’s a tad too heavy at 206g – and the phone feels very premium. This is especially the case with this Nebula Blue model; the gorgeous glass back panel has a matte finish.

However, there are a couple of ergonomic issues with the OnePlus 7 Pro. Even though the dual curved display gives the phone a very sleek look, the sides of the phone are too thin to get a comfortable grip on it. Besides that, the 19.5:9 aspect ratio of the 6.67-inch display makes it a
really
 tall phone. You can forget about reaching for the top of the display with only one hand.

Nonetheless, the OnePlus 7 Pro is a well-designed smartphone, even if it suffers from some minor ergonomic issues. The Nebula Blue model is especially stunning to look at.

User Experience

OxygenOS has always been one of the main appeals of OnePlus smartphones, and the OnePlus 7 Pro is no different. The user interface is polished and intuitive, it feels extremely zippy, and it is reminiscent of stock Android with its no-nonsense software approach.

I love the fact that there are no unnecessary features or bloatware weighing down OxygenOS; not many phone makers have the same amount of restraint. When it comes to software, less is definitely more, especially if it makes for a fuss-free software experience.

That being said, I do wish OxygenOS came with an always on display – it would’ve made it a more complete version of Android.

What makes the OnePlus 7 Pro such a fast smartphone isn’t just OxygenOS; the powerful Snapdragon 855 chipset under the hood plays a major role too. It’s a very capable SoC, and no matter what I throw at the phone, it still feels very responsive. Needless to say, gaming on the OnePlus 7 Pro is extremely enjoyable as well, thanks in part to the 90Hz display – for games that support that frame rate, anyway.

Ah yes, I can’t praise the 90Hz refresh rate of the 6.67-inch 1440p Fluid AMOLED display enough. Compared to more conventional 60Hz screens, this phone’s 90Hz display makes a world of difference. Not only does
everything
 look extremely fluid (which is probably why OnePlus calls it a “Fluid AMOLED” display), it also gives the impression of extra responsiveness.

But what about the display quality? As expected, it’s very good. It has deep blacks, great viewing angles, and colours really pop on this display. These are inherent traits of AMOLED panels, and the 1440p resolution translates to sharp-looking texts and images.

In-screen fingerprint sensors have gotten a lot better these days, and the one under the OnePlus 7 Pro’s display is easily one of the most impressive sensors in the market now. It is very quick, very accurate, and very seamless to use.

90Hz battery life
60Hz battery life

Packing a 4,000mAh battery, the OnePlus 7 Pro can return above average battery life. On average, I can consistently get around five hours of screen on time. That’s really quite good for a 1440p display of this size, and I set the refresh rate to 90Hz too. If I change it to 60Hz instead, I can get around six hours of screen on time – that’s very good battery life.

Charging rate of the OnePlus 7 Pro is reasonably good too. Within 30 minutes of charging with the provided Warp Charger, the phone got up to 52% from completely empty.

All in all, using the OnePlus 7 Pro as my daily driver for the past couple of weeks has been a very pleasant experience. On top of that, I do have to commend the phone’s vibration system; it can provide one of the most refined haptic feedback I’ve come across on a smartphone.

Camera

This is where it gets really exciting for the OnePlus 7 Pro. With a DxOMark score of 111 – putting it right behind the current leader (
Huawei P30 Pro
) by only
one
 point – the phone’s triple camera system can really deliver impressive-looking shots.

Made up of a 48MP primary shooter, an 8MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP wide angle sensor, this triple camera system can take good shots in daytime and nighttime. Plus, the different focal lengths really make it a versatile shooter, even if there is disparity in image quality between the different sensors.

16MP wide angle
48MP primary
8MP telephoto (3x zoom)

However, the camera is far from perfect. For one, there is very noticeable shutter delay, and the camera interface as a whole isn’t very…responsive. As a result, taking fast-moving subjects can be quite difficult with this phone, which can get quite frustrating.

But given the time and patience, the OnePlus 7 Pro can really snap some of the most amazing shots; it’s easily up there among the best. Plus, the nightscape mode can brighten up low light shots dramatically, albeit the end results can look overly saturated and artificial at times.

Nightscape disabled
Nightscape enabled

Competition

On
OnePlus’ official store on Shopee
, three variants of the OnePlus 7 Pro are offered in Malaysia: the 128GB model with 6GB of RAM goes for RM2,999, while the more generous 256GB variants with 8GB and 12GB of RAM retail at RM3,699 and RM4,199 respectively.

Needless to say, the OnePlus 7 Pro is not an affordable smartphone, and it has to contend with a number of noteworthy competition.

Samsung Galaxy S10+

If you’re shopping in this price range, the
Samsung Galaxy S10+
 is one of the easiest choices to make, and for good reasons. Even though it retails at RM3,699 for the 128GB model with 8GB of RAM, you can now
get it below the RM3,000 mark
.

For about the same price as the OnePlus 7 Pro, the Galaxy S10+ offers slightly better camera performance (the interface is a lot more responsive), water and dust resistance, support for expandable storage, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.

On the flip side, the 7 Pro is arguably the sleeker-looking device with an all-screen design, not to mention the fact that it has a much more desirable 90Hz display than the Galaxy S10+’s conventional 60Hz screen.

Xiaomi Mi 9

When it comes to value for money, not many devices can compete directly with the
Xiaomi Mi 9
. In comparison to the OnePlus 7 Pro, the Mi 9 has the same Snapdragon 855 chipset, comparable camera performance – though I’m slightly leaning towards the 7 Pro – and similar battery life. The best part is, the Mi 9 is
a lot more affordable
 than OnePlus’ offering: the 128GB model with 6GB of RAM retails at only RM1,999.

Of course, as the more costly smartphone, the 7 Pro does have a few advantages. It doesn’t have a notched display like the Mi 9, it has superior software experience, and its Fluid AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate is a lot more impressive. But are these advantages worth the huge price gap? That’s up to you to decide.

Conclusion

OnePlus was once known for offering incredible value for money with its flagship smartphones, but for better or worse, this has changed dramatically. You can no longer get a OnePlus device below the RM2,000 mark, and even the OnePlus 7 Pro is breaking into the RM4,000 price bracket now. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth getting – you just have to manage your expectations accordingly.

Even though it is the most expensive OnePlus smartphone yet, the 7 Pro can also go head to head with the best in the market. It has excellent camera performance, it looks stunning, and the 90Hz display is something not many manufacturers can offer right now.

If the OnePlus 7 Pro’s feature set appeals to you, you won’t regret picking it up. It is a fantastic flagship smartphone with very little compromises. But just know that at this price range, you have a lot of other options too – some of which even offer better value for money.


Xiaomi Mi 9T with All-Screen Design Now in Malaysia; Early Birds Can Get It for RM1,099

The Xiaomi Mi 9T is finally in Malaysia. Basically the global version of the Redmi K20, the Mi 9T is a pretty interesting mid-ranger for one reason: it’s one of the most affordable all-screen smartphones you can buy in Malaysia right now.

Beyond that, other aspects of the Mi 9T are very good too, including its sheer value for money. I took Xiaomi’s latest smartphone for a quick hands-on, and if you’re looking for a relatively affordable phone that looks and feels premium, the Mi 9T should be in your list.

Especially if you can get it for only RM1,099.

First up, let’s talk about the Mi 9T’s highlight feature: the all-screen design. Visually, the front of the phone is absolutely stunning to look at, thanks to the absence of any
hole-punch cutout or notch
 in the display. What you get is an almost all-screen smartphone with
a little bit of chin
 at the bottom of the display.

In order to accomplish this notch-free design, Xiaomi is using a motorised pop-up selfie camera with the Mi 9T. In fact, this is Xiaomi’s first-ever smartphone that utilises this camera module. Unlike the
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3
‘s slider mechanism – which is not as practical – I reckon most folks will prefer the Mi 9T’s pop-up camera.

That being said, do note that the pop-up camera does take some time to activate. It’s not horribly slow or anything, but it’s definitely not as quick as, say, the
Oppo Reno
‘s motorised camera module.

On the back, you will either love or hate the Mi 9T’s “dynamic holographic design.” It tries to mimic the appearance of flames, and personally, I do quite like this design on the Glacier Blue model. Other colours of the Mi 9T include Flame Red and Carbon Black, so if you want something that looks more…subdued, opt for the latter – it has a carbon fibre-like finish on the back.

In terms of build quality, the Mi 9T definitely feels like a phone a segment above. Not only does the metal frame feel good to the touch, it also gives the phone reassuring build quality. I also love the coloured power button and the extra thickness of the frame; it makes it really easy to get a good, secure grip on the phone.

Oh, there’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top of the phone.

As for the display, the Mi 9T is rocking a 6.39-inch 2340 x 1080 AMOLED screen, and it’s quite the looker with deep blacks and vibrant colours. You don’t often see AMOLED screens in this price range – with notable exceptions like the
Samsung Galaxy A30 and A50
 – so that really goes to show just how much value for money the Mi 9T offers. Did I mention this phone has an in-screen fingerprint sensor too?

Speaking of value for money, under the hood of the Mi 9T is an adequately powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM. It may not sound particularly impressive, but the 730 is a capable chip in its own right. After all, it’s the most powerful chipset outside of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 series of flagship-class SoCs, and it’s said to be 35% faster than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 710.

Plus, the Snapdragon 730 is also built on an 8nm process, so it will be more power-efficient than the Snapdragon 710 – the latter is a 10nm chipset.

With improved power efficiency from the new SoC, you can expect the Mi 9T to return above average battery life too. Sporting a generous 4,000mAh battery, Xiaomi claims that this phone can last for at least a full day on a single charge. Once I have the device in for review, I’ll definitely put this to the test.

And then we have the triple camera system of the Mi 9T. Like most smartphones in the market now, it has a 48MP f/1.75 primary shooter that uses pixel binning to improve low light camera performance. As a result, this phone will output 12MP images.

Complementing the primary sensor are a 13MP f/2.4 wide angle shooter and an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto lens. With three different focal lengths on offer here, the triple camera system of the Mi 9T is a versatile setup.

So can the Mi 9T take good-looking shots? Well, it’s still too early to tell, as I only spent a brief time photographing with the phone. But as far as first impressions go, the camera performance does seem quite promising. I love the responsiveness of the camera interface, and the wide angle sensor doesn’t seem to suffer from any noticeable distortion.

However, I only took daylight shots with the Mi 9T, and most phones worth their salt today will perform well in this kind of shooting condition. It’ll be interesting to see if the camera performance would drastically change in more challenging lighting conditions.

Value for money has always been Xiaomi’s strength all these years, so it’s no surprise that the Mi 9T will offer a lot of bang for your buck. For the Malaysian market, the 64GB variant will retail at RM1,199, while the 128GB model goes for RM1,399; the former is now
available for “pre-booking” on Lazada
.

The first sale of the Mi 9T will happen on 25 June at 10AM on Lazada, where you can get the 64GB variant for only RM1,099. At this price point, the Mi 9T is a
very
good buy. So much so, in fact, that I’m not entirely sure how the Xiaomi Mi 9 SE would fit in between this phone and the flagship
Mi 9
.

See, even though the Mi 9T is a sleeker, more powerful, and better-equipped smartphone, it undercuts the Mi 9 SE’s RM1,299 price tag – why would anyone get the Mi 9 SE over the Mi 9T?

Xiaomi told us that the Mi 9T doesn’t replace the Mi 9 SE, but it still puts the latter in a pretty bad spot. Granted, the Mi 9 SE’s more compact form factor may appeal to certain folks, but for those that want the most value for their money, they will make a beeline for the Mi 9T instead.

At the end of the day, having these smartphones in the same price range may not be an entirely bad thing. The availability of more options is always a good thing, and consumers will ultimately benefit the most from this.


Shopee Launches Shopee24 Next-Day Delivery & 7.7 Orange Madness Sale

Online shopping can be a lot of fun, but waiting for days (or even weeks) on end for your items to arrive? Not so fun. In a bid to solve this inconvenience, Shopee is introducing Shopee24. As its name suggests, it’s a next-day delivery service.

On top of that, the e-commerce platform also gave more details on its 7.7 Orange Madness sale, which offers a number of enticing deals from 24 June to 7 July. Here’s what you need to know about Shopee24 and the Orange Madness sale.

Let’s start with the Shopee24 Express Delivery. The most noteworthy aspect of this service is the fact that it
guarantees
 next-day delivery. If by any chance you don’t get your order on the next day, a free shipping voucher will be credited to your account. No minimum spend required to use that particular voucher.

However, as expected, there are a couple of caveats to the Shopee24 service. For one, orders have to be made before 2PM to be eligible for next-day delivery, and this is not applicable on Sundays and public holidays. The next caveat is a big one: Shopee24 is only limited to the Klang Valley area for now. But in the near future, Shopee does have plans to expand the service to other parts of Malaysia.

So how do you get to enjoy the next-day delivery service? Well, all you have to do is look for items with the “Shopee24” tag. According to Shopee, more than 10,000 items right now carry the tag, which include products from brands such as Nescafe, Dutch Lady, Drypers, Philips, and many more.

In celebration of the Shopee24 launch, the company is also introducing the 7.7 Orange Madness sale. As mentioned, it will be held from 24 June to 7 July, and it offers RM7 million worth of vouchers, discounts up to 90%, as well as lowered minimum spend (RM27) to enjoy free shipping.

Naturally, Shopee will be running a number of Shocking Sales daily throughout the sale period too. It offers deals from as low as RM0.77, and the items on discount can be refreshed up to seven times a day – great way for discount hunters to look for good bargains.

If you’re feeling lucky, you can take a shot at Shopee’s “One or Not” promotion, which offers a chance to purchase high-value items for only RM1. Simply put, a number of products will be listed at only RM1, but only one customer who “purchased” the product for RM1 will walk away with it.

Of course, if you’re not the lucky buyer, the RM1 will be refunded back to your credit card or Shopee Wallet. Items that will be offered in the One or Not promotion include the new
Xiaomi Mi 9T
, a
Samsung Galaxy S10
, a Haier 50-inch 4K Smart TV, and even a DJI Tello drone.

The introduction of the Shopee24 next-day delivery service will certainly make the online shopping experience a little bit more convenient, and the 7.7 Orange Madness sale does offer some pretty sweet deals. To learn more about the upcoming sale,
head on to Shopee
.