Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 & Snapdragon 765 Official; Only One Has 5G Built-In

Qualcomm just announced its latest chipsets at the company’s annual Snapdragon Tech Summit, and it’s quite a peculiar lineup. There’s the flagship Snapdragon 865, which will power most of 2020’s flagship smartphones, and the upper mid-range Snapdragon 765 family. What’s so peculiar about this? Well, out of the two chips, only the Snapdragon 765 has integrated 5G.

That’s right, the mid-range Snapdragon 765 has 5G built-in, but not the flagship Snapdragon 865. Instead, the top-of-the-line chipset has to rely on a separate 5G modem instead. In this case, it would be Qualcomm’s own X55 modem.

To top it off, if manufacturers want to use the Snapdragon 865, they
have
 to get the X55 modem as well; it’s a package deal, according to
Qualcomm’s statement to The Verge
.

Regardless, the X55 modem that’s paired with the Snapdragon 865 offers fast performance. When connected to a 5G network, it can do 7Gbps and 3Gbps peak download and upload speeds respectively. Of course, the X55 modem also has LTE, 3G, and 2G support, which is important for markets where 5G connectivity is not widely available yet (like Malaysia).

As for the Snapdragon 765 – which is also available in 765G form – its integrated “X52” 5G modem is, unsurprisingly, slower. With a peak download speed of 3.7Gbps, that’s about half of what the X55 modem is capable of. Granted, the Snapdragon 765 is meant to power mid-range devices anyway, so this level of performance is expected.

Besides that, not much information has been revealed for both the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765/765G; more information on these two new chipsets will only be revealed tomorrow. What we do know, however, is the fact that the Snapdragon 865 will be found in a number of flagship smartphones next year, including the Xiaomi Mi 10 and an upcoming Oppo flagship phone.

Qualcomm also unveiled its second generation ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint reader. Dubbed 3D Sonic Max, this new sensor is 17 times bigger than its predecessor. In fact, it’s large enough to authenticate two separate fingerprints at the same time. Thanks to this change, it should be easier to activate the sensor.

Unfortunately, Qualcomm mentioned that 3D Sonic Max will still take roughly the same amount of time to authenticate a fingerprint, so there won’t be any improvement in speed. It’ll be interesting to see if it will be more accurate though, given that the first generation sensor – which is used in
Samsung’s flagship

smartphones
– isn’t particularly great in this aspect.


Illegear Announces Onyx Pro & Selenite Pro Gaming Laptops; Offers 240Hz or 4K OLED Display

Illegear just added two new gaming laptops to its product lineup: the 15.6-inch Illegear Onyx Pro, and the bigger 17.3-inch Illegear Selenite Pro. These are touted to be Illegear’s “cream of the crop” gaming laptops, and the Onyx Pro is especially interesting, weighing merely 1.55kg with a slim 18mm chassis.

You read that right. Despite its beefy hardware, the Onyx Pro tips the scales at only 1.55kg, which is very,
very
 impressive for a gaming laptop of this calibre. On top of that, measuring only 18mm thin, it’s almost as slim as the
Acer Predator Triton 500
; the latter is ever so slightly thinner at 17.9mm.

As for the Selenite Pro, it’s also quite light and thin for a 17.3-inch laptop: it weighs 2kg with a 19mm case.

Dimensions aside, the Onyx Pro’s 15.6-inch screen can be configured with two options: a fast 240Hz 1920 x 1080 IPS panel, or a vibrant Samsung-made 4K AMOLED display. The Selenite Pro, on the other hand, has a 17.3-inch 1080p IPS panel with a 144Hz or 240Hz refresh rate. There’s no option for an OLED screen with the Selenite Pro, unfortunately.

When it comes to performance, both the Onyx Pro and Selenite Pro feature an Intel Core i7-9750H processor paired with up to 32GB of RAM. There are also two GPU options for either laptops: an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060, or a beefier RTX 2070 GPU. Needless to say, you will be able to play AAA titles quite seamlessly with these gaming laptops.

Oh, by default, the Onyx Pro and Selenite Pro also come with a 512GB NVMe SSD. Of course, these being Illegear products, you can customise the laptops’ specifications to your liking.

Design wise, the chassis of the Onyx Pro and Selenite Pro are made out of magnesium alloy, which is the very reason why they are so lightweight. According to Illegear, a layer of protective coating is also applied to “preserve the look and feel” of the chassis.

While we’re on the topic of design, it’s worth noting the webcam position of the Onyx Pro and Selenite Pro. Since the top bezel is so thin, the webcam had to be placed…right below the display. It’s not a flattering angle, but hey, it supports Windows Hello.

The Illegear Onyx Pro and Selenite Pro are now available for pre-order in Malaysia, and they are expected to ship on 17 December. The Onyx Pro retails from RM6,499, while the Selenite Pro starts at RM6,699. More information on these gaming laptops can be
found on Illegear’s website
.


Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch Hands-On: The Wait Is Over

One of the biggest complaints against newer MacBooks over the past few years is the butterfly keyboard design. Not only does the flat keyboard offer very little key travel, quite a number of MacBook users report of reliability issues with the butterfly switch. Well, the new 16-inch MacBook Pro solves all of that.

Enter the new Magic Keyboard. Instead of a butterfly design, the keyboard uses a more traditional scissor mechanism, which should be much more reliable. On top of that, the keyboard layout sees some important changes too. If you’ve been waiting for Apple to fix the MacBook’s keyboard, this is it.

But beyond the new keyboard, is the 16-inch MacBook Pro any good? Let’s find out.

Right, so what’s so great about the new Magic Keyboard of the 16-inch MacBook Pro? As mentioned, it now uses a scissor mechanism, which offers 1mm of key travel; that’s about 0.5mm more than the older butterfly keyboard. Thanks to the longer travel, it doesn’t feel quite as jarring to type on.

That being said, I still consider this a pretty shallow keyboard. After all, only 1mm of key travel is hardly impressive. While the new Magic Keyboard isn’t quite as flat as the controversial butterfly keyboard, it doesn’t exactly offer a “pillowy” typing experience.

However, despite the short key travel, I actually enjoy typing on this keyboard. Don’t get me wrong, it still feels shallow, but the good tactile feedback and quiet nature of the keyboard make for a pleasant typing experience. Plus, there’s a physical Esc key now, along with the “inverted-T” arrow keys.

And then there’s the trackpad, which is
absolutely
 huge. It looks a little odd, but I do appreciate the sheer size of the trackpad. There’s more than enough space for comfortable use, the simulated click is as refined as ever, and like any other MacBook trackpad, it can track my fingers very accurately.

Beyond its input devices, the other noteworthy hardware of the 16-inch MacBook Pro is the…16-inch Retina display. It’s a 3072 x 1920 IPS screen, and as expected, it also supports Apple’s True Tone technology. Retina displays had always been colour-accurate and pleasant to look at, and the same still applies to this new MacBook Pro.

Design wise, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is largely similar to the now-discontinued 15-inch model; it’s just ever so slightly bigger than the latter in all three dimensions. At a glance, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two machines.

Build quality of the 16-inch MacBook Pro is unsurprisingly good too. After all, Apple products typically excel in this area. It feels rock solid, there are no rough edges, and I can lift the lid with only one finger. That being said, it’s worth noting that this is not exactly a lightweight laptop, tipping the scales at 2kg. But measuring only 16.2mm thin, it’s quite a slim machine.

Connectivity options of the new MacBook Pro is unchanged from the 15-inch version. It still has four USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 support, and nothing else. You still don’t get a dedicated card slot with the 16-inch MacBook Pro despite the fact that it is meant to appeal to creative professionals.

Speaking of which, under the hood of the 16-inch MacBook Pro are pretty beefy hardware. It can be configured with a 9th generation Intel Core i7 hexa-core processor; a reasonably powerful chip. But if you need the extra power, you can go all the way up to a Core i9 octa-core processor from the same generation.

In the graphics department, this MacBook Pro can be customised with an AMD Radeon Pro 5300M GPU, or a beefier Radeon Pro 5500M GPU – both come with 4GB of GDDR6 memory. Of course, there’s an option to get the 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory instead, though you’ll probably have to fork out quite a bit of money for that piece of upgrade.

Rounding out the specifications of the 16-inch MacBook Pro include 16GB of RAM (upgradable to 32GB or 64GB), at least 512GB of SSD storage – you can configure it up to a whopping 8TB if you so desire – and of course, the Touch Bar with Touch ID authentication.

For the Malaysian market, there’s still no word yet on the exact availability of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, but the starting prices of the laptop have already been announced. The base model with a Core i7 processor paired with 16GB of RAM, a Radeon Pro 5300M GPU, and 512GB of SSD storage retails at RM10,499.

A tier up is the Core i9 model with a more powerful Radeon Pro 5500M GPU (4GB memory), 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD; this variant is set to go for RM12,199 in Malaysia. Without a doubt the new 16-inch MacBook Pro is a costly machine, but that has always been the case for MacBooks of this calibre.

If you need the size, power, and better typing experience of the 16-inch MacBook Pro – and you’re already invested in the Apple ecosystem – I imagine you’ll be very happy with this machine. Sure, it commands a premium price tag, but you’re getting an equally premium laptop too. Hopefully, it’ll be available in Malaysia very soon.


Expect Many More iPhone Variants in The Next 2 Years, Including a Port-Less One

Over the years, the number of iPhones introduced by Apple in every new cycle are growing bit by bit. Back in 2012, potential iPhone buyers only had one new option to consider, the iPhone 5. In contrast, you’ve got as many as
three new models
 to choose from this year: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

It’s a sound marketing strategy, of course. By offering more variants of the iPhone in different price segments, the amount of potential buyers will grow too, increasing the number of iPhones the company can sell. Well, in the next two years, Apple is expected to push this strategy even further – there’s even plan for a completely port-less iPhone.

According to prominent Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s
new research note
, 2020 will see the release of not three, but
five
 new variants of the iPhone; that’s quite a big number. Kuo said that for the first half of 2020, Apple will introduce a successor to the iPhone SE, tentatively dubbed iPhone SE 2 or even
iPhone 9
.

Just like the original iPhone SE – it was basically an upgraded iPhone 5s – it appears the iPhone SE 2 will be modeled after an existing iPhone, the iPhone 8. That means it will still use an LCD panel, along with a relatively compact form factor. After all, the iPhone 8 only had a 4.7-inch display.

Things get a lot more hectic come Apple’s annual iPhone launch in 2020, which typically take place sometime in September. Kuo expect Apple to unveil as many as four different iPhones at the launch event. All four models will supposedly come with OLED displays, and unsurprisingly, 5G connectivity is set to be offered with these iPhones too.

What differentiates these four iPhones are said to be the display size and camera configuration. There will be a compact 5.4-inch model with a dual camera system, along with a 6.1-inch variant with a similar camera setup. Chances are, the dual camera system could offer a wide angle sensor and a standard shooter, just like the iPhone 11’s two rear cameras.

Kuo elaborated that there would also be a higher-end 6.1-inch iPhone and a 6.7-inch model with a more sophisticated triple camera configuration with a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor to capture 3D information.

Curiously, Kuo said that the four new iPhones launching in late 2020 will apparently take design cues from a pretty old device: the iPhone 4. It’ll be interesting to see just how Apple will modernise the design language of the iPhone 4 for its 10th anniversary next year.

Looking further forward in 2021, Kuo only mentioned two iPhones for that year. Just like how the iPhone SE 2 (or iPhone 9) is expected to be released in the first half of 2020, a followup to that particular device will reportedly be introduced in the same period in 2021. What will it be called? The iPhone SE 2 Plus.

Given the “Plus” in the moniker, the iPhone SE 2 Plus is expected to feature a larger display than its predecessor; Kuo believe that it will either come with a 5.5-inch or 6.1-inch screen. On top of that, it will also feature an all-screen design without a home button.

Apparently, there won’t be Face ID authentication for the iPhone SE 2 Plus. Kuo’s research note said that the upcoming iPhone will supposedly have Touch ID integrated into the power button itself on the side of the phone. If this turns out to be accurate, we imagine some folks will be happy to see the return of a physical fingerprint sensor on an iPhone.

Finally but certainly not least is the 2021 flagship iPhone, which Kuo predict will finally do away with the Lightning port…quite literally. According to the analyst, Apple isn’t replacing the Lightning connection with a different standard; it’s simply removing it, making for a port-less iPhone.

This, in turn, would “provide the completely wireless experience,” Kuo said. Whether it’s charging or transferring files to a computer, everything will be done wirelessly, for better or worse. Kuo then elaborated that Apple is only planning to remove the Lightning port from the “highest-end model” first, so not all iPhones in 2021 will be port-less.

While Kuo’s research note gives us a glimpse of Apple’s plans for the iPhone in the next two years, it is still too early to say for sure if this is truly Apple’s future strategy. Kuo may be one of the most prominent Apple analysts in the industry – and he has a good reputation for predicting Apple’s plans – but the Cupertino company still has plenty of time to make changes between now and then.

Nonetheless, the next two years is shaping up to be an exciting time for the iPhone. Hopefully, we’ll see some innovation from Apple with the next iterations of the iPhone – it could be the most diverse lineup yet.


Samsung Galaxy Fold Review: Fold This Round

“Why are you using such a bulky phone?” I was asked by a friend, as I was reading an article on the Samsung Galaxy Fold. I then proceeded to open up the Fold, much to the surprise of my curious friend. Needless to say, he was more than excited to get his hands on the foldable smartphone to try it out for himself.

Really, the Galaxy Fold is an eye-catching, unique device. After all, it’s the first mainstream foldable device, and that in itself is an impressive feat. However, that also means it has a number of big shortcomings. Paired with an exorbitant price tag, the Fold is a tough device to recommend.

But oh boy, is it a
stunning
 engineering marvel.

Specifications

Display
7.3-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED (2152 x 1536)
4.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED (1680 x 720)
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 2.8GHz octa-core
GPU
Adreno 640
RAM
12GB
Storage
512GB, non-expandable
Camera (rear)
12MP f/1.5 – f/2.4, OIS, Super Speed Dual Pixel AF
12MP f/2.4 (telephoto), OIS
16MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide angle)
Camera (front)
10MP f/1.9, Dual Pixel AF
8MP f/2.2 RGB Depth sensor
10MP f/1.9, Dual Pixel AF (folded)
Battery
4,380mAh
Dimensions
160.9 x 117.9 x 6.9 mm
160.9 x 62.8 x 15.7-17.1 mm (folded)
Weight
276g
OS
One UI based on Android 9 Pie
Connectivity
LTE
NFC
Bluetooth 5.0
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/5GHz)
USB Type-C
Price
RM8,388

Hardware wise, the Galaxy Fold is a flagship smartphone / tablet through and through, and it has a total of
six
 camera sensors. There’s the triple camera system on the back, two front-facing cameras, and a single selfie shooter above the 4.6-inch secondary display.

Now, you may be concerned about battery life, considering that the Fold’s 4,380mAh battery has to power a large 7.3-inch display. Surprisingly enough, it’s actually quite a long-lasting device; more on that further down this review.

Design

The foldable nature of the Galaxy Fold is definitely the design highlight here. It’s a solid mechanism: the hinge feels tight, it closes with a reassuring thud, and I’m not overly concerned about breaking the screen whenever I open up the phone – the last one is especially important.

Truth be told, my biggest concern throughout my time with the Galaxy Fold was accidentally breaking the display. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, though I did baby the phone quite a bit. After all, the display isn’t made out of glass. It’s a polymer screen, which is basically plastic.

Given that plastic isn’t as scratch-resistant as glass, expect the Fold’s main display to collect scratches quite a bit. In fact, the review unit I got – which was rotated to other members of the media prior to me – already has some hairline scratches. On top of that, you can’t even use a screen protector with this phone, not to mention the fact that it gathers dust quite a bit near the hinges.

It’s a bit of an annoyance, but that’s the reality of using the Galaxy Fold, or any other foldable smartphone in this generation. It’s not an issue unique to the Fold: until manufacturers find a way to fold a glass screen without breaking it, a plastic display is the only viable solution for devices in this category.

Display aside, the Galaxy Fold is a sleek-looking smartphone…unfolded. Opened up, the main Dynamic AMOLED display looks gorgeous with minimal bezels, but it’s a different story when it is folded. It’s bulky, it’s much too tall, and the bezels surrounding the small 4.6-inch screen don’t look flattering at all.

On top of that, the Fold is also a heavy device, tipping the scales at 276g. Whether you’re using it folded or unfolded, you’ll feel the weight of the phone; ergonomics is not the Fold’s strong suit.

Despite that, there’s no denying the appeal of the Galaxy Fold’s foldable display. It’s a unique, novel piece of hardware that will (almost) always impress anyone.

User Experience

So how is it like to use the Galaxy Fold as a daily driver? Honestly, it’s more awkward than I initially thought. Here’s the thing: I actually find myself using the smaller 4.6-inch display for most tasks. Whether it’s web browsing or replying to texts – yes, it’s possible to type on the narrow screen, though it’s not particularly comfortable – I’ve always thought twice before unfolding the phone.

There are a couple of reasons why I’m not particularly keen to open up the Fold. For one, I don’t quite need the expanse of the 7.3-inch display all the time. The other reason? Well, I simply enjoy being able to use the device with only one hand when it’s folded.

But when I do open up the Galaxy Fold, I’m usually glad I did. It’s a gorgeous 7.3-inch 2152 x 1536 Dynamic AMOLED display, and no matter what I’m doing on this screen, it’s an enjoyable experience. The colours are punchy, the blacks are deep, it can get searingly bright, and it supports HDR10+ standard too.

What about the crease running down the middle of the main display? Well, it’s a non-issue for me. Sure, it’s visible at times – especially if you’re looking at the screen at an angle – and you can feel the crease, but for the most part, it’s not super noticeable in normal use. I treat it like a display notch: it’s there, but I eventually learnt to ignore it.

Speaking of notch, I’m not too thrilled about the screen cutout at the top right of the display for the two selfie cameras. Don’t get me wrong, I barely notice it in everyday use, but certain apps don’t play well with it. One such app is YouTube: when playing a video in landscape mode, the app simply ignores the notch, so you lose some of the video’s content.

YouTube isn’t the only app that does that. I’ve played a couple of games on the Galaxy Fold; both PUBG Mobile and Fortnite ignore the notch too. Granted, I didn’t encounter any game breaking issue from this, but it’s still pretty annoying to lose a portion of the screen.

Thankfully, there are some apps that scale appropriately, such at Netflix. If the streaming service can play nice with the notch, I imagine it won’t be too difficult for other apps (especially YouTube) to follow suit.

When it comes to performance, the Galaxy Fold excels. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 under the hood can keep up even in the most demanding of tasks, and although the Fold isn’t designed for gaming, it can run most – if not all – graphically intensive games very well.

Software wise, One UI on the Galaxy Fold isn’t all that different from other Samsung smartphones. The user interface is intuitive, it feels lightweight, and it’s easily one of the most polished versions of Android in the market now. On top of that, the Fold also gets its own multitasking feature.

You can open as many as three different apps with the Galaxy Fold, which really takes advantage of the screen real estate the 7.3-inch display affords. Personally, I don’t find much use for this, but I imagine it’s a feature power users would appreciate.

Oh, if you feel like it, you can even have a different app open on a floating window as you’re gaming. Again, this isn’t something I find particularly useful, but hey, it could be useful for those who are playing slow-paced games like Hearthstone.

Unlike its other flagship smartphones, the Galaxy Fold doesn’t have an in-screen fingerprint sensor. Instead, it has a physical sensor on the right side of the phone right under the power button. That’s right, it’s a separate sensor, unlike the
Galaxy S10e
‘s side-mounted fingerprint sensor that also doubles as the power button.

Although the Galaxy Fold’s implementation is not quite as intuitive or convenient, it’s still a fast, accurate sensor. Compared to Samsung’s
ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensor
 (which can be finicky), some may prefer this solution.

How about battery life? Surprisingly good. Even though the Fold’s  4,380mAh cell isn’t awfully generous – especially for a device this big and heavy – it can still deliver above average battery life. I was consistently getting between five to six hours of screen on time with this phone, and that’s quite respectable.

Overall, I really do enjoy using the Galaxy Fold as my daily driver. It has reasonably good battery life, a large, stunning display, and a good level of performance. I just wish more apps and games will scale properly with the phone’s notch.

Camera

Sporting the same triple camera system as the
Galaxy S10+
, the Galaxy Fold offers similar camera performance as the former, which is a good thing. Under ideal lighting, the 12MP f/1.5 – f/2.4 main camera, 12MP f/2.4 telephoto sensor, and 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle shooter can take great-looking shots.

12MP primary
 12MP telephoto
16MP ultra-wide angle
 12MP primary
  12MP telephoto
 16MP ultra-wide angle

In low light conditions, the same still applies…to an extent. While the 12MP primary shooter performs admirably, the other two sensors struggle a bit, especially the 16MP ultra-wide angle camera. While they can still take good-looking low light shots, don’t expect the same image quality in both lighting conditions.

All in all, the Galaxy Fold has respectable camera performance; it’s easily up there among the best smartphones for photography. It can lock in focus quickly, the camera app is responsive regardless of lighting condition, and while Samsung’s camera algorithm has a tendency to oversaturate images, they do make for more visually striking shots.

Competition

Being the first mainstream foldable smartphone that’s readily available, there aren’t exactly any alternative to the Galaxy Fold. Well, unless we take into account other foldable devices that are releasing in the near future.

Huawei Mate X

Although it was unveiled to the world around the same time as the Galaxy Fold, the Huawei Mate X’s launch was delayed numerous times. Now, it’s only available in China, and it costs quite a bit of money. For the Chinese market, the Mate X costs a whopping 16,999 Chinese yuan, which is about RM10,050.

In comparison, the Galaxy Fold’s RM8,388 asking price doesn’t seem all that bad, not that it’s even remotely affordable. But for that extra bit of money, the Mate X does offer a number of advantages over the Fold, including 5G connectivity, a larger display when it’s folded – since the main screen folds outward – and a slimmer profile.

However, those winning qualities don’t really matter if you can’t even get the Mate X in the first place. Given Huawei’s
ongoing debacle with the US government
, it’s unlikely to ship with Google’s apps and services either. To top it off, the durability of the Mate X still remains to be seen as well. It has an outward-facing display, so it’s quite a big concern. At least the Fold’s display is protected when it’s folded.

Motorola Razr

This is arguably the most practical foldable smartphone in the market now. Unlike the Galaxy Fold and Mate X, the new
Motorola Razr
 is the most “phone-like” device. Not only does it retain the iconic clamshell design, the Razr also sports a foldable display that folds
flat
 when closed. There’s no noticeable crease when the screen is unfolded too.

However, the Razr isn’t quite as powerful as the Galaxy Fold, powered only by a Snapdragon 710 chipset. Its battery life may not be quite as good either despite the smaller screen, given the phone’s rather average 2,510mAh battery. There’s also the price tag: it costs $1,499 (about RM6,245) once it’s available in the US sometime in January 2020.

Even though that makes the Razr more affordable than the Galaxy Fold, Samsung’s offering definitely offers better value for money. The Fold has better performance, battery life, and camera performance as well, to name a few.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is a unique, eye-catching, surreal, incredible technological marvel. But it is also impractical, bulky, fragile, and most of all,
expensive
. RM8,388 is a very dear price tag for a gadget, let alone a smartphone / tablet hybrid. Even if you can afford it, you’ll likely be happier with a dedicated smartphone and tablet.

Still, there’s no denying one thing about the Galaxy Fold: it’s an innovative piece of hardware. It’s a tough device to recommend now, but as foldable screens get more durable and prices go down, maybe – just
maybe
 – the next iteration of the Galaxy Fold is worth considering.

Until then, don’t gamble on the durability of the Galaxy Fold – fold your hand while you still can.


Microsoft Launches Surface Laptop 3 & Surface Pro 7 in Malaysia; Costs up to RM8,299

Microsoft Malaysia just launched a number of products on our shores. There’s the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch models – as well as the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 tablet. On top of that, the company also teased the Malaysian availability of the Microsoft Surface Pro X.

Surface Laptop 3

Let’s start with the Surface Laptop 3. For the 13.5-inch model, as many as three different variants are offered. The base model features a Core i5-1035G7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD storage. That’s right, only 128GB of storage space, and this model retails at a whopping RM4,499; it’s only available in Platinum colourway too.

If you want 256GB of storage instead for the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3, that will cost you RM5,699 for the same processor and RAM configuration. Those who want more power can opt for the Core i7-1065G7 model, which also comes with a 256GB SSD and 16GB of RAM. Both variants are only offered in Matte Black, and the latter commands a RM7,099 price tag.

Other specifications of the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3 include a 13.5-inch 2256 x 1504 PixelSense touch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, Intel Iris Plus Graphics integrated GPU, one USB-C port, and a full-size USB-A connection.

As for the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3, it is only available in a single variant for the Malaysian market. This singular model features a 15-inch 2496 x 1664 PixelSense touch display – also with a 3:2 aspect ratio – an AMD Ryzen 53580U processor paired with 8GB of RAM, a Radeon Vega 9 GPU, and 256GB of SSD storage. The 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 is available in Matte Black for our market, and it costs RM6,799.

Surface Pro 7

Don’t fancy a laptop? Then the Surface Pro 7 could be right up your alley. It popularised the tablet form factor for Windows-based machines, and the latest iteration is available in three variants for our market. The most affordable model retails at RM5,499, and it comes with a Core i5-1035G4 processor paired with 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and two colour options: Platinum and Matte Black.

A tier up is the Core i7-1065G7 variant, which retains the 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD for RM6,799. The highest-end Surface Pro 7, on the other hand, has the same configuration, but offers twice the amount of SSD storage at 512GB; this model goes for RM8,299 in Malaysia. If you’re keen to get either one of these two models, they’re only offered in Matte Black.

Without a doubt the Surface Pro 7 is a costly product, but it
is
 a premium Windows tablet. It has a sharp 12.3-inch 2736 x 1824 PixelSense touch-enabled display (3:2 aspect ratio), it weighs only 775g – the Core i7 model is slightly heavier at 790g – and the Signature Type Cover with Alcantara fabric feels very premium.

Compared to the regular Type Cover, the Signature model with Alcantara fabric feels a lot smoother and more pleasant to the touch; I definitely wouldn’t mind typing for long periods of time on this keyboard. Of course, it also helps that the keys have a good amount of travel and tactile feedback, along with an accurate trackpad.

Oh, it’s worth noting that there will be an even more affordable variant of the Surface Pro 7 that’s set to be introduced in Malaysia sometime in January next month. It comes with a Core i5 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. While its retail price has not been revealed yet, expect it to be more affordable than the current RM5,499 base model.

Surface Pro X

Last but certainly not least is the Surface Pro X, an ARM-based Windows tablet. It runs on the Microsoft SQ1 processor, which is really a custom variant of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx chip. The SQ1 is co-developed by Microsoft and Qualcomm for the Pro X, and it offers a number of benefits.

For one, it doesn’t require active cooling, so the Surface Pro X has absolutely no fans, allowing it to be both thinner and lighter than your average Windows machine. Besides that, it’s also a lot more power-efficient, so expect to get good battery life out of this tablet.

Other specifications of the Surface Pro X include a 13-inch 2880 x 1920 PixelSense touch display (again, with a 3:2 aspect ratio), 8GB or 16GB of RAM, three SSD storage options (128GB, 256GB, or 512GB), two USB-C ports, and LTE connectivity.

Unfortunately, there’s still no concrete release date for the Microsoft Surface Pro X locally. However, we were assured that the Windows tablet is in fact coming to Malaysia, though that will only happen sometime in 2020 next year.

As for the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro 7, they are now available for purchase in Malaysia from various retailers, including Microsoft’s official stores on
Shopee
 and
Lazada
.


Redmi K30 5G & K30 4G Official: 120Hz Display, Snapdragon 765G, from 1,599 Yuan

Redmi just unveiled the successors to the Redmi K20 series. Aptly dubbed Redmi K30, there are two devices in the lineup: the K30 5G, and the more affordable K30 4G. One of the most noteworthy upgrades these two phones receive is the display: it is now a 120Hz panel.

That’s right, both the Redmi K30 5G and K30 4G feature a 6.67-inch 2400 x 1080 IPS display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate. Unfortunately, it’s no longer sporting an AMOLED panel, but you do get a faster 120Hz screen now. In our opinion, it’s a good trade-off.

Another thing you don’t get with the new K30 phones is an all-screen design. Instead, Redmi decided to go with a hole-punch display for the new devices. It looks very familiar too: the oblong-shaped cutout is placed at the top right corner of the phone, just like the
Samsung Galaxy S10+
.

Similarity aside, the cutout houses two selfie cameras. One is a 20MP primary shooter, while the other one is a 2MP depth sensor. On the back, both phones have a quad camera system made up of a 64MP f/1.9 main shooter, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle camera, a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor, and a 5MP f/2.4 macro lens (2MP for the 4G model).

When it comes to performance, the K30 5G is naturally the more powerful option. It’s powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset, which has an integrated 5G modem. On top of that, it’s also built on a 7nm process, making it more power-efficient than the Snapdragon 730G chipset of the K30 4G – the latter is an 8nm processor.

Curiously, unlike their predecessors, the K30 5G and K30 4G do not have an in-screen fingerprint sensor. Instead, they have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that seems to double as the power button. While a physical sensor doesn’t sound quite as impressive as an in-screen solution, the former is still the faster and more accurate option.

Other specifications of both K30 phones include a 4,500mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging (27W for the 4G variant), 6GB or 8GB of RAM, up to 256GB of expandable storage, and MIUI 11 based on Android 10 out of the box.

At the moment, the Redmi K30 5G and K30 4G are only available in China, and as expected, they are priced very competitively. The K30 4G starts at 1,599 Chinese yuan (about RM945), while the K30 5G retails from only 1,999 yuan (approximately RM1,180).

Hopefully, the Redmi K30 smartphones will make it to other markets in the near future. Although they no longer feature notch-less, AMOLED screens – not to mention in-screen fingerprint sensors – the addition of 120Hz refresh rate and 5G support are good trade-offs.


Apple Pro Display XDR Now in Malaysia for a Cool RM19,999; Mac Pro Prices Start from RM25,999

Apple just updated its Malaysian website with a number of products. These include the Mac Pro, the Pro Display XDR, and the Pro Stand for the monitor. Unfortunately, the Mac Pro is not available for purchase yet, but we do know the starting prices of Apple’s most powerful Mac yet.

Two variants of the Mac Pro are
listed in Apple’s site
. There’s the regular tower model, and the rack-mounted version for use in more professional settings, such as data centres. The tower variant retails from an eye-watering RM25,999, while the rack commands a RM2,000 premium, listed at RM27,999.

For that kind of money, the Mac Pro offers some very beefy hardware…if you upgrade it accordingly. As it is, the base model “only” comes with an Intel Xeon octa-core processor paired with 32GB of RAM, an AMD Radeon Pro 580X GPU, and 256GB of SSD storage. Yes, you read that right: this RM25,999 machine comes with only 256GB of SSD storage.

But there is plenty of room to upgrade the Mac Pro. If you’re up for it, you can customise it with a 28-core Xeon processor paired with – wait for it –
1.5TB of RAM
. That’s
a lot
 of RAM, and Apple mentioned that the Mac Pro’s cooling system is good enough for the 28-core processor to sustain peak performance at all times.

On top of that, you can even fit up to four graphics cards into the Mac Pro; the most powerful configuration available from Apple is the AMD Radeon Pro Vega II GPU. Storage capacity, on the other hand, can be configured up to 8TB, which is made up of two 4TB solid-state drives. It’s worth noting that the Mac Pro also features a modular design, though it remains to be seen just how user-upgradable it is.

And then there’s the Pro Display XDR. Basically, it’s a 32-inch 6016 x 3384 Retina 6K LCD monitor. According to Apple, this “extreme dynamic range” display has a searingly bright 1,600 nits maximum brightness, though it can only sustain 1,000 nits of brightness. Naturally, it also features True Tone technology, 10-bit colour depth, and P3 wide colour gamut.

Unlike the Mac Pro, the Pro Display XDR is now
available in Malaysia
. The regular model retails at RM19,999, while the “nano-texture” glass option costs RM25,999. Oh, you can get the Pro Stand for the monitor too, which goes for RM4,499.

Alternatively, you can get the more affordable VESA mount adapter to attach the Pro Display XDR to a stand or desk mount – this will cost you RM899.


Honor MagicWatch 2 Launching in Malaysia 18 December

Honor is launching its latest smartwatch in Malaysia as early as next week. Initially introduced a couple of weeks ago, the Honor MagicWatch 2 is quite the interesting wearable; it’s said to offer up to 14 days of battery life, which is really quite impressive.

However, it’s worth noting that the 14-day battery life only applies to the 46mm MagicWatch 2; the 42mm version can only provide half of that, with a quoted battery life of seven days. On top of that, it remains to be seen if Honor Malaysia will bring in both models. So far, the company is only teasing the 46mm variant.

Nonetheless, other features of the MagicWatch 2 are quite compelling. For one, the smartwatch’s case is made out of stainless steel, giving it a premium, sleek-looking finish. In fact, it almost looks like a regular wristwatch, and that’s a good thing as a fashion accessory.

Besides that, the 46mm MagicWatch 2 also has a vibrant 1.4-inch 454 x 454 AMOLED display, while the 42mm model has a 1.2-inch 390 x 390 AMOLED screen. Of course, like with most smartwatches, this wearable has a 5 ATM water resistance rating, allowing it to be submerged up to 50m underwater for 10 minutes.

Another interesting feature of the MagicWatch 2 is the ability to stream music straight from the smartwatch itself; all you have to do is just connect a pair of wireless earphones to the wearable. However, Honor mentioned that this feature is not available on iOS, so do take note.

Other specifications of the MagicWatch 2 include a Kirin A1 chipset, 4GB of internal storage, a 455mAh battery (215mAh for the 42mm model), a heart rate sensor, and even a speaker. Along with the built-in microphone, you can even have a phone call with just the watch.

The Honor MagicWatch 2 will be making its Malaysian debut next week on 18 December. While there’s still no details on the local pricing of the smartwatch, the MagicWatch 2 retails from 1,099 Chinese yuan (about RM650) in China; this is for the 42mm model in Agate Black.

If you want the Sakura Gold variant instead, that will set you back 1,399 yuan (approximately RM825). As for the bigger 46mm MagicWatch 2, the Charcoal Black option is priced at 1,199 yuan (approximately RM710), while the Flax Brown colourway retails at 1,399 yuan (around RM825).

If the Honor MagicWatch 2 retails at these price points in Malaysia, it may be a smartwatch worth considering. After all, it undercuts the retail price of the
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
 – which starts at RM1,099 – quite a bit.


Deal: Get the Sony WF-1000XM3 With RM200 Discount

The
Sony WF-1000XM3
 is a great pair of wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation, and it is now more affordable than ever. Originally going for RM949, you can get it
for only RM749 now
 – that’s RM200 worth of discount.

This deal is offered by retailer Asashi on Shopee. If you want to get the WF-1000XM3 for only RM749, act fast: there are only
two units left
 at the time of this writing. Unfortunately, only the black model is available right now.

If you want a Preferred Shopee retailer instead, Cplus Digital is offering a reasonably good deal for the WF-1000XM3 too. It’s listing the wireless earbuds
for only RM769.90
, and you can use the store’s RM12 discount to reduce the price
down to RM757.90
.

At these price points, the Sony WF-1000XM3 is an excellent buy. Be quick though: there’s no telling just how long these deals are valid for, given that today is
Shopee’s 12.12 Birthday Sale
. If you’d like to learn more about the wireless earbuds, check out our comprehensive review
right here
.


Realme X2 Pro Master Edition Hands-On: Familiar Finish, Same Hardware

The Realme X2 Pro was launched in Malaysia not too long ago, and now, the Chinese company is bringing in the Master Edition to our shores. Compared to the standard model, this particular version of the flagship smartphone features a unique finish on the glass back.

I managed to spend a brief time with the Realme X2 Pro Master Edition, and it’s really quite an unconventional – albeit familiar – smartphone. If you want a flagship that’s a little bit more quirky, consider this special edition X2 Pro.

There are two distinct variants of the Realme X2 Pro Master Edition: Red Brick and Concrete. Evidently, the model we have right here is the former option. Realme says that Naoto Fukasawa – a Japanese industrial designer – and the company itself “refined the material and texture of brick” for the back finish of the Red Brick model. The result is…well, rather interesting.

When I first touched the back of the special edition Realme X2 Pro, I was reminded of another phone maker’s signature finish. That’s right, I’m talking about OnePlus’ Sandstone finish. Really, the texture on the back of the Red Brick model is very reminiscent of that.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course, though I imagine it can be underwhelming for those who were expecting something truly different or “brick-like.”

Familiarity aside, I do dig the textured back of the Realme X2 Pro Master Edition. It adds a lot more grip, it’s a unique touch, and it looks pretty eye-catching. However, do note that you’ll have to take care of the finish quite a bit. According to Realme, “oil, alcohol, coloured drinks, and other abrasive materials” should not come into contact with the back cover.

Besides the textured back finish, other specifications of the Realme X2 Pro Master Edition are identical to the standard model. But it’s worth noting that this special edition only comes with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM; there’s no other memory configuration.

Hardware wise, one of the best features of the Realme X2 Pro is its fast 90Hz 6.5-inch 2400 x 1080 Super AMOLED notched display. Thanks to the high refresh rate, everything looks extra smooth on the screen. Whether you’re just navigating the interface or scrolling through an article, the extra frames do make a difference.

Quality of the display itself, on the other hand, is in line with other Super AMOLED panels. It has vibrant colours, excellent viewing angles, and deep, true blacks. Sure, the 1080p resolution isn’t particularly impressive, but it will help with battery life; not that the phone has a small battery capacity.

Granted, there are other smartphones with bigger batteries than the X2 Pro’s 4,000mAh cell, but it should be able to return a day’s worth of use. On top of that, the fast charging capability of this phone is worth a mention too: it features 50W “SuperVOOC Flash Charge technology,” which can supposedly fully charge the phone in only 35 minutes.

Performance is also another strong point for the X2 Pro. Powered by a
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
 chipset, this is a fast flagship smartphone. It feels zippy, apps open up very quickly, and chances are, gaming on the X2 Pro will be a real treat. After all, the 855+ promises up to 15% better performance than its predecessor.

What impress me quite a bit is the Realme X2 Pro’s in-screen fingerprint sensor. Not only is it accurate, the sensor can also recognise my fingerprint relatively quickly. It’s still not quite as fast as the
OnePlus 7 Pro
‘s speedy scanner, but as far as in-screen sensors go, this is one of the better implementations.

Finally, we have the X2 Pro’s camera performance. On the back, this phone comes with a quad camera system, which is made up of a 64MP f/1.8 main shooter, a 13MP f/2.5 telephoto sensor, an 8MP f/2.2 wide angle shooter, and a 2MP f/2.4 portrait lens. As for the selfie camera, it’s a 16MP f/2.0 unit.

So how is it like shooting with this flagship smartphone? Well, it’s…decent? The quad camera system seems capable of taking good-looking shots under ideal lighting, but in low light conditions, it’s a day and night difference (literally). The camera feels a lot more sluggish – especially the telephoto lens – detail preservation takes a dive, and noise is apparent too.

That being said, I do need to spend more time photographing with the X2 Pro to give it a fair assessment. But so far, I’m not exactly blown away with the image quality.

The Realme X2 Pro Master Edition is a unique-looking smartphone, thanks to its textured back. But beyond this one aesthetic change, it still shares the X2 Pro’s shortcomings, such as the mediocre camera performance. Although Realme has yet to reveal the local pricing of the Master Edition, expect it to cost more than the standard X2 Pro as well, which retails at RM2,399.

Exactly how compelling the X2 Pro Master Edition would be will depend on how much the device will cost in Malaysia; we’ll find out next week on 16 December. As unique as the phone’s textured back finish may be, price will impact the desirability of the X2 Pro more than looks, especially in a price-sensitive market like Malaysia.


You Can Now Buy a RM233,000 Apple Mac Pro & 16-inch MacBook Pro in Malaysia

If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on Apple’s
Mac Pro
 or the
16-inch MacBook Pro
, your wait is over: both products can now be purchased on
Apple’s
Malaysian website
. However, as expected, prepare to fork out quite a bit of money for either one of these two machines.

Let’s start with the 16-inch MacBook Pro. One of the biggest additions to Apple’s latest laptop is a new keyboard design. Gone are the butterfly switches in favour of a more traditional scissor mechanism with the new Magic Keyboard. Thanks to this change, the keyboard should be a lot more reliable than its predecessor.

It’s also worth noting that the Magic Keyboard has a physical Esc key now, along with the “inverted-T” arrow keys.

Besides that, the 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with a 16-inch 3072 x 1920 Retina IPS display too. It’s a sharp, colour-accurate display, and it also supports Apple’s True Tone technology. Naturally, the Touch Bar display right above the keyboard is retained as well.

Other specifications of the 16-inch MacBook Pro include 9th generation Intel Core processors (up to a Core i9), three GPU options (AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4GB GDDR6, Radeon Pro 5500M 4GB GDDR6, or a 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory), 16GB of RAM (upgradable to 32GB or 64GB), 512GB of SSD storage (configurable to a whopping 8TB), and Touch ID authentication.

How much does the new 16-inch MacBook Pro cost? Well, the base model with a Core i7 chip paired with 16GB of RAM, a Radeon Pro 5300M GPU, and 512GB of SSD storage retails at a cool RM10,499. The most expensive variant, on the other hand, costs an eye-watering RM28,818.80, complete with Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X software. Check out our
hands-on of the 16-inch MacBook Pro
 if you’d like to learn more about this laptop.

And then there’s the Mac Pro. Touted as the most powerful Mac to date, it can be configured to your heart’s content. For the base model, it comes with an Intel Xeon octa-core processor paired with 32GB of RAM, an AMD Radeon Pro 580X GPU, and a 256GB SSD. This base configuration retails at RM25,999.

Given the plethora of customisation options, the Mac Pro’s top-of-the-range configuration can get pretty ridiculous. If you’re curious, a decked out Mac Pro comes with a 28-core Xeon processor with 1.5TB (!) of RAM, two Radeon Pro Vega II Duo GPUs, 4TB of SSD storage, an Apple Afterburner card, wheels (yes, wheels), Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2, and a RM231,608 price tag.

Oh, opting to get Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X software will cost an addition RM2,099.80, bringing the grand total to RM233,707.80. Of course, you’ll need a monitor to go along with the Mac Pro, so why not get the
Apple Pro Display XDR
? The standard model costs RM19,999, or you can go for the nano-texture glass option instead for RM25,999.

Without a shadow of a doubt the Mac Pro costs a pretty penny, but it goes without saying it is also a
very
 powerful machine. The cooling system, for one, is said to be robust enough to cool the 28-core Xeon processor for it to sustain peak performance at all times. On top of that, it sports a modular design as well.

At the time of writing, the 16-inch MacBook Pro will ship within three to five business days, while the Mac Pro will be sent out in six to seven weeks. Don’t worry: shipping is free.


Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 Quick Review: Still the Best Smartwatch for Android

When it comes to smartwatches for Android, Samsung is easily at the top of the list with its excellent wearables. The
Galaxy Watch Active
, for one, is a great smartwatch with decent value for money. Now, we have its successor, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2.

What makes the Watch Active 2 particularly interesting is the return of the bezel controls. But it’s not a physically rotating one; rather, it’s a touch-sensitive bezel. So should you get Samsung’s latest smartwatch? Read on to find out.

What It Is

Not surprisingly, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is similar to its predecessor, but there are some notable changes. The most obvious one is the addition of the touch-sensitive bezel. The size of the bezel surrounding the display has also been reduced, so the screen size is actually slightly bigger now. This 40mm model is sporting a 1.2-inch 360 x 360 Super AMOLED display.

Besides that, the Active 2 also comes in a number of different case materials. This one right here is the Stainless Steel model, which looks and feels great; it really gives the smartwatch a premium touch. Of course, like every other Samsung smartwatch, this wearable runs on the company’s own Tizen software, which is reasonably good…for the most part. More on this later.

Other specifications of the Galaxy Watch Active 2 include an Exynos 9110 dual-core processor paired with 768MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, a 247mAh battery, 5 ATM / IP68 rating, as well as a heart rate sensor with support for ECG. However, the ECG feature is not enabled yet at the time of this review. No word yet whether it’ll be activated in Malaysia either.

The Good Stuff

Since the touch-sensitive bezel is the biggest addition to the Galaxy Watch Active 2, let’s talk about that first. Generally, it actually works reasonably well. Once it detects the first “click,” the bezel does follow my finger movement quite accurately. However, it is by no means as accurate or as satisfying to use as the physical rotating bezel of the bigger Galaxy Watch.

Nonetheless, let’s move on to the Galaxy Watch Active 2’s battery life, which is actually better than its predecessor. Previously, I could only get around one and a half day of use with the always on display enabled. With the Active 2, however, I can comfortably get two days of battery life. That’s quite impressive for a smartwatch of this calibre.

To get this level of battery life, I left the smartwatch at its default settings, though I did set it to measure my heart rate continuously. If you want even better battery life, you can disable the always on display and set the heart rate sensor to only activate every 10 minutes – or not at all.

And then there’s the fantastic circular Super AMOLED display. Samsung manufactures one of the best – if not
the best
 – displays in the market, and it really shows on the Galaxy Watch Active 2. It can get quite bright (it’s still very legible under bright sunlight), it has vibrant colours, and this being an AMOLED panel, you also get deep, true blacks.

Oh, the always on display on the Active 2 is slightly tweaked too. Instead of a static image that only refreshes every minute, the watchface is now animated, complete with a ticking second hand. It’s a small touch, but Samsung’s attention to detail here is very commendable.

The reworked always on display

Having the smartwatch on my wrist for long periods of time is surprisingly comfortable too, and the leather strap on this particular variant holds up reasonably well after a few weeks of use. Swapping out the straps is also a fuss-free affair, thanks to the quick release pins.

Another feature I really like on the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is the ability to reply to certain notifications. This can be done with pre-written texts, emojis, the T9 keypad, or using the touchscreen to “draw” my message one letter at a time. It’s the same feature found on its predecessor, and I’m glad it’s unchanged with the new smartwatch.

Of course, as with any smartwatch worth its salt, every notification I get on my phone is pushed to the Active 2 accordingly. Any notification I dismiss on the wearable is also reflected on the phone, and vice versa. Personally, this is the best reason to get a smartwatch, and the Active 2 (as expected) does this very well.

The Bad Stuff

Given its similarities to its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 also shares the same weaknesses. For one, third-party app support is still limited. Tizen on its own is still a good platform with an intuitive user interface, but don’t expect good quality third-party apps with this smartwatch.

Aside from that, despite its “active” moniker, the workout detection of the Active 2 isn’t particularly fantastic. Sure, it’s able to detect certain workouts effectively – it managed to track my jogging and badminton sessions – but for exercises with minimal arm movement, the smartwatch struggles to detect them accurately.

Granted, it’s a limitation many smartwatches struggle with. After all, there’s only so much data the Watch Active 2 can collect from the wrist. Nonetheless, this smartwatch does have a wide list of exercises it can supposedly track.

Last but certainly not least is the price of the Active 2. This particular variant, the 40mm Stainless Steel model, retails for RM1,299. In comparison, the first Galaxy Watch Active only went for RM799 at launch; that’s
RM500 less
. Granted, you can get the 40mm Under Armour model or the 44mm Aluminium model for RM1,099, but that’s still RM300 price difference.

Is It Worth It?

Is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 a good smartwatch? Yes. Is it worth a recommendation? Yes; but only if you don’t already own the first Galaxy Watch Active. Even then it may be more worth it to get that instead of this new model to save a good chunk of money.

That being said, there’s no doubt the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is the superior smartwatch. It has a slightly bigger display thanks to the smaller bezels, it has better battery life, and this Stainless Steel model (despite its high asking price) gives the impression of a much more premium device.

If you want the absolute best smartwatch for Android smartphones right now, and you don’t mind its steep price tag, give the Galaxy Watch Active 2 a gander or two – you won’t find a more complete wearable for the money.


Acer Predator Triton 300 With 144Hz Display Lands in Malaysia from RM3,699

Acer Malaysia just announced the availability of its latest gaming laptop, the
Acer Predator Triton 300
. This is the most affordable machine in the Triton series, and it’s quite a respectable gaming laptop for the money.

One of the most attractive features of the Triton 300 is its fast 144Hz display; not a common feature among gaming laptops in this price range. The 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display is also surrounded by relatively thin bezels, lending to a sleek, modern-looking aesthetic.

Given its positioning in the Triton lineup, the Triton 300 isn’t an awfully powerful gaming laptop, powered by an Nvidia GTX 1650 GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 memory. While it’s not a particularly high-end graphics card, it should be able to run most modern games well with some graphics tweaking here and there.

Gaming laptops are not particularly slim or light, but the Triton 300 is surprisingly quite portable. Its chassis measures 22.9mm, and it tips the scales at 2.3kg. Sure, these figures don’t exactly make it the lightest or thinnest gaming laptop around, but it’s still a reasonably compact machine.

Two variants of the Triton 300 are offered in Malaysia. There’s the Intel Core i5-9300H model, and the more powerful Core i7-9750H variant. Besides the CPU option, both models share the same hardware, including 8GB of RAM and 512GB of fast PCIe NVMe SSD storage.

So how much does the Acer Predator Triton 300 cost for the Malaysian market? Well, the Core i5 variant retails at RM3,699, while the higher-end Core i7 model goes for RM4,799. Both options of the Triton 300 are now available for purchase in Malaysia.

Don’t quite fancy a gaming laptop? Then consider the Acer Swift 3, which has been revised with a number of upgrades and price change. Now, the productivity laptop comes pre-installed with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 (worth RM529), giving you full access to Office applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. That’s a pretty sweet inclusion.

On top of that, the 256GB SSD storage of the Swift 3 has been swapped out for a much more generous 512GB SSD, so you won’t have to worry about not having enough storage space. Other specifications of this laptop include a 14-inch Full HD IPS display, an 8th generation Core i5 processor paired with 8GB of RAM, and two GPU options: an Intel UHD Graphics 620 or an Nvidia MX250 GPU.

As mentioned, the pricing of the Acer Swift 5 has been revised as well. The base model with UHD Graphics 620 now goes for only RM2,399, while the MX250 variant carries a RM2,699 price tag. Given the hardware (and software) you’re getting with the Swift 3, it offers pretty good value for money.


Vivo V17 Launched in Malaysia; Sports Tiny Hole-Punch Cutout & RM1,699 Price Tag

The Vivo V17 mid-range smartphone has just been launched in Malaysia. What makes this mid-ranger particularly interesting is its hole-punch cutout for the front-facing camera. Measuring only 5mm in diameter, it’s said to be the smallest one in the market.

Thanks to the small camera cutout, the V17 does look sleeker than other smartphones with a similar design language, including the
Samsung Galaxy S10e
 and
Huawei Nova 5T
. Vivo calls this the “Ultra O” screen, and it houses a 32MP f/2.45 selfie camera.

Aside from the hole-punch cutout, the display itself is a 6.44-inch 2400 x 1080 Super AMOLED screen. This being an AMOLED panel, you can expect to get deep blacks and vibrant colours. On top of that, Vivo says that the V17 has an impressive 91.38% screen-to-body ratio.

Like most smartphones in the market now, underneath the display of the V17 is an in-screen fingerprint sensor. According to Vivo, this sensor now comes with a 3P lens. Along with Vivo’s “intelligent algorithm,” the sensor is supposedly faster at recognising fingerprints now.

Powering the V17, on the other hand, is a decidedly mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chipset. It’s not the most capable processor – especially in this price range – but it should be fast enough to provide a relatively good user experience. Whether you’re gaming or multitasking on this phone, the Snapdragon 675 should be up for the task.

On the back of the V17 is a rather unique-looking rear camera system. It’s a quad camera configuration made up of a 48MP f/1.8 primary shooter with PDAF, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle camera, a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor, and another 2MP f/2.4 macro lens. Unfortunately, there is no telephoto shooter here.

Nonetheless, battery life is one of the V17’s main selling points. After all, it comes with a generous 4,500mAh battery, which should be able to get you through a day’s worth of use comfortably. If you need to quickly charge up the phone, the V17 supports 18W fast charging via USB-C.

Other specifications of the V17 include 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for further expansion, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and two colour options: Admiral Blue and Crystal White.

The Vivo V17 is now available for pre-order in Malaysia for RM1,699 on Vivo’s
official online store
; you can also use a RM50 discount code over there. While RM1,699 is a pretty hefty price tag for a mid-range smartphone, you do get 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. The V17 will hit store shelves on 21 December 2019.


TNG, Boost & GrabPay Chosen for e-Tunai Rakyat Initiative; Get RM30 Credit from 15 January 2020

Back at Budget 2020, the government announced that eligible Malaysians will receive RM30 worth of credit to an unspecified ewallet service. Well, we now know which are chosen for the e-Tunai Rakyat initiative, and there are three of them: Touch ‘n Go eWallet, Boost, and GrabPay.

In a
press release prepared by Khazanah Nasional
, these ewallet services were chosen based on the fulfillment of four criteria. Firstly, they have to boast a large number of users to ensure that the e-Tunai Rakyat initiative “has a broad reach among eligible Malaysians.”

Secondly, these ewallet services are also required to have large merchant networks for traders to take advantage of the incentive spending. Of course, consumers can also use the respective ewallet services at a wide number of retailers; the key is to not be limited by the availability of the service.

The third criterion is for the ewallet services to have “the ability to handle a large number of transactions in a short period of time.” Evidently, all three ewallet services chosen for this initiative are more than capable at fulfilling this requirement.

Last but certainly not least is for the selected ewallet services to have already invested “significantly in their respective services in Malaysia.”

In order to make this initiative possible, the government is allocating up to RM450 million to Khazanah Nasional to implement it. The e-Tunai Rakyat is expected to benefit up to 15 million Malaysians; that’s quite a significant number.

Unfortunately, the exact mechanism for the “one-time RM30 digital stimulus” has not been revealed yet, though we expect TNG, Boost, and GrabPay to announce more details as we approach closer to the 15 January 2020 commencement date. The whole initiative will run for two months, ending on 14 March 2020.

So how do you know if you’re eligible for the RM30 credit? Well, as long as you are above 18 years of age, and your annual income is less than RM100,000, you will be able to receive the RM30 credit to your TNG, Boost, or GrabPay account.

Naturally, you’ll have to first verify your identity on either one of these ewallet services to be eligible for the RM30 credit. For example, Touch ‘n Go eWallet users would need to take a snapshot of their identification card (IC) – along with a selfie – and fill in their personal details.

Do note that the RM30 credit given for the e-Tunai Rakyat initiative is only valid until 14 March 2020 regardless of which ewallet service you choose. Any balance left after that date will “expire and cannot be used again,”
according to TNG
.


Honor MagicWatch 2 Now in Malaysia for RM699

Honor just launched its latest smartwatch in Malaysia, the
Honor MagicWatch 2
. However, the Chinese company is only bringing in the 46mm model at the moment; the Flax Brown (46mm) and 42mm models will only be made available here at a later date.

Nonetheless, the MagicWatch 2 is quite an interesting smartwatch. One of the best selling points of the wearable is its quoted battery life. According to Honor, it can last up to 14 days on a single charge. For a smartwatch, that’s very impressive battery life.

Of course, that level of battery life is only applicable to the 46mm model, which is the only variant introduced in our market at this point in time. If you’re curious, the 42mm version only has a quoted battery life of seven days.

Design wise, the MagicWatch 2 is a handsome smartwatch. In fact, it looks almost like a traditional wristwatch, thanks to its stainless steel case. It looks premium, classy, and more importantly, it doesn’t look like a gadget on your wrist. An important requirement for certain folks, we imagine.

The best smartwatches have AMOLED displays for great screen quality, so naturally, the MagicWatch 2 has such a panel. Sporting a 1.4-inch 454 x 454 circular AMOLED display, expect it to be bright, vibrant, and pleasant to look at.

Oh, this smartwatch also has a 5 ATM water resistance rating, so you can submerge it up to 50m underwater for up to 10 minutes. If you plan to wear it for a quick swim, you won’t have to worry about taking it off.

Another feature of the MagicWatch 2 that’s worth highlighting is music streaming. That’s right, you can stream music straight from the smartwatch itself to a pair of wireless earphones. Sure, this particular feature isn’t unique to the MagicWatch 2, but it’s certainly a nice thing to have.

That being said, do note that music streaming with the wearable isn’t available if you pair it with an iOS device. Unfortunately, it’s an Android-only feature.

Other specifications of the MagicWatch 2 include a Kirin A1 chipset, 4GB of internal storage, a 455mAh battery (215mAh for the 42mm model), a heart rate sensor, and a speaker. On top of that, it also has a built-in microphone, making it possible to make a phone call with just the watch.

The Honor MagicWatch 2 is now available for purchase in Malaysia from Honor’s
official website
,
Shopee
, as well as Honor Experience Stores nationwide for RM699. Again, that’s for the 46mm model; the Flax Brown model of the same size will be coming at a later date for RM749, while the upcoming 42mm variant has no official pricing yet.


Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding Is My Game of the Year

If there’s any word to describe Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding, it would be “polarising.” On one side of the camp, you’ve got players calling the game an absolute bore; it’s even been described as a very detailed “walking simulator.” But on the other side of the camp, there are also players that consider Death Stranding to be Kojima’s best masterpiece yet.

Going by the headline, you already know which of the two camps I’m in. After 32 hours, I’ve finally completed Death Stranding’s epic story, and what an adventure it was. Sure, there are aspects of the game that could be better, but as a whole, it’s the best game I’ve played this year.

And I wish I could do it all over again.

So what’s so great about Death Stranding? Well, for one, it has a star-studded cast. You’ve got Norman Reedus (he plays Sam, the protagonist), Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley, and of course, even Troy Baker, who’s well-known for voicing Joel in The Last of Us.

Granted, an accomplished cast of actors and actresses don’t exactly guarantee an amazing performance, but this was certainly the case with Death Stranding. I was especially captivated by Mikkelsen’s performance as Clifford Unger. The voice acting is strong, the facial expressions are on point, and throughout the game, I was anticipating the next scene with him in it. He was
that
 good.

Of course, the other casts also did an excellent job in their own right. Reedus convincingly played Sam as a jaded, post-apocalyptic deliveryman, and I was quite surprised at how well he delivered certain lines. After all, Death Stranding is a Kojima game: some of the dialogues can get quite…bizarre.

And then there’s Troy Baker, who plays the antagonist Higgs Monaghan. Honestly, nothing much needs to be said of Baker’s voice acting prowess. Each one of his dialogue, regardless of how ridiculous or strange, is delivered with gusto and necessary emotions
effortlessly
. This is easily one of Baker’s best performances yet.

Besides its strong lineup of cast, what makes Death Stranding such an incredible game is the storytelling; it’s something you’ve come to expect from Kojima. If you’re familiar with the Metal Gear Solid series, you’ll know what you’re in for in this game. From lengthy cutscenes to a story of epic proportions in a post-apocalyptic world, there’s no shortage of the Kojima flair here.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I spent half of my play time in Death Stranding watching cutscenes and reading through dialogues. According to the game completion screen, I spent about 16 hours (my total play time is 32 hours) “resting,” which I assume were time spent outside of gameplay.

That is a
long
 period of time to be doing nothing, but I honestly enjoyed just sitting back and see the events of the game unfold. It’s almost like watching an interactive movie.

It also helps that Death Stranding is such a gorgeously rendered game. The character models are
painfully
detailed – especially the facial structures – the sprawling landscapes are awe-inspiring, and in certain parts of the game, you’d really be amazed at the level of detail. The Decima engine powering this game (which is also used with Horizon Zero Dawn) is nothing short of breathtaking.

Complementing the stunning graphics are equally great soundtracks. As you progress through the game, songs would occasionally play in the background. This usually happens as you’re beginning your next journey or approaching your destination, and it really adds to the whole “ambiance” of the game.

So far, I haven’t talked about the core gameplay of Death Stranding, so let’s get to it. Basically, your main mission is to reconnect America – now known as the UCA for the United Cities of America – by travelling westward and making contact with different settlements to connect them to the “Chiral Network.” Essentially, it is an internet network…of sorts.

As you make your way from one settlement to the next, you will be tasked to deliver a number of items as well. These can either range from transporting small cargo, to delivering large amounts of raw material. Based on the task at hand, it’s important to bring the necessary equipment during the loadout stage.

Will you be traversing difficult terrain? Then bring along a couple of ladders and climbing anchors. Afraid you’ll come across hostile entities? Bring along some weapons. You can only carry so many items at a certain weight limit, so it can be quite tricky to choose exactly what you need to bring into the field.

Thankfully, if you do forget to bring certain items, that’s where other players come in. As you head out into new areas, you’ll occasionally come across items left by other players. Throughout my time with the game, these items were essential to help me get from one point to another.

On top of that, you’ll see structures built by other players too. Whether these are generators to charge batteries or bridges to cross rapid rivers, they will help you on your journey.

Oh, right, I should probably explain what kind of “hostile entities” are there in Death Stranding. There are two main categories: human enemies, and BTs. Human enemies are further divided into MULEs and Terrorists. The former are just interested to steal your cargo, while Terrorists use more deadly forces.

Early encounters with these enemies can get quite annoying, but as you unlock more tools and equipment, they’re a cinch to deal with. Okay, maybe not Terrorists, given their more sophisticated weaponry, which include shotguns and assault rifles.

BTs, on the other hand, are supernatural enemies you’ll come across throughout the game, and they are far more prevalent than human hostiles. Whenever it’s raining (referred to as timefall in the game), there’s a chance you’ll come across a field of these ghostly BTs, or “Beached Things.”

When you set foot in such an area, the Odradek sensor will activate. Together with your BB (that’s the Bridge Baby, an infant that is attached to Sam), the sensor will continuously flap in the direction of the nearest BT. The intensity increases as you get closer to one of the ghostly apparitions, and you wouldn’t want to get
too
 close.

If you do get too close to a BT, you can still hold your breath by pressing the R1 button, and slowly sneak past it; nothing will happen as long as you’re not caught by the apparition. But if you
do
 get caught, well…get ready for a battle with the BT.

Once you’re caught, you’ll be dragged on the ground for a bit, so you may drop some of your cargo in the process. To get yourself out of this battle, you can either get away from the affected area, or defeat the BT. That being said, you can only do the latter once you’ve unlocked a specific weapon; I’ll try to be vague to avoid spoiling it.

You’ve probably noticed by now that I haven’t really elaborated about my personal opinion of Death Stranding’s unique gameplay. Truth be told, I…actually find it quite interesting. Sure, traveling the vast landscape can get quite arduous and repetitive, but the payout, which is advancing the story to find out more about Death Stranding, is worth all the trouble.

But, in order to get to
that
 fun part of the game, you’ll have to be patient. Like, really, patient. See, the early parts of the game are a slog; there’s no sugar coating it. For me, the first 10 hours of the game felt like an extended prologue, and I was already rushing through it to finish the story as quickly as I can.

Once I got that particular section of the game over with, though, I was really enjoying myself.

I’ve mentioned that Death Stranding’s story is very compelling, and I would wholeheartedly recommend folks to just watch the game’s cutscenes for the storyline and cinematography aspects, especially if they don’t plan to play the game at all. But as much as I love Death Stranding’s plot, it is also convoluted and overly complex, making it hard to grasp the gist of the story.

To make matters worse, the game doesn’t go to great lengths to explain the jargons that are thrown around. What does DOOMS mean? Every living being has their own “Beach?” What’s the Seam? Being a repatriate is a gift in this game? What?

Now, even with these imperfections, Death Stranding was an
absolute joy
 to experience. If you have a PlayStation 4 system, play it. If you don’t have the console, consider buying one solely for this game. Or…you can wait for it to be released on PC sometime in 2020 next year.

Death Stranding is a slow burn. It takes some time to warm up before it hits its stride. But once it does, you’re in for a ride, and I absolutely envy those who are playing the game for the first time.


Vivo Y15 2020 With 5,000mAh Battery Arrives in Malaysia for RM599

In the market for a new budget-friendly smartphone? Then you may be interested in Vivo’s latest affordable smartphone, the Vivo Y15 2020. Sporting a large 5,000mAh battery, this should be a long-lasting device; even for the most demanding of mobile users.

That’s right. Despite its rather compact form factor – it has a 6.35-inch display with a notch – the Y15 2020 has a very generous 5,000mAh cell. Chances are, you can comfortably get up to two days of use out of this budget smartphone, especially with the 1544 x 720 IPS display.

Sure, a higher resolution display would look better, but there’s only so much you can ask for from a smartphone in this price range. Besides, it has a good screen-to-body ratio at 89%, not to mention the fact that the 720p resolution wouldn’t be as power-hungry.

Given its positioning as an affordable smartphone, it’s no surprise that the Y15 2020 features a much older MediaTek MT6762 Helio P22 chipset. Introduced back in 2017, it’s an octa-core processor utilising eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores. It won’t provide amazing performance, but as long as you manage your expectations, it should be good enough for day-to-day use.

In the camera department, the Y15 2020 has a surprisingly complete triple camera system. It’s made up of a 13MP f/2.2 primary shooter, an 8MP f/2.2 wide angle lens, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. While you don’t get a telephoto camera here, the fact that it has a wide angle shooter is quite impressive for a budget-oriented smartphone.

As for the front-facing camera, it’s a 16MP f/2.0 unit placed right above the display in the notch.

For biometric security, you get a conventional fingerprint sensor on the back of the smartphone. It’s not quite as fancy as an in-screen sensor, but hey, it’s still much more accurate and quicker, especially if we’re talking about sensors found in more affordable devices. Only the best flagship smartphones have reasonably good in-screen fingerprint sensors.

Other specifications of the Y15 2020 include 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot that can accommodate cards up to 256GB, a microUSB port – no USB-C, unfortunately – and Funtouch OS 9 based on Android 9 Pie out of the box.

The Vivo Y15 2020 is now available for purchase in Malaysia, including
Vivo’s online store
 and e-commerce platform
Shopee
. Retailing at RM599, it is offered in two colour options: Phantom Black and Burgundy Red.


Huawei MediaPad M6 Now Available in Malaysia for RM1,899

Huawei just launched a new Android tablet for the Malaysian market, the Huawei MediaPad M6. Sporting a large 10.8-inch display with a sharp 2560 x 1600 WQXGA resolution and good processing power, it’s a reasonably good tablet for productivity purposes.

One of the key selling points of the MediaPad M6 is its 10.8-inch 2K IPS display. Not only is it quite a pixel-dense panel, the screen also comes with Huawei’s ClariVu technology. According to the Chinese company, ClariVu uses “intelligent algorithms to enhance contrast and clarity” when you’re watching movies or playing games on this tablet.

I managed to spend a brief time with the MediaPad M6, and the screen does look good. It can get quite bright, colours are vibrant and punchy, and really, it’s a pleasant screen to look at. Whether you’re using it for media consumption or productivity tasks, you won’t be disappointed with the screen quality.

Besides that, powering the MediaPad M6 is Huawei’s own
Kirin 980 chipset
; the same SoC found in other flagship smartphones from the company, including the
Huawei P30
 and
Mate 20
 series. It may not be the latest
Kirin 990 chipset
, but rest assured, the Kirin 980 is still a very capable chip.

Speaking of which, it’s also worth noting that the Kirin 980 processor is built on a 7nm process, so it’s quite a power-efficient chipset. This, paired with the MediaPad M6’s generous 7,500mAh battery, should allow the tablet to return above average battery life.

Given its focus on productivity, the MediaPad M6 supports a number of accessories to complement this particular aspect of the tablet. There’s the Smart Magnetic Keyboard, which (obviously) magnetically attaches to the tablet, and the M-Pen stylus for the creative folks. Oh, it also has a PC Mode to mimic a desktop environment.

You wouldn’t really want to photograph with a tablet this big, but if it ever becomes necessary, the MediaPad M6 will do in a pinch. On the back, it comes with a 13MP f/1.8 shooter. If you want to take selfie shots or make a video call with the tablet instead, there’s the 8MP f/2.0 front-facing camera.

Other specifications of the MediaPad M6 include 4GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot (it supports cards up to 512GB), a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port, and EMUI 10 based on Android 10 out of the box.

The Huawei MediaPad M6 is now available for purchase in Malaysia for RM1,899. Offered only in Titanium Grey, early birds will also get the Smart Magnetic Keyboard and M-Pen stylus bundled with the tablet; these accessories are worth RM568.


Honor 9X Quick Review: Decidedly Average

Honor’s mid-range smartphones are really quite popular among consumers, thanks to their affordable pricing and sleek designs. The new Honor 9X, for the most part, fulfill these two criteria. In a vacuum, it’s a reasonably good mid-ranger.

But competition in the mid-range segment is a lot tougher now. Next to these devices, the Honor 9X doesn’t stand out quite as much. Is it a good smartphone? Yes, but you can also do better at this price point.

What It Is

Display
6.59-inch FHD+ IPS (2340 x 1080)
Chipset
Kirin 710F 2.2GHz octa-core
GPU
ARM Mali-G51 MP4
RAM
6GB
Storage
128GB, expandable
Camera (rear)
48MP f/1.8 (primary)
8MP f/2.4 (ultra-wide angle)
2MP f/2.4 (depth)
Camera (front)
16MP f/2.2
Battery
4,000mAh
Dimensions
163.5 x 77.3 x 8.8 mm
Weight
196.8g
OS
EMUI 9.1 based on Android 9 Pie
Connectivity
LTE
Bluetooth 4.2
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz)
USB Type-C
3.5mm headphone jack
Price
RM999

Looking at this list of hardware, the Honor 9X sits comfortably in the mid-range segment. The Kirin 710F chipset is reasonably quick, the 6.59-inch 1080p display is big and vibrant, and the 4,000mAh battery can return very good battery life.

In fact, that is one of the best reasons to get the Honor 9X: it’s a
really
 long-lasting smartphone. Unfortunately, other aspects of the phone leave much to be desired, especially the camera performance.

The Good Stuff

But let’s talk about what I do like about the Honor 9X first, starting with battery life. On average, I get about seven to eight hours of screen on time with the phone’s 4,000mAh cell, which is
very
 impressive. Not many smartphones with a similar battery capacity can deliver this kind of battery life.

Unfortunately, the charging rate isn’t quite as good. Within 30 minutes of charging, the phone only got up to 30% from empty.

Nonetheless, I do like the design of the Honor 9X. The all-screen design free of any notch or hole-punch cutout lends to a very modern-looking smartphone, and the curved back panel is ergonomically-friendly. That being said, I do wish the bottom bezel was smaller.

What about the display quality? It’s actually quite good. The 6.59-inch 1080p IPS display is pleasant to look at, with vibrant colours and good brightness level. Sure, the display does get darker when viewed at an angle, but the same can be said of most smartphones’ screens in this price range. Well, unless they use OLED panels.

Performance of the Honor 9X is relatively good too. While the Kirin 710F isn’t an awfully powerful chipset, it can provide a pleasant user experience. It doesn’t take too long to switch between different apps, there’s no noticeable stuttering, and its gaming performance is perfectly acceptable too.

Of course, there are frame rate drops in certain games like PUBG Mobile – especially when I’m moving the camera quickly – but tweaking the graphics settings do make the game run better. Basically, don’t expect amazing performance out of the Kirin 710F, and you won’t be disappointed.

The Bad Stuff

I’ll start with my biggest complaint about the Honor 9X: the triple camera system. It’s made up of a 48MP f/1.8 main shooter, an 8MP f/2.4 ultra-wide angle sensor, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth camera. While it performs admirably in daytime, the camera performance takes a dive in low light conditions.

This is
very
 evident with the 8MP wide angle shooter. Detail preservation is bad (most shots look smudged), noise level is high, and forget about accurate colour reproduction. Things do improve with the primary 48MP sensor, but not exactly by a huge margin. Take a look at the sample shots below.

48MP primary
8MP ultra-wide angle
 48MP primary
 8MP ultra-wide angle
 48MP primary
 48MP primary

Besides that, there’s also a noticeable whirring sound whenever the Honor 9X’s front camera activates, so you can forget about taking selfie shots discretely. If there’s any consolation, at least the camera mechanism pops up pretty quickly.

My last gripe with the Honor 9X is its value proposition. Retailing at RM999, it’s not the most affordable mid-range smartphone, and you can get better bang for your buck with other devices at the same price point. To put things into context, let’s look at another smartphone in this price range, the
Redmi Note 8 Pro
.

Although the 128GB variant of the Note 8 Pro with 6GB of RAM officially retails at RM1,199 – that’s the same storage and RAM capacities as the Honor 9X – you can get it for
as low as RM1,070 now
. That’s only RM71 more for the Redmi phone, and you’re getting so much more for your money.

For one, the Redmi Note 8 Pro has a much faster
MediaTek Helio G90T chipset
. Now, don’t be quick to judge the G90T processor; it’s said to be up to 26% faster than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 730 SoC. In comparison, the Kirin 710F doesn’t even belong in the same league as either one of these two chips.

And then there’s the Redmi Note 8 Pro’s more sophisticated quad camera configuration. Headlined by a 64MP main shooter, this phone also has an 8MP ultra-wide angle camera, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. In short, you can expect better camera performance from the Note 8 Pro.

Given that you get all of these upgrades
for only RM71 more
, the Honor 9X pales in comparison when it comes to value for money. Granted, the 9X is the sleeker-looking device with its all-screen design, but I’d happily live with the Redmi Note 8 Pro’s notched display for all of the extra upgrades.

Is It Worth It?

For RM999, the Honor 9X is not an easy phone to recommend. That’s not an exorbitant asking price, but the fact that other smartphones in this price range offers so much more for the money…the 9X doesn’t seem all that attractive.

Is the Honor 9X a bad smartphone? Not at all; it’s just eclipsed by other superior smartphones. It may offer long battery life and a sleek design, but its value proposition isn’t as good as other mid-rangers.

And value for money is more often than not the deciding factor in this highly competitive segment.


Oppo Reno 3 Series Official With 5G, 90Hz Display, MediaTek Dimensity 1000L

The first Oppo Reno series was only unveiled to the world back in April this year, but now, the Chinese company just launched the Oppo Reno 3 lineup. The new series is made up of the standard Reno 3 and Reno 3 Pro, and not surprisingly, both smartphones come with 5G support and a number of interesting features for mid-range devices.

Out of the two smartphones, the Reno 3 Pro is obviously the higher-end offering. As mentioned, it has 5G connectivity thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G under the hood. On top of that, the Reno 3 Pro also comes with a fast 90Hz 6.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display. The panel curves on either sides of the phone, giving it a rather premium appearance.

Oddly enough, unlike its predecessors, the Reno 3 Pro does not have a pop-up selfie camera. Instead, the front-facing shooter is placed in a hole-punch cutout on the top left of the screen. It doesn’t look quite as sleek, but hey, you do get a 90Hz display now.

In the camera department, the Reno 3 Pro features a quad camera system on the back. It consists of a 48MP f/1.7 primary shooter, a 13MP f/2.4 telephoto lens, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle sensor, and a 2MP f/2.4 monochrome shooter. The selfie camera, on the other hand, is a 32MP f/2.4 sensor.

Rounding out the specifications of the Reno 3 Pro are up to 12GB of RAM, 128GB or 256GB of internal storage, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, and a 4,025mAh battery.

And then there’s the regular Reno 3. Unlike the Pro variant, the standard model doesn’t have a curved 90Hz display. Instead, it comes with a more conventional, flat 6.44-inch 1080p AMOLED screen. Oh, it doesn’t have a hole-punch cutout either: it comes with a waterdrop notch at the top of the screen instead.

But what makes the Reno 3 particularly interesting is the chipset powering this phone: a MediaTek Dimensity 1000L SoC. This is the chipmaker’s new 7nm processor, and not only does it support 5G networks, it also comes with four of ARM’s fast Cortex-A77 cores clocked at 2.6GHz.

While we don’t have performance figures of the Dimensity 1000L ourselves, an
early benchmark
 shows that it is actually more capable than the Snapdragon 765 processor found in the Pro model. Curious, isn’t it?

Camera configuration of the Reno 3 is quite different from the Pro too. While it still has a quad camera system, it’s made up of a 64MP f/1.8 main shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide angle sensor, a monochrome lens, and a depth camera. Basically, not quite as sophisticated as the Reno 3 Pro’s camera system, but still relatively good.

Other specifications of the Reno 3 include 8GB or 12GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a 4,025mAh battery, and just like the Pro variant, it supports 30W VOOC Flash Charge 4.0; it can supposedly charge up the device to 50% from empty in only 20 minutes.

The Oppo Reno 3 series is currently available only in China. The standard Reno 3 retails at 3,399 Chinese yuan (about RM2,005) and 3,699 yuan (approximately RM2,180) for the 128GB + 8GB and 128GB + 12GB variants respectively. As for the Reno 3 Pro, it costs 3,999 yuan (around RM2,360) and 4,499 yuan (about RM2,655) for the 128GB + 8GB and 256GB + 12GB versions respectively.

Oh, there is also a special edition of the Pro model dubbed Reno 3 Pro Pantone 2020. It’s similar to the regular Pro model with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, just with some aesthetic changes celebrating Pantone’s 2020 colour, Classic Blue. This variant is priced at 4,199 yuan (about RM2,480).


PlayStation Holiday Sale 2019 Shopping Guide – Which Exclusive Games to Buy?

The PlayStation Holiday Sale is back for 2019, and there are quite a number of noteworthy discounts for a wide range of games. It can get a little overwhelming to go through all of the games
that are discounted
, so here’s a neat list of exclusive titles that you should consider.

Death Stranding

If you own a PlayStation 4 system,
Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding
 should definitely be in your list of games to play. Originally going for well over RM200, you can now get it
for only RM167.30
. A great deal for a game that was only released last month.

If you want the Deluxe Edition, it’s
going for RM230.30 now
. It includes a number of in-game items in gold, 10 PSN avatars of various characters in the game, and a digital album of original music from Death Stranding along with a behind the scenes video.

These are good deals for the game, but if you prefer getting a physical copy, good news: you can get it for around the same price. A Preferred Shopee retailer is listing the regular version
for only RM169
, while the Special Edition
is priced at RM289
.

Not sure if Kojima’s latest game is for you? Then check out our review of Death Stranding
right here
.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

Arguably one of the best superhero games released thus far, Marvel’s Spider-Man is an incredibly fun game. Even if you’re not a big fan of the Marvel superhero, we reckon you’ll enjoy the game regardless; it’s jam-packed with content in a big open-world setting.

Anyway, only the Game Of The Year Edition is available now for Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Listed at only RM101.40
, this version of the game offers the complete DLC story arc for The City That Never Sleeps, which offers three additional chapters in the story.

God of War

Considered to be the best entry in the franchise yet, God of War is now more affordable than ever. The standalone game is
priced at merely RM47.40
, while the Deluxe Edition
can be yours for RM77.40
. The latter is bundled with additional goodies like in-game items, a dynamic theme for your PlayStation 4, and even digital comic and artbook from Dark Horse.

If you just want to experience the story of God of War, the regular version of the game will suffice. After all, the extra RM30 can go towards a different game in this list.

Days Gone

Even though it’s not quite the success most were hoping for, Days Gone is still a decent buy for this promotion. Initially priced at RM169, you can get the game
for only RM101.40 now
. The Deluxe Edition, on the other hand,
costs RM125.40
; it includes a dynamic theme, in-game items, and a digital art book by Dark Horse Comics.

Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition

Powered by the same Decima engine used in Death Stranding, Horizon Zero Dawn is a fantastic game from Guerrilla Games. It’s an open-world game with a pretty compelling storyline, and the combat system is quite interesting as well.

The Complete Edition of the game is now offered
for only RM47.40
, and the Frozen Wilds expansion is bundled along with this version of Horizon Zero Dawn.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without a Naughty Dog game. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End marks the end (excuse the pun) of Nathan Drake’s journey in the series, and it’s easily one of the best – if not
the
 best – entries in the franchise.

Currently listed at only
RM37
, it’s a steal for a big title like Uncharted 4. While that’s not the lowest price we’ve seen the game go for (it was priced at RM29.60
earlier this year
), that’s still a good deal.

The Last of Us Remastered

If you missed this game when it was offered for free to PlayStation Plus members back in October, you can now get The Last of Us Remastered at a pretty low price. It normally costs RM74, but you can now get it
for only RM37
.

Those who have played this game when it was first released for the PlayStation 3 should still give the Remastered edition another playthrough. Not only does it look better and run at 60 frames per second, the Left Behind DLC is also bundled with this game.

Given that The Last of Us Part II is releasing on 29 May 2020, it’s a great idea to catch up with the story before the second instalment is released. Yes, it’s still some time away, but there’s no telling when the original game will be discounted again.

It’s worth noting that PlayStation
will charge 6% SST
 from next year onwards for items sold in the PlayStation Store; this is in line with the Malaysian government’s decision to implement digital tax in 2020. With this in mind, you may want to grab these games at the discounted prices before SST comes into effect.

The PlayStation Holiday Sale 2019 will end on 5 January 2020, but do note that price adjustments for SST will take place on the PlayStation Store between 4 to 6 January next year. To be safe, it’s best to make your purchases before those dates.