AMD Ryzen 5 2600 & Radeon RX 580 Overview: The AMD Gaming PC for the Sensible Gamer

Choosing the right processor and GPU for a gaming PC is not an easy task, especially for those who are on a tight budget. But if you’re looking to
build a PC
 that offers the most value for money – and one that can do more than just gaming – we have just the combo for you: the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and Radeon RX 580.

Offering a good level of performance at an affordable price point, the Ryzen 5 2600 CPU and RX 580 GPU are excellent choices for budget-conscious gamers. We’ll outline several reasons why this combo has the best value for money.

Why AMD Ryzen 5 2600, Not Intel Core i5-8400?

More often than not, the Ryzen 5 2600 is always compared to the Intel Core i5-8400. While both of them have six cores, the 2600 is a 12-thread CPU. The i5-8400, on the other hand, is only a six-thread processor. Basically, the Ryzen 5 2600 will have the edge when it comes to productivity tasks thanks to the higher thread count. These include video processing, image editing, and the likes.

However, out of the box, the Core i5-8400 will outperform the Ryzen 5 2600 when it comes to gaming. This comes down to the i5-8400’s higher turbo frequency – among other things – at 4GHz. In comparison, the 2600 can “only” boost up to 3.9GHz.

So is the i5-8400 better than the Ryzen 5 2600 in gaming? Not quite. See, unlike Intel’s offering, the 2600 can be overclocked. It will require you to do some tweaking here and there, but if you’re willing to learn how to overclock it, the Ryzen 5 2600
will
outperform the i5-8400.

And, more importantly, the Ryzen 5 2600 is more affordable than the Core i5-8400. Right now, you can get the Ryzen CPU for about RM650, while the i5-8400 is going for around RM800 – that is not a small price gap. Plus, the stock Wraith Stealth cooler that comes with the Ryzen 5 is much, much better than the one you get with the Core i5-8400, though you should definitely get a custom cooler if you plan to do any overclocking.

So that’s the Ryzen 5 2600; let’s move on to the RX 580.

Why Radeon RX 580, not GTX 1060?

Choosing between these two GPU are…well, quite difficult. Generally, the performance difference between the Radeon RX 580 and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 isn’t wildly different. Note that we’re comparing the 8GB version of the RX 580 to the GTX 1060 with 6GB of GDDR5 memory. We’re not taking into account the 4GB RX 580 in this review.

But there are a couple of areas where the RX 580 has the upper hand. For one, it’s much easier to find this GPU in the sub-RM1,000 price range. In fact, a quick search on e-commerce sites like Lazada shows that you can get the 8GB RX 580
for as low as RM899
 – that’s
ridiculously
good value for money.

In comparison, the GTX 1060 (the 6GB model, of course) costs well over RM1,000. The most affordable one that we managed to find
retails at RM1,049
 – that’s RM150 price difference. Keep in mind that you’ll get more or less the same level of performance with either one of these GPUs too.

Another reason why the RX 580 is more ideal for budget-conscious gamers than the GTX 1060 is the fact that it offers FreeSync support. FreeSync monitors in general are much, much more affordable than G-Sync monitors, and this allows gamers to enjoy a variable refresh rate monitor at a lower price point.

This reason alone may be enough to justify going with an AMD GPU like the RX 580. Trust us, FreeSync and G-Sync monitors
will make your gaming experience a lot more pleasant
. You won’t have to deal with screen tearing and stuttering anymore.

For those who are wondering why we’re not taking into account the recently released Radeon RX 590, it comes down to pricing. This being a new GPU, its prices are not as competitive as the RX 580 or the GTX 1060.

How’s the Performance?

Well, see these game benchmarks for yourself. We used the PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 580 8GB for this benchmark.

Games (Maxed Out Settings @ 1080p)
Average FPS
Witcher 3
43.82
Rise of the Tomb Raider
38.24
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
60.91
Fortnite
80.34

These are by no means amazing numbers, but they’re definitely good  frame rates – especially at maximum graphics settings – for an enjoyable gaming experience. Anything above 30fps is very playable, and in highly competitive games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite – where a high frame rate is important – the RX 580 can sustain over 60fps easily.

Basically, you will have absolutely no issues playing modern games with the RX 580, and the Ryzen 5 2600
will not
 bottleneck this GPU.

Should I Get This Combo?

If you do more than just gaming, where the AMD Ryzen 5 2600’s extra threads will be very useful for productivity tasks, and you don’t mind learning how to overclock the processor, go for it. The Radeon RX 580, on the other hand, simply offers better value for money compared to its competition like the GTX 1060. Its compatibility with budget-friendly FreeSync monitors is a nice bonus too.

We’ve used this CPU and GPU combo as our main PC for a few weeks now, and it really is a reasonably powerful – and sensible – machine. It doesn’t break the bank, it’s capable enough to do some serious gaming (albeit only at 1080p), and it will work great as a video editing PC as well – what more can we ask for?


Acer Launching Lightweight Swift 5 Laptop in Malaysia Soon – Should You Get It?

Acer just announced that the slim and light Swift 5 laptop is coming to Malaysia soon. Touted as the world’s lightest 15-inch laptop, the Swift 5 is a very interesting machine. But beyond its lightweight nature, is there anything else that’s interesting about the Swift 5? Let’s find out.

So what makes the Swift 5 such a light laptop? It comes down to the notebook’s build material. The top and bottom cover – as well as the palm rest area – of the Swift 5 are made out of magnesium-lithium alloy, and in normal usage, it should be durable enough. Of course, you
can
 flex the laptop quite a bit, but the laptop still feels well-built.

Again, in normal usage, the Swift 5’s flex shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

Okay, so how light is the Swift 5? 990g. That’s right, this laptop weighs less than a kilogram, and that’s
really
 impressive. There are only a handful of laptops in the market that are as lightweight as the Swift 5, and even fewer have a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS touch display like this machine.

Speaking of which, I’m a fan of the Swift 5’s minimal bezels – Acer claims an 87.6% screen-to-body ratio with this laptop. Thanks to this, the footprint of the laptop is reduced quite a bit, and it gives the Swift 5 a modern aesthetic. The best part is, unlike other ultraportables with slim bezels, Acer still manages to put the webcam at the top of the display. You won’t have to worry about awkward angles with this laptop.

Powering the Swift 5 is Intel’s latest eight generation Whiskey Lake processors, and the highest-end CPU that can be fitted into this laptop is the Core i7-8565U processor. Sporting four physical cores with eight threads, the i7-8565U has a base frequency of 1.8GHz. When you need more power, it can boost up to 4.6GHz – a respectable figure.

Basically, for a productivity-focused laptop, the Swift 5 has more than adequate performance level for its intended usage. On top of that, you should be able to do some light gaming on it too. While the Swift 5 doesn’t have any dedicated GPU, its integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 should be powerful enough to, say, play Dota 2.

Other specifications of the Swift 5 include up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM – although it’s not known yet if the Malaysian market will receive this much RAM – as well as up to 512GB of fast PCIe NVMe SSD storage. Aside from that, the Swift 5 also supports Windows Hello with the laptop’s built-in fingerprint reader.

Positioned at the bottom right side of the keyboard, the fingerprint sensor is easily accessible. While it may seem trivial, I’m glad the sensor isn’t placed in the trackpad itself like certain laptops. It takes up precious trackpad space, especially on a trackpad as compact as the one on the Swift 5.

The Acer Swift 5 will be available in two colours once it arrives in Malaysia: Charcoal Blue and Steel Grey. Unfortunately, Acer did not reveal the laptop’s local pricing yet, but expect it to cost a premium.

In the US, the Swift 5 retails from $1,099, which comes up to about RM4,595. That’s quite a hefty price tag – especially for the base model of the laptop – and at that price point, the Swift 5 would have to compete with plenty of other premium ultraportables.

Of course, the Swift 5 stands out from the crowd with its lightweight chassis and sleek design, but it needs more than that to make it a compelling laptop. For example, Acer promises up to 10 hours of battery life with the Swift 5; if the laptop can truly deliver this quoted battery life, it will make this notebook that much more attractive.

Should you get the Acer Swift 5? Well, it will largely depend on how much Acer will price the laptop. If priced well – and it can deliver a good user experience – the Swift 5 is a lightweight laptop to keep an eye on.


Acer KG251Q Quick Review: Budget-Friendly 75Hz FreeSync Gaming Monitor

Anyone who has a PC needs a monitor, and there are a wide variety of displays to choose from. Well, if you’re looking for an affordable monitor with adequate gaming performance, here’s one for your consideration: the Acer KG251Q gaming monitor.

Sporting a 75Hz refresh rate, good response time, FreeSync support, and decent panel quality, the KG251Q is a very good monitor for budget-conscious gamers. Let’s get the quick review started, shall we?

What It Is

The KG251Q is a 24.5-inch 1920 x 1080 gaming monitor with a 75Hz refresh rate; a pretty good refresh rate for an affordable monitor. Aside from that, it also has a TN panel, which makes it possible for the display to achieve a 1ms grey-to-grey response time.

But what makes the KG251Q a “gaming monitor” is its FreeSync capability, which can eliminate screen tearing and stuttering when paired with an AMD Radeon GPU. For this specific monitor, its FreeSync range is from 40Hz to 75Hz – a wide enough coverage.

As for connectivity, the KG251Q has two HDMI inputs, a VGA port, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. Do note that out of the box, this monitor only comes with a VGA cable – an HDMI cable is not provided.

The Good Stuff

Naturally, the main highlight of the KG251Q is its FreeSync support at up to 75Hz, and it really works as intended. I played Witcher 3 and
Diablo 3
 on this monitor, and they ran beautifully. There was no screen tearing, and I didn’t notice any stuttering either.

Provided you have a GPU that’s powerful enough to push at least 40 frames per second in video games, you will be able to enjoy the KG251Q’s FreeSync feature. Not having to deal with annoying screen tearing is quite amazing on a monitor this affordable.

Besides that, the design of the KG251Q is quite good too. The small bezels give the monitor a sleek appearance, and the minimalist design with its black colour scheme will fit with practically any environment. Whether you’re planning to use this monitor in the office or at home, it wouldn’t look out of place.

Last but definitely not least is the panel quality of the KG251Q, which I’d say is above average for a TN panel. It can get really bright, colours look pretty good – when viewed head-on, of course – and the matte surface eliminates glare well enough.

But at the end of the day, this is still a TN panel – let’s move on to the not so good stuff.

The Bad Stuff

One of the biggest weaknesses of TN panels is limited viewing angle, and colour shifting on the KG251Q is very obvious when you view the monitor from any angle that’s not directly straight. To get the best user experience, you really have to view the monitor head-on.

Due to its affordable price tag, the design of the KG251Q has limited functionality too. You cannot adjust the height of the display, and it cannot be swiveled either. You can, however, tilt the panel up or down slightly, so it’s not all bad.

Last but certainly not least is the KG251Q’s OSD, which…isn’t very intuitive to navigate around. But hey, this
is
 an affordable monitor – it comes with the territory.

Is It Worth It?

For those who are working with a tight budget, the Acer KG251Q is one of the best gaming monitors you can get at its price point. Although this monitor officially retails at RM559, you can easily get it for much less. In fact, there is one retailer on Lazada that’s offering the monitor
for only RM469
 – that’s RM90 discount.

At that price point, you can do a lot worse than the KG251Q. If you can live with the TN panel’s limited viewing angles and the monitor’s lack of adjustability, you will be very happy gaming with this entry-level gaming monitor from Acer.

Plus, it’s great to have FreeSync support, a 75Hz refresh rate,
and
 a good response time at this price point. All of these factors make the Acer KG251Q a good buy for budget-conscious gamers.


PlayStation Holiday Sale 2018 – 5 PS4 Exclusive Games You Should Buy

The PlayStation Holiday Sale 2018 is in full swing, and a plethora of games are on discount right now –
huge
 discounts. If you’ve been eyeing to get a couple of exclusive games on the platform, you should check if they are on discount right now.

But if you can’t decide which game you should buy, here are five exclusive games on the PlayStation 4 that you should absolutely get right now. Do note that PlayStation Plus members will receive further price reductions on these games; it’s definitely worth subscribing to the service if you haven’t already.

The Uncharted Franchise

A must-play for anyone who has a PlayStation 4 system. Currently,
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
 is going for only RM22.20. If you’re a PS Plus member, you can
get the collection for merely RM14.80
 – that’s ridiculously cheap. What does the collection include? The first three Uncharted games that were available on the PlayStation 3, which are Drake’s Fortune, Among Thieves, and Drake’s Deception.

Without a doubt this is one of the best deals in the PlayStation Holiday Sale, and once you’re done with these three games,
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
 is going for only RM44.40 now. PS Plus members, on the other hand, can get the game for RM37.

And if you want to experience the full Uncharted franchise,
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
 can be purchased for RM44.70 – it’s only RM29.80 for PS Plus members. Collectively, you’ll be paying for less than RM100 for the
entire Uncharted franchise
 if you’re a PS Plus member. That’s insanely cheap, and you’re getting
five
different games.

Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition

Another high-profile exclusive title on the PlayStation 4. The
Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition
 includes the base game, as well as the Frozen Wilds expansion for RM56.70. Naturally, PS Plus members can get the game at an even lower price of RM37.80.

The Last of Us Remastered

Touted as one of the best games on the PlayStation 3,
The Last of Us Remastered
 was re-released on the PlayStation 4 back in 2014. Developed by Naughty Dog – the same studio behind the Uncharted series – the Remastered edition of the game is listed for RM44.40 now – RM37 only for PS Plus members.

Not only does the Remastered edition of The Last of Us runs at 60fps, it also includes the Left Behind DLC. If you’ve played the main game on the PlayStation 3, and you don’t plan to revisit the game again,
Left Behind
 can be purchased on its own for RM10.80 (or RM7.20 for PS Plus members) only.

Infamous Second Son

Announced alongside the original PlayStation 4,
Infamous Second Son
 is the first – and still the only – main Infamous title released on the console. Although it’s been a while since the game was released, it’s definitely still worth playing. Considering the fact that Second Son only costs RM44.40 now – RM37 if you’re subscribed to PS Plus – there’s even more reason to pick up the game.

Not surprisingly, the
First Light
 expansion is also discounted heavily. Originally going for RM40, the standalone game costs only RM12 now – RM8 if you’re a PS Plus member.

The Last Guardian

Despite its shortcomings, this is still a very endearing game. Initially announced for the PlayStation 3 in 2009 as “Project Trico,”
The Last Guardian
 was finally released on the PlayStation 4 in 2016. Fast forward two years, you can now get the game for only RM59.15. For PS Plus members, you can get it for slightly less at RM50.70.

There are just some of the games that are heavily discounted in conjunction with the PlayStation Holiday Sale. There are other noteworthy titles on promotion – including the new
God of War
 and
Marvel’s Spider-Man
 – but because they are newer games, they’re not quite as cheap as the games we’ve mentioned here.

Oh, if you plan to get any of these games, don’t forget to apply the discount code NQFTB7THQN for an additional 15% off on your total purchase. The PlayStation Holiday Sale will end next month on 8 January 2019.


Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro Review: Style, with a Splash of Substance

Xiaomi smartphones, more often than not, offer incredible value for money. Those who are looking to get the most bank for their buck, regardless of price point, will likely consider at least one device from the Chinese company.

However, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro takes a slightly different approach. While it still offers decent value for money, it’s one of the most expensive Xiaomi devices released thus far – can it justify its higher than usual price tag? Let’s find out.

Specifications

Display
6.21-inch FHD+ AMOLED (2248 x 1080)
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 2.8GHz octa-core
GPU
Adreno 630
RAM
8GB
Storage
128GB, non-expandable
Camera (rear)
12MP f/1.8 + 12MP f/2.4 telephoto, dual pixel AF, OIS
Camera (front)
20MP f/2.0
Battery
3,000mAh
Dimensions
154.9 x 74.8 x 7.6 mm
Weight
177g
OS
MIUI 10 based on Android 8.1 Oreo
Connectivity
LTE
Bluetooth 5.0
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
USB Type-C

Without a doubt the Mi 8 Pro is a high-end smartphone. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s fast Snapdragon 845 chipset, it has a generous amount of RAM at 8GB, and 128GB of fast UFS storage. On top of that, it even has an in-screen fingerprint sensor.

These are respectable hardware for a flagship smartphone, but there is one oddity: the 3,000mAh battery. It’s a very modest capacity, and as a result, the Mi 8 Pro’s battery life…could’ve been better.

Nonetheless, let’s move on to design – it’s arguably the Mi 8 Pro’s best quality.

Design

Unlike most conventional smartphones in the market now, the Mi 8 Pro comes with a unique see-through glass back. Underneath the glass is a
very
 sleek-looking design, which shows the different “components” of the phone. Although this is
merely a plastic panel
 covering the actual parts, it’s still a very unique and appealing design.

Turn the Mi 8 Pro around, and you’ll be greeted with the wide notch and
noticeable chin
. In fact, it’s quite similar to the
Pocophone F1
‘s design, for better or worse. I’m not particularly fond of the bottom bezel’s size, and the wide notch takes up so much space, there’s no room for notification icons.

Basically, I don’t know if I’ve received any notification until I pull down on the notification shade. This is not intuitive, and it negatively impacts the user experience.

On a more positive note, I do like how the Mi 8 Pro feels in my hands. It has a nice heft to it (the phone weighs 177g), the glossy metal frame and the slightly tapered glass back feel nice to the touch, and it has solid build quality. I also love the red accent on the power button – a nice, small touch.

All in all, the Mi 8 Pro is a well-designed smartphone. While I do wish the front design isn’t quite as generic, I do love the rear panel’s design. It’s sleek, unique, and no other phone in the market looks quite like it.

User Experience

Software remains one of the biggest shortcomings of Xiaomi devices, and unfortunately enough, the Mi 8 Pro is no exception. Not only is the phone’s MIUI 10 software still based on Android 8.1 Oreo, it has some quirks here and there too.

For one, notifications
still
 cannot be dismissed with a left swipe; it can only be cleared with a swipe to the right. Swiping left on notifications will reveal the snooze option instead, which – in my opinion – is rarely a feature most consumers actively search for.

Besides that, notifications on the lock screen are not interactive either. If I want to see more information, I’d have to unlock the phone to do so. These are not huge issues by any means, but it does show a need for refinement on Xiaomi’s part.

MIUI 10, of course, still has its good qualities. It’s fast and responsive, and I love the fact that the Mi 8 Pro has an always on display. It’s not as functional as I would’ve liked – notifications from certain apps don’t appear on the always on display – but it’s still better than nothing.

And then we have the in-screen fingerprint sensor, which works pretty alright. It’s largely accurate, but like most sensors of this type, it’s not as quick as a conventional fingerprint sensor. Thankfully, the Mi 8 Pro’s face unlock works very well. It can even recognise my face in complete darkness, thanks to the infrared module.

When it comes to performance, the Mi 8 Pro doesn’t skip a beat. Multitasking on this phone is seamless, gaming on it is very enjoyable, and there’s no noticeable lag at all throughout my time reviewing it. The Snapdragon 845 powering the Mi 8 Pro is without a doubt a very capable chipset.

Display is also another strong point for the Mi 8 Pro. The phone’s 6.21-inch 1080p AMOLED panel has vibrant colours, great viewing angles, and excellent black levels. Sure, this display is not as impressive as a higher resolution 1440p panel, but it’s still plenty sharp. Plus, the 1080p resolution will help with the phone’s…average battery life.

Yes, the Mi 8 Pro does not have very good battery life. On average, I can only get between four to five hours of screen on time out of the modest 3,000mAh battery. Getting through a typical work day with the phone isn’t too hard, but it
can
 get quite difficult on busier days.

It doesn’t have awful battery life, per se, but the Mi 8 Pro’s 3,000mAh battery certainly shows its limitations. Thankfully, its charging rate is quite decent. Within 30 minutes of charging, the phone charged up to 55%.

All things considered, the Mi 8 Pro provides a relatively pleasant user experience. MIUI 10 still isn’t my favourite version of Android, but looking beyond its small shortcomings, it’s still a competent software with good performance.

Now, let’s get to my personal favourite aspect of this phone: the camera.

Camera

Featuring a dual camera system made up of a 12MP f/1.8 sensor and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto shooter, the Mi 8 Pro has great camera performance. The camera’s dual pixel autofocus is fast, the optical image stabilisation makes it easier to get sharp-looking images (especially in low light conditions), and the camera app – while not perfect – is pleasant and intuitive to use.

Shooting in broad daylight with the Mi 8 Pro is a non-issue, which is expected of a flagship smartphone. But what particularly impressed me is the camera’s low light performance. Even in challenging lighting situations, the phone can still capture great-looking shots.

Low light images are properly exposed, noise level is kept in check pretty well, and while there are some lost details here and there, the shots still look impressive as a whole. However, the Mi 8 Pro’s camera performance still isn’t quite up to par with the best shooters in the segment, which include the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Huawei P20 Pro.

But that doesn’t take away the fact that this phone is a very competent shooter.

Competition

Officially retailing at RM2,399 in Malaysia, the Mi 8 Pro is one of the most costly Xiaomi devices launched in recent times. At this price point, it has to compete with a number of other equally competent devices; some of which are more affordable.

OnePlus 6T

Even though it costs ever so slightly more, the OnePlus 6T is a very good alternative to the Mi 8 Pro. It comes with a slightly larger 6.41-inch 1080p Optic AMOLED display, the same Snapdragon 845 chipset, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, a smaller display notch, and superior software experience.

In terms of pricing, the base model of the OnePlus 6T with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM retails at RM2,458 – slightly less RAM than the Mi 8 Pro, but 6GB RAM is still
more than enough for most consumers
.

On the flip side, the Mi 8 Pro does have a sleeker-looking, much more unique design. On top of that, the larger notch of the Pro houses a more sophisticated hardware for the face unlock feature, which works even in the dark. You can’t do the same with the OnePlus 6T’s face unlock.

Xiaomi Mi 8

If you want a more affordable variant of the Mi 8 Pro, you can always consider the standard Mi 8. For the most part, it has similar hardware as the Pro model, right down to the camera hardware. On top of that, the Mi 8 even comes with a larger 3,400mAh battery, which should translate to better battery life.

While you don’t get the Mi 8 Pro’s sleek design or in-screen fingerprint sensor with the regular Mi 8, you do get to save a considerable amount of money: the 128GB Mi 8 with 6GB of RAM is
currently going for only RM1,829
. That’s well below the Mi 8 Pro’s dearer asking price.

Conclusion

There are no devices in the market now that look quite as unique as the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro, and this differentiates it from the rest of the pack. But as sleek as it is, the phone falters in key areas like battery life and software experience. It has style in spades, but it’s lacking substance.

If you can overlook its average battery life and live with the quirks of MIUI 10, you will be very happy with the Mi 8 Pro. However, you’ll have to then consider the phone’s steeper than usual asking price for a Xiaomi-made smartphone.

While the Mi 8 Pro is not quite as expensive as other flagships, it’s not exactly an affordable device either. You’re essentially paying a premium for the phone’s design and in-screen fingerprint sensor, and if you minus these two features, you have yourself…well, the standard Mi 8.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t consider the Mi 8 Pro at all, of course. The phone’s unique see-through design is its biggest appeal, and this reason alone may be enough for consumers to pick it up.


PC Hardware Buyer’s Guide: Air or Water Cooling – Which Is Superior?

PC building
 involves a lot of decision making, and one of the most important choices you’ll have to make is choosing how to cool your processor. While stock coolers are generally good enough for most consumers, opting for a more robust cooling solution is worth the investment to prolong the lifespan of the CPU.

But the question is, should you go for a more traditional air cooler, or invest in a more expensive water cooling system for your CPU? We will compare the two in several key areas, including cost, performance, aesthetics, and of course, reliability.

Do note that we will be talking exclusively about closed-loop water cooling systems in this article, which doesn’t require extra maintenance like costlier custom-made ones.

Cost

In this regard, air coolers are without a doubt much cheaper than water cooling systems. This, in turn, give air coolers better value for money across the board. Whether you’re looking at an entry-level or a high-end air cooler, they will be more affordable than their water cooling counterparts.

But just because you’ll be paying less for air coolers
doesn’t mean
 they’re inferior when it comes to cooling performance, and that brings us to the next point.

Performance

If you’re on a tighter budget, air coolers will definitely provide better cooling performance. This ties back to cost: a good, high-end air cooler like the Noctua NH-D15 will
set you back RM459
, but for about the same amount of money, you can only get an entry-level to mid-range water cooler like the
NZXT Kraken X42
.

But what if budget isn’t an issue to you? Well, just look at the video comparison by Linus Tech Tips below.

Evidently, there is very little difference in cooling performance between air and water coolers. In fact, air coolers are actually superior in Linus’ tests above. However, performance is only one part of the equation – there are other key factors to consider too.

Aesthetics

This is subjective, but generally, one of the main appeals of water cooling systems are their minimalist designs. The water block is the only part that is connected to the CPU, and the rest of the cooling system – the radiator and fan – is usually out of view. In fact, NZXT Kraken water coolers have very sleek-looking water blocks, which is further complemented with RGB lighting.

Air coolers, on the other hand, are usually very large, and they are
very noticeable
 on a motherboard. This may not look very appealing to some folks, but as mentioned, this is a subjective matter.

Reliability

Closed-loop water cooling systems have come a long way, and they’re pretty reliable these days. That being said, there is always the risk of the cooling system leaking, which…well, will be disastrous to your PC hardware. Again, it’s unlikely it will happen, but it
can
 happen, and some may not be willing to take the risk.

As for air coolers, the only real point of failure is the fan, which isn’t that big of a deal – it won’t directly impact (literally and figuratively) other hardware in the PC.

Size & Compatibility

It’s important to consider these two things when deciding between an air and water cooler, especially for those who are working with a smaller case. For example, if your case doesn’t have enough clearance, you may not be able to install an air cooler on the CPU. A water cooling system, on the other hand, is more flexible in this regard – the water block isn’t as intrusive. But you’ll have to make sure the case can accommodate the water cooler’s radiator.

Compatibility aside, due to the sheer size of air coolers, some of them may not play well with other parts of a motherboard. This is especially the case with the RAM slot, which may be obstructed by bigger air coolers.

Conclusion

Depending on the case you have, how you want your system to look, and how much you’re willing to spend, you’ll want one cooling system over the other. As a whole, however, both air and water cooling systems are…well, viable options.

Personally, I love the design of a water cooling system, but I’ll have to spend a lot more money to get comparable cooling performance as a good, more affordable air cooler. But if your concern is to get the best cooling performance for the least amount of money, invest in a good air cooler – it’ll keep your CPU cool without breaking the bank.


Tech Trends We’re Excited to See in 2019

2018 went by pretty quickly, and we’ve seen some interesting tech trends unfold throughout the year. Display notches on smartphones really exploded, AMD continued its momentum – especially in the CPU market – and Fortnite’s massive popularity took the limelight away from PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in the battle royale genre.

Moving into 2019, we’re positive we will see even more interesting tech trends emerge, and here are some we’re particularly excited about.

Creative Solutions to the Display Notch

Display notches became a huge thing in 2018, and almost every major smartphone maker introduced a notch of some kind on their devices. Interestingly, some manufacturers
did manage to remove the notch
 with creative solutions like a
sliding mechanism
 and
“hole-punch” design
.

Chances are, we’ll see more implementations like this throughout the year, especially with the hole-punch design approach. Maybe we’ll even see more ingenious designs, and who knows – perhaps more manufacturers will be able to
eliminate the smartphone chin
 like Apple.

New Smartphone Form Factor

Now, “new” isn’t the most apt description here, but it’s certainly a new take on an “old” design. That’s right, we’re talking about foldable smartphones, which will very likely see the light of day this year.

Perhaps the most high profile foldable smartphone unveiled – well, sort of – thus far is the prototype from Samsung. Sporting the Korean company’s new Infinity Flex Display, the phone can fold open to reveal a larger, tablet-sized display.

It’s a technological marvel, that’s for sure, but whether or not the foldable display will serve any meaningful functionality still remains to be seen. At the end of the day, it’s up to phone makers to make the best out of the new technology.

5G Is Becoming a Reality

The hardware to enable 5G technology
is here
, and it’s only a matter of time before network operators start pushing for the new standard. It’s very likely 5G connectivity will be implemented globally in one form or another this year, but whether or not this will happen in Malaysia is an entirely different question.

Of course, it’s always possible 5G connectivity will be a reality even in Malaysia in 2019. If there’s any telco in this country that can accomplish this, it will definitely stand out from the rest.

More Exciting GPU Market

There are two big names in the GPU market: Nvidia, and AMD. In 2018, it was mostly Nvidia’s year with its range of RTX series graphics cards. AMD, on the other hand, only released a couple of “new” GPUs, which were mostly just revisions of its existing products.

For 2019, however, it should be an exciting year for PC hardware enthusiasts. After all, this is the year AMD will
finally
 release its 7nm graphics cards for the consumer market, along with its 7nm Zen 2 processors. How soon will we hear about AMD’s plan for the year? Perhaps as early as next week at CES 2019.

That being said, it’s unlikely that AMD will reveal its highly anticipated Navi GPUs at the trade show next week; that will probably happen much later into the year. Nonetheless, 2019 will be an exciting year for the GPU market.

Gaming Console Hardware Revisions

It’s a little bit early to say for sure, but there is a chance we will see some notable hardware revisions with gaming consoles in 2019. We
probably
 won’t see any big changes with the PlayStation and Xbox ecosystems, but there is one console that will possibly get a hardware revision: the Nintendo Switch.

Released back in 2017, the Switch is still a relatively new portable console, but rumours are suggesting that Nintendo will revise the hardware of the system sometime this year – one of the biggest upgrades the Switch will supposedly get is a better (and generally more desirable) OLED display. Compared to the current Switch’s LCD display, this hardware upgrade alone may be enough for consumers to get the new version. An OLED panel will be able to deliver better power efficiency, image quality, and superior black levels.

But it’s still largely a mystery when – or if – Nintendo will release a new version of the Switch, though many are convinced it will happen sometime this year. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of hardware updates (aside from the display) the new Switch will bring to the table.

Without a doubt 2019 will be another exciting year for the tech industry in various fields. On top of that, with CES 2019 just around the corner, we won’t have to wait long to see what the year has in store for us too.


Smartphone Trends That Need to Die in 2019

We wrote about tech trends that we’re excited to see in 2019, and we can’t help but to wonder about something else too – more specifically, trends that we’ve observed in the mobile space.

There were quite a number of…interesting smartphone trends in 2018, and that got us thinking: which of them need to die this year? Here are some noteworthy smartphone trends last year that we don’t need in 2019.

Notched Displays

This is probably the trend that most smartphone users are not thrilled about, and for good reason. While a notched display maximises screen real estate, it can be quite bothersome in everyday usage. To make matters worse, some phones have notched displays…for the sake of it.

Thankfully, we may not see
that
 many smartphones with notched displays this year. After all, some phone makers have already come up with creative solutions to the display notch, including a slide-out display, and even a “hole-punch” design. The latter design has a circular cutout on the display for the front-facing camera.

But will the hole-punch design be as disruptive as the display notch? Only time will tell, though we do think it’s a better alternative to the notch.

Multi-Camera Systems

Of course we have to talk about the increasingly ridiculous number of camera sensors on a smartphone. We
wrote about this spec race
 before, and we still stand by it: you really don’t need more than one – okay, or two – rear cameras on a smartphone. Just look at the Google Pixel 3’s impressive camera performance; it’s achieved with only a
single
 rear shooter.

However, if recent leaks of the Huawei Mate 30 and Nokia 9 PureView are to be believed, we will see the debut of rear camera systems with five different sensors. That’s right, five, and we are puzzled as to why there’s a need for so many camera sensors.

Who knows, Huawei and Nokia may have good reasons to do so. We’ll find out soon enough as the year progresses.

“Gaming” Smartphones

We’re not saying gaming smartphones in general shouldn’t be a thing at all this year. Rather, we’re talking about smartphones that have the “gaming” moniker slapped on them for marketing purposes, and nothing else. There are a number of “gaming” smartphones like these, and we talk about it extensively
here
.

What we do want to see, of course, are gaming smartphones with unique feature set that further differentiate them from conventional devices. The
Asus ROG Phone
 does this pretty well with its gaming-centric features, and we’re definitely looking forward to seeing more smartphones makers follow suit.

Inflated Prices

In a price-sensitive market like Malaysia, this trend is especially bothersome. Of course, no other smartphones define this trend quite like the new iPhones. After all, the most affordable device in the series, the iPhone XR, retails from RM3,599.

If you want the iPhone XS Max instead, which is the highest-end device in the 2018 iPhone lineup, you’ll have to fork out a whopping RM5,399. On top of that, that’s only for the
base model
 with 64GB of non-expandable storage – not something you’d expect out of a smartphone in this price range.

Considering the fact that Apple is lowering its revenue forecast for this year – a move the company has not made in over 15 years – it’s not far-fetched to assume that the latest iPhones’ steep price tags played a role here. Nonetheless, we really hope smartphones won’t go over the RM5,000 – or even the RM4,000 – mark in 2019 for the Malaysian market.

There are many more smartphone trends that we don’t need this year, but these are definitely some of the most irksome trends we’ve noticed last year. Now, let’s see what awaits us in 2019 – we bet it will be quite an exciting year.


Honor 10 Lite Hands-On: A Reasonably Good Budget Smartphone

Honor just released its latest smartphone, the Honor 10 Lite, in Malaysia. Positioned as yet another budget offering from the Chinese company, the 10 Lite is a promising phone on paper; but is it any good? Retailing from RM749, it’s definitely affordable, but let’s see if it’s worth considering for most folks.

One of the most appealing aspects of the Honor 10 Lite is its design, and I really dig the back panel’s aesthetics on this Sky Blue variant. It’s unmistakably plastic, but despite this, it still looks and feels great for an affordable smartphone. The gradient finish is attractive, and the glossy, plastic frame feels nice to the touch.

Build quality is pretty great on the 10 Lite too. The phone doesn’t creak, it feels solid in my hands, and the slightly curved back panel makes it a comfortable phone to use for long periods of time. Turn the phone around, and you’ll see the 10 Lite’s small notch and minimal bottom bezel; very aesthetically pleasing.

While I’m quite impressed with the Honor 10 Lite’s design language, there is one thing I’m not particularly fond off: the microUSB port. This isn’t a huge issue, of course, and we have to keep in mind that this
is
 an affordable smartphone. Most devices in this price range still use this port anyway.

Next, we have the 10 Lite’s 6.21-inch 2340 x 1080 LTPS display, which looks decent. The colour does shift slightly when viewed off-angle, but as a whole, it’s a perfectly acceptable panel quality. Colours are still punchy, and the display is plenty sharp despite its 1080p resolution.

In the performance department, the 10 Lite works well enough. Its Kirin 710 chipset – said to be equivalent to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 SoC – delivers a good level of performance, and the phone doesn’t feel particularly sluggish. There is, however, a slight stutter here and there, especially when switching from one app to another. Do note that the unit I tested is the 32GB variant with only 3GB of RAM.

Packing a 3,400mAh battery, the Honor 10 Lite should be able to return good battery life. It’s not a very generous battery capacity, but the phone does have a rather compact 6.21-inch 1080p display. Chances are, the 10 Lite should have above average battery life. We’ll definitely put this to the test if we’re able to do a full review of the phone.

As for software experience, EMUI 9 on the 10 Lite is a functional version of Android. It works as it should, but I’m not a fan of the user interface’s design. It doesn’t look particularly modern, and I find the app icons to be a tad too large. This is a subjective matter, and not everyone will share my sentiment.

Like most phones in the market now, the 10 Lite comes with several biometric security options. The rear fingerprint sensor works great, and the face unlock system can recognise my face in a relatively quick manner. However, enabling the face unlock feature does increase the amount of time the phone takes to wake from sleep, which can get quite annoying.

Last but not least is the Honor 10 Lite’s camera performance, which is not too bad. The phone’s 13MP f/1.8 + 2MP f/2.4 dual camera system can capture decent-looking photos in broad daylight (a given, really), and the camera app is pretty darn responsive.

But in low light conditions, the 10 Lite’s camera performance isn’t as good. The shutter speed slows down considerably, and noise is quite apparent too. To be fair, we haven’t spent a lot of time photographing with the 10 Lite, so we can’t say for sure (yet) if its camera performance isn’t good.

Plus, I haven’t extensively tested the 24MP f/2.0 front-facing shooter yet either, which does seem quite promising.

The Honor 10 Lite is a sleek, budget-friendly smartphone with reasonably good user experience, but this can also be said of another smartphone from the company: the
Honor 8X
. Not only are both phones powered by the same Kirin 710 processor, the 8X feels like a more premium device too, thanks to its glass and metal construction.

However, the 10 Lite is much more affordable. The 32GB base model with 3GB of RAM goes for RM749 in Malaysia, while the 64GB variant with the same amount of RAM retails at RM799. In contrast, the Honor 8X carries a RM949 price tag.

Honor is pricing the 10 Lite aggressively for the Malaysian market, and that’s necessary for the phone to stand out in this highly competitive price segment. But as affordable as it is, it remains to be seen how the 10 Lite compares to other similarly priced phones – we can only give our final verdict in a full review of Honor’s latest smartphone.

Update, 8 January 1PM:
 This article has been updated with the Malaysian pricing of the Honor 10 Lite.


CES 2019: Most Exciting Laptops & Gaming Machines from Acer & Asus

CES 2019 is happening right now, and as expected, various manufacturers have introduced pretty interesting products. From slim and light productivity-focused laptops to beefy gaming machines, here’s a roundup of the most exciting products from Acer and Asus that were announced at the annual technology conference.

Acer Swift 7

Bezel-less laptops are becoming much more prevalent, and the Acer Swift 7 is the latest entry in the category. Sporting a 92% screen-to-body ratio, the Swift 7 has very, very thin bezels. Because of the lack of bezels, the webcam is now located in the keyboard. That’s right, it’s a pop-up webcam like the one found on the Huawei MateBook X Pro.

Other specifications of the Swift 7 include a 14-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen, an Intel Core i7-8500Y Amber Lake processor paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 256GB or 512GB of PCIe SSD storage, and two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports. On top of that, the laptop is only 9.95mm thin, and it tips the scales at 890g – it’s a very slim and light laptop.

Set to be available in North America later this year in May 2019, the Swift 7 retails from $1,699, which comes up to about RM6,990. That’s a steep price tag, but it’s not exactly unexpected; the Swift 7 has always been positioned as a premium product.

Asus ZenBook S13

Asus also revealed its own bezel-less laptop in the form of the ZenBook S13, and it’s more powerful than the new Swift 7 in a couple of areas. Not only does it come with a faster Core i5-8265U or i7-8565U processor, it also features Nvidia’s GeForce MX150 GPU. It may not be a very beefy GPU, but it’s certainly good enough for casual gamers.

What’s even more impressive about the S13 is its high 97% screen-to-body ratio, and unlike Acer’s implementation, Asus is retaining the webcam at the top of the display. However, this does result in a “reverse notch” to create space for the camera. It’s also worth noting that the S13 isn’t as slim or light as the Swift 7 – the former weighs about 1.1kg, and has a 12.9mm chassis.

Rounding out the specifications of the Asus ZenBook S13 include a 13.9-inch 1080p IPS display, up to 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM, PCIe SSD storage that maxes out at 1TB, two USB-C ports, one USB-A connection, and a microSD card slot.

Unfortunately, Asus has not revealed the retail price of the ZenBook S13 yet. The company did, however, mention that the laptop will be launched sometime in the first quarter of 2019. Looking at its hardware and feature set, expect the ZenBook S13 to carry a premium price tag.

Acer Predator Triton 900

Initially teased at IFA 2018, Acer finally revealed more information on the Predator Triton 900 gaming behemoth. What sets this gaming laptop apart from its competition is the hinge mechanism, which is dubbed as the “Ezel Aero Hinge.”

You can use the Triton 900 in four different configurations: the standard notebook mode, tablet mode, “Ezel mode” – the display is positioned right above the keyboard – and display mode, which flips the screen around. There are not many convertible gaming laptops in the market now, which makes the Triton 900 a rather interesting product.

The Predator Triton 900 is a serious gaming machine, so without a doubt it has some powerful hardware under the hood. These include a GeForce RTX 2080 GPU, a 17-inch 4K IPS touch display with Nvidia’s G-Sync technology, Intel’s six-core i7 processor, PCIe NVMe SSD storage, and up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM.

These are all beefy hardware, so it’s not surprising that the Acer Predator Triton 900 retails from a whopping $3,999 – that’s about RM16,460. If you’re keen to get it, you won’t have to wait too long either: the gaming machine will be available from March 2019 onwards.

Asus ROG Mothership

This is yet another gaming powerhouse, and on the surface, the Asus ROG Mothership is…a gaming tablet. A very powerful one at that.

Much like the Predator Triton 900, the ROG Mothership is equipped with an RTX 2080 GPU, albeit it’s the mobile version. Aside from that, it also has a sizeable 17.3-inch 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time. Not surprisingly, the display also boasts Nvidia’s G-Sync technology – a given for a gaming machine of this pedigree.

Design-wise, the ROG Mothership has the form-factor of Microsoft’s Surface tablet, right down to the kickstand design and detachable keyboard. What’s different, of course, is the fact that the keyboard can also work wirelessly. Alternatively, the keyboard can be connected to the Mothership via USB-C if you’re worried about input lag.

Other specifications of the ROG Mothership include an Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, three NVMe SSDs in RAID 0 configuration, up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM, two USB-C ports – one of which is Thunderbolt 3 – four USB-A connections, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, as well as an ethernet connection. A very generous selection of ports.

Much like the ZenBook S13, the Asus ROG Mothership does not have any pricing information yet, though it will be available sometime in the first quarter of 2019 as well.


Asus ZenBook 13 (UX333) – What You Need to Know

Asus has unveiled
quite a number of interesting products
 at CES 2019, but in this article, we’re going to focus on last year’s Asus ZenBook 13 (UX333). Slated to be released in Malaysia tomorrow, it’s a productivity laptop in a very compact form factor, and here’s what you need to know about the ZenBook 13.

First things first, let’s talk about the ZenBook 13’s most attractive element: design. Measuring only 302 x 189 x 16.9 mm, this laptop is even more compact than the recently announced Asus ZenBook S13. On top of that, you’re also getting very thin bezels – with no large chin – on the ZenBook 13.

The newer ZenBook S13
does
 have thinner bezels, of course, but if you want portability above all else, the ZenBook 13 is the more ideal laptop.

Despite the narrow bezels, Asus still manages to place the ZenBook 13’s webcam at the top of the display; you won’t have to deal with awkward camera angles. To top it off, the webcam also supports Windows Hello authentication, allowing you to log into the laptop by simply looking at the camera.

Another interesting design element of the ZenBook 13 is the trackpad, which also doubles as a numpad. To activate the numpad, all you need to do is tap on the top right of the trackpad. While you don’t get the tactility of a physical numpad, it’s a smart implementation, and you don’t typically get a numpad on 13-inch laptops like the ZenBook 13 anyway.

In the performance department, the ZenBook 13 comes with an Intel Core i5-8265U processor, and it can be configured with an Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU or Intel’s integrated UHD Graphics 620. The MX150 is the Max-Q variant, of course, and it’s impressive how a laptop as compact as the ZenBook 13 comes with a discrete GPU
and
 a U series processor instead of a Y series chip – the latter is typically slower.

When it comes to productivity laptops, the selection of ports is quite important, and the ZenBook 13 has the essentials. These include a USB-C port, two USB-A connections – one of which is a USB 3.1 port – an HDMI output, and a microSD card slot.

That being said, it would’ve been great if the ZenBook 13 had the much more useful SD card reader instead of a microSD slot. Unfortunately, that’s the trend manufacturers are moving toward – an SD card reader is an increasingly rare feature in today’s laptops.

Another important feature of productivity-focused laptops is good battery life. According to Asus, the ZenBook 13’s 50WHr battery can supposedly return up to 14 hours of battery life on a single charge. That’s a very generous estimate, but if the ZenBook 13 can really deliver this kind of battery life, we’d be very impressed.

Other specifications of the ZenBook 13 include a 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 display, 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM, three choices of PCIe SSD storage (256GB, 512GB, or 1TB), dual-band 802.11ac gigabit-class WiFi, as well as Bluetooth 5.0.

The Asus ZenBook 13 is an attractive laptop in a very compact form factor, and that makes it a pretty compelling machine for those who are looking for a solid productivity laptop. However, this will still depend on how much the ZenBook 13 will go for in Malaysia.

In the US, the ZenBook 13 retails from $850, which comes up to about RM3,495 – that’s quite a competitive starting price for a premium laptop. If Asus can replicate this pricing in Malaysia, we reckon the ZenBook 13 will be one of the most attractive compact laptops in the market.

Nonetheless, we’ll find out for ourselves tomorrow once Asus officially introduced the laptop in Malaysia. Keep your eyes peeled for our hands-on of the ZenBook 13 soon!


Redmi Note 7 Introduced with 48MP Camera – What You Need to Know

The Redmi lineup is now a sub-brand of Xiaomi, and the first device to be unveiled under the “new” branding is the Redmi Note 7. Featuring a 48MP primary camera sensor and affordable price tags, the new Note 7 is a mighty interesting mid-ranger.

Let’s start with the Redmi Note 7’s impressive 48MP camera. Paired with a 5MP sensor – it’s responsible for capturing depth information – the 48MP primary shooter can do pixel binning to improve low light camera performance. Supposedly, this allows the Note 7 to capture the equivalent of a 12MP image with 1.6-micron pixels.

This sounds good in theory, of course, and if implemented well on the Note 7, it will dramatically improve the phone’s low light camera performance. But until we test out the Note 7’s camera for ourselves, we’ll reserve judgment.

Not surprisingly, the Note 7’s camera is also integrated with a number of AI features. Not only can it do “handheld night photography” – the same feature found on the
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3
 – the camera also supports AI scene detection, AI beautify, and AI portraits. On the front, the phone has a 13MP selfie camera.

Okay, so that’s the Redmi Note 7’s camera, which sounds very promising on paper. Next, we have the phone’s pretty sleek-looking design. The subtle gradient finish on the back panel looks great, the small notch at the top of the display isn’t very intrusive, and the bottom bezel is reasonably small as well.

On top of that, Sporting 2.5D glass panels on the front
and
back, we reckon the Note 7 will feel pretty premium in the hand too. Despite its affordable price tag, this phone also comes with a USB Type-C port – very impressive.

As for the Redmi Note 7’s display, it’s a 6.3-inch 19.5:9 Full HD+ panel protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Thanks to the display’s 1080p resolution, the phone’s generous 4,000mAh battery should be able to return good battery life.

Powering the Redmi Note 7 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset; a very capable upper mid-range SoC. If you’re wondering if you can play mobile games effectively with this phone, worry not: you should be able to get playable frame rate on popular titles like PUBG Mobile with this phone.

Other specifications of the Redmi Note 7 include up to 6GB of RAM, two choices of internal storage (32GB or 64GB), a 3.5mm headphone jack, and even an IR blaster. Interestingly, the Note 7 comes with an 18-month warranty in China as well – this is touted as a first in the Chinese market.

The Redmi Note 7 is a well-equipped mid-range smartphone with a sleek design, and its camera performance is very, very promising. The best part is, none of these are the Note 7’s most appealing aspect; in our opinion, of course.

What makes the Note 7 such a compelling smartphone is its sheer value for money. In China, the base model with 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM is offered at merely 999 Chinese yuan. That’s only about RM600, which is
ridiculously
 affordable given the Note 7’s feature set.

If you want more RAM and storage capacity, the 64GB models with 4GB and 6GB of RAM retail at 1,199 yuan (approximately RM725) and 1,399 yuan (around RM845) respectively. Still
very
 affordable price tags.

However, at the time of writing, the Redmi Note 7 is only available in China. It remains to be seen if the mid-ranger will be available anywhere else, especially after the re-positioning of the Redmi brand in Xiaomi’s portfolio. Hopefully, the Note 7 will be sold outside of China in the very near future; according to our sources, there’s a good chance the phone will be made available in Malaysia sometime in February 2019.

Given its competitive pricing and attractive set of features, we’re confident the Redmi Note 7 will be one of the best – if not
the best
 – mid-range smartphones in markets where it is available.


Asus ZenBook 13 (UX333) Hands-On: The Laptop of My Dreams

Looking for a good productivity laptop in a sleek, compact form factor has never been easier. Thanks to the shrinking screen bezels on modern laptops, they are now more compact than ever, and one such laptop is the new Asus ZenBook 13 (UX333).

Launched in Malaysia just yesterday – alongside the ZenBook 14 and 15 – the ZenBook 13 has an extremely small footprint. On top of that, it is priced pretty competitively too. I managed to spend some time with the ZenBook 13, and simply put…I’m really impressed with Asus’ latest ultraportable.

Right off the bat, the ZenBook 13’s compact form factor is reminiscent of a netbook – a class of very portable laptops introduced several years ago. But this is no netbook, of course. Not only does it have the processing power of a conventional laptop, the ZenBook 13 has a 13.3-inch 1080p display too with very narrow bezels.

There
are
still some bezels at the top and bottom of the ZenBook 13’s display, but they’re definitely not as chunky as those found in other laptops. According to Asus, the ZenBook 13 also has an impressive 95% screen-to-body ratio, and it looks incredible in person. I also love the fact that I can open the laptop’s lid with only one finger.

So how compact is the ZenBook 13? Measuring only 302 x 189 x 16.9 mm, Asus claims this laptop is even smaller than an A4 paper, and I’m inclined to agree. In fact, it’s quite surreal how Asus managed to cram a 13.3-inch display into this ultraportable – it’s so ridiculously small.

Speaking of which, the ZenBook 13’s 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display has vibrant colours, and it also has good viewing angles. However, using the laptop in bright outdoors may be troublesome. Even though the display can get quite bright, glare can be an issue with the panel’s glossy finish, so just keep this in mind.

Despite its compact form factor, the ZenBook 13 has a rather complete selection of ports. These include a USB-C port, two USB-A connections, an HDMI output, and a microSD card slot. I’ve mentioned this before, but I would’ve really loved to see an SD card reader instead of a microSD slot on this laptop – it’s a much more useful feature.

But for the average user, I imagine the lack of an SD card reader isn’t that big of an issue. And hey, at least there are two USB-A ports; one of which is a fast USB 3.1 connection.

Okay, now let’s get to the good stuff: performance. Powered by Intel’s Core i5-8265U or i7-8565U Whiskey Lake processor, the ZenBook 13 should be powerful enough for productivity-related tasks. After all, these are Intel’s U series processors, which are typically faster than the company’s more power-efficient Y series chips – the latter are usually found in other slim and light laptops.

If you want to do a little bit of gaming, you’ll be happy to know that all variants of the ZenBook 13 in Malaysia come with a dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU. It’s not a high-end GPU, but you
will
 be able to get playable frame rate on games like Fortnite and
Diablo 3
 with it.

In terms of battery life, the ZenBook 13 can supposedly deliver up to 14 hours of usage on a single charge with its 50WHr battery. This is a very generous estimate, and I’m not entirely convinced the ZenBook 13 can last
that
 long. Nonetheless, I’ll put this to the test in a full review of the laptop.

Input devices are very important for a productivity-focused laptop, and in this regard, the ZenBook 13…is a bit of a mixed bag. Let’s start with the keyboard, which is smaller than a conventional keyboard. Despite this, I did manage to adapt pretty quickly to the smaller layout, though I imagine there will be folks who won’t like the cramp keyboard.

Thankfully, the typing experience on the ZenBook 13’s keyboard is quite pleasant. The 1.4mm key travel is enough for the keyboard to not feel shallow, and the keys’ good tactility make for a pleasant typing experience.

As for the ZenBook 13’s trackpad, it can track my fingers accurately, and the “NumberPad” built into the trackpad works surprisingly well. When activated, the NumberPad is smart enough to recognise between an input or a mouse movement; I can switch seamlessly between scrolling and punching in numbers with the trackpad, and that’s quite remarkable.

I’ve always wanted a capable productivity laptop in a small, compact form factor, and I feel like the Asus ZenBook 13 fits the bill. It has a good level of performance, I can do some gaming with its adequately powerful MX150 GPU, and the keyboard and mouse are more than good enough for their intended purposes.

What makes the ZenBook 13 that much more compelling is the fact that it offers good value for money. The base model of the laptop, which comes with a Core i5-8265U processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of fast PCIe SSD, retails at only RM4,499. There’s also the more powerful Core i7-8565U variant with the same amount of storage and RAM, which goes for RM4,999.

For its asking price, the ZenBook 13 is an attractive productivity laptop. It’s ridiculously compact, its lack of bezels give it a sleek, modern aesthetic, and as mentioned, it has a good level of performance.

If there’s any reason I wouldn’t recommend the Asus ZenBook 13, it would come down to its battery life, which I will extensively test in a full review of the laptop. I’m excited to put the ZenBook 13 through its paces, and if it can deliver good battery life, it may very well be the laptop of my dreams.


Huawei Nova 4 – What You Need to Know

Notched displays were on many, many smartphones last year, and it’s one of the most
controversial tech trends
 we’ve seen in 2018. In a bid to solve the notch problem, some phone makers are implementing a new design – the
“hole-punch”
 display.

One such smartphone that will be sporting the new hole-punch design is the Huawei Nova 4, which will be arriving in Malaysia this Wednesday on 16 January. The hole-punch display is just one of the Nova 4’s appeals, so let’s take a closer look at Huawei’s latest mid-ranger.

Much like the recently announced
Redmi Note 7
, the Nova 4 also sports a 48MP rear camera; it’s a part of the phone’s triple camera system. Complementing the huge 48MP f/1.8 sensor is a 16MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera, and a 2MP f/2.4 shooter for capturing depth information. All in all, it’s a pretty elaborate camera system.

Interestingly, there’s a more affordable variant of the Nova 4 that swaps out the 48MP camera for a 20MP f/1.8 sensor. Placed inside the hole-punch display cut-out on the front of the device, on the other hand, is a 25MP f/2.0 selfie camera.

Speaking of which, let’s move on the Nova 4’s design; more specifically, the hole-punch display. Looking at images of the phone, the size of the cut-out looks to be pretty small. In fact, it’s strikingly similar to the Honor View 20’s hole-punch design, but we digress.

Looking beyond the camera cut-out, the Nova 4 also has a minimal bottom bezel, giving the phone a sleek, almost all-screen appearance. It would’ve been nice if it
doesn’t have any chin at all
, but doing so will very likely drive up the price of the phone.

Even though we haven’t seen the Nova 4 for ourselves, we reckon the phone should feel premium too, thanks to the glass back panel. Like most Huawei devices, the back of the phone also has a nice, gradient finish, though this will depend on which colour option you get.

Next, we have the Nova 4’s display, which is a 6.4-inch 2310 x 1080 IPS panel. While some folks may not be thrilled with the 1080p display, it will help with the phone’s battery life. This display resolution, combined with the Nova 4’s rather generous 3,750mAh cell, should result in good battery life.

Even though the Nova 4 is positioned as a mid-range smartphone, it comes with the rather capable Kirin 970 chipset. This is the same SoC powering Huawei’s range of flagship devices in the last couple of years, which include the Mate 10 and P20 series of smartphones. Of course, the Kirin 970 is not quite as powerful as the new Kirin 980 chipset, but hey, the Nova 4 is a mid-range smartphone.

Other specifications of the Nova 4 include 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a rear fingerprint sensor – no in-screen fingerprint sensor here – a USB-C connection, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Set to be launched in Malaysia on 16 January, the Huawei Nova 4 will be the first smartphone with a hole-punch display in the country. After all, there’s no indication yet on when the Honor View 20 will be introduced in Malaysia. There’s no indication the Samsung Galaxy A8s will be made available in the country either.

But should you get the Nova 4? On paper, it’s a promising device, but it’s not the most affordable mid-range smartphone. In China, the variant with a 20MP camera retails at 3,099 Chinese yuan, which comes up to about RM1,875. The higher-end model with a 48MP camera, on the other hand, goes for 3,399 yuan – that’s around RM2,060.

However, do note that these prices are for the 128GB models with 8GB of RAM; there is always a possibility Huawei Malaysia will offer more affordable variants of the Nova 4 with less RAM and internal storage. Not only will this lower the price of entry, it’ll make the phone that much more attractive.

In any case, we will just have to wait until 16 January to find out exactly how much the Nova 4 will retail for in Malaysia. Hopefully, it won’t go past the RM2,000 mark – it would have to compete with a number of flagship smartphones at that price point.


Razer Phone 2 Hands-On: Meaningful Incremental Upgrades

Surprise surprise, the Razer Phone 2 has just been officially launched in Malaysia. It’s a pleasant surprise, considering the fact that the first Razer Phone never made it to the Malaysian market – officially, that is.

Sporting some upgrades here and there, the Razer Phone 2 doesn’t look all that different from its predecessor. While it still retains the unconventional angular design, the Razer Phone 2 does come with a number of meaningful upgrades under the hood.

If you’re into mobile gaming, this may be the right phone for you.

The standout feature of the Razer Phone 2 is its 5.72-inch UltraMotion IGZO display with a 120Hz refresh rate; a rare feature for any given smartphone. Thanks to the high refresh rate, the phone feels extremely fluid. In fact, just navigating through the Razer Phone 2’s menu is a pleasant experience.

Animations appear smoother, the high refresh rate give the illusion of extra responsiveness (it’s a plenty responsive phone, of course), and chances are, you will notice the difference the 120Hz display brings. As for the display quality itself, it’s quite good with punchy colours and a high 2560 x 1440 resolution.

But unlike most phones in the market now, the Razer Phone 2 is still sticking with a 16:9 display. As a result, it is much wider and shorter than other phones with taller 18:9 screens. Personally, I would’ve preferred a taller display, but hey, at least it’s a good quality screen.

Aside from that, the Razer Phone 2 also has
pretty darn big
 bezels at the top and bottom of the display, giving it a…well, dated-looking design. But to Razer’s credit, the bezels do house a pair of excellent front-facing stereo speakers; this feature alone may be worth the sacrifice for certain folks.

Speaking of design, the Razer Phone 2 is unmistakably a large, thick phone. It can feel unwieldy – especially for those with smaller hands – and tipping the scales at 220g, it’s a
hefty
phone too. On top of that, the square, angular shape of the phone is not particularly appealing.

Thankfully, the build quality of the Razer Phone 2 is really good. It feels solid, it is IP67-rated, and the glass back gives the phone a premium look and feel. Oh, of course, the Razer logo on the back of the phone now comes with the company’s signature Chroma lighting too.

Performance is, without a doubt, excellent on the Razer Phone 2. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM (as well as 64GB of expandable storage), gaming on this phone is really fun and enjoyable, especially with the fast 120Hz display.

Yes, the Snapdragon 845 isn’t quite as good as the Snapdragon 855 chipset – which will ship with most 2019 flagship smartphones – but the 845 is still the best SoC from Qualcomm at this point in time in a consumer-ready device.

As for battery life, I’m positive the Razer Phone 2 can return at least a day’s worth of usability on a single charge. After all, it features a generous 4,000mAh cell, which should be large enough to get all-day battery life. The phone also supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+ technology and wireless charging.

Given the Razer Phone 2’s heavy focus on gaming, it’s perhaps not surprising that the phone’s camera performance leaves much to be desired. In low light conditions, the 12MP f/1.75 + 12MP f/2.6 (telephoto) dual camera system feels particularly sluggish, and it takes much too long to get proper exposure. Basically, it’s not a pleasant phone to photograph with.

That being said, I’ve only managed to test out the Razer Phone 2’s camera for a brief moment; I would need to spend more time with it to give a fair assessment. Besides, I’m sure the camera can deliver good results when shooting under ideal lighting – same goes to the 8MP f/2.0 front-facing shooter.

If you plan to get the Razer Phone 2 purely for gaming, it will serve you very well. Its fast 120Hz display will make for a very pleasant gaming experience, and the Snapdragon 845 chipset is more than capable at delivering a good level of performance.

However, you will have to consider if the Razer Phone 2’s steep asking price is worth it. Retailing at RM3,449 in Malaysia, it is one of the most costly flagship smartphones in the market now, retailing at about the same price point as its biggest competition: the
Asus ROG Phone
.

I can’t say with absolute certainty yet if the Razer Phone 2 is worth recommending, but I do think it’s one of very few devices that really lives up to the status of a proper “gaming smartphone.” If you’re an avid mobile gamer, give the Razer Phone 2 a gander; along with the equally compelling ROG Phone, of course.


Huawei Nova 4 Hands-On: The Future of the Notch

Huawei Malaysia recently held a launch event for its latest mid-ranger, the Huawei Nova 4, and the company confirmed that the smartphone will be officially entering the Malaysian market on 14 February. Of course, Huawei also revealed the pricing of the Nova 4, and…it’s quite an expensive device.

Retailing at RM1,899, the Nova 4 is costlier than the majority of mid-range smartphones by quite a margin. There are, however, a couple of standout features that differentiate the Nova 4 from its competition, and these may be enough to justify its high asking price.

Notched displays were prevalent on many smartphones last year, and the Huawei Nova 3, this phone’s predecessor, was no exception. Well, gone is the notch on the Nova 4, and in its place is Huawei’s new “Punch FullView” display.

As its name suggests, the Nova 4 has a small hole-punch cutout for the 25MP f/2.0 front-facing camera. Is it better than the notch? Of course. Is it jarring to use for the first time? Oh yes, definitely. That being said, I’m sure I can get used to the camera cutout after a while, and it’s certainly not as intrusive as a notch.

On top of that, you’re also getting a lot more display with the hole-punch design; it takes up less space. This, in turn, gives the Nova 4 a very sleek appearance. It’s not a truly “all-screen smartphone” – it still has a
small chin
 at the bottom of the display – but it’s a step closer to that.

Sporting a glass back and metal frame, the Nova 4 looks and feels premium. The subtle gradient finish on the back panel – on the Crush Blue model – is aesthetically pleasing, and the glossy metal frame feels nice to the touch. The phone is comfortable to use for long periods of time too, thanks to the slightly curved back.

On the front, the Nova 4 has a 6.4-inch 2310 x 1080 LTPS panel, which looks great. It’s a colourful, vibrant display with good viewing angles, and it’s bright enough for comfortable use in bright outdoors. Thanks to the combination of a 1080p display with a rather generous 3,750mAh battery, I reckon this phone has above average battery life as well.

Performance wise, the Nova 4’s Kirin 970 chipset provides enough processing power for a fast and zippy user experience. I can switch from one app to another in a relatively quick manner, and I imagine gaming on this phone should be quite pleasant too. After all, the Kirin 970 powered Huawei’s range of flagships in the last two years, including the P20 and Mate 10 series of smartphones.

Rounding out the specifications of the Nova 4 include 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and a USB Type-C port. It’s great to see that Huawei isn’t using a microUSB connection on the Nova 4, even though it’s not a flagship smartphone.

Personally, I was quite excited to try out the Nova 4’s camera performance; more specifically, the
48MP primary camera sensor
. Unfortunately, Huawei Malaysia is only bringing in the 20MP variant, and there are currently no plans to bring in the 48MP model into the Malaysian market.

Nonetheless, the Nova 4’s triple camera system – made up of a 20MP f/1.8 primary camera, a 16MP f/2.2 wide-angle sensor, and a 2MP f/2.4 shooter – seems pretty alright. It can capture good-looking images, the camera interface doesn’t feel sluggish, and the wide-angle sensor offers shooting flexibility.

There is, however, one thing that I don’t quite like about the Nova 4’s camera: the AI enhancements. Switched on, the camera has a tendency to oversaturate images, making them look rather unnatural. Most of the time, I prefer disabling the feature.

The Huawei Nova 4, with its Punch FullView display, is a sleek, well-designed mid-range smartphone with a good level of performance courtesy of the Kirin 970 chipset. Right now, it’s also one of very few smartphones with a hole-punch display, giving it the unique factor.

But it won’t be long until more smartphones with a similar design hit the market, and once that happens, the Nova 4 will have a tougher time to stand out in the crowded mid-range segment. Couple this with its steep RM1,899 asking price, Huawei’s latest offering doesn’t sound very attractive.

Then again, I haven’t thoroughly reviewed the Nova 4 yet. It’s possible the phone’s other qualities like battery life and low light camera performance can justify its asking price – maybe.


Smartphone In-Display Fingerprint Sensors May Get Better This Year

In-display fingerprint sensors had been a dream for many of us, and it’s a dream realised last year on a range of smartphones. Be that as it may, it’s still a new tech, and new tech is generally rough around the edges – in-display fingerprint sensors are no exception.

But that could potentially change in the near future. Looking at recent leaks and rumours surrounding the tech, bad in-display fingerprint sensors may be a thing of the past.

Let’s start with Xiaomi. The co-founder of the company, Lin Bin, recently
posted a video on Weibo demonstrating Xiaomi’s new in-display fingerprint sensor. Unlike other offerings in the market now, the sensor shown in the video has a much wider active area; supposedly by up to 25 x 50.2 mm.

Basically, it will be much easier to activate the sensor. Users won’t have to look for a specific spot to use it anymore, which is one of the major shortcomings with current implementations of the tech. On top of that, Lin also elaborated that the new sensor allows you to unlock the phone with a single tap.

Without a doubt Xiaomi’s new in-screen fingerprint sensor shows a lot of promise, but there’s no word yet whether or not it will be implemented in future Xiaomi smartphones. Rather, Lin only said the company will consider releasing it in a new product if consumers like it.

Besides Xiaomi, Oppo also confirmed that it is working on a new kind of in-screen fingerprint sensor, which will debut on its products sometime this year. Much like the sensor Xiaomi is working on, Oppo is focusing on expanding the active area of its sensor. According to Oppo, the new sensor has an active area 15 times larger than competing solutions in the current market.

That’s not the only improvement, of course. Oppo also mentioned that the new, wider in-screen fingerprint sensor makes it possible to use two different fingerprints for “simultaneous entry and authentication.” While this isn’t the most groundbreaking feature, it will appeal to those who want an even more robust biometric security.

Oppo’s teaser for its new in-screen fingerprint sensor

Interestingly enough, Oppo’s implementation is similar to what Vivo showcased last year with its Apex concept phone. Not only does the Apex have an in-screen fingerprint sensor with a large active area, it can also recognise two different fingerprint inputs simultaneously. Unfortunately, this sensor did not make it into the Vivo Nex – the consumer version of the Apex.

That being said, Vivo will be revealing the Apex 2019 next week on 24 January; it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume it will come with a new and improved in-display fingerprint sensor. Of course, whether or not this year’s iteration of the Apex is also a concept phone still remains to be seen.

It’s great to see phone makers putting emphasis on the development of in-screen fingerprint sensors to make them better. Chances are, this is only the beginning – there are still some ways to go before they are as good as traditional sensors.

For starters, in-display fingerprint sensors are still slower than conventional ones. While they can get the job done, regular sensors can recognise fingerprints much quicker. This, in turn, make in-display sensors more cumbersome to use.

On top of that, in terms of accuracy, conventional sensors are still superior. We’ve used quite a number of phones with in-display fingerprint sensors, and more often than not, we would have to activate the sensor a couple of times for them to recognise our fingerprints. Hopefully, newer in-screen sensors will fare better in this regard, especially those with a larger active area.

In-screen fingerprint sensors, while not as functional as conventional ones (yet), will definitely make their way into more and more devices in the near future; this is especially true of flagship smartphones. With this in mind, it’s important for these sensors to be much more usable than they are now.

Current iterations of the technology are “okay,” of course, but they have to work more seamlessly to not affect the user experience negatively. Nevertheless, we’re positive in-screen fingerprint sensors will get better this year, and this will be put to the test with the next crop of flagship smartphones.


Pocophone F1 – Why It’s Still Relevant in 2019

The
Pocophone F1
 was released back in the second half of 2018, and it was an excellent flagship smartphone with great value for money. But it’s been a while since it was launched in Malaysia; is the phone still relevant in 2019?

Well, in our opinion, the Pocophone F1 is still a very good smartphone to get right now. Here are a few reasons why the F1 is one of the best phones you can buy in early 2019.

First of all, the Pocophone F1 is a powerful smartphone. After all, it’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset; a fast, flagship-tier SoC. In fact, until the Snapdragon 855 is available in a consumer-ready smartphone, the 845 is still the best chipset you can get from Qualcomm right now.

This reason alone makes the Pocophone F1 an extremely compelling device. Not only are you getting comparable performance to flagship smartphones that cost much more than the F1, you’d be hard-pressed to find a different device with this kind of performance at this price point – more on that later.

Besides that, the Pocophone F1 has impressive battery life too. Thanks to the phone’s combination of a 1080p screen and a large 4,000mAh battery, we managed to get close to eight hours of screen on time with the F1
in our review
. That’s really impressive, and not many phones can match the Pocophone F1’s battery life. If you’re a light smartphone user, we reckon you can get up to two days of usage with this phone.

But there is one small caveat: the Pocophone F1’s charging rate isn’t particularly impressive. In our testing, the phone only charged up to 35% – from empty, of course – within 30 minutes of charging. It’s not a fast charging rate, but at the same time, it’s not particularly bad either.

Surprisingly enough, despite its affordable price tag, the Pocophone F1 has good camera performance as well. The 12MP + 5MP dual camera system performs admirably regardless of lighting conditions, and although the low light performance could still use some work, it’s still really good for a phone at this price point.

If you want even better camera performance on the Pocophone F1, you can just install GCam; a camera app ported from the Pixel smartphones. However, do note that GCam doesn’t have any official support, and you will have to sideload the app.

Fortunately, you don’t need to root your Pocophone F1 to install the custom camera app. This makes it a lot more accessible to the average smartphone user.

In my opinion, the best reason to get the Pocophone F1 is for its
exceptional
value for money. Right now, you can get the 128GB variant of the F1 with 6GB of RAM well below its original RM1,599 launch price; some retailers are offering it for as low as RM1,399. The 64GB model with 6GB of RAM, on the other hand, can easily be bought for only RM1,199. This variant used to retail at RM1,299 when it was first introduced in Malaysia.

At these price points, there are practically no phones in the market now that offer the same package as the Pocophone F1. These include impressive battery life, flagship-level performance, and commendable camera performance.

That being said, you
do
 have to live with the Pocophone F1’s inexpensive build material (read: plastic), notched display, as well as lack of NFC. Given the affordable price tag of the phone, sacrifices had to be made here and there.

As a whole, the Pocophone F1 is still very relevant in 2019. It’s an excellent, polished product, and at this point in time, it’s still comfortably
the king of affordable flagship smartphones
. If you want to learn more about the F1, check out our comprehensive review of the phone
right here
.

But as the year progresses, there will be other phones that are superior to the Pocophone F1, either in performance, longevity, or value for money – it’s bound to happen in the smartphone market. However, if you’re looking to get a new phone
right now
, the F1 is a fantastic option.


Vivo Nex Dual Display Edition Hands-On: No Selfie Camera, No Notch

More and more phone makers are coming up with creative ways to
solve the notched display conundrum
, and Vivo is taking a rather…unique approach. Enter the Vivo Nex Dual Display Edition, which has no notch, and not even a selfie camera.

Instead, as its name suggests, this new variant of the Nex has a second display on the back, so you don’t really need a front-facing camera; the triple camera system on the back now doubles as the selfie shooter. But beyond this one feature, is the Nex Dual Display Edition any good? Let’s find out.

Since there’s no need for a selfie camera, the Nex’s primary 6.4-inch 2340 x 1080 Super AMOLED display doesn’t have a notch or a hole-punch design. The result? An almost all-screen smartphone with a small chin at the bottom of the display. It would’ve been great if the bottom bezel can be eliminated altogether, but to Vivo’s credit, it
is
 a very minimal bezel.

The real fun, of course, is the Nex’s secondary display on the back. It’s a “traditional” 5.5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, so you do get huge chunks of bezels at the top and bottom of the screen. This isn’t really a problem, considering the fact that you’ll only use the secondary display on a few occasions.

For one, you’ll be using the Nex’s secondary display for capturing selfie shots, and Vivo mentioned that you can even use it as an additional input device in mobile games that support the feature. Basically, it works a lot like the
PlayStation Vita
‘s rear touchpad.

If you want to use the Nex’s face unlock feature – which is very fast – you’ll have to use this side of the device too. To be honest, this
can
 get quite confusing: there were a couple of times where I tried to use the face unlock feature…while I was looking at the primary display.

I didn’t feel particularly clever at that point in time.

If you don’t plan to use the Nex’s face unlock feature, there’s the in-screen fingerprint sensor, which works as intended. It’s not blazing fast like a conventional fingerprint sensor, but it gets the job done. It can also accurately identify my fingerprint most of the time.

In terms of display quality, both of the Nex’s screens are pleasing to look at. After all, they are both Super AMOLED panels with deep blacks, punchy colours, and great viewing angles. The 1080p resolution of these displays will also help with battery life. Considering the fact that the Nex’s 3,500mAh battery isn’t particularly big, it needs all the help it can get.

If you’re curious, it’s rather seamless to switch between the Nex’s two displays too. I can either swipe across the display with three fingers to switch, or press the two power buttons simultaneously. Yes, the Nex has two power buttons on either sides of the phone – one for each display.

When it comes to design, the Nex looks and feels like a premium, flagship smartphone. The glass and metal construction gives the phone a nice heft – it weighs 199g – the glossy metal frame is nice to the touch, and the buttons have nice tactile feedback.

There is, however, one design element I’m not crazy about: the “Lunar Ring” on the back of the phone. While it’s functional – it will light up when you receive notifications, for example – it looks out of place. On top of that, the ring extends to the display too, which can be quite distracting.

Nonetheless, let’s move on to the Nex’s processing power. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, performance shouldn’t be an issue with this phone. Aside from that, the Nex also comes with a whopping 10GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and even a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Featuring a 12MP f/1.8 + 2MP f/1.8 + ToF (time-of-flight) triple camera system, the Nex’s camera performance appears to be quite good. Needless to say, it performs well under good lighting. The autofocus speed is also fast, and the camera’s optical image stabilisation makes it easier to capture sharp-looking shots.

As for the camera app itself, the user interface is intuitive to navigate around, and it doesn’t feel sluggish. At least, that’s the case when shooting in ideal lighting. I haven’t had the chance to extensively try out the Nex’s low light camera performance yet, but chances are, it
should
 be reasonably good.

What about the ToF sensor of the Nex’s triple camera system? Well, much like Oppo’s implementation with the
R17 Pro
, the ToF sensor allows this phone to capture 3D information. But alas, this unit of the Nex doesn’t seem to have the feature enabled yet, so I can’t test out the ToF sensor.

The Vivo Nex Dual Display Edition is a pretty unique flagship smartphone. At a glance, the phone’s two displays may seem gimmicky, but it does have its utility. To top it off, the Nex isn’t priced outrageously either – it retails at RM3,199 in Malaysia.

That’s still a lot of money, even for a flagship smartphone, but the Nex isn’t the most costly device in the segment either. If the prospect of a dual screen smartphone is enticing to you, the Vivo Nex is certainly worth considering – especially if you want a unique-looking smartphone.


Smartphones With No Ports – Who Asked for This?

Update 8 December, 2019, 12PM:
 This article was originally published on 25 January, 2019. It has been updated to include the
rumour of a port-less iPhone
 in 2021.

Every smartphone maker wants to release a product that is truly unique; something only that particular manufacturer can put forward. In the process to do just that, we’ll come across…some interesting products. The latest one? Smartphones with no ports.

That’s right, we’re talking about a smartphone that has absolutely no ports. No 3.5mm headphone, no charging port, and guess what? No buttons either. Do we need a phone like this? Do we
want
 a phone with such limitations? We’ll take a look at this “trend” in this article.

Let’s talk about the Meizu Zero first, which is touted as the “world’s first holeless phone.” As its name suggests, Meizu’s new device has practically zero openings. Well, except for two small holes: one for the mic, and another to reset the device if anything goes wrong.

To make up for the lack of ports and buttons, the Zero has a couple of interesting features. For one, charging is done with the company’s “Super mCharge Wireless” technology; it promises up to 18W wireless charging. Not the fastest charging rate we’ve seen, but it’s definitely not bad either.

What about data transfer? That’s done via wireless USB connectivity. According to Meizu, this method allows the Zero to transfer data as fast as a conventional USB 3.0 connection. Buttons, on the other hand, are replaced with virtual ones on the side of the phone. These buttons should work similarly to the
Huawei Mate 30 Pro
‘s touch-sensitive sides, which also uses haptic feedback.

Design wise, the Zero sports a full ceramic unibody, along with small bezels at the top and bottom of the 5.99-inch QHD OLED dual curved display. Yes, there are no notch to be found here, and the top bezel is large enough to house a 20MP front-facing camera.

Other specifications of the Zero include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, a 12MP + 20MP dual camera system, and Meizu’s mSound 2.0 technology – this turns the whole display into a speaker, eliminating the need for a speaker grille.

As futuristic as the Meizu Zero is, the reception for the smartphone is decidedly lukewarm. In fact, the Indiegogo campaign for the Zero failed to meet the goal with only 29 backers. According to Meizu’s founder and CEO, Jack Wong, the port-less phone was merely a marketing stunt, and that it was “never intended to be mass-produced.”

Anyway, besides the Meizu Zero, there’s also the Vivo Apex 2019. Of course, the Apex doesn’t have any ports either, but unlike the Zero, Vivo’s device
doesn’t even have a front-facing camera
. Evidently, the Apex 2019 is still just a concept phone like its predecessor.

Concept phone or not, the new Apex does have better hardware than the Zero. These include a faster Snapdragon 855 chipset, 256GB of internal storage, a whopping 12GB of RAM, and 5G connectivity via Qualcomm’s X50 modem.

Instead of the Zero’s ceramic body, the Apex 2019 also opts for a “Super Unibody” curved glass design. Despite the glass back, however, the Apex doesn’t support wireless charging – it uses a magnetic connector on the back of the phone for charging and data transfer.

Other features of the Apex 2019 are similar to the Zero, including a pressure-sensitive frame in place of physical buttons, as well as a dual camera system, though Vivo has yet to detail the technical specifications.

Interestingly, the Apex also ships with an in-screen “full-display fingerprint sensor,” which covers “almost the entire screen.” We’re not entirely convinced the sensor truly covers the phone’s whole display, but its active area should be larger than current iterations of the technology.

The reveal of these two concept phones may be the start of a worrying trend: will more phone makers release phones with no ports? After all, it’s been reported before that Apple considered removing the Lightning port from the iPhone X.

In fact, a new research note from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is suggesting that Apple will do just that with its highest-end iPhone in 2021 to “provide the completely wireless experience.” Sure, 2021 is some way off, but if a large company like Apple is considering to do so, we won’t be surprised if other manufacturers will follow suit.

Nonetheless, we do hope the idea of a port-less phone won’t catch on. There’s no real benefit to doing so, and it will only inconvenient consumers even further. We haven’t even completely transitioned to USB-C yet, and it’s been many years since the standard was introduced.


Resident Evil 2 Hands-On: A Terrifying, Polished Remake

Remaking old video games is nothing new. In fact, some remasters aren’t particularly enticing, and at worst, they are even viewed as a quick cash grab. Thankfully, the new Resident Evil 2 is not that kind of game: it is a mighty good example of an excellent remake.

I’ve spent a brief amount of time playing through the new remake, and I’m very impressed with the game’s mechanics, gameplay, and graphics. But most importantly, I’m absolutely terrified of the game.

Full disclosure: the last game in the franchise I completed was Resident Evil 4 on the PlayStation 2. Suffice to say it’s been a while since I’ve laid hands on a Resident Evil game, and going into this new remake, I was hoping it’ll play similarly to Resident Evil 4.

Boy, was I wrong.

Sure, the over-the-shoulder perspective is reminiscent of Resident Evil 4, but the ambiance and
general feel of dread
 in Resident Evil 2 make it a fundamentally different game. The enemies are terrifying, the dark environment adds to the tension, and even a simple action like opening doors is nerve-wracking.

Note that this was only in the first few moments of the game; I haven’t even encountered more powerful enemies, which are bound to be even more terrifying than the “normal” zombies I’ve faced. Considering the fact that these zombies are already bullet sponges, I dread to think how resilient the other enemies I’ll face later in the game.

To make matters worse, the zombies you’ve “killed” aren’t 100% dead. There were a couple of times where I thought a downed enemy are dead for good, so imagine my surprise when it started moving again.

All of these make Resident Evil 2 a terrifying experience, and again, the generally dark environment of the game further heightens this. There was one instance where I turned around to go up a flight of stairs when I was ambushed by a zombie, and I didn’t see it at all; my flashlight wasn’t pointed at the undead when it jumped at me.

Of course, I could just turn up the brightness of the game to make it less intimidating, but that takes away the suspense of Resident Evil 2 – it’s one of the most appealing parts of the game.

Next, we have Resident Evil 2’s various puzzles, which can be frustrating for players who want to just rush through things. The solutions to these puzzles aren’t very straightforward, and it requires players to explore every nook and cranny of the game (including examining closely the items you’ve picked up) to make progress.

Personally, I do find this quite interesting. It encourages players to explore every area of the game, and the mechanics of these puzzles will feel familiar to Resident Evil fans. On top of that, it does add to the challenge of the game without being too cumbersome to complete.

Graphically, Resident Evil 2 looks gorgeous. Character models are very detailed, exposed flesh and injury look extremely gory, and the environment is rendered very well. I played the game on PC, and the amount of settings I can tweak is ridiculously expansive. That’s great, as it allows even gamers with more modest systems to play the game at acceptable frame rate.

For console players, great news: Resident Evil 2 runs pretty close to 60 frames per second. The bad news? Only the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X can maintain that frame rate.
According to Eurogamer
, the standard PlayStation 4 and Xbox One S can only do about 40fps. Still relatively good performance, of course, but if you want the best console experience, the game will be more enjoyable on the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X.

Even though I haven’t spent a fair amount of time playing Resident Evil 2, it’s easily one of the most terrifying survival horror game I’ve played in recent times. The gameplay is fun (and nail-biting), the puzzles aren’t too complicated, and the graphics are stunning.

On top of that, I haven’t even gotten into the plot of Resident Evil 2 yet, and I’m excited to learn about Leon’s past before his time in Resident Evil 4. The branching storyline involving Claire Redfield is quite intriguing too, and I love the fact that I can play through the game again as these two characters to unlock the “true” ending – it adds replay value.

But the thing is, I’m quite frightened to launch Resident Evil 2 again. It’s a terrifying,
terrifying
 game, and I will need to prepare myself mentally before heading into the game once more.

Plus, I really dread to be ambushed or chased around by zombies again.