Are Bend Tests Really Relevant?

We don’t really know the origin of the bend test, but it really took off after the iPhone 6’s infamous “bendgate” fiasco back in 2014. Since then, almost every single prominent device is subjected to that test, and more recently, a bend test of the iPad Pro 2018 caught
a lot
 of attention.

This brings up the question: are bend rests really all that necessary? Realistically, there’s no scenario where you would want you apply so much pressure to your expensive new gadget, let alone try to bend it. In this article, we’ll explore if – and perhaps why – bend tests are more than just to satisfy people’s need for…well, destruction.

So what’s the video that got so many people talking about the durability of the 2018 iPad Pro? It’s none other than a durability test by Zack Nelson of JerryRigEverything on YouTube, where he subjected the brand new iPad Pro to various tests.

In the last part of the video, Nelson started bending the iPad Pro, and the tablet folded like it’s made of paper – well, sort of. Basically, Apple’s latest tablet can be bent very easily. Considering just how costly the new iPad Pro is, this level of durability is quite concerning. No one likes paying so much for a device this fragile.

That being said, it’s not entirely fair to judge the durability of the iPad Pro based on this bend test alone. As mentioned, a regular consumer wouldn’t bend the tablet (or any tablet, for that matter) in any possible usage scenario. At least, not in normal, everyday use.

On top of that, other tablets subjected to a bend test also “failed” in a similar fashion. Snazzy Labs, for one, released a similar video, where he did a bend test on a Huawei tablet. As expected, even that tablet bent and cracked under pressure.

The thing is, tablets are large devices. With so much surface area, it’s not surprising that tablets (in general) will bend under pressure. However, does that mean bend tests serve no purpose? Not quite. While this test doesn’t necessarily apply to tablets, we’ll argue it can be relevant for certain devices – especially smartphones.

For example, bend tests actually show how durable a particular phone is. The more resistant it is to bending, the better its build quality – in theory, anyway. While you wouldn’t be bending your own personal device, it’s a reassuring feeling to know that it
can
 be bent without permanently damaging it.

In a sense, a bend test is similar to a drop test – both serve to test the durability of devices. Of course, the latter is much more applicable; you’re a lot more likely to drop your phone.

But what if a device fails the bend test? This doesn’t happen very often, but there are cases here and there. One of the most noteworthy ones is the Nexus 6P, which snapped in half right at the power button. But did this deter consumers from getting the phone? Not really.

A bend test
can
 show how well-built a phone is, but phones that fail the bend test aren’t necessarily bad. They could’ve been better designed, that’s for sure, but they will serve its users just as fine as any other smartphone. You will have to keep in mind that they will bend under pressure, but let’s be honest – there are hardly any usage scenario where this will be a concern.

Well then, let’s get back to the question: are bend rests relevant? Only to a certain extent. It can be used as an indication of build quality, but even if a device fails the test, you shouldn’t be too concerned about it – just be a tad mindful.

Besides, in normal usage, it wouldn’t matter that much whether or not a phone passes the bend test. If it does, it’s just nice to know that your device is solid enough to not be bent. Should you put a lot of thought into this before you buy a new phone? Especially if it fails the bend test? You really shouldn’t. There are other more important features to look at.


I Can’t Put Down Ragnarok M: Eternal Love, And You Shouldn’t Either

I’m going to start with this: I’ve never played Ragnarok all my life. Sure, I’ve seen plenty of folks play the game back in the days, but the game never really appealed to me. Whether it’s the graphics or the game’s mechanics, I just never had the urge to even see what the game’s all about. It’s not that I don’t like the genre either; I’ve played my fair share of MMORPGs.

That changed when Gravity Interactive released the mobile version of the game. Dubbed Ragnarok M: Eternal Love, the mobile game was actually released in China last year – it’s only now that the game is released to a wider audience. Well, only for Southeast Asia at the moment, unfortunately.

Honestly, I wasn’t even going to download the game, but after some coaxing from my colleagues, I caved in. Surprise surprise, I haven’t been able to put down the game ever since. It’s not a perfect MMORPG, but Ragnarok M’s mechanics, graphics, and gameplay just seem to
work
 for a mobile game.

Nonetheless, here are a few reasons why Ragnarok M is worth checking out, and why certain aspects of the game could’ve been better.

For starters, Ragnarok M features a botting system of sorts. Basically, the game’s auto combat system can be set to automatically kill monsters, and it’s a really smart implementation. While the most obvious advantage of this system is the fact that it removes the long and arduous “grinding” aspect of MMORPG, what really impressed me is the limitation set in to prevent exploitation.

Every day, your character only gets 300 minutes of “combat time,” which takes into account the amount of time you spend hitting monsters. So whether you’re manually or automatically killing monsters, your combat time will be reduced accordingly. Once you’ve hit the threshold, the experience and drop rate you get from monsters will dramatically decrease.

I think this is a really smart limitation for two reasons: not only does this limit the amount of time you would spend in the game, it also prevents abuse of the auto combat system. Aside from that, if you didn’t utilise your allotted combat time for the day, it can stack up to 900 minutes. This, in turn, doesn’t punish inactive players.

But just because Ragnarok M has an auto combat system doesn’t mean there’s no joy in playing it “manually.” You can go around the game to hunt for MVP bosses – you can potentially get some high value items too – and if you’re tired of that, the PVP arena is a great place to blow off some steam. As its name suggests, you can kill other players in PVP, and it’s especially fun if you play classes that are great in this mode.

Aside from that, I quite dig the graphics of Ragnarok M. In contrast to the original Ragnarok’s art style, the mobile counterpart’s 3D graphics look a lot more modern and pleasing. This is subjective, of course, but I do think the game’s graphics is a nice modern take on the Ragnarok franchise.

Now for the bad stuff. Unlike conventional MMORPGs, there is no trading in Ragnarok M. Say you got a valuable item that you’d like to pass to your friend in the game; the game simply doesn’t allow this. If you want to sell said item to other players, you’ll have to go through the game’s Exchange system. All you have to do is speak to an NPC to list the item on the Exchange, and…the game will set the price for you.

I can understand why Ragnarok M has this system in place. Obviously, it makes it impossible for players to sell in-game items or Zeny for real money. The fact that Ragnarok M doesn’t allow players to set their own prices for valuable items also gives the developer the ability to control the game’s economy to some extent. It’s a double-edged sword: it can be a nuisance or a blessing, depending on who you ask.

Another aspect of Ragnarok M I don’t quite like is the complicated stats and skill build. Depending on your particular job, it can be difficult to decide which skill or attribute is best for your playstyle. This isn’t a “problem,” per se. Certain players may appreciate the complexity of finding the best build for these different classes. On top of that, some MMORPGs have equally complex systems too.

The thing is, whenever I start a new MMORPG, I’ll make sure that I know exactly what I’m doing. I look for the best class that suits my playstyle, the most ideal equipment, leveling guide, and well, the works. However, Ragnarok M is still relatively new, so there are not that many resources for the game right now.

If you’re like me, and you don’t want to “mess up” your character’s stats and skill build, this can be a frustrating experience. More  guides and builds have appeared since Ragnarok M’s release in Southeast Asia, but chances are, there are some aspects of the game that are still not covered. The game’s odd English translation doesn’t help  either.

Heck, I’m still figuring out if I need to feed my pet Poring. I haven’t fed it anything at all since I hatched it a couple of weeks ago, but it…seems to be fine up till now.

Despite its shortcomings, I still can’t stop playing
Ragnarok M: Eternal Love
. Maybe I just need a good MMORPG to fill my time. Maybe I’ll stop playing once I’m bored with the game after a couple of weeks. Why, it’s entirely possible I’ll put the game down once I hit the third job.

But until then, I’m letting Ragnarok M run on my phone, auto attacking monsters, while I go to bed. It feels great to wake up to a character a couple of levels higher, and it’s equally fun to look at what kind of items I managed to pick up while I AFK farm.


Oppo R17 Pro Hands-On: Almost as Good as a Flagship

The Oppo R17 Pro has just been introduced in Malaysia, and at a glance, it looks like a pretty decent upper mid-range smartphone. Sporting a sleek design with a gradient colour on the glass back, it’s a handsome device with adequate  performance power.

But priced as high as it is, the R17 Pro has to contest with a number of more capable, flagship-tier smartphones. In my brief time with Oppo’s latest phone, I’m quite impressed with it. But even though it’s a really solid smartphone, Oppo’s pricing strategy may not appeal to everyone.

One of the highlight features of the R17 Pro is its gradient colourway, “Radiant Mist,” and it’s
very
 well done. The colour shifts depending on what angle you’re looking at the phone from, and the frosted glass back – while slippery – gives it a very unique aesthetic. After all, most phones with gradient colourways have glossy finishes.

On the front, the R17 Pro has a “waterdrop” notch, and its overall design is very similar to the Oppo F9, right down to the tiny bottom bezel. What’s different here, of course, is the in-display fingerprint sensor. While it’s not as quick or as accurate as a conventional sensor, it can still recognise my fingerprint relatively well.

Aside from that, I love how the R17 Pro feels in my hand. It has great, reassuring build quality, and tipping the scales at 183g, it’s a hefty device too. Basically, this phone looks and feels premium – almost like a flagship smartphone.

I say almost, because the R17 Pro doesn’t have the processing power of a flagship smartphone. Don’t get me wrong, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset in this phone is plenty capable, but it’s not comparable to the Snapdragon 845’s superior performance. If Oppo had equip the R17 Pro with a Snapdragon 845 SoC, that would’ve made it a very interesting flagship phone.

But as far as performance goes, the R17 Pro feels very responsive and zippy. Now, I’m not a huge fan of ColorOS 5.2 and its oddities, but I do have to commend the smooth user experience of Oppo’s software; I didn’t notice any stutter or lag while using the R17 Pro. Chances are, the phone’s generous 8GB RAM played a role here, and it also comes with 128GB of internal storage.

Next is the R17 Pro’s gorgeous 6.4-inch 2340 x 1080 AMOLED display. Viewing angles are great, colours are vibrant and punchy, and needless to say, black levels are excellent. It’s an inherent characteristic of OLED panels – individual pixels are switched off whenever the screen has to show black.

On top of that, even though the R17 Pro “only” has a 1080p display, texts and images are plenty sharp. Paired with the phone’s 3,700mAh battery, it should have good battery life too.

And finally, we have the R17 Pro’s camera system. The front-facing shooter is a 25MP f/2.0 shooter, while on the back, there’s a triple camera system. The primary sensor is a 12MP camera with a variable aperture of f/1.5 and f/2.4 – much like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Note 9 phones – and it’s paired with a 20MP f/2.6 sensor for bokeh simulation. The third module, on the other hand, is a time-of-flight sensor, which captures 3D information.

It’s an interesting sensor, but unfortunately, we couldn’t try out the 3D scanning feature – it wasn’t enabled on our test unit of the R17 Pro.

How is the camera performance of the R17 Pro? Impressive. While I didn’t manage to try the camera in daytime (most phones can capture great shots in ideal lighting anyway), I did take some low light images with the phone. Interestingly enough, there’s even a Night mode, which allows you to take long exposure shots without the use of a tripod. Yes, it’s similar to Huawei’s implementation, which was first introduced on the P20 Pro.

 Looking at these images, I’m quite taken aback at how good the R17 Pro’s camera is. It manages to capture a good amount of detail, and overall, these shots look very impressive.

Night mode
Without Night mode

In fact, I reckon the R17 Pro’s camera performance can rival that of other flagship smartphones. I wouldn’t say it’s as amazing as, say, the Galaxy S9’s camera performance, but it’s definitely up there in flagship territory.

The Oppo R17 Pro is a promising upper mid-range phone. It’s sleek, it has adequate processing power, and its camera performance is quite impressive. I would’ve been more than happy to recommend this phone to anyone looking to buy a premium device, but the thing is, the R17 Pro is priced at the same price point as more capable phones.

Retailing at RM2,699 in Malaysia, the R17 Pro is in the price territory of notable flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S9+, Huawei Mate 20, and even the OnePlus 6T. Not only are these smartphones much faster than the R17 Pro, they are more feature-packed too.

I really like the R17 Pro, even more so than the company’s current flagship, the Oppo Find X. But would I spend this much money on an upper mid-range phone, when I can get more bang for my buck with other flagship-tier devices?

Well, that’s the question you’d have to ask yourself if you’re looking to get the R17 Pro. It’s a really good phone, but only in a full review of the phone can I say with conviction whether or not the R17 Pro is worth its steep asking price.

For what it’s worth, I’m positive I’ll enjoy reviewing it.


Realme 2 Pro Review: Real Value for Money

It hasn’t even been a year since Realme officially entered the smartphone market. And yet, this sub-brand of Oppo has released quite a number of interesting smartphones. Arguably the most interesting of the bunch now is this phone right here: the Realme 2 Pro.

With a competitive price tag, capable hardware, and no glaring faults, the Realme 2 Pro is a compelling mid-range smartphone. It does have its fair share of downsides, but if you’re in the market for a new, affordable smartphone, this device should be in your list of consideration.

Specifications

Display
6.3-inch FHD+ IPS LCD (2340 x 1080)
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 1.95GHz octa-core
GPU
Adreno 512
RAM
4/6/8GB
Storage
64/128GB, expandable
Camera (rear)
16MP f/1.7 + 2MP f/2.4
Camera (front)
16MP f/2.0
Battery
3,500mAh
Dimensions
156.7 x 74 x 8.5 mm
Weight
174g
OS
ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo
Connectivity
LTE
Bluetooth 5.0
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
microUSB

For a mid-range smartphone, the Realme 2 Pro is  pretty well-equipped. It runs on a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, up to 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage. It also has a reasonably sized 3,500mAh cell, which should return decent battery life.

Design

Functional is how’d I describe the Realme 2 Pro’s design language, and that’s a good thing. There’s no design element that’s unnecessary, and it has the essentials covered. These include support for expandable storage, ergonomically-sound design, and even a 3.5mm headphone jack.

If there’s anything I don’t quite like about this phone, it’s the fact that it doesn’t use USB-C. Then again, this
is
 an affordable smartphone. Most devices in this price range still use microUSB ports anyway.

Despite the polycarbonate construction of the Realme 2 Pro – the back panel and matte frame of the phone are plastic – it feels solid in my hands. It doesn’t feel premium by any means, of course, but it definitely has solid build quality. I also like the Realme 2 Pro’s 8.5mm thick chassis, which makes it easy to get a good grip on the phone.

On the front, you won’t miss the Realme 2 Pro’s “Dewdrop” notch. While it’s a minimal notch, it does get in the way when I’m on certain apps. This can get quite annoying, but there is an option in the settings that forces selected apps to not use the notched area. This way, you can avoid the issue you see in the image above.

Notch aside, I do like the small bottom bezel of the Realme 2 Pro. It gives the phone an almost bezel-less aesthetic, and in this price range, it’s a standout design for the phone.

Overall, the Realme 2 Pro has a functional, minimalist design. It doesn’t have any fancy design elements like a gradient finish or glass back, but adding these will only drive up the price of the Realme 2 Pro. After all, this phone’s competitive pricing is one of its most appealing qualities.

User Experience

Let’s start with software. Running on ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo, the Realme 2 Pro…has decent software experience. It runs fine for the most part, and even though I miss the presence of an app drawer, ColorOS feels responsive and lightweight.

However, there is one fundamental flaw with ColorOS 5.2: you
cannot
swipe away notifications. This is a staple feature of the Android operating system, and it’s really mind-boggling that ColorOS doesn’t allow notifications to be swiped away. Instead, you’d have to swipe notifications to the left to reveal the
option
to remove them. This proved to be a really, really frustrating experience when I have more than a couple of notifications to remove.

Thankfully, a recent update fixed this. Now, you can swipe away notifications, but only with a right swipe. A left swipe will still reveal the options; this is very similar to how
Xiaomi’s MIUI software
 handles notifications.

But hey, at least you can swipe away notifications now on ColorOS, even though it’s only with a right swipe.

On a more positive note, I really like the Realme 2 Pro’s 6.3-inch 1080p display. It’s a bright display with punchy colours, good viewing angles, and overall, it looks like a high quality screen. It’s no OLED display, of course, but at this price point, it’s definitely an above average IPS panel.

Performance is also another strong point of the Realme 2 Pro, especially at this price point. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 chipset, gaming on this phone is enjoyable – especially
Ragnarok M
 – and throughout my time with the phone, I didn’t notice any performance issue either.

But when it comes to battery life, the Realme 2 Pro…is difficult to measure. The thing is, I don’t know
how long
 it can last on a single charge. Unlike other versions of Android, ColorOS doesn’t let me check the screen on time of the phone. That makes it pretty hard to get a grasp on the Realme 2 Pro’s battery life.

That being said, the phone can last me through a typical workday on a single charge quite comfortably. At the end of the day, I’m usually left with about 20% battery life. I’m a heavy smartphone user, and I’m constantly connected to my phone, so this is quite decent.

What about the Realme 2 Pro’s charging rate? Well, it’s okay. Plugging in the phone for 30 minutes charged it up to 30% from empty.

I’m not a huge fan of ColorOS on the Realme 2 Pro, but I do like the fact that it feels fast and responsive throughout my time with the phone. I’m also really happy the notification system has been fixed in a recent update, although it’s still limited to removing notifications with only a right swipe.

In spite of that, I really enjoyed using the Realme 2 Pro as my daily driver. Now, let’s get to its camera performance – a common weak point for affordable smartphones.

Camera

Featuring a 16MP + 2MP dual camera system, the Realme 2 Pro is a decent shooter. In daytime, it can take good-looking shots, but this is a given with the majority of smartphones released in recent times. Come nighttime, however, the camera performance takes a dive.

In less than ideal lighting, the Realme 2 Pro’s camera app gets more sluggish, and the image output leaves much, much to be desired. Noise is apparent in challenging lighting conditions, details are lacking, and on top of that, the absence of optical image stabilisation makes it difficult to capture clear, sharp images.

Of course, it’s still very possible to capture good low light shots with the Realme 2 Pro, but you  have to really work for it. With enough patience and composition, it will do in a pinch when shooting under challenging lighting situations.

But, again, you’ll have to be really, really patient.

What about the 16MP front-facing camera? It’s pretty decent. After all, Realme
is
 a sub-brand of Oppo – the company knows a thing or two about selfie cameras. Occasionally, selfies do come  out looking soft, but as a whole, it’s definitely above average for a device in this price point.

Competition

Here’s where it gets really interesting. The Realme 2 Pro is priced from only RM849, and that’s for the 64GB model with 4GB of RAM; very reasonable. A tier up is the RM949 variant, which offers 64GB of storage with 6GB of RAM. The highest-end model, on the other hand, comes with 128GB of storage and a whopping 8GB RAM for RM1,049.

Without a doubt Realme is pricing this phone aggressively, and do note that the Realme 2 Pro is often discounted even further on certain e-commerce platforms like Shopee. Regardless, there are a couple of noteworthy alternatives to this phone.

Xiaomi Mi A2

We can’t talk about smartphones with good value for money without Xiaomi, and the Mi A2 is a direct competitor to the Realme 2 Pro. Not only does the Mi A2 run on the same Snapdragon 660 chipset, it also has superior camera performance, an all-metal chassis, and thanks to its status as an Android One device, it has far better software experience and update timing.

On top of that, the Mi A2 is  priced very closely to the Realme 2 Pro as well. Not too long ago, Xiaomi revised the Mi A2’s pricing to RM899 and RM1,099 for the 64GB + 4GB and 128GB + 6GB models respectively. Considering the upgrades you’re getting with the Mi A2, why would you get the Realme instead?

Well, for a number of reasons. For one, the Realme 2 Pro supports expandable storage, not to mention a larger 3,500mAh battery and more RAM at 8GB for the 128GB variant. Although it doesn’t have the Mi A2’s USB-C port – it has a microUSB connection instead – the fact that the Realme 2 Pro retains the 3.5mm headphone jack somewhat makes up for this.

Huawei Nova 3i

The Huawei Nova 3i is also a pretty compelling choice over the Realme 2 Pro. Although it features a Huawei Kirin 710 chipset instead of the Realme’s Snapdragon 660 SoC, you should get comparable performance level with these two chipsets. Aside from that, you’re also getting a much sleeker-looking device with Huawei’s offering, thanks to its unique gradient colourway.

But the Nova 3i does lose out ever so slightly when it comes to value for money. Retailing at RM1,099, the Nova 3i comes with 128GB of storage and only 4GB of RAM; that’s half the amount of RAM the Realme 2 Pro offers with the RM1,049 model.

Then again, I’d argue
you don’t need that much RAM anyway
 on the Realme. But hey, why settle for less when you can get more? You’re also saving a bit more money with the Realme 2 Pro.

Conclusion

The Realme 2 Pro is a
very
 good mid-range smartphone. It has a minimalist, no-nonsense design, it has ample amount of RAM and storage (with a good level of performance), and most importantly, it doesn’t cost a fortune.

But you will have to contend with the oddities of ColorOS, not to mention mediocre camera performance and average battery life. If you can live with the Realme 2 Pro’s drawbacks, you will be very happy with this mid-range phone.

Especially with its excellent value for money.


Do We Really Need a PlayStation Vita Successor?

Update, 29 November 12PM:
 It appears the patent application is merely for Sony’s existing product, the Sony Toio – a “toy platform” for kids. Well, it seems like the dream of a new handheld from Sony isn’t as close as we think it is.

The cartridge can be seen at the top left corner

Our original article follows, and although the patent isn’t for a new Sony handheld console, we’re going to discuss if Sony should venture back into the handheld market.

Recently, a patent application granted to Sony surfaced on the internet. The filing’s details were released by the Korean Intellectual Property Right Information Service (KIPRIS), which shows a patent for an electronic game cartridge.

It’s not known exactly what Sony plans to do with the patent, but there is a chance – a marginal one, perhaps – the Japanese company is planning to release a new handheld console; a successor to the ill-fated PlayStation Vita. But let’s assume Sony is doing just that: do we really need a new handheld from PlayStation?

If Sony does plan to release a successor to the PS Vita, it has a lot on its shoulders. I’m all for a new PlayStation handheld console, but Sony cannot repeat what it did with the Vita. Most importantly, the company has to figure out how a new handheld system will co-exist with its home console.

It will be tough to balance the two types of console, and it’s made even harder with the existence of the Nintendo Switch. It’s unique in the sense that it is both a handheld and home console, and if the Switch’s sales figure is anything to go by, consumers love it. There’s no denying the fact that it’s a hugely successful product for Nintendo.

And it’s not like Sony can release a competing product, not when the PlayStation 4 is still around. It’s one of Sony’s most valuable assets right now, and it is easily one of the best (if not
the best
) home consoles in the market now. Any new hardware release that will affect the home console in any way will be risky.

So is it viable for Sony to release a new handheld console? Even with the PS Vita’s lacklustre reception? Definitely. I’d argue Sony shouldn’t compete with the Switch head-on. Rather, it should focus on providing a
better
handheld gaming experience than what the Switch offers. On top of that, the new handheld can even fill the void left by the Nintendo 3DS, now that Nintendo is putting its focus on the Switch.

For Sony to go against Nintendo in the handheld market, good hardware should be prioritised, and Sony is more than capable at accomplishing this. Not only does it have experience with manufacturing smartphones, Sony also did a very good job with the PS Vita’s hardware. When the handheld was initially released back in 2011, it had cutting-edge specifications and solid build quality. I reckon it won’t be a problem for Sony to replicate this with a new handheld.

But there are a couple of areas where Sony can still improve upon in the hardware department. More specifically, there should be no proprietary storage or ports, which are some of the Vita’s pain points. Not only is it impossible to charge the device if you lost the original charger, the proprietary memory cards are also
very
 expensive. A microSD card and a microUSB (or preferably, USB Type-C) port would’ve made a world of difference to the PS Vita’s reception.

Another thing that is even more crucial – and one of the reasons why the Vita isn’t seeing much success – is offering a wider array of games that are not just from indie developers. After all, what’s the use of good hardware if there are no games worth playing? Software is every bit as important as hardware.

Considering the sheer number of exclusive titles available on the PS4, it’s not impossible for Sony to do the same thing with a new handheld console. Not only will it encourage consumers to pick up the system over any other product in the same category, it’s one way for Sony to get the upper hand when competing against hugely popular mobile games.

I can’t speak on behalf of what consumers what, but I do think a full-fledged, elaborate game with good replay value is much more enjoyable than the majority of mobile games. Yes, mobile games have come a long way, but they still don’t offer the same kind of immersion and experience of a proper console title. Of course, this is my own personal opinion.

There is certainly room for a new handheld console in the market, especially for a company as established and experienced as Sony. But this is assuming Sony is in fact planning to release a new PlayStation handheld console.

Personally, I do think Sony should release a successor to the PlayStation Vita, especially if the company has a solid game plan. Until that happens, I’ll
continue using my Vita to play PlayStation Classic titles
.


Artifact Hands-On: Valve’s Dota 2 Card Game Is Wonderfully Complex & Costly

When it comes to digital card games, not that many titles are as prominent as Hearthstone. In fact, I reckon that’s the game most people will think of when it comes to online card game. In a bid to take some of that spotlight from Hearthstone, Valve is introducing its first card game: Artifact.

Officially available on Steam today, Artifact may seem like the card game version of Dota 2, but it is so much more than that. It doesn’t play like your usual card game either, and it is both complex and simple enough for newcomers to take a stab at the game.

However, those who plan to really get into Artifact will have to invest quite a bit of time and money, though the monetary investment can be offset if you’re extremely proficient at the game. I’ve spent some time exploring Artifact, and while I don’t particularly love its intricacies, Valve’s new game is definitely worth checking out for card game lovers.

Unlike conventional card games, Artifact has three distinct “lanes,” much like Dota 2. Each lane is a board of its own, and they all have a tower with 40 health. If a tower is destroyed, it will reveal the Ancient, which has 80 health.

To win the game, all you have to do is destroy two towers, or destroy an Ancient. Simple, right? Nope, not exactly.

The idea is simple, but the process to deal damage to the towers and Ancients is quite complex. You start off the game with five heroes (most of which are existing Dota 2 heroes) in your deck: three are placed at each individual lane randomly, and the fourth and fifth hero will only enter the game in the second and third rounds respectively.

And then there’s another layer of intricacy. Depending on the colour of your hero on
each individual lane
, you can only play cards of that colour. For example, Axe is a red hero, so you can only play red cards on that particular lane. If you don’t have any hero on the lane, you…basically can’t do much.

If this sounds familiar to seasoned card players, it should: it’s very similar to Magic: The Gathering’s mana colour restriction. This comes at no surprise either, as the lead designer of Artifact, Richard Garfield, is the creator of Magic.

Okay, so heroes can obviously deal damage to towers and Ancients, and creeps can do the same thing too. However, this is only when they are not blocked by an opposing creep or hero. Damage will always go through them first before it is dealt to towers, though there are certain exceptions to this rule.

Given all of these restrictions and complexities, a single game of Artifact can
easily
take anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes – that’s a very lengthy period for one match. This is especially the case if we compare it to other card games like Hearthstone, where some games can wrap up in less than five minutes.

That being said, Artifact does teach players the mechanics very efficiently in the two tutorial matches, so those who are new to the game won’t feel lost out of the gate. On top of that, Artifact’s complex mechanics is not necessarily a bad thing either. In fact, some players will love the many different facets and strategies the game offers. Once some form of meta is established, I imagine Artifact will get even more interesting.

But I’m still not a huge fan of Artifact’s complex nature. It’s easy to learn how the game works, but it’s hard to really master it. To be fair, I’ve only spent a few hours in the game, so my sentiment of Artifact may change as I play more matches. I would really love to get into the game and be somewhat proficient at it, but I’m hesitant for one reason: it requires a lot of investment.

Needless to say, time investment is a given, but what I’m hesitant about is the price of entry. In Malaysia, Artifact costs RM85 just to start playing. Of course, the price also include two starter packs, 10 packs of cards, and five Event Tickets. But chances are, these are not enough to build a viable competitive deck.

That is, unless you’re amazing at the game. If you are, you can basically spend your time in Expert Play mode to keep getting more packs and Event Tickets to complete your card collection. If you can consistently get five wins in Expert Constructed, you’ll gain two packs (for free, basically) and your Event Ticket back.

For less skilled players, there are a couple of ways they can complete their card collection. The most obvious choice is to buy packs for RM8 each, which is a bit of a gamble. The more cost-efficient way, on the other hand, is to just buy them on the Steam Community Market.

The thing is, there is no daily quests or challenges “free to play” players can complete to earn packs in Artifact. The
only
 option, as I’ve mentioned, is to be really good at the game. If you can get at least four wins without losing twice in one of the Expert modes (which require one Event Ticket to enter), you will gain one free pack and your Ticket back.

If you opt to complete your card collection through the Steam Community Market instead, you will have to spend quite a bit of money. Take the Axe hero card, which is currently going for RM60; that’s the price of only
one
 card. Thankfully, you can only put in one copy of a hero card in your deck, so you really only need to buy one piece.

There’s no doubt that Artifact is a very polished digital card game, and anyone who’s a fan of card games will find a lot of things to love. But these folks also know how expensive card games can get, and Artifact is one of them.

I will be playing Artifact a lot more in the coming weeks, though I’m doubtful I’ll ever put in more money into the game. Nonetheless, I do enjoy playing the Casual Phantom Draft mode. While I wouldn’t be gaining any pack from it, I’ll still be getting the full drafting experience.

And if I’m confident enough, I may even use one of my Event Tickets to try out the real Phantom Draft to win some packs. Just maybe.


How to Install a Fresh Copy of Windows 10 on Your PC

You’ve
built your PC
, got it to boot up, and you’re ready to install Windows 10 on it. In this second and final part of our
PC build guide
, we’ll show you guys how to install a fresh copy of Windows 10 on your brand new PC. It’s a surprisingly simple process, so let’s get to it.

Preparing an Installation Media

First things first, you’ll have to create an installation media to install Windows 10. You will need a machine that’s already running on Windows, and an empty flash drive with at least 8GB of storage. Once you’ve got these, head to Microsoft’s site
here
, and download the media creation tool.

In the installation process, you will be prompted to setup a few things. Most of them are quite self-explanatory, but make sure that you select the architecture to 64-bit. Most modern machines are already running on this architecture, so unless you’re installing Windows 10 on a much older machine, choose 64-bit.

Just follow the on-screen instructions – make sure you select USB flash drive as the installation media – and when you’re done, you have yourself a bootable USB drive to install Windows 10.

Now, plug in the USB drive to your new PC, and you’re ready for the next step.

Installation Process

Okay, so plug in the USB drive (use the motherboard’s USB port instead of the case’s, if possible), and boot up your PC. When you see the BIOS splash screen, press the Delete or F2 key repeatedly to enter the BIOS settings page. The exact key you have to press may differ from one motherboard to another, so just keep an eye at the bottom of the splash screen to look for the correct key.

Once you’re in the BIOS settings screen, look for the name of the USB drive with the installation media, and set it as the
first
 priority drive in the boot sequence. This way, the system will load up the USB drive first to start the Windows 10 installation. Now, boot up your system again, and if everything’s done right, it should lead you to the Windows 10 installation menu.

From there, follow the on-screen instructions, and when it prompts you to enter your product key, you have two options. Obviously, if you already bought a copy of Windows 10, key in the product key. But if you don’t have any product key, fret not: just select the “I don’t have a product key” option at the bottom.

What’s the downside of doing this? Not much, really. If you select this option, you are effectively running a “free copy” of Windows 10. It’s a perfectly functional version of the operating system, but there are a couple of limitations to running a non-activated copy of Windows 10.

For one, you will need to live with a persistent watermark asking you to activate Windows at the bottom right of the screen. On top of that, you don’t have the freedom to change your desktop wallpaper either. Basically, these are mostly cosmetic issues. You will still get Windows updates, and you can use it normally.

That being said, you should definitely buy a product key for Windows 10 as and when you can, especially if you will be using the PC for business purposes.

After the product key page, you will be asked where you would like to install Windows 10. If you have an SSD and a HDD in your system (like ours), make sure you select the former drive. SSDs are generally much faster than HDDs, so by installing Windows in an SSD, your system will operate much faster. Boot time, for one, will be considerably shorter.

Select your drive, click next, and let the installer do its thing. After it’s done, that’s it – you’re done installing Windows 10 on your PC!

Setting Up Your Second Drive

If you have a second drive on your PC, we’re not quite done yet. By default, your PC won’t recognise it; you’ll have to initialise it for the drive to appear. To do this, run Disk Management, and look for the second drive. Right click on the “Unallocated” space, and select New Simple Volume. It will then guide you through the setup process, so just follow the instructions, and you’re done.

That is how you install Windows 10 on a brand new PC, and this concludes our PC build guide. Next, we will be reviewing the Ryzen 5 2600 processor and Radeon RX 580 GPU, which we reckon is one of the best CPU and GPU combos for those who are looking to get the most value for their money. Keep an eye out for that!


Why Is Everyone Ignoring the Smartphone “Chin” Problem?

Display notches on smartphones, like it or not, are here to stay. Since the
iPhone X
 debuted with a notch – though it was the Essential Phone that did it first – many other smartphone makers released their own take on notched displays. In a bid to maximise display area, the notch is a necessary evil, for the lack of a better word.

However, it’s odd how these very same phone makers are not following suit with the iPhone X’s other design element: a “chin-less” display. So far, there are practically no other phones that have a display
like the new iPhones
, and that’s unfortunate.

So the question is, why is everyone still focusing on “solving” the notch problem? Eventually, manufacturers will have to address the chin problem too if they really want to realise the “all-screen dream.” With that in mind, we’re gonna take a look at how Apple managed to eliminate the chin, and how other phone makers can possibly do it as well.

Let’s start with the iPhone X, which arguably started it all. Its notch aside, the phone practically has no bottom bezel, and this sleek design is brought over to the
iPhone XS
 and XS Max too. The iPhone XR, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly have the same aesthetic.

While it doesn’t technically have a chin, the bezels surrounding the phone are much thicker than those found on the more expensive iPhone models. This, in turn, effectively hides the chin. It’s a smart workaround, and it doesn’t look half bad – unless you put it next to the iPhone XS.

So why does the iPhone XR have thicker surrounding bezels than its higher-end siblings? Simple: it’s using an LCD panel. The thing is, the iPhone X and its successors’ chin-less displays are achieved with their flexible OLED panels.

Popular YouTuber Marques Brownlee explained this very well in his video above. Basically, Apple folds the iPhone X’s display at the bottom in order to make room for the ribbon connecting the screen to the phone’s logic board. Obviously, this cannot be replicated with the iPhone XR, which uses a rigid LCD panel instead.

Not only is this a costly method to eliminate the chin, it also makes the phone thicker as a result. But hey, it’s a sacrifice Apple was willing to make, and it gives the iPhone X and its successors a display no other phone maker managed to replicate…yet.

Is it possible for Android manufacturers to use the same method? Sure, it’s very probable. Chances are, it’s a question of whether or not they’re
willing
to do it. After all, not many smartphone makers can follow Apple’s premium pricing strategy with its iPhones.

The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3

That being said, once there’s a more cost-effective way to remove the display chin, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume that more smartphones will sport chin-less displays. However, it’s still up to phone makers to figure out a more efficient method of doing this, and that’s assuming it’s an “issue” these manufacturers are actually looking into.

Considering the creative ways phone makers are solving the notch conundrum – I’m a fan of the
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3
‘s
sliding mechanism
 – it would’ve been fantastic if they can eliminate the bottom bezel too. Aesthetically, it also looks much more symmetrical to have equal amount of bezel at the top and bottom of the display.

And of course, we’ll
finally
 have a true all-screen smartphone. No notch. No camera hole. No chin.

But until that day comes, the iPhone X, XS, and XS Max will remain to be the very few phones without a noticeable smartphone chin. In fact, even the iPhone XR is somewhat in the same category too, though it doesn’t look quite as sleek or elegant as its more costly siblings.

Personally, I’m looking forward to the possibility of an Android smartphone without any noticeable chin. While it won’t be the first phone to do it, it’ll definitely capture a lot of attention in the Android space.


Acer TravelMate X3310 Hands-On: For the Practical User

Acer just launched a bunch of new Windows 10 machines in Malaysia, and among them is the  Acer TravelMate X3310 laptop. The TravelMate series is Acer’s range of business-centric laptops, and the X3310 is the latest one in the lineup.

I spent some time with the TravelMate X3310 at Acer’s launch event earlier today, and while it doesn’t offer the best value for money, the laptop definitely has its appeals – especially for those who want practicality above all else.

Powering the TravelMate X3310 is an Intel Core i5-8250U processor paired with 8GB of RAM, and it also has a 256GB M.2 SATA SSD; standard affair for a productivity-focused laptop. There’s no dedicated graphics card here, so the X3310 relies solely on Intel’s integrated UHD Graphics 620 GPU.

Business laptops don’t usually come with amazing graphics capability, so Acer’s choice of going with an integrated GPU is just fine.

Thanks to the fast i5-8250U processor and SSD storage, the TravelMate X3310 should be fast enough for the average business user. In my brief time with the laptop, it certainly feels fast and zippy. It’s a given: the quad-core i5-8250U is a capable processor.

How about the TravelMate X3310’s display? It’s pretty good. Sporting a 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display, it’s
just
bright enough for comfortable use outdoor. On top of that, you don’t have to worry too much about reflection either – the screen has a matte finish.

Speaking of display, I’m not a fan of the TravelMate X3310’s large bezels. Not only does it make the 13.3-inch laptop much bigger than it should be, it lends to a dated-looking design too. If there’s any consolation to this, the whole bezel is actually rubberised, which feels nice to the touch. This is much, much better than the use of plastic.

Design-wise, the TravelMate X3310 is supposedly a very durable laptop. According to Acer, this laptop can survive a drop from up to 122cm; pretty impressive. The Taiwanese company also elaborated that the X3310 is MIL-STD certified, so it can definitely take a beating or two.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the TravelMate X3310 is its wide selection of ports, which is in line with its appeal as a business laptop. It comes with a USB Type-C connection, three USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, one HDMI port, an RJ45 connection, and even a VGA output.

In a laptop market where the selection of ports are getting increasingly little, the X3310’s generous port offering is a rare – and very welcomed – sight.

Now let’s get to the good stuff: the TravelMate X3310’s input devices. Personally, I consider the keyboard one of the most important hardware on a laptop, and the X3310 has a…decent one. While the keyboard doesn’t have much travel, the tactility of the keys make for a pleasant typing experience. I can type on this laptop almost as fast as I can on a full-size mechanical keyboard.

As for the trackpad, it’s quite good too. The trackpad’s smooth surface is nice to the touch, it can track my fingers accurately, and trackpad gestures work as intended. Basically, it’s a functional trackpad.

The Acer TravelMate X3310 is a good business-centric laptop, but it also carries a rather steep price tag. For the Malaysian market, the X3310 retails at RM4,099, and that’s for the 256GB model with 8GB of RAM. Evidently, value for money is not this laptop’s main appeal. You can easily get a different laptop with a similar configuration at a lower price point.

But those laptops may not have the TravelMate X3310’s winning qualities, including its large selection of ports, durable design, and long battery life. Acer claims that the X3310 can last up to 15 hours on a single charge, and if it can really achieve this figure, not many laptops can match it.

If you’re keen to check out the TravelMate X3310, it is now available for purchase in Malaysia. It comes with three years of on-site warranty, along with one year of Acer’s International Travelers Warranty.


Epic Games Opening Its Own Game Store – Can It Take on Steam?

As far as online game stores go for the PC market, it’s really dominated by one platform: Steam. Valve’s game store is practically synonymous with PC gaming, but in the very near future, it may face stiff competition from Epic Games.

That’s right, the developer of the massively popular Fortnite battle royale game will be releasing its own game store very soon. Offering better revenue split, support, and a bunch of other benefits, the Epic Games store – that’s what it will be called – may be able to take on Steam toe-to-toe.

One of the biggest benefits the Epic Games store will be offering is a much better revenue split. Typically, Valve takes about 30% of revenue earned from games on Steam, and these include game sales, downloadable content, as well as in-game purchases. Creators, on the other hand, are only left with 70% of revenue.

Needless to say, this is a sizeable cut for Valve, and Epic Games is taking advantage of this. Creators that sign on with the company’s upcoming game store will get 88% of revenue generated, while Epic will only take 12%. This reason alone may be good enough for creators to go with the Epic Games store instead of Steam.

Of course, that’s not the only incentive Epic Games is offering. On top of the attractive revenue split, creators that use Epic’s Unreal Engine on its game store won’t have to pay the 5% royalty fee for the engine. Instead, that 5% will be taken from Epic’s own 12% revenue cut.

But it’s worth noting that Valve recently announced a new revenue split for Steam, though it will only really benefit games that can generate revenue well above $10 million. For games on Steam that garner sales between $10 million to $50 million, Valve will get 25% of the revenue. Games that go above the $50 million mark, on the other hand, will see the revenue split go down to “only” 20% for Valve.

As for games on the platform that generate less than $10 million in revenue, the revenue split is still 30/70, with 30% going to Valve.

Monetarily, it makes a lot of sense to go with the Epic Games store than Steam. The fact that creators who sign on with Epic will receive a larger chunk of revenue generated regardless of how much revenue they can generate will be
especially
beneficial to smaller indie developers.

Although money plays a huge role, it’s not the only reason creators would want to go with Epic’s game store. For starters, the company’s Support-A-Creator program from Fortnite will be brought to the game store.

Basically, the Support-A-Creator program allows streamers and content creators to earn a set amount of money for publicising certain games. For example, streamers who refer players to buy a developer’s game  will earn a share of the revenue set by said developer. In a way, it’s a channel for developers to market their games to a wider audience.

To encourage developers and publishers to opt-in for the Support-A-Creator program, Epic will be covering 5% of the creator revenue-sharing for the next 24 months – plenty of time for the program to get some traction.

However, can Epic Games really take on Valve’s hugely popular Steam platform? At the end of the day, it will depend on how many creators Epic can persuade to release their games on its platform. In fact, the company will reveal the lineup of third-party games that will be available on its game store at launch this Thursday at The Game Awards.

Naturally, Epic Games will be releasing its game store for PC and Mac first. Sometime in 2019, Epic is planning to expand its store to the mobile market too, though it will likely be available on Android only. After all, it’s unlikely Apple will be open to having a competitor to its App Store on iOS. Even though Epic’s game store is, well, only limited to games.

Epic Games has the infrastructure, experience, and ability to deal with the intricacies of running a game store, and this can be largely attributed to its success with Fortnite. If publishers and developers are keen to work with Epic, there’s a very good chance the Epic Games store will succeed.


Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 – What You Need to Know

Qualcomm has revealed its next generation flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 855. Likely to power the majority of high-end smartphones next year, the 855 brings with it a slew of improvements, including 5G support, better power efficiency, and notable performance gains.

Well, here’s what you need to know about the Snapdragon 855, Qualcomm’s best chipset yet.

Much like the Apple A12 Bionic and Huawei Kirin 980 chips, the Snapdragon 855 is also built on a 7nm process. The biggest change the smaller manufacturing node brings is superior power efficiency, which should translate to better battery life on devices with the new chipset.

Of course, the Snapdragon 855 also offers better performance level. According to Qualcomm, the 855’s Kryo 485 cores deliver up to 45% better CPU performance. These eight cores are divided accordingly: one 2.84GHz prime core, three 2.42GHz performance cores, and finally, four 1.8GHz efficiency cores.

The Snapdragon 855’s new Adreno 640 GPU, on the other hand, is said to bring 20% improvement in the graphics department. This isn’t a huge leap in performance, but we’ll reserve judgment until we’ve tested a device powered by the new chipset.

Performance aside, what’s particularly interesting about the Snapdragon 855 is its focus on 5G technology. However, the chip itself doesn’t offer 5G support. Instead, it’s a separate add-on in the form of the X50 modem that manufacturers can opt to include.

On its own, the Snapdragon 855 comes with the X24 modem, which is still plenty capable. It enables support for Cat 20 LTE speeds of up to 2Gbps – this is the first chip in the world to offer this capability – and faster WiFi speeds. Chances are, a lot of manufacturers will go for this X24 modem without the addition of the X50 modem.

Not only will the X50 modem add to the cost of the chipset (effectively increasing the price of devices with said modem), 5G network is still…well, not widely available. That being said, we imagine there will be manufacturers which will implement the X50 modem anyway despite the increased cost – it’s good marketing.

AI is also another area Qualcomm is focusing with the Snapdragon 855. The chipset’s fourth generation AI engine – which is made up of the Kyro 485 CPU, Adreno 640 GPU, and a new Hexagon processor, which is made for accelerating AI-related tasks – brings up to three times better performance in AI tasks. Supposedly, the 855 has double the performance level of its competitors too in this area.

But these improvements wouldn’t mean anything if it’s not used, so Qualcomm is working with Google to take advantage of the Snapdragon 855’s AI capability. Google Lens, for one, will work faster on  devices powered by the new chipset.
According to The Verge
, several key Lens processing are done on the chipset itself, resulting in better efficiency.

Qualcomm is tweaking how the Snapdragon 855’s image signal processor (ISP) works too. The new Spectra 380 ISP can now do 4K HDR video recording at 60fps, while
simultaneously
allowing depth sensing features. This, in turn, allows manufacturers to, say, enable Portrait Mode in real time.

Interestingly, Qualcomm is also adding support for high efficiency image files (HEIF) with the Snapdragon 855, which offers a number of advantages over the JPEG file format. The most immediate benefit of HEIF is the fact that it takes up less space to save images, and more importantly, Android 9 Pie supports the file format too.

If HEIF sounds familiar, it should – Apple transitioned to this file format for quite some time now on iOS and macOS.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 is a marked improvement over the Snapdragon 845, and its many new features are quite exciting. It will without a doubt be featured in a large number of flagship smartphones next year, and it will be bringing true 5G connectivity to consumers.

But whether or not the industry is ready for 5G is a different question altogether, especially when it comes to the availability of 5G network. Nonetheless, the Snapdragon 855 is a promising chipset.


OnePlus 6T Review: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

In typical OnePlus fashion, the company released a second flagship device in the second half of the year, the OnePlus 6T. On the surface, the 6T isn’t radically different from its predecessor, but it does bring some notable improvements under the hood.

But in its pursuit to make the 6T a better device, OnePlus made several sacrifices here and there too, and some of them could prove to be deal breakers for some folks – especially for those who believed in OnePlus’ motto to “never settle.” Nonetheless, the 6T
is
 a good flagship smartphone, but it’s not without flaws.

Specifications

Display
6.41-inch FHD+ Optic AMOLED (2340 x 1080)
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 2.8GHz octa-core
GPU
Adreno 630
RAM
6/8GB
Storage
128/256GB, non-expandable
Camera (rear)
16MP f/1.7 + 20MP f/1.7
Camera (front)
16MP f/2.0
Battery
3,700mAh
Dimensions
157.5 x 74.8 x 8.2 mm
Weight
185g
OS
OxygenOS based on Android 9 Pie
Connectivity
LTE
Bluetooth 5.0
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
USB Type-C

Naturally, the OnePlus 6T is a well-equipped flagship smartphone. Compared to its predecessor, the 6T has a bigger 3,700mAh battery, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, as well as a slightly larger display. All of these are good things, but unfortunately, the 6T also loses its predecessor’s 3.5mm headphone jack and LED notification light.

While these aren’t necessarily must-have features, there will be folks who won’t be thrilled by these exclusions. On top of that, this doesn’t live up to OnePlus’ “never settle” motto either. But hey, it is what it is.

Design

OnePlus has improved by leaps and bounds when it comes to designing its smartphones, and the OnePlus 6T looks and feels great. The glossy metal frame feels premium, the glass back is nice to the touch, and I like the heft of the phone. It weighs 185g, and measuring 8.2mm thin, the 6T feels surprisingly slim despite packing a sizeable 3,700mAh cell.

However, the OnePlus 6T is also way too slippery for my liking. At least, this is the case with the Mirror Black model I’m reviewing. I’ve lost grip on the phone more times than I care to admit throughout the review period, and in the end, I use the device almost exclusively with the provided casing.

I legitimately feel like I will drop the phone eventually without the casing, and I’m usually very careful with my devices.

Besides that, the overall design of the OnePlus 6T is pretty darn sleek. The minimal bottom bezel is nice to look at – though I do wish it doesn’t have
any “chin” at all
 – and the small notch maximises the amount of notifications that are shown in the status bar. I would’ve preferred for there to be no notch at all, of course, but that’s a design limitation we have to live with for the time being.

Oh, OnePlus’ signature alert slider is also retained on the OnePlus 6T, and it’s
surprisingly
 handy on more than one occasion. I don’t have to fiddle with the volume button anymore to silent my phone, and with a simple flick of the slider, I can exit silent mode easily. It’s a really useful feature.

As a whole, the OnePlus 6T is a well-designed smartphone with solid build quality, though I still don’t like the slippery nature of the phone. The lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack and LED notification light may be deal breakers for certain folks too.

User Experience

OxygenOS on the OnePlus 6T (unsurprisingly) offers a very pleasant user experience. Based on Android 9 Pie, OyxgenOS has always been known as a fuss-free version of Android, and it still remains true here. There are very minimal bloatware, there’s an app drawer, and the phone feels fast and zippy no matter what I throw at it.

Of course, this level of performance and fluidity is expected for a device powered by a Snapdragon 845 SoC, and the OnePlus 6T’s very generous 8GB RAM plays a role too. Gaming on this phone is also without a doubt an enjoyable experience; as it should be for a device as powerful as this.

However, that is not to say OxygenOS doesn’t have its flaws, and there are a couple of things worth noting. For one, streaming music from the OnePlus 6T to my car’s audio system through Bluetooth hasn’t been a very smooth process. Occasionally, the audio would cut out at random intervals, and I have absolutely no idea what’s causing it.

Then again, I wasn’t able to replicate this issue consistently, so it’s not an entirely big issue. But it’s still worth a mention.

Another aspect of OxygenOS that could’ve been improved on is an always on display of sorts out of the box. Sure, it can be “enabled” with some under the hood tweaking here and there, but it would’ve been great if this feature was offered natively – even more so now because of the 6T’s lack of a notification LED light. Besides, the ambient display already looks great enough to serve as an always on display.

Speaking of display, the OnePlus 6T has a bright and vibrant 6.41-inch 1080p Optic AMOLED screen. This being an AMOLED panel, it has very deep blacks, and very punchy colours. Viewing angles, as always, are great too on this phone. The 1080p resolution may be off-putting to some folks, but it helps tremendously in battery life.

And yes, the OnePlus 6T’s generous 3,700mAh battery can return great battery life. On average, I was getting between five to six hours of screen on time, and it’s effortless to get through a typical work day with this phone. In fact, if you were a lighter user, I’m confident you can get two days worth of usage out of the 6T.

As for the phone’s charging rate, it’s pretty decent. Within 30 minutes of charging, the OnePlus 6T got up to about 50% from empty. Not the fastest charging rate I’ve seen, but still respectable nonetheless.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed using the OnePlus 6T as my daily driver. OxygenOS, despite its shortcomings, is one of my favourite versions of Android. On top of that, the phone’s in-screen fingerprint sensor, despite its slightly finicky nature (all sensors like it virtually share the same weakness), can recognise my fingerprint relatively fast when done right.

If you don’t quite like the in-screen fingerprint sensor, the 6T’s face unlock feature works very quickly too. But it’s worth noting that it will not work in complete darkness – the front-facing camera lacks any infrared module for the face unlock feature to identify faces in the dark.

Camera

More often than not, the camera performance of a flagship smartphone plays a huge rule in how desirable it is, and this is especially true for myself. After all, if I were to pay a premium price tag for a high-end phone like the OnePlus 6T, I’d expect its camera to serve me well.

And for the most part, the OnePlus 6T is a great shooter. Its 16MP f/1.7 + 20MP f/1.7 dual camera system – the very same one found in the OnePlus 6 – works great in daytime, and this comes at no surprise for a flagship smartphone. So the real question is, how good is it at nighttime photography?

Well, it’s decent. The 6T can capture good-looking low light shots without too much effort, and the night mode does help brighten up images quite a bit, though the end results can look rather artificial at times. As a whole, I’m quite satisfied with the phone’s low light camera performance.

But if you were to ask me if the OnePlus 6T can hold a candle to the camera performance of class leaders like the Samsung Galaxy S9+ or Huawei P20 Pro, it’s a definite no. OnePlus has much to do before it can compete on equal ground with those phones.

Night Mode disabled
Night Mode enabled
Night Mode disabled
Night Mode enabled

Competition

In Malaysia, the OnePlus 6T prices were recently revised. Now, the base model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage retails at RM2,458, while the 128GB and 256GB variants with 8GB of RAM go for RM2,738 and RM2,989 respectively.

These price tags are slightly on the higher side of things, and at this price point, the OnePlus 6T has quite a number of noteworthy competition.

Samsung Galaxy S9

When it comes to flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S9 sets the benchmarks on what you should expect from devices in this class, and the OnePlus 6T loses out in a few areas. Not only does Samsung’s offering has superior camera performance, it also has a more impressive display, IP68 water and dust resistance, as well as support for expandable storage.

And more importantly, the Galaxy S9 is
even more affordable
 than the OnePlus 6T now – you can currently get the S9 with 64GB of storage
for only RM2,259
. Sure, that’s only half the storage of the OnePlus 6T’s base model, and yes, this variant of the S9 only has 4GB of RAM, but I’d argue
you don’t need any more RAM than that on a smartphone
.

That is not to say you should forget about the OnePlus 6T, because it does have a couple of winning features. For one, it has better battery life thanks to its larger 3,700mAh battery, and OxygenOS’ similarity to stock Android may be more attractive to consumers, especially Android purists.

Huawei Mate 20

Huawei has come a long way in the Android space, and the Mate 20 is a testament of this. Retailing at relatively the same price point as the OnePlus 6T at RM2,799, the Mate 20 offers 128GB of expandable storage, 6GB of RAM, a newer Kirin 980 chipset, a more sophisticated 12MP + 16MP + 8MP triple camera system, as well as a larger 4,000mAh battery.

That being said, EMUI 9 on the Mate 20 is one of Huawei’s weakest points, and generally, the 6T offers better software experience thanks to the intuitive, no-nonsense software approach of OxygenOS. Aside from that, the 6T also has a more vibrant Optic AMOLED display, compared to the Mate 20’s IPS panel.

Conclusion

The OnePlus 6T is, in more areas than one, a better smartphone than its predecessor. But OnePlus also took two steps back with the 6T, and for two main reasons: the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack and a notification LED light.

Of course, the real issue goes much deeper than that: OnePlus’ motto to “never settle” is in contradiction with the absence of these two features. When the OnePlus 6 was launched, the company was more than happy to say that most of its users
want
 a headphone jack
and
 a notification LED light; two hardware that are on the OnePlus 6.

But several months later, the OnePlus 6T was introduced with these two “important” features removed. And in the process, it’s very likely that the company has disappointed some – or most – of its avid fans.

On its own, the OnePlus 6T is a great flagship smartphone with several winning qualities despite its shortcomings. In fact, it’s a phone I’d happily recommend to those who are looking for a device with good software experience and sleek design.

However, OnePlus has to figure out how to strike a good balance between what its fans want, and what itself, as a smartphone maker, wants to achieve with its products. The next phone OnePlus launches could very well be its most important one yet, and it will decide the company’s future direction.


PC Hardware Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Mechanical Keyboard Switch (For You)

There are a wide variety of mechanical keyboards in the market now, and it can be difficult to find the right one for you. There are clicky keyboards, silent keyboards, and some are even a hybrid of sorts.

But the bottom line is, mechanical keyboards offer a lot of benefits over standard, conventional keyboards. If you’re ready to make the jump, we’re help to help you find the best mechanical keyboard for yourself.

In this article, we will outline three main types of switches found on mechanical keyboards – these influence the typing experience the most. Along the way, we’ll mention some hybrid keyboards here and there too.

Clicky Switches

This is perhaps the switch that most consumers associate mechanical keyboards with. Basically, clicky switches are both tactile and…well, clicky. Every time you press down on a clicky key, you’ll get a tactile feedback
and
 an audible click. Needless to say, this is the noisiest switch of the lot.

Switches that fall into this category include the very well-known Cherry MX Blue, Razer Green, and Razer’s relatively new Opto-Mechanical switch, which takes advantage of optical technology for actuation. Unlike the former two, the Opto-Mechanical switch feels “lighter” to type on – it requires less force to actuate.

Razer also introduced a hybrid keyboard that implements the mechanism of a clicky switch in a membrane keyboard. Of course, we’re talking about the Razer Ornata with the “Razer Mecha-Membrane” switch. Simply put, the Ornata is a membrane keyboard that feels a lot like a mechanical one with clicky switches. Personally, despite the fact that the Ornata is a membrane keyboard, I really like its typing experience; it’s also much quieter than, say, a conventional Cherry MX Blue keyboard.

If you do a lot of typing, and you love the clickiness of a mechanical keyboard, look out for these switches. However, do note that clicky switches, in general, can get
really
 loud. This is especially the case with more affordable mechanical keyboards.

Tactile Switches

In more ways than one, tactile switches are very similar to clicky switches; the main difference is the absence of any audible clicking. You still get the tactile bump when the keys actuate, so if you don’t want your keyboard to be too noisy, tactile switches are the next best thing.

Some well-known tactile switches include Cherry MX Brown, Razer Orange, and if you’re into more premium keyboards, Topre switch. What makes Topre switch particularly unique is its hybrid construction. While it uses rubber domes like membrane keyboards, there’s a spring underneath each dome, lending to a very unique typing experience.

Not only is the Topre switch quieter than MX Brown and Razer Orange switches, the typing experience feels a lot more refined too. While the tactile bump of a Topre switch is more subtle, the keys feel much more solid when actuated.

What’s the downside of the Topre switch? Cost. Keyboards with Topre switches are a lot more costly than MX Brown or Razer Orange keyboards. But if you ask us, there’s a good reason Topre keyboards are more expensive – the typing experience is really something else.

Linear Switches

And finally, we have linear switches, which – more often than not – are made for gamers. Typically, switches of this kind require very little actuation force, and they don’t have any tactile or audible feedback either. The logic behind this is to provide the fastest response time, which is important for gamers to get their inputs registered as quickly as possible.

Cherry MX Red and Black switches are some examples of linear switches, and the only thing that differentiates these two switches is the actuation force. MX Black switch is “heavier” than MX Red, in the sense that the former requires more force to actuate. Besides that, the Razer Yellow is also a linear switch.

Just because linear switches are meant to appeal to gamers doesn’t mean they’re not great for other purposes either – it all comes down to individual preferences. If you want a mechanical keyboard that doesn’t have any tactile bump or click, linear switches are for you.

Conclusion

There are more to mechanical keyboards than what we’re covering here, and these three distinct switches only cover the essentials. If you’re still on the fence whether or not you should get a mechanical keyboard, perhaps you can look into
a more affordable one
 – prices of mechanical keyboards have gotten down quite a bit compared to the past.


The Display Notch & Hole-Punch Design Conundrum

Smartphone makers have gotten pretty creative over the years to maximise screen real estate on their devices, and arguably the most discussed – and controversial – implementation is the display notch. Now, it appears the “hole-punch” design will be the next big thing.

But is the new hole-punch design a better alternative to the display notch? Are manufacturers better off with a different approach? That’s what we will be discussing in this article.

First, let’s talk about devices that will be sporting the new hole-punch design. One of them is the Samsung Galaxy A8s, which is the first device officially introduced with the unconventional design. Featuring what Samsung calls an Infinity-O display, the A8s’ top left corner has a cutout for the front-facing shooter.

Does it look odd? Definitely. And the rather large camera hole makes it look all the more…peculiar. But that’s where the Honor View 20 has the upper hand, which is slated to be revealed later this month on 26 December.

Even though we’re still a couple of weeks away from the View 20’s launch, the Chinese company actually revealed some information regarding the unannounced device. While we still don’t have its full list of specifications, we do know that the View 20 sports a smaller hole-punch camera design than the Galaxy A8s.

Of course, the camera cutout
still
 looks pretty odd, but based on early images of the View 20, it does look better than Samsung’s implementation. Although the hole-punch on Honor’s phone is only marginally smaller than the Galaxy A8s’, it is tiny enough to not be as distracting as Samsung’s design.

The Honor View 20
Teaser for the Huawei Nova 4

These two phones are not the only ones that will be sporting a hole-punch design. Huawei will also be revealing its own device, the Nova 4, with the peculiar camera cutout on 17 December. Chances are, the Nova 4 will share some design elements of the View 20 – both Huawei and Honor are related, after all.

So there are at least three devices that will be featuring the new hole-punch design, and quite possibly more will follow suit. Samsung’s next flagship device, the Galaxy S10, is rumoured to use the Infinity-O display too. It’s not confirmed yet, of course, but we wouldn’t dismiss the possibility either.

Now, aesthetically, I do prefer the looks of the hole-punch design than a display notch. The thing is, the amount of space that a notch takes up – more often than not – is larger than a small, round cutout for the front-facing camera. As a hole-punch design takes up less screen real estate, devices with the camera cutout looks sleeker as a whole.

Well, aside from the obvious downside of having an odd hole in your screen.

The Mi Mix 3

But
there is
 an alternative to either one of these two design approaches: a
sliding mechanism
, like the one found on the
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3
. There are pros and cons to this mechanism – the long-term durability of the moving parts is one of the biggest concerns – but this design allows for a
truly
 bezel-less display. You won’t have to worry about any notch or weirdly positioned hole in your smartphone screen.

There is, however, one more thing that needs to be addressed before we get a full, all-screen smartphone. Yeap, I’m talking about the smartphone chin, and it’s something Apple completely removed
last year
 with the
iPhone X
. Nonetheless, I digress. You can read up all about smartphone chins
in this article
.

Given a choice, I would opt for a phone with a sliding mechanism to get a truly bezel-less display. But if I absolutely have to pick between a notched display or a hole-punch design, I’d go for the latter. The fact that a hole-punch design isn’t as intrusive as a notch does make it more appealing despite its potential downsides.

In fact, how the hole-punch design will affect a smartphone’s user experience will be important, especially when it comes to media consumption. It could very well be a weakness the hole-punch design shares with notched displays, so it’s up to phone makers to ensure the camera cutout does not affect the user experience too much.


Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2 Hands-On: Refining the Formula

The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 offered a lot of value for the money, and it’s one of the most interesting smartphones you can get for under RM1,000 when it was released earlier this year. Now, we have its successor, the ZenFone Max Pro M2.

Sporting a faster processor, a more elegant design, and the same 5,000mAh battery capacity, the Max Pro M2 brings quite a number of upgrades while retaining an affordable price tag. But does it improve upon the M1’s weaknesses? Let’s find out.

The most noticeable difference between the Max Pro M2 and its predecessor is the phone’s sleeker-looking design. Now sporting a glossy frame and reflective back panel, it looks a lot more modern than the M1. The only downside to this, of course, is the fact that the M2 now has a polycarbonate construction instead of metal.

However, although metal
sounds more appealing than polycarbonate
, I definitely prefer the Max Pro M2’s design language. Despite its “cheaper” build material, it still feels plenty solid in my hands.

But if you’re not a fan of notches, you won’t like the ZenFone Max Pro M2’s new display. Now sporting a 6.26-inch 2280 x 1080 IPS display, the M2 has a…reasonably small notch at the top of the screen. The bottom bezel, on the other hand, is quite sizeable.

Looking beyond the notch and bottom bezel, the Max Pro M2’s display looks pretty good. It’s a bright panel with punchy colours, and it looks sharp enough despite its 1080p resolution. Battery life is one of the main appeals of the M2, so the 1080p resolution will help with the phone’s battery life.

Featuring a large 5,000mAh battery, I’m positive the Max Pro M2 can return excellent battery life – I’m pleasantly surprised at how light the phone is too. Tipping the scales at only 175g, it’s even lighter than its predecessor.

Besides that, you should see a boost in performance with the Max Pro M2 as well. Compared to its predecessor’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset, the Snapdragon 660 SoC powering the M2 is more capable with a higher clock speed and better GPU. I haven’t been able to run any mobile games on the M2, but based on my previous experience with other Snapdragon 660 devices, it should be quite enjoyable to game on.

What about the software experience of the Max Pro M2? Well, it’s decent. Running on a very stock version of Android, the phone feels fast and zippy with minimal bloatware. These are good qualities, but it remains to be seen if the M2 has any glaring software issues. After all, the Max Pro M1 didn’t have the best software experience.

Last but not least is the Max Pro M2’s camera performance. On the back, it has a 12MP f/1.8 + 5MP f/2.4 dual camera system, and the selfie camera is a 13MP f/2.0 shooter. Overall, the performance of rear cameras seem to be reasonably good: shots are properly exposed, and it can capture decent amount of details.

However, I only managed to snap some pictures with the M2 in daytime condition. More often than not, the camera performance of smartphones – especially affordable ones – takes a dive when shooting under less than ideal lighting. Hopefully, the M2 doesn’t fall into the same category.

The Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2’s main strength lies in its large battery capacity and affordable price tag. Retailing from only RM859 for the 64GB model with 4GB of RAM (complete with a microSD card slot), it offers great value for money. If you want more RAM, the 64GB variant with 6GB of RAM goes for RM999.

Considering the feature set of the ZenFone Max Pro M2 and its asking price, it’s quite a compelling smartphone. But it’s only really worth considering if it can overcome its predecessor’s shortcomings, which include average camera performance and finicky software experience.

If the Max Pro M2 shows improvement in these two areas, it would be one of the most compelling phones in the sub-RM1,000 price point. Of course, only a full review of the phone can shed some light on this.


Asus ROG Zephyrus S Hands-On: A Slim, Capable, Expensive Gaming Laptop

Thin and light gaming laptops have been around for quite some time now, and in recent times, laptops in this class have gotten much more refined. Take the Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX531GM, which has just landed in Malaysia. Sporting a very thin design with equally thin screen bezel, it’s a really handsome gaming laptop.

But unfortunately, as sleek as the Zephyrus S is, it’s also a very costly gaming laptop – its hardware does not match its steep asking price either. Nonetheless, let’s see what the laptop is all about.

Without a doubt the highlight feature of the Zephyrus S is its slim design, and measuring 14.95mm to 15.75mm thin, this is easily one of the slimmest gaming laptops in the market now. Weighing 2.1kg, it’s not all that heavy either. You’d still feel the weight of the laptop in your backpack, of course, but it’s still relatively lightweight for a gaming machine.

Besides that, most of the Zephyrus S’ chassis is made out of metal, and it feels very premium. Build quality is definitely one of the laptop’s strong points, but I don’t particularly like the plastic bezel surrounding the display. It feels cheap, and it doesn’t fit the Zephyrus’ positioning as a premium gaming laptop.

On the bright side, the Zephyrus S does have very thin bezels. This gives the laptop a very modern-looking design, but if I were to nitpick, I wish the bottom bezel can be reduced too. It would’ve made this gaming laptop an even sleeker-looking machine.

When it comes to connectivity, the Zephyrus S is quite alright. It features two USB-C ports, three full-size USB connections, an HDMI port at the back of the laptop, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. It would’ve been great if it had an ethernet port too, but it’s likely Asus didn’t want to sacrifice the Zephyrus’ thin design.

Oh, interestingly, the Zephyrus S also has a rather ingenious design to help with airflow. It’s something Asus calls Active Aerodynamic System (AAS) – when you open the lid of the Zephyrus, the bottom portion of the laptop opens up ever so slightly at the back to improve cooling.

I can’t say for sure if this unique design will
really
 help with the laptop’s cooling performance, but Asus claims that it improves airflow by up to 22%.

Okay, so that’s the design of the Zephyrus S; what about its other hardware? Powered by an Intel Core i7-8750H processor paired with 16GB of DDR4 2666MHz RAM, it should have enough processing power for gaming and everyday usage. However, the Malaysian market will only get the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU option; no choice for a GTX 1070 model.

While the GTX 1060 GPU – the 6GB variant, of course – under the hood of the Zephyrus S is capable enough to run modern games well, it doesn’t match the asking price of the laptop. Anyway, more on that later.

Aside from that, the Zephyrus S also comes with a 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 AHVA display with a 144Hz refresh rate. It’s a fast panel, no doubt, and it’s fitting for a premium gaming laptop. Although it’s not an IPS display, the Zephyrus still has a bright and vibrant screen with good viewing angles.

In terms of storage, the Zephyrus S has a very generous 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIE SSD – a very fast drive.

Moving on, we have the Zephyrus S’ RGB keyboard, which is positioned on the front of the laptop for better cooling performance. Offering only 1.2mm of travel, the keyboard feels shallow to type on, but the keys are quite tactile. This makes for a rather pleasant typing experience, and even though the Zephyrus S doesn’t offer the best typing experience (not by a long shot), I can adjust pretty seamlessly to the keyboard.

Much like its predecessor, the Zephyrus S’ trackpad…is on the right side of the laptop. I have to be honest: it feels very jarring to use at first. However, I’m positive I can get used to the odd positioning after some time, and the trackpad can track my fingers accurately. I also like the fact that the trackpad also doubles as a numpad with the touch of a button.

That being said, it would’ve been great if the trackpad was slightly larger – it feels pretty crammed.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus S is a premium gaming laptop, and it has several winning qualities, including a slim and light design, fast display, and great build quality. Unfortunately, it carries a very premium price tag too. In Malaysia, the Zephyrus S retails at a whopping RM7,999.

For that kind of money, you can easily get a more capable gaming laptop than the Zephyrus S. In fact, a laptop with a GTX 1070 GPU won’t be all that hard to find at this price point. However, it will be quite a challenge to find a laptop with a similar design as the Zephyrus S.

If there’s any reason you’d want to get the Zephyrus S over any other gaming laptop, it would be for the design of the machine. You can definitely get another laptop with similar hardware for less money, but if you want a slim and light machine like the Zephyrus S, you’ll have to fork out a premium for it.


PC Hardware Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Right Gaming Monitor

What makes a “gaming rig” is more than just a high-end CPU and powerful GPU; the monitor you choose will impact your gaming experience quite a bit too. Sure, you could just buy an affordable monitor – or hook it up to your TV – but if you really want the best gaming experience, investing in a proper gaming monitor is worth it.

In this article, we’ll outline several important aspects of a gaming monitor. Hopefully, these will help you choose the best gaming monitor for yourself.

Panel Technology

There are three main types of LCD display panel: IPS, TN, and VA. Out of the three, an IPS (in-plane switching) display has the best image quality. It has better colours, viewing angles, and generally, a lot more pleasant to look at.

However, an IPS panel does have a few shortcomings. For one, it has the worst response time (more on that later) compared to TN and VA displays, making it less ideal for competitive gaming. Aside from that, the refresh rate of IPS panels are usually not as high as the other two display technologies. In terms of cost, IPS monitors are usually more pricey too.

Next, we have TN (twisted nematic) display, which is – most of the time – the fastest panel technology. Not only does it have the best response time, its refresh rate can go very, very high too. In fact, only TN monitors can offer a 240Hz refresh rate right now.

What’s the downside? Well, TN panels have the worst image quality. Viewing angles aren’t great, colours will look washed out, and if you’re using a TN monitor for anything other than gaming, you won’t enjoy the experience very much. This is especially the case if you’re a designer who needs accurate colour reproduction.

This is only TN displays in general, of course. It’s very possible to find high quality TN panels with great colour reproduction and what not, but these are usually a rarity.

Last but not least is VA (vertical alignment) display, and it can be considered as a hybrid of IPS and TN panels. It has better image quality than TN panels (but not IPS), and it has faster response time and refresh rate over IPS panels (but not TN).

In short, a VA panel is not as fast as TN, and its image quality is not as good as IPS – it’s the middle ground.

Depending on what you want out of your gaming monitor, either one of these panel technologies will suit your needs. Strictly speaking, TN panels will be the best for competitive gaming with its high refresh rate and response time. But if you don’t need a ridiculously fast monitor, an IPS panel will be much more pleasant to look at.

Refresh Rate

If you want a buttery smooth gaming experience, you’ll need a monitor with a high refresh rate. Basically, if your monitor has a 60Hz refresh rate – that’s the refresh rate of the average monitor – it can display 60 frames per second. Hence, the higher the refresh rate, the smoother your games will look like, though this will depend on how powerful your GPU is.

Generally, a 144Hz monitor is more than enough for the average gamer, and you have a variety of panel technologies to choose from. Yes, there are even IPS monitors with that high of a refresh rate in the market now.

Response Time

Ideally, you’ll want to find a gaming monitor with the lowest response time. What is response time? It’s the amount of time each individual pixel of a monitor takes to change from one colour to another. As far as gaming is concerned, a low response time is very important.

If a monitor has a high response time, you will notice ghosting in fast-moving scenes. As its name suggest, ghosting happens when there’s a trail behind moving objects. Yes, it can be very distracting, and yes, it will impact your gaming experience negatively.

Resolution

Last but not least is resolution, and the rule of thumb is: the higher, the better…in most cases. If your system is powerful enough, you’ll definitely want a high resolution monitor to reap the most benefit. Gaming in 1080p can be sufficient for some folks, but gaming in 1440p, or even 4K, is a completely different experience.

But going with a higher resolution monitor does have its downsides, and one of the most obvious disadvantages is a lower refresh rate. From what we gathered, the highest refresh rate a 4K monitor can go is 144Hz. This is still plenty fast for the average gamer, but if you want, say, a 240Hz monitor, you’ll have to settle for 1080p resolution.

Conclusion

A proper gaming monitor will make all the difference in your gaming experience, and even though some of them can be quite costly, it will be worth it. After all, a good monitor will most likely outlast your PC by a couple of generations, and that’s worth investing in.

Read more:

Nvidia G-Sync & AMD Radeon FreeSync Explained – Should You Get Them?


Nvidia G-Sync & AMD Radeon FreeSync Explained – Should You Get Them?

If you’re shopping for a new gaming monitor, you would’ve most likely seen Nvidia G-Sync and AMD Radeon FreeSync listed on a monitor’s list of specifications. Both of these are different adaptive sync technologies meant to eliminate screen tearing, and depending on your budget – and the GPU that you’ll pair it with, of course – you’d want one over the other.

We’ll take a closer look at both of these technologies. Even though G-Sync and FreeSync aim to solve the same problem, how they work under the hood is fundamentally different.

Nvidia G-Sync

Let’s start with Nvidia’s G-Sync technology. Compared to FreeSync, G-Sync is the more expensive option. Unlike AMD’s implementation, G-Sync requires a specific “scaler” module from Nvidia. On top of that, manufacturers that want to add G-Sync technology to their monitors will have to meet Nvidia’s strict certification process too.

All of these, in turn, raise the price of G-Sync monitors by quite a bit. But the high cost
is
 somewhat justified: you have the assurance of a good gaming experience. Regardless of which G-Sync monitor you buy, you will get more or less the same feature set, though more expensive ones will come with extra perks.

 That’s not the case with FreeSync monitors, but we’ll get to that later.

Aside from that, G-Sync has no minimum frame rate requirement to function either. Whether your GPU is pushing over 100, or only 30 frames per second, G-Sync
will
 work. Of course, FreeSync monitors can accomplish the same feat too, but this is reserved only for selected models.

Not too long ago – and with the advent of HDR monitors – Nvidia introduced G-Sync HDR, which is currently available on the highest-end gaming monitors. For monitors to carry the HDR badge, a few requirements have to met, including up to 1000 nits brightness, high refresh rate, and of course, HDR capability.

Basically, G-Sync HDR monitors will be
very
 good gaming monitors, and needless to say, they will cost substantially more than “regular” G-Sync displays.

AMD Radeon FreeSync

Based on VESA’s Adaptive Sync technology – which is a part of the DisplayPort 1.2a standard – Radeon FreeSync is available on a wide range of gaming monitors at various price points. This makes FreeSync monitors much more accessible to consumers, and this fact alone is a huge selling point.

But the affordable nature of FreeSync monitors does have a couple of downsides. As mentioned, the feature set of these monitors vary widely from one model to another. AMD’s Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) feature, for one, is only available on selected monitors. More often than not, these models are more costly too.

LFC is a pretty important feature, given the fact that FreeSync only works within certain frame rate range. This range is different from one monitor to another, and some have very restrictive range. That’s what makes LFC an important feature: it allows for FreeSync to work
outside
 of the specified range. It does this by duplicating frames to raise the frame rate to enter the FreeSync range of any given monitor.

This disparity in feature makes it much more difficult to shop for FreeSync monitors, and you’ll have to pay close attention to their specifications. To somewhat address this, AMD introduced FreeSync 2. In order for monitors to be FreeSync 2-certified, they have to include LFC, and meet AMD’s minimum brightness level and colour coverage.

In short, FreeSync 2-certified monitors will be more costly than your standard FreeSync display. It’s a given: FreeSync 2 monitors (for the most part) will perform better.

Should You Get Them?

Definitely. Adaptive sync monitors will positively impact your gaming experience by quite a margin, and even if you’re working with a tight budget, there are a wide range of affordable FreeSync monitors to choose from.

If you’re willing to drop the cash for it, G-Sync monitors will deliver a more consistent gaming experience. That is not to say FreeSync monitors are bad; it’s just a much more fragmented market than G-Sync monitors. It’s entirely possible to find for excellent FreeSync monitors, but you’ll have to really do your research to find for the right one – our
buyer’s guide
 should prove to be helpful.

And finally, this goes without saying, but make sure that you’re pairing the correct GPU with your gaming monitor. If you plan to get a G-Sync monitor, get an Nvidia GPU. Bought a FreeSync monitor? Use a Radeon GPU. Obviously, an Nvidia GPU cannot take advantage of FreeSync technology, and vice versa.

Read more:

PC Hardware Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Right Gaming Monitor


Why Am I Playing Diablo III in 2018?

Because I don’t have a phone.

Jokes aside – I obviously have a phone in this line of work – I recently got myself the PC version of Diablo III during Blizzard’s Black Friday sale. Of course, I purchased the Reaper of Souls expansion too, along with the Rise of the Necromancer pack. But the real question is: why am I playing Diablo  III,
six years
 after its initial release?

Well, for starters, it’s my first time going into a Diablo game, so it’s a brand new experience for me. After spending upwards of 50 hours in the game, I definitely see the appeal of Diablo III – it doesn’t feel out of place at all in 2018.

On the surface, Diablo III is a loot-based action RPG, and loot impacts your power level the most. There are a few game modes to choose from: Campaign, Adventure, and Challenge Rifts. But before you can access the former two, you’ll have to complete the Campaign first.

That’s totally fine, as Campaign mode is a lot of fun. This is especially the case if you’re into the lore of Diablo, and even though I have absolutely no idea what happened in the previous games, I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline.

While the Campaign is quite enjoyable, it’s only a small part of what makes Diablo III such a fun game – the Adventure mode has a lot more content to offer. You will mainly do one of two things: jump into rifts of various difficulties, or do bounties, which require you to complete random objectives in different maps.

You will be doing
a lot
 of these to complete your gear, as bounties and rifts will reward you with various equipment. This is the grinding aspect of Diablo III, which can feel cumbersome after some time. Imagine spending hours on end hunting for a specific Legendary item that refuses to drop; RNG plays a huge role in this game.

Thankfully, that’s where Seasons come into the picture. One season usually lasts for a few months, and if you complete the Season Journey’s objectives, you will be rewarded with a specific full set for your chosen character. While the sets change every season – and some are better than others – it does make it much easier to get good equipment.

But there is a caveat to Seasons: you will have to start a new character. This may sound like a lot of work, but with the right strategy (and friends to play with), you can max out your level in a relatively short amount of time. In fact, seasonal play gives older Diablo III players a reason to return every few months – it’s really quite smart.

And that brings us to the next point. Even after all these years, Diablo III is
still
constantly updated with patches and balance changes. This keeps the game feeling fresh, and previous equipment considered to be weak have a chance to shine once Blizzard rework them. This opens up the possibility of new builds too, which adds to the game’s overall fun factor.

Last but definitely not least is the amount of resources available to Diablo III. Not sure which class will suit your playstyle? Look up for gameplay videos of different classes on YouTube. Don’t know which skill build can dish out the most damage? Google them. Sites like
Icy Veins
 (and even the
Diablo subreddit
) has a lot of guides to choose from.

In short, it’s not difficult to look for guidance when it comes to Diablo III, and this will benefit newcomers to the game immensely. I personally used the video below – from YouTuber Rhykker – to decide on which class I should start for Season 15.

Diablo III, despite its age, still has a lot to offer in 2018. In fact, it was recently released on the Nintendo Switch, and it has received pretty favourable reviews. There
was
 a lot of commotion with Diablo Immortal, but that isn’t strictly related to this game.

If you haven’t had the chance to play Diablo III, you really should – it’s still relevant today, and it’s a genuinely fun game.