Apple iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR – Why Playing Catch-Up Isn’t Necessarily Bad

After months of leaks and rumours, the 2018 iPhone lineup is finally introduced. Consisting of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, these are the most expensive and premium iPhones yet.

When Apple was unveiling the new iPhones on stage, it’s evident that some of the features introduced on these new phones…have already been implemented by other phone makers. In a way, Apple is still catching up to Android manufacturers, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing – I’d even argue it’s great for the iPhones.

Before we get to it, let’s get the specifications of the new iPhones out of the way. For starters, all three of them are powered by Apple’s brand new A12 Bionic chip. Touted as the industry’s first 7nm chip – Apple is not wrong here: the 7nm Kirin 980 has not made it into a consumer product yet – the A12 Bionic promises up to 50% increase in GPU performance over its predecessor. That’s quite impressive, considering the fact that the A11 Bionic’s GPU was already one of the most powerful in the market.

Aside from that, these three iPhones now sport the iPhone X’s notched display. While the iPhone XS and XS Max are equipped with Super Retina, OLED displays (measuring 5.8-inch 2436 x 1125 and 6.5-inch 2688 x 1242 respectively), the more “affordable” XR make do with a lower resolution 6.1-inch 1792 x 828 IPS LCD display dubbed Liquid Retina.

Oh, the iPhone XR’s display doesn’t support 3D Touch either.

When it comes to photography, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max share the same dual camera system. Made up of 12MP f/1.8 wide-angle and 12MP f/2.4 telephoto lenses, both sensors are optically stabilised. On top of that, the primary 12MP wide-angle shooter also boasts larger pixels for improved camera performance.

As for the iPhone XR, it comes with a single 12MP shooter. Interestingly enough, however, it has a Portrait Mode too like its more expensive counterparts, relying instead on machine learning to simulate bokeh effects.

These three iPhones definitely bring notable improvements to the table, especially when compared to their predecessors. Now, let’s take a look at some of their new features…that were already available on Android devices for the longest time.

For one, there’s the dual SIM capability – a feature that was sorely lacking on all iPhone models prior to these new ones. Not only has dual SIM support been a staple feature among Android devices in all price points, the iPhone’s dual SIM implementation isn’t even the same: it relies on a combination of an eSIM and a dedicated SIM card slot.

That being said, Apple will be releasing different versions of the new iPhones in China with space for two physical SIM cards. But it remains to be seen if Malaysia will receive these particular models – here’s hoping we will.

Next, let’s talk about display. More specifically, the “120Hz” displays of the 2018 iPhones. To be completely honest, I was excited when the iPhones’ displays specification showed 120Hz on stage, until I found out that it’s not actually referring to the refresh rate of the screens. Instead, it’s a reference to the “touch response” of the display, which allows the phone to register your touch inputs more accurately.

So unfortunately, the Razer Phone still remains one of very few phones with a 120Hz refresh rate screen – the new iPhones still have conventional 60Hz displays.

And then we have the iPhone cameras’ new Depth Control feature, which allows you to adjust the “aperture” of an image after it has been captured. Basically, it allows you to tweak how blurry the background of a shot is. If the bokeh effect looks too artificial, just increase the aperture, and vice versa.

If this sounds familiar, it should: many Android phones have already implemented a similar feature, although to different degrees. The most recent example is from Samsung, which introduced the feature last year on the Galaxy Note 8. The feature eventually made it to the Galaxy S9+ and Note 9 too.

Depth Control is not the only new camera trick introduced on these new iPhones; there’s also Smart HDR. Say you’re trying to capture a picture on the new iPhone. Before you actually press the shutter button, the phone is already shooting at a four-frame buffer with varying exposure. Once you snapped the picture, the phone will stitch these images together for a more impressive-looking shot.

How is this similar to an Android smartphone? Well, look no further than the Google Pixel itself. Although Google’s implementation is slightly different than Apple’s – the Pixel takes a number of underexposed shots instead and combine them together – there’s definitely similarity in practice here.

Speaking of the Pixel, the new iPhones’ ability to emulate bokeh effects with only a single camera sensor (using machine learning) sounds a lot like what Google’s phone can do too. It’ll be interesting to see just how different the results are once the new iPhones are in consumers’ hands.

There’s no denying that some of the new features on this year’s iPhones have been done before, but it
allows
 Apple to take the best bits of said features and further improve on them. Also, the phones do bring a couple of new things to the table. For one, the chip under their hood, the A12 Bionic, is a really, really powerful processor. Besides its octa-core Neural Engine for AI tasks – which allows it to do 5 trillion operations per second – the updated quad-core GPU is probably the most powerful GPU you can find in a smartphone
right now.

On top of that, the A12 Bionic is also the first consumer-ready 7nm chip. That is, until Huawei is ready to introduce the new Mate 20 series – the Chinese company’s upcoming phones will be powered by Huawei’s equally small 7nm Kirin 980 SoC.

The A12 Bionic isn’t the only thing that’s impressive about the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR. The upcoming iOS 12 update will bring a whole suit of improvements – I’m personally looking forward to grouped notifications – and Apple’s Face ID system still remains one of the most secure biometric security systems out there.

If there is any caveat to the new iPhones, it would be the price of entry. The most affordable 2018 iPhone you can get is the iPhone XR, which retails from $749 – that’s about RM3,110. The iPhone XS and XS Max, on the other hand, start from a whopping $999 (approximately RM4,145) and $1,099 (around RM4,560) respectively.

Without a doubt this year’s iPhones are the most expensive iPhones yet, and there’s no denying that some of their “new” features have already been implemented before by other manufacturers. But does that really matter to consumers who are already looking to buy an iPhone? Well, only to a certain extent, especially for those who are already invested in Apple’s ecosystem.

And hey, we haven’t got our hands on the new iPhones yet – perhaps they’ll be the best smartphones ever produced by Apple.


Vivo V11 Hands-On: Just Another Mid-Ranger?

Vivo just launched the Vivo V11 in Malaysia yesterday. Sporting a modest set of hardware and an in-screen fingerprint sensor, the V11 sounds pretty good on paper. However, carrying a hefty price tag for a mid-range phone, it’s tough to recommend Vivo’s latest device.

Retailing at RM1,699, the V11 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM, putting it comfortably in the upper mid-range segment. Aside from that, it also has a 6.41-inch 2340 x 1080 Super AMOLED display, 128GB of expandable storage, and a modest 3,400mAh battery with support for Vivo’s “Dual-Engine Fast Charging” technology.

As expected of Vivo, the V11 has a rather elaborate front-facing shooter. Fitted with a 25MP f/2.0 selfie camera, the phone has Vivo’s new “AI Face Shaping” technology, which promises subtle enhancements to your facial features for a more natural-looking beautification. The rear cameras, on the other hand, are made up of 12MP f/1.8 and 5MP f/2.4 sensors.

These are pretty standard specifications for a mid-range phone, but what makes the V11 particularly unique is its in-screen fingerprint sensor – this is the most affordable phone right now in Malaysia with this feature. Of course, RM1,699 is still a high asking price for a mid-ranger, but that’s how much it costs to get an in-screen fingerprint sensor. At least, that’s the case for Vivo.

The big question is, how well does the in-screen fingerprint sensor work? Quite good, actually. Once you picked up the V11, a fingerprint icon will appear in the bottom of the screen. You’ll then have to tap and hold on the icon for a while to unlock the device, and it can accurately recognise my fingerprint…most of the time. It still works well enough, of course, but it’s definitely not as quick as a conventional fingerprint sensor.

If  you’re not a fan of the in-screen fingerprint sensor, you can always rely on the facial recognition system instead; it’s quicker too. The only downside is the fact that it won’t work quite as well in dark environments – it doesn’t have any infrared sensor.

In terms of build quality, the V11 leaves much to be desired. The plastic back feels cheap to the touch, and same goes for the equally plasticky frame. The only possible saving grace is the subtle two-tone finish of the back panel. I’m quite a fan of the phone’s minimal bottom bezel too.

Speaking of bezels, the V11’s Full HD+ Super AMOLED “Halo FullView Display” is a looker. It has very good black levels – a characteristic of OLED panels – vibrant colours, and great viewing angles. For a mid-range phone, the V11’s display quality is definitely above average.

Performance-wise, the Snapdragon 660 chipset under the hood of the V11 should provide enough power for everyday usage. Positioned as an upper mid-range SoC, the Snapdragon 660 is more than capable at running most mobile games well too. In my brief time with the device, the V11 feels fast and responsive.

Software isn’t exactly Vivo’s strength, and the same still applies to the V11. Running on Funtouch OS 4.5 based on Android 8.1 Oreo, it’s a heavily modified version of Android; the user interface has quite a number of iOS elements as well. Swiping up from the bottom of the phone reveals a Control Center-like interface, and even the Recent Apps screen is similar to iOS’ layout.

Funtouch OS’ similarity to iOS isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course, but it certainly shows a lack of originality on Vivo’s part. On top of that, the V11 doesn’t have an app drawer either, and the overall design of the user interface isn’t very aesthetically pleasing.

Nonetheless, let’s get to the camera performance of the V11. One of the main appeals of the V11 is its 25MP front-facing shooter, and if taking selfies is your kind of thing, this phone will serve you very well. Images taken with the 25MP camera is sharp, and detail preservation is quite decent too.

As for the V11’s dual 12MP and 5MP rear cameras, they’re…serviceable. While the phone can take good-looking shots in daytime – this applies to most modern phones anyway – its low light performance isn’t quite as good. Images are noisy in less than ideal lighting, and the lack of any optical stabilisation makes it difficult to capture blur-free images.

So why would you get the Vivo V11? Its camera performance isn’t worth writing home about, it’s costly for a mid-range smartphone, and its overall build quality leaves much to be desired. For RM1,699, you’re better off getting the
Pocophone F1
 or the Xiaomi Mi 8 – phones with excellent value for money and flagship-level performance.

Then again, if all you care about is taking good-looking selfie images, perhaps the V11 will serve you very well. It is by no means a bad smartphone (it’s also the most affordable phone with an in-screen fingerprint sensor), but there are better alternatives in this price range.


Gaming Smartphones – Are They Just Gimmicks?

Ever since the Razer Phone was announced, quite a number of phone makers followed suit and released their own take of a gaming smartphone. There’s the Asus ROG Phone, the Xiaomi-backed Black Shark phone, and more recently, the Honor Play.

But looking beyond the marketing speak, is there really such a thing as a “gaming smartphone?” Or is it just a convenient term to market specific devices? Well, that’s what we’re here to find out – let’s see what really defines a gaming-centric smartphone.

Since the Razer Phone is arguably the phone that started it all, it’s only appropriate to analyse this phone first. Without a doubt the highlight feature of the phone is its 120Hz display, and until now, Razer’s first-ever smartphone still remains one of very few phones with a 120Hz screen.

In theory, this lets the Razer Phone run games at 120 frames per second, which should make for a very enjoyable gaming experience. As a gaming smartphone, having a high refresh rate display makes a lot of sense – more frames per second translate to better, smoother gaming experience.

The problem is, the 120Hz display doesn’t work seamlessly: games
have
to support that high of a refresh rate in the first place.

Surprisingly enough, however, there are more than a handful of games that support 120Hz. These include Minecraft, Vainglory, Arena of Valor, Don’t Starve, and surprisingly enough, even Pokemon Go. In fact, Razer has a list of games that support 120Hz refresh rate
on its website
.

It’s great that there are games that support 120Hz refresh rate, but in order for the feature to be truly compelling, more developers have to get on board. After all, popular games like Mobile Legends, PUBG Mobile, and, say, Asphalt 9: Legends, don’t support the high refresh rate.

And then there’s also the fact that the Razer Phone was released back in 2017, so its hardware is definitely not as powerful as devices that were released this year. Yes, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset powering the phone is still plenty capable, but the Snapdragon 845 is a better SoC with a superior GPU – it’ll be able to take advantage of the 120Hz display much more effectively.

That being said, Razer is expected to reveal the Razer Phone 2 next month on 10 October. Chances are, the successor will address these shortcomings, and it’ll be interesting to see if Razer will retain the 120Hz display.

Next, we have Asus’ ROG Phone. Unlike the Razer Phone, Asus’ offering comes with a slightly slower 90Hz display. While this isn’t as good as the Razer Phone’s 120Hz screen, it’s definitely better than a conventional smartphone’s display, which is usually capped at 60Hz.

On top of that, the ROG Phone also comes with a slew of gaming-centric features. These include “specially selected” Snapdragon 845 chipsets clocked at 2.96GHz, a vapour-chamber cooling system for better thermal performance – there’s even an optional fan attachment for even better cooling – and a gamepad module which adds shoulder buttons.

Needless to say, these features do make the ROG Phone appealing as a gaming smartphone, but it still remains to be seen just how well Asus can execute the concept. Considering the fact that the phone isn’t even in the market yet – despite being announced a few months ago – it’s hard to evaluate its gaming prowess.

Both the Razer Phone and ROG Phone have their own unique features that give them credibility as gaming smartphones, so is the term not a gimmick? Well, not quite. Enter the Honor Play – one of the most affordable “gaming smartphones” in Malaysia. Retailing from only RM1,249, it’s a really affordable flagship smartphone. After all, it’s powered by Huawei’s Kirin 970 chipset; the very same SoC powering Huawei’s range of flagship devices, including the Mate 10 and P20 devices.

The Honor Play is certainly a capable flagship device, but what makes it a gaming smartphone? A software tweak dubbed “GPU Turbo,” which promises better gaming performance…but only in selected games like PUBG Mobile. On top of that, the performance increase isn’t quite as prominent as how Huawei portraited it to be – a typical case of overzealous marketing.

GPU Turbo is still a valid technology, of course – AnandTech
covered this in great length
 – but the performance increase is in the software side of things. At the end of the day, the performance increase is still limited to how good the hardware of the phone is, and the Honor Play’s Kirin 970 chipset (which debuted last year in the Mate 10 series) is showing its age.

On top of that, GPU Turbo is not exclusive to the Honor Play either: other Huawei devices will get the feature through software updates. This, in turn, makes the Honor Play as much of a gaming smartphone, as, say, the P20 Pro. While the Honor Play
does
 come with a “Smart Shock” vibration system that supposedly mimics the rumble feedback of a console controller, it still feels…just like a standard phone’s vibration.

So what
constitutes
a gaming smartphone? If it promises (and delivers) superior gaming performance than your conventional smartphone, it is rightfully a gaming smartphone. Whether it’s a display with high refresh rate, or a unique cooling solution to sustain peak performance, if they result in a more enjoyable gaming experience, it’s by definition a gaming smartphone – in my opinion, of course. If phone makers decide to market their devices as such, they’ll have to back up the claim.

Unfortunately, some manufacturers capitalise on the trend and simply market their devices as “gaming smartphones” without actually delivering meaningfully better gaming performance. This, in turn, makes it difficult to distinguish these devices from those that are actually
made
 for gaming.

Marketing or not, it’s never a good idea to mislead consumers.


Huawei Kirin 980 Chipset – What the World’s First 7nm Chip Promises

Most major phone makers rely on Qualcomm and MediaTek’s range of processors for their devices, and out of the two chip manufacturers, Qualcomm’s chipsets are generally considered to be superior. However, there are a couple of exceptions. Most notably, Samsung and Huawei.

Samsung has already unveiled its own high-end chipset earlier this year, the Exynos 9810, when it introduced the Galaxy S9 series. Now, it’s Huawei’s turn to show its hands. We were invited to a workshop for Huawei’s latest mobile chipset, the Kirin 980, and if the Chinese company’s claims are anything to go by, this 7nm chip is a mighty impressive SoC.

Naturally, Huawei is targeting the Snapdragon 845 with the new Kirin 980. In comparison to Qualcomm’s offering, the Kirin 980 has a few notable upgrades. These include better CPU performance, thanks to the chip’s new ARM Cortex-A76 cores – the Kirin 980 is the first mobile chipset to use these new cores – support for higher frequency RAM, and most importantly, better power efficiency courtesy of the smaller 7nm size. The Snapdragon 845, on the other hand, is a 10nm SoC.

Of course, Huawei is also emphasising the AI capabilities of the Kirin 980. The Kirin 970 comes with a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU), and the new Kirin 980 doubles that with a dual NPU. This, in turn, promises even better performance with AI computing tasks like image recognition. On top of that, AI supposedly plays a role in the power efficiency of the chip by predicting load requirement more accurately.

Gaming performance is also another area Huawei highlighted in the media workshop. Powered by ARM’s brand new Mali-G76 GPU, the Kirin 980 promises better gaming performance than the Snapdragon 845’s Adreno 630 GPU. Running a demo of NBA 2K18, the Kirin 980 managed to sustain 60 frames per second, while the Snapdragon 845 hovers between 40 to 60 frames per second.

However, it’s worth noting that this gaming performance gain is also attributed to Huawei’s GPU Turbo technology. It remains to be seen if the Kirin 980 can outpace the Snapdragon 845 in other mobile games, especially those that do not support GPU Turbo.

Based on these comparisons with the Snapdragon 845, it’s evident that the Kirin 980 is a better chipset – at least, that’s what Huawei is promising. However, it’s
not
exactly a fair comparison: both products have different release cycles.

Qualcomm’s new flagship processors typically start rolling out in the first quarter of the year, while Huawei’s Kirin chipsets are refreshed the same time the company’s new Mate series are introduced, which happens towards the last quarter of the year. Considering the fact that the Kirin 980 debuts much later than the Snapdragon 845, it only makes sense for it to be the superior chip.

That being said, we haven’t even brought in the other 7nm chip to the picture: the Apple A12 Bionic. Considering the fact that even its predecessor, the A11 Bionic, was considered to be one of the best processors in the market – both in terms of CPU and GPU performance – the A12 should be an even better offering. Of course, we’ll only really know how it compares to the Kirin 980 once Huawei is ready to unveil the Mate 20 series.

So what can we expect from the Kirin 980? Well, better performance across the board. It’s the first chipset to implement ARM’s latest Cortex-A76 cores and Mali-G76 GPU, and thanks to its 7nm size (as well as AI power management), it will be much more power-efficient than its predecessor, which should translate to better battery life.

However, until we get to test the Kirin 980 for ourselves, it’s hard to say exactly how good it will be. We’ll only know for sure once Huawei debuts the Mate 20 series this 16 October.


The Case for & Against: Smartwatches

Smartwatches have been around for quite some time now. Yet, there is no one smartwatch that truly stands out from the rest. In the Android landscape, Wear OS devices are mainly dominated by fashion brands, and even though Samsung’s recently renamed Galaxy Gear smartwatches are quite capable, Tizen OS has its own suit of problems. As for iOS, the only really viable smartwatch you can (and should) get is the Apple Watch.

So that brings up the question: is there a need to get a smartwatch? Does it complement a smartphone well enough for consumers to pick one up? In this article, we explore the case for – and against – smartwatches.

The Case Against

As with all gadgets you use daily, smartwatches need to be charged. Depending on which particular wearable you get, you’ll have to charge it up either once every two days, a week, or a month. What’s worse is if you forget to charge it up – you won’t be able to even tell the time with the smartwatch if it runs out of juice.

Aside from that, smartwatches in general don’t offer many meaningful features. While it’s nice to have the ability to swap watch faces whenever you feel like it and get notifications pushed to your smartwatch, the general user base might not find other features of a wearable necessary at all – the keyword here being “might.” We’ll get back to this further down this article.

More often than not, smartwatches are also dependent on a smartphone. Sure, there are smartwatches that can work independently to a certain extent, but you’ll still have to pair them to a phone to really take advantage of their full features. Some may argue that you have your phone with you all the time anyway, but this isn’t always possible or convenient.

Perhaps the best reason not to invest in a smartwatch is the fact that some of them can be really expensive. Take the Samsung Gear Sport smartwatch: retailing at RM1,219, you can already get a very competent smartphone for that kind of money. You
can
go for a more budget-friendly smartwatch like the Xiaomi Amazfit Bip and Amazfit Pace – they retail at RM279 and RM549 respectively – but these won’t be quite as feature-rich as more expensive offerings.

Cost is something you’ll have to consider when shopping for a smartwatch, but what if you don’t mind splurging on one? If that’s the case, let’s take a look at a few reasons why you’d actually want to get a smartwatch.

The Case for

One of the biggest selling points of a smartwatch – to me, at least – is the convenience of having notifications on my phone pushed to my smartwatch. If it’s not an important notification, I won’t have to bother taking my phone out of my pocket. This sounds like a small thing, but it does save me the trouble of constantly checking my phone for any missed notifications – I wouldn’t have to focus so much on my phone.

Now, let’s get back to the topic of smartwatches “not offering many meaningful features.” While I personally don’t use a smartwatch for anything beyond getting pushed notifications, customising the watch face, and occasionally get my heart rate checked, there are certainly folks who will appreciate other features that come with a smartwatch.

This ties back to smartwatches that can work independently of a smartphone. Say you’d like to go for a quick jog in a nearby park: some smartwatches can track the route you take even though it’s not paired to a phone during your jog. The same goes for swimming too – there are wearables that can track your swimming routine. If you’re into activity tracking, a smartwatch can do just that for you.

Speaking of which, the Apple Watch Series 4 comes with several features never previously available on a smartwatch. The Watch’s ability to detect a hard fall is a neat addition, but the more exciting feature is the fact that it can now take an electrocardiogram (EKG) using electrodes built into the back of the Watch.

Essentially, an EKG reading can be used to detect irregular heartbeat rhythm, and the Apple Watch can then notify the user accordingly. This is the first time the feature comes built-in with a smartwatch out of the box, and it’s certainly a step closer to making wearables that much smarter. Whether or not the Watch can accurately take an EKG, however, is an entirely different question.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, smartwatches are not as ubiquitous as smartphones. Whether or not you need a small screen on your wrist is entirely dependent on each individual’s preference. If you don’t mind spending on a smartwatch, remembering to charge it up when necessary, and you actually appreciate the features it offers, then yes, it will serve you very well.


Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 Hands-On: A Great Android Tablet for Certain Users

The Android tablet market may not be quite as enticing as it used to be, but that doesn’t stop Samsung from introducing its latest flagship tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. Now sporting a sleeker design with smaller bezels than its predecessor – it also retains the S Pen functionality – the Tab S4 is a capable, high-end Android tablet.

But it comes with a hefty price tag too, limiting its potential user base. For the kind of money Samsung is asking with the Tab S4, most consumers will be better off with a full-fledged Windows machine – or even an iPad.

Much like its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab S4 doesn’t ship with the most cutting edge processor. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, the tablet feels powerful enough for a pleasant user experience. It may be last year’s SoC, but the Snapdragon 835 is still a flagship-tier chipset.

Besides performance, the Tab S4’s 10.5-inch 2560 x 1600 sAMOLED display is
excellent.
It’s well established that Samsung makes some of the best screens in the market, and the Tab S4’s sAMOLED display certainly shows that. It’s a bright, vibrant screen with great viewing angles, and it’s generally a very pleasant display to look at.

Another noteworthy hardware of the Tab S4 is its AKG-tuned quad speakers. As far as first impressions go, I’m impressed with the audio system. It can get loud, it doesn’t sound tinny, and there’s no noticeable distortion or audio buzzing at maximum volume. In short, you’ll be getting very good audio quality with the Tab S4.

For the Malaysian market, the Galaxy Tab S4 comes with 64GB of expandable storage along with 4GB of RAM; it also features a 13MP rear camera, an 8MP front-facing shooter, an iris scanner, LTE connectivity, a 7,300mAh battery (complete with support for fast charging), and Samsung Experience 9.5 based on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. Of course, Samsung’s signature S Pen is also bundled with this tablet.

Oh right, the S Pen. On the software side of things, the Tab S4’s S Pen is pretty much identical to the Galaxy Note 9’s. There’s the same circular user interface, the ability to translate texts by hovering the S Pen over specific words, and even the Screen Off Memo function is here. If you’ve used the Note’s S Pen before, you’ll be right at home.

What about the 13MP camera of the Tab S4? It’s…functional. In a pinch, the tablet can take pictures just fine, but don’t expect great-looking results. The lack of optical image stabilisation makes it more difficult to capture sharp images, autofocus speed isn’t great, and noise is quite apparent in challenging lighting conditions. If it’s any consolation, the 8MP front-facing camera works well enough for video calling.

Another selling point for the Galaxy Tab S4 is its ability to use Samsung’s DeX – the Korean company’s desktop environment previously available on its smartphones only. Interestingly, DeX is available on the Tab S4 as a different mode; there’s no need for any dock, and you don’t have to connect it to a display (you can still do it if you want a bigger screen) for DeX to activate.

In DeX mode, the Tab S4 works almost like a full-fledged PC, and it’s very snappy. There are browser tabs in Google Chrome, you can open multiple applications in different windows, and it feels a lot like how a desktop environment should be like – that’s fantastic. However, it’s still not quite as intuitive or responsive as, say, a Windows 10 machine. After all, DeX is still running on Android.

All things considered, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is a very good Android tablet. It has a gorgeous display, great audio quality, good level of performance, and Samsung DeX adds a lot of functionality for power users. But how much does all of these cost? A whopping RM3,099.

That places the Tab S4 in the same price point as a perfectly capable Windows 10 laptop. In fact, you can get the Acer Swift 3 for the same amount of money. It has a 14-inch 1920 x 1080 display, an Intel Core i5-8250U processor paired with 4GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, 1TB of HDD storage, and an Nvidia MX150 GPU.

While you don’t get the Tab S4’s gorgeous display, S Pen functionality, or portability, the Swift 3 is a far more powerful machine. Not only is Windows 10 a much more capable operating system, the Tab S4’s Snapdragon 835 chipset isn’t even in the same league as the Swift 3’s superior Core i5 processor and MX150 GPU.

But if you’re a digital artist who wants to draw on the go – and you really want the S Pen – you can consider the 2018 Apple iPad. Yes, it has a smaller 9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 Retina display, but it’s much more affordable. Take the 128GB iPad with LTE support, which retails at only RM2,371. Even with an Apple Pencil thrown in, the total cost only adds up to RM2,740 – that’s RM359 less than the Tab S4, You’re also getting twice as much storage capacity, although it’s not expandable.

However, if you’re not a fan of iOS, the Tab S4 is obviously the better option.

Who is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 made for? As mentioned, digital artists will find this tablet an appealing option – especially if they’re not interested in an iPad. Not many manufacturers offer the functionality of the S Pen in the Android space, and the Tab S4’s ability to use DeX natively may even appeal to power users who want a lightweight, portable machine to do productivity tasks on the go.

As for the average user who doesn’t find the S Pen or DeX appealing, the Galaxy Tab S4’s steep asking price is difficult to justify. It’s a great tablet for those who want exactly what the Tab S4 offers, but for everyone else, there are plenty of other options in this price range.


Smartphone Buyer’s Guide: When Should You Change Your Phone?

Smartphones have become somewhat of a commodity for many folks. Considering the fact that smartphones are used on a daily basis, wear and tear is a real concern – it’s only a matter of time before they need to be changed.

But smartphones (depending on which particular device you get) can be quite expensive, so it’s important to know when you should
really
change your phone. Here are some guidelines you can follow to decide whether or not you should get that shiny new smartphone.

Condition

If your phone is damaged to the point where some of its functions are compromised, consider purchasing a new one. A cracked display is the most obvious reason you should change your phone; the risk of getting cut from the broken glass also makes it quite dangerous to continue using your device, even if the touchscreen itself still works. This applies to the back glass panel as well, of course, if your phone has a glass back.

That being said, sending in the phone for repair is always an option, but it depends on how expensive the process will be. If the cost goes above RM1,000, it’s generally a better idea to outright purchase a new device. After all, there are plenty of good choices in that price range. While we’re on the topic, make sure that you’re sending your phone to an official service centre; while third-party shops can get the job done for a cheaper price, they may use inferior parts.

Smartphones will inevitably collect scratches and dents over time, but if these damages are only cosmetic, there’s no real reason to change your phone. To prolong the lifespan of your device, it’s good practice to apply a screen protector and use a casing too – it’ll help it survive any unforeseen drops.

And if you want to avoid any potential water damage to your phone, get a device with a good Ingress Protection (IP) rating, though this feature is usually reserved only for flagship smartphones.

Battery Degradation

It’s no secret that batteries degrade over time, but there are still some folks who wonder why their phones don’t last quite as long anymore after a couple years of ownership. if your phone runs out of juice within hours of being unplugged from the charger, that’s not good.

Unfortunately, if you only started noticing this issue, there’s not much you can do to solve this issue on your own – it’s simply how current battery technology works. The easiest solution is to either get a new phone, or send it in for a battery change if you want to save some cash. Again, if you don’t want to risk the chance of getting inferior parts, only send your device to official channels.

To prevent your phone’s battery from degrading too quickly, practice good charging habits. If you can help it, don’t use your phone while it’s charging – extra heat is never good for a battery’s health. That’s the very same reason why you should avoid using wireless chargers frequently. While it’s a convenient charging method, it’s not as efficient as wired charging; a lot of heat is produced when charging wirelessly.

Obsolescence

There are a couple of ways how your phone can get obsolete, and software is the most common cause. Basically, once your phone stops getting software updates, it’s on its way to be obsolete. This is especially bad if certain features break, as there will be no software update to solve the issues.

When it comes to mobile operating systems, Android is the worst culprit here. Because of how fragmented the platform is, software support differs from one manufacturer to another. In fact, some Android phone makers stop supporting their devices after only two years of release. Apple, on the other hand, is still providing software support for most iPhones well after they have been discontinued. Take the iPhone 5s: even though it was released back in 2013, it still got the latest iOS 12 update.

There is also hardware obsolescence, and one way that can happen is when replacement parts for your phone are no longer widely available. Thankfully, this only really happens several years after the phone’s official release. By that time, it’s generally a good idea to change to a more modern phone.

Change of Needs

This is entirely dependent on each individual consumer, but it can be a legitimate reason to upgrade – or downgrade – your phone. Say you started off with a decent mid-ranger, but as time goes on, you want…more, out of your phone. Whether it’s higher performance, better camera, or cleaner software experience, if your budget permits, go crazy.

If it’s been a while since you’ve bought your device (I’m talking about more than two to three years), you’ll be surprised at how much the smartphone market has changed. You no longer have to spend upwards of RM2,000 to get a truly good, flagship-tier smartphone.

Conclusion

Personally, I won’t consider changing to a new smartphone in the first two years of ownership. Phones today – especially high-end ones – can last between two to three years easily. Naturally, this still depends on how well you take care of your device; the condition and battery degradation of each device will differ from one user to another.

Of course, if you feel like changing your phone for the sake of it, that is your prerogative. This article is merely a guideline to help you decide whether or not you should take the dive and change to a new phone. Nonetheless, if you’d like to see more smartphone buyer’s guide like this, let us know!


Xiaomi Pocophone F1 Hands-On: Redefining the Flagship Landscape

Xiaomi’s new sub-brand, Pocophone, brings an interesting proposition. The brand’s very first smartphone, the Pocophone F1, comes with hardware you’d expect to find on flagship devices, but the base model retails at only RM1,299 – that’s a fraction of what premium phones normally go for.

That being said, there are a couple of reasons why the Pocophone F1 is so affordable, but that doesn’t take away the fact that it has incredible value for money.

Let’s start with hardware. The Pocophone F1 is powered by Qualcomm’s most powerful chipset yet, the Snapdragon 845, a 6.18-inch 1080p IPS display, 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage (further expandable with a microSD card), and a generous 4,000mAh battery.

Rounding out the specifications of the Pocophone F1 are a 12MP f/1.9 + 5MP f/2.0 dual camera system, a 20MP front-facing shooter, and a slightly modified MIUI 9.6 software – specifically tuned for the F1 – based on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.

Without a doubt the Pocophone F1 has a very respectable spec sheet, but how does it feel to hold? Pretty darn good, actually. Its polycarbonate body has a nice matte finish that hides fingerprints well, and the slightly tapered back panel makes it a comfortable device to hold for long periods of time.

Of course, the polycarbonate chassis doesn’t feel quite as premium as a glass and metal construction found in other flagship phones, but this
is
a sub-RM1,500 smartphone – it’s a compromise I’ll take any day of the week.

Like most phones in the market now, the Pocophone F1’s 1080p IPS display has a notch, and it’s quite sizeable. Thankfully, you can “hide” the notch in the settings – the area surrounding the notch will be darkened if you opt to hide it. personally, I don’t mind the notch at all, and it doesn’t interfere in normal day-to-day usage.

As for the display itself, it looks quite stunning for a smartphone in this price range. It can get really bright, colours are vibrant, viewing angles are good, and it’s plenty sharp despite the 1080p resolution of the display. Sure, a higher resolution screen may look nicer, but this will affect the phone’s battery life – not exactly a sacrifice many are willing to make.

Speaking of which, the Pocophone F1’s huge 4,000mAh battery should return very good battery life. Despite packing such a large cell, the F1 doesn’t feel all that heavy either. Tipping the scales at only 180g, it weighs about the same as, say, the Huawei P20 Pro. On top of that, the F1’s chassis measures 8.8mm – not too thin or thick.

Oh, it’s also worth noting that the phone supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 technology. Unlike most Xiaomi smartphones, a compatible charger is bundled in the box too – very nice.

What about software experience? Running on a slightly modified version of Xiaomi’s MIUI 9.6, the Pocophone F1’s software looks and feels a lot like what you get with a Xiaomi phone. However, there is one distinct difference: it has an app drawer, which can be accessed by swiping up on the home screen. Apps are grouped into different categories automatically in the app drawer as well, making it easier to find certain apps.

When it comes to security, the Pocophone F1 has a rear fingerprint sensor and face unlock. Both methods can unlock the phone very quickly, and the face unlock feature – thanks to the front-facing infrared sensor – will work even in the dark.

And then we have perhaps the best reason to get the Pocophone F1: performance. Running on a Snapdragon 845 chipset, the F1 – perhaps as its name suggests – is a very,
very
fast smartphone. It’s an absolute joy to game on this phone, and I can switch between different apps seamlessly. Considering the fact that the F1 can be purchased from as low as RM1,299, this level of performance is practically unheard of in this price range.

To put this into context, let’s compare the Pocophone F1 to its closest competitor, the Xiaomi Mi 8. Also powered by a Snapdragon 845 chipset, the Mi 8 retails at RM1,599 and RM1,899 for the 64GB and 128GB variants respectively. In contrast, the 64GB model of the F1 goes for only RM1,299, while the 128GB variant retails at RM1,499.

But the Mi 8 does have the upper hand in a couple of areas. It sports a more premium build, it has a better Super AMOLED display, and its camera performance is without a doubt superior. However, if all you care about is getting the best performance for the least amount of money, the Pocophone F1 trumps the Mi 8.

Right, I haven’t touched on the camera performance of the Pocophone F1. In most cases, budget-friendly smartphones…don’t have the best camera performance. Surprisingly enough, that doesn’t apply to the F1 – for the most part.

The F1’s dual 12MP and 5MP cameras are quite capable, and you can capture good-looking shots without much difficulty. The autofocus is fast, there’s no noticeable shutter lag, and white balance is kept in check pretty well too. However, its dynamic range isn’t quite as wide, and images does look soft in certain conditions.

I haven’t got the chance to try out the F1’s camera performance extensively in low light conditions, but based on a few shots I took, it seems pretty capable. Even though the shutter speed slows down quite a bit in low light environments, images still look flattering with good exposure.

The Pocophone F1 really redefines what you can expect from an affordable flagship smartphone, and it also exceeds expectations for devices in this price range. Never has there been a smartphone as powerful as the F1 in the sub-RM1,500 price range, and I’d argue the RM1,299 64GB variant of the phone is the best phone you can get on a tight budget – you can always add more storage with a microSD card.

However, is the Pocophone F1
as good
as a flagship smartphone twice – or even thrice – its asking price? Of course not. Its build quality, camera performance, and overall polish still isn’t comparable to a “proper” flagship smartphone. But as I’ve mentioned before, if you want the absolute best performance from a smartphone with the least amount of money, the Pocophone F1 should be at the top of your list.


The Case for & Against: Gaming Chairs

Spending money on furniture isn’t something we always do, and this is definitely the case for one type of furniture: gaming chairs. The common argument against gaming chairs is the fact that they’re very costly – it’s hard to justify spending upwards of RM1,000 for a mere chair.

However, there are legitimately good reasons to get a gaming chair, especially for those who spend long hours sitting down. Here are some pros and cons of gaming chairs.

The Case Against

If there’s one thing stopping anyone from getting a gaming chair, it’s the cost. Typically, gaming chairs can go anywhere between RM500 to a whopping RM2,000. Depending on which brand you go for, the more expensive ones aren’t necessarily the best either, which makes it even more difficult to justify investing so much money into a gaming chair.

Aside from cost, most gaming chairs…have very flashy designs. After all, they’re not called gaming chairs without a reason. This, in turn, makes it somewhat difficult to place a gaming chair in a professional office setting. What’s the use of a gaming chair – no matter how comfortable it is – if you can’t even use it in your office? Granted, this still depends on your work environment, but it does limit the appeal of gaming chairs.

Beyond these two factors, there’s also the fact that some gaming chairs are no better than good ol’ office chairs. This is especially true of more affordable gaming chairs. For the kind of money these chairs command, you can get a decent office chair (or two). Why spend more on gaming chairs if you can get a regular one that’s just as comfortable?

For most consumers, an office chair will do the job just fine. There are a lot of choices to choose from, and the wide price range makes it easy to get one that fits your budget. But say you don’t mind spending on a gaming chair – is it worth the investment? Let’s take a look at the other side of the coin.

The Case for

What’s the number one reason to get a gaming chair? Comfort. Depending on the size, height, and weight of individual users, the right gaming chair can deliver extremely good comfort level. Off the top of my head, Secretlab’s range of gaming chairs is a good example of this.

Take the company’s most “affordable” product, the Secretlab Throne 2018. Retailing at S$399 (about RM1,240), the Throne is more suitable for individuals between 145 to 165cm tall. Moving up the range is the S$469 (approximately RM1,460) Secretlab Omega 2018, which is made for those who are between 160 to 180cm tall.

At the top of the range sits the Secretlab Titan. If your height is between 175 to 200cm, this S$549 (around RM1,700) gaming chair is the most ideal one for you. Secretlab’s
sizing guide
 has all of these outlined.

So how does your height affect the comfort of a gaming chair? Well, at least in the case of Secretlab’s products, your height will determine how the different elements of the gaming chair will fit you. For example, your height will affect how low – or high – the neck pillow is positioned. On top of that, I also find the Throne’s lumbar pillow much more comfortable than the larger pillow of the Omega – I imagine larger individuals will prefer the Omega instead.

Personally, however, I highly recommend trying out any gaming chair you’re thinking of purchasing before you put down the money for it – that’s how you know it will fit you the way you like it.

If you notice, Secretlab’s chairs – besides the Throne – have pretty minimalist, understated designs too. While I wouldn’t go as far as to say they look perfectly suited to be in a meeting room, they certainly won’t look out of place in a regular workplace. If you’re not a fan of conventional gaming chairs’ more flamboyant designs, there are certainly other products in this category with more understated aesthetics.

That being said, gaming chairs are without a doubt more costly than your typical office chair. No matter how you look at it, this is an unavoidable aspect, and more “budget-friendly” gaming chairs may not be as comfortable as they appear to be.

Conclusion

Gaming chairs are a huge investment, but for certain folks, it’s worth the cost. If you spend most of your days sitting down, looking at a computer screen for hours on end, I will say gaming chairs are worth every single penny spent. Of course, there are certainly office chairs that can offer the same level of comfort, but it’s worth noting that they can be
as
expensive as gaming chairs too.


Microsoft Surface Go Hands-On: Surprisingly Capable

When it comes to Windows-based tablets, most will associate Microsoft as the pioneer. Though the Surface brand had a rocky start, modern iterations of Microsoft’s tablets are some of the best in the market now.

And now, we have the Microsoft Surface Go, which is essentially a downsized version of the company’s Surface Pro tablet. While it’s certainly not as powerful as its full-size brethren, the Surface Go is delightfully fun to use – you just have to set your expectations accordingly.

For starters, the Surface Go is powered by an Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y processor. Yes, it doesn’t sound particularly powerful, but it’s fast enough for day-to-day usage. I can browse the web comfortably with the Surface Go, do some light – and I mean very light – photo editing, and play 60fps videos on YouTube smoothly. However, do note that we tried out the highest-end Go with a 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM; the more affordable model with 64GB of eMMC storage and 4GB of RAM may be slower.

Is the Surface Go fast enough to rival a laptop with a Core i3 or i5 processor? Definitely not. For more serious multitasking work, the Surface Go certainly shows its limitations. Things start slowing down as I open more tabs in Microsoft Edge, and there’s noticeable stuttering in heavier web pages.

But considering the size and weight of the Surface Go, this level of performance is well within expectations. Packing a 10-inch 1800 x 1200 PixelSense display (and weighing only 522g), this is a really compact tablet – especially for a Windows machine. That being said, it would’ve been great if the Go had smaller bezels to make it even more portable.

Speaking of which, the Surface Go’s PixelSense display is quite adequate despite its small size. It has great viewing angles, brightness, and colour reproduction. Thanks to the 3:2 aspect ratio, it doesn’t feel all that cramped either; very important factor for a display this small.

Next, we have the Surface Go Type Cover. To accommodate the smaller size of the Go, the Type Cover is downsized accordingly too. If you’re coming from a full-size laptop keyboard, you’ll have to get used to the smaller layout of this Type Cover. I had some trouble adjusting to the keyboard at first, but after some time, I’m typing almost as fast as I do on a standard keyboard.

What about the typing experience? Very pleasant. While the keyboard doesn’t have very long key travel, the great tactile feedback makes it very satisfying to do a lot of typing on the Surface Go Type Cover. To top it off, the keys are backlit too with three levels of brightness.

As for the Type Cover’s glass Precision trackpad, I’m pleasantly surprised at how accurate it can track my fingers. It’s not quite as accurate as MacBooks’ trackpads, of course, but it’s definitely one of the most responsive trackpads I’ve used on a Windows machine. Aside from that, I love the smooth surface of the trackpad, and it’s big enough to not be cumbersome to use.

Tablets usually don’t have the best connectivity options, and unfortunately, the same applies to the Surface Go. Aside from the 3.5mm headphone jack and microSD card slot, this tablet only has a
single
USB-C port. Yeap, only one port for all of your connectivity needs – you can’t escape the dongle life with this tablet.

For the Malaysian market, the Surface Go is available in two variants. The base model with 64GB of eMMC storage and 4GB of RAM retails at RM1,749, while the higher-end RM2,399 model comes with a 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. Beyond the different RAM and storage capacities, both models of the Surface Go are identical to each other.

Naturally, the Surface Go Type Cover is sold separately. The standard Type Cover in black retails at RM399, but the Signature Type Cover in burgundy, silver, or blue, goes for a whopping RM549. If you want the Surface Pen too, that will set you back RM281.

Although RM1,749 for the entry-level Surface Go sounds pretty good, it has to be paired to a Type Cover for a more complete experience. This, in turn, pushes the starting price of the tablet to RM2,148. If you want the 128GB variant with 8GB of RAM instead with the Type Cover, you’re looking at RM2,798.

At these price points, you can already get a decent laptop with a much more powerful Core i5 processor. With that in mind, why would you get the Surface Go? It comes down to your priorities. This tablet isn’t made for those who want fast performance; instead, the Go is meant to appeal to folks who want a light, portable Windows tablet to do some productivity tasks on the go.

If that’s all you ask for, the Microsoft Surface Go is really quite an attractive Windows tablet. While it’s not as affordable as its base price would suggest, it’s a compelling tablet for the majority of consumers who are looking for a compact Windows machine.


Which Tablet Platform Is the Best for Productivity?

If you’re looking to get a new tablet, it can be tough to find the right one. Not only are there quite a number of selections in the market, there are also three different platforms to consider: Windows, Android, and of course, iOS.

In this article, we’re gonna talk about these three platforms, and look at how well each of them will perform when it comes to productivity. Based on what kind of work you expect to do on your tablet, we’ll help you decide which platform you should go for.

Let’s start with arguably the most versatile platform: Windows. On the surface, Windows tablets are not all that different from a Windows laptop; at least, in the software side of things. Not taking into account the different form factor and connectivity options, Windows tablets are as capable as their laptop counterparts.

Whether it’s writing emails, web browsing, or content consumption, Windows tablet can do it all very well. If you want do heavier workloads like photo or video editing, it’s no issue either – assuming the tablet has the hardware to perform these tasks effectively. However, therein lies the caveat: the tablet form factor doesn’t allow manufacturers to implement hardware as powerful as those found in laptops.

But to be fair, tablets in general do not have the most powerful processor. When it comes to raw hardware power, Windows tablets usually trump the rest. Then again, this comes at a cost, literally: high-end tablets running on Windows are usually pricier than flagship-tier tablets that run on Android or iOS.

Next, we have Android tablets, which…have died down in recent times. There are only a handful of really capable tablets running on Android in the market now, and currently, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is probably the most interesting tablet on the platform.

So how ideal are Android tablets for productivity tasks? Well, it depends on what you’re looking to do. If you’re, say, a digital artist looking for a device to draw on the go, an Android tablet with a stylus like the Galaxy Tab S4 will serve you well. Windows tablets can do the same too if they have dedicated styluses, of course, but most of them are not as compact as Android tablets.

But if you’re looking to edit videos or photos on an Android tablet, Windows’ wider choice of dedicated programs will prove to be superior. While it’s not impossible to do these tasks on an Android tablet, Windows-based tablets are better suited for these work thanks to their better hardware and software offerings.

Last but certainly not least are iOS tablets, and if we’re gonna talk about productivity, no iPad is more suited for that purpose than the iPad Pro. As Apple’s most powerful tablets to date, the 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro tablets are faster than even the best Android tablets – the Cupertino company’s A10X Fusion chip powering these two tablets is very, very good. Couple that with iOS’ superior optimisation and polish, iPads (in general) are more pleasant to use than Android-based ones.

However, if we were to talk about raw hardware power, Windows tablets still have the upper hand – Intel’s Core processors typically found in Windows tablets are in a different league altogether.

Nonetheless, one of the main appeals of the iPad Pro tablets are their Retina displays with ProMotion technology. Basically, the iPad Pro have 120Hz displays, which make them more enjoyable for watching videos, playing games, and more importantly, drawing with the Apple Pencil.

Thanks to the high refresh rate of their displays, drawing on the iPad Pro tablets will feel more natural. On top of that, they are the only tablets in the market now with 120Hz displays too – you won’t get the same experience on any other tablet. If your only focus is to draw on the go, the iPad Pro will give you the best experience.

How about photo and video editing? Again, Windows tablets are superior in this case; it’s all down to sheer hardware power. Much like Android tablets, it’s possible to edit photos and videos on the iPad Pro tablets, but they are still not on par with Windows tablets’ better hardware and choice of editing programs.

All things considered, Windows tablets are the most ideal for those who want the versatility of doing light or heavy productivity tasks. Android and iOS tablets, on the other hand, are better suited for lighter productivity work or digital artists who want a portable device to draw on; iPad Pro tablets are best for the latter.

That being said, this is only from the standpoint of productivity. Tablets have matured rapidly over the past few years, and every one of them have their own unique selling points. But as far as productivity is concerned, Windows tablets are still the most ideal choice.


Phone Material: Why Glass or Metal Isn’t Necessarily the Best

More often than not, we always expect high-end, flagship smartphones to be made of premium material like glass, metal, or even ceramic. If a phone is made from “cheap” material like plastic – even if it has flagship-tier hardware – it doesn’t sound quite as appealing.

Now, it’s not to say this expectation is unrealistic: if I’m going to shell out a lot of money for a flagship smartphone, it’s only natural to expect the phone to feel as premium as it could be. However, for the majority of consumers, they’ll usually protect their phones with casings anyway – does it even matter what material their phones are made of?

To a certain extent, yes. But let’s get into detail why smartphones with glass or metal designs aren’t necessarily the best – plastic phones have their own advantages too.

Let’s set up a scenario here: say you just bought a brand new smartphone. Chances are, the first think you’d do is slap on a screen protector on it and protect your device with a nice casing. So…whether you have a phone with a sleek glass and metal design, or a plain polycarbonate body (like the
Pocophone F1
), there’s virtually no difference once you put on a casing.

Unless, of course, you’re using a clear, see-through casing. In that case, you’ll still somewhat retain the appearance of the phone. But as far as the
feel
of the phone goes, you won’t be physically touching your phone’s actual chassis anymore. Then again, there are those of us who use their smartphones without any casing on. In that case, the build material of your phone will definitely play a role.

Aside from the actual phone material, it’s worth distinguishing between two things here: premium material does not necessarily mean premium build quality too. While most phones with metal or glass design usually feel premium, there are cases where even all-metal phones feel, well, cheap. This is especially true of mid-range smartphones.

So if build quality is your concern, it doesn’t necessarily matter what material your phone is made out of. Take the Pocophone F1: despite its polycarbonate body, it still feels solid and well-built.

And that brings us to the next point: cost. One of the major reasons why the Pocophone F1 is so affordable is the fact that it’s made out of plastic, which reduces the overall cost of the phone. While build material isn’t the only thing that impacts the price tag of a phone, it’s certainly one of the easiest ways to reduce the cost of manufacturing. In fact, I imagine there will be folks who will gladly purchase a flagship smartphone made out of high-quality plastic if it is priced right.

Speaking of cost, not only are smartphones with metal or glass designs more expensive to manufacture, there are also costlier to replace – this is especially true for the latter. To make matters worse, phones with glass backs are not as durable as metal or plastic panels. In the case of a drop, the glass panel has a very high chance of shattering.

Sure, putting on a casing will lessen the possibility of this happening, but this goes back to the earlier point – if you won’t even be touching the physical chassis of your phone, what’s the use of it being made out of premium material?

Now, I personally love smartphones with glass and metal designs, but more often than not, I almost always protect my own devices with casings, screen protectors, and sometimes even skins. I baby my devices, and I do think it defeats the purpose of owning a phone made out of premium material if I’m just going to cover it up. To be frank, I’m envious of those who don’t mind using their smartphones without any form of protection; they can really enjoy all the hard work manufacturers have put into their devices’ ergonomics and design.

But until there are smartphones with a glass or metal design that are as durable as plastic phones, I’ll continue to cover up my devices with casings and skins.


Honor 8X Hands-On: A Big, Budget-Centric Mid-Ranger

Honor has been releasing pretty interesting budget-oriented smartphones one after another, and the latest device – set to be launched in Malaysia next week – is the Honor 8X. On the surface, this is a mid-range smartphone with a large display, but if Honor prices it right, the 8X may be one of the most compelling devices in its price range.

Powering the Honor 8X is Huawei’s very own Kirin 710 chipset, which is said to be equivalent to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 SoC. I’ve played a couple of PUBG Mobile matches on the device, and while there are a few stutters here and there, the battle royale game is very playable on the 8X. You won’t have too much trouble getting your chicken dinner with this device.

In terms of software, the Honor 8X is a smooth operator. Launching multiple apps consecutively is a fuss-free affair on the 8X, and it generally feels very responsive out of the box. While I don’t quite dig the design of the user interface, EMUI 8.2 on the 8X is fast and lightweight.

Design-wise, I love the front design of the Honor 8X. I’m not crazy about the notch, but the minimal bottom bezel really gives the phone an almost bezel-less aesthetic. And if you don’t like the notch, there’s an option to “disable” it in the settings – the area surrounding the notch will be darkened to effectively hide it.

But there is one design aspect of the Honor 8X I don’t quite get: the left side of the glass back has a different texture than the rest of the panel to emphasise on the horizontal design. It’s reminiscent of the Lenovo Vibe Shot’s design, and while this certainly gives the 8X a unique appearance, it doesn’t look particularly attractive. But hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder – you may not share my sentiment.

Now, let’s get to one of the reasons why you’d want to consider the Honor 8X: its large 6.5-inch display. Sporting a resolution of 2340 x 1080, this LTPS screen is pretty decent. It’s a bright, vibrant display, and it looks sharp despite sporting “only” a 1080p resolution. If you’re worried the resolution isn’t high enough for a 6.5-inch panel, don’t be. It’s plenty sharp for comfortable day-to-day usage.

Equipped with a 3,750mAh battery, the Honor 8X should be able to return good battery life. The battery capacity may seem small for a phone with a 6.5-inch display, but because it’s a 1080p panel, it shouldn’t be too power hungry. Aside from that, the phone charges via a microUSB port; no USB Type-C here.

Like many phones in the market now, the Honor 8X comes with a couple of biometric security options. The rear fingerprint sensor is fast and accurate – a slight touch is enough for the sensor to recognise my fingerprint – and the face unlock is equally quick too. Naturally, you can activate both security options if you’d like.

How’s the camera performance of the Honor 8X? Serviceable. The 20MP f/1.8 + 2MP dual camera system is a decent performer, but don’t expect amazing image output. The AI mode does brighten images quite a bit, but colours are more saturated too. On top of that, the camera application isn’t as responsive as I would’ve liked either. The front-facing camera, on the other hand, is a 16MP f/2.0 shooter.

Despite its average camera performance, the Honor 8X is still quite a compelling mid-ranger – especially if goes for the right price. In China, the 8X retails from only 1,399 Chinese yuan for the 64GB model with 4GB of RAM; that comes up to about RM845.

If Honor can price the 8X below RM1,000 in Malaysia, it may give a lot of devices in this price range a run for their money. It’s a sleek-looking device – bar the back glass design, in my opinion – and the Kirin 710 is a pretty capable chipset. Here’s hoping the Honor 8X will be priced competitively once it’s launched in Malaysia on 9 October.


Apple iPhone XS Hands-On: Incremental Upgrades

Apple’s
brand new iPhones
 are here, and the Cupertino company is finally streamlining the design of its smartphones. Gone are the huge bezels found on the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and all three iPhone models this year – regardless of price point – now sport the iPhone X’s design.

Today, we’re gonna take a look at the iPhone XS; essentially the direct successor to the iPhone X. While both of these devices are almost identical to each other, the iPhone XS does bring some notable improvements – even though some of them are incremental.

Much like the iPhone X, the iPhone XS also comes with a 5.8-inch 2436 x 1125 Super Retina HD display, and it’s as gorgeous as ever. Because it is an OLED panel, the XS’ display has very deep black levels. On top of that, colours are also vibrant, and viewing angles are great too.

While the display notch is a polarising design, there’s no denying the stunning screen of the iPhone XS. It’s definitely one of the best displays in the market, even when compared to the screens of other notable flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Huawei P20 Pro.

Although Apple didn’t make much changes to the iPhone XS’ display from its predecessor, the company did introduce a large improvement under the hood: the A12 Bionic chip. Said to be up to 15% faster than the A11 Bionic, the XS feels very fast and responsive. Apple also claims that the A12 is up to 50% more power-efficient than the A11 – the latter is a smaller 7nm chip – so you can expect to get better battery life on the iPhone XS.

What’s even more impressive is the new quad-core GPU of the A12 Bionic, which promises up to 50% improved performance. The A11 Bionic’s GPU was already considered to be one of the best in the market right now, so if the A12’s GPU can indeed deliver 50% better performance than its predecessor, it will certainly be
the
GPU to beat.

In my testing, PUBG Mobile did feel very, very smooth on the iPhone XS, which is really expected from a device as powerful as it is. I’ll definitely try out a wider range of games on the XS in a full review of the phone – especially the massively popular Fortnite.

Performance aside, the iPhone XS feels just like the iPhone X when held, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, the latter was a well-designed phone in the first place. The XS is thick enough to comfortably grip, the stainless steel frame feels very premium, and the glass back is nice to the touch. However, like most glass back panels, it
is
a fingerprint magnet. Nothing a quick wipe can’t solve though.

And finally, we have the camera performance of the iPhone XS. Despite the fact that the phone’s rear cameras are still made up of two 12MP sensors like its predecessor, the primary shooter now packs larger pixels for improved performance. Compared to the iPhone X, the XS can definitely take better-looking shots consistently.

However, I only managed to take daylight shots with the iPhone XS. It’ll be interesting to see how it performs in more challenging lighting situations, though I’m quite optimistic it’ll be a great performer even in low light conditions.

Now, let’s address the “beautygate” of the new iPhones. Basically, images taken with the iPhone XS and XS Max’s 7MP front-facing camera are automatically applied with some form of beauty filter. I took a selfie with the iPhone X and XS for comparison, and it’s quite evident that there’s skin smoothing on the XS’ shot. Plenty of other iPhone XS and XS Max users have reported this issue too.

Selfie shots taken with the iPhone X (top) and iPhone XS.

Personally, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal – I even prefer the iPhone XS’ selfie shot, even though my skin tone doesn’t look particularly natural. Nonetheless, it would’ve been great if there’s an option to remove this “feature.” For what it’s worth, Apple is rumoured to be looking into this, so there’s a chance the company will change how the selfie camera’s beautification – if any – work in a future update.

The iPhone XS is a great follow-up to the iPhone X. Although it retains the design of its predecessor, there are meaningful upgrades under the hood, including improved camera performance and a more powerful processor. But is it worth upgrading to?

For now, I’d say it’s not worth it for those who already own an iPhone X. Those who are still on older iPhones, however, will be very happy with the iPhone XS. And if you want a bigger display and better battery life, there’s also the XS Max, though it’s more costly than the XS.

We always say the latest iPhones are the best ever made every year. While I can’t say that with confidence yet without spending more time with the iPhone XS in a full review, I can say this with conviction: it’s a really, really good iPhone. But it will also cost you a pretty penny.


Smartphone Spec Race: How Much RAM Is Too Much?

Every phone maker wants to release the best

smartphone in the market every year. In a bid to do just that, storage capacities get bigger – most flagship devices come in 512GB variants now – processors get faster, and camera systems get more sophisticated. All of these, in turn, lead to “the spec race” – just put in larger numbers to a device’s specifications to make it appear superior.

Most of the time, the spec race isn’t necessarily a bad thing; at the end of the day, consumers will be getting better devices. However, there comes a time where we need to question certain decisions. One that comes to find is a rumoured new variant of the Oppo Find X with 10GB of RAM.

So the question is, how much RAM do you really need on a smartphone? Let’s find out.

Before we get to the meat of the discussion, we have to understand what RAM actually does. An acronym for Random Access Memory, RAM is vital to the most basic function of a smartphone: multitasking. When you launch an app or a game, all of them are stored in RAM. As you open more applications and more background tasks are added, more RAM is used up. If there’s not enough RAM, certain apps will be closed to free up memory.

In short, having more RAM means you can run a lot more apps simultaneously. Say you’re playing a mobile game when you got an urgent message you need to reply; if you have enough RAM, the game will be right where you left it after you’ve replied your message. It eliminates the hassle of launching apps again as you open even more apps.

Is there any downside to having more RAM? Certainly, and the most important one is cost – there’s a reason why the largest RAM capacities are normally reserved for flagship smartphones. The more RAM is offered in a smartphone, the costlier it is to manufacture, which (usually) drives up the price of the device.

So let’s get back to the question: how much RAM do you
need
? Generally, 4GB of RAM is still considered good enough. In fact, even the latest iPhone XS and XS Max only pack 4GB of RAM. The more affordable iPhone XR, on the other hand, comes with 3GB of RAM.

However, it’s worth noting that iOS devices in general don’t require as much RAM as their Android counterparts – this comes down to how differently both platform works. Not only do they have different memory management systems, Android’s more fragmented nature really necessitates the need for more RAM to compensate for the different versions of Android various manufacturers release – some are more (or less) optimised than others.

Speaking of optimisation, we also have to take into account how different the smartphone landscape is in China, especially for Android phones. Google services are blocked in China, so Android phones in the country are loaded with a plethora of different app stores to make up for the lack of the Play Store. This is part of the reason why Chinese Android phones from the likes of Oppo and OnePlus come with so much RAM.

On the other side of the field, iOS’ closed ecosystem allows Apple to more efficiently polish and refine the operating system. As a result, iOS devices don’t need as much RAM as Android phones – it’s simply a more optimised platform.

Unless you’re in China, 4GB of RAM – regardless of Android or iOS – is more than enough on a smartphone. However, this may change in the future, especially for Android devices. As mobile games and apps get more sophisticated and demanding, more RAM will be needed. Perhaps the standard may be 6GB of RAM in the near future – that’s how much RAM flagship smartphones today feature anyway.

But do you need
10GB of RAM
 on a smartphone? Highly unlikely. Anything more than 6GB is really overkill.


LG V40 ThinQ – What You Need to Know

The LG V40 ThinQ is finally official today, and one of the biggest selling points of LG’s brand new flagship is its five different cameras: two on the front, and three on the back. The unique camera setup gives the V40 a plethora of shooting options, but is this reason alone enough to make it a worthwhile flagship phone?

In a vacuum, yes. The V40 is potentially LG’s best phone to date, but in a flagship landscape dominated by better – and some even more affordable – smartphones, the V40 has trouble standing out.

Seeing how camera is one of the V40’s most unique hardware, let’s get to that first. The phone’s three rear cameras are made up of a 12MP primary shooter with f/1.5 aperture, a 16MP f/1.9 wide-angle lens, and a 12MP f/2.4 telephoto camera. Whether you want to take a regular shot, a wide-angle image, or a close-up portrait, the V40 can do it all – that’s the shooting flexibility it gives.

This flexibility will certainly appeal to some folks, but because the V40 has three separate cameras to do different things, image quality varies widely. Generally, the 12MP primary shooter performs the best (thanks in part to its large aperture), followed by the wide-angle, and telephoto lenses. This isn’t all that surprising: the telephoto lens has the smallest aperture opening of the bunch.

As for the front-facing cameras, the V40 comes equipped with an 8MP f/1.9 standard shooter and a 5MP f/1.9 wide-angle camera. Again, flexibility is the key here: you can rely on the 8MP shooter for taking regular selfies, and switch to the 5MP lens for a wider selfie – or wefie – shot.

Without a doubt the V40 is a flexible shooter, but it still remains to be seen how its camera performance stacks up to flagships with excellent cameras like the Huawei P20 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S9. If the V40 can stand toe-to-toe with these behemoths (as unlikely as it may sound), it’ll be a mighty compelling device.

Besides camera, the V40 has a large 6.4-inch 3120 x 1440 OLED FullVision display. Not only is this a sharp screen, OLED panels are generally considered to be more desirable than LCD displays too – the former has superior black levels and more punchy colours. Chances are, the V40’s LG-made display is one of its strong suits.

But providing power to that high resolution, 6.4-inch display is only a 3,300mAh battery; not a very sizeable cell for a phone this size. Typically, devices as big as the V40 come equipped with batteries much larger than that – some are even equipped with 4,000mAh cells. Personally, I’m not optimistic the V40 will have very good battery life, but that’s something I can only say with confidence once I have the device in for review.

Design is subjective, but I’d argue the V40 is a sleek device. Its minimalist glass and metal design gives it a clean aesthetic, and the slim bottom bezel – said to be 1.6mm thinner than its predecessor – is a nice design element. I also love the fact that it is IP68-rated; a feature that should be present on any flagship device.

However, like many, many other phones in the market now, the V40 has a notched display, which can be “disabled” by darkening the area surrounding the notch. I’m mostly neutral when it comes to display notches, but I’m happy that the V40’s notch isn’t as wide as, say, the
Pocophone F1
‘s. The smaller notch frees up space for more notifications to be shown at the top of the display.

Other specifications of the V40 are what you’d expect from a flagship smartphone. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of fast UFS 2.1 storage, a microSD card slot for further storage expansion, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. However, despite being a newly announced device, the V40 still ships with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box – no Android 9 Pie on board for the time being. That’s not exactly a good thing, considering the fact that Android Pie has been out for a couple of months now.

The LG V40 ThinQ looks to be a promising phone, but beyond its five-camera configuration, its other qualities…don’t stand out. The small 3,300mAh battery is a concern, it doesn’t ship with the latest version of Android, and the overall camera performance may not be on the same level as its competition. To top it off, the V40 is a costly smartphone: it retails from $900 in the US, which comes up to about RM3,735.

For the V40 ThinQ to succeed (especially in this part of the world), the phone has to be priced appropriately to rival its closest competition. That is, if it even arrives here – LG has been pretty quiet in our region.


Smartphone Buyer’s Guide: Should You Get Older Flagship Phones?

The smartphone market moves very rapidly: the phone you bought just one year ago is suddenly “outdated” the moment its successor is announced. To be on the cutting edge of technology, you’ll have to upgrade your phone every single year; not many people can commit to that.

However, what if you don’t really care about getting the latest phone, and you just want a good, flagship smartphone that won’t break the bank? While you can consider budget-friendly flagships like the
Pocophone F1
, older flagship smartphones are worth a gander too – even if they’ve been in the market for a while.

Say you want a smartphone that’s great for photography: flagships that fit the bill range from the Samsung Galaxy S9 to the Huawei P20 Pro. Although prices of these two phones have gotten down for a bit now – they were introduced half a year ago, after all – they’re still well above the RM2,000 mark.

Let’s assume your maximum budget is only RM2,000; what flagship device can you get that’s still great for photography? Well, for starters, there’s the Samsung Galaxy S8+. While its camera may not be as good as the Galaxy S9+, it’s still very, very capable. The best part is, you can easily get it for below RM2,000 now – one retailer on Lazada is offering the Galaxy S8+
for only RM1,948
. Considering the fact that the S8+ went for RM3,699 at launch, that’s a huge saving.

It’s only natural for older flagships to be much more affordable, and this reason alone is a great rationale to consider purchasing them over their successors. Sure, last year’s flagships are usually not as powerful or feature-packed, but I’d argue these sacrifices are worth the money you save.

Besides saving you some cash, older flagships are still plenty capable, especially when compared to newer devices that cost about the same. Take the standard Galaxy S8, which
now retails at RM1,728
. Its Exynos 8895 processor is faster than the majority of smartphones in this price range, it has an IP68 rating, a stunning Super AMOLED display, and camera performance that not many smartphones at this price point can rival.

There are, of course, a couple of exceptions. The Pocophone F1, for one, retails from merely RM1,299, undercutting the Galaxy S8’s current price by about RM400. Despite the fact that it’s more affordable, the F1 has a superior Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, as well as better battery life courtesy of the 4,000mAh cell.

However, if you’re not looking to get the best performance or battery life, the Galaxy S8 is a better phone overall. It looks and feels more premium, its Super AMOLED display is far superior to the F1’s IPS display, it has better camera performance. and again, the S8 is IP68-rated, giving it water and dust resistance.

These are just a couple of examples. Depending on which part of the world you live in, there are many more choices than just Samsung’s 2017 flagships. There’s the Nokia 8, which now goes
for only RM1,699
 (it retailed at RM2,299 at launch), and even the Huawei Mate 10 Pro (
RM1,999 now
 instead of its original RM3,099 launch price).

That being said, you also wouldn’t want to buy flagship smartphones that are…too old. There comes a point where even mid-range phones are better than flagship devices that were released, say, two years ago. Personally, I’d really only consider purchasing flagship smartphones that were introduced the previous year – they’re much more relevant than high-end phones from two generations back.

So if you’re in the market for a new smartphone with a healthy budget, don’t just look at the latest and greatest flagship devices – older flagships may still offer similar feature set and design for less money. You will be compromising on a couple of areas like camera performance and processing power, but if it saves you a lot more money, why not?


Asus ROG Phone Hands-On: A True Gaming Smartphone

There are more than a handful of “gaming smartphones” in the market now, but only a few are truly deserving of the title; one of which is the Asus ROG Phone. Beyond its raw hardware power, the ROG Phone’s gaming-centric features make it arguably the most interesting gaming smartphone in the market now.

I managed to spend some time with Asus’ brand new phone, and I’m really, really impressed with it. However, you do have to pay a pretty hefty price tag for it.

Unlike most flagship smartphones, the ROG Phone comes with a “specially selected” Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset that is clocked at 2.96GHz. Paired with 8GB of RAM, as well as 128GB or 512GB of fast UFS 2.1 storage, these will allow the phone – in theory – to perform better than most phones in various tasks, including gaming.

I’ve played a couple rounds of PUBG Mobile on the ROG Phone, and it can max out the game’s graphics settings without much difficulty. On top of that, the frame rate is also high and consistent, lending to a very pleasant gaming experience.

Aside from its chipset, the ROG Phone also comes with a GameCool “vapour-chamber cooling system,” which promises better CPU cooling efficiency. If you want even better cooling performance, there’s also the AeroActive Cooler attachment – it can supposedly lower the phone’s surface temperature by up to 4.7°C.

While I can’t say for sure if the AeroActive Cooler can really lower the temperature of the ROG Phone by that much, the attachment’s fan does bring in plenty of cool air the moment I snap it on. It’s quite an interesting experience, and I imagine it’ll be really useful in long gaming sessions.

But what makes the ROG Phone a truly unique gaming smartphone are the AirTriggers, and I’d argue this is the
best
reason to get this phone over its competition. Basically, in landscape orientation, the left and right portion of the phone at the top of the display are equipped with ultrasonic touch sensors, which can be programmed accordingly. In PUBG Mobile, for example, I can set the left trigger to aim down sights, and the right trigger to shoot.

The best part is, the AirTriggers work very, very well. I can set how much pressure is needed to activate them, and they work almost like actual buttons; they’re very intuitive to use. Practically any game can make use of it as well: both PUBG Mobile and Fortnite can take advantage of the feature, and I imagine other mobile games – especially shooters – can too.

As a gaming smartphone, the ROG Phone has a good display too. Its 6-inch 2160 x 1080 HDR-capable AMOLED panel is bright, vibrant, and has great viewing angles. The display also has a high 90Hz refresh rate, but only certain games can run at that frame rate. I tested Vainglory on the ROG Phone, and that game ran at 90fps consistently – that’s impressive.

Display aside, other aspects of the ROG Phone are equally good too. The matte finish of the phone’s metal frame is nice, the back glass panel looks and feels premium, and tipping the scales at 200g, I love the heft of the phone. After all, it has a sizeable 4,000mAh battery, which should return great battery life.

However, there are certain aspects of the ROG Phone that are questionable. For one, there’s the odd fingerprint sensor’s placement. Not only is it placed off-centre, it’s also hard to reach up to it. To make matters worse, it’s not the most responsive or accurate fingerprint sensor either.

Thankfully, the ROG Phone’s face unlock feature works very well. It can accurately recognise my face very quickly, and it can unlock the phone just as quick too.

In terms of software, the ROG Phone…has a very gaming-centric user interface. The icons are styled aggressively, black and orange colour scheme can be found in the notification shade and settings page, and there are quite a number of bloatware, though most of them are utility apps like calculator, file manager, and sound recorder.

As a whole, the ROG Phone’s software experience is quite decent. It feels fast and responsive, and I can access the app drawer by swiping up on the home screen; swiping down reveals the notification shade instead. Sure, the user interface’s design may not be to everyone’s taste, but hey, this
is
a gaming smartphone. It’s only natural for the software to complement this fact.

Oh, although it’s a small detail, I love the design of the ROG Phone’s always-on display. The red accent is a very nice touch.

Considering the ROG Phone’s heavy focus on gaming, how good is its camera? Equipped with 12MP f/1.7 and 8MP f/2.2 wide-angle camera sensors, the ROG Phone’s camera performance is…serviceable. It can without a doubt take good shots at daytime – most phones can do that – but under more challenging lighting conditions, the camera performance takes a dive.

Not only does the camera feel more sluggish in low light conditions, the image output are not great either. Noise is very apparent, details are lacking, and the shutter speed slows down considerably. Not surprisingly, the 8MP wide-angle shooter takes worse images than the primary 12MP camera too. The 8MP f/2.0 front-facing shooter, on the other hand, is a decent selfie camera.

This level of camera performance isn’t entirely unexpected: the ROG Phone focuses on gaming above all else. Is it a horrible phone for photography? Not exactly. While it doesn’t have great camera performance, it can certainly get the job done in a pinch.

The Asus ROG Phone is easily the Taiwanese company’s most impressive smartphone to date. It’s a blazing fast phone, its gaming features – the AirTriggers, especially – are genuinely useful, and its overall build quality and finish rival that of other high-end, flagship smartphones.

If you’re looking for the absolute best gaming smartphone this year, the ROG Phone fits the bill – even more so than the new Razer Phone 2, in my opinion. Even though the Razer Phone 2 comes with a faster 120Hz display, its design is mostly unchanged from its predecessor. The ROG Phone definitely looks sleeker in comparison, and Razer’s offering does not have the former’s very useful AirTriggers.

That being said, as impressive as the ROG Phone is, it’s priced on the higher side of things. In Malaysia, the 128GB model retails at RM3,499, while the much more generous 512GB variant goes for RM3,999. That puts this phone in the same price range as other high-end flagship devices, and it’s not a great place to be in for a niche product like the ROG Phone.

It’s niche in the sense that the ROG Phone’s design philosophy, feature set, and hardware are meant to appeal to mobile gamers; the average smartphone user will be better served by other flagship smartphones that are more well-rounded. This is the ROG Phone’s main pitfall, but if you’re willing to fork out the money for it, it will serve you very well – as a gaming smartphone.

Update, 22 October 7PM:
 This article has been updated with the Malaysian pricing of the Asus ROG Phone.


Should You Get the iPhone X Instead of the iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR?

Generally, iPhones are some of the most costly smartphones in the market, and this is further magnified this year with the introduction of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Take the recently revealed retail prices of the new iPhones in Malaysia. Retailing from RM3,599 for the iPhone XR, the prices shoot up to RM4,999 and RM5,399 for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max respectively.

Needless to say, these are very, very hefty price tags. If you’re looking to get a brand new iPhone, should you really even consider getting the new models this year? After all, even the most “affordable” new iPhone goes for RM3,599. That’s
a lot
of money.

With the steep price tags of the new iPhones in mind, older iPhone models are worth considering. More specifically, last year’s best Apple device, the iPhone X. Although the iPhone X has been officially discontinued, you can still get the device well below its original retail price now. Let’s take a look at what you’ll miss out if you opt to get the iPhone X instead of the latest iPhone models.

First and foremost, you’ll be sacrificing performance with the iPhone X. It’s powered by Apple’s A11 Bionic chip, and compared to the new A12 Bionic processor found in the new iPhones, the latter offers up to 15% increase in CPU performance. On top of that, it also has a better GPU – supposedly up to 50% better – and improved power-efficiency, thanks to the A12’s smaller 7nm size.

That being said, the A11 Bionic is still a plenty capable chip, even if compared to the latest crop of processors found in other high-end Android smartphones in the market now. Yes, that include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, Samsung’s Exynos 9810 processor, and Huawei’s Kirin 970 SoC. Although the A12 chip is superior, there’s no denying the high performance level of the A11 processor here.

Besides performance, the iPhone X’s camera isn’t quite as good as the iPhone XS and XS Max. Although the XS and XS Max also feature two 12MP camera sensors as their predecessor, the primary 12MP shooter boasts larger pixels for improved camera performance. As for the iPhone XR, it’s not known yet exactly how its single rear camera stacks up to the iPhone X’s dual camera system – the XR is not officially available in the market yet – but considering the fact that the XR has the same primary 12MP sensor as the more expensive XS and XS Max, it should have better camera performance than the X.

Okay, so you’ll be sacrificing some performance and camera capability with the iPhone X, but there are some positives. For one, you’re getting a very similar display as the iPhone XS. Both devices feature 5.8-inch 2436 x 1125 Super Retina HD OLED displays, and as far as I can tell, they look virtually the same.

However, if you opt to get the iPhone XS Max instead, that particular device offers a larger 6.5-inch OLED panel. It’s a different story if you want the more affordable iPhone XR. Not only does the XR come with an LCD panel – generally considered to be less desirable than an OLED screen – it’s also a lower resolution 1792 x 828 display. Sure, it’s a larger 6.1-inch screen than the iPhone X’s 5.8-inch panel, but note that the XR lacks 3D Touch support.

Display isn’t the only aspect of the iPhone X that is similar to the newer iPhones; you’re also getting the same Face ID system on the X. Although the A12 Bionic’s next generation Neural Engine improves Face ID’s recognition speed – just a tad, in my testing – it’s still mostly the same hardware.

Last but not least is design, and…the iPhone X looks and feels a lot like the iPhone XS. Both phones have stainless steel frames, glass backs, and identical appearance. You’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the iPhone X and iPhone XS.

It’s also worth noting that the iPhone XR does not look quite as sleek as the iPhone X. The XR has thicker bezels all around the display, and the aluminium frame isn’t as premium as the X’s stainless steel frame. However, you do have a wider variety of colours to choose from with the XR – it’s available in white, black, blue, yellow, coral, and red.

So all in all, is the iPhone X worth considering over the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR? Absolutely. You will sacrifice in a couple of areas like performance and camera, but the amount of money you save by getting the iPhone X over the newer iPhones may be worth it.

Much like
older flagship smartphones
, just because the iPhone X is an older model doesn’t mean it’s not worth purchasing. Consider how much you’ll save by getting the iPhone X: if the price difference is large enough, by all means, go for it.