Asus TUF Gaming A15 Hands-On: Powerful, Affordable Ryzen 4000 Gaming Laptop

The highly anticipated
AMD Ryzen 4000 mobile processors
 are now available in Malaysia after Asus unveiled its range of laptops with the new chips locally a couple of days ago. One of the most interesting products launched then is this one right here: the Asus TUF Gaming A15.

Configurable with a fast Ryzen 9 4900H processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, this is a powerful gaming laptop. More importantly, it also offers
excellent
 value for money. If you’re looking to get a gaming laptop with the absolute best performance for the least amount of money, the A15 should be at the top of your list.

Since sheer value for money is one of the TUF Gaming A15’s best selling points, let’s talk about that first. The model we received for review is the Ryzen 7 4800H variant with an RTX 2060 GPU. Coupled with 16GB of RAM and a
whopping
 1TB SSD, this particular model retails at RM5,699. That’s not exactly an affordable price tag, but you
do
 get some impressive hardware for that kind of money.

Of course, if you want even better processing power, you can swap out the Ryzen 7 chip for an even faster Ryzen 9 4900H processor. How much will this upgrade cost? Only RM200. However, benchmarks have shown that the Ryzen 9
isn’t remarkably faster
 than the Ryzen 7 due to thermal and TDP constraints, so the extra cost may not be worth it.

Anyway, given the beefy Ryzen 7 processor and RTX 2060 GPU of the A15, it will be able to offer excellent gaming performance. I haven’t managed to run any AAA games on the machine yet, but I’m confident it will have no issue in delivering high enough frame rates for a pleasant gaming experience. I’ll definitely put this to the test in a full review of this gaming laptop.

Further enhancing the gaming experience of the laptop is the fast display of the TUF Gaming A15. Regardless of which variant you go for, you will get a 15.6-inch 1080p display with a 144Hz refresh rate. This high refresh rate ensures that every motion on the screen looks extra smooth, even something as trivial as mouse movement.

Of course, the 144Hz panel also means that the A15 can show up to 144 frames per seconds, so games that can push out that many frames with the RTX 2060 GPU will be able to take full advantage of the fast screen.

What about the display quality of the A15? Well, it’s quite good. Asus says that this laptop has an “IPS-level” display, and for the most part, it does look like an IPS panel. It can produce relatively vibrant colours, and the brightness level is good. But I’m not too thrilled by the viewing angles. It’s not horrible by any means, but it does dim noticeably when you look at the screen at a slight angle.

Design wise, the A15 is a sleek-looking gaming laptop. The screen bezels are quite minimal (though I do wish the bottom bezel was smaller), the lid now sports the TUF Gaming logo instead of the simple Asus branding of the previous FX505 laptop, and it’s actually slightly thinner now, measuring 24.9mm at its thickest point. However, tipping the scales at 2.3kg, it’s a hefty machine.

In order to bring down the price of the A15, plastic is found throughout the gaming laptop. The bottom chassis, display bezel, and even the palm rest area are made out of plastic. This doesn’t give the laptop a particularly premium appeal, but it
is
 MIL-STD-810H certified, so you know it’s a durable machine.

And then we have the input devices of the TUF Gaming A15. The keyboard, for one, is reasonably good. It has a good amount of travel and tactile feedback, which make for a comfortable typing experience. I also rather like the see-through WASD keycaps; it complements the RGB lighting of the keyboard quite well.

That being said, I’m not a fan of the keyboard’s layout. I appreciate the separated arrow keys, but Asus decided to fit a compressed numpad on the right side of the keyboard. As a result, the other keys are “shifted” to the left side, and I find myself accidentally hitting the num lock key whenever I want to reach for the backspace button. I imagine I can get used to this layout over time, but there will be an adjustment period.

As for the trackpad, it’s surprisingly good for a gaming laptop. It can track my fingers accurately, gestures work as intended, and the smooth surface makes it effortlessly to use. It’s a decent trackpad, but I do wish it wasn’t static; I can only tap on it or use the two dedicated buttons below the trackpad for mouse clicks.

Based on my brief time with the Asus TUF Gaming A15, it looks to be a solid gaming laptop with excellent value for money. It has a fast 144Hz screen, a reasonably sleek design, and most of all, it offers fantastic performance for the money. I’ll be putting the Ryzen 7 4800H through its paces in a full review, and based on many benchmarks of the chip, I’m confident it will be one of the fastest chips you can get at this price point.

If you want something more affordable, you can always opt for the Ryzen 5 4600H configurations of the A15, which retails from only RM3,499. Check out our full coverage of
Asus’ other Ryzen 4000 laptops in Malaysia
 to learn more.


Dell XPS 15 (2020) Full Prices Revealed in Malaysia; Costs up to RM10,499

As promised, the
Dell XPS 15
 is now available for purchase in Malaysia. When it was made official a couple of days ago, we only know the RM7,999 starting price of the premium productivity laptop. Now, we’ve got the full price list, and as expected, it’s a costly machine.

Four different configurations of the XPS 15 are offered locally. The RM7,999 base model features Intel’s 10th-generation Core i5-10300H processor paired with 8GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a 15.6-inch 1920 x 1200 InfinityEdge non-touch display. If you need more processing power, you can swap out the Core i5 chip for a faster Core i7-10750H processor; this particular model retails at RM8,299.

And then there’s the RM9,999 variant of the XPS 15. Just like the previous configuration, it comes with a Core i7-10750H chip, but the RAM and SSD storage are doubled to 16GB and 1TB respectively. On top of that, the display is upgraded to a much sharper 15.6-inch 3840 x 2400 touch-enabled panel as well. This is the model to get if you want the best possible screen quality.

Finally, there’s the range-topping configuration of the XPS 15 that costs a cool RM10,499. For the most part, it shares the same hardware as the RM9,999 option, but you’re getting 32GB of RAM instead. Basically, you’re paying additional RM500 for the RAM upgrade.

Regardless of which variant you go for, all configurations of the XPS 15 come with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q GPU with 4GB of GDDR6 memory; there’s no option for integrated graphics. This does explain why the starting price of the premium laptop is considerably higher than other markets.

Besides that, all models of the XPS 15 for the Malaysian market feature a sizeable 86WHr battery as well. This is a good thing, given that certain markets get a smaller 56WHr cell. Thanks to the large battery capacity, Dell promises that the XPS 15 “delivers the longest battery life of any 15-inch laptop.” The Full HD+ model, for one, is said to be able to return
over 25 hours of battery life
.

Compared to its predecessor, the new XPS 15 has a revamped InfinityEdge screen with very little bottom bezel, giving the laptop a very sleek-looking bezel-less design. The keyboard has been tweaked too: the keycaps are now 9.7% larger with less lattice in between the keys. The trackpad has also grown by 62%, so you get more space to work with.

The updated Dell XPS 15 is now available for purchase in Malaysia on the company’s
online store
. The RM7,999 starting price is steep, but it’s expected for a premium laptop of this calibre.


Sony Xperia 10 II With 21:9 OLED Screen & IP68 Rating Lands in Malaysia July 2020 for RM1,799

Sony has been really quiet in the Malaysian smartphone market, but it just confirmed the availability of its mid-range device on our shores, the Xperia 10 II. Featuring a tall 6-inch OLED screen with a tall 21:9 aspect ratio and an IP65 / IP68 rating, it’s quite an interesting mid-range smartphone.

That’s right, unlike most mid-rangers in the market, the Xperia 10 II – pronounced as the Xperia 10 Mark II – actually has dust and water resistance. It’s a feature that’s only typically found in flagship smartphones, so it’s nice that you don’t have to worry about water damage with this device.

Besides that, the Xperia 10 II also comes with a rather unique 6-inch 1080p OLED screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio. Smartphones don’t typically come with such a tall display, which certainly gives the phone an unconventional look. Then again, it does mean the phone is narrower than other devices, making it easier to use with only one hand.

Given that the Xperia 10 II features an OLED screen, you will get vibrant, punchy colours with this display, along with good viewing angles. More importantly, OLED panels can produce true, deep blacks as well, which makes content consumption that much more enjoyable. You can even enable dark mode to improve battery life – OLED panels don’t consume as much power when displaying blacks.

Speaking of which, the Xperia 10 II has a 3,600mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. It’s not an awfully large capacity, but for a phone this size, it’s certainly big enough. We reckon it will be able to return reasonably good battery life on a single charge.

In the camera department, the Xperia 10 II features a pretty good triple camera system. It’s made up of a 12MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide angle shooter, and another 8MP telephoto lens that can do 2x optical zoom. It’s a versatile camera array with three different focal lengths, which isn’t something many mid-range smartphones offer.

Other specifications of the Xperia 10 II include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a microSD card slot, an 8MP front-facing camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as Android 10 out of the box.

The Sony Xperia 10 II will be available for purchase in Malaysia sometime in July 2020. It’s quite some time away, but Sony Malaysia did reveal that the phone will retail at RM1,799 once it arrives here. That’s quite a steep price tag for a mid-range phone with a Snapdragon 665 chip, but you do get a number of other neat features.


Honor MagicBook Pro 2020 Brings 10th Gen Intel Chips & 16.1″ Screen for 5,999 Yuan

Honor just launched the latest iteration of the Honor MagicBook Pro 2020 in China. This is largely a hardware refresh, so most of the changes are under the hood of the 16-inch productivity laptop. It now comes with Intel’s latest 10th Gen processors and Nvidia’s new GeForce MX350 GPU.

Two Intel processors are offered with the MagicBook Pro 2020: a Core i5-10210U processor, or a faster Core i7-10510U chip. These are the chipmaker’s U-series processors, so you can expect to get a modest level of performance. After all, they are built to be power-efficient, so these chips are not quite as powerful as Intel’s H-series processors.

But the power efficiency of the processor does give the new MagicBook Pro respectable battery life. According to Honor, the 56WHr battery of the laptop can return up to 14 hours of continuous use. For video playback, it has a quoted battery life of 11.5 hours instead. If the laptop can really deliver this level of battery life, it would be quite impressive.

Aside from that, the MagicBook Pro also comes with a rather sleek-looking design headlined by the 16.1-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display with a matte finish to reduce glare. Thanks to the small bezels surrounding the screen, this laptop has a claimed screen-to-body ratio of 90%. What about the webcam? Well, it’s built into the keyboard itself, just like the
Huawei MateBook X Pro
.

Productivity laptops are meant to be portable, and in the case of the refreshed MagicBook Pro, it’s relatively slim and light for a 16-inch notebook. It tips the scales at 1.7kg, and measuring 16.9mm thin, you wouldn’t have much issue carrying this laptop around.

If you want to do some gaming on the side, you’ll be happy to know that the MagicBook Pro features a dedicated MX350 GPU. It’s not a very powerful graphics card, but in less demanding games like
Diablo III
 and Dota 2, this GPU will be able to deliver high enough frame rate for a pleasant gaming experience.

Other specifications of the refreshed MagicBook Pro include 16GB of DDR4 2666MHz RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, a fingerprint sensor, a single USB-C port, three full-size USB-A connections, an HDMI output, and Windows 10 Home out of the box.

The Honor MagicBook Pro 2020 is now available for purchase in China. The Core i5 model retails at 5,999 Chinese yuan (~RM3,665), while the Core i7 option goes for 6,699 yuan (~RM4,090). At the moment, it remains to be seen if the new MagicBook Pro will be sold outside of China.


5 Standout Features of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G – Now Available in Cloud White

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is the Korean company’s most ambitious flagship smartphone yet, and it offers a number of very impressive features. Not only does it have a far-reaching 108MP quad camera system capable of doing 100x zoom, it’s also a handsome, sleek smartphone; a sexy new colourway of the device is available now too.

If you’re looking to get one of the best flagship smartphones in the market now, look no further than the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Not quite sure if it’s the device for you? Then here are five reasons why you should get it.

Sophisticated 108MP Quad Camera With 100x Space Zoom

Compared to other smartphones in the market now, the Galaxy S20 Ultra has one of the most sophisticated quad camera configurations. The primary sensor, for one, is a 108MP f/1.8 shooter that can capture fantastic shots with a shallow depth of field. Thanks to the natural bokeh afforded by the 108MP camera, you can isolate subjects from the background very well, opening up many possibilities for any kind of photography.

The shallow depth of field gives you the ability to shoot a more dramatic-looking shot like this
The 108MP sensor can snap great-looking landscape images as well

And then there’s the 48MP f/3.5 periscope telephoto lens, which can do up to 100x Space Zoom. This gives you the ability to get
really
 up close to subjects, and it lets you isolate them more effectively too. In combination with the 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle sensor, you’ve got a wide range of focal lengths to choose from with the S20 Ultra, making it a versatile shooter.

To illustrate the different focal lengths of the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s camera, here are several shots taken with the primary sensor, telephoto lens, and ultra-wide angle shooter. It also demonstrates the 100x Space Zoom.

12MP ultra-wide angle
108MP primary
48MP telephoto (5x)
48MP telephoto (10x)
48MP telephoto (30x)
48MP telephoto (100x)

Sleek Design

This is also one of the main highlights of the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Just like the Galaxy Note 10, the S20 Ultra features an Infinity-O Display with a centre hole-punch cutout at the top of the screen. Not only is the cutout unobtrusive, it gives the phone a symmetrical look too. The bezels surrounding the display are very small to boot, so you get a sleek all-screen design.

On top of that, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is currently available in two minimalist colour options: Cosmic Grey and Cosmic Black. If you want something flashier, there’s the new Cloud White variant, which is available for purchase right now in Malaysia.

So just how unique is the new Cloud White colourway for the Galaxy S20 Ultra? Well, depending on how light hits the back panel, you’ll get a nice iridescent effect. In fact, if you look at it from certain angles, it doesn’t even look like a white smartphone. Basically, it’s a very eye-catching colour that will stand out in a crowd.

Also launched alongside the new Cloud White Galaxy S20 Ultra is the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ in Cloud Blue. The blue pastel shade certainly compliments the phone’s new colour option well, and how often do you see a pair of wireless earbuds in this colourway?

Fast, Vibrant Screen

Every flagship smartphone worth its salt has to have a fast display with great image quality, and in the case of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, it aces these two criteria. Not only does it have a blazing fast 120Hz panel, the 6.9-inch 3200 x 1440 Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen looks fantastic too. It has vibrant, punchy colours, deep blacks, excellent viewing angles, and it supports HDR10+ as well.

Strong Performance

Under the hood of the Galaxy S20 Ultra is the Samsung Exynos 990 chipset, and it’s a powerful SoC. In our review of the S20 Ultra, we were impressed by the performance level of the Exynos 990. No matter what we throw at the phone, it can handle any given task effortlessly and seamlessly.

Of course, when it comes to gaming, you won’t have issues running practically any mobile games on the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Whether you’re planning to play PUBG Mobile or Mobile Legends at maxed out settings, this phone can handle it without breaking a sweat.

Long Battery Life

It’s worth noting that the Exynos 990 is fabricated on a 7nm process, which brings one important benefit: excellent power efficiency. This, combined with the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s huge 5,000mAh battery, gives the phone incredibly good battery life. On average, we can get over six hours of screen on time with the S20 Ultra, and that’s with the 120Hz mode enabled.

If you want even better battery life, setting the screen’s refresh rate to 60Hz will easily give you an extra hour of screen on time. And when you do need to recharge the phone, 30 minutes of charging with the provided charger can bring the battery level up to 60% from completely empty – that’s a very respectable charging rate.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra really is one of the best flagship smartphones in the market, and you can get it in Malaysia for RM4,999. Those who purchase the phone now will also receive a complimentary wireless charger and a 128GB microSD card. Collectively, these two items are worth RM378.

On top of that, you will also be eligible to enter Samsung’s 2020 Hari Raya Campaign with every purchase of the Galaxy S20 Ultra; the grand prize is a 65-inch Samsung Q800T QLED 8K Smart TV
and
RM500 Boost credit. Of course, there are a wide range of other Samsung products that are eligible for this campaign as well, including the Galaxy S10 Lite, Note 10 Lite, and the Galaxy A series.

You can learn more about Samsung’s 2020 Hari Raya Campaign
right here
. Winners will be selected on a weekly basis, so keep checking the campaign page for the latest list of winners!

Disclosure: This article is sponsored by Samsung Malaysia.


Honor ViewPad 6 Official With Kirin 985 5G Chip & Magic Pencil Support

Aside from the
MagicBook Pro 2020
, Honor also introduced a brand new tablet in China, the Honor ViewPad 6. Sporting the recently announced Kirin 985 5G chip, stylus support, and a sleek design, this is quite an interesting Android tablet.

Thanks to the Kirin 985 chipset under the hood of the ViewPad 6, you can expect to get reasonably good performance. After all, it is the Chinese company’s best processor after the flagship Kirin 990 SoC; it’s not just some run-of-the-mill chip. On top of that, it gives the tablet 5G connectivity a well.

Another selling point of the ViewPad 6 is stylus support courtesy of the Honor Magic Pencil. It’s said to support 4,096 levels of pressure, so it should be a good enough stylus for folks that need it. Of course, the tablet also comes with a Bluetooth keyboard case to get some work done on the go. At this point, it’s practically a must-have accessory for tablets.

You need a good screen to get work done comfortably, and the ViewPad 6 offers just that. Packing a 10.4-inch 2000 x 1200 display, it’s a large enough display for most users. There are also rather minimal bezels surrounding the screen, giving the tablet a sleek, modern-looking design. According to Honor, the ViewPad 6 has an 84% screen-to-body ratio as well.

Despite the tablet’s small bezels, there’s still enough space to fit an 8MP selfie camera above the screen. On the back, there’s a 13MP shooter.

Battery life of the ViewPad 6 should be quite good as well, thanks to the generous 7,250mAh battery. Honor claims that this battery capacity can deliver up to 13 hours of video playback. When you need to charge it, the tablet’s 22.5W fast charging support via the USB-C port should be able to top it up quickly.

Just like other recently launched Honor and Huawei Android-based products, the ViewPad 6 likely does not ship with Google Mobile Services. This basically means the tablet does not have essential Google apps pre-installed, including the Play Store, Gmail, Maps, and so on. Instead, you’ll have to rely on Huawei’s AppGallery to look for alternative apps.

The Huawei ViewPad 6 is set to be available globally sometime in June 2020. At the moment, the pricing of the tablet has not been revealed yet either; we were told its retail price will only be revealed next month in China on 13 June. Chances are, the ViewPad 6 should be a relatively affordable tablet.


This Limited Edition PS4 Pro for The Last of Us Part II Looks Amazing

Well, this is quite possibly the very last limited edition of the PlayStation 4 Pro system, and it’s made to celebrate what is likely the biggest game in the franchise yet, The Last of Us Part II. Unlike other limited edition takes of the console, this one is quite special: the design is engraved onto the system itself.

That’s right, this limited edition PlayStation 4 Pro has Ellie’s tattoo design
physically engraved
 to the top lid, and it looks stunning. In fact, the whole design of the console actually looks quite understated. Of course, the DualShock 4 controller has the same fern tattoo as well, with The Last of Us Part II’s logo on the touchpad.

Besides the custom PS4 Pro and DualShock 4 controller, PlayStation is also releasing a limited edition Gold Wireless Headset with the same design theme. It has a Steel Black matte finish with contrasting crimson inner ear cups. Ellie’s fern tattoo and the game’s logo are printed on the headband too. Again, it’s quite a minimalist-looking design.

On top of that, PlayStation is also working with Seagate to release the limited edition “The Last of Us Part II Officially Licensed Seagate 2TB Game Drive” – yes, it’s a mouthful. Anyway, it’s a regular hard drive with 2TB of storage and a laser-etched design of Ellie’s tattoo. As far as external hard drives go, it’s really quite a sleek-looking product.

We’re reached out to PlayStation regarding the Malaysian availability of this limited edition PlayStation 4 Pro, and unfortunately, we were told it will not be available on our shores. Instead, only the DualShock 4 and Gold Wireless headset will be sold here for RM279 and RM449 respectively; no word on the local availability of the Seagate drive.

It’s quite disappointing for the limited edition console to not be available here, but we reckon local retailers will import it here. Regardless, the custom DualShock 4 and Gold Wireless Headset can be purchased in Malaysia on 19 June itself, the same day as the game’s release date.

Speaking of which, The Last of Us Part II can now be pre-ordered on the PlayStation Store. The Standard Edition is
priced at RM239
, while the Deluxe Edition
goes for RM299
. Those who pre-order either versions will receive a PSN Avatar of Ellie’s tattoo, while the Deluxe Edition adds on a dynamic theme, six more PSN Avatars, as well as the digital soundtrack and mini art book from Dark Horse of the game.


Realme X3 SuperZoom Lands in Malaysia 28 May; 60x Zoom, 120Hz Screen, Snapdragon 855+

Realme has been launching quite a number of smartphones in Malaysia over the past couple of months, but the next device it is introducing on our shores is quite different. Set to be unveiled here next week on 28 May, the Realme X3 “SuperZoom” has hardware that can take on flagship smartphones.

As its name suggests, the Realme X3 SuperZoom is said to come with a rather far-reaching camera system. According to Realme, the X3 sports a quad camera system that can do up to 60x zoom. The primary sensor, on the other hand, is confirmed to be a 64MP shooter by Realme itself.

A teaser of the Realme X3 SuperZoom’s telephoto sensor

These are official details of the X3 SuperZoom, and given that the phone has not been launched yet, the exact camera hardware is still shrouded in mystery. However, if rumours and leaks are to be believed, the quad camera system of the phone will be made up of the aforementioned 64MP main sensor, an 8MP periscope telephoto lens that can do 5x optical zoom, an 8MP ultra-wide angle camera, and a macro sensor.

Besides the camera configuration, the X3 SuperZoom will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset as well. It may not be the latest Snapdragon 865 SoC, but the 855+ is still a very capable processor. Whether you’re a heavy multitasking smartphone user or an avid mobile gamer, you will get more than enough processing power to meet your needs.

Speaking of which, gamers will appreciate the Realme X3 SuperZoom’s fast 120Hz screen. Thanks to the high refresh rate, every single motion and animation will look extra smooth on this display. There is also an oblong-shaped hole-punch cutout on the top left of the screen to house a (supposedly) 32MP selfie camera and an 8MP ultra-wide angle shooter.

Other rumoured specifications of the X3 SuperZoom include a 6.6-inch 1080p screen, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of non-expandable storage – no microSD card slot here – a 4,200mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging, Realme UI based on Android 10 out of the box, and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that also doubles as the power button.

The Realme X3 SuperZoom will be introduced in Malaysia next week on 28 May at 11AM; the launch will be streamed live on
Realme’s Facebook page
. Realme smartphones usually offer pretty good value for money, so we’ll see if the same remains true for the X3 SuperZoom.

Read more:

Realme X3 SuperZoom Lands in Malaysia for RM1,999


Oppo Introduces 20-Day Trial Program for Find X2 Series in Malaysia

Oppo just launched a rather interesting loan program for its latest flagship smartphones, the
Oppo Find X2
 and
Find X2 Pro
. This program is dubbed “LendX2GO,” and those who are interested to try out either one of the two phones can do so for 20 days; they can even get a discount if they decide to purchase the device after the trial period.

Naturally, there are more than a few caveats here. For one, the trial program is limited to only 100 participants. 50 of them will receive the Find X2 Pro, while the other 50 will get the standard Find X2 instead. On top of that, those who are selected would have to pay a deposit of the devices’ full price before they can start the loan program, so that’s RM3,999 for the Find X2, and RM4,599 for the Find X2 Pro.

Of course, after the 20-day trial period, you can get the deposit back once the device is returned. But if you do decide to purchase the phone, Oppo is offering a 10% discount. You can get RM400 off for the Find X2, and RM460 for the Find X2 Pro – reasonably good offers.

However, you do have to jump through hoops to secure the discount. For one, you’ll have to shoot five “aesthetically taken photos” with the phone’s camera, complete with the Find X2 watermark. Once you’ve done that, the five pictures and a 30-word testimonial highlighting certain features of the device have to be posted either on
Lowyat.NET forum’s Android section
 or
Cari forum
.

This loan program is only open to Malaysians above 18 years of age, and selected participants have to collect the Find X2 or Find X2 Pro from the Oppo store in these four locations: Pavilion Kuala Lumpur; The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur; Prangin Mall, Penang; and Mid Valley Southkey, Johor.

Needless to say, it’s not a straightforward process to sign up for the trial program, but it does give 100 consumers a chance to try out the Find X2 or Find X2 Pro for 20 days without actually purchasing the device. Granted, they have to fork out a deposit for the phone’s full price, but it will be refunded when the device is returned.

If you’re interested to try out the Oppo Find X2 or Find X2 Pro for 20 days, you can submit your application
right here
. If you’d like to learn more about the Find X2 Pro, check out our
hands-on of the flagship smartphone
.


Asus ROG Zephyrus S15 With RTX 2080 Super & 300Hz Screen Coming to Malaysia Soon

Last week, Asus unveiled a number of
AMD Ryzen 4000 laptops in Malaysia
, and it appears the Taiwanese company is gearing up to launch yet another gaming laptop here. Enter the new Asus ROG Zephyrus S15: not only is it packing a powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super GPU, it also comes with a blazing fast 300Hz screen.

We spotted this updated model of the Zephyrus S15 on Asus Malaysia’s official website. According to the listing, the refreshed gaming laptop comes with the aforementioned RTX 2080 GPU and 300Hz screen. On top of that, it’s also equipped with Intel’s latest 10th generation Core i7-10875H processor.

Beyond the updated internals, other aspects of the Zephyrus S15 remain the same as its predecessor. It still has the same chassis, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Measuring only 18.9mm thin and tipping the scales at 2kg, it’s a relatively slim and lightweight gaming laptop with some serious power under the hood.

After all, the RTX 2080 Super is currently the most powerful GPU in the market now as far as gaming laptops are concerned. In fact, it’s quite impressive Asus managed to pack such beefy hardware into the slim chassis of the Zephyrus S15. If you’re concerned the Core i7-10875H can’t keep up with this GPU, worry not: it will not bottleneck the RTX 2080 Super.

Further enhancing the gaming experience of the Zephyrus S15 is the 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS-level display with a blazing fast 300Hz refresh rate. Thanks to the high refresh rate, this panel will offer superior motion clarity even in fast-paced competitive games. It’s also worth noting that this display supports Nvidia’s G-Sync technology, so you won’t have to deal with screen tearing.

Design wise, the Zephyrus S15 is quite a sleek-looking gaming laptop. The slim bezels surrounding the screen give it a modern, eye-catching design, though we do wish the bottom bezel was smaller. Unfortunately, this laptop does not have a webcam: there’s not enough space on the top bezel to fit a camera module.

Other specifications of the Zephyrus S15 include up to 48GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM, either 512GB or 1TB of fast M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD in Raid 0 configuration, a USB Type-C connection with Thunderbolt 3 support, three USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.0b output, and even an RJ-45 jack.

We’ve reached out to Asus Malaysia on the local availability of the Asus ROG Zephyrus S15, and we were told the gaming laptop will be arriving here sometime in the third quarter of 2020. With that in mind, we can expect the Zephyrus S15 to be launched in Malaysia as early as July 2020. Given the high-end hardware of this laptop, expect it to cost quite a bit of money.


Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in Cloud White Lands in Malaysia; Cloud Blue Buds+ Too

Samsung just introduced new colourways for two of its products. The flagship
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
, previously only available in either Cosmic Black or Cosmic Grey, is now offered in Cloud White as well. Besides that, the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ wireless earbuds can now be purchased in Cloud Blue as well.

Of course, beyond the different colour shades, these are the same Galaxy S20 Ultra and Galaxy Buds+ as previously offered. If you’ve always wanted a flashier colourway for either one of these two products, you’ll definitely appreciate the availability of these new colour options. Personally, I’m a fan of the Cloud White S20 Ultra: it’s more eye-catching than the more minimalist Cosmic Grey and Cosmic Black models.

Compared to other devices in the Galaxy S20 series, the S20 Ultra is the range-topping model. What makes it particularly different from the other S20 smartphones is its sophisticated quad camera system. The primary shooter is a 108MP sensor, and it’s complemented by a 48MP periscope telephoto lens that can do up to 100x zoom.

As for the other two shooters, it’s a 12MP ultra-wide angle lens and a DepthVision time-of-flight (ToF) sensor to capture depth information. Thanks to this quad camera array, the S20 Ultra is a versatile shooter with three different focal lengths for different shooting situations.

Besides that, the Galaxy S20 Ultra also has a fast 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, an Exynos 990 chipset – complete with 5G support – paired with 12GB of RAM, 128GB of expandable storage, a 40MP selfie camera, and a generous 5,000mAh battery.

As for the Galaxy Buds+, one of the wireless earbuds’ best selling point is battery life. According to Samsung, the Buds+ can return up to 11 hours of use on a single charge. With the addition of the charging case – which has enough juice to fully charge up the earbuds once – the Buds+ offers up to 22 hours of use. That’s really quite impressive.

Other specifications of the Galaxy Buds+ include a two-way dynamic speaker system with boosted driver, three mics (two outer, one inner) for better mic quality, and support for wireless charging.

The new Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra in Cloud White and the Cloud Blue Galaxy Buds+ are now available for purchase in Malaysia on Samsung’s online store; they retail at
RM4,999
and
RM599
 respectively. Expect other retailers to stock up on these new colourways as well.


Razer Updates Blade Pro 17 With 300Hz Screen & RTX 2080 Super

Razer just updated its premium Blade Pro 17 with a faster display and beefier GPU. Now, the thin 17-inch gaming laptop can be configured with a 300Hz screen, along with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q or RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics card.

Unlike last year’s model, this new iteration of the Blade Pro 17 only comes with these two GPU options; the RTX 2060 variant is no longer offered. Regardless, given that this is a gaming laptop targeted at consumers that want the best possible performance in a premium package, we imagine it’s not an option that will be missed.

And then there’s the Blade Pro 17’s upgraded screen. Previously, the 17.3-inch 1080p display had a 240Hz refresh rate, which has now been bumped up to 300Hz. Thanks to this high refresh rate, motion blur will be reduced immensely, especially in fast-paced games like
Call of Duty: Warzone
 and
Apex Legends
.

If you don’t need the blazing fast 300Hz refresh rate, you can go for the 4K touch-enabled screen option that’s mainly targeted at creative professionals. Not only is it far more pixel-dense – and it still has a respectable 120Hz refresh rate – it also cover 100% of the Adobe RGB colour space. On top of that, its peak brightness is rated at 400 nits; 100 nits more than the 1080p panel.

Naturally, the updated Blade Pro 17 comes with Intel’s latest 10th-generation Comet Lake Core i7-10875H octa-core processor with a base clock speed of 2.3GHz and a boost clock of up to 5.1GHz. Whether you’re an avid gamer or a creative professional, this chip will get the job done. It’s paired with 16GB of DDR4 2933MHz RAM as well, which can be upgraded up to 64GB.

Beyond these hardware upgrades, other aspects of the Blade Pro 17 remain relatively similar to the previous model. It still has the same 19.9mm thin chassis, though it appears the keyboard has been slightly tweaked with a longer right shift key and shorter arrow keys. Previously, the up arrow key took up some of the right shift key’s space, so the latter had to be shortened.

Other specifications of the refreshed Blade Pro 17 include 512GB or 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage, a 70.5WHr battery, an IR webcam with Windows Hello, as well as a keyboard with per-key RGB lighting and Razer Chroma.

The new Razer Blade Pro 17 will be available in the US later this month. The base model with a Full HD 300Hz display, an RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU, and 512GB of storage goes for $2,600 (~RM11,350); upgrading the GPU to an RTX 2080 Super Max-Q drives up the price to $3,200 (~RM13,970). The 4K variant with the same RTX 2080 Super GPU and a 1TB SSD, on the other hand, demands a $3,800 (~RM16,585) price tag.

Razer’s range of laptops are usually not offered here in Malaysia, so we don’t expect the Blade Pro 17 to be made available here officially.


Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite With S Pen Support Now in Malaysia for RM1,699

Samsung Malaysia just announced the local availability of its new mid-range Android tablet, the
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
. What makes this tablet particularly interesting is the fact that it supports the Korean company’s signature S Pen. On top of that, it’s not an exorbitantly priced tablet either.

For the Malaysian market, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
retails at RM1,699
. For that kind of money, you’re getting 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. Not very generous capacities, but should be enough for most consumers. Two colours of the tablet are offered in our market: Oxford Grey and Angora Blue.

To sweeten the deal, Samsung is running a launch promo for the Tab S6 Lite. Those who purchase the new tablet now will also receive the Tab S6 Lite Keyboard Cover worth RM409. Given the tablet’s focus on productivity, this is really quite an essential accessory.

The storage capacity of this listing has since been updated to 64GB; it has been unlisted as well

As mentioned, one of the best features of the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is its S Pen support. Unlike the S Pen offered with other Samsung products, the stylus has been redesigned for this tablet. Not only does it weigh only 7.03g, it also has improved pen latency and a 0.7mm pen tip. According to Samsung, this gives the S Pen “greater precision for note-taking and drawing.”

Unfortunately, while the Tab S6 Lite doesn’t have a dedicated slot to store the S Pen – a feature we’re very fond of with the
Galaxy Tab A 8.0
 – the redesigned stylus does snap on magnetically to the right side of the tablet. It’s not super secure or practical to store the S Pen this way, but there is a separate casing for the tablet with a dedicated compartment for the stylus.

Aside from the S Pen, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is a reasonably well-equipped mid-range tablet. It’s powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 9611 chipset, the same SoC found in the
Galaxy A50s
 mid-range smartphone. It’s not a very powerful processor, but it should be able to deliver a pleasant user experience.

Other specifications of the Tab S6 Lite include a 10.4-inch 2000 x 1200 TFT LCD display with relatively thin bezels surrounding it, a microSD card slot for futher storage expansion, an 8MP f/1.9 rear camera, a 5MP f/2.0 selfie camera, a 7,040mAh battery, and One UI 2 based on Android 10 out of the box.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is now available for purchase in Malaysia for RM1,699. It’s not a particularly affordable product, but given its feature set and inclusion of the S Pen, it could be the ideal tablet for those who need a relatively compact device with stylus support. Plus, those who
purchase the Tab S6 Lite now
 will also receive the Keyboard Cover worth RM409.


This Is Realme’s First Smartwatch, and It’s Coming to Malaysia

Realme just unveiled its very first smartwatch in India, aptly called the Realme Watch. Just like most products from the Chinese company, this smartwatch carries a very competitive price tag while offering a number of useful features. On top of that, this wearable will be launching in Malaysia as well.

In fact, the Realme Watch was actually registered with our local certification body, SIRIM, back in April last month; it was listed under Jie Communication with the model number RMA161. Now that it has already been approved by SIRIM – and given Realme’s strong presence here in Malaysia – we expect the smartwatch to make its local debut very soon.

As for the Realme Watch itself, it’s quite a feature-packed smartwatch, especially at this price point. It has a square case with a 1.4-inch 320 x 320 touch-enabled display, sporting 10 levels of brightness that peak at 380 nits. The panel technology itelf isn’t mentioned, though we reckon it’s an LCD screen given the affordable price tag of the wearable.

Just like other smartwatches in the market now, notifications from a paired smartphone are pushed accordingly to the Realme Watch. Among the apps that the Watch support for notifications include Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Gmail. It remains to be seen if the smartwatch can also show notifications from apps that are not mentioned by the company.

Of course, the Realme Watch is also able to track your workouts; 14 of them, in fact. These include outdoor run, badminton, basketball, yoga, and even strength training. The Watch will also show your heart rate throughout the workout, along with the duration and distance (for applicable workouts) you have covered.

In terms of battery life, the Realme Watch’s 160mAh battery is said to offer up to nine days of use with the heart rate sensor disabled; enabling the feature will bring it down to seven days, which is still very respectable. According to Realme, the battery life can be stretched up to 20 days in power saving mode.

Other specifications of the Realme Watch include IP68 water and dust resistance, a heart rate sensor, the ability to measure blood oxygen level, and 12 built-in watchfaces. If that doesn’t sound like much, worry not: Realme says that it is planning to add 100 new watchfaces in the future.

The Realme Watch will be available for purchase in India from 5 June onwards. As mentioned, it’s an affordable smartwatch, retailing at only 3,999 Indian rupee – that comes up to about RM230. If the Watch is sold at this price point once it’s launched in Malaysia, we reckon it will be quite well-received.


Realme X3 SuperZoom Official: 5x Optical Zoom, 120Hz Screen, Snapdragon 855+

Realme just launched its latest flagship smartphone, the Realme X3 SuperZoom. As its name suggests, the zooming performance of the device is the focus here: the quad camera system can do 5x optical zoom, or up to 60x digital zoom. Besides that, other specifications of the flagship phone are quite impressive too.

In order to achieve this level of zoom, the X3 SuperZoom features an 8MP f/3.4 telephoto lens with a periscope structure. On top of that, the telephoto sensor also comes with optical image stabilisation, so capturing blur-free images would be easier. The primary sensor, on the other hand, is a 64MP f/1.8 shooter.

The other two sensors are an 8MP f/2.3 ultra-wide angle camera and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens.

Aside from its camera system, the Realme X3 SuperZoom has a fast 6.6-inch 2400 x 1080 screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. This high refresh rate gives the panel superior motion clarity, so every animation and motion on the display will look extra smooth. This, in turn, improves the user experience of the phone.

There is also an oblong-shaped hole-punch cutout on the top left of the screen to house the two front-facing cameras. The main sensor is a 32MP f/2.5 unit, which is complemented by an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle shooter. This gives users the flexibility to take regular selfies with the 32MP camera, and switch to the 8MP lens for group selfies.

Performance wise, the X3 SuperZoom is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset. It may not be the latest high-end SoC offered by the chipmaker, but the 855+ is still a plenty capable processor, though it doesn’t come with 5G connectivity. Nonetheless, it will be able to deliver flagship-tier performance.

When it comes to battery life, the Realme X3 SuperZoom should be quite a long-lasting smartphone, thanks to its relatively generous 4,200mAh battery. Of course, like other noteworthy flagship smartphones in the market now, the X3 supports 30W fast charging as well, which can supposedly charge up the phone to full in only 55 minutes.

Other specifications of the X3 SuperZoom include 8GB or 12GB of RAM, two non-expandable storage options (128GB and 256GB), a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and Realme UI based on Android 10 out of the box.

For the European market, the Realme X3 SuperZoom retails at €499 – that comes up to about RM2,380. Do note that this price tag includes VAT, so expect the phone to cost less in other markets, including Malaysia. In fact, the X3 SuperZoom will be
landing on our shores tomorrow on 28 May
; stay tuned for our coverage of the launch event.


Honor 9X Lite With Google Mobile Services Launches in Malaysia for RM699

Honor just unveiled a new budget smartphone in Malaysia, the Honor 9X Lite. At a glance, this device looks strikingly similar to the
Honor 8X
, which is…no coincidence. In fact, the 9X Lite is basically a refresh of the 8X – it was released back in 2018 – with an upgraded camera system.

While that means the 9X Lite doesn’t look particularly modern with a large notch at the top of the screen, it does come with one big benefit: it still ships with Google Mobile Services. Out of the box, the phone will be pre-installed with a range of essential Google apps, including the Play Store, Gmail, Maps, and even YouTube.

Besides that, the dual camera system of the 9X Lite is also slightly better now. Instead of the 8X’s 20MP f/1.8 primary sensor, the 9X Lite comes with a superior 48MP f/1.8 shooter, which should be able to capture better-looking images. The second lens, on the other hand, is a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor.

Now, even with the upgraded sensor, the dual camera configuration of the 9X Lite still pales in comparison to its competition. After all, smartphones at this price point feature triple – or even quad – camera setups now with more focal lengths and features. While we reckon the 9X Lite’s camera performance will still be serviceable, don’t expect too much out of it.

Powering the 9X Lite is the familiar Kirin 710 chipset. This processor is said to be equivalent to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC in terms of processing power, and even though it’s a two-year-old chip now, it should still be able to provide a reasonably good level of performance for comfortable day-to-day use.

Battery life of the 9X Lite should be alright as well. It’s packed with a 3,750mAh battery, and while that’s not a particularly generous capacity,  Honor says that it can return a day’s worth of use on a single charge. Given that this device is based on an older model, charging is done via a microUSB port; no USB-C connection here.

Other specifications of the 9X Lite include a 6.5-inch 2340 x 1080 LTPS LCD screen, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a microSD card slot that can accomodate cards up to 512GB, a rear fingerprint sensor, and EMUI 9.1 based on Android 9 out of the box.

The Honor 9X Lite is now available for purchase in Malaysia.
Retailing at RM699
, two colours of the smartphone are offered in our market: Emerald Green and Midnight Black.


Poco F2 Pro Launching in Malaysia Tomorrow on 28 May

Unveiled globally just a couple of weeks ago, it appears the
Poco F2 Pro
 will be arriving here in Malaysia tomorrow on 28 May. Sporting a sleek design, fast performance, and excellent value for money, the F2 Pro is one interesting flagship smartphone.

The local release date of the Poco F2 Pro was revealed by Poco Malaysia’s Facebook page. It’s a simple teaser that merely mention the “wait ends tomorrow,” and we reckon the company will be revealing the Malaysian availability and pricing of the device then.

Essentially the global version of the
Redmi K30 Pro
, the Poco F2 Pro is powered by a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset. This gives the phone 5G connectivity, and it also provides flagship-tier performance. Whether you’re an avid gamer or a power user that juggles between different apps, the Snapdragon 865 will be able to keep up.

Besides that, the Poco F2 Pro features a 20MP motorised pop-up camera. As there’s no need to make room for the selfie camera on the front of the phone, the F2 Pro has a sleek, all-screen design. The 6.67-inch 1080p AMOLED display comes with a 180Hz touch response rate as well, which should reduce input lag; an important feature for mobile gamers.

But the screen’s touch response rate should not be confused with refresh rate: the F2 Pro still has a conventional 60Hz display. Even though this doesn’t sound particularly exciting, at least it’s an AMOLED panel with vibrant colours, deep blacks, and great viewing angles. To some folks, it’s worth trading a high refresh rate screen for a better quality one.

In the camera department, the Poco F2 Pro features a quad camera system made up of a 64MP primary shooter with optical image stabilisation, a 13MP ultra-wide angle lens, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 5MP telephoto macro camera. It’s not a very sophisticated camera configuration – especially for a flagship smartphone – but it should do in a pinch.

Other specifications of the Poco F2 Pro include 6GB or 8GB of RAM, two storage options (128GB and 256GB), an in-screen fingerprint sensor, a very generous 4,700mAh battery with 30W fast charging, and Poco Launcher 2.0.

Looking back at the teaser on
Poco Malaysia’s Facebook page
, the Poco F2 Pro is expected to be launched in Malaysia tomorrow on 28 May. Hopefully, it will be priced competitively in our market.


Realme X3 SuperZoom Lands in Malaysia for RM1,999

Unveiled to the world just a couple of days ago, the Realme X3 SuperZoom has just landed in Malaysia. Sporting a quad camera system that can do 5x optical zoom along with a fast 120Hz screen, it’s a respectable flagship smartphone that offers pretty good value for money as well.

For the Malaysian market, the X3 SuperZoom retails at only RM1,999 for the 128GB model with 8GB of RAM; it will be available for purchase on 2 June through Lazada. The more generous 256GB variant with 12GB of RAM, on the other hand, goes for RM2,299, and it can be purchased from 6 June onwards.

For that kind of money, the Realme X3 SuperZoom, as mentioned, comes with a rather sophisticated quad camera system. The highlight of this camera configuration is the 8MP f/3.4 telephoto lens with a periscope structure. It offers 5x optical zoom, and it can also do up to 60x zoom; digitally, of course.

The primary sensor of the quad camera setup, on the other hand, is a 64MP f/1.8 shooter, which is complemented by an 8MP f/2.3 ultra-wide angle sensor and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens. All in all, it’s quite a versatile camera system with plenty of focal lengths to choose from; befitting of a flagship smartphone.

Speaking of versatility, the X3 SuperZoom comes with two front-facing cameras as well. The main sensor is a 32MP f/2.5 unit, and it’s paired with an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle shooter. This gives you the flexibility to shoot regular selfies with the 32MP camera, and bigger group selfies with the wider 8MP sensor.

Another noteworthy hardware of the Realme X3 SuperZoom is its 6.6-inch 2400 x 1080 screen with a fast 120Hz refresh rate. Thanks to the high refresh rate, motions and animations on this display will look extra smooth, giving the impression of a faster smartphone. That’s not to say this is a sluggish device. After all, it’s powered by the capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset.

Other specifications of the X3 SuperZoom include a pretty sizeable 4,200mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging – Realme says this allows the phone to be fully charged in only 55 minutes – a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and Realme UI based on Android 10 out of the box.

The Realme X3 SuperZoom with 128GB of storage will be offered in Malaysia first through Lazada on 2 June at 12AM for RM1,999. If you’re quick, you can even get a RM200 discount,
bringing down the price to RM1,799
. As for the 256GB option, it will be available from 6 June onwards for RM2,299; every purchase of this variant will come with a Realme Buds Air.


Poco F2 Pro Now in Malaysia for RM2,199; Most Affordable Snapdragon 865 Phone

As expected, the Poco F2 Pro has just been launched in Malaysia today. Just like its predecessor, it’s a flagship smartphone that offers immensely good value for money. Although it’s not quite as affordable anymore, you’re still getting a lot of bang for your buck with the F2 Pro.

Two variants of the Poco F2 Pro are available in Malaysia. The base model with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM retails at RM2,199, while the 256GB option with 8GB of RAM goes for RM2,599. Those who opt for the 256GB variant will also receive a complimentary Black Shark FunCooler to cool down your phone.

Starting at only RM2,199, that makes the Poco F2 Pro the most affordable flagship smartphone in Malaysia with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset right now. On top of that, you’re getting 5G connectivity as well. 5G networks may not be widely available here yet, but it does future-proof the device to an extend.

Compared to its predecessor, the Poco F2 Pro is a much sleeker-looking phone too. Thanks to its 20MP motorised pop-up front-facing camera, there’s no need to make space for the selfie shooter on the front of hte phone. This, in turn, allows the F2 Pro to feature a distraction-free all-screen design.

As for the screen itself, it’s a 6.67-inch 1080p AMOLED display with a standard 60Hz refresh rate. It’s not quite as impressive as other flagship smartphones’ displays with higher refresh rates, but the fact that this is an AMOLED panel means you will get vibrant, punchy colours with deep blacks and great viewing angles. If you’re an avid mobile gamer, you’ll also appreciate the screen’s 180Hz touch response rate to minimise input lag.

In the camera department, the Poco F2 Pro is equipped with a quad camera system. It’s made up of a 64MP main sensor with optical image stabilisation, a 13MP ultra-wide angle lens, a 2MP depth shooter, and a 5MP telephoto macro camera. Not a very elaborate camera configuration – especially for a flagship smartphone – but this
is
 a very affordable flagship.

Other specifications of the Poco F2 Pro include a very generous 4,700mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging – Poco claims this allows the phone to be charged up to full in 63 minutes – an in-screen fingerprint sensor, and Poco Launcher 2.0.

To recap, the Poco F2 Pro retails at RM2,199 and RM2,599 for the 128GB + 6GB and 256GB + 8GB models respectively. It will go on sale in Malaysia next month from 10 June onwards, and those who place their order through Lazada on that day itself can get it for only RM1,999 – that’s RM200 worth of savings.


New Lenovo Legion Gaming Laptops With Ryzen 4000 & 10th Gen Intel Chips Land in Malaysia; Retails From RM3,749

Lenovo just introduced a slew of new gaming laptops in Malaysia. These include the Legion 5 series – it is made up of four different models – as well as the more premium Legion 7i. All of these laptops can be built to order, allowing you to customise some of their hardware.

Let’s start with arguably the most interesting machine of the bunch here: the standard
Legion 5
 gaming laptop, which can only be built to order right now. This is also the only model here that features AMD’s new
Ryzen 4000 mobile processor
, and it’s the most affordable option too, retailing from RM3,749.

But it’s worth noting that you’re getting a barebone configuration of the Legion 5 for that kind of money. These include a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a Ryzen 5 4600H processor paired with 8GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, and 128GB of SSD storage. That’s right, only 128GB of SSD storage, though you can add more storage in the customisation page.

If you want to upgrade the processor to a faster Ryzen 7 4800H processor, you’ll have to add RM390. Swapping the GPU to a GTX 1650 Ti, on the other hand, costs RM280. Unfortunately, these are the highest-end CPU and GPU options available for the Legion 5 in our market. Nonetheless, the Legion 5 will ship within four weeks once the order is placed.

And then there’s the Legion 5i, which is basically the Intel version of the aforementioned model. Available in both
15-inch
 and
17-inch
 configurations, the Legion 5i starts at RM3,959 (15-inch) or RM4,559 (17-inch). At these price points, you’re getting a Core i5-10300H processor and a GTX 1650 GPU for both sizes.

Of course, the highest-end configuration of the Legion 5 comes with a Core i7-10750H processor paired with 16GB of RAM along with an RTX 2060 GPU. Pre-configured models will ship within two weeks, while built to order ones will take four weeks.

Moving up the price range is the
Legion 5Pi
, which is only available in built to order configuration at the moment. Starting at RM4,179, the base model is equipped with a Core i5-10300H processor paired with 8GB of RAM, a GTX 1650 GPU, a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS display with a standard 60Hz refresh rate, and 128GB of SSD storage.

Yes, it’s quite odd for a gaming laptop at this price point to only feature a 60Hz screen, and there’s no option to upgrade it with a faster panel either – at least, this is the case right now. Regardless, the Legion 5Pi will start shipping to consumers within four weeks.

Last but definitely not least is the
Legion 7i
, the most premium and powerful option of the lot. Unlike the Legion 5 series, this gaming laptop has an aluminium chassis, and the base model – which costs RM6,319 – is quite well-equipped too. It has a Core i5-10300H processor paired with 8GB of RAM, a GTX 1660 Ti GPU, a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS display with a fast 144Hz refresh rate, and a 256GB SSD storage.

The range-topping Legion 7i, on the other hand, is equipped with a Core i7-10850H processor paired with 32GB of RAM, an RTX 2070 Super GPU, as well as 1TB of SSD storage. This particular model retails at a cool RM10,699, and it ships within two weeks. If you want to build your own configuration of the laptop, it will only be shipped in four weeks.

All of the Lenovo Legion gaming laptops mentioned here are now available to order on
Lenovo Malaysia’s online store
. If you purchase the Legion 5i and Legion 5Pi between 1 June to 15 June, you can score free gifts worth up to RM5,436, including a Legion Y44w-10 gaming monitor. More information will be posted
here
 once the promotion is live on 1 June.


Lenovo Legion Gaming Smartphone Coming to Malaysia This Year

Even though the
Lenovo Legion gaming smartphone
 is not even official yet, we received word that the device will be arriving in Malaysia sometime this year. Once this happens, it could mark Lenovo’s proper return to the smartphone market in Malaysia.

This bit of info comes directly from the General Manager of Lenovo Malaysia. Considering that the Lenovo Legion gaming smartphone has not been launched yet, no specific release date was given. That being said, we were told it will be launched here in Malaysia by the end of the year.

So what do we know about the gaming-centric Legion smartphone? Well, based on numerous leaks and rumours surrounding the device, it’s believed to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset. It makes sense for a gaming smartphone like the Legion to sport this flagship SoC, which also supports 5G networks.

Aside from that, the Legion is rumoured to feature a fast 144Hz screen; the same refresh rate as the
Nubia RedMagic 5G
‘s display. There are very little smartphones with such a fast screen in the market now, so it would definitely give the Legion a unique appeal – if it does come with such a display, of course.

Another unique feature of the Legion gaming smartphone that was recently leaked is a pop-up camera…mounted on the side of the phone. That’s right, this phone supposedly has a side-mounted pop-up camera. It sounds odd, but when the device is held in landscape orientation, the camera can actually act as a webcam. We imagine this camera orientation will be appreciated by streamers.

The rumoured battery capacity and charging rate of the Legion gaming smartphone are quite interesting too. According to an
exclusive report from XDA Developers
, the Legion will feature a large 5,000mAh dual-cell battery that also supports 90W fast charging. That’s a
very fast
 charging rate, and it can supposedly charge up the phone to full in only 30 minutes.

Rounding out the rumoured specifications of the Legion phone include a dual camera system (64MP primary + 16MP ultra-wide angle), a 20MP front-facing camera, and Android 10 out of the box.

There’s still no release date for the Lenovo Legion gaming smartphone yet, but at least we know now it will be made available in Malaysia. Given the high-end hardware of the device, expect it to cost quite a bit of money.


Samsung Galaxy A31 With 5,000mAh Battery Now Available in Malaysia for RM1,099

We reported
 that the Samsung Galaxy A31 was on its way to Malaysia back in April after we spotted the device in SIRIM’s database, and now, you can purchase the mid-range smartphone on our shores. Retailing at RM1,099, it’s not particularly affordable, but it does bring a number of neat features, including a large 5,000mAh battery.

We got wind of the Malaysian availability of the Galaxy A31 from DirectD’s Facebook post. According to the popular retailer, the A31 – with official warranty support from Samsung Malaysia, of course – is offered in a single variant, which has 128GB of internal storage and 6GB of RAM for RM1,099. Three colours are available: Prism Crush Blue, Black, and White.

As mentioned, one of the main selling points of the Galaxy A31 is its generous 5,000mAh battery. This battery capacity should be able to return excellent battery life, and if you’re a light smartphone user, we reckon it can last up to two days on a single charge. Naturally, the A31 supports 15W fast charging as well.

Besides that, the Galaxy A31 has a pretty respectable quad camera system for a mid-range smartphone. The primary sensor is a 48MP f/2.0 unit, and it’s complemented by an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens, a 5MP f/2.4 depth sensor, as well as a 5MP f/2.4 macro shooter. The front-facing camera, on the other hand, is a 20MP f/2.2 sensor.

Most – if not all – Samsung smartphones feature AMOLED screens, so it’s no surprise that the Galaxy A31 comes with such a panel. It sports a 6.4-inch 2400 x 1080 Super AMOLED screen with an Infinity-U design, so there’s a U-shaped notch at the top of the screen. This being an AMOLED display, it should offer deep blacks, vibrant colours, and good viewing angles.

If there’s any hardware of the Galaxy A31 that isn’t quite as exciting, it would be the MediaTek Helio P65 chipset powering this phone. It’s a mid-range processor launched last year, and while it’s not a very powerful chip, it should be able offer enough processing power for day-to-day use.

Other specifications of the Galaxy A31 include a microSD card slot for further storage expansion, an in-screen fingerprint sensor, and even a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Samsung Galaxy A31 can now be purchased in Malaysia
from DirectD for RM1,099
. To sweeten the deal, the retailer is also throwing in a number of freebies, including a car holder, a portable juice blender, and a pair of headphones.


PlayStation 5 Launch Games Will Be Unveiled on 12 June; Some May Be Exclusives

This was revealed in a leak last night, but Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has finally confirmed it: games that are coming to the PlayStation 5 will be revealed later this week on 12 June. On top of that, some of the upcoming titles may be exclusive to the next-generation console.

In an
interview with Gameindustry.biz
, the CEO and President of SIE, Jim Ryan, said that there will be games that are only playable on the PS5. “It is time to give the PlayStation community something new, something different, that can really only be enjoyed on PS5,” he was quoted as saying.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the launch games PlayStation is revealing this Friday morning will be exclusive to the PS5 system, but it’s certainly a possibility. According to the company, the 12 June online event will be about an hour long, so we can expect to see a good number of games showcased on that day.

In the updated announcement post on
PlayStation Blog
, Ryan also said that “the games coming to PS5 represent the best in the industry from innovative studios that span the globe. Studios, both larger and smaller, those newer and those more established, all have been hard at work developing games that will showcase the potential of the hardware.”

It’s worth noting that the launch game reveal is a part of a series of PS5 updates moving forward. “Rest assured, after next week’s showcase, we will still have much to share with you,” Ryan added.

If you’re hoping the PS5 event next week will also give us a glimpse at the actual design of the console, it’s not likely to happen. Naturally, the exact pricing and availability of the next-generation console are even more unlikely to be revealed then. Nonetheless, the PS5 will be hitting the market by the end of the year; this much is confirmed.

It’ll be interesting to see just how upcoming games for the PS5 will take advantage of the
console’s raw power
. Not only does it have a beefy CPU, GPU, and a blazing fast SSD, the new
DualSense controller
 for the next-gen system is another tool for developers to further enhance immersion. After all, the adaptive triggers and improved haptic feedback of the controller are some of the most exciting innovations we’ve seen thus far.

The PlayStation 5 event will be happening this Friday on 12 June at 4AM Malaysian time. You can catch the online event on YouTube, Twitch, a well as the
official PS5 website
.

Update 9 June:
 This article has been updated with the new timing for the PlayStation 5 event. Previously, it was set to take place on 5 June.


Samsung Galaxy S20 Quick Review: More Than Just an Alternative

In the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, attention is mainly focused on the range-topping
Galaxy S20 Ultra
. After all, it’s the most well-equipped model of the series, but I’d argue the Galaxy S20 is the more attractive option. It’s more ergonomic, it’s more affordable, and most importantly, it’s more than just an alternative.

I’ve spent a good few weeks using the Galaxy S20 as my daily driver, and it really made me realise just how much I miss using a compact smartphone. The S20 as a whole is also a good all-rounder, though it does have its fair share of shortcomings.

What It Is

Display
6.2-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X (3200 x 1440), 120Hz
Chipset
Samsung Exynos 990 2.73GHz octa-core
GPU
Mali-G77 MP11
RAM
8GB
Storage
128GB, expandable
Camera (rear)
12MP f/1.8, Dual Pixel AF, OIS
64MP f/2.0 (telephoto), PDAF, OIS, Hybrid Optic Zoom (3x)
12MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide angle)
Camera (front)
10MP f/2.2, Dual Pixel AF
Battery
4,000mAh
Dimensions
151.7 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm
Weight
163g
OS
One UI 2.1 based on Android 10
Connectivity
LTE
NFC
Bluetooth 5.0
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/5GHz)
USB Type-C
Price
RM3,599

On paper, the Galaxy S20 is a high-end smartphone through and through. It has the same Exynos 990 chipset as its more costly siblings, similar design language – complete with an IP68 rating – and a pretty generous 4,000mAh cell that can return respectable battery life. Sure, the triple camera system isn’t quite as sophisticated, but it can still capture good-looking shots; more on that in the next section.

The Good Stuff

The biggest selling point of the Galaxy S20 has to be its compact form factor, just like how it was with the
Galaxy S10e
. In fact, compared to the latter, the S20 is actually ever so slightly narrower by 0.8mm. This makes it possible to operate the phone with only one hand, which is not something you can say with the majority of smartphones in the market now.

That being said, the 6.2-inch QHD+ screen of the S20 has a tall 20:9 aspect ratio, so it’s pretty difficult to reach for the top of the display.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 (left) next to the Galaxy S20 Ultra

Nonetheless, the Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen of the Galaxy S20 is by far one of the best – if not
the best
 – displays I’ve seen on a smartphone. It’s similar to the S20 Ultra’s panel quality, which is to say it has very punchy colours, true blacks, great viewing angles, and wide colour gamut. Suffice to say it’s a fantastic screen that not many smartphones can match.

Of course, the 120Hz refresh rate of the Galaxy S20’s AMOLED panel further improves the overall user experience of the phone. Thanks to the high refresh rate, every single motion shown on the screen looks extra smooth. Yes, the resolution of the screen can only be set to 1080p at 120Hz, but this is a non-issue for me: I personally can’t see the difference between 1080p and the screen’s native 1440p resolution.

Performance wise, the Galaxy S20 does not disappoint either. Gaming on it is very enjoyable with high, stable frame rates, and multitasking on the phone feels seamless. The Exynos 990 may not be as popular as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, but there’s no denying the fact that it is a fast chipset.

It’s also worth noting that the Exynos 990 is fabricated on a 7nm process, making it quite a power-efficient chip. This, in turn, improves the battery life of the Galaxy S20. Throughout the review period, its 4,000mAh cell can return four to five hours of screen on time with the screen’s refresh rate set to 120Hz. Switching to 60Hz got me another extra hour, which is respectable.

Last but definitely not least is the Galaxy S20’s camera performance. For the most part, the triple camera system is fun to shoot with. The autofocus, for one, is fast and accurate, and it’s quite effortless to capture sharp, flattering shots with the camera.

And unlike the Galaxy S10e – which I consider to be the S20’s closest predecessor – the Galaxy S20 has all the focal lengths you need. It sports a 12MP primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide angle shooter, and a 64MP telephoto lens. While the telephoto camera isn’t quite as far-reaching as the S20 Ultra’s periscope sensor, some folks may not find that level of zoom necessary.

The Bad Stuff

As good as the Galaxy S20 is, there are a few aspects of the phone that could be improved upon. The screen, for one, doesn’t have good palm rejection. This is especially evident when operating the phone with one hand: just slightly touching the edge of the screen with my palm is enough for it to register as a touch input.

Thankfully, putting on a casing stops this from happening. It’s not an ideal solution, but at least it mitigates the issue.

Aside from that, the Galaxy S20’s ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the screen isn’t fantastic either. It works great at times, but there are more than a few instances where it would take a few tries before the sensor can properly recognise my fingerprint. Basically, it has trouble accurately reading my fingerprint consistently.

And then there’s the camera performance of the Galaxy S20. Don’t get me wrong, it
is
 a competent shooter, but it doesn’t impress in certain areas. The camera interface, for one, can feel sluggish at times. This is most noticeable in low light conditions, which mars the user experience.

12MP ultra-wide angle
12MP primary
64MP telephoto (3x)
64MP telephoto (10x)
64MP telephoto (20x)
64MP telephoto (30x)
12MP ultra-wide angle
12MP primary
64MP telephoto (3x)
64MP telephoto (10x)
64MP telephoto (20x)
64MP telephoto (30x)

There’s also the discrepancy in image quality between the three sensors. Obviously, the 12MP main sensor can take flattering shots easily, but it’s not quite as effortless with the ultra-wide angle and telephoto shooters. They can perform in good lighting, but in more challenging lighting situations, these two sensors struggle to deliver. Just look at the sample shots above.

But most of all, the Galaxy S20 is an expensive smartphone. Retailing at RM3,599, it is markedly more expensive than the Galaxy S10’s RM2,699 starting price. Of course, it’s been a while since the phone was launched here, so you can get it
as low as RM3,049 now
. Still, that’s a steep price tag, especially for only 128GB of internal storage.

Is It Worth It?

If you want a compact, but still very capable flagship smartphone, then the Samsung Galaxy S20 is absolutely worth it. After all, it is one of very few options in the market now in this pocketable form factor. Although it has some shortcomings here and there, its strengths – the compact body and screen quality, to name a couple – more than make up for it.

The Galaxy S20 is not an affordable smartphone, but that’s the price you have to pay for a flagship device of this calibre. Personally, I’d be more than happy to pay this amount of money for the S20 – I absolutely love how well it fits in my hands.


Samsung Galaxy A21s With Exynos 850 & Quad Camera Quietly Launched in Malaysia for RM939

Officially announced just last month, it appears the budget-friendly Samsung Galaxy A21s is now available for purchase in Malaysia. Sporting a quad camera system, a generous 5,000mAh battery, and a power-efficient Exynos 850 chipset, those who are looking for an affordable Android smartphone should consider the A21s.

We first spotted the Galaxy A21s in SIRIM’s database, which prompted us to check the availability of the phone from popular retailers. Well, turns out, DirectD is already offering the A21s for RM939 with official warranty from Samsung Malaysia. There are also two other Galaxy A devices that are launched alongside the A21s: the
Galaxy A31
 (RM1,099) and Galaxy A11 (RM599).

Out of three smartphones, we reckon the Galaxy A21s is the most interesting one. Not only is it the sleekest-looking phone of the bunch – in our opinion, of course – it’s also powered by the recently unveiled Exynos 850. Fabricated on an 8nm process, this gives the processor very good power efficiency. Considering that most (if not all) budget-friendly processors are built on less power-efficient processes, it’s really quite a big deal.

But given the affordable positioning of the Exynos 850 chip, it’s not exactly a powerhouse. It’s an octa-core processor made up entirely of ARM Cortex-A55 cores, which are clocked up to 2GHz. The GPU, on the other hand, is a Mali-G52 GPU. While these are not super powerful components, they should suffice for everyday use.

Aside from that, the Galaxy A21s also has a quad camera configuration. The primary sensor is a 48MP f/2.0 shooter, which is complemented by an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle camera, a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens, and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor. A reasonably good camera setup for an affordable smartphone.

On the front of the Galaxy A21s, the phone’s 6.5-inch 1600 x 720 HD+ LCD screen has an Infinity-O hole-punch cutout on the top left to house the 13MP f/2.2 selfie camera. The LCD panel can’t quite compare to the visual fidelity of a Super AMOLED screen, but the small bezels and hole-punch cutout do give the phone a sleek aesthetic.

Other specifications of the Galaxy A21s include 6GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, a large 5,000mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging, and a rear fingerprint sensor.

The Samsung Galaxy A21s is now available for purchase in Malaysia with a
RM939 price tag
. For our market, the budget smartphone is offered in three different colours: Blue, Black, and White.


Asus ROG Zephyrus M15 To Receive 4K Screen Upgrade & RTX 2070 in Malaysia Soon?

Asus has been steadily launching
new gaming laptops in Malaysia
, and it appears the Taiwanese company is keeping up the momentum with another new machine: the Asus ROG Zephyrus M15. Previously only available with a 1080p display, this premium gaming laptop might receive a 4K screen upgrade very soon.

We first spotted the new Zephyrus M15 while browsing through Asus Malaysia’s official website; that’s also how we got wind of the
refreshed Asus ROG Zephyrus S15
 for the Malaysian market. According to the listing, the updated M15 will be powered by an Intel Core i7-10875H processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 GPU.

But what’s even more interesting is the upgraded screen of the refreshed Zephyrus M15. Last year’s iteration only came with a 1080p IPS screen with a 144hz or 240Hz refresh rate, but the updated model will supposedly introduce a 4K screen option that covers 100% of the Adobe RGB colour space. This makes it ideal for creative professionals, and it is also Pantone Validated for colour accuracy.

Although the listing of the new Zephyrus M15 doesn’t mention the availability of a faster screen, we reckon Asus Malaysia will retain (at the very least) the Full HD option with a 144Hz refresh rate. After all, the M15 is still inherently a gaming laptop; it would be pretty odd for it to only come with a 4K display for the Malaysian market.

Aside from the upgraded internals, the Zephyrus M15 shares the same chassis as its predecessor, but there are a couple of aesthetic changes here and there. For one, there are two new colour options now: Prism Black and Prism Grey. Compared to the regular Brushed Black model – which has a more traditional gaming laptop design – the Prism variants look more minimalist and understated with a two-tone lid.

However, while the Prism models look quite unique, there is one caveat: they are slightly thicker than the Brushed Black model. The latter measures only 18.9mm thin, while the Prism variants are ever so slightly thicker at 19.9mm. That still makes it a pretty slim gaming laptop, of course, and tipping the scales at only 1.9kg, it’s quite lightweight too.

Other specifications of the updated Zephyrus M15 include up to 48GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM, either 512GB or 1TB of fast M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD with Raid 0 support, an RGB keyboard – per-key lighting for the Brushed Black model – a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support, three USB-A connections, and an HDMI 2.0b output.

Based on our previous conversation with Asus Malaysia, the new Asus ROG Zephyrus M15 is expected to be launched in Malaysia sometime in the third quarter of 2020, just like the Zephyrus S15. If everything goes to plan, we can expect Asus to introduce these two gaming laptops here – and maybe even more – as early as next month in July 2020.


Honda BR-V Facelift Launched in Malaysia; Priced From RM90k to RM97k

Three months after orders were opened for the facelifted Honda BR-V, the new model is now available in Malaysia. For the most part, the updated seven-seater MPV looks similar to the previous model, but there are some notable changes here and there – along with a pretty steep price hike.

Just like its predecessor, two variants of the new BR-V are offered. The E trim costs RM89,900 – the pre-facelift E model went for RM80,989 – while the range-topping V variant goes for RM96,900; up from RM87,701. That’s quite a big price increase, but as mentioned, you do get more for your money with the facelifted model.

For one, the new BR-V gets some styling changes that lend to a more “masculine look,” as Honda puts it. Both the E and V trims are now equipped with a new front grille, front bumper, and lower bumper garnish, though it’s worth noting that only the V variant gets fog lamps. Besides that, the facelift gets new 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheel design too, along with a revised rear bumper (with vertical reflectors) and shark fin antenna.

Of course, the cabin of the updated BR-V gets some neat changes too. Standard equipment across the two variants include tweeter speakers, cabin filter, automatic air-conditioning, keyless entry, and push-start button. The range-topping V trim, on the other hand, gets a seven-inch infotainment screen, paddle shifters, leather seats with red accents, and a gear knob with red stitching.

There’s also a new colour option for the BR-V: Marine Purple Pearl. In fact, this is the first Honda model in Malaysia to be offered with this paint job. Other paint options of the BR-V include White Orchid Pearl, Passion Red Pearl, as well as the existing Modern Steel Metallic and Lunar Silver Metallic colours.

Beyond these changes, the facelifted BR-V is identical to the previous model. It soldiers on with the familiar 1.5L four-cylinder SOHC i-VTEC engine, which outputs 120hp and 145Nm of torque. It is also mated to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) just as before with drive sent to the front wheels.

Safety equipment of the updated BR-V remains the same as the pre-facelift model. These include driver and front passenger airbags, vehicle stability assist (VSA), traction control system (TCS), anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake distribution (EBD), and three-point seat belts for all seven seats.

The facelifted Honda BR-V is now available for purchase in Malaysia. To recap, the base E model costs RM89,900, while the more feature-packed V trim is priced at RM96,900. More information on the new MPV can be found on
Honda Malaysia’s website
.


Microsoft Surface Go 2 Pre-Orders Live in Malaysia; Starts at RM1,955

Announced globally just last month, the
Microsoft Surface Go 2
 is now available for pre-order in Malaysia. Retailing from only RM1,955, it’s quite an affordable Windows tablet. The smallest Surface tablet in the lineup also offers a number of neat upgrades over its predecessor.

Three different variants of the Surface Go 2 are available in Malaysia. The RM1,955 base model comes with an Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage. Not super great hardware, but should suffice for lighter users.

If you want more RAM and storage, you can get the RM2,665 variant. It has the same Pentium Gold processor, but it upgrades the RAM to 8GB along with a faster 128GB SSD.

And then there’s the range-topping configuration, which costs RM3,455. This variant of the Surface Go 2 features a faster 8th generation Core m3 processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of SSD storage, and even LTE connectivity. There’s also another model that upgrades the SSD to 256GB, but this option is only available to commercial customers.

Compared to its predecessor, the Surface Go 2 brings a number of notable upgrades. For one, it comes with a larger and sharper 10.5-inch 1920 x 1280 PixelSense display now. The 3:2 aspect ratio is retained too, and even with the bigger screen, this tablet still has the same dimensions and ports as the previous model – only the bezels have been reduced to fit in the larger display.

Given that the Surface Go 2 essentially has the same chassis as the original Surface Go, existing accessories for the latter – including the Surface Go Type Cover – will work with this new tablet seamlessly. This is great news for current owners of the first Surface Go who are planning to upgrade to get better performance, especially with the more capable Core m3 model.

Aside from improved processing power, the Surface Go 2 offers better battery life as well. According to Microsoft, this new tablet is packed with a larger battery now, which promises up to 10 hours of use on a single charge. Reasonably good battery life for a tablet this size.

The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is now available for pre-order in Malaysia
from RM1,955
. It’s really quite an affordable Windows tablet, but do note that the Type Cover is not bundled together, which costs RM420 for the standard Black version or RM578 for the Signature models. The Surface Go 2 will hit local store shelves from 18 June onwards.


Microsoft Surface Book 3 Lands in Malaysia, and It Costs up to RM13,088

Aside from the
Surface Go 2
, the
Microsoft Surface Book 3
 is also available for pre-order in Malaysia now. This is a premium 2-in-1 laptop, so as expected, it costs quite a bit of money. For the Malaysian market, the 13.5-inch model starts at RM7,788, while the bigger 15-inch variant costs a whopping RM13,088.

Three different configurations of the 13.5-inch Surface Book 3 are offered here. The RM7,788 base model features a 10th-generation Intel Core i5-1035G7 processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics. A tier up is the RM9,688 configuration, which comes with a more capable Core i7-1065G7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU.

As for the top-of-the-line Surface Book 3, it has the same Core i7-1065G7 processor and GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU, but the RAM and SSD capacities are doubled to 32GB and 512GB respectively. This particular variant retails at RM11,688, so you’re essentially paying RM2,000 to get twice the amount of RAM and SSD storage.

What about the 15-inch Surface Book 3? Only a single variant is offered to regular consumers, which carries a hefty RM13,088 price tag. It comes with a Core i7-1065G7 processor, 32GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a pretty beefy GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q GPU. Oddly enough, the Quadro RTX 3000 model is available here too, but it is only offered to commercial customers.

If the Surface Book 3 looks just like its predecessor, that’s because it is; the new laptop just has updated internals. The 13.5-inch model still features a 3000 x 2000 screen, while the 15-inch variant sports a sharper 3240 x 2160 panel. Both are touch-enabled PixelSense displays with a spacious 3:2 aspect ratio, which is ideal for productivity tasks.

What makes the Surface Book particularly unique is its form factor that combines the portability of a tablet and familiarity of a laptop. The screen can be detached from the keyboard to transform it into a tablet, and you can dock it back to get the functionality of a laptop. This level of flexibility is one of the best reasons to get the Surface Book 3 than other competing laptops.

The Microsoft Surface Book 3 is now available for pre-order in Malaysia, and it will ship on 23 June. To recap, the 13.5-inch model
starts at RM7,788
, while the sole 15-inch configuration
costs RM13,088
. These are unmistakably steep price tags, but it’s really not that surprising – the Surface Book series has always been a premium offering.


Black Shark 3 Pro Available in Malaysia Tonight on Shopee for RM4,199

Black Shark just revealed the price of the Black Shark 3 Pro in Malaysia. Set to go on sale later tonight on Shopee, the flagship gaming smartphone retails at RM4,199 here. Those who place their order early will also get a number of freebies worth up to RM600.

For RM4,199, the Black Shark 3 Pro comes with 256GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM; only this one variant is offered in Malaysia. That’s quite a steep price tag, and given that this gaming smartphone doesn’t have a microSD card, it would’ve been great if it came with more storage space.

Nonetheless, there’s no denying the fact that the Black Shark 3 Pro is a powerful gaming device. Under the hood of the phone is Qualcomm’s best chipset yet, the Snapdragon 865. Not only does it offer an excellent level of performance – you should be able to play any mobile games with no issue – it also comes with 5G connectivity.

Further enhancing the gaming experience of the Black Shark 3 Pro is the huge 7.1-inch 3120 x 1440 AMOLED screen. This being an AMOLED panel, it will offer deep blacks, vibrant colours, and great viewing angles. It’s also worth noting that this display has a 90Hz refresh rate, giving it superior motion clarity compared to conventional 60Hz panels.

Another important feature for any gaming smartphone is a responsive screen, and in the case of the Black Shark 3 Pro, its display supports 270Hz touch sampling rate. This improves the responsiveness of the panel, which reduces input lag to a minimum. Needless to say, this is an important feature for gamers.

What gives the Black Shark 3 Pro a unique appeal compared to other gaming smartphones in the market now are the two physical shoulder buttons on the right side of the phone. In normal use, the buttons are recessed, and only when you need to use it the buttons will actually pop-up. It’s really quite a unique feature.

Other specifications of the Black Shark 3 Pro include a triple camera system (64MP f/1.8 primary + 13MP f/2.3 ultra-wide angle + 5MP f/2.2 depth), a 20MP f/2.2 front-facing camera, a generous 5,000mAh battery with support for 65W fast charging, as well as an in-screen fingerprint sensor.

The Black Shark 3 Pro will be available for purchase
later tonight at 12AM on Shopee for RM4,199
. As mentioned, early birds will get a number of freebies when they purchase the gaming smartphone. For one, the first 10 buyers will receive a RM100 voucher from Shopee after placing the order; that’s quite a good deal.

On top of that, the first 80 buyers of the Black Shark 3 Pro on 4 June will also receive a Black Shark Gamepad (the left side), a one-year screen crack protection, and a mystery Black Shark merchandise. All of these items are worth RM600. As for those who purchase the gaming smartphone on 5 June, the first 70 buyers will receive the same items except for the gamepad, which is replaced with a Black Shark FunCooler instead.


Illegear Onyx V & Rogue Gaming Laptops Now Available With AMD Ryzen 4000 CPU; Starts at RM3,499

Illegear just updated two of its gaming laptops with
AMD Ryzen 4000
 processors: the Onyx V and Rogue. Retailing from only RM3,499, both of the laptops can be configured with a powerful Ryzen 7 4800H chip and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU – reasonably capable hardware.

What differentiates the Onyx V and Rogue is just one hardware: display size. The Onyx V features a 15.6-inch screen, while the Rogue features a larger 17.3-inch panel. Both displays also support 120Hz refresh rate, making them ideal for gaming. Thin bezels surround their screens too, giving them a sleek, modern-looking design.

The Illegear Onyx V

Out of the two gaming laptops, we’d argue the Onyx V is the more exciting one. Not only is it a more compact machine, it’s also a lighter, slimmer laptop. Its chassis measures only 19mm thin, and it tips the scales at 1.85kg. In comparison, the Rogue – due its bigger 17.3-inch screen – weighs 2.1kg with a 25mm profile. It’s also worth noting that the Rogue has a plastic build, compared to the Onyx V’s more premium aluminium chassis.

Now, let’s talk about CPU options of the Onyx V and Rogue. Both machines can be customised with a fast Ryzen 7 4800H octa-core processor or a more modest – but still very capable – Ryzen 5 4600H hexa-core chip. The base model of either laptops naturally comes with the latter processor, and upgrading to the Ryzen 7 option costs only RM299.

Given the small premium for the more powerful chip, it’s definitely worth it to go for the Ryzen 7 upgrade. After all, you will get two extra cores and higher peak clock speed.

The Illegear Rogue

In the GPU side of things, there are three choices available: GTX 1650, GTX 1650 Ti, and RTX 2060. If you want to do some serious gaming, you really do need to go for the RTX 2060 graphics card, which is a RM1,299 upgrade from the GTX 1650 option. The other two GPUs are good enough to run less demanding games without a hitch, but they’re not exactly in the same league as the far more powerful RTX 2060.

Other specifications of the Onyx V and Rogue include up to 64GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM, two PCIe SSD slots (the Rogue gets an extra 2.5-inch SATA slot), single-zone RGB keyboards, and 47WHr batteries. Illegear has an option to upgrade the battery capacity to 63WHr, but the customisation page shows that it is currently out of stock.

The
Illegear Onyx V
 and
Illegear Rogue
 gaming laptops are now available for pre-order and customisation on the company’s online store; they are expected to start shipping to consumers in the middle of July next month. The Onyx V retails from RM3,499, while the Rogue starts at RM3,899.


Realme Watch Launching in Malaysia on 11 June

Realme’s first-ever smartwatch, the
Realme Watch
, will be landing in Malaysia next week on 11 June. What makes this wearable particularly interesting is its affordable price tag, along with a number of neat features such as an IP68 rating and long battery life.

The Malaysian availability of the Realme Watch was revealed by the Chinese company on its Facebook page. Aside from the smartwatch, Realme will also be launching a number of other products, including a fitness band and a couple of wireless earbuds.

Design wise, the Realme Watch has a square case with a 1.4-inch 320 x 320 touch-enabled display. It offers 10 levels of brightness that peak at 380 nits, so outdoor visibility of the screen should be reasonably good. Overall, it’s quite a handsome smartwatch, though we do wish the bottom bezel was smaller; the Realme branding there doesn’t seem very necessary.

One of the best reasons to invest in a smartwatch is to get notifications from your phone displayed on your wrist, and the Realme Watch can obviously do just that. According to Realme, the wearable supports notifications from apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Gmail. It’ll be interesting to see if the Watch also supports apps not mentioned here, such as Telegram.

Battery life of the Realme Watch is quite respectable too. Realme claims that the smartwatch’s 160mAh battery can return up to nine days of use on a single charge; seven days if the heart rate sensor is enabled. The company added that the battery life can even be stretched up to 20 days in power saving mode.

Naturally, the Realme Watch can track a number of workouts as well. 14 activities are mentioned by Realme, which include badminton, basketball, strength training, yoga, and outdoor run. As expected, the Watch will show your heart rate for the whole duration of the workout, along with the time and distance (for certain workouts) you’ve covered.

Rounding out the specifications of the Realme Watch are a heart rate sensor, the ability to measure blood oxygen level, as well as 12 different watchfaces. That doesn’t sound like much, but Realme did say it is planning to add 100 new watchfaces in the future through OTA updates.

The Realme Watch will be launched in Malaysia on 11 June via an online live stream on
Realme’s Facebook page
 at 11AM. Hopefully, the smartwatch will carry a competitive price tag here. For the sake of comparison, the Watch goes for only 3,999 Indian rupee in India – that comes up to about RM225.


You Can Now Purchase the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) in Malaysia; Retails From RM5,599

The
new 13-inch MacBook Pro
 was unveiled just last month, and it is now available for purchase in Malaysia. On the surface, the updated MacBook Pro doesn’t look all that different from the previous model, but it does bring a couple of notable changes. These include a new and improved keyboard, faster processors, and more storage.

Let’s start with the base model of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro; the one with two USB-C ports. While this variant still ships with Intel’s 8th-generation Core processors – the 10th-gen chips are only reserved for the higher-end model with four USB-C ports – it does get the new Magic Keyboard.

Compared to the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro’s butterfly keyboard, the Magic Keyboard will offer superior typing experience. Not only does it have longer key travel – which makes it more comfortable to type on – it also has more pronounced tactile feedback. Most importantly, this Magic Keyboard should be more durable too.

Anyway, the base model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro in the previous model was only offered with 128GB of SSD storage. Now, you get twice as much storage at 256GB, which is a lot more practical. But that does drive up the price of the laptop ever so slightly to RM5,599, though that’s only RM100 difference compared to the previous pricing. It’s a worthwhile price increase to get more storage space.

If you want even more storage, you can swap out the 256GB SSD for a 512GB drive, but it will bring up the price to RM6,399 – that’s RM800 more.

Those who want even more processing power can go for the higher-end 13-inch MacBook Pro with four USB-C ports and 10th-generation Core processors. The base model of this particular variant retails at RM7,999, and if that seems a little too steep, there’s good reason: it’s equipped with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD by default.

Besides that, the base model also gets a 10th-gen Core i5 quad-core processor. It can be upgraded to a more powerful Core i7 quad-core chip, but that will cost RM800. Besides that, swapping the 512GB SSD storage to a more generous 1TB drive entails the same RM800 price increase as well.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro can now be purchased on
Apple’s Malaysian online store
. You can also customise some of the hardware, and the laptop will be shipped to consumers within one to five business days, depending on the configuration.


Samsung Galaxy S20+ in Striking Aura Red Now Available in Malaysia

Samsung Malaysia just launched a new colour option for the
Samsung Galaxy S20+
. Previously offered in Cloud Blue, Cosmic Grey, and Cosmic Black, the S20+ is now available in a striking Aura Red colourway. In fact, it is the only one in the S20 series to get this new colour option.

Compared to the other colour options available in the Galaxy S20 series, the Aura Red colourway is by far the most eye-catching one. This is actually an exclusive model in the South Korean market for telco operator KT. Over there, it’s actually referred to as “Jennie Red,” which is named after the popular Blackpink member.

Beyond the new shade, the Aura Red Galaxy S20+ is just like the standard model. It’s still packing a fast and vibrant 6.7-inch 3200 x 1440 Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s also the Infinity-O hole-punch cutout at the top of the display for the 10MP f/2.2 selfie camera.

Under the hood of the Galaxy S20+ for our market is none other than the Samsung Exynos 990 chipset. It may not be quite as popular as Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC, but make no mistake: the Exynos 990 is no slouch.
In our review of the S20 Ultra
, we remarked just how capable Samsung’s own chipset is.

Besides that, the Galaxy S20+ also has a sophisticated quad camera system. It’s made up of a 12MP f/1.8 main sensor, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle shooter, a 64MP f/2.0 telephoto lens, and a DepthVision time-of-flight camera. Collectively, this camera configuration allows the S20+ to do up to 30x digital zoom.

Battery life of the Galaxy S20+ should be very good as well. Equipped with a generous 4,500mAh battery, it will be able to return (at the very least) a day’s worth of use on a single charge. The power efficiency of the 7nm Exynos 990 chip also helps in this regard.

Other specifications of the Galaxy S20+ include 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for further storage expansion, and an in-screen ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ in Aura Red is now available for purchase in Malaysia from
Samsung’s online store
. Just like the regular S20+, this striking new colourway of the flagship phone costs RM3,999.