iPhone 8 And 8 Plus Now Available For Preorder From U Mobile – Special Gifts For Early Birds!

U Mobile has announce today that they will be taking preorders for Apple’s new generation of iPhones, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
iPhone 8 & iPhone 8 Plus Preorder
Customers will be able to preorder the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus starting from today, 20th October 2017, at U Mobile’s official website.
U Mobile is all about coming up with unlimited ideas for our customers’ passions and iPhones are always highly coveted. We believe our iPhone 8 and 8 Plus customers will enjoy the perfect combination of the world’s most popular camera and our unlimited offerings. U Mobile’s unlimited data also allows for a wide range of activities and unlimited sharing for our customers Jasmine Lee, Chief Marketing Officer of U Mobile
In celebration with the launch, U Mobile will reward the first 50 customers who purchase the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus with a special gift. Besides that, U Special customers customers who purchase either of the two new iPhones from the 20 October 2017 to 23 October 2017 will receive a Mac City voucher, which is worth RM100.

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The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will be available in Space Grey, Silver, and Gold. Both feature a new glass and aluminum design. Coming with Retina HD displays and the A11 Bionic chip, it’s designed to give you a special augmented experience. Ever so popular for their cameras, this year’s iPhones are set to be even better. Featuring a dual 12MP cameras on the 8 Plus, Portrait Mode is introduced with Portrait Lighting, giving users portraits with a shallow depth of field with five different lighting styles. Wireless charging is now available for the new iPhones.
For more details on the pricing and data plans from U Mobile, you can head on down to their website by clicking here.
Pokdepinion: I wonder what that special gift is. Well, those of you who’ve been eyeing on the new iPhones should act fast and preorder as soon as possible!

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Rocket League Reaches New Milestone; It’s Still Going Strong

The popular indie game turned eSports, Rocket League, has reached a new milestone. Moreover, it’s still growing with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Rocket League Reaches New Milestone

Rocket League now has 40 MILLION players worldwide! Thank you to our ever-growing community for helping us start the new year with such a fantastic milestone. pic.twitter.com/8UJQLSlECF
— Rocket League (@RocketLeague) January 2, 2018

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, the simple idea of cars driving around and playing soccer blew up into this really major video game called Rocket League. After initially releasing in 2015, Rocket League slowly became a worldwide phenomenon and now boasts one of the largest on most frequent player bases in gaming.

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Just how big is this player base though, you ask? Well, developer Psyonix today announced that over the course of Rocket League’s life, they have now surpassed 40 million players worldwide across all platforms. Not too shabby when remembering just how quiet Rocket League was when it released nearly three years ago.
Of course, being on virtually every platform has surely helped Rocket League reach these highest of highs. The recent release of the game on the Nintendo Switch last year made the game now available on all current-generation platforms. Plus, with the steady stream of updates that Psyonix is constantly pushing out for the game, they’ve ensured that players will continue to return time and time again while maybe bringing new friends into the fold as well.
Rocket League’s rise from being a small indie project to exploding into one of the premiere eSports titles in the world is definitely one of the most endearing and encouraging arcs we’ve seen in the industry over the past few years. What’s craziest is that the game doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon, either, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see the game surpass another major milestone similar to this by year’s end.
Pokdepinion: Honestly, I’m surprised Rocket League is still going strong given how the attention has shifted to games like PUBG. Either way, I’m happy to see another indie success story.
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What Malaysians Googled In Ramadan 2021

We are nearing the end of Ramadan this year and if you’re wondering what Malaysians have been searching over the internet during the period, Google has shed some light into that. Without wasting any more time, here’s what Malaysians have been googling.
Malaysia Google search in Ramadan 2021

We are unfortunately still in the pandemic, so it’s not surprising to see that ‘Covid-19 prevention’ at being the number one on the list. There’s 4 sports-related topic on the list. Of course, there’s also Ramadan searches as well, considering the month that we are in. Do check the full list list below:

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Covid-19 prevention
Realme 8 Pro Malaysia
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
Niat Puasa Ramadhan
Tottenham vs Man United
Man United vs Granada
Ayat Dari Langit
Kapal Selam Indonesia
Dortmund vs Man City
Salam Ramadhan 2021

And there you have it, the list for top searches during the month of Ramadan. Do you agree with that list? Let us know in the comments. For more on the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews, stay tuned to Pokde.net.
Pokdepinion: I’m surprised that realme 8 Pro is a hot topic… Aside from that, it does look like there’s a lot of Red Devils fans in Malaysia, or maybe they just love it when Man United lose.
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MSI unleashes Skylake gaming notebooks

Skylake is the codename of the latest generation of Intel CPUs based on the 14nm process node, promising lower power consumption and better performance than ever before. MSI has been quick to pack Intel’s latest and greatest into their gaming notebooks.

The latest MSI GT72 Dominator is available with an option of either the Intel Core i7 6700HQ for the MSI GT72 Dominator G or Intel Core i7 6820HK in the MSI GT72 Dominator Pro G. While the HQ suffix is rather common, this is the first time I have seen the HK suffix. As with desktop processors, the i7 6820HK is an overclockable part, allowing you to push it up to a lofty 4 GHz.

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The GT72 Dominator Pro G also features NVIDIA GSync technology, which syncs the refresh rate of the display with the frame rate output of the GPU. While we are talking about the GPU, the MSI GT72 Dominator G will come with a NVIDIA GTX 970M 3GB DDR5 while the beefier MSI GT72 Dominator Pro G will be equipped with a NVIDIA GTX 980M 8GB DDR5. The GT72 Dominators support the MXM standard, allowing you to upgrade with an even more powerful GPU in the future.
Both GT72 Dominator variants come with 16GB of DDR4-2133 RAM and will support up to 32GB. A 1TB 7200rpm HDD takes care of the storage in these beasts. 17.3″ 1080p Anti-Glare IPS displays are standard with the GT72 Dominators.

The more portable MSI GS70 6QE Stealth Pro is also equipped with the latest Skylake i7 6700HQ CPU, along with 16GB of DDR4-2133 RAM. The GS70 Stealth Pro will come out of the factory with 256GB SSD (M.2 SATA) +1TB (SATA) 7200rpm which should satisfy most enthusiasts and gamers alike. Graphics is handled by a NVIDIA GTX 970M 3GB DDR5 and the 17.3″ 1080p Anti-Glare IPS panel will display all the pixels in their full glory.
All three of these laptops will come with the latest ESS SABRE HiFi Audio DAC which supports Hi-Res Audio along with Nahimic Audio Enhancer, Steelseries keyboards with silver lining print, True Color Technology which promises greater image details and of course, Windows 10.
The GT72 Dominator Pro G will have a SRP of RM11,499, the GT72 Dominator G with a SRP of RM9,499 and last but not least, the GS70 will cost RM9,388.

Pokdepinion: Intel Skylake CPUs will bring improved performance and power efficiency as well as lesser heat output, all important features for a mobile gamer. Along with the MSI Exclusive features, those who are in the market for extreme gaming laptops should give these beasts some serious consideration.
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OPPO Reno3 Pro Review — A Brave Entry In The Price Range

While the OPPO Reno3 Pro has been out for some time, we’ve yet to test out a device powered by the Mediatek Helio P95 chipset. In this OPPO Reno3 Pro review, let’s see what they’re bring to the table, shall we?
OPPO Reno3 Pro Unboxing
OPPO Reno3 Pro review
Out of the box, you can expect to see the following items:
OPPO Reno3 ProDocumentationsCharging brickUSB Type-C cable3.5mm earphonesSoft case (not included in our unit)
OPPO Reno3 Appearance
OPPO Reno3 Pro review
The OPPO Reno3 Pro uses a 6.4-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display and as you can see, it features a dual selfie camera at the top left. It’s just a small notch there, so I doubt many people will have issues with it. The position itself would make it less distracting.

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OPPO Reno3 Pro review
Down below, you’ll find its 3.5mm audio jack, microphone, USB Type-C port and a speaker grille.
OPPO Reno3 Pro review
On the right side, you have the smartphone’s power button, which sports a nice little green accent.
OPPO Reno3 Pro review
Moving over to the left side, you have the volume rockers and the SIM card slot / tray.
OPPO Reno3 Pro review
As for the back, you can tell by now that we received the Midnight Black variant of the OPPO Reno3 Pro, where it comes with a glossy finish. There’s the OPPO logo down at the bottom right and the quad camera setup at the top left.
Overall, the OPPO Reno3 Pro has a premium look and feel to it. Personally, the Auroral Blue variant looks nicer but if you don’t want something that stands out that much, then this Midnight Black will definitely suit you better.
OPPO Reno3 Pro Specifications
CPU:Helio P95 Octa-core (2 x 2.2 GHz Cortex-A75 + 6 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)GPU:PowerVR GM9446RAM:8GBDisplay:6.4″ FHD+ (2400 x 1080)Super AMOLED, 500 nits peak brightnessStorage:256GB UFS 2.1Camera:Camera(s)64MP f/1.7 13MP f/2.4 telephoto8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide2MP B/W f/2.4 depthPDAF, 2x optical zoom, HDR, panorama, Night modeFront camera(s)44MP f/2.4 wide2MP f/2.4 depthHDR, BeautifyOS:ColorOS 7 (based on Android 10)Connectivity:LTE Band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/18/19/20/26/28/38/39/40//41Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)Bluetooth 5.0SIM:Dual SIM (nano SIM)Battery:Li-Po 4025 mAh (non-removable)30W VOOC 4.0 fast chargeDimensions:158.8 x 73.4 x 8.1 mmWeight:175 gIngress protection:N/A
OPPO Reno3 Pro Performance

Right off the bat, it doesn’t look good for the OPPO Reno3 Pro as it is far off from the rest on Antutu. Yes, we do know that we’ve pitted it with several flagship devices but we’re taking into account of how much the phone is priced too.

We find similar results in Geekbench, with the smartphone not performing on par with the other devices. It’s not too bad but it can definitely be better.

In terms of graphic performance, the OPPO Reno3 Pro follows the trend from the previous two benchmarks in 3DMark. In this particular case, it’s not as bad as it looks as it can still perform decently enough.

Despite finishing last on the list for PCMark’s Work 2.0 performance test, it’s a decent enough score for a mid-range device.

The battery benchmark seems to be the saving grace for the OPPO Reno3 Pro, where it managed to last roughly 11 hours and 30 minutes in our testing, which is an acceptable duration.
As for personal and real-life usage, the battery life is good enough. I was left with 52% battery after 12 hours of use. This includes your normal social media usage such as Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp and a little bit of YouTube. I did play some games too but not power-intensive games.
If you’re wondering about the charging speed, I managed to gain 65% of juice from 30 minutes of charging. It’s pretty fast and made possible thanks to the phone’s VOOC 3.0 30W fast charger.
OPPO Reno3 Pro User Experience
OPPO Reno3 Pro review
I had no problems whatsoever with the OPPO Reno3 Pro in my hands. It fits nicely and gives you a premium feel to it. It doesn’t feel too big or wide, and feels stable to hold.
Watching videos on the smartphone was a pleasant experience thanks to its Super AMOLED display and decently loud speakers. I can definitely see myself watching videos on this a lot out of sheer convenience.
OPPO Reno3 Pro UI
The smartphone runs on OPPO’s own ColorOS 7, which is based on Android 10. Overall I had no issues with sluggish performance as it was a smooth experience for me. After all, it does come with a big, and more than sufficient, 8GB RAM to handle the workload.
OPPO Reno3 Pro Camera UI
The layout of the camera UI is almost similar to the OPPO Find X2 Pro that we’ve reviewed and it’s simple to grasp. I did find a weird issue with the interface however. Whenever I tap on the screen to focus, the screen would then be overexposed. Thankfully, shots taken afterwards don’t look like the preview. This is likely to be a software bug and hopefully they’ll fix soon.

Overall, the camera performance of the OPPO Reno3 Pro is decent in most cases, with it excelling in good lighting conditions. The Dazzle mode aggressively tempers with the colors of your shots, which I’m personally not a fan of. However, if you would like your pictures to ‘pop out’ more, then you will enoy it. At the end of the day, the performance is good enough for your social media uploads.
You can check out the full-sized images right here.
OPPO Reno3 Pro Verdict
OPPO Reno3 Pro review
Coming with a price tag of RM2,099, it’s hard to justify the OPPO Reno3 Pro. Don’t get me wrong, the device itself didn’t gave me a bad experience but with that price tag, there are a number of smartphones out there you can consider. If it was priced lower, I would easily recommend this to people.
At the end of the day, if you truly wish to get this smartphone, it would be best to wait for a sale or some kind of promotion to get an even better deal and your money’s worth.
We would like to thank OPPO Malaysia for providing the OPPO Reno3 Pro that was used in this review.
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[E3 2017] BioWare’s Newest Game Revealed; Anthem’s Teaser Trailer is Up

BioWare’s newest IP is finally unveiled and it’s called ‘Anthem’. Let’s take a look at what this game is all about via the teaser trailer.
Next up at E3 2017’s EA Play conference is the revelation of BioWare’s newest IP to hit the videogame market soon. It’s called Anthem, and it’s a mix of action RPG, MMO, and BioWare’s signature storytelling.

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[E3 2017] Bioware’s Newest Game Revealed
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Continuing off E3 2017’s EA Play conference, BioWare has finally revealed their new IP, that used to be code named “Dylan.” The name of the new game is Anthem. The game is a mix of action RPG, massively multiplayer online game, and BioWare storytelling.
According to what was shared in the latest investor conference call, the game will be released during fiscal year 2019, which means between April 1st, 2018, and March 31st, 2019. It was initially slated for release during the current fiscal year, but the publisher decided to give it more development time.
A while ago, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson also was teased that it will:
Fundamentally disrupt the way people think about an action title, bringing friends together to play in an exhilarating new way.
This is actually just a tease, and more will be shown tomorrow at Microsoft’s press conference. While no platforms have been announced, this probably means that the game will probably be at least on Xbox One and Windows 10.
Either way, it looks like we’re gonna have quite a co-op RPG game to play with friends in the future. Will it be something like Mass Effect? Who knows. We’ll just have to wait until we see a bit more at Microsoft’s E3 press conference tomorrow.

Pokdepinion: Well, looks like we gotta wait just a bit longer to know more about Anthem but at least we got a teaser trailer to go along with it. It’s a bit of a boner kill, I gotta admit that but let’s just keep watching E3 2017 and enjoy what’s coming to us in the near future.
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Redmi Note 6 Pro Available In Malaysia This 20th October 2018

Mi Malaysia has revealed in their official Facebook page that the new Redmi Note 6 Pro will be coming here to our shores this 20th October 2018.
Redmi Note 6 Pro
Redmi Note 6 Pro Price
The new Redmi Note 6 Pro comes in two variants; 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB respectively. It features a 6.26-inch display with a 19:9 ratio display. Under the hood, it packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chipset and a big 4000mAh.
On the front, it offers a dual 20MP f/2.0 + 2MP depth sensor cameras for your selfies. As for the main camera, it also sports a dual camera setup combo of 12MP f/1.9 + 5MP f/2.0 depth sensor.

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Well if you’re planning on getting the Redmi Note 6 Pro, Xiaomi/Mi Malaysia is preparing something special to early bird customers, which is valid for their authorized Mi Stores in One Utama, Queensbay Mall (Penang), and KSL City (Johor Bahru). There, you can get yourself a Mi Band 2 as well as a selfie stick which are in limited quantity.
Redmi Note 6 Pro is priced at RM849 for the 3GB variant and RM999 for the 4GB version.
Pokdepinion: Be prepared to go to the listed stores guys and get those freebies with every purchase ;)

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ASUS announces slew of Coffee Lake-based gaming laptops — there is even an unlocked Core i9 in a laptop!

More cores for more fun!

ASUS has just announced most of their current gaming-capable models will be refreshed with the latest 6-core 8th Generation Intel Core processors. In case you have not been updated, Intel has released the first batch of 8th Generation Intel Core processors for mobile, as well as a second series with Radeon Vega graphics. This is the much awaited high-end performance-oriented 8th Generation Intel Core processors, and they feature up to 6 cores running at up to 4.8 GHz.
ROG lineup

While the ROG lineup consists mostly of refreshes, there is a standout — the ROG Zephyrus M. The Zephyrus M GM501 offers high performance with new 12V anti-dust fans and the exclusive patented ROG Active Aerodynamic System (AAS). Also differentiating this model from its predecessor (aside from the newer CPU) is the GeForce GTX 1070 Max-P, which performs at a higher level than the GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q. The standard Zephyrus GX501 with the GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q is also available with the newer CPU.

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GX501G-IEI017T
GM501G-SEI006T
GM501G-MEI011T

CPU
Intel Core i7 8750H (6C/12T @ up to 4.1 GHz)

RAM
24GB
16GB

GPU
GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q 8GB
GeForce GTX 1070 Max-P 8GB
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB

Storage
1TB NVMe PCIe SSD
256GB NVMe PCIe SSD + 1TB SSHD

Display
15.6″ 1080p IPS-class 300 nits 144 Hz G-SYNC

The ROG G703 receives an update to the highest end i9-8950HK, a monstrous 6-core CPU with unlocked multipliers. The 12-threaded beast is also clocked at up to 4.8 GHz when running a single core, dropping down to 4.3 GHz when running on all six cores. The rest of its specifications are equally impressive, with 32GB of DDR4 RAM, 512GB of RAID 0 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 storage and a GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5X. All that power ensures that you can use the 17.3″ FHD 144 Hz IPS-level display with G-SYNC technology to its fullest.

G703G-IE5095T

CPU
Intel Core i9 8950HK (6C/12T @ up to 4.8 GHz, unlocked multiplier)

RAM
32GB

GPU
GeForce GTX 1080 8GB

Storage
2 x 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD (RAID 0) + 2TB SSHD

Display
17.3″ 1080p IPS-class 144 Hz G-SYNC

Meanwhile, the ROG Strix GL series sees three new ROG Strix GL703 SCAR Edition with GeForce GTX 1070, GTX 1060 and GTX 1050 Ti variants. MOBA fans are also in for a treat, with the ROG Strix GL503 HERO Edition receiving not only an update to the latest 8th Gen Intel Core CPUs, but also a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti instead of the GTX 1050 in the outgoing variant. Surprisingly the ROG Strix GL503 SCAR Edition laptops aren’t listed to receive this CPU upgrade.

GL703G-SE5026T
GL703G-ME5029T
GL703G-EEE035T
GL503G-EEN057T

CPU
Intel Core i7 8750H (6C/12T @ up to 4.1 GHz)

RAM
16GB
8GB

GPU
GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q 8GB
GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB

Storage
256GB NVMe PCIe SSD + 1TB SSHD
128GB NVMe PCIe SSD + 1TB SSHD

Display
17.3″ 1080p IPS-class 300 nits 144 Hz G-SYNC
17.3″ 1080p TN 300 nit 120 Hz
15.6″ 1080p TN 300 nit 120 Hz

TUF Gaming lineup

The TUF Gaming FX504, the first laptops in the new TUF Gaming series, builds upon the ASUS FX503 with the latest CPUs and new features. The TUF Gaming FX504 series now sport the FireCuda SSHDs which were previously available in the ROG Strix GL series. They also sport a more aggressive outlook to emphasize their gaming capabilities.

FX504G-EE4071T
FX504G-DE4096T
FX504G-DE4092T
FX504G-DDM091T

CPU
Intel Core i7 8750H (6C/12T @ up to 4.1 GHz)
Intel Core i5 8300H (4C/8T @ up to 4 GHz)

RAM
4GB

GPU
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
GeForce GTX 1050 4GB

Storage
128GB NVMe PCIe SSD + 1TB SSHD
1TB SSHD

Display
15.6″ 1080p IPS-class 250 nit 60 Hz
15.6″ 1080p TN 200 nit 60 Hz

Pricing and availability
All models will be available in April 2018, while the ROG G703 will only be available in May. Prices are TBA, but we will update it as soon as we receive the latest price list!
Pokdepinion: It seems that ASUS isn’t going to shake things up with new designs, but maybe we will see those when NVIDIA launches their next generation GPUs?
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Samsung Galaxy M14 5G Officially Arrives in Malaysia: Affordable 5G Powerhouse

Samsung enthusiasts in Malaysia have reason to rejoice as the much-anticipated Galaxy M14 5G has been officially announced for the local market. With its launch set on Lazada’s Super Brand Day 2023, the entry-level smartphone promises impressive features at an affordable price point. Let’s take a closer look at what the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G has to offer.
Samsung Galaxy M14 5G

The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G boasts a generous 6.6-inch PLS LCD display with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate, providing vibrant visuals and smooth scrolling. The device features a tear-drop notch and a resolution of 2408×1080, ensuring crisp and immersive viewing experiences. For added durability, Samsung has included Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

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Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G runs on Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1330 chipset with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The phone also offers a microSD card slot for memory expansion. Notably, the device supports 5G connectivity, allowing users to experience blazing-fast internet speeds. Other connectivity options include NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band Wi-Fi, and the convenience of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Equipped with a versatile camera setup it features a rear triple-camera system comprising of a 50MP main camera, a 2MP macro lens for detailed close-ups, and a 2MP depth sensor for beautiful bokeh effects. On the front, the notch houses a 13MP selfie shooter, ensuring clear and vibrant self-portraits.
Samsung understands the importance of battery life, and the Galaxy M14 impresses with its massive 6,000mAh battery capacity. With this power-efficient device, users can enjoy up to 25 hours of video playback and up to 58 hours of talk time on a single charge. When it’s time to recharge, the phone supports 25W wired fast charging via USB-C.
The Samsung Galaxy M14 5G will be available for purchase on the brand’s Lazada store starting from today onwards. The retail price is set at RM1,099. The smartphone comes in attractive blue and dark blue color options.
Source
Pokdepinion: With the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy M14 5G in Malaysia, budget-conscious consumers can enjoy the benefits of 5G connectivity, a large display, powerful camera capabilities, and a long-lasting battery. If you’re planning on getting it already, don’t miss out on the discounted prices.
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MSI’s Latest 12th Gen Intel Core Laptop Now Up For Pre-orders

The folks at MSI Malaysia has recently announced that they’ve opened their latest 12th Gen Intel H series processor powered laptops up for pre-orders, where you can get some goodies by doing so.
MSI 12th Gen Intel Core laptops now available for pre-order

The pre-order opens from today until the 31st of January 2022. The new laptops are equipped with up to Intel Core i9 processors and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics.

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To celebrate the arrival of the laptops, they’ve prepped up several deals for you to enjoy. This includes freebies worth up to RM1,349 of Fitbit Luxe, Activity Tracker, MSI Gaming Mouse, and MSI Gaming Headset.
On top of that, those who register their newly purchased laptop on MSI Membership Center and review it at the online store that they bought it from, can get extra Steam wallet with a value of US$50 (~RM209).
For more information on the laptops, you may head to the link right here. Stay tuned to Pokde.net for the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews.
Pokdepinion: So? Will you be upgrading to the latest 12th Gen Intel laptops from MSI? Those freebies does look enticing..
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NVIDIA GTC 2023 Begins March 20: Featuring AI Systems, Metaverse, Robotics and More

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will host the opening keynote, as usual.

GTC 2023 is set to kick off this March 20, discussing topics such as generative AI, the metaverse, large language models, robotics, and cloud computing. The four-day event is expected to have over 250,000 attendees and will include 650+ sessions covering various computing domains. Other notable speakers at the event include OpenAI’s Ilya Sutskever, DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis, and Stability AI’s Emad Mostaque.

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“This is the most extraordinary moment we have witnessed in the history of AI,” Huang said. “New AI technologies and rapidly spreading adoption are transforming science and industry, and
opening new frontiers for thousands of new companies. This will be our most important GTC yet.” The opening keynote courtesy of NVIDIA CEO will begin at March 21, 08:00 Pacific (00:00 Wednesday, March 22, Malaysian Time).
While this is more of an industrial-focused event, there’s nothing ruling out a surprise GPU launch if Jensen Huang wants to open up his kitchen oven once again. Those who prefer to join the main event can register here – however if you’re just watching the keynote itself, no registration is needed.
Pokdepinion: I’m thinking RTX 4070 may just show up here, right?
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HONOR View20 review — what a way to kick off 2019!

Introduction

HONOR is well known to offer the latest hardware at affordable prices. It has been the case for their flagships. Today we are looking at the HONOR View20, which is the latest flagship from HONOR. The device comes with all the latest technologies the world has to offer, including a 48MP Sony Exmor IMX 586 and an in-screen camera. Sounds interesting enough? Let’s take a closer look.

Unboxing

So the packaging of the HONOR View20 is pretty attractive. It features a pretty fancy pattern as well as the new HONOR logo. HONOR moved on to this new logo recently and are pretty proud of it.

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As we received a review sample rather than a retail unit, our packaging lacks the documentation that the official unit will come with. In the box is the HUAWEI SuperCharge power adapter, USB cable, SIM ejector pin and our Midnight Black HONOR View20. The HUAWEI SuperCharger here is the older 22.5W variant and not the latest 40W version that comes with the HUAWEI Mate 20 series.

Appearance

This device looks pretty cool even from the front. With the flood of notched smartphones in 2018, it is nice to start 2019 with the HONOR View20 with a hole in the screen.

HONOR does not disappoint when it comes to the design of their flagships. Most of them features interesting finishes on the back, and the HONOR View20 is no different. You can’t really see it in this photo, which is why I attached the .gif animation below which showcases it better.

Isn’t it pretty? So apparently HONOR achieved this effect via photolithography, and here are actually countless little dots which refract light to give you an interesting design. While the blue and red variants have chevrons in their specific color, the black one offers a rainbow of colors. It’s pretty cool to be able to play with light and have a look that’s always in flux, so kudos to HONOR!

The frame of the HONOR View20 is smooth metal, but HONOR shakes it up a little by throwing in a textured power button. It’s always nice to have a little texture, just for a change.

On the top edge we find a 3.5mm jack, which is getting rarer and rarer at this point. There’s also an equally rare IR blaster up here. One of the holes is actually the proximity sensor, which is a cool yet necessary choice by HONOR simply due to the fact that there are no bezels on the front of the device for a proximity sensor.

Here we find a USB-C port, the loudspeaker and primary microphone. Unfortunately this speaker will do all the heavy lifting as the HONOR View20’s earpiece does not do double duty as a loudspeaker.
As a whole, the HONOR View20’s design is pretty cool. The back design is pretty fancy, and this isn’t even the fanciest color option yet. The in-screen camera looks amazing and is definitely a pretty cool change from notches, all without affecting usability.

Specifications

CPU/Chipset:
Kirin 980 (2 x Cortex-A76 @ 2.6 GHz + 2 x Cortex-A76 @ 1.92 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A55 @ 1.8 GHz), 7nm FinFET

GPU:
Mali-G76MP10 @ 720 MHz

RAM:
6GB LPDDR4x

Display:
6.4″ FHD+ (1080p) LTPS LCD display, 91.8% screen-to-body ratio

Storage:
128GB UFS 2.1

Camera:
Main Camera(s)
48MP f/1.8, Sony Exmor IMX 586, 0.8μm pixels
3D Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensor
AIS, PDAF, laser AF, LED flash, Portrait mode, AI Ultra-Clarity, Night mode, Aperture mode, HiVision
Front Camera
25MP f/2.0
AI beautification, AI HDR, Portrait mode

OS:
Magic UI 2.0.1 based on Android 9 Pie

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz)
Bluetooth 5.0
NFC

SIM:
Dual nanoSIM

Battery:
Li-Po 4000 mAh (non-removable)
22.5W HUAWEI SuperCharge fast charging

Dimensions:
156.9 x 75.4 x 8.1 mm

Weight:
180 g

In terms of specifications, the HONOR View20 really has no faults. It has one of the highest end chipsets, the latest camera sensor and a large battery. From the spec sheet, the HONOR View20 is really amazing.

Performance

It seems that from the time we reviewed the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro, HONOR has managed to optimize the Kirin 980 to give a much better score than before. All benchmarks are run without enabling Performance Mode, and it still manages to trounces its pricier cousins.

It seems that the optimizations aren’t in the CPU though, as it falls behind the two HUAWEI Mate 20 devices we have reviewed.

3DMark is where it creates quite a sizable gap, especially in the Sling Shot and Ice Storm Unlimited benchmark runs.

It also ekes out a win in PCMark. We still see the HONOR View20 falling behind Snapdragon 845-packing devices though.

The large 4000 mAh battery gives it quite an advantage over its peers in the flagship class. It does fall behind the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro and HUAWEI Mate 20 X though, but both of them do feature larger batteries than the HONOR View20 here.
In my usual usage I am getting more than 5 hours of screen-on time over more than a day. I am pretty satisfied with what I am seeing. Charging it up is also a pretty quick process, with 30 minutes giving me an extra 52% of charge to play around with.

In case you missed it, HONOR did claim that they used the NINE Cooling System. Now the device did not feel cooler than any other flagship I have used for my frequent PUBG Mobile sessions, but it did not throttle, and that’s all that matters in mobile gaming. It maintained a smooth gaming experience even when I was clocking around 2 hours, so I am pretty sure it did the job.

User Experience

The screen is really vibrant for a LCD display. Brightness is top notch as well, so no complaints here. There is however a little flaw, where the screen is dimmer along the lower edge of the display. It might be an issue with our specific unit though. Holding the device in my hand was a pretty comfortable experience, where the 6.4″ display doesn’t feel nearly as big in hand due to the minuscule bezels around it.

Interestingly, HONOR managed to cut the display perfectly here, and there is no bleeding nor dimming around the camera hole. The HONOR View20’s front facing camera does allow you to use facial recognition to unlock the device, but it doesn’t work in darkness. Without 3D mapping, security is also somewhat compromised, so if you are particular about your privacy, make use of the fingerprint scanner on the back, which is really quick and accurate.

HONOR appears to want to distance itself from its parent brand, and instead of EMUI, the HONOR View20 packs Magic UI. It will be quite familiar to anyone who has used a HUAWEI or HONOR device in recent times, as it is pretty much the same thing. Magic UI in China has a few extra perks but as of now, the international version is virtually the same. It looks rather outdated in the face of more recent Android skins, but it still better than most Chinese-designed user interfaces.

Moving on into the camera UI, it is pretty familiar. However this one clearly shares its DNA with the rest of HONOR instead of HUAWEI. It has an AI mode which enhances the saturation of your images, but in its current iteration seems to lean towards overdoing it. There are plenty of modes to play around with here, and you can even do an AR Qmoji which is like Animoji but less accurate due to the lack of 3D IR sensors.

The 48MP f/1.8 camera on the back is actually assisted by a laser AF system, and accompanied by the 3D Time-of-Flight camera. The 48MP Sony IMX 586 sensor shoots 12MP images by default, where it combines 4 pixels into 1. That gives it an equivalent pixel size of 1.6μm. To put that into perspective, the Sony IMX 363 which is very popular in flagships only has a pixel size of 1.4μm. So how does it fare?
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Pretty well, I must say. The 12MP shots are stellar, with excellent sharpness and noise control. The colors might be a little overdone, but that’s probably just to make them more appealing for social posts. You can even do some zooming in the 12MP mode. Images turn out fine but there is a noticeable amount of shutter delay when you use the digital zooming. The 48MP AI Ultra Clarity on the HONOR View20 allows you to shoot full-res 48MP images with the quality of 12MP shots. It’s much slower though, with exposures up to 4 seconds long. The standard 48MP images are quite noisy and generally unappealing though, even in good lighting. This isn’t HONOR’s fault, as the sensor isn’t exactly designed to output 48MP images. To properly gauge the quality, you might want to check out the full-sized samples on our Flickr here, or check out the gallery at the end of our article.

WIth 3D Shaping, the subject gets slimmer overall with the background still intact

The 3D TOF camera’s primary function is to allow you to separate your subject from the background better, and it does a decent job at it. The HONOR View20’s main gimmick utilizing the 3D TOF camera is the body shaping feature, which allows you to slim down your chunkier friends. It also has the side effect of making them taller, so if your friend is somewhat chunky and short, they might love it. HONOR still has some work on refining the effect though, as in my testing, people turn out too long to be natural.

Conclusion
The HONOR View20 is definitely an amazing effort from HONOR. Many a flagship is held back by the fact that they are priced too high, but not the HONOR View20. Priced at RM1999, the HONOR View20 is excellent bang for buck, and has definitely set the bar pretty high for any upcoming devices. Of course, we are only looking at it from an affordable flagship’s perspective. It does lack what true flagships should offer, such as wireless charging or water resistance.
As it stands, the HONOR View20 offers a good camera, nice bezel-less design without moving parts, a beautiful psychedelic body, and most importantly, cramming all of that without breaking the bank. Well, definitely a good start to 2019! It definitely deserves our Silver Pokdeward!

Our thanks to HONOR Malaysia for providing the HONOR View20 used in this review.

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ASUS ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 4GB OC review – Great GPU for new PC build

The AMD Radeon RX 460 is an entry level graphics card meant to deliver performance in eSports titles such as DOTA2 and CS: GO. Based on Polaris 11, a smaller Polaris part compared to the “big” Polaris, or Polaris 10, the RX 460 is still manufactured on the 14nm FinFET node, which allows for greater power efficiency than previous generations. With a low TDP of 75W, the Radeon RX 460 is the successor of the Radeon R7 260X, while offering a massive leap in performance per watt. Today we have ASUS’ take on the RX 460 GPU, in the form of the ASUS ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 4GB OC. Let’s see what it can do.

Unboxing

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ASUS ASUS ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 comes in a box that shares the overall theme of the cartons all the ASUS’ ROG STRIX cards were packaged in, but the box is smaller than the ones the other cards we have reviewed came in. The front of the box, we find a picture of the card itself and highlighted features such as ASUS AURA RGB. AMD Radeon RX 460 is also HDR Ready, and comes with support for AMD FreeSync technology as well as DirectX 12.

Over on the back we have more details printed here. ASUS ASUS ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 is using ASUS DirectCU II cooling technology with two patented wing-blade fans. ASUS’ Auto-Extreme Technology was also used to manufacture this card, which means a fully automated manufacturing process to ensure lower tolerances for a better built card overall. Unlike the higher end parts which come with 2 ASUS FanConnect headers, the ASUS ASUS ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 only features a single 4-pin GPU-controlled header. Last but not least, ASUS’ AURA RGB offers millions of colors for customization.

Inside the box we have the ASUS ASUS ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460, two ROG cable ties, a driver installer DVD, user manual and a World of Warship premium pass.

Appearance

Since the card is only rated with a 75W TDP, ASUS’ DirectCU II cooling technology is adequate to cool the card with the two patented wing-blade fans sending air between the cooling fins. The cooling shroud is finished in dark grey, and the ROG logo features an RGB LED.

Since this card is really small and doesn’t weigh much at all, no back-plate is needed for support. The reference design of the Radeon RX 460 doesn’t need any additional PCIe power connectors, but the ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 features a single 6-pin PCIe power connector for more overclocking headroom. Theoretically this card is capable to draw up to 150 watts safely, if it wants to.

Two heatpipes sneak out from the side of the card. With such a low TDP, these two heatpipes that directly contact the GPU’s surface should be more than enough to keep it cool.

For the display connection we have a DVI, a HDMI and DisplayPort connector. ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 supports AMD CrossFire over the PCIe bus, but it’s not VR ready.

Test Machine
I’m glad to announce that we’re using a new benchrig for this review. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to our sponsors who have supporting us since the early days of Pokde.net.
Hardware

Processor
Intel Core i7-5820K

Motherboard
ASUS X99-Deluxe

Memory
Avexir Blitz 16GB DDR4

Storage
Sandisk Ultra II 256GB

Power Supply
Cooler Master V850

Software

OS
Windows 10 64bit Annivesary

GPU Driver
Radeon Crimson 16.7.3 (WHQL)

Antivirus
Windows Defender

Utilities
Furmak, Fraps, MSI Afterburner 4.3 Beta 14, GPU-Z, OBS, Steam, Uniplay, Origin, GOG Galaxy

Game Tested
Witcher 3, Battlefield 4, DOTA 2 Reborn, CS: GO, Overwatch

Card Specification

GPU Architecture
Polaris 11

GPU
Radeon RX 460

Memory
4GB GDDR5 @ 7Gbps

Memory Interfarce
128-bit

Base/Boost Clock
1236 MHz / N/A

Card Dimension
194 x 120 x 35 mm

Card Weight
N/A

Almost all the software used in this test are updated to the latest version. That includes the operating system, system drivers, BIOS and graphics driver.
ASUS GPU Tweak II

The latest iteration of the original ASUS GPU Tweak II, it brings more responsive UI and features. ASUS GPU Tweak & MSI Afterburner are always my go-to tools for GPU overclocking.
ASUS AURA RGB Software

The ASUS AURA RGB software can be opened through the ASUS GPU Tweak II utility under the “Tools” tab. Here you can customize the RGB lighting with millions of colors and up to 6 special effects.

Performance
I did try to play games on 1440p, but the frame rates are really not something to write home about. Considering this is an entry-level card, it is expected, actually. AMD themselves are only targeting fluid 1080p gameplay in eSport titles anyway. During the test, I noticed that the peak system power consumption never goes above 215 watts. By subtracting the 120 W (± 10 W) that the rest of the hardware consumes, this card only sips approximately 95 watts (± 10 W).

Average frame rate of 108 fps means that DOTA2 is extremely enjoyable with this card. The frame rate here might be pretty similar to the higher end cards I have reviewed, but the GPU usage is definitely quite different. The ASUS ROG STRIX Radeon RX 460 GPU usage constantly hovers above 90% while the higher end cards usually stays below 50% to get such frame rates.

Unlike the higher-end card that can get over 150fps and above, no sweat, with less than 50% GPU usage, on average the ASUS ROG STRIX Radeon RX 460 only manage to get average at 108 fps. The GPU utilization is above 95% too, which means that the card is really working hard to get these frame rates. Still, working to its fullest is not a sign of weakness, as I do believe it is best to get a card that can deliver the fluid frame rates you need in the games you play the most.

In Battlefield 4 you may need to change the setting from “Ultra” to “High” to get a better gameplay experience. Turning off anti-aliasing also helps a lot to achieve better frame rates. While the card struggled to get the golden standard of 60 fps, the temperatures are still well maintained at 62 Celsius, testament to the fact that ASUS has their cooling down pat.

Similar to the case in Battlefield 4, dropping the setting from “Epic” to “High” or “Medium” will help you achieve much better frame rates.

Let’s pay a visit to our most challenging game in the list, Witcher 3. With the “Cinematic” frame rates, playing this game on the Ultra preset is impossible without turning off anti-aliasing and also dropping some detail settings. If you want to play the Witcher 3 with the ASUS ROG STRIX Radeon RX 460, it is recommended to set the resolution to 768p for better gameplay with better graphics.
Overclocking

My procedure when overclocking a graphics card is to see how far it can go without increasing any voltages. The overclocked headroom on the ROG STRIX Radeon RX460 is so-so. I was able to overclock the GPU boost clock by 64 MHz and memory clock by 300MHz. This gave me a performance gain of around 5%.

Conclusion
The Radeon RX 460 is one of the best solutions right now for entry-level gaming. The performance per watt was improved over the last generation cards. By turning off some detail and anti-aliasing, you should be able to play most AAA titles at 1080p. Honestly the Radeon RX 460 is not a good card if you are upgrading from an older card, being more suitable when you’re building a new PC. Throw in a FreeSync monitor and you are set. The ASUS ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 is priced at RM741 and the cheapest FreeSync monitor you can get is around RM599. With this combo, I am pretty sure you can enjoy better gameplay. I award the ASUS ROG STRIX RADEON RX 460 4GB OC with our Bronze Pokdeward.

We would like to thank ASUS Malaysia for providing the ASUS ROG STRIX Radeon RX 460 for review.

The PokdeRig
We would like to thank our sponsors for our very own benchmarking rig – The PokdeRig. These companies believe in us and put their trust into what we do. They deserve all the love in the world!
Asus X99-Deluxe
Intel Core i7-5820K
CM MasterAir Pro 4
CM V850 PSU
Sandisk Ultra II
Avexir Blitz 16GB DDR4
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Selfie with Gong Yoo to win a ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro! Gong Yoo fans, here’s your chance!

ASUS Malaysia is kicking off a very unique giveaway starting 5th October 2017. All you have to do is to selfie with Gong Yoo to win an ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro. Nope, don’t book your tickets to Korea, as all you have to do is to visit your nearest retail outlet and take a selfie with any ZenFone 4 Gong Yoo display material to stand a chance to win!

Follow these simple steps to stand a chance to win the exclusive ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro signed by Gong Yoo:

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Follow ASUS Malaysia Facebook and Instagram page
Proceed to any ASUS Authorized Mobile Dealers located around Malaysia (Click here)
Selfie with any ZenFone 4 Gong Yoo display material at the outlets
Tell ASUS what is your favourite feature about ZenFone 4 Selfie / Selfie Pro and why?
Upload it on FB and/or Instagram with these hashtags – #SelfiewithGongYoo and #ZenFone4SelfieMY

You have until 22nd October to take your selfies to be in the running to win the autographed ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro and 20 ZenFone 4 Gong Yoo Merchandise. The winner will be announced on the 25th of October, so save the date! Good luck!
Pokdepinion: ASUS I want Elizabeth Tan’s signature on my ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro please!
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The next MacBook may pack AMD Ryzen 4000 series processors instead

The next MacBook might feature AMD Ryzen processors, as they are referenced in the latest macOS 10.15.4 Beta. Given that Macs currently pack Intel’s processors, and there’s also the implementation of QuickSync in Final Cut Pro, using AMD chips in upcoming MacBooks might prove pretty interesting.

MacOS 10.15.4 Beta 1
NAVI12_A0
NAVI21_A0
PICASSO_A0
RAVEN2_A0
RAVEN_A0
RENOIR_A0
VANGOGH_A0 😳 pic.twitter.com/qFBHg5L0q0
— _rogame (@_rogame) February 6, 2020

As of now, the latest beta of macOS Catalina sports references to AMD’s GPU architectures Navi as well as their APU codenames such as Picasso, Raven Ridge, Renoir and the yet-to-be-announced Van Gogh. Given the impressive performance that AMD’s latest Ryzen 4000 mobile processors are touting, it shouldn’t be too surprising to see Apple jump over to AMD.

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Apple working with AMD isn’t particularly new, as they have been using Radeon graphics in their systems for a very long time now. But the processors have traditionally come from Intel and the shift to AMD might just be the vote of no confidence that Intel absolutely does not need during these trying times.

So far, Apple has yet to confirm an AMD-powered MacBook, so hold your horses. There has been rumors of a gaming-oriented MacBook which might be what Apple will be putting the AMD Ryzen 4000 series chips in, although that is even further out than simply putting the AMD processors into the MacBook Pro 2020 or something similar.
Pokdepinion: An AMD-powered MacBook Pro with eight cores sounds pretty sweet!
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Hands-on with the Latest Borderlands 3 Demo Build
Hands-on Experience with Borderlands 3

When you think of highly anticipated games in 2019, especially in September, then chances are that Borderlands 3 is at the top of that list. As we draw closer to the game’s release date, it’s inevitable to learn more and more about the game. Well, we’ve learned a lot more than we expected all of a sudden.
We were invited by 2K Games to attend a private demo session of Borderlands 3 in Singapore, where we managed to get a hands-on experience with the game. The demo session was divided into two parts; playing as FL4K at Level 1, and playing as any Vault Hunter at Level 22.
Playing as FL4K, The Beastmaster

Now for this particular part of the demo, it doesn’t feel like it would be any different with any other Vault Hunter. After all, we start at Level 1 with no usable active skills. We start off much like in the Gearbox livestream showing the demo of the game, where we are greeted by Claptrap.

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Soon after, you’ll be chasing after Claptrap and defeating hordes of Psychos along the way, including a boss-type Psycho. This seems to be the very beginning of Borderlands 3, which explains why we’re fighting against arguably the weakest enemies known in the series. I won’t go into story details to avoid any potential spoilers.
In this part of the game, it will teach you everything you need to know, including the new sliding mechanic. Not gonna lie, the game feels like a huge improvement over Borderlands 2 and the Pre-Sequel not just graphically but the overall feel of the game. Guns don’t feel as synthetic as it was last time, and even a simple pistol feels like it could legitimately kill enemies.
The alternate firing for weapons can be a bit of a hit or miss. The handgun that shoots rockets, which it can be particularly helpful, it doesn’t do much on damage so it can be a bit disappointing. It ultimately depends on what weapons you have but I foresee most players sticking to the primary mode of firing and only use the alternate firing mode sparingly.
By the time I managed to reach Level 2, I was informed that this part of the demo is over, so they then brought me to the next portion of the demo.
Playing as Zane Flynt

In this part of the Borderlands 3 hands-on demo session, we were allowed to play as any Vault Hunter as we would like and it would be taking at a later portion of the game. As such, this is why the chosen character will be stronger, Level 22 to be precise. As for where exactly it takes place in the game, that we are uncertain. The Vault Hunter that I chose is Zane Flynt, solely because his skill tree is pretty strong early on.
This part of the game starts off in a jungle-type area, where the enemies are odd monstrosities rather than people. While you do have your typical Skags, there are new variety of creatures around to fight against. I was even lucky enough to bump into a Badass version early on, which was surprisingly tough at first. Not only did they take little damage, they dish out quite a painful amount if you get hit by them.
As far as equipment goes, nothing that I have picked up personally was usable. This was because my character did not meet the level requirement for those weapons. I find it odd that all of the equipment I picked up can’t be used but I do believe it will be different in the final retail version. As far as looting is concerned, it has gotten easier as ammo is picked up automatically whereas equipment needs to be manually picked up.
I do have some rather powerful equipment so no complaints there. The weapons I have include rifles and shotguns, some with semi-firing options and some with elemental bonuses. For instance, my semi-auto rifle will also deal burning damage while my shotgun fires lighting elemental damage. I tend to stick to my shotgun not because of the elemental but because of the area-of-effect damage upon contact. Along with high damage, it made crowd control a lot easier.
Zane’s Action Skills are reminiscent of Handsome Jack (the playable version) in Pre-Sequel. You have the Digi-Clone which can shoot at enemies and distract them. Then you have the SNTNL drone that flies through the environment and attacks enemies with Machine Guns. Lastly is the Barrier, which will block incoming projectiles but you and your friends will deal amplified damage if you shoot out of the barrier. Which part of the skill tree to level will up depend on your playstyle. I personally disregarded the Barrier and went for the other two as it seemed like the most damaging options.
Again, I must say that I am impressed with the game thus far, more so than the previous part of the demo. In this part, things actually got quite chaotic and sometimes ridiculous even. But I still feel like it’s fair amount of challenge and it will definitely be enough to force players to think instead of just blasting their way through. The game itself doesn’t feel too different from previous entries but it certainly does look and feel more polished.
Final Thoughts

Based on the demo build that we have played, we have high hopes on Borderlands 3 being a major success not just in the series but within the games industry. Sure, there were glitches, including one where I got stuck with no way of progressing but to be fair, it is a test build so such issues are to be expected and will be ironed out in time for the final release.
Given that we played on the PS4 Pro, we have hopes that it will look much better on PC. Not only that, I’m sure many would prefer playing the game on keyboard and mouse rather than controller (myself included). If you’re wondering whether you should pre-order Borderlands 3 or not, my preliminary verdict based on my own personal experience with the demo is a resounding yes.
There’s expected to be more details on the game when Gamescom has commenced. We’ve been told that you can expect something on 20th August 2019 at precisely 2AM GMT+8 / 19th August 2019 11AM PST.
Borderlands 3 will be coming to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Epic Games Store on 13th September 2019.
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Gamers Are Accusing That Ubisoft Would Rather Focus On Microtransactions Instead Of Bug Fix

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has been out in the market for quite some time now. When it was first launched, the game was filled with bugs as we found out in our review of the game. Since then, Ubisoft has indeed fixed some of the issues but it appears that gamers are dissatisfied with the company as they feel that Ubisoft is more focused on updating microtransactions in the game rather than focusing on bug fixes.
Gamers are unhappy with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla microtransaction

Considering that Ubisoft has planned post-launch support for Valhalla where it includes an upcoming paid-DLC, some players are finding it hard to accept it when the base game still needs touching up.

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Since launch, Ubisoft had no issues whatsoever with updating the game’s microtransactions, a thing that players have been annoyed with.
Check out our full review of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Gamers have voiced out at both Reddit as well as the game’s official forum where they are questioning Ubisoft’s stand where they think the game publisher is simply prioritizing microtransactions instead of fixing the game itself.
The game is supposedly to receive a new update soon, where it will add a new ‘River Raid’ as well as other new items such as skills, weapons, and armor. Additionally, it is said to address several bugs.
For the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews, stay tuned to Pokde.net.
Source
Pokdepinion: They do have a point though. Why would you want to pay for a DLC if the base game is not polished? Let’s hope Ubisoft gets this sorted out soon.
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[IFA 2018] ASUS unveils world’s most compact laptops — three new ZenBooks and two new ZenBook Flips

ASUS is very proud of delivering incredible innovations in their ASUS ZenBook series. This year they are bringing out the world’s most compact laptops at IFA 2018, as well as the new Zen AiO 27 with a 4K PANTONE Validated display for content creators.
ASUS ZenBook 13/14/15 and ZenBook Flip 13/15

These new laptops feature NanoEdge displays with ultraslim bezels for up to 95% screen-to-body ratio. This has allowed the new ZenBook laptops to be the most compact laptops in the world. Even with the ridiculously slim bezels, you can opt for a PANTONE Validated displays in the ZenBook 15 (UX562), with low Delta-E values of less than 3 for the FHD model, and an even more impressive Delta-E <2 value for the 4K variant.

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But that’s not all. The new ZenBook 13 (UX333), ZenBook 14 (UX433) and ZenBook Flip 13 (UX362) will come with a new NumberPad with an LED-illuminated numeric keyboard built into the touchpad so users do not have to sacrifice anything even when opting for a smaller laptop like the 13″ and 14″ ZenBooks.
ASUS Zen AiO 27

For those who want a bigger screen to work on, the ASUS Zen AiO 27 offers a 27″ 4K PANTONE Validated display for accurate colors and just oodles of viewing space. To improve the cooling, ASUS put the powerful Intel Core i7 CPU and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 GPU into the base instead of behind the display. This design approach makes it easier to upgrade while also allowing for a slimmer display housing.
Aside from these devices, ASUS will also be showcasing the ASUS ZenBook S and ZenBook Pro 14 introduced back at Computex 2018 here at IFA 2018 Berlin.
Pokdepinion: I definitely dig the ZenBook 13 and ZenBook 14’s slim bezel displays and compact form factor! The numpad in the touchpad is a cool addition but I rarely use the numpad anyway.
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OPPO A15 With Triple Camera Launched At RM499

Today marks the introduction of the latest A Series from OPPO in the form of the OPPO A15 where it an entry-level smartphone that comes with a triple camera and big display.
OPPO A15 arrives in Malaysia

With the OPPO A15, it comes with a 6.52-inch HD+ display (1600 x 720) and a triple camera setup that features a 13MP main camera, 2MP macro lens, as well as a 2MP depth sensor. On the front is a 8MP camera for you to take your selfies.

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It is powered by a Helio P35 chipset and a 4230mAh battery under the hood. In terms of memory, it offers 3GB RAM that’s paired with 32GB internal storage, which you can expand up to 256GB through microSD. The OPPO A15 runs on ColorOS 7.2 which is based on Android 10.
Available starting from the 10th of December 2020, the OPPO A15 will be available in Fancy White and Dynamic Black. You can get it at the price of RM499 at OPPO Brand Stores, OPPO Official Online Store, OPPO Official Dealer Stores, telco partners, as well as from their ecommerce platform on Shopee and Lazada.
We’ve previously reviewed the OPPO A73. So if you’re looking for a mid-range device from OPPO, you can definitely check that out.
Pokdepinion: With that kind of price, I don’t expect much from the device. What are your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments.
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Official PlayStation 5 And Accessory Pricing In Malaysia

Sony has finally revealed the official pricing for the PlayStation 5 today. In case you haven’t seen it for yourself, we’ve got you covered. Here’s the official pricing for the next-gen console plus accessories that’ll be available.
PlayStation 5 pricing in Malaysia

As you might’ve known, there are two versions of the PS5; the standard PlayStation 5 Digital Edition and PlayStation 5 Ultra HD Blue-ray disc drive version. The former is priced at RM1,869 while the latter is set at RM2,299. You can probably guessed by the name that the Digital Edition only allows you to play digital copies of games while the standard version can play both digitally and physical copy of game titles.
PlayStation 5 pricing in Malaysia
Pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 starts tomorrow, 12th of November 2020 and you can order them from Sony Centres including in Imago, Mid Valley SouthKey, Sunway Pyramid, Mid Valley Megamall, Karamunsing, IOI City Mall, Low Yat Plaza, VivaCity, Queensbay Mall, and Ipoh Parade.

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At launch day, you can expect the following games from SIE Worldwide Studios to be available:
Astro’s Playroom – Pre-installed on PS5Demon’s Souls – RM299Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – RM209Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition – RM299Sackboy A Big Adventure – RM249
Aside from that, there’s also the announcement of the pricing of accessories that will launch with the PS5:
DualSense Wireless Controller – RM349PULSE 3D wireless headset – RM469HD Camera – RM279Media Remote – RM149DualSense Charging Station – RM149
Pokdepinion: I honestly expected the price of the console to be higher. This changes things. There’s a chance that I’d be getting an early unit..
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Intel Raptor Lake confirmed to come later this year with support for LGA1700 socket

Intel is set to unveil what should be the 13th Gen Intel Core series, codenamed Raptor Lake, later this year. They are definitely working very hard to regain any lost ground from their extended stay on 14nm and Skylake-based architectures, with Raptor Lake set to offer a tangle performance boost, and most importantly, enthusiasts currently on the 12th Gen Intel Core platform can just drop in a Raptor Lake CPU to enjoy the benefits.
Intel Raptor Lake: LGA1700 compatible, “double digit” performance boost

The 13th Gen Intel Core processors will not require a new CPU socket to work, with it supporting the existing LGA1700 socket. This should be a relief for gamers who want an upgrade in terms of CPU performance, but aren’t looking to shell out the additional money for a new motherboard. Raptor Lake is slated to bring a double digit performance boost, which is a pretty respectable figure. For context, 12th Gen Intel Core “Alder Lake” delivered a 19% performance uplift over 11th Gen Intel Core “Rocket Lake”.

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Part of the improvement might be also thanks to an increased core count. Intel is embracing the “MOAR CORES” culture, with Raptor Lake coming in configurations of up to 24 cores and 32 threads. This will comprise of 8 P-core + 16 E-core configurations, up from Alder Lake’s 8 P-core + 8 E-core offerings. Intel will be manufacturing Raptor Lake on the same Intel 7 process node as Alder Lake, which should avoid any issues with supply, due to Intel 7 being a relatively mature process node by now. Intel is slated to bring them to market in the second half of 2022.

If you want to peer further into the future, Intel also shared their client CPU roadmap all the way up to 2024. Intel is working on Meteor Lake, with it slated to ship in 2023 with a new tiled architecture for more flexible product offerings, while also further building upon the hybrid architecture that is featured in Alder Lake and the upcoming Raptor Lake. It will feature a new graphics architecture, more AI acceleration. Meteor Lake is going to be made on the next-gen Intel 4 process node, which should contribute to better performance per watt figures.

Intel is expecting to regain performance per watt leadership in 2024 with Lunar Lake, with Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake to help Intel take the crown in compute, AI and graphics performance. Based on the roadmap, it seems that Intel is surely quite aggressive with their plans, and hopefully they are able to achieve all their targets to bring back more competitiveness in the consumer CPU scene.
Pokdepinion: I surely look forward to more aggressive competition between Intel and AMD… After all it’s competition that drives innovations!
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Zorloo Zophia Wire.less are TWS earbuds with a wire for lossless MQA audio

If you are into audiophile hardware, you probably have heard of Zorloo, a company that makes affordable but high-end audio DACs featuring the latest and greatest ESS SABRE internals. They have finally decided to make their first pair of earphones, the Zorloo Zophia Wire.less, but this is definitely a very interesting pair of TWS earbphones.
Zorloo Zophia Wire.less is both wired and wireless
A lot of detractors of wireless audio will cite how wireless audio codecs have yet to be able to match wired solutions in terms of quality. Meanwhile the proponents will mention the ease of use and convenience of not having to untangle your earphones everytime you want to listen to some music. Well, with the Zorloo Zophia Wire.less, you get the best of both worlds.

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The Zorloo Zophia Wire.less offers support for the AptX codec over Bluetooth 5.2, so you aren’t actually losing that much when it comes to using it purely as a pair of TWS earphones. You get five hours of listening, with an additional 20 hours with the included charging case, giving you a full-day of music listening without wires. But of course, that’s something that many much cheaper offerings in the market can offer already.
With these, you get a 4-pin receptacle interface that is also backward compatible with the industry-standard 2-pin 0.78mm connectors, allowing you to connect to the Zophia USB-DAC cable. The USB-DAC cable is available in two versions, depending on whether you get the Zophia Standard or the Zophia MQA.

This allows you to bypass your mobile device’s built-in audio processing hardware, giving you better quality audio driven by the ESS SABRE 9270C in the Zophia Standard, or the ESS SABRE 9281ACPRO in the Zophia MQA. The former supports audiophile-grade sampling frequencies of up to PCM 384kHz and DSD 5.6MHz. Meanwhile the Zophia MQA adds support for the MQA format, that delivers high-res better-than-lossless audio, available on various platforms like Tidal. It also bumps up support for PCM up to 768kHz, and DSD up to 22.5MHz.

Regardless of your pick when it comes to the USB-DAC, the Zorloo Zophia Wire.less will offer the same 3D-printed resin chassis that’s developed to fit as comfortably as possible for virtually everyone. The single 6mm driver might raise some eyebrows, considering the myriad of multi-driver options available in the market, but Zorloo promises that it is specially tuned for audiophiles for accurate response across the spectrum.
Zorloo Zophia Wire.less Specs and Price

Drivers
6mm neodymium dynamic driver

Headphone Type
True wireless / wired, in-ear

Connection
Bluetooth 5.2 / USB-C

Chipset
Bluetooth: Qualcomm QC3040
USB-DAC:
Zophia Standard: ESS Sabre 9270
Zophia MQA: ESS Sabre 9281ACPRO

Codec support
Bluetooth: SBC, AAC, AptX
USB-DAC:
Zophia Standard: PCM 384kHz, DSD 5.6MHz
Zophia MQA: PCM 768kHz, DSD 22.5MHz, MQA

Wireless Range
10m

Noise-cancelling
Echo cancellation for calls

Battery
Earphones
Up to 5 hours playback
Charging Case
20 hours

Weight
Earphones
6.2g x 2

USB-DAC cable length
1.3m

Colour
Black

Expected SRP
Zophia Standard: $149 (~RM623)
Zophia MQA: $189 (~RM791)

The Zorloo Zophia Wire.less is now in its crowdfunding stage on Kickstarter, at a slight discount from the expected SRP of $149 (~RM623) for the Zophia Standard, and $189 (~RM791) for the Zophia MQA. Delivery is expected to start in April 2022 for both variants. Early production has reportedly commenced, and Zorloo has also marketed their earlier offerings similarly, so this should be a relatively safe project ot back, if you want a pair of earphones that can be both wired and wireless on a whim.
Pokdepinion: I do wonder if the need to add the connectors has resulted in shorter than usual battery life, considering that the Zophia Wire.less doesn’t tout ANC.
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Intel Xe GPU Expected to Compete with AMD and NVIDIA in Every Price Tier

The new Intel Xe GPU will be coming pretty soon. With that, many people have started to wonder on what sort of prices we can expect, and if it will be more affordable compared to AMD and NVIDIA’s offerings. Now, we have a better idea on what to expect.
Intel’s chief architect and graphics head Raja Koduri is working on the Intel Xe graphics cards as we speak and it turns out that Intel will not only compete with AMD but will take on NVIDIA for the position of the best-performing graphics card on the market.

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According to Raja Koduri, with gamers today able to enjoy good graphics on something portable such as smartphones and the Nintendo Switch, there aren’t as many who are keen to spend USD $500 – $600 on graphics cards. With that, the Intel Xe is expected to cater to every price tier.
We have to hit everything; it’s just a matter of where do you start? The First one? The Second one? The Third one? And the strategy that we have within a period of roughly – let’s call it 2-3 years – to have the full stack.
In other words, we’re going to be seeing entry-level, mid-range, and high-end offerings on the Intel Xe line of graphics cards. There’s even talks of having something powerful to rival the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, something that’s considered unbeatable at the moment.
Having a big, new challenger will certainly serve the consumers better. Competition will be fiercer and we will get to see even more technological innovations as well as competitive pricing. Now, all we have left is to wait and see what comes out of it.
Source: RespawnFirst
Pokdepinion: Personally curious to try and see how it matches up with the competition. Also, I have to stop telling myself it’s the same as Intel UHD graphics like you see in laptops.
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Check Out HUAWEI’s Latest Themes For HUAWEI And HONOR Smartphones

Now if you are a smartphone user, precisely a person that uses HUAWEI or HONOR smartphones, you might want to check out the latest themes from their official app store.
HUAWEI Themes Bright Black
In HUAWEI Themes, users can discover various types of themes that fit their personal preferences. From bright colorful hues, to dark mysterious tones, there’s plenty of options (both free and paid) themes for you to choose from.
HUAWEI Themes UDesign
Users can personalize a a whole new experience with HUAWEI Themes. Themes will bring you a homepage that is styled with refreshing icons, compared to the normal ones.

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HUAWEI Themes Special Stars
Now we can’t show you all the themes that’s available (that’d be way too much to show!), but rest assured that whatever type of theme style that you’re looking for, you’re sure to find it there.
Pokdepinion: Personally I like dark-themed themes. That bright black theme seems slick to me. How about you? What design would you go for?
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Apple Fined $1.2B For Price Controlling

Over in France, the Autorite de la Concurrence has fined  Apple a massive $1.2 billion. The reason? Well the company has been stopping their distributors, Tech Data and Ingram Micro from lowering their product prices.
Apple fined for price controlling
The issue happened back in 2012, where a reseller filed a complaint. It is said that the complaint reveal that wholesalers were ‘teaming up’ with Apple and not competing with each other.
Aside from controlling the prices, it seems that Apple treated their partners ‘unfairly’ as well as limiting their supply of stocks. Thanks to all of this, it led to lack of competition in the market.

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In response to the issue, Apple has said that the decision is “disheartening” and plans to appeal on the ruling.
Source
Pokdepinion: I’m not going to say that I’m surprised with the news.. Guess that’s how Apple products have high value, even after years.
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Cooler Master Launching a Dual Surface RGB Gaming Mousepad

The folks over at Cooler Master have been hard at work cooking something interesting up for us gamers. Now, we got an idea as to what that is, and it is a dual surface RGB gaming mousepad known as the Cooler Master MP860.
As part of the MasterAccessory lineup, the MP860 is the first in their M800 series to launch, where it is expected to be accompanied by the MK850 keyboard and the MM830 mouse later this year.

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Cooler Master has announced the release of its dual-sided RGB gaming mousepad making it the first piece from Cooler Master’s M800 series to launch, followed by MK850 keyboard and MM830 mouse later this year.

Bryant Nguyen, Peripheral General Manager for Cooler Master, said:
Mousepads are mainly defined by their surface characteristics. To deliver the most in this crucial aspect, we have decided to design MP860 with two distinct surfaces to give end users a choice between smooth control or speed surface.
The MP860 RGB gaming mousepad has a dual surface which allows the users to switch from fast speeds on its cloth surface to precise control on its anodized aluminum surface.
It has 19 LEDS at its disposal, and gamers can freely customize up to 16.7 million colour options, select from an array of lighting effects, and seamlessly synchronize with selected Cooler Master peripherals.

At the moment, the MP860 RGB gaming mousepad is only known to be coming to the UK sometime within the next month with a retail price of £79.99 (RM433.67). We are uncertain if it will be making its way to Malaysia and other regions but we will be reporting on it as soon as information becomes available.
If you wanna see more of the mousepad, click right here.
Source: Invision Community
Pokdepinion: I’ve never wanted a mousepad so badly in my life. This is a definite first for me.
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 and Tab A 10.5 (2018) arrives in Malaysia — affordable tablets for everyone in the family?

Samsung has just introduced their latest Galaxy Tab S4 and Tab A 10.5 (2018) here in Malaysia. These two tablets are designed for different niches, with the former featuring a more premium design for professionals, while the latter is designed for entertainment.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S4

The Galaxy Tab S4 comes with support for Samsung DeX, making it the first tablet to support the productivity-oriented technology. With the DeX dock, you can up your productivity with a second screen, complementing the beautiful 10.5″ 2560×1600 Super AMOLED display built into the Tab S4.

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The audio experience on the Galaxy Tab S4 is also expected to be pretty good with four speakers tuned by AKG with Dolby Atmos sound technology. And keeping it powered is a 7300 mAh battery, which is claimed to be good for 15 hours of video playback.

Performance is expected to be pretty good with a Snapdragon 835 mated to 4GB of RAM. Storage is limited to 64GB, but it’s expandable up to 400GB. You also get most of the Samsung niceties like Iris Scanner, and an included S Pen.
The S Pen doesn’t have a stowaway in the body of the Galaxy Tab S4 itself, but for a limited time period from now till 31st October, you can get a complimentary Book Cover which does. The Galaxy Tab S4 is available in Black and Grey, priced at RM3099.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018)
This tablet takes things down a notch, as it is designed for kids. This tablet features kid-friendly features like Kids Browser, Galaxy Apps for Kids and also eight free child-friendly apps. For the adults who want to use it while their kids aren’t, there is also Multi User Mode for separate accounts.

There is also an Always On Daily Board feature which will allow the device to serve as a home hub for your clock, calendar and weather updates and also a digital photo library. Connecting to smart home appliances is also simplified with SmartThings.
Last but not least, there are Charging Dock POGO pins which work with the Galaxy Tab S4 and also the Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018), allowing the latter to charge while displaying the Daily Board to keep you updated all the time.

Priced at RM1699, the Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018) is also available in Black and Grey, and will come with a complimentary Battery Pack if you purchase it before 31st October.
Pokdepinion: The Galaxy Tab S4 seems like a nice tablet, but no idea why didn’t they use a passive S Pen like the Note series.
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Console gamers now have an AI-based cheat

A lot of console gamers will tell you that they disable the crossplay feature to avoid cheaters on PC. But what if console gamers can also cheat? Apparently we now have a machine learning-based hack that allows console gamers to cheat, despite being unable to install third party tools onto their consoles.
This AI-based cheat apparently works by connecting your console to a capture card on a PC. The concept is that your gameplay will be sent to the PC via the capture card, where the AI algorithm will analyze and send input commands to your console to automatically aim at the targets. This tool apparently works on all the major gaming platforms too: Xbox, PlayStation and even PC.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the next generation of cheating now available on console, and has been for a while but lately its been becoming more popular and more of a trend, consoles are no longer a safe space to play your games legit anymore pic.twitter.com/iEQzPVFf1h
— Anti-Cheat Police Department 🕵 (@AntiCheatPD) July 5, 2021

The player will still have to look towards the target as this AI-based cheat needs to “see” the enemy on the screen, before it can snap the crosshairs onto the enemy. It’s not as effective as the wallhacks and aimbots that you might find on the PC platform, and of course, there’s might be some added latency from the capture card and machine learning algorithm.

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However it does break the illusion that console gamers have about how consoles are a safe haven away from hackers. Oh well.
Pokdepinion: I wonder why are game developers not implementing better anti-cheat tools. Instead we get useless performance-sapping DRM like Denuvo just to protect their incomes better.
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AMD Navi GPU set to rival NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080?

AMD current flagship, the Radeon Vega 64 is still pretty far from what the NVIDIA RTX cards can deliver. However it seems that there is ray of home in the form of the AMD Navi architecture. Built on TSMC’s 7nm process, it has been hinted that it will offer performance on par with the GeForce RTX 2080.
That is a pretty huge leap, considering that Navi is only expected to replace Polaris in the mid-range. The upcoming cards based on the new architecture is also expected to be more surprisingly power efficient. The Navi cards are also expected to not support real-time raytracing. But if the raster performance is on par with the GeForce RTX 2080, that’s really big news!
Now we would take this with a healthy dose of salt, considering AMD has yet to deliver proper competition for NVIDIA’s high end graphics cards in a while. AMD’s CEO, Lisa Su is expected to be at CES 2019, revealing Zen 2 for consumers, so maybe that will be when we will get a first official glimpse at AMD Navi.

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Pokdepinion: I really hope that Navi can deliver that without turning out more expensive than the GeForce RTX cards.
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Microsoft announces first datacenter region in Malaysia

Microsoft has just announced their first datacenter region here in Malaysia as part of their “Bersama Malaysia” initiative. Microsoft will be investing USD 1 billion over the next five years and also contribute more than 19 000 new direct and indirect jobs in Malaysia.
The Azure data center region will deliver access to not only Microsoft Azure, but also Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 and Power Platform. It will also feature Azure Availability Zone that will ensure that your data will be protected even if your primary datacenter fails, thanks to the redundancy feature of the Azure region.
The Microsoft datacenter region in Malaysia is going to be the third Azure datacenter region in the SEA region, following Singapore and Indonesia. Microsoft has yet to announce when their new datacenter region here is going to be online, but PETRONAS and Celcom Axiata have already committed to Microsoft Cloud once the new datacenter region is operational in Malaysia.

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Aside from setting up the new Azure datacenter region here, Microsoft pledges to empower 1 million Malaysians with digital skills by the end of 2023, as part of its Bersama Malaysia initiative. Their investment here is also slated to generate a good USD 4.6 billion in revenue for the country’s ecosystem of local partners and cloud-consuming customers over the coming four years.
Source
Pokdepinion: Well at least Microsoft is still investing in Malaysia…
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Controversy: G2A Charging Users For Not Logging In – Do Nothing and Lose Money

Controversy: G2A Charging Users For Not Logging In

The digital grey marketplace for game keys, G2A, has seen its share of controversies and it looks like we’re about to add one more to that pile. It seems that they are currently charging an “inactivity fee” which charges users 1 Euro per month after 180 days of not logging in to the website.
This new policy was recently shared to the r/assholedesign subreddit, which shows a screenshot of an email in which the company lets the customer know about the charge and cites the G2A PAY terms and conditions.

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Upon glancing at the terms and conditions, shared by Eurogamer, the inactivity fee is indeed a thing and has much more depth to it.
If User does not log in through the Website to User’s account [sic] for over 180 (one hundred eighty) days, the Company is entitled to charge the User’s G2A Wallet inactivity fee in amount of EUR 1 (one) per each month, or less, if there is no sufficient funds on the User’s G2A Wallet to charge entire inactivity fee.
The Company is also entitled to terminate User’s G2A Wallet, if there is no sufficient funds on it which allows to charge the inactivity fee. Charged inactivity fee is not returnable. The User is to be informed about terminating his account.
It seems that if you do not log in to G2A’s website for over 180 days, you are charged for it with no refund available, and if you do not have the sufficient funds in your G2A wallet to cover this fee, then it will be terminated, possibly with your whole account.
In the same Reddit thread, an alleged G2A account gave a response in an attempt to try comfort disgruntled users. Needless to say, it wasn’t well received.
It costs money to upkeep accounts (IT infrastructure, server maintenance, etc.) and if someone does not use the account, it doesn’t make sense to upkeep it. We don’t require these users to buy anything, just log in at least once every 6 months, just so that we know they are still with us.
As a financial institution we are also monitored, supervised, and audited and have to back up and explain all our accounts and the funds stored on these accounts. Once an account may be considered “abandoned,” we take certain steps to make sure we are in line with all regulations, jurisdictions and laws.
It would seem that G2A, which wasn’t seen in a positive light online for a while now, will see their reputation further plummet with this. Now to see if they will continue with this or if there will be amendments made to salvage the situation.
Source: Reddit / Eurogamer
Pokdepinion: Well, I couldn’t be bothered with them before and I definitely can’t be bothered with their services now.
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Metro Exodus for the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 out now!

Deep Silver and 4A Games has just announced the launch of Metro Exodus for the new Gen 9 consoles, the Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5. As you would expect, the updated version of Metro Exodus will feature raytraced lighting effects, including raytraced global illumination (RTGI) and Raytraced Emissive Lighting techniques that debuted in the Two Colonels expansion.
Similar to the recent Metro Exodus PC Enhanced Edition, the fully raytraced experience will take advantage of a overhauled 4A Engine and fully raytraced lighting pipeline. Metro Exodus will run at 4K60 on the latest generation of consoles.

On top of that, gamers will enjoy faster loading times thanks to the engine being capable of using the SSD storage optimizations on the latest consoles. There are also updated 4K texture packs and stuff like spatial audio, controller latency improvement on Xbox, as well as improved haptic on the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller.

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Gamers can enjoy the upgrade for free, if they already own a copy of the game on their last-gen consoles, or if they purchase the Metro Exodus Complete Edition on the Gen 9 consoles, which will feature the base game and both DLC expansions for the game: The Two Colonels and Sam’s Story.
Pokdepinion: 4K60 on the consoles does seem like a rather lofty goal…
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[E3 2021] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 Revealed

[E3 2021] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 Trailer

After a very extensive wait, Nintendo finally confirmed and revealed the trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 at E3 2021. To be precise, they listed it as “Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”.
For those of you who aren’t aware, the predecessor was a launch title for the Nintendo Switch and it changed the franchise for the better with its take on open world RPG. It’s one of the most successful games not just on the Nintendo Switch but also of all time.
From the surprise trailer, we see Link making his return as the protagonist of the game, what appears to be Gannondorf, and Zelda falling off seemingly from a high place. Interestingly, we do see Link falling down from the sky similar to how you’d typically start when playing a battle royale game, but we doubt they’re changing genres as it wouldn’t make sense.

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In related new, Nintendo will be launching an HD re-release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. We’re expected to see better graphics and a new control scheme to make it better to play. It’s expected to launch on 16th July 2021.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 will be coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2022. No exact release date was mentioned at the time of this writing.
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Pokdepinion: I’m really curious as to what the storyline is going to be for the next one. Hopefully, the developers don’t fall under the huge pressure of expectations by gamers all over the world.
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Save Up To RM587 On The HUAWEI MateBook Series This 11.11

If you’ve been meaning on getting the new HUAWEI MateBook series, well HUAWEI Has got some great bargains for you this 11.11 at their official e-commerce store, Shop.Huawei.
HUAWEI Online Store 11.11 MateBook Series Promo
Where previously the MateBook series was sold out due to high demand at its launch, you can get them on this HUAWEI Mega Online Sale Day on 11.11. In addition to that, they are giving something special for consumers. You can save up to RM580 with a purchase of a HUAWEI MateBook Series.
All you need to do is simply purchase a voucher from now till 10th November at Shop.Huawei and you get to receive a rebate voucher worth RM250 to be redeemed online on 11.11.

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Upon checkout, HUAWEI will top it off with an additional 5% in addition to freegifts that’s worth up to RM1,000 including a free Microsoft Office Home 365 subscription.
Here are some examples of savings with the voucher:

MateBook X Pro i7 (RM6,999) — RM250 rebate voucher (-5%) = RM6,412 , saving you RM587
MateBook X Pro i5 (RM4,999) — RM160 rebate voucher (-5%) = RM4597 , saving you RM402
MateBook D (RM2,999) — RM250 rebate voucher (-5%) = RM2,612 , saving you RM386.

For more information on the new MateBook series, you can read more on our previous post here.
Pokdepinion: Well now you know how you can get savings from the MateBook series. Tempted to get one for myself actually.
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At times, new Google Chrome updates are rather minor, but there are times when some interesting changes are made. For this one, it’s said to boost up the loading speed and saves memory use.
New Google Chrome Update Speeds Up Loading Time and Saves Memory

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Google Chrome update 89 is the most recent update to the popular web browser, which is also included for Chromebook laptops as well. This new update will utilize a PC’s memory more efficiently in various processes.
In Chrome M89, we’re seeing significant memory savings on Windows–up to 22% in the browser process, 8% in the renderer, and 3% in the GPU. Even more than that, we’ve improved browser responsiveness by up to 9%…In addition to improving how we allocate memory, Chrome is now smarter about using (and discarding) memory.
Chrome now reclaims up to 100MiB per tab, which is more than 20% on some popular sites, by discarding memory that the foreground tab is not actively using, such as big images you’ve scrolled off screen.
Chromium Blog Post

While the changes are focused on many platforms, there are also enhancements for Android devices. Aside from memory tweaks, Google has also added a new feature called Freeze-Dried Tabs, which are simpler versions of the regular Google Chrome tabs which will be displayed when you first launch the app. This is said to allow the browser to load up to 13% faster.
As of right now, Google Chrome has been holding the title of most popular web browser for a while with over 60% of internet users making use of it compared to other browsers. The company is clearly aware that they need to make changes and enhancements in order to stay at the top, which is precisely what they’re doing with update 89. There’s always room for improvements, but this is definitely a good start.
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Pokdepinion: Wow, Google Chrome taking up less memory? Feels like that words in that sentence doesn’t belong there.
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