AMD announces 32GB card — the AMD FirePro S9170

Ha! Anybody tricked by the title? AMD just announced the latest AMD FirePro S9170 compute card. This card sports a mind-blowing 32GB of GDDR5 memory, but how did they do that? Remember our post about those new Micron 8Gbit GDDR5 chip? That could be one of the possibilities and if AMD really used those chips, this compute card has 32 of those on the PCB.

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This card is intended for DGEMM heavy double-precision workload and supports OpenCL 2.0. No HBM found on this card because it’s still using second generation AMD Graphics Core Next (GCN) GPU architecture, which would mean a Hawaii chip. This card is also able to deliver up to 5.4 TFLOPS peak on single precision compute and in full double precision it will deliver 2.62 TFLOPS of peak double precision performance.

For your information, FirePro cards aren’t meant for your typical gaming at all. The price is bloody expensive and has huge memory, but that doesn’t mean it’s better for gaming (I used to think like that when I was seventeen years old, pardon me). The FirePro is great with parallel workloads and achieve great performance per watt. In fact, while AMD’s gaming cards are often the subject of the joke “it consumes enough electricity to sustain a village in Africa”, it’s actually the market leader in this field and ranked number 1 in Green when counting performance per watt.

Check out the compute card specifications.

source : eteknix

Pokdepinion : I’m not that sure what workloads will need this card, but in my opinion it might involve some critical business. How about weather forecasting or something that is related to the medical field or perhaps stock exchange? By the way kids, don’t ever think AMD’s FirePro series card is meant for gaming, and neither is NVIDIA’s Quadro too.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Leaked — A Pen To Rule Them All?

There seems to be leaks around the web surrounding on what the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will bring to the table this time around with suggestions that Samsung has some big surprises on the phone’s S Pen.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Leak
It was reported by leaker Ice Universe that the brand new Note 9’s S Pen will be a major upgrade compared to its predecessors. He claims that the S Pen “is a pen with a soul”. He further added that it may be the biggest update in the history of the stylus.
Though specifications of the pen hasn’t been let known specifically, it is reported that Samsung have added a speaker and microphone. You can utilize them and use the stylus for calls (I’m not even kidding).

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Improvements are said to be made to the phone with a newer version of Samsung’s Bixby assistant.
Other than that, the Note 9 is suggested to come in many ways similar to the Galaxy Note 8, with the difference of a bigger battery, RAM, enlarged camera as well as its display. It’s basically an upgraded version of the Note 8.
We won’t have to wait long to know more about the details as it is been expected that the Galaxy Note 9 is set for an August unveiling and could launch in late-August or early September.
Source
Pokdepinion: Guess we have to play the waiting game right now to know the full dibs on the Note 9. Are you excited on the device? Let us know in the comment section down below!
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High refresh rate displays are the future — here’s what you need to know about them

High refresh rate displays are now becoming a staple of high-end smartphones, even when their implementation makes them near meaningless. But before getting into that, let’s see why do you need a high refresh rate display.
Refresh Rate
A high refresh rate display’s main advantage is its ability to display a new image quicker, which gives you a smoother viewing experience. This translates to smoother scrolling in apps, and a better gaming experience. That has been proven time and again, with many gaming smartphones sporting high refresh rates, starting with the Razer Phone.

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One thing that you will immediately notice is that a 120 Hz display will look a lot sharper when fast-moving objects are on screen. That’s because the quicker screen refresh lets you see the movement, frame by frame, rather than your brain having to fill in the gaps between frames with blur. That alone can help you do tracking shots, or dodge enemies better, simply because you have more information to process and come up with the best course of action.
Response Time
Now another thing to take note of is response time. It goes hand in hand with the refresh rate. While it is rarely mentioned in the specs sheet, you can look at the type of display panel used instead. Samsung used their Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology in the Galaxy S20, while gaming phones like the ROG Phone 2 uses a OLED display. OLED displays have very fast response times, as low as 0.1ms. Generally, OLED panels have the best response times in the smartphone industry at the moment.

A fast response time means less ghosting, which is the after image you might see on displays that can’t switch its pixels fast enough to reflect the changes happening on screen. That’s why you will see rather fuzzy moving objects on 90 Hz and 120 Hz LCD-based smartphones. The movements appear smoother, but when you pay closer attention, you will see that there’s a trail of after images, which can get quite distracting when you are gaming, or even when you are scrolling down Facebook. In such cases, a 60 Hz OLED display will actually be more comfortable to look at.
The Implementation
But of course, certain implementations do not allow you to make use of the high refresh rate in games, which essentially makes most of the higher refresh rate moot. The Samsung Galaxy S20 lets you use the high refresh rate in all apps, as long as the app supports it. And of course, there’s more to a good gaming experience than just a good screen. You can have the best display in the market, but if your software isn’t well-equipped to take advantage of that, it’s just going to be a waste of money.

When it comes down to the quality of the implementation, Samsung has it down pat. The display in the Samsung Galaxy S20 is an excellent display that can deliver the full DCI-P3 gamut. Depending on the content on the display, it can also switch between DCI-P3 or sRGB gamuts as part of the Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology, to better display the colors of the content.
Supporting Hardware
To support such a high refresh rate, you need quite a lot of processing power too. Instead of pushing 60 FPS, the GPU now has to push up to 120 FPS to ensure that you get a smooth experience. There’s no point of having a 120 Hz display if your GPU is only capable of pushing 60 FPS. That’s why you need a powerful CPU and GPU combo, as well as the cooling to tame the heat that such a beefy combination will produce.

The power consumption will also be much higher, due to the fact that the GPU now has to output twice the frames per second, in addition to the screen itself consuming more power. That’s one of the reasons why you see absolutely humongous batteries in the recent crop of high refresh rate smartphones, like the 6000 mAh battery in the ROG Phone 2.
High refresh rate displays are the future
So it goes without saying that just having a 120 Hz display is really nothing worth mentioning. You need to have the right combination of display technology, supporting hardware and a proper software implementation to actually deliver an improved experience over the current crop of 60 Hz smartphones. Samsung and ASUS has proven that they are capable of that, but there are some brands out there which think that having a high refresh rate is sufficient, without the rest of the stuff that makes it even worth mentioning. Well, I hope they read this.
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HUAWEI Launches Trio Of New Products In Asia Pacific

The folks at HUAWEI has recently held their APAC Autumn Launch Event where they’ve introduced three new products which consists of the HUAWEI MateBook 14s, HUAWEI nova 9, and HUAWEI Watch GT 3 Series smartwatch.
HUAWEI MateBook 14s

First is the new HUAWEI MateBook 14s where it comes with a 2.5K HUAWEI FullView Display and 90Hz refresh rate with an aspect ratio of 3:2. It is powered by an Intel 11th Gen Core H-series processor and Iris Xe graphics.

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There is a Performance Mode which you can activate simply by pressing the Fn+P shortcut which will then boost the CPU TDP to 45W. The laptop is packed with a 60Whr battery which you can charge up with its 90W adapter.
Coming in with Spruce Green and Space Grey variants, the laptop supports 100% sRGB wide colour gamut. Aside from that, there’s TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light and Flicker Free certifications.
Not to forget, it comes with HUAWEI’s multi-device connectivity features with Super Device. With a tap, it can connect with your HUAWEI smartphone, tablet, and monitor to enable cross-platform collaborations with a breeze.
HUAWEI nova 9

Next up is the HUAWEI nova 9, where it sports a 6.57-inch OLED display that comes with 120Hz refresh rate. Running on EMUI 12, the device comes with 50MP Ultra Vision Camera and RYYB colour filter array and XD Fusion to improve image quality.
Powering the device is a 4300mAh battery which you can charge with its 66W HUAWEI SuperCharge charger. There’s also the new Touch Turbo technology which they claim can optimize the response speed and precision of touch control.
HUAWEI Watch GT 3 Series

Last but not least is the HUAWEI Watch GT 3 series where they feature AI Running Coach and more than 100 workout modes for you to utilize. The company has said that they’ve upgraded satellite and dual-band GNSS to accurately pin your position when doing outdoor exercises.
Coming with Truseen 5.0+ heart rate monitoring technology, they come with SpO2 monitoring. They are said to last up to 2 weeks of battery life. For the design, it comes with a stainless steel build and rotating crown, making it aesthetically flexible for business, casual, and sporting wear. Not forgetting, they run on HarmonyOS, which supports third-party apps.
Aside from the products, HUAWEI is celebrating the 10th anniversary of HUAWEI Experience Store, where they’ve prepped up pre-sale, first sale of new products and a series of promos.
You can get an exclusive Gift Box worth RM99 that consists of a multi-purpose spray & wipe, notebook, and a retractable USB Carry Case with purchase of selected HUAWEI products. There’s also lucky draw prizes on hand.
There’s no confirmation on the price and release date for the HUAWEI nova 9 and HUAWEI Watch GT 3 series but you can start to pre-order the new HUAWEI MateBook 14s from today from the price of RM4,999. By doing so, you can get freebies worth up to RM1,366 including a HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro, a HUAWEI Backpack, HUAWEI Bluetooth Mouse and 1-year subscription of Microsoft Office 365.
For more on the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews, stay tuned to Pokde.net.
Pokdepinion: Not a bad offering at all I’d say. The GT 3 series caught my eyes though. They look quite decent.
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AMD Ryzen 2000 series to be available this 19th April — 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen priced from RM899!

8-core and 6-core variants first

AMD’s first generation Ryzen processors definitely shook up the desktop and laptop CPU markets, offering powerful performance for less money. The 2nd generation AMD Ryzen processors are now here with more performance, with similarly disruptive pricing as its predecessors. All of them come with AMD Wraith coolers in the box too, saving you even more money.
Not a X470 board, but hey, the 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen CPUs work with X370 too
The 2nd generation AMD Ryzen CPUs are supported by the new AMD X470 chipset, but they do work with AMD 300-series chipsets too. However the newer chipset — and all AMD 400-series chipsets — comes with StoreMI. The technology uses your SSD as a cache to accelerate I/O to your slower hard disk drive, and even allows you to use 2GB of RAM as a last-level cache.
2nd Generation AMD Ryzen CPUs Specifications

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Cores/Threads
Max Boost/Base Clocks
Smart Prefetch Cache
TDP
Cooler

Ryzen 7 2700X
8C/16T
4.3 / 3.7 GHz
20MB
105W
Wraith Prism (LED)

Ryzen 7 2700
8C/16T
4.1 / 3.2 GHz
20MB
65W
Wraith Spire (LED)

Ryzen 5 2600X
6C/12T
4.2 / 3.6 GHz
19MB
95W
Wraith Spire

Ryzen 5 2600
6C/12T
3.9 / 3.4 GHz
19MB
65W
Wraith Stealth

The specifications have actually been detailed in a previous leak, with great accuracy. We see higher clocks across the board, which should narrow the gap between the 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen CPUs  and its Intel counterparts. TDP has remained largely the same, with the exception of the Ryzen 7 2700X which is set to consume an additional 10W versus its predecessor. Do note that the Smart Prefetch Cache consists of L2 + L3 cache. All models feature 16MB L3 cache, with the Ryzen 7 2000 models packing 4MB L2 cache and the Ryzen 5 2000 CPUs having 3MB L2 cache.
2nd Generation AMD Ryzen Pricing and Availability

The new AMD CPUs will be available in Malaysia starting 19th April, but they are up for pre-orders now. Pricing wise, they are a fair bit cheaper than the first generation AMD Ryzen CPUs.

SEP (MYR)
SEP (USD)

Ryzen 7 2700X
RM1559
$329

Ryzen 7 2700
RM1429
$299

Ryzen 5 2600X
RM1059
$229

Ryzen 5 2600
RM899
$199

We are a bit on the short end of the stick when it comes to pricing, as the guys over in the US are paying significantly less than what we have to. Still, they offer more cores than Intel for the same price, so they are still a great option. Not to mention they work with last generation’s motherboards so upgrading isn’t too costly, unlike Intel’s processors.
Will you be getting your 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen processor? Let us know in the comments section!
Pokdepinion: Seems like a great option for enthusiasts who need more cores for their applications. The Ryzen 7 2700 especially appeals to me as a great option for affordable 8C/16T rigs.
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Hearthstone Championship Tour Set For Bangkok – With $15000 To Vye For!

The Heartstone Championship Tour (HTC) will be making their first stop in Southeast Asia this year in Bangkok, with a total prize pool of $15,000.
Heartstone Championship Tour Bangkok 2018
HTC Bangkok 2018 will take place on March 16 which will last until the 18th of March 2018. The tournament will be made open to global players at the Pantip Esports Arena in Pantip Plaza, in the Pratunam district of Bangkok. It will have a 256-player bracket in which players will have to sign up online for before showing up to compete in-person.
For those who successfully register for the tournament, they must cover their own travel expenses. Despite that, there will be limited free accommodation for all attending international players who have earned 5 or more HCT points in 2017’s competitive year which is based on a first-come-first served basis.

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Here are the tournament’s schedule;

March 16: Round of 256, 10.00AM (GMT+8) – This day is open to participants only and no broadcast for the preliminary day
March 17: Round of 64, 1.00PM (GMT+8) – Open to the public and will be held in Pantip Plaza Pratunam. Live multilanguage broadcast available on Twitch
March 18: Round of 8 and Grand Finals, 1.00PM to 9.00PM (GMT+8) – Open to the public and will be held in Pantip Plaza Pratunam. Live multilanguage broadcast available on Twitch

For registration, registration date has already begun and will last until Feb 12, 6.00PM GMT+8. If you are a player not from Thailand, you can register by going to the link right here. For Thailand players, you can do so here.
As for the tournament format, all matches will be Double Elimination, best-of-five in Conquest format with one ban. Each players are allowed to bring four decks. For the full ruleset for HCT Tour Stop:Bangkok, you can check it out by clicking right here.
Pokdepinion: Avid players of the game should really test out their skills in the tournament. Who knows, you might just win some of that $15,000 prize pool!
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Taking A Peek At Who’s Behind The New HONOR Brand

After being sold off last year by previous parent company HUAWEI due to the now infamous US ban in 2019, HONOR is now forging its own path as an independent company with its own goals and strategies. But who is behind this new HONOR?
Who runs HONOR?
HONOR CEO George Zhao
Chairman Mr Wan Bio and Chief Executive Officer George Zhao, who is not alone in this rebirth, are masterminding and providing the engine gears. Shareholders have given the green light for full authorisation and strategic decisions for HONOR’s everyday demands. This movement tries to establish itself as a stand-alone brand, distinct from its competitors.

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As an independent company, HONOR is able to completely participate in its own business management and decision-making, giving it complete control over its day-to-day operations. With that out of the way, HONOR is now in charge of a workforce of about 8,000 people, covering the entire gamut of end-to-end activities. Research and development, supply chain, manufacturing, sales, marketing, services, and finance are just a few of the divisions.
Fans can be certain that HONOR is working on its own smartphone portfolio while also exploring other elements of life-scenario products, demonstrating that HONOR is a great choice for more than only smartphones, but also for lifestyle and everyday necessities. Over the last seven years, the HONOR team has engaged in effective and efficient cooperation to ensure a fully capable operation that runs smoothly for the benefit of fans all over the world.

“Stay consumer-centric,” says the company’s credo. Motivate others to work hard. Strive for excellence, creativity, and efficiency; this will propel HONOR to new heights. HONOR is always committed to inventing technology that empowers people throughout the world to go beyond through its R&D skills and forward-looking technologies, with a strategic focus on innovation, product quality, and service.
You can visit here for more information on HONOR.
Pokdepinion: I’m really excited for HONOR’s future. I was a huge fan of the brand when I was younger, even had an HONOR 3C lite which was the first smartphone I ever bought myself with my own money. And now that Google services are returning to HONOR smartphones, things are heading up for them, at least in my eyes.
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[E3 2017] EA Talks About Project Scorpio; “Powerful Platform that Is Coming at the Right Time”

Wait, is this the EA Play press conference at E3 2017 or has the Microsoft conference started already? It’s EA alright, and they’re talking about Project Scorpio.
Well well, didn’t expect this at EA Play’s press conference. For a second there, I thought Microsoft’s presentation started early but clearly I was just confused. There are mentions of Microsoft’s upcoming beast, Project Scorpio, and it’s something worth taking note of.

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[E3 2017] EA Talks About Project Scorpio

Today, at Electronic Arts’ EA Play press conference, Executive Vice President and EA Worldwide Studios Head Patrick Söderlund talked about the upcoming console by Microsoft code named “Project Scorpio.”
What we know today is that interactive entertainment will change more in the next five years then it has in the last 45. Together, we’re building that future. One that disrupts, empowers and is full of play.
To do that, we also need innovative new platform technology. So we were thrilled when we got our first Project Scorpio devkits from Microsoft. 6 TeraFLOPS and true 4K graphical fidelity.

Söderlund made an example by mentioning a few Madden NFL 18 visuals that are “just a taste” of what can be accomplished by Electronic Arts’ proprietary FrostBite engine and Project Scorpio, explaining that the company is creating “The most detailed, high-resolution environments” that we’ve ever seen on a console.
“Madden looks absolutely stunning, but as game makers, awesome graphics and effects are just the beginning. The game has to feel amazing as well. Project Scorpio is a powerful platform that is coming at the right time.”

During his speech, Söderlund shared the images you see above here. Pretty detailed, don’t you think so?

Pokdepinion: Well, we knew for a while that Project Scorpio will be an absolute beast compared to videogame consoles that are already in the market right now. Only time will tell if this is truly worth adopting or not. But having EA’s backing still speaks volumes about the hardware.
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AUO and LG are readying 480Hz display panels

If you thought 360Hz was overkill, well, get a load of this. AU Optronics (AUO) and LG Display are reportedly planning on 480Hz displays already. Higher refresh rates offer diminishing returns the higher you go, but I guess any additional edge is helpful in the world of competitive gaming.
The new high refresh rate panels are going to be 1080p 480Hz displays, which makes sense. Competitive gamers who need such high refresh rates are most probably not going to care much about visual fidelity. LG Display’s panel is slated to be a 24.5″ one that’s capable of displaying the full sRGB gamut and will offer HDR400 support. With production expected to commence next year, products based on those panels should be appearing in 2023.

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Meanwhile details about the AUO 480Hz displays are slightly more sparse, but AUO is expected to start production by the end of 2021, with products to arrive in 2022. It is worth mentioning that AUO was the first to release the 360Hz panels, which debuted in the ROG Swift 360Hz. If you prefer higher resolutions, AUO is also reportedly working on 1440p 360Hz and 4K 240Hz panels. I can’t imagine the GPU horsepower that you would need to take advantage of 4K 240Hz panels, but hey, at least you can’t say that your GPU upgrade is wasted.
On top of faster displays, LG Display is also reportedly working on IPS Black technology, which will deliver deeper blacks than conventional IPS panels. Hopefully this will also overcome much of that dreaded IPS glow that plagues just about every IPS-based panel. Usually IPS-level panels that offer deeper blacks are actually VA panels, but we might be seeing something different here.
Source
Pokdepinion: And there’s me here thinking that my 1440p 144Hz display is awesome.
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HUAWEI brings VoWiFi to Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro; supported by U Mobile and Digi!

HUAWEI is adding a new feature to the HUAWEI Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro flagships, by enabling Voice Over WiFi (VoWiFi) starting this 30th January 2018. VoWiFi allows users to make calls via a WiFi connection, and is currently supported by U Mobile and Digi.
VoWiFi allows users to enjoy HD voice calls and seamless handover between VoLTE and VoWiFi. It also benefits frequent travelers, as calling via VoWiFi from overseas lets them enjoy local charges instead of exorbitant roaming charges. This is perfect for the Mate Series’ target market, which is business users.

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Aside from saving costs when overseas, VoWiFi also allows you to make high quality calls in areas with poor cellular reception, as long as you have a WiFi connection. Needless to say, this update is a great enhancement to the HUAWEI Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro smartphones, which feature AI.
HUAWEI seems to be pretty dedicated to improving their current devices, with the honor 7X set to receive an update to enable face unlock. HUAWEI is also teasing an update for the nova 2i, which will be introduced on 25th January 2018.
Pokdepinion: HUAWEI is quite the market leader in this area, with them being one of the first to introduce VoLTE here in Malaysia, and now VoWiFi on the Mate 10.
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Among Us Will Ban Players Who Intentionally Disconnect From a Game

Among Us developers, InnerSloth has started issuing temporary bans to players who leave or disconnect from a game intentionally. Apparently the ban has been in effect for a while but not many people were aware of it.
Among Us devs dropping the ban hammer
Apart from cheaters and hackers, players who intentionally leave a game because they weren’t selected as an Impostor have become a huge annoyance in Among Us. To try and curb this hugely problematic issue, InnerSloth have put in place a 5-minute ban for players who disconnect from their games early. According to a screenshot by Sportskeeda, banned players will receive a message informing of them of their 5-minute ban.
Image credit: sportskeeda.com
Some might say that five minutes may not be a long time but if a player constantly gets 5-minute bans every time they leave a game, it’s definitely something that they’re definitely going to feel.

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Among Us was first released back in 2018 but did not explode in popularity until this year when many streamers started playing the regularly on their channels. Coupled with COVID-19 lockdowns across the globe this year, Among Us is now one of the most, if not the most, popular party game right now.
Pokdepinion: Good move, InnerSloth. This issue has been a huge thorn in my people’s sides and I’m glad they are doing something to combat it.
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Apple iPhone 14 is Surprisingly A Lot More Durable Than Expected

A recent Apple iPhone 14 durability test video reveals that the new smartphone is actually a lot more durable than many of us expected it to be.
The Apple iPhone 14 Test Hurts, But Brings Important Note

The infamous YouTube channel known for tearing down gadgets and subjecting them to destructive tests, JerryRigEverything, has finally put the Apple iPhone 14 to the test.
Many people aren’t expecting much since the design is mostly the same with its predecessor but there are a number of subtle improvements you might not be aware of. For starters, the rear glass is now easier to remove and the repair costs are much cheaper for it.

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In the screen scratch test at level 6 on the Mohs hardness scale, it only had minor scratches whereas on level 7, it starts to get deeper. The aluminum sides revealed its actual colours after being scratches over and again with a sharp blade. The camera lens is said to be made of sapphire crystal but as a result of the scratch test, it might not be the case since it started to show marks at level 6.
As for the screen burn-in test, there were several dead pixels which couldn’t recover but that is pretty standard nowadays for most devices. Interestingly for the bend test, there were no signs of flexing under pressure, which is pretty good. Check out the video to see it for yourself.
Source
Pokdepinion: It did take quite a bit of damage but in all honesty, we expected it to be in much worse condition after all is said and done.
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How’s life without Google on the HONOR 9X Pro?

One of the main questions that will arise whenever we share news of a new HONOR smartphone is: “Does it have GMS?” That’s a pretty valid concern considering how accustomed we are to GMS and its suite of services, but with HUAWEI’s continued focus on their own HUAWEI Mobile Services (HMS) and the AppGallery, how is life with HONOR’s first non-Google smartphone, the HONOR 9X Pro?
What is available on the AppGallery?
Well, the first thing that you will realize is that you will be getting your apps via the AppGallery instead of the Play Store. That might be a bit of a change for some, but to be honest with the array of apps available on the AppGallery, it isn’t too much of an issue. Here’s some of the more popular apps that are available on the AppGallery now:

Travel
Social
Entertainment
Shopping

Agoda
Booking
Trip.com

Viber
WeChat
Weibo

TikTok
Kwai
Viu
Joox

Lazada
Shopee
Zalora
AliExpress

Gaming
Banking
E-Wallet

Asphalt 9
Honkai Impact 3
Ninja Legend
Drag Racing

Maybank
Hong Leong Bank
RHB Bank

Touch ‘n Go eWallet
Boost

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All the apps offered on the HUAWEI AppGallery are screened through for security purposes. It is the world’s first app market to implement a developer identity verification system in addition to a four-layer detection mechanism. The four-layer detection consists of security vulnerability scanning, privacy check, malicious behavior detection and manual real-name security check, to ensure that all the apps you get from the HUAWEI AppGallery are secure.
Now you might have noticed how there was no mention of Facebook or WhatsApp. Or you may have also seen people mentioning that the Maybank app relies on Google’s services. For Facebook and WhatsApp, the AppGallery includes a link to the official repositories by Facebook to download the APK files to install. Meanwhile for Maybank, HUAWEI implemented the Quick Apps feature to let you do your online banking without even having to install an app on your device. You still get the app-like convenience with a shortcut to the Maybank Quick App, but it takes up less space on your storage.
But how’s life really without Google?
As I have used the HONOR 9X Pro as my daily driver, here’s my experience with the HONOR 9X Pro. Let’s start with the apps that I can get from the AppGallery. Two of the most important apps to my daily life are Facebook and WhatsApp, and they are available to download directly via the AppGallery, so no issues there. Facebook and WhatsApp are generally the first apps I open as my start my day, as Facebook is both a part of my job and also my leisure app.

Of course I am not driving around during the RMO, but I have downloaded JOOX to entertain me on my journeys later. For movies there’s VIU and iflix, but I was pleasantly surprised to find MX Player also available, as that’s my favorite app to watch movies I have downloaded. So that’s media consumption out of the way.
Meanwhile for games, there’s Honkai Impact 3. The HONOR 9X Pro has plenty of performance to handle the games you want to play too, so there’s no issues with that. I do play Honkai Impact 3 quite extensively back then, and progress is synced with your HUAWEI ID, not ideal as my main account is connected to Facebook, but I do believe this will be added in a later update.
And last but not least, for some window shopping before I sleep, I use Lazada and Shopee. As you might too. And then a quick check in Maybank to remind myself how broke I am, and cry myself to sleep.
Beyond AppGallery…
But of course, with the HONOR 9X Pro being an Android phone, you can easily sideload apps via third-party app stores too. There is a variety of app stores to choose from including APKPure, UpToDown and more. You do have to be a bit careful when choosing your apps from third-party app stores as they do not have as many security measures as the AppGallery does.

From there, you can easily get popular apps that aren’t available on the AppGallery yet, including COD Mobile. It’s worth noting that the COD Mobile here in Malaysia is published by Garena, and thus you will have to find the Garena version, which I have only found to be offered on UpToDown only. The rest of the apps that I use frequently are Telegram, Instagram and Messenger, all of which I can easily get from APKPure. The latter two are somewhat an anomaly because while Facebook and WhatsApp are available to download directly from the AppGallery, these two apps which are also under Facebook’s umbrella aren’t offered.
What about other stuff?

As you go along, you might also begin to notice that none of your passwords were synchronized to your non-Google smartphone, because you aren’t using Chrome anymore. You can use Chrome, but without Google’s synchronization I do find it quite pointless. Instead, I switched over to Microsoft Edge which works well on Android as it does in Windows. It allowed me to sync from your PC’s Microsoft Edge (which can copy bookmarks and autofill data from Chrome) to my HONOR 9X Pro, which really helped as I don’t remember any of my passwords nowadays. Not to mention the UI of Microsoft Edge is actually more user friendly with the tab switcher and share button on the bottom edge instead of all the way at the top.
One more thing… Phone Clone
Another change that will be quite apparent when upgrading to the HONOR 9X Pro is WhatsApp backups. We might be used to using Google Drive to backup our WhatsApp messages on the old device and downloading the backups on the new one, but since there’s no GMS here, you can’t do that. But fret not, as Phone Clone will help you transfer almost everything from your old phone. That includes your precious WhatsApp messages, as well as all the apps from your previous device, including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Google Maps, into your HONOR 9X Pro.

However if you aren’t using a HUAWEI/HONOR smartphone previously, Phone Clone might not be able to transfer everything. For WhatsApp, you can do the following:

Download WhatsApp on your HONOR 9X Pro
Go to WhatApp on your old device, and go to the Settings > Chat > Chat Backup
Tap Backup to Google Drive and select “Never”, then tap on “Backup”
Go to Files, select Internal Storage > WhatsApp > Databases
Select the last file in Databases (db.crypt.12) and send it to your HONOR 9X Pro through Bluetooth or WiFi Direct
On your HONOR 9X Pro, go to Settings > Apps > WhatsApp > Permissions > Storage. Choose “Allow”. Don’t forget to allow WhatsApp to access your contacts too
Go to Internal Storage > WhatsApp > Database > check if the db.crypt.12 file from earlier is there
You may now log-in to WhatsApp on your HONOR 9X Pro with your phone number. Your chats will be restored

The HONOR 9X Pro may not feature Google but the AppGallery and third-party app stores  offer all the apps I need in my daily usage. It might be a bit of a transition in the beginning, but once you get used to it, I must say it doesn’t really affect me. Having used several HUAWEI devices and even the HONOR V30 Pro without GMS, I am getting quite used to it.

You might wonder why would anyone pick the HONOR 9X Pro over any other mid-range Android smartphone in the market which come with GMS. Well, the HONOR 9X Pro offers greater performance and efficiency with its Kirin 810 chipset, and more storage than any of its peers in its sub-RM1000 price point, which does make it very worthy of consideration.
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[TGS 2019] New Final Fantasy VII Remake Trailer Shows Off Shinra’s Turks and Summons

Many have anticipated a brand new trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake at Tokyo Game Show 2019 (TGS 2019). This was mainly due to Tetsuya Nomura teasing about it in last week’s issue of Famitsu magazine. Now, we have the trailer right here with us and it’s pretty spectacular.
The trailer heavily features new story elements found in this remake, like the “Guardians of Fate” phantom-like things that seem like a typical Nomura idea. It also once again reminds us that Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie will be more than extras this time around. What seems to be a brand new character, a new Soldier character, is introduced as well.
And of course, we have the Turks: Reno, Rude, and Tseng, with the first two’s boss fights revealed. The iconic church scene also features a new boss fight against Reno. It’s interesting to see that even when recreating certain iconic scenes, Square Enix decided to add new elements to them. We get to see Don Corneo and Honey Bee Inn related scenes as well, just as Nomura talked about in an interview we covered.

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It would have been great to see a sneak preview of Cloud Strife cross-dressing in the infamous scene but knowing Square Enix, they would definitely save that for when the game is finally out.
Final Fantasy VII Remake will be coming exclusively to the PlayStation 4 on 3rd March 2020.
Pokdepinion: Really can’t wait for the game to be out but I’m also hoping I won’t get disappointed by it. Well, best to wait and see.
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PUBG Clone ‘Knives Out’ Mobile Game Made More Money Than Fortnite

The battle royale craze is still going strong with the likes of PUBG and Fortnite still dominating on PC and consoles. However, there is a new king of battle royale that dominated the mobile game arena, and that game is none other than Knives Out.
According to a report from Sensor Tower, Knives Out generated a whopping USD $465 million worldwide in 2018, It is actually higher than Fortnite which generated USD $455 million worldwide, just 10 million shorter but still an impressive feat nonetheless.

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Knives Out has been labelled as a PUBG clone, is played on a 6400x6400m map, and has been downloaded over 250 million times. About 80% of the money generated were from Japan, where an average of each player is said to have spent USD $370 on the game across iOS and Android.
The game also has the upper hand in China, the world’s largest market for mobile gaming, because they are able to accept in-app purchases, unlike rivals PUBG because NetEase is a China based company. Fortnite is also unable to generate revenue from the game in China due to game license approval issues.
If you’re in the mood for a new game to play on your smart devices, why not give Knives Out a try and see if you like it better than the usual battle royale games around.
Source: Sensor Tower
Pokdepinion: Well, time to try a new game and see what all the fuss is about. Definitely wouldn’t spend so much money on a mobile game, that’s for sure.
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EA Cancels Unannounced Single Player Apex Legends

Apart from the mobile game getting the cut, it appears that EA is also cancelling an unannounced single player Apex Legends game that was apparently in development.
EA: Single Player Apex Legends Cancelled

According to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg, a third title in a shared universe between Apex Legends and Titanfall was cancelled by EA. Dubbed TFL or Titanfall Legends and in development at Respawn Entertainment, the game was never publicly announced. EA’s disappointing revenue outlook for the current financial quarter led to the cancelation of this project, as well as Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile, and the closure of Industrial Toys. This also resulted in the delay of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

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The 50-person development team working on the game will be reassigned within EA or given severance packages and laid off, as per the sources. The game was to be directed by Mohammad Alavi, an accomplished developer known for his work on the Call of Duty series, until he left Respawn in early 2022. He was behind the creation of iconic Call of Duty missions such as “Crew Expendable”, “All Ghillied Up”, and “No Russian” in the Modern Warfare series.

EA’s stocks saw a drop of over 10% following the cancellations of Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile, according to anonymous sources who spoke to Bloomberg. CFO Chris Suh acknowledged that the Apex franchise underperformed due to market challenges and said the company is now focused on supporting employees during the transition and redirecting investments to drive growth and benefit players.
This isn’t the first Titanfall project to be scrapped by Respawn. In 2016, they attempted to create a Titanfall-based collectible card game in partnership with Nexon, which had a soft launch in September that year but was canceled in 2017 before it was released to the public. Nexon also attempted to develop an online version of Titanfall for the Asian market, but it never made it past beta and was canceled in 2018.
Source
Pokdepinion: This is somewhat disappointing as I was expecting it for quite some time. Well, hopefully this doesn’t spell the end for both Apex Legends and Titanfall moving forward as I have a really bad feeling about this since the mobile game got cancelled.
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[Computex 2019] Kingston unveiled their latest KC2000, DC1000M and A2000 SSDs

Kingston showcased a number of new SSDs to their lineup, with two new enterprise-class SSDs, the Kingston KC2000 M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe SSD and the Kingston DC1000M U.2 NVMe SSD. They also teased the upcoming Kingston A2000 M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe SSD, which will succeed the affordable Kingston A1000 SSD which we have previously praised for being one of the most affordable M.2 PCIe SSDs in the market.

We have received the Kingston KC2000 M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe SSD for review, and we will be talking more about it pretty soon. The Kingston KC2000 is based on a SMI 2262EN controller and 96-layer 3D TLC NAND. With that configuration, it can deliver speeds of 3200MB/s and 2200MB/s for sequential read and write, respectively. It is available in capacities ranging from 250GB to 2TB, with every drive covered by a 5-year warranty.

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The budget PCIe NVMe SSD, the Kingston A2000 was previously revealed at CES 2019, but it has yet to hit markets. It will feature a PCIe Gen3 x4 interface, which promises double the bandwidth of the Kingston A1000. Of course, the final speeds are heavily dependent on the controller itself, and given that this is going to target the affordable market, you probably won’t be seeing it match the flagship PCIe SSDs in the market.
Pokdepinion: We definitely look forward to the Kingston A2000 hitting our market!
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Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Event for Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 To Happen in South Korea

Exciting news for Samsung enthusiasts as the tech giant has officially confirmed that its upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event will take place in South Korea. The event, which will showcase the latest innovations from Samsung including the highly anticipated Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5 foldable smartphones, is generating significant buzz among tech enthusiasts worldwide. Additionally, rumours suggest that Samsung might also unveil the Galaxy Watch6 series and possibly introduce its mixed reality (MR) headset.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Event for Z Fold5 and Z Flip5

Speculation surrounding the location of the Galaxy Unpacked event has been circulating for some time, with rumours suggesting a departure from the traditional US or European locations. These rumours have now been confirmed by Lee Young-hee, President of Samsung DX’s Global Marketing Center, who announced that the event will indeed be held in Seoul, South Korea. When questioned about the choice of location, Young-hee expressed that Korea holds significant meaning and importance for the company.

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While the exact date and venue of the Galaxy Unpacked event have not been revealed by Samsung, rumours point to July 26 at COEX in Gangnam-Gu, Seoul. Although we eagerly await official confirmation, the rumoured date has generated excitement among Samsung enthusiasts who are eagerly anticipating the unveiling of the latest devices and technologies.

The spotlight of the Galaxy Unpacked event will likely be on the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5, Samsung’s newest additions to their innovative foldable smartphone lineup. These devices are expected to showcase significant advancements in design, functionality, and user experience, pushing the boundaries of mobile technology even further. In addition to the foldable smartphones, Samsung might introduce the Galaxy Watch6 series, offering improved health and fitness tracking features along with enhanced connectivity options.
Rumours have also been swirling regarding Samsung’s potential unveiling of a mixed reality (MR) headset at the Galaxy Unpacked event. While details about this device remain scarce, the prospect of a Samsung MR headset has generated considerable intrigue and speculation within the tech community. If unveiled, this headset could mark a significant step forward in immersive virtual experiences and redefine how we interact with digital content.
Source
Pokdepinion: With Samsung’s confirmation of the Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea, anticipation for the unveiling of the Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Z Flip5, and other potential surprises has reached a new high. Samsung enthusiasts worldwide eagerly await the event to witness the latest advancements in foldable smartphones, wearable technology, and possibly the introduction of a groundbreaking mixed reality headset.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 Hinge Moves on Testing Phase

New reports have surfaced that the new hinge design for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 has finally gone for its testing phase, signaling good progress.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 Hinge Design Now Being Tested
Picture credits: GSMArena
Samsung is currently testing its latest teardrop hinge design for the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold5 smartphone, set to release in the second half of this year. This latest design is expected to launch in August, following Samsung’s usual release schedule. According to a report by The Elec, the teardrop hinge has several benefits, including reducing the gap between the two halves of the phone and minimizing wrinkles on the screen.
This teardrop hinge design is a common feature in smartphones and works by letting the axis roll on itself inside the hinge. It offers several advantages over other hinge designs, including a sleeker appearance and better screen protection.

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At this year’s CES 2023, Samsung demonstrated a new hinge design that is 14mm thin, which is thinner than the current implementation that measures 15.8mm in thickness. Reports suggest that Samsung has been working on this improved droplet hinge design for some time.
Samsung’s internal testing of this new hinge design may take some time as a single prototype requires five days of testing. The benchmark is set at 200,000 folds, after which the hinge must retain at least 85% of its initial tightness and strength. If Samsung is successful in its testing, we can expect the new teardrop hinge design to become a defining feature of the Galaxy Z Fold5 and future smartphones from the company.
Source
Pokdepinion: As much as the hinge is supposed to make the display itself look better, I prioritize more on durability. Any improvement on that will automatically translate to more confidence in foldables.
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AMD Ryzen 7000 Series CPU Officially Announced To Hit Stores in September

AMD Ryzen 7000 Series CPU

The AMD Ryzen 7000 Series of CPUs have officially been announced. It’s using the new AM5 platform and features the new Zen 4 architecture, DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support for a huge performance increase over the previous generation Ryzen 5000 Series.

Starting off with the top of the line Ryzen 9 7950X, it’s a 16-core 32-threaded CPU with clock speed of 4.2GHz that can be boosted up to 5.7GHz. It has an 80MB total cache and a 170W TDP, which isn’t as power-hungry as we thought it would be. The retail price for it is set at USD $699, which is USD $100 less than the Ryzen 5950X 9 price at launch.

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Next up is the Ryzen 9 7900X, which is a 12-core 24-threaded CPU with clock speed of 4.7GHz that can be boosted up to 5.6GHz. It has a 76MB total cache and the same 170W TDP. It follows the same launch price as the Ryzen 9 5900X, which is USD $549.
Then we have the 8-core 16-threaded Ryzen 7 7700X. This CPU has a clock speed of 4.5GHz that can be boosted up to 5.4GHz, and it comes with 40MB total cache and a lower 105W TDP. The retail price is set at USD $399, which is USD $50 lesser than the launch price of the Ryzen 7 5800X.
Last but not least, we have the more budget-oriented Ryzen 5 7600X with 6-cores and 12-threads. It has a clock speed of 4.7GHz that can be boosted to 5.3GHz, and comes with 38MB total cache and the same 105W TDP. It follows the same launch price as the Ryzen 5 5600X, which is USD $299.

The new CPU series is based on the Zen 4 architecture based on the 5nm TSMC process. AMD also claims up to 1.3x improvement in nT FP32 inferencing with AVX-512 and up to 2.5x improvement in nT inferencing with AVX-512 VNNI. In case you’re wondering, all of these CPUs will come with integrated Radeon Graphics featuring two graphics cores, 2200MHz graphics frequency, and 400MHz base frequency.
As far as efficiency is concerned, AMD mentioned about 62% lower power consumption for the same performance and 49% more performance for the same power when compared to the Ryzen 5000 Series. Furthermore, they claimed it to be 47% more efficient than Intel’s Alder Lake Series.

All of them will be using the new AM5 platform, featuring a new socket design with a 1718 pin LGA socket that can bring up to 230W of power to the CPU. It is compatible with coolers designed for AM4, so no worries there. There will be no coolers included in the box. The motherboard chipsets for this would be the X670 and B650, with each having an Extreme version with better connectivity features.
Do keep in mind that upgrading to this will be rather costly as the AMD Ryzen 7000 Series will not support DDR4 RAM. It will support DDR5 RAM as well as PCIe 5.0. The AM5 platform will also support the new EXPO technology, which is essentially their equivalent of Intel XMP for overclocking RAM. At default, it can support memory speeds of up to DDR5 5200MHz, with higher speeds being possible through EXPO.

The AMD Ryzen 7000 Series CPUs will be available for purchase starting 27th September 2022 with the X670 motherboards being available in the same month whereas the B650 motherboards being available in October 2022 instead. AMD promises to support AM5 through 2025 at least, so it will be around for a while. We will report on local pricing availability when information becomes available.
Source
Pokdepinion: If you’re coming from AM4, you will need to buy a new motherboard and RAM to go along with the new CPU. If you’re taking a step up, at least now you have a practical reason to do so but at least it seems that a power supply upgrade isn’t necessary.
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OPPO A73 Review — Lightweight Performer?

In this OPPO A73 review, we take a look at OPPO’s latest mid-range device where it packs a Snapdragon 662 chipset, a quad camera setup and a number of other notable features. Is it worth your money? Let’s find out.
Unboxing

Inside the box, you’ll get the following items:

The phone itself
Charger
Earphone
USB-C cable
SIM ejector
Documentation
TPU case

Appearance

The OPPO A73 sports an AMOLED display on the front and as you can see, they’ve opted for a water-drop notch that fits the front camera. There are small bezels on the corners of the device.

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On the left side of the OPPO A73, you will find the volume rockers and SIM tray.

On the right however, you’ll only find the power button for the device.

Down below is where you’ll find the 3.5mm audio jack, microphone, USB-C port, and the phone’s speaker.

We’ve got our hands on the Navy Blue variant of the OPPO A73. You might think that it’s fitted with a case, but it’s actually not. That is actually how it looks like right out of the box. The plastic back is actually built to feel like leather. There is a quad camera setup on the top left and the branding towards the bottom right.
OPPO A73 Specifications

CPU:
Snapdragon 662 Octa-core (4 x 2.3GHz Kryo 260 Gold + 4 x 1.8GHz Kryo 260 Silver) 11nm

GPU:
Adreno 610

RAM:
6GB RAM

Display:
6.44-inch AMOLED (2400×1080) 20:9

Storage:
128GB

Camera:
Main Camera(s)16MP f/2.2 main camera8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide2MP f/2.4 depth 2MP f/2.4 depthHDR, Panorama, Portrait, Night ModeFront Camera16MP f/2.0

OS:
ColorOS 7.2 based on Android 10

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz)LTE Band 1/3/5/7/8/38/40/41Bluetooth 5.1aptX

SIM:
Dual SIM

Battery:
Li-Po 4015mAh (non-removable)VOOC 4.0 30W fast charging

Dimensions:
159.8 x 72.9 x 7.5mm

Weight:
163g

Ingress Protection:
N/A

Performance

OPPO A73 review – Antutu v8

On Antutu v8, we find that the Snapdragon 662 has underwhelming performance compared to other chipsets within a similar price range.

OPPO A73 review – Geekbench

When compared to the previous OPPO A91, we can see that the OPPO A71 beats the former’s single-core score by a small margin but lags behind in the multi-score test.

OPPO A73 review – 3DMark

Over at 3DMark, the scores shows that it’s not the worst performer but it’s certainly not enough to be pleased with.

OPPO A73 review – PCMark Work 2.0

Again, we can see that the Snapdragon 662 falls behind, this time in PCMark’s Work 2.0 Performance test. It’s noticeably weaker than the Snapdragon 720G and MediaTek Helio G90T.

OPPO A73 review – PCMark Battery

One area that the phone doesn’t fall behind in is the battery performance, as shown by the benchmark above. It should be said however that the devices that sit on top of the OPPO A73 comes with bigger battery capacities, which is something worth taking note of.
As for real-life usage, I would usually be left with 70% at the end of the day, which is decent enough for me. Usage would include your typical social media apps such as WhatsApp, YouTube, browsing on Instagram, and Facebook.
In case you’re wondering on how fast the 30W fast charger juices up the 4,015mAh battery of the device, it managed to go from 26% to 81% in a 30-minute charging period.
User Experience

OPPO A73 review

The first thing that I’ve noticed about the OPPO A73 was how light the phone really is, and it’s pretty slim too. If you’re someone that hates heavy smartphones, you’ll probably like this device.
Though it uses an AMOLED screen, it’s not the best panel that I’ve used before. I feel like the color is a bit grainy and the blacks aren’t really dark enough for an AMOLED screen.

OPPO A73 review

While the back of the device isn’t real leather, it certainly does feel similar. It’s a nice touch by the company for the OPPO A73. Combined with the slim build, it’s a pretty comfortable smartphone to hold. OPPO was even nice enough to give a soft case but I personally feel that it beats the purpose of the textured back.
The speaker is adequately loud so you’ll be able to hear your contents with no issues, in case you’re wondering. It’s not the best for sure, but it should still serve you well.

OPPO A73 review – UI

With the OPPO A73, it runs on ColorOS 7.2, which is based on Android 10. If you’re used to OPPO’s skin on Android, you can expect the same experience in terms of looks. Despite that, I can’t say that I’ve had the best experience from the interface from the A73. I can definitely feel and see the delay when I’m swiping around the phone.

OPPO A73 review – Camera UI

As for the camera UI, it’s pretty much similar with their previous devices. If you’ve not yet tried one recently, it’s pretty straightforward. I can’t really complain much here, where everything that you need is easily accessible.

In proper lighting, shots look acceptable for your social media uploads. It faces a clear quality drop when you zoom in, even at 2x zoom. As you’d expect, pictures would turn out blurry and the colors are a bit grainy.
As for low light shots, Night Mode helps in reducing the brightness from the light source, which helps a little bit. You would need steady hands however, or else pictures will turn out quite awful.
You can check out the full-sized images here.
Conclusion

OPPO A73 review – Verdict

For the price of RM899, it seems like a decent offering in terms of hardware. That being said, I would’ve liked it if they used a Snapdragon 665 instead of the Snapdragon 662 here. In my opinion, that should be the standard chipset for mid-range devices in today’s market. Performance-wise, it doesn’t stand out, and it definitely needs some polishing on that end.
I would however commend OPPO for making it a very light and thin device, especially with the leather-like back, which is something I fancy. Does that warrant the price, though? We’ll let you decide if it’s worth it or not.
Thanks to OPPO Malaysia for providing the OPPO A73 (2020) that was used in this review.
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Command & Conquer Remastered Collection Releases Tonight

Kane Lives!

Earlier today, a special video featuring infamous baddie from the Command & Conquer franchise, Kane in conjunction for the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection. Titled “Kane Gets Personal”, Kane, once a again played by actor Joe Kucan, delivers a message specially for the loyal supporters of the Brotherhood of Nod and to ensure that indeed “Kane Lives!” You can check out the special announcement down below.

Joe Kucan first played Kane in the first Command & Conquer game 25 years ago with his last appearance being in 2010’s Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight. The role of Kane has brought him many accolades including a place in the Guinness World Record for longest-running actor in any video game franchise.
Welcome Back Kane
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection will be the first major release in the franchise since 2010 bar the ill-received Command & Conquer: Rivals which Kane also features in. The collection features the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert remastered in 4K together with all its expansions. It also features rebuilt multiplayer, a modernized UI, Map Editor, and a whole of other features.

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Command & Conquer Remastered Collection releases tonight at 1 AM on both Origin and Steam.
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MasterBox TD500 Mesh arrives in Malaysia priced at just RM359

Combining form and function is a challenge that every case maker has to overcome, but Cooler Master does make it seem pretty easy. The MasterBox TD500 Mesh and TD500 Mesh White offer exceptional airflow with a full mesh front that also sports a 3D contour that looks different from every angle.
Behind the Fine Mesh front panel lies three ARGB fans to pull fresh air into the case for enhanced cooling of your components while also looking good with the light diffusing out through the front panel. Cooler Master threw in a ARGB controller in the box that’s compatible with ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI and ASRock motherboards too, to allow for system-wide lighting synchronization.

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On top of that, The tempered glass on the side of the MasterBox TD500 Mesh sports unique crystal-like etchings, refracting light unlike most tempered glass side panels which are flat and boring. The Crystalline Tempered Glass side panel makes tempered glass side panels interesting again with its design that interacts with the lighting on your components.

We have pretty much went over the “form” section, so let’s take a look at the “function” of the MasterBox TD500 Mesh. For starters, there’s plenty of room to fit in pretty much any kind of hardware you have in mind. There’s support for E-ATX motherboards, 410mm long graphics cards and also up to 295mm long PSUs. For cooling, you can cram in 360mm radiators in front and also at the top, or a 165mm tall CPU air cooler, if that’s more your thing.
For storage, you can throw in up to six 2.5″ drives, or four 2.5″ drives and two 3.5″ hard drives with the modular HDD drive bay. Use of the HDD drive bay will limit PSU support to 180mm, although that is still plenty for most standard PSUs.

The MasterBox TD500 Mesh is now available in Malaysia for just RM359, with the TD500 Mesh White coming in later at the end of August. The only difference between the two models is the color, so pick whichever one that suits your build. Both offer the same features.
Pokdepinion: I wonder if the tempered glass side panel is extra fragile around the etched lines…
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The colorful ASUS VivoBook S14 and S15 announced from RM3199

ASUS’ latest laptops has just hit the deck, offering the 8th Gen Intel Core U processors in sleek designs measuring just 18mm thin. But the highlight of these laptops are not the size or the hardware in them, but the design. The ASUS VivoBook S15 (S531FL) is offered in a total of five colors, while the ASUS VivoBook S14 (S431FA) comes in two colors.

Available in colors like Moss Green, Punk Pink and Cobalt Blue, the ASUS VivoBook S15 is the perfect laptop to make a statement. The ASUS VivoBook S15 comes with a 15.6″ display while the VivoBook S14 sports a 14″ display, as you might expect. Both laptops sport the NanoEdge displays with up to 88% screen-to-body ratio for a compact footprint.

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Above the display lies an IR camera for the most seamless login process you have ever experienced. Integrated with Windows Hello, all you need to do is glance at the camera and your laptop will be unlocked.
Interestingly, ASUS equipped the ASUS VivoBook S14 with arguably better specifications than the VivoBook S15, as you can see below:
ASUS VivoBook S15 and S14 Specs

ASUS VivoBook S15
ASUS VivoBook S14

CPU
Intel Core i5 8265U, 4C/8T @ up to 3.9 GHz
Intel Core i7 8565U, 4C/8T @ up to 4.6 GHz

RAM
4GB DDR4 (upgradeable with 1x SO-DIMM)
8GB LPDDR3 on-board

GPU
Intel UHD Graphics 620
NVIDIA GeForce MX250 2GB GDDR5
Intel UHD Graphics 620

Storage
512GB PCIe SSD
1 x 2.5″ SATA3 slot
512GB PCIe SSD
Intel Optane H10

Connectivity
802.11ac Intel WiFi 5
Bluetooth 4.2
1 x USB 3.0 (USB-C)
1 x USB 3.0
2 x USB 2.0
1 x HDMI
1 x Combo audio jack
1 x mciroSD card reader
802.11ax Intel WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.0
1 x USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) (USB-C)
1 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 2.0
1 x HDMI
1 x Combo audio jack
1 x mciroSD card reader

Battery
42 Wh 3-cell lithium-prismatic battery
Fast charge: 60% in 49 mins
90W power adapter
47 Wh 2-cell li-po battery
Fast charge: 60% in 49 mins
45W power adapter

Size
357.2 x 230.3 x 18.0 mm
323.3 x 213.7 x 18.0 mm

Weight
1.8 kg
1.4 kg

Colors
Moss Green, Punk Pink, Cobalt Blue, Transparent Silver, Gun Metal
Transparent Silver, Gun Metal

Price
RM3199
RM3899

These laptops should appeal to the younger crowd who would appreciate the vibrant colors and design of the new VivoBook S laptops. Which color would you pick?
Pokdepinion: Well, Cobalt Blue is definitely my choice!
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Touch ‘n Go Introduces Money-back Guarantee Policy For Their eWallet App

TNG Digital has today introduced their new Money-back Guarantee Policy for their Touch ‘n Go eWallet app. It is an effort to ensure that users rights and accounts are kept safe by bringing security and convenience.
With this brand new policy, users of the Touch ‘n Go eWallet app will be able to report any unauthorized transactions and request for compensation.

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The news was revealed at a forum that they held in Kuala Lumpur, where they had several panelists that discussed the comparison between cash and eWallets.
It was revealed that 46% of Malaysians are concerned about security measures and fraud risks related to digital payment. Arslan Ashraf, Managing Director, Consumer Insights – East Zone, claims that Malaysians still prefer to pay in cash for regular expenses such as groceries and dining out.
Back to the Money-back Guarantee Policy, you’ll need to first verify your TnG eWallet account and the feature will be activated, where you’ll find an eWallet protection icon being visible at your edit profile button.
The feature will prompt users to a form where they will need to fill up details of their case and attach proof of receipts or documentation involving the transaction. Touch ‘n Go will then investigate and if the case is legitimate, refunds will be processed and reimbursements will be made within 5 working days.
Pokdepinion: Hey, any security addition is always welcomed, especially when it relates to your money.
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Lenovo Introduces New Warranty Service – Meet Lenovo PremiumCare

More than just warranty

Lenovo Malaysia has just recently introduced Lenovo PremiumCare, a new premium warranty service for their products. This new warranty service provides Lenovo customers with a wider range of technical support on top of the Standard Limited Warranty.

Here are a list of perks you will get when you upgrade your Standard Limited Warranty to Lenovo’s PremiumCare:

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24/7 Phone Support: Customers who upgrade to the Lenovo PremiumCare service over Lenovo’s Standard Limited Warranty will be able to address any of their technical issues over the phone through the Lenovo PremiumCare Call Centre any time of the day as the service is a 24 hour service, including public holidays.
Extended Field Response:  For on-site technical support on the other hand, technicians are available nationwide on weekdays, excluding weekends and public holidays from 9am to 9pm.
Lenovo Vantage: Lenovo Vantage is a desktop application Lenovo PremiumCare customers can download through the Microsoft Store. By using Lenovo Vantage, customers can personalize your Lenovo PC’s settings, improve your WiFi security, update your drivers, run device diagnostics, identify the system serial number and product number as well as request support and many more.
Box to Boot Support: Technicians can help to provide assistance such as setting up Internet browsers, installing software and ensuring the operating system is compatible and perform necessary software updates.
Annual PC Health Check: The service consists of a series of detailed checks with Lenovo’s tune-up tool, optimizing operating systems, calibrate memory management and other critical updates that customers may not consistently do on their own.

Customers can upgrade their Standard Limited Warranty to Lenovo PremiumCare when they purchase selected Lenovo consumer
notebooks. Currently there are two packages available:

A one-year package which is priced at RM 249
A two-year package which is priced at RM 379

To celebrate the launch of this new warranty service, Lenovo is offering a limited time offer where customers can upgrade to the Lenovo PremiumCare service for as low as RM 19.90! Here’s how to do it:

Purchase either a Lenovo IdeaPad 310S, Lenovo IdeaPad 320, Lenovo IdeaPad510, Lenovo IdeaPad 510S, Lenovo IdeaPad 710S, Lenovo IdeaPad 720S, Lenovo IdeaPad 310 or Lenovo IdeaPad 520 PC models and you can upgrade Standard Limited Warranty to the one-year Lenovo PremiumCare warranty at RM19.90, inclusive of GST.
Purchase either a Lenovo Yoga 520, Lenovo Yoga 720, Lenovo Yoga 920, Lenovo Yoga 920, Lenovo Legion Y520, Lenovo Legion Y720 and Lenovo Legion Y920 PC models and you can upgrade Standard Limited Warranty to the two-year Lenovo PremiumCare warranty at RM49.90, inclusive of GST.

The promotion period starts from 1 May and ends 30 June 2018.
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Ubisoft Plans to Release Three Major Games By End of March 2020

It appears that Ubisoft has some trump cards up their sleeves. At their financial briefing for the most recent fiscal year, they gave some hints about upcoming AAA games that will be making their way to the market in the coming year.
Alongside the release of Ghost Recon Breakpoint, which will be released on 4th October 2019, Ubisoft stated that it has three other AAA titles that are slated to launch in this fiscal year. Ubisoft went one step further and also clarified that all three of these games will launch in the company’s fourth quarter of the fiscal year, which means that they’ll all arrive between January and March 2020.

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While what these games could be is still unknown, we do have some guesses as to what it could be. For starters, Watch Dogs 3 would be a popular guess, since many people are asking for a sequel, and that it has been 3 years since their last entry.
Another guess we have is a new Just Dance game. It’s a rather popular game, especially for those who often do let’s plays and livestream gameplays. A new entry is definitely coming sooner or later, so it wouldn’t be surprising for it to be one of the three games.
Apart from that, I personally have no clue. It could be something that we least expect from Ubisoft, or even a brand new IP. I personally doubt we’ll have to wait for long to find out as E3 2019 is right around the corner. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Pokdepinion: Ubisoft certainly has a lot prepared for the upcoming fiscal year. I’m hoping it’s good games and not a glitchy mess or even just a quick cash grab from the consumers.
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Unlike Twitter, Threads Will Make Editing Posts Available For Free

The recently launched Threads app has already gained 100 million users despite being still very bare bones at current state – and Meta is looking to introduce more features as the Twitter competitor is rapidly expanding. One of upcoming features is the Edit button, which Twitter has locked behind the Blue subscription paywall (which costs RM35 monthly).
“The team has been entirely focused on keeping the lights on and fixing bugs, but we’re starting to priorite (looks like an intentional typo) the obvious missing features, like a following feed, the edit button, and post search,” wrote Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram (who also oversees Threads). Cheeky typo there, isn’t it?

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While he didn’t specify when would the new feature arrive, suffice to say the team over at Threads is working full steam to bring many of the requested features available as soon as possible, including a followers-only curated feed and chronological feed. We expect all these features should be available for everyone, no subscription necessary.
Source: PCMag
Pokdepinion: A full-fledged web version would be nice to have, but I suppose it’s not high up in Meta’s development checklist right now.
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NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 modded with 16GB VRAM runs fine!

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is one powerful graphics card, but the limited 8GB VRAM is quite significantly less than what the competition offers now. Well, a modder took it into his own hands to add more VRAM to the GeForce RTX 3070, and it apparently works. Better so on the GeForce RTX 3070 than on the GeForce RTX 2070 that the same modder tried his luck with.
The modder, who goes by VIK-on on YouTube, desoldered the 8Gb GDDR6 memory chips on his GeForce RTX 3070 and mounted 16Gb ones in their place. After that the “straps”, which are resistors, had to be replaced to be able to recognize the new memory installed.

After the mod was done, all 16GB VRAM was visible in GPU-Z, which indicated a successful endeavor. However it was apparently unstable in 3D applications. He did manage to work around this though by forcing the card to run at 3D clocks, which somehow managed to prevent it from any further crashing and was fully operational.

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With this level of “support” built into the current crop of GeForce RTX 3070, I don’t think it will be too farfetched to see NVIDIA release a version with more VRAM later down the line. Of course, hopefully when GPU and GDDR6 supplies are more abundant. And with a mining block in place.
Pokdepinion: I think it will probably be quite difficult to get his hands on GDDR6X, but if he can, a mod to add 20GB VRAM to the GeForce RTX 3080 will definitely be quite exciting.
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ASUS RT-AX86U gaming router available in Malaysia now at RM1399

Gamers demand nothing but the best when it comes to network quality, as mere milliseconds matter a lot in competitive games. That’s where the ASUS RT-AX86U comes in as an NVIDIA GeForce NOW recommended router, in addition to featuring a new Mobile Game Mode that prioritizes traffic from devices running the ASUS Router app to ensure the best possible gaming experience.
The ASUS RT-AX86U can also be set to prioritize any device you want via the Gear Accelerator feature in the router’s control panel. Gamers who do not wish to rely on magical wireless signals can take advantage of the dedicated Gaming Port on the rear of the router. To ensure that you can get the most from your ISP, the RT-AX86U is equipped with a 2.5Gbps LAN port that can be used as either a WAN or LAN port.

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As you might expect from a router that bears the letters “AX” in its name, the RT-AX86U fully supports WiFi 6 on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Speeds range up to 4.8Gbps on the 5GHz band and 861Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. This gives a total combined bandwidth of nearly 5700Mbps.
Aside from speed, WiFi 6 can also support more devices in more crowded WiFi environments, aside from promising better range. Mobile gamers would also benefit from the Target Wake Time feature that can reduce power consumption when the devices do not require an active connection. For those who demand even greater range, the RT-AX86U supports AiMesh for you to build a mesh network with other AiMesh routers from ASUS.

All those features are offered in a beautiful black chassis with red accents, highlighting its gaming ambitions. You can get the ASUS RT-AX86U for RM1399 in Malaysia now, with a 3-year 1-to-1 swap warranty.
Pokdepinion: I wonder if the Gundam version will make its way to Malaysia soon.
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Lazada The Latest To Offer Flood Relief Support

As you might’ve known, the country has been hit by massive floods, specifically in Selangor and the folks at Lazada Malaysia has offered a hand in donating support to victims.
Lazada Malaysia aids flood victims

The company has donated around 30,000 units of flood relief supplies to 10 temporary evacuation centres that houses over 4,500 flood victims which includes:

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PPS Sekolah Rendah Integrasi Tengku Ampuan Fatimah
PPS Masjid Bandar Bukit Raja
PPS Sekolah Menengah Klang Utama
PPS Pangsapuri Permai Bukit Kuda
PPS Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Binjai
PPS Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Meru
PPS Masjid Bukit Kapar
PPS Dewan Orang Ramai Tok Muda
PPS Sekolah Rendah Agama Sungai Serdang
PPS Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Kuching

Among the items that’s been given are dry rations, bottled water, toiletries, blankets, personal hygiene items, baby diapers, COVID-19 test kits plus more. They have teamed up with 9 local NGOs to raise funds on LazadaForGood and if you are interested in giving your support by donation, you may head to the link right here.
You can choose to donate amounts ranging from RM1 to RM500 to any of the participating NGOs, which includes Mercy Malaysia, Malaysian Red Crescent Society Malaysia, Islamic Relief, The Lost Food Project and more.
For more on the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews, stay tuned to Pokde.net.
Pokdepinion: I said it before, I’ll say it again; it’s nice to see more and more brands to give a helping hand in situations like this. If you can afford it, please do help in any way that you can.
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Razer Announces Viper V2 Pro Gaming Mouse

The new Razer Viper V2 Pro gaming mouse, weighing only 58g, hits the esports arena with upgraded Optical Mouse Switches Gen-3 and a new Focus Pro 30K Optical Sensor.
Razer Unveils New Gaming Mouse, The Viper V2 Pro

Razer recently launched the Viper V2 Pro, an ultra-lightweight wireless competitive gaming mouse packed with unique innovations and collaboration with pro esports players. The Viper V2 Pro, which is more than 20% lighter than the Viper Ultimate, establishes a new benchmark for the competition with next-generation switches, improved battery life, and the new Focus Pro 30K Optical Sensor.

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Razer’s new Focus Pro 30K Optical Sensor, which achieves a total resolution accuracy of 99.8 percent, is also introduced as part of the Viper V2 Pro. This new sensor has AI features like Smart Tracking, Motion Sync, and Asymmetric Cut-off for maximum performance. The Asymmetric Cut-off function now supports up to 26 granular levels of height modification, up from 3 in the previous version. With a broader range of customization, players can choose a lift-off and landing distance that is tailored to their playstyle.

The Viper V2 Pro has a more tactile feel and a longer click lifespan thanks to the new Razer Optical Mouse Switches Gen-3, which have no double-clicking difficulties and no debounce delay. These new switches have a click lifecycle of up to 90 million clicks, which increases the value proposition by more than 25% above the previous model switch’s lifespan.
Every feature of a gaming mouse is essential to an esports pro, even down to the amount of customization available to the user. The Viper V2 Pro is now USB-C rechargeable and includes a DPI control button on the bottom of the mouse, allowing for variable sensitivity without the need for software. Additional grip tapes pre-cut to the shape of the Viper V2 Pro, a Razer Speedflex charging cable, and a 2.4GHz HyperSpeed USB dongle extender are included in the package.
The Razer Viper V2 Pro is available priced at RM749 starting 10 May 2022 at its official Lazada store, official Shopee store, and online store.
Pokdepinion: A customizable mouse in collab with pro esports players? Might actually give it a go if it goes on discount!
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Samsung Galaxy M20 Review — Contender For The Mid-range Market?

Introduction

We’re taking a look at the recently released Samsung Galaxy M20, where it presents itself as a mid-range device in the smartphone market. In that segment of the smartphone market, the brand hasn’t been doing too well compared to other smartphone companies, mainly due to their previous mid-range prices. It seems that they’ve turned everything around with the Galaxy M20, with it being priced at RM799. Is it worth your money? That’s what we’re about to find out.
Appearance

Starting off with the front, the Samsung Galaxy M20 comes with an Infinity-V notch at the top, which gives the device a bigger screen-to-body ratio. There’s a slight chin at the bottom, but nothing to be displeased about.

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There’s the usual volume rockers and power button located on the right hand side of the phone. Keeping it on one side does make it handy so you can remember that the buttons are only on one side.

Over to the left, there’s only the SIM / microSD card tray on hand. This is the side you’re gonna be paying attention to in the least amount.

There’s two thing that I like what the Korean giant is offering with this device. There’s a 3.5mm audio jack available AND a Type-C port for a mid-range device, which I’ve got to hand it to them for sporting it on the Samsung Galaxy M20. Aside from that, there’s the microphone and speaker for the phone. As for the top of the device, there’s only a secondary microphone hole.

We got our hands on the Charcoal Black version of the Samsung Galaxy M20. The cover comes with a glossy finish and it is made out of plastic. Now people might have split opinions on the material as plastic covers would usually be easier to get scratch marks on them. There’s a dual camera setup at the back, where an LED flash sits just underneath it. As usual, the Samsung logo is situated just below the phone’s fingerprint sensor.
Specifications

CPU/Chipset:
Exynos 7904 Octa (2 x Cortex-A73 @ 1.8 GHz, 6 x Cortex-A53 @ 1.6 GHz), 14nm FinFET

GPU:
Mali-G71 MP2

RAM:
4GB RAM

Display:
6.3″ FHD+ (2340 x 1080) Infinity-V PLS TFT Display, 83.6% Screen-to-Body Ratio

Storage:
64GB

Camera:
Main Camera(s) 13MP f/1.9, PDAF + 5MP f/2.2 ultra wide-angle camera, LED Flash, Panorama, HDR, Full HD recording @ 30 FPS
Front Camera 8MP f/2.0, HDR, Full HD recording @ 30 FPS

OS:
Android 8.1 Oreo, Samsung Experience 9.5

Connectivity:
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE
USB-C

Audio:
Mono speakers 3.5mm jack with Dolby Atmos and active noise cancelling with dedicated mic

SIM:
Dual SIM (Nano)

Battery:
5,000 mAh with 15W Fast Charging

Weight:
186 g

Performance

On Antutu, the Samsung Galaxy M20 slightly performs better than the ASUS ZenFone Max M2 which uses a Snapdragon 632 chipset. It is noticeably weaker than a Snapdragon 636 and 660-powered devices.

Similar to the Antutu test, the Samsung Galaxy M20 has below average performance when compared to other mid-range smartphones on the list.

The Exynos 7904’s score shows that it belongs in the lower mid-range segment when it comes to graphics. Once again, noticeably lower than Snapdragon 636 and 660-powered devices.

Yet again, the Galaxy M20 fails to prove itself in the mid-range section on PCMark’s Work 2.0 performance benchmark.

Here’s where the Samsung Galaxy M20 really shines, the battery life. It managed to last 12 hours and 24 minutes in the PCMark battery test. It scores slightly lower than the Mi Max 3, which comes in with a slightly bigger 5500mAh capacity.

Benchmarks are a good way to understand how a smartphone performs. In real life though, I can easily say that the Galaxy M20 can last up to 2 days without me ever charging it. Even though I started with 85% of battery life in the evening, the following day it still had 54% left. Usage includes your usual social media (Facebook and Instagram) scrolling, messaging apps, as well as watching YouTube and Netflix videos.
Performance wise, it was rather sluggish but this could be due to the fact that it only comes with 4GB RAM. Another point that I would like to commend Samsung is that they’ve decided to put in a USB Type-C port onto the Samsung Galaxy M20. It’s quite rare for a smartphone in this segment to offer such luxury.
User Experience

In terms of looks, I wasn’t really impressed with the design. I know it isn’t the same class as their Galaxy S10, but I had hoped for something that’s attractive. The body material is plastic with a slightly glossy look. I’m fine with the material, but as you know, smartphones with plastic backs are scratch magnets. As for the overall design at the back, it gives that traditional Samsung look of yesteryear, nothing much to hype about.
I was surprised that the phone comes with the Dolby Atmos feature since it’s  a mid-range smartphone. Keep in mind that you will need to plug in your earphones / headphones to utilize the feature. With it, it packs more ‘punch’ into your music, especially songs with lots of bass. To me, there is a noticeable difference with the Galaxy S10 in terms of sound quality, with this one being worse but not necessarily bad. It’s decent to say the least.

Thanks to the Infinity-V display, the Samsung Galaxy M20 offers a bigger screen to enjoy. The phone comes with minimal bezels, though it would’ve been better if it had a smaller chin. Sticking with the notch, it does a rather fast job when it comes to facial recognition. Interestingly for the fingerprint sensor, you are required to swipe your finger down on the sensor. I find this a good way to register your prints on a smartphone and as expected, it’s fast to unlock as well.

Sadly, the Samsung Galaxy M20 still uses the Samsung Experience 9.5 UI instead of their new One UI. Because of that, you won’t be able to enjoy smart navigation. For example, you can’t swipe left to go back to your previous screen. Despite offering somewhat of a big display, I feel that they could’ve done something about it. Adding to that, if there was smart navigation gestures, there wouldn’t be a need for the device to have the physical buttons down below. Simply put, the UI is not bad, but it could’ve been better.

The Samsung Galaxy M20 comes with a dual camera lens setup at the back, where it combines a 13MP primary lens and a 5MP ultrawide camera. Its secondary camera has a 120-degree field of view, which is great if you want to capture large buildings or even a big group of people in one shot.

Samsung didn’t change their camera UI for the Samsung Galaxy M20. It’s still pretty basic. There’s modes which are displayed at the top that features Panorama, Pro, Beauty, Live Focus, Auto, Continuous shot modes as well as Stickers for you to play around with. It is neat that you are able to move the floatable shutter button, which can be useful in certain occasion.
There’s not much that you can do in the Pro mode though. You are only able to adjust the metering, exposure, ISO, and white balancing. It’s worth noting that the phone’s Live Focus mode only works on faces. Usually these types of modes allow you to get a depth effect for shots of ordinary objects, so we were quite surprised that it doesn’t support objects other than faces.
          Wide angle lens            Live Focus Selfie            Auto              Auto            Wide Angle          Auto              Auto          Auto            Auto              Auto            Auto              Auto            Auto            Auto              Auto            Selfie
In terms of camera quality, we were rather disappointed with the phone’s performance. Shots captured in decent lighting seemed ‘okay’ at first but after a closer look, it’s possible to see that image processing had done its job and made pictures look rather unnatural. Despite that, camera focus wasn’t an issue though, where it locks on rather quickly. For low-light shots, well it’s not exactly pleasing. It just looks blurry and too processed like an overcooked meal. I wished that they had offered a night mode to cope with this. You can check out the full-sized images on Flickr here.
Conclusion
Coming with a RM799 price tag, it was kind of shocking that Samsung released a device at that price segment. Previously their mid-range devices was put higher than that (above RM1,000) and it seems that they’ve noticed something needs to be done to be competitive in the affordable smartphone market. Despite the cameras lacking a passable performance, the Samsung Galaxy M20 wasn’t marketed for that purpose. One thing that I look for in a smartphone is fluidity. I wished that they had offered more RAM than what’s available and it would be a solid thing to use.
Regardless. It is definitely something that you can consider if you want an affordable smartphone with a long-lasting battery life. At the time of writing, it’s more worth it right now as they are offering a free Logitech wireless speaker alongside the phone, which you can only purchase on the official Samsung website and Shopee, seeing that it is an online exclusive device. You won’t be seeing this at any brick and mortar store.
We would like to thank Samsung Malaysia for providing the Samsung Galaxy M20 that was used in this review.
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Genshin Impact 3.0 Leak Shows Dori and Dendro Traveler Footage

[3.0 Beta – Dori]
Dori Animations Showcase pic.twitter.com/8WQsOyHHOf
— UBatcha (@Ubatcha1) July 13, 2022

After a lengthy waiting period, Dendro characters are finally coming to Genshin Impact in update 3.0 that’s expected to launch in late August 2022. While there have been a good amount of Sumeru characters being leaked out, we now have footage on what we can expect to come our way.

[3.0 beta]
Dendro traveller showcase. pic.twitter.com/6NcPy3XXxJ
— UBatcha (@Ubatcha1) July 13, 2022

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According to details shared by renowned leaker UBatcha, Dori is a 4-star Electro character, and the video shows off some of her attacks. Unfortunately, we don’t really get to see her abilities but this leak did make a number of gamers unhappy with her design.
As for the Dendro Traveler, the reaction has been rather lukewarm as there has been no unique movesets for the character. Now, gamers are placing their hopes on Collei and Tighnari to push the envelope.
Genshin Impact is currently available for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Android, iOS, and PC. A Nintendo Switch port of the game is still currently in development.
Source
Pokdepinion: It went from being majorly hyped to disappointment very quick, and it isn’t even out. Well, I’m sure they still have some tricks up their sleeves.
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