Waze Now Comes In Cantonese As Voice Navigation Option

Waze has announced today that Cantonese is officially available as one of the platform’s voice navigation option here in Malaysia.
Cantonese Now Available On Waze
You can now opt to choose Cantonese as your voice navigation option on the navigation app. The latest inclusion was made possible through users hailing from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, USA, United Kingdom, and of course, Malaysia, who all volunteered their time and effort to help make the app more inclusive.
The new language addition took two months to be prepared on the app, where it was achieved by the Waze localization team who adapted the language from the existing Chinese languages, working together by adjusting Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese to Chinese HK.

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In addition to that, the team also selected a Hong Kong-approved Chinese language voice to ensure precise pronunciation and directions to give drivers a clear and secure driving experience.
Waze has now over 50 languages available. You can test it yourself as the app is free on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Pokdepinion: I guess having more options is good right? It provides more choices for users to select the language that they excel at.
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Sony Introduces Brand-new Gaming Gear Brand INZONE

Sony recently, unveiled INZONE, a new gaming gear series for PC gamers. The INZONE monitors, which are unfortunately not available in the Asia Pacific, offer high resolutions and high dynamic range imaging. On the other hand, the headsets provide excellent gaming sound and 360 spatial sound.
The new INZONE series brings together Sony’s expertise and provides gamers with the ability to focus and immerse themselves in-game. The series also provides an immersive zone as it is designed for outstanding performance.

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Sony INZONE Gaming Headsets
The INZONE Gaming Headsets line includes two new wireless headsets, the INZONE H9 with 32-hour battery life and the INZONE H7 with 40-hour battery life, and a wired headset, the INZONE H3.
Both wireless headsets have a 10-minute quick charge that offers up to an hour of game time. Furthermore, all three models feature a flexible flip-up boom microphone with a mute, allowing users to easily communicate with in-game team members.

Powered by INZONE Hub PC software, Sony’s 360 Spatial Sound for Gaming creates spatial sound from multi-channel audio signals, just as the game designers envisioned. This realistic sound rendering improves spatial awareness by allowing the player to hear footsteps and movements accurately. In addition, using the smartphone app “360 Spatial Sound Personaliser,” users may have the spatial sound tailored to their ear shape for totally personalised gameplay.
The diaphragms of the wireless headsets, the INZONE H9 and H7, feature a unique design that allows the headphones to produce exceptionally high-frequency sounds with excellent compliance, as well as true low frequencies for immersive gaming experience. Ducts on the wireless INZONE H9 and H7, and wired INZONE H3’s housing regulate and optimise low-frequency sound output for strong bass that makes deep sounds feel remarkably genuine.

The INZONE H9 contains three noise-canceling microphones that block out any performance-disturbing noise. Sony has integrated the same Dual Noise Sensor Technology used in the industry-leading 1000X series headphones for invincible gaming to enhance the gaming experience. With Ambient Sound Mode, gamers never miss critical ambient sounds like a phone call, the doorbell ringing, or a person conversing.
The wireless INZONE H9 and H7 headsets feature on-screen indication, allowing players to easily adjust settings on their headset and see the settings reflected on the screen in the PlayStation 5 Control Center, as well as gaming and chat balance, which allows players to adjust the volume balance between game audio and voice chat from the headset. It also has the ability to operate with Tempest 3D AudioTech, which allows players to experience immersive sounds while gaming with better spatial expression.
The INZONE H9 has a starting price of RM1,299 and will be available in early August. Currently, available in Malaysia, the INZONE H7 is priced at RM1,099 and the INZONE H3 is priced at RM439.
For more information about Sony INZONE product line, feel free to visit Sony’s official website.
Pokdepinion: Sony in the PC gaming scene! Really unfortunate that the monitors are currently not available in Malaysia. However, the headsets do look really comfortable and I might want to give it a go since Sony’s is really popular for their Wh-1000xm3 headphones.
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PS5 Price and Release Date Allegedly Leaked

As many of you may know by now, the PlayStation 5 is expected to be released sometime in Holiday 2020. However, we may have a clearer idea on when, and its price, as the PS5 price and release has been allegedly leaked.
First seen on Reddit and social media, the leak suggested that the PlayStation 5 will be priced at USD $499.99 (RM2030.01 approximately) and will be coming in October 2020. The leak stems from a 4chan user who chose to remain anonymous for obvious reasons.

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What’s interesting here is that the leak also suggested that the PS5 will launch with only the base model, with no secondary model available. The hardware specifications is expected to match up with the Xbox Series X, but it will also cost USD $100 less. Moreover, it is expected to have full backwards compatibility, being able to play games from every PlayStation generation. No word yet on whether this refers to digital on physical copies.
Lastly, the PlayStation 5 is expected to be officially unveiled at the PlayStation Meeting which is currently planned for 5th February 2020. The event will see the reveal of the highly-anticipated console in its entirety, the user interface, as well as the new DualShock 5 controller. As for launch games lineup, we’re expected to a new Horizon Zero Dawn, a sequel to Marvel’s Spider-Man, Gran Turismo 7, Demon Souls Remastered, Godfall, MLB The Show 21, and Legendz.
As there is no evidence being presented, it’s hard to believe this leak. However, details seem to be consistent with existing information. Rather than calling it fake outright, it would be best to wait and see if the PlayStation Meeting becomes a reality or not, even if the date is slightly different.
Source: GameRant
Pokdepinion: My personal speculation is that the PS5 will release no later than November 2020, and that it will be priced at USD $399.99 instead. The price suggested by the leak is a bit too close to the PS3, which many weren’t keen on adopting at first due to the high price. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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vivo Introduces New Flagship X80 Series Co-engineered with ZEISS

vivo Malaysia launched its flagship X80 series which will provide customers with the next level of premium mobile experience through innovative cinematic imaging capabilities developed in conjunction with ZEISS. The vivo X series featuring the X80 and X80 Pro features a new experience in photography and videography with artistic cinematic modes, notable configurations, and technological innovations.
Experience Premium Mobile Photography
The X80 Pro sports a four-camera system on the back which includes a 50MP Ultra-Sensing GNV Camera with OIS, a 48MP Wide-Angle Camera, a 12MP Gimbal Portrait Camera, an 8MP Periscope, and a 32MP front camera. The basic improvement that allows for video enhancement and stability is the 12MP Gimbal Portrait Camera, while the X80 Pro’s main camera also includes an Ultra-Sensing GNV Sensor to optimize reflectivity and reduce stray light, as well as a High Transmittance Glass Lens for low dispersion and temperature drift to minimize glaring.
The X80 model comprises a 32MP front camera and a back camera system that includes a 50MP Ultra-Sensing Sensor Camera, a 12MP Portrait Camera, and a new 12MP Wide-Angle Camera. The X80 also includes a new ultra-sensitive IMX866 sensor, which increases camera performance in low-light situations.

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The X80 series is integrated with the newest edition of vivo’s customized imaging chip, the V1+ chip, which delivers an upgraded experience to users with a built-in AI system for professional-level visual augmentation. The AI Video Enhancement feature on the X80 Pro allows the device to automatically convert between video HDR and night mode based on the situation. The chip further improves the visual experience of the X80 series in display and gaming.
vivo X80 Series Specifications
The X80 series phones are powered by a dual-chip whereby the X80 Pro is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 as well as the vivo customized V1+ chip while the X80 variant operates on the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 platform. Furthermore, the X80 series features an enhanced LPDDR5 and enhanced UFS3.1 for fast performance and storage.
The X80 Pro includes an Ultra Large Liquid Cooling Vapor Chamber for optimal cooling surface area, which can aid in stability when using high-performance functions like large-scale games and video recording. The X80 series has the largest Vapor Chamber of any X series model, with over 23 heat dissipation layers for maximum cooling.
The X80 Pro supports 50W wireless FlashCharge with a 4,700 mAh battery, while the X80 has a 4,500 mAh battery. With such a large battery, the X80 Pro and X80 can be fully charged in 35 minutes.

The vivo X80 Pro costs RM4,999, while the vivo X80 costs RM3,499 in Malaysia. The phones are currently available for pre-order on vivo Malaysia’s official Shopee and Lazada e-store and vivo Malaysia‘s official flagship shop.

Customers who pre-ordered the X80 Pro from May 8 to 13 will receive free gifts worth up to RM1,555, including a vivo 50W Vertical Wireless Flash Charger, a 1-for-1 refund warranty within 100 days, a phone case, and an extended battery protection warranty. Additionally, X80 customers can receive up to RM1,465 in free goodies, including a vivo TWS 2e, a 1-for-1 refund warranty within 100 days, a phone case, and a battery protection extended warranty.
Pokdepinion: ZEISS is a popular optics manufacturer. So collaborating with them is an amazing breakthrough in mobile imaging innovations. Can’t wait to see what their camera can bring to today’s market!
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New Free Fire Rampage New Dawn Campaign Is Back

Garena has just announced the third iteration of their popular Rampage campaign is coming back to Free Fire as Rampage New Dawn. To celebrate the new Rampage campaign, Garena Free Fire is partnering with world-renowned DJs Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike for a theme song created exclusively for Rampage.

Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, who are ranked number 2 on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs list, have collaborated on a theme song for Rampage New Dawn called “Rampage.” From June 9, fans of Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike can enjoy the song in Free Fire ing-game on Spawn Island or listen to it here from June 11.

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Below is a quick description of what Rampage New dawn is all about.
Rampage: New Dawn takes place in a futuristic oriental city filled with despair, where four individuals – Drake, Rajah, Speedy, and Aurora – commit to becoming vigilantes that the world needs. During the journey, they were tricked into an experiment, where they were being held captive in a lab for a mutation program – where they would be monitored in a controlled environment as they got stronger, faster, and smarter. From 18 Jun, Survivors around the world will be able to join the fight against the captors and help escape from the lab. They can deck their characters out with themed collection items like the Volcanic Whirlwind Skyboard, and the Earthshaker Stomp pan skin. To celebrate Rampage: New Dawn, the Shadow Earthshaker Bundle – a male costume bundle – will be awarded to all players for free when they log in and complete certain missions during the period, something that doesn’t happen often!
When is Rampage New Dawn coming to Garena’s Free Fire?

Rampage New Dawn is coming to Free Fire this June 26 and will see players participate in a slightly different version of the game’s traditional Battle Royale mode. In the new mode, players will be able to pick up runes across the map and receive runes to unlock special attributes for their characters.

Users can prepare for more intense battles with their friends and adversaries by accumulating more experience and levelling up to unlock new qualities. They can do so by accumulating experience and levelling up in order to unlock the four protagonists’ abilities. With over 20 attributes available, users will have the opportunity to explore the best combination possible in a bid to be the most formidable player on the battlefield.

Garena’s Free Fire is available now on both Android and iOS platforms.
Pokdepinion: I always find it interesting to see developers come out with interesting campaigns to add to games like this. Although I don’t really play games like Free Fire as much as I used to, I still find myself drawn to it once in a while just to see how things have changed.
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Microsoft introduces their most affordable Surface yet — the Surface Go is priced from just $399!

Microsoft’s Surface tablets look good but their pricing is a big turn off for most of us. They seem to understand that as well. The new Surface Go is their most affordable yet, priced from just $399.

The new Surface Go is smaller, thinner and lighter than any Surface ever. It can be configured to come with Windows 10 Pro too, so there’s full support for your productivity suite. The Surface Go is powered by a dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y and can be configured with up to 8GB of RAM. Storage comes in the form of 64GB eMMC flash or a 128GB SSD. Microsoft promises up to 9 hours of battery life on the Surface Go, which is pretty respectable.

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The 10″ Pixel Sense display sports a resolution of 1800 x 1200 (3:2), is touch sensitive and can support the Pixel Pen too with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Microsoft didn’t skimp on the materials either, despite this being their “budget” model, with a magnesium chassis and the latest Surface Hinge used here.

For productivity, it can be used on the go with a Signature Type cover or used as a desktop workstation with the Surface Dock. The Surface Go is priced from $399 (~RM1607) and is available for pre-order in several regions already, while Malaysians will have to wait until 2nd August to pre-order it.
Pokdepinion: This seems like a great alternative to iPads!
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Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro And Mi 8 Lite Set For 10 November Malaysian Launch

It turns out that Xiaomi will be launching their two brand new devices, the Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite this weekend, where it will take place at four Mi Stores in the country.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro & Mi 8 Lite Malaysia Launch

It’s been reported that the Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite is coming soon to our shores. Set to arrive this 10th of November, you can purchase them at these four official Mi Stores in the country;

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Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur
Imago, Kota Kinabalu Sabah
AEON Bukit Tinggi, Klang
Kuantan City Mall, Kuantan

Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro
The Mi 8 Pro comes with a 6.21-inch AMOLED display and packs a Snapdragon 845 chipset. For memory, it comes with either 6GB and 8GB RAM that’s paired with 128GB of internal storage. It comes with a 3000mAh battery under the hood and the phone sports a dual 12MP+12MP camera setup on the rear. As for selfies, it offers a 20MP shooter on the front.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite
Aside from the Mi 8 Pro, Malaysia will also get to see the Mi 8 Lite in the market. For display, it comes with a 6.26-inch LCD display. It comes with a Snapdragon 660 instead and packs either 4GB or 6GB RAM options that’s mated with 64GB or 128GB of internal storage.
Besides that, the Mi 8 Lite comes with a 3350mAh battery and it also offers a dual camera combo, with a 12MP+5MP setup. On the front, it offers a 24MP shooter.
So, if you are interested in getting these devices, well there will be exclusive gifts worth RM138 for early birds, where the queue starts at 10.30AM. For more details, you can learn more at Mi Malaysia’s official Facebook.
Pokdepinion: It would be interesting to see how much Xiaomi will price them. In my opinion, Xiaomi has been coming out with many variations of smartphones although some might pack the same chipset, the features is what separates them. In a way, that gives you the option to really choose what you are buying for, and for me that’s good.
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Google fined $177 million in South Korea for abusing mobile OS market dominance

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) slapped Google with a $177 million fine for abusing its market dominance in the mobile OS market. This follows South Korea’s parliament passing a bill that limits Apple and Google’s control over in-app payments.
Google has allegedly limited device makers from installing modified versions of Android, or “Android forks”, by forcing them to sign an “anti-fragmentation agreement.” This agreement is necessary for the smartphone makers to gain access to the Play Store as well as Android as we know it. The KFTC also alleges that Amazon and Alibaba failed to expand their mobile OS ventures because of Google, while Samsung and LG “struggled” to make smartwatches and speakers that ran on Android forks.
According to the KFTC, these practices helped Google dominate the mobile OS market. Aside from this fine, South Korea’s antitrust regulator is going to investigate other anti-competitive practices at Google like restricting competition in the Play Store, in-app purchases and its advertisement market.

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Google is apparently going to appeal against the KFTC’s fine, claiming that their Android compatibility program has “spurred incredible hardware and software innovation, and brought enormous success to Korean OEMs and developers”, which is a pretty solid point. I mean, Samsung was the top smartphone maker until recently, running Android just fine.

It is interesting whether we will suddenly see more custom versions of Android OS cropping up if this fine actually goes through. In any case, I do somewhat agree with Google enforcing an anti-fragmentation agreement for Android, as we do get more timely updates on most of the Android smartphones out there today, rather than the mess that we had in the early days of Android, when it was freer.
Source
Pokdepinion: I think there should be a balance between limiting fragmentation and limiting innovation… Let’s see if Google was toeing the line as they submit their appeal.
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AMD Smart Access Memory now available on Ryzen 3000 series desktop processors!

AMD has just officially announced support for AMD Smart Access Memory on the AMD Ryzen 3000 series desktop processors and AMD 500 series motherboards. While previously exclusive to the AMD Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors, now Zen 2 users can also enjoy the performance uplift enabled by allowing the CPU to address the full VRAM on the latest Radeon RX 6000 series cards.

By announced AMD Smart Access Memory, AMD single-handedly kickstarted the industry-wide support for Resizable BAR. While the feature wasn’t exactly new as it was part of the PCIe spec, it wasn’t adopted by any vendor in Windows until AMD branded it as AMD Smart Access Memory and unveiled it as part of the Radeon RX 6000 series’ feature set.

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Previously, we reported that AMD left out the necessary instructions to support Resizable BAR on AMD Ryzen 3000 series processors, which was a bummer to anyone planning to upgrade their last-gen AMD builds with the new Radeon RX 6000 graphics cards. Apparently that wasn’t true as we have this tidbit today, which was announced along with the new Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card.

AMD promises up to 16% improvements with AMD Smart Access Memory enabled, but we have seen all the way up to 26% higher frame rates with Resizable BAR turned on in games like Borderlands 3 with our Intel Core i9-10900K bench rig when testing the AMD Radeon RX 6800. The gains are not universal though, as some games actually see negative scaling when the feature is enabled.
Pokdepinion: I don’t think I will say no to free performance. I mean, who will?
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Returnal Review – A Good Start For Next Gen Console Games

What is Returnal About?
Returnal Review – Selene

Developed by Housemarque, Returnal is a 3rd person psychological horror game with a futuristic sci-fi setting. Players take on the role of Selene, a space pilot geared up with high-tech equipment and weaponry. She crash landed in an alien planet known as Atropos and finds herself all alone in this barren land.
With no choice in the matter, Selene has to venture through the remnants of an ancient civilization and fight against hordes of aliens in order to find a way to escape. It’s not an easy task as she gets killed in the process time after time again but for some odd reason, she wakes up again in her ship with a strong sense of déjà vu.
Returnal Review – The standard alien fodder
She is stuck in an endless timeloop but interestingly, the environment also changes with every cycle. The items and the enemies she come across are also different, giving players a fresh new experience every time while also forcing them push their boundaries with new strategies as they approach the game once more. Can she find a way to escape this nightmare?

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Lock and Load, Rinse and Repeat, It’s That Simple
Returnal Review
If you didn’t get the idea yet by now, Returnal is essentially a bullet hell with Roguelike elements, making sure that every playthrough is different. Well, technically that’s only mostly true as the game needs to have some areas that are set in order to provide a proper game balance and story-telling experience.
Every time you revive, you will start out at your ship, that much is true. However, the further you progress into the game, the more upgrades / equipment you’ll have permanently. For instance, collecting Datacubes can yield permanent new items for you to use if you manage to process it before you die. Furthermore, the game does provide you some options to essentially let you return to the point you died in the previous run, such as translocators to teleport you to specific locations. In other words, the game isn’t as unforgiving as you might think.

So what do you do in Returnal? Simply put, you just have to run and gun your way through hordes of alien creatures, scan for artifacts / points of interests, progress through the story, and collect items along the way. There are also optional areas which you can explore, which can yield items, equipment, upgrades, and more.
Returnal Review – Malfunctions
There is a catch however as some of them may be Malignant and can cause a malfunction, which is a random negative status effect. To overcome it, you have two choices; cleanse it with Ether or tank it and complete the objective to remove it. The objectives are usually simple, such as collecting Obolites and using a consumable item so I would just go for it and save my Ethers. However, it’s worth noting that having three malfunctions simultaneously is fatal, so there are limits to it.
Looking for another game to play on the PS5? Check out our review of Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales by clicking right here.
Run and Gun
Returnal Review – Weapons
When it comes to fights, you will start off with a simple handgun called the Sidearm SD-M8. This gun has a decent balance between damage and firing rate as it can shoot as fast as you tap R2. Shortly after, you’ll come across the Tachyomatic Carbine, an assault rifle that does less damage than the handgun but can fire a lot more bullets at a higher rate.
Next up is the Spitmaw Blaster, which is the shotgun for the game. It can deal an insane amount of damage but the only downside here is that the range is lacking. While the weapons are generally more than adequate, I wished that the game had a bigger variety of them, but perhaps it’s something they would add in a future update, hopefully for free.
Returnal Review
As you go through the game, you’ll find a variety of these weapons with different parameters so you will have be switching out often enough. Another important point is the alternate fire, which is a powerful attack that can only be used occasionally as it takes time to charge. Depending on the equipment, this could be as simple as firing a large bolt of electricity to a grenade launcher.
As I suspected in my first impressions, holding down ADS (L2 button) all the way could have a specific function due to the adaptive trigger locking it halfway, and it was a nice touch when you finally unlock it.
Returnal Review – Atropian Blade
At this point, you may be wondering if guns are the only way to go about in combat. As it turns out, you will come across an Atropian Blade at some point in your journey, and it certainly reminds me of a lightsaber from Star Wars given the flashy light as you slash. Its function is to destroy energy barriers, cut down vines, and provide a measure of crowd-control / keeping distance from enemies. There isn’t much to it unfortunately, but it’s still satisfying to have especially to nail down enemies for the last hit.
Main Attractions
Returnal Review – The House
When I first started out in the game, I wasn’t too sure where the story would lead me as I was completely clueless. There are bits and pieces of it you can catch as you play through the game, such as artifact descriptions and voice clips but it didn’t feel enough. It wasn’t until you see the first “House” that the story takes a big turn and catches your interest. Without spoiling it, it gives you a much deeper context of what’s going on in a very eerie, unsettling manner. The more you find these things, the more you’ll find out, and it’s worth the dive.
Personally, I believe that the game is rather beginner-friendly for a few reasons; there is a tutorial section that can guide and remind you of every single element in the game, it starts out easy and slowly ramps up in difficulty as you go through the game, and dying doesn’t feel like you’re being punished, at least not severely.
Returnal Review
Returnal is a single player game. However, there are things you can do that will make you feel like a part of a community, and that’s with the Daily Challenge terminal, which is unlocked after completing the first biome. This allows you to compete with other gamers in a score attack and be placed in a leaderboard.
While it does at least provide you with an alternative to just playing the game directly, I would have personally preferred to have a multiplayer co-op experience instead. Given how the game works, it would be more entertaining to play with friends and it will certainly keep gamers hooked on to it for far longer.
Returnal Review
It’s worth noting that when you reach the end credits scene, the game doesn’t end there. There is actually plenty more to discover if you take the time to explore even further, with more insights into the story and discover new secrets. Couple that with the roguelike elements, it certainly enhances replayability to a very high degree, which I’m honestly amazed by.
Returnal Verdict
Returnal Review
As I played an early copy of Returnal, the game will not be as polished as the final retail version, at least until the Day 1 patch is out. However, the game is plenty polished as is and it works great already with the exception of a few odd enemy AI behaviour.
The graphics is amazing, it’s very highly replayable, it’s beginner-friendly but doesn’t skimp out on challenges, packed with quite a bit of content (although not to the standard of a typical JRPG), randomly-generated areas make it less likely to get stale, and the storyline will certainly keep you hooked when you reach your first major milestone.
My only complaints is that the game should have a wider variety of weapons, melee combat could be further fleshed out, it’s missing a much-needed multiplayer co-op experience, and that it will take a bit of time before you can get truly invested in the game. Regardless, it’s still a solid game if you’re looking to only play solo, and it’s definitely worthy of a next generation console game, especially given how fast and seamless the game loads. At the end of our Returnal review, I award this game with our Silver Pokdeward.

Big thanks to PlayStation Asia for sending us an early copy for the purposes of this review.
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GIGABYTE AORUS C700 GLASS lets you create your dream all-AORUS build

GIGABYTE makes a wide selection of components, and now GIGABYTE’s latest creation is a PC case: the GIGABYTE AORUS C700 GLASS. With a design inspired by the AORUS falcon’s imagery, the AORUS C700 GLASS is the perfect complement to the rest of your premium AORUS PC components.
One of the most unique design decisions that GIGABYTE did with the AORUS C700 GLASS is to support up to two 120mm fans at the rear. You can also replace it with a single 140mm fan, but where’s the fun in that? The AORUS C700 GLASS supports three 120mm or 140mm fans at the top and front of the case, respectively, making for a very airflow-optimized build.
While the rear supports two 120mm fans, it appears to not be able to support 240mm radiators, with GIGABYTE listing support for up to 140mm radiators for the rear vent. Meanwhile the top supports up to 420mm radiators, and the front supports a 360mm radiator. If you prefer air-cooling, the AORUS C700 GLASS can accommodate insanely tall coolers of up to 198mm tall.

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To show off the innards, there’s the dual-tempered glass side panels, which means that your cable management has to be really on point if you want a sleek build in the AORUS C700 GLASS. Our previous experience with cases using this much tempered glass required quite careful planning and a generous cable cover from the manufacturer, but from the pictures of the AORUS C700 GLASS, it appears that it might a bit more challenging.
On top of that, GIGABYTE also seems to have kept VR gamers in mind, with a a whopping four USB 3.0 ports and even a HDMI port on the front panel. There’s also a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port as well as a nice array of buttons for you to control the included ARGB and PWM controller from the front panel.
AORUS C700 GLASS Specs

Motherboard compatibility
Up to E-ATX

Fan support
Front: 3 x 120mm / 3 x 140mm
Top: 3 x 120mm / 3 x 140mm
Rear: 2 x 120mm / 1 x 140mm

Liquid cooling support
Front: Up to 360mm
Top: Up to 420mm
Rear: Up to 140mm

Clearances
CPU cooler: 198mm
PSU: ATX, 200mm
GPU: 490mm

Front panel
4 x USB 3.0
1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C
1 x HDMI
1 x audio out
1 x audio in
RGB SW button
Fan speed button

Storage
4 x 3.5″/2.5″ bay
6 x 2.5″ bay

Dimensions
773 x 406 x 820 mm

Weight
19.2kg

Local pricing and availability information is unavailable at the time of writing.
Pokdepinion: The design seriously looks like a throwback to an era when Alienware desktop PCs still looked like alien heads…
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Samsung Expands Foldable Experience with Optimized Apps in Malaysia

Foldable devices have revolutionized the smartphone industry, offering unique possibilities for users. With their flexible design, these devices allow for innovative use cases, especially when mobile apps leverage their form factor. Samsung has introduced Flex Mode, enabled by a rigid hinge design, to transform the user experience. Through ongoing efforts, Samsung has partnered with top Malaysian organizations to optimize apps for their foldable devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series.
Samsung Empowers Foldable Experience in Malaysia with Optimized Apps and Hackathon

Samsung aims to unlock new possibilities and reimagine foldable devices by collaborating with local organizations in Malaysia. The company recently announced that an increasing number of Malaysian apps now support the foldable form factor. Notable partners such as Ambank, Family Mart, Maxis, Pay4U, and ZUS Coffee have optimized their apps to fully leverage the foldable display and Flex Mode, enhancing user interactions and experiences.

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Samsung is committed to further expanding the foldable ecosystem in Malaysia. In the coming months, additional Malaysian partners, including Gigi Coffee, Golden Screen Cinemas, TGV Cinemas, and Zapp, will join the initiative. These partnerships will contribute to the continuous enrichment of the foldable experience for users in Malaysia.

In a bid to explore new frontiers of foldable technology, Samsung has also announced a hackathon in collaboration with local universities in Malaysia. This exciting initiative invites students to showcase their ideas on maximizing the potential of the foldable Galaxy phone form factor. Through the hackathon, students will have the opportunity to pitch app concepts developed specifically for foldable phones, potentially shaping the future of the One UI ecosystem.
While the current initiative primarily focuses on enhancing the foldable experience for Malaysian users, it sets a precedent for potential collaborations between Samsung and local app developers and platforms in other markets. This commitment highlights Samsung’s continuous pursuit of innovative ways to improve the foldable user experience. Their recent endeavors in Malaysia showcase the company’s dedication to optimizing the foldable experience for users.
Source
Pokdepinion: By partnering with local organizations and encouraging student innovation, Samsung is expanding the possibilities of foldable devices. As these initiatives unfold, it remains to be seen how they will shape the future of the One UI ecosystem and inspire similar efforts in other markets worldwide.
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vivo Y31 Arrives In Malaysia At RM999

The folks at vivo Malaysia has announced the arrival of the vivo Y31, a mid-range smartphone  and latest entry from their Y series.
vivo Y31 available in Malaysia
The vivo Y31 comes with a 6.58-inch IPS LCD Halo FullView Display and a side fingerprint sensor. For cameras, it sports a triple camera setup that consists of a 48MP main camera, 2MP depth sensor, and finally a 2MP macro lens. For selfies, it sports a 16MP front camera.
Other specifications include a Snapdragon 662 chipset, 8GB RAM that’s paired with 128GB internal storage, and a big 5000mAh battery. The phone comes with a 18W fast charger for you to juice the device up.

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There’s also features such as AI Editor and iManager. The phone runs on FunTouchOS 11 and it will be available starting from the 6th of March 2021 for the price of RM999. You can find it available at all vivo concept stores, authorized dealers as well as their official E-Store and Flagship store on Shopee and Lazada.
For more of the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews, stay tuned to Pokde.net.
Pokdepinion: Looking at the Nokia 5.4 that I’ve posted earlier, the device isn’t cheap to say the least. Let’s just hope that the phone’s good to back up that price tag.
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realme X50 Pro 5G dashes in with 65W SuperDart charging

The realme X50 Pro 5G has just been officially announced at Madrid today, with all the trappings you would expect of realme’s first 5G flagship. It’s worth noting that they launched the realme X50 sometime back as their first mid-range 5G smartphone, but that doesn’t make the realme X50 Pro 5G any less impressive.

realme equipped the realme X50 Pro 5G with a Snapdragon 865, up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and a maximum of 256GB UFS 3.0 storage. They also upgraded the battery from the realme X2 Pro’s 4000 mAh unit to a 4200 mAh battery, but that’s not the most impressive upgrade yet. By using a new GaN charger, the realme X50 Pro is now capable of the new 65W SuperDart charging, which allows you to fully charge the battery in just 35 minutes, or 60% in 20 minutes. If you prefer to go slow, you can also use a 18W Quick Charge or USB-PD chargers, or even go for 30W VOOC 4.0 charging, making it one of the most versatile flagships out there when it comes to fast charging standards.

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Unfortunately the camera department seems to have been left out of major upgrades. realme is using pretty much the same camera here as they did in the realme X2 Pro. In fact it might even be a small downgrade, with the 8MP ultra-wide camera now featuring a smaller f/2.3 aperture, and the telephoto camera getting a 12MP sensor, instead of the f/2.2 aperture and 13MP sensor gracing the realme X2 Pro.

There’s also no OIS on any of the realme X50 Pro 5G’s three usable cameras, instead relying entirely on their UIS digital image stabilization, which is a downer in this segment. realme also doesn’t list 4K60 video recording as part of its features, which is most probably a mistake considering the realme X2 Pro already offered that feature. realme doubled the number of selfie cameras, while also doubling the resolution. You now get a 32MP selfie camera along with a 8MP ultra-wide angle camera in the pill-shaped cutout in the display.

Speaking of the display, realme equipped their latest flagship with a 6.44″ 90 Hz Super AMOLED display, which once again is a small downgrade from the realme X2 Pro’s 6.5″ display.
realme X50 Pro 5G Specs

Snapdragon 865, octa-core up to 2.84 GHz, 7nm
Up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM
Up to 256GB UFS 3.0 storage
6.44″ Super AMOLED display, 90 Hz refresh rate
64MP f/1.8 + 12MP f/2.5 telephoto + 8MP f/2.3 ultra-wide + 2MP B/W f/2.4 depth sensor
32MP f/2.5 + 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide selfie cameras
4200 mAh battery, 65W SuperDart charging
8GB + 128GB: 599 EUR (~RM2738)
8GB + 256GB: 669 EUR (~RM3058)
12GB + 256GB: 749 EUR (~RM3423)

It’s worth noting that the realme X50 Pro 5G was also launched simultaneously in India, with the prices as follows:

6GB + 128GB: Rs 37 999 (~RM2228)
8GB + 128GB: Rs 39 999 (~RM2345)
12GB + 256GB: Rs 44 999 (~RM2638)

The realme X50 Pro 5G is available in Rust Red and Moss Green.
Pokdepinion: I must say, the camera is quite a bit of a letdown here…
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COD Warzone Caldera Map Allegedly Became Smaller

The COD Warzone Caldera map has been hinted before, as previously seen in the Secrets of the Pacific event. However, the final version might not be the same one that we saw before. Here’s what you need to know.
COD Warzone Caldera Map is Smaller?

Looks like the final version of Caldera is quite different from this one seen in the Secrets of the Pacific #Warzone event. 👀🤔
Previous leaks from @VGC_News stated the island was larger than Verdansk. Seems like these were true and the island was reduced in size over time. pic.twitter.com/X7wn2At4N5
— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) November 25, 2021

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As many of you may know by now, we’re finally getting a new map after 2 years of playing on Verdansk. However, the upcoming COD Warzone Caldera map has some odd changes compared to what’s initially known about it.
Activision has published numerous images of the new map but never talked about the scale of it, especially compared to Verdansk. The current speculation is that both maps will be roughly the same size, but there’s no way to tell whether that’s true or not at the moment.
As for images of the COD Warzone Caldera map found in the  Secrets of the Pacific event however, it showed a version of the map that is seemingly bigger than the one we’re about to get. For those of you who aren’t aware, the event will have players go through challenges for “intel” on the new map.
It seems that the version of the map that we see from the event was the original design for it, with water sources flowing through the top portion of the map. There’s no word on why the changes were made, but it did make it seem more in line with Verdansk in terms of scale.
The COD Warzone Caldera map will launch together with Season One of Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone Pacific, on 8th December 2021, with a full release coming a day later.
Source
Pokdepinion: I do wonder if they would implement changes in future updates that would make it resemble more of the original design. If yes, then I can see why they made it smaller because it would be weird otherwise.
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AMD Ryzen SR5 will not be a 6-core CPU

Previous rumors of AMD Zen “Summit Ridge” or what we know now as Ryzen have pointed towards a 6-core variant coming out, known as SR5. According to the latest reports however, there will be no 6-core Ryzen CPU in the pipeline for now, simply because the AMD Zen architecture’s CCX units are four-core modules with their own L1 and L2 caches, and will not be cut into half-modules.

As of now, it seems likely that AMD Ryzen CPUs will be available in three flavors, SR7 with 8C/16T, SR5 with 8C/8T (SMT disabled) and SR3 with 4C/8T (one CCX disabled). As all three variants are expected to feature unlocked multipliers, enthusiasts should enjoy overclocking without paying more just to be able to push the hardware they purchased further.

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SOURCE: Zolkorn

Pokdepinion: We are very anxiously waiting for AMD to reveal the pricing and also availability of the AMD Ryzen CPUs, but all we are getting are bits and pieces of news here and there. When will we be able to get our hands on one?
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Mass Effect TV Series Could Be Production From Amazon

We could see a series based on the Mass Effect franchise in the future, at least according to reports where Amazon will be taking the project.
Mass Effect TV series
Sources say that Amazon is “nearing a deal to develop a series” based on the franchise. There’s no official confirmation so far from both EA and BioWare but EA’s project director for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition ahs previously said that it’s “not a matter of it, but when” regarding when we’d see a TV show or movie on the game.
Back in February, famous star Henry Cavill cheekily posted an Instagram post of a “secret project?” where the blurred script was actually the Wikipedia entry for Mass Effect 3. That being said, the image appears to be him getting ready for The Witcher series.

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At the end of the day, there’s nothing concrete to go with the news. As it is, take it with a pinch of salt. Should there be updates or anything new about the matter, we’ll sure to update you. Till then, stay tuned to Pokde.net for the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews.
Source
Pokdepinion: Not going to lie, it would be wicked to see Henry Cavill as Shepherd. I mean, you simply can’t hate Mr Superman himself.
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Acer Predator Helios 500 Gaming Laptop Review – Monster Among Machines

Acer Predator Helios 500 Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i9) Review
Unboxing the Acer Predator Helios 500

If you want to check out our original unboxing post for the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop, click right here.
Appearance

It’s no secret that the Acer Predator Helios 500 is a monstrous looking gaming laptop. The sheer size of it alone gives you a rough idea as to how powerful it is. It clearly has a different design philosophy to its smaller brother, the Predator Helios 300 which has a more aggressive overall pattern. This one doesn’t need those colours and patterns to tell people it’s a beast in machine form.

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While it does look good, it doesn’t quite feel the same in touch. With it having primarily a polycarbonate chassis, it doesn’t feel quite as solid as one would expect from a gaming laptop of this calibre / price range. I wouldn’t outright call it fragile, but opting for a different material would definitely give more confidence to people looking to buy / already bought one for themselves.

On the left side, you have a USB Type-A 3.0 port, an RJ45 LAN port, a Thunderbolt 3 port, and a USB Type-C port. On the right side, you have two USB Type-A 3.0 port, a headphone jack, and a microphone jack. No charging or external display port? It’s actually located on the back, and it includes a proprietary charging port, HDMI port, and DisplayPort. Thank god it only needs one charging port.

Upon lifting the hood, you’ll be greeted with the beautiful 17.3-inch Full HD 144Hz display, a full-sized 4-zone RGB keyboard with the arrow keys and WASD keys having a blue outline, and a trackpad. The left click and right click is separated from the actual trackpad, and has a bit of tactile feedback with each press.

On the bottom of the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop, half of it is dominated by air vents / slits for the purpose of cooling. There are also four rubberized stands, one on each corner, to give it a bit of a lift when places on a flat surface to ensure cooling efficiency. The slits that you on the bottom left and right is actually the speakers.

Aside from the ports that were mentioned earlier, the back is where you can find some pretty sizable grills. This is where most of the hot air will be blown out of the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop. Just put your hand in front of it and you can feel some warm wind coming out of it.
Overall, the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop is a pretty attractive machine. It doesn’t have the over-the-top and in-your-face gamer design like the Predator Helios 300, but it’s still a monstrous machine nonetheless. I personally would prefer if they used a different material than polycarbonate for its chassis so people can enjoy a better build quality.
Specifications

CPU
Intel Core i9-8950HK (6C / 12T @ up to 4.8 GHz), 12M Cache, 45W TDP, 14nm

RAM
32GB 2666 MHz DDR4

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5

Storage
512GB NVMe SSD + 1TB 5400RPM HDD

Display
17.3″ FHD (1920 X 1080) 144Hz IPS Acer ComfyView Display

Keyboard
Full-sized Backlit Chiclet Keyboard with Numpad (4-Zone RGB)

Connectivity
Wireless:
Killer Wireless-AC 1550, 802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 5.0
I/O:
3 x Type-A USB 3.0
1 x Type-C
1 x Thunderbolt 3
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x HDMI (supports 2.0)
1 x DisplayPort

Audio
2 x Speakers (Stereo)
1 x Headphone Jack
1 x Mic Jack

Power
74Wh 4-cell Li-Polymer Battery

Dimensions
428 x 298 x 38.7 mm (W x D x H)

Weight
4kg

Performance

On CrystalDiskMark, you can the C drive is blazing fast. That is the NVMe SSD at work, and yes, you can expect some real fast loading / booting times with that. With 512GBs of space, I’m sure you can fit plenty of games in there. As for the D Drive, it does seem kind of dismal. At the time of testing, I actually thought it was a 7200RPM HDD but turns out, it’s a 5400RPM HDD. To be precise, it’s the WD Blue WD10SPZX.

On Cinebench R15, the OpenGL score is pretty good and is expected from a GTX 1070 GPU. However, I honestly expected the Intel Core i9-8950HK to score higher here. I was checking to see if any sort of power saver feature was on which limited its performance none of them were on. This is basically the Intel Core i9 base performance, no boosting or limiting whatsoever.

And lastly in our synthetic benchmark suite is Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0 running the Extreme preset. As you can see, it has a pretty admirable score and this should give you a rough idea how well it can run the latest games around. The Extreme preset is no joke, it requires powerful hardware to run really well.

Of course, it wouldn’t be perfect without actual game benchmarks. For the popular eSports titles, DotA 2 and CS:GO, it ran the games with ease. You can see that the average FPS is enough for you to fully take advantage of its 144Hz display. Interestingly, the GPU is noticeably cooler than the CPU itself, roughly 30 degrees difference right there. In case you’re wondering, the CoolBoost feature was turned on.
For the CPU, it didn’t have thermal throttling in DotA 2 but it did happen in CS:GO, albeit briefly. In HWInfo, data indicated that thermal throttling occurred for 10 seconds, then the temperature ramped down, and then it didn’t happen anymore afterwards. I believe the CoolBoost feature is responsbile for that, optimizing the cooling after the initial thermal throttle to ensure it doesn’t happen again. This is completely unlike the Predator Helios 300, which had thermal throttling pretty often. Needless to say, the GPU ran without any issues.

Then we have Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, one the latest games around that can truly push your systems to the limit. For the purpose of benchmarking, it was set at the highest settings possible at Full HD resolution. While it play the game smoothly enough and averaging at 56 FPS, it was running pretty hot. Never would I have thought to see 99°C for the CPU and yes, thermal throttling was present for most parts. GPU was still doing pretty fine at 80°C, with no throttling or performance limit whatsoever.
Does this mean you can’t play the game on this laptop? No, you can play it. It’s best to dial down the graphics settings a little bit to allow it to run the game a little cooler. Also, customizing a specific fan setting for it will help as well. In truth, I do believe that the average FPS would surpass the 60 FPS threshold if it wasn’t for thermal issues. Since it’s a laptop however, you can’t exactly stick an additional cooler and everything will be hunky dory. But just know that it has the firepower for it, although temperatures may be a little scary.

As for the battery life, well, let’s be real here. You’re not going to buy this laptop for the sake of long battery. You’re buying this for performance. And for the power it’s packing, you know it’s not going to be good. For me, I got about 2 to 2 and a half hours on full charge for light to medium use (Wi-Fi, browser, YouTube videos, office work) so carrying a charger around is necessary. It would be ideal to have two chargers for this laptop; one for home and another to bring around with you. It would make it a lot less tedious to take it outside.
Overall, the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop is certainly a beastly gaming machine. I mean, it is utilizing the Intel Core i9 CPU after all. Chances are that if you are going to get one for yourself, you are going to be happy for quite a number of years, especially since 4K gaming isn’t possible here as the display is only Full HD at best.
User Experience

The Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop is as powerful as it looks. It’s packing an Intel Core i9-8950HK CPU and paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU. That alone gives it enough power to be an effective desktop replacement. Furthermore, it should easily be able to allow you to truly enjoy gaming with its 144Hz display, so you can be sure of clear, smooth visuals even in fast movement for plenty of games that are available today.

With a 512GB NVMe SSD, you are guaranteed some pretty fast boot up / loading times which would not only be great to run virtually any applications out there, but also very beneficial when gaming. If 512GBs is somehow not enough for you, it does come with a 1TB HDD as well but keep in mind, it’s only 5400RPM so I would definitely not recommend installing anything on there. Just use it to store files like documents and media. At this price, I honestly expected it to come with a 7200RPM HDD instead of this but I wouldn’t call it a dealbreaker.

Given the sheer size of this, having a lack of ports would be highly unusual. As such, the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop certainly has plenty of it. Three USB-A ports, a Thunderbolt 3 port, a USB-C port, HDMI port, DisplayPort, an RJ45 LAN port, and a separate microphone and headphone jack. One minor annoyance is the lack of an SD Card Reader. Sure, a USB card reader is quite cheap but I would love the convenience of a built-in one, especially for those who may end up using this as a desktop replacement and would like to do some work on it, not just to game on it.

The keyboard is absolutely wonderful to use. It’s a full-sized keyboard complete with the numpad and the keys are spaced very well. Even the arrow keys have their own space instead of being integrated into the numpad. While it can never beat a mechanical keyboard, it is still a very comfortable and satisfying experience to use this. My typing speed on this is virtually the same as on my desktop mechanical keyboard.

The trackpad feels like any ordinary laptop’s trackpad with the exception of the left click and right click. As I mentioned earlier, it is separated from the trackpad itself and it has a good tactile feedback upon pressing. You should still opt for a standalone mouse for the best experience but at least if I have to use the trackpad, it’s actually not bad.

Going back to the keyboard for a second, it is a customizable 4-zone RGB keyboard. Meaning here that you can customize the colours via the PredatorSense software on four different zones from left to right. The picture above shows how I customized the colours on the keyboard. It’s purely for aesthetics and most people might not care as they won’t necessarily be looking at the keyboard when typing. However, it’s still a pleasure to have.

But of course, there’s more that can be done with the PredatorSense app. You can use it for simple overclocking for both CPU and GPU, adjust cooling, customize hotkeys, and more. You can just opt to not use this, especially as the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop has dedicated keys to change settings in the PredatorSense app but it’s very useful for fine-tuning and customizability. Everything is straightforward here and I personally like the look of the software as the colour scheme is very pleasing to the eyes.

The display on the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop is a joy to look at. Sure, it doesn’t have those fancy narrow bezels but with a 17.3-inch 144Hz display, it is a joy to game on. Viewing angles are great, colours are bright and lively, and 17.3-inch certainly drives the immersion factor home when you’re gaming on it. While some may argue that it should have 4K display instead, Full HD is definitely more than enough, and I don’t see a reason to hop on to the 4K train just yet, especially for laptops.
On the sound department, the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop certainly feels surprisingly wholesome. Given that it’s a built-in speaker, you can’t expect heavy bass but it has good clarity and is certainly loud enough for people to enjoy. Of course, the best would still be to use a good headset / headphone but it’s still good to have nonetheless.

Overall, the Acer Predator Helios 500 is a solid gaming laptop that could easily be a desktop replacement. Sure, it’s not the perfect gaming laptop and it certainly isn’t something people would want to bring outside everyday, but at least it’s power and performance that people can rely on if they’re willing to endure its hefty size, weight, and asking price.
Acer Predator Helios 500 Verdict

The Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop is a powerful machine that will certainly satisfy virtually anyone regardless of what they plan to do with it, at least in terms of performance. The display is great, the keyboard is comfortable, and it looks fantastic. However, it is a rather hefty machine, the battery life isn’t good so you definitely to be on the plug most of the time, and a lack of an SD Card Reader may irk some folks but its shortcomings aren’t significant enough to be called a dealbreaker.
A huge laptop with poor battery life isn’t a dealbreaker? Well, here’s the thing. When you’re looking at a laptop like this (powered by an Intel Core i9 nonetheless), you’re prioritizing performance over everything else. As such, the first two cons I mentioned may not be something you’d care because if it is, you wouldn’t be looking for a laptop like this and instead opt for the more portable, efficient ultrabooks. If you’re considering this then chances that you want a desktop-like performance but in a more portable package.
With that being said however, its asking price alone may be enough to scare a lot of consumers out there, including myself. If you can look past that however, you will be purchasing a machine that will never give you up and never let you down. That’s why I will be awarding the Acer Predator Helios 500 gaming laptop with our Silver Pokdeward.

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Transcend JetDrive 825 Thunderbolt SSD For Mac – Fast Transfer Speeds While Being Portable!

Transcend has announce of the release of their new JetDrive 825 Thunderbolt PCIe portable solid-state drive (SSD) for Mac computers.
Transcend JetDrive PCIe SSD For Mac
It features a 10Gb/s Thunderbolt interface, allowing you to transfer files at high speeds. Design wise, it is housed in aluminum alloy, with its colors matching Mac’s simple design.
The new drive utilizes  their previous JetDrive 820 PCIe SSD as its storage media featuring 3D NAND flash and a PCIe Gen3 interface with the latter capable of read/write speeds of up to 950 MB/s, bringing a whole new level of performance to Mac computers.

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With the use of 3D NAND flash, it has allowed breakthroughs in terms of storage size, with the JetDrive 825 offering 240GB, 480GB, and 960GB capacities, without forsaking speed and data transfer reliability.
Upgrading your mac with the new JetDrive 825 certainly ensure that you will have space for those documents, photos, music, videos, and the likes. In addition, the inner SSD is removable (just in case users have different preferences).
Transcend are also offering an exclusive JetDrive Toolbox, which you can download for free from their website. It is a software kit tailor-made for Transcend’s Apple Solutions. It allows users to keeping their SSD up-to-date, preventing functional degradation, and predicting problems before they occur.  The toolbox includes Drive Information, S.M.A.R.T. Status, Health Indicator, and Firmware Update functions. If you want to download the software, you can click here to go straight to Transcend’s website.
Transcend JetDrive 825 is backed by a five-year limited warranty.
Pokdepinion: Storage wise, you can never get enough. With Thunderbolt, you’ll be getting storage with ultra-fast transfer speeds. Now who wouldn’t love that?
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Laser Engraving the OPPO R9s & R9s Plus for Free? Here’s How

Want to add that special piece of personalization by laser engraving your phone? Here’s how you can do that with the OPPO R9s and R9s Plus free of charge.
There are many of us who like to personalize our items for many reasons. The goal here is to make the item feel special for ourselves or someone else. It would also make gifting the item feel even more special.
If you want to add that special piece of personalization by laser engraving your OPPO R9s or OPPO R9s Plus, you’re in luck. OPPO is offering a laser engraving service specifically for those 2 smartphones free of charge…for a limited time.

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Laser Engraving the OPPO R9S & R9S Plus for Free?

It’s that time of the year again when the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities are on and to make it an even more special time. Thinking of getting something special for this year’s Raya celebration?
Carve the back of your smartphone with your name and get it personalized for the festive season. OPPO Malaysia is providing free laser engraving service for the OPPO R9s and R9s Plus (in all colour variants that are available for both models).
It is a limited-time benefit exclusively for online shoppers from 8th June 2017 to 28th June 2017, specifically for those who purchased R9s and R9s Plus model from the official OPPO Online Store and the company’s e-commerce partners’ platforms including Lazada, 11street, and Shopee.
Personalize your device with your name or your favorite short message which can either be engraved in English or Chinese characters. Users have a maximum of 15 English characters (including spacing) or 8 Chinese characters to use.
If you’re interested, here’s what you need to do.
Follow the steps:
First, select your preferred font type.

Secondly, pick your preferred font size.

Third, choose the placement of your personalized message.

Lastly, fill in the preferred font type, size, placement and message (max 15 English characters (including spacing) or 8 Chinese characters) into the column of special delivery instruction during the check out process.

Sample image of cart checkout with one of the OPPO’s e-commerce partners
So, where can you head on over to start out with the laser engraving service? Head on down to the links below here to get started:
OPPO Official Online Store
R9s – https://goo.gl/xHHptY
R9s Plus – https://goo.gl/oNCKqO

Lazada
R9s – https://goo.gl/qpkkCx
R9s Plus – https://goo.gl/KLYTZ9

11Street
R9s – https://goo.gl/w3pRS8
R9s Plus – https://goo.gl/8hREMV

Shopee
R9s – https://goo.gl/hpGGq1
R9s Plus – https://goo.gl/MciSQu

Pokdepinion: Well, if you ever wanted to make your OPPO R9s and R9s Plus feel more like a device that’s specially made for you, this would be a good start. Not to forget, it’s free! Everything gets better when it’s free.
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OPPO F11 Pro Marvel’s Avengers Officially Launched In Malaysia At RM1399

OPPO Malaysia has launched the special OPPO F11 Pro Marvel’s Avengers Limited Edition today, the same date as the movie Avengers: Endgame premiers in the country. As you can tell by the name, the F11 Pro Marvel’s Avengers Limited Edition is specially designed to match the Marvel theme.

The phone runs on a MediaTek Helio P70 chipset and offers a 6.5-inch FHD+ IPS display. One of the biggest highlights of the phone is its pop-up camera, and thanks to it, there’s no need for any notches on its display.

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Memory wise, it packs 6GB RAM that’s paired with 128GB of storage, bigger than the normal variant of the phone. For cameras, you can utilize its 16MP camera on the front for your selfies and a dual 48MP+5MP combo at the back for your shots. Under the hood is a 400mAh battery which you can take advantage of its 20W VOOC Flash Charge 3.0.
OPPO F11 Pro Marvel’s Avengers Limited Edition Specifications

MediaTek Helio P70, octa-core up to 2.1 GHz, 12nm FinFET
Mali-G72 MP3 @ 900 MHz
6GB RAM
128GB storage (expandable via microSD)
6.5″ FHD+ IPS display, bezel-less
48MP f/1.8 + 5MP depth sensor
16MP f/2.0 popup selfie camera
ColorOS 6 based on Android 9 Pie
4000 mAh battery, 20W VOOC Flash Charge 3.0 charging
RM1399

So if you are interested in getting the device, you can start to preorder it starting from today at their official online store, Shopee, as well as Lazada for a price of RM1,399. The pre-order will last until 3rd of May and sales will begin from the following day, 4th of May 2019. Pre-order also available at Celcom Online Store
Pokdepinion: Pretty much like the design. I just don’t fancy the Captain America phone casing though..
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Magnificent RGBae SSDs by TEAMGROUP — because why not?

SSDs are probably one of the most boring things to happen to PCs. They are fast, but they sit there quietly doing their thing. At least hard disk drives spin up and make some funky noises when they are dying, you feel me? RGB lighting on SSDs is probably the one thing that makes SSD attractive for more than just their performance, and actually be seen for their looks. And then TEAMGROUP goes ahead to announce the T-FORCE DELTA RGB SSD, complete with addressable LEDs.

But first let’s make it clear, these are no slouches when it comes to performance either. These SSDs come with 3D NAND to deliver up to 560MB/s read speeds over the SATA III interface. To prevent any surprises, these SSDs come in the standard 2.5″ form factor. It is however on the thicker end at 9.5mm.

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The T-FORCE DELTA RGB SSD has the largest illuminated area in the industry yet. You can pick between the DELTA S RGB SSD — S stands for simple — where the RGB lighting can be controlled with compatible motherboards’ 12V RGB connector. If you opt for the T-FORCE DELTA RGB SSD — note the lack of any suffix, as this is the Magnificent version — you get support for a 5V addressable RGB connector to enable more effects with the addressable RGB LEDs. Both SSDs come in black and white where the light don’t shine, allowing for a perfect pairing with any rig.
Covered by a 3-year limited warranty, these drives are rated with a MTBF of 1 million hours. No idea if the MTBF includes the LEDs or just the 3D NAND inside.
T-FORCE DELTA RGB SSD Specifications

Form factor
2.5″

Capacity
250GB, 500GB, 1TB

Interface
SATA 3 (6 Gbps)

NAND Type
3D NAND

Rated speed
Sequential:
Read: Up to 560 MB/s Write: Up to 510 MB/s
Random:
Read: Up to 90 000 IOPS Write: Up to 85 000 IOPS

Dimensions
100 mm X 69.9 mm X 9.5 mm

Warranty
3 years

Pricing
250GB: $86
500GB: $132
1TB: $259

Pokdepinion: Damn these look good!
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Xiaomi to drop Mi branding from future devices

Xiaomi’s recent Xiaomi MIX 4 dropped the Mi brand, when previous devices in the series used to be named Mi MIX. Previously, Xiaomi used to use the Mi branding after their actual brand name, which is somewhat weird when you think back about it, but now it will no longer be a thing.
What this means is that you will not be seeing a Xiaomi Mi 12, and instead it will probably be named the Xiaomi 12. We have also seen that Xiaomi Pad 5 will apparently not be parked under the Mi Pad series. This is probably to realign their global naming to their Chinese naming, as they have already started to do this in China.

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It might make it odd for us globally to refer to the previous Xiaomi flagships, as we used to call them the Mi series. Now I have no idea what to call them. But it does make the name shorter, so I guess it’s still a win for us as it will be easier to type them out.
Existing products will not be renamed, but upcoming ones will follow the new naming convention. I still believe that the flagships should still maintain the Mi series naming, while the sub-series like the previous Mi Note and stuff could easily do without the Mi in its name. But what do I know. I am not the leader of the top smartphone brand in Europe.
Source
Pokdepinion: Mimimi sexy mi…
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YouTube went down for a bit today — could it have been a gimmick?

YouTube is like our main source of entertainment, and it is a huge repository of videos ranging from the funny stuff to the educational guides. Well it went down earlier today, and people have been losing their minds. YouTube has yet to reveal the reason, but we think this could be it.

We all know this was a PR stunt for Wreck It Ralph Breaks the Internet pic.twitter.com/8QTC9fvJve
— 🅱-Rose (@brose3120) October 17, 2018

No, we are kidding. YouTube has yet to reveal the reason why it went down for nearly an hour. Users were taking to Twitter and posting memes about YouTube going down. YouTube’s downtime must have affected content creators who rely on it to earn money.

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Without YouTube, a lot of us are probably lost on the Internet. What do we do with our time now? Probably that’s why so many of them went on downdetector.com to report the issue.
Thankfully it’s back. Were you affected, or is YouTube still down for you? Let us know!
Pokdepinion: I doubt it’s a gimmick for Wreck-it-Ralph, but considering that YouTube didn’t announce the reason why, it does make me curious as to why such a massive site could go down for more than an hour.
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Coffee Lake could “theoretically” work on Z270 too; just needs a BIOS and ME update and Intel’s permission

ASUS ROG Motherboard Product Manager, Andrew Wu, has cleared the air regarding why the new Coffee Lake CPUs just won’t work on the Z270 platform despite sharing the same LGA1151 socket. Intel’s official statement mentioned some stuff like difference in the power delivery and what not, but according to this guy, all that you need is an upgrade from the Management Engine (ME) and a BIOS update to get the Coffee Lake CPUs to work on Z270 motherboards.

Why haven’t they done it though? Well, Intel has locked the compatibility. In an interview by Bit-tech, Andrew Wu shared that there are actual differences in the power delivery, but the difference is tiny. There are socket pins that were unused in the Z270 platform which are now actually put to use for power delivery, but based on Andrew’s statement, they should be a non-issue when dealing with the 6-core CPUs on the market now.

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So the issue here is that Intel wants to make more money from a new platform, or wants to let its motherboard partners earn more. Or maybe Intel was planning on releasing the rumored 8-core CPU later on, which will probably require the improved power delivery afforded by the unused pins, and thus need new motherboards to work. Having a single CPU that works with a new platform would be even more ridiculous than locking out backwards compatibility across the Coffee Lake range, so it’s understandable for Intel to do the latter.
What do you think about this revelation? Let us know in the comments section!
Source: TPU
Pokdepinion: Socket longevity is a selling point that Intel is missing out on and one which AMD is definitely banking on.
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We Know When the PlayStation 5 Will Officially Be Coming – Timed to Fight Xbox Scarlett

We Know When the PlayStation 5 Will Officially Be Coming

It’s no secret that Sony has been working on their next-gen video game console, the PlayStation 5. After all, we’ve learned of most of the specifications already and how powerful of a gaming machine it will be. Now, we know when the console will be officially released.
Posted on the official PS Blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment has officially announced that the PS5 will be launching in late 2020, during the holiday season. This is the first time Sony has officially announced such a precise release window for its next-gen console. While many have expected as much, this is also officially the first time Sony confirmed their next-gen console will indeed be known as the PlayStation 5.
The blog post furthermore mentions how the PS5 controller will be using two new innovations. The first one is using haptic feedback instead of rumble. The second innovation will be “adaptive triggers” to make the L2 and R2 buttons programmable by developers. This will allow developers to change the resistance of the triggers depending on the in-game action they correspond to or the situation the player is currently in.

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Apart from that, Sony has also confirmed that a number of game studios have already received early versions of the PS5 controller for game development purposes. It seems like Sony is targeting that release window so they can compete against the Xbox Scarlett. The company isn’t already giving up on the PS4 however.
The final paragraph of the blog post also mentions how the PS4 still has three major, Sony-backed titles coming soon: Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II, and Ghost of Tsushima. Many rumors or elements in the past pointed at these 3 games getting a PS5 release as well, so it’s probably not a coincidence they got mentioned there.
For now, we are expected to hear and see more about the PlayStation 5 as the release window draws near. For now, Holiday 2020 will be the one you should keep your eyes out for.
Source: PS Blog
Pokdepinion: I’m still glad that they didn’t choose to release it this year. Not just cost-wise but also because I would like them to not rush such major releases. Doing so might end up with unhappy consumers with broken consoles.
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Super Robot Wars V Review: Of Tactics and Japanese Mecha Crossovers

Many of us grew up watching Japanese cartoons, especially during mornings of the weekend. There’s so many of them involving mechas, with the most notable case being Gundam. When we see these mechas in battle, we can’t help but imagine what it would be like if all of them were to exist in the same universe. Well, look no further than the Super Robot Wars videogame series and its latest entry for the PlayStation 4, Super Robot Wars V.
Super Robot Wars V: Brand New Storyline with Plenty of Universes Crossing Over

In the war between the Federation and Zeon forces, humans have decided to travel to space in order to find new planets to colonize and call home. Since the war ended, a new era known as the 10 Blank Years began. Peace did not last long however as about a century after the war ended, the Gamillas appeared and and destroyed multiple planets, including Earth, and enslaving humanity.

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With Earth no longer around, humanity has roughly a year to survive but amidst all the chaos, a few people decided to take matters into their own hands and fight back to save humanity. Players can choose to play as Soji Murakumo, the nonchalant male protagonist who’s a member of the Moon Surface Special Strategy Research Institute Defense Party, or Chitose Kisaragi, the female protagonist and member of the 3rd Special Strategy Research Institute Defense Party.
Despite Soji being shown as the experienced pilot and Chitose having little to no experience with mechs, the 2 characters will have about the same experience throughout the game’s story. In fact, choosing either character will still have them pilot the Vangray. There will be minor differences for each character’s playthrough but nothing major.
Classic Super Robot Wars Experience

The Super Robot Wars series can be considered a fanservice for diehard mecha anime fans. After all, you get to see a myriad of anime series like Evangelion, Gundam, Shin Mazinger, and more. At its core, Super Robot Wars V is still a turn-based strategy game featuring a storyline that combines plot points from the anime series included with an original storyline.

Super Robot Wars V has a big number of scenarios, with each scenario having their own set of objectives to accomplish. At times, there will be factors listed in the mission objective that will lead to a game over. This could be anything from having certain mechs destroyed, failure to accomplish objective within a certain period of time, and more.
Furthermore, there’s also bonus objectives called ‘SR Point’ objectives, where accomplishing it will yield you 10,000 bonus credits which can be spent on upgrades, and make the game harder as you play through it. Why would you want the game to be harder? So you can gain powerful equipment that would not be available otherwise while playing through the game.
In each scenario, there will be a specific number of mechs that can be deployed and also a specific number of enemy mechs. Depending on the scenario there could reinforcements from your side or the enemy’s and these are scripted, meaning that you cannot control when and where the reinforcements will be appearing. Usually when it’s on the player side, it means that a new mech will be joining your team.

Scenarios play out in a grid-type stage, where both the player and the enemies are only allowed to move a certain number of spaces. The combat system is very detailed for a strategy game, with each attack having its own range, and damage output could be affected by a myriad of factors such as terrain and attack type. Except for the earlier scenarios, it’s not easy and it requires a lot of thinking, which is what makes a strategy game enjoyable.

After each scenario, there will be an intermission where players are allowed to upgrade their mechs and equip items for an easier time in battle for the next scenario. If players can fully upgrade a mech, they will be presented with a bonus upgrade option, which can differ from mech to mech. You can also teach the pilots new skills and upgrade their stats in the intermission menu as well. This is where you need to carefully plan out your upgrades as you would not want to waste your resources on someone that you’re not going to use or isn’t effective.
Beautiful Sprites, Fluid Battle Sequences

In typical Super Robot Wars fashion, combat is simulated through battle sequences. Each mech will appear in 2D-esque sprite form and act out their attacks on the enemies. Despite not going full 3D in today’s age, the 2D-esque sprites are so detailed in high definition that the mechs look even better compared to their regular anime form.

Not only that, the animation is very fluid and enjoyable to watch. The only downside here is that once you’ve seen a battle sequence a number of times, you might get bored of it and just skip it. Outside of battle, the map grid looks essentially the same from what we’ve seen during the PS2 era. If you’re expecting new visual elements here, you’re going to be disappointed.
Great Localization Quality

Super Robot Wars has only been available in Japanese throughout the years. That is until their previous game, Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers, where we finally get to see the game translated to English. Super Robot Wars V is the 2nd time the series has received such treatment, and people were worried if they could properly translate the story’s depth, comedy, and elements. Let me put those worries to rest.

At least within the mecha anime series that I’m familiar with; the stories are definitely intact and the translators managed to capture the essence of each character perfectly. And because the Japanese voiceovers are retained, it makes these characters and their interactions feel even more authentic and true to their original series.
Conclusion

Super Robot Wars V is a wonderful strategy game that is jam packed with content from the get-go. However, it’s not a game that will suit most people. In fact, if you want to know whether this game is meant for you, you need to make sure you enjoy 2 things; Japanese mecha anime and turn-based strategy game. Fortunately, I am someone that fits the criteria and I enjoyed playing the game.
It would have been nice to see something more revolutionary as Super Robot Wars V is meant to be the series’ 25th anniversary celebration. However, since the game is catered to a general audience as opposed to only diehard fans of the series, it’s forgivable. Overall, I’d give Super Robot Wars V with our Silver Pokdeward! Big thanks to Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia for letting us review this game.

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Here’s How To Take Your Selfies To Another Level With Google’s Art Selfie

Do you love to take selfies? Well why not take them a step further with Google’s Art Selfie, which is rolling out here in Malaysia.
Google Art Selfie
You might have seen it over the internet of famous celebrities using it to find their portrait double with some really strange yet funny results. Well now you can try it out for yourself as it is now available in Malaysia.
So here are the steps you need to follow to try out the feature;

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 Download the Google Arts & Culture app on either Android or iOS (it’s free by the way)
Open the app and locate the main news feed
Scroll down to find the feature and then click on it
 Snap your best selfie away and wait for it to calculate your results
 You can then choose to share it to your social media of choice.

The app relies on the same technology that helps its Lens smartphone tool that helps recognize objects in your pics. When a selfie is taken, Google compares it to the faces of in famous artworks from their partner museums and then find the best matches available.
Not to forget, you can then tap on the results to find out more on the painting or the artist behind it.
Pokdepinion: Tried it literally just moments ago. The results was awkward to say the least but still hilarious. You should try it out with your friends and compare results :P
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OnePlus Nord 3: Leaks Reveal Impressive Specs

The highly anticipated OnePlus Nord 3 is on the verge of its official launch in India. Leaked photos and recent Geekbench listings have provided a sneak peek into the device, leaving smartphone enthusiasts eager for more. With its powerful specifications and promising features, the OnePlus Nord 3 is set to make a significant impact in the mid-range smartphone segment. Let’s delve into the details that have surfaced so far.
OnePlus Nord 3 Leaks

Geekbench listings have confirmed that the OnePlus Nord 3 will be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset, a popular choice known for its high-performance capabilities. This powerful processor, coupled with a staggering 16GB of RAM, ensures smooth multitasking, seamless app navigation, and an overall lag-free user experience. OnePlus has once again prioritized performance, ensuring that the Nord 3 can handle demanding tasks with ease.

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The OnePlus Nord 3 is expected to feature a 6.74-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1240×2772 pixels. The inclusion of an impressive 120Hz refresh rate promises fluid and immersive visuals, elevating the smartphone’s overall display quality. Additionally, the device is rumoured to house a substantial 5,000mAh battery that supports blazing-fast 80W charging technology. This combination ensures extended usage time and quick charging capabilities, keeping users connected throughout the day.
Drawing similarities to the China-exclusive OnePlus Ace 2V, the OnePlus Nord 3 is anticipated to offer a versatile camera setup. A reliable source suggests the presence of an 8MP ultrawide lens, a 2MP macro lens, and a 16MP front-facing camera for capturing stunning selfies. OnePlus has consistently prioritized camera quality, and the Nord 3 appears to be no exception. Expect crisp, detailed photos and impressive selfie capabilities.
OnePlus has built a reputation for delivering exceptional audio experiences, and the Nord 3 is expected to follow suit. Stereo speakers are likely to be featured, ensuring immersive sound quality during media consumption, gaming, and video playback. With the combination of powerful hardware and immersive audio, users can anticipate an enhanced multimedia experience on the OnePlus Nord 3.
As the OnePlus Nord 3 inches closer to its official launch in India, leaked information has given us a glimpse into its impressive specifications. OnePlus’s commitment to delivering an exceptional multimedia experience suggests that the Nord 3 will provide immersive audio with its stereo speakers.
Source
Pokdepinion: The inclusion of the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset and 16GB of RAM guarantees exceptional performance, while the 6.74-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate promises a stunning visual experience.
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New MacBook Air is ridiculously portable — priced from RM5249 in Malaysia!

According to Apple, this is the greenest Mac yet. It is made from 100% recycled aluminium. Aside from the pretty recycled chassis, we will take a look at what the new MacBook Air offers under the hood.
48% more colors, more than 3x more pixels.
As with all Apple products, the display on the MacBook Air is one of the major highlights of the device. The Retina display here offers a 2560×1600 resolution, and is capable of displaying 48% more color than the previous MacBook Air. Apple also shrunk the bezels on the new MacBook Air for a more compact MacBook Air.
It is now just a mere 15.6mm at its thickest point, with a total volume that has been reduced by 17%. It is also lighter, weighing in at just 1.25 kg. However all of that doesn’t stop Apple from promising 12 hours of web browsing over WiFi. Helping this along is the new ultra-low power 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor.

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Two Thunderbolt 3 and a 3.5mm jack are all the physical I/O you get on the new MacBook Air.
This new processor is pretty interesting because it is a 2C/4T part, and comes with a new Intel UHD Graphics 617 iGPU. We can’t find it anywhere on Intel’s website, but it should be delivering better graphics than the currently listed Intel Core i5 8200Y ultra low-power processor with the Intel UHD Graphics 615 iGPU. If you need more performance, you can always hook up an external GPU to one of the two Thunderbolt 3 ports.
This processor is paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR3 2133 MHz memory, and PCIe SSDs ranging from 128GB to 1.5TB. All of these hardware will be crammed under the third-generation Apple-designed keyboard which feature individual illumination, and a Force Touch trackpad with pressure detection and haptic feedback. The trackpad is also 20% larger than the previous MacBook Air, for a better tracking experience.

The new MacBook Air is priced starting from RM5249 for the variant with 128GB of storage, while the MacBook Air with 256GB of storage will go for RM6099. The price hike is massive for a small increment in storage space. You can check out these new MacBook Air at ITWorld.
Is the MacBook Air your idea of a perfect ultraportable laptop? Let us know what do you want if you could design your very own ultraportable laptop!
Pokdepinion: The expensive price tag of the MacBook Air is the price of portability and style. Not sure if I am willing to part with that much moolah for it though.
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Experience the future at the HUAWEI 5G Experiential Zone

HUAWEI has set up Malaysia’s first trial Indoor 5G LampSite just outside the HUAWEI Experience Store at Pavilion Elite. It’s open for everyone to try out 5G speeds for themselves, from now until 6th October. You can try out 5G download speeds, experience what cloud VR gaming would be like on 5G networks.

Testing performed at the HUAWEI 5G Experiential Zone with a HUAWEI Mate 20 X 5G revealed a whopping 1.3 Gbps download speeds. Downloads completed in mere seconds, showcasing a future we will enjoy when the 5G roll out is completed.

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The HUAWEI 5G Experiential Zone is powered by Maxis 5G, demonstrating the prowess of Maxis’ 5G A.I. Network combined with HUAWEI’s smartphones.
If you are in the area, just head over to the 5th Floor of Pavilion Elite, and visit the HUAWEI Experience Store to get a glimpse of the future.
Pokdepinion: That’s faster than even Gigabit fibre internet!
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