Here Are a Few of the Best Alternatives for Google Photos You Can Use

With the recent news that Google Photos won’t be offering free unlimited storage anymore beginning in June of next year, many people right now will be wondering what can they do about it. Fortunately, there’s plenty of alternatives to choose from. Some are offered by specific phone manufacturers like Xiaomi or HUAWEI while others can be used across multiple devices, regardless of which brand you are using.

Let’s take a look at some of the cloud storage services you can opt for if you need more storage.

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Google One

This might be the easiest of the bunch as it doesn’t require you to do any sort of additional set up. Google One is a cloud service that pretty much encompasses all of their apps including Google Photos, Google Drive, Google Docs and many more.
There are multiple storage options for you to choose which ranges from 100GB to 30TB options. Pretty useful when your free 15GB storage runs out. Here’s a list of all their plans and respective rates.

15GB
100GB
200GB
2TB
10TB
20TB
30TB

Monthly
Free
RM8.49
RM11.99
RM42.99
RM214.99
RM429.99
RM649.99

Yearly
Free
RM84.99
RM119.99
RM429.99
N/A
N/A
N/A

You have the option to share your Google One storage with family members or friends by adding their respective Google accounts which is pretty useful and cost-saving. For example, you can subscribe to a 2TB plan and split the fees evenly with your added members.
Xiaomi Cloud

Xiaomi Cloud works pretty much like many other cloud services, including Google’s. It gives you the option to back up your photos straight from your device which will come in handy when your free Google Photos storage finally taps out.
By default, Xiaomi provides you 5GB of free storage, which can run out pretty quickly especially if you’re an avid mobile photographer. Beyond that, Xiaomi also offers three other storage options which include:

Premium plan (50GB)
Mega plan (200GB)
Ultra plan (1TB)

Here are all the storage options together with the duration as well as their rates offered in Xiaomi Cloud.

5GB
Premium (50GB)
Mega (200GB)
Ultra (1TB)

3 months
Free
HK$36 (RM19.06)
HK$114 (RM60.36)
HK$360 (RM190.61)

6 months
Free
HK$72 (RM38.12)
HK$228 (RM120.72)
HK$720 (RM381.22)

12 months
Free
HK$98 (RM51.89)
HK$318 (RM168.37)
HK$948 (RM501.94)

Xiaomi Cloud services aren’t just limited to photo backups only, you can also back up your contacts, messages, locate your device, and even help you in migrating your data when changing to a new Xiaomi phone.
HUAWEI Cloud

HUAWEI Cloud is another option you can consider as a Google Photos alternative if you are on a HUAWEI device. It too provides you 5GB of free storage with an option for you to add on additional storage when you run out. HUAWEI also offers free trials for all their storage plans which ranges from 15GB to 2TB.
Here are all their storage options as well as their respective rates.

5GB
15GB
50GB
200GB
2TB

Monthly
Free
N/A
RM3.90
RM11.90
RM39.90

Yearly
Free
Free for the first year. Renews yearly at RM46.80.
RM46.80
RM114.80
RM478.8

Other features included with HUAWEI Cloud are file transfers across phone for easy migration as well as storage for your contacts, messages and photos back up.
OneDrive
OneDrive is a cloud storage service by Microsoft and is pretty popular among business users. This is due to the fact that OneDrive’s in integration with Office apps. They too offer 5GB of storage for free by default which can be expanded upon with other storage options.

OneDrive includes 5GB and 100GB personal storage options as well as Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans which come with Microsoft Office apps such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

OneDrive Basic 5 GB
OneDrive Standalone 100GB
Microsoft 365 Personal (1TB)
Microsoft 365 Family (6TB)

Monthly
Free
RM9
RM27
RM36

Yearly
Free
N/A
RM269
RM359

*Includes Microsoft Office apps
*Includes Microsoft Office apps

The OneDrive app will automatically sync your photos to cloud. The app even enables you to search and automatically sort through pictures based on their content similar to how Google Photos does it.
Dropbox

Dropbox is another popular cloud storage service that can be used as a Google Photos alternative that’s known for its excellent security. It’s a little bit more expensive than the other options here but for the features they bring as well as their security, many would say it’s money well spent.
Dropbox has two different categories when it comes to their storage options; one is geared more towards family or personal use while the other is more business-centric. We’ll be looking more towards the personal plans as these are more adequate alternatives to Google Photos.
Dropbox provides you with a smaller 2GB free storage, significantly lower than the other options mentioned here. Other storage options include Plus plan with either 2TB or 3TB storage and the Family plan which comes with 2TB and be used by up to 6 users.

Plus (2TB)
Plus (3TB)
Family (2TB)

Monthly
US$11.99 (RM49.21)
US$19.99 (RM82.05)
*free 14 days trial
US$19.99 (RM82.05)

Yearly
US$119.88 (RM492.05)
US$199 (RM816.80)
*includes 2 months free
US$203.88 (RM836.83)

Apple iCloud
Apple iCloud offers one of the cheapest if not the cheapest rates out of all the cloud storage services mentioned here. The one major downside is that it is pretty much limited to Apple devices only. Sure there are workarounds but it just won’t be as seamless as on Apple devices. Despite this, it’s a pretty great alternative to Google Photos.

Apart from the complimentary 5GB storage, Apple iCloud comes is available in three different storage options; 50GB, 200GB and 2TB. The 200GB and 2TB options can be shared with other family members as well.

5GB
50GB
200GB
2TB

Monthly
Free
RM3.90
RM11.90
RM39.90

Another thing of note with the Apple iCloud plans is that it only comes with monthly as opposed to yearly plans offered by other cloud storage services mentioned above.
Other storage options
Of course, you can always opt to not use any other cloud services on your device and instead try to manage your free Google Photos storage. It’s going to be a bit of a chore but definitely doable.
Personally, I would suggest clearing up your media files found on your WhatsApp because we all know how much stuff gets shared there. Now that WhatsApp is introducing more efficient ways of sorting through media files, it’s easier for you to clear out unwanted media files than ever.

You can also fall back on using more traditional methods as alternatives to Google Photos which include external storage devices such as a memory card or even external drives. However, the process of backing up your data through this method is nowhere near as convenient or seamless as using cloud services.
Ultimately, the choice of which storage methods to use falls on to you.
Pokdepinion: We’re at an age where storage is everything right now and cloud storage services like Xiaomi Cloud and Google One are becoming more essential. I personally subscribe to Google One myself and I believe that it’s definitely a wise decision for more people to start thinking of utilising these services as well.
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HONOR Mid-Year Sale Coming Soon With Rewards Up To RM400

HONOR Malaysia will soon host their Mid-Year Sale in the country, where you can enjoy rewards up to RM400 when you purchase laptops, smartwatches, and smartbands through selected HONOR authorised dealer stores nationwide.
HONOR Malaysia Mid-Year Sale

The sale will start on the 6th of June and lasts until the 30th of June 2021. Should you purchase the HONOR MagicBook 15, you can get a RM100 voucher, HONOR Laptop Backpack, Wireless Bluetooth Mouse, and HONOR Gift Box. As for the MagicBook Pro, there’s rewards up to RM228 awaits you that includes a RM80 instant rebate alongside an HONOR Laptop Backpack and Wireless Bluetooth Mouse.

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As for smartwatches, the HONOR MagicWatch 2 Charcoal Black and HONOR MagicWatch 2 Flax Brown sees a price slash at RM80. A RM50 rebate will be given for the purchase of the HONOR MagicWatch 2 Agate Black. In addition to that, a free water bottle will be given for any purchase of the three mentioned.
Last but not least is their smartbands, where you can get a RM20 rebate to buy an HONOR Band 6 which makes the discounted price to be RM169.
For the full list of offerings, you can check the table below:

Product
Retail Price
Discount Price
Rebate/voucher
Free Gifts

HONOR MagicBook 15
RM3,699
RM3,699
RM100 (voucher for next purchase)
HONOR Laptop Backpack, Wireless Bluetooth Mouse, and HONOR Gift Box

HONOR MagicBook Pro
RM3,399
RM3,319
RM80 (instant rebate)
HONOR Laptop Backpack and Wireless Bluetooth Mouse

HONOR MagicWatch 2 46mm Charcoal Black
RM649
RM569
RM80 (instant rebate)
Water Bottle

HONOR MagicWatch 2 46mm Flax Brown
RM699
RM619
RM80 (instant rebate)
Water Bottle

HONOR MagicWatch 2 42mm Agate Black
RM599
RM549
RM50 (instant rebate)
Water Bottle

HONOR Band 6
RM189
RM169
RM20 (instant rebate)
N/A

For more on the latest tech and gaming news plus reviews, do stay tuned to Pokde.net.
Pokdepinion: If you’re planning to get one of the listed products or know someone who does, be sure to share the news with them to enjoy the promo!
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Speed Drifters Officially Released And It’s Free – Garena’s First Mobile Racer

Speed Drifters Officially Released And It’s Free

The folks over at Garena has published yet another mobile game and this time, it’s their first mobile racing game. It’s called Speed Drifters and it’s based on the popular mobile game from China that was released recently called QQ Speed.
Speed Drifters is a mobile racing game with four playable modes at the moment; Solo Speed, Team Speed, Solo Items, and Team Items. There are also two “casual” game modes in the form Gold War and Giant Rally, where gamers can play to gain resources for in-game upgrades.

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Gamers will be able to enjoy a myriad of maps and cars which can be customized, with more of them to be added in the future. Interestingly, the game has an integrated music player and also includes an integrated livestreaming feature, clubs, marriages, and social spaces to interact with the community.

The game was developed by Timi Studios, owned by Tencent, and is said to have rised to the #1 position in the Free Games category in China for mobile games on its first day of launch. At the moment, QQ Speed (the version released in China) sees roughly 30 million daily active users.

Speed Drifters is currently available for free on the Google Play Store for people in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Users who have pre-registered for the game will receive some in-game goodies to start you off.
If you want to give the game a try, download it on Google Play Store or click right here instead.
Pokdepinion: Well, here’s another mobile game to help pass the time. I’m just glad Garena didn’t publish just another battle royale game.
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ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Preview — a ZenVision for something greater

ASUS sent us the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition for an exclusive preview of the rather impressive looking laptop that commemorates the 25th anniversary of the first ASUS laptop sent into space, the ASUS P6300 back in 1997. It’s a special edition, so we can probably expect it to command an eye-watering price tag, but man, you can really see that ASUS went all in to make this feel as exclusive as possible, with a unique design, Morse code messages and various cryptic emblems to really nail home the point that this is the Space Edition.
Unboxing

Even the outer packaging of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is quite unlike all the other ASUS laptops I have seen before. This diagram here is a artistic take on the Mir space station. The ASUS P6300 was brought onto the space station, which is the predecessor of the International Space Station (ISS). The Space Edition text is also laid out across the top and bottom of the box, reminding you that you got the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition, and not just any ASUS Zenbook.

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As you open it up, you are feted to even more overkill packaging. The laptop itself is encased in a hexagonal box, with a small window that also houses a message. And once again, plenty of reminders that you got the Space Edition. Beside the laptop’s packaging, there’s also a separate box that houses the power adapter.

RGBae! ASUS went with a chromed iridescent finish for the inner box packaging, and this packaging is definitely not something you will want to toss in the trash after you take the laptop out, as it looks absolutely worthy of being featured on a shelf. There are more cryptic messages, here, including an abstract solar system diagram.

After taking everything out, we find that the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition comes with a “package from space” that houses the user guide, stickers and also the welcome card, which is sealed. Absolutely amazing. And the separate box which housed the 100W USB-PD charger, also doubles as a laptop stand to raise the laptop to 23°, which ASUS considers to be the ideal angle for comfortable typing.
Tell me that looks comfortable for typing…
I think an angle of around 7° to be perfect, and that the angle here is a bit too steep, but hey, kudos to ASUS for finding more uses for their packaging besides being landfill. Not like I would ever throw the packaging of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition away though…
Appearance

The lid of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is graced by a warm Zero-G Titanium finish, which is supposed to evoke imagery of the titanium used in space missions. Along with that, we also have Morse code for “Ad Astra Per Aspera”, or “to the stars through hardship”, a great inspirational motto to live by. And then there’s also the ASUS ZenVision display, which we will get into a bit later. Overall, a very stunning looking laptop, without being too gaudy about it.

On the palm rests you also get more symbols and Morse code messages. There’s the Mir station art that was also featured on the packaging, more Morse code that reads “1998 Mir”, “P6300”, “2011 ASUS Zenbook” and 2022. The Spacebar is also customized in a bronze-ish finish with a planet on it. I really like these little touches, and they definitely help separate the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition from the more mainstream laptops out there.

The bottom is slightly more bare, but you still get the Ad Astra Per Aspera message, now in normal text, as well as the various symbols and insignias down at the lower edge of the bottom panel. You can see that there are two large vents along the sides, which is really interesting. The ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition actually touts the 12th Gen Intel Core H-series processors, which will definitely require some beefy cooling. Now let’s take a look at the specifications.
ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Specifications

CPU
Intel Core i7-12700H, 14C(6P+8E)/20T @ 2.3GHz (up to 4.7GHz Turbo), 45W TDP, Intel 7

RAM
32GB LPDDR5-4800 (on-board, dual-channel)

Graphics
Intel Iris Xe Graphic, 96EU @ up to 1.4GHz

Storage
1TB Samsung PM9A1 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD

Software
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
Intel Graphics Command Center
MyASUS
Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 (included)
McAfee Personal Security

Connectivity
Wireless
Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 (WiFi 6E + Bluetooth 5.2)
Wired
2 x Thunderbolt 4, 40Gbps, supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, USB-PD
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A), 10Gbps
1 x microSD card reader
1 x 3.5mm audio jack

Display
14″ 2.8K (2880 x 1800) 16:10 90Hz OLED display (Samsung SDC4154)
550 nits, 100% DCI-P3, Pantone Validated, VESA Display HDR True Black 500, touch-screen
2 x DisplayPort Alt Mode over Thunderbolt 4
1 x HDMI 2.0b

Audio
Stereo speakers, tuned by harman/kardon (premium)
Array microphone, Alexa, Cortana voice-recognition support
AI Noise-Cancelling Mic + AI Noise-Cancelling Speaker

Power
63WHrs 6-cell Li-ion battery
100W power adapter

Dimensions
311.2 x 221.1 x 15.9 mm

Weight
1.4kg

User Experience
ASUS ZenVision

I think this tiny display is probably way more interesting than the main display. It’s literally an evolution of the ROG Vision display on the back of the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate. Instead of being RGB like the ROG Phone 5 Pro, we get a monochrome OLED panel here. It’s way larger, at 3.5″, which allows you to do quite a bit more customization. Since we are still quite some time away from the actual release of this product, it seems that ASUS still has some work to do on the software side of things.

ASUS baked the customization features into MyASUS, which is a great move. There’s nothing worse than more clutter, and ASUS laptops do come with quite a bit of pre-installed software, like the McAfee antivirus suite. It seems that there are still some kinks to iron out, like flickering images, and also certain animations being missing. ASUS has worked very hard to improve the ROG Zephyrus G14’s AniMe Matrix display, so I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a well-polished solution here down the line as well.

However in its current phase, it seems that loading images will result in flicker on the ZenVision display, and I am not talking about OLED’s normal PWM flickering issue. I have tried both low-res and high-res PNGs and JPGs, so it seems like there’s something else at play here. Not too sure but I sure hope that they will fix it as it can get quite ugly. Aside from that, ASUS also baked in a few nifty features like the ability to create a personalized name card of sorts, with a QR code generator as well for that extra geekiness. Quite interesting stuff, especially if you often bring your laptop out to meet new clients and stuff. Definitely a good conversation starter.
Display and Audio

Befitting of the status of this laptop, ASUS slapped one of the best 14″ panels they have into the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition. This screen here offers more viewing area with a 16:10 aspect ratio, and it also touts a rather high 2.8K resolution that makes text really, really sharp on it. The 90Hz refresh rate might not seem like much when we have 360Hz laptop panels now, but it does help to make scrolling around the web a bit smoother, which is always welcome for us. And of course, being an OLED panel, you get stunning colors and infinite contrast ratios with the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition.

The audio output of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is slightly less exciting, with there only being two speakers. While I would say that they are pretty good for just two speakers, it doesn’t quite match up to what I have heard from ASUS’ more premium offerings with four or six-speaker setups like the ROG Zephyrus M16. They are quite clear, with just a hint of the bass notes coming through. Not exactly the greatest listening experience you can get, but hey, there’s a headphone jack on the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition anyway if you want better audio.
Keyboard and Trackpad

Aside from the fancy palm rest area and the unique space bar and power button, there really isn’t much to talk about when it comes to the keyboard. The power button is clickier than the other keys, with it being slightly recessed so that the chances of you accidentally pressing the power button when you wanted to press the other keys is significantly lowered. There’s also a PrtSc key here to keep me happy, and the NumberPad 2.0 baked into the trackpad.

The trackpad’s clicker is quite tactile and offers a rather audible click to indicate actuation. The accuracy is also quite nice, and there are two levels of brightness of the NumberPad, so that it doesn’t blind you in darker working environments. The keyboard itself is also backlit, and I would say that it feels quite comfortable to type on. Standard key spacing, adequate travel and the lightly dished keys help make for a good typing experience.
Connectivity

Despite the need for extra cooling, ASUS still found the space to include the standard array of ports that they have been including in their ultraportable ASUS Zenbook series for quite some time now. For the uninitiated, that includes two USB-C ports, a full-sized HDMI port, a USB-A port and a microSD card reader. Since this is an Intel-powered machine, you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a standard HDMI 2.0b port for your external display needs, in addition to the external displays that you can connect to the Thunderbolt 4 ports.

On the other side you have a 10Gbps USB-A port and a headphone jack, which was sorely missing from the earlier ASUS Zenbooks we checked out in 2021. There’s yet another row of cooling vents, as well as a microSD card slot that seems to want to blend in to the vent cutouts. I am not exactly sure whether this was intentional, but it has confused some people I know, so, make sure to check which hole you are sticking your microSD card into.
The wireless connectivity of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is also top notch, with the Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 here delivering 6GHz WiFi and also Bluetooth 5.2. I don’t really see much to complain about here at all, unless you want a full-sized SD card slot.  I guess that’s a valid request, but hey, there are microSD cards that you can use with adapters to use with your camera, so that’s a route you can take with the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition.
Software

We already touched a little bit on the MyASUS app regarding the ASUS ZenVision customizability up there, so there isn’t much to talk about here. Essentially you get a compilation of all the controls you need, including for the AI noise cancellation features, and also the battery charge limit, which is very handy if you always leave your laptop connected to the power adapter, like what I usually do. The OLED care features are here as well, helping you extend the lifespan of the OLED display.
Conclusion

Now this isn’t much of a conclusion, because I know nothing about the pricing nor availability of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition just yet. This is, after all, just a preview, and I think it does have the potential to be quite a crowd pleaser, at the right price. Aside from the weird flickering issue with our ZenVision display, I think there really isn’t much to dislike about this machine. If you want to watch me unboxing and playing with the ASUS ZenVision display the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition live, you can watch the video below:

Our thanks to ASUS Malaysia for the opportunity for this exclusive preview of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition.
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Classic Platformer Game FREE for 24 Hours; Once Claim, It’s Yours Forever

Want more free games? Well, if you’re on PC, here’s a free game that’s available for a limited time. Hurry up and claim before it’s too late!
Classic Platformer Game Free for 24 Hours

After a recent string of free games for PC here and here, we have yet another free game available for a limited time. That game is none other Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, a classic platformer / puzzle game that was released during the original PlayStation days.
It’s only available for a limited time so if you want to claim it, hurry before it’s too late. To claim Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee and add it into your gaming library, all you have to do is head on over to Humble Bundle or click here to head straight to there.

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Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee’s Synopsis via Steam
Selected by the fickle finger of fate, Abe, floor-waxer first class for RuptureFarms, was catapulted into a life of adventure when he overheard plans by his boss, Molluck the Glukkon™, to turn Abe and his fellow Mudokons into Tasty Treats as part of a last-ditch effort to rescue Molluck’s failing meat-packing empire.
During his escape from RuptureFarms, Abe received a vision from the mysterious Big Face, showing Abe that he must not only rescue his fellow Mudokons, but also protect all of Oddworld’s creatures from the predatory Magog Cartel.
After completing arduous Temple trials, and journeying across a wasteland with his friend Elum, Abe was granted the awesome power of the Shrykull. Returning to RuptureFarms, Abe destroyed the foul slaughterhouse, rescued his buddies, and brought down some righteous lightning on top of Molluck’s pointy head.
Hope you managed to claim the game in time and hope you’ve been enjoying the recent string of free games on PC. Happy gaming, everyone!

Pokdepinion: If you have not played Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysey yet, you might as well do it now since the game is free. It has positive ratings even until today.
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[WWDC 2023] iOS 17 Unveiled: Exploring the Latest Features and Enhancements

Apple enthusiasts, rejoice. The highly anticipated iOS 17 was officially announced today at Apple’s annual developer conference. Packed with a multitude of improvements and exciting new features, this latest iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system is set to enhance the user experience on iPhones worldwide. While there is no groundbreaking standout feature, iOS 17 introduces a range of enhancements that seamlessly integrate across devices and empower users with increased functionality. Let’s delve into the key features and improvements that iOS 17 brings to the table.
iOS 17 Revealed at WWDC 2023

Say goodbye to picking up unknown calls with Live Voicemail, a game-changer in call management. iOS 17 displays live scrolling text of the caller’s message, allowing you to decide whether the call is worth taking. Additionally, the new customizable call screen, known as Contact Posters, allows users to personalize the appearance of their calls, incorporating eye-catching typography, font colors, and beautiful treatments for photos or Memoji. This customization extends to third-party apps and even facilitates contact sharing through the NameDrop feature.

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FaceTime takes a leap forward with the ability to leave audio and video messages, making communication more seamless when the recipient is unavailable. Users can also express their reactions during FaceTime calls with fun animations like hearts, balloons, and laser beams. Excitingly, Apple TV now supports FaceTime calls, enabling users to seamlessly transition from their iPhone to their television.
Apple introduces the Journal app, designed to promote wellbeing through reflection and gratitude. Curated suggestions based on recent activities, such as photos, people, places, and workouts, make it effortless to start journal entries and engage in mindful journaling.
The keyboard receives AI-enhanced autocorrect, inline predictions, and a new speech recognition model, improving the typing experience. iMessage gains enhanced searching capabilities, swipe-to-reply functionality, and the ability to transcribe voice messages. Real-time location updating, improved emoji stickers, and Live Stickers that incorporate subjects from photos elevate the iMessage experience.

Check In is a notable safety feature that automatically notifies a designated contact when you arrive at your destination. In case of any deviations or delays, the selected contact receives your device’s location, battery level, and cell service status for added peace of mind.

iOS 17 introduces StandBy, a fullscreen experience tailored for nightstands, kitchens, or landscape mode on desks. With beautiful clocks, favorite photos, widgets, and support for Siri, incoming calls, and larger notifications, users can effortlessly access essential information at a glance. Additionally, Siri evolves to a simpler invocation, replacing “Hey Siri” with a straightforward “Siri.” Moreover, back-to-back commands enable a more fluid and efficient interaction with Apple’s voice assistant.
Apple Maps gains offline maps support, enabling users to access maps even without an internet connection. Safari enhances privacy with improved protection for Private Browsing, while the Health app introduces a new range of mental health features. Apple Music introduces Collaborative Playlists, allowing friends to enjoy shared playlists together.
Apple’s iOS 17 for iPhones will be launching sometime in fall 2023 so stay tuned for further updates, both literally and figuratively.
Source
Pokdepinion: With iOS 17, Apple continues to refine and enhance the iPhone user experience. While lacking a single groundbreaking feature, iOS 17 impresses with its multitude of improvements, from Live Voicemail and customizable call screens to enriched FaceTime interactions and safety features like Check In. The inclusion of the Journal app for wellbeing and the StandBy mode further exemplify Apple’s commitment to creating seamless and personalized experiences for users.
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Nothing Ear 2 and Ear Stick Audio Products Unveiled

With a focus on the Nothing Ear 2 and Ear Stick, Nothing introduces an all-black finish for the Ear 2, an advanced equalizer option, active noise cancellation for the Ear Stick, and significant software improvements. These enhancements reflect Nothing’s commitment to delivering an exceptional audio experience while addressing user feedback.
Nothing Ear 2 and Ear Stick

Building on the success of its predecessor, the Nothing Ear 2 now boasts a sleek all-black finish, adding a touch of elegance to the earbuds’ design. The new color option enhances the overall aesthetic appeal, making the Nothing Ear 2 even more desirable for those seeking a stylish audio accessory.

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They have taken audio customization to the next level with the introduction of an advanced equalizer option for the Nothing Ear 2. In addition to the existing simplified presets and 3-band EQ, users can now access an 8-band EQ through the Advanced tab. This comprehensive equalizer allows precise adjustments of each band and offers the flexibility to target specific frequencies.
Users can also modify the Q factor to shape the EQ curve according to their preferences. The ability to save multiple custom profiles and share presets with others enhances the personalized audio experience. However, it is important to note that using the advanced EQ may result in a noticeable drop in volume compared to standard presets or the 3-band EQ. Additionally, this feature is currently available only on the Nothing Ear 2 and Ear Stick, excluding the original Ear (1).
Owners of the Ear Stick will be pleased to know that active noise cancellation is now available for their earbuds. By updating the firmware, users can activate this feature, although it is important to note that it may slightly reduce battery life. For those who prefer not to use active noise cancellation, the option to roll back to a previous firmware version is also provided. While the effectiveness of noise cancellation on open-ear earbuds is limited, it does offer some reduction in low-frequency ambient noise, such as the hum of fans and air conditioners.
Nothing has demonstrated a proactive approach in addressing user feedback by continuously releasing software updates for the Ear 2. The company has diligently worked on resolving various issues that were highlighted in reviews during the initial launch phase. By actively addressing these concerns, Nothing showcases a commitment to improving its products and providing an enhanced user experience. This customer-centric approach fosters a culture of constant improvement and ensures that consumers receive top-quality audio products.
Source
Pokdepinion: With the introduction of an all-black finish, advanced equalizer option, active noise cancellation for the Ear Stick, and significant software improvements, Nothing continues to innovate and refine its audio products. These enhancements not only cater to the preferences of audio enthusiasts but also demonstrate Nothing’s responsiveness to user feedback.
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The Ultimate Hybrid: Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra, the Productivity / Entertainment Powerhouse

Check out the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra!
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra is designed with the “Master of All” concept in mind, meaning that it’s more than just a jack of all trades as it excels in every area. Given its capabilities, it makes for a productivity and entertainment powerhouse that can easily suit anyone. If you’re wondering what makes this the ultimate hybrid smartphone, we have everything you need to know right here.

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Productivity
S Pen

The S Pen on the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra is the most powerful note-taking S Pen to date. It is designed to keep us organized in the most organic way with the 120Hz Infinity-O display. Taking out the S Pen and pinning it to the display will automatically bring out Samsung Notes. It’s very convenient and works fast so you can jot down notes whenever you please with ease.
Samsung Notes Sync

The Samsung Notes Sync function will synchronize notes so you can view them on other devices exactly as you left them on the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra. This way, you can conveniently jot down notes with the smartphone, and then view it on your tablets, laptops and more whenever you need them.
Samsung DeX

While it’s convenient to do work directly on smartphone, we sometimes find ourselves with a need to do it on a bigger screen. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra, you can use Samsung DeX to do just that. As of One UI 2.5, you can use wireless DeX and link to your smart TV without the need for cables. You can multitask with several apps while the smartphone itself acts as a touchpad.
Entertainment
Samsung DeX

Going back to Samsung DeX for a moment, it can be used for more than just work. In fact, more people would see better use of the feature when it comes to entertainment. You can easily transmit TV shows and movies from Netflix or even YouTube videos on your smart TV, giving you a much better home entertainment experience easily.
Gaming

The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra is powered by the Exynos 990 SoC, one of the most powerful mobile chipsets available in the market today. Together with the 120Hz refresh rate display, it lets you enjoy even the most complex of mobile games available today with the smoothest experience possible with fast response times. Furthermore, the fact that it has adaptive refresh rate means that it will not be expending energy needlessly, giving you that added bit of battery life to play for longer.
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Apple Far Out Event Date Confirmed – iPhone 14 Incoming

Apple Far Out Event Date Confirmed

Go for launch. Tune in for a special #AppleEvent on September 7 at 10 a.m. PT.
Tap the ❤ and we’ll send you a reminder on event day. pic.twitter.com/T9o7qJt72E
— Apple (@Apple) August 24, 2022

The date for the upcoming Apple Event, titled Far Out, has been confirmed for 7th September at 10AM PT. That is 8th September 1AM for Malaysia time (GMT+8), and we can look forward to learn more about the iPhone 14 series of devices.
The space theme of the event is likely to do with a feature on the new iPhone 14 series, likely involving its telephoto camera and its zoom capabilities, but we’re uncertain if it will apply to all devices or just the Pro models having the limelight. We expect to see at least four devices; the 6.1-inch base model, 6.7-inch Max model, a 6.1-inch Pro model, and the top-of-the-line 6.7-inch Pro Max model.

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The Mini isn’t expected to appear this time around, especially due to poor sales of the existing iPhone 13 Mini, but there’s always a chance it might get launched later on. For now, we expect to see the new Apple A16 Bionic chip to power the Pro models whereas the standard ones will be using the same A15 Bionic chip powering its predecessors.
Due to inflation and manufacturing costs, it was speculated that prices of the new iPhone 14 series could rise as much as 15% but we will have to wait for the event to find out. Other potential gadgets making a show at the event would be the Apple Watch Series 8, a 2nd Gen AirPods Pro, and an updated Mac Pro. However, some of these might be saved for a later event in October instead.
The Apple Far Out Event will be livestreamed on their official website, the Apple TV app, and YouTube. It will likely be pre-recorded instead of being a live event, and we will report about it as the event unfolds so stay tuned.
Source
Pokdepinion: As much as I can’t wait to see how the new devices will fare, I’m more excited for next year because of the potential move to USB-C. Either way, I might consider upgrading anyway so we shall see how it goes. I definitely would like a bigger screen but a slightly better battery life would always be welcomed.
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The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is now available at RM16 999

Are you looking for the most powerful desktop processor you can get? well then this is for you. The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X with 64 cores and 128 threads is now available in Malaysia priced at RM16 999.
Once again, I have absolutely zero idea what am I going to do with that many cores, but if you do, well, you can get it in Malaysia. There’s reportedly very limited stock worldwide, so you might want to get in touch with your favorite reseller to book your Ryzen Threadripper 3990X.
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X Specs

64 cores, 128 threads
2.9 GHz base, 4.3 GHz max boost clocks
4MB L1 cache, 32MB L2 cache, 256MB L3 cache
Quad-channel DDR4 3200 MHz support
88 total PCIe 4.0 lanes, 72 usable
280W TDP
RM16 999

If you don’t need that many cores, the 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadrippers are also available in 24-core and 32-core variants.

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Pokdepinion: So many cores, so many PCIe lanes…
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10th Gen Intel Core desktop processors coming 30th April?

The 10th Gen Intel Core laptop processors have just dropped, and we are all pretty much waiting for the desktop parts to be announced. Most of the specifications has already been leaked, and even the pricing, but hey, the announcement has yet to happen. According to Videocardz however, the announcement is going to happen as early as the end of this month.
They managed to get their hands on what looks like leaked slides pointing to the Core i9-10900K featuring a 10-core configuration with HyperThreading for 20 processing threads, and 5.3 GHz boost clocks inclusive of Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB). Meanwhile the 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10700K will allegedly sport 8 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 5.1 GHz, and last but not least there’s the Core i5-10600K with clocks of up to 4.8 GHz and a six-core, 12-thread configuration.
          10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900K            10th Gen Intel Core i7-10700K            10th Gen Intel Core i5-10600K

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Interestingly, Intel seems intent on keeping Thermal Velocity Boost as a feature for only the 10th Gen Intel Core i9 parts, with the rest of the product stack not featuring TVB. Meanwhile Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 support is extended until the Core i7 parts, while the lower SKUs miss out on the feature. This is in contrast with Intel’s laptop strategy where TVB is featured in 10th Gen Intel Core i9 and Core i7 Comet Lake-H parts.
Here’s the full table of leaked 10th Gen Intel Core parts and their alleged specifications, combined from prior information as well :
10th Gen Intel Core Comet Lake-S Desktop Processors Specs

SKU
Base Clock (GHz)
Max Boost (GHz)
All Core Boost (GHz)
Cores/Threads
Cache
TDP
Price (without VAT)

Core i9-10900K
3.7
5.3 (With TVB)
4.8
10C/20T
20MB
125W
€504 (~RM2411)

Core i9-10900KF
3.7
5.3 (With TVB)
4.8
10C/20T
20MB
125W
€475 (~RM2272)

Core i9-10900
2.8
5.2 (With TVB)
4.5
10C/20T
20MB
65W
€452 (~RM2162)

Core i9-10900F
2.8
5.2 (With TVB)
4.5
10C/20T
20MB
65W
€425 (~RM2033)

Core i7-10700K
3.8
5.1
4.7
8C/16T
16MB
125W
€389 (~RM1861)

Core i7-10700KF
3.8
5.1
4.7
8C/16T
16MB
125W
€362 (~RM1732)

Core i7-10700
2.9
4.8
4.6
8C/16T
16MB
65W
€335 (~RM1603)

Core i7-10700F
2.9
4.8
4.6
8C/16T
16MB
65W
€308 (~RM1473)

Core i5-10600K
4.1
4.8
4.5
6C/12T
12MB
125W
€263 (~RM1258)

Core i5-10600KF
4.1
4.8
4.5
6C/12T
12MB
125W
€236 (~RM1129)

Core i5-10600
3.3
4.8
4.4
6C/12T
12MB
65W
€222 (~RM1062)

Core i5-10500
3.1
4.5
4.2
6C/12T
12MB
65W
€200 (~RM957)

Core i5-10400
2.9
4.3
4.0
6C/12T
12MB
65W
€190 (~RM909)

Core i5-10400F
2.9
4.3
4.0
6C/12T
12MB
65W
€163 (~RM780)

Core i3-10320
3.8
4.6
4.4
4C/8T
8MB
65W
€162 (~RM775)

Core i3-10300
3.7
4.4
4.2
4C/8T
8MB
65W
€151 (~RM722)

Core i3-10100
3.6
4.3
4.1
4C/8T
6MB
65W
€129 (~RM617)

The 10th Gen Intel Core Comet Lake-H product lineup does seem very interesting if you are looking for more cores from Intel. The 10th Gen Intel Core i3 parts match the 7th Gen Intel Core i7 parts in terms of core and thread count, and that’s what we should have seen from Intel when they were in the leadership position. The full array of 10th Gen parts are also offering HyperThreading now, which is a first for Intel. Intel has traditionally used HyperThreading as a selling point, with the Core i7 parts being the only parts with HyperThreading all the way up until the 9th Gen where we saw HyperThreading only offered on the Core i9 parts.
It’s pretty much confirmed that Intel will be pushing the gaming performance narrative once again, and to be honest I do believe they do have the advantage there. But whether gamers will care enough for the 10th Gen Intel Core processors when they have to invest in a new board to use these new processors remains to be seen.

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Interesting 🤔 Seems like something new is around the corner. 😬
A post shared by  Roman Hartung (@der8auer) on Apr 2, 2020 at 8:24am PDT

According to the leaks, the 10th Gen Intel Core Comet Lake-S desktop parts will be announced on 30th April, with NDAs on reviews to lift on 27th May, coinciding with the start of the sales of the new processors. Intel’s board partners are reportedly shipping the LGA1200 motherboards to reviewers too, with der8auer already teasing the socket cover for the LGA1200 socket on his Instagram.

For gamers who want to hop over back to Intel, this might be the time though. The upcoming Rocket Lake-S processors has been leaked with support for the LGA1200 socket, but it will require a new Intel 500 Series chipset and will offer support for PCIe 4.0, which might just render your fancy new Intel Z490 board obsolete. Oh well…
Pokdepinion: I am honestly interested to see how much more frames can the Intel Core i9-10900K bring to the table versus a Ryzen 9 3900X…
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Apex Legends Has A Growing Cheater Problem That Needs To Be Addressed Quickly

Having cheaters / hackers in online games isn’t uncommon. Especially for popular games, there will surely be a number of self-entitled monkeys wanting to be at the top but not put in the necessary hours of getting to the top. Apex Legends is no exception as it now has a growing cheater problem that needs to be addressed quickly.
Reddit user u/My_watch_is_ended posted yesterday stating “Apex needs to address cheating issue faster. Asian server is filled by Ch***** cheaters.” The user then went on stating that PUBG was too late to region lock china, saying most players had moved on already. The comment section was filled with other users and their stories dealing with the cheating issue.

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Reddit user u/Gonnagofarkidtr stated that almost every solo / duo lobby that they played in this week had an aimbot in it. They even posted a video for some evidence. Another user even commented to them stating that they were killed by the same cheater about a week ago and they reported the cheater to EA via email.
PUBG at its prime saw plenty of cheaters. This is also partly why there were many gamers that moved on to other games when they were available. There are concerns that if Respawn Entertainment isn’t able to address the issue fast enough, people might just leave Apex Legends behind in flocks.
Respawn has followed up with some updates on the cheating issue. Respawn’s community manager posted on r/ApexLegends that they have banned over 355,000 players specifically on PC via Easy-Anti-Cheat. They go on to state that they are working on improvements to combat cheaters but will be a bit secretive about their plans.
Cheaters can be crafty and could possibly anticipate some moves Respawn might make if they were more open about their plans. Though they did state some higher level plans they are working on such as working directly with experts both inside EA and outside, scaling up the anti-cheat team, and adding a report feature on PC.
Apex Legends is currently available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via Origin for free.
Source: Reddit
Pokdepinion: Bumped into a number of them myself and it’s quite a bonerkill if you ask me. No way anyone can just shred me with gold armour and health in just one second from far away with a rapid fire-type weapon.
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realme 3 Pro coming to Malaysia on 14th May

The realme 3 Pro will finally make its appearance in Malaysia on 14th May, about 3 weeks after the initial launch in India. This is going to be realme’s highest specced device, sporting specifications like a Snapdragon 710 and a camera which is shared with the OnePlus 6T.

The realme 3 Pro should be the most affordable Snapdragon 710 smartphone to arrive in Malaysia. The most affordable Snapdragon 710 smartphone right is the Nokia 8.1 priced at RM1699, so the bar is actually set pretty low for realme to beat.

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realme 3 Pro Specifications

Snapdragon 710, octa-core up to 2.2 GHz, 10nm FinFET
Up to 6GB RAM
Up to 128GB storage (expandable via microSD)
6.3″ FHD+ IPS display
16MP f/1.7 Sony IMX519 + 5MP f/2.4 depth sensor
25MP f/2.0 selfie camera
4045 mAh battery, 20W VOOC Flash Charge 3.0
ColorOS 6.0 based on Android 9 Pie
4GB + 64GB: INR 13 999 (~RM832)
6GB + 128GB: INR 16 999 (~RM1010)

There is no pricing information about the realme 3 Pro in Malaysia yet, but do stay tuned as we will definitely be checking it out on 14th May!
Pokdepinion: Definitely looking forward to finding out the price!
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Lenovo Legion Y540 Gaming Laptop Review – One Step Away from Greatness

Lenovo Legion Y540 Gaming Laptop Review
Unboxing the Lenovo Legion Y540 Gaming Laptop

In the box of the Lenovo Legion Y540 gaming laptop, you’re expected to get these few items:

Power adapter and cable
User guide and warranty
The Lenovo Legion Y540 gaming laptop itself

Appearance

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The Lenovo Legion Y540 has arguably one of the most muted looks in a gaming laptop. You have the Legion logo situated somewhere in the middle-to-lower part of the lid’s right side. While the text itself will look the same when powered on, the symbol on the letter ‘O’ will glow white. Apart from that, it’s mostly a matte black finish on a mostly-plastic chassis. The lid itself has a bit of a flex but nothing alarming. As you can see, there is a line where the hinge is located. The lid doesn’t take the entire space on the top here.

Open up the hood and you’ll be greeted with a 15.6-inch Full HD 144Hz IPS display, a full-sized chiclet keyboard, and a trackpad below the keyboard. To my surprise for a 15.6-inch laptop nowadays, it has a full-sized keyboard complete with a Numpad, albeit without a secondary Enter key. Unlike typical gaming laptops however, they have omitted RGB backlighting in favour of a simple white backlit keyboard. It’s worth noting that the lid can opened to a flat 180° for added versatility.
The ports
On the left side, you have a USB-A port and the combo audio jack. On the right side, you have a USB-A port and the NOVO Hole. You might be wondering where all the other ports are. Well, they are located on the back. Here is where you’ll find a USB-C port, a mini DisplayPort, a USB-A port, a HDMI port, an RJ45 LAN port, the proprietary charging port, and a Kensington Lock. These ports are situated between the two rear air vents.

On the bottom, you’ll have two long rubber stands on the top and bottom, a large air vent, and 11 screws which are used to keep the parts sealed. There may be a hidden screw so it might not be exactly 11. For the rubber stands, the top part has two noticeably taller ones on the top-left and top-right corners.
The webcam is located right below the Legion logo
Overall, the Lenovo Legion Y540 gaming laptop has a pleasant look despite not having the flashy gamer aesthetic. The lack of the RGB backlight for the keyboard may be a bit of a turn off for some gamers but the inclusion of the Numpad is a good compromise. I’m a fan of how it looks because I don’t fancy anything too flashy for a laptop but this is subjective and depends on the user. Build quality could be a bit better but nothing I’d worry about. While it is a compact gaming laptop, it is noticeably thick at 25.9mm.
Specifications

CPU
Intel Core i7-9750H (6C / 12T @ up to 4.5 GHz), 12M Cache, 45W TDP, 14nm

RAM
8GB DDR4 2666MHz

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6

Storage
256GB Intel 760p NVMe SSD
1TB 7200RPM Seagate Barracuda Pro

Display
15.6″ FHD (1920 X 1080) 144Hz IPS display, 72% color gamut, 300 nits

Keyboard
White-backlit Chiclet Keyboard with Numpad

Connectivity
Wireless:
802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi 2×2 (Dual Band 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz)
Bluetooth 4.2
I/O:
3 x USB 3.1 Type-A Gen1
1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Gen2
1 x RJ45 LAN
1 x Mini DisplayPort
1 x HDMI 2.0
1 x Kensington Lock
1 x NOVO Hole
1 x Proprietary Charging Port

Audio
2 x 3W Speakers
1 x Combo Audio Jack
Harman Speakers with Dolby Audio for Gaming

Power
52.5Wh Battery
230W Power Adapter

Dimensions
365 x 260 x 25.9 mm (W x D x H)

Weight
2.3 kg

Performance
CrystalDiskMark benchmark
For starters, we have the CrystalDiskMark scores for both storage devices. It is the Intel 760p NVMe SSD and the 7200RPM Seagate Barracuda Pro HDD. As the former is an NVMe SSD, it’s no surprise that the speeds are much higher than your average SSD. The HDD has decent speeds but its best to use it solely for storing files rather than installing applications on them.

In Cinebench R15, the Lenovo Legion Y540 interestingly scored lower than the STRIX SCAR III and Triton 900, both of which utilize the same CPU. This is most likely due to the RAM as it’s on single-channel RAM and adding another stick will certain see noticeable performance boosts. It’s not a bad score, that we can say for sure.

In Unigine Superposition on 4K Optimized, it did pretty well for the specifications. It’s not far off from the SCAR III, which has the beefier RTX 2070 GPU, and has some improvements over the GL63 8SE which has the 8th Gen CPU instead. It certainly shows that it’s packing some firepower and is more than capable of gaming.

In 3DMark’s Time Spy, the Lenovo Legion Y540 did well enough for its specifications. It’s interesting to see that the gap with an RTX 2070 isn’t particularly big, but it gets even bigger when you go up to RTX 2080. It seems like the difference between the 8th Gen and 9th Gen CPU is minimal at best.
In 3DMark’s Port Royal, which is a ray-tracing benchmark, it’s interesting that it performed very slightly worse than the GE75 8SE with the 8th Gen CPU. With an RTX 2060, ray-tracing is an option but in all honesty, you might want to stick to playing games without ray-tracing for best performance.

We’ve tested the Lenovo Legion Y540 gaming laptop across a myriad of games at the highest setting and it performed pretty well. For the smoothest experience possible, you definitely have to dial down the settings by a notch or two, especially for Final Fantasy XV and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. For competitive shooters like CS:GO and Apex Legends, the extra frames would be great to take advantage of the 144Hz refresh rate. It’s worth noting that the CPU ran pretty hot, easily above the 90°C mark across the board with thermal throttling present. The GPU ran pretty cool, ranging about 60 – 70°C for the most part.
As for battery life, it’s pretty much average like any other gaming laptop out there. You’re going to see about 3 hours or so with regular use like office work, web browsing, and watching some videos on YouTube. If you’re lucky, you might even get close to four hours but it’s pretty dependent on how you use it as well as the level of screen brightness being used.
User Experience

The Lenovo Legion Y540 is a gaming laptop that’s packing some good firepower, at least for this particular variant. It’s powered by the 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU. As for memory, it has a single stick 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM, a speedy 256GB Intel 760p NVMe SSD, and a 1TB Seagate Barracuda Pro HDD. While storage is certainly adequate, it would be nice if it came with an additional 8GB stick so it will have a 16GB dual-channel RAM for better multitasking. At least it’s something that is upgradable.
As for running temperatures, everything is generally good except for the CPU. From our games tests alone, the CPU easily goes above 90°C and there’s thermal throttling in most games. With the large vents, particularly on the underside of the laptop, I honestly expected better temperature. Interestingly, you can hear the fan speed spin loudly but it never gets close to a point where it gets unbearable.

The 15.6-inch IPS display is certainly great for gaming. Sure, it’s just a Full HD display but you do get a 144Hz refresh rate, which will be very helpful for fast-paced, competitive games. As this is using an RTX 2060 GPU, there should be an adequate amount of power to push the needed frames. Alternatively, get an additional 8GB stick of RAM. To top it all off, the viewing angles are great, colours are bright and well-defined. Having the lid able to open up to 180° certainly adds more versatility on how you’d like to use / view the display.

There is definitely a good array of ports on the Lenovo Legion Y540. Having three USB-A ports is the most optimum number you could ever ask for. Having both a mini DisplayPort and HDMI gives you more versatility with external displays and gives you a tri-monitor setup option. Having a combo audio jack instead of separate jacks for headphone and microphone is a bit annoying but it’s becoming the norm in today’s world. It’s a shame that there’s no SD card reader, and that the USB-C port isn’t a Thunderbolt 3 port instead.

Now to the keyboard of the Lenovo Legion Y540, which is rather interesting in my opinion. For a 15-inch gaming laptop to have a Numpad is amazing to me. Sure, it doesn’t have a secondary Enter key but that’s a small loss there. It’s still decently spaced out that it’s comfortable to use and people shouldn’t have trouble using it. The downside here is that there’s no RGB lighting so you’ll just have to settle for the white backlight. There’s really nothing much to shout out on the trackpad, it’s there and it functions just like any other one out there. Best to use a mouse with this.
Lenovo Vantage software
On the software side, we have the Lenovo Vantage. where you can play with settings and do some fine-tuning for the machine. You can easily optimize the machine, check on key details such as resource usage, and more. The UI is easy to navigate through and you should have everything you need right here.

On the sound department, the speakers on the Lenovo Legion Y540 gaming laptop is pretty good but only as far as laptop speakers go. It can get loud but there’s only so much detail it can produce. Even with the Dolby audio features, there isn’t really much to enjoy on speakers. It’s best to use your favourite pair of earphones / headphones / headset instead.
Lenovo Legion Y540 Verdict

Overall, the Lenovo Legion Y540 gaming laptop is a pretty good gaming laptop. The build quality is decent, there’s a good array of ports, 144Hz refresh rate is great for gaming, and it’s packing some good firepower inside, especially with its NVMe SSD and HDD storage combo.
For RM6,199 however, I was expecting a bit more out of the machine. For starters, paying that much but only having 8GB RAM doesn’t sound like an enticing offer. Sure, you can upgrade it yourself after but that means spending more. Moreover, the high CPU running temperature is a bit of a worry. Regardless, it’s still a pretty good gaming laptop and it can be something worth considering. With that, I award the Lenovo Legion Y540 gaming laptop with our Silver Pokdeward.

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Ubisoft Shows Off More of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey at Gamescom 2018

Not sure what to expect with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey? Well, Ubisoft has revealed tons of details on the game at Gamescom 2018 at Cologne, Germany.
Ubisoft Reveals More on Assassin’s Creed Odyssey at Gamescom 2018

Over at Gamescom 2018 today, Ubisoft showcased a world of danger and legends in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Ancient Greece, 431BCE, a land rich with myths and legends, in the midst of the Peloponnesian War, fought between Sparta and Athens.
This world is ruled by the gods, and shaped by myths and legendary creatures. The team behind Assassin’s Creed Odyssey recaptured this pivotal moment in history when mythology merged with religion and tradition, shaping Ancient Greek life.

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Players take control of either 1 of 2 protagonist, the male Alexios or female Kassandra, as you encounter these myths first hand in the form of Animals and Mythical Creatures, battling Mercenaries, and going against the Cult of Kosmos.
The Mercenaries are skilled warriors who will hunt players down if caught breaking the law. It is said that they are very strong in combat as they possess advanced combat techniques, wield valuable weapons, and are all-around tenacious.
As for the Cult of Kosmos, Ubisoft describes it best:
Lurking in the shadows, the mysterious Cult of Kosmos has discovered the existence of a powerful artifact that they are using to spread their influence throughout Greece to manipulate its leaders.
Intent on gaining ultimate control over Greece and taking down anyone in their way, these masked figures include politicians, merchants, pirates, generals and can be hidden amongst the hero’s supposed allies.

Ubisoft also showed off some of the mechanics behind the game in a 3-part video series, which we included right above here.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey will be coming to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on 5th October 2018.
Pokdepinion: Getting more excited about the game yet? I know I am.
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Here are the GeForce RTX 3070 cards and their prices in Malaysia

The GeForce RTX 3070 cards were reportedly delayed to allow for better inventory to build up, and it does seem like they were successful in their endeavor. Many brands are now showing off their stocks, and it does seem to be significantly more than what any of them had for the GA102-based cards.

Instead of going card by card like what I did for the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 cards, I will just be going by the brand instead, as every brand seems to be spamming multiple models of the GeForce RTX 3070, and I really do not want an article that will take forever to scroll through. In any case, here are the GeForce RTX 3070 cards from NVIDIA partners that were launched here in Malaysia.

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ASUS – from RM2699
          ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 OC Edition                   ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 3070 OC Edition
ASUS’ offerings ranging from the shorter dual-fan options, the aptly named ASUS DUAL series, all the way up to the top-of-the-line ROG Strix cards. The ASUS DUAL cards are probably the best options for SFF PC enthusiasts, as they are significantly shorter than both the TUF Gaming and ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 cards. Speaking of which, ASUS carried over the same dimensions for the ROG Strix and TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 from their larger GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 brethren, which means you are getting seriously overkill coolers for NVIDIA’s “baby” Ampere GPU (for now).
You can read our review of the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 OC Edition here.
ASUS GeForce RTX 3070 Series Specs

ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 3070
ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 3070 OC Edition
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 OC Edition
ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3070 OC Edition

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (GA104)
Samsung 8N

Clocks
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1725MHz
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1770MHz (+45MHz over FE)
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1815MHz (+90MHz over FE)
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1905MHz (+180MHz over FE)

Cores
5888 CUDA Cores
184 Tensor Cores
46 RT Cores

Memory
8GB GDDR6

Memory speed
14Gbps

Memory bus
256-bit

Display outputs
3 x DisplayPort 1.4a
2 x HDMI 2.1

Power connectors
2 x 8-pin

Dimensions
26.7 x 13.5 x 5.2 cm
26.7 x 13.5 x 5.2 cm
30.0 x 12.69 x 5.17 cm
31.85 x 14.01 x 5.78 cm

Warranty
3+1 years

Price
RM2699
RM2899
RM3199
RM3399

GIGABYTE – from RM2599
          GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming OC            GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 3070 MASTER          GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 Eagle OC
GIGABYTE’s GeForce RTX 3070 cards actually look better than their higher-end brethren. Gone is the weird 2-big-fans-1-small-fan configuration. Instead, all three fans are now of the same size, albeit being smaller. You probably won’t need such huge fans anyway, as the GeForce RTX 3070 sports a much lower TGP than its GA102 brethren. GIGABYTE is spamming multiple SKUs, ranging from the GeForce RTX 3070 EAGLE to the AORUS GeForce RTX 3070 MASTER, with prices ranging from RM2599 to RM3099. The most outstanding out is probably the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC, which comes in a slick silver-white color scheme.

GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 Series Specs

GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 EAGLE
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 EAGLE OC
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING OC
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3070 VISION OC
GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 3070 MASTER

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (GA104)
Samsung 8N

Clocks
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1725MHz
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1770MHz (+45MHz over FE)
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1815MHz (+90MHz over FE)
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1815MHz (+90MHz over FE)
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1845MHz (+120MHz over FE)

Cores
5888 CUDA Cores
184 Tensor Cores
46 RT Cores

Memory
8GB GDDR6

Memory speed
14Gbps

Memory bus
256-bit

Display outputs
2 x DisplayPort 1.4
2 x HDMI 2.1
2 x DisplayPort 1.4
2 x HDMI 2.1
2 x DisplayPort 1.4
2 x HDMI 2.1
2 x DisplayPort 1.4
2 x HDMI 2.1
3 x DisplayPort 1.4
3 x HDMI 2.1

Power connectors
8-pin + 6-pin
8-pin + 6-pin
8-pin + 6-pin
8-pin + 6-pin
2 x 8-pin

Dimensions
28.2 x 11.5 x 4.1 cm
28.2 x 11.5 x 5.1 cm
28.6 x 11.5 x 5.1 cm
28.6 x 11.5 x 5.1 cm
29.0 x 13.1 x 6.0 cm

Warranty
3-year
3-year
4-year
3-year
4-year

Price
RM2599
RM2799
RM2899
RM2929
RM3099

ZOTAC- from RM2399

ZOTAC Malaysia has announced two of their cards, namely the GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge and GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge OC. It seems like ZOTAC will refrain from releasing a triple fan cooler version for now, with the Twin Edge cards offering two fans crammed into a two-slot card. ZOTAC’s cards once again have the distinction of being some of the most compact GeForce RTX 3070 cards, just like their bigger brothers. Perfect for SFF PC enthusiasts?
ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3070 Series Specs

ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge
ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge OC

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (GA104)
Samsung 8N

Clocks
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1725MHz
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1755MHz (+30MHz over FE)

Cores
5888 CUDA Cores
184 Tensor Cores
46 RT Cores

Memory
8GB GDDR6

Memory speed
14Gbps

Memory bus
256-bit

Display outputs
3 x DisplayPort 1.4
1 x HDMI 2.1

Power connectors
2 x 8-pin

Dimensions
23.2 x 14.1 x 4.2 cm

Warranty
5 Year Warranty (via online registration)

Price
RM2399
RM2499

[UPDATE 30/10/2020 6.16pm: Added MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X TRIO, VENTUS 3X OC and VENTUS 2X OC]
MSI – from RM2399

MSI GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 2X OC

MSI GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 3X OC

MSI’s offerings are a bit more interesting. Both the MSI GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 2X OC and GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 3X OC offer the same clocks, but one touts a significantly smaller cooler. It is also probably worth noting that the GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 3X OC doesn’t share its cooler with the GeForce RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 VENTUS 3X cards. The VENTUS 2X OC also appears to only sport a plastic backplate, while the VENTUS 3X OC cards comes with a graphene-infused one.

On the other hand, the MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X TRIO packs the same triple-fan cooler from their beefier GA102-based cards. More cooling is always good, but it does come at a slight premium over the rest of MSI’s offerings. The graphene backplate is also here.
MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Series Specs

MSI GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 2X OC
MSI GeForce RTX 3070 VENTUS 3X OC
MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming X TRIO

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (GA104)
Samsung 8N

Clocks
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1755MHz (+30MHz over FE)
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1755MHz (+30MHz over FE)
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1830MHz (+105MHz over FE)

Cores
5888 CUDA Cores
184 Tensor Cores
46 RT Cores

Memory
8GB GDDR6

Memory speed
14Gbps

Memory bus
256-bit

Display outputs
3 x DisplayPort 1.4a
1 x HDMI 2.1

Power connectors
2 x 8-pin

Dimensions
23.2 x 12.4 x 5.2 cm
30.5 x 12.1 x 5.2 cm
32.3 x 14.0 x 5.6 cm

Warranty
3 Year Warranty

Price
RM2399
RM2499
RM2799

[UPDATE 7/12/2020 4.00pm: Added Palit GeForce RTX 3070 GameRock OC and GamingPro OC]
Palit – from RM2599

Palit GeForce RTX 3070 GameRock OC

Palit GeForce RTX 3070 GamingPro OC

If you fancy something flashier than the cards we have listed above, well you have more options now. Palit are bringing in their GeForce RTX 3070 cards, and there’s the solid looking Palit GeForce RTX 3070 GamingPro OC as well as the absolutely blinged out Palit GeForce RTX 3070 GameRock OC. The latter is probably a perfect pairing with your Trident Z Royal memory.
Palit GeForce RTX 3070 Series Specs

Palit GeForce RTX 3070 GamingPro OC
Palit GeForce RTX 3070 GameRock OC

GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (GA104)
Samsung 8N

Clocks
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1770MHz (+45MHz over FE)
Base Clock: 1500MHz
Boost Clock: 1845MHz (+75MHz over FE)

Cores
5888 CUDA Cores
184 Tensor Cores
46 RT Cores

Memory
8GB GDDR6

Memory speed
14Gbps

Memory bus
256-bit

Display outputs
3 x DisplayPort 1.4
1 x HDMI 2.1

Power connectors
2 x 8-pin

Dimensions
29.4 x 11.2 x 6 cm
30.4 x 13.6 x 6 cm

Warranty
3 Year Warranty

Price
RM2599
RM2799

The prices above are MSRPs of the respective cards at launch. We will be updating this article as and when we get more information about the other cards that were announced in Malaysia, so stay tuned!
If you want to check out the launch MSRP of the other cards in Malaysia, you can head on to the links below:

Here are the GeForce RTX 3090 cards and their prices in Malaysia
Here are the GeForce RTX 3080 cards and their prices in Malaysia
Here are the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti cards and their prices in Malaysia
Here are the GeForce RTX 3060 cards and their prices in Malaysia

Pokdepinion: Sheesh, some of the premium GeForce RTX 3070s are priced like cheaper GeForce RTX 3080 cards already.
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ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition Available With Maxis Zerolution Plan From RM108/month

In case you’ve been meaning to get the ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition, well Maxis is now offering you to own the gaming smartphone from RM109 per month through their Maxis Zerolution plan.
ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition from Maxis Zerolution

In case you’re not sure of what the ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition offers, it is powered by a Snapdragon 865 chipset and offers a big 6000mAh battery under the hood. It packs 8GB LPDDR5 RAM that’s mated with 256GB of internal storage.
The device comes with a 6.59-inch FHD+ 144Hz AMOLED display and it features a triple camera setup at the back that consists of a 64MP main camera, 13MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP macro shooter. As for selfies, there’s a 24MP front camera.

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Interested in getting the ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition through the Maxis Zerolution plan? You can do so through the link here.
We’ve previously reviewed the ROG Phone 3, do check out our full thoughts on the gaming beast.
Pokdepinion: Seems like an ideal plan if you’re a Maxis user and you’re planning on getting the ROG Phone 3 Strix Edition!
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realme 7 launches at RM1299, realme 7 Pro at RM1499

Looking for an upgrade to your realme 6 or realme 6 Pro? realme has just dropped the realme 7 series with incremental upgrades over the realme 6 series. Not too surprising considering that it has been only five months since the realme 6 series debuted in Malaysia.
realme 7

The realme 7 offers a MediaTek Helio G95, which is a slightly overclocked version of the Helio G90T found in the realme 6, promising an additional 5% graphics performance. Aside from that, little has changed as the realme 7 still offers a 6.5″ 90Hz LCD display and the same quad-camera setup.

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While the number of cameras remain the same, the main camera has been upgraded to a 64MP Sony IMX682 sensor, which should be an upgrade from the Samsung GW1 featured in the realme 6. The rest of the camera setup is carried over directly from the realme 6, which is quite a bummer.

realme threw a fresh coat of paint onto the realme 7, so to speak, with new contrasting textures for a more dynamic look. The battery has also been upgraded to a 5000mAh battery from the 4300mAh unit in the realme 6. For the upgrades, you will be paying an additional RM100, as the realme 7 will be offered for RM1299.
realme 7 Specs

Helio G95, octa-core up to 2.05GHz, 12nm FinFET
8GB LPDDR4x RAM
128GB UFS 2.1 storage (expandable via microSD)
6.5″ FHD+ 90 Hz LCD display
64MP Sony IMX682 f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.3 ultra-wide + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 B&W sensor
16MP f/2.0 selfie camera
5000mAh battery, 30W Dart Charge
RM1299

The realme 7 is definitely not great bang for your buck, but to sweeten the deal, realme has announced a pre-order deal that will net you free neck massager. The pre-order deal ends today, with the first offline sales starting tomorrow.
realme 7 Pro

While the realme 7 is a pretty straight forward incremental upgrade from the realme 6, the realme 7 Pro is much more of a mixed bag. The realme 6 series’ claim to fame was its 90Hz displays at affordable prices, the realme 7 Pro does away with that. Instead, you get a superior 6.4″ Super AMOLED panel, even though it only runs at 60Hz.

Aside from the display, realme also downgraded the camera setup. Instead of the dual selfie cameras on the realme 6 Pro, you get a single 32MP selfie camera embedded into the display. Meanwhile the rear also sees the 12MP telephoto camera from the realme 6 Pro dropped in favor of a 2MP B&W sensor. The main camera gets the same Sony IMX682 sensor upgrade, just like the realme 7.

The glass back from the realme 6 Pro has also been replaced by a plastic panel, albeit a pretty fancy one. The internals are largely unchanged from the realme 6 Pro, with the Snapdragon 720G, 8GB RAM and 128GB storage making the leap over to this generation’s realme 7 Pro. No idea why realme didn’t decide to upgrade the chipset when better options are already available in the market.
On the plus side, the realme 7 does get a slightly larger 4500mAh battery that now supports 65W SuperDart Charge. realme also added stereo speakers with Dolby enhancements, which is a pretty nice touch following in the footsteps of recent mid-range devices.
realme 7 Pro Specs

Snapdragon 720G, octa-core up to 2.3GHz, 8nm FinFET
8GB LPDDR4x RAM
128GB UFS 2.1 storage (expandable via microSD)
6.4″ FHD+ Super AMOLED display
64MP Sony IMX682 f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.3 ultra-wide + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 B&W sensor
32MP f/2.5 selfie camera
4500mAh battery, 65W SuperDart Charge
RM1499

          Pre-order Deal            First Sale Deal
There are much better deals at this price if you know where to look, but if you still crave for a realme device, the realme 7 Pro’s pre-order deals try to make it worth your while. From today until 2nd October, you can get a free realme Buds Q White Edition if you pre-order at realme stores and authorized retailers. If you hold on to your wallet you can get a free realme Watch when you purchase your realme 7 Pro at realme’s official store on Shopee this 29th September.
Pokdepinion: For a brand that’s supposed to bring great specs at great value for youths, the realme 7 series sure is surprising…
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Digi Offers Lifetime Rebates For Senior Citizens

The folks from Digi has today announce that they are providing a special lifetime privilege for senior citizens. What exactly they are offering? Well they are giving all registered Digi postpaid customers aged 60 and above to enjoy a RM10 rebate on their plans from as low as RM28 monthly for 6GB of data.
Starting from today, those who are eligible will receive an in-app notification on their MyDigi app to activate the offer. It can then be redeemed in the Box of Suprise feature found on the app. The rebates are automatically reflected in the subsequent month’s bill.
Previously Digi introduced a similar lifetime RM10 rebate program for those with disabilities, where customers can register by applying at Digi Store with their original identity card and OKU card.

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For more details on the Senior Citizens plan, you can head to the link here.
Pokdepinion: Definitely a nice option to have. So if you are eligible or know someone who is, you might want to recommend to the,
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NVIDIA patches High Severity Vulnerability in GeForce Experience

NVIDIA GeForce Experience is part of NVIDIA’s driver suite, allowing users to easily optimize their games’ settings for their hardware via the app. NVIDIA also allows you to quickly update drivers via the GeForce Experience (GFE) app.
It also gives you an easy way to capture in-game footage, stream to other devices and more. The huge number of features may be why GFE is affected by this vulnerability.
The CVE-2019-5702 vulnerability affects GFE via the GameStream feature, which lets you stream games from your main gaming PC to NVIDIA SHIELD devices. The vulnerability can give attackers full control of a system. It’s not as bad as it sounds though as it does require local access and there’s no way to exploit the vulnerability remotely, but once the security flaw is exploited, attackers could trigger a denial of service (DoS) state or escalate privileges on the systems.

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NVIDIA patched the security flaw in NVIDIA GeForce Experience 3.20.2. To get the latest version is very simple. All you need to do is launch NVIDIA GFE on your PC and it will update automatically, patching the vulnerability.
Pokdepinion: Well I doubt anyone is getting local access to my PC, but better safe than sorry!
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Rockstar Games Employee Seemingly Leaks Information On New Game And It’s Not GTA 6

It looks like an employee of famed video games developer, Rockstar Games has accidentally leaked information of a new, unannounced game online. Spoilers though, it might not be GTA 6.

Unannounced titles from Rockstar Games: what could they be?
The leak comes from Ian Gander, a senior designer at Rockstar Games who’s worked on both Grand Theft Auto V as well as Red Dead Redemption 2. Gander recently updated his LinkedIn profile over the weekend to remove any mentions that he is working on any upcoming Rockstar Games titles though it was quickly taken down for unknown reasons. Previously, Gander’s LinkedIn profile listed all his past experiences at Rockstar Games which include GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 as well as “unannounced title(s): TBC”.

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As you might expect, this bit of information sent fans into mass speculation. While many fans are hoping that the unannounced titles would be the anticipated GTA 6, Rockstar has gone on record to say that GTA 6 is still ways behind of an official release and is not coming soon. This could mean that the announced games are either sequels to any of Rockstar Games’ previous titles namely Bully, Manhunter and so on, or a brand new IP altogether.
Stay tuned to us here at Pokde.net for more news like this. We will update on this as soon as we get more information.
Source 1, Source 2
Pokdepinion: It would be interesting if Rockstar would actually make a new game based on their previous IP. I do feel that something like Bully is due for a new sequel.
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Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Made Even Better with Speakerphone

Unboxing the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Box

Let’s kick off the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 review with our unboxing. This appears to be the standard issue enterprise Dell laptop given the box. Inside the box for our review unit, we found the following items:
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Box content

Power cable
65W charging brick (USB-C)
User guide
Safety and Regulatory Information booklet
The Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 laptop itself

Appearance
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Lid
The Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 is a business laptop, and it doesn’t appear to be much different compared to the other Latitude models in terms of design as it’s more business-oriented. You get a clean, metallic lid in silver with the Dell logo taking center stage. It’s a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but it’s not too bad.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Open up the lid
Open up the lid, which you can easily do so with one hand, and you’ll see the 15-inch Full HD InfinityEdge display, white backlit chiclet keyboard sandwiched between two speakers, a trackpad, and product stickers. In case you’re wondering, the power button is located on the top-left corner, on the keyboard itself. All four bezels on the display are very thin but the top and bottom bezels are just a bit thicker. The webcam is located on the top bezel.

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Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Ports
On the left side, you can find an HDMI port, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a microSD card reader. As for the right side, you can find a wedge lock slot, a combo audio jack, and a USB-A port. There’s nothing on the rear except for a small exhaust and a view of the hinges.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Bottom
Moving over to the bottom, you will three rows of air vents, two thin rubberized feet on the top and bottom, some product details and product stickers. You can find nine exposed screws here, which will need to be removed if you want to check out the internal components.
Overall, the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 is a clean, classy business laptop that can easily fit anyone. There’s nothing that makes it truly stand out in terms of design but it’s certainly one of the heavier ones among all the Latitude laptops we’ve tried. It’s not heavy by any means, at just 1.5kg, but the weight feels more spread out within a relatively compact chassis.
Specifications

CPU
Intel Core i5-1145G7 @ 2.6 GHz (up to 4.4 GHz Boost), 4C/8T, 8M, 28W TDP, 10nm SuperFIN
Intel vPro

RAM
16GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4x, Non-ECC

GPU
Intel Iris Xe Graphics

Storage
1TB NVMe PCIe Class 35 SSD (KIOXIA KBG40ZNS1T02)

Software
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Microsoft Office 365
Dell Optimizer
Dell Power Manager
Dell Digital Delivery
Dell Command

Connectivity
Wireless
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz, 802.11ax
Bluetooth 5.1
Wired
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port with PowerShare
2 x Thunderbolt 4 with Display Port Alt Mode / USB4/ Power Delivery
1 x microSD card slot
1 x Wedge-shaped lock slot
1 x Contacted smart card reader (optional)
1 x Fingerprint reader

Display
15″ 2-in-1 FHD 16:9 (1920x 1080) Touch, AR & AS, IR Cam + P-Sensor, Shutter, Mic, SLP, (400 Nits)
1 x HDMI 2.0

Webcam
IR Camera (User-Facing fixed focus) + Proximity Sensor (optional)

Audio
Speakers with smart amp
1 x 3.5mm combo audio jack
Noise-cancelling microphones

Power
90W power adapter (USB-C)
49 WHr Polymer battery
Express Charge capable

Dimensions
340.3 x 215.8 x 18 mm

Weight
1.5kg

Performance
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – CrystalDiskMark
Starting off our benchmark suite with CrystalDiskMark, it shows that the 1TB NVMe PCIe SSD in the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 performs relatively fast. This would equate to fast loading speeds / boot up times, and the capacity is definitely more than adequate given it’s a business laptop.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Cinebench R20
On Cinebench R20, the single core performance is admirable but the multi core score does seem a little lackluster. I would expect it to be closer to the Intel Core i7-1165G7 but unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Unigine SuperPosition
Now taking into accounts its graphical capabilities, the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 performed around the level that we expected, nearly breaking the 1,000 mark. After all, this is the 4K Optimized benchmark, which will require a powerful GPU to get a decent score.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – 3DMark Time Spy
A similar pattern can be seen in 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark, albeit not as bad. It seems that even with just the Intel Iris Xe graphics, it can match up with another laptop running an Intel Core 1165G7 with a GeForce MX330 discrete GPU, and that says a lot.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – PCMark 10
As for PCMark 10, the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 performs pretty well across all areas given the hardware. It’s no surprise that it’s rather low in the Digital Content Creation area but it’s to be expected as that would require more graphical power to score high. Overall, it’s shaping up to be a good machine for productivity.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Battery life
When it comes to battery life, this type of laptop usually excels in the area. In fact, the Latitude 9510 laptop still holds record here. For the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 however, it managed to last an admirable 11 hours and 9 minutes (669 minutes) in the PCMark Modern Office endurance test. This means that you should be able to use it a full day without the need to charge it.
User Experience
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review
The Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 is one of the many ultraportable productivity laptops that serves as a solution for many businesses. It’s powered by the Intel Core i5-1145G7 with two sticks of 8GB LPDDR4X RAM clocking in at 4266MHz, and a speedy 1TB NVMe PCIe SSD. The Intel Iris Xe Graphics isn’t particularly strong but it still performs decently.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Display
This laptop uses a 15-inch Full HD display with touchscreen support and 360° rotatable hinge. You do get pretty nice colors with good viewing angles, so it’s more than enough for work. Just keep in mind that it’s not meant for colour-accurate work, but you can still make use of the laptop for that purpose if you connect it to a more proper external display.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Ports
As for ports, the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 has a decent array of ports. You get two Thunderbolt 4 ports which supports a variety of uses including PD charging and DisplayPort, a USB Type-A port with PowerShare so you can charge USB devices even when the laptop is off, an HDMI port, a combo audio jack, a microSD card reader, and a wedge lock slot. I personally would have liked it if they managed to include at least one more USB Type-A port and a full-sized SD card reader but given the size, it’s adequate.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Keyboard
The keyboard on the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 is pretty comfortable to use. You get decent tactile feedback, white backlighting, and short travel distance with no flex. The power button can be found here on the top-right corner. I wished they included a fingerprint scanner for added convenience and security. The trackpad is there and it works fine but there’s nothing worth shouting out.
As it is part and parcel for a Dell machine, you get a full suite of Dell software that you can make use of such as Dell Power Manager and Dell Digital Delivery. Some software like Dell Mobile Connect, which wirelessly links to your smartphone, needs to be downloaded via the Windows Store but that means less bloatware for you. All of these are designed to make your life easier, such as serving as a hub to get important software and driver updates, battery maintenance, and more.
In the sound department, the speakers on the Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 are excellent. The top-firing speakers are loud, it can pump out a rather punchy bass, and it can have clear mids and highs. For built-in speakers, it’s one of the best out there. It should work especially great for conference calls but if you want something better, there is the optional Dell Speakerphone that you can get.
If you’d rather get a consumer-grade ultraportable laptop instead, check out our review of the Dell XPS 13 by clicking right here.
Dell Speakerphone MH3021P Add-On
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Speakerphone
At first glance, you might think this Dell Speakerphone MH3021P is merely a portable speaker but it’s actually more than just that. It’s also a USB-C hub with a built-in microphone and has Power Delivery support. In simpler terms, you get extra ports, better conference call quality, and still use one USB-C port, or in the case of this laptop, a Thunderbolt 4 port, to keep the machine healthily charged.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review – Speakerphone ports
With the use of a single USB-C port, you get two additional USB-A 3.1 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, and dual microphones which make up its omni-directional mic setup. Furthermore, the USB-C cable is built in, and you get additional control keys for answering / ending calls, volume adjustments, and to mute / unmute.

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As for how well the Dell Speakerphone MH3021P works, it really depends on use case. If you’re doing video conference calls with multiple people in the same room, it works great. You can definitely get multiple voices to be heard clearly without the need to raise their voices unnecessarily loud nor speaking too close to it. Depending on the room, you may need to adjust the sensitivity a bit.
Background noise is also kept at a minimum with audio coming from the speaker not being captured. However, it’s nowhere near podcast-level quality as a standalone condenser or dynamic microphone, but it would be difficult to achieve this without everyone having their own microphone. It’s meant for convenience and it can perform admirably well.
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Verdict
Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 Review
The Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 is an excellent business laptop, especially given what you’re getting. At RM 8,952.54 however, it is rather pricey and most people would expect at least and i7 with that price but not to worry, it still packs a punch. At the end of our Dell Latitude 9520 2-in-1 review, I award this business laptop with our coveted Gold Pokdeward.

Big thanks to Dell Malaysia for sending us this laptop for the purpose of this review.
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Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review — Simple Yet Effective

We take a look at one of Xiaomi’s recently launched product in this Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite review. Coming in with what seems like an affordable price tag, will it impress us? Let’s find out.
Unboxing
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Packaging
The device itself comes in a nice little black box. Nothing too flashy to say the least.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Unboxing
There’s not much items when you pull everything out of the box. The unboxing experience is pretty straightforward. As you can see, you can find the Mi Watch Fit itself, a quick start guide, as well as the watch’s charging cable. It’s what you’d expect from a package of this size.

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Appearance
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Front
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite comes with a 1.4-inch TFT LCD display. As you can see, we’ve got our hands on the black version of the watch.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Back
On the back, you can see the contact point to charge it up as well as the heart rate sensor. The strap is made out of rubber and you can change them, should you wish to do so. Lastly, there’s a single button at the right hand side of the display, which will allow you to turn it on as well as access its menu settings.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Specifications

Display:
1.4-inch 320 x 320 LCD TFT

Water Resistance:
5ATM (50m)

Features:
Bluetooth 5.0
Heart rate monitoring
Sleep monitoring
Breathing
Notifications
Weather
Flashlight
Music control
Outdoor running
Treadmill
Outdoor cycling
Indoor cycling
Freestyle
Walking
Trekking
Trail run
Pool swimming
Open water swimming
Cricket

Memory:
256MB

Sensors:
PPG, Accelerometer, Gyro, Light sensor, E-Compass, Barometer

Battery:
230mAh
Up to 9 days

Weight:
35g

User Experience
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Xiaomi Wear App
While you may use the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite on its own, the experience is better if you use the Xiaomi Wear app, which you can download for free on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
In the app, you can get a more detailed look of your stats, including your sleeping pattern, heart rate, step count, and calorie loss. If you’re planning on getting the watch to track all of these, it is recommended that you install the app.
I noticed that there are times when the watch won’t turn on its display when I move my wrist. When it does, there’s a bit of a delay before it triggers. This also applies when I’m swiping around with the watch, which is definitely something you should take note of.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Apps
The Mi Watch Lite comes with several apps, which is quite common in smart watches these days such as heart rate monitor, weather, breathing, activity, sleeping, flashlight, compass, air pressure, and remote music control. All the tracking features work fine and without any issues. For a person that has trouble sleeping, I really appreciate the sleeping pattern function, which gives me an indication of my sleep quality.
Once you’ve paired with the app (via your smartphone), you can enable notifications to be shown on your watch. It’s certainly useful when you don’t want to pull out your device and instead just look at your wrist. Unfortunately, you can’t add any additional apps to the watch but considering its price, I might be asking too much from Xiaomi.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Band displays
By default, there are 5 band displays that you can choose from. If that’s not enough for you, there are plenty of options that you can choose from and subsequently download from the app. Personally, I’m already fine with the preset skins but again, it’s up to personal preference. At least the option is there to switch.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Comfort
To be honest, I’m not really a fan of watches. One of the reasons behind it is that the strap is usually made out of rubber. For a guy that sweats a lot, I don’t find it comfortable after long hours of wearing one as it usually makes me feel sticky. The good thing is that the strap on the Mi Watch Lite is swappable so if you’re the type who sweats a lot, you can change them.
Another thing that I would like to point out is that sometimes, I get worried when I wear this watch to sleep. This is especially the case since the design is a little bulky. You can’t help but get the feeling that you’ll hit something if you move a lot in your sleep. So you might want to clear anything that’s near your sleeping place, just in case.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Battery
Battery-wise, Xiaomi has claimed that the Mi Watch Lite can last up to 9 days. In my personal usage however, I find that a day would consume around 25% of the battery life. This means that a full juice would last me roughly four days. While that’s not bad, it isn’t something that’s out of the norm. Of course, you have to take other factors into account such as having message notifications on, which is enabled for me. You could expect a more favorable result should you turn them off.
Conclusion
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite Review – Verdict
At the end of the day, the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite offers reasonable value at RM249. As hinted by its model name, it’s doesn’t offer full-fledge features of a high end smartwatch.
If you’re looking for a fitness band but would prefer it to be square-shaped instead and looking for straightforward features, the Mi Watch Lite will do the job for you. For that, I give it our Bronze Pokdeward. I would give it a higher rating if it’s priced like the pre-order price of RM199. Now let’s just hope that we’ll be able to see the standard Mi Watch in Malaysia sooner or later.

Our thanks to Xiaomi Malaysia for providing the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite that was used in this review.
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