Top 5 features that Pokémon Go needs

It's been more than a week now since Pokémon Go was released in Malaysia, the viral is real, you can see them in parks, happily catching em' all and the app no doubt took the nation by storm. Being a Pokémon fan myself, I never really thought I'd see the day like that would happen, but the game still has a lot of work to do.

Keep in mind that we won't be including upcoming known features such as a new sight tracking system, PvP/PvE (player vs player or environment), trading, upcoming future Pokémon generations and others. So without further ado, here are the top 5 features that we think the app should have.

By now, most Pokémon Go trainers know the trick of evolving a bunch of Pidgeys, Weedles and Caterpies for a faster grinding to level up. But man, it's a really tedious job of selecting them one-by-one to evolve. I'm no I.T. coding expert, but I don't see any reason for Niantic not implementing this simple feature in the app for simplicity. Multiple selection feature would be so useful for transferring Pokémon that we don't want or evolving, and if the system detects that there're not enough candies for evolving, then that Pokémon won't be counted. See, convenient right?

Not the actual game, but would be nice to have something like this

We already know Niantic is working on a PvP and PvE mode into the game, however, it's not known if EXP can be gained after battling since owning a Gym doesn't really reward that. PvP has always been the core of the original Pokémon game series, and to see it absent in the app is odd. We hope Niantic will grant our wishes so that levelling up won't be such a hassle, especially for a casual app like this. Plus, PvP is where the fun really is.

In the original Pokémon game series, instead of using kilometers, the game uses the in-game's trainer's steps to hatch an egg. Luckily for the mechanic, there's actually a way to make the egg hatch faster which is by putting a Fire-type Pokémon and the egg in the same party group. By having a Fire-type Pokémon, it will halve the steps taken. For example, if it originally takes 100 steps to hatch one, the Fire-type Pokémon in the party will grant 50 steps only.

Hatching 2KM eggs is alright for me, but not everyone is that free to walk around for hours to hatch 5KM and 10KM eggs. Perhaps Niantic can introduce a party system once PvP mode is a-go, then use borrow the mechanic from the original game series. So please, Niantic? (Editor: I'd settle for a more accurate way of measuring distance, perhaps rather than the GPS, checking the number of actual steps from the phone? So you could climb a staircase and still hatch eggs.)

Most of Pokémon Go trainers already know this, but there's not a single Status Move in the app at all. What's a Status move? Well, it's a non-attacking move that inflicts a status on your opponent. For example, I'm sure most Pokémon trainers remembers how annoying a Zubat is because of its constant Confuse Ray move, confusing your Pokémon to hit itself during the battle. In short, this will give the battle system more variety instead of mindless tapping, besides, not all Pokémon are meant for battle. In the world of Pokémon battling, there are actually designated roles that a Pokémon does best. A tanky Pokémon usually won't have the best attacking stats to bring down an opponent well, but with Status Moves at its disposal, it can be quite effective.

Did you hear that? That's the wind blowing

This is a #firstworldproblems but for rural people. From what we know and experienced, only areas with high density like well-known shopping malls, parks and others have a wide variety of Pokémon. This is actually kind of unfair because it's not like they have the chance to go out to the city nor parks all the time, even in my area which has a medium shopping mall nearby, the rate and number of Pokémon appearing around is too few compared to the city. We're not really asking for much, but maybe tweaking the coding for making the Pokémon appear more often around Pokéstops would be nice so that we can have an equal chance. Just saying.

So there you have it, we also did a top 30 Pokémon Go trainer tips awhile back so do check it out too. And what other features would you like to see in Pokémon Go in the future? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more news at Technave.com!


Top 5 features we'd like to see in the new ASUS ZenFone 4 series

Believe it or not, there have now been 3 generations of the ASUS ZenFone smartphones with the ASUS ZenFone 4 series announcement just around the corner. As we come up to it, here are some features we hope ASUS will implement for their 4th generation ZenFone series (some of which probably seem like longshots now with all the rumours but here they are).

The first ASUS ZenFone series introduced premium design and good looking phones to the entry-level and midrange with their concentric circle front panels (taken from their ASUS notebooks) and metallic looking bodies. I remember in particular Jonney Shih, ASUS Chairman saying that that premium design was one of the main features that they wanted to bring about for the ZenFone series. That just because you could only get an entry-level smartphone, it didn’t have to look bad.

A recap of the first ASUS ZenFone launch "Empowering Luxury for Everyone"

Over time, these ASUS Zen concentric circles disappeared (the last we saw it was with the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe) to be replaced with still nice looking rounded metal frames and chassis but gone was that unified ASUS ZenFone design. We don’t mind if ASUS want to bring in a new unified design or bring back the old one, but it would certainly help differentiate the new ASUS ZenFone 4 series from all the other rounded metal frame phones in the market.

The original mission of the ASUS ZenFone was to put premium smartphones in the hands of the masses

There is no doubt that the dual pixel camera sensor on the ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom makes it an excellent option for phoneagraphy fans (those who photograph with their phones). While the ZenFone 3 Zoom was already quite competitively priced it was still in the upper midrange price range of RM1.8K to RM2K. We’d like to see more dual pixel camera sensors in their midrange, perhaps even in their ASUS ZenFone 4 base model.

The recent announcement of the ASUS ZenFone 4 Max Plus means we won’t be seeing dual pixel camera sensors in their entry-level range though, but it would be great if all of the ZenFone 4 phones above it had such sensors. While we expect more dual camera setups from the ZenFone 4 series, perhaps rather than one being a zoom centric sensor, one of the cameras can be a monochrome sensor instead? Maybe we might even get the world’s first dual pixel front camera with the new ASUS ZenFone 4 Selfie or ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro?

After 3 generations of ASUS ZenFones it is increasingly clear that ZenFones were popular the most when they were priced for the entry-level to midrange (ZenFone 1st gen and ZenFone 2nd gen). When ASUS came out with their ASUS ZenFone 3 range they struck out with their premiumly priced ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe and ZenFone 3 Ultra (despite this being one of my personally favourite phones).

They were good attempts with premium quality materials and design (remember the invisible antenna?) but with other phone brands coming out with phones that had similar features and tech specs at lower price points (Huawei, OnePlus, Xiaomi, etc.) it seemed like not exactly the best first attempts. This time around, the ASUS ZenFone 4 Deluxe looks to offer the same high-end tech specs like last time, but hopefully the price range will remain below RM3K or RM2.5K while the rest of the ZenFone range focus on the midrange like before (around RM800 to RM1.8K).

ASUS proved that they could stick a 5000 mAh battery in a slim form factor with the ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom. We’re hoping that there will be more big battery but slim ZenFones (maybe the lowest would be 4000 mAh?) with the ZenFone 4 Max Plus already promising that 5000 mAh battery but with a more energy efficient processor.

We also expect 4GB RAM to become a standard feature for all entry-level to midrange ZenFone 4 phones, but we’d also like to see 64GB of internal storage becoming a standard tech spec feature for the ZenFone 4 series as well. The higher-end Deluxe range can just go for 6GB RAM or 8GB RAM and 256GB or 512GB storage straight.

Qualcomm’s recently announced 630 and 660 processors offer 14nm fabrication energy efficiency while promising even better performance. We just hope that ASUS won’t make the same mistake as last year and put them in a premiumly priced device (yes, we’re talking about the ZenFone 3 Ultra).

ASUS’s ZenUI was streamlined somewhat last year and while we did like some of their new additions like the Game Genie screen recording app, I particularly missed the email app that ASUS removed from the ZenUI. Sure, ZenCircle and ZenTalk are useful for being part of the ZenFone community but we’d like to see other useful ZenUI apps and options, perhaps an option to go barebones ZenUI or full-on ZenUI and then the ability to add-on from the ZenUI app library and customize as we see fit.

Here’s some new ZenUI apps we’d like to see:

If the leaks so far are the truth then in all likelihood, only a few of the features we're hoping for above will come true. Which features do you think those will be and what features are you hoping for in the new ASUS ZenFone 4 series? Discuss in our Facebook page but fret not, we'll be there to confirm everything next week so stay tuned to TechNave.com, or you can check out their site for the live launch on 17 August 2017 yourself.


Top 5 features we expect to see in the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10

With just a bit more than a day to go till the official Samsung UNPACKED where the Galaxy Note 10 is expected to be unveiled (and our writer is already there in New York), rumours about the upcoming Galaxy Note 10 have been going crazy. Quite a lot of people are expecting it to be little more than a Galaxy S10 with an S Pen, but in no particular order here’s the Top 5 features we’re expecting to see in the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.

While the new blue and white S Pen looks arguably cooler than the previous yellow and blue, the S Pen stylus has usually received a new feature or upgrade each time there’s been a Samsung Galaxy Note refresh.  Last time, Samsung allowed you to use it as a remote shutter for your camera or as a presentation clicker to go to the next slide. This time, our senior writer thinks that it could get the new S Pen Air Actions, which was previously seen in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6.

Granted, there have been more outlandish rumours, such as a built-in camera (which sounds useless due to no viewfinder) but we think having a bluetooth mic attached might be a bit more useful. However, we think the addition of S Pen Air actions is probably the more likely new feature for the S Pen on the Galaxy Note 10.

How about this S Pen in blue and white from winfuture?

Since the previous Galaxy Note 9 packed in a 4000 mAh battery we’re sort of hoping Samsung makes this larger, perhaps even 5000 mAh? Lol, that number seems unlikely though, but we could see an incremental increase to 4200 mAh or maybe even 4500 mAh.

This is in line with rumours that suggest the Galaxy Note 10 could have much faster 45W fast charging and 20W wireless charging (so you can charge your earbuds without a cable). You wouldn’t need faster charging if you didn’t have a larger battery, but that’s just our logic I suppose.

Practically every Samsung Galaxy flagship has boasted some form of camera upgrade, and we expect the Galaxy Note 10 to be no different. In this aspect, rumours are saying that the Note 10 could get double Time-of-Flight or ToF sensors (one on the front and one on the back), which could mean more realistic bokeh effects and Augmented Reality.

Since ToF sensors are designed to more accurately locate distance visually, another rumoured feature is audio 3D zoom, which may use these ToF sensors to more accurately record voices, even at a distance (our man on the ground suggests that even if you whisper far away, the Galaxy Note 10 will be able to pick it up clearly). It also suggests that there could be a more powerful built-in shotgun or multi directional mic but nothing confirmed for this just yet.

While the US will almost always get the Galaxy Note with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, Malaysia has almost always received Samsung Exynos chipsets for the Galaxy Note series. This time around, it’s rumoured that we’ll be seeing the Samsung Exynos 9825 which is expected to be a more energy efficient 7nm chipset with more powerful AI capabilities.

Considering that the Galaxy Note 10 is being revealed late in the year for 2019, we also expect it to come with a 5G modem. While 5G networks in Malaysia are expected to roll out next year, Samsung could just deactivate the more energy consuming bits for now and reactivate it with an update later as waiting for the Note 11 in August 2020 would be a bit too late.

While the previous 6.4-inch display Galaxy Note 9 did not come with a bigger brother, the Galaxy Note 10 is expected to come with a much larger Galaxy Note 10 Plus sibling. Considering all that we’ve seen so far, the Galaxy Note 10 Plus could have a larger 6.7-inch display (which is almost tablet territory already). However, it could also mean that this larger version also has a larger battery, maybe even 5000 mAh?

On the other hand, Samsung have always focused a lot of their efforts on their displays, so we also expect the Galaxy Note 10 Plus to have 90Hz or even 120Hz display refresh rates. Maybe they might even be able to switch from 60Hz to 120Hz like some other smartphones. We also expect to see the more expensive features here too, perhaps even under-display sound.

Of course, if you’re talking predictions, Malaysians will always ask “how much?” but current rumours are not conclusive at all. Leaksters like @rquandt are saying that the Galaxy Note 10 with 256GB storage could go for 949 USD (~RM3976) while the Galaxy Note 10 Plus with 256GB storage could go for 1099 USD (~RM4605). This of course should be taken with a grain of salt but we should find out very soon (8 August 2019) just how much exactly we might have to pay.

The other notable mention is that usually, the Samsung Galaxy Watch gets announced with the Galaxy Note series of that year. But this year, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 got announced earlier. So, does this mean we could be seeing something else? Maybe even the Galaxy Fold?

So that’s it for Top 5 feature predictions and notable mentions for the Samsung Galaxy Note 10. However, what do you think? Let us know in our Facebook page, especially if there’s anything in particular you’d like us to look out for. If you’re not willing to wait for us and our various hands-on pictures and videos, do feel free to register yourself and watch the livestream here. As always, stay tuned to TechNave.com for the latest in tech.


Top 5 flagship features you can find in the below RM2.5K Huawei Mate 20

If you’re looking for a flagship phone under the RM2.5K (RM2500) range, look no further than the Huawei Mate 20. Now priced at a reasonable RM2399, this phone carries similar traits to other high end flagship phones priced well above RM3000. The Huawei Mate 20 has tech specs consisting of the Kirin 980 processor, 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. Display wise, it has a 6.53 inch IPS LCD display and a pretty impressive 4000mAh battery capacity.

With those specs, it's no wonder the Mate 20 could perform flagship features! Here’s a few flagship features that the Huawei Mate 20 has:

Usually you’ll find the triple camera setup on more high end smartphones. The Huawei Mate 20’s camera setup consists of a 12MP wide angle lens, a 16MP ultra-wide angle lens, and an 8MP telephoto sensor. The different angles and sensors the smartphone’s camera has makes it perfect for the device to take any photo at in any situation from large group shots and beautiful landscape photos to super close macro shots of flowers in your garden.

Honestly, my favourite feature is definitely the 16MP ultra wide lens because I’m pretty done with squeezing myself into Hari Raya family portraits and not being able to identify myself in those photos…

With a pretty intense rear camera setup, comes pretty intense photography skills needed to utilize the camera. Thank god for the Master AI function in the Huawei Mate 20’s camera app. The function helps even the most beginner photographers take advantage of the power cameras the smartphone has.

The Master AI comes has 19 categories set for 500 scenarios which makes it perfect for preserving memories in any situation. It ‘edits’ your photos for you to make it brighter with the perfect contrast and sharper details.

Example of a perfectly done portrait shot with bokeh effect

Wide angle sunset. The colours are perfectly balanced with nothing too overexposed while maintaining detail and colour

Here's a shot of the moon and the clouds! See how all the details are captured in the night sky?

If you’re someone like me who has shaky hands, AI stabilization helps you reduce any shakiness that would have appeared in the photo. What makes it all the more interesting is that the Master AI would let random people pass through the area first before taking the photo.

Night shots can be a tad bit tricky as it requires you to find the perfect angles and light source to get the perfect photo. Night shot in Huawei Mate 20’s camera app takes a photo with the shutter wide open for 4 seconds, taking multiple shots and putting it together to make the perfect photo that isn’t too dark, resulting in low noise, brighter, and sharper photos.

However, make sure you hold perfectly still when you take photos with Night mode as it can result in blurry photos. It can be a challenge, especially when you have to hold still for 4 seconds (lol).

Here’s a function that is not only convenient but also improves our quality of life. Hi-Vision is an function exclusive to the Huawei Mate 20 series that can watch your weight with its AI Calorie counter, help you identify objects (that includes monuments too!), translate words on the fly and find an item that catches your eye online for you to purchase.

Here's the AI translator in action. Just point your camera and it will do the rest.

AI Calorie counter for you guys who are trying to keep fit. It identifies the food you are showing and calculates the amount of calories in it based on an estimated weight of the item (it can tell!).

Just point your camera at the item you desire and the AI will search online for the item or something similar to it alongside links of where to find them!

It’s fairly easy to use as well. All you have to do is enter the Hi-Vision app at the top right corner of your camera app, choose which function you want, point your camera at the item and let your device work its magic.

However, it is not all that accurate right now, especially in terms of identifying items and food as it is still an app that is learning. Perhaps over time, the results would be more accurate as more items are learned by the AI but for now, the catalogue of items are pretty good!

Here’s a concept that makes it very easy to share photos and videos amongst your friends and family after a photoshoot! Huawei Share works very similarly to Apple’s Airdrop whereby with just a touch of a button, you can share your files with other Huawei users without compromising any quality.

It even saves you a lot of time as transferring files between devices is pretty speedy. If you own a Huawei laptop, Huawei Share works as well, making it easy to transfer out files quickly without needing a cable.

In a world where our phone usage can burn through the biggest of battery capacities, fast charging is something that is very much welcome in our lives. The Huawei Mate 20 is capable of fast charging with its 4.5V/5A SuperCharge technology.

If you’re the type who is always on the move, just know that the Huawei Mate 20 is capable of charging from 0% to 58% of battery in only 30 minutes. That’s probably faster than your shower time.

And there you have it. Why should you spend more on a smartphone for flagship features when the Huawei Mate 20 can do that and more with an under RM2.5K price tag? If you’re interested in getting the phone for yourself, you can head on over to any Huawei Experience Store or even their official website. For the latest Huawei tips and tricks, look no further than on TechNave.com!


Apple could replace the notch with a pill-shaped cutout on the iPhone 14 series

While there is still a long way to go for the next iPhone 14 series, this latest rumoured news is quite juicy. We have heard that Apple may plan to scrap the notch but how would you like a pill-shaped cutout design on the front display?

Granted, this is not official but someone just made an image render of how it would look like. Personally, a pill-shaped cutout may make or break but we also think iPhone users won't really mind. It's also interesting to see that a small cutout, could feature the current sensors such as the front camera, infrared camera, speaker, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and finally, a dot projector.

While this piece of rumoured news is fresh, it's not the first time that we read this kind of news. A media outlet from South Korea also published and claimed that the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will use the new pill-shaped cutout. Even for popular Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, he also claimed similar reports.

In case you're wondering, Apple is still using the notch because it's necessary for the Face ID feature. Should the company really go in this direction, it would be most intriguing to see how are the iPhone engineers going to pack all the sensors into that shape. Either way, most tech fans will still criticise Apple for staying the same or trying something new.

We are still nine months away from the annual iPhone reveal, but what do you think of this image render? Until then, stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Top 5 free software for your graphic design toolbox

When running a brand on social media, one of the best ways to gain as much traction as possible is to include a well-designed graphic with your social media post. If you’re still new to this, it’s best to start out using free software so that you can grasp the basics of graphic design.

Also, when picking a software for graphic design, you have a choice of using either a raster graphics editor or a vector graphic editor. But, what are the differences between both the aforementioned graphic editors and which should you use?

In this article, we’ll talk about the difference between a raster and vector graphics editor, and list down a bunch of free software you should consider having in your graphic design toolbox. Let’s have a closer look at the list, shall we?

Vector vs Raster image. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

First and foremost, what are Raster and Vector graphics? A Raster graphic (also known as a bitmap graphic) is basically an image that's made up of a bunch of pixels. With that in mind, the sharpness of the image reduces dramatically if you scale the image up too much.

On the other hand, a vector graphic uses points and paths (like on a graph) to form shapes. Because of that, a vector graphic remains sharp no matter how large or small you scale the image. However, the main drawback of vectors is that shading is not as easy to do while raster images can achieve complex shading and painting-like image quality.

Left: Raster Graphic. Right: Vector Graphic

Which type of graphic editor you should use depends mainly on what you’re going to do. For example, if you’re creating a logo with simple colours, using a vector image is crucial as it lets you scale it up or down without any loss in sharpness. However, if you plan on making art with complex shading for social media, then a raster graphics editor might be more suitable instead.

For creating collages or “photobashes” for social media, both types of graphic editors can do that without any issues. That said, there’s no harm in having both types of graphic editors installed, as you can easily switch between them depending on the project.

To start, we have Inkscape, which is an open-source free vector graphics editing software that’s about as powerful as Adobe Illustrator. Inkscape is not only free, but it’s also available on multiple platforms such as Windows, Mac, and Linux.

It comes with various features ranging from object creation and manipulation, fill and stroke, path editing, and text support. In addition to that, it comes with a few more features like anti-aliased display, transparency, and it’s able to import and export various file formats, including SVG, PNG, DXF, and much more.

Inkscape has quite a large community, with developers constantly creating plugins to extend the software’s functionality. In addition to that, there are many tutorials on YouTube where you can learn a lot of tips and tricks to help you improve.

With all that being said, you can use Inkscape to create logos, illustrations, and graphics for social media. It's also possible to convert a raster image to a vector image by using the Trace Bitmap tool found in the software.

Because you’re handling multiple graphical assets with different formats such as .svg, .png, .jpg, and more, you need a reliable graphic viewer that’s fast and supports multiple formats. The software that fits that criteria would be IrfanView, which is free and extremely lightweight at only 5MB in size.

In addition to that, IrfanView can open more than 150 different file formats (with the aid of plugins), which is important as the assets your are working with might have been obtained from different sources such as a digital camera or asset libraries. Unfortunately, IrfanView is only available on the Windows operating system which is a bummer for those who use Mac or a Linux machine.

Canva is a popular graphic design tool because it has many free templates to download and import into your preferred graphic editing software. In addition to that, Canva also has many templates that’s designed for a specific social media platform, such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and more.

Alternatively, Canva also comes with a graphic editor that’s quite straightforward and easy to use. Not only that, but it also comes with a bunch of animated templates that you can use to create short videos for your social media as well.

Lastly, we have GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), a free raster image editing software that's as powerful as Adobe Photoshop. It lets you edit using layers which lets you stack different elements on top of each other to create a specific look.

It lets you import and export more than 13 different file formats. Also, just like Inkscape, GIMP has a relatively large community that has developed more than 100 plugins to add additional functionality to the program.

While GIMP is mainly a raster graphics program that makes it great for creating images with complex shading such as art posters, it's also capable of creating and manipulating vector images. However, its vector-manipulation features are not as robust as a dedicated vector graphic editor such as Inkscape.

When working with a client or another graphic designer, you might need to send the finished graphic and the assets over the internet. With that in mind, you could use WeTransfer, a cloud-based file-sharing website that lets you send files up to 2GB in size to another person for free.

Once uploaded to WeTransfer’s website, the files will remain on the cloud for up to 7 days before getting deleted to make room for other file transfers. If you subscribe for WeTransfer Pro at the price of ~RM50 a month, you’ll be able to transfer files up to 200GB, and you’ll be able to determine the duration before your files get deleted.

With all the free software mentioned above, you should ideally have a vector and a raster graphics editing software for your graphic design toolbox such as Inkscape and GIMP. Other than that, don’t be afraid to experiment with any software you come across, as it might be helpful in future projects.

Once you’re more familiar with graphic designing, you can consider investing in more expensive software such as the Adobe Creative Cloud. Also, consider saving all the stock assets you’ve downloaded from websites such as Canva, as you might use them in the future.

With all that said, what are your thoughts on all the programs listed above? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Top 5 most affordable electric vehicles you can't buy in Malaysia... yet

For those unaware, it was recently announced that Tesla will be coming to Malaysia. Specifically, the company will bring its Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to our shores. It will also build a supercharger network in our country, as well as establish an office and service centres.

But while Tesla BEVs are cool, they're not exactly cheap and affordable. You'd have to pay at least RM200k. But what other affordable options can Malaysians look forward to? Well, let's take a look at the top 5 most affordable electric cars you can't find in Malaysia... yet.

If you don't mind a small car, the tiny Geely Panda Mini EV sounds like one possible alternative. This relatively tiny car is a 4-seater with two doors, is about 3 metres long and 1.5 metres wide. For size reference, the popular Perodua Myvi is a larger car at about 3.9 metres in length and 1.7 metres wide. It also has a range of 120 to 200 kilometers, so it's meant just for short city commutes.

The Panda Mini EV retails from 39900 to 53900 yuan (~RM25805 to RM28392), which makes it a super affordable electric vehicle... in China. However, since Geely already has a local presence in Malaysia and a sizeable stake in Proton, there's still a slim chance that we could see the Panda Mini EV on Malaysian roads. However, we'd expect all the red tape to cause the price to go up considerably.

Another option would be the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV. It's even smaller than the Geely Panda Mini EV at 2.9 meters by 1.4 meters and retails in China for 43800 yuan (~RM28397). Like the Panda Mini EV, it also offers 4 seats with 2 doors but the range is just from 120km to 170km.

The interesting thing about this car is it's "IP68-certified" or at least somewhat water resistant. It was once spotted floating merrily through a flooded street, so it could be just what our flood-prone states in Malaysia might need.

For something that looks more luxurious, check out the Jiayuan Komi. This is a pricier mini car retailing between 56800 to 67800 yuan (~RM36736 to RM43850). It has many safety and security features like 2 airbags, a reverse camera, keyless entry, tyre pressure monitoring, cruise control and more.

In addition to it's premium features, it's also significantly taller with 15-inch wheels, so you could say it's the SUV of mini EVs. It also has a range between 161km to 322km depending on which variant you buy but like the other mini EVs mentioned above it offers 4 seats, 2 doors and very limited boot space.

Moving on, an electric vehicle available in our neighbouring Thailand is the Tata Tiago EV. Unlike the previous three, the Tata Tiago EV is a hatchback with 4 doors priced at 348500 Baht (~RM45152). It also offers a range of 315km making it good for small families living outside of Malaysia's main city areas.

While it has 4 seats like the other three, there's considerably more space thanks to the wider wheelbase so it's great if you need the space and can afford to pay more. A car maker from India, Tata also has a small local presence here in Malaysia, so there's some chance that it may arrive here with similar pricing.

For something with more range and a premium price, there's the Chery QQ Unbounded (Wujie) Pro. This two-door car can seat four and has a range of 301 to 408 km.

That's double the range of most mini EVs, which tend to have a max range of about 200 km on a full charge. As for price, the Unbounded Pro is priced between 89900 to 112900 yuan (~RM58309 to RM73226).

As you may have noticed, these aforementioned affordable mini EVs are priced in the RM25000 to RM59000 range. Aside from the Tata Tiago EV, most of the time if you want a regular hatchback or sedan EV, you're easily looking at more than RM100000.

FYI, the most affordable Tesla Model 3 SR+ is expected to go for RM225000 to RM247000. Honestly, those aren't prices that the average Malaysian can afford, especially those with families.

Perhaps we need to wait until Proton and Perodua come out with their affordable EVs to actually get these sort of pricing ranges, so if you're in the market for an affordable EV, now may not exactly be the right time. But what do you think? What would be an affordable EV price tag for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more articles like this.


Top 5 reasons why you probably didn't like Captain Marvel very much

By now, most of you have already watched the latest Marvel Studios movie - Captain Marvel. Some loved it, some hated it, but personally for me (any many others), I find the movie just fine. It's not so bad, but nothing so great either. So in this article, we will look into the top 5 reasons why you probably didn't like Captain Marvel very much.

Also, before we get started - you are about to enter spoiler territory. So turn back now if you haven't watched it.

This is probably one of the main reasons for a lot of hate from fans and moviegoers. Some argue that maybe Brie Larson, the actress of the main character, Carol Danvers is the wrong casting choice but I don't think that's really the case, as it has to do more with the character development and script writing. Sure, Carol is already strong from the beginning shooting out plasma energy from her fists but that's not the point - there are other plenty of strong characters from the start as well (Superman, Alita, Jason Bourne).

This is her face expression almost throughout the movie

She was also pretty emotionless most of the time until she found out the truth but even until then, I still didn't really care that much about her and I think this is due to the fact that her life was not in any sort of danger to make us care enough. Not to say that she was flat the entire time, she was pretty snarky with her mentor and towards the Skrull which was okay, but just... rather poorly developed as a relatable human being and definitely not enough backstory.

Of course, making a movie of a character gradually finding out about his or her past is rather tricky. But in Alita: Battle Angel and the Bourne Identity series, not only did we see the characters' personalities through flashbacks but through their actions as well even in non-action scenes as we progress. In Carol's case, we were given a quick treat of her flashbacks, an audio playback and her close friend which was heartwarmingly forced about who she is.

To best summarize her character, "She starts the movie as a stoic warrior lady, and she ends the movie as a stoic warrior lady that glows now." (Jeremy Jahns, 2019)

That said, there was nothing at stake. Supposedly, we were told that the Skrulls were invading planets and the Kree was supposed to stop them. Then, it took a turn on finding Dr Marvell before the Skrulls do... then suddenly turns out that she was already dead and now it's a mission to find out who Carol was. Come to think about it, there wasn't any focus nor any of the character's motivation shown. They were just... doing their jobs.

Maybe the warhead missiles that were aimed at Earth was an emergency, but there was no sense of urgency because we already know "CAPTAIN MARVEL GOT THIS" and she did marvellously. But... yeah, what was at stake again?

Villain potential wasted, still good performance, though

From the words of Mark Hamill, "They say a hero is only as good as his villain and I believe the reverse is also true". But in Captain Marvel's case, there's nobody equal to her and... who exactly is the villain? Definitely not the Skrulls. Is it Yon-Rogg? The Kree?

To be fair, this is a common issue for the MCU but at this point of entering Phase 4 and AVENGERS: ENDGAME, I think most of us expected better. It was a missed opportunity to utilize the Skrulls ability to cause more tension on who to trust but nope, I guess we don't have time for that on a self-discovery mission. But perhaps another way of looking at this is how big organizations or a superior race like the Kree abusing their power, which reflects the current world. *coughthegovernmentcough*

But still, because there was no one as strong as her, there was no threat and no challenge.

It's no secret that the directors of the movie, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, have openly said that Captain Marvel is a feminist (and humanist, lol) movie. Like a fly on a wall, it's too obvious throughout the movie and combining from the misunderstanding of Brie Larson's so-called white men trash talk, the movie has certainly garnered a lot of controversy and attention for the wrong reasons.

Listen, I'm all for female empowerment. I love Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, Ellen Ripley from Aliens, the Bride from Kill Bill, Alita and many others. I can see the message that the writers are trying to convey but they didn't have to shove it in front of our faces by belittling men. To add on to that, I've also spoken to a few female friends of mine most of them felt the movie was just fine, didn't see what was the big deal, or (to my surprise), wished Captain Marvel was a dude instead. You really have to take my word for it.

Bottom line - Regardless of whether if it's a male, female, black, white, yellow, brown, or an Apache helicopter. We just want a good movie, mmkay?

Ok, hear me out. This one is probably for the movie enthusiasts (me) but when you look at other MCU movies, the Russo Brothers made Captain America 2 like a political thriller film (#sogood) and even somehow made the third sequel and Avengers: Infinity War different. You can also see what James Gunn did with Guardians of the Galaxy with that sci-fi adventure that has never been done in the MCU before its debut. Ant-Man, although a filler in between the series, is certainly a hilarious superhero movie in its own right. The Spider-Man: Homecoming fits the bill of a high-school kid movie. Heck, even Wonder Woman derived from the dark and gritty feel from Zack Snyder's DCEU vision was well done indeed.

So what I'm saying is that the Captain Marvel movie doesn't seem to have its own identity. It's like a mash-up of many genres together, like the fish out of the water moment when Carol returned to Earth (like Thor), the 90's feel (which also made it feel like when the T-800 travelled back in time in Terminator 2), a buddy cop movie with Fury, even that Guardians of the Galaxy feel playing that 90's song during a fight scene. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that there are two (2) directors for this movie as mentioned earlier.

So there you have it, do you agree with our points? If you enjoyed the movie, then good for you! Hopefully, her character will be much improved in one of the most anticipated movies this year - Avengers: Endgame and we can't wait to check it out!

Want more movie analysis from us? Give us a like and stay tuned for more of that at TechNave.com.


Top 5 tablet features for an affordable iPad Pro alternative in Malaysia

With the recent announcement of the new Apple iPad Pro, the new tablet actually looks really good and offers many cool features. However, the starting price actually starts from RM3499 and that's just for the 11-inch and 64GB memory variant which is probably not enough for the modern tech user nowadays. In this article, we will take a look at some features that such a tablet should have, so here are our top 5 tablet features for an affordable iPad Pro alternative in Malaysia.

With mobile gamers on the rise, don't be surprised that some are using tablets to their advantage too. However, not all tablets have the same high-end tech-specs to go through a gaming session with game apps demanding more processing power, especially like PUGB Mobile. That said, one of the more recent tablet entries for the Malaysia market is the Huawei MediaPad M5 series, it has a Kirin 960 chipset, 4GB of RAM and a screen resolution of 2560 x 1600. But is that enough?

Well, fret not. The Kirin 960 chipset powering the MediaPad M5 series was previously used in Huawei's flagship smartphones. It is not only a very good processor, powerful enough to handle most games and apps, but it is also a feature that most tablets do not offer, especially ones below RM2000 or RM2K.

Apple didn't really specify its battery figures as usual, but coming back to the MediaPad M5 series, the standard variant carries a respectable 5100mAh battery, while the Pro variant is powered by a massive 7500mAh battery! Now that's a lot of battery power there.

Furthermore, if the battery is flat, the standard variant can be fully recharged within 2 hours with quick charging technology and this also applies to the Pro variant which has a bigger battery. By the way, it's able to play 12 hours straight of HD movies continuously. Now that's what I call long-lasting.

Of course, the tablet is not just for gaming. Some people use it for other entertainment purposes such as watching movies when they are travelling. While the iPad Pro is certainly capable of doing so, the price tag problem comes back again.

We have mentioned that the MediaPad M5 series can play up to 12 hours straight of HD movies continuously, but it has other features too that can add on to a better viewing experience. Besides the 2560 x 1600 resolution on the 8.4-inch and 10.8-inch display, both tablets are using Harman Kardon speakers. We have tested this with the MediaPad M3 Lite a long time ago and it's no joke that the sound quality is there. We recommend pairing these up with a head or earphone for the best audio experience.

Moving away from the entertainment features, there is also an increase of readers using tablets to read their favourite e-books now. But as how our parents nag us, staring at the screen for too long is not good for our eyes in the long run (and that's probably how I got glasses). To our knowledge, the new iPad Pro has a True Tone feature for this, but so does the MediaPad M5 series with Eye Comfort Mode.

Eye Comfort Mode is exactly what it says it is, as much research by Huawei has been done to develop a display more comfortable for your viewing pleasure. It has been specifically designed in such a way to reduce blue light emissions for an overall safer reading experience. On top of that, the tablets can automatically detect and adjust the colour temperature of the light in your current environment. That's pretty considerate.

While the iPad Pro is mainly used for graphics design and even video editing, the MediaPad M5 series can also be used for working on the go, complete with its own HUAWEI M-Pen. It's light, comfortable and comes as a separate stylus accessory for designers to take advantage of its 4096-layer pressure sensitivity. The button on the stylus can be customized to take screenshots, delete images and launch certain apps as well.

Also not to forget, the tablets can also switch to PC mode as long as you pair it with a keyboard, which is also a separate accessory. With this, the MediaPad M5 series is quite ideal for those who do work on the go.

So that's our top 5 tablet features for an affordable iPad Pro alternative in Malaysia. And yes, we know we have been talking about the MediaPad M5 series a lot but that's because we think it is one of the best alternatives to the iPad Pro, as the tablets are currently selling for RM1488 (MediaPad M5) and RM1899 (MediaPad M5 Pro) respectively. That's a really good deal if you ask me!

That's all, folks, thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more tech articles at TechNave.com.


Top 5 things that smartphone brands should be doing

Manufacturers pack their smartphones with many features such as fast charging, fingerprint sensors, and more that make their products more convenient to use. However, there are some features that smartphone manufacturers should include in most of their smartphones (especially budget phones) to improve the quality of life of their customers.

With all that being said, here’s a list of the top 5 things smartphone manufacturers should be doing or features they should include in future products. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at the list. Shall we?

You can see the physical mute switch above the volume rocker on the iPhone 12

Physical mute switches (found on OnePlus devices and iPhones) are convenient because it lets the user quickly mute their smartphone with a flick of a finger, instead of unlocking the phone and muting it via the quick settings menu. Additionally, it’s also possible to mute the device without the need to take it out of your pocket.

Some drawbacks of having a physical switch include accidentally muting or unmuting your phone as you move about or take the phone out of your pocket. But the issue can be easily fixed by having a firmer switch that takes a little more effort to flip.

Apple's Type-C to 3.5mm dongle costs RM55 each!

More and more smartphone brands opt not to include the headphone jack on newer devices because it lets them manufacture much thinner smartphones with a large battery capacity. Not only that, the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack allows for a much larger internal battery to be installed.

Manufacturers should, at the very least, include a 3.5mm to USB Type-C dongle in the box so that users can use their favourite pair of headphones. Some prefer the simplicity of having a pair of wired headphones because they don’t have to worry about charging it. Also, wired earphones are usually much cheaper compared to wireless earphones.

The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro's hole-punch notch feels less intrusive

The notch on the iPhone 12 series is a little too big in my opinion

Display notches allow smartphone manufacturers to produce smartphones with a higher screen-to-body ratio while having a front-facing selfie camera. There are many types of notches ranging from the classic bar notch found on iPhones to waterdrop notches on Android devices.

With so many different kinds of notches available, smartphone manufacturers should consider only implementing the hole-punch notch because it has a much smaller footprint, equating to a less intrusive experience while playing mobile games and watching videos.

Samsung Galaxy smartphone going through IP certification

Based on a study, water damage accounts for 25% of smartphone damage. Because of that, most modern smartphones should be IP certified or come with some form of water and dust resistance to ensure that the device remains functional even after dropping it into a small pool of water.

While developing a water and dust resistant smartphone might drive up the cost of the bill of materials (around ~RM62 according to OnePlus’ CEO), it is still much cheaper than replacing the entire device due to water damage. Furthermore, it is unlikely we’ll see a foldable phone or devices with a flip camera come with water and dust resistance as they’re much harder to protect with all the moving parts.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 was one of the first Samsung phones to come with stereo speakers

Budget smartphones usually don’t have a good audio listening experience. They typically come with a mono speaker that’s usually located at the bottom of the device that could get muffled by the user’s palm when watching videos in landscape mode. There are smartphones with stereo speakers, but they are mostly found on premium mid-range to flagship smartphones.

With that being said, smartphone manufacturers should include a stereo speaker system on budget smartphones to give them a much better listening experience while watching a movie or listening to music. Additionally, replacing the earpiece with a larger speaker will not drive up the smartphone’s bill of materials by a large margin.

What else do you think smartphone brands should be doing? Do you agree with our list? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Top 5 things that smartphone manufacturers should stop doing

In a world where smartphone brands are increasingly saturated over the years, we have seen a lot of great innovations and unfortunate brands that went under the radar. However, I think it’s also safe to say that we are also getting a bit bored (or annoyed, if I might add) of seeing the repeated things of what phone companies are doing. Here are our top 5 list of what smartphone manufacturers should stop doing if they want to keep our attention.

Starting with the most obvious one, you probably know where I’m going with this. Sure, it’s pretty hard to come up with an original design nowadays, but it doesn’t mean that it’s completely alright to copy and paste the design from another, then change something here and there and call it a day. Heck, even gaming laptops couldn’t escape from that one from the recent launches this year.

I don’t want to point any fingers, but just so you know. We are not that blind to see the obvious.

Aside from copying how the phone looks like, we also would like to point out that maybe smartphone manufacturers should stop copying what others are doing as well. One fine example of this is the dual camera lens, do you know how many phones have that feature now? If it was with the purpose of increasing the quality of the photos or offering a unique camera perspective then this is fine but already there is the Huawei P9, P9 Plus, Mate 9, Mate 9 Pro, P10, P10 Plus, Honor 8, iPhone 7 Plus, vivo V5 Plus, LG G5 and G6, Levono Phab 2 Plus and Phab 2 Pro, ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom, OPPO F3 Plus, Oukitel U20 Plus, Xiaomi Mi 6 and others that I apologetically missed out. That’s already 16 of them alone from last year until now and they even seem to be appearing in today's entry-level smartphones as well.

The fingerprint sensor feature is as guilty as this too, by the time when most phones already have made it a norm, trying to sell how fast the phone unlocks from the fingerprint sensor is already a bore to us. We understand that they want to play it safe because it’s popular and it works, but they shouldn’t be afraid to try something innovative to make themselves stand out. Especially in this cutthroat smartphone competition.

Listen, we get that colours with fancy name (Rose Gold *ahem*) actually works from a marketing perspective. It sounds cool, exotic, special, and gives a touch of personality. But do also understand that giving four different names - (Opal Black, Graphite Black, Jet Black, Black Matte) for the same Black means little now, because in the end, it’s still the same Black (with some extra shininess). And same goes to Rose Gold as pink, it will always be pink no matter what.

But hey, you know what works? Releasing other colours that aren’t usually seen like Red, Blue, Green, Purple, Yellow, and many others. They exist too, you know.

As aforementioned, our world is getting saturated with many smartphone brands. With so many choices, which one should we choose? For a person who doesn’t have much exposure to the smartphone world, it’s easy for them to just refer to the brand’s recognition. However, what happens if the brand has 3 different phone models line-up for 3 different series each?

I’m just exaggerating, but you get the point. Not every smartphone brand is doing this, of course. However, most of the time, there is barely any difference between the phones. At most, it’ll only be based on memory, battery and screen size. Worst still, having the same similar tech-specs and yet trying to justify they are for different target audience. Hmm, right.

I hope to see that one day, maybe they can just release just 1 type of phone for one series with different features and tech-specs. That way, it’ll be much easier for humans with poor memory (me) to remember the names.

Another sin that smartphone manufacturers like to do is marketing the big numbers of their devices. The big numbers here refers to the tech-specs such as memory, battery, and camera. So this begs the question, do you really need that much memory space? What good is a battery with over 3000 mAh if it drains quickly after a few months? And a camera with high mega-pixel doesn’t automatically make you a good phoneographer either.

By all means, it’s an added advantage of having higher capacity for each of them. Maybe if you’re an avid photographer or videographer, then having extra storage space, support for large external memory and plenty of RAM would be an excellent feature to highlight. However, most poeple aren't. Also, nowadays smartphone manufacturers are finding ways to make battery usage more efficient, and cameras are actually starting to get better in mid-range devices.

So there you have it, do you agree with our list? What other things did we miss out? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more geeky articles at TechNave.com!


Top 5 tourist spots to visit in Bali - #A2017LiveUnplanned by Samsung

As previously mentioned in our news report, Samsung is holding a #A2017LiveUnplanned contest where you stand a chance to go on a holiday sponsored by Samsung! With Bali and Langkawi as the first period for choosing the lucky winner (ending on 23 March 2017), here are the top five spots that you should definitely check out in Bali if you’re one of the lucky winners!

The magnificent view of Lake Batur (sourced from Flickr, user Ming Wei)

Nestling in the middle of Mount Batur crater, the magnificent active volcano and its surrounding intact forest is a sight to behold. Visitors have come here to take its pictures at different moments – in the morning when the first sun ray lights the house up or in the afternoon with reddish sky hanging above.

Put on your hiking shoes and explore the Sekumpul Waterfalls (sourced from Flickr, user Kai Lehmann)

The Sekumpul Waterfall is a hidden gem in the north of Bali, promises a challenging walk from Sekumpul village down hundreds of steps and a river crossing. During the rainy season, visitors will be greeted by a chain of up to seven falls scattered across the high cliffs. For cave explorers, you can sit on the flat canyon rocks of Sukawati and see how much deeper you can go into the canyon.

Beneath the waves lies the underwater temple of Pemuteran by Xplorea.com

Astoundingly hidden 29 metres under the sweeping waves of the sea, Taman Pura, an underwater temple spanning across 2,500 square metres consists of ten large Buddha statues resting on stone plinths and a four-meter-tall temple gateway. This site was initially constructed as part of an underwater conservation programme and has since become a popular attraction for diving enthusiasts and a unique spot for couples to renew their wedding vows.

Watch farmers harvest seaweed at Nusa Lembongan (sourced from Flickr, user Jean-Marie Hullot)

Yes, seaweed farming is also a nice thing to observe. If you decide to go for a bike ride in Lembongan, immerse yourself in of seaweed farming in Bali and learn about Bali’s social economy along with the cultural preservation and environmental conservation that comes with seaweed farming.

Remember to watch the captivating Devdan Show when in Bali (Sourced from devdanshow.com)

Last but not least, be sure to check out the dance with a twist at the Devdan Show, a one-of-a-kind performance that was partly designed by stage and artistic directors of Cirque du Soleil. Here, modern and traditional elements come together to form a unique 90-minute theatrical and dance tribute to Indonesia. A must-experience at least once in a lifetime, expect to see everything from fire to colourful kites, bringing life on stage.

To join the contest, participants are required to purchase a Galaxy A7 (2017) or A5 (2017), post up either a photo or video of your most YOLO moment on Instagram, and insert a creative caption with the hashtags #A2017LiveUnplanned and #myGalaxyA2017, and tag @samsungmobilemy to be in the running. The most creative submissions will be chosen and winners get to indulge in an unforgettable trip with flight and accommodation sponsored by Samsung!

This is also just the first round of Samsung’s challenge in the #A2017LiveUnplanned Instagram Contest, winners will be announced every bi-weekly for grand prize holiday tickets to Bali, Seoul, Phuket and the Gold Coast!

For more information on the contest, please visit www.samsung.com/my/a2017liveunplanned.


Top 5 value phones to buy in February!

Are you looking for a decent smartphone with an economically fair price? You've come to the right place then, but here's the kicker - these phones mentioned below will also be going on a sale at the lowest price soon at the end of this month! But before we get to where you can find them, check out our top 5 value for money phones that you should buy this February:

Perhaps one of the best midrange tier phones this year for now, there are a few reasons to get the Galaxy A Series (A7 or A5 2017), for starters it has IP68 water and dust resistance grade which is unheard of for midrange Samsung devices; camera-specs have also improved vastly from their predecessors running on 16MP on both sides with f/1.9, as well as having plenty of memory storage and a good battery life (3600 mAh and 3000 mAh respectively, it has fast charging too).

In case you're wondering how well does it go under water, check out our video below.

Next, getting the P9 series is totally worth a buy with the P9 and P9 Lite, because not only are they originally affordable to begin with, but the unique dual rear cameras Leica lens feature is certainly no gimmick allowing you take awesome phoneography (especially the monochrome mode).

On the other hand, the Honor 8 also has dual rear cameras with a ton of phoneography features like bokeh, light painting and is possibly the most beautifully designed phone of last year. Not to mention, the Android 7.0 Nougat based EMUI 5.0 OS is now available for the P9 and Honor 8. It’s quite a tempting offer if you ask us.

How good are the pictures from the dual rear cameras anyway? Well, you can take a look at our picture samples in our P9, P9 Lite and Honor 8 reviews.

If you’re not into dual rear cameras, then perhaps the selfie phone Oppo F1s can do. In our F1s review, we think it's a must have for all selfie lovers, the front camera packs a powerful 16MP and it also has some other fun camera mode features like Double Exposure and GIF mode, the main 13MP camera at the back isn’t too shabby as well.

Plus, there’s a limited edition F1s signed by Ayda Jebat for just RM1398 #hinthint.

Still too expensive? Let Xiaomi have your attention then, with their solid reputation of selling affordable yet quality devices, the Redmi Note series like the Redmi Note 3 (check out our review of this device here), Redmi Note 4 and others are also available for an unbelievable price of less than RM1000 each. Don’t really know what else to tell you there, just good quality and easy on the pocket phones!

Lastly, another worthy mention includes the ASUS Zenfone 3 (ZE552KL) and Max (ZC533KL). Both of these phones have received favorable reviews for its sleek design, commendable camera quality and long lasting battery. We've also just recently reviewed the Zenfone Max, so take a look here if you want to know more and the Zenfone 3 review too while you're at it.

So back to the question - Where can you find them? Well, coming soon on 21 February until 28 February 2017, Shopee will be launching a Mobile Madness sale where you can buy phones and accessories at an attractive price including up to 50% discount! With a saving price from RM150, this will mark Shoppee as the lowest priced mobile phones in that period.

But that’s not the best part of shopping in Shopee on the upcoming event, in fact, Shopee will be giving TechNave readers the chance to redeem free items! Share this article, copy and paste the code "TECHNAVE" (from the collection page bellow) and you will be granted a value of RM20 with no minimum spend required (with T&C applied*). Sweet!

To know more about Shopee’s Mobile Madness, head over to their website to check it out and download their app here!

T&Cs: Only applicable to the selected collection page. One time use only. Valid till 28 Feb 2017, 11.59pm. Not applicable for use on any other promotion or product in Shopee. Valid with payment through Shopee Guarantee only. Redemption is limited. Terms & conditions are subject to changes without prior notice.


We are now entering the second half of 2018 and it's been quite exciting. We have seen a few cool and innovative smartphone features, so in this article piece, we will look through at the new awesome stuff from various smartphone brands introduced, with no particular ranking in order. Without further ado, let's take a trip down the memory lane at the Top 7 Innovative Smartphone Features So Far!

Making its debut at the MWC 2018 this year, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ had everyone excited, unlike their less inspired predecessor. This new series actually features a new Dual Aperture on its 12MP camera, meaning that it's able to switch its aperture from F/2.4 to F/1.5 based on the lighting condition. Furthermore, F/1.5 is the biggest aperture we've seen so far in any smartphone and Samsung devices already excels in low light photography.

Besides that, Samsung also integrated a new Image Processor that is 4x faster than the previous model, as well as being able to process multi-frames in one shot reducing noise. Users can also have fun with its 960 fps Slow-Mo feature too. Overall, we had a great photography experience with it but it begs the question, what comes next after this? The answer could be in the next entry.

Huawei isn't the first to come up with a dual camera setup back in 2016, but they did set a trend and boy, they blew everyone's mind again with the P20 Pro by introducing a triple camera setup. It features a 40MP RGB sensor + 8MP telephoto lens and a standalone 20MP monochrome sensor on the back, coupled with a new VARIO-SUMMILUX grade + 2μm RGB Pixel for excellent colour grading thanks to the assistance of the NPU or Neural Network Processing Unit Artificial Intelligence built into the Kirin 970.

This new setup allowed for more detailed zoomed up images and the whole slew of AI features not only put the power of an expert photographer in the hands of the masses but also provided a powerful camera tool for serious phone photographers. Also not forgetting, the Twilight colour is truly one of a kind designs we've seen in a smartphone. There's also a Pink Gold model but if you're curious to know The Making of Twilight, you can read that over here. Now, every smartphone is jumping on the AI bandwagon and two tone colours are making a comeback in phone cases and phone bodies all over the world.

Speaking of designs, honor also did something cool with the honor 10. Instead of just showing two Northern Light inspired colours on the back, why not switch the colours in between from different angles? So that's what honor did, they introduced Phantom Blue first and it looks amazing thanks to the 15 layers of optical nano coating on the rear glass. However, the Phantom Green takes it a step further, it can show green - blue - and purple from different sides.

It's also worth mentioning that the high-end tier specs and the jaw-dropping RM1599 price tag could potentially make it as one of the best-valued flagships of 2018. If you don't agree with us, just hear us out first on our article about it here.

Another worthy design would be the Sony Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact design. Prior to their first debut at MWC 2018, consumers were always complaining about Sony Mobile's boring rectangular design. Well, they listened and made a new beautiful design called Ambient Flow. According to the Japanese tech giant, they believe that the design will benefit how we hold the phones and true enough, we are currently reviewing the phone and we are totally buying their reason.

In addition, the whole phone has a smooth curve and it's using a 2.5D Gorilla Glass 5. As for the Xperia XZ2 Compact, it's also comfortable to hold and users who love smaller compact phones should really like this. The Xperia XZ2 is also quite a powerhouse as from our benchmark testing, it has topped most flagship smartphones easily that are mentioned above and that's amazing. Stay tuned for our review about that in the near future!

Of course, how can we forget about vivo's achievement of being the first to introduce an in-display fingerprint sensor? The technology was first showcased at CES 2018 this year then it went into mass production. It eventually eliminated the need for a physical home button, allowing them to have an almost FullView display going over the previous 90% of screen-to-body ratio of current smartphones.

But that's not enough, vivo knows everyone wants a complete FullView experience. So the "NEX" thing they did was removing the notch and introduce the NEX series. To compensate for the lack of the front camera, the device has a built-in pop-up camera that comes out automatically after opening the selfie mode.

OPPO also surprised us with a notch-less FullView phone in June 2018, the company went back to revive their flagship Find series and came up with the Find X. Since it has no notch, they too compensated it with a new motor mechanism which not only brings up the front camera and its 3D Face Recognition sensor, but as well as the dual rear camera behind which looks super mega awesome everytime it does that.

What if water gets in? Obviously, the phone has no water resistant feature so we recommend that you don't bring it anywhere near the pool, kitchen or the bathroom. However, don't take the Stealth 3D cameras lightly, OPPO has made it quite flexible meaning if you forcefully push or pull it, the motor will not resist it so it won't get spoiled. You can read more about it here in our interview with OPPO.

Last but not least, our readers (and Phillipinos for some reason) went wild with the ROG Phone news that appeared in Computex 2018. While it's true that it's not the first gaming smartphone (prior to the Razer Phone and Xiaomi Black Shark), the ROG Phone is a serious and dedicated gaming phone. It packs an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor clocking at 2.96GHz (#overkill), has 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. The AMOLED display measures 6-inch in 1080p (90Hz refresh rate) with dual stereo speakers on the front coupled with surround sound systems and its main charger is located at the left side for the 4000mAh battery.

Besides that, the ROG Phone still has some more tricks up its sleeves. It can be equipped with an Aeroactive Cooler device for cooling boost, or two different gaming tools (TwinView Dock, WiGig Dock) for a dual screen handheld gaming experience, as well as a Mobile Desktop Dock to connect to the PC monitor and play games using the keyboard and mouse. There's even an AirTrigger feature which allows you to tap on the corner top as if there are buttons there. You can read more about it here.

What could the rest of the year bring us? We don't know, but before we end this, it's worth mentioning that another feature to look forward to would be the dubbed Galaxy X by Samsung. According to rumours, it's said to be a foldable smartphone with a foldable battery. Some leaked schematics seem to suggest that the phone is 7.3-inch wide when opened and 4.5-inch when closed. Also, the battery could be in between 3000mAh - 6000mAh. Now that's a lot of power. On top of that, other brands are also working to come out with their foldable display devices, so these could be the next big innovation for smartphones.

So what do you think? Anything else that we missed? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more tech articles at TechNave.com.


Top 7 features to look for when buying a business laptop

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global lockdown, the demand for equipment to work from home has drastically increased. This includes the need for laptops, which can be used for gaming, entertainment, education, and work productivity. Of course, some laptops are suitable for multiple categories.

But if you're a business professional and your priority is work productivity, what kind of laptop should you get? Obviously, you should get a business laptop. After all, these laptops have characteristics and features that are useful for work. Today, we'll discuss the top 7 features to look for when buying a business laptop.

The CPU should ideally be an Intel® Core™ i7, for faster and more reliable performance

When it comes to business, speed and reliability are important. A business laptop should deliver a certain level of performance, allowing users to complete their tasks without unnecessary hiccups. It also has to be reliable enough to not hang on the user when he/she needs it the most.

Basic specs are enough if all you do is create spreadsheets and write documents. But you'll need higher specs if you plan to multitask. At the very least, it should have an Intel® Core™ i5 CPU. If you conduct Zoom presentations or do a lot of photo editing, an Intel® i7 CPU would be better. Besides that, 8GB of RAM should be the minimum, while 16GB is recommended.

You'll want a laptop that can fit in bags like this easily

Before the pandemic, business executives would be running around daily for meetings and business deals and even now when most of us work from home it's great to be able to do your work at your desk or from the couch. That's why a business laptop should be durable and portable.

With that in mind, users should go for an ultrabook, as they tend to be relatively light (below 2kg) and are usually compact and easy to carry about. It should also have a metal chassis that can safely take some knocks without damaging the internals. If you can find one that looks good, that's a nice bonus!

Long battery life is good because you don't want this to happen!

If you have to rush to places often, you're probably used to not always having access to a power outlet but working from home can also have blackouts and other unavoidable disasters. That's why you should get a laptop that can deliver enough battery to last you most of a workday.

A solid 6 to 8 hours on battery should be enough for most people. But if it isn't, having a fast charger can be convenient, as it can keep the machine charged up while you have a break between meetings.

There are plenty of devices that connect wirelessly and equally as many apps that need Internet connectivity. That's why we recommend going for a laptop that provides the best connectivity, such as the latest Bluetooth version to ensure device compatibility. For wireless connectivity, it would be preferable if it also has WiFi 6 for faster wireless speed.

Laptops with WiFi 6 are becoming more common

If you often do presentations or need a second monitor, an HDMI port would be useful

OK, now that you've found a device with good specs and wireless connectivity, does it have enough ports? Portable laptops tend to sacrifice the number of available ports to stay thin, but you should strike a good balance between the two.

Depending on your needs, you may want to have more USB-A than USB-C ports so there's a port for external hard disk drives or a mouse. And if you're the one in charge of presentations or need a second monitor, you'll even want ports like HDMI and so forth.

Got confidential work documents? Then you might want some security to go with your business laptop. A basic one you can get for many Windows PCs would be Windows Hello, which uses a laptop's webcam to authenticate access to the machine via face recognition. At the very least, you'll ensure that nosy colleagues can't see your secret marketing plan while you're in the washroom.

Windows Hello using the webcam for face authentication

A backlit keyboard will let you see the keys even in the dark

OK, you're probably thinking, "why would I work in the dark?" It sounds weird, but what if you need to work while your partner is ready to sleep or if there's a sudden blackout? In the first scenario, you'll have to switch off the lights off and try working in the dark, especially if you don't have an extra workroom. In that case, your laptop should have backlit keys so that you can see what you're typing. Also, it would be great if the display has a Bluelight filter or anti-flicker. These would help reduce eye strain, even if you work in the dark.

And that's about it, the 7 features we think you should look out for when buying a business laptop. For example, you can consider the JOI® Book 7115. It's equipped with an Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. On top of that, it has plenty of ports, Windows Hello support, WiFi 6 connectivity, and more.

If your needs aren't so heavy then there's also the JOI® Book 5115 which has almost exactly the same features except that it is powered by an Intel® Core™ i5-1135G7 and at least 8GB of RAM with affordable prices starting from RM4599. Both are packed into chassis that weighs abot 1.65kg, making them highly portable laptops and there's even up to 24-month instalment plans too. Head over to the official product page to find out more!

With that said, what's your ideal business laptop, and what features do you hope to see in future models? Do let us know in the comments below! For more articles like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Apple could reveal a new AR Glasses, AirPods Pro Lite, AirTags and more this year

As we step into 2021, we wonder what else could Apple reveal to us. Last year, there were a lot of Apple product rumours that didn't make it to the cut such as the AirTag but here's some new information about it. The information is brought to you by none other than Ming-Chi Kuo, a reliable Apple analyst.

According to his notes, Apple is planning to unveil the first AR (augmented reality) glasses this year. If you have been watching them closely, they have been working on AR for a few years now since the iPhone X era. Kuo's notes also said that the AR glasses is to function as an add-on display that is designed for the iPhone. Think of it as seeing most of the things from your iPhone without having to take it out.

On top of that, the AirTag is said to appear alongside as well. In case if you are not familiar with the AirTag product, it's an item tracking device that can be attached to anything such as a luggage. So say if you have misplaced your luggage, you can still locate it from Find My app on your iPhone, iPad and the Mac. That's pretty neat, huh?

We should also be expecting new AirPods Pro Lite in 2021 and it could replace the non-pro variants. The design looks similar to the current AirPods Pro but missing out the ANC and may have different ear tips sizes. Last but not least, Kuo thinks we should be seeing a new iPad and Mac with a mini-LED and Apple Silicon for the latter.

For all we know, Apple could reveal these products in their WWDC event. But they could also just announce them out of nowhere which has been their practice recently. Time will tell and we shall see, stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Top 7 features you won't find together in any other smartphone below RM1K

Hey TechNavers, we know how much of a fan you are of budget phones, but unfortunately, most budget phones aren't able to provide the all the best specs or nice features you want in a single device. But that's all changed now, as we've been playing around with the honor 8X for a while now and for just RM949, it's packing quite a few cool stuff. Here are the top 7 features that you won't find together in any other smartphone below RM1K.

So I guess we can start off with the humongous 6.5-inch FullView display. honor has somehow managed to achieve a 91% screen-to-body-ratio and nearly occupied the entire display except for the top notch. I mean sure, most smartphone manufacturers can easily make a massive screen panel these days, but honor also integrated 1080 x 2340 resolution in it with an eye comfort mode that is certified by TÜV Rheinland. I guess you can say that honor "honors-ly" cares for your eyes and the stuff that it views (#badumtss).

Here's the overview of the 6.5-inch display

A closer look at the bezels from the top to bottom

Also here's a bonus on the back design, mhmm nice

In the camera corner, the honor 8X packs a dual rear 20MP + 2MP camera, whereas a 16MP camera sits at the front. You might probably be rolling your eyes too knowing that it has AI camera functions on board, like almost every new smartphone nowadays and that's nothing new... until you find out that the front-facing camera also has it!

This is actually the first for a smartphone brand to do so but unlike the rear camera setup (up to 22 types of AI scene recognition), the front camera offers up to 8 types of scene recognition and it's accompanied by semantic image segmentation which the honor 10 has as well (you can read how it works here) and the image can be readjusted with AI Beauty. With these tools, it's basically raising up the selfie game standard and we expect more smartphone brands to eventually follow suit, but for now, the honor 8X is one of the few smartphones to offer this.

Thanks to the semantic image segmentation software, this selfie picture is not spoilt by the strong backlight entirely

Taking night photos is a pain in the butt because the image usually gets grainy as most (almost all!) smartphones under RM1K aren't able to take decent low light shots. What about the other few that can? Well, that's where the honor 8X comes in with the Super Night Shot.

Not only is the Super Night Shot meant for night photography, but it's able to detect if you're holding or putting the device on the tripod. This also means if you're holding it, the system will get rid of the shakiness. In other words, it supports AIS (AI Stabilization) when taking long exposure shots, resulting in brighted night shots all around!

Super Night Shot, out of my expectations!

In addition to the camera functions, the honor 8X also comes with a Slow-Mo feature and this is unheard of because this feature is usually seen only on flagship models. Capable of recording short clips at 480fps (hey, it's something), the video can be slowed down by 16x.

You can toggle it to capture automatically or in manual mode depending on your preference and shooting style. You can check out our slow-mo video sample below.

Prior to the honor 8X, the honor Play was the most affordable smartphone to get with GPU Turbo in it. To refresh your memory, GPU Turbo is relatively a new feature that is designed to make the GPU or Graphics Processing Unit more efficient by working hand in hand with the EMUI operating system. According to the company's statistics, the GPU Turbo can make the phone 60% more efficient and reduce power consumption up to 30% at the same time. We did a performance review about it with the honor Play Player edition already, so do check it out right here but in general, it does help to reduce lag significantly when playing games.

For all of you worrying about storage space, the honor 8X comes in with 128GB worth of internal storage by default. That's right, no more or less but if that's still not enough for you, it still has an expandable memory slot available which can go all the way up to 400GB! That's like half a terabyte of space and more than my laptop (#triesnottocry).

Speaking of having expandable memory, you also don't have to compromise on a SIM card for the microSD card. The honor 8X is one of the few devices that offers a true dedicated triple SIM slot tray so if you have two SIM cards and a microSD card you can use them all simultaneously. Enough said!

So those are the seven things that you won't find together in any other smartphone below RM1K except for the honor 8X. Are we missing anything else? Let us know if we have or if you're interested in trying out the honor 8X check it out at the official online channels (hihonor.com.my, Shopee) and other distributors. Stay tuned for more tech articles and our future honor 8X review at TechNave.com.


Top 7 free photo editors in 2021

Smartphones these days are equipped with some of the most capable cameras that are capable of taking amazing pictures. It’s possible to take your photos to the next level by tweaking them using a professional photo editing software.

However, these kinds of photo editing software can be quite costly. To give an example, Adobe Photoshop is priced at around S$27.62 (~RM85) per month, which is not exactly affordable for some photo editors.

With that in mind, here’s a list of some of the best free software that budget photo editors might need. Let’s have a closer look, shall we?

One of the most popular alternatives to Photoshop is GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program), a free and open-source photo editing program with many powerful features. The software is available on multiple platforms such as Windows, Mac, as well as Linux.

It can import and export various file formats without any issues, making the software extremely versatile. Unfortunately, there’s no smartphone app for GIMP, which is a bummer for those who would rather edit on their smartphones, and the software has a rather steep learning curve.

Another free software worth considering is Paint.NET, which is relatively lightweight and less complicated than GIMP. While it may not come with many features compared to GIMP, there are many community-made plugins provide additional functionality.

The software already comes pre-installed with several filters and effects that can help improve the look of your pictures. Unfortunately, the software is only available on the Windows operating system, which is bad news for Mac and Linux users.

If you’re looking for a photo editor with more features out of the box compared to Paint.NET, you can consider using PhotoScape. Unlike the previous entry, PhotoScape X is available on both Windows and Mac operating systems.

However, if you’re running on Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8, you will have to download PhotoScape 3.7 instead. Compared to GIMP, PhotoScape X is much more straightforward to use, allowing you to add effects, crop, and add text quickly. While PhotoScape X is free, there’s also a PhotoScape X Pro edition which unlocks more functionalities and stickers for a one-time payment of RM159.

Besides photo editors, you also need a photo viewer that can quickly preview any pictures you throw at it. Not only that, but it has to be able to support any file format as well so that you at least know how the picture looks.

For this, there is IrfanView, which is a software that lets you preview images and do very light photo editing like applying filters, cropping, batch processing to convert multiple photos. It supports many plugins found on their website. But, just like Paint.NET, it is unfortunately only available on the Windows operating system.

Some software lets you quickly edit photos from your mobile phone. While it doesn’t have as many features or granular control compared to desktop photo editing software, you benefit from editing while on the go.

With that being said, Snapseed is a great and simple app developed by Google, and it’s available on both iOS and Android operating systems. Compared to other photo editing mobile apps out there in the market, it’s completely free of ads, making it a lot less annoying to use.

Unlike Snapseed, Photo Editor comes with a brush tool that allows the user to express their artistic side by drawing directly onto the picture. Not only that, but the app also lets the user export their images in more formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, and more.

Furthermore, it can also view and edit photograph metadata EXIF, IPTC, and XMP metadata to remove sensitive information like the photo’s geolocation and when it was taken. Unfortunately, the app contains ads and it is only available on Android devices. If the ads are too bothersome, you can remove them by making a one-time purchase of RM15.99 in the app itself.

Last but not least, there’s PicsArt, which comes with a myriad of features compared to what Google’s Snapseed has to offer. Not only that, but it also uses image layers so that you can easily stack effects on top of each other to get a unique look.

While the basic version of the app is free to use, quite a few ads hinder the photo editing experience as you might accidentally tap on them while choosing a filter, causing you to exit the app momentarily. If you’re keen on getting the paid version, you’ll have to pay around RM9.36 a month.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with software other than the ones listed in this list. You might discover something that’s compatible with your computer or workflow.

What are your thoughts regarding all the software mentioned above?  Is there anything that we’ve missed? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


How are you enjoying your vivo V7+? If you are on this page, chances are you are searching for some online tips about your smartphone. Aside from having the biggest front 24MP camera sensor on the market, this smartphone is more than just a selfie snapper. Here are the Top 7 hidden features inside the vivo V7+ that you might not know.

Portrait Bokeh + Face Beauty adjustments

Right off the bat, if you enter the camera mode you will surely see the Face Beauty on the user interface. Okay, that's not so hidden, but did you know that you can now take pictures with your palm? This is not the first time as Samsung already has that, but this is surely very convenient instead of having to press the digital shutter or the fingerprint sensor behind. You can take a picture with a voice too in the camera settings which I prefer more.

Aside from that, the Face Beauty is another one and it serves as a digital makeup kit. You can adjust how much smoothness you want on your face, skin tone from fair to rosy, even whitening your face. This is applicable to both front and back camera. Vivo has also integrated Live Photo which you can create gif images (rear only), as well as Portrait Bokeh on the front camera.

Portrait Bokeh mode, before (left) and after (right)

Face Access, Face Recognition, Face ID. Basically, this is a relatively new biometric security feature that some smartphones are adapting. Following the blooper demonstration by Apple showing off its Face ID last month, many questioned the authenticity or practicality of it, is it even needed? Well, why not? Besides, the Face Access on the V7+ works marvellously. I really mean it.

Setting up Face Access, took less than 5 seconds

Setting up Face Access doesn't take long, all you have to do is go into settings -> Fingerprint, Face and Password -> Face -> then set it up. Imprinting your face is fast, but unlocking your device with Face Access is even faster. You can even unlock it in a dark environment (not in a completely dark room, of course), with or without glasses, with a cap. Face Access gets a +1 score here.

This track in the phone is in FLAC format

Another particular feature highlight is the HiFi audio chipset, it's not the first time that vivo did this but it seems that many users tend to overlook it for some reason. Anyway, the model of the chip they integrated is the AK4376A Hi-Fi audio chip, which by the way, sounds great as long as you have a headphone.

To describe the sound quality, it does sound louder but not as in terms of just simply increasing the volume which most smartphones usually do, but rather becoming more surround and crisp. If you have a FLAC file format, you will have a "blast" and eargasm listening to it.

To utilize the 5.99-inch FullView display, vivo has implemented Smart Split feature and it comes pretty handily. Activating is easy and you can do it with your eyes closed, all you have to do is choose the selected apps that are eligible for it (Facebook, Whatsapp, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Video, Calculator, File Manager and Messages), then use three fingers to slide down to make it happen. Say goodbye to switching between apps!

Another small feature that's worth mentioning is the fact that you can hide your navigation keys and use sliding gestures to manoeuvre around. I find this very convenient and didn't miss the original navigation keys at all.

Speaking of making use of the FullView display, playing games on it is great as well. But on paper, using the Snapdragon 450 chipset doesn't seem ideal especially for intense games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, which can run quite well on Snapdragon 625 nowadays and logically, it should have been on the V7+. Well, although that's the fact, the V7+ actually can handle it nicely. What's more, the battery performance did well so vivo gets a pass this round.

Heat testing after gaming, trust me it's not that hot

There's also a Game Mode feature in settings which allows you to block incoming calls and messages, so that's nice

Lastly, this may not seem like a big deal but nowadays, not many smartphones have a dedicated memory card slot within the SIM tray. Most of them are just sharing with another nano-SIM slot or placed on the other side of the phone. Anyway, vivo made it convenient and simple to have all your SIM and memory card in one place.

Pretty cool features huh? Did we miss out anything else? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more nerdy articles at TechNave.com.


Top 7 selfie tips in 2019 with the HONOR 10 Lite

We’re only 3 months into 2019 and if you feel like you haven’t captured a single good selfie of yourself so far or if you’re thinking of amping up your selfie game, now is the time to do so. We’re only in the first quarter of the year so it isn’t too late for that new year new me photo!

You don’t need a flagship device or even an expensive camera to take the perfect selfie. All you need is a camera such as the 24MP front camera on the HONOR 10 Lite. As they say, a photo is only as good as the photographer. So here’s 7 selfie tips you can use when you’re attempting to capture the perfect selfie!

Where you hold your camera at determines what kind of photos that come out. The further away the camera is from your face, the less the weird fishbowl effect you’ll see in your photos (yes, the kind of photos where your faces look bloated and big). Find out if you look better in a portrait style photo or in a landscape composition.

Here's an example of a landscape kind of photo

And here's one in portrait form. See how well the camera captures the natural light and colours?

If you want a more cutesy kind of look, a closer camera to your face from the top of your head can create an illusion of bigger eyes for something of a baby face.

Here's an example of a shot taken with the HONOR 10 Lite with a strong backlight. It kept the details and colour without overexposing the photo and making the subject dark!

Finding where the light is helps tremendously in the final result of your photo. Natural light is obviously better than artificial light so always keep that in mind. If you have a large window or a place with lots of natural light like the outside, your photos will end up looking more natural and vibrant as opposed to a studio light.

After you’ve determined where the light is, play with it! Having a light in the back of your photos does make you appear darker, like a silhouette, giving your selfie a more mysterious, soft look when you position the ray of light across your face. If you want your photo to be more vibrant and sharp, have the light hitting your face. However, make sure it’s not direct sunlight as it can make the photo appear overexposed.

Vibrant colours with nice contrast is the result when natural light hits your face in a selfie!

However, with the HONOR 10 Lite, you don’t have to worry too much about your photos being too dark or too light as the AI Photography helps to fix the lighting and colours for you. You can rest assured that the photos will still turn out vibrant and mysterious depending on your lighting without it being too overexposed or too dark.

In addition, if you want your photo to have a certain lighting, Portrait mode offers an array of different lightings for you to try out depending on what kind of selfie you’re looking for!

You can choose a variety of lighting from the in Portrait mode

Take multiple photos from different angles to find your perfect side! While we're here, check out how nicely the bokeh and strong backlighting looks together on the Honor 10 Lite.

Everyone has their own angle where they look best at. If you aren’t sure where your perfect angle is, move your phone around your face and snap a few photos as you do so to discover from which angle you look best at. Start from the top of your head to the bottom of your chin and from the left to the right of your face.

If you can’t find your perfect angle, the HONOR 10 Lite comes with a beauty mode in 10 levels for you to experiment with to help you create the best looking angles for yourself in a natural and soft way.

Here's an example of a bad angle. Get your angles right!!

If all else fails, there's always beauty mode!

The bokeh effect in Portrait mode on the HONOR 10 Lite can make any kind of background look nice

A perfect selfie can be ruined with a cluttered and messy background. It can be hard to stand out, especially when you’re taking photos in an area with a crowd. Portrait mode helps to make YOU the star of your photo.

The HONOR 10 Lite’s Bokeh effect that comes with portrait mode can blur out the noise, clutter and people from the backgrounds of your selfies. The best part is that you can control how much blur you want to have in your background so anything that you want to have in your photo will not be completely cut out!

Bring out your mysterious side with some low light photos and play with the shadows! The HONOR 10 Lite's 4-in-1 Light Fusion ensures your photos will be balanced in term of light and dark without sacrificing quality and detail.

Taking selfies in low light will bring out your mysterious side in your selfies. Play with what little light you have to create a somewhat silhoutted look that will bring out your best side. This can be pretty tricky to do as photos might come out either too dark or too grainy.

The perfect balance of shadow and light. The bright sunlight didn't make the photo too overexposed and the dark did not come with much noise!

The HONOR 10 Lite negates these issues with their 4-in-1 light fusion technology and exposure compensation technology so your photos will remain detailed and vibrant regardless of what time of day it is.

Make your selfies look more impromptu with some props! Those monkeys sure love the story Apple is reading them!

Taking the same selfies over and over can be pretty boring. Why not add some props into the picture to spice things up? Hug a bear, bury part of your face in flowers, or lay in a ball pit. The possibilities are endless. Props add some personality to your selfies by providing your followers an idea of what your interests are! It can also be used to show off what the highlight of your day is like having some fancy ice-cream!

If all else fails, use a curtain! The HONOR 10 Lite can determine the perfect setting for your photos and props with the help of the AI front camera

Regardless of what prop you use, the HONOR 10 Lite will be able to determine the perfect settings and composition for your selfies as the AI front camera recognizes eight selfie scenarios to help you stand out in all your selfies!

So many camera filters for any kind of selfie on the HONOR 10 Lite

You’re now at the final step of taking the perfect selfie: Finding the right filter. You can create different colour schemes for your photos with filters that can be found on the HONOR 10 Lite camera app. There are a total of 8 filters to choose from such as Sentimental, Impact, Blue and more.

Apply filters on your selfies with the cool varieties the HONOR 10 Lite offers

If those filters don’t tickle your fancy, you can edit your photo after from your HONOR 10 Lite itself without needing any other editing apps as it comes with some pretty amazing filters with the phone's built-in photo editor.

You can edit photos and add beautifying effects if you decide that your photo wasn’t the best when you snapped it. You can also change the colours to your background and leave yourself in colour with the ‘Splash’ editing tool. Want a more interesting look to your photos? Choose from over 10 filters you can add to your selfie!

Now go out there and capture the best photos of yourselves, my young padawans! If you’re interested in getting your very own HONOR 10 Lite to step up your selfie game, you can find it on the official HONOR website or Lazada. Remember, if all else fails, make sure to just smile! For more tips and tricks, TechNave.com is where you should be looking at!