Monthly Archives: October 2025

Accessories, Gaming

Sony’s New INZONE Lineup Brings Pro-Level Performance

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Sony has officially announced the complete expansion of its INZONE gaming gear range in Malaysia, delivering a full suite of products co-developed with and rigorously tested by the leading esports team, Fnatic. Sony’s new line up highlights its focus on delivering products for the high-performance PC gaming market, offering gear engineered to enhance the critical FPS gameplay experience through precision engineering and low-latency connectivity.

Screenshot 2025 10 06 at 17 03 57 INZONE H9 II Wireless Noise Cancelling Gaming Headset Gaming Gear Sony Malaysia

The new lineup includes the flagship INZONE H9 II wireless headset, the compact INZONE E9 in-ear headphones, Sony’s first dedicated gaming keyboard, the INZONE KBD-H75, the ultra-lightweight INZONE Mouse-A, and two new specialized mousepads, the INZONE Mat-D and INZONE Mat-F.

The INZONE H9 II Headset : Sound, Silence, and Stamina

The new audio accessories are built to provide competitors with a decisive edge in sound clarity and team communication. The flagship INZONE H9 II is built around the same driver unit found in Sony’s critically acclaimed WH-1000XM6 wireless noise-cancelling headphones, a pedigree that translates into full-spectrum clarity for gaming audio. This allows players to hear far-away footsteps or subtle, unsettling deep rumbles with equal precision.

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Communication is just as critical, and the H9 II features highly directional cardioid boom microphones that use AI-optimised precision to filter out surrounding noise, ensuring clear voice transmission. Furthermore, the inclusion of super wide band technology delivers a clear, more natural sound for crisp, competition-ready callouts.

INZONE H9 II Wireless Noise Cancelling Gaming Headset | Sony Official

For marathon gaming sessions, the headset is designed for sustained comfort, weighing in at just 260g and featuring a redesigned headband that evenly distributes weight. Power efficiency is strong, offering up to 30 hours of battery life between charges. Connectivity is future-ready, with a supplied USB-C dongle providing a dedicated ultra-low-latency 2.4GHz connection for intense gaming, while LE Audio and Bluetooth pairing maintain a simultaneous connection to a smartphone for calls and notifications.

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Joining the lineup are the compact wired INZONE E9 in-ear headphones, a product so focused on competitive audio that it has been approved for use at the Apex Legends Global Series Year 5 Championship. The E9’s sound tuning was developed through direct feedback from Fnatic, ensuring players can catch reloads and distant threats before being caught themselves. Its unique technical feature is Sony’s first full enclosed structure in earphones, and the sealed body, combined with noise isolation ear tips, achieves superior passive noise reduction—perfect for blocking out tournament crowd noise or simple household distractions. Users can further customise comfort with swappable noise isolation foam tips or silicone hybrid tips.

INZONE KBD-H75 Keyboard with Precision Input for Speed, Rigidity, and Responsiveness

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Sony’s first dedicated gaming keyboard, the INZONE KBD-H75, prioritises signal delivery with an immense 8000Hz polling rate. Its headline technical feature is rapid trigger, which allows input to be toggled on or off without requiring the key to return to its full reset position, enhancing lightning-fast signal delivery for FPS gameplay. The build is focused on stability and comfort over long sessions, utilising a gasket mount to absorb impact and dampen vibration. Designed with professional feedback, the keyboard adopts a 75% layout and features a machined aluminium chassis, integrating a space-efficient dial for customizable assignments like volume control, which ultimately frees up mouse space for fast flicks.

INZONE KBD-H75 Gaming Keyboard | Sony Official

The wireless INZONE Mouse-A is an exercise in achieving competitive speed through lightweight rigidity. It weighs a mere 48.4g, achieved partly through a reinforced shell featuring hollow glass microspheres, which balances agility with the necessary stability for high-pressure play. The mouse is equipped with a high-performance custom sensor, offering pinpoint accuracy at pro-level speed with up to 30K DPI, acceleration up to 70G, and a maximum speed of 750 IPS. Like the keyboard, it boasts a polling rate up to 8000Hz for near-zero lag. It utilises an optical switch that uses light to transmit signals, eliminating physical contact to significantly increase response speed and allow for quicker actions during gameplay.

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The Foundation for Finesse

Even the surface beneath the mouse has been co-created with Fnatic pros to meet specific competitive needs. The INZONE Mat-F is the choice for control, offering 6mm thickness and a textured, SlimFlex material that provides just enough resistance for sharper aiming and smoother braking, ideal for low-sens players. Conversely, the INZONE Mat-D features a 4mm thickness and a low-friction surface, designed for smooth glide and high-speed response, making it perfect for high-sens players who rely on constant, quick motion. Both mats feature low-edge and anti-fray stitching that sits below the surface, ensuring uninterrupted movement.

Pricing & Availability

Inzone PWP Promo

The INZONE E9 in-ear headphones are priced at RM599, the INZONE KBD-H75 gaming keyboard is priced at RM1,499, the INZONE Mouse-A gaming mouse is priced at RM749, the INZONE Mat-D at RM199 and the INZONE Mat-F gaming mousepad at RM299. All of them are now available in Malaysia.

The flagship INZONE H9 II headset will be available from November 2025, priced at RM1,499. The H9 II and E9 are available in both black and white colourways. Pricing details will be announced soon.

Business

Lenovo Empowers SMB Digitisation with AI-Ready Bundles

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Lenovo has introduced a comprehensive new suite of IT infrastructure solutions specifically engineered to help Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) effortlessly deploy, scale, and leverage modern IT in the era of AI. The deployment addresses the growing pressure on SMBs to adopt complex technologies and stay competitive, all while operating with limited technical and financial resources.

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Photo by Brett Sayles

Lenovo’s new technology and offering are part and parcel of their core strategy, which focuses on an “SMB-first approach”. The new portfolio offers pre-tested and validated bundles of servers, software, and flexible consumption models. These solutions are designed to deliver enterprise-grade performance and reliability without the traditional complexity, overhead, or need for specialised teams. These solutions are aimed at removing traditional barriers of complexity and expense, accelerating innovation and operational efficiency from day one.

AI-Ready Infrastructure in a Box

Lenovo is simplifying IT modernisation by packaging proven designs into outcome-focused bundles, ensuring businesses move faster from decision to deployment. These solutions feature guided setup and built-in security, preparing organisations for the AI-powered workplace.

Business Ready Infrastructure in a Box

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR635 V3 SR630 V4
Source: Lenovo

This solution is designed for businesses looking to simplify and scale their virtualization infrastructure confidently. It leverages robust Hyper-V Ready Node solutions built on the highly reliable Lenovo ThinkSystem SR635 V3 or the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR630 V4 servers. The crucial practical benefit is that the bundles are pre-validated with Windows Server 2025 Hyper-V and pre-imaged with the Windows Admin Console enabled. This eliminates the guesswork, reducing deployment time from potential weeks to mere hours, while allowing SMBs to run multiple workloads on fewer physical servers, thereby maximising resource efficiency.

AI Edge-Ready Node

ThinkEdge SE 100
Source: Lenovo

For modern applications that need to run wherever business happens—whether in retail, manufacturing, or logistics—Lenovo introduced the AI Edge-Ready Node. This cost-effective solution utilises the Lenovo ThinkEdge SE100, which is powered by Scale Computing HyperCore. This pairing provides lightweight, on-demand edge deployments, making enterprise-grade edge computing easy to adopt and manage for smaller, often remote, teams.

Business Protection in a Box

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 V3 SR630 V3
Source: Lenovo

Data protection is non-negotiable, and the Business Protection in a Box solution is tailored to safeguard critical workloads against failure and ransomware. Configurations include the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650 V3, capable of supporting up to 55 Virtual Machines (VMs), or the Lenovo ThinkSystem SR630 V3 combined with ThinkSystem Storage Arrays, which can support up to 140 VMs. This robust resilience across both compute and storage layers ensures business continuity, a vital feature for SMBs where downtime can be crippling.

Simplified Management and Integrated Security

To streamline the day-to-day experience, Lenovo provides businesses with a single, intuitive platform for managing their infrastructure.

The core management solution is Lenovo XClarity One, a protected cloud portal that provides a consolidated and easily managed experience from set-up to daily operations. This portal delivers AI-driven visibility, control, and preventative maintenance to minimize system downtime and cut operating costs. XClarity One leverages predictive failure analytics to proactively detect hardware issues, often knowing what a business needs before it even needs it.

Furthermore, Lenovo integrates Veeam for robust data protection against ransomware and system failures. This integration enables near-instant recovery, allowing SMBs to restore critical operations within minutes without requiring a large, specialized IT staff for recovery. Beyond protection, Lenovo offers validated AI configurations that provide a proven roadmap, simplifying AI adoption for use cases ranging from real-time threat detection to advanced customer insights that foster revenue growth.

Flexible IT Consumption Without the Extra Costs

Recognizing the capital expenditure challenges faced by SMBs, Lenovo is transforming IT consumption with TruScale Infrastructure as-a-Service (IaaS). TruScale gives businesses the flexibility of leasing, subscriptions, and consumption-based pricing, allowing them to pay only for the resources they utilize and scale services precisely to their requirements.

This model helps SMBs avoid large upfront spending and translates capital expenditure (CapEx) into predictable operational expenses (OpEx). Customers leveraging TruScale report up to 30% faster rollouts, significantly accelerating their time to productivity. This was demonstrably true for Malaysian firm Microtree Sdn Bhd (M3), which used TruScale to expand its service offerings and quickly unlock growth with SMBs by avoiding large upfront costs. By providing AI-ready, enterprise-grade technology that is flexible, secure, and easy to adopt, Lenovo is enabling SMBs to compete and grow with confidence in today’s AI-driven era.

News

TikTok Doubles Down Against Scams in Malaysia

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TikTok is ramping up its defence against rampant online fraud in Malaysia, expanding its digital literacy initiative through a multipronged, collaborative approach. This effort reflects a critical understanding: with the constant evolution of cybercriminal tactics, online safety has become a shared responsibility, requiring continuous, concerted efforts across both the public and private sectors.

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(Source: ByteDance) TikTok Official Infographic held by (from left) Puan Chian Wen Sin, Assistant Director General, National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC), Supt Rajvinder Kaur, Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Bukit Aman, Pn Saidatul Ashikin Abu Hassan, Head of Community Engagement Department, MCMC, Firdaus Fadzil, Head of Public Policy, TikTok Malaysia, Wan Fatin Sufina and Kee Sen Yao.

Launched in partnership with key government agencies—including the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC)—the campaign is designed to equip millions of users with accessible, multilingual tools to identify and combat the evolving threats of scams.

The Hub Now Available in Multiple Languages

The most practical development in TikTok’s escalated efforts is the expansion of its in-app knowledge hub, which is now fully accessible in English, Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin, and Tamil. This crucial multilingual availability ensures that vital scam prevention tips are accessible to a broader audience nationwide, effectively closing the language barriers often exploited by fraudsters.

Malaysians can easily access this central resource by searching the hashtag or other relevant keywords directly within the TikTok app. The hub is structured around four main pillars of information, providing a comprehensive guide to proactive defense. These pillars include scam prevention tips using publicly available tools, a detailed guide to TikTok’s Community Guidelines, an overview of the platform’s safety features, and a list of helplines to local authorities for immediate support.

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(Source: ByteDance) TikTok Infographic

This effort goes beyond a static database. TikTok is deploying a dynamic approach to spread awareness, utilizing search banners to highlight safety messages, leveraging short educational videos created by the platform, and commissioning content from influential local creators who can translate technical security advice into relatable, engaging content. This strategy positions the platform as a vital educational partner, using its strength in short-form video to strengthen the nation’s digital defense ecosystem.

Operational Integration with Government Agencies

The collaboration with governmental agencies is not merely for endorsement; it is a vital operational integration designed to amplify the reach of established national resources. The Director of the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of the PDRM, Dato’ Rusdi Mohd Isa, highlighted that a significant portion of scams, which currently include investment scams, phishing, phone scams, job scams, love scams, and loan scams, can be prevented if the public uses available tools.

To this end, TikTok is directly promoting the PDRM’s Semak Mule portal, a critical resource that allows the public to verify if a bank account or phone number has been flagged in connection with past fraudulent activities. This directs the platform’s young, digitally native audience toward a reliable, operational tool for real-time verification.

The MCMC is similarly leveraging the partnership to bolster its own verification resources. The collaboration aims to amplify the reach of Sebenarnya.my, the MCMC’s official portal for tackling misinformation, and the Artificial Intelligence Fact-check Assistant (AIFA). AIFA is a sophisticated, AI-powered chatbot accessible 24/7 through the portal and WhatsApp, which uses algorithms and machine learning to match user queries with verified sources, providing instant, confident fact-checking. By promoting these reliable platforms, the initiative helps users bypass the often-complex, time-sensitive process of self-verification.

The “Pause, Prevent, Protect” Framework

To simplify the necessary behavioral changes, the initiative is built around the clear, actionable mantra of Pause, Prevent, and Protect.

  • Pause urges users to take a moment to reflect and refrain from activities that violate TikTok’s Community Guidelines and local laws. This addresses the common scam tactic of pressuring targets to act quickly to miss out on a deal or avoid a threat.
  • Prevent focuses on being proactive: this means deploying TikTok’s built-in safety features and habitually utilizing the public authority tools, like the Semak Mule portal, to identify red flags before engaging.
  • Protect calls on the community to take collective ownership of safety by actively reporting potentially violative and suspicious activities, contributing to a safer environment for everyone.

Firdaus Fadzil, Head of Public Policy at TikTok Malaysia, noted that continuous education is essential given the fluidity of cybercriminal modus operandi. Ultimately, the expansion of the campaign, with its multilingual accessibility and deep integration with Malaysian law enforcement and communications agencies, is TikTok’s clearest contribution to strengthening the national digital defense ecosystem, translating technical safety requirements into accessible knowledge for millions of users.

Business

Dell Technologies Brings Significant Updates and Upgrades to Cloud Portfolio

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Dell Technologies has unveiled significant advancements to its private cloud infrastructure, responding directly to the perennial IT challenge of managing both traditional and modern workloads while navigating rising costs and vendor lock-in concerns. The latest innovations across the company’s storage and cyber resilience portfolio are designed to help organizations build disaggregated private clouds that are smarter, faster, and inherently more secure.

This push is spearheaded by the general availability of the Dell Private Cloud, which utilizes the Dell Automation Platform to help customers easily automate, scale, and manage deployments. This platform is designed to be open, supporting the customer’s preferred cloud OS stack while leveraging Dell’s disaggregated infrastructure, including PowerStore, PowerFlex, and PowerMax. Furthermore, the system incorporates AI-driven automation for infrastructure monitoring and management, and integrates Dell NativeEdge to simplify and secure operations across distributed cloud and edge environments.

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Source: Dell Technologies

QLC Flash, Nutanix and More Comes to Dell PowerStore

Dell’s flagship enterprise storage, PowerStore, is receiving pivotal hardware and software updates focused on cost-efficiency and flexibility. The major hardware news is the introduction of the PowerStore 5200Q model.

This new model brings the economics of QLC flash to high-capacity performance storage. The practical implication for enterprises is substantial: the 5200Q offers flexible scaling of up to 23 PBe per cluster while significantly lowering the cost per gigabyte, a necessary balance for large, capacity-intensive workloads. Software enhancements further boost the platform’s reliability with built-in anomaly detection, single sign-on, and biometric authentication. Crucially, PowerStore is becoming a self-healing platform via Smart Support Auto-Heal functionality, which automates health checks and repairs, cutting issue resolution time by up to 90%.

Building on its existing collaboration, Dell announced that PowerStore will soon support the Nutanix Cloud Platform. This move combines Dell’s trusted storage innovation with Nutanix’s cloud operating model to deliver greater choice and control in how organisations architect their virtualised environments. This PowerStore integration follows the commercial availability of PowerFlex with Nutanix Cloud Platform earlier this year, a solution aimed at enterprises needing to scale compute and storage resources independently. The PowerStore support for Nutanix is expected to enter early access in Spring 2026.

Dell PowerFlex Powers Up with Extreme Efficiency at Petabyte Scale

Dell PowerFlex, the company’s software-defined storage solution, is being pushed to new levels of efficiency and resilience with the PowerFlex Ultra release.

The key technical breakthrough is the introduction of the Scalable Availability Engine (SAE), which simplifies workload management while delivering what Dell calls “breakthrough storage efficiency”. PowerFlex Ultra achieves up to 80% storage efficiency—a massive technical gain that translates directly into over 50% reduction in physical storage footprint. This efficiency allows organisations to store more data in less space, significantly lowering both costs and power consumption across the data centre.

On the resilience front, the architecture is engineered for unmatched dependability. PowerFlex now delivers up to 10×9s of data availability. This means the system has the ability to tolerate up to two node failures simultaneously, ensuring enterprise workloads remain operational and maintain data integrity across even the largest deployments. PowerFlex updates are available in October 2025.

Dell PowerMax Buitl for Mission-Critical Automation and Security

For mission-critical workloads, Dell PowerMax storage has received software advancements that deliver up to 25% greater performance. The focus here is not just on speed, but on eliminating manual IT labor.

The platform now enables IT teams to tackle higher-value tasks through enhanced automation, including features like 1-click software updates in less than 6 seconds. Automation also provides a 66% reduction in steps for replication mode changes.

Furthermore, the PowerMax 2500 introduces QLC drive support for capacity-intensive workloads. This makes it a scalable platform that allows flexible single-drive scaling from 122 TB up to 8.8 PBe per array. Security is also fortified with new features such as Single Sign-On with Microsoft Entra ID and encrypted email alerts, helping organisations maintain the highest standards of data protection and compliance. PowerMax updates are available in October 2025.

Dell PowerProtect Fortifies Cyber Resilience

Recognising that cyber resilience is non-negotiable for any private cloud, Dell’s PowerProtect portfolio has been significantly enhanced. The innovations are designed to help organizations reduce their attack surface, detect and respond to threats, and quickly recover from cyber incidents across virtual, cloud-native, and containerized workloads.

The new PowerProtect Data Domain DD3410 is introduced as a compact, entry-level appliance specifically tailored for remote offices and smaller environments. This solution offers grow-in-place scalability from 8 to 32 TBu with exceptional data reduction capabilities. Meanwhile, the new PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance provides a modern, software-defined solution that delivers centralised management for consistent cyber resilience operations. It ensures enterprise-grade protection, including anomaly detection, data immutability, and integrity to safeguard against threats.

These comprehensive advancements reinforce Dell’s vision to deliver a flexible and efficient foundation for disaggregated private cloud environments. The PowerProtect Data Manager Appliance will be available in Q4 2025, with the entry-level DD3410 following in Q1 2026.

Gaming

Microsoft XBOX Game Pass Courts Gamer Rage with Repricing and Restructuring

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The era of Xbox Game Pass being universally hailed as the “best deal in gaming” has officially ended. Microsoft kicked off October 2025 with a major shakeup and a punishing price hike for its top-tier subscription, changing the economics of the platform overnight. The move involves a complete restructuring of the global console tiers and, most notably, a massive 50% price increase for the flagship Ultimate plan.

The bad news hit home for PC gamers in Malaysia as well. The local subscription fee for PC Game Pass has risen from RM20 to RM25 per month, marking the second consecutive annual price increase for Malaysian subscribers.

The Tier Restructuring: What You Pay Now

Microsoft has streamlined the global offerings and given two tiers new names, while hiking the price on the two most powerful ones. The old tiers (Core, Standard, Ultimate) are now rebranded as Essential, Premium, and Ultimate.

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The Ultimate subscription, built for players who want everything, saw the biggest hit, jumping from $19.99 to $29.99 per month in the U.S. That’s an extra $120 a year. The two middle tiers maintained their U.S. pricing but received expanded libraries:

  • Essential ($9.99/month): Replaces Core, now including unlimited cloud gaming, online multiplayer, and a curated library of over 50 games.
  • Premium ($14.99/month): Replaces Standard, gaining key titles and over 200 games playable across console, PC, and cloud. Crucially, to play newly published Activision Call of Duty games, users must subscribe to the Ultimate tier, as they are excluded from Premium.
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For PC gamers in Malaysia, the localized PC Game Pass tier, which offers hundreds of high-quality PC games, day-one releases, and an EA Play membership, has increased to RM25 per month. This RM5 increase from the previous RM20 price point has been noted by the community as a significant change in the service’s local value proposition.

Justifying the Price Hike

Microsoft has attempted to justify the massive global increase on Ultimate by citing expanded content and technical upgrades, reflecting the service’s enhanced value.

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The most significant technical upgrades to the Ultimate tier include:

  • Expanded Catalog: Access to over 75 day-one releases annually, a 50% increase.
  • Partner Benefits: The immediate inclusion of Ubisoft+ Classics and the upcoming addition of Fortnite Crew.
  • Cloud Upgrade: Enhanced streaming quality up to 1440p resolution and improved bitrates for a better cloud gaming experience.

However, the rapid price adjustment has caused significant friction. Critics argue that the $30 Ultimate price tag is no longer justifiable for the average subscriber, with the annual cost equivalent to buying five full-price games.

The Gamer Fallout: Value and Choice

The public reaction has been swift, characterized by anger and “frantic subscription stacking” globally as users rushed to buy discounted prepaid codes to lock in the old rate.

For Malaysian PC gamers, while the RM5 increase is modest compared to the international hike, it forces a critical evaluation of the service’s value. Many local gamers noted that the increase, following a previous hike from RM15 to RM20, brings the annual subscription cost (RM300) into closer competition with major seasonal promotions on platforms like Steam.

Ultimately, the restructuring and price hikes are seen by many as Microsoft’s attempt to finally make the ambitious Game Pass service sustainable, even if it risks sacrificing the vast, consumer-friendly appeal that made it a revolutionary force in the first place. The decision now rests with individual gamers to determine if the expanding catalog and technical features—like cloud streaming and high refresh rates—justify the higher financial commitment.

Computers, Consumer Electronics, Reviews

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI Review: The 240Hz OLED Gaming Laptop

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Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Front

This Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI Review focuses on the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI (PHN16S-71-907F), which is a beast with a single mission: to crush demanding games on one of the most beautiful screens money can buy. If you’re looking for a stationary powerhouse, this is a phenomenal deal. If you need something for campus life, office use, or productivity on the go, read closely—you’re buying a desktop in a backpack so constant charging will be an issue.

Technical Specifications

  • Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 275HX processor
  • 32GB Dual-channel DDR5 RAM (Max 64GB)
  • 1TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 SSD
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 5070Ti 12GB GDDR7
  • 16″ 240Hz WQXGA (2560×1600), 16:10 Aspect Ratio DCI-P3 100%, OLED Display
  • Interface/Ports: • 1 x HDMI 2.1 • 2 x Usb Type-C (1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps) • 3x USB Type-A (2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1) • 1x Ethernet • 1x microSD card reader • 1x combo audio jack • 1x dc power in

Raw Power Meets Jaw-Dropping Display

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Screen

The core experience of this laptop is undeniably premium. It packs serious hardware, including the latest Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 275HX processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX™ 5070Ti GPU. This combination delivers excellent frame rates that easily handles any current modern titles like Doom: The Dark Ages and Deathloop, putting it firmly in the high-performance tier. However, Acer has seemed to limit how much power goes the CPU and GPU as compared to similar spec hardware from other gaming laptops. With a thin chassis design for the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI, they probably didn’t have a choice compared to their beefy cousins.

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Thin

Acer has paired the thin design with a 16-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) OLED display. With deep, true blacks and perfect color accuracy (100% DCI-P3), visuals pop like crazy. Great for gaming or for content creation. Best of all, it hits a blistering 240Hz refresh rate, ensuring motion is silky smooth no matter what you do.

Reflective Screen Helios Neo 16s AI

The big catch? That stellar screen comes with two issues. First, it’s a reflective, glossy panel, meaning you’ll struggle with glare in bright rooms or when the screen is showcasing dark scenes. Second, the refresh rate is hard-locked to 240Hz. There’s no way to turn it down, which should dramatically increase battery drain during light use.

The Trade-Off: Noise and Life Support

Acer included powerful thermal management (5th Gen AeroBlade 3D fans and liquid metal grease), which does a great job of keeping the core components cool under pressure. However, to achieve that sustained performance, the fans can get LOUD. When you engage Turbo mode, this laptop sounds like a miniature jet engine preparing for takeoff—headphones are a must for a better gaming experience.

This machine is on the thin side for a gaming laptop and weighs 2.3kg. You will also notice its desk footprint being a bit larger as it has some extra real estate in the trunk. This becomes more noticeable especially when lugging around that big power brick and figuring out where that goes. It is roughly the size of two large smartphones stacked together and much heavier.

Power Brick Helios Neo 16s AI

As for battery life, here’s the harsh truth: it’s minimal like nearly all gaming laptops. Expect only 3 to 5 hours of light use. If you try to open any demanding game off the plug, the laptop throttles so drastically that it stutters and becomes unusable on any modern AAA titles. This has also happened on some indie games, but this may be due to the games not being optimized.

Screenshot PredatorSense

This is a machine that is designed to be plugged in, a true portable desktop essentially tethered to a power socket. There is no current way around this as PredatorSense essentially forces you to be plugged in if you want to use the GPU for any demanding task.

Quality of Life & Final Details

Connectivity Wins

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Back Ports
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Left Ports
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Ports Power Plug
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Right Ports (2)

The port selections are excellent and well-managed, with charging and major display outputs tucked out of the way on the back. You get HDMI 2.1, a mix of fast USB-A and USB-C ports (including Thunderbolt 4), and an Ethernet jack. No dongle farm needed here.

Keyboard & Touchpad

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI keyboard

The keyboard is responsive with a comfortable full-size layout with numpad and a customizable 4-zone RGB backlight. The major nuisance is the oversized Copilot key next to the arrow keys, which is too easy to hit accidentally. Touchpad is alright but we experience some freezing or lag issues while playing some rogue-like card games. Works normally during normal work tasks.

Audio

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Speaker

Like most gaming laptops, the built-in speakers lack bass, reinforcing the need for headphones for that truly immersive experience. Average and useable.

The Little Things

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI fingerprints
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Logo back lid
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI Logo

The chassis—a mix of a slick aluminum lid and sturdy plastic—is unfortunately a fingerprint magnet. And heed this warning: you must turn off the ridiculously loud boot-up sound in the BIOS (spam F2), or you will scare everyone in your vicinity. Oh, and the Predator logo is also RGB, a nice touch.

The Odd Note

We observed an odd issue specifically with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Despite our best efforts to update all drivers and play with the settings, this game alone showed stuttering issues. We believe the problem stems from a firmware or software issue that Acer has not yet addressed. A quick search online confirmed that other gamers had similar issues with the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16s AI. This remains a notable point for potential buyers

The Final Verdict

Helios Neo

The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI delivers massive performance but feels limited. On paper it is very good value for money, but in person experiences may vary by usage. The screen is gorgeous to play on and most of the time gaming is a blast. Just plan to use the power brick 90% of the time.

You can purchase one for yourself at Acer’s website.

For something more balanced you can use on the go constantly, there are better options out there.

Gaming

ROG XBOX Ally & ROG XBOX Ally X Up the Ante for Handheld PC Gaming, Pre-Orders Open in Malaysia

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ROG is partnering with ASUS to change the landscape of PC Handhelds. This collaboration builds on the foundations that ASUS laid with the ROG Ally and Ally X last year. This year, both Microsoft’s XBOX team and the team at ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) are looking to tackle the most common complaints from gamers: Battery life, Interface and Performance. How? With a partnership that will change the way gamers approach PC Handhelds with the ROG Xbox Ally and the flagship ROG Xbox Ally X.

Launched for pre-order in Malaysia, this new series isn’t just about raw power; it’s about solving the critical pain points that have plagued Windows handhelds, delivering a seamless, high-performance console-like experience that truly frees gamers.

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Next-Gen Power: Unleashing the Ryzen AI Z2 Processors

The distinction between these two new rigs is found in the engine room, where performance meets pure efficiency.

The ROG Xbox Ally X is built for absolute beast mode gaming on the go. It features the new AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor, which delivers the necessary horsepower to run demanding AAA titles at impressive frame rates. Gamers can expect to see up to a substantial 30% performance increase in heavy hitters like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Doom: The Dark Ages compared to the previous generation.

The standard ROG Xbox Ally, on the other hand, is the ultra-efficient choice, powered by the highly optimised AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor. This model still delivers solid performance, showing an uplift of up to 20% in titles like Forza Horizon 5, with its ultra-efficient design tuned specifically to maximise battery longevity.

ROG Xbox ALLY 1 Pager with Pricing

Both processors are primed to utilise AMD’s latest suite of performance-boosting software, including AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and Radeon Super Resolution (RSR). Crucially, they leverage AMD Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) frame generation technology, which promises up to 60% better frame rates for silky-smooth gameplay. The Ally X pulls ahead as the future-proof choice, integrating an onboard NPU (Neural Processing Unit) within the Z2 Extreme, ready for next-gen AI-accelerated features and upscaling.

The Core Experience: Speed, Ergonomics, and Immersion

ASUS knows a great handheld starts with a great screen. Both the Ally and Ally X feature the same stunning 7-inch Full HD (1080p) IPS display, capable of a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate and backed by AMD FreeSync Premium. This technical combination is essential for killing screen tearing and ensuring a truly responsive gaming session. The display is tough, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus and featuring a DXC Anti-Reflection coating, ensuring you can game outside without losing the action.

The biggest physical change is the refined ergonomics. Both units feature a completely redesigned chassis with contoured grips inspired by Xbox Wireless Controllers. This update delivers true all-day comfort and a secure hold, banishing the awkward hand strain of previous handhelds. The Ally X takes immersion a step further with dedicated Impulse Triggers, providing precise, localised vibration feedback in supported titles.

Getting straight into the action is effortless: the device powers on directly into an Xbox full-screen experience, a UI optimised for joystick controls that drastically cuts down on unnecessary Windows 11 background processes. This means more system headroom and less fuss.

Memory, Storage, and Multi-Day Stamina

The Ally X is engineered to kill battery anxiety. It features a massive 80Wh battery upgrade (up from 60Wh on the standard Ally), which, combined with the Z2 Extreme’s efficiency, can deliver up to twice the battery life in lighter games. This is backed by an industry-leading 24GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory, ensuring the processor is always fed blazing-fast data, and a spacious 1TB M.2 2280 SSD.

The standard ROG Xbox Ally is no slouch, utilising a robust 60Wh battery, 16GB of LPDDR5-8000MHz RAM, and 512GB of storage. Both models use the standard M.2 2280 SSD format, making future storage upgrades simple for players.

Pricing & Availability

Both the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X are now available for pre-order in Malaysia, with pricing starting at RM2,699 and RM4,299, respectively.

Pre-orders began at 8.15PM on 3 October 2025, with wide availability starting 17 October 2025. The ROG Xbox Ally is white, and the ROG Xbox Ally X is black.

Q3 25 Xbox Ally Pre Order EDM Sub Banner 344x221

Exclusively for pre-orders placed before 15 October, buyers will receive a bundle worth RM999, including an ROG SLASH Sling Bag 4.0, a screen protector, a 512GB microSD card, and a 2-year Perfect Warranty (accidental damage protection). Customers can also get a 20% PWP (Purchase with Purchase) promotion on essential accessories like the ROG Bulwark Dock DG300 and the ROG 65W Gaming Charger Dock.

Business

Nutanix Cloud Platform Comes to Dell PowerStore

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Dell Technologies and Nutanix are deepening their collaboration with the announcement that Dell’s flagship all-flash storage platform, Dell PowerStore, will soon support the Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP). This integration is not merely a technical partnership; it is a direct strategic move to meet intense customer demand for greater choice and flexibility in virtualization, simultaneously promising to reduce infrastructure complexity and lower operating costs.

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This integration is a logical merging of two distinct data centre strengths. Dell PowerStore serves as the enterprise all-flash backbone, known for its end-to-end NVMe design that delivers extremely low latency for mission-critical workloads like large-scale databases and AI applications. Its advanced features include built-in AI-powered self-healing, which autonomously takes corrective action to cut issue resolution time by up to 90%. Meanwhile, NCP provides one of the industry’s leading hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) software stacks, unifying compute and storage under a modern cloud operating model managed via the simplified Nutanix Prism console.

The synergy between the two platforms is designed to deliver superior operational flow with VM-centric operations and automation. IT teams gain intelligent automation and streamlined operations with Nutanix’s Prism console to manage PowerStore’s capabilities, reducing manual intervention and allowing staff to focus on strategic projects. Furthermore, the flexibility of the solution is enhanced by the disaggregated model, which allows the scale-up and scale-out design of PowerStore to enable independent growth of performance and storage capacity. This modularity extends lifecycle value and alleviates vendor lock-in concerns, a key demand from large enterprises that need to modernise infrastructure without disruption.

Security and efficiency are also dramatically bolstered. The solution combines PowerStore’s built-in cyber protection and always-on advanced data reduction. This efficiency is backed by Dell’s 5:1 data reduction guarantee on reducible data, directly helping organisations lower storage costs and power consumption. Furthermore, security is amplified through integration with Nutanix’s VM-centric disaster recovery and Flow network security features, ensuring mission-critical workloads are protected and highly available.

Early access is expected to begin in Spring 2026, with general availability scheduled for Summer 2026.

Mobile

OPPO’s Find X9 Pro Seems to Be Taking A New Step to Being A Photography Smartphone

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OPPO’s upcoming flagship, the Find X9 Pro, hasn’t launched yet. But it seems like OPPO is pushing the Hasselblad partnership further. Leaks and circulating information suggest that the flagship will combine the high processing power of the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chipset with a focus on a modular imaging system.

OPPO Hasselblad Teleconverter Find X9 Pro (3)
Source: OPPO on weibo

The Find X9 Pro is rumoured to feature core hardware specifications that underpin its flagship status. It is expected to be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 SoC and feature a flat 6.78-inch OLED screen with a 1.5K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The device is tipped for significant battery endurance, with leaks pointing to a 7,550mAh battery capacity, supported by 80W wired and 50W wireless charging capabilities.

The Camera and Hasselblad Collaboration

Like past Find X series phones, the camera and imaging system form the core of the Find X9 Pro’s features. The device will continue its partnership with Hasselblad, focusing on advanced colour science and aesthetic profiles. The phone is expected to utilise an advanced triple-camera setup, featuring a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide camera, and a huge 200MP periscope telephoto camera.

OPPO Hasselblad Teleconverter Find X9 Pro (2)
OPPO Hasselblad Teleconverter Find X9 Pro (1)
OPPO Hasselblad Teleconverter Find X9 Pro (4)
OPPO Hasselblad Teleconverter Find X9 Pro (5)
OPPO Hasselblad Teleconverter Find X9 Pro (6)

The most distinct element being introduced is the OPPO Hasselblad Professional Teleconverter Kit, an external accessory that transitions the Find X9 Pro into a modular imaging device. This accessory is a dedicated external lens designed to augment the phone’s existing optical system:

  • Magnification: The external lens has a verified magnification factor of 3.28x.
  • Resulting Focal Length: The accessory is designed to couple with the phone’s internal 70mm periscope camera (which has a 3x optical zoom). When attached, the combination produces an optical 230mm equivalent focal length. This results in a roughly 9.6x native optical zoom capability, providing a substantial increase in effective focal length.
  • Components: The Professional Teleconverter Kit includes the external lens unit and two dedicated adapters necessary for physical attachment and optical alignment.

The accessory was introduced in a live stream on Weibo. It’s worth noting that this livestream occurred ahead of the launch of the Find X9 series, which has yet to happen. The introduction of this modular system indicates a strategy by OPPO to create an integrated camera ecosystem that addresses the limitations of fixed smartphone optics.

By combining the high-resolution 200MP sensor with a precision external teleconverter, the Find X9 Pro provides a capability for image creation and extreme zoom that goes beyond the current standard for internal mobile camera systems. The Find X9 Pro is scheduled to be launched in China on October 16.

Accessories

Google Rolls Out Major Pixel Buds Pro 2 Update with Adaptive Audio and Gesture Controls

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Google is rolling out a significant firmware update (version 4.467) for its flagship true wireless earbuds, the Pixel Buds Pro 2. The “Feature Drop” introduces a suite of intelligent capabilities. The update focuses on hands-free control, hearing safety, and a smarter, more dynamic listening experience.

The headline feature of this update is Adaptive Audio. This new noise control mode sits alongside the existing Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Transparency modes. Adaptive Audio is designed to be an intelligent middle ground, dynamically adjusting your listening volume based on the noise level of your surrounding environment. For instance, if you move from a quiet office to a busy metro station, the earbuds will subtly increase the volume to maintain clarity without requiring manual adjustments, balancing playback with awareness.

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 2

This adaptive mode also enables Loud Noise Protection, a crucial hearing safety feature. The earbuds will automatically reduce the volume of sudden, loud sounds—such as a passing fire truck’s siren or heavy machinery—to help protect your hearing from unexpected sonic bursts. However, users should note that Google cautions this feature does not cover extreme impulse noises like explosions or fireworks.

Truly Hands-Free: Head Gestures and Smarter AI

For a truly hands-free experience, the update introduces a new layer of control through Head Gestures. Users can now manage communications without touching their phone or earbuds:

  • Nodding: Answers an incoming call or initiates a voice reply to a text message.
  • Shaking Your Head: Declines a call or dismisses a message notification.

This is a significant quality-of-life improvement for moments when hands are occupied, like while driving, carrying groceries, or exercising.

The update also enhances the experience with Gemini Live, Google’s AI-driven live conversation feature. Advanced audio processing now prioritizes the user’s voice and actively eliminates background noise, ensuring that conversations with Gemini Live are clearer and uninterrupted, even in noisy public environments where others are talking.

The new firmware, version 4.467, is rolling out automatically and gradually to all Pixel Buds Pro 2 users. The download typically takes about 10 minutes, and the installation begins the next time the earbuds are placed in their charging case. This feature-packed update cements the Pixel Buds Pro 2’s position as a powerful and smarter competitor in the flagship true wireless market.