LG Electronics should need no introduction by now. They are one of the foremost electronics companies in the world. What most do not realise though is that LG is also one of the most foremost manufacturers in the world of home and high-end audio. At the same time, their TVs are some of the best selling in the world.
Combine their knowhow in making great audio products and immersive technology, and you have some of the best sound bars money can buy. The sound bars that LG makes are not just great sounding though. They look amazing and they can fit any home décor.
They just announced their new compact sound bar that is the LG Éclair QP5. It is tiny, a mere 296mm in width. It is only a third of the width of LG’s previously most compact soundbar that is the SP8YA. Comparing it to regular sound bars, it might as well be a quarter the size.
Source: LG
It is still a 3.1.2 sound bar though, for that all important surround sound experience you can only get from a soundbar. It is not just a regular 3.1.2 experience though. LG has perfected this soundbar with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support for the most complete audio experience alongside the powerful subwoofer that comes with the Éclair set up.
There is a reason why the LG Éclair is named the way it is. Its elongated oval shape resembles that of an Éclair. The chic and song design really fits the décor of a modern home, especially in smaller apartment units where space comes at a premium.
The soundbar is a clever one too. With LG AI Sound Pro, contents are analysed, processed, and presented to you in the best settings. It even has 4K pass-through support to allow users to enjoy 4K, HDR, and Dolby Vision contents with the LG Éclair.
The Meridian technology soundbar also comes with eARC support via HDMI for lossless 5.1-channel, 7.1-channel, and other immersive audio formats on the soundbar itself. It works vest with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatible mediums of course. Of course, the LG Éclair soundbar works best with LG TVs.
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
There are no mentions on its availability in Malaysia. The LG Éclair is already available in select regions across Europe. We do think that the Éclair is a fitting product for Malaysian homes though. More information on the LG Éclair can be found on LG’s website.
In 2014, a little-known upcoming brand from China took to Malaysia by storm. Xiaomi launched their flagship class Xiaomi Mi 3 at the time and started their sale campaign in Malaysia in a way familiar to Malaysians but has yet to become a norm. They sold their highly anticipated smartphone online and sold out in minutes.
The plucky little brand has grown from strength to strength in the years it has existed. It has grown from a little company that makes affordable premium smartphones to a company that builds an ecosystem of smart products for a modern home. They have grown from making tiny devices that you put in your pockets to making electric scooters even.
Last night sees another one of Xiaomi more premium products making it into the Malaysian home appliance market. It is a big one too. Xiaomi introduced the Mi TV P1 and Mi TV Q1 to Malaysians.
Mi TV P1
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
The Mi TV P1, while boasting up to 4K UHD in resolution, is listed under Xiaomi’s more accessible offering in high-resolution entertainment. Understandably then you get a Full HD 32-inch option for the Mi TV P1 series. All of them still come with Android TV as standard though.
Despite being the more accessible series in the Mi TV family, the 55-inch variant gets HDR10+ on top of its 4K UHD resolution for even better colour reproduction. The added dynamic range also adds a sense of realism on the picture itself. Dolby Vision on the 55-inch also helps with more immersion as you watch Dolby Vision certified movies from the likes of Netflix.
You only get 60Hz from the LED panel. With MEMC motion smoothing technology though you are like to get a tear-free, lag-free, and smooth picture experience. Thanks to Android TV as well, you not only get to enjoy services like Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Spotify, and Tidal. You get to work with Chromecast built directly into the TV. You get the benefit of Google Assistant too, with the embedded mic on the TV you might not even have to reach out to your remote control.
Mi TV Q1
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
If you are looking for something more premium without breaking your bank, Xiaomi has the Mi TV Q1. The Mi TV Q1, at 75-inch, not only allow you to have a true large-screen experience. It also boasts QLED panels, the same one you find on Samsung’s premium TV line-up.
The 4K QLED TV packs a lot of punch in terms of colours with 100% NTSC colour range at 1.07 billion colours on tap to give you the best image quality with the smoothest colour gradients possible. With 192 zones of full-array dynamic local dimming, colour bleeding and fringing is kept to a minimum, almost not existent with superb contrasts.
Of course, the 75-incher supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, it is a Samsung QLED panel after all. On top of that though the QLED TV boasts up to 120Hz and HDMI 2.1 with Auto Low Latency Mode. Those also means that the Mi TV Q1 is ready for the next-generation gaming consoles. If you really want, plug in a gaming PC and watch your fps go crazy too.
Great pictures have to be coupled with great audio to really immerse in. The Xiaomi Mi TV Q1’s stereo speakers pack a lot of punch at 30W. The stereo set-up is made up of two tweeters and four woofers for a balanced and clear audio reproduction. The speaker set-up also supports Dolby Audio and DTS-HD for the best audio experience in its class.
The Xiaomi MI TV Q1 comes with Android TV. That also means, like the Mi TV P1, the Mi TV Q1 works nicely with Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, Tidal, and Spotify. There are dedicated Amazon Prime Video and Netflix buttons on the remote. But you can easily launch all these apps via voice command anyway.
Price and Availability
The Xiaomi Mi TV P1 (43-inch, 55-inch) will be available for pre-order from 6th June 2021 onward for MYR 1,499 onward. It will retail for MYR 1,799 onward after pre-order period. The 32-inch variant will be available for pre-order from 6th June 2021 as well at MYR 899 (retail MYR 999). The new TV will be available online via Shopee and Lazada, and offline via authorised retailers, Senheng, and official Mi Stores across Malaysia.
The Xiaomi Mi TV Q1 will be available for pre-order from 6th June 2021 onward at MYR 7,999. The premium Mi TV will be available online via Lazada and offline via Senheng, authorised retailers and official Mi Stores across Malaysia. For a limited time and subject to stock availability, every purchase of the Xiaomi Mi TV Q1 will include Xiaomi’s exclusive gift pack worth MYR 1,765. The gift pack comprises the Mi Air Purifier Pro H, Mi Vacuum Cleaner Mini, Mi 360o Home Security Camera 2K, Mi Body Composition Scale 2, and Mi Wi-Fi Range Extender Pro. For more information on Xiaomi’s Mi TV P1 and Mi TV Q1, you can head out to Xiaomi’s website.
Google I/O 2021 is happening right now. The three-day conference kicked off with a bang though. To put it bluntly, Google I/O 2021 kicked off with a two-hour keynote highlighting everything coming from Google in 2021. While two hours do sound like a lot of drag, the announcements do sound mighty interesting though.
Google Workspace for Everyone
Source: Google
They kick off with something that everyone is concerned about in the period of pandemic, working from home. For that Google has something called Google Workspace. Google Workspace has been one of the most popular and thriving services since the world has gone into isolation with the looming pandemic situation. In 2021, the suite is updated with something called Smart Canvas.
Smart Canvas is a collaborative workspace within Google Workspace built for project management and keeping track of a project with your team members. It is kind of like a private chat or conversation within the larger organisation, but much cleaner. You can create and share Google Docs, Sheets, and even Slides within the group and work on the files together in real time.
Workspace is also now integrated with Google Meet, Google Doc, Google Sheet, and Google Slides. That also means that you can have a meeting on Google Meet within Google Workspace, share your files across the chat, and even edit the files together with your team in the Meets room. It is all about making remote collaborative work as seamless and organised as possible. Google also said Google Workspace will be available for free later in the year.
More in Google Search
Source: Google
Google search can also bring contents or search results that comes from other parts of the world in different languages with the integration of Google Translate algorithm and Google Lens as well. On top of that, Google is improving their language understanding and processing algorithm that should benefit more than just Google Translate, Google Lens, and regular Google Search.
They developed something called Wavenet, to make Google Assistant sound more natural and more contextual. They put that together with something they call Multitask Unified Model (MUM). All these makes Google Search and Google Lens the most powerful search and item identification tool ever.
The technologies that got mashed together means that Google search is not just single words anymore. It could be a sentence, a photo, and even both. The results can turn to be more than just web suggestions too. The result can turn out to be top suggestions, a place, and even connect you to merchants to buy what you need. If you set up your Google wallet correctly with all your merchant memberships as well, Google can connect you directly to deals that might be tied to your memberships too. There is a bit more to that too with Google Chrome, where you can track back your shopping carts on various sites even after you close the page.
Cleverer Google Maps
Source: Google
Google Maps is technically the most popular navigation app in the world. But that does not mean the app is flawless. There is always room for improvements.
Eco and Safe Driving
For example, Google introduces an ‘Eco Mode’ into the app. That basically means Google will take you through the most fuel efficient and economical route to get you to where you want and need to be. It may not be necessarily the fastest though, just keep that in mind.
They also introduced ‘safer driving’ routes for Google Maps. Obviously, that is what we call it, not what Google calls it. The idea is to navigate you to routes that might avoid traffic with sudden braking points and overall a smoother, clearer ride. All these are obviously done with Google’s navigation algorithm, traffic analysis, and GPS data such as speed or acceleration that Google Maps itself can see and work with in real-time.
Better Live View
Source: Google
They have expanded on Live View too in this case. Google Maps Live View does not just include navigation data in Augmented Reality anymore. It now shows you street names so that you can navigate better. It also now includes points of interest, landmarks, and you can pull up information regarding a place including its reviews directly from Maps app itself. Google Maps is also introducing Live View indoors now. It starts with the major train stations and airport in Zurich for now. The feature will be introduced to Tokyo also next month.
More Details
If you are getting yourself around by driving though, Google Maps is also a lot more detailed. Major intersections with road crossings and traffic lights will now show on maps so that you are better prepared. With Google’s understanding on your behaviour, your routine, and your usual routes, Google can also highlight relevant information, landmarks, or points of interest for you. A breakfast takeaway for example, on a Monday morning drive to work.
On top of all of that, Google Maps can now be a tool to help you plan your day not just on the road. Google Maps can track or predict how busy and packed an area will be at certain times just so you do not have to squeeze into the area at that time. You could plan to go another day for example, or just not go at all if it is not important. This is important in this day and age where social distancing is a recommended practice.
LaMDA
Source: Google
LaMDA is meant to be a conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI). Google says they have been using and testing it internally and it is powered by everything great about Google’s search engine and linguistic programming. In its demo, it sounds like an amazing piece of tech that could keep you having conversations with it from day to night.
It is programmed to know everything there is to know about our current world and situation. But it is not built to answer you with data necessarily. It is built to have natural conversations about the weather in general terms like “you might want to bring an umbrella in the afternoon”, rather than “there is a 78% chance of a light rain at 2.00 p.m.”.
While the answers that we saw from the demo does sound a little metallic and robotic at times, we cannot wait for LaMDA to be introduced into things like Workspace, YouTube, or even Google Maps. It is like having your own version of Iron Man’s JARVIS in your smartphone, or PC, or whatever you fancy.
More Organised Google Photos
Source: Google
Google Photos is a little bit more than just your photo gallery now though. It is now something you can use to create photo collages, to understand yourself better, and sort of your memory bank. Google’s image recognition recognises your photo patterns and puts all of them together to tell you that you tend to take photos of a certain context or a certain look. It tells you that you might be attracted to a certain sort of colour for example.
With Machine Learning (ML) as well, Google Photos can stitch multiple similar photos taken in succession to create a moving photo or video for you, even if there are gaps. Organisation and searching for your photos are even more intuitive too when you can find photos associated to certain celebrations for example.
Android 12 and Wear OS
Source: Google
Trust us when we say Android 12 is a huge overhaul of the Android OS. There is nearly no difference in terms of function, to be fair. Most of the changes are in the way things look and gets organised, and even customised. They call all this Material You design.
In terms of looks, things are a lot more intuitive, most organised, bigger, and a lot less cluttered. You get more control in how your User Interface (UI) looks in total as well. There are supposedly about 22% faster animation, they say.
You get more control over your own security and even privacy, and they are easier to access and understand with Privacy Dashboard. With the new UI as well, IoT controls are more front and center than before. There is a new improved remote app for your Android TV too.
Wear OS is getting a fresh lease of life too, thankfully. They want to make Wear OS a major smartwatch platform competitor to Apple’s WatchOS. To do that they managed to strike a partnership with their long-time partner, Samsung to bring Tizen and Wear OS together to make a more robust wearable operating system (OS) for everyone to use. Fitbit will also be introducing their own Wear OS later in the year and lend their expertise and know how in health and fitness into the upcoming Wear OS.
Your Safety, Privacy, and Protection Matters
Source: Google
Google has also improved their Google Password Manager. While the app still functions the same as before, you can now transfer password information from older devices. That also means that your passwords can be stored on-device instead of on-cloud. With Android’s on-device encryption nature, saving your managed passwords on your device could be a more secure option. With compromise alerts, you know when your accounts are accessed, and you can easily change passwords for whatever you have quickly via Password Manager.
Privacy Core
Google also introduced something called their Privacy Core. It is Google’s effort in giving control over information shared with Google back to its users. Supposedly as well, thanks to Privacy Core, you Live Caption sessions or translations will not be shared back to Google.
But security and privacy are more than that as well. It spreads to your search history, and even browsing history. Google is including an option now to delete ‘recent history’ on your Google Chrome.
Even in Google Maps, you can tell the app to not track your location history just so that the app does not collect your location data. You can allow Google Maps to track you accurately, or just give Google access to your approximate location now, in different apps. Not allowing Maps to track your data and build a history data also means that you are not going to get recommendations or suggestions from Google though. A worthy trade off, we think, for more privacy.
Better Health, Better Quality of Life
Source: Google
Since Google’s expansion and changing their own corporate name to Alphabet, they have been hugely involved in medical research. One of the places they have been pushing on is in the field of Mammograms. Google’s AI push into the platform means that screening for breast cancer is more accurate than ever. Their AI also helps doctors in understanding Mammograms and the severity in the diagnosis helping the health institutes prioritise different cases.
That is not all though. Dermatology is one huge field that could be expanded even using your own devices. Because this field has more to do with skin conditions, Google Lens can be an early diagnosis tool. You can take a photo of your skin conditions and Google can possibly identify what you have to a certain degree. Of course, nothing replaces a doctor in matters of treatments and full diagnosis, so Google can direct you towards a dermatologist near you via your browser. This feature will be available in the EU region by the end of the year 2021.
Project Starline
Source: Google
Speaking of health, we cannot ignore the current pandemic situation. We are all recommended to stay at home as much as possible and avoid as much human interaction as possible. The COVID-19 pandemic, while has brought humanity together more than ever, ironically has isolated us even more too.
Project Starline is a video chat tool that uses multiple cameras to create a 3D image model and project that 3D image to another part of the world. While that means that the file packages from that implementation are so bug that our regular internet speeds will not be able to cope, Google is working to compress the image files to a more sensible package size so that the images can be transferred using our regular internet connection.
The function of that is to implement a 3D video chat experience. While regular video chat today has progressed further than before, nothing replaces a physical presence and interaction. The idea with 3D projection calls looks to bridge that gap a little. Although you cannot touch the person still, having a 3D representation of a person is as close as you can get in having a physical presence in today’s world.
Google I/O 2021
Source: Google
To wrap up, Google announced that they are committing to shift their entire operation to carbon free energy sources by 2030. While Google has been proud of operating entirely on renewable energy, they are taking the first steps in relying on clean energy that does not leave any footprints. The commitment has led them to invest into Geothermal energy currently.
As promised by Google, the Google I/O 2021 is the largest ever. It is not just based on attendance though. It is also about the number of things that Google is introducing for 2021. It is also about Google’s commitments for the future, and we are excited, especially for Wear OS. For more information on what happened in Google I/O, you can check out Google’s Blog.
When someone asks us what TV they should buy for their homes, we always go back to Sony. We are big fans of Sony’s TV line-up and that is no secret too. We do think that they have been consistently making great TVs for a long time now. When you get a Sony TV as well, you get a sort of assurance that it will at least work properly with your Sony PlayStation 5; they are made by the same manufacturer, after all.
The BRAVIA series from Sony has also proven itself to be some of the best TVs in the world. While some of their TVs are based on older LED technology, the BRAVIA TVs still offer one of the best, if not the best, image contrasts and colour accurate images in the industry. Comparatively as well, BRAVIA TVs are more reasonably priced than some of its competitors.
Sony has just announced a new BRAVIA series with a very small difference that makes a lot of difference in how you experience TV in 2021. They have introduced the BRAVIA XR with a new processor, the Cognitive Processor XR. Yes, it is just a new processor to the TV.
As its name suggest, the new processor is a more intelligent processor Sony produces for the BRAVIA XR TVs. As with any modern processors in the market for any electronics items, it is also an Artificial Intelligence (AI) equipped chip. Sony claims that it is not conventional AI that they use here though.
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
They call it cognitive intelligence, and it does kind of work to work with our cognitive behaviour when we watch the TV. Sony says that the processor is designed to replicate the ways we see and hear, like replicating focal points on the TV screen anyway; at least they are attempting to. In some sense, the processor is not attempting to create better, more vibrant, and upscaled image. Instead, they are trying to make images look more natural to our eyes.
The processor divides the display panel into zones to detect focal points in a picture. It still works like conventional AI where colours, contrasts, and details are refined. It does a bit more than just analysing and refining the general elements though. When it finds the focal points of each frame it automatically enhances its elements to the best it can be alongside the other parts of the image. The result of that is a more natural looking image that is almost lifelike, at least according to Sony.
The processor also tampers a little bit with audio and its signal positions. The processor will identify the images, analyse sound positions and correctly places them through the speakers. The processor also converts the audio signal into proper 3D surround sound for an immersive experience without you spending extra on sound bar or a separate sound system. All-in-all, the Sony BRAVIA XR with Cognitive Processor XR is meant to really elevate your TV experience with little tweaks that matter.
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
With the introduction of the new Cognitive Processor XR too, the BRAVIA TVs get some new features. For one, Google TV is now available on Android TV. All BRAVIA XR TVs also get HDMI 2.1 and e-ARC compatibility for 4K 120fps support, beneficial for modern console gaming. The new BRAVIA XR TVs will also add additional support for smart speakers like Google Nest Speakers so you can control your TV with smart speakers too. On top of all of that, the TVs will also come with Netflix Calibrated Mode for studio like Netflix experience on Sony BRAVIA XR TVs.
For now, the Cognitive Processor XR will be available in five models in Malaysia. The Sony BRAVIA XR XR-65A90J OLED TV (65-inch, MYR 17,999), XR-65A80J OLED TV (65-inch, MYR 14,999), XR-55A80J OLED TV (55-inch, MYR 9,199), XR-65X90J Full Array LED TV (65-inch, MYR 7,599), and XR-55X90J Full Array LED TV (55-inch, MYR 5,399) are all available in Malaysia. There will be an 8K XR-85Z9J, OLED XR-77A80J, Full Array LED XR-75X90J coming soon into Malaysia. For more information on the Sony BRAVIA XR TVs, you can head over to Sony’s website.
There is a problem with the smartphone and smart device industry today. That problem is accentuated by the accelerated growth of the industry as well. It is not just a localised problem, mind you.
That problem is electronic waste. Technically, electronic waste has started becoming a problem since electronics have become a part of our lives. Today, electronics are an excessively big part of our lives. Wherever you go, you carry your smartphones with you. Every where you go too, you are exposed to at least one electronic display that is not your smartphone. When these devices go out of phase and gets replaced, it becomes electronic waste. We are sure you could be spared from the lecture though.
In that case, plenty of the current electronics manufacturers look for ways to reduce their own electronic waste, or waste in general in some cases. Apple claimed that they are reducing their own electronic wastes by not including charging adapters when you buy your Apple iPhone 12 series devices. Samsung followed suit with their Samsung Galaxy S20 devices. Superficial or not, you have to admit that your old chargers are still effective in charging your modern devices, albeit at a slightly lower speed (that also protects your battery a little bit).
Source: Samsung
Samsung also took liberties in redesigning their packaging so that users can opt to repurpose their unused packaging for some other purposes, like a pencil holder or something. This is all part of their Galaxy Upcycling Programme, very clever stuff. But your old smartphones are still collecting dust in your drawer.
With SmartThings Labs though, your old Samsung Galaxy devices can stop collecting dust in your drawer and be a smart home accessory. Of course, this is not a new thing that we have heard about. Samsung has been talking about upcycling their older Galaxy devices into an IoT device for a couple of years now, correct us if we are wrong.
Via SmartThings Labs within the SmartThings app on a Galaxy device, your old device can now become an enhanced sound and light sensor. The implementation uses Galaxy’s improved Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accurately distinguish sounds in its surroundings. It can even record certain sounds too, if you want it to. You can get it to record knocks, dogs barking, baby crying, and even cat meowing. If any of those sounds are recorded, it will send notification to your current smartphone of choice and you can listen to the recording yourself. Nothing too new here, except you do not need the camera function.
Source: Samsung
Other than sounds, Samsung Galaxy device can be turned into a light sensor. Thanks to the existing light sensor on your smartphones, the Galaxy devices can measure the brightness level of a room quite accurately. That could also be an indication to automatically turn on the lights in a room or even adjust the brightness level of your TV through SmartThings.
What makes it cleverer is that Samsung’s SmartThings implementation to make your device a smart sensor for sounds and lights technically reduces its battery consumption as well. Your smartphones already uses its mic and light sensors constantly anyway, which also means that they devices already consume minimal battery life on their own. With the implementation though, Samsung also introduces their very own battery optimisation solution to minimise battery consumption. We suspect that the implementation turns off other sensors in favour of the sensors the device has exclusive access to for the purpose of measuring light and sounds. So, is this another glorified light sensor? Sort of, but it is a start.
Apple’s Spring Loaded event for 2021 revealed the highly anticipated iMac and iPad Pro that both packs Apple’s M1 chip that you can also find on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. They also revealed a new Apple TV 4K though. While the entirety of the Apple TV box does not look different from the outside, there are improvements made on the Apple TV 4K.
For one, it now comes with Apple’s A12 Bionic chip. To be fair, that is not the latest Apple integrated chip in their line-up. The A12 chip though is still one tough and powerful chip to work with in the Apple TV 4K box. It powers the updated tvOS that seamlessly integrates with all sorts of Apple devices. You can even watch Apple TV with your AirPods if you really want to with the Apple TV 4K.
There is also a new remote that comes with the 2021 Apple TV 4k. The new remote is designed to somewhat resemble an iPhone, we feel. Aside from that though the remote is made to be as intuitive as ever and with a dedicated Siri button on the side to make reaching Siri voice command more seamless and hassle free than ever.
Source: Apple
Of course, the 2021 Apple TV 4K will still come with all the things that made the Apple TV 4K one of the favourite TV boxes around. The tvOS offers the latest shows from Apple TV+ (with subscription, of course), offers best in class music experience via Apple Music, features Apple Fitness+ to pair with your Apple Watch, Apple Arcade for over-the-top games, AirPlay to seamlessly share videos, music, projects, and other content from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac devices directly to your TV. The Apple TV 4K box is also your home control hub for all your HomeKit accessories, including your HomePod speakers.
Beyond that though, Apple TV 4K now support HDR and Dolby Vision contents at 60fps instead of the regular 30fps. While it is not quite 120hz ready, 60fps is quite a lot more than enough for most video contents today. 60fps would really change the way you view sports too.
The cleverest feature of the Apple TV 4K in 2021 though is the clever colour calibration process that works with the Apple iPhone. The 2021 Apple TV 4K works in tandem with the iPhone light sensor to compare the colour balance between your TV to the industry standard. Once the data is received by the Apple TV 4K box, it automatically adjusts its output to deliver more accurate colours and better colour contrasts without users ever touching the TV’s settings.
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
The Apple TV 4K is now available in select regions at US$ 179 (MYR 849*) onward. There are no colour options available for Apple TV 4K at this point, you get a black TV box and silver remote. You can opt for a larger storage for the Apple TV 4K at 64GB for US$ 199 (MYR 949*). The Apple TV Siri remote is also available separately at US$ 59 (MYR 299*) and is compatible with previous generation Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD. The Apple TV HD with the Siri remote will be available at US$ 149 (MYR 719*). There is no confirmation on local (Malaysia) availability yet at this point. More information on the Apple TV 4K and the new Siri remote can be found on Apple’s website.
HUAWEI is now more than just smartphones. They are an ecosystem of products that forms a bigger picture of Internet of Things (IoT). HUAWEI has been making products other than smartphones for a while now though. The only issue is that you do not know about it because they do not make those things available in Malaysia.
One of their most successful products from China is their televisions. Yes, you read that right, televisions. Now, you can experience that too, in the HUAWEI Vision S, touted to be available in Malaysia now.
Here is the thing though; why should you buy a television from HUAWEI? There are other smart TVs around that you probably have been eyeing for a while now. You get really good options from the likes of Sony, LG, and Samsung. If you need something that fits a smaller budget, and still want 4K with smart TV functions, there are manufacturers like HAIER, TLC, and even HiSense.
The HUAWEI Vision S 65 is and interesting and compelling product on its own though. It has its own smart TV functions, and its packs quite powerful speakers. All of that costs less than MYR 5,000 too. That said, should you actually consider buying this hardware? We find out.
Design
Right out of the bat though, we have a problem with the 65-incher HUAWEI Vision S. It barely fits our TV surface. Then again, our TV surface is made for TVs at up to 55-inch. The good news is that its legs still fit on the surface and we can work with the TV at a comfortable angle. That is more of an us problem than HUAWEI problem though.
They say that the simply straight and somewhat plain legs that comes with the TV is inspired by ice skates. But its design and angle help make the TV look like it is somewhat floating when you place it on any surface. It hides itself well is what we are saying. Its minimalist design cues help the projecting surface stand out a little bit more and does not leave too much dead space below the TV. In that sense, we like that very much.
The rest of the front silhouette of the TV is pretty much an expected thing. It has thin bezels, like any modern smart TV you can buy today, even the super cheap ones. Really, the thing that should stand out on a modern TV should be its projecting panel, in this case the LCD panel on this large glass thing in front of you.
Once you move to the side of the TV though, there is a small difference between this HUAWEI Vision S and a lot of the modern Smart TVs. The I/O panel is on the right side of the TV instead of the left. While it is not that big of an issue in most cases, if you are used to something that came out of Sony, or LG, or even Samsung, you might want to reconsider rearranging some of your things to fit that layout. Either that, or make sure that you extend your HDMI or AUX cables a little bit.
Other than those though, nothing really makes the HUAWEI Vision S stands out compared to other TVs with its projection panel turned off. Just like any other modern Smart TV, it is just a slab of glass you can either rest on a shelf or hang on the wall. You can turn it into a digital photo frame if you really want too.
Features
What differentiates a TV from one another is usually their features. What separates this HUAWEI Smart TV and other Smart TVs in the market is the Operating System (OS) on it. That OS is also unique to this TV only and will come in the other HUAWEI TV that will come later. They call it HarmonyOS, and it is unlike any other TV OS we have come across, which may not be entirely a good thing.
Keep in mind that the unit we are reviewing is a China unit and there may be some differences between it and the official Malaysian unit. For one, the Malaysian unit will not have VMall pre-installed, and there will not be any exercise guide app. The Malaysian unit also will not have as much content within the App Gallery.
Webcam – MeeTime and Family Photo Time
While we are going to go into HarmonyOS, we first have to talk about the thing that is sticking out of the TV, or the optional item that could stick out of the top of the TV, its camera. When we say optional, it comes with the TV when you buy it. You can choose to keep it detached, however.
If you choose to attach it to the TV, the procedure is pretty simple. Just line up the gold pins to the port on the back of the top of the TV and the webcam will snap in place. HUAWEI also includes a cap to protect the gold pins on the TV just in case you do not want the webcam in place. For a TV, the webcam sticking out looks quite odd to us. If you are buying this for a meeting room though, you might be glad to know that it comes with a webcam, and you do not need to buy one
There is a caveat however, it is a HUAWEI device after all. That also means that it does not work like an Android TV and it has limited apps available to it. That means, you cannot just pick up the TV remote and start a video call on it on any app.
There is only one app you can use for video calls on the HUAWEI Vision S currently and that is MeeTime. MeeTime, as you may have found, can only be used with other HUAWEI devices. So, if your entire office uses HUAWEI’s most current devices, you are good. If not, you are out of luck, because you cannot use it to make calls to anyone else.
If you do have friends with a current HUAWEI device that supports MeeTime though, you are going to get a very cool Full HD video calling capability That also means that you get very crisp, very clear videos transmissions. Audio is not half bad too. Sadly, we do not have enough people using MeeTime in the office to test it out.
Of course, you can also use the webcam to take a family photo of sorts. It is a 13-Megapixel camera, good enough for most social media use and even sharing it with your friends or family. Of course, you need to make sure to share the photo to your smartphone first before sharing it out. That, or you can just use it as a wallpaper for the TV. Make sure you have the Home Vision app for that though.
HarmonyOS on top of Honghu 818– Mirror, Control, and Mirror Control
This brings us to HarmonyOS, a sort of peculiar TV OS that is, on its own, quite brilliant. Once you compare it to other TV Systems though, it starts to show a lot of cracks. We do not know how to feel about the HUAWEI Vision S mostly because of HarmonyOS.
HarmonyOS looks great on the 65-inch panel. We are guessing that it will translate nicely on the smaller 55-inch display too. We like it because it looks pretty, it is smooth, it looks light.
Navigating through the interface is a breeze as well. Everything is laid out clearly and all of them are labelled properly. The settings make plenty of sense and is very intuitive as well.
We like how minimal and simple the remote is though. It is a far fetch from TV remotes of old. The minimalist approach is also remarkably similar to Samsung’s approach with TV remotes these days. The extra space below the buttons are not wasted too, because it is an NFC detection panel, for One Hop sharing features from your smartphone to the TV and vice versa.
That feature itself makes the Vision S a compelling purchase. Only thing is that it only works with HUAWEI devices. Then again, the unit we have is China unit. The HUAWEI Home Vision app will be available the Google Play Store when the official Malaysian units launches, so we do not know if HUAWEI will bring the One Hop feature for the Vision S TV available to other Android devices.
Home Vision App
The Home Vision app will allow you to do a few things with the TV via your smartphone. You can use your smartphone as a regular remote control. You can also control the TV via mirroring the TV on the smartphone screen itself.
You can fire up MeeTime directly from the app itself too. You do not need to go into the TV to even pick your contacts. All you have to do is go into the Home Vision app itself and fire up MeeTime from the home page.
Limited Screen Mirroring
Of course, all Smart TVs should be able to do simple screen mirroring from your smartphone today. The HUAWEI Vision S can do that too, of course. But take it with a pinch of salt though, it does not scale all the way to 4K. Most of the time, you get up to Full HD resolution when you mirror your smartphone to the display.
We use a HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra to mirror its contents to the display. This is also the only way you are going to get Netflix contents to project on the TV, if you are using the HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro. If you are on other Android devices, you may not be able to get Netflix on the TV. You most likely will not get Amazon Prime Video on the TV panel, we tried on both the HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
If you have a HUAWEI device though, you do not have to dig through your smartphone settings to mirror your display. All you need to do is to tap your device to the remote’s OneHop NFC receiver area, and you get your TV to display what your smartphone displays. Keep in mind that for you to get a full screen experience though, you want to make sure that you are displaying in HUAWEI Desktop Mode instead. Again, not all apps can be mirrored from the smartphone.
Hey Celia!
This is one feature we did not try extensively on the HUAWEI Vision S because the unit we have is a China unit. We got a quick hands-on the official Malaysian unit before its launch though. We have to say that the AI assistant is responsive and sensitive enough to voice inputs even though you may be sitting four feet away from the TV. That is a good thing, you can sort of lose your remote in this case. The only issue is that it is no Google Assistant, so there could only be so much you can do if you do not own other HUAWEI devices at home.
HUAWEI Video and Music
Despite the lack of Netflix, or Amazon Prime Video, or even YouTube, there are still things you can watch on the TV though. HUAWEI’s Video and Music platform still has a selection of movies and TV series to work with. Although, you will have to live with less contents than the likes of Netflix and Prime Video. Even HUAWEI Music’s library will not be as extensive as Spotify or even Tidal.
Performance
Yes, there are shortcoming on the HUAWEI Vision S. The shortcomings are mostly with the HarmonyOS. In that sense, its hardware does shine through.
65-inch of 120Hz 4K Goodness
HUAWEI did not specify the sort of projection panel they use on the HUAWEI Vision S. We suspect that they are probably working with an IPS panel. There is a reason for our suspicion, more on that later.
HUAWEI claims a DCI-P3 colour gamut of up to 92%, and TUV Rheinland certified Low Blue Light and Flicker Free certification. They also claim that the panel produces vivid, vibrant colours very close to what you might see in real life. We believe them.
We say that the display could very well be an IPS display because of the colour reproduction of the TV panel. Videos and images looks amazing on the HUAWEI Vision S. While HUAWEI did not mention anything about local dimming features, there is very little colour bleeding on bring images with black background. The blacks are really deep as well when it needs to be.
Colours, as per HUAWEI, are super vivid and vibrant. Vibrant films like ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ shines on the Vision S. While it is a shame we could not test Netflix or Prime Video films natively on the Vision S, we were able to test the TV with our contents at 4K as well. Yes, they look really good too.
The Honghu 818 processor is also not just to keep the TV trundling along at a respectable pace. It can also upscale Full HD contents to 4K when it recognises it. Since it is also a 120Hz panel, the processor also scales to 120 frames a second when it can. That also means that you get very smooth viewing experience too at 4K.
The thing is though, when you upscale contents, you tend to get some screen tears and even weird shadow flickers. You tend to not notice too much of that on the HUAWEI Vision S though. What we are trying to say is that even Full HD movies that plays at 30fps tend to look really good on the HUAWEI Vision S. Of course, you would get the full benefit of 4K and 120Hz when you game on it.
HUAWEI Sound – Do You Really Need a Soundbar
This is another thing we really liked about the HUAWEI Vision S. We usually would recommend our friends to get a good piece of sound bar to really elevate their entertainment experience. There are just a few TV out in the market that may not need a sound bar to work with, if you are on a budget.
The HUAWEI Vision S is one of those TVs that we think may not need a soundbar to work with. That is because HUAWEI bothered to fit this TV with four speakers within the TV. The result of the four speakers really changes what we know about modern Smart TVs with the kind of dimensions modern TVs boasts.
There is a lot of detail coming from the quad speaker array on the HUAWEI Vision S. We expected the speakers to sound a little on the weak side. That is the total opposite of what you will get on the HUAWEI Vision S though. The audio profile is pretty much powerful in all ranges of frequencies.
Of course, there will be some benefits to a soundbar. You get dedicated woofers that would really enhances the lower frequencies for bigger booms. But they have not forgotten on the higher frequencies too.
This also means that you can even enjoy music on the TV itself. To save some power the HUAWEI Vision S still can play audio without the display being on. Again though, the HUAWEI Music App is a little limited currently. You can connect your smartphones to the TV via screen mirroring and play music via Spotify or Tidal though.
Gaming on the HUAWEI Vision S
With 4K 120Hz, the HUAWEI Vision S is really made for the new next-gen gaming consoles. The Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X are made to handle games at 4K at up to 120fps to fully take advantage of high refresh-rate displays like the HUAWEI Vision S. Unfortunately, we do not posses any of the next-gen console just yet.
We have a PlayStation 4 Pro and Nintendo Switch though. We also tried plugging our gaming PCs to the TV, for the native high refresh-rate support. We must say that we are impressed here too.
While Nintendo Switch does not scale up to 4K, most of the games on Nintendo Switch are made with more vibrant colours and softer textures in mind compared to detailed, sharp graphics. Vibrant colours shine on the HUAWEI Vision S. Animal Crossing: New Horizons look gorgeous on the 65-inch panel because the colours look so vivid and sweet. God of War on PlayStation 4 Pro looks amazing too. Of course, there is no 120Hz here. Thing is HUAWEI’s Vision S will try to scale it up a little to 120Hz. It is barely noticeable though because you are just blown away by the colours and details you get on games like God of War. You technically can play CS:GO and push the fps boundaries to 120Hz if you connect your PC. But you would have to sit a little further away too. Thankfully though, the blacks are so black and detailed that you still can see the darker spots when you play games like PUBG.
HUAWEI’s website markets its gaming capabilities via your smartphone though. Obviously, we gave that a go. But then again, you are just mirroring your smartphone’s content on the display, so there is nothing too special there. There are also games within the HUAWEI Vision S’s HarmonyOS AppGallery. We did not try any of them though.
HUAWEI Vision S – Yes, But No
HUAWEI’s Vision S (65-inch as tested) commands MYR 3,999 in asking price. If you go for the one smaller, at 55-inch, it will set you back MYR 2,999. While you might want to say that the commanding price is what we call expensive, you might want to hold back your horses though. HUAWEI mentions that the Vision S is meant to go up against models like Samsung’s latest AU9000 series TV. That also means the HUAWEI is also in the league of Sony’s X80H TV and LG’s UN74 series TV. Against the competition, the HUAWEI suddenly looks like a bargain at MYR 3,999. The difference in price is up to MYR 1,000 compared to its competition.
Where the HUAWEI Vision S falls apart though is the contents itself. It is the only Smart TV to feature the HarmonyOS and Honghu 818 CPU. In all fairness, HarmonyOS and Honghu 818 works like a charm, they work great; we like them.
While it does look like a bargain, I would still suggest you consider getting the Sony or the LG TV hard. While there can be a significant price difference between the TVs, we would say contents and compatibility matter. In the case of the HUAWEI Vision S, you might want to consider getting and Android TV box, or Apple TV box, or plug in a PC, and even a gaming console to get to contents you want and love. We resorted to relying on our Sony PlayStation 4 Pro to get Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and even Spotify working.
The HUAWEI Vision S is an enticing product, with its excellent colour reproduction that rivals even other higher end TVs. It even has sound system we can stand behind, because the four speakers are that good. But to us, its content matters. We really wanted to like it, but we could not.
If you are looking for a home audio solution today, SONOS will be one name you come across. The American based home audio solution has proven to be one of the most popular home audio brands today with innovative and high-quality products in their stables. They also make some of the best and minimalist looking speakers in the market currently.
IKEA should not be a name that is new to anyone too at this point. They made flat-packed furniture a thing. They are also currently the largest furniture retailer and manufacturer in the world. Every home in Malaysia will haven IKEA product no matter how small. I know my house has a few IKEA stuff. Heck, our office is filled with IKEA furniture.
The partnership between IKEA and SONOS is nothing new too though. IKEA and SONOS produced their first collaboration product, the SONOS Symfonisk Bookshelf WiFi speakers back in 2019. The only issue is that we do not get a lot of IKEA x whatever brand collaboration products in Malaysia.
SONOS and IKEA is back in collaboration to update their Symfonisk WiFi Speaker. This time though, it is not just a WiFi wirelss speaker. This time, the Symfonisk for 2021 is a table lamp too combined with an Apple HomePod lookalike speaker unit. The new Symfonisk speakers are not available in Malaysia at this time. If you have family members or friends in Singapore though, they can order it at SG$ 299 per piece and in either white or black colour options.
Apparently though this is not the only thing they have in their collaboration product pipeline. They are also making an art piece together that is supposed to double as an art piece you can hang on your home walls, or office walls for that matter. This is not the first art piece speaker per say, but of course IKEA will make it more affordable and more flat-pack friendly than anything that came before.
Those are also the only details anyone cares to share on their current collaboration products. Of course, if you already have SONOS products at home, you can pair them to the Symfonisk speakers for surround sound purposes or as connected speakers throughout the home. There are also no details yet on whether the Symfonisk speakers will ever make it to Malaysia. With SONOS making a big push in the region, here is hoping that IKEA Malaysia starts bringing in the SONOS x IKEA Symfonisk products.
We are still reeling from LG’s big announcement with their mobile business unit. Yesterday they told the world that they are backing out from the smartphone market. They are still active in other areas though. For example, they are still a strong player in the home audio market.
They have just introduced their new line-up of soundbars for 2021. Of course, they come with even more features and before to really complete your audio experience. They also still come with everything that made the older soundbars great too. For one, you still get Meridian technology.
LG’s new 2021 soundbars introduces Meridian’s Horizon technology though. The technology cleverly mixes regular dual channel to virtually create a multichannel experience for true immersion when it comes to music and even movies regardless of their position. Meridian’s technology and tuning also shines in the soundbar’s Music Mode.
The LG soundbars for 2021 now supports Dolby Atmos and DRS:X audio. That also means you get more dynamic audio and immersion from the soundbars. If you have a Dolby Vision certified 4K TV, the soundbars adjust themselves to optimise audio and picture experience. Your Netflix set-up at home just got even better.
What is a modern soundbar without its smart features? The 2021 soundbars is compatible with Google Asisstant, Amazon Alexa, and Siri. With support for Apple AirPlay 2, the soundbars can now control their favourite contents directly from their Apple iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.
To make your audio experience even more immersive and even better is LG’s clever AI features on the soundbar. The new 2021 soundbars packs their own clever Room Calibration tool that utilises its AI to optimise your audio experience no matter the kind of room you work with. Using a combination of its multiple mics and speaker units, the AI measures it own space and adjusts itself according to the room. In combination with the AI Sound Pro feature, the soundbar cleverly adjusts its frequency range and field extensions depending on contents to optimise your audio experience even more.
The 2021 LG soundbars are Hi-Res Audio certified supporting 24-bit/96kHz audio playback. The soundbars get HDMI eARC compatibility as well for high bitrate, high-resolution content playback and of course, Dolby Atmos audio. There is also USB playback as well as Bluetooth connectivity for a wider flexibility in terms of audio sources.
The new 2021 LG soundbar line-up will be available in Europe and North American market this month onward. There is no official pricing announced just yet even for the key markets. There are also no local (Malaysia) availability information yet for the soundbars. We are looking at a third quarter availability in Malaysia though. The new product line-up includes SP11RA (7.1.4), SP9WA (5.1.2), SP8YA (3.1.2), SP7Y (5.1), and SPD7Y (3.1.2). For more information on LG’s 2021 line-up of soundbars, you can head over to their website.
South Korea has become one of the biggest electronic giants the world has ever seen. With the likes of Samsung and LG, it is no wonder the South Koreans are highly regarded in the modern era of technology. The two electronic giants have conquered everything from televisions to even washing machines in 2021. They make some of the best-selling televisions, fridges, even down to a water purifier.
They have also been a leader in the smallest things we carry with us every day. Samsung and LG have been at the forefront of smartphone technologies for the past few years now. But there has been some interesting development for the past few weeks or so. One of them is the fact that LG has made an announcement that they are no longer interested in the smartphone business.
The announcement from LG’s very own newsroom describes that LG Electronics Inc. will close its mobile business unit as per approved by their board earlier in the day. What that means is that LG will give up its smartphone business unit and not dabble in the smartphone market in the future.
To be fair, the company has been considering the exit for a while now. LG’s Mobile Business Unit, or its smartphone division has been posting losses for the past five years at least, and they show no sign of recovering. The company has been focusing on selling some mid-range smartphones while developing interesting concepts that produces smartphones like the LG Wing. They also showed some concept of a rollable smartphone, something we do not expect to see LG producing ever with the announcement.
As per the announcement as well LG will continue to make their current inventory available for sale. LG will also continue to provide support and software updates for their current customers and their existing products until an unspecified time. Although there is no indication to when they will end their product life support. They only indicated that it will be varied by regions.
This also means that the company will have to repurpose its workforces from its mobile business units. They mentioned that this will be determined at a local level as well. Still, they have some time to repurpose everyone within the business unit.
LG is expecting the close to complete by the 31st July 2021. While LG will no longer be officially selling their devices by the end of July, they expect some existing stocks to still be available after specified date and those will still be on sale. LG will still be involved in the development of mobile technologies, however. They will continue to work on 6G network related developments even after the Mobile Business Unit concludes its closure.
