This article was written from a sit-down interview withYuval Ziv, President of Nuvei Corporation.
The world we know is ever-changing. With the advent of digital technologies and rapidly adapting legislation, it’s become even more challenging for businesses to grow across borders. Where it once was a matter of having an international website, it’s now a question of localisation and adaptation. This reality rings true even when handling international payments and transactions. However, companies like Nuvei provide a unique proposition of a single, modular interface to manage most, if not all, of the challenges of digitalisation when it comes to payments.
Paypal, VISA, iPay88, Stripe and even Apple Pay are some of the world’s most popular payment methods right now. However, when it comes to accepting these payment methods for businesses, it can be a long, tedious process. What’s more, there is also the added complication of regulatory compliance and knowing the lay of the land.
These hurdles don’t just delay global rollout and expansion. They, can, at times, be the factors that cause businesses and companies to lose momentum. In other words, they can be the straws that break the camel’s back. That said, a business’s aspirations should never be limited by uphill battles. Collaboration and onboarding of the right solutions will always be at the heart of any foolproof strategy. However, too many partners can also create more problems.
A Single Turnkey for Most Hurdles
The need for a single turnkey solution is more than just apparent; it’s imperative. That’s where Nuvei has chosen to develop its single API which brings together everything businesses need when it comes to payment solutions. The API is continually being developed by their in-house team of developers as the company continues to grow even through acquisitions.
In fact, Nuvei has most recently acquired Paymentez, Mazooma and Simplex. These acquisitions expand the reach and scope of services offered by Nuvei. The added features and services that they bring will be integrated seamlessly into the existing Nuvei API. Businesses that have deployed the API will then get an update which will give them access to these new markets and services. The company’s internal development team allows them to have the agility needed to bring new products to market as well as the freedom to adapt near instantaneously. What’s more, its core platform remains unchanged and flexible throughout.
It is this agile and adaptable approach that makes a viable single turnkey solution. With a continually evolving marketplace and changing legislative environment, partners need to be able to help alleviate some of the burdens of business without becoming a burden themselves.
Payments are just the beginning
Let’s just face the hard truth, dealing with payments across markets can be a headache. Aside from legislative and technological hurdles, the biggest choice a company can make is which payment platform they choose to support. This reality changes from country to country and perhaps even from region to region within a country. There is no single answer that can accurately predict the proliferation of a payment gateway or service.
Source: Nuvei
That said, a business partner which can provide you with these insights would be invaluable. A business partner that can provide you with insights, as well as access to all the possible payment platforms, is pivotal. Nuvei is poised to be able to do this with access to numerous payment gateways as well as provide you with the insights needed to grow your business effectively. Of course, we’re talking about payment platforms here.
Take for instance, in Malaysia, we have Touch ‘N Go Wallet, Boost, GrabPay and ShopeePay. Each of these platforms is able to not only process digital payments but also bring a large number of potential customers. Choosing between them, if you really need to, could be the difference between success and failure. Without looking at any insights, you think that accepting TnG’s eWallet would be a safer bet when it comes to payment methods. However, factors such as time in the market as well as adoption could be different. In this case, both GrabPay and TnG’s eWallet are front runners perception-wise. That said, we can never 100% that the other methods may not be greater than what’s reported. Getting a dashboard where this information is available would allow businesses to make informed decisions.
Source: Nuvei
“Every market, every user has their payment method… if we enable a merchant to collect or accept payments by only the minority or some of the payment methods, you will cause a merchant to lose users.”
Yuval Ziv, President at Nuvei Corporation
Nuvei’s platform not only allows businesses to see these vital insights but also gives them the freedom to adopt and choose between the payment methods available in the country and region. The flexibility and freedom for businesses to not only accept but also implement their preferred service through a single helps them grow on their terms with access to impactful insights.
Dealing with More than Just Implementation But Remaining Flexible
Today’s marketplace is no longer simply about market access or payments either. It’s about growing while mitigating risks and adapting to new realities as they emerge. Conventional solutions tend to always lock businesses into a single, inflexible mode of operations but it goes without saying, that a one-trick pony can be detrimental when it comes to business growth. In addition, streamlining allows business cost reductions that can be channelled elsewhere.
Source: Nuvei
“The first challenge working globally… is understanding the user’s preferences and then enabling all of those payment methods in our checkout experience.”
Yuval Ziv, President at Nuvei Corporation
If that is true for general business practices, what more for payment solutions. Businesses are flung into a landscape where they will need to keep tabs on regulatory changes as will undoubtedly affect them. If the business has services rooted in the gig economy, it has the added complication of pay-outs.
These complex day-to-day activities can’t be avoided even if we try to. Businesses require visibility and peace of mind when they happen. Nuvei doesn’t just provide businesses with access to payment methods, its single, modular API brings along payment orchestration. Using this, merchants and businesses are able to integrate payments received and pay-outs into a single platform where they have eyes on everything. The platform is also able to generate unified reports that will allow businesses to get a complete picture of their business health.
In addition to this, Nuvei is constantly updating its business insights and practices. They have teams that are constantly monitoring markets for updates in legislation and impactful insights. The company not only updates their API with these new developments but also reacts to ensure that its client’s businesses remain unaffected. In fact, they also act to help mitigate and manage risk when changes happen and also when required by the client.
Peace of Mind in an Ever-evolving Landscape
There’s nothing better than having peace of mind when it comes to a business’s day-to-day activities. That’s essentially what Nuvei is promising with their Payment platform. However, the company has its eyes on the future as they continue to grow. With the emergence of digital banking and open banking worldwide as well as the continued influence of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, the company is committed to ensuring that its platform remains one of the most flexible and robust.
Their platform already supports payments via cryptocurrencies and supports clients in the NFT space. In fact, the company sees the emergence of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain as opportunities. Implementation of blockchain and tokenization to increase the security of the platform could be in its future. However, for now, the company remains committed to providing a turnkey solution for customers when it comes to payment management, acceptance and orchestration.
The last round of this editorial series we explored the working capabilities of the Chromebook. We also compared it a little bit to Android tablets to find that the Chrome OS is plenty robust as a tablet as well. There are some workarounds that we must get to while working with the Chrome OS remotely and even at home. But all is good, we are happy with it so far and it looks like we can live with it at work.
There is an area where the Chrome OS lost out to both Apple’s MacOS and Microsoft’s Windows though. That area is gaming with the Chromebook. There is also a good reason we skipped entire weeks of the series. Steam has gone Alpha for Chrome OS. The bad news there is that not every Chromebook can support it. The good news is that the one we have, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, can. So, we went on to try it out.
Android Games on Chrome OS
Before we get to Steam, we do want to explore the native gaming capabilities of Chrome OS. There is no better way to do it other than through the Google Play Store, obviously. To be fair, while we did want to try the likes of PUBG Mobile or Mobile Legends Bang Bang, we only managed to download and install Pokémon Unite.
At first it is a little odd, seeing a mobile game in a display that is many times the size of your smartphone. Playing it on a tablet is already a stretch, full screen on a laptop display is a whole other level. In this case we have a great 13.5-inch IPS display with a little over 2K resolutions on tap.
The game looks vibrant and beautiful on the display with so many colours on offer. You can see that the game is not really meant to be on such a large display though with some pixels popping up. Still, the game is rather pretty on the laptop.
The game is also made optimised for touch screens though, which also means you are also going to be using the touch screen control like you would on smartphones or tablets. Except, this thing weighs quite a lot more than a tablet, which also makes it a little unwieldy to play handheld. We put it on a table and turned it to a sort of tent, and off we go.
Playing Android games on the Chrome OS is not perfect though. Most of the time, games developed for smartphones are optimised for a smartphone or tablet’s SoC. In this case, because the main hardware is a little different, the experience can be different. While Pokémon Unite works smoothly, and can be enjoyable for short periods of time, other games may not launch or might not even run properly. We ran into a problem trying to launch Pokémon Unite the first few times we tried running it. The issue resolved itself somehow and we got solid sessions out of it.
Steam on Chrome OS? Really?
Steam on Chrome OS is something that has been dreamt of for a while now. Ever since Chrome OS gotten mainstream, many have asked the question on whether Chrome OS can even be a proper gaming machine. Most of them packs good enough hardware to at least run non-triple AAA titles, so why not?
The problem was, Steam was never available on Chrome OS before. Steam can run on most Linux interfaces though, with some tweaks. Even the upcoming Steam Deck is running on a version of Linux operating system. So why not on Chrome OS?
The problem is more complex than it looks. You technically can port Steam to Chrome OS. You can also try running Windows games on the Chrome OS. But you are going to have to compromise on the experience.
Before Steam was officially on Chrome OS (as we said, it is now on Alpha), the only workaround we saw to proper gaming with Steam on Chrome OS is to work with Steam Link. In that sense, you can technically play your PlayStation games on the Chrome OS with PlayStation’s Remote Play too. If not, the other alternative is cloud gaming, which we did not bother with. We did not try the PlayStation Remote Play too.
We tried Steam Link with the Chrome OS though. We figured out how to hook up our PlayStation DualShock 4 controller to the Chromebook via Bluetooth. We installed Steam Link from Google Play Store and we started gaming.
First, Steam Link
As mentioned, Steam Link is like PlayStation Remote Play. You need to have a Steam account, a gaming PC with Steam running, the Steam Link app from Google Play Store, a good and stable internet connection, a game controller, and you are good to go. In the case of the Chromebook, you can even use your keyboard as the game input, if you so want.
If you have used Steam Link on your Android smartphone, the experience on the Chrome OS is pretty much similar, albeit with a larger display available. Technically as well, with the Acer Chromebook 713, you get more resolutions to work with. Of course, the sort of resolution you get really depends on your host PC as well. In our case we successfully tested Need for Speed at 1440p resolution.
There is a noticeable black bar, just because of the aspect ratio difference between the host PC and the Chromebook. It does not take away too much from the immersion or the gaming experience from the Chrome OS though. If you have a stable LAN connection on both devices, gaming on the Chromebook feels as natural as gaming on a proper gaming PC. In this case, you can easily pull up titles like GTA V, or Horizon Zero Dawn, use your Chromebook’s keyboard, attach a mouse device and play your games like they should be played.
Then, We Tried Steam
Steam is technically still in its Alpha build for Chrome OS. To install Steam on Chrome OS takes a little bit of tinkering on Chrome OS’s settings itself. It required us to turn set the firmware settings to Developer Mode, which also means while you are getting the latest build of Chrome OS, there is a chance that it may be a little unstable.
With a guide, the process is not too difficult as well, should be easy and quick enough to follow even for beginners. Still, you still want to be cautious to ensure you do not brick your device. As with anything that is experimental and in their Alpha builds, you want to take some caution.
Once you get into the installation window though, the installation process feels and looks pretty much like you get on a regular PC. Even the Steam interface is exactly what you get on a PC, so you should be quite familiar with it. Of course, the difference is that you must start thinking about how much games you can install in the smaller storage space that the Chromebook has. In this case as well, we did not bother installing games like GTA V, because while the Chromebook might be able to run the game with little issues, you might not get a very good experience out of it. We stuck to Two Point Hospital, Undertale, and This War of Mine.
Two Point Hospital launched, but it took a rather long time to do so. It also froze in the loading screen before it even gets to the main menu. After a while, it just crashed together with Steam.
Then we tried Undertale which launched quickly. We could not get the window to resize or get it to post full screen to take advantage of the vast display of the Chromebook 713. The miniscule window means that we might not be able to enjoy the game very much, so we quit.
This Was of Mine took a little longer to launch than Undertale. It works in the most part, but it did not offer very high FPS count. Graphics look good though, but because we tried to put the game to full screen, it got confused a little and the windowing messed up and we could not accurately click anything to play the game. It was bad, but there is potential to make the device enjoyable.
The Other Stuff
Apart from gaming, the display is good for other stuff too. You can easily enjoy a good movie from Netflix or Amazon Prime Video if you so want to. You have the resolution, might as well put it to good use somewhere. At the same time, because they use clear glass on the display, colours pop and look rather vibrant.
To be fair, it does not really matter what Chromebook you get, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and even Disney+ apps will easily work on them. If you prefer the web experience, just pop open Google Chrome and get to the said portals and you are good to go. The limitations are mostly on the hardware end, so it really depends on which Chromebook you got.
For the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, while the display is gorgeous, the speaker experience is not the best. The dual speakers sound very tiny and unimpressive at all. We had to connect our Bluetooth speakers to it just to get a decent sound performance. That, or we resorted to using headphones. Since it is so similar to Android, you can even connect your wireless headphones and work with the accompanying smartphone app with it. The Sony headphones app is a good example of that.
So, is Chrome OS a Valid Gaming Platform Now?
While Steam Link ran nicely on the Google Chromebook, Steam itself is still a little choppy. Certain games might not launch at your first try. Some games will refuse to launch at all until you restart your Chromebook. Some of them launches, but never got anywhere past the loading screen. Their FPS count was rather low too when they launch (except for Undertale). In short, there is still a lot to do for the Chrome OS to be a gaming contender.
More on Part 4
We have covered the working and gaming aspects of the Chrome OS. So far, while we question the gaming aspect of it, we are sold with using the Chrome OS as an entertainment platform, especially when it comes to streaming contents. 4K contents, while a little over the top, shines on the display of this Chromebook. Yes, the speakers are not great, but that is a simple fix.
We are quite sold with it being our primary remote working platform too. If you have read our part 2 of the editorial series, you would find that there are plenty of features on Chrome OS that could benefit a remote working environment. Phone Hub, while is not the most comprehensive phone companion app on a computing device, works well enough that it is currently, in our books anyway, the best Android companion app you can find today. The simplicity in its approach is also key to why we like it so much.
In the next part of the editorial, we are wrapping up our entire month of experience with the Chromebook and the Chrome OS. We will tell you if the Chrome OS is worth a daily drive or not, in our books anyway. We will also break down things we like about the Chrome OS and things we do not like so much with the platform.
In this case, stay tuned, maybe you might want to consider getting a Chromebook after this too. After all, it is the cheaper alternative compared to most Windows laptops packing the same hardware. In the meantime, let us know what you think about PC gaming on Chrome OS.
It’s not every day that we see something new and interesting when it comes to laptops. We’re so used to seeing the mundane clamshell form factor with new insides, displays and ports. However, ASUS has been on a roll lately with a slew of laptops that bring fun, new features as well as new hardware that is truly revolutionary. Over the past year, they’ve been adamant about equipping their laptops with OLED displays which are certified for their colour accuracy.
With their Zenbook Duo lineup, they’ve brought an interesting approach to multiscreen productivity. But what happens when you take multiscreen productivity and fit it into a space once exclusively reserved for the trackpad? You get the hallmark feature of the ZenBook 14X’s hallmark feature: the Screen Pad. Does this new approach make sense? Is productivity enhanced or deterred by the feature and is it here to stay?
We’re looking to answer those questions and also the most pertinent one when it comes to any piece of tech, “Is it worth my money?”, in our in-depth review of the ZenBook 14X OLED.
Design
The ZenBook 14X OLED has its origins in the ZenBook’s early days as a flagship. It’s equipped with a machined aluminium body with a brushed finish and made of premium build materials; like any other ZenBook. However, the thing that makes the laptop stand out is the sheer sleekness and miniature form of the laptop overall. ASUS has made the ZenBook 14X OLED one of the smallest and sleekest laptops in its lineup. However, its minute stature isn’t where the story ends.
When it boils down to it, the ZenBook 14X OLED distinguishes itself with its brushed aluminium top. However, it doesn’t give in to the incessant need to be thin as paper. Instead, it’s thicker and more substantial than its predecessor and competition. Coming in at just under 17mm, the laptop strides the line of being just thin enough and being thick and chunky in this day and age. That said, the added thickness and sturdy build materials provide the top lid with added stability and rigidity. This also prevents the display from flexing which can be detrimental to the laptop.
That said, the ZenBook isn’t only sturdy, but it’s also well designed. ASUS has made sure that while the ZenBook 14X OLED is slim and light, it’s also well equipped for working on the go. It comes with a good range of ports – which we will elaborate on later in the review. That said, these ports don’t break the overall aesthetic of the laptop. Instead, ASUS has made them flush seamlessly into the aluminium chassis. The thickest point of the laptop is also used to house the largest ports: USB-A and HDMI ports.
The small body of the laptop doesn’t hinder ASUS from equipping the laptop with a tactile keyboard that emblazons the entirety of the main body. It’s only complemented by the chamfered dip which adds to the aesthetic of the laptop. That same aesthetic dip also highlights a change in materials as the top plate of the keyboard and ScreenPad isn’t made with the same aluminium. Instead, it feels a little more like plastic. That said, the plate is still encased within the aluminium frame.
Hardware
The ZenBook 14X OLED isn’t just about the aesthetics, it’s built for productivity. To achieve this, ASUS has packed the laptop with rather commendable insides which allow the ZenBook to stride the fine line between battery life and performance.
Specifications
ASUS ZENBOOK 14 | UX5400E
As tested
Processor (clock)
Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7 processor 2.80 GHz quad-core with Turbo Boost (up to 4.70GHz) and 12MB cache
GPU
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics NVIDIA GeForce MX450
Display
14” OLED 2.8K (2880 x 1800) resolution 16:10 aspect ratio Touch Panel anti-glare screen 550nits brightness
Memory
16GB LPDDR4X 512GB PCIe® NVMe™ 3.0 x2 M.2 SSD
Networking and Connections
Intel WiFi 6 with Gig+ performance (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.0 2 Thunderbolt™ 4 USB-C® 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1 Standard HDMI 2.0 1 MicroSD card reader 1 Audio Combo Jack
Battery
63Wh lithium-polymer battery Up to 8.3 hours of battery life 100W Type-C power adapter (Output: 20V DC, 100W, Input: 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz universal)
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Miscellaneous
HD camera ScreenPad Backlit Keyboard Stereo Speakers Microphone DisplayPort over USB-C Thunderbolt 4 MIL-STD 810H Durability
Features
The mainstay of the ASUS ZenBook OLED 14X is undoubtedly going to be its ScreenPad. However, it’s not the only feature that comes with the laptop. It comes with a slew of software and hardware features that make this laptop a real contender if you’re in the market for a new one.
Almost everything you want for connectivity
ASUS has proven time and time again that compact, thin laptops need not be handicapped when it comes to connectivity. The Zenbook 14X OLED comes with all the connectivity options that you need – well – unless you’re looking to take over the internet. It comes with two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, a single high-speed USB 3.2 Type A port, an HDMI 4.0 port, a combo audio jack and even a micro USB card slot. With these essential ports, you’re pretty much covered when it comes to plugging in. That said, you also charge with USB-C ports, so, if you’re charging the laptop, you’ll have one less USB-C port. The only physical port missing is an ethernet port but you have WiFi 6 connectivity with a high enough throughput that you can even do online gaming.
Since we’re already on the topic, the Zenbook 14X does come with all the bells and whistles when it comes to wireless connectivity on laptops. Aside from WiFi 6, it also comes with Bluetooth 5.0. So you’ll be able to stream and connect to your wireless keyboard, mouse or even headphones without much hassle.
ASUS ScreenPad
ASUS’s novel ScreenPad is definitely a unique feature of their Zenbook series. It brings a whole new level of productivity. You’re presented with an additional screen from the get-go when you purchase it and given the norm of having more than one screen nowadays, it’s a welcomed addition to a laptop purchase.
The ScreenPad brings an additional 1080p screen albeit a little smaller than we’re used to. It allows you to use apps on the track pad which makes so much sense especially if you’re working with a mouse. The extra screen real estate allows you to use the calculator more naturally, refer to a website or document or even control your media while keeping productive. ASUS has also integrated their multiscreen setup with Link to MyASUS more deeply. A lot of the functionality that we’ve come to expect from the Link to MyASUS app is now natively integrated into ScreenPad with the Screen Xpert software. You can get prompts for messages and phone calls on the ScreenPad while you work and even use the ScreenPad to mirror your smartphone.
While all that is fine and dandy, the ScreenPad comes with a steep learning curve. It brings a layer of complexity to functions that many people expect to “just work” on Windows. One of the most irritating issues that we faced during our time with the Zenbook 14X OLED was the fact that the ScreenPad added an additional screen when it came to projecting displays. This was due to Windows recognising it as a display but it not showing on the display setup in Windows’ settings menu. To make things work as you would expect, we had to put the ScreenPad into trackpad mode which turned off the screen functionality.
In addition to this, you also need to get used to a new set of gestures that allow you to use the ScreenPad more effectively. The most essential is a three-finger swipe that will allow quickly toggle the track pad function. However, this toggle is only temporary – a fact we found out in the most annoying way. Due to the track pad function being temporary, we would be toggling apps unintentionally. This became an irritating occurrence particularly when we were trying to get urgent work done.
While it does seem like a deal-breaker, we have to keep in mind that the Zenbook is one of the only laptops with the ScreenPad. This also means that we have a little bit of learning when it comes to the novel features of the laptop. After using the laptop for a week, the gestures and extended functionality became second nature.
That said, when it came to working on the go, we found ourselves turning the ScreenPad off all together. This was due to the fact that having it on while on battery had a significant impact on battery life. We noticed about 20-30% less battery life with it on. That equated to about 4-5 hours of battery but without it, we got about 8 hours.
AI Powered Clear Voice, Quick Sign In with Windows Hello & Linking Up
Hardware aside, ASUS has also bolstered the laptop with a whole bunch of AI enhancements. One of our favourites is the ClearVoice mic. With ASUS’s ClearVoice, the integrated microphones can intelligently suppress background noise and detect and enhances the speaker’s voice. So, you won’t be cut off by a passing vehicle or even a crying baby when you’re taking your video call. Given the work from anywhere reality that is quickly becoming mainstream, this is definitely a welcomed feature. In fact, during our review time with the laptop, the feature was so good that people didn’t realise that we took a call from a café as the background noise was so minimal.
The Zenbook 14X OLED also comes with an integrated fingerprint sensor in its power button. This has to be one of the most welcomed features on the laptop. With the integration, the laptop seamlessly powers on and signs in with one click. This is bolstered by the SSD in the Zenbook 14X OLED. It boots and is ready for use in a matter of seconds.
Of course, with the Zenbook 14X, you get multiple options when it comes to keeping connected with your smartphone. You have Windows Phone Link (previously Your Phone) and Link to MyASUS. The latter provides even more functionality in our opinion. The Link to MyASUS app not only integrates seamlessly with the ScreenPad, but it also allows you to use tablets and large phones as an external display. This allows you the flexibility of being able to have multiple screens on the go. The wireless connection does have a little lag when it comes to interactions but if you’re simply using it to refer to documents or even to play media while working, you won’t even notice it.
PERFORMANCE
ASUS’s commitment to creating powerful, versatile, thin and light laptops shines through in the Zenbook 14X OLED. The laptop doesn’t perform like your typical thin and light. The thought that ASUS put into the design and feel of the laptop allows it to be one of the most sturdy and powerful small form factor laptops out there. While it’s no gaming laptop, it’s able to handle nearly workloads we don’t typically expect from a thin and light.
During our review period with the Zenbook 14 OLED, we were editing video and even doing some light gaming on the laptop without much hassle. When it came to editing video, we had source footage at 1080p resolution. The edit had about 3 layers with subtitles and effects and it was exported to a 1080p video for YouTube. While it did send the fans into overdrive, the laptop was able to handle it without overheating. In fact, aside from a longer export time, it was very seamless.
Gaming on the Zenbook 14 OLED is best left for proper gaming laptops. It goes without saying that AAA titles really taxed the processor and the NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPU of the laptop. However, if you’re playing games like City Skylines or even Star Craft 2, the Zenbook 14 can definitely handle the load. You may not be able to play on maxed out settings, but you will definitely have a good experience playing it.
Other than those taxing activities, the Zenbook 14 OLED was able to handle everything else. Word processing and even large Excel files were a breeze for the laptop. Even if there was some slowdown, it was only with active tasks. Once those were over, the laptop performance was seamless and back to being smooth as butter. It could even handle Firefox and Chrome with multiple tabs open at the same time. It didn’t slow down but it did get a little warm which kicked the fans into overdrive.
Battery life on the laptop is typical of one as small and power packed as the Zenbook 14 OLED. It lasted about 8 hours on a single charge without the ScreenPad on. However, when the ScreenPad was turned on, this generally dropped to about 4-5 hours. This is partially due to the extra power drawn by the ScreenPad’s screen. That said, the high resolution and luminance of the main display are also factors. However, if you’re running low on charge you’ll be able to use a USB PD compatible charger to get the charge up to about 50% in forty minutes. The Zenboook picks about its chargers, more often than not, it will ask that you plug it into its original charger, however, GaN (Gallium Nitride) chargers with about 85W capacity seems to work as well – keep in mind, that the original charger in the box is rated at 100W.
Display
The focus that ASUS has on bringing colour accurate OLED displays is really apparent in the Zenbook 14 OLED. This is partially because of the contrast between the screen quality of the main display and the ScreenPad’s IPS panel. However, the differences were mainly apparent when it came to viewing content and content creation.
The main display produced vibrant and saturated colours. While being saturated and vibrant, they were also relatively accurate colour reproductions. The accuracy was spot on and allowed us to colour grade video and photos when we were using the laptop on the go. The high resolution also gave us more visual real-estate when it came to doing programs like Adobe Illustrator. That said, the effect of this was relatively minute considering the 14-inch size of the display.
While 14-inches may seem like a very small screen, it actually strikes a balance when it comes to size and productivity. It feels close to what we can consider a goldilocks zone for compact laptops. It’s just enough real estate that you have enough detail and clarity while keeping the size of the laptop portable.
The ability to use touch to navigate brought an added simplicity to interacting with the PC. The touch input allowed us to scroll through websites in what felt like a more natural way and also interact directly with links and the like. It also complemented the ScreenPad as you didn’t need to have it in trackpad mode to get things done.
Taking Multitasking to a Whole New Level with a Steep Learning Curve to Boot
The Zenbook 14 OLED is a machine built for multitasking and for productivity. It excels at being a machine for productivity and creativity. It’s one that allows you the freedom of multitasking in a way that makes sense to you while having a beautiful screen and a complementary ecosystem with Screen Xpert 2 and Link to MyASUS. All in all, it’s a machine that dedicates most of its resources to enabling its users to be creative, productive and even let loose with some light gaming.
In writing this second part of the editorial, we had a little bit of a setback. We forgot to take photos of the first set-up process. We had to completely reset the device to document the first set-up and boot experience. We suspect we will be experiencing more of that later in this Chromebook journey.
We are still using the same Chromebook that Acer has provided for our experiment, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713. We spoke about it too in our previous editorial in this series. It is a powerful notebook with Intel’s 11th Generation Core i5 packed into the hardware. No dedicated discrete GPU anywhere within the Chromebook, you hardly need it anyway.
Reset – once you log in – everything restores
Resetting the Chromebook is a relatively simple process. You do not need to rummage around the settings to get to the ‘reset’ page. You just need to access settings and go to the bottom most tab on the left and you will find the reset button there. From there, it is just a matter of a few safety checks and you are good to go.
Unlike Windows devices, Chrome OS resets pretty much nearly immediately. It is as if nothing had happened, and your Chromebook is already wiped clean. You do not even need to keep it plugged into a power source. You get pretty much the same boot display as you would when you restart your Chromebook or boot it up from its ‘off’ power state. It is unusual, and uncanny.
The set-up process is as simple as it is before. There is a small difference now though. Once you logged in with Google, Chrome OS remembers your previous setup before and downloads all the apps and plugins for Chrome you previously had. It saved us a lot of time and effort to get things going the second round.
It will only work if you had a Chrome OS registered with your Google account. With a steady internet connection, most of the apps and plugins from before were installed within the next 30 minutes, and I did not have to do anything else other than sign into my Google account in the first five minutes.
Like Android, But Not Like Android
The only way we can describe the experience of the Chrome OS at this point is that it is a hybrid between an Android tablet and a PC experience. You get the best and nuances of both worlds. It is touch optimised, more so than Windows. The Chrome OS is also optimised for the mouse and keyboard experience which most Android tablets struggle with.
You get to use most, if not all your Android apps on the Chromebook. A lot of them would give you PC like interfaces but optimised for touch experience. The web browser is as it is, a regular Chrome browser you get on any PC.
Turning the 13.5-inch display into a multi-window experience is much easier to compared to an Android smartphone or tablet. There is a small caveat, you can only have two windows side-by-side. You simply drag any window to the edge of the display, and it snaps into place nicely.
Your Android device can also be integrated with the Chromebook. There is something called Phone Hub on Chrome OS that is rather painless to set up. It serves as a notification hub and limited control panel for your smartphone. You do not get screen mirroring experience as per Your Phone app on Windows, but we think simplified controls are still the way to go.
With the Phone Hub, your Chromebook is a remote work powerhouse. Chrome OS automatically prompts you to turn on wireless hotspot when it does not have any WiFi networks to connect to. You do not even have to manually turn on hotspot on your smartphone to get it connected privately, it just does. you disconnect, your smartphone immediately turns off its hotspot automatically, which is clever.
There is an issue here, however. Chrome OS works only if it is connected. Yes, apps installed on the device will still work. But most apps and even Chrome browser requires constant internet connection to work.
Before we move on, we mentioned that the YouTube App was indeed a webpage version of it. After the most recent update to Chrome OS (100.xx), the YouTube App is a standalone app that launches into its own window. It still retains a lot of its webpage features on the window, but it does not sit within the browser.
Breezing Through Work
For most of our work, we rely on Microsoft’s 365 suite. We rely on OneDrive for all our cloud storage needs, we also work plenty of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. In fact, these editorials get typed out on Microsoft Word first before finally making it to the screen in front of you now. Of course, we also rely heavily on our emails to get the latest updates from brands you love.
Microsoft apps has been taken down from the Google Play Store for Chrome OS. While you can technically find a workaround in the form of apk format install files, we did not. We wanted to see if we could work with the browser version of Microsoft 365 apps on the Chrome OS. OneDrive is not taken down from the Play Store, but we ended up preferring the browser experience over the app.
For emails, we could technically rely on the Gmail apps that also offers a browser experience without the browser. It seems that Gmail only takes on Google accounts though, which also means that we had to access our emails through the browser. Accessing emails through the browser also eliminates the need for you to set-up POP3 or IMAP servers for your Chromebook. You can technically install other email client apps from Google Play Store, I was happy enough with accessing emails through the browser, so I did not bother with that.
Oddly enough, I did not miss Microsoft 365 apps all that much. So far, we have mostly been working with Microsoft Word on the Chromebook. While it would be nice to have an app to work with, we think that the mobile optimized app will not do any justice to the Chromebook’s display real estate.
The browser version of Microsoft Word feels very much like the full Windows and Apple version of the app that is fully optimized for mouse and keyboard input. In some ways we never really missed having the mobile-first app experience. The browser allows you to have multiple instances of Microsoft Word, or PowerPoint, or Excel, which is always a welcome for multitasking.
The only sort of complain we have in this case is the fact that you must launch the Microsoft 365 web app within the browser first before you get to access any of your files for Microsoft Word and such. It is quicker for you to access your files via OneDrive, so you might want to consider that.
More on Part 3
There is still much to explore on Chrome OS. While we have touched on Phone Hub, we felt that there is a little more that we can discover. Yes, Chrome OS needs to be connected all the time to. It is the same requirement as most smartphones today though.
While we did explore the gaming aspects of the Chromebook, we are not ready to make a conclusion on it just yet. Steam will also be making itself available for Chrome OS sometime soon, though we do not know when. In this case, gaming could be something worth looking into with Chrome OS thanks to many cloud gaming solutions you might find today. If you have a gaming PC at home, you can even game remotely in the house.
Working with the Chromebook is a pleasure though. Beyond the hardware, Chrome OS seems to be able to keep up with everything we need it to do. Sure, we have not put it through its paces with photo editing work on the go and such. Everything else, including converting or compressing our photos for publication is simple enough to do with a steady internet connection. If you have a smartphone data plan, it is good enough for you to set up your Chromebook into a remote workstation and get things done.
So far, so good. While we are a little peeved that we must constantly ensure that we are connected to the internet one way or another, we have not missed working with Windows laptops so far. Everything we need in a thin-and-light is in the Chromebook. We can appreciate its long battery life too; you tend to get a lot more battery life from the Chromebook than you do on Windows laptops. We will talk about its battery life in the coming weeks too, of course.
Samsung’s Galaxy S series has been the hallmark of its smartphones since it first debuted in 2010. It’s been the company’s “IT” device housing the latest in technological innovations and software. This year, with the Galaxy S22 series we saw Samsung do something a little bit unconventional for the smartphone manufacturer, we saw them stick to a signature design and fold their Galaxy Note into the Galaxy S series. It’s also the first series to release with the new RDNA powered Exynos SoC with Xclipse GPU. However, that version of the S22 series is only available in Europe.
With that said, the Galaxy S22 series as a whole holds much promise as Samsung’s latest flagship, but we’re zooming into the S22+, the middle child of the lineup. It’s a blown-up S22, but is it only that? Does it have something else that sets it apart from the S22? That’s what we’re breaking down in our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S22+.
Design
The Samsung Galaxy S22+ is the epitome of a tick-tock strategy when it comes to design. It inherits most, if not all of the design language of the S21 series. Everything from the unique, two-colour colourway to the rounded edges of the smartphone makes a triumphant return to the smartphone. However, that doesn’t mean that Samsung didn’t make changes to the design at all. The biggest change when it comes to the S22+ is the less rounded edges of the screen, particularly where it meets the metal frame. While the S21 opted for a more curved design, the S22+ has a more angled design which is, ironically, more palmable. The sharper angle also allows you to have a better grip when holding the phone.
Aside from this, there really is nothing too significant when it comes to the overall design. While there are smaller bezels and thinner camera humps, these changes don’t really make an impact on the overall design. That said, the small tweaks that Samsung did do with the design make enough of an impact to make it feel totally different.
Perhaps the most impactful change is the change of materials from yesteryear’s glasstic to Gorilla Glass. The small change does make the smartphone feel a little bit more premium. The aluminium frame complements this pretty well and makes the smartphone feel like a true premium flagship. While we do commend the change, it does mean that it’s pretty much more of the same when it comes to design.
Hardware
While the design is more of the same, Samsung upped the ante when it came to the hardware of the Samsung Galaxy S22+. That said, the Exynos version with the new AMD RDNA based Xclipse graphics is only available in Europe. The rest of us get the version with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It’s a real bummer we didn’t’ get to try out Samsung’s new Exynos, the Snapdragon version seems to be more than good enough to fill its shoes.
Accelerometer Proximity Fingerprint (Ultrasonic, under display) Gyroscope Compass Barometer
Miscellaneous
Dual SIM/eSIM
Retail Price (Malaysia)
MYR 4,099 (128GB) MYR 4,299 (256GB)
Retail Price (US)
USD$ 299.99 (128GB) USD$ 349.99 (256GB)
User Interface
Samsung’s Galaxy S22+ comes with the brand new One UI 4.1 based on Android 12. It brings together some of the best elements from One UI and stock Android. Samsung has adapted Android in a way that highlights some of the key elements of One UI and makes Android feel more fine-tuned than before. It really complements the premium feel of the Galaxy S22+ overall.
Samsung’s One UI 4.1 thoughtfully takes features like Dynamic Widgets, the Theme Palette and increased privacy controls and fine-tunes it for Samsung devices. Samsung makes the features fit overall One UI 4.1 more naturally than any other Android skin out there. The UI itself has been updated and refined to look and feel more premium.
That said, the software itself feels a lot more stable than before. Just last year with the Galaxy Z Flip and S21, the experience was initially somewhat compromised with random reboots and crashes. However, with the S22+ it didn’t feel that way. In fact, after using it for over 2 weeks, none of the apps we were using crashed nor were there any random reboots. The software feels lighter as well. It’s snappier and smoother. It feels like Samsung has optimised the animation and transitions from previous One UI iterations into the version we experienced on the S22+
Performance
Being a Samsung flagship, we’re expecting some of the best performance that we can get from the Galaxy S22+. To be honest, it does deliver but, like the design, it doesn’t feel as revolutionary as we were expecting. This could be due to the anticipation we had for the Exynos 2200 and the XClipse graphics. However, overall, the S22+ did provide pretty outstanding performance during our review period.
Multitasking & Productivity
Samsung’s flagships have become a mainstay when it comes to smartphones that allow you to multitask like a boss, and the Galaxy S22+ continues to build on that heritage. It brings along with it all the productivity features you can think of including Samsung’s DeX, an extended multiwindow mode and even split-screen multitasking.
During my time with the Galaxy S22+, it became my driver. I was getting WhatsApp and Telegram messages as well as emails from multiple accounts on it. It was safe to say that it was put to the test when it came to multitasking and to all its credit, I was able to multitask without much hassle. In fact, the experience was so much smoother than the Note10+ which was my daily driver before.
I was able to reply to emails and messages while copying and pasting between them. In fact, I could even do this while editing a slideshow or document without thinking twice. Samsung’s extended multiwindow allowed me to put my conversation in a floating bubble while I had my emails and Microsoft PowerPoint open. Speaking of Microsoft, Samsung’s Link to Windows is another boon when it comes to multitasking. I was able to reply to messages on my phone – SMS included – without looking at the screen on my Windows 11 laptop. In fact, I was able to use some of my Android apps in Windows natively. Of course, these were simply mirrored from my phone, but it helped when there was pertinent information in those apps that were needed.
Samsung’s DeX took seamless multitasking to another level. It allowed me to drag and drop items into my gallery or folders on my phone without needing to physically plug my phone into the computer. As a matter of fact, I was able to even work on a loaned laptop (with DeX installed) without opening or saving sensitive information on the loaned laptop thanks to DeX.
Call Quality & Connectivity
Connectivity and call quality are, unsurprisingly, one of the best we’ve experienced so far on a Samsung flagship. The calls coming in LTE and 5G are pretty crisp and clear. The audio was warm and felt pretty natural. Of course, this also depended on the quality of the connection. Since Malaysia is only in its rollout of 5G with its 3G network has been sunset, the connectivity on 5G was spotty and subject to the rollout. However, the quality of the 5G connectivity was pretty stable and speeds were quick where available.
When it comes to connectivity, the Galaxy S22+ comes with all the options you could want including Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 6 and even GPS. All of them work splendidly with stable connectivity. In fact, Samsung’s smart connect feature ensured that I always have connectivity when it came to messaging. It would allow messaging apps to jump on 4G or 5G when the WiFi is unstable. This allowed my messaging apps to be automatically connected to the most stable connection available. WiFi6 support also meant that DeX was much more stable when connecting wirelessly.
Gaming
The Galaxy S22+ isn’t touted as a gaming phone but it should be. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the Adreno 730 give the smartphone enough juice to run even the most taxing games like Genshin Impact without much hassle. The high 120Hz refresh rate also lends itself to enhancing the experience on the Galaxy S22+. The dual speakers and Dolby Atmos sound allow an even more immersive experience, particularly when paired with a good set of wireless earphones.
During my time with the Galaxy S22+, gaming on the smartphone was enjoyable. Touch controls were snappy and responsive and this held true even for Bluetooth controllers. The high refresh rate and deep, vibrancy of the display also allowed for a more enjoyable visual experience. HDR compatibility meant that dark scenes were not just black but filled with detail.
For review purposes, I tried Genshin Impact, PUBG, Wild Rift and Pokemon UNITE on the S22+ and all of them played beautifully. There was no frame tearing in situations where the screen was filled with animation from multiple players like in Wild Rift and Pokemon UNITE. The animation was smooth and uninterrupted. The detail in the animation while gaming was also next level. It was able to render details I’m more used to seeing in console and PC level gaming.
The S22+ didn’t struggle with performance. However, when it came to cooling, it did get a little warm when gaming. While it didn’t overtly affect the gaming experience it did get warm enough to be noticeable and a little uncomfortable in my opinion. The heat was concentrated in the area immediately beside the camera enclosure. However, it did rapidly cool down after a few minutes post gaming session.
Battery Life
The new 4nm architecture of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 does lend itself to better power efficiency in the Galaxy S22+. However, I think most of the power efficiency we see in the S22+ comes from Samsung’s optimisations of One UI. One UI used to be notoriously power-hungry because of all the background processes it had. In One UI 4.1, that has been optimised to help with battery life. In fact, some of these optimisations come directly from stock Android 12. The software now intelligently puts programs and apps running in the background to sleep if you’re not actively using them. While this can lead to a small delay when it comes to chatting apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, the impact on battery life is significant.
During our review period, the smartphone consistently delivered between 10 to 12 hours of battery life with regular use. This included syncing multiple Gmail accounts, multiple chat apps and emails as well as light camera use and gaming in my case. Since we couldn’t go out much during the time, GPS and navigation use were pretty limited. However, it wouldn’t have impacted the battery life too much as it usually is plugged in when I’m driving. The battery managed to chug along for about 4 to 5 hours when it came to extended gaming sessions. Of course, the dip in battery life is thanks to the increased brightness, processor performance and refresh rate of the display.
Display
Like all of Samsung’s Flagships nowadays, the Galaxy S22+ comes with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. The panel is vibrant and has ample contrast. In fact, it seems like the panel is brighter than before but also seems to have better colour accuracy. During the review, I used the display in both its vibrant and natural modes. There is a huge difference between the two settings. The natural mode is more muted and natural when it comes to colour reproduction while the vibrant setting makes it more contrasted; more akin to the AMOLEDs of the past.
That said, when using the display for reading articles and comics, I preferred to use the natural setting as it felt less straining to the eyes. However, when it came to video content, the vibrant setting allowed more details to be seen especially in HDR-compatible content. When it boils down to it, the display of the S22+ is one of the more adaptable displays available on a smartphone. It’s able to accommodate the user when it comes to different content types as mentioned here.
It also enhances the immersiveness of content particularly gaming. The vibrant colours and HDR compatibility allow you to feel in the moment when gaming. The Ful HD resolution of the display strikes an important balance between resolution and battery life. While the Full HD+ resolution of the display is adequate, we feel like Samsung scaled too far back on the S22+ with the Full HD resolution. Instead, they should have used the same QHD+ display in the Ultra to further differentiate the S22+ and to add more value for the money spent.
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S22+ comes with a triple camera setup – the same we saw in the S21+. However, unlike the Galaxy S21+, it comes with a larger, 50-megapixel main sensor. Yes, I said larger 50-megapixel sensor. The overall size and pixel size of the S22+’s sensor is larger than the S21+’s 64-megapixel sensor. It’s an important distinction as the larger sensor and pixel size allow more light to be absorbed which translates to more detail and sharpness in the picture.
The pictures taken on the S22+ are notably sharp with a lot of details preserved even in low light. The smartphone processes the images to be vibrant and saturated. That said, the quality of the pictures changes from sensor to sensor. It goes without saying that the larger 50-megapixel sensor produced the best quality pictures.
Samsung has packed the camera with tonnes of features. This round they were focusing on low light photography, and they’ve made noticeable improvements when it comes to the quality and detail that is reproduced in the pictures taken. However, it feels like there’s a little bit more work needed to take the camera to where they want to be.
During our review, I used the S22+ as my main camera for events and even when spending time with my family. It performed well and was able to respond quickly which is really important when it comes to taking pictures of a toddler.
The video from the S22+ is also pretty good. Shooting at 4K and 1080p produced really crisp detailed videos in the correct lighting. In low lighting, the videos were dramatic but lacked some depth and detail which is expected in such conditions. However, it’s still one of the best performers when it comes to smartphones. To be honest, we’ve yet to see any Android smartphone which is on par with the S22+. What amazes us is that this isn’t their true technological flagship and they still managed to get the camera to perform this well.
A new flagship experience with more of the same outward design proving that fine tuning may do the user experience well
Samsung’s approach to the Galaxy S22+ series proves that they have the capacity to produce amazing user experiences in both the hardware and software of their devices. The Galaxy S22+ brought some of the most compelling software features and paired it with capable hardware that helps elevate the experience significantly.
The Galaxy S22+ is the sweet spot in the series bringing both the size in hardware and software and comfort when it comes to viewing and manoeuvring the phone. It’s the goldilocks of the three S22 devices we have today. With Samsung’s commitment to actually supporting the new S22 series for at least 5 years, the S22+ is an amazing proposition when it comes to getting something that will be able to stand the test of time. It’s also got the versatility to be your companion when you’re out having fun and your sidekick when you need to be productive.
When you go out to buy a laptop, there is usually two options for you to pick from. You can either go with Windows laptops, which will open yourself up to a world of options. You can also go for the Mac option, which would simplify your options but at a higher cost. There is a third option though – Chrome OS.
At this point, we see many question marks on many people’s heads. “Why a Chrome OS?” you may ask. It is an odd choice in the sea of choices in the market, an unpopular one. But at the same time, we think it could be a sound and sensible one.
While the Chrome OS is regarded as the simplest of operating systems (OS), it is still a valid operating system you can choose when you buy a laptop for work. The education sector loves Chromebooks because they are rather cost effective and simplistic in nature. It is fuss free to work with, a perfect introduction into the world of computing.
Chrome OS is and can be so much more than just a laptop made for the school. It can be a rather simple way for organizations to manage their work devices. It is an inexpensive solution for enterprises looking to equip their employees for their digital transformation. They can be premium machines that fulfill all sorts of needs too, except for gaming.
So, we wondered; what is it like to live with a Chromebook? Is the Chromebook worthy to be a daily driver? Is the Chrome OS even the right platform to begin with when it comes to corporate use?
The Hardware
We are very lucky to get our hands on the Acer Chromebook Spin 713. Thanks to the support of Acer, we did not have to fuss over choosing the right Chromebook to work with. It is also the most premium Chromebook you can find in their line-up of Chromebooks.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is nothing like a budget Chromebook made for the school. It still can take scrapes and bumps with MIL-STD810G certification. It is an MYR 3,799 convertible. It is also a rather powerful Chromebook.
It packs Intel’s 11th Generation Core i5-1135G7 processor, something you generally find on thin-and-light Windows notebooks. It has 8GB of RAM and 256GB in storage. Acer advised us against opening the guts of the notebook to replace or upgrade anything within the Chromebook in fear of bricking the unit, so we will comply with their requests for now.
It is a convertible, so it also comes with a glass protected touch display that measures in at 13.5-inch with 2,256 by 1,504 pixels on tap from the IPS panel. Yes, it is a 3:2 aspect ratio display, quite odd. The dual speakers leave a little more to be desired, but you can plug your headphones in with the AUX jack, or connect your Bluetooth enabled gear to the Chromebook.
Aside from the AUX jack, you have two USB Type-C ports, both Thunderbolt ports thanks to Intel. The Chromebook charges via USB Type-C too. There is another USB port beside a MicroSD card reader, a Type-A for convenience. There is also a full-sized HDMI port for extra versatility.
Setting up Chrome OS
Our focus isn’t too much on the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 though. This four-part editorial will focus on the Chrome OS. We will be working exclusively on the Chromebook for four continuous weeks. We still go back to our main Windows rigs for video editing. Everything else will be done on the Chromebook and Chrome OS though. In fact, this article is mostly typed and edited on the Chromebook itself.
While we are aware of Google Chrome OS, we are rather new to the interface. We expected some learning curve; there are some, though not as steep as we expected it to be. There are a few major differences in the interface that we will talk about in the coming weeks. Before we get into any of that, we must set up the Chrome OS first.
Its first boot leads us to a very familiar set-up screen. Obviously, you do not get a Windows style or Mac style set-up. It is even simpler than what we expected, to be fair. If you already have a Google Account in the first place, that is really all you need to get going. Within five minutes, we are ready to work with the Chromebook.
First Impressions – Picking Up the Clues
We see a familiar desktop home screen, a welcome at least coming from the Windows ecosystem. Except, we were a little disappointed when we found out that we cannot put anything on the home screen. You can only change the wallpaper of your home screen. We sort of expected a more Android like experience, especially with widgets. Sadly, it is what it is.
The icon on the interface is digitally enlarged to fit eh 13.5-inch display by default. The resizing is clearly a nod to optimising the touch interface for users. We changed the icon sizing to smallest the system allows us to, just because.
Touch Optimised, Simple, Clean
While it is a touch sensitive display, Android gesture controls do not work with Chrome OS, at least not when you are in laptop mode anyway. I must remind myself that I am not using an Android tablet here, just plain ol’ Chrome OS with no overlays. At the same time, you are going to get the same Chrome OS from any Chromebooks you pick up off the shelf. You get different specifications, sure, but they are essentially still the same interface with no extra bloatware.
Apps Matters
We were excited to look through Google Play Store for app downloads and were not too disappointed with it. Most apps made for the smartphone and tablet works. Some of them even allows you to pick between a smartphone or tablet interface, and even change the window size on the fly. The Chrome OS allows you to fully multitask in differently sized windows with the help of a mouse and keyboard.
Like Android, But Unlike Android
Very much like Android tablets, not all the apps that is made for the smartphone works or is available to download. Not all the Android apps that is available for the Chrome OS works flawlessly too, sadly.
The Chrome OS is naturally always on standby. That also means that, by default at least, you only need to unfold your Chromebook and Chrome OS is ready for you instantly.
While there is no special arrangement for the keyboard, there are a few subtle differences between the keyboard on a Chromebook and a Windows laptop. For one, there is no Caps Lock key on the Chrome OS. In its place is a large ‘start’ button to launch the ‘shelf’. There are no function row keys (F1-F12) to be found on the Chromebook either, you hardly ever need them anyway.
Chrome on Chrome OS
Plenty of the apps you may not find on the Google Play Store on the Chromebook can be used on the browser. Obviously, the apps need to have the browser variants of their apps to work. Some of the ‘apps’ on your Chromebook will still lead you to the webpage. Apps like YouTube, for example, can only be used on the web. We will talk about working with Microsoft 365 a bit more in the coming weeks.
This effectively means that two sorts of app store are at your disposal. You have the Google Play Store, which we have already talked about. Then there is the Google Chrome Web Store for you to install plugins on Chrome itself.
More On Part 2
We are also still exploring Chrome OS and still getting to know the system. In the coming parts we will also be talking about updating your Chrome OS and its development support in the future. A lot of things we have covered today are rather on the surface and introductory.
There are still plenty to explore on the Chrome OS. Phone Hub for example, has more to be explored. We have not even started on the stylus experience on the Chromebook.
Getting it up and running was not just simple, it was quick. We did not install everything we wanted nor did a deep search of what we wanted to install on the device, but there is plenty on offer with the device. We think that the plugins on Chrome browser could be a lot of help in making the Chromebook feels like a regular working PC. Gaming is one thing we look forward to talk about in the coming weeks.
Do comment below if there is anything specific that you want to find out about the Chromebook. Of course, comment if there is anything you would like us to do or try on the Chromebook. We will do our best to accommodate and try out everything you recommend and suggest to us.
Let us first clarify what the title means for a second. It is really a reflection of the experience of the pair of earbuds itself, nothing to do with its build or even sound quality. It is a Sony headphone after all, one that retails for MYR 849.
This is an odd pair of kit. Sony is famous with their noise cancelling offerings. There is the very famous WH-1000XM4 and the WF-1000XM4. These are the best pair of noise cancelling headphones money can buy currently.
So, what was Sony thinking when they made the WF-L900 LinkBuds? Their marketing blurb says that it is the only headphones you will never have to take off. They also said that it is permanently on transparent mode.
On paper, you are getting a lot less than the WF-1000XM4 noise cancelling earbuds. The price tag is a little lower too for sure, but MYR 849 is not exactly cheap still. Is the asking price a fair one? Would this be a pair of headphones we never knew we needed? Would you be better off with a WF-1000XM4 instead? Let us find out
Design
The first thing that greets you, when you open your box made from the recycled paper, is not the two pairs of earbuds. It is the clamshell style case. It also looks like one.
The outer shell is made entirely out of what Sony claims to be recycled plastic. It looks the part too; most recycled plastic panels have the same texture and look. It feels grainy and smooth at the same time. It feels expectedly premium too.
Because it is made mostly of plastic, it is much lighter than what we expected. Curiously, the case can still charge the LinkBuds at least twice over. There is no wireless charging for this device though, that could explain its weight.
There are no magnets to keep the cap closed. The hinge is spring-loaded and swings open when you press the button at the front. There is a pairing button sitting beside a USB Type-C port. The case is very minimal, and very tiny.
Then you open it and find the LinkBuds with two large domes staring back at you with the chromed rings. The recess on the case for the ear loops looks oversized at first, until you rummage through the packaging to find extra ear loops. No multiple inserts for the ear tips here, there are no ear tips to begin with
The recess for the main body of the buds is quite shallow making cleaning as easy as dabbing the seats with a piece of cloth or tissue paper. The recess is also where you see the infrared sensors that senses the earbuds and two charging pins.
The earbuds are also designed with minimalism in mind. There are no additional magnets other than the ones in the ring drivers here. The LinkBuds themselves feature two recess that are made to be caught by latches on the case to secure the earbuds in the case, in case the magnets are not enough.
The earbuds, at 4g, is feather light. You can keep it in your hands, walk around, drop it and not feel a thing. You can put it into your ears, and then forget about it the entire day even when the battery runs out. Trust me, it happened to me.
Fit and Finish
Their odd shapes make for an odd fitting. Unlike regular earbuds, fitment of the LinkBuds really depends on the size of the ear loop that presses against the inner part of your ear. The ring part goes into the hole, but you cannot push it all the way in. Instead, it simply rests on your ears.
With a good fit, the LinkBuds should feel natural in your ears. It should stay in place even with heavy headbanging. After some time, you forget that it is in your ears.
Features
Of course, the most important feature of the Sony LinkBuds is its transparency mode. It allows you to keep your music on but be completely aware of your surroundings.
Always Transparent Mode
The transparency mode is a permanent feature. There is no proper way to seal the headphones. You can sort of stuff things into the middle of the ring, but we do not recommend that.
Because there is no artificial processing, you are getting clean, natural sounding ambient noise. You can have a completely normal conversation with your peers without taking off your headphones or stopping your music.
Oddly enough, there is a Speak-to-Chat function built into this pair of headphones. We never needed it and kept it off. I have tried ordering coffee with the set of headphones without any issues. I can have full conversations with my friends with the headphones on as well.
Oddly Intuitive Wide Tap Area Gesture Control
There are no touch controls on either bud. Accidentally turning down your volume, pause your music, or launch Google Assistant or Alexa by adjusting your earbuds is a thing of the past. There is a still gesture control. You need to tap right next to your ear to get it working. It does not work on a single tap too, which is another great way to prevent accidental inputs. It is either a double tap or triple tap, and it works well for us.
It is rather intuitive once you know what to do. Sure, you can only fit up to four commands in this case for the LinkBuds. Four is enough for most use cases.
The system is not perfect though. Despite the ‘wide’ moniker, you cannot tap too far away from the headphones to register an input. You want your taps to be distinct as well.
IPX4 Construction
Water resistance is important on this pair of headphones. In our minds, this is the type of headphones you wear for extended periods. There are already a few instances where we left the case in the car when we are out and about with the earphones in our ears.
You might take it for a quick run around your neighbourhood too. In that case, it will be exposed to the elements. It can take rain, shine, or even sweat with no issues.
Sony Headphones App
This being a premium Sony product, it gets Sony’s Headphone app. It is different from other headphones we are used to though. Obviously, The WF-L900 LinkBuds does not feature noise cancellation. You will find the ambient noise slider or toggle.
The controls for the Sony LinkBuds are more simplified than what we are used to as well. You still have control over the EQ presets, which we left to Bass Boost. You can change the gesture controls, DSEE settings, speak-to-chat function, and Sony 360 Reality Audio on the app. The ear analysis feature remains too. It works, but the difference is not night and day.
Performance
While part of the MYR 849 that you are paying is for the unique qualities of this truly wireless earphones, its main purpose is a personal listening gear. For that, it should also still perform like a Sony should. We are happy to report that it does, though with some trade off.
The Sony V1 Processor
It is the same one you can find on the more expensive and slightly older WF-1000XM4. It is missing a few key features on this model though.
You do not get to take advantage of the noise cancelling algorithm on the V1 anymore, for obvious reasons. But you also lose DSEE Extreme. In its place, it is still DSEE audio upscaling technology, which is still good, but not DSEE Extreme good.
The Calls
It is a strange experience, using the LinkBuds for calls. The person at the other end of the line sounds clear and crisp, enough at least for you to make up the words they are trying to convey. The person on the other end did not report any issues with the call quality. We did not try to use only one side of the earphone because I always seem to forget that I have the earphones on in the first place.
The strange part is that you are listening to the person on the other end, but you are also hearing the rest of the world at the same time. Sure, you can just concentrate on having a conversation with your friend, because he is in your ear. But when the environment gets noisy, it gets a little difficult to have a conversation since you are also very much receiving the noise from all around you.
In most cases, if you can hear your music, you should be able to hear into your calls very nicely.You hardly need to worry about privacy too.
Adaptive Volume
Adaptive volume is the unique feature of this pair of earphones. In effect the algorithm adjusts the volume of the audio according to your environment. If your environment gets a little louder, your audio becomes louder too.
You might not notice the volume increase and decrease too much in most cases though, since everything is done in accordance with your environment. It is rather seamless too; you hardly notice that the volume has changed at all. Then again, that is the whole point.
Much Enjoyment, Much Awareness
The experience that is offered by the LinkBuds can be more likened to the experience you get from open backed earphones. You get a rather wide, open feel to your music and audio. It feels like audio fills up the space around you. It is a different experience.
We use Tidal for most of our music listening and testing. The songs we used for the test is Freya Riding’s “Lost Without You”, Video Game Orchestra’s “Final Fantasy VII Medley”, “3 Hour Drive” by Alicia Keys Ft. Sampha, and Post Malone’s “Circles”. No, they are not necessarily what audiophiles would pick, but some of them represent some of the most popular music genres and styles today. We kept our volume to about 50% in most of our use case.
You can make out the bass lines on songs like “Circles” and “3 Hour Drive”, but they are not punchy at all. You do hear some of the details with Bass Boost turned on, but once you turn it off, it feels like the lower frequencies disappear. For Freya Riding’s “Lost Without You”, we get quite a natural reproduction of Freya Riding’s unique vocals. Her voice comes out very clear and you still can hear the depth of her voice in the song itself. On an orchestral reprisal that is the “Final Fantasy VII Medley”, you do miss some of its drama because the earphones lack that punchiness in the lower frequencies. It is far from terrible though; the music still sounds clear and crisp.
We use Spotify as our main podcast listening platform and the experience is a good one. You are still completely aware of what is happening around you, but you are also getting entertained. You lose a little bit of that radio voice, but the most important part of a podcast is usually its content.
The thing is, while we do want to give a hard time for it not having a thumping low-frequency punch, we still quite like the audio experience on the LinkBuds. Audio feels more natural thanks to the open back concept. Rather than getting as choke full of sounds pumped into your ear, music is lightly fed to your ears. It is a unique experience.
Battery Life
The Sony open back earbuds is quoted to have a battery life of up to 5.5 hours in regular listening mode. With the case, it is supposed to get up to 12 hours extra battery life. Our app says we have logged about 19 hours of listening time on the WF-L900 LinkBuds. We have only charged the device once since we got the device, which also means we have extracted more than the promised battery life.
Then again, we left the WF-L900 at half volume at most times and we hardly ever activate the wide area tap function. Adaptive volume was on, but again, volume is at 50% most of the time. We pick up calls with it too, which is supposed to drain its battery a little more. Our calls are placed with volumes above 75% most of the time just so that we can hear the other person clearly.
We believe that the batteries will last about 5 hours in a single use, especially when you leave the headphone on 70-75% volume. Our use case allows the battery life of the device to extend a little more than the quoted battery life, which is good when you do not want to take your headphones off.
You want to remember that each earbud only weighs 4g. It is one of the lightest pair of truly wireless headphones in the market, and it offers a battery life that matches some of the more premium offerings in the market. In that regard, the battery life is impressive.
The Sony WF-L900 LinkBuds – Unique is The Word, But There is a Little Bit More to It
In short, we enjoyed the Sony WF-L900 LinkBuds. It is a unique product, and it is not made for everyone. Inevitably, there will be “why do I need that?” questions. You don’t.
This is a unique product that fulfils a very specific need and solves a very specific problem. It is for the people who wants an earphone to be constantly in their ears. It is for people who wants a little more seamlessness in their day. It is for the people who are constantly on the go.
There are some compromises with this pair of headphones. It does not offer DSEE Extreme, just regular DSEE. There is Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, but we hardly notice its effects in our use time. It offers less battery life as well than the WF-1000XM4. The biggest drawback is that it lacks low-end punch.
You still get quite decent audio experience though, excellent high-end notes and crisp mid-range tones. At the same time, you are completely aware of what is happening around you while enjoying tunes or even podcasts. It is water resistant, important when you are constantly on the move. It is light and hardly noticeable in your ear once it goes in. You never have to take it off your ears until it needs a charge.
The MYR 849 goes into excellent audio while being able to go through the day completely uninterrupted. It buys a unique convenience, a sort of hybridization of lifestyles. It keeps you in the loop, while you are drifting away in a calm land. It keeps you focused, and entirely separated from everything that is happening around you simultaneously. It is weird, but it is a good kind of weird, and we like that.
From telecommunications networks to the manufacturing floor, through financial services to autonomous vehicles and beyond, computers are everywhere these days, generating a growing tsunami of data that needs to be captured, stored, processed and analyzed.
At Red Hat, we see edge computing as an opportunity to extend the open hybrid cloud all the way to data sources and end-users. Where data has traditionally lived in the data centre or cloud, there are benefits and innovations that can be realized by processing the data these devices generate closer to where it is produced.
This is where edge computing comes in.
4 benefits of edge computing
As the number of computing devices has grown, our networks simply haven’t kept pace with the demand, causing applications to be slower and/or more expensive to host centrally.
Pushing computing out to the edge helps reduce many of the issues and costs related to network latency and bandwidth, while also enabling new types of applications that were previously impractical or impossible.
1. Improve performance
When applications and data are hosted on centralized data centres and accessed via the internet, speed and performance can suffer from slow network connections. By moving things out to the edge, network-related performance and availability issues are reduced, although not entirely eliminated.
2. Place applications where they make the most sense
By processing data closer to where it’s generated, insights can be gained more quickly and response times reduced drastically. This is particularly true for locations that may have intermittent connectivity, including geographically remote offices and on vehicles such as ships, trains and aeroplanes.
Source: Pixabay
3. Simplify meeting regulatory and compliance requirements
Different situations and locations often have different privacy, data residency, and localization requirements, which can be extremely complicated to manage through centralized data processing and storage, such as in data centres or the cloud.
With edge computing, however, data can be collected, stored, processed, managed and even scrubbed in place, making it much easier to meet different locales’ regulatory and compliance requirements. For example, edge computing can be used to strip personally identifiable information (PII) or faces from a video before being sent back to the data centre.
4. Enable AI/ML applications
Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) are growing in importance and popularity since computers are often able to respond to rapidly changing situations much more quickly and accurately than humans.
But AI/ML applications often require processing, analyzing and responding to enormous quantities of data which can’t reasonably be achieved with centralized processing due to network latency and bandwidth issues. Edge computing allows AI/ML applications to be deployed close to where data is collected so analytical results can be obtained in near real-time.
3 Edge Computing Scenarios
Red Hat focuses on three general edge computing scenarios, although these often overlap in each unique edge implementation.
1. Enterprise edge
Enterprise edge scenarios feature an enterprise data store at the core, in a data centre or as a cloud service. The enterprise edge allows organizations to extend their application services to remote locations.
Chain retailers are increasingly using an enterprise edge strategy to offer new services, improve in-store experiences and keep operations running smoothly. Individual stores aren’t equipped with large amounts of computing power, so it makes sense to centralize data storage while extending a uniform app environment out to each store.
2. Operations edge
Operations edge scenarios concern industrial edge devices, with significant involvement from operational technology (OT) teams. The operations edge is a place to gather, process and act on data on-site.
Operations edge computing is helping some manufacturers harness artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to solve operational and business efficiency issues through real-time analysis of data provided by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors on the factory floor.
3. Provider edge
Provider edge scenarios involve both building out networks and offering services delivered with them, as in the case of a telecommunications company. The service provider edge supports reliability, low latency and high performance with computing environments close to customers and devices.
Service providers such as Verizon are updating their networks to be more efficient and reduce latency as 5G networks spread around the world. Many of these changes are invisible to mobile users, but allow providers to add more capacity quickly while reducing costs.
3 edge computing examples
Red Hat has worked with a number of organizations to develop edge computing solutions across a variety of industries, including healthcare, space and city management.
1. Healthcare
Clinical decision-making is being transformed through intelligent healthcare analytics enabled by edge computing. By processing real-time data from medical sensors and wearable devices, AI/ML systems are aiding in the early detection of a variety of conditions, such as sepsis and skin cancers.
NASA has begun adopting edge computing to process data close to where it’s generated in space rather than sending it back to Earth, which can take minutes to days to arrive.
As an example, mission specialists on the International Space Station (ISS) are studying microbial DNA. Transmitting that data to Earth for analysis would take weeks, so they’re experimenting with doing those analyses onboard the ISS, speeding “time to insight” from months to minutes.
3. Smart cities
City governments are beginning to experiment with edge computing as well, incorporating emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) along with AI/ML to quickly identify and remediate problems impacting public safety, citizen satisfaction and environmental sustainability.
Red Hat’s approach to edge computing
Of course, the many benefits of edge computing come with some additional complexity in terms of scale, interoperability and manageability.
Edge deployments often extend to a large number of locations that have minimal (or no) IT staff, or that vary in physical and environmental conditions. Edge stacks also often mix and match a combination of hardware and software elements from different vendors, and highly distributed edge architectures can become difficult to manage as infrastructure scales out to hundreds or even thousands of locations. The Red Hat Edge portfolio addresses these challenges by helping organizations standardize on a modern hybrid cloud infrastructure, providing an interoperable, scalable and modern edge computing platform that combines the flexibility and extensibility of open source with the power of a rapidly growing partner ecosystem
Flexible displays have a complicated history. It has also come a long way since its conception many years ago. Samsung was the first smartphone manufacturer in the world to finally realise the foldable smartphone dream with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Fold back in 2018. If you have read our review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, you would know that we are quite fond of it.
They have released the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. Admittedly, we are a little late on its review. But it is still one of Samsung’s most powerful flagships to date, and you can get one with an S Pen. Effectively, it is a spiritual successor to the Galaxy Note series that is confirmed to be long gone.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 is cheaper than before at MYR 6,699. There are a few reasons for that, but it is a good thing overall. Is it now worth its asking price though? Should you consider moving to a foldable device now that Samsung has forgone its Galaxy Note series? Is it even a good device? We find out.
Design
Unlike a lot of the other flagships that seems to get larger with new iterations, the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3’s dimensions did not change from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. They are identical in , width and even thickness. If you put them together side by side, ignoring the camera module, you would have a hard time telling the two devices apart.
The materials used are the exact same materials as before in all the same places. Even the hinge mechanism is the same one used in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. There is a small difference between the hinge in the third iteration though. It is now sealed and insulated to ensure that it can comply to IPX8 water resistance. Water resistance, in some ways, is a large improvement over the older Galaxy Z Fold2 in today’s modern standards. That, and they say that the aluminium ‘backbone’ (as they call it) is now 10% stronger than before. We did not get to test that though.
There are also some differences at the back of the device. The camera module looks a lot more modest than before. It now features three separate glass elements instead of a single glass box. It somehow makes the entire back of the device looks much cleaner, although the three cameras are the same three cameras you find on the old Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. That is about it in terms of the difference in appearance though.
Hardware
Oddly, it is not powered by Samsung’s own Exynos powerhouse. In fact you cannot find a Samsung foldable with Exynos chip in it. Instead, it is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 System on a Chip (SoC).
FRONT Internal: 4-Megapixel (f/1.8, under-display ) 4K video recording (30fps)
FRONT External: 10-Megapixel (f/2.2, 26mm wide angle) 4K video recording (30fps)
Sensors
Accelerometer Proximity Side Mounted Fingerprint Ambient Light Gyroscope Face Unlock Compass
User Interface – One UI Full Flex
Of course, a Samsung device is never complete without Samsung’s very recognizable User Interface on top of Android. At the time of testing, we only had One UI on top of Android 11. Still, One UI is a league of its own in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. You do not want to be using a custom launcher with the Samsung foldable flagship.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3’s One UI does not feel like a blown up One UI for odd displays. It feels better than the older interface. Oddly, not that much has changed since the last round.
You still can have two different home screens for both your front display and inside display. This time round, you can both displays to display the same home screen too, if you really want, without messing about too much. Notifications are not blown up to occupy the entire space like before. It actually feels nicer and cleaner somehow. On top of that, you get more unique app experiences now on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.
Settings Menu
Instead of the old settings menu that is clearly made for smartphones, the interface opens to a more tablet like experience with the main display. Of course, you get the regular smartphone interface type of settings menu on the outer display. Once you open the device, the interface immediately changes though, which is a real nice touch.
Spotify
The Spotify experience on the main display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 opens to a more tablet like experience too. To be fair, it should not be to hard for app developers to include smartphone-to-tablet-to-smartphone switching modes. Most apps have their own dedicated tablet interfaces these days and it would make sense for them to include the interface for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3.
YouTube
Of course, this was the first app with a proper interface that is more suited to the larger display of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. It was first seen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, but it is a little smoother now on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. At the same time, you can tilt the display to use half the screen to watch your videos and view the comments of description on the other. We think that it is a feature useful when you do livestreams, especially when you need to watch the comments box.
Gmail
You guessed it, when the Z Fold3 is open, Gmail opens to a more tablet like experience too with the email inbox list on the left and the contents on the right. We think that this is a much more intuitive experience for the larger tablet like display on the Galaxy Z Fold3.
Plenty to Work On
One UI is not perfect though. While Instagram now fills up the entire display, you might find that the app does not work as intended when you switch from the front display to the main display. You cannot interact with stories unless you close the app and open it again with the main display. Shopee and Lazada also do not resize between displays . While they are just irksome at best, it does detract from the whole foldable experience.
The Fold, Now with S Pen
This is an addition we appreciate though coming from the Samsung Galaxy Note line-up. One thing we were left wanting with the previous Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 was also the S Pen capabilities. The only issue is that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3’s S Pen is a different one to the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra’s.
Working with the S Pen is nice though. We missed the Galaxy Note series dearly and the Galaxy Z Fold3 sort of compensates the Galaxy Note’s discontinuation. We were worried that the S Pen would not be able to keep up at the dip of the display, where there are no digitizers, but it works perfectly, even when we drew a line down the crease. The whole S Pen experience is more natural than ever. It really is like writing in a notebook this time.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 packs a very potent Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 System on a Chip (SoC). Even compared to the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S22, Galaxy Z Fold3 is still one powerful device. But its performance does not just come from the powerful SoC, it is the entire package that makes the Galaxy Z Fold3 what it is.
Benchmark
Call Quality and Connectivity
Like the older Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, the Galaxy Z Fold3 packs only one earpiece and that is on its secondary (outer) display. That also means that you can only use it with the device folded. When it is unfolded, you can only make calls with the loudspeaker, which is not an entirely bad idea sometimes.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 in loudspeaker mode somehow feels a little louder than before. We are pretty sure it is the same hardware as the Galaxy Z Fold2 in terms of its audio. The increased volume also means that you can use it in a small discussion room with just a few people on the table as a teleconferencing device.
Of course, thanks to One UI, you can use your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 as a video conferencing tool without the need to buy a stand or prop your device up against something else. You can set the device to open in any angle (nothing beyond 180o, though) and its front-facing camera can be angled to you for a better video calling experience.
If the device on the other end of the line also supposed VoLTE and is calling with full signal strength, your calls are crystal clear and crisp. Of course, these days you are making calls when you are on the move (we strongly discourage using the device without hands-free when you are driving). In that case, you might come across areas with poor signals. If you have a single bar on the network though, you should be able to have conversations over the phone, albeit with some distortions.
Gaming
Like the older Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, we tested the device with PUBG Mobile, and Mobile Legends Bang Bang. We also tested it with Pokémon Unite, a MOBA title. Of course, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 performed very well in these games. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, in 2021 at least, is the most powerful smartphone processor you can find on any Android device. It only makes sense that you can play these games at its highest requirements with no issues at all.
The only issue you might be facing is heat management on the device. There is only so much surface area on the back of the foldable device to dissipate heat too, so you are going to feel it a little bit in your fingers. It is not scalding hot though; you should be able to still handle it with little discomfort.
Multitasking and Productivity
The large display allows us to experience two apps at once without having to crimp on the window sizes. You can have three windows open at once, plus five floating windows in the back. In theory, you can have all eight apps open at the same time.
In practice though, the best way to use the device is by having three windows. We would like to be able to use up to four apps at the same time, there is enough screen real estate to work with. Sure, you can have a floating window open, but it is just not the same.
Still, three is better than two. At that as well, The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 never felt too sluggish to work with even when there are eight apps running at the same time (three windows, five floating windows). You can easily change from one app to the other effortlessly too, which is a huge plus point in multitasking.
Samsung’s latest One UI also inherits its not-so-intuitive multi-window mechanics. The easiest way to open all the apps is to first open the three apps separately, and to go into recent apps to fiddle with the little “multi-window” option on the apps you want to run. Once in this mode, you can just toggle the apps around to increase its size or rearrange the entire thing.
Like its predecessors, the new One UI also comes with a quick launch menu which allows you to dock up to two apps at once to be able to launch both the apps in multi-window mode immediately. We highly recommend using that feature in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 to optimise your experience.
Battery Life
In our typical use case, we work with apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Gmail, and even the phone app plenty. We would also scroll feeds on Instagram, Facebook, and even Twitter from time to time with it. Of course, our camera is also used to take various photos and videos we could use for our review. We do play games on the device occasionally.
In our typical use case, we never had too much of a problem with its battery life for an entire day. In our test period, we took the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 away from the charger at about 9am. The device would hit about 15% of battery at about 10 p.m. on average.
While the battery is smaller than before, it charges just about the same with the older device. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 charges to full in about two hours via USB Type-C cable. It also comes with wireless charging like its predecessor. Charging it wirelessly allows it to charge at 15W speeds. I will take longer than two hours to charge the device from empty to full in that case.
Displays & Audio
While the displays on the new and older device looks the same, they are slightly different. The outer display is a slightly smaller display before at 6.2-inch from the 6.23-inch of the Z Fold2. Nothing much has changed on the inside though, except for a difference in brightness and a revolutionary under-display camera.
Secondary Display
It is now a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display compared to the older Super AMOLED. It crams a little more resolution that before too at 832 by 2,268 pixels. You hardly notice the added pixels in such a crammed display. You will notice the difference in panel quality though.
The colours from a Dynamic AMOLED 2X tend to look more natural, less saturated than Super AMOLED. At 25:9 aspect ratio, the narrow display is not really made for immersive media consumption. The better colour contrasts of the display does make it a little more enjoyable when you are watching Netflix or even YouTube on the smaller display.
Main Display
Of course, you want to use the larger display for the best viewing experience. It is also the same great flexible display you find on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, except it has gotten a little bit more brightness and the S Pen capability.
While the near square display works very well for productivity, it is a little crippled in consuming media. When you watch Netflix, you get two very large black bars on the top and bottom of the display. It does not take anything away from its experience though.
The display shines in gaming though. Mobile games tend to take advantage of different display form factors and optimizes itself to match the display size and form factor. Most of the games we tested fills the display. The result is an immersive gaming experience with plenty of details on display. The control buttons do not interfere with the peripheral visions on the display, which is a bonus in games like PUBG Mobile and even other MOBA games.
The same flex and bending marks from before can still be seen and is as noticeable as before. The crease is quite unavoidable in today’s folding devices. It is a little distracting especially when you view the display from an angle, but you might grow used to it after a while.
Under Display Cam – Not Just a Hole
If you look closely, the top part of the right side of the display looks a little odd. There are pixels that sit there, but you can see through it to find the small front-facing camera. While the pixel count in that small, rounded area is not as dense as the other parts of the display, it does help with your viewing experience. Netflix can now take full advantage of the display’s height and other media looks less janky.
Cameras
The under-display is not a brilliant camera. Photos taken with this 4-megapixel camera feels a little dated. Colours are a little off and details are not great. It is the camera that most will use for video conferences though, where high-resolution is not necessary.
There is another 10-Megapixel front-facing camera. This one is the same one as you can find from the device before. While it is not the most detailed photo you get from this camera, it is not a bad image you get. Colours and saturation seem to be more on-point.
The rear cameras are also the exact same ones you can find on the Galaxy Z Fold3. While you get the same triple 12-Megapixel camera set up, the processing chip is a lot more advanced than before. The results from the 12-Megapixel shooters are quite impressive.
They are not what you would call ‘DSLR’ quality, but they are more than acceptable for social media use. The colours look natural and vivid while details look great for 12-Megapixel photos. At the same time, you can still record videos at 4K.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 – The Z Fold2, just Better Everywhere
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 is not meant to be a huge leap from the older Samsung Galazy Z Fold2. It is meant to be just a touch better than the 2nd generation foldable; more refined, if you must. But that does not mean that Samsung was complacent with the Galaxy Z Fold3.
The flagship foldable is now an IPX certified device, which means it can handle the weather. That also meant that the Galaxy Z Fold3 has some added durability built into the stuff. While the mechanism was a concern in the old device, the new one is made to be a little sturdier and just works better. The added durability on that also means that the S Pen feature can now be integrated and it works better than we thought it would.
They updated the secondary display, which may not be too noticeable to most people. But we do appreciate that small upgrade to bring the secondary display to the level of the main display. You get the same colours and same saturation levels. In some ways, it just makes the experience switching from the secondary to main display just a little more seamless.
The main display has not changed all that much, but the addition of a thin layer of LED on top of the internal camera does make it feel a touch more immersive than before. It makes the display looks complete too, even if you can still tell that there is a hole underneath the display. Yes, that means the camera underneath have to be a little worse than before, but that is an okay trade-off in this case.
The camera modules have not changed, but thanks to the new processor and better imaging algorithm, the camera experience is just a touch better. Below that is slightly smaller battery, but the difference between battery life from the old device is virtually non-existent. System wise, apps just work a little better and some apps have ‘tablet’ modes on the device now, which just makes more sense.
At MYR 6,699, it is way cheaper than the older device. Samsung is going all-in with the foldable device market, and it shows with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. The lower pricing just means that they want you to be on board too.
The third generation foldable from Samsung is marginally better in almost every way. But they are marginal improvements in the areas that matter. All of them total up to a better Galaxy Z Fold experience.
So, to answer the questions we set out to answer. Yes, it is now sort of worth MYR 6,699. Yes, you can consider this as your replacement to the Samsung Galaxy Note series, if you do not mind the step-down in camera technology. Yes, the Galaxy Z Fold3 is a good device. If you are coming from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 though, you might want to hold it off for a while and wait for the next iteration of the Galaxy Z Fold before considering an upgrade.
HUAWEI, in the past, was making some of the best smartphones in the world alongside the likes of Samsung. While the idea of comparing a HUAWEI device today to a Samsung device seems a little on the funny side, you cannot deny that HUAWEI still makes some very interesting, very compelling smartphones that, on paper at least, could be one of the best smartphones in the world. The only undoing for HUAWEI is Western politics.
Funnily enough though, the political issues did not hinder HUAWEI’s PC development. They introduced notebook after notebook, and most of them comes with Intel processors, and Microsoft Windows operating system. Weird? Yes. Do we care? Not one bit. In fact, we are happy about that. HUAWEI genuinely makes great notebooks at relatively reasonable prices compared to more established players in the field.
Now there is this new thing. They introduced the HUAWEI MateBook 14S, a sort of thin-and-light notebook based on Intel’s 11th Generation processors. Amid the latest 12th Generation Intel though, is it still relevant? Is it worth the MYR 4,999 asking price? Should you even consider getting one if you do not have a HUAWEI device? We find out.
Design
It comes in two distinct colours, and the unit they passed to us is Green in colour. We have to say that we quite like the light shade of green that HUAWEI shipped this with. It stands out while remaining conspicuous and understated, if that makes sense.
The shell of the HUAWEI MateBook is clean. It only features the enlarged ‘HUAWEI’ wording on the cover. You find no sign of HUAWEI’s usual petal logo anywhere on the notebook. We assume that that the exclusion is to make the HUAWEI MateBook 14S cleaner and more professional.
The entire MateBook 14S is made from aluminium. The extensive use of metal means two things. It is very solid, but also quite hefty. It weighs 1.43kg, which is not exactly heavy, but it is still heavier than most thin-and-light notebooks out there. We appreciate the solid build and premium feel of metal, though.
Hardware
Our test unit is not the most expensive variant available in the market. It packs an Intel Core i5-11300H made for efficiency and long battery life. It also packs less RAM than the more premium Core i7 variant at 8GB. Everything else is the same, so it is not like you are shorthanded with the lesser model.
Specification
HUAWEI MateBook 14S (2021)
As Tested
Processor (clock)
Intel Core i5-11300H
GPU
Intel Iris Xe Integrated Graphics
Display(s)
14.2-inch LTPS (2520 x 1680 2.5K 3:2) 60Hz 400nits 100% sRGB 1500:1 contrast ratio 10-point multi-touch sensitive Narrow Bezel
Memory
512GB NVMe PCIe SSD 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
Networking and Connections (I/O)
2 x USB 3.1 Type-C (Charging, Data, DisplayPort) 1 x USB 3.2 Type-A 1 x 3.5mm AUX 1 x HDMI 2.0 WiFi 6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.1
Operating System
Windows 10 Home (64-bit) upgradeable to Windows 11
Battery
60Wh
Miscellaneous
1.43kg HUAWEI Share Fingerprint Power Button Windows Hello Facial Recognition Quad Speakers Quad Microphone All-metal body
Features
MYR 4,999 is still a lot of money to ask for a thin-and-light though. That is entry-level gaming laptop money. Then again, you should not compare it to gaming purpose devices.
Form With Function
Usually, a thin-and-light requires sacrifice in terms of port practicality. Because most thin-and-light comes with USB Type-C Ports exclusively, you need to obtain an extra dongle so that it’ll take your USB drives, your external hard drives and whatever peripherals you want to work with.
For the HUAWEI MateBook 14S though, you can leave your dongle at home if you want. HUAWEI managed to fit one full USB 3.0 Type-A port on the right side. On the left side are two USB Type-C ports, both can be used for charging, or data, or display. There is also a full-sized HDMI port at the same side. On top of that, a 3.5mm audio jack will always come in handy.
3:2 Aspect Ratio Goodness
Most notebooks today are moving to the 16:10 aspect ratio. That is because with a taller display you can see more, and that bodes well for productivity. A 3:2 aspect ratio is not that different from the 16:10 option but with more height than usual. We admit that it is a little weird at first, a near square display is strange.
The taller display allows us to fit more information on the display, which also means putting two windows beside one another does not make the display feel cramped. Reading articles off websites also requires a lot less scrolling than before, so web browsing feels a lot less cumbersome.
That is not to say that 3:2 aspect ratio should be the standard in mobile computing though. It works with web browsing, article reading, and even essay writing. It makes less sense for most gaming conditions and movies.
While certain games might benefit the taller aspect ratio, most tend to look a little odd. When you watch movies, you get large amounts of dead space at the top and bottom of the display. It makes the movies look small and takes a little bit away from the immersion.
The Correct Place for a Webcam
We want to say that early MateBooks were odd. Not because they looked like nothing you can find in the market. It was because the MateBooks featured super thin bezels that would not fit a webcam. They chose to relocate the webcam to be tucked within the keyboard itself with a pop-up mechanism which met hilarious results.
Thankfully, at the age where webcam is a big part of our lives, no thanks to the pandemic, HUAWEI’s MateBook 14S has it in the right place. It does mean that HUAWEI have to compromise with bezel thickness a little bit. From the looks of it though, it does not look like HUAWEI had to sacrifice all that much too.
Use Your Finger, or Your Face
Of course, most modern thin-and-light notebooks come with biometric security in the form of a basic fingerprint sensor. This one does too, but it has another thing up its sleeve, or rather, in its bezel. The webcam also comes with a slew of sensors that works with Windows Hello to scan your face.
That also means that you can walk away from the notebook, and it will lock itself to ensure that whatever you are working on is safe. When you come back, it sees your face and unlocks. In the case that it does not unlock, the fingerprint sensor is quick enough also that it unlocks the moment you touch the fingerprint sensor that doubles as the power button. Just do not mistakenly press it down to power down the notebook and you will be fine.
HUAWEI Share
This has been one of the biggest selling features for HUAWEI’s devices, or at least HUAWEI notebooks if you have a HUAWEI device. Of course, most of the current features of the program can only work with HUAWEI’s latest OS on its mobile devices. Unfortunately, we did not have a HUAWEI device that is running on Harmony OS 2 at the time of review, so we could not test the feature.
Unlike the previous HUAWEI Share functionality too, there is no NFC tag to be found on the notebook, which also means that transferring data through HUAWEI share has to be done manually instead of just touching both devices together like before. While it just feels like you are going back to the conventional data sharing method, transfer speeds over HUAWEI Share are faster than Bluetooth.
Performance
The HUAWEI MateBook 14S is not a gaming notebook. The unit we are reviewing does not even come with Intel’s Core i7 processor. It also only features 8GB of RAM. It also lacks a dedicated GPU to work with.
Multitasking & Productivity
Where the HUAWEI MateBook 14S shines is when you take it out for a day of work. 8GB is ample enough for you to entertain multiple tabs on Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox browsers; both have been our browsers of choice these days. Google Chrome can be a RAM hog, but five tabs on the browser still did not hurt the HUAWEI MateBook 14S.
While you might want to spend a little more for the Intel Core i7 variant, the Intel Core i5 variant never felt sluggish in most cases. If you only need it to complete mundane tasks like filling up Word documents, create Powerpoint slides, or even work with Excel sheets, you will have enough push from the Core i5 to complete all of them with ease.
When it comes to content creation though, you might want to adjust your expectations a little bit. You can technically edit 4K videos thanks to improved optimisation of Intel’s 11th Generation CPUs. It may not be entirely smooth, but it is useable with Adobe Premiere Pro. Rendering videos will take some time still. But that is just about the most it can handle though.
Typing an Essay
The keyboard on the MateBook 14S is not the best you can find out there. It is not the worst thing to come on a laptop though. It works, and well enough at that to ensure that you do not throw it against a wall whenever you need to reply to an email with a long essay, or when you need to type out long documents with it.
The key travel is shallow, which makes it a little odd to type with. Strangely, typing on the keyboard does not wear us out as much as we thought it would though. We could attribute that to the mushiness of the keyboard. The combination of the short travel and mushiness makes the keyboard feels odd to work with. It is not quite unpleasant, just odd.
At the same time though, the keyboard is very much silent. You can bring it to the library, type out an essay and get out without anyone noticing that you have been working on it. You can even sneak in an email reply or two in the meeting room.
Gaming
You can still game on the HUAWEI MateBook 14S. You do have to adjust your expectations, though. You can still play games like Two Point Hospital, Cities: Skylines, or even Counter Strike: Global Offensive on the MateBook 14S. If you really want, you can even play Dota 2 at the screen’s 2.5K resolution. You might want to set your graphics to medium or even low if you want to take full advantage of the 2.5K display.
Battery Life
In our typical use, we usually have a few apps open on the notebook. Our browsers have about 10 tabs open at any given time. We kept our screen brightness to the maximum in most use cases. Our speakers are usually turned down to about 20% or less on the HUAWEI MateBook 14S, it can get quite loud. That said, we usually will play music via Tidal, which also means we have Tidal installed and opened. We also will have a couple of Microsoft Word instances open.
In that use case, we get about 8 hours of use from a full battery before we need to think about plugging the device to our charger. The Charger provided is a little bit of an overkill at 90W, but that means you can use it to charge other devices and other laptops that charges via USB Type-C also, which is always welcome since you just need to carry one charger for all your devices now.
Display & Audio
As mentioned, the HUAWEI MateBook 14S packs an odd 3:2 display. True to its name, it has a 14-inch display too; 14.2-inch specifically. The 14.2-inch display covers up to 90% of the body. This points to a massive display experience from a small notebook.
It is a very beautiful 2.5K (2,520 x 1,680) high-resolution display. It is a higher resolution display than regular notebooks of its class making it really stand out. It covers 100% of the sRGB colour gamut, which should mean that you get highly accurate and vibrant colours on the display. 400nits also means that it should be bright enough to work with in any indoor situation.
Its 1500:1 contrast ratio comes to play when you are watching movies with the HUAWEI MateBook 14S too. Movies look amazing on the 14-incher with vibrant and rich colours. The only issue with it is the two big black bars at the top and bottom of the video itself.
Did we mention that it is also a touch sensitive display? While we do not think that Windows 10 is very much optimised for touch experience, we think Windows 11 will change that once you get it to update. But still, having a touch display when you scroll through the web makes a lot of sense. Even going through long word documents is a much better experience with touch sensitive display.
Then there is the audio, which is not actually half bad. It does not have a subwoofer installed to it, so you cannot expect it to produce the best audio experience from a notebook. But for a notebook its size, the audio experience is respectable enough that you can enjoy good music from the HUAWEI MateBook 145S. The high-frequencies and mid-frequencies are detailed enough that vocals tend to stand out a little bit more in most music. It tends to be quite loud too, which is surprising coming from speakers its size. Then again, there are 4 speakers on this thing.
The HUAWEI MateBook 14S – Green Lit
The HUAWEI MateBook 14S is pretty in its Spruce Green guise. While there is not much in terms of design cues, its green colour helps it stand out. It is also one of the only thin-and-light notebooks you can find in the market that comes with a full-sized USB port and a full-sized HDMI port.
At MYR 4,999, it is more expensive than a lot of thin-and-light notebooks out there. Most of them does not come with a display quite like the one you can find on the HUAWEI MateBook 14S. It is not just a touch display, it is a 2.5K display that is stretched out to 3:2 aspect ratio, which is unique. On top of that you get facial recognition, also a premium feature you do not normally get in a regular thin-and-light notebook. It is a feature you mostly find on enterprise class device, or at much higher price point.
If you are a HUAWEI device owner that works with Harmony OS 2, this should be a no brainer to boost your productivity even more. With a HUAWEI MatePad 12.6, you are effectively carrying an extra storage, notepad, drawing pad, and display in your bag. HUAWEI Share is also wireless, which also means you do not need to tangle your bag with cables.
So, is this HUAWEI MateBook 14S worth MYR 4,999? We would say so, in some ways. We are not saying that it is not expensive, because it is. But at the same time this is one of the most practical thin-and-light notebook out there with a unique and beautiful display. It packs features that most thin-and-light notebooks in its price range does not too. Of course, if you have a HUAWEI Harmony OS 2 device, the HUAWEI MateBook 14S makes more sense than any other notebook in its class.
