This week in Tech & Tonic Podcast we covered a few things. That was also because there was major launch that went a little under the radar last week. HUAWEI launched their new HUAWEI P50 flagship and surprisingly it comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip within its newly designed body.
It was also such a quiet launch that plenty of news outlet did not really pick up the event or talk about the device in-depth. On that note though, the device looks to be a subtle update from the HUAWEI P40 series too and is set to be only available in China for now, maybe that is why no one picked it up. If it is just a minor update to the P40 series with Harmony OS 2.0 in tow though, what took them so long to release the highly anticipated device?
At the same time, AMD launched a new GPU at the lower end of the power spectrum. They released the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT GPU. They will not be making the card on their own though, rather the GPU will only be available from its board partners. It is not exactly cheap either, despite its more budget friendly pricing over its higher-end siblings. So why would they do that?
Scarlett Johansson got Disney into a pickle last week. She filed a lawsuit against the entertainment giant for breach of contract over the launch and release of Black Widow in theatres and Disney+ Premiere a week or so ago. According to the lawsuit, the actress’ contract was not renegotiated for release on Disney’s own streaming platform.
This brings us back to the question we had when Disney+ was coming to Malaysia; are we paying too much for streaming services? With Disney+ Premiere, we could easily be paying even more for the latest movies and blockbusters. But the lawsuit also puts a lot of things into perspective for us enjoying these services because it also happened to platforms like Spotify.
We started thinking about how are the actor’s pay managed by the streaming services. At the same time, we are already paying for multiple streaming services at this time because they all offer different exclusives. How much is too much for these exclusive contents though? Would it make sense for us to go back to cable TV in this case? Maybe, maybe not, but we discuss all this in today’s episode of Tech & Tonic Podcast.
Ads can be a pain especially when they interrupt your content. Of course, this was undoubtedly one of the reasons behind the introduction of YouTube Premium. The service launched in Malaysia a few years back but it looks like YouTube might be making that ad-free experience a little more accessible with a lower-priced tier.
YouTube Premium Lite, as the new tier is called, seems to be a scaled-back version of YouTube Premium. The Premium Lite plan does away with a lot of the added features you get with YouTube Premium. “Scaled back” back be a little bit of an understatement. The Premium Lite plan does one thing and one thing only – remove ads.
Source: jelmerjt on ResetEra
The plan has been seen in certain countries in Europe. It was initially reported by a user on ResetEra. YouTube has since confirmed the plan in a statement to TheVerge in which the company. The plan is currently available “In Nordics and Benelux (except Iceland)” and “costs €6.99/month (or local equivalent per month)”.
Keep in mind that YouTube Premium also brings along features such as background play, access to YouTube Music in addition to ad-free playback. Subscribers are also able to access YouTube Premium content which includes originals and exclusive Premium only events. Most recently, YouTube Premium subscribers were invited to a post-premiere party with Andy Grammer following the release of his latest single “Lease on Life”. YouTube Premium costs €11.99 a month in Europe and is available for MYR17.90 a month in Malaysia.
There’s no word just yet on whether the new YouTube Premium Lite plan will be rolling out to other regions. However, based on the pricing in Europe, we expect that pricing in Malaysia will be about MYR10.90 to MYR11.90 if it rolls out in Malaysia.
ASUS’ ultimate smartphone that is over-engineered for gaming, the ASUS ROG Phone 5 actually launched earlier in the year. The device specifically launched in Malaysia in the month of March 2021. If you consider the ROG Phone 5 selling first in the beginning of March 2021, that was six months ago. We understand your confusion in this case.
While the ROG Phone 5 series did launch in March 2021 (even we wrote about it), there is one device in the series that has not been really on sale. That device is the ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate, the ultimate iteration of ASUS’ ROG mobile gaming powerhouse. For months as well, there were no mentions of the device ever coming to Malaysia to the point that some thought that it was only a myth.
We now can assure you that the ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is real and will be reaching your hands very soon in August 2021. Like the launch in March 2021, the ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate will also be an online exclusive. It might as well be with the current condition in Malaysia.
Source: ASUS
Before we go into the pre-order details though, we have to talk about the device just to remind ourselves what the ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is, and why you might want one still.
The ASUS ROG Phone 5 series is known to push smartphone hardware to absolute limit on paper. While all of them comes with Qualcomm’s most powerful System on a Chip (SoC) to date; the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip, the most budget friendly variant of the device comes only with an 8GB RAM.
We say only, because one step up from that is a 16GB RAM option. 16GB RAM is a lot of memory for a smartphone, more than even Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra at its best. The Ultimate variant of the ASUS ROG Phone 5 comes with an even bigger memory module at 18GB. Why do you need 18GB of RAM for a smartphone? At this time, we do not know yet.
Its storage module is not as crazy though at 512GB in built-in storage for the Ultimate variant. The ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate also features something called ROG Vision, a customizable LED display embedded in the back plate of the device. As far as we can tell as well, everything else about the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is similar to the other devices in the range. They are still the most extreme on a modern smartphone though.
Source: ASUS
It has a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with the highest possible colour accuracy in a smartphone display that boasts Full HD+ in resolution. While that may not sound like a lot, the display refreshes at up to 144Hz, comparable to modern PC gaming monitors today. It also samples at 300Hz for a super-fast 1ms response on the display itself for near instant interaction with the interface and games.
It is also one of the only flagship spec devices that comes with a super large battery. It packs a 6,000mAh battery pack. That is as large as a small to medium sized powerbank today and is nearly double what regular smartphones pack today. You can charge other flagship smartphones with this mobile ROG powerhouse.
You could not get the ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate anywhere though, when the other ROG Phone 5 devices launched. Even Malaysia’s website says that the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate is “Coming Soon” at the time of writing. It will not be “Coming Soon” for much longer though.
The ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate will finally be available to buy in Malaysia from the 8th of August 2021 onward. Well, the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate starts its pre-orders from that day all the way to the 21st of August 2021, to be specific. It will ship out toward the end of the month of August 2021 too. It will be priced at the anticipated price of MYR 4,999, which is no small amount of money for a smartphone that only comes in Matte White colour option.
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Of course, you are not just buying the smartphone though, at that price. If you choose to wait this long and pre-order your ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate, you are getting a treat from ASUS. You are eligible for an ROG Strix Go Core headphone in Moonlight White to match your ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate for free. You also get the Ultimate Fan Gift Box alongside your device. All in all, you are getting a total of MYR 1,099 worth of goods on top of your Ultimate gaming smartphone.
You can pre-order your ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate from ASUS’ official stores on Shopee and Lazada. Again, the device is exclusively available online at this time. As mentioned, the MYR 4,999 device will be available for pre-order from the 8th to 21st of August 2021. More information on the ASUS ROG Phone 5 is available from their website.
Spotify is giving its users more flexibility with the introduction of new Premium Mini subscription plans. The new plans will allow users to subscribe to Spotify Premium in bite sized pieces ranging from daily to weekly. Users will now be able to subscribe from MYR1 a day to gain access to ad-free streaming on the platform.
In addition to being ad-free, users on these Mini plans will also be able to access Spotify’s many other features. These will, however, be in a more limited manner. Users on the Premium Mini plans will be able to use Spotify to access the full library of songs and podcasts available on the platform and will be able to skip tracks freely. You will also be able able to share playlists and tune in to the same podcast with up to five friends using the Group Sessions feature. However, when it comes to downloading songs for offline playback, users on the Spotify Premium Mini plans will be limited to 30 tracks.
Source: Spotify
Subscribing to the new Spotify Premium Mini plans is pretty simple. All you have to do is click the “Get Mini” option in the subscriptions option. Spotify is also introducing more payment options for Malaysians. Users in Malaysia can now pay using multiple methods including through their mobile bill or even using one of the many eWallets available; absolutely no credit card is needed. Keep in mind that the Premium Mini plans are prepaid plans. This means that you will need to pay upfront for your daily and weekly subscriptions.
Spotify Premium Mini will be available in two options – daily and weekly. You will be able to subscribe to the Premium Mini Daily for MYR1 a day while the weekly option is priced at MYR3.90 a week. The same subscription plans are also available in Thailand, India and Indonesia. Prices start at THB7, INR7 and INR2,500 respectively.
HUAWEI has been on a roll these few years. They may have been restricted in using Google’s ecosystem to its fullest joy, but they did not show any signs of slowing down. In fact, at least outside of China, Malaysia has been one of the strongest market for HUAWEI, at least according to them.
They have started embarking into building a product ecosystem though. They made audio peripherals, they made home appliances too. They made notebook PCs, and recently Smart TVs. Now, they make PC monitors.
Welcome to the world of 4K+ resolution that is the HUAWEI MateView. This is not the gaming monitor, that would be the MateView GT with only half the resolution of this unit. This is the monitor made for the working class. This is a monitor made and built for an executive.
There is a small fact that this will set you back MYR 2,988 in retail though. It is also a little oddly shaped for a PC monitor at 3:2 display ratio. You also cannot detach the built-in tiltable stand.
Is the HUAWEI MateView the world changing monitor that HUAWEI wants it to be? Should you even care about this product? Better yet, should you spend your hard-earned money for this piece of kit?
Design
There are no colour options on this monitor, just silver. Nothing wrong with the colour though once you lift it out from the box to put it on your desk. To be fair, silver might not work all that well if you desk tip is black in colour. We do think that the matte, muted silver will look better when you pair it with brighter colours. That is just our personal opinions on that matter though, we are not professional interior designer, so you might want to take this comment with a pinch of salt.
The 28.2-inch 4K+ monitor looks impressive all around. The muted silver finish makes the whole package looks ultra-premium and professional at the same time. Its skinny profiled stand and base looks sleek and elegant.
You notice that there are perforated holes on the bottom of the front-facing place of the stand. That is the 5W dual speakers that is directly connected to the monitor. The base of the monitor is an NFC plate for HUAWEI Share, not a wireless charging pad.
The port placements are rather clean too. Since the stand is an integrated part of the monitor, which means that HUAWEI can easily keep the display portion clean and thin by moving plenty of the components to the stand. All the necessary ports are kept to the back and side of the stand. This also means you cannot mount the monitor on a VESA stand or desk mounts.
The tilting hinge is encased in chrome ball joint looking mechanism which actually looks very pretty. It looks at home at any desks that is meant for productivity and play in any home. While the large HUAWEI logo at the back is also chrome in colour, it is somehow done in good taste.
While we do appreciate the cleanliness in design language of the HUAWEI MateView, we would also like some VESA mount compatibility. The single piece design is clever, because it allows HUAWEI to integrate most of its components on its base stand. Thing is, there are modern 4K monitors that fits everything the HUAWEI MateView has on its base stand to the monitor housing itself without adding too much heft to it, and they are all VESA mount compatible. It could add a little bit in thickness for the HUAWEI MateView, sure, but its compatibility with VESA mount also means that users are given an extra layer of flexibility in their set-up.
Hardware
The large silver slab is not just a looker though. As we mentioned, it is supposed to be a premium item to sit on your desk. At the kind of price it commands, it better be.
TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Flicker Free certification
Miscellaneous
WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.1
Features
From the looks of it, the HUAWEI MateView is feature packed. To say that this is merely another PC monitor for your desk could be a little unfair. It is mainly made to be on a desk top and serve as a monitor for your PC, or tablet, or smartphone though.
Your Friendly USB Hub
You get one HDMI 2.0 port, a MiniDP port, and one USB Type-C power input port capable of taking on 135W. The adapter for the monitor is a 135W unit as well, so you can technically use it to charge your smartphones or tablets or laptops if you want. There are two additional USB Type-A ports on the right side of the device alongside a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm jack above the elliptical power button.
The HUAWEI MateView doubles as a USB hub for your PC. Thanks to its placement too, the ports are a lot easier to access compared to other modern monitors. The USB Type-C port on the side can also charge at up to 65W, which also means your thin and light notebooks and tablets can be kept charged while projecting to the HUAWEI MateView.
Dual 5W speakers with Built-in Dual Mic
The dual 5W speakers is basically just that, regular speakers and sounds pretty much like any generic small form factor wireless speakers. Because there is no subwoofer, low end frequencies tend to be a little weak. There is little space to fit a subwoofer though, so the lack of lower-end frequencies is forgivable.
Where the combination of this speaker and mic shines though is when you use the MateView for the work and social stuff. Audio from the speakers is perfect in video chats or voice chats. At the same the mic performs great too, with users at the other end of the line reporting clear voice quality. The users at the other end of the line did report that my voice gets cut out from time to time though. We suspect internet speed and stability issues, or it could just be HUAWEI’s noise cancelling algorithm messing about.
Navigate with Smart Bar
Instead of physical buttons, the HUAWEI MatePad has a touch sensitive bar to navigate through its settings. The Smart Bar, as they call it, does contribute a little bit to the clean, polished look of the premium HUAWEI MateView. The Smart Bar does allow for some quick and accurate navigation through the OSD unlike physical buttons you can barely see though.
If you leave the HUAWEI MateView unplugged and disconnected from any device at all, the display shows its own interface and home screen. That home screen allows you to go through the monitors settings and also allows you to choose the monitor’s primary input when you need to. You navigate through that with the Smart Bar, or you can plug in a mouse to the USB ports. You either slide it side to side to navigate the interface and tap once to confirm your selection, twice to back out of a settings menu when you need to. This monitor does WiFi and Bluetooth, though we are not fully able to take advantage of the two features at the time of testing because HUAWEI has not made the device available to connect with on the HUAWEI’s AI Life app at the time of testing.
Once plugged in to a display source, the smart bar is still the way to navigate the On-Screen Display (OSD). The smart bar now doubles as a volume control slider though, which is clever. You tap once to get into the regular OSD to change your settings and input. To control the volume of the built-in speakers, you simply slide your finger along the smart bar.
HUAWEI Share
HUAWEI Share is also integrated to the HUAWEI MateView monitor, as we have mentioned. It is placed on the base plate of the monitor. Still, integrating that HUAWEI OneHop Share functionality is clever, except, you need to have a modern HUAWEI device with EMUI 11 or later and NFC capabilities to take advantage of it. We do not have a HUAWEI EMUI 11 or Harmony OS 2 device that supports the OneHop NFC capability.
While we do understand that this is a HUAWEI device, their implementation to exclusively support HUAWEI Share alienates it from other Android smartphone user. It does make a lot of sense if you do have a HUAWEI smartphone to work with. Except, not all HUAWEI smartphones are treated equally here too. All HUAWEI devices that are not updated to EMUI 11 or Harmony OS 2.0 will not get access to the HUAWEI Share feature. In that sense, HUAWEI is not just alienating other Android users, they are alienating their own users who held on to HUAWEI devices that are not even 3 years old.
On top of that, we genuinely think that the base plate would be much better off if HUAWEI decided to use it as a wireless charging plate. It is the most sensible place for a wireless charging station, after all. The HUAWEI Share sensor can be moved to either the side, or top, or even the bottom part of the monitor module, in our humble opinions.
Options
We tested the HUAWEI MateView mostly with a USB Type-C connection. Meaning we took advantage of the Thunderbolt capabilities of the HUAWEI MateView too. We connected our thin and light Lenovo Yoga S730 via USB Type-C and later on an Acer Predator Triton 500, also via USB Type-C. Thankfully, the HUAWEI MateView charges the Lenovo Yoga S703 at 65W too, so that is always a bonus.
We used the HDMI 2.0 port of the HUAWEI MateView too with the Acer Predator Triton 500. The only issue is that the HDMI 2.0 connection only allows for the display to work with 50Hz in refresh rate due to the bandwidth limitation of the HDMI 2.0 itself. We could not get our PlayStation 4 Pro to work with the display though, oddly enough. To get the best experience of the 4K+ at 60Hz, you want to use a MiniDP to DisplayPort (provided) cable or USB Type-C to USB Type-C (provided) cable. Of course, make sure your PC can project via USB Type-C.
We would prefer a standard DisplayPort 1.4 on the monitor though. Finding a MiniDP-to-MiniDP Thunderbolt cable proves to be quite difficult. At the same time, there is space behind the stand to house a standard DisplayPort 1.4, which makes it even stranger for the HUAWEI MateView not to include one.
We did a wireless projection with a HUAWEI MatePad Pro (2020) in both regular and Desktop Mode and got quite odd results. The display was not rationed properly, the image looks a little stretched vertically. While that can be easily rectified by connecting the tablet to the display via USB Type-C, it is kind of annoying and defeats the purpose of having wireless projection on the display.
Performance – Satisfying 4K+, Beautiful Colours
The biggest draw of the HUAWEI MateView is no doubt its 4K+ IPS panel that will be the main point of its interaction with its users. At 28.2-inch, the MateView is not exactly small, but is probably the smallest 4K display of its type. Then again, this is the only 4K display of its type at this time projecting 3,840 x 2,560 (3:2) pixels instead of the usual 3,840 x 2,160 (16:9).
The 4K+ resolution is displayed at ΔE<2, and at DCI-P3 coverage of 98%, or 100% sRGB coverage. These numbers basically mean that the HUAWEI MateView features one of the best colour reproductions on its 28.2-inch panel at this time. It also features HDR 400 with 1,200:1 contrast ratio, if you must know.
Bright, Vibrant Colours
We had to turn down the brightness of the display to 80% from full brightness. At full 500nits, the display is way too bright to be used in a room. If you are using this in a darker situation, you do want to turn it down even further because the HUAWEI MateView can get overly bright. Considering that you might be using the HUAWEI Mateview in a well-lit room or under natural lighting though, 500nits could be useful.
There are also a few presets for the display colour profile that you can choose from. We set ours to DCI-P3 colour profile, just because we think it looks best. Images look vibrant with highly saturated colours on this display. Because it is a 4K display too, pixels on lower resolution images get a little exaggerated when displayed fullscreen. High-resolution photographs look stunning on this though.
In these presets though, you cannot change your other colour and temperature settings. Settings like contrast and gamma is locked off. The only thing you have going for you is the brightness control.
Going to the Movies
Movies and films from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and even Disney+ Hotstar are easy to enjoy on the HUAWEI MateView. Even when you watch Full HD 1080p films on the HUAWEI MateView, while you do notice some graininess a little, it still looks great because colours are vivid. High framerate films like Formula 1: Drive to Survive also highlights the MateView’s brilliant contrasts. The bright colours that are projected on darker backdrops are clear as day and sharp. Even the colourful fast-moving cars look great on the MateView itself.
… Or Edit Your Films
Naturally, a 4K+ resolution display will, inevitably, used for creative work. While it may not be the best or top-of-the-line display in terms of creative work, it has all the right qualities for be one of the better displays for content creators. If you are not into 3D work and high-framerate visuals, this should be good enough. We used the 4K+ monitor as a secondary monitor to basically scrutinise our video work. We record most of our videos in 4K and publish them in 1080p Full HD resolution. The added detail you can see from a 4K resolution display also means that we get to be a little more detailed when it comes to our work too. Of course, colour grading is a breeze with highly accurate colours. But the matte finish of the display, which is not typical for colour accurate displays, helps with video and image editing in a brightly lit room.
… Or Game, Because Why Not?
While not something that the HUAWEI MateView is created for, you can game on it. Yes, the display aspect ratio is a little odd at 3:2. A wider vertical view does mean a little more environmental detail on your display on the top and bottom of the monitor. Thing is, you want more peripheral view instead of more to see from the top and bottom of the display, so it does not make that much of a difference in some sense. Still, you can set games to work on the 4K+ resolution at 60Hz, and that is important.
Games in 4K+ does look impressive with details you have never expected before. Colours still pop in games like GTA V and No Man’s Sky. Shadow of the Tomb Raider looks amazing on 4K+. Here is the thing though, to play your games at 4K+ resolution at 60fps requires you to have substantial power from your gaming rig. Not every game will be able to run at 60Hz or even smoothly on 4K+ resolution and you can see the limitations kicking in when you fire games like GTA V up and set everything to ultra. Strangely enough, No Man’s Sky runs great at Ultra settings with speeds hitting above 50fps at times. Keep in mind that this is on a 10th Generation Intel Core i7 paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super platform.
The HUAWEI MateView – Impressive, But Maybe Not
Before you get confused with the heading, we do really want to say that we are impressed with the HUAWEI MateView. We like it, even. But there are a few glaring issues we cannot seem to wrap our heads around.
The biggest problem is that it will set you back MYR 2,988. At the time of writing, Samsung’s similar UR55 28-inch 4K monitor technically offers a wider 4K experience (16:9) and an IPS panel as well for MYR 1,399 and it comes with AMD FreeSync. You can even find a 27-inch Dell 4K UHD monitor at MYR 1,589 at this time. A BenQ 27-inch 4K UHD display will also only set you back MYR 2,699, MYR 300 less than the HUAWEI with three built-in speakers and AMD FreeSync technology too. All of them comes with standard DisplayPort as well.
If you are buying for entertainment purposes, what is wrong with a 4K UHD smart TV? While it does have some wireless features, its experience on other devices that does not support its version of HUAWEI Share is not exactly great or seamless. You are still better off with cables in the case of using the display with your smartphone or tablet devices anyway.
We have to admit that we thoroughly enjoyed the HUAWEI MateView. It looks great and as a PC monitor, it works great. Add the mic functionality and speakers that sound better than average speakers from most displays, wireless connectivity capabilities, and its colour accuracy, it is a compelling display to work with. We may not completely understand its incompatibility with systems other than HUAWEI’s own (well, we do, but we think it is a little ridiculous).
In the end, would this be something we would recommend our friends to buy? In short, no. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other far more compelling products at the same price or even less. The HUAWEI MateView, while it isnot a bad product in any way, does not feel and work like a product that commands its price tag.
Toshiba is a brand with a long legacy – particularly in the Malaysian market. Once seen as a go-to for nearly everything electrical. However, in recent years, the company has been rather quiet. That is changing with the announcement of their new lineup of Smart TVs powered by Android TV.
The company is bringing two new series of Smart TVs that come equipped with a new generation of REGZA technology for users to enjoy. The two series – the C350 and the V35 series – bring some signature Toshiba technologies with a focus on different resolution propositions. The former comes with 4K UHD resolution while the latter comes with 1080p Full HD.
Both series come with the latest innovations in their REGZA Engine. The C350 comes with the REGZA Engine 4K which enables high performance, 4K resolution video even with lower resolution content. The REGZA Engine 4K also allows better-calibrated colour and contrast. This is augmented by Toshiba’s Colour Re-master technology which focuses on delivering true to life colours together. The V35 come with the REGZA Engine High Grade which comes with all the bells and whistles that allow it to deliver immersive, detailed content in brilliant Full HD and HD resolutions.
The experience of the new Toshiba Smart TVs becomes even more immersive with the DTS Virtual X and Dolby Audio compatibility in the C350 and DTS Studio Sound Technology in the V35. Both the series are able to deliver immersive sound with even more precision. The C350 will enable more audio nuances thanks to the Dolby Audio.
Content will be at users fingertips with Android TV on the new lineups. Android TV will enable apps like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ for easy access to your favourite shows. It will also enable screen mirroring via the built-in Chromecast feature and easy use through Google Voice Search.
Pricing & Availability
The new Toshiba Smart TVs are available in Malaysia now via retailers and online shops. The C350 series is priced from MYR1,899 while the V35 series is priced from MYR1,199. Detailed pricing is in the table below.
The content creator market is huge in 2021. Of course, the rise in various social media mediums like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and even Twitch has created this huge demand for contents over the internet. To be fair, Twitch may not be a social media platform per se, but it does create a huge demand in more live streamed contents; pretty much what Facebook is doing with regular and even Facebook Gaming platform. In all these, the most popular contents are also the visual contents like videos and photo updates. Written contents have been taking a backseat for a while and we all know that.
On that note, we want to thank everyone who is still coming to the site to read our news updates, reviews, and editorial articles. We appreciate you and you are the reason we do what we do. Do let us know what you think we can do more of, or better in the comment section below or our social media platforms though.
With modern social media as well, content creation has been at its simplest form today. All you need is a smartphone that can support all the apps to start creating contents. Of course, using your smartphone to create contents can be pretty limiting. We always say that if you want to make the best video or photography content, invest in a camera; there are plenty of choices out there too. Today, your decision-making process is going to be a little harder, or easier, depending on how you look at it.
Source: Sony
The Sony Alpha (α) ZV-E10, as they call it, is meant to sit above the ZV-1 compact camera. Rightfully so, with an APS-C cropped sensor instead of the small 1-inch sensor of the compact ZV-1. It is also an interchangeable lens camera with Sony’s proprietary E-Mount. This opens up a whole plethora of creative possibilities with Sony’s extensive E-Mount lenses as well.
It features a 24.2-Megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor backed by Sony’s brilliant BIONZ X image processor. Of course, with a bigger sensor than the ZV-1, you should be getting a better image quality and better low-light performance from the ZV-E10. At the same time, there are a few features that makes this camera perfect for both experienced and new content creators.
For one, the Sony α ZV-E10 packs a clever Background Defocus feature that was first seen and highly acclaimed in the ZV-1. While the feature is more catered for vloggers, it is a clever system to sort of mimic the depth-of-field effect you get with more expensive lenses and larger camera sensors without spending the extra money. At the same time, it is less focus sensitive in this implementation, which allows subjects extra movement tolerances. “Product Showcase Setting” mode is also something that content creators can appreciate to quickly shift focus from the subject’s face to a highlighted object.
Source: Sony
At 343g (body only), the Sony α ZV-E10 is lighter than even the Sony α6400, and way lighter than the high-end Sony α7 series of cameras. That also means an added portability and versatility in your shoots. You do not need a large space to lug the ZV-E10 around and setting it up can be as easy as pulling it out of the bag and just point at your subject.
The α ZV-E10 is made with videos in mind though. It shoots at up to 4K 30fps and Full HD 120fps (slow-motion) to make this one of the most versatile compact shooters available in the current market. Of course, Sony’s clever electronic image stabilisation makes an appearance here. You do have to turn on Active Mode for stabilisation to kick in though. Still, you can get a crisp, stable 4K vlogs from the camera.
The new Sony compact camera is also sort of made to be a one-stop-shop for content creation. That is why the α ZV-E10 comes with Sony’s industry leading Fast Hybrid autofocus, and real-time Eye autofocus and tracking for all sorts of contents. You can use the camera to take great looking and detailed photos and track a moving subject for fast moving videos. You may not even need a separate mic with the α ZV-E10 too with its built-in Direction 3-capsule Mic and a wind screen included out-of-the-box. If you have a mic, you can easily use the ZV-E10’s mic jack on its side.
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
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Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
The Sony α ZV-E10 will be available in Malaysia from September 2021 onward. You can select between black or white colour options with the new camera. At launch the Sony α ZV-E10 will be available for MYR 2,599 (body only) and MYR 3,099 for a kit lens (E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS) bundle. More information on Sony’s camera systems and the α ZV-E10 can be found on their website.
Ultrawide monitors are amazing technologies. We love an ultrawide monitor because it eliminates the need for us to run two monitors at the same time. It is also sort of a more economical way of running multiple monitors in terms of space. Instead of having to fit two monitor stands, you only need one.
Ultrawide monitors are great for gaming too, in our opinions at least. You see more of the gaming world. You get more information from the environment around you. In games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, you get a little more immersion and situational awareness from an ultrawide view. When you go into racing games like Forza Horizon, or Assetto Corsa, or even Need for Speed titles for that matter, you get to go full immersive mode by putting yourself into the cockpit of the racing car and having all your information on one display. You only need to swivel your head to find information you need in your cockpit.
Imagine our excitement when Samsung first announced their Odyssey G9, a 49-inch gaming monitor that is a beast to work with. It packed dual 1440p displays to create a 32:9 aspect ratio that is quite unheard of. It also pushes the envelope of gaming with up to 240Hz in refresh rate, higher than any high-end monitor that boasts 1440p QHD in resolution.
Source: Samsung
Samsung has upped the ante when it comes to the ultimate gaming monitor though. They have introduced the behemoth that is the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9. To be fair to the monitor too, the technologies fitted to it sounds more like a high-end television than a gaming monitor.
It did not lose any heft and size at 49-inch. It has not lost that ultrawide magic too at 32:9 aspect ratio on the display. At 1000R, the curvature is exactly the same as the older Odyssey G9 too. In fact, side-by-side, the Neo G9 and the original G9 looks practically the same.
Dig deeper though, and you find a world of difference in the Odyssey Neo G9 compared to the original Odyssey G9. You now find a Quantum Mini LED panel to push the same 5,120 by 1,440 pixels (Dual QHD) out of the ultrawide 49-inch display. That means more brilliant colours and brighter display.
Source: Samsung
You get 12-bit colour depth over the 8-bit on the original G9, far more colours also mean smoother colour gradients and better lighting control on the display itself leading to more realistic and accurate colour representation from the display. At 2,048 dimming zones compared to 10 in the previous generation G9 too, the Neo G9 ensures that there are no halos on your images sitting over dark backgrounds which adds to your immersion and image accuracy. At Quantum HDR 2000 with peak brightness of 2,000 nits and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, black and white on the display are as black and as white as they can get.
It is an impressive feat, fitting high-end television features to a gaming monitor. What is even more impressive is that the Odyssey Neo G9 is not just a regular high-end TV in a 49-inch ultrawide guise. It comes packing the latest HDMI 2.1 to take advantage of a higher data transfer bandwidth to fully take advantage of the 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time on the panel. It even has both NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro capabilities to ensure you get the best gaming experience on either platform.
To cap the whole thing off though, the rear of the monitor features a new infinity core lighting that features up to 52 colours with five lighting effects. It also comes with a new CoreSync feature that syncs the lighting system to your games to create a higher level of immersion in games. The only issue with that system is that you do want to be in a dark room and your monitor should be facing a wall to fully experience the capabilities of CoreSync.
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
Source: Samsung
The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 with Quantum Mini LED will be available globally by the 9th of August 2021. Pre-order starts on the 29th of July 2021 and it will be priced at US$ 2,499.99 (MYR 10,575.26*). There are no colour options when it comes to the shell though, but if you place and use the Odyssey Neo G9 the right way, you will not be noticing the white coloured shell all that much anyway. More information on the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 with Quantum Mini LED can be found on their website.
*approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.23 on xe.com as of 27/07/2021
LG Electronics should need no introduction by now. They are one of the foremost electronics companies in the world. What most do not realise though is that LG is also one of the most foremost manufacturers in the world of home and high-end audio. At the same time, their TVs are some of the best selling in the world.
Combine their knowhow in making great audio products and immersive technology, and you have some of the best sound bars money can buy. The sound bars that LG makes are not just great sounding though. They look amazing and they can fit any home décor.
They just announced their new compact sound bar that is the LG Éclair QP5. It is tiny, a mere 296mm in width. It is only a third of the width of LG’s previously most compact soundbar that is the SP8YA. Comparing it to regular sound bars, it might as well be a quarter the size.
Source: LG
It is still a 3.1.2 sound bar though, for that all important surround sound experience you can only get from a soundbar. It is not just a regular 3.1.2 experience though. LG has perfected this soundbar with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support for the most complete audio experience alongside the powerful subwoofer that comes with the Éclair set up.
There is a reason why the LG Éclair is named the way it is. Its elongated oval shape resembles that of an Éclair. The chic and song design really fits the décor of a modern home, especially in smaller apartment units where space comes at a premium.
The soundbar is a clever one too. With LG AI Sound Pro, contents are analysed, processed, and presented to you in the best settings. It even has 4K pass-through support to allow users to enjoy 4K, HDR, and Dolby Vision contents with the LG Éclair.
The Meridian technology soundbar also comes with eARC support via HDMI for lossless 5.1-channel, 7.1-channel, and other immersive audio formats on the soundbar itself. It works vest with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatible mediums of course. Of course, the LG Éclair soundbar works best with LG TVs.
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
Source: LG
There are no mentions on its availability in Malaysia. The LG Éclair is already available in select regions across Europe. We do think that the Éclair is a fitting product for Malaysian homes though. More information on the LG Éclair can be found on LG’s website.
Nope, it is nothing revolutionary new. They call it the Wear OS 3, and nothing more. The name of the upcoming update to Google’s Wear OS is less revealing of the updates that is coming for Google’s wearable platform though.
Google Wear OS 3 can be seen as the biggest overhaul to the platform since its introduction. It started out, at least for us, when Google and Samsung announced their collaboration and commitment to smartwatches in the 2021 edition of Google I/O. The announcement from Samsung only means that the South Korean electronics giant is abandoning Tizen OS that they have developed and nursed over the years over Google’s Wear OS.
To be fair, while that is a huge commitment from Samsung, it is also a sensible move for them. It means that Samsung gets to merge their existing developer base to Google Wear OS’ larger developer base. It only means that they get more content and potentially more features for their Samsung Galaxy Watch platform too.
Source; Google
For Google, having a partner that is considered the best in the business with plenty more accolades than themselves means a lot more than just getting a helping hand. Sure, the extra hand in developing Wear OS is great. It is also a great way to understand how Samsung made the Galaxy Watch brand the brand that it is. Their partnership with Samsung is also quite natural in a lot of ways, since Samsung has been one of Google’s strongest partner brands in the Android smartphone world. Partly, it also means that Google have one less thing spend resources for development.
Samsung announced a few weeks ago that their upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, suspected to be launching in the August 11th Galaxy Unpacked event, will be the first in their line-up and the probably the world to be running this new mash up of Google’s Wear OS and Tizen OS. They called it their One UI; of course. But One UI is just an overlay of the Operating System (OS) that is the Wear OS. At that point, it was nameless.
Source: Samsung
Google sort of announced Wear OS 3 about 15 hours ago. While it was not a revolutionary name, it is a significant update over the older Wear OS. They have started detailing which devices will get the update, for example. Most of the older generation hardware will not be getting Wear OS 3, unfortunately. In that case, if you are running a Wear device that has existed in the market for more than a year, you might want to consider retiring it and getting a new one. Of course, we will tell you to wait for the first Google Wear OS 3 devices to hit the market first before deciding.
One of Google’s biggest Wear OS device partners, Fossil has confirmed that they will be updating some of their latest generation smartwatches to Google Wear OS 3 in the coming months. They are also promising new generation wearables later on after the launch of Wear OS 3. While not officially available in Malaysia, you might want to consider looking at Mobvoi’s latest generation smartwatches if you want something that can be updated to Wear OS 3. Of course, if you can wait until September 2021, why not just get the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4?
The next big update to Wear OS, the Wear OS 3 is expected to come to watches launching in this half of the year onward. You can expect Samsung to also be among the first manufacturers to boast Google Wear OS 3, albeit in their own One UI skin. Updates to current generation smartwatches to Wear OS 3 is expected to come in in the mid of 2022 onward.
