Category Archives: Mobile

Mobile, News

realme Launches Their Super Budget Smartphone the realme 10 for under MYR 1,000

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When you are set to buy a modern smartphone at this day and age, you are mostly advised to prepare about MYR 2,000 to MYR 3,000. Forget about high-end smartphones though, those will set you back MYR 4,000 and above nowadays. There is a common theme here; smartphones are expensive and they are just going to be more so in the future.

What if that is not true though? What if someone tells you that you can still get a decent smartphone for less than MYR 1,000 today? It is hardly believable, but you can get a smartphone for less than MYR 1,000 with realme.

They call it the realme 10, and it is a curious smartphone that trickled down from the already budget friendly realme 10 Pro 5G. It offers about the same design language as well as the realme 10 Pro with hard edges and completely flat display and sides. It feels like a slightly old-fashioned smartphone from a certain manufacturer, really.

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The realme 10 is even more budget friendly than the realme 10 Pro 5G. It sets you back MYR 999. At that price, you need to expect some compromises in terms of the hardware it packs.

For starters, the device comes packing a MediaTek System on a Chip (SoC). Specifically, an entry-level Helio G99. They dubbed the SoC as a Gaming Chipset though, so you still can expect some decent performances from the processor, just not high-end or flagship level performance. Still, it should be fast enough to run Android 12 with realme UI 3.0 interface with little issues. You should benefit from up to 8GB of built-in RAM and up to 256GB of storage. From that 256GB of storage, you can technically ‘borrow’ up to 8GB as additional RAM on top of your built-in RAM. Unfortunately, there are no storage expandability options.

What greets you when you pick up the device is a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display that boasts Full HD+ resolution. At the same time, this is no generic 60Hz display. It is a fast 90Hz display that is worthy of your games. It boasts 4,000,000:1 contrast ratio with up to 98% NTSC colour gamut. All of these goodness is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5. For something you get at MYR 999, all these is rather impressive.

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Out the glass clad back is one 50-Megapixel main camera for high-resolution clear photos. That main camera is paired with a 2-Megapixel monochrome camera for added details on your photos. Above the Super AMOLED display, tucked in one corner of the surface is a 16-Megapixel camera that can take super clear selfies.

Keeping the device running all day and even more is a 5,000 mAh battery. When it runs out, you can charge it quickly before you head out of home or anywhere else with up to 33W in charging speeds via USB type-C. It also comes with a matching charging adapter to keep your battery topped up.

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As mentioned the realme 10 will be available for MYR 999. It is now available for pre-order on realme’s web store and participating dealers across the nation until the 16th of February 2023. If you do pre-order your device, you are entitled to a free 1-year screen protection warranty and a complementary realme Band 2. It will be available in Clash White and Rush Black. For more information on the realme 10 entry-level smartphone, you can head over to their website.

Android, Mobile, News

POCO Launches Their 2023 Mid-Range Champion, the X5 5G and X5 Pro 5G Prices Starting from MYR 1,099

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Picking a smartphone in the modern era is tough. You want to settle on a budget. In most cases, a limited budget for your smartphone means that most flagship smartphones are out of reach. In that case, you will have to settle for mid-range smartphones.

Settling on a mid-range smartphone is not necessarily a bad thing though. It is, currently, the most competitive and crowded segments in the smartphone industry. That means you are really spoilt for choice. You are not getting subpar products either, mid-range smartphones today are full of features and can take on some flagships.

The POCO X5 Pro 5G

  • POCO X5 Pro 5G 1
    Source: POCO
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    Source: POCO
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    Source: POCO
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    Source: POCO

Take the new POCO X5 Pro 5G mid-range smartphone for example. You get an AMOLED display this time. The 6.67-inch panel offers up to 120Hz in refresh rate, Dolby Vision certification, 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and 10-bit colour depth. It is not a QHD+ display, but a Full HD+ display is really all you need on a smartphone. At up to 900 nits as well, you will not be wanting for more brightness even under direct sunlight. Of course, the display is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5.

Underneath the expansive display is a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G system on a chip (SoC).  The octa-core processor is coupled with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage to ensure that the POCO X5 Pro 5G can handle anything you can throw at it. If you ever need more RAM, Dynamic RAM expansion 3.0 can borrow some of the storage space to serve as a slightly slower RAM.

Out the back of the POCO X5 Pro 5G is a very powerful 108-Megapixel main camera. On the side is an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide shooter and a 2-Megapixel macro camera. There is also another camera out the front, a 16-Megapixel shooter.

To keep the MIUI 14 (Based on Android 13) running all day and more is a 5,000 mAh batter within the metal body. The battery is capable of 67W quick charge too, so you do not have to keep it plugged in for too long, important when you are always in a rush. Yes, you get a charger with this device.

The POCO X5 5G

  • POCO X5 5G 1
    Source: POCO
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    Source: POCO
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    Source: POCO
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    Source: POCO

At the more budget friendly end of the scale is the regular POCO X5 5G smartphone. It is still no slouch though.

Within the body is a Snapdragon 695 mid-range octa-core SoC. You also can get your POCO X5 5G with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. If that is not enough, you can also expand it with up to 1TB MicroSD card.

The internals allows MIUI 13 to run smoothly on the 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with up to 120Hz in refresh rate and an even brighter 1200 nits. You also get up to 4,500,000:1 contrast ratio for a respectable image reproduction that is even on par with some flagships. All of these is protected by Coring’s Gorilla Glass 3.

Out the back is a 48-Megapixel shooter that is still capable of taking breath taking photos. It is also supported by an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide sensor alongside a 2-Megapixel macro camera. The front-facing camera is downgraded a little too at 13-Megapixel over the 16-Megapixel of the Pro variant.

Within the svelte body is also a large 5,000mAh battery that should give you a few days of battery life. If you need, it still does quick charging, not as quick as the Pro variant though. Still 33W of charging speeds can also give you a full charge within two hours.

Price and Availability

The POCO X5 Pro 5G Will be available in three colours – Black, Blue, and Yellow. The POCO X5 5G will also be in available in three distinct colours – Green, Blue, and Black. The Pro variant will set you back MYR 1,299 onward while the vanilla POCO X5 will start from MYR 1,099. You can now get your hands on either one via Lazada and Shopee. More information can be found on their website.

Android, Mobile, News

Pre-orders for Galaxy S23 Series Go Live

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Samsung has only just announced its new flagship series: the Galaxy S23. The new S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra bring the latest and greatest camera-centered experiences to Samsung’s portfolio. Powered by a customised version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with up to 12GB of RAM on the Galaxy S23 Ultra and up to 8GB on the Galaxy S23 and S23+, the smartphones are touted to bring new experiences and up the Nightography ante.

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With the announcements done and dusted, Samsung is announcing pre-order packages the world over. In Malaysia, pre-orders will be kicking off starting now (2nd February 2023) until 23rd February 2023. Purchases of any of the Galaxy S23 series are entitled to a double storage upgrade for the same price worth up to MYR500. So, if you’re getting the 128GB version of the S23, you’ll be getting the 256GB instead. In addition, you will also get a 30% purchase-with-purchase discount on selected Samsung Accessories, Galaxy Tablets, Galaxy Watch, Galaxy Buds and Samsung Care+. You can also get up to MYR600 rebate on trade-ins of your pre-existing device. (pssst… you’ll be able to stack up more than 1 device)

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Purchases on Samsung Malaysia’s official website will entitle you to an MYR400 e-voucher. However, if you purchase your Galaxy S23 at Samsung Experience Stores or at Samsung Authorised Partners, you will also get free accessories worth up to MYR458.

Pricing Details & Model Availability

Together with the pre-order deals, Samsung Malaysia also announced the models and detailed pricing of the S23 series in Malaysia. Notably absent is the 128GB version of the S23 and the 256GB version of the S23+.

ModelsRRPPre-order Price
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 1TBRM7,199RM6,699
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 512GBRM6,199RM5,699
Samsung Galaxy S23+ 512GBRM5,199RM4,699
Samsung Galaxy S23 256GBRM4,199RM3,899
Android, Mobile, News

Samsung Unpacks The Galaxy S23 Series

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It’s that time again, Samsung has just unveiled their new lineup of flagships – the Galaxy S23 series. The new S23 series follows its predecessor in more than just the design – there are also three devices in the lineup. You’re going to quickly realise that that’s a theme that will be recurring throughout the series.

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Like previous years, the Galaxy S23 series will come with a vanilla Galaxy S23, the S23+ and the Note-successor Galaxy S23 Ultra. This year, however, it seems like Samsung has chosen to focus on the Galaxy S23 Ultra rather than its two siblings. The vanilla Galaxy S23 and the S23+ seem to have a lot more in common with the S22 than we’re used to.

Let’s start off with what’s changing across the board, the first and biggest update coming to the series is its new processor. This time, Samsung hasn’t been coy about it. Instead, globally, the S23 series will be coming with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for GALAXY. This is a customised processor built specifically for Galaxy smartphones. Prepare to see more of the “Snapdragon for GALAXY” in this year’s Galaxy lineup. In addition to this, the Galaxy S23 series will be coming with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with increased colour accuracy, a 120Hz refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2. This comes in a 6.1-inch size on the S23, 6.3-inch in the plus and 6.8-inch in the Ultra.

Is the Galaxy S23 Series Continuing an Iconic Design?

When it comes to the design of the S23 series, the series drops the iconic contour cut design from the Galaxy S22 and S22+ in this year’s iterations. Samsung claims that it’s doing this for the uniformity of design across all three variants of the S23 series. To achieve this uniformity, they’ve opted to adopt the minimalistic design language of the S22 Ultra – which has more or less been recycled for the S23 Ultra.

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However, there are some iterative changes that are being introduced. As mentioned, the contour cut camera cutout is no more. Instead, the back is totally uniform with each camera sensor being highlighted by a silver ring. The same design is used across the series. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is slightly more different with the design being flattened out to enlarge the flat surface of the 6.8-inch display to take advantage of the S Pen.

Galaxy S23 Ultra Focused Leaving the S23 & S23+ Behind – at least in Hardware

The new series is very heavily Ultra focused. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ are more or less the same devices we’ve seen in the S22 and S22+. The only difference aside from the new processor is the improved selfie camera which comes in at 12 megapixels and the larger batteries – 3,900mAh in the S23 and 4,700mAh in the S23+. Aside from that, they come with the same 10-megapixel telephoto and 12-megapixel ultrawide sensors we’ve seen in the S22 and S22+.

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The Galaxy S23 Utlra, on the other hand, comes with a brand new 200-megapixel sensor complemented by a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom. The new camera setup – particularly the 200-megapixel adaptive pixel sensor – comes with improved pixel binning. The new sensor combines 16 pixels into a single pixel when taking photos. Samsung is calling this “Super Quad Pixel”. This gives better light sensitivity and contrast while giving the AI more information for better bokeh and nightography. With the improved pixel binning, the AI is able to discern between features like skin, eyes and hair better and more accurately. It also allows for better autofocus as it allows the AI to use a larger 4×4 grid with more points of focus.

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Stabilization on the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera has also been improved. The optical image stabilization (OIS) angles have been doubled from 1.5° to 3.0°. This is supposed to give the smartphone even better image and video stabilization. Keep in mind, this is a stabilization that comes from the hardware itself and not the software. Software-wise, the whole S23 series comes with improved VIDS. The improved VIDS is able to analyse and subdivide movement and recognise lighting conditions that allow for better software stabilization. The S23 series also comes with better multi-frame processing and AI.

A Focus on User Experience Starting with One UI 5.1

While the series is a little bit bland when it comes to hardware, Samsung promising a renewed focus starting with One UI 5.1. The new update to One UI will bring a new sense of personalisation which can be extended with apps like Good Lock.

One UI 5.1 brings a few new features including Modes and Routines. The new modes and routines feature allows users to string together settings, apps and even smart things devices into a “routine” or “mode”. This allows you to do things by simply saying “Hey Google” or “Hey Bixby” followed by the name of the routine or mode or even trigger it with an exercise or more.

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Bixby Text Call is also coming for the ride. The new feature allows users to send text messages as replies to incoming calls. In addition to this feature, the S Pen functionality is extended to work in a series of Google Apps including Google Drive, Google Sheets and more. Users will also be able to collaborate more effectively with the Co-Edit feature in Samsung Notes over Google Meets.

Pricing & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy S23 series will be in Phantom Black, Cream, Green and Lavender. Prices for the S23 and S23+ start at MYR3,899 in Malaysia while the Ultra starts at MYR5,699.

Android, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Now You Can Repair Your Samsung Galaxy S22 Smartphone by Yourself!

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The rights to repair bill in the United States (U.S.), believe it or not, is a big deal not just in that side of the world. The bill sort of encourages manufacturers to design products that can be easily repaired and serviced by end-users without going through a service center. It also requires manufacturers make parts of their devices available for end-users to purchase. While the bill is a requirement that has to be fulfilled for products being sold in the U.S. for now, the product design will make their way around the globe eventually.

Samsung has initiated their own self-repair program with a few of their older products like the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy S21 series, and the Galaxy Tab S7+ tablet. They have announced that they will be starting to sell the parts to their Galaxy Book Pro 15”, Galaxy Book Pro 360 15”, Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 15” and Galaxy Book 360 Pro 15” are not technically available in the region, so that might not excite some of you. The Samsung Galaxy S22 family though, those are available here.

The program was kickstarted in collaboration with iFixit. There is the caveat, at least for Malaysia. The iFixit store currently only caters to the U.S. market. You can technically get them to ship the parts to Malaysia, but that means that you are paying quite exorbitantly for shipping charges on top of the parts. It still might make more sense if you go to a specialised repair shop down the road, at least for now.

Still, the addition of Samsung’s latest Galaxy S22 series and Galaxy Book line-up is good news. It shows that Samsung is serious and committed in supporting their self-repair program. As we mentioned, while the program is not made to cater the South East Asian market just yet, it will eventually make it here and we are excited for it to be available through official channels in the region. If you are interested to get genuine parts for your Samsung devices, you can check out iFixit. There are no guarantees that the warranty will be covered by Samsung Malaysia though.   

Android, Camera, Mobile, News

Samsung introduces the ISOCELL HP2 – The Little 200MP Sensor for Your Smartphone

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Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2023 is happening in less than 2 weeks. They are set to launch their latest flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S23 series of smartphones in that event. With the new device, they are also expected to unveil a few new features on the device itself as well. One of them is a new camera sensor module.

Samsung has been leading the charge in the smartphone camera Megapixel war. They introduced their 108-Megapixel sensor a few years ago and Sony has not come up with an answer for that kind of resolution just yet. Sony does have their larger format 1-inch sensors shoehorned into their smartphones though, effectively making them proper compact point-and-shoot camera with smartphone built-in.

While the 108-Megapixel camera still sits on top of its throne, it is getting a little outdated. There are new technologies to be explored, there are cleverer ways to cram more pixels in a sensor; there is always a new horizon to be explored. In that spirit, Samsung introduced the ISOCELL CP2 sensor.

Welcome to the world of super high-resolution photos coming from your smartphone. At 200-Megapixel, even medium format cameras from Hasselblad cannot compete in terms of theoretical detail. All this might come to your next flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (or whatever they want to call it this time).

The 200-Megapixel is packed in a 1/1.3” sized sensor, the same size from the previous 108-Megapixel ISOCELL you can find in your Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra today. That means you get nearly twice the pixel amount in the same amount of space. But it is not just a small sensor with added pixels.

The sensor packs Samsung’s latest advanced pixel-binning technology, Tetra2pixel. The HP2 sensor with the technology now can simulate different pixel sizes for different lighting levels. That means that the camera can basically combine the pixels into larger pixels to make 50-Megapixel or 12.5-Megapixel clusters for low-light conditions. The 50-Megapixel mode will also be used for 8K 30fps videos so that you do not have to crop too much out of the frame.

Getting a focus in low-lit environments is a challenge for most cameras. Because the Samsung camera can see better, auto focus in the environment should be less of a problem. With Super QPD, the 200-Megapixel available become part of the focusing mechanic. The technology allows for the pixels to be divided into four parts to recognise pattern changes to ensure that autofocus is more accurate and much faster than before.

In conditions where there is too much light, yes; you can have too much light, the HP2’s Dual Vertical Transfer Gate (D-VTG) technology can make the images vibrant still. The D-VTG is basically an added voltage transfer gate for the sensor to sort of increase its dynamic capabilities by up to 33%. This allows the sensor to cleverly reduce overexposures of photos while optimising colours. That all means you can take a photo on a bright day without worrying about getting washed out details and colours.

The Samsung ISOCELL HP2 should start making its way into flagships in the coming year. We are expecting the HP2 to make it first into Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series flagships. You can expect the usually suspects like Xiaomi capitalising and shoehorning the high-resolution sensor in their smartphones in year 2023 as well.

Android, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Coming on the 1st February at Galaxy Unpacked!

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This should come as almost no surprise. It is 2023 and that means that Samsung’s flagship, the Galaxy S22 series is going to be a year old soon. In the world of smartphones, a year-old means that the device is outdated. It is time for an update in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S23. While Apple has not and will not be launching their latest iPhone 14 series flagship smartphone until toward Q3 of 2023, Samsung’s upcoming flagship will compete directly with Apple’s best.

Samsung’s flagship for 2023 has been anticipated since the inception of their Galaxy S22 flagship series. That is also because everyone knows Samsung’s product cycle, like Apple’s. Of course, everyone is expecting a more powerful device than before every year.

Samsung’s latest smartphone is touted to have Qualcomm’s most powerful System on a Chip (SoC) yet. It will come with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. You no longer get Samsung’s very own Exynos option since Samsung has given up on that idea. Still, that does not mean that Samsung might not inject their own flavour on to the high-end SoC. Rumours points to Samsung customizing and overclocking the GPU to make it even more powerful than the regular Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 you might find elsewhere.

Samsung’s mobile imaging department made some breakthroughs last year. They managed to manufacture a camera sensor that packs 200-Megapixels for smartphones. The sensor is a little larger than the regular mobile camera sensor, but it is still a feat to fit 200 million pixels in a tiny plate. Rumours points to the latest Samsung flagship packing that much pixel in their attached camera, at least for the S23 Ultra variant of the flagship, nearly double what their previous flagships pack.

In terms of design though, you can expect much of the same things from Samsung. You can expect the Samsung Galaxy S23 series to look pretty much like the Galaxy S22 series, just as the Galaxy S21 series. The Galaxy S23 Ultra will most likely share the same look as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra instead of the S21 Ultra. It might still offer the S Pen attached within the body too.

There are still plenty of unknowns on Samsung’s upcoming 2023 flagships too. All we can do is wait for them to finally take the Galaxy S23 to stage on the 1st of February 2023. For more information on Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event and their latest flagships, you can refer to their website.

Computers, Mobile, News

[CES 2023] AMD Brings the Ryzen 7000 Series Mobile! 

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AMD’s CES keynote was quite a big one. No, they did not make p15 product announcements. More like they launched just one line-up of small chips to go into small and portable products, and one huge chip meant to go into huge servers you never want to see the inside of the next 10 years. They launched the AMD Ryzen 7000 series for mobile computing devices. Yes, they did launch new Epyc server class processors, but we think that it is worth a story of its own. 

Welcome to the latest AMD mobile processor experience. This time AMD launched a few series of Ryzen 7000 processors. You have the AMD Ryzen 7045HX, Ryzen 7040HS, Ryzen 7035, and Ryzen 7030 series processors. There are also AMD Ryzen PRO 7030 series processors designed for the corporate world too. 

The AMD Ryzen 7030 Series 

Meant to find their way to the budget options, the AMD Ryzen 7030 series processors are really meant to be entry-level powerhouses. You get to opt for up to the AMD Ryzen 7 7730U with up to eight cores and 16 threads. All eight cores are finished with AMD’s 7nm Zen 3 architecture. The Zen 3 architecture may be a previous generation technology, but it is still a highly popular architecture that has proven itself over time. 

With constrained budget, most entry-level laptops will not feature their own discrete GPU. That is why the AMD Ryzen 7030 packs its own Radeon graphics that will prove to be useful in both gaming and productivity situations. Then there are the AMD Ryzen PRO 7030 series. 

The PRO processors have always been made for corporate laptops. They are more like the older Ryzen PRO 5000 series processor than the newer generation Zen 4 processors. Like the regular AMD Ryzen 7030, they pack 7nm Zen 3 architecture instead of the new Zen 4. While they will perform the same as the regular Ryzen 7030, their added security layer buikt into the chip itself should set itself apart from other AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile processors.  

The AMD Ryzen 7035 Series 

Coming up the ladder is AMD’s 6nm processors with up to eight cores and 16 threads on the Ryzen 7035HS. It is the Zen 3+ technology that took the Zen 3 architecture and improved its power efficiency and general processing speed despite similar general architectures. It is designed for productivity machines that are meant to go everywhere. The first of many will be HP’s Dragonfly PRO coming soon. While not at the lowest end of AMD’s latest processors for the mobile computer, the AMD Ryzen 7035 series still aims to impress at a great value. 

The AMD Ryzen 7040HS Series 

Coming to the more performance focused space is the AMD Ryzen 7040HS processors starting from the Ryzen 5 7640HS processor with six cores and 12 threads. You can opt for a higher end Ryzen 9 7940HS processor with eight cores and 16 threads too.  

The Ryzen 7040HS series comes with AMD’s latest Zen 4 architecture for best-in-class performance in modern thin-and-light laptops. The Zen 4 processor also comes built-in with RDNA 3 Radeon graphics too so that you can game even without a discrete GPU.  

The AMD Ryzen 7045HX Series 

If you want the best of the best, you want AMD’s latest Ryzen 7045HX series processors. Of course, it comes with AMD’s latest 5nm Zen 4 technology. The range-topping AMD Ryzen 9 7945Hz also comes with up 16 cores alongside 32 threads. They clock up to to 5.4GHz on boost and this class of mobile processors will be the closest thing to desktop computing experience you can get on laptops. That said, this could also be the most powerful laptop processors you can find when you get your hands on one.  

Because you are going to want to carry your powerhouse of a laptop, the processor must be power efficient too. The most powerful processors in the range consumes up to 75W. In that case, you might see some laptops with AMD’s Ryzen 7045HX processors that can be charged with 100W USB type-C chargers. Of course, you will not be able to use the laptop with its discrete GPU, if it comes with one.  

Availability 

AMD’s latest Ryzen 7000 series processors for mobile devices will be coming through 2023 from AMD’s manufacturing partners like Lenovo, HP, ASUS, and maybe even Razer. Alongside the new mobile processors, AMD also launched the new AMD Ryzen 9 7800X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and AMD Ryzen 7950X3D processors as a sort of 3D V-Cache technology upgrade to AMD’s existing line up of desktop processors. You can find more information on AMD’s latest Ryzen processors on their website.  

Consumer Electronics, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

[CES 2023] Samsung’s SmartThings Station is the Smart Home Hub for Everything and Everyone

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Samsung’s CES 2023 keynote and unveiling is nothing extraordinary or surprising. They have been teasing a bunch of IoT smart home integration and hardware all month long from the end of 2022. Of could there are the new TVs they launched with Micro LED technology for even better images on your Samsung TVs than ever before. Where LG tries to expand on their OLED line-up, Samsung is pushing on the display panel technology itself. Still, all of this is sitting in the product line-up within the Smart Things ecosystem. In the middle of all that new connected technology is Samsung’s brand-new Smart Things Station.

Samsung’s CEO teased IoT focus for CES 2023 before the convention even begun. If we are being honest, we expected new TVs, new home appliances, and even a new SmartThings interface for your TV and your smartphones. We also expected Samsung to announce updates for all their connected appliances and devices with Matter support alongside newly launched products. What we were not prepared to see was the new SmartThings Station.

It is not the sheer size of it that shocked us. It is not even a technological marvel or breakthrough. It looks just like any other wireless switch you can find in your home. In fact, if you mount it to the wall, you can easily mistake it as one of your light switches. It is not meant to be mounted on your wall though. Rather, it is meant to sit on your end tables, coffee tables, or even your home office table.

An All-in-One Wireless Charger

SmartThingsStation PR dl2
Source: Samsung

It is technically meant to double as a wireless charger, and it looks the part. It is a tad thicker than the run of the mill wireless chargers you might find today, but it is does more than charge your smartphone, at least if you have a compatible device (Galaxy devices only for now). It is meant to turn your smartphone into your SmartThings hub.

The SmartThings Station is not just meant to be a one-stop-shop control and connected hub for all your smart home things. Apart from seamlessly integrating all of your smart home in a single interface, it is also meant to seamlessly fit into your home and your lifestyle. In that case, as soon as your Samsung Galaxy device gets in touch with the puck, the connection prompt and process gets started automatically. That promises simple few minutes to set up as soon as you bring your new wireless charging puck home.

While Samsung did not mention Matter support in their own new release, the SmartThings Station supports Matter. That means that the Samsung SmartThings Station is not just meant for SmartThings enabled items. You can technically connect any sort of smart thermostat, lighting, power outlets, and even appliances as long as they are Matter enabled. In that case, you can buy that new ‘made for Apple Home’ or ‘supports Google Assistant’ appliances with little to no concerns of spending more money for compatibility and interoperability purposes.

SmartThingsStation PR dl1
Source: Samsung

You can also trigger your ‘routines’ via the SmartThings Station too. Of course, you want to edit your Routines on your SmartThings app before the hub can activate any of your routines. The Station can store up to three routines with three separate interactions with the puck.

If you misplaced your smartphone in your home, for example, a double press of the button on the puck can trigger SmartThings Find. Your smartphone will start ringing, even if it is in silent mode, so that you do not have to spend hours turning your house upside down to find your smartphone. At the same time, all registered Galaxy devices can be kept track via SmartThings so that you know where your things are within your home at all times, or even when a member of your household gets in and out of your home.

Availability

For now Samsung only mentions a U.S. availability in February 2023. Smart home adoption in Malaysia is admittedly at its infancy, which also means that your might not see Samsung’s SmartThings Station in Malaysia anytime soon. There are no mentions on its official pricing just yet too. You can choose between Black and White when it is available. We also expect Samsung Bespoke to get their hands on it and then you can have your Station in any colour you can imagine.

Computers, Gaming, Mobile, News

[CES 2023] NVIDIA Brings RTX 40 Mobile – RTX 40 Series Studio Laptops, Here We Go!

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NVIDIA’s RTX 40 series GPUs are finally making their way to the mobile computing space, just as Intel’s 13th generation CPUs are also making their way to the mobile computing space. Alongside the new hardware, Ada Lovelace on mobile also comes with a slew of updates that was also brought along from the RTX 40 series for the desktop market. Alongside NVIDIA introducing the laptop market to Ada Lovelace, they also launched their new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti.

Unsurprisingly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series for laptops focus more on the content creation aspect more than anything. To be fair, while gaming performance on a laptop has never been better with the RTX 40 series, content creators are the ones who will get the biggest bump in benefits with Ada Lovelace this time around. That said, there are still some interesting developments from NVIDIA for games with the new Max-Q Ada Lovelace architecture.

Thanks to some clever implementation for the Studio platform, NVIDIA brings RTX Remix made mostly for gamers. The technology allows more creative gamers to quickly create mods for older titles with full ray tracing technology to modernize those games. You even get enhanced details ad materials with DLSS3 and NVIDIA Reflex. All of these and you never needed to learn to code or knowledge to work in the 3D design space in the first place. NVIDIA is also bringing official RTX support to Portal Prelude, a Portal mod.

Back to the more content creator aspect of things. NVIDIA is introducing a new Studio driver to update their new and existing GPUs too. With The new Studio platform comes an improved NVIDIA Omniverse, a connected world where 3D artists can collaborate in real-time with the power of NVIDIA’s RTX engines. The have expanded the Omniverse with better support for Blender, a rather popular 3D rendering tool. Users can also experiment with regenerative 3D tools alongside Universal Scene Description assets added into Omniverse to create even more life like 3D scenes than ever before.

If you are more of a videographer, or a streamer, the new NVIDIA Studio suite offers improved NVIDIA Broadcast and Canvas apps. Broadcast new features a new eye-tracking and replacement tool that cleverly and naturally makes it look like you are actually looking into your webcam instead of your screen in both video conferences and game streams. Canvas allows you to work with 360-degree images that can be used as environment maps in 3D apps like Blender. On top of all of these, Ada Lovelace also comes with AV1 support which should allow for a more efficient video workflow in compatible apps.

If you are not into any of that, there are still some benefits to using NVIDIA’s RTX 40 and RTX 30 series GPUs. They are bringing their upscaling technology to the masses with RTX Video Super Resolution. The feature uses AI to improve videos from any sources, including your browser. The algorithm removes compression artifacts and upscales video resolutions to improve its sharpness and even overall detail so that you watch online contents at your display’s native resolution even if the YouTube video only offers up to 480p in resolution. The feature will only be available for Chrome and Edge browsers in February 2023, for now.

The other added benefit of Ada Lovelace is its power efficiency. That also means that gaming and studio class laptops can be made thinner with smaller and more power efficient fans. On top of enhanced battery life as well, the power bricks can be made smaller than ever.

Availability

NVIDIA has teased the first few laptops that will get their RTX 40 series treatment. They named the Razer Blade, MSI’s Stealth series, and ASUS’s Zenbook Pro series laptops for now. For now, NVIDIA has teased the availability of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 and GeForce RTX 4090 series for mobile computing, but we are convinced you will see the likes of the GeForce RTX 4080, and GeForce RTX 4060 series Max-Q GPUs when laptop manufacturers release more details about their next-generation content creator and gaming laptops soon. More about Ada Lovelace architecture can be found on their website.