Category Archives: Android

vivo V23e 5G Lands In Malaysia; Priced from MYR1,399

vivo took centre stage to announce their new midrange offering the vivo V23e 5G. The new smartphone is the first in the V23 lineup to make its debut. It brings along an interesting combination of specifications focused on photography and affordability.

The vivo V23e 5G comes equipped with the octa-core Mediatek Dimensity 810 system on a chip (SoC) which supports 5G connectivity. The regular V23 comes with a Mediatek Helio P69. This is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. You can also expand the amount of storage with a microSD card however, this would entail sacrificing dual 5G standby. On the display side of things, the vivo V23e comes with a 6.44-inch FHD+ AMOLED display.

Like other vivo smartphones, the V23e’s hallmark feature is the camera setup. It comes with a triple camera setup on the back and a single selfie camera on the front. The main triple camera setup has a 50-megapixel main sensor complemented by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide and 2-megapixel macro sensor. The main attraction comes in the form of the front-facing camera which is a 44-megapixel sensor. Of course, vivo’s many software enhancements such as night shot and portrait selfie. The triple camera setup on the regular V23e is a 64-megapixel main sensor complemented by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide and 2-megapixel macro sensor.

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Both come with support for Bluetooth and WiFi 5 connectivity. They are powered by a 4,050mAh battery with support for 44W fast charging.

Pricing & Availability

The vivo V23e 5G will be available in Sunshine Coast and Midnight Shadow. It will be priced at MYR1,599.

The regular V23e will be priced at MYR1,399 and will be available in Black and Aurora.

Pre Order

The devices are now available for pre-order until 17th December 2021. Pre-orders are entitled to freebies worth MYR559 for the V23e 5G and MYR459 for the regular V23e. Pre-orders of the V23e 5G made a vivo Concept Stores will be entitled to a Bluetooth Speaker LED Alarm clock, Tumbler, a 1-month subscription to Viu, 1 year extended warranty and 1 year screen crack protection worth MYR559. The regular V23 will be entitled to a backpack, 1 year extended warranty and 1-year screen crack protection worth MYR459.

OPPO Reno6 Z 5G Gets Special Shiseido Collaboration

The OPPO Reno6 series of smartphones has been available for a little bit now. Being a Reno device, the main focus was its camera and its many portrait photo features. That said, OPPO is now partnering up with what they call “the perfect partner” – Shiseido. Shiseido is one of many renown cosmetic brands that have been focusing on creating and delivering products which allow anyone to look their best; and – as OPPO put it, “when Shiseido helps you look your best, the OPPO Reno6 Z helps you capture your best portrait pictures!”.

OPPO Collaborates with Shiseido for the Perfect Year End Gift
Source: OPPO

OPPO and Shiseido will be launching a special version of the OPPO Reno6 Z 5G which will be coming with a specially designed box filled with Shiseido goodies to complement the smartphone. The limited edition gift box comes in the Reno6’s signature, irridescent Reno Glow Aurora finish. Inside, you will find the Reno6 Z 5G, a limited edition OPPO x Shiseido phone case and the an OPPO x Shiseido Gift Box filled with goodies.

The special edition gift box will be going on sale for MYR1,699 – the regular price of a Reno6 Z. It is currently available for pre-order from OPPO’s online store. The first 300 pre-orders will also get an additional Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation worth MYR210. This is on top of the already included gift box worth MYR450. The limited edition will be available on shelves starting on 2 December 2021.

OPPO Reno6 Z Shiseido2
Source: OPPO

OPPO launched the Reno6 Z 5G earlier in August 2021. The smartphone comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 800U. This is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. More importantly, the OPPO Reno6 Z comes with a triple camera sensor on the back; a 64-megapixel main sensor complemented by an 8-megapixel wide sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. On the front, the smartphone is equipped with a 32-megapixel selfie camera.

Samsung Silently Reveals the Galaxy A03 & the Galaxy A03 Core

Samsung’s A series just got a little broader with the company silently announcing two new entries. The new entries seem to be meant for the entry-level segment. The addition of the new Galaxy A03 and Galaxy A03 core seems to bring even more choice when it comes to the lower end of the A series.

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The new Samsung Galaxy A03 comes with an unnamed octa-core processor and up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. On the display side of things, the smartphone comes with a 6.5-inch display with an HD+ resolution. The camera setup of the Galaxy A03 is a dual-sensor setup with a 48-megapixel main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and a 2-megapixel depth sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. The phone is powered by a 5,000mAh battery. It also has support for Dolby Atmos.

Together with the A03, Samsung also silently listed the Galaxy A03 Core on its website. As the name suggests, the A03 Core is a stripped-down version of the A03. It looks to be coming with the same processor with a lower 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It also has the bare essentials when it comes to the camera setup with a single 8-megapixel sensor with autofocus on the back and a single 5-megapixel fixed-focus sensor on the front.

01 a03 product specifications

It’s more than likely that the phones will be running on OneUI Core – Samsung’s barebones version of their OneUI OS. It will likely ship with no frills and features like other higher-end devices but focus on the bare essentials.

Pricing & Availability

The Galaxy A03 will be available in blue, red and black. The A03 Core, on the other hand, will be available in Black and Blue only.

Samsung hasn’t announced any pricing or availability just yet.

OPPO’s Reno7 Series Officially Unveiled in China

OPPO’s Reno series seems to spawn more and more iterations. Barely six months after the release of the OPPO Reno 6 series, the company has officially unveiled the OPPO Reno 7 series in mainland China. The new version of the Reno smartphones continues to inherit the line’s focus on photography and remains firmly in the mid-range territory.

oppo reno 7 pro in hand

The new OPPO Reno 7 series comes with an all-new design that ditches curves in favour of a more blocky design. However, the first thing you will notice isn’t the overall design, but the camera module which has been totally redesigned. The new Reno 7 series has three entries (for now): the Reno 7 5G, the Reno 7 Pro 5G and the Reno 7 SE 5G. Yep – that’s right – the whole Reno series now comes with 5G connectivity.

Reno7 Pro 5G

The other big change that OPPO has made is the notification LED which is now surrounding the camera on the Reno 7 Pro 5G. If you’ve been an Android user since the beginning, you’d be familiar with the notification LED. This has in recent years become smaller and smaller and even disappeared on some devices. However, with the Reno 7 Pro, the light is now making a unique comeback around the camera module of the smartphone.

oppo reno 7 pro

The Reno 7 Pro comes with a Mediatek Dimensity 1200-Max with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM paired with 256GB of internal storage. It has a 6.55-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with HDR10+ and Gorilla Glass 5. The display also has a 90Hz refresh rate.

When it comes to the camera, the Reno 7 Pro 5G comes with a triple camera module. The main sensor on the module is a 50-megapixel Sony IMX 766 with an f/1.6 aperture. This is complemented by an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor with an f/2.2 aperture and a 2-megapixel macro sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. The selfie camera is a 32-megapixel Sony IMX709 sensor with an f/2.4 aperture.

oppo reno7 ring

The 4,500 mAh battery powering the smartphone is also capable of 65W fast charging. It also has an in-display fingerprint scanner.

Reno7 5G

The Reno7 5G will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G. This is complemented by 8GB or 12GB of RAM with up to 256GB of internal storage. It will have a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate as well Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

oppo reno 7

On the camera front, the main triple sensor setup replaces the 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 with a 64-megapixel sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. It still retains the same macro and ultrawide sensor. On the front, is the same 32-megapixel Sony IMX709 sensor. The Reno 7 5G will be powered by a 4,500mAh battery but will only support 60W fast charging.

Reno7 SE 5G

The Reno7 SE, on the other hand, will be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 900 paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. It also has the same 6.43-inch display as the Reno 7.

oppo reno 7 se

On the camera front, however, the Reno 7 comes with a triple camera module with the 48-megapixel Sony IMX581 sensor as the main sensor. This is complemented with a 2-megapixel macro sensor and a 2-megapixel portrait sensor. On the front is a 16-megapixel Sony IMX471.

The SE is powered by a 4,500mAh battery with support 33W fast charging.

Pricing & availability

The series will be running Android 12 based ColorOS12. All variants will be available in Morning Gold, Midnight Black and Star Rain Wish (Blue).

The Reno 7 Pro will be available for CN¥3,699 (MYR2,450.41) for the 8GB + 128GB version and CN¥3,999 (MYR2,649.15) for the 12GB + 256GB version.

The Reno 7 will be available in three variants. The 8GB + 128GB version will cost CN¥2,699 (MYR1,787.88), the 8GB + 256GB version will cost CN¥2,999 (MYR1,986.61) while the 12GB + 256GB version will cost CN¥3,299 (MYR2,185.34).

The Reno 7 SE will be available in 8GB +128GB and 8GB+256GB versions. The former will cost CN¥ 2,199 (MYR1,456.67) while the latter will be priced at CN¥ 2,399 (MYR1,589.39).

Samsung’s DeX Bids Windows 7 & MacOS Good Bye

Samsung’s DeX is one of the most useful additions to the Samsung ecosystem since the S Pen. The platform allows users to multitask seamlessly with their Windows or Mac systems in tandem with their Samsung device. It was first introduced with the Galaxy S8 and continues to be a cornerstone feature in any Samsung device.

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Source: Samsung

That said, the feature – which turns a Samsung smartphone or tablet into a portable computer – seems to be making its first cut to keep up with the times. Samsung’s DeX will be halting support for Windows 7 come January 2022. This comes as no surprise as Microsoft themselves has marked Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 for support termination in the near future. If you’re on Windows 10 or later, you won’t have to worry about this change.

In addition to ending support for Windows 7, it looks like MacOS users who have a Samsung device will also be out of luck as Mac OS support will also be dropped come January 2022. Users have been getting a pop up notice from the app stating that support is ending for the app and it will not be available for download starting January 2022. No clarification or explanation has been given for the ending of support for MacOS.

Samsung DeX MacOS pop up Reddit
Source: Reddit

If you haven’t used Samsung DeX, it’s one of the first iterations of screen/device mirroring that made its way to Android. The feature allows users to connect their smartphones and/or tablets to a screen via HDMI or to a PC through WiFi. Once connected users will be able to access a desktop version of OneUI with support drag and drop file transfers.

Motorola Returns to Malaysia with the Motorola Edge 20 Pro & Motorola e40

Motorola is no stranger to the mobile space. In fact, the company was once one of the foremost brands in the industry spurring innovation and technological advancement. After about 5 years away, the company is now coming back to Malaysia with two new devices: the flagship Motorola Edge 20 Pro and the Motorola e40.

Motorola e40 Edge 20 Pro

Motorola’s return is spurred by new fervour after Lenovo’s acquisition of the company from Google. The two new offerings come at a time when the market is looking for value for money devices that not only bring value but also performance. It seems like Motorola will be helping fill that gap with the Edge 20 Pro which will be coming in below MYR3,000. The Motorola e40 will be bringing the calvary when it comes to entry-level devices.

Motorola Edge 20 Pro – Affordable flagship performance

The Motorola Edge 20 Pro was announced earlier in August. The new smartphone is a culmination of Motorola’s new approach and priorities when it comes to smartphones. It comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G processor paired with 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. The phone is built to perform in every way.

With the camera setup, it’s clear where the company is looking to focus their innovation. The Edge 20 Pro comes with a 108-megapixel main sensor. The same sensor is used in Samsung’s flagships. It comes with a 1/1.52″ sensor with Ultra Pixel technology. Motorola claims that this improves low light performance by up to 9x. It also has an 8-megapixel, 5x periscope lens which allows for 5x optical zoom. This is enhanced with 50x hybrid zoom – a first on any Motorola smartphone. It also has a 16-megapixel ultrawide sensor with the capability to shoot in macro mode. On the front, the Edge 20 Pro comes with a 32-megapixel sensor.

The display on the smartphone is a large 6.7-inch Max Vision display with OLED technology. It has 10-bit colour technology which covers the DCI-P3 colour space and is certified HDR10+. Motorola is also equipping the Edge 20 Pro with a 144Hz refresh rate – one of the highest in the industry.

Together with cutting edge display technology, the flagship is also equipped with cutting edge connectivity. The Edge 20 Pro comes with 5G connectivity and WiFi 6 capabilities. It also has support for Bluetooth 5.1. All of this is powered by a 4,500mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging.

Motorola e40 – Made to Standout

Motorola isn’t leaving anyone in the lurches. The company is also bringing one of its best entry-level smartphones – the Motorola e40. The e40 is made to bring performance at an affordable price point. The smartphone focuses on the features that matter the most while ensuring that performance isn’t left behind.

It runs on the octa-core Unisoc T700 SoC clocked at 1.8GHz. This is paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage. If that isn’t enough, you’ll be able to expand the memory with a microSD card. On the display, the e40 comes with a 6.5-inch IPS LCD display with an HD+ resolution.

On the camera front, Motorola has equipped the e40 with a 48-megapixel triple camera system. The main sensor is a 48-megapixel wide sensor with Quad Pixel technology. Motorola is claiming this will help increase low light sensitivity by 4x resulting in better, clearer pictures. The main sensor is complemented with a 2-megapixel depth sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. This setup should provide the smartphone with enough range and versatility to get near any shot. On the front is an 8-megapixel sensor.

Connectivity-wise, the Motorola e40 comes with 4G LTE connectivity with support for WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac ad Bluetooth 5.0. All of this is powered by a large 5,000mAh battery that is claimed to last for up to 40 hours on a single charge.

Pricing & Availability

The Motorola Edge 20 Pro will be available soon for MYR2,499. That said, the Motorola e40 is currently available for MYR599 via the official Lenovo store on Shopee and Lazada.

Samsung is Back in Fast Charging Game

Other than the whole high-resolution camera fad, there is also the fast-charging fad. While smartphone camera technology has started to reach its peak, manufacturers started finding gains elsewhere. They had to. That other thing is even faster chargers than before.

Manufacturers of modern smartphones understand the value of time. That is why fast charging technology is a big thing. They also understood that smartphone battery capacities will just get bigger as battery technology progresses. Fast charging technology ensures that your smartphone does not need to stay plugged in the entire day before you get going again. All of them wanted to ensure their smartphones are charging faster than before. All of them except for Samsung that is.

While every other manufacturer has started pushing their smartphones to charge at more than 40W, Samsung stuck with charging even their flagship at a maximum of 25W. You still get to charge your Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra in about two hours though. Still, even Lenovo allows your devices to charge at 120W speeds. That also means your devices charge to full in less than an hour.

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Samsung might be changing their minds for the future of fast charging though. Samsung is planning to bring two new chargers to market. The first is a 65W power adapter they call Samsung Power Adapter Trio (EP-T6530). As per its codename, it charges at up to 65W on a single port, but it also splits its power to three ports if necessary. The second USB Type-C power will charge at 25W, while the third USB Type-A port can charge at up to 15W. Of course, you have to share the 65W if you plan to plug in more than one device.

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Then there is the Samsung Type-C Power Adapter (EP-T4510). This one look more like the regular Samsung charger that you get from your Samsung box. It offers only a single USB Type-C port but charges at a maximum of 45W for super quick charges for your smartphone.

Speculations around Samsung’s upcoming release of these chargers’ points to an even faster charging Samsung Galaxy S22 device. The 65W charger also points to a possible Samsung Chromebook or more Windows Laptops coming our way. None of the current Samsung devices charge at 45W, let alone 65W. Currently, everything is just speculations until Samsung reveals them next year though.

Source: XDA Developers

Android 12 Based One UI 4.0 is Coming to Samsung Galaxy S21 Devices Near You

There used to be a time when you want to avoid Samsung if you want fast and timely Operating System (OS) upgrades on your Android devices. Android updates in the early days of Samsung’s Android affair was pushed to Samsung devices way later than other manufacturers. At some point, a Samsung device only gets its major update 6 months after the same OS update was made available from Google itself.

Today, it is a different story though. Samsung is consistently topping charts when it comes to device updates. In the world of Android as well, apart from Google, Samsung has the best track record of timely software upgrades on their devices. They also keep their devices updated and supported longer than any Android manufacturer other than Google themselves currently. There is a reason why Samsung remained at the top spot when it comes to the smartphone market.

Android 12 was just released to the wild less than two months ago. Of course, it appears first on Google’s own range of devices. Of course, the new Google Pixel 6 series launched with Android 12 as part of its package. There was also a tonne of devices that had official Android 12 Beta support, if you wanted to try them. Strangely, Samsung was not too much in a hurry to release their own Beta version of the new OS even when others made theirs available near immediately after Google’s announcement of Android 12. There is a good reason, we think.

Samsung was late to the Beta party because they were busy making sure that they can push out the full version of One UI 4.0 based on Android 12 to market as soon as possible. At least we theorised that this is the case. Prove? One UI 4.0 with Android 12 is now rolling out on Samsung Galaxy S21 devices.

Of course, the update starts in the United States (U.S.) first. That also means we, living in Malaysia, will not be getting our Android 12 updates for the Samsung Galaxy S21 devices just yet. It should not take too long for Samsung to start rolling out updates for devices in Malaysia though, so we are expecting something to happen to your Samsung Galaxy S21 devices within the coming two weeks.

If you are not on a Samsung Galaxy S21 device though, you still should not worry too much. We are a little surprised too to find out that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 will only be getting their Android 12 update in December 2021 though, after the Galaxy S21 devices. The Samsung Galaxy S20 series will be getting their Android 12 update in the same month as the foldables. Even the Note 20 series gets their Android 12 treatment in December 2021.

If you are on anything newer than the Samsung Galaxy S9 or Note9 series, you are in luck to get your Android 12 update in January 2022, at least according to the leaked roadmap. That includes your Galaxy S10 and Note10 devices. Unfortunately, the Galaxy S9 and Note9 will not be getting anymore OS upgrades in the coming future.

Nokia X20 – Focusing On What Matters for the Best Smartphone Experience

A lot of times, as users, we look at smartphones through a very narrow lens. We look at their specifications and look up reviews for the latest and greatest. However, over the years, we have seen a shift in focus when it comes to smartphones. While we still have the big flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max, a new class of smartphones has been emerging. One spearheaded by companies like HMD Global who are focusing on experience and software support.

Nokia X20 Advertorial 00002

HMD Global showed us a big shift with the announcement of their new flagship – the Nokia X20. Unlike the Nokia 8.1 or Nokia 9 PureView of year’s past, the Nokia X20 focused on affordability and software. It eschewed the pricey Snapdragon 800 series for a more affordable and equally capable Snapdragon 480 5G. The Snapdragon 480 5G is a capable octa-core processor with speeds of up to 2.0GHz which pack enough performance for an everyday user. Its added 5G capabilities also help futureproof the smartphone with 5G networks being turned on across the world. Paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, HMD Global is packing the Nokia X20 with specifications that are up to the job.

However, that’s only part of the equation! The user experience of any given smartphone is centred on the software. The Nokia X20, like previous Nokia Android devices, comes with near-stock Android. HMD Global opted to not bog down the operating system with needless skins and features which consume RAM and storage. Instead, the experience you get with the Nokia X20 is a pure, unadulterated version of Android. This vanilla approach to Android allows HMD to focus on developing features like their ZEISS camera lens which come with X20.

Nokia X20 Advertorial 00001

The 64-megapixel quad-camera setup on the Nokia X20 is equipped with ZEISS optics. The Nokia X20 utilises these optics to deliver some of the most stunning pictures you can get on a smartphone. HMD Global partners with ZEISS to ensure that each of the lenses used in the camera sensors is up to scratch. Like cameras, lenses in smartphones play a key role in focusing light and what we want to capture. Using poor quality lenses can lead to aberrations and distortions which will result in a horrible picture. However, with technology like ZEISS, you get clear, crisp pictures. The camera of the Nokia X20 also comes with AI-augmented features which allow it to intelligently focus and optimise to get the best picture.

AI isn’t just employed for photography. The Nokia X20 continues to stay true to the promise of having up to 2-days of battery on each charge. HMD Global has imbued the Nokia X20 with AI algorithms that allow the phone to adapt and optimise according to the usage patterns of its user. This allows it to get every millisecond from the 4470mAh battery of the X20. No need to hug walls or carry bulky battery packs and power banks when your phone has your back. Even if you forget to plug in after a day and a half, the Nokia X20 comes with support for Quick Charge 4+ which will allow you to get up to 5 hours of battery life in 15 minutes.

HMD Global MY Nokia Phones
Source: HMD Global

The only piece that is left to complete the experience with the Nokia X20 is good software support. Out of the box, the X20 comes with Android 11. However, thanks to the vanilla approach that HMD Global has taken with the software, you can expect that Android 12 will be making its way to the smartphone. In fact, you can rest assured that you will get the update. The Nokia X20 is guaranteed 3 years of OS updates. This means that the phone will see the update to Android 14! Realise that HMD Global isn’t taking the same approach as others when it comes to promises. They’ve promised 3 years and not 3 iterations. This means that if Android goes from 12 to 17 in that three years, you’ll get it all. In addition, the Nokia X20 is also guaranteed security updates for the same amount of time. It will be getting monthly security bulletins that help secure Android in a timely manner. As a matter of fact, there’s no doubting this with HMD’s current track record of updates. However, HMD isn’t just giving you software updates for 3 years, the warranty of the Nokia X20 lasts for the same 3 years!

Looking at the Nokia X20 makes one think about what truly makes a smartphone worth it. The smartphone isn’t a slouch when it comes to performance but it does bring a lot of quality of life features that are sorely lacking in the smartphone arena. Guaranteed software updates, long battery life, good camera performance and even specification that are up to task might just be the thing that all of us are looking for. In fact, that just might be it – the makings of a truly reliable smartphone; one that you can call your companion for 3 years confidently.

DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE IS AN ADVERTORIAL COMMISSIONED BY HMD GLOBAL. IT MAY NOT REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF THE TECHENT EDITORIAL BOARD

OPPO A95 First Look & Hands-On

The is set to take center stage with its true midrange flagship the #OPPOA95. We’re taking a first look at the #Snapdragon662 touting smartphone! It comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It’s got a formidable AMOLED display with an FHD+ resolution. The smartphone also comes equipped with a triple camera array with a 64-megapixel main sensor.

It will be available for pre-order really soon and you’ll be entitled to a whole bunch of freebies and even get an Enco Buds for MYR1! More details coming with the release of the smartphone!

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