Category Archives: Android

Android, Mobile, News

Xiaomi Mi 10 Series Breaking The Norms Of High End Phones

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Just like everyone else at Barcelona, Xiaomi has been busy with their fair share of troubles. From WMC Barcelona being cancelled, Xiaomi’s continued plan of attending MWC from the February 24 to 27 and to Xiaomi’s delayed launch of some global products. So do keep an eye out for product launches from Xiaomi by the end of the week. 

Even with COVID-19 going around in China, Xiaomi has still managed to sell out their latest flagship the Mi 10 and Mi10 Pro during an online flash sale that lasted only 55 seconds. Yes they sold out their latest Mi 10 Series under a minute, isn’t that insane? All of this is thanks to Xiaomi’s large user base and fan base, globally and locally. 

Source: Xiaomi

But luckily the people of China do not need to wait anymore as the phone has gone on sale officially starting from February 24. Besides getting it Xiaomi directly, the phones are also available on China’s biggest ecommerce sites such as JD.com, Suning and Tmall. 

This success of the Mi 10 Series is a slap in the face for the high end phone markets. Especially when Xiaomi is giving better specifications for a lower price. Giving the people a better value for money. There is also the factor that the Mi 10 Series is the only phone right now that is running on Qualcomm’s top of the line Snapdragon 865 processor and knowing people, everybody wants the latest and greatest 

The Mi 10 Series are the two among a dozen other phones that will be also running on the Snapdragon 865 processor which will be released later this year. So for now the Mi 10 Series is the go to phone to beat all other phones in the market. If you would like a further break down of the Mi 10’s specifications do check out our coverage here. 

Android, Mobile, News

LG V60 ThinQ 5G Debuts With Dual Display!

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LG has announced its latest flagship, the V60 ThinQ 5G. Just like any other flagship phones these days, it will come 5G ready with the Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 processor. So, what else does this flagship has to offer? 

Let us start with what stands out the most, which personally is the huge 6.8-inch FullVision P-OLED display with a Full HD+ screen resolution of 2460 x 1080 pixels with a 20.5:9 aspect ratio. Wait,  hold up. For a phone with that large of a screen, it has a considerably small pixel count, doesn’t it?

Let’s take the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ for example. It also has a 6.8-inch display but it has a higher resolution of 1440 x 3040 pixels. The Galaxy Note 10+ has a pixel per inch (ppi) density of 498 ppi while the V60 ThinQ only has 395 ppi. This is not exactly great news for a flagship phone.

Source: LG

While it does not have a good ppi count, the LG V60 ThinQ has a little trick up its sleeve. Just like last year’s LG V50 ThinQ and the LG G8X, the V60 also has the same feature where it can come with a dual screen. Just like the latest buzz with the foldable phone, this is technically a foldable phone. Just that it does not have a foldable screen. 

Other than that, the V60 ThinQ will be coming with a triple camera set up consisting of a 64-megapixel main sensor, a 13-megapixel module that has a 117° super-wide-angle lens and a 3D time-of-flight sensor. The main camera supports 8K recording and 4K recording at 60 frames per second with HDR10+. The front of the phone will be getting a single 10-megapixel camera encapsulated in a dewdrop notch design. 

Next, we have the audio side of things. A good part of not following recent trends is that the V60 ThinQ will be coming with a 3.5mm jack! There is also a good part of following a trend is that it will be coming with stereo speakers. Now that is giving people the option of choosing between the best of both worlds. 

Source: LG

The V60 ThinQ comes with 8GB of RAM, a 128GB of storage with an expandable storage via a microSD card. To power this phone and its dual screens, the phone comes with a massive 5,000 mAh battery that promises 590 hours standby time with one charge. The phone can be charged using a Qi wireless charger or by a Type-C USB. 

Other goodies include, a MIL-STD-810G certification and also a IP68 rating which means that the smartphone is dust and water-resistant up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. There will be two colour options that are Classy Blue and Classy White. 

Android, Mobile, News

OPPO Find X2 Specifications Leaked Before Launch!

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After the whole hoo-ha at MWC, OPPO too had delayed their launching of the OPPO Find X2 to a later date. But it did not take them long to set a new date for their launch. The OPPO Find X2 will be launched on March 6 possibly alongside with the OPPO watch. 

But wait! The specifications have been leaked, you say? The OPPO Find X2 has been spotted for sale on SouthEast Asian eCommerce site, Shoppe. The listing of the OPPO Find X2 is listed by OPPO’s official Vietnam Store with a price at 40 million Vietnamese Dong which translates to MYR 7,310 and USD 1,724 which is quite steep, considering. But we will have to wait and see the pricing once it is revealed. 

Other details immediately found on the listing is that it will come with 8GB of RAM paired to 256GB of storage. There will also be two different colour options that are in Vietnamese which we did not understand but with the power of Google Translate, we manage to get something out of it. The two colours are Ocean Blue and Blue Night Sea which we assume is green with a blue hue colour and the second colour would be black with a blue hue to it. 

Source: Brian Shen

Scrolling further down we will find a screen size of 6.5 inches with reports of a possible 120Hz refresh rate with 240Hz sampling rate. Which will be exciting especially for intense games such as PUBG and Mobile Legends. But that’s not all, the Find X2 will feature a 3K display according to a tweet from Brian Shen who is OPPO’s VP and President of Global Marketing. This means that the display would likely have a 3,000 x 2,000 pixel resolution. 

Source: Arun Maini

To capture the moments, the Oppo Find X2 comes with a triple rear camera set up consisting of a 48-Megapixel main camera, an 8-Megapixel and a 13-Megapixel sensor. The rear cameras are said to be using a periscope lens that is able to have a digital zoom of up to 60x. The front of the phone, on the other hand, has a 32-Megapixel camera. There are rumours that the phone would be coming with a 44-Megapixel punch-hole dual front camera instead though. 

To power up all these fancy features of the phone, the battery comes with a 4,065 mAh capacity. 4,065 mAh isn’t exactly large these days but it should still be a decent amount for you to last throughout the day. All this power will be powering the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor that will be 5G ready. Of course, it will be using Type-C connector. It does not seem to have a 3.5mm headphone jack, bummer. We are taking all these things with a pinch of salt though. We can only confirm the final specs of the OPPO Find X2 when it launches on the 6th March, 2020.

Android, Mobile, News

Sony Xperia L4 Joins Entry Segment

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The entry segment is a tricky one with companies having to balance performance and a tight budget. Sony did that last year with their Xperia L3. This year, they are introducing a new device, the Sony Xperia L4 into the foray.

The new Sony Xperia L4 seems to have a lot in common with its predecessor. The only difference is the new triple camera array on the back of the smartphone. That right, you read that right. The new triple camera array is the ONLY significant difference in the new phone. Other than that, the phone looks, feels and has the same internals as the L3.

The Xperia L4 comes with the same Mediatek Helios P22 processor we saw in the L3. It has an increased 64GB of internal storage but still comes with 3GB of RAM. It’s also keeping the plastic build of the L3 with updates to support the Xperia L4’s new triple camera. It comes with a larger 6.2-inch HD+ IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720×1680 pixels. It also adopts the new 21:9 standard that Sony is pushing for their smartphones.

The smartphone runs on Android 9 (Pie) and has support for all the run of the mill connectivity options such as Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi a/b/g/b/n and GPS. It’s powered by a 3,580mAh battery which supports fast charging through its USB-C port.

Now on to the biggest difference. The Sony Xperia L4 is the first phone in Sony’s entry segment to have a triple camera array. The main sensor of the L4 is a 1/3.0-inch, 13-megapixel sensor with a 26mm focal length and F2.0 aperture. This is supported by a 1/5.0-inch 5-megapixel sensor with a 17mm focal length and F2.2 aperture; and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. On the front, there’s an 8-megapixel sensor with a 27mm focal length and F2.0 aperture.

There is no word on the pricing just yet. However, it will be available in select markets starting Spring 2020.

Android, Mobile, News

Sony Xperia 10 II Builds on New Mid-range DNA

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The original Sony Xperia 10 launched along side the original Xperia 1 last year at MWC. It was Sony’s latest attempt at creating a mid-range device which would allow new users to jump on board their ecosystem. It’s also the first mid-range smartphone which launched under their new One Sony approach which marries all of Sony’s strengths in one ecosystem. This year, the company is refreshing the Xperia 10 with the Xperia 10 II (pronounced Xperia 10 mark II).

The Xperia 10 II will be equipped with a 21:9 Triluminous display. The OLED panel in the display comes with technology that is found in Sony’s BRAVIA TVs. According to Sony, the 10 II will allow users to enjoy their content with deeper blacks and more vibrant colours thanks to this. The Full HD+ resolution should make the experience of consuming your content on the 10 II one of the most immersive there is on the market.

The Xperia 10 II comes with a triple camera setup. The main camera sensor is a 1/2.8-inch, 12-megapixel Exmor RS sensor with a 26mm focal length, F2.0 aperture and 77° field of view; This is supported by two 1/4-inch, 8-megapixel sensors; one has an F2.4 aperture with 52mm focal length while the other has an F2.2 aperture with 16mm focal length. The former has a 45° field of view while the latter has 120°. On the front, is a similar 8-megapixel sensor with F2.0 aperture and 84° field of view.

The processing power of the smartphone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 supported by 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Of course, this is expandable by up to 1TB through the microSD card slot. All of this is a powered by 3,600mAh battery capable of fast charging.

The Xperia 10 II will be available in Spring 2020. It will be available in Mint, Black, White and Blue. No pricing details have been revealed by Sony at this time.

Android, Mobile, News

HONOR 9X Pro Launched – Little Things Matter

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The mid-range smartphone market is a crowded marketplace, for good reason too. Mid-range smartphones these days are what bolsters sales of smartphones around the globe. It is sort of the brands’ revenue maker. The best selling devices today are not flagships anymore, they are the mid-rangers.

There is a reason to why mid-range smartphones sell like hot cakes too. They are not very expensive; that is one. But they are not just inexpensive, they perform well too. In everyday life and use, the mid-rangers are no less powerful than a high-end smartphone like a HUAWEI Mate 30 Pro or such.

Source: HONOR

Of course, if you are going to spend way less money on a smartphone you are going to have to make some sacrifices. But the trade-offs these days are quite minor compared to the money that you actually save. That is the exact job description for the HONOR 9X Pro.

The name of the game here is value-for-money. There should be as little compromise as possible while keeping the price to as low as possible. The result is a flagship class HiSilicon Kirin 810 System on a Chip (SoC) for starters. According to HONOR, the Kirin 810 is the most powerful single core SoC available in their smartphones. It even has what HUAWEI calls a DaVinci Neural Processing Unit, one of their most advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) programming.

Thanks to a new 7nm construction too, the Kirin 810 comes with a powerful GPU which can be pushed even further with GPU Turbo 3.0. While that increases the heat produced dramatically, you might not feel it all that much in your palm thanks to a highly efficient liquid-cooling copper pipeline embedded in the svelte device.

Source: HONOR

The SoC is paired to 6GB of RAM for smooth multitasking or even gaming. 6GB is also what most flagships will come with for RAM. Even storage is not being compromised with a super fast 256GB UFS 2.1 storage module. With all that power, you really want a big battery; 4,000mAh big for this one.

Out the back are three cameras you can appreciate. The main shooter is a 48-Megapixel shooter flanked on both sides by a 2-Megapixel depth sensor for that tight Bokeh portraits, and an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide angle shooter. Who needs a telephoto lens when you have 48-Megapixel to work with.

The super high resolution photos is channeled to the large 6.59-inch FullView display with no compromises. That means the 16-Megapixel front-facing camera is hidden away in a motorised pop-up mechanism. Of course, the whole device is wrapped in 3D glass. The front is a Gorilla Glass, quite obviously and the back still features the signature X pattern.

  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR

The HONOR 9X Pro is powered by HONOR’s Magic UI 3.0.1 based on Android 10. You get the HUAWEI App Gallery instead of Google’s Play Store though. That also means that this is a HUAWEI Mobile Services device instead of Google’s official Mobile Services device. Still, at least it is a familiar User Interface (UI).

The HONOR 9X Pro will be available in Malaysia and other selected markets from March 2020 onward. The price was announced to be EU€ 249 for the European market. That translates to about MYR 1,143 in Malaysia. There has been no official pricing attached to the device in Malaysia yet. we are looking at somewhere between the MYR 1,099 to MYR 1,199 range. We could be wrong though.

Android, Mobile, News

HONOR View30 Pro – Creator Grade Videos Made Possible

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HONOR launched a bunch of things this morning (Malaysia time). One of them is their highly anticipated HONOR View30 Pro flagship. The big surprise with it though is that it does not come with four cameras.

Source: HONOR

Since we are on that subject, the HONOR View30 Pro comes with an array of three cameras instead of the four that we are used to on its HUAWEI counterparts. There is the 40-Megapixel SuperSensing main cameram, which has been known to take superb photos on their own. Then there is the 8-Megapixel telephoto for to see even further out. The game changer for the View30 Pro though is the 12-Megapixel ultra-wide sensor that they call a Cine-Camera.

The Cine-Camera is a pretty normal ultra-wide sensor, if you look at it. The thing is though, it is not just a normal ultra-wide sensor. They packed it with a 5-axis EIS, not OIS mind you. That is enough to give you much smoother videos on the get go though. It records at 4K resolution with EIS helping to really stabilise the footage. You can shoot videos in two modes at a single time too. The DualView videography captures videos using both main lens and the ultra-wide lens.

Source: HONOR

There are some very big advantages to shooting videos in the 18mm ultra-wide lens that the HONOR View30 Pro boasts. For one, you get a bigger field of vision. Two you get to go closer to the subject and have a more cinematic vision of your videos. You capture more to tell your story and frame your story better. There are reasons why film makers like to use wide angle lenses you know. Beyond that, you can also use the cine-camera as a macro lens.

A powerful camera needs a powerful processor. That power comes in the form of the HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G ready System on a Chip (SoC). This also means that the HONOR View30 Pro is capable of 5G connectivity, wherever it is available of course.

The 5G speed and powerful SoC translates to super smooth and near instant experience you feel through the 6.57-inch FullView display boasting Full HD+ resolution. Speaking of display, the FullView display on the HONOR View30 Pro is a punch hole display with two cameras housed in the whole as selfie cameras. One is a 31-Megapixel shooter and the other is an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide shooter.

  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR
  • Source: HONOR

All Android 10 based Magic UI 3.0.1 goodness are topped off and powered by a 4,100 mAh battery. Keep in mind that this will come with HUAWEI Mobile Services, which also means you are not going to have official access to Google’s Play Store. Yes, you are not wrong 5G will indefinitely drain the battery faster. You can charge it even faster with 40W of fast charging though. Wirelessly, it can charge at 27W too, not what you call slow.

The HONOR View30 Pro looks set of being launched in three colours – Ocean Blue, Icelandic Frost, and Midnight Black. It will be available in selected markets in March 2020, just like the MagicBook. There is no official price that comes with it just yet though. They will announce it at a later date obviously, but if the HONOR View20 Pro was any indication, we are expecting the price to be in the low 2,000s or the high 1,000s in Malaysia. Until then. We can only patiently wait.

Android, Mobile, News

Samsung Find My Mobile Notification was a Data Breach

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Update (26 February 2020): Samsung has reached out to SamMobile to clarify that the data breach wasn’t related to the Find My Mobile notification. Instead, the data breach was an isolated incident which occurred on the UK Samsung website. According to the report, only 150 customers were affected in the data leak.

Last week, tech news was rife with news of a number of Samsung users getting a strange unexplained prompt from their Find My Mobile app. If you’re still 1dering why you got it, it appears that the issue may be a lot bigger than Samsung initially admitted to.

Here’s a little recap of what exactly happened. Samsung devices across the world started receiving a strange notification from their Find my Phone app. The notification simply said 1,1. There was no explanation nor reason behind the notification.

Reports also surfaced that Samsung’s non-Galaxy devices such as the Galaxy XCover. What’s even more alarming is that users who have already deactivated the “Find My Mobile” application were still receiving the notification. Deactivated applications are applications which have essentially been turned off as they cannot be uninstalled without altering the phone’s software. This and the fact that the notification appeared on devices spanning the whole range of Android enabled Galaxy devices including the new Galaxy Z Flip as reported by renown tech journalist, Michael Fisher; makes things very worrying.

Having received the notification, some users promptly decided to reset their passwords. However, when they tried to access their Samsung account pages, they were either greeted by information that wasn’t theirs or a blank screen. Keep in mind, a Samsung account is tied to every Galaxy device. In fact, on Android enabled devices, setting up a Samsung account is also part of the phone’s setup. The account is also tied to the SamsungPay service. Samsung’s payment gateway stores credit card and debit card information to use when paying at merchants.

Samsung initially owned up to the issue saying that the it was an internal test and that the notification was sent out unintentionally during an internal test. However, the company recently owned up to a data breach. In a statement to UK based news portal, The Register, Samsung’s spokesperson said,

“A technical error resulted in a small number of users being able to access the details of another user. As soon as we became of aware of the incident, we removed the ability to log in to the store on our website until the issue was fixed. We will be contacting those affected by the issue with further details.”

While the company has yet to reveal what “a small number” means. We can expect that the number is large enough. In my own experience, 4 out of 5 friends using Samsung devices received the notification. So, it would be safe to assume that the issue is relatively widespread.

Of greater concern is how the app was able to send out a notification. This indicates that the app was still running in the background and points to the app having more functionality than it should. It also raises the question on what functionality Android allows disabled built-in apps.

Android, Mobile, News

Sony Unveils Xperia 1 II; Made for Creators

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Sony hasn’t really been one of the top contenders in the market when it comes to smartphones. However, the company did turn heads with their Xperia 1; a smartphone which (finally) brought together Sony’s many strengths into a single, sleek, creator-centric device. This year, they are building on the foundation they set last year with the new Xperia 1 II (pronounced Xperia 1 mark II).

The Xperia 1 II brings back a lot of the features that many fell in love with in the original. Of course, the now signature 21:9 aspect ratio and the slender build are still hallmarks of the new Xperia 1 II. Also making an appearance is the OLED screen with true to life colour reproduction. The mark II also comes with front firing speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Yep. That’s right, Sony brought it back!

Powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, the new Xperia 1 II is Sony’s first 5G smartphone. It comes paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB internal memory. The colour accurate 6.5-inch 21:9 CinemaWide display has a resolution 3840×1644 pixels and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut. This is protected with Gorilla Glass 6. The Xperia 1 II is also IP65/68 dust and water resistant.

Capture & Create with the Xperia 1 II Cameras

The Sony Xperia 1 II comes with a triple camera array complemented with a 3D iTOF sensor for depth perception. The triple camera array consists of a 1/17-inch, 12-megapixel Exmor RS sensor with F1.7 aperture, 24mm focal length and 82° field of view; a 1/3.4-inch, 12-megapixel sensor with 70mm focal length, F2.4 aperture and 34° field of view; and a 1/2.55-inch 12-megapixel Exmor RS sensor with 16mm focal length, F2.2 aperture and 124° field of view. The array is the first camera array to carry ZEISS calibrated lenses in Sony’s mobile portfolio. On the front is an 1/4-inch, 8-megapixel sensor with a F2.0 aperture and 84° field of view. Both front and back cameras come with Sony SteadyShot which stabilises with both electronic image stabilisation (EIS) and Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for the best stabilisation.

All of this is powered by 4,000mAh battery. It has USB Type-C connectivity which allows for USB power delivery fast charging. The Xperia 1 II is also the first smartphone from Sony with Qi Wireless Charging.

No price or official release date has been announced at this time for the new Sony flagship. The phone will be available in Black, Purple and White.

Xperia PRO – for Professionals

Together with their new flagship, Sony announced a new line up of devices meant for industry. The new Xperia PRO line up focuses on bringing productivity and features for professional content creators. To this end, the company has essentially enhanced the mark II with features to cater for better industry usage.

The Xperia PRO comes with an additional mini HDMI port which allows the phone to function as a 4K viewfinder for any DSLR or professional video camera with mini HDMI output. It also has support for 5G standalone on the mmWave band which primes the phone for live streaming on a standalone 5G network.

While these features are impressive, the Xperia PRO loses its wireless charging to make way for it. It will still be powered by a 4,000mAh battery and have support for USB 3.1 version 2.

Android, Mobile, News

HUAWEI MatePad Pro – Built To Unleash Your Creativity On-the-Go from EU€ 549!

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Mobile World Congress 2020 was cancelled, but that does not mean that you will miss all the big announcements. HUAWEI just had their announcement not more than an hour ago. In that announcement they announced the latest HUAWEI Mate Xs foldable smartphone. It is pretty much an evolution of last year’s HUAWEI Mate X foldable smartphone. That is not all they launched though.

This year they also introduced the HUAWEI MatePad Pro, a high-end tablet designed for the professionals. Why we say that? It has a DCI-P3 colour accurate display for the best sort of colour reproduction you can get on 10-inches of display. The 10.8-inch display pushes 2,500 by 1,600 pixels, effectively a QHD+ display. With a 90% screen to body coverage too it is small, really small. Thin too at 7.2mm, as thick as modern smartphones.

It is one of HUAWEI’s most advanced tablets to come out of the Chinese tech giant’s showrooms. It packs HUAWEI’s HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G processor. You get an option of getting the MatePad Pro with 5G connectivity too if you really must. Of course, the 5G versions will cost you a little bit more.

Audio cannot be neglected in a super powerhouse like the MatePad Pro too. You get not only four speakers at each corner of the device; you also get far-field mics for your voice commands from a distance away. That is all wrapped in ultra-light fiber glass body or stylish vegan leather body.

For maximum productivity, you can get the HUAWEI M-Pencil for EU€ 99. You can take advantage of the app multiplier, multiscreen collaboration, multi-window modes, and even HUAWEI share for even more optimised productivity and multitasking. Of course, it does have large battery to fill the space within the slim and compact body. 7,250mAh large, in fact. For that, you get all-day productivity. It even charges at 40W if you plug it in a wall charger. It can charge wirelessly at 37W too.

The HUAWEI will be available within this quarter of 2020. Malaysia? We do not have a set date yet, but it looks like we are also getting it soon enough. It comes in either Green or Orange Vegan Leather colour options, or White or Grey glass fiber colour options. Prices start at EU€ 549 (6GB + 128GB) [MYR 2,520], EU€ 649 (8GB + 256GB) [MYR 2,979], EU€ 749 (8GB + 256GB, M-Pencil, Vegan Leather) [MYR 3,438] for the WiFi version, EU€ 599 (6GB + 128GB) [MYR 2,749], EU€ 699 (8GB + 256GB) [MYR 3,208] for the LTE variant, and goes all the way up to EU€ 799 (8GB + 256GB) [MYR 3,666], EU€ 949 (8GB +512GB) [MYR 4,355] for the 5G variant. The HUAWEI MatePad Pro runs on HUAWEI’s EMUI 10.0.1 based on Android 10 Operating System (OS) though you can only get your apps through HUAWEI’s App Gallery.