A few years ago, on Kickstarter and a few other crowdsourcing platforms, we saw something quite intriguing. We saw a small drone that is supposed to be sold to consumers. It is made to eliminate the need for selfie sticks, allowing self-portrait subjects a free range of movements in their own photos. It allows them to have a more flexible control on the frame of the photos. We thought that it was brilliant and odd at the same time. The idea never really took off anywhere though, at least until now. Snap, the people behind Snapchat (obviously), introduces a new hardware for Snapchat users, the Pixy.
The idea of Pixy is nothing new. Ever since DJI started selling consumer grade drones that is smaller than smartphones, the idea of using a drone to capture selfies has been born. It makes a lot of sense too since with a drone, you have a larger creative canvas anyway. You can push it further than you physically can with a selfie stick and bring it closer when you need it to. Like what DJI does with their drones, a flying camera can also be a personal vlogging camera that gives you the full motion of both your hands.
That is basically what Pixy is. It is a pocket-sized, free-flying personal camera that you can take with you anywhere you go. Unlike DJI drones, it does not come with a comprehensive remote. It is made to be used quickly and seamlessly, so we assume that you can control it with your smartphone. We suspect also that the controls on the smartphone could be limited since Snap has mentioned in their release that the Pixy can fly in four preset flight paths. Once you set the flight path, you should not need to look at your smartphone until you are done with it.
Unlike DJI’s devices as well, the Pixy is made with less powerful motors, because it is a simpler and lighter compact drone anyway. Because of that, they designed the Pixy to take off and land on your hands instead of the ground.
We also assume that the Pixy is going to be fully controlled via the Snapchat app. Snap says that the Pixy will be a companion device to the app in the future. All videos and photos from the drone can be transferred to a smartphone device wirelessly to be saved into Snapchat Memories. Everything captured via the Pixy can also be edited on the Snapchat app itself.
The Pixy is now available in the United States and France only. There are no mentions on its availability elsewhere, but we expect that the Pixy will at least make a few more markets in the North American and European regions. It will set you back US$ 229.99 (MYR 1,001*). If you are planning to get one somehow, do check with the local laws to ensure you do not get into trouble taking a selfie. More information on the Pixy can be found on their website.
*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.35 as of 28/04/2022 on xe.com
Samsung’s Galaxy S series has been the hallmark of its smartphones since it first debuted in 2010. It’s been the company’s “IT” device housing the latest in technological innovations and software. This year, with the Galaxy S22 series we saw Samsung do something a little bit unconventional for the smartphone manufacturer, we saw them stick to a signature design and fold their Galaxy Note into the Galaxy S series. It’s also the first series to release with the new RDNA powered Exynos SoC with Xclipse GPU. However, that version of the S22 series is only available in Europe.
With that said, the Galaxy S22 series as a whole holds much promise as Samsung’s latest flagship, but we’re zooming into the S22+, the middle child of the lineup. It’s a blown-up S22, but is it only that? Does it have something else that sets it apart from the S22? That’s what we’re breaking down in our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S22+.
Design
The Samsung Galaxy S22+ is the epitome of a tick-tock strategy when it comes to design. It inherits most, if not all of the design language of the S21 series. Everything from the unique, two-colour colourway to the rounded edges of the smartphone makes a triumphant return to the smartphone. However, that doesn’t mean that Samsung didn’t make changes to the design at all. The biggest change when it comes to the S22+ is the less rounded edges of the screen, particularly where it meets the metal frame. While the S21 opted for a more curved design, the S22+ has a more angled design which is, ironically, more palmable. The sharper angle also allows you to have a better grip when holding the phone.
Aside from this, there really is nothing too significant when it comes to the overall design. While there are smaller bezels and thinner camera humps, these changes don’t really make an impact on the overall design. That said, the small tweaks that Samsung did do with the design make enough of an impact to make it feel totally different.
Perhaps the most impactful change is the change of materials from yesteryear’s glasstic to Gorilla Glass. The small change does make the smartphone feel a little bit more premium. The aluminium frame complements this pretty well and makes the smartphone feel like a true premium flagship. While we do commend the change, it does mean that it’s pretty much more of the same when it comes to design.
Hardware
While the design is more of the same, Samsung upped the ante when it came to the hardware of the Samsung Galaxy S22+. That said, the Exynos version with the new AMD RDNA based Xclipse graphics is only available in Europe. The rest of us get the version with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It’s a real bummer we didn’t’ get to try out Samsung’s new Exynos, the Snapdragon version seems to be more than good enough to fill its shoes.
Accelerometer Proximity Fingerprint (Ultrasonic, under display) Gyroscope Compass Barometer
Miscellaneous
Dual SIM/eSIM
Retail Price (Malaysia)
MYR 4,099 (128GB) MYR 4,299 (256GB)
Retail Price (US)
USD$ 299.99 (128GB) USD$ 349.99 (256GB)
User Interface
Samsung’s Galaxy S22+ comes with the brand new One UI 4.1 based on Android 12. It brings together some of the best elements from One UI and stock Android. Samsung has adapted Android in a way that highlights some of the key elements of One UI and makes Android feel more fine-tuned than before. It really complements the premium feel of the Galaxy S22+ overall.
Samsung’s One UI 4.1 thoughtfully takes features like Dynamic Widgets, the Theme Palette and increased privacy controls and fine-tunes it for Samsung devices. Samsung makes the features fit overall One UI 4.1 more naturally than any other Android skin out there. The UI itself has been updated and refined to look and feel more premium.
That said, the software itself feels a lot more stable than before. Just last year with the Galaxy Z Flip and S21, the experience was initially somewhat compromised with random reboots and crashes. However, with the S22+ it didn’t feel that way. In fact, after using it for over 2 weeks, none of the apps we were using crashed nor were there any random reboots. The software feels lighter as well. It’s snappier and smoother. It feels like Samsung has optimised the animation and transitions from previous One UI iterations into the version we experienced on the S22+
Performance
Being a Samsung flagship, we’re expecting some of the best performance that we can get from the Galaxy S22+. To be honest, it does deliver but, like the design, it doesn’t feel as revolutionary as we were expecting. This could be due to the anticipation we had for the Exynos 2200 and the XClipse graphics. However, overall, the S22+ did provide pretty outstanding performance during our review period.
Multitasking & Productivity
Samsung’s flagships have become a mainstay when it comes to smartphones that allow you to multitask like a boss, and the Galaxy S22+ continues to build on that heritage. It brings along with it all the productivity features you can think of including Samsung’s DeX, an extended multiwindow mode and even split-screen multitasking.
During my time with the Galaxy S22+, it became my driver. I was getting WhatsApp and Telegram messages as well as emails from multiple accounts on it. It was safe to say that it was put to the test when it came to multitasking and to all its credit, I was able to multitask without much hassle. In fact, the experience was so much smoother than the Note10+ which was my daily driver before.
I was able to reply to emails and messages while copying and pasting between them. In fact, I could even do this while editing a slideshow or document without thinking twice. Samsung’s extended multiwindow allowed me to put my conversation in a floating bubble while I had my emails and Microsoft PowerPoint open. Speaking of Microsoft, Samsung’s Link to Windows is another boon when it comes to multitasking. I was able to reply to messages on my phone – SMS included – without looking at the screen on my Windows 11 laptop. In fact, I was able to use some of my Android apps in Windows natively. Of course, these were simply mirrored from my phone, but it helped when there was pertinent information in those apps that were needed.
Samsung’s DeX took seamless multitasking to another level. It allowed me to drag and drop items into my gallery or folders on my phone without needing to physically plug my phone into the computer. As a matter of fact, I was able to even work on a loaned laptop (with DeX installed) without opening or saving sensitive information on the loaned laptop thanks to DeX.
Call Quality & Connectivity
Connectivity and call quality are, unsurprisingly, one of the best we’ve experienced so far on a Samsung flagship. The calls coming in LTE and 5G are pretty crisp and clear. The audio was warm and felt pretty natural. Of course, this also depended on the quality of the connection. Since Malaysia is only in its rollout of 5G with its 3G network has been sunset, the connectivity on 5G was spotty and subject to the rollout. However, the quality of the 5G connectivity was pretty stable and speeds were quick where available.
When it comes to connectivity, the Galaxy S22+ comes with all the options you could want including Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 6 and even GPS. All of them work splendidly with stable connectivity. In fact, Samsung’s smart connect feature ensured that I always have connectivity when it came to messaging. It would allow messaging apps to jump on 4G or 5G when the WiFi is unstable. This allowed my messaging apps to be automatically connected to the most stable connection available. WiFi6 support also meant that DeX was much more stable when connecting wirelessly.
Gaming
The Galaxy S22+ isn’t touted as a gaming phone but it should be. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the Adreno 730 give the smartphone enough juice to run even the most taxing games like Genshin Impact without much hassle. The high 120Hz refresh rate also lends itself to enhancing the experience on the Galaxy S22+. The dual speakers and Dolby Atmos sound allow an even more immersive experience, particularly when paired with a good set of wireless earphones.
During my time with the Galaxy S22+, gaming on the smartphone was enjoyable. Touch controls were snappy and responsive and this held true even for Bluetooth controllers. The high refresh rate and deep, vibrancy of the display also allowed for a more enjoyable visual experience. HDR compatibility meant that dark scenes were not just black but filled with detail.
For review purposes, I tried Genshin Impact, PUBG, Wild Rift and Pokemon UNITE on the S22+ and all of them played beautifully. There was no frame tearing in situations where the screen was filled with animation from multiple players like in Wild Rift and Pokemon UNITE. The animation was smooth and uninterrupted. The detail in the animation while gaming was also next level. It was able to render details I’m more used to seeing in console and PC level gaming.
The S22+ didn’t struggle with performance. However, when it came to cooling, it did get a little warm when gaming. While it didn’t overtly affect the gaming experience it did get warm enough to be noticeable and a little uncomfortable in my opinion. The heat was concentrated in the area immediately beside the camera enclosure. However, it did rapidly cool down after a few minutes post gaming session.
Battery Life
The new 4nm architecture of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 does lend itself to better power efficiency in the Galaxy S22+. However, I think most of the power efficiency we see in the S22+ comes from Samsung’s optimisations of One UI. One UI used to be notoriously power-hungry because of all the background processes it had. In One UI 4.1, that has been optimised to help with battery life. In fact, some of these optimisations come directly from stock Android 12. The software now intelligently puts programs and apps running in the background to sleep if you’re not actively using them. While this can lead to a small delay when it comes to chatting apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, the impact on battery life is significant.
During our review period, the smartphone consistently delivered between 10 to 12 hours of battery life with regular use. This included syncing multiple Gmail accounts, multiple chat apps and emails as well as light camera use and gaming in my case. Since we couldn’t go out much during the time, GPS and navigation use were pretty limited. However, it wouldn’t have impacted the battery life too much as it usually is plugged in when I’m driving. The battery managed to chug along for about 4 to 5 hours when it came to extended gaming sessions. Of course, the dip in battery life is thanks to the increased brightness, processor performance and refresh rate of the display.
Display
Like all of Samsung’s Flagships nowadays, the Galaxy S22+ comes with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. The panel is vibrant and has ample contrast. In fact, it seems like the panel is brighter than before but also seems to have better colour accuracy. During the review, I used the display in both its vibrant and natural modes. There is a huge difference between the two settings. The natural mode is more muted and natural when it comes to colour reproduction while the vibrant setting makes it more contrasted; more akin to the AMOLEDs of the past.
That said, when using the display for reading articles and comics, I preferred to use the natural setting as it felt less straining to the eyes. However, when it came to video content, the vibrant setting allowed more details to be seen especially in HDR-compatible content. When it boils down to it, the display of the S22+ is one of the more adaptable displays available on a smartphone. It’s able to accommodate the user when it comes to different content types as mentioned here.
It also enhances the immersiveness of content particularly gaming. The vibrant colours and HDR compatibility allow you to feel in the moment when gaming. The Ful HD resolution of the display strikes an important balance between resolution and battery life. While the Full HD+ resolution of the display is adequate, we feel like Samsung scaled too far back on the S22+ with the Full HD resolution. Instead, they should have used the same QHD+ display in the Ultra to further differentiate the S22+ and to add more value for the money spent.
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S22+ comes with a triple camera setup – the same we saw in the S21+. However, unlike the Galaxy S21+, it comes with a larger, 50-megapixel main sensor. Yes, I said larger 50-megapixel sensor. The overall size and pixel size of the S22+’s sensor is larger than the S21+’s 64-megapixel sensor. It’s an important distinction as the larger sensor and pixel size allow more light to be absorbed which translates to more detail and sharpness in the picture.
The pictures taken on the S22+ are notably sharp with a lot of details preserved even in low light. The smartphone processes the images to be vibrant and saturated. That said, the quality of the pictures changes from sensor to sensor. It goes without saying that the larger 50-megapixel sensor produced the best quality pictures.
Samsung has packed the camera with tonnes of features. This round they were focusing on low light photography, and they’ve made noticeable improvements when it comes to the quality and detail that is reproduced in the pictures taken. However, it feels like there’s a little bit more work needed to take the camera to where they want to be.
During our review, I used the S22+ as my main camera for events and even when spending time with my family. It performed well and was able to respond quickly which is really important when it comes to taking pictures of a toddler.
The video from the S22+ is also pretty good. Shooting at 4K and 1080p produced really crisp detailed videos in the correct lighting. In low lighting, the videos were dramatic but lacked some depth and detail which is expected in such conditions. However, it’s still one of the best performers when it comes to smartphones. To be honest, we’ve yet to see any Android smartphone which is on par with the S22+. What amazes us is that this isn’t their true technological flagship and they still managed to get the camera to perform this well.
A new flagship experience with more of the same outward design proving that fine tuning may do the user experience well
Samsung’s approach to the Galaxy S22+ series proves that they have the capacity to produce amazing user experiences in both the hardware and software of their devices. The Galaxy S22+ brought some of the most compelling software features and paired it with capable hardware that helps elevate the experience significantly.
The Galaxy S22+ is the sweet spot in the series bringing both the size in hardware and software and comfort when it comes to viewing and manoeuvring the phone. It’s the goldilocks of the three S22 devices we have today. With Samsung’s commitment to actually supporting the new S22 series for at least 5 years, the S22+ is an amazing proposition when it comes to getting something that will be able to stand the test of time. It’s also got the versatility to be your companion when you’re out having fun and your sidekick when you need to be productive.
These days, when you talk flagship, you think about devices that cost at least MYR 3,000 and above. Anything below that price range is usually categorised as mid-range smartphones. They are usually specced as such too, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 700 series, 6-8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage. Not this one though. It is priced as a mid-range smartphone, but on paper, it is a flagship.
First, the POCO F4 GT packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the most powerful system on a chip (SoC) you can find in an Android smartphone currently. Sure, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is rumoured to come some time soon. Until then, the Gen 1 is still the most powerful SoC you can find on an Android. The powerful SoC is supported by up to 12GB of speedy LPDDR5 RAM with up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage for snappy operations.
They say that it is made for mobile gaming. To ensure that the SoC stays cool for extended gaming sessions then, they have something they call LiquidCool Technology 3.0. The technology large dual vapor chambers to ensure that heat from the SoC can be quickly and efficiently transferred and dissipated elsewhere on the device.
Source: POCO
Out the front is an expansive and immersive 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 10-bit colours. With up to 120Hz, your interface should feel smoother than running a hot knife through butter. At up to 480Hz of touch sampling rate, every touch should feel more instant and more responsive than ever before. Of course, with DisplayMate’s A+ rating, this display should be great with movies too.
Out the back is a 64-Megapixel main shooter which should be enough in most cases. Of course, most of the time, you are really taking 12-Megapixel photos unless you tell your camera that you want to shoot in 64-Megapixel mode. The powerful camera is supported by an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide shooter and a 2-Megapixel macro camera. Out the front is a 20-Megapixel selfie shooter for when you need to stream or when you just want to capture a clear selfie.
To keep everything running nicely an entire day and more is a 4,700mAh battery inside the device. It is also the first battery in POCO’s device range to offer 120W HyperCharge charging speed. The device can be fully charged in just 27 minutes. Charging your device at 120W at all times can destroy the battery pretty quickly though, so POCO’s AdaptiveCharge feature cleverly keeps your battery from overcharging to prolong its shelf life.
Alongside the POCO F4 GT, POCO also launched their new Buds Pro Genshin Impact Edition with a rather special design throwing homage to the ever so popular mobile game. They also launched the POCO Watch, their first ever smartwatch cum fitness tracker. It does not run on the Wear OS.
The POCO F4 GT is available in three colour options from 28th of April 2022 onward. You can choose between Stealth Black, Knight Silver, and Cyber Yellow colour options. You can also choose between an 8GB + 128GB variant and a 12GB + 256GB variant for MYR 2,299 and MYR 2,499 respectively. If you purchase your device on the 28th of April 2022 on either Shopee or Lazada, you can get your device for MYR 1,999 and MYR 2,199 respectively. The POCO Buds Pro Genshin Impact Edition and POCO Watch will be available for MYR 299 and MYR 249 respectively on the same date. More information on the new POCO devices can be found on their website.
Apple has been going green lately – in more ways than one. They recently announced an all-new Green and Alpine Green colour for their latest iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. The whole lineup is now available in a new Green shade which is as elegant as ever. In addition to the new Green and Alpine Green, Apple has also recently announced a refresh to their iPhone SE. The new SE continues to inherit its design from the iPhone 8 and comes with loads of updates that make it a real contender in the affordable smartphone segment including the A15 Bionic. You can get all the information in our coverage of the release.
So, why are we talking about the new Green iPhones and the iPhone SE? Well, they are now available at iTworld. You can purchase the new iPhone from iTworld and have it delivered to you in 4 easy ways: Same Day Delivery (for selected Klang Valley areas), Standard Delivery – both with shipping charges applicable, Buy Online Pickup In-Store (BOPIS) at SNS Network Ipoh and 13 iTworld outlets and Contactless buying experience with BOPIS Kiosk at iTworld Mid Valley, iTworld Tropicana Gardens Mall, iTworld Pavilion & iTworld Ipoh Parade.
Here are some other promotions to enjoy when you shop with iTworld. If you get your iPhone 13 or 13 mini before 30 April 2022, you will be able to take advantage of the MYR300 rebate and extra RM88 rebate on accessories (only applicable to undiscounted items). Since the new iPhone does not come with the 20W adapter, the RM88 rebate is a huge plus for new iPhone owners. Furthermore, you will also be entitled to a Free ShieldCare extended warranty – that would be a total of 2 years warranty. You can even get up to MYR3,115 in savings if you decide to trade in your old smartphone.
You can even make your purchase using instalments using both your credit or debit card. You’ll be able to get 0% instalments for up to 36 months on your credit cards. If you use UOB, HSBC, Standard Chartered or HongLeong Bank Credit Cards you will be able to enjoy 2-year complimentary ShieldCare extended warranty. If you have Standard Chartered’s Premium Banking you’ll also be able to get an MYR150 cashback when you spend at least MYR1,500.
If you’re on a debit card, you can apply for instalments via ATOME and get up to 3-months of instalments. However, this is limited to MYR4,099 for debit cards and MYR6,000 for credit cards.[GU3]
Quite recently Google has updated their Play Store policy and practices to start removing apps that has been sitting idle without updates. When they say remove though, it will still sit in the database, but will not appear to users while users who are already using the app will still get access to the apps. It is a good way, in our opinions, to clean up their app databases while giving users the flexibility to choose the apps they use on their devices.
It seems like Apple wants to also do the same, except they are making the implementation more immediate in nature. This was not an announcement from Apple really, just a social media posting captured by The Verge mentioning an email received from Apple. The email is for an independent developer for a free game sitting in the Apple App Store. The email pointed out that the app has not been updated for over two years and Apple will remove the app from the App Store if the app is not updated in the next 30 days.
That is not the only developer to receive a warning email from Apple though. From The Verge’s coverage, it seems like there are more than just a few developers that received an email just because they have not updated their app for two years or so. To be fair, there is a good reason why Apple wants to ensure that apps featured on their App Store is up to date. The way Apple has been implementing it though, is a little odd.
Apple and Google, both largest app ecosystem platforms in the world, work very hard to keep their marketplaces as safe as they can be. The update security features all the time, and within their updates, they would require developers to also comply to their newer guidelines set within their updates. Understandably, most of the updates would require developers to patch their apps to match the guidelines set by both Google and Apple, in the name of protecting their users too. In that case it can be understandable for both Google and Apple to start enforcing a stricter “outdated” regulation for their app stores.
This is not technically the first time that Apple removes apps from their App Store. They had a similar exercise back in 2016 where they removed apps that has been sitting without updates for over two years in the App Store giving developers only 30 days to submit an update for the App Store. While the practice seems to have gone on for a while, Apple has made no attempts in reporting or documenting their attempts so far other than the emails sent to developers. There are currently no clear guidelines as well on what Apple considers to be “outdated” in their App Store.
As we mentioned, Google is sort of doing the same thing; they are trying to ensure that their developers keep their apps up to date to meet the security requirements set by Google. Google is giving developers until the end of October 2022 to at least submit an update for their apps. Google will also grant six-month extension requests if developers cannot meet the deadline.
The entry-level smartphone market, in Malaysia at least, is a rather crowded space. The offerings can also be compared directly to mid-range smartphones, which just complicates things when you are looking for a new smartphone at under MYR 2,500 range. There is still a distinction though. In the mid-range segment, you want the best bang-for-buck you can get in terms of high-level performance, and innovations. In the entry-level segment, you want the best bang-for-buck and reliability; something that just works.
While there are plenty of players in the entry-level segment at below MYR 1,500, we can safely say not many can do better than OPPO and their A-series smartphones. Do not get it confused with Samsung’s A-series though, Samsung’s offerings are in the premium mid-range segment. When you take up OPPO’s A-series smartphones, you start to wonder what the extra money do for you in the mid-range segment.
Take this latest OPPO A96 for example. On paper at least, it is comparable to any mid-range devices you can pit it up against. It might as well be a mid-range device on paper.
Big Memory
It packs 8GB of RAM and 256GB in storage. With OPPO’s clever memory technology, the 8GB RAM can be expanded to up to 13GB temporarily for when you need the extra horsepower. This should mean much better multitasking experience comparable to even flagships of today. The only limiting factor should be its System on a Chip (SoC) that is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 platform. It does not pack 5G too, unlike most mid-range devices today.
Flagship Level Display
The SoC is the only thing that puts it squarely in the entry-level segment though. The main display is still a Full HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate with up to 96% NTSC or 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. At 6.59-inch, it is not what you want to call a small display too.
Powerful Camera
In terms of camera, the front-facing camera lodged in a punch hole on the display packs 16-Megapixel, rather powerful for an entry-level device. Out the back is a high-resolution 50-Megapixel shooter that works together with a 2-Megapixel depth sensor to produce beautiful portraits with those essential ‘bokeh’. Sure, it does not come with additional lenses to get telephoto or ultra-wide photos, but a high-resolution camera is the one that is being used often.
Premium Glass Backing
The OPPO A96’s back plate is also a glass panel, not plastic like most entry-level devices at its price range. It has a unique texture and design that OPPO calls the Glow Design made with diamond-cut glass panel placed in a vacuum to bring out the crystal patterns you see on the Pearl Pink colour option. The unique texture produced by the process is also resistant to fingerprint stains, which is a bonus to keep your device looking fresh and pretty.
Beefy Battery
To top all of that is an all-day battery sandwiched by two glass panels. It is 5,000 mAh battery that should last you at least an entire day with heavy usage. Use it sparingly and you might get two or even three days of charge with it. When it runs out, 33W charging speeds should bring it to a full charge within an hour for you to get going the entire day again. The device is also clever enough protect its own battery shelf-life by limiting its charge speeds when you charge it overnight to keep the battery optimised for you.
Price and Availability
As mentioned, the OPPO A96 will be available in two colour options – Starry Black and Pearl Pink. The device will be available for pre-order today onward all the way to the 22nd of April 2022. It will set you back MYR 1,299 and you can get your hands on one from OPPO’s authorised retailers and official showrooms when it is available. More on the OPPO A96 on their website.
WhatsApp is an integral part of our lives today. In most parts of Asia, WhatsApp has become an essential communication tool which has replaced the traditional messaging apps. iMessage in this part of the world has nothing against the likes of WhatsApp and the likes of the messaging app.
We rely on WhatsApp not just for communicating and chatting with our friends. We rely on the platform at work as well. The amount of group chats we have just for work can be quite unreal.
WhatsApp recognises the need for their platform, especially in the world we live in today. They also recognise the need for their platform to become something even more than just a way to text your other half that you are buying dinner. So, they introduced Communities.
What is Communities? It is very much like WhatsApp groups really, except that it is also not. It is a platform for organisations to organise on. It is a platform for managing groups from a single place on WhatsApp.
Source: WhatsApp
You can think of Communities as a sort of Forum for any organisation that you are a part of. There can be different conversations that happen in that forum (chat groups). You can also address the entire forum with a single message when you need to. It is like being a part of a larger conversation and have smaller side discussions without interrupting the larger group.
For the Admin of their communities, they get even more powerful tools to work with. You can make announcements to the entire community and address everyone from every smaller group whenever you want. If you only need the message to be spread across several select groups, you can do that too. Admins can even control the things that are being shared in each group if they find it inappropriate, much like forum moderators.
The example that WhatsApp gave in their announcement is of that of a school and the principal running the show. Communities can be much more than that though. It could be a collective of multiple charity efforts, an enthusiast community organising several events, even a company having separate departments as chat groups and project work groups.
Source: WhatsApp
With Communities, there are also several updates that is brought about the make WhatsApp even more powerful. Audio calls can now include up to 32 people. You can react to messages from your friends in groups too. At the same time, file sharing has been upped to 2 GB at a time, which is a blessing in the creative industry, or when you are trying to share full resolution images. Admin delete will also be introduced in regular group chats.
WhatsApp Communities is not available just yet. It is coming soon, according to WhatsApp. The feature updates that will be attached to Communities will be introduced to WhatsApp before the Communities update though. That also means you might get to try out some of the new features soon to get yourself ready for the Communities update. You can find out more about WhatsApp Communities from their announcement.
Let us first clarify what the title means for a second. It is really a reflection of the experience of the pair of earbuds itself, nothing to do with its build or even sound quality. It is a Sony headphone after all, one that retails for MYR 849.
This is an odd pair of kit. Sony is famous with their noise cancelling offerings. There is the very famous WH-1000XM4 and the WF-1000XM4. These are the best pair of noise cancelling headphones money can buy currently.
So, what was Sony thinking when they made the WF-L900 LinkBuds? Their marketing blurb says that it is the only headphones you will never have to take off. They also said that it is permanently on transparent mode.
On paper, you are getting a lot less than the WF-1000XM4 noise cancelling earbuds. The price tag is a little lower too for sure, but MYR 849 is not exactly cheap still. Is the asking price a fair one? Would this be a pair of headphones we never knew we needed? Would you be better off with a WF-1000XM4 instead? Let us find out
Design
The first thing that greets you, when you open your box made from the recycled paper, is not the two pairs of earbuds. It is the clamshell style case. It also looks like one.
The outer shell is made entirely out of what Sony claims to be recycled plastic. It looks the part too; most recycled plastic panels have the same texture and look. It feels grainy and smooth at the same time. It feels expectedly premium too.
Because it is made mostly of plastic, it is much lighter than what we expected. Curiously, the case can still charge the LinkBuds at least twice over. There is no wireless charging for this device though, that could explain its weight.
There are no magnets to keep the cap closed. The hinge is spring-loaded and swings open when you press the button at the front. There is a pairing button sitting beside a USB Type-C port. The case is very minimal, and very tiny.
Then you open it and find the LinkBuds with two large domes staring back at you with the chromed rings. The recess on the case for the ear loops looks oversized at first, until you rummage through the packaging to find extra ear loops. No multiple inserts for the ear tips here, there are no ear tips to begin with
The recess for the main body of the buds is quite shallow making cleaning as easy as dabbing the seats with a piece of cloth or tissue paper. The recess is also where you see the infrared sensors that senses the earbuds and two charging pins.
The earbuds are also designed with minimalism in mind. There are no additional magnets other than the ones in the ring drivers here. The LinkBuds themselves feature two recess that are made to be caught by latches on the case to secure the earbuds in the case, in case the magnets are not enough.
The earbuds, at 4g, is feather light. You can keep it in your hands, walk around, drop it and not feel a thing. You can put it into your ears, and then forget about it the entire day even when the battery runs out. Trust me, it happened to me.
Fit and Finish
Their odd shapes make for an odd fitting. Unlike regular earbuds, fitment of the LinkBuds really depends on the size of the ear loop that presses against the inner part of your ear. The ring part goes into the hole, but you cannot push it all the way in. Instead, it simply rests on your ears.
With a good fit, the LinkBuds should feel natural in your ears. It should stay in place even with heavy headbanging. After some time, you forget that it is in your ears.
Features
Of course, the most important feature of the Sony LinkBuds is its transparency mode. It allows you to keep your music on but be completely aware of your surroundings.
Always Transparent Mode
The transparency mode is a permanent feature. There is no proper way to seal the headphones. You can sort of stuff things into the middle of the ring, but we do not recommend that.
Because there is no artificial processing, you are getting clean, natural sounding ambient noise. You can have a completely normal conversation with your peers without taking off your headphones or stopping your music.
Oddly enough, there is a Speak-to-Chat function built into this pair of headphones. We never needed it and kept it off. I have tried ordering coffee with the set of headphones without any issues. I can have full conversations with my friends with the headphones on as well.
Oddly Intuitive Wide Tap Area Gesture Control
There are no touch controls on either bud. Accidentally turning down your volume, pause your music, or launch Google Assistant or Alexa by adjusting your earbuds is a thing of the past. There is a still gesture control. You need to tap right next to your ear to get it working. It does not work on a single tap too, which is another great way to prevent accidental inputs. It is either a double tap or triple tap, and it works well for us.
It is rather intuitive once you know what to do. Sure, you can only fit up to four commands in this case for the LinkBuds. Four is enough for most use cases.
The system is not perfect though. Despite the ‘wide’ moniker, you cannot tap too far away from the headphones to register an input. You want your taps to be distinct as well.
IPX4 Construction
Water resistance is important on this pair of headphones. In our minds, this is the type of headphones you wear for extended periods. There are already a few instances where we left the case in the car when we are out and about with the earphones in our ears.
You might take it for a quick run around your neighbourhood too. In that case, it will be exposed to the elements. It can take rain, shine, or even sweat with no issues.
Sony Headphones App
This being a premium Sony product, it gets Sony’s Headphone app. It is different from other headphones we are used to though. Obviously, The WF-L900 LinkBuds does not feature noise cancellation. You will find the ambient noise slider or toggle.
The controls for the Sony LinkBuds are more simplified than what we are used to as well. You still have control over the EQ presets, which we left to Bass Boost. You can change the gesture controls, DSEE settings, speak-to-chat function, and Sony 360 Reality Audio on the app. The ear analysis feature remains too. It works, but the difference is not night and day.
Performance
While part of the MYR 849 that you are paying is for the unique qualities of this truly wireless earphones, its main purpose is a personal listening gear. For that, it should also still perform like a Sony should. We are happy to report that it does, though with some trade off.
The Sony V1 Processor
It is the same one you can find on the more expensive and slightly older WF-1000XM4. It is missing a few key features on this model though.
You do not get to take advantage of the noise cancelling algorithm on the V1 anymore, for obvious reasons. But you also lose DSEE Extreme. In its place, it is still DSEE audio upscaling technology, which is still good, but not DSEE Extreme good.
The Calls
It is a strange experience, using the LinkBuds for calls. The person at the other end of the line sounds clear and crisp, enough at least for you to make up the words they are trying to convey. The person on the other end did not report any issues with the call quality. We did not try to use only one side of the earphone because I always seem to forget that I have the earphones on in the first place.
The strange part is that you are listening to the person on the other end, but you are also hearing the rest of the world at the same time. Sure, you can just concentrate on having a conversation with your friend, because he is in your ear. But when the environment gets noisy, it gets a little difficult to have a conversation since you are also very much receiving the noise from all around you.
In most cases, if you can hear your music, you should be able to hear into your calls very nicely.You hardly need to worry about privacy too.
Adaptive Volume
Adaptive volume is the unique feature of this pair of earphones. In effect the algorithm adjusts the volume of the audio according to your environment. If your environment gets a little louder, your audio becomes louder too.
You might not notice the volume increase and decrease too much in most cases though, since everything is done in accordance with your environment. It is rather seamless too; you hardly notice that the volume has changed at all. Then again, that is the whole point.
Much Enjoyment, Much Awareness
The experience that is offered by the LinkBuds can be more likened to the experience you get from open backed earphones. You get a rather wide, open feel to your music and audio. It feels like audio fills up the space around you. It is a different experience.
We use Tidal for most of our music listening and testing. The songs we used for the test is Freya Riding’s “Lost Without You”, Video Game Orchestra’s “Final Fantasy VII Medley”, “3 Hour Drive” by Alicia Keys Ft. Sampha, and Post Malone’s “Circles”. No, they are not necessarily what audiophiles would pick, but some of them represent some of the most popular music genres and styles today. We kept our volume to about 50% in most of our use case.
You can make out the bass lines on songs like “Circles” and “3 Hour Drive”, but they are not punchy at all. You do hear some of the details with Bass Boost turned on, but once you turn it off, it feels like the lower frequencies disappear. For Freya Riding’s “Lost Without You”, we get quite a natural reproduction of Freya Riding’s unique vocals. Her voice comes out very clear and you still can hear the depth of her voice in the song itself. On an orchestral reprisal that is the “Final Fantasy VII Medley”, you do miss some of its drama because the earphones lack that punchiness in the lower frequencies. It is far from terrible though; the music still sounds clear and crisp.
We use Spotify as our main podcast listening platform and the experience is a good one. You are still completely aware of what is happening around you, but you are also getting entertained. You lose a little bit of that radio voice, but the most important part of a podcast is usually its content.
The thing is, while we do want to give a hard time for it not having a thumping low-frequency punch, we still quite like the audio experience on the LinkBuds. Audio feels more natural thanks to the open back concept. Rather than getting as choke full of sounds pumped into your ear, music is lightly fed to your ears. It is a unique experience.
Battery Life
The Sony open back earbuds is quoted to have a battery life of up to 5.5 hours in regular listening mode. With the case, it is supposed to get up to 12 hours extra battery life. Our app says we have logged about 19 hours of listening time on the WF-L900 LinkBuds. We have only charged the device once since we got the device, which also means we have extracted more than the promised battery life.
Then again, we left the WF-L900 at half volume at most times and we hardly ever activate the wide area tap function. Adaptive volume was on, but again, volume is at 50% most of the time. We pick up calls with it too, which is supposed to drain its battery a little more. Our calls are placed with volumes above 75% most of the time just so that we can hear the other person clearly.
We believe that the batteries will last about 5 hours in a single use, especially when you leave the headphone on 70-75% volume. Our use case allows the battery life of the device to extend a little more than the quoted battery life, which is good when you do not want to take your headphones off.
You want to remember that each earbud only weighs 4g. It is one of the lightest pair of truly wireless headphones in the market, and it offers a battery life that matches some of the more premium offerings in the market. In that regard, the battery life is impressive.
The Sony WF-L900 LinkBuds – Unique is The Word, But There is a Little Bit More to It
In short, we enjoyed the Sony WF-L900 LinkBuds. It is a unique product, and it is not made for everyone. Inevitably, there will be “why do I need that?” questions. You don’t.
This is a unique product that fulfils a very specific need and solves a very specific problem. It is for the people who wants an earphone to be constantly in their ears. It is for people who wants a little more seamlessness in their day. It is for the people who are constantly on the go.
There are some compromises with this pair of headphones. It does not offer DSEE Extreme, just regular DSEE. There is Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, but we hardly notice its effects in our use time. It offers less battery life as well than the WF-1000XM4. The biggest drawback is that it lacks low-end punch.
You still get quite decent audio experience though, excellent high-end notes and crisp mid-range tones. At the same time, you are completely aware of what is happening around you while enjoying tunes or even podcasts. It is water resistant, important when you are constantly on the move. It is light and hardly noticeable in your ear once it goes in. You never have to take it off your ears until it needs a charge.
The MYR 849 goes into excellent audio while being able to go through the day completely uninterrupted. It buys a unique convenience, a sort of hybridization of lifestyles. It keeps you in the loop, while you are drifting away in a calm land. It keeps you focused, and entirely separated from everything that is happening around you simultaneously. It is weird, but it is a good kind of weird, and we like that.
Smartphones are great. Since the introduction of the first Apple iPhone and its App Store, the growth of this tiny handheld device has been quite exponential. We now live in a world where having a smartphone is not just a luxury, it is a requirement to getting most things done. We also live in a world where this piece of handheld electronics has become the most important personal equipment of ours.
Apple may be the first to introduce a smartphone ecosystem the world has never seen before. Their early dominance in the space inspired some lookalike products that were quite unsuccessful. But it also brought competition from some of the biggest players in the industry. It brought Android to the world as well and the battle for smartphone supremacy ensued to this day.
Being the two biggest players in the industry currently gives you two choices when you want to upgrade your smartphone. You can choose between an iPhone or pick from the sea of Android smartphones available to you. It sounds simpler than it is though.
If you are an Android user looking to upgrade your device, you are given plenty of choices. Swapping between one brand to another, while not without a small learning curve, is entirely possible and made very simple. It goes without saying, swapping from an Android system into the iOS ecosystem is also not very difficult. In fact, Apple introduced a “Switch to iOS” app into the Google Play Store back in 2015 to make their transition much easier.
The reverse is hardly true though. While swapping between one iOS device to the next can be made seamless with iTunes, there is still a small level of complexity involved. Everything is proprietary as well; you need to have an Apple account to backup and restore everything. In concept, it is very similar to what you already have in Android’s Google account requirements. It locks you into the system, making it difficult for you to port out of iOS and into Android.
There are plenty of apps and service providers that have attempted to make switching out of iOS much simpler than before. You have developers who specifically developed apps to help you transfer WhatsApp data from an iOS device to an Android device. Samsung themselves also developed the Smart Switch that can recover most of the data from your old iPhone when you switch to a Samsung device specifically. Now Google is also in that fight to bring more iOS users out of Apple’s ecosystem and into Google’s Android world.
The app is called ‘Switch to Android’, and it is available in Apple’s App Store in certain regions currently. Of course, the app will be made available globally as time passes, but for now a few regions is what we get. It also seems like the app is not a complete app just yet with limited access, something Google will be rectifying as well in future iterations, we assume.
Source: Apple App StoreSource: Apple App StoreSource: Apple App StoreSource: Apple App Store
It is a relatively straightforward app to work with. It is essentially a porting tool on an iOS device meant to transfer as much data as possible from the iOS device to any Android device of the user’s choice. How the app ports the data off to an Android device is by first establishing a connection between the iOS device and the Android device of choice. After the network is made, the app is supposed to allow you to transfer things like contacts, messages, photos, and even videos from your iOS device. Some early preview also shows that the app will prompt you to turn off iMessage to ensure you get text messages on your Android device since it is one of the most common issues plaguing users switching out of Apple’s platform. Of course, all the data that is to be copied must be stored on the device itself. Anything within Apple Cloud will not be copied over.
While the app is now available for iOS device on the Apple App Store, you want to keep in mind that there are still plenty of missing features. The app is also sitting as an unlisted app in the App Store currently, which might also mean that you might not be able to simply find the app via search. Google will be sure to update the app with more complete features in the coming iterations. For now though, if you are planning to switch from an iOS device to an Android device, the Samsung Galaxy devices with Smart Switch are still your best bet of retaining most of your data.
The race to create a competitor or a likeness to the wildly successful Clubhouse app has just sort of faded into obscurity. It is not because Clubhouse is not doing well, it still is doing good enough. There are still plenty who remained on the platform and there are still plenty of good conversations happening on the platform. The hype for that sort of thing has died down quite quickly though.
The rush to create a completing platform has spawned a few unsuccessful projects from the likes of Twitter and Facebook. But it also has spawned a successful one from Spotify, the Greenroom. Perhaps that should have come as less of a shock that it is. Spotify, after all, is one of the largest platforms for podcasts from all over the globe. It is not hard to see why a conversation based social media platform will not work in Spotify’s favour.
Greenroom, however, was in some ways an experiment for Spotify. It was a test platform to see if such things could work and if anyone that is already on their platform was open to the idea of Spotify themselves being a social media company. It was also especially telling that Spotify themselves are ready to become more of a social media platform than anything else. In that sense, the move to open Greenroom is sort of a natural progression for Spotify anyway, especially with all the new social features they have been introducing on their main app.
However, in the dawn of the Super App (a do-everything app), multiple apps from a single developer could be seen as clunky. People want to be able to access a single app and have access to all the services available from that developer from that one touch. Spotify had to adapt to that.
It was less than a month ago that Spotify expressed their interest in integrating Spotify and Greenroom in a single Spotify app. We thought that it would be inevitable, just not this soon. They have also changed the Greenroom name to Spotify Live now. That does not mean that Greenroom is not an app on its own though, it is still an independent app that you can use separate from the main Spotify App. That has also been rebranded to Spotify Live.
The Spotify Live app itself will retain all the qualities of the old Greenroom app. It is still an audio based social media platform. Anyone of the platform can create chat rooms and host the chats in those rooms. Any user on the platform will have access to all listed shows on Spotify Live platform. Users will have the ability to also interact within the show in Spotify Live app.
The function of Spotify Live on the main app is completely different. Spotify Live on the main app will only feature select Spotify Live shows on the main app. Of course, the show must be on-air at the moment of feature. If you are accessing the Spotify Live chatrooms on the main Spotify app, you also do not get to interact with the creator or hosts of the room. You are just a plain audience; you do not even get to raise your hands.
That also means that Spotify Live has now become a Live Podcast show that can be featured on Spotify. Spotify Live creators now gets access to the full range of Spotify’s global user base that numbers at 406 million people currently.
For now, only Spotify’s own original shows will get airtime in the Spotify Live section on their app. Obviously as Spotify Live makes progress, more shows will be added to the featured section in the main app. There are also planned events already for the rest of April and May for you to discover the new section on Spotify.
