Malicious apps on smartphones are nothing new today. With rapid adoption of smartphones across the globe, malwares are not really an ‘if’ anymore, it is more of a when. Google and Apple, the two largest ecosystem holders in the world, have done everything they can to prevent malwares from hitting their devices, but once in a while some things slip through.
Very recently, Bleeping Computer has reported that researchers have found a malware on the Google Play Store. For the record, this is not the first time this has happened. These are not Android-only incidents too, before you start bashing Google for their lack of concern over our safety and privacy. This time round though, it is an Android isolated incident.
The app in question is called ‘Craftsart Cartoon Photo Tools’. It is, in effect, malware disguised as a form of photo editing tool. As an app, it sounds quite fun. It allows you to upload an image and convert it into a cartoon artwork rendering of some sorts for you to upload to your social media for the fun of it. What comes with the app is not so fun.
Pradeo, a security firm, discovered that the app comes with a Trojan malware called ‘FaceStealer’. It is what it sounds like, an identity theft malware. But it is not just any identity that it wants, it wants your Facebook ID and password. When you open the app for the first time, the Trojan fires up and opens a Facebook login screen for you to enter your Facebook credentials before you can use the account, which sounds completely normal. You can read more about what the trojan does via Bleeping Computer or Pradeo’s blog.
According to the research in Pradeo, the developers have injected a small piece of malicious code within the app. It is small enough to slip past Google play Store’s security filters, but enough also to work. To ensure that it stays in the Google Play Store, the app has also been automatically repackaged so that it behaves like a regular legitimate app.
This goes without saying, if you have the app installed in your Android smartphone, delete it immediately. There are no mentions if there is an iPhone equivalent on this. You can assume that currently it is only affecting Android devices, since ‘FaceStealer’ is made specifically for Android devices. The ‘Craftsart Cartoon Photo Tools’ has since been taken down from Google Play Store, but not without over 100,000 downloads first.
Apple TV+ is, there is no easier way of saying this, good. There are plenty of interesting and captivating shows that are exclusive to the platform. Those exclusives actually won awards, just to prove our point. But unti 2021, Apple TV+ holds their cards very close to their chest. You can only access the Apple TV+ app via Apple devices like Apple TV, Mac, iPhone, and iPad. You could not, and still cannot access it on your Android smartphones.
In 2021, it seems that Android users might be able to get a glimpse of what is on the other side with the introduction of the Apple TV app on their Android or Google TVs. Through the app, you can access whatever that Apple has on their Apple TV box, they can buy movies, rent movies, and even subscribe to Apple TV+. Their app is also available on NVIDIA Shield, and Google’s Chromecast dongles.
There was a recent update for the app on Android and Google powered TVs. After the update, it TVs or boxes with Google’s operating system works, but only just. The app on these devices can only play the movies or stream on Apple TV+ only if you have already bought them, or rent them, or subscribed to Apple TV+ previously. If you have not, you are out of luck because you no longer have an option to buy, rent, or subscribe to anything on the app. The only button left here is “How to Watch”.
Yes, the app will teach you how to watch your movies or shows on Android or Google TVs. But you are also required to have an Apple device at that, which also means it is going to be an extra spend if you do not own an iPhone or an iPad. Like we said earlier, this could go either way.
The decision by Apple to remove their in-app purchase features could be due to a few things. For one, Apple might want to avoid the 30% commission that Google demands for all in-app purchases on their platforms. The other one could also be to probably just sell more devices. Both are likely though.
For now, this might lead to a sharp drop in their subscriber count on Android and Google TVs. In the future though, there might be a bigger demand for affordable Apple devices just for Apple TVs services and features. It also could discourage Apple iPhone or iPad users to switch out of Apple’s ecosystem. We will just stick to Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Videos for now.
Samsung is no stranger when it comes to smartphones. In fact, they have had one of the most successful Android flagships for years with the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series. However, their mid-range offerings have been somewhat of a sore spot as the company struggles to be relevant. That changed last year with their A52 5G; the phone has been one of the most successful mid-range smartphones for Samsung ever.
Bringing Flagship Features to the Midrange
This year, they’re looking to build on that success and capitalise on bringing flagship features to the Galaxy A lineup. The 2022 Galaxy A series will be spearheaded by the Galaxy A73 5G, Galaxy A53 5G and the Galaxy A33 5G. Yep, that’s right, the series will be equipped with 5G across the board. In addition to 5G, Samsung is also bringing some of the software features we’re used to seeing in their flagships to the Galaxy A73, Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A33.
You will now see software features such as Bixby Routines, Buds Auto Switch, Continue App and Link to Windows as mainstays in the Galaxy A series. Continue App allows you to take apps across from your phone to your Samsung tablet while Link to Windows will allow you to seamlessly integrate apps from your phone to your Windows PC. Bixby Routines, on the other hand, will allow you to create “routines” that will be able to be executed with a simple voice command. That said, DeX will not be making an appearance on the new Galaxy A devices.
In addition to these software features, the Galaxy A series is getting IP67 water and dust resistance – yes, even the A33. Together with this, the series is also getting Gorilla Glass 5 and a large 5,000mAh battery. They will also be getting 5 years of security updates with 4 years of major software updates.
Flagship cameras for the Midrange Heroes
The Galaxy A33, Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A73 will all come with top of the line cameras. The trio comes with a quadruple sensor setup with a main sensor equipped with optical image stabilization across the board. The Galaxy A73 5G comes with a 108-megapixel main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and autofocus functionality. The A53 5G comes with a smaller 64-megapixel while the A33 5G is equipped with a 48-megapixel sensor.
Complementing this main sensor are an Ultrawide sensor, a macro sensor and a depth sensor. On the A73, these are a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor, a 5-megapixel macro sensor and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. The A53 comes with the same. The A33 comes with a smaller 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel depth sensor, it does, however, come with the same 5-megapixel macro sensor. On the front, the A73 and A53 come with a 32-megapixel fixed focus sensor while the A33 comes with a smaller 13-megapixel one.
Samsung isn’t just focusing on the hardware when it comes to the cameras. Software features such as hybrid zooming and even Single Take are making their way to the Galaxy A series.
Same Same but Different
The overall outlook of the Galaxy A series of 2022 can simply be surmised as “same same but different”. The smartphones inherit the design language of the Galaxy A series of 2021 with small tweaks for better ergonomics and to keep up with the colour palette of 2022. Other than that, they come with the same design as the 2021 Galaxy A series. The same rectangle with a fluidly camouflaged camera hump melding into the back of the phone.
On the front is a Super AMOLED panel. The A73 comes with the largest of the three phones at 6.7-inches while the A53 comes with a 6.5-inch display. Both these models come with a 120Hz refresh rate. The A53 comes with a smaller 6.4-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate. All of the displays have a Full HD+ resolution with an 800 nits peak brightness.
The smartphones come with new 5nm processors. The Galaxy A73 is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G while the Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A33 run on the Exynos 1280. The new Galaxy A series comes with 8GB of RAM. This can be expanded with up to 6 GB of additional RAM with Samsung’s RAM plus feature. The Galaxy A73 and A53 will be available with 256GB of storage while the A33 will be available with 128GB of storage. All three support up to 1TB additional storage via microSD card.
The new Galaxy A series devices will not ship with a charger in the box. It will only have a USB-C charging cable. Also absent is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Pricing & Availability
The Galaxy A73 will be available in Awesome White, Awesome Gray and Awesome Mint. It will be retailing for MYR2,099.
The Galaxy A53 and A33 will be available in Awesom White, Awesome Black, Awesome Pink and Awesome Blue. They will retail for MYR1,849 and MYR1,499 respectively.
No availability dates have been shared just yet.
Official Specifications
Model
Galaxy A33 5G
Galaxy A53 5G
Galaxy A73 5G
Display
6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED 90Hz Infinity-U Display
6.5-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED 120Hz Infinity-O Display
6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED+ 120Hz Infinity-O Display
At this point, smartwatches are outselling regular watches. You even see some of your friends that are not big fans of wearing watches now wearing a form of smartwatch or fitness tracker. There is a very good reason to that.
A smartwatch or fitness tracker does not just tell time. They are more functional than regular watches because they now track your steps, your heart rate, your exercises, and much more. Smartwatches, because they are connected to your smartphone most of the time, are effectively your pagers now (pagers are like little SMS machines that predates even your mobile phones, if you do not know what that is). It also changes time zones with you without your input. It redefines what a toolwatch is.
If you ask us which smartwatch you should buy, and if budget is no object, we will always tell you to go out and get yourself a Garmin smartwatch or fitness tracker. Why? They are simply the best at this, currently. It is okay if you cannot fork out MYR 4,000 to buy a Garmin Fenix though. You can get this, the Instinct 2 at a fraction of the price and still have the best of Garmin.
Source: Garmin
It is still a Garmin fitness tracker cum smartwatch, so it does everything that a smartwatch and a fitness tracker does. Instead of being a one-stop-shop for everything that is fitness and adventure though, the Instinct 2 is a little more focused on different purposes. Still, if you need something completely general and unassuming – there is still the regular Instinct 2 for you to work with. If you are on a tight budget, you can still opt for one without the solar charging capability.
Yes, you did read that right, the Garmin Instinct 2 charges via solar now. Whichever Instinct 2 you pick as well, they are built to military standard 810 to ensure that the watch works in whatever condition you can throw it to, even in 100m of water depths. 45mm too big? There is The Instinct 2S too with 40mm bezels with all the bells and whistles from the larger Instinct 2.
Source: Garmin
As mentioned, the Instinct 2 series is more function focused than ever. There are three purpose-built editions to the Instinct 2 series now. You have the Surf Edition that allows you to keep track of data that you would need in any water sports category. It keeps you updated on wind speeds, tide conditions and more. You can even track your activities on the water and review them later.
There is also a Tactical Edition, a military type of edition made for the military person. You get Stealth Mode with this one too, we assume that is to dim down the screen so that it does not emit any lights. The screen is even usable with Night Vision Goggles for some reason. Of course, it is also a GPS tool to ensure that your location is always updated. Since it could be an essential military gear, Garmin added the Jumpmaster activity mode for when you go parachuting. This is a little overkill for a regular person though.
For regular adventurers, maybe the Camo Editions are good enough. It is a regular Instict 2 with everything that Garmin can offer in a fitness and adventure tracker, but in camo colour options. All of the Garmin Instinct 2 editions works Garmin’s Connect IQ app with access to the store for further personalisation of your Instinct 2.
The Instinct 2 and Instinct 2S is now available from Garmin official stores on Lazada and Shopee. You can also purchase an Instinct 2 watch from Garmin’s official distributor for Malaysia via AECO e-store and other authorised retailers. The Instinct 2 and Instinct 2S will set you back MYR 1,630 onward. For more information on the Garmin Instinct 2 series, you can head over to Garmin’s website.
It is not easy to follow up from a great product. Xiaomi managed to introduce the Xiaomi 11 series, their most powerful flagship with a lot of new upgrades from its predecessor. The Xiaomi 11 series packs very powerful System on a Chip (SoC) with an ultra-powerful camera array. At the same time, the 2021 flagship costs a fraction of the prices of most of the flagships out there.
So how do you follow up from such a strong device? If you ask Xiaomi, more of the same things that they have done before.
Enter the Xiaomi 12 series. On paper, it does not look like they have moved away from their old recipe of great prices and powerful flagship level hardware.
Xiaomi 12
Source: xiaomi
We start with the most obvious change on paper, the SoC. You get the most powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC to date on the Xiaomi 12 series. You get a nice and powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip with 4nm technology powering Google’s latest Android 12 with MIUI 13.
Alongside the powerful processor is an ample 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM for super-fast read speeds. Speaking of memory, you can spec your Xiaomi 12 with up to 256GB of built-in storage. There are no expansion slots for the device though, bummer.
All these pushes MIUI 12 interface to take advantage of the AMOLED Dot Display. It is a 6.28-inch Full HD+ panel that offers 120Hz in refresh rate for the smooth feel. For vivid, immersive colours the panel offers HDR10+ support, Dolby Vision certification, TrueColor support, and is rated at A+ by DisplayMate. You can do away with screen protectors too with Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus protecting the panel.
Watching movies with a Xiaomi 12 should be an immersive experience too with Dolby Atmos certified speakers. Moreover, it is tuned by the knowledgeable guys over in Harman Kardon.
Source: xiaomi
Where the older Xiaomi 11 offers one very powerful 108-Megapixel sensor for its main camera, the Xiaomi 12 only offers up to 50-Megapixel in resolution for its main sensor. That is not necessarily a bad thing though, considering that its supporting cameras also offer higher resolutions than before at 13-Megapixel for its ultra-wide shooter, and 5-Megapixel for its telephoto shooter. Out the front is a 32-Megapixel camera for ultra-clear and detailed self-portraits or group photos. While you do lose some resolution in photos, you can still get 8K video recordings out of the main sensor.
Keeping everything running along for an entire day is a large 4,500mAh battery. You get up to 67W in charging speeds via the USB Type-C port. Charging it wirelessly should also be quick enough with up to 50W in charging speeds. If you have other devices that needs power quickly, the Xiaomi 12 can wirelessly share its charge at 10W.
Xiaomi 12 Pro
Source: xiaomi
If the regular Xiaomi 12 does not rock your boat, you might want to look at its Pro variant. True to the Pro moniker, it is bigger, more powerful, and surely more expensive. For good reason though.
You are not getting a different SoC, it is the same powerful one since you cannot get anything more powerful than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. You are getting a much bigger 12GB RAM for it though, which also means that you have more multitasking capabilities. Pair that to a 256GB storage, your Xiaomi 12 Pro is a media powerhouse.
The display is much bigger too at 6.73-inch with a few more curves. It is still an AMOLED Dot Display with AdaptiveSync. It is an AdaptiveSync Pro technology that allows the display to switch up between 1Hz to 120Hz for better dynamics and even better battery life. At the same time, the increase in size allows Xiaomi to fit twice more resolution than its regular counterpart making it effectively a WQHD+ display. It also protects your eyes better with SGS Eye Care Display certification.
Source: xiaomiSource: xiaomiSource: xiaomi
Dolby Atmos and Harman Kardon tuning should be enough for the immersive feel of movies on your smartphone. Not for the Xiaomi 12 Pro though. Instead of the regular dual speaker set-up, the larger body allows Xiaomi to shoehorn four speakers, two tweeters and two subwoofers, for an even more immersive audio experience without the need to use Bluetooth speakers.
To keep all these things working for you an entire day and more is a larger 4,600mAh battery pack. You can also charge the battery at 120W that fully charges the battery in 18 minutes. It also comes with 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse charging like the Xiaomi 12.
Prices and Availability
The Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro is now available for pre-order until the 23rd of March 2022. You can pre-order yours directly from Xiaomi. The new flagships will set you back MYR 2,899 (8GB + 128GB, MYR 2,999 for 8GB + 256GB) and MYR 3,899 respectively. Unfortunately, you do have to arrange to collect your device from a Xiaomi Flagship store near you once it is available though. Still, every pre-order entitles you to an array of premium free gifts worth up to MYR 2,197 like a 3.1 Channel Soundbar for example. For more information on the Xiaomi 12 series devices, you can visit their website.
Next generation gaming on both the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation are technically the best and most advanced gaming devices ever to hit the market. The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 offered a gaming experience like no other when they made the announcement of a certain storage technology that changed the gaming industry. It allowed the hardware to fully access all the speed offered by a 4th generation SSD storage.
In theory, the new technology allowed full access to the 5GB/s read speeds that the new SSDs are capable of. That much read speeds also means that loading times in games are cut short to nearly an instant. For games that was introduced on PS5 like “Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart”, it means no loading screens from one map to another. In that sense, developers are given more freedom to design games that has nearly no loading screens. That technology alone put the next-generation consoles ahead of even the most powerful gaming PCs you can find today.
Microsoft did make an announcement 18 months ago that that same DirectStorage technology on the Xbox Series X will make it to Windows games. That 18-month waiting time has laboured its final fruits. Microsoft has just announced that the DirectStorage API is here for Windows games.
Source: Make Use Of
This announcement also means that games for Windows 10 and Windows 11 now get full access to the full 5GB/s the 4th Generation PCIe NVMe Solid State Drives. Technically, if SSDs gets faster in these few years, DirectStorage technology should also mean that whatever speeds SSDs can go to, games have access to as well. In that sense, it means loading times in PC games are not just greatly reduced, it could be eliminated.
There is a problem here. While Microsoft says that Windows 10 and 11 are ready for games with no loading screens, we will not be getting any games without loading times though. The reality is this, the marker is still full of games that are optimised for HDD speeds. That also means that even if your SSD can be read at 5GB/s, games today are not made to take advantage of those speeds yet.
The way things look, it looks like we also will not be getting any games that would be made to take advantage of those speeds anytime too soon too. HDDs are still a thing in the PC market. It is the cheapest way to set up a gaming PC today still, at the same time too, PCIe NVMe 4.0 SSDs are not the cheapest storage options available at this time. Still, if game developers are paying attention, they will make more games like the upcoming “Forspoken”. For now, while this announcement may not be much too significant currently, it could mean a future where games can feel seamless all the time.
The mid-range smartphone market is a thriving market segment. There should be no surprises there, since smartphones priced between the MYR 1,500 to MYR 2,500 range are not just affordable today. Today, mid-range smartphones perform nearly just as good if not as good as most flagship smartphones out there. Sure, you get less powerful System on a Chip (SoC) most of the time. That is just about the most compromise you get from mid-rangers though.
While it looks as though you are paying less because you are getting more compromises, in some cases, a mid-range smartphone can have its advantages over flagships. For one, mid-range smartphones sometimes offer extended battery life that most flagships with powerful chips in the world cannot offer. They are also rather good looking most of the time, better looking that some flagships sometimes.
Enter the HUAWEI nova line-up. The HUAWEI nova line-up is the Chinese giant’s most successful mid-range smartphones that sits not too far off from the HUAWEI P series flagships. The nova series usually packs a more powerful camera and large enough battery to keep the device running for days at a time. That is what you also get in the latest HUAWEI nova device, the nova 9 SE.
HUAWEI nova 9 SE
Source: HUAWEI
First up, is the compromise on the HUAWEI nova 9 SE. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 SoC. The SoC packs eight ARM architecture cores; four powerful Cortex-A73 cores clocking 2.4GHz and four efficiency Cortex-A53 clocking 1.8GHz.
Everything else after that compromise is a match to most flagships. It packs 8GB of RAM alongside the SoC. The combination should allow you to game smoothly while allowing smooth sailing multitasking all-around. With 128GB of storage, all your personal data can be stored away safely in one place.
Then there is the ultra-powerful camera. Instead of a measly 50-Megapixel, or even a 64-Megapixel shooter, HUAWEI decided on pushing a large 108-Megapixel sensor as its main shooter, more megapixels than any HUAWEI device ever had. The powerful camera is flanked by an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide camera, 2-Megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-Megapixel macro camera. Out front is a 16-Megapixel shooter with up to Full HD video recording capabilities.
Speaking of front, the Super Device capable devices offers EMUI 12 beauty on a Full HD+ 6.78-inch IPS panel. The panel also offers 90Hz in refresh rate for the smooth feel. For the snappy instant response feel is the panel offering 270Hz in touch sampling rate.
Keeping the device running all day and more is a large 4,000mAh built in battery. It is charged by USB Type-C when it runs out. At that, it charges at HUAWEI SuperCharge speeds (66W) to get it charged from empty to full in less than 40 minutes.
Price and Availability
Source: HUAWEI
The HUAWEI nova 9 SE is now available for pre-order until the 18th of March 2022. You can get your pre-orders in via HUAWEI’s official web store, Experience Stores, and official online stores on Shopee and Lazada. As mentioned in the title, the device will set you back MYR 1,099. Every pre-order of the device will come with a HUAWEI FreeLace and a bunch of HMS (HUAWEI Mobile Services) packages worth up to MYR 560 while stocks last. For more information on the HUAWEI nova 9 SE you can visit HUAWEI’s website.
Today, content is king. When you talk about popular contents in the modern digital age, streaming is always something that comes up. The streaming industry is not limited to e-sports or gaming titles anymore, it could be anything really.
The entire streaming culture really can find its roots in gaming tough. When you talk gaming, you inevitably talk Razer. Razer is not just a gaming brand anymore though; they are a lifestyle brand with nice stuff for your PC and your gaming needs. We are also personal fans of the brand; we use their gaming peripherals and a certain compact USB mic for our podcasts (keep a look out for season 3!).
The streaming industry, as we pointed out, while started from the gaming culture is constantly growing. It used to be that you needed to have a capable enough gear to stream, a stable internet connection at home, preferably a fast one too just so that you can sit down and talk to hundreds to millions of people around the world. Today, 5G is looming upon us. Even without 5G, 4G LTE is more than enough to allow streamers to go LIVE anywhere and at any time. The number of digital platforms that allows anybody to stream whatever they like has changed the streaming industry.
Razer, as one of the brands that advocates the streaming culture must make progress with the streaming industry. To do that, they released a few new gears that streamers can up their game. They launched a new mic, a new mixer, and a lighting pad.
Taking Your Stream Anywhere – Razer Seiren BT
Source: Razer
To take your stream anywhere, anytime, you need to be mobile. The best hardware you have in your disposal is your smartphone. Your smartphone does everything a PC can while you are on the road. Most of the time though, while the camera on modern smartphones is more than capable of capturing clear, high-resolution videos for your Twitch stream, the audio is usually quite choppy unless you use a wired headphone and look cumbersome. Most wireless audio gear also means extra heft and a lot of cost.
The most elegant solution for this is using technology that is already available to us. That is why the Razer Seiren BT exists. The Razer Seiren BT is optimised to be used with smartphones and mobile streaming set ups to ensure that streamers always get the best audio quality no matter where they stream. Its simple clip-on design allows the mic to be mounted conveniently without disturbing your visuals. The wireless mic is also built with clever noise cancelling technology to cancel out background noise and wind noise in the environment, controllable via the Razer Streaming Mobile App.
Have More Control Over Your Streamed Radio – Razer Audio Mixer
Most of the time, audio is an afterthought in streaming. While setting up, plenty of people will tell you how important it is to get your visual right. You tend to focus on getting a good camera on hand and to make sure you and your environment looks good. Then you forget you need to let your voice get through in the stream, so you get yourself a mic that easily plugs into the USB port.
Source: Razer
While that is all good, you will have a problem when you want to work with multiple audio streams. You can, technically, control all these audio streams on your PC itself if you have the technical know-how. If you do not though, the Razer Audio Mixer is here to help.
The Audio Mixer is a clever solution to your Audio problem when streaming. It allows you to control up to 4 audio input channels to stream audio into and from your PC. It is an analogue board as well, so you can have direct and quick fader control over all the audio channels you have for your stream.
The Audio Mixer takes on most audio inputs too including hybrid-XLRs inputs, TRS Line, Optical TOS and others. Integrated to Razer’s versatile Synapse 3 software, streamers not just adjust the volume of your audio inputs and outputs. You can access the EQ of each channel via the software to tune your audio in your streams. All of these is done and loaded on the Razer Audio Mixer’s processor, so your PC can focus on working the video streams.
Visuals is Still Everything Though – Razer Key Light Chroma
Source: Razer
Being one of the big advocates of RGB hardware in gaming hardware, Razer is still all about the visuals too. Of course, visuals are still very important in streaming culture. You do not want to see badly filmed stream with dim lighting on the star of the show. As a star, you do not want your face to be covered by darkness too. But the regular cool or warm lighting is just too boring. What do you do?
You get the Razer key Light Chroma RGB light pads, mount it to your desk with an included desk clamp pole, point the pads to you, and choose whatever colour you want on your face, or lighting up your room. The Razer Key Light Chroma looks very much like a regular professional light pads used to light up a room or a scene with 16.8-million choice of colours with RGB Chroma. But connect them to your or smartphone via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and you will find that Razer’s Synapse 3 and Streaming App features more controls over the light pad than you know. Sadly, it is not battery compatible, you do need to carry a power adapter that can supply 52.5W to each light pad to power the pads. If you want to take your streaming mobile with the 2800 Lumens light source, you do want to make sure you have a power outlet available.
The Razer Seiren BT, Audio Mixer, and Key Light Chroma is now available on Razer’s online store and authorised stores. Unlike some of other devices in Razer’s arsenal, there are no colour options for these devices. Prices start from US$ 99.99 (MYR 479*) for the Seiren BT, US$ 299.99 (MYR 1,399*) for the Key Light Chroma, and US$ 249.99 (MYR 1,209*) for the Audio Mixer. More information on Razer’s range of streaming focused hardware can be found on their website.
Apple is just fresh off their most recent launch of the new M1 Ultra chip in a very expensive Mac Studio. In their most recent launch event, they also released a certain display made for the studios at a much more affordable rate than their premium Pro Display XDR. They launched an MYR 6,999 monitor called the Studio Display with 5K resolution and three options for a stand and mount.
The monitor works exclusively with USB Type-C ports with one of them being a Thunderbolt 3 port that feeds the display feed from Mac devices. But the fact that it is a Thunderbolt supported device should also mean that any PC users can enjoy the clarity that is offered by a 5K display.
Apple says to MacRumors that PC users can use the Studio Display with little to no issues at all. Thunderbolt capability means that any PC with Thunderbolt and display capability on its USB Type-C port can output a display on the Studio Display. So far so good, anyone looking for a studio display with more than 4K resolution on tap. They did say that there are certain limitations though.
Despite the Apple A13 Bionic chip they are putting in the Studio Display, it does not do anything that a regular display does not. There are no smart elements to this display like Samsung’s Smart monitors for work. It only works when there is another Mac or PC connected to it. Except, a PC will not be able to take full advantage of what the display has to offer.
There is a native firmware that runs on the Studio Display. The firmware is what runs the webcam, its Centre Stage function, True Tone, Spatial Audio, or any other functions that might require a firmware to work with. All of those requires MacOS to run.
That also means that the only thing you are going to be using the Studio Display as just that, a display. Apple also said that the resolution will also depend on what system it connects too. That could also mean that you might not even get the 5K resolution that is promised by the display.
The 27-inch Apple Studio Display starts at MYR 6,999. There are three mounting and stand option for the new 5K resolution monitor. Its availability date in Malaysia has not been confirmed thus far, but an official pricing also means that it will be available not too long after the United States gets their share of the new Apple displays. More information on the Apple Studio Display can be found on their website.
As mentioned in the previous article, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio was launched in back in September 2021. This is also an era when Intel has yet to introduce their latest 12th generation Core processors. That also means that the most powerful Microsoft Surface device is still powered by an 11th generation Intel Core processor.
In case you forgot, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio comes with a display you can tilt around to make it a sort of a tablet or a touch display with an easel stand or kickstand behind it. It is more stable though since it has the whole weight of the laptop underneath it. Of course, it works like a normal laptop too.
Source: Microsoft
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio comes in either an Intel Core i5-11300H processor or an Intel Core i7-11370H processor. With the Core i5 variant, you get Intel’s proven Iris Xe graphics. The More powerful Core i7 variant gets NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050Ti GPU. The One with Core i7 and the GeForce RTX 3050Ti is the one you want.
There is also a Stylus included with the laptop. The stylus can be used on the brilliant 14.4-inch touch sensitive display that boasts 120Hz in refresh rate. The Studio laptop also features Quad Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Atmos certification to keep you inspired or entertained when it matters.
Source: MicrosoftSource: MicrosoftSource: MicrosoftSource: MicrosoftSource: Microsoft
The Microsoft Surface Laptop is now available via Maxis and all Microsoft’s authorised retailers including Shopee and Lazada. You can choose between two configurations for the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, as mentioned. There is also a third configuration available for Malaysia. It is a Harvey Norman exclusive though. The Harvey Norman exclusive (MYR 11,999) comes with Intel’s Core i7, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050Ti, 32GB of RAM, and 1 TB of SSD storage, whereas the regular (MYR 9,399) Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio tops out at 16GB of RAM with 512GB in SSD storage. More information on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio can be found on their website.
