Category Archives: News

Spotify Tests TikTok Style Video Feeds for Discovering New Music

Spotify is one of the most popular audio streaming apps in the world. It is currently one of the most complete as well in terms of listening options. You do not only have music; you also get the largest collection of podcasts the world has seen so far. On top of that, it might be the cleverest audio streaming app you can find today.

Spotify features nifty ways for you to discover new music. The app understands the sorts of music you listen to daily and gives you suggestions to music that might match your music tastes, your playlists’ moods, or themes. You can even discover music with your friends now with the Spotify Blend feature.

Soon though, you might be able to discover music on Spotify in a brand-new way. You want to keep in mind that this is a feature not fully released to the final app, so you might want to take it with a pinch of salt. The feature was first spotted by a certain Chris Messina on Spotify’s TestFlight build, a beta Spotify app for the iOS. There are no mentions on whether you can find the feature on Android’s version of Spotify Beta apps.

As reported by TechCrunch, the new Discover feature is a button or tab of its own that takes up the fourth spot on Spotify’s navigation bar. Spotify has confirmed that they are in the midst of testing this new ‘Discover’ function. While it does sound like Spotify is simply adding a simple random music search feature to the app, you might want to take a closer look at it.

Discover is a sort of short-form video content that sits on Spotify. It can be likened to TikTok, yes. But the sole purposed of it is for users to discover new music. You cannot be freely posting contents into the platform like TikTok. Instead, the feature now allows users to scroll through short video clips accompanied with curated music paired to the video feed. This does sound a lot like Spotify’s Canvas feature which played short video clips for certain songs.

Again, this feature is only available on iOS devices. It is also not a fully released feature, which also means you must source for Beta versions of the Spotify app. Sadly if you are on Android, you might be out of luck.

Sony Xperia 5 III Available for Pre-order in Malaysia

Sony’s new, compact Xperia 5 III is finally making its way to Malaysia. The new smartphone is now up for pre-order from Sony Malaysia.

Sony Xperia 5 III Preorder

The smaller sibling of the Xperia 1 III was announced earlier in April 2021 alongside its larger sibling. However, it is only making its way around the world now. The Xperia 5 III will be available for pre-order starting on 20th November 2021 until 20th December 2021.

The Xperia 5 III doesn’t sacrifice much to get its compact size. The smartphone packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. Of course, you can get more memory with the use of a microSD card. It also comes with a 6.1-inch OLED display with an FHD+ resolution of 1080×2520 pixels.

Xperia 5 III Pre order

On the camera side of things, it comes with the same triple camera setup you get on the Xperia 1 III. The three sensors are 12-megapixel sensors with ultrawide, telephoto, and wide lenses. Not to forget the inclusion of Zeiss optics and Zeiss T* lens coating for better picture quality. The phone’s setup allows it to shoot in 4K resolution at up to 120fps.

You can pre-order the Xperia 5 III at the official Sony Online Store for MYR4,599. Pre-orders come with a pair of Sony WF-XB700 true wireless earbuds worth MYR549. There is only one colour available for pre-order: green.

Spotify, You One-Stop-Shop for All Your Netflix Soundtracks, Playlists, and Podcasts

In a world where experts thought, just a few years ago, that TV would be dead and short form content platforms like YouTube will takeover, TV and films are doing better than ever. You cannot credit their strength to manufacturers though. Rather, these things come because of technologies that exists and allows the existence of Netflix.

Netflix is now bigger than life though. While there are other platforms like Disney+, or Amazon Prime Videos, Netflix is still king. It is the one platform that you go to time and time again to find contents to watch. It is, at least personally, the first platform that we switch on to find entertainment before even YouTube.

You can never get enough of Netflix though. After every show, you might discover something about the show that you liked. The most common of that is the soundtracks used in the show or movie. Within two weeks of Squid Game’s debut on Netflix, 22,500 unique Squid Game themed playlists were created by Spotify users to keep the show alive.

Netflix very much understands that their users are looking for entertainment far beyond their own scope. Spotify sees this too, obviously, being the largest audio streaming platform known to man. A collaboration was imminent.

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Source: Spotify

They call it the Netflix Hub on Spotify and it is the best way for you to experience your Netflix shows beyond the streaming platform, at least according to Spotify and Netflix. In the hub premium users can find all official soundtracks, playlists, and even podcasts from Netflix’s shows. You can easily access soundtracks from shows like Squid Game, Bruised, and even Cowboy Bebop.

The collaboration is more than just compiling soundtracks, playlists, and podcasts though. In honor of the final season of Money Heist, Spotify has included new videos from the cast of the show (not available in Malaysia yet, as far as we can tell). They have also updated the soundtrack playlist with songs used the latest episodes of the show. There are also new features like Character Match Playlist quiz that matches you to your favourite characters from the Spanish show.

Of course, the collaboration will not just end at Money Heist. As Netflix populates its library with new contents, so will Spotify with dedicated Netflix contents. You might see a Squid Game related video content and quiz in the future, you will never know.

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

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

Motorola e40 Edge 20 Pro

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

Motorola Edge 20 Pro – Affordable flagship performance

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

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

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

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

Motorola e40 – Made to Standout

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

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

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

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

Pricing & Availability

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

Electrolux Contributes Air Purifiers to Sg Buloh Hospital to help prevent Nosocomial Infections

Nosocomial infections, better known as hospital-acquired infections, have always been a concern for patients and healthcare workers. In the midst of a pandemic, the concern and risk of contracting one are significantly increased. With the COVID-19 pandemic, these infections are more common in patients suffering from COVID-19 and even healthcare workers. This can also include a COVID-19 infection.

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Electrolux, one of the leading electrical appliance companies, has recognised the increased risk that front liners and patients face in the midst of the pandemic. Hence, Electrolux Malaysia has decided to help alleviate the risk by supplying Hospital Sg Buloh with the Electrolux Pure A9. The air purifiers deployed to Sg Buloh hospital will be used to help provide better air quality for patients and healthcare workers.

The Electrolux Pure A9 is equipped with ionizer technology with a 5-step filtration system that is able to remove 99.99% of bacteria and influenza A (H1N1). The system is also able to reduce the presence of human coronaviruses (HCoV-229E) by up to 97%. The company is confident that these air-purifiers will be able to help in combating COVID-19.

The Electrolux Pure A9 works by continually monitoring the air quality of the room it is deployed in. Using the PureSense system, the Pure A9 will intelligently respond to changes in air quality by measuring both indoor and outdoor air quality. With this information, it will automatically adjust the purification rate. The air purifier is designed to reach and purify every corner with a clean air delivery rate (CADR) three times higher than the previous generation. It is also designed to minimise sound pollution with a minimum noise level of 16.5dB.

In total, Electrolux donated 20 units of the Pure A9 air purifiers. This was spread across two models: the PA91-606DG (14 units) and the PA91-406GY (6 units). Together with this, Electrolux also donated 14 units of the DEEP 360 Filter 13 600 and six units of the DEEP 360 Filter 13 400.

Samsung is Back in Fast Charging Game

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: XDA Developers

More OLED for ASUS – The VivoBook Pro 14X, Vivobook Pro 15 and VivoBook 15 gets OLED Treatment

OLED is wonderful. Since its introduction as viable digital panels for TVs, PC monitors, and even smartphones, the technology has been regarded as the best display technology so far. OLED display is all about contrast, brightness, clarity, and colours. It does all that well while consuming less energy than LCD panels. There is little wonder why manufacturers and users love the technology this much.

While it sounds like the perfect display technology, it is far from that. OLED panels tend to have burn-in issues especially when a static image is being displayed for far too long. OLED panels tend to have shorter lifespans too. At the same time, it is an expensive technology.

For ASUS though, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Thankfully as well, modern technology ahs brought the cost of the OLED technology down significantly. Modern Technology also made the OLED technology even better and more colour accurate than ever before. Modern technology, in a sense, brought the OLED technology to the accessible Asus VivoBook series, and there are new ones to be excited about.

ASUS VivoBook Pro 14X OLED

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Content creators need colour accuracy in their display. Of course, if you have larger budgets to work with, you might be able to afford a dedicated display that is made specifically with colour accuracy in mind. More often than not, independent content creators always work with limited budgets. That also means that they can only afford a single device and would need to spend their money elsewhere. This is where the VivoBook Pro 14X OLED comes in.

The new VivoBook Pro 14X OLED features a brilliant 14-inch 2.8K OLED panel boasting HDR 600. That means that the display boasts 600-nits in maximum brightness, plenty bright for a laptop that will set you back less than MYR 5,000. It is a unique 16:10 aspect ratio 14-incher too. With 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, you will not find anything more colour accurate in the same price bracket.

A great display like the OLED panel that the VivoBook Pro 14X needs a powerful hardware to back it up. It comes packing Intel’s 11th Generation Core i5 processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. To ensure that you have all the power to get your creatives flowing is an 16GB RAM supporting the powerful CPU and GPU. Of course, if you need to use a secondary display for productivity’s sake, there is a Thunderbolt 4 capable USB Type-C port too.

ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 OLED

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What if you are not really a content creator, but appreciate a good large display on your laptop anyway? What if you are a student that has not requirement for an ultra-powerful hardware and ultra-premium laptop? You get the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED

It features a stunning 15-inch Full HD OLED panel as its display. It may not be as high-resolution as the Vivobook Pro 14X, but it still got all the right benefits from OLED technology. The immersion you get from the OLED display is made even better with the Vivobook Pro 15’s Harman Kardon audio.

It packs AMD’s latest Ryzen 5000 H-series processor. That processor is supported by a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. It also has up to 16GB of RAM to keep everything running nice and smooth with up to 512GB of storage for everything else.

ASUS VivoBook 15 OLED

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Even if you are on a budget tighter than MYR 4,000 though, you still can get access to an OLED display with the VivoBook 15 OLED. It is the same 15-inch Full HD display you get from the Vivobook Pro 15. You also get 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage for the best and accurate colours from your 15-incher. What it lacks in, or at least where it becomes cheaper, is at its performance hardware.

It is powered by AMD’s Ryzen 7 processor or an Intel Core i3 processor. It does not come with a discreet GPU though so you are either stuck with AMD’s own Radeon or Intel’s own Iris Xe graphics. You still get and SSD with the Vivobook 15 OLED. You also get Harman Kardon-certified audio with the new Vivobook 15 OLED.

Price and Availability

The three new ASUS VivoBook OLED series are now available in Malaysia. You can get your hands on one via ASUS’ authorised retailers across the nation, or even online. The ASUS VivoBook Pro 14X will set you back MYR 4,799. The ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 OLED starts at MYR 4,299. The VivoBook 14 OLED though starts at a mere MYR 2,799. More information on the ASUS VivoBook OLED series can be found on ASUS’ website.

More Razer Immersion for your Sony PlayStation 5 with the Kaira Pro

The PlayStation 5 was launched last year. Nearly a year on and we still have not gotten our hands on one yet. Stock shortages for the PlayStation 5 is also still an issue at this time. That has not stopped the gaming industry one bit though. Peripherals for the platform has grown stronger than ever.

About a month ago, Razer introduced new headphones that are made for the Sony PlayStation 5 and Xbox platform. The PlayStation 5 is special though. There has not been a proper headphone that would take full advantage of Sony’s amazing audio technology for the PlayStation 5. Until now that is.

Razer Kaira Pro & Kaira Headset

The Razer Kaira Pro, according to Razer, is the first Dual Wireless Headset made for the Sony PlayStation with Haptics. To be fair, it is the first headphone of its kind.

Instead of adding immersion with the usual virtual surround sound, the Razer Kaira Pro features Haptics. Yes, Haptics as in vibration-based feedback. They call it the Razer HyperSense and they claim that it is a game-changer in console immersion. It vibrates along with your Dualsense controller for that extra immersion.

Of course, it is still a powerful gaming headphone. It packs Razer’s TriForce Titanium 50mm driver for that extra bass punch. The TriForce Titanium drivers also delivers excellent high and mid frequencies.

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It is a gaming headphone after all, so you would need a good mic to be able to get your team to line-up with you. The Razer Kaira Pro also comes with Razer’s proven HyperClear Supercardioid Mic. Working with the mic is Razer’s clever vocal recognition algorithm that cancels out background noise to ensure that you get uninterrupted team chats.

Of course, while it is a PlayStation 5 focused peripheral, it does not discriminate. It still works with the PlayStation 4 platforms, PC, and even your smartphone with either Bluetooth or 2.4GHz receiver you can plug into the USB Type-C or Type-A ports. You want to use the provided HyperSpeed Dongle.

Price and Availability

The Razer Kaira will be available from Razer’s authorised retailers and Razer’s own online store from 16th of November 2021 onward. The Kaira Pro will be available officially in December 2021 onward. The headphones will set you back MYR 489 and MYR 979 respectively. You can find more information on the Razer Kaira and Kaira Pro on Razer’s website.

Sony Xperia Pro-I Up for Preorder in Malaysia

Sony recently announced its new Xperia Pro-I. A flagship that reaffirms the company’s commitment to delivering cutting edge imaging technologies on a smartphone. The Xperia Pro-I is arguably one of the company’s most well defined and boisterous offerings to date which bring together smartphones and Alpha imaging technology.

It comes with a large Type-1.0 Exmor RS image sensor – the same sensor that you get with the Sony RX100 VII. The sensor is complemented with a dedicated Bionz X Image processor. In addition, it also comes with ZEISS lenses with the Tessar T* lens for the best image quality. The 20.2-megapixel sensor brings Sony’s cutting edge imaging into your hands complete with eye-tracking autofocus.

Sony Xperia Pro I Preorder FB
Source: Sony Malaysia Facebook

The smartphone comes with a Snapdragon 888 octa-core processor with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of onboard storage. It also supports up to an additional 1TB of storage with a microSD card.

Well, with all the specifications and camera technology out of the way – it’s time to get down to business! The smartphone is available for pre-order in Malaysia! If you’ve been itching for a phone that’s a camera first, you can get the Sony Xperia Pro-I for MYR7,199.

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Source: Sony Malaysia Online Store

However, you don’t have to just order the smartphone, instead, you can create your complete creator’s kit with the Complete Creator’s Bundle which adds on the Vlog monitor and the stereo lavalier microphone and shooting grip for MYR8,028 – an MYR839 discount off the regular price of MYR8,867. It also comes with a 256GB microSD card, a screen protector and a casing.

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Source: Sony Malaysia Online Store

If that’s a little too pricey, Sony is also offering the Xperia Pro-I in a bundle with the Vlog Monitor which costs MYR8,239. For the pre-order, you can get an MYR519 discount for the bundle.

The preorder offers are available from Sony’s online store starting 15 November 2021 until 15 December 2021.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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