HP’s new line up of Spectre laptops has officially made its debut in Malaysia with the announcement of their flagship Spectre x360 series. Yep. That’s right, it’s not just one laptop anymore. HP is introducing a new model – the HP Spectre x360 14 – which spearheads the line up. The new Spectre x360 series will now consist of the Spectre x360 14 and the Spectre x360 13.
The new laptops from HP come with a 3:2 aspect ratio and comes with a Full HD resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. The displays, like in previous iterations, is a touch enabled IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection which covers 90.33% of the viewing surface. This year’s line up comes with some colour accuracy with 100% coverage of the sRGB gamut. The display comes in both 13.5-inch and 13.2-inch sizes for the 14 and 13 respectively.
The Spectre x360 line up comes powered by the 11th Generation Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. Complementing the processors is up t0 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD storage. Aside from this, the laptops come equipped with Intel’s new IRIS Xe graphics which packs quite the punch when it comes to graphical prowess. On the networking side, the HP Spectre x360 line up with Intel’s built-in AX201 networking which supports the new WiFi 6 standard in addition to Bluetooth 5.0. With these upgrades, the HP Spectre still boasts up to 17 hours of battery life.
HP continues imbue the Spectre line up with its premium, all metal build. This year’s iteration comes with gem cut and dual chamfer design made possible by precision CNC machining. This and the full aluminum gives enhanced durability and sturdiness to the new Spectre x360 without adding unneeded weight to the laptop.
With all these hardware features, the HP Spectre x360 line up comes with a slew of software features that bring added functionality that users will definitely benefit from. One that stands out is HP’s QuickDrop feature which allows users to seamlessly transfer files between their phone and PC. Users can also use the function to access things like addresses between the two platforms. HP’s Smart Sense helps users get more out of their PC by optimising settings in the background while users are using the laptop. This comes in addition to the Microsoft’s Windows Hello which works with the IR camera and fingerprint sensor on the Spectre x360.
Pricing & Availability
The HP Spectre x360 14 and 13 are available in HP’s signature Poseidon Blue with Pale Brass accents. Prices start at MYR6,099 (USD$1,504.17*) for the Spectre x360 14 and MYR5,699 (USD$1,405.52) for the 13.
When we say professionals, we do not mean doctors, or businessmen, or Engineers. We mean content creators, filmmakers and such. Those are the kind of people that Sony targets with this device, alongside the brand-new Sony α1 full-frame mirrorless camera. Before we go any further though, we have to break a few hearts with its price.
The Xperia PRO for 2021 is supposed to be available to customers in the North American market from the 26th of January 2021 onward. It will be available for US$ 2,499 (MYR 10,107*). Yes, that is more than MYR 10,000 in Malaysia, that is even before we consider the device coming to town with its own local pricing. That puts it way above the iPhone 12 Pro Max even at the Apple device’s most expensive configuration available on their website. There is a good reason for the pricing for this Android device though.
The Sony Alpha One Stop Shop
Source: Sony
Just looking at the official renders, you can already tell that this is not some regular, chintzy flagship device with all kinds of blings in the world. This is a purpose-built piece of kit that not only functions as a smartphone. It is a personal assistant for content creators that is on a Sony Alpha platform. It is built to enhance your content workflow and even more powerful. It makes you a superhero.
That last statement may be a little bit of an exaggeration. Thing is, with an Alpha camera and the Xperia PRO, you sort of can be a content superhero. This is a one stop shop for an Alpha camera system before you post edit everything on a PC system or Mac, whichever you work on.
The Monitor
Source: Sony
First of all, it has everything you need to get your Alpha workflow compiled in one place. It packs a Type D Micro HDMI input port specifically for Alpha camera systems. That means it acts as a secondary 6.5-inch 4K OLED monitor feed that you can pair with your Alpha camera like the Sony α1.
The Broadcaster, The Cloud Server
Thanks to that HDMI connection that allows 4K capture even on the Xperia PRO too, the combination of an HDMI input from an Alpha camera (they say it works for other cameras too) and the Xperia PRO’s 5G capabilities makes this thing a live broadcaster too. Who says you need to spend an arm and a leg for a dedicated broadcasting gear? Well, you still kind of do, the combination of an Xperia PRO and the Sony α1 is still more than MYR 30,000 in value. But this is really high-quality YouTube Live, Facebook Live, and even Twitch streaming in your pockets.
Of course, you need strong and stable network connection for the Xperia PRO to broadcast to whatever channels you prefer. That is also why the Xperia PRO is designed the way it is. It is so that the device packs a 360-degree optimised mmWave and Sub-6 5G antenna. Combined with low dielectric constant materials for its chassis (not aluminium), 5G connections should remain strong and stable at any given time for optimised broadcasts.
The Xperia PRO could be your one stop shop for photo processing too for Alpha camera systems. You only need to connect your Alpha camera to the Xperia PRO device via USB and transfer all your photos to an FTP server. That means you can save some money on buying extra SD cards and worry more about shooting the best photos you can get.
The Sony Xperia PRO Smartphone
Source: Sony
Now, to the smartphone bits. We start with what empowers the Sony Xperia PRO. We start with its heart, the processor, the SoC.
It packs a powerful and modern Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 5G enabled System on a Chip (SoC). This 5G enabled device is capable of multi gigabit speeds. As mentioned, that could be critical for broadcasting needs. But a powerful and punch SoC is important too to get ensure that everything you need on the device connected to the Alpha camera is seamless and smooth. Of course, for all intents and purposes, Sony packs 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage (expandable up to 1TB via MicroSDXC) to go alongside the powerful SoC to avoid any bottlenecks.
Out the back is the same camera system you find on the Sony Xperia 1 II flagship smartphone. Why fix something that is not broken, right? The Sony Xperia PRO packs a 4K video recording capable triple camera system with a regular wide-angle 12-Megapixel shooter, a 12-Megapixel telephoto lens, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. Out the front is an 8-Megapixel selfie camera, which might not get that much mileage considering the purpose of the device.
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Source: Sony
Still the display will get plenty of mileage if you have a Sony Alpha camera. It is a 4K HDR 6.5-inch OLED unit that displays colours at DCI-P3 100%. You want accurate colours; this shows even more accurate colours compared to the new Samsung Galaxy S21. Then again, if you need to rely on this device to work on your contents, you want those colours.
The whole unit is rated for IP65/IP68 dust and water resistance and protected with Corning’s very durable Gorilla Glass 6 out the front for protection. That also means that you can take your gear into any weather and still get it to function. Add those on top of the long lasting 4,000 mAh battery and you have a super reliable workhorse to get you through a shoot day.
Pricing and Availability
As previously mentioned, the Sony Xperia Pro will be available in North American markets 26th January 2021 onward. It retails for US$2,499 (MYR 10,107*) in available markets. There are no mentions of the device coming to Malaysia just yet, nor its official local pricing. Do not expect it to be cheap though, and if you are a content creator, you might want to start saving. For more information on the Sony Xperia PRO for 2021, you can visit Sony’s website.
*Approximate conversion based on US$ 1 = MYR 4.044 on Xe Currency Converter as of 27th January 2021
When the world marvel over Canon’s new EOS R5, partly because of its 8K video recording capabilities, everyone expected Sony to do the same with their high-end video hero, the Sony Alpha (α) 7S III. They stuck to their ways and went with a better 4K video recording capability though. They introduced a few changes and improvements to make the production favourite even better. The third generation of the low-light champion has better dynamic range, and even better colour science. In that sense, if you are looking for a great camera that can do great looking videos without breaking your production budget, the α7S III should be right on top of your list.
Of course, while any big rumours of 8K video capabilities have been snuffed out by Sony launching the α7S III, Sony was not done yet. Not to be outdone by their countrymen, they launched their α1 last night (11.00 p.m. Malaysia time +0800 GMT). The headline figures are impressive.
50.1-Megapixel, 8K @30p, 4K @120p
Source: Sony
The headline figures read 50.1-Megapixel full-frame sensor. It is still mirrorless, so it is fitted into a body as big as the current α7 body. It is the same size as the Sony α9 II as well.
That 50.1-Megapixel full-frame stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor is backed by a brand new improved BIONZ XR image processor with eight folds of processing power over the previous image processor you find on the α9 II. That image processor allows up to 120 autofocus calculations every second at 30fps blackout free continuous shoot. That is twice as fast as the α9 II. 30fps is also as fast as a regular film that you watch in the cinema, by the way.
That powerful sensor also enables the Sony α1 to shoot videos at 8K resolution at 30fps with 10-bit 4:2:0 XAVC HS video format for as long as 30-minutes. That 8K footage is oversampled internally at 8.6K for even more detail on your 8K footage; it is Sony after all. You might not use 8K that often, but you will appreciate its 10-bit 4:2:2 4K videos at 120fps capabilities; slow motion has never looked better. Of course, you get access to Sony’s very famous S-Log profiles up to S-Log3. At the same time Sony is adding S-Cinetone colour matrix profile to the camera for even more creative flexibility for filmmakers.
Source: Sony
It is not like it will underperform under low-light conditions too. The α1 features 15 stops on dynamic range for stills and even more for videos. You can see better too, through the lenses with the new Electronic ViewFinder that projects 9.44 million dots at 240fps.
Eye AF (Autofocus) has been improved too, now it works nicely with 4K videos and is even faster alongside its general AF capabilities. You can even track birds with the new Eye AF algorithm. The new AF system also covers about 92% of the frame at 759 phase detection points so you have more room to place your subjects.
Even Faster, More Stable, All Around Better
Source: Sony
The α1 is also now the world’s fastest camera with 1/400 seconds flash sync speed with its mechanical shutter. Because it is Sony, they over engineered the mechanical shutter, obviously. It is a carbon fibre unit with two drive units to make it super-fast. At the same time though, more shutter speed also means that you get more creative room in the studio.
The α1 also features a new sort of stabilisation mechanism for both a better image quality and even more stable videos. Keep in mind that Sony’s lenses do not have built-in stability mechanism and stabilisation is solely done within the camera body. While that may not look as impressive as Canon’s EOS R5 or R6 in their plain form, put Sony’s footage into Sony’s Catalyst Browse and Prepare applications and watch the magic unfold.
The α1 is not just better in all that areas though. In some very magical way, the α1 has minimised its rolling shutter problem with a new electronic shutter function. We see this implemented in the α7S III as well, but apparently the one on the α1 is even better. We will not know until we see its implementation right next to α7S III.
Connectivity Options
Source: Sony
Sony also launched the Sony Xperia PRO alongside the α1 camera. Get this though, the Sony Xperia PRO with 5G connectivity and 4K display can be used as α1’s 4K HDMI output monitor so that you do not have to rely on the tiny display on the Sony α. With the Sony Xperia PRO you are also adding some 5G capabilities to the Sony α1.
Of course, like the Sony α7S III the new Sony α1 is powered by their proprietary Z-series battery with support for a vertical grip. The two media slots can support up to UHS-II SDXC/SDHC cards or Sony’s new SFexpress Type A cards for even faster read/write speeds. We do recommend these if you want to shoot 8K videos or 4K videos at 120fps though. Get this too, the Sony α1 packs a SuperSpeed 10Gbps USB port and an ethernet port for professional convenience and workflows. That is on top of its built-in WiFi antenna. All of that in a body no bigger than a compact APS-C DSLR, imagine that.
Price and Availabilty
Source: Sony
While you are now salivating all over the floor with the thought of getting your hands on one, hold your horses. The Sony α1 will be available in North American region in March 2021 onward at approximately US$ 6,500 (MYR 26,286*) for the body only. There are no official figures or launch dates for Malaysia just yet. For more information on the Sony α1, head over to their website.
**UPDATE: Sony Electronics Malaysia has confirmed that the Sony Alpha 1 (α1) will be available in Malaysia April 2021 onward. No confirmed pricing just yet.
*Approximate conversion based on US$ 1 = MYR 4.044 on Xe Currency Converter as of 27th January 2021
Hot off its announcement of the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung is reintroducing two new entries that may have slipped under your radar. Announced a week before Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, are two devices that could fall under the “Same same but Different” category: the Galaxy A02s and the Galaxy A12. Both feature a big screen, a large built-in battery and multi camera setups.
Galaxy A02s & Galaxy A12: Same, Same but Different
Both devices come with a 6.5-inch screen with HD resolutions and an Infinity-v display where the front-facing camera sits. In addition to the large display, the Galaxy A02s and Galaxy A12 feature Dolby Atmos® sound which helps immerse you into the movies or games.
To power the entertainment powerhouses, a long-lasting battery is a must to ensure that your not worrying about the battery life when watching movies or playing games on the smartphones. Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A02s are equipped with 5000mAh with 15W fast charging for a quick top up whenever you need it.
The new entries to the Galaxy A series come with Octa-Core processors. The A02s comes with a Snapdragon 450 processor while the A12 comes with a MediaTek Helio P35. These processors are paired together with 4GB to 6GB RAM and 64GB to 128GB internal storage. Both devices also come with a MicroSD slot which supports up to an additional 1TB of storage.
The Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A02s comes with a haze and matte effect on the back with a curve-edge design. That said, the Galaxy A12 is slightly heavier than the Galaxy A02s at 205g compared to 196grams. Yet, the Galaxy A12 has a slimmer design at a mere 8.9mm, and Galaxy A02s at 9.1mm.
Multi-camera Setups for Better Photography
Both devices come with slightly different camera specs. However, they are still touted to be able to capture vibrant, lively pictures with Samsung’s camera technology.
The Galaxy A12 comes with a quad-camera setup complemented with a single front camera. The quad camera comes with a 48-megapixel main camera with an F/2.0 aperture, 5-megapixel Ultra-Wide camera with 123-degree viewing angle and an F/2.2 aperture, 2-megapixel macro camera with an F/2.4 aperture, and 2-megapixel Depth camera with an F/2.4 aperture. The setup of the 4 specs of cameras. With the versatile range of cameras, users can enjoy capturing high quality images of the many moments in their life. On the front, it has an 8-megapixel selfie camera.
On the other hand, the Galaxy A02s comes with a triple camera setup with a 5-megapixel selfie camera on its front. The triple camera consists of a 13-megapixels of the main camera with an F/2.2 aperture, together with 2-megapixels macro camera with an F/2.4 aperture and 2-megapixel depth camera with an F/2.4 aperture.
Galaxy A12 Fortified by Knox
Samsung Galaxy A12 users can enjoy with defense-grade Knox security platform as it has multilayered security to protect your data and personal information. You may apply the security feature to your folder, Samsung Pay, Samsung Healthy, or even Samsung Pass. Knox security platform is serves as a safeguard and plays an important role in protecting more than 1 billion Samsung users and business devices and data.
Price & Availability
Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A02s are available from 6 January 2021 onward in Malaysia, and both devices have 2 color options which are black and blue. Galaxy A12 will retail for MYR799 (USD198.183) while the Galaxy A02s will cost MYR529(USD131.183)
Hot off the finalisation of the sale of it’s Honor brand, rumours are surfacing that Huawei may be looking to do the same with their P and Mate smartphone line ups as well. News first surfaced when Reuters reported that it had obtained the information from sources close to the matter.
The report stated that Huawei was in talks with Shanghai government-backed investment firms to spin the brands off as independent companies like Honor. One of the sources claimed that the idea has been floated since late last year. Sources are claiming that Huawei hasn’t made a final decision just yet and the deal may not go thru as Huawei is still looking to manufacture its own HiSilicon Kirin chipsets.
Be that as it may, Huawei has issued a statement to Android Authority dismissing the “rumours”. That said, the company did the same when initial rumours of Honor’s sale surfaced. In its statement, Huawei states, “There is no merit to these rumours whatsoever. Huawei has no such plan. We remain fully committed to our smartphone business, and will continue to deliver world-leading products and experiences for consumers around the world.”.
The sale would effectively mean that Huawei would be withdrawing itself from the high-end smartphone market. On the other hand, Huawei has been touting its upcoming Harmony OS as an alternative to Google’s Android OS since the sanctions from the U.S. were enacted. However, things haven’t been easy for the company as sanctions have tightened leading to the company losing access to key partners such as ARM and TSMC.
The sale of Honor seems to have been a boon to the brand as the company has since inked deals to engage partners like AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek and more. This enables them to produce their Honor MagicBooks and smartphones. However, unlike Honor, the sale of the P and Mate brands would only leave Huawei’s lower end Y and Nova series in their smartphone portfolio.
Samsung is always making waves when it comes to launching their brand new devices in any country. In Malaysia, the company is approaching things a little differently given the current situation. Having just launched the Galaxy S21 internationally with pre-orders happening already ongoing in Malaysia, the company is looking to launch the Galaxy S21 series with a bang; albeit a little differently.
The Galaxy S21 series will be making its official Malaysian debut on the silver screen. Samsung Malaysia is partnering with local broadcast companies Media Prima and Astro. In this partnership, the Galaxy S21 series will make its big debut on TV3 and Astro AEC. However, it’s not a live stream or recap of the international announcement. Instead, TV3 and Astro AEC will be airing specials which highlight the many features of the new smartphone series.
Kicking off the launch is a special featuring popular local artists Ismail Izzani, Nabila Razali, Elly Mazlein, Norman Hakim and more on TV3. The special will be airing tonight – yep – you read that right! Tonight, 26th January 2021, will be the first of two specials. The TV3 special called “Keluarga Epik” will air at 9PM. It will be showcasing how a family pursues their dreams and passions from home with the Galaxy S21 series.
Tomorrow, on the 27th of January 2021, join Astro’s Yoke Chen, Darren Ch’ng and Jie Ying as they showcase the Galaxy S21 series. The three hosts will be joined by many more Astro celebrities in showing you how they make everyday moments epic with the Galaxy S21. The special will also be live streamed on MY’s Facebook page where viewers will be able to participate in a live Q&A session and stand to win prizes.
Samsung Malaysia will also be making a special announcement during these specials.
When we say ‘Premium’ today it is a little different from before. ‘Premium’ products have been flooding the market at prices that are not ridiculous. Some might even say that ‘Premium’ is affordable these days. This is also largely thanks to the higher disposable incomes from this generation, and the increasing number of middle-class income households. The combination of both fuels the increasing demands of these affordable premium products.
Sony has announced that SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 premium wireless speakers to fill that ‘Premium’ space. Both new wireless speakers come packing with Sony’s unique spatial sound technology alongside other smart features and technologies Sony employs to make their speakers sound like no other.
New Premium Speakers, New Premium Features
Source: Sony
The SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 wireless speakers features a unique ambient room-filling sound experience. They call it spatial sound, and it is a unique feature to Sony speakers. It works pretty much like Sony’s 360 Reality Audio technology. In fact, the SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 works best with 360 Reality Audio contents. Time to prepare your credit cards for a Tidal subscription people.
While most conventional speakers spread audio waves horizontally, the new wireless speakers fill the room with vertical and horizontal signals to really create a roomy aural experience. Of course, Sony has their own Immersive Audio Enhancement technology within the speakers to transform regular 2-channel stereo tracks into something truly breath-taking. Maybe you do not need to cancel your Spotify subscription after all in that case.
Source: Sony
Every room is different though. Sony knows this. That is why the SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 features automatic sound calibration tools to optimise itself in whatever room you may leave it in the house. Simply hold the Immersive Audio Enhancement button on the SRS-RA5000 for a quick calibration of your room. Kind of like how your Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones adjusts to your ears to give you even better experiences.
The SRS-RA3000 is made to be even more portable though. It auto calibrates itself in any room when you turn it on and play your favourite tracks. Every single time you move it to a new room or a different room in your house, or even hotel rooms, the SRS-RA3000 auto-calibrates itself to suit its containing room. Both speakers are also clever speakers that adjusts its own volume so that you have a consistent listening experience without having to adjust your volume at every track.
SRS-RA5000 vs SRS-RA3000 – Which Should You Get?
Source: Sony
The Hi-Res Audio certified SRS-RA5000 is set up with a trio of vertical-firing speakers and 3 middle sited speakers for an even and well spread out vertical and horizontal audio distribution. High-magnetism neodymium magnets and mica reinforced cellular diaphragm keeps it compact to ensure that it tucks in any room seamlessly and unobtrusively. The neodymium and mica constructions also allow the SRS-RA5000 to produce clean, crisp, clear, and powerful audio to the room while remaining subtle in the room.
On the other hand, RA3000 offers a unique omnidirectional sound that you can take with you anywhere in your house. Technically because it is more compact as well, it can travel with you. Thanks to its humidity resistant construction, you can put it anywhere within the confines of your house without worrying that it will break due to water damage. Of course, refrain from dumping it into the water, it is not water resistant. It is built-in with an omni-diffuser that allows the deep audio to travel upward too, allowing the compact premium speakers to fill an entire room, in any room at your house.
Function and Set up
Source: Sony
Both speakers can connect to devices with Bluetooth and stream over Wi-Fi, but RA5000 has an additional connectivity option which is one-touch NFC ™. The SRS-RA5000 and SES-RA3000 can also be connected to your Spotify and Chromecast for convenience and flexibility in real life. Moreover, users can control music played on the speaker via voice command. Also, it comes with multi-room features with Google Home/Assistant or Amazon Alexa compatibility. Besides, users may connect the Bluetooth speaker with their television to enhance audio experience. Of course, you can control the Sony SRS-RA5000 and SRS-3000 speakers via the Sony Music app available for free on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Price and Availability
The Sony SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 will be available in Malaysia February 2021 onward. There are no price announcements just yet, Sony promises for the prices to be revealed closer to launch date. For more information you can visit Sony’s website.
In the new era, every consumer has different needs and requirements toward television and LG Electronics (LG) has unveiled its first QNED Mini LED Television (TV). Nam Ho-jun, senior vice president of R&D at LG’s Home Entertainment Company said that the newest models of television, the QNED series, are premium level home entertainment options for the consumers. Of course, the new TV also allows consumer to improve the LCD TV space in their house.
LG Electronics claims that the new QNED Mini LED TV is the premium tier of the LCD TV line-up. It also represents a great leap forward in LCD TV picture quality. The QNED Mini LED TV is built-in with the a new panel structure that merges quantum dot and NanoCell technologies with Mini LED light source which produces a better picture performance and even wider color gamut and even better contrasts. The advanced panel is able to provide a vivid viewing experience for the user in the LCD space.
The new panel construction is supposed to produce incredible looking color thanks to the advance LED backlighting that provides better contrast and deeper black. Also, the new QNED Mini LED TV packs up to 30000 tiny LEDs, 2500 separate control zone, and advanced local dimming technology that able to enhance contrast, shadow detail, and incredible peak brightness.
The QNED Mini LED TV also boasts a contrast ratio of 1000000:1 display. The also boast excellent HDR image quality thanks to the never seen before contrast and deep blacks. Moreover, QNED Mini LED TV is equipped with a 120 Hz refresh rate for some next generation console readiness. Without a doubt, the new QNED Mini LED TV is the new flagship TV from LG.
Price and availability
LG is launching 10 new 4K and 8K TVs through 2021. The largest size of TV that will be available for 2021 from LG goes up to 86-inch currently. Consumers may explore the LG’s top-of-the-line 86-inch 8K television during the CES 2021, LG virtual exhibition booth, starting January 11. For more information, you can look at LG’s CES 2021 announcement.
It is January 2021 and we are back for another episode of Tech & Tonic podcast, the very first one for 2021 and it came from our own houses because Malaysia is under a second lock down (Movement Control Order). The global pandemic did not stop CES 2021 from happening though. Although everything is happening online.
The year kicked off with a bang though because Xiaomi now joins HUAWEI and DJI in the United States banned entities. Xiaomi does not have an official presence in U.S. though. They only stateside link they have is the Operating System they use (Google’s Android), their processors (Qualcomm), and few other components. In that case, what will happen to Xiaomi? We discusses a little further on this topic on the podcast.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 series just launched last week too. The renders look exactly the same as the actual device except that the device looks even more impressive. The Samsung Galaxy S21 flagship series packs Samsung’s latest Exynos with 5G capabilities. The Galaxy S21 Ultra even sports S Pen compatibility and up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. All of these comes with a price though. The Samsung Galaxy S21 starts at MYR 3,699 and tops out at MYR 5,899.
It is also the first Samsung Galaxy S21 series that sells without a charger out-of-the-box too. With all the shade that was thrown to Apple’s decision to not include a charger for ‘ecological’ purpose, we start questioning the motive behind not including chargers in smartphone boxes. We also discuss a little further on the fact that the S Pen now lives on in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, a sign of death in the family of Samsung. All this and more on Tech & Tonic Podcast.
OPPO took the stage today to unveil their new Reno5 series which brings a new design language with the same top of the line camera technology. Since their initial release of the Reno, OPPO has quickly brought their cutting edge camera technology to the series making it one of the better mid-tier offerings.
This time, OPPO is bringing two editions of the OPPO Reno5: the regular Reno5 and the Reno5 Pro. Both devices come with 5G capabilities. However, they differ in the processors that power them; the OPPO Reno5 comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G Octacore processor clocked at 2.4GHz while the Pro comes Mediatek’s Dimensity 1000+ processor. This makes the Reno5 Pro the first smartphone to have Mediatek’s latest processor in Malaysia.
Aside from that, OPPO’s mid-range heroes come with a 6.4-inch AMOLED display on the Reno5 and a slightly larger 6.5-inch SuperAMOLED display on the Pro. Both have a Full HD+ resolution of 2400×1080 pixels in the 20:9 aspect ratio. They are capable of 90Hz refresh rate with 180Hz touch sampling.
Both the Reno5 and Reno5 Pro are capable of 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 which means that you should be able to get to 100% charge with 35 minutes of charging. The Reno5 comes with a 4,300mAH battery while the Reno5 Pro comes with a slightly larger 4350mAh. They charge via a USB-C port and support Wi-Fi 5 and 6 respectively.
On the camera side of things, the Reno5 series comes with a newly augmented 64-megapixel quad-camera sensor. This year the 64-megapixel main sensor is complemented with an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor, a 2-megapixel monochrome sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. On the front is 32-megapixel sensor.
While the setup may seem run-of-the-mill, OPPO has augmented the setup with new AI technology they are calling Full Dimension Fusion (FDF). This technology allows the camera to capture portrait selfies the front camera and amazingly crisp pictures with the main camera setup. This time, OPPO has made things a little better by allowing you to use its bokeh algorithm while in video mode. The technology also incorporates Live HDR algorithms that will make dark, dingy pictures and videos come to life with colour and depth. It also brings a new stabilization algorithm that OPPO claims will allow you to have super steady videos and minimise blur in photos.
Pricing & Availability
The OPPO Reno5 will be retailing for MYR1,899 while the Reno5 Pro will be available for MYR2,599. Both phones will be available in Galactic Silver and Starry Black.
Pre-orders have kicked off on the 13th of January and will continue until January 26, 2021. Successful pre-orders will receive a pair OPPO Enco W11 true wireless earphones, an OPPO case and comes with an extended year of warranty. If you walk into an OPPO Sales & Service centre, you will get an additional set of OPPO BFF friendship phone cases and an MYR100 rebate on your purchase of the Reno5. The first 100 walk-in customers will also be entitled to a mystery gift worth up to MYR150,000.
Official Specifications
Specifications
OPPO Reno5 5G
Reno5 Pro 5G
Dimensions
159.1 x 73.4 x 7.9mm
159.7 x 73.2 x 7.6mm
Display
6.4“ AMOLED 20:9 FHD+: 2400×1080; PPI: 410 Single Punch-hole Display 90 Hz refresh rate + up to 180 Hz touch sampling rate In-display Fingerprint
6.5“ Super AMOLED 20:9 FHD+: 2400×1080; PPI: 402 Single Punch-hole Display 90Hz refresh rate + up to 180 Hz touch sampling rate In-display Fingerprint
Color
Galactic Silver / Starry Black
Galactic Silver / Starry Black
Biometrics
Hidden Fingerprint Unlock Facial Recognition
Hidden Fingerprint Unlock Facial Recognition
Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 7nm process Octa-core CPU up to 2.4 GHz
MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ 7nm process Octa-core CPU up to 2.6 GHz
Memory
8GB RAM + 128GB ROM
12GB RAM + 256GB ROM
Rear Quad Camera
64MP Main Camera F1.7 8MP Ultra wide-angle Camera F2.2 2MP Macro Camera F2.4 2MP Mono Camera F2.4
64MP Main Camera F1.7 8MP Ultrawide-Angle Camera F2.2 2MP Macro Camera F2.4 2MP Mono Camera F2.4
