Thin-and-light notebook PCs are some of the most popular choices today in the laptop market. The appeal of a thin-and-light notebook is technically in its name; it is thin, and it is light. You can take it anywhere and set it up anywhere you want to and get productive whenever. You don’t have to break your back carrying lugging your work set-up around. In the current pandemic situation, where remote working is a norm, this format of computing solution has proven to be the most versatile for the general workforce too.
Choosing the right thin-and-light notebook is not as crucial as making a life-and-death decision. But choosing the right one will not only help with your productivity, but it could also save you from a lot of trouble. It could also be the difference between taking hours to set-up or getting work done whenever you need to. So, what do you get?
You could consider this, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2.
Microsoft should know a thing or two about making laptops for Windows 11. They are the makers of Windows 11 operating system, after all.
To recap, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is Microsoft’s take on what a thin-and-light laptop for the discerning professional. It weighs just a little over 1.1kg and is entirely made from aluminium. It looked good too in its Platinum metal finish.
Open its sleek metal clamshell and you are met with a 3:2 12.4-inch PixelSense display that is also touch sensitive. Above the display is also an HD camera with dual Studio mics for crystal clear video calls.
Source: Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Underneath the large trackpad and keyboard is a very powerful 11th Generation Intel Core i5 processor. The processor is paired with an 8GB RAM and up to 256GB in SSD storage. Of course, there are no discrete GPU within the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2. Instead, it has Intel’s Iris Xe graphics to ensure that the laptop can still edit 4K videos.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 is now available in Malaysia via Microsoft’s commercial authorised reseller. You can also get your hands on one from Maxis and Microsoft’s authorised retaliers across the nation. It starts at MYR 3,488 for a 128GB SSD variant and up to MYR 3,788 for a 256GB SSD variant. More on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 can be found on their website.
ASUS’s smartphone offerings were bolstered by the initial release of the ROG Phone back in 2018. The unique, gamer-centric smartphone not only brought a more performance-centric smartphone, but it also brought along a whole ecosystem focused on extending the mobile gaming experience. This year, the company is announcing the new ROG Phone 6 series which brings an offering for every price point and continues to keep gamers front and centre.
Power-packed Entries Staying True to ROG’s Gamer-first Ethos
The new ROG Phone 6 series consists of two smartphones: the ROG Phone 6 and the ROG Phone 6 Pro. These smartphones continue to offer the highest-end performance with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The new processor brings improvements in power efficiency and performance over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. This is enhanced by ROG’s X mode which unlocks performance on the smartphone. In X mode, the ROG Phone 6 and ROG Phone 6 Pro are able to average 59.4 fps on Genshin Impact – one of the most demanding games on mobile right now. On the ROG Phone 6, the processor is complemented by up to 16GB RAM and 512GB of onboard storage. The Pro, on the hand, comes with a whopping 18GB of RAM with 512GB of storage.
On the display side of things, the ROG Phone 6 series comes with a Samsung AMOLED display made of E4 materials. This allows for increased brightness and high refresh rates. Speaking of, the 6.78-inch display comes with a 165Hz refresh rate and 720Hz touch-sampling rate giving users an edge when it comes to games. The display is also colour accurate coming with a ΔE below 1 which means that the colour accuracy is virtually indiscernible from real life. It’s also got a 111% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut and always on HDR technology. The graphical performance is also enhanced by the Pixelworks i6 image processor. It’s also got HDR10+ compatibility.
Completing the Mobile Gaming Experience
The ROG Phone 6 Series brings back some of the features that we’ve come to expect with the series. One of which is the Air Triggers. These Ultrasonic Buttons enable more robust controls in-game. It does this by acting like triggers we’re used to on controllers; allowing users to tap and enable mapped functions in game. This allows for a more natural gaming experience on the smartphone itself. It’s also bringing a a whole slew of gestures that are aimed at making mobile gaming more intuitive.
Together with the improved Air Triggers and gestures, the ROG Phone series is once again bringing back its ecosystem. The new ROG Phone 6 Series also comes with a slew of accessories that make it a portable console. The ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad allows players to pair a more complete controller to the smartphone akin to the Nintendo Switch. The newer design brings slight refinements which make the Gamepad more natural and ergonomic.
Of course, an ROG Phone wouldn’t be an ROG phone without its signature AeroActive Cooler. The new AeroActive Cooler 6 has been improved with more robust design. It comes with features that not only make it more conductive but cool more efficiently. The AeroActive Cooler 6 now comes with a thermal conductive pad and copper plate to better conduct heat with a Peltier Element, Cooling fins and a centrifugal fan for better heat dissipation. ASUS touts that these elements allow the cooler to reduce heat by up to 25°C on the back cover. On top of that, the cooler now comes with 4 physical triggers to help make gaming a little more immersive while using it.
Deepening Immersion while Empowering Personal Expression
It also incorporates better, more immersive sound with its Dirac Virtuo spatial audio system and dual speakers. This allows for more immersive sound dynamics with higher clarity and contrast as well as deeper bass. It also brings an Audio Wizard and Equalizer to customise the sound for your personal tastes. It also comes with a special low latency mode for better fidelity over Bluetooth. This comes in addition to support for Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive and Hi-Res Audio.
The ROG Phone 6 series comes with a more robust ROG Vision display on the back. On the 6 Pro, the ROG Vision display is a PMOLED display. This allows users to express themselves with full RGB visuals. Users are able to customise this on the smartphone itself with their own visuals or with a myriad of preset animations. On the regular Phone 6 this is replaced by an illuminated RGB ROG Logo.
In addition to all the gaming features, ASUS is also equipping the ROG Phone 6 series with pretty respectable camera sensors. On the back is a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixle Sony IMX766 main sensor complemented by a 13-megapixel ultrawide sensor and a 13-megapixel macro sensor. These cameras will be front and center as gamers look to capture meaningful moments or create content. On the front is a 12-megapixel Sony IMX663 camera.
Pricing & Availability
The ROG Phone 6 will be available in Storm White and Phantom Black. The phone will be available in two variants: 12GB + 256GB and 16GB + 512GB. The 12GB + 256GB will be retailing at MYR3,599 while the 16GB + 512GB will retail at MYR4,399. The ROG Phone 6 will be available starting in September 2022 in Malaysia.
The ROG Phone 6 Pro will only be available in Storm White with 18GB RAM and 512GB internal storage. This will be retailing for MYR4,999 starting in September 2022.
Pre-orders of the ROG Phone 6 will start on 6th July 2022. You can pre-order online at ASUS’s official Shopee store or at participating retailers. Pre-orders will be entitled to freebies worth MYR548. This includes 1 year extended warranty worth MYR199 and the AeroActive Cooler 6 worth MYR349. Online pre-orders are also entitled to a 10% discount on the ROG Slash Hip Bag which retails at MYR499 and the ROG Slash Crossbody Bag which is priced at MYR399.
Fossil has been one of the foremost companies when it comes to adopting and pushing smartwatches. The brand also has a more unique offering that brings the best of analogue watches and smartwatches into one sleek, customisable hybrid experience. These Hybrid watches – as the company calls them – bring all the benefits of having a smartwatch with the complexities stripped. The new 6th Generation Hybrid smartwatches are the company’s sixth iteration of their successful lineup.
Fossil Stella / Source: Fossil
The Hybrid Smartwatch lineup will consist of two smartwatches: the Fossil Machine and the Fossil Stella. Both come with similar specifications but are aesthetically designed with different appeals. The Fossil Machine is a more rugged, hardy device aesthtically. It comes with a very industrial finish with a machined metal finish with an industrial, bevelled ring around the watchface. It’s also bigger with a 45mm stainless steel case. The Stella, on the other hand, has a more refined finish with smooth bezels. It also comes with crystal studding for those of us that need some bling. The Fossil Stella is also smaller with a 41mm stainless steel casing. Both come with silicone, leather and stainless steel options for the strap.
The new sixth generation of Fossil Hybrid Smartwatches bring an improved SPO2 sensor for better blood oxygen monitoring. They also come with an E-Ink display which is always on in the center of the watch face. The Stella comes with a smaller 0.94-inch display while the Machine comes with a 1.1-inch display. The display will display your activity tracking and also notifications. In addition, the hyrid smartwaches are water resistant up to 3ATM.
It’s worth noting that these Fossil Hybrid Smartwatches are not running on Google’s Android based Wear OS. They have, and continue to be, running on Fossil’s own proprietary software which comes with connects to your smartphone via a Fossil Hybrid Smartwatch app which is available on both iOS and Android. This also means that their features are very stripped down. They don’t provide the robustness of functionality we expect in smartwatches. However, they do provide a way for you to consciously disconnect. You can’t interact with your smartphone nor reply messages but you will get notifications.
Fossil Hybrid Smartwatch App / Source: Fossil
This generation of the Fossil Hybrid Smartwatches also brings compatibility with Amazon’s Alexa. This will allow you to use voice commands to interact and get things done on your phone.
Pricing & Availability
The Gen 6 Hybrid Smartwatches are already available in Malaysia and the rest of the world. The Stella and the Machine costs MYR1,079/USD229 for the Silicone and Leather strap versions. The stainless steel band version costs MYR1,129/USD$249.
Samsung has been hard at work when it comes to enriching its Galaxy ecosystem. The company is now consolidating a few of its services under a new Samsung Wallet umbrella. The new Wallet service will not only allow users to pay digitally but will be able to store digital IDs and keys.
Samsung’s hallmark e-payment service has, so far, been SamsungPay. However, if you use a Galaxy device, you will undoubtedly realise that a service called Samsung Pass prompts you to save your passwords or, in some cases, pops up when you want to use fingerprint or other biometric authentications. These services are now being united into a single service called Samsung Wallet.
The platform will bring together all password and payment services into a single touch point. In addition, it will also enable users to store digital versions of their identifications in the app. Items like flight tickets, loyalty cards, membership cards and even digital car keys will also fall under the new Samsung Wallet umbrella. To date, cars like the Genesis GV60 and G90 as well as the Hyundai Palisade currently support Samsung Wallet. Korean Air is so far the only airline to support digital boarding passes via Samsung Wallet.
The digital wallet relies on Samsung’s Knox protection. This framework has been so successful at beefing up security on an Android device that Google has baked a few of its features into Android natively. According to Samsung, data is secure and only the user can access sensitive information directly.
Samsung Wallet has launched in seven countries. These countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Spain and South Korea. There is no word when the service will begin launching in other countries just yet. If Samsung Pay’s development was any indication, we should see the list of supported countries expanding towards the end of the year.
Since the launch of Samsung Wallet on June 17, there were reports that Samsung Pay had stopped working on non-galaxy devices. There were some Samsung Pay executives that noted that the move is intentional and that Samsung Pay will not work on non-galaxy devices. However, it looks like Samsung has reversed course on the issue and fixed the issue via a patch.
It seems like HTC may be coming back into the mobile markets albeit in a very limited way. The company only recently released a new HTC Desire smartphone. Now, it’s releasing a new tablet – the HTC A101 – in Russia and South Africa. The new tablet is rather mediocre on paper and comes with specifications comparable to the Samsung Galaxy A8 or the Nokia T20 Tablets.
The 10-inch tablet comes with a 10.1-inch MIPI In-Cell display with an FHD+ resolution of 1920×1200 pixels. It runs on the UNISOC T618 octa-core processor. The processor comes with two large A75 performance cores clocked at 2GHz and six smaller A55 power efficiency cores. This processor will be complemented by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also has support for microSD cards allowing for some additional memory of up to 256GB.
On the camera side of things, it comes with a dual camera setup for its main camera. It has a 16-megapixel, f/2.2 sensor with autofocus. This is complemented by a 2-megapixel, fixed focus ultrawide sensor. The HTC A101’s main camera setup is completed with a single LED flash. On the front is a 5-megapixel, fixed focus sensor for selfies complete with Beauty Mode and AI Face Unlock.
The HTC A101 itself is a slim, relatively small one. It measures only 8.4mm in thickness and 241.5mm in length and 160.3mm wide. It comes with two physical buttons: a volume rocker and a power button. Under the hood, it’s powered by a 7,000mAh battery with support for 5V/2A charging via USB-C. It also comes with mobile connectivity supporting 4G LTE connectivity and Dual SIM with Dual Standby.
Pricing & Availability
The HTC A101 will be available in Russia and South Africa. It will come in Silver and Grey. For now, it looks like the tablet will be retailing as the HTC A100 in Russia for ₽22,490 (MYR1,799.50).
If you ask for a recommendation for a personal listening gear; some sort of earphones or headphones for general purposes, more often than not we will tell you to go for Sony. There is a good reason for that. They make decent listening gear for all kinds of purpose in all kinds of price range. More importantly, if you have the budget to spare, they make some of the best personal listening solutions in the market.
Sony is also the maker of the most successful gaming console series the world has seen thus far. Technically, they are one of the biggest names in the modern gaming industry. They make some of the best gaming gears in the industry too. But that is only limited to their PlayStation gaming platform.
Because they have been so focused on releasing gears for their console platform, the PC gamer race have been quite neglected and left wanting. They could get their hands on Sony’s high-end Wh-1000X over-ear platform, to be fair. They do not get the taste of what Sony can really do for their games though. That stops now with Sony’s INZONE peripherals.
INZONE H9 – Wireless Gaming Headset at its Best
We want to compare this INZONE H9 to the Sony WH-1000XM5, but we realised that it is a completely different beast. It is a pure wireless gaming headset, which also means the only way you are going to get it to work is with either Bluetooth or an included USB dongle. The USB dongle even has a switch for you to switch between PC and PS5, depending on where you use your H9 on. Of course, for the best experience, you want to use the dongle.
Either way (Bluetooth or Dongle), you get access to the INZONE Hub PC software that gives you control over the INZONE H9 headset. You can control its eq, its noise cancellation levels, and more. Speaking of noise cancellation technology, you can expect the best-in-class noise cancelling experience with Sony’s knowhow in making the best noise cancelling headphones in the industry.
The INZONE Hub on your PC also activates Sony’s brilliant 360 Spatial Sound to precisely recreate environmental sound of any game. It is really like a virtual 3D audio or surround sound experience for your games. That way, you can precisely tell where your enemies are in within the game too, as per intended in most competitive games today.
The Sony INZONE H9 is also designed to ensure that you get the best audio experience you can get in whatever conditions. Its diaphragms are designed with a unique shape to accurately re-produce high-frequency sounds. Alongside the unique diaphragm is also some cleverly placed and designed portings to ensure you get highly accurate and powerful low-frequency sounds as well. The headset’s design should put you right in the center of the action.
It is also designed with comfort in mind obviously. Its soft cushions used on the earcups, and the headband is made with long hours in mind. To ensure that you can game with the headphones on for hours on end, the earpads are also designed to minimise clamping pressure on your head, just to ensure that you can game even longer than before. The INZONE H9 can last up to 32 hours on a single charge, you would want to have comfort on your side. You can even charge it while its being in use, just so that you can continue gaming even when the battery gets low.
Of course, it is always nice to game with your friends, it is always nice to chat with your friends during a gaming session. In intense situations, communication with your teammates becomes more important than ever. The H9 comes with a built-in mic that should allow you to communicate with your teammates seamlessly and precisely.
INZONE H7 – Long Battery Life, Precise Placement, Still Wireless
The INZONE H7 is everything its more premium brother, the H9 is. There are some things missing though. It does not come with dongle, for example. With Bluetooth 5.0 though, latency should be kept at a minimum, not wireless dongle minimum still though.
It also does not pack noise cancelling technology. Still, the passive noise cancellation should be good enough with clever synthetic materials that seals your ear properly, as long as you place it correctly but soft enough for you to game with for extended periods. It is the same material you can find on the INZONE H9.
It features even longer battery life than the H9. The INZONE H7 boasts 40 hours in battery life, longer than any other headphones of its kind in the industry. You can credit its rather long battery life to the fact that it does not have noise cancelling.
Still, you get the same drivers the high-end H9 does. With INZONE Hub on your PC, you also have access to Sony’s clever 360 Reality Audio algorithm to make your games as immersive as they can be. It also features the same sort of porting from the H9 to ensure that you get the most accurate low-frequencies as possible on the headphones for more precise placements of your opponents and teammates in the game.
INZONE H3 – The Wired Option
If you prefer something more traditional, with the least latency possible, you want to game with a wired headphone. INZONE has that solution in the H3 as well. With a wired connection, battery life is not an issue as well. There are some things that you must give up though.
First, there is the cable management you might have to do. Other than the cable mess that you might have to think about, the H3 does not feature noise cancelling like the H9. Because the headphone relies on its cables to power the drivers, you cannot use it with most smartphones today unless you get a dongle.
Still, it is a rather powerful set of headphones though with a 40mm Neodynum drivers contained within the earcups, the same ones you can find on the H7 and the H9. While it does not look like it, there are some clever porting on the headphones to ensure that your low frequencies are perfectly and precisely produced.
It still works with INZONE Hub too. With INZONE Hub on your PC active, you get to experience Sony’s 360 Reality Audio at a fraction of the cost o the H9 and even the H7. Again, it is not a wireless headset, so it is as simple as it gets.
Price and Availabiliity
The All the INZONE headphones comes in white colour option. There are no other colour options for the headphones, because Playstation. The INZONE H9 will set you back MYR 1,299. The INZONE H7 that does not come with noise cancelling technoly will set you back MYR 1,099, while the most budget friendly option of them all, the INZONE H3 will set you back MYR 439. You can get your hands on one from any of Sony’s authorised retailers and concept stores nationwide. More information on the INZONE headphones can be found on their website.
When gaming consoles start pushing the boundaries of gaming with 120hz refresh rate at 4K resolutions, TVs have to get better. The latest-generation TVs made with gaming in mind have to keep up with the demands and now we see TVs with 120hz refresh rate. The thing is 4K 120hz is not a new thing in the world of high-end gaming. It is the standard in high-end PC gaming.
4K monitors are hardly popular, but they do exist. There is a good reason for that. PC monitors are usually optimised for a rather restrictive seating position. You are usually no more than 2 metres from your display. That means display sizes cannot exceed a certain size. With most gaming monitors from 24-inch to 38-inch, you do not get anything beyond Quad HD in resolution, because the differences with 4K is hardly noticeable or worth the fuss over.
At the same time, if you do have the gear to push gaming at 4K 144hz though, you would want something that can keep up. For that you get this one, a 42.5-inch behemoth of a gaming monitor that outputs at 4K resolution and at 144hz at its maximum. It is basically the dream of every hardcore gamer out there today,
You are paying quite a premium for it, at MYR 4,699. 4K 144hz is just a starting headline number for you. Delve deeper into the monitor and it really sings, or rather, displays wonders.
You get two HDMI 2.1 ports, for you to plug in two PCs, two next-generation consoles, or a combination of both. Both HDMI 2.1 allows you to take advantage of 4K 144hz or 120hz standards. Of course, your cable needs to be able to handle that much data going through it too, so you might want to consider splurging on a good set of cable.
The monitor also acts as a KVM USB hub with USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, whis is rahter useful if you have multiple PCs set up with the 42.5-inch behemoth of a monitor. There is also a USB Type-C port that supports PD charging at 30W, which allows you to fast charge your smartphone.
On the business end, it has a display that pushes up to 1,000 nits of goodness into your eyes. The 1,000 nits’ brightness also gives it a DisplayHDR 1000 certification which also means that HDR images and videos should look rather good on the display. Additionally, colours should really pop as well with 90% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. At the same time, it is colour precise with Delta E<2.
Out the back, other than the ports, there is a mood RGB strip that you can synced with your music and other medias. There is also Acer ColorSense and LightSense technologies that allows the display to automatically adjust the colour temperature and brightness of the displayu according to the situation to protect your eyes. With ProxiSense, there is a proximity sensor that also detects the user’s presence in front of the display and dims the display to save power and to protect sensitive content from being displayed on the large format display.
Price and Availability
The Predator CG437KS is now available from Acer’s eStore and its online retail partners on Shopee and Lazada. You can get them from any of Acer’s authorised resellers too. As mentioned, it will set you back MYR 4,699. You can only get it in one colour option, black, as usual.
Samsung Malaysia has announced three new colours for their latest flagship – the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The S22 Ultra is already available in a splattering of colours including white, black, burgundy and green. Samsung’s latest additions to the lineup are Graphite, Red and Sky Blue. These colours will be available exclusively through Samsung’s own online store at Samsung.com. It will not be available in their official stores on LAZADA or Shopee.
These colours are just aesthetic choices which allow for a little more personability when it comes to choosing your own Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. Aside from that, they come with the same insides as the already available colours. The smartphone runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Compute Platform with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of onboard storage. It has a colour-accurate 6.8-inch, AMOLED 2X display with support for the latest and greatest S Pen.
Source: Samsung
The exclusive colours have one teeny difference from the currently available selection – they come with a black frame. The ones currently available have a little bit of customisation when it comes to the metal frame or trims. The black colour comes with black trim, the white comes with silver while burgundy and green have their respective colours. These combinations give the smartphone a more unibody feel. The black accent on the new colours allows the colours to pop more making them a tad bit more stylish.
Pricing & Availability
The new colours are not immediately available though. They are available, on pre-order, starting on July 4th 2022 until July 14th 2022. These new colours are also only available for the 12GB RAM with 256GB storage version of the S22 Ultra.
During the pre-order, purchases of the Galaxy S22 Ultra in these colours will be entitled to an eVoucher worth MYR800. This voucher can be used when buying select Samsung smartphones, wearables and accessories on the Samsung Online Store. You can also take advantage of an immediate rebate of MYR600 when you trade in your old device.
Xiaomi took to the stage to announce their new flagship series – the Xiaomi 12S series. The series has multiple entries and has the Xiaomi 12S Ultra as its centrepiece. The new flagship is the first device in what looks to be a long-term partnership with Leica when it comes to imaging and photography.
You’re Gonna Leica this – the Leica Summicron 1:1.9-4.1 / 13-120 ASPH. camera system
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra comes with the Leica Summicron 1:1.9-4.1 / 13-120 ASPH. camera system. Yep – that’s a mouthful. The new co-engineered system marries Leica’s camera technology with Xiaomi’s smartphone prowess. It’s a Triple sensor setup with the new, 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor as the main sensor. The 50.3-megapixel sensor comes with Quad Bayer technology which promises better image capture in both low- and normal lighting and an aperture of f/1.9. It also comes with Octa-phase detection Autofocus which apparently allows it to focus faster. The main sensor is complemented by a 48-megapixel f/2.2 Sony IMX586 ultra-wide sensor and a 48-megapixel f/4.1 Sony IMX586 periscope sensor. These sensors also use Quad Bayer technology.
Source: Xiaomi
The main sensor uses an 8P Aspherical Lens. This helps reduce glares and also helps with imaging performance overall. All of the sensors have Pixel binning which increases the quality of the photos taken by the camera thanks to an even larger hybrid pixel size. Binning essentially creates larger pixels by combining four pixels in the sensor. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra also comes with HyperOIS technology and boasts even better image stabilization thanks to an innovative approach of taking the time between images (7ms) to stabilize and reset the sensor.
In addition to the hardware, Xiaomi and Leica have worked together in developing the software. The result? Two shooting modes that bring Leica’s signature elements into your smartphone. The “Leica Authentic Look” hearkens back to Leica’s signature aesthetic. It brings the vibrancy of true-to-life colours and the depth and emotion of Leica’s surrealism. The resulting photos are colourful or monochrome with a sense of depth. Xiaomi and Leica’s collaboration is more apparent with the “Leica Vibrant Look”. This look brings Xiaomi’s know-how with mobile cameras to Leica’s signature aesthetic. The resulting pictures are more vibrant and work to capture the feel of the moment.
Partnering with Adobe and Dolby
Keeping photography centerstage, Xiaomi and Leica have also worked with Adobe to enable RAW capture on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. The RAW capture on the 12S Ultra allows you to capture your images in DNG format preserving all the image data so you can edit and manipulate the image on programs like Adobe Lightroom. Adobe Lightroom will come equipped with a special profile for the 12S Ultra which will allow it to show you the actual image captured without you tinkering. Lightroom will be able to load the profile automatically from the image metadata.
When it comes to video capture, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is the first smartphone to come with the ability to capture Dolby Vision HDR video. This brings a wider colour depth to video than HDR10+, allowing you to impart more emotion and character to your video shots. It will also help with low light performance.
Still Powered by Cutting Edge Tech
While it may seem like the Xiaomi 12S Ultra is all about the camera, the series still comes packed with cutting-edge technology under the hood. The whole Xiaomi 12S series runs on the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile platform which ups the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 by nearly 10%. The new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is fabricated with TSMC’s new 4nm node which allows for better energy efficiency with a 21% smaller core and 10% boost in both CPU and GPU performance.
Source: Xiaomi
Xiaomi has also equipped the Xiaomi 12S series with a brand new cooling system which it touts as more efficient than currently available vapour cooling systems. The technology mimics the hydrostatic system of a leaf and its capillaries. This mimicry allows the system to dissipate heat more effectively and quicker than traditional vapour cooling systems. In fact, Xiaomi is touting a 100% better thermal conductivity.
The Xiaomi 12S series comes with a Samsung AMOLED display with 2K resolution. The panel comes with an E5 material which helps increase brightness. The display has a peak brightness of 1,500nits. On the 12S Ultra, the display comes with 1-120Hz AdaptiveSync Pro which allows it to hit 1Hz refresh rates when viewing text and 120Hz when gaming. The other regular 12S and the 12S Pro come with 120Hz AdaptiveSync. Across the board, the displays are calibrated with 100% coverage of the P3 colour gamut and support Dolby Vision.
Xiaomi 12S Pro Source: Xiaomi
The smartphones come equipped with Dual 5g connectivity with a 4×4 MIMO modem. They also support Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 with support for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon sound and aptX Adaptive.
The smartphones come with Xiaomi’s Surge G1 Battery Management chip and the Surge P1 fast-charging chips. These chips work in tandem to help preserve battery health while extending battery life and reducing charging time. The Xiaomi 12S Ultra comes with a 4,860 mAh single cell, silicon-oxygen anode battery which supports 16A output current. The Ultra supports 67W wired fast charging, 50W wireless fast charging and 10W reverse fast charging. The Pro sports a smaller 4,600mAh with support for 120W wired fast charging and 50W wireless fast charging. The regular 12S comes with an even smaller 4,500mAh battery which has support for 67W wired and 50W Wireless.
Pricing & Availability
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra will be available in Mainland China in the near future. It will be available in Classic Black and Verdant Green. It’s will be available in three variants 8GB+256GB, 12GB+256GB and 12GB+512GB. The 8GB+256GB version will be priced at CNY5999 (MYR3,951.18) while the 12GB + 256GB will retail at CNY6,499 (MYR4,280.08) and the 12GB+512GB version will be priced at CNY6,999 (MYR4,609.82).
The Xiaomi 12S and 12S Pro will be available in 8GB + 128GB, 8GB + 256GB, 12GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB variants. Pricing for the 12S starts at CNY3,999 (MYR2,633.90) for the 12S while the 12S Pro will start at CNY4,699 (MYR3,096.10).
We have always maintained that a gaming monitor is the final piece of the puzzle when you put together a gaming set-up. A good portion of your budget, when building your rig, should always go to a good gaming monitor. A good gaming monitor can make or break your gaming experience, it is that important.
For gaming, you want something immersive, and fast. You want something that looks good as well in that sense. If you have something that does colours well, you might be able to rely on it for content work too, if you are into that kind of stuff. But finding a good balance in those areas are quite difficult. Not with the Predator X38 S.
The Predator X38 S
Predator’s latest high-end gaming monitor followed a rather similar strategy as before. Pack the best of everything in an ultrawide form factor. For that, you get a rather vivid IPS panel that is curved to 2300R.
That IPS panel boasts UWQHD+ (3,840 by 1,600 pixels) resolution, just slightly more the regular ultra-wide QHD panels. It is also a higher resolution than before, this 37.5-inch curved panel. Still, IPS panels boasts up to 178o in viewing angles, so you would not be getting any sort of distortion anywhere you turn to anyway.
Predator has tuned the display to be as colour accurate as possible. It covers up to 98% of DCI-P3 colour gamut. It even has a Delta E<2 as well for colours so accurate you might have mistaken the images on your screen as the real thing. At DisplayHDR 600 and a maximum of 600 nits in brightness, images really come to live.
Of course, a gaming display must be a fast one. The NVIDIDA G-SYNC ULTIMATE display can be overclocked up to 175Hz refresh rate to not only ensure that images are tear free, but also silky smooth. It boasts a G-to-G response rate as low as 0.3 ms for almost instant responses between mouse clicks and action. There is even the NVIDIA G-SYNC Esports Mode that is designed to lower latency and improves details in dark scenes.
Of course, Acer’s most premium technologies to protect the eyes of its users are packed in with the Predator X38 S. LightSense and ColourSense automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness and colour temperature depending on the conditions around the display.
The Acer Nitro XZ342CUP
If you feel like the Predator X38 S is a little too premium for your tastes, you can strain a little and go for Acer’s Nitro XZ342CUP 34-inch display. It features a QHD resolution at a regular 16:9 aspect ratio, which is still rather respectable. It is still quite a fast display at 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms VRB response time.
To ensure you get a tear-free gaming experience, the 34-incher offers AMD’s FreeSync technology. At the same time, Acer’s Flicker-less technology should keep images crisp and flicker free in any sort of conditions. There is also the Acer BluelightShield and ComfyView technologies to keep your eyes healthy.
Price and Availability
The Predator X38 S is now available for MYR 5,999. You can get your hands on one from Acer’s eStore, authorized retail partners nationwide, or official online stores on Shopee and Lazada. There are no colour options here, but at least the X38 S looks good in black.
The Nitro XZ342CUP is also now available in Malaysia. It will set you back MYR 1,799. You can find it in Acer’s eStore as well as official online stores on Shopee and Lazada. If you still prefer a physical buying experience, you can visit Acer’s authorized retailers nationwide for that. Again, there are no colour options here, just a regular black display with red coloured support pillar.
