Category Archives: News

Sony Reveals the WH-1000XM5 with Even Better Noise Cancelling – How do They Keep Doing That?

Sony’s WH-1000X series is known to be one of the world’s best, if not the best headphones with Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) features today. When they launched the WH-1000XM4, basically the fourth-generation high-end ANC headphones money can buy, it was regarded to be the best there ever was, leaving the likes of Bose in the dust. The question that remained from the fourth-generation product was “how is Sony going to make it even better”? 

They answered with the WH-1000XM5, the fifth generation of what is possible in the world of noise cancelling headphones. 

Two Noise Cancelling Audio Processing Chips 

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Rather than just sticking to one processor for the headphones this time, they fitted two chips into the device. You get the proven QN1 processor you find yourself familiar with from the third and fourth generation WH-1000X over-ear headphones. They introduced the more powerful V1 processor in the WF-1000XM4 wireless earbuds, and it made its way here into the fifth-generation wireless over-ear headphones. 

The inclusion of two chips rather than one means that the processing power of the headphones just doubled. That should translate to better and cleaner noise cancellation to tune the entire world out of your ears. Sony also claims that the WH-1000XM5’s noise cancellation algorithm can now handle mid-high frequencies to better seal noise away from your ears. There is also a new Auto NC Optimiser that optimises noise cancelling to different environments. 

Smaller But More Powerful Drivers 

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Source: Sony

Sony’s clever engineers have found ways to cut back on material and weight with a smaller 30mm drivers. While it might sound that the engineers have cut back on power too, the Carbon Fibre constructed engine does not seem to agree with the logic. Because it is also a smaller driver, high frequencies tend to be a little richer, helping music sound more natural.  

Of course, there is LDAC compatibility and DSEE Extreme algorithm that allows you to listen to high-Resolution Audio with the least possible loss in fidelity and quality. DSEE Extreme also allows you to listen to music and audio from streaming platforms at near CD quality. There is also Sony’s clever 360 Reality Audio algorithm that allows you to enjoy music as they are intended in the studio with Tidal.  

Better Call Quality 

Instead of the four mics that the fourth generation WH-1000X had, the WH-1000XM5 has eight, four on each side. While most of the mics are made for better noise cancelling, four of them are beamforming mics that you can also find on the WF-1000XM4 for improve voice pickup. At the same time, AI noise reduction helps transmit your voice clearly to the other end of the line.  

New Age Design 

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Source: Sony

While the WH-1000XM5 retains the touch controls that has been associated with the WH-1000X series, there is a sort of new design that comes with the new pair of headphones. It is larger than before, and not as flexible (cannot be folded) oddly enough. Even the case that comes with it is much larger than before. Weirdly, the larger design does not add any weight to it though, in fact it is just slightly lighter than the older heapdhones. 

There are more soft materials that are also supposed to be more durable than before. The Vegan Leather materials form soft fitting surfaces so that wearing the headphones for extended periods is a comfortable experience. The new design is also supposed to alleviate some clamping pressure while remaining secure on the head. At the same time, a stepless slider means that you can infinitely adjust the size of the headphones to really fit your head.  

Everything else that was great about the WH-1000XM4 is still retained here though. You still get Adaptive Sound Control that is cleverer than ever before with Sony Headphones App. The new WH-1000XM5 now also tells you if you are listening to your music at too high levels with a new pressure sensor within the cups. If you are out and about, when you want to order your coffee or talk to your friends, Speak-to-chat function is still retained.  

Still Impressive Battery Life 

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Source: Sony

When we tested the WH-1000XM4, we never found ourselves worrying about its battery life. It had 30 hours of battery life in a single charge, that was why. This continues with the WH-1000XM5. 

To be fair, the quoted battery life has not changed. It is impressive still because instead of a single processor, this has two to power now. It is not like they fitted larger batteries as well since there are no added weight on this pair of headphones. They managed to put fast-charging technology to this pair of headphones though. A quick three-minute charge gives you three hours-worth of listening time.  

Price and Availability

The WH-1000XM5 will be available in two colour options, like its predecessors. It is now available for pre-order at Sony’s authorised stores and retailers. You can even pre-order it from their website if you want and have it delivered to your doorstep as soon as it is available. It retails for MYR 1,799, which is a little more expensive than its predecessor. But the improvements made on this pair of headphones might be worth the premium. Still, you might want to wait for our review before deciding on one. More information on the Sony WH-1000XM5 can be found on their website.  

Sony’s Xperia 1 IV is Proof That Your Smartphone is All You Need to Get Started in Content Creation

Content is king in a world dominated by digital displays today. Gone are the days where you must wait for the newspaper to be printed the next day to know what happened in the world yesterday. Gone are the days where you must buy an array of magazines to know what is trending in the week and expectations moving forward.

Today, contents are created on the go and edited in almost real time. Contents gets published and distributed almost immediately after whatever that is happening happened. Modern cameras are not just created for photography too, they are made for videos and to go LIVE quickly and easily. At the same time, social media is making contents even more readily available and optimised for smartphones, the little computers that is constantly with us.

But content creators are also debating about something else today. A lot of content creators are saying that your smartphone is the best tool you have for creating contents. You can use to vlog, create voice memos to be used later, record videos, take photos, and even stream events LIVE. While that is true in most cases, there has never been a smartphone that really highlights its power in creating contents. Until Sony releases their Xperia 1 IV that is.

If you want to pronounce the name correctly, the full name of the new flagship from Sony is named the Xperia 1 mark four. Sony’s naming scheme has always been a little mouthful, but their products have always been some of our favourites for good reason. One of the reasons we love the Xperia 1 flagship series is that it is the only smartphone in the current market to feature a nice 4K display.

The 4K HDR 120Hz – Still Brilliant

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Yes, we are going to talk about the very familiar display to Sony users. It is a 4K display, not really a true 4K since you are missing some resolutions at the sides of the slim display. It is still a 6.5-inch OLED panel that refreshes at 120Hz that you have seen from the previous Xperia 1 III. You still get HDR BT.2020 standard colours too from the fourth generation Xperia 1 flagship. It is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, which is also the same case in the older flagship.

No upgrades in the display section of the Xperia 1 IV then. To be fair to Sony though, they are the only major smartphone maker to include 4K resolution in their flagships. At 120Hz, it really does not get much better than this in the smartphone industry currently.

Thanks to the advancements that is made with the Sony Xperia Pro though, the 4K display has a new function added to it. You can now use the Xperia 1 flagship as a 4K monitor display for your Alpha cameras. You can use the USB type-C port of the camera and the smartphone to get it to work as your monitor. Not only that, your smartphone can stream the contents captured on your Alpha camera directly to YouTube if you need it to.

Powerful Insides

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Of course, it is 2022, and the Xperia 1 must be updated to match the modern age of smartphones. It packs a healthy 12GB of RAM to start with. You can opt for 512GB in storage for the Xperia 1 IV too, if you want. The highlight here is the brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system on a chip (SoC) that makes the flagship the most powerful Sony has ever made so far. To be fair though, Sony is a little late in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 game.

Sony also managed to shoehorn a larger battery module in the same form factor they retained from the Xperia 1 III. It is now a 5,000 mAh battery that charges at up to 30W with fast wireless charging and reverse charging capabilities. The larger battery also means that the smartphone should be able to last a little longer than before when you are out and about.

Even More Powerful Cameras

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On paper, it does not look like Sony has changed much on their camera array. You still get three 12-Megapixel cameras out the back. The main camera is attached to 24mm lens at f/1.7, similar to the third generation Sony Xperia 1. You also get a nice 16mm ultra-wide shooter like before. The only change they made, in terms of hardware anyway, is the first truly optical zooming lens at 85-125mm lens on the telephoto camera. This allows the device to zoom smoothly, when you want it to, pretty impressive stuff while keeping all 12-Megapixels while you zoom in.

But that is not all they did to improve their camera. It now supports Sony Alpha’s very famous EYE Auto Focus mechanism that allows the Photography Pro app to work just like your Alpha cameras. Thanks to their know how in stabilising mirrorless cameras too, the Optical SteadyShot allows you to take clear photos whenever, wherever, however. You can even take photos with EYE AF at up to 20fps real time burst mode and in HDR with all three lenses.

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Source: Sony

Their video and cinema capabilities have been sort of put on steroids too. The fourth generation Sony Xperia 1 still shoots at up to 4K 120fps. Videography Pro now allows you to shoot videos with EYE AF though, which also means that you might not need to fight with focus hunting in the future. You can just leave your app to Auto Focus mode and it will just do its thing in keeping your subject in focus no matter what. It cleverly switches from face detection to eye detection too, when the option is available. At the same time Videography Pro also allows you to capture your videos with all your lenses at the same time. That allows you a wider dynamic range to work with. Not only that, but you can also seamlessly zoom in between scenes like what you see in the movie 300. They worked with three cameras for that iconic battle shot featuring Gerard Butler cutting up Persians. You now only need one smartphone to recreate that iconic shot.

It is a smartphone; you are going to be constantly connected. That also means you get to livestream your contents or even vlog freely if you want. You can even use your main cameras to vlog with Sony’s optional attachments. In that case, you get to enjoy Sony’s clever EYE AF and object tracking features with your vlogs. The Optical SteadyShot will also be mighty helpful in keeping your vlogs look really good and focused.

Of course, fi you want more cinematic creativity, Cinematography Pro “powered by CineAlta” is available for you to shoot in Logs. When they say that the best camera is the one that is with you, this one takes it to a completely different level in this case. All three cameras at the back can shoot videos at 4K 120fps too, which will be greatly appreciated by content creators anywhere.

Even Better Sounds

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Source: Sony

The Xperia 1 IV now gets 360 Reality Audio support on its speakers. Its speakers are also tuned to allow for more immersive sound with improved bass response. The combination of that is that you get a better audio experience with your Xperia smartphone on apps like Tidal for example, without even using headphones. If you want to use headphones anyway, the Xperia still retains the 3.5mm combo jack that other flagships have conveniently omitted for reasons.

To ensure that you are getting the best audio experience from the Xperia 1 IV, DSEE Ultimate algorithm improves sound quality of all your streaming platforms. You get audio quality that is close or at least comparable to CD quality sounds. If you prefer to listen to your music wirelessly, Bluetooth LE Audio will be available later to reduce latency.

But improvements to the audio aspect of the Xperia 1 IV is not just on its speakers. They have made their microphones and audio recording feature even better than before. The Xperia 1 IV is not just your audio note recorder now. You can turn it into a one-stop-shop for remote music recording with Music Pro. With the power of machine learning and AI, the app allows you to record audio out in the open and still get crisp, studio tuned quality audio. You can even record your voice and guitar simultaneously and the app cleverly separates the two audio channels to allow for a much more robust mix on-the-go.

Price and Availability

The Sony Xperia 1 IV will be available in only two colours. No white options here though, you choose between black, or Purple. It’s priced from US$ 1,599 globally, which converts to about MYR * today. We expect the price of the new flagship to hover somewhere around the MYR 6,999 mark or more when it gets to local shores. Sony Malaysia confirms that the device will be available in Malaysia by July 2022. More information on the Sony Xperia 1 IV can be found on their website.

PRISM+ Officially Launches Their New Q Series Pro TVs – 86-inch 4K UHD TV for Less Than MYR 10,000? Yes, Please! 

They say that your Television (TV) is the modern-day centerpiece of your living room. It becomes one of the first few furnitures that you get for a living room. It is your entertainment hub, and in the age of IoT (Internet of Things), your TV becomes your smart home’s central hub and control panel. It is no wonder that large format 4K UHD TVs is one of the first and biggest consideration when designing a home. In some cases, a modern living room is designed around your TV choices. 

Choosing the right TV set for your home is not easy though. There are plenty of choices for a TV today, anywhere from the budget option to the premium option. In the world of TVs though, you get what you pay for. What if we tell you that you can get more than what you pay for? 

If you have not heard of PRISM+, we cannot really blame you for it. It is, technically, a new player in the display industry. They made their mark in Malaysia back in 2021 by first releasing their 34-inch ultra-wide gaming monitor. 

They have since grown strength to strength, launching new models catering to a larger variety of needs. Their growth can also be associated with the fact that their displays are some of the best valued displays you can find in the market. This is also translated when they started launching their Q series TV sets. 

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To be fair, they have launched their 86-inch Q Series Pro (Q86 PRO QE) TV before today. The 4K UHD TV packs Quantum IPS technology with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos technology for a rather surprising price. At retail, the Prism+ TV will set you back MYR 8,999. An equivalent Quantum Dot TV from Samsung will set you back at least twice the price.  

What if you need something smaller though? What about a 65-inch? Smaller? 55-inch perhaps? 

PRISM+ now have a solution for you in the Q65 PRO QE, and Q55 PRO QE. They are practically the same products as the larger Q86 PRO QE that came before, but in smaller form factor’s to fit tighter spaces. They are perfect for smaller households and if you are just looking to add some flavour in your own rooms. 

The QE in their naming refers to Quantum Edition, which also refers to the Quantum technology that you will get in the TVs. No, unfortunately it is not an OLED display that you are getting. Instead, you get the next best thing to OLED, IPS LCD display. You are still getting highly vivid colours while eliminating the risk of OLED burn-ins.  

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All of them are good for 4K UHD resolution at 60Hz, not 120Hz. 4K UHD 120Hz contents are reserved for the latest generation gaming consoles though, so you might not be missing out on much. At least you still get to experience 4K gaming in this case.  

Still, what it lacks for in refresh rate, it makes up in image quality. The panel is rated for HDR10 with 1.07 billion colours, which also means you get excellent colour contrast. With the addition of Dolby Vision tuning, movies on the screen comes to life with even darker blacks, and brighter whites. You can even see those details in the dark in this case.  

To ensure that your immersion stays true, you get Dolby Atmos tuned speakers to ensure you hear every little thing in all the right directions. Of course, if you can pair it to Dolby Atmos speakers, you get even better surround effects. You can plug your external speakers, soundbars, or sound system via Bluetooth 5.0, optical cable, or HDMI ARC connection. 

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It runs Android TV OS 10,0 too, the latest and greatest from Google currently. With Android TV 10.0, Google Chromecast is also built-in, allowing you to stream your smartphone contents to your TV whenever you want or need. Of course, with Android TV 10.0, you get Google Assistant built in as well. Instead of speaking into your remote though, the Prism+ Q Series PRO TVs come with far-field microphones so that you can command the TV to do whatever you need to it do from the comforts of your couch just via a “Hey Google”, or “Okay Google” command.  

The PRISM+ Q55 PRO QE and Q65 PRO QE is now available on PRISM+ online store and all their online retail partners. Every purchase of the Q Series PRO TV will entitle you to exclusive free gifts, while stocks last. The 55-inch Q55 PRO QE will set you back MYR 2,399, while the 65-inch Q65 PRO QE retails at MYR 3,299. For more information on the Prism+ Q Series PRO TVs you can head over to their website.  

The SONOS Ray Redefines Compact Home Cinema

SONOS is no stranger to cinematic sound. The company has already released two soundbars – the SONOS Beam and the SONOS Arc. It’s now adding a new, more affordable option to its lineup with the SONOS Ray.

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Source: SONOS

The new SONOS Ray is the company’s most compact soundbar to date. It’s also the most feature rich 3.0.0 soundbar in the lineup. The sound bar is only 55.9cm long and 95mm wide which allows it to blend in seamlessly into any room. In fact, it’s only 7.1 cm tall so you can even slot it into the small shelves in your living room or room centre console. Aesthetically, the SONOS Ray comes with SONOS’s signature, minimalist design with a perforated grill in two colours: Black and White.

The SONOS Ray inherits a lot of design cues from previous SONOS soundbars. It has LEDs embedded in its minimalist design for power and connectivity indication. Also along for the ride is the capacitive touch buttons we have grown used to in SONOS soundbars.

Aesthetics aside, the crux of the Ray lies in the audio innovations that allow it to immerse users into the content they’re consuming. It comes with SONOS’s proprietary bass reflex system which complements the professionally tuned sound that SONOS is known for. The Ray comes with two tweeters and two mid-woofers which complement the bass reflex system. It also has four Class-D digital amplifiers that have been tuned for the soundbar’s unique acoustic design. The hardware itself has been expertly tuned by SONOS’s soundboard – a collective of some of the audio industry’s top experts.

SONOS isn’t just letting the hardware do all the work. It’s also complementing the hardware with software features in the SONOS S2 application. Using the app, users can customise the sound profile of the SONOS Ray to fit their unique tastes. In fact, for the best audio experience with the Ray, users can use TruePlay in the app to calibrate the sound stage. This feature is only available on iOS for now. That said, both Android and iOS users are able to take advantage of features like Night Sound which dampens the sound stage so you don’t wake your sleeping child and Speech enhancement which lifts vocal audio and dialogue in your movies and series so you don’t miss out on anything said.

You get a lot of the same connectivity when it comes to the SONOS Ray. IT is able to connect to WiFi networks on the 2.4GHz band with support for 802.11a/b/g/n standards. It also is able to connect via Ethernet. However, unlike the Arc and the Beam, the Ray only connects through optical connectivity. There is no HDMI, USB or Aux support. According to SONOS, this allows the sound bar to be compatible with televisions released over the past 15 years. That said, it is more than likely that we’ll be seeing accessories to allow you to connect to the soundbar via HDMI etc in the near future.

Pricing & Availability

The SONOS Ray will be retailing for MYR1,799 in Malaysia. Internationally it will be priced at USD$279 in the US, CAD$329 in Canada, GBP£279 in the UK and EUR€299 in Europe.

It goes on pre-order in Malaysia starting at 4.05 am on May 12, 2022, in Malaysia and will be gl;obally available starting 24th June 2022.

AMD Announces the New Radeon RX 6950 XT – Same-Same, But Better in Every Way

The GPU market today looks like a completely different one compared to the one we saw in the past two years. Stocks are normalising and gone are the ridiculous prices. To be fair, prices are still quite high for existing stocks, and the entire market is still in its recovery mode. We may have also suggested that it is a good time to build a new gaming PC, since prices are steadily on the fall and items are readily available.

It is a good time for chip makers to launch new products too, to recapture the market and to start normalising the prices of their items that are floating in the market now, albeit a little odd. It is a good time then for AMD to launch additions to their Radeon RX 6000 series. They launched the new Radeon RX 6650 XT, RX 6750 XT, and RX 6950 XT. Guess which one we are interested in.

The Radeon RX 6650 XT and RX 6750 XT

They are still RDNA 2 GPUs, hence the RX 6000 series naming scheme. On paper, they are also just slight improvements to the RX 6600 XT and RX 6700 XT cards. As AMD puts it, they are more “enhancements” than anything else. You are supposed to get better Full HD 1080p (RX 6650 XT) and QHD 1440p (RX 6750 XT) performances out of both cards. Like their biggest brother, the RX 6950 XT, the new GPUS are also enhanced with the same sized but faster memory module than before. The speed boost could be quite significant in gaming performance though.

The Radeon RX 6950 XT

You guessed right; we are more interested in AMD’s most premium offering in the GPU market. The Radeon RX 6950 XT will set you back US$ 1,099, which is about the retail price of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, so you can sort of see where this is going now. The Radeon RX 6950 XT is a curious GPU though.

Despite its naming, AMD did not bother adding more compute cores to the Radeon RX 6950 XT GPU. It remains at 80 compute units, the same as the outgoing RX 6900 XT. There is no additional VRAM on the GPU either at 16GB. Despite those, the GPU demands a little bit more power at a typical 335W. In some early tests, the GPU can pull more than 400W at any given time. That could be result of a higher clock speed of 2,100 MHz (boost up to 2,310 MHz) on the compute units and a higher RAM speed at 18GBps.

You still get RDNA 2, AMD’s Infinity Cache technology, and Smart Access Memory from the GPU. Those has not changed much. You also get AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 support with the new GPU too. In supporting games, upscaling should look even better than before. DirectX 12 Ultimate is also supported, but unfortunately ray tracing performance will still pale in comparison to the NVIDIA GPUs with their dedicated ray tracing cores.

All of these should mean that you get quite a bit in boost in gaming performance. In some earlyu tests, performance numbers shows that the Radeon RX 6750 XT blew away its competition. Of course, you want to take those results with a pinch of salt. At the same time, you are also getting a boost in overall productivity performance if you are working with Adobe Creative Suite and other 3D software.

Price and Availability

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, RX 6750 XT, and RX 6950 XT is now available globally. Board partners are also expected to announce the availability of their cards soon. The GPUs are priced at US$ 399 (MYR 1,749)*, US$ 549 (MYR 2,407*), and US$ 1,099 (MYR 4,818*) respectively. MSI Malaysia has announced their AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, RX 6750 XT, and RX 6950 XT cards in Malaysia with no specific mentions of date and pricing as of now. More information on AMD’s new Radeon RX 6000 series cards can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.38 as of 11/05/2022 on xe.com

Intel Launches Their Most Powerful Mobile Processors in the 12th Generation Core HX Processors

Intel Vision 2022 is here! Their keynote was two hours long, but it was not for nothing. They touched on plenty of things that they are working on in the background. Most of it has to do with their corporate businesses and corporate initiatives. One of it though has to do with mobile workstations and that is one we were interested in. They announced the new 12th Generation Core HX processors for workstations. In other words, they have released their most powerful mobile CPUs yet.

Intel already has their 12th generation Intel Core processors on the mobile platform before this. While they are largely of similar build and architecture, they are different products, this Core HX one and the ones before. As Intel puts it, the Core HX is made for professionals and creators.

At the top, the 12th generation Intel Core i9 with Core HX still packs up to 16 cores. Eight of the cores are efficiency cores while the rest are performance cores. In their forms, they are still the same 10nm processors with the new big-small architecture. The new Core HX processors also still support the same DDR5 at 4800MHz speeds where available.

12th Gen Intel Core HX Mobile Workstation Processors | Talking Tech | Intel Technology

Where the new Core HX differs to the outgoing 12th generation Intel Core processors is in its multi-threaded performance. Intel claims that the Core HX delivers 65% more multi-threaded performance compared to the regular Core processors. 65% is a significant amount and important when it comes to creative use. It means less rendering and processing time in video production, 3D rendering, and even animation purposes. The 12th generation Core HX processors, in this case, will see the most benefit in CAD, animation, and visual effect applications. How it will compare to team red is yet to be seen though.

Still, just because the Core HX processors are optimised to be workhorses in creative and professional applications, does not mean that Intel has forgotten their core strength. The Core HX processors are still powerful gaming processors at their hearts. Of course, if you are building a gaming rig, there are other Intel products that might suit you better, this one should be more of an all-rounder for those who needs the versatility.

With Core HX, Intel has introduced seven new processors in their 12th generation Core line-up. The seven new processors are spread out between the Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9 offerings. Because they are mobile processors, we will have to wait and see what Intel’s manufacturing partners can come up with later in the year with the Core HX solutions. For more information on Intel’s Core HX processors, you can visit their website.

Instagram is Embracing NFTs, You Can Show Your NFTs on Instagram Soon!

Love it or hate it, NFT is here to stay for a while. If you are not familiar yet, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) really took off in the past year. It started out as something of a trading alternative for artists in the digital space. It also stems from cryptocurrency, which is another completely different and large topic on its own.

The rise of NFTs does pave plenty of ways for artists and content creators to make millions in a matter of minutes, faster than ever before. There are always two sides of the coin though. Some may like the idea of NFT, some opposed it and thinks that NFT is just a fad. Then again, cryptocurrency is not everyone’s cup of tea either.

Instagram seems to be one that hopes that the NFT trend could boost their own popularity though. To be fair, this should not be something new. Instagram has been contemplating on allowing the sharing of NFTs on their platform for a while now. Recently, the thoughts have been put to action as announced by Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri via Twitter and Instagram Reels.

This does not mean that Instagram is going to be a marketplace for NFTs though. It is a mere platform to showcase owned NFTs. According to Adam, there will be additional information provided with NFT postings. Information like who owns the NFT, for example, will be essential and shared with the posts. He also added that NFTs can be posted and shared across the platform without additional fees or costs.

NFTs on Instagram 🎉

This week we’re beginning to test digital collectibles with a handful of US creators and collectors who will be able to share NFTs on Instagram. There will be no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG.

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Still, you do want to take Instagram’s stance on NFTs with a pinch of salt though. Adam Mosseri’s post says that they are just beginning the tests with a handful of creators and NFT owners. That also means that not all users might get to share their NFT contents just yet. It could pave a way for Instagram to become one of the NFT marketplaces in the future, depending on how its users receive the feature. For now, it will act like a gallery for NFT placements. If you wish to buy NFTs, you still should head to the appropriate marketplaces to make your purchases or bids.

What do you think about NFTs? Is this the right move for Instagram? Would you share your digital collectible on Instagram? Would you even buy NFTs off Instagram? Comment below!

TECNO Enters the Malaysian Smartphone Market with Their Phantom X Flagship Smartphone at MYR 1,499

Before we go on, no we haven’t heard too much of TECNO. Yes, technically TECNO is new to the smartphone industry. Yes, it is TECNO’s first smartphone to enter Malaysia. No, we do not know why any new players would want to compete in the current smartphone market landscape.

Now we got that out of the way, let us look at what they just came up with, the Phantom X. Well, when we said they just came up with it, the device was technically launched by TECNO in the middle of 2021. The said device launched first in India and the later to the rest of the world, now Malaysia. While it is a new device in Malaysia, it is technically an outdated device by the time we get our hands on one. No matter though, modern outdated devices are still full of features and are still good enough to at least last a few software updates, so it is not like you are missing out on that much.

It is priced at MYR 1,499, which is relatively little ask for a modern smartphone by any standards. While the price range puts it squarely in the entry-level mid-range smartphone segment, TECNO claims that this device is, in fact, a flagship smartphone. At least on paper, the device looks the part.

Flagship Performance

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Source: TECNO

RM 1,499 buys you a MediaTek Helio G95 System on A Chip (SoC). While it does not sound like much, the MediaTek 12nmm SoC is still powerful enough to perform like modern flagships (not necessarily in gaming terms). Sadly, it does not support 5G. Then again, how many smartphones in the sub-MYR 1,500 category does?

Alongside the SoC, there is 8GB of RAM that can be expanded to up to 13GB. The extra 5GB is borrowed from 256GB of on-board storage that is offered on the device. If 256GB of storage feels a little constrictive, you can also expand via the dedicated MicroSD card slot that is more of feature now than anything else.

Immersive Display

TECNOPhan1
Source: TECNO

Wrapping the internals are 3D curved glass panels that is held together an aluminium frame, an industry standard today. Out the front is a Corning Gorilla Glass that encases 6.7-inch of AMOLED goodness. The AMOLED panel offers Full HD+ in resolution and up to 90Hz in refresh rate. In theory, the combination should give you a smooth and immersive experience with Android 11 with HIOS 7.6 overlay.

5 Cameras

TECNOPhan3
Source: TECNO

Parked on the top left side of the display is a punch hole that houses two cameras. It is one high-resolution 48-Megapixel main selfie camera for those extra crisp and detailed self-portraits. For a group photo, you get an 8-Megapixel ultrawide shooter beside it.

TECNOPhan2
Source: TECNO

Out the first-in-industry etched textured glass back are three cameras. The main shooter is an impressive 50-Megapixel camera with a large 1/1.3-inch sensor for the best-in-class image clarity and detail. It should perform better in low-light conditions too, with a larger sensor to capture more light naturally. The main camera is flanked with a 120o ultra-wide camera with 8-Megapixel sensor behind the glass. There is also a 13-Megapixel telephoto sensor at 50mm, which we can safely say is a more of a portrait lens than anything else.

Long Battery Life

TECNOPhan6
Source: TECNO

To keep everything running all day long and more is a large 4,700mAh built-in battery. The battery is rated to last up to 30 days in standby conditions, up to 16 hours in video streaming, and even 9 hours in continuous video conferencing. When your battery is running low, you get up to 33W in charging speeds as well to charge your device from nothing to full within an hour.

Price and Availability

The TECNO Phantom X is now available at all their authorised stores and retailers across Malaysia. As mentioned, the device is priced at MYR 1,499. You can get your hands on one in two colour options – Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Monet’s Summer. To celebrate TECNO’s entry into Malaysia and its launch of the Phantom X, the first 2,000 buyers of the device are entitled to a complementary TECNO buds wireless earphones. For more information on the TECNO Phantom X, you can visit their website.

Lenovo Launches the Yoga Slim 9i– Carbon Neutrality is Really a Thing

Being environmentally friendly and creating products that fits the bill should not be something new. It is, however, now cool to do it. Take the recently launched Acer Aspire Vero National Geographic Edition for example, even a world renown organisation dedicated to global preservation recognises Acer’s effort in reducing their carbon footprint.

Acer is not the only company that is jumping on the ecologically friendly product bandwagon though. Dell has quietly been on that bandwagon for a while now, not the extremes of Acer, but they have been cutting down wherever they can. Now, we can add Lenovo to that list.

They have launched the new Yoga Slim 9i, a flagship that is created with carbon neutrality in mind. In fact, Lenovo’s new flagship thing-and-light has been certified as a carbon neutral product by TÜV Rheinland. They have also launched the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 series built for creators who are constantly on the move.

Carbon Neutral is Cool

  • 01 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Front Facing
  • 16 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Thin Light
  • 15 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Left 180 Degree
  • 14 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Left Side Screen Open
  • 13 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Thin Light
  • 12 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Standby Mode
  • 11 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Front Facing
  • 10 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Front Facing Left
  • 09 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Keyboard
  • 08 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Front Facing Right
  • 07 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Rear Facing Left
  • 06 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero D Cover
  • 05 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero A Cover
  • 04 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Tour Right Side Profile Closed
  • 03 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Tour Left Side Profile Closed
  • 02 Yoga Slim 9i Gen7 Hero Front Facing JD

It is the first laptop device in the world to be certified by TÜV Rheinland as a carbon neutral product. How? Lenovo never specified how. We speculate that Lenovo must have somehow offset the carbon footprint of the product in one way or another since they did not claim that the laptop has been made with recycled or recyclable materials.

While eco-friendliness can often be associated with lower build qualities and lack of durability, this is not the case with the Yoga Slim 9i. As its name suggests, the flagship laptop device is 14.9mm thick, or thin, depending on how you see it. The slim and svelte body is encased in durable 3D glass with smooth contours just to make sure that the laptop is comfortable in your hands.

The high-end device packs a 14-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and boasts up to 4K in resolution. It is an OLED PureSight display too so colours are sure to be as vibrant and true as they can be on the laptop. The OLED panel is also a Vesa Certified Display HDR True Black 500 and 10-bit colour depth to get a good 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. The vibrant and immersive display is supported also by a powerful Bowers and Wilkins speakers for a great audio experience.

Inside the premium chassis, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i packs a lot of punch with Intel’s 12th Generation Core processors with Intel EVO certification. It also packs something called Lenovo A.I. Core 2.0 to automatically optimise performances and secure the laptop. It also ensures that the fans are always spinning adequately enough to ensure that your laptop always stays cool.

Prices and Availability

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i will be available in a few configurations. You can get it with an Intel Core i7 or an Intel Core i5. Both devices pack Intel’s Iris Xe graphics technology. You can also get spec it with either a 2.8K or 4K OLED display. It also only comes in one colour option, not black, they call it Oatmeal. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i will be available in the United States (U.S.) starting June 2022 onward for US$ 1,799 (MYR 7,865*). There are no confirmations on its local availability or prices so far.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.37 as of 06/05/2022 on xe.com

[Snap Summit 2022] The US$ 229.99 Pixy is Prove that Selfie Drones are Not a Fad

A few years ago, on Kickstarter and a few other crowdsourcing platforms, we saw something quite intriguing. We saw a small drone that is supposed to be sold to consumers. It is made to eliminate the need for selfie sticks, allowing self-portrait subjects a free range of movements in their own photos. It allows them to have a more flexible control on the frame of the photos. We thought that it was brilliant and odd at the same time. The idea never really took off anywhere though, at least until now. Snap, the people behind Snapchat (obviously), introduces a new hardware for Snapchat users, the Pixy.

The idea of Pixy is nothing new. Ever since DJI started selling consumer grade drones that is smaller than smartphones, the idea of using a drone to capture selfies has been born. It makes a lot of sense too since with a drone, you have a larger creative canvas anyway. You can push it further than you physically can with a selfie stick and bring it closer when you need it to. Like what DJI does with their drones, a flying camera can also be a personal vlogging camera that gives you the full motion of both your hands.

That is basically what Pixy is. It is a pocket-sized, free-flying personal camera that you can take with you anywhere you go. Unlike DJI drones, it does not come with a comprehensive remote. It is made to be used quickly and seamlessly, so we assume that you can control it with your smartphone. We suspect also that the controls on the smartphone could be limited since Snap has mentioned in their release that the Pixy can fly in four preset flight paths. Once you set the flight path, you should not need to look at your smartphone until you are done with it.

Unlike DJI’s devices as well, the Pixy is made with less powerful motors, because it is a simpler and lighter compact drone anyway. Because of that, they designed the Pixy to take off and land on your hands instead of the ground.

We also assume that the Pixy is going to be fully controlled via the Snapchat app. Snap says that the Pixy will be a companion device to the app in the future. All videos and photos from the drone can be transferred to a smartphone device wirelessly to be saved into Snapchat Memories. Everything captured via the Pixy can also be edited on the Snapchat app itself.

The Pixy is now available in the United States and France only. There are no mentions on its availability elsewhere, but we expect that the Pixy will at least make a few more markets in the North American and European regions. It will set you back US$ 229.99 (MYR 1,001*). If you are planning to get one somehow, do check with the local laws to ensure you do not get into trouble taking a selfie. More information on the Pixy can be found on their website.

*Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.35 as of 28/04/2022 on xe.com