In the ever-competitive scene of high-performance smartphones, Realme is stamping its mark with the GT 5 series, promising to redefine the limits of mobile performance.
Power-packed performance
The heart of the Realme GT 5 series is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, the powerhouse behind the lightning-fast operations. You can expect snappy app launches, seamless multitasking, and smoother gaming experiences. With a jaw-dropping 24GB of RAM on the highest-end model, the Realme GT 5 series ensures you have room to spare for all your multitasking needs.
Realme has raised the bar when it comes to charging speed. Their top-tier model boasts a staggering 240W wired charging capability with a 4600 mAh. There is also a 150W wired charging variant which promises impressive charging speeds while having a higher battery capacity of 5240 mAh. Regardless of the variant you choose, battery anxiety will be a thing of the past.
Audio and Visual Brilliance
The Realme GT 5 doesn’t just excel under the hood. Its 6.7-inch AMOLED display delivers vibrant colors and deep blacks, making your content pop. The 1,240 x 2,772 pixel resolution ensures crisp visuals, while a 144Hz refresh rate provides a silky-smooth experience, perfect for gaming and scrolling through social media. Game visuals are juiced up further with the Adreno GPU and X7 display chip that can boost framerates while gaming.
Sound quality is often an overlooked aspect of smartphones, but not for Realme. The GT 5 series features stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, that are both Hi-Res Audio and Dolby certified. While it does not have a 3.5mm audio jack, it does have support for aptX HD, LHDC, LDAC and LC3 audio codecs over its Bluetooth 5.3 connection. This means that you can enjoy the highest quality of audio over wireless connection.
Get snapping and….burning?
The camera setup is equally impressive. Realme knows the importance of a good shot, and they’ve equipped the GT 5 series with top-notch cameras. It consists of a 50MP main camera with Sony’s IMX890 sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP macro camera. To help with lighting, there is LED light with 26 customizable colors and 5 levels of brightness. For selfies, it sports a 16MP front camera.
An interesting feature that will be available is the Burning mode. This mode allows the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset to run at a sustained, full-frequency speed when paired with a clip-on fan. There is no word yet if this mode works with any clip-on fan or a specific one.
Pricing and Availability
The Realme GT 5 series is now available in China through Realme’s official Chinese website. The 150W charging variant is available in two configurations; 12 GB RAM and 256 GB of storage retailing at 2999 Yuan (~RM 1915) and 16 GB RAM and 512 GB of storage for 3299 Yuan (~RM 2106). The top-shelf 240W charging variant is available with 24GB RAM and 1TB of storage retailing at 3799 Yuan (~RM 2425). Two colors are available; silver with a mirror finish and matte Green finish.
The Realme GT 5 is shaping up to be a great option for a tech enthusiast, a gaming aficionado, or even a multitasking pro!
The Sony Xperia 1V is finally here in Malaysia, and as per previously reported, it will set you back MYR 6,399. It is a lot of money for a smartphone, yes. It is more expensive than Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra at this point (MYR 5,699 onward, 256GB + 12GB), making it the most expensive mass-produced Android smartphone to date. But then again, the Sony Xperia 1V smartphone is not necessarily made for the general user. Instead, Sony has content creators in mind when it comes to the Sony Xperia 1V.
On paper, it does not look like you are getting much more for your money on the Xperia 1V. You get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 System on a Chip (SoC) to begin with, the most powerful processor money can buy in an Android smartphone. Alongside the integrated chip is up to 256GB in storage and up to 12GB in RAM which should ensure that the device is speedy and snappy enough to keep up with the best the Android segment has to offer. Unlike most flagships in the market though, you can expand the device’s storage with a MicroSD card at up to 1TB capacity. Of course, that means sacrificing the secondary SIM tray.
Out the back are three 12-Megapixel sensors in 24mm, 16mm, and 85-125mm lenses configuration. There is a textured glass that protects the camera sensors too that offers better grip and feel than before. Underneath the glass back is a 5,000mAh battery that should keep the device running for an entire day and even more.
Up front is a rather expansive 21:9 aspect ratio OLED display that offers 4K resolution at HDR levels. It also offers 120Hz refresh rate for a smooth feel of Android 13 on the device. The Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects the main display and also protects another 12-Megapixel sensor that is kitted with a 24mm lens for selfies or video conferencing purposes.
We said that the main sensor is a 12-Megapixel sensor. While that is mostly true in most photography use cases, the sensor is a special one developed just for the Sony Xperia 1 series. The new Exmor T sensor is larger than regular smartphone camera sensors, meaning it can capture more light and perform naturally better in low-light conditions. The sensor also technically has 52-Megapixel on it, but only 48-Megapixel is effectively available on tap. With pixel binning, you get a larger 12-Megapixel sensor than ever before that offers more details and clarity than ever before.
Price and Availability
The Sony Xperia 1V, as mentioned, is priced at MYR 6,399. It is now available via Sony Stores and their authorised resellers throughout the nation. You can get yours in Black or Khaki Green variants. They teased a White variant at the local launch, but we cannot be sure that it will be available at the same time as the other two colours currently. For a limited time, every purchase of the Sony Xperia 1V entitles you to a Sony WH-1000XM5 noise cancelling headphones worth MYR 1,799. Yes, it is expensive, but we do think that nothing does a better job than the Sony Xperia 1V when it comes to content creation. More on the Sony Xperia 1V can be found on their website.
If you are looking for a flagship smartphone experience like no other, you are spoiled by choice today. You can choose between offerings from Samsung, OnePlus, OPPO, HONOR, Xiaomi, and even Apple, if you please. The thing is these manufacturers make rather similar smartphones. They always come in the same recipe – metallic frame, glass backing that houses a high-resolution camera, and a glass front that protects a rather large high-resolution display. They also always promised some sort of state-of-the-art cooling solution. If you are looking for something different, the flagship from these manufacturers might not cut it.
For a while now, if you have been looking for a different flavour on your flagship smartphone, you can go the route of gaming smarpthones from the likes of Razer, Blackshark, and most recently, Lenovo. But these manufacturers have sort of phased out too. There are no more Blackshark smartphones for 2023, Razer has not updated their Razer Phone line up, and Lenovo has yet to update their latest handheld gaming creation. The only one we can look to right now is ASUS and their ROG Phone. In that case if you want a unique flagship smartphone for 2023, ASUS’ ROG Phone series is the one for you.
Welcome to the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series, the latest creation from the skunkworks of ASUS. It is the latest and currently the most powerful gaming smartphone you have ever seen. As with any previous ASUS ROG Phone devices, it is one of the most striking looking devices you have laid your eyes on, at least amongst all the flagships you can find in the current market.
Formidable Power
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
It packs an immensely powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform. Alongside the powerful system on a chip (SoC) is a 16GB LPDDR5X RAM (up to) and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. All these are designed so that the top-of-the-line ASUS ROG Phone works through games as fast as the current technology allows. It is made to be the ultimate expression of a gaming handheld that is also a smartphone.
Wrapped around the powerful uniquely tuned internals is something ASUS calls the GameCool 7 thermal control system. That means you get even an even better gaming performance out of the ROG Phone 7 smartphone than any other flagship you can find in the current market. At the same time, the new cooling system keeps the smartphone running at a lower temperature over regular flagship smartphones while keeping power consumption lower than even regular smartphones. They say the new GameCool 7 system offers a new rapid-cycle vapor chamber design that offers 168% heat dissipation efficiency that the ROG Phone that came before.
Better Audio, Better Cooling, Better Controls
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
The result is a quite a beefy shell with a few tricks up its sleeves. Within the beefy device is a new stereo speaker that is said to be 50% more powerful than before. The new speaker system is also tuned by Dirac, an audio specialist. You can also turn it into a 2.1 channel system when you attach the new AeroActive Cooler 7 accessory to the device. If you prefer a more personal experience in a crowd, the Dirac tuned Dirac Virtuo 3.5mm headphone jack offers an unparalleled theatre-like spatial sound experience. If you prefer a more wireless approach, the Snapdragon Sound technology offers super-low-latency high-fidelity Bluetooth audio experience.
The new AeroActive Cooler 7 attachment is one of the things that makes the ROG Phone 7 series even more unique than ever before. It offers a cooling solution that does not just cool the glass surface of the device’s back, the new fan design allows for more effective basic active cooling, but a unique AeroActive Portal air inlet system allows the fan to cycle even more air throughout the device’s internals for even more efficient cooling.
ASUS also kept certain things that kept the ROG Phone unique since its inception. One of them is the Air Trigger ultrasonic buttons at the side of the device that offers even more control avenues and options of the ROG Phone device. It is also what gives users of the ROG Phone even more advantage in an already overpowered gaming device in games. It is not the basic haptic feedback touch buttons that they used to be in the first ASUS ROG Phone though. The latest AirTrigger offers a slew of gesture controls including Dual Action, Press and Lift, and even Gyroscope gaming, just like the Nintendo Switch and even the Steam Deck for fine tuning your aim. Within the ROG Phone 7 series devices are 10 motion controls and X-axis liner motors that offers powerful haptic feedback like no other smartphone can.
The Best Display Ever
All these things great hardware goes into creating the most immersive gaming experience you can have on a smartphone with a large Samsung AMOLED display that offers up to 165Hz in refresh rate. The panel also offers up to 720Hz in sampling rate for the lowest-in-class input latency, useful in gaming. The Pixelworks tuned AMOLED panel also offers ΔE<1 and a maximum of 1,500 nits in brightness for not only stunning, colour accurate visuals indoors, but also outdoors.
For the ASUS ROG Phone 7 Ultimate there is an additional matrix colour display that sits at the back of the device they call the ROG Vision. The feature, first presented in the ROG Phone 6 Ultimate offers users extra information like charging status, incoming calls, X Mode activation, personalized animations, and even more.
Price and Availability
ASUS Malaysia has confirmed that the ASUS ROG Phone 7 series will make its way to Malaysia by the 10th of May 2023. There is no official pricing just yet for Malaysia. In Europe though, prices start at EUR€ 999, which is about MYR 4,849*. It will be available in Phantom Black and Storm White colour options. For more information on the ROG Phone 7 series, you can always visit ASUS’ website.
*Approximately based on the exchange rate of EUR€ 1 = MYR 4.85 on xe.com as of 18/04/2023
Ever since HONOR has stepped out as an independent smartphone manufacturer, the brand has gone from strength to strength. They have successfully launched their own smartphones packing their own MagicOS based on Android with Google Play Store access for a couple of years now. While they have not been able to completely shake off their HUAWEI ties or association, they do make respectable smartphones that are rather appealing too.
Their latest addition to the stable is the Magic5 series announced in MWC 2023. You get to choose between vanilla model or a Pro variant in this series. They also launched a rather interesting foldable, the Magic Vs alongside the Magic5, but we are going to focus on the Magic5 series here.
HONOR Magic5 Pro
Source: HONOR
The Magic5 Pro is built to be the true 2023 flagship for HONOR. They started out with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 system on a chip (SoC), the fastest and most powerful processing chip for an Android smartphone to date. The octa-core chip is then paired to 12GB of RAM for good measure and to avoid bottlenecks in multitasking conditions. You get 512GB of storage too for good measure.
Part of the 512GB of storage holds the Android 13 based MagicOS 7.1 interface that shows on the large 6.82-inch display. The OLED panel offers 2,848 by 1,312 pixels, which is not quite QHD+, but more than Full HD+. It is a 10-bit display offering up to 1.07 billion colours and up to 1800nits in brightness though. It is also an LTPO panel that offers up to 120Hz in refresh rate for that extra smooth feel. The glass that protects the display also protects a 12-Megapixel front-facing camera supported by a 3-Megapixel depth sensor with up to 4K resolution video recording capabilities.
The HONOR Magic5 Pro’s party piece, the Falcon Triple Main Camera as HONOR puts it, is its main camera array at the back. Arranged in a familiar ‘halo’ design, the HONOR Magic5 Pro offers three 50-Megapixel sensors at the back. One is obviously a regular 24mm wide-angle shooter, the other is an ultra-wide shooter, and the last one is a telephoto lens capable of 3.5x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom. All of them offer optical image stabilisation (OIS) too if you are worried about your clammy hands. Of course, the camera array supports video recording at 4K resolution. They say also that the camera is faster than ever before, hence the name Falcon.
Keeping everything running for an entire day and possibly more is a 5,100mAh battery pack within the glass and aluminium constructed body. It supports HONOR’s 66W Supercharge technology which will still allow you to get going with a full charge in just about an hour’s time. If you prefer to just leave your device on the table to get it wirelessly charging, the device is capable of a 50W charge wirelessly.
HONOR Magic5
Source: HONOR
The more premium Magic5 Pro may be appealing and can be recognised as the true flagship for HONOR. The vanilla is not too far behind though, in that case we think that the vanilla Magic5 is worth more than a look thanks to the value it offers. It is everything that is the Magic5 Pro with a few minor differences.
It packs the same SoC, for one. It also comes with the same amount of RAM. The storage is a little smaller though at 256GB. While the display is smaller at 6.73-inch, you still get an OLED panel that offers more than Full HD+ in resolution. You still get up to 120Hz in refresh rate and DCI-P3 colour gamut at up to 1600nits in brightness.
You lose one camera out in front. You also lose a little resolution the camera at only 12-Megapixel, but no matter, you still shoot videos at 4K resolution. Out the back is a more powerful main camera at 54-Megapixel. The ultra-wide camera remains the same at 50-Megapixel. The trade off is on the telephoto camera that offers 32-Megapixel and only up to 50x digital zoom.
It is still an Android 13 device offering MagicOS 7.1 interface though. Within the glass and aluminium construction is still a large 5,100mAh battery. It still charges at 66W but does not get wireless charging.
Price and Availability
Source: HONOR
The HONOR Magic5 starts at MYR 3,499. You can get one in either Glacier Blue or Black colour. The vanilla HONOR Magic5 will go on sale starting 28th of April 2023. There are no pre-order programmes for this one.
The HONOR Magic5 Pro does have a pre-order programme. You can now pre-order your HONOR Magic5 Pro up until the 13th of April 2023. Shipping starts the day after that and you can pre-order your device from their own online stores, partner retailers, and even their official stores on Shopee and Lazada. Each pre-order entitles you to free gifts worth over MYR 1,200 while stocks last. The HONOR Magic5 Pro is available in Meadow Green and Black Colour options for MYR 4,299). For more information on HONOR’s Magic5 and Magic5 Pro, you can visit their website.
HUAWEI was, at some point, one of the most popular Android smartphone maker in the world. At that point as well, we would recommend one in a heartbeat. Why would we not? They offer some of the best value for your money, feature some of the most interesting innovation in smartphones, and they were great to daily drive. That is until the Trump administration in the United States (US) decided to paint some unpleasant light on HUAWEI and banned the Chinese giant from doing business with American entities. That means HUAWEI loses direct access to Google’s Android and Play Store.
It does not mean that they are out of the game though. They innovated once more for their own survival. They launched HarmonyOS for their smartphones and their tablet products. They still had Microsoft’s Windows to work with for their PC products, so there is that. But not having Google’s Play Store has crippled them plenty in their global appeal.
They just launched the HUAWEI P60 series, their smartphone photography flagship. The P series, since the P9, has always offered some of the best camera experience on any smartphone. They were also the first smartphone maker to rope in a camera maker, Leica at the time, to help develop the camera system. That opened the floodgates for plenty more collaborations for other manufacturers.
On top of a whole world of collaboration opportunities, HUAWEI’s collaboration with Leica breathes new life in smartphone photography. You get better photos than ever, better portraits, better image quality, and even more flexibility in terms of the photos and videos you capture. The P60 still embodies all of that in their DNA.
HUAWEI P60 Pro
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Their top-of-the-line P series for 2023 is the P60 Pro. For the first time ever, HUAWEI’s P series flagship features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 system on a chip (SoC). Due to trade restrictions, the Snapdragon 8 Gen1 is not 5G enabled, which means you are stuck to 4G LTE connectivity with the HUAWEI P60 Pro. While it is also a slightly older processor compared to what you get today with other modern flagships, it is still a powerful processor at its core.
Alongside up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the SoC drives HUAWEI’s HarmonyOS 3.1/EMUI 13.1 along on its 6.67-inch OLED display. The OLED panel offers 2,700 by 1,220 pixels, which is not exactly QHD, yet more than Full HD. It refreshes at up to 120Hz though, which is always a nice thing to have.
The highlight of the device, or rather, the thing that stands out the most on the device is its main camera at the back. It is a 48-Megapixel sensor that lies behind a wide-angle lens. It sits in between a 48-Megapixel telephoto camera and a 13-Megapixel Ultra-wide shooter. It is still the same RYYB sensor that HUAWEI claims to offer more natural and accurate colour reproduction and even more light than the regular RGB sensor. There is also a 13-Megapixel front-facing camera up front for decent selfies or video calls with MeeTime.
Within the IP68 rated construction is a large 4,815mAh battery to keep the HUAWEI P60 Pro running all day and probably even more. If you ever need to charge, the battery is capable of up to 88W in HUAWEI SuperCharge speeds, just so that you can get going again in an hour. If you prefer to wirelessly charge your smartphone, it still charges at up to 50W speeds.
HUAWEI P60
Moving down the scale, the regular HUAWEI P60 should be the more accessible option in the P60 series. That does not mean that they are compromised.
The HUAWEI P60 still comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen1. It offers less in terms of memory and storage though, at 8GB and 256GB respectively. That is still enough to keep the HarmonyOS 3.1/EMUI 13.1 smoothly though. You also get the same 6.67-inch LTPO OLED display offering the same 120Hz refresh rate and even the same resolution.
Out the back, you still get a 48-Megapixel main shooter with RYYB sensor behind a 24mm wide angle lens. Instead of a 48-Megapixel telephoto shooter, you get a 12-Megapixel telephoto camera alongside a 13-Megapixel ultra-wide camera. Up front, you also get a 13-Megapixel selfie camera.
You even get the same battery. The only difference between this one and the Pro variant is in its charging speeds. You get up to 66W in HUAWEI SuperCharge speeds, which is still plenty fast to keep your device charged before you leave. You still can wirelessly charge your P60 at 50W speeds.
HUAWEI P60 Art
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Source: HUAWEI
Then launched a very interesting ‘special edition’ P60 Art. It offers a slightly different design language too, some extra angles there and here. They are also offered in different special colour options – Azure Blue, and Seashore Gold.
Hardware wise, everything is similar to the HUAWEI P60 Pro. The difference can be found in the back. No, it is not a higher resolution main camera. It is still a 48-Megapixel RYYB main camera. What is different is tat you get a high-resolution 40-Megapixel ultra-wide camera over the 13-Megapixel you get on the Pro variant. You get to choose to get a larger storage for your device too, at up to 1TB. The battery is also larger at 5,100mAh with up to 88W in charging speeds.
Should You Pay Attention to the HUAWEI P60 Series?
This is a more complex question than it seems. On the one hand, we want to say that the HUAWEI P60 series could be an important smartphone for the industry as a whole. On the other, we still would not recommend it to anyone who are looking for a smartphone at this time because it still does not feature Google Play Store out of the box. We do not doubt that the HUAWEI P60 series smartphones will be brilliant smartphones on their own, even without Google Play Store, we just do not think that it is quite relevant in the world dominated by Google’s apps.
Alongside the HUAWEI Mate 50 series, this features an international spec Qualcomm SoC in the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. While the caveat is that you do not get 5G to go along with it, it marks an important stage in HUAWEI’s development journey. They have dialed back on HiSilicon, their own in-house silicon manufacturers. While the Kirin has lived on and been found on HUAWEI’s lower end devices, they have transitioned to Qualcomm for their higher profile devices.
It is an indication that HUAWEI still wants to keep its global smartphone appeal and wants to continue selling their smartphones in the larger global market. Either that, or they are dialing back on their silicon manufacturing and development, which would also reduce their expenses. It could also be a small indication that HUAWEI is finding back its footing into the international marketplace. While there is no guarantee that HUAWEI might adopt Google Play Store in the near future, the transition to Qualcomm’s chips is a good indication that there is a small chance that HUAWEI might still bounce back into the Google ecosystem and become one of the most appealing devices in the Android marketplace.
In that sense, HUAWEI’s upcoming P60 series flagship is something you might want to pay attention to. No, we are not asking you to buy one, far from that. While the device is a marginal improvement over the P50 series in terms of hardware, it could be an important turning point for HUAWEI moving forward. We would be looking forward to the day that HUAWEI earns its place back among the best of Android manufacturers. It is not only about having another option, it is because we thought their devices were genuinely great.
Price and Availability
The HUAWEI P60 series is said to be coming to Malaysia. There is no confirmed date on that currently though. The P60 and P60 Pro will be available in China at the end of March 2023 onward for CN¥ 4,488 (MYR 2,889*) onward and CN¥ 6,988 (MYR 4,498*) onward respectively. They will be available in Rococo Pearl, Violet, Black and Green colour options. The HUAWEI P60 Art will be available in China 7th of April 2023 onward for CN¥ 8,988 (MYR 5,786*) onward. You can choose between The Azure Blue and Seashore Gold colour options for the ‘Art’ variant. More information on the HUAWEI P60 series can be found on their global website.
*approximately based on exchange rate of CN¥ 10 = MYR 6.44 as of 27/03/2023 on xe.com
Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2023 is happening in less than 2 weeks. They are set to launch their latest flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S23 series of smartphones in that event. With the new device, they are also expected to unveil a few new features on the device itself as well. One of them is a new camera sensor module.
Samsung has been leading the charge in the smartphone camera Megapixel war. They introduced their 108-Megapixel sensor a few years ago and Sony has not come up with an answer for that kind of resolution just yet. Sony does have their larger format 1-inch sensors shoehorned into their smartphones though, effectively making them proper compact point-and-shoot camera with smartphone built-in.
While the 108-Megapixel camera still sits on top of its throne, it is getting a little outdated. There are new technologies to be explored, there are cleverer ways to cram more pixels in a sensor; there is always a new horizon to be explored. In that spirit, Samsung introduced the ISOCELL CP2 sensor.
Welcome to the world of super high-resolution photos coming from your smartphone. At 200-Megapixel, even medium format cameras from Hasselblad cannot compete in terms of theoretical detail. All this might come to your next flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (or whatever they want to call it this time).
The 200-Megapixel is packed in a 1/1.3” sized sensor, the same size from the previous 108-Megapixel ISOCELL you can find in your Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra today. That means you get nearly twice the pixel amount in the same amount of space. But it is not just a small sensor with added pixels.
The sensor packs Samsung’s latest advanced pixel-binning technology, Tetra2pixel. The HP2 sensor with the technology now can simulate different pixel sizes for different lighting levels. That means that the camera can basically combine the pixels into larger pixels to make 50-Megapixel or 12.5-Megapixel clusters for low-light conditions. The 50-Megapixel mode will also be used for 8K 30fps videos so that you do not have to crop too much out of the frame.
Getting a focus in low-lit environments is a challenge for most cameras. Because the Samsung camera can see better, auto focus in the environment should be less of a problem. With Super QPD, the 200-Megapixel available become part of the focusing mechanic. The technology allows for the pixels to be divided into four parts to recognise pattern changes to ensure that autofocus is more accurate and much faster than before.
In conditions where there is too much light, yes; you can have too much light, the HP2’s Dual Vertical Transfer Gate (D-VTG) technology can make the images vibrant still. The D-VTG is basically an added voltage transfer gate for the sensor to sort of increase its dynamic capabilities by up to 33%. This allows the sensor to cleverly reduce overexposures of photos while optimising colours. That all means you can take a photo on a bright day without worrying about getting washed out details and colours.
The Samsung ISOCELL HP2 should start making its way into flagships in the coming year. We are expecting the HP2 to make it first into Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series flagships. You can expect the usually suspects like Xiaomi capitalising and shoehorning the high-resolution sensor in their smartphones in year 2023 as well.
A few months ago, we heard a rumour. A little bird said that Leica is looking for a partnership with a mobile manufacturer. We heard that they are looking into another partnership with a different Chinese manufacturer at the time, Xiaomi. For a few months after that, the rumour seemed dead, quiet.
Leijun, the current CEO of Xiaomi global, today just confirmed that the rumours a few months ago was true after all. There were no big announcements too, no press releases. It is just a simple twitter post that also teases a 4th of July 2022 launch date for the Xiaomi 12S Series flagship smartphones. It is happening at 7pm at GMT +8 next week, which is good for us in Malaysia.
After so much hard work, we can finally share our latest innovation, Xiaomi smartphones co-engineered with Leica, ushering in a new era in imagery technology. Looking forward to sharing more at the #Xiaomi12SSeriesLaunch on July 4, 19:00 GMT+8! pic.twitter.com/YHe5Zvqjdb
There is not too much that we know about the Xiaomi 12S series. To be fair, Xiaomi has not teased much about it and has been keeping mums about it quite well. Still there are a few things we may be able to expect out of the new flagship devices.
You can expect Qualcomm’s latest Snadragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip fitted into the new devices. It will effectively be the first devices in the world to pack Qualcomm’s new generation system on a chip (SoC). Technically at launch too, it will be the most powerful Android device available in the market.
You can expect up to 12GB of RAM too in the most premium variant of the Xiaomi 12S alongside up to 256GB of storage. In terms of display, you should get up to 120Hz in refresh rate, the highest you can sort of get in smartphones today anyway. Like Xiaomi teased a long time ago too, fast charging will still be a thing with the new device with up to 120W in charging speeds.
Of course, the Xiaomi 12S will be an Android 12 device at launch. It should be upgradable to Android 13 when it is available from Xiaomi. As with any other Xiaomi flagship that came before, it will come installed with MIUI 13 based on Android 12 too.
There are no confirmations on what prices the devices will launch with. There is also nothing to indicate its availability date in different regions. We are hoping that Malaysia will be in the list of countries that gets the Xiaomi 12S devices first. The Xiaomi 12S, with Leica’s co-engineered camera sounds a lot like a treat, and we are excited for it.
The absolute king of the hill right now when it comes to raw processing power on a smartphone platform is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 system on a chip (SoC). It is also what everybody, at least in the Android world, wants in their flagship smartphones currently. It is the most powerful SoC your smartphone can get today with only the Samsung Exynos as a distant challenger. They are introducing a new one too, very soon.
The second-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC is not coming until the end of the year, as far as we know. In the meantime, there is MediaTek making their steps in high-end smartphone chips.
Source: MediaTek
To be fair, the name MediaTek does not bring a lot of confidence in terms of high-end SoC for mobile applications. They are mostly known for their budget friendly SoCs in entry-level and mid-range smartphones. In that regards though, MediaTek’s SoCs have been solid performers in their class, in some cases probably better than what you can expect from price equivalent Qualcomm devices.
The new Dimensity 9000+ from MediaTek is their hope that the “budget king” perception ends. It is also MediaTek’s most powerful SoC to date with 5G in tow. The new Dimensity, in this case, goes head-to-head with Qualcomm’s current best.
At its core is the ARM Cortex-X2 architecture, the same one the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 boasts in their Kryo CPUs. The single ARM Cortex-X2 core works with three powerful Cortex-A710 cores and low-power high-efficiency Cortex-A510 cores. The 4nm octa-core CPU arrangement makes ARM’s v9 architecture.
Source: MediaTek
Besides the obvious CPU and GPU improvements, and 5G capabilities the SoC comes with a slew of compelling upgrades. One of which is LPDDR5X support with 8MB L3 CPU cache and 6MB system cache support for new-generation smartphones with ultra-fast memory. Instead of a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that is widely boasted by its competitors, MediaTek opted for something a little more practical in a dedicated Application Processor Unit (APU 5.0) for all its A.I. purposes.
MediaTek also packs a powerful imaging processor withing the Dimensity 9000+. They call it the MediaTek Imagiq 790. Rivaling the Qualcomm’s own image processor, the new processor supports up to 18-bit HDR-ISP at up to 320-Megapixel. Of course, you there is no camera sensor in the world currently that packs that many pixels into an area less than an inch. It is good to know that you can super sample your photos to up to 320-Megapixel though.
The Imagiq 790 also allows the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ equipped devices to record three videos simultaneously at up to 18-bit HDR formats. It even does 4K HDR with AI noise reduction, especially useful in low-light conditions.
Source: MediaTek
The new MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ can support up to 144Hz WQHD+ or even 180Hz Full HD+ displays thanks to the new MiraVision 790 engine. The new display engine also has something called Intelligent Display Sync 2.0 technology that optimizes the power efficiency of the display. Thanks to the engine, the Wi-Fi display now supports up to 4K resolution at 60fps with HDR10+ streaming.
Of course, the latest and greatest SoC cannot be the latest and greatest if it does not pack the latest connectivity and networking technology. For that the 3GPP Release-16 5G modem can hit downlink speeds of up to 7Gbps. The new SoC also supports the latest WiFi 6E standards, new Bluetooth 5.3 standards, and even a new more accurate GNSS.
Source: MediaTek
MediaTek is expecting their new Dimensity 9000+ to make its way to flagship devices starting Q3 2022. As mentioned, the Dimensity 9000+ is meant to be a direct competitor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. At the same time, the second-generation Snapdragon 8 is meant to be announced by Q4 2022. How the Dimensity 9000+ will fare against the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 remains to be seen. We think you might have to wait for the first Dimensity 9000+ devices to roll out. There are no confirmed devices sporting the new Mediatek flagship SoC currently too.
When OnePlus launched their flagships with Hasselblad branding to sport their newfound partnership and investment, we were excited. It meant a new dawn for smartphone photography, especially in the OnePlus devices which have always been a pleasure to work with, but can be a nightmare to take photos with, in the past. The result was nothing short of breath taking at the time. OnePlus flagships finally had great cameras to work with and Hasselblad successfully penetrated the mobile photography space, except they were a little out of their depth with smaller than small camera sensors. Still, they know a thing or two about cameras, and they managed to pull together something for the OnePlus devices.
We knew as well that it was just a matter of time before the Hasselblad name gets passed around within the brands associated with OnePlus, namely OPPO. It did not happen in the previous OPPO Find X, but it is happening now with the OPPO Find X5 series. But there is more to this OPPO flagship that makes it an even better mobile photography machine compared to even the OnePlus.]
Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
Source: OPPO
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 – Still the Best
To start with, The OPPO Find X5 Pro, the most powerful device OPPO has ever created, is packing a powerhouse of a System on a Chip (SoC) in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Yes, the Gen 2 is coming, but the Gen 1 is till the most powerful SoC you can find today. Pair that to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, the device should not break any sweats even with multiple apps running in the background while you game to your heart’s content. But OPPO also understands that sometimes, one processor is not enough; you need two dedicated chips to get things done properly.
MariSilicon X – the Power of Light
The in-house developed NPU powers the three cameras out the back. You get one 50-Megapixel main camera with f/1.7 maximum aperture, another 50-Megapixel underneath an ultra-wide lens at f/2.2 aperture, and a 13-Megapixel telephoto camera. They call it the 4K Ultra night video camera and the MariSilicon X NPU is supposed to be the star of the show here. The new NPU allows more light to be captured by the camera in 4K resolution even in low-light settings. That also allows the cameras to capature HDR footages with more details even at night. For the first time ever as well, there is a 5-axis optical image stabiliser (OIS) fitted to the main camera for a smoother, more stable footage or images. Of course, there is Hasselblad’s input and engineering that allows the OPPO Find X5 Pro to capture colours more naturally and accurately.
Brilliant Display – Beauty is in the Eyes of its Beholder
To top everything off is a brilliant 6.7-inch display that boasts QHD+ 1440p resolutions. AMOLED LTPO panel also houses a 32-Megapixel selfie camera that captures great looking self-portraits. Protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, the 10-bit 100% DCI-P3 display also boasts up to 120Hz in refresh rate and 240Hz in touch sampling rate. If that is not a brilliant display to enjoy contents, we don’t know what is.
Long Lasting Battery, or is it Batteries?
For the OPPO Find X5 Pro, OPPO decided that two batteries are better than one. In the standpoint of durability, heat spread, and even speed, it certainly is. The OPPO Find X5 Pro packs two 2,500mAh batteries to make a single 5,000mAh battery. That allows OPPO to fit their SUPERVOOC charging technology with up to 80W speeds and AIRVOOC technology at 50W without heating up the batteries too much. It also allows an even spread of heat energy to ensure that heat is always kept at a comfortable level while handling the device.
Price and Availability
The OPPO Find X5 Pro is now available for pre-order until 27th of May 2022 via OPPO’s official web store, Shopee, and Lazada. You can get your hands on one for MYR 4,999 and you can choose between Ceramic Black or Ceramic White colour options. If you do pre-order your OPPO Find X5 Pro smartphone from the online stores, you are entitled to free gifts worth up to MYR 1,726, including an OPPO Enco X2, 1-year Screen Protection, and 1-year Extended Warranty, and Kevlar phone case. More information on the OPPO Find X5 Pro can be found on their website.
These days, when you talk flagship, you think about devices that cost at least MYR 3,000 and above. Anything below that price range is usually categorised as mid-range smartphones. They are usually specced as such too, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 700 series, 6-8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage. Not this one though. It is priced as a mid-range smartphone, but on paper, it is a flagship.
First, the POCO F4 GT packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the most powerful system on a chip (SoC) you can find in an Android smartphone currently. Sure, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is rumoured to come some time soon. Until then, the Gen 1 is still the most powerful SoC you can find on an Android. The powerful SoC is supported by up to 12GB of speedy LPDDR5 RAM with up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage for snappy operations.
They say that it is made for mobile gaming. To ensure that the SoC stays cool for extended gaming sessions then, they have something they call LiquidCool Technology 3.0. The technology large dual vapor chambers to ensure that heat from the SoC can be quickly and efficiently transferred and dissipated elsewhere on the device.
Source: POCO
Out the front is an expansive and immersive 6.67-inch AMOLED display with 10-bit colours. With up to 120Hz, your interface should feel smoother than running a hot knife through butter. At up to 480Hz of touch sampling rate, every touch should feel more instant and more responsive than ever before. Of course, with DisplayMate’s A+ rating, this display should be great with movies too.
Out the back is a 64-Megapixel main shooter which should be enough in most cases. Of course, most of the time, you are really taking 12-Megapixel photos unless you tell your camera that you want to shoot in 64-Megapixel mode. The powerful camera is supported by an 8-Megapixel ultra-wide shooter and a 2-Megapixel macro camera. Out the front is a 20-Megapixel selfie shooter for when you need to stream or when you just want to capture a clear selfie.
To keep everything running nicely an entire day and more is a 4,700mAh battery inside the device. It is also the first battery in POCO’s device range to offer 120W HyperCharge charging speed. The device can be fully charged in just 27 minutes. Charging your device at 120W at all times can destroy the battery pretty quickly though, so POCO’s AdaptiveCharge feature cleverly keeps your battery from overcharging to prolong its shelf life.
Alongside the POCO F4 GT, POCO also launched their new Buds Pro Genshin Impact Edition with a rather special design throwing homage to the ever so popular mobile game. They also launched the POCO Watch, their first ever smartwatch cum fitness tracker. It does not run on the Wear OS.
The POCO F4 GT is available in three colour options from 28th of April 2022 onward. You can choose between Stealth Black, Knight Silver, and Cyber Yellow colour options. You can also choose between an 8GB + 128GB variant and a 12GB + 256GB variant for MYR 2,299 and MYR 2,499 respectively. If you purchase your device on the 28th of April 2022 on either Shopee or Lazada, you can get your device for MYR 1,999 and MYR 2,199 respectively. The POCO Buds Pro Genshin Impact Edition and POCO Watch will be available for MYR 299 and MYR 249 respectively on the same date. More information on the new POCO devices can be found on their website.
