Qualcomm is one of the biggest chipmakers when it comes to mobile. The company is responsible for the silicon in a huge number of smartphones on the market including the U.S. variant of the Samsung S21 series and the recently announced Xiaomi Mi11. That isn’t all, the company’s Snapdragon processors also power some of the more accessible and affordable devices such as the Redmi Note 9s and even HMD’s Nokia lineup. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the company and the Snapdragon brand has built up a following in the past years.
If you’re one of them, Qualcomm is opening the doors for you to get more acquainted with their technology. In an announcement on their social media as well as a blog post, the company announced their new Snapdragon Insider program. The program will give exclusive access to some of the inner happenings at Qualcomm and even allow fans access to experts to learn more about the Snapdragon mobile platforms.
Source: Qualcomm
According to Qualcomm, signing-up will give enthusiasts an exclusive chance to celebrate, engage, and experience the latest Snapdragon technology. The community will be among the first to get news and announcements about Snapdragon-enabled devices and will have access to small-group interactions with content creators and Qualcomm experts. These sessions will allow Insiders to learn how to get the most out of their Snapdragon devices as well as help shape the future of Snapdragon.
If you’re interested, you can sign up at Qualcomm’s website. The program is going live in the U.S., India and Germany with plans to roll out in China soon. There’s no news on which other countries will be able to access the Qualcomm Insider program at this point of time.
Update (10 March 2021): More rumors are continuing to surface about the ROG Phone 5 in the days leading up to its release. The first is that the new gaming phone will have a variant with 16GB of RAM. Something we highlighted in our original article. In addition to this, we’ve got our first look at the phone thanks to leaker @IshanAgarwal on Twitter. It seems like the phone will be coming in a new, sleek white color similar to the Zephyrus G14/15. The official renders also show a new AeroActive Cooler with a slight redesign.
And here is the ASUS ROG Phone 5 White Color Variant!
ASUS’s ROG Phone is arguably one of the most popular gaming phones on the market. ASUS launched the first ROG Phone to much fanfare in 2019 creating a new niche for loud, gamer-proud devices. They also pack specifications and software features that allow users to get the most out of their phones when it comes to performance and comes with software optimizations for gaming. Don’t forget the plethora of gaming-centric accessories that is now a signature of the ROG Phone lineup.
In the past, ASUS has announced their gaming smartphone closer to mid year. However, this year, the company has already announced that they will be revealing their new entry into the ROG Phone line up on March 10 at 7pm. With that in mind, we thought it’s be an opportune time to round up the rumours and everything else we know so far about the ROG Phone 5.
Bringing New Design Cues from Successful Laptops
Yep. You read that right. No you didn’t miss a ROG Phone somewhere in between. Instead, ASUS has decided to skip straight to 5 as the number 4 in Mandarin and other Chinese dialects sounds similar to the word for death.
With that out of the way, let’s get down to business. You’d have realised that ASUS has been teasing the ROG Phone 5 for about a week now. If you’ve been paying attention, it looks like the AniMe matrix from the ROG Zephyrus G14 is coming along for the ride. It seems to be the hallmark design feature of the phone and will be replacing the RGB logo which was one back of the phone.
From the leaks, it looks like this may be complemented by a small display. The small strip could be used as a notification ticker or possibly in a similar way that the HTC One Ultra used it for interactive features. However, there’s no confirmations so far on the functionality of the display.
This would be an excellent complement to the triggers that we already know will be coming to the ROG Phone 5. It also seems like there is an extra red button on the phone’s lower left edge. Keep in mind, that the ROG Phone series has historically come with a side mounted USB-C port.
Specc’d to Kill
As is the usual, it seems like the ROG Phone 5 is specced to kill – in a matter of speaking. We know the phone will be coming with a Snapdragon 888 processor. However, what we don’t know is whether the processor will come with a special build like previous years. Typically, ASUS and Qualcomm have launched the ROG Phone 5 with a “plus” or + variant of the year’s top processor. However, this year, the ROG Phone seems to be coming with the run of the mill Snapdragon 888.
We know from TENAA documentation that there will be an 8GB version of the smartphone, possibly the Tencent or STRIX version which we’ve seen in the past. However, we also have an inkling through rumours that ASUS is likely to have a 16GB and 12GB versions as well. Of course, they will be using the UFS 3.1 standard of memory for that snappy runtime. We will definitely see versions with 256GB and 512GB of internal storage however we wouldn’t put it past ASUS to offer a whopping 1TB version too perhaps paired with 16GB of RAM.
When it comes to the battery, we know for a fact that ASUS hasn’t shied away from large battery capacities. This year’s ROG Phone seems to be coming with a 6,000mAh battery if rumours are to be believed. ASUS is apparently achieving this by doubling up on 3,000mAh battery modules. Of course, the phone will be able to support up to 65W Fast Charging and come with Quick Charge 4, USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 and maybe even reverse charging. However, we don’t expect to see wireless charging in the ROG Phone 5 if ASUS keeps to its trends.
Source: ASUS
On the display front, it looks like ASUS might be equipping the ROG Phone 5 with a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen. However, rumours point to the gaming smartphone only coming with a Full HD+ resolution. That said, the display may be getting a boost from the HDR10+ feature it’s rumoured to be touting. It also looks like the smartphone will be coming with Android 11 out of the box.
Thanks to DxO Mark’s audio review, we know that the ROG Phone comes with stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack – hooray~! In addition, it looks like the phone will be equipped with an ESS DAC for better quality sound and it will also have at least four microphones. On the optics side of things, not too much detail is known. However, we do have leads showing that the phone will be coming with a triple sensor setup. It will be fronted by a 64-megapixel main sensor. The remaining sensors are unknown but if we are to go with what came in the ROG Phone 3 and similar phones this year, we’re betting on an ultrawide sensor and a macro sensor.
Pricing & Availability
While nothing much has been said about the price, we’re expecting ASUS to maintain the general price point of the ROG Phone 5. The ROG Phone came with a price tag of $999 in the U.S. and €999 in Europe at launch. In Malaysia, pricing was about MYR4,499 at launch.
However, given Samsung’s move to make the barrier to ownership a little lower this year, we can probably expect that ASUS may do the same; either with a lower specc’d entry or a very slight price decrease. We’ll have to wait and see.
Samsung with their Galaxy S21 series has sort of won the flagship market in the first quarter of 2021. There is the launch of the Xiaomi Mi 11 that was very recently launched too, which was touted to be better than the South Korean flagship in every way, on paper. They also sell the device with a charger, a bonus.
Xiaomi is not the only one vying for the top spot in the premium flagship space though. There is also OPPO. To attempt to dethrone Samsung, they are launching the OPPO Find X3 series in 2021.
There is not much information at this time regarding the OPPO Find X3 series. The only thing we know for certain is that OPPO is launching their OPPO Find X3 Pro on the 11th March 2021. It is also most likely going to be launched with Android 11.
The OPPO Find X2 series really pushed Samsung in terms of specification. They proved that a high-resolution display with high refresh rates is possible. They also proved that high refresh rates does not mean a terrible battery life with the 2020 flagship.
The replacement, the OPPO Find X3 Pro continues on that recipe with a supposed high-resolution 1440p display with up to 120Hz. That is technically not a huge upgrade over the 2020 flagship that it replaces. We are also expecting it to come with up to 12GB of RAM, again something that we have seen before in the OPPO Find X2 Pro.
What is new with the OPPO Find X3 Pro though is supposedly its heart. When we say heart, we are mostly referring to powerhouse that is the SoC. We are expecting the OPPO Find X3 Pro to come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 flagship class SoC of course.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC is first seen in Malaysia on the Xiaomi Mi 11 flagship smartphone. While you have seen the Xiaomi Mi 11 perform, it does not mean that the OPPO Find X3’s inclusion of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC is any less significant. The OPPO Find X3 Pro could really benefit from the new powerful SoC.
For one, we really like OPPO’s camera application and optimization. We find that they really are among the best in the industry when it comes to camera technology and innovation. We are saying that they really know how to make smartphone cameras work.
With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, the OPPO Find X3 Pro might just be one of the best camera smartphones in the Android space. Even with the Xiaomi Mi 11 series, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC has boasted better sensitivity for low-light conditions. OPPO’s Find X2 series was one of the best low-light shooters we have tested in 2020. That also means that added sensor sensitivity in low-light will just make the OPPO Find X3 Pro an even better low-light shooter than before.
With the Snapdragon 888 in the OPPO flagship as well, the camera AI should benefit from Qualcomm’s Hexagon 780 dedicated AI engine embedded within the chipset. That could also mean better colours, better temperature adjustment, cleverer angle detection and recommendation, and an overall improvement in scene detection. It could also mean better depth in your photos. In that sense, what could you have asked for more?
Of course, we loved the OPPO Find X2 series for their gaming capabilities. We have used it as an alternative display in completing most of Death Stranding. We also played other games with it of course. Games like PUBG Mobile, and even Mobile Legends really benefit from a fast display.
The OPPO Find X3 Pro should deliver even more gaming performance with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. Qualcomm’s latest processor is supposedly able to cut down your reaction times in games like Mobile Legends and even PUBG Mobile by 20%. The display is supposed to react to your touch inputs faster than before thanks to the new ultra-fast processor. Of course, even better performance and faster clocks on the SoC does not hurt gaming. They even tout desktop PC level of performances on the SoC.
Of course, all these are still yet to be confirmed. We can only confirm all of the information when the product launches on the 11th of March 2021. Are we excited though? For a smartphone that could give Samsung a run for their money, heck yes.
Xiaomi is no stranger to the smartphone scene. In recent years, the company has clawed its way to become one of the top 3 smartphone brands in the world. The same rings true in Malaysia and Singapore where the company has become one of the top 2 fastest growing smart devices companies. They have attributed their success to their highly innovative R&D process amazing products and what they call “honest prices.” That said, Xiaomi’s biggest boon is the support of their Mi Fans Community. Today, the company announced their latest flagship – the Xiaomi Mi 11, the first device in both Singapore and Malaysia to come with MIUI 12.5 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor with support for 5G.
Source: Xiaomi
The Mi 11 is being touted by Xiaomi as a ‘Movie Magic’ device as it allows users to enjoy shooting like a director and edit like a pro. The Mi 11 comes with a triple camera sensor setup and a single selfie camera. Its main sensor is a 108-megapixels sensor. The is complemented with a 13-megapixel ultrawide sensor with 123° field of view and the first M series Tele-macro lens. The front 20-megapixel, selfie camera is nestled in a punch hole up front.
The camera setup comes with improved software including an improved night mode which is now available on the ultra-wide and front camera, giving users to the flexibility of shooting at night with different lenses. It is also equipped with AI features such as Magic Zoom, Parallel world, Freeze Frame, and Night Time-lapse, which brings even more variety to the shots that users can take with the smartphone. Apart from that, users can also take advantage of 8 cinematic video filters. The Mi 11 supports recording video in 8K resolution and supports HDR10+. It also has a 30% improvement in capture compared to previous devices.
Source: Xiaomi
Even with all those features, the Mi 11 is thinner and lighter than before. It has a quad-curved edge design on the front and back of the device which make it more ergonomic. This device comes with a WQHD+ resolution AMOLED screen with a refresh rate of 120hz and 480Hz touch sampling.
The Mi 11 has a dual speaker setup calibrated by Harman Kardon for a more premium audio experience. Keeping the device flagship worthy, the Mi 11 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor complemented by the Adreno 660 GPU promising an immersive, responsive experience. The new flagship is also the first device with MIUI 12.5, Xiaomi’s latest operating system which runs atop Android 11. To make sure that you have enough power to last, the Mi 11is supported by a 4600mAh battery fully equipped with 55W fast charging and 50W wireless charging. It also supports 10W reverse charging. The cherry on the package with the Mi11 in Malaysia and Singapore is the inclusion of a 55W GaN (Gallium Nitride) charger in the box.
Pricing & Availability
Xiaomi Mi11 will be available in three colors: Cloud White, Horizon Blue, and Midnight Gray. It will be priced starting at MYR2,799 (SGD999/USD$) for the 8GB version with 128GB internal storage. Full pricing is listed in the table below.
Storage & Memory
Sale Date
Pricing
128GB + 8GB RAM
TBA
MYR 2,999 (SGD$1099/742.53USD$)
256GB + 8GB RAM
March 13, 2021
MYR 2,799 (SGD$999/693.04USD$)
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Pre-orders are now open in Malaysia and Singapore. It will be running from 25 February to 10 March 2021 at Authorized Mi Stores and on Lazada, and Shopee. In Singapore, the Mi 11 is also available for pre-order with M1, Singtel, and StarHub.
Pre-orders are will be up for several freebies. The first 100 pre-orders made will stand a chance to win Mi AloT Premium Pack worth up to MYR1,356 (SGD$ 461.90). The subsequent 600 pre-orders in Singapore and 1,500 in Malaysia will be in the running to win a Mi Air Purifier 3C worth MYR 569 (SGD$ 179). To be eligible, customers will need to register their pre-orders at the official Mi11 pre-order website.
First sales will kick off on March 13, 2021 in Malaysia and 20 March 2021 in Singapore.
The Xiaomi Mi 10 series was a formidable smartphone device. It showed the world that you do not need to spend a fortune to get a flagship level smartphone that will set your pants on fire. No, the Xiaomi Mi 10 does not really set your pants alight. There is a new one though from Xiaomi and surprise, surprise, they named it the Mi 11. Technically we saw this device before the end of 2020 when Xiaomi launched it in China.
The new Xiaomi Mi 11, like its predecessor is a powerful little beast that packs the most powerful System on a Chip (SoC) that Qualcomm can pack into a modern smartphone. That is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. This is also the first smartphone of 2021 in Malaysia that packs a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC with 5nm build process. Obviously, it is 5G capable too for some futureproofing.
Source: Xiaomi
Helping the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC trundle along and handle whatever Android on MIUI 12.5 can throw at the Xiaomi Mi 11 is 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. 256GB may not sound plenty when you put it up against a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra with 512GB options. Though 256GB is a lot even for 4K video recordings.
Of course, you will not have to worry too much if you have some cloud storage to work with. For that, you will want to have fast internet packed into this device. On top of 5G then, the Xiaomi Mi 11 packs a WiFi 6 antenna to take full advantage of WiFi 6 technology for faster and more stable internet.
All of this helps deliver a smooth and snappy Android 11 experience via the large 6.81-inch AMOLED display that pushes MIUI 12.5 in WQHD+ glory at variable refresh rate at up to 120Hz. Of course, the display contains the usual in-display fingerprint technology. It also packs an in-display heart rate sensor, so you do not need your smartwatch to track your heart rate now. With better display also comes better, more natural feeling haptic feedback engine within the device. The brilliant immersive display is not complete without great audio, so Xiaomi got Harman Kardon working on the speakers to make it even better to enjoy movies or music on the device without a headphone.
Source: Xiaomi
Of course, a brilliant display also needs a brilliant camera. For that you get the very high-resolution 108-Megapixel camera that you saw on the Xiaomi Mi 10 and the Samsung Galaxy S21. Flanking the 108-Megapixel camera is a 13-Megapixel ultrawide angle camera and a 5-Megapixel macro lens. Telelens? Why do you need a telelens when you can just zoom into the 108-Megapixel camera and still get amazing photos out of it?
Of course, you need a big battery to power all these all day long. For that, you get a 4,600mAh battery packed into the Xiaomi Mi 11 smarpthone. The large battery is capable of being charged from empty to full in just 50 minutes via its USB Type-C port with a 55W charger. The 55W GaN charger will be included with the device in-the-box, which is good news. The battery can be charged wirelessly too at 50W, if you can find the right wireless charger for that kind of speeds. It is also capable of sharing its power wirelessly too at 10W if you need it to.
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
Source: Xiaomi
The Xiaomi Mi 11 will be available soon globally. There are no specific dates just yet, but we think we might see it launched in Malaysia by the end of February 2021 or early March 2021. The Xiaomi Mi 11 will start at EU€ 749 at launch (Approximately MYR 3,662). There are no mentions yet as well on the local Malaysian pricing of the device just yet. Whatever it is, we are excited about the device. Stay tuned for more updates.
Welcome to the 2004 Nokia 9110 Communicator. This device harks back to a simpler time where mobile phones did not have coloured displays. The green hued colourless displayed was more related to an 8-bit animation console of the time than the Full HD HDR displays we have today.
Fast forward to 2019, the kind of device that the communicator was never made it. Every smartphone today, while they have roots from the Nokia Communicator device, looks completely different. They all feature QWERTY keyboards but in a regular candy bar form. You do not see a foldable behemoth that is the communicator anymore. Until they introduced the Samsung Galaxy Fold in 2019 of course.
Thing is, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, in our hands at least, did not feel like a product we can consciously recommend our friends to buy. It did not feel like a complete product. It felt too much like a prototype, fragile. We do not deny its innovative approach to a keyboard-less smartphone that folds in. foldable screens, while still in its infancy, is a technology we all have been asking for.
To be fair, we like the idea of a smartphone that folds. We like the idea of a smaller smartphone display that hides a larger display behind it. We like the idea of the Samsung Galaxy Fold in 2019. We just did not feel like the Samsung Galaxy Fold was complete enough as a product that commands MYR 8,000 from your back accounts.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 replaces the Samsung Galaxy Fold as Samsung’s most expensive flagship smartphone yet at MYR 7,999. It is also supposed to be the foldable device that finally works. It was made for everyone, supposedly. Is it though? Can we safely recommend this device to anyone now? We find out.
Design
When you first pick it up from the box, the device comes unfolded. What greets you when you open the box then is an expansive and oddly proportioned 7.6-inch display. What do we think when we first opened the box? Find out on our first 24-hours with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 feature.
We said oddly proportioned because it is not the usual wide body 16:9 display ratio. Rather, it looks more square-ish than anything else we have seen so far. While the display real estate nearly matches an 8-inch tablet in size, its usable display in videos is far less than one. Then you fold it for the first time to see a smaller 6.23-inch Super AMOLED display that looks a little more normal.
It is not that normal though; the display’s ratio is an even weirder 25:9 ratio. That also means that the secondar display, or the outside display is much narrower than a regular smartphone display with a Full HD+ type display. It is not even a Full HD+ display that you get up front, just an HD+ resolution here (816 x 2260 pixels, to be exact).
Flip it to the back and a triple camera array greets you. Plenty somehow things that the camera is the exact same on as you would find on a Samsung Galaxy S20 or Galaxy Note20. We assure you that it is not. All three camera sensors top out at 12-Megapixels. At least you can still get decent stills and 4K videos out of it. We will discuss that later though.
The unit we got is labelled as the Mystic Bronze variant. It only comes in either the colour we got, or Mystic Black. Both colours are finished in Matte instead of the usual glossy type finish. But we somehow prefer the Mystic Bronze colour variant over the Black.
When you open the device up to reveal the full glory of the 7.6-inch display and look at the bottom part of the device, you might notice that the display part of the device does not seem like it is laid flat. That is because the device is not flat when you open it up. Technically, the only almost truly flat and level part of the device when it is opened up is the main display. The secondary display and the device’s back are ever so slightly tapered off from each other when the device is opened.
We mentioned also in our first 24 hours feature on the device that we liked the brushed aluminium textured frames on the Galaxy Z Fold2. It adds a bit more texture to grip on for your device. While adding better grip, it also gives the device a distinctive side profile. we thought that the device had enough thickness for a 3.5mm jack. Of course, they did not include a 3.5mm jack
Still, thanks to the vast amount of space on the sides, top and bottom, one of the dual speakers do not have to share space or module with the earpiece. This also means better clarity and balance to audio when playing videos or music. But this also means a lot of wasted space on one side of the device. There is not much else to put besides the volume rockers and the fingerprint sensor cum power button though.
When you fold the device, you reveal another glossy part of the device that separates the secondary display and the matte metal backing of the Galaxy Z Fold2. This forms the left side frame of the device when its closed and we think that it looks gorgeous, somehow more so than the older Samsung Galaxy Fold. This enclosure frame side though houses the new folding mechanism that you see in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. The look of the casing also mimics that of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
That bulging frame tucks away behind two separate gloss finished bars that frames the glass back and secondary display of the device though. Those two frames continue from the rest of the frame of the devices. It is quite hard to believe that there are two frames on this device when it is in its open position. Folded up though, it is more believable since it is the thickness of two smartphone devices sitting on top of each other.
Still, we think that this is a mighty handsome device. We mentioned in the 24 hours feature that this looks and feels like a proper device that is ready for the market instead of the prototype feel and look of the Samsung Galaxy Fold of 2019. The crease of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is still very much visible and it is something that we expect Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers will continue to work on in future devices. The difference between this new model and the old one is that the crease somehow feels less profound and less disruptive to the display than before.
Hardware
Powering two different displays is usually very taxing, even on a regular PC. Thankfully though the internals that lives inside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is all but regular. It packs the best of 2020’s Qualcomm SoC, not an Exynos chip, surprisingly. It has a battery larger than most flagships as well, for good measure. Despite not having any of the super high-resolution cameras that the other Samsung Galaxy flagship devices, this still features five on-board cameras (3+1+1).
FRONT Internal: 10-Megapixel (f/2.2, 26mm wide angle) 4K video recording (30fps)
FRONT External: 10-Megapixel (f/2.2, 26mm wide angle) 4K video recording (30fps)
Sensors
Accelerometer Proximity Side Mounted Fingerprint Ambient Light Gyroscope Face Unlock Compass
User Interface – Still OneUI 3.0
One advantage of mobile optimised operating system is its adaptibility with almost any kind of display at any screen ratio. That is very apparent on the Android 10 based OneUI 3.0 on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. The oddly shaped WQHD+ display feature a display factor that you have never seen before, other than the older Samsung Galaxy Fold of 2019.
Naturally, we were a little concerned about the app and system scaling on these devices when we first pick up the devices. Of course, our concerns are not entirely baseless after using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 for a while. The fault is not entirely on Android though.
We have to say that Android does a good job in scaling itself into any display factor, resolution, and size. The implementation on OneUI 3.0 on top of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is really just a testament to that. Android even scales properly on the 4K display of the Sony Xperia 1 and its successor if you are wondering.
The same cannot be said to all the available apps though. Of course, not all the apps available will be subject to the same issue. Still, the scaling issue happens on certain apps that you might use daily.
Sure, things like Gmail, or other email apps may not look too funky. That is because these apps scale nicely and quite normally on larger displays. In fact, you get to see more on your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 than on a Samsung Galaxy Note20, for example. Even apps like WhatsApp and Telegram looks like the normal smartphone application that they are albeit on a larger, slightly oddly rationed screen. Telegram even works nicely with horizontal typing mode; you still get to scroll through the chat even with the keyboard occupying the bottom half of the display. The same cannot be said for WhatsApp on the horizontal typing front.
Then you go to Instagram, expecting a better experience with bigger screen. Of course, you see photos bigger and everything seems peachy at first. You actually get a very regular smartphone-ish interface with two wasted space on both sides of the main interface. It still works because you are still scrolling through the feed like a normal smartphone. The wasted space is a little bit annoying since you could get contents to shine with the extra display real estate.
Then you go into Instagram Stories and realise that the app really does not play well with the larger display of the Galaxy Z Fold2. To be fair, we could be the only one facing this issue. When we launch Instagram Stories, the display greets us with options to interact with the post, instead of the usual clean post. We had to back out of Reactions by hitting the comment box and back out of it again to have normal interaction with Instagram Stories. If the account user disables comments, you cannot do anything but view the contents behind the reaction overlay. Strangely, Snapchat works fine.
So far though, this is the only app that seems to have an issue with the oddly shaped display. Other apps seem to work fine and scales nicely with the display, either showing a little bit more information than the regular smartphone app or having larger interfaces. Do not get us wrong though, they are largely still the same interfaces as a regular smartphone.
Of course, the ones that takes the most advantage of the larger display on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 are Samsung’s own developed apps. You can see the simple optimisation of the OneUI 3.0 from Samsung’s native Messaging app or even its settings menu. On the Messaging app at least, you get to view your list of conversations on the left side and get into the conversations on the left side.
Bigger Videos
The biggest benefit of a larger display is always on the gaming and video front. You can either watch YouTube with the regular vertical layout and the video looks big enough already. We initially thought as well that with YouTube, you may not need to go full screen horizontally until we did.
There is about 1-inch of difference in the video size when you stream YouTube vertically and when you go on full screen horizontally. That means you get a much bigger real estate that you are looking at on YouTube. But what is interesting with YouTube on the Galaxy Z Fold2 is that the interface looks more like what you will get on tablets instead of a regular smartphone.
Of course, the bigger screen and resolution benefits Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The bigger display in the format of the Galaxy Z Fold2 can easily be tucked away in your pockets. That also means that you can be on the train on the way to work and whip out the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 and feast on Netflix the whole way there without ever needing to squint your eyes too much to pick out details. When you are done, you simply fold it back up and put it in your pockets. No cable worries here too if you are using a pair of Bluetooth earphone.
Like the smartphone app, Netflix and Prime Video cleverly sizes down their videos a little just to avoid projecting over the camera hole that is on the display. That also means that you are not interrupted by a black hole in your screen when you enjoy your videos, unlike YouTube. While it means smaller display real estate for videos, it is still a large enough footprint for Netflix and Prime Video.
Same-Same but Different
The advantage of having two displays on a device though is having two separate home screens for different functions. The OneUI 3.0 on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 encourages this. Your main home screen, if you use Samsung’s Smart Switch, will be transferred and translated into the main home screen. Keep in mind that there will be a lot of extra space on your home screen inside too, meaning you can add even more apps and shortcuts on your home screen. If you like to keep the minimal amount of home screens on your smartphone, this could be perfect.
Out the front secondary display though is a fresh home screen that you can customise to your liking. You have to keep in mind though that the display up front is plenty smaller than the main display. That also means that your YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Videos get squished quite a lot. We keep all the apps that we need quick access to up front. We have a calendar widget up front too for a quick glance when we need to.
Of course, because this is a Super AMOLED display still, it is a great display to watch videos on still. It is a perfect display to discreetly watch your YouTube, Netflix, or Prime Video shows. You can stand it up to get it to the perfect screen angle on your desk too. Make sure you have a pair of Bluetooth earphones though, just so that you do not disturb your co-workers or alert your boss.
In that mode as well you can use the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 as a video conferencing device with half the main display. There are two front-facing cameras you can rely on as well for that matter. Unfortunately, the selfie camera out the front of the device does not support this function. Not that it will be a deal breaker.
Performance
With two screens, you will want a lot power to get this behemoth of a device going. That is where the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ on the device comes into play. Credits where credits are due, the flagship Qualcomm System on a Chip (SoC) is the most powerful processing chip you can find on an Android device today, before they introduce a new one with 5nm build next year.
These are all just numbers though, what matters is how they perform in your hands, in your pockets, out in the real world. But big numbers do have some merits. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, the numbers mean that the device should feel buttery smooth and ultra-snappy, together with the 120Hz display. Thankfully the 120Hz refresh rate is not resolution limited like the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Call Quality and Connectivity.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is a standard 5G device. No, that does not mean you get to experience 5G now. It just means that it will be ready for that experience once it is available in Malaysia. Yes, 5G technology is not commercially viable just yet in Malaysia. We are hoping that would change soon though.
The rest of the antenna array on the device is quite the usual affair from Samsung. That also means that you are going to get about the same call quality and performance from the usual Samsung Galaxy flagship. Calls sounds crisp as long and signal is strong enough (one bar and above). You can expect some choppiness when the signal drops to one bar. Of course, do not expect calls to get through when you get no cellular signal.
Still, when calls get through, the party on the other side of the line reports that calls are as clear as day. This is thanks to the noise cancelling mic combination. We thank whichever engineers that has figured out the art of noise cancelling on calls on this.
Making calls is as simple as clicking through the Phone app too. It is the same exact layout and interface as any Samsung Galaxy device you might be familiar with. Then again, any Phone app these days look the same and function somewhat similarly. Like any other Samsung device too, you can quickly swipe right on your contact name or recent calls page to quickly make a call. Swipe left to message the person.
The only thing you might want to keep in mind when using the device to call is that you can only hold it up to your ear (as in, use the earpiece) with the device folded in and using the front display. You cannot use the earpiece with the device unfolded. You would look ridiculous too, even if you can. Remember the days where you can pick up calls on an 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab? Remember how stupid people look picking up calls on those devices? You look even more ridiculous using this, because its is so disproportionate.
You can use loudspeaker mode in both folded and unfolded state though. The experience on that is also quite similar to other Samsung Galaxy flagship devices. The only difference is that one side of the stereo speaker system does not share an outlet with the earpiece. That allows the speakers to fire more evenly for a better all-round experience in your conference calls.
The loudspeaker can be quite loud as well, so if you are sitting in a small discussion table with 6 people, you can use the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 to make conference calls. The only issue is that if the table is not a perfect round (oval and elongated format), some people who are further away from the device might not get picked up on the conversation. We find that anything between 1m to 1.5m from the device is the maximum you should go when using the device as a teleconferencing device.
Gaming
In theory, a bigger screen should also mean a better gaming experience. Samsung did sell this device to gamers as a gaming smartphone. We do not think that was quite wise though.
To be fair, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 does fare well in games, especially when games can take advantage of the 120Hz refresh rate. Games look extra smooth and ultimately looks amazing on the Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel. Thanks to a larger display footprint also, it feels that you are looking at a great sweet spot of a display (unfolded) for gaming. The display, in most cases, is the perfect size for plenty of games.
Games like Mobile Legends Bang Bang scales properly to the oddly shaped display. This allows you to see more on the field and gives you a slight advantage in matchups. You tend to be able to see your opponents from further away and react accordingly. This is not the case for every game.
There is a problem, however. Games like Brawl Stars does not scale to fully fill the display. While it does make it a little fairer when it comes to games and matchups, it completely misses the whole point of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. You get two big black bars on top and bottom of the display area. In some sense, it does mean that the alerts and control panels are not obstructing your game view. In a lot of sense, the black bars are annoying and feels like a little bit of a waste.
Still, all these games look really good on 120Hz. With games like PUBG, you might be able to really enjoy and immerse yourself in the game with such a huge display. Thanks to the extra real estate too, games are appearing bigger than the usual smartphone devices. Therefore, we say that the display size, when unfolded, is quite ideal for gaming.
Multitasking and Productivity
We feel that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 feels a little incomplete without an S Pen. We feel that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 will be a more wholesome and complete device with an S Pen. The follow up to this device is rumoured to receive an S Pen treatment though, so that is something to look forward to.
Still, a big screen means you should be able to fit more windows on a single screen. We found that we can open up to 5 applications on floating windows and two split screen windows at the same time. That also means you can have 7 running apps at any give time with the internal main display. When all the apps are open at the same time, you would expect some lags there and here. Not on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. The applications still run smoothly with nearly zero hiccups.
Of course, as the device ages, you might expect some slow down and decrease in performance in that region. You are most likely not going to use up to 7 applications at any given time though. At most, you might have three applications open at any given time to work with. In that sense, the display size is quite perfect for a three-application workflow.
Battery Life
We wanted the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 to pack a large battery, because we know packing two screens on a smartphone will drain its battery quickly. Unfortunately, Samsung only manages to shoehorn a 4,500mAh battery into this behemoth of a thing. This is also because of the oddly constructed device that does not allow for a lot of wiggle room in its mostly metal and glass body.
Despite the bigger display, you could sort of get about the same battery life from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 as the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra. When we say about the same, it also depends on what you do with your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2.
On most typical days, we did get more than a whole working day. Our typical day, these days, is mostly using the smartphone to make a few calls throughout the day, messaging via WhatsApp, Telegram, and even Facebook Messenger sometimes, checking emails, one or two YouTube Videos, a 20-minute session of Mobile Legends, and an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. on Netflix. In that type of use, we get about a full workday of battery life and a little bit more.
There are days that there is some non-typical use though. That non-typical use usually involves binging on Netflix non-stop for a few hours, or gaming for a few hours at a time, some messaging here and there, and mostly nothing else. In that use case, you might want to keep yourself near a charging point.
You can probably drain half your battery before lunch time if you start your Netflix binge at 9 in the morning. If you choose to play Mobile Legends, you probably can half your battery life in about the same time frame too, maybe a little quicker if you push your brightness up. This is on WiFi mind you. Of course, if you drain your battery while gaming, expect some heat from the device.
Display
That brings us to the thing that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is built upon; is display, or rather, displays. Unlike most smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 has two displays, one out the front, and one inside. There have been smartphones that packs two displays before from the likes of Vivo. The difference is that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 has one large foldable display.
No, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is not the first foldable smartphone, nor is it the first foldable smartphone with two displays. That is a title snagged by its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Except, the Samsung Galaxy Fold’s front secondary display was quite unusable thanks to its minute size from the 2000s.
The Main Display – Folded Away and Tucked In
That was the first time we see an adaptation of a foldable display that was showcased by Samsung and LG a few years prior to 2019. That was also the only adaptation that worked with two different displays on the device for different usage cases. Its closest competition at the time featured a single foldable display that wraps around the device when folded.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is targeted toward a completely different market segment. We have to say though, it is a niche segment that they are looking at. At least at this time, we struggle to find someone who needs a much larger display than what they already have on their own smartphone. That was what people say when the Samsung Galaxy Note launched back in the day though.
It has an oddly shaped 7.6-inch main display inside the device that is foldable. That is about the same size as the device that came before. It is a bit more expansive thanks to the modern looking Infinity-O punch hole camera solution though.
The main display is a Dynamic AMOLED 2X, the same one as the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. It is larger in footprint though at 7.6-inch. In that case, the colour reproduction, HDR quality of the display is excellent. We do not expect anything less from Samsung with the display.
It is bright enough under bright sunlight that we can use the device outside. While you might not use the main display that often outside of home, the brightness can be appreciated. The colour contrasts are of course excellent as well for Netlfix movies and such. Again, it is just a very odd display factor, so your Netflix movies or YouTube will have two huge black bars on top and bottom of the device. That is why we say that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 could use a longer body.
It is sort of a WQHD display as well. We say sort of, because it is actually a little higher in resolution than a 1440p display. It packs 2,000 pixels in height, and about 1,700 pixels across. While it is odd, it makes for a great personal movie watching experience on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2.
Protecting the Main Display
We have to talk about the raised bezels though, because they are an important design aspect on the device. There are small plastic bumps on the corners of the bezels too, which acts as shock absorbers and a spacer when the device is folded. These bezels are an essential part in making the foldable display work as intended and as protected as possible from itself, and you.
No matter how Samsung spins it, the display is still a delicate thing. The middle part especially, is not solid. You can sort of press it down with a little give. We have to give it to Samsung though, the center fold creases is not as bad as before. At certain angles, it is barely noticeable, and you can easily forgive the crease. It does not even distort any images or videos on the display, which is a big improvement in the display’s usability.
The raised bezel sort of continues as well through the fold to make it seem as seamless as possible. Here also is where the raised bezel design, though can be quite undesirable in modern smartphones, is a life saver for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. It covers all sorts of gaps between the display and the frame of the device. That also means unlike the first batch of Samsung Galaxy Fold introduced last year, there are less chances of dust particles to be trapped in the folding mechanisms to destroy your display.
The folding mechanism is also the same improved mechanism that you get on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. That also means there is 180o of articulations, and the device will hold at any folded angle. Of course, we have spoken a little bit about this earlier.
There is another thing on the main display that we suggest you do not remove when you get the device – its screen protector. This is just a PSA, do not remove the screen protector that comes with the device, you might break your expansive and expensive main display if you do.
The 6.2-inch Display Up Front
Fold the main display away and you will see the glass protected 6.2-inch Super AMOLED display come to life. This is an odd display too, at 2,280 by 816 pixels. It is not exactly HD, but it is not exactly Full HD either. Samsung labels it at HD though, since it is close to 720p than 1080p.
The front secondary display gives you a different home screen and lock screen from the main display though. This makes the Galaxy Z Fold2 feels like two different devices mashed into one. One bigger, entertainment and productivity beast inside, and one portable, little secondary device outside. Perhaps that was the point from day one anyway and we all have missed the point.
In our case, we set it up to access the simples of apps we tend to work with when we are out and about. That also means surfacing the messenger type apps, the phone app, and even a calendar for quick schedule check. The front display is our ‘quick access’ screen, sort of.
Thanks to Super AMOLED technology too, the display is brilliant and bright. Colour contrasts and saturation is excellent and very vivid. While we think that the display is a tad small, and quite odd in display factor, it is very useable for a quick video fix. Either that, or white noises. You definitely can use it as your media controller for music playback in public transportation spaces. No, you might not want to game on this display. Why do something you might not enjoy?
Camera
You would think that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 packs the same camera array as the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra. We can forgive you for that, because it features a very similar camera bump module. It does not though.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 packs three 12-Megapixel shooters. One for a regular wide-angle shot, one for ultra-wide photos, and one for longer telephoto shots. While the numbers are quite underwhelming, the results are not.
We have mentioned again and again that you never really need more than 12-Megapixels on your smartphone cameras and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is a great example of that statement. That is because the 12-Megapixel camera on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 produces quite stunning examples in any conditions. The 12-Megapixel shooter can and will produce stunning photos at any time and every time, even when light is a little scarce.
Of course, if you go into the detailing, there is noticeably less from the 12-Megapixel shooter than the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra’s 108-Megapixel. That is only because there are more pixels packed on the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. That is about the only thing the Galaxy Note20 Ultra has in advantage compared to its foldable cousin. That, and 8K video recording which you may never use.
Colours across all the cameras on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 are excellent. Sure, they could use some saturation before you post, but that is easy to do with the device’s pre-installed photo editor anyway. That adjustment can take anywhere from 2 seconds to 1 minute depending on what you want from the photo. You can just throw a clever ‘auto’ adjust and the device can decide what looks best for you, and that should be enough.
That is probably the only complain we have from the camera though. The photos that come out of the camera can look a little flat before you edit them. Because there are only 12 million pixels on the sensor too, cropping photos can make them look a little less crisp, unless you work with the telephoto lens. Still there are three lenses you can choose from anyway, so not like you would be strapped for choice when it comes to photo taking.
A benefit of a 12-Megapixel sensor compared to a 108-Megapixel one is heat management. While boasting similar camera bump, the cameras on the Galazy Z Fold2 heats up less, if it happens at all. In that case, your device is still comfortable to work with at any given time. You still get to record 4K videos, mind you.
Of course, beauty is in the eyes of its beholder. You should see the unedited results of the photos from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 and be your own judge. Check out the gallery below.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold – Much Wow, Much Premium
We want to say that we like it. We like the experience of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 not because it is a unique device. We like it because it feels like a proper Samsung device. We like it because it is smooth, it works well, and it is some high-quality stuff. We like it because it feels like a regular well-built, well developed Samsung device.
It is a rather unique device. The folding mechanism adds some layers of functionality over the regular smartphone. We like the direction that Samsung is heading with the folding smartphone form factor too. We think that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is the right step forward from the older Samsung Galaxy Fold. We think that there is more to explore in the world of folding smartphones and Samsung, no doubt, will exploit that in future iterations.
Thing is, using the device does not feel unique in a lot of times. It can feel cumbersome too. From the awkwardly narrow keyboard in the front display, to the oddly factored inner display for videos, there are things that makes the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 a little less intuitive than a regular smartphone. Its heft is also a constant reminder that you are carrying a sort of thoroughbred. A fragile one at that. You have to remember to not use it in wet conditions too, since it is not IP rated.
So in the end, we think that MYR 7,999, although a reasonable price point for a unique product like the Galaxy Z Fold2, can be better spent elsewhere. Sure, if you have the extra cash and you really want to flash your wealth, this is really the device for you. It turns heads.
Thing is, that kind of money can buy you a Smartphone and a great notebook PC for extra productivity. That kind of money can buy a decent gaming notebook too. That kind of money can buy you a 4K TV and a PlayStation 5 to go along with the TV. You can probably get a few games too, with some extra money you saved.
So, do we think that you should get the device? In short; no. But it is more than that, you really can spend your MYR 7,999 on multiple things that could achieve the same things as the Galaxy Z Fold2, and even more. But again, if you have MYR 7,999 lying around somewhere just waiting to be used, we do think that your money buys more than just the device. Your money buys Samsung’s confidence to go into a territory no one dares to go into. Your money busy their research and development into future products. Your money buys affordability for this kind of technology in the future. So, you decide.
Samsung has been busy making one of their best flagships yet with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra! The new, 6.7-inch smartphone comes with either the Exynos2100 or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor paired with up to 512GB of internal memory with up to 16GB of RAM!
Coming in at USD$1,199 or MYR5,699, the new Galaxy S21 Ultra is also the first Galaxy S smartphone to come with an S Pen. Join us as we take a look at what comes in the box with the new Phantom Silver edition of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Hot off its announcement of the Galaxy S21 series, Samsung is reintroducing two new entries that may have slipped under your radar. Announced a week before Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, are two devices that could fall under the “Same same but Different” category: the Galaxy A02s and the Galaxy A12. Both feature a big screen, a large built-in battery and multi camera setups.
Galaxy A02s & Galaxy A12: Same, Same but Different
Both devices come with a 6.5-inch screen with HD resolutions and an Infinity-v display where the front-facing camera sits. In addition to the large display, the Galaxy A02s and Galaxy A12 feature Dolby Atmos® sound which helps immerse you into the movies or games.
To power the entertainment powerhouses, a long-lasting battery is a must to ensure that your not worrying about the battery life when watching movies or playing games on the smartphones. Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A02s are equipped with 5000mAh with 15W fast charging for a quick top up whenever you need it.
The new entries to the Galaxy A series come with Octa-Core processors. The A02s comes with a Snapdragon 450 processor while the A12 comes with a MediaTek Helio P35. These processors are paired together with 4GB to 6GB RAM and 64GB to 128GB internal storage. Both devices also come with a MicroSD slot which supports up to an additional 1TB of storage.
The Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A02s comes with a haze and matte effect on the back with a curve-edge design. That said, the Galaxy A12 is slightly heavier than the Galaxy A02s at 205g compared to 196grams. Yet, the Galaxy A12 has a slimmer design at a mere 8.9mm, and Galaxy A02s at 9.1mm.
Multi-camera Setups for Better Photography
Both devices come with slightly different camera specs. However, they are still touted to be able to capture vibrant, lively pictures with Samsung’s camera technology.
The Galaxy A12 comes with a quad-camera setup complemented with a single front camera. The quad camera comes with a 48-megapixel main camera with an F/2.0 aperture, 5-megapixel Ultra-Wide camera with 123-degree viewing angle and an F/2.2 aperture, 2-megapixel macro camera with an F/2.4 aperture, and 2-megapixel Depth camera with an F/2.4 aperture. The setup of the 4 specs of cameras. With the versatile range of cameras, users can enjoy capturing high quality images of the many moments in their life. On the front, it has an 8-megapixel selfie camera.
On the other hand, the Galaxy A02s comes with a triple camera setup with a 5-megapixel selfie camera on its front. The triple camera consists of a 13-megapixels of the main camera with an F/2.2 aperture, together with 2-megapixels macro camera with an F/2.4 aperture and 2-megapixel depth camera with an F/2.4 aperture.
Galaxy A12 Fortified by Knox
Samsung Galaxy A12 users can enjoy with defense-grade Knox security platform as it has multilayered security to protect your data and personal information. You may apply the security feature to your folder, Samsung Pay, Samsung Healthy, or even Samsung Pass. Knox security platform is serves as a safeguard and plays an important role in protecting more than 1 billion Samsung users and business devices and data.
Price & Availability
Samsung Galaxy A12 and Samsung Galaxy A02s are available from 6 January 2021 onward in Malaysia, and both devices have 2 color options which are black and blue. Galaxy A12 will retail for MYR799 (USD198.183) while the Galaxy A02s will cost MYR529(USD131.183)
If there is one thing I want to complain about, when it comes to modern notebook PCs, is that we still have to rely on WiFi. We are in 2021 now, and we still have to rely on WiFi to get our work going on-the-go. We live in 2021, where the world is turning itself upside down, and where work is not just in the office anymore. We live in a world where work is mobile.
So why do we still rely on WiFi to get our work on? Sure, the easy cure is to use your smartphone as a hotspot device. That is, while a small hassle, still an extra thing to work with. Turning on hotspot on your smartphone for extended periods also means that you are draining your smartphone battery even faster. In slightly older devices, your data network cuts off the moment you pick up a call or make a call. It feels like you are going back to the Dial-Up days, but outside and wirelessly now.
Thing is, the mobile PC platform is the perfect platform to be always connected wherever you are. Your notebooks now are more essential than ever. Your work is no longer stationary. Although, with the pandemic, you are mostly stuck within the confines of your home. Still, within your home, you might move around for a change of environment, in certain parts of your home, WiFi may not be great. There is also chance that you might not even have a dedicated internet plan for home.
Welcome to what seems to be the first modern Windows device that comes with Cellular connectivity. Welcome to the JOI Book SK3000. Welcome to the future-ish.
Design
If you have not heard of JOI, do not worry. Thy are not some Chinese based OEM that sells some subpar product. However, they are also not from Taiwan, or United States, or some European country. They are, in fact, home grown. They stem from SNS Network. This is a topic for another day though. We go back to the JOI Book SK3000.
When you buy any notebook, the first thing that you see is not really the laptop. You actually see the box first, its packaging. In fact, this is true for almost any device you buy today.
The SK3000 comes in a relatively small cardboard box. To be fair, most notebooks come packaged in a cardboard box and the notebook is suspended inside with two foam inserts. The difference is that the box that this JOI Book SK3000 comes in a coloured box rather than a plain brown box that we are so used to with big brand manufacturers.
Pull the device out of the box though, and our first impression of the notebook was surprisingly a good one. They were not lying when they said that this 12.5-incher comes in an all-metal body. That partly means that the device is quite sturdy. It is also quite cold to the touch.
We were also impressed by its thickness, or lack of thereof. They say that this is less than 15mm thick, we believe them. Of course, this is mostly thanks to the fan-less design that the Qualcomm Mobile Compute platform allows.
The lack of thickness also means that you are sacrificing a few things on the Notebook though. The JOI Book SK3000 only comes with a USB Type-C port on the left and a 3.5mm AUX jack on the right side. No, the USB Type-C is not a Thunderbolt port either, that is an Intel exclusive. Still, the USB Type-C can be used with a multipurpose hub for HDMI extensions and such. The only issue now is to buy a USB Type-C hub.
There are no speaker grilles placed outside the shell of the notebook. Instead, underneath the notebook is a screwed in cap that allows you to install a SIM card and MicroSD card for cellular connectivity and memory expansion. As far as we are currently concerned, the MicroSD slot is the only way to expand the device’s internal memory. This thing is just like a smartphone in a notebook shell.
Open it up and the IPS Full HD display greets you alongside its keyboard. Top of the bottom clam is still aluminium with some cut outs for the dual top firing speakers on the unit. The display does not have super-thin bezels, but they are thin enough for its body size. Then there is the fact that the whole display panel is under a flush glass panel to complete the premium look. Hard to fathom the MYR 2,199 asking price when you look at the JOI Book SK3000. It looks and feels properly premium.
The combination of glass material and aluminium on the shell makes the notebook is a little top heavy. When you put your device on the table, while the display will not open flat parallel to the keyboard surface, it feels like the notebook is tipping to its display a little bit. You still can use the notebook at full tilt on the table though, the notebook will not actually tip over unless you push the display a little bit.
All these materials are good too. It makes for a very solid notebook with none of the display flex that we are used to from big brand notebooks. This is also true for the keyboard surface. The only thing that might give away its competitive pricing is the key caps on the keyboard itself. It feels a little hollow and cheap. We will talk about the keyboard more later.
All-aluminium metal body also means that the notebook comes in at a little bit of heft. They claim 1.05kg on this notebook. Weirdly though it feels quite a little bit heavier compared to the Acer Swift 5 that weighs just under 1kg. That notebook has a fan and touch sensitive 14-inch display mind you. The Acer is also more than double the price of the JOI Book SK3000 though.
Overall, we quite like the build quality and look of the notebook. At first glance, it does not look like something that would fit your budget of MYR 2,500 on a notebook. That is a good thing.
Hardware
Under the svelte Aluminium body you will find none of the regular notebook components that you are used to. For one, you will not find a dan underneath the hood You will not even find a dedicated GPU. Instead, you will what seems to be smartphone board components. Then again, not much difference between a smartphone and notebook in terms of components.
You will find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute platform sitting under the hood to run the PC though. There is no Intel or NVIDIA trickery in the notebook. Thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform though, fan-less design is possible. Which also means that this notebook is as quiet as your smartphone.
If there is one thing I want to complain about, when it comes to modern notebook PCs, is that we still have to rely on WiFi. We are in 2021 now, and we still have to rely on WiFi to get our work going on-the-go. We live in 2021, where the world is turning itself upside down, and where work is not just in the office anymore. We live in a world where work is mobile.
So why do we still rely on WiFi to get our work on? Sure, the easy cure is to use your smartphone as a hotspot device. That is, while a small hassle, still an extra thing to work with. Turning on hotspot on your smartphone for extended periods also means that you are draining your smartphone battery even faster. In slightly older devices, your data network cuts off the moment you pick up a call or make a call. It feels like you are going back to the Dial-Up days, but outside and wirelessly now.
Thing is, the mobile PC platform is the perfect platform to be always connected wherever you are. Your notebooks now are more essential than ever. Your work is no longer stationary. Although, with the pandemic, you are mostly stuck within the confines of your home. Still, within your home, you might move around for a change of environment, in certain parts of your home, WiFi may not be great. There is also chance that you might not even have a dedicated internet plan for home.
Welcome to what seems to be the first modern Windows device that comes with Cellular connectivity. Welcome to the JOI Book SK3000. Welcome to the future-ish.
Design
If you have not heard of JOI, do not worry. Thy are not some Chinese based OEM that sells some subpar product. However, they are also not from Taiwan, or United States, or some European country. They are, in fact, home grown. They stem from SNS Network. This is a topic for another day though. We go back to the JOI Book SK3000.
When you buy any notebook, the first thing that you see is not really the laptop. You actually see the box first, its packaging. In fact, this is true for almost any device you buy today.
The SK3000 comes in a relatively small cardboard box. To be fair, most notebooks come packaged in a cardboard box and the notebook is suspended inside with two foam inserts. The difference is that the box that this JOI Book SK3000 comes in a coloured box rather than a plain brown box that we are so used to with big brand manufacturers.
Pull the device out of the box though, and our first impression of the notebook was surprisingly a good one. They were not lying when they said that this 12.5-incher comes in an all-metal body. That partly means that the device is quite sturdy. It is also quite cold to the touch.
We were also impressed by its thickness, or lack of thereof. They say that this is less than 15mm thick, we believe them. Of course, this is mostly thanks to the fan-less design that the Qualcomm Mobile Compute platform allows.
Features
At MYR 2,199, the JOI Book SK3000 seems like a basic notebook PC. It does not look like it has anything more to offer compared to its competitors. Just take a look at the ASUS VivoBook variants for example. For a little bit more money, you get a larger display, and a little more in terms of I/O ports.
The JOI Book SK3000 though is not just a basic, Plain Jane notebook PC though. There is more underneath the skin that should make it more attractive to anyone looking for an ultra-portable workhorse. Just do not expect it to perform miracles for you, and you should be fine.
Ma Look, No Fans
Like we said earlier, the JOI Book SK3000 features no fans inside the all-metal chassis. While this might seem odd when you put it beside a regular PC, it is not for the platform that the device works with. It does not have any fans mostly thanks to the Processor, or rather the System on a Chip (SoC) that this device is based on.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 SoC is not technically a new flagship class SoC for the smartphone market. It is no slouch either though. While it is a few generations out of the current smartphone market, it is still a very powerful platform. Powerful enough to power Windows 10 Pro on a 12.5-inch display in the case of the JOI Book SK3000.
The Qualcomm Mobile Compute platform is largely based on their smartphone counterparts anyway, which also means that a fan is hardly necessary. The platform has been tested time and time again and is optimised for a smartphone platform that is usually void of any sort of active cooling solutions. All you need is a couple of copper heat pipes that spreads the heat around and you have yourself a running SoC.
While the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 does heat up a little bit in certain workloads on your smartphone, it hardly ever does on the JOI Book SK3000. Then again, you have to remember that you cannot expect the JOI Book SK3000 to be your main gaming PC. Then again, the PC runs on S mode by default, so you technically cannot install apps from sources other than the Windows Marketplace. More on that later.
The major benefit when you have a device with no fans though is its quietness. You do not need to be wary of the device’s fan suddenly spooling when you sit in a library or in a quiet café somewhere. You do not need to worry about being the one that spoils the peace in a quiet environment. If you leave your Windows Pro on S mode, you never really have to worry about getting the heat up too much on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850.
Always Connected with 4G LTE
Another benefit of using Qualcomm’s Mobile Compute platform like the Snapdragon 850 SoC is its integrated modem that is ready to take on cellular network bands. That benefit translates to a state of readiness of the JOI Book SK3000. Wherever you are, as long as you have a SIM card pushed into the SIM slot with an active data plan, you are going to have internet no matter where you go.
According to SNS network, the SIM tray can take on SIM cards from any of the major carriers in Malaysia. We have only tested the JOI Book SK3000 with YES 4G LTE network and we are happy to report that it works. That also means that where signal is available, the notebook becomes our core work PC and even a hotspot device if needed.
Of course, the device still features WiFi connectivity. But it also switches out of WiFi into cellular very seamlessly. The moment WiFi signals are too weak or cuts, cellular network cuts in immediately, very much like your smartphone. This is kudos not only to the manufacturer though, but this is also thanks to the current iteration of Windows 10 Pro that is ready for mobile usage.
This also means that you do not necessarily have to turn on your smartphone’s hotspot and drain its battery in the process. You save time, and battery. It adds a layer of convenience at work with less battery anxiety and more productivity. Of course, you might still want to think about the JOI Book SK3000’s battery.
The only thing you cannot do with the JOI Book SK3000 is make a phone call directly from your notebook. But why would you make a phone call from your notebook? You have a smartphone for that.
Another downside is that you have no excuse to not work even if there are no WiFi available now. If your boss tells you to check your email while you are out and about, you cannot tell your boss that you do not have an active internet connection for your laptop. You can tell your boss that your battery has ran out. But if your boss provides the data plan for your JOI Book SK3000, you cannot tell him that you have no internet connection, especially at home.
MicroSD Expansion
Like a smartphone too, the JOI Book SK3000 uses a MicroSD slot for its memory expansion. That also means that upgrading the storage on the device is cheaper and easier than you expect. Rather than taking out the whole notebook bottom case to lift its hood to install an SSD, you only need to unscrew a very small door on the underside of the notebook to reveal a SIM slot and a MicroSD slot.
You might want to consider getting a MicroSD card to expand your JOI Book SK3000’s small 128GB memory though. Technically 128GB is not small when you put it in a smartphone context. It is small for a Windows notebook PC though. You might want to think about getting another 128GB of MicroSD card or go up all the way to 512GB in that case.
Given that the notebook only comes in one configuration, having that extra expansion slot is always great. While the slot is a hot swap slot, unless you leave the protective door open, you are not going to access the MicroSD card in anyway. We do think that there is another space for MicroSD cards too for the PC though. Still, you can add that capability via a USB Type-C hub anyway.
Windows 10 Pro
This is a notebook PC, so it runs on Windows 10. It is no regular Windows 10 that we have here though. This is Windows 10 Pro that we are getting here. That also means that you get a few extra features that is missing from the Windows 10 Home you get on your regular notebooks.
You can set password protected partition on your hard disk if you want to. It is also technically more secure than regular Windows 10 Home. But as far as usage is concerned, they technically make nearly zero difference. They are all Windows 10 after all.
This also means that you get a regular Windows 10 experience from the JOI Book SK3000. What surprises us though is how smooth Windows is running on top of a smartphone processor. It feels like a regular PC and probably better than some entry-level stuff in the market.
Performance
We do not really expect big things from the Qualcomm powered JOI Book. Thing is, the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 850 is a powerful piece of kit. We are just not sure if it is optimised for Microsoft Windows or vice versa.
All You Need in an Aluminium Chassis
We are not saying that the Qualcomm based notebook is not good. Windows 10 Pro technically runs fine on the platform. Because Windows knows that it is running atop of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute though, there are certain limitations to it.
Microsoft Office, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Google Chrome is not one of those limitations though. You still can enjoy Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, and Tidal on this notebook too. It is not all that bad.
On those programs though, the JOI Book SK3000 works well. Then again, the apps listed are quite basic for any PC. The only app you might want to avoid using in the list is Google Chrome. Google Chrome is a huge RAM hog, which also means it will slow down other things too.
We have always said that you need at least 8GB in RAM to get Windows 10 to run properly. The JOI Book SK3000 is a prove that we are quite wrong. At least on the listed apps, you can have multiple windows open and still work on it with no issues at all. Sure, there might be some lags and stutters from time to time, but they are not so bad that they are irksome.
If you are going to install third party apps like Steam and Adobe Creative Cloud Suite though, be sure to opt out of ‘S Mode’. ‘S Mode’ will not allow you to install any third-party apps to keep Windows streamlined, secure and smooth. if you are content with running apps from the Microsoft app marketplace though, you should be fine in ‘S Mode’.
Gaming – Sort Of
We installed Left 4 Dead 2 and Dota2 to the JOI Book SK3000. We are happy to report that they run though. Obviously, we had to try gaming on the JOI Book SK3000. We are not going to let Full HD 1080p IPS goodness go to waste despite the Adreno based GPU on the Snapdragon 850 SoC.
Left 4 Dead 2 is not exactly a current title. It was not even a AAA title at launch. That also means that its graphical requirements should not be too taxing for modern PCs or even modern processing chips, including a smartphone optimised chip. We managed to get about 24 fps out of the JOI Book SK3000 on the game too, just to prove a point. But there are quite a few shocks and bumps that sends the frame rates crashing down.
We are quite confident that the game could low-key run titles like The Sims 4, and even Two Point Hospital. Cities: Skylines? Forget it. Windows will not allow you to install Minecraft: Dungeons via Microsoft app store though. That also means that Windows think that the JOI Book SK3000 does not even meet the minimum required specifications of the game. We are quite confident still that the JOI Book SK3000 might be able to run Minecraft Dungeons with little issues at about 24fps though. Again, we do not know because we could not even install the game.
If you are planning to play Dota2 competitively on this JOI Book SK3000, you might want to forget it. Yes, Dota2 runs. But it does not run as smooth as you want it to run. You do not want your team mates to rely on you while you are gaming with the JOI Book SK3000.
The good thing is that the Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 works the same on battery and while you plug it in. That also means that if you are planning to game on battery, you can. You just have to keep in mind that the battery might run out before you finish a session.
Only Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Creative Cloud can be installed on the JOI Book SK3000. There is only one app that is available for this platform though. As per the subheading suggests, you can only work with Adobe Lightroom in full.
If you go on Microsoft’s app marketplace though, you can get Photoshop Express to work with the JOI Book SK3000 too. It is no Photoshop for desktop, but it works. None of the regular video editing apps would install correctly on the JOI Book SK3000 too. Even Adobe’s Premiere Pro refuses to download. Nope, no Adobe Acrobat Reader to download too, sadly.
Keyboard Love Hate
To be fair, the typing experience is not half as bad as plenty of the entry level notebook PCs you can find in the market. There is enough key travel on the keyboard that you feel like you are actually hitting buttons rather than punching a wall with your fingers. There is enough feedback from the keyboard too to make your typing experience a smooth and comfortable one.
What we are not sure of is the plastic finish and material quality that comes with the JOI Book SK3000. The plastic buttons do feel a little hollow to the touch. The textured caps, while does provide a little extra grip, feels a little old school.
While the typing experience borders excellence, the JOI Book SK3000’s keyboard feels a little cheap and hollow. It is not loud. No, it is quite far from that. The keyboard is quite silent to work with. It is technically the loudest thing on the notebook apart from its speakers though.
It is not the fitment of the keyboard as well, because that is actually quite excellent. There is no play on each of the island key caps. They feel secure and nicely fitting. From a glance too, they look like they belong.
Then again, we are sort of nit picking on the keyboard when we say that it feels less premium. It is a perfectly fine keyboard for a notebook. Keys are big and defined too, so any hands can get comfortable with the keyboard. We are just a little irked by the material choice.
Battery Life
One of the biggest benefits, other than quietness, from the Qualcomm Mobile compute platform is its battery life. You only get 4,500mAh in the sleek body of the JOI Book SK3000. While that means about 8 hours of battery life from a regular Intel or AMD mobile processor, it can mean days of battery life for the Qualcomm processor.
True enough, even if you leave the notebook on standby, the JOI Book SK3000 can last you a whole week without charging. Of course, it will not go on forever while remaining always on. But that is definitely more than plenty of notebooks in the same price range.
The beauty of a smartphone optimised computing platform is the application of the Big Small architecture in their processing chips. That also means that the SoC can call for more power when it needs it, and sips energy when it does not. That translates to up to 10 hours of continuous usage of the JOI Book SK3000, and even longer run time while on standby.
Of course, if you do game and run other heavy application on the JOI Book SK3000, you can expect a shorter battery life. If you plan to run Adobe Lightroom for extended periods or even game for extended periods, you might want to consider finding a charging point.
This notebook charges its 4,500mAh battery quite quickly too though. Thanks to Qualcomm’s Fast Charging know how, the notebook can charge at up to 30W. That means you are up and running again within 2 hours of charging your JOI Book SK3000. Because the included charger is also a USB Type-C charger with fast charging capabilities, you can use it to charge your smartphones as well. That, or any other USB Type-C device you might find in your gear bag. In other words, you may not need to carry any other chargers with you.
The only issue with have with the charging though is that not all USB Type-C chargers can work with the JOI Book SK3000. We tried plugging it to the 65W charging brick from Lenovo and it refuses to charge.
Display and Speakers
We have grouped these two categories into one because there is nothing really to shout about with the speakers. The speakers may not be the JOI Book’s greatest strength. We want to say that it could be the JOI Book SK3000’s worst trait too.
The dual speakers on the JOI Book SK3000 sounds super tinny with no clear definition at all. Bass is virtually non-existent on the JOI Book SK3000 too. Thank goodness you can either plug in your earphones into the 3.5mm jack or connect other earphones and headphones via Bluetooth. You are better off using earphones or headphones even for video calls with your team, or friends.
The display is quite gorgeous though. It is an IPS panel displaying at Full HD 1080p. You also get somewhat narrow bezels. Though we do think that they could make a 13-inch fit in this body if they cut down the bezels even more. They did not mention its colour accuracy specifications though.
Still, colours pop on IPS displays and this 12.5-incher is no exception. It is an excellent display to use for entertainment avenues like Netflix and Amazon Video Prime, even YouTube. Again, plug in your earphones for better audio experience. As we have said, you can sort of game on it too.
It may not be the most accurate IPS panel you can get on a notebook, but if you are not too fussy, you technically can use it to colour correct on Adobe Lightroom. You cannot install Adobe Premiere pro or Photoshop, so you can only work with Adobe Lightroom at this point. IPS panels are not typically found in notebooks that costs just above MYR 2,000 too. That also makes this a little bit of a steal.
The JOI Book SK3000 – The Best Compromise
SNS Network says that this particular notebook should appeal to students more than others. At MYR 2,199, the JOI Book SK3000 would definitely be placed in any student’s consideration. But the JOI Book SK3000 has more potential than that.
We think that anyone can benefit from the JOI Book SK3000. It is not exactly expensive to own or to run. For example, if all you need from your PC is to get through your emails, type out a few emails, access your company server remotely from time to time, create excel sheets and powerpoint slides, or even just simple internet browsing for research, this does all of those just as well as any other PC would.
It is not the lightest PC in the market, so you might say. But it is not exactly heavy either. Its charging package is just a little larger as your regular smartphone charger that it makes no difference. The JOI Book SK3000 itself is so compact that you can just get a small sling bag to work with. If you have a larger bag, good, you have more space for other stuff. The notebook will also last more than a full working day, that means your charger can be stuffed deep down in your bag and you will still be okay through the day.
The best part is that you are constantly connected to the internet no matter where you go. Well, technically wherever there is 4G network signal. While constant connectivity could be a bane for work, it could be bliss too.
For students, it will be a bliss for them when they need to get their work going anyway. Especially if you live in a house with no WiFi connection, you will rely on your smartphone for internet. You could, however go on YES 4G Kasi Up plan and work with up to 100GB of internet a month at not very much money. It is a possibility. This works the same even if you are not a student. You may not need to pay more than MYR 100 to get internet working for you.
In short, if you are looking for a PC that sits between the MYR 2,000 to MYR 2,500 price range, this should at least be in your consideration. For that money, you are getting a well-built product that is truly mobile. You do not even need to think about using your smartphone as a hotspot device anymore. It still does all your basic stuff too, what more do you need? Oh wait, product support.
If you were looking for the one stop shop to everything the market has to offer but with an affordable price tag, the Xiaomi POCO M3 might be the way to go. It has a robust build, triple cameras, a full HD screen display, excellent battery life for only RM 599 in Malaysia.
Released in November 2020, it should be noted that POCO is actually an independent brand from Xiaomi. Shocked? We were too, but keep in mind that the confusion is there for many since Xiaomi still manufactures everything you see in the POCO. Nonetheless, everything designed is meant to be exclusively for the POCO brand and not a cookie cutter phone copying Xiaomi’s existing devices.
When you buy the POCO M3, you get a yellow outer box encasing the phone along with your typical treats. Along with the SIM eject tool, the USB cable as well as the 22.5W QC3 charger, buyers also receive a transparent silicon case and a screen protector.
Design
As mentioned, the POCO M3 has its own unique design and offers more than you’ve bargained for. The overall build of the device is robust and sturdy. Although made of plastic, the faux leather backing and weight of the phone gives the user the feel of a premium quality design. It also makes it easy to grip and looks a lot cleaner than your regular plastic as it seems to be fingerprint resistant.
The front of the device is a full screen from top to bottom without an inch to spare. It shows off a 6.53” 1080p IPS LCD screen. The front facing 8-megapixel camera is placed dead centre at the top for the best angled selfie. The Gorilla Glass 3 reinforces the build of the phone which easily passed an accidental drop test from the table (Oops! Rest assured, no device was harmed during the writing of this review). Right above the selfie camera, there is a thin grill that serves as the earpiece during calls. The corners of the POCO M3 are curved and the bezels are relatively slim.
On the sides, you have the fingerprint sensor for convenience and the volume button on the right. The fingerprint sensor also acts as the power button. The triple card slot is located on the left side of the device.
The POCO M3’s stereo speakers, 3.5mm audio jack and microphone are housed at the top of the device. The other stereo speaker is found at the bottom along with the mouthpiece and the USB-C port.
Flip the phone on its back and you’ll find quarter of the back covered in dark glass that protects the triple camera and also boasts the POCO logo. The glass makes the design jut out but not in a way that throws the phone off balance and makes it wobble when placed on a table.
The POCO M3 comes in 3 variety of colors – POCO yellow, Cool Blue and Power Black. You can choose to buy the 64 GB or 128 GB variant. It weighs 198 grams and measures in at 162.3 x 77.3 x 9.6 mm.
When it comes to the feel of the POCO M3 in hand, it feels sturdy and has enough heft to weigh it down. The heft and size can be a little unwieldy. Maneuvering the phone with one hand can be a task with its weight making things that much worse. That said, the faux leather finish does give it a little more grip.
Hardware
When it comes to hardware, the entry-level POCO M3 isn’t going to blow you out of the water. However, it does come with a more powerful Snapdragon 600 series processor which should give it an edge over some of its competition. However, that really depends on the software optimisations that Xiaomi has built into the POCO M3. As we already know, MIUI 12 is packed with features that are processor intensive. We’ll see how it performs later on.
Other than the processor, the M3 also comes with a pretty respectable setup when it comes to cameras and even memory. However, it’s on par with the competition when it comes to RAM – something that Xiaomi and POCO could have upped for the longevity of the phone.
The POCO M3 comes with MIUI 12 based on Android 10. This makes it equipped with a streamlined interface. It brings fresh and cool animations and a few new features compared to its predecessor the MIUI 11.
As usual with MIUI, it comes with an array of downloadable themes where you can customize ringtones, fonts and so on.
The home screen provides you the usual folders, widgets and so on that you get from any phone running on Android. The MIUI 12 offers you an app drawer that automatically categorizes the apps into categories such as Entertainment, Business and Tools. Feel free to customize the categories or if you hate the feature, simply disable it.
MIUI 12 comes with the new feature of having a floating app. For example, I can open my messaging app on top of the video I’m currently watching. If you don’t want the app to be floating, then split the screen. The one feature that annoyed me was the holding down and slowly having to slide up on the right to open the feature to close or stop all opened apps when clearing your phone. It’s a double swipe up. First swipe is the menu and second is to close apps. I did not have the patience to learn how to overcome this correctly so it might have been a user issue rather than the device itself.
The UI comes with new privacy options which is always welcomed. Users can remove location and device info when sharing photos and videos. There is also a security app that among others scans the phone for malware and helps clear up space to keep the phone running on optimum level.
The fingerprint scanner that is mounted on the right side of the phone is quick and convenient to unlock the phone with your thumb. For a side mounted scanner, it is impressing in terms of accuracy. However, we advise that you activate the Press recognition method offered by Xiaomi so as to avoid accidentally unlocking the device. This unfortunately happened to me and I sent my boss some questionable gifs via WhatsApp because of it.
Performance
The phone is powered by the latest Snapdragon 662 chipset. The GPU is Adreno 610. The SoC has an octa-core CPU and holds either 4 GB of RAM with 64 GB UFS 2.0 internal storage or 4 GB RAM with 128GB UFS 2.1 storage. Both storage expandable via microSD.
We noticed that there was a slight lag when switching in between tasks which makes us believe that the CPU performance could be bogged down by the optimisations and graphically intensive processes in MIUI 12. However, it is more likely that POCO could have afforded to increase the RAM in the POCO M3 to accommodate its MIUI. The issue is exacerbated if you decide to game on the device.
Gaming
When it comes to gaming, the POCO M3 is a drag – literally. Even though the display boasts a high resolution, there will be significant lags if you set your game above 720p. However, this is expected with the price you pay for an entry-range device. That said, POCO was touting this phone as a go to entry device when it comes to gaming – so there is a little bit of a draw back there. The only highlight here is that the phone does not heat up.
Battery Life
The POCO M3 has a massive 6,000 mAh battery and supports 18W fast charging. We’d recommended that you use the fast charger that it comes with it. If you don’t, a slow or normal charge would take quite a while to completely charge this bad boy. In our time with the phone, the battery life was its main highlight; even with 12 hours of full on usage, the battery lasted for 2 full days on a single charge.
Speakers
You will find stereo speakers at the top and bottom of the device, providing users with a balanced audio experience. Due to this, the loudness of the phone is proven when you play YouTube videos or when you take a call with your Asian mom and put her on loudspeaker. The sound quality does not disappoint.
Display
The POCO M3 has a 395ppi density thanks to its extended resolution at 2340 x 1080 pixels. For being on a budget, the M3, which has a large 6.53-inch display, is a cut above the rest in its price category when it comes to display resolution. If you’re a clumsy individual, fret not, the device is equipped with Gorilla Glass 3.
The display is easy to manoeuvre with the brightness level setting being placed at the normal drop down menu. If you’re stuck in the sunlight the whole day, switch on Sunlight Mode for a brighter display.
Camera
The POCO M3 has a triple camera setup for its main camera. The main sensor is 48-megapixel which is complemented bys a 2-megapixel macro lens and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. This triple camera set up is accompanied by a single LED flash. Before you get too excited, the camera is quite basic even though it attempts to hop on the latest trend bandwagon.
The main rear camera is 48-megapixel with f/1.8 lens, 0.8µm pixels and PDAF with night mode available. The macro camera does not have auto-focus but has f/2.4 aperture with 1.75µm pixels. On the front, you will have your 8-megapixel selfie camera with a fixed focus and f/2.1 lens. When you access the camera app, there is a flash mode, HDR mode, AI toggle and beauty effects and filters for the user to play with.
The pictures are nothing out of the ordinary and we didn’t expect them to be. The camera naturally captures and edits the photos with a soft touch but manages to keep the details needed. Overall, the camera tends to make the colours warmer than in real life.
In its different modes, the portrait seems to be more detailed than the regular setting and the 48-megapixel setting compared to the default 12-megapixel captures more detail. However, The AI tends to make the photos captures a bit off through its high contrast setting.
The camera seemed to work best with natural lighting but failed to impress when we tried to use it at night. It doesn’t capture as much details as compared to when used in the daytime. This became better with night mode on but once again, doesn’t compare to natural lighting.
There’s nothing to boast or say much about the front facing camera. It did the job without any issues but other than that, it seemed to be just a basic selfie camera.
In terms of video captured, there isn’t any 4K or 60fps. All videos are captured at 1080@30fps without stabilization. The colours was average at best and nothing out of the basic ordinary.
A Cut Above but Still Bang for Your Buck Comes With Some Sacrifices
The POCO M3 offers more than its competitors in the market with an affordable price tag. It has quite an impressive array of hardware and built in features that make the RM 599 price tag worth it. Trust and believe that you are getting your money’s worth but the phone is not without its flaws and with that price tag, you cannot expect it to be. It’s not the best phone for gaming but runs smoothly if you adjust some in app settings for a good experience. If you’re on a budget or just cannot see yourself spending four figures on any phone, the POCO M3 may just be your best bet right now!
