ASUS launched their flagship smartphone, the ROG Phone 7 last month in April 2023. As promised, ASUS has brought the new flagship gaming smartphone into Malaysia. They are also available for purchase now as we speak; if you are interested, you can check out their roadshow happening now to the end of this weekend (14th of May 2023) at Pavilion Bukit Jalil.
To recap, the ROG Phone 7 comes in two variants, the regular vanilla ROG Phone 7, and one ROG Phone 7 Ultimate flavour. The vanilla ROG Phone 7 is still a powerful device packing Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform. You still get up to opt for up to 16GB in LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB in storage space if you do not mind spending a little bit more money.
Whichever ROG Phone 7 series device you pick, it comes with a large 6.78-inch AMOLED display that offers Full HD+ resolution at 165Hz refresh rate and up to 720Hz in sampling rate for a smooth and near instant input feel. The AMOLED display also offers the best-in-class viewing experience with up to 1,500 nits in brightness and ΔE<1 colour accuracy. For the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, you get an extra matrix display shooting visuals out of the back of the device (ROG Vision).
The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate also has a trick up its sleeve over the regular ROG Phone 7. You not only get the latest AeroActive Cooler active cooling solution and attachment for your ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, but the cooler also activates a flap they call the AeroActive Portal that will increase an airflow channel to allow for better cooling. The result is up to 20% thermal efficiency from the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. That, alongside the Boron Nitride thermal compound, bigger vapor chamber,a graphite sheets on the CPU means that the CPU can be pushed to its limits for longer periods of time without compromising gaming performance.
Other updates on the series include better audio tuned by Dirac Virtuo, X Sense software, better AirTrigger, and new gesture controls including Gyroscope aiming. Within the new ROG Phone 7 devices are 10 motion controls with an X-axis liner motor for powerful and immersive haptic feedback like the one you get on your console controller. You can even adjust the haptic feedback for better response, or just all-around better feel for your controls.
Price and Availability
As mentioned, the ROG Phone 7 series is now available in Malaysia. You can get your vanilla variant of the ROG Phone 7 in either white or black colour options. The ROG Phone 7 Ultimate will be available 15th of May 2023 onward in Malaysia. There is no colour option for this one, unfortunately, just white. The white does bring the ROG Vision out a little bit more though. The ROG Phone 7 will start at MYR 3,599 (12GB + 256GB) while the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate starts at MYR 4,999 and comes with the AeroActive Cooler 7 out-of-the-box. More information on the ROG Phone 7 series can be found on their website.
It’s been a while since we got excited about a Motorola smartphone. The company has been struggling to stay relevant outside its focus markets since Lenovo took the reigns from Google. That said, Motorola did turn some heads with the revival of their Razr brand. The foldable smartphone is poised to make a triumphant return later this year. In the meantime, Motorola has unveiled their new flagship, the Motorola Edge+ (2023). The new smartphone replaces the 2022 iteration with the same name with true flagship specifications and features.
Source: Motorola
The Motorola Edge+ (2023) comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform which brings flagship-class performance with more power efficiency. This is complemented by 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of internal storage. On the display side, the smartphone comes with a virtually borderless 6.7-inch 1080×2400 pixel pOLED display. The display is treated with an anti-fingerprint coating and a velvet antiglare coating.
The Edge+ (2023) comes with a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS). It also has what Motorola calls “instant all-pixel focus” which it touts uses 32 times more pixels than conventional Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF). This is complemented by a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera with Macro Vision and a 12-megapixel telephoto portrait camera. Up in the front, the Motorola Edge+ (2023) has a massive 60-megapixel selfie camera with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Cognitive Image Signal Processor.
The camera setup is capable of recording video at 8K resolution or in 4K with support for HDR10+. This promises deep, true-to-life colour when using the smartphone to shoot video. Motorola is also complementing the software with a suite of software features including Night Vision for better low light performance, Horizon Lock Stabilization which locks onto the horizon for better, clearer action shots, Autofocus tracking and Portrait mode even in videos.
Content creation and consumption take centre stage with the pOLED display and sound quality of the Motorola Edge+ (2023). The smartphone comes with Dolby Atmos certification for object-centred, immersive sound. Together with this, Motorola’s own Spatial Sound technology allows for better, more immersive playback when it comes to headphones and speakers.
All of these features are powered by a 5,100mAh battery with a promise of 2-day battery life on a single charge. It also supports 68W TurboPower charging – Motorola’s take on QuickCharge. Motorola claims that this will deliver a day’s battery with only 9 minutes of charging. It also supports 15W wireless charging and 5W wireless power share.
The Motorola Edge+ (2023) will launch with the company’s take on Android 13. Motorola is also committing to 3 years of OS upgrades and 4 years of bi-monthly security updates.
Pricing & Availability
In the US, the Motorola Edge+ (2023) will be available starting on 25th May 2023. It will be priced at USD$799.99 (MYR3,549.79). It will be available for pre-order starting on May 19.
In Canada, it will be available for CAD$1,299.99 (MYR4,314.34) via Motorola.ca at the same time. Pre-orders also start on May 19.
No official availability has been announced by Lenovo for the smartphone in Malaysia or Singapore just yet.
vivo’s sub-brand iQOO is bringing high performance to a more affordable price with their new iQOO Z7 and Z7x. The two new phones bring Qualcomm’s best mid-range processors to smartphones that cater for those who need powerful devices on a budget.
The iQOO Z7 spearheads the new lineup with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 782G. Qualcomm’s processor strikes a balance between performance and power efficiency. The 6nm process allows Qualcomm the leeway to combine both performance and power efficiency cores with Qualcomm’s Kryo technology. iQOO combines this processor with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage to complete their affordable performance smartphone. The Z7x makes the package even more affordable with the Snapdragon 695 5G. On the Z7x, this is paired with a maximum of 8GB of RAM with up to 256GB of internal storage.
Both the iQOO Z7 and the iQOO Z7x come with a 6.64-inch LCD display with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut. The display also comes with a 120Hz refresh rate for faster, smoother visual performance. Together with this, the phones come with NFC support and dual stereo speakers. The Z7 also comes with a 3.5mm combo audio jack and an infrared blaster. Both also run on Android 13 with vivo’s Funtouch OS.
On the camera side of things, the Z7x comes with an 8-megapixel selfie camera while the Z7 comes with a 16-megapixel camera. The main camera setup is a dual sensor setup with a 64-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) on the iQOO Z7 while the Z7x comes with a 50-megapixel main camera. Both are complemented by a 2-megapixel depth sensor.
The two smartphones come with large-capacity batteries. The iQOO Z7 has a 5,000mAh battery with support for 120W dual-cell FlashCharge while the Z7x comes with a larger 6,000mAh battery with support for 80W FlashCharge.
Pricing & Availability
The iQOO Z7 is available in its signature Matrix Blue colour while the Z7x is available in a slightly different Tropical Blue as its signature colour. Both are also in Metallic Black. Prices for the devices and available variants are as below. Purchases of the smartphones
Model
Variant
Price (MYR)
Free Gift Offer
iQOO Z7
12GB RAM + 256GB onboard storage
1,499
– 1-year extended warranty – 1-year screen crack protection – Free gifts worth RM248, including an iQOO backpack or a Marshall key *Eligible for RM50 iQOO Student Discount programme voucher*
iQOO Z7
8GB RAM +128GB onboard storages
1,299
– 1-year extended warranty – 1-year screen crack protection – Free gifts worth RM248, including an iQOO backpack or a Marshall key *Eligible for RM50 iQOO Student Discount programme voucher*
iQOO Z7x
8GB RAM + 256GB onboard storage
1,099
– 1-year extended warranty – 1-year screen crack protection – Free gifts worth RM248, including an iQOO backpack or a Marshall key *Eligible for RM50 iQOO Student Discount programme voucher*
iQOO Z7x
8GB RAM +128GB onboard storage
999
– 1-year extended warranty – 1-year screen crack protection – Free gifts worth RM248, including an iQOO backpack or a Marshall key *Eligible for RM50 iQOO Student Discount programme voucher*
Ever since HONOR has stepped out as an independent smartphone manufacturer, the brand has gone from strength to strength. They have successfully launched their own smartphones packing their own MagicOS based on Android with Google Play Store access for a couple of years now. While they have not been able to completely shake off their HUAWEI ties or association, they do make respectable smartphones that are rather appealing too.
Their latest addition to the stable is the Magic5 series announced in MWC 2023. You get to choose between vanilla model or a Pro variant in this series. They also launched a rather interesting foldable, the Magic Vs alongside the Magic5, but we are going to focus on the Magic5 series here.
HONOR Magic5 Pro
Source: HONOR
The Magic5 Pro is built to be the true 2023 flagship for HONOR. They started out with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 system on a chip (SoC), the fastest and most powerful processing chip for an Android smartphone to date. The octa-core chip is then paired to 12GB of RAM for good measure and to avoid bottlenecks in multitasking conditions. You get 512GB of storage too for good measure.
Part of the 512GB of storage holds the Android 13 based MagicOS 7.1 interface that shows on the large 6.82-inch display. The OLED panel offers 2,848 by 1,312 pixels, which is not quite QHD+, but more than Full HD+. It is a 10-bit display offering up to 1.07 billion colours and up to 1800nits in brightness though. It is also an LTPO panel that offers up to 120Hz in refresh rate for that extra smooth feel. The glass that protects the display also protects a 12-Megapixel front-facing camera supported by a 3-Megapixel depth sensor with up to 4K resolution video recording capabilities.
The HONOR Magic5 Pro’s party piece, the Falcon Triple Main Camera as HONOR puts it, is its main camera array at the back. Arranged in a familiar ‘halo’ design, the HONOR Magic5 Pro offers three 50-Megapixel sensors at the back. One is obviously a regular 24mm wide-angle shooter, the other is an ultra-wide shooter, and the last one is a telephoto lens capable of 3.5x optical zoom and up to 100x digital zoom. All of them offer optical image stabilisation (OIS) too if you are worried about your clammy hands. Of course, the camera array supports video recording at 4K resolution. They say also that the camera is faster than ever before, hence the name Falcon.
Keeping everything running for an entire day and possibly more is a 5,100mAh battery pack within the glass and aluminium constructed body. It supports HONOR’s 66W Supercharge technology which will still allow you to get going with a full charge in just about an hour’s time. If you prefer to just leave your device on the table to get it wirelessly charging, the device is capable of a 50W charge wirelessly.
HONOR Magic5
Source: HONOR
The more premium Magic5 Pro may be appealing and can be recognised as the true flagship for HONOR. The vanilla is not too far behind though, in that case we think that the vanilla Magic5 is worth more than a look thanks to the value it offers. It is everything that is the Magic5 Pro with a few minor differences.
It packs the same SoC, for one. It also comes with the same amount of RAM. The storage is a little smaller though at 256GB. While the display is smaller at 6.73-inch, you still get an OLED panel that offers more than Full HD+ in resolution. You still get up to 120Hz in refresh rate and DCI-P3 colour gamut at up to 1600nits in brightness.
You lose one camera out in front. You also lose a little resolution the camera at only 12-Megapixel, but no matter, you still shoot videos at 4K resolution. Out the back is a more powerful main camera at 54-Megapixel. The ultra-wide camera remains the same at 50-Megapixel. The trade off is on the telephoto camera that offers 32-Megapixel and only up to 50x digital zoom.
It is still an Android 13 device offering MagicOS 7.1 interface though. Within the glass and aluminium construction is still a large 5,100mAh battery. It still charges at 66W but does not get wireless charging.
Price and Availability
Source: HONOR
The HONOR Magic5 starts at MYR 3,499. You can get one in either Glacier Blue or Black colour. The vanilla HONOR Magic5 will go on sale starting 28th of April 2023. There are no pre-order programmes for this one.
The HONOR Magic5 Pro does have a pre-order programme. You can now pre-order your HONOR Magic5 Pro up until the 13th of April 2023. Shipping starts the day after that and you can pre-order your device from their own online stores, partner retailers, and even their official stores on Shopee and Lazada. Each pre-order entitles you to free gifts worth over MYR 1,200 while stocks last. The HONOR Magic5 Pro is available in Meadow Green and Black Colour options for MYR 4,299). For more information on HONOR’s Magic5 and Magic5 Pro, you can visit their website.
Xiaomi’s Redmi lineup has long been one of the most affordable smartphones available on the market. With the Redmi Note 11 series, the lineup took a step closer to bringing flagship-class specs with its 108-megapixel camera. This year, the series inches even closer with a 200-megapixel camera and high-performance display.
The new series comes with three entries – for now. Spearheading the lineup is the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G which comes with a 200-megapixel camera and the MediaTek Dimensity 1080. The Note 12 Pro+ 5G also comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage and runs on Android 12 with MIUI 14. On the entry-level side of things is the Redmi Note 12 without 5G which comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 685 with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage and comes with a 50-megapixel camera. Sitting right in the middle of the lineup is the Redmi Note 12 5G which comes with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. It comes with a 48-megapixel camera and up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal space.
The hallmark of the new lineup is the 200-megapixel sensor which comes as the main sensor on the Pro+. This main sensor is complemented by an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor and a 2-megapixel macro camera. On the front of the Pro+ is a 16-megapixel selfie camera. The Pro+ comes with a 6.67-inch FHD+ Flow AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 900 nits peak brightness and Dolby Vision support. The Pro+ is also the only one in the lineup which comes with a dual-curved design making it more ergonomic.
The Redmi Note 12 5G’s 48-megapixel sensor is complemented by 8-megapixel ultrawide and 2-megapixel macro sensors. It comes with a 13-megapixel on the front. Display-wise it comes with a 6.67-inch AMOLED DotDisplay with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1,200 nits peak brightness and Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The 5G version of the Redmi Note 12 comes with a curved back.
The Redmi Note 12 without 5G comes in a completely flat form factor. It has the same camera setup complementing its 50-megapixel sensor and selfie camera as the Redmi Note 12 5G. Even the display is the same. The major differences here are its processor, the lack of 5G connectivity and the 50-megapixel sensor.
The smartphones are IP53 splash and dust resistance certified. Xiaomi has also opted to keep the 3.5mm combo jack and IR blaster. All versions come with side-mounted fingerprint sensors which are embedded into the power button. They also all come with a 5,000mAh battery with 33W Fast Charging. However, Pro+ ups the ante a little bit with 120W HyperCharge.
Pricing & Availability
The Redmi Note 12 series will be available for pre-order in Malaysia starting on April 6, 2023. During this pre-order, purchases will be entitled to a free Redmi Smart Band 2. The e-commerce exclusive Redmi Note 12 (6GB + 128GB) will be available at a discounted price of MYR659 during this period.
In-store sales begin from April 15 onwards. Purchases made from this date onwards will be entitled to free Redmi Buds 4 Lite while stocks last.
Purchases and Pre-orders can be made at authorised Xiaomi dealers and the Xiaomi storefronts on Shopee and Lazada.
The official pricing and variants available are listed below.
Samsung’s back at it again with the new Galaxy S23 series. A new flagship experience which sees the S23 Ultra outshine the S23 and S23+. The plus variant of the Galaxy S series has always been that perfect bowl of porridge that packs the right updates, has the right features and is priced to win. That’s the legacy of the plus variant when it comes to Galaxy S.
That said, with Samsung’s immense emphasis on the S23 Ultra, why are we looking at the S23+? The simple answer is that we’re interested to see whether Samsung’s iterative approach to their flagship series has paid off. Is the S23+ THE PHONE to get when it comes to that fine balance between features and budget? Or has it left the S23+ with a case of middle child syndrome; being left to fend for itself?
Design
Samsung’s new Galaxy S23+ continues the company’s iterative formula when it comes to smartphones. As such, when it comes to design, the company has done little to change the overall look and feel of the smartphone. The big difference you’ll notice off the bat is the lack of the sleek, iconic camera cut-out we saw on the S22+. Instead, Samsung has decided to streamline the design by removing it. The S23+ comes with a completely flush and flat back. Even the camera modules are only just raised to protect the lenses. Aside from the camera modules, the only other thing of note on the back of the smartphone is the Samsung brand emblazoned on the lower portion of it.
On the front, the AMOLED 2X display covers nearly the whole face of the smartphone. It’s near edge to edge with little to no interruptions. The S23+ continues to have rounded corners but, this year, Samsung has opted to do away with the rounded edges on the phone itself. While the display does melt into the sides, the frame itself is angular. It may seem a little less ergonomic at first, but the sharp edges do provide a more sturdy grip. But be careful when you’re using it lying down, it can be painful when it comes for a close-up with your face. (Yes, the phone did meet my face a few times during the review period).
Hardware
Samsung’s approach to the new Galaxy S23+ brings most of the same specifications to the S22+. There are some notable changes, however, it looks like the company believes that a focus on the user experience will benefit them more than bumping the actual specifications of the smartphone – and truth be told, they may be one step closer to getting a solid user experience with their approach, but we’ll expand more on that in User Experience section.
Accelerometer Proximity Fingerprint (Ultrasonic, under display) Gyroscope Compass Barometer
Miscellaneous
Dual SIM/eSIM
Retail Price (Malaysia)
MYR 4,699 (256GB) MYR 5,199 (512GB)
Retail Price (US)
USD$ 999.99 (128GB) USD$ 1,199.99 (256GB)
User Experience
You will realise that we’ll be talking a lot about the user experience when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S23+. That’s simply because when it comes down to it, the smartphone remains nearly identical to the S22+ when it comes to hardware. However, the lack of an improvement in the hardware itself has translated into one of the best experiences we’ve had with a Samsung flagship since the Galaxy Note5; and we don’t say that lightly.
Samsung’s focus on optimising One UI 5.1 for the Galaxy S23 series pays off in droves when it comes to the vanilla S23 and the S23+. While it comes with the same interface and overall experience we expect from a Samsung device, the S23+ feels better thought out from a software perspective than even the S22+. The software brings features that complement the overall experience.
The first place you will notice this improvement is with the booting up of the smartphone. It takes less time for the Galaxy S23+ to boot than the S22+ and even the Fold 4. After the initial setup, a reboot took less than 2 minutes. In addition, Samsung has found a way to make loading up widgets on your home screen more seamless and fluid. You don’t have the flickering and stuttering of widgets like before, instead, they load one after the other.
Aside from this, Samsung has made Android 13’s their own. Their personalization interface is more streamlined and easier to use. Everything is accessible on just one screen and you have more control over colours and accents that will appear on your Galaxy smartphone. However, when it comes to customisations, you’ll need Samsung’s Good Lock app to unlock more possibilities.
Personalisation & Good Lock
Personalisation is getting a huge upgrade with the rollout of Samsung’s Good Lock app. The app brings modules that supercharge personalization options beyond some of the most customizable experiences on Android. The app brings features like an even more customisable One UI Home Screen, Lock screen and even notifications.
Samsung’s level of customization in the Good Lock app is impressive. We were able to create home screens with widgets that looked like seamless wallpapers. You could even create more actionable notifications on your lock screen. Every detail from the notification shade, the sidebar activation and even the grid layout of your home and app screens can be customized with Good Lock.
That said, the extensive customisation is only available after navigating what can be a daunting list of modules to enable it. What’s more, once you’ve downloaded the modules, you’ll have to navigate another extensive menu of options. This will more than likely put off regular users. Power users, on the other hand, will welcome these menus and appreciate the level of personalisation that they offer. In our honest opinion, the overall experience can be streamlined with more streamlined menus and a more graphical interface within the Good Lock modules.
Performance
It goes without saying that we are expecting best-in-class performance when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S23+. The processor alone comes with a near 30% performance bump from last year’s on paper. However, as we all already know, improvements on paper don’t necessarily translate to user experience but that isn’t really the case with this particular smartphone. Samsung has instead only upgraded the phone’s processor to the more capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and also the selfie camera with a larger 12-megapixel sensor. Somehow, just the bump in the processor has led to an exponentially improved battery life and also smoother performance overall.
Multitasking, Productivity & Day-to-Day Use
Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones have more or less become synonymous with productivity machines thanks to features like DeX and Link to Windows becoming more natively integrated into One UI. It’s no different when it comes to Samsung’s new Galaxy S flagship. The S23+ continues this legacy with more of a focus on remaining productive for longer stretches of time. All the features including DeX are still part of the package.
However, the S23+, when it comes to performance, the smartphone has a leg up on its predecessor. It can handle more apps at one go and has more capacity to multitask than ever before. The new TMSC-based Snapdragon 8 gen 2 brings a whole new level of power and power efficiency. We were able to handle apps like Microsoft Excel and Acrobat running in split-screen without much issue. Using other apps like WhatsApp, Telegram and even Chrome in the background or in split-screen wasn’t much of an issue. In fact, it was uninterrupted and fluid. Even with the split screen and pop-up window working in tandem, the experience continued to be top-notch.
The DeX experience on the S23+ is much improved with better stability and transfer speeds over wireless connections. Typically, we use DeX to copy large files like videos to our computers for editing. The wireless connectivity for DeX has long been an issue for us which made us default to using a USB connection. However, on the S23+, this wasn’t the case. We were able to transfer files that were between 2GB and 4GB quickly. It only took us about 10 minutes! Transferring smaller files like photos was nearly instantaneous.
That said, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ became a go-to phone for a daily driver not just cause of the multitasking ability. It was also a sold performer in day-to-day usage. We were able to use the smartphone reliably for work and communication for over 24 hours consistently. This puts Samsung’s flagship on par with, if not ahead of their competition simply for the productivity feature set which is bolstered by the impressive battery life on the Galaxy S23+.
In addition, Samsung’s Bixby Rouines adds another level of productivity to the smartphone. Creating “If this… then that…” operator sets allows you to automate a whole lot of features including turning on and off features like WiFi, NFC, Bluetooth and more according to location or even network. This allowed for even more power efficiency and also customization of your device behaviour to fit your routines. It also works when you use devices that you can control via Smart Things which now includes any device compatible with the Matter network. If you’re like us, this made for some of the most fun with optimising and automating of tech on our networks to fit our daily routines.
Call Quality & Connectivity
Samsung’s Galaxy S23+ comes with the usual connectivity features including WiFi 6, GPS, GLONASS and 5G. Of course, these features are expected in any 2023 flagship. Samsung has included a slew of software features which allow for better connectivity features including smart WiFi and smart detection of 5G connectivity. These features allowed us to have better battery optimisations and also better, more stable connectivity overall.
The WiFi connectivity on the S23+ is a marked improvement of Galaxy devices of the past including the recent Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Z series. We credit the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for this. It seems like Qualcomm’s new antennae and processor is able to create a more stable connection with a larger bandwidth. This resulted in faster, more stable connections over things like DeX and Link to Windows.
In addition, the cellular connectivity was also more stable compared to the S22+. We tested this over the Maxis 4G network and DNB 5G network via Yes 5G. In places where the S22+ saw limited connectivity of 1-2 bars, the S23+ was able to squeeze another bar or two. This also translated to the data stability of the device as well. The S23+ was able to load videos on YouTube, website content on techent.tv and content on Instagram more consistently than the S22+. Even when the S22+ was having issues loading content, the S23+ was able to load content albeit a little slower. We’re not sure if this is a software limitation on the S22+ but it’s worth noting that both devices were running One UI 5.1 with the February 2023 security patch.
Call quality on the S23+ was what we expected from a Samsung device. The voice quality on Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) were crisp and clear. It was also warmer than similar smartphones in the category. Over normal network voice (i.e. without VoWiFi or VoLTE), it was more of the same. The voice quality was consistent and didn’t drop without cause.
Gaming
Samsung has upped the ante when it comes to talking about its flagship as a gaming phone when it comes to the S23 series. This comes as no surprise given the chipset inside the smartphone. The increased power and power efficiency of the chipset allow for more gaming to be done at higher frame rates and with some ray tracing.
During our time with the S23+, we tested the smartphone with Diablo Immortal, Pokemon Unite, Pokemon GO, and Power Rangers Legacy Wars. Yes. It’s an eclectic selection of games but each was chosen for a reason which we will go into. That said, we don’t benchmark with synthetic benchmarks when we do the reviews on the smartphone. Instead, we’re looking at practical aspects of whether it was comfortable to do so, whether there was noticeable lag or frame rate drops and the like.
Diablo Immortal is one of the more complex games when it comes to on-screen events. At any given time, there can be over 20 events in a single occurrence. Enemies can swarm in packs and overwhelm players. Sometimes these enemies can be just off-screen but still land an attack. It’s precisely because of that that we’re using it to test out the S23+’s gaming performance. The Galaxy S23+ performed rather commendably when put to the Diablo Immortal task. The smartphone was able to render enemies, players, attacks, and events in the surroundings without much hassle on default settings. Pushing it up to maximum settings, the Galaxy S23+ still was able to perform quite well. However, the phone did get a little warm. That said, it didn’t heat up to the point where you couldn’t play the game. It never got to the point where the screen, back or frame of the phone got too hot to hold. This was actually the case when playing for more than 40 minutes on the S22+. On the S23+, we could game for about 5 hours on a full charge.
For games like Pokemon Unite and Power Rangers Legacy Wars, we were looking at the responsiveness of the on-screen controls and also performance when there were combos or multiple players on screen attacking at the same time. Similar to the performance on Diablo Immortal, the Galaxy S23+ was able to handle the games rather well. Given that Power Rangers Legacy Wars has been out for six years while Pokemon Unite has been available for two, the games still provide two different experiences for gameplay. One is a simple tap to battle game while the other is a full-on MOBA. Both provide different challenges for the smartphone when playing. Power Rangers Legacy War is a game which depends heavily on network performance in addition to graphical rendering. The S23+ was able to pull this off without much problem. In fact, it wouldn’t be too farfetched to say that it might have given us the upper hand when battling others on lower specced smartphones. Gameplay was responsive and had little lag when battling. The smartphone also remained cool and didn’t really heat up throughout our hour-long session. On Pokemon Unite, however, we have enemy NPCs and player enemies. The more current development of the game means that the game required more power to render graphics which the S23+ did without a problem. It was also able to handle rendering instances where team battles occurred. There was little stuttering or lag even on mobile connectivity. The phone also remained cool throughout the two hours of gameplay.
Pokemon GO is a unique game which needs both rendering and location services. This usually leads to immense battery drain and heating up on smartphones. This was the case for most smartphones even in 2022 including the S22+. However, with the S23+ the phone remained rather cool but did eventually get a little bit warm as we progressed into our hour long session. Aside from that, there wasn’t much of a hiccup.
Overall, the Galaxy S23+ was able to handle top-of-the-line games that are currently on mobile without much hassle. While it doesn’t come with gimmicks and features that make it more of a “gaming phone”, Samsung’s focus on performance does pay off when it comes to generational improvements from the S22. The optimizations for the phone’s cooling system and also processing and graphics have paid off in droves when it comes to gaming.
Battery Life
If you’ve not picked it up from the previous sections just yet, let’s just put it out there – the Galaxy S23+ has the best battery life we’ve seen in a Samsung flagship to date. We’re not saying this lightly either. Typically, we expect that a Samsung flagship smartphone will last anywhere between 5 to 9 hours. In recent years, this went up to about 10 hours maximum. However, with the Galaxy S23+, we were able to get up to 3 days of battery life. We typically measure this as the time taken to get to 5% of battery.
In our time with the smartphone, we saw a range of between 5 to 72 hours of battery life from the smartphone. Even with a mix of gaming and regular use, we were able to get about 2 days of battery. This, of course, depended on a few factors particularly processor and display usage. When we used the smartphone for gaming the maximum we go was about 5 hours on a single charge. With mixed usage and always on display (AOD) turned off, this capped out at about 3 days. However, when we turned on AOD, we saw a marked reduction in battery life to about 2 days.
When it comes down to it, this was the most significant improvement to the overall package of the Samsung Galaxy S23+. Comparatively, the S22+ capped out at slightly over 1 day of battery life even with low usage.
Display
Samsung continues to have Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels in its flagships. These panels have impressive colour reproduction and brightness peaking at 1,200 nits in the Galaxy S23+. That said, the S23+ is also equipped with a lower-resolution FHD+ panel, unlike the S23 Ultra which comes with a QHD+ display. However, the S23+ doesn’t miss out on much when it comes to the resolution. It still manages to produce crisp images with high contrast and even HDR content.
Samsung has done some minor improvements when it comes to display performance – possibly on the software end as videos and games on the S23+ seem to have better quality. The images are more crisp and have better contrast and saturation.
When we tested the display we used content on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. HDR content was one of the main content we were looking at. On the S23+, HDR content was of marked better quality. There was more detail in the dark areas of the images while blacks appeared deeper and closer to true black while the whites were more pure. The colours on HDR content were vibrant and punchy.
Cameras
Samsung’s big push continues to be camera performance – particularly when it comes to the Galaxy S23 and S23+. Their approach of sticking to the same camera setup with a triple sensor setup complemented with by a 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto sensor gives them the opportunity to further improve the software implementation for the camera. Improve they did.
The Samsung Galaxy S23+’s camera comes with a better implementation of Samsung’s Galaxy AI when it comes to the camera. It would seem – like many other things – Samsung is also following Google’s lead when it comes to smartphone photography. This year’s focus on the post-processing of shots taken with the camera setup integrates a new level of AI that results in sharper, more detailed images. Of course, you’d be hard-pressed to realise that this has been done as the pictures are taken near instantaneously with little time between touching the shutter button and the picture being saved.
The pictures taken with cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S23+ are crisp, detailed and sharp. The photos have little blur even when taken by someone like me with rather shaky hands. The photos also have pretty accurate colour reproduction albeit on the slightly more saturated side of things. However, with the implementation of the High-Efficiency Image Code (HEIC), you’ll be able to touch up and adjust the images with all the sensor information with programs like Adobe Lightroom. This is one of the best improvements year-on-year. The implementation and widespread usage of the HEIC standard allows a new level of customization and post-processing which brings the smartphone one step closer to being “pro-grade”.
In addition to the improvements on the photo side of things, Samsung’s new flagship also comes with improvements on the video side of things. The S23+ is able to shoot in higher resolution for longer and also supports higher resolutions with super steady mode. The higher resolutions allow for more detailed content to be captured with the smartphone. However, the most important thing – at least to us – is the ability to shoot video at a moment’s notice. Samsung has made it easy to kick into video with the long press of the shutter button. They’ve also made it so that your settings are saved into the camera app and are set until you change it. The resulting video, on the other hand, is pretty high quality. Thanks to the gyro EIS, it’s also more stable than before.
Of course, these experiences are all done with the camera set in auto. If you want more control, you’ll be able to use Pro and Pro video modes. These modes give more control to things like ISO, aperture and shutter speed which allows you to capture your pictures and video with settings that are the most natural looking for you. It also allows you to play director and cameraman when you shoot content. This was really useful when we were looking for places for a personal project. The granular settings allowed us to replicate settings that would have been similar to our camera for better shot visualisation.
When it comes to Samsung’s big push for Nightography, the S23+ is a marked improvement from its predecessor. Shots are better in low light with a little bit more detail. Even with extremely limited light, the camera was able to capture video and pictures which were detailed enough to see what was happening. That said, the resultant photos and videos aren’t the best. Then again, we don’t expect the same quality as the pictures under amazing lighting but as a hallmark feature, it left a little bit to be desired.
Overall, while the hardware remained the same, Samsung has bolstered camera performance with minor tweaks to the features and a heavy hand with Galaxy AI. That said, they’re able to produce more natural-looking photos and videos and also give more granular camera control to users to capture their vision. However, it feels like the S23+ still has some work to do to be on par with the S23 Ultra when it comes to its hallmark Nightography feature. While it is much improved on the S23+, it still lacks the crispness and detail they tout in their ads.
Samsung’s Best User Experience Yet but With Drawbacks that Affect its Value Proposition
Overall, the Galaxy S23+ is proof that software and optimizations can revamp a device’s performance and user experience. It launched with a user experience that’s both refined and comes with extensive personalization options. However, these options are behind an additional app and its extensions requiring more memory and RAM to run. This weighs on the already limited 8GB of RAM which comes on the S23+.
That said, when it comes to performance, the S23+ is a marked improvement to its predecessor. This is mainly thanks to the improved architecture of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 which comes with a more power-efficient configuration. While Samsung’s new One UI does bring its own optimisations of Android 13, the extensive features it brings eat away at valuable storage.
The plus variant of the Galaxy S series has always been that Goldilocks device when it comes to Samsung’s Galaxy S series. However, Samsung’s decision to be iterative in their design and approach to the S23+ proves that the approach is a double-edged sword. The S23+ comes with a winning formula when it comes to hardware – we even praised it in our review of the S22+ – but therein lies the problem. They’ve made meaningful improvements including design choices that make the device feel more premium, but it’s overshadowed by a price point that makes their mid-range and competition look more appealing.
Qualcomm continues to drive innovation for IoT at MWC 2023, with a host of announcements for both their hardware and software platforms.
iSIM announced for Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platforms
A huge step for IoT devices with iSIM available on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
The highlight of these announcements is the unveiling of Integrated SIM (iSIM) for their flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform. The iSIM is a highly desirable form factor for developers as it allows space saving in design, be it smartphones or even wearables, while also reducing supply chain costs. The iSIM saves space by eliminating the need for a separate component while also requiring significantly less power than eSIMs. Both of these traits are cornerstones for developing IoT devices.
Collaborating with French developer Thales, Qualcomm has also confirmed GSMA’s (Global Association for the Mobile Communications Industry) security certification for what would be the world’s first commercially deployable iSIM. This assures best-in-class security level while also being compliant with the GSMA Remote SIM Provisioning standard that Thales eSIM already offers. This form factor also complements existing SIM and eSIM designs, and research by Kaleido Intelligence suggests the market share to grow to 300 million by 2027.
Snapdragon Spaces to kick start AR experiences with global partners
7 global operators will leverage Snapdragon Spaces for new and exciting AR experiences.
Qualcomm has also furthered their commitment towards Extended Reality (XR) with plans to leverage Snapdragon Spaces with 7 leading global operators. These include a multi-year collaboration with Japan’s KDDI corporation focused on the expansion of XR use cases and creation of a developer program. The Snapdragon Space XR Developer Platform is a cross-device, open-ecosystem that provides developers with the tools to pioneer Augmented Reality (AR) experiences, with a focus on headworn AR devices. Just recently, Xiaomi has set things in motion with the recently announced Xiaomi Wireless AR Glasses Discovery Edition, powered by the Snapdragon XR2 Platform. Oppo too has confirmed a new mixed reality (MR) device, the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 device to be approved as Snapdragon Spaces Ready.
Scaling digital transformation with Qualcomm Aware Platform
Qualcomm has also unveiled their Qualcomm Aware Platform, which aims to provide the resources necessary to simplify and scale digital transformation. These include a combination of industry-leading cloud and edge technologies, API-first architecture and developer-friendly tools.
Scaling digital transformation through the Qualcomm Aware platform
Qualcomm already offers industry-leading IoT modem chipsets, including the recently announced Qualcomm 216 IoT LTE Modem capable of speeds of up to 10 Mbps at ultra-low power. With the recent acquisitions of Skyhook Wireless, Inc. and the assets of PoLTE Corporation, new proprietary positioning techniques and a now global signal database allows Qualcomm Aware to deliver intelligent and ubiquitous location capabilities in an always-on, low-power manner.
Having the best silicon and global connectivity is not enough to guarantee IoT deployment success, so Qualcomm has worked hard to address a key challenge in this area; ecosystem fragmentation. Qualcomm Aware brings together an ecosystem of hardware and software partners to develop solutions for varied yet specific business needs. This has culminated with Qualcomm Aware Blueprints, which enable enterprises to quickly and efficiently roll-out pre-designed solutions, tailored to requirements.
A growing list of Qualcomm Aware Supporting Partners
With efficiency in mind, Qualcomm Aware also offers a highly customizable framework and implements standard APIs that interoperate seamlessly with private clouds, industry-specific application platforms, enterprise tools and softwares. These include enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management, inventory management and many more. One of the key integrations will be with Microsoft Dynamics 365, a major cloud-based business application that combines components of both ERP and customer relationship management (CRM) with additional AI tools and productivity applications.
Xiaomi introduces the Xiaomi 13 Pro in Malaysia! The new smartphone comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and a camera system developed in collaboration with Leica. Pricing starts at MYR4,599.
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Honor took the stage at MWC 2023, to unveil their new flagship series – the Honor Magic5 series which adopts a new “human-centric” approach to its technology. The new approach brings a slew of new features that place their users first and help improve their lives more meaningfully.
The new Honor Magic5 series brings together specifications and features that strike a unique balance with a price that doesn’t break the bank. The new series consists of two devices (for now): the Honor Magic5 and the Honor Magic5 Pro. It goes without saying that the Magic5 Pro leads the duo as Honor’s true flagship with the best in specifications.
Both the Honor Magic5 and Magic5 Pro come with Honor’s new Super Dynamic Display. The display is an LTPO panel which has been enhanced with software to produce images that are more vivid with deeper contrasts. Honor boasts that this technology produces images that are 500% more vivid. It still has a 120Hz refresh rate with a peak HDR brightness of 1800nits. The display is also a Quad-Curved Floating Screen. What this means – essentially – is that the glass of the screen has been curved on all four sides giving it a feel that it’s floating. The Pro comes with a 6.81-inch display while the vanilla Magic5 comes with a 6.73-inch version of the same.
The Honor5 series comes with a triple-sensor setup for its main camera. On the Pro, the sensors are a 50-megapixel wide camera with an f/1.6 aperture and 1/1.12-inch sensor size, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera with an f/2.0 aperture, and a 50-megapixel periscope Telephoto sensor with an f/3.0 aperture and 3.5x optical zoom. This setup combined with Honor’s Falcon AI imaging technology enables 100x zoom on the Pro. The regular Magic5, on the other hand, comes with a 54-megapixel sensor with an f/1.9 aperture and 1/1,49 inch sensor size complemented by a 32-megapixel telephoto camera. While comparable, the regular Magic5 will only be able to achieve 50x zoom. On the front, is a 12-megapixel selfie camera.
On the inside, the Magic5 series comes with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with up to 12GB and up to 512GB of internal storage. Honor is packing the phone with faster LPDDR5X RAM and UFS4.0 storage modules for added performance gains. It’s also coming with an IP68 rating and is powered by a 5,100mAH battery on both variants. Wireless charging is also coming back with the Magic5 series with both supporting 50W wireless Honor Supercharge while, if you plug it in, it can charge using Honor’s SuperCharge at 60W.
Pricing & Availability
The new Honor Magic series will be available in Glacier Blue, Meadow Green, Coral Purple, Orange, and Black. The regular Magic5 comes in at EUR899 (MYR4,254.39) while the Magic5 Pro will be priced from EUR1199 (MYR7,567.038).
Leica is back in the international smartphone arena thanks to its new partnership with Xiaomi. With its initial offering, the Xiaomi 12S Ultra only officially being rolled out in Mainland China, the Xiaomi 13 marks the brand’s return to the ecosystem. The new Xiaomi 13 series crowning feature is the Leica Vario-Summicron 1:19-2.2/14-75 ASPH camera system which comes on the 13 Pro.
The Xiaomi 13 series comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB internal memory. Of course, the Xiaomi 13 series comes with two entries in Malaysia (for now): the Xiaomi 13 and the Xiaomi 13 Pro. The two entries come with a few differences that distinguish the smartphones from each other. The most significant of which the Leica Vario-Summicron 1:19-2.2/14-75 ASPH camera system.
The Pro comes with a triple camera array for the main camera complete with Leica lenses. The setup consists of the 1-inch, 50.3-megapixel Sony IMX989 with an f/1.8 aperture and 23mm focal length. It equipped with dual pixel phase detection autofocus (PDAF), Laser Autofocus and optical image stabilization (OIS). This is complemented with a 50-megapixel telephoto lens with 3.2x optical zoom and PDAF. Completing the triple sensor setup is a 50-megapixel utlra-wide sensor with autofocus. On the front, the smartphone comes with a 32-megapixel selfie camera.
The vanilla 13 comes with a triple sensor setup with a main 50-megapixel main sensor with PDAF and OIS complemented with a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor and a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor. On the front is the same 32-megapixel sensor.
Leica isn’t just lending its lenses to Xiaomi for the Xiaomi 13 series, they’re helping with the software. The 13 and 13 Pro both come with the master lens system, a software features which provides better, more granular control to the focal length and depth of field for better portrait photos. In addition to this, the software comes with two distinct photographic styles: Leica Authentic Look and Leica Vibrant Look. These paired with Xiaomi’s own Imaging Engine culminate in Xiaomi’s strongest computational photography flagship.
Of course, with all these photography features, the two smartphones come with powerful displays with up to 120Hz refresh rate.
Pricing & Availability
The Xiaomi 13 Series will be available in Malaysia starting on March 8th 2023.
The Xiaomi 13 will be available in three colours – Black, White and Flora Green. Only one variant will be available in Malaysia 12GB RAM with 256GB of internal storage. Prices start at MYR3,499.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro will be available in two colours: Ceramic Black and Ceramic White. Two variants of the 13 Pro will be avaiable 12RAM with 256GB of internal storage and a special, limited edition 12GB RAM with 512GB internal storage. The former will be priced from MYR4,699 while the limited edition will be on sale for MYR 4,999.
The Xiaomi 13 series will be available for pre-order starting on February 27, 2023 until March 7, 2023. Packages and pricing are as follows:
