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Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (2024) Review -Making Dual Screen Laptops Viable

January 22, 2025 Jeremy Say Leave a comment

Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i 13’ (2024, Gen 9 – 13IMU9) is a great dual OLED touch screen OLED laptop for entertainment, productivity and light content creation. With a unique design that is practical and sleek, this is a great laptop opens different possibilities you can’t get from traditional work laptops.

8.0/10

PROS	CONS
✅Dual Screen Design ✅2.8K OLED Touch Displays ✅Pre-bundled Accessories ✅Great Audio ✅Sleek, near premium and light design ✅Great performance for most general tasks	❌7 Hour battery life ❌Apps open under the keyboard ❌Pricing ❌Unusual form factor might not be for everyone ❌Minimal port options

Specifications

The Yoga Book 9i (2024) comes with a Core Ultra CPU, up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage space. Base model have 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

LENOVO YOGA BOOK 9i (2024)	As tested
Processor (clock)	Intel Core Ultra 7 155U Processor (E-cores up to 3.80 GHz P-cores up to 4.80 GHz)
GPU	Integrated Graphics
Display	2x 13.3″ 2.8K (2880 x 1800), OLED, Glare, Touch, HDR 500, 100%DCI-P3, 400 nits, 60Hz, Narrow Bezel, Glass
Memory	32GB LPDDR5X-7467MHz (Soldered)
Storage	1TB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 TLC
Networking	Wi-Fi 6E 2×2 AX & Bluetooth® 5.1 or above
Ports	3x USB C/Thunderbolt 4
Battery	4 Cell Li-Polymer 80Wh with up to 7 hours of battery 65W Type-C power adapter
Dimensions	299.1mm x 203.6mm x 15.95mm 1.34kg
Miscellaneous	5MP RGB+IR with Dual Array Microphone Quad 2W speakers, Dolby Atmos

Design and Build Quality

The Yoga Book 9i (2024) comes in a beautiful “Tidal Teal” using a rounded all aluminium sturdy chassis. Paired with a remarkably study 360 degree hinge and speaker system, this laptop just feels premium.

It is also this hinge that allows the Yoga Book 9i (2024) to shows off the stunning dual OLED 2.8k Touch Displays in multiple configurations to suit your needs.

With the purchase of Yoga Book 9i (2024), the laptop comes pre-bundled with a bunch of essential accessories. In the box, you will find a mouse, magnetic keyboard, stylus pen, and folio case/stand that shares the same colour, aesthetic and build quality as the laptop. The magnetic keyboard snap on to the bottom screen and can be used on the top or bottom part for different effects. One allows the use of a digital touchpad, another gives you a mini display.

The keyboard is designed to be stored in the folio case which also comes with a pen loop for the stylus pen. This makes for carrying around the extras a bit easier and less bulky overall. The only main concern at the moment is the availability of spare keyboards and folio stand which are pretty integral to the Yoga Book 9i (2024) and how it is used. Purchasing extras or replacements may be difficult as they not available on the Lenovo’s retail website.

One big letdown for build quality is a small plastic power button that has seemingly recessed into the frame. The power button felt mushy with no spring back or tactility and was difficult to press. This, however, could just be an issue with our specific review unit.

Performance

Sporting an Intel Ultra7 155U processor with integrated graphics, the Yoga Book 9i (2024) is more than powerful enough for any general productivity, entertainment, presentations, and light content creation uses. So, for any multitaskers and split screen power users, you will enjoy the productivity boost this laptop can provide.

The only big issue we can see overall is the lack of battery life in our benchmark testing. We were only able to achieved four and a half hours for watching movies via a streaming platform.

Daily Usage

The Yoga Book 9i (2024) checks many boxes as a daily laptop but with some caveats. From a hardware perspective, the laptop is more than powerful enough for general productivity or entertainment use. I would go as far as saying it excels for watching movies in particular. This is due in part to the Dolby Atmos speaker in the hinge. Hands down one of the best speakers in laptops we have heard for its form factor.

Coming to the obvious highlight of the Yoga Book 9i (2024), the dual screens for working. As someone who is used to working with two or more screens at a time, this laptop is a game changer. No longer does one have to lug a second screen around or faff about setting it up. The only caveat is that you now need to bring a keyboard, mouse, and stand which is luckily quite slim. The peripherals overall will add roughly 0.5kg to carry weight. The laptop alone is 1.3kg.

I will say that I was skeptical at first about the stand holding up the two screens. Luckily I was proven wrong. The stand is both easy and fast to setup and securely holds the Yoga Book 9i. Even with its higher center of gravity in top and bottom folio mode it never felt like it will fall.

One interesting use case was using the Yoga Book 9i (2024) as a form of a portable Dungeon Master (DM) screen for Dungeons & Dragons (DnD). Having one screen for referencing monsters and the other for note taking proved to be invaluable. This is an obvious use case for the Yoga Book 9i, but the tent mode proved even more useful.

Tent mode allowed DM able to show images of monsters and settings to the players or show initiative orders to the players while the DM notes from the players. This allow us to save space on the table while provide information that the people at the table need.

Now to the issues which plagued us during our time with the Lenovo Yoga 9i (2024). The software that is supposed to help you use the computers two screens together needs improvement. The UI has glitched from time to time were the digital keyboard or touchpad starts to become unresponsive or loses it backgrounds.

There is also the issue of apps launching underneath the digital or mechanical keyboard in clamshell normal laptop mode.

Speaking of the digital keyboard, it basically sucks. It is usable but is uncomfortable to use long term and not the most responsive. It is quite difficult to get use to typing quickly on the digital keyboard, and mostly it is for the best to resort to using the include magnetic keyboard that Lenovo provided.

Another quirk is when windows apps are seeking permissions, the digital touchpad will disappear.

The biggest gripe though would be that the battery life is on the lower side with roughly getting about 5 – 7 hours before needing to recharge in a normal day to day usage.

Final Thoughts

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (2024) is a great buy that we can recommend for those who are always in need of a dual screen laptop on the go for general productivity, entertainment, small presentations, and light content creation. The only thing we can say is that if you are not willing to carry around the extra peripherals and accessories, need something for video editing or heavy tasks, gaming, or on a budget, you might want to look elsewhere.

Computers, Reviews

Dell Latitude 7350 Laptop In-Depth Review: Thoughtful AI Meets Power Efficiency & Productivity

October 28, 2024 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Dell’s Latitude lineup has been one of the foremost laptop lineups when it comes to business and productivity. It has steadily grown from a chunky, business-oriented laptop into a more sleek, refined laptop with productivity features that broaden its appeal beyond just the business market. The Dell Latitude 7350 Laptop builds on this legacy and brings meaningful updates and features to the Latitude lineup. Of course, being a Latitude 7000 series, it’s also pushing the boundaries a little bit with some of the more premium features from Dell’s flagship XPS laptops.

That said, does slim, sleek and light make a difference? Or does the Dell Latitude 7350 laptop rest on Dell’s laurels? We’re giving you the full breakdown with our in-depth review.

Design

The Dell Latitude 7350 gets a lot of its design cues from the Dell XPS. Its slim form factor and overall design hearken back to the design language of the XPS – albeit a little bit more on the thicker side of things. That said, the adapted design language makes the Latitude look and feel more premium. Dell has also opted to make the Latitude 7350 more petite than its competition with some of the slimmest bezels I’ve seen on a laptop. The build of the laptop isn’t flat either, it’s got a slight taper towards the top lip of the laptop lid. The same lip has a discreet, physical shutter for the camera to prevent digital prying eyes.

The design of the laptop allows it to hold all the relevant ports you’d need while keeping the profile slim and relatively seamless. The slight taper also makes the laptop feel more ergonomic when using it on the go. However, the hallmark of the way the laptop is designed is definitely the placement of the keyboard and trackpad – especially the latter since it’s also larger than the competition. It allows you to avoid weird angles when using the touchpad.

Dell’s decision to use magnesium for the body of the Latitude 7350 makes the device feel premium and adds a layer of durability that is very welcomed for a device you’ll be carrying with you on the go. Not to forget, the laptop is super lightweight or as Dell puts it “Ultralight”. It weighs just a hair under 1kg – coming in at a mere 0.99kg. The lightweight is very welcomed when running around as it also means it’s easy to carry around. I also found myself double and triple checking my bag for the laptop cause I’m too used to a heavier weight.

Hardware

The Dell Latitude 7350 is a laptop built for productivity. Its specifications live up to this to the “T”. In fact, the hardware it comes with seems run-of-the-mill, but Dell’s thoughtful AI integration is what sets it apart.

Specifications

DELL LATITUDE 7350 LAPTOP	As tested
Processor (clock)	Intel Core Ultra 5 135U processor vPRO 4.4 GHz Max Turbo 12 Cores ,14 Threads 12 MB cache
GPU	Integrated Intel Graphics,
Display	13.3” IPS FHD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution 16:10 aspect ratio anti-glare screen 250nits brightness
Memory	16GB LPDDR5x 256GB PCIe NVMe Gen 4.0 SSD
Networking and Connections	Intel WiFi 7 2×2 Bluetooth 5.4 2 Thunderbolt 4 & DisplayPort (USB-C) 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 HDMI 2.1 1 MicroSD card reader 1 Audio Combo Jack
Battery	57Wh lithium-polymer battery Up to 8.3 hours of battery life 65W Type-C power adapter
Operating System	Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Miscellaneous	FHD IR camera Backlit Keyboard Stereo Speakers Microphone DisplayPort over USB-C Thunderbolt 4

Features

When it comes to features, the Dell Latitude 7350 hallmark is definitely its weight, but it also comes with another bevvy of features that make it stand out from the crowd. Aside from its magnesium build, Dell has incorporated a multitude of AI-imbued features that leverage the NPU in the Intel Core Ultra processor and also fortify your Dell Latitude 7350 making it more secure and having better performance all with the click of a button.

Thoughtful AI Features Create Secure Work

Like many other Dell laptops, the Latitude 7350 Ultralight is imbued with features that Dell has built in-house. These features leverage Dell’s know-how and the AI capabilities of the processor to bring features that help elevate the user experience and ensure that sensitive data isn’t compromised. Most of these features come with Dell Optimizer which is a piece of software that is available in most of the Dell laptops.

The Dell Optimizer software allows you to optimize the laptop so that it runs at its best. The Dell optimizer helps optimize the system based on your usage behaviour and also optimizes the laptop’s audio so you can get the best out of the laptop. It even monitors the health of your battery ensuring you get the most out of it and optimises battery usage according to your usage.

Aside from that, the best feature in Dell Optimizer has to be the Onlooker detection and Walk Away lock. As the name suggests, Onlooker Detection uses the camera of the Latitude to detect onlookers. When it does, it blurs out the screen preventing prying eyes from reading what’s on screen. This feature is a real boon especially when you’re working in places like cafes or even in public spaces like hospital waiting rooms. It’s so sensitive that even when it comes to showing someone the screen you need to make sure it’s not over your shoulder cause it will blur the screen. I loved it when I was doing work in a public forum in a hotel. However, the same feature can be a little bit unnerving when it says you have an onlooker when you’re alone in a hotel room. Walk Away Lock does exactly that, it locks your computer when you walk away from it preventing anyone from accessing your work and data. It’s also almost instantaneous taking less than 10 seconds to lock Windows as I walked away from the PC.

Collaboration TouchPad & Keyboard

Dell introduced the Collaboration Touchpad with the Latitude 9330 back in 2022. The touchpad has become something of a standard on Dell laptops now; the Dell Latitude 7350 is following suit. The Collaboration TouchPad brings the most used functionalities in commonly used collaborative applications like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack particularly when it comes to video calls. The Collaboration TouchPad gives you buttons for turning on your webcam, sharing your screen, viewing the chat and muting your microphone which comes in handy when using apps like Zoom. The Collaborative Touchpad gives you a visual indication of whether you’re muted as well – a very welcomed feature that helps prevent awkward situations.

Aside from that, the touchpad itself is larger than normal laptops. This comes in really handy when you’re working on the go. You’ll be able to use the touchpad without straining your wrist too much. This came in especially useful when using the laptop in an aeroplane and even on the train during a commute. The added touchpad real estate meant easier manoeuvring even in tight spaces.

The keyboard on the Dell Latitude 7350 is also one of its best features. It has a really nice feel when using it. There’s just enough travel so that using it doesn’t feel mushy and it’s got less feedback making it significantly more comfortable to use over prolonged periods. The keys are also wide enough that my fat, pudgy fingers don’t end up pressing more than one key at a time. It’s also worth noting that the speaker grills on either side also made it more comfortable as my fingers weren’t hanging off the sides and resting on the grills.

Performance

When it comes to performance, the Dell Latitude isn’t a slouch. It performs relatively well all things considered. It could handle day-to-day tasks without batting an eye. Simple word processing and small Excel sheets were a breeze. Even larger Excel sheets and heavier PowerPoint presentations were handled really well. That said, the performance of the laptop did take a little bit of a dip when it came to handling Google Chrome with about 8 tabs open. This was exacerbated by using programs like Rambox.

The performance of the laptop was really strained when it came to doing creative work. Light photo editing and simple visual design were still manageable but when it came to doing heavier tasks like video editing, the laptop would struggle especially with apps like Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve. Lighter apps like CapCut didn’t have as hard a time as Adobe and DaVinci but still, it’s a little bit of a task for the laptop.

Of course, being a gamer, I had to use a laptop for the task. It could handle simple older games like Final Fantasy VIII (not remastered), Torchlight and Bastion. I’ll give this a slight caveat just to say that when I say it can handle the game, this doesn’t mean the settings are maxed out. Most of them are in middling or lower settings. It should be abundantly clear that newer games like Diablo III, Baldur’s Gate 3 and the like were an uphill climb for the laptop. Newer games struggle even on the lowest settings. This is clearly a limitation of the Intel Integrated graphics that come with the Core Ultra processor.

Display

It’s a pity though that the Integrated Graphics of the processor is a bottleneck for gaming because the display on the Dell Latitude 7350 is one of the best when it comes to colour reproduction and clarity. The FHD+ resolution seemed to be just high enough for the laptop’s 13.3-inch display. However, it wouldn’t have hurt to have a little bit more resolution – although there would be a point of diminishing returns with the small display.

That said, the display allowed me to do colour grading, video editing, and other graphically intensive work smoothly and accurately. It also shines when it comes to consuming content. The colour depth and colour reproduction allow you to see details in the blacks and darker regions of the content in your videos making it more immersive. This is also complemented by the laptop’s surprisingly good speakers that are able to provide immersive sound with a wide sound stage.

A Laptop for Productivity On-The-Go With Meaningful AI Additions Held Back By a subpar Graphics Processor

All in all, the Dell Latitude 7350 is nearly the perfect productivity package held back by Intel’s Integrated Graphics. We’re not saying this to nitpick. The mere fact that the laptop struggles with games that are over a decade old should indicate that there is a lot of work to be done when it comes to integrated graphics cores. That aside, the Dell Latitude 7350 is built for the rigours of productivity on the go with the integration of thoughtful AI features that allow you to ensure your data is secure even when you’re out and about. The ergonomics of the keyboard and also the build quality of the laptop are small touches that make all the difference when it comes to design and functionality. The display and speakers also make the laptop perfect if you need to unwind. It’s truly a near-perfect package with one big caveat especially if you’re working with graphics and extremely large data sets.

Android, Mobile, Reviews, Writer's Choice

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 In-Depth Review: Fashionable Never Looked So Smart

August 23, 2024 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

As Foldable smartphones become more mainstream, we see brands push to stand out from the crowd with everything but the kitchen sink. Large cover displays, even larger cover displays, interactive cover screens, and even fully interactive home screens built for flip phones. Each one seems to be “better” than the rest.

So how’s Samsung looking to separate itself from the pack? Well, it seems like this year, it’s all about Galaxy AI. Samsung’s approach to integrating generative AI experiences is what stands out, but is that enough to justify the increased price point? We’re looking to answer that with our in-depth review of the Galaxy Z Flip6.

Design

Samsung’s latest approach to flip phones isn’t turning its tried and true form factor on its head in any way. In fact, the company is doubling down on the design cues it introduced with the Z Flip5 and is using them to bring even more software features that make the experience more refined. Let’s start off with the cover screen – the surface we’re sure you’ll be interacting with the most. It’s the same design as last year’s Flip5, with the same folder-esque design that allows a sneak peek into your smartphone. However, Samsung has brought some, more thoughtful experiences to the cover screen allowing you to access more with one screen and reduce swiping between panels. We’ll cover this more extensively in the software portion of the review.

The biggest difference you may notice from the get-go is the slimmer form factor of the Galaxy Flip6. While there’s no change in the actual measurements, Samsung’s new design approach has definitely given the appearance of the phone itself being slimmer and easier to manoeuvre in one hand. There’s more traction when you grip the phone and it feels – somehow – more ergonomic. This is largely due to the more angular design of the phone overall; something we saw even with the Galaxy S24 series earlier this year.

That said, the best improvement comes in the improvements that come with the hinge. While outwardly there doesn’t seem to be much in terms of visual updates. Samsung has updated the hinge mechanism to be more efficient and have a simpler design. This has translated into a phone that is a lot lighter than its predecessor. Not only that, the crease which has become the one pain point in any foldable smartphone is less apparent even after prolonged use over 2-3 weeks. While it is visible at some angles, there is less of a palpable dip where the crease is.

Lastly, when it comes to design, I, personally am in love with the new colour offerings from Samsung. The new more muted pastel colours are definitely more aesthetic and fitting for the Flip line which has become Samsung’s “express yourself” foldable. My personal favourite at the time of writing is the Blue and Mint. However, the crafted black is a close second to these. The introduction of the more masculine “Crafted Black” is also a plus for the Z Flip6.

Hardware

Samsung isn’t just showing some change in the design aesthetics of the Z Flip6, it’s also bringing some much-needed updates to the Flip’s hardware giving it more versatility and power under the hood. These improvements don’t necessarily revolutionize the user experience much, but some of them do impact the features and the user experience.

Specifications

Processor	Qualcomm SM8650-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm) Octa-Core @ 1×3.39GHz Cortex-X4, 3×3.1GHz Cortex-A720, 2×2.9GHz Cortex-A720 & 2×2.2GHz Cotex-A520
RAM	12GB (As Tested)
Memory	256GB 512GB (As Tested)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)	Adreno 750 (1GHz)
Main Display	Foldable Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel 6.7-inch (~426 PPI) 2600 nits (peak) FHD+ resolution (1080×2640 pixels) 22:9 Aspect Ratio 120Hz Refresh rate HDR10+
Cover Display	Super AMOLED panel 3.4-inches (~306ppi) 720×748 pixels resolution Gorilla Glass Victus 2 60Hz
Operating System	Android 14 with One UI 6.1.1
Battery	Non-Removable 4,0000mAh Fast Charging (25W) Fast Wireless Charging (15W) Reverse Wireless Charging (4.5W)
Connectivity	Nano SIM 5G/4G LTE/EVDO/HSPA/CDMA/GSM Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e(ax) GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS A2DP Bluetooth 5.3 OTG Support USB 3.2 Type-C
Camera	REAR: Dual Sensor: 50-megapixel (f/1.8, 23mm (wide angle), 1.0µm Dual Pixel Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) 12-Megapixel (f/2.2,123˚ (ultrawide), 1.12µm) HDR10+ LED Flash 4K Video recording (30/60fps) 1080p Video recording (60/120/240fps) 720p Video recording (960fps) FRONT: 10-Megapixel (f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1.22µm) 4K video recording (30/60fps)
Sensor	Accelerometer Proximity Fingerprint (side-mounted) Gyroscope Compass Barometer Samsung Pay
Miscellaneous	Single SIM/eSIM
Retail Price (Malaysia)	MYR 4,999 (256GB) MYR 5,599 (512GB)
Retail Price (US)	USD$ 1099.99 (256GB) USD$ 1,219.99 (512GB)

User Interface

Samsung’s One UI interface has unified the user experience across devices – more or less. The near-homogenous experience is not a bad thing as users coming from a standard smartphone have less of a hurdle adapting to the new smartphone. However, the unified UI appearance also hides the many improvements that Samsung has made on a software level when it comes to One UI.

Let’s start off with the accessibility upgrades that come with One UI 6.1.1 – this also applies to Samsung flagships like the S24 series. The notification shade of One UI 6.1.1 is more useful. The screen brightness slider is also equipped with quick toggles for dark mode and eye comfort when you open the full notification shade. On top of that, Samsung has updated the design to be cleaner and less cluttered overall. The quick toggles are stored within their own space. This has been made a little further from surrounding items and in a different shade for better visual separation. It also makes sure you know exactly how many quick toggles you have and allows you sort it the way you like it.

Aside from this, Samsung has been hard at work improving foldable device experiences when it comes to its UX. This started with Samsung’s version of Android 12L which optimised Android itself for better large screen experiences. With the Flip6, Samsung perfects these optimisations even more with new modes and ways to use the smartphone.

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Of course, like all Flip devices in the past, you’re able to use the smartphone semi-folded with the lower screen becoming a touchpad in FlexMode. However, Samsung has made this feature even more useful when it comes to the camera app. For people like me who have shaky hands, you’ll be able to have a little better control with a more camcorder-like interface when you have the Flip6 semi-open. This will hopefully give you more stability but it also gives you easier access to all your camera settings easily when shooting.

In addition to this, One UI on the cover screen comes with a whole slew of new optimizations that allow you to make the Z Flip6 truly yours. The extensive customizability starts with the screen saver where you’ll be able to choose from a vast selection of wallpapers and set it up the way you want it. This also plays into Samsung’s Flipsuit cases which bring a new level of interactivity when it comes to personalization. That said, the biggest change is the useful addition of multiple widgets into one screen – something we’ll go into further detail in the multitasking section.

Performance

The performance of Samsung’s Flip series is now truly on par with Samsung’s other flagships in all aspects aside from the camera. This also includes the introduction of features that extend the user experience and tweaks that make the smartphone more efficient when it comes to battery life while squeezing every ounce of performance from the hardware.

Multitasking & Productivity

Multitasking and productivity have become a mainstay in any version of One UI. However, there haven’t been many features that have made the Flip a multitasking device until now – this is particularly true when it comes to the improvements on the cover display.

The interface on the cover display comes with a new mode which allows you to set up multiple widgets on a single tile. This has been one of the most impactful features of the Flip6. You’ll be able to set up to four compatible widgets on a cover screen tile. This allows you to get all of the information you need from things like Samsung Health at one go or set up a screen with quick widgets to use apps like recorder. This came in clutch for me on multiple occasions when I was doing interviews – it made things quick and efficient, to say the least.

In addition to this, the Galaxy Z Flip6 comes with the usual split-screen features that we’re used to seeing in any smartphone. This allows you to use two apps simultaneously when needed. Need more? The popup window will allow you one additional window. That said, these run-of-the-mill productivity features are just par for the course of any smartphone at this point.

Call Quality & Connectivity

The Flip6 has crisp call quality and a bevvy of connectivity options including 5G as we would expect from an industry leader like Samsung. The Z Flip6 that we got for review isn’t the usual one for the Malaysian market with dual SIM capabilities. However, you could use the eSIM capabilities of the smartphone to get the same result.

Being a flagship device, it comes as no surprise that the Z Flip6 comes with all the bells and whistles that you’d expect when it comes to connectivity. As mentioned, it comes with 5G support which gives you access to blazing fast speeds where available. In addition to this, you have WiFi 6e support (yes, tech enthusiasts it only has WiFi 6e and not WiFi 7; maybe next year?). This should give you enough speed over WiFi to download apps in the blink of an eye – aside from games, those may take several blinks. It also comes with Bluetooth 5.3 and LE support which is audio devices.

Speaking of audio devices, Bluetooth performance on the Flip6 is pretty good. You can high fidelity audio thanks to AptX and it translates when you use a good set of headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM5 and HiFi audio streaming apps like TIDAL. There are hardly any signal drops or packet losses and the audio stream is still stable across 1 or 2 rooms.

Gaming

Gaming on the Galaxy Z Flip6 is a mixed bag. Don’t get me wrong – the phone performs well – but my focus on making sure I don’t do irreversible damage to it detracts from the gaming experience.

Let’s be straight – there’s no two ways about it. The Flip6 has the insides to perform swimmingly when it comes to games. I mean, I did test it with games like Solo Levelling and Diablo Immortal. These games played well with literally no problems when it came to rendering and fluidity. That said, it did get a bit warm which is to be expected. Even on high-speed games like Need For Speed and Asphalt 8 there was little to no visual aberrations. In fact, on racing games, the phone felt cooler which is to be expected as games like Solo Levelling and Diablo Immortal have many items on the screen at once.

However, the gaming experience for me is affected by my own concerns about the hinge and damaging it. While the hinge is markedly improved from the Flip5, I still can’t get the feeling that if I’m a little too rough with the phone it will affect the hinge – especially since I’m holding it horizontally where it’s most vulnerable. It’s also worth noting that this isn’t a concern exclusively with Z Flip6, as long as the hinge is vulnerable – it’s a concern. Ironically, the same hinge on the Fold6 doesn’t feel as vulnerable when you’re gaming on it. To be fair, this is not something that I would hold against the Flip6.

Battery Life

Battery life is where I would say the biggest improvements come for the Flip6 hardware. It’s gotten a small bump to 5,000mAh but this has translated to pretty significant improvements when it comes to user experience. In synthetic benchmarks, the battery life improvement was only about an hour or 2 at most which is insignificant.

However, when I was using the phone daily this translated to me needing to charge the phone every 1 and a half days. That’s right – 1.5 days – and I’m not talking about working hours. I literally charged the phone every other day. This was with me synching 7 email accounts excluding Gmail and using Instagram and other social media apps continually.

This is huge for people who work on the go as it also means you’re not screwed if you forget to charge your phone. What’s more with quick charging on the smartphone, it is easy to get 10-20% when commuting if you need the top-up.

Galaxy AI

I had to carve out a special section for Galaxy AI in this review simply because that seems to be the push that’s becoming mainstream. We all know Galaxy AI by now with the Galaxy S24 series pushing it and also the emphasis Samsung has placed on it in its promotional items. So, I thought it’d be best to see how these features affected my day to day with the Flip6.

The biggest Galaxy AI feature that I found myself using is the Object Eraser tool. I used this to remove a lot of unwanted items from my pictures to varying degrees of success. This was a welcomed tool when you have to get images for clients or even if something ruined your perfect shot for Social media. That said, other image tools like Sketch to image and even Portrait Studio are welcomed features but I didn’t find myself using them on a daily basis. They’re definitely fun but I didn’t find myself using them too often.

Samsung’s Galaxy AI also has a transcribe feature that came in handy. I found myself using it a lot to transcribe interview recordings. However, Galaxy AI was very hit or miss with the Malaysian accent. Hopefully, this improves with time. That said, Galaxy AI’s other translation features definitely came in handy. Things like live translate will definitely see a lot of use if you deal with people overseas a lot. I only found myself using it to translate WhatsApp chats with my friends from overseas to get my message across more easily in their languages.

Aside from that, Galaxy AI didn’t’ really impact my day-to-day use of the phone. However, that seems to be the place where Generative AI is when it comes to daily interactions and usage now. We’re still in the early days and I expect that these features will become more useful as we progress.

Display

The display of the Galaxy Z Flip6 is one we’re used to seeing in Samsung flagships – a flexible Dynamic AMOLED 2X. The Flip6 comes with an FHD+ resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate. The display itself is a lot more robust and capable of vivid colours and deep blacks. However, like other AMOLED panels, the panel tends to oversaturate some colours like reds and oranges when pumped up to vivid settings. However, in its natural tone mode, it feels a little washed out. These are, however, issues that can be addressed through software updates later on. Samsung’s inclusion of a 120Hz refresh rate is also a plus which brings buttery smooth and fluid animations and a little bit of an edge when it comes to games like PUBG Mobile.

The only thing that takes some getting used to when it comes to the display on the Flip5 is the aspect ratio. With most phones coming with a 16:9 aspect ratio, the 22:9 aspect ratio will seem a little weird at first. You will notice black bars on videos that you usually wouldn’t have any. However, these issues will take a backseat as you continue to use the device.

The FlexWindow or Cover display is the hallmark of this smartphone. The Super AMOLED panel in the FlexWindow does its job pretty well. It delivers high-quality images with good colour reproduction. You wont even realise that it only has a 60Hz refresh rate. However, I don’t think Samsung was prepared for users like me who end up using this display more than the main display. But for all the functions that are possible on the screen, it excels at delivering a near-perfect experience.

Cameras

The Galaxy Z Flip6 continues to come with a dual sensor setup when it comes to its main cameras. However, this year, the Flip6 comes with a larger 50-megapixel main sensor. This is a huge improvement when it comes to the number of megapixels in the main sensor, however, the impact isn’t as apparent when it comes to actual pictures. The main sensor is complemented with a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor that brings some versatility when it comes to shooting with the smartphone.

That said, the Galaxy Z Flip6’s overall performance when it comes to the camera isn’t bad by any means. It just falls short of what we expect from Samsung after seeing its prowess with the Galaxy S24 series. Where the Z Fold6 seems to be elevated to parity with the S24, the Flip6 is relegated to an awkward space that falls in between a Galaxy A series smartphone and Samsung’s flagships.

Let me break this down a little bit, the Galaxy Z Flip6 takes good, detailed pictures with one big caveat it needs to have the right lighting conditions. It struggles when it comes to less than ideal situations but it doesn’t fall flat. Take for instance one of the pictures in the carousel below – it was taken against a spotlight in the setup of the area we were in and the details are washed out. This was the same in low lighting. Mind you, this was taken with the front camera setup a 50MP + 12MP setup. That said, I can’t come down too hard on the Flip6 for this as it can be addressed with software updates.

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However, aside from that, the main camera setup performs very well. Even indoors with downlights, the camera was able to produce good, detailed pictures. It helps that the algorithm in the camera seems to be able to uplift the final product without losing too much detail. The colours of the pictures are also pretty vibrant. The pictures look lively and the colours pop.

The 10-megapixel front-facing camera on the Flip6 was essentially relegated to video calls. While I did end up using it once or twice for selfies, I found myself defaulting to the Cover Screen to get a good, high-quality selfie with the main camera. Samsung’s new autoframe feature adds to this conundrum. I doubt I’m alone when it comes to this. It’s simply more convenient and produces a better picture.

The Galaxy Z Flip6 Gets More Substance with Productivity-focused Features and Galaxy AI but Isn’t Indomitable Yet

The Galaxy Z Flip6 is a great update to the lineup. It brings a lot of meaningful, sought-after improvements. Galaxy AI brings a lot more substance to a phone that was once thought to be very superficial. The same can be said about the updated specifications and supercharged performance optimisations. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting the Flip6 to gain my vote as a productivity device but it certainly has changed my tone after using it. I’ve never disliked the lineup but it never was a consideration for an upgrade. However, with the new trajectory that the Flip6, it’s definitely is becoming a big contender.

However, the Z Flip still falls in that weird in-between space of being a flagship by price but a little less when it comes to performance. I feel like Samsung is a step away from truly making the Z Flip a “wow’ device that we’ve come to crave from the brand. That said, if you’re looking for a fashionable upgrade to your smartphone with a good amount of features – you should consider the Galaxy Z Flip6. It’s also why the Z Flip6 is being awarded a Writer’s Choice Award from techENT.

Consumer Electronics, Lifestyle, Reviews

HISENSE U6K Pro ULED TV In-Depth Review: Cutting Edge Quantum Dot On a Budget

June 10, 2024 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

A cinematic experience has become more important in recent years as more and more people are looking to spend less at theatres. With the ready availability of several streaming services, this has become easier to achieve. However, with other factors becoming easier, the main factor – the television itself – has become even more complex. Consumers are faced with choices ranging the gamut of technology and prices. It wouldn’t be surprising to be utterly lost with the choices. Do you buy something that is cheaper or do you buy something more expensive?

We’re taking a deep dive into one of the more affordable options available in the market – the Hisense U6K PRO ULED TV. It’s a smart TV that brings Google TV into the home opening up doors when it comes to apps. But, is it really worth investing in it? We’re breaking down the experience of owning a Hisense U6K Pro and putting the TV to the test to find out.

Design

The trend nowadays is to have a large, thin, nearly bezel-less TV. One that can blend seamlessly into your living room and appear to be part of the décor. The Hisense U6K Pro checks most of the boxes off when it comes to these criteria. It’s a near bezel-less display and it appears to be thin. It’s also got two available sizes: 55- and 65-inch to fit your home environment.

However, the TV is a bottom heavy. It’s a large screen with a little bit of a thicc bottom. It’s a bit on the heavier side so don’t try to set this up on your own. Being bottom-heavy isn’t all bad, the added weight near the base and the stand gives it a little bit more stability when it comes to putting it on a console. This also means that your toddler or cat isn’t going to be able to topple the TV over as easily. The stand that comes with the U6K Pro adds some more stability thanks to its T-shaped design. This design also means that you’ll need a little more room on your console when you put it there. It’s about 35cm in depth for your console with about 200cm in length to fit the TV comfortably. You also have the added option to mount the U6K Pro on the wall using a VESA mount.

Once you’ve set up the TV in your preferred setup, the U6K Pro looks stunning. Its bezels are hardly noticeable and it feels like the TV itself is a picture upright. The footprint of the TV for a, now standard, 55- or 65-inch TV is actually on the slimmer side of things. Even with the stand, it can easily fit on a standard TV console.

You’ll appreciate some of the thickness of the base when it comes to audio quality. The base holds most of – if not all of – the tech in the Hisense U6K Pro. This also means that it has tweeters that are on the larger side of things for a TV of its price and size. The benefits of this are pretty obvious when you’re watching things like Blood of Zeus on Netflix where the sound design is immersive and plays a crucial role in the storytelling. We’ll go into more detail when we go into the sound section of the review.

Overall, the design of the TV is pretty standard flair. However, Hisense has made some changes that make setting up the TV less of an issue. It also brings some added benefits thanks to the technology that Hisense is able to fit in with the design.

Features

Specifications

Size(s)	55-inch 65-inch
Resolution	Ultra HD (3840×2160 pixels)
Smart TV OS	Google TV
Input(s)	1x RF-Radio Frequency 1x AV Input 2x USB-A 1x Optical/SPDIF 1x Earphone Jack 3x HDMI 2.0
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.0 WiFi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Ethernet (RJ 45)
Audio System	Stereo speakers
Audio Output	10W
Audio Enhancements	Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos
Misc	Apple AirPlay Miracast Anyview Cast DLNA
Price (RM)	3,999 (55-inch) 4,999 (65-inch)

Google TV

The Hisense U6K Pro features Google TV – the latest iteration of Android TV. This opens up the smart TV’s app offerings significantly. It also means that it comes with a whole bunch of features built-in that simplify things like screen sharing. However, there is a question on what Hisense update policy is when it comes to software. Throughout our time with the TV which was about 3 weeks, we didn’t get any notifications of security updates or OS updates. However, it’s worth noting that, unlike Android on smartphones, Google TV doesn’t have a strict update schedule.

Having the Google Play Store on the TV opens up the U6K Pro to a treasure trove of apps. Even apps that don’t natively come on the TV like Disney+ and Tubi TV can be downloaded from the store which is now a tab called “Shop” in the interface. Speaking of, the Google TV interface has gotten a lot more intuitive since its debut as Android TV. The apps that you interact with most are front and centre. You also have options to highlight “streams” from apps. These “streams” allow you to keep up with releases or shows that you’re watching on apps like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and more.

Hisense implementation of Google TV on the U6K Pro is pretty smooth. The interface has little to no lag when interacting with the remote that came with the TV. The added benefit of running on Google TV is the fact that the TV can play nice with Google Home. This allows you to be able to control the TV from your smartphone through the Google Home app. It also allows you to use the Google Assistant to turn on the TV. That said, you will need to enable certain features like Wake on LAN or Wake on WLAN to fully leverage the feature.

Google TV also brings along with it Chromecast functionality. This will allow you to project to the TV using your smartphone and laptop. It’s pretty straightforward with Android phones but will require you to use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge if you want to cast from your laptop. Apple users will be able to do the same with the TV’s HomeKit compatibility.

Hi-View Engine, AI Picture and Game Mode Plus

The Hisense ULED U6K Pro comes with the company’s own AI-powered chip – the Hi-View Engine. This chip allows the TV to process scenes frame by frame; analysing and optimizing the viewing experience to fit the scene dynamically. This is supposed to ensure that you have the best viewing experience across a wide range of content types. However, in the time we had with the U6K Pro, there were some quirks when it came to how this functioned. It was able to adapt and optimise with movies, series and cinematic content. This delivered a pretty respectable viewing experience with the brights, darks and vignettes of the scenes. The details were clear if not a little muddled by post-processing. That said, when it came to animations and animated content, particularly 2D animated content, the TV defaulted to high contrasts and brightness which resulted in some colours – particularly yellows and reds being overblown. This required a simple fix in changing the display mode to the most comfortable for your viewing.

AI Picture allows it to be able to adapt to the colours and contrast that best suit the scenes. Using this mode actually yielded better results than just relying on the Hi-View Engine processing. This mode was able to get the tuning for animated content pretty quickly and the result was pretty impressive. However, I found myself mostly adjusting the calibration to my own custom settings that I preferred.

Of course, the AI optimisation and modes don’t just end there. The U6K Pro also comes with dedicated modes for Gaming and Sports. Both take full advantage of the 60Hz refresh rate of the panel. Both modes deliver pretty decent performance with some hiccups when it comes to snappy scenes or scenarios. This is mostly due to the lower 60Hz refresh rate that limits the optimisations that can be done – particularly with gaming as most gamers prefer a higher 120Hz for most games. That said, with consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, most games cap out at 60Hz although more modern games are beginning to take advantage of 4K resolution at 120Hz.

ULED Local Dimming & Adaptive Light Sensing

The Hisense U6K Pro is trying to address common issues with the modern TV in modern living spaces. One of which comes as more and more homes are open and allow natural light to come in. This poses a challenge for most TVs, particularly in the U6K Pro’s price range. Mostly, this is caused by glare that occurs due to direct sunlight or even from LED beam lights. Hisense is trying to address this with Adaptive light sensing that automatically turns the TV’s ULED panel to its max 500+ nits peak brightness to combat the glare. This sensor, while becoming increasingly mainstream in newer TVs is still a hit or miss in most TV sets; this includes well-known brands. It’s also worth noting that the finish on the panel while not totally matted also reduces glare. This particular feature was pretty good during our review. There was little glare from our fluorescent lights.

Hisense’s ULED technology is also on display with the U6K Pro. This technology allows the TV to individually dim pixels. This creates deeper blacks and whiter whites when it comes to the picture. This technology paired with the Hi-View Engine and AI picture produced very respectable picture quality in the U6K Pro. That said, some people may be looking for additional HDMI ports particularly if you have cable TV like Unifi TV or ASTRO and multiple consoles as the U6K Pro only comes with 3 HDMI 2.0 ports.

Picture & Sound Quality

The Hisense ULED U6K Pro comes with a 4K UHD resolution. That gives it a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels which is the standard. The ULED panel allows for local dimming resulting in deeper blacks and whiter whites. This, also known as Quantum Dot technology, allows the panel to individually turn off pixels that create deeper blacks. It’s also able to accurately reproduce colours and provide a viewing experience that is close to the content creator’s vision. With HDR10+ Adaptive it’s also able to highlight details and reproduce low-light scenes with detail.

While the Hisense panel did perform well when it came to colour reproduction and depth, the TV did have some issues when it came to picture quality. The panel itself produced some visual blooming particularly when it came to the edges of the panel. This was particularly obvious in low-light scenes or even when displaying a clear white scene. While it didn’t take too much away from the visual immersion, it can be distracting. It is common to see this blooming in LED-based technologies and more so in LCD panels. However, it would improve the picture quality if this could be reduced or done away with altogether. Aside from this, the colour reproduction of the panel was pretty spot on. It didn’t blow out or overcompensate for contrast and brightness. Overall, the picture quality of the Hisense U6K Pro ULED TV is not too bad.

The sound performance of the Hisense ULED U6K Pro was acceptable. It was able to produce sufficiently deep bases and high highs. However, the 10W stereo speakers did struggle when pushed to the max. That said, there shouldn’t be a situation where you’re maxing out your TV speakers as they were able to produce very immersive ambient sounds and even lift the dialogue audio when needed. During our review period, we rarely went beyond 25 for volume. Overall, the sound was pretty acceptable although, if you have the budget for it, a sound bar would take your audio experience to the next level.

A well Rounded Experience with Some Room for Improvement

The Hisense ULED U6K Pro TV is one of the more affordable when it comes to smart TVs running Google TV. It’s feature-rich with a robust app ecosystem which is well supported by 3rd party developers. It’s well-rounded with good picture quality, acceptable sound quality and some of the best technologies available in the market at the moment. However, it does have a few areas where it can improve.

That said, with prices starting at RM2,999, the Hisense ULED U6K Pro is one of the most affordable on the market. Aside from a few small hiccups, it’s built from durable materials. It’s also got sufficient ports for the everyday user although more wouldn’t hurt. It’s an affordable option for those looking to start off on the right foot when it comes to their entertainment setup.

Consumer Electronics, Reviews

HP Smart Tank 580 All-In-One Review

March 20, 2024 Jeremy Say Leave a comment

8/10

HP Smart Tank 580

While many are going paperless for a lot of things, it is still extremely convenient and useful to have a printer and scanner on hand. The HP Smart Tank 580 is one such All In One (AIO) that is easy to recommend as a purchase for the home office, home users, and students. With its ink tank system, refills are cheaper and much more economical compared to toner and cartridges. Adding the ability to connect to Wi-Fi and an easy setup, this is a great printer for your basic needs.

Pros

Low cost-per-print
No fuss ink refilling
Produces good detailed photos
Produces good quality black-and-white documents
Decent connectivity options
Easy to install
Easy to use app

Cons

Only supports manual duplex printing
No adjustable expendable scanner flatbed hinge
Lack of ethernet connectivity
Small access for maintenance

Specs

A4 Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer
Low cost-per-page at just 0.004 cent (color) & 0.004 cent (black)
Ink Tank system
Print, Scan, Copy and Mobile Fax
Print speed up to 12 ppm (black) and 5 ppm (color)
USB, Wi-Fi
Apple AirPrint™, Bluetooth, Google Cloud Print™, HP ePrint, Mopria™, Print Anywhere, USB, Wireless (Wi-Fi®)
Up to 6000 color or 6,000 black pages included
HP Thermal Inkjet
Max Input 100 sheets
Duty Cycle (Monthly, A4) Up to 3,000 pages
Recommended Monthly Page Volume 400 to 800
Dimensions Without Stand (W X D X H) 434.66 x 361.53 x 157.26 mm
Maximum Dimensions (W X D X H) 434.66 x 580.65x 259.37 mm
Minimum Dimensions (W X D X H) 17.11 x 14.23 x 6.19 in
Dimensions With Trays Up (W X D X H) 434.66 x 361.53 x 157.26 mm
Weight 5.03 KG

What’s in the Box

#techenttv unboxes the #HP #SmartTank580 All In One Printer

Design

The HP Smart Tank 580 is a reasonably well built machine that has a sturdy body and looks clean. Coming in at (WxDxH) 43.4 x 58.0 x 25.9 cm when fully unpacked, this AIO printer can take up a sizable space on your desk. So there might be some planning involved with many components that unfold or expand.

Also, it is a shame that the printer’s output swinging tray seems fragile and easy to break in an otherwise well build printer.

The display and menu buttons are the Smart Tank 580 is on the small side and doesn’t give much information. The HP Smart app is the easiest and main way to interact with the printer for maintenance.

The transparent housing of each ink tank reservoir on the front ensures easy, quick monitoring for when you need to get refills. It also comes with an integrated ink sensor to warn you as well if you forget to look.

Maintenance and Consumables

Like most inkjets printers, there is some fair amount of maintenance for these printers. Printheads can clog and you may need to run printhead cleaning or an ink purge to get it print well again. Nothing really new on that front, just standard issues you would have with any inkjet printer.

The tanks are quite a good size on the HP Smart Tank 580 and you shouldn’t be having to refill them often. You are looking at up to 6,000 colour or black and white documents per refill.

Even when you have to refill, it is super easy and cheap with their ink refill bottles. Also, is essentially mess free with their spill-free refill experience.

The same, however, can’t be said for the printer heads. With only one small access to the printer’s guts, anyone with big hands or short fingers may have trouble installing/maintaining/replacing the printer heads or fixing paper jams. This is where having the scanner bed being able to lift would have been a great feature to have for easier maintenance.

Print heads should be about RM40 to replace and ink bottles would be RM34 for the black and RM31 per colour.

Scanner

The HP Smart Tank 580 comes with a basic flatbed scanner that can scan 8.5 x 11 inches and A4 size. It has no adjustable flatbed hinge and no Automatic Document Feeder (ADF). So if you want to scan a book or multi page documents, you will struggle with the process. Otherwise, it works well for what it is and will allow you to make copies and scans relatively easily. Also, the copy ID card function is also quite nice to have.

Mobile App & Connectivity

HP has one of the most comprehensive and easy-to-use apps to control and send prints to the printer. This is also how you will be troubleshooting and maintenance the HP Smart Tank 580.

This printer is easy to connect to your Wi-Fi network allowing easy of printing and scanning. Any devices that are connected by Wi-Fi will be able to easily access the printer. Sadly, there are no ethernet capabilities and may have trouble if more than 3 people try using the printer at the same time. There is also an ability to connect via USB as well.

Printing

Printing black and white documents, the printer performs well and at a good speed of about 12 pages per minute (PPM). The colour printing, however, is on the slower side, especially for any large images. You are looking at an average of 4-5 PPM for mixed image and text documents. For those full A4 size coloured prints, it will take almost a minute to print. This is pretty standard for more budget friendly printers and is still a good speed for daily use on the small scale.

The print qualities overall are quite good and detailed, but we notice some small loss of colour variability. This will make some images feel ever so slightly muted as shown on the top print vs the bottom. Though if not comparing anything side by side, the prints are of good quality and are great for the price.

Now, for making multiple copies of the same document, the buttons could be a bit fiddly to get the number you want. The user needs to keep pressing the copy button or hold until you get to your desired number and let go.

Also, the printer is relatively quiet, but will shake a less than sturdy table. So make sure the table is heavy and sturdy enough to compensate for the printhead moving back and forth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the HP Smart Tank 580 is a solid choice for home offices or budget-minded users. The print quality is good for everyday tasks, and the large ink reservoirs with spill-free refills keep printing costs down and easy. However, those who need a machine for heavy-duty photo printing or frequent multi-page document scanning might be better served looking elsewhere. Consider the trade-offs between affordability, ease of use, and features before deciding if the HP Smart Tank 580 is the right fit for you.

Computers, Reviews, Writer's Choice

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U Review

February 23, 2024 Jeremy Say Leave a comment

8.5/10

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U (EY0027AU_01)

Pros

• Wonderful OLED Screen

• All metal chassis

• Light and Thin

• 1440p IR webcam with built in privacy shutter

• Affordable and great value buy when on sale

• Great general performance

Cons

• Speaker Design

• No Thunderbolt 4 support

• No SD or microSD card slot

• RAM is not upgradeable

The HP Pavilion Plus 14 (2023) AMD 7840U is a noteworthy mid-range laptop with integrated 780M graphics. The laptop includes a gorgeous 14” OLED 2.8k 120hz HDR display. This means watching the latest shows, movies, and anime is a blast.

A light and thin laptop, portability is quite good and should last you most of the day. With a 68Wh battery pack paired with an efficient Ryzen 7 U-series chip, expect 6-8 hours of mixed usage.

Great for general work (typing and browsing), photo editing, casual video editing, light to moderate gaming, traveling, and watching videos, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U doesn’t breaking the bank. Perfect for those who move about a lot for work and students, especially when on sale.

HP Pavilion Plus 14 Laptop PC Trio Hero 1

Comes in multiples colours: EY0027AU moonlight blue, EY0028AU tranquil pink, and EY0029AU natural silver

Specifications of Reviewed Unit

Price at time of review	RM3,699 (Lazada Techmall)
CPU	3.3GHz AMD Ryzen 7 7840U (8 cores)
Graphics	AMD Radeon 780M
Screen	14 inch 16:10 2880 x 1800 pixel OLED HDR 120Hz
Memory	16GB LPDDR5 6400 Mhz (onboard)
Storage	512GB SSD
Network	Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3
Inputs/Connectivity	2 USB Type-C 10Gbps signaling rate (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge); 1 USB Type-A 10Gbps signaling rate; 1 USB Type-A 5Gbps signaling rate; 1 headphone/microphone combo; 1 HDMI 2.1
Operating System	Windows 11
Battery	68Wh cell with 65W Type-C power adapter
Dimensions	31.39 x 22.71 x 1.75 cm (front) – 1.88 cm (hinge back) / 12.36 x 8.94 x 0.69 in (front) – 0.74 in (hinge back)
Weight	1.4 kg (3.09lbs)

General Usage

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U 65w power adaptor type-C

Coming in at 1.4kg and under 2cm thickness, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U, is a good thin and light laptop that fits the ultraportable category of laptops. The included 65W power adapter is relatively small and lightweight and is easy to carry. Though it should be noted that you could get away from leaving the power adaptor at home. Easily you should be getting a good 6-8 hours of general continuous usage with simple power management.

One thing to note about battery life, the OLED display is able to handle HDR content and has a refresh rate of 120Hz which can drain the battery when on full brightness of 400 nits. By default HDR doesn’t turn on if on the laptop battery and only turns on when plugged in. With HDR turned on, all screen settings on max, and while streaming hi-res video, battery life was about 5 hours. As for when trying to conserve power, we achieve 10+ hours. We are sure we can push more, but few want an overglorified type writer.

Design & Connectivity

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U right side ports

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U left side ports

Coming to charging the laptop, the laptop has two USB Type-C ports for charging on the right side. Now we believe it would have been nice if HP had design the laptop with a Type-C port on each side. This would have been easier and convenient charging, but it is a relatively small nitpick. Luckily there is support for battery fast charge. This means the laptop can charge 50% in 30 minutes when the laptop is completely shut down. So no tether unless you are doing long gaming or binge watching sessions. Generally it took 2 to 2 and a half hours to charge the laptop fully when in light use.

Coming to the all metal chassis design, it is pleasant and sleek. We do wish there was a slight recess for easier one handed lid opening. The overall build quality is pretty solid, with good hinges. There was noted ability to flex for the screen lid, but nothing drastic or out of the ordinary. Some minor flex on the base of the laptop while using the keyboard. Nothing most would generally notice in daily usage.

The most notable thing about the connectivity is that the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U lacks thunderbolt 4 (40Gbps signaling rate) certification. This is something generally inherent of AMD laptops. The laptop comes with 2 USB Type-C 10Gbp (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge), 1 USB Type-A 10Gbps, 1 USB Type-A 5Gbps, 1 headphone/microphone combo, and 1 HDMI 2.1 port. If thunderbolt 4 is a must, do look at the Intel variants with i7-1355U or i5-1335U from HP.

Work Usage

With the Radeon 780M, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 can handle most general media creation and light editing tasks. It will also edges out the comparable Intel variants of the HP Pavilion Plus 14 models.

As for using the laptop included generously large touchpad and keyboard, we found it pleasant. Sadly there is special features and is pretty basic overall. There is no numpad for number entry but does come with dedicated page up and down buttons. The overall typing experience is nice but a bit basic, it gets the job done without any fuss.

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U Webcam closed

HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U webcam mid way

Another huge plus point that makes the HP Pavilion Plus 14 a great laptop for work is its 5-megapixel 1440p video resolution webcam. It comes an with IR sensor (facial recognition login) and built-in physical privacy shutter. So not only will your web video calls/conferences be a better experience, but you can also ensure no one can see you when you don’t want them to. Additionally there are function keys on the keyboard to mute your microphone and sound. Both have a small led indicator light to easily see if they are on/off.

Multimedia Usage

For consuming media, this laptop does fantastically well with their gorgeous 2.8K 120HZ OLED display with HDR and 400 nits peak brightness. This basically translates to great vibrant colours, deep blacks and a pretty bright screen for your viewing pleasure. Clearly the star feature of this laptop, watching movies and tv shows is a super enjoyable experience. This does of course come at the expense of battery life. At full tilt streaming movies on max settings you should get about 5 hours out of the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U.

The only two real things that might mar your viewing experience are the reflective glossy screen and downward facing speakers. This is one laptop you can’t put on your lap or in bright lights. You will get muffled sounds and reflective glare easily. This is a laptop best used on a hard surface/table indoors.

Sound overall is good for a mid range laptop and has good volume but lacks bass. Another issue is that while using the laptops keyboard we were able to feel the speakers vibrate and dampen if we put any weight onto the laptop bottom chassis.

Gaming

20240213 141807.mp4 snapshot 00.34.882 1

As for gaming, the laptop will allow you to play most casual games and older titles without issues. I mean we don’t expect hardcore gamers to buy this laptop, but for integrated graphics, the Radeon 780M is probably the best at the moment. If you must, you can still play the newer graphically intensive games on the lowest settings at 1080P and get a respectful 20-30 fps.

Overall games like Hades will be a blast to play on the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U with a controller. With the OLED screen the colours really pop and the laptop has no problem playing the game smoothly. While playing Borderlands 3 we also noted that you definitely can’t use your native screen resolution.

As a side note on heat, we notice significant uncomfortable heating on the right side of the laptop keyboard when under high loads. Luckily for most gamers who need to use the laptop, the left side of the keyboard is unaffected. Using the WASD keys shouldn’t be a problem, just that it is still a laptop keyboard.

Benchmarks

*We are currently standardizing our benchmarking process into two parts. We test both in a controlled setting and via our hands-on experience through daily normal usage. For laptops, we use benchmarking software while plugged in and at max performance settings. We are currently using PCMark 10, PCMark 10 Extended, Time Spy, Wild Life Extreme, Cinebench 2024, and Borderlands 3.

In all the controlled testing, the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U shows great performance as a laptop for general productivity, photo editing, video conference calls, and light video editing. With an average score of 6457 in PCMark10 and 5615 in PCMark10 Extended.

Borderlands HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7840U

Now in the gaming department, it is totally understandable that the 780M performance is lacking for a laptop. Though as an integrated graphics processor, its performance is top tier. The 780M is essentially the Ryzen Z1 Extreme found in ROG Ally and Legion Go, gaming handhelds running Windows OS.

Note that the Borderlands 3 benchmarking was run at the laptops native screen resolution of 2.8K

Final Thoughts

Overall the HP Pavilion Plus 14 AMD 7 7840U is a great light and thin laptop that has great overall productivity performance. Not a feature rich or gimmicky laptops, but a solid one that gets the job done well. The great OLED screen add much to the experience of this laptop. A highly recommend laptop to keep an eye on, especially when it goes on sale.

Reviews, Video

[VIDEO] OPPO Reno 11 Pro Review

Video January 15, 2024 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

OPPO’s Reno 11 series has only just been announced globally. The new series comes with two entries: the Reno 11 and the Reno 11 Pro. The latter comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 8200 with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. We’re taking an in-depth look at the new OPPO smartphone and putting it to the test.

It sounds promising on paper with an Octacore processor running the system. However, performance in day to day usage is a whole other story. We’ve put the smartphone to test and summarized it in our video. If you want the full breakdown, you can check out our in-depth review.

Bookmarks:

0:00 – Glam Shots & Intro
0:30 – Design
1:30 – Feature Focus: IR Blaster
1:51 – Display
2:57 – Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 8200
3:05 – Gaming
3:30 – Multitasking on Color OS 14
4:20 – Battery Life
5:58 – Camera
6:29 – Feature Focus: Portrait Photography
7:20 – Feature Focus: Camera Software
8:40 – Feature Focus: Video
9:30 – Closing

Gaming, Reviews

[Game Review] techENT Plays: Baldur’s Gate 3

October 24, 2023 Jeremy K Leave a comment

Is it worth the hype?

Baldur’s Gate 3 – the long-awaited story-focused role-playing game by Larian Studios (the developer behind Divinity Original Sin 1 & 2) is now available on PC and Consoles.

Baldur's Gate 3 Screenshot JeremyK (9) — Screen capture from Baldur’s Gate Gameplay

In a nutshell

Abducted by Mind Flayers and implanted with a tadpole that threatens a painful and terrifying end, you traverse Faerûn, a vast land of magic, fantasy, and different factions in search of answers and a cure before it’s too late. Along the way, you meet a diverse cast of memorable characters with different backgrounds and motivations that join you on your journey. Somewhere along the line, you realize that a great power is growing inside you. It is your choice to embrace the power or resist its temptations on your treacherous adventure to uncover the truth.

Set in an immersive and carefully crafted world, players embark on an exciting adventure with a party of up to 4 characters. The party can consist of companion characters players encounter, Hirelings that can be customized, and, in co-op, other player-created characters. You make choices that dictate the narrative and flow of the world – from dialogue options to saving or killing characters which would impact the world’s factions and all living in it significantly. The game’s turn-based combat with randomized starting order adds a layer of unpredictability and strategy to every fight.

A Dungeons & Dragons Adventure

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a top-down point-and-click high fantasy role-playing game. Goblins, Humans, Elves, Halflings, Angels, Devils, and otherworldly creatures inhibit Faerûn, the magical land the game takes place in. Players can take control of the party members and interact with the world and its inhabitants. Combat is turn-based and the order in which characters go first is randomized. Players would have to tweak their party’s strategies and juggle limited resources, items, and spells to overcome the many challenging fights.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is largely based on the Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition (5e) rulebook. However, Larian Studios has taken some liberties with certain rules to make it more fun and viable in a video game format. While long-time Dungeons & Dragons players would need to figure out and adapt to the changes in the rules (Here’s a link to the wiki), players new to Dungeons & Dragons would benefit from the quality of life changes.

Baldurs Gate 3 Screenshot JeremyK 7 — Screen capture from Baldur’s Gate Gameplay

Baldur’s Gate 3 has successfully replicated the randomness of Dungeons & Dragons when it comes to the rolling of a dice to determine outcomes. This randomness is a major part of the fun and chaos that is Dungeons & Dragons. A master Rogue sneaking through the darkness rolling a 1 out of 20 (the worst outcome)? Oops, they’ve been spotted and have incurred the ire of more than 10 enemies their party was trying to sneak by. On the other hand, your clunky Fighter in full plate armour rolled a natural 20 (the best possible outcome) and remained hidden in the shadows watching your Rogue get pelted by arrows and fast-approaching enemies. The uncertainty and chaos that the roll of the dice brings is what draws players into Dungeons & Dragons and games like this. The failure to land a hit with 80% accuracy or the success of executing a hail mary with only a 30% chance of succeeding lends to the up-and-downs that make these games so addicting. Add that to the epic wins – and hilarious fails – that come with the journey and you’ve got an epic where even the best fighters can miss and the worst plans could be a win.

Freedom of Choice: It’s up to you what you want your adventure to be

While the game has a main story to follow, it’s up to you how you want to get there. As the game allows up to four characters in your party, you could venture through Faerûn with your custom character and 3 companions you’ve met along the way OR you could choose to venture through Faerûn alone. You could also grab a friend and play in a party made up of two custom characters and two companions or grab three friends and go through the story without any companions at all in your party.

The same goes for how you want to tackle the story, dialogue, and combat. Approaching a potential enemy encampment, you could carefully and strategically sneak up and dwindle their numbers before they even know you are there or you could simply opt to burst through the front gates and face all the enemies at once.

In a conversation with a seriously powerful-looking character, you could thread carefully and avoid confrontation and maybe even try to persuade them that you and your party mean no harm. Or you could take a deep breath, yell “AAAAHHHH!” and proceed to swing your great-axe at them. The choice is yours.

Actions matter: Like, really matter

With great freedom of choice, comes great consequences that follow. Baldur’s Gate 3 remembers your actions and choices. They come back to haunt or bless us in various ways – from brief mentions in dialogue, additional dialogue options, to factions that become hostile to us. The inverse is also true. These choices can result in factions going from hostile to neutral or friendly, and can even have game-altering consequences. Everything you do impacts the future of your playthrough.

Baldurs Gate 3 Screenshot JeremyK 1 — Screen capture from Baldur’s Gate Gameplay

This is not exclusive to grand or obviously game-changing choices or actions. Many of us are loot goblins at heart, and one could say that playing a rogue, it would be a shame to not at least attempt to pick-pocket a trader or a rich-looking character – the option to pickpocket is there for a reason after all. However, should you fail, the consequences of being caught may not be as simple as a slap on the wrist, a warning, or a fine. An entire town – that you were hoping would help you with your story, befriend, and trade goods with – could immediately turn hostile to you with no easy way to turn the situation around. If you do not load your save at that point, your story could change drastically as a consequence of your action.

Immersion: A wonderful cast of characters to meet

The world of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its inhabitants have a magical way of fully immersing the player into its universe. The voice acting in this game is top notch and it’s obvious how much love was poured into this game by the amount of voice lines alone – many of which may not be heard by the general populace if they’ve only played one playthrough. From tucked-away areas, side quests, different dialogues, and cutscenes based on choices made, to different reactions and novel dialogue options simply based on the character’s race or class you are controlling when initiating the conversation, there are so many fully voiced lines within the game that contributes to the feeling of fullness and liveliness when traversing Faerûn.

BG3 Shadowheart — Source: Larian Studios

Going from the first cutscenes and into the first dialogues with characters we meet in Baldur’s Gate 3, it was immediately apparent that something was different. The dialogue screens outside of the cutscenes… feel like cutscenes. Unlike regular RPGs, every single character with dialogue screens was all done with mocap. This lends an incredible range of movement and facial expression to the characters you meet in Faerûn. With a large repertoire of expressions: subtle smiles, coy looks, frowns, disgust, shock, anger, worry, disappointment, and sadness – just to name a few – the characters in the game are all incredibly life-like, expressive, and a joy to watch.

Listening to the characters speak, feeling the emotions in the lines, and noticing the subtle and dramatic changes in facial expressions and body posture, all come together to make each and every character we meet feel important and alive. It feels like we are watching a top-tier animated movie instead of playing a video game.

Baldurs Gate 3 Screenshot JeremyK 10 — Screen capture from Baldur’s Gate Gameplay

The magnetic and expressive voice of the narrator of Baldur’s Gate 3 further adds to the immersion of the game and purposefully nudges the player towards appropriate emotions when traversing the narrative of the game. Together, the narrator and wonderful cast of characters draw the player into the story in a wonderfully immersive experience. The only time I’ve felt like I needed to put the game down for a second and take a breather was after a momentous and emotional event with consequences both good and bad – a roller coaster of emotions brought to life through the extraordinary cast of Baldur’s Gate 3.

My Personal Experience with Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 was my first entry into the genre. I saw Baldur’s Gate 3 as a mixture of Dungeons & Dragons storytelling and dice rolling, Skyrim’s world-building and characters, and X-Com’s strategic, turn-based, top-down combat. While I’ve enjoyed Dungeons &Dragons (I’ve played one campaign weekly for 3 months), Skyrim (100+ hours), and X-Com 1 and 2, I was hesitant going into Baldur’s Gate 3 as it felt intimidating considering its scope, mechanics to learn, hefty price tag, and potential time sink.

Baldur's Gate 3 Screenshot JeremyK (3) — Screen capture from Baldur’s Gate Gameplay

70+ hours in, and heading into Act 3, while the start of the game was a bit confusing, after a few lessons learned via dicey situations, “oops, shouldn’t have done that” moments and a few firebolts accidentally thrown at friendly faces (yes, there is friendly fire, and yes you can choose to target your party member with your firebolt spell) – learning Baldur’s Gate 3 was quick, intuitive, and rewarding.

With the fantastic and meticulously crafted world and painstakingly sculpted characters, the gripping story, and incredibly engaging and challenging combat, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the most fun I’ve had with a video game in a long time. The 70+ hours flew by and the game does not lose steam at all as we progress through the acts. I’m looking forward to seeing what awaits my party and me in Act 3, and also, I am already planning my next playthrough. I’m currently playing as a Halfling Paladin, in a committed relationship, looking to save the world. Maybe in my next playthrough, I’d be a Drow Sorcerer, looking to set the world ablaze with Fireballs.

Conclusion

Baldur’s Gate 3 is an impressive labour of love. It’s Dungeons & Dragons in a video game, complete with a gripping campaign, challenging top-down turn-based combat, and a fantastic cast of characters and narrator. There is a lot to experience in the main storyline and even more to discover in hidden nooks and crannies, sidequests, and trinkets of lore. Successful and failed dice rolls – and the consequences that follow – have led to some of the highest highs and lowest lows I’ve felt in a video game. Baldur’s Gate 3 has managed to tell its story while maintaining a sense of agency for the player – where we feel like we’re in control of our actions and consequences instead of being led along – a truly impressive feat.

Baldurs Gate 3 Screenshot JeremyK 12 — Screen capture from Baldur’s Gate Gameplay

Baldurs Gate 3 Screenshot JeremyK 11 — Screen capture from Baldur’s Gate Gameplay

If you’re on the fence on Baldur’s Gate, I would highly recommend it. There is so much to unpack in this game and through the Acts, it just keeps getting better and better. Baldur’s Gate 3 has truly lived up to its hype. Let Faerûn draw you in and immerse you in its stories.

Android, Mobile, Reviews

Honor X9A 5G In Depth Review – An all-rounder with a flagship-like display

February 24, 2023 Thina Hareesh Leave a comment

IMG 20230224 WA0006 — The Honor X9a 5G is a mid-range offering with a more than mid-range display.

Any new smartphone owner has had nightmares of their shiny new screens cracking on day one from the slightest of drops. Well, Honor has gone to great lengths to allay those fears with their new midrange entry, the Honor X9A 5G. You probably have already seen ads for the toughest 120Hz display on the market and videos of people smashing the display into various surfaces or nuts. But is that all it has to offer? We spent 30 days putting the device through its paces and the results may surprise you.

Display

Let’s start off with the main selling point of the device; its nigh-indestructible display. The idea Honor had here was clear; bring a flagship grade display to a more accessible and affordable device. And I believe they have achieved that. The Honor X9a 5G sports a 6.67-inch OLED curved display with a 120Hz screen refresh rate. The refresh rate makes the visuals snappy, be it the MagicUI 6.1 interface, a video on YouTube and especially when gaming. It has good brightness too with a rating of 800 nits. Walking under the hot afternoon sun, I was still able to see what’s on the screen, though admittedly I had to turn up the brightness to near maximum. Videos were crisp and colours were vibrant whether from YouTube or Netflix. I found it both comfortable and enjoyable watching videos at long length on this device.

IMG 20230224 WA0002 — Is an incredibly tough 120Hz display all it has to offer? Or is there more to reveal?

Protecting this display is Honor’s own answer to Corning’s Gorilla Glass and Huawei’s Kunlun glass. Though it remains nameless, Honor’s protecting glass does a fantastic job of securing the display. After more than a month of using the phone without any kind of protection, I have not seen a single scratch on this display, even from the keys in my pocket. There are probably hundreds of videos online of people dropping or hitting the phone with a variety of items and I could not resist doing so myself. From walnuts to groundnuts to M&M’s, nothing seems to damage this screen. I did accidentally drop the device face down on a tiled floor from waist height and no visible damage either. Without venturing into more dangerous stress tests, I did feel that the display glass is definitely sturdier than expected of a mid-range device.

Design

The signature design feature of the Honor X9a 5G is the raised circular rear camera housing, dubbed the star ring matrix design by Honor. Personally, I was not a fan of this particular design and the height is apparent enough to make it wobble very slightly on the table if used without a case. However, those are the only two complaints I have design wise and there is a lot to like.

IMG 20230224 WA0008 — The polarizing design of the star ring matrix rear camera housing.

The build quality of the phone is great. The tough display on the front is only punctuated by the small camera hole cutout, which does not distract you from what’s on the display. The back of the phone had a textured material that feels great to hold. The material feels premium and the Titanium Silver colour was pleasing to the eye, which is one of the main reasons why I did not use a case. It is also very lightweight, which coupled with the textured back, feels good to hold for a long time.

IMG 20230224 WA0013 — Volume rocker and lock button wrapped with metal trimming on the edges.

Despite being a curved display device that I used without a case, I did not experience any accidental touches along the edges. This is probably thanks to the AI Anti Mistouch feature. Lining the edges of the phone is metal trimming painted with a metallic sky blue colour that was also very appealing. On the right-hand side is the volume rocker and lock button. The buttons feels great to the touch, is tactile and does not wobble in place.

Overall, the device feels very premium with a robust build quality and apart from the star ring matrix design, has nice aesthetics.

Camera

The camera experience for the Honor X9A 5G did not receive as much emphasis as the display nor its build quality. It sports a triple sensor set up of a 64MP main shooter, 5MP ultrawide and 2MP macro camera. The main shooter does a decent job of snapping photos in daylight and good lighting conditions. Images were sharp and colours leaned towards a more subdued, natural palette. However, performance takes a dip in low light conditions, with images appearing a little grainy and colours appear a little washed out. To compensate for this, there is a Night mode that seemingly is able to address both these issues. The only catch is that there is a long 3 to 4 second timer before image capture and you need to have steady hands in this time for a clear image. That being said, the Night mode images do have good clarity, colors and no obvious noise.

While the main shooter performs well enough for daily use, the other shooting modes did miss the mark. The 2MP macro shooter suffered from a lack of sharpness due to the low resolution and had some fuzziness to it even in daylight. The 5MP ultrawide shooter also suffered from the low resolution and had rather obvious graininess that got worse with low lighting conditions. The saving grace is the Portrait mode, which showed good performance in both daylight and lighted indoor situations. There was good level of detail captured and bokeh was well done. Performance was similarly good when using the 16MP selfie camera, with Portrait shots appearing clear and well detailed. There is also a beauty filter to help iron out facial imperfections which helped make the photos social media ready.

The camera experience for the Honor X9A 5G is rather average; a serviceable main shooter with no true standout features and lackluster alternative shooting modes.

Performance

Key Specifications

The Honor X9A 5G is powered by a Snapdragon 695 SoC, which is not the latest in chipsets but it does pack a punch. For its price point, it comes with a rather healthy memory capacity of 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The battery is also a plus point with 5100mAh capacity and 40W wired charging with the included charger. The hardware on board is good value for money and I found the performance takes full advantage of them.

User Interface

Out of the box, it runs MagicUI 6.1 that is based on Android 12. Long-time Honor users will be very familiar with the design and aesthetics of MagicUI but for first time users, the user interface appears rather dated.

With large blocky icons with designs reminiscent of iOS and Android from the mid 2010’s, the dated design feels out of place in such a premium display in 2023. There is a dedicated Themes app preinstalled on the device that can help alleviate this to some degree. But functionally, the user interface works fine, with no obvious flaws. There is also both the Google Play Store and Honor App market preinstalled for all your app needs.

Productivity and multitasking

Multitasking was a breeze on this device as I was able to run Google Chrome, the Gallery app in Multi Window mode and Netflix in mini player mode without a hitch. I did not experience any significant lag or stutters and no overheating after about an hour with this set up. Granted that is not a realistic scenario but it shows that there is a lot of headroom for productivity in this device. For the 30-day review period, I very frequently used messaging apps WhatsApp and Messenger while simultaneously using Chrome or YouTube and did not experience any significant lag or stuttering. Productivity is helped by the large RAM capacity of 8GB and additional 5GB virtual RAM for handling multiple running apps. The 256GB of storage is also handy to help store large amounts of photos and files on the go.

Call Quality and Connectivity

PXL 20230224 113853552 — Connectivity was good on all fronts including a stable Bluetooth audio connection.

I used the device primarily over 4G LTE networks and did not experience any major disruptions to the connection, be it in Kuala Lumpur city or the smaller towns of Johor. Call quality was clear, had sufficient volume and no issues hearing the person on the other end. Similarly, the call recipients had no complaints on call quality when receiving calls from this device. While capable of 5G connectivity, testing was restricted by the limited connectivity of 5G in Malaysia. Support for WiFi is up to WiFi 5 mainly due to the older chipset but I did not experience any connection dropouts for the review period. Streaming on YouTube and Netflix was seamless and online gaming connections were good too. I tested out the Bluetooth by pairing with my Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds. In both cases, I did not experience any unexpected disconnects while the pairing was quick and trouble-free. I found that the transferring of files to the Galaxy Watch 4 was smooth and there were no audio cutouts for the Sony earbuds during long sessions of music. Even pairing with my Honda car’s Bluetooth Audio went smoothly with no issues. All-in-all connectivity was stable on all fronts.

Gaming

I found the device very pleasant to use for long periods of watching videos on YouTube and Netflix. But I also found it very pleasant to use for gaming as well. I primarily tested on Mobile Legends oh High settings and PUBG Mobile with HD graphics and High frame rate. I found both games ran smoothly and surprisingly, even after about 2 consecutive hours of gaming, I did not feel overheating. Granted, I used the device predominantly without a case which helps ventilation slightly, and I was not pushing the games to their maximum settings. For a mid-range device the performance was really good.

PXL 20230224 113126331.NIGHT — Gaming performance was great with the Honor X9a 5G.

When pushing the graphics to the maximum settings (Ultra for Mobile Legends and Ultra HD for PUBG Mobile), the performance was still surprisingly good, with only slight choppiness observed for PUBG Mobile with some overheating past the 1-hour mark. The fantastic display adds to the gaming immersion; everything was snappy due to the 120Hz refresh rate and colours were vibrant. One minor complaint for the gaming immersion would be the mono speakers on board instead of stereo speakers. This of course was not a dealbreaker as the use of earbuds quickly solved this problem.

The gaming performance of the Honor X9a 5G is a definite happy surprise. The GPU performance, ergonomics of the design and decent thermals helps make gaming a pleasant experience.

Battery life

Battery life is another strong point, with the device being powered by a large 5100 mAh battery. Throughout the review period, I found myself charging the device once every two days with regular use. Most of the screen on time was spent using YouTube or Netflix, Google Chrome, Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger. It was only with heavy use of gaming and photography that I found myself needing to charge the phone on a daily basis. Charging is a breeze too with the included 40W charger juicing up from 20% to 100% in about 90 minutes.

The Verdict: A solid all-rounder headlined by a flagship display

IMG 20230224 WA0004 — The Honor X9a 5G is a solid, well-rounded mid-range device.

After an in-depth hands-on experience, the Honor X9a 5G was a pleasant surprise in how it performed. Its strengths lie in its flagship-quality display, premium build quality and excellent battery life. For weaknesses, there is no particular department that is truly a deal breaker. Even the camera which has a weak macro and ultrawide performance, does a more than serviceable job in the main shooter and selfie cameras. Conversely, apart from the display, there is no other truly standout feature of the device when compared to the other devices in its price range. Retailing for RM1499, the Honor X9a 5G is up against the likes of Samsung’s A53 5G, which we reviewed not too long ago, and the recently released Poco X5 series. While these other devices have their own clear strengths and weaknesses, the Honor X9a 5G is good across the board, making it an all-rounder device. If you want a mid-range device that is value for money, can do the essentials and has a robust build quality, then this is the device for you.

You can get the Honor X9a 5G, available now from the HiHonor website, retailing for RM1499. Honor is also bundling a free pair of noise-cancelling Honor CHOICE Earbuds X3 and 180 Days of Screen Crack Protection if you purchase now.

And here is the obligatory video of nut crushing with the Honor X9a 5G.

Accessories, Editorial, Lifestyle, Mobile, Reviews

The Sony WF-L900 LinkBuds In-Depth Review – You’re Not Here, But You’re Not There

April 14, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Let us first clarify what the title means for a second. It is really a reflection of the experience of the pair of earbuds itself, nothing to do with its build or even sound quality. It is a Sony headphone after all, one that retails for MYR 849.

This is an odd pair of kit. Sony is famous with their noise cancelling offerings. There is the very famous WH-1000XM4 and the WF-1000XM4. These are the best pair of noise cancelling headphones money can buy currently.

So, what was Sony thinking when they made the WF-L900 LinkBuds? Their marketing blurb says that it is the only headphones you will never have to take off. They also said that it is permanently on transparent mode.

On paper, you are getting a lot less than the WF-1000XM4 noise cancelling earbuds. The price tag is a little lower too for sure, but MYR 849 is not exactly cheap still. Is the asking price a fair one? Would this be a pair of headphones we never knew we needed? Would you be better off with a WF-1000XM4 instead? Let us find out

Design

The first thing that greets you, when you open your box made from the recycled paper, is not the two pairs of earbuds. It is the clamshell style case. It also looks like one.

The outer shell is made entirely out of what Sony claims to be recycled plastic. It looks the part too; most recycled plastic panels have the same texture and look. It feels grainy and smooth at the same time. It feels expectedly premium too.

Because it is made mostly of plastic, it is much lighter than what we expected. Curiously, the case can still charge the LinkBuds at least twice over. There is no wireless charging for this device though, that could explain its weight.

There are no magnets to keep the cap closed. The hinge is spring-loaded and swings open when you press the button at the front. There is a pairing button sitting beside a USB Type-C port. The case is very minimal, and very tiny.

Then you open it and find the LinkBuds with two large domes staring back at you with the chromed rings. The recess on the case for the ear loops looks oversized at first, until you rummage through the packaging to find extra ear loops. No multiple inserts for the ear tips here, there are no ear tips to begin with

The recess for the main body of the buds is quite shallow making cleaning as easy as dabbing the seats with a piece of cloth or tissue paper. The recess is also where you see the infrared sensors that senses the earbuds and two charging pins.

The earbuds are also designed with minimalism in mind. There are no additional magnets other than the ones in the ring drivers here. The LinkBuds themselves feature two recess that are made to be caught by latches on the case to secure the earbuds in the case, in case the magnets are not enough.

The earbuds, at 4g, is feather light. You can keep it in your hands, walk around, drop it and not feel a thing. You can put it into your ears, and then forget about it the entire day even when the battery runs out. Trust me, it happened to me.

Fit and Finish

Their odd shapes make for an odd fitting. Unlike regular earbuds, fitment of the LinkBuds really depends on the size of the ear loop that presses against the inner part of your ear. The ring part goes into the hole, but you cannot push it all the way in. Instead, it simply rests on your ears.

With a good fit, the LinkBuds should feel natural in your ears. It should stay in place even with heavy headbanging. After some time, you forget that it is in your ears.

Features

Of course, the most important feature of the Sony LinkBuds is its transparency mode. It allows you to keep your music on but be completely aware of your surroundings.

Always Transparent Mode

The transparency mode is a permanent feature. There is no proper way to seal the headphones. You can sort of stuff things into the middle of the ring, but we do not recommend that.

Because there is no artificial processing, you are getting clean, natural sounding ambient noise. You can have a completely normal conversation with your peers without taking off your headphones or stopping your music.

Oddly enough, there is a Speak-to-Chat function built into this pair of headphones. We never needed it and kept it off. I have tried ordering coffee with the set of headphones without any issues. I can have full conversations with my friends with the headphones on as well.

Oddly Intuitive Wide Tap Area Gesture Control

There are no touch controls on either bud. Accidentally turning down your volume, pause your music, or launch Google Assistant or Alexa by adjusting your earbuds is a thing of the past. There is a still gesture control. You need to tap right next to your ear to get it working. It does not work on a single tap too, which is another great way to prevent accidental inputs. It is either a double tap or triple tap, and it works well for us.

It is rather intuitive once you know what to do. Sure, you can only fit up to four commands in this case for the LinkBuds. Four is enough for most use cases.

The system is not perfect though. Despite the ‘wide’ moniker, you cannot tap too far away from the headphones to register an input. You want your taps to be distinct as well.

IPX4 Construction

Water resistance is important on this pair of headphones. In our minds, this is the type of headphones you wear for extended periods. There are already a few instances where we left the case in the car when we are out and about with the earphones in our ears.

You might take it for a quick run around your neighbourhood too. In that case, it will be exposed to the elements. It can take rain, shine, or even sweat with no issues.

Sony Headphones App

This being a premium Sony product, it gets Sony’s Headphone app. It is different from other headphones we are used to though. Obviously, The WF-L900 LinkBuds does not feature noise cancellation. You will find the ambient noise slider or toggle.

The controls for the Sony LinkBuds are more simplified than what we are used to as well. You still have control over the EQ presets, which we left to Bass Boost. You can change the gesture controls, DSEE settings, speak-to-chat function, and Sony 360 Reality Audio on the app. The ear analysis feature remains too. It works, but the difference is not night and day.

Performance

While part of the MYR 849 that you are paying is for the unique qualities of this truly wireless earphones, its main purpose is a personal listening gear. For that, it should also still perform like a Sony should. We are happy to report that it does, though with some trade off.

The Sony V1 Processor

It is the same one you can find on the more expensive and slightly older WF-1000XM4. It is missing a few key features on this model though.

You do not get to take advantage of the noise cancelling algorithm on the V1 anymore, for obvious reasons. But you also lose DSEE Extreme. In its place, it is still DSEE audio upscaling technology, which is still good, but not DSEE Extreme good.

The Calls

It is a strange experience, using the LinkBuds for calls. The person at the other end of the line sounds clear and crisp, enough at least for you to make up the words they are trying to convey. The person on the other end did not report any issues with the call quality. We did not try to use only one side of the earphone because I always seem to forget that I have the earphones on in the first place.

The strange part is that you are listening to the person on the other end, but you are also hearing the rest of the world at the same time. Sure, you can just concentrate on having a conversation with your friend, because he is in your ear. But when the environment gets noisy, it gets a little difficult to have a conversation since you are also very much receiving the noise from all around you.

In most cases, if you can hear your music, you should be able to hear into your calls very nicely.You hardly need to worry about privacy too.

Adaptive Volume

Adaptive volume is the unique feature of this pair of earphones. In effect the algorithm adjusts the volume of the audio according to your environment. If your environment gets a little louder, your audio becomes louder too.

You might not notice the volume increase and decrease too much in most cases though, since everything is done in accordance with your environment. It is rather seamless too; you hardly notice that the volume has changed at all. Then again, that is the whole point.

Much Enjoyment, Much Awareness

The experience that is offered by the LinkBuds can be more likened to the experience you get from open backed earphones. You get a rather wide, open feel to your music and audio. It feels like audio fills up the space around you. It is a different experience.

We use Tidal for most of our music listening and testing. The songs we used for the test is Freya Riding’s “Lost Without You”, Video Game Orchestra’s “Final Fantasy VII Medley”, “3 Hour Drive” by Alicia Keys Ft. Sampha, and Post Malone’s “Circles”. No, they are not necessarily what audiophiles would pick, but some of them represent some of the most popular music genres and styles today. We kept our volume to about 50% in most of our use case.

You can make out the bass lines on songs like “Circles” and “3 Hour Drive”, but they are not punchy at all. You do hear some of the details with Bass Boost turned on, but once you turn it off, it feels like the lower frequencies disappear. For Freya Riding’s “Lost Without You”, we get quite a natural reproduction of Freya Riding’s unique vocals. Her voice comes out very clear and you still can hear the depth of her voice in the song itself. On an orchestral reprisal that is the “Final Fantasy VII Medley”, you do miss some of its drama because the earphones lack that punchiness in the lower frequencies. It is far from terrible though; the music still sounds clear and crisp.

We use Spotify as our main podcast listening platform and the experience is a good one. You are still completely aware of what is happening around you, but you are also getting entertained. You lose a little bit of that radio voice, but the most important part of a podcast is usually its content.

The thing is, while we do want to give a hard time for it not having a thumping low-frequency punch, we still quite like the audio experience on the LinkBuds. Audio feels more natural thanks to the open back concept. Rather than getting as choke full of sounds pumped into your ear, music is lightly fed to your ears. It is a unique experience.

Battery Life

The Sony open back earbuds is quoted to have a battery life of up to 5.5 hours in regular listening mode. With the case, it is supposed to get up to 12 hours extra battery life. Our app says we have logged about 19 hours of listening time on the WF-L900 LinkBuds. We have only charged the device once since we got the device, which also means we have extracted more than the promised battery life.

Then again, we left the WF-L900 at half volume at most times and we hardly ever activate the wide area tap function. Adaptive volume was on, but again, volume is at 50% most of the time. We pick up calls with it too, which is supposed to drain its battery a little more. Our calls are placed with volumes above 75% most of the time just so that we can hear the other person clearly.

We believe that the batteries will last about 5 hours in a single use, especially when you leave the headphone on 70-75% volume. Our use case allows the battery life of the device to extend a little more than the quoted battery life, which is good when you do not want to take your headphones off.

You want to remember that each earbud only weighs 4g. It is one of the lightest pair of truly wireless headphones in the market, and it offers a battery life that matches some of the more premium offerings in the market. In that regard, the battery life is impressive.

The Sony WF-L900 LinkBuds – Unique is The Word, But There is a Little Bit More to It

In short, we enjoyed the Sony WF-L900 LinkBuds. It is a unique product, and it is not made for everyone. Inevitably, there will be “why do I need that?” questions. You don’t.

This is a unique product that fulfils a very specific need and solves a very specific problem. It is for the people who wants an earphone to be constantly in their ears. It is for people who wants a little more seamlessness in their day. It is for the people who are constantly on the go.

There are some compromises with this pair of headphones. It does not offer DSEE Extreme, just regular DSEE. There is Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, but we hardly notice its effects in our use time. It offers less battery life as well than the WF-1000XM4. The biggest drawback is that it lacks low-end punch.

You still get quite decent audio experience though, excellent high-end notes and crisp mid-range tones. At the same time, you are completely aware of what is happening around you while enjoying tunes or even podcasts. It is water resistant, important when you are constantly on the move. It is light and hardly noticeable in your ear once it goes in. You never have to take it off your ears until it needs a charge.

The MYR 849 goes into excellent audio while being able to go through the day completely uninterrupted. It buys a unique convenience, a sort of hybridization of lifestyles. It keeps you in the loop, while you are drifting away in a calm land. It keeps you focused, and entirely separated from everything that is happening around you simultaneously. It is weird, but it is a good kind of weird, and we like that.