Samsung Electronics has introduced the Galaxy A05 and Galaxy A05s smartphones. New entries into the company’s lower-end offerings which are built to last with a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery, and enhanced 25W Super-Fast charging capabilities. In addition, Samsung is also committing to two generations of OS upgrades and four years of security updates for these devices.
Both the Galaxy A05 and Galaxy A05s have an enhanced 6.7-inch display. However, the Galaxy A05s has a higher FHD+ resolution (1080 x 2400 pixels) and a faster 90Hz refresh rate for smoother transitions. The Galaxy A05 has a lower HD+ resolution (720 x 1520 pixels) and a standard 60Hz refresh rate.
When it comes to cameras, both smartphones have an upgraded 50MP high-resolution main camera, a 2MP macro sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor. The Galaxy A05s also has an upgraded 13MP front-facing selfie camera, while the Galaxy A05 has an 8MP front-facing selfie camera.
Both the Galaxy A05 and the Galaxy A05s come with a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery and enhanced 25W Super-Fast charging capabilities. This means that you can quickly charge your phone and get back to using it in no time.
Both the new entries also come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, with expandable storage of up to 1TB. This gives you plenty of space for all your photos, videos, and apps. However, they come with two different processors. The Galaxy A05s comes with a Snapdragon 680 processor while the Galaxy A05 comes with a MediaTek Helio G85. Both are capable of 4G LTE connectivity.
Pricing & Availability
The Galaxy A05s is available in Awesome Black, Awesome Silver, and Awesome Light Green, and is priced starting at RM799. The Galaxy A05 is available in Awesome Black and Awesome Blue and is priced starting at RM649.
Both smartphones are available now at selected retailers. If you make your purchase between now and the end of the year, you can get an RM100 Trade-up offer for your old device.
HONOR is adding yet another affordable option to its stable of devices in Malaysia. This time the company is expanding its mid-range offerings with the HONOR X8 5G. The new smartphone comes in both 4G and 5G flavours. Both of which are running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile.
The HONOR X8 4G will be equipped with the Qualcom Snapdragon 680 processor; while the 5G version will be running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480+. The former is fabricated using Qualcomm’s 6nm process while the latter uses Qualcomm’s 8nm process. As we’ve seen in the past, the newer 6nm process has better battery efficiency. That said, both are Octa-core processors with the power efficient big.LITTLE architecture. Both versions are complemented with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The HONOR X8 4G does not support microSD card memory expansion however the HONOR X8 5G does.
The camera setup on both are also slightly different. The 4G version comes with a quad camera setup with a 64-megapixel main camera. This sensor comes with phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and is complemented by a 5-megapixel ultrawide, 2-megapixel macro and a second 2-megapixel depth sensor. The HONOR X8 5G comes with a triple camera setup with a 48-megapixel main sensor complete with PDAF. The setup is complemented by two 2-megapixel sensors for depth and macro. On the front the X8 5G comes with aan 8-megapixel sensor while the 4G comes with a 16-megapixel sensor.
Source: HONOR
The 4G HONOR X8 also comes with a larger 6.7-inch FHD+ display while the 5G version has a 6.5-inch HD+ display. The 5G version comes with a TFT-LCD panel while the 4G version is equipped with a IPS-LCD panel. The latter also has a 90Hz refresh rate. No official note on the refresh rate of the 5G version is available. They also have different sized batteries with the 4G version coming with a smaller 4,000mAh battery while the 5G version has a 5,000mAh one.
Other than that the two versions share mostly the same specifications supporting A-GPS, GLONASS and GALILEO for GPS. Both support Bluetooth LE and A2DP with the 5G version supporting the more current Bluetooth 5.1. Both charge via USB Type-C port with support for 22.5W fast charging. They also feature side-mounted fingerprint sensors.
Pricing & Availability
The HONOR X8 is currently available at MYR899. It’s available in three colours: Titanium Silver, Ocean Blue and Midnight Black.
The HONOR 8X 5G is available in Midnight Black and Ocean Blue at MYR999. Purchases of the 8X 5G are also entitled to a year’s extended warranty.
What do you do when you need to buy a smartphone and only a budget of MYR 1,599? It may not seem like an issue to a lot of us, but it is a valid question still. Smartphones are simply too expensive.
To drive that point home even more, a about 10 years ago, MYR 2,000 will get you a brand-new Samsung Galaxy Note2. The Samsung Galaxy Note2 is a very highly rated flagship in its day, one of the most powerful devices you can get. A brand-new iPhone 3GS as well at the time will set you back less than MYR 2,500. Heck, the first Samsung Galaxy S smartphone will only set you back MYR 1,000, and that was expensive.
Today, spending MYR 3,000 on a smartphone is normal. This is especially true with flagship level devices. A mid-range device today will set you back less than MYR 3,000 but more than MYR 2,000. Anything below that is usually entry-level.
Entry-level devices are not stellar, but you can find some good ones in the segment. While it is not as competitive as the mid-range market, it is still a highly competitive segment. After all, the entry-level device segment could be your first smartphone experience.
Meet the OPPO A96. It sets you back less than MYR 1,500, which should mean that you might not enjoy the smartphone very much. We find that a little untrue though as you read on. But is it worth MYR 1,299? Or should you look elsewhere when you want a budget smartphone?
Design
The best way to describe the OPPO A96’s form is that it is rather ordinary. There is nothing too special or outstanding about the device. It is a regular candy bar smartphone. The most interesting thing about it is probably its unique back styling they call the OPPO Glow design.
The crystalised design on the back of the device looks rather good in camera. It may not strike everyone the same in its physical form though. Some might like it, some might not.
Out the back of the device, the camera array is like a hark to OPPO’s Reno series. Of course, it could just be OPPO’s design language. It is a bump though, which means you might want to use the case that comes in the box or buy a different case that would sit flush with the camera bump.
Despite the matte and rather plastic feel of the back, OPPO says that it is, in fact, glass. That is not necessarily a bad thing though. While it does not feel too premium, it does help with preventing fingerprint stains. The bad side of that is that it is slippery to the touch. If you use a case, it will not matter anyway.
You have a USB Type-C port at the bottom with some ports for the speaker, a small microphone hole, and a bigger 3.5mm combo jack. There is also a small microphone hole on top of the device too.
We like the fact that the power button is also the fingerprint sensor, a design made popular by Sony. The front facing camera sits in a corner instead of the middle of the display like we are used to on most devices. That is about it for the design of the device. Everything that you expect from a modern smartphone is on the device. It does not feel like a budget product, which is a good thing. But it does not feel or look all that premium either.
Hardware
Underneath the glass and aluminium mix of a shell lies a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 System on a Chip (SoC). It is not even a 5G chip, just regular 4G LTE support, which is plenty enough still. There is also 8GB of RAM and 256GB in memory.
Non-Removable Li-Po 5,000mAh Fast Charging 33W Revers Charging
Connectivity
Dual SIM Wi-Fi WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac GPS/A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS A2DP AptX HD Bluetooth 5.0 OTG Support USB Type-C 2.0
Camera (s)
REAR: 50-Megapixel (f/1.8, 27mm wide angle) 2-Megapixel (f/2.4, depth sensor) 1080p video recording (30fps) LED flash FRONT: 16-Megapixel (f/2.0, 26mm wide angle) 1080p video recording (30fps)
Sensors
Accelerometer Proximity Side Mounted Fingerprint Ambient Light Gyroscope Face Unlock Compass
User Interface – Color OS 11
OPPO’s ColorOS is now something unique on its own. In older OPPO devices you get an interface that can be likened to the iOS. The modern ColorOS has some Android flair in an optional app tray you can turn on in the settings page.
You do not get 120Hz out of the display. Instead, you make do with 90Hz, which is still a fast display considering its price. That also gives you a smooth and refined feel of ColorOS. Unless you have very sharp eyes and is observant enough, ColorOS 11 on the device feels as smooth as the flagship devices. zx
The app tray is not turned on by default. We kind of think that while OPPO does want to retain their original look that is free of an app tray, having the app tray is a great thing for ColorOS and it should be made a default option when you first set up the device. The fact that OPPO includes it as an option though, unlike plenty of manufacturers that came out of China, is a welcome though.
+5GB RAM
When you need more RAM in your PC, you add a RAM stick or replace it with something bigger. On your smartphone though, that is hardly possible. Space is a premium in your smartphone, so manufacturers can only fit one large RAM module that is usually attached to the SoC in favour of space. To get more RAM space then, some creativity gets involved
While OPPO is not the only one who does this, it is good to note that you can opt to use it or not. You can expand your RAM by up to 5GB just using the native UFS storage on the device itself. It does help with some multitasking performance, but hardly too noticeable because 8GB is rather plenty these days.
To opt out of it or to switch how much of your storage is being used as RAM is not quite as easy as OPPO wants you to believe though. You must do a little bit of digging within the settings of the device. We only found it by using the search bar on the page. By default, OPPO sets aside 3GB of your storage as a temporary RAM. You can put it down to 2GB and up to 5GB or turn it completely off if you think it is not necessary.
Performance
The SoC is not a high-end one. In this case, you get Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 680, which is not technically entry-level. It is sitting lower than the 700 series though. It also does not have 5G, so we do not get to test out Yes 4G’s “5G” network.
Benchmarks
Call Quality and Connectivity
Despite it not being a 5G device, you technically are not missing out on much. Malaysia’s 5G network is not out in full force yet too, which also means that you are not missing out on the OPPO A96’s regular 4G LTE network. The OPPO A96 also supports VoLTE, which means you are still getting crystal clear calls.
That is what you get with the OPPO A96, crystal clear phone conversations when you have enough signal strength. As with modern smartphones, making a call with the OPPO A96 is rather straightforward with a similar phone app layout as any other modern smartphones.
Still, VoLTE allows you to have clear conversations when there is enough signal strength. We find that anything between two bars to four bars is good enough and stable. Anything below two bars and you might find that calls get a little choppy. Data speeds tend to suffer too with lower signal strength, though this could just be the ISP’s fault.
Gaming
While it is not a flagship, gaming on a smartphone is a perfectly normal thing to do. If you are looking for a relatively budget friendly smartphone to game with, this could be it. You cannot expect a gaming performance that is likened to an OPPO Find X and its likes.
We played Pokémon Unite with the A96 mostly. We are happy to report that the game runs very smoothly on the device. While graphics performance might not match the flagships just to keep the framerates high, we do not mind that at all. We never faced any lags in the game which also meant that you should not have any issues when you are playing a ranked match. You still want to make sure that you have a solid internet connection though.
Game Space
Game Space is nothing new for OPPO devices. Its implementation is not unique either. It acts as a sort of one-click-overclocking tool that only activates when you play games. It also filters all your notifications just so that you do not get distracted in your gaming sessions.
Multitasking and Productivity
Smartphones like this is an indication that you do not really need a flagship to get a smartphone experience. Sure, you get the bleeding edge of whatever that is on offer on a flagship. The mid-range and entry-level devices eventually get it way later, but the most useful technologies do trickle down eventually. Ample RAM for example, makes it into budget friendly smartphones.
We usually have up to 15 tabs open within Google Chrome on the A96. We also tend to leave plenty of our apps working in the background. Apps like Instagram, Facebook, or Telegram are usually running in the background for us most of the time. At no point we felt that the device was sluggish to work with or experience any stutters when we are changing between screens in our daily use.
Battery Life
Most smartphones at this range excels in this area and for good reason. Smartphones at this range usually comes with rather large batteries, larger than ones you can find on flagship devices. Combine that with lower power consumption from the SoC and you get a smartphone that can last days.
On standby, the OPPO can last up to 5 days without a single charge in between. Of course, with some hotspot, gaming, photo taking, calling, and messaging, the battery life does go down by quite a bit.
Our typical use of the OPPO A96 in a day involves plenty of Telegram messaging, some photos, a little bit of gaming, a few minutes of call, and some social media scrolls. In this case we could get the OPPO to last us nearly three days on a single charge. Three days from your smartphone is a lot of battery life, even for modern smartphones. When the battery drains, you only need about two hours for a full charge. We hardly charge the device overnight because we never needed to in our test period.
Display and Audio
You get a nice 1080p Full HD+ display on the A96. It refreshes at 90Hz, which is more than what you can expect for most devices at this price range. Then again, everything that comes out in 2021 and later comes with 90Hz display.
What you do not get with devices at this price is an NTSC accuracy rating like this one does. The OPPO A96’s 6.59-inch IPS panel comes with a 96% NTSC colour gamut coverage. The colours produced on the OPPO A96 is comparable even to modern flagship devices.
While some of the flagship displays do come with 120Hz and higher resolutions at 2K or even 4K sometimes, you never really need them. Most of the time 90Hz is more than enough for most gaming situations. To make your UI look silky smooth, anything beyond 75Hz is enough. In terms of resolution, you most likely will not notice any difference between a 2K display and a 1080P display no thanks to how small the display is.
In this case, the display of the OPPO A96, we believe, is on par with most of the flagships you get today. Sure, it does not support HDR10 like most flagships do, but it is still a brilliant enough display that you can enjoy movies on Netflix and YouTube videos equally.
Cameras
Here is where things do come down to earth a little. Instead of the usual three or four camera array we are used to seeing in modern smartphones. This one noticeable only has 2 out the back of the device. One is the main 50-Megapixel shooter that you are going to be driving most of the time. The other is an oddly oversized 2-Megapixel depth sensor.
The OPPO A96 shoots at 12-Megapixel mode if you leave the settings alone. If you want the full 50-Megapixel goodness, you must tweak the settings a little bit. There is no way for you to set it permanently to 50-Megapixel, which also means that you must toggle it to 50-Megapixel every time to you turn on the camera.
Photos do look impressive in 50-Megapixel mode. Details are sharp enough for you to zoom in a little, crop your photos to get a better frame of your subjects, so you can technically take photos in slightly wider frame and can get away with it. You do not get the same level of detail at 12-Megapixel mode, but at least your photos still look good with vivid and somewhat accurate colours. There is a little bit of a natural warmth to your shots though.
The 2-Megapixel depth sensor never really comes into play until you are taking photos of a person or when you put it into portrait mode. You can technically use it with small objects and get a natural looking depth effect with it. You are still shooting with your main shooter though, so your portrait can look rather great with plenty of details too if you shoot with the 50-Megapixel mode.
At MYR 1,299, the OPPO A96 is not very expensive. On Paper, it may seem like quite a bargain. It has everything you need in a smartphone, nothing more. It also packs a large battery, a battery that would last for days at a time.
Sure, it does not pack Qualcomm’s most powerful. It packs a good ol’ Snapdragon 680 that does not even come with 5G as standard. At the same time, you only get one good camera to work with.
The MYR 1,299 OPPO A96 is a real treat, a bargain. It works just as you need to, as it is intended to. It does nothing more, but nothing less either, which is a good thing. It is a smooth operator, just as good as any flagship devices can offer you. You do not get any extraordinary features on the device, it just works.
If you are looking for a flagship experience with all the latest features and technologies, this will not be the device for you. It is a device that just works, it has everything you need in a smartphone, the essentials. The whole point of this device is reliability and simplicity. If that is what you are looking for, for your main driver or even your secondary device, this device is really made for you.
The entry-level smartphone market, in Malaysia at least, is a rather crowded space. The offerings can also be compared directly to mid-range smartphones, which just complicates things when you are looking for a new smartphone at under MYR 2,500 range. There is still a distinction though. In the mid-range segment, you want the best bang-for-buck you can get in terms of high-level performance, and innovations. In the entry-level segment, you want the best bang-for-buck and reliability; something that just works.
While there are plenty of players in the entry-level segment at below MYR 1,500, we can safely say not many can do better than OPPO and their A-series smartphones. Do not get it confused with Samsung’s A-series though, Samsung’s offerings are in the premium mid-range segment. When you take up OPPO’s A-series smartphones, you start to wonder what the extra money do for you in the mid-range segment.
Take this latest OPPO A96 for example. On paper at least, it is comparable to any mid-range devices you can pit it up against. It might as well be a mid-range device on paper.
Big Memory
It packs 8GB of RAM and 256GB in storage. With OPPO’s clever memory technology, the 8GB RAM can be expanded to up to 13GB temporarily for when you need the extra horsepower. This should mean much better multitasking experience comparable to even flagships of today. The only limiting factor should be its System on a Chip (SoC) that is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 platform. It does not pack 5G too, unlike most mid-range devices today.
Flagship Level Display
The SoC is the only thing that puts it squarely in the entry-level segment though. The main display is still a Full HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate with up to 96% NTSC or 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. At 6.59-inch, it is not what you want to call a small display too.
Powerful Camera
In terms of camera, the front-facing camera lodged in a punch hole on the display packs 16-Megapixel, rather powerful for an entry-level device. Out the back is a high-resolution 50-Megapixel shooter that works together with a 2-Megapixel depth sensor to produce beautiful portraits with those essential ‘bokeh’. Sure, it does not come with additional lenses to get telephoto or ultra-wide photos, but a high-resolution camera is the one that is being used often.
Premium Glass Backing
The OPPO A96’s back plate is also a glass panel, not plastic like most entry-level devices at its price range. It has a unique texture and design that OPPO calls the Glow Design made with diamond-cut glass panel placed in a vacuum to bring out the crystal patterns you see on the Pearl Pink colour option. The unique texture produced by the process is also resistant to fingerprint stains, which is a bonus to keep your device looking fresh and pretty.
Beefy Battery
To top all of that is an all-day battery sandwiched by two glass panels. It is 5,000 mAh battery that should last you at least an entire day with heavy usage. Use it sparingly and you might get two or even three days of charge with it. When it runs out, 33W charging speeds should bring it to a full charge within an hour for you to get going the entire day again. The device is also clever enough protect its own battery shelf-life by limiting its charge speeds when you charge it overnight to keep the battery optimised for you.
Price and Availability
As mentioned, the OPPO A96 will be available in two colour options – Starry Black and Pearl Pink. The device will be available for pre-order today onward all the way to the 22nd of April 2022. It will set you back MYR 1,299 and you can get your hands on one from OPPO’s authorised retailers and official showrooms when it is available. More on the OPPO A96 on their website.
HONOR is expanding its offerings once again. The company has been coming out with all the punches this year. This time, after flexing its flagship prowess with the HONOR 50 and the HONOR Magic V, HONOR is looking to the more affordable offerings they were once renown for. They are introducing three new entries into their X series with a little bit of a rename.
HONOR X9 & X9 5G Leads the new X Trio
The new HONOR X series is spearheaded by the Snapdragon 695 touting HONOR X9 5G. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. When it comes to the display it comes with a 6.81-inch FullView Display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an FHD+ resolution. The X9 5G comes with a triple camera setup with a 48-megapixel main sensor complemented by a 2-megapixel macro and 2-megapixel depth sensor. Upfront, there is a 16-megapixel sensor for selfies.
In the case of the HONOR X9, it’s important to mention the 5G moniker as the HONOR X9 also comes without 5G connectivity. The regular X9 comes with the Snapdragon 680 instead. That said, it comes with a more robust quad camera setup. The main sensor is a 64-megapixel main sensor complemented by an 8-megapixel wide sensor, 2-megapixel sensing macro sensor and 2-megapixel sensing depth sensor. The display on the X9 also has a lower refresh rate of 90Hz. Other than these, the HONOR X9 and X9 5G share the same design and specs including a 4,800mAh battery with 66W fast charging with HONOR SuperCharge and USB Type C.
The design of the HONOR X9 series hearkens back to the HUAWEI P40 with the circular accent emblazoned at the back. It also contains the multiple camera sensors and flash that the smartphone comes with. The face of the phone is covered with the HONOR FullView Display with a punch hole for the selfie camera.
HONOR X8 – Putting the Middle in Mid-range
The HONOR X series will also contain the HONOR X8 which touts the same Snapdragon 680 that powers the X9. In all ways, it’s the hybrid of the X9 and X9 5G. It comes with a slightly smaller 6.7-inch FullView display with a 90Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. Aside from this, it also comes with a smaller 4,000mAh battery with support for 22.5W HONOR SuperCharge via USB-C connection.
All of these specs aside, the HONOR X8 comes with the nearly same camera setup as the HONOR X9. However, it comes with a smaller 5-megapixel wide sensor. That said, it also has a different design language which is more angular than the fluid X9. It also departs from the circular accent in favour of a square module containing all its sensors.
HONOR X7 – Bringing even more affordability
Rounding up the HONOR X series is the HONOR X7. The HONOR X7 comes with the same Snapdragon 680 as its siblings with the same amount of internal storage but a lower 4GB of RAM. It comes with a larger 6.74-inch HONOR FullView Display with an HD+ resolution and 90Hz refresh rate. On the camera front, it comes with the same setup as the X8 albeit having a smaller 8-megapixel selfie camera. It comes with a larger 5,000mAh battery with support for 22.5W HONOR SuperCharge via USB-C.
The HONOR X7 comes with the familiar design we’ve seen in the HONOR 50 before. However, it comes with a waterdrop display design where the selfie camera is. It’s also not curved like the HONOR 50.
Pricing and Availability
HONOR’s X series will be available starting on 7th April 2022. All members of the HONOR X Series will be launching with EMUI 4 powered by Android 11.
The HONOR X9, X9 5G and X8 will be available in Titanium Silver, Ocean Blue and Midnight Black. It will be available for MYR1,299, MYR1,099 and MYR899 respectively.
The HONOR X7 will be available for MYR699 in Titanium Silver and Ocean Blue.
