Tag Archives: Snapdragon 888+

The ASUS ROG Phone 5s Series Soon to be Available in Malaysia for MYR 2,999 Onward!

October 9, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The ASUS ROG Phone 5s was launched in Taiwan just last month. Technically the device only became available in Taiwan very late last month on the 30^th of September 2021. Then again, the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate just landed in Malaysia not that long ago too.

Still, while the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate remains fresh, ASUS decided its time to launch their latest most powerful ASUS ROG Phone to date in Malaysia. If you have forgotten about the ASUS ROG Phone 5s, you get Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 888+ platform. Yes, it will be marginally more powerful than the ASUS ROG Phone 5 series.

Source: ASUS Malaysia
Source: ASUS Malaysia
Source: ASUS Malaysia
Source: ASUS Malaysia

Other than the System on a Chip platform that differs from the ROG Phone 5s and ROG Phone 5, there is not much else that separates the two devices. They virtually look the same, and you might think that they might be the same devices put side-by-side. The ROG Phone 5s also comes one regular variant, and one Pro variant, very much like the older ROG Phone 5. There is no Ultimate variant for this though.

You can regard the 5s Pro as the replacement to the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate though. The Pro variant comes with an overkill 18GB of RAM space and 512GB of storage. That is alongside the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+. You also get the little customizable ROG Vision OLED display at the back of the device with the ASUS ROG Phone 5s Pro.

Variants	Retail price	Availability	Warranty	Remark	Colour
SD888+/8GB Ram/128GB Storage	RM2,999	Oct-21	1 Year	Not included: AeroActive cooler	Phantom Black & Storm White
SD888+/16GB Ram/256GB Storage	RM3,799	Oct-21	1 Year	Not included: AeroActive cooler	Phantom Black & Storm White
Pro SD888+/18GB Ram/512GB Storage	RM4,999	Oct-21	1 Year	Included: AeroActive cooler ROG Vision: Coloured	Phantom Black

Accessories	Price	Availability	Warranty
ROG Kunai 3 Gamepad (for ROG Phone 5)	RM499	Oct-21	3 Months
LIGHTING ARMOR CASE (ROG5)	RM199	Oct-21	3 Months
AeroActive Cooler 5	RM149	Oct-21	1 Year
ROG Clip	RM149	Oct-21	3 Months
ROG Phone 5 Screen Protector	RM79	Oct-21	nil
ROG KUNAI 3 BUMPER	RM69	Oct-21	3 Months
ROG 1.8M USB-C TO C CABLE	RM59	Oct-21	6 Months

The ROG Phone 5s series will be available in Malaysia from the 21^st of October 2021 onward. The device will be available in two colours – Phantom Black and Storm White. The top-of-the-line Pro variant will be available only in one colour option though, the Phantom Black. You also only get the AeroActive cooler bundled with the Pro variant. The regular device starts at MYR 2,999 (8GB + 128GB). There is also a second option (16GB + 256GB) that retails at MYR 3,799. The range-topping Pro variant meanwhile will be sold for MYR 4,999. For more information on the ASUS ROG Phone 5s and its Pro variant, you can visit their website. Or, you can pre-order your ASUS ROG Phone 5s or ROG Phone 5s Pro now.

Android, Gaming, Mobile, News

ASUS ROG Phone 5s – The ROG Phone 5, But Even More Powerful

August 17, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The ASUS ROG Phone 5 was launched earlier this year and it is the ultimate gaming smartphone with not just the most powerful smartphone processor you can find in a modern smartphone. We are talking about Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 5G platform here. But they squeeze up to 18GB of RAM into a smartphone. You are essentially getting the performance of a modern PC in the palm of your hands, and it still fits in your pockets.

The ASUS ROG Phone 5 packed a fast display too. At 144Hz, it is one of the fastest, if not the fastest, smartphone display you can get in a modern smartphone. It also came with one of the fastest responding displays you can find in a modern smartphone as well at 240Hz of touch sampling rate.

While all of that made the ASUS ROG Phone 5 series one of the most powerful and desirable smartphones in the market, the recipe is not unique to ASUS’ ROG Phone 5 series. Other flagship smartphones started using the same recipe in their smartphones. You still will not get RAM sizes as big as 18GB in most flagships from major manufacturers. But you will get the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G platform and even up to 512GB of storage onboard. You also get up to 240Hz touch sampling rate with displays that refreshes at up to 120Hz in most cases.

Screenshot 2021 08 17 at 18 18 03 ROG Phone 5s Gaming Phones｜ROG Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global — Source: ASUS

The ASUS ROG Phone 5s series takes things up a notch in power though. It now packs a specially tuned Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G chipset. They call it the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ platform and it is marginally more powerful that its Plain Jane counterpart.

That is not all they improved though. They also made the 144Hz display a little faster to the touch. Instead of 240Hz in touch sampling, it now responds at 360Hz for an even faster 24ms latency from touch to action. It is still a Full HD+ display that measures at 6.78-inc though.

You also get mostly the same hardware as the current ASUS ROG Phone 5. The behemoth 6,000 mAh battery is still present to ensure you can work with it the entire day. You still get the high-resolution 64-Megapixel shooter supported by a 5-Megapixel macro camera and 13-Megapixel ultra-wide camera. Out front is a 24-megapixel shooter still.

Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS

We said that there is a series in the new line-up. That is because there will be two devices from the series – a regular ROG Phone 5s and an extreme ROG Phone 5s Pro. The difference between the two devices, at least in terms of visual, is found at the backplate. The regular ROG Phone 5s only packs the dot matrix RGB graphics at the back. The ROG Phone 5s Pro has the small OLED display that trickle down from the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate. Of course, the Pro also gets the 18GB RAM + 512GB storage treatment that was signature to the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate. Because the new ROG Phone 5s series shares similar dimensions with the original ROG Phone 5, you can use accessories that you have from the older ROG Phone 5 series.

ASUS says that the devices will launch on the 30^th of September 2021 in Taiwan. The ASUS ROG Phone 5s (16GB + 256GB) starts at NTD 29,990 (MYR 4,559*). You can get the ROG Phone 5s in 512GB storage flavour too at NTD 33,390 (MYR 5,167*). The ROG Phone 5s Pro will set you back NTD 37,990 (MYR 5,773*) at launch. There are no specific dates for an international launch at this time. Considering that the ROG Phone 5 Ultimate just arrived in Malaysian shores, we think the ROG Phone 5s series might not come all that soon.

* Approximately based on exchange rate of NTD 100 = MYR 15.20 on xe.com as of 17/08/2021

Android, Mobile, News

HONOR Magic3 Series Unveiled with IMAX Camera Enhancements

August 12, 2021 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

HONOR is a brand most well-known for being the affordable arm of HUAWEI. However, that changed over a year ago when the company was spun off to be an independent company challenging what was once its parent company. This year, the company has already launched one flagship as an independent company – the Honor 50 series. HONOR is once again expanding its portfolio with a brand new smartphone.

Better Image and Video with IMAX Enhanced Cameras

Screenshot 2021 08 12 at 21 10 11 150 HONOR Magic 3 Series Global Launch Event YouTube — Source: HONOR Global (YouTube)

The HONOR Magic3 series will consist of three smartphones (for now): the HONOR Magic3, the HONOR Magic3 Pro and the HONOR Magic3 Pro+. These smartphones are the first smartphones on the market to have IMAX enhancements when it comes to imaging. They have capabilities for shooting in exclusive 3D LUT colour grading profiles as well as video recording in LOG format.

Of course, given the hallmark partnership with IMAX, the HONOR Magic3 does have a focus on the camera that powers these features. The HONOR Magic3 comes with a triple camera setup. Its main sensor is a 50-megapixel, SONY IMX 766 sensor with 23mm focal length and an f/1.9 aperture and a wide-angle lens. This is complemented by a 64-megapixel monochrome sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and a 13-megapixel sensor with an ultra-wide-angle lens, 13mm focal length and an f/2.2 aperture. It also has a laser autofocus module. The HONOR Magic3 Pro comes with a four-sensor camera setup. It shares the same setup as the Magic3 with a complement of an additional telephoto sensor with a 64-megapixel periscope sensor with OIS and 3.5x optical zoom and an 8×8 dTOF sensor. The Magic3 Pro+ comes with the same setup as the Magic3 Pro with the 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor replaced with a 64-megapixel ultra-wide sensor.

Screenshot 2021 08 12 at 21 27 07 151 HONOR Magic 3 Series Global Launch Event YouTube — Source: HONOR Global (YouTube)

With the partnership with IMAX, the HONOR Magic3 series is said to be one of the factors behind the increased image quality. It allows even more flexibility when it comes to post-processing thanks to the 3D LUT profile and LOG format video. The cameras come with eight AI film effects with preset LUT profiles. These profiles allow users to edit and colour grade more easily allowing for better colour accuracy and better image quality. This is enhanced further by the enhanced colour precision of the 8 colour channels of the sensor and its integrated Smart AWB algorithm.

On the front, is a dual-sensor camera setup. This is nestled in the 3D display in a pill-shaped cutout. The 13-megapixel sensor is complemented by a 3D ToF depth sensor. The camera setup doesn’t just take selfies, it is also used in the phone’s more secure implementation of the face unlock feature.

A Powerpacked Flagship

The two smartphones are running on Qualcomm’s latest and greatest: the Snapdragon 888+. The new processor is a supped up Snapdragon 888 which promises even better performance while sipping on battery power. This is complemented with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of onboard memory. Both phones also run on a 4,6000mAh battery capable of 66W fast wired charging and 50W wireless charging.

Screenshot 2021 08 12 at 21 11 02 150 HONOR Magic 3 Series Global Launch Event YouTube — Source: HONOR Global (YouTube)

On the display side of things, both of the HONOR Magic3 smartphones come with a 6.76-inch OLED display with Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The display is also curved and folds over the sides. The Pro+ comes with a higher resolution QHD+ resolution screen. The Magic3 comes with IP54 certification while the Pro comes with IP68. Both will be running Magic UI powered by Android 11.

Pricing & Availability

The HONOR Magic3 series will be available in two finishes. The first is finished with synthetic leather while the next comes with a more conventional glass back. The former is available in Golden Hour and Blur Hour colours while the latter is available in Black and White.

Screenshot 2021 08 12 at 21 54 12 151 HONOR Magic 3 Series Global Launch Event YouTube — Source: HONOR Global (YouTube)

The HONOR Magic3 is priced at €899 (MYR4,462.72^*) while the HONOR Magic3 Pro comes in at €1,099 (MYR5,455.85^*).

The HONOR Magic3 Pro+ will come in Ceramic Black and Ceramic White. It will be priced at €1,499 (MYR7,441.18^*).

The Magic3 series will be released in China first with plans for a global rollout to be announced later on.

^*Conversion rate taken from XE.com at 9.49 pm on 12 August 2021. EUR€1 = MYR4.64.

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