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Samsung Galaxy S24 FE goes official in Nepal with Exynos 2400e chip

Samsung

Mintu

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October 15, 2024

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE goes official in Nepal with Exynos 2400e chip

And it is the Fan Edition time of the year again. We have a new Samsung Galaxy S24 FE here in Nepal with Exynos 2400e SoC, a bigger AMOLED panel, and a bigger battery than the last-gen S23 FE. So without further ado, let’s get into the specs, features, and official price of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE in Nepal, in this article.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Overview

Design and Display

Design-wise, Samsung hasn’t altered much. You get a protruding camera lens on the glass back on the rear side and a hole-punch display up front with a slightly bigger chin on the bottom. The frame is still metallic and holds up pretty well for a semi-flagship phone. On top of that, there is an IP68 rating ensuring protection against dust and water.

As for the display, the S24 FE flaunts a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. It gets Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus protection while the back glass has Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

Read our Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review

Performance

Under the hood, it is powered by an Exynos 2400e chipset, a 4nm fabbed silicon from Samsung. The company has not exposed the core information of this processor but it is likely a toned-down version of the Exynos 2400 SoC.

On the GPU side, it’s Xclipse 940 for games and graphics tasks. Memory-wise, it is paired with 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. Likewise, the S24 FE boots on OneUI 6.1 built on top of Android 14. Samsung is providing 7 years of OS and security updates as well. And it’s a 2024 phone, so, Galaxy AI features are here as well. You get Circle to Search, Portrait Studio, Sketch to Image, Interpreter, Live translation and such.

Camera

On the optics side, you get a triple camera setup here— a 50MP main sensor with OIS, an 8MP telephoto uni with OIS and 3X optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide camera. In terms of videography, it is capable of shooting up to 8K res videos at 30fps. And this guy’s camera performance is pretty decent in our tests. Almost on par with the Galaxy S24!

Also Read:

Battery and Charging

Moving on, fueling the S24 FE is a 4,700mAh cell with 25W wired PD charging support alongside 15W wireless charging support. Connectivity-wise, it supports 5G, Bluetooth 5.3, WiFi 6E, GPS, and a USB Type-C port. Furthermore, there is an optical indisplay fingerprint scanner for biometrics security.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Specifications

Body: 162 x 77.3 x 8 mm, 213 gm, IP68 rated
Display: 6.7″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O, 120Hz refresh rate
Chipset: Exynos 2400e 5G (4nm)
Memory: 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, 128/256GB internal storage
Software & UI: One UI 6.1 on top of Android 14
Rear Camera: Triple (with LED flash)
– 50MP primary lens with f/1.8 aperture, OIS, Dual Pixel AF
– 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture, 123º FOV
– 8MP telephoto with f/2.4 aperture, OIS, 3x optical zoom
Front Camera: 10MP, f/2.2 lens (punch-hole)
Security: In-display fingerprint sensor (Optical), Samsung Knox
Sensors: Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro, Geomagnetic, Hall, Proximity, Ambient Light
Battery: 4,700mAh with 25W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, reverse wireless charging
Color options: Blue, Graphite

Buy Samsung Galaxy S24 FE here!

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Price in Nepal and Availability

The official price of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE in Nepal is NPR 94,999 for the sole 8/256GB variant. You can buy Galaxy S24 FE in Nepal at the official price from Samsung-authorized stores like Hukut, where you’ll also get a 25W charger for free.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE	Price in Nepal (Official)	Availability
8/256GB	NPR 94,999	Hukut

Watch our Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review: Finally for the fans?

Nikhil Shrestha

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October 15, 2024

0

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE review: Finally for the fans?

So today, I have the new Samsung Galaxy S24 FE for review. Like always, it’s a “Fan Edition” phone from Samsung that tries to bring that flagship smartphone experience at a relatively affordable price by compromising on a few stuff here and there. And if you look at the specs, you’ll see that it’s very similar to Samsung’s regular Galaxy S24 (review) in a lot of aspects.

It costs NPR 94,999 (8/256GB) here in Nepal — and for that price — does the Galaxy S24 FE do enough to stand out? And more importantly, should you get this over everything else? Let me help you answer those ‘cause I’ve been testing the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE alongside the Galaxy S24 for about a week at this point to prepare this review.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Review: Specifications

Design and Build: 162.0 x 77.3 x 8.0 mm, 213 gm, IP68 rating
Display: 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED panel, FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
Chipset: Exynos 2400e (4nm mobile platform)
Memory: 8GB RAM, 128/256/512GB storage (non-expandable)
Software & UI: Android 14 with One UI 6.1 on top
Rear Camera: Triple (50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, 8MP telephoto)
Front Camera: 10MP sensor (hole-punch)
Security: Fingerprint sensor (optical in-display)
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C, 5G
Sensors: Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro, Geomagnetic, Hall, Proximity, Light
Battery: 4700 mAh with 25W fast charging (power adapter not provided)
Price in Nepal: NPR 94,999 (8/256GB)
Check the full specifications of Samsung Galaxy S24 FE here

Buy Galaxy S24 FE here

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Review:

Design and Build

162.0 x 77.3 x 8.0 mm, 213 grams
Gorilla Glass Victus+ front/back, Armor Aluminum frames
IP68 dust/water resistant

Alright.

As I said at the very beginning, the Galaxy S24 FE looks and feels like every other Samsung phone. It’s got the same “traffic light”-shaped camera design, the same flat frames for that bold look, and the same curved edges on all four sides.

I didn’t think I would have anything new to talk about on the design front but as it turns out, Samsung has given me quite a list of reasons this time. So first things first, the S24 FE has Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection on both sides now, which is a big upgrade from Gorilla Glass 5 that we saw on last year’s Galaxy S23 FE (review). And I love how Samsung made the S24 FE’s edges just curved enough for a more comfortable hands-on feel too.

This thing is also IP68 dust and water-resistant, as you’d expect from a flagship Samsung phone, although the S24 FE definitely isn’t as well-built as the Galaxy S24.

‘Cause its boxy form factor, the glossy design, and just its… overall build quality feels more like the Galaxy A55 (review) — a midrange phone — instead of the Galaxy S24. And I know its Victus+ glass and aluminum frames are nice-to-haves, but they’re still a step below Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and Armor Aluminum frames we get on Samsung’s typical high-end phones.

But let me just say that these downgrades aren’t dealbreakers in any way really.

Display

6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED panel
120Hz refresh rate, 1900 nits peak brightness

And there are a bunch of similar, little compromises in terms of the display as well. Like these thick and uneven bezels, for example. The S24 FE’s peak brightness is also pretty low in comparison — 1900 nits vs S24’s 2600 nits — and I certainly noticed this a few times when watching HDR videos on Netflix. Mainly with how both phones process the highlights.

This… really isn’t something that affects your normal, everyday use so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. In fact, I don’t have any complaints with things like outdoor visibility, color reproduction, smoothness, haptics, or even the speaker quality of this guy.

The only thing that’s kinda been bugging me is that I wish Samsung had gone with an ultrasonic fingerprint reader this time. But nope. The S24 FE has the same ol’ optical sensor, and unlocking it still takes like a moment longer than I’d like.

Samsung doesn’t think its newest Fan Edition phone deserves an LTPO panel either, which means instead of automatically switching between 1 – 120Hz to save power, the Galaxy S24 FE can juggle between 60 and 120Hz only. I thought this was gonna mean bad news as far as the battery life is concerned but the S24 FE surprisingly proved me wrong there.

Battery

4700 mAh battery (25W wired charging)
15W wireless charging, Wireless PowerShare

And under moderate use with a little bit of everything, I was constantly getting anywhere from 6 to 7 hours of screen time. That’s… not bad. You also get support for 15W wireless charging, although the S24 FE is stuck with the same 25W charging speeds which takes like an hour and forty minutes for a full refill.

Performance

Exynos 2400e (4nm)
8GB RAM, 128/256/512GB storage (non-expandable)
Android 14 with One UI 6.1 on top
7 years of OS and security updates

Okay, let’s talk about its performance now and I absolutely love how Samsung has used the same Exynos chip on the S24 FE that we saw on the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+.

Well… sorta.

So this thing is powered by Exynos 2400e, which is just a slightly downclocked version of Exynos 2400 on the S24 series. I would’ve loved for it to have a Snapdragon processor of course, but I gotta say it’s plenty reliable in everyday use so I don’t mind.

Matter of fact, Samsung says Exynos 2400e’s main Cortex-X4 core has been underclocked by 100 MHz compared to Exynos 2400 and that’s it. That’s literally the only difference between these two chips. And based on all the benchmarks I ran, I found that the Exynos 2400e scores somewhere between 4 – 5% lower than the regular Exynos 2400.

So like I just said, everything feels smooth on the S24 FE. I could multitask between a bunch of apps at the same time as well, even though this guy does get warm a bit faster than I’d like. Especially when I’m doing something computationally demanding like recording videos or using mobile data for a long time.

I won’t call it a “heating issue” but that’s something you definitely need to know.

How about gaming?

You know what? If you’re okay with lowering the graphics settings a little, then the S24 FE also games quite nicely. Almost as well as the Galaxy S24 actually.

Galaxy S24 FE vs Galaxy S24 – Gaming tests

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‘Cause I was getting a perfectly playable 58 fps average on Genshin Impact at medium graphics, while I enjoyed playing PUBG and Mobile Legends at high fps too.

Samsung says it has used an 11% larger vapor chamber cooling this time and I don’t know if it’s because of that, a larger body — or a combination of both — but I’m pretty happy with its thermals during gaming. Since it only got to like 40 – 41°C in all my gaming tests.

7 years of updates + Galaxy AI

Moving on, the S24 FE’s software game is as flagship as it gets. One UI remains one of my favorite Android skins and Samsung has blessed it with all those “Galaxy AI” features too. Including “Circle to Search”, live call translate, “Note Assist”, “Sketch to Image”, and everything else. And like the S24 series, there are also 7 years of OS and security updates to look forward to here, which is just incredible.

Cameras

Triple camera setup at the back
(50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 8MP telephoto)
10MP selfie camera (hole-punch cutout)

Alright, I wanna talk about its cameras now.

And although the S24 FE brings the same camera hardware as the S23 FE, the good news is that it can actually take perfectly good-looking photos as Galaxy S24 like… 80 – 90% of the time. From all four of its cameras. The S24 does win in terms of things like white balance and dynamic range — especially in challenging conditions — but yeah.

Daytime images

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The S24 FE is a damn fine camera phone.

Daytime images

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It captures a great amount of details, and as always, Samsung’s color game is on point too. Then again, I found its ultrawide camera to be a bit weaker than I originally thought.

Ultrawide images

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It has the same 12MP resolution as Galaxy S24, but it simply can’t maintain the same amount of details. Which maybe because the S24 FE’s ultrawide camera has a smaller sensor size and smaller pixels itself.

Lowlight ultrawide images

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This is even more apparent during lowlight shots, even though turning on night mode takes care of it all just fine.

Selfies

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These two handle the subject’s skin tone somewhat differently but overall, I’m happy with the selfies and portraits from the S24 FE as well.

Portrait images

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Both of them use a 3x telephoto lens by the way, although you should know that the S24 FE has a wider 75mm focal length so its images appear more zoomed in.

Equally impressive videos

But when it comes to videos, the Galaxy S24 has a clear advantage since it can record at up to 4K 60 fps from all of its cameras. While that’s something only possible with the main and the selfie camera on the S24 FE.

Having said that, let me reassure you that this thing can take great videos. The S24 once again has a nicer white balance — and also slightly better microphone quality — but the S24 FE’s video quality is much better than most phones found in this segment.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Review: Conclusion

Okay, I guess I better wrap up my review of the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE now.

And for what it’s worth, I’m pretty impressed with it. Samsung has pretty much delivered on that promise of a “flagship smartphone experience at a not-so-flagship price” with this phone. On all the crucial aspects like design, display, performance, battery life, and even the cameras.

So if you want a reliably premium smartphone experience under Rs. 1 lakh, then the Galaxy S24 FE is a great choice. Especially since Samsung Nepal is discontinuing the base model of Galaxy S24 which costs just a rupee shy of 1 lakh. Plus, you can also buy it at 0% EMI without a credit card by making a 40% downpayment. So instead of settling with midrange phones, you’ll get a much better experience with the Galaxy S24 FE.

Watch our video review of Samsung Galaxy S24 FE

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE Review: Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
• Smooth everyday performance	• No 4K 60 fps videos from ultrawide and telephoto camera
• 7 years of OS + security updates	• Gets warm a bit fast
• Reliable cameras	• Slow 25W charging
• Nice, robust design	• Could’ve been priced a bit aggressively
• Bright AMOLED display
• Decent battery life

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Who’s it for?

Nikhil Shrestha

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October 9, 2024

0

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Who’s it for?

So this is the new Apple Watch Series 10 that I’ve got in for review today, and it’s probably the most iterative upgrade to an Apple Watch ever. Which… is also what I said about the Apple Watch Series 9 (review) last year by the way.

It’s not like there haven’t been any interesting new things to talk about with every new Apple Watch every other year, but it has been a while since I was really wowed by an Apple watch that doesn’t have “Ultra” in its name.

And after wearing the Watch Series 10 for over a week now, I gotta say there’s not a lot going on this time either. This is still a perfectly “good” smartwatch that I’m sure most folks will be happy to put on, but should you buy it? Or are there better options out there?

Well… let me help you with all that.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Specifications

Case: 42 / 46 mm, Aluminum or titanium frame
Color options:
- Aluminum: Jet Black, Rose Gold, Silver
- Titanium: Slate, Gold, Natural
Dimensions and weight:
- 42 mm: 42 x 36 x 9.7 mm, 30 / 34.4 grams (aluminum / titanium)
- 46 mm: 46 x 39 x 9.7 mm, 36.4 / 41.7 grams (aluminum / titanium)
Durability: 5 ATM + IP6X dust resistant
Display: 1.89 / 2.04-inches LTPO3 OLED panel
Processor: Apple S10 SiP, 64GB storage
Software and UI: watchOS 11
Sensors: Always-on altimeter, Ambient light, Compass, Depth gauge, Electrical heart rate, High dynamic range gyro, High-g accelerometer, Temperature, Third-gen optical heart rate, Water temperature
Battery: 327 mAh battery, Up to 18 hours of normal use
Price in Nepal: NPR 79,000 (42mm) | NPR 85,000 (46mm)
Check the full specifications of Apple Watch Series 10 here
Buy Apple Watch Series 10 here

Apple Watch Series 10 review:

Design and build

Aluminum or titanium case (42 / 46 mm)
5 ATM + IP6X dust resistant

Okay.

So believe it or not, two of the biggest upgrades the Watch Series 10 has are in terms of the design and the display. Although — at first glance — this thing doesn’t look any different from what we’ve seen on previous Apple watches.

It has the same squarish design, the same digital crown on the side, and a variety of watch bands to choose from. The Watch Series 10 also fits and wears the same, but it’s a little bit bigger, a little bit thinner, and a little bit lighter now. You can get it in either 42 or 46 mm cases — instead of the usual 41 / 45 mm sizes — while Apple also says it has managed to make it 10% slimmer than the last three generations of Apple watches.

Which… is great… I guess?

I doubt anyone was hoping for a slimmer Apple Watch but I’ll take it. And you know what? I actually thought slimming down an already-slim watch would mean bad news for haptics and phone calls but nope. The Watch Series 10’s vibration feedback feels as crisp as ever, and its call quality is even better since it now supports “Voice Isolation”.

Just like on iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and AirPods.

It’s enabled by default, and it does a fan…tastic job at making my voice sound audible and clear in the middle of all the ruckus around me. And hey, you can also play media directly on the watch now.

Alright, as far as durability is concerned, the Watch Series 10 has the same old, same old IP6X dust resistance and 5 ATM water resistance. Its base model still comes with an aluminum case, although I like how you can get the Watch Series 10 with a titanium case as well now.

Just like the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

And the titanium Watch Series 10 gets a couple of other spec buffs too, including cellular connectivity and a tougher, more scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass for the display.

Aluminum case	Titanium case
Ion-X glass	Sapphire crystal glass
Optional cellular connectivity	Cellular connectivity
42 mm: INR 48,900 / USD 399	42 mm: INR 79,900 / USD 699
42 mm: INR 48,900 / USD 399	42 mm: INR 84,900 / USD 749

That sounds awesome but I think the price gap between the aluminum and the titanium watches is gonna be the dealbreaker to most folks straight away since this “titanium” upgrade is gonna cost you a pretty penny. Like… it’s anywhere between 60 – 70% more expensive than the aluminum version. Ouch!

Display

1.89 / 2.04-inches LTPO3 Wide-angle OLED panel
Ion-X (aluminum) or Sapphire crystal glass (titanium) protection
Up to 2,000 nits of max brightness

Anyway, like the design, this guy brings some big display upgrades too.

Quite literally.

‘Cause the Watch Series 10 has the biggest display out of every other Apple Watch you can find. Even bigger than the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (review) and get this, the 42 mm Watch Series 10 actually has the same size display as the 45 mm Watch Series 9.

That’s pretty cool and exactly the reason why I went with the smaller watch this year.

Apple says it has narrowed the bezels, made the edges more rounded, and also extended the front glass further over the sides this time, and yes… I’m loving all the extra screen space on this thing. It’s hard to quantify exactly how big of a difference that has made in my everyday use but everything from texts in the new “Translate” app to the UI elements in the “Weather” app and typing up a text in the “Messages” app feels more… spacious on the Watch Series 10.

Is that wide-angle OLED thing any good?

I also tried to convince myself that its “Wide-angle OLED” display would be a big deal since that’s supposed to improve the readability when looking at the watch from certain angles but… it turned out to be the biggest nothingburger. And after all this time, I’ve never really found a solid reason to be thankful for this upgrade.

At least we get a couple of nice-looking new watch faces here.

There’s one called “Flux” with bold typography, which looks especially rad in “Devanagari” font if you ask me.
And the other one’s called “Reflections” that can even show ticking seconds hands in always on screen if… that’s something you care about.

But besides a bigger screen space, the Watch Series 10’s display is pretty much the same as the one on the Watch Series 9. From colors to brightness levels and touch response, nothing else has changed between these two.

Performance

Dual-core Apple S10 SiP
64GB storage, watchOS 11

Moving on, Apple’s latest smartwatch gets a surprising chipset upgrade as well. The S9 chip in last year’s Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 already had such a massive performance leap so I really was curious to see exactly what big new thing Apple had in store this time.

But as it turns out, the Watch Series 10’s S10 chip doesn’t come with any performance upgrade. It has the same dual-core processor, the same quad-core neural engine, the same 64 gigs of storage, and the same everything else. Even Apple itself admits that the new chip was “engineered to achieve a thinner profile” more than anything.

I can’t say I’m mad about this at all though. “Performance” and “fluency” have never been an issue on Apple Watches and this guy feels perfectly snappy and smooth no matter what I throw at it. Which means most of the new experiences on the Watch Series 10 mostly rely on what Apple has done on the software side of things. With watchOS 11.

So first things first, the smart stack is even smarter now.

As it can automatically suggest different widgets based on time of day. Like… when I wake up, it will show the sleep widget and something else like weather and photos during the afternoon hours. There’s also that new “Translate” app I mentioned before, and I like how that “double tap” thing has gotten more intuitive across the whole UI as well.

Health and fitness tracking

25+ workout modes
- With automatic detection support of a few
Heart rate, stress, sleep, ECG monitoring
Crash Detection, Fall Detection

Whereas watchOS 11 also brings a couple of interesting features that I’ve been asking for when it comes to health and fitness tracking.

‘Cause I can finally, finally pause my activity ring without losing my activity streak or even adjust my goals based on the day of the week.

I’m not much of a fitness person by any means but even if you are one, being able to set a rest day is a super big deal. Since getting proper rest is equally as important as hitting your daily activity targets. I can also log the level of “effort” I put into any workout on the Watch Series 10, but perhaps the most useful health feature on this thing is something called “Vitals”.

So by logging at least 7 sleep cycles, the watch keeps track of several key metrics like my heart rate, blood oxygen level, wrist temperature, and respiratory rate to look for any signs of abnormality. Everything looks good on my end so far but I’ve seen multiple users on Reddit report how the Vitals app correctly predicted they were about to get sick so… this is quite promising.

It can detect signs of Sleep Apnea now

The Watch Series 10 also has the ability to detect signs of sleep apnea now, which is a fairly common sleeping disorder where your breathing gets frequently irregular during sleep. Once again, everything looks good on my end so far and I can only hope it stays that way.

Other than this, the Watch Series 10’s health monitoring features are still as reliable as ever. From heart rate to blood oxygen and even ECG reading, it can do them all.

Apple has also borrowed a few fitness tracking features from its “Ultra” watches this time. Including a depth gauge and a water temperature sensor. It did make sure to nerf the depth gauge by limiting its reading up to 6 meters only — versus up to 40 meters on the Watch Ultra 2 — but casual swimmers should love this little upgrade anyway.

I kinda wish the Watch Series 10 also had dual-frequency GPS but it still only supports L1 GPS. So when you’re walking, running, or exercising through dense city streets, the Series 10 will struggle to accurately pinpoint your location at all times.

Battery life

327 mAh battery
Up to 18 hours of normal use

Finally, let’s talk about battery life. And unfortunately, I still need to recharge this guy every. single. day. Unless I don’t record long workouts, use GPS, use wifi, or get a lot of notifications. But at least the good news is that it can now go from 0 – 80% in just half an hour.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Conclusion

Al…right. I guess I better wrap things up now.

So it’s pretty clear that the Watch Series 10 is a pretty boring upgrade, right? I mean, besides the bigger display, slightly faster charging, and that “voice isolation” thing, it doesn’t have any truly standout feature at all. There are a few new health-tracking features that I found genuinely useful, but most of them will be available on the Watch Series 9 too.

Including all those enabled by watchOS 11 and even sleep apnea detection.

That means if you’ve been rocking the Watch Series 7/8/9, there really is no reason to upgrade this year either. Whereas if you have been waiting to upgrade from a much older Apple Watch Watch — like Series 5, Series 6, or something — then this thing actually makes the Series 9 look like such a better deal. Since that one is available at a bargain these days. And you’re still getting like 95% of what the Watch Series 10 offers.

Apple Watch Series 10 review: Pros and cons

Pros	Cons
• Slimmer, more lightweight design	• Not much of an upgrade over previous Apple Watches
• A big display with minimal bezels	• Still no multi-day battery life
• Smooth performance
• 0 to 80% charge in just 30 minutes
• Sleep Apnea detection

Watch our video review of Apple Watch Series 10

Itel Alpha 2 launched with all the generic smartwatch features

Raizel Tandukar

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October 9, 2024

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Itel Alpha 2 launched with all the generic smartwatch features

Itel recently introduced the Flip One, a flippable feature phone, in India. Before that, they also launched a smartwatch with all the functions you would expect from a smartwatch. Let’s look at the Itel Alpha 2 in further detail in this article, including its expected price in Nepal.

Itel Alpha 2 Overview

Design and Display

The Itel Alpha 2 is rectangular in shape and has a rotatable crown on the right. It comes with an IP68 rating, offering a high level of water resistance. The watch is available in Black, Dark Blue, and Rose Gold. The watch case and the band on the former two options are of the same colours. In the meantime, for Rose Gold, the strap is Rose i.e. Light Pink, and the case is, well, Gold.

On the front, it has a 2-inch IPS display that can go as bright as 500 nits. With this, the Itel Alpha 2 should offer decent visibility when outdoors. No other information on the display has been provided.

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Features and Battery

As I mentioned earlier, the Itel Alpha 2 comes with all the generic features you would expect from a smartwatch. Firstly, it is equipped with Bluetooth, such that the user can connect it to their smartphone and manage their calls as well as access the voice assistant. You can track your vitals like heart rate, sleep, and blood oxygen with this watch. Moreover, there are over 100 dedicated sports modes for more specific activities.

Additionally, it offers a wide level of customisation with 150+ watch faces and you get pre-installed games as well. Itel has also provided an option to protect your watch with a passcode or pattern lock. In the tank, it has a 270mAh battery that lasts up to a week on a single charge.

Itel Alpha 2 Specifications

Design: Rectangular design, IP68-rated
Display: 2.00″ IPS LCD, Up to 500 nits brightness
Connectivity: Bluetooth
Features: Bluetooth calling, Voice assistant, 150+ cloud watch faces, 100+ sports modes, Heart rate/sleep/blood oxygen monitoring, Games, Passcode/pattern secured
Battery: 270 mAh, Up to 7 days battery life
Colour Options: Black, Dark Blue, Rose Gold

Itel Alpha 2 Price in Nepal and Availability

This watch went live in India on September end 2024 for INR 1,499. Given that, the price of Itel Alpha 2 in Nepal might be NPR 3,299, if it ever launches here.

Itel Smartwatch	Price in India (Official)	Price in Nepal (Expected)
Alpha 2	INR 1,499	NPR 3,299

Meanwhile, check out our Realme Watch S2 vs CMF Watch Pro 2 comparison video:

Premium Asus Zenbook S 14 ultrabook for 2024 lands in Nepal!

Aarohan Niraula

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October 9, 2024

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Premium Asus Zenbook S 14 ultrabook for 2024 lands in Nepal!

Asus has launched yet another S series Zenbook in Nepal with the 14-inch variant finally landing. We’ve already covered the Zenbook S13 and Zenbook S 16 laptops, so here, let’s direct our attention to the Asus Zenbook S 14 (2024) price in Nepal, its specifications, and availability.

Asus Zenbook S 14 (2024) Overview

Design and Display

The S series is Asus’ premium ultrabook lineup so you are getting a sleek and stylish machine on the design front. The lid is made with a ceraluminum material while the rest of the chassis is all metal. You get iconic Zenbook lines on the front with two color options: Scandinavian White, and Zumia Grey. Finally, for ultimate portability, the whole of the device is just 1.1 cm thin and weighs a light 1.2 kg.

Moving onto the display front, you get Asus’ Lumina OLED with accurate colors out of the box. It runs at a fast 120Hz with minimal response time and has a ton of certifications against blue light and eye comfort. Furthermore, it can reach a bright 500 nits when playing HDR or up to 400 during normal use. And although there’s a touch variant, the one that is widely available in Nepal doesn’t support touch or stylus input.

Processor and Memory

Talking about the brains of the device, you are greeted with a new Series 2 Intel Core Lunar Lake chip. Specifically the Core Ultra 7 256V with its 8 cores/threads, and a boost clock of up to 4.8 GHz. This new architecture boasts a huge leap in efficiency that’s perfect for an ultrabook. Furthermore, it includes improved Arc graphics and a dedicated Intel AI NPU that can push up to 47 TOPS on its own. There’s a lot more at play with this new chip, so check out our dedicated Intel Core Ultra 200V Lunar Lake article to learn more.

Asus Zenbook S 14 2024 Cooling Solution — Zenbook S 14 2024 Cooling Solution

As for the memory on the Zenbook S 14 (2024), Asus has soldered it down but you can get up to 32GB (LPDDR5X) alongside up to a terabyte of storage. There are no extra slots either but the 16GB/1TB variant currently shipping should suffice for most people’s needs and if not, then the fast ports make for an easy external storage solution.

Connectivity and Extras

Speaking of ports, you get two Thunderbolt 4s, a Type-A, a HDMI, and an audio jack. That’s a good selection of ports for an ultrabook and you of course have your wireless options including the latest WiFi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4.

Also Read:
- Asus Zenbook 14 OLEDs (2024) with Intel and AMD chips get a Dashain discount!
- Asus Laptops Price in Nepal 2024 [Updated]

Fueling the Zenbook S 14 is a four-cell 73Wh battery with Type-C (via PD) charging. The keyboard has a white backlight, the FHD webcam is accompanied by an IR for Windows Hello, and the quad speakers are tuned by Harmon/Kardon. All in all, it is a great overall package for casual work and entertainment.

Asus Zenbook S 14 2024 (UX5406SA) Specifications

Design and Build: Ceramic aluminium lid, US-MIL-STD 810H
Dimensions: 31.03 x 21.47 x 1.19 ~ 1.29 cm
Weight: 1.2kg
Display: 14” OLED panel, 16:10, 500 nits peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut
Resolution: 3K (2,880 x 1,800)
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 256V
Graphics: Integrated Intel Arc Graphics
RAM: Up to 32GB LPDDR5x, 7467MHz
Storage: Up to 1TB PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD with 6500 MB/s read speed
Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
Audio: Quad Speakers tuned by Harman/Kardon with Dolby Atmos support
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x audio combo jack
Connectivity: WiFi 7 (802.11be) + Bluetooth 5.4
Battery: 73Wh Integrated Battery with 65W AC Adapter via USB Type-C
Colors: Zumaia Gray
Learn the full specifications of the Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED (2024)

Asus Zenbook S 14 (2024) Price in Nepal and Availability

The new Zenbook is now available in Nepal via Nagmani International. Asus Zenbook S 14 (2024) price in Nepal is NPR 232,900 for the Core Ultra 7 variant with a 3k OLED screen. You get 2 years of official warranty alongside a free sleeve with your purchase.

Asus Zenbook S 14 (2024)	Price in Nepal	Availability
Core Ultra 7 256V, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 14” 3k OLED 120Hz	NPR 232,900	Nagmani

Meanwhile, check out our video on the Asus Zenbook 14 (2023):

Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to two computer scientists and people are confused

Science

Dip Khatiwada

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October 9, 2024

0

Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to two computer scientists and people are confused

The Nobel Prize for Physics for the year 2024 has been awarded to two computer scientists whose foundational work enabled a major development in the field of Machine Learning. But award has not been received lightly at all, as people are confused about whether their invention truly falls under the scope of Physics or not. Let’s dive into this article, to learn more about the latest news on Nobel Prize in Physics.

Nobel Prize in Physics Overview

Physicist John Hopfield and computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024. The two researchers were honored for their pioneering work on artificial neural networks, a key technology behind modern artificial intelligence.

Hopfield Networks and Associative Memory Mapping

John Hopfield introduced a type of neural network now called the Hopfield network. This type of network is known for its ability to model associative memory mapping, a process where the system can store and recall patterns, much like the human brain remembers related information.

In a Hopfield network, neurons communicate with each other in cycles, allowing the network to update itself over time. This makes it useful for tasks where data needs to be matched to previously stored information, such as in error correction or pattern recognition.

Hinton’s Work on Boltzmann Machines

Geoffrey Hinton took the concepts behind Hopfield networks and leveled up by creating Boltzmann machines, taking up concepts from statistical mechanics and condensed matter physics to generate new patterns. What makes Boltzmann machines game-changing is that they were an early form of generative AI, meaning these systems could go beyond just recognizing patterns—they could actually create new data or solutions based on what they had learned. This innovation set the stage for today’s deep learning models, which fuel everything from AI image generation to natural language processing.

Also, read

Backpropagation and Deep Learning

Hinton was also key in advancing the training of deep neural networks with a method called backpropagation. This technique helps AI systems adjust the connections between neurons based on their performance, improving their ability to learn from large datasets.

Nobel Prize in Physics: Conclusion

The award has also faced some criticism. Some argue that these inventions don’t fully qualify as “physics,” since the Nobel Prize in Physics has traditionally been awarded for discoveries that reveal new laws or fundamental properties of nature.

Meanwhile, check out our review of the Galaxy S24 FE

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S24 Ultra – Battle of the most premium phones on Earth

Dip Khatiwada

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October 9, 2024

0

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S24 Ultra – Battle of the most premium phones on Earth

The S24 Ultra is the world’s best-selling flagship Android phone in 2024, whereas the iPhone 16 Pro Max is the best iPhone you can buy right now!

And if you remember, when I compared the S24 Ultra with last year’s 15 Pro Max, it was so close between these two phones! But since then, the S24 Ultra has received some major updates making it more refined than ever, whereas with the iPhone 16 Pro, we get some nice upgrades too! Kinda! So, let’s put both of these flagships to the test to find out which one comes out on top. But before going anywhere further, let’s have a quick rundown of its specifications.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S24 Ultra Specifications

Specification	Galaxy S24 Ultra	iPhone 15 Pro Max
Display	6.8″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz refresh rate	6.9″ Super Retina XDR 120Hz refresh rate
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4nm)	Apple A18 Pro (3nm)
Cameras	200MP main (OIS) 50MP telephoto (5x) 10MP telephoto (3x) 12MP ultrawide	48MP main (OIS) 48MP ultrawide 12MP telephoto (5x)
Battery	5,000 mAh 45W charging 15W wireless charging	4,685 mAh 25W wired charging 25W wireless charging
Price (256GB)	NPR 184,999	NPR 232,499

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S24 Ultra

Design

Ok, let me start the conversation with their design and as expected both of them are quite different in terms of looks! The S24 Ultra has this classic boxy form factor and that clean camera setup! Which looks Bold and Classy.

Design

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But one thing I often find difficult while using the S24 Ultra are these pointed corners, which means it’s a little uncomfortable while playing AAA games for long hours. Whereas the curves on the sides of the 16 Pro really help with an overall grip.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max this time has a bigger form factor than last year – it’s got a bigger 6.9-inch display, so I was expecting it to be somewhat uncomfortable, but the weight is actually more evenly distributed this time around. Don’t get me wrong, both these phones are pretty huge, but I just like the overall feel of the 16 Pro Max. The iPhone is also more robust since you get Grade 5 titanium frames Vs Grade 2 on the S24 Ultra, so if you happen to drop these phones on concrete, chances are iPhone 16 Pro might have fewer scuffs.

Plus, Apple is claiming that their new iPhones are 2X tougher than any other smartphone’s display. And if you check the drop test conducted by Phone Buff, you will see that the 16 Pro is more crack-resistant than the S24 Ultra, but on the back, it seems that the S24 Ultra’s camera is stronger! The iPhone 16 Pro is also more water-resistant than the S24 Ultra! Both are IP68-rated, but you can submerge the iPhone up to 6 meters for 30 minutes Vs just 1.5 meters on the Galaxy.

But one thing I don’t like about either of these phones is these camera lenses can get dirty now and then, and if you don’t wipe it often before clicking photos, you might end up getting hazy photos! BTW, I am also fond of the iPhone’s action button, which I use more often than I expected, especially if I have to quickly set the notifications to silent whenever I enter a meeting room. However, as I said in my review of the 16 Pro, this new Camera button is not very useful to me! Its placement is weird, and it’s tedious to use so I have disabled it altogether.

The big Plus you have with the S24 Ultra though is this S-pen. And this is something none of the phones have! So this is a big advantage if I quickly wanna take notes during meetings, and it could be quite productive for a lot of professions like if you are an engineer and has to write down some important stuff during field visits, or if you are an artist who likes to doodle a lot! This is a nifty handy tool to have!

Display

Ok, how’s the display on these two phones? I think in this area, Samsung is now slightly behind because Apple has 2 big advantages:

No. 1 Not only its bigger but its bezels are even super thin than the S24 Ultra

And No. 2, the iPhone 16 Pro is even brighter than the S24 Ultra. In our test, we found out that the 16 Pro can reach up to 1800 nits in auto-brightness, whereas the S24 Ultra can only go up to 1500 nits. So, generally, the iPhone has better visibility outdoors.

But one thing to know is that Samsung uses this new anti-reflective coating which means it gets less reflection if direct light is coming in. And this has been super useful for me when I am using my phone on a bright 12:0 clock sunny day or even indoors where there’s multiple light sources. The glares are pretty much non-existent on the S24 Ultra. As for the color accuracy of this display, I found both these phones to be doing quite well and HDR 10+ videos are fantastic to look at as well.

But if I have to nitpick, since the S24 Ultra doesn’t support Dolby Vision playback, and the iPhone does, you will notice a tiny difference while watching Dolby mastered videos on Netflix or Amazon Prime! For eg. One of my favorite movies on Netflix, “Into the Spider-verse” is both brighter and has better contrast on the iPhone 16 Pro as compared to the S24 Ultra.

What’s disappointing though is that neither of these phones yet again hasn’t provided high PWM dimming like what Chinese flagships and even mid range phones are offering in 2024. This means if your eyes are sensitive to screen flickering when you are using the phone at low brightness, you might get eyestrain and headaches time and often.

Audio and Haptics

Now, when it comes to haptics, both these phones have nice precise high-quality vibration feedback, and I can’t really tell which is better! You will appreciate both of them when typing or navigating through the UI. Same with the speaker, Samsung is slightly louder but iPhone has better mid-tones and vocals; both are good speakers!

Software

One area where Samsung is ahead is with the AI features! If you remember, all the cool AI features Samsung announced during the launch of the S24 series were made available on the day the S24 Ultra was available in the market, and there are also some new AI features Samsung has added since then but seems like Apple is playing catch up here because most of the AI features they talked about is going to be available only later this year! And I still don’t know when it’s going to be available here in Asia!

This was a surprise because Apple announced these AI features in WWDC in June, and we all expected these AI features to roll out during the iPhone 16 launch. Thankfully, iOS 18 is here and it’s now more like Android. I can finally customize a lot of things like Android, I can pause the video while recording, there is T3 dialing and all too.

But the reason I always have an iPhone with me is if I have to go live or post a video on Instagram stories, the quality of the video doesn’t get compressed, and it’s sharper than any other Android phone!

Performance

As for the performance, both these phones are wickedly fast as you would expect! The new A18 Pro on the 16 Pro max does have significantly better CPU results, but in a real-world multitasking test I ran where I opened and closed 15 popular apps, both finished the loop at the same time! The area where the iPhone is slightly more optimised is in gaming! As you can see from this Chart, the 16 Pro Max has a much better 1% low so it’s more smoother and stable than the S24 Ultra.

This is the reason why all of the Pro, semi-pro and even amateur PubG players get an iPhone for gaming. It’s just more optimized. This time around, the 16 Pro Max’s thermals have also improved. Apple is still not using the Vapor chamber cooling system as the S24 Ultra, but the size of the graphite sheet is now larger, so I found it to be doing a surprisingly good job of keeping the thermals in check! Just check this wildlife extreme stress test, the stability of the iPhone is much much better than the S24 Ultra!

If you remember, last year’s iPhone 15 display used to dim itself after merely 20 minutes of PuBG to prevent the phone from overheating, but that’s not an issue with the 16 Pro Max! Even after 1 straight hour of gaming on this thing, the screen doesn’t dim! The temperature between these 2 phones is also comparable! They don’t overheat or throttle the performance! But one interesting thing I found is, after 40 minutes of recording 4K footage, the S24 Ultra was hotter by 2 or 3 degrees more than the 16 Pro Max!

Even copying large video files from the phone to SSD or converting 4K 120fps to slo-mo is significantly faster on an iPhone! The shutter speed or switching between the camera lens is also seamless on an iPhone! Small little quality of things are better on an iPhone!

Battery

Likewise, the battery life on the 16 Pro Max is also better by 1 or 2 hours, as compared to the S24 Ultra! In my typical use where I click a lot of photos and videos, play games, and watch videos, I get around 7 hours of SOT on the S24 Ultra, whereas I usually get around 8 hours on the latest iPhone 16 Pro Max! I have even got like 10 and a half hours of screen time which is crazy.

Charging is slightly faster on the S24 Ultra since with the 65W PD wired charger, it can get from 0 to 67% in 30 minutes and a full 100% in 1 hour 10 minutes, whereas the 16 Pro Max can get from 0 to 55% in 30 minutes and a full 100% takes almost 2 hours. The iPhone charges very slowly when it hits the 85% mark – to preserve the battery health!

Cameras

Camera

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Ok, I have saved the last for the best – Cameras! And in this aspect, I am surprised to see how an 8-month-old S24 Ultra competes so well against the newly launched 16 Pro Max!

Daytime

I think the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s camera will eventually improve with an update, but right now, in most daytime images, the dynamic range is better on the Samsung, and the color tone in most photos looks pleasing. The iPhone’s flat and warm tone does look nice in some cases, but I have to say I like Samsung’s vibrancy in most images! Just look at this dawn photo I took, Samsung just looks much more pleasing!

Daytime

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I don’t want you to think that Samsung is better all the time! In many ways, you will like the photos from both these phones and weirdly some of the photos are so identical, that you will not find a lot of difference except for the color tone! What iPhones consistently have been doing better over the years is when you click photos of your pet, it has better texture, and fur details!

Low light

During low light, I once again prefer Samsung output as it’s brighter, has slightly better details, and has better highlight control. The iPhone, on a lot of occasions, like in this photo of Krishna temple has this contrasty output, which might be a little unpleasing to look at!

Nightime

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The thing that I hope Samsung improves with the upcoming S25 Ultra is the night mode optimization. When I click the photos in Night mode, it makes the images unnatural which doesn’t look very good!

Ultrawide

The 16 Pro Max has the new high-res 48MP Ultra-wide camera, which does a slightly better job than the S24 Ultra! Unlike the primary cameras, the 16 Pro Max has better dynamic range, and details, and is occasionally brighter too.

Ultrawide

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The 16 Pro Max’s Ultrawide lens can also go closer for those macro shots, but here I like Samsung’s output. Yes, the iPhone has better details, but the way Samsung pops up the images with better depth looks more pleasing.

Macros

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Portraits

2X

Portrait

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What about the portraits? Here, in the 2X mode, Samsung has this classic vibrant social media-ready output whereas the iPhone likes to keep it natural with better textures if you zoom in. It’s just a matter of your preference! BTW You can go to the camera setting, and choose different options in the photographic style on the iPhone, but the default standard mode for me is still the safe option.

5X

Both these phones can click superb 5X portraits from its periscope zoom lens! Last time, when I compared the S24 Ultra and 15 Pro Max, the S24 Ultra was way behind, but with multiple updates Samsung has pushed, the S24 Ultra is now almost on the same level as the iPhone 16 Pro Max! In fact, the details from the S24 Ultra are better if you zoom in! S24 Ultra once again has that vibrancy, whereas iPhone color science is flat.

5X

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There are 3 other aspects where the S24 Ultra’s camera is better than the iPhone. No. 1: Its zoomed photos from 5X and beyond are much better. No. 2 You get an additional 3X lens which I think is a perfect focal length to take portraits. And No 3 the S24 Ultra’s selfie has improved a lot since the latest Sep Update! It just makes the skin tone appealing Vs the muted dark tone which you get from the iPhone!

Selfie

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On the other hand, No one can beat the iPhone when it comes to videography. Yes, Samsung is probably the second-best video camera phone after the iPhone, but that’s about it.

The consistency it has with the exposure handling, and smoothness is much better than what the S24 Ultra offers! I will give you one example. Check out this 4K 60fps Ultra-wide sample I took at night, Samsung just can’t pull any details whereas the iPhone video is much superior!

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Conclusion

Hence, with the iPhone in my pocket, I am more confident with the footage I am going to get. I can just click in pro-res and edit in post and the output is going to look more professional. The iPhone 16 Pro Max also has 4 studio quality microphones now and with the Audio Mix feature, removing the background noise is so much easier and effective too. And things like 4K 120fps videos and Cinematic aka portrait videos are also something iPhone 16 Pro Max is finer by a small margin.

Ok, conclusion time! And every year, I do the comparison between Samsung and iPhone! And every time, these two phones are getting so much closer and closer! The iPhone has a slightly better battery backup, a better Ultra-wide lens, and superior videography prowess, whereas, with the S24 Ultra, you are getting marginally better photos especially if you zoom a lot, there’s the S-pen for productivity, and the AI features you CAN use just fine.

And the S24 Ultra is much cheaper these days too! I was able to get the Dubai variant at just 72,000 INR or you can get the authorized unit during the sales at around 1.1 lakhs, which is still 25% cheaper than what the 16 Pro Max retails at!

I am particularly interested in the upcoming S25 Ultra launch, where we can anticipate bigger upgrades – hopefully in the battery and the ultra-wide camera. And I really hope the 3X lens will come with higher resolution and autofocus, which is something iPhone 16 Pro Max lacks!

Meanwhile, check out our review of the

Apple AirPods 4 review: Actually better than AirPods Pro 2?

Nikhil Shrestha

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October 9, 2024

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Apple AirPods 4 review: Actually better than AirPods Pro 2?

So alongside the promising — but rather disappointing — iPhone 16 (review) series, Apple also unveiled this little guy a few weeks ago, the AirPods 4. I was expecting the third-gen AirPods Pro to show up as well this time but nope. This is all we got. Then again, I wasn’t expecting that Apple would come up with two versions of the AirPods 4, to be honest.

One with active noise cancellation and one without.

This was a surprise not just since Apple has been reserving ANC on its “Pro” AirPods till now, but also since noise cancellation is quite difficult to do on half in-ear earbuds like these. So as someone who has been daily driving the AirPods Pro 2 (review) for almost two years now, I was super eager to find out how good AirPods 4 is.

And after testing them side by side for all this time, the one thing I’ve realized is that just because the AirPods Pros are more expensive — and just because you can afford them — doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be the right pick for you. And you might even be better off with the cheaper AirPods 4 instead. Let me explain.

Apple AirPods 4 review: Specifications

Dimensions and weight:
- Earbuds: 30.2 x 18.3 x 18.1 mm, 4.3 grams (each earbud)
- Charging case: 46.2 x 50.1 x 21.2 mm, 34.7 grams
Water resistance: IP54 dust/water resistance (earbuds and case)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3
Sound driver: Custom high-excursion Apple driver, Custom high dynamic range amplifier
Audio codecs: AAC, SBC
Noise cancellation: Yes (optional active noise cancellation)
Battery: Up to 4 hours (earbuds only, ANC), Up to 20 hours (with case, ANC)
Control: Force sensor on each earbud (no volume control)
Price in Nepal: NPR 24,999 (standard) | NPR 34,999 (with ANC)
Check the full specifications of Apple AirPods 4 here
Buy Apple AirPods 4 here

Apple AirPods 4 review:

So before I start talking about these two, I wanna tell you what’s different between those two versions of AirPods 4 first. ‘Cause other than ANC itself, its base model misses out on a couple of other things too. Like a built-in speaker on the charging case so that you can find it more easily and also wireless charging.

AirPods 4	AirPods 4 (with ANC)
—	• Active noise cancellation support
—	• Built-in speaker in the charging case
—	• Wireless charging
• Custom high-excursion Apple driver, custom high dynamic range amplifier
• Dual beamforming microphones
• IP54 dust/water resistant (both earbuds and case)
• Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity

But besides this, both AirPods 4s are the same everywhere else. Including their audio quality, battery life, controls… everything.

Design and comfort

Half in-ear design
4.3 grams (each earbud)
IP54 dust/water resistant (earbuds and case)

Anyway, so the most obvious way you can tell the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro apart is from their design, right? The AirPods Pros are proper in-ear earbuds with silicone tips to make sure the buds fit nice and tight in your ear canals, while the AirPods 4’s half in-ear design means it gets rid of such eartips altogether.

Now, personally, I’ve never had any issue putting on in-ear earbuds.

I’ve tested dozens of such earbuds over the years — of different shapes and sizes — and their in-ear design has never bothered me. But that’s me. And there are a lot of people who don’t like how they fit. At all. Including a bunch of my colleagues who swear that wearing in-ear earbuds feels like stuffing a plunger in their ears since those silicone eartips do generate some pressure to create a good seal. I’ve even had someone tell me that they’ve developed allergies and similar skin irritation issues because of such earbuds.

And if you’re in that crowd, then the AirPods 4 is for you.

There’s no “eartip” to worry about and even then, I’m actually surprised with just how well this thing fits in my ears. I mean… seriously. Apple says it has redesigned the speaker unit a bit for a better fit and that’s clearly working the magic for my ears. The AirPods Pros do fit somewhat better to me still, although I really can’t complain much.

A super duper compact case

Instead, I absolutely love how compact and lightweight the AirPods 4’s charging case is. I always thought the AirPods Pro had the most pocketable case out of other earbuds but man this is something else! So sleek, so easy to carry around… I love it.

And it’s somehow still IP54 dust/splash resistant like the earbuds themselves, so that’s reassuring to see as well.

But like it or not, the AirPods Pro’s case does have a couple of advantages.

number 1, it has the U1 ultra wideband chip which enables “Precision Finding”.
- So not only can you ring its case when you accidentally misplace it, but you can even get its approximate location using an iPhone.
and number 2, it’s also MagSafe compatible. Unlike the AirPods 4 which supports wireless charging but not magnetic wireless charging.

Controls

Force sensor on each earbud
No volume control

I guess these compromises are fine considering the price difference although I really don’t like how Apple left out the volume control gesture on the AirPods 4. It’s honestly one of my favorite things about the second-gen AirPods Pro but here, I have to reach my phone every time I want to adjust the volume. Or ask Siri to do it like an idiot.

The AirPods 4 also uses an inferior optical in-ear sensor instead of a skin sensor to automatically pause the music when you take one of the earbuds out. And yeah, it’s definitely not as reliable since it occasionally resumes playback even when I place the earbuds on the table or in my pant pocket for some reason. While the AirPods Pro doesn’t make that mistake.

Sound

Custom high-excursion Apple driver, Custom high dynamic range amplifier
AAC, SBC codecs
Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking

Okay. All that talk… but what about the audio quality?

Apple never really specifies the driver type or driver size in any of its audio products so if you look at the specs, it almost feels like Apple is trying to convince you that the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro 2 sound the same. Especially since this guy also has the same H2 audio processing chip as the AirPods Pro.

AirPods Pro 2	AirPods 4 (with ANC)
Custom high-excursion Apple driver, custom high dynamic range amplifier
Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking
Vent system for pressure equalization
Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, H2 headphone chip

But let me give it to you straight, I’ll take the AirPods Pro’s audio over the AirPods 4 any day of the week. No doubt. I’m definitely not saying that the AirPods 4 sounds terrible or anything ‘cause it actually sounds a lot fuller than I expected it to.

There’s plenty of details to enjoy, the instrument separation is great — so is the soundstage — the midrange is a standout as always, and these earbuds also have just the right amount of sparkle in the treble region.

Whereas the AirPods 4’s got a surprising amount of bass as well.

The bass surprise

I say “surprising” because reproducing the low ends is really not an easy job on half in-ear earbuds like these. Since the lack of a proper seal like on in-ear earbuds usually means there’s a lot of room for bass frequencies to leak out.

But whether I’m listening to pop bangers like Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” or jamming to some rock tunes like “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin, the AirPods 4 does a great job preserving the finer details. All… helped by some warm bass to really add that sense of power and energy to the track.

It’s not all good vibrations though

Ironically enough though, one of my biggest complaints with its sound has to do with bass. Well… sub-bass to be more specific, which is the bass you feel instead of something you hear. It’s typically defined within the 20 – 60 Hz region and I found that the AirPods 4 struggles horribly with literally every song that has sub-bass in the mix.

Be it hip-hop tracks like “redrum” by 21 Savage or even some alt-pop tunes like Lorde’s “Royals”, the bass drop comes off smeared and bloated instead of tight and punchy on this thing. While… the AirPods Pro doesn’t make that mistake.

It doesn’t suffer from sub-bass roll-off like the AirPods 4 and maintains a noticeably tighter bass response. Not just that but the AirPods Pro simply… preserves the dynamics better overall you know? The AirPods 4’s audio isn’t that far off but yeah, like I said before, the AirPods Pro is still Apple’s best-sounding pair of earbuds if you ask me.

Noise cancellation

Active noise cancellation (ANC)
Transparency mode, Conversation Awareness
Powered by Apple H2 chip

Alright, I wanna talk about their active noise cancellation next and — as I mentioned right at the beginning — ANC on half in-ear earbuds is not easy to do.

‘Cause for active noise cancellation to work effectively, you need two things.

A couple of microphones on the buds that listen to the outside noise and generate an “anti-noise” signal to cancel it out.
- And that’s easy to implement on the AirPods 4. Great.
But what’s equally important is that the earbuds should have solid noise isolation too.

Which is just a fancy way of saying that the buds should be able to physically block out the ambient noise as much as possible. And as we all know by now, the AirPods 4’s half in-ear design makes it not so great at that.

So when I first got my hands on these earbuds, I really wasn’t expecting much from them as far as ANC is concerned. But it seems that Apple was ready to impress me through the roof ‘cause the AirPods 4’s active noise cancellation is so… much better than I thought it would be.

Almost instantly shushing all those consistent low-frequency noises around me. Like that humming noise coming from the AC in my office or my colleagues gossiping (and occasionally arguing) in the other room. Or when I’m outside, the AirPods 4 does a convincing enough job of quieting the city traffic or the rumble from the bus engine when I’m headed home.

The best ANC on half in-ear earbuds.

I even compared it with Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 — which has the same semi in-ear design — and found AirPods 4’s ANC to be notably better across all types of noises. Not by a whole lot but I could clearly hear the outside a little more effortlessly on the Buds 3 versus this guy.

A…ll this sounds awesome but just like audio, the AirPods Pro is in a different league when it comes to active noise cancellation as well. The AirPods 4 actually competes fantastically against consistent, low-frequency noises I talked about before, but its silicone tips and a tighter seal mean the AirPods Pro is better equipped to deal with things like TV noises, human voices, and all sorts of sudden, high-frequency noises.

And one other important thing you need to know about the AirPods 4’s active noise cancellation is that it may not be consistent at all times either. What I mean is, since it doesn’t fit as firmly as in-ear earbuds, that illusion of a quiet outside can break the moment it dislodges from your ears even by just a little bit. Which happened to me a lot more times than I care to admit.

How about transparency mode?

At least its transparency mode is as good as you’d expect from Apple.

The AirPods have always been my benchmark for the most natural-sounding transparency mode on a pair of earbuds and this thing keeps up that tradition just fine. It does tend to amplify the ambient noise a bit compared to the AirPods Pro but I don’t mind.

There’s also the “Conversation Awareness” thing which automatically lowers the volume of whatever I’m playing whenever I start speaking. And I like how it doesn’t activate when I’m just clearing my throat or something.

Call quality

Dual beamforming microphones
Voice Isolation support

Moving on, I’m more than happy with the call quality on the AirPods 4 as well. The one thing in particular that stood out to me is just how well it manages to isolate my voice in windy conditions. Like… how is Apple even doing this on half in-ear earbuds?

The AirPods 4 does struggle in somewhat noisy conditions but I can always turn on “Voice Isolation” to get rid of most of those unwanted noises around me. This isn’t a new feature by the way, but the way it so aggressively processes and filters out most of the background noise is nothing short of amazing.

Battery life

Up to 4 hours of music playback (with ANC)
Wireless charging, USB-C wired charging

But you know what isn’t amazing? Its battery life.

I mean… I’ve seen the light on its charging case glow bright orange wayyyyyy too frequently than I’d like. ‘Cause with ANC turned on, the AirPods 4 are only supposed to last 4 hours at best, which is more or less what I was getting on average. Just 3.5 – 4 hours. The case itself is good for 20 hours of listening time with active noise cancellation so that’s something at least.

Apple AirPods 4 review: Conclusion

Okay, I better wrap up my Apple AirPods 4 review now.

And I guess you’ve already figured out that I love it.

This is pretty much a no-brainer to anyone who hates the in-ear design of the AirPods Pros but still wants some of its “pro” features. Like great sound and generous noise cancellation. There’s definitely some room for optimization here — especially with its sub-bass response — but I’m sure Apple will sort it out with a couple of firmware updates.

That being said, if you’re perfectly comfortable with how the AirPods Pros fit, then you shouldn’t be looking into the AirPods 4… at all. From controls to battery life, sound quality, and active noise cancellation, the second-gen AirPods Pro wipes the floor with AirPods 4.

I almost forgot. Remember that hearing health thing Apple mentioned during the keynote? Including the ability to use your AirPods as hearing aids? Yeah… that’s gonna be exclusive to the AirPods Pro 2 as well. And the best part is that you can actually get it at a similar price as the AirPods 4 these days since this guy is over two years old at this point.

Songs referenced in the Apple AirPods 4 review:

Apple AirPods 4 review: Pros and cons

Pros	Cons
• Comfortable	• Audio and ANC still below AirPods Pro 2
• IP54 rating on both earbuds and case	• Not the best battery life
• The best ANC on half in-ear earbuds	• No volume control
• Nice, balanced sound	• It has a pretty bad sub-bass response
• Good call quality (also supports Voice Isolation)

Watch our video review of Apple AirPods 4

MediaTek Dimensity 9400 is now official with 35% increase in single core performance

MediaTek

Surakshya Acharya

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October 9, 2024

0

MediaTek Dimensity 9400 is now official with 35% increase in single core performance

MediaTek has launched its latest flagship chipset, the Dimensity 9400, which will be available in a couple of months. This new chipset marks a significant upgrade from its predecessor, the Dimensity 9300, with various improvements in CPU performance, AI capabilities, and gaming features. In this article, we will discuss everything about the latest Dimensity 9400 chipset.

Dimensity 9400 Chipset Overview

CPU

The Dimensity 9400 features MediaTek’s second-generation All Big Core design. It incorporates a powerful Arm Cortex-X925 core running at over 3.62GHz, alongside three Cortex-X4 cores and four Cortex-A720 cores. This configuration provides a 35% increase in single-core performance and a 28% boost in multi-core performance compared to the Dimensity 9300. Additionally, the chipset is built on TSMC’s second-generation 3nm process, resulting in up to 40% greater power efficiency.

Gaming

The Dimensity 9400 aims to deliver an immersive gaming experience with its 12-core Arm Immortalis-G925 GPU. This GPU offers a 41% peak performance and 40% faster ray tracing capabilities compared to its predecessor. It also supports opacity micromaps (OMM) for realistic visual effects, resulting in 44% power savings. The chipset integrates MediaTek Adaptive Gaming Technology (MAGT) 3.0 and HyperEngine’s Super Resolution for enhanced gaming performance.

AI Capabilities

A notable feature of the Dimensity 9400 is its 8th Generation NPU, which enhances generative AI performance. It is the first mobile chipset to support on-device LoRA training and high-quality video generation. The new Dimensity Agentic AI Engine (DAE) accelerates large language model (LLM) prompt performance by up to 80% while improving power efficiency by 35%.

Multimedia and Sound Quality

The Dimensity 9400 features the MediaTek Imagiq 1090, which supports HDR video recording across the entire zoom range. Its Smooth Zoom technology facilitates capturing moving subjects while conserving power by up to 14% during 4K60 video capture. Additionally, it supports a maximum camera sensor of 320MP and enables 8K60 video recording.

The Dimensity 9400 includes advanced sound recording features, supporting up to 24bit/384KHz BT Audio. It allows for audio recording with up to 6 microphones and incorporates AI Audio Focus to eliminate unwanted noises.

Connectivity and Features

This chipset includes an updated 3GPP Release-17 5G modem with 4CC-CA, achieving up to 7Gbps in sub-6GHz performance. It also features a new 4nm Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo chip, supporting data rates of 7.3Gbps and Wi-Fi 7 tri-band MLO. MediaTek Xtra Range 3.0 enhances Wi-Fi coverage by up to 30 meters. Furthermore, the Dimensity 9400 is ready for the next generation of trifold smartphones, offering dedicated 3X MIPI-DSI for these devices. It also supports 5G/4G Dual SIM Dual Active.

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Partnership with Google

In addition, MediaTek announced that its Dimensity Platforms are now optimized to support Google’s Gemini Nano, which includes multimodal capabilities. This partnership aims to better the generative AI experiences across the Android ecosystem. The Dimensity 9400’s new NPU will support hardware acceleration for text, image, and speech, contributing to the advancement of complex AI models on devices.

MediaTek Dimensity 9400 Specifications

CPU:
- 1x Arm Cortex-X925 core (up to 3.62GHz)
- 3x Arm Cortex-X4 cores
- 4x Arm Cortex-A720 cores
Fabrication Process: TSMC 3nm
NPU: 8th Generation NPU with hardware acceleration for text, image, and speech
Graphics:
- 12-core Arm Immortalis-G925 GPU
- 41% peak performance
- 40% faster ray tracing performance
Camera Support:
- Maximum sensor: 320MP
- 8K60 video capture
- MediaTek Imagiq 1090 for HDR video recording
Connectivity:
- 3GPP Release-17 5G modem (up to 7Gbps)
- 4nm Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo chip (7.3Gbps)
- Wi-Fi 7 tri-band MLO
- MediaTek Xtra Range™ 3.0 (up to 30m coverage)
- Supports 5G/4G Dual SIM Dual Active
- Ready for trifold smartphones (3X MIPI-DSI)
Power Efficiency: Up to 40% more power-efficient than its predecessor
Video Recording:
- 4K60 video capture with reduced power consumption by up to 14%

Mediatek Dimensity 9400 Chipset Availability

Smartphones featuring the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 are expected to launch by the end of 2024. The Vivo X200 series, set to debut on October 14 in China, will be among the first to utilize this chipset. The Find X8 series, scheduled for release on October 24, will also include the Dimensity 9400. The chipset will then compete with the likes of SD 8 Gen 4 and A18 Pro.

Meanwhile, watch our Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 vs A17 Pro vs Dimensity 9300 video:

Itel Flip One launched in India — It’s a flip phone alright, but the OG kind!

Raizel Tandukar

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October 8, 2024

0

Itel Flip One launched in India — It’s a flip phone alright, but the OG kind!

Tecno recently launched the second iteration of its flip phone, and Infinix recently added one to its catalogue as well. Just yesterday, their sister company — Itel, also introduced a flip phone, but the old-school kind… with a keypad. Let’s take a look at the Itel Flip One in further detail, and also discuss what what its price in Nepal might be.

Itel Flip One Overview

Design and Display

As I mentioned earlier, the Itel Flip One is a feature phone, and it folds in half. As such, it has a hinge with the company branding on the outside in the middle. This phone is trying to imitate the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 with “two” vertically aligned camera cutouts and a black strip going across. That being said, the one isn’t a blatant imposter though, as it has some twist to it. The edges of this thing are flat, and the back is layered with leather! Even Samsung Flips haven’t had a leather finish so far, so that’s something.

On the front, it has a modest 2.4-inch display with OVGA resolution. Obviously, it isn’t a touchscreen or anything. That’s about it for the display. However, I can’t help but wonder, how cool would it have been if Itel pulled something like the Lava Agni 3 and slapped a secondary display on the back.

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Hardware and Features

There isn’t much information about the internals of the Itel Flip One — not surprising for a feature phone to do something like this. But from what’s available, this phone can store up to 2,000 contacts and 100 SMS. It has a 1,200 mAh battery and offers a week’s battery life in Super Battery Mode. Once out of juice, you can charge it back up through the USB-C port. It also has a camera on the back, which is of VGA resolution.

You get dual SIM cellular and Bluetooth support on this thing. Itel lists “BT Caller” as one of the features on the Flip One. Though it has not been clarified, it’s likely trying to convey that you can connect other accessories such as earbuds, smartwatches, and speakers through Bluetooth and receive calls through them. Similarly, there is something called “King Voice”, which appears to be a voice changer of sorts. Lastly, this phone supports 13 different languages spoken in India. This seems to be specific to the Indian variant, and the listing of this phone on the Pakistani website does not mention any such feature.

Itel Flip One Specifications

Design: Flip design with leather back and glass keypad
Display: 2.4-inch colour display, OVGA (640 x 480 pixels)
Memory: 2,000 contacts + 100 SMS worth
Camera: VGA resolution ≅ 0.3MP
Battery: 1,200 mAh battery with up to 7 days battery life
Charging: via USB-C
Connectivity: Dual SIM, Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio jack
Features: Bluetooth calling, King Voice, Wireless FM Radio, 13 Indian Regional Language
Colour Options: Orange, Light Blue, Black

Itel Flip One Price in Nepal and Availability

Transsion Holdings’ subsidiary made this phone available on 7 October 2024 in India for INR 2,499 coupled with a one-year warranty. If the Itel Flip One makes its way to Nepal, we expect its price to be NPR 4,999.

Itel Mobile Phone	Price in India (Official)	Price in Nepal (Expected)
Flip One	INR 2,499	NPR 4,999

Meanwhile, check out our Motorola Razr 50 review video: