The Honor X5 Plus was launched last year with a Helio G36 SoC and a 5800mAh battery. Now the company has slashed its price. Without further ado, let’s get into discussing the specs, and features of the Honor X5 Plus alongside its latest price in Nepal.
Honor X5 Plus Overview
Design and Display
The Honor X5 Plus presents a 6.56″ HD+ TFT LCD display with dynamic dimming technology offering a 90Hz refresh rate. It sports a unique 20.15:9 aspect ratio screen with a waterdrop notch design to house a front-facing camera and displays 16.7 million colors. Moreover, the screen supports multi-touch gestures and can handle up to 10 touch points at the same time. In terms of design, the handset boasts a slim profile, measuring 8.35mm in thickness, and 188g in weight. The phone offers two color options; Cyan Lake and Midnight Black.
Performance and Memory
The smartphone is powered by the 12nm MediaTek Helio G36 chipset, featuring an octa-core CPU. Graphics are handled by the IMG GE8320 GPU.
It offers ample memory with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, which can be expanded up to 1 TB. Additionally, it supports dual Nano SIM cards for connectivity. The handset runs on MagicOS 7.1, which is based on the Android 13 operating system.
Camera
The Honor X5 Plus features a dual rear camera setup, comprising a 50 MP primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a depth camera with an f/2.4 aperture. It supports video recording up to 1920 x 1080 pixels. Likewise, on inside the tear-drop notch, there’s a 5 MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture for selfies and video calls.
Battery
The phone is equipped with a 5200mAh battery which offers approximately 17.8 hours of online video playback and up to 35 hours of audio calls on a single charge.
The Honor X5 Plus offers connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, and multiple positioning systems like GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo. NFC functionality is available in the WOD-LX1 variant. It also features various sensors, including gravity, ambient light, and proximity, along with a fingerprint sensor for security. Additionally, it uses a Type-C USB port for charging and data transfer and includes a 3.5mm ear jack for audio accessories.
In the Box
The Honor X5 Plus package includes the phone itself, charger, USB Type-C cable, quick start guide, eject pin, and a TPU protective case. It also comes with a pre-applied TP protective film. However, package contents may vary by market.
Dimension and Weight: 163.32 x 75.07 x 8.35mm, 188g
Chipset: MediaTek Helio G36 (12nm)
CPU: Octa-core (4*Cortex-A53 up to 2.2Ghz+4*Cortex-A53 up to 1.6Ghz)
GPU: IMG GE8320
Memory: 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage (expandable up to 1TB)
OS: MagicOS 7.1 based on Android 13
SIM: Dual Nano SIM
Back Camera: Dual camera setup (50 MP camera (f/1.8)+depth camera (f/2.4))
Front Camera: 5 MP Camera (f/2.2)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1, WiFi, GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, NFC, Type-C USB 2.0
Battery: 5200mAh LiPo
Honor X5 Plus Price in Nepal and Availability
The handset Honor X5 Plus is now available at the price of NPR 13,990 from its official price of NPR 15,490. You can purchase the smartphone from Hukut and other authorized stores in Nepal.
Samsung’s latest Exynos 2400 chipset, powering the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ smartphones, brings a notable advancement to the table with the implementation of Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP) technology. With the upgraded chip packaging tech, the Exynos 2400 reportedly delivers better performance and thermals.
What is FOWLP?
Fan-out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP) enhances semiconductor integration, using cost-effective materials like epoxy mold compound (EMC) to embed dies and increase I/O connections without requiring expensive silicon space.
Compared to the conventional FCBGA (Flip Chip Ball Grid Array) chip packaging tech, FOWLP delivers lower thermal resistance and a slimmer package. The Exynos 2400 marks Samsung’s first chip to utilize FOWLP, and the company claims a 23% and 8% increase in heat resistance in single-core and multi-core performance, respectively.
According to a report by an X (formerly Twitter) user @negativeonehero, the Exynos 2400 scored 4,231 in the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Test. That’s almost 2x higher compared to the two-year-old Exynos 2200 and on par with Apple’s A17 Pro.
Similarly, in 3DMark’s Solar Bay Test which measures a chip’s ray tracing capabilities, the Exynos 2400 managed the best loop score of 8,905 and a 64.6% stability. This is notably better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the Galaxy S24 Ultra which posted 8,249 best loop score and 48.3% stability.
Image: Khôi Ngọng on YouTube
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While the Exynos 2400 impressed in both of those GPU benchmarking tools, Samsung’s latest chip fell behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in AnTuTu. According to a test performed by YouTuber “Khôi Ngọng”, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the S24 Ultra posted a little over 1.8 million while the Exynos 2400 maxed out at 1.7 million points only.
Exynos 2400 Overview:
CPU and GPU
As for the chip itself, it is manufactured under Samsung’s 4nm LPP+ node. The Exynos 2400 brags a deca-core CPU setup, which includes a high-performance Cortex-X4 (@3.2 GHz), along with two Cortex-A720 (@2.9 GHz), three Cortex-A720 (@2.6 GHz), and four Cortex-A520 (@2.0 GHz) cores.
Whereas the Exynos 2400 is equipped with the Samsung Xclipse 940 GPU built on AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture. It supports all the flagship features too. Like hardware-based ray tracing, variable rate shading, and an upscaling tech called “FidelityFX Super Resolution”.
Memory and NPU
Other than this, Samsung’s latest flagship chip supports LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.0 storage too. It also has a powerful NPU that reportedly has 14.7x better AI processing than Exynos 2200.
Cameras and connectivity
In terms of cameras, this chip supports up to a 320MP single camera alongside up to 8K video recording and playback. In terms of connectivity, the Exynos 2400 features Samsung’s own Exynos 5300 modem. With up to 9.64 Gbps of downlink speed on sub-6GHz 5G or up to 12.1 Gbps on mmWave 5G.
For now, Exynos 2400 is available in the newly launched Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ outside of the US, South Korea, and China. While Samsung’s Exynos chips have been lagging behind its Qualcomm and MediaTek counterparts in recent years, the updated FOWLP chip packaging tech could help Samsung level the playing field in some capacity.
Seagate is an American company that specialises in everything related to data storage. Just recently, they have unveiled a mechanical hard drive with a massive 30TB storage capacity. This article will look into the Seagate Exos X Mozaic 3+ in further detail, including its price in Nepal.
Introduction
Everyone has been going on and on about artificial intelligence in recent times. In addition to that, AI has more implications than what meets the eye. With the integration of AI into our devices, the amount of data coming into existence will be off the charts. Between 2024 and 2025, Seagate estimates that 30ZB of data creation will occur. To put that number into perspective, 1ZB is equal to 1 BILLION TB!
Seagate Exos X Mozaic 3+ Overview:
To keep up with all the data creation, Seagate devised the Moziac 3+ under the Exos X series with cutting-edge technology. It is a hard drive platform that incorporates the company’s unique implementation of HAMR. As a result, it allows delivery of mass-capacity storage at a density of 3TB per disk.
Here, Seagate has implemented superlattice platinum-alloy media to combat magnetic instability and enable high-fidelity data inscription. Additionally, this hard drive uses a plasmonic writer that heats the said media to a temperature of about 430°C to enable data recording. Other than that, the company has also equipped the Moziac 3+ with the industry’s smallest, most sensitive magnetic field sensor — Gen 7 Spintronic Reader, and 12nm Integrated controller — a highly tailored servo-processor chip as well.
Seagate Exos X Mozaic 3+ Price in Nepal and Availability
The Seagate’s latest offering comes in three different models: 24TB, 30TB, and 32TB (SMR). This hard drive is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2024 and will be prioritised to hyper-scale cloud customers at first. Later it will also be made available for the general public.
Talking of the price, sources are expecting the 30TB variant to cost around USD 450. Based on that, if and when this hard drive makes its way here, we expect the Seagate Exos X Mozaic 3+ (30TB) price in Nepal to be NPR 71,999.
Meanwhile, check out our flagship smartphone chipset comparison video:
Acer updated its Nitro series of gaming laptops back in CES 2023 with Nitro V, Nitro 16, and Nitro 17 models. While the ‘V’ series saw a number of SKUs land in Nepal, there are only a few Nitro 16 models, while the Nitro 17 is nowhere in sight. In this article, let’s take a look at the design, specifications, availability, and price in Nepal of the Acer Nitro 16 (2023).
Acer Nitro 16 (2023) Overview:
Design and Display
The Acer Nitro 16 2023 sports a typical “gaming laptop” look with its neon-accented top cover and up to 4-zone RGB-backlit keyboard. And its build quality is also typical of what you’d expect, with the Nitro 16 weighing a hefty 2.7 kg. It is 28mm thick and comes in a single “Obsidian Black” color option.
This display on the Acer Nitro 16 2023 is a 16″ IPS LCD panel of WQXGA resolution (2600 x 1600 pixels). It also has a 165Hz refresh rate, 3ms GtG response time, and 400 nits of peak brightness. Besides that, the laptop supports NVIDIA’s Advanced Optimus, which allows you to switch between the dedicated GPU and the iGPU without requiring a restart.
As for performance, this particular model of the Nitro 16 2023 is powered by AMD’s Ryzen 7 7735HS or Intel Core i7-13620H. The former is an 8-core / 16-threads CPU with a maximum clock speed of 4.7GHz while the latter brings 12 cores and boost clock speed of up to 4.9 GHz. For the GPU, you can currently choose between the RTX 4050, RTX 4060, and RTX 4070 from NVIDIA.
Moving on, it comes with 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB of PCIe 4.0 SSD. And of course, you can upgrade both RAM and storage down the line as well.
This gaming laptop is fueled by a 4-cell 90Wh battery that fuels up via a 330W 3-pin adapter included inside the box. Wireless connectivity options on the Acer Nitro 16 2023 include WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1. Moreover, it has dual 2W speakers with DTS:X Ultra surround sound as well.
As for the port selection, this gaming laptop offers one USB 2.0 Type-A, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, and one USB 4 port (Type-C). Besides that, there’s also an HDMI 2.1, an Ethernet, a MicroSD card reader, a DC port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Keyboard: Chiclet-style backlit keyboard (1 / 4 zone RGB)
Processor:
AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS (8C/16T, up to 4.7 GHz)
Intel Core i7-1620H (10C/16T, up to 4.9 GHz)\
RAM: Up to 32GB DDR5-5600
Storage: 1x M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD
Graphics:
NVIDIA RTX 4050 (6GB GDDR6 VRAM)
Audio: 2x 2W speaker (DTS:X Ultra audio)
Battery: 90 Wh 4-cell Li-Ion battery
PowerSupply: 330W power adapter
Connectivity: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1, Gigabit Ethernet LAN
I/O Ports: 2x USB-C (1x USB 4, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2), 3x USB-A (1x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2), 1x 3.5mm jack, 1x RJ45, 1x Micro SD reader, 1x HDMI 2.1
Acer Nitro 16 (2023) Price in Nepal and Availability
The Acer Nitro 16 (2023) price in Nepal is NPR 139,999 for the AMD 7 7735HS and RTX 4050 version while the Core i7-13620H, RTX 4050 one costs NPR 142,999. The RTX 4070 configuration is also available for around NPR 180,000. You can buy this laptop from Hukut Store.
Well, it’s no surprise that AI is all the new hype in the tech world! With that, every tech company are rushing to integrate AI into their devices in one way or another. Now, Samsung is also jumping on the bandwagon with their — Galaxy AI! Let’s look at all the cool Samsung AI features on the latest One UI 6.1, shall we?
Top Samsung AI Features
Samsung has been going on about the “Galaxy AI” for a while now. And, let me just say, that the Samsung and Marvel collab teaser was kinda unexpected and cool too! First things first, a phone with cool AI features is not something unheard of — Google has been doing this for a while now with their Pixel phones.
Now, the South Korean tech giant is looking to challenge them as they have packed their latest flagships — the Samsung Galaxy S24 series — with a handful of new AI features! Well, technically speaking, they packed the One UI 6.1 with these AI features, but you get the point. Let’s just have a look:
1. Live Translate
This is probably, the most impressive AI feature among the bunch. Well, it is at least to me! So, what this feature does is — as the name suggests — translate conversations, in REAL TIME! With this feature, you can have a full-on conversation with a foreign speaker without breaking a sweat. What is going on here is, that you speak in your native language, your smartphone picks it up, translates it, and the foreigner on the other end hears you in their native language! Language barrier, who?
The initial impressions of this feature seem to suggest that it isn’t perfect. But, these things get better with time. Additionally, all this translation is happening within your phone itself, so you need not connect to the internet to access this feature. At this time, the Live Translate feature is only available for 13 languages, however, it will surely be expanded to include more languages sooner than later.
2. Circle to Search
The next AI feature Samsung is going on and on about is the “Circle to Search”. Here, you can hold your home button for a while, then the built-in AI will scan your screen. After which you can circle on a subject and your phone will scour through Google to show you similar results.
Well, this is not something new. You could definitely do the same thing using Google Lens. But, what is new is — the feature being baked into your phone itself! It will surely turn out to be one of the most useful features among the bunch.
3. Galaxy AI Editing Tools
Your latest Samsung Galaxy phones come with Galaxy AI editing tools that consist of features like Edit Suggestion, and Generative Edit. The former feature suggests suitable tweaks for you to perfect each of the photos you take. Meanwhile, the latter feature harnesses the power of AI more aggressively. Using this feature, you can select a subject in your photos, relocate it, and fill in the empty spaces using generative AI.
Once again, not something unheard of in the world of image editing. Popular editing software like Photoshop and Canva have a feature along those lines. But this “Generative Edit” feature comes in your phone by default, and that is — CONVENIENT!
4. Transcript Assist
Another cool AI feature the One UI 6.1 packs is Transcript Assist. This feature will come in handy if you are someone who attends a lot of long meetings, lectures, and such. This feature uses speech-to-text technology coupled with AI to transcribe, summarise, and even translate your recordings. The Transcript Assist feature apparently works on old recordings as well — more details to follow.
5. AI Keyboard
Well! It appears Samsung had the bright idea to integrate AI into their keyboard itself, and they call it — Chat Assist. With this, you can type in what you want, and the AI can do a bunch of stuff. Like, it can scan through what you have typed in, and change the tone of the message. For example, you could type in a message in a casual tone, and Chat Assist will help you change into a more professional tone. Additionally, it also offers chat translation as well as grammar checking feature.
The ProVisual Engine could be the biggest AI feature in the One UI 6.1. The naming surely suggests so. But, Samsung has decided to not explain what exactly is this ProVisual Engine. Given that, the company does say it is a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools that transforms image-capturing abilities. Thus, I am assuming, it will include a feature like AI upscaling, that can convert your grainy and shaky images to something usable of sorts.
7. The Rest
Now, the One UI 6.1 comes with even more AI features apart from the ones I have listed above. They are not as special as the aforementioned features, therefore, I will just skim through them here:
Interpreter
This feature is the water-down version of the Live Translate, which I covered earlier. To use this feature, both the language speakers have to be present at the same place. Here, you speak what you want to say to the other person and the translation appears on the screen. Therefore, this is like a speech-to-text plus translation feature working in tandem.
Note Assist
The Note Assist feature is what you get when you mix AI with the Notes app. With this, your phone can auto-format, summarise, rectify the spellings, and translate all your notes for you. Additionally, it can be used in speech-to-text format as well.
Top Samsung AI Features Conclusion
As I have said multiple times at this point already, the Galaxy AI does not offer anything extraordinary. It is everything we have already seen. AI transcription? Seen that! Generative fill? Done that! It’s nothing new! But, what is new is not having to use a bunch of third-party apps to do all these different things. It will surely be very convenient to have everything baked into your smartphone. Not just smartphones though!
All the laptops that launched recently have been going on and on about their NPUs and their AI capabilities too — including Samsung’s own Galaxy Book4 Series! All in all, AI will surely be a tool we will be engrained into our lives in the coming few years. While there’s that, let me be the bearer of bad news before I part ways — Galaxy AI — it’s not going to be free. At least, not after 2025, that is. So until then, let’s enjoy all the cool Samsung AI features to the fullest!
Meanwhile, check out our video on the 7 new features of Xiaomi’s HyperOS:
Oppo has now silently launched a “new” tablet in the Malaysian market. This tablet resembles Oppo’s other offering — the Pad Air 2 almost down to the teeth. This article will discuss the Oppo Pad Neo, its specifications, price in Nepal, and so on!
Oppo Pad Neo Overview
Design and Display
The Oppo Pad Neo comes in a dual-tone design with a darker shade strip running on the upper portion of the tablet. The large circular camera cutout also sits on this same strip. The tablet proudly flaunts the company logo on the centre. It is available in a single Space Grey colour option.
An 11.36-inch LTPS LCD panel sits on the front. This display spans 2,408 x 1,720 pixels in resolution while boasting 260 PPI pixel density. Meanwhile, it supports a refresh rate of 90Hz and a touch sampling rate of 180Hz. Moreover, it offers a peak brightness of 400 nits and a colour gamut of 96% NTSC.
Performance
This tablet relies on the MediaTek Helio G99 for its processing duties. It is an octa-core silicone that is built on a 6nm fabrication process and peaks at 2.2 GHz. It is coupled with Arm Mali-G57 MC2 integrated GPU. The Oppo Pad Neo comes in two configurations i.e. 6GB + 128GB, and 8GB + 128GB. The memory here is an LPDDR4X whereas the storage is an UFS 2.2. This tablet also offers an option to expand the storage externally while shipping with ColorOS 13.2 as the operating system.
In terms of cameras, we are getting an eight-megapixel sensor on the front as well as the back. Both the cameras here have a maximum aperture of f/2.0 while offering video recording capabilities at 1080p@30fps. The rear camera on the Oppo Pad Neo also offers an EIS feature while the front-facing camera does not enjoy any such novelty.
Powering this tablet is an 8,000 mAh battery that accepts 33W SUPERVOOC charging. The Oppo Pad Neo comes with two versions depending on the connectivity. The cellular variant supports 4G LTE while everything else the WiFi variant offers. Given that, it offers wireless connectivity through dual WiFi and Bluetooth v5.2 support. On the other hand, you only get a USB Type-C port. It also comes with a quad-speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support.
Oppo Pad Neo Specifications
Design: Dual-tone design with a strip of darker shade on the top end
RAM: 6GB (WiFi version) or 8GB (LTE version) LPDDR4X
ROM: 128GB UFS 2.2 + Expandable storage
UI: ColorOS 13.2
Rear Camera: Single 8MP Camera, f/2.0
Front Camera: 8MP Camera, f/2.0
Security: Face Unlock
Sensors: Geomagnetic, Light, Acceleration, Gyroscope, Hall Sensor
Navigation: GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo
Battery: 8,000 mAh with 33W SUPERVOOC charging
Connectivity: 4G LTE, Dual-band WiFi, Hotspot, Bluetooth v5.2, USB Type-C
Colour Options: Space Grey
Oppo Pad Neo Price in Nepal and Availability
The Oppo Pad Neo has been listed on the Oppo Malaysia website and is available for purchase at a starting price of MYR 1,199. If and when this tablet makes its way here, we expect the Oppo Pad Neo price in Nepal to start from NPR 44,099.
Oppo Pad Neo
Price in Malaysia (Official)
Price in Nepal (Expected)
WiFi version (6GB + 128GB)
MYR 1,199
NPR 40,999
LTE version (8GB + 128GB)
MYR 1,399
NPR 47,499
Meanwhile, check out our Galaxy Tab S9 FE review video:
Motorola has launched the Moto G Play (2024) at an affordable price point. This phone comes with all the basic things that you would need from your phone. Let’s delve into further details of the Moto G Play (2024) including its price in Nepal.
Moto G Play (2024) Overview
Design and Display
This phone comes in a single “Sapphire Blue” colourway and has a camera island that blends into the main body like in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series. The material of choice on the Moto G Play (2024) is PMMA, which is a rigid plastic. The company says this phone has a water-repellant design that is capable of withstanding moderate exposure to water such as accidental spills, and light rain.
On the display side of things, we are getting a 6.5-inch LCD panel with sizable bezels all around it. It is a 2.5D curved screen boasting Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Moreover, it has an HD+ resolution spanning 1,600 x 720 pixels and 269 PPI pixel density. This screen is capable of a 90Hz refresh rate as well as a peak brightness of 500 nits.
Performance
Under the hood, the Moto G Play (2024) packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G chipset. It is an octa-core silicone that was released back in late 2021 and clocks in at a peak of 2.4 GHz. Additionally, in terms of memory, this phone comes with 4GB RAM that can be virtually extended by an additional 2GB. On the other hand, we are getting 64GB internal storage with an option to expand via MicroSD card up to 1TB. On the software front, it runs on Android 13.
The Moto G Play (2024) keeps it simple in terms of camera as well. It has a single 50MP shooter on the back while an eight-megapixel sensor sits underneath the centre-aligned hole-punch cutout on the front. In the tank, it has a 5,000 mAh cell capable of charging at 15W.
For security, this phone comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor as well as a face unlock feature. It comes with stereo speakers as well as two microphones. It offers wireless connectivity via a single SIM 4G LTE, dual-band WiFi, and Bluetooth v5.1. On the other hand, you get USB Type-C and a 3.5mm headset jack for wired connections.
Moto G Play (2024) Specifications
Design: Single-tone water-repellent design with a PMMA plastic body
Connectivity: Single SIM, 4G LTE, Dual-band WiFi, Hotspot, Bluetooth v5.1, USB Type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack
Colour Options: Sapphire Blue
Moto G Play (2024) Price in Nepal and Availability
Motorola has listed the product on its official website and will start shipping on 8 February 2024 at a price tag of USD 149.99. If and when this phone makes its way here, we expect the Moto G Play (2024) price in Nepal to be NPR 23,999.
Motorolla Smartphone
Price in USA (Official)
Price in Nepal (Expected)
Moto G Play (2024)
USD 149.99
NPR 23,999
Meanwhile, check out our Moto Edge 40 Neo review video:
For 12 years straight, Samsung has been the world’s top smartphone seller. But no more. According to IDC’s latest report, Apple has overtaken Samsung to win the smartphone market in 2023. And in this article, we’ll be discussing the overall trend of the smartphone market share in 2023, including what’s going on with Apple and Samsung.
A quick overview of the smartphone market share in 2023
Yearly shipments and market shares
IDC estimates that Apple shipped a total of 234.6 million smartphones in 2023, claiming a 20.1% market share. This is a 3.7% growth compared to Apple’s 2022 shipment, while Samsung saw a steep 13.6% decline instead. Managing only 226.6 million units in 2023.
Like Samsung, the third and fourth spot occupants — Xiaomi and OPPO — also had negative growth in 2023. Xiaomi shipped 145.9 million phones to capture 12.5% of the market, while OPPO managed 103.1 million units for an 8.8% market share. And besides Apple, only Transsion Holdings (which includes Itel, Infinix, and Tecno) was able to hit a positive circuit with a tremendous 30.8% year-over-year growth.
Fourth quarter performance
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Apple continued its dominance with 80.5 million shipments, commanding 24.7% of the market. Samsung followed with 53 million units (16.3% market share), and Xiaomi secured 12.5% of the pie with 40.7 million units. Transsion Holdings and Vivo claimed the fourth and fifth positions, with 68.6% and 5.1% growth respectively compared to Q4 2022.
But the global smartphone market is still on a decline
While Apple and Transsion Holdings have plenty of reasons to celebrate, the global smartphone market saw a 3.34% decline in 2023 in terms of units shipped.
The decline, attributed to macroeconomic challenges and early-year inventory issues, resulted in the lowest full-year volume in a decade. However, the latter half of the year witnessed a positive shift, with the fourth quarter showing an 8.5% year-over-year growth, exceeding the forecast of 7.3%.
Samsung and the Android smartphone space
While Apple’s rise impacted Samsung’s market positioning, the Android space is hotter than ever. Huawei‘s resurgence in China, coupled with competitive offerings from brands like OnePlus, Honor, Google, and others, has added complexity to the smartphone market. Foldable devices and discussions around AI capabilities are also gaining traction, making the overall landscape of the smartphone industry intriguing.
What now?
The rise of Apple’s market dominance can be traced to its ever-present popularity in the Western market. Whereas in recent years, iPhones have exploded in terms of adaptability in low-income countries like India as well because of a couple of reasons. Like the social status that comes with owning an iPhone and all the financing options available. Only time will tell if Apple can continue its momentum in 2024 or if will Samsung retake its crown once again.
A new budget phone is official in the town. The Redmi 13C (4G) arrives with a Helio G85 chipset and 50MP cameras in Nepal, which is a toned-down version of the Redmi 13. Well, it’s a rebranded version of the recently launched Poco C65. Without further ado, let’s get into the specifications, features, and official price of the Redmi 13C in Nepal.
Redmi 13C Overview:
Display and Build
Build-wise, the Redmi 13C shares the visual attributes of the Poco C65. The plastic body and flat frame design are carried over with a waterdrop-notch screen. Talking of the latter, it is a 6.74-inch IPS panel with a 90Hz refresh rate and an HD+ resolution. You get Gorilla Glass protection and a TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certification despite being a budget phone. Other than that, the bezels are a bit prominent and relatively thicker on the chin. Redmi ships this guy in two color options: Stardust Black, and Starshine Green.
Similar to the 12C, the Redmi 13C has a 50MP main camera. In addition to that, it is accompanied by a 2MP macro and an auxiliary lens combo. Further, there is an 8MP snapper at the front for selfies and video calls. In terms of videography, both front and back cameras can capture up to 1080p videos at 30fps.
Performance
Under the hood, a 12nm Helio G85 chipset powers the Redmi 13C. This 4G silicon from Mediatek features two Cortex-A75 cores clocking up to 2.0GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8GHz. It is paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. As for the OS, the smartphone boots on Android 13-based MIUI 14.
Battery and Others
Fueling the Redmi 13C is a 5000mAh battery with 18W fast charging. But you only get a 10W charger included in the box. Connectivity options here include 4G, WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The Redmi 13C price in Nepal begins at NPR 13,999 for the base 4/128GB. The 6/128GB costs Rs. 15,999, while the 8/256GB variant of the Redmi 13C is priced NPR 18,999. You can buy the smartphone from Hukut and other authorized stores in Nepal.
Redmi 13C
Price in Nepal (Official)
4/128GB
NPR 13,999
6/128GB
NPR 15,999
8/256GB
NPR 18,999
Meanwhile, you can check out our Redmi 12C review.
The OnePlus Nord was a huge success and a very good midrange phone. But since then, the company’s cheaper entries in the Nord lineup, including the recent Nord CE haven’t really lived up to my expectations. However, finally, with the Nord 2, the original “Nord” charm seems to have made a comeback. So, let’s find out more in this full review of the OnePlus Nord 2.
OnePlus Nord 2 Specifications:
Body: 73.3 x 159.1 x 8.2mm, 189 gm, Splash-proof design, Gorilla Glass 5
Battery: 4500mAh with 65W Warp Charge (65W adapter inside the box)
Color options: Gray Sierra, Blue Haze, Green Wood (India-exclusive)
Price in Nepal: Rs. 59,999 (8/128GB) | Rs. 69,999 (12/256GB)
OnePlus Nord 2 Review:
Despite the Nord 2’s supposed triumph, in 2021, the competition in this mid-range price segment is incredibly stiff, especially here in the Asian market—thanks to the devices like the Poco F3 GT, Realme X7 Max, Mi 11X/Poco F3, and the likes.
Here, I have been using the Nord 2 and comparing it against the Realme X7 Max and the Poco F3 GT for the better part of 2 weeks now. With that out of the way, let’s get back to this review of the OnePlus Nord 2.
Design & Build
73.3 x 159.1 x 8.2mm, 189 grams
Glass back/front, plastic frames
Splash-proof design, No IP rating
Design
1 of 2
Buttons
Ports
First, let’s start by talking about the design. When taking the OnePlus Nord 2 in my hands, I can’t help but notice its similarity with the first-gen Nord in terms of its size and weight. I have this Blue Haze color option with this porcelain finish which looks clean and minimalistic. I was kind of hoping to get the Green Wood variant but sadly, that’s exclusive for the Indian market.
Anyway, I love how handy the OnePlus Nord 2 feels in my little hands. It’s got a good heft and definitely feels better than the X7 Max or the Poco F3 GT for that matter. Of course, the F3 GT has a gaming-centric design, so it’s not really a fair comparison. But I think the mainstream audience will appreciate Nord 2’s design a bit more.
It even borrows the same camera layout as the more expensive OnePlus 9. And like I mentioned earlier, this phone isn’t that heavy or wide either—and more importantly, holding it feels like you have a premium phone in your hands.
Dual Gorilla Glass 5
Likewise, both its front and the back are protected by Gorilla Glass 5 which seems to be a popular choice for OnePlus in most of their devices, including the high-end ones. But I wouldn’t bet on its durability seeing how Geeky Ranjit sir’s unit has literally shattered falling off his hands.
And quite rightly so, he says that at the end of the day, it’s glass and glass breaks! So, it’s really up to your usage pattern and how good of a case and screen protector you end up using.
Plus, the frames on the Nord 2 are also made of plastic. But thankfully, as you can see, the signature alert slider makes a comeback after its heavily criticized omission on the Nord CE. OnePlus has further cheaped out by including basic splash proofing here since there is no official IP rating on this phone. So, I had to be extra careful using the Nord 2 during this monsoon season.
Display
6.43-inches FHD+ Fluid AMOLED display
90/180Hz refresh/touch sampling rate
Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5 protection
Moving on, apart from the similar form factor as the OnePlus Nord, these two phones’ display specs are quite similar as well. It’s the same 6.43- inch AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ compliance.
Quality-wise, this is still a very good screen with accurate colors and excellent contrast. Its brightness is sufficient enough for both indoor and outdoor usage too. Additionally, unlike the original Nord, the punch hole cutout up top is not intrusive at all, so watching videos on this display has been a relatively more pleasant experience.
However, there are a few things that I am slightly disappointed with regarding the Nord 2’s screen. Firstly, it does not support HDR video playback on Netflix despite the aforementioned HDR10+ compliance. Therefore, I’ve had to be content with streaming only Full HD non-HDR videos on Netflix on the Nord 2.
Not the best-in-class display
Secondly, its 180Hz touch sampling rate isn’t any extraordinary like you would find on similarly priced Poco F3 GT, which boasts up to 480Hz of touch response. Even the Realme X7 Max and Xiaomi Mi 11X both feature 360Hz touch sampling rates.
So, on my usage, I did notice the touch experience on the Nord 2 to be slightly inferior in comparison. It’s nothing of a dealbreaker, of course, but if you are coming from phones with a higher touch sampling rate, you will definitely notice the inferiority of the Nord 2’s touch latency.
And finally, this display has settled for a 90Hz refresh rate, while 120Hz has pretty much been the standard at this price bracket in 2021. Personally, I have no complaints regarding the 90Hz screen on the Nord 2 as OnePlus has optimized the 90Hz refresh rate pretty well.
But I genuinely think the company should have added a higher touch sampling rate, which would have certainly made the display experience better for gaming and especially for chatting. Regardless, this screen also houses an optical in-display fingerprint sensor which works fine until your hands are greasy or wet.
Audio quality
Besides that, OnePlus has improved its speaker quality by including a good set of stereo speakers here. It’s fairly loud and balanced. I even compared it against the Realme X7 Max and found that both of them do almost a similar job.
Similarly, OnePlus has included good haptics too, so the vibration feedback while typing on this phone is fairly satisfactory. I like the fact that the feedback is not too hard but not too soft at the same time—it’s kind of a perfect balance and I am quite happy about it.
Battery
4500mAh battery with 65W fast charging
Now, while we are talking about the good stuff, I have to mention that I’m quite impressed with the dual 2250mAh battery on this phone. With the Ambient Display turned off, I got around 7 hours of SoT with my usage consisting of a couple of hours of watching YouTube videos, a lot of calling and texting, a good amount of social media, and some light gaming. So, it’s easily a proper all-day battery phone.
However, just like the more expensive OnePlus devices, I did notice 7-8% battery drainage overnight. As for charging, the Nord 2 juices up impressively fast, so the battery drain thing should not be that big a problem, I guess. Here, I graphed its charging speed to go from 0-100% in just 30 minutes with the 65 Watt Warp charger, which is quite impressive.
Performance
Octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI 5G SoC (6nm)
Up to 12GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128/256GB UFS 3.1 storage (fixed)
Android 11 with OnePlus’ OxygenOS 11.3 on top
Okay, now before moving on to the cameras, let’s talk about the performance of the Nord 2. The phone is powered by a custom Dimensity 1200-AI SoC, co-developed by OnePlus and MediaTek. OnePlus says that this doctored chipset offers improved response time for games and other apps, while it supposedly delivers better thermal and power efficiency compared to the standard Dimensity 1200.
Basically, the “AI” of it all comes into action in three facets: display, camera, and response times. While I’ve already been impressed with the regular Dimensity 1200 on the Realme X7 Max, I raised my expectations by just a little bit with the 1200-AI on the Nord 2.
As you can see from these benchmarks, this MediaTek flagship processor performs almost similarly to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870. And, if we compare it against the original OnePlus Nord, the scores are almost double.
OnePlus Nord 2
POCO F3 GT
POCO F3
AnTuTu v8.5
Total
512076
530183
593248
CPU
153940
152078
173606
GPU
178581
195223
241802
Memory
101635
94440
83277
UX
77920
88442
94563
To note, I got myself the 8GB RAM, 128GB storage variant of the phone, which is definitely a better value than the 12/256GB variant. And on my typical usage, it has provided me with an excellent experience, akin to using a flagship OnePlus phone.
Apart from the AI enhancements, the company has optimized this chipset really well to run day-to-day activities smoothly with no overheating issues either. Multitasking between even the heaviest of apps does not put pressure on this phone and on top of this, its UI is incredibly fluid and responsive.
OxygenOS x ColorOS
Talking of UI, Nord 2 runs on OxygenOS version 11.3. Now, after the announcement of merging the OxygenOS and OPPO’s ColorOS codebase, the former has seen a slight change. Is it a dealbreaker in any way? No, absolutely not! Apart from the camera app and slight changes in the settings menu, everything is pretty much the same.
I know that many of the OG OnePlus fans aren’t that accepting of this development—heck, even I am not very happy about it. But until and unless there are unrecognizably significant changes with the Oxygen OS, I am not complaining.
Gaming experience
Regardless, the OnePlus Nord 2 is certainly a good if not a perfect device for gaming as well. Here, high-end titles like Genshin Impact are playable in the highest settings under 60 fps mode. But under this, you will notice slight lags every now and then. Scaling down the graphics to High and keeping 60fps intact, I got a steady 40 fps on this phone, which is quite good.
Even with PUBG Mobile, you can easily achieve a stable 40 fps under HDR graphics and Ultra frame rates. For even smoother gameplay, you can dial down the setting to Extreme frame rates and Smooth graphics, which delivers a constant 60fps gaming experience without breaking a sweat.
OnePlus has also promised to introduce 90 fps gameplay in a list of games. As of now, 90 fps optimized games such as Critical Ops and Oddmar can hit only 60 fps on the Nord 2. The Realme X7 Max, on the other hand, already has 90 fps mode in games like PUBG Mobile.
Moving on, relatively less demanding titles like Call of Duty run well in 60 fps even in the highest settings. Testing it alongside the Poco F3 GT, well, we got a pretty similar gameplay experience except for the fact that the Nord 2 was able to keep itself relatively cool while the Poco F3 GT heated near the camera module.
But then again, if you are a hardcore gamer, I would suggest you go for the Snapdragon 870-powered Poco F3 or the iQOO 7 for even better gaming performance. As you can see from this table, you will be able to get more stable gameplay in demanding titles like Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile from phones with Snapdragon 870 onboard.
Cameras
Triple camera setup at the back
(50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP mono)
32MP selfie camera in the punch-hole cutout
Cameras
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Back
Front
On to the cameras, the Nord 2 features a triple camera setup that includes a 50MP primary, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP monochrome lens. For this review, I compared the cameras on OnePlus Nord 2 against the Realme X7 Max and Poco F3 GT to find out which of the three is the best mid-range camera phone.
Normal Images
For the most part, I like the images from Nord 2’s primary camera.
Normal
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It’s got appreciable dynamic range and details while producing natural-ish colors in most scenarios.
Normal
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OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
POCO F3 GT
As you can see from these samples, the photos are not extra punchy like from Realme X7 Max, nor does it have a bit more contrast like on the Poco F3 GT. However, it does struggle in focusing on close-up subjects while the Realme X7 Max does it better.
Wideangle Images
OnePlus Nord 2 - Wideangle
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Normal
Wideangle
Images from its 8MP ultra-wide camera do not have as impressive dynamic range and details as the primary images though.
Wideangle
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OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
I found Realme’s ultra-wide shots to be brighter and have a slightly better dynamic range as well.
Portrait Images
About the portraits, well, I am not a huge fan of both the Nord 2 and X7 Max in this regard. In fact, you can keep the Poco F3 GT in the same league too.
Portrait
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OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
POCO F3 GT
Nord 2’s portraits look highly beautified, have this unnatural yellow tone, and the blur looks unnatural the majority of the time. Realme X7 Max, on the other hand, produces this pink tint in the subject although the background looks slightly better.
Portrait
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OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
POCO F3 GT
OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
POCO F3 GT
And as expected from a Xiaomi midrange phone, Poco F3 GT’s portraits are dark and don’t have a pleasing background. So, for human subjects, I wouldn’t say any of these phones perform that good, and definitely need better optimization.
Selfie Images
Selfies from the 32MP lens of the OnePlus Nord 2 aren’t that good either.
Selfie
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OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
It is lacking in contrast and the subjects look extremely pale.
Portrait Selfie
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OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
Portraits selfies are slightly smoothened and the edge detection is average only. So, you can say that the Nord 2 is not a great selfie phone.
Nighttime Images
Nighttime
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OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
When it comes to nighttime photography, its images have acceptable sharpness but the Realme X7 Max’s images are clearly brighter with higher detail levels.
Night Mode
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OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
OnePlus Nord 2
Realme X7 Max
With the night mode turned on, the brightness and details improve significantly on both these phones.
Videography
In terms of videos, the OnePlus Nord 2 does a good job in stabilizing the 4k 30 fps videos, thanks to OIS, while Realme’s output is quite shaky and over-saturated. Do note that the OnePlus Nord 2 crops the videos by a bit to maintain better steadiness.
Likewise, with the 1080p 60 fps videos, the OnePlus Nord 2 comes out victorious with its slightly cropped, yet steadier results in comparison with Realme X7 Max. Regardless, the 1080p 30 fps videos are stabilized on both phones though.
OnePlus Nord 2 Review: Conclusion
To wrap up this review, the OnePlus Nord 2 is certainly a healthy upgrade over last year’s Nord—no doubts on that! And with the Nord 2, I feel like OnePlus is back with the kind of value-for-money it used to provide a few years ago.
At the same time, I think this phone also takes away the appeal of the more expensive OnePlus 9R and even the OnePlus 9 with its value-packed all-rounder performance. But again, this is not a perfect midrange phone. Its ultra-wide and selfie cameras are pretty average and the display isn’t as good as the competition.
Yet, looking at the overall positive aspects, I would definitely recommend the Nord 2 to anyone who is looking for a reliable midrange phone. Yet, be sure to pick the 8/128GB variant instead of the 12/256GB variant, which I think misleads the value proposition of this phone.
In terms of design, the handset boasts a slim profile, measuring 8.35mm in thickness, and 188g in weight. The phone offers two color options; Cyan Lake and Midnight Black.
