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Huawei manufacturing its own 5G chipsets this year partnering with SMIC

GadgetByte
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2
Huawei manufacturing its own 5G chipsets this year partnering with SMIC

For over four years, Huawei has been on a US entity list, which has stopped American companies from selling them hardware and software. As a result, Huawei’s access to 5G chipsets was also cut off. A few reports recently suggest that Huawei might regain the marketplace of 5G smartphones by jointly developing 5G chipsets with Chinese chip manufacturer; Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC).

Background of the restriction imposed on Huawei

After being placed on the Entity List by the U.S., Huawei, which was on the verge of becoming the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer, experienced a significant decline in its consumer revenue. It forced the company to rely on Snapdragon chipsets modified for 4G networks instead of offering 5G connectivity.

In 2020, the company’s revenue amounted to around $67 billion, but it dropped by half to approximately $33.5 billion in 2021.

5G Chipset Development

According to reporters in the Chinese smartphone market, Huawei and SMIC are working together to develop the 5G chipsets using Huawei’s software tools and SMIC’s manufacturing process. The 5G chips will rely on the ARM architecture, utilized by Qualcomm and other chipmakers as well. This means that various devices, including smartphones, laptops, and tablets, can incorporate Huawei’s chips.

Huawei-own-chipset

SMIC’s manufacturing process is similar in terms of power and stability to the 7nm process used by other competitors, despite not being officially 7nm. It is worth it for Huawei to use its own 7nm chipset that supports 5G than relying on 4nm Snapdragon chipsets that cannot work with 5G signals.

Challenges on Huawei’s Path

While this chipset appears promising, Huawei will have to face challenges to make a place in the market standing with its latest chipset. Semiconductors manufactured using Huawei’s EDA tools and SMIC production may have a relatively low yield rate of 50%. This means that out of every 100 chipsets produced, less than 50 will meet the quality standards.

Huawei’s 5G Chipset Availability

Huawei’s 5G chips are still in development, but the company might probably start shipping them in the second half of 2023. The forecasts suggest that initially, there might be around 2 to 4 million units of these 5G chipsets available, with a possibility of reaching 10 million units in the future. The first Huawei phone featuring this newly developed 5G chipset might come to market later this year.

  • Meanwhile, check out our review of Huawei Band 8.

AYANEO Air 1S is here with Ryzen 7 7840U APU and an OLED display

Aarohan Niraula
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2
AYANEO Air 1S is here with Ryzen 7 7840U APU and an OLED display

AYANEO has finally revealed the full specs and pricing of the new Air 1S Windows handheld gaming console. And there’s also a lighter “Air 1S Ultra Thin & Light Edition”. So let’s get right into the design, specifications, availability, and expected price in Nepal of the AYANEO Air 1S.

AYANEO AIR 1S Overview:

Display and Build

This handheld sports a 5.5″ AMOLED display with an FHD (1920 x 1080  pixels) resolution. It has a pixel density of 404 ppi and can hit 350 nits of max brightness. Other than that, this AMOLED panel covers 99% of the DCI-P3 and 100% of the sRGB color gamut.

Coming to the design, the AYANEO Air 1S features a hall-sensing joystick and hall trigger on either side. There’s a D-Pad on the left while your “ABXY” buttons are on the right side. Additionally, there are 4 other buttons spread out evenly on both sides for different shortcuts. Other than this, the AYANEO AIR 1S has an x-axis linear vibration motor and dual six-axis gyroscope for an immersive gaming experience.

AYANEO AIR 1S Design

This handheld comes in three colors: Aurora White, Polar Black, and a special “Retro Power” edition. And since it falls under the company’s “Air” lineup, it is also pretty lightweight at just 450 grams. To compare, the new Asus ROG Ally weighs 608 grams, while Valve’s Steam Deck is even heavier at 669 grams. There’s even an “AYANEO AIR 1S Ultra Thin & Light Limited Edition” which weighs just 405 grams. As for the dimensions, the AYANEO AIR 1S measures 224mm long, 89.5mm wide, and 21.6 mm thick. And that limited edition model trims off some of the bulk achieving 18mm of thickness.

Performance 

In terms of performance, the AYANEO AIR 1S is powered by the popular AMD Ryzen 7 7840U APU. It is very similar to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme in the ROG Ally, by the way. Both are 8-cores / 16-threads chips with a base clock speed of 3.3 GHz that can be boosted to a maximum of 5.1 GHz. The 7840U also features an AI engine, which is absent on the Z1 Extreme. Other than this, both of them deliver nearly identical performance.

AYANEO AIR 1S Performance

Similarly, the AYANEO AIR 1S can be configured to have up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 4TB of M.2 (2280) SSD. And in the base variant, you get 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. To quickly access all your games and different system settings like TDP and fan speed, this handheld ships with the updated “AYASpace 2” utility tool as well.

Extras 

AYANEO AIR 1S has a 38Wh (10,050mAh) battery. Since this can run at as low as 5W of power, it should provide decent battery life while playing basic games. Whereas when connected to power, it can run at up to 25W for better performance on more demanding titles. On the contrary, its “Light” Edition has a slightly smaller 28Wh (7,350mAh) battery. And it can run at a maximum of 18W when plugged in.

Moving on, port options on the AYANEO Air 1S include two USB4 (Type-C), one 3.5mm headphone jack, and one TF card slot. Its power button also doubles as a fingerprint reader. The handheld comes with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 and runs on Windows 11 out of the box. 

AYANEO AIR 1S Price in Nepal and Availability

As an early bird price, the base 16/512GB variant of the AYANEO Air 1S is available for USD 799, while its retail price is USD 100 more. Similarly, AYANEO AIR 1S Ultra Thin and Light Edition currently sells for USD 999 but will have a retail price of USD 1,129. Though unlikely, if this handheld makes it here, we expect the AYANEO AIR 1S price in Nepal to start at around NPR 140,000.

AYANEO AIR 1S Early Bird Price  Official Retail Price Price in Nepal (Expected)
16/512 GB USD 799 USD 899 NPR 140,000
32GB/1TB (Ultra Thin Edition) USD 999 USD 1,129 NPR 177,000

OnePlus Nord 3 Review: A well-balanced midranger, Finally!

Pratima Adhikari
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OnePlus Nord 3 Review: A well-balanced midranger, Finally!

Hello everyone, Pratima here! So the OnePlus Nord 3 is finally here! I’ve been using it for just over a week now! And I believe this is one of the most well-balanced mid-range phones you can get at the moment!

In India, the price starts at INR 33,999 or some 450 euros for the base 8/128GB variant. While the pricing in the Nepalese market starts at NPR 69,999 price tag which is more than double the Indian pricing. And although this price segment is full of some good phones like the Galaxy A54, Poco F5, and the Moto Edge 40, all of them compromise in one way or the other.

But with the Nord 3, OnePlus has nailed it at almost everything! There are some aspects of the camera that OnePlus needs to fix with an update or two, but other than that, it’s a stellar package overall! Before heading to the review, let’s have a quick look at the specifications first.

OnePlus Nord 3 Specifications:

  • Display: 6.74-inch AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, 450 ppi, Gorilla Glass 5
  • Resolution: 1.5K (2772 x 1240 pixels)
  • Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 9000 5G (4nm)
  • Memory: 8/16GB LPDDR5X RAM, 128/256GB UFS 3.1 storage (non-expandable)
  • OS: OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13
  • Rear Cameras: Triple (with LED flash)
    • 50MP f/1.8 Sony IMX890 primary sensor, OIS
    • 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 112° FoV
    • 2MP f/2.4 macro (4cm focus)
  • Front Camera: 16MP, f/2.4 sensor (hole-punch)
  • Battery: 5000mAh, 80W charging
  • Security: In-display fingerprint sensor
  • Connectivity: WiFi 6, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, Dual SIM
  • Buy Nord 3 here (Rs. 2500 OFF)

Design

Okay, the first thing that I really like about this phone is how simple its design is! I have it in this matte black color option and it looks plain yet elegant. You can also go with the Misty Green variant — which has a glossy back — but is equally good-looking too! Here, you get a Gorilla Glass 5 protection at the back while its display gets a Dragontrail glass.

OnePlus has also included an official IP54 dust and splash resistance for the first time in the Nord lineup. The IP54 rating basically means it can protect the phone from water splashes from any direction for around 5-10 minutes, and this has definitely come in handy for me during this monsoon season!

Likewise, I like these flat frames with subtle curves on the back which offer a nice grip. But more importantly, I like the overall heft of this phone! In fact, it has a much better hands-on feel than the more expensive OnePlus 11R.

The weight here is also evenly distributed, so I had no problems using it with one hand for long minutes. The power button is also easily reachable with the thumb, although I would have liked it more if this alert slider was located a bit lower.

OnePlus Nord 3 IR Blaster

I am also surprised to see an IR blaster on a OnePlus phone, which means you can use the Nord 3 as a remote controller too! Upfront, the bezels — as you can see — are quite minimal and uniform. In fact, they are on par with something like the S23 Ultra!

Display

Plus, you also don’t get a curved display like we saw on the OnePlus 11R, which you know I am not a big fan of. This one here is a flat panel, so I didn’t have any accidental touches when typing and playing games.

Talking about the core quality of the display, it’s quite good! Not “flagship-level” good, but this AMOLED screen has everything from a 120Hz refresh rate to a higher pixel density, 10-bit colors, and a fast touch sampling rate!

OnePlus Nord 3 Multimedia

I am using the phone in the default “Vivid” mode which produces a slightly punchy color output, but yeah you can also go with other modes and even change the color temperature with a slider! And this is also an HDR-certified display, and on my test, I had no problems watching HDR content on OTT platforms like Netflix and Prime Video.

What about the Refresh Rate and Brightness?

Likewise, interacting with this screen has been an absolute treat! The touch is quite responsive, the vibration feedback is probably the best in this segment, and there are no weird stutters in the UI too.

But I would suggest you use the phone in “High refresh rate” mode as that one’s more optimized. The UI and most of the apps always blast at 120Hz here, Chrome runs at 90Hz, and videos at 60Hz. Although it never hit the advertised 40Hz refresh rate in any of my tests.

OnePlus Nord 3 Usage

I also found the brightness of this display to be plenty reliable. OnePlus says it can reach up to 1,450 nits at max, but that’s only while watching HDR videos. Whereas in SDR content — with auto-brightness mode on — it can still reach an impressive 1,100 nits and I found it to be bright enough to look at the screen in direct sunlight.

On the opposite end, the OnePlus Nord 3’s minimum brightness is also quite low while its auto-brightness sensor works perfectly fine. The in-display fingerprint sensor here is pretty fast as well. So overall, you will love the display experience on this phone.

Awesome Dual Speakers

The stereo speakers on the OnePlus Nord 3 are also excellent for the price! It has Dolby Atmos support and the audio here can get really loud with good treble. The vocals sound clear and there is some hint of the bass as well!

Performance

But the biggest improvement the OnePlus Nord 3 has got is in the performance aspect! Here You get a much more powerful Dimensity 9000 chipset this time, along with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 3.1 storage. This means — compared to last-gen Nord 2 and 2T — the performance jump here is quite huge. Both in terms of CPU and GPU.

As a result, everything here feels fast and smooth, multitasking is excellent, and it almost feels like you are using a flagship phone!

OnePlus Nord 3 UI

That being said, you can get faster phones like the iQOO Neo 7 Pro with Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip at a similar price bracket. But what OnePlus offers is a much cleaner and easy-to-use UI experience with no bloatware apps, and you will just love using this phone.

OnePlus is also promising 3 generations of OS and 4 years of security patches on this thing, so that’s quite good as well.

Gaming

Now, coming back to the performance, the dimensity 9000 chipset here can get slightly hotter, but it doesn’t throttle the performance nor it has any kind of overheating issue! But yes, if you are using mobile data and doing some high-CPU usage tasks, it does get a bit warmer than other phones like say the Galaxy A54!

Anyway, talking about gaming, you do have an option of 90fps in PUBG mobile and the gameplay is quite enjoyable. It doesn’t reach 90fps but hovers at around 82fps, and I found this issue with almost every game I tested!

OnePlus Nord 3 Gaming

For instance, Genshin Impact at 30 fps mode only reaches 27 fps on average, while COD and Asphalt 9 are capped at 55 fps! But this should get optimised with an update so I’m not worried all that much.

Likewise, high refresh rate games like Injustice 2 and Mech Arena cannot be played at a smooth 120 fps and runs at 30 and 60 fps respectively. That being said, all of these games have no lags and achieve almost 100% fps stability!

Camera

Ok, let’s get into the camera! And this is one area I feel like Oneplus still has a lot of work to do to improve the Nord 3’s overall camera prowess! It features the same Sony IMX890 sensor as the more expensive OnePlus 11R and OnePlus 11, but I found it to be lacking in terms of overall consistency.

Daylight

Most of the photos I clicked from the Nord 3 are a bit more vibrant, which kinda works in OnePlus’ favor sometimes, but when I am clicking photos of greenery — for example — it looks quite unnatural.

 

Portrait

Portraits are also hit-or-miss. Sometimes it produces good-looking shots with nice background separation and focus, but sometimes it makes the skin a bit dark and contrasty!

Lowlight 

The lowlight images, on the other hand, are quite nice. Although it’s a bit less sharp and noisier than the 11R, most of the time, I am getting pleasing output. Especially while turning on the Night Mode.

Ultrawide

However, I am extremely disappointed to see a very average ultra-wide camera here! Just look at this ultra-wide nighttime shot I took, it’s just so bad in so many ways! And even under good lighting conditions, the results I am getting are quite average!

Selfies

Selfies come out nice most of the time, but it does tend to turn the subject’s skin soft and pinkish in some situation. So yeah — again — I think some form of consistency is definitely lacking here.

Videography

OnePlus is also not offering anything extraordinary in terms of videography. Yeah, it can record up to 4K 60 fps from the primary camera, but Oneplus is only offering stabilization in 1080P 30 and 60fps videos but not in 4K for some reason! And not just that, the overall quality is subpar too! It’s a bit darker and there’s some oversharping going on here!

The Ultra-wide videos are also substandard as it has very less details, no autofocus, and are capped at 1080P 30fps. Plus, Oneplus also doesn’t let you switch between the lenses while recording the video!

Battery

Lastly, the battery life I am getting on the OnePlus Nord 3 is decent! It’s nothing extra-ordinary like the S23 Ultra and the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but it should last you for an entire day if you are not a heavy user! And even if you are, you can quickly charge the phone with its 80W adapter in about 35 minutes.

OnePlus Nord 3 Review: Conclusion 

Ok, let’s conclude this video! Like I said at the beginning, I think the OnePlus Nord 3 has positioned itself quite well by offering balanced specs.

OnePlus Nord 3

The only aspect I find this phone could do better is of course the cameras! But I expect the company to roll out a few updates to optimize it in the coming days. Just like they did with the 11R. But the Nepalese pricing is at a blatantly higher side. After all, the phone costs INR 33,999 in India and it is priced more than doubled here in Nepal at NPR 69,999 for the 8/128GB trim.

But other than that, it manages to impress me with everything else. I really like its design, the multimedia experience is superb, and you get a flagship-like user experience with fast performance, nice haptics, and up to Android 16 OS update! So overall, OnePlus Nord 3 is somewhere at the top of my ranking in the best midrange phones for 2023!

OnePlus Nord 3 Review: Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Superb Performance from Dimensity 9000
  • Decent AMOLED panel and Main Camera
  • Fantastic Dual Stereo Speakers
  • 80W Charger in the Box

Cons

  • Average Ultrawide Camera
  • No Stabilization in 4K videos
  • Overpriced in Nepal

MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ announced with support for 10 bit 120Hz displays and ‘5G’

Aarohan Niraula
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2
MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ announced with support for 10 bit 120Hz displays and ‘5G’

MediaTek just announced its ‘new’ Dimensity 6100+ processor with support for 120Hz displays, AI cameras, and 5G. Let’s take a quick glance at MediaTek’s latest midrange processor and what it has to offer.

MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ Overview:

The Dimenisty 6100+ is a 6nm octa-core processor with 2 Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2.0GHz. From the looks of it, the Dimensity 6100+ is basically the Dimensity 810 SoC with improved 5G and 108MP camera support.

In their press release, MediaTek mentioned Dimensity 6100+ SoC to deliver ‘premium’ features at an accessible price point. These features include “exceptional power efficiency, vivid displays, high frame rates, AI-powered camera technologies, leading low power consumption, and reliable Sub-6 5G connectivity.”

MediaTek talked about the chip’s support for 10-bit 90Hz or 120 Hz displays, up to 108MP ‘AI-powered cameras’ with 2K 30fps video, and “AI bokeh”. Furthermore, Dimensity 6100+ integrates an enhanced 5G modem which ‘significantly’ reduces power consumption thanks to UltraSave 3.0+ technology.

One thing to note is that though the chip supports ‘5G’, it doesn’t support mm wave so what you’re getting is support for Sub-6 5G. That means faster speeds than 4G LTE networks but not as fast as mmWave 5G. Even so, MediaTek claims 10-30 % greater power efficiency in Sub 6 5G  compared to “competitors”.

“As developing markets continue rolling out 5G networks at a rapid pace and operators in developed markets work to finish transitioning consumers from 4G LTE to 5G, there has never been a more vital need for chipsets that cater to the growing number of mainstream mobile devices that feature next-generation connectivity,” -CH Chen (MediaTek)

MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ Specifications:

  • Process: TSMC 6nm (N6)
  • CPU: Octa-core
    – 2x Cortex-A76 (@2.2 GHz)
    – 6x Cortex-A55 (@2.0 GHz)
  • GPU: Mali-G57 MC2
  • Display: Supports up to 120Hz 10-bit display
  • Storage: Supports LPDDR4X RAM, UFS 2.2 storage
  • Connectivity: WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.2
  • Camera: Up to 108MP Non-ZSL camera , Up to 2K 30fps video

When is it coming?

We can expect phones to start shipping with the MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset by Q3 of 2023. These will mostly be budget-midrange Sub 6GHz 5G capable devices that offer decent performance at an affordable price.

  • Meanwhile, check out our comparison between flagship chipsets for 2023.

Meta Avatars to replace you from Messenger and Instagram Video Calls

Sonika Bhandari
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2
Meta Avatars to replace you from Messenger and Instagram Video Calls

Meta just recently announced a range of exciting updates to its Meta Avatars. These updates aim to elevate the digital experience for its users. One notable feature is real-time calling with Meta Avatars, allowing users to engage in video calls using their avatars instead of showing their faces. This feature provides a creative and expressive alternative for those who may not be camera-ready or prefer a more immersive communication experience.

Meta Avatars Update Features:

Real-Time Calling with Avatars

One remarkable feature of the Meta Avatars update is the introduction of real-time calling. Users of Messenger and Instagram can now engage in video calls with their avatars, offering a creative alternative to traditional camera-on or camera-off options. This feature allows users to hide their physical appearance for various reasons, such as a bad hair day or simply seeking a more expressive communication experience.

Animated Stickers for Expressive Interactions

To further enhance virtual interactions, Meta has introduced animated stickers for Meta Avatars across Instagram and Facebook platforms. Gone are the days of static images. With these dynamic avatar stickers, users can add more personality, emotion, and creativity to their conversations. These animated stickers enable users to express themselves in a fun and engaging manner.

Meta Avatar Social Stickers

Social Activity with Avatar Stickers

Meta recognizes that self-expression is often best enjoyed with friends. To promote social interactions, users can now include their friends in Facebook Stories through @Tagging. This allows avatars to hang out together in the metaverse, creating shared moments, inside jokes, and a sense of togetherness. Additionally, users can share social stickers featuring themselves and a single friend in private message threads, further strengthening connections and adding a touch of personalization to their conversations.

Streamlined Avatar Creation Process

In an effort to make avatar creation easier and faster, Meta is streamlining the process. Users on Facebook and WhatsApp can utilize a live selfie, which generates suggested avatar options closely resembling their real-life appearance. These suggestions can then be personalized to accurately represent themselves, allowing users to showcase their unique identities effortlessly.

Standardized Appearance of Avatars

To ensure a consistent and visually appealing experience, Meta has standardized the appearance of avatars across all platforms. Whether users are in virtual reality or on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, or WhatsApp, avatars will offer a more realistic representation. This update allows users to confidently showcase their style choices without their avatars’ oversized heads becoming a distraction.

Conclusion

With these exciting updates, Meta is committing to creating a dynamic and engaging metaverse for its users. It is transforming the way people interact digitally by providing real-time calling, animated stickers, social activity features, a streamlined avatar creation process, and standardized appearances. These enhancements allow for more immersive, expressive, and personalized digital experiences, setting the stage for a more vibrant future within the metaverse.

Meanwhile, check out our full review of Poco X5.

Huawei’s latest move could put China at the forefront of the AI race

Mintu
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3
Huawei’s latest move could put China at the forefront of the AI race

At the annual Huawei Developer Conference (HDC.Cloud) held last week, the company unveiled its latest development of AI products. Including the Pangu Model 3.0 and Ascend AI cloud services. And with the company’s latest advancements, China could finally catch up to US in the AI race. So let’s learn more about the Huawei Pangu Model 3.0 AI and more.

Huawei Pangu Model 3.0 AI Overview:

Here, the Pangu Model 3.0 is a family of multiple pre-trained AI models. Huawei first introduced it back in 2021 after the US put the company on the “Entity List“.

This AI model is completely based on the company’s hardware and platform due to US restrictions. The ban restricts Huawei from using American chips and high-power GPUs, unlike the other AI companies. For reference, OpenAI‘s ChatGPT is backed by NVIDIA‘s powerful GPUs.

Zhang Ping’an, Huawei’s executive director and CEO of Huawei Cloud Computing Technologies, said “Our AI platform … can offer solid infrastructure … as its computing power can reach 1.1 times that of mainstream GPUs.”  “If you can’t buy the mainstream GPUs, you can now use Huawei’s Ascend-powered AI cloud services, which will free you from the suffering of high-priced GPUs”, he added.

What can it do?

Huawei Pangu Model 3.0 can leverage large-scale data sets and machine learning algorithms. It allows the AI model to be used in multiple areas such as weather forecasts, finding faults in machinery and vehicles, and even in the mining industry.

Huawei Pangu AI Model Launch
Image: Huawei

Popular science journal “Nature” recently praised Huawei’s Pangu Weather AI Model team for developing a precise and accurate AI weather forecasting system. Hauwei used 43 years of deep learning data for this model.

Who exactly is the Pangu Model 3.0 for?

Huawei says the Pangu Model is mainly focused on enterprise clients, rather than individual clients. So, it might not be a major threat for ChatGPT which primarily relies on individual users. More information about this is expected to arrive in the coming days.

China in the AI Race

Amidst the US restrictions, Chinese tech companies are accelerating to roll out their own AI tech. Top companies like Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu alongside more than 30 Chinese firms are joining the AI race.

Since the inception of the Pangu Model in 2021, Huawei Cloud has been active in more than a thousand AI-related projects, covering railways, minings, drug development to meteorology. It witnessed a 19% growth in 2022 while Alibaba Cloud still retains the top spot. And overall, it looks like China could finally have a shot at gaining an upper hand against the US in the AI race.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE with Snapdragon 888 launched in India

GadgetByte
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2
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE with Snapdragon 888 launched in India

Samsung has reintroduced the Galaxy S21 FE in India. This time, the phone comes with a more powerful Snapdragon 888 processor instead of the previous Exynos 2100. The move aims to clear out old stock and provide consumers with an improved version of the device. Without further ado, let’s get into the specs, features, and expected price of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (2023) in Nepal.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (2023) Overview:

Enhanced Performance and Software Updates:

The new Samsung Galaxy S21 Fan Edition is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset rather than relying on the in-house Exynos 2100. Additionally, the phone offers 256 GB of built-in storage by default, which is double the previous version’s capacity of 128 GB.

Although Samsung has not mentioned anything on its website, the re-launched Galaxy S21 FE is expected to receive four major software updates.  This means the phone will likely be eligible for updates up to Android 17.

New Color Option and Design:

The re-launched Galaxy S21 FE introduces a new Navy Blue color option. This new color joins the existing choices of White, Graphite, Lavender, and Olive. This addition allows users to personalize their devices and select a color that suits their preferences. Other than that, the 2023 edition is very identical to the original one.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G Design and Display

Camera and Display:

The device retains the same camera setup and display specifications as the original. This includes a triple rear camera system consisting of two 12MP sensors and an 8MP telephoto camera. So, the display here is a 6.4-inches AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 2023 Camera

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (2023) Specifications:

  • Display: 6.4″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity-O, 120Hz refresh rate, Up to 240 touch-sampling rate
  • Chipset: Snapdragon 888 5G (5nm)
  • Memory: 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB
  • Software & UI: One UI 5.1 on top of Android 13
  • Rear Camera: Triple (with LED flash)
    – 12MP 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, 3x optical zoom
  • Front Camera: 32MP, f/2.2 lens (punch-hole)
  • Security: In-display fingerprint sensor (Optical), Samsung Knox
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro, Geomagnetic, Hall, Proximity, Ambient Light
  • Battery: 4,500mAh with 25W fast charging, 15W wireless charging, reverse wireless charging (No charger in the box)
  • Color Options: Navy, Olive, Graphite, Lavender, White

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (2023) Expected Pricing and Software Availability:

In India, the Galaxy S21 FE (2023) is priced at INR 49,999 for the sole 8/256GB version. We can expect the Galaxy S21 FE (2023) price in Nepal to be NPR 89,999 when it launches here.

Smartphone Model Price in India Price in Nepal (Expected)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (2023) INR  49,999 Rs. 89,999
  • Meanwhile, check out the full review of Galaxy S21 FE.

Dell Vostro 3430 (2023) Price in Nepal

Aarohan Niraula
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Dell Vostro 3430 (2023) Price in Nepal

Dell’s Vostro series is quite popular among price-conscious buyers who want to get a reliable computing machine without breaking the bank. As such, most Dell Vostro machines are readily available in Nepal. Here we will briefly touch on the 2023 models including the Vostro 14 3430, its specifications, price in Nepal, and availability details. 

Dell Vostro 2023 Overview: 

Performance and Availability

Although the Vostro 3520 (2022 model) is available in quite a number of configurations, we have only seen the Vostro 14 3430 with a single-core i5 chip land in Nepal. While other variants might be available in a shop or two, this seems to be the case in general. You are getting a Core i5 1335U processor with 2 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores, and 12 threads. The performance cores can go up to 4.6 GHz while the lowest clock speed (E core) measures around 900MHz. Overall, it’s a decent processor capable enough for everyday brunt and some light office and college stuff. 

Intel Core i5 13th Gen

Memory-wise, you are getting a 3200MHz DDR4 stick (8GB) alongside a 512GB NVME SSD. 

Design and Display 

Since the Vostro is more of an affordable lineup of products, the design leans a bit towards basic. That being said, the build quality is decent since you are getting an aluminum chassis and lid. It weighs around 1400 grams and you can reduce the overall bulk even further by carrying a typical 65W PD charger instead of the bulky AC adapter shipped by Dell. 

Dell Vostro 14 3430 Design

Talking of the display, it’s a compact 14” LCD screen with a matte coating and standard Full HD resolution. The refresh rate and color coverage are also typical of a budget notebook at 60Hz and 66% sRGB respectively. Indoor use and viewing angles should be fine with its 250 nits of rated brightness and use of a WVA panel instead of a TN one.

Connectivity and Extras

Powering the Vostro 2023 (14 inch) is a 3-cell 41Wh battery. That’s not the biggest in size but should provide you with a couple of hours of backup thanks to the efficient processor and display. Connectivity-wise, you get two Type-A ports (1x USB 3), a 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C with PD support, an HDMI, an ethernet port, an audio jack, and an SD slot. On the wireless end, there’s up to dual-band WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3.

Moving on to the extras, the webcam is 1080p while you get a two-speaker and microphone setup for audio.

Dell Vostro 14 3430 Specifications: 

  • Dimension: 17.5 x 358.5 x 235.56 mm, 1.69 kg
  • Display: 14″ Anti-glare IPS panel, TÜV Rheinland for blue light
  • Resolution: FHD, 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Keyboard: Keypadless, White Backlit
  • Processor: 13th gen Intel Core i3-1305U / i5-1335U / i7-1355U
  • Memory: 4/8/12/16GB DDR4 RAM
  • Storage: 512GB/1TB/2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
  • Audio: 2x 2W dual-speaker
  • Battery: 3-cell 41 Watt-hours Li-ion
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.3
  • I/O Ports: 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x Audio jack, 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x RJ45 (LAN), 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C
  • Learn the full specifications of the Dell Vostro 14 3430. 

Dell Vostro 3430 Price in Nepal and Availability 

Dell’s Vostro (2023) laptops were initially launched for around 1 lakh rupees in Nepal. Right now, the Dell Vostro 14 3430 price in Nepal is NPR 92,000 for the Core i5 model with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. 

Dell Vostro 2023 Price in Nepal Availability
Vostro 3430 (Core i5, 8/512, 14” FHD) NPR 92,000 Hukut

  • Meanwhile, check out our video of the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED: 

Tensor G5 to be Google’s first fully-designed in-house mobile chip

Sonika Bhandari
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Tensor G5 to be Google’s first fully-designed in-house mobile chip

Google is all set to transform its Pixel smartphones by moving into the world of custom chip design. It is probably inspired by Apple’s successful path. The company first introduced the Tensor chip in the Pixel 6 series. Now, Google plans to release a fully customized Tensor G5 chip in 2025. This is a strategic shift from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for chip production. Moreover, it is aiming to enhance performance and integration between hardware and software.

Google Tensor G5 Rumors Roundup:

The Delay

Google initially planned to release a fully custom in-house chip called “Redondo” as early as 2024. The Tensor G4, codenamed “Redondo”, would power the Pixel 9 series phone next year. But the company faced delays in production due to challenges in engaging employees and coordinating development across multiple teams. Therefore, Google pushed back the idea of a self-developed chip to 2025. What this means is Google will still rely on Samsung and its Exynos platform for the Pixel 9 series before moving to a fully custom Tensor G5 chip on the Pixel 10 series.

Shift to TSMC

Google has been gradually reducing its reliance on Samsung components by incorporating more of its own intellectual property with each new generation of the Tensor chip. But the upcoming Pixel 8 lineup for this year and the Pixel smartphones set for a 2024 launch will continue to feature processors designed and manufactured by Samsung.

Not only will the upcoming Tensor G5 chip be fully designed by Google but it will also be manufactured by TSMC. The shift of Google from Samsung to TSMC for the production of the Tensor G5 chip enhances power efficiency and reduces thickness. It is because Google will be leveraging TSMC’s advanced 3nm manufacturing process and Integrated Fan-Out technology.

Google Tensor G5 Rumors: Conclusion

Google aims to achieve tighter integration between hardware and software, resulting in superior performance for its devices by developing a fully custom chip. Google’s transition to a fully customized Tensor G5 chip and its partnership with TSMC marks a crucial turning point in the company’s custom chip journey. These developments will pave the way for future Pixel devices and other Google products to have enhanced capabilities. Further innovative features, and improved hardware-software integration.

Lava Agni 2 Review: Is the Fiery ‘Agni’ Hype Real?

Pratima Adhikari
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Lava Agni 2 Review: Is the Fiery ‘Agni’ Hype Real?

Okay, so for the past few weeks, I have been using the Lava Agni 2 as my primary phone! And this is actually the first time we have tested a Lava phone at Gadgetbyte and we have been really impressed in many ways. For us, this phone has pretty much lived up to its hype.

But I have to tell you, getting this phone was not easy. I bought this unit from Amazon after a lot of struggle. The phone would go on sale and right after a few minutes, it would be no longer available. And that went on a couple of times until I finally managed to get my hands on it. So, even though there are a ton of positive reviews of this device out there, availability is still a big question mark.

Anyway, talking about the device itself, first of all, the pricing is really good. But you have to note that INR 20,000 was just an introductory price for it and its actual MRP is INR 22,000 right now. The reason I am mentioning this is because introductory prices are actually not available for a longer time and sometimes it can get really misleading. And the device is likely to launch here in Nepal as well at NPR 39,999 (expected).

Lava Agni 2 Specifications:

  • Display: 6.78-inch AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate
  • Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
  • Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 7050 5G (6nm Mobile Platform)
  • Memory: 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB UFS 2.2
  • Software & UI: Agni Shapath OS on top of Android 13
  • Rear Camera: Quad
    • 50MP primary
    • 8MP ultrawide
    • 2MP macro
    • 2MP depth
  • Front Camera: 16MP (punch-hole)
  • Audio: Stereo speakers, Hi-Res Audio
  • Security: In-display fingerprint sensor
  • Battery: 4700mAh with 66W fast charging

Still, for the price, Lava has provided really competitive specs, but at the same time, there are a few things the company urgently needs to fix! So, let’s talk about the good things first. Starting with the design!

Design

For the price, I really appreciate the look and feel of this device. It’s pretty well built too, but after recently reviewing the Realme 11 Pro, I feel like the design of the Agni 2 is not as refined as Realme.

It is also slightly on the heavier side for a device that has a relatively smaller 4700 mAh battery, but it’s not extremely uncomfortable to use, so getting used to it is not a problem. The glass back has also not suffered any scratches till now and even though we have not put in a screen protector, surprisingly, there are no scratches on the front too.

Display

Lava Agni 2’s display quality is also quite good. It’s a 10-bit AMOLED panel and it has a very good touch response. I found the colors on it to be a bit too saturated and contrasty. And that’s not just in the vivid profile but also in the default profile.

Lava Agni 2 Media

But after using it for a good number of days, I’ve just gotten used to it. So, if the boosted colors are not a problem, this is a pretty good display to look at for general usage. It’s actually very close to what the more expensive Realme 11 Pro offers.

Media Playback

Having said that, I really wish that Lava had provided a stereo speaker setup to amp up the content consumption experience. I mean, the single speaker here is loud and is not bad per se, but you definitely will miss the stereo output. Also, there is no HDR playback support on Netflix here, and even on Amazon Prime, HDR content looks somewhat soft and weird.

Apart from that, interacting with this display has been a pleasant experience, and one of the reasons why is that Lava has included a good haptic motor on this phone. The vibration here is strong and you can feel the phone buzzing even when you are carrying it in your bag, so that’s really nice.

Performance

The performance level of the Lava Agni 2 is pretty satisfactory too. It features the same Dimensity 7050 chipset as the Realme 11 Pro. And general usage on this phone including app opening and multitasking is smooth enough. Sometimes there would be a little bit of stutter here and there, but that’s really not a big deal.

Lava Agni 2 Performance

Gaming on it is not bad either. The Dimensity 7050, as we know, is not exactly a gaming chipset, but this phone certainly can handle titles like Call of Duty and PUBG quite easily.

And thanks to a vapor cooling chamber, the phone can handle 30 to 40 minutes of Genshin Impact. That is at Medium graphics settings without overheating and fps drop, so that’s good too. The Agni 2 is also optimized for higher fps gameplay in games like Injustice 2 and Mech Arena, which, by the way, even the Realme 11 Pro is not equipped for.

Camera

With that, let me talk about the things that need a little bit of fixing on the Lava Agni 2 starting with the cameras. So, if I have to summarize Agni 2’s camera capabilities, I wouldn’t say that they are reliable and consistent.

Lava Agni 2 Camera

Main Camera

Its 50MP primary sensor works well during good lighting conditions with nice colors and contrast levels. But as soon as you go out in slightly difficult lighting, it messes up the HDR pretty badly.

In portraits too, sometimes you get nice images with pleasing skin tones. While other times the background looks extremely unnatural and exposed.

The same goes for the selfies as well.

Ultrawide

And don’t even get me started with the ultra-wide shots, the Lava Agni 2 produces one of the worst ultra-wide images in the midrange price bracket. Honestly, looking at the ultra-wide shots, I wish they had skipped the sensor altogether.

Night

During night time too, sometimes the output would be nice and sharp while in some instances the camera would just go haywire. This is the same picture taken from the Agni 2 5 minutes apart and you can see how one is so drastically different from the other.

Also, one funny thing I noticed is, there is no night mode in ultra-wide images for some reason. So, overall, the cameras on the Lava Agni 2 are not the most reliable. Compared with something like the Realme 11 pro, you can definitely get better output with the latter — both during daytime and nighttime.

Video

Videos from it are average too. In 4K resolution, there is no stabilization at all and the footages have a weird color science. To solve that you can switch to either 2k or 1080p resolution. I prefer the sharpness and steadiness in 2K videos better! And the selfies videos are also not that good.

But how’s the software?

Likewise, something else that the Lava Agni 2 needs fixing is the software. Don’t get me wrong, I found its stock Android experience with no bloatware to be quite refreshing, but there are certain aspects of its software that require an immediate fix. For instance, Its auto-brightness sensor just does not work well.

Lava Agni 2 Usage

It’s either always making the display too dim or too bright. Similarly, Always on Display has never worked on our usage period. Its camera shutter also casually stops working time and again. And although it has a clean Android experience, the lack of animations in certain parts of its UI makes it really boring to use.

One other thing, for some strange reason, its fingerprint sensor gets too bright while you unlock the device. It’s not much of an issue during the daytime, but at night, it almost startles you which is very unpleasant!

Lava Agni 2 UI

So, basically, it’s these little things that, hamper the overall user experience on the Agni 2. Yes, Lava has promised 2 years of OS and 3 years of quarterly security updates on this phone. Hence, I am guessing sooner or later these bugs will be resolved. But my point is, if a phone has so many things going wrong, the company should not wait around for a quarterly security update to fix it.

Take Nothing for example, the company has been working so well to fix all the bugs and issues and that has earned a lot of consumer’s trust!

Battery Life

Lastly, its battery life is also not that great. On a single charge, the phone would give around 5 hours of screen time which is extremely average.

In our experience, the major reason for that is, no 1, lack of better brightness management, no 2 even in the dynamic refresh rate option it doesn’t switch to 60Hz while playing videos, so it’s not very optimized. And finally, the overnight battery drain here on average is about 5 to 6% which is quite high. So, I definitely see a lot of room for improvement regarding battery optimization.

Lava Agni 2 Charging

For charging, the 66-watt charger is bundled inside the box. It takes the phone from 0-100% in less than an hour, so no complaints on that part!

Lava Agni 2 Review: Conclusion

Okay, so my verdict of the Lava Agni 2 is that it definitely is an exciting device, one that has the right set of specs and price for the mass. But as of now, the company has got a lot of work to do behind the scene! First, they absolutely have to fix the stock and availability issue, and second, they got to listen to user feedback and reviews, and improve the experience!

Lava Agni 2 Front Camera

Lava Agni 2 Review: Pros and Cons

Pros

  • A well-packed specs for the Price
  • Curved Display with Vividness
  • Decent Performance from Dimensity 7050
  • 66W Charger in the Box

Cons

  • Average Low Light Camera Performance
  • Auto Brightness issues and software bugs’
  • Single Speaker
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