Page 311 – GadgetByte Nepal

Infinix Hot 20i launched in Nepal with Helio G25 SoC, 5000mAh battery

Infinix

Mintu

-

July 14, 2023

Infinix Hot 20i launched in Nepal with Helio G25 SoC, 5000mAh battery

Infinix has launched the Hot 20i smartphone in Nepal. The Chinese smartphone maker is known for its budget-centric devices, and the Hot 20i joins the lineup with entry-level specs as well. Like Helio G25 chip, HD+ screen, and more. In this article, we’ll walk through the specs, features, and official price of the Infinix Hot 20i in Nepal.

Infinix Hot 20i Overview:

Design and Display

Let’s commence with the design first. The Hot 20i bears an all-plastic frame and back with a glass front. The phone weighs 195 grams and has a thickness of 8.8mm. As for the display, you’re looking at a 6.6-inch TFT LCD panel with an HD+ resolution (1612 x 720 pixels). The screen boasts a 500 nits peak brightness, 267 PPI pixel density, and a standard 60Hz refresh rate. Infinix flaunts this device in four color options: Wilderness Black, Luna Blue, Energy Green, and Sunset Gold.

Performance

Under the hood, the Hot 20i houses a MediaTek Helio G25 SoC. This 12nm-fabbed entry-level chip features four Cortex-A53 cores at 2.0GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores at 1.5GHz. Handling the graphics for light games is a PowerVR GE8320 GPU. In terms of memory and storage, you get two variants: 4/64GB, and 4/128GB. While the phone boots on Infinix’s XOS 12.6 built on top of Android 12.

Camera

Getting to the optics, the Hot 20i technically sports a triple camera setup. It is headlined by a 13MP f/1.8 sensor, followed by two QVGA sensors which are practically useless by the way. On the front, you get an 8MP selfie camera. Infinix Hot 20i is locked in at 1080p 30 fps video recording from both the front and back cameras.

Rest of the specs

Fueling the smartphone is a 5000mAh battery with 10W wired charging. Interestingly, it also supports 5W reversed wired charging. As for connectivity options, Infinix Hot 20i includes WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a micro USB 2.0 port. Furthermore, you get a rear-mounted physical fingerprint scanner for biometrics.

Infinix Hot 20i Specifications:

Display: 6.6-inch TFT LCD, HD+
Chipset: MediaTek Helio G25 4G (12nm mobile platform)
Memory: 4GB RAM, 64/128GB storage (expandable)
Software & UI: XOS 12.6 on top of Android 12
Rear Camera: Triple (13MP main, two QVGA AI lenses)
Front Camera: 8MP sensor (teardrop notch)
Security: Fingerprint sensor (rear panel)
Battery: 5000mAh with 10W charging, 5W reverse wired charging

Infinix Hot 20i Price in Nepal and Availability

The official Infinix Hot 20i price in Nepal begins at NPR 14,499 for the base 4/64GB trim, while the 4/128GB model goes for NPR 15,999. You can buy Infinix Hot 20i in Nepal from authorized stores like Hukut.

Infinix Hot 20i	Price in Nepal (Official)	Availability
4/64GB	NPR 14,499	Hukut
4/128GB	NPR 15,999	Hukut

Meanwhile, you can check our Lava Agni 2 review

Honor unveils MagicPad 13 with Snapdragon 888, IMAX Enhanced screen

Honor

Sonika Bhandari

-

July 14, 2023

2

Honor unveils MagicPad 13 with Snapdragon 888, IMAX Enhanced screen

Honor held an event in China recently, showcasing its latest innovations. The lineup included the Magic V2, Watch 4, and MagicPad 13. The MagicPad 13 represents Honor’s newest tablet offering, powered by the innovative MagicOS 7.2. So, let’s get into the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Honor MagicPad 13 in Nepal.

Honor MagicPad 13 Overview:

Display and Design

The MagicPad 13 tablet features a 13-inch IMAX Enhanced IPS LCD display for an immersive visual experience. It also comes with a variable refresh rate of up to 144Hz and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz, delivering smooth interactions.

The tablet is lightweight and portable with its slim body and a profile measuring just 6.49mm. It offers a brilliant visual display with HDR10 support and the DCI-P3 color gamut. These features ensure vibrant and accurate colors. You can use this tablet as a secondary screen for a laptop. It even outputs 4K content to an external monitor. Moreover, the tablet is compatible with the Magic Pencil 3, a stylus with 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity and a 2ms latency.

Audio

The tablet includes 8 speakers and 4 microphones for enhanced sound quality. The MagicPad 13 also boasts an industry-first 3D spatial audio setup, providing an immersive audio experience without needing headphones.

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Performance and Software

Under the hood, the MagicPad 13 is powered by Snapdragon 888 chip with options for 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB RAM. On the software side, it runs on MagicOS 7.2, based on Android 13.

Additional Features

The tablet is equipped with a large 10,050mAh battery that supports 66W fast charging. Additionally, the MagicPad 13 features a 13MP rear camera and a 9MP front camera for high-quality photos and videos. The MagicPad 13 comes in Sky Blue, Star Gray, and Moonlight color options.

Honor MagicPad 13 Specifications:

Dimension:
- Metal: 291.71 x 191.12 x 6.49mm, 660g
- PU: 291.71 x 191.12 x 6.84mm, 673g
Display: 13-inch IPS LCD (2880 x 1840) screen, 144Hz refresh rate, 700 nits, HDR10
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC (5nm)
Memory: 4GB/6GB/8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage (expanded up to 512GB)
OS: MagicOS 721 (Based on Android 13）
Cameras: 13MP rear and 9MP front camera
Battery: 1050mAh supporting 66W charging
Audio: 8 Speakers, Hi-Res audio
Color options: Star Grey, Sky Blue, and Moonlight.
Connectivity: Dual Band Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, USB Type-C

Honor MagicPad 13 Price in Nepal and Availability

The MagicPad 13 is currently available in China, where its price starts at CNY 2,999 and goes all the way up to CNY 3,699. If the Honor’s MagicPad 13 tablet gets launched in Nepal, we can expect the price to start at NPR 60,500.

Honor MagicPad 13	Price in China (Official)	Price in Nepal (Expected)
8/256GB	CNY 2,999	NPR 60,500
12/256GB	CNY 3,299	NPR 66,000
16/512GB	CNY 3,699	NPR 68,500

Meanwhile, check out our review of Honor Magicbook X14.

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

GadgetByte

-

July 14, 2023

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.

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.

You might want to read these:
China is restricting export of two rare metals used in chip production
Is Huawei on its way to become the Number 1 phone manufacturer?
China bans Micron semiconductor chips as the US-China Tech War escalates

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

-

July 13, 2023

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.

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.

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

Meanwhile, check our AYANEO Air review

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

Pratima Adhikari

-

July 13, 2023

0

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.

Design

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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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

Nord 3 vs 11R Daylight

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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!

Nord 3 vs 11R Portraits

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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.

Nord 3 vs 11R Lowlight

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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!

Nord 3 vs 11R Ultrawide

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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.

Nord 3 vs 11R Selfies

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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.

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’

MediaTek

Aarohan Niraula

-

July 13, 2023

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

Meta

Sonika Bhandari

-

July 12, 2023

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.

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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

AI
Huawei

Mintu

-

July 12, 2023

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.

Meanwhile, check out our OnePlus Nord 3 review

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE with Snapdragon 888 launched in India

Samsung

GadgetByte

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July 11, 2023

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.

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.

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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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July 10, 2023

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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.

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.

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.

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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: