Do you remember the cheese grater design Mac Pro from 2019? Well, Apple has finally upgraded that guy after four years. The new Mac Pro (2023) arrives with a superpowerful M2 Ultra chip and support for up to 192GB RAM and 76-Core GPU. Without further ado, let’s get headed into the specs, features, and official price of the Apple Mac Pro 2023 with M2 Ultra chip in Nepal.
Apple Mac Pro (2023) Overview:
M2 Ultra Chip
Under the hood, the Mac Pro 2023 gets the horsepower of the just announced, M2 Ultra chip. This 5nm fabbed flagship CPU is designed for all those intensive tasks, thanks to its 24-core CPU architecture. Apple says it is 30% faster than the M1 Ultra. The M2 Ultra supports up to a 76-core GPU and 192GB RAM configuration.
The most powerful Apple silicon to date, this power-packed champ supports up to 8 multiple displays and 22 streams of 8K resolution videos. Not only that, you can get up to 800GB/s memory bandwidth for those speedy data transfers. To handle the heat from such tremendous power, Apple has implemented a quiet (as claimed) thermal solution through fans. Plus the cheese grater design of the frame allows more airflow.
Moreover, the Mac Pro 2023 supports up to 8TB SSD storage. For that, it houses seven PCle expansion slots in total. Six of the slots support Gen 4, while the remaining one supports Gen 3.
Design
Going by the looks, the Mac Pro (2023) borrows the same design language from its 2019 sibling. The front part retains the cheese grater frame with grills. Apple offers this desktop CPU in two form factors: Rack Design (Horizontal) and Tower Design (Vertical).
Talking of the port options here, you get 8x in-built Thunderbolt 4 ports, 3x USB-A ports, and 2x “higher-bandwidth” HDMI ports, supporting up to 8K 60Hz resolution and 4K at up to 240Hz frame rates. Besides that, there are 2x ethernet ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. And for wireless connectivity, it supports WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
Apple Mac Pro (2023) Price in Nepal and Availability
The official price of the Apple MacBook Pro 2023 with M2 Ultra is Rs 1,170,000 for the sole variant with a 24-core CPU, 60-core GPU, 64GB unified memory and 1TB of SSD storage. You can pre-order it from Hukut and other authorized stores in Nepal.
With the hype of AI in the past few months, every platform is trying to incorporate it to create more engaging and interactive user experiences. Snapchat’s My AI and Google’s Bard are just a couple of examples. While Instagram already has chatbot features that provide predetermined answers, there are talks about the platform integrating “AI” chatbots. In this article, we’ll provide you with all the information available so far about AI on Instagram, sharing insights into its latest developments and what it could mean for users.
Capabilities of AI Chatbot on Instagram
Similar to the chatbots introduced by Snapchat and Google that can provide answers to user inquiries, there are rumors Instagram is trying to use a similar chatbot. According to mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who seems to have much information about the AI, the Instagram chatbot will be able to reply to messages when prompted, it can give advice, or can even raise a question itself.
#Instagram is working on bringing AI Agents (Bots 🤖) to your chats for a more fun and engaging experience 👀
ℹ️ AI Agents will be able to answer questions and give advice.
You’ll be able to choose from 30 different personalities. pic.twitter.com/4eWLBbvs8w
This capability is almost available in every chatbot, so what’s new? Well, it can allow users to choose from 30 personalities to customize the tone, style, or behavior of the chatbot’s responses to align with different user preferences or needs.
Is the AI Chatbot concept really irresistible?
After ChatGPT’s popularity, AI generative tools are all in the buzz. These days, almost every platform is incorporating elements of these AI tools here and there. Meta is also actively using AI tools for promoting business adverts and marketing. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the company is planning to add AI elements to Instagram, Facebook, and Whatsapp, aiming to enhance their functionalities.
We’re creating a new top-level product group at Meta focused on generative AI to turbocharge our work in this area.
Will adding an AI chatbot make any difference? Snapchat’s chatbot, My AI, which was introduced last February is alleged to have known more information about users than necessary. Some feel that the chatbot ruins the whole user experience-it is getting many backlashes. So, adding this redundant feature has turned out to be disadvantageous for Snapchat.
With the same ability that every chatbot has, this Instagram chatbot could be an interesting use-case but not a well-useful addition to Instagram. Its ultimate practicality and how users will take it depend on how well it is executed.
Instagrammers will be able to access the chatbot by simply typing “@ai” in the text field. Then, the user will be automatically redirected to the AI chatbot, which will answer any questions at any time.
Instagram has been searching for new ways to improve its messaging options, and introducing AI chatbots helps with this objective. While the success of this AI chatbot implementation remains uncertain, it’s essential to consider that it is an interactive tool focused to increase user engagement.
While Vision Pro was definitely the biggest highlight of WWDC23, Apple announced a bunch of other exciting stuff too. Including iOS 17. And in this article, we have listed out the 5 new iOS 17 features we want Android to borrow.
iOS 17 Features:
1. Check In
Let’s start with something called “Check In”. This is a communication feature that enables select contacts like friends and family members to get notified if a user has made it to their destination safely or not. So you can send a Check In to your friends and family via the Messages app and the receivers will get updates throughout their journey.
Also, alerts and updates are provided when the sender is not making expected progress towards their destination. As such, the receiver will be able to receive some details like the sender’s device location, battery level, and cellular status. With Apple’s integration, this is a great security feature and a godsend for parents. Or just about everyone else.
2. Customizable contact posters
Apple has also introduced a slew of upgrades to the Phone app with iOS 17. And you can now customize a contact poster for each of your contacts; similar to the lockscreen wallpaper styles introduced in iOS 16. And the best part is that Apple says Contact Posters will be available for third-party calling apps as well. Of course, it’s not like you can’t set contact posters on Android phones or anything, but Apple’s implementation definitely looks a lot nicer.
3. NameDrop
On a related note, iOS 17 users can share Contact Posters (or select info like phone numbers and email addresses) simply by bringing their iPhones together. This is just AirDrop, but for exchanging contact information. It also works with an iPhone and an Apple Watch, by the way. So gone are the days of one person dictating and the other typing it on their phone.
Likewise, Apple has also simplified the way AirDrop works. Now, you can share files just by bringing the users’ iPhones together. Large files are also temporarily stored via WiFi so that you don’t need to stick around the AirDrop range for a long time.
If you’ve ever used Apple’s Messages app, you know that one of the best things about it is how fun it is. And Apple continues to add to the experience with iOS 17. You can now create custom Live Stickers from your photos (or live photos) and even add effects to them. And all your Live Stickers are stored in a new draw in the keyboard, which means you can use these animated stickers system-wide.
Apple has also converted emojis into stickers that you can not only send in Messages but also as reactions. Yes, that means your dog making a derpy face is now a reaction you can send to serious texts from your mom.
5. StandBy
iOS 17’s StandBy feature looks pretty cool as well. When your iPhone is locked and in a landscape orientation on an upright charger, the phone turns into a smart screen of sorts and shows different glanceable information with a bunch of widgets. You can check the time, calendar, use music controls, or see a slideshow of your photos.
Besides that, Live Activities and Siri results are also displayed alongside the widgets. And with the iPhone 14 Pro series that supports Always-On Display, StandBy will be always available while you’ll need to tap the screen on other iPhones. All this is pretty similar to the Nightstand mode on an Apple Watch, while some Pixel phones also support smart display functionality when placed on a charging dock.
So those were all the iOS 17 features that we wish Android would borrow. And the beauty of Android is that it isn’t necessarily exclusively up to Google to bring all these features into the platform.
iOS 17 Compatibility and Release
iOS 17 will be available on iPhone XR and newer models. iOS 17 Developer Beta 1 is already available for download (that you can install without an Apple Developer account), while its stable public release is expected to arrive sometime in September. Check the following list of all iPhones eligible for the iOS 17 upgrade:
Google’s new Tensor G3 chipset is on the road, which we will be able to see on its upcoming Pixel 8 series. Although the new series is a few months away, we have an idea of what to expect from this upgrade. The chipset will have a 9-core CPU and a 10-core GPU built on Samsung Foundry’s 4nm process. The CPU will provide users with improved performance than the Tensor G2 chip. For this, the new chip will consist of a Cortex-X3 core, four Cortex-A715 cores, and four Cortex-A510 cores.
Google Tensor G3 Rumors Roundup:
The new Tensor G3 will have the GPU of ARM’s latest design, the Immortalis G715. It will basically offer hardware-accelerated ray tracing and 8K video encoding and decoding features. The chip will also support Samsung’s MFC technology for encoding and decoding videos in h.264 and HEVC formats.
Latest ARMv9 Architecture
In the new series of Pixel 8, rumors say that its design will have a unique nine-core layout for the Tensor G3 chipset, with three separate clusters. This design is probably influenced by the merged-core architecture of the A510 series. It allows efficient resource sharing between cores, space optimization, and power consumption.
If we compare it to its previous chip G2, G3 has more up-to-date Cortex-X3, Cortex-A715, and Cortex-A510 cores based on the latest ARMv9 architecture. With the new cores, we can expect a noticeable performance enhancement, lining up with the other flagship SoCs.
With the new ARMv9 architecture, Google can implement new security features, such as Arm’s Memory Tagging Extensions (MTE) to prevent memory bugs. In addition, the new Pixel 8 will also support 64-bit code execution. With this, the users can have a 64-bit-only experience.
Google’s first-generation Tensor chip had the Pixel Neural Core, that featured the “Abrolhos” TPU running at 1.0GHz. It successfully delivered a quite impressive performance in NLP tasks. The Tensor G2 chip was then upgraded to the “Janeiro” TPU at 1.0GHz, offering a performance improvement of up to 60% in camera and speech tasks. Now, the Tensor G3 will feature the “Rio” TPU operating at 1.1GHz, with even greater AI processing power.
Likewise, the chip will also feature Google’s second-gen Digital Signal Processor (DSP), codenamed “Callisto,” with 4 cores and 1065MHz frequency.
Is this the Exynos 2400, too?
Based on the mentioned information, is it possible that Tensor G3 will shed light on Samsung’s Exynos 2400 chip? Well, we will find out after the distribution of the new series. However, the new Exynos will have a similar CPU configuration as G3 with an upgraded XClipse GPU with AMD’s RDNA-2 GPU microarchitecture.
According to rumors, Exynos 2400 will support both 4K 120 fps video encoding and decoding and 8K at 30 fps. Not just that, but it will probably include UFS 4.0 storage support and LPDDR5X RAM with the faster modem.
Overall, we expect the Tensor G3 to offer better performance, improved AI capabilities, and advanced security features in the new Pixel 8 series.
OnePlus has recently introduced the Nord N30 5G, a newly launched smartphone that appears to be a rebranded version of the previously released Nord CE 3 Lite. This device is aimed at budget-conscious customers who seek a cost-effective phone with high performance. In this article, I will provide you with all the necessary information about the OnePlus Nord N30 5G, especially its display specifications, features, expected price, and availability in Nepal.
OnePlus Nord N30 5G Overview:
Design and Display
The OnePlus Nord N30 features a 6.72″ FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an exact double 240Hz touch sampling rate. The device has a body and frame made of plastic and a glass front. On the right side of the frame, there is a power button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor, while the left side houses a volume button. The handset offers a choice between two appealing color options: Pastel Lime and Chromatic Gray.
OnePlus Nord N30 incorporates a 6nm Snapdragon 695 SoC with Adreno 619 for graphics handling. The handset runs on OxygenOS 13.1, a customized software based on Android 13. Moreover, it offers an impressive 8GB LPDDR4X RAM (+8GB virtual RAM) and 128GB of inbuilt storage that can be expanded up to 1TB with a microSD card if necessary.
Camera and the Rest of the Specs
There is a triple camera setup on the rear side of the phone featuring an impressive 108MP primary camera with 2MP depth and a 2MP macro camera. For taking selfies and front-facing videos, 16MP is present inside the punch hole cutout of the display.
The smartphone comes with a massive 5000mAh battery offering 50W of SuperVOOC charging. It offers Bluetooth 5.1v for wireless connections, a USB 2.0 Type-C port for charging and data transfer, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio connectivity. It also supports NFC. For security, the device has a fingerprint sensor on the side and can also be unlocked using face recognition.
The Nord N30 5G is priced at USD 300 in the US, which can cost approximately NPR 43,500 when available in Nepal. The shipping of the phone will start on June 8 of this year, allowing customers to get this feature-packed device without much delay.
Though the OnePlus Nord N30 is available in two different color options, OnePlus has currently listed only the Chromatic Gray variant for pre-booking. As an interesting offer, customers who pre-book(from the official OnePlus US website) the smartphone will also receive a complimentary pair of OnePlus Nord Buds TWS earphones, valued at $59.
ZTE, a well-known Chinese smartphone brand, has recently hinted at an upcoming smartphone release: the ZTE V70, which apparently looks similar to its previously released model- ZTE Yuanhang 30 Pro Plus. This handset is expected to fall under the budget category like almost every other ZTE smartphone. While there is limited information available about the phone at this time, we will attempt to provide a detailed list of the known features and specifications of the ZTE V70 in this article.
ZTE V70 Overview:
Design and Display
The ZTE V70 features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with an FHD+ resolution and a smooth 90Hz refresh rate. It has a large screen that covers almost the entire front of the phone, with minimal bezels, and has a centered punch hole cut-out for the front camera. It is a 10-bit panel with support for 1 billion colors and DCI-P3 gamut.
The phone has a plastic frame and back, which is acceptable considering its expected cost range. Sadly, the available color option is tight to Black, leaving little room for other choices.
Performance
ZTE V70 is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset. This 6nm-based SoC has an octa-core CPU consisting of two Cortex-A76 cores at 2.4 GHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores at 2 GHz. The Mali-G57 MC2 takes care of all the graphics-related tasks on this phone. You get 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage on the phone.
The phone sports a 16MP front-facing camera, ideal for taking selfies. On the back, it features a triple-camera setup, including a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 5MP macro camera.
Battery and Connectivity
The phone comes with a large battery of 5100mAh that supports 66W fast charging. Seemingly, the battery can go from 0 to 50% in just 15 minutes. In terms of connectivity, the phone offers Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless connections, includes NFC functionality for convenient contactless payments, and features a USB Type-C port.
ZTE V70 Specifications:
Dimensions: 163.9 x 76.2 x 8.3 mm, 192g
Display: 6.67″ FHD+ AMOLED, 90Hz refresh rate
Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 810 (6nm, octa-core) with Mali-G57 MC2
Memory: 8GB RAM, 256GB inbuilt storage
Software&UI: MyOS 11.5 based on Android 11
RearCamera: Triple (64MP primary, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 5MP macro unit)
Front Camera: 16MP (hole-punch)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth v.5.1, NFC
Battery: 5,100mAh battery with 66W fast charging
Color: Black
ZTE V70 Price in Nepal and Availability
As of now, the price of the ZTE V70 is still under wraps as its meant for business and government officials and not for general consumers. Still, we will update you with the official price if the ZTE V70 ever gets launched in Nepal.
Meanwhile, you can check our Samsung Galaxy F54 Unboxing and Review.
We are aware of the competition between smartphone processors, be it Qualcomm or MediaTek or Apple, or others. If we talk about the two prominent players in the market, MediaTek and Qualcomm are the intense competitors. A recent report published by Counterpoint Research provides insights into these companies’ performance, showing notable trends and market views in the latest Q1 2023. Let’s look at the war for dominance between MediaTek and Qualcomm, as well as the other companies in the global smartphone processor market share in Q1 2023.
Global Smartphone Processor Market Share Q1 2023
Qualcomm is a relatively older company, but if we look at the above trend, MediaTek has a huge share in the smartphone processor market today with clear dominance in budget phones. The improvements they are bringing to these low-cost phones are changing the Chipset industry. Due to their focus on the budget smartphone segment, MediaTek came out as a market leader with a 32% market share during the first quarter of 2023. On the other hand, competitively, Qualcomm was able to capture a 28% market share in the same quarter.
The market share of MediaTek is still a decrement as compared to the previous quarter. In comparison, Qualcomm relatively increased its market share from the previous quarter by a huge number. MediaTek faced challenges such as inventory adjustments and weaker demand, resulting in declining quantities and market share. Analysts anticipate a potential improvement for MediaTek in the second half of the year as inventory levels shall take a good turn.
Qualcomm remains an important player in the smartphone processor market, due to its reputation and experience. Its processors are widely used in flagship smartphones across various brands. This generally reflects the trust of manufacturers in Qualcomm’s technology. Despite temporary inventory reductions expected in Q2 2023, Qualcomm’s position will probably stabilize in forthcoming quarters. Snapdragon processors provide efficient processing capabilities and longer battery life, delivering a seamless user experience. Qualcomm’s established position continues to hold significant weight in the industry, despite the growth of MediaTek.
MediaTek’s Growing Popularity
MediaTek has made some remarkable progress, especially in the low-cost smartphone processor market share. The company focuses on innovation, features like deca-core X-series processors, and innovative fabrication techniques. These advancements have changed the market value by providing outstanding performance and energy efficiency in low-cost smartphones. The company also improved the issues such as overheating. This optimization consequently improved user experiences and satisfaction. These are a few reasons for MediaTek’s growing popularity.
The competition in the smartphone processor market between MediaTek and Qualcomm is not quite new. MediaTek indeed has a wonderfully highest market share, but Qualcomm’s established market presence and reputation cannot be overlooked. MediaTek focuses on innovation and improvement in the budget smartphone sector. Simultaneously, Qualcomm’s trusted and evergreen position and quality remain attractive to flagship or high-end smartphone manufacturers. As the market continues to evolve, it will be fascinating to witness how these two industry giants shape the future of smartphone processors.
Meanwhile, check out our comparison of Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, A16 Bionic, and Dimensity 9200.
Apple enthusiasts have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Apple’s highly rumored headset, named “Vision Pro,” which is likely to reshape the way we experience mixed reality. This most awaited device launched on June 5, coinciding with the first day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
Apple Vision Pro Overview:
Since Vision Pro supports all AR, VR, and MR, it lets users see their surroundings digitally, where they can view a mix of real-world and virtual elements or entirely virtual environments. It offers a unique experience that allows users to interact with the real and virtual worlds in exciting ways.
Design and Display
The Vision Pro looks sleeker but similar to existing headsets and features a more comfortable design. It has a curved visor (ski-goggle-like) design and features two OLED displays, packing a total of 23 million pixels across them. That’s more than a 4K TV per eye if you count pixels alone.
Processor and Battery
The headset integrates 2 chips for process handling. The primary processing is handled by, Apple’s M2 chip while the real-time processing is done by the brand-new R1 chip.
The Vision Pro headset features an external battery similar in size to the MagSafe Battery pack and is mounted on your waist. The battery is rechargeable, providing around 2 hours of battery supply. Or users can opt-in to use the Vision Pro while plugged into the wall.
Others
Apple Vision Pro sports 5 sensors, 12 cameras, and half a dozen microphones to enable augmented and virtual reality experiences, in-air typing, voice recognition, hand tracking, and other unique technologies that work well with Apple’s products. It will also support people with glasses via Zeiss Optical Inserts that will attach to the Vision Pro lenses magnetically. It will have an irremovable cable with a magnetic attachment that securely locks in place when turned clockwise, preventing it from detaching during use.
Apple Vision Pro runs on “visionOS”: an operating system for spatial computing.
This OS combines the real and virtual worlds to create a mixed reality. Virtual elements like windows and icons are displayed on top of your living room where you can interact with them via your eyes, your hands, and your voice. Apple Vision Pro tracks your vision so your eyes become your cursor and you can select elements just by looking at them. Thanks to the downward-facing cameras, hand controls are convenient as well. For instance, you can pinch your fingers to select or flick to scroll without the need for any extra controllers. Of course, you can always connect an XBOX or PS5 controller when you want to play games in VR. Things like searching for a video or a game can be done with dictation and Siri.
There’s also an innovative “EyeSight” feature that communicates to the external world. It lights up during use letting others know the user is unavailable. On the flip side, it can display the user’s eyes when they are looking through the headset.
Apple Vision Pro connects to your Mac so you can upscale your laptop’s content and become more productive in VR. This compatibility ensures that users enjoy a transition and take advantage of familiar apps while exploring the possibilities of mixed reality.
App-based features
One of the unique features of the Apple Vision Pro Mixed Reality headset is its ability to present videos in a “virtual theater” where users feel present inside the movie. This, paired with the spatial audio setup, provides the ultimate immersive movie viewing experience like never before. During a FaceTime call, users will have the option to create their own digital avatar and interact within a virtual meeting room.
While meditation apps will enhance the experience with voice-overs, graphics, or music to facilitate a smooth meditation session.
But the cherry on top is the introduction of spatial photos and videos. Apple’s Vision Pro allows users to capture and relive moments in 3D. You can view your existing images, or live photos too but spatial photos/videos will be something else. Just with the click of a button, you can capture real moments that you can play down the road like you’re peering into memories. Besides that, Vision Pro will support floating windows on a single screen that enables multitasking. It will also remember where you are and play content that corresponds to the ambiance.
To top it all off, Apple promises the availability of thousands of iPhone and iPad apps for VisionOS Day 1.
“I think Apple may be considered late to the game when it comes to VR,” device expert Alvin Pullins told in an email interview.
Though Apple is all about premium and high-end tech, and people usually prefer its product, it should be borne in mind that plenty of headsets offer AR/VR simulation in a relatively cheaper range. Apple needs a compelling reason for people to choose Vision Pro over cheaper VR/AR options or rather utilize their smartphones for all tasks.
With competitors like Meta, Google, and Microsoft already established in the market, Apple needs to offer some unique features to stand out and I think they’ve done just that.
Apple Vision Pro Price and Availability
Apple announced Vision Pro yesterday on June 5 during WWDC. It costs $3500, which is more than twice the price of the most expensive phones on the market. The reason stated for the high price is that Apple intends to integrate advanced technology to enhance the mixed reality experience, i.e., lots of cameras, sensors, and dual processors, which contributes to the overall cost of the headset.
Vision Pro is primarily advertised for developers and Apple itself as a means to create AR, VR, and MR ecosystems. And this will allow Apple to launch non-Pro MR headsets in the future with toned-down specs and pricing accordingly.
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy A24.
Infinix has been offering budget smartphones under its Hot series for a long time now here in Nepal. The latest to join this lineup is the Hot 30i which brings quite impressive specifications for the budget price. So let’s go through the specifics of the Infinix Hot 30i, including its official price in Nepal.
Infinix Hot 30i Overview
Design and Display
To begin with, the Hot 30i features an eye-catching design with a prism-style print on the back. Infinix calls it “Premium Diamond Pattern Design” and it is available in Mirror Black and Glacier Blue shades. There is also a Marigold (Orange) color option with a faux leather finish.
Moreover, despite being a budget phone, it adopts a boxy design with a flat frame. On the front side, you are looking at a 6.6-inch teardrop screen with an HD+ resolution. This IPS LCD display is protected by Panda glass and supports a 90Hz refresh rate and 500 nits peak brightness.
Performance
As for the performance, the Hot 30i packs a Mediatek Helio G37 chipset under the hood. This 4G silicon is based on a 12nm fabrication process and features 4x Cortex-A53 at 2300 MHz and 4x Cortex-A53 at 1800 MHz. Handling the graphics here is the PowerVR GE8320 GPU.
Memory-wise, the chip gets coupled with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB of expandable internal storage (up to 1TB). You can also virtually expand the RAM by up to 8GB. However, the smartphone boots on Android 12 OS-based XOS 12 custom skin.
Talking of the optics here, the smartphone sports a dual camera setup led by a 50MP sensor alongside an auxiliary lens. On the front side, there is a 5MP camera for snapping selfies and taking video calls.
Rest of the Specs
The Infinix Hot 30i draws its juice from a 5000mAh battery with 10W charging support. For connectivity, the phone supports 4G, WiFi 5, A-GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, a USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Meanwhile, you get a bottom-firing single speaker for audio and a side-mounted fingerprint reader for biometrics security.
Storage: 128GB internal storage, expandable up to 1TB via microSD
Battery: 5000mAh, 10W charging
OS: XOS 12 based on Android 12
Biometrics: Side-mounted fingerprint reader
Audio: Single speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack
Infinix Hot 30i Price in Nepal and Availability
The price of the Infinix Hot 30i in Nepal is Rs. 14,999 for the sole 6/64GB variant. You can now buy it from our affiliate partner Hukut and other authorized stores in Nepal.
Hello everyone, so today I’m here with the Samsung Galaxy F54 review. This mid-range phone was unveiled recently and costs RS. 52,499 for the sole 8/256GB variant. Specs-wise, is very similar to the Galaxy A54, which made its debut a couple of months ago. Without further ado, let’s get into the review covering the design, display, performance, optics, and battery life of the Galaxy F54.
Samsung Galaxy F54 Specifications:
Body: 164.9 x 77.3 x 8.4mm, 199 gm, Plastic back/Glass front, Plastic frames
So, like every Samsung phone that has launched in 2023, the Galaxy F54 doesn’t come with a charger inside the box either. This means you need to buy an official 25W-rated Samsung charger separately, which goes for Rs. 2000. Plus, you also don’t get a pre-applied skin protector and a case inside the box, so the unboxing experience is pretty dull here!
Design
Anyway, the first thing you see Samsung has compromised to bring the cost down of the Galaxy F54 is in the design aspect itself. And I believe this is probably the weakest point of the phone. You get an all-plastic build here and a taller form factor, and it doesn’t feel that good in the hands.
Design
1 of 2
Front
Rear
It also has this glossy back which, as you can see, catches a lot of fingerprints. On the contrary, the Galaxy A54 is a much better-looking phone with a matte back glass body, a much better weight distribution, and overall a more premium-looking device. The Galaxy A54 also has a range of attractive color options, whereas here, you can either choose this silver color or go with the Dark Blue option.
The Galaxy F54 also lacks any kind of IP rating, while you get an official IP67 dust and water resistance on the A54. So, you can clearly see corners being cut when it comes to the design and build of this phone.
Display
There aren’t any corners cut on the display front though. You get a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen with a Full HD resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, and a fast 120Hz refresh rate – all protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
This panel definitely isn’t as good as Dynamic AMOLED ones that you see on the flagship S23-series, but it is still an excellent one with great light uniformity, perfect contrast, and super accurate color reproduction.
The 120Hz refresh rate is also quite fluid and responsive, with excellent touch responsiveness. Plus, it looks like Samsung has also used an X-axis vibration motor here since it has nice, precise, and detailed tactile feedback. Just like the A54.
As for brightness, It can hit an impressive 800 nits at max auto, making it perfectly usable outdoors. The minimum brightness is also quite low here, so no issues with usage while in bed at night either. This screen also has HDR10+ and L1 Widevine certification, which means watching movies on streaming platforms, especially the ones with HDR playback is going to be a treat.
Audio and Fingerprint Sensor
However, Samsung has not included a stereo speaker here! Just a single speaker which can get pretty loud, but I did miss that depth. And in some scenarios, the audio would get just too sharp with a little annoying treble.
Likewise, you also don’t get an under-display fingerprint scanner as the F54 settles for a more traditional side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which fortunately is located at a convenient spot for operation with the right thumb.
Performance
Now, for performance, we get Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1380 chipset, which you know I am not a big fan of. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of power here for One UI to run smoothly and snappy. There is no hint of stutter under light, everyday tasks. But it’s just that it often underperforms when compared to similar-priced phones like the Poco F5, Moto Edge 40, and the like. Also, compared with the A54, the CPU throttling is higher on the F54.
Gaming
And that’s especially true when you start gaming on this phone! Here, I was only able to get a max of 30 fps in games like Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile. That too at the lowest of settings!
The stability also takes a hit once I try to increase the graphics setting to say Medium on Genshin and HD on PUBG mobile. So, neither are you getting higher fps nor better graphics quality on the Galaxy F54. Lighter and more optimized games like COD and Mech Arena are more stable and can hit 60 fps at higher settings though.
Samsung has also not included any proper cooling solution like a vapor chamber here. So the sustained gaming performance is not good. Plus, the phone gets quite warm if you game for 30-plus minutes. Or you are on mobile data all the time.
On the contrary, the Galaxy A54 has slightly better CPU and GPU stability in the throttling test, as you can see from these graphs.
But overall, if you are not a heavy user and don’t play heavy games at all, the Galaxy F54 should not be a problem. The UI experience here is great, there are no annoying ads or bloatware, and you get a full-fledged One UI 5.1 based on Android 13. And like the A54, Samsung is offering the same 4 years of OS upgrades and 5 years of security patches here too.
Camera
The Galaxy F54 brings a 108MP primary camera with OIS, followed by an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro lens. On the front, you get the same 32MP selfie camera, which weirdly fits inside a bigger hole-punch cutout than on the A54.
Daylight
Anyway, I compared cameras from both these phones and found very little difference between them. The Galaxy A54 is slightly better with highlights and white balance in some situations. Still, most of the time they produce almost identical colors and sharpness. So, overall you will get some really nice shots from the F54 – both during daytime and nighttime.
Daylight
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Portraits
The Galaxy A54 also manages somewhat better portrait shots. As you can see from these images, the A54 has better background colors. But this is something Samsung can improve with an update or two.
Portrait
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Ultrawide
Galaxy A54 also has a slightly better and wider 12MP ultra-wide angle compared to the 8MP on the F54. So I was getting slightly better ultra-wide-angle shots from the A54 with a wider field of view.
Ultrawide
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Selfies
The selfies are also quite nice on both these phones with good dynamic range and natural detail rendering.
Sefies
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Videos
This phone can also click 4K 30 fps videos from its primary and front cameras. And overall, I like their quality with ample details, consistent dynamic range, and the right amount of white balance and saturation. It also has a wider field of view than that of the A54. But like the A54, Samsung has disabled stabilization at 4K 30 fps or 1080 60 fps. And it only works at 1080 30 fps.
Battery
Okay, lastly, getting into the battery life, Samsung has fitted in a big 6000mAh cell here. And trust me, its endurance is just amazing. I was able to achieve almost 7 hours of screen time every day on my heavy usage pattern. To compare, it is almost 2 hours more than the A54. But the battery life is still not as good as my daily driver S23 Ultra, with around 7.5 hours of screen time.
For charging, it takes around 1 hour and 45 minutes to fully juice up with an official 25W charger. So, maybe Samsung should at least bring 65W or faster charging speeds to phones with such a big battery.
Samsung Galaxy F54 Review: Conclusion
Ok to conclude, I believe this is a decent phone under Rs. 55,000 for a reliable camera. It has an excellent display and great battery life. On top of that, it is guaranteed to get years of software updates.
But by paying just a little bit more, you can get the Galaxy A54 instead. It offers a more premium and nicer-looking design. Also, the IP67 rating, better thermal management, stereo speakers, in-display fingerprint sensor, and the list goes on.
