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Xiaomi Watch S1 Active Review: Nailing The Basics

Nikhil Shrestha
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Xiaomi Watch S1 Active Review: Nailing The Basics

Xiaomi is not a new name in the world of wearables. But despite the company’s best efforts at competing with the big dogs in the premium arena, you don’t hear people recommend its flagship smartwatches that often. However, Xiaomi hopes to change that rhetoric with the Watch S1 series. This lineup consists of the standard Xiaomi Watch S1 and the Watch S1 Active, and I’ve been using the Active model for a little over two weeks now for this review.

At USD 199 or NPR 23,000 here in Nepal, it goes against the likes of Amazfit GTR/GTS 3, Mobvoi TicWatch E3, and Huawei Watch GT 3. Tough crowd, I know! You can find our review of all these smartwatches on our website, by the way. So, let’s dive into this review and find out if Xiaomi has finally struck gold with the Watch S1 Active, or does the company still have a long way to go in this space.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active Specifications:

  • Body: 46.5 x 47.3 x 11mm, 36.3 grams (without strap)
  • Strap: TPU (Ocean Blue, Space Black) / Silicone (Moon White), 160-220mm adjustable length
  • Display: 1.43″ AMOLED screen, 450 nits (typ)
  • Resolution: 466 x 466 pixels, 326 PPI
  • Frame: Glass fibre-reinforced polyamide, Metal bezel
  • Water Resistance: 5 ATM waterproof (up to 50m)
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient light, Atmospheric, Geomagnetic, Gyroscope, Heart rate (with blood oxygen sensor)
  • Health Tracking: 24-hour heart rate, SpO2 monitoring, Sleep, Stress tracking, Women’s health
  • Sports Mode: 117 sports modes in total (including 19 professional modes)
  • Navigation: GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BDS, QZSS
  • Phone Calls: Yes (Built-in microphone, Speaker)
  • Battery: 470mAh cell (Up to 12 days of endurance)
  • Connectivity: WiFi b/g/n (2.4GHz), Bluetooth 5.2
  • Companion App: Mi Fitness (Android | iOS)
  • Price in Nepal: Rs. 22,999

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active Review:

Design & Build

  • Polycarbonate frame/base, Metal bezel
  • 46.5 x 47.3 x 11mm, 36.3 grams
  • TPU/silicone strap, 5 ATM water resistance

Okay, the first thing to you need to know about this guy is that it’s not that different from the Xiaomi Watch S1 which costs USD 70 more (or USD 50 depending on the market). For that premium, you’re getting a more classic design with a stainless-steel frame and sapphire glass on the front.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active - Design

On the other hand, the S1 Active comes in this sporty look composed of polycarbonate material all around except for the metal bezel.

That’s it—they’re identical when it comes to core functionality.

I’ve used smartwatches of all prices, from the absolute flagship ones to those that cost a fraction of the money. And the only thing that matters to me—as far as the design and build quality is concerned—is that (a) it should fit my wrist and (b) it should be comfortable to wear without causing any sort of skin irritation.

But if you prefer something that feels luxurious on your wrist, that’s perfectly fine. It’s all relative!

22mm universal watch strap

Thankfully, this watch ticks both of those boxes with ease. And it’s super lightweight too. Weirdly enough, Xiaomi has used TPU straps on the Space Black and Ocean Blue color options whereas the Moon White variant enjoys a softer silicone strap instead.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active - Sensor

So if you don’t like the feel of a TPU strap, you can easily swap it with any 22mm band since the company has gone with a universal design here. In terms of durability, the S1 Active is 5 ATM water-resistant, although I feel like some form of dust protection should’ve been on the cards as well. Anyway, you’ll find two buttons for navigation on the side.

The Home button on the top is non-customizable and it can either take you to the homescreen or launch the app menu. The one on the bottom can be configured to trigger different types of workouts or the workout menu in general, but that’s about it. It can’t launch any other app or shortcut which feels like a lost opportunity to me.

Display

  • 1.43-inches AMOLED panel, 326 PPI
  • 200+ watch faces, 450 nits brightness

Upfront, this watch has a large 1.43” AMOLED display. It’s sharp, vibrant, and bright for comfortable visibility at all times. Auto-brightness also works perfectly, which means whether you’re out in the sun or going to bed at night, this screen will seamlessly adapt to the surrounding lighting condition.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active - Display 3

It supports Always on Display too but I never really bothered to turn it on for power-saving reasons. There’s nothing wrong with the raise-to-wake feature, so why bother? Moreover, no matter what type of watch face you have on—analog, digital, or artistic—they all share the same always-on screen that shows the current time alongside the day of the week and month only.

Talking about watch faces, Xiaomi says you can choose from over 200 options here. Some of them are animated and some are even editable. Or you can upload a custom photo as well. Regardless, most of the watch faces look pretty well designed and informative to me—and I’m especially fond of this one called “JSON” which shows date, time, and different health metrics in JSON syntax.

No protectors here.

No Lanterns, no Kryptonian.

Then again, since this display is layered with a simple tempered glass on top instead of Gorilla Glass (or sapphire glass like the standard Watch S1), I am somewhat worried about its long-term durability. So if you’re someone who’s constantly on the move—or a somewhat clumsy person in general—I’ll strongly advise applying a screen protector here.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active - Buttons

With that out of the way, let’s talk about its UI now. The S1 Active runs on Xiaomi’s proprietary “MIUI Watch 1.0”, and I’m not sure if this is something the company built from scratch or if it’s just a simple modification of the RTOS that Xiaomi has been using in its previous smartwatches.

But if you’re already familiar with Xiaomi’s UI for smartwatches, it should feel right at home. All the widgets are accessible with a swipe from the left or right, the control center with some handy shortcuts sits at the bottom, and all your incoming notifications are chronologically stored at the top. Of course, notifications aren’t actionable here and you can’t even reply to messages with quick replies or something.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active - UI

On top of this, the company hasn’t bothered to format the text properly either since a single word breaks into two lines if it runs out of screen space. Support for Nepali, Hindi Unicode fonts and emojis are also missing here.

Overall, the Watch S1 Active’s UI is quite well-optimized. Yes, it’s lacking a few features you’d expect from a proper smartwatch but I wouldn’t say it’s a dealbreaker in any way. For the most part, animations look fluid enough on this 60Hz display too.

Audio

  • Built-in microphone, speaker

And did I mention that this watch lets you make Bluetooth phone calls? The call quality itself is pretty good as long as you’re in a fairly quiet environment. And when setting the vibration level to “Strong”, I didn’t miss any calls as well. Also, while there’s no dialer app here, you can directly make calls from the watch as long as they’re in the call history. Plus, you know… the watch is connected to your phone.

But more importantly, you can call your emergency contact by clicking the exercise button on the bottom three times in a row.

That’s definitely “better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have”, as Franz Kafka said it.

Moving on, the S1 Active also brings MasterCard contactless payment, Alexa voice assistant, and a handful of third-party app support but neither of them is available in Nepal just yet.

Health, Fitness Tracking

  • 24-hour heart rate, SpO2 monitoring, Sleep tracking
  • 117 sports modes, Auto workout detection, Built-in GPS

Okay, it’s now time to talk about the health and fitness tracking features. As expected from a flagship smartwatch, it can keep track of basically every health metric you could want.

This includes everything from women’s health, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), and stress monitoring—that too on a 24-hour basis. In case of heart rate, the watch can even send alerts if it detects your current heart-rate level is abnormally high.

As for SpO2 tracking, where you can set the frequency between 10, 30 minutes, or just during sleep. Locking it at half-hourly measurements, I often noticed that the graph looked incomplete most of the time. Recording SpO2 level requires you to be relatively still, so I can’t hold this against Xiaomi in any way.

Unreliable sleep tracking

But when it comes to sleep tracking, I’m having a major déjà vu because my experience with the Watch S1 Active has been the exact same as the Redmi Watch 2 Lite that I reviewed a while back.

First things first, it completely fails to log my awake time. Whereas compared to the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, it also over records things like my deep and REM sleep duration. Even the overnight SpO2 measurement is unreliable here. Needless to say, Xiaomi’s got to improve its sleep tracking algorithm by a lot. It’s not just us—GSMArena has reported similar results as well.

As for fitness tracking, it supports a total of 117 sports modes out of which 19 of them are professional ones. So you can get deep and helpful insights on exercises like running, swimming, jump rope, and HIIT—although I can’t talk about their accuracy quite yet.

And the remaining 98 sports modes are limited to keeping track of your calories and heart-rate levels only. Since all my workout includes is walking, running, and maybe cycling sometimes, the S1 Active is more than enough for my fitness tracking needs.

Likewise, it can automatically detect and record walking and running exercises too. But unlike the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, you’ll have to manually end the workout here. On the other hand, I’m really impressed with how fast the watch locks on to a GPS signal. Granted that the actual workout trail isn’t as precise as it could be, this is still quite amazing stuff!

Companion App

  • Mi Fitness (formerly Xiaomi Wear)
  • Available for both Android and iOS devices

So like every other Xiaomi smartwatch, the S1 Active pairs with the “Mi Fitness” app which is available for both Android and iOS devices.

While we were prompted to install an APK file of the app when setting up the Redmi Watch 2 Lite, the QR code swiftly prompted to the Play Store link this time. Phew! Having said that, this app still has a few bugs and inconsistencies.

On two separate occasions, it over recorded my daily steps. Grossly over recorded, might I add. As you can see, the app says I somehow took over 150,000 steps on May 17. That’s about 3 marathons worth of steps if I’m not mistaken.

If I actually took 150,000 steps in a day, I’d literally be shouting it through the roof until I lose my voice, but this is beyond ridiculous!

And even when I manually synced all my health data before switching phones, I still lost about a week’s worth of exercise and sleep logs. Just… gone, like tears in rain. Other records like heart rate, SpO2, and stress levels are here just fine, but I have no idea what happened with those two.

Battery

  • 470mAh battery
  • Up to 12 days of battery life

Keeping all this chaos aside, the S1 Active’s battery life is actually incredible! Xiaomi says you can expect up to 12 days of endurance under normal usage, while it managed to stay on my wrist for 6-7 days before requiring a fill-up.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active - Charging

My usage pattern includes turning on every health tracking feature available, setting the brightness to auto mode, and receiving at least a dozen notifications every day. But charging it is a little slow since the watch takes two and a half hours to go from 0 to 100%.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active Review: Conclusion

Wrapping up this review, the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active has impressive hardware for the price—no doubt about that. Its sporty look is attractive and comfortable, this AMOLED display is no slouch, and its battery endurance is some of the best in business. And for what it’s worth, MIUI Watch is pretty reliable too. Then again, it still has some major and some minor issues that may or may not be a dealbreaker to you.

For instance, I can easily live without NFC payment or summoning Alexa. But its unreliable sleep tracking mixed with inconsistencies in the companion app is something that shouldn’t be a thing on such a premium smartwatch. Maybe it’ll all be fixed with a software update sometime soon or maybe it won’t.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active - Display 1

But as a reviewer, I must judge a product in its current state—not what it could be in the future. Then again, if my concerns don’t apply to you, this is still a decent buy. I’m kinda tempted to recommend the Huawei Watch GT 3 by extending your budget a little. But the price difference between these two is a little too wide—especially in South Asian markets like Nepal.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Active Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Sporty, comfortable design
  • AMOLED display that gets plenty bright
  • Decent Bluetooth call quality
  • Nice health, fitness tracking features
  • Excellent battery endurance

Cons:

  • No dust ingress protection
  • No display protection
  • MIUI Watch lacks some key features
  • Unreliable sleep monitoring
  • The companion app is a bit buggy

Researcher develop tiny wearable to monitor multiple health stats

GadgetByte
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Researcher develop tiny wearable to monitor multiple health stats

Scientists at the UC San Diego Center for Wearable Sensors have developed a multi-tasking microneedle wearable that can continuously monitor blood sugar levels, alcohol consumption levels, and even muscle fatigue during exercise. The UCSD prototype can measure glucose, alcohol, and lactate levels in real-time.

Microneedles patch to attach it to your skin

The tiny multi-tasking microneedle wearable is applied to the skin through a patch of microneedles. The wearable is neither uncomfortable nor painful, and it penetrates the skin just enough to detect biomolecules in the fluid surrounding the cells beneath the skin.

multi-tasking microneedle wearable
Disposable microneedle patch (Image Source: UCSD)

Various enzymes on the microneedle tips react with glucose, alcohol, and lactate in the interstitial fluid. The built-in wireless transmitter transfers the data to a smartphone app.

The disposable microneedle patch is removable from the reusable electronic case, which houses the sensors, battery, and other electronics.

A complete lab on the skin

Professor of nanoengineering Joseph Wang describes the device as a “complete lab on the skin.” The wearable can measure multiple biomarkers, allowing users to monitor their health and wellness while going about their daily activities.

multi-tasking microneedle wearable charging
Wireless charging demonstration of the wearable (Image Source: UCSD)

This invention is a game-changer as most commercially available monitors for diabetic patients only measure one signal. According to the researchers, it poses a problem as it leaves out information that can be crucial to people with diabetes.

Because alcohol lowers blood sugar levels, knowing them can help the wearer avoid having their sugar levels drop too low while drinking. Physical activities, in turn, influence glucose regulation in the body. And, because lactate is a biomarker for muscle fatigue, knowing about it can help diabetic patients as well.

What’s Next for the multi-tasking microneedle wearable?

Through testing, the researchers discovered that the measurements taken from their wearable are comparable to those taken from commercial monitors.

As of now, the engineers behind it are working on improving the lifespan of the microneedle patch. They are also discussing the possibility of adding more sensors. The diabetes monitoring wearable will be marketed as AquilX.

  • Meanwhile, check out our review of the Redmi Watch 2 Lite.

Here is the complete information on all Vivo service centers in Nepal

GadgetByte
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Here is the complete information on all Vivo service centers in Nepal

In this article, you can find the location and customer information on all Vivo customer service centers in Nepal. Currently, the company has a total of four service centers across the country. In addition, it also has a toll-free call support number and a dedicated site for queries related to the price and availability of spare parts.

Vivo Brand Overview:

Vivo is an offline-centric smartphone brand, with its biggest strength being the design and camera performance. You hardly see Vivo competing against other fellow Chinese brands in aspects other than these two. Thus, it is more important for the brand to have good service to retain customers.

Vivo Customer Service Centers in Nepal

Vivo Nepal has opened a total of four service centers in major cities of different regions in Nepal. These official Vivo service centers operate from 10 AM to 6 PM, six days a week. Likewise, each service center has its unique contact number to handle customers’ queries over calls.

City Location Contact No
Kathmandu Shop No: 306A, 306B, 2nd floor, CTC Mall, Sundhara
  • 01-4267231
  • 01-4257420
Chitwan 2nd floor KL Mall, Lions Chowk 05-6493480
Pokhara 3rd Floor, Mobile Tower, Mahendra Pul 06-1585397
Itahari 3rd Floor, Itahari Central Plaza, Itahari 02-5590038

Also Read: 

Online Support

Alternatively, users can even enquire about sales and services through different mediums. As of now, Vivo Nepal has set up chat, email, and call support.

To initiate chat support, you much fill in a form mentioning your name, phone number, and email address. In email support, you can send your message directly with the form. However, you must mention your smartphone model and the software version that is running.

Lastly, you can even call on the two numbers provided by Vivo for customer service. One is a toll-free number for NTC users.

  • 18000010168 (Toll-free for NTC users)
  • 014257420

Spare Parts Query

If you are looking to have a broken or failed component of your Vivo smartphone, you can look up the cost of spare parts without actually visiting a customer service center. Vivo has a dedicated site for this.

At the time of writing this article, the site covers a wide range of Vivo phones except for some new launches.

  • You might also be interested in:
Xiaomi Service Centers in Nepal Apple Service Centers in Nepal Samsung Service Centers in Nepal

List of Xiaomi Mobile Service Centers & Showroom in Nepal

Pratima Adhikari
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List of Xiaomi Mobile Service Centers & Showroom in Nepal

Xiaomi is one of the top smartphone brands in Nepal. They sell over a dozen smartphone models every year. So, if your Xiaomi mobile has recently been damaged and you want to repair it, you have come to the right place. In this article, we are going to talk about Xiaomi and its list of service centers and showrooms in Nepal.

About Xiaomi

Xiaomi is a Chinese tech brand that began its journey in the electronics business starting with smartphones. It gained quite a lot of success in the mobile business. However, it did not stop there. To present itself as the absolute electronics hub, the brand brought other gadgets too.

They entered the laptop market with the launch of the Mi Notebook and Mi Note Air ultrabooks. Similarly, the company is selling products like Mi TV, Mi Band, MIiVR, MI Air Purifier, Mi electric scooter, and so on.

The Chinese smartphone maker has a wide presence in the Indian and Chinese markets. They are the number 1 smartphone brand in India. In Nepal too, the smartphone department is growing very well. Mobile buyers are quite interested in Xiaomi smartphones because of their top performance and honest pricing.

Read: Xiaomi mobile price in Nepal [Updated]

Xiaomi Authorized distributors in Nepal

In order to spread its popularity and gain success in terms of sales, Xiaomi has appointed two official distributors in Nepal, namely known as Vatsal Impex Pvt. Ltd. and Teletalk Pvt. Ltd. Teletalk looks after only the mobile business in Nepal whereas Vatsal will be involved in the sales of both mobiles and accessories.

Since there are officially two distributors, the area of the field for business has also been divided. According to the commitment, Vatsal will only serve the customers inside the Kathmandu valley whereas Teletalk will do the sales outside the valley.

Distributor List of Xiaomi mobile in Nepal Contact Number Address 
Vatsal Impex Pvt. Ltd.  977-1-4101530 Thapathali (Opposite of Goethe)
Email:[email protected]
Teletalk Pvt. Ltd  01-4254546 Lucky Tower, 5th Floor, Tripureshwor
Email:[email protected]

Xiaomi Showroom in Nepal | Where to Buy Xiaomi mobiles in Nepal 

You can buy Xiaomi phones in Nepal from online and offline channels. For online, you have the two largest e-commerce websites: Daraz, Sastodeal, and Hukut. Similarly for offline, you can purchase Xiaomi products from its official showroom located in Labim Mall, Bhaktapur, Pulchowk, or Newroad. There are also over 900 mobile retail outlets all across Nepal where you can buy Xiaomi phones.  

Find your nearest Xiaomi mobile outlets here. 

Xiaomi Call Center & Toll-Free number in Nepal 

Call Center Smart Cell: 9880948664
Toll-Free No: NTC (Toll-Free Number ) – 16600170078

Xiaomi Authorized Service Center in Nepal

Here is the list of Xiaomi authorized service & repair centers located in key cities of Nepal:

City Address Contact No
Kathmandu Tamrakar Complex, 5th Floor, Shop No 55, Pako New road 9801848880
Kathmandu Eyeplex Mall, 3rd Floor, Baneshwor 9801988862
Nepalgunj Setu Bk Chowk, Nepalgunj 9801848883
Itahari National Gali, itahari Chowk 9801846671
Chitwan Linos Chowk, KL Complex, 3rd Floor, Narayanghat 9801846670
Pokhara MahaendraPool, Mobile Tower, 1st floor 9801988857
DHANGADHI  Shree Laxmi Complex, 1st Floor, Purano Bhansar Road, Sabjimandi 9801988864
Butwal Singh Complex, 1st Floor, Amarpath  9802356020

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Review: No Frills

GadgetByte
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OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Review: No Frills

In this review, I will be talking all about the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite. OnePlus’ 2022 lineup of smartphones has been… a bit underwhelming so far. And no, it’s not merely because of the OxygenOS-Color OS merger. Instead, it’s because how OnePlus has mostly been rebranding phones from its sister companies to fill up its portfolio, which… hasn’t been well received by the fans.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Specifications:

  • Body: 164.3 x 75.6 x 8.5mm; 195 grams
  • Display: 6.59-inch FHD+ LCD panel, 120Hz refresh rate
  • Resolution: FHD+ (2412 x 1080 pixels); 20:9 aspect ratio
  • Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 (6nm)
  • CPU: Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×1.7 GHz Cortex-A55)
  • GPU: Adreno 619
  • Memory: 6/8GBGB RAM, 128GB storage
  • Software & UI: Android 12 with OxygenOS 12.1 on top
  • Rear Camera: Triple-camera (64MP primary + 2MP macro + 2MP depth)
  • Front Camera: 16MP (punch-hole)
  • Security: Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
  • Battery: 5000mAh with 33W SuperVOOC charging
  • Color options: Blue Tide, Black Dusk

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Review:

One such product is the Nord CE 2 Lite, which is basically the twin brother of the Realme 9 Pro. Except for the branding on the  back alongside some visual tweaks, these two phones share similar specifications. Besides looks, the only other notable difference you’ll find is in the cameras since the Nord CE 2 Lite lacks Realme 9 Pro’s ultrawide sensor. So logically, one would expect this guy to cost considerably less or no more than the 9 Pro, right?

However, for no apparent reason, it costs an extra thousand bucks in India across all the memory variants. Because of this, it certainly looks like an overpriced phone for the price.

Design

  • 164.3 x 75.6 x 8.5mm; 195 grams
  • Glass front, Plastic back/frame
  • No IP rating

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Design

Even its design feels anything but OnePlus. I’m especially not a fan of this glossy strip running edge-to-edge through the camera module—something I’ve never seen on a OnePlus phone before. And it feels a bit wide for my hands as well. While this is definitely not to the point of any discomfort or anything—and you will likely grow used to it after a day or two—but it lacks the classic OnePlus traits. Speaking of which, there is no alert slider either.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Buttons

Moreover, even when charging a premium above the Realme 9 Pro, the company hasn’t offered an IP rating or hardened glass protection of any sort here. I did find the phone to have a pretty robust build quality since it survived a couple of severe falls from my tea table with nothing to show for. Then again, the incident reminded me to put on a case since it has an all-plastic build and I couldn’t risk getting scratches on this review unit.

On a positive note, the Nord CE 2 Lite isn’t that heavy to hold—thanks to the excellent weight distribution and ergonomic design. For security, there is a fingerprint sensor embedded into the power button which is quite reliable and accurate for the most part.

Display

  • 6.59-inch FHD+ LCD panel
  • 120Hz refresh rate

On the front, you get a 6.59-inch screen with a Full HD resolution. While it’s not an AMOLED panel, it does support a 120Hz refresh rate, making things like scrolling through the UI a fairly smooth experience. OnePlus also says that it has used an energy-saving LCD which doesn’t take a toll on the battery. While we can’t really speak to the accuracy of that claim, we all know LCD comes nowhere near AMOLED displays when it comes to preserving battery life.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Display

Anyway, the actual quality of this screen is quite good. The viewing angles are pretty nice, and the colors look fairly pleasing for an LCD panel too. The phone is also Widevine L1 certified for HD playback on OTT platforms like Netflix—but do note that it lacks any form of HDR playback.

Talking about content consumption, the Nord CE 2 Lite rocks a mono speaker at the bottom which can get fairly loud. And there’s no such issue as distortion at the highest volume either. Yet, I am once again disappointed with OnePlus in this regard since the company could easily provide stereo speakers here.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Ports

To compare, companies like Xiaomi and POCO have been readily offering a contrast-rich AMOLED display paired with a great-quality stereo speaker setup in similarly-priced phones. Moreover, the haptics on the Nord CE 2 Lite is nothing to write home about either. But I’ve had no issue regarding call quality on this phone though.

Performance

  • Octa-core Snapdragon 695 SoC (6nm)
  • 6/8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 128GB UFS 2.2 storage (expandable)

Getting to the performance side of things, the Nord CE 2 Lite is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. OnePlus has coupled it with either 6, or 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Interface

Here, our review unit of the phone with 8GB RAM has left no room for complaints when it comes to day-to-day usage. Apps open up quick enough and the RAM management is pretty commendable too.

And unlike the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G which features the same SoC, there are no micro stutters or lags here—all thanks to the well-optimized OS. More importantly, the phone runs on the latest version of OxygenOS which is built on Android 12. While the company dared to ship the standard Nord CE 2 with Android 11-based OxygenOS, this is surely a positive development.

Not only this but the CE 2 Lite is guaranteed to receive 2 generations of OS and 3 years of security updates as well. And if you’re worried about what the new OS is like, then let me tell you that this version of OnePlus’s custom skin is still following the old trajectory.

I mean, the phone still offers a no-nonsense bloatware-free experience with a handful of OnePlus-exclusive features like the Shelf and Zen Mode. Sure, there are some ColorOS elements in the interface here and there, but I’m good with it as long as it doesn’t break the user experience.

Gaming

Moving on, although the Snapdragon 695 is not that great in the gaming arena, I did play a handful of demanding games on this phone. To begin with, PUBG Mobile runs flawlessly at Balanced graphics and Ultra frame rate. After about 20 minutes into the game, the CPU temperature rose to 43°C which isn’t that bad considering the ambient temperature during these summer days.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Gaming

Likewise, Call of Duty Mobile yields the best results at Medium graphics and Max frame rate. The thermal performance here was fairly commendable as well, with CPU and battery temperatures similar to before.

Finally, I also tried a few 120 fps games like Oddmar and Critical Ops, but OnePlus hasn’t tuned them to run at their best capacity on this phone.

Battery

  • 5000mAh with 33W SuperVOOC charging
  • USB Type-C port

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Charger

Regardless, Nord CE 2 Lite’s battery life is great—thanks to the massive 5000mAh battery and a power-efficient 6nm chip. As a result, even with heavy usage consisting of hours of content consumption, shooting photos/videos, and casual web browsing, I was able to get 7 to 8 hours of screen-on time. Similarly, the phone goes from 0 to 100% in around 1 hour and 10 minutes with the 33W SuperVOOC charger that you get inside the box.

Cameras

  • Triple camera setup at the back
  • (64MP main, 2MP macro, 2MP depth)
  • 16MP selfie camera (punch-hole)

Okay, let’s talk cameras now. And hardware-wise, it looks pretty generic. Like I said in the beginning, the Nord CE 2 Lite skips an ultrawide shooter. And its triple camera setup at the back consists of a 64MP primary lens, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor.

Normal Images 

I compared its camera with the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G and found that OnePlus’s photos come out brighter and with boosted colors most of the time. While this is visually appealing to many, it sometimes over-saturates the image to the point where it looks completely unnatural.

Portrait Images

On the other hand, none of the phones retain a natural skin tone when it comes to portraits. But then again, the Nord CE 2 Lite’s brighter results look somewhat pleasing to the eyes. Selfies share a similar story too.

Nighttime Images

Yet, Redmi wins over OnePlus in terms of nighttime photography, since it manages to handle exposure and sharpness a lot more effectively.

And when turning on Night Mode, the Note 11 Pro delivers consistent and reliable results almost all the time.

Videos

On the videography side, neither of them support 1080p 60 fps recording and the highest you can record is at 1080p 30 fps. And here, the Note 11 Pro 5G delivers a comparatively stable result whereas Nord CE 2 Lite’s videos are incredibly shaky. Also, the selfie videos aren’t as steady on this phone, whereas exposure maintenance is pretty bad on both of them.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Review: Conclusion

Okay so after using the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite for almost two weeks, what do I think of this phone? Well, while it does offer satisfactory performance and a clean software experience, I wish OnePlus had gone with a more compelling set of features like an AMOLED display, IP rating, and stereo speakers to match the competition.

So, instead of just repackaging products of its sister companies, OnePlus could have done a better job by launching a more competitive device instead. Therefore, I am not convinced to recommend the Nord CE 2 Lite over the likes of Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G or the Poco X4 Pro 5G since they deliver a much better all-rounder experience.

OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • Optimized OxygenOS
  • Guaranteed software updates
  • 33W SuperVOOC charging

Cons:

  • No IP rating
  • IPS display is quite underwhelming
  • Mono speaker
  • No ultrawide lens

Weekly Tech Quiz #1

Nikhil Shrestha
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Weekly Tech Quiz #1

Think you know tech? Take our quiz to put your tech knowledge to the test (no cheating, obviously). There are 15 questions in total, so it shouldn’t take more than 3 minutes. And the questions could be from any field—smartphones, gaming, music, and more. Here we go!

Sony LinkBuds S brings ANC and LDAC support for $200

GadgetByte
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Sony LinkBuds S brings ANC and LDAC support for $200

Sony has just released the LinkBuds S, the latest addition to its wireless earphones lineup. The latest TWS earbuds offer active noise cancellation and LDAC support for USD 199.99. This article will discuss the key specifications, features, official price, and availability of the Sony LinkBuds S in Nepal.

Sony LinkBuds S Overview:

Design

The Sony LinkBuds S has a more traditional closed-back design, as opposed to the LinkBuds, which has a unique open-loop design.

The lightweight nature of these TWS sets them apart from the competition. Each earbud is only 4.8 grams in weight, with Sony claiming them to be the lightest and smallest wireless earbuds with both ANC and Hi-res certification on the market.

Sony offers three color options: black, white, and beige (Desert Sand).

Sony LinkBuds S Design, Colors

The case appears to be more pocketable than the original LinkBuds, but it is still larger than Apple AirPods Pro. Furthermore, the case lacks a pairing button, instead, relies on Sony’s Swift Pair approach for quick pairing.

Features

Sony LinkBuds S’s lightweight offerings make no concessions. The Hi-Res LDAC audio coding technology is supported by the LinkBuds S, and the DSEE Extreme upscales compressed digital music files.

Sony LinksBuds S also has active noise cancellation and an ambient mode. There is also automatic wear detection and other features such as Adaptive Sound Control and Auto Play. They are also water-resistant to IPX4 standards.

Battery and Charging

Sony claims that the LinkBuds S earbuds have a battery life of 6 hours and the case has a battery life of 14 hours, for a total of up to 20 hours of listening time.

The quick-charge feature gives the user up to 60 minutes of playtime with just 15 minutes of charging. Furthermore, the Sonys Headphones Connect app will notify you if the case charge falls below 30%.

Sony LinkBuds S Specifications:

  • Dimensions: Approx. 1.69 x 2.36 x 1.09″
  • Driver: 5mm dynamic driver, 16 Ohm
  • Codecs: SBC, AAC, LDAC
  • Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
  • Noise Cancellation: Yes, ANC
  • Playback Time: 6 hours (earbuds), 20 hours (with charging case)
  • Charging: USB-C port (Approx. 3 hours)
  • Water Resistance: Yes, IPX4 Rated
  • Companion App: Sony | Headphones Connect (Android | iOS)

Sony LinkBuds S Price in Nepal and Availability

For the time being, the Sony LinkBuds S is available for pre-order in the US for USD 199.99. The Desert Sand earbuds are only available at BestBuy. When it is released in Nepal, LinkBuds S is expected to cost NPR 27,999.

TWS Model
 Price in the US (Official) Price in Nepal (Expected)
Sony LinkBuds S USD 199.99 NPR 28,499
  • Meanwhile, check out our review of the Sony WH-1000XM4.

Vivo S15 Pro official with Dimensity 8100, custom Sony camera, 80W charging

GadgetByte
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Vivo S15 Pro official with Dimensity 8100, custom Sony camera, 80W charging

Vivo held an online event in China yesterday, where it launched two devices under the S series. In this article, we will be discussing the key specs, features, expected price, and availability of the Vivo S15 and S15 Pro in Nepal.

Vivo S15 Pro Overview:

Design and Display

Let’s start with the elephant in the room, the Vivo S15 Pro. It sports a 6.56-inch Samsung E5 AMOLED screen with a center-aligned punch-hole. The bezels around the screen are minimum, and the screen is curved at 60-degrees, giving it a premium look.

Furthermore, the screen has all the bells and whistles you would expect from a premium phone. It refreshes at 120 times per second and boasts a 300Hz touch sampling rate. Likewise, it has DCI-P3 coverage and HDR10+ certification.

Vivo S15 Pro Design and Display

Vivo has used AG Glass for the rear panel, which is less prone to fingerprint marks and smudges than normal glass. Likewise, you can also notice the “Mirror Cloud Window” style camera bump. The phone is available in two color options: Gradient Blue and Matte Black.

Performance and Memory

Under the hood, Vivo S15 Pro is the company’s first phone powered by Dimensity 8100 chip. It is a brand-new chip from MediaTek built on top of TSMC’s N5 (5nm) class. Vivo has paired the chip with the Pixelworks X5 Plus game-enhancing chip that will help in maintaining high and stable frame rates while gaming.

Camera

As for photography, Vivo S15 Pro features a triple camera setup headlined by the 50MP Sony IMX766V. It is a custom chip developed specifically for Vivo. It is a 1/1.56-inch sensor with an f/1.9 aperture and support for Optical Image Stabilization.

Accompanying it is a 12MP ultra-wide camera that the users can use for macro photography, too. The third sensor is a 2MP depth camera. Upfront, there is a 32MP camera for selfies and a 32MP selfie camera.

Vivo S15 Pro Camera Setup

Battery and Charging

Vivo S15 Pro packs a 4,500mAh dual-cell battery with support for 80W fast charging. A compatible adapter can charge the device up to 70% in just 18 minutes and 100% in 35 minutes.

Vivo S15 Overview:

The main talking point of the Vivo S15 is its processor. Here, Vivo has opted for a custom version of the Snapdragon 870 chip called the Peak Edition. It is based on the same node and architecture as the vanilla Snapdragon 870 but features an additional VMET chip developed by Vivo. As per the company, this component will make the chip even faster.

Moving on, Vivo S15 features a bigger 6.62-inch display. However, it is based on the older E5 AMOLED technology. Still, it retains the 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ certification and can hit peak brightness of up to 1,300 nits.

Vivo S15 Design and Display

At the back, Vivo S15 replaces the custom primary sensor of the Pro model with a generic 64MP sensor. Then there is an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP depth sensor. Over on the front, it has the same 32MP selfie camera as its Pro sibling.

Likewise, Vivo S15 is powered by the same 4,500mAh battery but can only hit charging speeds of up to 66W. Still, the phone can go from 0 to 50% in 18 minutes.

Vivo S15 Pro Series Specifications:

S15 Pro   S15 
Display   6.56-inches FHD+ E4 AMOLED 6.62-inch FHD+ E5 AMOLED
Display Features  120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+
Chipset   Dimenisty 8100 (5nm) Snapdragon 870 Peak Edition (6nm)
Memory   8/128GB LPDDR4x RAM, 256GB UFS 2.2 8/128GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128/25GB UFS 2.2
Software & UI   Android 12 with OriginOS Ocean
Rear Camera  
  • 50MP Sony IMX766V
  • 12MP Ultrawide
  • 2MP monochrome
  • 64MP primary
  • 12MP Ultrawide
  • 2MP monochrome
Front Camera   32MP, f/2.45
Connectivity  Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac/ax, Bluetooth 5.2, USB Type-C
Battery   4,500mAh battery
Charging  80W fast charging 66W fast charging
Color  Gradient Blue, Matte Black  Gradient Blue, Matte Black, Light Gold
 

Vivo S15 Series Price in Nepal and Availability

Vivo S15 Series is currently available for pre-order in China. The price starts at CNY 2,699 and CNY 3,399 for the vanilla and Pro model, respectively. We expect the price of Vivo S15 and S15 Pro in Nepal to start at NPR 54,500 and NPR 65,500, respectively, if they are launched here.

Vivo S15 Series  Price in China (Official)  Price in Nepal (Expected) 
Vivo S15 8/128GB CNY 2,699 NPR 54,500
8/256GB CNY 2,999 NPR 59,500
12/256GB CNY 3,299 NPR 65,500
S15 Pro  8/256GB CNY 3,399 NPR 67,500
12/256GB CNY 3,699 NPR 73,500
  • Meanwhile, check out our review of the Vivo V23 Pro.

Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G launched with Dimensity 920, 90Hz AMOLED screen

GadgetByte
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Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G launched with Dimensity 920, 90Hz AMOLED screen

Realme has recently added two new members to its Narzo series dubbed Narzo 50 5G and Narzo 50 Pro 5G. As suggested by the name, both of these are 5G-ready handset and comes with MediaTek Dimensity silicon. So, let’s get into the specs, features, availability, and expected price of the Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G and Narzo 50 5G in Nepal.

Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G Overview:

Performance

As per the company, Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G is the most powerful 5G mid-range phone in the series. The phone is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 920 which is built on TSMC’s 6nm process node.

Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G Vapor Chamber Cooling

Likewise, the phone also features a five-layer cooling setup covering all of the heat source components. Realme says it can reduce the phone’s core temperature by 10-degree Celsius.

The phone is available in two RAM variants: 6GB and 8GB. Furthermore, users can add 5GB of virtual RAM using 128GB of internal storage.

Design and Display

Despite being advertised as a mid-range gaming phone, Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G still maintains a sleek design. The phone measures 7.99mm in thickness and weighs around 181 grams.

Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G Design and Display

Over on the front, it has a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a touch sampling rate of up to 360Hz. It also has Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

The screen also houses an in-display fingerprint underneath for biometrics. The sensor can measure your heart rate too.

Camera

At the back, Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G has a familiar rectangular camera bump. It is home to a triple camera setup, consisting of a 48MP primary camera, 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. Over on the front, the phone has a 16MP selfie camera.

Rest of the Specs

Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging. The company even includes a compatible charger in the box. You get stereo speakers with support for Dolby Atmos. It also retains the 3.5mm headphone jack. Similarly, the phone boots on Android 12 with Realme UI 3.0 on top.

Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G Specifications:

  • Body: 160.2 x 73.3 x 7.99mm, 181 grams
  • Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED, 90Hz refresh rate, up to 360Hz touch sampling rate, Gorilla Glass 5
  • Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
  • Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G (6nm)
  • Memory: 6/8GB  RAM
  • Storage: 128GB UFS 2.1 storage (expandable)
  • Software & UI: Realme UI 3.0 on top of Android 12
  • Rear Camera: Triple (48MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 4cm macro)
  • Front Camera: 16MP (punch-hole)
  • Audio: Stereo speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Security: Optical in-display fingerprint sensor
  • Battery: 5000mAh with 33W charging

Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G Price in Nepal and Availability

As for the pricing, the base variant (6/128GB) of the Narzo 50 Pro 5G costs INR 21,999. Whereas, the higher 8/128GB model retails at INR 23,999. For Nepal, we expect its price to start at NPR 40,000 when it launches here.

Realme Narzo 50 Pro 5G Price in India (Official) Price in Nepal (Expected)
6/128GB INR 21,999 NPR 39,000
8/128GB INR 23,999 NPR 41,000

Realme Narzo 50 5G Overview:

Heading the Narzo 50 5G, it boasts a 6.6-inch Full HD+ IPS screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. It comes with MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC at its helm which is coupled with up to 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage.

Realme Narzo 50 5G Design and Display

For shooting photos and videos, the rear has a dual camera setup consisting of 48MP primary and a B&W portrait sensor. To attend video calls and such, there is an 8MP camera on the front. Like its expensive sibling, the Narzo 50 5G comes with a combo of dual speakers and a headphone jack.

Realme hasn’t skimped on the software front either, as the phone boots on Realme UI 3.0 based on Android 12. The biometric option includes a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Realme Narzo 50 5G Specifications:

  • Body: 163.8 x 75.1 x 8.1mm, 190 grams
  • Display: 6.6-inch IPS LCD, 90Hz refresh rate, up to 180Hz touch sampling rate, Gorilla Glass 5
  • Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
  • Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 810 5G (6nm)
  • Memory: 4/6GB  RAM
  • Storage: 128GB storage (expandable)
  • Software & UI: Realme UI 3.0 on top of Android 12
  • Rear Camera: Triple (48MP primary, B&W Portrait lens)
  • Front Camera: 8MP (punch-hole)
  • Audio: Stereo speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Security: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
  • Battery: 5000mAh with 33W charging

Realme Narzo 50 5G Price in Nepal and Availability

The Narzo 50 5G will retail in India at INR 15,999 for the 4/64GB variant and for INR 17,999 for the 6/128GB model. We expect its price to start at NPR 30,000, if and when it launches in Nepal.

Realme Narzo 50 5G Price in India (Official) Price in Nepal (Expected)
4/64GB INR 15,999 NPR 29,000
6/128GB INR 17,999 NPR 32,000
  • Meanwhile, check out our unboxing and initial impressions of the Realme GT Neo 3.

OnePlus Nord 2T: Hot or Not?

GadgetByte
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OnePlus Nord 2T: Hot or Not?

OnePlus recently launched a new smartphone in the Nord series, called the OnePlus Nord 2T. Interestingly, it went official in Nepal prior to its global launch with the European and Indian launch scheduled on May 19, 2022. So, we wanted to know if you think this product is hot or not from your perspective. Use the poll featured below to tell us your opinion about the newly launched OnePlus Nord 2T.

 Poll: OnePlus Nord 2T

Like every other T-series phone from OnePlus, the Nord 2T brings a mediocre upgrade over the existing Nord 2. It introduces a different design and a few upgrades here and there.

The processor has been upgraded from the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 to Dimensity 1300—although the improvement it brings to actual performance is quite minimal. Another improvement is that the Nord 2T now supports 80W fast charging contrary to the 65W charger of the Nord 2. 

Rest of the specifications include a 6.43-inch AMOLED display encased in a glass body. In terms of cameras, you get an OIS-powered 50MP primary lens, 8MP ultrawide and 2MP depth sensor on the back, and a 32MP lens on the front.

Check the full specifications of Oneplus Nord 2T here. We’ll also come up with a full review of the phone pretty soon.

  • Meanwhile, check out our unboxing and initial impressions of the OnePlus Nord 2T.
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