There is a new player in the growing smart wearable market in Nepal. IoT Incorporation—the sister concern of Vatsal Impex has launched three new smartwatches under its own brand called Purple. In this article, we will look at all the Purple smartwatches currently available in Nepal, along with the specs, features, price, and availability.
Purple: Brand Overview
Purple is a new smartwatch brand owned by IoT Incorporation Pvt Ltd. It’s a subsidiary of Sharda Group and a sister concern of Vatsal Impex Pvt. Ltd. The latter is the official distributor of Xiaomi in Nepal. IoT Incorporation has vast experience in the Nepali smart wearable market, having worked with brands like Fitbit and Mobvoi. It also has its own e-commerce platform in the form of YesCart.
Purple’s founding director, Mr. Nitesh Kumar Mundra, believes the brand will meet the needs of existing smartwatch users and attract new ones. The brand currently has three smartwatches in its catalog.
Purple Smartwatch Price in Nepal 2022 [Update]
SN
Purple Smartwatches
Price in Nepal
1.
Purple Trend
Rs. 6,499
2.
Purple Strom
Rs. 7,999
3.
Purple Alpha
Rs. 8,499
Purple Trend
The Trend features a 1.69” HD screen with a resolution of 240 x 280 pixels. The watch body is made up of Zinc alloy, while the bottom shell has plastic. Likewise, it comes with a silica gel band. The watch has a physical button at the side and is also IP67 rated against dust and water resistance.
In terms of connectivity, the Purple Trend supports Bluetooth 5.0 and is compatible with devices running iOS 10.0/Android 5.0 or newer versions. As far as health tracking is concerned, the watch can detect heart rate, blood oxygen, and body temperature. It even has multiple sports modes to choose from. Fueling the watch is a 220mAh battery that offers up to 5 days of endurance on normal usage.
Purple Trend Specifications:
Dimension: 44 x 37.5x 8.7mm
Display: 1.69″ IPS LCD, 240 x 280 pixels
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Battery: 220mAh (Up to 5 days of normal usage)
Charging: Magnetic charger
IP Rating: IP67 dust and water-resistance
Price: Rs. 6,499
Purple Strom
Next on this list is the Purple Strom. It features a 1.28” circular display with a resolution of 240 x 240 pixels. It’s enclosed inside a Zinc body, however, the bottom is made of plastic. Likewise, it comes with a silicone wristband.
The smartwatch is powered by a Realtek RTL86762DK processor and runs on proprietary software. Purple Storm has all the health tracking features of the Trend. It even has added features like automatic heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, and Bluetooth calling.
Purple Strom Specifications:
Dimension: 46.3 x 46.3x 12.2mm
Display: 1.28″ TFT LCD, 240 x 240 pixels
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Battery: 220mAh (Up to 9 days of normal usage)
Charging: Magnetic charger
IP Rating: IP67 dust and water-resistance
Price: Rs. 7,999
Purple Alpha
Moving on, the Purple Alpha is the company’s most premium offering at the moment. It sports a 2.5D curved 1.69” HD IPS display. The button on the side even glows in the dark. It is powered by a Realtek RTL8762 processor and has all of the health-tracking functions you’d expect from a budget smartwatch. The Purple Alpha also supports all-day heart rate monitoring and Bluetooth calling. But, the calling feature is only available on the Android platform.
Purple Alpha Specifications:
Dimension: 46.3 x 46.3x 12.2mm
Display: 1.69″ 2.5D screen, 240 x 280 pixels
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Battery: 190mAh
Charging: Magnetic charger
IP Rating: IP67 dust and water-resistance
Price: Rs. 8,499
Where to buy Purple smartwatches in Nepal?
IoT Incorporation owns the Purple brand, and you can buy the smartwatch at the official price from authorized stores in Nepal. Purple smartwatches are also available from online platforms such as YesCart and Daraz.
Conclusion:
Purple’s debut portfolio appears to be quite promising. All of the smartwatches have metal-plated bodies, IP rating, in addition to basic health/fitness tracking features. Moreover, the higher-end Purple smartwatches even support Bluetooth calling, which is unheard of in their respective price range in Nepal.
The new Galaxy Tab A8 is Samsung’s latest mid-range tablet and the successor to last year’s Tab A7. If you remember, my review of the Tab A7 ended with me calling it my go-to budget tablet. However, a lot has changed since then. More on this review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8.
Android tablet resurgence in 2021
Just take the number of Android tablet releases, for instance. Google recently reported nearly 100 million new Android tablet activations in 2021, which is a 20% year-on-year growth. The demand for tablets—especially the affordable ones—has surged globally as educational institutions were forced to go online amidst the ongoing pandemic, thereby making Android tablets relevant once again.
This also means Samsung has a lot more competition in the budget tablet market now, compared to how things were a couple of years ago. In the past year alone, we have seen tablets from brands like Xiaomi, Realme, and Nokia—while Oppo, OnePlus, and Vivo are soon to follow suit.
For us, the stand-out release so far has been the Xiaomi Pad 5, which starts at Rs. 45,000 here in Nepal. That being said, not everyone needs the top-of-the-line specs, and many would rather prefer a more affordable device instead. This is where the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 comes in. Not only does it cost a lot less, it even has an LTE variant and expandable memory, which the Xiaomi Pad 5 lacks.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 (2021) Specifications:
Dimension: 246.8 x 161.9 x 6.9 mm
Display: 10.5-inch TFT LCD display, 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution
Cameras: 8MP (back), 5MP (front)
Processor: Unisoc T618 4G (12nm)
Memory: 3/4GB RAM, 32/64/128GB storage (expandable up to 1TB)
Audio: Quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, 3.5mm headphone jack
With that out of the way, let’s start our review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 with a quick overview of the design. And here, things are quite typical for a tablet in this price range. Its body is metallic for the most part, except for the portion on the right, which is plastic-made. I’m guessing that’s for the Wi-Fi, carrier signals, and other radio waves to pass through.
Overall, the Tab A8 feels strong and durable—while weighing about 508 grams. My review unit has this matte black finish, and Samsung even offers this tablet in Gray and Pink color options.
Design
1 of 4
Rear Panel
Display
Sim Tray
Ports and Speakers
Over on the front, you get a big 10.5” display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. This screen real estate is plenty enough to view different types of documents including PDFs and presentations. To make things simpler, the company ships it with Microsoft Office pre-installed as well. Samsung Notes is another helpful app here, using which you can take notes, add annotations, and such.
Decent multimedia experience
You won’t face any problem watching videos on YouTube on the Galaxy Tab A8. You can even stream HD content on Netflix, thanks to the Widevine L1 certification. Adding to the multimedia experience is the quad-stereo speaker setup that supports Dolby Atmos audio.
That being said, I believe Samsung should’ve provided a better screen instead of this TFT panel. I won’t say it’s downright dismal, but given the growing competition, Samsung should be doing better in this department. Although expecting an OLED display in this price bracket is absurd, we have seen better LCD screens in much cheaper offerings like the Realme Pad.
Performance
Octa-core Unisoc Tiger T618 (12nm)
3/4GB RAM, 32/64/128GB internal storage (expandable up to 1TB)
Now let’s talk about its performance. Interestingly, Samsung doesn’t explicitly mention the exact chipset used in the Tab A8, but we can confirm that it’s powered by Unisoc Tiger T618.
Qualcomm’s decision to go all-in on 5G—even in the budget category—has created opportunities for MediaTek and Unisoc to grow in the 4G market. In fact, 2021 was Unisoc’s most successful year by far in recent times. It even marched past Samsung to become the third biggest chipmaker globally according to a report by Counterpoint.
And the T618 has been instrumental for Unisoc in this achievement. First announced in 2019, this chip is now more popular than ever—especially in the Chinese market.
In terms of raw CPU power, it is not that different than the Snapdragon 662 on last year’s Tab A7. That being said, we found the T618 performing better on GPU benchmarks such as the 3DMark Wildlife.
How’s gaming on this thing?
And that reflects on the gaming side of things as well. The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 can handle PUBG: Mobile at HD graphics, which was not possible on its predecessor, although I found Smooth Graphics and Ultra frame rate to be the optimal settings here. Similarly, I had no trouble playing Injustice 2 at its default settings.
Day-to-day usage
In terms of day-to-day usage, the 3GB RAM that variant I tested feels rather slow. Apps take some time to load and multi-tasking is not that smooth either. Likewise, with around 10GB of storage already occupied by the system out of 32GB, you won’t have much space for your apps and other files.
In this matter, I’m glad that Samsung is only offering the 4GB variant in Nepal. However, for other regions, I strongly suggest you get the 4GB variant by pushing the budget a little.
Moving on, the one aspect where this tablet has an upper hand over new Android tablet markers is the software. Given Samsung’s experience in making tablets—and now foldable—One UI for larger screen devices has gotten significantly better over the years.
I have talked enough of the Edge Panel and the Galaxy ecosystem in my previous Samsung tablet reviews. New features on the Galaxy Tab A8 include Samsung Flow and the Kids Mode.
While it doesn’t support DeX, Samsung Flow is a close substitute. With this, you can connect the tablet to your PC over both wireless and wired mediums, allowing you to share messages, clipboards, and files between the two. Similarly, you can even cast your tablet to the PC to enjoy Android apps on a bigger screen.
On the other hand, the aforementioned Kids Mode is Samsung’s answer to Google’s Kids Space that you can find on many Android tablets. It is full of fun, kid-friendly content. Moreover, users can set parental control to determine what their children can do inside this bubble —including the screen time, allowed apps, and more.
Cameras, Battery
8MP rear camera, 5MP selfie camera
7,040mAh battery
15W Adaptive Fast Charging (7.7W charger provided)
Moving on, Tab A8 is obviously not going to wow you with its cameras. Its 8MP rear camera can handle things like scanning documents—while the 5MP front-facing camera will get you through online classes just fine.
Galaxy Tab A8 Cameras
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Back Camera
Front Camera
As for the battery, I was able to get up to 7 hours on screen-on-time on a full charge here. I mostly used it for attending online classes, streaming multimedia, and even gaming every once in a while. With a relatively less demanding workload, it’ll easily last for two days.
But charging this thing is a bit of a hassle. Although the Galaxy Tab A8 can take in up to 15W power, Samsung only ships a 7.7W charger inside the box. Using a 15W power brick, you can expect its 7040mAh battery to fill up from 0 to 100% in a little over 3 hours.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 Review: Conclusion
All in all, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is a good iterative update over the Tab A7. While the latter was the best overall tablet in its price range last year, history hasn’t repeated itself this time around.
Although Samsung still has an upper hand when it comes to software, brand recognition, and global availability, other Android tablet makers have started to catch up. So, it needs to bring some meaningful upgrades with the Tab A9 if it wants to stay relevant in the midrange tablet segment.
That being said, there are not that many options if you look for midrange tablets in Nepal. If you have the extra cash, you can always go with the Xiaomi Pad 5, which is the undisputed winner in this product category. But if you are on a tight budget and want LTE connectivity, Galaxy Tab A8 is the way to go for now.
Watch our review video of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8:
Here’s some good news for mobile users of Nepal. Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) is planning to implement Mobile Number Portability (MNP). Previously, it had asked telcos for suggestions on the matter. However, after no response from them, NTA is now moving forward with its plan.
What is Mobile Number Portability?
Mobile Number Portability or MNP is a service or facility that allows users to switch between different telecom providers without having to change their mobile number. In order words, you won’t have to give up on your existing telephone number if you wish to change network carriers. You won’t have to go through the hassle of buying a new SIM card.
This process of changing carriers by retaining the phone number is called number porting or just porting. And it can be implemented in two ways: Recipient-led and Donor-led.
The former involves users contacting the new network carrier which then forwards the request to the current carrier. It is more efficient, and thus more widely used.
Donor-led implementation requires users to contact the present carrier for a porting code which is then sent to the new carrier. The new carrier then contacts the old one to complete the porting process.
The main advantage of Mobile Number Portability is the user’s convenience. If you are unsatisfied with the current service provider, you can simply switch to a new one without having to worry about losing current contacts. Moreover, if you are traveling to some new place where your carrier network coverage is poor, you can change to the best available carrier.
Mobile Number Portability will also bring healthy competition between major telecom carriers in Nepal. It will force them to improve their quality of services to retain subscribers.
In another hand, you will no longer know which telecom provider a certain number belongs to. This might create confusion about inter-operator tariffs among the general public.
Mobile Number Portability in Nepal
The news of MNP implementation in Nepal dates back to 2016. However, it was only in November of 2021 that NTA tabled a draft of Mobile Number Portability Regulation 2078. The MNP draft has a provision for users to switch to a new service provider without changing their present mobile number. NTA believes that MNP will be crucial in creating healthy competition among the telecom operators of Nepal.
Mobile Number Portability Regulation 2078
Mobile Number Portability Regulation 2078 has provision for recipient-led porting. This means users will have to contact the carrier that they wish to switch to. Operators are not allowed to take any charge from users for any porting-related SMS received from the clearing house.
Eligibility
That being said, users need to have used a particular number for at least 90 days to be eligible for porting. Similarly, the mobile number needs to be registered in the database of the donor carrier and the details of the owner should match the database of the service provider.
The user should not have any outstanding dues or any form of liability towards his/her current service provider. Also, the number should be in operation during the time of the request.
Porting Request Form
In the porting request form, users will have to self-declare that their number has not been used for any unauthorized purpose. Likewise, they will have to agree to the change in tariff that incurs due to switching to a new carrier. In addition, users won’t have access to services provided by their previous service provider, including the mobile balance.
A third-party clearing house will handle all the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) porting requests in Nepal. It’s not clear whether this MNP Clearing House will work under NTA or independently.
So, what do you think about MNP in Nepal? Will you switch your carrier after MNP is available? Share your thoughts in the comment section
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Aya Neo Pro 2021.
The fastest gaming monitors on the market today refresh at 360 times per second. However, BOE has reportedly gone past the number with its latest display prototype. BOE has unveiled a 27″ prototype monitor with a 500Hz refresh rate. In this article, we will be learning more about the world’s highest refresh rate display.
BOE 500Hz Monitor Prototype
As mentioned earlier, the display prototype from BOE has a diagonal length of 27″, and it refreshes 500 times per second. This makes it the display with the fastest refresh rate. As with other high refresh rate monitors on the market, the resolution here is limited to just FHD. Furthermore, the new monitor supports 8-lane Embedded DisplayPort (eDP), true 8-bit color, and a 1ms response rate.
The latest breakthrough comes out as a result of BOE’s research on oxide semiconductor display technology. Currently, silicone TFT is the industry-standard display technology, which BOE wants to replace with oxide semiconductor TFT. The new 500Hz BOE monitor uses this oxide semiconductor display technology.
Oxide semiconductor display technology boasts high mobility, low off-state current, simple process technology, and large-scale size. Thus, it can improve the quality of display while also reducing power consumption. That being said, traditional oxide microstructures are unstable resulting in performance degradation under stress, illumination, high current, and copper diffusion.
BOE claims it is the first to achieve mass production of copper interconnect stack structures that overcome industry problems related to oxide semiconductor technology. It has proposed a new nitrogen-oxygen balance theory and interface repair theory to overcome these shortcomings.
BOE 500Hz Monitor Availability
The 27″ 500Hz monitor is still in the prototype phase and it’s not clear whether BOE plans to take it to mass production anytime soon. Even if it makes it to the market, one will need to have a high-end gaming rig to take full advantage. Even today, 500 FPS in games seem inaccessible for most gamers.
Also Watch: Should you buy a budget gaming laptop or a gaming PC?
When it comes to power banks, it’s widely assumed that larger capacity is better. While there are other factors to consider, they often get overlooked. Recently, a Chinese DIY expert demonstrated a 27 million mAh power bank that he built from the ground up. Yes, you heard it right — he made a 27 million mAh power bank just for bragging right.
27 million mAh power bank Overview:
News broke out after a video titled “I made a 27,000,000-mAh Portable Power Bank” was uploaded on YouTube. The same video is also available on Weibo. That being said, I feel the title is a little misguiding. I mean – that power bank doesn’t look portable to me. Other than that, Handy Geng has an actual working power bank that he can show off to his friends.
In his video, he explains his motivation to build the power bank. Basically, he was fed up having the smallest power bank in his friend circle and wanted something to show off to them.
“It seems everyone else has a bigger power bank than mine. I’m not so happy with that”
For his power bank, Handy Geng took a big battery and wrapped it around a silver-colored metal. Next, he installed a charging port and 60 output ports. The whole setup is placed on wheels so it can be moved around when needed.
Thanks to its sheer size and capacity, this 27 million mAh power bank can act as a mini power station during power cuts. It has a 220V voltage rating and standard three-plug outlets to connect home appliances.
In his video, you can see Handy Geng enjoying fishing on the riverside with his TV, washing machine, and induction cooker running off the power bank all at once. The power bank can even charge electric bikes as shown in the video.
Meanwhile, check out our unboxing of the Redmi Note 11.
Panasonic has developed a new method for molding lens that it claims will improve the performance of far-infrared cameras. In addition, the company even claims that it has halved the production cost of lenses with this new method which uses chalcogenide glass.
New Far-infrared camera lens from Panasonic
As mentioned earlier, Panasonic is using Chalcogenide glass which it says has excellent transmission characteristics in the far-infrared. This new technique allows the company to manufacture a wide range of lenses, including the world’s first highly hermetic frame-integrated lens without adhesive.
Panasonic believes its latest breakthrough in glass molding technique will help promote the use of far-infrared sensors/lenses in different fields. These are used to monitor and detect heat/objects in energy management systems and security cameras.
In addition, far-infrared sensors are also seeing increased usage in self-driving autonomous vehicles, where they help detect distant people and objects at night.
In the present context, far-infrared sensors use low-cost silicon as the lens material. Panasonic notes that the material is not ideal when pushing for higher pixel counts because of its low transmittance.
To avoid this, manufacturers use germanium spherical lenses. But then they have to address the increased aberration, which requires the use of complex combinations of different lenses. All this adds to the size and manufacturing cost of the lenses.
By contrast, Panasonic’s latest far-infrared lens modules boast higher performance, low cost, and are ready for mass production.
Advantages
The new glass molding technique announced by Panasonic does not use any adhesive. As a result, it significantly reduces the risk of gas contamination. Likewise, it also protects the edge of the lens while also improving the accuracy during the installation of the lens on the barrel.
Applicable for aspherical and diffractive lenses of varying size
Frame-integrated lenses without gas contamination
Enhanced performance of sensors
The company has already started the production of new far-infrared aspherical lenses with this technique at the Yagamata Factory. Panasonic is also taking prototype orders.
Meanwhile, check out our unboxing and first impressions of the Redmi Note 11.
In this review, I’ll be discussing the new Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, which has been grabbing a lot of headlines lately. Most reviewers have been quite critical about the phone because of how late it launched & maybe because of its relatively higher price tag too. But recently, one of the favorite reviewers—Dave2D—had some positive remarks about it in his video, thus bringing some fresh perspective on the S21 FE.
And the reason why I think this phone is receiving a mixture of love and hatred is that if you really dig in, it does offer something that no other phones do in this price range. But at the same time, there are some crucial things that Samsung could have done better here.
Anyway, how you take the Galaxy S21 FE also depends on the region you live in. If you’re located in someplace where the Pixel 6 is readily available, this phone comes off as an unwise, costlier choice. I, on the other hand, live in South Asia where Pixel phones have not launched yet. So my review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a little different and is therefore going to circle around the Nepali and Indian sub-continent.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Specifications:
Body: 74.5 x 155.7 x 7.9mm, 177 gm, Plastic back/aluminum frame, IP68 dust-and-water resistance
Battery: 4500mAh with 25W fast charging (no adapter provided)
Wireless Charging: Yes (15W), Wireless PowerShare
Color Options: Olive, Lavender, Graphite (White not available in Nepal)
Price in Nepal: Rs. 89,999 (8/256GB)
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Review:
I have been using the S21 FE as my primary device for about three weeks now alongside the OnePlus 9RT which I recently shifted to—while my team members have been testing the Xiaomi 11T Pro and Vivo V23 Pro.
All these phones have incredibly competitive specs and are available at a much cheaper price than this. So, does it make sense to chip in almost 20% more and go for this phone? Let me discuss all about it in this review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.
Display
6.4-inches FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel
120/240Hz refresh/touch sampling rate
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection
Optical in-display fingerprint scanner
Alright, first things first, allow me to discuss the things that I absolutely love about this phone, starting with the display. Samsung has made sure to make the Galaxy S21 FE a good multimedia device by including an excellent “almost flagship-level” display with great colors, contrast, and brightness levels. And the fact that the bezels on this thing are next to non-existent makes the viewing experience even better.
Yes, I know it does not have a crazy-high touch sampling rate as you get with Xiaomi or Realme phones, but the core quality and the color calibration of this screen are quite appreciable and are in fact on par with the likes of the flagship Galaxy S21+.
The optimized 120Hz refresh rate further elevates the user experience and throughout my use, I’ve never faced a single instance of jittery or sluggish UI—or any kind of touch response issues whatsoever. To top things off, you also get Gorilla Glass Victus protection here.
No ultrasonic fingerprint reader
So, the S21 FE’s display is one of the best things about it. However, to bring down the cost, Samsung has replaced the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor that you’ll find on its flagship phones with an optical one instead. For me, it hasn’t really made a big difference in usability since it is equally fast and accurate. But given the price, I certainly would have appreciated an ultrasonic implementation more.
And maybe the hole-punch cutout could’ve had a smaller diameter as well.
Regardless, I do love how this display is complemented by an awesome pair of dual speakers whose output is loud and crisp. As I mentioned in my impressions video, it isn’t S21+ level good, but I can assure you that it won’t disappoint in any way. The audio quality has balanced mids and highs where the vocals and instruments sound really good too.
Left: Galaxy S21+ | Right: Galaxy S21 FE
But coming from the S21+, the only thing I miss here is an LTPO screen. Samsung Galaxy S21 FE’s inability to dynamically adjust the refresh rate based on the content on the display definitely has had a less-than-ideal effect on the battery life, which I’ll talk about more in the latter portion of this review. For now, let’s get into the cameras—which is another aspect to love about the S21 FE.
Cameras
Triple camera setup at the back
(12MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 8MP telephoto)
32MP selfie camera (punch-hole)
Cameras
1 of 2
Back
Front
Although it borrows the same cameras from the S20 FE, it is reliable enough to be your point-to-shoot companion.
Normal, Nighttime
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Be it in daylight or low light conditions, you can get well-detailed and social media-ready images from this phone. And this is one area where Samsung is ahead of brands like Xiaomi, Realme, Vivo, or even OnePlus for that matter.
Normal, Ultrawide Images
Here, the normal daytime images from the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE have that classic “punchy” color optimization which makes the photos look appealing. Similarly, this camera is able to maintain details and dynamic range really well too.
Daytime
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The only aspect where I think it could do better is maintaining highlights and exposure in a bright environment.
Normal vs Ultrawide
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Normal
Ultrawide
Normal
Ultrawide
And this holds true for both regular and wide-angle shots. Other than that, it can pull off some really good pictures from its normal as well as ultra-wide sensors.
Telephoto Images
And one of the reasons why the S21 FE’s cameras stand out in this price bracket is also because it has a dedicated telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom.
Telephoto
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1x Normal
3x Telephoto
1x Normal
3x Telephoto
1x Normal
3x Telephoto
So if you are more into zoom photography, you can get more detailed zoomed-in shots here.
Portrait Images
Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE natively uses its telephoto lens for portrait shots as well—which translates to incredible subject focus.
Portrait
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But you sure can notice the slightly punchy color reproduction here as well.
Selfie Images
Selfie
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Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Like the portraits, the S21 FE also takes wonderful selfies. The subjects look bright and the phone delivers consistent results through and through.
Nighttime Images
During nighttime, the onboard OIS works well to preserve details. And shooting with Night Mode turned on further improves the exposure and detail levels.
Nighttime
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Nighttime
Night Mode
Nighttime
Night Mode
Nighttime
Night Mode
Nighttime
Night Mode
Sadly, you’ll need to be a bit patient since it takes around 10 seconds to process a single shot. So, I definitely feel like Samsung needs to work on bringing down the processing time via an update soon.
Videography
Even in terms of videos, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE holds its ground. Like the S21+, it can shoot steady 4k 60 fps footages with great quality and color science. The microphone quality is equally impressive with decent background noise cancellation.
It’s only the selfies videos where the phone doesn’t have the best of the stabilization at 4k resolution—under both 30 or 60 fps mode. 1080p footages don’t suffer from shakiness though. But even so, I wish the company had provided better stabilization by cropping the frame a little since that would have been really helpful for vloggers.
Overall, apart from selfie videos, the S21 FE’s cameras do quite a good job in most aspects. And it sure is one reliable option for anyone looking for a good camera phone. Goes on without saying that it is certainly better than the OnePlus 9RT or the Xiaomi 11T Pro on the camera front.
Now, I have been using Samsung’s flagship phones as one of my primary devices for years and I have been quite vocal on how One UI is one of my favorite Android skins. As you’d expect, the Galaxy S21 FE brings the same software experience as other Samsung flagships, meaning the 120Hz display is optimized amazingly (barring the lacking adaptiveness, of course), the dark mode is also well-implemented, and there are no software bugs or anything unlike the Pixel 6 or Xiaomi’s MIUI.
Plus, the Galaxy S21 FE runs on the latest Android 12-based One UI 4 out-of-the-box and Samsung even promises 3 years of major software and 4 years of security updates for this.
Moving on, the phone ships with either Snapdragon 888 or Exynos 2100 depending on your region. Here in South Asia, we have the Exynos variant and for the most part, its performance is up to the mark—especially when it comes to CPU-intensive workloads. Multitasking with the heaviest apps hasn’t been a problem so far and the RAM management on this thing is really good too.
Not the most capable GPU
However, unlike with CPU, the S21 FE couldn’t maintain a consistent graphics performance on my tests. In demanding games like Genshin Impact—as you can see from this chart—the phone struggles to maintain a steady fps count throughout the gameplay at the Highest settings and 60 fps mode.
Genshin Impact
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Highest graphics, 60fps, Motion blur off
High graphics, 60fps, Motion blur off
Even dialing down the settings to High graphics quality does not help with the stability.
Likewise, in Mech Arena, where the phone supports 120 fps gaming, it starts off with a relatively high 113 fps—but dips to as low as 77 fps after just a few minutes into the game. And this fluctuation is noticeable all through the gaming session.
Mech Arena – 120 fps
I didn’t find any stability issues when playing PUBG though, as the game delivered a stable 58-60 fps on average at Smooth graphics and Extreme frame rate settings—whereas COD is also well playable with a constant 60 fps even at the highest of settings.
During all my gaming sessions, I didn’t face any major heating issues either, although the phone got slightly warm near the camera module on a few occasions. And this is great news because the Snapdragon 888 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipsets have been subject to a great deal of criticism for having a bad thermal performance under load.
In any case, since I’m not a heavy gamer, Galaxy S21 FE’s regular day-to-day—as well as gaming performance—has been plenty enough for me.
Design & Build
74.5 x 155.7 x 7.9mm, 177 grams
Glass front, plastic back, aluminum frame
IP68 certified against dust/water damage
On a different note, I think Samsung should have put a little more thought into this phone’s design. Because of the plastic back, it feels a bit too light and un-ergonomic for a semi-flagship phone since it doesn’t have that heft.
And this is where I have to disagree with what Dave2D said in his video about the plastic back on this phone being a better implementation. On the contrary, in my experience, plastic backs get scratches and scuffs easily—which in turn makes your device look really old really fast. Plus, plastic is more susceptible to discoloration in the long run as well.
Thankfully, the frames here are made of aluminum which prevents the S21 FE from totally feeling like a mid-range device.
Likewise, it also misses out on good haptics. The vibration feedback here is quite similar to what you’d find on a mid-range phone these days. And for something that costs NPR 89,999, I find this to be quite disappointing. Even a sub-50K phone like the POCO F3 (Mi 11X) has better haptics than this one.
Buttons, Ports
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Volume rockers, Power button
Speaker, USB-C, SIM tray
However, I do appreciate the fact that Samsung has included IP68 dust-and-water resistance as well as Gorilla Glass Victus protection on the front. Considering my relatively rough usage pattern, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has held up admirably so far. I’ve even accidentally dropped it a few times but everything’s nice and intact.
Battery
4500mAh battery with 25W fast charging
Finally, the one thing that’s surprised me here is the average battery life. I don’t know why it’s delivering such a sub-par screen-on time despite featuring a modest 4500mAh battery. But I guess this has a lot to do with the display’s lack of energy-saving LTPO backplane technology.
I am a pretty heavy user and the Galaxy S21 FE lasted for a little less than a full day when keeping the display to 120Hz at all times. But if you are someone who isn’t on their phone most of the time, then it’s probably not going to be a big concern for you.
Plus, with a compatible 25W charger—which you’ll have to buy separately by the way—it fuels up within 1.5 hours. While I realize it’s not as fast as what other brands are offering these days, considering the long-run battery health, I’m perfectly fine with it.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE Review: Conclusion
Wrapping up this review, after having used the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE for a good number of days, I must say that it has definitely grown on me. It has an awesome display, the cameras and performance here are—although not flagship level—incredible for the price, and the great stereo speakers alongside the reliable One UI software make for one satisfying smartphone experience.
And looking at the Nepali market, there aren’t many options in the sub 1 lakh category either. The two-and-a-half years old iPhone 11 was recently discounted heavily but it’s no longer available. Xiaomi’s Mi 11 and Mi 11X Pro are also competent devices, but they’re pretty much out-of-stock in the market—whereas Pixel 6 and OnePlus 9RT are straight-up unavailable in Nepal.
Then again, maybe Samsung Nepal should’ve launched the 8/128GB variant at around Rs. 80,000 which would’ve been a lot more digestible price point. As a result, the S21 FE is not an extraordinary phone, but it isn’t exactly terrible either.
Plus, if you can wait for the upcoming S22 series, bumping your budget a little for the standard Galaxy S22 could be a wiser purchase decision. We’re pretty familiar with Samsung Nepal’s impressive pre-booking offers, so that’s definitely something to look out for as well.
Watch our review video of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE:
AQFiT is an Indian brand that specializes in smart wearables. The company has just launched its latest budget smartwatch in Nepal—the AQFiT W6. It boasts a compelling set of features for a smartwatch under Rs. 5,000. In this article, we will be discussing the key specs, features, official price, and availability of AQFiT W6 in Nepal.
AQFiT W6 Smartwatch Overview:
AQFiT W6 sports a rectangular 1.69-inch IPS display. It’s an HD panel with a resolution of 240 x 280 pixels. The bezels around the screen are quite noticeable, especially at the chin. Moreover, the display is enclosed inside a body that is IP68-rated against dust and water.
Powering the smartwatch is a Realtek RTL8762CK chipset. It supports Bluetooth 5.0 LE and connects to your phone via Coolwear app.
AQFiT W6 offers plenty of features for a budget smartwatch. It has 24×7 heart rate monitoring. There is even blood oxygen (SpO2) measurement which is quite rare in this price range. Other tracking features include sleep monitoring, step counters, calorie counter, and water reminder. There are also 10+ sports modes which even include swimming.
AQFiT W6 gets its juice from a 200mAh battery with 30 days of standby. Likewise, it boasts an endurance of 7- 10 days on normal usage. It charges via a 2-pin charger which is included in the box.
AQFiT W6 SmartwatchPrice in Nepal and Availability
The official price of the AQFiT W6 budget smartwatch in Nepal is Rs. 4,999. It is available for purchase via TechStudio and other authorized stores in the country.
Vivo has unveiled the Y75 5G smartphone in India. It’s a 5G-ready handset and comes with Android 11 out of the box. Here, we will go through the specs, features, availability, and expected price of Vivo Y75 5G in Nepal.
Vivo Y75 5G Overview:
Design and Display
The Vivo Y75 5G sports a 6.58-inch IPS LCD display with FHD+ resolution. However, the screen has a standard 60Hz refresh rate. In terms of design, it has a rectangular camera module on the back and a waterdrop style notch on the front. The device is available in Starlight Black and Glowing Galaxy colors.
Powering the device is a MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC. Despite the fact that it’s a 5G-ready chipset, Vivo has only included support for only one 5G band—n78 in this case. Moreover, it comes with a sole configuration of 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. You can virtually extend the RAM up to 4GB. Over on the software, it runs on Android 11 based Funtouch OS 12.
Camera
As for the optics, the Y75 comes with a triple-rear camera arrangement. There’s a 50MP primary lens and a couple of 2MP macro and bokeh sensors. Likewise, you will find a 16MP camera on the front for selfies and video calls.
Rest of the specs
Besides this, the handset comes with a 5000mAh battery and supports 18W fast charging. For biometrics, it has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
The Vivo Y75 is launched in India at a price tag of INR 21,990 for the 8/128GB variant. It’s available for purchase via the Vivo India official site and authorized stores in the country. We expect the price of Vivo Y75 5G to be NPR 40,000 if and when it launches in Nepal.
Device
Price in India
Price in Nepal (Expected)
Vivo Y75 5G
INR 21,990
NPR 40,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Realme 8s 5G.
Apple’s 3D Face ID is among the most secure biometrics authentication system among today’s smartphones. That being said, it’s not always easy to use, especially when we have to constantly protect ourselves with face maks in public. Apple is finally addressing the issue. The new iOS 15.4 beta has a new feature that lets users use Face ID with a mask on, but with consequences.
Face ID with Mask
As mentioned earlier, the new authentication feature is only available in iOS 15.4 beta. It was first reported by Brandon Butch (via Twitter) and MacRumors.
How does it work?
According to Apple, “Face ID with Mask” uses unique features around the eye for authentication. Thus, for users to use this feature, they will have to re-do a scan of their faces. Users can easily turn the feature off with a toggle whenever they don’t feel like using it.
There is also a new “Add Glasses” option inside the Face ID with Mask, which will come in handy if you use spectacles. However, sunglasses are not supported yet.
While the new Face ID with Mask feature will make life easier for iPhones — it is not the safest and even Apple admits it. It has left a warning in the settings that says that Face ID is the most accurate when it’s set up for full-face recognition.
Not for everyone
In addition, not everyone will be able to use it. According to the report by Macrumors, the new Face ID with Mask feature is only available for iPhone 12 and 13 lineup. Thus, there is no reason for users with iPhone 11 and older models to get excited about this new biometrics authentication feature.
Apple still has the “Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch” for these users. It was introduced as part of the iOS 14.5 update.
Meanwhile, check out our long-term review of the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
