Alongside the flagship Find X5 and X5 Pro, Oppo has also launched the vanilla Find X5 Lite. Here, we will look into the specs, features, availability, and expected price of Oppo Find X5 Lite in Nepal.
Oppo Find X5 Lite Overview:
Design and Display
The X5 Lite features a 6.4” AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch-sampling rate. It’s a Full-HD panel with HDR+ certification, 76% DCI-P3 color gamut, and Gorilla Glass 5 protection.
Moreover, the device has a rectangular camera cutout on the back and is available on Startrails Blue and Starry Black colorways.
In terms of performance, Oppo Find X5 Lite features a MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC—a mid-range 6nm mobile processor. This is paired with 6GB LPDDR4x RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage. You can extend the storage via a microSD card while the device also supports 5GB of virtual RAM expansion. It boots on Android 12-based ColorsOS 12.1.
Camera
Unlike the X5 and X5 Pro, there’s no fancy in-house camera chip or Hasselblad partnership in Oppo Find X5 Lite. It has a triple camera setup on the back led by a 64MP primary lens. Completing the setup is an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP macro lens. For selfies, there’s a 32MP camera on the punch-hole cutout.
Rest of the specs
Fueling the device is a 4500mAh battery that charges via a 65W charger. Yet, there’s no wireless charging option. The device also has a 3.5mm headphone jack while there’s an in-display fingerprint scanner for biometrics.
The Find X5 Lite retails at an asking price of EUR 480 for the sole 6/256GB model. We expect the price of Oppo Find X5 Lite to cost NPR 70,000, if and when it launches in Nepal.
Oppo Find X3 Lite
Price in Europe
Price in Nepal (Expected)
6/256GB
EUR 480
NPR 70,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Vivo V23 Pro.
Oppo has finally unveiled its Find X5 series globally via a virtual event. The lineup consists of three phones, and here we will be discussing the specs, features, availability, and expected price of the Oppo Find X5 and X5 Pro in Nepal. They are the first Oppo phones to feature MariSilicon X chip and Hasselblad camera optimization.
Oppo Find X5 Pro Overview:
The Find X5 series is a direct successor to last year’s Find X3 smartphones. Here, Oppo has ditched the Find X4 moniker as the number “4” is considered unlucky in the Chinese tradition. While Oppo has a total of four smartphones in the X3 lineup, the Find X5 series arrives with only three.
Design and Display
To begin with, the Oppo Find X5 Pro has a 6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED panel with QHD+ resolution and 1300 nits of peak brightness. Likewise, it’s a 10-bit display with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and up to 1000Hz touch sampling rate.
Moreover, the front has a Gorilla Glass Victus protection, while at the rear, there’s a ceramic panel. The ceramic has better heat conductivity than glass. As a result, it should help the device to stay cool. Similarly, it’s IP68 rated for water and dust resistance. In terms of design, this time around the camera island is more unusual. Though it still has the Gradient Arc slopes, the shape of the bump itself is irregular.
Performance
Inside, the phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. For better thermals, there’s a vapor chamber cooling which is 75% larger than the one installed on its predecessor. The processor is paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It boots on Android 12 based ColorOS 12.1. The OS also brings a new “Multi-Screen Connect” feature that allows users to seamlessly switch between phone and Windows PC.
Camera
Moving on, Oppo has fitted its in-house 6nm MariSilicon X chip that brings major improvements in the camera department. The chip helps to reduce noise in the image and allows to capture 4K night videos with better colors than typical night footage. Furthermore, as per OPPO, it enables the capture of HDR videos at 20-bits per channel—that translates to a 120 dB dynamic range.
Talking about ISP, the phone rocks three sensors at the back. The primary and ultra-wide camera uses Sony’s 50MP IMX766 sensor. This is joined by a 13MP telephoto sensor with 2x optical and 5x hybrid zoom. The main lens also has a 5-axis optical image stabilization (OIS).
The Find X5 Pro also comes with Hasselblad camera calibration that relies on the new 13-channel color sensor. Furthermore, the cameras include a glass front element, which enhances color accuracy and reduces chromatic aberration. Over on the front, there is a 32MP Sony IMX709 sensor with RGBW sub-pixels. As per Oppo, the sub-pixel allows for 60% more light.
Rest of the specs
Furthermore, compared to its predecessor, Oppo has fitted in a larger 5000mAh battery on the Find X5 Pro. It charges via 80W wired SuperVOOC charging and 50W wireless AirVOOC charging. Oppo has also included a Battery Health Engine, which increases battery life and can withstand up to 1600 charge cycles before the battery health drops to 80%.
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, AGPS/Beidou/GLONASS/Galileo/QZSS
Colors: Ceramic White, Glaze Black
Oppo Find X5 Pro Price in Nepal and Availability
The Find X5 Pro is priced at EUR 1,299 for the sole 12+256GB configuration. We expect the price of Oppo Find X5 Pro to be NPR 180,000 if and when it launches in Nepal.
Oppo Find X5 Pro
Price in Europe (Official)
Price in Nepal (Expected)
12/256GB
EUR 1,299
NPR 180,000
Oppo Find X5 Overview:
Design and Display
The Find X5 has a 6.55″ 10-bit FHD+ AMOLED panel. Although it’s not an LTPO panel as Find X5 Pro, it has a 120Hz refresh rate. Similarly, it has a 240Hz touch sampling rate and a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. However, it lacks an official IP rating.
The back of the device has the same design as the top-tier X5 Pro, however, it’s not a ceramic panel. It’s a glass back with a matte finish and a fingerprint-resistant frame. The Find X5 is available in White and Black colors.
Performance
Under the hood, the device packs a Snapdragon 888 processor coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. It boots on ColorsOS 12.1 and supports the new “Multi-Screen Connect” feature. Likewise, it has vapor chamber cooling to keep the temperature down.
Camera
The Find X5 borrows many camera features from its elder sibling, including the 6nm MariSilicon X chip and Hasselblad camera calibration. The camera setup is likewise comparable to the X5 Pro, with two 50MP Sony IMX766 main and ultra-wide sensors. A 13MP telephoto lens rounds out the setup.
The primary camera has OIS, but not the 5-axis OIS that’s included in the Pro variant. Over on the front, there’s a 32MP IMX615 selfie camera, but with no RGBW filter.
Rest of the specs
Moreover, the handset gets its juice from a tad smaller 4800mAh cell that supports 80W SuperVOOC and 30W AirVOOC charging. For biometrics, it has an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, AGPS/Beidou/GLONASS/Galileo/QZSS
Colors: White, Black
Oppo Find X5 Price in Nepal and Availability
The Find X5 costs EUR 999 for the sole 8/256GB variant in Europe. It will be available for purchase from March 14. We expect the price of Oppo Find X5 Pro to be NPR 140,000 if and when it launches in Nepal.
Oppo Find X5
Price in Europe (Official)
Price in Nepal (Expected)
8/256GB
EUR 999
NPR 140,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Vivo V23 Pro.
AQFiT W6 is the latest budget smartwatch from the India-based smart wearable brand. The watch offers SpO2 monitoring, an official IP68 rating, and a battery life of up to 10 days which sounds too good for a smartwatch under Rs. 5,000. So, we decided to test it ourselves. In this review, I will be sharing my experience of using the AQFiT W6 for three weeks. Before we start, let’s quickly glance at the specs of the AQFiT W6.
AQFiT W6 Specifications:
Display: 1.69″ IPS LCD, 240 x 280 pixels
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 LE
Chipset: Realtek RK8762CK
Battery: 200mAh (Up to 30 days of standby time)
Charging: magnetic charger
Companion App: Coolwear (Android | iOS)
IP Rating: IP68 dust and water-resistance
Price: Rs. 4,999
AQFiT W6 Smartwatch Review:
Design and Display
Metal frame, plastic back
1.69″ IPS LCD screen
IP68 rating
Let’s start with the design. Here, AQFiT has provided a metal body with a plastic bottom. The former is quite rare in the budget segment. Likewise, the weight distribution is quite good too. It does not feel bulky by any means. That being said, I am not impressed with its strap that feels a little cheap. Thus, I recommend getting a decent third-party strap whenever possible.
I noticed some discoloration on the edges of the AQFiT W6, the third week into the review. AQFiT also doesn’t mention any protection on the display and that could be an issue in the long run. Moving on, there is a physical button on the right side of the watch. While the smartwatch does have a raise-to-wake, I did not find it reliable. As a result, I was instead using the button for the most part.
AQFit W6 Design
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Display
Navigation Button
Default Strap
Decent Color Saturation
AQFiT W6 has a rectangular display with a diagonal length of 1.69-inch. It is an IPS display with a big chunk of bezels all around. The brightness is what we usually get in a smartwatch of this segment. During my review, the brightness of AQFiT W6 fared well indoors but I found it to be on the lower side for outdoor usage.
Thus, you will face visibility issues with the AQFiT W6 on a bright sunny day. On the flip side, the color saturation is actually good for the price.
AQFiT does provide over 60 different watch faces, but the ones I actually liked were few and far between. That being said, there are some live watch faces too, which is cool given the price tag of the watch. Further, you can even make a custom watch face by uploading your pictures if you don’t like the default ones.
Watch UI
AQFiT W6 runs on a proprietary software platform. Scrolling through the UI is not a swift experience, but it is to be expected from a b budget smartwatch. You can find the quick toggle screen on the bottom of the Home screen. Here, you can find shortcuts for brightness, Do Not Disturb, Find My Phone, and other features and settings.
Likewise, pulling up from there opens up the main menu. From here, you can change watch faces, start a workout and even read your phone’s notification. As expected, you can reply to these notifications/messages. The watch can store up to 5 of these notifications at a time, and you can either view or delete them.
Going sideways from the home screen, you will find different cards giving you insight into your health, fitness, and workout data. There are also cards for weather and music. During this review, I tested music control on the AQFiT W6 with Spotify, and it worked quite well. I was able to control music playback as well as adjust volume right from the watch.
Companion App
Coolwear app
Compatible with Android 5.0/+, iOS 9.0/+
For the aforementioned weather and music playback features, you must connect your watch to your phone via the Coolwear app. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms.
Straightforward UI
In my review, I found the UI of the AQFiT W6 to be pretty straightforward. The home screen has all the data related to your fitness and workout. Furthermore, the app also has options to start a workout and change different settings of the watch. Similarly, if you happen to misplace your watch, you also have the option to ring it as long as the smartwatch is still connected to the phone.
Coolwear UI
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Homescreen
Workout Modes
Device Settings
Fitness/Health Tracking
Heart rate, SpO2, Sleep monitoring
10 sports mode
No built-in GPS
In my review, I found the step counter of the AQFiT W6 a little deceiving. The watch would often record more steps than actually taken. That being said, I found the sleep tracking to be accurate. The bedtime and wake-up time recorded by the watch was pretty accurate. Likewise, it even categorizes sleep time into deep and light sleep. Furthermore, heart rate and blood oxygen readings were usually within the realistic range.
AQFit W6 Fitness Tracking
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Heartrate
Blood Oxygen
Step Counter
Sleep
Workout
Last workout
For all the fitness freaks, AQFiT W6 has 10 built-in sports modes, which football, cycling, skipping, and more. There is also a dedicated swimming mode. However, I would not recommend taking the watch to a pool as it only has an IP68 rating. If you want a smartwatch to swim with, look for something with a 5ATM certification instead.
The watch doesn’t have a GPS built-in, but you can use your phone’s GPS to record your workout sessions from the Coolwear app. The app also has five more workout modes.
Battery
200mAh battery
Magnetic-pin charger
Now, let’s talk about the battery. Inside, AQFiT W6 packs a 200mAh battery, which the company claims to be enough for 7-10 days on normal usage. However, throughout my review period, I found the AQFiT W6 to offer 5 days of endurance on average. Likewise, the company ships a magnetic-pin charger in the box that fully charges the watch in 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Battery and Charging
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Charging
Charging cable
AQFiT W6 Review: Conclusion
So, should you buy the AQFiT W6? Well, if you are in the market for a smartwatch but don’t want to spend much, AQFiT W6 could be a decent option under Rs. 5,000. Usually, budget smartwatches in this price range have promising specs but compromise on design and comfort. However, it’s not the case with the AQFiT W6. The design, display, and battery endurance of this smartwatch are well worth the price.
That being said, if a smartwatch is not an absolute necessity to you, fitness bands like Mi Band 6 and Honor Band 6 offer more tracking options, AMOLED screens, and greater battery endurance.
The performance gap between the Snapdragon and Exynos variants of past Samsung flagships is well documented. This year, however, fans were hopeful that Exynos 2200 would finally catch. However, Samsung has been tight-lipped about the Exynos 2200’s performance gains, and individual tests have revealed disappointing results versus the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 vs Exynos 2200:
Specs Sheet
If you look at the specs sheet, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Exynos 2200 have a lot of things in common. The two flagship processors are both based on Samsung’s 4nm process. They also make use of ARMv9 architecture with a 1+3+4 CPU arrangement. Both have Cortex-X2 (prime) at the heart, with Cortex-A710 (performance) and Cortex-A510 (efficiency) backing it up.
Samsung has not officially revealed the clock speeds of the CPU cores on the Exynos 2200. However, previous leaks have suggested it is using a lower-clocked prime core. This means there will be some difference in performance between the Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
But the biggest difference lies in the GPU. This year Samsung was supposed to move past Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU with the new RDNA 2-based Xclipse gaming. While Samsung has claimed console-like gaming performance with the Exynos 2200, there are no evidence to back it up.
As the Galaxy S22 series is finally making its way to users’ hands, we are finally getting some insight into Exynos 2200 real-life performance. However, things are not looking good for Samsung.
In a recent test conducted by Golden Reviewer, the Exynos variant of the S22 Ultra managed to secure an average frame rate of 30.2fps on Genshin Impact, with frames dropping as low as 16fps. In a similar test, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered Motorola X30 had managed 448fps on average.
Test Result
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FPS
Power Consumption
Another thing to note here is that the power consumption on the Exynos 2200 is constant at 4.4W average. On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 drew 6.3W power even when throttling.
Conclusion
What we can conclude from this test is that Samsung has focused on creating a power-efficient chipset at the expense of peak performance. On the other hand, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 has a completely different approach.
In one of his videos, Mrwhosetheboss stated that Samsung is working on a big update that would “drastically improve performance” via software update. However, it will not be wrong to say the gaming performance of the RDNA 2-based Xclipse 920 GPU on the Exynos 2200 has been disappointing so far.
Honor has finally returned to the Nepali smartphone market with the launch of the Honor 50 Lite. It is a mid-range phone that comes pre-installed with Google Mobile Services. In this article, we will be discussing the key specs, features, official price, and availability of Honor 50 Lite in Nepal.
Honor 50 Lite Overview:
Design and Overview
Honor 50 Lite sports a 6.67-inch TFT LCD panel with a pill-shaped camera cutout on the top right. The bezels on the side measure just 1.05mm, resulting in a 94.4% screen-to-body ratio. It boasts support for the DCI-P3 color gamut. Moreover, the phone can even adjust the colors based on the brightness for more realistic colors.
Honor says the 3D closed arc design of the phone will help users get a better grip. The phone is available in three colors options, Midnight Black, Space Silver, Deep Sea Blue.
Performance and Software
Under the hood, Honor 50 Lite packs the Snapdragon 662, which was first announced in 2020. It’s an 11nm chipset with eight Cortex-A73 cores arranged in a 4+4 architecture. Moving on, Honor sells the phone in 6GB and 8GB variants, both with 128GB internal storage. However, it’s not clear which memory configuration will arrive in Nepal.
In the software department, the phone boots on Magic UI 4.3 based on Android 11. Thankfully, it supports Google Mobile Services (GMS) outside of China.
Honor 50 Lite features a massive circular island on the back that houses four cameras. Leading the quad-camera setup is a 64MP primary lens with an f/1.9 aperture. There is an 8MP ultrawide camera with an f/2.4 aperture accompanying it. Completing the setup are two 2MP sensors for portrait and macro shots, respectively.
Upfront, there is a single 16MP selfie camera, though the screen has a pill-shaped camera cutout.
Rest of the specs
Fueling the phone is a 4,300mAh battery, and the phone also supports 66W fast charging. It even has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for biometrics.
Currently, only the 8/128GB variant of the Honor 50 Lite is available in Nepal, whose price is Rs. 34,999. You can buy get one for yourself from authorized offline stores.
Honor 50 Lite
Price in Nepal (Official)
8/128GB
Rs. 34,999
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Xioami 11T Pro.
While OnePlus’ smartphone division is seeing this… identity crisis because of the whole OnePlus-OPPO merger thing, the company’s accessory business still has a distinct personality for now. It recently launched the Buds Z2 as the follow-up to 2020’s OnePlus Buds Z at double the price! For that price jump, it retains the design language of its predecessor—while also borrowing a lot of stuff from the more expensive Buds Pro. I’ve been testing it out for the past couple of weeks and will be sharing my full experience with the OnePlus Buds Z2 in this review.
OnePlus Buds Z2 Specifications:
Body:
Earbud: 33 x 22.4 x 21.8 mm, 4.6 grams (each)
Charging case: 73.15 x 36.8 x 29.1 mm, 42 grams
Color options: Obsidian Black, Pearl White
Sound driver: 11mm Dynamic Driver
Driver sensitivity: 98dB ± 3dB @ 1kHz
Microphone: Triple mic on each earbud (with ENC for phone calls)
Frequency response: 20Hz – 20kHz
IP certification: IP55 (earbuds), IPX4 (charging case)
Audio codecs: AAC, SBC
Noise cancellation: Yes, ANC (Up to 40dB reduction)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2, Google Fast Pair Service
Starting with the design, as I mentioned earlier, these earbuds look visually identical to their predecessor—from the in-ear design to the stems. But OnePlus says it has managed to shorten the Z2 by 15%, which puts its dimensions closer to the Buds Pro or Apple’s AirPods Pro. It’s far from the svelte design I’ve come to love from Samsung’s Galaxy Buds lineup, but that’s okay.
The Buds Z2 is also quite lightweight and I had zero trouble putting these earbuds on for hours at a time. This is partially thanks to the soft silicone ear tips as well that helps attain a firm grip.
OnePlus ships it with medium-sized ear tips pre-installed which was the perfect fit for my ears.
Fit Test
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But that may not be the case for everyone which is why you’ll also find some extra pair of ear tips inside the box. With the right fit, you can also expect decent passive noise isolation. To get the said “right fit”, you’ll need to consult the companion app. Or if you pair it with the OnePlus 7 or newer models, that option—alongside all the other features—is baked right into the settings. More on that later.
What’s even more impressive is that OnePlus is offering IP55 dust and water resistance here. Not bad for a USD 100 pair of earbuds—not bad at all. Pair this with the fact that most high-end wireless earbuds settle with just sweat/water resistance, the Buds Z2’s value for money skyrockets! Even this charging case is IPX4 splash-resistant.
It arrives in this pill-shaped form factor with a glossy finish—just like the earbuds themselves. The hinge is sturdy and it shuts off with a satisfying click. Then again, I would’ve preferred a flatter design like the Buds Pro’s case that doesn’t stick out as much.
Pairing
Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity
Google Fast Pair compatible
Moving on, the Buds Z2 brings Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity—whose biggest upgrade over Bluetooth 5.0 is superior power efficiency. For initial pairing, you’ll need to press the function button at the back of the case for a couple of seconds or so. This triggers the LED indicator to glow white and the earbuds to be visible to nearby devices.
Moreover, it also brings back Google Fast Pair support. As a result, the Buds Z2 automatically shows up on all my Google account devices including smartphones and tablets without having to manually pair it one by one on all of them. As far as I can tell, Fast Pair has gotten a lot better since the last time I remember using it. I switch between phones every now and then and this feature has certainly made things somewhat easier.
Google Fast Pair
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Device Detected
Device Connected
I’ve faced no connection drop or audio interference with the Buds Z2 either. Yet, there were a couple of occasions where stereo sound output broke into separate left and right channels—and things would sound normal only after 5-10 seconds or so.
What I mean is say for instance I’m listening to “Hello” by Adele. Instead of regular stereo audio, it feels like there are two Adeles (almost) simultaneously singing the same song near my left and right ear—with a hint of sync-up delay.
Can’t believe I’m complaining about two Adeles singing directly into my ears.
But before you get the wrong idea, this has happened just two times in all my time with these earbuds so far. I did receive one firmware update whose changelog simply read “Known issues fixed” but apparently OnePlus didn’t know about this issue. Hopefully OnePlus addresses this issue with the next firmware update.
Controls
Touch-sensitive area on each earbud
Customizable via the companion app
As for controls, Buds Z2 has a flat, circular touch-sensitive area on either side. It feels a lot more instinctive and less prone to accidental touches than the arched control on Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 which I was using before this. The input latency is a bit slow as it takes roughly one second or so for processing each request and the consequent result, but I can totally live with that. Anyway, OnePlus lets you adjust basically every setting here besides volume adjustment.
This includes playback control, accepting or ignoring incoming calls, toggling through the noise cancellation profiles—and even switching between the last paired devices. I’m honestly a little surprised to see the latter work so well.
Be it across smartphones, or between my phone and my laptop, the connection switch is almost instantaneous! Plus, you can customize all these controls as well. If you own a OnePlus phone, those options will be available inside the Bluetooth settings—similar to what Apple does with AirPods. But for every other Android/iOS device, you’ll need to install the HeyMelody app.
HeyMelody App
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Homescreen
Controls - Left Earbud
Controls - Right Earbud
About
Firmware Update
Unfortunately, OnePlus has tried its hands on the “walled ecosystem” thing as you’ll find more features on OnePlus phones, like turning AAC on/off and such. Looking at the product page, we can even see the “Find My Buds” option for these earbuds—but I couldn’t find it on our OnePlus 9RT. Not sure what’s going on here. Regardless, the Buds Z2 also supports in-ear detection and it works like a charm.
Noise Cancellation
ANC with up to 40dB noise reduction
To justify the aforementioned price jump, the most notable upgrade OnePlus has introduced here is the support for active noise cancellation (ANC). Although the company claims up to 40 dB of noise reduction here—just like the Buds Pro—Z2’s ANC isn’t adaptive to the environment. Instead, you get three levels of noise cancellation including Transparency mode.
And right off the bat, I’m pretty impressed with its ANC capabilities. There’s a triple mic setup on each earbud to cancel out the ambient sound that works best against consistent, low-frequency noise.
Wearing it on my daily commute to the office, the Buds Z2 managed to substantially drown out the rumbles of the bus, in-ride music playback, people chattering, and even the traffic to some extent. Of course, it can’t keep things “pin-drop silent” but complementing ANC by playing music at 40-50% will do you a world of good! In an indoor office setting as well, it tunes out the surrounding noise a lot.
For example, I couldn’t hear my colleagues next to me talking that clearly—whereas the high-frequency noises like the keystrokes from their mechanical keyboard and the music playing in the background managed to sneak in a little too easily.
Not the cleanest noise cancellation
Also, the highs sound a little tinny, but the weirder thing here is that I struggled to pinpoint the direction of those noises. Unless the sound source is right in front of me, all of them sound like they’re playing above my head.
I also compared its ANC against that of the Galaxy Buds 2 and yeah… it didn’t hold up that well. For this, I had a phone playing a song at about 30% volume roughly a meter away from me—while I was typing up some document on my laptop. Here, the Buds 2 pretty much shut down the music and kept the noise from my keystrokes to a minimum.
On the other hand, I could hear the keypresses clearly enough on the Buds Z2, even though it didn’t let in the music that much. Mind you that all these tests were conducted under the “Max noise cancellation” mode on these earbuds which is supposedly one level stronger than normal ANC. But I really couldn’t notice the difference between the two modes.
Conversely, its Transparency mode works wonders. The incoming sound is clear, loud, and more importantly—natural. Buds Z2 can’t amplify the ambient audio but that’s quite alright for a USD 100 pair of earbuds. Therefore, I can carry on a conversation without taking off my earbuds and get back to my music once it’s over. All with a simple tap of a finger!
Audio, Call Quality
11mm dynamic sound driver
Environmental Noise Cancellation for calls
Let’s now get into the audio quality. OnePlus says it has used the same 11mm dynamic drivers of the costlier Buds Pro here—but tuned them for punchier bass and brighter trebles. There’s definitely a large demographics of people who’d enjoy such a “lively” sound signature, but I’m not among them.
Although I enjoy listening to hip-hop or rock songs as much as the next guy, I prefer a more balanced sound profile.
As a result, the Buds Z2 sounds overwhelmingly boomy to my ears. From the 1:41 mark where bass is introduced in the Dune soundtrack “Paul’s Dream”, the loud—and oftentimes muddy—bass reproduction is too overpowering to actually enjoy the music. There’s an audible bass bleed in Alessia Cara’s “Feel You Now”—especially during the chorus.
Likewise, the drawbacks of this “V-shaped” sound signature are most vividly represented in “Cold Shoulder” by Adele. The lows of the kick drum and the highs of the hi-hat pushes Buds Z2’s tuning to the limit. Even the vocals sound sharp and shrilling during the chorus. What’s worse is that there’s no default equalizer on board either.
So if you’re unfamiliar with customizing frequency response using third-party solutions, you’ll be stuck with this sound profile.
Wavelet Custom EQ
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But don’t worry, apps like Wavelet—or ViPER4Android FX for phones with root access—make fine-tuning equalizer so simple. Just creating a custom EQ like this with suppressed lows and highs improves the audio quality by a lot! Anyway, pairing the Buds Z2 with a OnePlus phone also enables Dolby Atmos playback for a surround sound experience.
Is the 94ms low-latency any good?
Another OnePlus-exclusive feature on these earbuds is the 94ms low-latency—which is activated when turning on the “Pro Gaming Mode”. As expected, 94ms is simply too slow to enjoy any competitive games like Call of Duty or Genshin Impact. This audio delay is a little too distracting for me. I found the 94ms latency unideal for relatively less dynamic games like Mario Kart as well.
On the contrary, I measured the latency on non-OnePlus phones at around 170-210ms. Granted it’s perfectly fine for binging shows, movies, and such—you can imagine just how worse the gaming experience is here.
Earbuds Latency Test
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Getting to call quality, the ENC-enabled triple mic setup onboard does a great job of minimizing the background noise. I never received any complaint about the clarity or loudness of my voice from people in the receiving end—whereas I could also hear them completely fine. But a couple of times when I was speaking with my mask on, I was getting notes on how my voice sounded muffled.
Battery Life
40mAh (earbud), 520mAh (case)
5 or 7 hours playback (ANC on/off)
USB Type-C port with quick charging
Finally, the OnePlus Buds Z2 hosts the same 40mAh battery as its predecessor and the Buds Pro. I usually kept the volume at 70-80% with noise cancellation turned on most of the time, and it lasted me roughly 4—sometimes 4.5—hours. Pretty average stuff.
That’s a little short of OnePlus’ estimates, but I can’t complain. With ANC turned off completely, you can expect a couple more hours of playback time. Regardless, it can add up to 2 hours of playback time with just 10 minutes of charge in case you’re in a hurry.
And I’m so thankful for this feature since there have been one or two occasions where both the earbuds and the case were at near 0% battery. With this, I could get enough juice for my way to the office without the earbuds dying on me.
I’m a millennial—I can’t travel 30-40 minutes without my music!
OnePlus Buds Z2 Review: Conclusion
Wrapping up this review, the OnePlus Buds Z2’s value proposition is… inconsistent across markets. In the western region where it currently retails for USD 99 or EUR 99, I’d strongly advise raising your budget by 20 to 30 dollars for Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 2 instead which is currently on sale for like USD 110. It’s got a better sound quality, better ANC, and even wireless charging support, unlike the Buds Z2.
Then again, the price disparity between these earbuds in South Asian markets like Nepal and India is a bit too extreme to suggest going for the Galaxy Buds 2. If your taste in music favors strong bass, my criticisms above probably aren’t going to matter to you. In that case, the Buds Z2 is a good fit for your ears. And if you’re like me who prefers a balanced sound profile, that’s still achievable by playing with the EQ. It’s a bit of a hassle—yes—but totally doable.
Last year, the Government of Nepal introduced a new rule in which new license holders would have to go through a year in probation. The new provision came into effect in June of 2021 and under it, the riders would get a different card. Almost a year later, there is finally a verification mobile application to authenticate such license cards using their QR codes.
License Verification Mobile Application
The new license verification mobile application was handed over to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division via a program on February 22. Namaraj Ghimire, Director General of the Department of Traffic Management presented the mobile application to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Umesh Raj Joshi, Chief of Metropolitan Traffic Police Division.
With the new license verification mobile application, it’s easier for Traffic Police personnel to check if a probationary license card is real or fake. The new app scans the QR code on the license card. It then provides complete details of the license and license holder. As a result, tracking down riders with counterfeit cards will be a lot more convenient now.
Prior to this application, there was no mechanism for such on-the-spot license verification. In case of any suspicion, Traffic Police personnel had to contact the respective Transport Management office for verification.
The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division hopes this license verification application will help punish traffic offenders. It will also reduce road accidents caused by such riders.
Current provision for the probationary license card
Under the current provision, new riders need to go through a year of probation. They are provided with a special probationary license card with a QR holding all their details. They are given the actual license after reviewing their road behavior during this period.
If a rider is found guilty of violating traffic rules more than five times in this period, he/she needs to go through the license examination again. There is also a provision for revoking the license of such offenders. The new license mobile verification will help streamline the whole process.
Document Tracking System (DTS)
Earlier this month, Metropolitan Traffic Police Division also introduced a Document Tracking System. It helps riders in tracking down the documents confiscated by the Traffic Division for a traffic rule violation. Users can now know the exact office location of documents by sending an SMS to 34001 in the given format:
Meanwhile, check out our full review of the Redmi Note 11.
Usually, I don’t review a lot of Vivo phones because well, their Y, S, and even V-series aren’t exactly a “value for money” product most of the time. But, the Vivo V23 Pro here seems like a fairly balanced offering which is why I bought it for this review. Even the Vivo T1 that launched recently looks like a good entry-level mid-range phone.
Vivo V23 Pro Specifications:
Body: 73.27 x 159.46 x 7.36mm, 171 gm, Anti-glare glass back, Polycarbonate frame
Display: 6.54-inches AMOLED panel, 90Hz refresh rate, Up to 240Hz touch sampling rate, HDR10+, Up to 1300 nits brightness, Schott Xensation α (alpha) glass
Resolution: FHD+ (2376 x 1080 pixels), 398 PPI
Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 1200 5G (6nm mobile platform)
Battery: 4300mAh with 44W wired FlashCharge (power adapter provided)
Color Options: Stardust Black, Sunshine Gold
Price in Nepal: N/A (INR 38,990 for 8/128GB)
Vivo V23 Pro Review:
Here, V23 Pro’s price starts at INR 38,990 for the 8/128GB variant while its higher-end 12/256GB model goes for some INR 43,990. And considering the overall specs, it does seem a bit overpriced. But, we also have to take into account that this phone is intended for the offline market, which means you can get some pretty good discounts there.
Unfortunately, Vivo Nepal has no plans of launching this phone here. So I had to buy the Vivo V23 Pro from India where I got it for some INR 36,500 for this review. What this means is that you can get it for a slightly cheaper price than the Xiaomi 11T Pro and the OnePlus 9RT.
For that price, there are some pretty cool features here like a color-changing UV design, a curved display, and a special focus on the selfie camera. Its dual selfie camera has a whopping 50MP main lens with eye autofocus and a secondary 8MP ultra-wide angle lens for group selfies.
Cameras
Triple camera setup at the back
(108MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro)
Dual selfie cameras (50MP main, 8MP ultrawide)
Cameras
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Front
Rear
Selfie Images
I have taken numerous selfies with it so far and I have to say that the V23 Pro is one of the finest selfies camera phones out there.
Selfies
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I love how it preserves the subject’s skin tone so well. More impressively, the camera not only optimizes the foreground but the background too, so the overall image looks very appealing. I compared it with the OnePlus 9RT a little and found Vivo’s selfies to have much better-looking subjects.
Selfies (V23 Pro vs 9RT)
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OnePlus 9RT
Vivo V23 Pro
OnePlus 9RT
Vivo V23 Pro
Then there are other cool features like dual Spotlight flash—which consists of two physical flashlights on the top that can change the color tone from cool to normal to warm depending upon your preference.
Selfie with front LEDs
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Without Light
With Light
How freaking awesome is that? So, even during low light conditions, you can get some bright, detailed selfies from this guy.
Selfie Videos
This feature extends to selfie videos as well, so content creators get their own portable ring light within the phone itself. Likewise, the video quality is great too. You can shoot up to 4k 60 fps selfie videos from the V23 Pro although the 4K footage isn’t the most stable.
On the contrary, 1080p recordings yield better stabilization, so if you move around while vlogging, I would suggest lowering the resolution to 1080p.
Wide-angle Selfie Images
Wideangle Selfies
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Next up is the second 8MP ultra-wide sensor for selfies that I mentioned earlier. It sports a similar color science to the primary selfie camera, but as expected, retains far less detail. It does come in handy when taking group selfies though.
Videography
Even from the back cameras, the V23 Pro can shoot at up to 4k 60 fps with decent quality and sub-par stabilization. You can choose the “Steady Mode” in 4k 30 fps resolution instead which basically crops the video for steadier results.
I wish that option was available in 4k 60 fps too. On the other hand, at 1080p 30 or 60fps, the footage comes relatively stable natively, but there’s also the option to use the “Steady Mode” for better stabilization.
So, because this phone is so focused on its cameras—including videography—this thing has bugged me a little. I feel like Vivo should have provided OIS here instead of just EIS. And that’s definitely not a big ask, considering how the V23 Pro is made for videography enthusiasts, like TikTok content creators and such.
Normal Images
Normal
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Anyway, getting to the main camera setup, the primary 108MP lens takes 12MP shots by default. The images have good details, dynamic range, and maintain contrast very well too.
Normal (V23 Pro vs 9RT)
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Vivo V23 Pro
OnePlus 9RT
Vivo V23 Pro
OnePlus 9RT
OnePlus 9RT
In comparison, OnePlus 9RT’s photos come off with boosted contrast with a hint of bluish tint. On the whole, I found that the V23 Pro’s cameras bring out relatively pleasing images than say the OnePlus 9RT or the Xiaomi 11T Pro.
Portrait Images
Portraits
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Portraits are yet another aspect where it preserves really good skin tone. Just like the selfies, the phone balances the subject as well as the background to bring out some nice pictures.
Portraits (V23 Pro vs 9RT)
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Vivo V23 Pro
OnePlus 9RT
Vivo V23 Pro
OnePlus 9RT
Bringing OnePlus 9RT into the mix, the V23 Pro is able to produce better skin tone, subject details, and background.
Wideangle Images
Ultrawide
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It’s only the ultra-wide images from the 8MP sensor where things fall into the average territory. Their color tone is nothing like the ones from the main camera and the pictures have very less details.
Nighttime Images
Nighttime
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Vivo V23 Pro - Nighttime
OnePlus 9RT - Nighttime
Vivo V23 Pro - Nighttime
OnePlus 9RT - Nighttime
Vivo V23 Pro - Nightmode
OnePlus 9RT - Nightmode
Vivo V23 Pro
OnePlus 9RT
I also compared its nighttime images against the 9RT and found that V23 Pro’s bigger 108MP sensor manages to capture more light and therefore, bring out slightly better details in most scenarios. 9RT’s photos have a slight boost in contrast but they also have a better exposure control. In general, I found OnePlus’s images to look better during the night.
Summarizing the camera capabilities of this phone, V23 Pro’s main sensor can pull off some good images.
And the selfies, as well as the portraits here are commendable—although I wish the company had focused a bit more on the ultra-wide camera. Plus, as I said earlier, I have also dearly missed OIS here. Had Vivo included OIS, this could have been the camera phone to beat for the price!
Design
73.27 x 159.46 x 7.36mm, 171 grams
Glass front/back, polycarbonate frame
Color changing AG glass (Sunshine Gold variant)
Moving on, another thing that I really, really love about this phone is the design. Its matte back changes color from golden to greenish-blue when exposed to UV rays and it looks awesome! Whenever I would be using this phone in public, many people would come up to me and ask “hey, which phone is that?” and I could tell that they were certainly impressed by this design.
Then again, you have to know that the color shift is more prominent when you’re outdoors where UV light is abundant. In indoor conditions though, it’s not as flashy.
But in case you’re not a fan of this kind of flair, there’s also the Stardust Black variant which has a sandy feel and no color-changing design like this one. I also like how Vivo went on to include these gentle curves on the sides. They are not obtrusive at all and since this glass back is quite slippery, the curves actually help quite a lot with the grip.
Ergonomic build quality
Its hands-on feel is also pretty premium. Measuring just 7.4mm thick, it’s also incredibly slim and comfortable to hold. The back panel here is covered with Fluorite Anti-Glare Glass, so it’s not glossy and does not catch fingerprints at all. Overall, I have two words for Vivo regarding this design: great job!
But since the design is another highlight of the V23 Pro, I would have appreciated it more if Vivo had included some kind of glass protection at the back. As it turns out, the front is protected by “Schott Xensation α” glass which is said to be as tough as Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, so some form of protection at the back would have been nice too.
Audio & Haptics
Single bottom-firing speaker
No 3.5mm headphone jack
Also, I wish the company had included a better vibration motor here. Its haptic feedback is quite mushy. In comparison, much cheaper phones like the Realme 9 Pro+ have significantly better haptic feedback. And because you are interacting with your phone all the time, good vibration feedback is really important, at least for me. So I am a little let down by Vivo in this aspect.
On top of that, the V23 Pro only has a single speaker setup. Even though its sound quality is not bad per se, I have definitely missed a stereo effect here. Plus, the audio doesn’t get very loud either—while there’s no audible distortion.
Display
6.54-inches FHD+ AMOLED display
90/240Hz refresh/touch sampling rate
Schott Xensation α (alpha) glass protection
Moving to the display part of this review, the front of the Vivo V23 Pro houses a 6.5 inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate, a 240Hz touch sampling rate, HDR10+ compliance, and an iPhone-like bathtub notch housing the two selfie cameras. I am seeing this kind of notch on a mid-range Android smartphone after a long time, so it did take some time to get used to. But after a while, I wouldn’t even notice it that often.
Now, talking about the core quality of this display, well, it has great contrast and color reproduction. I haven’t faced any issues regarding brightness on this thing—even in bright outdoor conditions.
It’s just that there’s a prominent cold blue hue in most of the screen color options which is quite noticeable when browsing through websites and social media apps. You do have the option to adjust the color temperature in the display settings, so it should not be that big a deal. However, what I do consider to be a big deal is the fact that the V23 Pro comes with a 90Hz refresh rate only.
Having used the OnePlus 9RT, Xiaomi 11T Pro, and the Galaxy S21 FE before this, this 90Hz display feels quite inferior, be it while scrolling or navigating through the UI. Also, something that I noticed is that its “Smart Switch Refresh Rate” feature does not work very well.
Some display troubles
It would be rocking the 90Hz mode when navigating through the UI, but firing up Chrome, the phone would be stuck at 60Hz for some reason. So, knowing the “Smart Switch” option isn’t that smart after all, I kept the 90Hz option turned on at all times—which does take a toll on the battery life mind you.
Also, despite 2 security updates that I have received so far, there’s still no support for HDR videos on Netflix here. On a different note, this OLED screen is home to an optical in-display fingerprint sensor as well which is super fast and reliable. Since Vivo was actually the first to introduce such biometric options, I have to say that their implementation has only gotten better over time.
Alright, let’s now move on to the performance part of this review and see how the Vivo V23 Pro fares in terms of day-to-day usage as well as gaming. The phone is powered by MediaTek’s flagship Dimensity 1200 chip with either 8 or 12GB RAM. Now, we’ve seen the Dimensity 1200 in action in much cheaper phones before like the Realme X7 Max and OnePlus Nord 2. And upon testing it out, I found their performance to be pretty similar.
Also, the phone handles normal as well as demanding tasks with ease and I didn’t face any issue with its RAM management either. Plus, it supports seven 5G bands which makes it future-proof too.
How’s Funtouch OS 12?
Likewise, the phone boots on Android 12-based Funtouch OS 12 right out of the box unlike the OnePlus 9RT, Xiaomi 11T Pro, and even OPPO’s Reno 7 series that are still stuck on Android 11 for some reason.
Sadly, Vivo has not made any official commitment as to how many years of software updates the V23 Pro will get.
It did commit to providing 3 years of OS updates, but only to the flagship X-series of smartphones. And I think not pledging on software updates in such a premium mid-range phone is incredibly disappointing on Vivo’s part, especially knowing that brands like Samsung have started doing so since last year on their mid-range devices.
About Funtouch OS, well, I have to say that it has improved a lot from what I knew about it before. I remember the time when there was no search button in the settings menu, which used to be utterly painful. Now, the UI has been simplified and there are tons of customization options too.
Having said that, the V23 Pro is not free of bloatware and the first thing I did after booting this phone was uninstall/disable them and would advise you do the same for a cleaner experience. Unfortunately, these “Hot app” and “Hot games” apps can’t be disabled or even force stopped for some reason. Wow!
Gaming experience
Alright, on the gaming side, I would say its performance is pretty good—if not excellent. I played games like PUBG Mobile here which delivers a smooth 60 fps with 100% stability in HDR graphics and Ultra frame rates. Call of Duty fares similarly with a stable 60 fps at the highest of settings as well!
Then again, in higher fps supported games like Oddmar and Bombsquad, the V23 Pro is restricted to just 60 fps since it hasn’t been optimized to make use of the smoother 90Hz display in those games as of now. Even so, the gameplay is smooth at their respective highest settings.
Also, you can play relatively more demanding games like Genshin Impact at the highest graphics settings with 60 fps mode with around 40-45 fps on average and 67% stability. I tested the Nord 2 side by side which has the custom Dimensity 1200 AI chip. And both phones performed similarly in all the games, except in Genshin Impact where it managed slightly more stable gameplay than the V23 Pro.
More importantly, during all the gaming sessions, the phone never got unbearably hot, so that’s something impressive for a device with such a slim form factor.
Battery
4300mAh battery with 44W fast charging
But again, because of the said slim design, Vivo could only fit a comparatively small 4300mAh battery inside. So it was only natural of me to be skeptical about the battery life at first. However, I was quite wrong in this regard since V23 Pro’s battery backup is surprisingly good
Vivo is quite aggressive with its battery optimization, because of which the phone delivers such an excellent battery endurance.
On average, I got around 6 hours of screen on time from here with my usage pattern consisting of all my regular social media apps, watching videos, clicking photos and videos every now and then—and of course, handling calls and messages. That too with the 90Hz refresh rate turned on at all times! So yeah, not many complaints on the battery front.
Charging this phone with the default 44W charger takes a little less than an hour—51 minutes to be exact—to get its battery from 0-100% which is not bad either.
Vivo V23 Pro Review: Conclusion
So concluding this review, the Vivo V23 Pro is certainly a unique phone for the price with its distinctive design and a reliable selfie camera. In my opinion, it is a fairly balanced device.
I mean, besides the excellent design and selfie camera, it also has a great display, decent performance, a good enough battery life, while the rear camera arrangement is pretty solid as well—apart from a few hiccups here and there.
However, I do wish that Vivo had gone with a 120Hz refresh rate screen, provided better haptics, and included OIS support which would have elevated the experience even more. And yes, I definitely think it is priced a bit higher too. Of course, you can get some discounts in the offline market and catch some deals online too. But not everybody gets that, so that’s something to consider as well.
Redmi Note 11 is the latest budget smartphone from the Xiaomi sub-brand. The company was quick to launch it in Nepal, just a day after its official launch. I have been using the phone for close to a month now and I will be sharing our personal experience in this review. Before we start with the review, let’s take a quick look at the specs and pricing of the Redmi Note 11 in Nepal.
Redmi Note 11 Specifications:
Body: 159.97 x 73.87 x 8.09mm, 179gm, IP53 dust/water resistant
With the specs out of the way, allow me to kick things off with the things that I’m impressed from this phone. No prize for guessing—it’s the 6.43” AMOLED display. While its predecessor settled for a standard 60Hz refresh rate, Redmi has provided a faster 90Hz panel on the Note 11. As a result, scrolling through the UI feels a lot smoother here. More on that later.
This makes Redmi Note 11 the only device in its price range to offer a 90Hz FHD AMOLED screen. Currently, there is no phone other than the Redmi Note 11 in this price bracket that ticks all three boxes in Nepal—at least at the time of this review. It is also protected by Gorilla Glass 3.
And you will really enjoy watching movies and series on this phone. Contents look plenty sharp since it is Widevine L1 certified for HD playback on streaming platforms like Netflix, while you also get to enjoy the vibrant colors and deep blacks of an OLED panel.
Note 11 even supports the DCI-P3 color gamut which makes colors pop more compared to the standard sRGB gamut. On the other hand, its brightness reaches up to 700 nits under high brightness mode which is enough to maintain easy outdoor visibility.
Still not perfect, though
That being said, this display is far from perfect. I found the automatic brightness adjustment a tad bit slower here. And since the default “Vivid” color mode uses it to adjust visuals, the contrast may seem off for split seconds at times.
Also, I have noticed some screen flickers—mostly during the night—when I usually keep the brightness at its lowest. Because it wasn’t a routine experience, it’s not an absolute deal-breaker for me but it’s something you guys need to know. There is no HDR playback either but that’s okay for a budget phone.
Multimedia Experience
Next, let’s talk about the audio setup which is another crucial aspect of the multimedia experience. If you are not aware, Xiaomi has kinda democratized stereo speakers by offering one on most of its budget and mid-range smartphones.
Redmi Note 11 Speaker Setup
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Top Speaker
Bottom Speaker
And Note 11’s speakers have made quite an impression on me. They can get sufficiently loud and I hardly noticed any imbalance between the audio quality from the top and bottom speaker units. Of course, there’s little to zero bass to enjoy here—but I’m just nitpicking at this point.
Design and Ergonomics
159.97 x 73.87 x 8.09mm; 179 grams
Glass front, Plastic back, Plastic frames
IP53 rating
Moving on, the phone brings a refreshed design with flat frames. Like many others, I was quite skeptical of this flat edge layout at first. But its rear panel thankfully retains a slight curve which results in a comfortable hands-on feel.
As a result, be it casual usage or gaming, you will have no trouble handling the phone. Weighing around 180 grams, it does not feel that heavy too. On top of this, it is also IP53 certified against dust and splash damage while an IR blaster finds its way on the Redmi Note 11 as well.
Redmi Note 11 Design
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Plastic Back
Flat Edges
Performance
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 4G SoC (6nm)
4/6GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64/128GB UFS 2.2 storage
Android 11 with Xiaomi’s MIUI 12.5 on top
Then again, its performance has divided people more than anything else about the phone. Underneath, there’s the new Snapdragon 680 chip which sounds like an upgrade over the Snapdragon 678 on last year’s Note 10. I mean—it does have a higher number in the name which means it should be superior, right?
Is Snapdragon 680 any better than the 678?
However, it’s not that simple. Monikers can be deceiving after all! First off, the 680 does bring some improvement over the 678—mostly on the power consumption side of things. It is built on a 6nm process that makes it more power-efficient than the 678 which was 11nm-based.
And there’s a definite advantage to this node jump. In my usage, Note 11 averaged 8 hours of screen-on time with a 15% battery still left at the end of the day.
Even the charging is quite swift here with the 33W Pro power brick that Xiaomi ships inside the box, which takes the phone from 0 to 100% in just 1 hour and 5 minutes. Not as fast as advertised but fast nonetheless.
In addition, the Snapdragon 680 brings support for 90Hz 1080p displays and a triple Image Signal Processor (ISP). Sadly, this is where its edge over the 678 ends. As you can see from this table, everything from the CPU to GPU is simply better on the 678.
680
678
665
Process Node
6nm
11nm
CPU (Kryo)
265 (Cortex-A73 + A53)
460 (Cortex-A76 + A55)
260 (Cortex-A73 + A53)
Max Clock Speed
2.4GHz
2.2GHz
2.0GHz
GPU (Adreno)
610
612
610
ISP (Spectra)
346 (Triple ISP)
250L (Double ISP)
165 (Double ISP)
Modem
Snapdragon X11 LTE
Snapdragon X12 LTE
Gaming Experience
In fact, Snapdragon 678’s CPU and GPU are a lot more comparable to that of the 665 instead. By the way, that’s the same chip that Xiaomi used on the Redmi Note 8 way back in 2019.
Therefore, the 680’s restricted hardware capability is evident when gaming. While you can play PUBG: Mobile at Balanced graphics and Ultra frame rate on the Note 10, its successor maxes out at Balanced graphics and Medium frame rate only.
However, if you want the best PUBG experience, I’ll suggest you to game on Smooth graphics and High frame rates like I did. The gameplay is a lot more stable here and the phone does not get warm over a long duration either.
Likewise, you can enjoy Asphalt 9 at high settings, but the visuals seemed a little off to me. I was also able to play Mobile Legends at High graphics and Ultra frame rate with negligible stutters here and there.
Is MIUI any different than MIUI 12.5?
That being said, the Note 11 can handle normal day-to-day tasks quite well. Performance is not an issue during casual web browsing, social media usage, and multimedia consumption. Moreover, it is among the first phones to ship with the new MIUI 13 out of the box and many of you have been asking me about what’s new here.
Unfortunately, I did not notice many differences between MIUI 13 and 12.5. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my Redmi Note 11 is still stuck on Android 11 at the time of this review.
As a result, many of the new features that Xiaomi announced on the Chinese launch of MIUI 13 are not present here. I did not even find the sidebar feature that the company announced on the Global launch—although that’s present on its Pro sibling.
Still stuck on Android 11
What’s even worse is that while my Note 11 is still on Android 11, some Redmi Note 10 users have already started receiving the Android 12 update. I am obviously not against the company pushing updates on older phones but the whole situation is quite confusing to me.
Additionally, it also comes with a bunch of pre-loaded apps but you can easily uninstall most of them. The UI seems well optimized for 90Hz though. I have not faced any issues like micro stutters here as well. Add the 180Hz touch sampling rate to the mix, the phone feels quite responsive.
Yet, the RAM management here feels okay-ish only. While it does not kill apps as soon as you leave them, it also does not keep them on memory for as long as I would’ve liked.
Bugs on the MIUI
On the other hand, you might know that we have been quite vocal about MIUI’s under-optimized dark mode in our reviews. Fortunately, the situation seems to have improved with the MIUI 13 since it does not force dark mode on all apps by default. But again, there’s no option to change the settings for individual apps, which seems like a bug to me.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The biggest issue that I have faced with my Redmi Note 11 is with the Wi-Fi connectivity. At times, the phone just completely fails to scan Wi-Fi signals. I have to restart it multiple times to be able to see the available Wi-Fi connections around me—whereas there would be no internet access even after connecting to Wi-Fi sometimes.
It’s just not me—a lot of people have shared a similar experience. Wi-Fi issues on MIUI are pretty well documented too, so I think Redmi should look into the matter ASAP!
Anyway, a lot of users complained about the proximity sensor on last year’s Redmi Note 10. But I am yet to face such an issue with its successor. I am also quite impressed with the haptics that Redmi has managed to provide in this price range.
Camera
Quad-camera setup at the back
(50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP depth, 2MP macro)
13MP selfie camera
Redmi Note 11 Camera Setup
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Selfie Camera
Rear Camera
Getting to the cameras, the Note 11 brings a quad-camera setup at the back. But only the 50MP primary camera takes decent shots here.
This Isocell JN1 main sensor is known to have the world’s smallest pixel size at 0.64µm. In case you don’t know, smaller pixels cannot capture much light and thus result in low image quality. To avoid this, Note 11 shoots natively at 12.5MP by combining four pixels together—aka pixel binning.
So, the image quality from this camera is heavily reliant on the ambient lighting condition. Under bright sunlight, it churns out decent photos with good color and adequate sharpness. However, it can get inconsistent at times—especially under relatively dim conditions.
Primary camera Sample
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Nighttime Images
Weirdly enough, the low-light photos get worse with Night Mode turned on. It does brighten up some dark areas of the image, but that doesn’t necessarily improve upon the details and overall picture quality. As you can see here, the end result has too much noise in it.
Nighttime vs Night Mode
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Normal Nighttime
Night Mode
Normal Nighttime
Night Mode
Normal Nighttime
Night Mode
Ultrawide Shots
Likewise, the 8MP ultrawide sensor fails to deliver the same dynamic range as the main camera and the photos aren’t that detailed either. At times, you can even notice the color shift when switching from primary to the ultrawide camera.
Wide vs Ultrawide
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Wide
Ultrawide
Wide
Ultrawide
Wide
Ultrawide
Portrait Images
Portrait shots look good enough with decent edge detection. However, the phone tries to brighten up the subject even without any beautification or other enhancement feature turned on.
Redmi Note 11 Portrait
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Selfie Images
Moving on, the 13MP selfie camera struggles to maintain background exposure. Photos have muted colors and the selfies look smooth as well. Honestly, I wouldn’t use these pictures for my social media posts.
Redmi Note 11 Selfie
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Normal Selfie
Selfie Portrait
Normal Selfie
Selfie Portrait
Normal Selfie
Selfie Portrait
Normal Selfie
Selfie Portrait
Videography
On the video front, Redmi has even dropped 4K recording support on the Note 11 which was available on its predecessor. It’s a chipset limitation since the Snapdragon 680 maxes out at Full HD recordings.
Coming to the core video quality itself, there is no stabilization of any kind here in both 1080P 60 and 30fps modes. As a result, the videos are shaky and also not that detailed.
Redmi Note 11 Review: Conclusions
And that brings us to the end of this review. Truth be told—the Redmi Note 11 has somewhat grown on me. As someone whose primary use-case consists of web browsing and content consumption, I am really impressed by what it offers for the price in terms of display, audio, and battery life.
However, it clearly is not for someone who values raw performance over everything else. Its downgraded performance means the older Note 10 still has an edge over the new Note 11 when it comes to gaming. And it gets more tricky since it is comparatively more expensive.
Moreover, the Note 11 is also strictly average when it comes to photography—but that isn’t anything new for a budget Redmi phone.
Redmi Note 11 Review: Pros and Cons
Pros:
AMOLED screen is good for the price
Decent stereo speakers
Exceptional battery life
Cons:
Downgraded performance compared to its predecessor
After multiple teasers, Realme has finally launched the 9i in Nepal. It’s the first phone to launch under the Realme 9 series in the country, while we also expect to see 9 Pro and 9 Pro+ in the near future. For now, let’s take a quick peek at the specs, features, official price, and availability of Realme 9i in Nepal.
Realme 9i Overview:
Design and Display
Realme has gone with a new Prism design for its latest mid-range phones. Over 3,000 machined lines together form the phone’s prism texture. In addition, Realme has used an 8-layer optical coating process for visual effects.
Over on the front, there is a 6.6″ FHD+ LCD screen with support for a five-level 90Hz refresh rate. It’s a downgrade from Realme 8i‘s 120Hz refresh rate, by the way. The phone retains the 180Hz touch sampling rate and boasts a brightness of up to 480 nits.
Performance and Memory
This time around, Realme has switched to Qualcomm for performance. Under the hood, you’ll find Snapdragon 680 chipset, which is based on a 6nm process. This should mark a significant improvement in thermal efficiency over last year’s 12nm-based Helio G96.
As for memory, Realme 9i comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. The latter can be expanded up to 1TB using a MicroSD card.
Realme has re-designed the camera bump at the back of the phone, which takes cues from camera islands on the recent GT-series phones. In terms of the camera hardware though, nothing much has changed from last year.
Here, you are getting a 50MP primary camera accompanied by a 2MP macro and a 2MP portrait lens. Over on the front, there is a 16MP selfie camera with an f/2.1 aperture.
Battery
Realme 9i gets its juice from a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W Dart charging. A compatible charger is included in the box. The phone still ships with Android 11-based Realme UI 2.0 out of the box, even though Realme UI 3.0 (Android 12) has already been announced.
The official price of Realme 9i in Nepal starts at Rs. 24,499 for the 4/64GB variant. On the other hand, the 6/128GB variant costs Rs. 27,999. You can buy Realme 8i from authorized sellers like Hukut.
Honor says the 3D closed arc design of the phone will help users get a better grip. The phone is available in three colors options, Midnight Black, Space Silver, Deep Sea Blue.
