Days before unveiling the much-awaited Xiaomi 12 series, the company has announced the “Surge P1” chip via its official Weibo handle. It’s an in-house chip that will allow 120W single-cell rapid charging in smartphones—and Xiaomi 12 Pro will be the first phone to use this silicon. In this post, we will discuss the Xiaomi Surge P1 chip in more detail, including its underlying architecture, benefits, and application.
Xiaomi Surge P1 Fast-Charging Chip Overview
Surge P1 is the second self-developed chip by Xiaomi to launch this year. The first one was Surge C1 Image Signal Processor (ISP) that debuted on the Mix Fold. Here, the Surge P1 is another breakthrough in fast charging technology.
To this date, manufacturers have been using dual-cell batteries to achieve fast charging usually greater than 100W. However, with the Surge P1, such charging speeds can be achieved within a single-cell battery. This new chip will help save battery space and maintain the temperature in future Xiaomi phones.
Problem with traditional fast-charging technologies
The dual-cell architecture that most smartphones rely on has many drawbacks. First is the space. It needs multiple complex circuits to work, including a 2:1 step-down voltage converter. These circuits end up taking a large amount of space that otherwise could be used to fit a larger battery. In addition, the 2:1 step-down chip wastes 3% to 4% of power during charging.
These two problems can easily be solved using a single-cell architecture. However, it’s hard to implement charging speeds like 120W with traditional technology. Brands have been using several charge pumps to convert higher voltage to 5V. Yet, as the number of pumps increases, the circuit runs hotter. As a result, it’s difficult to maintain higher charging speeds for a longer period.
Xiaomi Surge P1: Architecture and Benefits
To tackle this problem, the Surge P1 uses two smart chips; each of which has a traditional 5 charge pump. It supports up to 120W wired fast charging with 96.8% efficiency. Similarly, it supports 50W wireless charging (resonance charging) with 97.5% efficiency. It also results in a reduction of heat by 30%.
While traditional chargers have only two working modes (transformation and pass-through), Surge P1 has 15 of them. It’s because the chips have to support 1:1, 2:1, and 4:1 conversion in both forward and backward directions. The 120W charging is possible only on the 4:1 switching mode, whereas the 2:1 mode is there to expand its compatibility with other chargers.
As Surge P1 chip uses a complex architecture not common among today’s smartphones, it has to pass through 2500 internal tests before leaving the manufacturing plant.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Charging Technology
Like I mentioned in the beginning, the Xiaomi 12 Pro will be the first smartphone to come with the Surge P1 chip. As a result, it will support 120W charging (100% in 15 minutes), 50W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging.
Xiaomi will unveil the phone via a press conference on December 28. Besides this, the phone will feature other high-end features such as a 120Hz E5 AMOLED panel, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, and Sony IMX707 primary camera.
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Poco M4 Pro (Redmi Note 11T).
After the recent announcement of the Neo 5S series, iQOO has now launched a mid-range smartphone called the iQOO U5. It’s the successor to iQOO U3 and packs Snapdragon 695 chipset under the hood. So, let’s get into the specs, features, availability, and expected price of iQOO U5 in Nepal.
iQOO U5 Overview:
Design and Display
To begin, the iQOO U5 sports a 6.58-inch IPS display with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. The interesting detail to point out is that it sports a boxy appearance—similar to the latest vanilla Vivo S12—and even has a waterdrop notch.
At the back, it has a rectangular camera cutout with iQOO branding on the bottom. Likewise, the U5 is available in three colors—Dark Black, Phantom, and Silver White.
Over on the performance side of things, it is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 695 5G chipset fabricated on a 6nm process. The graphics side of things, on the other hand, is handled by a fairly capable Adreno 619 GPU—while the phone also includes a five-layer liquid cooling system.
In terms of memory, the iQOO U5 is available with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and a sole 128GB UFS 2.2 storage. Yet, the latter is expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card. The phone boots on OriginOS Ocean based on Android 12 out-of-the-box.
Camera
Moving on, it houses a dual-camera arrangement on the back led by a 50MP primary camera alongside a 2MP macro sensor. Similarly, the front has an 8MP selfie camera inside a waterdrop-style notch. Both the rear and front cameras support Super Night Scene Mode, but you don’t get that on the 4GB RAM model.
Rest of the specs
Besides this, the U5 has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Hi-Res Audio, 3.5mm audio jack, and 5G support. Similarly, it’s fueled by a 5000mAh battery that supports 18W fast charging via a Type-C port.
iQOO U5 Specifications:
Display: 6.58-inch IPS LCD, 120Hz
Resolution: FHD+ (1080×2408 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
iQOO U5 will be available for pre-order in China from January 1, where its price starts at CNY 1,299 for the 4/128GB model. Similarly, the 6/128GB and 8/128GB variants cost CNY 1,399 and CNY 1,499, respectively. We expect the price of iQOO U5 in Nepal to start at NPR 30,000 if it launches here.
After creating hypes through different teasers, Huawei has finally launched the P50 Pocket. It’s the first clamshell foldable from the company, while Huawei already has three folding phones under the “Mate X” series. In this article, we will be discussing the key specs, features, expected price in Nepal, and availability of the Huawei P50 Pocket.
Huawei P50 Pocket Overview:
Design
As mentioned earlier, Huawei P50 Pocket comes with a clamshell design. This form factor brings comparisons with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3. However, P50 Pocket has some distinctive design elements that help differentiate it from the competition.
First, this one has 3D microtextures on its exoskeleton. It is available in two colors: Black and White. There is also a Premium Edition that incorporates more intricated Golden textures, designed by Iris Van Herpen.
Huawei P50 Pocket
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Premium Edition
Standard Edition
Similarly, the rear and cover screen camera modules here are circular, imitating the camera islands of the P50 series.
Finally, Huawei has used an advanced hinge that allows for gapless folding. Thus, the phone has a flat uniform thickness when its folded state.
Main Display and Cover Screen
The main display on the inside has a 6.9-inch diagonal length with a 21:9 aspect ratio. It’s a 10-bit OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 300Hz touch sampling rate. The screen resolution of 2790 x 1188 pixels results in a 442 PPI pixel density.
Then there’s the 1.04-inch circular cover display on the outer panel. While it’s a standard 60Hz OLED display, it enjoys a 120Hz touch sampling rate.
The cover screen gives you quick access to notifications, incoming calls, and the camera. In addition, it even supports app widgets. Thus, you can control music playback and even use maps when the phone is folded. There is also a feature called “Sunscreen Detection” that shows users the sunscreen-applied face area with a purple shade.
Performance and Memory
Inside, the P50 Pocket packs last year’s Snapdragon 888 chipset but with no 5G modem onboard. That’s because Qualcomm can’t export 5G chips to Huawei because of the ongoing ban. This has been paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. The Premium Edition, on the other hand, gets a 12GB + 512GB memory configuration.
Moving on, the circular camera module at the back is home to a 40MP triple camera setup. Unlike the standard P50 series, it doesn’t get the Leica treatment though. Instead, it’s backed by Huawei XD Optics and True Chrome Image Engine.
Moreover, you get a 40MP main sensor with a 26mm equivalent lens. Accompanying it is a 13MP ultrawide camera. The third camera is a 32MP Super Spectrum sensor, that the company claims, will bring out richer colors. Over on the inside, you get a 10MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture lens.
Rest of the specs
Fueling the P50 Pocket is a 4,000mAh battery that supports 40W Huawei SuperCharge fast charging. It runs on EMUI 12 based on HarmonyOS 2.0. Huawei has included a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for biometrics.
Huawei P50 Pocket is available in China where it starts at CNY 8,988, while the Premium Edition costs CNY 10,988. GSMArena says the phone is coming to the global markets too, although there’s no official word on that yet. We expect the price of the Huawei P50 Pocket in Nepal to start at NPR 180,000 if it launches here.
Huawei P50 Pocket
Price in China
Price in Nepal (Expected)
Standard Edition (8/256GB)
CNY 8,988
NPR 180,000
Premium Edition (12/512GB)
CNY 10,988
NPR 215,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.
Huawei has unveiled its new smart glasses, as well as a few other products, at an event on December 23rd. These glasses come with HarmonyOS pre-installed and are offered in a selection of colorful frames. So, let’s walk through the specs, features, availability, and expected price of Huawei Smart Glasses in Nepal.
Huawei Smart Glasses Overview:
Body
Starting with the design, it has a detachable front frame and is available in three styles: Classic Frame, Stylish Pilot, and Retro Round. As aforementioned, you can also select from a variety of colored frames.
Moreover, it can provide 16 hours of comprehensive wearing time on a full charge. Likewise, mere 10 minutes of charge can provide 80 minutes of music playback time. The glasses are also IPX4 rated, so water splashes should do no harm.
Features
The Huawei Smart Glasses are equipped with HarmonyOS and support simultaneous connection with up to two devices. It is further compatible with short messages, and scheduling and broadcasting information from the device apps.
Aside from that, it can be used to assess your health parameters. You can track your cervical spine posture and even send early alerts for any cervical spine-related dangers. Interestingly, it can also track how long the user has been lying down.
Rest of the specs
In addition, these glasses feature 128mm speakers and touch controls on the frame. A double-tap will play/pause music, a press and hold will reject a call, whereas a sliding gesture will change the track. Likewise, press and pinch on the left temple support face-to-face translation.
Key Specifications:
Detachable front frame, IPX4 rating
HarmonyOS
Up to 16 hours battery
128mm speakers
Touch controls
Cervical spine posture detection
Huawei Smart Glasses Price in Nepal and Availability
As for the pricing, it starts at CNY 1,699 for the optical lens model while the sunglasses variant is priced at CNY 1,899 in China. We expect the price of Huawei Smart Glasses in Nepal to start at NPR 35,000, if and when it launches here.
Huawei Smart Glasses
Price in China
Price in Nepal (Expected)
Optical lens model
CNY 1,699
NPR 35,000
Sunglass model
CNY 1,899
NPR 40,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of the HiFuture EY+ smart glasses (Nepali)
When you Google “Pixel 6 review”, you are going to see tons of positive reviews of the phone. And after watching almost all of them, I requested one of my friends who lives in the US to order one for me and then send it here in Nepal via DHL.
So, she ordered it from Best Buy. But maybe because of the global chipset crisis or Google’s lack of experience in the hardware distribution business since it’s primarily a software company—my friend only got the Pixel 6 after 3 weeks of placing the order.
Google Pixel 6 Specifications:
Body: 74.8 x 158.6 x 8.9mm, 207 gm, Glass-metal hybrid build, IP68 rated, Gorilla Glass 6 back
Display: 6.4-inches “Smooth Display” OLED panel, 90Hz refresh rate, 1 million:1 contrast ratio, 16 million colors, Gorilla Glass Victus
Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio, 411 PPI
Chipset: Google Tensor (5nm Mobile Platform), Titan M2 security coprocessor
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) with 2.4/5/6GHz, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS / AGPS / Glonass / Galileo / QZSS, USB Type-C, 4G LTE, 5G
Battery: 4614mAh with 21W fast charging (no adapter provided)
Color Options: Stormy Black, Sorta Seaform, Kinda Coral
Price in Nepal: N/A (not launched yet)
USD 599 (8/128GB) | USD 699 (8/256GB)
Google Pixel 6 Review:
And if you go to Reddit or Twitter, you will see lots and lots of buyers complain about not receiving their unit of the Pixel 6 or 6 Pro yet.
As you can tell, it’s definitely not an easy phone to get your hands on. On top of this, Google has launched this phone in a handful of regions only. Keeping all this in mind, I really don’t understand how Google wants to position itself in the smartphone industry. If I remember correctly, even last year’s Pixel 5 was restricted to a handful of countries.
And they are yet to bring the Pixel 6 series to one of the biggest smartphone markets like India. Also, how they are going to distribute their products globally in the coming future is a big question mark—the aspect where Apple, Samsung, and other Chinese brands are extremely good at.
Therefore, I genuinely feel Google could—or rather, should—do better with its distribution network.
I mean, they’ve got all the resources to become a big player in the smartphone industry. And this phone, the Pixel 6, has convinced me of the same even more. It costs around USD 650 in the US after taxes, which converts to roughly NPR 78,000 in Nepal or INR 50,000 in India. So, with proper distribution channels and launch offers, if Pixel phones are launched at an aggressive price, I can see it being a massive hit globally.
Design & Build
74.8 x 158.6 x 8.9mm, 207 grams
Glass front/back, aluminum frame
IP68 certified against dust/water damage
Anyway, shortly after finishing my review of the iPhone 13 and the Realme GT Neo 2, I started using the Google Pixel 6 as my main phone. And overall, it just feels like an entirely different phone. That’s not to say it’s a perfect phone—at least not perfect enough for me. But the crucial thing here is that Pixel 6 is the most balanced semi-flagship phone you can get right now.
Buttons, Ports
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Buttons
USB-C
I think that matters a lot for many out there who can’t afford a flagship phone but want a reliable device with a near-premium experience. And this is where Pixel 6 wins big time! First off, let me talk about its design. Is it great? Not quite.
It has a pretty generic glossy glass back design with metal frames that you come to expect from a phone in this price range in 2021. Thankfully, it does have IP68 dust and water resistance, which is usually present on a phone of this price segment as well.
But on my usage, I found it to be slightly heavy, despite its form factor and a relatively smaller 4600mAh battery. Regardless, its even weight distribution complemented by slight curves on the back means holding Pixel 6 isn’t all bad and you will eventually get used to its weight.
A little short of a perfect design
Still, it would have been better if Google had gone with a matte back—like the frames—alongside more tactile buttons with superior feedback. This one feels a bit shallow to my taste. And the position of these buttons catches me off guard way too often since I constantly mistake the volume rockers for the power button instead. Even its haptic feedback doesn’t compare against the likes of Samsung’s flagship devices.
At the back, this wide camera module that spans across the phone is certainly unique. But I have seen some of them dislike it. It’s totally a personal preference, I know. And I am perfectly fine with it since it’s certainly a breath of fresh air compared to most Chinese phones of 2021.
Display
6.4-inches FHD+ OLED panel
“Smooth Display” 90Hz refresh rate
Gorilla Glass Victus, 16m colors
On the front, however, Google should have provided slimmer bezels all around, since this one gives more of a “mid-range” vibe instead.
I could’ve given it a pass if it had subtle curves on the side, but here we are. And if the leaked renders of the Pixel 6a are anything to go by, it looks like Google has acknowledged this issue on the comparatively inexpensive Pixel phone that’s launching soon.
For the USD 650 price tag, I find this display quality to be just about average. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine screen with sufficient brightness and good colors. But if you look at the competition, much cheaper Android phones offer better displays these days.
And given how affordable OLED screens have become over the years, I think Google should have definitely offered a smoother 120Hz refresh rate and a faster 360Hz touch response rate here. While I understand 90Hz is completely fine for most users, if you’re coming from a 120Hz display, Pixel 6 will feel a bit outdated—and hopelessly average.
And with Pixel phones, quality control issues are common news. I think the person in charge of Pixel’s quality assurance department is Creed Bratton.
Every time a new Pixel phone hits the market, so do a ton of issues. And this time, some Pixel 6 users have complained about the strange screen flickers, greenish tint, a second punch hole, and whatnot. Luckily, my unit hasn’t faced any of those troubles till now.
Super slow fingerprint reader
Moving on, this OLED display also embeds a fingerprint sensor underneath. It’s an optical sensor, which means it isn’t always-on like an ultrasonic sensor that I’ve come to love about Samsung’s flagship phones. But the bigger issue here is that it’s not as fast as the one on the OnePlus 9 or other Chinese smartphones.
Google says the delay is because of how this sensor “utilizes enhanced security algorithms”.
But with mass public outcry, Google addressed the finicky fingerprint reading issue in the latest security update. It does feel a bit faster than before—although not by much. Now, getting to the speaker quality, it’s a solid B+. Pixel 6 doesn’t sound better than the iPhone 13 Pro Max or the Galaxy S21 Ultra. But, it is still good enough for casually listening to music and videos.
Performance
Octa-core Google Tensor 5G SoC (5nm)
8GB LPDDR5 RAM, 128/256GB UFS 3.1 storage (fixed)
Android 12 (stock)
Likewise, performance is one area where the Pixel 6 doesn’t disappoint. Powered by the proprietary Tensor SoC, thanks to the partnership between Google and Samsung, this first-gen mobile chip looks quite promising.
Google Pixel 6
Androbench
Sequential Read
1357.54 MB/s
Sequential Write
250.47 MB/s
AnTuTu v8.5
Total
574331
CPU
170570
GPU
234408
Memory
77359
UX
91994
Geekbench 5
CPU (Single Core)
1041
CPU (Multi-Core)
2886
Compute (Vulkan)
8130
PCMark (Work 3.0 Performance)
10852
3DMark (Wild Life)
6934
Higher is better
In terms of synthetic benchmarks, it is on par with the likes of last-gen Snapdragon and Exynos chipsets. By last-gen, I mean the Snapdragon 888 and Exynos 2100, of course. And on my real-world usage as well, everything is as smooth and fast as you would expect. During the initial boot, the phone did get slightly warm, but the problem was resolved after I received an OTA update.
Memory management leaves no room for complaint either, and there have been no micro stutters or stability issues under my normal day-to-day tasks either.
Gaming, on the other hand, certainly could have been better. This is supposed to be a flagship chipset that should technically be competing against the big boys. Yet, I noticed the Tensor chip struggling with demanding games like Genshin Impact at the highest of settings.
Not the most capable GPU
With graphics set to highest and turning on the 60fps mode, the gameplay isn’t that good and I noticed frequent stutters and lags. Even dialing down the settings to High doesn’t improve the stability as much since I frequently noticed some slight jitters every now and then. As a result, I had to bring fps down to 30 for relatively better performance.
As for PUBG Mobile, the Pixel 6 isn’t able to hit Ultra HD graphics and Extreme frame rates either, which is something the iPhone 13 and other Snapdragon 888-powered phones pull off rather easily. Regardless, under HDR graphics and Ultra frame rates, I was able to achieve a stable 40fps where the gameplay was quite smooth.
For 60fps gaming, you can set it to Smooth graphics and Extreme frame rates that will yield 100% stability. Likewise, 90fps-optimized games like Mech Arena and Critical Ops can hit the 90fps mark here.
On top of this, I didn’t face any heating issue on this phone either, which is great. It does get a little warm—yes—but not to the extent of Snapdragon 888-powered phones. But at the end of the day, for gaming, the Pixel 6 is simply not on par with the competition. And I really hope Google catches up with the competition in the next iteration of the Tensor chip.
One for the stock Android enthusiasts
Yet, Pixel phones go beyond benchmark results or high-end gaming. The pure Android 12 experience has been an absolute joy to use. At this point, it’s fair to assume that you are well-familiar with most Android 12 features including the theming system, new widgets, redesigned quick settings, camera/mic usage indicators, and such. So I won’t be wasting your time by discussing them here.
But what I will talk about are some incredibly cool Pixel 6-exclusive features like better dictation, Live Translate, and Calling Assist. Unfortunately, some of them don’t work as intended or are straight-up unavailable here in Nepal.
For instance, the Pixel 6 can fend off robocalls, handle call hold times, or send car crash alerts to your emergency contacts—if you’re in the US and a few other regions.
Nevertheless, out of all the features that I can access, I find improved voice typing to be the most useful. Google has baked the language model into the Tensor chip, so dictation is more accurate and much faster here. And because the said model is on-device, it works without an internet connection.
For the most part, it works almost flawlessly. You can say “next paragraph” to change paragraph, clear text, undo edits, add emojis… all with your voice. Apart from this, I couldn’t get Live Translate to work but Live Caption with translation is up and running here. Besides initial setup, Google says this feature works without.
However, even after downloading the required language models, it didn’t work without an internet connection in my case. So I played a few YouTube videos to see just how effective it is. Sadly, unlike voice typing, Live Translate isn’t quite as fast.
And cross-checking the live translation with the video’s closed-caption, I noticed that Google’s captioning is off by a certain degree. Plus, live captioning doesn’t work on Netflix which could be due to its catalog of copyrighted contents.
Cameras
Dual camera setup at the back
(50MP main, 12MP ultrawide)
8MP selfie camera (punch-hole)
Cameras
1 of 2
Back
Front
Okay, let’s move to the cameras now. The Pixel 6 hosts a 50MP f/1.85 primary camera with OIS and a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide shooter. Upfront, there’s an 8MP selfie camera inside the punch-hole cutout.
So for this review, I compared the cameras of the Google Pixel 6 against the iPhone 13 Pro Max. I know it’s not exactly a fair contest given how the iPhone costs almost twice as much as the Pixel 6, but I had to find out just how much the “Pixel” reputation holds up.
Normal Images
And the fact that I’m pitting these two camera systems against each other should already tell you that Pixel 6 is easily the best camera phone for the price.
Daytime, Lowlight
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Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Anyway, I found that Google’s imaging algorithm tends to boost exposure by a bit to deliver overall brighter images in most cases. As a result, its photos don’t look as punchy as those from the iPhone.
Wideangle
1 of 4
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Then again, it all boils down to personal preference. Detail and sharpness levels look similar on both phones though. It’s the same with wideangle images as well.
Portrait Images
Moving on, portraits from the Pixel 6 have a narrower field of view—but retain a more natural skin tone. At times, subjects even tend to look smoothened from the iPhone. Here, the Pixel 6 series introduces something called “Real Tone”, which longs to “accurately highlight the nuances of diverse skin tones”.
Portrait
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Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
This is a really big deal for people with darker skin complexions because traditional smartphone cameras have always misrepresented the skin tones of people of color. We can see this in action from the selfie camera as well.
Pixel 6
iPhone 13 Pro Max
Take this photo for example. iPhone’s color processing has turned the subject’s skin tone pinkish, whereas the Pixel 6 delivers a much more natural shot. Aside from skin tone itself, other elements of the image look truer-to-life like the black jacket and such.
Further enhancing the camera experience
Then there are all the helpful features to enhance the camera experience even more. Want to quickly remove some elements from the photo? Magic Eraser’s got your back. Sure, it’s not perfect but 60% of the time, it works every time.
Face unblur is pretty self-explanatory, which works best when the subject isn’t moving very aggressively. Action Pan is yet another fun camera feature that adds drama when capturing fast-moving objects. But most of the time, I found that the camera fails to detect the subject properly. Maybe it’ll get better with future updates. Let’s see.
Videography
When it comes to smartphone videography, we know iPhones are the gold standard. But I must say the Pixel 6 holds its ground pretty firmly. At practically every resolution, I find its videos to be brighter—whereas the iPhone goes a bit overboard with contrast. On the other hand, stabilization is similar between these phones—even at 4K/60fps.
Nighttime Videos
Still, under low-light conditions, the iPhone shoots better videos with better exposure and a hint of warm tint. In terms of ultrawide videos, as you can see, the Pixel 6 has a narrower field of view. But I still prefer it over iPhone’s contrast-heavy result.
However, I’m pretty annoyed with how the Pixel 6 is capped to just 1080p/30fps videos from the front camera. Here as well, the Pixel manages to deliver better exposure and a relatively consistent skin tone compared to iPhone.
Battery
4614mAh battery with 21W fast charging
Just like the underwhelming selfie videos, I’m not too thrilled about the battery endurance of this thing. In all fairness, Google promises 24-hour battery life here and I got similar results during my usage. But coming from the iPhone, this just doesn’t compare. Plus, I noticed that the Pixel 6 can’t provide a decent standby endurance as well.
Maybe it’s the power-hungry CPU architecture at play. Yet, since Google’s machine learning (ML) models run more effectively on the device itself thanks to the “Context Hub”, the battery life should get better in the long run. Pair this with the Adaptive Battery tech that’ll learn usage patterns to efficiently prioritize power delivery to apps, the Pixel 6 should—in theory—provide better battery endurance over time.
Still and all, there’s no hope for faster charging speeds here since the Pixel 6 can accept a maximum of 23W of power only—even when using Google’s recommended 30W power adapter that you gotta buy separately. With this, it takes more than 2 hours to juice up the battery.
Google Pixel 6 Review: Conclusion
At this point in the review, you might have already guessed that the Google Pixel 6 is easily on the “Best phone of the year” shortlist. So, it’s definitely a product I would recommend to anyone looking for a sub-flagship phone.
But looking at the bigger picture, Google occupies less than 1% smartphone market share globally.
And as much I wish you’d buy a Pixel phone for yourself, its limited availability is a harsh reality. Unlike phones from other mainstream brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, and OnePlus, you can’t simply buy a Pixel 6, unless you’re in the US or a handful of European countries.
Yes, Google has shown they can make terrific phones with equally good hardware and software this time—especially with the Pixel 6. And the upcoming Pixel 6a is shaping up to be an excellent mid-range phone as well. But where Google wants to see itself in the smartphone business, only time will tell.
Personally, I would like to see Google bring a $200 phone to India and other developing nations. And I desperately hope to see Pixel 6a competing against the likes of the OnePlus Nord series and Poco’s midrange phones. That would be a really healthy competition!
Vivo has recently launched the new S12 series of smartphones in China. It comprises two devices—the Vivo S12 and S12 Pro—and is powered by top-tier Dimensity chipsets. So, let’s get into the specs, features, availability, and expected price of the Vivo S12, and S12 Pro in Nepal.
Vivo S12, S12 Pro Overview:
Design and Display
Vivo is known for coming up with some interesting smartphone designs—and the S12 series is no exception. Here, the vanilla S12 has a thickness of 7.55mm and weighs 181 grams while the S12 Pro measures 7.36mm and weighs 171 grams. And, they visually look different as well.
Vivo S12 Series
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S12
S12 Pro
The S12 Pro has a curved back and front, while the S12 sports an iPhone 13-like boxy design. Moreover, it also has that classic big-notch on the center that houses a dual-selfie camera. Likewise, the color options include Warm Gold, Island Blue, and Shining Black.
Over on the front, the S12 flaunts a 6.44-inches FHD AMOLED panel whereas, the S12 Pro features a 6.56-inch FHD AMOLED screen. They both have a DCI-P3 color gamut and a 90Hz refresh rate. However, the vanilla model has a touch sampling rate of 180Hz, while the Pro variant gets 240Hz touch sampling.
In terms of performance, the Vivo S12 and S12 Pro have a Dimensity 1100 and Dimensity 1200 chipset, respectively. It’s coupled with up to 12GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. For software, they boot on OriginOS Ocean based on Android 12.
Likewise, the standard Vivo S12 features a 4200mAh battery while the Pro variant has slightly larger a 4300mAh battery. They both support 44W fast charging.
Camera
As for the optics, they include a 108MP primary, an 8MP wide-angle, and a 2MP macro sensor at the back. However, the selfie cameras in S12 consist of a 44MP primary and 8MP wide-angle lens, whereas the Pro features a higher-res 50MP main sensor accompanied by the same 8MP ultrawide lens.
Rest of the specs
Apart from that, the connectivity option includes dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.2, and a Type-C port. They also have an in-display fingerprint sensor for biometrics.
Vivo S12 costs CNY 2,799 and CNY 2,999 in China for the 8/256GB and 12/256GB configuration, respectively. The S12 Pro costs CNY 3,399 (8/256GB) and CNY 3,693 for the 12/256GB model. We expect the price of Vivo S12, S12 Pro in Nepal to start at around NPR 60,000 and NPR 70,000 respectively if and when they launch here.
Earlier this year, Dell updated the XPS 15 laptops with 11th Gen Intel CPUs and RTX 30-series GPUs. Now, these Ultrabooks have finally arrived in Nepal. In this article, we will take a look at the specs, features, official price, and availability of Dell XPS 15 9510 (2021) in Nepal.
Dell XPS 15 9510 Overview:
Display and Display
Dell built the XPS 15 9500 from the ground up last year, so it’s not surprising that there’s no design update this year. The new XPS 15 9510 comes with aluminum chassis. The Platinum silver variant comes with a CNC machined aluminum whereas you get carbon fiber composite palm with the black one.
It has a 15.6-inch InfinityEdge display with thin bezels. Unlike last year’s model, Dell has included an option for an OLED touch panel. Choosing this gets you a 3.5K display that covers 100% of DCI-P3 color space, 400 nits brightness, and Vesa DisplayHDR certification.
In addition to this, Dell has continued with the FHD+ and 4K panels from last year. All of them support Dolby Vision HDR and Eyesafe technology.
It has a full-size backlit chiclet keyboard with a 1.3mm key travel distance. There is a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button which supports Windows Hello authentication. Similarly, it has a glass-surface Precision touchpad.
Here, users can choose between three processors under Intel’s Tiger Lake-H series CPUs. i5-11400H goes to the base variant while the premium model is powered by Core i9-11900H. There is also a Core i7-11800H model if you are looking for a middle ground between the two.
It is also the first time that Dell has opted for an RTX GPU for XPS 15 laptops. Users can choose between RTX 3050 or 3050 Ti. As for memory, you get two SO-DIMM slots that can be configured with up to 64GB of dual-channel DDR4 SDRAM. The laptop comes with up to 4TB of PCIe SSD.
Rest of the specs
Dell has gotten rid of the Type-A port and has upgraded the Thunderbolts ports to the 4th generation. As a result, you get two Thunderbolt ports with DisplayPort and Power Delivery compatibility, one additional Type-C port (USB 3.2 Gen2), a full-sized SD card reader, an audio combo jack, and a security lock slot. For wireless connectivity, there’s Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX100 and Bluetooth 5.1. The laptop has a quad-speaker setup with two woofers (2.5W each) and two tweeters (1.5W). This results in a peak output of 8W. This setup is tuned using Waves MaxxAudio Pro and Waves Nx 3D audio. The HD camera also supports Windows Hello.
Connectivity: Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2 x 2), Bluetooth 5.1, on-button fingerprint scanner
Ports: 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 2x Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort and PowerDelivery, 1x wedge lock, 1x card reader, 1x audio combo jack
AC adapter: 90W or 130W AC adapter
Adapters: USB-C to USB-A v3.0 adapter, HDMI v2.0 dongle
Dell XPS 15 9510 (2021) Price in Nepal & Availability
The price of Dell XPS 15 9510 (2021) in Nepal is NPR 324,950 for the i7 variant with RTX 3050 Ti, 16GB RAM, and 1TB SSD. The same configuration costs NPR 368,503 with a touch panel, whereas the i9 variant is priced at NPR 380,143. You can buy this Ultrabook from Neostore and other authorized Dell stores in Nepal.
Hey everyone, in this review, I’ll be talking about the new iPad mini 6 (2021). When this thing was first announced alongside the iPhone 13 series, every review I checked out was like wow—it’s such a cute tablet, it’s the highlight of the device. So, I pre-ordered mine right away and have been using this mini tablet for about a month now.
iPad mini (2021) Specifications:
Body: 7.69H x 5.3W x 0.25D-inches, 293gm (WiFi), 297gm (Cellular)
Battery: 19.3Wh non-removable, 20W power adapter in the box
Power Connector: USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C
Color Options: Starlight, Space Gray, Pink, Purple
Price in Nepal:
64GB, Wi-Fi only
64GB, Wi-Fi + Cellular
256GB, Wi-Fi only
256GB, Wi-Fi + Cellular
Rs. 85,000
Rs. 108,000
Rs. 110,000
Rs. 132,500
iPad mini (2021) Review:
As you know, Apple has 4 lineups of iPads in total, where the biggest and most expensive ones are the iPad Pros. As the name suggests, these are for the professionals—people who require immense power and a big screen for their work.
On the other hand, Apple also makes budget iPads that are affordable and offer the best value. Then comes the iPad Air which is like a cheaper iPad Pro, and probably the one I would recommend for most people.
And the iPad mini—which as the name suggests—is a small tablet or a bigger phone—however you’d like to call it. I thought Apple would kill off this lineup because of how unsuccessful 2019’s iPad mini was. And from what I’m hearing, it might not even launch the next edition of the iPhone mini next year. So, the mini version of Apple devices, in general, doesn’t sell well at a time when we want everything to be bigger.
Design & Build
7.69H x 5.3W x 0.25D-inches
293gm (WiFi), 297gm (Cellular)
Aluminum unibody design
But I am glad they launched this because after using it for a while, what I can tell you is that you certainly don’t need the bigger 11 or 12-inch tablets if you are not a power user. And over time, I am 100% sure that those who own the iPad mini will appreciate it more.
Apart from the compact form factor—it is quite well-made too. Plus, its even weight distribution means carrying it with one hand does not put any pressure on your wrists. And holding it for long hours isn’t uncomfortable either!
So, I could use it to read e-books and watch Netflix for as long as I want without any trouble, which was definitely not the case with the Xiaomi Pad 5 or the iPad 10.2 that I reviewed a while back.
Design
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USB Type-C, Speakers
Magnetic Connector
Touch ID, Speakers, Volume Rockers
On top of this, I really admire how Apple engineered to improve the form factor on this iteration of iPad mini to deliver an even smaller device—despite including a larger screen area than its predecessor. Also, the edges are flat here unlike the iPad mini 5, which helps a lot with the grip.
No Magic Keyboard
The only thing that’s missing here is the magnetic holders for the Magic Keyboard. You can connect it to a Bluetooth keyboard though if you really want to type on this thing! I, on the other hand, didn’t choose to use it as a productivity machine considering the smaller screen real estate.
Apple has also moved the volume buttons to the top alongside the power button with Touch ID, to accommodate the Apple Pencil on the side.
To note, the iPad mini 6 only supports the second-gen Apple Pencil and not the first-gen. I already had the latter lying around so having to buy the new one for this tablet was a little disheartening.
2nd gen Apple Pencil is great!
But it’s great that the second-gen Apple Pencil finally has its own place on the iPad mini which attaches magnetically on the side like this—where it also charges inductively. So, no need to charge it the old-fashioned way!
Now, using the Apple Pencil is an amazing experience and I found myself playing around with it more often than I initially thought. I would just scribble things I want to search on Chrome or launch the Notes app and start jotting down things. And I even started catching up with my old hobbies of doodling, all thanks to this little guy!
Then again, the Apple Pencil is not an absolute necessity for most people if you’re just gonna use the iPad mini for media consumption, reading, or gaming. On a different note, one of the things this iPad has not impressed me with is the display.
Display
8.3-inches LED-backlit IPS Liquid Retina panel
500 nits brightness, Fully laminated display
Yes, it’s bigger and slightly better than its predecessor, but the fact that a larger screen is the only upgrade this time is a little underwhelming. If not an OLED panel, I was really hoping for a higher refresh rate here since one of the primary use cases of this tablet is certainly for reading stuff. And smoother scrolling is what would’ve made the experience even better!
Plus, this is not the brightest display either. I’ve had a little difficulty reading on this iPad while basking in the sun during these winter days. Of course, this is not a problem when you’re indoors. In fact, watching videos or simple web browsing and stuff is quite enjoyable here since the colors and contrast on this screen look real nice.
Proper stereo speakers
Likewise, unlike the iPad mini 5, its speaker grilles are located on either side which translates to an effective stereo audio output. And I can’t complain about the quality of these speakers either. They’re loud and sound fairly balanced.
On top of this, one neat thing I like is how the volume buttons are orientation-aware. So no matter how you are holding it while streaming videos, the volume up and volume down functions will adjust accordingly.
Performance
Apple A15 Bionic chip
4GB RAM, 64/256GB storage
iPadOS 15 (upgradeable)
Now, apart from being a good device for reading and note-taking, the iPad mini 6—in my opinion—is a great gaming device as well. Powered by Apple’s latest A15 Bionic chipset, it can take on almost everything you throw at it.
And its sheer size complements the gaming experience even more since games don’t look as crammed as they would on a phone screen. Similarly, unlike other large-screen tablets, the iPad mini offers a comfortable grip when you’re gaming as well.
I played some of the most demanding games like Genshin Impact, NBA 2K22 Arcade, and PUBG Mobile on this thing. Even at the highest graphics and fps settings, it handled these games like a champ. Also, thanks to a bigger chassis, heat management is quite impressive here—whereas this iPad doesn’t overheat or throttle even when putting it through back-to-back gaming sessions.
Everything, everywhere, all at once
And if you want to casually edit videos on this tablet, the A15 Bionic is capable of handling that too. I edited a couple of short videos here via iMovie and as you’d expect, it got through them really well. Plus, the Apple Pencil comes in really handy during this too.
But do note that if you’re looking to buy this thing for gaming purposes and would prefer to have all the high-end titles onboard at all times, the base 64GB configuration is simply not enough. So, you’ll have to choose the 256GB variant instead which costs USD 150 more.
This inconvenience isn’t surprising at all since Apple does this all the time. They give you no option but to upsell. I see absolutely no reason why there isn’t a 128GB iPad mini for USD 50 more. Plus, I don’t understand why the cellular variant of Apple products is so darn expensive either.
For LTE/5G connectivity on this tablet, I have to pay USD 150 more—which is simply not worth it, given that you can get a decent 5G phone at that price.
USB-C baby!
That being said, one of the major welcome upgrades on the 6th gen iPad mini is the USB-C port. As a result, using external hard drives or SSDs to transfer files has been so much easier and faster here. Also, with iPadOS 15 onboard, you get a Mac-like interface on this iPad where you can see the progress of data transfer just like you do on the MacBooks which is pretty cool!
While on the topic of iPadOS 15, it’s not wrong to say that this is the best interface for tablets so far. Using the multi-window screen is so seamless here and on top of that, you can have as many floating apps as you’d like.
Camera
Rear: 12MP f/1.8 wide sensor
Front: 12MP f/2.4 sensor, 122º FOV, Center Stage
Cameras
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Back
Front
Plus, it also comes with useful camera features like Centre-Stage that is specifically designed for video calls. It pans the camera in different directions to always keep the subject in focus and in-frame so that you don’t need to keep adjusting your device every time you move around. And I must say it works quite well giving you the flexibility to get around a little while still being in the frame.
Likewise, the camera quality itself is decent enough for meetings, presentations, and online classes. The microphone does not sound screechy and background noise cancellation isn’t half bad either, which means this is a pretty cool device for the work-from-home shenanigans too!
Battery
19.3Wh battery with 20W charging
Finally, the battery life on the iPad mini has been good enough considering its compact size. On a heavy usage pattern which consisted of binging Netflix for long hours and some gaming, it would give me almost a day’s worth of endurance.
On the other hand, with light to medium usage, it can easily last for up to two days. And like with other Apple products, the standby time of the iPad mini is also incredibly impressive. So if you’re a casual user who’ll mostly be taking notes or browsing the web and such, it can go on for a few days as well.
And since the iPad mini 6 features a USB-C port, I mostly used my MacBook Pro’s 61W charger to charge this one too. It’s a shame that Apple didn’t introduce Type-C ports on iPhones, so having to carry a separate USB-C and Lightning charger at all times doesn’t feel right.
In any case, you do get a 20W adapter inside the box, which takes about 2 and a half hours for the iPad mini 6 to get fully juiced up!
iPad mini (2021) Review: Conclusion
Alright, time to wrap up this review of the iPad mini (2021). So what I can confidently tell you is that if you are thinking of getting a premium mid-range tablet right now, for most users, the iPad Air 4 is still the best option out there. And if you want something cheaper, I would recommend getting the Xiaomi Pad 5.
But after using the iPad mini 6 for such a long time, it has become my new favorite tablet. It’s just a perfect device for someone like me, who likes to read and take notes, while its powerful performance makes it a good gaming machine as well. And it will continue to deliver great performance even after 3 or 4 years down the road.
The only things I wished were better here is the screen’s brightness level and the support for a higher refresh rate. I mean, for a device that is so suitable for reading, those shortcomings definitely make a big difference.
And apart from the beefy iPad mini with the latest chip, maybe Apple could introduce its “lite” version with something like the A13 Bionic chipset and a cheaper design for about USD 300 – USD 350. That would be really great!
Hyundai, a well-known automobile manufacturer, has unveiled the MobED mobility platform. It’s like a small trolly robot to carry everyday items. The first concept was shown at CES in January 2021, and the company has now shared a few more details about it via a press release. So, let’s go through the specs and features of the new Hyundai MobED.
Hyundai MobED Overview:
Design
The MobED is a four-wheeled robot that measures just 67 x 60cm and weighs around 50kg. Its four 12-inch pneumatic tires can be individually controlled by a trio of motors at the end of each axel. It also includes a strong suspension system that allows the central platform to tilt in any direction. As a result, whether driving up or down a ramp, MobED can easily maintain the level.
MobED can travel for 4 hours on a single charge and has a top speed of 30km/h. Similarly—as per the company’s promotional video—it may be used as a personal caddy to hold your daily stuff or to tote a pyramid of champagne glasses.
It can even be used as a baby carriage, although we don’t know how safe it is just yet. Furthermore, Hyundai also believes that it can be scaled up to be used as a mobility device for elderly or physically impaired people.
Apart from that, Hyundai hasn’t revealed what kind of sensors were utilized or any information regarding the autonomous software that was employed.
Hyundai MobED Price and Launch
Hyundai is yet to disclose the availability and pricing details of MobED. However, the press statement did mention that MobED will be exhibited at CES 2022, which will be held from January 5-8, 2022.
Meanwhile, check out our picks for the best budget tablets under $500.
Hey guys, today I have brought you my final verdict on the POCO M4 Pro 5G in this review, after having used it for a couple of weeks now. Like I mentioned in our early impressions of the phone, the M4 Pro is a much better phone compared to its predecessor—even though the latter launched only a few months ago.
POCO M4 Pro 5G Specifications:
Body: 75.78 x 163.56 x 8.75mm, 195 gm, Polycarbonate build, IP53 rated
Battery: 5000mAh with 33W Pro fast charging (33W adapter provided)
Color Options: Cool Blue, Power Black, POCO Yellow
Price in Nepal: N/A (not launched yet)
EUR 229 (4/64GB) | EUR 249 (6/128GB)
POCO M4 Pro 5G Review:
Anyway, you might be aware that the new Redmi Note 11 5G that’s currently exclusive to the Indian market is a basic rebrand of the POCO M4 Pro. Besides the big black envelope encasing M4 Pro’s camera module, these two phones look the same as well.
Design & Build
75.78 x 163.56 x 8.75mm, 195 grams
Glass front, polycarbonate back/frame
IP53 certified against dust/splash damage
Moving on, its color options are reminiscent of the POCO M3 Pro too—but the matte finish on this Cool Blue variant is a big sigh of relief. Not only does it make the phone less resistant to smudges and fingerprint marks, but it sort of looks a bit premium too.
Design
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Speaker, USB-C, 3.5mm Jack
Back
IR Sensor, Speaker
The M4 Pro also has an official IP53 rating. As a result, it should handle minor splashes without any trouble. At 195 grams, I found it difficult to hold it one hand for a long-time though. Still, the buttons on the right are quite accessible whereas the power button also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. As you’d expect, it is both fast and accurate.
Display
6.6-inches FHD+ IPS LCD panel
90/240Hz refresh/touch sampling rate
Gorilla Glass 3, DCI-P3 color gamut
Over on the front, this 6.6-inch display is just marginally bigger than its predecessor. Yet, this is still an LCD panel with an FHD resolution and a 90Hz adaptive refresh rate. That being said, POCO has switched from sRGB to DCI-P3 color space here, resulting in richer colors.
Therefore, the difference is quite noticeable when toggling through the three display profiles. Colors look punchier on the Vivid and Saturated mode—both of which use the DCI-P3 color space, compared to the Standard mode that relies on sRGB.
This display also feels a lot smoother to use because of the increased touch-sampling rate. That being said, I wished it were a little brighter as it fails to maintain decent visibility outdoors.
You can even stream HD content from your favorite streaming platform here thanks to the Widevine L1 certification. I recently finished watching Netflix Original Arcane on my POCO M4 Pro and don’t have much complaint about how this display handles colors and contrast. I know an AMOLED panel would’ve been even better—but for an LCD panel—it doesn’t disappoint.
Stereo speakers
Adding to the multimedia experience is the stereo speaker setup, which was absent in its predecessor. The audio sounds quite balanced and I also like how it handles bass and highs. That being said, it doesn’t get very loud.
Android 11 with Xiaomi’s MIUI 12.5 for POCO on top
Under the hood, the phone packs Dimensity 810 5G chipset which is MediaTek’s first chip to be based on TSMC’s 6nm process. It’s basically an overclocked version of the Dimensity 700 that powered the M3 Pro, with a more energy-efficient design.
Here, my review unit of the POCO M4 Pro 5G has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage whereas it is also available in a 4/64GB configuration. On top of the expandable storage, you can assign an additional 2GB of RAM using the extended memory feature as well.
Despite this, I’m unsatisfied with M4 Pro’s RAM management. At times, apps tend to reload even when there are only a handful of other apps running in the background.
Gaming experience
Other than that, Dimensity 810 is powerful enough to handle all of your normal day-to-day tasks and also some gaming. The gameplay was smooth when playing PUBG Mobile at Smooth graphics. Similarly, COD Mobile was playable at Medium Graphics and High Frame Rate without any hiccup. But as expected, the phone struggles with graphics-demanding titles like Genshin Impact.
Moving on, while POCO has hinted at its own UI to arrive by the end of 2021, the M4 Pro still runs on custom MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11. And the phone comes with tons of pre-installed apps and games, which fortunately can be uninstalled. I don’t like how the dark mode still has an issue with apps that use system settings by default though.
Because of this, I need to manually turn off system-wide dark mode settings (Settings > Display > Dark Mode > More Dark Mode options) on apps like Facebook and Spotify.
Enhanced haptics
Regardless, I’m quite fond of the new X-axis linear motor, which performs way better than the old coin vibration motor. Whether you are typing or adjusting volume with the volume rocker, the M4 Pro’s superior haptics are quite apparent.
Cameras
Dual-camera setup at the back
(50MP main, 8MP ultrawide)
16MP selfie camera (punch-hole)
Cameras
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Back
Front
Before getting to the cameras, there are a couple of things that I want to point out first. This time, POCO has dropped the gimmicky 2MP cameras for a more useful ultrawide camera instead. That being said, the company has misleadingly designed the camera array to fool you into believing that there’s a quad-camera setup here.
Anyway, to test the camera capability of the POCO M4 Pro, I put it up against the Realme 8i since both of them sport a 50MP primary camera.
Normal Images
As you can see in these samples, the images come of drastically different from these phones.
Normal
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POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
The pictures from the M4 Pro have a warmer hue with relatively true-to-life colors. On the other hand, Realme 8i’s photos look more saturated and vibrant.
Normal
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POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
Also, I noticed that POCO struggles with details on close-up shots. It does take better photos in some instances, but they are few and far between.
Wideangle Images
POCO M4 Pro 5G - Normal vs Ultrawide
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Normal
Ultrawide
Normal
Ultrawide
The ultrawide camera from the M4 Pro manages to deliver better colors compared to the primary camera. However, they’re lacking in terms of details.
Portrait Images
Moving on, it delivers better edge detection under portrait mode even without a dedicated depth sensor.
Portrait
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POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
That being said, the portrait images are let down by their overall hazy quality, pale colors, and bad exposure.
Nighttime Images
Getting to low-light shots, the results look identical from both phones.
Nighttime
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POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
Yet, with night mode turned on, Realme once again beats POCO with better exposure control and detail retention.
Night Mode
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POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
The M4 Pro does capture light better, but much of the detail is lost trying to reduce the noise.
Selfie Images
In terms of selfies, the ones from POCO M4 Pro have higher contrast while Realme 8i’s images come off looking soft.
Selfie
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POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
Overall, I believe that the M4 Pro’s cameras are let down by unoptimized software.
Portrait Selfie
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POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
POCO M4 Pro 5G
Realme 8i
It can take decent photos but it’s just not consistent enough. Most of the time, I also noticed that Auto HDR doesn’t work as it should here.
Battery
5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging
Despite the subpar camera, I have no complaints about the battery life on this phone. With a big 5000mAh battery onboard, I was able to get up to 9 hours of screen on time under normal usage. I mostly streamed contents off of Netflix/YouTube, scrolled through social media, and played some light games as well. Its charging speed is pretty swift too.
The 33W charger that comes inside the box takes a little more than an hour (±5%) to fill up this battery from 0 to 100%.
POCO M4 Pro 5G Review: Conclusion
Overall, the POCO M4 Pro 5G is a much better phone than its predecessor for an additional 50 Euro. It brings a decent 90Hz screen, better performance, stereo speakers, great battery life, and a faster charging speed—which makes it a decent offering given that the phone also brings 5G at a midrange price point.
Yet, you wouldn’t want to get the M4 Pro specifically for its performance and camera. If you want all of those and can skip on 5G, the POCO X3 Pro and Redmi Note 10 Pro Max make more sense instead.
Watch our review video of the POCO M4 Pro 5G (Redmi Note 11T 5G).
For wireless connectivity, there’s Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX100 and Bluetooth 5.1. The laptop has a quad-speaker setup with two woofers (2.5W each) and two tweeters (1.5W). This results in a peak output of 8W. This setup is tuned using 
