This year, Redmi has added a new premium model in its Note series in the form of Note 11 Pro+. It is quite similar to the other Pro model but boasts a faster charging capability. Here, we take a look at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G in Nepal.
Redmi Note 11 Pro+ Overview:
Design and Display
This time around, Redmi has gone with a flat-edge design for its Note lineup of smartphones. The company has used anti-glare glass for the rear panel. Furthermore, it is IP53-rated and is available in four color options altogether.
In terms of display, Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G features a 6.67-inch FHD AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate.
Performance
Despite the widespread rumors, the Note 11 Pro+ is not powered by Dimensity 1200. Like the Pro variant, it features MediaTek’s Dimensity 920 inside. While it is a powerful chipset in itself, it is not as capable as the Dimensity 1100 that powered last year’s Note 10 Pro 5G.
On top of this, Redmi has included a vapor chamber here for keeping the temperature in check. It will help keep the phone cool during extensive workloads and when it’s charging.
As for optics, the phone features a triple-lens setup at the back. Leading the line is a 108MP primary sensor, followed by an 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro shooter.
Rest of the specs
Fueling the phone is a 4,500mAh battery (2x 2250mAh). The Note 11 Pro+ is also the fastest charging device in the lineup’s history as it comes with 120W fast charging support. It can go from 0 to 100% in just 15 minutes with a compatible charger.
As for wireless connectivity, Redmi Note 11 Pro+ has support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and NFC. Its stereo speakers are tuned by JBL and they support both Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio.
Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G Price in Nepal and Availability
The price of the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ in China starts at CNY 1,899 for the 6/128GB variant. Redmi usually has different Note lineups for the global and the Chinese market. Still, if the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G launches in Nepal, we expect its price to start at NPR 40,000.
Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
Price in China
Price in Nepal (Expected)
6/128GB
CNY 1,899
NPR 40,000
8/128GB
CNY 2,099
NPR 45,000
8/256GB
CNY 2,299
NPR 48,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
HP’s decision to introduce a design overhaul in its Omen series of gaming laptops received a warm welcome all-around. After all, why should such a powerful piece of hardware be socially unsuitable for office, college, and other professional settings? No wonder the company has continued that design on its 2021 edition I have with me right here. More on this review of the HP Omen 15 (2021).
HP Omen 15 (2021) Specifications:
Design&Build: Polycarbonate-aluminum hybrid build, 14.09W x 9.44D x 0.89H-inches, 2.46 kg
Color Options: Shadow Black (Matte cover and base)
Webcam: 720p HD camera, No physical shutter, Dual-array microphones
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 6 (AX200), Bluetooth 5.0
I/O Ports: 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, 3x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (1x HP Sleep and Charge), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Mini DisplayPort, 1x RJ45 (LAN), 1x combo audio jack, 1x AC smart pin, 1x multi-format SD card reader
Pricein Nepal: N/A (not launched yet)
What’s inside the box: Laptop, power adapter, quick start guide
HP Omen 15 (2021) Review:
Design
14.09W x 9.44D x 0.89H-inches, 2.46 kg
Polycarbonate-aluminum hybrid build
As the name implies, I have the 15” variant of this laptop—whereas HP also sells it in 16 and 17” configurations. But unless you’re hunting for a desktop replacement—sort of—I doubt the extra heft on your back is worth the bigger display and slightly better thermals.
Heck, even this 15” Omen isn’t exactly backpack-friendly as it weighs 2.46 kg.
Packing similar specs, you can readily find much more lightweight gaming laptops on the market. More notably, the 16” Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 with all the latest silicons scales to just 1.9 kg. But there’s gotta be a method to this madness, right? It certainly seems so—and I’ll be discussing it shortly.
Spoilers, build quality has got nothing to do with it since this laptop is constructed entirely of polycarbonate-aluminum hybrid material. As a result, the device doesn’t feel as premium as one might expect. There’s a definite flex to the laptop’s lid and I’d be extra-careful before placing anything on top of the Omen 15.
Arriving in a single Black color option, the Omen strictly sticks to the “universal” approach that I discussed earlier, whereas its lid retains the most bare-minimum branding.
Look at that subtle gradient coloring—the tasteful approach of it. Oh my god, it even has an “Omen” watermark.
But this surface does catch fingerprints and smudges rather easily—although it’s nothing a simple wipe can’t get rid of.
180º hinge
While I wished this hinge was sturdier, I am thankful for the fact that it can lay 180º flat. Seems like such a minor thing but when you think about it, I no longer need to worry about my niece accidentally pulling the laptop and breaking the hinge. And you can lift it with one hand as well.
Like most gaming laptops in 2021, the Omen 15 has minimal bezels on the side—but HP is still hanging on to the traditionally large bezel on the top and a bigger chin which also houses another “Omen” branding.
Painfully sharp edges
Moving on, I’m not a fan of its sharp edges either. The bold, squarish edges do look intimidating, sure. But using the laptop for long hours is a pain-in-the-arm, complemented by press-marks around the wrist. Moreover, like the lid, this keyboard deck isn’t quite robust.
And before the perforations at the top fool you for a front-firing speaker setup, those are simply ventilation grilles for helping with the airflow. The actual speakers are on the bottom edges instead.
Somewhat compromised I/O
In terms of I/O, the Omen 15’s selection isn’t half bad. However, I don’t like how all the USB 3.2 ports here are Gen 1 as opposed to the faster Gen 2 protocol, which brings faster data transfer rates of up to 10Gbps.
Ports
1 of 2
Left
Right
Anyway, the left frame houses a barrel-pin power connector alongside an LED indicator, one RJ45, one Type-A port with HP Sleep and Charge, one HDMI 2.1, one 3.5mm combo audio jack, and one multi-format SD card reader. Over on the right are a couple more Type-A connections (both without HP Sleep and Charge), a Mini DisplayPort, and finally a Type-C port.
Display
15.6″ anti-glare non-touch FHD IPS panel
144Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB gamut
Let’s now talk about the display. The HP Omen 15 can also be configured with a 165Hz QHD screen, whereas the one I have with me is a 144Hz FHD display. That sounded a bit weird, huh? We usually see manufacturers couple higher refresh rates with lower resolution but HP has walked the opposite road here.
Additionally, the 165Hz variant boasts 100% DCI-P3 colors contrary to the 100% sRGB gamut on the 144Hz model. So, it should be a pretty easy choice to select between the two. If your workload also consists of video/photo editing and such, then get the one with the QHD display.
Otherwise, the FHD variant is more than enough for many. Anyhow, Omen 15’s screen has served me well. Its color accuracy is quite great and the viewing angles here are excellent. Practically no dip in saturation levels unless viewing it from extreme angles!
Gets bright enough
I can’t complain about the brightness of this thing either. With an advertised 300 nits of brightness, the Omen 15 manages to stay visible indoors and even outdoors. Furthermore, I’m glad to report that my unit of the laptop hits 351.2 nits of peak brightness. The factory color calibration feels marginally off with whites looking a-bit grayish instead.
But playing around with the default color calibration settings can get it to respectable levels quite easily. On top of this, HP isn’t overstating the color space of this laptop. I measured that it covers 98% sRGB and 75% of DCI-P3 gamut which is perfectly sufficient for a gaming device.
Display Properties
1 of 3
Color Gamut
Gamma
Brightness
This screen also enjoys an anti-glare coating so using it in a room with one or more light sources isn’t going to be a hassle. Now, even though this screen has earned pretty great remarks up until now, it’s not completely devoid of any flaws.
Pretty terrible backlight bleeding
The most notable issue I have encountered with the display of our review unit of the HP Omen 15 (2021) is the backlight bleeding—the insufferably horrible backlight bleeding. In all fairness, it’s practically unnoticeable when using the laptop for my regular office chores which obviously doesn’t include any gaming or media consumption.
But when I’m streaming the newest episodes of Doom Patrol, for instance, the backlight bleed on the right edge of the display is simply too distracting. You can only imagine how worse it gets in a dimly lit room.
Besides this, the 16:9 aspect ratio married with the big bezels on the bottom isn’t exactly my cup of tea either. Having used the Realme Book Slim recently, I haven’t gotten over its 3:2 aspect ratio. And no, I don’t think I (ever) will. Come on, HP! I thought we were progressing to the 16:10 category in 2021!
Keyboard
Backlit full-size keys (single-color)
26-key rollover anti-ghosting
Moving on, the Omen 15 arrives in two keyboard layouts. One with single-zone backlighting like this, while there’s also a fancier version with 4-zone RGB backlighting.
HP says this keyboard also boasts a 26-key rollover so there shouldn’t be any ghosting issue when playing eSports titles like Dota 2 or simply when typing up documents. During all my time using this laptop, I’m yet to encounter any instance where it’s failed to register any key input. Great!
With its 1.5mm key travel distance, I’ve had no trouble maintaining my usual typing speed here either. The keys do feel a little soft but that’s fine. More importantly, the key-press is fairly quiet enough to prevent any degree of disturbance when you’re in a work setting.
Top-notch keyboard feedback
Disregarding the Spacebar, I won’t say these keys rattle that much as well. Moreover, unlike a couple of Asus laptops that I’ve tested recently, there’s no problem with Omen 15’s backlighting. It offers the perfect contrast to preserve visibility in a dark room—and the all-black keyboard well means the laptop’s overall aesthetics also stays undisturbed.
Even so, you can notice some compromises with this keyboard. Take some time to see if you can notice it. Yeah, despite its 15” chassis, HP hasn’t managed to fit in a dedicated Numpad here. Instead, you get a bunch of full-sized shortcut keys on the right flank—most of which stay unused.
If it’s any consolation, the company has included large arrow keys with a comfortable gaming experience in mind—especially for left-handed gamers.
Adding to my disappointment is the placement of the power button. HP could’ve easily placed it on the right-most edge of the keyboard deck but no—the power button is awkwardly crammed between the F12 and the Delete key for some reason. As a result, reaching it isn’t as intuitive as it should be and I still mistake the “Omen Gaming Hub” shortcut for the power button sometimes to this day.
Trackpad
Glass trackpad with integrated left/right keys
Anyway, Omen 15’s glass trackpad does its job just fine. I would’ve liked it more if it were placed right in the middle but this off-center position hasn’t bothered me as much as I thought it would.
Backed by Windows Precision Drivers, this trackpad handles drag-and-drop, swipe, and other multi-finger gestures with excellent accuracy. And its palm rejection also works amazingly. The integrated left/right keys offer decent feedback as well—but maybe at the expense of a quieter sound profile.
Audio
2x 2W side-firing speakers
Tuned by Bang & Olufsen
Getting to audio, as I mentioned above, the Omen 15 brings a pair of speakers on its bottom edges. It isn’t entirely side-firing like you’d find on budget laptops but there’s still some way the audio from these speakers gets muffled before it reaches your ears. Regardless, I’m pretty satisfied with its audio output.
As expected, these are Bang & Olufsen-tuned and the sound quality sounds relatively crisp—with clear mids and highs—although this setup doesn’t deliver in terms of bass. Under the “Omen Audio Control” center, HP lets you play around with 3 different audio presets: Music, Movie, and Voice, which fine-tune the sound quality accordingly.
Furthermore, there’s the option to mess around with the equalizer control too. But even this doesn’t do the trick for improved bass reproduction. Even so, the Omen 15’s speakers get loud enough to fill an average-sized room, and watching shows/movies on this thing is a plenty pleasant experience.
Webcam
720p HD camera
No privacy shutter
On the other hand, things are strictly average when it comes to the camera. There’s a standard 720p HD webcam on the top bezel alongside the dual-array microphones and an LED indicator. Videos look quite noisy—and more importantly—make sure you’re not sitting behind a window or any other direct light source since its dynamic range is flat-out terrible.
Additionally, I noticed that the colors look a little undersaturated as well. However, I’d say Omen 15’s webcam quality is above average thanks to its sharp video output where the subjects also come of pretty well-exposed. Just keep the aforementioned lighting setup at check and you’re good to go—off to your Zoom meetings or online classes.
I’m also impressed with the audio pickup from the built-in microphones. And turning on noise cancellation on the Omen Audio Control center works wonders. It mostly drowns out the ambient white noise including the fan noise and other low-frequency hums—while boosting human voices to some extent. Nevertheless, I wish HP had provided a physical privacy shutter instead of the LED indicator.
Performance
AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU (45W TDP)
NVIDIA RTX 3070 100W (discrete GPU)
16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Okay, let’s now move on to its performance. Powering the 2021 edition of Omen 15 is AMD’s Ryzen 5000-series CPU alongside the RTX 30-series GPU from NVIDIA. Here, my unit features Ryzen 7 5800H octa-core processor, RTX 3070 graphics card, 16GB dual-channel RAM, and 512GB NVMe SSD.
This configuration goes for about USD 1,659 in the US or some INR 160,000 in India. Unfortunately, it’s not available in Nepal yet.
Besides this, HP sells this gaming laptop with Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU or RTX 3060 GPU too. To note, the RTX 3070 running on the Omen 15 can draw in up to 100W of power and has 8GB GDDR6 video memory.
Likewise, because this is a 15” gaming laptop, you can expect great upgradeability options here—and you’d be right. There are two SO-DIMM slots that can take up to 64GB RAM alongside two M.2 PCIe slots in total.
High-speed SSD
On that note, I’m really with the read/write speed of this thing. Installing apps or launching them happens in a jiffy and writing files onto the SSD is wicked fast as well. With 16GB RAM onboard, I’ve had no trouble with multitasking either.
CrystalDiskMark
Read (MB/s)
Write (MB/s)
SEQ1M Q8T1
3459.18
2683.15
SEQ1M Q1T1
2154.76
2492.86
RND4K Q32T1
471.87
403.35
RNK4K Q1T1
55.56
124.23
Cinebench R23
CPU: Multi-Core
11255
CPU: Single Core
1343
MP Ratio
8.38x
Geekbench 5
CPU: Single Core
1257
CPU: Multi-Core
6971
Compute (OpenCL)
108059
Unigine Heaven
(FPS: 141.7, Score: 3570, Min FPS: 9.4, Max FPS: 276)
API: OpenGL
Multi-monitor: Disabled
Quality: High
Anti-aliasing: x2
Tessellation: Extreme
Fullscreen: Yes
Stereo 3D: Disabled
Resolution: System
3DMark
Overall
Graphics
Physics
Combined
Fire Strike Extreme v1.1
11017
11416
21872
5491
Fire Strike Ultra v1.1
5994
5879
23070
3055
Total
Graphics
CPU
Time Spy v1.2
8884
8982
8370
Blender (CPU)
bmw27
3m42s
classroom
9m39s
fishy_cat
4m50s
koro
7m22s
pavillon_barcelona
10m1s
victor
16m14s
Keeping around a dozen of Chrome tabs open, alongside light editing on Photoshop, typing up word documents on LibreOffice, while also streaming music off of Spotify—I’m yet to notice a single instance where the Omen 15 has failed to keep apps in memory.
But I will say that there were a couple of occasions where the mouse pointer would get sluggish all of a sudden for a couple of seconds. This is purely a Windows 10 issue so I can’t pin it on the laptop’s hardware. That reminds me, the Omen 15 is obviously Windows 11-compatible as seen on the Windows Update page—but it looks like it’s gonna be a while before the said update arrives here.
Different performance profiles
Under the Omen Gaming Hub, you can set this machine to “Balanced” or “Performance” mode while deciding between Max, Auto, or Manual fan profiles. Usually, I’d keep its power mode at Balanced and thermal control to Auto since this configuration delivers sufficient power while also keeping the fan noise in check.
With a keen pair of ears in a quiet room, you can still hear the low hums but in a casual office setting, it is practically inaudible. However, when throwing multiple demanding applications into the mix, the Omen cranks up the speed of its dual-fan setup to as fast as 5900 RPM. And yeah, things get ridiculously loud under such instances.
Exhaust vent
In terms of cooling, the Omen 15 has large air-intake vents on the bottom while it blows out hot air through the exhaust vents at the back and the right frame. Similarly, managing heat flow underneath is a total of 3 heatpipes—two of which are shared between the CPU and GPU, whereas the third one is dedicated to the GPU.
Let’s talk games
This, paired with the 100W TGP of the RTX 3070, indicates impressive heat management on the Omen 15. Here, 100W is sort of a middle ground for this GPU since you can find RTX 3070 configurations with up to 140W TGP.
And after all my tests throughout this review period, I’m glad to report that the HP Omen 15 (2021) has one of the most efficient cooling systems I’ve ever tested on a gaming laptop. It can run all the AAA titles at the highest settings at a respectable fps—but more importantly—this laptop doesn’t get uncomfortably hot even after a couple of hours of continuous gaming.
1080p Gaming Benchmarks
Performance mode, Max thermal control
Game
Settings
Average FPS
Cyberpunk 2077
Texture quality: High
33-35fps
Ray Tracing: Ultra
Texture quality: Medium
47fps
Ray Tracing: Medium
Control
Texture resolution: Ultra
51-56fps
Ray Tracing: High
GTA V
Texture Quality: Very High
75-78fps
Reflection Quality: Ultra
CS: GO
Texture Detail: High
224fps
Anti-Aliasing: 8X MSAA
FIFA 22
Rendering Quality: Ultra
146-155fps
Anti-Aliasing: 4X MSAA
Rendering Quality: High
155-167fps
Anti-Aliasing: MSAA off
Valorant
Texture Quality: High
146-155fps
Anti-Aliasing: 4X MSAA
The heat is mostly localized at the middle of the keyboard deck, which is still cozy enough to lay your fingers on. Cyberpunk 2077 delivers a respectable 33-35fps on average at High texture quality with ray tracing set to Ultra, whereas bringing down ray tracing to Medium gets you around 47fps.
GTA V is easily playable at its highest graphics settings as it manages 75-78fps on average. I enjoyed playing Control with ray tracing and graphics preset set to High since the Omen 15 gave a stable 51-56fps under those settings.
Minor dip in performance
Comparatively less demanding titles like CS: GO can hit up to 224fps at the highest settings which dip to the 176-184 territory after about an hour of gameplay. On the other hand, Valorant and FIFA 22 deliver around 146-155fps at the highest settings.
These results are quite comparable with 130W RTX 3060-powered gaming laptops like the Lenovo Legion 5. However, there’s no significant performance drop on the Omen 15 whereas the Legion 5 throttles by quite a bit after more than an hour of gaming.
Oh, by the way, for this review, I tested all these games and benchmarks on the HP Omen 15 (2021) under the Performance power mode with the fan speed set to Max.
Battery
70.9 Watt-hour 6-cell battery
200W Smart AC power adapter
Moving on, the HP Omen 15 is fueled by a 6-cell 70.9Wh battery. Under my regular office chores, I got about 3-3.5 hours of screen-on time when setting the brightness to 50%.
Those are quite the rookie numbers, but with such power-hungry silicons inside, we can’t expect much either. It fills up via a 200W AC power adapter in about 2 hours. Sadly, the onboard USB-C port doesn’t support power delivery so you’re gonna have to carry around the large power brick all the time.
HP Omen 15 (2021) Review: Conclusion
Wrapping it all up, the 2021 edition of HP Omen 15 is one heck of a gaming laptop. Its covert design language means you can take it to professional work settings without raising any eyebrows either.
Moreover, it can run the most demanding games at their highest settings—while the keyboard deck doesn’t get scorchingly hot either. Its display has great color reproduction and the 144Hz refresh rate further elevates the gaming experience.
But that’s not to say the Omen 15 does everything right. Its build quality feels a bit flimsy and the backlight bleed thing gets distracting rather easily. I just hope this issue is confined to our review unit and doesn’t repeat with other units of the HP Omen 15 (2021).
Plus, it could’ve seen better battery endurance as well if HP had delivered specifically low-battery performance modes. All in all, if you’re looking for a powerful gaming laptop that can also double as your professional workstation, the HP Omen 15 is a great choice.
So here I am—finally—with my full review of the iPhone 13 Pro Max. I’ve been using it since the beginning of Dashain, so it has been my daily driver for the better part of a month now.
Initially, I thought of getting the smaller iPhone 13 Pro because it shares the same specs as the Pro Max this time. I imagined it would be perfect for me because of its smaller form factor. But I found the 13 Pro to be a bit too dense for its size, so I got myself the 13 Pro Max instead.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Specifications:
Body: 78.1 x 160.8 x 7.65mm, 240 gm, IP68 certified, Stainless steel frame
Display: 6.7-inches Super Retina XDR OLED panel, 120Hz ProMotion, 1200 nits max brightness (HDR), Ceramic Shield, Wide Color (P3)
Resolution: (2778 x 1284 pixels), 458 PPI
Chipset: Apple A15 Bionic 5G (5nm Mobile Platform)
Don’t get me wrong—the 13 Pro Max is even heavier but since its weight is distributed over a bigger chassis, it feels more ergonomic in the hands. The 13 Pro Max is still a very heavy phone, but over time, I got used to its weight.
And since a lot of iPhone 11 Pro Max users are going to get this as an upgrade, I asked a few of my friends who recently switched made the switch, and they told me that they didn’t feel it to be any different than the 11 Pro Max in terms of the overall heft.
Still, if you are coming from iPhone 11, the iPhone XR, or if you go way back to the iPhone 8/8 Plus era, the 13 Pro Max is going to be a good muscle exercise for you. That, I am pretty sure!
Performance
Hexa-core Apple A15 Bionic 5G SoC (5nm)
6GB RAM, 128GB to 1TB storage (fixed)
Apple iOS 15 (upgradeable)
But with all things considered, Apple has absolutely nailed this year’s iPhone. I mean, this is the phone that scores the best numbers in almost every aspect. And I believe it will continue to remain the top choice even after say, Samsung launches the Galaxy S22 Ultra or OnePlus comes up with its next flagship phone later in 2022.
And one of the reasons why Apple is so successful is that they have made some serious leap in the silicon industry—with the A-bionic chipset on its iPhones and the M1-powered MacBook Pros.
Powered by the latest A15 Bionic chip, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is so fast and so darn good, that I am pretty sure even the next generations of Snapdragon chipsets aren’t going to match its raw performance.
Why go that far; even the A14 Bionic on last year’s iPhone 12 series is still streets ahead of its Android counterparts.
And we all know that Apple has always been the top dog when it comes to optimization, and its software and hardware bond is getting better and better with every iteration.
And trust me, this is bad news for Android because we want things to remain competitive to get the best out of both platforms. But sadly, Apple is guilty of murder because they are killing it.
120fps gaming?
Anyway, we finally… finally get to see a 120Hz refresh rate on an iPhone display with the 13 Pro series. But honestly, I didn’t find it to be that huge a deal. Sure, it makes scrolling and navigating through the UI faster but compared to last year’s iPhones, I didn’t necessarily find it to enhance my smartphone experience as much as I’d initially hoped for.
This is probably because iPhones are so well-optimized, that even the 60Hz display on older iPhones feels so smooth. However, gaming is going to be the one key area where we will eventually see developers rolling out 120fps mode on iOS games.
As of now, there are only a handful of titles with the option for 120fps gameplay, like Pascal’s Wager and Genshin Impact. But unfortunately, they can’t reach the 120fps mark. While playing Pascal’s Wager and Genshin Impact under 120fps mode, I did find the game to go high as 120fps for a few minutes but then you will notice an instant drop in frame rates.
And after 10-15 minutes of gaming, the phone gets hot and the brightness levels drop to 75% and then to 50%. But I think in 3 to 6 months, this issue should be resolved and we will be able to enjoy high fps gaming very soon.
A little short of a Pro gaming phone
As for other popular titles like PUBG Mobile, iPhones have always been the best choice for professional eSports athletes and the 13 Pro Max is going to continue that legacy. I was able to run the game smoothly at 60fps in HDR and Extreme settings with great details and zero lags.
Top: 13 Pro Max | Bottom: 12 Pro Max
And unlike the iPhone 11 Pro Max and 12 Pro Max, the screen doesn’t get dim even after like 30 minutes into the game, which is fantastic. To avoid screen dimming, you can always play games in low power mode as well, which dials down the voltage, and hence the chipset doesn’t dissipate as much heat as it should.
Display
6.7-inches Super Retina XDR OLED display
ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate
Ceramic Shield protection, Wide color (P3)
But one aspect where I think the iPhone 13 Pro Max could have done slightly better is in terms of the display quality. Apart from trimming down the notch, there’s not much of an improvement here coming from last year’s iPhone.
Granted that this still is an excellent display with Dolby Vision, accurate colors, and outstanding brightness levels, I believe Apple could have given a slightly boosted touch response rate which would’ve definitely enhanced the experience even more. Yet, I think Apple is reserving this feature for next year’s iPhones instead.
Still and all, this is one of the best phones for multimedia consumption. And Apple has also improved the audio quality of its speaker on the 13 Pro Max. In my experience, I found that it sounds fuller and louder as compared to the 12 Pro Max.
Battery
4352mAh with 20W fast charging support
15W MagSafe / 7.5W Qi wireless charging
Now getting to the battery, I haven’t seen anything like this before. At 4352mAh, this is the biggest battery on an iPhone yet, and its endurance is just amazing. To put that into context, I am constantly getting 2 days of battery life on this thing, whereas I’m used to a day’s worth of endurance on an Android phone with a 4300mAh cell.
Battery
1 of 3
20W Charger
Lightning Connector
Charging
So, this sums up just how good the battery life on this thing is. Charging it is a bit slow with the official 20W charger and Apple is yet to jump on the “super-fast charging” bandwagon in favor of better battery health over time. But in my opinion, providing a faster 30W charging solution at least on the Pro series wouldn’t have hurt the battery heath that much.
Cameras
Triple camera setup at the back
(12MP wide, 12MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide)
12MP TrueDepth camera with Face ID
Cameras
1 of 2
Back
Front
During the launch, Apple said that the 13 Pro Max has the biggest camera update ever on an iPhone, and all the 3 lenses on this year’s 13 Pro series have been upgraded to new, bigger sensors. While this sounds good on paper, honestly, you won’t find a big difference over last year’s 12 Pro Max, since that phone still captures amazing pictures.
Normal Images
Anyhow, the 13 Pro Max is probably in my top 3 list of best camera phones for photos this year.
Normal
1 of 3
All 3 of its cameras capture excellent images almost all the time.
Cameras
1 of 3
Ultrawide
Normal
Telephoto
I found its camera to be doing better than the S21 Ultra in most cases as well.
vs Galaxy S21 Ultra
1 of 4
13 Pro Max
Galaxy S21 Ultra
13 Pro Max
Galaxy S21 Ultra
However, the difference I’m talking about is marginal—and at times, you might find the S21 Ultra’s color-pop more pleasing, whereas you will notice night mode working better on the Samsung phone too.
Nighttime
1 of 4
13 Pro Max
Galaxy S21 Ultra
13 Pro Max
Galaxy S21 Ultra
But if I were going on a trip and had to pick one phone, it would definitely be the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Exposure issue
1 of 3
However, at times, I found the 13 Pro Max struggling with exposure and had to take the picture multiple times to get it right.
Portrait Images
Likewise, portrait is one of the areas where the 13 Pro Max is simply incredible.
Portrait
1 of 6
Nighttime Portrait
During Dashain, while hanging out with my friends, I clicked a lot of photos and it has impressed me every time. Just look at that low-light portrait shot, isn’t it amazing?
Portrait
1 of 2
1x
3x
Also, I found the 3x telephoto zoom lens offering better edge detection than 1x portraits as you can see from this sample.
Macro Images
This phone can also click macro photos using the ultra-wide-angle lens.
Macro
1 of 4
Normal
Macro
Normal
Macro
Its quality is satisfactory, but I think Apple should have included a dedicated macro mode here.
vs Galaxy S21 Ultra
1 of 6
13 Pro Max - Ultrawide
Galaxy S21 Ultra - Ultrawide
13 Pro Max - Normal
Galaxy S21 Ultra - Normal
13 Pro Max - Telephoto
Galaxy S21 Ultra - Telephoto
For now, the camera app automatically switches to the macro mode if you try to click close-up subjects.
Selfie
1 of 6
Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Selfie
Portrait Selfie
The problem here is that if I try to go close, it switches to the ultra-wide sensor way too early and the end result isn’t as detailed as the images from the primary camera. The iPhone’s regular and portrait selfies look pretty good too—although there’s a noticeable warm tint sometimes.
Videography
Anyway, Apple has kept on improving on the video department with every iteration and they continue to stay on the top of the table with the 13 Pro Max.
No other smartphone, not even the S21 Ultra, can match the level of stabilization and exposure maintenance as well as the iPhone 13 Pro Max; this applies to both wide and ultrawide camera, by the way.
New camera features
Cinematic Mode is the new video feature that Apple has been hyping up since the launch event. But personally, I didn’t find it that useful. Sure, it is better than the bokeh video mode that you see on Samsung and other Chinese phones, but I think it’s still a few generations away from being respectably good. But right now, it’s not very useful.
Moving on, the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max can also shoot ProRes videos at up to 4k/30fps—or 1080p/30fps on the 128GB models. Basically, it’s a video codec format that’s mostly useful for filmmakers, editors that work with Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro, Davinci Resolve, and such. With this, you can shoot videos with high color information and minimal compression.
iPhone 13 Pro Max Review: Conclusion
Ok, to wrap up this review of the iPhone 13 Pro Max, Apple seems to have struck gold with the latest iPhones. But you know what, I am one of those people who reviews at least 30 Android phones a year. And switching back to an iPhone as an “Android” user means I still find Siri to be way inferior to Google Assistant which I am extremely used to.
Plus, the whole “iPhones not having a type C port” shebang, especially in a country where 9 out of 10 smartphones users have an Android device is a pain in the butt. And yeah, we still gotta wear a mask so Apple’s Face ID could get annoying at times, so I just wished they had gone with a Touch ID integrated power button instead.
Still and all, the iPhone 13 Pro Max has managed to stay so dear to my heart that it pains me to let go of this phone since I gotta shift to the Realme GT Neo 2 for its review now.
I wasn’t expecting to be so wowed by it, but Apple has managed to do exactly that. All I can do now is hope that some upcoming Android phone manages to reignite a similar level of contentment and fulfillment as the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Or am I wishing too much?
DJI debuted its first action camera back in 2019. The company has now launched its successor, called Action 2. The new mini camera brings a significant design overhaul. So, let’s get into the specs, features, expected price, and availability of DJI Action 2 in Nepal.
DJI Action 2 Overview:
Body
The DJI Action 2 is a tiny-squared-shaped camera that weighs just 56 grams and measures 39 x 39 x 22.3 mm. The housing of the device is made from aluminum alloy. There is also a 1.76” OLED touchscreen with 446 x 424 pixels resolution and 500 nits of brightness.
Furthermore, it has magnets at the bottom that let you add a secondary screen equipped with its own battery (1300mAh) and microphones. You can also snap varieties of other accessories like a power module, magnetic adapter mount, magnetic ball-joint adapter mount, magnetic pendant, remote control extension rod, and more.
The magnets will make it easy to connect and detach accessories from the camera. This camera can survive underwater of up to 10 meters deep without a waterproof case and up to 60 meters with the said case.
In terms of cameras, it has a 1/1.7″ sensor with 12MP resolution and a 155º FOV lens with f/2.8 aperture. The camera can shoot 4K video at up to 120fps and 1080p slow-motion video at 240 fps. In comparison, the GoPro Hero 10 can capture up to 5.3K footage and at 2.7K resolution in slow-motion.
The device has 32GB of internal storage which can be expanded up to 256GB via a microSD card. Furthermore, Action 2 features Rocksteady 2.0 and HorizonSteady algorithm for stabilization, and it can also be used during a livestream or as a webcam.
Rest of the specs
Moving on, the camera includes a 580mAh battery that can last up to 70 minutes. The connectivity options include dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 compatibility.
The DJI Action 2 is already up for pre-order in the US, while the shipping will start in early November. It is available in two different combos, the Action 2 Power Combo and Action 2 Dual-Screen Combo.
The former includes a camera, a power module, a magnetic lanyard, a magnetic adapter mount, a power cable and retails for USD 399. Similarly, the other combo costs USD 519 and includes an extra front touchscreen module and a magnetic ball-joint adapter mount, but is devoid of the power module. We expect the price of DJI Action 2 in Nepal to start at NPR 55,000 when it launches here shortly.
DJI Action 2
Price in the US
Price in Nepal (Expected)
Power combo
USD 399
NPR 55,000
Dual-screen combo
USD 519
NPR 70,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G.
Oppo has launched its new entry-level A54s in the United Kingdom. The phone sports a 50MP triple camera setup and is powered by MediaTek’s Helio G35. In this article, we will look into the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Oppo A54s in Nepal.
Oppo A54s Overview:
Design and Display
To begin with, the Oppo A54s flaunts a 6.52″ 60Hz LCD panel with an HD+ resolution. It has a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera. The display covers 71% NTSC color gamut and has 480 nits of brightness.
The back of the phone has a glossy finish alongside a rectangular cutout for the camera. Oppo A54s is available in two color options—Pearl Blue and Crystal Black.
Powering the A54s is a MediaTek Helio G35 chipset with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. It runs on Android 11-based ColorOS 11.1. Likewise, the device is backed by a 5000mAh battery.
In terms of optics, it has a triple camera arrangement at the back led by a 50MP primary lens. Accompanying this are two 2MP mono and macro sensors. On the front, there’s an 8MP selfie camera. Both the rear and front camera can shoot up to 1080p 30fps videos.
Rest of the specs
Moreover, the handset supports dual-band WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0 in terms of wireless connectivity. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack and features a USB-C port for data transfer/charging. For biometrics, there’s a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Oppo A54s Specifications:
Display: 6.52-inches LCD, 480 nits, 71% NTSC
Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1600 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: MediaTek Helio G35 4G (12nm mobile platform)
Oppo A54s is now available in the UK where its price is GPB 179 for the sole 4/128GB variant. We expect the price of the Oppo A54s in Nepal to be around NPR 28,000 when it launches here shortly.
Oppo A54s
Price in the UK
Price in Nepal (Expected)
4/128GB
GPB 179
NPR 28,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G.
Asus has been doing really good in the gaming laptop arena these days. Recently, the company launched the Zephrus M16, which is yet another killer addition to its list. It comes with Intel’s Core i9-11900H CPU which can be paired with up to RTX 3070 GPU. Let me talk more about the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 (GU603) in this full review.
This laptop is sort of the upgraded version of the Zephyrus G15 from last year. And both of them have a pretty identical footprint except for two major differences. First, the M16 comes with an Intel CPU instead of AMD that powered the G15, and second, the screen sees a much bigger upgrade.
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 Specifications:
Design &Build: Dot Matrix finish (lid), 13.98W x 9.57D x 0.88H-inch, 1.90 kg, ErgoLift hinge (180º)
Starting with the design, I have to say that I’m a fan of what Asus has done here. This laptop sports a sleek back design over an aluminum hood which is filled with microdots on the diagonal half that reflects prismatic lights—that still looks pretty subtle.
Opening up the laptop reveals the soft black-painted RGB keyboard and trackpad. The design feels sturdy and premium. And despite being a gaming laptop, the M16 is not that heavy either. Weighing under 2 kg, it is one of the lightest devices compared to the rest of the competition.
Likewise, it features a good selection of ports too. It offers a power jack, an HDMI 2.0b, an RJ45, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, two USB-C Thunderbolt 4, and a headphone jack on the left while the right side has one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A and a micro SD card slot.
Ports
1 of 2
Left
Right
The only thing that I wish was a bit different is the placement of the power button, which I would have preferred at the back. Also, a full-sized card reader would have been more helpful for content creators.
Keyboard, Trackpad
Backlit full-sized chiclet keys (RGB)
N-key rollover, 1.7mm key travel
Glass trackpad with integrated left/right keys
On the other hand, the Zephyrus M16 comes with an RGB-backlit chiclet-style keyboard. Like with other Asus laptops, you can customize the RGB lighting from the Armory Crate app. You even get a dedicated button for it on the top left of the keyboard deck, along with shortcuts for volume control and microphone.
Keyboard, Trackpad
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Keyboard, Trackpad
Quick Toggle Keys
The keys are well-spaced too, but I do wish the arrow keys were a little bigger. Apart from that, the power button also doubles as the fingerprint sensor which works quite accurately.
As for their feedback, this keyboard is incredible to type on. It is clicky, punchy, and offers quite a solid key travel. The keyboard does flex a little which is probably because of the ErgoLift Hinge design, but it’s nothing to worry about.
Even the lid does not suffer much flex, which is good. And for those of you who are concerned, yes, you can open the laptop with one hand as well. Down below, you have a center-aligned trackpad which is quite good and clicky. I especially like the fact that it’s spacious and really responsive.
Display
16″ anti-glare non-touch 2K IPS panel
144Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 gamut
Moving on, the display of this laptop is the best thing. It’s a 16″ 2K IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate. There’s also a 165Hz variant, but it’s not available in the Nepalese market as of now.
Anyway, the bezels on this thing are incredibly slim—thereby making content consumption or gaming a delight. It’s a matte panel that gets really bright with a peak brightness of up to 512 nits.
And because this laptop is targeted towards gamers and content creators alike, this screen’s quality is something to talk about. With 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, it is pretty color accurate.
Webcam
720p HD camera
No privacy shutter
The Zephyrus M16, unlike the G15, features a webcam on the top bezel. It’s a standard 720p camera which is like any other HD laptop webcam you could find. As a result, its quality is not anything exceptional but will get you through your online classes and meetings.
Audio
2x 2W tweeter, 4x 2W woofer
Smart Amp Technology, Dolby Atmos
Complementing this screen are 6 speakers in total. It has two front-facing tweeters on either side of the keyboard alongside two woofers on both sides underneath. With this setup, you can even enjoy some bass, whereas the audio gets loud enough too.
Don’t get me wrong, the sound is not as good as the MacBooks, but it’s pretty good for a gaming laptop. It’s a solid B+ in my books.
Performance
Intel Core i9-11900H CPU (45W TDP)
NVIDIA RTX 3060 95W (discrete GPU)
32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
Getting to the performance side of things, as mentioned above, our unit comes with Intel’s Core i9-11900H CPU, RTX 3060 GPU (80W TGP up to 95W) with 6GB GDDR6 VRAM, a total of 32 gigs of RAM (16GB soldered), and 1TB of M.2 NVMe PCIe 4 SSD. You also get an extra M.2 slot in case you require more storage.
With this setup, the Zephrus M16 had no problem handling my workload including opening up to 20 Chrome tabs, editing documents on LibreOffice, and light editing on Photoshop. Complemented by 32GB of RAM, suffice it to say, it was able to hold all the apps in memory too.
But of course, this laptop is not just not meant for your typical everyday work. It’s a gaming machine with capable hardware to support it. So, I tested its capabilities against a handful of AAA titles, and here are the results:
1080p gaming benchmarks
*Note: All games were played on Turbo Performance Mode
S.N.
Title
Average FPS (Ultra Graphics)
1
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
59
2
Far Cry 5
79
3
Grand Theft Auto V
86
4.
Battlefield V
124
S.N.
Title
Average FPS (High Graphics, DX12 on)
1
CyberPunk 2077
53
2
Red Dead Redemption 2
85
3
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
86
Moreover, the good news here is that the Zephyrus M16 handles thermals quite well. You won’t experience any kind of thermal throttling while playing demanding games or even when editing videos on Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects. But that’s not to say this laptop does not heat up at all.
While playing AAA titles for a prolonged period, the center and top portion of the keyboard heats up a bit, but it’s nothing alarming. The only thing that I am a little concerned about is that the front exhaust fans blow air directly towards the screen, making it heat up a little.
Additionally, these fans get quite noisy during gameplay. So, unless you have a pair of headphones on, you might have to put up with quite a bit of annoyance.
Battery Life
90 Watt-hour 4-cell battery
240W AC power adapter
Lastly, you get a fairly large 90Wh battery on the Zephyrus M16, which I was expecting to last around 6-6.5 hours during normal tasks. But after all my tests, I was able to achieve only about 5.5 hours of screen-on time.
Then again, this is also meant to be a gaming laptop, so most of us will be plugging it in anyway. So, it’s not that big of a deal.
Additionally, a nifty feature on most Asus laptops, including this one, is how it automatically lowers the refresh rate to 60Hz when unplugged. It is a pretty nifty battery-saving feature that I wish other manufacturers adopted too.
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 Review: Conclusion
To conclude this review, I have really enjoyed my time with the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16. Form its powerful performance, amazing display, to its stellar build quality, almost everything about this laptop makes it a worthy option in its price segment.
Yes, you can get other RTX 3060-powered laptops at much cheaper prices, but their build and display quality are not as good as this one. And the top-of-the-line Intel CPU here delivers stellar performance too.
Thus, if you are a gamer and a content creator, the M16 can fulfill both of your requirements. Also, I find Asus’s Armory Crate app to be quite well-made compared to others.
Roughly about a year ago, we came up with the review of Mi TV 4X 55-inch. And despite a few of its flaws, our conclusion remained that it outperformed most of the competition at the time—considering its price. So today, we’re revisiting the Mi TV 4X and have the 43-inch model in for review to see how it stacks up against the competition—after nearly one year of its launch.
Before kicking things off, let me inform you guys that the dynamics in the TV industry have undergone a drastic transformation since last year, which led to a dramatic price hike. As a result, the 43-inch variant of the Mi TV 4X now costs nearly as much as what the 55-inch model originally went for.
Mi TV 4X 43” Specifications:
Display: 43-inches LED-backlit LCD display
Resolution: 4K Ultra-HD (3840 x 2160 pixels)
Dimensions (W x H):
With stand: 970 x 613 mm
Without stand: 970 x 569 mm
Weight: 12.70 kg (without stand), 13 kg (with stand)
Sound: 2x 10W speakers with 20W total output (6 ohm)
Audio Decoder: Dolby Audio, DTS-HD
OS: Android TV 9.0 (Pie), PatchWall
Processor: Amlogic quad-core CPU (Cortex-A53), Mali-450 MP3 GPU
Memory: 2GB DDR RAM, 8GB eMMC storage
HDR: Yes (HDR10)
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Viewing Angle: 178-degree
Response Time: 6.5ms (typ)
Power: AC 100-240V 50/60Hz (140W)
Wireless Connectivity: WiFi (dual-band), Bluetooth 4.2, Chromecast built-in
I/O Ports: 3x HDMI (including one HDMI ARC), 2x USB 2.0, 1x Ethernet (LAN), 1x Antenna, 1x S/PDIF, 1x AV input
Remote: Mi Remote (battery not included inside the box)
Warranty: 1 year brand + 1 year on panel
Price in Nepal: NPR 53,899
Mi TV 4X 43” Review:
Design
A plastic back panel, minimal bezels upfront
Can be wall-mounted or installed using a stand
Starting with the design, like the 55-inch, the Mi TV 4X 43-inch has an all-plastic build and features a black finish. On the front, its top and side bezels are modest, but the bottom bezel is somewhat broader and holds a “Mi” logo, as well as a distinguishing silver line that runs edge-to-edge.
Design
1 of 2
Back
Ports
Just below the chin, it has a small module protruding out that contains the IR receiver, a power indicator light, and a physical power button. Similarly, there is a bulge at the back that holds all of the I/O ports.
Display
43″ 4K UHD LED-backlit LCD display
HDR content compatible
60Hz refresh rate, 178º viewing angle
Now, moving our attention to the display, it has a LED-backlit LCD panel with 4K resolution and HDR compatibility. That means you can stream HDR content on OTT platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime. Moreover, as we said in our review of the 55-inch variant, Xiaomi hasn’t specified what panel is used here. But the company has mentioned this panel has a 178º viewing angle.
However, its viewing angle isn’t that good—making us believe it’s a VA panel. I was expecting the same with this 43-inch model, although I was surprised to see its viewing angle to be relatively better. Still, you can notice a slight drop in saturation levels when looking at the TV from the sides.
Furthermore, it’s a 10-bit color panel with Xiaomi’s Vivid Picture Engine for enhanced color reproduction and boosted brightness level. While the higher bit rate support isn’t significant given the sparsity of compatible content, the Picture Engine does enhance the colors, albeit to an overly harsh degree.
As a result, the shadows are exaggerated and videos look unnaturally black here. This is most noticeable when watching underlit content or even when watching bright anime.
While you can experiment with color temperature, lighting, and noise level settings, this won’t fix the overdone black levels. It also allows you to choose from different visual presets, though the default option is adequate for most purposes, while Movie mode is ideal for watching TV shows or films.
Software
Android TV 9.0 with PatchWall
Google Assistant-enabled
Chromecast built-in
Let us now talk about its software. It’s an Android 9-powered TV with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. And, if you’re familiar with Google’s TV service, you’ll feel right at home here. On top of that, it comes with PatchWall—the company’s content recommendation system—but it isn’t particularly exciting.
First and foremost, PatchWall is only available in a few countries (Nepal isn’t one of them), and it formally demonstrates its full potential when you switch the TV’s region to India.
Still and all, PatchWall is mostly populated with material from Xiaomi’s content partners. As a result, I would advise staying on the Android environment, as this would appeal to the majority of users.
Now, when it comes to general UI performance, it’s merely OK. While I can complete most of the tasks, I don’t find it to be that responsive. Even Google Assistant takes a second or two to launch, while it still couldn’t effectively recognize my spoken phrases.
This could easily be solved with a reliable software push, but the Mi TV 4X is still on the April 2021 security patch release—and I highly doubt it will receive any additional substantial upgrades, given that its successor is already out on the market. Besides, it also supports other Android perks like Chromecast and Voice Assistant.
Audio
2x 10W speakers (bottom-firing)
Dolby Audio, DTS-HD compatible
Getting to the audio, the Mi TV 4X boasts two 10W speakers with Dolby Audio and DTS-HD support. It can rock a medium-sized room rather loudly, but it isn’t perfect in every audio domain. The vocals sound crisper and have a decent depth, while it lacks that punch required for bass-heavy music.
Furthermore, its sound stage is not that wide either. But given the price, I can’t really complain much about the sound quality. Nonetheless, I would recommend going with a decent soundbar if you desire a strong audio output.
Remote
Sleek Mi Remote
The remote, on the other hand, is actually quite simple. It has a sleek design and connects to your TV via Bluetooth 4.2. It boasts a subtle matte finish that keeps it looking fresh, no matter how long you use it.
However, its functionalities are rather limited. It lacks a dedicated Settings and YouTube app button, and there’s a lot of vacant areas where Xiaomi could’ve included some handy shortcuts.
Xiaomi Mi TV 4X 43″ Review: Conclusion
Wrapping up this review, the Mi TV 4X 43” is a decent 4K TV under NPR 60,000 in Nepal. Sure, it’s not perfect, but given the limited number of 4K TVs available in this price range, the Mi TV is an indisputable winner. It has a decent viewing angle, sharp resolution, decent colors with a 10-bit display, and a loud audio setup for a room of ordinary size. It would have been a no-brainer if Xiaomi would release an update to make the OS more reliable.
On the first day of the Max 2021 virtual conference, Adobe announced the extension of Photoshop and Illustrator to the web. Likewise, iPad now supports RAW files as well. So, let’s get discuss what the new Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for the web has to offer.
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator on the web:
The new web editors for both Photoshop and Illustrator are a part of the company’s annual update to its Creative Suite. However, they are the toned-down version of the respective standard desktop apps.
This online version now lets you upload your PSD or AI files to the cloud, share a link with your colleagues, and review and comment in a new commenting panel. Furthermore, the sharing feature will be integrated into the Photoshop desktop software, making distribution much easier. Likewise, the editing tools included are cropping, selection, healing brushes, and others.
Once edited, you can copy the file link and share it with collaborators via your desired messaging or social media application. However, in order to modify files using Photoshop and Illustrator for the web, the sharer must have a Creative Cloud (CC) subscription. The receiver, on the other hand, can modify and add comments without requiring a subscription. Nevertheless, the file author must grant edit permissions for these actions.
Adobe is also bringing a handful of new features to Photoshop. This includes smart object masking, which allows users to hover over an item and convert it into a new mask using Sensei AI machine learning. This makes it easy to make changes to the selected object. Similarly, if you want to create masks for more than a single item, you can go to Layer > Mask All Objects.
The landscape mixing tool, on the other hand, allows users to change the landscape photos in a matter of seconds. Three new seasonal modes—summer, winter, and autumn—can be added to the original image to transform it.
RAW support for iPad:
Aside from that, Photoshop for iPad has received a substantial upgrade too. First off, it gets the support for Apple ProRAW images from the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineup. It supports files that are compatible with the existing Adobe Camera Raw list and allows for light and color changes, as well as auto-adjustments and auto black and white transformation.
Furthermore, other tools that have made their way to the iPad are Sky Replacement, Healing Brush, and Magic Wand.
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator on web Availability
Photoshop for the web is now in public beta, while Illustrator for the web will be released in private beta. Also, these web application versions are currently compatible with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge only.
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G.
Today, I’ll be talking about the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G in this review, which is the “upgraded” version of the Mi 11 Lite 4G. If you are wondering what the NE stands for, it’s short for “New Edition”. I am not quite sure how much sense that makes, because this phone is basically the Mi 11 Lite with a few upgrades here and there. Nothing necessarily new. Personally, I think this naming convention is a little odd and unnecessarily lengthy.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Specifications:
Body: 75.72 x 160.53 x 6.81mm, 158 gm, Frosted glass back
In terms of pricing, this phone starts at INR 26,999 (or NPR 45,999 in Nepal), which puts it in the same league as the Realme GT Master Edition, Galaxy M52, and Xiaomi’s own Mi 11X/POCO F3. So, the NE has got quite a competition. Here, I have been testing the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G for the better part of 3 weeks now alongside the Galaxy M52, so you’ll be seeing a lot of comparison between them in this review.
Design & Build
75.72 x 160.53 x 6.81mm, 158 grams
Glass front/back (frosted), plastic frames
If you remember, I was quite fond of the Mi 11 Lite 4G’s design, and this new edition is exactly the same with the identical weight and form factor. So, if you are someone who likes lightweight phones, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE is the best option out there.
Design
1 of 2
Ports
Back
And its color options are quite appealing too. I have this Blue variant which looks quite nice while there is the Coral option that stands out as well. Plus, this frosted glass back does not attract fingerprints either. It also doesn’t feel hollow as the Galaxy M52. Hence, when holding the phone, you’ll find its build quality to be pretty ergonomic.
Having said that, I would have liked its form factor better if it wasn’t so wide. I mean, this phone is ridiculously light, yes, but it’s also a bit wide. So you might not find it as comfortable as you would expect.
Display
6.55-inches FHD+ AMOLED display
90/240Hz refresh/touch sampling rate
Corning Gorilla Glass 5, Dolby Vision
On the front, you get the same 6.55 inches AMOLED screen as the Mi 11 Lite 4G. Here, it bears some flagship perks like 10-bit color depth. As a result, it is able to render images with greater color accuracy.
Along with that, there is Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support as well. With all this, watching Dolby Vision content on Netflix on this screen has been a slightly better experience. It’s not a big difference, but it is noticeable if you ask me.
Regardless, seeing that this display refreshes at just 90Hz is rather disappointing, contrary to how practically every phone at this price range has a 120Hz refresh rate. And since I have used and tested a lot of phones with a higher refresh rate recently, going back to 90Hz is quite an underwhelming journey.
As a result, scrolling and swiping through Xiaomi 11 Lite NE’s UI is not a smooth sailing experience. Plus, with a 240Hz touch sampling rate, its touch response isn’t the best either. In comparison, the touch experience on the Realme GT Neo 2 that I have been using for a couple of days now is insanely smooth since its touch response can go as high as 600Hz.
Also, even though this phone has an AMOLED screen, Xiaomi has cheaped out a bit by including a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. Granted it is fast and accurate, at this price range, I think they could have easily included a fast optical in-display sensor instead.
Moving on, the stereo speakers on this thing is quite good, especially if you compare it against the single speaker setup of the Galaxy M52 and Realme GT ME. They’re quite loud and sound balanced.
Android 11 with Xiaomi’s MIUI 12.5 on top (upgradeable)
Getting to performance, you get Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset here which we have seen in action on several recent smartphones. So, I already know how it performs. Normal day-to-day tasks run without a hiccup here and it can handle even heavy multitasking without breaking a sweat.
It’s only when playing really demanding games like Genshin Impact in the highest graphics settings under 60fps mode that this phone shows signs of distress. The gameplay here is extremely stuttery, while the phone heats up near the camera module rather quickly as well. Even the 8GB RAM variant that I have with me is not able to handle the game in the highest settings.
On the contrary, relatively less taxing titles like PUBG Mobile run quite well in 60fps under Smooth graphics and Extreme frame rate settings. Call of Duty Mobile too runs smoothly at 60fps under Very High graphics and Max frame rate settings. And I am also happy to report that higher fps optimized games like Critical Ops and Oddmar utilize the 90Hz refresh rate and run at 90fps.
MIUI remains as under-optimized as ever
All in all, I didn’t encounter any major problems regarding the performance of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G. However, I do have a few things to say about the software side of things. Honestly, even though MIUI has its perks in terms of various customizations and all, I’m still not a huge fan of it.
Plus, if you’ve watched our review of practically every Xiaomi phone, be it a midrange or their flagship lineup, I have always been complaining about the lack of proper implementation of dark mode and the 11 Lite NE 5G comes bearing the same issue.
And over time, you will also face issues with MIUI here and there. Yet, I am pleased to see Xiaomi finally joining OnePlus and Samsung by committing to 3 years of OS upgrade and 4 years of security updates on its premium mid-range phones.
Cameras
Triple camera setup at the back
(64MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP telemacro)
20MP selfie camera inside the punch-hole cutout
Cameras
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Back
Front
So, when it comes to Xiaomi’s mid-range phones, the camera is one of the aspects where they don’t really hold a strong ground. But I feel like the company is slowly improving its algorithm and color science—which is reflected well on the 11 Lite NE.
Normal Images
With its 64MP main lens, you will get sharp and detailed pictures that are bright with slightly boosted whites.
Normal
1 of 2
I compared its cameras with the Galaxy M52, which is arguably the best mid-range phone for photography, and found Xiaomi’s output competing amazingly well.
vs Galaxy M52 5G
1 of 10
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Samsung’s color optimization is still better, but the pictures from 11 Lite NE aren’t bad either. I also noticed slight focus issues when shooting close-up shots on the Galaxy M52 while Xiaomi 11 Lite NE was able to handle that quite well.
Wideangle Images
Other than that, as expected, the 12MP ultra-wide images from the M52 are more detailed than the ones from 11 Lite NE’s 8MP sensor.
Ultrawide
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Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Plus, Xiaomi’s ultra-wide shots are slightly darker in comparison too. So, it’s an easy win for Samsung in this department.
Portrait Images
On the other hand, portraits look good from this phone, although they are slightly beautified.
Portrait
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Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
M52 handles exposure better at most times, but Xiaomi’s output is quite eye-pleasing and social media-ready—so no complaints on that part.
Selfie Images
Even the 20MP selfies have similar properties as the portrait images with the mild beautification going on here.
Selfie
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Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Galaxy M52 5G
But the skin tone does look good though. To compare, Samsung’s photos look more natural, but Xiaomi does a decent job too.
Videography
But when it comes to videos, the 11 Lite NE performs much better than the M52. It is able to shoot stable videos across 4k 30fps, 1080p 60fps and 1080p 30fps modes whereas M52’s outputs are incredibly shaky. Yet, the NE crops the videos to maintain proper stabilization, and the recordings also appear slightly washed out. In any case, M52’s videos are almost unusable if you don’t use a gimbal for stabilization.
Battery
4250mAh battery with 33W fast charging
Finally, the battery life on the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE is good enough, despite featuring a modest 4250mAh cell only. In my typical usage, I got 5.5-6 hours of SoT on average with activities consisting of a lot of social media usage, streaming Netflix, a few calls and messages every now and then, and a little bit of gaming as well.
Battery
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Charging
Charger
This result is quite comparable to the Galaxy M52 and the Realme GT Master Edition, which is great! Likewise, you get a 33-Watt fast charger inside the box that takes the phones from 0-100% in about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Review: Conclusion
In conclusion, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is a pretty balanced offering from the company. Its performance is on par with the competition, while it also brings competent cameras alongside an appealing design.
And I think this phone is priced well too. I just wish Xiaomi had included a 120Hz refresh rate instead of 90Hz—which would have made this phone even more compelling. Still, if you value performance over anything else, Flipkart is currently selling the Snapdragon 870-powered Mi 11X below INR 25,000 in India, which if you ask me, is an insane deal.
Watch our video review of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G.
After the launch of Vive Flow earlier this month, HTC is back in the news. This time, it’s announced a new pair of TWS earbuds. In this article, we will be looking at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus in Nepal.
HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus Overview:
Design
HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus features a short stem design. These are in-ear earbuds with removable ear tips. The company has slapped its logo on the flat surface that stays outside of the ear. You can choose between two colors: Black and White.
It arrives in a charging case with matching colors. There are three LED indicators on the front and the HTC logo on the top. The USB charging port is on the rear side.
The main highlight of the HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus is its noise cancellation ability. It is equipped with both Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC).
The former helps drown out outside noise, whereas the latter is intended towards making the user’s voice clearer during phone calls. There are two microphones supporting the two technologies for clear communication.
As for connectivity, the TWS has Bluetooth 5.0. It also has touch-based controls that support taps (single/double/triple), and press-and-hold actions. These TWS earbuds are also IPX5 rated and thus can be used during workouts.
Battery Life
HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus boasts up to 6 hours of playback time on a single charge. The charging case can add three additional charge cycles, leading to 24 hours combined battery life.
HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus Key Features:
Bluetooth 5.0 + EDR
ANC (up to 27±2dB) + ENC
IPX5 rating
Touch controls
6 hours of playback time (24 hours with case)
HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus Price in Nepal
HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus is currently available in the European markets for EUR 84. We expect the price of HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus in Nepal to be NPR 12,500, if and when it launches here.
Wireless Earphones
Price in Europe
Price in Nepal (Expected)
HTC True Wireless Earbuds Plus
EUR 84/GBP 69
NPR 12,500
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2.
