After introducing a new sub-brand called “Phantom” a few months back, Tecno has now released a new smartphone dubbed the Camon 18 Premier. So, let’s have a look at the specifications, features, availability, and expected price in Nepal of the Tecno Camon 18 Premier.
Tecno Camon 18 Premier Overview:
Design and Display
Here, the Camon 18 Premier flaunts a 6.7-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The panel features 550 nits of peak brightness and is TÜV Rheinland certified for blue light protection. The AGC glass back is home to a rectangular camera module.
The device has a punch-hole cutout on the front alongside dual-LED flash. Similarly, it measures 8.15mm in thickness and comes in two colors: Summer Breeze and Ocean Moonlight.
Under the hood, the Camon 18 Premier packs MediaTek’s Helio G96 chipset coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The phone boots on HiOS 8.0 based on Android 11. Likewise, it features a 4,750mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging. Tecno claims that the 33W charger can juice up 64% battery in just 30 minutes.
Camera
Things get more interesting when it comes to the cameras. This phone has a triple-camera setup at the back led by a 64MP primary lens. Accompanying this is a 12MP lens with gimbal stabilization and an 8MP periscope zoom lens that supports up to 60X Hyper Zoom.
As per the company, this periscope lens combined with the Galileo algorithm engine allows it to capture clear Moon shots. Over on the front, there’s a 32MP lens with the aforementioned dual-LED flash.
Rest of the specs
Moving on, the Camon 18 Premier has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for biometrics. As for connectivity, it supports dual 4G VoLTE SIM, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, USB-C, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Tecno Camon 18 Premier Price in Nepal and Availability
The Camon 18 Premier is official in Nigeria, although Tecno hasn’t disclosed details regarding the price and availability yet. We will keep you posted with those specifics once they’re publicized.
Samsung has just confirmed that its upcoming flagship chipset will have ray tracing capability. The confirmation comes from Samsung’s blog post on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo. Here we will be taking a look at ray tracing and other major features that will be debuting on Exynos 2200.
Ray tracing in Samsung Exynos 2200
In case you are unaware, ray tracing is a graphics rendering technique that mimics the real-life behavior of light in games. The end result is more realistic graphics with impressive reflections. Basically, we have dedicated hardware (or ray accelerators) rendering shadows, reflections, and highlights more accurately.
Samsung has shared an image showcasing the difference between the output from normal GPU and its GPU with ray tracing. As you can see, the reflection of flames at the bottom of the tank seems more realistic on the right. Also, the house in the background has better luminance on the ray-traced image.
That being said, it’s unsure if mobile games will support this feature. For ray tracing to work, games should also be designed to take advantage of it. For reference, ray tracing is just starting to pick up momentum in the PC game industry despite the technology debuting in 2018.
Variable Rate Shading (VRS)
Another feature to highlight is Variable Rate Shading (VRS). It is already available on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888. This feature reduces the workload on the GPU by varying the shading rate of different regions of the frame. It helps in boosting the graphics rendering speed. Like with ray tracing, VRS could go to waste if game developers do not tap into the technology.
Samsung can integrate these features in its chipset because of its partnership with AMD. Earlier in this year’s Computex, AMD’s CEO Dr. Lisa Su confirmed that Samsung will be using its RDNA-2 GPU microarchitecture on its next Exynos chipset.
RDNA 2 was unveiled last year, and it brings tons of new features compared to the first-gen RDNA architecture. It features hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which is a first for Radeon graphics.
It has already been tested in desktops, laptops, current-gen gaming consoles, and this will be the first time that RDNA 2 will be available on smartphones.
For the past few years, Samsung has been heavily criticized for sticking to its in-house chipset when it is clearly behind its Qualcomm counterpart, especially in terms of GPU and power efficiency. With Exynos 2200, fans are expecting a turn-around thanks to its AMD backing.
Samsung Exynos 2200 Availability (Expected)
While we do not have an exact launch date, it is possible that the next-gen Exynos chipset (most probably called Exynos 2200) with AMD RDNA 2 graphics will be official towards the end of the year. Phones with the new chip will only start shipping from next year.
We will learn more about its features during the Samsung briefing, which will take place before the launch.
Meanwhile, check out our gaming review of the Exynos 2100.
Remember when Microsoft said that Windows 10 would be the final version of the OS? Pepperidge Farm remembers! Well, the company has officially taken its word back as it unveiled Windows 11 in an event back in June. And now, Microsoft has formally rolled out Windows 11 update to eligible devices.
Windows 11 Overview:
Getting started
Let’s start with what we already knew about the OS before June’s launch event. Windows 11 has gone through a design makeover with the new look drawing inspirations from the now-reductant Windows 10X.
This version of Windows is populated with rounded corners and a translucent, glassy effect. These design elements are uniform throughout the OS, including the Start Menu, Taskbar, and Widgets. Microsoft has introduced new transitions, startup sound, and redesigned the themes as well. Similarly, Windows 11 has fine-tuned light mode, dark mode, and contrast.
Start Menu
The first thing you will notice about the new Windows is the center-placed Start Menu. It may not seem that big of a change, but the Start menu can affect productivity, as it is where you will begin most of your works.
The search bar at the top of the Start menu can give you results from the PC itself, OneDrive, and web. In fact, it has been optimized with Cloud and Microsoft 365. Thus, you will even be able to access your last-seen document from your smartphone straight from the Start menu.
Snap Layouts and Snap Groups
Windows 11 is here to change the way you snap your apps to your screen. You can now hover the cursor over to the maximize button and choose the Snap Layouts of your choice.
Microsoft has also introduced Snap Groups. These are the collection of recently used apps. Windows remembers the apps you were using, groups them, and places them on the Taskbar, so you won’t have to go through the hassle of setting everything up again. You can even switch these groups from the Taskbar, as you would do with apps.
Docking
If you use multiple monitors, you would be glad that you don’t need to reconfigure the screen layout. When you disconnect a secondary monitor, the windows resize accordingly. Similarly, when you reconnect the monitor, it will remember the past layout and restore it.
Flexible Inputs
With Windows 11, you won’t have a problem interacting with your PC without a keyboard. For 2-in-1 laptops, the space between the icons will widen when you detach the keyboard. Similarly, there are subtle visual cues and larger touch targets to help you move and resize windows more easily. You can even make use of gestures, as you would do with the precision touchpad.
If you use a stylus, you will notice the new and improved haptics. Similarly, Microsoft has also improved the touch keyboard, which now supports multiple themes and swipe typing. Features like space as a cursor, emoji, and GIFs will make the keyboard look more like the one on your smartphone. In addition, Windows 11 adds auto punctuation to voice typing.
Windows Widgets
Moving on, the Widgets layer now slides over from the right side without interrupting what you have going on the screen. You even have the option to expand the layer to full screen.
Windows Widgets has an AI-powered news feed tailored to your preferences. Here, you get to see the contents that you love. Loved something you see? You can even offer tips for creators to encourage them to keep posting.
The new Microsoft Store has been built from the ground up. Developers can bring any app to the store, whether it’s PWA, Win32, or UWP. Similarly, developers can use their own e-commerce engine for in-app purchases. Doing so will bring more profit as they no longer have to provide a cut to Microsoft.
With Windows 11, users can head over to the Microsoft Store and download the Android app of their choice via Amazon Store. You can integrate them into the Start menu and Taskbar like any normal apps.
Here, Microsoft is using Intel Bridge technology to achieve this.
The entertainment tab offers different titles from multiple streaming services. You can enjoy these titles on a bigger screen using the wireless connect feature.
Faster Connection
Microsoft says that browsers including Edge will run faster on Windows 11. Edge also features vertical tabs that reveal more information than the horizontal ones.
In other news, Microsoft has integrated Teams into Windows. It is also promoting the go-to app to connect to friends and family. The app will replace Skype for Business Online, which will be retired on July 31.
Gaming
For gamers, Windows 11 inherits several features from the latest Xbox consoles. For instance, Microsoft is promising vibrant colors and lightings effects in games with Auto HDR. To gamer’s delight, over a thousand different games will be able to benefit from it.
The other feature is DirectStorage that will reduce the load times by loading the assets to the GPU. Windows 11 also comes with Xbox Game Pass built into the Xbox app. However, you can also buy and enjoy individual games.
Other Optimizations
Microsoft also revealed that chip manufacturers like Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD were involved in Windows 11 development from the very start.
Thus, Windows 11 is not just a new theme on top of Windows 10. Windows 11-powered machines will have better battery life, faster wake-from-sleep time, and faster Windows Hello authentication. Microsoft did not bother with the details but claimed that Windows 11 is the most secure Windows platform ever.
Updates will be faster on Windows 11 too. They will also be 40% smaller and can run on background.
Windows 11 Minimum System Requirements:
Processor: 1GHz or faster 64-bit processor/SoC with at least 2 cores
Memory: 4GB RAM
Storage: 64GB or larger
System Firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
Trusted Platform Module (TPM): TPM 1.2 chip
Graphics: DirectX 12 compatible / WDDM2.x
Display: >9″ HD
Windows 11 Rollout
The early build of Windows 11 started rolling out under Windows Insider Program back in June 2021. Now, Windows 11 is officially available for download to everyone running on eligible Windows 10 PCs as a free upgrade. But currently, not all compatible PCs will be getting the update as they’re scheduled to arrive “over the coming weeks”.
Windows 11
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Update available
Update unavailable
To see if your device supports Windows 11, you can use the PC Health Check app. Yet, if you don’t want to wait for the official rollout, download the Windows 11 Assistant which will automatically download and install Windows 11 on your compatible PC.
Like before, there’s the option to create Windows 11 installation media to make a USB thumbdrive or DVD bootable as well. Finally, Microsoft also lets you create Windows 11’s disk image (ISO) file which you can later burn into a DVD. The download link for all these tools can be found here.
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Realme Book (Slim).
The last couple of months have been monumental for Samsung. The firm made headlines with its newest foldableportfolio, followed by premium mid-range smartphones like the A52s 5G and Galaxy M52. In the midst of all this rush, the firm has quietly launched the Galaxy A03s. I have been lugging the phone as my daily driver for the past few weeks. And, in this review of Samsung Galaxy A03s, I will be sharing my experiences on how the latest budget phone from Samsung fares in normal day-to-day usage.
Before we continue with the review, the 3+32GB variant that I have costs NPR 15,499 in Nepal and INR 11,499 in India. There is also a 4+64GB option available for about NPR 16,999 and INR 12,499 in Nepal and India, respectively.
Samsung Galaxy A03s Specifications:
Body(H x W x D): 164.2 x 75.9 x 9.1mm, 196 gm
Display: 6.5-inches PLS TFT LCD
Resolution: HD+ (1600 x 720 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: MediaTek Helio P35 (12nm)
Storage: 3/4GB RAM, 32/64GB internal storage (expandable up to 1TB)
With that out of the way, allow me to begin this review of the Samsung Galaxy A03s with its design. As expected, the phone features a polycarbonate body, and it weighs around 196 grams. Its build quality is quite sturdy with no noticeable creaks whatsoever.
The rectangular camera bump at the back is slim enough to dismiss any notion of wobble when placing the phone on a flat surface as well. To further spice things up, Samsung has added textures on this surface which helps you achieve a comfortable grip. Similarly, this polycarbonate build also helps conceal fingerprints and smudges.
Moving on, the top frame of the Galaxy A03s is pretty vacant, except for the secondary microphone. Most of the ports are located at the opposite end, which includes a single down-firing speaker (that gets sufficiently loud for my taste), a Type-C port, which is always great to see on a budget phone, and finally a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Ports and Buttons
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For biometrics, Samsung has placed a fingerprint reader on the side. While it works just fine for a budget phone, I find it to be a bit of a challenge to differentiate this scanner from the side frame. Fair to say, Samsung should have designed it with deeper grooves, so that there wouldn’t have been as much accidental touches as it does now.
Display
6.5-inches PLS TFT LCD screen
HD+ resolution (720 x 1600 pixels)
Coming to the display, the Galaxy A03s features a 6.5-inch TFT LCD panel. As you would expect from a budget phone, it features an HD+ resolution alongside thick bezels all around.
Usually, phones with HD+ screens tend to over-sharpen the content to compensate for the inherent lack of detail. Thankfully, that’s not the case here. Still and all, the visuals on the A03s come out a bit soft and the colors don’t look as punchy either. But that’s pretty common with smartphones at this price range anyway.
Weirdly enough, even though the phone is Widevine L1 certified, there’s no HD streaming support on Netflix. Hmmm… Furthermore, its outdoor brightness is strictly average only.
Performance and Memory
Octa-core MediaTek Helio P35 4G SoC (12nm)
3/4GB RAM, 32/64GB internal storage (expandable)
Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy A03s packs MediaTek’s Helio P35 SoC. It’s practically the same chipset as Helio G35 that we’ve seen on other popular budget phones like Poco C3 and Realme C21.
Anyway, this device handles basic tasks like calls, social media, streaming video, and web browsing with ease. However, I noticed a significant delay to load the phone after having kept it idle for a while—or when restarting it. My unit only has 3GB RAM on board and I strongly feel like this is one part of the problem.
Gaming experience
In terms of gaming, I had no problem playing titles like Clash of Clans and Piano Tiles here. That being said, the gameplay is quite restrictive on the more resource-hungry titles. For instance, you can play PUBG Mobile at Balanced graphics and Medium frame rates only—under which the gameplay is pretty stuttery.
Moreover, the A03s warms up around the camera bump during such demanding workloads as well. So, long gaming sessions on this phone is completely out of the question.
Software
Android 11 with Samsung’s One UI 3.1 Core on top
As for software, at the time of writing this review, the Samsung Galaxy A03s is currently on Android 11-based One UI Core 3.1 with August’s security patch. Samsung has come a long way from its TouchWiz days, but again One UI (even the Core version) doesn’t feel fluid in an entry-level phone like this.
Camera
Triple camera setup at the back
(13MP primary, 2MP depth, 2MP macro)
5MP selfie camera inside the notch
Moving on to the camera, A03s has a triple camera setup at the back, led by a 13MP sensor.
Normal Images
The primary sensor is capable of taking fairly pleasing photos. The images look sharp and have good colors too. That being said, the budget origin of the phone is quite evident when you try to pixel-peep. Samsung’s algorithm desperately tries to compensate for the lack of detail with extra sharpening.
Normal Images
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Nighttime Images
Similarly, it struggles to maintain exposure during low-light conditions. Photos turn out dark, grainy, and there is no dedicated night mode either.
Nitghttime Images
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Portrait Images
In terms of portraits, this 2MP depth sensor struggles to maintain highlights. Also, you can notice a sharp color shift when taking pictures under portrait mode. Furthermore, the extra saturation on its portrait photos doesn’t look right to me either.
Normal Vs Portrait
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Normal
Portrait
Normal
Portrait
Normal
Portrait
Normal
Portrait
Taking close-ups from the onboard 2MP macro camera with its fixed focus is expectedly a nightmare as well.
Selfie Images
Moving on, the selfies from the 5MP front-facing camera come out smooth while the portrait selfies have blown-out highlights.
Normal vs Portrait Selfies
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Normal
Portrait
Normal
Portrait
Normal
Portrait
Videos
Getting to the videos, you can record up to 1080p/30fps footage from the Galaxy A03s and their quality is exactly how you’d imagine from a budget phone—wobbly, lacking in detail, and the likes.
Audio and Call Quality
Down-firing mono speaker
3.5mm headphone jack
Over on the audio, as aforementioned, the phone has a single down-firing speaker, which I found to be sufficiently loud. Furthermore, taking calls on this phone was also rather satisfactory for me. The network reception has been good, and the proximity sensor also works fine.
Battery
5,000mAh battery with 7.5W charging
This brings us to the battery. Samsung has included a 5,000mAh battery here, which has provided me about 6 – 7 hours of screen-on time on average. I mostly used the phone for social media consumption, playing lightweight games, and streaming videos on YouTube.
Unfortunately, the phone lacks any fast charging capability and it takes around 3 hours 45 minutes for the phone to go from 0 to 100% using the 7.5W charger available inside the box.
Samsung Galaxy A03s Review: Conclusion
All in all, considering Samsung’s recent budget launches, the Galaxy A03s is a pretty average offering. It has a solid design, an above-average primary camera, and a reliable battery life. That being said, Samsung could have done better in the performance department seeing how Chinese companies offer the same CPU-memory configuration for much cheaper. Its slow charging speed is also a headache material.
After successfully venturing into the growing gaming smartphone segment, Lenovo is reportedly eyeing the console market. Here, we will be discussing the company’s upcoming gaming console dubbed Lenovo Legion Play, including its leaked features and specs.
Lenovo Legion Play Rumors Roundup:
The biggest leak about Lenovo’s gaming console comes from Liliputing, which not only named the device but also revealed its design and some key specs. From the looks of it, Legion Play will be a handheld gaming machine that will take on Nintendo Switch and the recently launched Valve’s Steam Deck.
Runs on Android
Unlike the two, Lenovo Legion Play will boot on Android, making it the first Android cloud gaming console. It is built around a 7″ display with FHD resolution and HDR10 support on board. Controls are built into either side of the screen. There are two additional trigger buttons on the shoulders.
Other features of Legion Play include dual-speakers, dual vibration motors, and a massive 7,000mAh battery. The latter will charge via the USB-C port that’s at the bottom of the console. It also houses an audio jack and a built-in microphone for in-game voice chat. Though there is support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, cellular connectivity looks to be missing here.
The leaked images show support for YouTube, Google Drive, and Chrome, which is not that surprising given it’s running a special fork of Android. That being said, it also shows support for GeForce Now, which is NVIDIA’s cloud gaming platform.
Lenovo Legion Play Launch Date
The launch of Lenovo Legion Play—or at least its showcasing—was originally planned for Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2021. However, the company has not unveiled it yet for some undisclosed reason. Lenovo has even removed information related to Legion Play from its Japanese and German websites. Thus, we are not sure if Legion Play will see the light of the day.
Meanwhile, check out our review of the Realme 8s 5G.
Google officially unveiled Android 12 on May 2021 at the Google I/O developer conference. Now, after series of beta releases, Google has finally rolled out the stable version of Android 12. The tech giant is pushing its latest-gen Android to its Pixel devices starting today.
Google has launched the first public beta version of Android 12 for its own Pixel lineup and other OEM smartphones. The twelfth major release of Android has the most significant interface update in the history of the platform, with bigger, rounder buttons, smoother animations, and battery-saving performance.
Android 12 Overview:
Sameer Samat (Vice President of Android, Google Play) defines Android 12 as “the biggest design change in Android’s history,” and we feel the same.
Android 12 beta brings proper customization
The personalization features introduced in Android 12 can give your smartphone the best look they deserve. The latest update includes a feature called “color extraction”. It allows you to fully personalize your phone with a custom color palette and redesigned widgets. However, for the time being, the feature is only available on Pixel smartphones.
Here, the system analyzes the color pattern of your phone’s wallpaper and evaluates the primary and complementary ones. It then updates the color of the entire UI, including the notification shade, lock screen, volume controls, widgets, and many more.
Furthermore, the new design language is called “Material You” where all the refinement is possible due to the parallel work of software, hardware, and Material Design teams.
Besides fancy colors, the design element is the next most visible change in Android 12. The buttons are big, squarish, and bubbly, which has a significant impact on the overall look and feel of the device. However, the app and widgets will take up more room; and you will end up with only a few menus on the screen.
Moving on, the animations are now more fluid and efficient. Every tap, swipe, and scroll will respond to your touch in a smooth motion. Google says it was achieved with several under-the-hood improvements. These modifications aim to speed up the handset and save battery life by reducing the CPU time required for core system resources by up to 22% and the use of big cores by the system server by up to 15%.
Privacy
Android 12 is expected to deliver better transparency over the data as well. For this, Google has triggered three main sensors – location, camera, and microphone. Users can now see a green indicator on the top right of the status bar that contains the sensor (microphone and camera) information that applications use.
In addition, there are two new toggles in quick settings which let you turn off their access to the entire system.
Similarly, Android 12 introduces a feature called “Approximate Location,” which allows you to set your coordinates with less precision. With this, apps have limited data about your exact location. Google says it could be useful for software like the weather app.
Other features
Additionally, Google is developing an AI-focused privacy feature called “Android Private Compute Core“. As per the company, it will allow the development of new technologies that are private by default, limiting your sensitive information to the phone.
Aside from that, Private Compute Core will contribute to features such as Live Caption, Now Playing, and Smart Reply. It keeps both audio and language encoding on your device, offering you more privacy.
Eligible devices
Here, we’ve compiled a list of confirmed devices that will receive the Android 12 update.
To note, apart from the aforementioned devices, OEMs will be adding other phones to their Android 12 update schedule as well. We’ll update it once the respective brands confirm it on their end.
Meanwhile, check out our review of the OnePlus 9 Pro.
If you remember, we recently came up with a list of the best budget tablets you can buy this year. Still, to be completely honest with you guys, our choices fall short in one way or another. However, the new Realme Pad that I have with me looks like an all-around bundle in the budget category. The company has also recently entered the laptop market with the Realme Book Slim, which we felt to be an excellent bargain given its features. So, does the Realme Pad genuinely fill the need left by other manufacturers? Let’s find out in this review.
Currently, the Realme Pad retails for Rs. 13,999 for the 3+32GB configuration, whereas the 4/64GB model that I have with me costs Rs. 17,999 in India.
Realme Pad Specifications:
Body: 246.1 x 155.9 x 6.9mm, 440 grams, All-aluminium build
Connectivity: WiFi only, LTE + WiFi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.0, A-GPS/GLONASS/BDS
Price in Nepal: N/A (starts at INR 13,999 in India)
Realme Pad Review:
Design
246.1 x 155.9 x 6.9mm, 440 grams
Metallic construction, glass front
Now, let’s get started with what I loved most about this tablet. At first glance, it’s unquestionably the build quality and design. This is not only the first tablet under the Realme branding but also the first under the BBK umbrella. Thus, Realme has to deliver it perfectly and hit the sweet spot with its design.
So, despite being a budget offering, Realme Pad flaunts an aluminum unibody with squared-off edges which feel sturdy and strong. Also, the brushed design on the back doesn’t attract fingerprints or smudges—while its weight distribution is equally balanced as well.
Slim and elegant
Ok, that reminds me how thin and lightweight this tablet is. It measures just 6.9mm and weighs only 450 grams. As a result, holding it with one hand while reading through my Facebook feeds or during my online meetings has been no problem.
Moreover, it is available in two color options, namely Real Gold and Real Grey. Yet, my favorite is the Real Gold which I feel is tuned to match my taste. There’s also a camera housed on the rear and a narrow line that runs from edge to edge. Also, if you look closely, the line separates the two tones on the rear. I’m not sure why there’s a separate tone on such a little section, but it doesn’t detract from its premiumness.
In terms of the buttons, they are all located on the edge of the device and have a decent tectile feedback. On the right, there’s a volume rocker and a hybrid SIM card tray, whereas you’ll find the power button on the top. The headphone jack is interestingly placed on the rounded corners on the left.
Display
10.4-inch WUXGA+ IPS LCD screen
60Hz refresh rate, 360nits
Now, hitting that power button will greet you with a 10.4-inch IPS LCD screen. It’s a WUXGA+ (2000 x 1200) resolution panel with a 15:9 aspect ratio. Although Realme’s officials teased its first tablet with an AMOLED display, the firm has narrowed it down for the IPS. Nonetheless, the display has a good color balance and I didn’t have to sacrifice the viewing angle either.
However, what I really want to emphasize here is that it would have been much better if Realme had included a screen protector in the box. With the device of this tall and wide aspect, there are chances of inadvertent dropping.
On a more positive note, the screen is plenty bright at 360 nits and Realme also claims that it can go as low as 2 nits when used in Night mode. In my experience, the panel can actually get dimmer than what I am used to seeing on my smartphones.
While we are short of measuring the actual nits, GSMArena’s test results showed that it can reach a minimum brightness of 1.7 nits. Furthermore, the maximum brightness was recorded up to 455 nits, which is undoubtedly a bonus. Yet, the peak brightness is only suitable for indoor use.
One thing I’ve noticed here is the display is relatively on a cooler side and the new Realme Pad OS doesn’t let you calibrate it according to your taste. So, I hope Realme brings a feature to play with the color settings with the next OTA update! Furthermore, as expected from a budget tablet, it misses HDR and DCI-P3 certification; but, it does have Widevine L1 certification, which means you can enjoy Full HD content on OTT platforms.
Moving on, another aspect where Realme Tab stood out from its competitors is its performance. Hmm…you could ask how? But the best budget tablet on our lists hasn’t impressed us in terms of performance. We ranked the Lenovo Tab M10 HD (costs similar to Realme Pad) the best on the budget, but stutters greet you every then and now.
It’s because the Lenovo tab sports a quad-core Snapdragon 429 chipset, while the Realme Pad has a much better octa-core MediaTek Helio G80 chipset. But, that doesn’t even mean you are getting a buttery smooth experience.
You will undoubtedly notice the hint of jelly scrolling effect, but for this price, I can’t complain either. The RAM management is good too, as it can easily store up to 5 apps in its memory. However, there’s a tad bit of app load time while opening the app or switching from one app to another. By the way, if you’re wondering, the variant I have with me is the 4GB RAM with 64GB of storage.
Gaming
I even tried gaming on the tablet, and it’s safe to say that this tablet is suitable for light amusements. Here, PUBG Mobile is playable at HD graphics and a High frame rate, although Smooth and Ultra are better options to go with. Similarly, Call of Duty: Mobile can be played with the graphics set to Medium.
Realme UI for Pad
Let’s also talk about the new Realme Pad UI. The tablet boots on Android 11 based Realme UI for Pad. The sigh of relief is that it doesn’t come with any bloatware out-of-the-box. It has only a few Google apps pre-installed in it and offers a near-stock experience. However, it does have limitations of its own—like there aren’t many customizations options or additional features you can play with.
Some prominent features missing from the Realme smartphones are a dedicated Game Center, Sidebar, and advanced dark mode. Thankfully, split-screen is possible here and it works smoothly with most apps I use regularly.
Moreover, the Android tablets did not make the same strides as the iPad. To Android, tablets are big chunky phones. It just scales the app to fit the large screen real estate, but Apple’s iPad OS offers a tablet-optimized experience. So, there are tons of possibilities where Realme UI for Pad can get better in its forthcoming iteration.
Battery
7100mAh, 18W
Getting to the battery, the Realme Pad is backed by a large 7100mAh cell that easily lasted nearly two days on my rigorous testing. That’s enough energy to go you through a full cross-country flight without needing to grab a charging cord or battery pack. Similarly, if you use it less often, you can easily expect 5-6 days of use.
Battery
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Charger
On charging
The major caveat here, though, is its 18W charger, which takes around 2 hours and 45 minutes to completely charge the cell. While it’s not the slowest we’ve seen on a tablet, fast charging up to 30W would’ve been ideal.
Audio
Quad-speaker with Dolby Atmos
Furthermore, the new Realme Pad makes no concessions when it comes to audio. It includes a quad-speaker setup that supports Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio. And, believe me, the audio can grow loud enough to fill a medium-sized room. It offers a nice stereo effect, and the lows can get enough boomy to satisfy your bassheads. But, at the volume bar set to maximum, I did notice sound distortions.
Camera
Single 8MP rear camera
8MP selfie camera (landscape layout)
Realme Pad Cameras
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Back
Front
While all of the aforementioned specs attempt to fill the void left by budget tablet manufacturers, the camera is where it falls short.
Rear Camera
In well-lit circumstances, the rear 8MP camera takes decent photos. The pictures are free of noise and have good contrast. However, it has difficulty maintaining sun or sky exposure.
Rear
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What’s nice about this tablet is that it doesn’t oversaturate the greens, as other Realme phones do.
Selfie Camera
The front 8MP lens, as with most tablets, is located at the center of the right bezel. Thus, you should place the tablet in landscape mode for taking selfies.
Selfies
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The image from the front camera appears natural; nevertheless, suffers majorly from exposure maintenance. Still, the image has a decent contrast to it.
Furthermore, it is adequate for casual meetings or group chats with pals. Also, the device utilizes the front camera for face unlock, which I found to be pretty accurate and fast.
Realme Pad Review: Conclusion
Wrapping up this review, the Realme Pad can differentiate itself from other white boxes available in the market—either in terms of better software, cameras, or performance. But, then again, there is no doubt that Realme has hit the nail on the head with its first tablet, especially considering its affordability.
Also, I’m hopeful that the company would debut with a competitive tablet to beat the likes of the Xiaomi Mi Pad 5 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE. As of now, for Realme Pad, I would go so far as to rank it as one of the best go-to budget tablets in 2021.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is the company’s latest product under its flagship lineup. Thankfully, just days after its debut in India, the phone has made its way into the Nepali market as well. Here, we will be discussing the specs, features, official price, and availability of Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G in Nepal.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Overview:
Design and Display
Right off the bat, the company is claiming Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G to be the slimmest and lightweight 5G smartphone of 2021. The phone is 6.81mm thick and weighs just 158 grams.
Upfront, there is a 6.55-inch AMOLED screen with a left-aligned punch-hole cutout. It can switch between 60Hz and 90Hz refresh rates. It even boasts a 240Hz touch sampling rate and up to 800 nits of brightness. This 10-bit panel support HDR10+ and Dolby Vision as well.
Performance and Memory
Under the hood, Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G. This chipset is based on TSMC’s 6nm process. Other than that, it is quite identical to the Snapdragon 780G (5nm) that powered the Mi 11 Lite 5G. One can choose between 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, both with 128 or 256GB UFS 2.2 storage.
Software
The phone boots on MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11. Xiaomi is even promising software updates of up to 3 years and an additional year of a security update.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite NE 5G flaunts a triple camera setup at the back. Leading the line is a 64MP primary camera that utilizes an f/1.79 aperture and a 6P lens. Then there is an 8MP ultrawide camera with a 119-degree Field of View and a 5MP telemacro camera.
Rest of the specs
Fueling the phone is a 4,250mAh battery that supports charging speeds of up to 33W. Xiaomi even includes a compatible charger in the box.
For biometrics, there’s a side-mounted physical fingerprint scanner. Other notable features include stereo speakers, dual-band Wi-Fi, and NFC.
Security: Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted), Face Unlock
Audio: Dual stereo speakers
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi 802.1 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, USB Type-C, NFC, Bluetooth 5.1
Battery: 4,250mAh with 33W fast charging
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Price in Nepal and Availability
The price of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G in Nepal is NPR 45,999 for the 8/128GB and NPR 48,999 for the 8/256GB variant. You can buy Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G in Nepal from authorized stores like Sherisha Mobile Hub right now.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
Price in Nepal
8/128GB
NPR 45,999
8/256GB
NPR 48,999
Meanwhile, check out our initial impression of the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G.
After the moderate success of Hot 10 and Hot 10 Play, Infinix has launched the third member of the Hot 10 family in Nepal. Here we will be discussing the specs, key features, official price, and availability of Infinix Hot 10S in Nepal.
Infinix Hot 10S Overview:
Design and Display
Infinix Hot 10S sports a polycarbonate body, which is available in four colors – Morandi Green, Heart of Ocean, Purple, and Black. The company says the pattern on the rear panel is designed to resemble the salt flat at Salar de Uyuni.
Over on the front, you get a large 6.82-inch IPS TFT panel. It’s an HD+ panel with support for a 90Hz refresh rate and 180Hz touch sampling rate. It features a waterdrop notch to house the front-facing camera.
Performance and Memory
Inside, the phone packs gaming-centric MediaTek’s Helio G85 chipset. The same chipset has previously been used on the Infinix Note 10. It gives it a slight performance boost over the Helio G80 on the vanilla Hot 10.
As for memory, the sole variant available in Nepal comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
The phone flaunts a triple camera setup at the back. It consists of a 48MP primary camera that uses 4-in-1 pixel binning. It is accompanied by a 2MP depth sensor and the gimmicky AI Lens.
You can record 2K videos and 240FPS slo-mo videos using the setup. Other camera features include eye-tracking, auto-blur videos, and more. Upfront, there is an 8MP selfie camera with a dual-LED flash.
Rest of the Specs
Fueling the phone is a 6,000mAh battery that supports 10W charging. Infinix even includes a Power Marathon feature that lets you manage power effectively. The phone runs on Android 11 with XOS 7.6 on top. There is a physical fingerprint scanner at the back for biometrics.
The market for tablets (especially budget) has grown considerably since the beginning of the pandemic last year. Many companies have tried to capitalize on this ever-expanding segment, with the latest one being Motorola which has just launched the Moto Tab G20 in India. Here, we will be looking at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Moto Tab G20 in Nepal.
Moto Tab G20 Overview:
Design and Display
Moto Tab G20 features an 8″ IPS panel with sizeable bezels all around. The one on the top even houses a selfie camera. More about the display, it’s an HD+ screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Another thing to note here is that Motorola has gone with a TDDI (Touch/Display Driver Integration) solution, which combines the display and touch sensor into a single chip, resulting in a thinner and simplified design.
Moving on, the Moto Tab G20 is 8.15mm thick and weighs around 305 grams. There is confusion regarding its built material as the official product page hints at both plastic and metal finishes.
Performance and Memory
In terms of performance, Motorola has included MediaTek Helio P22T in its latest tablet. It’s an octa-core chipset with a maximum clock speed of up to 2.3GHz. The chip was also used in Samsung’s Tab A7 Lite.
This is paired with 3GB of LPDDR4x RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The latter can be expanded up to 2TB using an external microSD card. To note, the Moto Tab G20 is available in a single memory configuration only.
As for optics, there’s a 5MP camera at the back with AutoFocus capability which can record up to 1080p videos at 30fps. On the other hand, the 2MP front-facing camera has no AutoFocus and can only shoot 720p videos at 30fps.
Rest of the specs
Fueling this tablet is a 5,100mAh battery, which Motorola claims can last up to 2 days. It supports 10W charging over the Type-C port. While the Tab G20 comes with a headphone jack, it misses out on stereo speakers.
As for connectivity, you get dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and a SIM card slot.
Moto Tab G20 Specifications:
Dimension: 199.1 x 121.8 x 8.15mm, 305 gm
Display: 8-inch TDDI IPS display, 1280 x 800 pixels, 85% screen-to-body ratio
Cameras: 5MP rear, 2MP front
Processor: MediaTek Helio P22T (12nm)
Memory: 3GB LPDDR4x RAM, 32GB storage (expandable up to 2TB)
Audio: Single speaker with Dolby Atmos
Operating System: Android 11
Battery: 5100mAh (10W USB-C charging)
Moto Tab G20 Price in Nepal and Availability
Moto Tab G20 will go on sale in India from October 2 for the price of INR 10,999. We expect the price of the Motorola Moto Tab G20 in Nepal to be NPR 20,000, if and when it launches here.
Moto Tab G20
Price in India
Price in Nepal (Expected)
3/32GB
INR 10,999
NPR 20,000
Meanwhile, check out our picks for the best budget tablets in 2021.
As per the company, this periscope lens combined with the Galileo algorithm engine allows it to capture clear Moon shots. Over on the front, there’s a 32MP lens with the aforementioned dual-LED flash.
