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Samsung Galaxy M32 5G launched with Dimensity 720 and a 5000mAh battery

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Samsung Galaxy M32 5G launched with Dimensity 720 and a 5000mAh battery

South Korean smartphone giant, Samsung recently launched the 5G variant of the Galaxy M32 in India. The new smartphone comes with 5G connectivity and a new processor compared to its 4G counterpart that was launched back in June. So, let’s get into the specifications, features, expected price, and availability of the Samsung Galaxy M32 5G in Nepal.

Samsung Galaxy M32 5G Overview:

We’ve been noticing a disappointing trend in the smartphone market recently where companies have been trading off crucial specifications in order to deliver 5G connectivity in their mid-range phones. The new Galaxy M32 5G is no exception in this regard since it lacks the majority of the bells and whistles from the regular Galaxy M32.

Design and Display

Samsung Galaxy M32 5G boasts a 6.5-inch TFT LCD panel with just HD+ resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio. On the front, it has an Infinity-V notch. The company has even downgraded the refresh rate of display from 90Hz on the regular M32 to 60Hz on the 5G model. To compare, the LTE variant of Galaxy M32 has a 6.4-inch Full HD Super AMOLED screen.

Samsung Galaxy M32 5G Design and Display

In terms of design, this smartphone bears no resemblance to the vanilla M32. As a matter of fact, it has a design language and specifications comparable to Galaxy A32 5G. It is available in two color options: Slate Black and Sky Blue.

Performance

Powering the phone is the MediaTek Dimensity 720 chipset coupled with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It boots on One UI 3.1 based on Android 11. Samsung is promising two years of major OS updates, while the device supports twelve 5G bands.

Fueling the smartphone is a 5,000mAh battery that charges via a 15W fast charger. The global variant, however, enjoys a 25W charging support.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy M32 5G Cameras

Getting to the cameras, Galaxy M32 5G features a quad-camera setup at the back led by a 48MP primary lens. This is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide lens (123º FOV), 5MP macro, and 2MP portrait sensor. Similarly, the Infinity-V cutout on the front houses a 13MP lens for selfies.

Rest of the specs

Furthermore, it comes with a Samsung’s Knox Security suite and the Alt Z mode. The latter is a feature that allows users to go back and forth between the main and private modes by double-pressing the power button. For biometric, there’s a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Samsung Galaxy M32 5G Specifications:

  • Body: 164.2 x 76.1 x 9.1mm
  • Display: 6.5-inches TFT LCD Infinity-V panel
  • Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1600 pixels)
  • Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 720 5G (7nm)
  • Memory: 6/8GB RAM, 128GB storage (expandable up to 1TB)
  • Rear Camera: Quad;
    – 48MP primary shooter
    – 8MP ultra-wide lens, 123º FOV
    – 5MP macro sensor
    – 2MP portrait sensor
  • Front Camera: 13MP (teardrop notch)
  • Security: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
  • Battery: 5000mAh with 15W fast charging (25W charging on global variant)
  • Colors: Slate Black, Sky Blue

Samsung Galaxy M32 5G Price in Nepal and Availability

In India, the Samsung Galaxy M32 5G is priced at INR 20,999 for the 6+128GB and INR 22,999 for the 8+128GB variant. It will go on sale from September 2 via Amazon. We expect the price of the Samsung Galaxy M32 5G to start at NPR 37,000, if and when it launches in Nepal.

Samsung Galaxy M32 5G Price in India Price in Nepal (Expected)
6+128GB INR 20,999 NPR 37,000
8+128GB INR 22,999 NPR 40,000
  • Meanwhile, check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy M32.

Coolpad Cool 12A with Unisoc chip, triple camera setup now available in Nepal

GadgetByte
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Coolpad Cool 12A with Unisoc chip, triple camera setup now available in Nepal

Coolpad has launched yet another budget smartphone in the Nepali market. Despite its budget origin, the Cool 12A features a big display, big battery, and triple camera setup. Here, we will be discussing the Coolpad Cool 12A in more detail, including its specs, features, official price, and availability in Nepal.

Coolpad Cool 12A Overview:

Design and Display

Cool 12A sports a big 6.217-inches LCD panel with an HD+ resolution. It has a waterdrop notch to house the selfie camera. Coolpad is claiming a screen-to-body ratio of 93% here. Even the official renders of the phones show very minimal bezels. On top of this, the phone has a plastic glass, topped with a glossy finish.

Coolpad 12A Design and Display

Performance and Memory

Under the hood, the phone packs a Unisoc Tiger T310 SoC. It’s an entry-level chipset that was announced back in 2019. Based on TSMC’s 12nm process, it features 1x Cortex-A75 and 3x Cortex-A55 CPU cores.

This has been paired with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. The higher 4/64GB variant is not available in Nepal yet.

Camera

Cool 12A flaunts a triple-camera setup at the back. It consists of a 13MP primary camera accompanied by a 2MP depth sensor. There is also a 0.3MP sensor whose purpose is not quite clear. Upfront, you get a 5MP selfie camera with AI face beauty feature.

Rest of the specs

Fueling the phone is a 4,000mAh battery, which supports 10W charging over the Type-C port. Coolpad has mounted a physical fingerprint scanner on the side for biometrics. You can choose between two colors – Dream Blue and Fantasy Silver.

Coolpad Cool 12A Specifications:

  • Body: 156.2 x 79.2 x 8.9mm, 202.5g
  • Display: 6.217-inches HD+ LCD panel, 720 x 1560 pixels
  • Chipset: Unisoc Tiger T310 (12nm mobile platform)
  • Processor: Quad-core (1x 2.0GHz Cortex-A75 + 3x Cortex-A55)
  • GPU: IMG PowerVR GT7200
  • Memory: 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage (expandable via a microSD card)
  • Software & UI: Android 11
  • Rear Camera: Triple (13MP primary, 2MP depth, 0.3MP auxiliary), LED flash
  • Front Camera: 5MP sensor (teardrop notch)
  • Security: Face-unlock, Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
  • Battery: 4000mAh, 10W (5V/2A)

Coolpad Cool 12A Price in Nepal and Availability

The official price of Coolpad Cool 12A in Nepal is NPR 13,495 for the 3/32GB variant. You can buy Cool 12A from Daraz or authorized Coolpad stores across Nepal.

Coolpad Cool 12A  Price in Nepal   Availability 
3/32GB NPR 13,495
  • Authorized Stores
  • Meanwhile, check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy F22.

Influencer marketing is bad news for Nepal’s smartphone industry—and it’s getting worse

GadgetByte
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Influencer marketing is bad news for Nepal’s smartphone industry—and it’s getting worse

The rise of social media platforms has drastically altered the way businesses promote their products. And “influencers” play a significant role in this. The influencer marketing trend has also been adopted by different smartphone brands in Nepal.

While this isn’t inherently a bad thing, we’ve recently seen smartphone companies and influencers purposefully overselling their products and misleading the end consumers. The idea of a genuine personal opinion is completely lost while influencer marketers simply read off the pre-approved script.

Influencer smartphone marketing in Nepal:

The smartphone market is heavily saturated in Nepal. Thus, a simple product launch, press releases, and product reviews no longer create as much hype as companies would want. To reach a broader range of consumers, brands partner with different on-screen and social media influencers these days.

Thus, users perceive this type of marketing from their favorites influencer to be genuine and get attracted to the product he/she is advertising. Furthermore, such behavior gradually narrows consumer choices in the sense that they don’t end up even considering other available options in the market.

As a result, many customers wind up making hasty purchases. But in reality, what most people don’t realize is that influencer marketing is nowhere near as authentic as they’re painted out to be. In fact, it’s just a glorified form of paid advertisement.

What makes this matter worse is that there are no proper guidelines or regulations set by the Nepal government against such acts of deceptive marketing. On the contrary, European Union (EU), India, and other markets have set strict directives where an influencer has to explicitly mention/label the paid promotion on such content.

It’s the brand speaking behind the influencer

Falling for the brand trap due to such marketing can be risky for users. Samsung recently posted a promotional video of Galaxy M32 in partnership with Nero Gaming, where he describes it as a gaming phone—thanks to the phone’s 90Hz refresh rate.

However, 90Hz is not the only thing that improves your gaming experience. What’s laughable is that PUBG Mobile doesn’t even have 90fps mode on M32. Even high refresh rate-optimized games with 90fps support like Critical Ops, Mortal Kombat can’t go higher than 70-75fps on average.

In addition, the Samsung Galaxy M32 is a budget phone powered by Helio G80, whose better selling points are its Super AMOLED display, cameras, and battery. Thus, marketing it on such factors suits better than the gaming phone.

Some more examples

Likewise, Xiaomi Nepal is promoting the Mi 11 Lite as a camera phone. Nonetheless, a side-by-side comparison with the Redmi Note 10 Pro clearly uncovers a disappointing fact.

Despite being more affordable, the Note 10 Pro shoots better photos than the Mi 11 Lite. Better ones even, when it comes to nighttime photography.

In fact, the Redmi Note 10 Pro brings a 108MP quad-camera array instead of the 64MP quad-camera configuration on the Mi 11 Lite. These are only a few examples and other brands have been practicing such marketing ploys as well.

Moving on, 4K gaming, a well-known gaming video creator in Nepal, exaggerated (official video taken down) Infinix Zero 8 and Infinix Hot 9 Play‘s performance as “खतरा gaming phones”, which is quite misleading. Likewise, companies like OPPO and Vivo have built their entire marketing foundation based on influencer marketing strategies.

As TechAltar brilliantly uncovered the marketing strategies of BBK Electronics (parent company of OPPO, Vivo, and OnePlus), the former two brands’ primary tactics to promote their products are celebrity endorsement and influencer marketing.

Our opinion

Here in Nepal, Xiaomi and Samsung are the two biggest smartphone brands—while companies like OPPO, Vivo, Realme enjoy a decent market share as well. And of course, influencer marketing has a big hand in how that’s come to be.

Once again, we’re not implying that influencer marketing is fundamentally a bad thing. But the bigger picture we’re trying to paint is that rather than pushing for a misleading feature, such marketing practices should highlight the product’s superior strengths instead.

In addition, the influencers should stray away from misguiding their followers—rather than parroting some scripted nonsense for personal profit. Also, the Nepal government must come up with strict guidelines to prevent such acts of disloyal advertisements.

Moreover, we want our readers to be more aware of such marketing traps. One should make his/her purchase decision after watching or reading reviews from multiple credible media sources. Remember folks, as Abraham Lincoln once said “Don’t believe everything you see on the internet.”

  • Watch: What are authorized, grey, and refurbished laptops?

Xiaomi finally takes action to solve faulty proximity sensor in its phones

GadgetByte
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Xiaomi finally takes action to solve faulty proximity sensor in its phones

Lately, users have complained a lot about the proximity sensor in recent Xiaomi phones. While the company has not officially admitted the issue, Xiaomi has opened up a survey to investigate it. In this post, we’re taking a look at the proximity sensor issue in Xiaomi phones, the factors causing it, and how Xiaomi plans to solve it.

What is a proximity sensor?

In case you don’t know, a proximity sensor is a component that turns off the screen during phone calls to prevent accidental touches. Most phones come with an optical sensor that uses infrared waves to determine the proximity.

However, smartphone brands have started using digital alternatives for a dedicated sensor to keep the costs down. This looks to be the root of the problem that many Xiaomi users are facing on their phones.

Proximity sensor issue in Xiaomi phones

Here, the said problem is not limited to specific phones or a brand under the Xiaomi umbrella. In fact, it is prevalent in Redmi and Poco smartphones as well. 

Usually, this issue would be a result of faulty proximity sensors. As aforementioned, many of the Xiaomi phones these days do not come with dedicated hardware for proximity sensing. Instead, the company uses a virtual proximity sensor.

Elliptic Labs Virtual Proximity Sensor on Xiaomi Phones

This virtual sensor uses data from the microphone and speaker, which is fed into an algorithm to figure out the user’s proximity. As you may have guessed, this approach isn’t always accurate. 

It’s fully understandable to use these solutions in budget and mid-range phones. Even Samsung has done it in its mid-range phones like the Galaxy A22 and A52. However, Xiaomi has used it even for its flagship phones, such as the Mi 11.

Other recent devices that use similar techniques are Redmi Note 10, Redmi Note 10s, Mi 11 Lite (4G/5G), Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G, and Redmi K40 Game Enhanced Edition.

Xiaomi’s solution for proximity issue

Xiaomi has started rolling out OTA updates to affected phones to re-calibrate the sensor. If it’s a software issue, this should probably fix it. However, if the problem is related to hardware, users have no option but to live with it until the company takes further action.

Still, the update is limited to Europe and there is no news about when it will come to Asia and other markets.

To avoid such issues on future phones, Xiaomi has broken ties with Elliptic Labs. It was the main distributor of proximity sensors for Xiaomi, including its flagship offering like the Mi 11. Future Xiaomi phones will now use sensors from Minghao Sensing. However, we will have to wait to see if it makes any difference.

  • Meanwhile, check out our review of the Poco F3 GT.

Asus VivoBook 15 K513 with the latest 11th gen Intel CPU launched in Nepal

GadgetByte
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Asus VivoBook 15 K513 with the latest 11th gen Intel CPU launched in Nepal

Asus has launched the VivoBook 15 K513 powered by the latest 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor in Nepal. Let’s take a quick look at the specs, features, availability, and official price of Asus VivoBook 15 K513EA in Nepal.

Asus VivoBook 15 K513EA Overview:

Design and Display

To begin with, the VivoBook K513EA flaunts a 15.6-inch LED-backlit panel with Full-HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution and 45% NTSC color space. It’s an anti-glare display with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Asus Vivobook 15 K513EA Design and Display

In terms of design, it has slender bezels on the sides while the top and bottom have relatively thick borders. Likewise, you get a full-size backlit keyboard with a dedicated Numpad. The laptop weighs 1.7kg and is 17.9mm thick. VivoBook 15 is available in two color options in Nepal: Black and Gold. There’s a Silver variant available in the international market as well.

Performance

Moreover, as aforementioned, the Asus VivoBook 15 is powered by the 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor which boasts a base frequency of 2.40GHz and up to 4.20GHz of turbo frequency. Now, since this laptop doesn’t have a discrete GPU, the graphics rendering is handled by the integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics.

Memory-wise, the VivoBook 15 comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Fueling the device is a 3-cell 42 Wh battery. There’s also a fingerprint scanner for biometrics.

Rest of the specs

Furthermore, the I/O options here include a headphone jack, one USB 3.2 (Gen 1) Type-C, one USB 3.2 (Gen 1) Type-A, two USB 2.0 Type-A, an HDMI, and a microSD card slot. It utilizes Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5 for wireless connectivity. Over on the audio, it has stereo speakers and a built-in microphone.

Asus Vivobook 15 K513EA Specifications:

  • Build: 35.90 x 23.50 x 1.79cm, 1.7kg
  • Display: 15.6-inch LED-backlit, 60Hz, Anti-glare panel, 45% NTSC
  • Resolution: Full-HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Keyboard: Full-sized backlit keyboard
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7, 4C/8T, 4.2GHz Max Turbo
  • Graphics: Intel Iris Xe (Integrated)
  • RAM: 8GB DDR4 SDRAM (Max: 16GB)
  • Storage: 512GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD
  • Audio: Dual speakers tuned by Harmon Kardon
  • Security: Fingerprint scanner
  • Ports: 1x USB 3.2 (Gen 1) Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 (Gen 1) Type-A, 2x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x HDMI, 1x micro SD card, 1x audio jack
  • Battery: 3-cell 42Wh battery, 65W AC power adapter
  • Colors: Indie Back, Hearty Gold, Transparent Silver
  • Extras (free): Backpack, Mouse

Asus VivoBook 15 K513EA Price in Nepal and Availability

Asus VivoBook 15 K513EA is available in Nepal at an asking price of NPR 105,556 for the 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD variant. Buying it from official stores like Nagmani gets you 2 years of international warranty, a backpack, and a mouse for free as well.

Asus VivoBook 15 K513EA Price in Nepal Availability
Intel Core i5-1135G7, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD NPR 105,556 Hukut
  • Meanwhile, check out our review of the Asus TUF Dash F15 2021.

Galaxy F22 Review: The Best Budget Phone From Samsung?

Yural Maskey
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1
Galaxy F22 Review: The Best Budget Phone From Samsung?

Samsung’s mid-range phones are really confusing in 2021. We have the Galaxy A32, A22, and M32—all of which are very similar in one way or the other. So don’t be alarmed if things start to sound familiar in this review of the Samsung Galaxy F22.

Here, you’re getting a relatively underpowerful Helio G80 chipset, mono-speaker, and an outdated teardrop notch on these phones. But at the same time, they also deliver incredible battery endurance and camera experience. And the same trend seems to have followed suit with the new Galaxy F22 as well.

Samsung Galaxy F22 Specifications:

  • Body: 74.0 x 160.0 x 9.4mm, 203 gm
  • Display: 6.4-inches “Infinity-U” Super AMOLED, 90Hz Refresh Rate, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
  • Resolution: HD+ (1600 x 720 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio, 274 PPI
  • Chipset: MediaTek Helio G80 4G (12nm Mobile Platform)
  • CPU: Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
  • GPU: Arm Mali-G52 MC2
  • Memory: 4/6GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64/128GB eMMC 5.1 storage (expandable)
  • Software & UI: Android 11 with Samsung’s One UI Core 3.1 on top
  • Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
    – 48MP, f/2.0 primary sensor, PDAF
    – 8MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, 123º FOV
    – 2MP, f/2.4 portrait lens
    – 2MP, f/2.4 macro lens
  • Front Camera: 13MP f/2.2 sensor (notch)
  • Audio: Loudspeaker, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Security: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, Face unlock
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic, Virtual Light, Virtual Proximity
  • Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual-band), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS / AGPS / Glonass / Galileo / Beidou, USB Type-C, 4G LTE
  • Battery: 6000mAh with 15W fast charge (15W adapter inside the box)
  • Color options: Denim Blue, Denim Black
  • Price in Nepal: Rs. 20,499 (4/64GB) | Rs. 23,999 (6/128GB)
Buy Samsung Galaxy F22 here

Samsung Galaxy F22 Review:

Starting at INR 12,499 in India and NPR 20,499 here in Nepal, because the F22 costs much less than the other three phones I mentioned earlier, I feel like this is the best value among all the midrange options in Samsung’s arsenal right now.

Samsung Galaxy F22 - Display 2

The company has copied all the features of the more expensive M32 and A22 while sacrificing in some aspects, which might not be a deal-breaker for many. With that out of the way, let’s get into this review of the Samsung Galaxy F22.

Design & Build

  • 74.0 x 160.0 x 9.4mm, 203 grams
  • Polycarbonate back/frame, Glass front

The first cost-cutting measure on the F22 can be directly seen with the phone’s look. It has a basic design language with a plastic back and curved edges that couples with the frame. The color options available are also pretty generic and these horizontal stripes don’t ooze a premium finish either.

Galaxy F22 is also quite heavy at 203gms, whereas the buttons don’t give you good tactile feedback too. As you can tell, this power button also doubles up as a fingerprint sensor. Overall, the F22 is not a good-looking or premium-feeling device.

But that shouldn’t matter much since you can always get a nice case or a skin. For me, while getting a budget phone, what’s underneath is what truly matters. And this is where I think F22 provides better value.

Display

  • 6.4-inches HD+ Super AMOLED display
  • 90Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass 5

First off, it comes with quite a similar display as the M32 and A22. This AMOLED panel produces nice, punchy colors, the contrast levels are great, and we didn’t encounter any issue with the brightness while using the phone indoors or in a well-lit environment.

The display is also protected by Gorilla Glass 5, so that’s great too. Still, this screen is only HD though. So you will notice the panel lacking in sharpness, contrary to other Full HD displays.

Samsung Galaxy F22 - Display 1

On top of this, I noticed F22’s touch responsiveness to be inferior compared to its more expensive counterparts. Regardless, Samsung has opted for a 90Hz refresh rate here. And for the most part, the fluidity it brings is noticeable and feels incredibly optimized.

Performance

  • Octa-core MediaTek Helio G80 4G SoC (12nm)
  • 4/6GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64/128GB eMMC 5.1 storage (expandable)
  • Android 11 with Samsung’s One UI Core 3.1 on top

Now, moving on to its performance, as I mentioned earlier, Galaxy F22 comes with the same Helio G80 chipset found in basically all the Samsung midrange phones right now.

Samsung Galaxy F22 - Design

If you’ve checked our reviews of the Galaxy A22, A32, and the M32, we have been very vocal about their sub-par performance. But given the cheaper price tag of the F22, I must say that things aren’t as bad here.

The Helio G80 offers a good experience for your day-to-day tasks, especially when complemented with Samsung’s One UI skin. We faced no issues while using light apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, and such. Multitasking is fairly swift too, and Samsung has optimized RAM management well enough to keep apps in the memory for a longer period.

Gaming experience

Gaming, on the other hand, isn’t extraordinary on this phone. But again, for the price, it’s not all that bad. PUBG Mobile is playable in Smooth graphics and Ultra frame rates with 100% stability, although the graphics quality is not as detailed.

Samsung Galaxy F22 - Gaming

Likewise, lighter games like COD, Critical Ops, ShadowGun War Games run fine in medium to high settings. But Genshin impact is one of those games where the Helio G80 struggles. So, even when keeping the graphics settings to the lowest, F22 ultimately fails to deliver a playable experience.

Cameras

  • Quad-camera setup at the back
  • (48MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP portrait, 2MP macro)
  • 13MP selfie camera inside the teardrop notch

Another aspect where the F22 has an edge over its competition is its cameras. You get a quad-camera setup that comprises of a 48MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide, and two useless 2MP macro and depth sensors. I compared its cameras against the more expensive M32 and found both of them to be pretty neck and neck.

Normal Images

M32’s photos have slightly better details, while the ones from F22 look softer at times. But, both of these phone produces similar colors.

Interestingly, F22 does a better job with contrast management and dynamic range in some situations. So yeah, the Galaxy F22 might just be the best camera phone at this price range.

Wideangle Images

The ultra-wide lens isn’t that great though but is usable.

Images turn out a tad bit darker with soft output, but at this price range, it’s completely fine.

Portrait Images

Moving on, the portraits look pretty good though.

While it smoothens the skin tone and makes subjects look pale, overall, the background colors have a pleasing tone and the F22 offers better portraits than most other phones in this price bracket.

Nighttime Images

Nighttime shots from the F22 are also surprisingly good.

In fact, I found it to be doing a better job than the M32, both in normal and night mode.

Selfie Images

However, other aspects of the F22’s camera are pretty subpar.

Here, the selfies have soft output and blow out the background at times. In comparison, M32’s selfies have better details, focus, and fuller colors.

Videography

Even in terms of videos, this phone lags behind the M32. It caps out at 1080p 30fps recording and videos come out shaky if you are trying to vlog or aren’t stationary. Selfie videos aren’t that great either with a narrow field of view and average stabilization.

Battery

  • 6000mAh battery with 15W fast charging

Getting to the battery, you get the same 6000mAh cell on the F22 as the Galaxy M32. And since the phone has an HD display, I got even better endurance on the F22.

I managed to get like 8 to 9 hours of screen-on time on my typical usage which includes turning ON mobile data all the time, playing light games, and watching videos a lot. So, this is an easy “2-day battery phone” even if you are a semi-heavy user.

Samsung Galaxy F22 - Charger

However, you only get a 15W charger inside the box, which doesn’t charge the phone very fast—which could be a bummer when you’re in a rush. So, I suggest you get the 25W Samsung PD charger, that will take this big 6Ah battery from 0 to 100% in 1 hour 45 minutes.

Samsung Galaxy F22 Review: Conclusion

Overall, the Galaxy F22 is a phone I would definitely recommend for its price. I think everything is quite balanced with this phone, making it the best budget phone from Samsung right now.

Likewise, if you want superior performance, a sharper Full HD display, and maybe a better-looking design, you’ll have to spend a bit more and get the Redmi Note 10S or Realme 8. And given their higher price tag and superior hardware, they are certainly better than the Galaxy F22.

Samsung Galaxy F22 Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Vibrant SAMOLED panel
  • Smooth 90Hz refresh rate
  • Optimized RAM management
  • Decent camera performance
  • Excellent battery endurance

Cons:

  • A boring-looking design
  • No Full HD (1080p) resolution
  • Inferior Helio G80 chipset
  • Sub-par selfies, videos

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 Review: A Portable Triumph

Nikhil Shrestha
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Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 Review: A Portable Triumph

Last year, Asus pushed the boundaries of a compact gaming laptop with the ROG Zephyrus G14. Packing an octa-core processor and up to an RTX GPU, it uncontestedly won the title for “the best gaming Ultrabook”. And today, I have the 2021 edition of Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 in for review.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 Specifications:

  • Design & Build: Magnesium-aluminum alloy build, 12.76W x 8.74D x 0.78H-inches, 1.70 kg
  • Color Options: Moonlight White, Eclipse Grey
  • Display: 14″ anti-glare IPS panel, 144Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB, Pantone Validated
  • Resolution: FHD (1920×1080) resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Keyboard: Chiclet-style backlit keyboard (White)
  • Trackpad: Glass multi-touch trackpad, Windows Precision drivers
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS CPU (Cezanne), 8C/16T, 4.6GHz Max Boost Frequency, 16MB L3 Cache, 7nm process, 35W TDP
  • RAM: 8GB DDR4 on-board, 8GB DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM (Up to 24GB)
  • Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD (expandable)
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 60W (6GB GDDR6, discrete)
  • Audio: 2x 0.7W tweeter, 2x 2.5W speaker, Dolby Atmos audio
  • Battery: 76 Watt-hours 4-cell Li-Ion battery
  • Power Supply: 180W AC power adapter, 100W USB Type-C adapter
  • Webcam: Unavailable
  • Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 6 (ax), Bluetooth 5.1
  • I/O Ports: 1x 3.5mm audio jack, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (DisplayPort, Power Delivery, G-SYNC support) 1x Kensington Lock
  • Price in Nepal: Rs. 247,777 (Ryzen 9 5900HS, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
  • What’s inside the box: Laptop, power adapter, Asus ROG sleeve, Asus ROG Strix gaming mouse, Asus ROG Eye webcam, USB-C to RJ45 adapter, quick start guide

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 Review:

Despite Zephyrus G14’s triumph, Razer had an even more compact gaming laptop up its sleeve. Yet, the Blade Stealth 13 that we reviewed a while ago featured an underpowerful 28W quad-core CPU complemented by a GTX graphics card. But the 2021 iteration of the Zephyrus G14 doesn’t have it that easy.

From the company’s own ROG Flow X13 to the new Razer Blade 14, the compact gaming laptop arena is fairly crowded this year. And looking at the spec-sheet, the Zephyrus G14 noticeably falls behind the Blade 14, since Razer has engineered a way to install RTX 3080 on a 14-inch chassis, while the G14 maxes out at RTX 3060. With that out of the way, let’s get into this review of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021.

Design

  • 12.76 x 8.74 x 0.78-inches, 1.0 kg
  • Magnesium-aluminum alloy build
  • AniMe Matrix mini-LED display

As usual, let’s kick things off with the design. Compared to last year’s G14, Asus has played it safe here—meaning there’s not much change in the design department. After all, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, am I right Asus?

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 - Design

But I believe could’ve indeed made some upgrades. From the company’s indifference to upgrade to the hip 16:10 aspect ratio, to the lack of a built-in webcam, this is still not what a peak 14” gaming laptop could be.

Oh yeah, the ROG nameplate at the back is relatively more purplish this time around in the Moonlight White variant. Besides this, there’s also the stealthy Eclipse Gray variant while select markets enjoy “Alan Walker Special Edition” as well.

Keeping up with the G14 heritage, this laptop also brings the customizable AniMe Matrix mini-LED display at the back. From selecting from the bunch of available animation presets, doubling it as a visualizer for your music player, to setting custom text or image files out for all to see, this is certainly a one-of-a-kind feature.

Ironically, it’s still also the one feature I could absolutely live without on the Zephyrus G14. From its battery-consumption properties to the evident futility because of the placement, I honestly never really cared for it when using last year’s G14 either.

Solid build quality

Apart from this, there’s not much to complain about on the design front. The laptop gets a solid magnesium-aluminum alloy build with hardly any flex on the keyboard deck or the display itself. At 1.7 kg, the 2021 rendition of the Asus Zephyrus G14 weighs the same as its predecessor as well.

While it’s far from the lightest 14” laptop you could find on the market, I’m content with the portability of this thing. The chamfered edges alongside the blunt edges further add to the comfort. On top of this, the signature ErgoLift hinge mechanism that elevates the keyboard for a comfortable typing experience and better airflow is implemented on the G14 too.

Getting to I/O, you’ll find a barrel-pin charger, an HDMI 2.0b, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port on the left. Over on the right, there are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, one Kensington Lock slot, and an additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port.

While this AMD-powered machine expectedly lacks Thunderbolt 4 support, Asus has somewhat compensated for this by enabling DisplayPort, Power Delivery, and G-SYNC compatibility on the left-mounted USB-C connection.

Display

  • 14″ anti-glare non-touch FHD IPS panel
  • 144Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB color gamut

Moving on to the display side of things, the Zephyrus G14 can be configured with a couple of options. Seeing its powerful hardware underneath, many would want this laptop to double as their content creation setup as well. For them, Asus is offering a sharper QHD resolution, 100% DCI-P3 gamut, and a 120Hz refresh rate.

And for the mainstream audience, there’s the FHD variant with 100% sRGB color space and a smoother 144Hz refresh rate—which is the one we have. But no matter which one you end up going for, Asus says all the panels have been Pantone validated for excellent colors. Still, I found the factory color calibration to be on a slightly cooler side and thus recalibrated it using our SpyderX Pro.

I also measured that this display covers 95% sRGB, 74% AdobeRGB, 75% DCI-P3, and 69% of NTSC color gamut. Likewise, this panel features 334.7 nits of peak brightness and an 840:1 contrast ratio. As expected from a gaming laptop, it also supports Adaptive-Sync for a smooth, tear-free gaming experience.

Great colors, smooth refresh rate

All this reads pretty impressive, right? Here, colors look quite vibrant and punchy whereas the display maintains excellent viewing angles too. I couldn’t notice any backlight bleeding or IPS glow trouble on this screen either, which is great. The matte coating on the panel means you’re not gonna have a hard time with the visibility on this in a relatively well-lit room either.

Similarly, I’ve found it to be sufficiently bright enough for my everyday usage. The eased portability of the Zephyrus G14 comes full circle since it can stay respectably bright for outdoor conditions. The minimal bezels on the side and top translate to the fact that the overall viewing experience on this screen is a fairly enjoyable ride.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 - Display 1

Asus says this contributes to an 85% screen-to-body ratio—although it’s quite apparent that the company could’ve done a better job by giving in to a taller 16:10 aspect ratio like a bunch of gaming laptops have in 2021.

The big chin with the “ROG ZEPHYRUS” branding does serve a small purpose though. You see, the exhaust vent sandwiched in the hinge significantly blows hot air up towards the screen. But because of the aforementioned bezel, the actual panel itself doesn’t get nearly as hot as it could’ve if this were a 16:10 display with narrower bezels.

Keyboard

  • Backlit chiclet-style keyboard (single-color)

G14 2021’s keyboard also stays faithful to its predecessor. It features full-sized chiclet keys with an n-key rollover and a 1.7mm key travel distance. There’s a fingerprint sensor embedded into the power key as well that supports Windows Hello login. The sensor works perfectly fine under most conditions but expectedly gives up when your finger is greasy or wet.

Next to it, we can see the front-facing LED indicators for power, battery, and SSD status. Then there are 4 hotkeys for quick access to the laptop’s volume control, microphone toggle, and the ROG Armoury Crate. Apart from the mild tweak to the Function key shortcuts, I appreciate Asus embedding “Home” and “End” keys into the left/right arrow too—which is something I dearly missed on last year’s Zephyrus G14.

Comfortable typing experience

Apart from this, I’ve enjoyed typing on this keyboard. The satin finish on the keyboard deck means the palm rest area is quite grippy, while its relatively silent profile lets me type to my whim without disturbing people around me either. Thanks to the ErgoLift hinge I talked about earlier, this slight elevation results in a more comfortable typing journey as well.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 - Keyboard

All in all, I’ve been consistently able to maintain my usual 70-80 WPM typing speed here. Having said that, I’m really not fond of this keyboard backlighting. In this Moonlight White variant that I’ve got, the white backlight on the white keys doesn’t deliver nearly enough contrast to maintain easy visibility. Mind you, this doesn’t look to be an issue on the Eclipse Gray variant.

On top of this, I found the key lighting on the G14 to be half-baked—just like on the TUF Dash F15 I reviewed recently. Just look at it. It’s so obvious that Asus couldn’t be bothered with maintaining effective illumination levels in practically every key as they all look… dead. I genuinely hope this is a quality control problem in our particular unit, and not a widespread issue.

Trackpad

  • Glass trackpad with integrated left/right keys

Despite the minimal quality-of-life upgrade on the keyboard, Asus has borrowed the same trackpad in this rendition of Zephyrus G14 as last year. So, this compact glass trackpad is obviously not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. That’s not to say it is absolutely unusable—definitely not.

The integrated left/right buttons click well enough, although I would’ve preferred a quieter sound profile. But ultimately, its compact form factor is what renders this trackpad unideal for my everyday work. Thankfully, Asus ships a ROG STRIX IMPACT gaming mouse inside the box.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 - Mouse

So, from my office work to gaming, this mouse has effectively substituted the onboard trackpad for me. The lack of the side buttons is a little disappointing but there is a DPI switch button in the middle that I’ve customized to work as a back button via the Armoury Crate or the Aura Creator. Under these, you can even play around with its RGB lighting settings.

Audio

  • 2x 0.7W tweeter, 2x 2W speakers
  • Dolby Atmos, Smart Amp technology

Moving on, Zephyrus G14 2021 brings an impressive audio setup—featuring quad speakers with Dolby Atmos audio. The keyboard flank features a dual-tweeter setup with 0.7W output each. On the other hand, you’ll find two speakers on either side of the bottom chassis that totals 5W of output.

Even though these bottom-firing speakers get a decent room to breathe, we can tell that their audio output would’ve sounded a lot better had these speakers been positioned a bit higher.

Regardless, I guess that’s me nitpicking in some way since G14’s overall speaker quality is pretty amazing. The audio is more than loud enough to fill an average-sized room whereas everything from stereo/instrument separation, vocal clarity, to trebles sound vibrant here. In quiet surroundings, one can even enjoy some bass thump from this audio setup.

Webcam

  • Asus ROG Eye webcam

Remember how I’d complained about the lack of a webcam on this laptop? Well, buying the Zephyrus G14 2021 from authorized sellers also gets you the ROG Eye Webcam for free. Contrary to the regular 720p webcams we usually get in laptops, this is a 1080p Full HD camera that can record up to 60fps videos.

Asus ROG Eye Webcam

It features a dual beamforming microphone array, while a helpful LED indicator notifies you when the camera is being used. Moreover, this webcam occupies one USB Type-A connection and clips on the top bezel of the display. Or, you can even choose to place it on a flat surface by docking it on the rather dense base that’s included inside the box.

Anyway, the actual quality of this camera is certainly better than most of the laptops I’ve tried so far. Subjects look fairly well-exposed while the video doesn’t come off that grainy either. Still, the company’s promise of “crystal clear” audio with the “Two-Way AI Noise Cancellation” algorithm doesn’t work as expected.

Performance

  • AMD “Cezanne” Ryzen 9 5900HS CPU (35W TDP)
  • NVIDIA RTX 3060 GPU (60W, 6GB GDDR6 VRAM)
  • 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB M.2 PCIe 3 NVMe SSD

With that out of the way, let’s talk performance. Like I mentioned before, the Zephyrus G14 2021 is an AMD-powered machine. Similar to how Intel introduced 35W CPUs for ultraportable gaming laptops under the Tiger Lake H35 series, team red did something similar in its latest Zen 3-based Cezanne processors.

Under the Ryzen 5000 series, AMD has restricted the TDP of H and HS-suffixed CPUs to 35W while the company’s 45W+ processors belong to the HX category instead. Here, Asus lets you pick between either Ryzen 7 5800HS or Ryzen 9 5900HS for the G14—both of which are 35W octa-core CPUs.

On the contrary, the Razer Blade 14 goes all-in on the compact gaming mantra as it opts for the high-end 5900HX. Apart from sheer power, this CPU is unlocked for overclocking as well. So yeah, the Zephyrus G14 of this year doesn’t quite retain “the best gaming Ultrabook” title. At least when comparing the spec-sheet between its closest competition.

On the GPU front, there are four options altogether—with the top-of-the-line variant getting the RTX 3060 with 60W of TGP and 6GB GDDR6 VRAM. This can be paired with up to 32GB RAM and 1TB of NVMe SSD. Our review unit of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 comes with Ryzen 9 5900HS, RTX 3060, dual-channel 16GB DDR4 RAM, and 512GB NVMe SSD.

Soldered RAM

Before moving forward, it’s essential to understand that Asus has soldered one of the RAM modules into the motherboard. Depending upon configuration, it could either be an 8GB or a 16GB stick. So, it’s not that the Zephyrus G14 doesn’t let you make memory upgrades—but upgrading it to your desired capacity without sacrificing dual-channel capability is going to be tricky.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 - Display 2

Thankfully, the M.2 SSD is easily user-replaceable. Nevertheless, the excellent single and multi-core performance of the 5900HS means this laptop has handled my everyday workload without breaking a sweat. And multitasking’s no slouch either.

CrystalDiskMark
Read (MB/s) Write (MB/s)
SEQ1M Q8T1 3078.73 1613.41
SEQ1M Q1T1 1884.72 1515.29
RND4K Q32T1 378.23 515.46
RNK4K Q1T1 45.03 122.47
Cinebench R23
CPU: Multi-Core 11704
CPU: Single Core 1414
MP Ratio 8.28x
Geekbench 5
CPU: Single Core 1460
CPU: Multi-Core 7182
Compute (OpenCL) 94220
Unigine Heaven

(FPS: 100.5, Score: 2531, Min FPS: 9.1, Max FPS: 206.6)

API: OpenGL Multi-monitor: Disabled
Quality: High Anti-aliasing: x2
Tessellation: Extreme Fullscreen: Yes
Stereo 3D: Disabled Resolution: System
GFXBench
1440p Aztec Ruins OpenGL (High Tier) Offscreen 146.237 fps
1080p Car Chase Offscreen 324.096 fps
1080p Manhattan 3.1 Offscreen 438.533 fps
1080p ALU 2 Offscreen 2054.81 fps
1080p Driver Overhead 2 Offscreen 165.821 fps
1080p Texturing Offscreen 200.689 fps
3DMark
Overall Graphics Physics Combined
Fire Strike Extreme v1.1 8633 8793 23684 4132
Fire Strike Ultra v1.1 4634 4470 23364 2405
Total Graphics CPU
Time Spy v1.2 7355 7195 8418
Blender (CPU)
bmw27 3m17s
classroom 8m40s
fishy_cat 4m21s
koro 6m37s
pavillon_barcelona 9m4s
victor 15m3s

I could be browsing around a dozen of Chrome tabs, editing images on Photoshop, listening to some tunes on Spotify, and writing up a script on LibreOffice—and this laptop handles them all like a champ. But under such workload, the keyboard chassis does get a bit warm since I generally used the laptop under Silent mode whenever I wasn’t gaming.

Besides this, you can select from Windows, Performance, Turbo, and Manual modes. With such powerful hardware underneath, the G14 can be your editing workstation as well. For this, you’ll need to switch to Turbo or Performance mode, which blasts the fans to their fastest while cranking the CPU and GPU performance to their fullest.

To note, I tested out all the games and benchmarks under the Turbo mode for the best possible result.

Gaming experience

In terms of gaming, I played a bunch of titles in 1080p here. Demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Star Wars: Battlefront II does take a toll on this Max-Q design RTX 3060. Here, under Ultra ray tracing preset, Cyberpunk 2077 gives 38fps on average whereas dialing it down to Low preset delivers around 64-67fps on average.

While this gameplay is fairly enjoyable, I noticed quite a bit of stutter in Battlefront II with graphics set to Ultra and DX12 turned on as it manages only 28-33fps. Turning off Ray Tracing does boost the fps count to 77fps though.

For a smooth gaming experience with decent visual fidelity, I kept the graphics quality to Medium while turning on DX12. Under this, the Zephyrus G14 delivered 64-70fps on average. Likewise, Battlefield V is playable with 52-56fps at Ultra settings and keeping DX12 and DXR turned on.

FPS count: DX12 Off
Ultra High Medium Low
Battlefield V Average 78-83 94-98 104-108 112-118
99% 61 67 71 84
CS: GO Average N/A 143-145 155-158 169-172
99% 90 103 109
Cyberpunk 2077 Average 49-51 52-55 60-63 65-67
99% 41 37 43 45
Overwatch Average 112-120 143-155 158-160 194-200
99% 99 110 131 161
Star Wars: Battlefront II Average 73-77 93-98 110-117 N/A
99% 61 70 80
Valorant Average N/A 143-148 154-158 154-160
99% 107 120 112
FPS count: DX12 On
Ultra High Medium Low
Battlefield V Average 52-56 60-62 78-80 87-93
99% 41 44 60 69
Cyberpunk 2077 Average 36-38 41-43 N/A
99% 36 29
Star Wars: Battlefront II Average 28-33 57-63 65-70 N/A
99% 20 48 43

Relatively less demanding FPS titles are all the more stable on this laptop. Playing Overwatch under Ultra graphics profile delivers 108-112fps on average whereas setting it to medium gives around 158fps. Similarly, Valorant is playable at the highest settings with 143-148fps. Finally, CS: GO maintains a fairly stable 148fps under High graphics profile with 8X MSAA.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 - ErgoLift Hinge

That’s a pretty impressive result for a 14” gaming laptop but the 60W RTX 3060 (that can hit up to 80W with Dynamic Boost) means this is not the pinnacle of RTX 3060 gaming on a laptop. However, that is entirely understandable since Asus simply couldn’t fit a higher TGP graphics into this compact chassis without significantly compromising on the cooling front.

Ineffective thermal solution

Talking about cooling, the company says it has used Thermal Grizzly liquid metal for the CPU. Similarly, it has been complemented with a dual fan setup, four heatsinks connecting to the CPU, GPU, and VRM—alongside an air-intake vent on the bottom and exhaust on the sides, back, and the hinge to let out hot air.

We’d complained about the heating issue on last year’s Zephyrus G14 and unfortunately, that continues on with this year’s model as well. With mere 10-15 minutes into the game, I recorded the CPU and GPU temperature at 91ºC and 83ºC, respectively. The keyboard deck gets quite hot—especially around the center and top/bottom half of the chassis.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 - Exhaust

Thankfully, the WASD and PL;’ keys enjoy a cooler temperature, although that’s nowhere near cool enough to ensure comfortable playability after a while. The dual fans and the ErgoLift hinge simply can’t keep up with the scorching heat and I had to take my hands off the laptop every now and then for some degree of comfort. Or better yet, get an external keyboard.

So, pushing this laptop to its limit by cranking in-game graphics settings to max simply isn’t the way to go here. As a result, I often played games in their medium-low fidelity for bearable thermal performance.

Additionally, the fan noise under Turbo mode is pretty loud but that dampens out once putting on a decent pair of headphones. We’re seeing such unbearable temperatures with Max-Q RTX 3060, so I can only imagine how hot the RTX 3080-powered Razer Blade 14 will get.

Battery

  • 76 Watt-hour 4-cell battery
  • 180W AC power adapter

Fueling the Zephyrus G14 2021 is the same 76Wh battery as last year. Using the laptop under Performance mode with iGPU mode turned off and refresh rate dialed down from 144 to 60Hz, I managed to get 5-6 hours of screen-on time on average. Usually, I’d set the brightness between 35-40%, and my usage consists of all the office work I mentioned earlier.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 - Charger

Setting it to Silent mode delivers even better results, further adding a couple of hours of endurance. Impressive! The laptop fuels via a 180W AC power adapter which takes around 1.5 hours to fully juice up from 0 to 100%. Asus even lets you charge the device using a PD-compatible 100W USB-C adapter.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 Review: Conclusion

Summing up this review, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 is still a decent 14” gaming laptop—despite its hot flaws. From its compact form-factor, a comfortable keyboard, color-accurate display, and impressive battery endurance, there’s a lot of reason to pick this portable gaming and content creation workstation.

The heating issue, as I mentioned earlier, is an inherent drawback of the 14” chassis but you can always dial down the settings for relatively cooler gaming performance. So, if you’re looking for a powerful 14″ gaming laptop, the Zephyrus G14 presents itself as a decent option to consider—although there’s a scarce number of alternatives, to begin with.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 2021 Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Compact, lightweight design
  • Unique AniMe Matrix display
  • Color-accurate, bright screen
  • Comfortable keys, n-key rollover
  • Impressive stereo audio output
  • Powerful CPU, GPU performance
  • Decent battery endurance

Cons:

  • Lacks a built-in webcam
  • Skips on 16:10 aspect ratio
  • Ineffective keyboard backlight
  • One SO-DIMM slot is soldered
  • Ineffective thermal solution

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2021 (AMD) Review: A Standout Budget Laptop

GadgetByte
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1
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2021 (AMD) Review: A Standout Budget Laptop

Earlier this year, Lenovo refreshed its IdeaPad lineup of laptops with the latest processors from Intel and AMD. In this review, I’ll be discussing the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021) powered by AMD Ryzen 5 5500U CPU.

You can get this laptop for around INR 60,000 in India or some NPR 85,000 in Nepal. That puts it right into the budget category of laptops, which is quite popular these days. I have been using this laptop for some time now and in this review, I will be sharing my experience with the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 2021 (AMD).

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 2021 (AMD) Specifications:

  • Design & Build: All-plastic build, 14.4W x 9.31D x 0.78H-inches, 1.56 kg
  • Display: 15.6-inch TN/IPS anti-glare panel, 45% NTSC, 250/300 nits
  • Resolution: Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels), 16:9 aspect ratio
  • Keyboard: Chiclet-style backlit keyboard
  • Trackpad: Plastic multi-touch trackpad, Windows Precision drivers
  • Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5500U CPU, Zen 2 (Lucienne), 6C/12T, 4.0GHz Max Boost Frequency, 8MB L3 Cache, 7nm FinFET
  • RAM: 8GB DDR4-3200 RAM
  • Storage: 256GB SSD
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics (Integrated)
  • Audio: 2x 1.5W speakers, Dolby Audio
  • Battery: 38Wh / 45Wh
  • Power Supply: 65W power adapter
  • Webcam: 720p HD camera, Privacy shutter
  • I/O: 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C (Data-only), 1x USB 3.4 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A port, 1x HDMI 2.1b, 1x headphone jack, 1x card reader
  • What’s inside the box: Laptop, power adapter, quick start guide
Buy Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2021 here

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 2021 Review:

Design

  • All-plastic body, Smooth finish on the lid
  • 14.4W x 9.31D x 0.78H-inches, 1.56 kg

Let’s start with the design first. For a 15.6-inch notebook, the IdeaPad 3 15 2021 is quite compact. It comes in a polycarbonate body that has a smooth finish on the lid and the keyboard deck. Needless to say, these portions catch smudges pretty easily. On the other hand, Lenovo has provided a brushed matte finish on the rim and the base. Thus, these areas should be less prone to scratches.

Moving on, I’m in love with this Abyss Blue finish that Lenovo has used in this laptop. Not only does it help the IdeaPad 3 stand out among the generic look of most laptops in its price range, but the reflective decal also gives a certain character to the device.

Getting started

Thanks to the Flip-to-Open feature, you only need to flip the lid to get the laptop running. You can then sign in using the fingerprint scanner (supports Windows Hello login) integrated into the power button.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2021 AMD Fingerprint scanner

On the right side, there’s a USB 2.0 Type-A port and a card reader. On the opposite side, you’ll find a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, a headphone jack, and an HDMI 1.4b port.

Display

  • 15.6″ TN panel, Anti-glare
  • FHD resolution, 45% NTSC

Opening it up, you are greeted with a 15.6-inch panel with slim bezels. In order to keep the top bezels slim, Lenovo has placed the webcam on a small protrusion. It also has a physical shutter for privacy-focused users.

Coming to the display quality, this display covers 45% of NTSC color space. While mediocre color accuracy is pretty common across budget laptops, the thing you gotta pay attention to the most is that Lenovo offers the IdeaPad 3 2021 in either IPS or TN display options.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2021 AMD TN Display Panel

Unfortunately, our review unit of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 comes with the latter and thus, suffers from bad viewing angles. Unless you are sitting in a direct line of sight with the display, the content on the screen looks too dark or bright.

Featuring 250 nits of brightness, the screen is just good enough to be visible for indoor use. In addition, the display lacks sufficient brightness levels. Thus, even the slightest shift in the brightness results in a wild variation of the screen’s illumination.

So, if you are thinking of buying this laptop, make sure to get the IPS variant. Not only does it offer better viewing angles, but it’s also brighter (300 > 250 nits).

Keyboard and Touchpad

  • Full-size keyboard with dedicated NumPad
  • Precision trackpad, Integrated left/right keys

Moving on, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 comes with a full-size keyboard and a dedicated NumPad. The keys are big and are well-spaced. The key travel distance here is fairly minimal which is pretty common with budget laptops.

For someone who spends most of his office time writing up articles, I have no complaints with this keyboard. In addition, it is backlit with two levels of brightness, which is quite rare at this price.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2021 AMD Keyboard and Mouse

As expected, Lenovo has included a Precision Touchpad here. It has a smooth surface and is responsive even when using multi-finger gestures. However, I would have liked it more had it been placed towards the middle. As things stand, it is prone to accidental touches.

Performance

  • AMD Ryzen 5 5500U CPU (4.0GHz)
  • 8GB DDR4-3200 RAM, 256GB M.2 SSD

Powering the laptop is the hexa-core AMD Ryzen 5 5500U CPU with 6 cores and 12 threads. Its clock frequency ranges from 2.1 GHz to 4.0 GHz. You can also find IdeaPad 3 configurations with Ryzen 3 5300U and Ryzen 7 5700U.

There are three performance levels to choose from – Extreme, Intelligent Cooling, and Battery saving. I mostly found myself using the Intelligent Cooing as it delivers balanced performance as well as battery life.

My workload primarily consisted of editing word documents and keeping multiple Chrome tabs open, and I found no issue with its performance. There is no noticeable heating on the surface or fan noise while using relatively taxing applications like Adobe Photoshop either.

Moving on, the IdeaPad 3 15 AMD doesn’t come with a discrete GPU and therefore can’t handle games that well. Still, the upgraded Radeon graphics will let you play lightweight games under low graphics settings with a fair amount of stability.

Camera and Speakers

  • 720p HD camera, dual-array microphone
  • Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos audio

Moving on to audio, you get two down-firing speakers capable of 1.5W of output each on the IdeaPad 3 2021. Lenovo has included Dolby Atmos audio for stereo effect. While they’re loud enough, the sound quality is expectedly lacking in the bass department.

Since most workplaces and schools worldwide have moved online, having a good quality webcam is pretty much a necessity from any laptop—even a budget one. Given you are in a well-lit room, you won’t have much problem with this 720p camera, unless there is a direct light source just behind.

As such, the camera struggles with exposure maintenance. There’s also a physical shutter to block the webcam when not in use for that peace of mind.

Additionally, the audio pickup from the dual microphones is also quite good. Overall, this camera and the mic combination should be more than enough for online classes and casual video calls.

Battery 

  • 42Wh battery, 65W power adapter

Fueling the laptop is a 42Wh battery, which provided 6 to 8 hours of backup on a full charge. That being said, this number is achievable only when your usage doesn’t include any gaming. Like I mentioned earlier, I used this laptop mostly for web browsing, working on word documents, and video streaming.

IdeaPad 3 even supports Rapid Charge using which the laptop goes from 0 to 80% in around an hour using the 65W barrel-pin charger. However, this feature is not enabled by default and you will have to manually turn it on from the Power Setting under the Lenovo Vantage application.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2021 (AMD) Review: Conclusion

All in all, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 2021 (AMD) is arguably one of the best budget laptops that you can buy in the market right now. It comes with capable hardware alongside a sturdy and portable form factor.

As I’ve discussed throughout the review, my experience with the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 has been really good except for the mediocre TN panel, which you should be looking out for if you are planning to buy it.

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2021 (AMD) Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Compact, lightweight design
  • Abyss Blue color stands out
  • Decent keys, backlit keyboard
  • Reliable performance level
  • Impressive battery endurance
  • Lenovo Rapid Charge support
  • Flip-to-open works like magic

Cons:

  • Mediocre colors in the TN panel
  • Stereo speakers are just average

Dell Inspiron 15 3501 Review: Decent Performance, Great Battery

GadgetByte
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Dell Inspiron 15 3501 Review: Decent Performance, Great Battery

Amidst the supply shortage of PC components, the budget laptop game is fierce in 2021. For students seeking an affordable and powerful machine, the Dell Inspiron 15 3501 is a no-frills, reasonably priced option. So, in this review, I’ll be sharing my experiences with the Dell Inspiron 15 3501.

Dell Inspiron 15 3501 Specifications:

  • Design & Build: Plastic build, 14.33W x 9.80D x 0.78H-inches, 1.83 kg
  • Display: 15.6″ WVA panel, FHD (1920×1080) resolution, 141 PPI
  • Keyboard: Standard Qwerty keyboard with number pad
  • Trackpad: Plastic multi-touch trackpad, Windows Precision drivers
  • Processor: 11th gen Intel Core i5-1135G7, 2.40GHz
  • RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X RAM
  • Storage: 256GB SSD
  • Graphics: Intel Iris Xe (Integrated)
  • Audio: Dual speaker setup
  • Battery: 42Whr
  • Power Supply: 45W adapter
  • Webcam: 720p front-facing camera
  • Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0
  • I/O Ports: 3x Type-A, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, 1x charge jack, 1 x RJ-45, 1 x microSD card, 1 x HDMI
  • Price in Nepal: Rs. 82,000
Buy Dell Inspiron 15 3501 here

Dell Inspiron 15 3501 Review:

Design and Build

  • Plastic build material, matte finish
  • 14.33 x 9.80 x 0.78-inches, 1.83 kg

Starting with its design, the Inspiron 3501 has an all-plastic build body which is expected from a budget laptop. It has quite wide bezels on the top and bottom, while the sides get a slender plastic border. Dell is also offering a matte textured design here so that the laptop delivers a firm grip without attracting fingerprints as much.

Dell Inspiron 15 3501 Design

Moving on, with the lid open, it measures 14.33 x 9.80 x 0.78-inches and weighs 1.83 kg. That’s a bit heavy for school-going students although it isn’t that different from similarly priced products. Over on the bottom, it has an air-intake chamber while there’s an Inspiron logo at the center.

Similarly, to prevent the laptop from overheating, the rubber feet at the bottom elevates the device enough from a flat surface to allow better airflow and a more comfortable typing experience.

Display

  • 15.6″ non-touch WVA panel, 141 PPI
  • 1080p FHD resolution, 45% NTSC gamut

The display is where the Inspiron 3501 lets down by a bit. It has a 15.6-inch panel with Full HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) resolution, which is good, but the screen looks a bit washed out. However, lowering the brightness helps matter a little. The panel doesn’t seem particularly sharp either. Dell’s decision to go for an incredibly inferior panel clearly shows as I could visibly notice the lack in its saturation.

Dell Inspiron 15 3501 Display

The viewing angles are satisfactory, as the laptop flaunts a Wide Viewing Angle (WVA) panel. As a result, the color tones aren’t that compromised even when looking at the screen from the side.

Breaking the promise

Moreover, tweaking things a bit with the SypderX Pro color calibrator makes the colors look more pleasing to the eyes. But, I was quite shocked to find out that our unit of the display maxed out at 131.7 nits—while Dell advertises 220 nits of peak brightness. Thus, expecting clear visibility outdoors will be a disappointing journey.

Keyboard, Trackpad

  • Full-sized keyboard, Spill-resistant design
  • Plastic trackpad, Integrated left/right keys

As for the keyboards, it’s a fairly basic one with a dedicated number pad. Like the chassis, the keys are made of rough, rugged-feeling plastic. Dell provides its keyboard with a spill-resistant design, which protects the laptop by delaying the amount of time an accidental spill takes to reach the notebook’s mainboard. So, light splashes or a cup of juice tipping over the laptop shouldn’t be a problem.

Keyboard and Trackpad

Now, the keys here are actually quite stiff, so they require a firm push. This isn’t a problem when you’re typing for a short duration. But for someone in my line of work who has Google Docs opened for almost 9-10 hours, it’s kind of annoying since my arms start to hurt after a couple of hours.

The plastic touchpad is pretty basic too with integrated left/right keys. However, Dell could have made it a bit smooth for easier operation. Nonetheless, as I prefer a mouse over a touchpad, that doesn’t bother me a lot. Plus, I would highly advise getting a mouse if you’re looking to buy the Dell Inspiron 3501.

Performance

  • 11th gen Intel Core i5-1135G7, 2.40GHz
  • 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB M.2 SSD

Getting to the performance, the device packs Intel’s latest Core i5-1135G7 processor coupled with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB internal storage. This CPU has a base frequency of 2.40GHz and a single-core boost clock of 4.20GHz.

Despite being a quad-core processor, this configuration is enough for my daily usages which includes opening 10-12 Chrome tabs, a text editor, Adobe Photoshop, and sometimes Spotify to get stress-free.

Benchmarks

If you’re a nerd searching for benchmarks, here it is. Checking the read/write speeds of Inspiron 3501, I found it to be pretty fast for a budget laptop. Likewise, in Cinebench R23, it managed to achieve a multi-core score of 3,637 while the single-core CPU core came out to 1,116. Summing it all up, for a budget laptop, these are admirable scores.

CrystalDiskMark
Read (MB/s) Write (MB/s)
SEQ1M Q8T1 2465.05 972.15
SEQ1M Q1T1 1308.66 956.71
RND4K Q32T1 405.87 420.87
RNK4K Q1T1 46.68 145.34
Cinebench R23
CPU: Multi-Core 3637
CPU: Single Core 1116
MP Ratio 3.26x

Battery

  • 42Whr battery, 45W AC adapter

Inspiron 3501 Charger

Moving on, a long-lasting battery is something of a must for students. And, among all the laptops I’ve tested so far, the Inspiron 3501 ranks among the best in this regard. During my usage, its 42Whr battery provided me up to 7 hours of screen-on time.

To note, my usage pattern didn’t consist of any power-hungry tasks like gaming. Likewise, the laptop charges using a 45Wh adapter which takes three and a half hours to fully juice up the battery.

Ports

  • 3x Type-A, 1x 3.5mm jack, 1x RJ-45, 1x microSD card, 1x HDMI

In terms of I/O connectivity, the Dell Inspiron 3501 comes with a healthy selection of ports. There are three USB Type-A, one 3.5mm audio jack, one charging jack, one LAN, one microSD card, and an HDMI port. I’m sad to see a USB-C port missing here since that’s slowly becoming a norm for many gadgets.

Dell Inspiron 15 3501 Review: Conclusion

Wrapping up this review, the Dell Inspiron 15 3501 won’t turn any head in terms of design. But all things considered, it’s a decent laptop for the price. It expectedly brings a sub-par display while I feel like Dell shouldn’t have skipped on a Type-C port either.

On the positive end, it has an impressive battery life, suitable for office employees or students. So, I would recommend this laptop for those who want all the essentials to get the job done, but don’t want to break their banks.

Dell Inspiron 15 3501 Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Value for money
  • Decent keyboard quality
  • Fairly good performance
  • Good enough battery life

Cons:

  • Lacks screen brightness
  • Sub-par trackpad quality
  • Could have a more pleasing design

Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV Review: Picture Perfect (Almost)

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Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV Review: Picture Perfect (Almost)

Today, I have with me Samsung’s latest mid-range TV, the AU7700. The new AU series is the successor of the TU lineup from last year, which fared admirably in our review. So, this one is also worth a shot this time. So, in this review, I’ll be taking you on a ride to detail the ups and downs of the new Samsung AU7700 55-inch 4K TV.

Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV Specifications:

  • Display: 55-inches LED-backlit LCD, PurColor technology
  • Resolution: 4K Ultra-HD (3840 x 2160 pixels)
  • Dimensions:
    • Without Stand (W x H x D): 1230.5 x 707.2 x 59.9 mm
    • With Stand (W x H x D): 1230.5 x 783.3 x 250.2 mm
  • Weight: 13.9 kg (without stand) | 14.2 kg (with stand)
  • Sound: 2x Speakers (2CH) with 20W Output
  • Audio: Dolby Digital Support, Q-Symphony
  • OS: Tizen OS
  • Processor: Crystal Processor 4K
  • HDR: Yes (HDR, HDR10+, HLG)
  • Refresh Rate: 60Hz, Motion Xcelerator, ALLM
  • Viewing Angle: Standard
  • Power: AC220-240V 50/60Hz (140W)
  • Wireless Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 ac (dual-band), Bluetooth 5.2
  • I/O Ports: 3x HDMI (with eARC support), 1x USB 2.0, 1x RF in, 1x Digital Audio Output
  • Remote: One Remote (battery included inside the box)
  • Price in Nepal: Rs. 151,390
Buy Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV here

Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV Review:

Design and Build

  • Plastic back, minimal bezels on all four sides
  • Y-shaped leg stands, Wall mounting support

Starting with the design, the AU7700 looks exactly like something you would expect from a fairly premium TV in 2021—a plastic back, minimal bezels, and a stand. Thus, I won’t say this TV will win any beauty prizes, but it looks premium and is well-built. The bezels surrounding the screen are of minimal thickness and aren’t eye-catching or distracting either.

Samsung AU7700 55 Back Design

Similarly, the AU7700 isn’t as thin as OLED TVs, which we obviously weren’t anticipating, and the back design is minimal as well. It features a characteristic textured finish and an arched form factor, which avoids the expense of a back bulge to house the connectivity ports.

AU7700 Ports

Talking of ports, the I/O options include one USB Type-A, three HDMI (one of which supports eARC), and one Antenna port on the back groove. Additionally, there’s an ethernet connection patched independently on the right of other sources.

Holding the TV in its place are the Y-shaped legs that, as aforementioned, have a plastic build. What’s easy here is that you can just snap the legs into the unit to assemble it. No hassle with the screws or other fancy tools. And of course, if you want to wall-mount it, that’s entirely possible as well. But you’re gonna have to purchase the mounting bracket separately, since Samsung doesn’t provide it in the box.

Compromised strength

On the other hand, if I had to assess the pedestal’s strength to hold the TV, I’d give it just 3.5 out of 5. That’s because even with a gentle knock, the TV wobbles quite a bit. Hence, I wish Samsung had included a metal stand like Panasonic did in its HX750 series, which we recently reviewed.

AU7700 Stand and Clips

Moreover, the lone physical control button is located below the company’s logo in the bottom bezel. With it, you can navigate between the power, volume control, and other simple toggles. Also, the bottom section is house to two down-firing speakers, which I’ll talk about more in the audio section of this review.

Like in last year’s TU8000 series, Samsung has continued the cable management design onto this TV as well. These are the horizontal passages that run from edge-to-edge and hold all of the cables that are connected to the TV for a clean setup. In addition, the company also provides clips to secure the wires onto the leg stand for a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Display

  • 55″ 4K UHD resolution, LED backlighting
  • HDR compatible, Motion Xcelerator, ALLM

Moving on to the display, the AU7700 we have here is a 55-inch model with a 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 60Hz. It has the PurColor technology, which, according to Samsung, allows the TV to express a wide spectrum of colors for optimal picture performance and an immersive viewing experience.

Also, let me add a small note here that none of Samsung TVs support Dolby Vision. Instead, they opt for the open-source HDR10+ format. So if you’re looking for a Samsung TV with Dolby Vision, you’ll always come up short.

Samsung AU7700 55 Display

Regardless, since this panel supports HDR10+, the color and contrast reproduction are pretty great. But, the default settings do require some tweaks to get the most out of it. So, I always ensured that the brightness was set to maximum, the contrast in the range of 35 to 40, and sharpness around 5 or 6.

While that was something of my personal preference, the TV also has built-in picture modes that let you choose the ideal display settings based on the content you’re watching. Listing all of them, there’s the Standard, Natural, Dynamic, Movie, and at last the Filmmaker Mode.

Picture presets

Here, the Standard mode adds slight warmth to the display but can’t produce black levels quite as much. Thus, videos look a bit washed-out, although the highlights are more well-preserved here.

On the other hand, the Natural mode works with most of the content types. Under this, the shadow details look good while the panel offers a good color tone for watching the content as well. It does deliver blacker blacks, so watching a mix of bright and dark content looks good in this mode.

Similarly, the Dynamic mode produces images with color tones that look more appealing to the eyes. Additionally, its color temperature is more leaned towards the cooler side, which results in a mild bluish tint. But, it cleverly increases the intensity of the more muted colors and leaves the well-saturated colors untouched, resulting in vibrant images.

Now, let’s sum up the Movie and Filmmaker modes in one, as I didn’t see much of a difference in the two. Both of them add warmness to the panel and are ideal for watching flicks. So, what better way to put it to the test than watching a movie? I and my entire crew watched The Suicide Squad while nibbling on pizzas, and we rigorously enjoyed those 2 hours and 13 minutes.

However, what differentiates the Filmmaker mode is its ability to present contents in the way the director intended—roughly. It disables the TV’s post-processing such as motion smoothing which causes the dreaded “soap opera effect” and lets you enjoy a movie in its native frame rate, and color temperature.

Contrast Enhancer

On top of all of this, the AU7700 has a feature called Contrast Enhancer that delivers even darker darks. As for the viewing angles, everything is pretty standard here. So, you don’t have to compromise on the TV’s contrast and saturation levels while looking at it from the sides.

AU7700 55-inch Display - 1

Moving on, Samsung provides a particular feature for action-heavy content and motion processing. Called the Motion Xcelerator, it reduces picture shake on the screen. To enable it, you need to go to the Picture clarity settings and increase the judder level depending on the content. Usually, I set it to 8 or 9.

What this does is use motion interpolation or black frame insertion to artificially add frames in-between the said fast-paced content, resulting in a comparatively smooth viewing experience.

However, as aforementioned, I used it only when watching sports and action scenes. Turning it on for movies adds unnecessary smoothness, which affects the whole experience for someone who enjoys content on their original, such as me.

Now, if you’re an avid gamer and wish to couple your TV with a console, then Samsung AU7700’s game mode is something to cherish for. It reduces input lag found in normal mode and also optimizes motion blur and judder, whenever the TV detects a viable input source.

Software

  • Tizen OS
  • Windows Sharing / Samsung DeX / Apple Airplay

Heading to the software side of things, Samsung’s Tizen OS hasn’t changed much compared to last year. We already know that it has one of the best UI/UX designs and a clean aesthetic. And with a little exploring, you’ll be familiar with this OS rather easily. Powering the TV is the same Crystal 4K processor as last year, which promises to deliver lifelike colors thanks to its sophisticated color mapping technology.

But, I was disappointed with what I was greeted with. Navigating through various apps and features isn’t as seamless, and there are visible delays or lags. To compare, we hadn’t faced such an issue with last year’s TU8000. So, it’s a bit of a letdown for me.

AU7700 Software

Anyway, the Tizen platform comes pre-installed with decent selections of apps that you can use right after turning on the TV. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube are among the streaming services readily available, while you can add other applications from the App Gallery. One small detail I love about this is that it categorizes apps into different sections for easy browsing.

Voice control is another feature that I could not miss here. Unfortunately, in South Asian markets like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, it only supports Bixby voice assistants—whereas the Indian market enjoys Google Assistant and Alexa support as well.

I’m not sure how I feel about this prejudice, but Bixby doesn’t leave any space for complaining. It can easily adjust different TV settings and is pretty spot-on in terms of voice recognition and responsiveness.

Versatile OS casting

There are a couple of more features worth mentioning on the AU7700. It has Windows Sharing, Samsung DeX, and Apple AirPlay support—although it lacks Chromecast support.

Here, you can stream content from your iPhone, MacBook, or other Apple devices to the TV. Similarly, Windows Sharing is used to screen-cast a PC while DeX extends a Samsung smartphone or tablet into a desktop computing experience. From students, teachers, to business professionals, these features can come in handy to cast presentation slides or other similar documents on the large screen.

Regardless, because of the noticeable lags, I mentioned earlier, using these features hasn’t been as seamless as I’d preferred.

Remote

  • Made from recycled material
  • Decent tactile feedback

Here, the remote that ships with the AU7700 are just like other modern TV remotes, with a slim and slender profile that houses only the most necessary buttons.

But this time around, Samsung has used recyclable material for its construction. While it ultimately doesn’t feel as premium as the remote on the TU8000, we wholeheartedly endorse this decision. Using the voice control button, you can make in-app searches on YouTube as well.

Apart from this, there’s a power button, a circular directional pad with a select button inside, and a dedicated button for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and the internet. In addition, Samsung’s One Remote can double as a remote for your cable operator’s set-top box as well, although this function isn’t available in Nepal just yet.

Audio

  • 2CH 20W bottom-firing speaker
  • Dolby Digital Plus, Q-Symphony

Getting to the audio portion of the review, the Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV performs impressively. It comes with two 2CH 20W bottom-firing speakers that support Dolby Digital Plus. However, DTS support goes missing on this TV. Quality-wise, the dialogues sound clear and the audio can get enough loud to fill small to medium-sized rooms. Additionally, the audio doesn’t distort at the highest volume either.

AU7700 also has three audio profiles to choose from. Standard is the default setting, with the other two options being Adaptive and Amplified. The Standard mode isn’t as deep as I’d want it to be and lacks the punchiness I crave for.

Looping the modes, I enjoyed the Adaptive mode’s added wallop, which finds a decent mix between low frequencies without sacrificing clarity in the mids. Yet, it lacks the power and depth of a dedicated soundbar. But, it does add a decent amount of weight that prevents the audio from sounding too thin.

Sync TV and soundbar

Still and all, if you desire window-rattling bass, you’re gonna need a separate home theatre system. Now, if you opt for a soundbar instead, Samsung’s Q-Symphony is something you should know about. Basically, it lets you route audio from the TV speakers and the soundbar at the same time to deliver spatial audio.

Further adding to the appeal of this 4K TV is the Samsung Tune Station. It’s just an app that you need to download from the App Gallery, which converts your Samsung Smart TV into a virtual speaker system. For this, you can play music from your smartphone or a USB stick on the TV.

Nonetheless, it offers some intriguing features that allow you to personalize backdrops from a wide assortment of artworks. On the other hand, there’s the option to turn off the TV entirely for an audio-only experience as well.

Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV Review: Conclusion

Wrapping up this review, using the Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV for a couple of weeks or so has been a time well spent. The narrow bezel, along with excellent picture quality and impressive audio quality, makes for a really enjoyable watching experience. Still, it does have a few flaws of its own, including the laggy interface which can get annoying. But overall, it delivers on a bucket list of promises.

Samsung AU7700 55″ 4K TV Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Sleek design
  • Bright display
  • Good viewing angles
  • Simple-to-use UI
  • Loud, clear sound

Cons:

  • Plastic stand
  • Laggy user interface
  • No multi-voice assistant support as in India
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