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Wearable thermoelectric generators might power future IoT devices

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Wearable thermoelectric generators might power future IoT devices

Researchers at CU Boulder University have developed a new wearable device that can transform your body temperature into electric energy. This new tech allows the human body to act like a biological battery, something which has been possible in sci-fi movies only. It is a significant innovation as rechargeable batteries have become an integral part of today’s innovation. Let’s learn more about the new wearable thermoelectric generators technology in more detail.

Wearable Thermoelectric Generators for IoT

The new wearable device is based on thermoelectric generators. It is a small, lightweight, and stretchy product. Developers are looking to use this stretching property of the device to mold it into other accessories like a bracelet that is constantly in touch with human skin. The thermoelectric generators in the wearable device convert internal body temperature into electric energy.

As of now, researchers have been able to generate up to 1 volt of energy per centimeter area of the skin. This may not sound like much but this could potentially power future accessories like smartwatches and fitness trackers. And that is what the researchers are trying to achieve.

Wearable TEG Ring
Source: Xiao Lab

The biological battery technology is made up of polyimine which is known to be stretchy. It forms the base of the device. Series of thin thermoelectric chips are then integrated into the base. These chips are connected to each other using liquid metal wires. The final result is a PCB-like device in a ring-like form factor. Researchers claim that their design puts less stress on the chips as the chips are very brittle.

“Just don’t tell the robots. We don’t want them getting any ideas” – Xiao

Previous Attempts

It is not the first prototype of its kind as there have been several attempts at building similar devices in the past. Previously, Jianliang Xiao, who leads the research, came up with an electronic skin. However, it required an external power source to work. The latest innovation, on the other hand, doesn’t need one. It’s stretchy and has the ability to heal itself.

Working

When we do an intensive task, our bodies generate heat. This excessive heat is transferred to the environment to maintain the normal body temperature. The new device captures the heat and transforms it into electricity instead.

Advantages

It’s a known fact that all batteries degrade over time. Users need to keep investing in new batteries at a regular interval. However, this could change with the new self-healing battery technology. If the device breaks, users can tie the two ends back by pinching them together.

Wearable Thermoelectric Generators Mechanical Properties

Similarly, researchers claim that the new tech is fully recyclable and thus is a cleaner source of energy. When the device is no longer in use, users can dip into a special solution that will cause the polyimine base to separate from the chips. Both products can then be repurposed for different uses.

Scalability

Researchers believe that they can increase the power by adding more generators. Xiao even compares the process with Lego blocks. By combining smaller thermoelectric chips they can make a larger structure which will facilitate customization.

Wearable Thermoelectric Generators Availability

Researchers still need to work on the design and scalability to make the thermoelectric wearable ready for the market. The first step is to generate up to 5V that could power a modern fitness band. The research team predicts that wearable with their thermoelectric generators can hit the market anywhere between 5 and 10 years.

Smart Technology Availability (Expected)
Wearable with Thermoelectric generators 2026 – 2031
  • Check out our review of the MSI Summit E15 business laptop.

Infinix Hot 10 Review: Budget Gaming Champ

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Infinix Hot 10 Review: Budget Gaming Champ

Hot series is among the most popular lineup in Infinix’s portfolio and today I have got the new Infinix Hot 10. Despite being a budget phone under $150, Infinix has included a big display and a powerful Helio G70 chipset in here. Let’s learn more about the Infinix Hot 10 in this review.

Infinix Hot 10 Specifications:

  • Body: 171.1 x 77.6 x 8.88-mm, 195gm, Plastic body with gem-cut finish
  • Display: 6.78-inches TFT IPS panel, Infinity-O panel
  • Resolution: HD+ (1640 x 720 pixels)
  • Chipset: MediaTek Helio G70 (12nm mobile platform)
  • CPU: Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.7 GHz Cortex-A55)
  • Memory: 4/6GB RAM, 64/128GB storage (expandable)
  • Software & UI: XOS UI on top of Android 10
  • Rear Camera: Quad,
    – 16MP primary lens
    – 2MP macro lens
    – 2MP depth sensor
    – AI sensor
    – Quad-LED flash
  • Front Camera: 8MP with dual-flash
  • Security: Physical fingerprint sensor (rear-mounted)
  • Audio: DTS Audio, 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Connectivity: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth, GPS, Micro USB, OTG
  • Battery: 5200mAh with 10W (5V/2A) charging
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyro, Light, Proximity, Compass
  • Color options: Obsidian Black, Amber Red, Moonlight Jade, Ocean Wave
  • Price in Nepal: Rs. 18,490 (4/128GB)

Infinix Hot 10 Review:

Quickly unboxing the device, you get the phone itself, a 10W charger, and a Type A to micro-USB cable. Infinix also includes a screen protector inside the box and you’re better off installing it since the phone doesn’t come with any kind of Gorilla Glass protection.

Design & Build

  • Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame
  • Reflective gem-cut design
  • Attracts fingerprints, smudges easily

At the back, as you can see, it has a plastic body with a gem-cut design. It becomes visible while tilting the device at different angles. But because it has a glossy back, it attracts fingerprints marks and smudges quite easily. Thankfully, there is a clear case included in the box.

More on the aesthetics, the camera module hardly protrudes so there’s very little chance to get scratched while placing on a flat surface. Similarly, there’s a fingerprint sensor at the back, which is quite fast and accurate. Still and all, it is a massive phone. However, I didn’t find it to be bulky or heavy and the Infinix Hot 10 is quite ergonomic on hands too.

Display

  • 6.78-inches HD+ IPS LCD screen
  • Punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera

On the display front, you are greeted with a big 6.78-inch panel. It’s your regular HD+ IPS LCD, so you can notice the lack of sharpness but only if you get very close to the display. Big screen with a compact resolution has been a common mantra in multiple Infinix phones and this one’s no different.

Barring the mediocre pixel density, the display quality is quite good. It is moderately bright with oversaturated colors and good viewing angles, although there is a slight hint of a bluish tint.

Infinix Hot 10 - DIsplay [1]

Throughout the review, I found the touch-response on the Infinix Hot 10 to be very good too. So yeah, pretty good display for the price. Likewise, if you look closely at the top bezels, you will notice two LED flash for the selfie camera that is placed on either side of the earpiece. And one of them also lights up during charging—thus doubling as a notification LED.

Performance

  • Octa-core MediaTek Helio G70 SoC (12nm)
  • 4/6GB RAM with up to 128GB internal storage (expandable)

On the performance side of things, as I mentioned earlier, you get the MediaTek Helio G70 chipset, which is an excellent choice for gaming on a budget. By the way, Infinix already has a G70-powered phone available in Nepal, the Infinix Note 7.

And with a whopping 6GB of RAM onboard, during my usage, I didn’t notice any hiccups while doing normal tasks. Even multitasking is smooth and is void of any excruciating lag/stutter.

Gaming Experience

I am also quite satisfied with its gaming performance. In PUBG Mobile, you can bump the graphics to HD and frame rates to High. But for the best experience, Medium graphics and Ultra frame rate will result in smooth gameplay with no frame drops.

Similarly, you can play COD Mobile on Medium graphics and High refresh rate smoothly. I did experience frame drops while playing Asphalt 9 at high graphics but you can easily dial down the settings for optimized gameplay.

Infinix Hot 10 - Design

To further enhance your gaming experience, Infinix has also included a dedicated Game Mode. It improves your gameplay through effective management of CPU, GPU, network, and other relevant resources. You can even use the game mode app to re-map the volume up/down button for additional in-game functions.

UI/UX

Like with all the Infinix phones, this one also comes with XOS skin based on Android 10. The problem with this skin is it comes with a lot of bloatware and you will frequently be bombarded with ads. And the only way to turn them off is to disable the notification of the app altogether.

Talking of other features, there’s something called “Power Boost” which has a list of features that you can either turn on or off to get your desired battery endurance. The phone also has a dark mode which is rather unpolished and still needs improvement as is not entirely customized for all apps.

Cameras

  • Quad-camera setup at the back
  • (16MP main, 2MP macro, 2MP depth, AI lens)
  • 8MP selfie camera inside the punch-hole cutout

Another not-so-good aspect of the Infinix Hot 10 is its cameras. It features a quad-camera setup with a primary 16MP primary lens, and the other 3 being 2MP useless lenses.

Infinix Hot 10’s lenses are the epitome of a gimmicky camera setup.

And even, the images from the supposedly standout 16MP lens are not very impressive.

Normal Images

They’re lacking in detail and color processing is also a bit off.

It’s only with good lighting that the camera brings out acceptable images. But again, it’s a budget phone and we cannot expect its cameras to be exceptional, I guess.

Portrait Images

The portraits are not so bad though. Like with primary images, if you manage to capture portraits in good lighting, they come out usable.

Still, the subjects look a little soft. You can also change the amount of background blur as per your liking, so that’s a handy feature to have.

Selfie Images

As far as the selfies are concerned, even they suffer from the lack of sufficient saturation.

Also, low-light images are plainly soft and the background lacks proper exposure management in many instances.

Nighttime Images

On a different note, the Infinix Hot 10 comes with a dedicated night mode that helps make the pictures brighter in a low-light environment.

But sadly, this feature plays no role in making the images sharper or bring out more details. However, it does bump the saturation to a large extent which makes the images look very unnatural.

Videography

On a surprising turn of events, the Hot 10 can shoot 2K videos from both front and back cameras. The footages are extremely shaky and lack exposure control. Even scaling down to 1080p will not make stabilization better.

All in all, like with all budget phones, this one too does not have that impressive camera performance. But it would have been better if the company had provided a better primary sensor instead of giving 4 unnecessary lenses, 3 of which are completely useless.

Battery

  • 5200mAh battery with 10W charging (Micro USB)

As far as the battery is concerned, Infinix Hot 10 has a big 5,200mAh cell whose endurance is quite impressive. I would go as far as to say that the battery is one of the scarce redeeming qualities of the Infinix Hot 10.

Infinix Hot 10 - DIsplay [2]

I was consistently able to get up to 8 hours of screen-on-time. My usage mostly consisted of binging YouTube, browsing social media, and gaming. So it’s fair to say that this phone will easily last over a single day under normal usage. But charging up the battery takes quite a lot of time since the phone only supports 10W charging via the Micro USB port.

Audio

  • Down-firing mono speaker
  • 3.5mm headphone jack

About the speaker, the phone has a down-firing one that can get loud enough. It is good enough for casual gaming and for watching videos. It is better than speakers in most budget devices even though it suffers from distortion at high volume.

Conclusion

To conclude, I think the Infinix Hot 10 is a standout budget gaming smartphone. Its price is similar to that of the Poco C3 and Samsung Galaxy M02s, but the Hot 10 offers much better performance and a bigger display too.

So, if you are on a tight budget, but still want a good gaming phone, the Infinix Hot 10 is indeed a very good option. But bear in mind that the Hot 10 doesn’t have a reliable camera, so if you want a good camera phone on a budget, I suggest you cash out a bit more and get the Poco M3 or the Moto G9 Play.

Infinix Hot 10 Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Great gaming performance
  • Ergonomic design
  • Big display, decent quality
  • Great battery endurance

Cons:

  • XOS Android skin is terrible
  • Cameras aren’t that good
  • Slow charging, Micro USB

Samsung Galaxy F62 launched: Will arrive as Galaxy M62 in Nepal

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Samsung Galaxy F62 launched: Will arrive as Galaxy M62 in Nepal

After all the leaks and teasers, Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy F62 in India. The device is the first mid-range device from Samsung to pack the Exynos 9825 chipset. It is the same chipset that was used on the Galaxy Note 10+. In this post, we will be taking a look at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of the Samsung Galaxy F62 in Nepal.

Samsung Galaxy F62 Overview:

Performance

Samsung has been teasing the fans with the #FullOnSpeedy tag for some time now. The reason being the inclusion of the Exynos 9825 on the Galaxy F62. It is a flagship-grade older chipset from Samsung that was used in 2019’s Galaxy Note 10 lineup. It’s the first time the company is using it on a mid-range device. Samsung has claimed the F62 with the Exynos 9825 is the best performing device in its segment and Samsung has different benchmark scores to back it up.

Samsung Galaxy F62 Performance

  • AnTuTu v8: 452065
  • Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core): 2400
  • GFXBench 5: 68

Design and Display

The phone features a 6.7-inch FHD Super AMOLED+ display. The display has a center-aligned punch-hole cutout that will house the selfie camera. It covers up to 110% of the NTSC color gamut and boasts a contrast ratio of 1000000:1. Similarly, the phone is listed with brightness levels of up to 420 nits.

Samsung Galaxy F62 Color options

Even though the phone features a massive battery, the phone is just 9.5mm thick. The rear panel sports a laser gradient design and is available in three color options – Laser Green, Laser Blue, and Laser Blue.

Camera

At the back, the device has a square camera module that houses the quad-camera setup. Samsung has used a 64MP sensor for the main camera. It will be accompanied by a 12MP ultrawide sensor, a 5MP macro camera, and a 5MP depth sensor.  On the front, there is a 32MP selfie camera.

Samsung Galaxy F62 Camera Setup

The camera setup looks a lot like what we had in the Galaxy M51. However, the use of the new processor and its Image Signal Processor (ISP) could result in a different experience. Also, users get to enjoy features like Single Take, Smart Crop, Hyperlapse, and Boomerang.

Rest of the Specs

Just like the M51, the F62 has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor even though it has an AMOLED panel. It is available in two RAM variants – 6GB and 8GB. Both variants feature 128GB of internal storage. The phone ships with Android 11 with One UI 3.1 on top. It also has the Samsung Knox for added security.

Samsung Galaxy F62 Battery

Another talking point of the device is its battery. The phone features a massive 7,000mAh battery and Samsung is shipping it with a 25W fast charger.  There is a USB Type-C port at the bottom of the device. It is placed between the 3.5mm headphone jack and the speaker grill.

Samsung Galaxy F62 Specifications:

  • Display: 6.7-inches Super AMOLED Plus “Infinity-O”
  • Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
  • RAM: 6/8GB
  • Storage: 128GB (expandable)
  • Software & UI: One UI 3.1 on top of Android 11
  • Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
    – 64MP primary lens
    – 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens
    – 5MP depth sensor
    – 5MP macro sensor
    – LED flash
  • Front Camera: 32MP (punch-hole)
  • Security: Physical fingerprint sensor (side-mounted)
  • Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, loudspeaker, Dolby Atmos
  • Battery: 7000mAh with 25W fast charging

Samsung Galaxy F62 Price in Nepal & Availability

Samsung has just launched the Galaxy F62 in India with a starting price of INR 23,999 and INR 25,999 for the 6/128GB and 8/128GB variant respectively. The sale will start on February 22nd. Samsung Galaxy F62 could launch as Galaxy M62 in Nepal and we expect its price to start at around NPR 42,499.

Samsung Galaxy F62 Price in India Price in Nepal (Expected)
6/128GB INR 23,999 NPR 42,499
8/128GB INR 25,999 NPR 45,499
  • Check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy M51.

INSIGHT: New two-step test proposed for COVID-19 detection at home

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INSIGHT: New two-step test proposed for COVID-19 detection at home

A swift and accurate detection test is very important when it comes to battling a global pandemic like that of COVID-19. It allows the medical team to detect illness, support patients, and limit the spread of the disease. Currently, there are two major methods for testing COVID-19 – molecular test and antigen test. And now, researchers at Wellcome Sanger Institute have devised a new test called the INSIGHT that will allow patients to conduct COVID-19 test themselves and get preliminary result inside two hours.

COVID-19: Current Testing Methods:

The two most popular tests for COVID-19 infection involves taking nasal swabs from patients. In molecular tests, researchers look for genetic materials of the virus, which when detected confirms the infection. On the other hand, in antigen tests, researchers look for viral proteins instead. Antigen tests are simpler in nature and can provide results faster but are less accurate than molecular tests.

The problem with these tests is that they cannot be conducted at home. These tests require special equipment and are mostly conducted in laboratories by professional medical teams. Different research teams around the world are working on near-patient tests but they have not been that effective as the data collection is still centralized. There has always been some kind of delay between the test and its result.

INSIGHT Test for COVID-19

Researchers at Wellcome Sugar Institute have put forward INSIGHT as the possible solution for the present scenario. It makes use of both isothermal NASBA and Next Generation Sequencing techniques.

Stage 1

The test is carried out in two steps among which the first is the isothermal NASBA (Nucleic Acid Sequence-based Amplification). During this phase, a sample of the patient’s saliva is taken using a home-based kit at the point of care. According to the researchers, the isothermal NASBA reaction is able to amplify viral RNA to a detectable level within two hours. They have also claimed that the new test is as sensitive as the popular RT-PCR test but doesn’t require complex equipment.

INSIGHT COVID-19 Test Step 1

However, it could still be prone to false-negative and false-positive results. That is why the second step tests the validation of the results of the first test.

Stage 2

The second test reduces the risk of home testing errors. This process involves sending the sample to a laboratory by stamping a readable DNA barcode to the RNA sample. There, researchers will sequence tens of thousands of samples simultaneously to detect COVID-19 inside 12 hours.

INSIGHT COVID 19 Test Stage 2

Advantages

The new INSIGHT test for COVID-19 has numerous advantages over the RT-PCR test.  First, taking a saliva sample is a lot easier than a nasal sample. The latter is difficult to carry out correctly and it can also be an uncomfortable experience for the patients. Thus, there is always a possibility of inaccurate results.

Also, it doesn’t require complex tools to carry out. Researchers have proposed fluorescence and dipstick readout for the NASBA tests which they believe can be fitted inside a home-kit. INSIGHT method is also flexible. For instance, stage 1 and stage 2 can be used simultaneously or as independent tests on the basis of the availability of the equipment and testing laboratories.

Moving Forward

Here, the INSIGHT test for COVID-19 is already a finalist in the XPRIZE Rapid COVID Testing competition with a prize pool of $6 million. The team of researchers is now working on patient samples for the validation of INSIGHT. After this, they will work on home-based kits to be used by patients at home.

  • Also, check out our review of the Xiaomi Mi 10i.

Vivo Y12s now available in Nepal; exceeds pre-booking expectations

GadgetByte
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Vivo Y12s now available in Nepal; exceeds pre-booking expectations

Vivo announced the pre-booking of its budget-centric Vivo Y12s in Nepal last week. The Chinese smartphone giants offered some attractive pre-booking deals like Rs.1000 cashback and lucky draw, where you get a chance to win Vivo Y12s (3 people), NPR 2,500 cashback (100 people), and one-month screen replacement (500 people). Because of all this, more than 3000 buyers pre-booked the phone, over-achieving the sale target by over 50%. And now, the phone is officially available for purchase.

Vivo Y12s Overview:

Design and Display

Vivo Y12s Design

Vivo Y12s sports a 6.51-inch IPS LCD with an HD+ resolution of 1600 x 720. The Halo FullView display has a waterdrop notch on the top that encloses the selfie camera. The bezels around the screen are quite noticeable. It is more profound on the bottom chin. The device also has a protection mode that filters out the harmful blue rays when activated.

The rear panel has a gradient finish and is available in two color options – Glacier Blue and Phantom Black. It has a left-aligned vertical camera module that also houses the LED finish. The phone also has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Performance and Camera

Y12s is powered by the MediaTek Helio P35 that is already two years old. Even at this price range, other smartphone manufacturers have moved towards Helio G-series chipsets that are better optimized for gaming. That being said, the phone will be available in a single memory configuration of 3/32GB. The storage can be expanded further using an external microSD card. Vivo has included Multi-Turbo 3.0 for better resource management (RAM, Network, CPU, and GPU) while gaming.

Vivo Multi Turbo 3.0

Camera

At the back, the phone has two camera sensors that are arranged vertically inside the rectangular camera module. A 13MP primary leads the dual-camera setup. It has an aperture of f/2.2. It is accompanied by a 2MP depth sensor (f/2.4). On the front, there is an 8MP selfie camera with an f/1.8 aperture. It is also used for the Face Wake feature.

Vivo Y12s dual camera setup

Rest of the specs

Vivo Y12s has a 5,000mAh battery that charges via a micro USB port. There is no fast charging but it supports 5W reverse charging if you want to supply power to other devices. The phone ships with FunTouch OS 11 based on Android 10. It supports dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.

Vivo Y12s Specifications:

  • Display: 6.51-inches “Halo FullView” HD+ (1600 x 720)
  • Chipset: Helio P35 (12nm)
  • RAM: 3/4GB
  • Storage: 32/128GB; microSD slot (dedicated)
  • Software & UI: Android 10 with Funtouch OS 11 on top
  • Rear Camera: Dual;
    – 13MP primary lens,
    – 2MP depth sensor
  • Front Camera: 8MP sensor
  • Fingerprint sensor: Physical (side-mounted)
  • Audio: 3.5mm audio jack
  • Battery: 5000mAh battery with 10W Charging (micro USB port)
  • Colors: Phantom Black and Glacier Blue

Vivo Y12s Price in Nepal and Availability

Vivo Y12s is now available in Nepal for the price of NPR 17,999. This price is for the 3/32GB variant. You can buy the phone from Daraz and various Vivo retail outlets all over the nation.

Vivo Y12s Price in Nepal (Official)
3/32GB NPR 17,999

  • Also, check out our review of the Vivo V20.

Motorola Moto E6i with entry-level specs is now official in Brazil

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Motorola Moto E6i with entry-level specs is now official in Brazil

Motorola has just launched the Moto E6i in Brazil. It is the latest device in the budget-oriented E lineup and sports entry-level specs. Let’s take a look at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Moto E6i in Nepal.

Motorola Moto E6i Overview:

Here, the Moto E6i sports a 6.1-inch Max Vision screen. This HD+ display has a waterdrop notch on the top for the selfie camera. Since it is an entry-level phone, the bezels around the quite thick. It is more evident on the bottom chin.

Moto E6i Design

At the back, there is a pill-shaped module that houses the secondary sensor and the LED flash. The primary camera is placed just above it. Towards the bottom, there is a speaker grill. Also, we get to see the fingerprint sensor with the company’s branding on it. The phone is available in two colors – Titanium Gray and Pink.

The phone is powered by the UNISOC Tiger SC9863A chipset. It is an octa-core processor with a clock speed of up to 1.6GHz. Don’t expect much on the performance front as it just an entry-level SoC. Thus, Motorola has included the Go Edition of Android 10. Talking about memory, the phone comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. You can even expand the latter using an external microSD card.

Moto E6i Internal Specs

The dual-camera setup on the back consists of a 13MP primary sensor. It is accompanied by a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, Motorola has included a 5MP selfie camera which is enclosed by the waterdrop notch.

Moto E6i is powered by a moderate 3,000mAh battery that supports 10W charging via a micro USB port. Other features of the phone include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Specifications:

  • Dimension: 155.6 x 73 x 8.5mm; 160g
  • Display: 6.1-inches Max Vision HD+ panel
  • Chipset: UNISOC Tiger SC9863A (1.6GHz Octa-Core)
  • RAM: 2GB
  • Storage: 32GB
  • Software & UI: Android 10 Go
  • Rear Camera:
    – 13MP primary lens
    – 2MP depth sensor
    – LED flash
  • Front Camera: 5MP
  • Security: Physical fingerprint sensor (rear-mounted)
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n (2.4 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2
  • Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, loudspeaker
  • Battery: 3000mAh with 10W charging

Motorola Moto E6i Price in Nepal and Availability

Moto E6i has been launched in Brazil for R$ 1,099 for the 2/32GB which is approximately 24,000 in Nepalese Rupee. However, the Motorola Moto E6i may have a cheaper price tag in Nepal if it’s launched here as electronics, in general, are expensive in Brazil because of taxation.

Smartphone Model Price in Brazil Expected Price in Nepal
Motorola Moto E6i R$ 1,099 NPR 15,000
  • Check out our review of the Moto E7 Plus (Nepali).

Redmi 9 Power Review: Great Value, Terrific Battery

Nikhil Shrestha
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Redmi 9 Power Review: Great Value, Terrific Battery

Xiaomi recently launched Redmi 9 Power in Nepal as the direct successor of the Redmi 9 and Poco M2. It brings a Snapdragon chipset, a bigger 6000mAh battery, and a 48MP camera, which looks like a great deal for the asking price of Rs. 18,999. Anyway, is it any better than its predecessors? Is it the best smartphone under Rs. 20,000 in Nepal? Let’s find out in our review of the Redmi 9 Power.

Redmi 9 Power Specifications:

  • Body: 6.39 x 3.04 x 0.38 inches, 198 gm
  • Display: 6.53-inches IPS LCD, 395PPI, Corning Gorilla Glass 3, TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certification
  • Resolution: FHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels), 19.5:9 aspect ratio
  • Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 (11nm Mobile Platform)
  • CPU: Octa-core (4×2.0 GHz Kryo 260 Gold & 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 260 Silver)
  • Memory: 4GB RAM, 64GB UFS 2.1/128GB UFS 2.2 storage (expandable)
  • Software & UI: MIUI 12 on top of Android 10
  • Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
    – 48MP, f/1.79 primary lens
    – 8MP, f/2.2 wideangle lens
    – 2MP, f/2.4 depth sensor
    – 2MP, f/2.4 macro sensor
    – LED flash
  • Front Camera: 8MP, f/2.0 lens (notch)
  • Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, stereo speaker, Hi-Res audio
  • 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
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Ambient Light, Proximity, Vibration Motor, IR Blaster, Proximity
  • Battery: 6000mAh with 18W charging (22.5W brick inside the box)
  • Color options: Mighty Black, Blazing Blue, Electric Green, Fiery Red
  • Price in Nepal: Rs. 18,999 (4/64GB) | Rs. 20,999 (4/128GB) | Rs. 21,999 (6/128GB)

Redmi 9 Power Review:

Before moving forward with the review, you might know that Redmi 9 Power and POCO M3 that we recently reviewed are basically the same phones. So, I will be keeping this review short and will be referring to the POCO M3 on multiple occasions. And as you’d expect, things are eerily similar between these devices.

Here, the only differentiating factor among these devices is their design and how Redmi 9 Power comes with a wide-angle sensor that the POCO M3 lacks. Also, the latter is available in either 4/6GB RAM whereas Redmi’s alternative doesn’t get the 6GB option.

Design & Build

  • Glass front, polycarbonate back, plastic frame

Starting with the design, the phone has a big “Redmi” branding on the rear panel. To me, it looks kinda off-putting, to be honest. Its traditional textured layout does feel nice on the hand though. Besides this, the port selection gets a decent overhaul compared to other entries in the Redmi 9 series. Specifically, it gets a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

And yeah, although it’s a more ergonomic implementation, I have always been fond of the traditional fingerprint sensor placement. Thankfully, you can switch between how to actually trigger the sensor—simply by touching it or with the click of the button. If its speed doesn’t float your boat, you can go for face unlock too. In terms of design, this phone also has a water-repellent coating.

Display

  • 6.53-inches FHD+ IPS LCD screen
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection

Moving on to the display, you get a 6.53-inches IPS screen with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 protection. As expected from Xiaomi, it’s an FHD screen, and being the budget phone that it is—you’re greeted with a teardrop notch for the front-facing camera.

Redmi 9 Power - Display [1]

The display itself is pretty good though. There’s no visible pixelation and things look adequately sharp. And a piece of good news if you stream videos from different streaming platforms, the Redmi 9 Power is Widevine L1 certified and can therefore play HD videos. Like always, Xiaomi opts for a slight boost in colors but you can easily make up for the fact under the display settings. Besides this, it has a decent viewing angle and brightness is decent for a budget phone as well.

Performance

  • Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 SoC (11nm)
  • 4GB LPDDR4X RAM with up to 128GB storage (expandable)

Let’s move on to performance. Like the POCO M3, Redmi 9 Power is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 662 as well. There’s no Redmi 8 Power to compare it against so we can’t go down the “upgrade” route. This 11nm silicon is pretty power-efficient compared to the Helio G80 found in Xiaomi’s similarly price smartphones. Here, the Snapdragon 662 has been paired with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage.

Redmi 9 Power - Design [1]

And depending on the memory variant, they feature different storage protocols. The 64GB option gets UFS 2.1 storage whereas the 128GB variant enjoys the newer UFS 2.2 protocol. Our review unit of the Redmi 9 Power features 64GB storage.

Let’s take a look at some benchmark scores:

Test POCO M2 Redmi 9 Power
Androbench Seq. Read 312.58MB/s 513.27MB/s
Seq. Write 255.92MB/s 202.95MB/s
AnTuTu v8 Total 204202 183351
CPU 73222 70713
GPU 43089 34880
Memory 44402 41178
UX 43489 36580
Geekbench 5 CPU (Single Core) 344 315
CPU (Multi-Core) 1348 1362
Compute (OpenCL) 1152 373
PCMark (Work 2.0 Performance) 8846 6097
3DMark (Wild Life) N/A 371

As you could see, the Snapdragon 662 on the Redmi 9 Power lags behind the Helio G80 on the POCO M2/Redmi 9. While you won’t notice the difference upon light usage, bring multitasking, gaming into the mix—and you’re heading towards a slight disappointment. And the resource-heavy MIUI isn’t helping either.

Gaming Experience

Fortunately, Redmi 9 Power is immune to any form of bloatware and Xiaomi even ships certain apps like Google’s Phone, Messages by default. In terms of gaming, non-demanding titles don’t do much to the phone but titles like PUBG Mobile and COD Mobile do take a toll.

Redmi 9 Power - UI

Here, you can play PUBG Mobile at up to Smooth graphics/High frame rate or Balanced graphics/Medium frame rate. The gameplay is fairly smooth on either setting but you’re gonna notice slight stutters every now and then. On the other hand, COD Mobile maxes out at Very High graphics/High frame rate—although I would highly suggest you dial down the graphics settings down to Medium for balanced gameplay.

Cameras

  • Quad camera setup at the back
  • (48MP primary, 8MP wide, 2MP depth, 2MP macro)
  • 8MP selfie camera inside the teardrop notch

Okay, let’s now talk about the cameras. Redmi 9 Power is a quad-cam device led by a 48MP primary lens, an 8MP ultrawide sensor, and two 2MP sensors for depth, macro images. Since the camera performance of Redmi 9 Power and POCO M3 is exactly the same, you can refer to our review of POCO M3 for this.

Wideangle Images

Yet, as I mentioned earlier, Redmi 9 Power also hosts a wideangle sensor. Here, the images from the POCO M2 look slightly washed out whereas the Redmi 9 Power manages to produce more pleasant-looking shots with better dynamic range. Like the primary images, things look much more natural on the Redmi 9 Power as well.

Battery

  • 6000mAh battery with 18W fast charging

Getting into the battery, Redmi 9 Power is fueled by a massive 6000mAh cell. With this, the phone will easily last you through the day—even under a high workload. I consistently managed to get around 7 – 8 hours of screen on time. Moreover, even though you’re getting a big battery, it isn’t as unwieldy or uncomfortable as the POCO X3 with similar battery size.

Redmi 9 Power - Display [2]

In terms of charging, you get a 22.5W power adapter inside the box although the phones only support 18W of maximum power. With this, it takes around 2 hours 48 minutes to completely juice up the phone from 0 to 100%.

Audio

  • Stereo speaker setup, Hi-Res audio certified
Another interesting aspect of the Redmi 9 Power is its stereo speaker with an earpiece acting as a secondary speaker. Although they don’t work as a left and right channel, the audio quality is quite good considering its price.

Conclusion

To conclude it all, as we’ve discovered throughout this review, Redmi 9 Power is an excellent budget phone. It’s got good cameras, a great battery, and an acceptable design. Moreover, the Redmi 9 Power offers a FullHD display which none of the brands at this price are offering in the Nepali market. Because of all this, the Redmi 9 Power is one of the best phones under Rs. 20,000 right now. Yet, it’s priced quite close to the much powerful Redmi Note 9 which offers much better performance overall.

Redmi 9 Power Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Great value—an easy recommendation
  • Crisp, Full-HD resolution display
  • Decent camera quality for the price
  • Nice, power-efficient performance
  • Terrific battery life, 18W fast charging

Cons:

  • The “Redmi” branding looks cartoonish
  • Closely priced against the Redmi Note 9

Hands-on video of Mi 11 Ultra reveals 120x AI camera and a secondary screen

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Hands-on video of Mi 11 Ultra reveals 120x AI camera and a secondary screen

Back in December 2020, Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 11 in China, which was also the first device to be powered by the flagship-level Snapdragon 888 processor. There were talks of an Ultra model in the Mi 11 lineup which never made it to the launch event. The device has been popping on the internet in the form of leaks. Today, we will be taking a look at all the rumors and leaks surrounding the specs, features, and availability of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Rumors Roundup:

The biggest chunk of information comes from a Youtube channel called Tech Buff PH that is based in the Philippines. In a video that has since been taken down, the YouTuber shared a hands-on video of the upcoming Xiaomi flagship.

The main talking point of the device has been the camera bump that extends across the top portion of the rear panel. It houses the triple camera setup, the triple LED flash and a secondary screen. According to the leak, the camera setup includes a 50MP primary camera, a 48MP ultrawide sensor, and a 48MP periscope lens. You can even see the “120X Ultra Pixel AI Camera” written on the side of the periscope lens.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Camera Leaks

Getting to the secondary display, it looks to be a color screen capable of displaying the contents of the main display. We don’t know its purpose yet but we can assume it will be helpful in taking selfies from the rear camera.

On the front, the device sports a 6.8-inch curved OLED panel with WQHD+ resolution. The panel supports an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. Similarly, there is a left-aligned cutout for the 20MP selfie camera. The phone has IP68 certification against water and dust.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Display Leaks

Like the regular Mi 11, the Ultra also packs the Snapdragon 888 chipset. Fueling the device is a massive 5,000mAh battery. The phone supports a charging speed of up to 67W (wired and wireless). Similarly, it also supports 10W reverse wireless charging.

Specifications (Rumored):

  • Display: 6.81-inches curved OLED panel; 120Hz Refresh Rate
  • Resolution: WQHD+
  • Chipset: Snapdragon 888; 5nm Mobile Platform
  • Software & UI: MIUI 12.5 on top of Android 11
  • Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
    – 50MP primary shooter
    – 48MP digital zoom telephoto lens
    – 48MP ultra-wide sensor
  • Front Camera: 20MP lens; Punch-hole
  • Security: In-display Fingerprint Scanner
  • Audio: Dual Stereo speakers by Harmon Kardon; Hi-Res Audio
  • Battery: 5000mAh with 67W fast charging; 67W Wireless Charging, 10W reverse charging

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Expected Launch Date

While there is no information about the official pricing and the launch date of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, the phone was recently spotted in the EEC and BIS certifications listing suggesting a possible launch in a few months.

  • Also, check out our review of the Xiaomi Mi 10i.

Samsung’s cheapest 5G phone, Galaxy A32 5G goes official in Spain

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Samsung’s cheapest 5G phone, Galaxy A32 5G goes official in Spain

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A32 5G last month and now the device is now launched in Europe. Let’s take a look at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G in Nepal.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Overview:

Design and Display

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G sports a 6.5-inch display with a V-shaped notch to house the front camera. As a measure of price-cutting, Samsung has refrained from including an AMOLED panel. Thus, the Galaxy A32 5G makes use of a TFT LCD panel. Also, the resolution has been scaled down to HD+.

Samsung has completely changed the look of the rear panel on the new A32 5G. It has gotten rid of the rectangular camera bump and now the four cameras protrude from the rear panel. The fingerprint scanner has been moved from the back to the side of the phone. Thus, the rear panel looks much cleaner now.

Performance and Memory

Galaxy A32 is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 720 SoC. As a result, it’s the first phone from Samsung to use a MediaTek Dimensity chipset. The device is available in 4GB RAM configuration. Users can get up to 128GB of internal storage. The internal storage is expandable up to 1TB by slotting in a microSD card.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Design

Going from Galaxy A31 to A32 5G, Samsung has hardly made any changes to the camera specifications. Like its predecessor, the Galaxy A32 5G features a quad-camera setup led by a 48MP primary camera. The main camera has a slightly bigger aperture of f/1.8. It is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide camera, 5MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth camera. On the front, you get a 13MP selfie shooter.

Rest of the specs

A massive 5,000mAh battery fuels the Galaxy A32 5G. The phone also supports a fast charging speed of up to 15W. It also supports Dolby Atmos for surround sound. There are four color options to choose from – Black, White, Blue, and Violet.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Specifications:

  • Body: 164.2 x 76.1 x 9.1mm ; 205 gm
  • Display: 6.5-inches HD+ TFT Infinity-V panel
  • Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 720 (7nm)
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Storage: 64GB/128GB
  • Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
    – 48MP, f/1.8 primary shooter
    – 8MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide lens
    – 5MP, f/2.4 macro sensor
    – 2MP, f/2.4 depth sensor
  • Front Camera: 13MP, f/2.2 lens
  • Security: side-mounted fingerprint scanner
  • Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, Dolby Atmos
  • Battery: 5000mAh with 15W fast charging
  • Colors: Awesome – Blue, Black, White, Violet

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Price in Nepal and Availability

Galaxy A32 5G is now available in Spain via Samsung Espana online store with a starting price of 279 Euros. Although Samsung has not revealed the price of the 128GB variant, it is expected to cost 299 Euros. We expect the starting price of Samsung Galaxy A32 5G in Nepal to be around NPR 37,000 when it launches here.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Price (Europe) Price in Nepal (Expected)
64GB 279 Euros NPR 37,000
128GB 299 Euros NPR 40,000
  • Check out our long-term review of the Samsung Galaxy M51.

Asus ZenBook Flip 13 with OLED display, Asus Pen now available in Nepal

GadgetByte
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Asus ZenBook Flip 13 with OLED display, Asus Pen now available in Nepal

Asus Nepal has updated its lineup of ZenBook products with the latest Ultrabooks powered by 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake processors. Among the new laptops released is the Asus ZenBook Flip 13. It is a 2-in-1 convertible laptop with an OLED touchscreen and a 360-degree hinge. Let’s learn more about the Asus ZenBook Flip 13 (UX363EA) including its specs, features, official price, and availability in Nepal.

Asus ZenBook Flip 13 (UX363EA) Overview:

Design and Display

Among the new launches in Nepal, the Asus ZenBook Flip 13 is the most expensive of them all. With a thickness of just 13.9mm, the company is claiming it to the world’s thinnest convertible. ZenBook Flip 13 weighs only 1.3kg and is therefore super portable. It comes with a 360-degree ErgoLift hinge, allowing you to use the device in different modes – laptop, tablet, stand, or tent. Not to forget, the hinge also offers a comfortable typing experience and an improved cooling system.

Asus ZenBook Flip 13 UX363

The laptop sports a 13.3-inch FHD NanoEdge touchscreen with a 0.2ms response time. It’s an OLED screen that covers 100% of the DCI P3 color gamut. It also has the TÜV Rheinland certification for low blue light emission. You can even buy an Asus Pen or Windows Ink-compatible stylus to work on the touchscreen.

Rest of the specs

Moving on, the Asus ZenBook Flip 13 features an edge-to-edge keyboard. Because this design doesn’t allow for dedicated Numpad keys, Asus ingeniously substitutes that with NumPad 2.0. It’s basically a touchpad that switches to an Integrated LED-illuminated numeric keypad with a push of a button.

Asus Numpad 2

In terms of raw performance, the laptop is equipped with the latest 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake processors. You can choose between Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs. Both variants feature 512GB of SSD storage but the former only has 8GB of RAM compared to the latter’s 16GB.

The laptop is part of the Intel Evo program and thus has both Wi-Fi 6 and Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. You actually get two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports (up to 40Gbps), one Type-A port, and a standard HDMI port. Users also get to enjoy the best Wi-Fi experience with the Asus WiFi Master Premium technologies. A 4-celled 67 Whr lithium battery fuels the laptop. Asus also ships the laptop with a 65W charger but you can also use other Power Delivery compatible chargers as well.

Asus Flip 13 UX363EA Ports

Asus ZenBook Flip 13 (UX363) Specifications:
CPU
  • Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor
  • Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor
Display 13.3” LED-backlit FHD OLED (1920 x 1080) 16:9 slim-bezel NanoEdge touchscreen, 300 nits, 100% sRGB
Operating system Windows 10 Home
Graphics Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Main memory
  • 8 GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4x (i5)
  • 16 GB 4266 MHz LPDDR4x (i7)
Storage 512 GB PCIe NVMe 3.0 x2 M.2 SSD
Connectivity
  • Intel WiFi 6 with Gig+ performance (802.11ax)
  • Bluetooth 5.0
Camera IR webcam with Windows Hello support
I/O ports
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C (up to 40Gbps)
  • USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (up to 5Gbps)
  • Standard HDMI
Audio
  • Dual-speaker Harman Kardon-certified audio system
  • ASUS SonicMaster stereo audio system with surround-sound; smart amplifier for maximum audio performance
  • Array microphone with Cortana voice-recognition support
  • 1 x USB-C to 3.5 mm audio jack adapter
Battery 67 Wh 4-cell lithium-polymer battery
AC adapter Plug Type: USB-C
Dimensions 1.39 x 30.5 x 21.1 cm
Weight Approx. 1.3 kg with standard display

Asus ZenBook Flip 13 (UX363EA) Price In Nepal

Asus ZenBook Flip 13 bears price tags of Rs. 176,667 and Rs. 146,667 for the Core i7 and Core i5 variants, respectively. You can buy Asus ZenBook Flip 13 in Nepal from Nagmani International or any other authorized stores.

Asus ZenBook Flip 13 (UX363EA) Variant Price in Nepal Availability
Core i5, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD Rs. 146,667
Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD Rs. 176,667
  • Check out our review of the Asus ZenBook 14 UM425 (2020).
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