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Micromax launches In 1 smartphone with Helio G80 and 5000mAh battery

Micromax

GadgetByte

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March 21, 2021

Micromax launches In 1 smartphone with Helio G80 and 5000mAh battery

Micromax was an extremely popular brand back in the day. And by back in the day, I mean around 4 or 5 years back. However, since then, companies like Xiaomi and OPPO have clearly taken over their market segment. But Micromax is not the one to give up. Thus, for the past couple of months, they have launched smartphones such as the In Note 1 and In 1b in quick succession. Now, there’s a new addition to the In-series. And it’s labeled simply as Micromax In 1. Let’s check out in detail about the new Micromax In 1 along with its expected price in Nepal.

Micromax In 1 Overview:

Design-wise, this smartphone looks similar to the Micromax In Note 1. It has the same 6.67-inch IPS LCD screen with Full HD+ resolution. Furthermore, the In 1 has a circular punch-hole to house the front-facing camera as well. However, this new device is meant to be an affordable alternative to the In Note 1. Therefore, the company has made some compromises.

For instance, the selfie camera on this one is an 8MP sensor compared to the 16MP lens on the In Note 1. Similarly, the rear camera module looks like a quad-camera array. Yet, it only holds three cameras. One is a 48MP primary lens and the other two are 2MP macro and depth sensors. Other than that, the design of the rear panel is the same. You get a big X-like design with a fingerprint scanner and the “in” branding.

Under the hood, this device uses MediaTek’s Helio G80 chipset. To recall, the In Note 1 ships with a slightly superior Helio G85 SoC. But this one is no slouch either. It comes in a single 4GB RAM option while you can choose between 64GB and 128GB in terms of storage. Similar to In Note 1, the In 1 runs on stock Android 10. So, no bloatware or ads.

The whole device is powered by a 5000mAh battery. It is their “marathon battery” that supports 18W fast charging and offers good standby time.

Micromax In 1 Specifications:

Display: 6.67-inch IPS LCD; FHD+
Chipset: MediaTek Helio G80 (12nm)
CPU: Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPU: Mali-G52 MC2
Memory: 4+64GB / 4+128GB storage (expandable)
OS: Android 10
Rear Camera: Triple – 48MP primary + 2MP macro + 2MP depth
Front Camera: 8MP (punch-hole)
Security: Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Face Unlock
Battery: 5000mAh, 18W wired charging (USB-C) inside the box
Color options: Blue, Purple

Micromax In 1 Price in Nepal & Availability

Micromax In 1 will go on sale from March 26 in India for the price of INR 9,999 (4/64GB) and INR 11,499 (4/128GB). In terms of its Nepal availability, we expect Micromax In Note 1 to launch in May at a price of NPR 17,000 (4/64GB) and NPR 19,000 (4/128GB).

Micromax In 1	Price in Nepal (Expected)
4/64GB	NPR 17,000
4/128GB	NPR 19,000

Check out our unboxing of the Micromax In Note 1 (Nepali).

Lenovo Yoga 7i (15”) Review: Mediocre At Best

Nikhil Shrestha

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March 20, 2021

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Lenovo Yoga 7i (15”) Review: Mediocre At Best

The Yoga lineup is the home to Lenovo’s 2-in-1 laptops and tablets. Known for their slim and flexible form-factor, these laptops conform to the diverse needs of those who seek more from their portable computing machine. And here with me is the Lenovo Yoga 7i. This 2020 rendition of the popular convertible laptop hosts the latest 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake CPU among other niceties. Let’s dig a little deeper into the Lenovo Yoga 7i in this review.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (15″) Specifications:

Design & Build: Aluminum build, 14.03W x 9.27D x 0.70H-inches, 1.90 kg
Display: 15.6-inches glossy IPS LCD panel, Multi-touch, 250 nits, 45% NTSC color gamut, AGC soda-lime glass, Lenovo Digital Pen support
Resolution: FHD (1920×1080) resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio
Keyboard: Backlit Chiclet (single color – white)
Processor: Intel Tiger Lake CPU (Core i5-1135G7), 4C/8T, 4.2GHz Max Turbo Frequency, 8MB Intel Smart Cache, 10nm SuperFin
RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X RAM @3200MHz (soldered)
Storage: 256GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe (integrated)
Audio: 2x2W speakers, Dolby Atmos-certified, Built-in array microphone
Battery: 71 Watt-hours Li-Po battery
Power Supply: 65W AC adapter
Webcam: 720p HD camera, TrueBlock Privacy Shutter
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 ax (2×2), Bluetooth 5.0
I/O ports: 2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (with one Always On), 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 / Power Delivery 3.0 / DisplayPort 1.4), 1x 3.5mm mic / headphone jack combo
Price in Nepal: Rs. 115,000
What’s inside the box: Laptop, power adapter, quick start guide

Lenovo Yoga 7i (15″) Review:

Here, our unit of the Lenovo Yoga 7i 15” is configured with Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 8GB RAM, and 256GB of SSD. This particular model retails for around $810 in the US while buyers in Nepal have to cash in Rs. 115,000.

Design

2-in-1 convertible, sturdy hinge
No HDMI, RJ45 (LAN), SD card slot

Moving on. The Yoga 7i is one well-built device. Featuring an all-metal aluminum build quality, this laptop looks premium and professional enough to blend into corporate settings. Available in either slate grey or dark moss finish, it’s fair to say that both color options exude premium aesthetics. The lid features a sublime branding at the top-left corner while Lenovo overcompensates its (albeit minimal) logo on the keyboard deck and the lid.

The anodized sandblasted case does attract a fair bit of smudges but it’s really nothing to worry about. Matter of fact, even after having used the Yoga 7i for almost two weeks now, it looks as if it hasn’t seen a human touch at all. I have been using a laptop sleeve cover (although I would’ve liked one included in the box itself) so that’s definitely got everything to do with this.

Because it’s a big 15.6” machine, you’ll have to use both your hands to open up the laptop. Weighing 1.9 kg, it’s not the lightest convertible laptop you could buy but is a far cry from the chunky gaming laptops. Anyway, the 360-degree hinge is pretty solid and lets you seamlessly shape the device into different form-factors depending on your need.

In terms of cooling mechanism, the Yoga 7i gets a single fan solution which is to be expected from such a device. There are the standard air intake vents at the bottom while the exhaust is sandwiched in the hinge itself. While this is a fairly common practice, I wish more brands would adopt the excellent ErgoLift hinge design found in Asus laptops. Security-wise, the Windows Hello compliant fingerprint sensor on the keyboard deck is quite fast and accurate.

Port selection

When it comes to port selection, I feel like Lenovo has made an unnecessary compromise—but not in the traditional sense. Given its bigger chassis, I expected to see a multimedia card reader, an HDMI, and an RJ45 port. But unfortunately, both of them are missing here. Besides this, the Yoga 7i includes two Thunderbolt 4 compatible USB Type-C, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm mic/headphone jack combo.

Ports

1 of 2

Here, one of the Type-A connections is “Always On” certified, meaning you’ll be able to charge your devices like earbuds even when the laptop is turned off. Handling the wireless communication side of things is the Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 card with Bluetooth 5.0. All in all, the Lenovo Yoga 7i checks the “good design” box. Yet, I do feel like the company could’ve done a better job at chamfering the front edge of the keyboard chassis since it is almost uncomfortably sharp under prolonged usage.

Display

15.6″ glossy touchscreen LCD panel
45% NTSC color gamut, stylus support

Getting to the display, as the name implies, the Yoga 7i (15”) features a 15.6” FHD LCD screen. But if you’re looking for a compact device, a 14” variant also exists. Regardless, even the 15.6” model is available with 2 screen options. One has 250 nits of brightness and covers 45% NTSC color space whereas a superior Dolby Vision-compliant alternative boasts 500 nits brightness and 100% sRGB color gamut. So, if you’re someone who mostly works outdoors or will be using it for content creation purposes, you’d want to skip the 250 nits option.

But that’s what I have with me. As expected, this screen is far from ideal for outdoor usage as it simply can’t get bright enough. Also, I find its brightness levels to be insufficient. I don’t particularly tend to turn on adaptive brightness so this wasn’t that big an issue for me. Yet, if you’re into it, the abrupt and broad variation in the illumination level could be a literal eyesore.

Apart from this, Yoga 7i’s display adheres to the relatively big-bezel design choice that the industry is dead set in on similar laptops. One can easily envision a taller 16:10 aspect ratio on this machine but Lenovo is sticking to the traditional 16:9 standard. Anyway, this touchscreen is also protected by AGC soda-lime glass, which is true for the premium 500 nits alternative as well.

Not the most vibrant screen

Moving on, this glossy panel also complicates things when you’re in a room with plenty of light-reflecting objects. Other than this, things are pretty much what you’d expect from an LCD laptop display. The viewing angles are fine but during the review, I did notice slight screen bleeding on the lower-left edge of the display on Lenovo Yoga 7i. As expected, the 45% NTSC color space is nothing to write home about. Although I can’t complain in terms of color calibration, shifting to Yoga 7i from the ZenBook Flip 13’s OLED display has been a downhill journey.

The colors obviously don’t pop-out as much and in its default setting, I find this screen to be leaning on the bluish hue a bit more. This cool color temperature doesn’t bode well with my eyes so I would turn on the “Night Light” feature in Windows 10.

On the other hand, the touch response of this display is fantastic, and be it playing games or simply browsing through the web, the Lenovo Yoga 7i’s screen is a delight to use. The touch response is equally fantastic as well. Moreover, it also supports stylus input although the company doesn’t provide the supported Lenovo Digital Pen inside the box.

Keyboard

Backlit chiclet-style keyboard (single-color)

Let’s now talk about the keyboard. And frankly speaking, these concave-design keys weirded me out at first—to the point where I struggled efficiently typing on it. But thankfully, I got used to it after a couple of days. The keys are well spaced-out but ultimately feel a little cheap. The keyboard deck doesn’t flex much either although the same cannot be said of the central portion of the chassis. Additionally, the keys feel a little mushy as well.

The key travel distance is pretty good and throughout the review period, I didn’t experience any sort of mistypes on the Lenovo Yoga 7i. It is backlit with two levels to choose from. And even though I noticed mild keyboard backlight bleed in function row keys when placing the laptop at eye-level, this issue on the Yoga 7i isn’t as severe as on the ZenBook Flip 13.

Being a 15.6” device, your sacrifice for a compact device is rewarded with a discrete Numpad among other merits. So, if you’re into using accounting softwares and spreadsheets a lot, this is an absolute blessing. Here, the function keys can be locked and include some useful shortcuts like muting the microphone, launching calculator, app-switch window, etc. However, the mic shortcut doesn’t seem to work on our unit. In summation, it is a pretty average keyboard. And as I mentioned earlier, the sharp front edge adds to the uneasy typing experience.

Trackpad

Glass trackpad with integrated left/right keys

Likewise, Yoga 7i’s trackpad is nothing special either. This non-centric layout still doesn’t sit right with me as I often tend to mistake the right key with the left even to this day. It is a glass-covered touchpad with PTP support. The integrated left/right keys do click well but I wish they were a little quieter. Besides, the multi-finger gestures including pinch-to-zoom work just fine here.

Webcam

720p HD webcam (no Windows Hello)
TrueBlock Privacy Shutter integrated

Coming to the webcam, Lenovo has included an industry-standard 720p HD camera in here. It isn’t Windows Hello compliant but it’s got a dedicated privacy shutter. There’s a tiny switch at the top of the display that you can slide to keep the camera from prying eyes. This implementation is pretty subtle and you’ll notice a tiny red dot over the camera when the privacy shutter is in action.

Regardless, getting to the quality of the webcam itself, it is pretty good. As expected, the subject does look a little soft but considering what passes for a webcam in laptops, I got no complaint about this one. You can even play around with brightness, contrast, and exposure settings in the Lenovo Vantage app for optimized camera quality. The audio pickup from the dual array microphone isn’t all that bad either. Moreover, the Yoga 7i also comes with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant built-in.

Audio

2x2W front-firing speaker setup
Dolby Atmos audio certified

Moving on, Lenovo is also targeting this laptop to the content-consumption demographics with its audio setup. This Dolby Atmos-certified front-firing speaker system gets pretty loud although it expectedly lags behind in terms of details compared to a standalone speaker. Yet, it’s miles better in contrast to practically every other laptop I’ve used so far. The audio does start to sound flat if you crank the loudness to the max so I’d advise keeping the volume level at about 75%.

Still, acoustic songs and other less dynamic audio content sound just fine even under full volume. You can even choose from multiple audio presets under the Lenovo Vantage app. There are separate optimization modes for different audio experiences like movie, music, game, etc. For wired input, Yoga 7i also has a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Performance

Intel Tiger Lake Core i5-1135G7 (28W TDP)
Iris Xe integrated graphics, No discrete GPU
8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD

Okay, let’s finally get into the performance side of things. Powering this laptop is the latest Intel Tiger Lake-U processor. You can choose between an i5 or i7 CPU and the former is what’s inside our unit. This has been coupled with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of M.2 SSD storage. Unfortunately, the RAM stick is soldered into the motherboard itself so be careful when choosing the memory option for you. If you’re into multitasking or simply run heavy apps, it’s better to get the 16GB option.

Thankfully, the SSD is upgradeable which is a relief considering how quick it is to fill up the 256GB space. More on the memory side of things, our review unit of the Lenovo Yoga 7i disappointed in this regard. First off, its memory management is pretty miserable when having multiple apps open. My prime-time usage mostly consists of editing a photo or two in Adobe Photoshop alongside editing word documents while browsing Chrome with about 5-6 tabs open.

Memory management

On multiple occasions, the Chrome tab would require a reload after keeping it idle for a while. Looking at the memory usage chart in Task Manager, I often noticed that this would take up about 86% of the available RAM space. But bringing games into the mix is where things go from bad to worse. I tried to play Valorant while keeping a couple of Chrome tabs open in the background and in more than one instance, I got a “Your computer is low on memory” error which eventually evolved into a BSOD.

So, it’s fair to say that 16GB RAM is the more ideal choice unless you’re restricted to simple lightweight apps. Furthermore, our Yoga 7i’s SSD is particularly disappointing as well. Looking at the CrystalDiskMark score, both the read/write speeds are disappointing—especially the latter. So, I checked other reviewers to see if this an all-out manufacturing defect but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. Therefore, if you’re thinking of buying this laptop, make sure you run these benchmarks beforehand. Here are some more benchmark scores to paint a picture of this machine’s performance standard.

CrystalDiskMark

	Read (MB/s)	Write (MB/s)
SEQ1M Q8T1	1134.98	206.80
SEQ128K Q32T1	1148.25	222.30
RND4K Q32T16	262.38	209.75
RNK4K Q1T1	28.59	121.67

Cinebench R23

CPU: Multi-Core	5367
CPU: Single Core	1350
MP Ratio	3.98x

Geekbench 5

CPU: Single Core	1396
CPU: Multi-Core	4650
Compute (OpenCL)	12524

Unigine Heaven

(FPS: 16.1, Score: 406, Min FPS: 5.3, Max FPS: 37.9)

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	27.8267 fps
1080p Car Chase Offscreen	67.7656 fps
1080p Manhattan 3.1 Offscreen	91.6563 fps
1080p ALU 2 Offscreen	420.058 fps
1080p Driver Overhead 2 Offscreen	137.952 fps
1080p Texturing Offscreen	95.1451 fps

Anyway, this 2-in-1 laptop doesn’t get a discrete GPU but as we know by now, the integrated Iris Xe graphics on the i5-1135G7 CPU is pretty commendable.

Gaming experience

As a result, you can even play a couple of eSports titles in limited settings. For this review, I tried playing a couple of popular titles like Valorant and CS: GO in the Lenovo Yoga 7i. At high graphics settings with 2x MSAA, I got 35-38fps in Valorant while the fps count jumped to 48fps under medium settings. For optimal gameplay, dialing down the graphics to low with everything else turned off got me about 71fps on average. Similarly, CS: GO gives a playable 58fps under low video settings with MSAA, FXAA turned off.

However, this is by no means a gaming laptop. Despite the bigger chassis, it is confined to a single-fan cooling system. Consequently, it gets hot pretty fast with the processor temperature reaching 74-degree in a matter of minutes. After about 5 minutes or so, the top-left area of the keyboard gets warm but that’s tolerable. There are also a couple of fan profiles to choose from in the Lenovo Vantage toolkit. For the best gameplay experience, the “Extreme performance” profile is what you’d want to use.

Allow me to talk more about this utility tool. You can download device drivers and control various system settings via this handy software. While it isn’t on par with the MyASUS app found in Asus laptops, Lenovo Vantage is in a league of its own. I also like its toolbar shortcut that displays the battery level in percentage and holds shortcuts like cooling modes, camera/mic settings, etc. Additionally, the ingenious “Flip to start” feature renders the power button obsolete by turning on the device as soon as you lift the lid.

Battery

71 Watt-hour Li-Po battery
65W AC adapter inside the box

Moving on to the battery, the Lenovo Yoga 7i features a 71 Watt-hour Li-Po cell. The company says this can last up to 15 hours. While I couldn’t squeeze out that level of endurance, I managed to get around 9-9.5 hours of screen-on-time. I would mostly keep the brightness level at 65-70% while I’ve already described my usage pattern above. So, I’m pretty satisfied with its battery performance.

On the charging front, Lenovo ships a 65W AC adapter inside the box that takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes to fully juice up the laptop. Either USB-C port on the left is Power Delivery compliant so you can also use a USB-PD charger to charge this device. Moreover, it also supports “Rapid Charge” which promises 3 hours of runtime with just 15-minutes of power plugged in. By default, this feature is disabled in the Lenovo Vantage toolkit.

Yet, quickly filling up the battery isn’t an ever-ideal idea since it has a direct negative impact on battery health. For this, there’s the “Conservation Mode” which maximizes battery lifespan by limiting the charge level to just 55-60% even if you’re plugged into a power source.

Conclusion

All in all, as I’ve explained throughout this review, the Lenovo Yoga 7i hasn’t quite lived up to what I’d expect from a decent 2-in-1 laptop. While it has fairly nice visual aesthetics complemented by a terrific speaker system, decent battery life, and a privacy shutter-laden webcam, the performance aspect leaves things to be desired—specifically how poor the memory management is.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (15″) Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

Excellent sound quality
Decent keyboard layout
Webcam with privacy shutter
Reasonable CPU performance
Great battery endurance

Cons:

Sharp front-edge design
Lacks HDMI, SD card slot
Doesn’t get bright enough
Poor memory management

Here’s why Uranium has been such a hot topic in Nepal for the past week

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GadgetByte

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March 20, 2021

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Here’s why Uranium has been such a hot topic in Nepal for the past week

In case you were unaware, uranium was among the hottest topic for gossips and discussions in Nepal last week. The topic came into the spotlight when news broke out about Nepal Police capturing four people who were allegedly smuggling uranium. Media outlets were quick to point out how the 2.5 kg of uranium, if real, could cost millions in the market. But hardly any of them gave a clear idea of what it is and why its value is so high. That is what we are here for today. So without further delay let’s get into the topic.

Uranium: A brief overview

Uranium is named after Uranus, the seventh planet in our solar system. Scientists believe that the metal came into existence around 6.6 billion years ago. However, it was discovered in 1789 when Martin Klaproth found it in a mineral called pitchblende.

Uranium is not that rare – at least when we talk about its occurrence in nature. In fact, it is more abundant in the Earth’s crust than metals like gold and silver. It is also inside the Earth where it is contributing to continental drift.

Radioactivity

Uranium is highly associated with radioactivity. In fact, it is among the first metal where this phenomenon was discovered. Let’s talk about some chemistry. There are three isotopes of Uranium – Uranium-238, Uranium-235, and Uranium-234. These all have the same atomic number but different atomic masses. As a result, they show similar chemical properties but different physical characteristics.

Here, Uranium-234 has the shortest half-life of 245,000 years. However, it only occurs as a product of decaying Uranium-238 which has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. Because of this property, it is vital for estimating the life of fossils and rocks (geo-dating).

Hence, it (U-238) is far from the radioactive material that people are projecting to be. In fact, the alpha particles that it radiates can easily be blocked. However, things can get pretty serious if it manages to get into the body. Inside the human body, uranium is a toxic substance that can cause kidney disease and cancer of the bone, liver, and lung.

Application

So far we only have scratched the surface of what this metal can do. As mentioned earlier, it is vital in Geochronology. Aircraft manufacturers use depleted uranium for counterbalance because of its high density. Some compounds of uranium have also been used in photography.

However, what makes it so special is that it can be used as nuclear fuel. It can be used as clean energy replacing the traditional sources of electricity. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, one uranium fuel pellet can produce as much energy as a ton of coal, 149 gallons of oil, or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas. On the other hand, it can and has been used as a military weapon. For context, the “Little Boy” that was dropped on Hiroshima contained only 64kg of uranium, of which, only 1.38% is assumed to have gone through fission.

Nuclear Energy: Fission and Fusion

Fusion

Fission is among the two processes by which nuclear fuel transforms into energy, the other being Fusion. Fusion is when two smaller atoms combine to give rise to a larger atom plus. This is common in Sun and other stars where Hydrogen atoms combine to form Helium. Scientists are yet to harness the power of fusion reaction. Till the “sun in the box” becomes a reality, we will have to rely on fission for nuclear energy.

Fission

In nuclear fission, a heavy atomic nucleus splits into smaller fragments. The split releases an enormous amount of thermal energy. Usually, a neutron excites the fuel undergoing fission. Also, the reaction itself can give rise to additional neutrons that can maintain a chain of the fission reaction.

It has been well over 60 years that this process has been used to produce electricity. As of now, there are over 440 nuclear reactors across 30 different countries that contribute to around 390,000 megawatts of electricity. Similarly, there are over 50 reactors under construction and 100 more have been considered for the future.

Nuclear Industry Performance 2019 — Source: World Nuclear Association

Inside the reactors

These reactors produce energy through the splitting of the U-235 isotope. The isotope has 143 neutrons and when a free neutron hits it, it splits. The process also frees some neutrons which then excites other neighboring U-235 atoms. The thermal energy from this chain reaction boils water. The steam then turns turbines to generate electricity.

On the other hand, the U-238 that makes up the majority of the nuclear fuel is not fissible but fertile. That is, it cannot undergo fission itself but can convert into a fissible material. When U-238 captures a neutron, it becomes Plutonium-239 which can go undergo fission like the U-235.

Preparing nuclear fuel

When someone mentions nuclear fuel, it is actually the enriched Uranium that they are referring to. We cannot just take it from nature, which is actually 40 times more abundant than silver, and toss it into a reactor for energy. The fuel needs to have at least 3-5% of the U-235 isotope for fission. And it takes a lot of effort in processing uranium ores till they become reactor-grade fuel.

Mining

The process requires the identification of orebody. Uranium exists on seawater and certain types of rock. As of 2019, places like Kazakhstan, Canada, Australia, and Niger have been successfully mining Uranium.

Production from mines (tonnes U)

Country	2019
Kazakhstan	22,808
Canada	6938
Australia	6613
Namibia	5476
Uzbekistan (est.)	3500
Niger	2983
Russia	2911
China (est.)	1885
Ukraine	801
USA	67
India (est.)	308
South Africa (est.)	346
Iran (est.)	71
Pakistan (est.)	45
Total world	54,752
tonnes U₃O₈	64,566
% of world demand	84%

Source: World Nuclear Association

The carbon component washes away from the ore once it passes through the crushing, heating, and cleaning process. The resulting slurry then goes through a leaching process with sulphuric acid. Here, the uranium reacts with sulfur and oxygen to form the liquid of Uranium Oxide. Then, the liquid goes through filtration using ammonia to form a yellowish uranium oxide concentrate, otherwise known as ‘yellowcake’.

Enrichment

Still, only 0.7% of the concentrate is actually fissible. Thus, it needs to get to reactor-grade (up to 3-5%). For this, fluorine reacts with uranium to form gaseous Uranium Hexafluoride. Then, the centrifuge separates the U-235 from the U-238 isotope. In the centrifuge, the uranium spins at a rapid speed. This causes the heavier U-238 isotope to move to the edges while the lighter U-235 isotope stays closer to the centrifuge.

Finally, the fuel

Calcium converts the Hexafluoride into Dioxide Powder. Pressing it at up to 1400-degree Cesisus forms ceramic pellets. The pellets then go into a rod. Several rods are combined in different configurations to form the assembly.

A topic of political tension

The process of making a nuclear weapon is a lot similar to that of producing reactor-level uranium. The former needs highly enriched uranium with up to 90% U-235. There have been attempts in the past and in the present to contain the technology of nuclear weapons among limited countries. Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1967) restricts other countries other than the US, Russia, UK, France, and China from developing nuclear weapons. As of now, 191 different parties have signed the treaty.

There are countries like India and Pakistan that have not signed the treaty and have a nuclear arsenal of their own. North Korea announced its departure from the treaty in 2003 and has gone on to test its own nuclear device.

And there is Iran – it neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons. It has defended itself stating that its nuclear program has always been peaceful. However, it failed to convince everyone and a result was subject to sanctions from US Security Council, the US, and the EU.

Uranium in Nepal

Last Thursday, Nepal Police arrested four people with 2.5kg of what it claims to be raw uranium. The arrestees were trying to sell the product in the market after finding out that it was a valuable metal. As per one of the arrestees, the supposed uranium was brought here by her father-in-law. Her father-in-law, who is now in the US, had brought the material from a mine in India where he worked some 20 years ago.

Since it was brought from the mine, it is far from the U-235 that is used in nuclear reactors and weaponry. The sample sent to the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) for tests has been found to be unprocessed U-238. Gamma spectroscopy was conducted with sodium iodide as the detector. The radioactivity of the sample was found to be 67 becquerels per kilogram.

As we have discussed earlier, U-238 needs to go through different complex processes before it can be used as a nuclear fuel.

This case is the first of its kind in Nepal and the police are investing it under the Explosive Act-2018. At present, there is no laboratory that can enrich and make use of nuclear fuel in Nepal. Even if Nepal was to have a nuclear program in the future, it will need to prove to the rest of the signatories of the NPT that it is for a peaceful purpose.

Earlier in 2014, a team of researchers discovered uranium deposits in Upper Mustang. They believed that the deposit was spread across an area that is 10km in length and 3km in width. In addition to Upper Mustang, uranium has been discovered in 25 other places including the Chure region. However, only three of them are said to have a large concentration.

Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Review: Finding It Easy

GadgetByte

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March 20, 2021

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Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Review: Finding It Easy

Samsung launched its very first smart tracker, the Galaxy SmartTag back in January alongside the Galaxy S21 series. And that is what we have with us today. I’ve been using this device for well over a month now and honestly, it is something that I didn’t know I needed. Allow me to discuss more about the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag in this review.

Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Specifications:

Body: 1.54 x 1.54 x 0.39 inches, 0.459 oz
Connectivity: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0
Tracking range: Up to 130 yards (119 meters)
Water resistance: Yes, IP53 rated
Battery: CR2032 (user-replaceable)
Compatibility: Samsung Galaxy devices only
Companion app: SmartThings (Android)

Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Review:

Honestly speaking, I have this habit of forgetting my scooter keys and even my backpacks in places like restaurants. And if you are like me, you’ll certainly consider the Galaxy SmartTag a boon. This Bluetooth low-energy powered tracker seamlessly connects with your Samsung smartphone and helps you keep track of the things to which it is attached.

Let’s dive into our review of the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag and find out whether this device is worth your money or not?

Design

Sleek, minimal, lightweight
IP53 dust/water resistant

Shaped like a diamond with rounded corners, the device has a keyhole at the top. It has got a subtle design and does not look out of place at all. It’s compact enough that fits inside a closed fist. It weighs just 13 grams so it shouldn’t really hinder you in any way at all. However, you should probably refrain from keeping it in your wallet due to the slightly protruded design.

The material is soft to touch, however, it does attract fingerprint smudges. There is Samsung branding in the rear part and on the front, you get a button ingrained in the design itself with the Galaxy SmartTag branding.

I have used it as a keyring for the large part and it feels right at home. However, Samsung has advertised it as a device that helps keep track of pets, luggage, and smartphones. Finding a loop to attach this smart tag safely to your pet’s collar is a tough ask. A loop to go along with the smart tag would have been appreciated, so a slight disappointment in that part. So, my suggestion would be to get a good loop if you want to have this tracker attached to your pets.

Ease of/How to Use Galaxy SmartTag

Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) 5.0
SmartThings app connectivity

Well, to use this device, you have to have a Samsung Galaxy smartphone running Android 8 or more. And this is quite frankly the biggest downside of this device. I know that there are a lot of Samsung users in the market, but the ones using other brands are not less either.

The tracker is Samsung exclusive because other than just tracking your device, this can control various other smart things too. So, Samsung is trying to bind users within its ecosystem. But people can sway from one brand to another. Thus, maybe in future iterations, they will launch a tracker.

Anyway, getting back to the topic, if you have a Samsung smartphone or tablet, connecting the SmartTag is pretty straightforward. You’ll need to register the tag in the SmartThings app on your Galaxy device. Press the button on the tag once, and it shows up.

You can configure various settings of the tag from the app itself. For instance, what happens when you press the button once, when you hold the button, and more can be found in the app. Furthermore, if you want to be able to track your smartphone from the tag itself, then you’ll need to switch on that option too.

Well, the primary purpose of this tracker is to help you find out the things that you have misplaced or lost. For what it’s worth, it’s pretty competent at what Samsung’s promising. I was able to test the tracker at a distance of around 50-55 meters.

This is the way

Using the tracker is easy. Once you realize that something to which the tracker is attached has been lost, you can go to the smart things find inside the SmartThings app and choose from one of three options: search nearby, navigate, and ring.

The search nearby option is similar to a game as it shows a semicircle that has a bar between hot and cold. As you get near the SmartTag, you’ll see the bar move towards hot. However, it is sort of a hit or miss thing. That’s because there was an instance where I was moving in the opposite direction, but the app was pointing towards hot.

The next is the navigate option. You can pinpoint the position of the tracker on the map too. It shows the last location of the tracker on the map where it was last connected to the smartphone. So no real-time tracking at all like a Bond movie. But the device can still connect to other Samsung smartphones which have the smart things app and update the location on your own map.

However, there’s a lot of assumption going on here as Samsung expects other Samsung users with the SmartThings app to pass by the tracker. And on top of that, they have to have their Bluetooth on.

Ringing the SmartTag

Finally, there’s the ring option. And I found it to be the most useful as the SmartTag starts beeping once you use this option. The sound is pretty loud too. Samsung claims that the tag can get as loud as 89dB so it is pretty audible.

Moreover, the tag is IP53 water resistance rated, meaning it can keep up with your outdoor lifestyle too. You can customize what tone the tracker should produce from the SmartThings app itself.

As mentioned earlier, the tag itself can be used to find the smartphone to which it is connected to. Just press the button twice and your phone will start beeping if it is within the Bluetooth range and even if it is in silent mode.

This smart tag has come in incredibly handy for me during this one month of usage. I was easily able to locate my lost keys and misplaced smartphone. However, using it with my pet dog was quite difficult as he tends to run around a lot and escaped the Bluetooth range most of the time.

Controlling IoT devices

Also, I don’t have plenty of IoT devices around my house. I was not able to use the tag to its full extent as I am not that into Samsung’s ecosystem. However, if you have one, then you can get something extra out of this tracker.

As for its lifespan, the tracker uses a replaceable CR2032 battery. You can simply pop open the case from the slight opening on the bottom side. The existing one should easily last you for around 300 days, so you can get a good year’s use out of it. However, be sure to mark your calendar to replace the battery.

Samsung Galaxy SmartTag Review: Conclusion

I believe that the SmartTag lives up to its name. It does what it is intended for pretty well. However, limiting the usage to just Samsung smartphones is the major downside here. But for those who consistently keep misplacing their stuff and are into the Samsung ecosystem, this tag is perfect.

Facebook is working on augmented reality glasses to interact with the virtual world

Facebook

GadgetByte

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March 20, 2021

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Facebook is working on augmented reality glasses to interact with the virtual world

Last week, Facebook released a blog post exploring human-computer interaction (HCI) and its future. It was in this post the company promised to unveil the features of its upcoming AR glasses. A week later, Facebook has now shared a wrist-based AI input mechanism to go with the AR glasses. Facebook mentions in the new blog that it uses limited yet contextualized AI that is capable of dynamically adjusting to the user and the environment.

Facebook Wrist-based AI Input Mechanism

The wrist-based AI input mechanism is crucial in Facebook’s vision of how people will connect with people in the future. The company is working on its always-available AR glasses that will allow users to connect to people conveniently irrespective of the distance. The glasses will help fuse the virtual world with the real world. According to Andrew Bosworth, lead at Facebook Reality Lab, AR glasses will enhance daily life for the better. Unlike smartphones, it will project the digital world in three dimensions.

Ideal HCI

The wrist-based AI input mechanism is far from the ideal HCI for the future. Facebook itself is considering an “ultra-low-friction input” that combines contextually-aware AI that can interpret users’ actions with a reliable communication technology that can complement it. But this ideal HCI mechanism is not possible with present-day technology. As a result, we need to be content with a mechanism that has limited but usable contextualized AI.

Facebook has also explained its decision to go with a wrist-based mechanism. First of all, it is much closer to hand which we use to interact with the world. And it’s more normalized to wear smart wearable like band and watches on the wrist. The proximity with our body means it’s both private and reliable.

EMG on the Facebook Wrist-based AI Input

The prototype of the wrist-based AI input makes use of electromyography. There are sensors that detect the nerve signal moving from the wrist to the hand and translate it into digital signals. These signals serve as a 1-bit command that can control the functions of the device in focus. Facebook says the degree of control is highly “personalizable” and adaptable. The sensors in use are so sensitive that they can even detect just the intention of moving a finger.

The sensors are not reading your mind. In fact, they are sort of a bridge between the peripheral nervous system and the world. When you decide to perform a task, your mind sends nervous impulses to your hand for the same. Here, the EMG sensors detect the signal from the wrist and convert them to digital commands. It doesn’t have access to your thoughts.

Click and Contextualized Click

The wrist-based AI input mechanism with EMG supports up to 2 bits of control commands, otherwise called ‘click.’ The click could be a simple tap or complex gesture like pinching and releasing of thumb and forefingers. It is a lot faster than other conventional input methods like tapping on a touchscreen click on a mouse and typing on a keyboard.

Facebook wants to expand these controls to a point where users can use them to navigate through virtual AI and control objects. It also working on custom keyboard models to adjust to users’ speed and method as it is working to replace traditional keyboards with EMG inputs.

Haptics

Facebook says the new wrist-based AI input mechanism will be combined with contextualized AI for an “intelligent click”. On its own, the click has very limited functionality. However, when it is combined with a contextualized AI, it can do a whole lot more. An intelligent click is when AI recommends a certain task based on the daily routine that best aligns with your past activities. You just have to click to approve it.

The wrist-based AI mechanism can also reproduce a wide range of haptic responses for a more realistic experience. Facebook says it can realistically re-create the sensation of pulling back arrow while using a virtual bow. This will be used to notify users of the incoming notifications. For instance, Facebook proposes a custom haptic to let the user know the caller. Users, after receiving it, can use click to receive calls or reject them. All this is completed without a visual interface. Facebook is also working on new concepts such as haptic emojis, Tasbi (Tactile and Squeeze Bracelet Interface), and Bellowland.

Ethics

In the past, Facebook has been a subject of different controversies regarding user’s privacy, safety, and security. Thus, it has called for opinions about their latest venture. It is open to share its learning with the community and be part of open discussions for addressing potential concerns. The company also has a neuroethics program at FRL which looks for loopholes in the technology to avoid any potential harm.

Meanwhile, check out our impressions of the Galaxy A52 4G.

Which smartphone brands have honest pricing in Nepal compared to India?

Analysis

Nikhil Shrestha

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March 19, 2021

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Which smartphone brands have honest pricing in Nepal compared to India?

Sandwiched between two of the largest smartphone markets in the world, domestic buyers are usually disheartened to look at Nepal’s smartphone industry. From the lack of timely launches to straight-up unavailability, our market simply doesn’t enjoy the same treatment from vendors in our neighboring countries. But more importantly, the price difference in smartphones in Nepal and India makes the matter so much worse.

Smartphones price in Nepal and India:

Factors like cultural similarity and the open border directly contribute to this phenomenon known as “reference pricing” between Nepal and India. While China relishes similar (if not better) smartphone prices compared to India, the stark contrast in Nepal-China culture and the comparatively strict border means Nepalese are rather hesitant in importing phones from our neighbors in the north.

On the contrary, there’s even this relaxed notion of:

“यहाँ महँगो भयो कि बोर्डर गएर किनिन्छ।“

among many domestic customers. This is none other than because of the aforementioned “reference pricing” tendency.

The term is pretty self-explanatory, but allow me to briefly elaborate on it regardless. Simply put, it involves comparison. Say product X costs $10 at store A while store B sells the same commodity for $12. As you can tell, there’s a clear & objectively superior choice of purchase between the two stores. Let’s put that principle to our topic of discussion.

While there are a few smartphone vendors that price their devices rather competitively here in Nepal, most of them fail to do so—in comparison to India. This ultimately triggers the said “बोर्डर गएर किनिन्छ” mentality. Well, not everyone will (or can) explicitly act on that. But as compensation, they will resort to the grey market seeking a more acceptable pricing model.

The grey market rises

Consequently, it’s a major headache for the official importers as it directly contributes to a loss in their potential business. To counter this illegal import of smartphones and similar devices in the country, Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is finally gearing up to introduce Mobile Device Management System (MDMS). You can learn more about it here.

Anyway, coming back to the topic at hand, how do the official importers/distributors of smartphones treat their customers in Nepal in terms of the product price? While we’d like to believe all of them do the best they can, ultimately, we’re paying more than what our neighbors do for the same commodity most of the time.

So today, we’ll be taking a look at a handful of midrange smartphones officially available in Nepal and India to look at which brands save face and which don’t.

Smartphone Model	Price in India	Price in Nepal	Difference
Realme 7 (8/128GB)	INR 16,999	NPR 35,990	32.32%
OPPO F19 Pro (8/128GB)	INR 21,490	NPR 44,990	30.85%
POCO X3 (6/128GB)	INR 15,499	NPR 31,999	29.04%
OnePlus Nord (6/128GB)	INR 27,999	NPR 54,999	22.77%
Vivo V20 (8/128GB)	INR 24,990	NPR 46,990	17.52%
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro Max (6/128GB)	INR 17,499	NPR 31,999	14.29%
Samsung Galaxy M51 (6/128GB)	INR 22,999	NPR 39,999	8.7%

From the table, we can see that OPPO, POCO, Realme, OnePlus, and Vivo’s phones fall victim to a higher price difference between Nepal and India. On the other hand, Samsung and Xiaomi’s offerings are much more digestible in regards to their relative price. But before making any further assumption, it’s important to understand that this solitary sample size is not enough to come to an objective conclusion.

However, we can paint a rough picture of how exorbitantly (or competitively) different smartphone brands in Nepal price their products compared to India.

What affects smartphone pricing?

A company’s pricing policy is also determined by factors including (but not limited to) operation costs, distribution network, market competition, and more. Also, not all these brands share a similar set of resources to warrant comparable pricing. But in the end, a buyer can’t afford to empathize with a brand’s lackluster business acumen for their unreasonable pricing.

Let’s put the spotlight on our two main culprits: Realme and OPPO. Now, we already know that in the global arena, these two are sister companies. Despite sharing each other’s resources, Realme and OPPO cater to two distinct market demographics. Similarly, Realme and OPPO’s business are managed by the same firm here in Nepal too. While their product portfolio itself is pretty impressive, embarrassingly, their pricing is not.

The non-existent Xiaomi-Realme rivalry

As a result, they haven’t been able to break into the Nepalese smartphone market quite as much as the competition. Here, seeing Realme’s incompetence is more frustrating than disappointing. Even though its offerings rival Xiaomi’s smartphone lineup, because they have a laughably unreasonable asking price, there’s really not much of a competition between the two companies. But in India, their fierce rivalry facilitates buyers to enjoy better products at even better prices.

Talking about Xiaomi, yes, they’re the king of value-for-money smartphones in Nepal—no doubt. The company has been revolutionizing the budget and mid-range segment in the country for quite some time. Yet, things could be better. You see, while Xiaomi India frequently introduces discounts, offers, and even permanent price-drops, this happens once in a blue moon here in Nepal.

Nepali OnePlus enthusiasts are left to sulk too. The company that (almost) single-handedly redefined what smartphone affordability could mean, doesn’t have the best track record in our country. Whether it’s about the flagships or the recent mid-range releases, OnePlus phones are way too expensive in Nepal. Even though the brand recently received a new distributor, things haven’t changed much.

Good job, Samsung

On the contrary, Samsung’s pricing strategy has been commendable so far. Not just mid-range phones, its budget, premium mid-range, and flagship smartphones retail competitively—even compared to the global market. If the rumors are to be believed, the recently launched Galaxy A72 which starts at NPR 51,999 in Nepal, will cost INR 34,999 (= NPR 56,000) in India.

Because of the very same reason, Samsung phones rarely make rounds in Nepal’s grey market. More often than not, it’s the Chinese brands’ devices that see volumes of illegal imports. A recent sting operation from Avenues Khabar and Nepal Police revealed a large volume of said grey imports in Nepal’s biggest hub too.

Smartphones price in Nepal and India: Conclusion

To wrap it all up, even after the implementation of MDMS, the Nepalese smartphone market will see its comparison against that of India. While there are some companies that price their phones fairly, the current state of the issue demands major improvement. Only with this will MDMS find its true success in Nepal.

In the meanwhile, check out our impressions of the Galaxy A52 4G.

Google Nest Hub updated with Soli-powered sleep tracking feature

Google

GadgetByte

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March 18, 2021

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Google Nest Hub updated with Soli-powered sleep tracking feature

Google has announced its second-generation Nest Hub. The main highlight of the new smart display is its ability to track sleep without additional equipment. Other than that, it is faster and even louder than its predecessor that was launched in 2018. In this post, we will be taking a look at the specifications, features, expected price, and availability of second-generation Nest Hub in Nepal.

Second-generation Nest Hub Overview:

Design and Display

Google has decided to continue the original design with some adjustments on top. The second-generation Nest Hub has the same display as its predecessor. It’s a 7-inch LCD touchscreen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Google says that the edgeless design makes the display easier to clean. You can even use it as a photo frame. The plastic parts in the second-generation Nest Hub are made using 54% recycled plastic.

Audio

Google has also made a significant improvement in the audio department. The second-generation Nest Hub now boasts up to 50% more bass than the original model. The speaker here has a 1.7-inch full-range driver. Accompanying it are three far-field microphones. It is compatible with popular audio and video streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Netflix, YouTube, and so on.

Also Read: Google Chrome will now use less memory with its latest update

Advanced Sleep Tracking Technology

Let’s talk about the new sleep tracking feature. The second-gen Google Nest Hub comes with Motion Sense technology powered by the Soli sensor that debuted with the Pixel 4. With this, the smart display monitors your sleeping habit by analyzing your movement and breathing – that too, without any camera. In addition, the built-in microphone, ambient light, and temperature sensors can monitor your sleeping environment. It can even detect your snoring and coughing along with the light and the temperature of the room.

The data collected this way can be shared with Google Fit. Also, the Nest Hub can provide personalized bedtime schedules, suggestions based on your sleeping habits, and guidance from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

There is an indicator that is enabled when the sleep monitoring is turned on. Users can even disable the sleep tracking. The service is available as a free preview until next year. Google is also working on integrating the feature into the Fitbit ecosystem.

Rest of the features

Users also get support for Google Assistant. The inclusion of a dedicated AI chip makes the response even faster. There is also this function called Quick Gesture that allows users to pause or play content by using mimicking tapping in front of the Nest Hub.

The Nest Hub can show all of the connected AIoT devices in your house too. Google has also promised to enable Thread network in the future that will make controlling your smart home even easier.

Second-Generation Nest Hub Specs:

Dimension: 4.7” (H) x 7.0” (W) x 2.7” (D); 558 grams
Display: 7-inch touchscreen (1024 x 600 pixels)
Processor: Quad-Core 64-bit 1.9GHz AMR CPU; ML Hardware engine
Audio: 1.7” Full-range driver; 3 far-field microphones
Sensors: Soli (Motion Sense), Ambient EQ Light, Temperature
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0
Features: Sleep Tracking, Google Assistant, Chrome Cast

Second-generation Nest Hub Price in Nepal and Availability

The second-generation Google Nest Hub is available for pre-order in the US, Canada, France, and Australia. Its price is $99.99 in the US. We can expect the price of the second-generation Nest Hub in Nepal to be NPR 15,500 if it launches here via unofficial sources.

Smart Display	Price in the US	Price in Nepal [Expected]
Nest Hub (Second-generation)	$99.99	NPR 15,500

In the meanwhile, check out our impressions of the Galaxy A72.

World War IV – Endgames is an upcoming MMORPG game from Nepali developers

Featured

GadgetByte

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March 18, 2021

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World War IV – Endgames is an upcoming MMORPG game from Nepali developers

Game development is still in its initial stage in Nepal. Over the years, the number of eSports players in the country has increased significantly. Some have even represented the country on the international stage. Still, we lack local and original titles to cater to this growing audience. As such, a team of Nepali developers has come up with World War IV –Endgames.

World War IV – Endgames Overview

Storyline

World War IV – Endgames is a text-based online massively multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Asterisk Technology. The game is set in 2030 in the aftermath of World War III. The war has destroyed a lot of countries. The surviving European nations have formed an alliance called “United Europe” while the countries in the middle-east have joined United Middle East. These two factions are acting as individual governments. Other surviving countries include the USA, UK, Russia, Japan, China, and India.

Career options

In the game, you will play as one of the survivors of the wars. You can choose to become a citizen of one of the remaining 8 countries and fight for the ultimate supremacy. There are four career options in the game:

Politician: They are responsible for their country’s economy. They control and set tax rates for different wages, imports, and businesses.
Army: Your strength will be boosted by 25% than normal players in the training.
Business: Businesses aim to establish and upgrade their companies for higher production.
High Skilled workers: These players are there to increase production.

More about the game

Players need to complete works or tasks to earn in-game cash. The salaries earned this way are subject to taxes and are stored in the inventory. Working more frequently also adds to the player’s skill. After the completion of the 10th work, players will be able to choose a career path. Once selected, users can modify it only after 7 days. The things that a player can do depends upon the career selection.

For instance, players in the Politician’s career can ultimately become the President. President controls the economy of the whole country and can even declare war on other countries.

1 of 3

The weapon catalog in the game includes rifles, pistols, machine guns, bazooka, rockets, and nuclear bombs. Players can travel to different places for business purposes. There are different accommodations too. Players also need to keep consuming bread and protein shake which are restored with the progress in time.

World World War IV – Endgames Launch Date

World World War IV – Endgames will be available for early access (Android) from April 4. We believe the iOS version will also drop sometime in the future. You can register for the game for free via the official site.

Initial thoughts

World War IV – Endgames is more of a strategic role-playing game. It is not to be confused with battle royale like PUBG Mobile and COD: Mobile. It is text-based and everything including attacks are done by interacting with the menu and options. There are not many graphic elements in the game. Still, it will be a huge boost to the whole Nepali game developers community if it were to become a successful product. However, much of it will depend upon the gaming experience itself and we will have to wait for the official launch to test that.

Meanwhile, check out our initial impressions of the Samsung Galaxy A72.

Samsung confirms that it will skip on a Galaxy Note device this year

Samsung

GadgetByte

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March 18, 2021

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Samsung confirms that it will skip on a Galaxy Note device this year

The writings have been on the wall, and it has finally been confirmed—Samsung won’t be releasing a new Galaxy Note device this year. However, it is just a temporary thing. That means the company will resume the Galaxy Note lineup in 2022. A few reasons have been mentioned as to why Samsung is going to skip the Note lineup in 2021.

No Samsung Galaxy Note device in 2021

First and foremost, the global shortage of semiconductor chips has been cited as its primary reason. There has been a surge in demand for electronics during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, foundries like Samsung and TSMC have not been able to match them with the supply. Therefore, other companies such as Qualcomm are struggling to deliver enough smartphone chips.

Samsung manufactures logic, memory, and storage chips for major clients such as IBM, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. Thus, the company has to meet its client’s demands too. Therefore, they have thought of it as a wise decision to scrap the Note series for the time being. However, the global shortage of semiconductor chips has affected other companies too. Foxconn, which assembles Apple’s iPhones, has also voiced its concern regarding this issue. Thus, if we hear something regarding the matter from Apple’s camp in the coming days, then it should not come as a surprise.

Also Read:
- Galaxy A72 with 3x telephoto lens already available in Nepal
- Samsung Galaxy A52 with 90Hz SAMOLED display launching soon in Nepal

Samsung’s 2021 lineup of smartphones

Samsung already has a jam-packed schedule for 2021. It is yet to launch various Galaxy A models, the Galaxy Z Flip 2, and Galaxy Z Fold 3. Furthermore, the Galaxy S21 FE is slated to launch during Q4 of this year. The company has already given a potential timeline for the launch of the above-mentioned devices. So obviously, they are not going to scrap it now. Thus, instead of focusing on a new Note device, Samsung is set on its current plan.

Furthermore, the inclusion of the S Pen support in the S21 Ultra with its S-Pen support is also seen as a reason why there won’t be a Note lineup this year. Additionally, the upcoming Z Fold 3 is also rumored to include a stylus. People had actually believed that Samsung is set to discontinue the lineup altogether. However, that’s not the case. And there will be a Note lineup in 2022. Hopefully, the decision of Samsung to skip the Galaxy Note lineup for 2021 will give them more time to bring out an even better device in 2022.

In the meanwhile, do check out our review of the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Samsung’s new Galaxy A72 is already available for purchase in Nepal

Samsung

Nikhil Shrestha

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March 17, 2021

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Samsung’s new Galaxy A72 is already available for purchase in Nepal

Samsung unveiled a couple of new phones at the “Galaxy Unpacked March” event held yesterday (March 17). Among them is the new Galaxy A72 which is already available for purchase in Nepal. Let’s learn more about the specs, features, and the official price of the Samsung Galaxy A72 in Nepal right here.

Samsung Galaxy A72 Overview:

With the rise in popularity of 5G smartphones, OEMs are rushing in to incorporate the tech into their products. Here, Samsung was expected to announce the 5G variant of the Galaxy A72 as well but the company didn’t unveil it during today’s event. Still, we expect Samsung to announce the A72 5G shortly, which will likely be powered by Snapdragon 750G.

Design

Just like the Galaxy A52, this phone sees a design overhaul as well. Gone are the glossy reflective back panel and the L-shaped camera layout. Samsung has replaced them with a matte finish and a Galaxy S21-liked camera module. The color choices get softer options this time around too. Available in either Awesome – Black, Blue, White, Violet, their pastel hue looks quite pleasing to the eyes.

Additionally, Samsung is also throwing in IP67 dust/water resistance on the Galaxy A72. That means this phone can withstand full immersion in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes, while also being immune to dust & dirt. In the process of adding waterproof coatings (and a bigger battery that I’ll talk about in just a bit), the phone is slightly heavier than its predecessor (203 gm > 179 gm).

Also Read:
- Samsung Galaxy A52 with 90Hz SAMOLED display launched

Display

On to the display, you get a big 6.7” FHD+ Super AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. Yeah, Samsung is finally catching up to the high refresh rate trend in mid-range and premium mid-range smartphones. Although we expected to see a 120Hz screen, the noticeable bump to 90Hz is a welcome move regardless. But unlike variable refresh rate (VRR) technology found in Samsung’s high-end or even mid-range phones from companies like POCO, this display is stuck at either 60Hz or 90Hz mode.

Besides the size, Galaxy A72’s screen shares every other feature with the A52. It enjoys up to 800 nits of brightness under HBM (High Brightness Mode) and is SGS certified against harmful blue light emission as well. It is also Widevine L1 certified meaning you can watch HD content from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other streaming services.

Performance

While Samsung’s premium mid-range phones have delivered on aspects like design, display, and camera, they have historically lagged in the performance department. And seeing this trend continue with the A72 is a little disheartening. Here, the company has opted for the rather lackluster Snapdragon 720G chipset. Samsung earned might praise for including its the-then flagship-grade chipset Exynos 9825 in the recent Galaxy F62. But the inclusion of 720G on a relatively expensive phone just doesn’t make sense.

Anyway, complementing the chipset is either 6/8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. The phone also accepts an external micro SD card of up to 1TB. On the software side of things, Galaxy A72 runs on Samsung’s latest One UI 3.1 based on Android 11. Additionally, it will also receive up to 3 generations of OS and 4 years of security upgrades.

Camera

Moving on, Samsung has brought a decent camera upgrade on this phone. From the OIS (Optical Image Stabilization)-enabled primary sensor to a telephoto zoom lens, it looks like an objectively better camera phone compared to its predecessor—at least on paper.

A72’s quad-camera setup consists of a 64MP f/1.8 primary lens with OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide sensor with 123º FOV, an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 5MP f/2.4 sensor for macro photography. On the front, the 32MP f/2.2 selfie shooter has remained unchanged. In terms of videos, Galaxy A72 can shoot up to 4K/30fps footage from the rear and front camera, although the latter lacks stabilization.

The 3x optical and 30x digital zoom capable telephoto lens also supports OIS which sounds pretty promising. While it is void of the “Director’s View” mode that Samsung introduced in the Galaxy S21 series, the phone does come with a couple of fun shooting profiles like Single Take, Super Slo-Mo, Panorama Mode, Night Mode, Fun Mode (developed in collaboration with Snapchat and exclusive to Samsung phones), etc.

Rest of the specs

Coming from the Galaxy A71, Samsung has bumped the battery capacity too. It gets its power from a big 5000mAh battery which supports 25W fast charging. While that pales in comparison to the 7000mAh cell found in Samsung’s Galaxy F62, you should get at least a day’s worth of endurance.

The company is claiming it as a “Two-day battery life” phone but we’ll be the judge of that. Other features of the A72 include a Dolby Atmos-compliant stereo speaker setup, Knox security, Music Share, Buds Together, etc.

Samsung Galaxy A72 Specifications:

Body: 77.4 x 165.0 x 8.4mm, 203 gm, IP67 dust/water resistant
Display: 6.7-inches “Infinity-O” Super AMOLED panel, 90Hz refresh rate, 394 PPI
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (8nm)
CPU: Octa-core (2×2.3 GHz Kryo 465 Gold & 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 465 Silver)
GPU: Adreno 618
Memory: 6/8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 128/256GB storage (expandable)
Software & UI: Android 11 with Samsung’s One UI 3.1 on top
Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
– 64MP f/1.8 primary lens, AF, OIS
– 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens, 123º FOV
– 8MP f/2.4 telephoto lens, OIS, 3x optical zoom
– 5MP f/2.4 macro sensor
Front Camera: 32MP f/2.2 sensor (punch-hole cutout)
Audio: Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos audio, 3.5mm headphone jack
Security: Optical in-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual-band), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS / AGPS / Glonass / Galileo / Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C, 4G LTE
Battery: 5000mAh with 25W fast charging (25W adapter provided)
Color options: Awesome – Black, Blue, White, Violet

Samsung Galaxy A72 Price in Nepal & Availability

Samsung Galaxy A72 is available in Nepal at a starting price of Rs. 51,999. This price is for the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant. Likewise, the higher-end 256GB storage variant costs Rs. 56,999.

Samsung Galaxy A72	Price in Nepal (Official)
8/128GB	NPR 51,999
8/256GB	NPR 56,999

Check out our early impressions of the Samsung Galaxy A72.