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Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21+ Review: Eclipsed By The Ultra

Pratima Adhikari
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Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21+ Review: Eclipsed By The Ultra

Like last year, Samsung has introduced three smartphones under this year’s S-series as well—the Galaxy S21, S21+, and the S21 Ultra. And in this review, I will be discussing the Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21+ (S21 Plus) at length.

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+ Specifications:

Specifications Galaxy S21 Galaxy S21+
Body 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9mm, 169gm (mmWave: 171gm), IP68, Glastic back 161.4 x 75.6 x 7.8 mm, 200gm (mmWave: 202gm), IP68, Glass back
Display 6.2-inches “Infinity-O” Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, 421PPI 6.7-inches “Infinity-O” Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, 394PPI
Display Properties 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 1300nits, Gorilla Glass Victus 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 1300 nits, Gorilla Glass Victus
Resolution FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels); 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset
  • US, S. Korea, China: Snapdragon 888 (5nm Mobile Platform)
  • Global: Exynos 2100 (5nm Mobile Platform)
RAM 8GB LPDDR5
Storage 128GB / 256GB UFS 3.1 (non-expandable)
Rear Camera
  • 12MP, f/1.8 primary shooter, OIS, Dual Pixel AF
  • 12MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor
  • 64MP, f/2.0 telephoto lens, OIS, Tracking AF, 3X hybrid optical zoom, 30x Space Zoom
Front Camera 10MP, f/2.2 aperture; Dual Pixel AF
Security Qualcomm 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2, Face Unlock
Audio Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital/Plus
Connectivity 5G, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, UWB (Only S21+)
Battery 4000mAh 4800mAh
Charging USB PD 3.0 (25W), 15W Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, 4.5W Reverse Wireless Charging, No charger inside the box
Colors Violet, Gray, White, Pink Violet, Black, Silver, Pink
Price in Nepal Rs. 109,999 (8/256GB) Rs. 129,999 (8/256GB)

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+ Review:

Although the S21 Ultra effortless steals the spotlight among the three with its S-pen support, better cameras, and more, the standard S21 and S21+ aren’t that far behind either. In fact, these phones offer a similar experience at a much lower asking price. The keyword here is “similar”.

But regardless of what S-series phone you go for this year, barring a couple of markets like the US and China, you are going to get a much-improved Exynos 2100 chipset. Forget the new design or the cameras, this is the most exciting upgrade Samsung has introduced in its latest flagship by finally listening to the outcries of its customers.

Performance

  • Octa-core Samsung Exynos 2100 SoC (5nm) – Global
  • 8GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB UFS 3.1 storage (fixed)

You might already know just how much of an upgrade it brings when looking at the spec-sheet. But in real-life too, the Exynos 2100 feels so much faster than last year’s Exynos 990. Having used the Note 20 Ultra for so long, I could instantly feel the difference. The animations feel faster and working around the phone feels swifter. So I have to say that the performance upgrade from the newer chipset has really impressed me.

Yet, the question still remains—is this new Exynos chipset on par with the Snapdragon 888 version of the S21 series? For that, we will have to wait and see.

Galaxy S21 Plus S21+ - Gaming

But what I can say right now is that the Exynos 2100 doesn’t have any kind of heating, throttling issue. Previously, with both the S20 and the S20+, the phone would get warm just minutes into shooting 4K videos or playing games which is no longer the case with the S21 series, so that’s great.

Gaming Experience

However, I am not particularly impressed with the GPU capabilities of the Exynos 2100—especially how restrictive it is PUBG Mobile. The highest setting you can reach is Smooth graphics with the frame rates set to Extreme whereas the iPhone 12 maxes out at HDR graphics and Extreme frame rates.

And even if we leave the iPhone aside, the fact that it is not optimized for 90 fps gameplay like the OnePlus 8 series is slightly disappointing. That being said, other demanding games such as COD Mobile and Genshin Impact run similarly on the S21 and the iPhone 12 series. So, maybe Samsung can better optimize popular titles like PUBG to tap into the gaming arena as well.

Display

  • 6.2/6.7-inches Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel
  • Adaptive 120Hz refresh rate (48 – 120Hz)
  • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection

Moving on to the display side of things, Samsung has scaled down the QHD resolution from last year’s S20 series to just FHD on the S21 and S21+. But you still get the adaptive 120Hz refresh rate that can switch between screen refresh rate depending on the content.

As usual, it’s a Dynamic AMOLED panel with excellent brightness levels, colors, and contrast. Noticeably, there are no curves here like the S20+ or the S21 Ultra, and Samsung has rather opted for a flat panel on these devices.

Galaxy S21+ S21 Plus - Display

Personally, I didn’t have any problem with the minimal curves on the S20+, but I don’t mind this flat display either. Like the S21 Ultra, the front and back of the S21+ are now protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, while the regular S21 gets the Victus treatment only on the front as it comes with a polycarbonate back.

With this, the S21+ feels much better on hand, whereas the plastic back on the S21 feels exactly like the Galaxy S20 FE. So, yeah, not so premium design on the S21.

But the S21 shines when it comes to ergonomics and one-handed usage. The S21+, although a little bigger, is still really comfortable on the hands too, although the smaller form factor and lightweight build of the S21 is something you might want over the S21+ and S21 Ultra.

Battery

  • 4000/4800mAh battery with 25W fast charging
  • 15W Qi Wireless Charging, Wireless PowerShare

However, “with small design comes small battery”. And the biggest issue with the S21 is that it features a moderate 4,000mAh cell while the S21+ comes with a beefier 4,800mAh battery. Hence, the endurance on the S21+ is far better than the S21. Using both phones side by side, throughout the review, I got almost a full day’s usage on the Samsung Galaxy S21+ while the regular S21 dies by the evening.

Galaxy S21+ S21 Plus - UI

And because the display on the S21 and S21+ only have a dynamic range of 48-120Hz unlike the S21 Ultra that can shift between 10-120Hz depending on what activity you do on your phone; the relative endurance is better on the S21 Ultra.

As for charging speeds, nothing has changed except for the fact you don’t get a power brick inside the box anymore. With the 25W charger that you can get for like $25, charging isn’t as wickedly fast as 65W chargers you get on Chinese phones. Still, it is faster than the 20W charger of the iPhone 12 series.

One more thing, this year, I was really hoping that Samsung would bring something better in terms of wireless charging seeing how Apple is trying to shift focus to MagSafe and Xiaomi just brought 50W wireless charging support on Mi 11. To my disappointment, Samsung still is stuck with the 15-watt wireless charging.

Design, UI

  • Glass front | Glastic (S21), Glass back (S21+)
  • Aluminum frame, IP68 dust/water resistant
  • Samsung One UI 3.1 based on Android 11

Coming back to the design again, the company has changed things by quite a bit in the S21 series. The camera sensors have been neatly placed inside this module that now looks as if it’s a part of the side frame itself. Honestly, looking at the render images initially, I was a little skeptical. But I gotta give credit to Samsung, it looks quite good in the flesh.

Onto the software side of things, both the S21 and S21+ ship with the latest version of One UI, the One UI 3.1 based on Android 11. This time, with the new Exynos 2100 integration, Samsung’s Android skin feels more optimized than ever.

And it’s impressive how with every generation the company is able to make One UI better for one-handed usage. If you have watched my review of the iPhone 12 Pro Max, I have talked about how it is extremely uncomfortable to use and how the iOS 14 absolutely lacks optimization for one-handed usage.

Google Discover card

Well, with Samsung devices, it’s exactly the opposite. So, on the usability part, I am happy with these devices. Also, swiping left from the home screen now takes you to the Google Discover cards which is something I have been wanting for years.

The in-display fingerprint sensor on the S21 series has improved a lot in performance as well. It is still Samsung’s proprietary ultrasonic technology. But this time it boasts Qualcomm’s 3D Sonic Sensor Gen 2. Samsung claims that this sensor is 1.7 times larger and performs 50% faster scanning in comparison to the previous ones. During my test, I couldn’t really tell if this version of Samsung’s ultrasonic sensors indeed has a larger sensing area, but it is definitely a lot faster and I even noticed that the registration time has reduced slightly too.

Cameras

  • Triple camera setup at the back
  • (12MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, 64MP telephoto)
  • 10MP selfie camera inside the Infinity-O cutout

Jumping to the cameras, the S21, and S21+ feature similar hardware as last year. While the 12MP ultrawide lens is the new Sony IMX563 sensor instead of S5K2LA on the S20 series, these phones retain the same 12MP Sony IMX555 primary lens and the 64 MP telephoto lens.

And since both the S21 and S21+ have the exact same camera setup and Exynos 2100’s ISP, the photos turn out the same too. I was doubtful that given the lower price tag of the S21, it would sort of have inferior camera performance compared to the S21+, but that’s not the case.

Normal Images

I also checked how the S21’s cameras fared against the S21 Ultra and found differences mostly in color tone in the primary and ultra-wide cameras.

The Ultra’s pictures have a subtle and natural color tone while sometimes, the S21+ slightly saturates the images more.

But the big difference lies in the night time performance where the S21 Ultra is able to produce less grainy and sharper images than the S21+. Definitely, the newer and bigger 108MP camera sensor has played a huge role in this.

Portrait Images

About the portraits, well, here too, the S21 Ultra can produce fuller colors than the S21+.

But everything else is almost the same and because colors are mostly a matter of personal preference, I will leave the judgment to you guys.

Telephoto Images

3x zoom telephoto images look almost similar on both devices despite featuring different sensors. But even though that’s the case, when clicking videos, the difference is apparent where the Ultra is the clear winner. However, you don’t get a periscope 10x zoom lens like with the S21 Ultra. So, when it comes to telephoto shots, the Ultra is the clear winner.

And we all know how last year’s S20 Ultra grabbed headlines because of its autofocus issue. This year though, the inclusion of a laser autofocus sensor has solved the problem to a great extent. Yet, at times, because of the larger focal lengths of the 108MP sensor, while clicking closeup shots, the camera does struggle for a second to lock focus which is not a problem with the S21+.

I didn’t stop the camera comparison just yet because a small portion of me was curious about how much improvement the S21 cameras have against last year’s S20.

vs S20+

After going through the images, I found that the S21 didn’t have that extra pop in colors like the S20 which makes it look somewhat close to natural.

It also has a good level of contrast that didn’t overcompensate for the shadow details.

However, the portraits from the S21 have this usual yellow tone that makes them look unnatural.

Nighttime Images

Comparing the night time images, I found S21+ to have slightly better sharpness than the S20+ in the normal mode.

Wide-angle images from the normal mode on the other hand were better on the S20+. As you can see, the ultrawide-angle night time images from the S21+ has a lot more noticeable grains than the S20+.

However, turning on the night mode, you can see the image signal processor of the Exynos 2100 bringing in more details and better exposure maintenance.

And it’s almost certain that we’ll see a few more updates from Samsung to make the S21’s camera even better.

Selfie Images

As for selfies, both the S20+ and the S21+ feature the same 10MP camera upfront. Although most of the things look almost identical, the S21 preserves the shadow details better and has a slightly better dynamic range.

But if you are someone who likes more contrast in pictures then you will favor selfies from the S20+.

Videography

In terms of videos, like with the S20+, you get up to 8k/24fps video recording here as well. Although the 8k videos this time are slightly better stabilized, it’s nowhere near the 4k/60fps footages as this one is not only better stabilized but gives vibrant colors with excellent dynamic range too.

However, I was hoping that this time Samsung would include a 4k/60ps video recording from the ultrawide sensor. But it seems like that is reserved for some other Samsung flagship of the future.

Audio

  • Stereo speaker setup tuned by AKG

Galaxy S21+ S21 Plus - Design

Cameras aside, throughout the review, I also came to love the speaker on the Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+. Both phones feature the same stereo speaker setup tuned by AKG. And these are honestly some of the best speakers on a smartphone. Its audio reproduction has good details and sounds really balanced.

Conclusion

Having used all three devices in the S21 series for a week now, I think Samsung has done a really good job with price as well as the features to distinguish these 3 models.

But, I still think if you are planning on getting one of the S-series phones this year, it should be the S21 Ultra. It is just a much better phone—that is if you don’t mind the relatively bigger form-factor.

Galaxy S21+ S21 Plus - Display [1]

I still recommend the S21 and the S21+, but I think at this price segment, the upcoming Mi 11 and the OnePlus 9 series will give them a tough competition. And not to forget, Samsung will be launching the S21 Fan Edition in some 3 to 6 months’ time; which is bound to be a better value than these two phones.

  • Watch our video review of the Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+.

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+ Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Great, ergonomic design
  • Excellent performance
  • Top-notch AMOLED display
  • One UI is well optimized
  • Terrific camera performance

Cons:

  • Galaxy S21 has a glastic back
  • S21’s battery life isn’t great
  • No fast charging mechanism

Redmi mobiles price in Nepal [Updated 2022]

Pratima Adhikari
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Redmi mobiles price in Nepal [Updated 2022]

Xiaomi is a Chinese brand, which began its journey in the electronics business starting from smartphones. It gained quite a lot of success in the mobile business. With expand its business, the company has since divided its smartphone segment into three sub-brands: Mi, Redmi, and Poco.

However, it did not stop there. To present itself as the absolute electronics hub, the brand brought other gadgets like laptops, TV, fitness tracker, Air Purifier, MI electric scooter and so on.

The Chinese smartphone maker has a wide presence in the Indian market. In Nepal too, it is growing popular and the customers are quite interested and tech-savvy regarding the Redmi phones as compared to other brands available in the same price bracket. And in order to spread the popularity and to gain success in terms of sales, Xiaomi has appointed two official distributors in Nepal, namely known as Vatsal Impex Pvt. Ltd. and Teletalk Pvt. Ltd. Teletalk looks after only the mobile business in Nepal whereas Vatsal will be involved in the sales of both mobiles and accessories.

Since there are officially two distributors, the area of the field for business has also been divided. According to the commitment, Vatsal will only serve the customers inside the Kathmandu valley whereas Teletalk will do the sales outside the valley. With this information, let’s dive straight into the updated Redmi smartphone price in Nepal.

Redmi mobile price in Nepal (Updated 2022)

Model Name  Redmi mobiles Price List
Redmi 9A (2+32GB) Rs.12,999
Redmi 9A (3+32GB) Rs.13,999
Redmi 9C (2+32GB) Rs.13,999
Redmi 9C (3+64GB) Rs.15,999
Redmi 9C (4+128GB) Rs.17,999
Redmi 9 Active (4+64GB) Rs.15,999
Redmi 9 Power /9T (4+64GB) Rs.18,999
Redmi 9 Power /9T (4+128GB) Rs.20,999
Redmi 10 Prime (4+64GB) Rs.20,999
Redmi 10 Prime (6+128GB) Rs.23,999
Redmi Note 10 (4+64GB) Rs.21,999
Redmi Note 10 (4+128GB) Rs.22,999
Redmi Note 10 (6+128GB) Rs.24,999
Redmi Note 10s (6+64GB) Rs.25,999
Redmi Note 10s (6+128GB) Rs.28,999
Redmi Note 10s (8+128GB) Rs.29,999
Redmi Note 10 Pro (6+64GB) Rs.29,999
Redmi Note 10 Pro (6+128GB) Rs.33,999
Redmi Note 10 Pro (8+128GB) Rs.36,999
Redmi Note 11 (4+64GB) रू 22,999
Redmi Note 11 (4+128GB) रू 24,999
Redmi Note 11 (6+128GB) रू 26,999

Also Read: Xiaomi mobiles price in Nepal with detailed specs and reviews

Coolpad Cool 10 with a 5,000mAh battery now available in Nepal

GadgetByte
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Coolpad Cool 10 with a 5,000mAh battery now available in Nepal

Coolpad Cool 10 is the latest device from the Chinese smartphone maker to launch in Nepal. In this post, we will be taking a look at the specs, features, official price, and availability of Coolpad Cool 10 in Nepal.

Coolpad Cool 10 Overview:

Design and Display

Coolpad Cool 10 sports a 6.5-inch in-cell display with an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. The device has a waterdrop notch on the top that houses the front camera. At the back, the phone has a left-aligned rectangular camera module. Unlike the Coolpad Cool S, the fingerprint sensor is mounted on the right frame of the phone.

Coolpad Cool 10 Design

The company says that the phone has a dual 3D radian intimate glass design. But given Coolpad’s tendency of advertising glastic design as glass, it could just be another marketing trick.

Performance and Camera

Besides launching in the same month, Cool 10 and Cool S share the same chipset as well. Both phones are powered by MediaTek Helio P60 and run on Android 10 out-of-the-box. It is already two years old but it could still handle most of the normal daily tasks. However, don’t expect it to do well in gaming.  The phone comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

Coolpad Cool 10 Camera Setup

The triple camera setup on the back of the phone is led by a 16MP primary camera. There are two additional sensors for macro and portrait shots. Both sensors are of 2MP and thus, are marketing gimmick instead of any functional utility. On the front, there is an 8MP sensor for selfies.

Rest of the specs

As with most of the budget-oriented offerings, Coolpad Cool 10 is backed by a massive battery of 5,000mAh battery. The phone doesn’t support any fast charging technologies. At least, we are getting a Type-C port.

Coolpad Cool 10 Specifications:

  • Display: 6.517-inches In-cell panel
  • Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1600)
  • Chipset: MediaTek Helio P60 (12nm)
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Storage: 64GB (expandable via a microSD card)
  • Software: Android 10
  • Rear Camera: Triple-camera (16MP primary + 0.3MP depth + 0.3MP macro)
  • Front Camera: 8MP
  • Security: Face-unlock, Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
  • Battery: 5000mAh, Type-C port

Coolpad Cool 10 Price in Nepal and Availability

Coolpad Cool 10 is now available in Nepal with a price tag of NPR 16,595 for the 4/64GB variant. You can buy Coolpad Cool 10 in Nepal from Daraz.

Coolpad Cool 10 Price in Nepal
4/64GB NPR 16,595

  • Check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy M02s.

Here are the Nokia smartphones scheduled to launch in early 2021

GadgetByte
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Here are the Nokia smartphones scheduled to launch in early 2021

According to a report, we might see Nokia launch as many as three smartphones in the next few months. First in the pipeline is the budget-oriented Nokia 1.4. Then it will be followed by Nokia 6.3 / 6.4 and Nokia 7.3 / 7.4. Let’s take a look at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of upcoming Nokia smartphones (2021 Lineup).

Upcoming Nokia Smartphones (2021 Lineup)

Out of the three Nokia smartphones, two will support 5G connectivity. Nokia will make use of Snapdragon 480 and 690 for the two phones respectively. All of the three phones will ship with stock Android 10 and they will also have a dedicated Google Assistant button. Similarly, the camera setup may have the ZEISS branding.

Nokia 1.4

Nokia 1.4 will be the successor to the last year’s Nokia 1.3. The device will come with a 6.51-inch LCD panel with an HD+ resolution. Moreover, it will feature a quad-core processor with a clock speed of up to 1.3GHz. On the memory side of this, Nokia 1.4 is rumored to come with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

It will have dual Nano-SIM slots and a dedicated microSD card slot. In terms of connectivity, it will come with support for 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The phone will also have a fingerprint scanner for biometrics.

Nokia 6.3 / 6.4

It is still unclear if Nokia will stick to the expected 6.3 moniker or skip it for 6.4 for the successor to the 2019’s Nokia 6.2. We have already seen such a jump in the naming convention in some Nokia phones launched in 2020.

Nokia 6.3 6.4 Leaked Design

Irrespective of the moniker it will have, the successor to the Nokia 6.2 will feature a 6.45-inch display. At the back, the device will flaunt a quad-camera setup arranged in a circular module. It will most likely consist of a 24/48MP primary camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, and additional 2MP sensors. There will be a 16MP sensor on the front for selfies. Unlike its predecessor, the Nokia 6.3/6.4 will have a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

The latest rumors suggest that the phone will be powered by the new Snapdragon 480. It’s the cheapest 5G chipset in the Snapdragon lineup.

Nokia 7.2 / 7.3

Moving on, Nokia 7.2 / 7.3 will be powered by Snapdragon 690. It is the only chipset in the Snapdragon 600 series to feature a 5G modem. The device is likely to feature a 6.39-inch display with a punch-hole cutout for the front camera.

The rear camera setup on the back will consist of a 48/64MP primary sensor accompanied by a 12MP ultrawide sensor and two additional 2MP sensors. The camera setup will have the ZEISS branding as well. Other details of the phone are still unknown.

Launch Timeline of Nokia 2021 Lineup

Of all the upcoming smartphones, Nokia will initially launch the Nokia 1.4. The launch can take place as early as February. Similarly, the Nokia 6.3/6.4 is expected to launch in late Q1 or early Q2 of 2021. Finally, the Nokia 7.3/7.4 will be launched around February or March.

Upcoming Nokia Smartphones Expected Launch Date
Nokia 1.8 February 2021
Nokia 6.3/6.4 Late Q1/ Early Q2
Nokia 7.3/7.4 February / March 2021
  • Also, check out our review of the Nokia 3.4.

Honor V40 5G is official: Honor’s first phone after separating from Huawei

GadgetByte
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Honor V40 5G is official: Honor’s first phone after separating from Huawei

In November last year, Honor officially separated from Huawei. And we were all wondering, how it goes on about its business, and what device will it launch next. Well, the rumors were strife about the latter, and now it is official. Lo and behold, the Honor V40 5G has finally launched. It is the first smartphone from Honor after its separation from Huawei. It offers some exciting specs such as a 50MP primary camera, dual selfie cameras, and Dimensity 1000 Plus chipset. Let’s find out in detail about the new Honor V40 5G including its expected price in Nepal.

Honor V40 5G Overview

Though it is the first device to have been launched separately by Honor, it was mostly developed under the ownership of Huawei. Thus, its design, in terms of the front camera cutout is reminiscent of that of the P40 Pro.

The screen itself is a 6.72-inch OLED panel with curved sides. It has a refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 300Hz. Furthermore, it also supports HDR10. The dual selfie cameras are located at the top left-hand side in a pill-shaped cutout. The cutout houses a 16MP main lens and a color spectrum sensor.

honor v40 5g

In order to reduce fingerprint smudges, the back panel is made up of glass. As for the rear-cam setup, it is a triple-camera array. The primary sensor is a 50MP RYYB sensor. Then there’s an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP macro lens. Furthermore, the module also features a laser autofocus unit and an LED flash. Other notable features of the rear cameras include front/rear dual scene photography, 4K HDR, and 1920 fps super slow-mo video.

Under the hood, the device uses the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ 5G SoC. The chipset offers support for 5G + 5G dial SIM connectivity. It is complemented by 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 256GB UFS 2.1 storage. As for the interface, the Honor V40 uses the Magic UI 4.0 on top of Android 10. It supports GPU Turbo X graphic acceleration and Huner Boost for a better gaming experience. For the same purpose, the device also features dual line motors and stereo speakers.

The whole device is powered by a 4000mAh battery that supports 66W wired charging. Moreover, it also supports 50W wireless charging.

Specifications:

  • Display: 6.72″ OLED display with Full HD+ resolution (1236 x 2676pixels)
  • Rear Camera: Triple, 50 MP primary lens with f/1.9 aperture & PDAF, Laser AF + 8 MP Ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.4 aperture + 2MP macro lens with f/2,4 aperture
  • Front Camera: dual, 16MP with f/2.0 + Color spectrum sensor
  • Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 1000+
  • GPU: Mali-G77 MC9
  • RAM: 8 GB
  • Storage: 128GB, 256GB, UFS 2.1, non-expandable
  • Battery: 4000 mAh, 66W wired fast charging, 50W wireless fast charging, 5W reverse charging
  • Sensors: Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
  • Color: Midnight Black, Rose Gold, Titanium Silver

Honor V40 5G Expected Price in Nepal

The device has already started selling in China. The 8/128GB variant is up for CNY 3599 ($556). Similarly, the 8/256GB variant is priced at CNY 3999 ($620).

There’s no talk about the global availability of the device. However, Honor is not ruling it out either. So, if the Honor V40 5G does become available in Nepal, its price will probably be around NPR. 66,000.

Model Name Price in China
 Expected Price in Nepal
Honor V40 5G (8/128GB) CNY 3599 NPR. 66,000
Honor V40 5G (8/256GB) CNY 3999 NPR. 74,000

Raspberry Pi Pico based on in-house RP2040 silicon launched for $4

GadgetByte
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Raspberry Pi Pico based on in-house RP2040 silicon launched for $4

Inspired by Apple’s new in-house silicon for its MacBooks, folks at Raspberry Pi Foundation decided to come up with one of their own. The result is the company’s first-ever microcontroller based on the new RP2040 chip. With the new chip and the microcontroller, the company has stepped into new territory. In this post, we will be taking a look at the new Raspberry Pi Pico, the chip that it is based on, and the company’s motive behind it.

Raspberry Pi Pico Overview:

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is very popular among hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts for its Raspberry Pi micro-computers. You can connect these micro-computers to different networks, sensors, hardware and run different programs as appropriate for your project. However, there are some limitations. These computers consumer power on the order of 100milliwatts. Similarly, they don’t support analog input on their own and can’t handle low-latency I/O.

Users have been making their way around these shortcomings by connecting their Raspberry Pi to a microcontroller. The microcontroller takes care of analog input, low-latency I/O and also provides a low-power standby mode.

Enter, the Raspberry RP2040

Here, the Raspberry RP2040 is a custom chip designed from within the company. It has been developed after studying the use of microcontrollers in numerous Raspberry products ranging from Sense HAT to Raspberry Pi 400. With the in-house chips, the foundation believes that it will be able to make better-optimized products.

Raspberry Si RP2040

The RP2040 promises to bring high performance and flexible I/O to cost-effective products. It features a dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ which lacks a floating-point unit. However, Raspberry has you covered with floating-point functions from Qfplib libraries. The chip comes with 256KB of on-board RAM and supports up to 16MB of external memory.

Features:

  • Dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+ @ 133MHz
  • 264KB RAM
  • up to 16MB of Flash memory via dedicated QSPI bus
  • DMA controller
  • Interpolator and integer divider peripherals
  • 30 GPIO pins (4 analog pins)
  • 2 × UARTs, 2 × SPI controllers, and 2 × I2C controllers
  • 16 × PWM channels
  • 1 × USB 1.1 controller and PHY, with host and device support
  • 8 × Raspberry Pi Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines
  • USB mass-storage boot mode with UF2 support

First Microcontroller from Raspberry

Raspberry Pi Pico is the first microcontroller from the foundation and it runs on the in-house chip. The RP2040 on the Pi Pico comes with 2MB of flash memory and a power chip that supports an input voltage of 1.8-5.5V. The latter allows users to connect the Pico with three AA cells in series or a single lithium-ion cell.

Raspberry Pi Pico

There is a Push Button that can be used to enter USB mass-storage mode during booting.  At other times, it can be used as a general input. It comes with 26 GPIO pins including three analog ports. An LED is connected to one of the pins.

You can program the Raspberry Pi Pico in two ways. The first is with MicroPython. If you want to go down this lane, it is recommended to check out the “Get Started with MicroPython on Raspberry Pi Pico” by Gareth Halfacree and Ben Everard. Or you can use the Pico C/C++ SDK. The foundation has also released complete documentation for the RP2040 and Pi Pico along with few projects.

Features:

  • RP2040 microcontroller chip
  • 264KB of SRAM, and 2MB of Flash memory
  • USB 1.1 with device and host support
  • 26 × GPIO pins (3x analog pins, 1x temperature sensor, 1x LED)
  • 2 × SPI, 2 × I2C, 2 × UART, 3 × 12-bit ADC, 16 × controllable PWM channels
  • 8 × Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support

Raspberry Pi Pico, RP2040 Price, and Availability

Raspberry Pi Pico is now available for purchase from authorized stores with a price tag of $4. Third-party products from Adafruit, Pimoroni, and Sparkfun based on the RP2040 chip are also available for pre-orders. The Foundation is also planning to make the RP2040 chip available to consumers from Q2 of 2021.

Raspberry has partnered with companies like Adafruit, Arduino, Pimoroni, and Sparkfun to create devices based on RP2040. Some of these products are already available for pre-order including the Pimoroni PicoSystem, Pico Explorer, SparkFun Pro Micro, and Arduino Nano RP2040.

Raspberry Products Price Availability
Pi Pico $4 Authorized Sellers
Si RP2040 TBA Q2, 2021
  • Check out our review of the Galaxy S21, S21+.

Vivo X60 Pro+ brings SD 888 and an industry-first dual primary rear camera

GadgetByte
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0
Vivo X60 Pro+ brings SD 888 and an industry-first dual primary rear camera

Almost after a month of the initial launch of the lineup, Vivo has launched the third device under the X60 series. Vivo X60 Pro+ is the most premium of the three and is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset. Let’s learn more about the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Vivo X60 Pro+ in Nepal.

Vivo X60 Pro+ Overview:

Design and Display

Like the rest of the devices in the lineup, Vivo X60 Pro+ sports a 6.5-inch E3 AMOLED screen with an FHD+ resolution of 2376 x 1080 pixels. The device has a center-placed punch-hole cutout that houses the selfie camera. The screen comes with support for a 120Hz refresh rate, 240Hz sampling rate, and HDR10+ display technology. The brightness level of the phone maxes out at 1300 nits. Each display has been individually calibrated and has an average ΔE score of 0.506. Like on the X60 Pro, this panel has been curved for a premium look as well.

Vivo X60 Pro+ Design

At the back, we get to see the same rectangular camera module as in the vanilla X60 and X60 Pro. However, the arrangement of the cameras inside is different. Vivo says that the rear panel is covered with high-quality leather. The phone is available in two color options – Classic Orange and Phantom Blue.

Performance and Memory

The vanilla X60 and X60 Pro were the devices to be powered by Exynos 1080 chipset. It is a new chipset from Samsung based on its 5nm process that targets upper-midrange devices. X60 Pro+, on the other hand, comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888. It’s the flagship chipset from the company that was announced in December of last year. There is Adreno 660 GPU handling the graphics.

The phone is available in two memory configurations. The base variant has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. On the other hand, the top-end variant has 12GB of RAM paired with 256GB of internal storage. The use of LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage results in 16% and 14% better performance, respectively.

Vivo has also included a new feature called Memory Fusion Technology that allows the device to use 3GB of its internal storage like RAM.

Camera

At the back, the device flaunts a quad-camera setup. Vivo has opted for the Samsung ISOCELL GN1 sensor for the primary camera. It is a 50MP sensor with an f/1.6 aperture. The camera uses 4-in1 pixel-binning to combine four 1.2μm pixels to form a larger 2.4μm pixels. Paired with the new AI noise reduction model, Vivo says the light sensitivity has been improved by 140% compared to its predecessor. Thus, resulting in better low light photos.

Accompanying it is a 48MP Sony IMX598 sensor which Vivo has used as the primary sensor in the X60 and X60 Pro. Here, it is more of an ultra-wide sensor with a FOV of 114-degree. Then there is an 8MP periscope camera with 5x optical zoom. The fourth sensor is a 32MP telephoto lens (50mm equivalent) with 2x magnification. It will be useful for taking portraits.

Vivo X60 Pro+ Camera setup

Vivo has integrated its second-generation Micro Cloud gimbal-like stabilization technology. The four-axis video stabilization can correct movement of up to 3-degree which when compared to the traditional OIS solution in smartphones is thrice as good. Al the other cameras have traditional OIS.

Another highlight of the X60 series is the start of the Vivo ZEISS Master Photography campaign. Vivo and Zeiss have already announced to set up ZEISS Imaging Lab for developing innovative mobile photography solution. The ZEISS branding on the X60 series camera means Vivo has used ZEISS T* anti-reflective coating on the lens. It will help reduce ghosting and flares on the images taken by the device.

Rest of the specs

The phone is fueled by a 4,200mAh battery that supports a 55W fast charger via the Type-C port. There is an in-display fingerprint scanner for biometrics. Other features include dual-band Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth 5.2. The phone ships with the new OriginOS based on Android 11.

Vivo X60 Pro+ Battery

Vivo X60 Pro+ Specifications:

  • Display: 6.56-inch E3 AMOLED, HDR10+, 120Hz refresh rate, 1300 nits, ΔE = 0.506
  • Resolution: FHD+ (2376 x 1080 pixels); 19.8:9
  • Chipset: Snapdragon 888 (5nm)
  • GPU: Adreno 660
  • RAM: 8/12GB LPDDR5
  • Storage: 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 Storage
  • Back Cameras:
    – 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN1 primary camera
    – 48MP, 114° Sony IMX598 sensor
    – 32MP telephoto lens for portraits 2
    – 8MP periscope lens for 5x optical zoom
  • Front Cameras: 32MP (punch-hole)
  • Security: Fingerprint (under-display), Face Unlock
  • Battery: 4200mAh with 55W Fast charge

Vivo X60 Pro+ Price in Nepal and Availability

Vivo X60 Pro+ is now available in China with a price tag of CNY 4,998 and CNY 5,998 for the 8/128GB variant and the 12/256GB variant, respectively. In India, the 12/256GB variant of the Vivo X60 Pro+ costs INR. 70,000.

Normally, Vivo doesn’t launch its X-series smartphone in Nepal but according to our sources, there is a high possibility of the X60 series launching here. If it happens to be true, we expect the starting price of Vivo X60 Pro+ in Nepal to be NPR 100,000.

Vivo X60 Pro+ Price in China Price in Nepal (Expected)
8/128GB 4,998 Yuan NPR 1,00,000
12/256GB 5,998 Yuan NPR 1,20,000
  • Check out our review of the Vivo V20.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro with intelligent ANC launched in Nepal

Nikhil Shrestha
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0
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro with intelligent ANC launched in Nepal

Besides Galaxy S21, S21+, and the S21 Ultra, Samsung also unveiled its new pair of wireless earbuds. The Galaxy Buds Pro comes as a successor to the Buds Live that was launched just 6 months ago during the company’s first-ever Galaxy Unpacked event. It introduces a radical new design (at least when compared to its direct predecessor), intelligent ANC, and other promising features. Let’s take a detailed look at the new Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro alongside its features, ANC capabilities, official price, and availability in Nepal.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Overview:

Design and Build

I was pretty fond of the design language in Samsung’s first-gen Galaxy Buds and the Buds+. However, the company changed the game with the Buds Live. With its beans aesthetics, it managed to make a name for itself in ways Samsung wouldn’t have wanted. The Buds Live did bring a comfortable wearing experience but the core audio quality wasn’t that impressive and the active noise-cancellation was half-assed—to put it gently. Well, all of that changes with the Galaxy Buds Pro.

These have a typical canal-type earbuds design, while the charging case itself borrows the minimalistic looks of the Buds Live case. To maximize comfort, the Buds Pro’s earbuds have a minimized contact area with your ear. Still, the ear tips at the end offer a tighter seal—thereby ensuring effective passive noise isolation on top of ANC. Samsung is still resistant against a stemmy design which is great.

Sleek, lightweight

As a result, it still looks sleek in your ears. At just 6.3 grams per earbud, putting on the Buds Pro for hours shouldn’t be a problem either. From my couple of days with these wireless earbuds, I can vouch for their comfort but stay tuned for our full review for more details.

Buds Pro - USB-C port

Here, the Galaxy Buds Pro is available in three color options: Phantom (Silver, Black, and Violet). All of these retain a glossy touch-sensitive front just like its two predecessors. What’s stopping Samsung from going matte in its wireless earbuds, I don’t know. Anyway, it is also IPX7 rated which is a pretty big deal considering how the past generation of Galaxy wireless earbuds came with an inferior IPX2 certification. With this, the Buds Pro is safe not only against drizzles and splashes, but they can survive a full-on immersion as well (up to 1 meter/30 minutes).

Learn more about Galaxy Buds Pro in our review.

Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)

Moving on, it also comes with ANC but unlike the Galaxy Buds Live, Samsung is promising much better noise-cancellation on these sets of earbuds. To put it to number, the Buds Pro promises up to 99% noise reduction but just how well that translates to practical usage is left to be seen. It is adjustable as well with 2 levels of ANC to choose from. Plus, when you want to hear the world around you, its Ambient Mode (that too is adjustable) can let in up to 20dB of nearby audio.

Moreover, the Buds Pro automatically understands when you’re speaking and dials down ANC to letting you hear everything outside. This “Voice Detect” feature works with music playback as well. You can manually choose to toggle these settings from the Galaxy Wearable app too.

Audio and Call Quality

In terms of the sound quality, Buds Pro equips a 2-way speaker system consisting of a 6.5mm tweeter for high and an 11mm woofer for low-frequency audio. Samsung is taking on Apple’s “Spatial Audio” that can dynamically adjust the sound quality depending on your head movements. Just like how Apple exclusivizes this feature on iOS devices, Samsung is doing the same. Therefore, the 360 Audio on Galaxy Buds Pro is only available on Android devices running One UI 3.1 or higher.

These earbuds have a built-in accelerometer, gyroscope working in tandem with Dolby Head Tracking technology to deliver the aforementioned listening experience. Dolby Atmos audio makes its presence on the Buds Pro as well for clear, bass-rich audio. Getting into the actual codecs though, it only supports SBC, AAC, and Samsung’s Scalable format.

Galaxy Buds Pro - In Ear

So, the fans of high bitrate music streaming might find these earbuds less than pleasing. And there’s also a dedicated Game Mode that reduces latency to the lowest in your gaming sessions, although Samsung hasn’t shared a specific benchmark.

Auto Switch

Additionally, even though the Galaxy Buds Pro misses out on multipoint connection, its Auto Switch feature automatically shifts connection between devices—between Galaxy devices with the latest version of One UI. Sounds similar to multipoint connection but the ecosystem exclusivity doesn’t make it so. Say you’re watching a movie on a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and get a call on the S21. The Buds Pro now switches the connection to your phone and once the conversation is over, resumes your playback on the tablet.

Talking about the call quality, the Galaxy Buds Pro features three microphones and a dedicated Voice Pickup Unit. Here, the latter is pretty self-explanatory in the sense that its purpose is to deliver a clear voice. On the other hand, an outer mic (of two) with High SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) eliminates the background noises on your calls whereas its Wind Shield technology minimizes wind interference.

Battery Life

Finally, let’s get into the battery life of these wireless earbuds. Each earbud is powered by a 61mAh battery while the case itself boasts 472mAh of stored power. Samsung promises up to 5 hours of continuous audio playback with ANC turned on, while the number bumps to 8 hours once you turn off ANC. The same number rotates to 4 hours and 5 hours respectively in terms of voice calls.

Furthermore, the charging case adds up to 13 hours or 23 hours of playtime with ANC on/off. It also supports quick-charging whereby 5 minutes of charge gets you 1 hour of playback. On top of USB-C charging, the Galaxy Buds Pro supports Qi-wireless charging as well.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Specifications:

  • Body:
    • Earbud: 19.5 x 20.5 x 20.8 mm, 6.3 grams (each)
    • Charging case: 50 x 50.2 x 27.8 mm, 44.9 grams
  • Color options: Phantom Violet, Phantom Black, Phantom Silver
  • Speaker: 2-way (11mm woofer + 6.5mm tweeter)
  • Microphone: 3 mics (2 outer + 1 inner) + Voice Pickup Unit + Wind Shield
  • Water resistance: IPX7 (Up to meter for 30 minutes)
  • Audio codecs: AAC, SBC, Scalable (Samsung proprietary)
  • Noise cancellation: Yes, ANC (up to 99% reduction), Voice Detect
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
  • Battery: 61mAh (per earbud), 472mAh (case)
  • Battery life: 5 hours/8 hours continuous playback (ANC on/off)
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Hall, Touch, Voice Pickup Unit

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Price in Nepal

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro is now available for purchase in Nepal for the price of NPR 25,300. You can buy the Galaxy Buds Pro in Nepal from different Samsung authorized retail stores across Nepal.

Wireless Earbuds Model Price in Nepal (Official)
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro NPR 25,300
  • Check out our review of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Samsung S21 Series now available for pre-booking in Nepal

GadgetByte
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Samsung S21 Series now available for pre-booking in Nepal

Around a week after its official unveiling, the Samsung Galaxy S21 series is finally available for pre-order in Nepal. Like always, Samsung Nepal has announced exciting freebies for those who enroll in the pre-booking. Not only this, but Samsung is also offering EMI facilities, online payments, discounts on popular services for early customers. There will also be a lucky draw among pre-orders customers, the winner of which will get one business class round trip to the EU from Turkish Airlines. In this post, we will be taking a look at the features of the new S21 Series and deep dive into the pre-booking process and associated costs and offers.

Samsung S21 Series Overview

The Samsung S21 Series is the successor to the S20 series that was launched last year. Like last year, the flagship series from Samsung features three new smartphones – S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra. The S21 and S21+ are very similar to each other whereas Samsung has placed the S21 Ultra as a more premium option than the two.

Display

The S21 series features edge-to-edge Dynamic AMOLED displays with center-placed punch-hole cutouts. All three devices support variable refresh rates upto 120Hz. The display on the S21 is the smallest at just 6.2-inch followed by the 6.7-inch display on the S21 Plus. The screen on the S21 Ultra measures 6.8-inch. While the screens of S21 and S21+ maxes out at FHD, the one on the S21 Ultra has QHD+ resolution. All the S21 series get the Gorilla Glass Victus treatment to protect the display from drops and scratches.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Display

Performance

The global variant of the series comes with the Exynos 2100 chipset. With the new chipset, Samsung has ditched its custom Mongoose cores and opted for the Arm Cortex design. It is based on Samsung’s 5nm chipset and features one Cortex X1 cores, three Cortex A78 cores, and four Cortex A55 cores. Unlike last year, the S21 series units launching here feature integrated 5G modem and thus, are 5G ready. The phones ship with Android 11 with Samsung’s OneUI 3.1 on top. Samsung has added a chip-level solution along with Knox Vault for security.

Camera

Talking about the cameras, the S21 and S21+ feature a triple-camera setup consisting of three 12MP sensors. Samsung has improved the camera and AI features making it more convenient for users to take their favorite shots. Similarly, the Space Zoom has been further improved to yield better shots at 30x zoom.

The S21 Ultra, on the other hand, has a 108MP camera that lets users take 12-bit HDR photos with better color and wider dynamic range. It is accompanied by an ultra-wide camera and dual Telephoto lenses. The latter helps the phone achieve 100x Space Zoom. The S21 Ultra has some additional features like the Ultra-WideBand connectivity and support for the S pen which are both first for the series.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Camera

Samsung Galaxy S21 Series Specifications:

Specifications Samsung Galaxy S21/S21+ Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Display 6.2” (S21); 6.7” (S21+) Dynamic AMOLED; 120Hz refresh rate; HDR10+; 1300 nits 6.8-inches Dynamic AMOLED; 120Hz refresh rate; HDR10+; 1500 nits
Display Protection Gorilla Glass Victus Gorilla Glass Victus
Resolution FHD+ (2400 x 1080pixels) WQHD+ (3200 x 1440 pixels)
Chipset Exynos 2100; 5nm Exynos 2100; 5nm
RAM 8GB LPDDR5 12GB LPDDR5
Storage 256GB UFS 3.1 (non-expandable) 256GB UFS 3.1 (non-expandable)
Rear Camera
  • 12MP, f/1.8 primary lens
  • 12MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide lens
  • 64MP, f/2.0 telephoto lens, 3X hybrid optical zoom
  • 108MP, f/1.8 primary lens
  • 12MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle lens
  • 10MP, f/2.4  telephoto, 3x optical zoom
  • 10MP, f/4.9 periscope, 10x optical zoom
  • Laser Autofocus
Front Camera  10MP 40MP
Battery  4000mAh (S21); 4800mAh (S21+) 5000mAh
Charging
  • 25W Fast Wired Charging
  • 15W Fast Wireless Charging 2.0
  • 25W Fast Wired Charging
  • 15W Fast Wireless Charging 2.0
Color Options  

S21:  Gray, Violet

S21+: Black,  Silver, Violet

 Black, Silver

Samsung S21 Series Price in Nepal, Payment, and Availability

Now to the part you were all waiting for. Samsung Nepal has priced the Galaxy S21 and S21+ at NPR 109,000, and NPR 129,999, respectively for the 8/256GB variant. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, on the other hand, has a price tag of NRP 154,999 for the  12/256GB variant in Nepal. Samsung Nepal is offering one-time breakage insurance for 1 year for each purchase.

Prebooking ends on the 4th of Feb, 2021. You can pre-order any of the three S21 smartphones via the order page of Samsung Nepal. All you need to do is deposit pre-booking fee of NPR 5,000. This time around you can use online payment to pay for the pre-booking. The online payment partners for the pre-booking for the S21 series are Esewa and CellPay.

Also, Samsung Nepal is offering an EMI facility starting from NPR 9,200 with a 0% interest rate. As of now, the offer is available through select Samsung Brand store through 5 banks – NIC Asia, NIBL, Sanima, Nabil, and Global IME. NIBL is also offering an additional cashback of NPR 2500 for the first 150 EMI customers.

Samsung also has an exchange facility from Arko Store and IMS Smart. Customers can get additional benefits worth Rs. 3,000 if they trade in their old phones.

Samsung S21 Series Price in Nepal (Official) Availability
S21 (8/256GB) NPR 109,999 Available for Pre Booking from

  • Samsung Nepal
  • Daraz
  • SmartDoko
  • SastoDeal
  • E-Sewa
  • Authorized Retail Stores
S21+ (8/256GB) NPR 129,999
S21 Ultra (12/256GB) NPR 154,999

S21 Series Pre-Booking in Nepal: Gifts and Offers

All the pre-bookers will receive Samsung’s latest SmartTag (Rs. 2,599) location tracker for free. Furthermore, they will also get exciting discounts on Galaxy Buds Pro (Rs. 25,300), Tab A 8.0 2019 (Rs. 19,099), Tab A7 LTE (Rs. 34,999), and Watch 3 (Rs. 54,999). Out of them, users can choose only one. The discount varies depending upon the device that you pre-book.

S21 series prebooking offer nepal

Additional Offers:

  • Up to 7% discount on Business Class and up to 5% discount on Economy Class on Turkish Airlines
  • 1 bottle of wine and 1-hour boating (two times) if staying at Himalayan Front Pokhara or Waterfront Resort by KGH group.
  •  10% Discount on Food & Beverage at Thamel Kitchen.
  • 15% Discount on bakery items at Aloft.
  • 15% off on total bill by Himalayan Java.
  • 2 cups of Illy Coffee at Mezze.
  • 10% Discount on total bill and a welcome drink by Trisara.
  • 10% Discount by IMS Lil Smiles.
  • Up to NPR 500 off by Jeevee on purchase bill of at least NPR 3,000.
  • 20% off on all services by Let Me In for two times.
  • 250 points on linking bank account from CellPay.

Lucky Draw

In addition to all the freebies and discounts, all pre-order customers will be eligible for a special lucky draw with the following prizes of winners:

  • 1st Prize: One Business class round trip ticket to EU from Turkish Airlines.
  • 2nd and 3rd Prize: Two nights complimentary stay at Himalayan Front Hotel or Waterfront Resort on BB basis for a couple.
  • 4th Prize: Gift voucher worth Rs. 10,000 from Let Me In.
  • 5th Prize: One dinner voucher for two at Thamel Kitchen by Marriott Hotel.

Similarly, ten lucky winners will get three units of Samsung Galaxy SmartTag.

So, what do you think of the Samsung S21 series in Nepal? Are the available variants adequate? Do the price tags justify the specs? And finally, can these perks convenience potential consumers to pay in advance? Let us know in the comments section.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Review: Kicking It Up A Notch

Nikhil Shrestha
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1
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Review: Kicking It Up A Notch

Samsung took a gamble with the Galaxy Buds Live with its radical design and a half baked ANC. And yeah… that didn’t pay off very well. While its degree of comfort still ranks among the best, the Buds Live disappointed spectacularly when it came to audio quality and Samsung’s first attempt at noise-canceling earbuds. Fast forward half a year later and we already have a new pair of wireless earbuds from the company. Galaxy Buds Pro is Samsung’s best entry in this segment yet, and an unwavering competitor to Apple’s AirPods Pro. Four generations in, has Samsung finally cracked the code with the Pro? Let’s find out in this review of the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Specifications:

  • Body:
    • Earbud: 19.5 x 20.5 x 20.8 mm, 6.3 grams (each)
    • Charging case: 50 x 50.2 x 27.8 mm, 44.9 grams
  • Color options: Phantom Violet, Phantom Black, Phantom Silver
  • Speaker: 2-way (11mm woofer + 6.5mm tweeter)
  • Microphone: 3 mics (2 outer + 1 inner) + Voice Pickup Unit + Wind Shield
  • Water resistance: IPX7 (Up to meter for 30 minutes)
  • Audio codecs: AAC, SBC, Scalable (Samsung proprietary)
  • Noise cancellation: Yes, ANC (up to 99% reduction), Voice Detect
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
  • Companion app: Galaxy Wearable | Galaxy Buds Pro Plugin
  • Battery: 61mAh (per earbud), 472mAh (case)
  • Battery life: 5 hours/8 hours continuous playback (ANC on/off)
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Hall, Touch, Voice Pickup Unit
  • Price in Nepal: Rs. 25,300

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Review:

Design & Comfort

  • Small, minimalistic earbuds, charging case
  • IPX7 sweat and water resistance

Like I mentioned earlier, the entire entries in the Galaxy Buds lineup have been a proven winner when it comes to design and comfort. Samsung’s little experiment with the beans was a bit of a misfire. But it certainly made for a bunch of memes—and a pair of really comfortable earbuds. Well, the company is going back to its roots with the Buds Pro. Not exactly. I will say its design aesthetics has more in common with the Buds+ but Samsung has made some changes.

Galaxy Buds Pro - Design

It still has a canal-type design but these eartips come with an oval shape. And well, these certainly don’t fit as nice as the Buds Live or the Buds+ before it. The latter had a nice ear wing making for a more secure fit. And sadly, that level of comfort doesn’t reciprocate with the Buds Pro—at least in my ears. I tried juggling through other sizes of ear tips but couldn’t find the optimal fit. Ultimately, the large-sized ear tips were more comfortable than the rest; although I’m yet to achieve the best fit Samsung would’ve wanted me to.

Now IPX7 sweat, water resistance

At 6.3 grams, the Galaxy Buds Pro weighs just as much as the Buds+. These earbuds manage to stay quite firm in your ears and won’t come off when you’re jogging either. With the level of seal I managed to achieve, I was pretty impressed with its passive noise isolation. Anyway, what’s also impressive here is the IPX7 water resistance. While every other Galaxy Buds in the past made do with IPX2 water resistance, this is quite the upgrade.

With this, you could take the Buds Pro to your workout sessions, out in the rain, or even take a dive in the pool… for some reason. Regardless, I’m still not a fan of the glossy touch-sensitive front that Samsung favors in its wireless earbuds, although the color options are quite neat. Besides Phantom Black and Silver, the Phantom Violet variant that’s on my ears are rather premium-looking.

Seeing how petite these are, you might be worried about losing them. But Samsung has integrated the “Find My Earbuds” feature on the Galaxy Buds Pro. Here, if you misplace them nearby, you can ring either earbud via the Galaxy Wearable app. Or, if you own a Samsung phone, this is fortified via the SmartThings app. This integration takes finding your misplaced/lost earbuds to the next level as you even get the “last seen” location of the Buds on the said app.

Svelte charging case

Thankfully, Samsung has borrowed the exceptionally minimalistic case design of the Buds Live. This squarish design is still some of the most pocketable ones out there; a polar opposite of the one that the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds come in.

Galaxy Buds Pro - Case - LED indicator

Moving on, Buds Pro’s case is made from recycled plastic and has a nice matte finish to it. The front houses an LED battery indicator while you’ll find a USB Type-C port for charging at the back. Opening up the case, you’ll notice another LED battery indicator—this time for the earbuds themselves. Moreover, there is no Left and Right index inside the case. The magnets holding the earbuds in place are surprisingly firm and won’t let go that easily.

And yeah, the Galaxy Buds Pro can also juice up via wireless charging. So yeah, it’s a really well thought out pair of premium wireless earbuds with an austere design language that values comfort and portability above everything else.

Pairing

  • Bluetooth v5.0 wireless connection
  • Auto Switch between Samsung devices

Pairing the Buds Pro with is as simple as usual. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, the Buds Pro will be visible for pairing on your Android or iOS device right after you open up the charging case. No need to press down on any kind of button—even for initial pairing. Having said that, the companion app for these earbuds isn’t available on iOS.

So, although you will be able to connect and stream music on your iPhone, fine-tuning these earbuds won’t be possible. And I’m pretty sure iOS support isn’t coming in the future either as Samsung looks to amplify the appeal of its own ecosystem of products. For Android users, you’ll need to download the Galaxy Wearable app alongside its plugin. With this, you’ll get access to different controls like equalizer, ambient sound, ANC, etc.

Auto Switch is an incompetent substitute for multipoint connectivity

While we’re on the subject of connectivity, the Buds Pro also introduces something called “Auto Switch”. This is just another added bonus to users with Samsung smartphones or tablets. Say you’re watching a movie on your Galaxy Tab S7 and get a call on your phone, the Buds Pro will then automatically switch the connection to the phone for making the call and switch back to the tablet once the call is over. Now even though this is not as effective as a multi-point connection in other wireless earbuds like the Jabra Elite 85T, it is sorta efficient for those in the Samsung ecosystem. Also, this feature currently only works with Samsung devices running One UI 3.1 or later.

Controls

  • A touch interface on each earbud

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the controls. Like every other Galaxy Buds in the past, this one has a touch interface on the sides—which supports tap and long-press gestures. And yeah, these are still a tad bit more sensitive than you’d want. As a result, I would inadvertently be messing with it even when I’m just trying to adjust their fit or take one out. But hey, if you want to have none of this, Samsung does let you block the touch panel entirely via the aforementioned app.

Still, these touch-sensitive controls have their own pros. It recognizes the gentlest of taps and therefore doesn’t require you to strike your ears with a painful force. One more thing I like about its controls is that you don’t need to remember what function is triggered on which earbud. All the tap controls—from skipping a track to answering a call is shared between both earbuds, and you also hear nice feedback notifying you of the number of times you tapped.

Here, a single tap controls audio playback whereas a double-tap skips a track or answer/end a call. Similarly, the Buds Pro also lets you go back to the previous track with a triple tap. Touch and hold settings can be customized inside the app where you can choose between volume controls, triggering the voice assistant, or switching between ANC and ambient sound mode.

Noise Cancellation

  • 2 levels of Active Noise Cancellation
  • Ambient Sound Mode, Voice Detect

Okay, so how’s the noise cancellation on the Galaxy Buds Pro? In a word, impressive—in three words, not the best. It is miles better than the ANC on the Buds Live but still doesn’t compete against the industry leaders like Apple’s AirPods Pro or the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, which is our current pick for the best noise-canceling earbuds. Samsung claims that the Buds Pro can block 99% of the ambient sound. To test it out, we compared it against the AirPods Pro.

Like I said earlier, its ANC isn’t quite there when compared to Apple’s best. I found that the Buds Pro is mainly effective at cutting off low-frequency noises like constant hums, rumbles—while letting in mid and high-frequency sounds. Throughout the review period, I noticed how the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro managed to silence the buzz of a water pump motor in the building and the clock ticking, but would significantly let in the background TV noises. On the contrary, the AirPods Pro outdoes Samsung’s Pro with noticeably quieter performance.

Also, there’s this feeling of dissolution when you put on the AirPods Pro—as you’ve just turned off the world around you. However, that feeling is nuanced on the Buds Pro and it more feels like you’ve turned down the ambient volume instead of getting distant from it (if that makes sense). With this, I had little hope with its ANC when testing it out on a busy street. As suspected, the Buds Pro is almost helpless in such a scenario although the AirPods Pro has something to deliver.

Buds Pro has an improved Ambient Sound mode

Under the Galaxy Wearable app, you can also toggle between High and Low levels of ANC. But I couldn’t notice any difference between the two. On occasions you’d like to hear the outside world, Buds Pro also comes with an Ambient Sound mode—similar to the Transparency mode on the AirPods Pro. If you’ve watched our review of the QuietComfort Earbuds, you’d know that I prefer Apple’s implementation better. So, the Galaxy Buds Pro had big shoes to fill in. And from a certain point, it eclipses the competition.

Not only does it let you hear the world around you, it even lets you amplify the ambient audio by up to +20 dB. This could come in handy in scenarios like listening to the announcement at an airport, getting in on the conversation, etc. Depending on the ambient setting, you can choose from four levels of ambient sound volume. And if you’re coming from an older generation of Galaxy Buds, the Pro’s ambient sound mode sounds a lot more natural and less robotic.

I still prefer AirPods Pro’s Transparency Mode

Despite featuring a rigid transparency mode, I like AirPods Pro’s implementation better. Apple’s take on letting in outside noise remains unmatched—at least for me. The Galaxy Buds Pro sounds just a tad bit metallic even under “low” ambient sound mode. There’s also this feature on these earbuds called “Voice Detect” which automatically dials down ANC in favor of Ambient Sound mode when you start speaking. It’s similar to the Speak-to-Chat function on Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphone and works fine—although at times erratic.

Unlike the XM4, it does a great job at keeping itself deactivated upon yawns, coughs, or when you’re clearing your throat. Well, that might be putting it too generously. On certain occasions, the Buds Pro doesn’t live up to the former praise. I was also weirded in multiple instances when this feature seemingly activated on its own even though I wasn’t talking—but would rather pick up on the voices of the people near me. Surreal!

Having said that, it’s still a really useful feature to have—especially when you have to make small talks. You can choose to automatically switch back ANC in 5 to 15 seconds too. In terms of wireless earbuds, only the Sony WF-1000XM3 somewhat matches Buds Pro’s Voice Detect feature, while the AirPods Pro misses it out entirely. However, Sony’s “Quick Attention” requires a hands-on approach, therefore rendering Samsung’s solution all-the-more impressive.

Audio & Call Quality

  • Dual-speaker setup (6.5mm tweeter, 11mm woofer)
  • SBC, AAC, Scalable (Samsung proprietary) codec
  • 3 mics (2 out, 1 in) + Voice Pickup Unit + Wind Shield

Samsung seems to have worked a lot in the audio department as well. Just like the Galaxy Buds+, it features a dual-speaker system. There’s a 6.5mm tweeter for treble and an 11mm woofer for low-frequency audio reproduction. Despite falling under the premium wireless earbuds category, it doesn’t offer high bitrate audio codecs like Sony’s LDAC or Qualcomm’s aptX HD. So, the audiophiles might have a hard time coping with Buds Pro’s SBC, AAC, and Scalable codec.

Galaxy Buds Pro - In Ear

Upon testing these earbuds with different phones like Galaxy S21 Ultra, M51, Redmi 9 Power, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, I can also say that it sounds marginally better on Samsung devices. I don’t mean to say that the audio quality is exponentially better but you can just feel that the audio on the company’s own phones is slightly warmer and more pleasant to listen to—whereas most songs sounded a bit sharp on the Redmi 9 Power. Surprisingly, I even noticed a bit of a muddy bass on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds+ already had an incredible sound profile, though it left bassheads wanting for more. With the upgraded speaker setup, the Buds Pro definitely offers a bit of a thump too. If that’s not enough, you can select the “Bass Boost” preset under the equalizer. Apart from this, it has other profiles like dynamic, clear, treble boost, etc. I would’ve liked the ability to create your own preset as well, but Samsung doesn’t let you do that just yet.

Impressive audio quality

Compared to the AirPods Pro, the audio quality between the two wireless earbuds is almost the same. It produces rumbly, punchy bass, and can get plenty loud enough as well. In Childish Gambino’s “This Is America”, the sound stage is wide enough to not overshadow the vocals. The details slowly fade away when turning the volume down and make me wish Samsung had embedded an adaptive EQ technology just like Bose did in its QuietComfort Earbuds.

Apple AirPods Pro vs Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro

Moving on to indie tracks like “Flapper Girl” by The Lumineers, the instrument separation is great. And I could enjoy keys, guitars, perfectly. But I will say that under the “Normal” equalizer preset, the tambourine in the chorus sounds a little too sharp for my ears; while it is less so on the AirPods Pro. But changing the EQ to any other preset resulted in a pleasant listening experience. I also listened to the “THX Deep Note Trailer” and the Buds Pro managed to reproduce its details and deep bass quite nice.

Furthermore, acoustic songs like Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” are fantastic to listen to in these earbuds as well. The vocal is crisp, clear while there’s a clear distinction between the vocal and the guitar too. All in all, during the review, I found that the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro has an excellent sound quality—matching that of the AirPods Pro. If there’s any contrast between the two, I’d say that the former’s audio profile is slightly livelier. To further round down the differences, Samsung has also introduced 360 Audio with these earbuds; similar to Apple’s Spatial Audio.

360 Audio to take on Apple’s Spatial Audio

Using the built-in accelerometer and the gyroscope, Dolby Head Tracking technology keeps you in the center of the action. Sadly, this feature is exclusive to Samsung phones for now. I tried it on the S21 Ultra and maybe it was due to my noviceness to the tech, it felt rather unusual at first. Especially when I would make a sharp movement. But after a while, you get used to it, and let me tell you—it is wild.

The shift in audio’s direction is almost instantaneous and the level of immersiveness it introduces is breathtaking. I didn’t notice a loss in audio quality, all-the-while the phone/tablet or any other device you’re connected to stays at the center of the surround sound experience.

If you’re a gaming enthusiast, it also has a dedicated “Game Mode” for reduced latency. Unfortunately, this is restricted to the company’s ecosystem of products too. It does reduce the latency by a fair margin but I would still hesitate to put it on for competitive gaming. Using the “Earbuds Delay Test” app, I recorded the latency to be around +200ms on average. On the flip side, turning on the gaming brought it down to less than 80ms.

While I was working on this review, I also got a software update that introduced hearing enhancement on the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. This is really helpful for those with partial hearing loss in either ear. For instance, if you have hearing loss in your left ear, you can simply slide the sound balance to the left and it will boost the audio on the left earbud.

What about the call quality?

Let’s now get into the call quality of the Galaxy Buds Pro. It has a 3 microphone in total and a dedicated voice pickup unit for clear calls. Out of the two mics on the outside, one of them is configured with a high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) to drown out the background noises. And yeah, they do the job perfectly. I didn’t receive any complaint on my phone calls—even when I was talking with my mask on outdoors.

Interestingly, these earbuds also boast Wind Shield technology which is supposed to block wind interference for clear calls. You can see the windshield chamber & mesh just below the touch area. It’s not particularly windy where I live and being cooped up in a room meant I couldn’t effectively test this out. Still, I tried simulating a windy environment by recording audio directly facing a fan. Compared to the AirPods Pro, there is a noticeable level of difference in call quality and I’m quite impressed with this feature. Yet, don’t expect much from a highly windy environment.

Battery Life

  • 61mAh (earbud), 472mAh (charging case)
  • Up to 5 hours of music playback (with ANC)
  • USB Type-C wired, Qi wireless charging

Finally, it’s time to talk about battery life. I’ll just say this, coming from the Galaxy Buds+, Samsung has effectively written off its legacy in terms of playback time on the Buds Pro. Equipped with a smaller 61mAh cell in each earbud, the company promises up to 5 hours of continuous playback with ANC on, and an additional 3 hours with ANC off. To recall, the Buds+ was renowned for its insane 11 hours of playback.

Galaxy Buds Pro - USB-C port

While it didn’t have ANC, just 5 hours of rated battery endurance on the Buds Pro is a major let-down. Two hours in with ANC turned on all the while I’m shuffling through tunes at 70-90% volume, I’m already looking at just 52% charge left. And the Buds Pro would usually give up on me after approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes. So, you’ll be charging up these earbuds more often than ever. Thankfully, you can get an hour of juice with just 5 minutes of quick-charge. The charging case can add up to 13 hours or 23 hours of playtime with ANC on or off.

Conclusion

Bringing this review to a conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro is a great mix of minimalistic design, terrific audio, decent ANC, and disheartening battery life. This combo makes for a premium set of wireless earbuds and the company is charging it dearly. At $200, it is Samsung’s most expensive Galaxy Buds yet. And to answer the question if it’s worth it, I’d say yes; but only if you are in the Samsung ecosystem and own a Samsung smartphone (especially the newer ones).

From the audio quality to ANC, it’s so much better on a Samsung phone. But if you use phones from other brands, the price-tag doesn’t make much sense—mostly because of how the company has chosen to lock people into its ecosystem.

Songs referenced in the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro review:

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Review: Pros & Cons

Pros:

  • Svelte, minimalistic design with IPX7
  • Soft, comfortable earbuds
  • Great sound (360 Audio, Gaming Mode)
  • Excellent call quality with Wind Shield
  • Decent ANC performance, Voice Detect
  • Responsive touch control

Cons:

  • Some features restricted to Samsung phones
  • Battery life could’ve been a little better
  • No high bitrate audio codecs like aptX HD
  • Not the best Active Noise Cancellation
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