Samsung and Google are reportedly working in a deal that could lead to Samsung ditching its service for Google alternatives. Read along to learn more about the ongoing deal between Google and Samsung.
The ongoing deal between Samsung & Google
Android is an open-source platform, which means any manufacturer can customize the operating system to their liking to include in their device. Smartphone brands use this to promote their own ecosystem. It is the reason they bundle their own apps even tough Google includes almost every basic service that a user needs.
Google and Galaxy Services
Samsung being the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world promotes its own ecosystem of Galaxy products that include the company’s core apps, Bixby, and the Galaxy Store. Compared to the offerings provided by the Google services and Play Store, Samsung’s services are not that popular, even with Galaxy devices.
But it has not stopped Samsung from promoting its services. Back in 2014, Vox reported that Google forced Samsung to scale down the level of customization in TouchWiz UI. However, even the newer One UI devices come with Samsung’s pre-installed apps. The company rolls out updates for these apps via the Galaxy Store.
Problems with Bixby
Samsung launched the Bixby Voice Assistant in 2017 and has since been promoting it in its products. While it performs well in the Galaxy lineup of smartwatches, TVs, and such, it is overshadowed by Google Assistant. The latter comes integrated with Google Search and enjoys a wide range of Google Services, which the former lacks.
Samsung even tried to force users into using by including dedicated Bixby button on some of its smartphones. Because of the criticism from users, Samsung allows users to reassign the function of the button. Samsung’s problem with Bixby is further outlined by the fact that the company announced a Galaxy Home smart speaker with Bixby in 2018 which is yet to see the light of the day.
What’s in it for Google and Samsung in this supposed “deal”?
Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of Android devices. Google’s intention is clear – by forcing Samsung users to use its services, Google will have even more data in its inventory that it can use to further furnish its services. The company even pays a hefty sum to Apple to be the default search engine on Safari. Google might even offer a similar offer for Samsung to prioritize its services instead of Galaxy services.
According to a report by Reuters, Samsung might accept the deal to cope with the decline in the demand for smartphones following the outbreak of COVID 19. Another report from Canalys suggests the Samsung smartphone shipment dropped by 30% in Q2 in 2020; compared to the same period last year. The company also fell behind Huawei in shipment. It could only ship 53.7 million units in Q2 compared to 55.8 million shipped by Huawei. The report by Reuter also claims many brands are now looking for alternative sources of income because of the slow smartphone sales.
However, if Samsung accepts the alleged offer, the future of Bixby and Galaxy Store would be in question. The two have been instrumental in Samsung’s popularity in the Chinese market, where Google services are banned. Pouring money in products that can only be marketed in a single market doesn’t sound economical. Shutting down the services, on the other hand, would mean Samsung has to quickly search for alternatives for Tizen powered products including the Galaxy smartwatches.
It could be just a rumor after all.
Both companies have failed to confirm any kind of negotiation is going on. A Google spokesperson has clarified to Bloomberg that Samsung, like all device manufacturers, can design its own app store and voice assistant. However, he also added that Google is actively taking with partners for ways to improve user experience.
Samsung also states that the company is still dedicated to its own ecosystem and services. However, it has also accepted that it is working with Google to offer the best experience to its users.
Check out our review of Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
According to a report by Canalys, an independent analyst company, Huawei has the biggest smartphone shipments in Q2 of 2020. Read along to learn more about Huawei’s historical triumph over Samsung.
Huawei’s 2019 Stats
If you look at the recent figures that Huawei has been crunching in the global smartphone market, it’s hard to believe that the company is facing a tough time following its inclusion in the Entity list by the government. The company has lost quite a bit of its appeal outside of the Chinese market as it does not ship smartphones with Google services anymore. Despite the circumstances, Huawei managed to achieve its biggest revenue to date in 2019.
The domestic market proved pivotal in Huawei’s success as 60% of the 240 smartphones that the company shipped last year were sold in China. The company regained the number two spot with 17.6% of the overall market share. The 17% annual growth was the highest among the top 5 smartphone brands.
Huawei Q2 2020 Shipments
However, the ending of 2019 was not the best for Huawei. Not only did the company fail to maintain the high shipment in the Q4 of 2019, it even recorded a 7% yearly decline compared to the same period in 2018. Things weren’t looking great for the Chinese tech giant heading into the new year. Who would have thought Huawei would surprise everyone by leading the charts in the Q2 of 2020?
In the second quarter of 2020, Huawei managed to ship 55.8 million devices. This is 5% worse than the last year’s number. However, in the same period, Samsung only managed to ship 53.7 million devices, which is 30% short of Samsung’s Q2 shipment of last year. It is the first time in nearly a decade that a company other than Apple and Samsung has led the quarterly race.
“If it wasn’t for COVID-19, it wouldn’t have happened “
Ben Stanton, the Senior Analyst at Canalys, acknowledges the fact that this was because of the situation caused by the pandemic. While the rest of the world is still struggling with the COVID-19 virus, China, which is Huawei’s biggest market, is already up and running. It’s important to note that Samsung only has a 1% market share in China and its major markets including India, the US, and Brazil are all affected by COVID-19.
Should Huawei Worry?
Huawei needs to worry as the quarterly report also suggests that the company is losing its market outside of China. The company’s global shipment (outside of China) declined by 27% in the second quarter. Huawei now sells over 70% of its smartphone in China. It won’t be enough for the company in the long run, suggests another analyst, Mo Jio.
“It will be hard for Huawei to maintain its lead in the long term.”
Samsung has finally resumed releasing smartphones in South Asia. It will also unveil five more premium devices during the Unpacked event in August. According to Jio, Huawei’s partners in Europe are also losing faith in the company resulting in lower shipments. Thus, it’s unlikely that Huawei will stick to the number one spot after the global economy recovers.
Watch: How Huawei is preparing for its Google-less future
Samsung has unveiled the ‘s’ variant of the standard Galaxy M31 today in India. Featuring a new gradient design language and a promising new set of cameras, the Galaxy M31s is an interesting deviation from what we’ve been seeing in the company’s “M” series of smartphones. Let’s look at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Samsung Galaxy M31s in Nepal.
Samsung Galaxy M31s Overview
Design and Display
The M31s is the first device in the Galaxy M-series to implement the Infinity-O display in a Super AMOLED panel. Earlier Galaxy M40 featured a punch hole on a PLS TFT panel. The rest of the M-lineup feature either an Infinity-U or an Infinity-V display.
The panel itself is 6.5-inches tall with an FHD+ resolution and the regular 60Hz refresh rate. Protecting the display is a rather dated Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It’s a shame considering how Xiaomi is offering much more secure Gorilla Glass 5 in its comparatively cheaper phones like the Redmi 8.
On the back, the phone has a two-tone gradient design which is unique compared to other M-series phones. Even though it looks fancy and all, it’s not a 100% glass panel but rather is what the company calls “glasstic”. A clever combo of glass and plastic (though the same cannot be said for the name), it has been the go-to build material on Samsung’s most midrange and upper mid-range smartphones.
We get to see the rectangular camera bump that we have been seeing in Samsung releases this year. Interestingly, though M31s features an AMOLED panel, the fingerprint sensor isn’t underneath the display. Rather, you’re getting a side-mounted scanner; another first for the mid-range “M” series.
Performance and Memory
Well, the performance is where Samsung usually disappoints and this tradition has continued on with the Galaxy M31s. The phone ships with the same-old Exynos 9611 that we’ve seen on multiple Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy M30s, M31, A51, and even the Tab S6 Lite. So, we know the M31s won’t be knocking out competing devices like the POCO X2 or Realme 6 Pro. But honestly, it isn’t even trying to do that it seems. Like always, Samsung’s non-flagship devices are not for power users of any kind.
Admittedly, the company has worked on the memory front as this phone comes with an expandable base storage of 128GB (UFS 2.1) and no less, or no more. While Samsung definitely isn’t the first to do so, this move does fill me with hope regarding where the industry is headed. I mean, 32 and even 64GB of storage doesn’t cut it for 2020 considering how the smartphone camera technology has progressed, or how big the mainstream apps and games have gotten. The storage has been coupled with either 6 or 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM.
M31s flaunts a quad-camera setup on the back led by a 64MP Sony IMX682 primary sensor. The company is calling it an “Intelli-Cam” because of its embedded features. If you recall the Galaxy S20 series, it brought a cool new feature called “Single Take”. What this does is basically take a variety of stylistic photos and videos like grayscale, boomerang, hyper-lapse, etc. from a single shot. And yeah, Samsung has brought that into the M31s.
The rest of the sensors include a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 123° FOV, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro camera. All these lenses have been arranged inside a familiar ‘L’-shaped rectangular array on the top left side of the rear panel alongside an LED flash. Coming to the front, you’re getting a 32MP selfie camera inside the aforementioned Infinity-O punch-hole cutout. It is a wide lens too, though the exact FOV hasn’t been specified. Video-wise, both rear and front lenses are maxed out to 4K resolution under 30fps.
Battery
The battery has been a crucial selling point in the recent “M” lineup of smartphones from Samsung, including some devices under the “A” series as well. Galaxy M31s would be no different either as it brings in the same monstrous 6,000mAh battery we first saw in the Galaxy M30s.
But what’s exciting is the fact that it now comes with a faster 25W charging support, while the charger is provided inside the box as well. According to the company, you can fill up the M31s from 0 to 100% in just 97 minutes. Furthermore, the phone also comes with a Type-C to Type-C cable inside the box which can be used for reverse charging.
Samsung Galaxy M31s Specifications:
Display: 6.5-inches “Infinity-O” Super AMOLED panel; 405PPI; 420 nits peak brightness; >91% screen-to-body ratio
Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels); 20:9 aspect ratio
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/GALILEO/BDS, USB Type-C
Battery: 6000mAh with 25W fast charging; reverse charging
Colors: Mirage Black, Mirage Blue
Samsung Galaxy M31s Price in Nepal and Availability
Samsung Galaxy M31s will be available starting August 6th via Amazon India. Its price is ₹19,499 and ₹21,499 for the 6/128GB and 8/128GB variants respectively. We expect the Samsung Galaxy M31s to launch in Nepal later this year with a starting price tag of around NPR 33,000.
Nubia launched the Red Magic 5S with improved cooling over the original Red Magic 5G. The company launched a bunch of gaming accessories alongside it as well. In this post, we will be talking about the specs, features, expected price, and availability of newly launched Nubia Watch and Red Magic TWS earphones in Nepal.
Nubia Watch Overview
Design and Display
Nubia Watch features a 4.01-inch OLED display. Like last year’s Nubia Alpha, the display sports flexible panel. However, the company has limited the flexibility aspect to reduce the pressure on the watch. Users can fold the top and bottom of the watch’s display to wrap around their wrists. The strap is made up of silicone and can be replaced. You can also opt for a Napa leather strap.
The body of the watch is made of up 316L stainless steel while the dial is made up of an aluminum alloy. Nubia has also used ceramic coating on certain parts of the watch.
Features
Nubia has paired it 1GB of RAM with 8GB of internal storage. The watch runs on Snapdragon Wear 2100. The highlight of the smartwatch is its eSim connectivity. Thus, users can make and receive calls, SMSs, and use WeChat without a smartphone. As you would expect, the watch also supports fitness tracking and health monitoring. The built-in health module uses advanced algorithms for real-time heart rate monitoring and sleep monitoring. Similarly, the watch can even detect, track, and record exercises. The watch has NFC for contactless payment. Other connectivity options include built-in GPS, Bluetooth v5.0, and Wi-Fi.
The watch is backed by a 420mAh battery that boasts of 6.5 days of standby time. In normal usage, the Nubia says it will last up to 36 hours. It comes with a magnetic charger.
The Red Magic TWS stands out among the TWS by other smartphone brands because of the design. The head of the earbud is diamond-shaped. Nubia has also included horn-shaped hooks for a better grip. It believes that this will stop the earbuds from falling. The stem starts from the head of the TWS and it tapers to a rounded end.
The casing follows the sharp-edged design. It also features LED RGB lighting for that gaming vibe. The LEDs are placed both at the outside and inside of the case.
Features
The TWS comes with one-touch pairing which will work with Nubia smartphones. It will connect to the smartphone as soon as you take it out of the charging case. Nubia hasn’t disclosed the complete specs of the TWS for us to discuss. When paired with certain Nubia gaming smartphones, the latency can go as low as 39ms.
However, if you are using a smartphone from a different brand, it will go up to 60ms. The Red Magic TWS claims up to 20 hours of battery back on a single charge.
Nubia Watch, Red Magic TWS Price in Nepal and Availability
Nubia Watch and Red Magic TWS come with price tags of 1799 Yuan and 299 Yuan, respectively. While the watch will go on sale in China starting from August 5, there is no news about the availability of Red Magic TWS. We expect the Nubia Watch and Red Magic TWS to bear a price tag of around NPR 31,000 and NRP 5,500, respectively if Nubia launches them in Nepal.
When Nubia launched the Red Magic 5G in March, it was the first and only gaming phone to come with a 144Hz screen. Now, there are a handful of devices that have adopted the feature. Nubia has now announced Red Magic 5S to compete against these newly launched gaming-centric smartphones. Let’s take a look at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Nubia Red Magic 5S in Nepal.
Nubia Red Magic 5S Overview
Design and Display
Nubia has left the design aspect of the phone unchanged. From outside, the Red Magic 5s and its predecessor look exactly the same. The new device comes with a 6.65-inch AMOLED panel. It supports an FHD+ resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. The 144Hz panel has a touch sampling rate of 240Hz.
Performance and Memory
Recently announced gaming smartphones likes Asus Rog Phone 3 and Lenovo Legion Phone Duel feature the latest Snapdragon 865+. However, Nubia has decided to stick to the SD 865. The 865 features a lower clocked Prime core compared to the SD 865+. It may not seem like a significant upgrade but it can make a difference while gaming. However, Nubia claims that it has boosted the GPU functionality, but users will have to buy the Ice Dock to experience the difference. The Ice Dock is a cooling accessory specifically designed for the Red Magic 5s. The smartphone comes with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage.
Cooling and Camera
Nubia has revamped the cooling system in the Red Magic 5S. The biggest upgrade is the addition of the ICE 4.0 cooling system with a silver-plated heat sink. It should produce a better result compared to the traditional sinks as silver has better thermal conductivity.
The aluminum alloy centrifugal fan weighs 1 gram and has a speed of 15000 RPM. Similarly, Nubia has adopted the north-south transparent air duct design with up to 43% more ventilation.
Camera-wise, it features a 64MP Sony IMX686 primary sensor. It is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 2MP macro shooter. There is an 8MP selfie camera at the front.
Battery and Rest of the specs
Red Magic 5S retains the 4,500mAh battery along with the support for 55W fast charging. It runs on Red Magic OS based on Android 10. The in-display fingerprint sensor can be used to unlock the device and for cashless payment. The device also features two capacitive touch triggers that have an even higher response rate of 320Hz.
Nubia Red Magic 5s is available for pre-order in China, where its price is 3,799 Yuan for 8/128GB variant, 4,399 Yuan for 12/256GB variant, and 4,999 Yuan for 16/256GB variant. The device will go on sale starting August 1, followed by a global launch in September. If Nubia decides to launch Red Magic 5s in Nepal, we expect the price to be NPR 65,000 for 8/128GB, NPR for 76,000 12/256GB, and NPR 86,000 for 16/256GB.
If you are tired of your current daily driver and want to upgrade to a more premium experience, there is a piece of good news for you. Samsung Nepal has announced the Mega Exchange Offer under which you can exchange your old smartphone for a cashback on the purchase of Samsung S20 and S20+.
Samsung Mega Exchange Offer
The Mega Exchange Offer announced by Samsung Nepal is targetted to users who are thinking of upgrading to Samsung’s flagship offering. Under this campaign, users can get instant cashback of up to NPR 22,000 in exchange for their old smartphone. This is applicable for users who are upgrading to the Samsung S20 series.
Potential Samsung Galaxy S20 buyers can get instant cashback of up to 19,000 by trading in their old smartphones. If you are thinking of buying the Samsung S20+, the deal gets even sweeter. Potential buyers of Samsung S20+ can get instant cashback of up to NPR 22,000. They can even ignore the cashback altogether and opt for 32-inch Samsung LED TV instead.
Samsung has not publicly disclosed the terms and conditions of the offer. Also, it has not been open about the specs of the LED TV that it is offering through the campaign other than the screen size.
If the deal looks convincing to you, hurry up as the offer is valid till 31 July.
Samsung Galaxy S20 / S20+ Summary
Samsung Galaxy S20 and S20+ are the latest devices under the Galaxy S lineup of flagship devices (alongside the S20 Ultra). The highlight of these devices is their sleek design, excellent cameras, and 120Hz Super AMOLED display. The devices boast of 30X Space Zoom and 8K video recording capabilities. However, it is be noted that the Samsung Galaxy S20 / S20+ available in Nepal features Samsung’s in-house Exynos 990 instead of Snapdragon 865.
Months after the announcement of Quick Charge 3+ for premium mid-range devices, Qualcomm has announced a quick charging solution for flagship devices – Quick Charge 5. It’s the long-awaited successor to 2017’s Quick Charge 4 and offers a more efficient charging process. Read along to learn more about Qualcomm’s new Quick Charge 5.
Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 Overview
Lately, smartphone companies have gone crazy regarding charging speed. We now have smartphone companies boasting about charging speed of 100W and even higher. Qualcomm has joined the “triple-digit fast charging” bandwagon with the announcement of Quick Charge 5, which supports charging speed greater than 100W. However, Quick Charge 5 will be available for smartphone manufacturers to implement them in their flagship devices, making it the fastest commercial charging technology for Android smartphones.
Performance and Efficiency
Compared to its predecessor, Quick Charge 5 is four times faster. Qualcomm claims its latest quick charging solution can charge a 4,500mAh battery from 0 to 50% in five minutes. Similarly, it can charge the device completely within 15 minutes. Quick Charge 5 is 70% more efficient and up to 10-degree Celcius cooler than QC 4/4+.
The charging speed is true in case of a 2S (or 2SnP) battery configuration in which two cells are stacked in a series combination. The dual battery configuration will help Qualcomm double the voltage and speed. For a single cell battery (1S or 1SnP), the peak power is limited between 45W and 50W.
Qualcomm has announced two new PMICs that support both 1SnP and 2SnP batteries – Qualcomm SMB1396 and Qualcomm SMB1398. The ICs support 20V input voltage for both 1S and 2S batteries. They are also compatible with wired and wireless charging.
QC 5 supports Smart Identification of Adapter Technologies. The company says that accessory manufacturers often misguide consumers with inaccurate ratings. Thus, QC 5 won’t rely on the information provided and will instead identify the capabilities on its own and adjust the charging behavior accordingly. QC 5 compatible devices will also come with 17 different levels of protection (e.g: voltage, current, thermal, timer, etc.).
Quick Charging 5 Accessories
QC 5 accessories will have to provide a minimum output of 20V. These accessories are backward compatible with QC 2.0, 3.2, 4, and 4+. QC 5 chargers can also be used to charge USB-PD compatible devices. Thus, QC 5 adapters can also be used to charge iPhone 7 and newer iPhones.
QC 5 is based on USB PD-PPS protocol, which means you may not need to buy a separate QC 5 charger. Any charger that supports PD-PPS will be enough to charge your QC 5 compatible device at QC 5 speeds, given it comes with voltage and current ratings.
Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 Availability
Qualcomm has announced that we can expect the first phone with Quick Charge 5 capabilities to launch in the Q3 of 2020. Snapdragon 865 / 865+ and future high-end Snapdragon chipsets will be able to make use of this fast charging technology. Xiaomi has also confirmed that devices with QC 5 are in the company’s pipeline.
Nagmani International, the official distributor for ASUS products in Nepal, has launched Asus VivoBook S15 S531FL. This ultrabook features a stylish design and equally appealing internal specs. Let’s take a look at the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Asus VivoBook S15 S531FL in Nepal.
Asus VivoBook S15 S531FL Overview
Design and Display
The first thing that you will notice on the VivoBook S15 is its color scheme. Asus has made use of the color-blocking technique in which contrasting colors are paired for an eye-catching design. The ultrabook is offered in five color options – Transparent Silver, Gun Metal, Cobalt Blue, Moss Green, and Punk Pink. However, the Punk Pink option is not available in Nepal. The VivoBook S15 flaunts a metal chassis with a tactile textured finish on top. The laptop is 18mm thick and weighs around 1.8kg.
It comes with a 15.6-inch LED-backlit display with an FHD resolution of 1920 x 1080. The aspect ratio here is 16:9. Its 5.2mm bezels contribute to the 88% screen to body ratio. Similarly, the viewing angle on this one is advertised at 178-degree.
Performance and Memory
Though Asus still offers the S15 with Intel’s 8th Gen processors, the one launched in Nepal features the 10th Gen Intel Core processors. You can choose between Core i5 10210U and Core i7 10510U. Both processors feature 4 cores and 8 threads, but the Core i7 has better clock speed (1.8 – 4.9 GHz) compared to the Core i5 (1.6 – 4.2GHz). Similarly, Core i7 has an 8MB cache which is better than 6MB cache on the i5.
The support for higher RAM speed on the Core i7 has been wasted as both variants come with 8GB of DDR4 RAM (2400MHz). The i5 variant has 512GB of PCIe SSD while the Core i7 enjoys dual-storage of 1TB HDD + 256GB PCIe SSD. For graphics, the VivoBook S15 comes with entry-level NVIDIA GeForce MX250.
VivoBook S15 features a full-size keyboard with a dedicated numeric pad. The ErgoLift hinge that can tilt the keyboard by 3-degree for better typing position. The keys are backlit for better typing experience in a dark environment. Asus has included Smart Pad 2.0 on this laptop, which means the user can also use the trackpad as a secondary screen. It comes with intelligent palm rejection, Precision Touchpad (PTP) technology, and four-finger smart gesture support.
Battery and Others
The VivoBook S15 packs in a 3-cell 42 Watt-hour battery with fast charging support. You get a 65W power adapter which is included in the box, that can charge the device from 0 to 60% inside 50 minutes. The ultrabook comes with two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Ports ( 1 x Type-C and 1X Type-A). Similarly, it includes two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, an audio combo jack, a microSD card reader, and a DC-in port.
Getting to audio, the VivoBook S15 comes with Harmon Kardon certified sound system. The ASUS SonicMaster stereo audio system comes with a surround sound system and a smart amplifier. The array microphone supports Cortona voice-recognition. Similarly, the IR camera supports Windows Hello for facial unlock.
ASUS VivoBook S15 S531FL Specifications:
Dimension: 14.06W x 9.06D x 0.7H-inches; 1.8kg (3.97 pounds)
Ports: 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, 2x USB 2.0, 1x Standard HDMI 2.0, 1x Audio combo jack, 1 x MicroSD card reader, 1x DC-in
Asus VivoBook S15 Price in Nepal and Availability
Asus VivoBook S15 S531FL is now available in Nepal with a price tag of Rs. 116,477 for the Intel Core i5 variant and Rs. 136,364 for the Core i7 variant. These laptops are up for sale on Nagmani International’s official website or different retail outlets throughout Nepal.
Nokia has followed the launch of the 5310 (2020) in Nepal with two new feature phones – Nokia 125 and Nokia 150 (2020). The latter is the refresh of the Nokia 150 that was launched by HMD Global in 2016. Nokia 125, on the other hand, is a slightly inexpensive variant of the Nokia 150 (2020) and comes with some limitation in terms of specs. Let’s take a look at the specs, features, price, and availability of Nokia 125 and Nokia 150 (2020) in Nepal.
Nokia 150 (2020), Nokia 125 Overview
Design and Display
Nokia 150 (2020)
Both Nokia 150 (2020) and Nokia 125 feature a 2.4-inch QVGA screen. The body is made up of polycarbonate material. In spite of similar dimensions, the Nokia 150 2020 (90.54 gm) is lighter than the 125 (91.3 g). According to Nokia, the longer design creates more space for the buttons. The buttons are big and are expected to make navigation and dialing and texting easier.
There are some differences in the design of the two devices. You can notice the keypad in the Nokia 125 pops outwards whereas it is more glued to the body in the 150. Similarly, the rest of the keys are also oriented differently in these two phones.
Features
Nokia has not disclosed the exact SKU, but it has confirmed the processor backing the devices is from MediaTek. As far as memory is concerned, Nokia 125 and 150 (2020) come with 4MB of RAM and 4MB of internal storage.
Nokia 125
The Nokia 150 (2020) is more of a multimedia device as it comes with an in-built MP3 player and expandable storage (via microSD card) of up to 32GB. It also comes with support for Bluetooth 3.0. Both the phones ship with the Series 30+ mobile operating system and you will enjoy classic Snake Xenzia game on both the devices.
Similarly, Nokia 150 (2020) has a camera as well. While the Nokia 125 lacks the VGA rear camera, it retains the LED flash. Users should be able to use it as a flashlight.
Battery and rest of the specs
Both feature phones get their juice from a 1020mAh battery. Nokia claims the battery offers up to 19.4 hours of talk time and up to 23.4 days of standby. The BL-5C battery is user-replaceable. In terms of charging, they will ship with a micro-USB charging cable. These two feature phones are also protected by Nokia’s 365 days replacement guarantee.
Nokia 150 (2020), Nokia 125 Specifications:
Dimension: 132 x 50.5 x 15-mm
Weight: 90.54 g (Nokia 150) / 91.3 g (Nokia 125)
Display: 2.4-inch QVGA screen
Chipset: Unspecified MediaTek processor
OS: Nokia Series 30+
RAM: 4MB
Storage: 4MB, expandable up to 32GB via SD card in Nokia 150 (2020)
Rear Camera: VGA camera (Nokia 150) with LED Flash
Battery: 1040mAh battery (user-replaceable); micro-USB port
Other: Dual-sim (Mini), Bluetooth 3.0 (Nokia 150), GSM 900/1800 bands, 3.5mm jack, Wireless FM, MP3 Player (Nokia 150)
Nokia 150 (2020), Nokia 125 Price in Nepal and Availability
Nokia 150 (2020) and Nokia 125 have been launched in Nepal with the pricetags of Rs. 4,144 and Rs. 3,444 respectively. You can buy these phones from different Nokia retail outlets all around the country.
Samsung launches a lot of smartphones every year, but in doing so, they do bring some overpriced and underpowering phones. The Galaxy M11 we reviewed a while ago was one such example, and since then I have been using the GalaxyA21s alongside my favorite budget phone at the moment, the Galaxy M21. The A21s is slightly costlier than the M21 for the same memory configuration, so which one should you pick? Let’s find out in this review of the Samsung Galaxy A21s.
Samsung Galaxy A21s Specifications:
Body: 6.44 x 2.96 x 0.35 inches; 192 gm
Display: 6.5-inches PLS TFT LCD panel; 270PPI
Resolution: HD+ (1600 x 720 pixels); 20:9 aspect ratio
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/AGPS/GLONASS/GALILEO/BDS, USB Type-C
Battery: 5000mAh with 15W fast charging
Colors: Black, White, Blue, Red
Price in Nepal: Rs. 24,999 (4/64GB)
Samsung Galaxy A21s Review:
Design
A stunning and mesmerizing reflective rear panel
Slightly hefty and an all-plastic build
So, the first thing to like about the Galaxy A21s is its design.
Take a look at this thing, absolutely stunning. This glossy and reflective real panel could mesmerize you for days, I know it did for me so. Thanks to its curved body, the phone has an excellent grip as well with a little bit of heft too, though I would’ve preferred something lighter. Surprisingly, the A21s is slightly heavier than the Galaxy M21 which comes with a 20% larger battery.
Design
1 of 4
Rear Panel
Volume Rockers, Power Button
Speaker Grille, Type-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack
SIM Tray
As expected, Samsung has gone with an all-out plastic build and the glossy finish definitely aids in some smudges and fingerprints sticking to the phone. Yet, I am happy to report that it’s not what you call a “fingerprint magnet”. Therefore, you can retain the gorgeous look for long without breaking any sweat.
Ergonomic button placement
Both the power & volume rockers reside on the right while a SIM tray sits on the left side of the phone. The buttons click just fine and are positioned well enough to be at reach. The top portion of A21s remains mostly barren except for the microphone, while a 3.5mm headphone jack, a Type-C data/charging port, and a speaker grille can be found at the bottom.
Once again getting to the back of the phone, it borrows the L-shaped camera module from other phones like the Galaxy M31 with a slight but inconsiderable bump. Adjacent to the cameras is a traditional fingerprint sensor we’ve typically seen in many budget-oriented and mid-range Samsung smartphones. Anyway, A21s has an outstanding design for an affordable phone even though the company could’ve worked the weight a bit. Therefore, this is one of the only two things that I absolutely am fond of about this phone.
Display
6.5-inches PLS TFT LCD panel with HD+ resolution
Mediocre sharpness & color reproduction, plus screen flickering issue
Moving on, the display is usually where Samsung phones shine the brightest but sadly it’s not the case here. It’s just bad, so bad. Even the trendier punch-hole cutout for the front-facing camera isn’t able to save grace for the phone’s display quality. I mean, have a peek for yourself. This undersaturated panel has a terrible color reproduction and you could instantly recognize the mediocrity.
Getting to the nitty-gritty details, the Galaxy A21s has a 6.5” Infinity-O PLS TFT LCD panel with an HD+ resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio. So yeah, the viewing experience on this phone wasn’t great at all. The sharpness isn’t quite there and I’ve already talked about the inferior colors.
Punch-hole cutout can’t save the averageness
The punch hole on the left corner does add to the modern-ness of the phone and all, but it is still a victim to mild screen bleed around the outline of the cutout. Brightness is okay for indoors although the A21s will make you work in terms of visibility when you’re directly under the sun.
Adding further insult to the injury is how the display flickers. What?! That, in no way, should be happening on a 2020 phone. When sliding down the brightness of the phone to the minimum or turning on the “Medium Power Saving” mode, I could clearly notice how the Samsung Galaxy A21s fails to close-in on the set level of brightness during my review. This is most noticeable when you’ve turned off dark mode and are using light-themed applications like Facebook, or just browsing through the settings.
Talking about the dark mode, I must admit it is well implemented even though it lacks the Always-on Display feature found on AMOLED-boasting Samsung mid-rangers like the Galaxy M21. All in all, A21s has a less-than-average display with forgettable colors, average sharpness, and a daunting screen-flicker issue. The standard Galaxy A20 of last year had a stunning AMOLED panel and I cannot fathom why the company is going with a menial one on its successors.
13MP front-facing camera inside a punch-hole cutout
Cameras
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Back
Front
Camera-wise, the Galaxy A21s has a quad-lens system at the back with a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultrawide lens, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor.
Macro Images
As usual, the 2MP macro lens is pretty much useless as shots come out void of any detail.
Macro
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And you’ll need to put in a lot of work for just a mediocre shot.
Normal Images
The other three lenses are actually very good. But comparing the primary 48MP sensor with the M21, it’s almost identical except for the minute difference in color tone.
Normal - Comparison
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A21s
M21
A21s
M21
A21s
M21
A21s
M21
Both these phones are capable of capturing good daylight images, with good colors, contrast, and dynamic range. Likewise, they are also on par when it comes to details and sharpness.
Wideangle Images
Wide-angle photos share a similar story. That is, it’s identical to that of the M21 images. In day times, you will get good colors, sufficient dynamic range, and wide field of view.
Wideangle - Comparison
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A21s
M21
A21s
M21
A21s
M21
Overall, the A21s wide-angle images are better than your typical budget phones like Realme 6i or the Redmi Note 9.
Portrait Images
In terms of portraits too, its good for the price with good subject focus, decent bokeh, and background colors.
Portrait - Comparison
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A21s
M21
A21s
M21
It is almost identical to that of the M21’s portrait as you can see in this image here.
Selfie Images
Selfie-wise, you get a 13MP sensor whose images look almost as good as the selfies from the 20MP sensor of the Galaxy M21. There is just a slight difference in skin color, otherwise, images from both the devices look almost identical.
Selfie & Portrait Selfie - Comparison
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A21s - Selfie
M21 - Selfie
A21s - Portrait Selfie
M21 - Portrait Selfie
A21s - Selfie
M21 - Selfie
A21s - Portrait Selfie
M21 - Portrait Selfie
The portrait selfies share the same fate where both have good colors but average edge detection.
Nighttime Images
Nighttime images on the A21s wildly vary between the normal and wide-angle mode, with the latter resulting in much warmer shots. Details aren’t quite there either. And the most disappointing part is, you don’t get night mode here.
Nighttime
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Nighttime
Wideangle Nighttime
Nighttime
Wideangle Nighttime
Nighttime
Wideangle Nighttime
Finally, videos are maxed out to FHD resolution at 30fps on both front and rear cameras of Galaxy A21s; both of which lack any sort of stabilization. Recordings from the back camera are good enough for regular usage as it has good color reproduction and a little wide field of view. On the contrary, selfie videos are riddled with overexposure and a terrible dynamic range.
But, overall, I’ve liked the cameras of the A21s, It’s almost identical to that of M21, and is better than say its competitors like the Redmi Note 9 or the Realme 6i.
Performance & Memory
Octa-core Exynos 850 SoC (8nm)
Either 3, 4, or 6GB of RAM with up to 64GB of internal storage
The performance on this phone isn’t one for the books either. Well, Samsung has been consistently notorious regarding indecent chipset selection but this one takes the cake for the most out-of-place SoC put on a midrange phone. And yeah, it’s a homegrown Exynos silicon from the company. To be fair, it is manufactured under a much efficient 8nm process node and therefore is very energy-friendly.
This new Exynos 850 has octa-core Cortex-A55 CPU, all clocked at 2.0GHz. We’re already familiar with this Arm design and know that it’s a power-efficient CPU. Because of this, the performance of A21s is below an acceptable level. In terms of memory, you can choose between 3, 4, or 6GB of RAM with up to 64GB of internal storage depending on the market. It runs on OneUI Core instead of the standard OneUI and thus is void of certain features like a dedicated night mode on the camera, Secure Folder, etc.
But it didn’t really bother me as the core experience was pretty much what I’ve come to look for from OneUI. My review unit has a 4/64GB configuration and my experience with the phone was as abysmal as you can imagine. I’m sure memory management could get a little better in higher RAM variants but I can guarantee that paying for more memory won’t result in a faster, swifter workflow on the A21s.
Lightweight apps work fine though
Yet, the Exynos 850 can handle lightweight apps and multitasking between them pretty well. But if they’re joined by some other heavy apps or games, then the equation becomes entirely different. Memory management isn’t great (a reminder once again that the unit I’m using has 4GB RAM) and the phone misbehaves when it goes to sleep with RAM-intensive applications still in the memory and you try to wake it up.
Gaming
Likewise, don’t expect any outlandishly extravagant gaming experience on the A21s either. Popular titles like PUBG Mobile, PUBG Lite, and Call of Duty: Mobile is playable but there is a catch with each of them. PUBGm was almost entirely unplayable with noticeable lag & stutter under “Smooth” graphics and “Low” frame rate, even under “Deathmatch” mode.
So, I tried out its lite version instead which ran comparatively well under “Smooth” graphics and “Medium” frame rate. Shockingly, I witnessed smooth gameplay in CoD under “Medium” graphics and “High” frame rate. Besides these, other undemanding games like Injustice 2, Mobile Legends are well within the playable boundary too.
Battery
5000mAh battery with 15W fast charging
Easily a two-day phone with light to medium usage
Do you remember how I said that the design of the Galaxy A21s is one of the only two things I like about the phone? Well, the other thing is the battery. It has a big 5000mAh cell albeit some “M” series phones from Samsung come with a larger 6000mAh battery. Nevertheless, I can honestly say it has a better endurance than those phones which is mainly thanks to the following factors:
1
An energy-efficient 8nm Exynos 850 chipset
2
A less battery-hungry PLS TFT display
3
An HD+ (720p) resolution
The phone easily lasted me two days which consisted of hours of web browsing, YouTube binging, and a little bit of gaming now and then. What’s more impressive is how the phone is prone to excessive heating even after a prolonged session of gaming. So, good job on the battery front, Samsung! Still, charging it is a pain as I clocked in 2 hours and 26 minutes to fully charge the phone from nil to full.
In the middle of praising the phone for its excellent battery, I must share a rather unfortunate incident. My review unit of the A21s suddenly went to the boot menu and got stuck there once when it was running low on battery. I remember it had about 14% charge left and just as I was about to plug-in the cable, all I could see was the Samsung logo on the startup screen. Thus, I had to force restart the device by long-pressing the power and volume-down button at once. However, this didn’t reoccur next time the phone was running low on battery.
Others
What else? Yes, let’s discuss the fingerprint sensor. The registration process was a little weird, to begin with. Usually, a phone would prompt you to scan the front of the finger, then its edges separately to get a good read of the entire finger. But on this phone, all you need to do is scan the finger in the same position (if you feel like it) and that’s about it.
As a result, the phone would only recognize my fingerprint, like 3 out of 5 times. A21s also features face-unlock which isn’t the fastest and only works with sufficient ambient light around you.
The audio output from the single bottom-firing speaker is okay, but only at low to medium volume. Cranking up the loudness will result in lossy and distorted audio. It supports Dolby Atmos too but that only works on wired earphones or Bluetooth headsets. Here, the wired output is considerably better than the speakers.
Final Words
In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy A21s is an honestly worse-than-average smartphone for the price as I discovered during my review. Featuring an HD+ TFT panel, a processor with only power-efficient CPU cores, etc. speak volumes. The only things in its favor are the design, and battery endurance.
But ultimately, these are like putting lipstick on a pig. The end-user experience is just not worth the price and we strongly recommend you go for the Galaxy M21 instead, which has an AMOLED display, powerful Exynos 9611 SoC, and better cameras at a more or less the same price.
Watch our video review of the Samsung Galaxy A21s!
Samsung Galaxy A21s Review: Pros & Cons
Pros:
Excellent design with a fashionable reflective rear panel
Great battery endurance (a proper two-day phone)
Decent camera performance
Cons:
Terrible value for money
Forgettable display with unsaturated colors & minimal sharpness
Exynos 850 is power-efficient but not that powerful
The watch is backed by a 420mAh battery that boasts of 6.5 days of standby time. In normal usage, the Nubia says it will last up to 36 hours. It comes with a magnetic charger.
![Samsung Galaxy A21s - Design [1]](https://cdn.gadgetbytenepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Samsung-Galaxy-A21s-Design-1.jpg)
![Samsung Galaxy A21s - Display [1]](https://cdn.gadgetbytenepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Samsung-Galaxy-A21s-Display-1.jpg)
![Samsung Galaxy A21s - Display [2]](https://cdn.gadgetbytenepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Samsung-Galaxy-A21s-Display-2.jpg)
