Realme Nepal has been extending the company’s portfolio of AIoT devices. Last month, they launched the Realme band, Realme watch, and a couple of TWS earphones. And today, the company has unveiled its cheapest TWS earbuds, the BudsQ in the Nepali market.
Realme Buds Q Overview
Design and Build
Unlike Realme Buds Air and Air Neo which debuted last month, the Buds Q doesn’t come with a stem-body design. The new design is a result of the collaboration between Realme and Frech Designer Jose Levy. It isn’t the first time Realme has worked with a professional designer; the Master Design on Realme Narzo 10 was the idea of Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa.
From a distance, you might confuse the design with Samsung Galaxy Buds. But the head on the Buds Q is more circular than rectangular. Realme is calling it the “Pebble design.” The round shape is said to fit the ear contour better, making it more comfortable to wear. Each earbud weighs around 3.6 grams and the weight of the charging case is around is 31.7 grams.
Audio Drivers and Connectivity
Realme Buds Q features a 10mm dynamic driver with bass enhancement technology. It uses the same custom R1 chip as in the Realme Buds Air and Air Neo. The chip allows dual-channel real-time data transmission. The data is transmitted using Bluetooth v5.0 technology.
There is a low-latency gaming mode for gamers that can reduce the latency up to 119ms. You can turn on the mode by pressing and holding both earbuds for two seconds. The mode syncs audio and video better and can be used while watching movies. It supports AAC HD codec, though it may mean you need to enable the decoding manually from the Bluetooth setting.
Control
A double-tap on one of the earbuds will cause the music to play or pause. Similarly, you can also use it to answer any incoming calls. To end a call, simply press and hold on one side. Triple tap will let you skip the current song and move to the next one.
Battery
Each bud has a 40mAh battery, which can last about 4.5 hours of continuous music. Similarly, Realme promises 3 hours of call time, 5 hours of gaming, and 6 hours of movie time. The charging case is equipped with a 400mAh battery that can extend battery life up to about 20 hours. The case supports 30W wired charging via micro-USB port.
Gionee is among the smartphone brands that have almost been forgotten over the course of time. The company had its presence in the Nepalese and was quite successful with its ‘F’ and ‘M’ series of smartphones. It went bankrupt at the end of 2018, but has made a comeback in the Nepali market with Gionee M100.
Gionee M100 Overview
Gionee M100 is the third smartphone announced by the company after coming out of bankruptcy. It was first launched in China last year and is now coming to Nepal. Gionee M100 is also available as Gionee K3 in different markets.
Design and Display
Gionee M100 sports a 6.2-inch In-Cell panel with an HD+ resolution of 1520 x 720 pixels. The display features a waterdrop style notch on the top of the screen, that houses the selfie camera. Gionee has included a 2.5D curved glass to protect the screen from scratches and accidental damage.
On the back, there is a pill-shaped camera module that encloses the cameras and LED flash. The rear panel also has a fingerprint sensor mounted on it.
Performance and Memory
The device is powered by MediaTek Helio P23 chipset. It is an octa-core processor based on TSMC’s 16nm FinFET process. The SoC features eight ARM Cortex A53 cores. Half of them are clocked at 2.0 GHz while the rest are clocked at 1.5 GHz. Gionee is coupling this three-year-old chipset with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
Camera
Gionee M100 flaunts a dual-camera setup on its back. The 13MP primary camera is accompanied by a 0.3MP sensor. These two cameras are aligned vertically on the top left corner of the rear panel. On the front, there is a 5MP camera to quench your selfie thirst.
Battery and Others
The smartphone comes equipped with a 5,000mAh battery, that should last long given the under-power specs. It supports 10W fast charging. There is a capacitive fingerprint sensor on the back for biometrics.
Gionee M100 Specifications:
Display: 6.2-inches In-Cell Panel
Resolution: HD+ (1520 x 720 pixels); 19:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: MediaTek Helio P23; 16nm FinFET process
CPU: Octa-core (4 × 2.0 GHz ARM Cortex A53 & 4 × 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex A53 )
Gionee M100 is now available in Nepal for a price of Rs. 13,999. It can be a good choice if you are looking for a long-lasting battery and aren’t concerned about gaming performance.
Smartphone Model
Price in Nepal
Gionee M100 (4/64GB)
Rs. 13,999
Check out our comparison between Redmi Note 9 Pro and Galaxy M31!
August is the month when Samsung launches its flagship “Note” lineup of smartphones. With the ongoing pandemic and the overall trend in the smartphone industry, most of us had thought (or even hoped) that the company didn’t unveil its top-of-the-line product. However, the company still went on with the launch of the new Galaxy Note 20 series. And since its arrival, I have been using the Samsung GalaxyNote 20 Ultra as my primary phone alongside the S20 Ultra for review to see how much Samsung has improved over 6 months.
Also, if you’re planning to get yourself a Note this year, I’d strictly advise avoiding the regular Note 20 because of its ridiculous pricing. Note 20 Ultra is the complete package of the two and Samsung is clearly luring you to buy it instead. Let’s discover more about the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra in this review.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Specifications:
Body: 6.49 x 3.04 x 0.32-inches; 208gm; IP68 certification
Battery: 4500mAh with 25W fast charging; 15W wireless charging
Colors: Mystic White, Mystic Bronze, Mystic Gray
Price in Nepal: Rs. 139,999 (8/256GB)
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Review:
Design
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus back & front, metallic frame
Slight curves but an overall classic boxy design
Massive camera bump at the back & the relocated S Pen
Anyways, let’s begin this review of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra with its design. My first impression when having the phone in my hand was like – wow, that’s a big phone. Putting it side-by-side with the S20 Ultra, we can notice the trademark boxy design with sharp edges on the Note. I also found the Note 20 Ultra to be a little more comfortable and lightweight to hold which is mainly because of its smaller battery.
Left: Note 20 Ultra | Right: S20 Ultra
The color options see a much-needed overhaul as well because frankly, the grey or black options of the S20 Ultra look quite drab and boring. Here, I have the Mystic Black variant of the Note 20 Ultra which unfortunately attracts a lot of fingerprints & smudges.
So if this is the one you’re going after, make sure to slap in a skin or a protective case – or better yet, get the “Mystic Bronze” variant instead which is the talk of the town. Besides the gorgeous color tone, it also has a matte finish thus getting rid of our aforementioned issue.
A new home for the S Pen
Samsung also decided to relocate the S Pen to the left on the Note 20 series, which is mainly to cope with the internal circuitry for these massive-massive cameras that are housed inside this giant camera bump – thicker than the one in S20 Ultra. This is going to throw away a lot of Note fanatics or even newcomers who favor their right hand. Even after a while of using the phone, I am yet to get used to the new position.
Samsung says it’s for the better since most people hold the phone in their right hand and it’s easier for them to pull the S Pen when it’s placed on the opposite side. So, I’m willing to give it a shot.
Moving on, the Galaxy Note 20 comes with the IP68 dust/water resistance as expected but what’s exciting is that it is the first phone to feature Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass Victus – both at the front and at the back. Compared to the last-gen GG6, this promises twice more scratch resistance and it can also survive up to a 2-meter (6.5 foot) drop. But, Samsung has left out the Victus on the camera module.
Therefore, make sure you attach a nice tempered glass on the rear camera module or toughen up the phone with a durable case since repairing the phone in case it breaks is going to a whole lot of money. For instance, the AMOLED panel alone will set you back an upwards of $400!
Up to 120Hz refresh rate; 240Hz touch sampling rate
Uses LTPO for variable refresh rate technology
Speaking of the display, the Note 20 Ultra boasts a gigantic 6.9-inches Quad-HD Dynamic AMOLED panel with up to 120Hz of refresh rate. And according to DisplayMate, this phone has the best AMOLED display ever. Samsung has always been a pioneer of the smartphone display industry and this announcement really doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone. However, in real-life usage, I didn’t find it that different from the one on the S20 series. Note 20 Ultra has a peak brightness of 1500 nits so visibility was never going to be of any issue.
Like the S20 series, the company is still maxing out the 120Hz refresh rate to Full-HD+ resolution instead of QHD+. But interestingly, this panel has a Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide (LTPO) backplane technology because of which the display can adjust the refresh rate in itself depending upon the content on the screen – potentially saving battery in the process.
For example: if you’re watching a movie or similar content, its Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technology will set the display to 24Hz, or if you’re scrolling through the phone or playing a handful of supported games, it will get buttery smooth at the full 120Hz. Note 20 Ultra’s display can go all the way down to 10Hz refresh rate for certain static contents.
Ultra-sonic fingerprint sensor
The display is also home to an ultra-sonic in-display fingerprint scanner and it’s almost similar in performance to the S20 Ultra. By that I mean, it’s not as fast as… say the ones from OnePlus or OPPO but gets the job done.
But since this is an ultra-sonic sensor unlike the more common optical fingerprint scanners, it works even when your fingers are wet. Additionally, it is more secure as well. Even in a dark environment, the sensor doesn’t rely on shining bright light either. So, if you ask me, I prefer Samsung’s implementation compared to other companies.
Performance… and the controversy
Octa-core Samsung Exynos 990 SoC (7nm) – Global
8/12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage (expandable)
Time to get salty… and rightfully so. There has always been a controversy among the Samsung community since the company chooses to ship the premium “S” and “Note” lineup of smartphones with different chipsets depending upon the region. Certain markets like the US, China, and South Korea enjoy the ones with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon silicon while the rest of the world gets the one with Samsung’s own Exynos brand of chipsets.
had they been some sort of equals, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. but that’s simply not the case.
Many people (us included) had already bashed the company regarding the use of Exynos 990 in its S20 series while the Snapdragon 865 variant was much more powerful. If you recall like 4 months, many Samsung fans were already at the peak of their frustration regarding the use of Exynos 990 in the S20 series; to the point where there was an online petition titled “Stop selling us inferior Exynos phones”.
And to see the company take that mistake a step further by shipping select markets with even more powerful Snapdragon 865+ while the rest of the world is stuck with the same Exynos 990 is honestly very infuriating. The 865+ pretty much thrashes its Exynos counterpart with a much better CPU and GPU performance. Looking at the benchmark scores, you can see how it has about 15-20% better results and you know how much that translates to real-life usage.
Compromised performance on a premium phone
So it’s pretty disappointing to find out that while you’re paying a premium price for the phone, you’re not getting the best performance you’d expect. Samsung’s Exynos brand of silicons needs to do a whole lot better if it ever seeks to compete against the ones from Qualcomm. The company has been in talks with AMD to embed its RDNA-based GPU into flagship Exynos SoC which has us excited in the long run but surely, Samsung must’ve done something about the disparity that currently exists.
Both Exynos 990 and Snapdragon 865+ are 5G capable chipsets that support both sub-6GHz and mmWave spectrum. But depending upon the region, Samsung also ships 4G LTE variants of the Note 20 Ultra, which is the case here in Nepal. That is understandable seeing how many countries still don’t a viable 5G infrastructure. Similarly, the 5G and 4G configs also come with different memory options.
Here, Note 20 Ultra (4G) comes with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and either 256 or 512GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. Similarly, the 5G model has 12GB of RAM and an additional 128GB model besides the ones above.
Keeping that aside for a moment, you guys might know that I use the Galaxy S20+ as my daily driver, and shifting to the Note 20 Ultra was not that big of a deal – at least to me. Its performance is as solid as I’d expected and everything runs flawlessly including multitasking between apps or just scrolling around the phone’s UI. Yet, just like the S20 series, the Note 20 Ultra also heats up quite easy when you gaming for a while or are doing some quite heavy tasks like multitasking alongside navigation with full brightness, recording high-res videos for a while, etc.
Gaming
Gaming on the phone is decent as well but like I said earlier, the Exynos 990 is inferior to the 865+. As a result, its Mali-G77 MP11 GPU can’t push certain games like PUBG Mobile to their max settings (Extreme frame rate and HDR graphics) whereas it’s a piece of cake for the other variant.
Likewise, games like PUBGm, COD Mobile, etc. don’t support high refresh rate as of now to make use of phones with smoother display panels. As of now, PUBGm has introduced a 90Hz support which is exclusive to certain OnePlus phones for now and I hope it gets a wider launch ASAP.
Furthermore, the Note 20 Ultra also has Ultra-Wideband (UWB) connectivity that we first saw in Apple’s iPhone 11 series. Unlike Bluetooth, WiFi, or NFC, UWB operates at a very high frequency and allows for a much faster data transfer between devices. With this, Note 20 Ultra could also be used as a digital key. Google’s latest “Nearby Share” data transfer feature (just like Apple’s AirDrop) will also be much faster between UWB-enabled Galaxy devices.
S Pen
Reduced latency from 45ms to just 9ms
New AI Laser Point Prediction feature on top of air gestures
Now let’s talk about the belle of the ball of any Galaxy Note device – the S Pen. Besides shifting it to the left, Samsung has made quite a few improvements to this year’s S Pen but the most important of them all is the input latency. If you don’t know what latency is, allow me to briefly explain it. Latency is the time it takes for your touch input to be registered by the display, processed by the phone, and then reflected back on to the display. Typically measured in milliseconds (ms), the lesser latency, the better.
While the Galaxy Note 10 series had 45ms input latency, Samsung has managed to bring it down to just 9ms on the Note 20 Ultra and 26ms on the standard Note 20.
The minimal latency paired with a 120Hz display and Samsung’s new AI Laser Point Prediction feature which predicts your next move depending on our current writing behavior means this S Pen gives off an almost paper-like writing experience. I’m not an artist or anything so the one on the Note 10 series fared well with me too. But if you are one, this makes all the difference in the world.
Besides latency
Samsung has expectedly borrowed many other S Pen features from its predecessor onto the Note 20 series with some handy improvements. Now, you can annotate PDF files, make e-signatures, etc. which is very handy. Similarly, you can also write notes in a PowerPoint and record an audio comment on it as well making it easy for others to drop their feedback.
And since the S Pen has a gyro sensor, it has some useful or rather gimmicky air gestures that unfortunately don’t work 100% of the time. For instance, the new gestures on the Note 20 lineup include a series of hand movements to navigate around the phone, take screenshots, etc.
DeX
Now fully wireless in Smart TVs with Miracast
Let’s quickly talk about the DeX. This is Samsung’s attempt at transforming your phone into a PC. While the feature required a bunch of peripherals like an HDMI adapter, etc. the feature is fully wireless now. You can turn your Smart TV that supports MediaTek’s Miracast feature into a DeX monitor – provided that both TV and the phone are connected to the same network.
Because Samsung promises a desktop-like experience with DeX (that in itself is an ambiguous claim), it’s not wrong of us to expect something fast & responsive. However, that hasn’t been the case with my usage. The UI is a little too sluggish to my liking and therefore I rarely use this feature. And about wireless DeX, Samsung says it works best on its own Smart TVs released in 2019 or later but I didn’t have one lying around. So, I tried it out on my non-Samsung TV and the experience was pretty much unusable.
10MP front-facing camera inside the Infinity-O cutout
Camera
1 of 3
Rear Cameras
Front Camera
Rear Camera Bump
Finally, let’s talk about the cameras. It has a triple-lens system at the back which comprises the massive 108MP ISOCELL Bright HM1 sensor from the S20 Ultra, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP telephoto camera capable of 5x lossless optical zoom and up to 50x digital Space Zoom. There’s also an additional Laser AutoFocus (AF) sensor.
We saw how the S20 Ultra failed to lock focus on close-range objects because of its physically massive sensor, especially in a dimly-lit environment. Thankfully, the Laser AF system fixes that on the Note 20 Ultra.
Improved AutoFocus
And yeah, during my review, I noticed improved autofocus on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra compared to the S20 Ultra.
AutoFocus
1 of 3
Note 20 Ultra
Note 20 Ultra
S20 Ultra
Even when taking pictures of subjects like dogs, they retain good focus and sharpness.
Nighttime Images
The nighttime images on the Note 20 Ultra (from both primary and wide-angle lens) has also been slightly improved over the S20 Ultra – which was already incredible, to begin with.
Nighttime
1 of 8
Note 20 Ultra - Normal Nighttime
S20 Ultra - Normal Nighttime
Note 20 Ultra - Night Mode
S20 Ultra - Night Mode
Note 20 Ultra - Wideangle Night Mode
S20 Ultra - Wideangle Night Mode
Note 20 Ultra - Normal Nighttime
S20 Ultra - Normal Nighttime
The colors are slightly better and it may be because of the improved autofocus but it takes images in night mode a little faster. Remember, both phones that I have with me have the same Exynos 990 SoC with the same Image Signal Processor (ISP).
Normal & Wideangle Images
Getting to the normal daytime images, they are excellent, have good contrast/colors, exposure, and that classic Samsung vibrancy.
Normal
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Images from the ultrawide camera share the same story.
Wideangle
1 of 4
Normal
Wideangle
Normal
Wideangle
But, Samsung has worked to improved portrait images and it shows.
Portrait Images
Here, you can see how the portrait images on the Note 20 Ultra have a more balanced skin tone compared to the ones from S20 Ultra.
Portrait
1 of 6
Note 20 Ultra
S20 Ultra
Note 20 Ultra
S20 Ultra
Note 20 Ultra
S20 Ultra
As you can see, the S20 Ultra tends to darken certain portions while creating the bokeh effect.
Selfie Images
Moving on, selfies and portrait selfies are excellent as well with great colors and sharpness.
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Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Note 20 Ultra - Lowlight Selfie
S20 Ultra - Lowlight Selfie
And once again, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra yields noticeably better images compared to the S20 Ultra when it comes to selfies in low-light conditions.
Telephoto Images
Now let us talk about the telephoto lens. Samsung has stepped away from the 100x zoom and the Note 20 Ultra, therefore, caps out at 50x Space Zoom.
Telephoto
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1x
5x
10x
1x
5x
10x
It can shoot loss-less images up to 5x zoom and their quality is quite solid – which goes on up to 10x digital zoom.
50x - Note 20 Ultra vs S20 Ultra
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Note 20 Ultra - 1x
Note 20 Ultra - 50x
S20 Ultra - 1x
S20 Ultra - 50x
Yet, the images from 50x Space Zoom still aren’t that useful although they’re a little better than the one from S20 Ultra.
Videos
Getting to the videos, there are a lot of options to play around with just like the S20 Ultra. You can still click 8K/24fps videos but its outcome isn’t that great. However, 4K/60fps are really good with great stabilization and color reproduction. For the best stabilization, you can select the “Super Steady Mode”. I do have a little complaint which is how Note 20 Ultra’s ultrawide camera cannot shoot videos in 4K/60fps.
The front camera is a 10MP sensor residing inside a small punch-hole cutout in the center. It can shoot 4K/60fps videos as well with an excellent stabilization. Other features like Slowmo, Super Slowmo, etc. work great too. Overall, Note 20 Ultra is one of the best options for mobile videography alongside the iPhone 11 series. Besides videos, this phone is also one of the best camera phones currently out there in the market.
Battery
4500mAh battery with 25W fast wired charging
15W wireless charging and Wireless PowerShare
When it comes to the battery, I was a little disappointed during the review because I was hoping for the 5000mAh cell on the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra just like the S20 Ultra. However, the company has gone with a smaller 4500mAh battery which is mainly because of the extra space for the S Pen, while maintaining a pocketable form factor. The smaller battery paired with a giant display that has a 120Hz refresh rate didn’t result in an impressive endurance that I’d hoped for.
Its endurance is B+ which could last you a day but when pushing it to the extreme, you may be left with no charge at the end of the day. There’s even marginal battery drainage under standby mode. I’m someone who goes to sleep after charging the phone to 100% and after 6 – 7 hours of sleep, I wake up to about 92 – 93% charge only. This issue was also persistent with S20 Ultra though I’m yet to see someone with their Snapdragon variant complain about this overnight battery drain issue.
Surprisingly, Samsung has abandoned the 45W fast charging for the Note 20 Ultra and rather sticks to a slower 25W charging protocol instead. With this, it took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes to fully charge the phone. Wireless charging, on the other hand, is painfully slow as well and the 15W power takes around 2 hours to juice up the phone.
Conclusion
To wrap it all up, Note 20 Ultra is a solid phone which could very well be the best phone right now. It’s built well, has an excellent display, cameras, and the S Pen has been improved a lot on this iteration. However, getting the objectively inferior Exynos chipset on a phone for which you’d have to fork out over $1000 simply doesn’t feel acceptable – and we’re right to complain Samsung about it.
Because of this variation, many people are skipping Samsung flagships and the market trend definitely reflects on that. My friend who is a Civil Engineer was also skeptical about buying the Note 20 Ultra because of the very same reason. Having said that, most people can easily get by with the Exynos 990. And if you’re someone who doesn’t make use of the S Pen, you can even go for the Galaxy S20 series instead and save a few bucks.
Watch our video review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Review: Pros & Cons
Pros:
Excellent design & surprisingly lightweight for such a big phone
Samsung’s most durable phone thanks to Gorilla Glass Victus
Terrific Super AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate
Improved S Pen functionalities with an almost paper-like latency
Improved zoom, low-light, & portrait camera performance compared to S20 Ultra
Cons:
*the usual Exynos complaint*
Battery endurance isn’t that great, struggling to last a full day
An underwhelming 25W wired & 15W wireless charging
The Insta360 One R is not your standard camera. It comes with a modular design and lets you shoot anything from 4K videos to 360-degree videos. It is now available in Nepal. Let’s check out the specs, features, official price, and availability of Insta360 One R In Nepal.
Insta360 One R Overview
Design
As mentioned earlier, the Insta360 One R is a modular camera. The dimension of the size varies based on the mods on use. Insta360 One R consists of three main parts of which the lens is interchangeable. The lens is connected to the central core while the core is equipped with a touchscreen, control buttons, and necessary ports. Finally, the third component is the base that holds everything together. It also houses the battery that powers the camera.
The camera sports a rugged design and is IPX8 rated against water damage up to 5m of depth. Connectivity-wise, it supports 5GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. There is a six-axis gyroscope for Flow Stabilization. The base packs a 1190mAh battery which can be charged using a Type-C charger. The battery backup varies according to the mod being used. Once drained, it can be re-filled in around 65 minutes.
As you may have guessed, the 1-inch Edition features a 1-inch sensor. It is the biggest sensor ever in an Insta360 camera and has been co-designed along with Leica. Thus, expect improved low-light performance and better depth of field. The wide-angle camera is capable of taking 19MP pictures. Users can also shoot 5K videos at 30fps or 45K videos at 60fps.
The Twin Edition comes with two camera modes. The first is the 4K wide-angle lens which has an aperture of f/2.0. It can capture still photos in two different resolutions – 4000 x 3000 (4:3) and 4000 x 2250 (16:9). It can record 4K videos at 60fps.
The second mode comes is the dual-lens 360 mode. It can cover a 360-degree Field of View. It can also capture 18MP still pictures (6080 x 3040). Similarly, it is also capable of capturing up to 5.7K videos at 30fps.
Insta360 One R Specifications:
4K Wide Angle
Dual-lens 360
1-inch
Dimension
72mm x 48mm x 32.4mm
72mm x 48mm x 43mm
78.7 x 53.8 x 47.2mm
Weight
121g
130.5g
158.2g
Photo Resolution
4000 x 3000 (4:3)
4000 x 2250 (16:9)
6080 x 3040 (2:1)
5312 x 3552 (3:2)
5312 x 2998 (16:9)
Video Resolution
4000 x 3000 @ 30fps (Max)
5760 x 2880 @ 30fps (Max)
5312 x 2988 @ 30fps (Max)
Video Bitrate
100Mbps
Gyroscope
6-axis
Connectivity
5GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
Battery
1190mAh
Charging
Type-C (100% in 65 minutes)
Insta360 One R Price in Nepal & Availability
The price of Insta360 One R in Nepal is NPR 74,500 for 1-inch Edition and NPR 64,500 for the Twin Edition. You can buy the Insta360 One R in Nepal from Hukut store.
Action Camera
Price in Nepal
Insta360 One R (1-inch Edition)
NPR 74,500
Insta360 One R (Twin Edition)
NPR 64,500
Check out our review of Huawei EnVizon 360 Camera.
Realme’s 6 series, that was launched earlier this year, already has a successor. Like its predecessor, the Realme 7 series was launched in India via an online event. The series consists of two smartphones – Realme 7 and 7 Pro. In this post, we will be talking about the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Realme 7 Pro in Nepal.
Realme 7 Pro Overview
Realme 7 Pro is not an upgrade over the Realme 6 Pro. It looks like an alternative instead. In the Realme 6 series, the focus was on the display and the camera. However, the biggest difference in the 7 Pro is in the charging technology.
Design and Display
This time around, the company has brought a new design which they are calling AG Split Design. It is said to be inspired by symmetries found in human society and nature. It has a dual-done color separated by a straight line that passes through the camera module. The back panel of the Realme 7 Pro has an anti-glare layer. Realme has actually made the 7 Pro lighter than its predecessor (182g < 195g). However, it also means the device is thicker at 8.7mm.
Realme 7 Pro features a 6.4-inch display with a punch-hole that measures 3.69mm. It boasts a screen to body ratio of 90.8%. Realme has finally made a switch to the AMOLED display panel. However, it comes with the standard 60Hz refresh rate. The panel on the Realme 7 Pro covers 98% of the NTSC color gamut.
Performance and Memory
Realme 7 Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G. It is the same chipset that we saw in the Realme 6 Pro. However, it’s a capable chipset in the mid-range and it won’t disappoint in the performance segment. It is available in two memory-configurations – 6/128GB and 8/128GB.
Cameras
The camera is another specialty of Realme phones. Realme is the company that popularized the quad-camera setup in the mid-range price segment with the Realme 5 series. The new device also features a 64MP quad-camera setup. Realme is referring to it as the second-gen 64MP quad-gen camera as Realme 6 Pro also had a 64MP quad-camera setup.
The Samsung GW1 sensor is now replaced by Sony IMX682. The 6P lens has an aperture of f/1.8 can supports up to 10X zoom. To aid the sensor, Realme has also introduced a multi-frame algorithm with improved detail reproduction.
The company claims that the zoom performance of the Realme 7 Pro is on par with the 2X telephoto lens. Thus, the telephoto lens has been ditched for a monochrome portrait sensor. The rest of the setup is similar to the Realme 6 Pro, including the 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a macro lens.
On the front, Realme has used a 32MP selfie camera. It has an aperture of f/2.5 and comes with features like Nightscape selfies and UIS Stabilization.
65W Dart Charging
In the online launch event, Realme expressed its desire to revolutionalize the way smartphones are charged by bringing faster-charging technologies in the mid-range segment. The 4,500mAh battery in the Realme 7 Pro consists of two 2250mAH 3C batteries connected in a series. Realme 6 Pro came with a 30W fast charger. Its successor now supports 65W SuperDart Charge. It can charge the 4,500mAh from 0 to 100% in 34 minutes. Similarly, 3 minutes of charging can last for up to 2.5 hours of Youtube or 2 hours of Instagram or 1.2 hours of gaming.
To control the temperature while charging, Realme has included an intelligent five-core chip along with 10 temperature (2 on the mainboard). The company claims the temperature of the device is maintained under 40-degree Celcius when charging in standby mode.
Rest of the Specs
Realme 7 Pro comes with a dual-speaker. The device supports Dolby Atmos and is Hi-Res Audio certified. We have seen smartphone brands get TUV Rheinland certification for certain components of the phone. However, the Realme 7 series is the first phone to pass TUV Rheinland Smartphone Reliability Verification test.
Realme 7 Pro Specifications:
Display: 6.4-inch AMOLED Display; 90.8% screen to body ratio; Corning Gorilla Glass
Connectivity: Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS/AGPS/Beidou/Glonass/NavIC Type-C
Battery: 4500mAh with 65W SuperDart Charge
Sensors: Magnetic induction, light, proximity, gyro
Color Options: Mirror Silver, Mirror Blue
Realme 7 Pro Price in Nepal and Availability
Realme 7 Pro will be available in India starting from 14th September with a price tag of INR 19,999 for the 6/128GB and INR 21,999 for the 8/128GB variant. We can expect the starting price of Realme 7 Pro in Nepal to be around NPR 32,000 for the 6.128GB variant
Samsung has extended its lineup of Android tablet with the 2020 iteration of the Galaxy Tab A. It does not pack the same specs as the recently unveiled Galaxy Tab S7 series. Hence, is more affordable. Read along to know more about the specs, features, expected price, and availability of Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2020 in Nepal.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2020 Overview
Design and Display
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2020 sports an 8.4-inch TFT display with a WUXGA resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels. Talking about the dimensions, the body of the tab measures 201.9 x 125.2 x 70mm and weighs around 310 grams. There is nothing flashy about the design of the device. The screen is surrounded by traditional bezels, which are more prominent on the forehead and the chin. At the back, there is a square bump for the camera module.
Performance and Memory
Samsung has not explicitly listed the model of the chipset used but says that it is a processor with eight cores. The efficiency cores are clocked at 1.6 GHz whereas the performance cores are clocked at 1.8 GHz. The tablet comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. On top of that, only 20.5GB of internal storage will be accessible to the users. Fortunately, the storage can be expanded up to 512GB using an external microSD card. The memory looks insufficient for a Tab in 2020 and the lack of additional configurations makes the matter even worst.
Camera
Talking about the camera, Tab A 2020 features only two of them; one on the back and the other at the front. The 8MP rear camera comes with autofocus and supports FHD (1920 x 1080) recording at 30fps. It is not even accompanied by an LED flash. The 5MP camera on the front could turn out useful for online classes and meetings.
Rest of the specs
The tablet comes with a battery of 5,000mAh. Samsung claims that it can last up to 11 hours of internet surfing (LTE/Wi-Fi), or 12 hours of video playback or up to 99 hours of music playback. Galaxy Tab A supports 4G LTE, Wi-Fi ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth v5.0. Samsung has put a USB 2.0 port on this one.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2020 Specifications:
Body: 201.9 x 125.2 x 7.0 inches; 310 gm
Display: 8.4-inches panel; 16M colors
Resolution: WUXGA (1920 x 1200 pixels);
CPU: Octa-core (1.8GHz, 1.6GHz)
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB (expandable up to 512GB using a micro SD card)
Rear Camera: 8MP lens
Front Camera: 5MP lens
Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, dual speakers
Connectivity: 4G LTE, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/GLONASS, USB 2.0
Battery: 5,000mAh
Colors: Mocha
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2020 Price in Nepal and Availability
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2020 (8.4-inch) is available in select markets like the US and Canada for a price of $319.99. We can expect the price of Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2020 in Nepal to be NPR 40,000.
Tablet Model
Price in Nepal (Expected)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 2020
NPR 40,000
Check out our review of Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite.
Smartphone manufacturers are now shifting towards making 5G available in their cheaper handsets. Recently, we saw Realme launch the V3, the cheapest 5G smartphone yet. And now, Samsung has followed the suit by announcing its own cheapest 5G smartphone. In a somewhat unusual announcement, Samsung unveiled some images and a few specs of the new Galaxy A42 5G.
Samsung Galaxy A42 5G Overview
The Galaxy A42 5G deviates from the small form factors that the previous Galaxy A40-series had. This device comes with a huge 6.6-inch Super AMOLED screen. For comparison, its predecessor, the Galaxy A41 had a 6.1-inch display. Now, we do not have much info about the resolution. However, considering the fact that the A41 had a 1080p display, the same is expected on this one too. The display also comes with a water-drop notch, which according to the rumors, will house a 20MP selfie camera.
Around the back, there’s been a slight design change. The panel is now divided into equal-sized segments, which frankly looks woeful. Anyway, the rear cameras are arranged in a square panel. And it is a quad-camera array. Currently, we don’t have any details about the camera modules. However, recent leaks suggest that it includes a 48MP primary sensor and a 5MP depth sensor.
Under the hood, the device will run on the Snapdragon 690 processor. And it will be complemented by 4GB of RAM. The storage offered will be 128GB. However, the rumor is that a 64GB variant will be available too. As for the battery, it supposedly has a 5000mAh unit.
Expected Specifications:
Display
6.6-inch Super AMOLED
Resolution
Full HD+
Chipset
Snapdragon 690 5G
GPU
Adreno 691L
RAM
4GB
Internal Storage
64GB, 128GB
Software and UI
One UI 2.1 on top of Android 10
Rear Camera
48MP primary camera
8MP Ultrawide sensor
5MP Depth sensor
5MP Telephoto sensor
Front camera
20MP selfie camera
Security
Fingerprint(in-display)
Battery
5000mAh
Samsung Galaxy A42 5G Price and Availability
The Samsung Galaxy A42 5G will be the cheapest Samsung device with 5G support. Now, their previous “cheapest” 5G device i.e the A41 5G was launched at a price of $499. However, considering the fact that, Samsung has called A45 5G the cheapest one yet, it will probably launch at a lower price. The details about the availability and the prices will be revealed in the near future. So, stay tuned!
ZTE has everyone talking with the announcement of the world’s first commercially available under-display camera smartphone. However, it was not the only device that was unveiled in the event. The company also unveiled a new TWS – ZTE LiveBuds with a total battery backup of up to 20 hours. Read along to learn more about the specs, features, expected price, and availability of ZTE LiveBuds in Nepal.
ZTE LiveBuds Overview
ZTE is not the name that appears in your mind when someone talks about audio accessories. The Chinese company mainly focuses on network technology and equipment. ZTE’s network business is even bigger than its smartphone business. The company currently offers services related to 5G and cloud computing. So, the introduction of the new TWS is a sign that the company is ready to step into the accessories business as well.
Design
ZTE LiveBuds comes with a cylindrical power case. The case features a curvy design. From a distance, it may look like the case of Sony WF-1000XM3. But it has ZTE branding on the front. The actual earpiece, on the other hand, has a very distinctive look because of the short stem and bulky head. It comes with replaceable ear tips for a better fit. When worn, most of the earpiece’s head is covered and only a small portion sticks out.
The part of the head that sticks out has a hollow surface. It is where the controls of the TWS is located. ZTE has inscribed “omthing” along the length of the stem.
Internal Specs
ZTE LiveBuds comes with touch-based controls. Users can tap on the hollow surface of each bud to control the music or receive/end call. It also comes with dual microphones that can be used for calls and interacting with the smart assistant. It uses Bluetooth 5.0 connection to receive and transmit data. Users can use the earbuds collectively or use them separately by connecting them to different devices at the same. ZTE claims that the Electronic Noise Cancellation on the TWS can reduce outside noise by up to 90%.
On a single charge, LiveBuds can offer up to 4 hours of continuous music playback. With the charging case, the number is bumped to up to 20 hours. The earbuds come with IPX5 certification against damage by water splashes. Thus, you can put it on during workouts without having to worry about sweats damaging the earbuds.
ZTE LiveBuds Specifications:
Weight: 4 grams (each earbud)
Connectivity: Wireless (Bluetooth v5.0)
Wireless Range: 10m
Codec: AAC
Battery Backup: 4 hours (earbuds); up to 20 hours (with charging case)
Control: Touch-based
ENC: Yes
Microphones: Yes, Dual-setup
IP rating: Yes, IPX5
ZTE LiveBuds Price in Nepal and Availability
ZTE LiveBuds is now available in China, where its price is 199 Yuan. We can expect the price of ZTE LiveBuds in Nepal to be around NPR 3,500 if it launches here.
TWS
Expected Price in Nepal
ZTE LiveBuds
NPR 3,500
Check out our review of the recent budget wireless earphones from OPPO!
Budget phones these days are nowhere near what they used to be, say about 5 years ago. Even with the most minimum of investments, you can take home a good-looking and a well-performing smartphone. We already know how synonymous the company Xiaomi and the phrase ”value-for-money” products are. And today, I have the new Redmi 9A with me which is one of the cheapest smartphones the company currently sells. Launched for Rs. 11,499 here in Nepal which nets out to around $95, how good is this device? Let’s find out more in this review of the Redmi 9A.
Resolution: HD+ (1600 x 720 pixels); 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: MediaTek Helio G25 (12nm mobile platform)
CPU: Octa-core 2.0 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU: PowerVR GE8320
RAM: 2GB LPDDR4x
Storage: 32GB eMMC 5.1 (expandable with a dedicated microSDXC slot)
Software & UI: MIUI 12 on top of Android 10
Rear Camera: 13MP f/2.2 lens; Single-tone LED flash
Front Camera: 5MP, f/2.2 lens
Security: AI Face Unlock
Audio: Speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack
Connectivity: Dual SIM (Nano-SIM), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS with A-GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, micro USB 2.0, LTE
Battery: 5000mAh with 10W charging
Colors: Granite Grey, Sky Blue, Peacock Green
Price in Nepal: Rs. 11,499 (2/32GB)
Redmi 9A Review:
Design
Polycarbonate build material
Slight weight imbalance
Starting with the design, Xiaomi has once again blessed the market with a really attractive budget phone. While its predecessor the Redmi 8A had a gradient design with the rear camera module and a distinctive strip at the center, things are a little different on the 9A. Here, you’re getting a uni-tone design where the camera module and its reflective vertical strip have been shifted to the left. Personally, I’m fond of this design choice – looks quite neat. Available in either Granite Grey, Peacock Green, and Sky Blue color options, as you can see, the latter is what I have with me.
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Back Panel
Volume Rockers, Power Button
Speaker Grille, Micro USB port
The phone has a polycarbonate body and feels surprisingly good on the hands. Its rear panel features a ridged surface that holds up nice. The surface doesn’t attract fingerprints or smudges in any major way but I do have to warn you that small dust particles can get stuck between the ridges which are a little hard to get rid of. For this reason, I would suggest you get a decent case for the phone.
Fashionable device
Moving to the buttons & ports, the Redmi 9A covers all the sides with something. At the top is a 3.5mm headphone jack while the left frame holds the SIM tray. Similarly, you’ll find the volume rockers and the power button on the right alongside a micro USB port and the speaker grille at the bottom. Yep, Xiaomi has downgraded the Type-C connection from the Redmi 8A to a dated micro USB on the 9A which is a major bummer. All in all, the Redmi 9A is a fashionable and very well built device. The weight distribution is a little uneven with the bottom half of the phone feeling a little heavier, but that doesn’t really matter.
Display
6.53-inches HD+ IPS LCD panel
No protective glass of any kind
Wildly color inaccurate
In the display side of things, you’re now getting a bigger 6.53-inches IPS LCD panel. It’s still an HD+ display so the sharpness is definitely not gonna blow you away. Clocking 400 nits of typical brightness, Redmi 9A has no visibility issue indoors or cloudy outdoors. However, during my review, trying to get through Redmi 9A under direct sunlight was a struggle. The phone is also TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light certified to protect your eyes from prolonged exposure to its blue light.
Even with all this, Xiaomi has made a lot of cuts in the display front on the Redmi 9A. First off, the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection that we were impressed with on the Redmi 8 series is gone now. Yep, this phone doesn’t have any form of protective glass so that’s going to be worrisome to many. Furthermore, the display itself just isn’t that good – even for an HD+ panel on a budget phone.
Noticeable color imbalance
To start things off, it has a terrible color accuracy. Even in the default recommended settings, you’ll notice a slight greenish tint throughout the panel and everything looks unnatural and overly cinematic. This is most noticeable when watching videos where the content’s lighting scheme feels way too off if you’ve already watched the same video on some other display. And I’m not saying its color accuracy is inferior to an OLED or an AMOLED panel. The regular HD IPS LCD panels on other phones are enough to pin it down.
You can tweak around the color scheme but ultimately, Redmi 9A can’t deliver an acceptable level of color accuracy. Red, Pink, and Yellow are a little under-saturated at times while White has a more creamy and silvery finish to it. As expected, the sharpness isn’t that great and the contents on the screen (especially videos) look blurry and distracting if you’re used to an FHD or a QHD+ display. This could be a result of a larger display and a thin pixel density of just 269 PPI.
Performance
Octa-core MediaTek Helio G25 SoC (12nm)
2GB LPDDR4x RAM and 32GB eMMC 5.1 storage (expandable)
MIUI 12 on top of Android 10
Getting into performance, Redmi 9A is powered by the new Helio G25 chipset from MediaTek. Manufactured under the 12nm process node, it is gaming-oriented silicon with and a 64-bit octa-core CPU with all eight Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz. Handling the graphics on this phone is the IMG PowerVR8320 GPU clocked at 650 MHz. With these, the Redmi 9A should outperform the Snapdragon 439 found in its predecessor even though by just a little bit.
Gaming
Because it has a gaming SoC, let’s discuss the gaming performance first. I tried out a bunch of taxing and lightweight games on the Redmi 9A during my review and got a mixed experience which mostly leans on the bad side of things. PUBG Mobile was pretty much unplayable even in Smooth graphics and Low frame rate with constant stutters.
So, I switched to its Lite version instead, and here, the game was well playable when meddling through the graphics settings. PUBG Lite can practically push through HD graphics and Extreme frame rate but I wouldn’t suggest you do so since the gameplay will be very laggy under these settings. Instead, I got a relatively smooth performance when switching it down to Balanced graphics and High frame rate.
Likewise, COD Mobile is maxed out at Low graphics while the frame rate can be bumped to High. You are also locked out from changing other settings like anti-aliasing, graphic style, etc. Under the High & Medium frame rate, the gameplay is filled with heavy stutters though it was a little bearable when tuning it to Low. Furthermore, all these FPS games have this fringy and aliased graphics and even the touch response would give up sometimes – but rarely. The phone also heats up after about 10 minutes of gameplay.
What about light games?
Moving to lightweight games, I tried out Clash Royale, Frag, and Bowmasters. Clash Royale ran smoothly with no issue and the same goes for Bowmasters. However, there were a few instances of stutters on the latter. Similarly, Frag is also playable though I’d advise against setting the graphics to High. Considering everything, Redmi 9A’s gaming prowess is quite admirable though Xiaomi could push an update for the issue of frequent stutters.
When it comes to normal usage, it is… fine. Redmi 9A has a single memory configuration with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. It runs on the full-fledged MIUI 12 on top of Android 10. But that memory confinement is a big let down which is reflected in the phone’s performance. A mere 2GB of RAM on a phone running one of the heaviest (if not THE heaviest) Android skins is not a good combo.
MIUI 12
Because of this, my experience with the phone was quite laggy. The extent of MIUI 12’s load is also explored on the system memory Redmi 9A occupies. Out of the 32GB, the system alone devours around 7.25GB which I feel is too much for a phone of this stature. To prevent all this, Google is stepping up by having OEMs from ship phones with 2GB RAM or less with a modified Android Go Edition instead – starting with Android 11. Seeing how Redmi 9A has turned out, I wholeheartedly agree with Google’s decision.
Having said that, using regular apps like Facebook, YouTube, Messages, etc. and even multitasking among them is fine. But that’s not gonna be the case when bringing in a few games into the mix. I’m a sucker for Android 10’s gesture navigation and when pulling up the list of apps in RAM, there is a noticeable lag almost every time.
You will get ads on this thing, yes but not something that totally ruined my time with the phone. Unlike how many have pointed out that they receive lewd ads on their different MIUI devices, all the ads I got were of one VPN app throughout my time with the device. Maybe Xiaomi has listened to all the backlash from the community.
In terms of pre-installed apps, I was quite surprised to see Google Phone, Messages, and Chrome instead of their Xiaomi alternatives. There are also a few bloatware apps & games but you can uninstall most of them including Mi Community. The phone just launched in India today, and for our Indian audience, you don’t need to worry about government-banned apps on it since Xiaomi just rolled-out a refined version of MIUI 12 for the country without any of the banned apps.
Camera
Rear: Single 13MP f/2.2 lens
Front: Single 5MP f/2.2 lens (teardrop notch)
Cameras
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Back Camera
Front Camera
Let’s talk about the camera now, shall we? It has a single 13MP lens at the back and a 5MP front camera inside the teardrop notch. With ample light, the images from the primary lens are quite good.
Normal Images
They are well detailed and the color-reproduction is fairly accurate albeit it leans on the under-saturated side.
Normal
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The dynamic range isn’t that great as the white balance on sky and such is pretty terrible – which has been the case with many budget and mid-range Redmi phones.
HDR & Pro mode
Turning on HDR does help a little bit with the dynamic range but oversaturates the images in the process. This is especially noticeable when shooting images in close range though landscape photos turn out quite pleasing to look at. It takes around 2 – 3 seconds to process so if your hands aren’t adequately still, images might come out blurry.
HDR
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Off
On
There’s also a “Pro” mode that lets you play around with ISO, White Balance, Exposure, etc. The camera UI is simple to use and it even has the Google Lens integration.
This lens also has AI scene detection which recognizes things like flowers, buildings, scenery, etc. and optimizes the image. But most of the time, all it does is over-saturate the primary colors in the shot. There’s also the beauty mode and filters using which you can give your image a different color tone at the time of the shooting.
Portrait & Selfie Images
You can also take portrait shots using both front and rear camera but the edge detection isn’t that great as it misses out on the bokeh effect in many sections of the subject.
Portrait
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Moving to the selfie images, they’re OK for the price, I guess. However, images end up looking pale and lifeless at most times. If there’s ample light, it takes acceptable selfies with a good focus on the subject.
Selfie
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Selfie
Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Also, Redmi 9A supports Face Unlock which takes at least a second to unlock the phone when it accepts your face. But around 30 – 40% of the time, the phone fails to recognize altogether.
Nighttime Images
Like it is with every budget phone, this one doesn’t have a dedicated night mode either. As a result, shots in the dark are way too grainy, with terrible sharpness. Should there be some decent lighting in the environment, the photos will turn out to be somewhat acceptable.
Nighttime
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In terms of videos, Redmi 9A tops out at 1080p/60fps from the main and 1080p/30fps recordings from the front camera. The videos from the main sensor look eerie and over-sharpened. Also, you can shoot time-lapse and a 15-second short video on this phone.
Battery
5000mAh battery with 10W charging
Micro USB 2.0
Powering the phone is a massive 5000mAh battery. This is easily a 2-day device under light and medium usage which was reflected well during my review period of the Redmi 9A. There’s also an “Ultra Battery Saver” mode which is similar to Samsung’s “Maximum Power Save” mode which confines you to the most basic of tasks on the device.
But charging the phone is a pain as it only supports 10W wired charging via a micro USB cable. This is a major setback considering how the Redmi 8A supported 18W fast charging and had a USB Type-C port. With this, it took me about 2 hours and 50 minutes to fully charge the phone from 0 to 100%.
Audio
Bottom-firing speaker
3.5mm headphone jack
When it comes to audio, Redmi 9A has a single bottom-firing speaker and its output is decently loud and sharp. However, I felt that the sound quality is quite shallow and has a shrieking feel when maxing out the volume. The audio from the headphone jack, however, is pretty decent though it doesn’t get loud enough. Call quality is equally great and I received no complaints regarding my voice or sound level – and neither was there any call-drop issue.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, the Redmi 9A is an okay phone for the price as we’ve discovered throughout this review. Compared to its predecessor the Redmi 8A, I don’t understand why Xiaomi decided to compromise such crucial aspects like the Gorilla Glass 5 protection and a faster charging via Type-C. The HD+ display would’ve been fine had the company worked on better color accuracy. Despite this, Redmi 9A is a decent value for money with acceptable gaming performance and cameras. Likewise, the battery life on this phone is really amazing which will easily last you a day even with the heaviest of workload.
Watch our unboxing & video review of Redmi 9A!
Redmi 9A Review: Pros & Cons
Pros:
Great design and feels good on the hand
Excellent battery life (2-day phone)
Exciting gaming probabilities with the Helio G25
Decent camera performance under sufficient lighting
ZTE has beaten other smartphone brands in the race to launch the first commercial device with an under-display camera. ZTE Axon 20 5G is the name that will go down in history as the first device to boast this feature. Let’s learn more about the specs, features, expected price, and availability of ZTE Axon 20 5G in Nepal.
ZTE Axon 20 5G Overview
Let’s start with the feature that everyone is talking about. Under-display cameras are not entirely a new thing. Numerous smartphone brands are working on their version of the tech and some of them have even launched working prototypes. However, with issues related to pixels and camera performance they never made it to the market.
Under-Display Selfie camera
The 32MP under-display camera in the ZTE Axon 20 5G makes use of five different technologies. First is the high transparency material for the panel. The micron-level material makes sure that the display allows enough light to pass through it. It solves the performance issue that the earlier prototypes were facing. It is further aided by ZTE’s new selfie algorithm that refines the pictures taken. Similarly, the dual-control drive and drive circuit work together to solve the problems related to colors and synchronization. ZTE has used a special pixel matrix to make the pixels look uniform throughout the panel.
Expect for the under-display camera, ZTE Axon 20 5G does not look any different to other devices available in the market. It comes with a 6.92-inch Full Display OLED panel with FHD+ resolution. It has a tall aspect ratio of 20.5:9. Following the recent trend in the smartphone industry, ZTE has included a 90Hz panel aided by a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The panel covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and has support for 10-bit color depth.
At the back, the smartphone comes with a 3D glass panel with a nano-level texture. it also houses the rectangular camera bump. Overall the body weighs 198 grams and has a slim body of 7.98mm.
Performance
ZTE Axon 20 5G is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G. The 7nm processor comes with an integrated modem for 5G connectivity. The phone comes features a 360-degree surround antenna setup with PDS antennas. Users will be able to switch between 5G and Wi-Fi according to their needs. The AI performance engine in the device supports pre-loading of application, fragment processing, and F2FS file system.
The cooling system in the Axon 20 5G consists of three major components. It includes liquid cooling circulation, carbon nanofiber thermal pad, and graphite layers.
Rear Cameras
The quad-camera setup on the back is led by a 64MP primary camera. It has an aperture of f/1.8. It is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera that offers up to 120-degree of Field of View. The setup is completed by two additional 2MP dedicated sensors for portraits and macro photography, respectively. The rear camera setup is capable of recording 4K videos at 60fps. Similarly, it comes with dedicated vlog shooting and movie mode. Other features include real-time HDR for Video and Speech subtitles.
Rest of the specs
The 4220mAh battery on the Axon 20 5G supports 30W Quick Charge 4+ fast charging. Similarly, ZTE has included a 5G smart power-saving feature for better efficiency. It supports DTS:X Ultra for a better sound experience. The device ships with MiFavor 1.5 bases on Android 10. This new version of ZTE’s Android skin comes with a new game assistant and smart screen case features.
ZTE Axon 20 5G Specifications:
Design: 3D Glass back Cover with nano-level textures
ZTE Axon 20 5G will go on sale in China with a starting price of 2,198 Yuan for the 6/128 variant. If it arrives in Nepal, we expect the price of ZTE Axon 20 5G to start at NPR 38,000.
Smartphone Model
Price in China
Price in Nepal (Expected)
ZTE Axon 20 5G (6/128GB)
2,198 Yuan
NPR 38,000
ZTE Axon 20 5G (8/128GB)
2,498 Yuan
NPR 43,000
ZTE Axon 20 5G (8/256GB)
2,798 Yuan
NPR 48,000
Check out our review of Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.
