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ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 brings the multiscreen madness to portable gaming machines!

Nikhil Shrestha

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April 17, 2020

Remember the ASUS ZenBook Duo/Pro Duo from last year? It had that crazy dual display integrated on the upper half of the keyboard deck, which to some extent, delivered on its promise of enhanced productivity. Having said that, the secondary screen was not free from compromises. Our two major complaints were how it lacked proper support from Windows and its visibility. Though the entire chassis would lift when opening the laptop but still, you’d have to reposition yourself to properly access contents on the smaller screen. Well, ASUS is not backing down on the dual-display trend as its new ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 improves upon the legacy of its ZenBook counterpart. Let’s check out how.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15

Design

Starting with the design, the Zephyrus Duo 15 comes in a premium all-metal chassis and the lid has that classic ROG logo as well. Though it’s a gaming-centered laptop, it doesn’t have that aggressive design approach compared to other high-end ROG Zephyrus laptops we’ve seen in the past. That actually maybe because of the potentials of this beast. It’s got the latest & greatest internals with an embedded secondary display that can come handy in use cases other than gaming. So, the company has been marketing the Zephyrus Duo 15 towards both: content creators and gamers.

Display

Obviously, the display is the most interesting thing about this laptop. There are two variants of the Zephyrus Duo 15; one with a 15.6-inches 4K UHD 60Hz LED-backlit IPS panel & 100% Adobe RGB, or a 15.6-inches FHD 300Hz IPS panel & 100% sRGB. These touchscreen supported primary screens have minimal bezels all around and surprisingly, a webcam is missing. Anyways, the secondary display is what we’re excited about so let’s talk about that instead.

It is a 14.1-inches 4K-ish (3840 x 1100) touchscreen panel in both variants, which is supported by a hinge that lifts the panel in the same motion as lifting the lid. The screen (ROG Screenpad Plus) is tilted at 13º for a more comfortable viewing than the one on the ZenBook Pro Duo. Similarly, ASUS has utilized the space underneath the 14.1-inch display by integrating a large 28.5mm air intake for which allows for the inflow of cool air and reduction of fan noise.

You may already have some ideas about how to utilize that ROG Screenpad Plus. Enjoy your game on the main screen and launch your Discord, Twitch or other apps on the secondary screen. It can also act as an extension of one single program like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, etc. for a larger & more comfortable working space. So many possibilities!

Performance & Memory

Seeing how the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is a top-of-the-line gaming laptop, it is powered by the latest Intel processor & NVIDIA graphics. In terms of CPU, you can choose between two high-performance Intel Comet Lake processors – Core i9-10980HK or i7-10875H. Coming to the graphics, you get NVIDIA‘s latest Turing-based RTX SUPER cards; either RTX 2070 or 2080 SUPER, both with 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM.

Getting to memory, the top-end configuration will have up to 32GB of DDR4 SDRAM clocked @3200MHz. However, depending upon the model, you can also choose between either 8 or 16GB of RAM with the same clock speed. Moving on to storage, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 can hold up to 2TB of SSD in RAID 0. Wait, are your eyes glowing with excitement? I kid, of course. ASUS is also particularly proud of how they put together all these components inside an ultra-slim gaming laptop. According to the company, its “easy-upgrade” design, as the name implies, lets you upgrade components like RAM without any unnecessary hassle.

Others

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 has a decent audio system as well. It supports Hi-Res audio, which is delivered by ESS Sabre HiFi DAC, for an immersive virtual surround sound. In terms of the speakers itself, it has 2x 4W speakers with Smart AMP technology. Moreover, it has two audio jacks, one of which is for plugging in dedicated mic for streaming, voice recording, and whatnot.

Also read: ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 with Ryzen 4000 CPU launched

This laptop has a 90Whr battery and supports USB Type-C PD 3.0 (up to 65W) charging or via the good-ol’ fashioned power adaptor which is a 240W juggernaut. Though a 90Whr battery sounds amazing, given the 4K dual-display & other power-hungry components, the actual endurance may not be that exciting. Now the keyboard on the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is a full-sized backlit chiclet keyboard with per-key RGB lighting & a 1.4mm travel distance. The device doesn’t skimp on connectivity options either, though I would’ve loved to see a separate SD card reader as well.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 Specifications:

Design & Build: All-metal chassis; 14.17W x 10.55D x 0.79H-inches; 2.4kg (5.29 pounds)
Display: Dual-display (both with touch support);
– Primary; 15.6-inches Non-glare 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) LED-backlit IPS panel, 100% Adobe RGB; 60Hz refresh rate; Nvidia G-SYNC compatible
or: 15.6-inches Non-glare FHD (1920 x 1080) LED-backlit IPS panel; 100% sRGB; 300Hz refresh rate/3ms response time, Nvidia G-SYNC compatible
– Secondary; 14.1-inches Non-glare 4K (3840×1100) panel
Keyboard: Full-size Chiclet ; Backlit (per-key RGB); 1.4mm key travel
Processor: Intel Comet Lake CPUs; Core i7-10875H or i9-10980HK
RAM: 8 / 16 / 32GB DDR4 SDRAM @3200MHz
Graphics: 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER or 2080 SUPER (Boost Clock: 1330MHz, 90W)
Battery: 90Whr; 240W power adaptor; USB Type-C PD 3.0 (up to 65W)
Storage: 1TB PCIe / 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD (RAID 0)
Audio: 2x 4W speakers with Smart AMP; ESS, Hi-Res, Array microphones
Connectivity: Intel WiFi 6 with Gig+ performance (ax), Bluetooth 5.0
Ports: 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C with DisplayPort 1.4 (Thunderbolt 3 & Power Delivery (PD) 3.0), 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack, 1x 3.5mm microphone jack, 1x RJ45 (LAN) port

ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 Price, Availability

Having discussed all its high-end specs, you already know this thing is gonna cost a fortune. And it rightfully does. The most capable model with i9-10980HK, 4K main display, 32GB RAM, 2TB of storage, and RTX 2080 SUPER goes for $3,699. Similarly, the one with the same display, processor, & graphics but only 16GB RAM and 1TB of storage will retail for $3,499. Finally, the cheaper $2,999 configuration has the i7-10875H processor, RTX 2070 SUPER, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage. ASUS will be bringing out the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 from July 2020 in the market.

Model Name	Price	Availability
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 (4K primary display, i9-10980HK, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD in RAID 0, RTX 2080 SUPER)	$3,699 (~NRs. 452,400)	July 2020
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 (4K primary display, i9-10980HK, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, RTX 2080 SUPER)	$3,499 (~NRs. 427,940)	July 2020
ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 (FHD primary display, i7-10875H, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD in RAID 0, RTX 2070 SUPER)	$2,999 (~NRs. 366,790)	July 2020

In terms of their Nepal availability, there’s no confirmation yet. However, the launch of ZenBook Duo/Pro Duo is a positive sign that the Zephyrus Duo 15 could hit the domestic market as well. But seeing the trend in pricing, we expect the base model to start at over Rs. 4 lakhs, if and when it launches in Nepal.

Check out our review of the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo!

Honor 30 series unveiled: Another set of Google-less flagship phones!

GadgetByte

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April 16, 2020

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Honor 30 series unveiled: Another set of Google-less flagship phones!

After the launch of Honor 30S, the company has now added three new devices to the Honor 30 series. The Honor 30, Honor 30 Pro and Honor 30 Pro+ are the top of line smartphones that feature a similar design and a similar set of specs with some tweaks in between them. Let’s take a deeper dive into what the latest additions to the Honor 30 series have to offer in terms of their specs, features, and pricing.

Honor 30 Pro, Pro+ Overview

Design and Display

Both the Honor 30 Pro and Honor 30 Pro+ feature 6.57-inch OLED panels with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. The screen is curved at both edges of the devices. While the Pro+ model supports a refresh rate of up to 90Hz and a response rate of up to 180Hz, the Pro model is stuck with the industry-standard 60Hz refresh rate. They both feature a pill-shaped cut-out for the dual selfie camera. An optical fingerprint sensor has been adjusted under the display of both the devices for biometrics.

Performance and Memory

The device is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 990 which is a flagship chipset based on the 7nm+ EUV²process. It is paired with Mali G76-MP16 GPU. It is a 5G ready SoC with support for both NSA and SA bands. For the Pro+ model, users can choose from 8GB and 12GB of RAM both of which will be paired with 256GB of internal storage. The Pro model is available with only 8GB of RAM which can be paired with either of 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. You can expand the storage using Huawei’s proprietary NM (Nano Memory) card technology.

Check out the specs of OnePlus 8

Camera

On the back, the devices flaunt a triple-camera setup. The primary lens in the Pro+ model is a 50MP sensor while it is a 40MP sensor in the Pro model. The RYYB filter promises better low-light photos on both devices. It is supported by an 8MP periscope lens that supports up to 5X optical zoom. There is also a 16MP ultra-wide-angle camera. The camera setup comes with support for OIS and can shoot RAW photographs. It can also record 4K videos at 60 fps.

On the front, there is a 32MP primary selfie camera paired with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens.

Battery and Others

The devices get their power from a 4000mAh battery which supports SuperCharge technology. Unlike the Pro model, the Pro+ comes with support for 27W wireless charging. Both the devices support WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 LE and are rated IP54 against dust and splash damage.

Check out the specs of OnePlus 8 Pro

Honor 30 Pro, Pro+ Specifications:

Body: 160.32 x 8.63 x 73.61mm ; 186 gm
Display: 6.57-inches Ultra-Curve OLED panel; 90Hz (Honor 30 Pro+)
Resolution: 2340 x 1080 pixels; 19.8:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: HiliSilicon Kirin 990 5G; 7nm+ Mobile Platform
CPU: Octa-core (2×2.86 GHz Cortex A76 + 3×2.36 GHz Cortex A76 & 4×1.95 GHz Cortex A55)
GPU: Mali-G76 MP16
RAM:
– 8GB (Honor 30 Pro)
– 8/12GB (Honor 30 Pro+)
Storage:
– 128/ 256GB (Honor 30 Pro)
– 256GB (Honor 30 Pro+)
Software & UI: Android 10 with Magic UI 3.1 on top
Rear Camera: Triple-camera;
– 50MP, f/1.9 primary shooter, OIS, RYYB filter (Honor 30 Pro+)
– 40MP, f/1.8 primary shooter, OIS, RYYB filter (Honor 30 Pro)
– 16MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor
– 2MP depth sensor
– 8MP, f/3.44 telephoto lens, OIS, 5X optical zoom, up to 50X digital zoom
Front Camera:
– 32MP, f/2.primary sensor
– 8MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor
Security: Optical in-display fingerprint scanner
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (dual-band), Bluetooth 5.1 LE, AGPS/GLONASS/BDS/Galileo, NFC, USB Type-C
Battery: 4000 mAh; 40W SuperCharge, 27W Wireless Charging (Honor 30 Pro+)

Honor 30 Overview

Honor 30 comes with a similar design. However, the screen here is a flat one which is also reduced to 6.53-inches. The OLED panel comes with a slightly bigger aspect ratio of 20:9. There is a single circular cut out on the top left corner of the screen and the fingerprint sensor is under the display.

The biggest change is in the chipset. Unlike the other two, Honor 30 is powered by the latest Kirin 985 chipset. It is a 5G chipset based on the 7nm process. This time, Huawei has opted for 1+3+4 core configuration which is quite popular with other manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Samsung. Initial benchmark results have shown that the chipset performs better than the Snapdragon 765G. It is available in three memory configurations – 6/128GB, 8/128GB and 8/256GB.

Honor 30 features a quad camera setup on the back. The primary camera here is a 40MP sensor. Other camera sensors are the same including an 8MP telephoto lens, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera. Additionally, it also has a dedicated 2MP macro camera.

It features the same 4000mAh battery with support for 40W SuperCharge. Connectivity-wise, it will support both WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 LE. It ships with Magic UI 3.1 based on Android 10.

Check out all the rumors surrounding Motorola Edge

Honor 30 Specifications:

Body: 160.32 x 8.10 x 74.18mm ; 185 gm
Display: 6.57-inches OLED panel; 20:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: HiliSilicon Kirin 985 5G; 7nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Octa-core (1×2.58 GHz Cortex A76 + 3×2.40 GHz Cortex A76 & 4×1.84 GHz Cortex A55)
GPU: Mali-G77
RAM: 6/8GB
Storage: 128/256GB
Software & UI: Android 10 with Magic UI 3.1 on top
Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
– 40MP, f/1.9 primary shooter, OIS, RYYB filter
– 8MP, f/2.4 ultra-wide sensor
– 8MP, f/3.4 telephoto lens, OIS, 5X optical zoom, up to 50X digital zoom
– 2MP macro sensor
Front Camera: 32MP, f/2.0 1.0 µm primary sensor
Security: Optical in-display fingerprint scanner
Connectivity: Dual Nano-SIM slot, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (dual-band), Bluetooth 5.1 LE, AGPS/GLONASS/Galileo, USB Type-C
Audio: Huawei Histen
Battery: 4000 mAh; 40W SuperCharge

All the devices under the Honor 30 series are promising, especially with their camera prowess. However, we still have to wait to see how it fares outside of China since it doesn’t come loaded with Google’s GMS services.

Check out Huawei’s journey without GMS

Honor 30 Series Price and Availability

As of now, the Honor 30 series is only available for pre-order in China and will go on sale from April 21. The brand hasn’t committed to an international launch yet.

The Honor 30 Pro+ comes with a price tag of 4,999 Yuan for the 8/256GB variant and 5,499 Yuan for the 12/256GB variant. The price of Honor 30 Pro is 3,999 Yuan for 8/128GB variant and 4,399 Yuan for 8/256GB variant. Similarly, the Honor 30 is available for a price of 2,999 Yuan for 6/128GB variant, 3,199 Yuan for 8/128GB variant and 3,499 Yuan for 8/256GB variant.

Model Name	Price in Nepal [Converted]	Availability
Honor 30 Pro+ (8/256GB)	4,999 Yuan (~NRs. 86,550)	April 21 (China)
Honor 30 Pro+ (12/256GB)	5,499 Yuan (~NRs. 95,200)	April 21 (China)
Honor 30 Pro (8/128GB)	3,999 Yuan (~NRs. 69,235)	April 21 (China)
Honor 30 Pro (8/256GB)	4,399 Yuan (~NRs. 76,160)	April 21 (China)
Honor 30 (6/128GB)	2,999 Yuan (~NRs. 51,920)	April 21 (China)
Honor 30 (8/128GB)	3,199 Yuan (~NRs. 55,385)	April 21 (China)
Honor 30 (8/256GB)	3,499 Yuan (~NRs. 60,580)	April 21 (China)

Check out our long-term review of the Samsung Galaxy A51!

LG Folder 2 Flip Phone launched with 4G support, Emergency Keys, and more

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LG

GadgetByte

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April 16, 2020

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LG Folder 2 Flip Phone launched with 4G support, Emergency Keys, and more

If you thought that flip-phones are so 2000, then think again. Last year we saw the revamped Motorola Razr, and it successfully brought up some nostalgic feeling. Now, LG has decided to tap into the same market as they have launched the new LG Folder 2. No, it’s not some foldable all-screen smartphone, rather it looks much more of a retro device with smart features. And according to the company, it is designed for people on a tight budget who require a phone that’s easy to use.

LG Folder 2 Overview

Let’s jump into what this device has for offer. It has a 2.8-inch QVGA screen with 240 x 320 pixels resolution. There’s a secondary 0.9-inch screen on the lid, which will display notifications for text, calls, battery life, signal strength and time. This secondary screen is a monochrome panel.

A great feature of this device is the SOS key that is placed on the back beside the 2MP camera. This key allows you to pre-register a number that you’d want to contact in case of an emergency. All you’d have to do is press the button three times in quick succession within 1.5 seconds. And other than connecting you to the number, it also shares your with the number through a text message.

There’s another useful Hotkey upfront too. It’s placed right above the call button and can be used for AI voice service. This service basically allows you to ask questions about weather, time, simple calculations and so on. Moreover, LG Folder 2 also has a data security lock function that helps prevent unintentional data charges.

Under the hood, it has Snapdragon 210 SoC coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB storage. Furthermore, there’s a microSD slot that allows you to expand the memory up to 32GB. The device supports 4G, Wi-Fi, and GPS. And power-wise, it has a 1470mAh battery inside.

Specifications:

Display: 2.8″ IPS LCD screen with 240 x 320 pixels resolution
Main Camera:2MP
Processor: Quad-core 28 nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 210
GPU: Adreno 304
RAM: 1 GB
Storage: 8GB onboard, expandable
Battery: 1470 mAh
Colors: White, Platinum Gray

LG Folder 2 Price and Availability

The device will go on sale from April 17 and for now, it will only be available in South Korea. As far as the pricing is concerned, the LG Folder 2 will cost $160. As of now, there’s no information about the international availability of the device. Overall, this looks like a good device that mixes nostalgia and smart features just fine. However, I feel that the pricing could have been a bit less considering the offered specs. Because, you see the device more or less resembles the Samsung Galaxy Folder 2. And that one offered more, albeit at a slightly more price. So, pricing-wise, this phone is not convincing at all.

Motorola Edge: What we know so far…

GadgetByte

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April 15, 2020

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It has been a while since we last saw Motorola release a flagship device. The Motorola Razr did create a stir in the smartphone market earlier this year but at its best, it was purchasable proof of concept. This year looks to be the year Motorola goes all-in in the high-end market segment. Motorola will be launching the new Edge series later this month and the first under the premium series will be Motorola Edge. Let’s check what we know about the device so far.

Motorola Edge Rumors Round-up

As it stands, Motorola Edge won’t be the most affordable device under the new Edge series. The Edge series will mark a comeback for Motorola in the premium smartphone market segment.