Infinix has launched the Infinix S5 Pro in India which happens to be the cheapest smartphone with the pop-up selfie camera. It is available in India for INR. 9,999 and is expected to launch in Nepal too for a similar price.
Infinix S5 Pro Overview
Design and Display
Thanks to the pop-up camera, Infinix S5 Pro really stands out among other rivals in its price range. It comes with a 6.53-inch display and a 19:5:9 aspect ratio. The FullHD+ panel packs in 394 pixels per inch. The display looks clean without any notch or punch-hole and the only things noticeable are the headpiece frill on the top and the bezels surrounding the screen.
On the back, there is a camera module that houses the triple camera setup. The module, here, looks like an extension of the top frame from where the front camera pops up, so when the front camera pops out all the camera aligns along the same vertical line. There is also a fingerprint sensor mounted on the back. It lies above the Infinix branding.
Chipset
Infinix S5 Pro is powered by MediaTek’s Helio P35 which seems popular among budget-oriented devices these days. Recent launches like the Oppo A31, Huawei Y6s, and Honor 8A Lite also featured the same chipset. The chipset is coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The storage can be further expanded up to 256GB using the dedicated MicroSD slot provided.
As for the camera, the 48MP primary camera on the back is accompanied by a 2MP depth sensor and a low-light sensor. The camera comes with a Pro mode and AI auto scene detection. The dual-LED flash is also included inside the camera module. On the front is a 16MP pop-up camera. The company claims the pop-up camera is resistant to both dust and splash. The life span of the pop-up mechanism is about 1,50,000 cycles.
Others
The device comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and face-unlock feature as security options. The device relies on a 4,000mAh battery for the juice. It ships with XOS 6.0 on top of Android 10. Other notable features include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, 4G connectivity and DTS Surround-sound.
Infinix S5 Pro Specifications
Display
6.53-inch IPS LCD Display
Resolution
FHD+(2220 x 1080 pixels)
Chipset
MediaTek Helio P35
CPU
Octa-core (8x 2.3Ghz Cortex-A53)
GPU
IMG PowerVR GE8320
RAM
4GB
Memory Configuration
64GB
Software & UI
XOS 6.0 on top of Android 10
Rear Camera
48MP primary sensor, f/1.79
2MP Macro lens, f/2.2
Low light sensor
Front camera
16MP sensor, f/2.0
Security
Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Face-unlock
Audio
3.5mm jack
Connectivity
Wifi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, micro USB port,
Battery
4,000mAH with 10W Flash Charge
Sensors
g-sensor, ambient light, proximity, gyro,
Color Options
Forest Green, Violet
Infinix S5 Pro Price in Nepal and Availability
As of now, Inifinix S5 Pro is available only in India for the price of INR 9,999 (~ NPR 16,000). Infinix S5 Pro could launch in Nepal next month in April, and we can expect the price to be around NRs. 18,000 if it’s available via Daraz.
Back when TCL refused to extend its license agreement with BlackBerry, many speculated that TCL will now run the business under its own name. We weren’t surprised though, as TCL had been working on its own smartphone lately. However, it looks like the company is more serious about taking on the smartphone market. TCL concept foldable phones have created quite a stir in the smartphone industry because of their radical designs. One of the phones comes with a screen that can be folded thrice while the other showcases a secondary screen that slides out of the primary screen for your need of an extended screen.
TCL concept foldable phones: Tri-fold mechanism
Until now, the foldable concept has all been about making a phone even more portable. Most of the time we see a phablet that folds in half so that it can fit in your pocket. Contrary to that, TCL has now developed a tablet that folds thrice to take the form factor of a smartphone. You heard it right – it is a smartphone that unfolds thrice to reveal a full-sized tablet.
What’s more interesting is that TCL has combined the concepts of the big players in the game to make an interesting concept of its own. The tri-folding device is sort Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X combined into one. It has a DragonHinge that lets a part of the screen fold inside as in the Galaxy Fold while the other part folds outside like the Mate X using the Butterfly hinge. The phone can also stand on its own with the screen folded for the support – a feature that Samsung highlighted in Samsung Galaxy Z-flip.
The device uses a flexible 3K AMOLED panel developed inside the company’s screen division. The 6.5-inch screen unfolds to a 10-inch tablet. The device runs Android, however, since it is a new concept it needs a lot of modification to run smoothly on the device. Though it is quite slim for a full-sized tablet when folded it looks way too bulky for a phone. And initial reports suggest that the phone comes with different batteries to power each screen so don’t expect it to be light.
The second TCL concept foldable phone, here, first caught our attention back in February – it is a phone with screen sliding out for that extended surface area. However, TCL calls it a rollable screen and on a closer look, the screen does curve on the side. The curve is straightened out when the screen is slid out.
However, unlike the former, it isn’t functional – at least for now. The units showcased by the company are all plastic prototypes for the concept of the rollable phone. The screen is a mere plastic cutout and the only thing that is working on the device is the rolling mechanism.
TCL’s vision for the phone looks interesting. TCL plans to make the rolling mechanism fully motorized that can be activated using swipe or a gesture. If TCL manages to implement it on a functional device, it will be a major breakthrough in the foldable market as it results in a creaseless device. Creases have been raising a lot of questions about durability if the present foldable devices.
Is it the future?
The concept by TCL does look promising, however, these TCL foldable concepts are not going to hit the market very soon. A lot has to be done to make the concept a reality. To begin with – the rollable phone isn’t even functional and the one that is functional needs a lot of refining on the software end. TCL also needs to find out a way to spread the overall weight of the device uniformly throughout the phone’s surface as the present design will require the company to accommodate all of the hardware at one end.
Other doubts arise from the foundation of the two concepts – hinges. The concepts will require a lot of moving parts, especially for the fully motorized rolling mechanism. A possibility of anything going wrong increases with the number of these parts. And with all the foldable devices we will have to ask if it is going to durable enough.
So what do you think of the designs? Is this the future of smartphones? Let us know with your comments.
Before kicking off this review of the Honor MagicWatch 2, allow me to make a proper intro. From having to rely on separate accessories for a variety of functions to cramming them all into a pocketable gadget, humanity sure has come a long way when it boils down to making lives easier.
But we are a creature of curiosity as we strive upon improving our cumulative achievements. Wow, that got philosophical! Anyhoo, with phones getting consistently bigger, wearables, especially smartwatches are where it’s at in terms of fitness tracking and other variety of functionalities. What was once a niche, is now a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Sure, the Fitbits & Apple Watches rule the market, but they aren’t the only ones manufacturing quality smartwatches, no sir. And bringing on the heat is the Honor MagicWatch 2 with its bigger display, bigger battery, & better processor than its predecessor. Let’s discover more about this device in our review.
Honor MagicWatch 2 Specifications (46mm)
Body: 1.81 x 1.81 x 0.42 inches; 41 gm; Glass front, ceramic back
Starting off, this smartwatch is available in two sizes: 46mm and 42mm. The 42mm variant comes with a few visual differences than its larger 46mm counterpart, which, besides the smaller watch case, is also reflected on the dial as it doesn’t have a tachymeter.
Apart from that, the smaller size also brings about sacrifice in terms battery and thus, the 42mm variant only promises a week’s battery as opposed to 46mm’s two weeks. More on that later. The unit I’m reviewing is the bigger 46mm “Charcoal Black” variant.
Hold on, there’s another key difference I have to point out; though not between two configs of the same product. Rather, you might’ve noticed how identical it is with the Huawei Watch GT 2 that launched a month earlier, which they are.
They pack the same specs underneath and discounting the “red” accent on the top button on the MagicWatch 2, you wouldn’t be able to tell one from the other. Despite this, the Watch GT 2 is slightly costlier among the two. Well, since both Huawei and Honor are two sides of the same coin, this may be a strategy to establish Honor as an affordable brand? I don’t know for sure. Regardless, the whole thing feels very uninspiring.
A compromised product?
But does that indicate any sort of inferiority on the MagicWatch 2? Absolutely not.
It looks and feels as well built as any other smartwatch out there.
With stainless steel & plastic build materials used, the watch is very light on the hand and you’ll easily get used to it. There are two buttons on the right and a speaker grille beneath the two of them. Looking at the bottom, you’ll find the big heart-rate sensor, which is also where you would fit in the magnetically attaching circular charging disc.
Design
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Watch Face 1
Design
Charging disc
Thickness
Watch Face 2
Moreover, the 22mm rubber-made strap is also really comfortable on the hands. The watch is guaranteed to fit comfortably in hands of almost every size because of the numerous adjustment holes present in the strap. You put it on like you would an ordinary watch, though Honor has thrown in an extra band retainer for a more secure and tighter fit.
Display & Control
Getting to the display, you get a 1.39-inches AMOLED panel that gets plenty bright even in bright sunny outdoors, so I didn’t have any issue with its visibility. There are 6 different levels of brightness to choose from and I set my unit to “Auto”. The colors are vivid and overall, the display is nice to look at.
Similarly, there are a bunch of watch faces to choose from too. Albeit limited in number, Honor is frequently updating the selections, so I’m sure you’ll find one that’ll match your preference. Matter of fact, I’ve come to like this watch face in particular, which shows all the info you’ll need, like time, date, battery level, heart rate, temperature, and others in a very neatly organized setting.
Controls
Moving to the controls, it’s pretty easy getting around on the Honor MagicWatch 2. First, let’s talk about the buttons. The top button with the red accent lists out all the apps installed including the settings, and also functions as the home button. Similarly, the bottom button can be customized to launch any installed app/setting you’d like. In my case, I’ve configured it to launch my daily activity records.
The buttons do rotate as well but don’t serve any purpose in the process. Weird.
The MagicWatch 2 also supports touch & swipe controls. A swipe to either left or right from the home screen takes you to menus like heart rate, stress, weather, music, and the activity ring. Likewise, a swipe from the top launches the basic command center, while a swipe from the bottom shows you the notifications. What’s interesting & ultimately disappointing here, is that the watch can only hold a few notifications in its memory. If you don’t clear the notifications, you won’t be alerted to new ones.
Moving on, you can go back from a certain screen by swiping to the right, while the “raise to wake screen” works like a charm every single time.
Fitness & Health Tracking
Well, this thing is designed with athletes in mind and thus, has a wide array of fitness tracking features. There are 15 goal-based workout modes like run, walk, cycle (both indoor & outdoor), cycling, hiking, triathlon, etc. You can set personal goals in each of them with regard to distance, time & calories.
The MagicWatch 2 also comes with voice-over guidance, which leads you throughout your fitness mode and also informs you of any milestone you may have achieved during it. And for any outdoor workouts, the watch also makes use of its dual-positioning GPS. I was really eager to test that out but was met with a minor level of disappointment when I got to.
Maybe it’s the geography of Kathmandu, but the watch wouldn’t latch on to GPS signal as frequently as you’d want. It wouldn’t work in my neighborhood, which is a pretty congested area. So I did a little digging to find if this was an underlying issue with the watch itself and checked out a couple of other reviews.
However, most of them vouched words of praise and how quick & accurate its GPS was. I did manage to lock-in the watch’s GPS during my walk to work and it was pretty darn accurate. This led me to the conclusion that it’s a regional issue and not something inherently wrong with the device itself.
Health-oriented features
Aside from these, the Honor MagicWatch 2 also comes with heart-rate monitoring. We didn’t have an analog stethoscope lying around, so the absolute accuracy of it couldn’t be verified. Yet, I did compare it against Mi Band 4, which is known to give quite a reliable reading. In this test, both devices gave similar results, though I would lean a little heavier onto the MagicWatch 2.
There’s also a stress reading on the watch, which is an added feature compared to its predecessor. To get started & calibrate your stress level, the watch uses heart rate sensor data & a couple of option-based questionnaires. Furthermore, it has step count and sleep-tracking too, which are fairly accurate. And if you’re a devoted runner, the MagicWatch 2 also has 13 different running courses to track and improve your performance.
And it doesn’t end there; I told you this had a bunch of fitness tracking features! Because it is also 5ATM water-resistant, the watch makes full use it by allowing you to monitor your swimming performance in depth. This includes heart rate, SWOLF analysis, and more during your swimming session.
What’s more, the MagicWatch 2 is also capable of VO2 Max calculation, but I wouldn’t put my money on it for its precision. You can view all of your workout records on the watch itself, though it can be analyzed in greater detail on the app, which is the “Huawei Health”.
Honor MagicWatch 2 App: Huawei Health
Full disclosure, though the app is available on both Android and iOS platforms, there’s an important warning that I have to deliver:
If you’re planning to use the Honor MagicWatch 2 alongside an iphone, don’t.
That’s because features like stress monitoring & personalized watch faces aren’t available on iOS devices.
With that out of the way, you’re still prompted to install “Huawei Mobile Services” in order to be able to use the Huawei Health app. The home screen shows you the basic info about your fitness records including sleep, heart rate, stress, and more. There’s a dedicated “Exercise” tab where you can initiate different workouts. I made use of it when the watch’s GPS wouldn’t latch in, and had to use the phone’s GPS.
Huawei Health - UI
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Homescreen
Exercise tab
Devices tab
Profile tab
Exercise records
Using the phone's GPS
Using the watch's GPS
Connected to Google Fit
Manually syncing data to Google Fit
Viewing the data in Google Fit
Watch faces tab
Device setting
Music from a watch?
More on the right, you can view the list of Huawei/Honor watches added to the phone and change their settings as you’d like. Remember how I said the MagicWatch 2 has a speaker? That’s for playing music or using it as a speakerphone.
Using the app, you can transfer music to the watch itself for playing them online, and Honor has set aside 2GB of the total 4GB for that purpose. Felt like I somehow teleported to 2012 while transferring music from my phone to the watch! If that’s not your jam, you can control the playback of music playing on your phone too.
You can also link the Huawei Health’s data to Google Fit and it works pretty well. Be that as it may, the automatic synchronization of data between the two apps was quite dawdling, so I would frequently perform a manual data-sync. Besides these, you can view/edit your personal info, review weekly/monthly performances, etc. too.
Battery
If you were ever on the fence about battery life on smartwatches, the Honor MagicWatch 2 will surprise you. It’s got a big 455mAh battery, which the company promises will last two full weeks. And in my testing, the watch absolutely delivered on that promise.
I had turned on active heart rate & stress monitoring, sleep analysis and even played music a couple of times just for the heck of it, and the watch managed to last me exactly two weeks, which is impressive.
Charging the MagicWatch 2
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The splendid battery life may also be thanks to Huawei’s custom energy-efficient Kirin A1 chip and the LiteOS powering the MagicWatch 2. Despite LiteOS aiding in better battery endurance, it also leads to the eventual downfall of the experience on the device.
Honor MagicWatch 2’s LiteOS is not so great, to put it gently.
The UI is pretty well designed and all, but it’s just not fluent enough. You’re bound to come across a noticeable level of stutter here and there while operating the watch. But I wish that was the end of it. The problem is, the MagicWatch 2 doesn’t run on WearOS from Google. This means:
No third-party app support
Limited watch faces
Non-actionable notifications
You can only view and clear the notifications received in terms of actions to perform on them. So much for a “smart” watch!
Others
What’s left? Yes, you can also make and receive calls directly from the watch, as it has a microphone and a built-in speaker. The call quality is great (both on receiver & caller’s end) with voices being heard clearly.
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Speaker grille
Receiving call
Playing music
However, that was not the case in a noisy outdoor situation. Also, the speaker is quite easy to block, especially if you wear the watch on your left hand.
Final words
All in all, the Honor MagicWatch 2 is a great fitness tracker with a horde of workout modes to record and revise. Apart from that, it is very well built and feels comfortable on the hands, while also looking fashionable. That’s not all, the battery on it also lasts way longer than what we’ve come to expect from a smartwatch.
With so much going for it, the MagicWatch 2 is sadly not a perfect alternative. In fact, the watch skimps so much on “smart” features because of its LiteOS. But if you’re someone who doesn’t care about that and are just looking for a great fitness tracker, then this one’s for you.
Honor 8A Lite is the latest offering from the Huawei sub-brand in Nepal. As the name suggests, it is a cheaper alternative to Honor 8A which arrived in Nepal way back in 2019. Honor 8A Lite is an option for you if you are looking for a budget smartphone but considering the stiff competition in this particular market segment will it be wise to place your bet on this device? Let’s find out in our review.
Honor 8A Lite Specifications
Body: 6.15 x 2.89 x 0.31 inches; 150 gm
Display: 6.09-inches IPS LCD panel
Resolution: 720 x 1560 pixels; 19:5:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: MediaTek MT6765 Helio P35; 12nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Octa-core (4 x 2.3 GHz Cortex-A53 + 4 x 1.8Ghz Cortex-A53)
GPU: PowerVR GE8320
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32/64GB (expandable up to 512 via a microSD card)
Software & UI: Android 9 (Pie) with EMUI 9 on top
Rear Camera:
– 13 MP, f/1.8 primary shooter
– Single LED flash
Design is one of the strongest points of the Honor 8A Lite. The first few glimpses can trick you into believing it is more premium than it actually is. The device is completely made up of plastic but it is sturdy and given its price we can’t really argue about it. Honor has managed to make the device light even though it accommodates a heavy battery. Thanks to its curved side, the phone provides a decent grip and is easy to handle. The volume rocker and the power button are placed on the right also gives you a premium feel when you press them.
What really catches the eye is the rear panel of the device. The device comes with a dual-textured surface on the back. Honor has tried to make it look like glass finish by throwing in a reflective coating on an already glossy panel. Though the device is available in four different colors, the design really shines in the Blue variant which is the one I used. From the back, it might just be the best-looking device in its price range; however, it is quite prone to smudges and fingerprint and you would want to buy a clear case to keep it shining.
Display
Honor 8A Lite comes with a 6.09-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1560pixels. It features a dew-drop notch on the top to house the front camera. The bezel on the chin is relatively bigger than on the other three sides. I guess they had to do so to house the dual grill speaker on the bottom. Instead of leaving it as it is, Honor has added a letter branding on the bottom bezel which in my opinion is better than leaving a plain broad bezel.
The display may not look good in paper but it does the work just fine. The visual contents seem a little warm when viewed in this device. You might also face problems using the phone outdoors and you will have to wait sometime getting used to automatic brightness as it is definitely not the fastest. And a screen protector is a must-have because in my time with my device, I found the screen more scratch-prone than I had anticipated.
Camera
Most of the phones these days come with a dual-camera setup even in the budget segment, however, Honor has decided to go with a single 13MP camera setup on Honor 8A Lite. The decision sounds weird as the Honor 7A had a dual-camera setup. But Honor has bumped the camera from 8MP to 13MP and the camera in Honor 8A comes with a larger aperture of f/1.8.
Let’s start with the native camera app. The camera app in the 8A Lite is basic at best. There is not much to toggle with. The modes are limited; you get three of them – HDR, Panorama and Pro. And you cant control much with the setting as well.
Rear Camera
I have mixed feelings with the performance of a single camera. It is not the case that it can’t perform but most of the time it doesn’t. So you might say the camera in the 8A Lite is a little inconsistent. Under proper lighting, the photos come out decent. Processing time is also not uniform. Sometimes you will be prompted to wait for the app to finish sharpening the image and if you aren’t steady you will end up messing up the photo. The focus is quite good and I enjoyed taking macro shots using the device.
Rear Camera sample
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HDR-enabled
Under poorly lit conditions, images tend to have a bluish tint to them and you don’t need the night to start to notice it. At night, it gets even worse – the photos come out grainy and blurry. At such conditions, you would wish the phone had a dedicated night mode. Turning on HDR mode will help a little but it isn’t going to heroically save your photos.
Low Light Sample
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Selfie Camera
There is an 8MP camera with an f/2.0 aperture on the front for selfies. The image from the front camera looks grainy and washed out.
Here are some sample images from the selfie camera.
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Performance and Software
Honor 8A Lite comes with MediaTek’s Helio P35 processor. The chipset comes with four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.3Ghz and four Cortex A-53 cores clocked at 1.8Ghz. PowerVR GE8320 takes care of the graphics. It comes with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory. On the software side, you get EMUI 9.1.0 on top of Android 9. In my time with the device, it performed well. It was my first experience with EMUI and I’m glad I didn’t feel out of place. The UI is quite snappy and it comes with all the features which I look in a UI. I didn’t notice any lag during normal usage. Multi-tasking is fine as well.
Gaming isn’t that fun in the Honor 8A and 8A Lite. Games like Clash Royale and Injustice 2 run well without any lag. You can play PUBG under the low setting. It is playable even with the occasional lags. The dual grill speaker does add to the gaming experience, however, I won’t recommend it to you if you are into gaming.
Battery
Honor 8A Lite comes with a 3,020mAh battery which provides a decent backup. On normal usage, the phone lasts well over a day. The standby is also great. However, if you plan to play games for longer sessions, you will need to recharge the device before the end of the day. The phone also charges quite fast. It went from 0 to 100% in around two hours and the notification light acts as a battery indicator during the charging process which is quite helpful.
Others
Honor 8A doesn’t come with a fingerprint sensor but with the face unlock feature I don’t think you will miss it that much. For the price, the face unlock performs phenomenally fast. Using the slide to unlock feature alongside the face unlock, I actually tricked my friends into believing that I had no secure lock in the device. And the best part is you can use it to lock your apps too. But I must admit – the accuracy decreases once it starts getting dark. The phone actually comes with an LED light which is always a good thing. To use it you need to activate pulse notification under the setting. At the bottom of the device, there is a dual grill speaker which is pretty loud. The sound is so good that I actually rested my earphones more often than I usually do.
Verdict
Honor 8A is not the best performer in its price range but it is sufficient for normal usage. The battery backup is great too – if you don’t plan to game for hours using the phone, the juice will get you through the day. The camera isn’t that great but other than that it is a decent multimedia option.
I don’t know if you remember it but Motorola G-series was once a go-to name in the entry and mid-range market segment. That was when the Chinese brands, that are popular now, weren’t that popular and people still hesitated to choose them. But things have changed now. Motorola is now owned by Lenovo and the G series has lost its spark. However, people still prefer the brand given the past glory and that the devices promise with the durability and the vanilla Android experience. That is the reason Motorola still manages to launch new devices. The latest being the Motorola Moto G8.
Motorola G8 Series
The G8 isn’t the first device under the G8 series. The fact that Motorola launched the G8 Plus, G8 play before the vanilla G8 still confuses people. The sequence got more unusual when Motorola added G8 Power to the line. Normally, brands kick start a series by announcing the vanilla model first. Even Motorola announced the whole of the G7 series at once.
Motorola Moto G8
The Motorola Moto G8 specs are as confusing as the chronology of the G8 series. If you were looking for significant upgrades over the Moto G7, there’s hardly anything. In fact, Motorola has downgraded some of the stuff in G8 compared to G7.
The first downgrade is the display. Motorola G8 comes with a 6.4-inch punch-hole LCD display with HD resolution. Motorola G7 came with a 6.2-inch display with FHD+ resolution. And a bigger display with low resolution in a successor doesn’t make sense if you ask us. However, Motorola has replaced the notch in the G7 with a punch hole in G8.
Moto G8 comes with Snapdragon 665 which is an upgrade to the chipset in G7. It is the same chipset in the G8 Plus. There are 4GB RAM and 64GB storage onboard. The storage is user expandable but you will have to choose between dual-sim and microSD as the device lacks a dedicated microSD slot.
Motorola G8 features a triple camera setup on the back – both G8 Plus and G7 features a dual-camera setup. The primary camera is a 16MP sensor with 1.12-micron pixel size and f/1.7 aperture. It is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide sensor with 119-degree FOV and a 2MP macro sensor. The device also features a Laser AF system.
G8 gets its juice from a 4,000mAh battery which is in line with the battery in G8 Plus and G8 Play. The battery supports 10W fast charging. Bigger battery coupled with slower charging technology means that it will take more time to charge G8 than it took to charge G7. The charging is done through the Type-C port. You also get a 3.5mm headphone jack and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor with the Motorola logo on it.
As of now, the device is only available in Brazil for 1,299 Reals, however, people will get 12% off during the promotional period. The phone is set to launch in the UK with a price tag of around 180 Pounds. Motorola will make the device available in Europe, Asia, and Australia following the English launch. Moto G8 may come in Nepal via unofficial channels for the price of around Rs. 29,000.
With the seemingly unescapable digital world filled with services like YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and whatnots, watching videos on the web has become our go-to way of killing time. And hey, maybe you want to save a video locally, share it with your friends & family, or spice it up a notch by adding a few texts & visual effects. In such a case, you’d want to look for a reliable video converter. Lucky for you, that’s exactly what I have in for review today – precisely, the Wondershare UniConverter.
At its heart, it is a video converter that supports a bucket load of file formats; all arranged inside an easy-to-use interface. Besides this, it also supports an array of features like screen recording, video downloading & compression, burning content to CD, etc. Pardon the pun but, no wonder the company changed its name to UniConverter from “Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate.” Anyways, let’s begin.
Wondershare UniConverter Review
Installation & Interface design
Starting with the installation, UniConverter is a fairly lightweight program that is easy to install as well. Just download the setup file (< 1MB) and follow the on-screen instructions. You can also customize the installation if you’d like to change the path & language, or just hit the big install icon. What’s more, UniConverter has a very basic system requirement, meaning almost every Windows or Mac device will be able to support it.
Moving to the user interface, I must say, UniConverter is one well-designed software. All the primary functions are categorically organized into separate tabs, complemented by drag-and-drop support and helpful tips here and there to guide you through the application. For instance, allow me to go through the “Convert” section. Here, you can input your audio/video file by either clicking the “Add Files” option or just drag the selected file into the app itself.
UniConverter - UI
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Convert
Download
Burn
Transfer [1]
Transfer [2]
Toolbox
Right away, UniConverter greets you with the most basic info about the file(s) like its name, type, resolution, duration, size, etc. alongside some well-placed icons to initiate the file conversion process. The grey-purple color scheme is visually pleasing too, though you can also select a more traditional light theme from the preferences menu.
Video Conversion & more
Getting to the brass tacks itself, UniConverter is capable of converting nearly every type of video/audio file format & codecs. For example MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, VOB, etc. It also has device-specific options for many popular Android & iOS smartphones, on top of VR sets, TVs, & consoles. And the conversion is quite fast as it is optimized for multi-core processors on your machine. Moreover, UniConverter’s “GPU Acceleration” speeds up the video conversion speed by up to 30X. It makes use of your computer’s graphics to boost the speed of delivering the output.
You may be wondering if this “High-Speed Conversion” (as the company calls it) is available in devices with high-end GPU only or not. Fortunately, this feature is supported in all kinds of GPUs – from early days integrated ones from Intel & AMD or dedicated graphics from Nvidia. But obviously, the newer & more powerful the merrier.
So many things to tweak!
And there are so many options to play around within the process. Selecting the desired file format and hitting the road is just the tip of the iceberg. UniConverter is also capable of a rudimentary level of video editing. You can add custom watermark, filters, subtitles, change brightness, contrast, trim & crop video, etc. for finer control on the conversion; all while previewing the effect of the edit in real-time. Talking about the quality, it delivers video conversions & compressions with zero quality loss thanks to its proprietary APEXTRANS technology.
After the video conversion is completed, an option to add it to transfer to your other device(s) pops-up. With this, all the converted files can be transferred to your phone or other storage devices without any copy-paste hassle. Just plug in the device and hit the “Transfer” button, and you’re done.
Moving on, UniConverter is also an all-in-one DVD toolkit, which should be exciting to the enthusiasts of physical discs like CD, DVD, Blu-ray, etc. However, Blue-ray burning is only supported on Windows-powered machines. Anyway, you can burn music & videos in high quality with customizable DVD menu & various DVD templates to choose from. On the contrary, you can also rip (extract) the contents from your CD/DVD and save it on your computer.
No, it doesn’t stop there. As I said in the beginning, UniConverter is more than just a video converter. Here, it allows video downloading & recording from YouTube and 10,000 other websites; as well as downloading subtitles from YouTube. You can also convert images, create GIF (from video or pictures), record screen, and more.
Additionally, one nifty feature I’ve become fond of is the ability to automatically or manually fix themetadata of a media file. You know, filling in the details of a music file so your music player shows “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin instead of “led_zeppelin-when_the_levee_breaks.mp3” – just an example.
Free vs Paid
Finally, let’s talk about the difference between the free vs paid version of the software. And let me tell you, the free one is very limiting – as it naturally should. It is void of many premium features like High-Speed Conversion, full-length conversions, burning videos, watermark-less editing, etc. The paid version, on the other hand, comes bearing the entire horde of features. You can check them out here.
Pricing
The pricing plans for UniConverter are as follows:
All in all, the Wondershare UniConverter is an excellent video converter, and more. Its array of media conversion features should appeal to many people for a multitude of reasons. From low-tier video editing to saving disk space by compressing your videos, UniConverter brings a lot to the table. Therefore, if you’re looking for a great video converter that can do so much more, the Wondershare UniConverter should be on the top of your list.
Samsung Galaxy A70 was one of the best selling Samsung midrange smartphones in 2019. However, with its successor Galaxy A70s and Galaxy A71 already available in the market, Samsung has dropped the price of Galaxy A70 in Nepal.
Samsung Galaxy A70 Overview
The Samsung Galaxy A70 is a higher mid-range smartphone that has a lot of features up its sleeves. It has a tall 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution. It has a U-shaped waterdrop notch on top of the display that comes in an aspect ratio of 20:9.
Under the hood, the Galaxy A70 is powered by an octa-core 2.0 GHz Snapdragon 675 processor. You get the 6GB variant in Nepal with 128 GB of internal memory on the device with an option to expand it up to 512 GB via microSD card slot. The Samsung Galaxy A70 runs on Android 9.0 Pie out of the box with One UI on top as a skin.
In terms of optics, the Galaxy A70 houses triple cameras on the back. The setup has a 32-megapixel primary lens with f/1.7 aperture, a 5-megapixel depth sensor, and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera. For selfies, Samsung has included a whopping 32-megapixel camera.
The Samsung Galaxy A70 has an under-display fingerprint scanner, which is slow as the Galaxy A50. It is backed by a large 4,500 mAh battery with 25W fast charging support. There is a Type-C port on the bottom of the phone.
Samsung Galaxy A70 Specifications
Display: 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, FHD+ resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio
Samsung Galaxy A70 Price in Nepal and Availability
Samsung Galaxy A70 was officially launched in Nepal for Rs. 47,990. However, Samsung is offering more than 10% discount as a part of the New year offer. So, the new discounted price of Samsung Galaxy A70 in Nepal is Rs. 40,799.
The moment of truth has finally arrived. Most of us were highly expecting the launch of the new MacBook Pro 16-inch in Nepal. And yes, it’s finally available in Nepal. You can purchase the 16-inch Macbook Pro 2019 edition from Nepal’s biggest Apple resellers: Oliz Store, Evo Store and Future World. The price of the devices has also been kept quite aggressive as its roughly only around 13% expensive.
MacBook Pro 16-inch (Late 2019) Overview
The new 16-inch MacBook Pro is the most powerful laptop to come out of Apple. Also, the 16-inch screen promises to provide a vibrant display to its users. It is a Retina display with 3072 x 1920 pixels resolution. Furthermore, the brightness of the screen max outs at 500 nits and the display offers a full DCI-P3 color coverage.
There’s a major design overhaul in the top row of the keyboard too. The physical Escape key makes a comeback this time. However, the rest of the row is still covered by the Touch bar with the Touch ID sensor at the end. In response to the new Magic Keyboard, Apple claims that this refined design spells for a quiet typing experience with excellent response.
CPU
Moving on to what the new MacBook Pro packs inside the hood. Users get an option to configure their new 16” MacBook Pro with either a 6-core 9th gen Intel processor or an 8-core CPU. Those who have that extra buck for an 8-core CPU will fare a lot better than that of the 6-core ones. The 8-core chip Turbo Boosts up to 5GHz. And that’s no it. Per Apple, this setup will prove to be two times faster than the fastest quad-core 15” MacBook Pro. However, only the i7 version is currently available in Nepal.
GPU
The new 16-inch MacBook Pro also comes with an improved GPU. It is the first model that uses AMD’s latest 7nm GPUs. By default, you get the AMD Radeon Pro 5300M and 5500M with 4GB GDDR6 VRAM. However, here too, users have the option to upgrade it to 8GB. You only get the Radeon Pro 5500M with a 4GB RAM option in Nepal, which we think is sufficient.
Comparing this new GPU to those that the previous models sported, the top-end option is supposedly 80% faster for video editing. Moreover, for gaming purposes, this setup is 60% faster. Now, that’s what I call improvement!
The new CPU and the GPUs will run hot. But have Apple thought of something for it? Of course, they did. The newly redesigned fans are capable of achieving 28% better airflow. Furthermore, a new cooling solution can handle 12W higher TDP.
Memory
The base setup of the 16” MacBook Pro comes with 16GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB SSD. However, if you fancy something much complex with your MacBook then this setup will not satisfy you. And thus you’d want to look for an upgrade.
Talking about the upgrades, the RAM can be increased up to 64GB and the storage to an insane 8TB SSD. This is the highest upgrade on any laptops to date. However, this upgrade does not come cheap. Just the high-end SSD upgrade will cost a fortune. But with the amount of storage being offered, one cannot argue about the price, can they?
Battery
A 100Wh battery powers the new 16” MacBook Pro. The battery will last for a total of 11 hours on normal usage. And a fun fact, this 100Wh battery is the largest one can take on an airplane. Furthermore, users will get a 96W charger along with a 2m USB C to C cable while purchasing the laptop.
MacBook Pro 16-inch Specifications
Display: 16-inch IPS LED-backlit display with a resolution of 3072×1920 pixels, 500 nits brightness, P3 wide color gamut
OS: macOS Catalina operating system
Dimensions: 1.62 x 25.79 x 24.59 cm
Weight: 2kgs
CPU: 6-core Intel Core i7 with 2.6GHz base clock, 4.5GHz boost clock / 8-core Intel Core i9 with 2.3GHz base clock speed, 4.8GHz boost Clock
RAM: Up to 64GB DDR4
SSD: Up to 8TB SSD
Integrated GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 630
GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (4GB)/ AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics (4 or 8GB)
Keyboard & Trackpad: Full-size backlit Magic keyboard with Touch Bar, Touch ID, Ambient light sensor, Force Touch trackpad
Wireless Connectivity: 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0
Webcam: 720p HD camera
Connectivity Ports: 4 x Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C with support for charging, DisplayPort, 3.5mm headphone jack
Audio: 6-speaker system with force-canceling woofers, Wide stereo sound, support for Dolby Atmos
Two variants of the 16-inch Macbook Pro (2019 edition) are available in Nepal. The Macbook Pro 16-inch with i7 CPU, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, and 4GB Radeon Pro 5500M Graphics Card has a price tag of Rs. 3,45,000 in Nepal, whereas the one with the same configuration but 1TB SSD is priced at Rs. 4,10,000. Find out the official Macbook Pro 16-inch price in Nepal with the link to available stores here:
Oppo Find X was Oppo’s flagship phone last year. Now, the Chinese giant has launched the Oppo’s Find X2 and Find X2 Pro, their flagship phone for 2020. These devices boast a great camera setup and are the first ones from the company to sport the latest Snapdragon 865 SoC. It will be available in China starting in early May. Both these phones might launch in Nepal too and the price is not going to be cheap.
OPPO Find X2 Overview
The successor to 2018’s Oppo Find X, the Find X2 comes with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution. As a matter of fact, the Pro version of the device also shares the same spec display-wise. Furthermore, the devices have a high refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 240Hz. Moreover, their display has a 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space.
The camera is the aspect where the real magic happens for this device. On the back, it has a triple cam set up with 48MP Sony IMX586 primary sensor. It comes with Sony’s 2×2 OCL tech that can outperform any Dual Pixel sensor.
The rear-cam setup is complemented by a 12MP ultra-wide lens which has the Sony IMX708 sensor. It allows the device to shoot stabilized video which Oppo refers to as the Ultra Steady Video Pro. And finally, there’s a 13MP telephoto lens with 5x hybrid zoom.
As for the front camera, there’s no pop-up this time. Rather, the company has decided to go with the trend and fit a 32MP Sony IMX616 sensor in a left sided punch-hole.
Under the hood, as mentioned earlier, the smartphone runs on Snapdragon 865 chipset. Storage-wise it has 12GB LPDDR5 RAM coupled with 256GB UFS 3.0 storage. And the device is powered by a huge 4,200mAh battery. This battery supports 65W VOOC 2.0 Flash Charge!
Specifications:
Design: Glass front, ceramic/glass back Aluminum frame
Display: 6.7″ Super AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution (1440 x 3168 pixels)
Rear Camera: Triple, 48 MP primary lens with f/1.7 aperture & PDAF, Laser Af, OIS + 13 MP telephoto lens with f/2.4 & optical zoom, PSAF, Laser AF, OIS aperture + 12 MP ultra-wide lens with f/2.2 aperture
The display panel and chipset might be similar between the Oppo Find X2 and Find X2 Pro. However, it does come with some exclusive offering of its own.
Firstly, it offers a bit better camera setup than the non-pro model. The primary lens is the same 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor, but this one deploys the same sensor in the ultra-wide lens too. That means this device has the largest sensor as an ultra-wide cam till date.
Furthermore, its 13MP telephoto camera has a 1/3.4-inch sensor behind a periscope lens. Thereby this module supports 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom and up to 60x digital zoom. The selfie shooter, however, is the same as the Find X2.
Some other features, exclusive to Oppo Find X2 Pro include a bigger battery of 4260mAh that too supports 65W fast charging, and IP68 water and dust resistance. And oh, it has a special X-axis motor that provides superior haptic feedback.
Colors: Black (ceramic back), Orange (leather back)
OPPO Find X2 Pro & Find X2 Price and availability
Both Oppo Find X2 Pro and Find X2 will be available in-store from early May. The Oppo Find X2 Pro is priced at €1,199 (NRs. 1,60,000 approx in Nepal), whereas the Oppo Find X2 will cost €999 (NRs. 133,000 approx in Nepal). It is expected to launch in Nepal in Q3 of 2020.
Samsung Nepal has officially unveiled the next-generation Galaxy A51 in Nepal. Dubbed the successor of the Galaxy A50s, the Galaxy A51 comes in all-new L-shaped camera setup and a familiar display cutout. The Galaxy A51 is a new mid-range smartphone from Samsung in 2020 and comes with an official price of Rs. 39,999 in the Nepali market.
Samsung Galaxy A51 Specifications
Body: 6.24 x 2.90 x 0.31 inches; 172 gm
Display: 6.5-inches “Infinity-O” Super AMOLED panel
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels); 20:9 aspect ratio
I know it, you know it; Samsung’s smartphones feature some of the best designs and display out there in the market. And there’s no way the Galaxy A51 would be a departure from that. It has a slim design that we’ve come to love from Samsung, with a mirror back and a vibrant diamond cutout design. The Galaxy A51 is one good looking phone. On to the colors, it comes in 4 variations of Prism Crush: Black, White, Blue, and Pink.
Now let’s get to the display which is as impressive as the design. Unlike the earlier renditions of the A50 series – the Galaxy A50 and A50s, this one has a slightly bigger 6.5-inches Super AMOLED display with a tall 20:9 aspect ratio. More importantly, Samsung is bidding farewell to the notch-design on the A51 as it boasts a tiny punch-hole cutout (“Infinity-O“) in the top center of the display that we saw in the company’s premium flagship: the Galaxy Note 10+. I gotta admit, it’s a lot cleaner than a notch.
Camera
Like with the front camera, Samsung is pushing the boundary on the Galaxy A51’s rear-camera as well. While the recent A50s only had three cameras on the back, the A51 takes it up a notch by including an additional macro lens. It has a quad-camera setup on the back in an ‘L’ shaped arrangement alongside the LED flash housed inside a rectangular module as we saw on the Galaxy M30s.
The primary shooter and the depth sensor are still the same 48MP & 5MP lens respectively, Samsung has managed to upgrade the wide-angle lens to a 12MP sensor with 123º field-of-view. Samsung is really pushing the A51 for its 5MP macro camera but I’m not really sure how frequent would an average user find himself shooting close-up images. Coming to the front, there’s the same 32MP lens, but with a slightly bigger f/2.2 aperture.
Performance & Memory
Well, well, well… if it isn’t the same old Exynos 9611. This is the same chipset that you get in the Galaxy A50 and the A50s. Why isn’t Samsung bothered with a chipset upgrade, I’ll never know! Your display is the best and your phone’s design is fairly appreciable as well, I get it. The Snapdragon 730 would’ve been a better and deserving choice for a phone like this.
But what’s the point of an AVERAGE smartphone experience on a big-bright display?
The Exynos 9611 isn’t totally useless either. You can perform regular tasks quite easily and the Mali-G72 GPU handles gaming requirements adequately as well. But the point is, there are better choices. On the memory end, the Galaxy A51 has a single 6/128GB configuration with expandable storage.
Battery
Despite featuring a slim design, the Galaxy A51 doesn’t compromise on the battery. Though it’s not bigger than the one we saw on its predecessors, the Galaxy A51 doesn’t have a smaller one either.
There’s the 4000 mAh battery which should easily last an average user a day or more. However, Samsung is still sticking with the 15W Quick Charging which really isn’t on par with ones we’re used to in 2019.
Miscellaneous
Moreover, the Samsung Galaxy A51 comes with the company’s latest One UI 2.0 (based on Android 10) out of the box, which brings many improvements over the earlier versions of One UI.
Samsung Galaxy A51 Price in Nepal
The official price of the Samsung Galaxy A51 in Nepal for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant is Rs. 39,999. The phone is currently available from mobile retail shops all over Nepal. Since it was launched for INR. 24,000 in India, Samsung Nepal has done quite a good job with the Galaxy A51 price.
