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Samsung Galaxy M31 specs teased: Will come with a 64MP camera!

GadgetByte

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February 6, 2020

Samsung Galaxy M31 specs teased: Will come with a 64MP camera!

Last year, Samsung showed some signs of resurgence in the midrange and entry-level smartphone market segment. With the new M-series and revamped A-series, Samsung tried to regain its market segment at the lower end of the smartphone market segment. Samsung looks to carry that momentum into the new year. And the first M-series phone for this year looks to be the Samsung Galaxy M31. This phone will come with upgraded specs to last year’s Samsung Galaxy M30 and Samsung Galaxy M30s. Though there has been quite a lot of rumors about the specs of the Samsung Galaxy M31, the highlight of the Samsung Galaxy M31 so far is the 64MP quad-camera setup.

Also, check out Samsung’s trademarks for A-series (2021)

Samsung Galaxy M31 camera teaser

The latest bit of information about the specs of upcoming Samsung Galaxy M31 come from three Indian YouTubers who first noticed the Samsung Galaxy M31 64MP camera teaser poster on the internet.

Technical Guruji

The first one of the two is Gaurav Chaudhary, a.ka Technical Guruji, who took to his twitter handle to reveal the teaser poster. This particular poster came had no serious information about the actual camera sensor. Rather, it revealed that #MegaMonster is on its way referring to Samsung Galaxy M31. But Technical Guruji confirmed that there is going to be a huge upgrade in the camera department. Until this, we were thinking that it would come with a 48MP quad-camera setup. Though it was an upgrade to Galaxy M30s in terms of the number of sensors, the fact that the primary sensor remained the same didn’t excite us much.

Geekyranjit

The concrete information about the primary sensor was revealed by Geekyranjit through his twitter handle. The picture he shared came with all the elements of the picture shared by TechnicalGuruji but it came with added information about the primary sensor. According to the picture, the upcoming Samsung Galaxy M31 will come with a 64MP primary sensor.

C4ETech

YouTuber known as C4ETech has shared another photo confirming the massive 6,000 mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy M31. It is an upgrade to last year’s 5,000 mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy M30. However, M30s already has a 6,000mAh battery. The battery department is where the Samsung Galaxy M31 will have an upper edge over its competitor.

Also, check out the world’s first 5G tablet by Samsung

Samsung Galaxy M31 camera setup

We believe that Samsung Galaxy M31 will come with a quad-camera setup at the back. The phone will come with a 64MP primary camera. The sensor is thought to be Samsung’s own Isocell GW1 sensor. As with the Samsung Galaxy M30 and Samsung Galaxy M30s, the primary sensor will be accompanied by an ultra-wide-angle sensor and a depth sensor. This time around, Samsung will also include a macro senor. Good news for people who are actually into macro photography. It is reported that the camera sensors will be arranged in an L-shaped camera module.

Samsung joining the quad-camera bandwagon?

Since Realme launched the Realme 5 with the quad-camera setup, almost all of the brands in the mid-range price segment have joined them creating a trend. Right now, almost all of the smartphones leading the race in the mid-range segment to come with the quad-camera setup. It includes Realme XT, Redmi Note 8 Pro, Realme X2. And now, Samsung seems to have joined the list with its Samsung Galaxy M31.

Also, check the launch date of Poco X2 in Nepal

Further Specs

Geekbench Database

The recent teaser of the camera specs adds to the information we already have about the specs of the upcoming device. The Samsung Galaxy M31 will come with Samsung’s Exynos 9611 chipset under its hood. While we were expecting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 665, the Geekbench database revealed that it will be powered by the same Exynos 9611 which powers the Galaxy M30s. It will come with four Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.3Ghz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.7Ghz. Graphics will be handled by Mali- G72 MP3. The Geekbench database also suggested that the phone will come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage onboard. It will come with the latest Android 10 with Samsung’s One UI 2.0 on top.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Certification

Further details about the phone emerged after it went through Wi-Fi and Bluetooth certification tests. These certifications confirmed that the phone that went through the Geekbench test as SM-M315F was indeed the Samsung Galaxy M31. The phone went through the certifications as SM-M315F/DS where DS reveals it will be a dual sim phone. The phone will come with support for dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity and Bluetooth 5.0. It will support Wi-Fi frequency bands of 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz.

Samsung Galaxy M31 Specs (rumored & confirmed)

Chipset: Exynos 9611
CPU: 10nm Octa-Core (Quad 2.3GHz Cortex A73+ Quad 1.7GHz Cortex A53)
GPU: Mali-G72MP3 GPU
RAM: 6GB
ROM: 128GB
OS: Android Pie 10 with One UI 2.0
SIM: Dual SIM (nano + nano)
Back Camera: 64MP rear camera with LED flash, an ultra-wide-angle camera, a depth sensor, a macro-lens
Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0
Battery: 6000mAh

Also, check out Samsung’s solution to fragile foldable screens

Launch And Price

The Samsung Galaxy M31 launch is nearer than it has ever been. If the recent price-drop of Samsung M30s is any indication, we might be able to see the phone no later than next month. However, we expect the phone to go official along with Samsung Galaxy M11 within this month after Samsung unveils the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. Considering the competition in the mid-range segment, the device should come with aggressive pricing.

Check out our comparison between Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Lite!

Huawei Y6s launched in Nepal: But can it battle against the likes of Redmi?

GadgetByte

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February 5, 2020

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Huawei Y6s launched in Nepal: But can it battle against the likes of Redmi?

2019 was a year of mixed feelings for Huawei. Despite the ban, Huawei managed its biggest-ever revenue to date. However, Huawei’s global sales showed a significant drop in the last quarter of 2019, which the company looks to improve on this year. And to start it off, Huawei has launched the Huawei Y6s in the budget price segment in Nepal. Can the Huawei Y6s battle against the like of Redmi in its price range? Let’s learn more here.

Huawei Y6s Overview

Display and Design

Huawei Y6s comes with an IPS LCD screen of 6.09-inch diagonal length. The display comes with a 1560 x 720 resolution and a pixel density of 283 PPI. On top of the display, there is a waterdrop style notch to house the selfie camera. Except for the Huawei branding at the bottom of the screen, the front looks similar to any other budget smartphones available in the market right now.

At the back, there is a single-camera setup accompanied by an LED flash. The fingerprint scanner is also mounted at the back of the device. The dual-tone pattern at the back looks inspired by the Google Pixel lineup of smartphones. The volume rocker and power button are placed on the right side of the device.

Processor

Under the hood, it packs MediaTek’s MT6765 Helio P35 processor. It is backed by 3GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage onboard. However, you can expand it up to 512GB through the microSD card slot. The graphics are handled by IMG PowerVR GE8320 GPU.

Camera

Huawei comes with a single 13MP camera at the back. The sensor has an f/1.8 aperture. The phone comes equipped with a rear LED flash. On the front, there is an 8MP camera housed inside the waterdrop notch. It has an aperture of f/2.0.

Software and Connectivity

The phone runs on Android 9.0 (Pie) with Huawei’s EMUI 9.0 UI on top. Interestingly, the phone has retained the Google Mobile Service amidst the ban. It comes with all the necessary sensors such as ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, and Gravity sensor. For security, you have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. The phone supports 4G VoLTE, WI-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and 3.5mm audio jack. The phones come with a non-removable 3,020mAh battery which can be charged through a micro-USB port. Since it is a budget-oriented phone it doesn’t support fast-charging.

Huawei Y6s specifications:

Display: 6.09 inches IPS LCD with 283PPI
Chipset: MediaTek MT676 Helio P35 SoC; 12nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Octa-core (4 x 2.3GHz Cortex-A53+ 4 x 1.8GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: PowerVR GE8320
RAM: 3GB
ROM: 64GB; expandable up to 512GB
OS: Android 9.0 with EMUI 9.1 on top
Rear camera: 13MP, f/1.8 with LED flash
Front Camera: 8MP, f/2.0 with LED flash
Sensors: Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Accelerometer, Gravity, and proximity
Battery: 3,020 mAh; 5V/1A

Huawei Y6s Price in Nepal and Availability

The Huawei Y6s officially landed in Nepal on the 6th of February. The price of Huawei Y6s in Nepal is Rs. 16,790. With this, the Huawei Y6s is a direct competitor to the famous Redmi 8. However, looking at their specs, the Redmi 8 (priced at Rs. 16,499) seems like a clear winner with its glass body, dual cameras, better chipset, and a bigger battery.

Model Name	Price in Nepal	Available stores
Huawei Y6s	Rs. 16,790	Authorized mobile retailers

Check out how Huawei is preparing for its Google-less future!

Escobar Fold 2 goes official: Galaxy Fold look-alike at a fraction of price

GadgetByte

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February 5, 2020

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$Escobar Fold 2 goes official: Galaxy Fold look-alike at a fraction of price$

When Escobar Inc. announced the Escobar Fold 1, Roberto Escobar bashed Apple for deceiving people with their overpriced products. He shared his plan to beat the top smartphone brands by introducing phones that would otherwise cost thousands of dollars at a fraction of the price. They did release Escobar Fold 1 under $350 which was quite commendable. And now they have released Escobar Fold 2, which tries to replicate the Samsung Galaxy Fold but comes at a fraction of the price. With the launch, Escobar Inc. has, in a way, declared, a war against the South Korean tech giant.

Why Samsung?

Many may not know this, but Escoabr Inc. was not allowed to showcase their extremely cheap Escobar Fold 1 in the Consumer Electronic Show 2020. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) decided that it wouldn’t have been “a good thing” to include Escobar Fold 1. However, Olof Gustafsson blamed Samsung for the cause:

“Samsung is afraid, afraid of us being present at the same event side by side while we present a much superior product, sold at a better price. In fact, they use their power to silence us. They forget that Pablo Escobar was there long before them and will be there long after.”

So this time around Escobar Inc. has targetted Samsung. In its official website, Escobar Fold 2 is described as the Real Samsung Killer Phone. In one of the promotional videos, the narrator narrates:

REST IN peace samsung. Escobar is upset. Escobar always wins.

The video shows girls smashing Samsung smartphones such as the Samsung Fold and Samsung J2 Core.

Escobar Fold 2

Escobar Fold 2 is very similar to Samsung Galaxy Fold that was released last year. Except for the few tweaks done on the Escobar Fold 2, the design and specs remain the same as that of the Galaxy Fold.

Design-wise, the Escobar Fold 2 looks similar to Samsung Galaxy Fold except for its gold-plated branding. It comes with a 4.6-inch display which can be expanded to up to 7.3-inch screen. Even the camera cut-out on the front looks similar, If it wasn’t for the Pablo Escobar wallpaper, people would easily mistake it for Samsung Galaxy Fold.

Both of the devices are powered by Snapdragon 855 chipset. They come with a massive 4,380 mAH battery and USB Type-C port for charging. Both run on the latest Android 10 out of the box. Also, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor looks similar.

However, Escobar Fold 2 comes with only five cameras against Samsung Fold’s six. To recall, the Samsung Fold came with a triple camera setup for both the main camera and the selfie camera. Escobar Fold 1 has a dual-camera setup for the selfie camera.

Escobar Fold 2 Specifications

Body: 7.49 x 5.28 x 0.30 inches; 320 gm (with battery)
Main Display: 7.3-inches Flexible AMOLED, 1536 x 2152 pixels
Secondary Display: 6-inch Super AMOLED, 720 x 1680 pixels
Resolution: Full-HD+ (1920 x 1444 pixels); 4:3 aspect ratio; 308ppi
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855; 7nm Mobile Platform
CPU: Octa-core (Up to 2.84 GHz)
GPU: Adreno 640
RAM: 8/12GB
Main Camera – Triple-camera;
– 12 MP, f/1.5-2.4, 27mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm
– 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6″, 1.0µm
– 16 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide), 1/3.1″, 1.0µm
– LED flash
Selfie Camera – Dual-camera;
– 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3″, 1.22µm
– 8 MP, f/1.9, 24mm (wide), 1.22µm, depth sensor HDR
Storage: 128 / 512GB (expandable up to 256GB via a dedicated SD card slot)
Software: Android 10
Fingerprint sensor: Yes (Physical)
Connectivity: SIM (Nano), Dual-Band WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C,3.5mm jack
Battery: 4,300 mAh battery; 5V/5A
Colors: Black, Gold

The Escobar Fold 2 comes at a price tag of just around $400 for the 128GB variant. It sounds crazy as Galaxy Fold with similar specs comes at a price tag of $2000. However, there will only be around 200,000 Escoabr Fold 2 available for purchase.

Is it too good to be true?

Though the idea of getting Galaxy Fold’s specs at a cheaper price is exciting, it does raise a flag. To begin with, Escobar Inc. hasn’t started delivering the Escobar Fold 1 despite taking the orders. So, we aren’t sure about the Escobar Fold 2.

Check out our comparison between Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Lite!

BlackBerry’s smartphones adventure finally coming to an end!

GadgetByte

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February 5, 2020

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BlackBerry’s smartphones adventure finally coming to an end!

Long before the advent of modern-day touchscreen smartphones, BlackBerrry ruled the smartphone market. If you have memories of using phones in the early 2000s, you would know what I’m talking about. Thanks to the keypads of that time, messaging wasn’t fun and the push notification which we can’t live without these days was something unheard of. That is why BlackBerry phones with nostalgic physical QWERTY keypad became everyone’s favorite. But that’s coming to an end now – a recent tweet implies that we will no longer see any phone under the iconic BlackBerry brand, as its mobile adventure has finally come to an end.

But didn’t they quit in 2016?

The Reason

BlackBerry started losing its ground on the smartphone business since the arrival touchscreen devices. It all started at the beginning of Apple’s iPhones. BlackBerry has no real answer to Apple’s iOS. It is why the company’s first all-touch smartphone – the BlackBerry Storm couldn’t regain the company’s status in the market. Android only made the situation worse for the brand. The company tried to bounce back with BlackBerry 10 OS in 2013 but in vain. It even switched to Android in 2015 with the BlackBerry Priv but it was already too late.

Check out the best mobile gimbals to buy in Nepal

Outsourcing partnership

Following the disappointments in the smartphone market, BlackBerry, in 2016, decided to end all the hardware development and to outsource that function to partners. Those partners were TCL Communication, BB Meriah Putih and Optiemus Infracom. While the other two had licenses for South Asia and Indonesia, TCL had a license for the rest of the world. Since then, BlackBerry has been focusing on the software business while its partners have been bringing out phones under the brand.

BlackBerry, TCL adventure – The End

After acquiring the near-global license right form BlackBerry, TCL launched quite a few smartphones under the brand such as the BlackBerry Motion. Other notable ones are those under the BlackBerry Key series of smartphones such as KeyOne, Key 2, and Keys2 LE. Even TCL rebranded the Alcatel Idol 4 to launch it as BlackBerry DTEK50.

BlackBerry’s end confirmed

The latest tweet by BlackBerry Mobile twitter handle has revealed that BlackBerry won’t be renewing its license agreement with TCL Communication. The agreement is set to expire on August 31, 2020. TCL will have no right to design, manufacture, or sell any new BlackBerry mobile devices. However, TCL will continue to provide support for the existing portfolio of mobile devices including customer service and warranty service until August 31, 2022. Since TCL has the near-global rights, the end of the BlackBerry-TCL license agreement might rest the BlackBerry-branded devices forever.

Check out MediaTek’s latest Helio G80 chipset

The future move

The announcement makes us believe that it’s actually TCL Communication which is not willing to renew the agreement. Afterall, TCL will start selling high-end smartphones under its own name from this year. TCL already has a smartphone under its belt in the form of TCL Plex. Now, it looks to expand its smartphone portfolio with the upcoming TCL 10 series lineup of smartphones which include TCL Pro, TCL 10 5G, and TCL 10L. We will know more about these devices in the upcoming World Mobile Congress. As of now, these phones will be launched no later than Q2 2020 after they are officially unveiled in the MWC 2020.

Also, check out our comparison between Samsung Note 10 and Samsung Note 10 Lite!

Best Mobile Gimbals to Buy: DJI Osmo Mobile 3 vs Zhiyun Smooth-Q2

Nikhil Shrestha

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February 4, 2020

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Best Mobile Gimbals to Buy: DJI Osmo Mobile 3 vs Zhiyun Smooth-Q2

*flashback to 10 years ago*
“Hey, whaddya wanna be when you grow up?” “An astronaut!” “A scientist!” “A doctor!” “A chef!”

Videography really hadn’t caught up with the mainstream crowd back then. But now, borne by the overwhelming popularity of the internet, every kid on the block (figuratively of course) wants to be a YouTuber or a vlogger. No, I’m not complaining about that at all; do what makes you happy, more power to you! After all, I’m a fan of good cinematography myself. While a regular camera or a smartphone alone will do the trick for your basic video shooting purposes, you’ll need something more to get those cinematic shots. Something to hold your device in place so your footages don’t come out all shaky and nauseating like that of 2008’s Cloverfield.

Well, that’s what gimbals are for! It stabilizes your videos by electronically adjusting the 2 or 3-axis (depending upon the gimbal’s configuration), due to which the camera rotates about an axis only. But of course, not everyone has access to expensive professional camera setup and thus an equally expensive DSLR gimbal. Modern-day smartphones’ cameras have gotten crazy good these days and while you obviously can’t get a DSLR-level output, footages from a smartphone are commendable, to say the least. Therefore today, we are comparing two of the best mobile gimbals you can buy right now in Nepal – the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 and the Zhiyun Smooth-Q2. You can find the video samples of each gimbal in our review video down below, where most of the footages have been shot from the Huawei Nova 5T.

DJI Osmo Mobile 3

We at GadgetByte have been using the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 as our go-to mobile gimbal for the past year and the newer Osmo Mobile 3 has been a welcome upgrade. This 3-axis gimbal comes on a lightweight and foldable design with some other interesting features. For a couple of thousand rupees more, you can get the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 Combo which includes a mini tripod (stand) and a carry case, which is the one we have.

Specifications

Dimensions:
- Unfolded: 11.22 x 4.92 x 4.06-inches
- Folded: 6.18 x 5.12 x 1.81-inches
Weight: 405gm
Compatible Phones:
- Weight: 200+/-30gm
- Width: 2.44 – 3.46-inches
- Thickness: ≤ 0.37 inch
Battery: 2450 mAh Li-Ion; 17.64Wh; 7.2V; Up to 15 hours*
Charging: Under 2.5 hours (via a 10W charger)
Gimbal Range:
- Pan: -162.5º to 170.3º
- Roll: -85.1º to 252.2º
- Tilt: -104.5º to 235.7º
Max Controllable Speed: 120º/s
Tracking: ActiveTrack 3.0
Slow-motion: Up to 1080p @240fps
Connectivity: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0, USB Type-C
Companion App: DJI Mimo [Google Play Store | Apple App Store]
Price in Nepal: Rs. 18,900 (for DJI Osmo Mobile 3 Combo)

Build & Design

DJI Osmo Mobile 3 has everything going for it and what we liked the most about it is its design and build quality. The company is emphasizing on eased prolonged usage with its lightweight structure. Also, the rubber handle has a grippy and ergonomic design due to the 15º angled rubber handle. Moreover, the button placement is commendable as well.

You can easily reach out to any button with zero trouble. A little room for improvement that we found is that, though the trigger button on the back works fine, it isn’t clicky enough. The LED notification is just as good and doesn’t blare into your eyes either.

Videography & Stabilization

Now let’s get to stabilization, which is unsurprisingly fantastic. The videos are smooth as they can get. The Osmo Mobile 3’s improved ActiveTrack 3.0 intelligently track’s human subject’s movements while keeping them in the center, which only works on “Follow” and “Tilt Locked” mode, and not on the “FPV” mode. This can be easily triggered by a single press of the trigger button on the back. Here, the “Sports Mode” helps capture stabilized footages even in high-speed scenarios. We tried it and the resulting videos were still solid as a rock.

The Hyperlapse and Timelapse videos come out great as well, with the ability to set interval, recording duration, and capture path. Additionally, the Gesture Control allows you to trigger the shutter remotely via the “Palm” or “V” gesture. Also, you can shoot 180º and 3 x 3 matrix style panoramas.

Design

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Furthermore, DJI has embedded the Osmo Mobile 3 with a bunch of video-presets using which you can generate cinematic footage with ease. Though the small 2450 mAh battery may be throwing you off, don’t worry. It lasts long enough and charges pretty quickly too. The DJI Osmo Mobile 3 gets you the smoothest videos, no surprise there. We tried shooting videos in almost every mode including Sport, and there were no jittery or unstable results. And since carrying around this gimbal is easy due to its light-weight and superb grip, we could easily shoot videos for hours.

App: DJI Mimo

Coming to the app, you can connect your smartphone and the gimbal via the DJI Mimo app. It has an easy-to-navigate interface with lots of features and the pairing is instantaneous. Through the app itself, you can edit and share your videos with the DJI community or other social networking sites. Through the app’s camera, you can meddle around various settings including that of the gimbal itself. Since you can’t change the Follow mode (Follow, Tilt-Locked, FPV) from the buttons on the stabilizer, you can only do that via the app.

DJI Osmo Mobile 3 Rating (1-10)

Specifications	Score
Design	8.5
Features	9
Stabilization	9.5
Ease of use	9.5
App	8.5
Value for money	9
Overall	9

DJI Osmo Mobile 3 vs Zhiyun Smooth-Q2

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Zhiyun Smooth-Q2

Emphasizing on compactness and portability, the Zhiyun Smooth-Q2 is another great mobile gimbal. A cool feature that you get on the Q2 is the Vortex mode, which lets you take 360º barrel shots on the pan axis. Also, it has a big battery that lets you charge your smartphone via the stabilizer itself through its Micro USB port. However, there’s a strict warning to not use this port to charge the gimbal itself. Let’s find out more.

Specifications

Dimensions: 8.03 x 4.02 x 1.65-inches
Weight: 450gm
Compatible Phones:
- Weight: 75 – 260gm
- Width: 2.17 – 3.39-inches
Battery: 4500 mAh Li-Ion; 16.2Wh; 5V; Up to 17 hours*
Charging: Under 3 hours
Gimbal Range:
- Pan: 360º
- Roll: 265º
- Tilt: 305º
Direct Control of Native Camera: Yes
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C
Companion App: ZY Play [Google Play Store | Apple App Store]
Price in Nepal: Rs. 18,900

Build & Design

While the Osmo 3 emphasized on its build quality and design, Zhiyun is taking a different route with its Smooth-Q2 gimbal – the portability. This thing is small, adequately small. Despite its size, the Q2 is heavy on the hands because of the aluminum build.

If you’re using any gimbal for the first time, the Zhiyun Q2 might be a little challenging since it is comparatively a little difficult to get used to. Adding to the portability, the phone holder here is easily removable. While traveling, you can have the phone holder clamped into your phone, so you easily swap in the phone into the gimbal when necessary.

Here, due to the compact form factor, the button placement is far from ideal. However, we didn’t encounter any difficulty operating them.

Videography & Stabilization

The video stabilization here is great. For optimal results, however, you’ll have to hold the gimbal like you would hold a remote – with a slight downward tilt. When holding it normally, the motor on the back is prone to appear in the footage, especially when shooting from a wide-angle lens.

Even when shooting videos on a high-speed scenario, the gimbal does a great job of stabilizing the video. Moreover, the Zhiyun Smooth-Q2 has a feature called the “Vortex Mode”. With this, you can shoot cool 360º videos which you can’t with the DJI Osmo Mobile 3. Similarly, though the Q2 doesn’t come with a stand, its base is flat enough to place it in smooth-enough places.

App: ZY Play

“ZY Play” is the Zhiyun Q2’s companion app. The app is pretty simple but you’ll occasionally get an advertisement pop-up from Zhiyun itself, which is unskippable and lasts a couple of seconds. Now that’s poor UX right there. You are essentially restricting your users from quickly accessing your product. Besides this, there’s no other complaint from our end. Ultimately, there’s a minimal level of settings you can play around via the app since you can get to most of them via the stabilizer itself.

Zhiyun Smooth-Q2 Rating (1-10)

Specifications	Score
Design	9
Features	9
Stabilization	9.5
Ease of use	8
App	7.5
Value for money	9
Overall	8.67

Conclusion

So, that was it for our comparison of the DJI Osmo Mobile 3 and the Zhiyun Smooth-Q2 mobile gimbal. Both devices offer excellent video stabilization, with plenty of features as well. The DJI Osmo Mobile 3 is very easy to use and offers a great number of functionalities, while the Zhiyun Smooth-Q2 adds portability on top of being an excellent standalone stabilizer. Both have their own perks and it may come to personal preference regarding which one is better of the two.

MediaTek announces Helio G80: Midrange phones in 2020 are going to be even faster!

GadgetByte

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February 4, 2020

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MediaTek announces Helio G80: Midrange phones in 2020 are going to be even faster!

MediaTek launched its first-ever gaming chipsets last year and they were awesome. Helio G90 and G90T despite being mid-range gaming processors, were really up to the competition. We got to see the G90T in the Xiaomi Note 8 Pro and suffice to say the performance was really wonderful. And now after almost a year, the company has decided to expand the G lineup with the Helio G80 chipset.

The Helio G80 comes as a third chipset in MediaTek’s range of budget gaming processors. And this one slot right between the G90/G90T and G70.

Built upon a 12nm process, the Helio G80 offers an Octa-core CPU. The CPU consists of two ARM Cortex-A75 cores clocked at 2.0GHz. Moreover, six ARM Cortex-A55 cores are there too. And they are clocked at a maximum frequency of 1.8GHz.

As for GPU, it has ARM’s Mali-G52. It is the same one that was there in the Helio G70. However, this one is overclocked at 950MHz whereas G70’s offered the only 820MHz.

Helio G80, as other G series SoC’s, is focused at gamer’s looking for high performance at an affordable price. Therefore, it comes with a host of MediaTek’s special features. These include HyperEngine mobile gaming enhancements, multi-camera support, integrated Voice on Wakeup (VoW), and more.

VoW helps to considerably lower power consumption for voice assistance services. And the HyperEngine offers smooth gaming experience as seen on Helio G90. Moreover, the other benefit of HyperEngine is the switch to LTE + WiFi connectivity during gameplay. Especially helpful during slow internet connection. Moreover, it also actively manages CPU and GPU performance for stable gameplay.

Helio G80 availability

The Helio G80 is expected to launch later this month in India. And soon after that it should be available in the global market as well.

It is really appreciable that MediTek is coming up with a mid-range, low-cost solution for gaming enthusiasts. Moreover, their gaming chipsets do not compromise in the performance side either. Hopefully, the Helio G80 won’t disappoint either.

Meanwhile don’t miss out on our review of Xiaomi Note 8 Pro, the first high-profile smartphone with Helio G90T.

Samsung Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) technology arrives to rescue foldable phones

GadgetByte

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February 3, 2020

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Samsung Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) technology arrives to rescue foldable phones

We may not be a fan of the technology but the concept of foldable smartphones has already taken off. Top players like Samsung, Huawei are going all-in to stay ahead in the foldable smartphone technology. Samsung, Huawei, and Motorola have tried their luck with their idea of a foldable smartphone. The phones may differ in manufacturer and patent they are based on, but they all come with a primary concern – durability. The phones are prone to accidental damages. The folding mechanism, the screen panel all have their weakness. The race now is about who overcomes them first. And a recent report suggests Samsung has found a solution for damage-prone panel with UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass) technology.

Ultra-Thin Technology

Problems of the Samsung Fold

When Samsung initially launched the Samsung Galaxy Fold, it was far from a perfect product. It came with a lot of problems. So much so, that the company had to postpone the actual launch event to overcome them. The folding mechanism was a bit of a problem but not as big as a problem the users faced with it. The original Samsung Galaxy Fold came with a thin plastic player on top of the screen. Many users mistook it for a screen protector and removed it – only to end up with a broken display.

The UTG patent

Samsung needed to fix that in their future releases. And for that, Samsung has come up with UTG. According to a report by LetsGoDigital, Samsung has filed a new patent titled UTG to European Union Intellectual Property Office. Though Samsung hasn’t disclosed anything about it, we believe that it stands for Ultra-Thin Glass.

Perks of Ultra-Thin Glass

The Ultra-Thin Glass will try to overcome the problems that the original plastic-coated display had. Technically, glass is more scratch-resistant than plastic so, using a glass instead of plastic does make sense. However, we don’t know if the property holds true for glass that is as thin as a human hair. According to reports, the thickness of the glass may range from 30microns to about 100microns.

But there are also some downsides. Ultra-Thin Glasses require a complex manufacturing process, which isn’t cheap. And it will ultimately be reflected in the smartphone’s price.

The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is set to be the first phone to adopt this technology. Samsung will also include it in their future foldable phones.

Nokia 5.2 aka “Captain America” to land in MWC 2020

GadgetByte

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February 3, 2020

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Since the Mobile World Congress (MWC) is well around the corner, we all are excited about what is has in store for us. The event will undoubtedly give us an insight into the trends the smartphone world is going to witness throughout the year. Talking about trends, this is the year when 5G smartphones will take over the entire smartphone market. Almost all the big players in the game have joined the 5G bandwagon. Though 5G sounds tempting, it is not going to be cheap. That is why some of these brands are also focusing on the lower end of the market. Leaks suggest Nokia, which has already confirmed the launch of a 5G phone in MWC, will unveil an affordable phone dubbed Nokia 5.2 aka Captain America.

Nokia Mobile World Congres 2020 Event

At the end of the year 2019, Nokia made an announcement that it will arrive at the MWC 2020 with a new 5G smartphone. Company’s Product Officer, Juho Sarvikas, confirmed the news via an official press release. It read:

“Our highest priority for 2020 is making 5G more accessible – bringing an affordable yet premium grade, future proof 5G experience for the best possible performance in NSA and SA networks with the Snapdragon 765 Mobile Platform.”

At this point in time, we can say it with confidence that Nokia won’t be releasing a flagship smartphone at the event. Nokia 9.2 will be unveiled later this year which made us believe that the phone Juho Sarvikas was talking about was Nokia 8.2.

Nokia is all geared up for the event. It has already started giving out invites for its event on February 23. The registration will go live at 4 PM local time then the actual event will kick-off about half an hour late.

Talks of Nokia 5.2 “Captain America”

Since Nokia won’t be launching Nokia 9.2 at the event, Nokia 8.2 powered by Snapdragon 765G will be the highlight of Nokia’s event. And if the recent leaks are to be believed, it will be accompanied by Nokia Captain America a.k.a Nokia 5.2.

A Leakster, who goes by the name of Evan Blass, introduced us to the upcoming Nokia Captain America through his twitter handle. The pictures -though not the prettiest- reveal a phone with quad-camera setup at back.

Design

The quad-camera setup is the first thing we noticed on the device. The four camera sensors are housed inside a circular camera module. The module creates a slight bump on the rear surface. At the center of the module, there is an LED flash. The four sensors are arranged around the LED flash. There is a fingerprint scanner just below the camera module.

The display on the front comes with waterdrop notch for the front shooter. The volume rocker and the power button are placed on the right side of the device. The charging port is located at the bottom of the device.

Rumored Specs

Considering the fact that the device hasn’t been confirmed officially, the information about its specs is scarce. The phone will come with a 6GB RAM and 64GB storage onboard. However, we can expect the phone to come in other memory configurations as well.

Nokia 5.2 Launch and Pricing

After the official unveiling at the MWC 2020, Nokia will launch Captain America somewhere around March. As of now, the 6/64GB variant will cost around $180 (~NPR 20,600) which in our view is quite impressive. But it is too soon to judge. Let’s see what Nokia has in store for us this year at WMC.

Also, check out our favorite budget gaming laptop!

Vivo’s now independent sub-brand iQOO is coming to India with a bang!

GadgetByte

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February 3, 2020

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Lately, smartphone manufacturers are spinning off their sub-brands, for launching products different than the brand image of the parent company. Realme has already been a successful brand after separating from Oppo. Currently, Poco is also enjoying hype after it is spun-off from Xiaomi. Now there is another sub-brand trying to follow in on the footsteps – iQOO. The news of Vivo spinning off iQOO came to attention as early as January. iQOO has now confirmed that it will come with the first SD 865 powered 5G smartphone in the Indian subcontinent.

iQOO

It was not long ago when Vivo announced iQOO as its sub-brand last year. iQOO (pronounced eye-Koo) stands for I Quest On and On. With the iQOO, Vivo looked to conquer the emerging smartphone gaming segment. iQOO and it’s monster variant was the first releases company. Fast forward to today, iQOO is now a well-known brand in China that offers a performance-focused premium line.

The reason behind the spin-off

iQOO is following the footsteps of Realme and Poco. Interestingly, all these brands were spun-off to focus on the South Asian market, especially India. The strategy does make sense because India is now the biggest smartphone market in the world. And for the size of the market, it is also equally priced sensitive. Brands like Realme and Poco which offer bangs for the bucks are quite successful. These success stories have now lured iQOO to India.

iQOO India’s Announcement

iQOO India has already announced that it will be coming to the Indian market. Gagan Arora, iQOO’s Director of Marketing, has already confirmed the news. Last time we talked about them, we predicted that iQOO will make noises with a new device when it lands on the Indian subcontinent. Gagan Arora has also confirmed that iQOO will be coming to India with not only one but two devices. However, the highlight of the two will be the one powered by Snapdragon 865 processor.

iQOO 5G smartphone powered by SD 865

iQOO’s 5G smartphone will be the first in India to come with Snapdragon 865 under the hood. Though the company hasn’t authenticated the information officially, given its reputation, anything below the Snapdragon 865 will be a sheer disappointment. All the phones by iQOO have come with flagship-grade chipsets such as SD 845 and SD 855. The device will be aimed at gamers and will offer tough competition to the Black Shark line up of smartphones.

The phone will first go on sale online. Only after then the company will roll it out through offline shops.

Also, check out our comparison between Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Lite!

Affordable Nokia C1 with Android 9 Go edition Launched in Nepal

Pratima Adhikari

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February 3, 2020

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Affordable Nokia C1 with Android 9 Go edition Launched in Nepal

Nokia has launched its latest Android One smartphone, the Nokia C1 in Nepal. The phone is targeted for people who are ready to move on from their feature phones to an entry-level smartphone. But is it the best phone in the entry-level price range in Nepal?

Nokia C1 Overview

Talking of features, the Nokia C1 features a 5.45- inches display with 480 x 960px resolution. The panel here is an IPS one which is protected by the toughened glass to protect the screen from potential scratches. On top of the display, you can see a selfie camera which is a 5MP shooter accompanied by an LED flash.

At the back too, there is a 5MP shooter along with an LED flash.

The phone features an average 2,500 mAh battery to power the low power display and it charges over Micro USB port. As for the chipset, it is powered an unknown quad-core CPU. The Nokia C1 comes bearing 1GB RAM and 16GB inbuilt storage. The storage can further be expanded by a microSD card up to 64GB.

Check out our review of the cheapest android phone in Nepal

As for other features of the device, you get FM radio and dual SIM support. However, there is no LTE support as the max it goes is 3G. The phone supports WiFi 4 as well.

The major focus of the phone is the fact that it runs on the Android 9 Go edition. saGo apps will help reduce data usage and will take less storage, which is a good thing for entry-level smartphones.

Nokia C1 Specifications:

Body: 147.6 x 71.4 x 8.7 mm
Display:5.45 inches IPS LCD panel
Resolution: 480 x 960 pixels, 18:9 ratio
CPU: Unknown Quad-core 1.3 GHz
RAM: 1GB
Storage: 16GB (expandable up to 64 via a microSD card)
Software & UI: Android 9 (Pie) Go edition
Rear Camera: 5MP with LED flash
Front Camera: 5MP with LED flash
Audio: 3.5mm headphone jack, FM Radio
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), MicroSD card, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, MicroUSB 2.0
Battery: 2,500 mAh
Colors: Black, Red

Also, learn about the specs of Nokia C2

Nokia C1 Price in Nepal & Availability

Teletalk Pvt. Ltd., the authorized distributor of Nokia mobiles, launched the Nokia C1 in Nepal for a price of Rs. 6,499. However, it is now available for Rs. 7,199. You can buy the phone from various mobile retail shops all over Nepal.

Model Name	Old Price	New Price in Nepal
Nokia C1	Rs. 6,499	Rs. 7,199

If you have little more to spend on, we recommend you to go for Redmi Go. With an additional thousand price, you will get better screen resolution, better performer and a bigger battery.