As a part of the revamp of their A-series smartphones, Samsung Galaxy A30 is a low-mid-range phone from Samsung. It picks off from where the Samsung Galaxy M30 rests in terms of specs and features. And now, Samsung is offering a good discount on the Galaxy A30 in Nepal, making it a good mid-range phone for price-conscious buyers.
Samsung Galaxy A30 Overview
The Galaxy A30 gives in to the notch trend. It features a tall 6.4″ display and a tiny U-shaped notch. Samsung dubs this as the “Infinity-U” display. The M-series, however, have a V-shaped notch and is called the Infinity V-display, as seen in the Galaxy M20 and the Galaxy M10. Also, this is a Super AMOLED panel, so, it should be pretty good.
In terms of camera, this phone has a dual-camera setup at the back. The setup comprises of a 16 MP primary and a 5 MP ultra-wide lenses. Seems like Samsung is placing ultra-wide angle lenses on all their phones this year. The U-shaped notch upfront houses a 16 MP selfie camera.
Under the hood, the A30 is run by Exynos 7904 chipsetand is backed by 4 GB of RAM. And you get a 64 GB internal storage. There also exists a 3 GB / 32 GB variant of the phone, but in Nepal, we only get the 4 / 64 one. Also, there is an internal SD-card slot for memory expansion. This phone comes with Android Pie out of the box with Samsung’s One UI. In addition, you get a good 4000 mAh battery with 15-Watt Fast Charging.
Samsung Galaxy A30 Specifications:
Design: Plastic body, aluminum frame
Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution, (2340×1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @ 403 PPI
Rear Camera: Dual camera – (16 MP, f/1.7, PDAF) + (5 MP, f/2.2, 12mm, ultra-wide), LED flash
Battery: 4000mAh with 15watt fast charging support; USB Type-C port
Colors: Blue, White, and Black
Price: Rs. 28,490 Rs.23,899
Samsung Galaxy A30 Price in Nepal & Availability
Samsung Galaxy A30 is now available in Nepal for the discount price of Rs. 24,899. You can purchase the phone from the nearest Samsung mobile retail shops all over Nepal.
When early rumors of the Xiaomi Redmi 9 hit the internet back in December, it was said to feature an unannounced MediaTek Helio G70. Unheard? Unannounced? Not anymore. MediaTek has finally announced Helio G70 in the Helio G series of gaming chipset. The new Helio G70 chipset will be powering upcoming mid-range gaming smartphones in 2020.
Helio G series
MediaTek came up with the gaming-focused Helio G series of processors last year. Helio G90 and G90T were the first two chips under the new series, while the latter was used in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro. It uses the ARM Cortex-A76 as the performance cores and Cortex-A55 (@2Ghz) as efficient cores. Helio G90T is based on the 12nm FinFET process.
Not to forget, Redmi Note 8 Pro was the best performer at its price range. So what separates the Helio G series from the rest? MediaTek Helio G series comes with Mediatek’s HyperEngine technology. The company claims that different technologies embedded in HyperEngine will enhance the gaming experience through fast connection, optimized response, brilliant picture quality, and intelligent resource management.
MediaTek will be focusing on the lower end of the gaming smartphone market with the new Helio G70 series. So, it is fair to say that the Helio G70 will not come possessed with the gaming prowess of the G90T but will try to replicate some of it for the reduced cost.
The Helio G70 comes with an octa-core setup. The performance cores here are the ARM Cortex-A75 clocked at 2GHz. The ARM Cortex-A55 clocked at 1.7GHz plays the roles of efficient cores. It comes with the MediaTek HyperEngine Gaming Technology. However, we don’t have any information about the process used to fabricate the Helio G70 chipset.
If we compare it to the specs of Helio G90T, we see that a lot of things have been compromised for the budget segment chipset.
MediaTek also announced Helio G70T, but it’s not clear exactly how it’s different from the regular G70. We can expect higher frequency CPU/GPU in the G70T, plus other notable enhancements. Both these chipsets will debut in early 2020.
Check out our review of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro:
How excited are you about the new gaming chipset from MediaTek? Do you think it can take on the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G? Let us know your views.
Samsung announced the Galaxy S10 lite last week and the phone has been gathering a lot of hype because of its flagship-level specs at a mid-range price. While Samsung India has officially unveiled the launch date, Samsung Nepal has exclusively confirmed to us that they won’t be launching the S10 Lite in Nepal.
Overview
The S10 Lite is powered by the Snapdragon 855 chipset with either 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and a total of 128GB UFS2.1 storage. The memory can further be expanded up to 1 TB via a MicroSD card. The phone will come with Android 10 out of the box and it will feature the new and improved OneUI 2.0.
Display-wise, we get a bigger form factor in the S10 Lite that measures 6.7-inches with FHD+ resolution. Like the Note 10, this one too will feature a punch-hole style notch dubbed Infinity-O display and it’s going to be Samsung’s Super AMOLED panel.
While the insides of the phone seem similar to what there was before, what does not remain the same is the camera setup. There’s no telephoto lens on the S10 Lite. Rather, it has a triple camera setup, comprising of a 48MP primary sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 5MP macro lens. The front of the phone flaunts a 32MP selfie camera.
The cameras are also equipped with something called Tilt- OIS, which allows them to tilt a few degrees in different directions to compensate for hand’s movement, in addition to what we have been seeing on other smartphones.
On a different note, the S10 Lite will feature one of the biggest batteries in the history of flagship phones, as it comes with a huge 4,500 mAh battery! Furthermore, it supports 25-watt fast charging too, though the wireless charging support has been scrapped.
Like the recent Samsung flagships, the S10 Lite will no longer include a headphone jack which means, you will be getting a Type-C audio port. It also lacks any kind of IP certification. The fingerprint sensor is placed on the front, an in-display one like the S10 and Note 10.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite Specifications:
Display: 6.7-inch Full HD+ (2400×1080 pixels), Super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O Display with 394ppi
Storage:128GB storage (UFS 2.1), expandable memory up to 1TB with microSD
Operating System: Android 10 with OneUI 2.0
SIM(s): Dual SIM
Rear Camera: 48MP rear camera with LED Flash, f/2.0 aperture, Super Steady OIS, 12MP Ultra Wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 5MP macro camera with f/2.0 aperture
Front Camera: 32MP front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture
Connectivity: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS with GLONASS, USB 3.1, NFC, MST
Battery: 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging
Looking at all these specs, one might be wondering what is actually “Lite” about this phone. On paper at least, it’s got the latest chipset, big battery, and good camera setup. But, the phone is rumored to have an inferior build quality which might upset some Samsung fans. However, it’ll be interesting to see, to say the least.
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite Price in Nepal, Launch date
Samsung Nepal will not be launching the S10 Lite in Nepal. Instead, the company will be focusing on the Note 10 Lite (8+128GB). Samsung Nepal believes the Note 10 Lite would be a better value for money flagship instead of the S10 Lite.
Although it might seem weird, it makes a lot of sense for a country like Nepal. The Note 10 Lite has a big advantage over its competition as it offers S-pen. Moreover, the Note 10 Lite has better cameras than the S10 Lite. Although, you do get a newer and faster Snapdragon 855 processor, the Exynos 9810 on the Note 10 Lite is not a slouch either.
The Note 10 Lite is also cheaper than the S10 Lite. Samsung Nepal is planning to launch the Note 10 Lite at an aggressive price of around Rs. 59,999. This makes the Note 10 Lite a truly “Semi-Flagship phone” and the best for its price. And if the S10 Lite was launched in Nepal, it would have been priced at around Rs. 66,999 – a territory where the OnePlus 7T reigns supreme.
Talks about 120Hz screen smartphones have peaked this week. Especially since OnePlus held its screen technology communication event. Rumors swirling around the internet is that the upcoming Black Shark 3 will also have a 120Hz refresh rate display. It’ll probably be a QHD display panel. I guess users will, in fact, have an option to adjust the display rate as per their preferences.
Leaked images have shown that it’ll have a 60Hz, 90Hz and 120Hz modes and the display resolution can go between FHD and QHD.
Black Shark has been gaining momentum and has created a space for itself in the gaming smartphones segment. As a matter of fact, the brand already has four phones under its belt. And the addition of what probably be the Black Shark 3, it looks likely that the fifth one will be added soon.
Initial leaks about the device have confirmed that the upcoming Black Shark 3 will come with 16GB of RAM and as the trend goes it will have 5G connectivity.
If the device indeed launches with 16GB of RAM, it will be the first one to do so. Now, doubts remain about whether such a huge RAM is necessary in a smartphone or not. Still, I think that power users will appreciate this. Because in the end, it all adds up to a smoother gaming experience in a smartphone.
Given the fact that it is a gaming smartphone, the aesthetics of the phone will probably give out “gaming” vibes too. So, expect the trademark green accents in this one too. However, aside from that, we have no other clue whatsoever.
Black Shark 2 offers a 60Hz panel. So to match that, it had a 4000mAh battery. However, as the display panel has been upgraded, we should probably see an upgrade in battery capacity too. After all, it has to accommodate the 120Hz screen and 5G modem.
Aside from that, the Black Shark 3 will have other top-notch components to go along as well. Maybe the Snapdragon 865 coupled with a more efficient cooling system, who knows right?
Nevertheless, all of these are still just speculations. So, take them with a pinch of salt and maybe wait for an official confirmation.
The struggle of capturing a perfect panoramic shot with your smartphone camera is real. Now there’s the ultra-wide angle lens available in smartphones these days but they do not exactly produce panoramic shots, do they? Basically, a panoramic shot has a field-of-view (FOV) of about 160º by 75º, whereas the one with a wide-angle lens is about 65º. So, these wide-angle lenses won’t replace the beauty of taking panoramic photos.
However, for some, even the FOV in a panoramic shot might seem less than sufficient. Yes, people nowadays want to capture everything that’s going on in and around them. But how’s that going to happen? Well, one way would be to take a series of photos and merge them together. However, it will result in the picture being a little distorted near the edges where the photos are stitched. The other much simpler way would be to use a 360º camera. And that’s precisely what I have today – the Huawei EnVizion 360 camera. Let’s find out more about it in the review.
Huawei EnVizion 360 Camera Specifications
Body: 1.45 x 1.46 x 1.02-inches; 30gm
Camera: Two 13MP lenses; f/1.8 aperture; ISO (100 – 1600)
Resolution: Still image (Max – 5376 x 2688 pixels, 3840 x 1920 pixels); GIF file (600 x 300 pixels); Panoramic Video (1920 x 960 @30fps, 1280 x 640 @30fps)
Zoom Type: Focus
Image Storage Format: JPEG DCF2.0 compatible, GIF
Video Storage Format: MP4 (MPEG-4 AVC / H.264, Audio: AAC)
Field-Of-View (FOV): ≥ 185º
Shutter speed: Manual mode (1/6400 – 30 seconds); Other modes (1/6, 400 seconds and 1/8 second)
Power: USB Type-C USB 2.0 (via OTG)
Operating System (OS): Android 6.0 (Marshmello) or later
Design
Though it may look a bit bulky at first glance, this is one of the smallest 360-degree cameras available. The device has a rounded square shape with a plastic-like glossy surface surrounding the camera lens. The one I’ve with me has a darkish silver glossy look. From what I know, there are multiple color options available depending upon the country where you buy it.
There are two 13MP cameras on each side of the Huawei EnVizion 360. The device is sort of ballooned up in the area where the cameras are situated thereby giving it a bulky look. Even after carrying the device in my pockets for weeks, I couldn’t get the hang of the bulgy feeling it gave. However, I feel that it is a small price to pay for its benefits. Furthermore, the pouch that the EnVizion 360 comes with prevents it from any scratches.
The thing to be noted is that this is not a standalone camera and must be connected to a smartphone for its use. Thus, there is a USB Type-C connector at the bottom. Thus, there is a USB Type-C connector on the bottom, using which it can be connected to any smartphone running at least Android 6.0 (Marshmello) with a Type-C port.
Features
As mentioned before, the Huawei EnVizion 360 has a 13MP camera lens with an f/1.8 aperture lens on both sides. It uses Sony’s image sensor and an I-CATCH V35 image processor. For image resolution, it has two options: 5376 x 2688 pixels and 3840 x 1920 pixels. But as you can tell, the cameras are not only for taking still images. It is capable of taking a 360-degree view video with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 960 pixels and also of 1280 x 640 pixels, both at 30fps.
What’s more, you’ll need to install the Huawei 360 Camera app from the Play Store, and thus doesn’t support your phone’s native camera app. This app initializes the camera and provides plenty of options that you can use as per your requirement.
Huawei 360 Camera app
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Camera UI
Settings UI
Images can be captured in various modes such as perspective, fish, planet, and VR. You have the option to change the picture resolution, the preview mode and activate the picture-in-picture (PPI) mode.
Basically, the quality of the image in the preview and in the actual photo will differ a lot. In the preview mode, there’s a Standard recommended mode and an HD power-intensive mode. But frankly speaking, on my Samsung Galaxy A80, the difference between the two modes was negligible. The only thing “HD power-intensive mode” did was drain the battery a bit faster, compared to Standard mode.
And while we are on that topic, let me tell you that Huawei EnVizion 360 relies on your smartphone’s battery for power, meaning it doesn’t have a battery of its own. However, power consumption is also not that much. I mean obviously, an extra accessory will use more power than your in-device camera but that’s quite insignificant in EnVizion 360’s case.
The other feature that’s available here is PIP, i.e the picture-in-picture mode. To be honest, it took me a while to figure out what this option actually did. Generally, this mode would mean that the app requires permission to draw over other apps. But that’s not the case here. There’s actually a little box-like icon in the preview section that once pressed will show you the complete 360 images to be captured. However, the image is shown on a horizontal axis.
Picture Quality
Design and feature aside, would it even be a camera review without talking about the images that it produces? As mentioned earlier, the Huawei EnVizion 360 is not a standalone camera. So, obviously the photo that it captures will not have the same level of details that your smartphone camera would produce. However, it is not designed with that detail in mind. For what it’s worth, the EnVizion 360 produces probably the best images than its competitors.
The photos that I’ve taken clearly show that the objects in the image are distinguishable. The edges are pretty well defined too. Nevertheless, if you zoom in on pictures, you’ll notice that the closeups are not so good. Even in bright light, the device fails to capture the details in the object.
Sticking to the subject of bright lights, the area from which the light is illuminating your surroundings will almost certainly be overexposed. A sort of blurry effect on objects placed near the light source can be seen and their edges are distorted too.
Little Planet Mode - Sample Images
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Furthermore, pictures taken outside are rather good than those taken inside the room. But with proper lighting, images in either situation come out fine. However, what I believe is that you’ll get the best out of this device if the shots are taken outside.
Now, moving on to the low light-light images, the objects in the image come out to be okay-ish. And grains are clearly visible in these images.
Crystal Ball Mode - Sample Images
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The one thing that sort of bugged me in these images was the glitch lines. They appear in those parts where the images from both the front and the back camera are stitched together. Now, I know that’s how a 360 image is produced by this device, but those lines are very much apparent. Hopefully, in future upgrades, the company will look for a solution regarding this matter.
Little Planet Mode - Sample Images
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As for the videos, they’re pretty nice as well. You can check them out here, and here.
Conclusion
As I started using the device, I felt that it was something that I didn’t know I wanted. However, my initial excitement lasted for just a couple of days. The device has to be connected to the smartphone each time it needs to be used. And to be frank, that’s quite tiresome. Also carrying an extra device along with a huge smartphone was a hassle. Nonetheless, I guess that the Huawei EnVizion 360 will be quite useful for those who travel a lot and want to capture everything around them. And by everything, I mean 360º everything. However, it would be troublesome for normal smartphone users.
For me, as I earlier stated, carrying the device was the main problem. But priced at around $76.23, I would probably go for it. It allows you to capture something that your smartphone camera cannot and the image quality is not that bad either.
Having said that, accessories such as this might become a thing of the past very soon. I mean there are already quad-camera setups, as well as flipping cameras mechanism on smartphones these days. So, who knows when some smartphone maker will come with a technology that can take 360 photos from your smartphone camera without you having to move a complete circle holding your smartphone?
Until then, I guess these sorts of accessories are good enough to carry out the task.
OnePlus introduced us to its Concept One in the latest edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). And now, OnePlus seems to have shifted its focus at the upcoming OnePlus 8 series. The series will feature OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. A few days ago, the news of a midrange moniker OnePlus 8 Lite also hit the internet. The news has, now, been shadowed by the reveal of OnePlus 8 Pro which has appeared in the Geekbench database, and there’s the news of it having a smooth 120Hz refresh rate display as well.
OnePlus 8 Pro has already gone through the Geekbench Benchmark Test, which the site uploaded the result of the test on January 10. The device went through the benchmark test as “GALILEI IN2023“. It scored 4,296 points in Geekbench’s single-core test and managed to pull off 12,531 points in the multi-core test.
OnePlus 8 Pro Specs as of now
The Geekbench Benchmark database has revealed some of the key specs of the upcoming OnePlus 8 Pro. According to Geekbench’s database, the phone will be powered by the “Kona” SoC. Never heard of the name? Well, “Kona” is the codename for Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 processor.
The main feature of the SoC is the 5G connectivity. The Snapdragon 865 doesn’t come with an integrated 5G modem but Qualcomm has announced that it will come bundled with a discrete X55 modem. With this, Oneplus 8 joins the list of upcoming 5G phones such as the ZTE Axon 10s Pro, Xiaomi’s Mi 10 series and Xiaomi’s Black Shark 3.
The phone will come with 12GB of RAM. There is no information about the internal storage onboard on the tested device. We are confident about the flagship moniker arriving with different storage configurations. The phone will run the latest Android Q.
OnePlus 8 Pro will come with a display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. It was hinted by the company’s CEO, Pete Lau, at the CES 2020. Talking about the new display technology, he added that the OnePlus 8 Pro could be “the smartphone with the best display in 2020“.
OnePlus 8 120Hz display technology
In a screen technology communication event held yesterday, OnePlus displayed its latest mobile display tech. It is, of course, the 120Hz refresh rate display. Official sources have confirmed that the research phase is over and it has already moved towards the development phase. And that means we might just get to see it on the upcoming OnePlus 8 phones. Most probably the OnePlus 8 Pro.
As per the released statement, aside from the information about the 120Hz refresh rate, it goes on to talk about a 240Hz touch sampling rate. Furthermore, it will have 8.3ms of rendering time per frame.
OnePlus has labeled this optimized display as “Smooth Chain“. It basically comprises of hardware and software-optimized touch input and display output chain. This helps to bring down the delay between input and response time. Speculation is that this technology utilizes something similar to Huawei’s GPU Turbo tech. Though it is just speculation nonetheless.
Another feature introduced in the event was the MEMC. It is an abbreviation for Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation. It is a nifty feature that allows for a smart frame insertion and interpolation layer. And what’s the result you ask? Well, it helps to process lower frame-rate video up to a simulated 120fps. However, the catch here is that it should actually be done in real-time as all of this is handled by an independent chip in the display.
Now, we all know for a fact that OnePlus does not manufacture display panels itself. However, they have made a strong point in saying that the display will be a very accurate one.
As a matter of fact, the company is using Just Noticeable Color Difference as its accuracy metric. And the claimed value for this display is 0.8. Now, for measurement purposes, anything below 1 is considered to be great!
Moreover, this panel is a true 10-bit for 1.07 billion colors. There’s also 4096 levels of brightness. However, not a single mention is there about HDR support. Maybe it’s a certification pending situation. Still, the levels of brightness will definitely come in handy for any HDR implementation.
Don’t forget to check out our long term review of the OnePlus 7T!
MIUI is getting an upgrade. And that too real soon! Now, this is in line with Xiaomi’s policy of releasing a new version of its UI at the begging of each year. It was the same last year with MIUI 11 too. So, we can now officially claim that MIUI 12 is on its way.
However, we do not know enough about MIUI 12 to dive into the details. Xiaomi too has only given an official confirmation regarding the upcoming version of MIUI and has not revealed anything much. Nonetheless, more details are bound to come out eventually as the release date is nearing.
MIUI 12
Since 2010, Xiaomi has been offering MIUI as its custom skin to Android. As one of the company’s major offerings, the UI receives continuous updates.
The release of MIUI 12 will mark the 10th anniversary of Xiaomi’s custom user interface. This time around, the company hopes to bring a refreshed look and feel with the MIUI 12. Reportedly, this iteration will include a global system-wide dark mode, which was supposed to roll-out in MIUI 11. But it wouldn’t be wrong to guess that Xiaomi has planned something huge to mark this landmark.
MIUI 11 rolling out now
Currently, Xiaomi is rolling out the stable version of MIUI 11 in most of Xiaomi devices. This latest version of the custom UI can be labeled as a game-changer in all sense. A lot of improvement was made on the visual aspect side of the things. Most notably, it offers softer icons, Mi Lan Pro system font, and a better always-on display too. Furthermore, additional features include new animations, themes, and an improved notification system.
Moreover, enhancements included an all-new dynamic natural sound effect. However, as Xu Jieyun, General Manager of PR at Xiaomi had confirmed that the company had already started working on MIUI 12 back in October itself, we hope they have something interesting lined up.
Personally, the major complaint that I have with the MIUI is the amount of ad it throws out. Now, I know that ads are important however it should not interfere with user experience. So, let’s see if this particular issue is fixed in the MIUI 12.
The Consumer Electronics Show is one of the largest technology trade fairs. It takes place every year in Vegas and serves as a global stage for innovators and breakthrough technologies. Laptops have become a popular business over the past few years at the CES, and this year was no exception. CES 2020 showcased many incredible designs and innovative ideas in mobile computing. So, here are the top laptops at CES 2020 (mind you, it is in no particular order!)
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold has one of the most impressive designs from a spectator’s point of view. It sports an OLED 4K screen which can be folded in half and used as a tablet or an e-reader. The keyboard too folds into the device itself making it portable and travel-friendly. The laptop, when completely unfolded works as an all-in-one computer with a 13.3-inch OLED display, complete with a kickstand to prop it in the back.
Foldable laptops are pretty rare but Lenovo will be setting a milestone when it releases in mid-2020. X1 Fold also comes with a Bluetooth keyboard and is compatible with styluses too. Other than that, it has been confirmed that X1 Fold will feature 8GB RAM, 1TB SSD storage and various ports including USB-C and a SIM card slot, for 5G connectivity.
Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel
The Acer ConceptD 7 Ezel has a distinct design created with a focus on digital artists and architects. The laptop screen can swivel for different usage cases, and be oriented in various viewing modes; like a tablet, tent, and laptop. The tablet comes with a Wacom EMR digital pen designed to use on the 15.6-inch 4K IPS touchscreen display.
The system houses a brand new 10th gen Intel Core H-series processor, Nvidia RTX 2080 graphics card, up to 32GB of DDR memory, and up to 2TB NVMe PCIe SSD. Also, the laptop integrates with its – two Thunderbolt 3 ports, an SD card slot, and an HDMI 2.0 port.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is incredibly light and slim for a gaming notebook. This is because they are made from fingerprint-resistant magnesium-aluminum-alloy that is cool to touch. All in all, it is a beautiful laptop complete with programmable glowing lights on the lid. But the real highlight would have to be AMD’s new processor.
It utilizes an 8-core processor and up to an RTX 2060 graphics card, all packed in a 3.5 pounds machine. That is serious power in a package that small. With all the impressive hardware it packs, it is one of my personal top pick for the laptops showcased at CES 2020.
Dell XPS 13 2020
Dell’s XP series is popular among the crowd. This new variant, Dell XPS 13 2020 showcases a new and refined design in a 13.4-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. This edition’s core specs include 10th gen Intel Core LCD Lake processors, up to 32GB of RAM and an option of Full HD or 4K displays.
There are no USB legacy ports included, but you do get a pair of USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, a 3.5mm jack, and a microSD slot. Besides that, the new model also has a larger keyboard and trackpad.
The Dell Concept Ori (like “Origami” which is the art of paper folding) is another one of the foldable laptops on the list. It is a foldable 13-inch QHD+Ori tablet that folds in half to look like a book. This also features different use cases, such as using it as an ebook and for other multi-tasking functions. Other than that, not many specifications were revealed about the product. The company said that is a particular product is “just a concept”. But whatever it be, it’s still exciting to see top makers of laptops experimenting with the trends and showing them off at CES 2020.
Intel Horseshoe Bend prototype
The Horseshoe Bend is another laptop to jump into the foldable device bandwagon this year. When unfolded, it is a 17-inch monitor, with a kickstand in the back to make it an all-in-one desktop PC. The striking feature is that when folded in half, it allows watching videos on one half while reading an article on the other half of the screen.
The Samsung Galaxy Book Flex Alpha offers high-end specs at an equally lofty price. It is a fairly standard 2-in-1 device, which can function as both a laptop and a tablet. Featuring a 13.3-inch QLED FHD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, the device is powered by an Intel 10th Gen Core processor.
Furthermore, the Galaxy Book supports between 8GB and 12GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Standard ports include one USB-C port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a microSD card slot. It also has an impressive battery life of 17.5 hours.
HP Spectre x360 15 (OLED)
The HP Spectre x360 15 has the same super-colorful 4K OLED display as that of the previous version. The difference is that HP has cut the bezels around the display significantly. It still has a gorgeous display, now in a far smaller and efficient laptop. This variant of HP’s mainstream laptops comes with 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512 GB of PCIe SSD storage.
The laptop’s screen covers a wild 258% of the sRGB color gamut he Spectre x360’s screen covers a wild 258% of the sRGB color gamut and also sports 8 hours of battery life.
MSI GS66 Stealth
Another impressive laptop showcased at CES 2020 was the MSI GS66 Stealth. Like the GS65 Stealth of last year, MSI’s gone with Intel-NVIDIA combo here as well so don’t expect anything AMD in this. It features a 10th-gen Intel Core H-series CPU and an NVIDIA RTX GPU, though the specifics of both are “locked” at this point.
Other similarities include the 15.6-inches FHD IPS display, but what’s grand is that the screen goes up to 300Hz (there’s also an option with a 240Hz) refresh rate. More importantly, the new GS66 Stealth comes in a thicker form factor, which is thanks to the monstrous 99.9Wh battery. It also features a new cooling system called “Cooler Boost Trinity+” with 1mm thin fans for 10% better airflow.
Lenovo Ducati 5
Partnerships between automobile and smartphone companies are not new in the industry. There’s the OnePlus-McLaren, Huawei-Porsche combo, and a few more. Well, Lenovo is giving in to the trend as well as it’s partnered up with Ducati for its new notebook – the Lenovo Ducati 5. And like most products of such a venture, this one’s going to be a limited edition product only with 12,000 units.
The Ducati 5 features a “hint” of a red theme throughout the laptop with the design inspiration from the Ducati Panigale, while the exhaust on the rear is symbolic of the Ducati Monster frames. Apart from this, it features a 14-inch FHD IPS display with up to 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processors, Intel integrated graphics, up to 12 hours of battery life, Dolby Audio, 300 nits of brightness, WiFi 6, all on a thin bezel build.
So, that was our pick for the top laptops at CES 2020. Which device would you like to see come to Nepal?
Intel has announced a new family of mobile processors with the code-name “Tiger Lake“, which the company demonstrated at CES 2020. We can hope to see this power some of the upcoming laptops, notebooks, and 2-in-1s.
Intel Tiger Lake Mobile Processors
The Tiger Lake is a successor to last year’s Intel’s Ice Lake. While the latter was based on Intel’s 10nm and 10nm+, the former is based on Intel’s 10nm++(third-generation 10nm process node). It will come integrated with GPU based on Xe architecture such as the newly-announced Intel DG1. It also comes with an AI accelerator and support for Thunderbolt 3.
As per Intel, Willow Cove architecture based Tiger Lake will replace Sunny Cove based Ice Lake starting from this year. Though detailed information about the new architecture is yet to be revealed, it is said to bring advancement in every vector and experience that matters. Results of internal tests performed by Intel have reported double-digit performance gains. It also boasts massive AI performance improvements and advancement in the graphics.
Thunderbolt 4
Tiger Lake comes with the support for latest Thunderbolt 4. It will be the successor to Intel’s Thunderbolt 3. Intel has reported 4 times the speed of USB 3 which isn’t a boost to Thunderbolt 3’s speed.
Xe based Discrete GPU
Tiger Lake will also feature the first Xe based discrete GPU. The first GPU based on this architecture is code-named “DG1“.
Project Athena
In the same event, Intel has provided updates on its “Project Athena“. As of now, Intel has verified 25 designs under this project and it is expecting to launch 50 more designs. Intel has announced expanded partnerships with companies like Google, Asus, and Samsung. The partnerships have resulted in two verified Google Chromebooks, the ASUS Chromebook Flip, and Samsung Galaxy Chromebook.
Intel has reported benefits like better battery life-span, consistent responsiveness, instant wake, application compatibility in the verified designs under Project Athena.
So what do you think of these announcements from Intel? Will it help Intel in the long run against the emerging AMD? Share your views with us.
Not everyone is into pretty designs and we get it, sometimes your workplace demands a tough (or rugged) phone. And there is a big market for rugged phones with companies competing against each other to provide you the toughest of phones. And it looks like Samsung is joining the race too. First, Samsung announced Galaxy XCover FieldPro and it looks like it is working on a new device – XCover Pro. Though the XCover Pro will be the first of its kind with an IP69 rating, it won’t just be about toughness; Samsung is working on a phone to withstand pressures from both weather and your business.
Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro Overview
First thing first, the Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro will come with IP68 rating and MIL-STD-810G certification. With the MIL-STD-810G certification, your phone will be shockproof and drop-proof. In theory, it should be intact even after falling from a height of 1.5m. The IP68 is one of the highest ratings that a phone can get, which will ensure protection from dust and liquid-splash.
If you look at the specs XCover Pro is a mid-range phone at best. Inside the hood, there is Samsung’s Exynos 9611 which we have seen in mid-rangers like the Samsung M30s, A50s, and A51. There will be 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory onboard. You can expand it up to 512GB through the dedicated microSD card slot.
Samsung XCover FieldPro
The phone features a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 20:9. The panel is based on LCD technology. It features a punch hole for the selfie camera, which I think is odd given the bezels on the phone.
On the back, we get a dual-camera setup. The primary camera comes with a 25MP sensor. The secondary camera is an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. On the front, There’s is a 13MP selfie camera under the punch-hole.
A fingerprint sensor has been mounted on the power button on the right side. The phone also includes a 4,050mAh battery with support for 15W fast charging through Type-C port. And surprisingly, the battery can be removed and swapped with a new one easily! The phone will come with two buttons that you can use to assign functions for your choice.
You can use this device as mPOS (mobile Point Of Sale) to your business’s advantage as it is secured by Samsung Knox.
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS with A-GPS, USB Type-C
Battery: 4050 mAh battery with 15W fast charging; swappable
Price and Launch
The phone will launch on January 31. It will first be made available in Finland with a price tag of €500(~NPR 65,000). However, we don’t have information about its international launch.
Don’t forget to check out our hands-on impression video of the Galaxy A51!
