We have always strived to provide the latest news and events in the field of technology, and also provided reviews and guides about different gadgets and apps all along. In this long journey of Gadgetbyte Nepal, all the successes and achievements we have achieved so far is because of the untiring support of our followers. We have always valued this support and tried to gift all of you with a token of love in the name of giveaways. We will forever be indebted to our followers and the efforts they put forward, which let us grow. And continuing the tradition, we are back with yet another grand giveaway.
The prize for the grand giveaway this time is one of the best mid-range phones in Nepal — the VIVO S1 for 2 lucky contestants. The Vivo S1 is one of the best midrange phones under Rs. 30,000. It comes with a SUPER AMOLED display, a fast indisplay fingerprint scanner, and triple cameras at the back. The S1 also comes with a big 4500mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.
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Finally, sit back and wait for the results and test your luck.
Terms and Condition of the Giveaway
The submission and winner drawing process are operated by Admins from Gadgetbyte.
Only 1 registration per person – you can collect multiple entries, but don’t register more than one email and then claim entries with them. If we detect multiple registrations by the same person they will be disqualified.
GadgetByte Nepal reserves all rights to make changes to the giveaway in case of unforeseeable circumstances.
25% Gift TAX should be paid by the winner.
Winner will be requested to take a photo with the prize upon receiving it for our winner gallery.
Winner will be announced on Oct 14, 2019, via Facebook Live.
The winner should contact us within 2 weeks.
More giveaways are coming soon. So please keep yourself updated about them along with the tech news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Best of luck to you everyone.
Microsoft held its annual “Surface Event” on October 2 at the Big Apple with the largest line-up of products in the company’s history. Embodying the notion of seamless flow and keepingpeople in the center mantra throughout the presentation, Microsoft announced an all-new laptop, wireless earbuds and many more. There are great-many things to get excited about here, so let’s dive deep into what Microsoft had to showcase at its event.
Surface Laptop 3
Now coming in two form-factors – 13.5″ and 15″, the Surface Laptop 3 is a delightful successor to the Surface Laptop 2, which is major thanks to the addition of USB-C connectivity.
Microsoft has adopted a modular design in the Surface Laptop 3 with the ability to remove the top of the device for replacing the storage. However, Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer Panos Panayjokingly urged that general consumers don’t do it without any technical knowledge.
On the processor end, you get Intel Quad-Core 10th Gen Ice Lake-U processors on the 13.5″ model, while the bigger 15″ houses custom AMD Ryzen 5 /7 Microsoft Surface Edition processors.
Microsoft claims it is 3x more powerful than the Macbook Air. Another exciting feature that comes with the Surface Laptop 3 (and other new Surface products) is fast-charging with up to 80% battery in an hour of charge.
Specifications
Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
Dimensions
12.1” x 8.8” x .57” (308 mm x 223 mm x 14.5 mm)
13.4” x 9.6” x .57” (339.5 mm x 244 mm x 14.69 mm)
Display
13.5” PixelSense Display (2256 x 1504); 201 PPI; 3:2 aspect ratio with 10-point multi-touch
15” PixelSense Display (2496 x 1664); 201 PPI; 3:2 aspect ratio with 10-point multi-touch
Memory
8GB / 16GB LPDDR4x
8GB / 16GB DDR4
Processor
Quad-core 10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G7
or,
Quad-core 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7
AMD Ryzen 5 3580U Microsoft Surface Edition
or,
AMD Ryzen 7 3780U Microsoft Surface Edition
Graphics
Intel Iris Plus Graphics
AMD Radeon Vega 9 Microsoft Surface Edition
or,
AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 Microsoft Surface Edition
Colors
Sandstone, Matte Black, Cobalt Blue, Platinum
Cobalt Blue, Platinum
Starting Price
$999
$1199
Battery
Up to 11.5 hours of typical device usage
Cameras, video, and audio
Front-facing 720p HD (f/2.0) camera with Windows Hello support; Dual far-field Studio Mics; Omnisonic Speakers with Dolby Audio Premium
The Surface Pro lineup also saw a new-gen product in the form of Surface Pro 7. Don’t expect any radical change from last year’s model since the most notable changes here include the Intel Dual/Quad-Core 10th Gen to last year’s 8th Gen processors. Akin to the Surface Laptop 3, this 2-in-1 laptop now also comes with USB-C connectivity. Also, in-line editing is now a reality where users can edit documents using their pen on the screen.
Specifications
Surface Pro 7
Dimensions
11.5” x 7.9” x 0.33” (292 mm x 201 mm x 8.5 mm)
Display
12.3” PixelSense Display (2736 x 1824); 267 PPI; 3:2 aspect ratio with 10-point multi-touch
5.0MP front-facing 1080p FHD video camera with Windows Hello support, 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus 1080p FHD video camera, Dual far-field Studio Mics, 1.6W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos Premium
Colors
Platinum, Matte Black
Starting Price
$749
Surface Earbuds
The Surface Earbuds are the latest addition to the audio products in the Surface line. Looking like something from a tribal costume or an ear-gauge even, it sure stands out against the competition like Apple Airpods 2 or the Samsung Galaxy Buds at least in terms of its design. Surface Earbuds features touch,tap, swipe and voice control and has up to 24 hours of battery life. On a related note, Microsoft says a 10-minute charge is enough for up to 1 hour of use.
The directional dual-mic array on each earbud can provide some level of noise-canceling. Luckily, it is IPX4 waterproof which should protect your earbuds from light drizzles and splashes of water. The Surface Earbuds can caption audio in real-time and also translate it in real-time if the speaker and audience don’t share the same language. As of now, this feature is available for 60+ languages. Surface Earbuds works with all the popular virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, Bixby and Microsoft’s own – Cortana.
Specifications
Surface Earbuds
Dimensions
0.98” x 0.75” (25 mm x 19 mm) – Each earbud
2.93” x 1.28” x 0.98” (75 mm x 32 mm x 25 mm) – Charging case
Speakers
13.6mm driver
Audio Codecs
SBC, aptX
Frequency
20Khz
Waterproof rating
IPX4
Battery
Up to 24 hours with the case
Microphones
2 mics per earbud
Controls
Touch, Tap, Swipe, Voice
Colors
Glacier
Cord
USB-A to USB-C
Weight
7.2 gm (Each earbud); 40 gm (Charging case)
Price
$249
Surface Pro X
Microsoft also unveiled a brand new 2-in-1 hybrid laptop with LTE connectivity, that is powered by a custom ARM-based Microsoft SQ1 chipset alongside an integrated AI accelerator. Lots of custom chipsets for Microsoft this time. The Surface Pro X is basically a more power-efficient Surface Pro laptop.
It features a 13″ touchscreen with Alcantara covered Surface Pro X Signature Keyboard, which stores the and recharges Slim Pen. The AI engine seamlessly transitions the screen type when the Slim Pen is either removed or placed to charge.
Specifications
Surface Pro X
Dimensions
11.3” x 8.2” x 0.28” (287 mm x 208 mm x 7.3 mm)
Display
13” PixelSense Display (2880 x 1920); 267 PPI; 3:2 aspect ratio with 10-point multi-touch
5.0MP front-facing 1080p FHD video camera with Windows Hello support, 10.0MP rear-facing autofocus 1080p FHD & 4K video camera, Dual far-field Studio Mics, 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos Premium
Wireless
Wi-Fi 5L 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 LTE Modem, Assisted GPS and GLONASS support
Colors
Matte Black
Starting Price
$999
Surface Neo
We’d heard of rumors about Microsoft’s foldable display technology before the event. Surface Neo is the company’s first attempt at a foldable display device. It has a 9″ dual-screen display with a 360° hinge and runs on Windows 10X which is a new version of Windows especially catering to the foldable display devices.
Each side of the device is 5.6mm thin. Microsoft claims users can expect incredible laptop-and-tablet experience in the Surface Neo multiple use-cases like mobile presentation, note-taking, content consumption, etc. The Surface Neo also has a magnetically attached keyboard on the back which when detached, automatically turns the remaining screen space to a fully functioning touchpad.
As of right now, Microsoft hasn’t disclosed all the specifications of the device, but we do know it is powered by a hybrid Intel Lakefield processor with 11th Gen graphics engine design. It is scheduled to launch at the end of 2020.
Surface Duo
Microsoft is back in the smartphone industry! Yes, you read that right. The Surface Duo is a dual-screen Android smartphone like the ZTE Axon M, LG G8X, and LG V50, with a 5.6″ display. It has a wider form-factor than an average smartphone even when considering only one side of the device, and thus looks more like a miniature Surface Neo or a small tablet.
The Surface Duo unfolds into a dual-screen phone supported by a ̶3̶6̶5̶°̶ 360° hinge in the center. Like the Surface Neo, it can work in landscape mode with one screen turning into a keyboard, control area for your games, or other use-cases. Similarly, not many details about the Duo has been revealed and is scheduled to release at the end of 2020.
You can watch the event in its entirety by clicking here.
When it comes to televisions, premium brands like Samsung, LG, and Sony always come on the top. And they promise quite a lot in terms of design, build, and picture quality. Although such brands may be impressive by all means, they are also really expensive on the purchase. So we eyed a number of underdogs that do not cost much like the premium brands but promises a similar offering. In that context, we had already reviewed the Yasuda 55-inch 4K Smart LED TV (YS-55UC3), which had a decent offering for the price. But this time, we found Palsonic 55QX7000 as a better contender than the Yasuda TV we reviewed earlier. Palsonic is an Australian brand with quite a reputation in the market. But how good is its TV to watch content on a daily basis? We tried to find out in this review.
Palsonic PAL-55QX7000 Specifications:
Display: 55-inch display, A+ Grade Panel
Resolution: 4K Ultra-HD (3840 x 2160 pixels)
Sound: Harman Kardon Sound Bar System
Operating System: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Processor: Dual-Core processor
RAM: 1.5GB
Storage: 4GB
Connectivity: Antenna Input, USB Input, HDMI Input, VGA Input, Audio (RCA) Input, Video (RCA) Input, Card Slot, Coaxial Out
Other Features: Screen Mirroring, Smart Floating UI
In terms of design, the TV looks quite attractive, all thanks to its thin bezels. But on comparing the bezels on the top and on the bottom, the bezel on the bottom is slightly thicker. That’s because Palsonic has put on its branding on the chin. Beneath the branding, there are two metal strips, which run from left corner to right. And that seems quite fancy in terms of looks. Furthermore, you get a metallic frame on TV with which the television looks premium.
1 of 4
Back View
navigation keys
Display with Palsonic Branding
side view
But this is quite heavy and you will notice it when you had to carry it to change its place or while mounting it on the wall. We found it even heavier than the Yasuda YS-55UC3 TV. That may not be a deal-breaker for the most, but there is that. But with heavier weight, the TV gives the vibe of premium quality.
Software
The Palsonic 55QX7000 is a smart TV based on an Android OS. It comes with Android Marshmallow (v6) out of the box. But unlike other TVs, the UI here is quite different. You get a Floating UI on this television with which the TV contents don’t get obstructed while navigating through the UI or accessing any feature. And I found that genuinely impressive.
But despite being an Android TV, this television doesn’t have Google Playstore in it. Palsonic rather has its own App Store here. And what’s good about this App Store is that unlike Google Playstore, which has apps and games for smartphones and tablets, it just has TV channel apps and video streaming apps like NetFlix, YouTube, Hotstar, etc. So it’s really easy to search for apps in the App Store. You won’t get lost in there.
And talking about the UI, the UI here is quite smooth. Since the TV has a Dual-core processor and 1.5GB RAM, I was expecting lags here and there. But Palsonic 55QX7000 gave me a pleasant surprise on that part. The TV remained fast and smooth throughout my review period.
As for the apps, the TV comes pre-installed with apps like YouTube, Hotstar, Yupp TV, etc. But these apps can be uninstalled pretty easily. You also get the Prabhu TV app here, which, however, cannot be uninstalled. Since this TV comes aboard with 4GB of internal storage and such apps doesn’t require much of a space, I didn’t find it worrying. I was able to add a few more apps on my own without any issues.
But what got me really impressed is the feature called FastCast. With this feature, you can cast the contents on your phone easily to the television. When you are with your friends and family, you can show photos and videos and share the memories through the big screen of this television. In addition to that, you can also play music through the TV using your phone, if you want louder audio. Although the feature sounds good and is also impressive to play music and photos, it’s not the same while playing the videos. The videos ran with buffers here and there. Because of that, my experience wasn’t as delightful as I expected.
Connectivity
On the connectivity front, this TV offers quite a lot of options for input/output interfacing. You can find Antenna input port, AV-in port, S/PDIF, and LAN ports. In addition, there are two USB 3.0 ports and three HDMI ports.
By making use of the HDMI port, you can use the TV as a monitor by connecting it with your PC. You can also connect it with your PlayStation or Xbox to play videos games on its big screen. HDMI port also let you connect your TV with a set-top box with which TV shows can be watched directly from the respective TV channels. Similarly, the USB ports let you plug in a thumb drive/pen drive and watch 4K movies with it. Furthermore, with the S/PDIF port, you can connect Soundbar and multi-channel home theater audio systems.
That was connectivity through the wired means. On the wireless side, there are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options. When it comes to Bluetooth, you get two options here: TV Mode and Phone Mode. By turning on the Phone mode, you can pair your smartphone with the TV and play songs by treating your TV as a speaker. This feature can come in handy if you are with a group of friends for gatherings and don’t have a good enough speaker to amplify the audio. Similarly, by turning the TV mode on, you can pair your television with a speaker or a soundbar for the audio output.
Talking about the Wi-Fi, the connectivity is really impressive here. On YouTube, 4K videos run on 1080p or 1440p by default. If you wish to watch 4K videos without any buffer, you can do so by plugging in a LAN cable. So I have got nothing to complain on the connectivity part.
Display
Let’s now talk about the most crucial part of a TV, its display. And talking about the display, you get a 55-inch LED-backlit LCD panel with 4K or Ultra-HD resolution.
Since it’s a Smart TV, we spent most of our time on this TV by watching videos on YouTube. And as it has a big display with rich resolution and surrounded by narrow bezels, the contents really looks immersive here. Even while watching 4K videos from a close distance, objects look quite sharp. But since broadcasting of TV channels in UHD resolution hasn’t been mainstream, we just get HD resolution at best here. And such channels don’t look sharp enough to consume multimedia content. So while watching HD channels, you need to maintain a distance of 3.3 meters or more to avoid any sort of pixelation.
Continuing with the display, the colors look impressive here. You won’t find washed colors or any sort of oversaturation here. And since the display here is HDR enabled, you get an amazing dynamic range and high contrast ratio. Palsonic told us they have used an A+ panel from LG on this TV. And that could be the reason for such an impressive display. Although the display is great for the price, it’s not quite comparable with the flagship TVs from premium brands like Samsung, Sony, and LG. So there is that.
Audio
On to the audio front, Palsonic has used Onyx speakers. So I had quite an expectation from the device when it comes to sound. But on my test, I found the sound quality to be barely average. The audio from the device sounds shrill and quite unpleasant. The volume can go really high though. But at high volumes, you will start to notice distortions.
But that’s not all. Even the bass doesn’t sound quite as pronounced. So if you are an audiophile and conscious about the audio quality, you should have to get a high- quality soundbar or a home theatre speaker system.
Remote and Control
Like all the televisions out there, you also get a remote with this TV. And the good thing is that Palsonic has also included batteries for the remote inside the box.
Talking about the remote, the remote of this TV is unusually large. And that’s because of the additional features here. Like, there is a button to turn on the mouse, which eases you to navigate while accessing the features or selecting the right video on YouTube.
Similarly, there are dedicated buttons to access the App Store and YouTube. And it can be really handy if you frequently watch YouTube videos. But typing the text to search videos on YouTube or on typing on the App Store, it’s rather cumbersome. There are no dedicated keys for it and you have to do so by using the arrow and “OK” buttons. And it can be really frustrating if the text you have to type is long. You can, however, evade the problem by connecting a keyboard and a mouse on the USB ports. But since using a keyboard and mouse to watch a TV isn’t really convenient, I think Palsonic should include an easier way to do so on its upcoming televisions.
Furthermore, despite being a smart TV, the TV remote doesn’t have an in-built mic or a dedicated button to trigger the Google Assistant. So don’t expect to do voice searches as well.
Conclusion
To conclude, I found the Palsonic 55QX7000 TV genuinely impressive, especially, for the price. It has got a slim form factor, impressive build quality, and even the display here looks amazing. The TV also flaunts an commendable Wi-Fi connectivity with a ton of other options on the connectivity front. In addition, there are several other features to improve our TV viewing experience.
Yes, the audio is not of the best quality. But such kinds of tradeoffs are usually found on all the budget TVs out there. So for the price of under 1 lakh, I found the Palsonic 55QX7000 TV to be one of the leading contenders and you really can’t go wrong with this one.
Qualcomm has received a green signal to resume trading with Huawei. A major development in the sanctions placed on Huawei by the US government. But does this assurance of being able to import from one of the industry’s best chip manufacturers mean that Huawei will stop focusing on its own research and development. Well, the answer is no.
Reports have been coming out claiming that a new SoC is already in the making. As a matter of fact, even its trial production has reportedly commenced. Right now, Huawei flagships use the Kirin 990 and Kirin 990 5G chipsets. For the time being, they are limited to the recently launched Mate 30, Mate 30 Pro and their respective 5G versions only. Though, we’ll probably get to see more of them next year on other Huawei flagships too.
However, this isn’t about the Kirin 990 SoCs. As mentioned earlier, Huawei is already geared up for the production of its next generation of flagship chipsets. As far as naming is concerned, these new chipsets will probably be called the Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 1000. No surprises there!
So, what’s so exciting about these new chipsets? Well, according to internet rumors, the Kirin 1000 will be a 5nm processor. Now, we’ve already heard about Samsung’s EUV 5nm chips. And it seems that Huawei will soon be competing on that front. I guess we will get to see this new 5nm processor from, Huawei probably in the Mate 40 series.
Rumors are rife that the Kirin 1000 will feature the new Cortex-A77 cores that Arm announced earlier this year. Actually, Kirin 990 should have featured those cores. Nevertheless, they opted for the A76 cores for Kirin 990. However, we might finally get to see them in the Kirin 1000.
I think that 2020 will be the year that chip manufacturers will venture into 5nm or maybe go even smaller. But what does that mean? Well, reducing the node size will certainly result in increased performance. The expected increase in performance is by 20% and as far as size is concerned, the decrement will be probably by 25%. Now, that’s pretty huge. However, right now we don’t have enough details to concretely confirm all the facts. With still a lot of time left before the year ends, we should expect more information to come.
One of the most celebrated FPS games, Call of Duty is now officially available on mobile platforms. Months after announcing pre-registration, Activision has finally made the Call of Duty Mobile game available on Android and iOS on October 1. The pre-registration was available from March, while its beta-release in select countries started in July 2019. Developed by Activision and TiMi Studio (a branch of Tencent Games), CoD: Mobile promises a similar gaming experience to its PC and Console counterparts. The game is free-to-play with in-app purchases.
System Requirements for Call of Duty Mobile
Android
Any Android phone with at least 2GB memory (RAM) running on Android 5.1 or higher can offer the user a playable experience of the game.
iOS
The game is supported by any Apple device running iOS 9 or higher. However, CoD: Mobile will not work on following Apple devices:
iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus
iPad Air
iPad Mini 2
iPad Mini 3
iPad Touch
The game features classic maps from the Call of Duty franchise, like Nuketown, Crash, Crossfire, Killhouse, Firing Range, Hijacked and Standoff. Also, fans of the game will also be happy to see some familiar faces like Simon “Ghost” Riley, Alex Mason, John “Soap” MacTavish, John Price in the mobile version as well, with character customization option.
Capture and hold flags across the map to earn points for your team.
5 on each team
10
4
Hardpoint
Capture the hill which rotates location periodically to earn points for your team.
5 on each team
10
5
Frontline
After spawning at a team base, kill players on the opposing team.
5 on each team
10
6
Free-for-all (FFA)
Every player for themselves.
Solo
8
[Source: GamesRadar]
As the game is developed by Tencent Games, which is also responsible for the global sensation that is “PUBG Mobile“, you can expect a highly organized and an easy to navigate UI in CoD: Mobile. The graphics and gameplay experiences of the game are on par or maybe even better than the likes of its competitors like PUBG Mobile, Garena Free Fire, Cyber Hunter, etc.
How to download Call of Duty Mobile
As the game is no longer in beta, it is free and fairly easy to download. For Android users out there, you can search up the game in the Play Store and download it, or click here. Similarly, for Apple devices, look up the game in the App Store or click here.
However, if you’re still not able to download the game from official sources for some reason, you can download the APK and OBB file of the game from here and follow the instructions on the site for installation.
Streaming has been all the rage in terms of music consumption in this day and age. In the US alone, it accounted for over 80% of the entire music industry revenue in the first half of 2019. That is absolutely colossal! And it is only natural for companies to throw themselves into the streaming business. While big names like Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, Amazon Music, Pandora have already found some solid ground in the industry, Google is taking another dig at the competition by shipping its latest Android 10 with YouTube Music app pre-installed.
[Source: RIAA] US music industry revenue in the first half of 2019. It just goes to show how big the streaming business is and why companies are pouring-in to the industry.
The Evergrowing Business
YouTube Music was launched in November of 2015, a time when Spotify and Apple Music had become a household name in terms of music streaming. Despite having an enormous library of content on its platform, Google was a day late and a dollar short in the business. As a result, it falls under the “Others” category of the “music streaming market share chart” while Spotify reigns supreme with 36% and Apple Music holds second place with 19% of the market share according to a 2018 research by MIDiA. With the new strategy where YouTube Music replaces Google Play Music as the default music player, maybe the tide will turn to YouTube’s favor even by a little.
However, this doesn’t mean Google is pulling the plug on Google Play Music. Those who like listening to their music via the Google Play Music can still find the app on the Play Store. You can still install YouTube Music on devices running Android 9 (Pie) or below by downloading it from the Play Store in regions where the service is available. YouTube Music is yet to be released here in Nepal so let’s just hope this new move works wonders for the Nepalese audience.
Click here to read more about it on the blog post made by YouTube Music’s Product Manager, Brandon Bilinski.
Android is undoubtedly the most famous mobile operating system, powering well over 3/4th of the entire smartphones in the world. While some people get to experience it with the latest and greatest hardware, not everyone shares the same fate. There have always been complications regarding speed in the low-end devices. To address this, Google launched Android Go (Oreo) in 2018 with the vision to have its OS running smoothly in smartphones with 1.5GB of memory or less. And now, Google has launched its next iteration in the “Go” line of OS with Android 10 (Go Edition).
Google claims that Android 10 Go is about 10% faster than its predecessor Android Go (Pie) with improvements in multitasking while maintaining to the phone’s low-memory. This means launching apps will be snappier and switching between the apps will be more seamless and fluid.
The new Android 10 Go also sees improvement on the security front. It comes with a new form of data encryption for entry-level smartphones dubbed as “Adiantum”. With this, data encryption is not hardware-dependent and thus isn’t tasking to the already low-powered smartphone, giving a much necessary performance boost.
The majority of the traditional Google apps come in small sizes while maintaining their core functionality in Android 10 Go. With apps like Google Go, Youtube Go, Maps Go, Gallery Go, etc. users can expect a smooth Android experience. Not to mention, this also helps in saving storage. Yay for more storage space!
With Android 10 Go, Google is introducing Google Assistant on the low-end devices with 1GB of memory or less. That is one handy tool you’d hate to miss.
According to the company, devices running Android 10 Go are set to launch later this fall. Google also revealed that over 500 OEMs have shipped more than 1600 device models running Android Go to 180+ countries like India, South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil, and the United States.
Samsung had recently launched the “s” variants for Galaxy A30 and A50. The “s” series basically refers to an iterative upgrade to the existing device. And just to be clear, it is not a complete change in the series. However, these new mid-range smartphones from Samsung is launching in Nepal as early as this week. The A50s will be the first to arrive, followed by A30s before the end of this week.
Samsung Galaxy A30s overview
The phone has a 6.4” SAMOLED screen with a resolution of 720 x 1560 pixels, which is a downgrade compared to the FullHD resolution of Galaxy A30. It has 3GB RAM and sports a 32GB storage onboard. On the rear, there’s a triple camera setup with a 25MP primary lens. The secondary lens is of 5MP depth sensor and the third one is of 8MP wide-angle.
Talking about the front camera, the device has a 16MP selfie shooter. The device is powered by a 4,000mAh battery and runs on Android 9.0 Pie. The performance also remains the same with Exynos 7904.
Samsung Galaxy A30s Specifications:
Display: 6.4-inch (1560 x 720 pixels) HD+ Infinity-V Super AMOLED display
Chipset: Exynos 7904
CPU: Octa-Core (Dual 1.8GHz + Hexa 1.6Hz)
GPU: Mali-G71 GPU
RAM & Storage: 3GB RAM with 32GB storage / 4GB RAM with 64GB or 128GB Storage, expandable up to 512GB via micro SD card
OS: Android 9.0 (Pie) with One UI
SIM: Dual SIM
Back Camera: 25MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.7 aperture, 5MP depth sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture
Front Camera: 16MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture
Fingerprint sensor: In-display
Dimension:58.5 x 74.7 x 7.8mm
Weight: 166g
Connectivity: 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
Battery: 4000mAh battery with 15W fast charging
Samsung Galaxy A50s Overview
This upgraded version offers a 6.4” full HD+ SAMOLED display. It will use the Exynos 9610 SoC and similar to the A30s will operate using the Android 9 Pie. The device comes with 4GB of RAM and internal storage of 64GB. It too has a triple camera array on the back. The rear camera setup is 32MP + 8MP + 5MP. Talking about the selfie camera, it has a 25MP lens. Furthermore, the device comes with a 4100mAh battery that supports fast charging.
Samsung Galaxy A50s Specifications:
Display: 6.4-inch (2340 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ Infinity-U Super AMOLED display
Chipset: Exynos 9610
CPU: Octa-Core (Quad 2.3GHz + Quad 1.7GHz)
GPU: Mali-G72 GPU
RAM & Storage: 4GB RAM with 64GB storage / 6GB RAM with 128GB Storage, expandable up to 512GB via micro SD card
OS: Android 9.0 (Pie) with One UI
SIM: Dual SIM
Back Camera: 48MP rear camera with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, 5MP depth sensor with f/2.2 aperture, 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture
Front Camera: 32MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture
Fingerprint sensor: In-display
Dimension: 158.5 x 74.5 x 7.7mm
Weight: 169g
Connectivity: 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C
Yeah, well… We’re gonna build our own gaming subscription! With exclusives! And 10-day free trial! You know what – forget the exclusives!
Remember the feeling of owning a physical copy of something, be it games, movies, or anything else? The satisfaction of being in possession of digital content in its physical form is steadily fading away as big corporations are jumping the shark on the age-long tradition to subscription-based services. With Netflix absolutely revolutionalizing the way of content consumption, it’s no wonder companies are pouring down on following its business model for their offerings. And now, the trend has caught up with the Android gaming world with Google’s launch of “Google Play Pass”.
What is Google Play Pass?
Google Play Pass is Google’s answer to Apple Arcade, a similar subscription-based gaming platform exclusive to iOS devices. However, Play Pass can run on Android and Google’s in-house Linux kernel-based OS – Chrome OS. Launched on September 23, the service is currently available only in the US at an introductory price of $1.99 per month for the first year (if you sign up for the service before October 10) and a 10-day trial period. The regular cost for the service is $4.99 per month (though $3.99 would have been a great price *wink*). If you’re not in the US and would like to get hands-on it, the bad news is in order since the company hasn’t specified any information regarding the global launch.
Unlike Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass isn’t limited to games and also includes some productivity apps. The company says two-third of the apps in the collection are games and the remaining are non-game apps. The subscription offers no-ads and no in-app purchases to a collection of 350 games and apps picked by Google. If you were drooling over being able to buy virtually any game in the Play Store through the subscription, disappointments galore! It was too good to be true really. You can find all the games and apps in the bundle here, courtesy of Android Authority.
Take a gander at what the service looks like below:
Google Play Pass UI
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Google Play Pass option in the Play Store sidebar.
Play Pass Intro Screen [1]
Play Pass Intro Screen [2]
Explore Google Play Pass [1]
Explore Google Play Pass [2]
Explore Google Play Pass [3]
While Apple has invested in the development of 100+ games exclusively for its platform, Google isn’t going down the same road so don’t expect any exclusive titles here. As of now, everything that’s available in the bundle is already available on the Play Store as a standalone purchase or free-to-use with in-app purchases. So if you were to sign-up for the service, you’d be rid of ads and in-app purchases for the apps you’ve already installed.
Like other subscription-based services, Play Pass can also be shared with others, up to 5 people while being integrated with Google’s Parental Control feature. As for the developers, the program at its current state is invite-only. However, interested app developers can fill-up the form here to be nominated into the program.
Who is it for?
If you’re someone who is constantly browsing through the Play Store for new and interesting apps and games, the Play Pass might be for you. For a nominal monthly fee, you’d get access to hundreds of apps and experience them ad-less and with no in-app purchases. However, if you’re one of those who rarely make any purchase on the Play Store, you’re better off without it. The good-old way of purchasing apps on the store is just fine.
A Reddit user by the name u/ComicNest has uploaded a video demonstrating how in-app purchases are handled through Play Pass. You can watch it right here.
Like it or not, subscriptions are here to stay. So what do you think of Google Play Pass? Comment down below.
With no Google Play services available, there is a huge doubt whether the Huawei Mate 30 Pro will appeal to the customers. However, the one thing that I’m certain users out there will find appealing in the Mate 30 Pro is its cameras. After all, it has scored the highest in DxOMark ratings. With a score of 121, it is a full four points ahead of the previous leader, the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G. Now, leading the DxOMark rating is a huge deal as it measures almost each and every aspect of the cameras on a device.
From the DxOMark review, we can figure out that the Huawei Mate 30 Pro’s camera has excellent exposure. Moreover, the camera has one of the best zoom capabilities and can take brilliant photos at night too. The main focus on the review is about how despite using the same camera hardware as in the P30 Pro, Huawei was able to improve picture quality on Mate 30 Pro.
Mate 30 Pro offers good exposure even in low light, it seems that this time Huawei has focused a lot in the image processing algorithms. There are changes in the processing chain that is used to convert RYYB data to RGB image. Furthermore, the inclusion of advanced AI processing has also aided in Huawei’s cause. It is reported that the rear camera can capture images with an extremely low noise level. Moreover, the details that can be observed from the pixel-binned 40MP camera are mind-boggling.
One of the key areas in which the Mate 30 Pro has made an improvement as compared to the P30 Pro is in its HDR images. You’ll find that there is a significant improvement in the color reproduction while taking HDR images on Mate 30 Pro. In contrast, the ones taken from P30 Pro sometimes appeared a bit washed out. These further points out that the white balance on Mate 30 Pro has improved too.
Despite having similar camera hardware, the Mate 30 Pro does have something different than the P30 Pro. And that’s the telephoto camera. P30 Pro has a very capable 5x optical zoom, whereas the maximum that Mate 30 Pro offers is a 3x optical zoom. Now, the ones on the P30 Pro were actually industry-leading zoom capabilities. However, compromising overall picture quality for zoom capabilities is something that one surely can’t complain about.
Furthermore, Huawei has added a new time-of-flight (TOF) sensor to the Mate 30 Pro’s camera. An improved bokeh effect is what this sensor provides. There is a new high-res sensor along with the added feature of gathering depth information from multiple cameras. Thus, Mate 30 Pro can produce a more accurate blur. Additionally, the camera can calculate depth level accurately even while zooming. Now, that’s something that other camera’s in the market do not provide at all.
A slight dent on the Mate 30 Pro’s DxOMark is probably its front camera ratings. It has scored 93. Now, that suggests that it is not a capable selfie shooter. However, the Note 10+ 5G’s rating of 99 edges Mate 30 by a full 6 points. Still, you can see a lot of improvements made to the selfie videos.
Having topped in around 70% of all DxOMark tests, we can safely say that Mate 30 Pro’s camera is the best out there. A huge 40MP RYYB sensor, new large wide-angle sensor, dual video sensor capabilities and what not? On paper Mate 30 promised to boast a camera that literally sent shivers down competitors’ spine. And I’m quite glad that its on paper quality is actually displayed in real-world. Google may have revoked its Android license, but Huawei still can provide competition through different avenues.
![Play Pass Intro Screen [1]](https://cdn.gadgetbytenepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Intro-screen-1.jpg)
![Play Pass Intro Screen [2]](https://cdn.gadgetbytenepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Intro-screen-2.jpg)
![Explore Google Play Pass [1]](https://cdn.gadgetbytenepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Explore-GPP-1.jpg)
![Explore Google Play Pass [2]](https://cdn.gadgetbytenepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Explore-GPP-2.jpg)
![Explore Google Play Pass [3]](https://cdn.gadgetbytenepal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Explore-Gpp-3.jpg)
