As every year, people around the world geared up to see the Apple Event. And why not? Afterall it marked the launch of the new generation of iPhones. The iPhone 11 and its pro versions. But, little did we know that there was something else for us in the store.
With the already existing iPad 2019, no one was expecting an update for them. However, this is Apple we are talking about. The company that revolutionized the tech world. So, it was foolish on our part for assuming that this event would just be about the new iPhones. Thus, here we are, a new iPad for the remainder of 2019 and 2020.
From what it seems, the new iPad is similar to the iPad 2019 except it has a bigger screen. The new one has a 10.2-inch display whereas its predecessor only had a 9.7-inch screen. However, the thing to be noted is that despite the increased screen size, the new iPad is not much bigger in size than the old one.
Another thing that has changed in this year’s iPad is the OS. Aptly named the iPadOS, the operating system is really a split version of the iOS 13. However, this new OS certainly brings the iPad closer to being the replacement for notebooks. It allows new productivity tools, a new home screen layout, and enhanced multitasking features. Furthermore, it also introduces enhanced gestures for tasks such as copy, paste, undo and many more. Moreover, it also helps expand the Appel Pencil functionalities and improved file management system.
In addition, this device has got a smart connector packed to it. Its previous version was designed to be used in education. However, it lacked this feature. So, the addition of it in the new one surely adds a good touch to it.
The iPad is compatible with the Apple Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil too. However, these peripherals have to be bought for extra price. The Smart Keyboard, priced at $159, costs almost half the price of the iPad itself. But, in my opinion, it’s worth it. I mean it has got a good flow to it and is of just the perfect size. So, it is a purchase option that I guess people should go for if planning to buy the new iPad. Now, while the compatibility of the stylus is not a new thing, the use of the iPadOS allows users to explore a lot more through it.
Talking about the chipset, the new iPad makes use of the A10 Fusion chip. The chip has six 64 Bit cores with six of them clocked up to 2.39GHz. And the rest used for not so demanding tasks. However, this chipset was used in last year’s iPads too. So, it’s safe to assume that we won’t see significant improvement in terms of performance this time around.
The device will be available in two variants; 32GB and 128GB. They are priced at $329 and $429 respectively.
Apple iPad 10.2-inch Specifications
Display: 10.2” IPS LCD screen with resolution 1620 x 2160 pixels
Weight: 483 g (Wi-Fi model), 493 g (Wi-Fi + cellular model)
More than 16 million Nepalese currently use the internet, that’s 63% of the total population and still, E-commerce in Nepal hasn’t developed as it should have been. Nepalese buying behavior is a tough nut to crack because of trust, quality of service/product and of course payment methods. Both service provider and Client here are learning how to gracefully adapt this.
A research by Bibhusan Chitrakar on Nepalese buying behavior through the internet suggests that
“The use of the internet is favored more on social sites and study sites rather than shopping sites.The trust issues are still vulnerable to the business of online shopping. Awareness is shown by consumers when exposed to tangible promotions. And people tend to follow their traditional method and are influenced by the decision making of their companion. Finally, the competitive market is generally focusing on their own survival rather than bringing a huge change.”
Daraz.com, now a part of the Alibaba Group, is a frontrunner in Nepali e-commerce scene. Daraz has undergone a lot of changes since its inception as Kaymu in Nepal. They have revamped their app and website and spending a lot to expand the number of e-commerce users.
Daraz is getting strong at helping offline sellers digitally market their products; Its like free advertisements for sellers enrolled in Daraz. This is what compels many sellers to join the platform. The commission rate of Daraz varies from 5% to 30% on different products, the apparel being the most profitable category.
SELLERS RUN E-COMMERCE MARKETPLACE
Daraz says that it currently has 250,000 plus products in more than 100 plus categories and more than 75,000 people visit its website every day. They also claim to deliver more than 100,000 packages every month to all corners of Nepal and has created 5,000 jobs in Nepal, and every month 500 new sellers are educated through their university.
However, Daraz in their interview last November said that “We carry 100,000 products right now; and in six months, we plan to have 600,000 products. We have 1,200 sellers and are planning to boost that number to 5,000 in six months.” which didn’t go as per the target expected.
Daraz is also aggressively working on its logistics. Along with working with third-party logistics agencies, they have an in-house team with over 100 rides operating in six major cities. They also have Daraz Hubs for easy pickups/returns and warehouse for faster delivery.
Daraz also recently introduced an online payment system partnering with major banks.
Daraz’s initial strategy as it enters any country is to become the destination for product and price search to bring in visitors. This then leads to becoming a habit for visitors and such visitors are also targeted voraciously through google and facebook ads.
Daraz Pakistan’s lead Muneeb had a view that ‘when Daraz becomes the destination of product information, even if one out of a hundred visitors purchases, that would be sufficient’.
Daraz Ambitious Plan
In a recent press conference, Daraz laid out a very ambitious plan to structure the e-commerce scene in Nepal and make more people adopt it.
Daraz’s ambitious plan this time includes an annual market growth rate of 100%+, Digitize their logistics ecosystem with real-time delivery information, creating a robust digital payment ecosystem and the most important one; The moonshot of creating 100,000 jobs, all of these within 2022.
Daraz also aims to reach 20,000 Daraz sellers educated through their seller education platform called “Daraz University”. If you are wondering what Daraz university is, here is how it works: There is an incubation team in place that trains the seller after contract agreement. The duration of training is 4-8 weeks.
The role of incubation team started once the seller signed the contract. The sellers are trained in order to adopt Daraz’s system and policies. The key component of the incubation is to teach sellers to use seller center tool i.e. a web-based ERP (End to End Shop Management System). The team also links the sellers to Daraz’s photography team in case the sellers had difficulties with photographs for their products. After completion of the incubation period and training, sellers receive a graduation certificate from Daraz university to make it look more authentic and ceremonial.
What needs to Improve?
Daraz has had many campaigns over the years that had great reach but received mixed reviews, mishaps and missed targets as we are good at pointing out pricing mistakes. Daraz is now taking careful steps to mitigate such problems and has adopted a strict pricing policy. However, Daraz messed up its 11.11 sale due to pricing blunders and people’s trust went downhill when images emerged of erroneous pricing.
Well, Daraz has a long road ahead and it sure is bumpy. Nepal is an unforgiving place on social media and any errors can escalate quickly resulting in trust issues and negative voices.
Daraz may have a hard time if the mistakes from the past are not corrected. Here are a few things Daraz should consider:
Daraz’s return policy is questionable. People want less hassle when it comes to their money. Daraz’s solution to a wallet may not seem a good idea for a lot of people since it locks in their money.
Daraz should have stricter price monitoring mechanism. Same products have random prices like that of Hamrobazar.
Daraz did come up with a foolproof idea of D-Mall (a category where only branded products are sold with 14-day return policy) to tackle ingenuity of products but what about the products floating around its website that are low grade with no guarantee of any quality. One bad product and the customer is gone forever.
Daraz’s flash sale is basically what you find in Mahaboudha area. They are still selling fake earpods. (Not everyone knows it’s fake and Daraz discounts the product from Rs. 1200 to 350 which is actually the default price that sellers around Mahaboudha ask for. Many People who try Daraz also know about Mahaboudha, the mecca of wholesale electronics.
Conclusion
Daraz is definitely investing a lot to reshape e-commerce industry in Nepal. In less than a year of acquisition by Alibaba, they have introduced D-Mart (grocery store), D-Mall (authentic seller store), and Flash sale (limited time offers).
Also, time to time, they are introducing campaigns like Mobile Week with good offers on gadgets and home electronics. But, these kinds of offers are often built with burning cash from Daraz side. Remember, the Pocophone F1, that was available for Rs. 34,000 at 11.11 Sales, it’s rumored that Daraz was selling them for a loss.
This screams a lot of investment in cash burn from Daraz side. Also, Daraz is aggressively investing in marketing (digital, influencer, blogs) and has over 200 employees. Although Daraz revenue might have increased YOY, the company have witnessed increases in their total expenses and is operating in huge loss.
This loss trend will continue to grow unless Daraz has enough users. And to gain more users and continue being the number one e-com marketplace, Daraz needs to keep on working on its strategic management, gather and inspire more sellers, and build a culture to motivate the team to work hard. Otherwise, if bigger player like Amazon enters Nepal, the loss trend is only expected to intensify.
It’s Dashain time! And just the word ‘Dahsain’ is enough for many people to relate to shopping. But, as fun as shopping is, it can actually be very tedious and cumbersome because not all shopping malls and outlets are in our neighborhood. And, this is exactly where online market places like Daraz come into play.
Interestingly, if you keep yourself updated to Daraz’s app or website, you will always find some discounts and offers going on for various occasions. And since Dashain is like the “Mega Shopping Festival” of all time, Daraz has some exciting offers on products and holiday packages outlined in their Daraz Dashain Dhamaka offer this year.
This festive season, Daraz is bringing lucrative deals in their Mega Deals Segment and Daraz has also confirmed massive price drops under their hot picks category. Likewise, there is also Maha Dakshina and Crazy Dakshina schemes, which are basically discount vouchers.
While we are talking about vouchers, you can also get vouchers if you spend a minimum of some amount of money. For instance, if you spend a minimum of Rs. 2,500 on Lookscart (A sunglass brand on Daraz Mall), you can get Rs.250 off. (The amount of Voucher discount differs depending upon the brand)
Importantly, Daraz has confirmed that making credit/ debit card payments in the Dashain Dhamaka campaign of theirs can help shoppers get a good deal of discount upon the already discounted schemes they have put forward. So, what this means is, if a user makes payment using their credit/ debit card, they can receive up to 20% discounts on purchase. The card payment system is like what we saw on the Mobile Week 2019.
However, this offer is not valid for all credit/ debit card. The list of banks this offer is limited to are,
Banks
Discounts
Macchapuchre
20% or Rs. 2500
NIC
20% or Rs. 2500
Nabil
20% or Rs. 2500
Global IME
20% or Rs. 2500
Sanima
20% or Rs. 2500
Mega
20% or Rs. 2500
Standard Chartered
15% or Rs. 1000
Also, as the table suggests, the discount amount cannot exceed Rs. 2,500, so the most discount you can get is up to Rs. 2,500.
But, such deals already sound exciting. There is also a bumper offer via Lucky Draw this year, where one person can win a TVS Apache RTR 160 Motorbike. The campaign will start from 29th Bhadra (15th September) and will last until the 5th of Asoj (22nd September).
Multi-tasking is the mantra for most people. Thus, it is not surprising that tech companies are trying to cash in on this tendency of ours. Be it the Samsung Galaxy Fold or the Huawei Mate X, tech companies are all in for a bigger foldable smartphone. And the latest addition to such range comes from LG. The company announced its LG G8X ThinQ in the IFA 2019. However, the device is somewhat different from its competitors.
It is sort of a hybrid foldable phone. Meaning, the screen does not exactly fold in it. Rather it comes with a dual-screen snap-on case. There’s a standard USB-C port on the case that allows users to connect the secondary screen. Furthermore, activating the secondary screen is easy too. Just plug the device into the case and from the quick settings menu toggle on the dual-screen option.
LG G8X ThinQ overview
The device has a sleek overall design and is all glass rear and front. The fingerprint sensor is in-display which allows for an uninterrupted rear. Moreover, the dual camera on the back fit in seamlessly, further complementing the design. The G8X ThinQ in addition to the IP68 rating boasts military-grade durability. Thus, the device will probably be able to handle rough scenarios.
Perfectly balanced speakers are another feature that this device boasts. located on both top and bottom, these speakers should provide improved stereo audio. Furthermore, the device still has a headphone jack which will probably please many users.
Rather than the traditional handset itself, the primary attraction for this device is its dual-screen. Both the displays are aesthetically symmetrical and feature a tiny waterdrop notch. They are 6.4-inch OLED display supporting Full HD+ resolution. Furthermore, there’s a small 2.1-inch display on the front of the attachable cover. It is not exactly a third screen but does display time, date and notification.
However, the two displays are exactly like what they sound. It is dual-display. Thus, there’s a huge bezel in between the two screens. So, the dual-display is not exactly built for watching Netflix on a huge screen. Rather, you can watch Netflix and browse the internet simultaneously on its two screens. Furthermore, while capturing a photo you can actually fold the device to show your subjects what their image is turning out like as you are taking the photo.
Sticking to the subject of the camera, the rear has a dual camera featuring a 12MP primary sensor. It is complemented by an ultra-wide 13MP lens. The camera comes with a ton of features such as the AI Action Shot and the new ASMR video recording. And the front camera is a 32MP selfie shooter included in the notch of the primary screen.
The device uses the Snapdragon 855 chipset, a must-have for flagship phones. It runs on the Android 9 Pie with the new UX 9.0 on top. The G8X ThinQ will be available in 6GB /128GB variant only. However, there is a dedicated microSD slot that allows expanding storage up to 1TB. A 4000mAh battery powers the device. The battery supports Quick Charge 4.0, i.e 21W fast charging.
LG G8X Specifications
Design: Glass body front and back, Aluminum frame
Display: dual screen, 6.4″ OLED display with Full HD+ resolution (1080 x 2340 pixels)
Rear Camera: dual, 12 MP primary lens with f/1.8 aperture & PDAF + 13 MP Ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.4 aperture
So, is this device the future of smartphones? Will it replace our primary computers? Well, it still remains to be seen how this device actually performs. But to me, it does seem like a viable concept.
Motorola has upped its games in terms of releasing smartphones. In the latter half of 2019, we’ve seen Motorola rolled out its Android One series devices. First, there was the Motorola One Vision. A fairly good device with cinemascope display. Then came the Action One. A similar one featuring an Action camera at a cheaper price. Now, at the IFA 2019, the company has come up with tow new phones. One of the announced phones, despite being named the Motorola One Zoom, is not the part of the Android One program. And the other one is the Moto E6 Plus.
Motorola One Zoom Overview
The device features a 6.4-inch OLED display. The screen supports Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and has an aspect ratio of 19:9. Having an OLED display, Motorola One Zoom indeed has an in-display fingerprint sensor.
Talking about the processor, it uses the Snapdragon 675 SoC. It is a mid-range processor similar to the one seen in Redmi Note 7 Pro. Furthermore, the chipset has an integrated Adreno 612 GPU. Moreover, the device will be available in only one RAM variant. It will be a 4GB/128GB variant. However, the storage can be expanded up to 1TB as there is a micro SD slot.
Moving on to the cameras, the rear camera is a quad-cam setup. Its primary sensor is of 48MP with 4-in-1 pixel binning capability. The primary lens is complemented by an 8MP telephoto lens, a 16MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 5MP depth sensor. As for the front camera, there is a powerful 25MP selfie shooter. Furthermore, the front camera comes with Quad Pixel technology. This allows for better low-light selfies.
Motorola One Zoom runs on Android 9 pie. However, as mentioned earlier, the device is not part of the Android One program. It is powered by a 4000mAh battery. And it supports 15W fast charging.
Motorola One Zoom Specifications
Design: Glass body front and back, Aluminum frame
Display: 6.4″ OLED display with Full HD+ resolution (1080 x 2340 pixels)
The other device announced by Motorola in this year’s IFA is the Moto E6 Plus. This one features a slightly smaller screen than the One Zoom. It has a 6.1-inch Max Vision IPS display. The supported resolution is 720 x 1560 pixels i.e the screen has an HD+ display only.
The Moto E6 is powered by the MediaTek Helio P22 SoC. It is a fairly competitive mid-range octa-core processor. The RAM variants for this one are 2GB and 4GB. They will have 32GB and 64GB of onboard storage respectively. However, there is a dedicated micro SD slot which allows expansion of storage up to 512GB.
It has a dual-camera setup on the back. The primary camera is a 13MP sensor whereas the other one is a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies, there’s an 8MP selfie shooter. And oh, the fingerprint sensor on this one is rear mounted.
Similar to the One Zoom, this device too runs on Android 9 Pie. It comes with a 3000mAh battery. However, there is no fast charging option available.
Moto E6 Plus Specifications
Design: plastic body
Display: 6.1″ IPS LCD display with HD+ resolution (750 x 1560 pixels)
A certain company by the name of TCL is all set to make a name for itself in the world of smartphones. Known primarily for its TVs, the device actually is behind some of the popular Android smartphones. In fact, Alcatel and Blackberry are a part of this China-based tech giant. However, it is not its TV or smartphones under other brand names of TCL that has made headway in this year’s IFA. Rather, it’s the TCL Plex, the company’s first self-branded phone that’s creating a buzz. TCL Plex will be available only in the selected European market this year. And seems to pack a lot of exciting features.
Overview
Coming from a TV manufacturer, the display on this device will be the one to look out for. It features a 6.53-inch Nxtvision display. It supports Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The screen has a tiny punch-hole display. Keeping in mind the punch-hole display, TCL has elected to label it as a “dotch” display. However, the Nxtvision display does not support an in-display fingerprint sensor. Thus the sensor is rear-mounted.
The device uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC. It is an octa-core mid-range processor that is powerful enough to perform your day to day task. Furthermore, the device will be available in a 6GB RAM variant only. And along with that will be an onboard storage of 128GB. However, there is an option for expansion up to 256GB via a dedicated microSD slot.
TCL Plex features a triple camera setup on the back. The primary lens is a 48 MP Sony IMX582 sensor. It is coupled with a 16 MP secondary camera having Samsung S5K3P9 sensor and a 2 MP depth sensor. Furthermore, the front camera is a powerful 24MP selfie shooter.
As for the battery, the TCL Plex is powered by a 3820mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.
TCL Plex Specifications
Dimension: 162.2 x 76.6 x 8mm
Display: 6.53″ IPS LCD display with Full HD+ resolution (1080 x 2340 pixels)
These days, we don’t quite see the flagship smartphones coming with ground-breaking technologies. Yet the flagship smartphones are getting immensely expensive. So these days, users seem to have a growing interest in the midrange and budget phones. In that context, the budget-oriented Realme 5 is creating quite a buzz lately. And that’s mainly because of its quad-camera setup, a decent processor and a big battery. We have already seen such attempts from midrange players, which, however, turned more like a gimmick. So will the Realme 5 join the league with such gimmicky products or will it a new benchmark in the budget segment? We are going to answer that in this Realme 5 review.
On the design front, you get nothing so new. It comes with a plastic back, which seems like a trademark of the budget phones these days. The rear panel, however, comes with a crystalline pattern, which has made the device unique and somewhat more appealing. Plastic back with the crystalline pattern has made the device quite similar to its older brother Realme 5 Pro. But Realme surely has made design tweaks to differentiate these two models. The subtle rainbow sheen on the 5 Pro, which you can see while tilting the phone at some angles is missing on the Realme 5. Not a deal-breaker I guess, but there is that.
Even without such rainbow sheen, the design still looks elegant. However, it doesn’t feel the same on hands. The phone feels quite hefty in terms of size and weight. Maybe that’s because of its huge battery. Having a big form factor because of the big battery does sound reasonable. However, the phone feels hollow, due to which it feels genuinely cheap on the hold. You can also hear some creaks, especially while pressing gently on the area near fingerprint and the camera. So the build quality looks nothing more than flimsy to me.
1 of 2
Power button
Volume keys
Nevertheless, Realme says to have included humidity protection on the phone. Opening parts of the phone like SIM slots, around the battery and other gaps on the phone, are said to be tightly sealed with O-rings and rubber gaskets. So it may survive a few splashes. Since there was no IP certification, which would ensure that, we were too scared to test that out ourselves.
Display
Talking about the display, the phone packs a 6.5-inch LCD panel. There is also a water-drop style notch on the top, which Realme calls a mini-drop notch. However, I did not find the notch as tiny as it sounds. You also get a small chin on the bottom. The company claims a screen-to-body ratio of 89%. So as cued by the screen-to-body ratio, the chin and the notch doesn’t look as obtrusive. Adding to the niceties, you get Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ protection on the top. So you’ll get a fair bit of protection as well.
The display on the device, however, features an HD resolution. Because of the HD panel, the display doesn’t look as sharp. But you won’t find any pixelation either. The colors also look good on the screen and you won’t find any sort of oversaturation.
But when it comes to brightness, I found the display to be rather dim. And while using the device on the outdoors, I quite had to struggle to look at the contents on the screen.
Camera
Now the Realme 5 is also the first budget smartphone to pack a quad-camera setup on its rear panel. The rear camera module comprises of a 12MP main camera followed by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens.
With so many cameras on board, I really had high expectations from the device on the camera front. But on the use, I found the camera to be more of a mixed bag.
First, let’s start with the primary camera. At daylight, the 12MP shooter does a good job in terms of colors and saturation. The images look slightly overexposed at times but there was nothing so worrying. However, I didn’t find the images to be particularly sharp. And the dynamic range wasn’t so impressive either.
1 of 9
In low light, the phone suffers quite a lot as any budget phone would. But, with its Nightscape mode, you get in more light, images look sharper and they look significantly better than that from the normal mode. Although the images from the Nightscape look good, I noticed a slight crop in the frame. So, there is that!
Normal vs Night Mode
1 of 10
Normal Mode
Night Mode
Normal Mode
Night Mode
Normal Mode
Night Mode
Normal Mode
Normal Mode
Night Mode
Night Mode
With the wide-angle camera, you won’t notice any sort of color shifting issues but the images tend to look overexposed at times. But, again, having a wide-angle lens at this price is a bonus.
Normal Vs Wide angle mode
1 of 16
Normal Mode
Wide Angle Mode
Normal Mode
Wide Angle Mode
Normal Mode
Wide Angle Mode
Normal Mode
Wide Angle Mode
Normal Mode
Wide Angle Mode
Normal Mode
Wide Angle Mode
Normal Mode
Wide Angle Mode
Normal Mode
Wide Angle Mode
Now let’s talk about the 2MP depth sensor. Although the resolution of the depth sensor doesn’t sound much, I really liked its performance while capturing portrait images. Blurs look natural and edge detection was impressive most of the times. However, the colors and details look softer than that from the normal images.
1 of 8
And the fourth lens, the Macro lens. Was something I was really excited to test it out.
The macro lens does let you go very close to the subject and lets you capture a really tiny object that gets lost while capturing from the main camera. And Realme says you get the best results while capturing the subject from a 4cm distance. But even when I maintained that distance, I never got a good shot.
1 of 7
Macro lens
2x Zoom
And that’s because of its sensor. The Macro lens comes with a 2MP sensor. So, despite the capability to capture Macro shots, the images do not look so impressive as they lack sharpness. So the macro lens is rather gimmicky.
Most of the times, you get better shots by zooming in slightly into the subject. And talking about the zoom, unlike the Realme X, where you can zoom up to 2x, here you can perform zooming up to 5x. Since the zooming on the phone is entirely digital, you will start to lose details while zooming.
Flipping to the front, you get a 13MP selfie shooter tucked neatly in the notch. And I must say selfies look good. You get enough details with good colors. You won’t find any sort of over-processing going on over there. So I was satisfied with its performance.
Even the portrait selfies are good, but with software, edge detection doesn’t look perfect. But still, it is usable almost all of the times.
When it comes to videos, you can capture 720p, 1080p and 4k videos all at 30fps. Although there is no image stabilization in here, you will get quite stabilized 720p and 1080p videos. Colors and sharpness also look good, considering the phone’s price.
Performance
Now let’s talk performance. And, memory-wise, you get three options: 3/32GB, 4/64GB and 4/128GB. But Unlike the Realme 5 Pro, you don’t get a UFS storage. So no ultra-fast read/write speed. You do get a dedicated SD card slot on the phone with which you can expand up to 256GB.
For Chipset, the phone packs Snapdragon 665, which is a decent upgrade over the Realme 3 and even the 2 Pro. With a better processor on board, you can expect a boost in performance. The phone is now quite smooth and you can multitask with a number of apps without any hiccups. Even on the gaming part, you can expect a similar kind of fluidity. And that’s more so while playing light games.
But that doesn’t mean the device cannot run high-end games. You can still play PUBG Mobile game smoothly. But that happens only at low setting. While playing the game at a high setting, you can notice some stutters. Given the budget-friendly nature of the phone, I think, that’s understandable.
On to the software front, there is Android 9 Pie with the latest ColorOS 6.0.1. It has received a few refinements over the ColorOS 6 found on the Realme X. But, like I say in every Realme review, it’s definitely not the best UI. And, the number of bloatware hasn’t got any less. But since most of these apps can be uninstalled, this is not a big issue though.
The phone has Widevine L3 Security level which means no HD streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime. So, If they could provide the L1 Security Level with an update, that would be great.
Battery
As for the battery, this phone houses a massive 5000mAh battery. And coupled with a low-res HD display, the battery life is just awesome! I think this is the phone with the best battery life that I have tested till date.
But, I am hearing some rumors that Samsung is launching the Galaxy M30s with 6000mAh battery, so it’s going to be an interesting device too.
But, Realme’s software and battery optimizations are really impressive here. The phone easily lasts more than two days on normal use. The phone barely spends any battery juice, when it’s on standby. And I find that genuinely impressive.
When it comes to charging, you get a 10-watt charger inside the box, which uses Micro USB port. And takes around 3.5 hours to get the device fully charged. And that’s quite a lot.
I also tried using the 20-watt VOOC charger that comes with the Realme 5 Pro. But it didn’t speed up the charging process. So even if you get a fast charger, you won’t get an acceleration in the charging speed. So you’ll have to deal with that!
Extras:
As for extras, you get a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, which is fast, accurate, and reliable. The face-unlock is also quite fast, but since its software-based, it’s obviously not that reliable.
The output from the headphone jack and the speakers are unimpressive, as expected on a budget phone.
Verdict
So what do I make of the Realme 5? Well, you may find me finicky but I am not particularly pleased with the build quality of the phone. Also, the presence of an HD display is repelling and the 2MP Macro lens is nothing more than a gimmick to me. But such kinds of tradeoffs are found on almost all of the budget phones, right?
Looking on to the bright side, you get a capable processor, a long-lasting battery, and multiple options in the camera front. And for the price of some $150, it makes a good package on the overall. If you want a sharper display and a more premium build, Redmi Note 7 or Note 7S could be the best fit for you. Otherwise, you won’t go wrong with the Realme 5.
Heads up Mi fans cause the Xiaomi MI A3 is finally in the town. The Mi A3 is the third Android One smartphone from the company and will be among the selected firsts to get the Android 10 update. Just a mid-ranger with Android One experience, or is there more to it? Let’s look at some of its key features and decide for ourselves.
The device has a 6.01-inch Super AMOLED display. The screen supports the HD+ resolution of 720 x 1560 pixels. Considering the fact that its predecessors, the Mi A1, and A2’s full HD+ panels, the screen on this one is a major downgrade. Furthermore, the screen has a waterdrop notch to house the front camera. However, the AMOLED screen does mean the inclusion of an in-display fingerprint sensor.
Despite being a mid-ranger, the phone has a very sleek design. It measures 153.5 x 71.9 x 8.5mm in size and weighs around 173.8 grams. The edges are pretty smooth and the device has a glass back. So, in terms of design, Xiaomi Mi A3 is a clear winner as compared to its predecessor. Adding to the niceties, you get Gorilla Glass 5 protection both on the front and on rear panels.
The device uses the Snapdragon 665 SoC. It is an octa-core chipset with Kryo 260 cores. It will be available in both 4GB as well as a 6GB RAM variants. And on both of them, the onboard storage will be of 64GB and 128GB respectively. The Mi A3 is powered by a 4030mAh battery with Quick Charge 3. That is, the device supports an 18W fast charging.
Talking about the cameras, the rear cam as a triple camera setup. It consists of a 48 MP primary sensor an 8 MP ultra-wide lens and a 2 MP depth sensor. The ultra-wide lens on it supports a 118-degree field of view (FOV). Upfront, the selfie shooter is a powerful 32 MP selfie shooter.
The base variant (4/64GB) of the Xiaomi Mi A3 price in Nepal is Rs. 23,999. Similarly, the higher-end model is priced at Rs. 27,999. Since MI Nepal had launched the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro at the aggressive pricing, we were quite hopeful that the company would do the same this time around. But that’s not the case here.
At this price, the device looks quite underwhelming. You get a sharp Full-HD display and capable processor on Redmi Note 8 Pro, which just costs Rs. 29,999 (6/128GB). So adding a little bit of money, you get a better value from the Note 7 Pro. But if you want that stock android experience and in-display fingerprint scanner, you can still consider the MI A3.
Since its launch, Redmi Note 7 earned quite a fanbase in Nepal. For the value it packed, it had also been one of the best smartphones under Rs. 25,000 in Nepal. The 48MP camera had also been the luring factor. Because of impressive features, the phone sold like the hot cakes in the lower midrange arena. And in 2019, it also happened to be the best selling Xiaomi phone in Nepal. But now, this already value-proposition device has got even cheaper. MI Nepal has recently announced a price drop on the device, which has made the device even more compelling.
Redmi Note 7 Overview
Redmi phones are known for their capable hardware on the performance front and the Redmi Note 7 has given continuity to the legacy. The phone comes with Snapdragon 660 chipset, which is a capable chip for the price. On the memory front, the phone comes with two configurations: one with 3GB RAM and 32GB of onboard storage whereas the higher-end variant gets 4GB RAM and 128GB of internal memory. Users can also expand the storage according to their needs. And an SD card slot has been provided for the very purpose. However, that will use the SIM2 slot.
On the display side, the phone comes with a 6.3-inch IPS panel. The screen here is enriched with Full-HD+ resolution. The display also features a teardrop style notch on the top, which is less obtrusive while viewing the contents. To ensure the safety of the display from cracks and scratches, the phone comes with Gorilla Glass 5 on the top. Not just on the front, the phone also gets a Gorilla Glass 5 protection on its glass back. However, the frame is made up of plastic, which may arise a durability issue over time.
The camera is the biggest highlight of this smartphone. It’s one of the very first phones to feature a 48MP camera. Alongside the 48MP camera rests a 5MP depth sensor, which completes the dual camera setup at the back. Similarly, a 13MP selfie shooter dwells on the minuscule notch on the front.
As far as the software is concerned, the phone boots on Android Pie out of the box with MIUI 10 on the top. Needless to worry, Xiaomi has promised to released Android Q update in the Q1 of 2020. So you will have a decent future-proofing with this device. The phone is juiced by a 4000mAh battery, which also supports 18W (9V/2A) fast charging.
Xiaomi has slashed the price of a 3/32GB variant of Redmi Note 7 in Nepal. It is now available for Rs. 19,999. Other variants are no longer available in the market.
So, there are more rumors surfacing about the Vivo V17 Pro. It has remained mysterious for quite sometimes now. But in the past couple of days, the rumors are just flooding in.
Firstly, there was a teaser video that found its way on the internet. And the video lifted some of the mystery surrounding the device. We got to see the rear of the phone, its quad-camera array, and the motorized selfie cam.
Then came a couple of leaked camera samples of the V17 Pro. However, the images that we found floating on twitter were cropped out and compressed. So, no clear judgment regarding them can be given. Furthermore, the images are outed for promotional purpose. So, obviously they seem great even though they are small crops.
However, now we have got the insight about the specs of the Vivo V17 Pro. The device has a big 6.44-inch Super AMOLED screen. So, it is not surprising that it has an in-display fingerprint sensor. Moreover, the device has a 21:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 1080 x 2440 pixels.
There’s no notch on the screen and as mentioned above there is a motorized selfie cam. The selfie shooter has a dual-camera setup. The main is a 32 MP lens with wide-angle optics whereas the other one is a 2 MP depth sensor.
The back as revealed by the promo has a quad-camera setup. And as with the trend, its primary lens is the popular 48 MP sensor. Coupled with it is an ultra-wide shooter. The other two are both of 2 MP. One of them is probably a depth sensor. However, the purpose of the other lens is not yet known. Maybe it is a dedicated microlens. Who knows, right?
Talking about the processor, Vivo V17 Pro uses the Snapdragon 675 SoC. The chipset features 8 Kryo 460 cores. Furthermore, it also integrates the lower mid-range Adreno 612 GPU. The device will have 8GB of RAM and 128GB memory onboard. And the battery on it will probably be of 4100mAh.
Even though, the leaks have come from reliable sources, at the end of the day they are what they are. Just a bunch of leaks! So, take them with a pinch of salt and wait for an official announcement. Maybe we will get some concrete information real soon.
