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.
Xiaomi recently unveiled its latest installment in MI Mix series of smartphones. Xiaomi MI Mix Alpha 5G is an impressive innovation where the entire device is made of screen. Even the sides of this phone are digital. Comprising of the screen to display network signals, battery levels and more along with pressure-sensitive volume control buttons.
If the “surround screen” itself isn’t impressive enough, the phone gears-up a 108MP camera sensor which is able to produce 27MP images even in low light. The selfie taken from this device will also be of the same resolution; as the rear of the device doubles as a viewfinder when using the cameras.
To support the huge display of this phone the battery isn’t as powerful enough. A 4050 mAh battery provides the juice; however, a 40W fast-charging adds to the elements that make this phone further impressive. The latest, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ powers the phone and the phone also has 12GB of RAM with 512GB of storage.
However, with great amount of screen comes great amount of accidental touches. The screen on the sides are certainly prone to a high amount of mistouches. But, according to Xiaomi, to avoid such accidental touches the phone uses multiple sensors and AI algorithms. They can predict the screen usage behavior and deactivate the inactive touch areas to avoid accidental touches.
Some slight tweaks in the software in Xiaomi MI Mix Alpha 5G enables us to take full advantage of the phone’s 360º surround display. Not only that the phone switches to selfie mode as soon as the rear display on the phone is turned on, but Xiaomi says there are several other software tricks that make the rear screen useful.
While you are using the front display as a regular smartphone display; the rear display can be used for a multiple number of tasks such as checking schedules, notes or controlling other connected smart devices. You can also set up the phone to light up for different notifications. This will certainly provide an exquisite experience to see the whole phone light up even when you are charging the phone.
Although, the Xiaomi MI Mix Alpha may seem like an interesting prospect; with all the latest features, an impressive camera and the 180% screen to bodyratio. One can ask oneself if we really need this type of phone right now. Will the all-screen smartphone is worth spending around $3000 ($2800 exact).
Xiaomi also predicted to receive polarized opinions about the phone. So, they have decided to produce only a limited number of these smartphones. But honestly, the MI Mix Alpha upholds the Mix lineup’s reputation of bringing next-generation designs to the market.
We will, however, have to wait till the end of this year to figure out how practical this phone will be and how popular it will become amidst the smartphone fanboys. Till then we can only applaud Xiaomi’s bold attempt at trying something so innovative and new.
On 7th February 2018, Xiaomi posted a poll from its official Twitter account asking its audience which UI did they prefer – Xiaomi’s homegrown MIUI 9 or stock Android that it shipped in MI A1, an Android One phone. Unbeknownst to Xiaomi, 57% of the audience voted in favor of stock Android, which led to the embarrassing deletion of the tweet. MIUI 10 saw some radical changes in the UI and other significant upgrades. A year later, Xiaomi has officially launched the new iteration of its custom user interface with MIUI 11.
Xiaomi MIUI 11 Features:
Cleaner UI And A New Font
Xiaomi is pushing towards a better and clean UI and seems to have hit the mark with MIUI 11. The company has been awarded a “Red Dot Design Award”, which Xiaomi says is the first for a software company.
[Source: Gizmochina]As the phones keep getting bigger, users have been complaining about not being able to navigate the phone with one hand. MIUI 11 has been designed with one-hand usage in mind. It is also enriched with much more white space and bold colors following the market trend in smartphone design culture. Additionally, Xiaomi’s MIUI 11 comes with a new font called “MiLan Pro” which is bolder and much more customizable than other fonts.
Systemwide Dark Mode
Android 10 finally saw the implementation of systemwide dark mode. Xiaomi has come up with its rendition of the dark mode on its MIUI 11. With a simple click, all the system app change their color from blindingly white to soothing true black.
Ambient Display
Always-on Display (AoD) has been a debated feature, especially in AMOLED screens since there have been numerous reports of screen burn-ins because of it. But this isn’t stopping Xiaomi from adding this feature on its devices.
[Source: XDA Developers]MIUI 11 introduces AoD under the name “Ambient Display” with emphasis on customization. Users can customize the clock and even put in a custom message on the display.
Dynamic Natural Sound
MIUI 11 marks the introduction of dynamic system sounds mimicking nature like water, fire, rain, etc. which depends upon variables like place and time of the day.
[Source: Gizmochina]
Productivity with Mi Work and MI Go
MI Work Productivity Suite
It includes features like:
“Mi Share” which allows wireless file transfer between Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo devices at speeds up to 82MB/s.
New document reader built in association with WPS Office which can open different types of documents like DOCX, PDF, XLSX, etc.
Seamless screencasting for video and gameplays alongside presentation tools.
Wireless printing which is simply print-ready after pairing your phone with the brand of the printer.
[Source: Android Authority]
MI Go Travel Service Suite
It emphasizes on the quality-of-life aspect of a phone like:
Information regarding booking tickets, hotel reservations, weather forecasts is made possible with the Xiaomi Travelling Assistant.
With the new “Super Power Saving Mode” enabled, Xiaomi claims that its phones can last an entire day with just 5% battery remaining.
[Source: Gizmochina]
Xiaomi Themes Are Finally Free
With MIUI 11, Xiaomi has made its MIUI themes function free to use. A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
Vivo has a new addition to its online sales only range of smartphones. The Vivo U10, which recently launched in India is the latest smartphone to come from Vivo. This device will be an Amazon Exclusive device and is primarily targeted at the budget segment.
Overview
The phone comes with an HD+ display sporting a waterdrop notch upfront. Its screen is an IPS LCD display panel that supports the resolution of 720 x 1544 pixels. The aspect ratio is 19.3:9 and the screen-to-body ratio is of 81.91%. Furthermore, it also has a relatively thick chin on the screen.
As for the processor, the Vivo U10 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665chipset. It will be available in basically two RAM variants – 3GB and 4GB. And as far as the internal storage is considered, buyers have the option of either 32GB or 64GB.
The camera on the back is a triple cam setup. The primary lens is of 13 MP. It further comes with 8MP super-wide-angle lens and a 2MP portrait sensor. For selfies, there’s an 8MP selfie shooter housed in the waterdrop notch.
The main highlight however of the device is the dedicated Ultra Game Mode. Inclusion of the game mode should help the device to run high-end games smoothly. Though, as the hardware does not seem so powerful, I do wonder how effective this Ultra Game Mode will turn out to be.
The Vivo U10 packs a super huge 5, 00mAh battery that should be enough to give the device a great battery backup. Furthermore, it also supports 18W fast charging. You can check below for a detailed specification of the device.
Riding on the success of the Xiaomi Mi 9, Xiaomi has today unveiled the Mi 9. The devices have many things in common with the Mi 9. However, there are some exciting updates too that this device packs in it. For instance, the Xiaomi MI 9 Pro will be powered by the latest Snapdragon 855+ and comes with up to 12GB of RAM.
Overview
The Mi 9 Pro features a screen similar to the Mi 9. It has a 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display panel with an in-display fingerprint sensor. It supports Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. Furthermore, there’s a waterdrop notch up front to house the front camera.
Powered by the octa-core Snapdragon 855+ chipset, this phone should be suitable for powerful mobile gaming. Furthermore, the device also includes a vapor chamber cooling which ensures that the CPU remains cool even if the device is performing an intensive task.
The rear camera on this device is a triple camera setup. The primary lens is of 48 MP and the other two are 12MP telephoto camera and 16MP wide-angle camera. Upfront, there’s a 20MP selfie shooter.
However, the main upgrade in the Mi 9 Pro is its battery. It uses a 4, 000mAh battery that supports 45W wired fast charging. Also, the good thing is that the 45W brick will be provided along with the device itself. Furthermore, 30W wireless fast charging is also supported. It is claimed that with the 45W charger, the device takes 48 minutes to fully charge. Similarly, with the 30W wireless fast charging, it takes the device 69 minutes to charge up to 100%. Moreover, the Mi 9 Pro also supports 10W reverse wireless charging.
Another major upgrade is made on the speakers. Per Xiaomi, the Mi 9 Pro will have the largest sound chamber. It will be the largest of any Mi phones and will sound louder and better. During the unveiling, much emphasis was put on the 5G variant of the device. However, has been reported that a 4G variant will also be available.
The Redmi K20 pro has been an attention grabber from the day it was announced. No doubt, it’s the most popular smartphone in its price category. In some regions it also goes by the name Mi 9T, but don’t get confused, it’s the same smartphone. So, we have been using this device for two months now, side by side with others that we have reviewed. And now I think I have used it enough to give you guys a long-term review of it. So, let me begin the Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro review.
Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro specifications:
Display: 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2340×1080 pixels), 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Design-wise, it’s still one of the most attractive and I would say different designs. The glass body does not lack the heft and premiumness and hence the phone feels very good on the hands. Now, the glass body has its cons, smudges are unavoidable. So you need to case it up if you want to evade such smudges. Talking of cases, the case Xiaomi provides inside the box looks very good and has endured my use for almost 2 months and it still looks good for some time more.
The one thing I appreciate is that the power button has a distinct red color that has given the device a very nice touch.
However, the buttons are not very tactile to my liking, they are not bad, but they don’t give that impressive clicky feedback as compared to the high-end phones like Galaxy Note 10+.
At the back, there’s a lot going on. First, there’s the triple camera setup and down below, we have the Redmi branding. There’s a speaker down below, which by the way is the only speaker here, meaning, this one does not have stereo speakers like the former flagship killer, Pocophone F1, which is quite a bummer. Besides that, there is a USB Type-C port and a SIM slot.
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3.5mm headphone jack
power button
USB Type-C Port
volume buttons
Notably, the phone does not miss out on the headphone jack, which I am very thankful for.
Overall, the design is not very premium like that of the high-end phones. Nonetheless, the design here is one of the best for the price and easy to fall in love with.
Display
The Redmi K20 pro has a 6.39 inches Horizon AMOLED display. Now, don’t get all confused, the horizon is just a name given by Xiaomi, it’s your regular AMOLED display like you find in other smartphones. But, one of the perks of having an AMOLED screen is the presence of Dark mode which I use on a daily basis, because why not? It saves battery and it protects your eyes.
And talking about protecting your eyes, there is an anti-flicker mode in the display which really does help reduce the harmful effects of PWM dimming. And in case you don’t know what that means, you can find out from the video down below.
But notably, even though the screen is bare 6.39 inches, the display looks quite big and full, all thanks to the pop-up camera and narrow bezels.
About the quality well, it’s superb. The colors are good, viewing angles are good, brightness levels are good, so if you are thinking to get the K20 Pro, be sure that you will get an amazing display experience.
On top of that, there is no notch to eating up extra space in the display. And undoubtedly, display is one of the many things the company has upgraded from the Pocophone F1, so I am very happy about that.
The display is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which has been a savior for me because even though I haven’t used a screen protector, only minor scratches have appeared, nothing that demands a lot of attention. However, it would have been better if Xiaomi had used the latest generation of gorilla glass protection.
Performance
Xiaomi’s Flagship killers have always opted for the latest and fastest chipset there are, which is also the primary reason it’s called a Flagship killer in the first place. So, with the Snapdragon 855, everything just flows.
There is almost nothing this phone can’t handle. The performance on the device was even comparable with the Note 10 Plus, which will costs you nearly double. So, this is hands down the best performing phone for the price.
Gaming-wise too, you get the best from Qualcomm, the Adreno 640 which handles games like a breeze. The phone does not heat to a level of frustration even while intense gaming. Xiaomi says they have used double-layer cooling technology surrounding the chipset to help prevent heating, so guess that has worked.
You only get the 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant here in Nepal, but there are other variants too.
Software
The Redmi K20 Pro runs on the Android Pie currently, although you can download Android 10 for Beta testing. The MIUI 10.3 is what the phone runs on currently, so apart from a few changes here and there, you are going to get a typical MIUI experience. You get the Poco launcher 2.0 by default and there is an app drawer as well but you can keep it or discard it, you have a choice for that.
But the good thing is, even though MIUI 10 is pretty heavy, it’s well optimized in the K20 Pro, so it does not slow down or bring lags to the device. The transitions in the UI are pretty smooth. As already mentioned, there are welcome features in the UI like a dark mode and Always-on display. For always-on display, you can put it on all the time or schedule it. Keeping it on all the time is going to chuck your battery a little bit.
However, to be honest, I am not a big fan of MIUI, especially because of those annoying ads, but Xiaomi is not sending any ads here, but you never know with Xiaomi.
Also, the MIUI icons are also something I am not very fond of, so the first thing I did was install the Samsung One UI icon pack.
For security, you have the basics, an in-display fingerprint sensor which is blazing fast, not as fast as the OnePlus 7 Pro, but still fast. However, it does not unlock with wet hands, like the Note 10 Plus. In my region, you get Face Unlock option too, which uses the pop-up selfie camera. The Face Unlock is not very fast and not so reliable.
Cameras:
Now, let’s talk cameras. And what I can say is the K20 pro may be a flagship killer when it comes to performance, but with the time I had with it, it surely is not a flagship-grade camera performer. I will explain why, but first, let’s get done with cameras specs.
There are triple cameras at the back, a primary 48 MP quad-Bayer sensor, a 13MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and an 8 MP 2X telephoto lens. Photos from the primary sensor in daylight condition look really nice. They are detailed and punchy. But sometimes, you do get some oversaturation going on. Also, you do have an AI option if you want to add saturation to your images and sometimes it does look good.
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Portraits, in the K20 Pro, are done via the Telephoto lens. And I must say the subject focus is done very well here. Edge detection tough takes a hit at difficult areas like the hair but overall I liked the portrait images from the K20 Pro although when the background is sunny, it looks exposed. Blur at the background can be adjusted afterward according to one’s liking so things look good.
Also, there is a feature here which lets you make some moving background effects which is fun to have.
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I did compare the K20 Pro’s primary camera with the Note 10+ that I just reviewed, and I must say there is no competition. The Note 10+ is simply better in every aspect from colors to the dynamic range to bokeh in portraits, and this is what you get with flagship phones, and not with the flagship killers like K20 Pro.
The second Telephoto lens does a good job too although you won’t find great detailing like the primary camera.
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Telephoto Mode
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Telephoto Mode
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Telephoto Mode
The third ultra-wide-angle lens also preserves fair details and produces good colors. The sensor is 15mm wide so you get quite wide pictures.
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wide angle mode
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wide angle mode
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wide angle mode
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wide angle mode
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wide angle mode
On the front, you get a 20MP motorized selfie camera, which glows whenever it goes up. And that has made the front camera somewhat toy-like. But taking it out and while taking pictures during my use, I found them to be pretty decent.
Selfies pack enough details and you get decent colors. Even the portrait images look impressive. But what I didn’t like is that the motorized mechanism takes time to go up and down. And talking about the speed, it’s slower than OnePlus 7 Pro and even the Realme X. When the elevating mechanism retracts during the falls, it’s slow when it comes to speed. So there are high chances that you damage your selfie camera if the phone falls while taking selfies.
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Normal Selfie
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Portrait selfie
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Portrait selfie
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Portrait selfie
But, all the three sensors are not optically stabilized meaning there’s no OIS, so if you don’t have steady hands, chances are your images might come out slightly wobbly or shaky especially during low light scenarios.
And the Normal night time images are grainy and void of details. However, there is a night mode feature to compensate for it which improves the details and exposure of the images by a good margin. Again, because of the lack of OIS, nighttime images may result in being shaky many times.
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Night Mode
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Night Mode
Video-wise, the K20 pro is very impressive to say at the least. You have various options for video recording where I found the 4k@30 fps to have the best stabilization. You can record videos at 4k 60 fps too, but they are not very well stabilized. And as far as the quality goes, it’s very good, so if you are thinking of making vlogs and don’t want to invest a lot in equipment, the K20 pro can be a good option.
You can also record slow-motion videos at 960fps and 120 fps. The quality, well it’s not good but interestingly you can add music to them which is sort of fun. You can click videos from the Wide-angle and telephoto lens as well, here are some samples for you to check out.
As I said in the beginning, the cameras are justifiable for the price, not quite on par with flagships, and I think the software implementation could have been a little better.
It’s the same sensor, the Sony IMX 586 as the one found on even budget smartphones these days. So, I don’t think it is a flagship killer camera on the K20 pro.
Battery
Now it has become like a tradition to Xiaomi keeping 4,000 mAh batteries on their smartphones and this one follows the same ritual.
The battery on the Redmi K20 Pro is supported by 27-watt fast charging. But you get the 18W fast charger inside the box. The phone took me One hour and 30 minutes to get fully charged and a fully charged battery can last you for a good one and a half-day.
I was quite impressed by the battery life because even though it’s a regular-sized battery it’s very enduring. I liked how the phone shuts down the background processes properly to give a good battery life.
Compromises
Now, before I come to the conclusion, here are some of the compromises you have to bear with the K20 pro when compared with the $1000 flagships.
The first is not having dust and water-resistant. There’s also no stereo speakers and the output from the mono speaker is above average. The K20 Pro also has mediocre vibration motors which they should surely improve on its next iteration. And the final compromise is the cameras.
The Sony IMX 586 is not a flagship sensor as advertised by Xiaomi, at least not when even budget phones like Redmi Note 7 Pro are using the same sensor. Yes, I know, it depends upon the software optimization and chipset too. And not just the sensor, but in the K20 pro, well the implementation is not wow!
Conclusion
So, just ignore those comprises that I mentioned earlier. I was just nitpicking. Because, if you look at the price, the Redmi K20 pro is the most value for money smartphone in its price range.
For performance, it can be compared to the flagships and no other mid-range phones can compete in this regard. Design and display are more or less what we get for the price and as I said, cameras too are good enough but not the best.
And its priced at around 50K in Nepal, whereas its nearest competitor the Oneplus 7 is priced at 65K, which makes the K20 Pro an unrivaled choice.
Why age yourself to oblivion when you can be Leonardo DiCaprio?
You might have experienced what I’m calling “Age of Apocalypse” (though Marvel Comics may not be happy about it) in your timeline not so long ago. Suddenly everyone of your friends and families were getting as old as the hills. That was “FaceApp“, a Russian app that makes use of AI for transforming you into your probable old looking self which faced heavy criticisms concerning its terms and conditions. Now there’s a new sheriff in town! “Zao App“, a free-to-download deepfake app from China can put your face into a 30-second video clip of movies and other media.
Deepfake isn’t a new thing really and not a pay-to-use thing either. In fact, you can download the “deepfakes” repository from GitHub right now and use it as you see fit. It has been around a while to be under the radar of the US Government. One requires technical know-how, capable hardware and the patience of a saint to be able to get the desired result from the technology. However, Zao completely revolutionalizes the practicality of deepfake, where a user can simply upload a portrait of themselves and be able to swap their face into a 1/2 a minute video clip available in the app itself.
The price of something free
Zao App was released on the Apple App Store on August 30th, where it became an overnight sensation and the top free app in China for the week. Unsurprisingly, its terms and conditions sparked outrage among the users and reasonably so. Déjà vu! By using the app, the user data would succumb to the mercy of “Momo Inc.”, the company that owns Zao.
According to Bloomberg, a previous version of the terms and conditions of the app included a clause where the developer would get “free, irrevocable, permanent, transferable and relicense-able” rights to any content uploaded by the user. Combine this to the fact that every company in China is mandated to provide their data to the Chinese government when demanded, your content could potentially either be misused by the company or get into the hands of the government. (But that’s already a reality in China so no hiccups there!)
Following the outcry, the company was quick to respond by altering its terms and conditions stating that it wouldn’t use your content for purposes other than previously agreed on or to improve the app itself. Additionally, once your delete your uploaded content, they would be deleted from the company’s servers too.
Witness the app in its glory as demonstrated by the Twitter user @AllanXia
In case you haven't heard, #ZAO is a Chinese app which completely blew up since Friday. Best application of 'Deepfake'-style AI facial replacement I've ever seen.
Here's an example of me as DiCaprio (generated in under 8 secs from that one photo in the thumbnail) ? pic.twitter.com/1RpnJJ3wgT
Good design, good cameras, and power performance! And of course, the price! Realme exactly knows what they should focus on. So on the specs-sheet, the phone looks really promising. But does that hold true on to real-life use? We tried to answer that in this Realme 5 Pro review.
Design-wise, the only concern is the polycarbonate back, that too in terms of durability. Otherwise, this is pretty good design.
These diamond-shaped patterns glow in light and darker shade when tilted, making the phone look very appealing. On hands too, it feels okay, it’s nice and considerably hefty. Now don’t expect anything of the Realme X kind, that phone has a different level good design. But as I said, by looks, I love this phone. This, I think is one of the best-looking designs for the price.
But the good looks come for a price. Smudges are inevitable on it and no matter how much you clean, it keeps coming back, so I would advise you to put a case on it. By the way, you get the case inside of the box itself. It should last you for two months or so.
Aesthetically, everything seems good except for tactility of the buttons. And this is one of the dark sides of having a phone built entirely of plastic. Down below, you see a USB-C port, a single firing bottom speaker and thankfully a headphone jack! The output from the headphone jack and the speakers are well unimpressive, like with most of the midrange phones.
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power button
volume buttons
But something unique that the company has provided is that the phone is splash resistant. I talked about this in the Realme 5 review as well. This feature is nothing like IP ratings but the company says that the openings of the phone have been sealed with rubber gaskets to prevent your phone from water or moisture damage to some extent. So, maybe accidental coffee spills will have fewer impacts now.
Display
On the display front, it’s the same as the Realme 3 Pro, a 6.3- inches IPS LCD screen with 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It’s protected with Gorilla Glass 3+, so it should be resistant to minor drops and impacts. I haven’t tried dropping it though.
The colors on the screen look good and vibrant. Of course, not the AMOLED level, but not bad either. Brightness too is sufficient indoors and okay outdoors. There are various battery saver modes you can use to limit the brightness levels.
The display is the house for a mini-drop notch that carries the selfie camera. It’s small and not obtrusive at all. Also, there is a color temperature slider inside the display settings that lets you change the screen temperature as per your liking. And the screen offers good legibility even while viewing the contents outdoors.
So, overall, if we think about it, this display is familiar to us, there are not many changes from the Realme 3 pro.
Performance:
The Realme 5 Pro runs on Snapdragon 712. Which is essentially the same as the Snapdragon 710 except for slightly higher clock speed on the high-performance cores. In terms of GPU, there has been no change from the Snapdragon 710, it’s still the Adreno 616 which performs just like what we saw on the Realme X.
In real life, you are not going to see much differences between the Realme X and the Realme 5 Pro, except for some slight 10% improvement in the CPU performance, which by the way, you are not going to notice all that much.
But the 5 Pro has shown significant improvement from the 3 Pro in case of AnTuTu and Geekbench scores.
The Realme 5 Pro is available in 3 memory configurations, 4+64 GB, 6+64 GB, and 8+128 GB, all of which are UFS 2.1 based, so its basically faster load times of apps and games. There is also a dedicated slot, in case you need more storage which can go up to 256 GB.
On everyday use, I found the performance to be smooth. Games ran very well, I played PUBG on high settings, almost stutter-free. So, this is a good gaming phone, I can vouch for that.
Even on normal use, whatever game or app you run, it’s going to run very well. Even on the heating part, you are not going to experience much, there’s normal rise in temperature while intense gaming, which is nothing so overwhelming.
Software:
The Realme 5 Pro comes with Android Pie with its custom Color OS 6 on top. This combination is what we have already seen on other Realme Phones, so the 5 pro offers just the same experience. I say this in all the Realme Reviews that Color OS is not so great and it still holds true for me. However, I really wish the rumors of them coming up with their own UI comes is true because that would really be amazing!
The software, though not well defined, gives you a lot of customization options for navigation and other functions. There is also something called game space that basically lets you minimize interruptions while playing games. You don’t get the ‘dark mode’ like the Realme X, which of course is because of the LCD screen. There is a night shield feature though if you wish to protect your eyes from harmful Blue light.
For security, we have basics, fingerprint sensor and Face unlock. Registering fingerprint takes some time but the end result is zippy fast and accurate almost all the times. Face unlock too is fast, but since it’s done by the selfie camera, I used the fingerprint sensor as my primary method for unlocking.
Cameras
Now let’s talk cameras. And this is the first time the company has included a quad camera setup. And it’s hilarious somehow that Realme did not even think of triple camera setup, they jumped right from Dual to Quad cameras.
Anyways, moving on to the camera specifications, the primary is a 48 MP Quad Bayer sensor, then we have an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle lens, then comes the 2 MP depth sensor and the 2 MP macro lens.
Now, first, let’s go for the primary camera. And this is the same sensor that we saw on the Realme X, the infamous and universally used, SONY IMX 586 sensor.
Alright, first let me talk about the images from the 5 Pro. I see good sharpness in the images, the colors look nice and punchy, yet not over-saturated. In case you want more vibrancy, you can turn on the Chroma Boost option. There is a 48 MP option for clicking pictures but you won’t find much differences upon first glance with the 12 MP images. Just upon close inspection, the 12 MP look sharper, thanks to pixel binning.
Realme 5 Pro Primary Camera
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While talking about primary images, I compared the images from the Realme X and the 5 Pro because both phone’s chipsets use the same ISP and the same sensor. To make the comparison fair, I tested the images in a different color-accurate screen because well, one is an LCD and another is an AMOLED panel.
And my test showed that apart from the slightest of color changes, there’s actually not much differences. Realme X’s color looks slightly more saturated while the 5 pro’s images had a more subtle color to them. In portrait images too, only the skin tone is a little bit different and it looks like the 5 Pro has slightly better edge detection, otherwise, everything is almost the same. Same goes with selfies, both portrait, and normal selfies.
Realme 5 Pro selfies
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Normal Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Normal Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Normal Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Normal Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Portrait Group Selfie
Normal Selfie
Portrait Selfie
Now. Let’s move on to wide-angle images. As already mentioned, this is the first time we have seen a wide-angle lens on a Realme phone and the implementation is not bad actually. The primary and wide-angle images don’t suffer much color shifting, although slightly lesser details on the wide-angle photos are there as expected but nothing worrying.
Normal Vs Wide angle mode
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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
The third depth sensor is quite good too, surprisingly good for a 2 MP sensor. The edge detection is okay, it slightly takes a hit in the hairlines, otherwise, it looks good. The blur too looks pleasing. So, I quite liked the portrait images form the 5 Pro.
Portrait Images from Realme 5 Pro
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Portrait Image
Portrait Image
Portrait Image
Portrait Image
Portrait Image
Portrait Image
Portrait Image
Portrait Image
The fourth Macro images, well, are not as impressive as I thought it would be. Actually, if you go near a subject and click from the primary camera, the images come out better than clicking pictures through the Macro lens. So, I found it to be rather gimmicky. Maybe the company can provide a better Macro lens in their future offerings.
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Nighttime images are well a lot grainy. But there is a nightscape feature to compensate for it. With the nightscape feature, it improves the lighting and balance of exposure in images. It’s nothing extraordinary, but it’s not bad either!
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Normal Mode
Night Mode
Normal Mode
Night Mode
Normal Mode
Night Mode
Normal Mode
Night Mode
Video-wise, you have the usual options, 4k@30 fps, and 1080p and 720p@30 and 60 fps. While shooting hand-held, I found the 1080p@30 fps option to have the best stabilization. But if you want better quality, you can shoot in 4k using a gimbal.
Battery:
The battery capacity ion the Realme 5 Pro is similar to the Realme 3 Pro with both having a 4,045 mAh battery. The battery life on the phone is impressive, it can get you through a day easily with some battery left at the end. If you are moderate to light user, the battery is going to last even longer.
With the 5 Pro, you get a fast charger inside the box, a 20 Watt adapter that supports VOOC charge 3.0. You can get the device fully charged in about 80-85 minutes, which is impressive.
Conclusion:
So, yes, like all Realme phones, the 5 pro is also a very good value for money device. Here, we have some welcome additions like a wide-angle lens and USB Type-C port, which weren’t there before and these have made the phone very competitive.
But now, I think it’s time for Realme to step up their game, not just in specs and prices but you know start doing something new, become first movers. Honestly, in these few months, I have reviewed so many Realme phones all slightly different from one other, all are the best value for money phones and that’s it. The only unique thing is we get so and so specs in a more affordable price.
But don’t get me wrong, I just mean there is nothing innovative going on. And as good as the company is doing, I think focusing on new things will help the brand even more!
Oppo A9 2020 is a mid-range smartphone that was announced towards the end of 2019. The device features a massive battery, quad-camera setup and bigger memory configurations. However, Oppo has slashed the price of A9 2020 in Nepal. So, is it a good deal finally? Let’s learn more about the phone first.
Oppo A9 2020 Overview:
The Oppo A9 2020 sports a 6.5-inch HD+ (1600 x 720 pixels) IPS LCD panel with 19.5:9 aspect ratio and gorilla glass protection. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665processorwith 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also features a triple slot (2 SIM card +microSD).
The Oppo A9 2020 has 4 camerason the back. The primary one is a 48MP Sony IMX586 sensor, which we also already saw on the premium devices like OnePlus 7 Pro and Redmi K20 Pro. The 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor completes its quad-cam setup. There’s a 16MP front camera residing inside the notch of the display.
The Oppo A9 2020 boasts a 5000mAh battery with fast charging support. In terms of build, it’s a plastic body with gradient colors. The design looks stylish with a 3D curved body similar to the F11 Pro.
There’s a rear-facing fingerprint sensor, so you won’t be getting an in-display sensor on this one. Maybe, they are keeping this feature for the F15 Pro. Software side, it runs on Android 9.0 with ColorOS 6.0.1 on top.
The device is relatively thick at 9.1mm, thanks to its big display and it weighs 195g. The color option includes marine green and space purple.
Connectivity: 3.5 mm audio jack, FM Radio, Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/ GLONASS/ Beidou
Battery: 5000mAh battery with fast charging
OPPO A9 2020 Price in Nepal & Availability
The new price of Oppo A9 2020 in Nepal is NPR. 33,590 (previously Rs. 35,990) for the 8/128GB variant. The device is available through both online and offline channels and you might get some discounts on the marked price depending upon the retailer.
Model Name
Old Price
New Price in Nepal
Oppo A9 2020 (8/128GB)
NPR. 35,990
NPR. 33,590
Oppo A9 2020 is priced similarly to the Redmi Note 8 Pro and Vivo S1 Pro. If you are after performance then Redmi Note 8 Pro is the way to go, however, if you care more about the aesthetics of the phone, then Vivo S1 Pro with Super AMOLED display and under-display fingerprint could be the better choice. However, you will miss out on the 5,000mAh battery of the Oppo A9 if you choose any of the latter two.
For the upcoming Dashain, every company is pushing different schemes to lure people into buying their products and services. When it comes to smartphones, Vivo and Oppo already put forward their schemes. And Xiaomi couldn’t stay behind longer in this competition. MI Nepal slashed the price of some of the smartphones in its lineup. Xiaomi had already announced the price drop on Redmi Note 7 and Redmi 7. And this time, the company drop the price of Redmi Y3 as well. That means you can now get a 32MP selfie camera at a cheaper price.
Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Overview:
Going by the specs, the phone comes with a 6.26-inch IPS display with a tiny notch on the top. And this dot-notch display features HD+ resolution in a 19:9 aspect ratio. With the curvy edges (2.5D curved) on the sides, the phone also comes with Gorilla Glass 5 on the top. The presence of the Gorilla Glass 5 ensures better chances of survival from cracks and scratches during the accidentals falls.
On to imaging part, the phone boasts a dual-cam setup at its back. The rear panel houses a 12MP primary shooter, which comes alongside the 2MP depth sensor. With two cameras in action, the handset is capable of capturing portrait images as well. As mentioned earlier, the phone comes with a 32MP selfie shooter, which also authenticating the faces while unlocking the device via face unlock feature.
Powering the device is Snapdragon 632 chipset, which comes aboard with 3/4GB of RAM. On the storage front, the phone gets 32/64GB of onboard memory with an SD card support for storage expansion. Talking about the software, the phone boots on Android Pie out of the box with MIUI 10 on the top of it. As far as the battery is concerned, a 4000mAh battery handles the business.
Battery: 4000mAh battery with 10-watt fast charging
Colors: Elegant Blue, Bold Red, Prime Black
Xiaomi Redmi Y3 Price in Nepal [Updated 2020]
Xiaomi Redmi Y3 is now available in Nepal at a price of Rs. 16,999 for the 3/32GB variant. Similarly, the higher-end 4/64GB variant now costs Rs. 19,999.
