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Honor 20 Lite Review: The Attractive Mid-ranger

GadgetByte

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June 29, 2019

Honor 20 Lite Review: The Attractive Mid-ranger

When Honor announced the Honor 20 series smartphones in London, the Honor 20 and 20 Pro had been the talk of the town for days. Their punch-hole display, flagship-grade processor, and quad-rear cameras were enough to impress many. The cheaper Honor 20 Lite, however, didn’t receive much attention then. So, was it an underdog ignored by many or is it not worth the hype? Let’s find that out in this Honor 20 Lite review!

Honor 20 Lite Specifications:

Display: 6.21-inches LTPS IPS LCD, Full HD+, 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 710
CPU: Octa-core (4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU: Mali-G51 MP4
OS: Android 9.0 Pie with EMUI 9 on top
RAM: 4 GB
Storage: 128 GB, expandable
Rear camera: Triple – 24 MP, f/1.8 (primary) + 8 MP, f/2.2 (ultra-wide) + 2 MP, f/2.4 (depth)
Front Camera: 32 MP, f/2.0
Battery: 3,400 mAh non-removable Li-Po battery
Sensors: Fingerprint (rear-mounted), Accelerometer, Proximity, and Compass
Price: Rs.32,500

Design

Like with the previous Honor smartphones, the 20 lite features a gradient color back. The one I have right now is a phantom red color which looks pleasing. One thing you need to know is the back is made of plastic, and not glass which is the reason it feels light on hands.

Other than that, I am pretty happy with its form factor. It rightly fits on my hand and has an even weight distribution. Even the buttons are tactile and placed at a reachable position. So, I have nothing much to complain on the design front.

Display

Talking about the display, this phone retains a 6.21-inch IPS panel, which comes with narrow bezels with a U-shaped tiny notch on the top. Even the chin is thin here. Thinner than most of its competitors out there, I would add. While placing it alongside the Galaxy A50, you can easily notice the difference.

However, gone is the notification LED, which is close to extinction on smartphones these days.

Continuing with the display, the screen here comes with Full-HD resolution on board. So, while viewing the contents, the screen looks sharp as expected. The colors also look quite pleasant here. It’s not quite on the level of the OLED panels but still looks noteworthy among the mid-rangers. And side by side with the A50, I prefer the display on the A50.

Camera

Now let’s head on to the cameras. Like with every other midrange phone out there, this too has three cameras at the back. There’s a 24MP primary lens, which comes alongside an 8MP ultra-wide-angle shooter and a 2MP depth sensor. And all of these cameras are said to be AI-powered.

Talking about the photos from the 24MP camera, I am fairly satisfied with the shots it captures. The images pack quite a lot of details so they look sufficiently sharp. But sometimes, the images are overexposed. I also noticed the phone over-processing the images, due to which, the colors were unnatural at times.

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Switching to the wide angle, you can extend the field of view up to 120-degrees. The images, as you can see here, look decent. But it lacks the details. And While comparing it with the Galaxy A50, I noticed a larger field of view and better details in the shots from A50. But what I really liked about the Honor 20 Lite was that the colors in the images didn’t shift while switching into wide-angle mode from normal mode, which happens extensively on the A50.

Normal Vs Wide-angle Mode

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The third 2MP lens gathers the depth information while taking portrait images. And portrait images look okay at best. There is edge-detection issue on most of the portrait images and the blurring does not look natural. Maybe Honor will fix that in its software update. But until that happens, you have to live with this.

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Night Mode feature is also getting popular these days. And to address that, Honor has also included a Night Mode feature on this device. With this mode, the camera decreases the shutter speed to 4 to 6 seconds and captures a long exposure shot. And while capturing the low light images using this feature, the subject brightens up quite a bit and there seem to have a little more detail in it. So, to me, it has come in quite handy while taking snaps in the low-lit scenarios.

Normal Vs Night Mode

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Apart from that, you get tons of features like Slo-mo, Timelapse, and AR if you do some digging in.

Talking about the selfies, the 32MP doesn’t disappoint. It captures amazing selfies with great facial details. But the phone tends to overdo with the skin, which looks quite unnatural at times. But most of the times they look fairly good. Although the portrait images are due to software processing, they do look good enough. But if you care about edge-detection, it’s still not perfect in that respect but usable most of the times. The portrait mode is also playful here as you can get various portrait lighting effects.

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For high res images, click here.

Performance

Now on to the performance, you get the Kirin 710 Chipset which we have seen on so many Huawei and Honor phones in the last 6 months or so. The Kirin 710 is a decent processor, comparable with the Snapdragon 660, but over the course of 6 months, midrange SoCs from Qualcomm are getting better. You get Snapdragon 675 on Redmi Note 7 Pro and Realme 3 Pro at more or less similar pricing.

I am not bashing Honor and the Kirin 710 chipset but I guess it’s reasonable to demand an upgrade while going from its predecessor Honor 10 Lite.

The Kirin 710 is not a bad processor, it’s actually a decent performer and can handle most people’s day-to-day tasks pretty easily. Multitasking is also fairly good with 4GB of RAM onboard.

But it’s the gaming part that Kirin 710 lags behind the competition. On my test, Heavy games did not run quite smoothly on the highest of the settings. PUBG is playable at medium settings by default, which wasn’t smooth the way I expected. So, if you are into gaming, you should opt for the Snapdragon 675 powered phones. There’s Pocophone F1 with Snapdragon 845 which is still available, you can get that too.

Talking about the storage, you get a base variant of 128GB, which should suffice the needs of many. And this is where Honor 20 Lite stands out against the rest. Because, every phone at this price, will have 64GB storage. Plus, there is an SD card slot as well if you wish to expand it even further.

Software

The phone runs on Android 9 Pie with the custom skin EMUI 9.0.1 on the top. And with Huawei’s UI, you do get a ton of bloatware and a number of redundant apps. Nonetheless, you can uninstall the majority of them.

But apart from that, the UI is pretty much likable. It’s well-optimized and navigating through the UI is also pretty smooth. On top of that, most of the settings are customizable. So, you can easily tune it into your liking.

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But what’s concerning here is the software update. Huawei has been enlisted in the US government’s entity list. And Honor being the sub-brand of Huawei, we don’t have any option but to wait and see what happens next.

Battery

Now let’s talk about the battery. The phone comes with a 3400mAh battery, which sounds quite underwhelming. However, EMUI optimization is great, so I got around 6 hours of on-screen time. Also, the screen on time is based on my heavy usage that includes two hours of social media, two hours of watching videos and an hour of gaming.

The phone comes with 10-watt charger out of the box, which uses Micro USB port to charge up the phone. While using the stock charger, it took exactly 1 hour and 56 minutes to get the device fully charged. I even tried to charge the device with an 18-watt charger. But there wasn’t still an improvement in the charging pace. So, there is that!

Extras:

Like all the Huawei and Honor phones, the fingerprint sensor on this device is fast and accurate. It accurately detected my fingerprints 9 out of 10 times, except for times when you have wet or greasy hands. Face unlock is fast too and is done via the front camera. About the Wi-Fi though, it does not have Wi-Fi ac, so you won’t be able to connect to a 5GHz network, which if I remember correctly, was missing on Huawei’s Nova 3i as well. Other things like audio quality is fairly loud and call quality is good too.

Conclusion

The Honor 20 Lite is a fairly good performer for the price being asked. There is nothing that bugs me about the phone, everything is okay, except for the fact that the performance could have been a little better. And even inclusion of a faster-charging feature and a type-C port would have given this device a little edge over the others.

Also, you do have plenty of options to go for, like the Galaxy A50 or the Pocophone F1 or the Galaxy M40. And since the Redmi Note 7 Pro is also launching in Nepal really soon, you have even more options. So, in the end, I will leave the choice up to you guys.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Good design
Ample 128GB storage
Has dedicated Night Mode

Cons:

Micro USB Port in 2019
No Fast charging
No upgrade on performance from its predecessor

LCD panels with in-display fingerprint scanners are coming

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GadgetByte

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June 29, 2019

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LCD panels with in-display fingerprint scanners are coming

In-display fingerprint scanners are evolving. In the early days, the speed of such scanners used to be as slow as a slug. But over time, the technology is catching up the speed and is comparable with the conventional scanners these days. The feature also looks quite fancy among smartphones. However, the technology was limited to OLED panels so far. Since OLED panels are thinner and allow light to pass through them, they were easily the favorites. However, OLED panels are also expensive at the same time. And with fingerprint scanners embedded to the display, smartphones used to cost a fortune. But that’s going to change. Chinese display manufacturer BOE and AUO Optronics recently announced that they successfully implemented an optical in-display fingerprint scanner on a conventional LCD panel.

As reported by DigiTimes, out of 1.456 billion smartphones shipped worldwide in 2018, 85 percent of them had LCD displays. Since LCD panels are cost-effective and easy to manufacture, smartphone companies usually include these types of panels on the midrange and budget phones. So if these sort of LCD panels with in-display fingerprint scanners start coming, we may start seeing this fancy piece of tech even on the mainstream budget phones.

And that may not take too long. BOE promises to start the mass production of such kind of displays by the end of 2019. So, if everything runs on schedule and if everything goes well, we might see the tech making its way to affordable phones since the beginning of 2020.

OPPO unveils under-display selfie camera at MWC Shanghai 2019

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June 27, 2019

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OPPO unveils under-display selfie camera at MWC Shanghai 2019

All screen phones are considered Holy Grail in the smartphone industry. And in the pursuit of pushing the screen to body ratio, smartphone makers are chopping off the bezels as much as they can. In that run, we saw smartphones with notched display, which has shrunk down to the shape of a water drop in the recent days. Concurrently, companies were also implementing pop-up style selfie cameras. Since such mechanical parts can arise complications over time and durability is also quite a concern, Such design didn’t actually turn out as an optimal solution. But what Oppo showcased in the MWC Shanghai 2019 is, in fact, the solution everyone was looking for. To bid farewell to the bezels and to get rid of the elevating mechanism, Oppo showcased an under-display selfie camera, which seamlessly blends into the display.

Earlier this month, the selfie expert had teased the product. But this time around, Oppo divulged more information about the technology to the general audience.

OPPO’s brand new solution for full-screen display – Under-screen Camera (USC) has just been unveiled here at #MWC19 Shanghai! #MoreThanTheSeen pic.twitter.com/k5qEQ3QNta

— OPPO India (@oppomobileindia) 26 June 2019

Oppo India’s official Twitter handle also posted about the product. The video shows the selfie camera being perfectly blended into the screen when the camera is idle. However, while looking up close, the area about the camera looks somewhat pixelated. According to Oppo, that pixelated or zoned-out area of the screen uses a highly transparent material plus a redesigned pixel structure to let the light pass easily through it. Oppo claims that even the conventional displays, which are compatible with in-display fingerprint scanners are still not good enough for the under-display selfie camera. So the company developed a new type of display with transparency properties such that the camera conceals easily under the display.

Oppo is also flaunting about the size of the sensor used in its under-display selfie camera module. It’s said to be larger with bigger pixels than all the selfie cameras out there. On top of that, Oppo has also incorporated a wider aperture to let in more light into the sensor. Despite the large sensor and wider aperture, the upper portion of the screen still works with touch control. Oppo has also assured that there won’t be any sorts of compromises on the display quality.

Putting the screen on top of cameras is definitely going to have some implications like hazy photos, glares, colorcast, and reduced image quality. To overcome some issues, Oppo says it has developed algorithms that are tuned to the hardware in order to address these issues. The company has also assured the quality would be on par with the mainstream devices. But it’s yet to be seen. And we might only be able to see that when the device makes it to the commercial market. But when the company is releasing the device we don’t know yet. Oppo says it plans to launch a device with an under-screen camera “in the near future”.

The company had also showcased the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom at the trade show and released the commercial product shortly after. So we can expect it to be a similar case on this one.

Vivo at MWC Shanghai 2019: That’s a lot of innovation!

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June 27, 2019

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Vivo at MWC Shanghai 2019: That’s a lot of innovation!

Vivo, the Chinese smartphone giant, is quite an ambitious company. From introducing the world’s first pop-up cameras to making debuting in-display fingerprint sensors in mid-range phones, Vivo likes to bring new things to the table. And in the ongoing MWC (Mobile World Congress) Shanghai, Vivo did the same. The company showcased a lot of things, some of which, are astonishing.

Vivo’s MWC Shanghai 2019 Overview

5G Fest

With advances in the 5G technology going in a rapid pace, Vivo revealed the world’s first commercial 5G phone. Given that Vivo showed us their concept Nex 5G a while ago, this is not much of a surprise. But still, to know that we finally have a fully commercial 5G smartphone is still great news. The phone will be available in the third quarter of 2019, but that’s all the information about the phone.

In addition to the commercial 5G phone, Vivo also announced its future plans in the 5G era. With a strategy to accelerate its innovations across smart devices and applications for the 5G era, Vivo showcased a range of 5G applications including 5G Cloud Game, 5G Screen Mirroring, and 5G EasyShare.

For instance, the 5G Cloud Gaming does not take place on the users phone, but on the cloud via 5G network, thanks to its ultra-speed and super-low latency. With this, users can play high-end games even on mediocre phones. That’s quite something, isn’t it?

Vivo AR

Vivo is also stepping into the AR dimension with its very first AR glasses. And they showcased it as well. Their new Vivo AR Glass supports dual-screen display and 6DoF technology. This means that the AR Glass allows you six degrees of freedom (normal ones allow only 3DoF), which refers to the freedom of movement of a rigid body in 3D space. After connecting the AR glasses with 5G, users can experience applications like mobile office, AR Games, 3D HD video, and object recognition.

The Vivo AR Glass will also enable your smartphone to switch roles according to the applications. For example, while gaming, your phone will be the main console whereas, in a mobile office, your smartphone will be the keyboard. Currently, it supports 5 applications: mobile game, mobile office, 5G theatre, facial recognition, and object recognition.

Vivo Super FlashCharge

Vivo’s Dual Engine Fast Charge is still one of the best Fast Charging standards there is. But, with what they have now, they’ve got all the other competition beat! They did reveal their new industry-leading Super FlashCharge already a while back. But they finally revealed this tech fully in the MWC Shnaghai 2019. This Super FlashCharge is a 120 Watt charging standard, that can charge a 4000 mAh battery fully in about 13 minutes! This, truly, is ground-breaking! We don’t know when it’ll see implementation in smartphones, but when they do…well, that’s going to be a new day for smartphones!

So, it seems Vivo is taking major steps towards some serious innovation. Let’s see what difference it makes in the smartphone and tech world.

Here’s how I bought the Redmi Note 7 for just Rs. 16,049 from Daraz

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June 27, 2019

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Here’s how I bought the Redmi Note 7 for just Rs. 16,049 from Daraz

It had been a while I’d been looking for a decent budget smartphone. For a budget of under Rs. 20000, I couldn’t find something appealing yet equally capable. But, with Daraz Mobile Week 2019, I thought I had a chance. After all, it is creating quite a buzz in the market, lately. But my experience with Daraz wasn’t all sunshine on its 11.11 Sales Day. And I was a bit skeptic about this one too. However, with Daraz giving it so much hype, particularly with those 25% discounts on payment with credit/debit cards, I thought, why not? I needed to buy a phone anyway. But as a cynic, I took screenshots of every step I followed while making the purchase. But in the end, it was worth it. Because I bought a Rs. 22,000 phone for only Rs.16000! Here’s how I did it.

I have been an account holder of NIC Asia Bank. And since Daraz was offering a 25% discount up to Rs.5000 for purchases through their debit/credit card, I actually got it activated for online payment. That is the policy in Nepal, so, had to do it. Still, it was worth it. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes. But for those who don’t have a NIC Asia Bank a/c, Siddhartha Bank is also offering the same kind of incentives (25%).

Other banks are also providing discounts like Nabil Bank, Sanima Bank, Standard Charted Bank of various magnitudes. But the best offers are from NIC Asia and Siddhartha Bank, though.

So, after the activation of my card, I opened the Daraz App. I wanted to get the Redmi Note 7, and that was within my budget. And after a quick search, I found the Redmi Note 7 (3 / 32 GB) listed for a price of Rs.21,999. But there was also Rs.1000 worth of discount voucher in there, which I wasn’t aware of. I used that voucher code “19MW1000” on checkout and grabbed that penny-saving voucher.

Steps to buy from Daraz

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Then I filled all the necessary details in. And at the time of payment, I chose the payment option as “Debit Card”, after which, a new Window popped up for me to fill in my card details. After the credentials was over, I got an OTP Code on my phone. After entering that, and a successful validation later, I got an extra 5000 discount! Which means, with the voucher earlier, I had the Rs.21999 for Rs.20999. But with the NIC Asia Debit payment, I got the phone for Rs.16,049 (Rs.50 is the shipping charge).

That was my experience with Daraz Mobile Week. But I want to clear something up. Because 25% discount won’t necessarily get you 25% on the cost of the device. You actually get a maximum of Rs. 5000. So, do not get confused on that front. But following similar procedures, you can purchase the Pocophone F1 for Rs. 27,999, Galaxy M40 for Rs. 31, 190, and the Galaxy S10 for Rs. 88,500, and Huawei Nova 4 for Rs. 44,900 as well.

Since the Mobile Week 2019 will last till the 30th June, you still have time if you are interested.

Visit Daraz Mobile Week 2019 Here

Vivo Y15 with triple rear camera and a huge battery launched in Nepal

GadgetByte

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June 27, 2019

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Vivo Y15 with triple rear camera and a huge battery launched in Nepal

Vivo was the brand that started off the trend of the triple camera setup at the lower end of the Nepalese market. Vivo Y15 followed the triple camera trend started by Vivo Y17 and Vivo Y12. But is it just the triple camera or there’s more to it? Is the triple camera setup in Vivo Y15 still relevant in this price segment?

Vivo Y15 Overview

Display

The Vivo Y15 is not very different from its other siblings. In fact, if you look at the Y17, Y15, and Y12 at once, you might not even know the difference! All of these have the same design, form factor and the same 6.35″ display with a notch upfront. The display is of HD+ resolution, which may not look impressive.

Camera

But the most impressive thing about this is the triple cameras it packs at the back. Yes, I said the same thing for the Y17, and also for the Y12. But it’s not every day that you get three cameras on a budget phone. The triple camera setup on this one is the same as the other two as well – a 13 MP primary camera, an 8 MP ultra-wide lens and a 2 MP depth sensor. In addition, there’s a nice 16 MP selfie camera upfront. And this is the only thing that differentiates it from the other siblings (for the most part). Actually, this is the only part differentiating it from the Y12 – as the Y12 has an 8 MP selfie camera while keeping all other aspects the same.

Performance and Battery

Under the hood, this phone runs on the Helio P22 chipset, which, of course, is a pretty modest smartphone. And for a budget category phone, this might be okay. Also, there’s a 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. In addition, there’s a huge 5000 mAh battery in it. And combined with the HD+ screen, the battery should last for over 2 days easily. But there is no mention of any kind of Fast Charging, though.

Vivo Y15 Specifications:

Display: 6.35″ IPS LCD display, Halo FullView with HD+ resolution
Rear Camera: Triple, 13 MP Primary with f/2.2 + 8 MP with f/2.2 and 2 MP depth sensor
Front Camera: Singe, 16 MP with f/2.2 aperture
Processor: MediaTek Helio P22
RAM: 4 GB
Storage: 64 GB
Battery: 5000 mAh
OS: FunTouch 9 on top of Android 9

Vivo Y15 Price in Nepal and Availability

Talking about the cost, the price of Vivo Y15 in Nepal is set at Rs 24,190, but you can get a discount on that marked price depending upon the retailers. At this price range, however, Redmi Note 8 reigns as the sole King and we can’t recommend anything else than that.

Model Name	Price in Nepal
Vivo Y15 (4/64GB)	Rs 22,990

Microsoft Surface Centaurus to launch in 2020 with potential Android app support

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June 27, 2019

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Microsoft Surface Centaurus to launch in 2020 with potential Android app support

Let me make it clear. First of all, it’s not called the Microsoft Surface Centaurus. But since we have no official name for it yet, the codename “Centaurus” will have to do for now. Whatever the name, though, it’s a new type of surface PC from Microsoft and will get a release date sometime in the first half of 2020.

According to sources (Forbes), this new PC will feature not one, but two 9-inch displays – in the form of a book. Keep in mind these are two separate panels, unlike the Lenovo’s iteration of a foldable laptop. The display comes in at a 4:3 aspect ratio and will pack a 10nm Lakefield CPU from Intel.

Also Read: MediaTek Helio P65 chipset unveiled: Brings improved AI & gaming capabilities

The Centaurus will run on ‘Windows Lite’ with native Android apps support. It’s basically a stripped down version of Windows and will seemingly compete with ChromeOS. This version of OS is based on the “Windows Core OS”, which is basically a more efficient version of Windows that targets smaller devices, mostly tablets. So, it won’t give you the full-fledged Windows experience, but it won’t gorge all that power either…

Intel Tiger Concept — Intel’s Tiger Concept; A dual display laptop

The Android App Support

A Windows device with Android sounds exciting, but this isn’t exactly a new concept. Google tried to push the Android PlayStore to their own ChromeOS a few years back, but fast forward to this day, it hasn’t panned out really well for them. ChromeOS is still nowhere near to competing with any of the major players out there.

For one, Microsoft’s reasoning to support Android Apps on their own tablets is awfully similar to Google’s. But if Google themselves failed to scrape out any success from it, I don’t see the silver lining for them, either. And that’s after they added touch support on multiple ChromeOS devices. So what chance does Microsoft have?

But then again, Google’s implementation wasn’t the best either. The apps were poorly optimized, not to mention buggy and that’s on Google’s own ChromeOS! Compared to them, iPads were far far better, and there was basically no comparing the two.

Just think of how many successful Android tablets are currently there in the market. Sure the whole industry has been a bit stale lately, and yet the iPads are still selling comparatively well. So, if the maker who has the most influence towards the play store could not do enough, what does Microsoft hope to achieve from this?

We don’t know yet, but I do have a theory. All of Google’s implementations were limited to tablet experience – think of it as a Windows laptop, but without the legacy features. If Microsoft can bring even a semi Windows experience with Android app support, that could light a match in this direction.

Also Read: Raspberry Pi 4 is here with powerful internals: All in the same price

And finally, Microsoft has a good relation with OEMs who manufacture hardware based on Windows. So companies like Dell, Lenovo, HP or Acer should come up with their own versions of this PC as well, a benefit Google didn’t have. Plus, it seems like even Bill Gates is all in with the idea, given his disappointment.

Raspberry Pi 4 is here with powerful internals: All in the same price

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June 26, 2019

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Raspberry Pi 4 is here with powerful internals: All in the same price

Raspberry Pi is one of the best things about tech. In a portable body that comes in the size of a credit card, the device offers processing power for programming and coding. It is targeted especially for children, but it can be used by people who are okay with low processing power while programming. Raspberry Pi works when it is connected or plugged into a monitor or even a TV through their HDMI port

The fans of the company had been asking for an update for the Raspberry Pi 3 B+, and finally, it has launched the successor to the device, the Raspberry Pi 4.

Overview

The Raspberry Pi 4 is now upgraded in almost every way possible. According to the manufacturers, this new device will now provide ‘a PC-like level’ of performance due to the ‘comprehensive’ update

For the same starting price of $35, the Raspberry Pi 4 now comes with quad Cortex-A72 cores processor that has a 1.5 GHz clock speed. Compared against its predecessor’s four Cortex-A53 cores with a clock speed of 1.4 GHz, the 4 will have 3 times better performance. Aiding this processor is LPDDR4 memory.

raspberry pi 4 internals — Credit: GSMArena

The Raspberry Pi 4 also has an upgrade in terms of RAM count. The baseline model has 1 GB RAM with 2 GB and 4 GB versions also available for purchase. The 2 GB and 4 GB variants will cost $45 and $55 respectively.

For connectivity purposes, the 4 is connected with USB C connector, and now features two USB 2.0 ports and USB 3.0 ports each. For output, Raspberry has gone with Type-D Micro HDMI instead of a full-fledged HDMI. Likewise, the new device is able to stream 4K HEVC videos at 60 fps with a support for dual monitors that have a resolution of 4K.

The operating system, the product runs on has also had an update. According to the conpany, this OS will be based on Debian 10 Buster which brings in a modern interface with lots of technical improvements and updated applications.

Raspberry Pi 4 Specifications

CPU: 1.5GHz quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A72 CPU
RAM: LPDDR4 SDRAM, 1 GB / 2 GB / 4 GB
Ports: 2 USB 2.0 + 3 USB 3.0 + Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 5.0
Wi-Fi: Dual-band 802.11ac wireless
Dual monitor support (up to 4K)
VideoCore VI graphics

Raspberry Pi 4 Price in Nepal

The Raspberry Pi 4 price in Nepal starts at Rs. 22,500 for the 4GB Variant. The 8GB variant costs Rs. 26,500.

MediaTek Helio P65 chipset unveiled: Brings improved AI & gaming capabilities

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June 26, 2019

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MediaTek Helio P65 chipset unveiled: Brings improved AI & gaming capabilities

MediTek When MediaTek launched the Helio P60 chipset as a successor to the Helio P23, it received loads of applauds from the crowd. The chipset was a capable performer in the midrange territory back then. However, Helio P70 chipset failed to bring such kind of upgrades. But to purge for the disappointments it created, MediaTek recently unveiled Helio P65. And this new chip has brought faster CPU cores along with improved AI capabilities.

This time, MediaTek has overhauled the core configuration in the Helio P65. In the Helio P60 and P70, the company used an octa-core model with four Cortex-A73 cores and four Cortex-A53 cores. But this time, MediaTek has implemented octa-core setup with two Cortex-A75 performance cores and six Cortex-A55 power-efficient cores.

According to ARM, the Cortex-A75 offers 22% beefier performance than the A73 whereas the A55 is 18% faster than the A53. This cues that the single core performance of this SoC will be better than P60 & P70 but it will still have lower multi-core performance scores.

Even on the GPU front, the company has made some changes. The Mali-G72 GPU has been replaced with less powerful Mali-G52 cores. So there can be some drop in the 3D performance. However, with the company’s CorePilot resource control system, MediaTek claims to deliver consistent performance while gaming.

Nonetheless, MediaTek toiled harder to improve its imaging prowess. The new chip has support for 48MP Quad Bayer sensors. So the ISP (Image Signal Processor) on the SoC can effectively merge multiple pixels into one to produce sharp and crisp images. The SoC also has support for dual-camera set-up consisting of two 16-megapixel sensors. Furthermore, MediaTek Helio P65 chipset is capable of reducing the Multi-Frame Noises. Other notable inclusions would be its improved depth engine to bring better Bokeh effects.

For better video recording capabilities, MediaTek has included an enhanced Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) for stable videos and Rolling Shutter Compensation (RSC) technology. This new chip also supports video recording at H.265 encoded format. However, it is still incapable of recording 4K movies. Helio P65 can only record 1080p/60 fps movies at maximum.

On the connectivity front, there is quite an upgrade from Bluetooth 4.2 to Bluetooth 5.0. MediaTek has also improved GNSS and positioning engine. So you can now expect a more accurate indoor navigation. However, there is no support for UFS storage, which is quite a bummer in 2019. The chip can only handle eMMC 5.1 storage. There is also no support for dual channel LPDDR4x RAM.

Apart from that, there is nothing much of a change while comparing it with the P60 and P70 chipsets. The same 12nm TSMC manufacturing process would be an example.

MediaTek Helio P65 Chipset Vs P60 Vs P70

SoC	Helio P65	P60	P70
Process	TSMC 12nm
CPU	4x Cortex-A75 @ 2.0 GHz 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.0 GHz	Four Cortex-A73 @ 2.0 GHz Four Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz	4x Cortex-A73 @ 2.1 GHz 4x Cortex-A53 @ 2.0 GHz
Memory	1X LPDDR3 933MHz, 1X LPDDR4x Up to 1800MHzup to 8GB (LPDDR4x), eMMC 5.1	1X LPDDR3 933MHz, 2X LPDDR4x Up to 1800MHzup to 8GB (LPDDR4x), eMMC 5.1 / UFS 2.1
Camera	48MP 4-cell @ 17fps; 16MP + 16MP @ 30fps; 25MP @ 30fps. Hardware dual-camera support. (AI) Facial Detection & Scene Detection. AI Smart Photo Album, Single-Cam/Dual-Cam Bokeh; Hardware Warping Engine (EIS); Rolling Shutter Compensation (RSC) engine; MEMA 3DNR; Multi-Frame Noise reduction	24+16MP or 32MP camera @ 30fps. (AI) Facial Detection & Scene Detection; Hardware Warping Engine (EIS); Anti-Blooming Engine; MEMA 3DNR; Multi-Frame Noise reduction; Real-time HDR recording and viewing; Zig-Zag HDR; RAW-domain multi-frame HDR; PDAF
Video Decode	2160p (2160 x 1080), h.264, h.265 / HEVC, VP-9 at 30 fps, 1080p at 60fps	2160p (2160 x 1080), h.264, h.265 / HEVC at 30 fps
Video Encode	2160p h.264 at 30 fps, 1080p h.265 / HEVC at 60 fps	2160p h.264 at 30 fps
Graphics	ARM Mali-G52 2EEMC2 at up to 820MHz	Mali-G72 MP3 at up to 700MHz	ARM Mali-G72 MP3 at up to 800MHz
Modem	Cat-4, Cat-7 DL / Cat-13 UL, DL/UL CA, TAS 2.0, HPUE, IMS (VoLTE\ViLTE\WoWi-Fi), eMBMS, Dual 4G VoLTE (DSDS), Band 71
Connectivity	Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, FM Radio, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS/ Galileo/ Glonass/Beidou	Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11 ac GPS/Glonass/Beidou ANT+, Bluetooth 4.2 /FM

Source: FoneArena

Xiaomi Mi CC9: Rumored Up!

GadgetByte

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June 26, 2019

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Who doesn’t love rumors? Of upcoming smartphones, that is. And the rumors surrounding Xiaomi’s new smartphone lineup are fascinating, to say the least. Xiaomi is now going to launch its third smartphone in its MI lineup, dubbed CC. Strange name, if you ask me, but that CC stands for a number of things. And the first phone from that lineup will be called the Xiaomi Mi CC9, and it will debut with a lighter version, the Xiaomi Mi CC9e.

This comes after Xiaomi bought another mobile manufacturer, called Meitu last year. So, we were expecting some kind of new smartphones, but an entire lineup? Anyway, the CC9 will be focusing more on the aesthetics and camera aspects. So, needless to say, its target audience are the “cool” and “trendy” youngsters.

The intriguing thing is, while the CC in the name stands for Colorful and Creative, it can also mean a different number of things. Because even Xiaomi’s official photos teasing the devices show a lot of monikers. For instance, it can be Curious & Creative, Challenge & Carry on, Camera Clicks and so on… The phone is developed by the Chic and Cool 90 team, so, that is another full form in itself.

The Xiaomi CC series will feature two phones when it first comes out on July 2 – a Xiaomi CC9 and a lighter CC9e.

Xiaomi Mi CC9 and CC9e

One of the strangest names for a smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi CC9 (the ‘9’ stands for 9 years of the company), sounds like a very exciting device if we go by the rumors. Since the primary focus is the aesthetics and camera, maybe the phones won’t be very powerful. But some rumors suggest it might feature the new Snapdragon 730 chipset. Of course, as far as rumors go, other rumors suggest it will feature the flagship chip, Snapdragon 855! We’re all waiting to see about that. Other specs leaks suggest it will have a 6.39″ Full HD+ display, and a 4000 mAh battery.

However, the sure shot thing is that the CC9 will come with a motorized flip camera, just like the ASUS Zenfone 6. The only difference is it will have triple cameras on it, and since it’s a flip camera, the selfie camera will be the same. The only photos that have leaked of the device are in the Prism White color, which looks very classy and cool! Hey… I got another full form of it! 😛

Anyway, the lighter variant, Xiaomi Mi CC9e will have the standard phone design of 2019. That is a triple camera setup at the back and a water-drop notch up front. Also, the camera setup will comprise of a 48 MP primary lens, an 8 MP secondary and a 5 MP tertiary lens. And judging by the current trends, we can be pretty sure the additional lenses are an ultra-wide and a depth sensor. In addition, it will feature a smaller 5.97″ Full-HD+ display, a Snapdragon 710 chipset, and a 3500 mAh battery.

That is all we know about the phones, so far. The info leaks are pretty tight, and we can’t be sure if all the rumors will hold up. These phones will launch in China, on July 2 first. But there is no word of launch outside China yet.