Vivo V15, the company’s crowned jewel just received a price cut of Rs 3,200 in Nepal. Now, that might not sound a lot but consider it’s targeted audience and it’s competition, this should help bump its sales. Plus, price drops are never a bad thing, I mean have you heard someone complain about it? Sure, apart from the owners of the said device, but, well, you can’t keep everyone happy.
With the Vivo V15, you are getting some good hardware, backup by the motorized selfie cam implementation. To quote our own review “Except for the UI, I have no complaints what so ever”, followed by the fact that it was a bit overpriced. But now, well you have one more reason to opt for it. Especially if you were torn between the Pro version or this one.|
So, for a new price of Rs 41,990, this phone seems like a better deal, more so for Vivo fans. Now consider the 5% sales discount and you should end up paying just under Rs 40k. As for its competitors, the Huawei P30 lite costs less and provides a similar hardware setup. But for all you pop-up selfie camera lovers or just that full uninterrupted display, you guys can rejoice.
Specifications:
Display: 6.53-inch Full HD+; 91.64% screen to body ratio; Corning Gorilla Glass 5
CPU: Octa-core MediaTek Helio P70
RAM: 6GB
Storage: 128GB; Dedicated SD card slot for memory expansion up to 256GB
OS: Android 9 (Pie) with FunTouch OS 9 on the top
Rear Camera: Triple camera – 12MP primary with f/1.78 + 8MP Ultra-wide-angle with f/2.2 aperture + 5MP depth sensor with f/2.4; LED flash
Battery: 4,000 mAh with dual engine fast charging technology
Colors: Topaz Blue, Ruby Red
Vivo V15 Price in Nepal [Updated 2020]
Vivo V15 was launched in Nepal at a price of Rs. 45,190. However, Vivo is offering the V15 in Nepal for Rs. 41,990 for a limited period. This new price of Vivo V15 is for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.
On Thursday morning, at 2:31 AM NST, as a lot of Nepali people were in their deep sleep, an Antares rocket carrying a lot of cargo launched up into space. This spacecraft holds a special Nepali dream as it is carrying Nepal’s first ever satellite – NepaliSat-1.
The nano-satellite went up into space from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, USA. It will reach the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday.
A nano-satellite is a satellite that weighs somewhere between 1 kg to 10 kg. NepaliSat-1 has a weight of 1.3 kg and is cube-shaped. Scientists hold plans to release the satellite into the lower orbit of ISS in the second week of June.
NepaliSat-1 has been developed by two Nepali scientists, Hariram Shrestha, and Aabhas Maskey, under the investment of Nepali Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), and the help of other scientists. This tech was developed under the BIRDS project of Japanese Kyushu Institute of Technology. The BIRDS project is its collaboration with the United Nations. It basically holds the objective of helping various countries develop and launch their first satellite.
In his tweet, Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was quick to praise the scientists and institutions that were involved in the feat.
Though a humble beginning, with the launching of NepaliSat-1 Nepal has entered the Space-Era. I wish to congratulate all those scientists and institutions that were involved right from the development to its launching thereby enhancing the prestige of our country. pic.twitter.com/PpF1PIcQfa
The cargo spacecraft is also carrying satellites made by Japanese and Sri Lankan scientists along with supplies and gears for the crew residing in the ISS.
NepaliSat-1 has been built mainly for two major sectors among others – Remote Sensing, and Communication. With the help of a multispectral camera, the remote sensing system will capture photos in RGB color from 400 km away. Likewise, for communication, it will gather data related to Nepal’s temperature, water level, soil, humidity, and SOS. The collected data will be sent to NAST’s Ground Station which is currently under construction.
Talking to the BBC Nepali Service, Aabhas Maskey said, “This has been possible due to the investment from the Nepal Government. We still face the challenge of running a satellite for a longer period of time. This is our first step.
He also added that there is still a lot of work to be done to make huge strides in the satellite technology for Nepal.
Since it’s a nano-satellite, NepaliSat-1 won’t remain in the space for long. Maskey has predicted it to stay in space for 3 months to a year.
For Nepal to actually run a satellite that actually stays in the space for a long period of time, investment from all sectors is necessary. The government should also work to produce a workforce meant for the purpose. There also is a necessity of building the essential science an technology to run and make satellites from Nepal itself.
The pop-up selfie camera is quite on trend. The technology debuted last year on the flagship Vivo Nex. With pop-up selfie camera on the board, the phone lacks any sort of bezels, notches or hole punch cutouts. And such type of An immersive display definitely looks attractive. However, the phone didn’t land in Nepal. So we were unable to feel the tech and test the device. But recently, Vivo launched the mid-range phone with an elevating selfie camera. When it launched it was one of the very first phones in Nepal with such type of feature. The elevating selfie camera definitely looks fancy. But other than that, what does the phone packs inside. And how does it fares in real-life use? Let’s find out in this Vivo V15 review.
Vivo V15 Specifications:
Display: 6.53 inches IPS LCD screen with FHD+ resolution and 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Platform: Android 9.0 Pie with Funtouch 9
CPU: MediaTek Helio P70
Back camera: 12 MP f/1.8 + 8 MP f/2.2 (13 mm ultra-wide sensor), 5 MP f/2.4 depth sensor
Front camera: 32MP motorized pop-up camera
Video: 1080p@30 fps, 2160@30 fps
RAM: 6 GB RAM
ROM: 128 GB; expandable up to 256 GB (dedicated slot)
Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery, Micro USB with Dual-engine fast charging
SIM (s): Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Connections: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, and hotspot
Colors: Topaz Blue, Glamour Red
Price: Rs. 45,190 41,990 (new price)
Design
As usual, let’s start with the design. The design is more or less like the Vivo V15 Pro, except for a fingerprint sensor at the rear side. You get a vertical camera setup tucked neatly inside a black surface that creates a noticeable bump while placed on a plane surface.
By looks, this gradient Blue color seems good to the eyes but the phone does feel very heavy on the hands. However, the weight seems evenly distributed in all parts, so the phone does not feel hollow.
The device comes pre-attached with a screen protector, it is not noticeable though. This is a very nice touch because there are many people out there, who do not like putting a tempered glass on the phones’ screens.
However, the buttons are not tactile enough to my liking. And talking about buttons, you also get a dedicated button for Google assistant that comes handy only when you get used to it. But, you don’t have any option to remap to other apps.
And just above it, you have the SIM slots alongside a dedicated Micro SD card slot.
The material on this one looks like Glass, but this is plastic, unfortunately. The problem with glass looking plastic backs is they tend to start pigmenting even when you use it with covers. On the brighter side, this is something Vivo can take as feedback and get it right the next time.
Display
Upfront, you have a 6.53-inches IPS LCD display that looks quite good. Of course, when you place it beside the Super AMOLED display of the Vivo V15 pro, you can spot the difference right away. But for the display this one is, we can’t call it bad. Outdoor too it fares quite well and you get quite the brightness. There are minimum bezels around the screen except for the chin.
But then again, the company has put in a lot of efforts in making this screen look like it’s bezel-less however, if the chin would have been a little smaller, the display would look even better.
And if you ask me about the quality of the display, as I said earlier, I would say it’s nothing to complain about. You get a vibrant one here and it’s large, so watching movies or playing games has been quite an experience. And while playing PUBG you get enough space for you to rest your fingers without obstructing the game. Viewing angles are great and you will love the display overall.
Camera
It’s a Vivo smartphone we are talking about, so explaining about the cameras in detail is a must. The phone has a 12 MP primary camera, an 8 MP secondary Ultra-wide-angle lens followed by a 5 MP depth sensor. And as the specs go, the images follow the similar performance. They look good and have good color reproduction if not the most accurate.
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But one thing I have noticed having used the ‘Pro version’ too is that because it uses pixel binning to give 12MP shots, the pictures are much much better on the higher end variant.
Back to talking about the V15’s cameras, the pictures are bright and vibrant, no doubts on that, but when you zoom in, the details are just average. But in the perfect light, you can get some dope pictures.
The ultra-wide-angle lens is something you can brag about in this smartphone. Sometimes the wide-angle shots have better colors than the normal ones, which was surprising but its a welcome feature. And I also compared some of those wide-angle shots with the Galaxy A50 and found the V15’s camera to have better details and colors. So, the secondary lens does justice to the cameras.
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
The third Depth sensor is average in performance though! It misses out on edge detection part most of the times and although the different portrait lighting effects seem fun, they have been inconsistent on my use.
A perfect example of this is the Monochrome effect which has only worked like 2 times on my use, other times it has failed to deliver! And other than the rainbow effect, there is no particular difference between other options, except for some changes in the skin tone.
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Portrait Mode (Studio)
Portrait Mode (Stereo)
Portrait Mode (Rainbow)
Portrait Mode (Monochrome)
Portrait Mode (Monochrome)
Having said that you have options to adjust the background blur after taking pictures like the Vivo V11 and even the V9, so nothing head-turning here as well.
The pictures in artificial lighting turn out good. They look nice to the eyes and have good details. There is also a dedicated night mode here that uses a long exposure, which works to preserve some details but nothing to go on about. Normal nighttime pictures have grains to them and look no good.
Normal Mode
Night Mode
Selfies appear nice from the 32MP pop-up camera. It is very fancy taking selfies in public because people look at the phone and make a perplexed expression looking at the alleviating camera which has been fun for me.
The selfies are bright and colorful and on par with what we expect from a Vivo smartphone. I would not say that the skin tone is the most natural, but they do not look bad if you ask me.
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There’s the infamous beauty mode too which is aggressive only if set to the highest numbers. Other times, if you get almost natural looking selfies. And as mentioned in the impressions video, there are tons of photoshop features in this one, which may come to the liking for many people.
There are portrait selfie features too, just like the main camera and the pictures look beautified to some extent, not sure why and how but I am pretty sure I turned off the beauty mode while taking those selfies.
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Vivo V15 go pop camera
Vivo V15 rear camera
Pop Up Camera On Resting Position
I have also compared the selfies of the A50 and V15 and while the details are preserved well in the V15, the A50 has a much natural looking color.
Okay, let’s go to the performance side of things. This phone uses the Helio P70 and 6GB RAM to power itself and does a pretty good job. It is definitely an upgrade over last year. The same chipset is also there on the OPPO F11 Pro and it’s going to be an interesting battle as to which phone has optimized it better.
On to real life performance, with this one you can play PUBG on medium settings in HD in high frame rate settings pretty smoothly. There are minor stutters and slight drops in frame rated that will go unnoticed. Plus, the display is large and the control buttons don’t obstruct your gaming experience.
Normal to even heavy tasks run well but messenger on top of heavy games makes the phone panic sometimes. Other than that, multitasking has been smooth, app opening is fast and switching in between apps is fairly smooth.
On to the software, this one comes with Android 9 Pie which is pretty standard in 2019. I have received altogether three updates during my time with the phone which I appreciate. But what I don’t appreciate is the Funtouch OS that’s there on this phone.
The major problems I have with it are: 1. The upward swiping taskbar. 2. Those cartoonish and large weird looking icons.
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Cartoonish Icons
swipe up menu
Bloatwares
Users have no control over the taskbar settings. However, what you can do is change the theme and make the icons look a bit better. And there is a search button inside the settings menu now which has made using this phone easier in comparison to its predecessors.
But one thing is, as long as I have used the phone, I still get confused on whether to swipe down or up for the taskbar and I really hope Vivo brings an update to change that or get it right the next time.
Battery
The battery on the V15 is a bigger 4,000 mAh and this is one of the things that sets it apart from the pro model. Although the battery has to power an IPS display which consumes more power, I am very well satisfied with the back up it gave me.
I am a pretty heavy user with most of my day spent on YouTube and Facebook and Gaming. And even so, the device held up very well for an entire day. On normal usage, the days that don’t involve much gaming, the battery even lasted for more than a day.
And the phone is enabled with an 18-Watt fast charging that does not take even 2 hours to get your phone fully charged which is a bonus if you ask me.
But, the Micro USB port is a minus to the device. Last year, we had the same story and even now, in 2019, there is the same thing all over again. I think there are some things that companies need to understand themselves, things about being updated to trends, things about evolving!
Security & Audio
Now let’s talk about the fingerprint sensor. It is fast and accurate gets it correct 9 out of 10 times.
Strangely, There is no Facial Unlock feature though but it’s okay considering the selfie camera pops out each time you look at the Vivo V15 pro and that was annoying. Also, this phone does not miss out on the headphone jack so this one’s a plus. The single firing speaker at the bottom does an average job.
Conclusion
So, my conclusion about the phone is, this one looks good overall. Except for the UI, I have no complaints what so ever. Having said that a price of Rs. 45,190 in Nepal, it is a bit too much.
I mean, you can get the 128GB version of the Huawei P30 Lite or the Galaxy A50 for less price. And even if you are into Pop-up camera and love VIVO, you should get the Pro version that comes with a Super AMOLED display, superior Snapdragon 675 processor, and better cameras.
Honestly, with the Vivo V15, you are paying the extra price for the pop-up camera! And until and unless, you don’t absolutely want that, I think the device is asking for a little premium price than it should.
ASUS smartphone has got quite a fan base. It has been releasing value for money devices because of which it’s making quite a mark in the midrange and budget territory. But sadly, ASUS phones weren’t available in Nepal up until now. But things are going to be different from now on. ASUS phones are finally making a debut in Nepal through the authorized channel. And Prism Technologies Pvt. Ltd. is going to make that happen. Prism Technologies was the authorized distributor of Infocus smartphones in Nepal. And the company has now been nominated as the authorized distributor of ASUS smartphones for Nepal. And the company has plans to release ASUS Zenfone Max M2 and Max Pro M2 in the initial phase.
Asus Zenfone Max M2 Overview:
When it comes to the specs, the Zenfone Max M2 is vaguely similar with the Xiaomi’s Redmi 7. It comes with the 6.26-inch IPS display featuring HD+ resolution. But unlike the Redmi 7, the Max M2 comes with a wide notch on the top, which can be obtrusive while viewing the contents.
The phone is powered by Snapdragon 632 chipset. On the memory side of things, the phone comes in two storage formats: one with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage whereas the higher end variant gets the 4GB RAM and 64GB of onboard memory. User will also get a dedicated SD card slot in order to expand the storage further.
Moving on to the imaging department, there lies a dual camera setup at its back. A camera pair with a 13MP primary shooter and 2MP depth sensor has been tucked inside the rear panel. On the front lies an 8MP shooter, which takes care of the selfies. The front camera also comes into action while unlocking the device via face unlock feature. The phone also embraces a fingerprint sensor at the back to ensure fast and accurate means of unlocking the device.
Apart from that, the Zenfone Max M2 enjoys a gigantic battery. The device comes aboard with a 4000mAh battery, which ensures a prolonged endurance.
Asus Zenfone Max M2 Specifications:
Display: 6.3-inch IPS LCD display
Resolution: HD+ (1520 × 720 pixels), 19:9 aspect ratio @269PPI
Rear Camera: Dual camera setup – (13MP, f/1.8, PDAF) + (2MP depth sensor), LED flash
The Max Pro M2 is the better of the two with more capable hardware on the inside. And the major highlight on this device has to be its processor. The phone flaunts Snapdragon 660 chipset, which is a capable performer in the midrange territory. And coupled it with 4GB of RAM, the device performs fluidly while multitasking and switching between the apps. The Max Pro M2 also comes aboard with 64/128GB of onboard memory to let you store all your files and photos.
On the display front, the Max Pro M2 looks fancier than the Max M2. The 6.3-inch IPS display has a slightly smaller notch when compared with the Max M2. The screen on the Max Pro M2 features Full-HD+ resolution and is capped with Gorilla Glass 6for protection.
The camera is another selling point of the device. The phone packs a pair of cameras on the back. And the primary shooter here employs the 12MP Sony IMX 486 sensor, which does a decent job. The secondary shooter employs a 5MP depth sensor. When both cameras come active, they can capture portrait images as well. Talking about the selfie shooter, a 13MP lens remains embedded in the notch up top.
Talking about the battery, there is a massive 5000mAh non-removable battery. With such an enormous battery on the board, the device stays alive for a considerate amount of time.
Colors, the Nepali smartphone seems to be always on the pursuit of bringing trendy features on the table. The smartphone maker has already introduced a dual-camera setup and a fingerprint sensor on the entry-level. And this time around, Colors has brought the trendy 18:9 display in an entry-level. Colors Pride 1E is the new hotshot in town to feature that trendy display.
Colors Pride 1E Overview:
The display being the major attraction of the phone, let’s talk about it first. The handset comes with a 5.45-inch IPS panel. The screen of the device comes with HD+ resolution. If the price is considered, the presence of an HD display is absolutely commendable.
The phone is powered by a 1.3GHz Quad-core processor and comes aboard with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. On the software side, the phone has got the Android Go Edition of the Android Oreo. With optimized software on the board, the phone doesn’t devour much RAM and storage to install and run the apps and games. There is also an SD card slot if one wishes to expand the storage according to their needs.
Talking about the camera, the phone has got a 5MP shooter at the back. There is also a 2MP selfie camera on the front. Both of these cameras are accompanied by an LED flash.
The phone supports dual SIM cards and is compatible with 3G and 4G. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
As far as the price of the device is concerned, the phone demands Rs. 7,000 on the purchase. Alongside the phone, you will also get a free safety case, which ensures protection for your device.
Colors Pride 1E specifications:
5.45-inch IPS LCD display; HD+ (720 x 1440 pixels) resolution @ 18:9 aspect ratio
1.3GHz Quad-core processor
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage; expandable with Micro SD Card
5MP rear camera with LED flash
2MP front camera with LED flash
Android Oreo (v8.1); Android Go edition
Connectivity: Dual-SIM (4G + 3G), GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
So after a lot speculating and waiting, foldable phones became a reality with the Royale Flex Pai coming out first. And then, it was the Huawei Mate X that showed up. Shortly thereafter, Samsung Galaxy Fold made its presence known, and probably, that was the most anticipated folding smartphone ever. And it was one of the futures of smartphones it seems. But with reports that the Galaxy Fold is unfolding its durability issues, the future seems fragile!
I don’t want to be too dramatic about this. But what happened to it, for such an expensive phone is, kind of, a cause for alarm. Some reviewers, reportedly, faced screen issues. And by issues, I mean, rendering the displays useless. Reviewers like MKBHD, Dieter Bohn ofThe Verge, Steve Kovach ofCNBC, and Mark Gurman of Bloomberg faced such issues. And that happened in two different ways.
Samsung Galaxy Fold breaks for reviewers
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Source: Twitter / MKBHD
Source: Twitter / Mark Gurman
First was, what can be considered a user error. There is a thin plastic film on the inner foldable display of the Galaxy Fold that not only protects its display but is actually the part of it. And while the retail units do have a warning on the packaging telling users not to remove it, the ones reviewers received did not have it. So, like any other sensible person, they removed the film, mistaking it for a screen protector of sorts. Also, that is one easy mistake to make. Immediately after removing it, they began to face problems, and the displays became useless.
Another kind of problem, happened, on its own apparently. By which, I mean, no removing of the coating was involved. But there is also a small gap underneath the plastic coating right at the hinge, through which dust or air can enter easily. And maybe due to that, the displays stopped working.
After these incidents went public, Samsung did release a statement which claimed they would investigate the problem. In addition, it is also a warning about not to remove the coating after purchase. Now, of course, what’s happened has happened. There are no two ways about it. For consumers, Samsung might replace the faulty units, while other retailers like AT&T and T-Mobile claim to be making contingency plans for consumers.
Nevertheless, this is, as I said, raises some concern. For such a highly anticipated device and an expensive one at that, to break so easily is something else entirely. Sure, this is a first-generation device. The very first foldable phone for Samsung. So, there are bound to be trials-and-errors and those sort of things. But, maybe, is there a possibility that, in a hurry to get a foldable phone out, did Samsung produce something half-baked?
You be the judge. Do let us know your thoughts, if you have any, on this. Also, would you, if you get to buy a foldable phone, go for it?
Despite having the Galaxy M10 and M20 for budget-conscious buyers, Samsung launched the Galaxy A10 is here in Nepal. For a price of Rs.13490, it is slightly more expensive than the Galaxy M10. And for that price, it seems to have a bit of improvement as well as downgrades.
Samsung Galaxy A10 Overview:
Samsung’s old days of the J-series and On-series were pretty confusing. There were tons of phones and people had a hard time deciding which one to get. With the new A-series and M-series fiasco, we thought it was over. Well, guess what? It’s not! Originally the A-series was intended for mid-range phones. But with the likes of Galaxy A80 coming out, it moved to premium mid-range as well. And now with the Samsung Galaxy A10, it’s moving to budget as well? Now, this is definitely a head-scratcher.
Anyways, let’s talk about the Galaxy A10. It is a budget phone, and hence has a plastic body, on which, you get a 6.2″ IPS LCD screen with an HD+ display. Also, it has the same 19:9 aspect ratio with the V-shaped notch. So, this is Samsung’s Infinity-V display.
It is strange that this one gets only a single camera at the back while the M10 features a dual one. So, it misses out on the ultra-wide-angle lens, which is a downgrade for the device. Also, the primary camera is a 13 MP lens while the selfie camera is a 5 MP one.
The performance side is what sees an improvement, however. An octa-core Exynos 7884 chipset powers the phone, with 2 GB RAM. 7884 is a slight improvement over the 7870 of the Galaxy M10. In terms of battery, it has a similar 3400 mAh battery and there seems to be no Fast Charging. Also, it has 32 GB storage, which is expandable. In addition, it does come with One UI based on Android Pie out of the box.
Display: 6.2″ IPS LCD display with HD+ resolution (720 x 1520 pixels), Infinity-V notch, 19:9 aspect ratio
Rear Camera: Single, 13 MP with f/1.9 aperture
Front Camera: 5 MP with f/2.0 aperture
CPU: Octa-core Exynos 7884
GPU: Mali-G71 MP2
RAM: 2 GB
Storage: 32 GB internal, expandable via microSD card up to 512 GB
OS: Android 9.0 (Pie) with One UI
Battery: 3,400 mAh
Colors: Red, Blue, Black
Samsung Galaxy A10 Price in Nepal [Updated]: Rs. 13,490
With all these phones Samsung is throwing at the consumers, it’s starting to get back to the old days again – when Samsung had so many to choose from! And so, Samsung is now one step closer to having its own football team, it seems.
Samsung Galaxy A10 Price in Nepal & Availability
The Samsung Galaxy A10 was launched in Nepal for the price of Rs. 13,490. However, the phone is currently out of stock and is replaced by Galaxy A10s.
Since last year, Huawei has been on the leaderboard of the DxOmark website. Last year there was Huawei P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro. But Samsung evened the gap when it launched the Galaxy S10 Plus. Shortly after, Huawei P30 Pro took a leap and regained the unrivaled top spot with 112 points. But Samsung didn’t remain behind much longer. When the DxOmark tested the Galaxy S10 5G, it granted 112 points for the camera prowess of the phone. And with that score, the Galaxy S10 5G is jointly on the top spot alongside the P30 Pro.
The regular Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus had with a 12MP wide-angle lens, 16MP ultra-wide angle, and a 12MP telephoto lens. The S10 5G, however, has an additional ToF sensor due to which it enjoys a quad-camera setup on the back. With triple cameras, S10/S10+ had score 109 points. So is it the extra ToF lens that has added full three points in the scorebook? Well, no. DxOmark has explicitly said that they do not value the ToF lens. So what made the differences then you might wonder. Well, it’s the software. DxOmark’s website has clearly said that the software on the units they test can be different from the units on sale. And the software here clearly looks better than that on the S10/S10+. So Samsung could roll out an OTA update to make the necessary amendments on camera’s software part.
Note Written on DxOmark’s website
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G camera specifications:
Quad-camera setup, including a dedicated TOF sensor
Primary: 12MP sensor with 1.4µm pixels and 26mm-equivalent, f/1.5–2.4 aperture lens, dual-pixel AF, OIS
Ultra-wide: 16Mp sensor 1.0µm pixels and 13mm-equivalent, f/2.2-aperture lens
Telephoto: 12Mp sensor with 1.0µm pixels and 52mm-equivalent, f/2.4 aperture lens, PDAF, OIS
2160p/60fps, shoots 4K video at 30fps by default
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G Camera Prowess:
On the photography side, the S10 5G score 117 points lagging behind the mighty P30 Pro by merely two points. On the videography side, however, S10 5G leads remains on the top spot in the leaderboard with a whopping 100 points leading P30 Pro by a clear 3 points.
Rear Camera Score
Selfie Score
On the selfie side, S10 Plus was already ahead of its competitors with 96 points. And that got even better on the S10 5G. With 97 points, S10 5G leads the selfie game with quite a ton of margin when compared with the P30 Pro. P30 Pro has only 89 points in the DxOmark’s track records.
Honor, the subsidiary brand of Huawei is quite known for its value for money devices. And this time, the sub-brand thought of expanding its lineup and brought a brand new Honor 20i smartphone into the limelight. The Chinese smartphone maker lifted up the curtain and showcased four variants of the device.
Honor 20i Overview:
Most of the Honor smartphones share the majority of specs from the Huawei devices. And having the same parent company, that’s understandable. This time has been no different. The Honor 20i shares most of the specs with the Huawei P30 Lite, which was launched just a few weeks back.
In terms of display, the Honor 20i flaunts a 6.21-inch IPS display, which is a tad bit bigger than that on the P30 Lite. The display comes with a tiny water-drop style notch on the top and features Full-HD+ resolution.
On to the performance part, the phone gets the Kirin 710 chipset. When it comes to the memory side, Honor has four different variants of the device: 4/128GB, 6/64GB, 6/128GB, and 6/256GB. Except for the 6/128GB variant, all of these devices are listed in Vmall, Huawei’s online store. So the 6/128GB variant may not be available for purchase as of now.
Talking about the camera, the flaunts three unique type of lenses on the back. A 24MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and 2MP depth sensor, all of them are tucked in the rear panel in a vertical orientation. On the front, however, lies just a single lens. The 32MP selfie shooter rests in solitude in the notch atop the display.
Software-wise, the phone boots on Android Pie out of the box with Huawei’s latest EMUI 9 on the top. The phone also comes with 3400mAh battery and uses Micro USB 2.0 port for charging.
Honor 20i Specifications:
Display: 6.21-inch IPS LCD display
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2340×1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @ 415PPI
Even after releasing half a dozen smartphones in the A-series, Samsung is not done yet. The South Korean tech giant has yet again released two new phones and this time on China. The new handsets to make a debut in China are Galaxy A60 and Galaxy A40s.
Samsung Galaxy A60 Overview
Last year, Samsung launched the Galaxy A8s in China, which was the first Samsung smartphone to feature a hole-punch cutout. Samsung likes to call it “Infinity-O display” by the way. And this time, Samsung announced the Galaxy A60 for China, which also comes with a similar kind of hole-punch display.
Samsung’s hole punch display on the Galaxy S10 devices has garnered quite a number of fans. And this time Samsung brought the display tech in a midrange phone, which is quite commendable. The display on this device comes with a 6.3-inch IPS LCD panel comprising of a whopping 91.8% of screen to body ratio. On the resolution side, the phone gets the Full-HD+ resolution in 19.5:9 aspect ratio.
To achieve such a high screen to body ratio, Samsung gave away the earpiece. Samsung has equipped body sound casting technology with which the sound propagates through the screen. And during the calls, the voice from the other side is audible through the screen. This is quite a fancy tech, which is seen on the flagship devices like the Huawei P30 Pro, Vivo Apex 2019, etc.
Lately, Samsung is being quite generous on the performance side. And the Galaxy A60 is no exception. The phone comes with the Snapdragon 675 chipset, which is also found on the more premium Galaxy A70 and the Vivo V15 Pro. And to aid the performance, Samsung has included 6GB of RAM in its arsenal. Talking about the storage, the phone flaunts 128GB of onboard memory, which can be expanded up to 512GB. And Samsung has employed a dedicated SD card slot for that.
Even on the camera front, the Samsung Galaxy A60 looks enticing. The phone enjoys a triple camera setup at the back, which is a combination of 32MP main camera accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle shooter and a 5MP depth sensor. On the front, there is a 32MP camera to handle the selfie business.
The phone is fueled by a 3500mAh battery with support for 15-watt fast charging. On to the software, the boots on Android Pie out of the box with One UI on the top.
Samsung Galaxy A60 Specifications:
Display: 6.3-inch IPS LCD display; Infinity-O display with punch hole cutout; 91.8% screen to body ratio
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2340×1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @ 409PPI
Battery: 3500mAh with 15watt fast charging support; USB Type-C port
Samsung Galaxy A40s Overview
The Galaxy A40s is the rebrandedversion of the Galaxy M30. This cues that Samsung has no plans to bring the M-series products to China.
The Galaxy A40s comes with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED. But unlike the Galaxy A60, this one comes with a U-shaped notch in a tiny water drop style shape. The notch houses a 16MP camera, which can be brought to action while taking selfies and unlocking the device with Face Unlock feature. And talking about the cameras on the back, the A40s also holds a camera triplet on the rear panel. The primary 13MP camera does the normal photo/video shooting, whereas the 5MP ultra-wide-angle lens comes into action to expand the field of view. The third 5MP depth sensor pulls in depth information while capturing the portrait/Live Focus images.
The phone is powered with Exynos 7904 chipset. It gets 6GB RAM and 64GB of onboard storage on the memory side of things. The phone also flaunts a dedicated SD card slot, which aids to expand the memory without sacrificing the SIM2 slot.
The battery is the major highlight of the phone. The 5000mAh battery on the device is quite a powerhouse. Plus it features a 15-watt charging technology due to which the device gets refueled fairly quickly.
Samsung Galaxy A40s Specifications
Display: 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display; Infinity-U display
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2340×1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @ 409PPI
Battery: 5000mAh with 15watt fast charging support; USB Type-C port
Price and Availability
Although Samsung announced these two devices for China, there is no information about the availability of the phone. The launch of the device outside of China is also a matter of concern and there is no information about that either. However, the pricing of the device has been announced.
The Galaxy A60, the better of the two is priced at CNY 1,999 ($300/€265). The Galaxy A40s, on the other hand, will cost CNY 1,499 ($225/€200) in China when it goes on sale.
