Samsung seems to be launching toned down variants of everything. They already have the Galaxy S10e as a semi-flagship of Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Watch Active for the Galaxy Watch. And now, for their fitness band, the Galaxy Fit, there’s also a Galaxy Fit e. Of course, this was already teased when the Galaxy Active launched, but now it’s official.
Samsung Galaxy Fit e Overview
The Galaxy Fit e went official quietly. It’s basically, a smart fitness band which is a stripped down version of the Galaxy Fit. It’s got many of the same features as that one, but not all of them. There are a built-in heart rate monitor, 5 ATM Water-resistance and about 6-7 days of battery life. The battery can extend up to 13 days on frisky usage, though.
Aesthetically, the Samsung Galaxy Fit e comes in a black body with Black, Yellow and White strap choices. There is a small 0.74″ monochrome OLED display that shows notifications and calendar alerts from your phone.
The Galaxy Fit e doesn’t really compromise on features either. It automatically tracks your activities – walking, running and dynamic workout, and can sync the data on your phone with Samsung Health. Also, you get sleep tracking. However, there is no water-related activity tracking despite its Water Resistance.
Availability and Pricing
The Samsung Galaxy Fit e is available for pre-orders throughout Europe. And this costs less than half what the Galaxy Fit costs. Right now, pre-orders start at €40.
Foldable phones had to be here. We knew they were coming, sooner or later. But Foldable PCs? Well, with foldable phones coming out, I guess, it’s not that strange. But still, why is the world so obsessed with foldable stuff? Anyways, we’re getting a Lenovo Foldable PC soon. It’s actually not a PC per se, but a foldable laptop…which, again, looks more like a tablet. Confusing… It’s got no name right now, but it’s in the works and might release it as a ThinkPad X1 device.
Lenovo’s in no hurry to release it, but they did give us hints at what it’ll be like. This laptop will feature a 13.3″ 2K OLED panel and runs on Android. So, basically, a tablet with extra steps, right? Still, they’re calling it a laptop, and a laptop we shall call it. The screen is in a 4:3 aspect ratio, and when it folds inwards, you can use the bottom half as a keyboard. When it is fully unfolded, you can connect an external keyboard via Bluetooth and use it as a “laptop”.
Also, this device supports a Wacom stylus, which clips onto the side. Starting to sound more and more like a tablet, isn’t it? Nonetheless, this 13.3″ laptop, being foldable is even more portable than your regular ultra-books. And this thing has a lot of folding angles for you to use it any way you want. The only thing is, there is a big question mark on the durability after Samsung Galaxy Fold’s little fiasco. But the company claims they’re doing twice the test runs on its hinges. So, only real-life usage will reveal how it comes out.
However, since it’s still in its prototype stages, there’s not much known about the device. No information about specifications, or the final software, configurations, or pricing. Only information is there might be a configuration with a SIM slot for data connectivity. And the thing that bugs me is how they’re choosing to call it a foldable PC when it should be called a tablet!
Anyways, what are your thoughts on this device? Will foldable laptops be the future as well?
The mid-range smartphone segment is getting competitive day by day. With the launch of new phones every week or so, the Nepali buyers are getting to choose from quite a lot of devices right now. Targeting these potential buyers, Huawei has just slashed the price of two of its popular mid-range devices – the Huawei Y9 2019 and the Huawei Nova 3i.
The Huawei Y9 2019 is a mid-range device from 2019. It is a tall phone measuring 6.5-inch and comes with a full HD resolution. The device is powered by the company’s own HiSilicon Kirin 710 chipset which is aided by 4 GB of RAM. It runs on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box with EMUI 8.2 on top as a skin.
The major talking points of the device is its camera setup and battery. There are four cameras on the Huawei Y9 2019 – two on the front and two on the back. On our test, the photos from these lenses are sharp, have details, but the colors are bit too punchy. The secondary lenses on both sides work to apply depth effect on the subjects.
There is a 4,000 mAh battery inside the Huawei Y9 2019 which is a good feature for the power hungry users. On a full charge, the phone can last for a day and a half depending on your usage. However, there is a lack of fast charging support on the phone which is why it takes 2 hours and 30 minutes to fully charge.
The Huawei Y9 2019 was available for Rs. 34,900 during its time of launch. With its second price drop, the phone is now available for Rs. 29,990, which brings it to the territory of the Redmi Note 7, the Realme 2 Pro, the Honor 8X and the Samsung Galaxy A30.
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Huawei Y9 2019 Specifications
Display: 6.5 inches Full-HD+ IPS LCD with 19.5:9 aspect ratio
The Huawei Nova 3i has also received its second price drop after its initial launch. The phone is one of our picks in the list of the best phones under Rs. 40,000, and its new price makes it a lot more interesting.
The Huawei Nova 3i is a capable midranger with the Kirin 710 chipset and 4 GB RAM at helm. It is a lag-free device and applications run smoothly on the phone. Huawei has offered 128 GB of internal memory on the Nova 3i which is expandable via a microSD card slot.
The Huawei Nova 3i has a glass back with a design that looks a lot like the P20 Pro. It has a 6.3-inch display with a notch housing dual selfie cameras. There are dual rear cameras too, with the secondary lens acting like a depth sensor just like on the Y9 2019. These lenses produce good results in day light but the night light samples are below average.
In terms of battery life, the 3,340 mAh battery lasts for a day under normal usage. It has no fast charging technology and there is no USB-C connectivity as well. With the price drop, the Huawei Nova 3i’s new pricing is Rs. 32,990.
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Huawei Nova 3i Specifications
Display: 6.3-inch Full-HD+ (2340 X 1080 pixels) IPS LCD
OnePlus, the flagship killer, after much anticipation, has launched their latest flagships – OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro. However, this is the first time a Pro variant has launched alongside a regular variant. And there are some notable differences between the two. OnePlus always makes headlines because they provide the best value for money. And there are no two opinions about it.
This time, with the tagline “Go Beyond Speed“, the phone launched simultaneously from 3 different places around the world – London, New York, and Bangalore, India. This is the first time the company has done so, but going by the popularity of OnePlus devices in recent times, it is plausible. Anyways, let’s see what these two phones bring us.
OnePlus 7 Pro Overview
Since this is the first time a Pro variant has launched, OnePlus 7 made sure to beef it up! It has a premium glass design, the standard for flagships, of course. But as usual, it comes with no IP rating. And judging by OnePlus’ CEO Pete Lau‘s tweets, this feature is highly unlikely to arrive on upcoming OnePlus phones as well. Also, the OnePlus 7 Pro has a pop-up selfie camera to get that bezel-less display. The phone also features Dual Stereo Speakers with Dolby Atmos sound.
The display on it is a large 6.67″ Fluid AMOLED panel with QHD+ resolution and 90 Hz refresh rate. This is quite a different approach from the one the company usually takes, but a really welcome one! Because it’s the fastest screen on a mobile phone! Also, this also supports HDR 10+ content. In addition, DisplayMate gave OnePlus 7 Pro its highest rating as well! In addition, it features Horizon Lighting, which is similar to Samsung’s Edge Lighting, that lights up the curved edges of the screen when you get a notification. What’s more? Its in-display fingerprint sensor unlocks the phone in 0.21 seconds – the fastest on any smartphone right now!
This phone has a triple camera set up at the back – a 48 MP primary camera, a 16 MP ultra-wide angle lens with 170-degree field of view and an 8 MP telephoto camera with 3X Optical zooming! The selfie camera rests at 16 MP on the pop-up module and has acclaimed durability of 300000 pop-ups. What’s more interesting is that DxO Mark has given it the 2nd highest camera rating of 111 after Huawei P30 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S10+ 5G.
Internally, the OnePlus 7 Pro runs on the Snapdragon 855 with 6 / 8 / 12 GB RAM options. Plus, there’s RAM Boost feature which claims to load your frequently used apps faster. Storage options are 128 GB and 256 GBwith UFS 3.0, making it the first phone to do so. There’s Liquid Cooling inside it as well, so, heating is not an issue. The battery is a large 4000 mAh with its 30-Watt Warp Charging, which can charge your phone from 0 to 50% in 20 minutes! Oxygen 9.5 runs the show on top of Android Pie, and they promise 2 years of software updates and 3 years of security updates.
With the display and sound combination, it makes for one of the best media consumption devices. The phone is available in three different colors: Almond, Nebula Blue, and Mirror Gray. And since the Pro model is the more expensive one, the pricing starts at $669 for the base model. The 8 GB / 256 GB costs $699 while the 12 / 256 GB costs $749. That’s actually a lot better than European pricing, though, which demands £799 for the highest end model!
Color Variant(s): Almond, Nebula Blue, Mirror Gray
Battery: 4000 mAh with 30-Watt Warp Charge
OnePlus 7 Overview
This time around, OnePlus 7 looks like a semi-flagship compared to its pro variant. While the 7 Pro receives most of the beefy specs, the regular 7 doesn’t look much different than the OnePlus 6T – down to the design and display front. It’s because OnePlus 7 has the same design footprint of the 6T with the water-drop notch on it.
Its display is also smaller at 6.26″ and also employs an Optic AMOLED panel. Also, it only has a regular 60 Hz refresh rate and does not support HDR 10+ content either. There are only two cameras at the back – the primary 48 MP camera and a 5 MP depth sensor. At least, the camera megapixels stay the same. This is also the case with the 16 MP selfie camera.
However, it doesn’t skimp out on power. The OnePlus 7 runs on the Snapdragon 855 and starts with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage, and also an 8 GB / 256 GB variant. Also, this phone packs a slightly smaller battery of 3700 mAh. But, OnePlus 7 is a lot cheaper than the OnePlus 7 Pro, as it starts at £499 for the base variant and £549 for the 8 / 256 GB variant! In addition, the European pricing and US pricing are kinda nuts. This, phone, however, will only be available since June.
Specifications:
Design: Glass body, Aluminum frame
Display: 6.26-inch Optic AMOLED panel with Full-HD+ resolution(1080 x 2340 pixels), 19.5:9 aspect ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 6
So, what do you think about these latest devices from OnePlus? It’s clear that the OnePlus 7 Pro is supposed to make the headlines here, and does the OnePlus 7 Pro steal all the thunder? Or can the OnePlus 7 hold its own… Do let us know.
Vivo’s premium mid-rangers, the Vivo V15, and the Vivo V15 Pro are the first ones to bring those pop-up selfie camera on smartphones. And out of those two, the Vivo V15 Pro is clearly the better sibling – both in terms of cameras and other aspects. The only problem could’ve been the price, here in Nepal. At a price of some Rs.52,500, this lies more on the expensive side. But, now, with a price drop, I think the V15 Pro is a deal sealer!
Vivo V15 Pro Overview
The V15 Pro features a 6.39″ Super AMOLED display on a shiny plastic body. The display is a Full HD+ one, with no bezels or notches. Of course, that’s thanks to its pop-up selfie camera, which is quite sharp at 32 MP. As for the rear, it has a triple camera setup comprising of a 48 MP main lens, an 8 MP ultra-wide lens and a 5 MP depth sensor.
The V15 Pro runs on the Snapdragon 675 processor, which is pretty zippy. And combined with 6 GB RAM, that is enough power for most of your tasks. In addition, you get 128 GB storage onboard by default. Furthermore, with a battery of 3700 mAh and Dual-Engine Fast Charging, this phone looks pretty good, doesn’t it?
Of course, the only problem, compared to its competitors like the Galaxy A70 and the Oppo F11 Pro, was its price. But now, it has received Rs.2100 price drop! With that, now, this phone is priced at Rs.50,390. Also, companies like Oppo and Vivo provide some discount while purchasing them, so, you might get it for lesser. If you’re lucky, you might get it for similar prices to the Galaxy A70 or P30 Lite as well! And for that, doesn’t it look like a sealed deal?
Vivo V15 Pro Specifications:
Design: Plastic Black with glossy finish, Aluminum frame, dual-tone gradient color
Display: 6.39″ Super AMOLED panel, Full-HD+ resolution (1080 x 2316 pixels), 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Rear Camera: Triple, 48 MP primary with f/1.8 aperture and PDAF + 8 MP Ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture + 5 MP depth sensor
Front Camera: Motorized pop-up module, 32 MP lens with f/2.0 aperture
With Android Go, budget phones got a second chance at life. And among those budget phones, the Xiaomi Redmi Go and the Galaxy A2 Core were particularly interesting ones. However, the Redmi Go did outshine the A2 Core in some aspects. And now, that same phone is available with larger storage for a slightly higher price.
Redmi Go Overview
The Redmi Go was already available in two memory variants in other markets. But, it is only now launching in Nepal with larger storage, i.e. 16 GB. However, all the other aspects remain the same.
The Redmi Go has a 5″ screen with HD resolution. It features an 8 MP camera at the back and a 5 MP selfie shooter upfront. This phone runs on the Snapdragon 425 and is supported by 1 GB RAM. Despite having low-end specs, the Redmi Go is relatively smooth all thanks to light Android Go at work. The battery capacity is a 3000 mAh, which is decent enough for budget phones. So, the only thing that has been upgraded is the storage at 16 GB. Also, you have a microSD card slot that can support up to 128 GB.
Check out our review of Redmi Go here:
Xiaomi Redmi Go specifications:
Display: 5.0 inches HD IPS LCD screen with 16:9 aspect ratio
Rear cameras: 8 MP with LED flash and HDR
Front camera: 5 MP with HDR
CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 (28nm)
GPU: Adreno 308
RAM: 1 GB
ROM: 8 GB / 16 GB(expandable up to 128 GB with a dedicated slot)
Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition)
SIM (s): Dual SIM
Battery: Non- removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery, MicroUSB 2.0
Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity
Colors: Blue and Black
Others: Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, hotspot
Price: Rs 7,499 (8 GB) / Rs. 7,999 (16 GB)
Redmi Go Price in Nepal [16GB]
The latest price of Redmi Go (16GB) in Nepal is Rs. 7,999. It is available for purchase from select Xiaomi retail shops all over Nepal.
What is the highest range of zoom you’ve seen in a camera? Of course, for mobile photography, it’s the Huawei P30 Pro. For DSLRs, there are quite a number of cameras and lenses offering that. However, it could be the Panasonic DC-FZ80K Lumix 4K with 60X zoom offering the best long-range zoom. But of course, all of that is going to shame with this latest invention, an Ultra long-range AI camera that can capture human subjects from up to 28 miles away!
Yes, that is correct. Scientists in China developed this camera which uses Lasers and AI technology. So, you can tell, this is not your typical commercial camera. This has broader usage than zooming in and spying on your neighbor or taking close up shots of the moon.
Source: National Laboratory for Physical Sciences, Shanghai
This camera uses LIDAR technology, which means Light Detection and Ranging. Now, this technology has already been used in other types of imaging, but these images contained a ton of noise. But this time, the advanced computer image processing helps mitigate them. According to the researcher Zheng-Ping Li’s paper, this camera can also cut through smog and other pollution elements using a mixture of laser imaging and advanced AI software.
This camera uses a laser to judge the distance of a subject by recording the time taken to reflect back to the machine, the new software can also help ignore everything else that falls out of that time. Also, this feature helps the camera set specific distances.
In addition, this machine uses an infrared laser at a wavelength of 1550 nanometers, which makes the camera safe for use without any side effects to any creature. Furthermore, it also guards the image against solar photons that interfere with the camera resolution. Ultimately, the new AI software uses the sparse data collected by the machine to help form a recognizable image.
This kind of technology can help achieve high-resolution, fast, low-power 3D optical imaging over ultralong ranges, and has a broad set of applications. It opens new venues for advanced surveillance, remote sensing, and GIS.
The number of smartphones these days is overwhelming. There are so many to choose from, and many times, it’s very confusing. Sometimes, the confusion is created by the name games smartphone companies play, and this one, here, looks nothing more than a name game. Vivo, reportedly, is launching a budget phone with triple cameras, dubbed the Vivo Y3, in China. But, the specs look all too familiar!
Overview
The Vivo Y3 looks pretty identical to the Vivo Y17. It has a plastic body with a large 6.35″ HD display. Its triple camera module comprises of a 13 MP primary lens, an 8 MP ultra-wide angle camera and a 2 MP depth sensor. This is fine and all, but does it remind you of something else? The Vivo Y17, perhaps?
To confirm the suspicions, even the rest of the specifications of the phone match. The Y3 runs on the Helio P35 chipset, supported by 4 GB of RAM. There’s also 128 GB storage and a massive 5000 mAh battery with 18-Watt Fast Charging. So, yes, everything, down to the last bit looks familiar.
Of course, it’s not unusual for brands to launch phones in different regions with different monikers. So, maybe the same Y17 that is launching in Nepal soon is the Y3 in China. Pricing is said to be around 1400 Chinese Yuan, but there are no other confirmations.
Vivo Y3 Specifications:
Display: 6.35″ IPS LCD with HD+ resolution (720 x 1544 pixels), 19.3:9 aspect ratio
Samsung has launched a variety of midrange smartphones this year. With their new A-series and M-series smartphones’ lineup, Samsung has quite handsomely populated the midrange territory. Amongst all the smartphones launched so far, not all of the handsets are available for purchase in India. Since India is a leading smartphone superpower, Samsung wouldn’t want to lose a land of 1.3 billion population. And a new teaser leak supports the statement. The leaked teaser hints that the smartphone giant seems to be striding to launch a new phone in India.
A new poster with Samsung branding came into limelight, which originated from the Twitter account of an Indian tipster Sudhanshu Ambhore (@Sudhanshu1414). The tipster claims that the poster is a teaser, which Samsung seems to be working on to announce a new upcoming phone in India. The teaser contains the text “#OMG” followed by “Coming Soon” right below it. In the #OMG, the “O” is highlighted with a slight green accent, where the rest of the texts are plain white. From this subtle design, we draw a conclusion that the upcoming Samsung smartphone in India would come with an Infinity-O display. Infinity-O is the fancy name for the displays with a punched-hole display like that on the flagship Galaxy S10 devices.
In the recent lineup of Samsung smartphones with Infinity-O display, there are two handsets yet to launch in India. The first one is the Samsung Galaxy A60, which was launched in China a few weeks back. There were rumors that the Samsung Galaxy A60 would be China exclusive phone. But with the teasers like this, we cannot be entirely sure about that.
Another possible option would be the Samsung Galaxy M40, which is yet to make an official debut. Nonetheless, the phone leaked on numerous occasions. Also, there were a fair number of speculations regarding its imminent launch in India. So that could also be another possible guess.
If we ignore the accented-O and focus on the rest of the text, we can deduce that Samsung is going to launch a phone in India, which could leave everyone awe-inspired. And among the vast list of Samsung phones, one of them is possibly the Galaxy A80. The A80 comes with a full-view display without any sorts of notches or punched-hole cutouts. It has a swiveling pop-up selfie camera, which can get everyone flabbergasted.
So what do you think? Which of the aforementioned device/devices is Samsung going to launch in India? Drop your thoughts in the comment section.
A few years back, we can only find bar phones and features phones at the entry-level price. But these days we can see some decent phones in the market available under $100 price mark. And I was always suspicious regarding such phones since we can see manufacturers making a ton of compromises to keep the prices low. But how different is the Samsung entry-level Galaxy A2 Core from the rest? And how good of a performer is it when it comes to real-life use? Let’s find out in this Samsung Galaxy A2 Core review.
Samsung Galaxy A2 Core specifications
5-inch (540 x 960 pixels) qHD TFT display
1.6GHz Octa-Core Exynos 7870 processor with Mali T830 GPU
1GB RAM, 16GB storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD
Android 9.0 Pie (Go edition)
Dual SIM
5MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.9 aperture
5MP Front-facing camera
Dimensions:141.6 x 71 x 9.1mm; Weight: 142g
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS
2600mAh battery
Price: Rs. 9,390 Rs. 8,999
Design
On the side, the handset looks vaguely similar to the last year’s J2 Core. The plastic material on the back and thick bezels on the front with the Samsung branding on the chin is barely distinguishable. But what sets the A2 core apart is its glossy plastic back, which is non-removable this time. And since most of the entry-level devices come with the dull and cheap looking plastic material, the glossy finishing here has made the device somewhat elegant than the rest.
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Back
Bezels
Ports
Buttons
With glossy back, phones are usually slippery and they fall from the hands quite often. But that’s not the case here. The phone comes in small size and it rests comfortably on the hand. That’s why the device never slipped through my hands on the normal use.
But the thing I am not convinced about is the navigation buttons. Despite having a thick chin on the button, Samsung has included the navigation button on to the screen. I think Samsung could’ve done better than that.
Display
When it comes to the display, Samsung has employed a 5-inch qHD IPS panel here. Not the Quad-HD like the Galaxy S10 and S10+ but a quarter-HD, which is less sharp than the HD display. So you can’t quite find crispy details on its screen. Redmi Go has implemented HD resolution on its screen so I expected the same from Samsung. But that’s not the case here. But since it’s an entry-level device, we cannot really complain much about that, can we?
And talking about the brightness, you might have to struggle a little in the scorching sunlight but most of the time, the screen is legible. But since the device doesn’t have an ambient light sensor, users have to adjust the display brightness manually on time and often.
Camera
Now let’s talk about the camera. The phone comes with a 5MP camera on both the front and on the back. When it comes to the image quality, I found the rear camera surprisingly good for its price. Colors look good and the images have a good amount of details in the good light. Focusing can get tricky here though. So have to keep your hands steady while capturing the images.
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Also, dynamic range is not something to fuss about in an entry-level segment but if I had to speak about it, I would say it’s not that great here. Shadow details are completely crushed, so you have to manage with the details of the highlights only.
When it comes to the low light, the images look mushy and have quite a lot of noise on them. So they are mostly unusable.
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Talking about the selfie camera, it’s decent and does the job well most of the time. In ample light, the selfies look good with a decent amount of details. But in artificial light and low light condition, selfies look soft with the missing facial details. I don’t know if it’s really that important, but the phone also has a beauty mode.
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Selfie in Ample Light
Selfie in Artificial Light
Selfie in Ample Light
Selfie in Artificial Light
Selfie in Ample Light
On the videography side, both the cameras are capable of capturing 1080p videos at max.
The phone comes with Android Go version of the Android Oreo. With the Android Go on the board, you can see the Go or the Lite version of apps as well like the Gmail Go, Files Go, YouTube Go and so on.
When it comes to the performance part, the A2 Core really nails it on the entry-level segment. It comes with Exynos 7870 chipset and has 1GB of RAM under the hood. Since the Android Go is really optimized, the phone does well even with 1GB RAM. And with the Exynos 7870 chipset on the board, it handles most of the workloads pretty fluidly.
I couldn’t play PUBG and Asphalt 9 but when I played some heavy titles like the Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8, I didn’t face any major lags or stutters.
On the storage side of things, the phone rocks with a 16GB of onboard memory. It also comes with a dedicated SD card slot for memory expansion. With more storage, the A2 Core seriously has an edge over the Redmi Go. And I was also quite happy with this generosity on a Samsung phone.
Battery
Now the battery. The phone comes with a 2600mAh battery, which is not much according to the recent standards. But given the low-res display and the power-efficient chipset, the phone provides a good endurance. On my use, the phone always backed me up for more than a day on the normal use. At the end of the day, I was always left with 35% or more charge left on the phone. Standby backup is also pretty good here. So you have nothing worry here.
But I cannot say the same when it comes to charging the device. The phone comes with a 3.5-watt charger on the box, which you can already guess takes a significant time to charge the device.
Conclusion
So the Samsung Galaxy A2 Core is a great phone with amazing performance, a good amount of storage, good design for its price and obviously it’s budget-friendly price. It goes super easy on the wallet and does most of the job really good.
I would have loved to see an HD display and a faster charger but I think that’s some cutdowns Samsung made to keep the price low. And that sort of downsides are usually evident on the entry-level devices. So if you are thinking of buying an entry-level smartphone for your old folks or even for yourself, you can’t go wrong with the A2 Core.
