Details on Samsung’s new Exynos 9710 has started to surface online. It’s a potential successor to the Exynos 9610, that has proven itself in the Galaxy A50. Beating the likes of the Snapdragon 660, could this (Exynos 9710) go head to head with the SD675?
Seeing how Samsung has a bunch of phones in the A-series pending announcement, this seems like a solid SoC for something like the Galaxy A60 or the Galaxy A70. Either way, we are expecting a very powerful SoC aimed at the upper mid-range segment.
Going by the leaks, the new SoC will be manufactured on an 8 nm process. Core count will remain at eight, with four Cortex A76 at 2.1 GHz and four Cortex A55 at 1.7 GHz. This should and will result in better battery life and performance, as opposed to the Exynos 9610.
In addition, its GPU is another one of the aspects that will get an upgrade. The Mali-G72 MP3 will be replaced with a much better Mali-G76 MP8 clocked at 650 MHz. A huge improvement for the former if compared with the later, however, real-life performance might differ.
To sum it all up, the new (leaked) SoC performs faster, has a better GPU and hogs less battery. Seems like a win win win situation for Samsung. The only question that remains is when? This is the first time we are hearing of this particular product, so it could take a while.
While the Huawei P30 and the P30 Pro is the talk of the town right now, another one of the P30-series was launched quietly. The Huawei P30 Lite did not get to share all that glory, but it is now available for purchase in some regions including Nepal. You can get the device right now in Nepal for a midrange price from e-commerce platform Daraz, Huawei showrooms, and major retail outlets.
Huawei P30 Lite Overview
Design & Display
Aesthetically, the P30 Lite has a similar-looking dual-tone gradient coloring like its bigger P30 sibling. However, you will find a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor instead of a much expensive in-display sensor. There’s also a water-drop notch upfront. Its display is a 6.15″ IPS LCD with Full-HD+ resolution. So, not so different from the other mid-range we’re seeing these days, is it?
Performance and Memory
Now, with a name like P30 Lite, it might appear as if it’s similar to the likes of Galaxy S10e. But this one is strictly a mid-ranger. Packing the Kirin 710 SoC inside, there’s also 6 GB RAM in it. Internal storage rests as 128 GB but there’s a microSD card slot as well, so, no worries, there The chipset here is one that we saw in the Nova 3i and Honor 8X. The SoC can handle the everyday task that you throw at it. In our review, we played Asphalt 9 in the device and it runs without any major hiccups.
Camera
The camera on the P30 Lite isn’t the same that we found on the P30 and P30 Pro. It features a triple camera setup. The primary camera has a 24MP sensor and is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2MP camera. The output is the same as that in other mid-range devices. The photos are detailed, a little saturated but decent anyways. On the front, there is a 32MP selfie camera which gives colorful. and bright pictures.
Battery and Others
The P30 Lite 3340 mAh battery, which comes with support for 18W fast charger. On average, the battery should last a whole day. The 18W charger in the box can charge the device form 0 to 100% inside 2 hours. The port is provided is Type-C port. The speaker on the bottom of the device is loud enough and there’s a headphone jack too. The capacitative fingerprint sensor on the back is quick and accurate unless your hands are wet. There is also a Face Unlock feature but it isn’t the most accurate one since it uses the camera.
Battery: 3340mAh non-removable Li-Po battery with 18W fast charging support; Uses USB Type-C
Colors: White, Blue, Black
Huawei P30 Lite Price in Nepal and Availability
The price of Huawei P30 Lite in Nepal is Rs. 39,999. It is available through official Huawei showrooms and select retail shops.
Model Name
Price in Nepal
Available stores
Huawei P30 Lite
Rs 39,999
Authorized retailers
At this particular price segment, there are a lot of options to choose from. Similarly priced Redmi K20 can be a better option for those who are looking for performance. Even the Realme X2 provides better value for money than this one.
It has just been 2 weeks that Samsung announced the Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50. While the Galaxy A50 (Rs. 33,490) possesses excellent value, the Galaxy A30 is kind of a mixed bag. And hence, we have just seen a price cut of Rs. 1,500. It’s now available for Rs. 26,990 and Samsung likes to call it a “Cool Deal”.
But, is it really Cool? It might be for Samsung enthusiasts, but you might want to wait for the Redmi Note 7. According to recent rumors, the Redmi Note 7 should be available in Nepal this week and could be priced similarly, if not cheaper, to the Galaxy A30.
The Galaxy A30 has a superior AMOLED display, however, the Redmi Note 7 excels in all the other aspects. It has got better cameras, powerful chipset, faster fingerprint sensor, and a glass body.
After the unveiling of the Y7 Pro 2019, Huawei followed it with the official launch of Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 in Nepal. For its price, the device goes head to head with some popular devices such as Realme 3. Let’s check out the complete specs, updated price, and availability of Huawei Y6 Pro in Nepal.
Huawei Y6 Pro Overview
Design and Display
The Huawei Y6 Pro follows all the latest trends you see on budget phones. It features a tall 6.1-inch HD+ display. There is a tiny dewdrop style notch on the top of the screen to house the front camera. Thanks to the faux leather finish, the device looks and feels premium on hand. There is nothing on the rear panel except for the camera bump. An LED flash resides just below the bump. The device doesn’t come with a fingerprint sensor
Talking about the camera, there’s a 13MP lens on the back with a bright f/1.8 aperture. Almost all the new releases at this price range now come with at least a dual rear camera setup. On the front, the notch houses an 8MP selfie snapper, a LED notification, and a selfie flash. An LED notification may not sound that important but it turns out really helpful in real-life scenarios.
The Huawei Y6 Pro is powered by a MediaTek Helio A22 chipset. It’s an entry-level chipset with four 2.0Ghz Cortex A53 CPU cores and a PowerVR GE8320 GPU. The memory is also decent for the price with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. There’s a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion up to 512GB. Huawei could have done better in the performance aspect since Galaxy M10, Realme 3 and Oppo A5s are offering a more powerful octa-core CPU.
There’s a 3020mAh battery with should be ample, considering it only has to power HD+ display, and the chipset is based on 12nm architecture. Unlike other devices in this price range, Huawei has decided to go with a micro USB cable. The device runs on EMUI 9.0 based on Android Pie. In terms of security, there’s no fingerprint sensor, so you need to rely on face unlock.
Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 Specifications:
Display: 6.09″ (720x1560px) IPS LCD 19.5:9 aspect ratio panel
Storage: 32GB, expandable up to 512GB via MicroSD card
Back Camera: 13MP, f/1.8 with LED flash, 1080p@30fps
Front Camera: 8MP, f/2.0 with LED flash, 1080p@30fps
Dimensions: 6.15 x 2.89 x 0.31 inches
Battery: 3020mAh
Connectivity: Bluetooth, Micro USB, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hot Spot
Color option: Midnight Black, Sapphire Blue, Amber Brown
Price in Nepal: Rs. 16,790 [Price Last Updated On: July 25, 2019]
Huawei Y6 Pro Price in Nepal
The price of Huawei Y6 Pro in Nepal is Rs 16,170. It available via official Huawei showrooms, and select retail shops in Nepal.
Model Name
Price in Nepal
Available stores
Huawei Y6 Pro (3/32GB)
Rs 16,790
Authorized retailers
For its price, Huawei Y6 Pro is rather an outdated device. It comes with a singular camera arrangement and even lacks a fingerprint sensor. Competitors like Realme 3, come with the dual-camera setup, larger battery with fast charging technology, and an octa-core processor.
In a quest to remove bezels, we have seen manufacturers come up with extraordinary solutions. From notches (iPhone X) to punch hole displays (Galaxy S10) to pop up cameras (Vivo V15). All this, to somehow fit the front facing camera while giving you a bezel-less experience. However, you will now, see something new. OPPO’s newest attempt at a bezel-less smartphone. An unusual wedge-shaped pop-up selfie camera on the newly leaked upcoming smartphone “Reno”.
Flagship Variant
The company’s VP has confirmed Snapdragon 855 to be the choice of SoC in this one. Liquid cooling is also a feature here, alongside an in-display fingerprint sensor. This particular model will also feature a triple camera setup, with OPPO’s much anticipated 10x optical zoom. It will be a triple camera setup, which includes the Sony IMX586 48MP primary sensor.
Ohh! 5G is also expected to make a presence in one of the variants, with the Snapdragon X50 modem. Then, there is the Lamborghini edition of this phone, said to boast a staggering 12GB of RAM. Not anything new, but exciting nonetheless. All this on the high-end model, but all these are just leaks at this point. We are expecting multiple variants in this series.
The next variant is, a mid-ranger, with the Snapdragon 710 SoC. It comes with Heat Conductor Gel and a Graphite sheet for heat dissipation. So, a hefty emphasis on cooling, which is not a bad thing. This is also the same variant that we suspect will get that unique pop-up camera module. I can’t quite explain it, so take a look at the video below, that should give you an idea.
Leaked case renders also reveal 3.5 mm headphone jack, speaker grill and USB Type C at the bottom. In-display fingerprint sensor remains uncertain for this one. This variant also has just two cameras at the back, and won’t feature 5G connectivity either. Finally, Android 9 will come pre-installed with either ColorOS 6 on top or whichever skin OPPO decides to put on top.
It should be interesting how Oppo prices these smartphones when they launch on April 10. By the looks of this, pop-up cameras can be the future. But personally, this design should not be the standard. I mean, I do kinda like them, but as for using a case on it, it is a bit impractical. So, do let us know your thoughts on this.
Apart from iPads, is buying any other oversized smartphone worth it? And more so, when the market for tablets are going downhill? Well, Samsung probably thinks it is. As, they’re taking strides in the low and mid-range tablet segment. More recently with the launch of its new Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2019. The device received a silent launch yesterday. So pricing is yet to be revealed, but do we know what this tablet is capable of.
Judging by the name, it’s an 8″ LCD display with a 1920x1200px resolution. Powered by a humble Exynos 7904 chipset, it packs 3GB of RAM. As for storage, you get 22 GB user accessible out of the total 32GB, expandable via a microSD card of up to 512GB. S-Pen support is also here, a similar implementation as their Note series.
A 4,200mAh battery assures you 11 hours of web browsing, even on the LTE model. Still, it’s a significant downgrade from its larger sibling. The bottom houses a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB 2.0 port, in charge of charging the device, file transfers, and audio output. The tablet measures in at 8.9mm of thickness while weighing 325 grams.
There is an 8MP camera at the back, while a 5MP selfie shooter resides on the top bezel. We don’t know what the tablet runs on, as they didn’t reveal the Android version or the skin on top. But its larger sibling, the 10.1-inch Tab A runs on Android 9 with OneUI, so we can definitely expect something similar.
But, Samsung did not compromise on the connectivity front. With Bluetooth 5.0 LE, Wi-Fi ac, and an optional LTE model can you even complain? The tablet will be available in the UK, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. However, no word on the pricing just yet.
With the modern smartphones trying so hard to give us the bezel-less experience, I sometimes, wonder, where is this going to end. We’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff over the years. It all started with the Essential phone giving us the notch and iPhone X making it a trend! Even Samsung, the company, who mocked Apple for their notches, has given in and introduced notches on their low and mid-range phones. And as much as phones adopted that, they’re now trying their best to remove it.
So, at present, we have from water-drop notches to punch-hole displays, to these pop-up cameras! Vivo was the first that brought us these, first in the Vivo Nex S. The OPPO Find X, followed suit with sliding cameras, but seems like Pop-up cameras are easier, as the F11 Pro adopted it. Plus, phones are also moving to in-display fingerprint sensors. And with that, they are also getting expensive. Vivo’s V-series used to cost less than $300, and now, they cost upwards of $400. So, if it isn’t clear, the prices we pay for the “innovation” are increasing. But do we really need them? Is the price just for these gimmicky features, or is there something else, too? Let’s find out in this review of the Vivo V15 Pro.
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
The design you see on this one is not new by any means. With a smooth texture, curved edges and tapered sides with the dual-tone gradient coloring on a glass-looking plastic body, it’s getting pretty boring. I mean, it’s not bad. It does look good, but we’ve been seeing it on almost all new phones these days, that it’s getting tiring now. The triple camera setup at the back also protrudes out quite a bit, which may not be to everyone’s liking.
The frame of the phone is aluminum, and it seems sturdy too. And even though the phone is large, its slim form factor makes it easy to hold. However, one-handed usage can be a bit of a struggle, due to its size. All the buttons are on the right – both power and volume buttons. And you also get another button on the left – to trigger the Vivo’s own digital assistant – Jovi. Okay, we are clear about our dislike of the Bixby button on Samsung, and the same goes for this one too! At least, this one can be remapped to Google Assistant. So, not all that useless, but, redundant still.
Vivo V15 Pro design
1 of 5
Front
Left
Right
Top
Bottom
The headphone jack is at the top, while the bottom houses the speaker grill and a micro USB port. Yup…still micro USB in 2019 – on a higher end mid-range device. But it is what it is. So, Vivo, if you’re listening, its high time for you to change that. There is the dual SIM slot at the bottom and a microSD card slot on the left.
Let’s also address the elephant in the room…the pop-up selfie camera. With it tucked neatly inside the body, the phone is bezel-less and has the true edge-to-edge display. When you want to use it, it comes out pretty fast, with cool sound effects too!
Nobody asked for motorized parts on their smartphone. But it’s here, anyway. And what worries me is that its easy to get dirt or water inside, and that might break the motor. Many times, you’ll even find dust already accumulating on the camera when you trigger it. Needless to say, it is not IP certified. And while it may be fun to play with the pop-up camera in the beginning, it does get boring pretty fast.
However, if you’re worried about how durable the motor is, Vivo claims that it is good for around 300,000 pop-ups. So, if you even use it for like 100 times a day, you’re still good for about 8 years!
Display
This phone is a successor to the Vivo V11 Pro, but the display size on it has gone down slightly. It features a 6.39” Super AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution! And the display quality is great! As I said, a true edge-to-edge display without any notches or cutouts or bezels with deep blacks and vibrant colors of AMOLED. Actually, there are a very minimal amount of bezels but are negligible. So, what’s not to like?
The lack of an LED notification light! Yes, that tiny detail matters. It has been absent since the Vivo V11 Pro, and I guess it won’t be making a comeback. There is an always-on display to make up for it, but that won’t really show you all the notifications you get, which is strange and needs to be fixed.
Its In-display fingerprint sensor rests at the bottom, which lights up when you lift the phone. And the sensor is as good as Optical Fingerprint sensors go – a bit slower than your traditional physical fingerprint sensors and works only 8 times out of 10. But the viewing experience on this screen is not something you’ll find on most phones these days.
Camera
The triple camera setup at the back consists of a 48 MP primary camera, an 8 MP ultra-wide lens and a 5 MP depth sensor. However, the 48 MP camera uses a Quad-Bayer filter, so, it uses pixel binning to get 12 MP images with plenty of details and less noise. As expected from a Vivo higher-end mid-range device, the camera will not disappoint you in any way. I was thoroughly impressed by its ability to capture details and its sharpness.
Vivo V15 Pro Camera samples
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Sample 1
Details
Details
Colors pop
Color accuracy
Indoor lighting
Low light 1
Low Light 2
Object
Colors pop out, and are quite accurate as well…in good lighting. However, indoors, they do appear a bit cooler and have a bluish tint to them. Of course, if you want to make it vibrant, there’s always the AI mode, but that can give you some exaggerated colors. So, use it according to necessity and preference.
Vivo V15 Pro Portrait
1 of 8
Portrait
Normal Portrait
Stereo Light
Loop Light
Monochrome portrait
Monochrome portrait 2
Rainbow effect
Rainbow effect 2
Portrait images are also good. Edge detection, as usual, works good enough. The subject and background are perfectly distinguished at first look. Upon zooming in, you can notice slight distortions in the areas like hair and stuff. A cool feature is that the portrait images come with a set of effects that can be applied to spice up your images. There’s a rainbow effect, something called a “Loop light” and “Stereo Light”, which I don’t understand, but there is a difference between normal portraits and them if you look closely. What I like are the rainbow and monochrome effects. However, the monochrome’s edge detection seems a bit unpolished.
Vivo V15 Pro Normal vs Wide Angle
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Normal
Wide Angle
Normal
Wide Angle
Normal
Wide Angle
The ultra-wide lens is a welcome addition. It comes in handy while capturing sceneries, and also while taking group shots. Image quality on the ultra-wide lens is also good enough but doesn’t pack as many details as the primary. That is, a given, but these images also seemed pretty color accurate to me.
Vivo V15 Pro Night mode
1 of 4
Normal
Night Mode
Normal
Night Mode
There are also night shots, which, of course, mean long exposure shots. But while they work most times, sometimes, you’ll be better off without them.
Okay, let’s get to the selfies! And pop it goes…By that, I mean, selfies on the 32 MP Pop-camera are great – they pack details, and are sharp. But it shares the same problem as the Vivo V11 Pro. Even without the Beauty mode off, you cannot get natural selfies. The camera tends to smoothen your skin, and makes you look “made-up”. If you turn the AI Beauty mode on, then, be prepared for a whole new level of artificiality. So, if you don’t like the selfie camera, I don’t blame you. I am not a fan of it either.
Vivo V15 Pro Selfie
1 of 5
Beauty Mode off
Beauty Mode on
The AI Beauty mode here is buffed up. And by buffed up, I mean, it’s virtually like Photoshopping your face in real time. You can adjust almost all your facial features – from the forehead to jaws, to eyes, nose, and everything. Talk about fake tinder profiles!
You can also take 4K videos at 30 frames per second, but then again, with no image stabilization, the usability is limited. Plus, there’s also the Slow-mo, which is not Super slow-mo, but just a bit slow. Nevertheless, its an improvement over the V11 Pro.
The Vivo V15 Pro packs the Snapdragon 675 with 6 GB RAM inside. And that makes for a zippy performance. Being one of the first phones with a Snapdragon 675, it leaves most other mid-rangers in the water. The 675 is based on 11 nm architecture, unlike other 14 nm processors in the 600 series, and that has paid off.
Vivo V15 Pro Benchmarks
Geekbench v4.3.2
Single-core: 2397
Multi-core: 6608
AnTuTu v7:
179379
3D Mark
Slingshot Extreme Open GLES 3.1: 1064
Slingshot Extreme Vulkan: 1159
PC Mark
Work 2.0: 7571
Andro Bench
Sequential Read: 311.72 MB/s
Sequential Write: 190.1 MB/s
Most tasks run super-fast. Apps load quickly, too, and it can keep them open in the background for a long time as well. Gaming on it also a lot of fun, because it is smooth, but mostly, because of the screen. The large end-to-end display really makes for a great gaming experience. PUBG runs on HD settings in high frame rates, and it runs without any hiccups or lags. Games like Asphalt 9 and Need For Speed have no problem running smoothly, either.
Facial Recognition is done through the pop-up selfie camera. There is no IR sensor like in the V11 Pro. So, it won’t work very well in the dark. The time taken by the selfie camera to pop-out and unlock your phone is also super-fast, when it works. But it can actually be annoying, because if you want to just look at the time, then, the camera pops out and tries to get a reading every time. So, you either have to turn it off, or have the always-on display, that eats up your battery. And yes, it has the same problem that the V11 Pro had. It can unlock your phone with Facial Recognition, even with your face half-covered! So, it still needs to work on that security front.
It runs on Android Pie but has its own FunTouch OS 9 on it. And we’ve said it before – this iPhone clone of a UI is not something to like. I mean, it makes for a half-baked iOS experience. There is plenty of bloatware, and no app drawer, as usual, but the good thing is that they added a search button for Settings. So, I guess, mild improvements are on the way.
Battery and Storage
As for the battery, this one comes with a good-sized 3700 mAh unit, and the battery life on it is fantastic. It lasts quite a bit, even with the Always-On display turned on. Maybe it’s the power-efficient chipset, but even with light gaming, frequent social media usage, and stuff, at the end of the day, you’ll still have about 40% remaining.
Also, you get the Dual Engine Fast Charging feature on it, but it stays the same as last years. It isn’t that impressive, as it does still take nearly 2 hours to fully charge, which is what most phones have these days. But the battery life makes up for that.
As for storage, you get a 128 GB internal storage, both in the base variant and one with 8 GB RAM. As much as that can be adequate, you also get a microSD card slot, so, no complaints on that front, either.
Conclusion
So, what do I think of the Vivo V15 Pro? Actually, my opinion about this phone remains unchanged from the Vivo V11 Pro. This phone, with its Pop-up selfie camera, triple rear cameras and the large bezel-less screen looks cool and futuristic. Maybe, pop-up cameras will be the trend now, as Oppo F11 Pro is also on this train. But besides that, has it really got it all?
Sure, the performance front is unparalleled against most mid-rangers, but there’s also the Redmi Note 7 Pro with similar performance, for cheap, without all the bells and whistles and half-baked extras. For a price of around $430, or Rs.52,490 in Nepal, is it really that compelling?
To those who love to have a ton of extra features at their disposal, and something to show off, or even a truly Infinity display, yes. Yes, it is. I, initially, liked this device a lot, but after using it for a while, I began to think, “do I really need all this?” I couldn’t decide, but maybe you can. If you think you want all of the bling, this looks like a good phone. But if you can do without this artsy-show-off stuff, there are other affordable options out there.
But the big question here is that, are Pop-up cameras the future? Is the true bezel-less design worth sacrificing your IP68 rating, if other phones adopt it, for instance? So, this question is open for debate. Do let us know your thoughts on this.
Pros
Good design and Build
Good rear camera image quality plus new portrait effects
Here’s the thing. There are great laptops, good laptops, and bad laptops. And only a handful can be called great. Most of them can only remain in a good category. We have one similar laptop here – the ASUS Vivobook S14 S430U, or just S14, in short. This is an ultra-book that came out in the first quarter of 2018. Let’s talk about if this ultra-book is still relevant.
Asus Vivobook S14 Specifications:
Design: Polycarbonate, Shiny metallic finish, Protrusion on the lid, 1.4 kg
Display: 14″ LED-backlit Full-HD matte display (1920 x 1080), 57% NTSC Color Gamut
Keyboard: Chiclet Keyboard, 3-level back-lighting, No num-pad
Trackpad: Glass surface trackpad, (PTP technology), Fingerprint sensor with Windows Hello
Ports: 1 x Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x Type-A USB 3.1, 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x audio jack, 1 x microSD card reader
Wireless connectivity: Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth V4.2
Processor: 1.6 GHz 8th-gen Intel i5-8250U
RAM: 8 GB DDR4 @ 2400 MHz
Graphics: GTX MX150 graphics, 2 GB VRAM
Battery: 40 Watt-hour, Fast Charging – 60% in 49 minutes
Storage: 1 TB HDD
Price: Rs.110,000
Design and Build
Ultrabooks are generally, more or less, the same. They’re mostly known for their compact design, sleek looks, and lightweight. And this one is the same. It looks like any other ultrabook out there. Its mostly plastic, but has a brushed metal finish, both inside and out, to give a premium look and feel.
The only thing that sets it apart is a bit of protrusion on the lid that extends a bit beyond the base. That raises the base of the laptop slightly when opened, which improves air-flow underneath. It improves both the thermals and prevents your lap from getting roasted from the heat. Plus, this means you can use it easily while laying on your bed too.
Being a 14-inch model, it sacrifices a separate number-pad, but does leave out big spaces on the sides of the keyboard, which looks kinda unnecessary. The brushed lid texture attracts finger smudges quite a lot, but that’s very common, so, can’t complain.
At 1.4 kg, this isn’t your lightest ultra-book. I like Acer Swift 5 in terms of weight and portability. But being slightly heavy gives it a bit more sturdiness – there’s only slight flexes on the lid and the keyboard deck. So, you can say it maintains the balance between portability and build.
Ports
Asus Vivobook S14 Ports
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Ports Left
Ports Right
Ultrabooks are not known for a great selection of ports. And this one, tries to. With three USB-As, one of which is a USB 3.0, a USB-C (without Thunderbolt 3), an HDMI, an audio jack and a microSD card slot, the selection of ports is okay. But the microSD port looks a bit less practical. I mean, if you’re into editing and stuff, a regular SD card slot would be a lot more usable.
Keyboard and Trackpad
When you look at the keyboard, something about it gives a bit of a cheap vibe. Maybe it’s the hard silver color, but I don’t look how it looks.
On the other hand, the typing experience is just the opposite. With ample key travel and a good amount of spacing between the keys, typing is pretty comfortable. Also, there’s a good amount of tactile feedback on them. There is also 3-level back-lighting, but that doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing. And the half-sized arrow keys will take some getting used to, but that’s how ultra-book keyboards are.
I also liked the trackpad. Its glass surface is very smooth and tracking is fairly accurate. The size is also great for an ultrabook, and it does a good job with gestures as well. You also get a fingerprint sensor on it, with Windows Hello feature, but that is optional, though.
Overall, if you don’t judge the keyboard by its looks, it’s actually good enough.
Display
As for the display, this laptop features a Full HD IPS LCD panel. It feels like the de-facto standard for ultrabooks. The screen offers decent brightness levels and good viewing angles. However, it is not bright enough to be used in well-lit areas.
The color gamut coverage is where it falls short. With only 57% NTSC Color Gamut Coverage, this display is too dull to be used for editing stuff. It is fine for working and media consumption; even gaming – (for what games are playable), but this is not something I’d recommend for any kind of content creation. If you just use it for normal office usage and watching movies, there is nothing to complain about.
One thing I like about the display is that the bezels on the laptop are fairly slim. An even so, the webcam is exactly where it should be – at the top.
Performance
As far as ultrabooks’ performance is concerned, this one could use quite a bit of tuning. The hardware choice is great. You get the 1.6 GHz 8th-gen Intel i5-8250U processor. And it is backed by 8 GB of DDR4 2400 MHz RAM. On paper, that should make it zippy enough for a power efficient processor.
But the bottleneck here is its choice of an HDD rather than an SSD. Now, there are SSD variants for a higher price, but this model here only has an HDD. And if you’re coming from an SSD, then, you’ll find it very very annoying to use.
Get this for instance. If you’re someone like me who opens your Google Chrome first whenever you start your laptop, it’ll take like 20-30 seconds to fully open it. So, you need a bit of patience to work with it.
But once it loads up, then, it’s fast enough. You can have like 15 tabs open on your browser, and it’ll still hold its own. Using Photoshop is also smooth enough, but I didn’t do any video editing on it because of its color constraints. So, no telling if it can handle that.
Light gaming is supported by its dedicated GTX MX150 graphics with 2 GB V-RAM. Now that is an entry-level graphics card, so, don’t think you can play a lot of games on it. Games like FIFA and CS:GO can give you acceptable frame rates on medium settings while PUBG is barely playable at the lowest of settings. Dota 2 runs okay, and other than that, there aren’t many games you can play on it.
And even that needs some patience as you’re loading the games from your HDD. So, do yourselves a favor and get the SSD variant. Or even if you get one with an HDD, you can install an SSD as it does come with an M.2 SSD slot.
Battery
For an ultrabook, the battery is pretty average on it. You get a 40 Watt-hour battery, and that’s actually good for an ultra-book. But even so, I got only about 4 hours of battery life at most with my standard office usage.
Maybe it’s the sluggish HDD that eats up the power because I got about 6 hours on the Acer Swift 5 which has a slightly smaller battery of 36 Watt-hours. And since it doesn’t last a typical office day, you’ll need to carry your charger with you. So, it’s a good thing that the charger is as small as a phone charger.
Plus, it has got a Fast Charging feature in it, which can charge your laptop fully in some 1.5 hours. That’s something you don’t get on many laptops – and having one is very convenient.
Thermals
A power efficient processor can only do so much, so, the thermals aren’t a very concerning matter here. It can get a bit warm, but the ventilation is efficient due to the design.
Verdict
Something that really disappointed me in this laptop is the speakers. They are really quiet. If you’re working a full load and your fans are acting up, the speakers can easily get subdued. And if you’re watching movies or so, you should make sure nothing very heavy is running in the background.
To sum up, the Asus Vivobook S14 430U is just like any other ultrabook out there. It is practical with its thermal management, design and builds, enough ports, and okay performance. But this is not a very exciting device. I mean, nothing really stands out apart from the efficient heat management design. I cannot help but compare it to the Acer Swift 5, mostly because of the similar prices. And to me, that stands out because of its featherweight, while doing most things similar to better than this one.
If you get the SSD variant, you will like it, though. This is a laptop to get if you’re an office worker yet have to move around mostly. It is not suitable for content creators, though because of the display, but for the regular layman who wants an ultra-book, you can go for it.
Everyone wants to be the best, no matter if its individuals, or in this case, tech giants. In the case of ultraportables, it seems like Apple’s MacBook is the benchmark for all. We don’t disagree, it’s a really great laptop and even I would totally consider it if not for their price. This is where companies like Xiaomi or Huawei comes in, and today it’s the turn of the former to take a try. With their newly launched product, the MI Notebook Air 2019, can they give us a worthy MacBook alternative? Let’s find more about it along with the price and expected availability.
Overview
Currently only available in China, the Mi NoteBook Air (2019) get an all-metal chassis while weighing just 1.07 Kgs. The display size comes in at 12.5-inches with a Full-HD resolution and a bezel size of just 0.22-inches. You get Harmon Kardon audio and fast charging support on all models. Xiaomi claims it can charge 50% in just 35 minutes, but failed to announce its actual capacity. As for connectivity, you have USB C, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm audio jack, USB 3.0, and HDMI at your disposal.
Internally, the choice of Core-M processors might not be so exciting, but consider a price of approx. $536, the m3-8100Y might not seem so bad. That’s the base model which gets a 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. BTW, there are three models currently on sale, and none of them come with anything over 4GB of RAM, which is a bit disappointing. We reckon a larger RAM sized variant is currently in the works. As for the rest of the models, you can compare them in this neat table below.
8th Gen processors are the way to go for now. Intel should seriously hurry up with its next-gen mobile processors. And judging by what we have right now, the 4GB of maximum RAM is a real problem here, but apart from that, the pricing is spot on.
Mi NoteBook Air (2019) Price & Availability:
Sales of the Mi Notebook Air 2019 have already begun in China. The base variant of the Mi Notebook Air starts at a price of US$536 (approx Rs. 60,000 in Nepal). This price is for the base Core M3 CPU, 4GB RAM, and 128GB Storage. We don’t expect it to launch in Nepal, however, it should be available from some laptop stores unofficially.
Innovations in the smartphone arena seem to be somewhat stagnant, looking at the recent years. Other than cameras, smartphone manufacturers barely seem to focus on other aspects. When it comes to charging technology, big players like Samsung and Apple are reiterating the same tech for a considerable amount of time. Up until now, Oppo and Huawei with their 50-watt and 55-watt charging technology, were the leaders in fast charging tech. However, Xiaomi surpassed both of them by introducing a new charging standard; which can inject power to the battery at double the rate than the former bests. Yes, you heard it right! Dubbed as Super Charge TurboStandard, this new charging technology can push 100-watt power in a smartphone’s battery. Looks like they went all out in naming the tech, itself!
Demonstrating this awesome technology, Xiaomi co-founder Bin Lin posted a video in Weibo. In the video, Lin compared the charging test of an unnamed Xiaomi handset with 4000 mAh to the Oppo R17 Pro, with 3700 mAh battery. The Oppo R17 Pro comes with a bi-cell battery design. It means that two 1850 mAh batteries are stacked together in series making a total capacity of 3700 mAh. And this device charges at 50-watt charging speed. While comparing the R17 Pro against the Xiaomi’s unnamed smartphone, the R17 Pro only reached 65% mark when Xiaomi device filled to 100%. And Xiaomi handset took only 17 minutes to get to that level!
This is surely amazing. Since most of the smartphones come with slow charging speed, it takes a lot of time to get the devices fully charged. And that problem is realized even more when you are in a hurry. With this new Super Charge Turbo technology, a 4000 mAh battery can charge up to 50% just in 7 minutes! And that could be enough for a day for most of the users on normal use. So I am really eager to see the tech implemented on the commercial phones.
However, we don’t have any sort of a time-line as to when this tech will be available commercially. However, Redmi President, Lu Weibing revealed that Redmi would be the first one to mass-produce Xiaomi 100-watt fast charger.
As fascinating as the technology sounds, safety is equally important while supplying a high amount of power in small and compact devices like a smartphone. In the case of Oppo, TÜV Rheinland has certified the handset marking it as a safe device to use. TÜV Rheinland is a German safety authority, which specializes in testing, inspection, and certification to ensure the safety of products. We haven’t yet heard about Xiaomi receiving such certifications. However, Xiaomi might consider that before getting it ready for mass production. Otherwise, the Redmi phone with a 100-watt fast charging could end up being another Samsung Galaxy Note 7!
