Google has just released the Beta of the new version of Android – Android v10 Q, the successor to the Android Pie (v9.0). We are not sure what this variant will be called, but we do know the upgrades Q has brought for the users. So, in this article, I will discuss the 10 new features of the new Android software.
System-wide dark mode
A system-wide dark mode is one of the most asked features on Android. For years now, users have asked Google for the feature, but their hope had always turned into frustration. However, this time though, the Californian company has introduced a system-wide dark theme on Android 10 Q. To enable this feature, you will have to toggle the battery saver mode. This is just the initial beta version, so Google will definitely single out this feature on its software.
Privacy Setting
The Android 10 Q now has a different menu just for Privacy settings. There are various tabs inside the setting which will let users set privacy according to the applications they use.
Updated notification control
Google focuses on making notifications more user-friendly with each software update. And this time, the company has made the notification manager a little different with three options – block, show silently and keep alerting. This will definitely save users from the hassle of going through the settings app just to make a few changes.
Foldable phone support
After the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X, it is safe to say that 2019 will be the year of foldable phones. So, to help with this, Google will make the new software optimized for the technology. Now, this might not result on a whole new optimized UI for foldable devices, but Android Q will definitely better the overall foldable experience.
Icon and accent colors
On Android 10 Q, Google has hidden a few tweaks on the Developer Option setting. Users can now change accent colors and the shape of the icons and notification toggle according to the options from Google.
Location and permissions
For years now, Android software has only offered two options when it comes to permission. This time though, Android Q will offer another additional permission that only applies to when the application is running. This will certainly be of help, especially if the location permission is considered as a lot of applications use the location of the device while running on background.
Updated share menu
The share menu on Android has always been one of the slowest aspects of the software. Google seems to have tackled this issue as the share menu loads up a little faster than before. We can certainly expect this to improve even more with the new beta updates.
QR code for Wi-Fi
This feature has been around in Xiaomi’s smartphones for quite a while now. The devices with the feature are able to share Wi-Fi credentials with another smartphone just by scanning a QR code. Google seems to have liked this feature as Android Q lets users create QR codes for Wi-Fi network to share the password.
Faster App Launches
With every new release of Android software, Google has always made app launches and the whole UI a lot faster. This time it’s no different as Android Q lets users run applications’ data earlier for a faster launch.
Better Biometrics
With Android v10 Q, smartphones will now display error messages to users if their smartphone doesn’t have a dedicated face recognition hardware. And like the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, this new upgrade will also let users sign into different applications and make purchases.
Nvidia’s GTX 1660 went from an ‘If’ to a ‘When’ right from the moment the GTX 1660Ti went official. This new card is based on Nvidia’s Turing architecture, which has now entered a new pricing category. The new card is priced at $219 for the base model, setting a new standard (kind of) in that segment. Essentially a cut-down version of the 1660Ti, which was a replacement for the GTX 1060 (6 GB), this one seemingly looks to replace the GTX 1060 (3 GB).
Nvidia GTX 1660 Specifications:
GPU Engine Specs
Nvidia Cuda Cores: 1408
Giga Ray/s: N/A
Boost Clock: 1785 MHz
Base Clock: 1530 MHz
Memory Specs
Memory Speed: 4000
Standard Memory Config: 6GB GDDR5
Memory Interface Width: 192-bit
Memory Bandwidth: 192 GB/sec
Technology Support
Real-Time Ray Tracing: No
GeForce Experience: Yes
Ansel: Yes
Highlights: Yes
G-SYNC Compatible: Yes
Game Ready Drivers: Yes
Microsoft Direct X 12 API: Yes
DisplayPort 1.4a, HDMI 2.0b: Yes
HDCP 2.2: Yes
Nvidia GPU Boost: Yes
VR Ready: Yes
Designed for USB Type C and virtual link: No
Nvidia Encoder [NVENC]: Yes (Turing)
Display Support
Maximum Digital Resolution: 7680×4320@120Hz
Standard Display Connector: DP 1.4a, HDMI 2.0b, DL-DVI-D
Multi-Monitor: Yes
HDCP Yes
Graphics Card Dimensions
Height: 4.37″
Length: 5.7″
Width: 2-slots
Thermal and Power Specs
Maximum GPU Temperature: 95-degree Celcius
Graphics Card Power: 120W
Recommended System Power: 450W
Supplementary Power Connector: 8-pin
So, the cheapest Turing based card yet, beats its predecessor, the GTX 1060 by around 15-30 percent. It does lack the RT feature, Tensor Cores and has to make do with GDDR5 memory. That’s 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, with a bandwidth of 192 GB/s. Other specs like its TDP, maximum power consumption, or recommended power system remains similar to its Ti version. Going by the benchmarks and performance results, we could call this a great product by Nvidia.
It doesn’t exactly edge out its counterparts completely (but is better than the RX590), but it is the best GPU you can buy for $219. Aimed at 1080p gaming, this GPU should be a perfect fit for current GTX 960 (68% faster) or the GTX 970 (113% faster) owners. Given similar TDP numbers, the upgrade should be seamless. Will this help Nvidia with the backlash it received with the value proposition of RTX cards? Yes, it most certainly will.
Some two months ago, in January, one of the leading computer manufacturers, HP, recalled 50000 batteries after confirming they had flaws. And now, they are recalling another 28,500 more. This brings the total recalled batteries to 78,500. Also, this makes it the third time HP issued a battery warning in the last four years.
HP says that the batteries are flawed in the sense they could catch fire. Apparently, they found out that their Lithium-ion batteries were prone to overheating and catching fire. This comes after the company received 8 new reports of battery packs in the U.S., overheating or charring. One of them even caused a minor injury to the user while two had property damages, totaling $1100.
Those batteries were installed in laptops and mobile work stations between Dec 2015 to Dec 2018. They were also sold separately during that time period.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of the US, has advised HP laptop users to immediately visit HP’s website. Thereupon, users can find a page to check whether their batteries are prone or not. So, if any of you are using an HP laptop, then, maybe check if everything is alright. Especially, those who ordered their units from the US itself.
However, the company has advised users not to try removing the batteries themselves. As they have the potential to overheat and can be hazardous. And HP’s providing battery replacements by authorized technicians at no extra cost. Of course, that may not be applicable to the people here. But nevertheless, you should check your battery and be safe.
In addition, the firm is also releasing an update that puts affected hardware in “Battery Safety Mode”. That can make the notebook or workstation safe to use without the battery, by connecting to an HP adapter. All the necessary instructions are available on HP’s website.
It has been a while the Chinese smartphone giant has released Huawei Nova 4. It was Huawei’s first phone with a hole punch display. The smartphone was brought at a midrange price point. However, the phone had a flagship chipset on the board, triple rear cameras and the fancy feature like the hole punch display. So it created quite a buzz in the smartphone market back then. And this time, the smartphone maker has presented a toned down version of the device. Dubbed as Huawei Nova 4e, the newbie also embraces triple rear cameras.
Huawei Nova 4e Overview:
On the display side, the Nova 4 features a 6.15-inch IPS panel enriched with Full-HD+ resolution. But unlike its bigger sibling, the newbie comes with a notch on the notch. The notch is really tiny and less obtrusive, unlike others.
As discussed earlier, the phone flaunts three cameras on its rear panel. The primary one embraces a 24MP sensor, which is accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 2MP depth sensor. The ultra-wide-angle camera stretches the field of view to 120-degrees due to which users can fit everything in the frame, which a normal human eye can see. On the front lies a 32MP selfie shooter, which rests on that minuscule notch, which I mentioned earlier.
Performance wise, the phone gets the HiSilicon Kirin 710 chipset paired with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM. In terms of storage, Huawei Nova 4e comes with 128GB of onboard memory. As far as the software is concerned, the phone boots on Android Pie out of the box with EMUI 9 on the top.
Heading to the battery, a 3340mAh non-removable battery keeps the phone running. Adopting the modern trend, the phone also comes with USB Type-C port keeping the 3.5mm headphone jack intact. And another praiseworthy part of the device is that it also supports an 18-watt fast charging.
Huawei Nova 4 Specifications:
Display: 6.15-inch IPS LCD display
Resolution: Full-HD+ (2312×1080 pixels); 19.5:9 aspect ratio @ 415PPI
Battery: 3340mAh non-removable Li-Po battery with 18W fast charging support; Uses USB Type-C
Colors: Midnight Black, Pearl White, Gradient Blue
Huawei Nova 4e Price & Availability
The phone comes in three colors: Midnight Black, Pearl White, Gradient Blue. And all of these variants will go on sale in China starting from 21st of March. As far as the global availability of the device is concerned, the phone will be relaunched as Huawei P30 Lite and will hit the market starting from 26th of March.
As far as the price goes, the 4/128GB of the Nova 4 is priced at CNY 1,999 ($298). Similarly, the 6GB/128GB variant of the device will demand a price of CNY 2,299 ($342) on the purchase.
The world of smartwatches is tricky. There is no such thing as a perfect smartwatch that strikes a true balance between the features, complexity and battery life. Similarly, the Huawei Watch GT is one that runs but needs to work on its functionality. It appears to be more like a fitness band, but one that looks like a great traditional timepiece that catches your eye. But is it compelling enough for you to get one?
Huawei Watch GT Specifications:
Design: Leather or rubber strap, stainless steel bezels, 46.5 mm
Display: 1.39″ AMOLED, 454 x 454 resolution
Processor: Cortex-M4
RAM: 16 MB
Storage: 128 MB
OS: Lite OS
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.2, GPS with GLONASS / Galileo
The design of this smartwatch is one of the best things about it. It’s not every day that your smart wearable looks like a classic timepiece. There are two variants of this smartwatch – a sports version and a classic one. The sports one, with its rubbery design, really does look like a sports watch, while the classic one is the better looking. It’s a leather strap with the steel casing and black bezels on a circular body makes it close to a regular wrist-watch.
Huawei Watch GT Design
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It has two buttons. The upper one lets you access the basic watch features while the other button takes you to the workout section. Underside, the watch is ceramic and even with slightly raised sensors, it rests comfortably on your wrist. And even if the strap is leather on top, the bottom of it is a combination of silicone and rubber, which makes it comfortable to keep on your wrist at all times.
Huawei Watch GT Design Underneath
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Leather Strap
Sensors
Underside
You only get the watch in a single size, though – at 46.5 mm, it is big and looks masculine. Those with small hands might not go for it, but I actually like it. The only problem is that the leather strap is prone to discoloration due to the buckle placement. But that’s easily forgettable while wearing, so, maybe not something to worry about.
This watch is also 5 ATM Water-Resistant, meaning you can wear it for 50 meters underwater.
Display
On the display side, the 1.39” AMOLED display looks great! It’s 454 x 454 resolution makes it look vibrant. The icons and texts are sharp, with deep blacks and punchy colors. Brightness levels are also good enough, and you get good legibility in the sunlight, too.
There is also an Auto-Brightness feature, which adjusts the brightness of the screen according to the environment. However, there is no “Always-On” feature on this one. The closest thing you have to that is the “Show Time” option in its settings toggle, which keeps the screen on for 5 minutes.
Another thing I’m concerned about is that there seems to be no protection on the display. But the watch has survived the daily abuses pretty well. I’m a pretty clumsy person and even after occasional impacts on the wall, or door, there isn’t a scratch on it.
Overall, the display is likable, mostly, because it’s large and has a good pixel density.
Performance
This is where the watch falls short – it runs on Huawei’s new Lite OS – and it does seem really light! After all, it is running on 16 MB of RAM and 128 MB of storage. The chip inside it also has not been disclosed, but it is a Cortex-M4 chip.
That selection of internal hardware doesn’t make it the most agile of smartwatches. It is easy to see that after a few swipes to the left and right. The transitions are not that smooth, and you’ll feel the jitters after some fast swipes.
That being said, the watch doesn’t do much either. I mean, it actually does a lot more than your Fitbits but is not as comprehensive as other smartwatches out there.
Swiping down on the home-screen toggles the settings shortcut, while swiping from the bottom up shows you your notifications. And this is where Huawei’s Lite OS has compromises. There is no 3rd party app support. But after the latest update, you can now get notifications corresponding to the app, which was not the case before.
Swiping on the sides takes you to your Heart Rate, Weather and your Activity Log. And that’s about it. Long press on the home screen allows you to choose from a select few Watch Faces – a total of 13, at the time of this review. The number might go up with newer updates.
Huawei Watch GT Screens
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Heart Rate Monitor
Weather
Activity Log
The top button takes you to the installed apps and functions like Stopwatch, Alarm, etc. And there’s even a Flashlight – which is nothing but your screen glowing white at max brightness. You can also access your workout records, activity logs, and sleep. The other button takes you the workout preset, where you can find a limited number of workouts. It mostly focuses on the general exercises – like running, walking, climbing and swimming. There are no gym workouts like on the Samsung Galaxy Watch. But again, it costs like, a lot less than that, and this will be enough for the general populace, so, it’s okay.
One thing I liked about it a lot is its continuous heart-rate monitor. It is constantly measuring your heart rate, and that makes other readings all the more accurate. For instance, your sleep, your walks, and other activities can be more accurate. All the logs are stored in the Huawei Health App, which is the supporting app for this watch, and not the Huawei Wear.
This watch also comes with GPS tracking making for a good location and distance tracking. And that is useful in your outdoor walking or running sessions. Plus, the watch also lets you track the intensity of your workouts – like warm-up, fat-burning etc. The types of workouts aren’t much, but each one of them is pretty comprehensive.
With most of the features concentrated towards fitness tracking, this watch appears more like a fitness band, that looks like a regular watch. There are no other features like playing music or such. You can get call alerts, but since you can’t use it to call or reply, you can only check the caller ID, and maybe choose whether to pick up, or reject it.
So, yes, the watch is not as comprehensive, and it mostly concentrated towards fitness tracking. But what it does, it does a great job at it.
Battery
This is the part where it shines through and through – a massive 420 mAh battery. Combined with the watch’s LiteOS, and the fact that it doesn’t do much, the battery life is excellent! When you wear a smartwatch that tracks your body activities continuously, it’s natural that you don’t want to take it off every other day and charge it.
And with this, you don’t have to! Huawei claims the battery will last you two weeks with normal use, and I got around 12 days. That’s pretty impressive for a smartwatch.
Plus, it charges fairly quickly. You get a charging dock with a USB-C, and it charges fully in less than two hours. Thanks to this, I didn’t have to charge it overnight. Which is why I have complete records of my sleep and activities.
Conclusion
To sum up, the Huawei Watch GT is one good fitness tracker. When I used the Samsung Galaxy Watch, I said that it would be interesting to see Samsung make a toned-down variant of the watch for a lesser price. And this looks like just that. It removes the things that we don’t normally use and concentrates more on fitness and health.
But it does leave some things out – like 3rd party app support. And Lite OS, isn’t that appealing, especially with its jittery UI. So, for me, it’s still a bit expensive at a $200 price tag. Especially, when Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch Active for a similar price, and that seems to do more than this. Of course, to me, the Galaxy Watch Active doesn’t look as attractive as this one, and the battery probably won’t last nearly as long either.
This is one great looking buffed-up fitness tracker with some smartwatch features and excellent battery life. But it still leaves some features to be desired. So, for me, it’s not a complete smartwatch, yet. Therefore, this is a line between fitness trackers and smartwatches.
This costs Rs.20000, here, in Nepal, too, which is great pricing on Huawei’s part. If you’re into regular fitness stuff, and want continuous health monitoring without having to charge it every other night and don’t mind some slow UI, then, go for it. It makes me want more, but still, for what it is, it is good enough.
Pros:
Classy and elegant looking design
Stainless steel construction with leather and silicone strap
Daraz, the leading e-commerce platform in Nepal, is no stranger to bringing great deals and schemes. From bringing Black Friday to Nepal a few years ago to Daraz 11.11 Sales Day last year, Daraz does these kinds of things a lot. And even when there aren’t exclusive days for such schemes, it provides good deals and discounts on various products. So, starting February, they’re having something called Brand Day.
And in here, they feature a popular brand every 1st and 15th of each month for 24 hours. During this period of time, you can get great deals on all products associated with the brand. So, this time around, its the tech giant Sony, they’re featuring. Also, this makes the first brand day related to tech products. So, what does this brand day have in store?
Sony Smartphone Deals
Sony Xperia L2
Sony Xperia L2 is an old school phone and it does look unappealing by today’s standards. But the specs it packs inside for the recent price drop does make a good value for money. It features a 5.5″ HD display with a single 13 MP camera at the back, and an 8 MP camera up front. It runs on MediaTek MT6737T processor and is backed by 3 GB RAM. Also, it has a 3300 mAh battery. There was a recent price drop on the phone, and now with Daraz Brand Day, you can get this phone for as low as Rs.13,500.
Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
This is also kind of an old school phone. Because Sony hasn’t brought its new products to the country yet. Nevertheless, this phone too could still be relevant to some. For the current price of Rs.20000, you get a 5.5″ Full HD display, a 23 MP rear camera and an 8 MP selfie camera. This phone runs on the MediaTek MT6757 Helio P20 chipset, has 4 GB RAM and 32 GB of storage. You can get this phone for as less as Rs.19000 on the Brand Day.
Sony Xperia XA2
The Xperia XA2 belongs to the same category as the XA1 Plus. This phone packs a 5.2″ Full HD display, a 23 MP rear camera and an 8 MP front camera. It runs on the Snapdragon 630 and is backed by 3 GB of RAM with 32 GB storage. This phone also has a 3300 mAh with Fast Charging. While the current price of this phone is Rs.30,500, you can get this phone for Rs.26,500 as a part of the Daraz Brand Day.
Sony Camera Deals
Daraz is also providing good deals on Sony’s mirrorless cameras. So, if you’re looking to get yourself a mirror-less camera from Sony, or a mirror-less camera for that matter, you should check the deals out.
You can get a minimum of 5% discount on every Sony mirrorless camera, and a maximum discount of up to 27% on some of them. In addition, you can also have a chance to get freebies worth Rs.17000!
Sony Play Station, TVs, and Accessories
You can also get good deals on Sony’s other products – such as Sony TVs, Play Stations, accessories like headphones and computer peripherals.
You can bag a Sony Smart TV for great prices with discounts ranging from 20% to 37%. Also, there are vouchers worth Rs.5000 on Sony Smart TVs on selected models. As for Play Stations, you can get freebies worth up to Rs.16000 on the purchase. In addition, they’re also providing up to 23% on accessories like pen-drives and even up to 80% on some other accessories!
So, why not check out these hot deals and see if they appeal to you? Don’t forget to visit Sony’s Official Store on Daraz and check out these offers on this Brand day. Plus, there is also a giveaway, which you can be a part of, to win a Sony Xperia L2. All you need to do is follow Sony’s Official Store on Daraz. So, we suggest you definitely check this out.
Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has really been shining in the mid-range segment. The company is doing well with its new releases with the Honor View 20 stealing shows last year. Honor seems to be at its work again as a new smartphone looks set to launch soon.
The new smartphone which will be named Honor 10i will share a similar design and form factor with the Honor 10 Lite which was unveiled a few months ago.
The Honor 10i will also be powered by the same chipset the 10 Lite is which is the Kirin 710 SoC. The CPU will be coupled with 4 GB RAM and Mali-G51 GPU. It will provide users with 128 GB of internal memory. The phone could also have external memory.
The major talking point of the Honor 10i is definitely the triple camera setup on the back. The leaked images showcase three vertically places cameras with an LED flash below. The setup will consist of a 24-megapixel primary lens, 2-megapixel depth sensor, and an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera. Up front, Honor will include a 32-megapixel selfie shooter.
In terms of the display, the Honor 10i will sports a 6.2-inch full HD+ IPS LCD panel. There hasn’t been any news regarding the battery of the phone, but it is expected to be supported by fast charging.
The rumors swirling around also haven’t mentioned anything about the pricing and availability of the Honor 10i. But considering the fact that the leaks have already showcased the device in its full glory, we can expect it to be soon.
Facebook is currently conducting research that will help the company create an interface to read people’s thoughts!
Talking in an interview with a Harvard professor, Mark Zuckerberg shared Facebook’s plans to build a “brain-computer interface” that will be a big step in the development of Augmented Reality (AR). According to him, the social media company is in plans to make an AR device that will let them interact with various contents through their minds.
Zuckerberg explained this new product as a ‘brain-computer interface’ that will allow its users to interact and change their content with AR. It will let them move objects, change landscapes and navigate through applications just by thinking.
While some news outlets have reported that this device will be Glasses, Wired has said that it will be like a shower cap which users put onto their head. The research Facebook is conducting is helped by the fact that scientists can already know what people are thinking about with a look at their neural activity.
Zuckerberg said to the professor, “The way that our phones work today, and all computing systems, organized around apps and tasks is fundamentally not how our brains work and how we approach the world.” He added, “That’s one of the reasons I’m just very excited long-term about especially things like augmented reality because it’ll give us a platform that I think actually is how we think about stuff.”
In his previous Facebook post, Mark Zuckerberg had mentioned that our brains haven’t been utilized to the fullest which is why Facebook is working on a system that will let users interact to contents, and even type with a device.
“Our brains produce enough data to stream 4 HD movies every second. We’re working on a system that will let you type straight from your brain about 5x faster than you can type on your phone today. Eventually, we want to turn it into a wearable technology that can be manufactured at scale.”
Facebook is currently tainted due to the not-so-recent Cambridge Analytica scandal and the fact that it collects data of people who aren’t even the users of the site. So, it will be interesting to see how the public reacts to Facebook’s step when their new device comes out.
Today we are reviewing the Asus VivoBook X542U, available from Nagmani International. They are the official distributors of Asus laptops in Nepal. We always recommend buying from official retailers for the utmost reliability and genuine products. They also provide you with VAT bill and two years of international warranty. With that aside, let’s get back to the Asus VivoBook X542U review.
Asus VivoBook X542U Specifications:
Dimensions: Plastic body, 380 x 251 x 23.2 mm, 2.30kg
Display: 15.6″ Full-HD (1920 x 1080) TN Panel with 220 nits max brightness, 56% sRGB, 45% NTSC
Keyboard: Chiclet keyboard with isolated Num key
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-8250U Processor
RAM: 4 GB DDR4 (2x slots)
Graphics: NVidia GeForce MX130
Battery: 38Wh
Adapter: 45W
Storage: 1 TB HDD
Webcam: VGA Webcam
Connectivity: 802.11 ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.1
Ports: 1 x COMBO audio jack, 1 x VGA port, 2 x Type A USB3.0 (USB3.1 GEN1), 1 x Type C USB3.0 (USB3.1 GEN1), 1 x USB 2.0 port(s), 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Fingerprint (Optional), 1 x SD card reader, 1X AC adapter plug
Price: Rs.95,000 (Rs 85,500 after discount)
Design and Build
Starting off with the design, it looks a bit dated, with those chunky screen bezels, and bulky presence. It’s built around plastic which helps with the weight and keeps the cost down. Although the build could have certainly been better. The laptop is prone to an ample amount of flex all around, and that was a bit troubling for me. Overall, it’s an outplayed design from Asus, they just slapped some new hardware in the same old exterior. Laptop manufacturers do it every now and then, and it isn’t a bad thing either.
Just saying, this laptop could have turned out a lot better in terms of design.
Display
This laptop comes with a TN panel, so the viewing angles suffer a lot. The display is sharp, but honestly, the choice to go with a TN panel is the biggest drawback for this laptop. Everything is washed out, and to say the color reproduction (56% sRGB) is bad would be an understatement. Brightness is average at around 220 nits, mated with a matte display, it’s strictly an indoor only panel.
The display seems to be the laptop’s biggest weakness, with subpar viewing angles and pretty washed out colors.
Performance
If you plan on buying this laptop, we highly recommend you add an additional 4GB of RAM. Our review unit came with just 4GB by default, and that’s just not enough these days. The laptop faced lots of stutters and froze every now and then, mostly due to the lack of RAM. Other than that, the laptop’s performance is what I would say average. It does manage to keep itself cool though.
It also comes with an MX130 GPU, which helps around with applications like Photoshop and light gaming (720p seems to be the sweet spot). Photoshop ran fine (opening times were an eyesore due to the HDD). As for gaming, I tested CS: GO that was totally playable. A few games refused to even start and I suspect it was the lack of RAM again. But to be fair, it wasn’t designed for gaming.
I recommend you add an M.2 stick (even a 128GB one) and 4GB more RAM (there is an empty slot waiting for that extra memory), you are going to feel the boost in performance and the added cost is totally worth it.
Connectivity and Battery
This one gets stellar connectivity, including one of the best ports selection I’ve seen on a laptop yet. You rarely get a USB Type C, DVD drive and a VGA port on the same device. AC wifi comes integrated alongside Bluetooth 4.1. The speakers are loud but the quality is average, and the M.2 slot we mentioned earlier uses a SATA 3 connection. And if you look at the bottom, the easy access maintenance cover holds the two RAM slots, of which one is empty.
Ports selection
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Left
Right
Bottom
The 38Whr battery lasts around 4 hours under normal to moderate usage. This is pretty standard among laptops with similar battery sizes. Charging takes around an hour to reach a 100% form nill. Now, people, in general, might not care much about the below average battery life, but for me, this was a deal breaker. They could have gotten rid of the CD-drive and utilized that space for more battery, but well.
Keyboard and trackpad
This is where the laptop excels. The trackpad on this one is among the best out there. Tracking is on point, the buttons are very tactile and it gets a smooth finish. The pad itself is pretty spacious and that will come in handy for gesture controls. The Keyboard is also pretty great, with medium strokes and the pressure points are on point. Bring a 15-inch laptop, the number pad seems like a give. The only thing to complain here is it’s lack of backlighting.
Both the keyboard and trackpads on Asus laptops have always been one of my favorites, and this one does not disappoint.
Conclusion
Starting with what the laptop excels at: keyboard, trackpad, connectivity and that’s about it. if you want a laptop for any one of those three reasons, go ahead. But there is a high chance you will be more interested in its drawbacks. For instance, the display is sharp and bright (enough), but the color reproduction and viewing angles just bad. The battery life isn’t good either, added with it’s mediocre out of the box performance and compromised craftsmanship, I recommend you take your money elsewhere.
For an asking price of Rs. 9000, what would you expect from a phone? Not much, right? I had the same feeling when I switched to the Xiaomi Redmi Go as my daily driver. My expectations were already low. I was prepared for below-average user experience and lots of frustrations. But I’m glad to say I was not as correct. This phone isn’t half as bad as I’d thought. Maybe because all the phones in that price range I’ve tried till now have failed to impress me, but this is a different story.
Xiaomi Redmi Go specifications:
Operating System: Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition)
CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 (28nm)
GPU: Adreno 308
SIM (s): Dual SIM
Display: 5.0 inches HD IPS LCD screen with 16:9 aspect ratio
Rear cameras: 8 MP with LED flash and HDR
Video: 1080p
Front camera: 5 MP with HDR
RAM: 1 GB
ROM: 8 or 16 GB (expandable up to 128 GB with a dedicated slot)
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
Build and Design
Right from the start, you know this phone cuts corners. The phone looks and feels cheap. It appears boring and weights like a feather, and yet I’ve seen worse at this price. The good thing here is its small form factor, ease of use, slight slipperiness but totally manageable. Plastic seems to be the material of choice, but I’m not complaining at all. It also feels pretty sturdy, unlike a few other budget Xiaomi phones.
Button Placement
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Bottom
right
left
Top
The back is plain with a camera and an LED flash on top, alongside the Mi branding at the bottom center. The expandable storage and SIM tray are on the left, while the right side is occupied by the volume rocker and power button. The buttons are mushy and unsatisfying to click, but for the price, we can let it slide. The headphone jack is placed at the top, while at the bottom you’ll find the microUSB and a speaker grill.
You get what you pay for, and rest assured you are getting the most for your money.
Display
You get a 5-inch display with a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s a small phone with huge bezels that doesn’t make for joyful user experience. Having said that, it’s wasn’t a huge deal-breaker. Because other than the form factor, the panel itself is bright, with good colors, and the sharpness is on point.
Considering what its competition (there are very few) offers, this is one of (if not the best) display you can get in its category.
Camera
The cameras were surprisingly good for the price. It managed to take some really great shots under good lighting conditions. While the image quality might appear a bit blur before taking the picture, end results come out better. Although they aren’t as sharp as I would like them to be. As for other lighting conditions (indoors), the photos come out grainy, lack details and are pretty much unusable. And it just gets worse in low light conditions.
Rear Camera Sample
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Redmi Go Camera sample 5
Redmi Go Camera sample 3
Redmi Go Camera sample 2
Redmi Go Camera sample 4
Redmi Go Camera sample 7
Redmi Go Camera sample
Redmi Go Indoor 2
Redmi Go Indoor
Redmi Go Indoor 3
Redmi Go Low Light 1
Redmi Go Low Light 2
Redmi Go Low Light 3
Redmi Go Low Light 4
The front camera shares the same story. Under good lighting, selfies come out decent, but indoor and low light conditions, it’s pretty much unusable. Then again, you can’t expect any more from this phone. Just look at the camera samples. That should give you a better idea of what it’s capable of. Either way, the camera’s performance should not make or break your smartphone buying decision, at least for the Redmi Go.
Selfie camera
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Redmi Go Selfie Good lighting 2
Redmi Go Selfie Good lighting
Redmi Go Selfie Indoor 2
Redmi Go selfie indoor
The cameras can be deemed “OK at best”.
Performance
A combo of middling hardware paired with great software makes for a fairly usable smartphone. It’s not bad, and that…was a huge surprise for me. Apps run well with their fair share of stutters and lags but nothing unlivable. Xiaomi is betting on Android Go to do the heavy lifting, and it doesn’t disappoint. The phone feels fast enough, browsing through the UI is smooth, and as far as gaming isn’t concerned, the performance is average.
Xiaomi probably expected its users to make do with “Lite” or “GO” editions of apps. But I was able to run normal versions of the apps just fine. The only problem was, there isn’t enough space to fit them. As for games, PUBG failed to even run, but light games like Temple Run or Knife hit were playable. In fact, Free Fire at the lowest settings was running with a few stutters every now and then.
Performance is good, usable for social media and light games, thanks to its software optimization.
Software
The Redmi Go, as the name suggests runs on Android Go based on Android 8.1.0. This phone does not, at all, feel like a Xiaomi phone and that’s something I liked a lot. The UI is as basic as it gets, with almost no bloatware on board, apart from a few (two) Mi apps. It’s simple to use, with no excessive features that no one uses anyway. The phone runs on Mint Launcher as default which could use a few bug fixes.
UI & Software
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Lock screen
Home screen
Drop down menu
App icon tray
Settings
Display settings
Phone status
System Update
Overall, the phone’s biggest strength seems to be its software, keeping the phone running at a steady pace.
Battery
The 3000 mAh battery will last you around 4 hours (screen on time) under normal usage. I found myself draining the battery by the end of the day. My normal usage consisted of calls, texting, social media, lots of YouTube and a bit of Temple Run. A full charge takes a little over three hours via the default adapter in the box. It does not get any type of fast charging support, but I always put it on charge every night so that never bothered me.
Four hours of screen on time, in general, is one day’s usage for most people, and this phone pushes out just that.
Extras
The phone gets three slots, two for SIMs and one for expandable storage. It supports 4G on both networks, a welcome feature, especially for an entry-level smartphone. Call quality seemed fine, but some of my friends complained about added noise as opposed to my primary phone (OPPO F7). This one also gets adaptive brightness, which is usually missing on most budget phones at its price.
Conclusion
The Xiaomi Redmi Go is, in the simplest terms, is “worth it”. You can look around all you want, but all these features packed into a phone that costs just Rs 9000 is hard to find. Performance is good with average battery life; cameras are OK and the display is fine. For the basic user, this is the phone to get. It’s basically better than any other phone in its category I’ve used, and could make a great gift for your grandparents, to say the least.
With most of the features concentrated towards fitness tracking, this watch appears more like a fitness band, that looks like a regular watch. There are no other features like playing music or such. You can get call alerts, but since you can’t use it to call or reply, you can only check the caller ID, and maybe choose whether to pick up, or reject it.
