After the Vivo V9, we have the Vivo V11 Pro (Vivo V11 in some regions). Where did the V10 go…no one knows, but let’s not dwell on that. However, the V11 Pro is here, and it is already official in most markets. And this is actually the cheapest phone to features the In-Display fingerprint sensor! This mid-ranger phone also comes with a Waterdrop display and a large AMOLED screen.
The Vivo V11 features a large 6.41″ Super AMOLED panel with Full HD+ resolution, which is pretty impressive for a mid-range device. It is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6 and has a very small notch. The smartphone features the same cameras as of the Vivo X21 and Vivo NexS flagships. That dual camera setup consists of a 12 MP primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture and a 5 MP secondary sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The front camera is a 25 MP selfie shooter with AI enhancements…which are kinda mandatory in 2018!
Under the hood, the V11 Pro runs on the Snapdragon 660 chipset, supported by 6 GB of RAM. Now, that means it has a 2.2 GHz Octa-core CPU and the Adreno 512 GPU. The internal storage rests at 128 GB, but if that’s not enough, you can always expand it via a microSD card. And another good thing about this is that, you won’t have to sacrifice your second SIM slot for that.
This phone also features Facial recognition, which Vivo calls Face Access. And for a phone that managed to fit an in-display fingerprint sensor, the Face Access should be fast. However, the in-display fingerprint technology is not as fast as a regular fingerprint scanner, but the difference might be negligible. It sports a considerable 3400 mAh battery, but looking at its large AMOLED display, I think it is a bit small. Also, just like other mid-rangers, it still has a micro-USB and not a Type-C, but it does have Quick-Charging support, though.
The Vivo V11 runs on Android 8.1 Oreo, with its FunTouch OS 4.5 on top. This new generation UI features something called the Jovi AI Engine for allocating CPU and memory resources for efficient usage and battery saving. The phone is available in two colors, known as, Starry Night and Nebula colors.
VIVO V11 Pro Price & Availability in Nepal
The VIVO V11 Pro is set to launch in Nepal very soon, which is sometime around 10th September. And the price is expected to be around Rs. 45000 to 50000 here. What do you think about the Vivo V11 Pro? More importantly, would you buy this for that price? Do let us know in the comments.
If you go looking for phones in the mid-range segment, you will have a hard time selecting one because there are just too many choices. Amid all this, Huawei has added another one to the competition, the Huawei Nova 3i. With this device, you get a very impressive spec sheet but does the device follow similar performance? Let’s find out in our Huawei Nova 3i review.
6.3-inch (2340 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:5:9 2.5D curved glass display
Octa-Core Kirin 710 (4×2.2GHz Cortex-A73 + 4×1.7GHz Cortex-A53) CPU
Mali-G51 MP4 GPU
4GB RAM with 128GB storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD
Android 8.1 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.2
Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)
16MP rear camera with LED flash, secondary 2MP rear camera
24MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture, secondary 2MP camera
Dimensions: 157.6×75.2×7.6mm; Weight: 169g
Fingerprint sensor, Face unlock
Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS + GLONASS
3340mAh battery
Price: Rs. 38990 (in Nepal)
Design
At sight, you get a premium look all over. If you look at it, there’s the shiny glass back, the rounded edges all of which look stunning. Adding to the pros is that the phone is quite slim and lightweight. Not only that, the metal frame around the edges help you have a good grip on the device. You get the vertical camera placement like the P20 pro and the fingerprint sensor at the back which is easy to reach and indeed is very swift. There is also Facial Unlock that uses the front camera and does a good job.
Downwards, you get a single speaker and micro USB ports and yes, the headphone jack. Well, high-end phones have started removing the headphone jack and it’s a relief to see that midranges are not following the trend.
On hands, the phone is a bit slippery but not to the point of frustration, so no issues. Meanwhile, you’ve got to do something about the smudges. Likewise, I already have a few scratches on the edges at the back so, you will definitely want to case it up.
Display
Talking about the disply, you get a 6.3-inch FHD+ screen with even taller 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The IPS display is sharp and the colors are vibrant. The sunlight visibility is average though. It’s a big screen and for those multimedia-hungry users, you have your device here.
But, as there is no display protection available on the phone, for careless people like me, we need to borrow some help from tempered glasses.
Cameras
Now moving on to the cameras! Like most of the Huawei devices, this too has a quad camera setup, two at the front and two at the back. The back houses dual 16+2 MP cameras and the notch in front carries 24+2 MP sensors.
Pictures from the rear camera are vibrant in terms of colors and they pack in good details. However, the edge detection in the portrait mode needs improvement.
Huawei Nova 3i Back Camera Samples
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What’s nice to see is, AI does well-recognizing sky and enhancing it. The AI seems to have improved because other than greenery, other things seem to have been enhanced quite properly. Similarly, buildings seem nicer with AI on. But even without AI, the Colors are punchy and vibrant. However, I cannot quite say good things about the night time shots as they were grainy and disappointing. There is 3D Qmoji feature which is entertaining, but it needs a little reworking.
Huawei Nova 3i | Without AI Vs AI
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without AI
with AI
without AI
with AI
Sadly, the videos lack any kind of stabilization, so you will experience native shakiness in videos. Likewise, there is no option for 4K video recording. So, if you are into mobile vlogging, with this device, you will certainly need steady hands. However, you can shoot 1080p videos at 60 fps which is good news.
Talking about the quality of selfies, you get quite nice ones. Detail- wise, color-wise, the pictures seem quite good. There is an HDR Pro mode that enhances colors. We also have the AI that helps enhance the pictures alongside the beauty mode that smoothens your skin and makes you look fairer.
Huawei Nova 3i Front Camera Samples
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Portrait
Normal
Beauty
Just a small note, please avoid using the level 10 beauty option, it makes you look like some supernatural being. Well, that’s again your choice. Like the rear camera, the dual cameras at the front do not detect edges properly. All in all, these samples are proof that the selfie cameras function very well. But all in all, I have liked the cameras in this device.
Check out all the high-resolution camera samples here
Performance
Now let’s get going with the performance side of things. This device is the first to feature the Kirin 710 processor which in real life is comparable with the SD 660. We have witnessed how good the SD 66O performs in the Mi A2, and now we have a similar hero with the 710 in the Nova 3i.
On use, I got lag-free performance every time, whether it be for multitasking or app opening; everything ran smoothly as expected. Memory wise, you get the usual 4 GB RAM but with a very impressive 128 GB onboard storage which can further be expanded through the hybrid SIM slot. With the hybrid SIM slot, you can expand your phone’s memory up to 256 GB but I guess 128 GB will be enough for most.
Now, let’s hear about gaming. Well, with the Nova 2i, we had an average performance in the gaming department. Now, with its successor, I have no room for complaints in this regard. I have played plenty of games in the process of testing this device, namely the Modern Combat 5, my current favorite Asphalt Legends and everybody’s favorite, PUBG along with some others. PUBG ran with slight lags in medium settings while Modern Combat 5 and Asphalt Legends ran smoothly. So, on a whole, I have had a very interesting and impressive gaming experience on this phone.
Software and UI
Software-wise, we get the Android Oreo 8.1 and EMUI 8.2 on top of it. For me, EMUI works just fine except for the onboard bloatware. As I said in the hands-on video, the unnecessary apps and games can be deleted, well most of them can be deleted. Apart from that Huawei gives a lot of customization options in the UI, like changing notch preferences, having an app drawer if you want, changing where the battery percentage shows, power saving options, well there are tons of it. The fact that all these features don’t make the phone slow is a really good thing.
Huawei Nova 3i Software UI
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Battery
The 3,340 mAh battery capacity on this device is the same as the Nova 2i but this one has a longer lasting battery. This somewhat is also a result of the energy efficient Kirin 710 processor.
Despite not have fast charging, the phone surprised me by getting charged in 2 hours and some time. Likewise, talking about backup, the 3i lasted more than one day on my use. On a regular basis, my activities include, a bit of gaming, a lot of social media and work stuff and the Nova 3i has helped me get through all that without having to worry. Only, I felt a little disappointed on the device not having USB type C, I mean, it’s become sort of 2018ish having Type C on your phones.
Connectivity
I used this device as a daily driver and call quality on NTC and Ncell both is good. However, it lacks WiFi a/c so connecting to a 5GHz WiFi connection will not be possible. Also, there is a single speaker and the output from it is just average.
Conclusion
So, does the Nova 3i fare for the price being asked? I would say yes! I mean there are little aspects that may not look good but overall the phone does well. It’s got this really nice design and a good display, good set of cameras, a very good battery backup and excellent performance with the new Kirin 710. The Nova 2i and 3e were considered weak in the performance front but the 3i seems to have got it covered. The Nova 3i, in my opinion, is a worthy purchase.
Nikon has launched the successor to the D3400, the Nikon D3500. The new entry-level DSLR offers a few improvements as compared to its predecessor in terms of the design and battery performance. The camera will come with a single AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens, for a total price of $499.
You can also opt for a dual kit lens that includes an AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR and AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED for a bumped up price of $849. The body features of the Nikon D3500 include a 24.2-megapixel DX-format sensor with 11 point AF system and an ISO range of 100-25,600. The DSLR is also capable of 1080p video recording at 60fps.
Talking about the improvements, the D3500 now does 1550 shots on a single charge, against the 1200 shots on the D3400. Weight has also gone down by 30 grams. The newer variant also comes with an inbuilt wireless connection feature.
Apart from these few improvements, it’s mostly similar to its predecessor. The camera still features a built-in flash, RAW support, smartphone remote control, face detection focus, and a 921k dots LCD display. The Nikon D3500 missed out on image stabilization, environmental sealing, articulating screen, and AE bracketing though.
The number of lens support for a DSLR also plays a vital role in a user’s buying decision, and the D3500 boasts a total of 287 native lens support. Out of the 287, 88 lens feature image stabilization for people who want better handheld shots and smoother videos.
The camera will be available for purchase starting this month and will fit a lot of beginner photographers. Click here to purchase the camera.
In the recent days, the rise of the Chinese smartphones has quite challenged the Samsung in term of sales. The Chinese brand with their ever-growing affinity to provide capable hardware in the budget handsets and Samsung’s reluctance to refresh the design somewhat backfired Samsung. So to regain its lead, Samsung started providing a refreshed design in its latest smartphones and the Galaxy J8 is one of such lucky handsets. But how does this gorgeous looking smartphone fares in the real-life usage? Let’s find out in this Samsung Galaxy J8 review.
Samsung Galaxy J8 Specifications
Display: 6.0-inch Super AMOLED display
Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1480 pixels), 18.5:9 ratio, 275 PPI pixel density
Chipset: Snapdragon 450
CPU: Octa-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU: Adreno 506
OS: Android Oreo 8.0
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB, expandable storage up to 256GB via SD card (dedicated slot)
The Samsung Galaxy J8 looks good despite its plastic back. There is a metallic frame and the metallic coating on the back that makes it appear premium. Even while holding and during use, the handset gives the impression of a metallic build.
The phone also has curvy edges on the sides, which adds comfort in usage and offers a firm grip. The phone never slipped from my hands during my usage in the entire review period.
What’s unique here is the location of the speaker which is located in a weird place on the right. The audio quality from the speaker is average and it’s not very loud either. There’s a fingerprint sensor on the back which is a little bit slow to my liking.
Display
On the front, you get a huge 6-inch display. It’s surrounded by narrow bezels on the top and bottom, but there’s no curved glass on the sides.
Samsung likes to call it “Infinity Display” since it comes with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, but I don’t get this whole Infinity Display concept. I mean, you get the Infinity Display on Galaxy Note 9 and the S9 as well. And you cannot compare the J8’s display to those at all…Maybe Samsung should call the displays on its mid-range phones something else.
Like with every Samsung phones, you get a Super AMOLED panel that has good color reproduction, deeper blacks, and brighter whites. So, I didn’t have any issues related to color accuracy and vibrancy.
However, I was disappointed to find out the resolution to be only HD+. Last year’s J7 Max, J7 Prime, and J7 pro featured Full HD display, so I can’t understand why Samsung is including an HD display in 2018.
Since Samsung uses quality panels, I had no issues whatsoever, while watching videos, playing games and surfing the web. To my surprise, I did not notice any pixelation in the display or any lack in sharpness. However, FullHD panel would have served well especially considering the price tag.
The smartphone offers good brightness levels. I had no problems while viewing the contents even on a bright sunny day. Turning the outdoor mode on amplifies the display illumination to a maximum value so I could easily view the display even in a flooded light situation.
However, the absence of the ambient light sensor is another aspect where Samsung likes to compromise. You need to manually adjust the brightness level every now and then and it could be annoying at times. I mean, come on Samsung, the ambient light sensor is not a feature you should skip on a midrange phone.
Software
Software-wise, the Galaxy J8 runs on Android Oreo 8.0 out of the box. Like always Samsung’s own Experience UI comes with tons of bloatware. I found most of the bloatware flimsy so uninstalling or disabling them was the first thing I did when I got the review unit.
However, I grew quite fond of the S-Health app. Since I don’t have any smartwatch or a fitness tracker to monitor my daily activities, I trusted the S-Health app to monitor the number of steps I walked or the number of calories burned in any given day. It’s not a hardcore exercise regime, but this is good enough.
Samsung Galaxy J8 Software UI
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The inclusion of game launcher, Dual messenger, Blue-light filter, Multi-window feature, Ultra Power Saving and Ultra Data Mode are some other welcome additions in the UI. So, except that cluttered bloatware, I was fairly impressed with the Samsung Experience UI.
I also noticed that all the games installed on the phones stores in the Game launcher Folder. It is an interesting feature as the user can manually make a gaming profile, which gives them an option to mute the notification while playing. In the game launcher, the user will also have the option to play the games by setting the performance to normal or to play the games with the power saving option. And the great thing is that it applies to playing every game inside that folder. Furthermore, while running the games, two special icons add to the navigation bar. Between the two, one locks the gaming screen pausing the game whereas pressing another icon unveils some more features like taking a screenshot of the gaming screen or making a gaming video. I found this feature pretty handy as it allowed me to share the gaming experience with my friends and my siblings.
Camera
Samsung always had the best camera on a midrange smartphone. This time, Samsung has included a dual camera setup. The camera pair comprises of 16MP primary lens backed by the 5MP depth sensor. The sole purpose of the two cameras on the back is to capture portrait images. So, I tested the portrait images first. And I was thoroughly impressed by its capability. It has an excellent edge detection, due to which, the Bokeh effect looks more natural than what you’d get from software tweaks. And like always, Samsung has also added the feature to adjust the amount of blur and focus area after taking the shots.
samsung galaxy J8 Rear Portrait camera samples
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In addition, this time, Samsung has included the feature to change the blurred backdrop from normal to Crystal, Pixel, Time Slice and Crumbled options. I found this feature really handy as it adds new taste in the mainstream Bokeh effect. Furthermore, there is also the Portrait Dolly feature, which basically creates the 3 seconds videos from the portrait images where the subject is zoomed in or zoomed out with the segregated background.
Talking about normal shots, the device captures images with substantial details with a good amount of color reproduction. Even on the HDR side, the smartphone does a fine job. It captures HDR shots preserving the details of the highlights and shadows quite well and I have no complaints here. However, low light shots were not that impressive. They invite quite a lot of noise and grains, so, the images do not look so good. But when compared side by side with a more expensive Nova 3i, the J8 does a better job in low light shots.
Samsung Galaxy J8 back camera samples
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The 16MP selfie shooter on ample light come out great with good amount of details and color accuracy. The beauty mode also works quite well by removing the facial blemishes and acne.
Selfie: Normal Vs Beauty
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Normal Mode
Normal Mode
But its Selfie Focus is the most exciting feature. With this feature, it captures the portrait selfies with blurred backgrounds. Although it’s not as good as the rear camera since there’s only one camera at the front, and the background blurring is done with software effects, but it looks fine when captured under ample lighting.
As for videos, the J8 captures Full HD videos at 30fps from both the front and the rear cameras. Videos from the phone look okay at best. Since the phone lacks Image Stabilization, captured videos look kinda shaky. Also, the jittery autofocusing is also really unpleasant.
Check out all the high-resolution camera samples here
Performance
The J8 is powered by Snapdragon 450 chipset backed by 4GB of RAM. The presence of the mediocre chipset bugged me since Day 1. The chipset is usually found in budget phones these days, and Samsung’s decision to opt for this chipset in a midrange phone is not a good choice at all.
However, since the chipset only has to power an HD+ display, the performance of the phone was not that bad. Using multiple apps and multitasking ran smoothly and there were no lags while switching between them. Even while playing low end to mid end games, there were no any stutters and drop in frame rates. I played Asphalt 9, Dead Trigger 2, and Shadow Gun legends, all of which, ran with good frame rates at medium settings. But at high settings, you will notice every now and then. And, when you compare its performance with say the Redmi Note 5 AI or the Oppo F7, its evident that the J8 falls short by a good margin.
On the storage side, the J8 packs an ample 64GB inside. Also, you can expand the storage up to 256 GB with a dedicated microSD card slot as well.
Battery
A generous 3500mAh battery coupled with low power consuming hardware and internals, the J8 easily provided me more than a day under normal usage. So during the review period, I was thoroughly impressed by the battery performance. And since there are various power saving options, I could even prolong the backup. So, with the J8 as my daily driver, I never had to bother about charging the handset very often.
Despite that impressive backup, charging was a pain in the neck. The stock charger of the smartphone is rated 5Volt, 1.5Amp, which takes slightly over three hours to get the battery fully charged. But with the 5Volt, 2Aamp charger, it took just around 2 hours and 15 minutes to refill the battery.
Conclusion
To sum it up, The Galaxy J8 has an impressive camera – both front and back. They’re comparable to those of pricier Huawei Nova 3i and Oppo F9. The battery is good enough and will easily last you for a day. The build quality is sturdy despite a plastic back while the AMOLED display offers great colors and brightness levels.
However, the choice to put in a Snapdragon 450 is just not right. If they’d gone with the Snapdragon 636, or the Exynos 7885, it would’ve been much better. Also, I think a 1080p display is mandatory for the price of the phone.
With all that it packs, I think the phone is mainly focused for general users who want something of everything. As it doesn’t have anything, in particular, to make it stand out, it is just for the average users, and not for someone who wants power performance. So, that was the Samsung Galaxy J8 review. Would you buy it or skip it? Let us know in the comments down below.
Nagmani International, the official distributor of Asus laptops in Nepal announced a new laptop launch through their official Facebook page. The new laptop (ASUS G703GI) runs on a Core i9 at its heart. A full-fledged 45W 8th Gen six-core i9-8950HK boasting a maximum Turbo frequency of 4.8GHz. The same laptop also comes with a GTX 1080 GPU and costs Rs 531,250.
If the Core i9 or the overclocked GTX 1080 didn’t impress you, well you might as well stop here. The price tag won’t help much either, because we ourselves think it’s an overkill anyway. If you invest the same on a desktop, you can get a far better i7-8700k, a 1080Ti, and a 4k display, all for less money. But at the end of the day, if you want a laptop, I can’t help you.
Either way, the laptop does come with a few other features like 32GB of RAM, 2TB of SSHD and 256GB of NVMe SSD. We also haven’t mentioned the 17.3″ FHD display on board. We hope that it’s the same 144Hz 3ms G-Sync enabled display, which the post fails to mention because if it’s not, this is truly an overpriced piece of a laptop. They are giving away a free gaming backpack, a gaming mouse and a headphone which is a nice touch.
As for the performance and in-depth review, check out Austin Evan’s review below as we haven’t had a chance to test out the laptop yet, and we most probably won’t either.
So, what do you think of the ASUS G703GI? For a laptop that costs almost $3699 in the international market, the price difference might be a factor. But more importantly, is spending 5 lakhs on a portable gaming machine worth it? I don’t think so, but feel to buy one, just keep in mind that a desktop PC should deliver much much better horsepower, future upgradability options, and a much better display at a much lower price if you were to spend this level of money.
Launched in the occasion of Xiaomi’s 8th anniversary, the Mi-series did away with Mi 7 and named their flagship Mi 8. This flagship landed quite some time some 2 months but unlike many of its phones, it didn’t quite make news headers. Probably because it’s only available in China for some reason. You can buy it online in other parts of the world, though, which is, again, shipped from China. Even so, we got our hands on the Xiaomi Mi 8 and this is our full review of Xiaomi’s latest flagship.
Xiaomi Mi8 Specifications:
6.21-inch (2248 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 18:7:9 AMOLED display, DCI-P3 color gamut
2.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 845 64-bit SoC with Adreno 630 GPU
Android 8.1 (Oreo) with MIUI 9, upgradable to MIUI 10
Dual SIM (nano + nano)
12MP rear camera with 26mm wide-angle lens, 1/2.6″ Sony IMX363 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, 1.4µm pixel size, dual-tone LED flash, 4-axis OIS, Optical zoom, 4K video recording, secondary 12MP rear camera with Samsung S5K3M3 sensor, f/2.4 aperture, 1.0µm pixel size, 2X zoom
20MP front-facing camera with real-time AI portraits
IR Face unlock, Fingerprint sensor
Dimensions: 154.9×74.8x 7.6 mm; Weight: 175g
Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11ac dual-band (2×2 MU-MIMO ), Bluetooth 5, Dual-frequency (L1+L5) GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C
3400mAh battery with Quick Charge 4+ fast charging (Mi 8)
Design
At first look, you’ll immediately know that it resembles the iPhone X uncannily. It is kinda huge, and not really easy to hold. The phone is light and has curvy edges, which helps the grip somewhat, but for someone with small hands, it’s not going to be easy.
The back is Gorilla Glass 5, and as it is with glass, they’ll attract finger smudges. But, it looks and feels quite premium on the hands, as expected of a flagship. I personally loved the design! The only thing is, it lacks is Water or Dust resistance but I’m not complaining. The phone is priced accordingly. It’s well built, better compared to last year’s Mi 6, has some sturdiness to it, while being a bit light at the same time.
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Display
The Xiaomi Mi 8 decided to go with an AMOLED panel this time from IPS LCD, and this has made a huge difference. I really, really liked the display! The AMOLED panel alone makes it a huge improvement over the Mi 6, but there are also some other improvements.
I am against notches, on screens, but you actually start getting used to these after a time. However, the notch is a bit big, while it only sports one front camera, speakers and an Infra-red sensor. I think Mi could’ve shrunk the notch by a bit, though.
The phone’s screen is big at 6.2 inches and the FHD+ display is pretty good as it is! The resolution does the screen justice. Again, you cannot compare it to Samsung’s flagships or even of Huawei’s but at this device’s price point, this is a good display. However, the brightness is not as satisfactory. In the sunlight, it’s just usable – nothing much.
Another good thing about the display is it’s got an always-on feature, which is quite handy. You can easily get the time and notifications on it, and it’s pretty necessary too, as its Facial recognition is quite zippy and will unlock in a fraction of a second, which is a bit troublesome if all you want is to look at the time. But there’s also an option to turn it off to save battery as well.
Performance
The Mi 8 sports the Snapdragon 845 processor that lives up to its name. With 6 GB of RAM, I have no complaints about its performance. It’s zippy fast, and can handle all the multi-tasking you throw at it. My games like Asphalt 9 or the Dead Trigger 2 didn’t even stutter once! No, I’m not kidding, and it didn’t heat up either. You can feel the rise in temperature, but it’s a lot less than other phones! And with an Adreno 630 GPU, the gaming experience is just great.
However, there were times when the phone heats up for some weird reason. And I wasn’t even gaming on it then. In fact, no heavy applications, but it was heating for a while, though. Maybe that is a software problem, but I can’t really say.
Software and UI
On the software front, it runs on Android 8.1.0 Oreo, with MIUI 9.5 skin on top. As with all Xiaomi phones, it does have bloatware and proprietary apps. You can remove almost all bloatware, so, that won’t really stand in your way. I have always been a stock Android person, so, I found the UI and navigation only okay. But yeah, if you have been using Xiaomi’s phones and used to MIUI, then, you’ll like it.
Storage, Audio, Sensors
The phone is available in three storage options: 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB. But since there isn’t an expandable memory option, do choose your storage wisely! It has got good speakers…loud and clear, and better than I was actually expecting. Plugging in earphones developed good sound quality too, and the overall audio experience was good.
The fingerprint sensor at the back is quite fast too. Just a tap at it, and it will open up. The fingerprint sensor and the facial recognition feature seem equally fast to me. And both of these sensors are faster than some other phones I’ve tested.
Camera
The Mi 8 packs a dual camera setup at the back; a 12 MP with f/1.8 aperture and OIS and another, a 12 MP telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture.
Now, the camera setup is basically the same as that of Xiaomi’s Mi Mix 2S. Nothing new, here. I find the cameras decent. Pictures are sharp and detailed, it maintains color accuracy and usually, photos come out great.
Xiaomi Mi8 Back Camera Samples
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The telephoto lens helps in taking good low-light images as well. They sometimes tend to be a bit noisy, but overall, pretty usable. HDR mode, however, does take a second to process. Portrait mode does a good job too, with both faces and objects, as edge detection is pretty decent.
The selfie camera has been bumped to a good 20 MP sensor from 8 MP, which is a welcome change. Selfies are detailed with nice skin colors in good lighting conditions. Even with a single lens, it can take pretty great portrait selfies with that background blurring effect we all seem to want so much.
Xiaomi Mi8 Front Camera Samples
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As for video recording, the Mi 8 can record 1080P and 4K videos @ 30 fps, No 6fps here. The 1080P videos are stabilized and have excellent color, but the 4K videos lack stabilization, so do shoot in 1080P for the best outcome.
Also, you can’t take zoomed in videos very well, as it doesn’t switch to the telephoto lens even in the 2X zoom. Another disappointing factor is the poor audio quality while video recording. Still, whatever videos it takes, it does a great job at it, if you can get around its lack of stabilization in 4K.
Check out all the high-resolution camera samples here
Now, the MI 8 has a score of 99 on DxO Mark’s ratings, but I really have mixed feelings about this. Of course, I am not the camera expert here, but compared to Samsung Galaxy S9+, which has about the same score, I feel like the Mi 8’s camera falls behind.
Battery
With a 3400 mAh battery capacity, the battery capacity is quite good on it. In terms of its display size, it’s not that big of a battery, but in my experience, it is quite good actually. I got above 5 hours of screen-on time during my usage, and is comprised of all kinds of intense gaming, surfing my social media and also watching videos. So, I’d say that is pretty good.
The phone boasts that it supports Quick Charge 4.0, but there aren’t any chargers that support that yet. Even Mi 8 itself comes with a Quick Charge 3.0 charger which says it can get your battery from empty to full in about 1 hrs and 40 minutes, and it actually does that. It is still a bit slower than OnePlus 6’s dash charge, so, I would very much like to see it charge with a Quick Charge 4.0.
Verdict
Overall, after some usage of this phone, I can say that this is a flagship material. Sure, it looks like the iPhone X, it did away with the headphone jack and without Water and Dust resistance, it might not be able to compete with some particular flagships out there. But with its price, it will give them a run for their money! I have no complaints about its build, display, speaker, performance, and battery. They’re all excellent. The camera, however, doesn’t live up to my expectations. Also, the absence of the 3.5 mm headphone jack and lack of an expandable storage is a bit of a letdown.
The Xiaomi Mi 8 starts its international pricing at $490, with a minor difference in price in various online sites, probably because you have to ship them in from China. You can get the best deals from Gearbest right now. If it does make its way here to Nepal, and it the price is around 55000 to 60000, I think it would be a great buy! But that still remains to be seen. What are your thoughts on Xiaomi’s latest flagship? Would you buy it if it were to come here? Or do you think there’s better value for your money? Do let us know.
Pros:
Affordable price for a flagship
Good gaming experience and doesn’t heat up that much
The IFA 2018 in Berlin showcased a lot of tech – from downright crazy to some innovative ones too. And for Huawei, the exhibition was a perfect arena to unveil it’s Smart Home Speaker. Now, we have plenty of smart speakers, but Huawei sets its smart speaker apart with some aspects, including its name. First, Huawei calls it the AI Cube. While you may understand a cube as a 3D block of six square sides, Huawei means a cylinder! And that too, with a broader base narrowing as it moves upwards. It actually resembles the Google Home. But with the smart speaker incorporating the Alexa digital assistant and a 4G Router, the Huawei AI Cube is redefining Smart Home…and geometry too!
I won’t hold anything against Huawei for naming its smart speaker the AI cube. But it kinda eats me a little. Anyway, the “cube” is powered by Amazon Alexa. So, you can access all that the digital assistant has to offer. And with numerous developers working on Alexa to make it better, I guess it will improve continuously. The Chinese giant doesn’t have its own digital assistant, but maybe, that’s all well. It would take quite a lot for a new digital assistant to compete with the likes of Google Home, Apple’s Home Pod or other Amazon Echo devices.
The Huawei AI Cube also serves as a 4G router, which is the very feature that sets it apart from the crowd. This smart speaker has an LTE Cat 6 modem with an 802.11 ac WiFi adapter inside, which makes it a pretty good home router. Also, with Huawei’s expertise in making connection devices, I would believe the router is on point.
On the speaker front, the AI cube has four microphones for input but only a 15W mono speaker. That won’t make for any crazy stereo sound, but with Huawei’s own proprietary tech, Histen, the sound quality should be actually pretty good. Histen features things like virtual bass, adaptive gain control, and linear phaseequalizer, which should make for a pretty good speaker.
Huawei hasn’t revealed any other specs like the battery, nor is there any word on pricing. But the smart speaker is set to release into European markets at the end of 2018. It won’t make it to the US, and not even China itself. So, I doubt its availability on Asian markets too. However, the Huawei AI Cube, although not a cube, seems to be a pretty compelling smart speaker.
Samsung is launching two more smartphones soon. According to sources, the phones so launching are the Prime models of the Galaxy J4 and J6 launched some time back in 2018. So, we may be expecting the Samsung Galaxy J4 Prime and the Galaxy J6 Prime to be launched very soon.
The J4 and J6 featured Samsung’s own Exynos chipsets but the upcoming Prime models is expected to feature processors from Qualcomm. Similarly, the phones will come with Android Oreo 8.1 out of the box, unlike their predecessors that came with Android Oreo 8.0. News of the devices coming to the market soon has been released on the company’s Vietnamese website.
Sources also reveal that these prime models of the J4 and J6 will most likely be released this fall in Vietnam and Netherlands before other markets. As far as other specifications go, we are currently unclear about what the devices will be like and how much they will cost.
The Samsung Galaxy J4 featured a 5.5- inch SuperAMOLED display and the Exynos 7570 chipset. Similarly, it came with a combination of 2+16 GB storage alongside having a 3,000 mAh battery capacity. In terms of cameras, we had 13 and 5 MP shooters at the back and front respectively. It did not have a fingerprint sensor though!
The Galaxy J6, on the other hand, had a 5.6- inch SuperAMOLED screen with the internals being handled by Samsung’s Exynos 7870 chipset. It came in two memory variants, 3 or 4 GB with 32 or 64 GB internal storage. Similarly, it came with a similar 3,000 mAh battery like the J4. The cameras were 13 MP shooter at the back and an 8 MP camera at the front. The J6 did come with a fingerprint sensor at the back.
Both the J6 and J4 had average performance when we put it to test. With the prime versions of both the phones, we have put our hopes for better performance.
Gone are the days when the bulky and high power-devouring speakers used to be installed for amplifying sound. These days, speakers are available in small form factor, which intensifies the sound level to a great extent without major compromises on the sound quality. And adding to the list, there is the JBL Go 2 Speaker, which comes at a portable size and promises a superior audio quality. But how does this device fares in real life? Let’s find out in this review.
JBL Go 2 Specifications
Dimensions: 71.2 x 86.0 x 31.6 (mm)
Weight: 184 grams
Connectivity Options: wireless (Bluetooth), 3.5mm headphone jack
Bluetooth Version: Bluetooth 4.1
Controls: activate Bluetooth, power on/off, volume
Battery: Lithium-ion polymer (3.7V, 730mAh)
Recharge Time: 2.5 hours
Battery Backup (Up To): 5 hours
Frequency Response: 180Hz – 20kHz
Output Power: 3W
Transducer: 1 x 40mm
Signal to Noise ratio: ≥80dB
Protection: Waterproof (IPX7 certified), water resistant up to 3.3 ft
Speaker Channel Type: Mono
Intelligent Assistant Compatible: Google Assistant, Siri
On the design front, the JBL Go 2 may not look all fancy and eye-catching but it definitely looks sophisticated in its rectangular shape and rounded corners. Wrapped with the rubberized housing and with only the speaker grills on the front, the speaker surely looks sturdy and durable. On the top, the rubberized wrapping with an IPX7 certification also acts as a waterproof jacket, which prevents the speaker from getting damaged or destroyed in the time of drizzle and downpour. So even in this rainy season, I didn’t have to worry about carrying the speaker outdoors to listen to music.
And as you can see, we have the Deep Sea Blue color variant of the speaker as our review unit, which definitely looks stunning. But even if you don’t like this color, you don’t have to worry about. Since the speaker comes in a staggering 12 colors, so you can surely pick one that best represents your tastes.
In its miniature size and with its punchy sound, the speaker looks perfect. It is also light in terms of weight. It just weighs 184 grams, just as heavy as my phone. In addition, it fits perfectly on my palm and carrying around in my pocket haven’t been a problem for me at all. However, there are no any sorts of straps or clips to hang it on the backpack or on the belt loops. I definitely prefer a strap like on the Bose soundlink micro or a clip like that on the JBL Clip 2. So I did find this absence disappointing since it is not fun to walk around listening to music with a speaker stuffed in a pocket or inside a backpack.
Buttons and Controls
Talking about the buttons, all the buttons on the speaker is placed on the top. And on the right of the speaker is a rubber door that hides the micro USB charging port and 3.5mm auxiliary jack for legacy devices. You could see power button, pairing button, volume rockers, and a multifunctional button aligned meticulously on the top. The multifunctional button works as a playback controller and it can also be employed to access the voice assistant on the phone and managing the phone calls.
The speaker also has a mic embedded to it In order to command the voice assistant and to use it as a speakerphone. However, I was not quite pleased with the performance of the mic as it is not particularly sensitive. And during the review period, I ended up using my phone most of the times to complete the tasks, especially while using the Google Assistant.
Performance
The speaker has a grille on the front through which the sound projects outward. There is also the JBL logo on the grille and right on the top of the logo, you can see a tiny LED indicator, which glows white when the speaker is on. The indicator starts glowing red in the case of low battery and in the time of charging.
On the performance front, I didn’t have much expectations from the Go 2 given its small size. But to our surprise, it turned out to be a great performer when it comes to sound. The speaker filled my room with crisp and balanced sound and my mood with euphoria. The speaker can crank any kind of music, from jingles and tunes to metal and rock songs. The treble and mids sound perfect with absolute frequency response and smooth amplification. However, Bass is just ok. When it comes to bass, the speaker couldn’t produce sufficient beats to rock my room. And Deep bass….. Deep Bass seems to be non-existent as the speaker only amplifies sound from 180Hz frequency onwards.
Also when I tuned the volume up to higher values, I noticed the increase in distortions with the upsurge in volume. The harsh audio output at higher volumes is quite fatiguing. So I don’t suggest amplifying the sound to higher volumes. And since there is just a single speaker facing forward, you won’t be getting any stereo output or a 360-degree sound. The absence of the multidirectional audio can be felt as any shift from the speaker’s path results in the muddier and less intense sound. This had been absolutely displeasing when I played songs through the speaker in a group hangout.
Despite the minor displeasures, I did find the device as a decent speaker for music listening. Not just on listening to music, the device is also a great companion speaker for watching movies and streaming any sorts of video content. I watched a few of the How I met your mother’s episodes and the experience had been legendary. The audio sounded smooth and clear and I didn’t encounter any audio/video syncing problems.
Battery
In terms of battery, the device comes with the 730mAh battery, which provided me four hours of back up when I listened to music with my phone’s and speaker’s volume at maximum. But on the lower volumes, the battery backup tends to increase. I also tried listening to the music at around 60% volume and the battery accompanied me for slightly over six hours. Frankly, I was not satisfied with the backup the battery provided and wished for more. But given the size and price of the speaker, that was understandable.
Verdict
Even in its small stature, the JBL Go 2 packs plenty of punch. With the amplification it provides and the audio quality it delivers, the JBL Go 2 is certainly one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers at its size and price. Yes, the device cannot produce 360-degree audio and battery backup is not so satisfactory. But that’s the compromise you have to make while buying small and inexpensive speakers.
If you are strictly into the audio quality, Bose Soundlink micro will be an ideal choice for you. The amplification is amazing and the quality of sound it delivers is really soothing. However, the speaker costs four times more than the JBL Go 2 on the purchase. For a multidirectional sound, Alloccacoc Audio Cube portable is a fine choice, which offers 360-degree sound and delivers a punchy 30-watt output. However, the speaker is rather big in size than the JBL Go 2 and is twice as much as expensive.
IFA 2018 is going on in Berlin and there are loads of mind-boggling tech gadgets showcased in the event. And in that eye-catching tech event, Huawei is surely one of the show stoppers. The Chinese tech giant, which has already stunned us with its three-camera setup in the Huawei P20 Pro this year has something different on its shelf this time around. This time, the tech titan has showcased its brand new Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 980 chipset, which is the world’s first SoC (System-on-Chip) to feature a 7nm architecture. And this is not the only area, where the chipset has pioneered. There are plentiful of sectors, where the SoC flagged to be the first but we will get into that later.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset was adopted by most of the Android smartphone manufacturers in the year 2018. And this chipset was better than Huawei’s last year’s chipset HiSilicon Kirin 970. So, Huawei seems earnestly rivaling against the SD845 chipset this time. And the keynote on the IFA 218 seriously cues that. When the advancement introduced in the chipset is properly acknowledged, one can certainly find its superiority over the SD845.
On the memory front, the Kirin 980 has 20 percent better bandwidth and has 22 percent lower latency when looked side by side with the SD845. This implies that apps can now launch faster and users will not have to experience any sorts of sluggishness. In terms of gaming, the Kirin 980 promises to produce 22 percent higher frame rates than the SD845 but keeping the power consumption level 32 percent lower.
In the photography arena too, the chipset has got some handsome upgrades. The chipset features Dual ISP (Image Signal Processor), making use of which, the chipset delivers 46 percent faster camera processing over its predecessor, maintaining a 23 percent improvement in power efficiency while recording. There is also an improvement in latency by 33 percent.
Since Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used as a buzzword lately in every technological scenario, Huawei has given quite serious attention towards it. The tech giant had already provided the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) for the AI processing in the last year’s Kirin 970 chipset. And this time, Huawei doubled its AI processing aspirations has taken a huge leap by providing dual NPU in its newest chipset. This made the Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 980 chipset the first of its kind to feature Dual NPU inside it. With this setup, the SoC can perform an AI-assisted image recognition at the rate of 4500 images per minute. Huawei also showed that, by the same measure, the Snapdragon 845 could only reach up to 2,371 whereas the Apple’s A11, which enjoys performance leads in other categories, trailing far behind with only 1,458.
In terms of architecture, the Kirin 980 uses a new octa-core architecture (4 x Cortex A-76 + 4 x Cortex A-55) that mixes big, little and medium cores for more efficiency. The two big cores run at 2.6GHz and get triggered when demanding tasks like gaming is on the progress. The two middles cores are clocked at 1.92GHz, which comes into play when less-intensive processes are going on. Browsing, texting, etc. can be taken for an instance. The four little cores, which are clocked at 1.8GHz kicks in when there is not much of a task. These cores are best used for the background processes or playing music since they demand less energy juice.
Also debuting in the new Kirin chipset is the Mali G76 GPU, which promises 30 percent more efficiency and lets the devices run high-end and graphics-demanding games with maximum fluidity. Also, there is chipset enjoys 1.4Gbps Cat 21 LTE modem, which promises to deliver faster cellular data transfers. In addition, the chipset supports ultra-fast 2133MHz LPDDR4X RAM, which will ensure speedier performance while multitasking. Furthermore, the Kirin 980 will offer the world’s fastest smartphone Wi-Fi speed, clocking in at 1,732Mbps. With this speed, this newbie has surpassed the SD845 by huge margins since the best speed of SD845 is 866Mbps with a Qualcomm modem and 1083Mbps with a third-party modem.
Huawei HiSilicon Kirin 980 chipset pioneered as:
World’s first 7nm SoC
The world’s first Cortex-A76 based CPU
World’s first Dual NPU
The world’s first Mali-G76 GPU
World’s first 1.4Gbps Cat 21 Modem
The world’s first SoC supporting 2133MHz LPDDR4X RAM
The phone’s screen is big at 6.2 inches and the FHD+ display is pretty good as it is! The resolution does the screen justice. Again, you cannot compare it to Samsung’s flagships or even of Huawei’s but at this device’s price point, this is a good display. However, the brightness is not as satisfactory. In the sunlight, it’s just usable – nothing much.
