Much read and said about the notch on smartphone displays, the smartphone manufacturers have not yet stopped introducing the smartphones with a notch. This time, honor joins the league. The sub-brand of Huawei unveiled the Honor 10.
The Honor 10 comes with a near bezel-less display i.e. 19:9 aspect ratio which is the case in most of the smartphones having notch these days. The smartphone stands 5.84-inches tall. It is a pretty decent size for a smartphone with 19:9 aspect ratio. The outlook of the smartphone is time and again being compared to the Huawei P20. However, it is said to have youthful look in comparison.
At the launch event, representatives of Honor said that the smartphone was designed or ‘crafted’ with much focus on aesthetics. The Honor 10 has an IPS LCD panel with full HD+ display (1080 X 2280px). While talking about the outlook, the back is coated with aurora coated panel which is a color shifting. This is one thing that we are really looking forward to.
The smartphone carries dual rear cameras on the left placed horizontally and the fingerprint sensor is placed right below the screen.
One of the fascinating aspects of the Honor 10 is its chipset. The Kirin 970 is said to be the one for flagship smartphones and is Huawei’s own product. The SoC introduced on the Q4 of 2017 also has AI (Artificial Intelligence) capabilities. It has a dedicated Neutral Processing Unit. It has proved out to be worth it through various benchmarks as well.
Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group said, “The Kirin 970 is the first in a series of new advances that will bring powerful AI features to our devices and take them beyond the competition.”
Furthermore, the Honor 10 has 6GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. But, it disappoints us big time that it doesn’t consist of a Micro SD card. It has a 128GB variant as well, that means we will not miss on much. But the flexibility that a Micro SD card slot brings in terms of storage will be missed.
The Honor 10 runs on Android Oreo 8.1 which most of the smartphones on 2018 are running on.
While talking of the camera, there is a color sensor camera and a monochrome sensor camera on the Honor 10. The color sensor one has 16MP whereas the monochrome sensor is of 21MP.
The Honor 10 has a 24MP selfie camera which is capable of taking iPhone X like the portrait is what they claim. On the video part. The main camera is capable of shooting 4K while the selfie camera can shoot 1080p.
Moving on, the Honor 10 follows the league of smartphones that dissed the 3.5mm headphone jack this year. On the brighter aspect, it has a USB type-C port which means the fast charging game would be strong also, it packs a 3,400 mAh battery.
Huawei Honor 10 Launch Date & Price:
The Honor 10 is similar to Huawei P20 in many aspects but the smartphone’s specifications are quite promising. It comes in Black, Blue and Purple colors and is priced at US$ 412 for 64GB storage version and US$ 477 for the 128GB. You can order the phone starting from today till April 26th if you are in China. The launch and its availability in Nepal has not been revealed yet.
2017 was a great year for smartphones. However, almost all the smartphones were so feature packed that a question always reeled in people’s minds, What next for smartphones? At a time when these four words begged for an answer, Samsung came up with the Galaxy S9 and S9+. I have used these smartphones for almost one month now, and here’s my full review.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ Specifications:
Display: 5.8/6.2 inches Super AMOLED WQHD+ (1440 x 2960 pixels) with Gorilla glass 5 (front and back) protection, 18.5:9 aspect ratio
Even with notches picking up the pace this year, Samsung has opted to stay traditional with the Galaxy S9 and S9+. The bezels are now short, and the top bezel now holds all the sensors and the front-facing camera. Even though smartphones with notches might provide a little bit extra screen space, although minimum, I still like Samsung’s decision regarding the bezels. And talking about the side bezels, there are none! The display of the devices is curved on the sides to blend with the aluminum frame which in turn merges with the glass back. Oh, and the IP68 Dust and Water resistance is certainly a major plus if you want to take your smartphone for a dip sometimes. Design wise, I must give full marks to Samsung as the company has yet again come up with a sleek and premium device that is worth every penny you pay.
Display
One of the major differences between the Galaxy S9 and S9+ is their form factor. The Galaxy S9 comes with a 5.8-inch display while the plus variant has a 6.2-inch screen. However, both the displays have a Super AMOLED panel with WQHD+ resolution. And talking about the quality of the display, well let’s just say the Samsung’s flagships have the best display in the business right now, period! You will especially notice the superiority while viewing high-quality videos. It has ample vibrancy with rich saturation and details to go along. And the minimal bezels certainly help the cause. There are only a handful of flagships currently available in Nepal right now, and the S9 could house the best display on any smartphone for months to come.
Performance
The internal hardware of the devices too have gotten a revamp with the new octa-core Exynos 9810 chipset that now has a 30% performance boost, and that is seen while using the smartphones as well. The Galaxy S9 with its 4 GB RAM and the Galaxy S9+ with its 6 GB RAM can handle all your multitasking needs without dropping a sweat. Gaming is a fun experience on these devices as you can expect a lag-free performance at all time. However, after long sessions of gaming, navigating through the internet and using the camera, they tend to get warm at times.
If the benchmark scores are taken into account, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are certainly the champs. They are the highest rated smartphones on Antutu and the Single-core and multi-core score on Geekbench is top-notch.
Samsung still has a lot to do with Apple’s A-series chipset, though, as the iPhone X certainly outperforms the S9 and S9+ and that is also seen in benchmark results.
On the software side, the devices come run on Android 8.0 Oreo with Experience UI on top. The software on the devices is easy to use as Experience UI has certainly evolved to become lighter and lag-free over the years. However, there are still dual applications that are meant for the same purpose. Now you can indeed remove some of the applications like Samsung gear or voice recorder, but there are lots of other applications which are just eating up space on the devices. It would have been very appreciable if Samsung gave it’s users this freedom!
Camera
One of the major differences between the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ is certainly the camera. While the S8 and S8+ had the same camera setup on the back and front, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are somewhat different. The former device has a single camera on the rear side while the latter has dual cameras. However, the only time you will miss dual cameras on the S9 is while taking pictures on the Live Focus mode, aka Portrait mode.
The Live Focus mode does a well enough job to blur out the background, but there is still work to be done as it still isn’t on iPhone X’s Portrait Mode level as you can see from this comparison shot. Samsung has included a unique feature which lets users change the amount of blur before or after taking the image, which is certainly useful.
One similarity both the phones hold is the camera with a changeable aperture. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ now come with a camera that can try to adapt to its surrounding. The f/1.5 aperture takes in lots of light for better low-light pictures while the f/2.4 aperture takes sharp pictures. Now, this feature might really be the next big thing on smartphones where smartphones casually widen or narrow their apertures, but as a “normal” user, I didn’t notice that much of a difference. Yes, the pictures are sharper during night time from the f/2.4 aperture, but will you notice a huge difference? Not really!
Let’s compare the camera the S9+ with the iPhone X, which is its direct competitor as other flagships like the Google Pixel 2, LG V30 and Huawei P20 Pro have not made their way in Nepal.
One thing I noticed during the comparison was that the images from the S9+ have a slight pinkish tint to them. This is seen in images with a white object and more clearly on some night-time shots. The iPhone’s samples meanwhile have a warmer tone. Now, apart from the exposure level that iPhone’s camera can hold, I think the S9+ holds a little edge in every other aspect. Yes, the images from the Galaxy S9+ is a bit oversaturated sometimes, but it captures a lot of details which I viewed when I zoomed into the images.
And the night light shone better on the Samsung flagship as there were more details on s9+ with proper noise control and exposure level. However, the pinkish tint that I talked about before was clearly visible in some of the night shots.
I took this picture at dusk and the whole image came out with a lot of pinkish tints. Now this tone can help amplify the colors if the object is reddish or, say, maroon, but with white on focus, you might get a different result sometimes.
One area where Samsung hasn’t really upgraded is the front-facing camera. At a time when almost all the smartphones are focusing on selfies, Samsung has apparently chosen to stay with what it has. The selfies are of good quality in daylight, but under low light, the images are quite muddy and lack sharpness.
Here are some other samples from the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+:
In terms of video quality the smartphone stabilizes the videos well in full HD setting, it captures ample details and the colors pop out nicely as well. However, the field of view slightly decreases when you toggle the video capture button. Under low-light, the videos definitely live up to the flagship tag, but it has a touch of noise here and there. The slow-motion and super slow motion videos are a whole another story so I will be talking about them later.
AR Emoji
The front-facing camera now supports Samsung’s own AR Emoji which is its answer to Apple’s Animoji. Although emoji-flying yourself sound fun, the AR Emoji feature is quite raw and unfinished, and I noticed this right after I used it. The device couldn’t read what I was doing with the emoji not emulating my expressions. Hopefully, Samsung will listen to its customers, just like it has listened to this time around by placing the fingerprint scanner below the camera setup.
960fps Slow Motion
Samsung has boasted its slow-motion feature that captures videos at 960fps in HD quality. At first, I really enjoyed using this feature as it nailed slowing down the shots, but then I realized how the videos lacked quality. They lack saturation, sharpness, and details, and you won’t like what it produces at night light. Toggling on the super slow-mo tab, you will realize how the smartphone decreases the exposure exponentially. This same issue is also seen on 240fps slow-mo which reduces the exposure by a level. Also, the slow-mo videos slow down for just around 2 seconds which is a lot less time.
Hardware
This time around, Samsung has included dual speakers (one on the bottom and another being the earpiece itself) on their flagship which are now AKG tuned. Well, as compared to Samsung’s previous flagships, the dual speakers have certainly gotten better. However, if we compare the sound with the iPhone X, the Apple flagship sounds better. The dual stereo speakers are a plus, but with AKG also working together, I had expected something better.
This time, the Samsung flagships have combined facial recognition with Iris Scanning technology for security purpose. While this sounds interesting, this feature can’t really unlock the smartphones in a jiffy like a fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint scanner, which has been engraved in the right place this time, is adaptive and the unlock is faster than the Intelligent Scan. The fingerprint sensor on the S9 is easily reachable and isn’t placed awkwardly and it unlocks the phone in an instant. However, the animation takes a bit of time, so you might feel a little lag while comparing it against, say, the Oneplus 5 or 5T.
Battery
The other area where the S9+ edges out the S9 are in the battery department as it has a 3,500 mAh battery against the 3,000 mAh of the S9. Since the Note 7 debacle, Samsung has always tried to stay on the safer side and this time too, it’s not different. Backing up a tall WQHD+ display is not easy and that is clearly seen in the battery life as the Galaxy S9 provides around 3.5-4 hours of screen time while the S9+ gives around 4.5-5 hours. For a flagship smartphone worth a fortune, I have to say the battery number do not do enough justice. In terms of charging time, with Quick Charge enabled, the Galaxy S9+ takes around 1 hour 30 minutes to charge the device whereas the S9 takes a little less time. I was really hoping Samsung would include a long-lasting battery on the Galaxy S9 and S9+ but the company has compromised on that front.
Insurance
Now there is a reason why I am drawn towards the S9 and that is the insurance Samsung is currently providing on its smartphone. The build of the Galaxy S9 has made the phone quite slippery, and I did happen to drop it hard on the display once. I had thought the display repair was free with the 1-year breakage insurance, but I did end up paying Rs. 6000 for the display which would generally cost a huge amount of money. So, kudos to Samsung for the insurance campaign.
Special Feature
The S9 also has the basic flagship features such as the heart rate, stress, and oxygen saturation. These features could be useful for someone who is into monitoring their day-to-day health stats while some might even feel that these components are taking up space where Samsung could have included a bigger sized battery!
Conclusion
So, my final words for the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ would be that these are the best options for flagship devices in Nepal right now. Yes, the iPhone X is a direct competitor but is a little bit expensive, the Mate 10 Pro is has begun to lose its charm and the Huawei P20 Pro is yet launch here. So, even if you are not a Samsung fan, you only have the iPhone X as a choice. But considering the good performance, the insurance facility, the top-notch display and the camera, I see the Samsung Galaxy S9 or the S9+ as the finest options for Android flagships in Nepal.
When it comes to the budget smartphones, Motorola has been quite generous on bringing the feature-packed phones at affordable prices. Last year’s Moto E4 and E4 Plus were the favorite choice amongst the crowd, who seek for feature-packed phones at cheap prices. With the same motto, Motorola has now brought the new successor to the famous Moto E series, namely known as Moto E5, E5 Plus, and E5 play. Tagging along with these two handsets, Motorola also extended the G series family with the Moto G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play.
Motorola Moto E5 series Smartphones
The Motorola Moto E5 series smartphones are cheaper than the G6 series smartphones in the matter of cost. Among the newly launched trio, Motorola Moto E5 and E5 Plus have adopted the trendy 18:9 aspect ratio. The Moto E5 play, however, has got the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. All these smartphones have got the HD display and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Motorola Moto E series smartphones are also quite popular for their remarkable battery capacity. And to keep up the pride, Moto E5 and E5 plus are gifted with 4000mAh battery and 5000mAh battery respectively. However, the battery capacity is quite low on the Moto E5 Play with mere 2800mAh battery.
Motorola Moto E5
Dimension: 4 x 72.2 x 9 mm; Weight: 174g
Display: 5.7-inch HD+ (720 x 1440 pixels) IPS LCD display with Gorilla glass protection
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU: Adreno 308
OS: Android Oreo (V8.0)
RAM: 2 GB
Storage: 16 GB; expandable up to 256 GB
Rear Camera: 13 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, LED flash
Battery: 2800 mAh (Removable) with fast charging (5V/2A)
Price: Exclusive to the USA, price not announced yet
Motorola Moto G6 Series Smartphones
When the hardware is concerned, the Moto G series smartphones have always been better than the E series. And this time, there is no different. The G6 series handsets have got capable internals, quite able to compete against the smartphones in overcrowd smartphone market. It would also be able to please the customers, who seek for the display with 18:9 aspect ratio, which seems to be in fashion these days. All the Moto G6 series smartphones (Motorola Moto G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play) have been gifted with the display which possesses the trendy 18:9 aspect ratio.
Motorola Moto G6
Dimension: 8 x 72.3 x 8.3 mm; Weight: 167g
Display: 5.7-inch Full HD+ (1080 x 2160 pixels) IPS LCD display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection
Vatsal Impex Pvt. Ltd. used to bring the Xiaomi products in Nepal and used to price them aggressively. But now, with the Teletalk Pvt. Ltd. as the new official distributor of Xiaomi Smartphones in Nepal, things took a turn. With the new distributor offering at the cheaper prices, Vatsal got obliged to deduct the prices of the smartphones in their stores as well. This news was already sufficient to bring elation. Now to increase that elation, Daraz (in partnership with Vatsal Impex) is bringing the Xiaomi Redmi 4A for up to Rs. 2500 discount on 32GB version whereas 16GB version is Rs. 2000 cheaper.
Jacket inside a plastic body, Xiaomi Redmi 4A could illude anyone with the metallic finish and the premium look and feel that brought by it. The smartphone is light in weight and possesses a moderately sized 5-inch display. And the size and weight are favorable for holding and using comfortably even with a single hand.
The smartphone comes with the Snapdragon 425 chipset to trigger and drive the processes in the device. In terms of memory, the phone comes with 2GB of RAM and two variants in terms of internal storage, 16GB, and 32GB. And there is nothing to worry even if the onboard storage turned out to be insufficient as it can be expanded up to 128GB via SD card.
Regarding the optics, the Redmi 4A is bestowed upon with 13MP camera at the back and 5MP up front. And under the back cover lies a 3120mAh battery to supply the power juice to the device. There are pretty more things to get excited about the Xiaomi Redmi 4A. The phone sports Infrared and Gyro Sensors, which is unusual at this price. However, one might feel the lack of the fingerprint sensor.
Xiaomi Redmi 4A Specifications
5-inch HD IPS display @ 294PPI pixel density
Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset
Quad-Core (4 x 1.4 GHz Cortex A53) CPU
Adreno 308 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB/32GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with a microSD
Android 6.0 Marshmallow with MIUI 8
Hybrid Dual SIM (micro + nano / microSD)
13MP rear camera with PDAF, dual tone LED Flash, f/2.2 aperture, 1080p video recording
5MP front-facing camera, f/2.2 aperture
Infrared sensor, Gyro sensor
Dimensions: 139.5×70.4×8.5mm;Weight: 131.5g
4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS + GLONASS
3120mAh Non-removable battery
Color options: Gold and Rose Gold
Offer Price: Rs. 11,499 Rs. 9,499 for 16GB | Rs. 12,999 Rs. 10,499 for 32GB
Offer Price of Xiaomi Redmi 4A
You can grab the Redmi 4A for just Rs 9499 for the 16GB variant (MRP 11499) whereas the price for the 32GB variant is Rs 10,499 (MRP 12999). Well, the new price is really affordable and is offering a great value for money. So at this price, Xiaomi Redmi 4A is definitely going to bring a stampede. By any chance, if you are willing to own a Redmi 4A, you might better hurry for the flash sale. The flash sale of the smartphone has begun from today (April 19, 2018) and will last until stock lasts.
Huawei has been there in the Nepali market for around 4 years now. Since its commencement of the smartphone business in Nepal, we have been hearing about the Chinese smartphone brand time and often. This is partly because of their focus on the midrange segment and also because of their ability to provide good specs in a budget range. Whatever be the reason, the brand Huawei, is prominent among us Nepalese.
If we turn the pages of the past, Huawei made its name in the Nepali market with a smartphone called Honor Holly, which was priced at Rs.13,500. Similarly, over the years Huawei has introduced notable phones like the Huawei G Play Mini, GR5 2016, GR5 2017, etc.
The year 2017 marked the launch of Huawei Nova 2i, which was Nepal’s first phone to feature a quad camera setup and a display with 18:9 aspect ratio. This midrange smartphone turned out to be the talk of the town, as it created a sensation in the Nepali smartphone industry. Now, after 4 months, Huawei officials claim that the Huawei Nova 2i is Huawei’s best selling smartphone in Nepal with the company selling 50,000 units of the device till date.
“The sales of 50, 000 units of Nova 2i in just 4 months is a result of company’s hard work. This is a matter of joy and pride to the company. And we are thankful for the people to have liked our product so much”, said one of the Huawei officials.
The marketing effort Huawei has devoted to the Nova 2i is quite commendable. We see banners and advertisements for the device almost everywhere we go. Along with good specifications, the company’s promotional strategies are one the major reasons for Huawei to make it to this point.
In 2018, Huawei has brought impressive smartphones like Huawei P20 and P20 Pro. The mid-range segment is also getting a boost with the Huawei Y9 2018, which is considered to be an affordable version of the Nova 2i. However, these devices have just launched, so what their performance will be like is yet to be known!
Sony is a Japanese electronics company which has a strong hold on the global market. one of the products of this global electronic giant is smartphones. Sony was one of the first cellphone manufacturers that came up with unique designs and a better camera quality. Its XZ series is still a go-to among the flagships.
This year’s MWC witnessed various top-notch inventions and Sony Xperia XZ2 was one of the many that really caught our attention. Not much after that Sony has announced the Xperia XZ2 premium. Is it really ‘premium’? Let’s find out.
Design
The Sony Xperia XZ2 premium comes with a design what Sony calls as an Ambient Flow. Incorporating the Ambient Flow design language, XZ2 Premium possesses a curved body, a metal frame, and a 3D glass back, with Gorilla Glass 5 used both on the front and back. The glass body coated with corning gorilla glass 5 has definitely given a premium look to the handset. In addition, the Gorilla glass 5 plays a vital role in offering a better resistance to the cracks and scratches during the falls. Despite the introduction of a new design language in the smartphone community, the smartphone still looks a bit outdated for a 2018 phone. We can tell Sony could’ve done a better job in its design department.
Display
The Xperia XZ2 premium stands 5.8-inches tall. It has a very impressive 4K (3840×2160) Triluminos HDR IPS LCD with a 16:9 aspect ratio. With the 4K display, the phone packs 760 pixels in every inch offering a remarkable sharpness. Sony has also claimed that the XZ2 premium is 11% taller and 30% brighter than its predecessor, the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. It also features Sony’s BRAVIA technology, X-Reality for mobile, to up-convert content to near HDR for a “more cinematic contrast, color, and clarity.” The phone can capture 4K HDR video. This feature has made the XZ2 premium the only smartphone that can both capture and view a 4K HDR video.
Camera
The camera part is said to be the biggest upgrade this time around. The smartphone comes with dual rear cameras placed horizontally and the fingerprint sensor placed right below the camera. It has a monochrome camera sensor and the other is the color camera sensor.
The primary rear camera with the color sensor is 19 MP. It is made of Sony’s ‘award-winning’ G lens. It is called the motion eye camera as when the camera shifts to low-light the size of the pixels increase. This also captures 3 other frames except for the picture clicked. Whereas on the secondary rear camera is of 12MP and this also consists of G lens. The point of having a monochrome camera is for the sharper contrast of black and white. The selfie camera has a 13 MP lens and Sony claims this is one of the fields which it has worked on upgrading.
The AUBE signal processor combines the data from both the sensors to make the pictures look better in the low-light as well. This smartphone from Sony will also have a bokeh effect. Sony states that detail from both sensors is then processed by the AUBE fusion ISP in real time, which enables ISO 12800 for videos and ISO 51200 for photos. According to the company, the ultrasensitivity with “clean, noise-less images” was previously only possible in interchangeable lens cameras. The live viewfinder is said to be a bright and accurate one as well.
As far as the video is concerned, the lens on the XZ2 premium shoots super slo-mo HD and Full HD videos up to 960 fps. This has been possible because of the memory stacked image sensor. The Motion Eye dual camera on the phone can also pull out Bokeh effects for defocused backgrounds. Furthermore, users can also take monochrome pictures with “smooth gradation between black and white.”
Moving on from the camera portion, the Xperia XZ2 premium is powered by the powerful Snapdragon 845 processor which is one of the reasons we can assume that the smartphone will have a smooth processing. Android Oreo is the Operating system the Xperia XZ2 plus.
It has 6GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage with impressive 400 GB of expandable storage. It consists of 3,540 mAh of the battery which seems pretty average considering the 4K display. We wish Sony had considered a bigger battery for elongated battery life.
The smartphone is IP65/68 certified and this makes it water and dust resistant. The Xperia XZ2 Premium supports USB type-C charger for the fast charging. It also supports wireless charging and along with it comes the dock charger. However, the smartphone has 3.5mm headphone jack missing.
The smartphone will be available in two color variants i.e. chrome black and chrome silver. The phone will be priced above $850 if rumors are to be believed.
Sony has come up with nice specifications but these are certainly not out of the box.
5.8-inch 4K (3840×2160) HDR Triluminos IPS LCD with a 16:9 aspect ratio
Wi-Fi
802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0
Ports
USB Type-C (USB 3.1 Gen 1 – 5Gbps), Dual Nano SIM slots
Rear cameras
Motion Eye 19MP RGB camera with 1/2.3″ Sony Exmor RS memory-stacked sensor, 25mm G-Lens with f/1.8 aperture, 1.22-micron pixels, and 5-axis SteadyShot stabilization;
12MP monochrome camera with 1/2.3″ Sony Exmor RS sensor, 1.55-micron pixels, G-Lens with f/1.6 aperture
AUBE fusion image signal processor,
BIONZ processing engine,
4K HDR video recording,
super slow motion 960FPS capture in HD or Full HD resolution,
Predictive hybrid autofocus,
ISO 51200 for photos and ISO 12800 for videos,
triple image sensing technology,
Bokeh effect,
Monochrome effect
Front-facing camera
13MP front-facing camera with 1/3.06″ sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 22mm wide-angle lens,
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus were launched in Nepal like a month ago with 64GB internal storage. But, now you can prebook the 128GB version of the S9 Plus.
The Prebooking price is Rs. 104900 which is just Rs.5000 more than the 64GB variant. Also, you get a bottle speaker, Ncell data (1000MB per week for 12 weeks), and a 1-year breakage insurance for free.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is one of the best flagship smartphones you can buy in Nepal. Although there are only subtle changes compared to its predecessor S8 Plus, for the price, it’s a worth it device.
Huawei Y9 2018 is the lite version of the Huawei Nova 2i. The phone holds most of the features of the Nova 2i apart from slight changes. The list of changes includes visual overhaul and memory downgrades. The Y9 2018 is more minimal than the Nova 2i with its new camera placement without any borders.
The phone comes with a 5.93-inch full HD+ display. It has a tall aspect ratio of 18:9 and the Huawei branding on the bottom chin make it identical to the Nova 2i. The build has remained the same with the aluminum back which looks and feels premium.
Coming to the changes, while the Nova 2i is still on Android Nougat, the Y9 ships with the Android 8.0 Oreo. However, the chipset remains the same utilizing the octa-core Hi-Silicon Kirin 659 clocked at 2.3GHz. With 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, this combination is lower compared to the one offered by Nova 2i. The Y9 2018 has managed to keep the expandable storage which can be expanded up to 256GB.
Optics remain the same with 4 camera setup along with the sensors used. On the rear, there’s a 16+2MP camera. Here the secondary lens is used for bokeh mode. On the front, there’s 13+2MP camera which also allows shooting bokeh. Although, it’s 2018, it’s sad to see micro USB port instead of USB C on this device. The phone is backed up by 4,000mAh battery which is an upgrade over the 3340mAH battery of the 2i.
The Huawei Y9 2018 was launched a week ago and now you can buy the phone from Daraz online store. This has two benefits, first, you get your device delivered to your doorsteps and second, you get a free Anker Soundcore Nano Bluetooth speaker along with mandatory 5% discount on the MRP.
The Anker Soundcore nano, for the price of Rs. 1760, is a tiny Bluetooth speaker that punches well above its weight. You can check out our review here:
People’s purchasing capacity in terms of smartphones seems to be ever increasing. The global smartphone market has shifted its paradigm from low-end/mid-ranged to midrange/flagship. In this scenario, there is not much going on in the low-end sector. But, the low-end smartphones are still in use. Vivo has now launched a low-end smartphone in Nepal which costs Rs. 17,890.
Latest Price: Rs. 16,790 [Last Updated on December 6, 2018]
The Vivo Y71 comes with a 6-inches screen with near bezel-less display thanks to the 18:9 aspect ratio. This smartphone has HD resolution and an IPS LCD screen which, for a low-end phone is not at all a bad deal.
The smartphone comes with dual SIM support and a dedicated micro SD slot. This is again a plus point for the phone. It consists of 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage with a 256 GB of expandable storage via microSD card.
Vivo recently launched its Y71 in India and in Nepal immediately after that. The smartphone runs on the latest android Oreo 8.1 version and the fun touch UI layered on top. This, we can find in quite a few Vivo smartphones as a lot of them are rolling out with fun touch OS.
The Vivo Y71 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 octa-core processor. which is comparable to the Snapdragon 625. In the camera department, unlike most of the smartphones of 2018, it consists of a single rear camera. The rear camera is of 13MP and the second one is of 5MP and consists of on-screen flash.
The Vivo Y71 boasts a rather big battery of 3360 mAh but the battery capacity can truly be determined once it is tried and tested. However, it may come as a surprise to us that it doesn’t have fingerprint sensor but a face scanner instead.
Vivo Y71 Full Specifications:
OS: Android 8.1/ Funtouch OS 4.0
Dimension: 154.81.×75.03×7.89mm
Display: 6.0-inch display, 1440*720 resolution
CPU: Quad-core 64-bit 1.4GHz
RAM: 2GB RAM
ROM: 16GB ROM, expansion up to 256GB (dedicated)
Rear Camera: 13MP, f/2.0 aperture, PDAF
Front Camera: 5MP, f/2.2 aperture, AI Beauty
Connectivity: Dual SIM with 4G, 2.4G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, USB2.0, GPS, OTG
The Vivo Y71 is available in Nepal from today. With the price tag and specifications compared and analyzed the phone, we are torn as of now. This smartphone has turned out to be quite a surprise as there was no hype about it. Nevertheless, the launch right before new year can contribute to its sales.
When observing and analyzing the current trend of the smartphone in the market, it can be seen that the majority of the brands are racing to provide the best product for photography. Undoubtedly the latest examples would be the Huawei P20 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S9 plus, and the iPhone X. With the passage of time and the progression of hardware and software, the smartphone these days also have been a great device to perform multitasking and using intensive graphics applications. However, the smartphone makers have been quite reluctant to bring the handset entirely dedicated to gaming. When Razer launched the Razer Phone, it broke all such tradition. Now, following the footsteps of the Razer, Xiaomi launched the Xiaomi Black Sharks Gaming smartphone in China.
Design
Beginning with the dimension, the Xiaomi Black shark gaming phone measures 161.6 x 75.4 x 9.25mm. And the smartphone audaciously weighs 190 grams. When the smartphone manufacturers are focusing on bringing slim and light handsets, the weight and thickness might be unpleasing. But since it is a gaming smartphone, the device construction definitely follows a different formula.
When the device is looked at the front, nothing seems different when compared with the regular smartphone. But when the handset is turned over, a new gaming energy awakens. The design like a sports car at the back generates awe and differs the Black Shark from the crowd. The backside of the phone also incorporates the horizontally aligned pair of cameras and an ‘S’ logo at an absolute middle.
The true gaming sensation awakens when the detachable gamepad controller is embedded to the device. The controller looks like a typical Joystick in a small form factor. There is also a dedicated Shark Key at the left side of the phone, which allows the users to access the impressive gaming zone.
Display
At the time when there is an immense craze for the smartphones that boasts the 18:9 aspect ratio, Xiaomi has not taken a risk. The smartphone valiantly boasts Full HD+ display with the trendy 18:9 aspect ratio. The display on this gaming device also embraces the DCI-P3 color gamut. And the most important of all, MEMC intelligent motion compensation technology has been injected into the phone, which ensures smooth video quality while playing games.
There is nothing much to talk about the bezels since a generous amount of bezels still present on the phone. But since it is a gaming phone, that’s understandable. The presence of the front mounted fingerprint sensor, which lies meticulously on the home button differs the handset from the typical Xiaomi smartphones.
Performance
This gaming smartphone enjoys the Qualcomm’s latest flagship, the Snapdragon 845 chipset. In terms of memory, the Black Shark gaming smartphone comes in two variants. The light variant possesses 6GB RAM accompanied by 64GB of internal memory whereas the higher-end variant has the delights of 8GB RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. And to cheer and excite the crowd, the CEO of Black Shark mentioned that the smartphone scored a whopping 279,464 on AnTuTu. So we can expect that this gaming will definitely not shred a single drop of sweat even while playing the graphics-intensive games.
In the gaming devices, heating issues often come to nudge the users while playing games. And to address the issue and to control the internal temperature, this gaming device features a multi-layer cooling system that includes high thermal conductivity copper alloy substrate, Nano-composite graphite, heat pipe and liquid cooling that can bring down the temperature of the device by 8 degrees by improving the CPU cooling efficiency by 20 times.
Since the gaming devices devour a huge amount of power, it is uncool to own one of such kind of device, which needs charging in quick succession. So to evade such problems, the smartphone maker has included a remarkable 4000mAh battery. This gigantic battery promises to deliver the power up to 5 hours even if the “King of Glory” is played continuously. In addition to its capability to fuel a significant amount of power during the gaming sessions, the phone also supports Quick Charge 3.0. With the ability of the smartphone to draw 18W power, charging process would not be a hassle.
Software
Xiaomi does not forget to inject its handsets with its home-baked MIUI. However, in the Xiaomi Black Shark Gaming Smartphone, the smartphone maker has sprinkled the JOY UI. There is nothing much to get excited about the new UI as it is a customized Android Oreo ROM that includes the core features of the MIUI. The tweaks on the MIUI are entirely focused to improve the gaming experience in the handset.
Cameras
The users’ choice definitely goes to the smartphone, which is great in every department. So keeping that on the mind, Xiaomi has furnished the smartphone with the capable components even in the camera department. For an impressive photography experience, it includes a dual camera setup at the back. The rear camera pair at the back incorporates a primary 12MP camera backed by the secondary camera of 20MP. The primary rear camera has an aperture of f/1.75 and includes the sensor with the pixel size of 1.25 micron. The secondary camera also shares the same size of the aperture (f/1.75) with the pixel size of 1.0 micron. Equipped with the 6P dual camera setup at the back, the smartphone looks capable of taking some nifty shots with ambient details and some awe-inspiring portraits.
Up front, there is a single camera of 20MP dedicated for the selfies. The front camera enjoys the f/2.2 aperture and 5P lens. The selfie shooter also offers features like intelligent beauty mode and 4K video recording at 30fps. Both the cameras on the device are powered by an independent image processor by Pixelworks.
Shark GamePad and Connectivity
The Black Shark gaming smartphone imitates a pure gaming device when its Bluetooth-enabled Shark GamePad to the top portion of the phone. The shark GamePad is packed with a Joystick, a trigger, and a 340mAh battery. With this battery, the controller runs continuously up to 30 hours. Since it gets paired via Bluetooth, it can also be used to play games on every other smartphone that support Bluetooth 4.0 and Android 4.4 and above.
Talking about the connectivity, the Black Shark gaming smartphone features Dual SIM support, USB Type-C, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, 4G VoLTE, GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, etc. Enriched with so much of connectivity options, the smartphone maker has employed X-shaped smart antenna design to avoid the signal connectivity issues when used in any configuration (vertically or horizontally).
Furthermore, this gaming handset is favored with Hi-Fi audio, Biso stereo speakers with Dual smart PA for amplified audio output. With this audio setup, the gaming sound enthralls the users with an immersive gaming experience.
Xiaomi Black Shark Price and availability
In terms of pricing, the Xiaomi Black Shark smartphone is tagged with the price of 2,999 Yuan, which equals $477 for the 6GB + 64GB variant. The premium or the higher-end variant with 8GB + 128GB is priced at 3,499 Yuan, which equals $557. And the Joystick like Shark GamePad controller can be availed at 179 Yuan ($29). The smartphone is available in two color variants: Night Black and sky Gray.
At the pre-mentioned prices, the smartphone is available for pre-booking in China. Xiaomi is also offering a free Shark GamePad for the first 50,000 pre-bookers. A smartphone enriched with so much of impressive features is obviously tempting to the most of the gamers. However, the global availability of the smartphone has not been announced yet. So the smartphone probably will not launch in Nepal. But as of China, the smartphone maker has promised to make the device available from April 20.
The Big Question
When Xiaomi launched the MI Mix as the concept phone, it was hailed all over in the tech community. After the unveiling of the Xiaomi MI Mix, a new trend started in the smartphone world on bringing and developing the concept of smartphones with a bezel-less display. Alike this incidence, when the Razer launched its Razer gaming smartphone, the device maker garnered a substantial amount of applauds and encouragement. Now as the Xiaomi seconded this bold move, can we expect that a new trend to begin in the smartphone world regarding the gaming phones? Let us know in the comments down below.
This time around, Samsung has included dual speakers (one on the bottom and another being the earpiece itself) on their flagship which are now AKG tuned. Well, as compared to Samsung’s previous flagships, the dual speakers have certainly gotten better. However, if we compare the sound with the iPhone X, the Apple flagship sounds better. The dual stereo speakers are a plus, but with AKG also working together, I had expected something better.
