When you search for a laptop with high-end performance, the XPS series from Dell is the unmissable name. XPS (Extreme Performance System), the name says it all. So, lately, if you have been searching for a good laptop with enticing ergonomics and top-tier players in terms of performance then just be happy! We have good news for you. Neoteric, the authorized seller of Dell Laptops in Nepal has recently brought the beautiful and high-end performer, the Dell XPS 15 9560 in Nepal, albeit at an exorbitant price.
The XPS 15 comes with the aluminum base and lids. The presence of the aluminum has not only made the ultrabook all-alluring but has also increased the durability. In its already sleek and thin design, the presence of the display extending edge-to-edge framed with narrow bezels is highly remarkable. Additionally, the glossy display on the device uses Sharp’s signature IGZO panel for very wide colors and extreme clarity with negligible graininess. With this premium display, the Core characteristics like backlight brightness, contrast, and color space remain almost unchanged. This vivid display is also gifted with a maximum brightness of 350 nits, which is really impressive.
The trackpad, carbon fiber palm rests, and black plastic keys all look attractive when the lid is opened. However, on the use, they all attract fingerprints and get grease quite easily. Talking about the webcam, the infamous webcam placement on the lower bezel will continue to nag most of its users.
The ultrabook comes in two notable configurations; one with Intel Core i5 processor and another with the Intel Core i7 variant. Both 7th generation processors are coupled with the remarkable GTX 1050 graphics card. With these components on the device, the laptop performs like a breeze even while playing high-end games or multi-tasking with the numerous applications. Talking about the memory, the base model comes with the 8GB of DDR4 RAM while the premium model enjoys the ample 16GB RAM. Nonetheless, the memory on both the variants can be expanded up to 32GB.
Specifications
Display: 15.6 inch Full HD non-touch/4K-touch (3840 x 2160 pixels) InfinityEdge
Processor: 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ or i7-7700HQ Quad Core
Memory: 8/16GB DDR4 2400MHz; up to 32GB (additional memory sold separately)
Video Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5
Storage: up to 1TB HDD
Audio and Speakers: Stereo Speaker, Dual Microphones, High Definition Audio with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro
Wireless connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1
Battery: 56Whr built-in battery
A/C Adapter: 130 Watts (19.5 V, 6.67 A)
Camera: Widescreen HD (720p) webcam with dual array digital microphones
Ports: 2 x USB 3.0 with PowerShare, USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 with power delivery, HDMI, Headphone/microphone combo jack, Memory card reader
Dell XPS 15 9560 Price in Nepal
The XPS 15 laptop is undoubtedly one of the best ultrabooks in the market. Along with the stunning build and design, the high-performing components on the system get all the attention. So to call this laptop a beast may not be an exaggeration. However, while buying a laptop, the price is also a major thing that comes to the play while buying from the authorized seller. And the XPS 15 is priced brutally at Rs. 2,45,900 for the i5 variant whereas the i7 variant carries a price of a whopping Rs. 3,12,990. Such a whopping price from the authorized seller is obviously diverting since the other grey sellers are offering at much cheaper rates.
Samsung’s A series has always been in the middle of the J series and the S series with flagship grade design but average hardware specification. The newly launched Galaxy A8 Plus is here to change that with the inclusion of the 18:9 display and 6GB of RAM. However, it comes with a hefty price tag of Rs.60,000. But we all know that this is the price territory where the OnePlus has been so dominant? So let’s find out if the A8 Plus can give the OnePlus run for its money.
Samsung Galaxy A8 Plus 2018 Specifications
Display: 6.0 inches Super AMOLED (1080 x 2220) @411ppi, Always ON Display
The phone on the first glance would easily fool anyone thinking it’s the Galaxy S9. And why wouldn’t it? It has got the same camera and fingerprint placement and the curved Gorilla Glass 4 back makes you think it really is. I wouldn’t hesitate to call it the S9 Lite!
Although, without the curved sides on the display it won’t quite feel like the same as S9. Upon holding the device, it is nothing short than using a high-end Samsung device or any other flagship for that matter. Not just beauty, but the phone doesn’t miss out on essentials like the IP68 water and dust resistance.
Display
One of the standing features of the phone is its tall 6-inch 18.5:9 aspect ratio display with full HD+ resolution. Upfront it almost looks like the new S8’s or the S9’s if the top and bottom bezels weren’t that big.
Being super AMOLED, the blacks are deep and contrasts are high. You will instantly love the display with its punchy color and how fine everything looks in it. Viewing angles are great while playing games and watching movies and under direct sunlight, the display can get bright up to a healthy 590 nits for proper visibility. It is definitely no less than the display on flagship phones.
If you dive into the settings you can change display temperature and other variables to tune the display. But in my use, I had no issues watching photos and videos with the default settings.
Also, the display detects apps that are in 16:9 ratio to convert into 18:9 without any app crashes or visual errors. The addition of Blue light filter is an essential touch and I wish every phone had this feature.
Performance
Unlike last year’s A-series, this year’s A8+ has a fairly powerful 7885 octa-core chipset with powerful cortex a73 cores to deliver better performance compared to last year’s 7880 with Cortex A53s. For day to day tasks, it feels fast and you won’t run into any issues.
But as you load more apps in the background, there are few noticeable hiccups like the scrolling becomes a bit jittery and app switching with double click on the recent tab becomes slow. App openings are fairly fast and the 6GB of RAM onboard keeps plenty of them in the background without having to reopen them. Although Experience UI is pretty minimal for its own good, I feel it is still responsible for the jittery scroll effect and slow app switching.
Coming to the gaming performance, the Mali G71 GPU can very well handle all the mid-tier titles on the play store. But when it comes to the high-end games, the GPU fails to deliver enough power which resulted in sluggish animation on the Asphalt 8 but the Modern Combat 5 was playable.
If performance is what you are after, then paying Rs. 60,000 could get the OnePlus 5T or the Xiaomi Mi6 (available for just Rs. 44,000 on Limited Deal) which comes with the powerful Snapdragon 835 chipset which can very well crush all the high-end games you throw at it, even the new PUBG for mobile at the highest settings.
We put both the phones (A8 Plus and 5T) through Antutu, Geekbench, and Basemark and every time the OnePlus5 outnumbered the score of A8+ by miles which also resulted in the same in real life usage.
Software:
The A8+ is running on Android 7.1.1 with a promised Oreo update on the pipeline. Samsung has promised to keep up with the regular android security patches so it will be getting scheduled Security updates on Android.
With Experience UI 8.5 has every feature that you get on the Samsung’s flagship like the S8’s. It has got Face Unlock – although kind of slow, always on display for a quick glance at time and notifications, wallpaper and theme store, along with that cool on-screen navigation buttons. The inbuilt secure folder comes really handy that allowed to safely keep my data.
There are tiny bits of features here and there that enhances the usability even further. Like scrolling on fingerprint sensor to bring the quick toggles and notification center, gaming mode to restrict notifications while gaming, one-handed mode, cache cleaner and so on.
Camera:
The camera is always the most looked upon feature of the Samsung phones. And the 16MP f/1.7 camera does a good job to hold on to your expectation. It comes with phase detection autofocus but no optical image stabilization. The images it produces has a pretty good sharpness and saturation which is typical of Samsung. It offers a decent dynamic range which often brought details in the shadows. You typically won’t need to turn on the HDR mode because of this and plus the option is hidden inside the settings.
The phone does come with Pro mode but it’s an overstatement to think of it as something extraordinary as it only provides options for exposure, ISO, and white balance. It clearly lacks manual focus and shutter speed which I would have to love to have.
With wide f/1.7 aperture, it performed well on low lighted conditions. The images certainly had some grains but the details are certainly there. But the inclusion of OIS would have improved the night photography to some extent.
We put the A8+’s camera to the test against the OnePlus 5. When compared side by side, the images produced by A8 has better highlights as the objects are lit well. And typical of Samsung the subjects are well saturated but when it came to details I found the OnePlus 5 preserved more details in the images. OnePlus tends to boost of the red highlights more while the A8+ saturated the overall image in a balanced manner.
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When it comes to videos, it can shoot full HD at 30fps but has no 4k recording. The video comes out with good details, contrast and is very clear.
Coming to the front with the dual 16MP+8MP camera, I had very high expectations with the secondary wide-angle lens. But upon using it – it has very less field of view than what I would normally call a wide-angle. The wide-angle camera is surely a disappointment on this device.
Although the images are commendable at good lighting conditions with adequate details, colors, and sharpness. Although when the beauty mode is turned off the image processing tends to smoothen the skin a bit.
Normal Mode
Beauty Mode
Not to forget the dual lens offers live Focus Mode which will shoot bokeh images. The edge detection around the head is particularly good but other areas remain without blur or the blur moves into the subject itself. It is a hit or miss feature but when it works you definitely get quality images.
Overall you will shoot plenty sharp photos with all the three cameras on this phone without any complaints whatsoever.
Battery:
The Samsung A8+ comes packing a 3500mAh battery which provides around 5 hours of screen ON time on average that will easily last you a day of moderate usage.
The plus side on the battery front is, it comes with adaptive fast charging which will charge the device up to 40% within 30 minutes and full charge within 1 and a half hours.
Connectivity
Coming to connectivity, it offers dual Nano SIM slots and both offer excellent network strength. When it comes to calling quality, the earpiece was loud enough to produce clear sound and I had no problems making calls even in a crowded environment.
Talking about audio, the loudspeaker mounted on the right side is loud and the audio is crisp for listening to music and while playing games.
Also, the audio output from the 3.5mm headphone jack is one of the best in this price segment. It produces one of the cleanest audio through headphones with no audio distortion and every other aspect like the bass, treble, and the mids are balanced well.
It offers Bluetooth 5.0, dual-band ac wifi, and USB C for charging and data syncing.
Verdict
In conclusion, the Galaxy A8+ is a Samsung flagship wannabe that that almost made it – if it wasn’t for its price. For 60k you get an amazing design, sharp and vibrant display, neat audio experience, good cameras and a day-long battery life, but where A8+ was outclassed by its competitors was with the performance. If you are not a heavy gamer, the A8+ is a good buy, but with the same price, you can get the OnePlus 5T that offers better processor, faster software updates, and slightly better camera performance.
Also if you have few extra cash to spare, you should definitely think about getting the S8 or even the S9.
Vivo Mobiles Nepal has officially launched its mid-range flagship, the Vivo V9, in an event in Kathmandu. The Vivo V9 is the successor of the Vivo V7 (Rs. 29,990) and is priced at Rs. 37,790. The phone is available for purchase all over Nepal starting April 2, 2018.
Latest Price: Rs. 34, 640 [Price Last Updated on July 27, 2019]
Overview:
The Vivo V9 offers a big 6.3-inch display with a tall 19:9 aspect ratio and Full HD+ resolution. With the ‘near’ bezel-less display, Vivo has managed to keep the screen to body ratio at a staggering 90%. However, there is a notch in the front making it the first Android smartphone in Nepal to have so. It looks similar to the iPhone X from the front.
The similarity extends with the Software too. Although the V9 is an Android smartphone running the latest Oreo 8.1 version, but with Vivo’s custom Funtouch 4.0 OS layered on top, everything from icons to interface looks inspired from Apple’s iOS.
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The Vivo V9 is a lightweight phone (150g) – thanks to its plastic back. The build is ordinary and the use of a glass or metal body would have been a better choice. There are two color options: Pearl black and gold and both are a fingerprint magnet. Despite featuring a plastic body, the phone feels great in hands thanks to the sides that curve towards the edges. The display is protected by a gorilla glass 3 and a 2.5D curved glass.
In terms of performance, Vivo V9 is powered by a Snapdragon 626 SoC. It is based on 14nm architecture and has 8 Cortex A53 64 bit cores running at 2.2Ghz. You can expect the performance to be similar to the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus and better than the OPPO F5, Huawei Nova 2i, and Galaxy J7 Pro.
There’s 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 64GB of storage. You can expand the storage via a dedicated microSD card slot up to 256GB. Connectivity option include Dual SIM with 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS. The battery is sealed in and has a capacity of 3260mAh. It is rated to provide 5 hours of onscreen time which translates to a day of moderate usage. It lacks fast charging support and takes roughly around 2.5 hours to charge from 0 to 100%.
The feature highlight of the phone is the camera. The 24MP front camera is now AI-powered. Vivo claims its AI face beauty mode is trained using a comprehensive database of million face images which allows detecting the age, sex, skin texture and skin tone of the subject and lighting environment.
The back houses a 16MP primary camera and a 5MP secondary camera for depth sensing (bokeh effect). There’s an LED flash on the back. One cool feature I liked about the back camera is you can even shoot first and focus later.
VIVO V9 Specifications:
Display: 6.3-inch (2280 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 IPS display
Display Protection: Gorilla Glass 3
Body: Plastic
Software: Funtouch OS 4.0 based on Android 8.1 (Oreo)
CPU: 2.2GHz Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 626
GPU: Adreno 506
RAM: 4GB DDR3
Storage: 64GB, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD
SIM: Dual Dedicated SIM (nano + nano)
Rear Camera: Dual (16MP + 5MP) with LED flash
Front Camera: 24MP f/2.0 aperture with soft LED flash
Security: Fingerprint sensor, Face Unlock
Dimensions: 154.81 x 75.03 x 7.89mm
Weight: 150gms
Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS
Sensors: Proximity, Accelerometer, Gyro, Compass
Battery: 3260mAh
Color Options: Pearl Black, Champagne Gold
Latest Price: Rs. 34, 640 [Price Last Updated on July 27, 2019]
Dell has been updating their Inspiron 7000 gaming series 3 years in a row now. And this year is no different, thanks to Nvidia’s Max Q design, Dell has managed to fit a GTX 1060 alongside a 7th gen Intel quad-core processor, a really fast SSD and a Thunderbolt 3 port on its latest Dell 7577 gaming laptop.
If you are in the gaming laptop market with a budget of around Rs.150,000, this laptop offers amazing specs which seem to be Dell’s ongoing trend as well. Since we are talking about a gaming laptop, let’s start off with its GPU.
Graphics
Previously the Dell 7567 offered the 1050 TI that delivered ample horsepower to run AAA titles smoothly. The latest in 7000 series, the Dell 7577 sports the GTX 1060 with Max-Q design that provides 30% more power than the 1050Ti.
This laptop basically crushes it in the 1080p segment. The GTX 1060 MAX-Q clocked at 1063Mhz with 1280 CUDA cores takes care of the high-end gaming needs along with 6GB of GDDR5 RAM. Putting these numbers into context, it can do 60fps in any game you throw at it either in Ultra or high settings and in some pretty rare cases, medium too.
The Max Q design does affect your performance. For instance, the desktop 1060 will give you 118fps in final fantasy XV on low settings. Under the same configurations, the GTX 1060 laptop variant will deliver around 110fps. Now compare them with the GTX 1060 MAX Q design and you will get around 73 fps. It’s still a healthy upgrade over the 1050Ti, but not as good as the regular 1060s out there.
If you are worried how much the MaxQ design affects your performance, we have a graph below to illustrate just that with FPS counts of Final Fantasy on low setting on each GPU system.
And then here is the fps count of the top 5 games we tried out on the Dell 7577
Thermals
With more power comes more heat and the GTX 1060 on this relatively compact laptop does just that. The laptop heats up a lot more, a lot faster.
After 3 hours of continuous PUBG, the laptop throttle a lot with fps dropping below the 40fps playable mark even at the lowest settings. The same thing repeated with all the other games I tested as well.
Build and Design
The laptop features a sturdy build with sharp edges and is reasonably heavy. Put them into numbers, you get a 2.7kg laptop with a thickness less than an inch. The MAX Q design also helped with the thickness a lot.
The design itself is identical to the Dell 7567. As a gaming laptop, portability won’t be an issue if you manage to get a bag big enough. The laptop will not fit on your average 15″ laptop bag or a protective case for that matter. Basically, the laptop features a 15.6″ inch display with the footprints of an average 17″ laptop.
Performance
The laptop runs on a 45-watt Quad Core i7 7700HQ processor that can reach speeds of up to 3.8GHz. The RAM is handled by a 2400mHz single channel 16GB stick. At the time of its release, this is the best configuration one could hope to find in its respective price range.
The laptop was snappy, responsive and seems to do everything you throw at it. Basic multitasking was a breeze, I did try multitasking while gaming as well, and got mixed results. All in all, the laptop was one of the best performers out there.
Display
The IPS panel is identical to it predecessor, with 71% of sRGB and 53% of Adobe RGB color coverage. It’s a pretty good IPS panel if you ask me, just not the one for those who do color intensive work (Photoshop, Lightroom, After effects). Other than that the display has a wide viewing angle and non-reflective matte finish.
The max brightness of just 250 nits might seem low but you just cannot complain. It is a 1080p 60Hz panel, which goes very well with the laptop’s specifications. There’s a 4K version of this laptop with better color accuracy but unfortunately, it’s not available in Nepal. So, overall the display is decent for gamers, but if you are a content creator, it’s not the laptop for you.
Storage
Storage is where the laptop shines. The Dell 7577 laptop features a really good SSD with read and write speeds of 2812Mbps and 1293Mbps respectively. Just for comparison, it’s predecessor Dell 7567 featured an SSD with speeds of 500Mbps down and 300Mbps up.
Numbers aside, the SSD will fail to show any difference in basic tasks. However, games load a lot faster and file transfers are a breeze. The SSD this laptop features is one of the fastest we have seen in its price range. It also has a 1TB 5400RPM hard disk for cheaper storage.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The keyboard is good but will need some getting used to. The laptop features a very minimalistic keyboard with no extra programmable keys, to begin with. First timers might even have trouble using it, thanks to its low key travel and a cheap feeling when you press hard. The good thing here is it offers literally no flex resulting in a durable and long-lasting feeling.
The trackpad is ok, but it’s made out of cheap plastic, although I must say it offers good tracking and gestures that work perfectly. Dell did opt for windows precision drivers, which is how I feel every laptop should come with, in the first place.
Battery
The 75Whr battery on the 7567 has shrunken down to a 56Whr capacity, which will be one of the biggest disappointments of all. I got an average of around 3 hours of battery life versus the 5 and a half hours on its predecessor.
It is a gaming laptop, so most people might not care much about the battery. But given that its sibling puts out almost 6 hours of battery life on a single charge, the 3 hours just seems disappointing. Also, if you want to game on battery, expect about an hour or less.
Connectivity
Ports selection remains one of the most satisfactory aspec of the Dell 7577. It consists of almost every port you could think of. On the left are a memory card slot, a USB 3.0 port, Ethernet, and a charger port. On the right is an audio port, a pair of USB 3.0, an HDMI port and finally a USB 3.1 Type C port with Thunderbolt 3 support with 4 lanes of PCI-E meaning you can connect external GPU to get maximum bandwidth. Not like you really need it but it’s there for some extra boost. There is also the usual Intel dual-band Wi-Fi ac and Bluetooth 4.2 for connectivity which works well, as expected.
So, for the price, you get a quad-core i7 processor, 16GB of DDR 4 RAM, a very fast SSD, a good IPS display, and a very capable GTX 1060 with MAX Q design. The question is, is it the best laptop for gaming under 150k? Probably Yes.
Dell Inspiron 7577 Pros:
Built
Performance
Fast SSD
Connectivity
Dell Inspiron 7577 Cons:
Display
Battery
Alternatives
Its competitors include Lenovo Y720, the MSI GE 62VR 7RF, and the Helios 300 with all of them sharing almost identical specs on paper. But the Lenovo Y720 and MSI Ge62VR are a bit on the expensive side and the Helios 300 compromises on a few features but manages to stay the cheapest of the bunch. However, if you are on a tight budget, you can opt for the Dell 7567 and not miss out on much.
Apple is known for being a high-end brand in the tech field. It produces varieties of gadgets and iPad is one of Apple’s most prized possessions. Apple has recently launched the successor of its cheapest iPad 2017 with the iPad 2018.
The new iPad is no different from the previous ones from the outlook perspective. It stands 9.7-inch tall and this times supports Apple pencil. The most part is similar except for some alterations in hardware to enable tilt and pressure recognition.
Apple has targeted the students with the new release. This might be a competitor for the very popular Google’s Chromebook.
Last year’s iPad was powered by A9 chipset whereas it is an upgrade in the new iPad as it is powered by A10 chipset. Even though it is an upgrade from the older version, it still stays stale with A11 already available in other gadgets.
The pencil stylus part makes it more education-friendly that it is easier to draw and write with the help of Apple pencil. But, Apple pencil does not come with the package.
Apple has increased the cloud storage to 200GB from 5GB. That’s quite an increment and for feasible for students as well.
Timothy D Cook, Apple’s CEO said,“Our place at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts makes it possible for us to create powerful products and tools that amplify learning and creativity.” Creativity and learning added together is definitely a strong blend.
The new software was also introduced which helps teachers to keep track of the assignments and improvements. The academics part is essential when the schools are being targeted. This new iPad also comes with the software that helps students learn musical instruments, art, videography and photography skills. This makes the iPad more interesting.
iPad 2018 Pricing
Apple seems to have understood the marketplace for lower-end gadgets when it comes to schools. This time, the iPad comes at affordable price i.e. $299 (32GB) for schools. While the actual starting price for it is $329 and the price increases with the larger memory variants. Apple Pencil is available for purchase separately for $99.
This portrays how Apple is once again keen on getting back its top position on sales and even more so with the development of student and teacher-friendly software along with discounts in the prices. Are schools ready to try the iPad once again? We will figure out in the days to come.
These days, out of the blue, smartphone manufacturers tend to show off their camera abilities with the help of DxOMark scores. Since the camera is considered as one of the essential features of a smartphone, OEM’s proudly advertise the DxO score their camera has scored in order to lure the consumers towards their product.
DxO puts the camera hardware to test on different lab controlled environment to truly test the ability of the camera. Well, lab tested conditions and real-life usage have varied so relying completely on a DxO mark would not be a safe call to make your purchasing decision.
The Huawei P20 boasts a dual 12 +20 MP rear cameras and the Huawei P20 Pro a triple 40+20+8 MP cameras branded with Leica optics.
The newly launched Huawei P20 and P20 Plus score the highest ever rating on DxO Mark for a smartphone. The P20 Plus is on the top of the list with the score of 109 and only second to that is the Huawei P20 with the score of 102. Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus (99), Pixel 2XL (98), and the iPhone X (97) are on the list respectively right after the P20’s.
Huawei P20 Plus has definitely given a lot of thought to its camera system. It is one of the first phones to sport a 3-camera setup. The main camera comes with a 40MP sensor, accompanied by a 20MP monochrome sensor and lastly an 8MP sensor for 3X optical zoom. If this isn’t the ultimate camera setup for a smartphone then I don’t know what is.
Similarly, the P20 comes with dual camera setup with a 12MP primary sensor and a 20MP monochrome sensor. It also has 2X optical zoom. Both of these phones can shoot 4K at 30 fps and 720p superslow at 960fps. Also, both of the phones comes with AI feature baked in that helps to identify scenes and adjust the image processing accordingly. A 24MP high-end camera resides on the front of these phones.
DxO Mark has been accused of favoring scores of brands if they are paid well. It may not always be the case but we definitely have to see how the camera performs in real life usage.
Huawei is on fire!! In an event in Paris, Huawei launched a trio of flagship smartphones, namely the Huawei P20, Huawei P20 Pro and Huawei Mate RS. Alongside those, Huawei also unveiled the latest version of the Huawei Y7 Prime 2018.
The Huawei Y7 Prime 2018 is a device made for the budget buyers which is an improved version of the Huawei Y7 prime 2017. Good news is that this device has upgraded to having an Android Oreo Operating system and a tall display with 18:9 aspect ratio. The Huawei Y7 Prime has a 13+2 MP dual camera setup wherein the 2 MP shooter acts solely to capture the depth of information and create Bokeh effects. The selfie camera is an 8 MP shooter.
Whats really an upgrade is the display size which has increased from 5.5 inches to 5.9 inches in the latest model of Y7 prime 2018. The phone, however, uses the same chipset and GPU.
This 2018 model of the Huawei Y7 Prime comes with a refreshing EMUI 8.0 that supports screen gestures like three finger screenshots and also a Karaoke mode for entertainment! The 18:9 aspect ratio and the Android Oreo upgrade certainly follows the current trend!
Sensors: Fingerprint, accelerometer, proximity, compass, etc.
The Huawei Y7 Prime was released last year with good enough features and this version of the device seems to have impressive features on a budget. How the device is in real life usage, we will have to wait till it arrives!
It was no secret that Huawei was launching a new flagship range in March this year and yes the rumors have turned out true and today, the 27th March 2018 marks the release of the Huawei P20.
With not much hype generated by Huawei’s previous flagships, namely the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus, the company has today launch yet another smartphone called Huawei P20. What the Huawei P20 promises is, to be master photography powered by AI.
Being yet other smartphones focusing on cameras, the Huawei P20 boasts a dual 12 +20 MP rear cameras and the Huawei P20 Pro a triple 40+20+8 MP cameras branded with Leica optics. Huawei has previously talked about the P20 series’ camera abilities saying, “See mooore with AI”, which suggested a great focus on the cameras.
The 24MP AI enabled front camera can do 3D Portrait Lighting, bokeh selfies, and face unlock. The rear camera, also AI-powered, can take handheld shots in low-light with AI image stabilization and 960 fps Super Slow Motion videos.
Like all the other flagships, the Huawei P20 and P20 pro come with Android Oreo out of the box, which is not something very new but it is good to hear. The device, like most of Huawei’s smartphones, features a Kirin processor, in this case, Hisilicon Kirin 970 chipset with octa-core processor (4 X 2.4GHz Cortex-A73 + 4X 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 ) and Mali-G72 MP12 GPU. It’s the same chipset used on the Mate 10 Pro, so it’s not quite there when compared with the Galaxy S9’s Exynos 9810 or the iPhone’s A11 Bionic.
Huawei P20 and P20 Plus boast a dual-glass design with a metal frame.
Following the trend, these devices are also a full-screen display phones flaunting an 18:5:9 screen to body ratio measuring 5.8 inches and 6.1 inches respectively and also come with a notch. Sadly, there is no headphone jack on the devices. But it features a super-wired charge technology that can make the devices go from a zero to 58% in just 30 minutes.
The Huawei P20 is IP53 rated for dust and splash resistance, whereas the P20, despite having a similar design, gets a much better dust and water resistance in the form of IP67 rating.
Dual Back Camera: 12MP f/1.6 (Color) + 12MP f/1.6 (Monochrome) Rear Camera with 4K video capture, 720p@960fps slow-mo, Leica lens, dual-tone LED flash
Triple Back Camera: 40MP f/1.8 (Color) + 8MP f/2.4 (Color Telephoto) + 20MP f/1.6 (Monochrome), 4K video capture, 720@960fps slow-mo, Leica lens, dual-tone LED flash
Front Camera: 24MP, f/2.0 Leica lens
Front Camera: 24MP, f/2.0 Leica lens
3,400mAh with Supercharge
4,000mAh with Supercharge
Fingerprint reader, Face unlock
Fingerprint reader, Face unlock
Price: €649 (Rs. 83,500)
Price: €899 (Rs. 115,500)
Huawei was previously known for dual front and back camera setup but this time, the company has surprised us all with three camera setup at the back. Cameras in smartphones are taking a great leap forward. We are yet to see what other manufacturers have in line for us after this three camera setup innovation!
Mi Mix lineup from Xiaomi is one of the influential smartphones when it comes to design. One of the true bezel-less display was portrayed in the very first version of the Mi Mix back in 2016 and the same philosophy follows till this date. With two generations in, Xiaomi has launched the third iteration of the Mi Mix lineup, the Mi Mix 2s.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s is not an entirely new version on the Mix series but it’s a slight upgrade over the Mi Mix 2 as you might have already guessed from the ‘S’ on the name. There has been visual overhaul which seems to be prominent in the future Xiaomi smartphones as well. The dual rear camera placed vertically is the new signature look on Mi devices which we also saw on the Redmi Note 5 Pro.
The phone offers 5.99-inch 18:9 LCD display with Full HD+ resolution. I always expect a QHD resolution with AMOLED panel on a flagship device these days but then again it’s not priced like a flagship. So for some, it might be a letdown to see an IPS panel here. Up front, the design remains the same with nothing but display and now a downsized chin on the bottom. With nowhere to place the camera, it still lies on the chin. This means you still have to flip your phone upside down everytime you take a selfie. But this also means that you don’t have to deal with a notch that holds the camera.
Since it’s a flagship phone and also happens to be an upgrade to Mi Mix 2, it has got some new hardware inside it. The device is now powered by the Snapdragon 845 chipset, the most powerful mobile chipset for Android as of now. You have the option to opt for either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. For storage, you get 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB memory option and you cannot expand it. The Mi Mix 2s is definitely not a slouch when it comes to performance.
The only reason to opt for the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s rather than Mi Mix 2 is, first – for the performance and second – the new and improved camera. The Mi Mix 2S has now opted for iconic vertical dual camera setup as seen on the iPhone X. The 12MP dual camera setup enables 2x Optical Zoom. The primary sensor comes with dual pixel autofocus for faster focus speed and improved low light performance. There’s also Portrait Mode assisted by AI to intelligently separate the subject and background. This will result in better blur and sharper edges around the subject. The front facing camera still remains the same with a 5MP sensor. Most importantly, this bezel-less Chinese has scored 97 points in the DxOMark test, which tied it with the all hailed iPhone X and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro.
Giving life to this device is MIUI 9 based on Android 8.0 Oreo. The device is backed by the same 3400mAh battery. Even with the use of powerful Snapdragon 845 chipset, Xiaomi claims the battery life should remain the same if not better. The phone supports Quick Charge 3.0. Even with the use of the ceramic back, Xiaomi has put forward the option for wireless charging.
Smartphones are capable of doing astounding things these days. The camera embedded in such 7mm thick devices is capable of shooting mind-boggling images mimicking the bulky DSLRs. With the advancements in smartphone cameras still in progress, we can see the smartphone makers are striving to bestow the DSLR capabilities into the smartphone cameras. And the presence of a dual camera on smartphones is one of the examples.
What are Dual camera smartphones?
In case of smartphones with dual camera setup, dual camera resides vertically or horizontally either on the front side or on the back panel or on both sides. Such setup essentially requires two lenses with a separate image sensor or film frame for each lens. Among the two cameras, the primary camera works like a normal or ordinary camera: it takes regular images. The secondary camera, however, gathers further information and the software blends the information from both cameras to produce images of fine quality and plenty of details.
What is the purpose of Dual Camera on smartphones?
Dual lens camera, which is also known as a stereo camera is provided on the smartphones to produce vivid and well-detailed images. The presence of a dual camera on smartphones is analogous to the two eyes on human anatomy. The presence of two eyes on human body offers advantages like wide FOV (field of view), enhanced depth perception, ability to detect small objects, symmetry and more. And same goes true in the case of smartphones.
A DSLR can produce vibrant shots with plenty of details with a mere presence of single lens then why does a smartphone need a dual camera for the same purpose? This could be the bewilderment amongst the most. To explain in simple terms, DSLRs are equipped with a large aperture, big lens and large sensor, which make them of capable of incarcerating adequate light and plenty of details during the shots. But in the smartphones, providing such components only make it massive and probably impossible to fit in the pockets. And the battery power devoured by such setup is beyond imaginable. So the concept of the dual camera came as an alternative, where the details collected from two cameras blend to form one image resembling more or less like a DSLR output.
Some Applications of Dual-camera Setup on Smartphones
1. 3-Dimension
Back in 2011, when 3D was growing as a thing, LG Optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D came with dual-camera setup capable of bringing 3D sensation on the videos and photos captured. Both the smartphones were the same technique used by the regular 3D cameras. The basic principle underlying the technique is to use the different perspective of dual-camera and create a sense of depth on images. When the subject information (primary camera) and depth information (secondary camera) blends into a single image/video, the 3D output can be obtained.
2. Depth Sensing
The technique involved here is alike to the 3D dual-camera setup. The primary camera captures details of the subject in focus. And the secondary camera garners the depth information of the components in the frame: segregating foreground and background according to distance. This feature allows capturing nifty portraits with Bokeh Effects (foreground focused and background blurred). This setup was employed on HTC One M8, where 4-Megapixel UltraPixel acted as primary sensor and the 2-megapixel sensor was employed to summon depth information onto the images.
3. Monochrome and RGB
Huawei entered the dual-camera game with the launch of Huawei P9 and P9 Plus partnering with Leica. The technology used on the device was quite unique. Among the two cameras, one was employed to capture monochrome (B/W) image. However, another one was used to fill in Colors (RGB) to complete the image. Huawei continued to provide similar setup on Huawei GR5 2017, Huawei P10 and P10 Plus. CoolPad Cool1 and Nokia 8 also followed the same bandwagon.
In this technology, both cameras are quite identical in specs. In this technology, monochrome sensors summons plenty of details. Since the pixels in the monochrome sensor get triggered in little or low lights, the incarcerating of details is quite impressive. The other sensor (RGB) has the sole purpose to bring in colors. So the colors are unadulterated and natural. And the information collected so far from both the sensors combines into one with the software manipulation. As the Monochrome sensor garners plenty of details with the RGB sensor filling in colors, the end results are quite imposing.
4. Wide angle
This approach of dual-camera setup entered the tech world with the launch of LG G5 last year. And LG continued to provide similar setup on the LG G6 this year. This technology is quite straightforward. The two cameras work together to increase the field of view and to bring in wide prospects. With the single lens system, the field of view limits lower values. But with LG G5’s dual-camera setup, the field of view increased to an astounding 135-degrees. So with a similar setup on your smartphone, you won’t have to worry to be missed out on images even if you are being shot among a large group of people.
5. Telephoto
This setup is prevailing amongst a large number of smartphones these days. In this system, the secondary camera has a larger focal length as compared to the primary. This setup is unique to that of wide angle as this setup focuses on the lossless optical zooming. Distant objects can be brought to the frame without losing the image quality. This type of setup also has great insights on the depth sensing and brings out exquisite Bokeh effects. However, in this setup, the primary camera acts as a depth sensor. This type of setup can be found on iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus, OnePlus 5, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Xiaomi MI A1, etc.
6. Augmented Reality
With the smartphones focusing on Bokeh and zooming with the dual-camera, Lenovo Phab 2 Pro and Asus ZenFone AR come with an entirely new concept. The aforementioned smartphones serve as a foundation to Google Tango Project driving the tech world towards the Augmented Reality (AR). With this setup, the smartphone will be capable of knowing where everything sits in a 3D environment around it: the basic principle behind a lot of AR and VR content. These smartphones serve its use on the 3D mapping of rooms, scanning rooms and inserting objects to evaluate the real-life scenario, etc.
DSLRs vs Dual-camera smartphones
Although the dual-camera smartphones are in the race to rival the DSLRs, one thing is to be kept in mind is that DSLRs are employed with a large sensor, wide aperture, large pixel, and large sensor size, etc. So with such setup, zooming and effects are natural. Portraits shots and Bokeh effects are natural with increasing blurs with the increase in distance. However, with dual-camera setup, because of the depth-sensing, the foreground and the background can be segregated but the blurring of the background is entirely through the software. And seems to possess quite unnatural intensity.
Also in some cases, the subject lacks sharp edges with blurry borders, which is an utter disappointment. And in the case of zooming and wide-angle shots, dual-camera smartphones are way behind the DSLRs. Though the dual-camera smartphones are striving to mimic DSLR shots, they are nowhere close to DSLRs to rival them. However, in the matter of size, weight, and portability, dual-camera smartphones are the easy winner here.
Is two camera better than one?
If you are more of a kind to apply effects with switching modes while taking the shots, then dual-camera smartphones can be ideal for you. If you love traveling or visiting places then having a wide-angle camera as a companion turns out to be fruitful. For those, who are indulged into taking portraits and showcase into social media, the Telephoto camera would be the better choice. But if you love natural shots without artsy effects, the single-camera works perfectly fine.
In the answer to the question, burrowing the results from the popular camera benchmark test, DXoMark, two years back HTC U11 (single camera) surpassed the dual camera smartphones like iPhone 7 Plus, LG G5 and Huawei P9. Similarly, last year’s Google Pixel 2/2XL (single camera) has surpassed dual camera smartphones like iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 8. So we can conclude that with the use of good sensor and lens, the single-camera lens can capture superior quality shots. And as the dual-camera technology is in developing phase, we can expect better results in the coming years.
