Huawei releases MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0 tablet with Harman/Kardon speakers

GadgetByte

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June 3, 2017

Huawei releases MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0 tablet with Harman/Kardon speakers

Huawei has just added a new tablet to their portfolio of devices — MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0. The key selling feature here is a pair of Harman/Kardon speakers.

The MediaPad M3 Lite 8.0 tablet features an 8.4-inch screen with a full HD (1920*1200) resolution. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor paired with either a 3GB or 4GB RAM. Storage wise, it has either 32 or 64GB storage which can be expanded via microSD for up to 64GB.

There is an 8MP camera on the front and the back of the device. It runs on Android Nougat 7.0 and a sealed 4,800 mAh battery inside. The fingerprint sensor is placed at the front of the device which doubles as a home button. Lastly, it charges through a microUSB and the headphone jack is present as well.

MEDIAPAD M3 LITE 8.0 TABLET OVERVIEW:

8.4-inch (1200×1920 pixels) S-IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen
Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 with Adreno 505
32 GB, 3 GB RAM or 64 GB, 4 GB RAM with expandable storage
Quick response fingerprint scanner
Android 7.0 (Nougat) with EMUI 5.1
8 MP rear camera with 1080p@30fps video recording
8 MP secondary camera
Dimension 213.3 x 123.3 x 7.5 mm (8.40 x 4.85 x 0.30 in)
LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Weight: 310g
Non-removable Li-Po 4800 mAh battery
Gold, white, space gray color options

Samsung’s First Dual Camera Phone: Galaxy C10 or J7 2017?

Samsung

GadgetByte

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June 2, 2017

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Samsung’s First Dual Camera Phone: Galaxy C10 or J7 2017?

In the smartphone industry, dual camera setup has been the new cool. It started with dual cameras at the back followed by the dual cameras on the front. The phone companies aren’t stopping there and aggressively launching phones with four cameras (two on the front and two on the back). If you’re wondering which phone has four cameras, then latest Gionee S10 can be a good example. But surprisingly, the Samsung, the Korean Giant is yet to launch its first dual camera phone. If you were thinking the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be the company’s first dual camera phone then you were wrong. Samsung’s first dual camera phone will be either Galaxy C10 or the J7 2017.

Samsung Galaxy C10: Leaks (Renders and Specs)

The latest render leak from OnLeaks and Pricebaba boldly shows off the dual camera setup on the yet-to-be-announced Samsung Galaxy C10. The render leak looks promising with 3-strips antenna bands on top and bottom just like in the Samsung Galaxy C9 pro. As you can see on the picture above, the dual rear cameras are placed vertically accompanied by dual tone LED flash. It’s hard to say whether the setup is of wide angle – normal lens or normal – telephoto lens or same lenses with RGB or B/W sensor. Anyways, my bet is on them to be wide angle and a normal lens. On the left, there is a button below the volume rockers and don’t get it confused with a power button which will rather be placed on the right. Like the Samsung Galaxy S8, this button is for triggering Samsung’s in-house AI, the Bixby.

More to this, it has a USB type C on the bottom with a loudspeaker and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Thankfully, there won’t be an odd placement of fingerprint sensor and will reside below the 5.5inch display. The sensor will double as a home button just like other regular Samsung phones. Rest of the specs of the phone are yet to be announced and we’ll surely keep you updated. So stay tuned.

Samsung Galaxy J7 2017

It was almost certain that the Samsung Galaxy C10 will be the Samsung’s first phone with dual rear cameras until a new case of Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 got leaked on Weibo.

This cover has been claimed to be for the model no. SM-J7310. The leaks we have been covering on Samsung Galaxy J7 was for the model no. SM-J730. So, it’s more likely that there will be more than one model of J7 2017 and that will be region depended.

If you’re interested to find out leaked specs of J7 2017 then you may check it here:

SAMSUNG GALAXY J7 2017 SPECS LEAKED ON GFX BENCH

Verdict

So, if I’ve to put my bet on the first rear dual camera phone from Samsung then the Galaxy C10 is what I’ll put my money on. However, it’s likely that Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 will launch sooner than the C10. But just a case leak out of nowhere isn’t as considerable as a leaked render.

Moto Z2 Play is Official with New Design, Better Features, and New Moto Mods

GadgetByte

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June 2, 2017

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Moto Z2 Play is Official with New Design, Better Features, and New Moto Mods

The successor to the Motorola flagship, the Moto Z Play, has just been officially launched. The Moto Z2 Play has a new design, better internals, better camera, and few new Moto Mods.

The Moto Z2 Play’s looks and dimensions of the phone remain unchanged. This is done on purpose so that it’s compatible with the previous generation Moto Mods like Motorola promised. The phone is splash resistant like the last one as well.

The Moto Z2 Play has a 5.5″ 1080p Super AMOLED display. It improves on the internals with an, even more, power efficient Snapdragon 626 SoC paired with either 3GB RAM/32GB ROM or a 4GB RAM/64GB ROM configuration. Both the variant has support for expandable storage.

The camera has also been improved this time, the rear camera has a 12MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture and 4k video recording support. And on the front, a 5MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture with dual LED flash. It runs on the latest version of Android Nougat. And lastly, the battery is of 3000mAh. There is also the Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, magnetic USB-C and the headphone jack.

A new feature is to just shout “show me” and the app you want to open and the phone opens the app for you. This is kind of Motorolla’s own new assistant. The phone is compatible with all of the last year’s Moto mods like the Juice Pack, JBL SoundBoost, Hasselblad True Zoom and Incipio Offgrid with the addition to a few newer ones.

New Moto Mods

1 of 4

Moto GamePad turns your phone into a mobile Gaming console with an analog joystick and D-pad controllers and adds 1035mAh battery power. A newer Moto TurboPower pack adds 3490mAh battery with fast charge. There is a new improved JBL SoundBoost 2 with bigger and better sound quality. And lastly, a new Moto Style Shell that adds wireless charging capabilities to it.

The phone is already available in Brazil for R$ 1,999 (US$ 616 / Rs.63,500) and will be available in other places soon.

5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD Super AMOLED display
Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
2.2GHz GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 626 processor with Adreno 506 GPU
4GB LPDDR3 RAM with 64GB storage / 3GB LPDDR3 RAM with 32GB storage, expandable memory up to 2TB with microSD
Android 7.1.1 (Nougat)
Single / Dual SIM
12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, Dual-Pixel Autofocus, Laser Auto focus, f/1.7 aperture, 4K video recording
5MP front-facing camera with f/2.2 aperture, dual-tone LED flash
Water repellent nano-coating
Fingerprint sensor
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
Dimensions: 156.2 x 76.2 x 5.99mm; Weight: 145g
4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11n (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, NFC, USB 3.1 Type-C
3000mAh battery with Turbocharging

ZTE Nubia Z17 announced, features 8 GB RAM and Snapdragon 835

GadgetByte

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June 1, 2017

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ZTE Nubia Z17 announced, features 8 GB RAM and Snapdragon 835

A few years back a friend of mine bought a laptop that had 8 GB of RAM. I was startled and impressed by the fact that laptops had so much of memory. I remember my first computer having just 32 MB of RAM. Fast forward a few years and the time has finally come for smartphones to feature a staggering 8 GB of RAM. Doing so is ZTE’s newest flagship the Nubia Z17, which, like its name suggests comes under the branding of Nubia.

The ZTE Nubia Z17 is, by all means, a flagship as it runs due to the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and an Octa-core processor. This processor, like I mentioned before, is assisted by 8 GB of RAM (there is also a 6 GB version available) and Adreno 540 GPU. This goes along with the 128 GB of onboard storage. There is also a 64 GB storage variant available but it comes with 6 GB of RAM. Like all the flagship devices of 2017, the device has Android v7.1.1 Nougat on the inside with Nubia UI 5.0 on top.

Like Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus, the ZTE Nubia Z17 supports up to 10x Dynamic zoom. This feature is supported well by the 23-megapixel and 12-megapixel dual rear-facing camera which also has 2x optical zoom like the Californian company’s flagship. For the selfie lovers, the Nubia Z17 is equipped with a 16-megapixel front-facing camera. It has an IP67 certification, an IR sensor on the top and the speaker is accompanied by Dolby Atmos technology.

A 3,200 mAh battery backs up the 5.5-inch full HD display. Oh, and the display has no side bezels. The Li-Ion battery is supported by Quick Charge 4.0 which is capable of going from 0% – 50% charge in just 25 minutes. ZTE has priced the high-end 8 GB variant at CNY3,999 which roughly translates to $583. The lowest-end, i.e. 6 GB + 64 GB comes at CNY2,799 ($411) while the 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage is priced at CNY3,399 ($499).

Here’s everything you need to know about the ZTE Nubia Z17:

5.5-inch, full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS LCD display
Android v7.1.1 Nougat with Nubia UI 5.0 on top
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with Adreno 540 GPU
6 or 8 GB of RAM
64 or 128 GB Internal Storage
23 MP + 12 MP rear-facing camera with f/1.8 aperture, dual LED flash, 2x optical zoom
16 MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture
Dolby Atmos speaker, IR sensor
Dual SIM
3,200 mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0
Color(s) available: Soft gold, Black gold, Blue, Red, Black
Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor

Micromax Yu Yureka Black with 4GB RAM Launched for $140

Yural Maskey

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June 1, 2017

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Micromax Yu Yureka Black with 4GB RAM Launched for $140

Micromax’s subbrand Yu is back! The company has just unveiled a new smartphone, the Yu Yureka Black, in India for INR. 8,999 (US$140). As of now, it will be available for purchase only in India via Flipkart starting June 6.

For the price of Rs. 8,999, Micromax is offering a 5-inch Full HD IPS display with 2.D curved glass and gorilla glass 3 protection. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 octacore processor and 4GB of RAM. Storage wise, it has 32GB of inbuilt storage with microSD support upto 128GB.

In terms of camera, the Yu Yureka Black is equipped with a 13MP back camera and an 8MP front camera. It is currently running on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, however, Micromax has confirmed to roll out Nougat update in the future. Backing up the phone is a 3000mAh battery. Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Micro-USB, and GPS.

The Yu Yureka Black has a premium design with a full metal body. The fingerprint scanner is located on the home button. Last month, Micromax Nepal launched Yu Yurnicorn in Nepal, so we can expect the phone to launch in Nepal albeit at a higher price tag. The national distributor of Micromax in Nepal (Pashupati Tradelink Pvt. Ltd.) might partner with e-commerce giants Kaymu to launch Yu Yureka Black in Nepal.

WD and SanDisk unveils new SSD

Featured

GadgetByte

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June 1, 2017

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Western Digital and SanDisk just unveiled a few new SSD and they use 64-layer 3D NAND memory. The WD drives come in 2.5″/7mm & m.2 2280 form factors and the SanDisk only comes in 2.5″ form factor.

These SSDs are available in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB and the Pricing begins from $100. All these SSDs are based on Marvell controller and they can provide you with up to 560MB/s read and 550MB/s write speeds. Although you won’t be getting these speeds with the 250GB model, you will need to buy the ones with more storage for better speeds.

We know that the 250GB version costs $100 but the pricing for the higher storage versions are still unknown. These new drives have a 3-years warranty and are rated at 1.75 million hours MTBF. They will be available from third quarter this year.

Ncell Launced 4G Service in Kathmandu Valley and Three Other Places

Ncell

GadgetByte

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June 1, 2017

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Ncell Launced 4G Service in Kathmandu Valley and Three Other Places

As we’ve mentioned in our last post, Ncell has successfully launched its 4G service in Kathmandu valley starting from today. Other than the valley, the Ncell users from Banepa, Dhulikhel, and Nagarkot can also upgrade to this new service. However, the service will be launched on Pokhara a month later on July 1 followed by other cities in coming months. After NTC’s launch of 4G, Ncell users have been desperately waiting for the 4G LTE service in their network. Finally, the most awaited service is now live with some promotional offer valid only for today. We’ll discuss the Ncell 4G offer for today later in this post. First, you must be super excited to find out how to activate for 4G in Ncell SIM and that’s what follows the next.

How to activate 4G in Ncell SIM (Postpaid/Prepaid)

To activate the 4G service in your Ncell SIM, there are few steps you need to follow and they are:

Activate 4G in your NCell SIM

To activate Ncell 4G in your SIM card, all you gotta do is “Type Q” and “Send it to 324“. Then you’ll get one of two replies.

If your current SIM supports 4G, the 4G service will be activated and you’ll get the reply accordingly.

But if it doesn’t support 4G, you have to go to the nearest Ncell Center with SIM owner’s citizenship card and upgrade your SIM for FREE.

Does your smartphone support 4G LTE?

If you have a 4G supported/upgradeable SIM card, the second step is to find out if your smartphone supports 4G LTE or not. To make things easier for you, we’ve listed the 4G supported smartphones in Nepal.

Just go through the list and if your current smartphone is on the list, you’re now just a step away from activating 4G in your Ncell SIM card.

After 4G is activated and if your smartphone supports the 4G, the last step to follow is selecting network type/mode to 4G LTE from your mobile’s setting. Then you can enjoy the newest 4G service from the Ncell.

Ncell 4G offer on June 1

There are two offers from Ncell for its users activating the 4G service today. They are:

You can get a free 1GB data from Ncell that will be valid for 3days.
You can get free music from Ncell using Yonder Music app for 30 days. To get this offer, you’ve to activate the service by dialing “*325#”

Ncell 4G Data Pack Offers:

The data pack for 4G users is no different than that are available currently. However, you might be interested in checking current data packs from Ncell with their latest pricing, validity and time of the day. And, here they are:

Price (including taxes)	All-time pack (can be used any time of the day)	Day-time pack (5am – 5pm) 2 times more data	Night-time pack (11pm – 5am) 4 time more data	Validity
Rs. 10	25MB (40paisa/MB)	50MB (20paisa/MB)	100MB (10 paisa/MB)	3 days
Rs. 20	60MB (33paisa/MB)	120MB (17paisa/MB)	240MB (8paisa/MB)	3 days
Rs. 100	300MB (33paisa/MB)	600MB (17paisa/MB)	1200MB (8paisa/MB)	30 days
Rs. 150	600MB (25paisa/MB)	1200MB (13paisa/MB)	2400MB (6paisa/MB)	30 days
Rs. 250	1200MB (21paisa/MB)	2400MB (10paisa/MB)	4800MB (5paisa/MB)	30 days

Gionee A1 Plus Initial Impressions Review: A Dual Camera Phablet

Gionee

GadgetByte

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May 31, 2017

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Gionee A1 Plus Initial Impressions Review: A Dual Camera Phablet

Gionee recently launched the selfie focused Gionee A1 in Nepal. Despite being a midrange phone, A1 has premium build and offers decent specs for the price. Now, Gionee has planned to launch the larger version of Gionee A1, the Gionee A1 Plus as early as the first week of June in Nepal. We got some early hands-on with the soon to be launched phone and here are our first impressions of the device.

Specifications of Gionee A1 Plus:

6.0 inches (1080 x 1920) @367ppi
Amigo OS 4.0 on top of Android 7.0 Nougat
Mediatek MT6757T Helio P25 Chipset
Octa-core (4×2.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4×1.4 GHz Cortex-A53) CPU
Mali-T880MP2 GPU
4GB RAM
64GB Internal Storage, Expandable up to 256GB
Dual 13 MP + 5 MP Rear Camera with f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus
20MP Front Facing Camera with f/2.0 aperture
Non-removable Li-Ion 4550 mAh battery with fast charging
Expected Price: Rs. 49,999

Design:

The Gionee A1 Plus on the first glance looks like a giant slab of glass with a stealthy dark finish. The device has a massive footprint with 6.0 inch of display. Picking up the phone, it feels premium with the smooth metal back. The phone is heavy at 226grams which is the result of huge screen real-estate, metal body, and a beefy 4,550mAh battery. Although the phone is almost unusable with one hand, the curved edges make it easier to grip the phone. So, despite the polished metal back and huge form factor, the phone felt safe in my hands.

A1 Plus comes with tactile buttons and I find the orange tint on the power button visually pleasing. It has got a fingerprint sensor on the front which also acts as a home button. It has got Incognito back and recent capacitive keys on the sides of the fingerprint sensor. The phone has Micro-USB port instead of the USB C that we’ve been seeing on many devices.

Display:

The 6.0inch display here is of full HD resolution with 367pixels per inch. A1 Plus comes with a 2.5D glass giving it a seamless look from the front. The display produces sharp and vibrant colors and I haven’t found any pixelation. The display gets really bright which helps for better visibility in the direct sunlight. Also, Gionee has included smart eye protection option which helps to protect your eyes by cutting off blue light from your display while using the phone at night.

User Interface:

Gionee A1 Plus is running of Amigo UI on top of Android 7.0 Nougat. Like any typical Chinese phone, it lacks app drawer and everything is right on the home screen. And by everything, initially when you boot up the phone, there are just tons of Gionee Bloatware. The phone offers some instantly notable and usable features like a swipe on the fingerprint sensor to bring out quick apps, double tap on the screen to lock the device and the smart eye protection. The phone also comes with Maxx Audio for a rich sound experience.

Camera:

The main highlight of the phone is its dual camera sensor where the primary shooter is of 13MP and the secondary shooter is of 5MP. The dual camera works together to provide depth of field effect in photos. This mode is accessible via the camera with Portrait Mode. I strolled around Patan with the phone and took some pretty good images. I haven’t got the chance to use the camera in all the lighting conditions so it’s hard to make any hard and fast fact about the camera.

Up front, it has got a whopping 20MP camera with f/2.0 aperture and it comes with tons of beauty modes if that interests you. The front also provides an option to shoot with bokeh effect despite the lack of secondary camera.

Performance:

Gionee has opted for a higher mid-range processor on the A1 Plus. The phone is powered by Hello P25 Octa-Core chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM. The phone is pretty fluid with no hiccups on general use. Installing and using some basic apps; app openings were quick and switching between them was a breeze. (Will be tested with heavy apps on full review)

Battery:

The phone is backed up by a decent 4,550mAh battery which seems justifiable for the given set of specs. It also supports fast charging with its ultrafast 18W charger which should completely charge the device within 2 hours. It also features a dual chip charging technology that keeps the battery cool and safe when the phone is being charged.

Early Impression on Gionee A1 Plus:

Gionee A1 Plus is a flagship phone from the company, it really has all the compelling features that one looks for while buying a smartphone. It is expected to launch with a price tag of 50k. For that price, you’re definitely getting flagship grade specs but the processor is a major letdown as the company should have opted for the more powerful Helio X20.

Gionee A1 Plus will go head to head with OnePlus 3T, Oppo F3 Plus, and Galaxy C9 Pro.

Intel is back | Core X-series processors | 8th generation Core processors

GadgetByte

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May 31, 2017

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Intel is back | Core X-series processors | 8th generation Core processors

It has been a long time since Intel has released anything exciting for their users. Their latest processor was core i7 which was released nearly a decade ago. With many improvements along the way Intel finally accepted it was as perfect as it’s going to get. Finally Intel is back with its Core X-series processors, at least for its desktop users. This includes the Core X-i5, Core X-i7 and the lastest member to the family the Core X-i9 and Core X-i9 EXTREME.

What do We get in this line up?

Customers will have a choice from 4 cores to 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 cores. Almost all models will have Intel’s Hyper-Threading, thereby doubling the thread count.

The nine processors, at the bottom of the pack is Core i5-7640X and the Core i7-7740X with 4 cores clocked at 4.0 GHZ and 4.3Ghz. The are priced at $242 and $339 respectively.

The i7-7740X has 6 cores and 12 threads with HT. It is clocked at 3.5GHz and Turbo boast of 4.0Ghz priced at $389. Core i7-7820X has 8 cores and 16 threads with HT. It has 3.6GHz base clock speed and Turbo Boosts up to 4.3GHz priced at $599.

On the high end side, Core i9-7900X has 10 cores and 20 threads with HT. It has 3.3GHz base clock speed with 4.3GHz Turbo Boost 2.0 clock speed and 4.5GHz Turbo Boost 3.0 clock speed. It is priced at $999.

At the top there is the Core i9-7980XE with the jaw droping 18 cores and 36 thread count which will be priced at a whooping $1999.

Whats in store for us Commoners?

Core X series is not the only thing Intel announced. The 8th generation Core CPUs will be shipping with the new devices in the second half of this year. Intel next generation chips will perform up to 30% better than the ones out today. It’s a signification improvement. Like the 6th and 7th generation Core processors, the 8th generation models will also be built on 14nm process with slight refinement. The 8th gen architecture is code named ‘Coffee Lake’.

Verdict

Most PC owners today won’t be able to take full advantage of an 18-core, 36-thread of the X-Series. But that’s not really the point.Is it? Core X exists less for the present than it does for the future. It’s for the high end desktop market. Don’t get disappointed as Intel has though of us, mere commoners as they are soon to ship 8th gen Intel processors. Its a win win for all.

Asus Zenbook Flip S – World’s Thinnest Convertible Laptop

Asus

GadgetByte

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May 31, 2017

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Asus Zenbook Flip S – World’s Thinnest Convertible Laptop

On an event in Computex Taipei 2017, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade shows, Asus launched five laptops, one monitor, and two all-in-one PCs. Among those revealed, the Asus Zenbook Flip S has been getting attentions worldwide because of it’s thinnest profile among the 2-in-1 convertible laptops. Asus claims the 10.9mm thick Zenbook Flip S (UX370) is the world’s thinnest convertible. Not just the thin profile, this new laptop is hitting nails right on the head both on the design and the specs. So, here’s a brief overview of the device.

Asus Zenbook Flip S: What’s Inside?

This new convertible laptop from Asus is not just thin but is arguably light at just 1.1kg. It looks as stunning as any other Asus laptops but has a newer NanoEdge design profile with much slimmer bezels around its 13.3inch (1080p/4K) display that senses multitouch and supports a stylus. This display is Corning Gorilla glass protected and supports 100% sRGB color gamut. The high-end version of the laptop packs a 7th gen Intel Core i7-7500U paired with 16GB RAM of 2133MHz whereas the affordable option will rather pack Core i5-7200U CPU paired with 8GB RAM. The storage options in the device ranges from 256GB/512GB SATA SSD to 1Terabyte PCIe SSD.

asus zenbook flip s ux370 price — Source: ASUS

New to the device is the ErgoLift Hinge that is engineered to tilt and lift the keyboard when tilt angle is beyond 135degree. Asus claims to have tested the hinge for 20,000 open/close assuring the hinge’s durability. It has a full sized backlit keyboard with 1mm key travel and a glass-covered trackpad. Rest of the specs include, a side mounted fingerprint sensor, dual USB 3.1 ports, a webcam, microphone-array and Harman Kardon tuned 2 channel speakers. Addressing Wireless connections, it has WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1.

Asus Zenbook Flip S has a 39Wh 2cell li-po battery with fast charging capabilities. Asus claims the battery charges upto 60% in 49minutes and lasts for 11.5hours on single charge.

The base model starts at $1099 and there are still some uncertainities regarding the pricing of higher end ones. Plus, the Asus will start shipping of the device only in early september.