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realme 10 Pro 5G and realme 10 Pro+ 5G now available in the Philippines

February 14, 2023

realme Philippines has officially announced 2 new smartphones under the realme 10 smartphone series; the realme 10 pro 5G and the larger realme 10 pro+ 5G.

The realme 10 pro 5G is now available for order from Shopee and Lazada, and in local retailer;

  • 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage – ₱16,999.00

While the availability of realme 10 pro+ 5G is yet to be announce;

  • 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage – ₱19,999
  • 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage – ₱24,999

Checkout the specs of both phone below;


realme 10 Pro 5G specs;

  • Display: 6.7-inches FHD display, 1080×2400 resolution, @391ppi, 120Hz refresh rate with 240Hz touch sampling rate, 600 nits (typ) / 680 nits (HBM)
  • Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G Processor
  • Speakers: 2, 200% Ultra Boom Dual Speakers
  • Audio Ports: 3.5mm Headphone Jack
  • Audio Certification: Hi-Res
  • Operating System: realme UI 4.0, Android 13
  • RAM: 8GB RAM
  • Storage: 256GB ROM
  • Rear camera:
    • 108MP ProLight Camera; FOV: 83.6°, F1.75 aperture, 6P lens combination, Samsung HM6, 0.64um，9-Sum pixel 1.92um, 23.6mm focal length
    • 2MP Portrait Camera; FOV: 88.8°, F2.4 aperture, 3P lens combination, 21.9mm focal length
  • Front selfie camera: 16MP Selfie Camera, Ultra-clear Fusion Algorithm, 82.3°fov, F2.45 aperture, 5P lens combination
  • WiFi 5: 2.4GHz / 5GHz
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.1
  • Frequency Bands: 2G/3G/4G/5G
  • Dimensions (LxWxH): 163.7mm x 74.2mm x 8.3mm (Hyperspace Gold) / 163.7mm x 74.2mm x 8.1mm Colors: Dark Matter, Nebula Blue
  • Weight: 190g (Dark Matter & Nebula Blue) / 192g (Hyperspace Gold)
  • Battery: 5000 mAh


realme 10 Pro+ 5G specs;

  • Display: 6.7-inches (FHD+) Curved Vision Display, 2412×1080 resolution, 93.65% screen-to-body ratio, up to 120Hz refresh rate with 360Hz touch sampling rate (Up to 1260Hz Instantaneous Touch Sampling Rate), 5,000,000：1 contrast ratio, 1.07 Billion colour depth, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 0.65mm double-reinforced glass protection
  • Processor: Dimensity 1080 5G Chipset; (CPU) TSMC 6nm Process, Octa-core, Up to 2.6Ghz/ (GPU) Mali-G68
  • Speakers: Super Linear Dual Speakers, Dual-mic Noise Cancellation, Hi-Res Audio Certification
  • Operating System: realme UI 4.0, Android 13
  • RAM: 6GB/8GB RAM
  • Storage: 128GB/256GB ROM
  • 108MP AI Triple Rear camera: Support up to 4K / 30fps Video Recording
    • 108MP ProLight Camera; FOV: 83.6°, F1.75 aperture, 6P lens combination
    • 8MP Ultra-wide angle Camera; 15.9mm focal length, 112° FOV, f/2.2 aperture, 5P lens
    • 4 cm Macro Camera; 2MP, 21.6 mm focal length, 4cm focus distance:, f/2.4 aperture
  • Front selfie camera: 16MP Selfie Camera, 82.3° fov, f/2.45 aperture, Support up to 1080P/30fps video recording
  • Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 4 & 802.11 a/b/g; 2.4GHz / 5GHz
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.2
  • Frequency Bands: 2G/3G/4G/5G
  • Navigation: GPS/Beidou/Glonass/QZSS/Galileo
  • Buttons & Ports: 2 Nano SIM Card Slots, Type-C Port, Power Button, Volume Buttons,
  • Sensors: Magnetic Induction Sensor, Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Gyro-meter, Acceleration Sensor, In-display Fingerprint Sensor
  • Dimensions (LxWxH): 161.5mm x 73.9mm x 7.95mm (Hyperspace) / 161.5mm x 73.9mm x 7.78mm (Nebula Blue & Dark Matter)
  • Weight: 174.5g (Hyperspace) / 172.5g (Nebula Blue & Dark Matter)
  • Battery: 5000 mAh with support for 67W SUPERVOOC Charge

Pricing are from Yugatech.

Steamdeck now available in Saudi Arabia

February 13, 2023

Steamdeck is now available in Saudi Arabia. You can purchase Valve’s handheld gaming computer – Steamdeck from Xcite, which from a quick lookup, appears to be the only local retailer to sell the gaming device. Before, if you want to purchase Steamdeck, you can either need to contact someone from the United States or buy it from the gray/black market.

The Steamdeck is a handheld gaming computer developed by Valve Corporation. Released on February 25, 2022, the Steam Deck can be played as a handheld or connected to a monitor in a similar manner to the Nintendo Switch. Steamdeck is designed to designed for playing Steam-based game, but can also support third-party storefronts like Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect, or Origin. The user can also replace the preinstalled SteamOS with a different operating system entirely, since it supports multi-booting.

Here are the pricing of Steamdeck, based on Xcite’s website listings;

  • SAR 2,498.99 – Steamdeck 64GB eMMC
  • SAR 3,199.00 – Steamdeck 256GB NVMe SSD
  • SAR 4,199.00 – Steamdeck 512GB NVMe SSD

Here’s the full specs of the Steamdeck;

Compute
Processor AMD APU
CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)
APU power: 4-15W
RAM 16 GB LPDDR5 on-board RAM (5500 MT/s quad 32-bit channels)
Storage 64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1)
256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)
512 GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)

Controls and Input
Gamepad controls A B X Y buttons
D-pad
L & R analog triggers
L & R bumpers
View & Menu buttons
4 x assignable grip buttons
Thumbsticks 2 x full-size analog sticks with capacitive touch
Haptics HD haptics
Trackpads 2 x 32.5mm square trackpads with haptic feedback
55% better latency compared to Steam Controller
Pressure-sensitivity for configurable click strength
Gyro 6-Axis IMU

Display
Resolution 1280 x 800px (16:10 aspect ratio)
Type Optically bonded IPS LCD for enhanced readability
Display Size 7″ diagonal
Brightness 400 nits typical
Refresh Rate 60Hz
Touch Enabled Yes
Sensors Ambient light sensor

Connectivity
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0 (support for controllers, accessories and audio)
Wi-Fi Dual-band Wi-Fi radio, 2.4GHz and 5GHz, 2 x 2 MIMO, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac

Audio
Channels Stereo with embedded DSP for an immersive listening experience
Microphones Dual microphone array
Headphone / mic jack 3.5mm stereo headphone / headset jack
Digital Multichannel audio via DisplayPort over USB-C, standard USB-C, or Bluetooth 5.0

Power
Input 45W USB Type-C PD3.0 power supply
Battery 40Whr battery. 2 – 8 hours of gameplay

Expansion
microSD UHS-I supports SD, SDXC and SDHC
External connectivity for controllers & displays USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4 Alt-mode support; up to 8K @60Hz or 4K @120Hz, USB 3.2 Gen 2y

Size and Weight
Size 298mm x 117mm x 49mm
Weight Approx. 669 grams

Software
Operating System SteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based)
Desktop KDE Plasma

Images and video from steamdeck.com

Current pricing of the new Samsung Galaxy S23 phones in Saudi Arabia

February 5, 2023

If you’re in Saudi Arabia, below are the pricing of the just announced Samsung Galaxy S23 phones;

Galaxy S23
8GB RAM + 128GB storage – TBA
8GB RAM + 256GB storage – SAR 3,499.00

Galaxy S23+
8GB RAM + 256GB storage – SAR 3,999.00
8GB RAM + 512GB storage – SAR 4,399.00

Galaxy S23 Ultra
8GB RAM + 256GB storage – TBA
12GB RAM + 256GB storage – SAR 5,199.00
12GB RAM + 512GB storage – SAR 5,699.00
12GB RAM + 1TB storage – SAR 6,699.00

Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ last Feb 1, 2023 at their Galaxy Unpacked 2023. In a nutshell, the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ are the same phones with different screen size while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the premium version that supports S-Pen and features a 200 MP camera.

You can read more about the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ here.

Samsung officially unveil the Galaxy S23 Ultra series of Smartphones

February 3, 2023

Last Wednesday, Feb. 1st, at the Galaxy Unpacked 2023 – Samsung has officially announced their next line of smartphones, the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It composed of 3 new smartphones; the Galaxy S23 and the larger Galaxy S23+, then there’s the premium version the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23+

The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ are basically the same phones, the only difference is on the display, storage and battery. The Galaxy S23 features a 6.1-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED display and a 3,900mAh battery, while the Galaxy S23+ will have a 6.1-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED display and a whopping 4,700mAh battery.

Both phones will use Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and Quamcomm’s Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform.

Both Galaxy S23s will have same 8GB RAM, the storage offerings of the smaller Galaxy S23 will start at 128GB, up to 256GB of storage, while the larger Galaxy 23+ will be 256GB and up to 512GB of storage.

Both the Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23+ will be available in 4 colors; Cream, Lavender, Phantom Black, Green. Plus 2 online exclusive colors; Lime and Graphite. The starting price of the Galaxy S23 will be $799.99 and the Galaxy S23+ will be $999.99. Samsung is already taking pre-orders.

Samsung Galaxy S23 & Galaxy S23 Plus

Here are the specs for both the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+;

Galaxy S23 Galaxy S23+
Display 6.1-inch FHD+* 6.6-inch FHD+*
Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display
Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (48~120Hz) Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (48~120Hz)
240Hz Touch Sampling Rate in Game Mode 240Hz Touch Sampling Rate in Game Mode
Vision booster Vision booster
Enhanced comfort Enhanced comfort
Dimensions & Weight 2.79 x 5.76 x 0.3in, 5.93oz 3.07 x 6.43 x 0.35in, 6.91oz
Camera 12MP Ultra-Wide Camera
• F2.2, FOV 120˚
50 MP Wide Camera
• F1.8, FOV 85˚
10MP Telephoto Camera
• 3x Optical Zoom, F2.4, FOV 36˚
12MP Front Camera
• F2.2, FOV 80˚
Processor Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
Memory & Storage 8 + 256GB 8 + 512GB
8 + 128GB 8 + 256GB
Battery 3,900mAh 4,700mAh
OS Android 13
One UI 5.1
Network and Connectivity 5G*, LTE**, Wi-Fi 6E***, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth® v 5.3
Security Samsung Knox, Samsung Knox Vault
Water Resistance IP68

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Samsung also announced a premium smartphones that they’re calling the Galaxy S23 Ultra. From the looks of its specs, Samsung went all-out on this device. Just like the Galaxy S23 and the Galaxy S23+, the Galaxy S23 Ultra uses Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform. It supports the S Pen, for productivity, notetaking, hobbies, etc.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra will also have the largest battery capacity with 5,000mAh and the main rear camera will use a “new 200MP Adaptive Pixel sensor” for taking that “epic” photo.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra will be available in 3 configuration; 12GB RAM with 1TB storage, 12GB RAM and a 512GB storage, and 8GB RAM with 256GB storage. The phone will be available in available in 4 colors; Cream, Lavender, Phantom Black, Green; and 4 online exclusive colors; Lime, Graphite, Sky Blue, and Red.

The starting price for the Galaxy S23 Ultra will be at $1,199.99 for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage configuration. Pre-order for the Galaxy S23 Ultra is now available.

Here’s the specs of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra;

Galaxy S23 Ultra
Display 6.8-inch QHD+ Edge*
Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display
Super Smooth 120Hz refresh rate (1~120Hz)
240Hz Touch Sampling Rate in Game Mode
Vision booster
Enhanced comfort
Dimensions & Weight 3.07 x 6.43 x 0.35 in , 8.25oz
Camera 12MP Ultra-Wide Camera
• F2.2, FOV 120˚
200 MP Wide Camera
• F1.7, FOV 85˚
10MP Telephoto Camera
• 3x Optical Zoom, F2.4, FOV 36˚
10MP Telephoto Camera
• 10x Optical Zoom, F4.9, FOV 11˚
12MP Front Camera
• F2.2, FOV 80˚
AP Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy
Memory & Storage 12GB + 1TB
12 + 512GB
8 + 256GB
Battery 5,000mAh
OS Android 13
One UI 5.1
Network and Connectivity 5G*, LTE**, Wi-Fi 6E***, Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth® v 5.3

Official Unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Series

Apple announces new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max

January 19, 2023

Together with the new Mac mini, Apple also announced a new MacBook Pro powered by the new M2 Pro and M2 Max. With the new M2 Pro and M2 Max, the new Macbook Pros’ “battery life will be up to 22 hours — the longest battery life ever in a Mac.”

The new Macbook Pro features Liquid Retina XDR display, 16GB unified memory that’s configurable up to 96GB RAM, a 22 hours battery life, 512GB SSD storage which you can upgrade up to 8 TB. As for expansion slots, you’ll find SDXC card slot, HDMI port, 3.5 mm headphone jack and MagSafe 3 port for charging. It also have Thunderbolt 4 for charging and display. Its backlit magic Keyboard will have an integrated Touch ID, ambient light sensor and force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and multi-touch gestures.

For connectivity it supports Wi-Fi 6E 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.3. The new Macbook Pro will have a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, six built-in speakers with force-cancelling woofers and wide stereo sounds. If you’re concern about the weight there a very small different between the weight of the Macbook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max. Right out of the box, the new Macbook Pro will run Apple’s latest macOS Ventura.

The new MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max are now available for order in 27 countries and they will begin arriving to customers and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers starting Tuesday, January 24.

The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at $1,999 (USD) and the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Pro starts at $2,499 (US).

MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max will be available in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, and Singapore beginning Friday, February 3.

You can read Apple’s full announcement here.

Apple intros new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro

January 19, 2023

Apple just announced an updated version of the Mac mini powered by their very own M2 and the all-new M2 Pro Soc.

Mac Mini with M2 chip

The new Mac mini with the M2 features an 8-core CPU with four high-performance and four high-efficiency cores, along with a 10-core GPU — perfect for users looking for superfast performance and incredible productivity at an even more affordable starting price of $599. It supports up to 24GB of unified memory and 100GB/s of bandwidth and the M2 model can also simultaneously play up to two streams of 8K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps, or up to 12 streams of 4K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps.

Specs of Mac Mini with M2 chip;
Apple M2 chip
– 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
– 10-core GPU
– 16-core Neural Engine
– 100GB/s memory bandwidth
8GB unified RAM, configurable to 16GB or 24GB
256GB SSD, configurable to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB
2x Thunderbolt 4 ports
2x USB-A ports
HDMI port
Gigabit Ethernet ports
3.5 mm headphone jack
Built-in speaker
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, Ethernet Connectivity
3.58cm x 19.70cm x 19.70cm dimension
1.18 kg weight

Apple Mac mini with Studio Display and Magic accessories.

Mac Mini with M2 Pro chip

The new Mac mini with the M2 Pro will provide pro-level performance with up to 12-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, together with an up to a 19-core GPU. It supports up to 32GB of memory, a faster Neural Engine and a powerful media engine for streaming 8K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps, or up to 23 streams of 4K ProRes 422 video at 30 fps. The M2 Pro-powered model is up to 14x faster than the fastest Intel-based Mac mini.

Specs of Mac Mini with M2 Pro chip;
Apple M2 Pro chip
– 10-core CPU with 6 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
– 16-core GPU
– 16-core Neural Engine
– 200GB/s memory bandwidth
16GB unified RAM, configurable 32GB
512GB SSD, configurable to 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB
4x Thunderbolt 4 ports
2x USB-A ports
HDMI port
Gigabit Ethernet ports
3.5 mm headphone jack
Built-in speaker
Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, Ethernet Connectivity
3.58cm x 19.70cm x 19.70cm dimension
1.28 kg weight

The new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro is now available for order and will start arriving to customers, and in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers, starting Tuesday, January 24. Mac mini with M2 will have starting price of $599, while the Mac mini with M2 Pro will be $1,299. Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro will be available in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, and New Zealand beginning Friday, February 3.

How to Pre-Order the iPhone 14 in Saudi Arabia

September 12, 2022

If you are still high on the recent announcement of the new iPhone 14 series, and want to immediately order the device, then you’ve come to the right place.

There are a number of ways you can pre-order the iPhone 14; you can preorder the device thru your carrier or thru a retailer.

These are the leading carrier in Saudi Arabia where you can preorder the latest Apple smartphone;

  • Mobily – orders will be released 16/09/2022 except for iPhone 14 Plus which will be available on October 7th, 2022.
  • STC – you can order via mystc app, which means that you should be a current STC subscriber in order to have an active MY STC account.
  • Virgin Mobile – they offer a limited number of of iPhone 14s for pre-order. You can also pre-register your interest and once iPhone 14 are available they will notify you over SMS.
  • Virgin Mobile – you can pre order thru their mobile app.
  • Zain – Stock is limited, 1 order per customer and the iPhone will be released on 16 September 2022, while the iPhone 14 Plus will be available by 7th of October .

If you want to go and place your pre order thru a retailer, then these are the leading retailers in the Kingdom;

All retailers said that the the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max will be release on September 16, 2022, while iPhone 14 Plus will be available by October 7th.

iPhone 14 & iPhone 14 Plus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehbmC1irQuY

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max

Rewatch Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked August 2022

August 18, 2022
Rewatch Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked August 2022

If you’re like me, who is just catching up on the latest gadget/tech news for past two weeks, then you’re on the right place. Samsung recently help their annual unpacked and announced the latest products namely the Galaxy Z Flip4, Galaxy ZFold4, Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro and Galaxy Buds2 Pro.

To relive the experience, you can watch replay of the event below;

Nintendo launches Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda

November 16, 2021

To commemorate the 35th anniversary of the original The Legend of Zelda game, Nintendo recently launch the Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda system, it’s a standlone Game & Watch handheld system that where you can play three retro Zelda games; The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

If you have the Game & Watch: Super Mario, then this device is the exact same thing, like the screensize, metalic finish and those rubbery buttons, the main difference is the green color theme and has “The Legend of Zelda” plastered on the front and center of the device.

In the United States, the Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda retails at $49.99 or around SAR 187.50, but you can expect it to be priced in the Kingdom the same as Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros which is around SAR 400.00.

This article was first published on KabayanTech

OnePlus Nord 2 x PAC-MAN Edition announced in India

November 10, 2021

After officially announcing Netflix Games for Android, Netflix Games will now be available for iOS users as well. The new gaming service will be available to Netflix subscribers with no ads, no extra fees and no in-app purchases.

Just like with the Android version, games that are available for Netflix Games on iOS are; Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Shooting Hoops, Card Blast, and Teeter Up. League of Legends spinoff – Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story will also be available on Netflix games. Hextech Mayhem: A League of Legends Story will be cost you $10 on Nintendo Switch and PC but free if you have a Netflix subscription.

There are of course some things that you need to keep in mind when you play Netflix Games using your Netflix account and your Netflix profile.

  • Since Netflix Games have a maturity rating, you cannot use a Netflix profile to a Netflix Games with a high maturity rating.
  • Netflix Games can be played on multiple devices on the same account and just like with your Netflix account, there will be a limit on how many device you can use the same Netflix account. If you ever hit your limit, you can sign out of devices not in use, or remove them from your download devices.

From the looks of things, Netflix will make Netflix Games free as long as you are a subscriber, which is not a bad thing and could be a good strategy to grew and keep its subscribers.

This article was originally posted on KabayanTech – OnePlus Nord 2 x PAC-MAN Edition announced in India

SABIC partners with Microsoft to create the first consumer electronic product made with recycled ocean plastic

October 1, 2021

Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world’s largest petrochemicals manufacturers, and Microsoft just announced that they will be launching the ‘Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse’ – the first consumer product made from recycled ocean plastic. The Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse is made from 20% recycled ocean plastic.

According to SABIC;

Ocean plastic is defined as plastic that has been certified by a third party as recovered from any ocean or ocean-feeding waterways or where it washed ashore from these locations. Ocean plastic differs from ocean-bound plastic in that ocean-bound plastic is recovered from ocean-feeding waterways, shorelines, and inland areas within a 50-kilometer radius of the ocean. The two recycled products play complementary roles in helping address the issue of ocean plastic waste.

Microsoft design team initially goal was to create a new plastic resin with 10% ocean plastic, after several rounds of reformulation, SABIC was able to exceed Microosft’s 10% goal and then final product contains 20% recycled ocean plastic by weight in its external casing or “shell.”

SABIC added that “this project has also provided a blueprint to demonstrate to the broader industry sector that recycling and reusing valuable plastic resins that have been recovered from the ocean, ocean – feeding waterways or where they have been washed ashore from these locations, is achievable when value chain partners use their knowledge and expertise and work together.”

SABIC added that “the SABIC-Microsoft collaboration envisions SABIC providing a new XENOY™ resin for Microsoft product use that is comprised of 20% ocean plastic, as part of SABIC’S TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio and services. This new XENOY™ resin with recycled ocean plastic can help reduce plastic waste in the ocean. For example, based on a resin grade comprised of 20% recycled content, for every 1kT of product containing recycled ocean-plastic XENOY™ PC/PET compound, an equivalent of 24 million single-use 0.5liter PET water bottles is removed from the ocean, ocean-feeding waterways, or ocean-adjacent shores.”

Microsoft first unveil the “Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse” during their September 2021 Event, which will can be pre-order in selected market for $24.99 or around SAR 94.00.

You can read SABIC’s official announcement here – SABIC AND MICROSOFT COLLABORATE TO CREATE MICROSOFT’S FIRST PRODUCT MADE WITH RECYCLED OCEAN PLASTIC

Lithuania recommends to dispose your Chinese smartphones because of censorship issue

September 22, 2021

Lithuania’s Defense Ministry recently release a statement recommending that consumers avoid buying Xiaomi smartphones and suggests to people to throw away the ones they have after a government report found the devices had built-in censorship features.

Xiaomi’s Mi 10T 5G flagship smartphones, which is sold in Europe, have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as “Free Tibet”, “Long live Taiwan independence” or “democracy movement”, Lithuania’s Cybersecurity agency said on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

The built-in censorship features in Xiaomi’s smartphones software is turned off for the “European Union region”, but can be turned on remotely at any time, the Defence Ministry’s National Cyber Security Centre said in the report. National Cyber Security Centre also said that Xiaomi’s phone was sending encrypted phone usage data to a server in Singapore.

A similar security flaw was also found in the Huawei’s P40 5G smartphone but none was found in OnePlus phones, another Chinese phone maker, that has a strong presence in the European Union region.

Huawei’s representative in the Baltics told the BNS news wire its phones “do not process user’s data outside the Huawei device.”

The report added the list of “censored” terms which could be blocked by the Xiaomi phone’s system apps, including the default internet browser, currently includes 449 terms in Chinese and is continuously updated.

Source: Reuters

iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max with Super Retina XDR with ProMotion now official

September 20, 2021

Apple also announced the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Just like with the non-pro iPhone 13, both the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max are technically the same phone with just the display, size and battery that differentiate them.

Here are the notable features that is shared by both Pro iPhones; the new tri-12MP camera system, the new Super Retina XDR with ProMotion and 1TB storage option.

The new tri-12MP camera system which is compose of a Wide angle lens, a telephoto lens and an ultra wide lens, all three cameras are powered by the new image signal processor (ISP) in the A15 Bionic.

The 12-MP Wide camera has a larger sensor with 1.9 µm pixels for less noise and faster shutter speeds needed in any lighting conditions. The Wide camera will have a larger ƒ/1.5 aperture which for those low light situations. The Ultra Wide camera features a wider ƒ/1.8 aperture and a new autofocus system, that is 92% better from the previous model for low-light environments. The combination of the new lens design, autofocus and advanced computational photography in iOS 15, will allow you to shoot macro photography, which is the first for iPhone but have been available on Android phones for years. The new lens can capture macro images with a minimum focus distance of 2 centimeters. You can also use slo-mo and time-lapse while on macro mode.

Here are sample macro photos taken using the new 12-MP Ultra Wide camera;

Both the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will feature the new Super Retina XDR with ProMotion, that supports adaptive refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz. For those not familiar with the adaptive refresh rate, the screen automatically adjust the refresh rate depending on the app that is being used, if you are using a game that requires fast refresh rate or just reading the news or email that only requires a low refresh rate.

The new Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion takes advantage of the efficient OLED panel, new display engine of A15 Bionic, faster GPU performance, always-on touch coprocessor, and is custom designed to operate with iOS 15, making gestures, animations, and activities like gameplay feel faster and more responsive.

Other feature of the Pro iPhones, you can say, are the features that are also in the non-pro iPhones 13 and iPhone 13 mini. You can read all about the new iPhones 13 and iPhone 13 mini here.

A 1TB storage model will now be available for the iPhones 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, which is ideal for users who will use their devices for video capture in 4k.

Both the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, will be available Sept. 24th, with the following pricing;
iPhone 13 Pro
128 GB: $999.00
256 GB: $1,099.00
512 GB: $1,299.00
1 TB: $1,499.00

iPhone 13 Pro Max
128 GB: $1,099.00
256 GB: $1,199.00
512 GB: $1,399.00
1 TB: $1,599.00

Here are the list of features and specs for iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max;

iPhone 13 Pro iPhone 13 Pro Max
Display 6.1″ Super Retina XDR display with Pro Motion 6.7″ Super Retina XDR display with Pro Motion
Resolution 2532-by-1170-pixel resolution at 460 ppi 2778-by-1287-pixel resolution at 458 ppi
Refresh rate ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
Max brightness 1000 nits (typical) / 1200 nits (HDR)
Color profile True Tone display, Wide color display (P3)
Processor A15 Bionic chip, with new 6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores.
Cores New 5-core GPU and new 16-core Neural Engine
Rear Camera Dual 12MP camera system (Telephoto, Wide, and Ultra Wide)
Wide: ƒ/1.5 aperture
Ultra Wide: ƒ/1.8 aperture
Telephoto: ƒ/2.8 aperture
Night mode
Apple ProRAW
Sensor-shift optical image stabilization
3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range
Digital zoom up to 15x
True Tone flash with Slow Sync
Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
Smart HDR 4 for photos
Photographic Styles
Front camera 12 MP TrueDepth camera
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Retina Flash
Smart HDR 4 for photos
Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
Photographic Styles
up to 4K video recording @60 fps
Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field (1080p at 30 fps)
Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps
Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p, and 720p)
1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps, or 60 fps
Night mode, Deep Fusion, QuickTake video
Animoji and Memoji
Connectivity GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (some models), Gigabit LTE
5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave)
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) with MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0. Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness,
Built-in GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou
VoLTE, NFC with reader mode
Express Cards with power reserve
Wi-Fi calling
SIM Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM), Dual eSIM support
Security Face ID via TrueDepth camera for facial recognition
Sensors LiDAR scanner, Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Barometer
Storage 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB. 1 TB
Dimension 5.78 inches X 2.82 inches X 0.30 inch 6.33 inches X 3.07 inches X 0.30 inch
Weight 7.19 ounces (204 grams) 8.46 ounces (240 grams)
Battery Built-in rechargeable lithium‑ion battery
MagSafe and Qi wireless charging with supprot for fast charging via 20W adapter or higher
Up to 22 hours video playback Up to 28 ours video playback
Up to 20 hours video playback (streamed) Up to 25 ours video playback (streamed)
Up to 75 hours Audio playback Up to 95 hours Audio playback
Splash, Water, and Dust Resistant Rated IP68 (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529
Interface Lightning connector
Colors Silver, Graphite, Gold, Sierra Blue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKfgdkcIUxw

Apple introduces iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini with new dual-camera system and A15 Bionic SoC

September 16, 2021

Apple just announced the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini with new dual camera system, Super Retina XDR display and powered by Apple’s newest chip, the A15 Bionic SoC.

The new iPhone 13 will still be using the same design language of the iPhone 12, which is a flat-edged but with narrower notch, which is 20% smaller than the previous model. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini is rated IP68 for water resistance for up to maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes.

The improved Super Retina XDR OLED displays on both iPhones delivers an incredible contrast ratio for true blacks and a 28% increase in max outdoor brightness at 800 nits, with higher peak brightness for HDR photos and videos at 1200 nits, while being more power efficient.

Speaking of power, Apple said that the new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will have a larger battery than the previous model and can offer an all-day battery life. The iPhone 13 offers up to 2.5 more hours in a day than iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 mini up to 1.5 hours more in a day than iPhone 12 mini.

The biggest improvement that Apple made with the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini is in its processor, the A15 Bionic, the same processor that you see in the new iPad Mini.

Apple said that the new A15 Bionic, was designed using 5-nanometer technology that packs 15 billion transistors in the chip. It can peform 15.8 trillion operations per second. The A15 Bionic chip features new 6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores is 50% faster that the fastest competition. The new 4-core GPU offers up to 30% faster than the competition and enables more lifelike visuals and lighting effects in graphics-intensive games.

Just like with previous generation of iPhone, Apple made a lot of advancement with its dual-camera system both in hardware and computational photography. Its new 12MP Wide angle camera with 1.7 µm pixels, the biggest sensor in any iPhone camera, is capable of capturing 47% more light for less noise and brighter images. The custom-designed 12MP Ultra Wide camera with its new sensor captures images with more detail in the dark areas of photos and videos with less noise.

Apple also introduced the new Cinematic mode on iPhone, where its records videos of people, pets, and objects with a beautiful depth effect with automatic focus changes, which means you can always change focus object even while you are recording.

Here’s a short video that Apple released to demonstrate the Cinematic mode feature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tl1RL8MRCA

To offer the best connectivity, the new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will support 5G and with the iOS 15, Smart Data mode will help you conserve battery life by automatically shifting iPhone to LTE when 5G speeds aren’t needed.

Apple also increase the entry-level storage from 64 GB to 128 GB, which is understandable, specially with its enchanced dual-camera system that can capture HDR photos and video with a resolution of up to 4K at 60 fps, which requires a lot of diskspace.

If you look at both device more closely, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are technically same device. Both are powered by Apple-designed A15 Bionic SoC, the same Dual 12MP camera system, supports 5G connection and supports fast charging. Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will also be using the same screen, the Super Retina XDR display.

The only difference between the two is the size and the screen resolution, which appears to be relative to the size of the device.

You can now order the new iPhones and will be available by September 24th. You can find the pricing for the new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini below;

iPhone 13

  • 128 GB: $799.00
  • 256 GB: $899.00
  • 512 GB: $1,099.00

iPhone 13 Mini

  • 128 GB: $699.00
  • 256 GB: $799.00
  • 512 GB: $999.00

Here are the list of features and specs for iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini;

iPhone 13 iPhone 13 Mini
Display 6.1″ Super Retina XDR display 5.4″ Super Retina XDR display
Resolution 2532-by-1170-pixel resolution at 460 ppi 2340-by-1080-pixel resolution at 476 ppi
Max brightness 800 nits (typical) / 1200 nits (HDR)
Color profile True Tone display, Wide color display (P3)
Processor A15 Bionic chip, with new 6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores.
Cores New 4-core GPU and new 16-core Neural Engine
Rear Camera Dual 12MP camera system (Wide and Ultra Wide)
Wide: ƒ/1.6 aperture
Ultra Wide: ƒ/2.4 aperture
Night mode
Sensor-shift optical image stabilization
2x optical zoom out and up to 5x digital zoom
True Tone flash with Slow Sync
Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
Smart HDR 4 for photos
Photographic Styles
Front camera 12 MP TrueDepth camera
ƒ/2.2 aperture
Retina Flash
Smart HDR 4 for photos
Photographic Styles
up to 4K video recording @60 fps
Cinematic video stabilization (up to 4K)
Slo-mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps
Night mode, Deep Fusion, QuickTake video
Animoji and Memoji
Connectivity GSM/EDGE, UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (some models), Gigabit LTE, 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave)
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) with MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0. Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness,
Built-in GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou
VoLTE, NFC with reader mode
Express Cards with power reserve
Wi-Fi calling
SIM Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM), Dual eSIM support
Security Face ID via TrueDepth camera for facial recognition
Sensors Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Proximity sensor, Ambient light sensor, Barometer
Storage 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
Dimension 5.78 inches X 2.82 inches X 0.30 inch 5.18 inches X 2.53 inches X 0.30 inch
Weight 6.14 ounces (174 grams) 4.97 ounces (141 grams)
Battery Built-in rechargeable lithium‑ion battery
MagSafe and Qi wireless charging with supprot for fast charging via 20W adapter or higher
Up to 19 hours video playback Up to 17 hours video playback
Rated IP68 (maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529
Interface Lightning connector
Colors Starlight, Midnight, Blue, Pink, Product RED

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m43rh-pI0P0

Apple announces the Apple Watch Series 7 with more screen area and thinner borders

September 15, 2021

Apple just announced the Apple Watch Series 7, which at first look will be no different from the previous generation Apple Watch. There may be new aluminum case colors but the case itself is virtually the same as the one used in Series 6.

The biggest changes that Apple made with the Apple Watch Series 7 is with the screen. Apple Watch Series 7 is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes, it offers Always-On Retina display is up to 70 percent brighter indoors than that of Apple Watch Series 6.

The screen of the new Apple Watch Series 7 provides 20% more screen area and is virtually edge-to-edge with thinner borders at just 1.7 mm. It has a more rounded corners, and the display has a unique refractive edge that makes full-screen watch faces and apps appear to seamlessly connect with the curvature of the case.

Apple also made the front crystal of the Watch more durable and more crack-resistant, it’s first Apple Watch to have an IP6X certification for resistance to dust, and still maintains a WR50 water resistance rating.

With its bigger screen, the Apple Watch Series 7 offers two additional larger font sizes, and a new QWERTY keyboard that you can tapped or swiped with QuickPath — allowing users to slide a finger to type — and utilizes on-device machine learning to anticipate the next word based on the context.

As for the battery, the new Apple Watch Series 7 will have an all-day 18-hour battery life on a full charge and it will be 33% faster charging compared with Apple Watch Series 6.

Just like with the Series 6, the new Apple Watch Series 7 is geared towards health and wellness, so it offers features like electrical heart sensor and ECG app, and a Blood Oxygen sensor and app.

Apple Watch Series 7 will be powered by the new watchOS 8, which will have additional watch faces designed specially for the larger display on Series 7. The new Contour face takes the dial right to the edge of the display and fluidly animates throughout the day, emphasizing the current hour. The new Modular Duo face leverages the extra screen area with two large, data-rich center complications.

The Apple Watch Series 7 will available in five new case colors; midnight, starlight, green, and a new blue and (PRODUCT)RED, it will also be backward compatible with previously released Apple Watch bands.

The new Apple Watch Series 7 will be available this fall and price starts at $399.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMdQ-gWBNZE

Apple announces the new iPad and new iPad mini

September 15, 2021

Apple just announced the new iPad (9th generation) and the new iPad mini (6th generation). The announcement was made at the Apple “California Streaming” event which livestream a recorded video presentation.

The 9th Generation Ipad


The new iPad looks similar to the previous model, that still have the Touch ID home button and powered by Apple’s A13 Bionic chip. It has a 10.2″ Retina display with 2160 X 1620 resolution at 264 ppi and 500 nits.

The new iPad will be powered by A13 Bionic chip, a 64-bit ARM-based system on a chip (SoC) that was used in the iPhone 11, 11 Pro/Pro Max and the 2nd generation iPhone SE.

The rear camera will feature a 8MP Wide angle camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture and a 5x digital zoom with HDR for Photos. The front camera on the other hand will be a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with ƒ/2.4 aperture and 2x zoom out. It will also feature Retina Flash, HDR for Photos and Center Stage, a camera feature that keeps focus on the subject and first introduced to the iPad Pro.

The new iPad will be compatible to the first generation Apple Pencil and Smart keyboard for more productivity. The price for the new iPad starts at $329 and will be available on September 24th.

Here is the complete price list for the new iPad (9th generation);
Wifi model
64 GG – $329.00
256 GB- $479.00

Wi-Fi + Cellular
64 GB – $459.00
256 GB – $609.00

The 6th Generation Ipad mini


Together with the new iPad, Apple also announced a new and redesigned iPad mini, which uses the new A15 Bionic chip, that has 6-core CPU that provides an additional 40% in performance, and the 5-core GPU that boost the graphics performance to 80%.

Unlike the new iPad, the new iPad mini will support 5G connectivity that reach the speeds of up to 3.5Gbps in ideal conditions. Both the front and rear cameras of the new iPad mini will be a 12MP Wide angle camera, a ƒ/1.8 aperture for the rear camera and ƒ/2.4 aperture front camera. Both cameras supports Smart HDR 3 for photos.

iPad mini now features a USB-C port for up to 5Gbps data transfer and will support existing ecosystem of USB-C accessories, including cameras and external storage and displays up to 4K.

The biggest changes that Apple made with the new iPad Mini is the design, it now has a flat and cornered edges similar to the iPad Pro and iPad air. Its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display with narrow borders and the Touch ID was mode to the top button of iPad mini.

The new iPad mini is compatible with the 2nd-Gen Apple Pencil and will be in four colors; Space Gray, Pink, Purple and Starlight. The price starts at $499.00 and will be available on Sept. 24th.

Here is the complete price list for the new iPad mini (6th generation);
Wifi
64 GB – $499.00
256 GB – $649.00

Wi-Fi + Cellular
64 GB – $649.00
256 GB – $799.00

Specs of the new iPad and new iPad mini;

iPad iPad mini
Display 10.2″ Retina display 8.3″ Liquid Retina display
Resolution 2160-by-1620 resolution @264 ppi 2266‑by‑1488 resolution @326 ppi
Max brightness 500 nits 500 nits
Color profile sRGB Wide color display (P3)
Processor A13 Bionic chip A15 Bionic chip
Interface Lightning USB-C
Connectivity Wi‑Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac); 2.4GHz and 5GHz; speeds up to 866 Mbps Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/​​ac/ax); 2.4GHz and 5GHz; simultaneous dual band; speeds up to 1.2 Gbps
MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0
Wifi + Cellular 4G LTE 5G (sub-6 GHz)
UMTS/HSPA/​HSPA+/​DC‑HSDPA UMTS/HSPA/​HSPA+/​DC‑HSDPA
Built-in GPS/GNSS Gigabit LTE (up to 32 bands)
Data Only Built-in GPS/GNSS
Wifi calling Data Only
Wifi calling
SIM Nano SIM, eSIM Nano SIM, eSIM
Accessories 1st Gen Apple Pencil 2nd-Gen Apple Pencil
Smart keyboard Bluetooth keyboard
Storage 64 GB, 256 GB 64 GB, 256 GB
Rear Camera 8MP Wide camera, ƒ/2.4 aperture, Digital zoom up to 5x, HDR for Photos 12MP Wide camera, ƒ/1.8 aperture, Digital zoom up to 5x, Quad-LED True Tone flash, Smart HDR 3 for photos
Front camera 12MP Ultra Wide camera, ƒ/2.4 aperture, 2x zoom out, Center stage, Retina Flash, HDR for Photos. 12MP Ultra Wide camera, ƒ/2.4 aperture, 2x zoom out, Center stage, Retina Flash,
Smart HDR 3 for photos
Dimension 9.8 inch x 6.8 inch x 0.29 inch 7.69 inch x 5.3 inch x 0.25 inch
Weight 1.07 pounds (487 grams) 0.65 punds (293 grams)
Battery Up to 10 hours of surfing web on Wifi or watching video Up to 10 hours of surfing web on Wifi or watching video
Up to 9 hours of surfing web on cellular data Up to 9 hours of surfing web on cellular data
Audio Two speaker audio Two speaker audio landscape mode
Security Touch ID built into the Home button Touch ID built into the top or power  button
Sensors Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Barometer Three-axis gyro, Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Barometer

Facebook announces Ray-Ban Smart Glasses

September 12, 2021

Facebook, the social media giant, has officially announce the first-generation smart glasses called Ray-Ban Stories.

The smart glasses was built-in partnership with Facebook and EssilorLuxottica, Ray-Ban Stories start at $299 USD and will be available for purchase in 20 style combinations online and in select retail stores in the US, as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy and the UK.

Here are some of the notable features and specs of Ray-Ban Stories;

  • Integragted with a 5MP cameras for video and image capture from a first-person perspective.
  • up to 30-second videos using the capture button or hands-free with Facebook Assistant voice commands.
  • A hard-wired capture LED that notify people around you that you’re taking a photo or video.
  • Open-ear built-in speakers with three-microphone audio array for for calls and videos calls.
  • The speaker will be using beamforming technology and a background noise suppression algorithm for better audio.

You can use the new Facebook View app to import, edit and share content captured on Ray-Ban Stories and can be shared on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat and more.

Facebook is not the first company to release smart glasses but they may be banking on the idea that this is the perfect time to release a smart glass, since both Google Glass and Snap’s Spectacles, which failed to gain momentum when they release their own respective smart glasses.

Source: Facebook

Apple to hold an event on Sept 14th and calling it “California streaming”

September 8, 2021

Apple’s next event will take place on September 14th, at 10 a.m. PDT, and they are calling it “California streaming.” The event, just like the past “shows” and because of the threat of COVID-19, will be a pre-recorded broadcast from Apple Park.

Apple usually announce the next iPhone for their fall event, for 2021, it is expected to be called the iPhone 13. The upcoming iPhone 13 is reported to follow the same design language of iPhone but with a much higher refresh-rate with smaller notch and plenty of camera enhancements. Displays with higher refresh-rate have been available on a number of Android phones, most notably those gaming phones.

It’s hard to know what are the hidden messages that Apple puts into their invites but this AR Apple logo Easter egg that they included in the event site is a good indication that Apple may be announcing a new AR or mixed reality device, or may be an AR/mixed reality feature on the new iPhones.

If you want to see the AR Apple logo, using any iOS device, go to the Apple event site, then tap on the event Apple logo, after that the glowing AR Apple event logo will render within your surroundings.

Aside from the AR features, high refresh rate and better cameras, other enhancement that Apple is reported to be including in the new iPhone are; SharePlay, astrophotography mode, satellite link and an always on lock screen.

Apple may also be announcing other products like the next Apple Watch, a new entry-level AirPods and may be by a longshot, a Macbook Pros that’s powered by Apple-designed chips and an SD card slot. I guess we just have to wait and see.

Samsung now accepting pre-orders for Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G

August 18, 2021

Samsung has announced that consumer can now pre-order the latest folding smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3. In a Facebook page post, the S. Korean company said that those who pre-order can receive discounts and freebies worth up to ₱27,400.

There are four ways or options to pre-order;

  1. Galaxy Z Fold3 5G from Samsung Experience Stores and Authorized Stores. Get discounts and freebies worth up to ₱27,400.
  2. Galaxy Z Flip3 5G via Samsung Experience Stores and Authorized Stores. Get discounts and freebies worth up to ₱24,900.
  3. Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G from Samsung Authorized Online Partners like Lazada, Shopee, Abenson and MemoXpress. Receive discounts and freebies worth up to ₱27,400.
  4. Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G thru official Samsung Online Store, the discounts and freebies will be worth up to ₱20,400.

The pre-order period will be from Aug 19. 2021 to Sep 21. 2021.

Both the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Galaxy Z Flip3 5G were announced last week at the Samsung Galaxy UNPACKED 2021 event, you can checkout the highlights of the event below;

Vivo Y12A now Official

June 22, 2021

Vivo Thailand has officially announce the Vivo Y12A, which is the latest addition to the Vivo Y-series of smartphones in Thailand.

The Y12A is an entry-level smartphone that features a 6.51-inch HD+ display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB for storage and dual-rear camera system paired with a 8-MP front camera. The smartphone will be powered by a 5,000mAh battery with 10W fast charging. Vivo Y12A is be available in Mint Green and Phantom Black colors.

The Y12A will initially be available in Thailand and retail for TH฿ 4,499 or around Php 6,900. Availability in other markets will be announced.

Source: Yugatech
This article was first posted on extradot.net.

Lenovo announces Legion Phone Duel 2

April 9, 2021

Lenovo officially announces Legion Phone Duel 2, their next gaming phones.

The Legion Phone Duel 2 features a 6.92-inch screen that is powered by two batteries, two USB-C ports, and two actual spinning fans. Together with the two fans, the Legion Phone Duel 2 also have a vapor chamber to cool the new Snapdragon 888 processor that’s powering the phone.

The phone will feature a 44MP pop-up camera with an ultra-wide 84-degree autofocus lens that Lenovo claims can be used by streamers for its incredible detail plus excellent low-light performance.

Legion Phone Duel 2 will have up to 18GB of RAM (LPDDR5) and up to 512GB (UFS 3.1) of storage. As for its OS, it will run Lenovo’s ZUI 12.5, based on Android 11, right out of the box.

The phone will be available in two colors; Titanium White and Ultimate Black, and will initially be release in China this month, and select markets in Asia Pacific and Europe in May, with the following price tag; €999 (around ₱57,625) with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and a bundled charging dock; €799 (around ₱46,088) as a standalone phone with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.

Lenovo has yet to announce if the Legion Phone Duel 2 will be release in the Philippines.

Here’s the full spec sheet of the Legion Phone Duel 2;

Special features · ATA 2.0 (Advanced Technology Architecture)
· Octa-Trigger in a ‘console controller-like’ array with Quad Ultrasonic Shoulder keys, Dual pressure touch buttons, Dual Capacitance keys input
· Nearly 16.8M possible RGB lighting color combinations
· Dual HaptiX – Dual X-Axis Haptic Vibration Linear Motors
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform with 5nm processor technology
CPU: 8 cores Kryo™ 680 (1@2.84G + 3@2.42G + 4@1.8G)
GPU: Adreno™ 660 @840MHz
Display 6.92″ 20.5:9 (2460 x 1080) 144 Hz AMOLED 8-bit HDR gaming display
720Hz touch sampling rate
Delta-E < 0.514
800 nits outdoor-readable brightness (1300 nits peak)
111.1% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage
1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
Pixelworks i6 AI tunning
HDR10+ certified
TÜV Low Blue Light certification
DC dimming
Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5
Design 176mm x 78.5mm x 9.9mm (12.56mm mid)
Weighs 259g
Colors: Ultimate Black and Titanium White4
RAM + ROM 12GB/16GB/18GB LPDDR5
256GB/512GB UFS3.15
Cooling system Integrated, Active, Twin Turbo-Fan Cooling System
Area of Air-duct: 3000mm²
Intake fan with 29 fan blades 12,500 RPM; Output fan with 29 fan blades 15,000 RPM
Passive cooling components
Vapor Chamber liquid cooling area: 4730mm²
Fans Max speed noise: 27dB (30cm distance)14
Thermal cooling area: 62573mm2
Front camera 44MP Samsung® GH1+ Camera, f/2.0 aperture, 0.7 µm, 5 lens, 84˚ wide angle
Auto focus and live stream-ready
AI beauty mode / Background remove or replace/ Virtual avatar/ Counting-down selfie / Portrait photography/ Night mode/HD photo
Video recording: 4K video recording at 30 fps, or 60 fps, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, or 60 fps, 720p HD video recording at 30 fps / Slow motion mode: 720P@240fps, 720P@120fps, 1080P@120fps
Rear Camera 64MP OmniVision® flagship OV64A image sensor, f/1.9 aperture, 1.0 µm pixel, 7 lens, 82° field of view
16 MP f/2.2 aperture and 123° field of view 1.0 µm pixel
Digital zoom up to 10x
Photo shooting: Portrait mode/Wide angle photo/RAW photo/Super night mode/Photo geotagging/Panorama/Time-lapse/Macro Mode/Pro mode
Video recording: HDR 10+ video recording at 4K@30fps, 8K video recording at 24 fps, 4K video recording at 30 fps, or 60 fps, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, or 60 fps, 720p HD video recording at 30 fps / Slow motion mode: 720P@240fps, 720P@120fps,1080P@240fps, 1080P@120fps /Audio Zoom/Director mode /Dual mode
Operating System ZUI 12.5 based on Android 11
Battery Battery: 5500mAh (2750mAh x 2)
Turbo Charging: up to 90W quick charging (sold separately); Fast Charging: 65W quick charging14
Audio · Dual front-facing speakers and Dolby Atmos®
· 7-magnet stereo speaker with dual smart amplifier for louder, deeper and less distorted sound effect
· Equivalent to dual 1.6 cc speakers
· Audio Output: 48 kHz / 16-bit standard (USB-C output)
· Game Mode for better in-game sounding experience with localization capability
· Four Microphones with noise reduction technology
Sensor Fingerprint sensor, 3D motion sensor, Electronic Compass, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, Quad Ultrasonic Shoulder keys, Dual Capacitance keys, Dual Force Touch sensor
Navigation GPS (L1+L5)／AGPS／GLONASS／BEIDOU (L1+L5)/ Galileo(L1+L5) / QZSS

You can now pre-order the new Macbook Air, 13-inch Macbook Pro and Mac mini with M1 chip in Saudi Arabia

November 18, 2020

If you’re in Saudi Arabia, you can now preorder the new Macbook Air, 13-inch Macbook Pro and Mac mini with M1 chip. To be more specific, you can preorder the new Macs powered with the M1 chips at Extra. The announcement was made via the social media account of the retail store.

Here are the pricing below;

Macbook Air;
8GB RAM + 256GB SSD storage: SAR 4,899.00
8GB RAM + 512GB SSD storage: SAR 6,199.00


13-inch Macbook Pro;
8GB RAM + 256GB SSD storage: SAR 6,299.00


Mac Mini;
8GB RAM + 256GB SSD storage: SAR 3,499.00
8GB RAM + 512GB SSD storage: SAR 4,499.00

The new Macbook Air, 13-inch Macbook Pro and Mac mini with M1 chip was first announced last week and from the reviews that are already out, it looks these new Macs with are great for first time Mac buyer and may be be so good if you are a professional and already have an established work flow.

Here’s the price of the new Macbook Air, Mac Mini and 13-inch Macbook Pro with the M1 chip in the Philippines

November 14, 2020

Apple just release the Philippine pricing of the new Macbook Air, Mac Mini and 13-inch Macbook Pro with the M1 chip.

MacBook Air;
8GB RAM with 256GB SSD – ₱54,990.00
8GB RAM with 512GB SSD – ₱68,990.00

13-inch Macbook Pro;
8GB RAM with 256GB SSD – ₱71,990.00
8GB RAM with 512GB SSD – ₱83,990.00

Mac mini;
8GB RAM with 256GB SSD – ₱37,990.00
8GB RAM with 512GB SSD – ₱49,990.00

*Display, keyboard and mouse are not included.

Since you can configure to have a bigger RAM and storage for all 3 Macs, the price will also increase. No word as to when the new Macbook Air, Mac Mini and 13-inch Macbook Pro with the M1 chip will be available in the Philippines.

Apple introduces the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini powered by the M1 chip

November 13, 2020

Apple has officially unveil the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini powered by the M1 chip.

Design-wise the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini looks very similar to the previous models and most of the upgrade made by Apple is under the hood, specifically by switching from Intel to their very own M1 Chip.

With the new M1 Chip with the new Mac OS Big Sur, the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini all perform significantly better than the previous generations.

  • up 3.5x faster CPU
  • up to 6x faster GPU
  • up to 15x faster machine learning (ML) capabilities
  • up to 2x longer battery life
Mac mini

Mac mini;
The base model of the Mac mini will retail for $699, that includes 8GB unified RAM and 256GB SSD storage, with different assortment of ports, including HDMI 2, two Thunderbold/USB 4, 2x USB-A, an Ethernet and a 3.5 mm headphone jack, that can support two displays including Apple’s Pro Display XDR in full 6K resolution. It supports Wifi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, it also has a built-in speaker. You can checkout the full specs here.

Macbook Air with M1 Chip

Macbook Air;
The Macbook Air still sports that wedge-shape design and similar dimension as the previous model. One brave change that Apple made with the Macbook Air is that they remove the fan, which means it’ll be very very quiet no matter how hard your Macbook Air is working.

The Macbook Air will retail starting at $999.00, and the starting model will have 256GB SSD of storage and 8GB RAM, both are configurable if you require more RAM and more storage. It also supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and Touch ID. It also have two (2) Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports for charging, and DisplayPort, and a 3mm headphone jack. If you want to know more about the specs of the new Macbook Air with M1 chip, you can go here.

13-inch Macbook Pro with M1 Chip

13-inch Macbook Pro;
This was a surprise from Apple, since I did not expect Apple to switch any of their Macbook Pro to the new Apple Silicon M1 chip. I was expecting the iMac instead of the Pro, the iMac is the desktop equivalent of the Macbook Air.

Just like with the Macbook Air, the 13-inch Macbook Pro will have the same design as the previous generation. It will still have the Touch-bar and Touch ID. Compare to the Macbook Air with M1 chip, the 13-inch Macbook Pro will feature an active cooling system for that intensive computing needs.

Even though both the 13-inch Macbook Pro and the Macbook Air looks similar, Apple said that the new 13-inch Macbook Pro will be;

  • up to 2.8x faster in Xcode
  • up to 5.9x faster in rendering complex 3D title in Final Cut Pro.
  • up to 3.5x faster when designing game in Unity Editor.
  • up to 11x faster in machine learning (ML) tasks in Create ML.
  • Separate out beats, instrumentals, and vocal tracks from a recording in real time in djay Pro AI, thanks to the amazing performance of the Neural Engine.
  • Play back full-quality, 8K ProRes video in DaVinci Resolve without dropping a single frame.
  • Compile four times as much code on a single charge

Speaking of charging and battery, the 13-inch Macbook Pro with M1 chip have a 58.2-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery that provides up to 17 hours of wireless web browsing and up to a staggering 20 hours of video playback.

It has studio-quality mics for recordings and calls and even though it uses the same 720p web cam with M1’s image signal processor (ISP) it offer better images, with noise reduction, greater dynamic range and improved white balance video calls. It also offer better security with the Secure Enclave in M1 and Touch ID.

The new 13-inch Macbook Pro have two (2) Thunderbolt ports with USB 4 support for connecting more peripherals and native support for Apple’s Pro Display XDR in full 6K resolution. You can checkout the full specs of the 13-inch Macbook Pro with M1 chip here.

The base model for the new 13-inch Macbook Pro with M1 chip will retail for $1,299 and it will have 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, which of course can be configure up to 16GB of RAM and 2TB of (SSD) storage.

Apple officially announce the M1, their first ARM-based Processor

November 12, 2020

In an event held last Tuesday, November 10th, Apple has officially announce the M1 chip, an ARM-based SoC that will power their laptops, desktops and other future products.

The M1 chip is a 5nm processor, similar to the A14 Bionic CPU that Apple uses in the latest iPhones and the A14 chips for Ipad Air. Apple also use an earlier version of the M1 chip, that A12Z Bionic SoC that’s inside the Developer Transition Kit (DTK) that was offered to developers during this year’s WWDC.

Here’s what Apple said about the M1 Chip;

It features the world’s fastest CPU core in low-power silicon, the world’s best CPU performance per watt, the world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer, and breakthrough machine learning performance with the Apple Neural Engine. As a result, M1 delivers up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, up to 6x faster GPU performance, and up to 15x faster machine learning, all while enabling battery life up to 2x longer than previous-generation Macs. With its profound increase in performance and efficiency, M1 delivers the biggest leap ever for the Mac.

The M1 chip also include these technology that are previously available to iOS users;

  • Apple’s latest image signal processor (ISP) for higher quality video with better noise reduction, greater dynamic range, and improved auto white balance.
  • The latest Secure Enclave for best-in-class security.
  • A high-performance storage controller with AES encryption hardware for faster and more secure SSD performance.
  • Low-power, highly efficient media encode and decode engines for great performance and extended battery life.
  • An Apple-designed Thunderbolt controller with support for USB 4, transfer speeds up to 40Gbps, and compatibility with more peripherals than ever.

The new M1 chip will power the new Macbook Air, Macbook Pro and Mac Mini, and this is the first step to their two years transition to shift most if not all of their products to the new Apple Silicon Soc.

HONOR 10X Lite now available in Saudi Arabia

November 11, 2020

Honor Arabia just announced that HONOR 10X Lite is now available for pre-order to those who are in Saudi Arabia.

HONOR 10X Lite features a 6.67 inches LCD with 2400×1080 resolution at 395 ppi density. Its thin bezel offers a 84.3% screen-to-body ratio. It’s powered by Kirin 710A Octa-core CPU and Mali-G51 MP4 GPU. The HONOR 10X Lite is equipped with a quad-rear camera and a 8 MP camera on the front. As for its battery, the HONOR 10X Lite have a 5000 mAh battery that supports by fast charging.

HONOR 10X Lite specs;

  • 6.67 inches LCD display, 1080 x 2400 resolution, @395 ppi screen density and 84.3% screen-to-body ratio
  • Processor: Kirin 710A Octa-core CPU (4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)
  • GPU: Mali-G51 MP4
  • Storage: 128GB
  • RAM: 4GB
  • OS: Android 10, Magic UI 3.1, no Google Play Services
  • Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
  • Quad-rear cmaera: 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF + 8 MP, f/2.4, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm + 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro) + 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
  • Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.0, (wide)
  • 3.5mm jack
  • Connectivity: dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
  • Network: GSM / HSPA / LTE
  • Bluetooth 5.1, A2DP, LE
  • GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, NFC,
  • Built-in FM radio antenna, USB Type-C 2.0
  • Sensors: side-mounted Fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, proximity
  • Battery: Li-Po 5000 mAh with 22.5W fast charging
  • Colors: Icelandic Frost, Midnight Black, Emerald Green
  • Dimensions: 165.7 x 76.9 x 9.3 mm
  • Weight: 206 g

The HONOR 10X Lite is now available for pre-order for SAR 769.00 and those will pre-order will receive a free Honor AM61 Sport Bluetooth Earphone worth SAR199.

These are the official pricing of iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max in the Philippines

November 7, 2020

Apple has officially publish the Philippine pricing of their latest iPhone 12; iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max in the Philippines.

iPhone 12 mini:

  • 64GB – PHP 43,990
  • 128GB – PHP 46,990
  • 256GB – PHP 52,990

iPhone 12:

  • 64GB – PHP 49,990
  • 128GB – PHP 52,990
  • 256GB – PHP 58,990

iPhone 12 Pro:

  • 128GB – PHP 62,990
  • 256GB – PHP 68,990
  • 512GB – PHP 80,990

iPhone 12 Pro Max:

  • 128GB – PHP 68,990
  • 256GB – PHP 74,990
  • 512GB – PHP 86,990

Even though the pricing is available when you visit the Apple Philippines Store website, you still cannot place and order and local availability is yet to be announce.

Realme 7 and Realme 7 Pro now available at Jarir

November 3, 2020

After almost two month since it was announce, realme 7 series is now available in Saudi Arabia thru Jarir bookstore. Both the realme 7 and realme 7 Pro will be sold in the Kingdom. Realme 7 Pro will retail for SAR 1,299.00, while the Realme 7 retail for SAR 999.00.

Both the Realme 7 and Realme 7 Pro will have 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. You can checkout the full specs of Realme 7 here and the Realme 7 Pro here.

Apple announces “One more thing” event on November 10

November 3, 2020
Apple announces “One more thing” event on November 10

Apple announce their event this November 10, which they’re calling “One More Thing”, a phrase that was popularize by former CEO Steve Jobs — in keynotes for major product announcements.

Apple is expected to officially announce the first Macs powered by Apple Silicon and the launching of macOS 11 Big Sur, which the company announced last June 22, 2020 at this years WWDC. As well as other products like new iPod Air and Air tags, as well as new programs that will come to the Apple TV+.

The event will be stream online via Apple.com and its social media channels, it will be held at the Apple Park on November 10th, at 10:00 AM, PST.

Vivo launches X51 5G in six European markets

October 22, 2020

Vivo will now be available in six European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and UK), to kick things off, Vivo launches 4 new smartphones in the region; vivo Y11s, Y70, Y20s and their flagship phone smartphone the X51 5G, which is a rebranded X50 Pro.

Vivo will also be selling earbuds, neckbuds and other accessories likes smartphones cases and adapters, in addition to smartphones. The X51 5G will retail for £749 (PHP47,800.51) in the UK and go on sale on October 29th.

Full specs of Vivo X51 5G;

  • 6.56-inch AMOLED (FHD+) display ,90Hz, 2376 × 1080 resolution
  • Quad rear-camera: 48MP (f/1.6) + 13MP (f/2.46) + 8MP (f/2.2) + 8MP (f/3.4)
  • Front camera: 32MP (f/2.45)
  • Snapdragon 765G CPU
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 256 GB storage
  • Funtouch OS 10 (Android 10)
  • 5G wideband,4G LTE, 3G, 2G GSM/CDMA
  • AK4377A hi-Fi chipset
  • Wi-Fi2.4G + 5G Wi-Fi MIMO
  • Bluetooth 5.1
  • USB 2.0
  • OTG, NFC
  • GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Color Temperature Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Laser detection auto-focus, E-compass, Fingerprint , Gyroscope
  • Dual SIM
  • 4315mAh battery with vivo FlashCharge 2.0 (33W)
  • Weight: 181.5g
  • Dimensions: 158.46 × 72.80 × 8.04mm
  • Color: Alpha Grey