Infinix Hot 20 Play has been unveiled in India alongside the Hot 20 5G. It has arrived as the successor to the Hot 12 Play, which went official in May this year. While the predecessor model featured a Unisoc chip, the Hot 20 Play comes equipped with a MediaTek SoC. Here is all the information on the specifications, features, and price of the device.
Infinix Hot 20 Play specifications and features
The Infinix Hot 20 Play houses a massive 6.82-inch LCD display with a punch-hole design. It delivers an HD+ resolution of 1640 x 720 pixels, a refresh rate of 90Hz, and a touch sampling rate of 120Hz. It has an 8-megapixel front camera with an LED flash. On the back, it features a 13-megapixel dual-camera system with a quad-LED flash. A fingerprint scanner is also available on the rear shell of the device.
The Hot 20 Play is powered by the MediaTek Helio G37 chipset and 4 GB of LPDDR4x RAM. It also offers 3 GB of virtual RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. The phone runs on XOS 10 6.0-based Android 12 OS.
For an enhanced gaming experience, the Hot 20 Play offers features like aerospace-grade cooling material, Dar-Link Engine 2.0, LinkPlus 1.0, and Erdal Engine 3.0. It packs a huge 6,000mAh battery that supports 18W charging via USB-C. The other features that are available on the Hot 20 Play include a dedicated microSD card slot, DTS Audio support, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Infinix Hot 20 Play price in India, availability
The Hot 20 Play, which comes in 4GB+64GB version only, is priced at Rs 8,999. It can be bought in colors like Racing Black, Aurora Green, Fantasy Purple, and Luna Blue. It is scheduled to go on sale starting Dec. 6 in India via Flipkart.
Infinix Hot 20 5G and Infinix Hot 20 Play smartphones have been launched in India. The Hot 20 5G has arrived at a time when 5G is being commercialized across the country. The Hot 20 5G will soon go on sale via Flipkart as one of the most affordable 5G phones in the country. It packs key specifications, such as a 120Hz LCD display, and a Dimensity 8-series chip, and supports multiple 5G bands.
Infinix Hot 20 5G specifications and features
Infinix Hot 20 5G
The Infinix Hot 20 5G features a 6.6-inch IPS LCD waterdrop notch screen, which produces an FHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The phone runs on Android 12 OS, which is overlaid with XOS 10 6.0 UI.
The Hot 20 5G has an LED flash-assisted 8-megapixel camera on the front. Its rear shell has a 50-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.6 aperture, a depth sensor, and a dual-LED flash. It offers photography features like short-video mode, super nightscape, portrait mode, and eye-tracking.
Under the hood, the Infinix Hot 20 5G has the Dimensity 810 chipset, 4 GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and a 5,000mAh battery that supports 18W charging via USB-C. The company claims that the phone can last for up to 3 days on a single charge. It comes with 3 GB of extended RAM and 64 GB of native storage. The phone comes with other features like support for 12 5G bands, dual stereo speakers, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Infinix Hot 20 5G price in India, availability
The Hot 20 5G is priced at Rs 11,999 (~$148) and comes in colors like Space Blue, Blaster Green, and Racing Black. Infinix is offering the Hot 20 5G in a 4GB+64GB edition only in the country. It is scheduled to go on sale on Dec. 9 via. Flipkart.
Electric vehicles continue to increase in popularity. Being aware of this situation, automakers are building their plans on environmentally friendly and new-gen EV technology. Lastly, BYD, one of the manufacturers in question, is preparing to introduce its new model. The BYD Corvette 07 will be officially launched on December 9.
The BYD Corvette 07 will be officially launched on December 9
BYD Corvette 07 will officially launch on December 9, and the pre-sale price will be $32,000 – $40,750. The Corvette 07 should come in six trims with three different battery configurations. The SUV’s front has a complex design with a wide six-bar grille topped by a smaller grille with the luminous BYD logo taking a central position, flanked by the headlights. BYD said the grille design was inspired by “ripple waves.”
BYD Corvette 07 is a PHEV in two versions: DM-i and DM-p. Both configurations use a 1.5 turbo with 102 kW as a gasoline engine. The new SUV is expected to offer 18.3 kWh and 36.8 kWh batteries, with a range of 100 and 205 kilometers, respectively. Sprint time from 0 – 100 km will vary between 8.5, 8.9, and 4.7 seconds for different models. The comprehensive cruising range is as high as 1200 km, and the SUV supports fast charging with a maximum power of 75 kW.
The DM-i combines pairs with a single electric motor on the front axle, with a combined output of 197 hp. On the other hand, the DM-p combines the gasoline engine with two electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear axle. With this, it can churn out 295 kW and 656 Nm.
The Corvette 07 is BYD ‘s first model that supports Apple’s NFC digital key. In addition to Android devices, owners can use an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock and lock the vehicle. At the rear, BYD Corvette 07 has a unique roof spoiler made out of two parts that catch the eye. Also, a light bar stretches over the rear with the words ‘Build Your Dreams’ in the middle.
Samsung, back in June 2021, launched the Samsung Galaxy Book Go and Galaxy Book Go 5G notebooks. Now, the company seems to be working on the successor of the Book Go series. According to the latest reports, Samsung Galaxy Book2 Go and Samsung Galaxy Book2 Go 5G are revealed on the Bluetooth Special Interest Group certification website.
Samsung Galaxy Book2 Go series devices will be powered by Qualcomm
The processor was the most important feature of the Samsung Galaxy Book models introduced last year. The South Korean tech giant preferred to use Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 instead of Intel or AMD processors in their computers. Unfortunately, the devices weren’t powerful enough to rival Apple’s MacBooks. However, it was an important step forward.
Similar to last year’s the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Book2 Go series will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The upcoming devices appeared on the Bluetooth SIG database with the NP340XNA and NP345XNA model numbers. The listing reveals the support for Bluetooth 5.2, Windows 11, and Qualcomm FastConnect 6700, which will bring Wi-Fi 6E support. As of now, not much is known about the Galaxy Book2 Go series notebooks. However, we can expect to learn more about these devices in the coming weeks.
Last year’s Samsung Galaxy Book Go specifications and features
The Galaxy Book Go features a 14-inch TFT display with a Full HD resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The 4G variant of the Galaxy Book features the 8nm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 that tags along with Adreno 618 graphics. It comes with 6 GB / 8 GB of LPDDR4x RAM. The Galaxy Book Go offers eUFS storage choices such as 64 GB and 128 GB.
The Galaxy Book Go runs on Windows 10 Home/Pro and is flanked by Dolby Atmos-powered 2 x 1.5W stereo speakers. It promises up to 18 hours of battery life through its 42.3Whr battery, which supports 25W rapid charging. The Galaxy Book Go offers features such as an HD camera, a microSD card slot, a nano-SIM slot, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 2 x 2 MIMO, Bluetooth 51, USB 2.0, USB-C, and a 3.5mm headphone/mic combo jack.
Last week, Game Kiddy (GKD) announced the pricing for the GKD Mini Plus and GKD Mini Plus Classic handheld consoles. Out of the two, the company has brought the GKD Mini Plus Classic to Kickstarter.
For those unaware, Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to assisting creative projects in getting off the ground. Because it is entirely funded through crowdfunding, donations from the general public fuel these projects.
GKD Mini Plus Classic
With 14 days left, the Kickstarter campaign has raised more than US$59,000, or over 10 times its funding target of US$5,000. Game Kiddy sells the GKD Mini Plus Classic for US$139, however, only “VIPs” who made a US$1 commitment before November 9 are eligible for this pricing. For US$149, the business also offers the smartphone in Sky Blue and Space Grey color options. Game Kiddy currently anticipates that it will begin distributing to Kickstarter donors in January 2023.
To recap, the GKD Mini Plus Classic rock a 3.5-inch display and a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity are supported on the devices.
The GKD Mini Plus Classic is powered by the entry-level Rockchip RK2566, which features a Mali-G52 GPU and four ARM Cortex-A55 CPU cores running at 1.8GHz. A 3,000mAh battery and 1GB of RAM are included. It features several more buttons in addition to the four shoulder buttons. The portable includes a USB-C connector for charging and data transfer. The device also has two microSD card readers and a 3.5mm audio jack.
More than 2,500 games, including those from the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance platforms, can be emulated via the GKD Mini Plus Classic consoles.
Honda is pushing to go fully electric in the coming years, and keeping that aim, the company has now announced that it will make and launch a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2024.
The auto manufacturer has revealed that it will produce the fuel-cell Honda CR-V model at its Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio, as it plans to go fully electric by 2040 and carbon neutral by 2050.
Fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity for powering the vehicle instead of relying on a battery. It has advantages over battery electric vehicles as the vehicles can be refueled in three to four minutes and travel longer distances before going out of the power supply. But, the technology is not ready for mass adoption, and the public hydrogen stations are concentrated in California in the US.
The upcoming Honda CR-V Hydrogen Fuel-Cell model will come with a plug-in capability for its battery pack to allow it to offer a small amount of electric-only range without having to rely on its hydrogen supply. More details of the car will be revealed sometime closer to its 2024 launch, Honda says. The company didn’t say how many units it plans to build but noted that the factory specializes in small-volume vehicles.
Apart from Honda, Toyota and General Motors have been developing fuel cell technology over the last two decades. Toyota’s Mirai mid-size sedan is heading into its second generation. Honda, which launched its first fuel cell vehicle, the FCX, in 2002 and has invested more than $14 million in California’s hydrogen refueling network.
BMW and Toyota are also teaming up to produce hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the coming years. By 2024, Bosch plans to invest more than $1 billion globally to develop fuel cell technologies, with over $200 million to build fuel cell stacks for commercial trucks at its South Carolina factory.
A few days ago, ASUS launched the ROG Phone 6 Diablo Immortal Edition smartphone in the market, which as the name indicates, is a limited edition of the ROG Phone 6 flagship smartphone from the company.
Now, the ASUS ROG Phone 6 Diablo Immortal Edition smartphone is available for purchase in the Chinese market for the price of 6,999 yuan, which roughly converts to $990.
The smartphone comes with a Hellfire Red semi-matte coating on the back, offering a unique flame effect when viewed from various angles. Along with a cool-looking sketch-like depiction of Al’Diabolos, the Lord of Terror, there is also an RGB-lit Diablo Immortal logo.
It comes with a special Diablo theme for the user interface, along with notification sounds inspired by in-game audio. The retail box also includes a “Fahir’s Light” UV torch for uncovering hidden details on the Diablo-themed phone case in addition to the gold-colored “Immortality Ejector Pin” for the SIM tray, and a “Map of Sanctuary” travel-friendly pouch for the charger and cable.
Coming to the specifications, the device features a 6.78-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display, offering a 165Hz refresh rate and an in-display fingerprint scanner. Under the hood, it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, coupled with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage.
In the camera department, there’s a triple-camera setup on the back that consists of a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 primary sensor, a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 5-megapixel macro camera. On the front side, there’s a 12-megapixel Sony IMX663 sensor for taking selfies and video calling.
The devices run the Android 12-based ROG UI and a custom Diablo Immortal theme on top. The ASUS ROG Phone 6 Diablo Immortal Edition, which is IPX4 rated for water resistance, comes powered by a dual cell unit with a total capacity of 6,000mAh and has support for 65W fast charging.
Recent leaks have claimed that the Oppo Find N2 and Find N2 Flip will debut through Oppo’s INNO Day 2022 event, which is likely to be held by the middle of this month in China. The Find N2 Flip (tentative name) will be Oppo’s first clamshell phone with a foldable screen. A leaked video (via. TechGoing) of the Find N2 Flip is now doing the rounds on Weibo. It gives a good look at the design from the front and rear sides.
In the leaked video, the OPPO Find N2 Flip can be seen sporting a foldable display with a centrally positioned punch-hole. Reports have claimed that the device is equipped with a 6.8-inch foldable E6 AMOLED panel that produces a Full HD+ resolution of 2520 x 1080 pixels and a 120Hz refresh rate. The right side of the phone seems to feature a volume controller and a power key, which is integrated with a fingerprint scanner.
OPPO Find N2 Flip leaked video
Moving to the back, the Find N2 Flip can be found sporting a large-sized secondary OLED panel, which is said to measure 3.26 inches. There is also a dual-camera setup next to it. The main camera is said to be a 50-megapixel Sony IMX890 lens. It is said to be paired with an 8-megapixel Sony IMX355 ultra-wide shooter.
The Find N2 Flip is placed in a thick protective case in the leaked video, because of which its hinge design cannot be seen. The bottom side of the phone seems to feature a speaker grille and a USB-C port.
The Find N2 Flip is likely to feature a Dimensity 9000 chipset and a 4,300mAh battery with 44W rapid charging support. It will come preinstalled with the Android 13 OS, which will be skinned with ColorOS 13. It is expected to arrive in black, white, and purple color options.
We recently got a pretty good microphone. It is suitable for both the more professional and the average person who knows nothing about recording. And if you want to improve the quality of your recordings later, you only need to change a cable. That’s how convenient it is. Fifine K688 USB/XLR DYNAMIC MICROPHONE, a microphone for most people.
What’s in the box?
What do you get if you buy the K688? A User’s manual, a 5/8″ male to 3/8″ female adapter, an 8.2ft (2.5m) USB C to USB cable, and a microphone with shock mount.
Design
The Fifine K688 has a simple look, no flashy styling, and no RGB lighting. The only thing that lights up is the mute button, and you can tell if it’s in mute mode by the color. This button is a non-pressable touch button, so it also reduces the possibility of damage outside.
This large circular structure is the shock mount, which can reduce the noise brought about by the resonance of the desktop. The microphone is connected to the metal ring by four rubber bands, and you can clean them without any disassembly.
There are two knobs and three ports on the back. The knob is used to control the mic gain and monitor volume. the 3.5mm headphone hole is no doubt for you to access the monitoring headphones. The remaining two ports: a USB C port and an XLR port, according to the use of anyone can choose to access your device.
Why does the Fifine K688 have two audio jacks on the back? Their official website gives the answer: It is anyone’s mic. If you don’t have knowledge about microphones, you just connect to your device with the USB in the box and it will work correctly. But if you know more about microphones and want to improve the quality of your recordings, then the XLR interface is for you.
If you are new to microphones
A sensible voice reminds you of choosing a microphone based on the use environment when the budget is tight. Because most of the time recording especially streaming was done in environments that are not treated. With hard surfaces all around your room, the sound is going to bounce off and bounce into your mic. The excessive noise floor is the top deal-breaker for most people.
What you really need to muddle is the background sound, and the dynamic cardioid capsule does let the Fifine K688 shine through in that aspect. Normal users do not have any sort of special acoustical treatment in the rooms. A dynamic microphone will come in super helpful in this circumstance because it does not pick up much distracting background or reflected sound.
If you are expert in microphones
The audio quality may come down to what interface you are running the mic through if you are using the XLR connector. But basically, it is not the general type of dynamic mics where the mids are prominent while the brightness is lacking. Inheriting from FIFINE’s bloodline, the treble is something that will not miss but it is not so much to assault your ear with harshness.
If there is such a necessary, or maybe for a special two-PC setup, you can even send the signal from the mic to two different places, like your PC and an audio interface or a PA when using it outdoors.
So, this is the fifine K688, a microphone for everyone. It is currently priced at $79.99 USD, which shouldn’t be too expensive for a microphone that is easy to use and has room for upgrades. As long as you can afford it, I recommend buying it as your main microphone.
Giztop is giving huge discounts on Redmi Note 12 Discovery edition. The phone which retails for $499 is now available at a discounted price of $399. Moreover by using the coupon code: N12D30 you can get an additional discount of $30. This means you can buy the phone for as low as $369. Please note that the coupon expires on December 10, 2022.
Redmi Note 12 Discovery edition features a 6.67-inch OLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate, and 240Hz touch sampling rate. The phone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 octa-core processor and comes with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage.
The highlight feature of the phone is the 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HPX primary camera. You also have an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens and a 2MP macro shooter. For your selfies, you have a 16MP sensor in the front.
Redmi Note 12 Discovery is fueled by a 4300mAh battery and supports 210W fast flash charge and PD 3.0. Other interesting features include the NFC function, Infrared port, 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth 5.2, under-display fingerprint sensor, etc.
You can now buy the Redmi Note 12 Discovery edition for as low as $369 only on Giztop. This deal ends on December 10. So place your order before the coupon expires.
For more information on such exciting deals and offers check out our deals hub.
Great news for Vivo fans. Giztop is giving a $50 coupon for the latest flagship Vivo X90 Pro Plus phone. The phone which retails for $1199 can be now pre-ordered for a discounted price of $1149 only by using the coupon code: V90PP50. Please note that this is a pre-order, and the shipping will start after December 10, 2022.
Vivo X90 Pro Plus phone features a 6.78-inch FHD+ E5 AMOLED display and a 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4nm) chipset and comes with Adreno 740 GPU. The phone features multiple memory options viz. 12GB RAM and 256GB / 512GB UFS 4.0 internal storage.
Vivo X90 Pro Plus features Quad rear cameras, with premium Zeiss optics and Zeiss T* lens coating. The phone comes with a 50MP primary camera, 64MP periscope telephoto lens, 50MP telephoto lens, and a 48MP ultrawide sensor. For your selfies, you have a 32MP camera in the front. Fueled with a 4700mAh battery the phone supports 80W fast charging, 50W wireless charging, and reverse charging.
Vivo X90 Pro Plus is now available for pre-order at a discounted price of $1149 only on Giztop. The phone comes in two color options viz. Black, and Red. Please note that this price is applicable to the base variant only. The coupon works for all variants.
For more information on such exciting deals and offers check out our deals hub.
Lava Blaze 5G recently debuted as India’s most affordable 5G phone. The device faces competition from the likes of the POCO M4 5G, iQOO Z6 Lite 5G, Redmi 11 Prime 5G, and Samsun Galaxy M13 5G, which also offer 5G capabilities at a lower price. If price is the only factor to consider when choosing a winner among these, the Blaze 5G is an easy winner since it launched at an introductory price of Rs 9,999 (~$123). It is currently available for Rs 10,999 (~$135). Let’s dive into the review to see whether its other features are good enough to beat its competitors.
Lava Blaze 5G – What’s in the box?
Lava Blaze 5G
As can be seen above, the Lava Blaze 5G’s retail box includes the following items:
I am impressed by the build of the Lava Blaze 5G. The glass back of the phone, which has a matte finish, gives it a premium look. The back panel feels smooth and does not attract fingerprint smudges. The inclusion of the glass and a big battery makes it weigh over 200 grams. The Blaze 5G has flat edges and rounded corners. Its edges are made of plastic, but the paintjob makes it look like metal. The top edge of the device is barren, while the bottom offers a 3.5mm audio jack, a microphone, a USB-C port, and a speaker grille. The device has a hybrid SIM slot and a volume rocker on the left side. The power button on the right edge is integrated with a fingerprint scanner.
The slightly raised camera module has a squarish black portion, which houses two cameras and an LED flash. Below is the “50MP AI Camera” text and the third camera. It would have been better if the cameras sported a symmetrical design.
Lava Blaze 5GLava Blaze 5GLava Blaze 5G
The Lava Blaze 5G has a waterdrop notch display with a large bottom bezel. The screen is quite bright and offers good viewing angles. While it supports an HD+ resolution, the image clarity is such that it feels like it is a Full HD display. The contents of the screen are readable under sunlight only if it is set at the highest brightness setting. In Settings, users get access to display-related features like Adaptive Brightness, Night Light, Refresh Rate, among other settings. There is no word on what sort of display protection is available on the device.
Performance and Battery Life
Dimensity 700
4GB of LPDDR4x RAM
128GB of UFS 2.2 storage
5,000mAh battery
Support for 8 5G bands
The Dimensity 700-powered Blaze 5G offers snappy performance right out of the box. The D700 chip, which is MediaTek’s entry-level 5G-ready chip, can be seen on some of the costlier devices like the Samsung Galaxy M13, POCO M4 5G, and Redmi 11 Prime 5G. The Blaze 5G is only available in a single 4GB + 128GB configuration. Apart from the big internal storage, the device also offers support for a microSD card for more storage. The SIM tray of the phone features one slot for the primary SIM, and the second slot can either support a second SIM or a microSD card.
The Blaze 5G supports n1, n3, n5, n8, n28, n41, n77, and n78 5G bands. Since 5G is not available at my place, I couldn’t check the 5G connectivity.
For gamers, the Lava Blaze 5G comes with the Game Space app, which provides numerous features like game acceleration, a game sidebar, display optimization, performance enhancement, background call, palm rejection, and so on. On Geekbench, the device scored 505 and 1598 in the single-core and multi-core tests of Geekbench 5. On AnTuTu, the device scored 303,877. On BGMI, the device supports Smooth + Ultra with 40fps. Here are the screenshots of the performance benchmarks.
[envira-gallery id=’499049′]
The company itself mentions in the official listing that it takes around 2:50 hours to fully charge the 5,000mAh battery of the Blaze 5G. While the phone supports up to 15W charging, Lava has bundled a 12W charger in its retail box. When other brands are considering removing chargers from the retail packages of their mid-range phones, Lava has gone ahead and provided a charger with two USB ports. As far as charging is concerned, it took around 3:02 hours for me to achieve a full charge. It can easily last up to two days after being charged.
Clean Android OS Experience with Little Customization
Near stock Android 12 OS
YouTube with background play
YouTube Music with background play
FM radio
Up to 3GB RAM expansion
The Lava Blaze 5G runs on a near-stock version of the Android 12 OS. One of the screenshots shared here showcases all the apps available on the device. You do not see any bloatware, right? Additional apps from Lava include FM radio (not wireless), Game Space, and the Lava Guide app (user manual).
[envira-gallery id=’499045′]
The #ProudlyIndian brand boasts that the Blaze 5G offers an industry-first feature wherein YouTube works in the background. As it is known, background play is only available with a YouTube Premium subscription. Yes, the YouTube and YouTube Music apps work in the background. However, both apps do not skip ads. Also, it allows users to play up to 2K videos on YouTube. The call recording function does not let the other person know that the call is being recorded.
The device also has other nifty features, such as App Lock, Android Auto, and multiple user profiles. The slightly customised Settings app has the Intelligence Assistance section, where users can find additional settings as shown in the screenshots above. The RAM expansion features allow users to convert up to 3 GB of storage space into virtual RAM. Lastly, there is Dura Speed in the Settings app, which helps boost the foreground app by restricting background apps.
Lava has not said anything about how many Android OS upgrades will be available for Blaze 5G users. It seems that the device may receive at least the Android 13 OS update in 2023.
Photography and Other Features
Rear Camera
Other Features
50MP + 2MP + VGA triple camera unit
Single speaker
2K video recording
Face unlock
EIS Support
Side-facing fingerprint scanner
5G connectivity, 4G LTE
Front Camera
Dual-band Wi-Fi
8MP Camera
Bluetooth 5.1
Full HD recording
The camera app offers photography features, such as photo, video, portrait mode, beauty mode, GIF, UHD, Pro mode, panorama, slow motion, timelapse, macro, and intelligent scanning, which can be used for scanning barcodes and QR codes. The phone impresses the photography department in both bright and low-light scenarios. It manages to shoot decent photos with sufficient lighting indoors. When compared to the regular mode, the night mode is able to take pictures with more detail. It captures mediocre-quality macro shots.
With Night ModeWith Night ModeWith Night ModeSelfies with potrait modeSelfies with potrait modeSelfies with potrait modemacro shotmacro shot
I could not really understand the requirement for the VGA camera (third camera) on the device.
When shooting a video with the rear camera, the phone focuses on the subject while blurring the background. I noticed some lag while shooting 2K videos. EIS does a good job of capturing stabilized videos. In low-light conditions, the phone captures shaky FHD and 2K videos even with EIS enabled. However, even in dim light, the phone tries to capture videos with some amount of detail. It can record 720p slow-motion videos at 15 frames per second.
[envira-gallery id=’499051′]
The 8-megapixel front camera is good enough for selfies and video calls. It can shoot 30fps Full HD videos. Features like AI and HDR are not available while using the front camera. Users do get a couple of filters to enhance the selfie experience. It can also capture selfies with a good amount of background blur. However, sometimes edge detection does not work well. Overall, Lava Blaze 5G users will love using it for shooting photos and videos.
Lava Blaze 5G has a single speaker, which produces a decent sound output. I did not face any issues accessing features like face unlock, fingerprint scanner, voice calling, and Wi-Fi / LTE connectivity. Lava tries to stand out from competitors in the customer service department. It offers Service@Home doorstep services, which offer software and minor repairs to all customers of the Blaze, Yuva, and Storm series of smartphones. It promises service within 24 hours.
Verdict
To summarize, the Lava Blaze 5G is an impressive phone for Rs 10,999 (~$139). Even though it costs Rs 1,000 more, the device outperforms its rival in some areas. Lava is the only Indian smartphone brand to launch 5G phones in the Indian market. Because of this, many Indians who don’t want to buy Chinese smartphones will be drawn to this one. The Blaze 5G can easily become one of the bestselling phones in its price segment. I would definitely recommend it to someone who wants to buy a 5G phone for the first time. Many of the customers will purchase it as their first 5G phone, and I believe they won’t be disappointed.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this Lava Blaze 5G review are solely mine based on my experience, and there has been no editorial input from Lava.
For the first time, the new generation of the Honor Number Series contains a flagship phone. The Honor 80 Series is official with three different variants: the vanilla Honor 80, the Honor 80 Pro, and the Honor 80 SE. These three very different devices belong to different price ranges, but all are very valid. If you are evaluating this series, you probably want to know all the main differences between each model. Here you can learn the differences thanks this comparison between the specifications of the Honor 80, the Honor 80 Pro, and the Honor 80 SE in order to evaluate which one fits your needs the most.
Triple 64 + 5 + 2 MP, f/1.8 + f/2.2 + f/2.4
32 MP f/2.4 front camera
BATTERY
4800 mAh, fast charging 66W
4800 mAh, fast charging 66W
4600 mAh, Fast Charging 66W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
5G, dual SIM, reverse charging 5W
5G, dual SIM, reverse charging 5W
5G, dual SIM
Design
The most interesting design is the one of the Honor 80 Pro because it has a rear side with a more original texture and a more beautiful camera module. Further, on the front, it comes with incredibly narrow bezels around the display and a pill-shaped punch hole that looks like the Dynamic Island found on the latest iPhones. However, if you want a thinner and lighter phone, then you should go for the Honor 80 SE, even though the design is less impressive. But it is just slightly thinner and slightly lighter, and the dimensions are more or less the same. The vanilla version is still a beautiful phone with its dual camera module, very narrow bezels thanks to a display covering 90 percent of the front panel, and a single punch hole placed centrally.
Display
The best display belongs to the Honor 80 Pro. It is an OLED panel able to show up to one billion colors with a diagonal of 6.78 inches, an 1.5K resolution of 1224 x 2700 pixels, a 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR certification, a peak brightness of 1,000 nits, and an in-display fingerprint reader. The vanilla version and the Special Edition have the same display specifications: an OLED panel with one billion colors, a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and an in-display fingerprint scanner. Note that the Pro variant is the only one equipped with stereo speakers.
Specs & Software
As already mentioned, the Honor 80 Pro is the only device from this trio to feature flagship-class specifications. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile platform alongside 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of native storage. The vanilla version is an upper mid-ranger with a Snapdragon 782G chipset, up to 12 GB of RAM, and up to 512 GB of native storage. The Special Edition is a mid-ranger with a Dimensity 900 chip, 12 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage in the most expensive configuration. All the phones run Android 12 customized by Magic UI 7.
Camera
Even though it does not have optical stabilization, the Honor 80 Pro can be considered a high-end camera phone. It has a triple camera setup composed of a 160 MP main sensor, a 50 MP ultrawide shooter, and a 2 MP depth sensor. The vanilla version replaces the 50 MP ultrawide shooter with a less impressive 8 MP camera. The Honor 80 SE is totally different with its 64 MP dual camera.
The biggest battery is the one found on the Honor 80, even though there is a difference of just 100 mAh. All of these phones feature 66W fast charging.
Price
The starting price of the Honor 80 in China roughly translates into €370/$384, the Pro variant starts from €480/$498, and the SE costs €330/$343 in its base variant. They are yet to come into the global market. Which one would you pick?
Honor 80 vs Honor 80 Pro vs Honor 80 SE: PRO and CONS
A New York Apple iPhone reseller has suffered a huge loss after being robbed outside an Apple store in Manhattan, New York. The unnamed 27-year-old man purchased about 300 iPhone 13s from an Apple Store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. He was attacked by two men just outside the Apple Store and dispossessed of a bag containing about 125 iPhones.
The robbery incident happened at about 1.45 am and was reported by the New York Police Department. Luckily, the man was not seriously injured during the mugging but was punched in the face. The two men who alighted from a car also left the scene in the same car. The victim is reported to be a regular buyer of large volumes of iPhones for his reselling business. The worth of the stolen iPhone 13s was put at $95,000. The investigation of the robbery incident is ongoing and the New York Police Department has not announced any arrests.
It is unclear under what circumstances the man chose to make the purchase at such an early hour. It is also not known whether Apple had CCTV footage of the mugging to aid the police investigation. Expectedly, the criminals will be caught with support from Apple to the Police. The Apple iPhone is one of the most sought-out and expensive smartphones. They come with extended features and great performance capabilities. This could be a factor fuelling robberies of such a nature.
OnePlus is planning to step up its software update game. At a roundtable event held in London, OnePlus revealed it will provide 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of security patches to selected devices launching in 2023. The company also detailed the design decisions behind the latest Android 13-based update and revealed the features coming to the OxygenOS 13.1 release.
OnePlus executives have confirmed that the company will now release four major OS updates and five years of security updates for select handsets debuting in 2023. It’s likely that only the flagship smartphones will get this special treatment. We can expect the upcoming OnePlus 11 series to be a part of this new update plan.
Talking about the change in the company’s update strategy, Gary Chen, head of software products at OnePlus, said:
“As a user-oriented company, we do everything we can to enhance the user experience.” With more users keeping their devices for longer, we want to make sure we can offer that possibility. This new update policy will give users access to the latest security and functional features required to power OnePlus’ signature fast and smooth experience throughout the lifetime of the phone.
In addition, OnePlus also confirmed that the next version of OxygenOS will launch during the first half of 2023. The new build will be called OxygenOS 13.1, and it will focus on safety and security with a new version of OnePlus’s Private Safe. Currently, it is at version 2.0 and is capable of pixelating information from apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp.
The company also confirmed that OxygenOS 14 is in the works (of course). However, it did not reveal any details about the upcoming software. It’s likely that the new software will be released next year in October or November.
Battery-swapping technology company Gogoro is adding the Philippines to its operations. Gogoro continues to blossom with its innovative battery-swapping technology and charging stations. It is a fast-expanding map of Gogoro’s iconic green and black batteries for electric two-wheelers and now Gogoro vehicles.
In its home country of Taiwan, Gogoro has thousands of battery-swap stations with a cumulative holding capacity of 1 million batteries. Gogoro’s domestic operations have seen up to 350 million battery swaps. The company has invested substantially in the development and improvement of its battery-swapping technology. The swapping technology has gained traction over the past few years with up to 12 non-Gogoro e-scooters using the system.
Gogoro continues to expand its battery-swapping operations through strategic partnerships with local e-scooter brands. The swapping battery system is one of the major cost-reduction measures for sales of electric vehicles and several brands have latched to the scheme. In the Philippines, Gogoro is teaming up with Globe’s 917 Ventures and Ayala Corporation. The companies are collaborating on introducing eco-friendly electric vehicles for the last-mile delivery market. Gogoro is also enjoying the support of the Philippines Department of Energy and the Department of Trade and Industry.
Gogoro brings to the Philippines, its intelligent battery-swapping technology for EV fuelling. According to its founder and CEO, Horace Luke, Gogoro plans to unlock the incredible environmental and sustainability benefits to businesses with implications for fleet management and deliveries.
The Philippines’ electric two-wheeler industry is budding and holds a lot of promise for Gogoro. A sustainable, effective, and efficient personal transportation system driven by battery-swapping e-scooters could be an optimal solution in the country. The country continues to grapple with crippling transportation issues and the Gogoro intervention holds a lot of hope.
The pilot battery swapping scheme will kick off in Manila by Q1 2023. Delivery riders will use Gogoro’s Smartscooters and the company’s battery-swapping GoStations. It is expected that the Pilot scheme will significantly improve delivery times and frequency for the drivers. It will also reduce the need for parking spots during the long periods needed to fully charge their e-scooters.
The Beelink SER6 series of mini-PCs have been announced. The lineup consists of the SER6 and SER6 Pro, powered by the latest Zen 3+ APUs and AMD Ryzen processors. The unveiling follows the launch of the Beelink SEi12 Pro and the recent previewing of the GTR6. Both models in the SER6 lineup, however, come with chipsets with less power than the Ryzen 9 6900HX of the GTR6.
The Beelink SER6 series is powered by the Ryzen 6000H series, with RDNA 2-based iGPUs, and 45W TDPs. The base model in the series, the SER6 is powered by the Ryzen 5 6600H with a six-core part that clocks up to 4.5GHz. It supports 12 threads using simultaneous multithreading (SMT). The SER6 is equipped with the Radeon 660M and outputs a decent GPU capability. The SER6 Pro is equipped with the Ryzen 7 6800H, with 8 cores, 16 threads, and a peak clock speed of 4.7GHz. It also features the more powerful Radeon 680M iGPU.
Both the SER6 and SER6 Pro have lots of ports including Ethernet, SATA 3, an audio jack, HDMI 2.0, USB 2.0 Type A, and more. The SER6 and SER6 Pro are offered with a 16GB/ 500GB RAM/storage configuration. The RAM and storage are expandable and come at a higher price than the base models. The Beelink SER6 is on sale in the United States for $549 for the SER6 and $649 for the SER6 Pro. There is an additional $50 for the 32GB RAM option. The Beelink SER6 series will begin shipping next month.
After rolling out stable and beta ColorOS 13 builds to a number of its flagship and budget smartphones in November, Oppo is now preparing to extend the update to more devices. The Chinese company has shared the ColorOS 13-based Android 13 update timeline for December 22. Let’s see which devices will be receiving the latest software update in December.
Oppo recently revealed the ColorOS 13 December update timeline for a sizable number of devices (via ITHome). The company will release stable and beta builds of the Android 13-based software to Reno 7 SE 5G, Reno 6 series, Reno 5 series, and Oppo Pad. The OnePlus Ace Pro will also be receiving a stable update in December. Do note that the timeline is for the Chinese region. The company may announce the update plan for the global market soon.
The latest version of Oppo’s custom Android skin has plenty of new features and improvements. It brings a new aquamorphic design and offers more personalization options. To learn more about the new features and upgrades introduced with the latest version of ColorOS, you can check out our ColorOS 13 review.
Xiaomi has unveiled the MIJIA Sweeping Robot 2S in China. The new MIJIA sweeping robot has a suction power of 4000Pa and supports laser navigation. The robot can provide sweeping and mopping services with its high-capacity suction fan and high-speed rotating mop cloths.
The sweeping and mopping robot can wipe clean the floor and suck away debris. It has an intelligent, electronically-controlled water tank with three levels of volume adjustment. This provides precise control of the water output for an efficient mopping operation. It supports 3D obstacle avoidance so it doesn’t get stuck easily. This is in addition to the LDS laser navigation featured in the robot. The device can quickly map the cleaning path and continues scanning even when the power is off.
The MIJIA Sweeping Robot 2S has durable brushless motor drive wheels that can go through obstacles up to 2cm high. The robot itself has a body height of 97mm. The sweeping robot can be controlled remotely by the MIJIA app. It also supports connection to the XiaoAI speakers. The user then accomplishes the sweeping task by just saying XiaoAI classmate.
The MIJIA Sweeping Robot 2S is priced at 1,999 yuan (~$282). Xiaomi requires a 100 yuan (~$14) deposit for the product which will officially launch on December 12. There is no global availability information about the MIJIA Sweeping Robot 2S at this time. We expect more details on the product before its official release in 12 days.
Apple is reported to be working on the next generation of Macs. Recently, Bloomberg Analyst Mark Gurman revealed the new devices may debut sometime in 2023. However, Apple is yet to confirm any details about the new machines. While we wait for an official word, an unknown Mac with the unannounced M2 Max chip has been spotted on the Geekbench benchmarking site. Here are the details.
As reported by ShrimpApplePro on Twitter, an unreleased Apple Mac has appeared on Geekbench 5 database. The device has been listed with the name “Mac14.6.” It appears the machine will be powered by an Apple M2 Max CPU, which does not yet exist.
According to the benchmarking site, the M2 Max chip powering the Mac has a 12-core CPU with 3.54GHz and 96GB of RAM. It managed to score 1853 on a single core and 13855 on the multi-core test. Comparatively, the M1 Max chip found on the MacBook Pro has 10 cores running at 3.2GHz and scores 1746 on one core and 12154 on multiple cores on Geekbench.
The scores suggest the M2 Max chip is only about 14% faster than its predecessor. This indicates the alleged M2 Max will not actually be a huge upgrade over the M1 Max. However, it is also possible that Geekbench failed to accurately measure the chip’s performance.
To recall, Apple introduced the base M2 chip earlier this year. It powers the new MacBook Air and offers impressive performance and speed. It is built on the 5-nanometer process node and has 8 cores divided into four performance cores and four power efficiency cores. It supports up to 24 GB of LPDDR5-6400 memory and has a bandwidth of up to 100GB/s.
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