There are not many high-end tablets available in the market and the options are quite limited when it comes to gaming. To fill the gap, ASUS has announced what seems like the most powerful gaming tablet — ASUS ROG Flow Z13.
The tablet has been announced at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 and comes with a powerful set of specifications, on par with a high-end laptop. It is basically a high-end gaming laptop in a thin form factor.
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 features a 13.4-inch 4K 60Hz display and the company is also giving users a choice for a Full HD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Both the touchscreen options support 16:10 aspect ratio, Dolby Vision, and MPP 2.0-compatible styluses. Further, the displays are protected by Gorilla Glass and are validated for color accuracy by Pantone.
Under the hood, the device comes powered by the Intel Core i9-12900H 45W processor, coupled with NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti 40W graphics processor. For memory, it comes with DDR5 RAM and PCIe 4.0 storage.
It has one Thunderbolt 4 port with DisplayPort 1.4 for video output and up to 100W PD charging, and another USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port that can handle video and PD charging. There’s also a third USB-C port that can handle video and PD charging, but it isn’t confirmed if it utilizes integrated or dedicated graphics.
Along with that, the device also has an eGPU port, one USB-A 2.0 port, a UHS-II class microSD card reader, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a headphone jack. As for the software, the device is running the Windows operating system.
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is expected to be available for purchase in the first half of this year and the company has not yet announced pricing details.
After a lot of delays caused by the semiconductor crisis, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G finally hitten the shelves. It was supposed to be released in 2021 but we had to wait until 2022 to see it become available worldwide. That is why, while initially a lot of people thought it would be a competitor of the Xiaomi Mi 11, it became one of the main rivals of the Xiaomi 12. Should people opt for the latest flagship killer by Xiaomi or did Samsung come up with a better option? This is a comparison between the specifications of the Xiaomi 12 and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G which will hopefully clear your ideas in regards.
Xiaomi 12 and Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G have very different designs, but they are both beautiful phones. The former is very attractive because of its very compact dimensions: it measures just 152.7 x 69.9 x 8.2 mm. Further, its design is very minimalistic, with a high screen to body ratio and a compact camera module sporting the same color as the rest of the rear side. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is another beautiful device with its Contour Cut Design: it sports a camera module with the same color as the rear cover just like the Xiaomi 12, but in addition, it is waterproof with the IP68 certification. The rear side is made of plastic (unlike the Xiaomi 12), but the frame is made of aluminum and the front glass is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus.
Display
On the paper, the Xiaomi 12 has a better display than Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G, even though it is a way smaller panel. With its 6.28-inch diagonal, the Xiaomi 12 offers an OLED panel that shows up to one billion colors and supports a Full HD+ resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate, the HDR10+ certification, and Dolby Vision. The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has a bigger display with a diagonal of 6.4 inches, as well as a 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. But it lacks Dolby Vision and it shows just 16 million colors like most of the other phones out there. Both the phones rely on an in-display fingerprint scanner for authentication.
Specs & Software
The Xiaomi 12 is a lot more powerful than Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G because it sports the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform. Built with a 4 nm production process and running at a max frequency of 3 GHz, this octa-core processor is the best released by Qualcomm until now, and it is paired with up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. But the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G is not disappointing with its flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset, up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of native storage. Both the phones run Android 12, but they have different user interfaces.
Camera
The main camera of the Xiaomi 12 is actually better than the one found on the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G: it is a 50 MP sensor with OIS (against an old 12 MP camera with OIS). But the Xiaomi 12 lacks a telephoto camera and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has one with 3x optical zoom. Further, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G even features a better 12 MP ultrawide sensor.
The Xiaomi 12 and the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G have the same battery capacity: 4500 mAh. But the former should be able to guarantee a longer battery life because it has a smaller display and a processor built with a 4 nm production process. Further, it charges quicker thanks to 67W fast charging and 50W fast wireless charging.
Price
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G starts from €750/$846 in the global market ($699 in the U.S.), while Xiaomi 12 starts from €510/$575 in China and it is still not available globally. Overall, Xiaomi 12 looks like a better device if we exclude the secondary cameras, but it is very compact and it may not be the best for productivity users and gamers.
Xiaomi 12 vs Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G: PRO and CONS
TCL on Tuesday has officially announced its first laptop in the market. The all-new TCL Book 14 Go brings basics to the table by offering a Snapdragon 7c chipset and Windows 11 support.
The TCL Book 14 Go is priced at $349 for the only variant with 4GB of RAM and128GB of storage. It is touted to be available for purchase in Q2, 2022. At the moment, there are no details on its sale dates in different regions.
TCL Book 14 Go Specifications
The TCL Book 14 Go sports a 14.1-inch display with a resolution of 1366 x 268 pixels resolution. It has a modest design that looks similar to some budget-centric laptops from other Chinese giants. The screen has a standard 60Hz refresh rate.
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It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It has a stereo speaker setup and a 720p webcam for video calls and meetings. For the unaware, the Snapdragon 7c is an 8nm octa-core SoC. The laptop has a chicklet style keyboard without a number pad.
It comes with Windows 11 out of the box and has a 40WHr battery. TCL claims it to last for up to 12 hours on a single charge. The device supports 25W fast charging with the bundled fast charger in the box. It has 4G, a SIM card tray, and Bluetooth v5.1. It also has Wi-Fi 5 with 2×2 MIMO support and features a 3.5mm audio jack.
We have witnessed a raft of announcements of a broad array of products that will be showcased in CES 2022, which begins on Wednesday, January 5th at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the United States. Quantum Operation Inc has announced the release of its first smartwatch that offers blood glucose measurement via a non-invasive and proprietary technology.
At the last count, more than 2200 exhibitors will showcase their products during the most influential tech event this year, CES 2022. It will feature innovative products from a broad array of tech fields ranging from health, entertainment, fitness, mobility, and a whole lot more, and Quantum Operations is pitching itself into the fray with its smartwatch offering. The company says the new smartwatch will be of great assistance to diabetics who need to monitor their blood sugar levels regularly.
The watch features the possibility of monitoring the blood sugar levels pre and post-meal to check for changes in the metric. The smartwatch also features heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring to provide all-around health support. Quantum has released a video of the smartwatch which seems to yet to be out as a commercial product. It will however showcase a prototype of the smartwatch during CES 2022.
There has been a surge of innovative products that capture some of the very important health measurements and vital statistics using smart wearables. These sensors are capable of measuring heart rate, blood sugar, blood pressure, stress, and now, blood glucose levels. Quantum will hope that its new smartwatch will enjoy some great outings during CES 2022, although it is not the first brand to offer non-invasive blood glucose monitoring.
German luxury carmaker Mercedes has unveiled yet another of its electric concept car with impressive futuristic credentials. The EQXX can cover up to 620 miles on a single charge according to the company and it is made with lots of recycled and sustainable materials. The design and materials used in its interior place the car several notches higher on the sustainability scale. These include mushroom fibers, ground-up cactus leaves, and even food scraps.
The 620 miles range claim for the EQXX is based on simulations, hence the actual driving range of the car if when it gets to that stage could be different. Mercedes however insists that the simulated testing claims on the range are accurate and it is just a conservative figure. It expects the EQXX to go beyond the 620 miles threshold when it begins actual testing of the electric vehicle. Plans are afoot to demonstrate the EQXX’s range later this year when it commences actual driving tests for the car.
The company says the EQXX is a technology blueprint for series production, as it plans to put much of the premium components of the EQXX into the production of all-electric Mercedes models by 2024. Some of the components include the battery, electric motor, and other environmentally friendly and reliable components. The battery pack of the EQXX is 30% lighter than that of the EQS electric sedan. The Mercedes EQS has a range of 487 miles, hence the concept car brings greater distance for a lighter battery, which is very remarkable. Mercedes is also saying that the EQXX offers greater energy efficiency better than even the Tesla Model S Long Range.
The Mercedes EQXX concept EV is an all-around concept electric vehicle with lots of innovations and impressive features. It remains to be seen how its deployment to series production pans out, as Mercedes continues to make inroads into the luxury EV segment of the market.
A few days back, the ASUS Zenfone 9 was spotted in a screenshot leak that revealed one of its upcoming features. Now, an ASUS user in the community has discovered that the recent software update for the existing ASUS Zenfone 8 brings a feature that we anticipate seeing in the upcoming Zenfone 9.
One of the members from the ASUS community shared that after the Android 12 update for the Zenfone 8, he has received an option in the settings that has the double back tap feature. However, it doesn’t seem to work on any of the Zenfone models.
If you are unaware, an earlier leak of the Zenfone 9 revealed the same setting to be in the phone as one of its features. That said, ASUS might be testing the double-tap feature for the upcoming Zenfone 9 and it may launch the phone soon.
Also, the upcoming ASUS Zenfone 9’s camera details have now been decoded and it will come with a 50MP + 12MP dual-camera setup. The primary lens will have optical image stabilisation(OIS) support, while the secondary lens will be an ultra-wide-angle unit.
Regarding the phone’s specs, we don’t have anything to learn at the moment. However, we expect to see the specs leak in the coming weeks, followed by a launch in a few months.
In related news, a design schematic of the upcoming ASUS ROG Phone 6 was also spotted recently. It revealed a triple camera system on the device and a vertical secondary screen. It will also have slightly tweaked graphics at the back.
The Google Pixel 6 was launched back in October 2021 as a flagship phone from the search-engine giant. Just like every year, this year’s flagship smartphone was also expected to receive cheers for its camera performance out of the bunch. However, it looks like it’s not the case as the phone has just slipped off from the top 10 list of camera phones by DXOMark.
As per DXOMark, the Google Pixel 6 scored 132 points in the camera test. The score looks good but it has missed being in the top 10 list. The phone stands 11th in the list and comes below the Xiaomi 10 Ultra which has 133 points and is above the Huawei P40 Pro which has the same 132 points.
Although it didn’t make it to the top 10 of its global camera test, the phone made it to the 5th spot in the US-based test. It seems that the phone was able to hold that position primarily because the US market doesn’t face any competition from the Chinese giants. The phone stands just below the Asus Snapdragon Insiders which scored 133 points and passes the Apple iPhone 13 that scored 130 points.
Coming to the cameras, the Google Pixel 6 has a dual-camera system with a 50MP main lens and a 12.5MP ultra-wide sensor. The phone scored 144 points in the photo department and 115 points in the videography department.
It scored 54 points in the zoom department. As per the website, the phone is great in offering natural detail and preserving shadows in the images. It has great stabilization, thanks to the OIS support on the primary lens.
CES 2022 commenced earlier today and JBL took to the stage to unveil three of their new TWS earphone offerings. These included the Reflect Aero, the LIVE Pro 2, and the LIVE Free 2. All of these new earbuds will be offered at the same price of $149.95 and feature active noise canceling. Additionally, JBL has announced that these new earbuds will arrive in April 2022.
JBL Reflect Aero
The new Reflect Aero TWS earphones are JBL’s offering catered towards customers in need of sporty earbuds. The device features a compact and rugged design accompanied by 6.8mm sound drivers and 6 microphones in total. Keeping the sports and fitness theme in mind, the earbuds provide IP68 water and dustproof rating and 8 hours of playtime which can be extended up to 24 hours with the charging case.
The ANC feature should be able to provide great call quality along with a pleasant listening experience when it comes to music. The earbuds also have touch control for different sound modes which can be further customized with the JBL Headphones App. Additionally, the earphones also provide hands-free voice control, which supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The JBL Reflect Aero will retail at $149.95 when released in April.
JBL LIVE Free 2
Next up is the very compact JBL LIVE Free 2 with 10MM sound drivers and an IPX5 splash-proof rating. These clean and premium-looking earbuds have managed to capture one of the CES Innovation Awards.
Similar to the Reflect Aero earbuds, the LIVE Free 2 also features active noise cancellation using six microphones with noise and wind-isolation technology. They offer 7 hours of playtime, extendable up to 35 hours with the charging case. The JBL Live Free 2 offers the same hands-free control with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support. The earbuds are capable of switching sound modes via the earbuds’ touch controls and the touch controls can be further customized through the JBL Headphones App.
The JBL Live Free 2 will also come in April for $149.95.
JBL LIVE Pro 2
The JBL Live Pro 2 earbuds can be expected to be the best sounding of the trio due to their bigger 11mm sound drivers. JBL has taken a more traditional approach to the design of the Live Pro 2 which comes stem and features a premium matte finish.
The device comes with an IPX5 water resistance certification and can provide 10 hours of playtime, extendable up to 40 hours with the charging case. However, these earbuds also pack a fast charging feature that enables them to gain 4 hours of playtime in 15 minutes.
Other than these features, the LIVE Pro 2 also receives all the functionalities and quirks like active noise cancellation using six microphones with noise and wind-isolation technology, hands-free control with Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa support, switching sound modes via the earbuds’ touch controls, and the touch controls that can be further customized through the JBL Headphones App.
Similar to the rest of the new JBL earbuds lineup, the LIVE Pro 2 will come in April for a price of $144.95.
Realme GT2 series launch event also saw the company announce a new version of its first-ever laptop – the Realme Book laptop. The new version is dubbed Realme Book Enhanced Edition and it delivers a few upgraded features both on the hardware and design sides.
The new Realme Book Enhanced version comes with four major upgrades. The upgrades include an enhanced design with a unique azure color scheme while retaining the thin 14.9mm frame. The device also has a few improvements in the hardware with a multi-core increase in the CPU by 21.8% and a GPU increase by 68%. The device also comes with a super VC cooling system which improves the heat dissipation speed by 32.7%. Finally, the Realme Book Enhanced edition is available in 16GB+512GB memory.
The Realme Book Enhanced version retains the metallic body, mirror brand logo, and backlit keyboard design of the regular version. The notebook is powered by the 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11320H processor, paired with 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 512GB of PCIe SSD storage. For graphics, the notebook sports Intel’s Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EU. is running the Windows 10 operating system out-of-the-box but will support Windows 11 in the future.
Keeping the lights on is a 54Whr battery that Realme says can provide up to 11 hours of battery life. The notebook also features support for 65W super-fast charging with 30 minutes of charge capable of providing up to 50 percent of juice.
The Realme Book Enhanced version is priced at 4,699 yuan (~$725) and is presently up for pre-orders in China. The device will go on its first sale on January 7th in China.
Earlier today, the Chinese smartphone brand Realmelaunched their latest flagship smartphone, the Realme GT 2 Pro, in China. Following the flagship launch, leaks have emerged of the Realme 9i along with its official renders.
As per a report by MySmartPrice, the official renders of the Realme 9i and its key features have leaked ahead of its rumored Vietnam launch date of January 10. The renders showcase the same design revealed earlier today in a hands-on video.
Realme 9i official renders
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image via mysmartprice
image via mysmartprice
According to the report, tipster Sudhanshu has revealed that the device will have a 6.6-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD with a 90.8 percent screen-to-body ratio and a 480nits brightness. The display panel will also come with a 90Hz refresh rate.
The budget Realme offering is tipped to house a Snapdragon 680 under its hood with 4G network support. The device will come with 6GB of RAM coupled with 128GB of internal storage. A 5000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support is expected to power this device.
For photography, the device comes equipped with a triple camera setup housed in a rectangular camera island on the rear panel. The Realme 9i is said to have a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 2MP portrait camera (f/2.4 aperture), and a 2MP macro camera. The device offers a 16MP front camera with an f/2.1 aperture for selfies and video calls.
Additionally, the rear camera will support video recording at 1080P at 30fps, 720P at 30fps, 720P at120fps, Slow Motion: 120fps@720P, and modes like Super Night, Panorama, Expert, Time Lapse, Portrait, HDR, Super Macro, AI Scene Recognition, etc.
Other features of the Realme 9i include dual nano-SIM, a microSD card slot, WIFI 2.4GHz, 5.0HGz, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, etc. The phone measures 164.4mm x 75.7mm x 8.4mm and weighs 190 grams.
The device is expected to launch in Vietnam around January 10 and is rumored to come to Indian markets soon after. So stay tuned as we will be reporting any notable developments.
Google’s latest Android 12 operating system which entered the stable stage a few weeks back is the highest yet developed by Google. Some devices with the latest Android 11 firmware have been able to upgrade to Android 12. All these devices are on the high-end of the spectrum in terms of their existing operating system (Android 11). A software developer has now successfully gotten the Android 12 to a pretty old device, the Samsung Galaxy S III, which ordinarily is not supported for Android 12.
The amazing ability of the Galaxy S III to achieve this milestone is additional evidence of the work that had gone into the development of the model. Samsung had long declared the end of software support via upgrades for the Galaxy S II which was birthed in 2012. However, the Galaxy S III has been dual-booted, as it has run on the Linux-based Sailfish OS and received mainline Linux kernel software support. The device has now added another feather by getting the unofficial LineageOS 19.0 custom ROM which is based on Android 12.
Several of the basic features are working in the device including camera, cellular radio, Bluetooth, video playback. The ROM however lacks some Lineage-OS specific features as should be expected. There are also several bugs present in the unsupported device for the Android 12 upgrade. The SIM PIN unlock feature is not functional as well as the NFC module of the device.
The developer is trying to fix the bugs and resolve all other issues relating to the Galaxy S III Android 12 upgrade. We expect to get a more definitive model subsequently, although there are no guarantees that the steps taken to resolve the bugs will not expose the device furthermore. However, owners of abandoned Galaxy S III models could give the custom ROM a shot. There may be not much harm in such circumstances.
An Amazon Kindle is normally what comes to mind when someone thinks of an e-reader. For context, an e-reader allows one to read digital books with a tablet-sized screen and a more reader-friendly ergonomic design. Despite being one of the best-selling e-reader series worldwide, there have been recent reports from Chinese users finding that Amazon has pulled the Kindle e-readers out of the Chinese market.
The rumors started when shoppers noticed that the Amazon Kindle Official Store on Tmall and Taobao had disappeared 3 months ago. And as of recent, the JD.com Amazon Kindle Official Store had not replenished many of its Kindle products for quite some time, including its flagships like the Kindle Oasis and Paperwhite models. And as of today, only one model is left in stock on the JD official store which is an entry-level Kindle for Kids model.
Amazon Kindle’s Official JD Store, all models are out of stock except for one
As a response to the rumors, in an insider interview with Amazon China, one journalist from BKEconomy reported that Amazon China is aware of the shortages of Kindle products at its official online stores. Amazon China replied that Amazon is committed to serving its Chinese Kindle customers always and that customers can still opt to buy Kindle products from offline stores or online 3rd-party sellers as they still come with Amazon’s warranty.
However, the official response from Amazon does not arouse much confidence, as many sources in China mentioned Amazon China’s hardware team had all been fired in November 2021. And coupled with the shutdowns of its many official online retail stores, it is not hard to imagine why one would think Amazon has pulled its Kindle products out of the Chinese market.
Despite the concerns, users can stay calm as Amazon China reiterates that Amazon will honor the warranties of the Kindle products sold in China and new buyers will still have warranty services for their Kindle products bought from 3rd party sellers.
Apple launched the iPhone 13 comprising of iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max in September 2021. Since their release, these smartphones have been selling quite well worldwide. In fact, according to a research note, the Cupertino-based tech giant sold millions of them in the holiday season alone.
Apple iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini
A research note by analyst Daniel Ives of Wedbush (via PhoneArena) says that Apple sold more than 40 million units of iPhone 13 models in the 2021 holiday season. This note was published by Philip Elmer-DeWitt.
The same note also predicts that Apple would soon hit the $3 trillion market cap. For the unaware, Apple just became the world’s first publicly-traded company to reach the $3 trillion market cap yesterday.
Analyst forecasts that the iPhone 13 sales will continue to grow in 2022. That’s because the tech firm could not meet the demand in Q4 2021. The demand outstripped supply by a whopping 12 million units in the last quarter. Hence, the supply will trickle down in the next two quarters (Q1 2022 and Q2 2022) until the shortages ease in H1 2022.
In other words, the iPhone 13 series will continue to remain in demand till the launch of the iPhone 14 family.
During Realme‘s first product launch conference held today, apart from the flagship Realme GT2 Pro, the tech giant also unveiled the vanilla Realme GT2. The model also highlights an environmentally-friendly bio-based material on some models just like the GT2 Pro with which it shares design.
The vanilla GT2 features a slightly smaller 6.62-inch Samsung E4 AMOLED display with support for a 120Hz refresh rate. The display also comes with 720Hz touch sampling rate/1000Hz smart instantaneous touch while the display is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
In terms of the core specs, the Realme GT2 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset which powered 2021 flagships. The processor is paired with 8GB / 12GB RAM on different models. The device crams a built-in 5000mAh battery and supports 65W flash charging. The vanilla model is also equipped with a diamond ice core cooling system.
In terms of photography, the Realme GT2 packs a Sony IMX766 OIS flagship main camera teaming up with a 119° ultra-wide-angle lens. At the front, there is a 16MP selfie camera. The device is also comes equipped with several features found on the GT2 Pro such as free switching antenna, multifunctional NFC, X-axis linear motor, Dolby Atmos dual speakers/Hi-Res sound quality certification, and Android 12-based Realme UI 3.0.
There is a Realme GT2 Master Edition which is designed by the well-known Japanese industrial design master Naoto Fukasawa. The design is said to have been inspired by “paper”. It attempts to integrate nature with technology, resulting in the use of bio-based building material. Apart from the build, the retail box also utilizes an environmentally friendly packaging material that is not toxic and can be recycled or are biodegradable. Plastic accounts for only 0.7% of the packaging material.
As for the price, the vanilla Realme GT2 starts at 2,599 yuan (~$408) for the 8GB+128GB version. The 8GB+256GB version will retail for 2799 yuan while the 12GB+256GB version is priced at 3099 yuan. The ordinary GT2 model comes in Gold, Blue, and Black colors. On the other hand, the AG glass version comes in satin black and titanium blue while the environmentally-friendly GT2 Master Edition is available in Master Paper and Master Sen variants.
A couple of weeks ago, Lenovo unveiled the first looks of the Legion Y700 Gaming Tablet along with some of its specs and features device. Now, live images of the upcoming tablet have surfaced giving a deeper look at its design profile and even comparing it against the Apple iPad mini 2021.
Weibo tipster Fat Boy has managed to get his hands on a Legion Y700 Gaming Tablet to compare it side by side an iPad mini 6 in the looks and design department.
Lenovo Legion Y700 Gaming tablet live images
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The images reveal that the 8.8-inch Lenovo Legion Y700 tablet is almost equal to the Apple iPad mini 2021 when it comes to height (landscape) and is a a lot wider that the mini offering by Apple. The device is also noticeably thicker when compared to the iPad mini. Additionally, the images reveal that the device has two speaker grills, one located on the bottom while other on top. The USB-C port is present on the bottom of the device while the 3.5mm audio jack in the center at the top.
Many people have questioned this design choice by Lenovo as the positioning of the 3.5mm headphone jack might be a hinderance when plugged in while gaming.
The device features wide bezzles on top and bottom coupled with comparitevly narrower bezzles on the sides. According to the specs previously revealed by the company, the Legion Y700 Gaming Tablet comes with an 8.8-inch 2560 × 1600p display. The device is revealed to have a 120Hz refresh rate screen with a 240Hz touch sampling rate and supporting 100% DCI-P3 color gamut.
One of the edges was also previously shown to feature JBL, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos tags, indicating that the tablet will likely also feature some really high-quality speakers for a great gaming experience.
The device was previously remored to be powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset but new rumors have hinted at the device housing a Snapdragon 888 SoC while the SD 8 Gen 1 can come with a higher tier (rumored) Legion Y900 Gaming Tablet. As of yet, there is no word from Lenovo on an official launch date of the Legion Y700 Gaming Tablet so stay tuned for more updates.
Samsung is one of the few Android OEMs known for offering longer software support. The South Korean tech giant is also notable for faster and timely update delivery. The company started rolling out the Android 12-based One UI 4.0 stable update for the eligible Galaxy S, Galaxy Note, and Galaxy Z series of handsets before New Year’s Day. On top of that, developers have now ported Android 12 for out-of-support old-gen Samsung flagship smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy S2
The Samsung Galaxy S series has been the best-selling premium Android smartphone family for years. They have always been the best Samsung phone of their released year, in addition to Galaxy Note.
Hence, these handsets are also popular in the developer community. In fact, they have such a fan following that a developer has managed to port Android 12 for the almost 11-year-old Galaxy S2.
At the same time, yet another developer ported Android 12 for the nearly 10-year-old Galaxy S3. That’s not all, the latest version of Android is also available for Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note9, courtesy of one more developer.
Therefore, if you have any of the aforementioned devices lying around, then you can try installing the Android 12 custom ROM on them. However, do note that these software builds have multiple bugs. So don’t expect fully functional software.
This year’s Xiaomi 12 series is different from last year’s. The Xiaomi 12 has become a small screen flagship, while the Xiaomi 12 Pro is becoming more like an upgraded version of the Mi 11. The appearance also has a new change. Although Lei Jun said: we want to fully compete with the iPhone. but with the Xiaomi Civi looks similar to the Xiaomi 12 Pro can really make consumers spend more than $ 700 to buy it?
We bought the Xiaomi 12 Pro in green vegan leather, and to be honest, it looks pretty ordinary at first glance. It’s not the first time that a vegan leather back cover has been used on Xiaomi’s flagship phone.
It doesn’t feel any different from the Mi 11. The Xiaomi logo area has become more simple. The rectangular lens module is similar to the Xiaomi Civi, with a large circle and several small circles. But the addition of a few lines across the design gives the lens module a more orderly feel.
The new color scheme does look more refreshing, but the overall design really doesn’t have as much personality as the Mi 11. I don’t mean to say that the Xiaomi 12 Pro is ugly, it’s actually quite beautiful. It just lacks the kind of recognition that makes it easy to tell that it’s Xiaomi’s latest flagship. The Xiaomi 12 Pro has an improved frame design. Because of the more rounded frame and back curvature, plus the smaller size, it feels great to hold. NFC, IR blaster and X-axis linear motor are not missing either. Looking good, feeling good in the hand and full of features, I think the Xiaomi 12 Pro has done well enough in terms of design.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Review: Display
Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro
We all know that Mi 11 comes with a very good screen. the screen of Xiaomi 12 Pro is upgraded on top of that. Not only does it keep the 1440P resolution and 120Hz refresh rate, but it uses Samsung’s E5 material. Plus, Micro-Lens technology enables the Xiaomi 12 Pro to be more power-saving. Speaking of efficiency, Mi 12 Pro has another trick: the second generation LTPO technology.
We all know that because of ProMotion technology, the 3,000mAh iPhone 13 Pro has achieved amazing battery life. And this second-generation LTPO is similar to ProMotion, which allows the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s screen refresh rate to switch adaptively between 1 and 120Hz. For example, if I swipe the screen, I can see that it can switch to a different refresh rate with the scroll speed. On many non-Xiaomi applications, although you can’t change the refresh rate with the swipe speed, you can switch back to 10Hz when you stop. watching videos can switch to 30 or 60Hz depending on your video, and when reading e-books you can theoretically go down to as low as 1Hz.
But in fact, it seems that Xiaomi is not optimized in place, repeated tests have failed to reach 1Hz. I suggest you go to the settings to change the Auto-refresh rate to custom 120Hz. Because some APP systems will lock in 90Hz or 60Hz, such as Twitter, and open the custom 120Hz to achieve the highest refresh rate. And the screen still drops to 10Hz when it stops.
You may be confused why the first-generation LTPO like OPPO Find X3 did not feel as power-efficient as this? Because the first generation, no matter what you are doing, can only use 60Hz and 120Hz in two gears. And the second generation has six gears.
Also since the phone uses an ultra-thin fingerprint recognition module, the fingerprint recognition area is also at a very suitable location. The screen glass is also made of Corning Gorilla Victus. Although 2022 just started, I can promise that this screen should be one of the most powerful screens this year.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Review: Performance & Gaming
We should all know very well how the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is performing this year. So can Xiaomi tame this fire dragon? I must complain, this time Xiaomi has added Speed mode option in Developer options. If you want to play the game with the highest quality performance at full power, you need to turn on this option. Then turn on Performance mode, and then go to the game mode to turn on High quality.
Antutu Bench scores are close to a million, 3DMARK 9840, Geekbench 5 single-core 1154, multi-core 3535.
As much as we wanted to test the 3DMARK Stress Test, even with both Performance mode and Speed mode turned off, the Xiaomi 12 Pro was unable to complete the test in an indoor environment with a room temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. The body temperature at this point was around 52 degrees Celsius. This means that Xiaomi is not able to suppress the heat of this chip, and the temperature control is very strict.
When it comes to game testing (check our video review for detailed gaming test), the PUBG HDR Graphics Extreme frame rate can be maintained at 60fps. there is no frequency reduction and the phone is not very hot. The Brightridge case is more interesting.
The full power output was locked at 50fps after a minute and then at 40fps after 4 minutes. Xiaomi 12 Pro didn’t hold up in the second half of the test, going back and forth between 40 and 25fps. Compared to the Edge X30, which has worse heat dissipation, the performance output is actually weaker. But the temperature is not as horribly high as the Edge X30.
The average power is only 7.6w, which is lower than both the Edge x30 and Mi 11. Xiaomi’s scheduling strategy for Genshin Impact is completely different from Motorola’s. Motorola tends to use the highest frequency and wait until it overheats before lowering the frequency. 12 Pro is to keep the temperature around 45 degrees Celsius to ensure you can be at a higher frame rate for a longer time.
I personally like Xiaomi’s gaming strategy better. At least my hands will feel a lot better. All in all, I find the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s gaming performance acceptable, especially since it’s a very big improvement over last year’s Mi 11.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Review: Cameras
The Xiaomi 12 Pro no longer uses Samsung’s sensor for its main camera but moves back to Sony’s latest 50MP IMX707 sensor.
Main Camera
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This time the 12 Pro is a change from its previous tuning style, the colors are more intense and the contrast is higher than before. And like other brands, the sharpening algorithm has been enhanced. Yes, Xiaomi has finally learned to please the user in terms of color. The photos are finally not very bland. At night, the performance is similar to Mi 11 Ultra most of the time. The main improvement is in color reproduction. If the environment is dark, Mi 11 Ultra photos will be greenish, while Xiaomi 12 Pro will not. And the Night View mode algorithm has been greatly improved. The night mode wait time has been drastically reduced and the benefit is that the photos don’t get blurry. If you zoom in on a Mi 11 Ultra photo, you’ll see that 5 seconds of night mode has caused the photo to become blurry. And turning back to auto mode will also trigger the night view algorithm. The Xiaomi 12 Pro has a wait time of about two seconds even when the night view mode is on, so the photos are very clear. Of course, because the exposure time is shorter, it’s not as bright as the Mi 11 Ultra.
Ultra-Wide Camera
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The Xiaomi 12 Pro’s Ultra-wide camera and 2x telephoto camera sensors are both 50MP JN1. Although the ultra-wide field of view is not as wide as the Mi 11 Ultra, the dynamic range is better, and the purple-fringing issue and edge image quality is improved from the hardware side. The ultra-wide-angle performs the same as the main camera most of the time as well. Auto mode performs about the same as Mi 11 Ultra at night. The difference is mainly in the algorithm of the night mode. You can see that the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s night mode is indeed a bit brighter than the auto mode, while the Mi 11 Ultra doesn’t seem to have any changes.
2X Telephoto
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The 2x telephoto lens isn’t as impressive as I thought it would be. Even if the Mi 11 Ultra uses the main camera for cropping, the image quality performance is better than the 2x optical telephoto lens of the Xiaomi 12 Pro. Highlight control, noise control are not as good as Mi 11 Ultra. But the dynamic range is still better if HDR is successfully triggered. At night, the Xiao 12 Pro performed well in auto mode, and both phones performed similarly. But once night mode is turned on, both perform poorly. The Mi 11 Ultra has a poor algorithm, while the Xiaomi 12 Pro is easily blurred due to the lack of OIS.
Xiaomi 12 Pro has done a great job of optimizing the camera experience. For example, the new Focus tracking feature, which will automatically catch the focus if someone or a dog or cat appears in front of the camera. This is good news for many users who have children and pets. There is also the optimization of the shutter delay. You can look at the shutter speed in comparison to the Mi 11 Ultra, which is not in the same level anymore. There’s also an animation when switching between lenses now, instead of jumping straight to the camera. Stability has also been improved, like in this photo. The Mi 11 Ultra took three photos that were overexposed, while the Xiaomi 12 Pro encountered no such bugs.
Overall, the Xiaomi 12 Pro has surpassed the Mi 11 Ultra in many aspects and considering the good photo experience and the price difference, the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s photosystem is already tied with the Mi 11 Ultra for first place.
The video performance is relatively similar to the photo performance with a high contrast ratio. All three lenses are capable of shooting 4k 60fps video. You can also freely switch between the three lenses when recording 4k 30fps video. You can see that the dynamic range of the Xiaomi 12 Pro is not as good as that of the Mi 11 Ultra, and the green color is too intense and not as natural as that of the Mi 11 Ultra. In general, the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s video recording level is also top-notch, and there is not much difference between it and the Mi 11 Ultra.
You may not believe it when you hear it, but the Xiaomi 12 Pro actually comes with four-unit speakers. Two low-frequency units and two high-frequency units ensure that both vocals and instruments are well separated. Unfortunately, the speakers are in an awkward position. One is on the top and one is on the bottom, so no matter how you hold the phone you will always block one. Other than that, the speaker performance is probably one of the best I’ve ever used.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Review: Charging
This time Xiaomi launched the Surge P1 chip and first time equipped on Xiaomi 12 Pro. This is a charging chip that allows the phone to do 120W charging with a single cell. Previously, 120W charging could only exist in dual-cell phones, so the battery capacity of phones with 120W charging has not been able to break through 4500mAh. The 4600mAh Xiaomi 12 Pro proves that Xiaomi is ahead of the game when it comes to charging. Wireless charging can only do 50w for some reason, you can watch our MIX 4 Review for more details. of course, Xiaomi knows that 120W chargers are expensive, so they are included in the box.
The actual charging speed is shown in the line graph. 5 minutes to 37% and 19 minutes to full. Although it will be a little slower than the dual-cell MIX4, but it is also very fast. In the battery life test, half an hour of 1080P online video and Tiktok consumed 6% and 5% of the power. The power consumption of the three games also looks very high. The first thing I want to say is that all three games are on Performance mode and Speed mode. Secondly, it is a 1440p 120Hz screen, which is really good but also very power-hungry. What’s more, perhaps you may think LTPO doesn’t save much power, but this is a test in a single scene, and the refresh rate is fixed. So the power saving effect of LTPO can not be reflected in our test. The actual use is certainly able to save more power than last year is Mi 11 series.
Finally, let’s talk about MIUI 13. Honestly, it doesn’t differ much from MIUI 12.5. Because it is mainly based on MIUI 12.5 to do the stability optimization. Yes, it has become much less buggy and laggy. All kinds of animations don’t drop frames anymore. Some widgets have been added to the desktop as well so that the desktop will not become so boring. The new feature can allow you to stream your content across Xiaomi devices. But it’s hasn’t been updated yet. The new system doesn’t really have much to show, so you can think of it as MIUI 12.8 to use it.
This year’s Xiaomi 12 Pro has become more stable. Although some areas have taken a step back, such as less 400mAh battery compared to Mi 11 Pro, smaller sensor size for the main camera, and less power for wireless charging. But its experience has improved. In this year, Xiaomi realized that paper specs do not mean a good phone experience. Only good optimization can make consumers satisfied. This is the phone that consumers want, a smooth, good-looking, and also easy to use Xiaomi flagship phone.
Well, that’s all there is to this review. We will soon make a photo comparison video between Xiaomi 12 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro. So stay tuned to that.
Acer has launched three new Chromebooks just in time for the CES 2022 and the company says that these new devices are made for consumers who need secure, easy-to-use, and affordable devices for productivity, entertainment, and communication.
All three devices — Chromebook Spin 513, Chromebook 315, and Chromebook 314 come with different screen sizes and form factors.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 513, which carries model number CP513-2H, comes with a 13.5-inch VertiView display that offers a 2256 x 1504 pixels screen resolution and a 3:2 aspect ratio. It has narrow 7.7mm bezels and thanks to the aspect ratio, there’s 18 percent more vertical screen space.
Under the hood, the device is powered by the MediaTek Kompanio 1380 chipset which comes with eight cores for enhanced multitasking and productivity and is claimed to offer exceptional performance.
It is designed in such a way that the device can be used in four different modes. It features military-grade MIL-STD 810H durability. There’s Wi-Fi 6 support as well as a USB-C port for connecting peripherals, transferring data, and charging devices.
As for the battery life, the new Acer Chromebook Spin 513 offers 10 hours of usage on a single full charge, which is a downgrade from its predecessor’s 13 hours of battery life. It is priced at $599.99 and will be available for purchase in North American from June.
Acer Chromebook 315 comes with a larger 15.6-inch Full HD IPS anti-glare display. There’s also an optional touch-screen display that allows for easy navigation, while the large keyboard has room for a dedicated numeric keypad.
It comes powered by an Intel chipset which could be the Celeron N4500, Celeron N5100, or the Pentium Silver N600. This means that the company is moving away from AMD A-series chip as when the first model was launched in 2019, it was the first Chromebook to come powered by the AMD silicon. As for the pricing, the Acer Chromebook 315 is priced at $299.99 and will so go on sale in North America later this month.
Lastly, there’s a new Acer Chromebook 314 that features a 14-inch Full HD IPS anti-glare touchscreen display with narrow 8.1mm side bezels. Similar to the 315, this one too features an OceanGlass touchpad that offers a sleek touch experience.
The device is powered by the Intel chip but the exact model number has not been revealed by the company. This one too has MIL-STD 810H ratings for durability. For connectivity, it supports Wi-Fi 6 which is about three times faster than Wi-Fi 5.
It has two built-in microphones with noise-reduction technology, along with a webcam that helps in reducing distracting lighting issues. As for the battery life, the laptop offers 10 hours of usage on a single charge. This one too is priced at $299.99 and will go on sale in North America from June this year.
Realme has officially announced the Realme GT2 Pro flagship smartphone equipped with several innovative features. One of the fun features is the use of environmentally friendly, bio-based materials to manufacture the rear cover. The casing is said to have been sourced from paper, soybeans, and other materials.
The use of environmentally friendly materials may have contributed to the lightweight design as the device weighs only 189g despite packing a massive 5,000mAh battery. The device comes with support for a 65W flash charge which the company claims can deliver 100% charge in just 33 minutes.
The Realme GT2 Pro features a 6.7-inch LPTO AMOLED screen with a 2K resolution of 3216 x 1440 pixels. The display is said to be a flexible panel with support for a 120Hz refresh rate, up to 1400 nits. The display has a punch-hole cut out at the top left corner of the screen housing the selfie camera. The display is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glas Victus. The display has also received DisplayMate’s A+ rating. Furthermore, the screen features support for a single 1000Hz gaming control engine, O-Sync overclocking response 2.0. You also get a new generation under-display fingerprint sensor that can unlock the screen very fast and also supports heart rate detection.
The GT2 Pro is touted to be the world’s first device to pack a new generation of super-large X-axis linear motor. The device uses a revolutionary full-speed matrix antenna system as well as a Wi-Fi network enhancement system and new-gen omnidirectional NFC.
The Realme GT2 Pro is powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 5G chipset. It equally adopts the diamond ice core cooling system Plus which is said to increase the heat dissipation area by 205%. The nine-layer heat dissipation structure covers 100% of the heat source bringing a conduction efficiency increase of 50%. The design also reduces the peak core temperature by 19°C. The phone has a heat dissipation area of 36761mm² which is likely the industry’s largest. It also features what is also likely the industry’s largest tempered VC liquid cooling area – 4129mm².
For interface, the Realme GT2 Pro is pre-installed with Realme UI 3.0 based on Android 12 which brings an upgrade in the UI as well as new desktop components in GT mode and a more stable and smooth AI frame stabilization technology 2.0. The device also comes with GPU heterogeneous rendering technology that helps lower power consumption.
The Realme GT2 Pro comes in 8GB RAM and 12GB RAM options. The 8GB+128GB variant is priced at ¥3699 (~$582) while the 8+256GB version comes in at ¥3999 (~$629). The 12+256GB is priced at ¥4299 (~$676) and the top-end 12+512GB will retail for ¥4799 (~$755). The device is presently up for pre-orders and will g on sale on January 7th.
The Chinese tech giant OPPO has recently unveiled its latest TWS earphones offering dubbed the OPPO Enco Air 2 in China. The buds come as the successor of the Enco Air which was released back in 2021 and therefore retains some of its features while offering some new ones.
In the looks department, the Enco Air 2 is similar to the last-gen Enco Air and comes with a translucent jelly-like case. The exterior design of the buds also remains unchanged for the most part.
According to an ITHome report, the earbuds use 13.4mm composite titanium-plated drivers, featuring OPPO’s new Enco Live tuning. OPPO has stated that the Enco Air 2 has been tuned by the company’s Blu-ray technology R&D expert team to make the sound more balanced, in order to meet the high sound quality requirements of the users.
The presence of a bass duct in the Enco Air 2 further enhances the bass performance and enables the TWS to offer two new stereo sound effects, namely “pulsing bass” and “melodious vocal”.
The OPPO Enco Air 2 is capable of up to 24 hours battery backup and is equipped with Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity. The earphones also offer features like low latency mode for gaming, call noise reduction function, and improve upon issues such as synchronization issues, interference, and disconnection problems.
The Enco Air 2 TWS has been announced earlier today by OPPO and is set to go for a starting price of 179 yuan ($28) and will later retail at a price of 199 yuan ($31). The TWS is available in two colors: Blue and White.
Additionally, the earbuds are rumored to launch in India in February 2022 but no official comments have been made by OPPO on the matter.
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