Laptops

Starmobile Engage Aura review

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I get asked a lot about laptop recommendations, and while it’s easy to give an answer for notebooks above $400, anything below is tricky. So when Starmobile asked me to review its $150 Engage Aura, I happily obliged in order to deepen my knowledge of the budget-friendly segment.

Yes, it’s that cheap. And this isn’t even some entry-level Chromebook or tiny 10-inch tablet convertible; it’s a legit Windows 10 laptop resembling an Apple product. There are obviously going to be some tradeoffs for the low, low price, which I’ll get into beginning… now!

What should I know?

The Starmobile Engage Aura is a 14-inch Windows 10 laptop without a touchscreen display or flexible hinge for multiple modes. It’s as plain as a notebook can get, but that’s exactly what you should expect from a device this affordable.

Inside you’ll find a low-powered Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor (something you’d normally find in much smaller tablets), a measly 2GB of RAM (most smartphones these days have more), and a decent 1366 x 768-pixel resolution for its screen.

Is this good enough for _____?

Surfing the web: Yes. Watching stuff on Netflix: Yes. Editing photos and videos: Not really. Gaming: Don’t bet on it.

I mean it when I stress this is an underpowered gadget. The most I was able to do on the Engage Aura was write on Google Docs while Photoshop was running in the background with a few images open. Adding anything on top of that will cause the system to overload its memory and stutter until you close something.

Still, if you manage your multitasking properly — as well as your expectations — its performance is satisfactory for getting work done. But don’t even bother playing games on it, unless you turn off absolutely everything in the background. You won’t enjoy the visuals that much anyway because of the muted colors and low resolution of the display.

Can I at least store all my files in here?

Haha, no. The Engage Aura’s biggest weakness is its internal storage; you get 32GB of space, half of which is already taken up by the operating system, leaving you with around 15GB when starting fresh.

That’s inadequate for anything beyond a set of personal photos and a few HD videos. Heck, your smartphone likely has more available storage. The Engage Aura is meant for people who rely on cloud-based storage or those with an external hard disk on hand at all times.

(From top to bottom, left to right) microSD card slot, mini-HDMI, USB 3.0, power-in port, USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio port.

What I found more convenient, however, was to just stick a microSD card in its built-in slot; that gave me an additional 64GB from my memory card, which is already twice as much as what the laptop comes with.

How’s the build quality?

Again, as you’d expect from a laptop this low-priced, it’s flimsy and can’t take too many hits. I had to make sure I kept it in a well-padded bag whenever I traveled. And even then, I discovered a few scratches mysteriously appear on the plastic cover.

I also found the keyboard and trackpad leaning towards the hard-to-use end, but I could say that about most Windows notebooks. It’s a matter of getting used to it, but what I could never get behind is the poorly located power button, which sits right next to the Delete button, blending in with the rest of the keyboard. Good luck consciously avoiding it all the time.

What’s the battery life like?

The great thing about having a processor meant for tablets in a laptop this big is its efficiency. Coupled with a large battery and low-resolution display, you’re looking at more than six hours of usage without having to plug into an electrical outlet.

That’s under mixed usage, by the way. I liked how the Engage Aura let me play several episodes of a television show even when the battery gauge was already below 30 percent. The laptop clearly works best when it isn’t overburdened by simultaneous requests.

Is there anything I else should worry about?

One irritating problem I had during my time with the Engage Aura was connecting to certain routers and hotspots. It’s picky at times, and can’t reach faraway signals. It seems like Starmobile equipped it with a weak Wi-Fi card to further drop the price.

The built-in speakers also left me disappointed while binge-watching. External speakers and/or subtitles are a must if you want to enjoy a movie or series. Bass is practically non-existent, and a lot of sound gets lost since the speakers shoot downwards.

Lastly, Starmobile made the pricing a little confusing. The company claims it’s being sold on Lazada for PhP 7,990, but it’s actually listed at PhP 7,388. And even though the original price is PhP 10,990, the supposedly limited price of PhP 9,990 — which is meant for the gold edition we have here — has been on the site for a while now. They’re all affordable, nonetheless.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

With so few options available at this price range, I can’t help but wholly recommend the Starmobile Engage Aura despite all its shortcomings.

I’d often think to myself, I wish I had more storage or I wish this thing could handle a few more browser tabs, but then I’d always go back to the price. Do I have any right to complain when it costs less than half the price of laptops that are already considered cheap?

Even if you forget about the price for a second, the Engage Aura simply works. It never glitched out on me, every movie and app I opened played the way it should, and I never felt embarrassed using it in a cafe — in fact, its subtle look is quite sleek.

Buy this if you’re on a tight budget but must type for a living (like me); buy this for your mom or dad who just needs something usable; or buy it as a backup for whatever you’re using right now. You won’t regret purchasing something this affordable in the first place

[irp posts=”7853″ name=”Starmobile Play Five is a really affordable Marshmallow phone”]

Features

DUO more with the ASUS Zenbook DUO 2024

Make things easy

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ASUS Zenbook DUO 2024

We are fans of what ASUS did with their latest dual screen offering — the ASUS Zenbook DUO 2024. The Zenbook Duo isn’t exactly new. ASUS has been adding extra screens to their laptops whenever they can — but never quite like this. 

You see, ASUS managed to put a literal second display but still make it compact enough to fit most bags with provision for 14-inch laptops. As cliché as it sounds, the Zenbook DUO 2024 is an engineering marvel.

However, it’s more than just a gimmick. In our review, we noted how the form factor lent to a slight boost in productivity despite us not maximizing the product just yet. With that, let us share with you our favorite things about the ASUS Zenbook DUO 2024. 

A unique mode for every scenario

A built-in, sturdy kick-stand unlocks the many possibilities available to the Zenbook DUO 2024. Some of the modes are: Laptop, Dual Screen, Desktop, and Sharing.

Each one lends itself nicely to different work and media consumption scenarios. Don’t feel like showing off? Keep things discreet and save some battery life with laptop mode. 

Need two screens? Switch to either Dual Screen or Desktop mode to take advantage of more screen real estate. 

Presenting something to someone across the table? Sharing mode lays the laptop flat allowing for easier viewing. 

 

The ability to morph to different modes depending on your needs is astounding. The best thing is that it is both functional and can serve as an ice breaker.

TWICE Momo and LE SSERAFIM Chaewon <3

Oh and we’ll never tire of sharing how the Desktop mode is perfect for watching two K-Pop fancams at the same time. 

Screen Xpert for the dual displays

This form factor won’t work without the right software support backing it. To that end, ASUS made Screen Xpert. What it does is essentially let you adjust the layout of the apps according to your needs. 

You can have up to four (4) apps live viewed at the same time. For our part, we usually only divided the screen to two, using one to reference a review guide or press release while writing news articles and/or reviews. 

But if you’re monitoring certain things, this will be pretty helpful having multiple windows laid out right away to get a quick overview of things is a godsend. 

Zenbook DUO 2024

The best thing is that a lot of these functions work intuitively. There’s a single button you can press to easily switch what’s displayed on the two screens. 

If you want more granular control, you can have the Screen Xpert floating bar ready at your disposal. Here you can control the brightness level of each screen individually. You also have the ability to change the orientation of each screen to your liking. 

There are also App Switcher and App Navigator functions to give you a better, more seamless way to layout the apps you use so that it’s most efficient for your needs. 

AI, Copilot, and more 

 

Something we didn’t mention much in the review is how the laptop is built with the AI age in mind. Powered by Intel Core Ultra 7 155-H, this thing is equipped with an NPU chip to aid in on-device AI tasks.

There’s stuff that happens in the background like making sure the AI-related tasks are processed with the NPU while the main CPU handles the rest. In the simplest terms, the Intel Core Ultra 7 is smart enough to delegate a task to the chip that will best execute it. That results in a more optimized overall performance.


Copilot is one of the biggest AI additions to any Windows machine. The possibilities are close to limitless. For our part, we’ve only really played around with Copilot Designer. But there’s so much more that you can do with it. Just remember to always check the results. Every AI output still needs a human touch. 

AI is also present in other functions like noise cancellation and the camera. AI Noise Cancellation makes sure you can hear and be heard no matter what scenario you’re in. It’s perfect for remote workers who do not exactly have control over their immediate surroundings.

Meanwhile, AiSense Camera works not only as a Full HD IR camera. It also automatically detects the lighting levels in your environment and adjusts brightness levels accordingly. You also get functions like auto-framing and background blur. Lastly, there’s the slightly creepy Eye Contact feature that locks your gaze to the camera. It can be a bit disorienting so maybe pick the occasions when you’ll use it. 

GlideX 

Working beyond this dual screen laptop? ASUS also made sure to equip the Zenbook DUO 2024 with software that makes adding even more screens a no-sweat task. 

With GlideX you can easily connect your Zenbook DUO 2024 with smartphones, tablets, or even another PC. Even better, it’ll give you the option to control everything from a single device. 

DUO more 

For a first-of-its-kind device, the ASUS Zenbook DUO 2024 is pretty darn polished. That’s thanks largely to the company experimenting with dual screens long before releasing this dual screen machine. 

The Zenbook DUO 2024 literally lets you do more, providing options for flexibility that will help you optimize your workflow so you can finish your tasks more efficiently. This is more than just a gimmick device, it’s actually helpful and that’s because ASUS took the time to fit it with the proper software support. 

More on the ASUS Zenbook DUO 2024 here. 


This feature is a collaboration between GadgetMatch and ASUS Philippines.

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Laptops

Qualcomm announces Snapdragon X Series laptop processor

High performance, fast responsiveness, better power efficiency

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Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon X Elite laptop processor in a bid to match competitors like Intel, AMD, and Apple. It is the flagship platform as part of the Snapdragon X series, which also includes the X Plus variants.

The X Elite processor focuses not only on high performance and fast responsiveness, but also power efficiency for multiple days of battery use. Additionally, it is AI-ready, harnessing the power of the Qualcomm AI Engine and integrated Qualcomm Hexagon NPU.

Game-changing performance, efficiency

The Snapdragon X Elite processor has a 4nm SoC architecture and 12-core Qualcomm Oryon CPU to optimize demanding workloads. The processor also features up to Dual-Core boost for fast responsiveness. Qualcomm will also integrate its Adreno GPU so laptop brands can deliver stunning graphics for immersive entertainment. Moreover, the processor also has a low-power consumption mechanism to support multi-day battery life on just a single charge.

Built for AI

Next, the Snapdragon X Elite platform is tailor-made for today’s laptops that utilize AI. The processor leverages the Qualcomm AI Engine and an integrated Qualcomm Hexagon NPU. These shall work together to deliver transformative experiences for creativity, video conferencing, and more. The processor is capable of running Generative AI LLM models over 13B parameters on-device at blazing-fast speeds. The AI Engine also  supports Windows Studio Effects, and many other AI-accelerated applications to support users’ various needs.

Furthermore, an updated Micro NPU inside the Qualcomm Sensing Hub will allow for enhanced security, login experience, and privacy. It also has the ability to wake the device up when in sleep mode. Sensitive data, meanwhile, can stay on the laptop with increased security.

Smarter user experiences

To give users a better idea of how capable the processor is, here are a few benchmarks. Laptops running on the Snapdragon X Elite can seamlessly play UHD graphics at 120fps, and up to 5K content at 60fps. It will let you record yourself at 4K HDR with up to a 64MP built-in camera. It will work hand in hand with up to 64GB of DDR5 memory, and can support download and upload speeds of up to 10Gbps and 3.5Gbps, respectively.

In terms of connectivity, the platform supports Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7 with HBS Multi-Link for seamless connectivity. Snapdragon Seamless also lets users to easily switch between devices.

Snapdragon X Plus

Snapdragon X Plus

Alternatively, Qualcomm is also soon introducing the Snapdragon X Plus processors. They have just two less cores at 10 Qualcomm Oryon CPUs, and offer up to 3.4GHz of processing power.

Much like the X Elite, Qualcomm promises the X Plus to deliver topnotch processing across CPU, GPU, NPU, and Micro NPU for the PC class that will be housing them.

Moroever, these platforms fortify AI processes to make it easier for users, whatever their computing needs may be.

Release date

There aren’t concrete reports yet about its official release date and what PC brands have already committed to use the platform. But there is an interesting Reddit thread here that connects the dots and also mentions when Windows 12 is expected to release. For now, what Qualcomm intends to do with the Snapdragon X Elite processor sure sounds promising. It’s definitely meant for higher tier, gaming and creator-level laptops.

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Features

LOQ and LOAD: The Lenovo LOQ 2024 is for gaming and more

Your entry to PC Gaming

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Lenovo LOQ

Get your game on with the Lenovo LOQ 2024. This capable laptop is your entry point to PC Gaming and a lot more.

It comes an absolutely affordable price point: PhP 48,995.

You get capable hardware and the hood to support gaming and more. The Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9I runs on the 12th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and Intel Arc Graphics.

Those are key to bringing unreal graphics to this segment. Supporting latest tech like DirectX 12 Ultimate, players are able to enjoy high frame rates on the Lenovo LOQ.

Creating content? It comes with AI Advantage to help boost performance. Engines and accelerators boost the media processing workloads especially for creatives. It also works with Intel’s X Super Machine Learning, Leading to images that are as close to reality.

The laptop supports a configuration of up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD Storage.

As for its display, the device has a large 15.6-inch, Full HD panel that is more than enough for gaming, video editing, content consumption, and whatever else you do on a laptop. This display has 144Hz refresh rate, 300 nits brightness, and anti-glare.

Videos come out clear, crisp, and realistic. Audio is punchy and as loud as it gets. Windows Sonic elevates it more when you use headphones. And it just takes a few minutes to render HD videos on editing software.

As it runs on Windows 11, if you are going to use it for work, you can take advantage of various features. The Lenovo Vantage Widget is there for constant reminders, Copilot will help you organize your tasks, and Microsoft Edge is there for casual browsing.

There is an assortment of ports at the back for easy connectivity. And as this is meant for gaming, we put it to the test. Racing that looks better with high frame rate? Check. Shooting titles that require heavy work? Not a problem. You can play all your favorites and not worry about performance.

Best of all, it takes less than an our to juice up this laptop all the way to 100%.

So, whether you’re looking to get started with PC Gaming, or an upgrade for work and entertainment needs, the Lenovo LOQ has you covered.


This feature is a collaboration between GadgetMatch and Lenovo Philippines.

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