Lifestyle

Spartan Philippines brings DEKA to local athletes

The global hybrid racing standard touches down in Manila!

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Hybrid fitness racing has been picking up steam globally for a while now, and until recently, chasing it meant booking a flight.

That changed on July 28, when Spartan DEKA officially launched at the Grand Atrium of EDSA Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong City. Spartan Philippines has built its name on trails and mud pits, but the fitness world has shifted, and DEKA is where the brand is meeting it.

Athletes here no longer need to travel abroad to test themselves against a global leaderboard in this format. The arena’s home now.

The afternoon opened with a live drumming performance that set the tone, followed by a look at the roadmap through 2026 and 2027, and a full demonstration of all 10 standardized DEKA functional fitness zones.

Three formats, six ambassadors

The launch also introduced the first six DEKA Philippines Ambassadors, two representing each of the sport’s three race formats.

DEKA Strong strips out the running entirely and leaves 10 zones of pure output, represented by Yzah Umlas and Alex Diaz. Meanwhile, DEKA Mile adds a 160-meter run before each zone, represented by Marline Capones and Coach Don Velasco.

DEKA Fit pushes that run to 500 meters, represented by Kaizen Dela Serna and Justin Hernandez. Together, the three formats give the sport a range that fits different kinds of athletes.

Sports tourism gets a boost, too

The launch also carried a partnership with the Department of Tourism’s Office of Special Concerns. Spartan Philippines is rolling out its Love The Philippines APAC Ambassadors program next, aligned with the DOT’s own campaign of the same spirit.

The plan brings in Spartan athletes from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Cambodia, all of them positioned to encourage international racers to fly in and compete here.

Shangri-La Plaza and Fenix/FITIQAsia backed the launch, with Fenix/FITIQAsia supplying the equipment that made the live zone demo possible.

Mark your calendars

If the launch got you curious, there’s already a lot to look forward to. A DEKA Strong Road Show hits the PhilFit Expo from August 19 to 21, and the first DEKA Fit Arena event follows at Space at One Ayala on October 3 and 4, where organizers expect more than 5,000 runners on course.

Features

Burgundy is the new Black!

It’s wine o’ clock now for every smartphone brand!

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Cosmic Orange had a good run. For one generation, Apple’s “brave” iPhone Pro color turned into the flex color of 2025, and Android brands spent the better part of a year chasing that same citrus glow on everything from budget phones to tablets.

That cycle just repeated itself, except this time the copying started before the original even launched.

Apple made it official recently: the iPhone 18 Pro’s flagship shade is Burgundy, a deep red that leans warm and shifts toward purple depending on the light.

It’s the successor to Cosmic Orange, and Apple’s own language calls it “sophisticated.” Fair enough.

But Burgundy didn’t sneak up on the industry when Apple’s event wrapped. It’s been the worst-kept secret in tech since spring, when the first “dark cherry” and “deep red” leaks started making rounds.

By the time Apple actually confirmed the color on stage, at least four other phone makers had already shipped something wine-toned of their own.

Xiaomi got there first, on purpose

The Xiaomi 18 Fold, the company’s first wide-format foldable, launched with a Cherry Red colorway that multiple outlets pointed out looked a lot like Apple’s rumored shade, months before Apple confirmed anything.

Xiaomi 18 Fold

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Xiaomi timed the whole announcement to land just ahead of Apple’s own event, essentially racing to market with the same design language and a matching color story.

Whether that’s coincidence or a very calculated troll depends on how cynical you want to be about the smartphone industry, and honestly, you should be pretty cynical about it.

HUAWEI’s been circling this shade for a while

HUAWEI didn’t need to react quickly because it was already in the neighborhood.

The Pura X Max shipped in a Bordeaux Red, and the newly launched Pura X View came in a Shadow Red variant that sits comfortably in the same wine family.

Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

HUAWEI has actually been rotating red-adjacent colorways across the Pura X lineup since last year, with Stylish Red and Stylish Orange finishes added as running refreshes rather than one-off marketing stunts.

TECNO didn’t just match the color, it named the reference

The TECNO Camon Slim 5G might be the most self-aware entry in this whole cycle.

It launched at IFA with a Burgundy Red option sitting alongside artist-inspired finishes like Van Gogh Blue and Neo Mondrian, and GSMArena‘s own unboxing coverage flat out called the color “iPhone 18-anticipatory.”

TECNO wasn’t hiding what it was doing. It saw the leaks, built the phone, and then, shipped it before Apple’s event even happened.

This isn’t Burgundy’s first lap

Wine-colored phones aren’t new, they just don’t usually get a moment like this.

Samsung quietly ran a Burgundy Red Galaxy S8 as a limited South Korea release back in late 2017, then brought the same shade back for the Galaxy S9 and S9+ the following year alongside Sunrise Gold.

A Burgundy Galaxy Z Fold4 later became an online-exclusive color that didn’t cost extra despite the exclusivity. None of those got the fanfare Apple’s version is getting now, mostly because Samsung treated Burgundy as a nice-to-have rather than the hero shade.

Burgundy used to be the tasteful alternative color buried three options deep in a lineup. Now, it’s the one every brand wants on the box art.

Why burgundy, and why now?

The appeal is pretty straightforward once you look at what came before it. Bright colors like Cosmic Orange photograph well but can feel a little loud on a device you’re carrying around all day.

Burgundy splits the difference. It reads as premium in product shots and it doesn’t look like a toy in person. Yet, it still stands out next to a wall of black and silver phones on a shelf.

It’s the color equivalent of a phone trying to look expensive without trying too hard. And after a year of neon everything, that’s clearly what buyers and brands both wanted.

Whether Burgundy becomes as inescapable as Cosmic Orange did remains to be seen. But for a color Apple hadn’t even confirmed until its event, it’s already had one of the busiest years any smartphone shade has had in a while.

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Entertainment

PH to celebrate 1st ever National Cinema Day; movies start at less than $2

Watch a movie on September 12 for a fraction of the cost

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The Philippines will be celebrating its first ever National Cinema Day on September 12. On this day, movie tickets will go for as low as PhP 100 (US$ 1.60) at regular 2D cinemas.

The campaign aims to make moviegoing more accessible to audiences. This includes families, friends, students, and cinephiles in general.

Such initiative has been a staple in other countries, like the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and more. The same concept applies, with movie tickets going on sale for a lot less.

What’s great about the celebration is that all movies scheduled for exhibition on September 12, whether local or international, shall get the special admission price.

Advanced tickets sales have already begun. Customers can purchase through participating box offices, official websites, mobile apps, and authorized platforms.

Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and remain subject to theater capacity. Prices vary for other viewing formats like Director’s Club or IMAX, for instance.

The campaign is organized by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP), along with industry and government partners.

The initiative is supported by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP), Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), and the Metro Manila Film Festival through the MMDA.

Participating cinemas include Ayala Malls Cinemas, SM Cinemas, Robinsons Movieworld, CityMall Cinema, Megaworld Cinemas, and more.

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Lifestyle

adidas’ hybrid training shoe gets a Solar Turbo makeover

Same hybrid-training tech, now in Solar Turbo / Lucid Pink~

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adidas is giving the Adizero Dropset Pro a new look. Three months after the shoe first launched, the brand is rolling out a fresh colorway that keeps everything about the original build intact.

The Dropset Pro was built for hybrid athletes: the ones who run one day, hit the weight room the next, and throw in functional training somewhere in between.

adidas designed it to hold up across all three, and this newrefresh doesn’t touch that formula. What you’re getting is the same shoe in a much bolder shade.

A louder colorway

The new Solar Turbo / Lucid Pink colorway is hard to miss. adidas is positioning it as a style update on top of a shoe that already had its performance case made back in June.

The shoe still runs on full-length Lightstrike Pro foam, which adidas says handles cushioning and energy return without adding bulk.

EnergyRods are built into the midsole to help the foot roll through each stride. Lighttraxion covers the outsole for grip that doesn’t weigh the shoe down.

There’s Continental Rubber underneath for traction whether you’re training indoors or catching wet pavement outside. Also, there’s a 2.6mm Adizero sockliner that’s there to keep the shoe light while still giving you a feel for the ground under you.

Price, availability

If you’ve already got a pair of Dropset Pros in the original colorway, this isn’t a reason to upgrade. If you’ve been eyeing the shoe but wanted something less understated, this might be the version that gets you to check out.

The adidas Adizero Dropset Pro in Solar Turbo / Lucid Pink is available now at PhP 8,500. It’s in stock since September 2 at adidas and sports retail stores nationwide, on adidas.com.ph, and through the adidas App.

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