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Samsung Galaxy A30, Galaxy A50: Price and availability in the Philippines

The company’s latest contenders

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Samsung Galaxy A50 | GadgetMatch

Samsung is keen to keep its top position even in the midrange and budget segment. Shortly after the Galaxy M20, the South Korean company now brings the Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50 to the Philippines.

Among the two, the Galaxy A30 is pretty modest with its 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display (Full HD+ in resolution) and a small notch. It’s powered by an Exynos 7885 processor with 4GB of memory and 64GB of expandable storage.

It has a 16-megapixel selfie snapper and two rear cameras composed of a 16-megapixel f/1.7 main shooter and a 5-megapixel camera with an ultra wide-angle lens. It also features a rear-mounted fingerprint reader.

Samsung Galaxy A50 in blue and white finish | GadgetMatch

Then there’s the Galaxy A50, which is undeniably a powerful midranger. It features the same AMOLED display as the Galaxy A30’s, but with an on-screen fingerprint reader. It’s powered by a faster Exynos 9610 processor with 6GB of memory and 128GB of expandable storage.

Camera-wise, it’s got three on the back: a main 25-megapixel f/1.7 camera, a 5-megapixel depth sensor, and an 8-megapixel ultra wide-angle shooter. In front, it has a 25-megapixel camera for selfies.

The two new phones feature glossy rounded bodies which Samsung calls “3D Glasstic.” Inside the phones are large 4000mAh batteries that support fast charging through USB-C. Thankfully, they come with Android 9 Pie out of the box, including Samsung’s new One UI.

Surprisingly, both phones are cheaper than Samsung’s previous releases. The Galaxy A30 is priced at PhP 13,990 and it’ll be available in black or white, while the Galaxy A50 is at PhP 17,990 with black, white, and blue color options

The phones will be available in stores starting March 30, but pre-ordering will start as early as March 16 for the Galaxy A50. Those who will pre-order through stores and online channels will receive a free JBL Go 2 speaker, a mini tripod, and a 10000mAh power bank. Samsung is also throwing in a JBL Go 2 speaker as a freebie for customers who will avail of the Galaxy A30 on March 30 and 31.

SEE ALSO: Samsung wants to double down on affordable phones with the launch of Galaxy A10

Entertainment

Max vs 100 will feature Max Verstappen race against 100 go-karters

The live event will stream at midnight on September 17.

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As a child, one of my favorite thought experiments is to imagine who would win in a fight between my favorite characters at the time and a number of other random beings. For example, will Superman prevail against 100 Magnetos? Those are the ways I kept my young mind occupied. Now, as a former child, I still do the same thing but with more realistic people, like imagining if Steph Curry can win against 100 high schoolers. This week, ESPN and Disney+ are making one of those imaginary fights real: Formula 1 legend Max Verstappen versus 100 go-karters.

In an upcoming live event streaming exclusively on Disney+, Max vs 100 will pit the four-time world champion against 100 go-karters from everywhere in pop culture. This gaggle of 100 will include popular content creators such as Twitch streamer ExtraEmily, car photographer Larry Chen, and NBA shooting coach Chris Matthews.

All 101 drivers will race around one of the most iconic tracks in Formula 1 history, Silverstone in England. The track will be reconfigured to match the special race.

Of course, this is more than just a parade of go-karts. Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid, meaning he has to overtake all 100 racers to win. Now, the Dutch driver is no stranger to winning from the back. In 2024, he won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite starting from P17 (out of 20 racers). Max vs 100, though familiar for the driver, presents a different challenge. Can he overtake 100 times to win the race?

Max vs 100 will stream live through Disney+ on September 17, 12:00am PHT.

SEE ALSO: Disney+ is moving to a global app experience

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Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

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As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.

SEE ALSO: These are the best Android 17 features (if you hate AI)

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Gaming

Valve unveils price of the Steam Frame

The VR headset starts at US$ 1,059.

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The trifecta is complete. Almost a year after announcing their new hardware, Valve has finally unveiled the price tag of the Steam Frame, complementing the Steam Machine and Steam Controller revealed a few months ago.

Whereas the Steam Machine is a console of its own, the Steam Frame is a traditional VR headset with a pair of controllers for both hands. Unfortunately, despite being in a different segment, the headset is not immune to the rising prices of technology. The Steam Frame will start at US$ 1,059 for a 256GB model and can go up to US$ 1,299 for the 1TB model. On the plus side, each box will come Half-Life: Alyx packaged along with the headset.

Here’s a more detailed rundown of what you’re getting. The Steam Frame will ship with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with 16GB of RAM. Each eye comes with a 2160 x 2160 LCD screen, putting out images at up t0 a 144Hz experimental refresh rate. As mentioned above, the headset will start with 256GB of storage but can go up to 2TB. It will come packaged with SteamOS 3 and a rechargeable 21.6Wh battery.

This might be a hard buy for some. The industry currently has more affordable options, for one. Also, virtual reality isn’t the most thriving segment of gaming today.

If you’re still decided on buying one, however, Valve is using its lottery system. Interested customers can sign up from now until September 17. The company will then randomize the purchasing order. Those who draw the first ones in the lottery can get a purchase email as soon as September 18. Meanwhile, anyone who registers after September 17 will automatically be put at the back of the queue.

SEE ALSO: Valve announces its own console called the Steam Machine

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