News

Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch will arrive in PH on January 14th

Published

December 12, 2016

Monch Lopez

The holiday season is just around the corner. And really, Christmas isn’t Christmas until you get a gift for yourself, yes?

To that end, Samsung Philippines is making a bid to get into every techie’s last-minute shopping list with the Gear S3 smartwatch, which broke cover two months ago as the centerpiece of Samsung’s IFA announcement in Berlin.

[irp posts=”4345″ name=”IFA 2016: Samsung Gear S3 hands-on”]

The Gear S3 will be available from January 14, 2017 in the Philippines, but preorders start today, December 12, on Lazada and Abenson’s website. Local pricing is set at P16,490, or $330. Early adopters, though we probably shouldn’t call them that given the timing of the release, will receive an extra watch band (valued at almost $40) so they won’t have to spring for one when they eventually get tired of wearing the same strap all the time.

Left: Gear S3 Classic; right: Gear S3 Frontier

Similar to its predecessor, the watch has two designs: the Classic and the Frontier. The former is classier, updated with stainless steel and a polished silver finish, whereas the latter tends to appear more casual and rugged, sporting a darker, gunmetal face with textured buttons and a silicone band.

Regardless which model you pick, you’ll get an Tizen-based timepiece with the same hardware on the inside, in addition to wireless charging via the included magnetic dock; GPS for fitness-tracking purposes; NFC for wireless payments; and a speaker for calls and music playback. Both also tout a large, always-on AMOLED display and an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

The Gear S3 Frontier that’s coming to the Philippines will not have standalone LTE connectivity found on models sold in other markets.

Samsung has packed a lot of features into a very small package, but in doing so, it’s sacrificed the thing that makes the Gear S2 so appealing and physically satisfying to wear. The new Gear smartwatch is bigger and much thicker than what came before. Still though, props to Samsung for not compromising on style and keeping them looking like traditional timepieces, the kind Apple Watch fans must miss having on their wrist.

[irp posts=”3134″ name=”Lenovo brings Moto 360 smartwatch to the Philippines”]

Apps

Canva teams up with SB19 to turn A’TIN’s passion into creativity

Campaign lets fans access assets, editable templates, more

Published

August 8, 2026

GadgetMatch

Canva Philippines has joined forces with SB19 and Sony Music Entertainment to launch the “Kaya sa Canva” campaign.

This first-of-its-kind initiative is aimed at transforming the popular Filipino boy band’s fanbase into creators by giving them access to official design assets, exclusive templates, and powerful creative tools.

That’s of course as fans have a way of creating artwork, banners, and more outputs to honor their idols.

As such, the partnership enables the A’TIN (SB19’s fanbase) to access the Canva-exclusive SB19’s Creative Hub.

This dedicated space lets fans access assets, including SB19-inspired sticker packs, custom typography, and editable templates inspired by the group.

Fans around the world will initially have access to templates for photo-booth strips, wallpapers, posters, and videos.

The campaign will then expand with Canva-exclusive assets celebrating the group’s New Era, as well as their latest single, “Lawless”.

Meanwhile, the original song “KAYA” is accompanied with an upbeat music video, doubling as a love letter to A’TIN and a masterclass in Canva’s tools.

Every visual and animation is fan-inspired, a celebration of the creativity, passion, and dedication that’s defined in the community from day one.

News

The iPhone 18 might sell out for an unexpected reason

The ongoing shortage might play a part in the phone selling out earlier than expected.

Published

August 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

An iPhone selling out is not news. Because of how popular the phones are, it’s within the realm of probability that Apple runs out of stock at some point. According to a new report, this year won’t be any different… but it’s for an entirely different reason.

First reported by analyst Tim Culpan, Apple is reportedly struggling to meet its demand for semiconductors for the iPhone 18 and the foldable iPhone. The ongoing memory shortage is cutting off Apple’s ability to deliver the required supply of smartphones in a timely fashion. The report even claims that TSMC, which helps produce the iPhone, is sitting on a shipment of processors, worth US$ 1 billion, that don’t have memory chips.

Now, Apple is still confident that it can weather the launch. However, if the shortage persists, the iPhone 18 generation will likely sell out much more quickly than expected.

It’s an interesting time for Apple to experience such a shortage. It’s been heavily rumored that the company will launch its very first foldable phone next month, creating a new market for the brand. Apple definitely wants this attempt to succeed after the tepid response to its last new product, the Vision Pro.

News

These “smart” glasses just sold out in under a week

DuckDuckGo touts that these glasses have zero AI, zero cameras, and an infinite battery life.

Published

August 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Smart glasses are in a weird place right now. While a chunk of the population views them as cool and innovative, another significant chunk sees them as a privacy nightmare. If you’re in the latter group but want to see what life is like on the former, DuckDuckGo has a new product: a pair of anti-surveillance glasses with no camera or AI, otherwise known as just normal sunglasses.

If it’s not obvious, yes, it’s a troll product. DuckDuckGo is a search engine famously known for pushing privacy as a priority, opposing Google’s penchant for advertising and AI. Now, the search engine is taking on the smart glasses market.

Partnering with Knockaround, DuckDuckGo released the Paso Robles, a pair of sunglasses touted as having zero cameras, an always-offline mode, and a battery life of infinity.

It’s a statement piece. The rims have a logo mark, similar to the Meta’s glasses. The packaging also states that the glasses are “designed to block the sun, not send data to the cloud.”

Now, if you want a pair, they cost only US$ 35, as opposed to Meta’s US$ 299 price tag, but they are already sold out.

Which says quite a bit about today’s sentiment against AI and for privacy. Of course, to be fair, DuckDuckGo’s supply is certainly less than Meta’s stock for their smart glasses. It does, however, prove that the sentiment is there.

As of now, the world is slowly realizing that unimpeded smart glasses aren’t such a good idea, leading to people concerned about their privacy. In fact, some states have already started banning the technology in certain public spaces.