News

ASUS ZenFone 5 scores 90 on DxOMark

Not bad for the company’s first entry

Published

May 17, 2018

Marvin Velasco

While waiting for OnePlus to reveal the DxOMark score of its newest flagship phone (spoiler: It hasn’t been disclosed yet), we instead got the numbers of another recently launched phone: the ASUS ZenFone 5.

The ZenFone 5 is the company’s latest shot at dominating the midrange market; and it’s been a great attempt so far. This handset offers a great set of specs, a screen that is on par with the competition, and the return of ASUS’ now-signature dual-camera setup owning an additional ultra-wide-angle lens.

So, how good are these cameras? Imaging authority DxOMark awarded them an overall score of 90. While that may not seem as amazing as the 95+ numbers we’ve been seeing more of lately, there’s some weight behind the ZenFone 5’s rating.

If you look at the complete mobile ranking of DxOMark, the ZenFone 5 is one of the few midrange smartphones that hit the 90 mark. It’s also one of the most affordable phones in this group, making it a great camera phone for the price.

Looking a little closer, the ZenFone 5 has a score of 93 in the photo department and a respectable 86 in video. DxOMark praises the cameras’ dynamic range and accurate white balance, but says that the images suffer from noise and loss of detail in certain situations.

Our own review of the ZenFone 5 gave credit to its cameras’ ability to scan environments using artificial intelligence. Photos during our tests had good color balance and a sweet level of clarity. The biggest downside we experienced was the slow autofocusing in dimly lit spots.

It’s interesting to note that this is ASUS’ first showing on DxOMark, and a great one at that. If the Taiwanese company can maintain this pace for its upcoming flagships, they’ll be serious camera-centric contenders in this market segment.

Related Topics:ASUS ASUS ZenFone 5 ZenFone 5

Enterprise

TikTok finally gets a buyer in the United States

The deal targets a closing date in late January.

Published

December 19, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

The year started with a ban. A day before Donald Trump started his second term, TikTok went dark, in anticipation of an impending ban. The platform quickly went back online, leading to an ultimatum that saw TikTok hunt for an American buyer to full stave off a definitive ban in the United States. Now, as the year ends, a buyer is finally here.

Via CNBC, TikTok has reportedly inked a deal to finalize a deal in the United States, as stated in an internal memo from CEO Shou Zi Chew. The memo, which was sent just this week, details a plan that will see the deal close by January 26, 2026.

Fifty percent of TikTok’s newly restructured U.S. arm will be held by a collection of American investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX. Meanwhile, already existing investors of TikTok will hold 30.1 percent. Finally, ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent.

Additionally, TikTok’s algorithm in the United States will be retrained with American data. The American arm will also handle the country’s “data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance.” Oracle will be the “trusted security partner” in charge of making sure the company keeps within regulations in the country.

With a deal pushing through, the long-running TikTok saga in the United States might finally come to a close.

Gaming

Silksong is getting its first major expansion next year

The expansion is called Sea of Sorrow.

Published

December 16, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

I still can’t believe that Hollow Knight: Silksong came out this year. After years of just waiting for the mythical title, it’s surreal to have it in my library. Now, barely waiting to catch their breath, Team Cherry is already working hard towards the next content drop, starting with Silksong DLC.

Just like the original Hollow Knight, Silksong is getting free DLCs to expand its story. The upcoming Sea of Sorrow DLC will be the game’s “first big expansion.”

The expansion’s trailer barely shows anything about the new content, besides vague allusions to what’s coming. At the very least, Team Cherry has confirmed, both via the announcement and the accompanying poster, that Sea of Sorrow will be nautical-themed.

It will feature new locations, new tools, and new enemies. By itself, Silksong is already a huge game. Adding more content then is a massive undertaking. Plus, Team Cherry says that this is just the first expansion, hinting at more coming in the future.

Sea of Sorrow will launch in 2026.

Besides the new expansion, the studio is also working on a Nintendo Switch 2 update for the original Hollow Knight. It will add higher framerates, resolutions, and more graphical effects. PC players will also get some upgrades to support larger screens.

The Switch 2 update, which will be free for those who already own the original game, will also launch next year.

Entertainment

Supergirl gets its first teaser trailer

Milly Alcock stars as the titular character.

Published

December 12, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

Before the new year starts, it’s already fair to assume that Supergirl might be one of the most anticipated movies of 2026. Premiering a year after the globally successful Superman, Supergirl will see the adventures of Clark Kent’s superpowered cousin, Kara Zor-El. Now, the next film in the sage finally has a teaser trailer.

As James Gunn mentioned previously, Supergirl will be based on Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Off traveling to other planets to party, Kara finds herself thrust back into the role of being a hero after a young girl named Ruthye Mary Knoll asks her for help.

Though the teaser trailer is mostly a montage of scenes, we already know what we can expect. According to Gunn, Supergirl will be tonally different from Superman, and we see this in the trailer.

However, we can still see influences from Gunn including the usage of “Call Me” by Blondie for the trailer. Also, the film’s space scenes look like they can fit right in with Guardians of the Galaxy.

Still, that’s what we have, and we’re excited. Supergirl will premiere on June 26, 2026.

The film will be directed by Craig Gillespie (Cruella). Milly Alcock plays the titular character. Meanwhile, she will star alongside Eve Ridley as Ruthye Mary Knoll.