News

HTC launches the notch-less, translucent U12+

Sports an 18:9 display

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Finally, HTC has lifted the veil off its much-anticipated flagship. After weeks of leaks and rumors, the HTC U12+ has arrived on the scene. In a global launch event, the Taiwanese company has completely unveiled both the specs and price of their new flagship.

Unlike most smartphones today, the U12+ will not carry the controversial camera notch. Instead, it sports a 6-inch Quad HD+ screen. The sizable display packs in an 18:9 resolution of 2880 x 1440.

The screen features HTC’s upgraded Edge Sense 2. Besides the usual complement of gesture controls, the feature can now detect which hand is being used. The extra detection allows for convenient one-hand phone handling with gestures.

Under the hood, the U12+ touts the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 845 processor, and comes with 6GB of memory and up to 128GB of internal storage (expandable up to 2TB with a microSD).

Camera-wise, the U12+ snaps photos with a dual 12-megapixel wide-angle (1.4µm, f/1.75) and 16-megapixel telephoto (1.0µm, f/2.6) rear shooter. Additionally, the dual-flash camera supports speedy phase detection and laser autofocus. It also supports up to 2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom.

On the other hand, the dual 8-megapixel (1.12µm, f/2.0) front shooter touts wide-angle capabilities of up to a 84-degree field of view.

Further, the U12+ can churn out crystal-clear sound with support for active noise cancellation, hi-fi playback, and wireless audio.

For connectivity, the dual SIM phone supports up to dual 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, USB 3.1 Type-C, and HTC Connect for wireless streaming.

Finally, the U12+ owns a 3500mAh battery. According to HTC, it can power through up to 23.8 hours of talk time on 4G. It also supports fast charging with an included Quick Charge 3.0 charger.

It comes in Ceramic Black, Flame Red, and Translucent Blue. Notably, the Translucent Blue variant’s unique design (called Liquid Surface) allows users to see the inner workings of the phone through the back panel.

Online pre-orders are now available. The HTC U12+’s 64GB variant retails for NT$ 23,900 (around US$ 800). Meanwhile, the 128GB variant sells for NT$ 24,900 (around US$ 830).

SEE ALSO: HTC will launch a blockchain-powered phone in October

News

HONOR Magic5 Pro: Price in the Philippines

With pre-order freebies

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The HONOR Magic5 Pro, officially released at MWC 2023 in Barcelona, has finally landed in the Philippines. This is  HONOR’s flagship smartphone and touts its triple 50MP cameras, top-of-the-line looks, and cutting edge performance.

In our HONOR Magic5 Pro review, we said it’s “easily one of the Top 5 standard slate flagship smartphones” of 2023. That’s thanks to its “specs, design, and overall feel.”

Read the full review.

Price and availability

The HONOR Magic5 Pro retails for PhP 59,990 in the Philippines. From June 8 to 15, it’s available for pre-order and comes with a couple of freebies. These are the HONOR Band 6 smartwatch and HONOR X3 Lite Earbuds (worth PhP 6,000).

You can also grab the phone with Globe at GPlan 2499 with a one-time cash out of PhP 17,900. The freebies are also available in this option.

It’s also available through Home Credit at 0% interest starting June 16. Payment plans start as low as PhP 1,718 per month without insurance and PhP 2,085 with insurance.

HONOR Magic5 Pro

Black and Meadow Green

The phone comes in Meadown Green and Black.

HONOR Magic5 Pro Specs

  • Processor — Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset
  • OS — MagicOS 7.1 based on Android 13
  • Graphics — Adreno 740 GPU
  • Memory — 12GB DDR5X
  • Storage — 512GB UFS4.0
  • Display — 6.81-inch LTPO quad-curved floating screen, 2848 x 1312, 120Hz, 100% DCI-P3, 1800 nits peak brightness, HDR10+, TÜV Rheinland certified Low Blue Light
  • Audio — Stereo system with dual speakers, DTS:X Ultra
  • Security — Dual-TEE security system, NFC support, 3D face recognition, AI Privacy Call 2.0, fingerprint sensor
  • Connectivity — USB Type-C, dual-SIM slots
  • Wireless — Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.2
  • Battery — 5,100mAh, 66W wired and 50W wireless SuperCharge
  • 50MP wide camera (f/1.6, 1/1.12-inch sensor)
  • 50MP ultra-wide camera (f/2.0, 122 degrees field of view)
  • 50MP Sony IMX858 telephoto camera (f/3.0, 3.5x optical zoom, 100x digital zoom)
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Gaming

Fans created an amazing remake of Final Fantasy IX

It’s the best game you won’t be able to play

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Remakes are popular in the world of gaming these days. Three Japanese studios — Square Enix, Capcom, and Konami — all have released or upcoming remakes of their popular titles. However, the most impressive remake right now comes from somewhere other than these three giants. A group of fans have successfully recreated Final Fantasy IX with modern graphics.

Initially released way back in 2000, Final Fantasy IX remains one of the most endearing entries in the decades-long franchise. It was released for the original PlayStation. Of course, because of the hardware limitations back then, the original game looks dated.

Now, more than two decades after the original game’s release, a team of over fifty fans worked hard since 2021 to create a short demo of Final Fantasy IX using modern technology. The team does have a storied resume, though. It included individuals with experience from big companies like Sony, Blizzard, Riot Games, and Sucker Punch.

Unfortunately, if you want to play the remade game, you’re out of luck. The Memoria Project, as the collective is known, has no intentions of releasing a finished game — unless Square Enix gives them explicit permission to do so. Given how accurate the project is to the original game, copyright infringement is a legitimate concern.

As such, all fans have right now is a 25-minute gameplay video showcasing the opening Alexandria section of the game. It’s an impressive showcase, though. If you were a fan of the original, check out the video.

SEE ALSO: Final Fantasy XVI PS5 Bundle announced

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Gaming

Diablo IV will get two expansions

Hell is expanding

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In today’s gaming landscape, live-service games often come with a veneer of controversy. While the format ensures content continuously pouring through the gate, a lot of players equate it to the plagued world of microtransactions. Eager to break out of the stereotype, the newly released Diablo IV, itself a live-service game, is already promising a wealth of content coming in the future — including two expansion packs.

In an interview with Kinda Funny Games on YouTube, the franchise’s general manager Rod Fergusson has confirmed that the newly released entry in the popular series is getting at least two expansions down the line. With the live-service format, the studio can focus on polishing the content, rather than rushing them through the gate, according to Fergusson.

Though the expansions are already confirmed, neither Fergusson nor Blizzard have confirmed where the expansions will take players next. Both expansions will include unnamed narrative storylines, rather than focusing on introducing new mechanics.

Also, it will likely take a while before either expansion is announced. After all, Diablo IV just released a few days ago. Plus, the developers are working on putting out the first season of the title’s battle pass.

Two expansions are quite impressive for the new title. Both Diablo II and Diablo III only had one expansion.

SEE ALSO: Diablo IV is Blizzard’s fastest selling game ever

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