Hands-On

How the Muro Box filled my home with love and nostalgia

Share the good atmosphere!

Published

June 15, 2020

MJ Jucutan

Most of my childhood were spent indoors reading history books while listening to music. There was fascination towards the past, which older people found adorable, but were peculiar to my peers. If I wasn’t playing the piano, I was playing a music box to change the atmosphere in a room.

Music boxes evoke an avalanche of emotions. As the cylinder rotates and the pins pluck the prongs of a steel comb, nostalgia creeps in. To some, it’s like a heart-thumping prelude rife to a dreadful scene in a horror movie.

But music boxes are more than just paraphernalia instrumental to suspenseful films. It’s been around here since the 18th-century, transforming spaces into something peaceful and magical.

Throughout the years, it has been continuously polished. What we see nowadays are century-long efforts of refinement. As we trench on futuristic gimmicks and remakes of past gizmos we’ve loved, I once dreamt of having a music box that plays more than one song.

The dream came true when I discovered a smart music box, aptly named Muro Box.

The 21st-century treatment to the old trinket we love

I first saw Muro Box last 2019 during COMPUTEX in Taipei. I was elated, remembering how my dream turned into reality. When it landed in my home, I was ecstatic to try it out. After unboxing it quickly and rigorously reading the manual, I immediately tinkered with it.

It was hefty but also felt fragile, like our dear hearts wanting love. You will need to use both your hands to properly move it, else you end up breaking it.

It uses a wooden base and covers its components with acrylic. It looks elegant, befitting a royal atmosphere. Homes filled with wooden furniture and fixtures work perfectly together with the Muro Box.

To start using it, you need to plug its 12V DC power supply and adapter to a wall socket, as recommended in the manual. A reminder of how there are things that are meant for us.

As you insert the tip, the cylinder will start moving, plucking the prongs of a steel comb. You can start playing music infinitely when you press the button on the back.

However, it’s not just a music box that plays random songs repeatedly. It’s smart enough to control which song should play at a specific time, plucking the comb using a programmable pin on its cylinder, following the melodies assigned through the app.

The first app-controlled music box

Connecting the Muro Box through the app and your WiFi is a breeze. It’s simple, straightforward, and efficient in its instructions. Even a 10-year-old kid can follow it, except kids shouldn’t be near this fragile gizmo.

When you press the button for 10 seconds, you can start connecting Muro Box to its Muro Box app, which can be downloaded via Google Playstore and on the App Store.

With the app you can upload music in the library, create your own playlist, request a specific song to music composers, and compose your own music. If you keep it connected, you can schedule its playtime, setting it as your own alarm clock.

I personally didn’t use its alarm setting, as I’ve associated these lullabies as the soundtrack of my rainy days, the comforting lull before I sleep, and a companion to my laptop and coffee whenever I’m creating.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

There’s something magical when the Muro Box starts playing. It fills the room with sentimentality, transforming my home into a harmonious, safe space for myself, and my ideas.

My mom delighted in the sound of the Muro Box euphoniously playing while we sip and exchange “teas” on one rainy afternoon. Even my niece found it endearing to watch the sound resonate as the golden-tinted stainless steel gear works underneath its acrylic cover.

I guess this smart instrument can be appreciated by people of all ages. If you believe in the magic of music and our ability to attach emotions to it such as love and yearning, the Muro Box is a great addition to your smart home. I would even go as far as calling it an investment!

In a world where our homes are getting smarter and automated, we all need a reminder of the past modified to keep up with the times. The Muro Box is a fine example: It adds emotions and evokes nostalgia like a human’s touch, all through a mechanically-produced sound. It is indeed a wonder-filled product of engineering and love.

You can get the Muro Box through their Indiegogo campaign, which will run until June 19, 2020. It’s originally priced at US$ 535 but you can get 39% off when you avail its early-bird promo for as low as US$ 330. Back their Indiegogo campaign through this link.

Hands-On

OPPO Reno15 F 5G hands-on

More question marks than exclamation points?

Published

March 6, 2026

Manila Connoisseur

The OPPO Reno15 Series 5G made its way to the Philippines last month, and reception has been pretty great so far.

With a powerful camera package, AI, and a slew of upgrades, there’s a lot to love and not much negative to say. But that’s with both the standard and Pro models.

On the other hand, with the Reno15 F 5G — the series’ supposed budget-friendly “lite” variant —there were more question marks than exclamation points.

I attack this piece once more from a consumer standpoint: shelling out PhP 23,000 to PhP 26,000 for a midrange smartphone that feels and performs like it’s a few notches below its segment doesn’t sound too pleasant.

Performance

With a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor, the OPPO Reno15 F performs pretty much like any sub PhP 20,000 mid-ranger. It’s acceptable, but does not punch above its weight as expected.

No major hiccups for light and casual usage. But performance struggles a lot for demanding video games.

It also heats up significantly just 10 minutes into a title like Honkai: Star Rail. This is a stark contrast to the marketed 25℃ and up to 10 hours straight of smooth gameplay.

Although, the experience was still enjoyable with several wins and MVP runs in Call of Duty Mobile. It only means the F variant remains a more camera-centric phone rather than an a hard-hitting all-arounder.

As with other devices, the 7000mAh battery with 80W SUPERVOOC is a strong suit. You’re fueled from dawn ’til dusk, with much to spare. Recharging takes a breeze, too.

Display

The OPPO Reno15 F has a 6.57-inch 120Hz display, with a 92.8% screen-to-body ratio. At least, that allows you to focus on content on the screen.

Content leans more towards the cooler tone, so you’ll have to adjust it manually if you want a warmer or more vivid look.

The 397ppi pixel density is fine to ensure sharper visuals, while the 1400 nits peak brightness is helpful outdoors.

Camera

The device’s 50MP main camera captures decent quality. The color science leans on being natural anew, without being too dull nor washed out. You can pull off smooth portraits too.

I hardly used the phone for stills as I focused on videos, but here are some samples, on the occasions I was able to take the handset with me:

The 50MP front camera is an intriguing add-on, as it is capable of up to 4K video and a wide 100° field of view.

What this does is it essentially removes the need to flip your phone for the popular “0.5” shots. And the quality doesn’t get compromised given the pixel count.

Here are some selfies from different focal lengths:

To its credit, filming with the back camera at 60fps does look and feel smooth, although it can be improved.

Same with the front camera; and the zoom range can be switched from 0.6 to 2x without cutting the recording.

Although, it’s still best to use a selfie stick or small tripod if you’re just after talking head videos.

Speaking of which, here are a few I’ve made with just this device:

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♬ original sound – Manila Connoisseur – Manila Connoisseur

But for travel and on-the-go captures, as OPPO markets for the series in general, even the Reno15 F can cover a lot of background along with your or your groups’ faces.

Make no mistake, there are some useful AI editing features here. In particular, AI Portrait Glow gives your raw capture an effect to make it look it was taken with flash.

I do not recall the device heating up as well when taking many photos or videos, so you can say it’s more optimized for that task rather than gaming.

Connectivity issues

Meanwhile, AI LinkBoost 3.0, as in the case of the OPPO A6 Pro, doesn’t seem to punch above its weight either.

Once, I also played Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and the session opened to a jittery start despite being on Wi-Fi and having a stable connection. I don’t know what triggered this.

Design, feel

We got the Aurora Blue variant which does kind of resemble the northern lights when you tilt the phone a certain way and when light hits its back panel.

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The cursive “Reno” on the large, protruding camera island gives it more style.

However, it’s all just aesthetics. On the downside, the phone is all sorts of slippery.

I couldn’t hold it properly without think of it slipping away from my hands; nor could I put it on my lap with confidence.

So I guess it’s good that it has structural integrity and waterproofing, because you’ll need that.

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The 6.57-inch body does have a good balance between being too compact and too large, like ultras and pro maxes.

It has a squarish body and has already adapted to the premium, aluminum frame look from the sides.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

Sadly, the OPPO Reno15 F 5G is a Swipe Left unlike its bigger, more capable siblings. There are plenty of plus points for the camera package but take that away, and I don’t see much difference between the Reno15 F and something like the A6 Pro.

Granted, the asking price of this phone will drop significantly in a few months. But throw in a little more, and you’ve got a legitimate mid-ranger that’s more on the premium side rather than the cheap end of the spectrum.