Features

Oops! OnePlus, Samsung figure in blunders: Weekend Rewind

They had a rough week

Published

December 8, 2018

Rodneil Quiteles

Here are this week’s top stories on GadgetMatch.

1. OnePlus won’t have first phone with latest Qualcomm chip after all

So about OnePlus getting first dibs on the Snapdragon 855 SoC, well, it’s not accurate. The announcement was just lost in translation.

In a report by Engadget, it appears there were two sets of slides for OnePlus’ presentation at the Snapdragon Summit in Maui. One is in English while the other is in Chinese. It was the English version that said OnePlus will be the first to get the Snapdragon 855 but it was mistranslated from Chinese which apparently said “among the first” and not the first.

Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 855 SoC in Hawaii which is a 5G-enabled chip among other things. Earlier this week, Samsung and Verizon also announced plans to release a 5G phone in the US in the first half of 2019.

2. Samsung caught using DSLR to promote live focus feature

Speaking of Samsung, the company also starred in their own blunder this week when they were caught using a photo taken with a DSLR to promote the live focus feature of the Galaxy A8 Star.

It was Dunja Djudjic of DIYPhotography who spotted her work — something she licensed on photo site EyeEm — on Samsung Malaysia’s website that implies it was taken with the Samsung phone. However, this was not the case as Djudjic says a DSLR was used to take the photo.

It’s common practice for advertising materials to be sourced from stock image sites. However, it shouldn’t be the case when promoting a smartphone camera’s capabilities. Samsung phones do take good photos so it’s a little puzzling why Samsung Malaysia went with this direction.

3. Samsung and Huawei will come out with holed phones in December

More on Samsung but on a less controversial note. The Korean company is set to announce their first holed smartphone on December 10 — the Samsung Galaxy A8s.

The date will be historic as Samsung looks to beat everyone to the punch by launching the first official smartphone to have a selfie camera within the display. Nothing is confirmed yet, but specs-wise the Galaxy A8s could have a 6.3-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution, Snapdragon 710 chipset, up to 6GB of RAM, and a 24MP selfie camera.

Huawei won’t be too far behind as they’re also announcing a phone with a similar front-facing camera setup on December 17. The phone will be called the Nova 4.

The main Nova series always sports the top Kirin chipset despite not being part of the premium P or Mate series. When the Nova 3 was announced, it was rocking the Kirin 970; this means the Nova 4 might have the new Kirin 980.

4. iPhone XR has the best single-lens camera

Apple’s decision to stick to one has been validated. In a smartphone market filled with at least dual-camera setups, Apple still opted to go with just one on the more “affordable” iPhone XR.

DxOMark finds the iPhone XR’s camera to be a great performer scoring 101 points overall. This makes the iPhone XR the highest-rated single-cam device tested by DxOMark.

Question is, can the iPhone XR keep the throne for long? DxOMark has yet to put the Google Pixel 3 to test. It will be interesting to see once the result for Google’s latest smartphones comes out since the Pixel 3 has been killing it in smartphone photography — single lens or otherwise.

5. God of War is Game of the Year

God of War wins big at The Game Awards 2018 — the biggest awards show in gaming. The PlayStation 4 exclusive topped other interesting titles for Game of The Year including fellow PS4 exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man, Celeste, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Monster Hunter: World.

God of War also won Best Direction and Best Action/Adventure Game. Other notable games that got wins are Florence for Best Mobile Game, Dragon Ball FighterZ for Best Fighting Game, Fortnite for Best Multiplayer Game.

Weekend Rewind is our roundup of top news and features you might have missed for the week. We know the world of technology can be overwhelming and not everyone has the time to get up to speed with everything — and that includes us. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the rewind.

Features

GadgetSnaps: Malaysia shot on the Infinix Note 40 Pro+ 5G

Beyond charging tech

Published

April 24, 2024

GadgetMatch

The Infinix Note 40 Pro+ 5G prides itself in its charging technologies. But what about its camera capabilities? Well, here’s a quick round-up of the many photos we took around the time the Note 40 series was launched in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

The NOTE 40 Series features a 108MP main shooter with 3x Lossless Superzoom. It also has OIS for steadier shots when taking videos.

The edits applied to the photos here only some resizing and cropping to make the page easier to load. Take a look at all these sample shots

Infinix Note 40 Pro series launch day

Kwai Chai Hong/ ‘Little Ghost Lane’

Petaling Street (Chinatown)

In and around Central Market

Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery

Istana Negara entrance

Merdeka Square

Malaysian Bak Kut Teh and more

Petronas Twin Towers at night

Steady shooter

The Infinix Note 40 Pro+ 5G isn’t a stellar shooter. But at its price point, it’s pretty darn decent for capturing different scenarios. Take these photos into some editing software and you can certainly elevate their look.

The NOTE 40 Pro+ 5G is priced at PhP 13,999. It may be purchased through Infinix’s Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop platforms, where customers can get up to PhP 2,000 off. Additionally, the first 100 buyers can get an S1 smartwatch or XE23 earphones. Alternatively, customers may opt for the Shopee-exclusive NOTE 40 Pro (4G variant) for PhP 10,999.

Features

LOQ and LOAD: The Lenovo LOQ 2024 is for gaming and more

Your entry to PC Gaming

Published

April 23, 2024

GadgetMatch

Get your game on with the Lenovo LOQ 2024. This capable laptop is your entry point to PC Gaming and a lot more.

It comes an absolutely affordable price point: PhP 48,995.

You get capable hardware and the hood to support gaming and more. The Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9I runs on the 12th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and Intel Arc Graphics.

Those are key to bringing unreal graphics to this segment. Supporting latest tech like DirectX 12 Ultimate, players are able to enjoy high frame rates on the Lenovo LOQ.

Creating content? It comes with AI Advantage to help boost performance. Engines and accelerators boost the media processing workloads especially for creatives. It also works with Intel’s X Super Machine Learning, Leading to images that are as close to reality.

The laptop supports a configuration of up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD Storage.

As for its display, the device has a large 15.6-inch, Full HD panel that is more than enough for gaming, video editing, content consumption, and whatever else you do on a laptop. This display has 144Hz refresh rate, 300 nits brightness, and anti-glare.

Videos come out clear, crisp, and realistic. Audio is punchy and as loud as it gets. Windows Sonic elevates it more when you use headphones. And it just takes a few minutes to render HD videos on editing software.

As it runs on Windows 11, if you are going to use it for work, you can take advantage of various features. The Lenovo Vantage Widget is there for constant reminders, Copilot will help you organize your tasks, and Microsoft Edge is there for casual browsing.

There is an assortment of ports at the back for easy connectivity. And as this is meant for gaming, we put it to the test. Racing that looks better with high frame rate? Check. Shooting titles that require heavy work? Not a problem. You can play all your favorites and not worry about performance.

Best of all, it takes less than an our to juice up this laptop all the way to 100%.

So, whether you’re looking to get started with PC Gaming, or an upgrade for work and entertainment needs, the Lenovo LOQ has you covered.

This feature is a collaboration between GadgetMatch and Lenovo Philippines.