News

OPPO R15 and R15 Pro Edition now official with a notch

Just as expected

Published

March 19, 2018

Daniel Morial

OPPO finally made their latest R series official and we’re not just getting one, but two new smartphones for the upper midrange segment — the OPPO R15 and OPPO R15 Pro.

Both versions of the OPPO R15 have a 6.28-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels or simply Full HD with additional pixels for the taller 19:9 aspect ratio. One would see the R15 to be a blend of the new iPhones (8 Plus and X) because of the glass back with the horizontal camera setup and notch on the display. Unfortunately, OPPO still treats their latest releases with a micro-USB port, but the R15 has the latest ColorOS 5.0 based on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box.

The similarities of the new OPPO phones end there, though.

The R15 is powered by the new Helio P60 processor with Mali-G72 MP3 graphics. The memory and storage configuration is set at 6GB and 128GB, respectively, which is truly abundant. VOOC, OPPO’s fast-charging tech, is fully supported by the built-in 3450mAh battery.

It has dual rear cameras with a main 16-megapixel Sony sensor with an f/1.7 aperture lens and a secondary 5-megapixel shooter. The cameras are also equipped with artificial intelligence that, according to OPPO, can recognize 120 scenes and do portrait lighting effects just like with the latest iPhones. Selfies are taken care of by the 20-megapixel front camera complete with bokeh effects.

The R15 Pro, also known as the Dream Mirror Edition, is the international version that will ship to other parts of the globe later on. It’s a beefed-up version of the R15 that’s powered by the Snapdragon 660 processor and Adreno 512 graphics. It still has 6GB of memory and 128GB of storage but has a slightly smaller 3400mAh VOOC-enabled battery.

There are still two rear cameras on board the R15 Pro, but the same 16-megapixel Sony sensor from the regular variant is now partnered with a 20-megapixel f/1.7 shooter. It’s a similar setup with the R11s and OnePlus 5T. There are still AI features on top of the usual camera controls, but the 20-megapixel front camera gets an exclusive portrait mode. We’re not yet sure how different it is with the other portrait modes, but it’s there.

The OPPO R15 and R15 Pro (Chinese version) will be available in China by April 1. The R15, which will only available in China, is priced at CNY 2,999 (US$ 475). It has three color options: Rouge Red, Frost White, and Nebula Purple. The R15 Pro, on the other hand, has a CNY 3,299 (US$ 520) price tag for the Ruby Red gradient and CNY 3,499 for the Infinity Black.

Gaming

TNC Predator, Afreeca Freecs Fatal win Predator League APAC 2019

For Dota 2 and PUBG, respectively

Published

February 17, 2019

Marvin Velasco

After three long days of battle in Bangkok, Thailand from February 15 to 17, two champions have emerged from the two featured games of the Predator League in Asia Pacific 2019.

For Dota 2, it’s TNC Predator from the Philippines; and for PUBG, the champ is none other than Afreeca Freecs Fatal from South Korea.

TNC Predator wins the #DOTA2 championship of the #PredatorLeague 🏆🏆🏆 #PredatorGaming #GadgetMatchLIVE @predatorph pic.twitter.com/gaf3O1lAaI

— Marvin Velasco (@labacnotan) February 17, 2019

Their winnings come from a prize pool worth US$ 250,000. Each champion receives US$ 75,000 for their efforts, while the runners-up split the remaining pot.

Congrats Afreeca Freecs Fatal for winning the #PUBG finals of the #PredatorLeague 🏆 #PredatorGaming #GadgetMatchLIVE @predatorph pic.twitter.com/wSBuYLC2lC

— Marvin Velasco (@labacnotan) February 17, 2019

The grand event concluded after over 3,500 competing teams from 16 countries were eventually reduced to only 26 groups in Bangkok for the finals.

This was the Predator League’s second event in the APAC region. In 2018, it was held in Indonesia. Next year’s event will take place in the Philippines.

Cameras

Fujifilm X-T30 is a lightweight 4K mirrorless camera

Cheaper version of the X-T3

Published

February 17, 2019

Daniel Morial

Image credit: Fujifilm

After Canon‘s announcement of the new EOS RP, it’s now Fujifilm‘s turn to present their latest offering: the X-T30. Fuji’s new mirrorless interchangeable camera is the successor to 2017’s X-T20.

The X-T30 is positioned to be a cheaper variant of the flagship X-T3 camera, but they actually share many common features and specs. It’s got a compact and lightweight body at just 383g which looks similar to the premium model, but with some minor changes at the back. It’s got a focus joystick instead of a d-pad, but retains the touchscreen.

Speaking of, it’s a 2-way tilting LCD panel with 1.04 million dots. The EVF, on the other hand, is a 2.36-million-dot OLED color viewfinder with a near 100 percent coverage area.

Image credit: Fujifilm

Inside the camera is a 26.1-megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 160 to 12800, which is expandable up to 51200, and backed by an X-Processor 4. With this, the X-T30 can shoot 30fps at 1.25x crop and 20fps without a crop using the electronic shutter. If you wish to use the mechanical shutter, the speed will be reduced to 8fps.

It has a hybrid AF system with 100 percent phase-detect AF, face detection, and eye tracking. Autofocus is also improved even in low-light. Focusing can be selected either through the touchscreen or joystick.

When it comes to video, the camera can shoot 4K at 30fps and up to 120fps when downscaled to 1080p. It’s capable of 10-bit recording and 4:2:2 DCI 4K video through the HDMI port. Fujifilm’s Film Simulation modes are also available.

The Fujifilm X-T30 will be available in March starting at US$ 899 for the body only. It’ll go up to US$ 999 when bundled with an XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS lens, or US$ 1,299 when bundled with an 18-55mm f/2.8-4 lens.

MWC 2019

LG V50 ThinQ will be company’s first 5G smartphone

Arriving right before MWC 2019

Published

February 17, 2019

Marvin Velasco

We have yet another leak ahead of LG’s press conference happening right before Mobile World Congress 2019. This time, it’s for the company’s first 5G smartphone, the V50 ThinQ.

It comes in the form of a tweet by Evan Blass, who also spilled the beans on LG’s upcoming G8 ThinQ flagship a few days ago.

LG V50 ThinQ for Sprint 5G pic.twitter.com/TNLQsYPgPS

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 16, 2019

This confirms that the 5G smartphone LG will be showing off at MWC in Barcelona, Spain is the V50 ThinQ. Previously, we knew of such a handset coming on February 24, but we didn’t know what branding it would go under.

The leak, however, points to exclusivity with US carrier Sprint. It might also be a limited partnership, but we can more or less confirm that the V50 ThinQ will carry a Snapdragon 855 chipset in order to handle 5G signals.

In addition, we can see an extra camera on the front and back as compared to the G8 ThinQ’s setup. Sadly, it seems like the wide notch is sticking around.

Surprisingly, the V50 ThinQ is launching less than five months after the V40 ThinQ’s release. LG may be prioritizing its 5G rollout and needs an existing series to lay it on.

We’ll learn more once LG takes the stage on February 24 to reveal all its new devices, which might also include a foldable phone.