News

OPPO Reno6 series launches in the Philippines

Published

August 6, 2021

Rodneil Quiteles

We’ve always been… amazed(?) at how fast the OPPO Reno line keeps churning out smartphones. It was only about three to four months ago when we welcomed the Reno5 line and now, the OPPO Reno6 series is coming to our lives.

Indulge us on this quick anecdote. A friend of GadgetMatch recently saw the massive online promotion of the OPPO Reno6 series. Said friend just bought the OPPO Reno4 and wasn’t thrilled about the news. That’s how fast the Reno line launches phones.

But, see, the differences are pretty incremental. If you’re coming from Reno4 or Reno5, you should be fine. If you have something that’s a little older — whether it’s an older Reno or some other brand that launched alongside it — you might be curious what you’re getting with the Reno6 series.

The series comprises two smartphones: The OPPO Reno6 5G and the OPPO Reno6 Z 5G. Let’s start with the series’ namesake.

OPPO Reno6 5G

The OPPO Reno6 5G is an upper midranger whose flatedge design is reminiscent of the iPhone. It’s pretty light at 182g and should be comfortable to hold for most people.

Inside, it’s powered by the MediaTek MT6877 Dimensity 900 5G (6 nm) processor. It has 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and has a 4,300mAh battery with support for SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging 65W.

It has a nifty trick of letting you expand your RAM by up to 5GB. That is, of course, given you have enough storage space available to repurpose those gigabytes. Just search RAM Expansion on the Settings menu to look it up.

For the cameras you have a 64MP wide angle sensor that’s capable of shooting 4K/30fps video or 1080p/30fps and 1080p/60fps video. Flanking the main sensor are the 8MP ultrawide lens and a 2MP macro lens. Up front, there’s a 32MP selfie camera.

It has a 6.4” AMOLED Display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The screen refresh rate goes up to 90Hz.

OPPO Reno6 Z 5G

This one’s a little less specced out but still very much capable. It’s slightly smaller and lighter weighing in at 173g. It has a 6.4” AMOLED display with only a standard 60Hz refresh rate.

It isn’t completely underpowered with its MediaTek MT6853 Dimensity 800U 5G (7 nm) chip which is supported by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The 4,310mAh battery supports 30W fast charging.

The camera setup is pretty similar with a trifecta of 64MP wide, 8MP ultrawide, and 2MP macro lenses. It also shares the same 32MP front-facing camera.

ColorOS goodness

Both smartphones run the Android 11 based ColorOS 11.1. It’s one of the best things about the OPPO smartphones over the last year and a half. ColorOS has made strides to become a lot cleaner and more feature packed.

There’s a slew of customization options like choosing the contrast in Dark Mode, changing the shapes of the icons, and picking your own UI color scheme.

You also get mobile gaming features like the Game Assistant that lets you toggle different between different modes of play. It also gives you control on whether to shut notifications out completely or have them come in discreetly.

You also have the usual filters, beautification, and portrait modes on the camera app like A.I. Color Portrait and the host of new video-centric features.

Price and availability

The OPPO Reno6 5G will be available in Aurora and Stellar Black. It will retail for PhP 26,999. The OPPO Reno6 Z 5G is available in the same colorways but will retail for PhP 19,999.

Both phones will be available in OPPO Concept stores as well as the company’s e-commerce partners Lazada and Shopee.

Enterprise

Google illegally destroys 250,000 trees for a single AI data center

This is what we stand to lose with data centers.

Published

October 22, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

In the Philippines, it’s illegal to cut down a single tree without a permit. It’s a constant reminder that the preservation of nature should be a civil, besides being a moral, obligation. And yet, corporations are seemingly immune from obligations and morals. Google, the company that used to stand for “Don’t be evil,” shows off its true colors by illegally cutting down 250,000 trees in Finland for a datacenter.

As first reported by The Guardian, Finland is now staring at 330 hectares of land suddenly denuded of around 250,000 valuable trees, all thanks to Google. A local ecologist has also said that the company killed a further 150,000 trees at a separate site.

The environmental desecration is part of Google’s multibillion-dollar push to build data centers all over the world for artificial intelligence. Google has since been ordered to stop the development in the country after Finland found that the company acted without securing the needed assessments and permits to clear the area.

Google brushed away the report by saying that they acted “on the best understanding we had of the legislation at the time.” The company also said that they are protecting the water quality at the affected sites and committed to replanting trees across 130 hectares, a pale comparison to the total area affected.

Other AI companies are also trying to weasel their way into other countries to build data centers. An example is the controversial Pax Silica in the Philippines. Finland now stands as a cautionary tale against the unimpeded and unsupervised growth of data centers for a service that no one asked for.

Don’t be evil, my ass.

Accessories

Bose acquires Skullcandy

But both are still separate brands.

Published

October 22, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As one of the wisest sages of the 2000s once said, “He was a punk, she did ballet. What more can I say?” Sometimes, opposites attract. Now, two of those opposites in the audio space are coming together: the punk Skullcandy and the ballet-loving Bose.

Today, Bose has announced its acquisition of Skullcandy. The latter will continue to operate as a separate brand but now officially under the Bose umbrella. Although, it’s not a new collaboration as the two brands have previously worked together on devices before. Skullcandy will just have more access to Bose’s technologies moving forward.

Alternatively, Bose will now have access to Skullcandy’s more varied audience. Compared to Bose’s focus on premium products, Skullcandy caters to more alternative lifestyles. Though the brand has since mellowed from its more radical roots, it is still known as one of the alternative brands.

Bose, on the other hand, is still a household name for home audio and noise-cancelling headphones. The new relationship between two polar opposites might be seen as a weird one, but it’s ultimately beneficial to both parties. Besides, both brands were very strong in the 2010s. Keeping both brands going is a boon to audiophiles of the past decade.

Gaming

Next Xbox might cost double the price of an Xbox today

The most expensive Xbox Series X costs $900. The next Xbox’s price might double that.

Published

October 22, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Buying a new gaming setup must be one of the most torturous things you can purchase these days. The rising price of chips has hampered the buying ability of many a consumer today. Sadly, that trend isn’t changing anytime soon. According to new reports, the next Xbox might cost double of what an Xbox costs these days.

The next console is currently codenamed Project Helix. Spearheaded by relatively new Xbox CEO Asha Sherma, Project Helix has hopes of being an all-around gaming machine capable of playing PC games besides console exclusives. Sharma obviously wants the platform to come back as a worthy destination for gamers.

That’s a monumental task, though, especially after the rising prices of chips are constantly threatening the prices of new devices. Now, according to a profile of Sharma published by Fortune, the next Xbox might cost as high as US$ 1,800. For reference, the limited 25^th anniversary edition of the Xbox Series X currently costs US$ 899.

Should Fortune’s estimate hold true, a new console in the coming years is double the cost of the most expensive Xbox Series X variant available today. The next generation of gaming might be even more of a luxury than it already is.

Unfortunately, things aren’t getting better across the board. Gaming on PC and on PlayStation aren’t going to be much cheaper as the RAM crisis continues.