Features

Phablet Wars Episode 1: Galaxy Note 5

Published

August 17, 2015

Michael Josh Villanueva

There’s a certain cadence to tech reporting, a routine if you will, milestones and destinations that are plotted on a calendar like red letter days. Like holidays more than special events, affairs that you know will take place, come hell or high water.

And sure enough, as it has come to pass every year since the original large screen smartphone was invented back 2011, a new Samsung Galaxy Note is unveiled.

I’m here on my third year running, and there’s a comforting familiarity about things, but something is not quite right, something is messing up the expected sense of déjà vu.

The date and place are different.

Normally this event takes places in September, in Berlin, right before the start of a technology trade show called IFA. Instead we’re at the Lincoln Center in the Big Apple, in the middle of August.

Almost ironically, you have Apple to blame for messing up this rhythm.

JK Shin Unpacked 2015

Back in 2011, Steve Jobs mocked the original Note predicting that no one would want to buy a phone with a large screen. But Samsung was laughing all the way to the bank, and so last year, behest their departed founder’s wishes, Apple released the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.

That super sized iPhone goes head-to-head with the Note, and Apple being Apple, can afford to be 3 years late, and still make a competitive dent in this growing space of smartphones that are larger than your usual phone and smaller than your usual tablets.

Each move now, is a play in these “phablet” wars. And that’s why we are here early.

Samsung wants a head start, away from any noise that Apple can generate. The Korean tech giant needs to wow the world like its never done before, and it needs to get the Note 5 to stores before Apple can say iPhone 6S Plus.

GLORIOUS

Note 5 in NYC

Behold the Note 5 in all its glory. The demo phone I’m given to take around town is gold, and it glistens under the New York sun, more prestigious than any Note I’ve previously had the privilege of using.

Its front panel is unmistakably Samsung with rounded corners and a glass face, as always a large Samsung logo is plastered just below the ear piece, and on the bottom center of the device, the capsule shaped home button.

The screen on this phone is as glorious as ever, similar to last year’s model, the resolution is twice that of a high-def display, with more pixels than the eye can see. Colors have the usual saturation and vibrance Samsung Super AMOLED displays are known for, and so far, its been holding its own against North America’s over zealous sun.

The only thing noticeably different about this screen is its bezel. One this phone, that border in between the display and the phone’s aluminum trim is reduced slightly, so the phone is not just thinner, but also a tiny bit shorter and slimmer.

But it is the phone’s back side that’s left me infatuated.

Earlier this year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S6 Edge – one of the most, I wanna say, fashion forward phones of the year, but in technological terms. Its edge display is curved on both sides, tapering down to fractions of a millimeter on both sides. This stunning specimen of a smartphone feels like the future.

In New York, Samsung unveiled a phablet version of the S6 Edge calling it the S6 Edge+ and I know it sounds like i’ve digressed, but if you can imagine what the screen of the S6 Edge+ looks like (I’ll make it easy for you, I’ve got a photo) that’s exactly how the back of the Note 5 is.

Curves on Note 5 & S6 Edge+

Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but this curvature adds to the phones “grippability,” matching the normal arc of one’s palms. After two years of experimenting with materials, I’m happy to see things come to this.

There’s a level of coldness associated with glass construction, it doesn’t embrace you, feeling more like a Porsche than a high-end mini van, but the Note 5 is the Porsche of smartphones, and in this case it hits the mark.

EVERYONE HAPPY

It’s about time. I’ve complained about Samsung’s plasticky build for many years now, they’ve finally delivered on premium looking phones this year. Of course premium construction has come at the cost of waterproof features, expandable storage and replaceable batteries.

The first two, Sony with its Xperia line, has managed to accomplish so I see no reason why this can’t be done.

But I expect the latter to piss off some loyalists. I know of many Note users who carry around a spare battery, and even with fast charging as an option, swapping a fresh battery for a depleted one sure beats having to use a power bank.

And while I don’t feel the urge to complain about this as much, it’s one area of innovation I wish Samsung would look into. How to maintain premium construction, while providing this flexibility some users demand. Maybe something to look into next year.

Apple doesn’t get the same amount of flack, even when iPhones have never been water proof, have never offered expandable storage options, and have never let users replace batteries. Perhaps it comes with the territory, Android users demand more options, even though we don’t always end up using them

I for one have used a Note for many years, and don’t remember if I really needed more storage. I sure didn’t ever have an extra battery, even if that would have been a great idea.

NOTE TAKING

samsung-galaxy-note-5-stylus

I also din’t use my S-Pen much. Which is an aweful admission, considering this bundled stylus is how the Note gets its name.

This year, many will speak about how the S-Pen got a face lift, and how its new spring loading mechanism ensures that the pen stays inside the phone when not in use. But it’s really the innovations built around S-Pen software that are huge for the Note.

Being able to scribble and draw on your phone is the value proposition of the Note. And in a sea of smartphones above 5.5 inches, it’s the first, and one of a handful, that actually bundle a digital pen — getting this right is justifying the phone’s existence.

Let me give you some concrete examples. Since the last two iterations, when you pull out the S-Pen it brings up a menu called Air Command. Do you want to scribble down a note, make a clipping from the current screen? All these options are a tap away from this pop-up menu.

But say you’ve moved on to other things, pen still in hand, summoning Air Command for another task isn’t as easy. It’s a meticulous process that entails pointing at the screen, close enough but without touching, and then a press of a button on the S-Pen.

Samsung’s fixed that on the Note 5. Air Command is now a small bubble that floats on your screen, you can position it anywhere you want, so it won’t get in the way of business. Retracting the pen still enables it, but it stays there, awaiting your next command. It took just a few minutes with the device, before I got that aha moment, it makes perfect sense. Just with that small adjustment, I have a feeling I’ll be using my S-Pen more now.

Samsung has also made the note taking experience more seamless. Even if the phone is off, you can pull out the pen, scribble a note and save it for later. The whole time the screen remains dark, giving you the impression that its still off. You can also save notes as minimized stickies that resemble app icons on your home screen.

I also think I’ll be using a feature called Scroll Capture. It saves you from having to take multiple screen shots of a webpage, or a lengthy chat conversation. When enabled, all you have to do is tap and it will scroll up one page. You can tap and scroll up to 22 times, on any app, and when you’re done it will save the screen grabs as one long image.

PHOTOGRAPHER’S BEST FRIEND

With all that the Note 5 has going for it, the camera feels like an aside, but traditionally all Notes have had some of the best smartphone cameras each year, and this one is no different. Although unlike previous years, this one doesn’t get an upgrade from last February’s Galaxy S6. It’s the exact same camera, and that really isn’t a bad thing – 8 months into the year, its still one of the best cameras we’ve seen on a smartphone this 2015.

Like the S6 you can double press on the home button to launch the camera, from any window, even with the display turned off. If you don’t have an S6, I promise you this will change your life, or at least give you the ability to capture even the most fleeting of moments.

So that the camera feels fresh, the Note 5 gets some nice-to-have features, but nothing really ground breaking. There’s an expanded “Beauty Face” mode for selfie-holics, a video collage mode that’ll elevate your Instagram or Vine posts, and for content creators the ability to livestream on YouTube from within the camera app.

Here are a few sample photos taken with the Note 5.

Time Square by Note 5

New York Streets by Note 5

20150111_111044

PHABLET WARS

In a few hours I’ve got a plane to catch back to Manila, for the first time since I started covering these events I have a phone to take back with me and use for a couple of weeks, which should be enough time to let the hype die down, and see how the phone performs in the real world. My feelings may or may not change then. By that time also, Apple will be ready with its own iPhone announcements, at which point we shall continue this Phablet War, and maybe even, declare a winner.

[irp posts=”913″ name=”Galaxy Note 5: BenCab Edition Unboxing”]

Related Topics:Galaxy Note 5 Galaxy S6 Edge Samsung Samsung Unpacked 2015

Camera Shootouts

Camera Shootout: HONOR 600 Pro vs OPPO Reno15 Pro

Camera clash of the two Mainlander midranger

Published

June 23, 2026

Vincenz

Year after year, major phone brands are defying the manufacturing and costing challenges just to give the mid-class the smartphone cameras they deserve.

This 2026 and beyond, it seems like it’s the new norm for the freshest breed of premium midrangers.

Mainlander Midranger

The HONOR 600 Pro and OPPO Reno15 Pro are two smartphones positioned in the peak of the midranger pyramid.

On paper, they are highly likely the closest in terms of camera hardware.

	HONOR 600 Pro	OPPO Reno15 Pro
Wide	200MP f/1.9 1/1.4” Samsung ISOCELL HP3 sensor	200MP f/1.8 1/1.56” Samsung ISOCELL HP5 sensor
Ultra-Wide	12MP f/2.2 112º FoV	50MP f/2.0 116º FoV
*Telephoto*	50MP f/2.8 3.5x optical zoom	50MP f/2.8 3.5x optical zoom
Selfie	50MP f/2.0	50MP f/2.0

First and foremost, while these phones rock a similar 200MP cameras by Samsung, the sensor sizes and age are quite different.

The HONOR 600 Pro has a bigger yet older (2022) 1/1.4-inch ISOCELL HP3. Meanwhile, a newer (2025) yet standard-sized ISOCELL HP5 was used in the Reno15 Pro.

The biggest disparity can be seen in their ultra-wide modules. HONOR didn’t focus too much on it by giving a smaller 12MP f/2.2 with a tighter 112-degree FoV (Field of View).

On the other hand, the OPPO equipped a bigger 50MP module with a brighter f/2.0 aperture, and an even wider 116-degree FoV.

Lastly, both the telephoto and selfie shooters are at 50MP. Both telephoto cameras are capable of optically zooming in to 3.5x.

Fair and Square

Both of these midrangers have their own set of special sauces. But, for the sake of fairness, I’ve stuck with each of their default camera color profiles: Natural for the HONOR 600 Pro while Original in the OPPO Reno15 Pro.

Disclaimer: If you are new here, sample photos were all taken using the default AI Camera Mode. These images were resized and labeled for faster loading and better online preview. No color correction, zoomed-in cropping, nor any other type of photo manipulation were applied.

3.5x Telephoto

Starting with the common denominator of both phones: their 3.5x 50MP f/2.8 telephoto shooters

T10

T11

T12

Beyond Telephoto Zoom

We have to break the barriers just to test each phones’ telephoto unit limit.

ZB1

ZB2

ZB3

ZB4

ZB5

ZB6

1x Wide (Main)

Again, both phones rock a 200MP camera but of different aperture and sensor sizes. Can you differentiate them from another though?

W10

Ultra-Wide Angle (UWA)

Each FoV value can be your primary hint to determine which is which. But, is it enough for you to tell who’s the better performer?

Mood for Food

A separate section for prospective users who will use one of these for food shots.

Furry Friends

Whether it’s our pets or wild animals, they all have one thing in common: they are all very hard to capture especially when in motion.

FF1

FF2

FF3

FF4

FF5

FF6

FF7

FF8

Indoors

Subjects taken in any controlled lighting is another tricky test for both of these smartphones.

IN1

IN2

IN3

IN4

IN5

IN6

IN7

IN8

IN9

IN10

IN11

IN12

The Night is Right

The ultimate camera test all boils down to shots taken at night (or low-light).

Actual camera processing is one. Added AI algorithms and the actual output for another.

N1A | 1x Wide

N1B | 3.5x Optical Zoom

N2 | Ultra-Wide

N3A | 3.5x Optical Zoom

N3B | 5x Lossless Zoom

N4 | 5x Zoom

N5 | 2x In-Sensor Zoom

N6 | 3.5x Optical Zoom

N7 | 1x Wide

N8A | UWA

N8B | 1x Wide

N9 | 3.5x Optical Zoom

N10 | 5x Lossless Zoom

BONUS: Super Moon

That same telephoto module gives both the HONOR and OPPO midrangers a zoom reach as far as 120x.

M1 | 40x Digital Zoom

M2 | 120x Max Zoom

Results

Were you able to write down and tally your picks? Well, here are the results:

A — OPPO Reno15 Pro 5G

B — HONOR 600 Pro

Conclusion

For the most part, samples taken on the HONOR 600 Pro are already social media-ready. They require little to no effort prior sharing it as your Facebook post or Instagram story.

And by that, the saturation and contrast game is strong as opposed to its rival — a look preferred by most users. These are clearly seen in Sets T1 / T5 / ZB5 / W1 / W2 / N1A.

Meanwhile, the OPPO Reno15 Pro leans more into the “natural” side.

Despite the absence of that premium Hasselblad partnership, it still gave desirable results for those who want the less “AI-processed” look (softer, reduced saturation, minimized contrast) which are evident in Photos T2 / T4 / T8 / T12 / ZB1 / ZB3 / W7 / W8 / FF7 / FF8.

Definitely, the results are not totally consistent. The OPPO Reno15 Pro mostly had a brighter and warmer output (T1 / T5 ~T7 / ZB6 / W1 / W4 / W5 / W8 / W10 / U1 / U2 / F1 / F2 / F4 / FF1 / FF2 / IN3 / IN8 / IN12 / N3A / N5).

Other times, the latter is brighter yet cooler (T12 / ZB1 / ZB2 / ZB3 / ZB4 / FF3 / FF8 / IN1 / IN2 / IN7 / IN9 / IN10 / IN11). Even the super moon shots on the HONOR 600 Pro were brighter, too.

These differences and inconsistencies might make or break your final decision which smartphone best suits your overall camera taste.

Pro-grade for less

Despite the continuous innovation and evolution of flagship smartphones when it comes to mobile imaging, phone manufacturers still try to balance everything out with midrange smartphones in the horizon.

The HONOR 600 Pro and OPPO Reno15 Pro are two among the handful midranger wonders meant for any pro-grade user who lacks the purchasing power to buy the bestest in the lineup — but, still want a very capable device for their smartphone-tography needs.

Clearly, the camera hardware isn’t the most “powerful” out there. Still, they are clear with the positioning of these phones. They are your pro-grade cameras for less.

As similar as their camera hardware, the HONOR 600 Pro and OPPO Reno15 Pro also have similar SRPs — at least the 12+512GB configuration.

HONOR 600 Pro = PhP 48,999 / MYR 3299 / SG$ 1049
OPPO Reno15 Pro = PhP 48,999 / MYR 3299 / SG$ 1049 (as Reno15 Pro Max)

HONOR your Reno?

Over the years of making dedicated camera shootout write-ups, I always thought that photos that look closer to our naked eyes is something that I should call “the better smartphone camera” — especially because of the accuracy of their output.

Now, with the advent of smartphone cameras with countless camera partnerships and all the imaginable profiles / presets / styles / recipes (or whatever you want to call ’em) to ever exist, it got harder to decide which smartphone to recommend for most users.

Such sentiment made me realize that there is no single clear winner at all.

So what’s the point of making another extensive camera comparison like this? Well, it’s still for you to show how each phone is capable (or incapable) both in camera hardware and software. It’s also for you to choose the camera look that’s closer to your liking.

Clearly, both the HONOR 600 Pro and OPPO Reno15 Pro are very capable smartphone cameras. But, at the end of the day, it’s your power as a buyer which pro-grade midranger wins your eyes and heart.

Now, if you will consider other aspects such as their core hardware, OS skin, and even after-sales service, that’s clearly for another story.

Cameras

Inside an OCR training day with Bring Your Game

Captured on the Canon EOS R6 Mark III

Published

June 19, 2026

MJ Jucutan

The first leg of Spartan Race’s Philippine National Series doesn’t wait for anyone.

We joined an OCR team, BGY BYG aka Bring Your Game, at Bridgetowne Obstacle Park as they put themselves through an obstacle course race simulation. I brought the Canon EOS R6 Mark III to document every athlete giving their best.

Shooting under direct midday sun is its own challenge. The 32.5MP sensor handled the harshness of open daylight without blowing out detail. The 40fps electronic shutter and Pre-continuous shooting meant we were already in the frame before the moment fully happened.

Athletes were moving fast and in every direction, but the 8.5-stop IBIS kept every shot steady as we moved alongside them.

The Dual Pixel CMOS AF II stayed locked mid-sprint, mid-climb, and everywhere in between.

This is what race prep looks like up close.

Abegail Manzano, UAAP Season 85 Rookie of the Year in women’s athletics at UP Diliman, leading the warm-up session.

Jeri Vega Oro from All-female Pop-Rock Band, ROUGE.

In photo: Georgii Brisuela

In photo: JBL PartyBox Encore Essential 2

BGY BYG/Bring Your Game’s Team Captain, Aldrin Collantes

Words and photos by MJ Jucutan.

Computex 2026

Why is AI loved in COMPUTEX but hated in the rest of the world?

Two sides of the same coin.

Published

June 19, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

To cover COMPUTEX 2026, I found myself staying in the Grand Hilai Taipei, a 5-star hotel right beside the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center (TaiNEX), the historical home of the annual conference. I can’t help but think of The Grand Budapest Hotel, a Wes Anderson flick about a similarly decadent hotel. But it’s not the plush hotel rooms, the hospitable staff, or the Romanesque public sauna that has me thinking of the iconic 2014 film. Rather, it’s the man of the hour himself, NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang, the king of today’s AI.

In The Grand Budapest Hotel, Ralph Fiennes plays Monsieur Gustave, the eponymous hotel’s flamboyant concierge. Always the life of the party, Gustave blends seamlessly into the hotel’s luxurious pink decor as he cavorts willy-nilly with the elder clientele. While the film flings Gustave around a thrilling chase for a deceased friend’s inheritance, the film’s subtext is one of politics, mistrust, and war. Around the hotel, the world haplessly descends into the geopolitical turmoil that brought about the Second World War. And yet, Gustave remains indifferent, content as he is to be atop his lofty pulpit while luxuriating in L’Air de Panache.

The amicable Gustave as he lures you in.

Jensen Huang, clad in his trademark leather jacket, is our story’s Monsieur Gustave. Much like Gustave, Huang revels in the fanfare around him. In COMPUTEX, he’s a hero adored by the masses. Wherever he goes, fans bend over backwards to take a selfie. His merchandise (and yes, it exists), touting AI-generated versions of him, is constantly sold out. It’s a stark contrast to the world and all its doom-and-gloom for a future bloated with AI.

The silence behind the applause

Before the official start of COMPUTEX, Huang conducted his own keynote speech for NVIDIA. If you’ve been to one of his keynotes in the past, you’ll hardly recognize what it’s become. There’s no more talks of realistic graphics or faster gaming performance. It’s all about AI.

Most of his time was dedicated to Vera Rubin, a multi-rack AI supercomputer destined to power the future’s data centers. Amid the drone of technical jargon (almost bordering on technobabble), I was quietly asking myself what I was doing here. Meanwhile, beside me, an enthusiastic woman clapped with as much fervor as if Huang was the second coming of Christ himself. Even if Huang could hear her individual applause (and he most certainly didn’t), he couldn’t have seen her Googling frantically what a multi-rack AI supercomputer was.

NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin

After what felt like forever on the Vera Rubin, Huang finally talked about a consumer-ready product: the new RTX Spark laptops. Admittedly, my interest was piqued. After all, it’s supposed to be the next evolution of PCs. Cue: more applause.

Although, the subtext here is as loud as the clamor. Though it’s certainly impressive that a single RTX Spark notebook can deliver 1 petaflop of AI performance and 192GB of unified memory, this next big thing is not for you and me. No one wanted to talk about the price of these things; not a single OEM, not even Huang himself.

All the hype is on productivity and profitability. It will make more work and more money… but not for you. If anything, you’ll probably end up worse.

The price of progress

Building a PC these days can bankrupt you just as easily as visiting an American hospital. A decent stick of RAM is no longer as accessible as it was a few years ago. And it’s all thanks to AI.

Touting them as humanity’s next evolution, the world’s biggest tech companies want you, a regular consumer, to believe that the technology is coming to your home. But first, they need acres of real estate for data centers. Several states in America have already relegated land to put up these centers, much to the chagrin of their residents. Despite assurances that newer ones can more effectively balance the load on the grid, these same data centers need a lot of space, power, and water. All three of which are coming from the communities surrounding them. At the time of this writing, some state governments are pushing back against the incoming infrastructure, perhaps realizing the mistake of unimpeded data center developments. The outside world is slowly turning on AI, but it’s not a global crackdown.

These stickers are getting more expensive.

And that’s before the effect of these data centers on regular consumer technology. Besides all that land, they need a horde of silicon. That’s why NVIDIA has stopped positioning itself as a GPU company, and that’s why all the chips just disappeared. All those data centers are buying up the world’s stock of chips. It’s all a matter of supply and demand at that point; scarcity drives prices up, and we’re left to pick up the pieces. The GPU that was supposed to go to your new PC is now inside a data center somewhere in the States.

Even if you don’t live near a data center, you’re still not safe. Companies, especially in the Western world, believe that AI can replace human workers, leading to mass layoffs. To be clear, while AI can help with productivity when used as a tool, a full replacement isn’t the most feasible option yet. In fact, according to Fortune, AI is just a convenient scapegoat when companies simply want to cut labor expenses by any means necessary.

And yet, the party goes on. Huang is adamant that you are on the ground floor of a revolution that will change the world. But, sorry, bucko; that elevator is going up without you.

The mask falls

As tempting as it is to pick on a single target, the NVIDIA CEO wasn’t the only Monsieur Gustave gallivanting around COMPUTEX. Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon had his own keynote speech to herald the annual conference. But, opposed to decadence of Huang’s optimism, Amon lets his mask fall just a tiny bit.

To his credit, Amon didn’t extol Qualcomm’s developments exclusively. Rather, he spoke of the overall effects of AI on our world. It’s, of course, the usual optimistic accoutrements of harder, better, faster, stronger for society. Eventually, his excitement gets the best of him and lets slip some shadier effects.

“6G will turn us all into walking cameras,” he said, talking about how AI will affect connectivity.

Now, to be fair, radio frequency sensing isn’t new technology. It’s already been possible to detect objects using only radio signals. 6G, bolstered by AI, will expand this to cover a much wider area for more possible uses.

Amon himself admits that it was a controversial statement. But perhaps, he doesn’t know (or care) about any potential invasions of privacy. He remains ever-so-confident that the use of 6G for surveillance will ultimately help with public safety and infrastructure.

All I can think of is The Dark Knight‘s Lucius Fox doing the moral thing and shutting off Batman’s mass surveillance system after finding the Joker.

It’s a tiny slip, but it speak volumes. Your privacy is a sacrifice that they’re willing to take.

As if that’s not enough, Amon signs off on his diatribe with a succinct “resistance is futile,” talking to those who still oppose AI.

An odd way to start off a celebration of AI, isn’t it? Traditionally, that phrase is one oft used by villainous characters, but that’s just par for the course in today’s AI-infested world. Peter Thiel, one of the moguls of AI, infamously named his company Palantir, the same malevolent surveillance tool used by Sauron in The Lord of the Rings. For some, masks don’t really exist.

The other concierge

Speaking as someone who keeps his finger on the pulse of AI more on the Western side of the world, it’s strange to see a different side of the coin. Huang and Amon are icons. You can’t last two seconds without seeing a single mention of AI somewhere on the show floor. There’s a palpable electricity when talking about the potential of AI.

And to be fair, when I talked to a few developers and engineers, I can feel the optimism. One talked about a voice assistant that would suggest better gift ideas for her spouse based on their history. Another one passionately talked about how much gaming has been better with DLSS 4.5. They truly believe that AI can work to their (and our) benefit, and I believe them. Underneath the smarminess of tech billionaires are ordinary people who found ways to better society. That’s where the conversation about AI should start.

But that’s not what the people want. The people want the parties, the glitz and the glamor. And all these billionaires desperately want to be the next Steve Jobs, the next Great Gatsby. And everyone else wants someone to hate.

In Taiwan, it’s not easy to hate a Monsieur Gustave that wants to make you feel welcome. It’s much easier to come for a monster taking your land, your jobs, and your money.

In Taiwan, Monsieur Gustave can have his parties, his adoring friends, and his fancy leather jacket. But in the rest of the world, he finds in himself the caretaker of an entirely different hotel, The Shining’s Overlook Hotel. Beneath Monsieur Gustave is Jack Torrance, and he’s always been the caretaker.

“Here’s Jensen!”