I used to live in validation. Maybe it’s because of too much exposure to social media and the little hearts that spark joy when you see them across your notification bars from those vibrant displays in your beloved gizmos.
But I’ve seen it from both generations — Millennials, Generation Z, and even Zillennials (Yes, we exist) — and how a lot of people are struggling with taking control of other people’s perceptions.
TikTok, and the past decade or so, changed the way people behave in social media. While there are still clout-chasers, a lot of people found their voices and their most authentic self. Living unapologetically seems to be the trend nowadays, and a trend that I’m willing to be part of.
In an age of flexing your status symbol, presenting a curated version of yourself, and keeping up with everyone — Samsung disrupts this era with its Awesome campaign rooting back in early 2020. (Right before the world shut down).
Now in its fourth year, Samsung brings out the Galaxy A54 5G, continuing its message that awesome is for everyone. And being awesome, of course, is living on your own terms, unapologetically.
To a new you
It takes a lot of detoxing, unlearning old and learning new beliefs, and creating healthier habits to live my truth.
Samsung’s newest phone is a reminder of what it means to be who you are. When the Galaxy A54 looked similar to its flagship Galaxy S series, I couldn’t fathom the thought of being unable to distinguish which is which, especially for the untrained eye.
But the South Korean company’s explanation, in a press briefing I attended a month ago, appeased my confusion. Like a performer making its way through the fog from a smoke machine.
The goal was to make sure that Samsung users — even if they’re using phones from midrange to flagship lines — have the same design language. Kinda like iPhones.
No matter the price, an iPhone is an iPhone. It evens the playing field and there is no shaming on whether you’re using an iPhone 7, XS, or the latest ones.
So many people are hung up on how their phones would fair against other people, that they forgot that it’s just a tool so you can live the life you want.
BRB, becoming myself
What I love about the Galaxy A54 is how it lets me live my life on my own terms. It’s not a flagship smartphone, of course, but flagship smartphones always made me feel like I’m not using them to their fullest potential.
Midrange smartphones, surprisingly, are enough. They come with powerful chipsets and internals that you can do anything you want.
I mean, come on, dude. I’ve been playing Ragnarok Origin on the A54 from morning until the battery drops dead. Okay, just kidding at the drop-dead part. I don’t do that with my smartphones.
I play at 8 in the morning while AFK leveling during work hours and come back to my phone with a 12 percent battery at 3 in the afternoon. It heats up, but not to the point where it’s blazingly hot that you can’t touch it.
Apart from that, I get to simultaneously use it for chatting with my friends from my sports team and measuring my statistics during training via Samsung Health and my Galaxy Watch4 Classic.
I also play my favorite tunes while connected to my Galaxy Buds2 Pro, use it as a hotspot whenever I’m working remotely at some coffee shop, and even multitask for work-related stuff.
You see, that’s what I like about the A54. I may not binge-scroll on TikTok or watch on Netflix until the wee hours but for whatever lifestyle you have, it’s equipped with enough power to get through your day and night.
Its features are so well-rounded, it doesn’t focus on just an aspect of your life. That’s what makes it awesome.
Record the way you like it
Some people just want to take selfies. Some want to capture their favorite moments during their night outs, travels, and everyday life.
And some would love to record videos and take amazing photographs. Whatever you want to do, the A54 is equipped with the right set of cameras so you can live your most unapologetic self.
Here are some of the snaps I took using the Galaxy A54 for a month.
Live unapologetically
The Galaxy A54, in some way and form, helps you stop caring about what other people think. It lets you embrace your authentic self and encourages you to change what doesn’t work for you.
It’s the quintessential mid-range smartphone; an important device to add to your arsenal as you take on life’s daily battles.
It’s powerful, long-lasting, and takes awesome photos — enough to keep up with you and your preferred lifestyle. Hands down, it’s the best midrange device for any kind of lifestyle. Samsung is true to its promise that Awesome is for everyone.
The Galaxy A54 isn’t just a smartphone anymore, it’s a life companion for a few years or so. (It will have four major OS upgrades and five years of security patches.)
The Galaxy A54 5G starts at PhP 24,990 for the 128GB variant and PhP 26,990 for the 256GB variant. It comes in three colors: Awesome Lime, Awesome Black, and an online-exclusive Awesome Violet.
SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy A34 review: Awesome, trustworthy all-rounder
Accessories
JBL brings a soundtrack to every room
The new lineup spans portable speakers, home audio, earbuds, gaming, and PartyBox.
A home has a mood for every room. The living room comes alive when friends arrive. The bedroom gets quieter at the end of the day. The kitchen has its own soundtrack while coffee is brewing and dinner is coming together. Then there is that one space where the volume inevitably goes up once the party starts.
JBL turned this idea into the setting for Sound Amplified, transforming Élan by the Bay into a home where every room had its own way of experiencing sound.
The new lineup moved through different parts of everyday life, bringing together portable speakers, home audio, earbuds, gaming headsets, and PartyBox systems under one roof.
Let the room set the mood
At the center of the experience was the JBL Pulse 6. Its latest evolution combines JBL Legendary Sound with AI Sound Boost and a customizable 360-degree lightshow that moves with the music.
The Pulse 6 itself has become part of the visual experience, with an illuminated handle and new lighting effects that make it feel at home.
There are party and ambient lighting modes for different moments, while Sunset Mode gradually dims the lights for winding down. A double tap activates Bedside Lamp, giving the speaker another life entirely as a soft light beside the bed.
With up to 12 hours of playtime and IP68 waterproof and dustproof protection, the Pulse 6 is also ready to move beyond the living room.
Through the JBL One app, users can customize the sound and lighting, while Auracast connectivity lets compatible JBL speakers connect and play together.
Select PartyBox speakers and JBL PartyLight products can also synchronize their lighting with the Pulse 6 for a larger sound-and-light setup.
When the living room becomes the party
JBL expands its PartyBox lineup with the PartyBox 330 and PartyBox Ultimate 2, bringing bigger sound and more visual energy to gatherings that have outgrown the playlist on someone’s phone.
The PartyBox 330 delivers deeper bass, clearer highs, and a redesigned lightshow that reacts to the music. With up to 18 hours of playtime, it’s made to move with the party. Karaoke-ready inputs and compatibility with JBL EasySing Mics also make it easy to turn a casual gathering into a full performance.
There’s also the PartyBox Ultimate 2, JBL’s most powerful and advanced PartyBox yet. It delivers 1500W of JBL Legendary Sound, with an upgraded acoustic system combining professional-grade tweeters, mid-range drivers, and powerful woofers for deeper bass, richer vocals, and more detail.
Its full-panel lightshow gives the speaker a presence of its own, while touchscreen controls keep the experience within reach.
Built-in EasySing AI Vocal Removal can turn favorite songs into karaoke tracks, while interactive party games add another way to keep everyone around the speaker.
A soundtrack for every room
JBL Cove introduces a new whole-home Wi-Fi audio system designed around the way music moves through a house. The JBL Cove M1, Cove P1, and Cove X1 offer different approaches to everyday listening.
Each speaker can work on its own, as a stereo pair, or as part of a connected system through the JBL One app. Music can follow you around the house, with the option to have the same soundtrack playing throughout or different music in different rooms.
The Cove P1 adds portability with up to 14 hours of playtime, while both the P1 and X1 support Dolby Atmos for greater depth and dimension.
Then there is “Music Follows Me,” a feature that feels particularly suited to the way people actually move around their homes. Press the Moment button and your music can transfer to another room without having to reach for your phone or open an app.
For a more complete home entertainment setup, Cove speakers can also work with compatible JBL Bar Series MK2 soundbars.
The JBL Cinema SB510MK2 and SB550MK2 take that home theater experience further, with dedicated center channels, Dolby Audio, and straightforward connectivity designed to make dialogue clearer and sound more immersive.
Both also feature JBL SurroundPlay technology, allowing users to wirelessly connect compatible JBL portable speakers as rear surround channels. At launch, the JBL Flip 7 is the compatible model, giving movie nights a more complete surround setup.
When the room is in your pocket
JBL’s latest generation of true wireless earbuds comes through the Tune Beam 3, Tune Buds 3, and Tune Flex 3, bringing JBL Pure Bass Sound, immersive spatial audio, and adaptive noise cancelling into everyday listening.
Six built-in microphones with advanced beamforming technology are designed to keep calls clear, while the JBL Headphones app gives users more ways to personalize their listening experience.
The choice between the three comes down partly to fit. The Tune Beam 3 and Tune Buds 3 offer a more sealed in-ear design, while the Tune Flex 3 lets users switch between open and sealing ear tips depending on how much of the outside world they want to let in.
For everyday listening, the JBL Wave Beam 3, Wave Buds 3, and Wave Flex 3 bring JBL Deep Bass Sound, up to 40 hours of total playback, clear calls, and easy connectivity into lightweight designs.
The Wave Beam 3 and Wave Buds 3 feature Active Noise Cancelling with Smart Ambient. The open-style Wave Flex 3 uses Active Noise Reduction with Smart Ambient, keeping the listening experience more connected to the surroundings.
The room where game time happens
The JBL Quantum 120 and Quantum 520 bring JBL Quantum Spatial Sound and customizable audio through JBL QuantumENGINE.
Both feature a detachable 6mm cardioid boom microphone designed to keep voices clear and focused during multiplayer sessions.
The wired Quantum 120 offers straightforward connectivity across multiple platforms, while the wireless Quantum 520 brings flexible connectivity and up to 37 hours of playback.
Sound that lives with you
JBL’s latest lineup makes the case that sound is no longer confined to a single part of the home. Rather than treating audio as something that sits in one corner, JBL built its latest collection around the different ways sound becomes part of everyday life.
Because a home is never really one atmosphere. The mood changes from room to room, and JBL wants to make sure the soundtrack can keep up.
Her GadgetMatch
TECNO and Angélica Dass visit the Philippines next for its grand portrait project
100 Faces, 100 Stories
A portrait can show what someone looks like, but what about the story behind the face?
TECNO and visual artist Angélica Dass are exploring that question through “100 Portraits of Becoming,” a two-year global portrait project featuring 100 people across Kenya, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil.
The project begins with 20 portraits from Kenya, each paired with a personal story about identity, choices, change, and growth. Rather than having participants represent an entire culture or generation, the project focuses on their individual experiences.
Beyond inclusive imaging
The project builds on TECNO’s work with Universal Tone, its imaging technology designed to represent diverse skin tones more naturally and accurately.
But “100 Portraits of Becoming” takes that idea further. With AI increasingly involved in capturing, recognizing, and generating images of people, TECNO and Dass want to explore how technology can better represent the individual behind the image.
For Dass, meaningful portraiture starts with human connection.
“Meaningful portraits are never created by technology alone.”
She says her experience in Kenya reinforced the importance of trust, listening, and the willingness of people to share their stories.
The Philippines is next
Following Kenya, the project heads to the Philippines for a chapter called “Beyond Many Labels.”
It will feature 20 individuals, including working solo mothers and people whose lives are closely connected to solo parenthood.
Their stories will look beyond labels such as “single mother,” “breadwinner,” and “strong woman,” while exploring their ambitions, relationships, and personal growth.
The chapter will also explore “diskarte” — the ways Filipinos adapt, make choices, and find practical ways forward in everyday life.
After the Philippines, “100 Portraits of Becoming” will continue to Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil.
By the end of the project, TECNO and Dass hope the 100 portraits will offer exactly what the title suggests: 100 different ways of seeing humanity.
Smartphones
When TECNO-logy meets Tonino Lamborghini legacy
Meet the TECNO POVA 8 Pro Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition
Tonino Lamborghini has built an identity around Italian design, craftsmanship, and a bold sense of individuality. Now, that identity is being translated into a smartphone through its collaboration with TECNO.
The result is the TECNO POVA 8 Pro 5G Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition.
Rather than simply placing a recognizable logo on a phone, the two brands worked to bring Tonino Lamborghini’s distinctive design language into the POVA experience. And there’s more to it than its black-and-red color scheme.
A design built around bold expression
The POVA 8 Pro 5G Limited Edition takes inspiration from Tonino Lamborghini’s visual language, incorporating elements such as geometric patterns, structured lines, and layered textures.
The rear panel uses black as its dominant color, accented by red details.
At the center is the Pulse Line, representing energy and movement. Meanwhile, the Signature Shield draws from Tonino Lamborghini’s distinctive shield identity.
Then, a metallic Tonino Lamborghini logo completes the composition. Together, these elements give the phone a recognizable personality without relying solely on the branding.
The rear panel reveals more as you move it
One of the more interesting aspects of the design is how TECNO created depth on the rear panel.
The company developed a dual-layer stacking process that combines different treatments and material layers. Internal mirror structures allow hidden red elements to appear differently depending on how light hits the phone.
There is also a physical difference in height between the layers, creating a three-dimensional effect rather than a completely flat surface.
It’s a subtle detail, but one that makes the design feel more dynamic in the hand.
The experience continues beyond the hardware
TECNO also carried the Tonino Lamborghini identity into the software.
The customized interface uses the same black-and-red palette, while icons feature sharper, more geometric shapes inspired by the brand’s visual identity.
TECNO says it spent nearly four months developing the customized experience, including dynamic wallpapers, ringtones, and an Alive Matrix Display featuring a Tonino Lamborghini “L” effect.
The accessories follow the same design direction, with a black-and-red braided cable, customized charger, and protective case. The case combines TPU and PC with a precision-carved, Kevlar-inspired carbon-fiber texture.
More than just a co-branded smartphone
What makes this collaboration interesting is that Tonino Lamborghini’s identity isn’t limited to a logo or a special colorway.
The Pulse Line, Signature Shield, layered rear panel, customized interface, and accessories all contribute to one cohesive visual language.
For TECNO, it brings a distinct design identity to the POVA 8 Pro 5G. For Tonino Lamborghini, it offers another way to express its approach to Italian design, craftsmanship, and individuality.
The result is a smartphone designed to stand out on its own terms — all while showing how two distinct design philosophies can come together in a single product.
SEE ALSO: TECNO POVA 8 Pro Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition review
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