Hands-On

Samsung Galaxy A7 hands-on: What can its three rear cameras do?

Among the best midrange camera phones out there

Published

October 9, 2018

Shivam Vahia

Last month, Samsung launched the Galaxy A7 in India, and the phone will soon be coming to more Asian markets. While the company is known to have a wide product portfolio, the A7 has managed to stand apart and create ample hype, something we usually see happening only with the S and Note series.

This year, Huawei’s P20 Pro has been a raging hit thanks to its triple rear camera setup. Not only are sales booming, but it has managed to set a new benchmark for mobile photography. Samsung joined the trend and introduced a triple rear camera setup on the Galaxy A7, but at a significantly lower price.

At first, we’d all assume it to be a gimmick. It isn’t new to see companies take a dig at each other, but this where we’d be wrong. I’ve been using the phone for a week now and the A7 has managed to surprise me. Let’s have a closer look at how the camera works and whether this one forte of the phone is sufficient to sell it.

To start off, the three lenses on the rear are located vertically and are very well integrated with the frame. They do protrude slightly, but not enough to actually wobble the phone on a flat surface. The primary camera is a 24-megapixel sensor that does all the heavy lifting, the second lens has an 8-megapixel wide-angle unit, and the third is a 5-megapixel depth sensor.

The depth sensor along with the primary lens create the bokeh effect that Samsung calls Live Focus. Samsung’s camera software lets you manually adjust the amount of blur you want in the picture, even after you’ve clicked the picture. The bokeh effect is above average, but not the best. In good lighting conditions when the subject is clearly visible, it does an excellent job in distinguishing the borders. But often gets confused when any headgear like a cap is worn.

But, Samsung has hardly marketed the bokeh effect as far as the A7 is concerned, and that’s because the wide-angle lens is the real deal here. In the given price range, there are no phones that offer this feature. And, Samsung calls this lens “ultra wide,” coming in at 120 degrees field of view.

With just one toggle, you can shift to the wide-angle lens from the default camera app. Keep in mind you can only use this mode via the Samsung Camera app and third-party apps like Instagram and Snapchat are not supported. The first time you toggle and see the wider frame, you’ll fall in love with it. Compared to conventional setups, wide-angle pictures are able to capture a larger scene, and the fisheye effect has its own sporty feel.

The wide-angle lens is built for scenic landscapes and large group pictures, it can also capture clear and crisp images of objects that are just a few feet away. Though it has to be noted that this camera is not built for macro shots and lacks selective focus. It’s very similar to using a GoPro — just point the camera and hit the shutter.

Samsung has optimized the software very well and hence the output is well saturated and dynamic range is balanced. In low-light, the pictures are low on noise and manage to capture an overall good picture, though it heavily compromises on detail. Even in slightly dim areas, details are lost very quickly.

While most people may use the wide-angle lens most of the time, this isn’t recommended, as the primary sensor is able to capture highly detailed pictures, something the wide-angle camera isn’t built to do.

In a nutshell, yes, the trio does an amazing job in taking beautiful pictures. I’ve shot all of them on auto mode, and completely let the phone decide what’s best for me.

I’m glad to see Samsung trying to bring high-end innovation to the midrange segment. The company’s non-premium offerings have been somewhat underwhelming this year, and with increasing competition from players like Xiaomi and OnePlus, they definitely need to up their game.

Related Topics:featured Galaxy A7 Samsung Samsung Galaxy A7

Hands-On

Final Cut Pro for iPad Hands-on: Game Changer!

But is it worth the subscription?

Published

May 25, 2023

GadgetMatch

Ever since Apple launched iPads running the ever-powerful Silicon chips like on the M1 and M2 MacBook Pros, many have wondered when will Apple put macOS onto the iPad.

While we don’t have anything like that until today, the closest thing we can have is the Final Cut Pro made specifically for the iPads.

Now, it’s finally available for download on the iPad App Store.

Starting at US$ 4.99 per month and US$ 49 annually, is it actually worth the subscription?

In this video we’ll show you all the features and tools exclusive to the new and game-changing Final Cut Pro for iPad!

Gaming

ROG Ally Hands-On: Light, white, ready to fight

Handheld gaming goodness

Published

May 11, 2023

Rodneil Quiteles

The ROG Ally is now official. ASUS’s handheld PC gaming console has been a hot topic for gamers leading up to its launch. We’ve had the privilege to try the ROG Ally for a little less than a day and here’s what we think of it so far.

But first, Unboxing!

Inside the box are:

ROG Ally
65W PD Adapter
Proof of purchase, user guide, and warranty
Cardboard stand

Light, white, ready to fight

The ROG Ally tips the scales at 608g. Seems hefty but ASUS did a good job with weight distribution that you don’t really feel it as much. It certainly feels like something you can use for a couple of hours without feeling strain on your hands.

The reason why it’s white is because of the polycarbonate material that they used which is naturally white. ASUS opted not to paint over it to not put on any more unnecessary weight.

The sides curve to the edges to make it easy to hold. You’ll have no trouble reaching the left and right sticks, directional pad, and face buttons. The triggers are also easy to reach but it feels a little tougher to get to the shoulder buttons. Perhaps, it just takes some getting used to.

You also have extra triggers at the bottom of the device. These are also easy to reach and can be assigned any function based on whatever you’re playing.

As for the buttons themselves, they feel durable and tactile. I could use a little bit more click on the shoulders, but overall, have no complaints.

Windows + Armoury Crate SE

The true pain point of this thing is how Windows 11 is not at all optimized for this kind of device. Setting up and signing in to your accounts to get to your games can get a little bit cumbersome.

ASUS’ Armoury Crate software tries to help out with this, but even its “Desktop Mode” for its controllers doesn’t work as well as we hope. Thankfully, the gorgeous 1080p display is touchscreen making it a little easier to navigate the tiny Windows screen that you have to work with.

Microsoft is reportedly already working on a version of Windows that supports this particular form factor. Anyone trying the ROG Ally right now will tell you that it can’t come soon enough.

The sooner they can get something like Steam’s Big Picture mode running, the better for every manufacturer looking into making this kind of device.

All your games, all the time

Speaking of Steam, the ROG Ally does deliver on the promise of making all of your PC games available to you all the time. When you fire it up, Armoury Crate launches right away. From there, you can access both Steam and the Xbox Game Pass Apps right away.

Like Windows, launching and moving around the Xbox Game Pass app isn’t intuitive. Microsoft really has their work cutout for them in developing a Windows Handheld mode.

What’s interesting is that launching Steam takes you directly to Steam Deck mode. In fact, the app thinks you’re using a Steam Deck, even showing ‘Verified’ tags for games that have been tested to work well on Valve’s own handheld console.

In our limited time so far, we’ve played Dragon Ball FighterZ and NBA 2K22 on Steam. On Xbox Game Pass, we tried Hi-Fi Rush and Doom Eternal. That’s a couple of hours jumping through four games, but all of them ran well. There was no noticeable screen tearing or hiccups. That’s a testament to both the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Chip as well as the multiple display tech meant to help run games smoothly.

We’ll have more detailed tests on the review.

Oh and the front-firing speakers sound great. So good that I didn’t mind watching the “No Return” fancam of LE SSERAFIM Chaewon on it. 🫶🏼

#ROGAlly
Expectation: Gaming.
Reality: Chaewon Fancam. pic.twitter.com/0hJh5WKDcF

— rodneil (@rodneilquiteles) May 10, 2023

ROG Ally Specs

Some of it has been leaked, but here’s the actual, official specs of the ROG Ally.

Model	RC71L
CPU	AMD Ryzen™ Z1 Processor 4nm Zen 4/ 6 cores & 12 threads 22M cache CPU Clock: up to 4.90 GHz AMD Ryzen™ Z1 Extreme Processor 4nm Zen 4/ 8 core & 16 threads 24M cache CPU Clock: up to 5.10 Ghz TDP: 9 – 30 watts
GPU	With AMD Ryzen™ Z1 Config: AMD Radeon™ Graphics RDNA 3 & 4G RAM capacity/ 2.8 Tflops 4 CU GPU clock: 2.5GHz With AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Config: AMD Radeon™ Graphics RDNA3 & 4G RAM capacity / 8.6 TFlops 12 CU GPU Clock: 2.7GHz
Panel	Full HD (1920 x 1080), 120 Hz / 7 ms eDP1.4b, 500 nits, IPS-panel, 100% sRGB, FreeSync™ Premium, Gorilla® Glass Victus™ and Gorilla® Glass DXC, 10-point Touchscreen Gyro support
Memory	16GB (LPDDR5 6400Mhz) dual channel LPDDR5 8GBx2 on board memory
Audio	2 x 1W speakers with smart amp technology, Dolby Atmos®, Hi-Res Audio, AI Noise Cancellation
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth	WiFi 6E (802.11ax) / Bluetooth® v5.2
Storage	M.2 NVMe 2230 Gen4x4 SSD 256GB (for Z1 config) 512GB (for Z1 Extreme config) +SD card slot UHS-2
I/O PORT	ROG XG Mobile interface (8PCI express lanes) and USB Type-C combo port (with USB 3.2 Gen2, DP 1.4 support) — (1x) 3.5mm Audio jack — (1x) Micro SD slot (UHS-II, Micro SD 4.0) — (1x)
Battery	40Wh
Adapter	65W PD adapter, supports pass through charging
Dimensions	280.44 * 111.18 * 21.22 mm 608g

Price and availability

The ROG Ally Z1 Extreme retails for US$ 699. The ROG Ally Z1 variant retails for US$ 599. Pre-orders begin on May 11. It will be available for sale worldwide on June 13, 2023.