First Look

Samsung Galaxy A72 First look: Stepping up

The awesome phone just got even more awesome!

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Awesome screen, awesome camera, long-lasting battery life~

That familiar line from BLACKPINK still rings true, even in 2021. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A72, promising an even more awesome experience by bringing flagship features in an affordable package.

Color me ‘Awesome’

The Samsung Galaxy A72 comes with a matte haze finish and a camera bump matching the rest of the phone’s color. A step up from last year’s subtle diagonal cutouts and varying opacity, embellished with subtle stripe patterns. This year, Samsung loses the prism effect, which has been a staple in previous Galaxy A smartphones.

The Korean company expanded its color offerings, as well. Previously, it had Prism Crush Blue, Prism Crush Black, and Prism Crush Silver. Now, the Galaxy A72 comes in Awesome Black, Awesome Violet, Awesome White, and Awesome Blue.

The phones might have a polycarbonate back shell, but they don’t feel cheap. They’re like a lightweight version of the Galaxy S20 FE.

Awesome screen

On the front, the Galaxy A72 sports an enhanced 6.7-inch Full HD+ AMOLED Infinity-O display, with a dedicated punch-hole cutout housing its 32-megapixel selfie camera.

Up from last year’s models, it’s now equipped with a pretty fast 90Hz refresh rate and delivers up to 800 nits of brightness. It also comes with Eye Comfort Shield, reducing blue light without deteriorating image quality to keep your eyes comfortable while scrolling. Additionally, Samsung still utilizes an In-Display Fingerprint Scanner.

Watching your favorite shows is quite pleasant with its fabulous display. It also has stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, so we can only assume it can deliver a decent audio-visual experience.

Still an awesome camera

Camera-wise, the Galaxy A72 assembled a quad-camera system: The same 64-megapixel main camera with OIS as the Galaxy A52, a 12-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera with a 123-degree field of view, a 5-megapixel dedicated macro camera, and a 3x optical zoom lens with OIS.

On another note, Samsung brought flagship features to its A-Series. You can now shoot 4K videos, and pick a frame to turn it into an 8-megapixel photo. Also, you can use Scene Optimizer to capture an appropriate shot for every scene and subject. It has a Night Mode, as usual, and a Pro Video Mode.

Last but not the least, the new Galaxy A72 comes with Fun Mode. In partnership with Snapchat, Fun Mode hosts a whole bunch of AR filters built right into the camera app.

Essentials of an awesome smartphone

Samsung upped the battery life for the Galaxy A72, equipping it with a 5,000mAh battery while including a 15W charger and cable in the box. It promises two days of use, but you’ll have to wait for our review to find out.

Moreover, it sports an octa-core processor along with an 8GB/256GB configuration. Something not found on the flagship S Series is a MicroSD slot supporting up to 1TB of storage.

The Galaxy A72 also runs on Samsung’s One UI 3 based on Android 11. This promises four years of guaranteed security updates.

But the biggest news would be the Galaxy A72 having IP67 water and dust resistance rating. Last year’s Galaxy A71 didn’t have one and that was a real bummer.

Awesomely affordable

The Galaxy A72 didn’t have 5G, which means there won’t be a huge increase in its pricing. It currently retails for PhP 23,990, a thousand higher than the Galaxy A71.

Based on our impressions and initial usage, the Galaxy A72 is a promising solid successor. It packed flagship features and essentials at an affordable package, that everyday consumers will surely enjoy.

Although we’re skeptical about its future-proofing given that 5G has been rolling out aggressively worldwide. Frankly, an LTE model might leave you behind. Unless Samsung introduces a 5G variant, in which case, you can expect it to be more expensive.

CES 2026

Spotlight: ASUS Zenbook at CES 2026

Did They Perfect the Dual-Screen Laptop?

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THE Michael Josh just got back from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas — the annual tech event that attracts all the biggest tech brands.

One of which is none other than ASUS, Taiwan’s biggest computing giant. They have launched the first wave of Windows laptops for 2026. There’s a full lineup — models for everyday folks, creators, and gamers.

However, we are focusing on these Zenbooks favorites the show: the updated 2026 Zenbook DUO and Zenbook A14, as well as a bigger Zenbook A16 model.

Eager to know more about them? Here’s our Spotlight on the three power-packed ASUS Zenbooks at CES 2026.

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First Look

First Look: Apple iPhone Air, 17, and 17 Pro

The Most Important iPhone Lineup Ever?!

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Apple just dropped four new iPhones!

There’s the base iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Pro series, and the much-anticipated iPhone Air.

Which model should you get? Should you even upgrade this year?

And which is your GadgetMatch?

Here is a comprehensive First Look with the new iPhone Apple announced at its September event.

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First Look

Match Pulse: Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Getting to know the super-slender slab for 60 hours

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Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Two months ago, Infinix unveiled the latest HOT 60 Pro+.

It’s out there not just for being a sexy slim smartphone, it’s a record-breaker in the history of Guinness World Records as well.

Now that the device was introduced to me, it’s the perfect time to know exactly what it’s like being with it 60 hours after unboxing.

First Look

At first glance, you’d be surprised how the Infinix HOT 60 Pro+ managed to be this oh-so-thin. With its thinnest point capped at 5.95mm, it’s one of the slimmest smartphones out in the market.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Interestingly, it’s a bit thicker compared to the 5.8mm Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and the newly-revealed iPhone Air at 5.64mm — which is, by far, the world’s thinnest.

But, with a frame sandwich by a curved screen and a fiberglass back, it gives you the illusion of being the slimmer smartphone. The other two have flat edges around, making them look otherwise.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Revealing its back will remind you of something that will satisfy someone’s sweet tooth. Dubbed as the “Coral Tides” colorway, it exudes shades of pink in a gradient manner.

Although it’s not the something I’d pick, it’s personally more pleasing than the plain ol’ Sleek Black and the ultra-flashy Sonic Yellow choices.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

As you’ve noticed, there are three camera lens cutouts. Despite that, it’s only a single-firing 50MP shooter. The rest are just auxiliary lenses that honestly give nothing but aesthetics.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Speaking of, beneath that third cutout is where Infinix’s Active Halo Lighting resides. Though not as evident as you see it on its GT and NOTE cousins, that light-up feature can still be useful for important notifications and reminders.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

The eye-candy satisfaction doesn’t end there. Flipping it gives you a bedazzling 6.78-inch curved screen with bezels that are narrower than my patience.

While the heydays of curved displays are slowly fading away, this type of display is where it makes more sense as it harmoniously blends together along its thin trims.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

That’s then protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 7i alongside an IP65 water and dust resistance rating for utmost durability.

These are all something one wouldn’t expect to have in a budget smartphone if we’re gonna predict it five years ago.

First Date

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

What does the Infinix HOT 60 Pro+ and government officials have in common? They both exist but, you’ll barely feel ’em. Moreover, holding Infinix’s thinnest phone felt surreal — just like their “effective” flood control projects.

Even so, the HOT 60 Pro+ is still effectively thin and light even when you slap on its bundled Rimowa-inspired clear case. At the end of the day, only the Nepo babies get the real Rimowa treatment.

YouTube K-Pop

Now, despite the category it belongs to, its display is honestly top-notch and never a slouch. That AMOLED display tech surely gives the best visuals possible.

Colors pop, blacks are deep, whites are effectively blinding when pushed to the extremes. Much like politicians and their ~innocent children~ being blinded by greed when shown heaps of taxpayers’ money.

YouTube K-Pop IVE Liz

Elizabeth Helga Müller cleansing our eyes against all anomalies

Its 144Hz refresh rate takes it to the next level. And, I’m not speaking solely by numbers. You can actually see and feel its overall buttery smoothness.

Thanks to the upgraded MediaTek Helio G200 chipset paired with an 8GB memory (virtually extendable up to 16GB), breezing through apps and multitasking in-between felt snappy — unlike the sluggish and incompetent officials out there.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

The experience was never the same when I held numerous lag-fested G99 phones two to three years ago.

The downside, however, is using this phone past its performance limits — particularly hardcore gaming. You can obviously play your favorite games but at the expense of medium to low quality graphics and gameplay stuttering.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Additionally, the inclusion of stereo speakers are unexpected.

For a phone this price and thin, I’m not expecting anything grand. However, the HOT 60 Pro+ delivered desirable sound output that’s adequate to the ears.

They’re not like the hypocritical individuals in the senate who are excessively loud and sound irritating in the long run.

Apple Music Lossless DAY6 Inside Out

Gladly, its entry-level SoC didn’t hinder me from downloading and listening to Lossless audio tracks. More so, the YouTube playback limit of Full HD (1080p) finally gets pushed to a clearer 2K (1440p) resolution.

Overall, these make the HOT 60 Pro+ undeniably great for a full-on entertainment experience.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Back to its lone 50MP camera, I’ve managed to take more than enough to show how it performs.

1x Wide vs 2x Lossless Zoom

1x Portrait ON vs 1x Regular

I even tried it with some delectable munchies and coffees paid by me and my colleagues’ self-earned money.

Lastly, night-time shots that looked as sharp as any crocodiles’ 🐊👀 night vision.

After all that moderate usage, the Infinix HOT 60 Pro+ was able to last at the end of the day. More than that if you don’t exhaust it.

For its size, 5160mAh sounds more than enough in today’s standards. If it totally dies down, its packaged 45W charger will totally fill it in around 70 minutes.

That’s still faster than applying for a single government-issued ID or document, if I must say.

First Impressions

If you’ve been clamoring for a super-slim smartphone without breaking the bank (literally and figuratively), the Infinix HOT 60 Pro+ is a match made for you.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Considering the hardware it possesses, it’s a no-brainer that it belongs to the budget segment.

To get this exclusive colorway, you need to shell out PhP 9,555 (below US$ 170) in the Philippines. Other variants are being offered at a cheaper price tag under PhP 9,200.

Infinix HOT 60 Pro+

Then again, being affordable doesn’t mean bad quality. The Infinix HOT 60 Pro+ proves to be just one among the quality-tested smartphones that provides ample performance for most users.

Just don’t expect it to run your favorite games nor take images with its camera at the bestest quality possible.

After all, the phone being impossibly thin and featherweight without compromising the Android experience is the reason why it exists in the first place.

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