News
Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch will arrive in PH on January 14th
The holiday season is just around the corner. And really, Christmas isn’t Christmas until you get a gift for yourself, yes?
To that end, Samsung Philippines is making a bid to get into every techie’s last-minute shopping list with the Gear S3 smartwatch, which broke cover two months ago as the centerpiece of Samsung’s IFA announcement in Berlin.
[irp posts=”4345″ name=”IFA 2016: Samsung Gear S3 hands-on”]
The Gear S3 will be available from January 14, 2017 in the Philippines, but preorders start today, December 12, on Lazada and Abenson’s website. Local pricing is set at P16,490, or $330. Early adopters, though we probably shouldn’t call them that given the timing of the release, will receive an extra watch band (valued at almost $40) so they won’t have to spring for one when they eventually get tired of wearing the same strap all the time.

Left: Gear S3 Classic; right: Gear S3 Frontier
Similar to its predecessor, the watch has two designs: the Classic and the Frontier. The former is classier, updated with stainless steel and a polished silver finish, whereas the latter tends to appear more casual and rugged, sporting a darker, gunmetal face with textured buttons and a silicone band.
Regardless which model you pick, you’ll get an Tizen-based timepiece with the same hardware on the inside, in addition to wireless charging via the included magnetic dock; GPS for fitness-tracking purposes; NFC for wireless payments; and a speaker for calls and music playback. Both also tout a large, always-on AMOLED display and an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.
The Gear S3 Frontier that’s coming to the Philippines will not have standalone LTE connectivity found on models sold in other markets.
Samsung has packed a lot of features into a very small package, but in doing so, it’s sacrificed the thing that makes the Gear S2 so appealing and physically satisfying to wear. The new Gear smartwatch is bigger and much thicker than what came before. Still though, props to Samsung for not compromising on style and keeping them looking like traditional timepieces, the kind Apple Watch fans must miss having on their wrist.
[irp posts=”3134″ name=”Lenovo brings Moto 360 smartwatch to the Philippines”]


Laptops
Alienware celebrates 30th anniversary with new Area-51 laptops
The series features Alienware 30, an all-new design language.
Despite the rise of more gaming brands, Alienware is still one of the most recognizable names for gamers who want dedicated hardware. This year, the brand is celebrating its 30th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, Alienware has launched the new Area-51 and Aurora notebooks.
Alienware Area-51
Alienware’s Area-51 lineup is the brand’s flagship line of notebooks, packing in the best of the best from the industry. This time is no different.
First of all, the new series will rock Alienware 30, a new design philosophy made especially for the 30th anniversary. On the outside, the laptops have fluid contours, emphasizing curves opposed to the industry’s more angular contemporaries. It also has a Zero Hinge, which hides the laptop’s hinge from view. Finally, it has pillowed palm rests to make usage easy for long gaming sessions.
The 16-inch model can rock up to a WQXGA Anti-Glare OLED screen, featuring 240Hz refresh rate and 620 peak HDR nits. It will also have an LCD option. Alternatively, the 18-inch model has a WQXGA screen, featuring 300Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness.
Inside, the Alienware Area-51 boasts up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 24GB GPU. For memory, gamers can enjoy up to 64GB Dual-Channel DDR5. Finally, for storage, the series can rock up to 2TB SSD natively but can support up to 3 slots, allowing for up to 12TB of internal storage.
The series will have a sizable 96Whr battery. This is complemented by a 280W adapter and the brand’s largest fans by volume to keep things cool.
Alienware 16X Aurora
For those who portability over raw power, the new Alienware 16X Aurora fits inside any day-to-day kit. For example, it ditches the thermal shelf typical of most gaming notebooks today to increase portability. It has rounded edges to make it easier to grasp and to create a slightly pillowed palm rest, similar to its flagship counterpart.
The 16-inch WQXGA OLED panel touts 240Hz refresh rate, 0.2ms response time, and 620 nits HDR peak brightness.
Inside, the notebook has up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU. These specs are paired with up to 64GB Dual-Channel DDR5 memory and up to 2TB SSD.
Finally, the Alienware 16X Aurora will have a 90Whr battery. This is supported by up to a 280W charger (for the RTX 5070 variant).
Price, availability
Both series are available starting today, March 17.
Gaming
NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 can turn your favorite AAA game into AI slop
DLSS 5 will launch on select games.
Have you ever wondered why RAM prices are going up this year? Everyone is rightfully saying that AI is the reason for the price hike, but it’s hard to palpably see why. Today, NVIDIA is showing off where its hard-earned profits are going by revealing DLSS 5.
For gamers who don’t have a particularly strong machine, NVIDIA’s DLSS technology upscales a game’s graphics quality and frame rate to artificially keep up with newer hardware. A few months ago, the company unveiled DLSS 4.5, which marks the latest step to help games sparkle. Today, with DLSS 5, the technology is going all-in on AI.
In a tech demo, NVIDIA showcased the latest version of the technology. This time, the feature will use photoreal lighting and materials to alter graphics. It can allegedly analyze a scene’s elements — including hair, fabric, and translucent skin — based simply on a single frame.
The demo’s most prominent example is Resident Evil Requiem. Grace Ashcroft, the gamer’s protagonist, evolves from her doll-like appearance into… well, something you might see on an AI-generated mobile game ad.
NVIDIA claims that the new version will make games look closer to real life. The jury is still out, especially with such a low sample size. However, in this writer’s humble opinion, it’s gonna be a no for me, dawg. I’d rather play with what the developer originally intended for their game than with yet another generic AI filter.
The new feature is rolling out to some of the biggest games today including Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Hogwarts Legacy, Resident Evil Requiem, and Where Winds Meet.
News
Samsung has reportedly stopped selling the Galaxy Z TriFold
The alleged end comes after only three months in the market.
With the Galaxy Z TriFold, Samsung is hoping to take the infantile tri-fold smartphone market by storm. For the meantime, however, the band’s dream is short-lived. Samsung is reportedly done selling the Galaxy Z TriFold to the public.
According to South Korean outlet Dong-A Ilbo, Samsung has stopped selling the tri-fold smartphone. The alleged decision comes only three months after the brand unveiled the device.
Though the report seems to hint some doom and gloom for the brand’s new segment, it’s not entirely unexpected. Since this is the first of its kind for the company, the Galaxy Z TriFold hasn’t really meant to be a bestseller, merely a trial run for early adopters.
In context, Samsung’s experiment is still a success. The phone sold out in Korea almost instantly after sales first opened, despite selling for an eye watering US$ 2,899. Additionally, we got our hands on the phone, and we were rightfully impressed.
That said, Samsung probably isn’t done with the segment just yet. The brand will likely develop more variants, especially in response to this iteration’s success in the market.
But also, take this all with a grain of salt. Samsung has not confirmed that its first tri-fold phone is actually done for the day. There is a reason to keep selling a tri-fold phone today. After all, Huawei is still ruling the segment with last year’s Mate XT.
SEE ALSO: First Look: Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold
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