News

Sony confirms Philippine launch for Xperia X, Xperia XA, and Xperia XA Ultra

Published

May 24, 2016

Monch Lopez

We may not have heard much from Sony’s latest Xperia lineup from this archipelago, but that doesn’t mean the company has decided to give the Philippine audience the same cold shoulder it has given to fans in the United States. After announcing the Xperia X, Xperia XA, and Xperia XA Ultra earlier this year, Sony has revealed to GadgetMatch that it plans to launch the said phones in the Philippines on June 14, three weeks from today. No word yet on the possibility of the Snapdragon 820-based Xperia X Performance seeing a local release. Sorry, Android power users.

For the uninitiated, the Xperia X series is Sony’s midrange play, aimed at consumers who’d rather not spend $600 or $700 on the latest technology but are willing to spend more money for more features. If anything, the Xperia X signals a shift in focus away from the more affluent user base Sony has been catering to for the longest time. And that’s important to note, because the midrange is shaping up to be the most important battleground for smartphone makers, and it’s where many of them are expected to get their volume from.

Sony Xperia X

Among the trio, the Xperia X is the most beefed-out device, carrying a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 processor with 3GB of RAM and up to 64GB of storage, with room for more via a microSD expansion slot. It’s also the only model with a fingerprint reader, which is unfortunate, considering phones retailing for as low as $200 have the security feature built into their hardware. Other specs include a 5-inch, full-resolution display, a 23-megapixel rear camera, a 2,620mAh fixed battery, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

The Xperia XA and XA Ultra share a similar system-on-a-chip in the MediaTek Helio P10, but vary in just about every other spec. The Xperia XA Ultra, as you may have gathered, offers more RAM (3GB compared to the XA’s 2GB) and more in the way of screen real estate and resolution (6 inches and 1080p as opposed to 5 inches and 720p on the XA).

Sony Xperia XA

In any case, you’ll be missing out on waterproofing — a signature feature of some Xperia models — regardless of which model you settle for; of the Xperia X bunch, only the X Performance (which, again, likely won’t go on sale in the Philippines) is not afraid to get wet.

The Xperia X and Xperia XA cost £500 (roughly P34,000) and £240 (P16,500) in Europe, respectively. The Xperia XA Ultra hasn’t been priced yet, but expect it to fetch a much higher price than the latter.

[irp posts=”11148″ name=”Sony Xperia XZ Premium Hands-On”]

Related Topics:Sony Xperia X Xperia XA Xperia XA Ultra

Apps

Canva teams up with SB19 to turn A’TIN’s passion into creativity

Campaign lets fans access assets, editable templates, more

Published

August 8, 2026

GadgetMatch

Canva Philippines has joined forces with SB19 and Sony Music Entertainment to launch the “Kaya sa Canva” campaign.

This first-of-its-kind initiative is aimed at transforming the popular Filipino boy band’s fanbase into creators by giving them access to official design assets, exclusive templates, and powerful creative tools.

That’s of course as fans have a way of creating artwork, banners, and more outputs to honor their idols.

As such, the partnership enables the A’TIN (SB19’s fanbase) to access the Canva-exclusive SB19’s Creative Hub.

This dedicated space lets fans access assets, including SB19-inspired sticker packs, custom typography, and editable templates inspired by the group.

Fans around the world will initially have access to templates for photo-booth strips, wallpapers, posters, and videos.

The campaign will then expand with Canva-exclusive assets celebrating the group’s New Era, as well as their latest single, “Lawless”.

Meanwhile, the original song “KAYA” is accompanied with an upbeat music video, doubling as a love letter to A’TIN and a masterclass in Canva’s tools.

Every visual and animation is fan-inspired, a celebration of the creativity, passion, and dedication that’s defined in the community from day one.

News

The iPhone 18 might sell out for an unexpected reason

The ongoing shortage might play a part in the phone selling out earlier than expected.

Published

August 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

An iPhone selling out is not news. Because of how popular the phones are, it’s within the realm of probability that Apple runs out of stock at some point. According to a new report, this year won’t be any different… but it’s for an entirely different reason.

First reported by analyst Tim Culpan, Apple is reportedly struggling to meet its demand for semiconductors for the iPhone 18 and the foldable iPhone. The ongoing memory shortage is cutting off Apple’s ability to deliver the required supply of smartphones in a timely fashion. The report even claims that TSMC, which helps produce the iPhone, is sitting on a shipment of processors, worth US$ 1 billion, that don’t have memory chips.

Now, Apple is still confident that it can weather the launch. However, if the shortage persists, the iPhone 18 generation will likely sell out much more quickly than expected.

It’s an interesting time for Apple to experience such a shortage. It’s been heavily rumored that the company will launch its very first foldable phone next month, creating a new market for the brand. Apple definitely wants this attempt to succeed after the tepid response to its last new product, the Vision Pro.

News

These “smart” glasses just sold out in under a week

DuckDuckGo touts that these glasses have zero AI, zero cameras, and an infinite battery life.

Published

August 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Smart glasses are in a weird place right now. While a chunk of the population views them as cool and innovative, another significant chunk sees them as a privacy nightmare. If you’re in the latter group but want to see what life is like on the former, DuckDuckGo has a new product: a pair of anti-surveillance glasses with no camera or AI, otherwise known as just normal sunglasses.

If it’s not obvious, yes, it’s a troll product. DuckDuckGo is a search engine famously known for pushing privacy as a priority, opposing Google’s penchant for advertising and AI. Now, the search engine is taking on the smart glasses market.

Partnering with Knockaround, DuckDuckGo released the Paso Robles, a pair of sunglasses touted as having zero cameras, an always-offline mode, and a battery life of infinity.

It’s a statement piece. The rims have a logo mark, similar to the Meta’s glasses. The packaging also states that the glasses are “designed to block the sun, not send data to the cloud.”

Now, if you want a pair, they cost only US$ 35, as opposed to Meta’s US$ 299 price tag, but they are already sold out.

Which says quite a bit about today’s sentiment against AI and for privacy. Of course, to be fair, DuckDuckGo’s supply is certainly less than Meta’s stock for their smart glasses. It does, however, prove that the sentiment is there.

As of now, the world is slowly realizing that unimpeded smart glasses aren’t such a good idea, leading to people concerned about their privacy. In fact, some states have already started banning the technology in certain public spaces.