Lifestyle

Stay at home with these Sharp appliances for the holidays

Upgrade your home for the better!

Published

December 18, 2020

Kenrick Buduan

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all of us to spend more time inside our homes. While the pandemic isn’t going away for a while, there’s a lot you can do to make your indoor stay more comfortable. One of the easiest ways to do that is by upgrading your home appliances — thankfully, Sharp has a whole lot of them that you can avail of for the holidays.

Upgrade your home entertainment to the max

One of the best ways to spend the holiday season this 2020 is to stream a Netflix episode or movie in the comforts of your living room. Alternatively, you can listen to some tunes as you reminisce the better days. As such, upgrading your home entertainment units should be on the top of your list.

Sharp’s AQUOS 4K TVs offer a variety of sizes from 50-inch, 60-inch, 65-inch, 70-inch, and 80-inch. That’s a lot of sizes to choose from, adapting to you and your family’s entertainment needs. On top of that, these TVs have a built-in X4 Master Engine Pro II for upscaling SD videos into almost-4K quality. They also have Android built-in for enjoying hundreds of apps from the Play Store.

Complementing those AQUOS TVs is Sharp’s 8A-C22CX1 soundbar with Dolby Atmos built-in. With Doly Atmos built-in, you can hear any details in music or movies with greater clarity. Six independent digital amplifiers provide more bass and treble, while Sharp’s Opsodis technology enables 3D sound reproduction. It also comes with seven sound presets so you can hear more clearly depending on the situation.

Level up your kitchen appliances for the holidays

Of course, it won’t feel like the holidays without a little feast to look forward to. Sharp’s multi-door Frex French refrigerator has 652L of capacity to hold your favorite food and drinks. Thanks to a suite of features such as Plasmacluster Ion and ActivFresh hybrid cooling technology, you can keep them fresh for longer. Plus, Sharp’s refrigerator has a J-Tech inverter technology for greater energy savings.

Meanwhile, the Sharp Healsio water oven is your perfect companion for preparing a feast in no time. The best-selling oven uses superheated steam to cook food faster than a convection oven. You can use the oven to grill, stir-fry, bake, steam, or boil your favorite food. The oven can even intelligently detect and cook according to a certain temperature with only the ingredients you put inside.

Make your home safer and cleaner

Keeping your home safe is easy thanks to Sharp JM40 air purifier with mosquito catcher. This air purifier effectively kills 90% of coronavirus thanks to Plasmacluster technology which also kills other types of harmful bacteria and viruses. It even serves a dual purpose by catching mosquitoes. By default, it comes with a HEPA filter that captures 99.97% of allergens and dust.

For cleaner linens and clothes, Sharp’s ES-HFH914AW3 front load washer supports up to 9kg of load and comes with Allergy Smart mode to reduce allergens and bacteria by 99%. It also has an advanced inverter motor to save water and avoid a huge electric bill.

These are some of the Sharp appliances that you can rely on for a comfortable stay-in experience for the holidays. There are a lot more appliances to choose from, so visit Sharp’s website to learn more about them.

Cameras

What HYROX Hong Kong looks like up close

Photographed on the Canon EOS R6 Mark III.

Published

June 11, 2026

MJ Jucutan

HYROX drew people from all over the world for a single purpose: finish the course. In Hong Kong, athletes showed up at AsiaWorld-Expo ready to run, row, and push through 8 stations of pure functional fitness.

So, we brought the Canon EOS R6 Mark III to capture one of the most demanding fitness races on the planet.

The Expo floor is a lighting nightmare, a mix of harsh overheads and deep shadows, but the 32.5MP sensor handled the contrast without breaking a sweat.

The 40fps electronic shutter and Pre-continuous shooting meant we were already capturing the moment half a second before we consciously decided to press the shutter.

Covering a race means staying mobile, and the 8.5-stop IBIS let us move freely alongside athletes without losing the shot. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF II stayed locked on athletes even when they were squinting through the final stretch.

What came out were stories of triumph and determination. Even when their bodies were screaming, they pushed through anyway.

This is what HYROX Hong Kong looked like from the inside.

Words by MJ Jucutan. Photos by Sky Rodillas.

Apps

The No-Nonsense guide to mid-year shopping

Let AI do the heavy lifting for you this Lazada 6.6 Super WOW Sale

Published

June 5, 2026

MJ Jucutan

The mid-year sale season is here, but the days of mindless impulse buying are over.

Shoppers are shifting toward intentional, value-driven decisions, focusing on quality, authenticity, and actual utility over flashy, low-quality gimmicks.

From 8:00 PM on June 5 until 11:59 PM on June 8, 2026, the Lazada 6.6 Super WOW Sale is dropping major discounts. But the real win is using the platform’s tools to maximize your budget.

Lock in the baseline discounts

Before diving into specific items, map out how to stack the core offers.

You can stretch your money by hunting down LazFlash Deals for up to 90% off, collecting up to PhP 3,000 in stackable vouchers, and ensuring every order qualifies for the free shipping offers available throughout the event.

True value comes from combining these three layers of savings on things you already need.

Jisulife: One of the participating, trusted brands you can get from LazMall

Filter for authentic value

Shopping smart means avoiding the trap of “too good to be true” counterfeits that end up in the trash.

Data shows a massive consumer shift toward trusted quality, with LazMall growth vastly outperforming standard listings during major sales.

To ensure your money goes toward genuine products with real warranties, restrict your browsing to official, brand-certified stores.

If you are upgrading your tech, parenting gear, or wardrobe, look to trusted names anchoring the sale like UGREEN, JisuLife, ANTA, Maserati Watches, Momcozy, and O.TWO.O.

UGREEN: One of the participating, trusted brands you can get from LazMall

Outsmart the noise with built-in tech

Don’t waste hours scrolling through endless listings or guessing which product is better.

The smartest way to navigate a massive mid-year event is to let the platform’s built-in features cut through choice paralysis.

Tools like AI Lazzie and AI Picks allow you to instantly compare similar items, analyze prices, and get personalized recommendations based on actual data rather than generic marketing hype.

Smart Shopper Tip: True value is a mix of the right price, verified authenticity, and a seamless return policy. Use this sale period to stock up on everyday essentials and high-quality upgrades rather than panic-buying items you’ll regret later.

Entertainment

X-Men ’97 returns to Disney+ for second season

Emmy-nominated series to continue mutant team’s story

Published

May 30, 2026

GadgetMatch

Marvel Animation’s Emmy-nominated X-Men ’97 is returning to Disney+ for a second season, starting July 1.

Along with this announcement, a trailer and poster have been made available. The first season of the animated series was one of the most-watched Disney+ originals, and a hit with fans and critics alike.

Season 2 continues with the heroic mutant team of X-Men, divided and thrown across different eras in time as they struggle to navigate their return home.

Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, suspicious foes and new strains of mutant intolerance are on the rise in the wake of the protagonists’ absence.

The second season will be comprised of nine episodes. The voice cast includes:

Ross Marquand as Professor X
Matthew Waterson as Magneto
Ray Chase as Cyclops
Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey
Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm
Cal Dodd as Wolverine
Lenore Zann as Rogue
George Buza as Beast

The series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Julia Lewald, Eric Lewald, Larry Houston, and Beau DeMayo.

Jake Castorena serves as the supervising producer. Episodes were written by JB Ballard, Beau DeMayo, Bailey Moore, Antony Sellitti, Brian Ford Sullivan, and Mariah Wilson.

The episodic directors are Emmett Yonemura and Chase Conley.