Features

Valentine’s Day Spotify playlist: Love is in the air!

Sing along with us!

Published

February 13, 2018

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Are you feeling the love? For those of you who are lucky enough to have that special someone in your life, it’s definitely a day to look forward to.

The right Valentine’s playlist is essential to set the mood for you and your SO, and the playlist we put together is a celebration of love! Our list here is a combination of high energy tracks that you can sing along to, and some intimate tunes that you can cuddle to.

Lany — ILYSB

We’re starting off our list with a song that put Lany on the map. They’ve come out with a bunch of hits since the release of this one, but nothing screams “love song” like their first hit “ILYSB,” the perfect song that just spells out what you’re feeling.

Maroon 5 ft. Sza — What Lovers Do

Off their Red Pills Blue album, this one is going out to all the newbie lovers out there still figuring out how to play this game of love.

Lauv — I Like Me Better

Isn’t it nice to know you’re with someone that makes you feel like a better person?

Ed Sheeran — Shape of You

You can basically put any Ed Sheeran song into any Valentine’s Day playlist and it’s just going to work. We decided to go with “Shape of You” to keep the upbeat vibe going, and let’s be real: Having someone basically say they love you inside and out is something you’ll never get tired of.

The Weeknd — Earned It

If you want to add some sexy to your Valentine’s Day playlist, a great place to look for inspiration are the soundtracks from the 50 Shades of Gray movie franchise. A series and soundtrack that just oozes sexy, no further explanation needed on this one.

Alina Baraz ft. Khalid — Electric

While some may argue that the original version is much better, we chose to go with the Khalid collaboration for Valentine’s Day. The electricity in the room when there’s that special connection is exactly what you feel when you listen to this one.

Honne — Warm On a Cold Night

Another smooth sexy track that just encourages you to get closer — cuddle weather or not.

Robin Thicke — Lost Without U

When it comes to Valentine’s Day, if there’s no you then there’s no reason to celebrate.

John Legend — PDA

What’s Valentine’s Day without a little PDA? *wink wink*

Bombay Bicycle Club — Always Like This

When things are going good, all you wish is that things will always stay like this.

Stars — Elevator Love Letter

Upbeat and the kind of song that just makes you want to dance or sing along, “Elevator Love Letter” is just one of those great mixtape songs.

Bright Eyes — First Day of My Life

They say real love is nothing like what you see in the movies, but sometimes it happens!

Zac Efron and Zendaya — Rewrite The Stars

Last but certainly not the least, here’s a song from the recently released The Greatest Showman movie. While the song is good, it gets even better once you see it performed in the movie. So, go do that!

Features

Sony’s PlayStation is back, Xiaomi outs new Mi 8 variants: Weekend Rewind

Ending the week with nostalgic feels

Published

September 22, 2018

Kevin Bruce Francisco

Here are this week’s top stories on GadgetMatch.

1. The iconic PlayStation is back!

Let’s kick things off by taking a trip down memory lane. Almost 25 years after its debut, Sony is bringing back the iconic first-gen PlayStation and it will come as the PlayStation Classic.

It’s basically a miniaturized version complete with a pair of original controller replicas. What’s even more exciting is that fans of the original PlayStation will be able to relive 20 legendary titles including Final Fantasy VII and Tekken 3!

2. Razer Phone 2 gets a launch date

Razer officially confirms the arrival of its second gaming smartphone — the Razer Phone 2. It succeeds the Razer Phone that was launched last November and based on earlier leaks, it’ll be a familiar-looking product.

The phone should sport the same body as its predecessor including the display with buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Of course, the internals will have beefier specs as well. We’ll know the low down real soon during its special event at California this October 10.

3. Apple is on the lead!

While it may be true that Apple didn’t sell the most number of smartphones, they still earned more than their competitors. According to the latest data from Counterpoint Research, Apple had the biggest share of industry profits during the second quarter of 2018.

For comparison, Apple earned 62 percent of the second-quarter smartphone profits. Samsung, which is the top-selling smartphone vendor, is responsible for just 17 percent of smartphone profits in the quarter. Huawei takes the third spot with eight percent of the profits.

4. A complete but affordable smartwatch

Huami, Xiaomi’s sub-brand in China, has a smartwatch that offers tremendous bang for your buck. The company just unveiled the Amazfit Verge and it’s got everything you could ask for in a wearable without the high price tag.

The Amazfit Verge has a GPS, heart-rate sensor, and a full-circle AMOLED display. It’s also equipped with a microphone and loudspeaker that allow voice calls through the smartwatch.

5. Xiaomi outs Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite

On a related note, Xiaomi also held a quick event to announce a few things including two new Mi 8 variants — the Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite.

In a nutshell, these are additions to the flagship Mi 8 family. The Mi 8 Pro is similar to the Mi 8 with the same specs like its Snapdragon 845 processor, up to 8GB of memory, and 128GB of expandable storage. Although, this model comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor.

As the name suggests, the Mi 8 Lite is a toned-down Mi 8 and comes with a midrange Snapdragon 660 chipset, dual rear cameras, and a 24-megapixel front camera. Both phones are initially available in China, but international availability is yet to be announced.

Weekend Rewind is our roundup of top news and features you might have missed for the week. We know the world of technology can be overwhelming and not everyone has the time to get up to speed with everything — and that includes us. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the rewind.

Features

Singapore’s first iPhone XS buyer goes all out

He went for the 512GB storage!

Published

September 21, 2018

Rodneil Quiteles

Whenever new iPhones launch, a familiar scene is people lining up in front of Apple Stores long before launch date. The same is true in Singapore where the iPhone XS and XS Max officially became available on Friday, September 21.

We visited the Apple Store in Orchard Road and caught up with the first person to cop the new iPhones. His name is Daniel and he went all out getting two units of gold iPhone XS Max with 512GB of storage. Watch our interview with him.

The same situation is true elsewhere in the world. In countries like the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, and more, lines formed as those who pre-ordered got ready to claim the new iPhones.

This is the first time that the two sizes of iPhones feature the same specs. In years past, there was always a plus model that had more features other than just having a bigger form factor. In 2018, the only difference is the screen size — 5.8 inches for the iPhone XS and 6.5 inches for the iPhone XS Max. Both phones are equipped with the new A12 Bionic processor. Apple says it’s their smallest and most powerful chip to date. Both also sport dual cameras.

The Apple Watch Series 4 also launched today. It’s a significant update to Apple’s primary wearable featuring medical advantages other than the usual improvements. As always, it still is a lifestyle gadget and comes with an array of available looks.

Smartphones

Apple iPhone XS unboxing: Beautiful gold color!

We have them early!

Published

September 20, 2018

Chay Lazaro

It’s now mid-September and if you’ve been following technology news, you’d know that means one thing: new iPhones from Apple. And if you’ve been following GadgetMatch closely the last few years, you’d expect us to be brewing content by now.

This year, we got them early. What we are unboxing the 5.8-inch model, dubbed the iPhone XS and the bigger variant, the iPhone XS Max. There’s also a more affordable 6.1-inch iPhone XR coming later in October.

The box has not changed much — it’s still the same minimalist white box with the image of the phone you’re getting. Inside are a packet with manuals and stickers, USB-A charging brick, Lightning cable, and a pair of Lightning EarPods (not AirPods, they just look alike).

It’s worth noting that the bundled charger is the regular adapter and cable from yesteryears, even if the new iPhones already support fast charging. To get fast charging on the iPhone XS and XS Max, you need to spend an additional US$ 75 for a Lightning to USB-C Cable and a 29W USB-C adapter.

Since omitting the 3.5mm headphone jack, these new iPhones are also the first ones to not include a headphone jack to Lightning dongle — an extra US$ 9 purchase if you ever need one.

Unlike previous years where you need to get the bigger model to have the best features iPhones have to offer, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are essentially the same phones — the latter just has a bigger display and battery capacity.

The iPhone XS and XS Max also come in a new beautiful gold color, something similar to our favorite iPhone 8 and 8 Plus color from last year — a subtle, non-tacky shade of gold. A slightly darker gold but shiny stainless steel band also highlights the edges of the phones. Button and port placements have not changed, and the notch housing Apple’s TrueDepth Camera technology lives on.

We have more iPhone content coming in the next few days so make sure to stay tuned for that. Our unboxing video is also coming where we unboxed a new case color as well. Subscribe to our YouTube channel if you haven’t yet.