News
Xiaomi 14, wearables now in the Philippines: Price, availability
Early bird discounts, freebies available
Xiaomi has announced the local pricing details and availability of the Xiaomi 14 and its new line of wearables in the Philippines.
The Xiaomi 14 series was announced globally a few days ago at MWC 2024, coming in the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Ultra variants.
Only the Xiaomi 14 will be available in the country from Xiaomi’s latest flagship series. It will be available in two variants: 12GB+256GB for PhP 45,999 and 12GB+512GB for PhP 47,999.
Customers who preorder the Xiaomi 14 from March 1 to 7 will get a free Xiaomi Watch S3 and six months of 100GB Google One storage. The promo also comes with a 1+1 year warranty with free screen replacement.
Upgraded camera quality, immersive user experience
The Xiaomi 14 features three Leica Summilux cameras, including a 50MP Leica Light Fusion 900 main camera. This main sensor has a high dynamic range and great noise reduction. Previously, the Xiaomi 13 series also featured Leica cameras.
Completing the triple camera setup is a Leica 75mm floating telephoto lens and a 50MP Leica ultra-wide camera.
READ: Xiaomi 14 series with Leica cameras officially announced at MWC 2024
The Xiaomi 14 runs on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor for ultra-fast performance. Its 4,610mAh battery supports 90W wired and 50W wireless HyperCharge for a 100% recharge in as fast as 31 minutes.
The device has as 6.36-inch CrystalRes AMOLED 1.5K screen with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 3000nits of peak brightness.
Additionally, the Xiaomi 14 series phones are the first to run on the new Xiaomi HyperOS platform. This new operating system boasts of a human-centric system, including a revamped UI, better security, and a more seamless inter-device experience.
Xiaomi wearables
Xiaomi has likewise revealed the Philippine local pricing details for its three new wearables.
The Xiaomi Watch 2 is priced at PhP 9,699. Following is the Xiaomi Watch S3 which comes at a more affordable price tag of PhP 6,999. Finally, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro retails for PhP 3,699.
The Watch 3 in particular features interchangeable bezels so users can match its design with their style. As such, bezels for the Watch S3 are sold separately, ranging from PhP 739 to PhP 1859.
Meanwhile, straps for the Watch 2 range from PhP 599 to PhP 899.
READ: Xiaomi announces latest wearables at MWC 2024
All three wearables will come with a Lazada-exclusive early bird price from March 1 until March 3 as well:
- Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: PhP 3,399
- Xiaomi Watch S3: Php 6,499
- Xiaomi Watch 2: PhP 9,199
Finance
HONOR, Fidesmo partner for contactless payments across Europe, Middle East
Enabling contactless payments on the HONOR Watch 6
HONOR and Fidesmo have partnered to launch contactless payments across Europe and the Middle East on the HONOR Watch 6.
Powered by Fidesmo Pay, the integration enables users to connect an existing Mastercard or Visa card to their watch and complete contactless transactions directly from the wearable device.
This brings Fidesmo’s network of over 900 banks and financial institutions to HONOR’s customers. Users can connect an existing card to the HONOR Watch 6 instantly through the HONOR Health App, which installs a unique token directly onto the watch.
Acting as a secure reference to the payment method, this token allows customers to pay without storing their actual payment details on the device. Once installed, users can tap the watch at any
contactless terminal to pay, just as they would with a card or phone.
HONOR joins a group of device partners that already includes Swatch, Polar, and Mondaine as Fidesmo continues to build momentum across categories.
Entertainment
Max vs 100 will feature Max Verstappen race against 100 go-karters
The live event will stream at midnight on September 17.
As a child, one of my favorite thought experiments is to imagine who would win in a fight between my favorite characters at the time and a number of other random beings. For example, will Superman prevail against 100 Magnetos? Those are the ways I kept my young mind occupied. Now, as a former child, I still do the same thing but with more realistic people, like imagining if Steph Curry can win against 100 high schoolers. This week, ESPN and Disney+ are making one of those imaginary fights real: Formula 1 legend Max Verstappen versus 100 go-karters.
In an upcoming live event streaming exclusively on Disney+, Max vs 100 will pit the four-time world champion against 100 go-karters from everywhere in pop culture. This gaggle of 100 will include popular content creators such as Twitch streamer ExtraEmily, car photographer Larry Chen, and NBA shooting coach Chris Matthews.
All 101 drivers will race around one of the most iconic tracks in Formula 1 history, Silverstone in England. The track will be reconfigured to match the special race.
Of course, this is more than just a parade of go-karts. Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid, meaning he has to overtake all 100 racers to win. Now, the Dutch driver is no stranger to winning from the back. In 2024, he won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite starting from P17 (out of 20 racers). Max vs 100, though familiar for the driver, presents a different challenge. Can he overtake 100 times to win the race?
Max vs 100 will stream live through Disney+ on September 17, 12:00am PHT.
Apps
Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android
Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.
As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.
Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?
Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.
Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.
Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.
SEE ALSO: These are the best Android 17 features (if you hate AI)
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