News
Xiaomi unveils the Mi 9 SE Brown Bear Edition with custom case and themes
Complete with accessories and a power bank

Special edition phones are not new to the market, but they are very welcome to join the fun. Xiaomi has been releasing a few for some time, and this is the latest: the Mi 9 SE Brown Bear Edition.
Xiaomi has partnered with Line Messenger to offer this limited edition Mi 9 SE. It’s customized with friendly character logos and skinned with a Line Friends theme.
Not only that, this variant is also a special package. Each box comes with a custom 10000mAh power bank, authenticity certificate, stickers, and a printed hard case.

Image credit: Xiaomi
Under the hood, it’s still a Mi 9 SE with the same Snapdragon 712 processor, AMOLED display, in-display fingerprint reader, and triple rear cameras.
The limited edition phone is only available in a 6GB memory and 128GB storage option, plus it’ll come in a purple gradient.

Image credit: Xiaomi
As always, it’s only available in China (at least for now) for CNY 2,499 or roughly US$ 370. It’s already up for pre-order on Xiaomi’s website and it’ll be delivered by April 9.


The HONOR Magic5 Pro, officially released at MWC 2023 in Barcelona, has finally landed in the Philippines. This is HONOR’s flagship smartphone and touts its triple 50MP cameras, top-of-the-line looks, and cutting edge performance.
In our HONOR Magic5 Pro review, we said it’s “easily one of the Top 5 standard slate flagship smartphones” of 2023. That’s thanks to its “specs, design, and overall feel.”
Price and availability
The HONOR Magic5 Pro retails for PhP 59,990 in the Philippines. From June 8 to 15, it’s available for pre-order and comes with a couple of freebies. These are the HONOR Band 6 smartwatch and HONOR X3 Lite Earbuds (worth PhP 6,000).
You can also grab the phone with Globe at GPlan 2499 with a one-time cash out of PhP 17,900. The freebies are also available in this option.
It’s also available through Home Credit at 0% interest starting June 16. Payment plans start as low as PhP 1,718 per month without insurance and PhP 2,085 with insurance.
The phone comes in Meadown Green and Black.
HONOR Magic5 Pro Specs
- Processor — Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset
- OS — MagicOS 7.1 based on Android 13
- Graphics — Adreno 740 GPU
- Memory — 12GB DDR5X
- Storage — 512GB UFS4.0
- Display — 6.81-inch LTPO quad-curved floating screen, 2848 x 1312, 120Hz, 100% DCI-P3, 1800 nits peak brightness, HDR10+, TÜV Rheinland certified Low Blue Light
- Audio — Stereo system with dual speakers, DTS:X Ultra
- Security — Dual-TEE security system, NFC support, 3D face recognition, AI Privacy Call 2.0, fingerprint sensor
- Connectivity — USB Type-C, dual-SIM slots
- Wireless — Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.2
- Battery — 5,100mAh, 66W wired and 50W wireless SuperCharge
- 50MP wide camera (f/1.6, 1/1.12-inch sensor)
- 50MP ultra-wide camera (f/2.0, 122 degrees field of view)
- 50MP Sony IMX858 telephoto camera (f/3.0, 3.5x optical zoom, 100x digital zoom)
Gaming
Fans created an amazing remake of Final Fantasy IX
It’s the best game you won’t be able to play

Remakes are popular in the world of gaming these days. Three Japanese studios — Square Enix, Capcom, and Konami — all have released or upcoming remakes of their popular titles. However, the most impressive remake right now comes from somewhere other than these three giants. A group of fans have successfully recreated Final Fantasy IX with modern graphics.
Initially released way back in 2000, Final Fantasy IX remains one of the most endearing entries in the decades-long franchise. It was released for the original PlayStation. Of course, because of the hardware limitations back then, the original game looks dated.
Now, more than two decades after the original game’s release, a team of over fifty fans worked hard since 2021 to create a short demo of Final Fantasy IX using modern technology. The team does have a storied resume, though. It included individuals with experience from big companies like Sony, Blizzard, Riot Games, and Sucker Punch.
We're thrilled to present the gameplay demo for our Final Fantasy IX Remake project, crafted with love and passion by over 50 professional videogame developers and artists over the span of three years.
We hope you enjoy the ride. pic.twitter.com/hUReF7ZuPR
— Final Fantasy IX: Memoria Project (@MemoriaProject) June 7, 2023
Unfortunately, if you want to play the remade game, you’re out of luck. The Memoria Project, as the collective is known, has no intentions of releasing a finished game — unless Square Enix gives them explicit permission to do so. Given how accurate the project is to the original game, copyright infringement is a legitimate concern.
As such, all fans have right now is a 25-minute gameplay video showcasing the opening Alexandria section of the game. It’s an impressive showcase, though. If you were a fan of the original, check out the video.
SEE ALSO: Final Fantasy XVI PS5 Bundle announced

In today’s gaming landscape, live-service games often come with a veneer of controversy. While the format ensures content continuously pouring through the gate, a lot of players equate it to the plagued world of microtransactions. Eager to break out of the stereotype, the newly released Diablo IV, itself a live-service game, is already promising a wealth of content coming in the future — including two expansion packs.
In an interview with Kinda Funny Games on YouTube, the franchise’s general manager Rod Fergusson has confirmed that the newly released entry in the popular series is getting at least two expansions down the line. With the live-service format, the studio can focus on polishing the content, rather than rushing them through the gate, according to Fergusson.
Though the expansions are already confirmed, neither Fergusson nor Blizzard have confirmed where the expansions will take players next. Both expansions will include unnamed narrative storylines, rather than focusing on introducing new mechanics.
Also, it will likely take a while before either expansion is announced. After all, Diablo IV just released a few days ago. Plus, the developers are working on putting out the first season of the title’s battle pass.
Two expansions are quite impressive for the new title. Both Diablo II and Diablo III only had one expansion.
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