News
Redmi 9 now official in the Philippines
Jam-packed with features
Alongside the launch of POCO F2 Pro in the Philippines is the launch of an entry-level smartphone from Xiaomi. The Redmi 9 is now officially available in the country, and it comes with a competitive price tag despite its jam-packed specs.
The Redmi 9 is a big upgrade over its predecessor. It now has a quad-camera setup that allows for more versatility. The main camera is a 13MP wide-angle camera. There’s also an 8MP ultra-wide-angle + 5MP macro camera which should allow for better landscape and close-up shots. Rounding up the camera setup is a 2MP depth sensor.
On the display front, users can expect a bigger and better screen. The display is now 6.53 inches and the resolution is bumped to full HD. The waterdrop notch is here to stay, housing the device’s 8Mp selfie camera.
Redmi 9 vastly improves on the performance front too. There’s a new MediaTek Helio G80 processor powering the device. Xiaomi claims the device has a 207% improved performance over its predecessor. MIUI 12 based on Android 10 is available out of the box. To top it all off, there’s a 5,020 mAh battery inside with support for 18W fast charging.
Plus, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, IR blaster, NFC, and dual SIM + microSD card support on this device. Redmi 9 is really jam-packed with features for an entry-level smartphone.
Pricing and availability
The best part about the Redmi 9? It starts at PhP 6,990 for the 3 / 32GB variant. There’s also a 4 / 64GB variant that retails at PhP 7,490. It is now available on Xiaomi’s official online store at Shopee starting June 16. Customers can grab the device in a variety of colors: Carbon Grey, Ocean Green, Sunset Purple.
There’s also a one-day flash sale happening on Shopee. Customers can snag the Redmi 9 3 /32GB variant at PhP 500 off or PhP 6,490 only for June 16.
Redmi 9 will retail on other sales channels starting from June 30. It will be also available for purchase at the Xiaomi Official Store on Lazada from July 7, 2020 with a special one-day price of PhP 6,490 (PhP 500 off) for the 3GB+32GB variant.
Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.
Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.
According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.
A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.
As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.
SEE ALSO: HONOR continues APAC expansion, to launch 600 series in Taiwan
Yesterday, Nothing officially teased the Phone (4b), an all-new line positioned below the Phone (4a) series. At the time, the teaser revealed nothing but the design of the upcoming phone. However, ahead of its July 7 launch, the Phone (4b) suddenly appeared on Geekbench, spoiling a few of its mysterious specs.
According to the listing, the Phone (4b) will run the SM6650, more popularly known as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It’s a modestly powered processor built for the budget to midrange segments of the performance spectrum. Having this processor does confirm that the phone belongs to the step below the Phone (4a), bringing affordability to a name other than CMF.
Besides the processor, the new phone will come with an Adreno 810 GPU and 8GB of RAM. Inside, it will ship with Android 16 out of the box, but this will likely be upgradeable to Android 17 later this year.
It’s already confirmed that the Phone (4b) will be quite the looker. The phone will slightly depart from the design philosophy of the Phone (4a) series. Though it will still have a sizable rear island, the camera setup will just be a small vertical strip on the top-left corner. Additionally, the lighting element typical of all Nothing phones will be a small horizontal strip on the bottom-right corner.
Thankfully, the wait for more specs won’t be long. Nothing has confirmed that the phone’s launch is set for July 7.
News
Polaroid says, enjoy the beach before AI ruins it
“We know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it.”
Tongue-in-cheek marketing is a soothing balm for a world where false promises are more often advertised. But, what happens when those tongue-in-cheek jokes strike a nerve and make you think, “maybe this isn’t a joke anymore”? Polaroid, a huge proponent of analog technology, has put up such a billboard to enjoy the beach “before the data centers drink it all up.”
Right in front of Coney Island (and right in time for summer), Polaroid has a simple message: “Go jump in the water before the data centers drink it all up.”
Though funny by itself, the message plays on an ongoing fear that today’s data centers, built for AI, have such a high water requirement that each query takes up gallons every time. This is, of course, slightly hyperbolic, but data centers are indeed exerting a lot of pressure on their area’s resources. They take a lot of water for cooling and electricity to keep open.
In a statement, Polaroid says that they’re not anti-digital. Rather, “we know we have to live alongside it, but we’re deeply pro-human and know what humanity gives us. And we know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. That’s a fight worth fighting,” says Polaroid’s creative director Patricia Varella, via LBB.
Now, this isn’t a completely altruistic ad. It’s still advertising the new Go Generation 3. Still, if you’re looking for a product to go alongside today’s shifting sentiments against AI, a Polaroid might be it.
SEE ALSO: The Loop PH rebrands as lifestyle-tech destination
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