Samsung Colombia has jumped the gun and they’ve posted the date of the launch earlier than expected. It looks like the Samsung Unpacked 2023 will be happening this February 1 according to their now-deleted page at Samsung Colombia website.
The website didn’t show that much aside from the camera module which are the three lenses similar to the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and then there’s the lilacs and leaves. This might suggest that we can get the lilac purple and green color for the next flagship smartphone.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 hasn’t been official and yet there are a lot of rumors circling already about the smartphone including a 200MP camera inside with amazing night camera.
Smart Communications has registered over 7 million Smart and TNT customers in its first 10 days of the SIM Registration portals launch. The portal went love on December 27, 2022 and both Smart and TNT subscribers can easily register their prepaid and postpaid SIM cards as required by the SIM registration act.
The SIM registration act aims to to combat text scams and other mobile phone-aided criminal activity. Smart has also setup assisted SIM Registration booths and touchpoints in the country to help the process. In addition to that, theyre setting up 3GB of FREE DATA as an incentive to those who will register.
We’ve been using the best V-series smartphone from vivo for a while now and it was really an enjoyable smartphone to use as the vivo V25 Pro comes with a sexy design and also pretty fine hardware. Now, check out our review of the smartphone.
Design and hardware
One of the best feats of the vivo V25 Pro is its design. It might be a premium midrange smartphone but once you hold it, it’s capable of being a flagship-level smartphone in terms of its design. We got a glass back, ergonomic curves, and a color that can really catch our eye.
The glass back of the smartphone is also something that you would definitely love about the smartphone. Especially for those people who care most about the design and colors of the smartphone first.
When it comes to the ports, the vivo V25 Pro comes with a USB-C port and also a sim card slot below but unfortunately, there’s no headphone jack on this one just like the previous generation. I got nothing to complain though as everything was really good on the smartphone even after months of using it.
The power button and also the volume rocker is on one side of the smartphone and it’s very accessible as well despite having a curved display on the smartphone.
For the battery life of the smartphone, the vivo V25 Pro was actually pretty good when it comes to battery life as I was getting a whole day or a day and a half when I was using it because asking for more juice. As for the charging, it was pretty fast at 66W.
Display
For the smartphone’s display, it comes with a 6.56-inch Full HD+ curved display and the AMOLED panel of the smartphone was fine. It’s definitely not the best display in its price range but the curved display of the smartphone is definitely a looker and it makes the smartphone more premium to look at.
There’s minimal bezels as well and the smartphone does look sexy. There’s a 120Hz refresh rate as well which makes the smartphone feel and look smoother then ever whenever I’m navigating in it. Under direct sunlight, I was happy with the display of the smartphone as it was very visible.
A strong performance
One of its main feat is the hardware inside the smartphone. There’s a MediaTek Dimensity 1300 CPU on the smartphone paired with 12GB of RAM. The RAM can be even expanded by more than up to 8GB. Those numbers might not be something for normal consumers but it does help in the performance of the smartphone.
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As for the processor, we were pretty happy with the performance of the smartphone. As expected, every game that we run on the smartphone includes the latest ones like Genshin Impact and also Apex Legends. Actually, I love how consistent the Genshin Impact is whenever I’m playing on the smartphone for a longer time.
Amazing camera
For the camera of the smartphone, there’s the 64MP main camera along with the 8MP ultrawide camera. The smartphone also features a 2MP macro camera which is probably not that useful for most people. But beyond the hardware, there’s the processing on the vivo V25 Pro and it was pretty good.
The selfie camera of the smartphone is pretty good as well as they’re sharp and has a good post-processing.
Most of the shots that we took on the smartphone were great and for the night shots that we took, I was actually surprised with how good the night shots are as they’re bright and the colors are improved with less noise as well. Check out the photos of the smartphone below:
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Verdict
The vivo V25 Pro is one of the smartphones that you should take a look at. It features a decent power inside, the camera of the smartphone is pretty good even at lowlight and they were pretty good and sharp as well. It can definitely compete even against flagships out there.
There’s not much to say negative about the smartphone because there’s a lot of features that I really love on the smartphone however, it’s not perfect. So if you’re the type of consumer who loves to take photos and loves to take selfies then you might want to take a look at the vivo V25 Pro
In our long-term usage of the smartphone, we definitely enjoyed the MediaTek processor of the smartphone as it was powerful and the modern games are quick to adapt the processor. We also enjoyed the camera as it features a pretty good quality overtime and it has been improving as well with its updates.
HONOR Philippines has just unveiled their brand new color for their mid-range smartphone made for vlogging — the HONOR 70. This smartphone now comes in the beautiful Emerald Green color but the smartphone is still priced at a reasonable price of Php26,990.
The smartphone features a dual-curved display and also a sexy curves at the back. It also features the 54MP IMX800 Super Sensing Main Camera and for the battery it comes with 4800mAh battery and also a 66W HONOR SuperCharge.
HONOR 70 Specs
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G Plus Processor
6.5-inch HD+ TFT Display
4GB RAM
64GB/128GB Internal Stroage
50MP Main Camera + 2MP Macro Camera + 2MP Depth Camera
5MP selfie camera
LTE, Dual SIM
Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
5000mAh battery
Magic UI 6.1 based on Android 12
The HONOR 70 5G Emerald Green is priced at Php26,990.
Christmas season is here and we all Filipinos will celebrate Simbang Gabi and Noche Buena soon. And to celebrate the season with your loved ones even better, it’s better to take special memories with your family with your smartphone.
To those who want to take photos and memories with family and friends, vivo has the perfect smartphones for you and these are the vivo V25 series, vivo Y16, and the vivo Y35.
Stunning visuals
Christmas means that churches will be filled with Christmas decorations and lanterns and it’s definitely the best time to capture those photos with those beautiful lights and lanterns. Thankfully, there’s the vivo V25 series smartphones that will make your Simbang Gabi even better.
The vivo V25 Pro comes with a 64MP OIS ultra-sensing camera with extreme night vision which makes your night shots even better. Portraits are even better as well with your backgrounds and elements of Simbanbg Gabi as the Super Night Mode can improve overexposed dark faces and backgrounds and eliminates stray lights. You can also have improved video quality with the O+E stabilization that also reduces noise and quality at low light.
Better get-togethers
Another thing to look forward in the Noche Buena is eating with our family. And if you want to capture more videos and photos during the holidays, you can go for the vivo Y16 which comes with a 4GB + 128GB capacity with an expandable 1TB memory and 5000mAh battery.
And if you want something that will charge really fast then you can go for the vivo Y35 that comes with an ultra-fast 44W Fast Charge. This is perfect especially when you’re in a hurry and you just need to charge your smartphone really fast.
The vivo Y35 comes with a price of Php14,999
The vivo V25 series, vivo Y16, and the vivo Y35 are now available nationwide at vivo kiosks and concept stores. You can also avail of thbe brand new vivo smartphones through their Paskong La vivo Loca, that will last until January 31, 2023.
Infinix has just announced recently that the ZERO 5G 2023 has finally arrived in the Philippines and it’s very interesting as the smartphone packs an affordable price and also top-notch hardware thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity processor inside the smartphone.
The Infinix ZERO 5G 2023 comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 5G processor inside along with 256GB of internal storage and up to 13GB of RAM. Aside from that, there’s the 6.78-inch Full HD+ display as well with a 120Hz refresh rate. These are just some of the specifications of the smartphone but the most surprising part here is that the smartphone comes with a really good pricing.
Infinix Zero 5G 2023 Specs
MediaTek Dimensity 1080 Processor
6.78-inch Full HD+ IPS Display, 120Hz refresh rate
8GB LPDDR5 RAM
50MP Main Camera + 2MP macro camera + 2MP depth camera
16MP Front-facing camera
5G, LTE Dual SIM
33W Fast Charge technology
5000mAh battery
XOS 12
The Infinix ZERO 5G 2023 has an SRP of Php11,999 which makes the smartphone one of the most powerful in its price range.
IDC has release another data for the Philippine market and this time, it’s the wearables in which our country saw a 15.5% QoQ and 23.7 YoY growth.
Huawei took the #1 spot in the wearables market and they account 66% of their smart wristbands for their overall wearable thanks to the Huawei Band 7.
While the smartwatch shipments has declined this quarter, it has still doubled compared to last year. While the earwear accounted for the 46.8% of the overall wearables this Q3 2022 market share.
While Huawei got the #1 spot, Samsung got the #2 spot thanks to their strong wearable ecosystem. Xiaomi got third place while realme got the 4th place. Despite being in the premium segment, Apple got the fifth spot in the Philippine wearable market.
One of the newest smartphones to arrive in the country is the OPPO A77s and it’s pegged as one of the stylish smartphones in its range right now but make no mistake because this smartphone might be stylish but it doesn’t lack when it comes to performance and productivity.
The stylish design
First, let’s talk about the stylish design of the smartphone. It comes in Sunset Orange and also in Starry Black in where the former features a Fiberglass Leather design while the Starry Black, the unit that we have, comes with the signature OPPO Glow design. Along with that is the flat frame that makes it more solid and premium and while the two pack a different approach, both of them are beautiful and it’s really noticeable and attractive in public.
A capable hardware for productivity and casual gaming
The OPPO A77s might be one of the stylish smartphones in its price range but the smartphone also comes with a specifications that can help you in your normal workday and of course, to entertain you with some mobile games.
At the heart of the OPPO A77s is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, a capable processor that is mature enough for most games and apps in the market right now. Since this chipset is so popular, a lot of the apps on the Play Store are optimized for this chip.
For the display, the smartphone comes with a large 6.56-inch display with an HD+ resolution and also a 90Hz refresh rate and touch sampling rate. This means that the display of the smartphone is more responsive. Having an HD+ resolution instead of Full HD+ might mean that it has a smaller resolution but this also means that the smartphone can yield a better battery life and also for gaming, it would have less objects to render which means that games tend to load faster and have better FPS. The OPPO A77s also supports IPX4 water resistance and also IP5X Dust Resistance that can protect your smartphone from splashes and dust
The OPPO A77s also comes with a 128GB of memory inside expandable via microSD so downloading the apps and games that you need on the smartphone won’t be a problem. For the RAM, there’s the 8GB RAM as well that can be expanded up to 16GB which will give you more room for running apps and large documents on the smartphone which makes it perfect for productivity.
Gamers would love this smartphone
While the smartphone’s gaming prowess wasn’t highlighted that much, the OPPO A77s is very capable of running most of the popular games and apps in the market right now. The Snapdragon 680 chip is capable of running games like Mobile Legends, PUBG Mobile, and even the demanding Genshin Impact can run on the smartphone at a very decent fps.
The 6.56-inch display of the smartphone is also perfect for those people playing MOBA or FPS games as their fingers would have enough space to move and swipe on the large display of the smartphone and won’t block too much of the movements in the game. There’s a stereo speaker as well which will give you a more immersive experience when playing games.
You can also play longer on the smartphone as the OPPO A77s comes with 5000mAh battery which will give you longer battery life and enough juice for a single work day. Charging is a breeze as well for it features 33W SuperVOOC Charging that can fully charge in a little over an hour.
A great partner for productivity
Aside from the hardware of the smartphone, the software is one of the important aspects of the device. The OPPO A77s features the ColorOS 12.1 that is based on Android 12, where it offers a smooth and seamless experience when using the smartphone. Opening apps and navigation on the smartphone is so smooth and user-friendly as well.
For productivity, the OPPO A77s is capable of multi-window so drag and dropping files from one app to another will be easy but my favorite is when I’m cross-referencing documents on the smartphone as I can open two apps at the same time.
OPPO has taken multi-tasking to another level with the FlexDrop combined with the Smart Sidebar. Launching your prioritized functions and apps on the smartphone is just a swipe away and you can even open it in a floating window making the OPPO A77s a perfect companion for your productivity needs.
It’s affordable
Overall, the features and innovations of the OPPO A77s has indeed set the bar high in its category. It is perfect to get you through the day, casual gaming and it can even boost your productivity level like never before.
So what are you waiting for? Grab your very own OPPO A77s for only Php13,99. Run to the nearest OPPO Brand Stores, kiosks, partner dealers or e-commerce websites such Lazada , Shopee, and TikTok Shop.
Looks like we’re gonna see a big change to Apple next year as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has revealed that Apple is currently prepping up the iOS and the iPadOS to open up for third-party app stores. This means that their mobile and tablet operating systems will be open to other app stores aside from Apple’s own App Store.
This is in-line with the EU’s requirements under the Digital Markets and Services Act and Apple is expected to open up different key elements of the iPhone and the iPad so that they can download apps through third-party app stores.
However, the update is only expected to take place in 27 countries that are members of the EU and it will probably expand the services to other regions in the feature.
The Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act are intended to promote fair competition and to provide privacy to consumers. Companies including Apple are expected to abide by the law that will come into force this January 1, 2024.
Xiaomi has just unveiled their latest flagship in the country and it’s the Xiaomi 12T series and today, we’re gonna do an unboxing and hands-on of the more affordable smartphone in the Xiaomi 12T series – the Xiaomi 12T.
Inside the Box
The box of the Xiaomi 12T is pretty similar with other Xiaomi smartphones that we’ve reviewed before. Inside the box, we can find here the Xiaomi 12T smartphone, the jelly case, quick start guide, USB-A to USB-C port with support for fast charging and then there’s the 120W Fast Charger as well which can fully charge the smartphone in just a few minutes.
First impressions
One of the things that I love about the Xiaomi 12T is how ergonomic the smartphone thanks to the curves at the back of the smartphone. Despite the large size of the smartphone, it was pretty handy to hold.
The back is different from the original Xiaomi 12. This one comes with a frosted glass look at the back of the smartphone and yes, it was slippery so I highly suggest that you use the smartphone’s case with it so you could have a better grip on the smartphone. The camera module of the smartphone
Below is the USB-C port of the smartphone and it supports an ultra fast 120W fast charging which can fully charge the smartphone in less than 30 minutes which is insane. Even if you charge the smartphone by just 5 minutes, the Xiaomi 12T can last for a few more hours.
For the display of the Xiaomi 12T comes with a 6.67” display with AMOLED panel and also a 120Hz refresh rate and no, there’s no curved display in here but the flat panel of the smartphone is beautiful enough for a flagship smartphone but it’s definitely not the best one out there. As for the speakers of the smartphone, it was superb and it was loud enough whether I want it for watching movies or when listening to Spotify. The Xiaomi 12T works really fine.
When it comes to the processor, the Xiaomi 12T comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Ultra chipset inside and also the 8GB of RAM. The performance of the smartphone works really fine whether you want to for normal apps or for the latest games in the market right now. It works like a flagship and for our initial tests, we’re pretty impressed with the Dimensity 8100.
As for the camera, the Xiaomi 12T comes with a 108MP main camera and for a flagship smartphone, I find it a little bit lacking when it comes to dynamic range and colors in some of my shots. The other shots? They were actually great. It’s actually a hit and miss for me. Maybe an update could fix that.
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Verdict
The Xiaomi 12T might not have the best hardware inside but make no mistake because the smartphone is still a flagship one. We got the power inside, a beautiful display, and a decent camera. Their choice of a MediaTek processor is actually isn’t bad and one of my favorite feature, the 120W charger, still comes with the smartphone.
It might not have the same level of the Xiaomi 12T Pro but the Xiaomi 12T is still a good one. If you don’t have the budget but still want to have a taste of a flagship smartphone then better get this smartphone.
