The world’s smartest water bottle has arrived in the Philippines and you can get it at Digital Walker and Beyond the Box. With the HidrateSpark PRO, you can improve your water intake and even track your water consumption and it will even glow when it’s time for a drink.
The HidrateSpark PRO comes in stainless steel vacuum insulated material so you can keep you drinks cold up to 24 hours and it’s also lightweight, shatter, and odor resistant thanks to the Tritan plastic.
So what can this smart water bottle do? a lot actually. It reminds you to drink throughout the day and you can also customized the pattern and the color of the lights and you can also sync it to the HidrateSpark App via bluetooth so you can track everything that you do with the water bottle.
In case you lost it, you can also use the Find My Bottle feature that shows the location of the bottle and it can also sync with your Fitbit health and fitness devices. The bottle also comes with a carry loop so you can bring it anywhere you want and there’s the protective spout cover as well to protect it from dirt and germs.
If you want to get it, it’s available in 17oz and 21oz variants and they are priced at Php3,390 and Php3,690 respectively. You can get it in Black, Fruit Punch, Sea Glass, Deep Blue, Brushed Stainless Steel.
If you’re planning on getting a brand new PlayStation 5 then you might want to hold it off a little bit because Sony has just announced that there will be new colors for the PS5 and DualSense controllers that will arrive next month.
PlayStation has just announced the new color offerings for both the DualSense wireless controller and also for the PS5 console covers and these are the Nova Pink, Starlight Blue, and Galactic Purple which is an addition to the standard white color and the previously released Midnight Black and Cosmic Red.
The new controllers will be sold this January 14, 2022 for Php4,290 while the Midnight Black and Cosmic Red PS5 console covers will be available this February 2022. The Nova Pink, Galactic Purple, and Starlight Blue PS5 console covers will also launch this first half of 2022.
realme has been busy teasing their next smartphone to the market and this time, they’ve just revealed the design of the smartphone. The realme GT 2 series will be co-designed with Naoto Fukusawa and it will be inspired by paper as the realme GT 2 Pro is the world’s first smartphone with bio-based polymer design.
The realme design studio has partnered once again with Naoto Fukusawa to bring the forth Paper Tech Master design so they can create a sustainable product design with “The Future in Paper” as the core design inspiration.
The realme GT 2 Pro will be the most premium flagship ever by realme and it will come with a special Paper Tech Master Design and Naoto Fukusawa will use the element of paper texture to the realme GT 2 series to bring the beauty of paper to the mobile.
The realme GT 2 series is expected to launch soon.
One of the competitive midrange smartphones to arrive in the country is the Moto Edge 20 Fusion. This one of the competitive smartphones in the midrange market because this one features a decent Dimensity 800U processor inside and an OLED display. Check out what we think about the smartphone in our review below.
Design and hardware
The smartphone comes with a matte polycarbonate back and it does look premium and the material that was used was pretty good as it does feature a solid and premium feel. But unlike other matte back design, the smartphone does attract a lot of fingerprints and smudges which is a downer for me.
As for the camera, the smartphone features a square camera module with a protruding main camera along with 8MP ultrawide and 2MP depth camera. Nonetheless, the back looks clean and as for the ergonomics, it was pretty good, but I noticed that the smartphone is on the chunky side.
For the ports, the smartphone comes with USB C port along with headphone jack which is a surprise for me, and the smartphone does come with 30W TurboPower Charging so you can charge the 5000mAh battery of the smartphone faster.
For security, the smartphone comes with a side-fingerprint scanner and it’s fast enough for me and it’s pretty easy to reach and I prefer this one over having an in-display fingerprint scanner. As for the battery of the smartphone, the Moto Edge 20 Fusion comes with 14 hours and 57 minutes in PC Mark Work 2.0 Battery Test which is fairly good
Display
The Moto Edge 20 Fusion does pack a large 6.7-inch Full HD+ display with an AMOLED panel and a punch-hole camera at the top for selfies. It also features a 90Hz refresh rate which is why games are smoother on the smartphone.
The AMOLED that we got in here is great. The colors are popping and the blacks are good to the eyes. I liked playing games and videos on the smartphone along with checking out photos due to the colors.
Performance
Inside the smartphone is a MediaTek Dimensity 800U processor along with 8GB RAM and also a 128GB Internal storage. Well, that’s a decent offering as the benchmarks and the numbers that we got in here are decent.
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When it comes to gaming, we were able to play different games on the smartphone including League of Legends: Wild Rift at 60fps without any problems. As for Genshin Impact, We were able to play the game at more than 30fps in low settings and it can even reach up to 40fps but the FPS stability wasn’t great so staying at 30fps low settings is the best option.
Camera
The camera is one of my least liked features on the smartphone but it still performed well. The Moto Edge 20 Fusion comes with a 108MP main camera along with 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP depth sensor. Despite the pretty good numbers that we got here in the smartphone, the dynamic range of the camera wasn’t enough but nonetheless, they are still sharp. Check it out below.
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Verdict
The Moto Edge 20 Fusion is an interesting smartphone. The smartphone features 5G, a decent power, average camera, and a great battery life. It’s a jack of all trades, but master of none as the smartphone offers an average to decent performance but nothing is problematic for me. As for the availability, yes, they’re now back in the Philippines and you can get it offline at selected stores or online.
The Moto Edge 20 Fusion is available for Php16,995 which is the heavily contested spot here in our market.
Smart has just announced that they’ll now be offering eSIM conversion among all Smart Signature subscribers at all Smart Stores nationwide.
eSIM is an embedded chip inside supported smartphones and it’s on recent iPhones from Apple and it lets you activate your cellular network along with your carrier without the need of a physical sim. The Smart eSIM can store your network settings and it allows you to use the Smart network and services.
All existing and new Smart Signature devices and SIM-Only plans can apply for the eSIM and upon registration, you’ll be given a printed QR code to scan using their device while online. eSIM is only limited to few devices including the iPhone 11, 12 and 13 series, the Galaxy Z series from Samsung, Galaxy S21 series and Galaxy Note20 series.
Xiaomi recently launched its first exclusive service center in the Philippines, aiming to improve its after-sales program in the country.
The new service center is located on the ground floor, Serendra Wing of Market! Market! in Bonifacio Global City. It provides consumers with VIP treatment and an enhanced experience. In addition, the hub allows consumers to enjoy shopping for their products and ask for after-sales support.
“The unwavering support of Xiaomi fans has been a crucial factor in our growth this year, and we want to make sure we continue to deliver the best possible experience for them when it comes to their needs. The opening of this new exclusive center signals the start of more innovation when it comes to our customer service that we are aiming to bring to more Xiaomi fans nationwide,” Joel Salera, Xiaomi Philippines Service Manager, said.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi revealed that it had opened 20 sites nationwide this year. It also appointed 10 additional authorized service centers to support Xiaomi TV products.
Moreover, the brand introduced its Contact Center, servicing customers in the Philippines and America.
Xiaomi also announced that it would open more exclusive service centers across key cities in the Philippines.
We’ve been using the Xiaomi 11T Pro for a while now and it’s one of my favorite flagship smartphones this year when it comes to price-performance ratio as the smartphone performs pretty well for a flagship smartphone and the price is insanely good for its hardware inside. Curious? Check out our review of the smartphone below:
A generic but fine design
The design and materials of the smartphone is probably one of the reasons why the smartphone is affordable compared to other smartphones in the market right now. According to Xiaomi, the smartphone comes with a metal body inside for the frame but outside, the smartphone is made up of plastic.
Having a plastic build doesn’t mean that it doesn’t look premium as this comes with a brushed metal look at the back with a glossy look and feel. The quality that we’re getting on the smartphone is surprisingly good as it doesn’t feel cheap and despite the material being used, the Xiaomi 11T Pro still feels like a flagship smartphone and it might be a downer for some but I still feel that the 11T Pro is still premium.
There’s a fingerprint scanner on the smartphone and unlike most flagship smartphones, the Xiaomi 11T pro opted for a side-fingerprint scanner which is fast enough and more ergonomic for me and yes, the smartphone is ergonomic to hold thanks to the curved sides but you would probably use the included jelly case on the smartphone for a better grip on the Xiaomi 11T Pro.
For the ports, there’s the USB-C that supports a whooping 120W charging which is the fastest that we’ve ever reviewed. I’ve been enjoying the ultra-fast charging of the smartphone for a while now and it decimates every smartphone that we’ve ever reviewed when it comes to charging. As for the speakers, the smartphone was pretty good too and it’s using the Harman/Kardon too if you’re a fan of the brand.
Smooth display
The Xiaomi 11T Pro comes with a 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate so gaming on the smartphone was smooth and even when navigating on menu and browsing on different apps and games. The display of the smartphone is bright and it’s very decent even for outdoor usage and it’s great for almost all functions whether you want it for watching movies or YouTube. As for me, I’ve been the smartphone for gaming as it was smooth and also the colors are vivid and bright which is a plus for me.
A long and decent battery life
For the battery life of the Xiaomi 11T Pro, the smartphone comes with a 5000mAh battery which is big enough for me for its size, as for the benchmark of the battery of the smartphone, we were able to get 12 hours and 54 minutes on Xiaomi 11T Pro which is long enough especially for a flagship smartphone with Snapdragon 888 processor inside. In real life usage, I was able to use the smartphone for a single work day with some casual gaming but for some people who are into light usage, the smartphone can last up to a day and a half of use.
A smooth MIUI
Over the years, Xiaomi has improved their MIUI and with the MIUI 12 running on the Xiaomi 11T Pro, it’s a smooth sailing than ever as the apps load faster and the response was good. I do love the fast and swift response of the MIUI and the UI of the smartphone but of course, there are a lot of apps that might not be useful to you.
Powerful performance!
Inside the smartphone is a Snapdragon 888 5G which is powerful for any tasks and games that you need on the smartphone. Paired with that processor is an 8GB of RAM and a 256GB of internal storage. For the performance, the processor did really fine with every benchmark that we’ve run on the smartphone. Check out the benchmarks that I used and their results:
I’ve noticed that there were some drops in performance and in Antutu, the smartphone wasn’t able to give its full potential maybe because of throttling but nonetheless, the processor of the smartphone is more than enough for gaming today.
When it comes to gaming, the Xiaomi 11T Pro is a capable smartphone on all games as we were able to play League of Legends: Wild Rift without problems and also Genshin Impact at the highest settings possible at 60fps but of course, the smartphone gets warm as well after a few minutes of playing which is common on Snapdragon 888 smartphones. There are some dips in the frames as well when the smartphone gets really hot which means that the processor is really throttling. I also suggest removing the case of the smartphone when playing to have a better cooling and thermals.
A fine camera
The Xiaomi 11T Pro comes with a 108MP main camera along with 8MP ultrawide camera and also a 5MP telephoto camera. Well, it’s not a surprise that the Xiaomi 11T Pro did a pretty good job when it comes to the camera. The main camera did fare pretty well as the shots that we got are sharp and the details that I got on the smartphone are good but it’s definitely not the best that we’ve seen. Check out the shots that we took using the smartphone.
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With the main camera, I’ve noticed that the smartphone produced really good colors in our shots and they were sharp enough for a flagship smartphone along with the ultra wide angle lens. It’s definitely not the best one but the Xiaomi 11T Pro does the job done.
Verdict
The Xiaomi 11T Pro is a very good flagship smartphone for its price. First, the smartphone starts at Php27,990 and inside there’s the powerful Snapdragon 888 processor along with 8GB RAM. As for the design, it isn’t the best materials but it feels premium and the camera? It was fine. However, the smartphone does throttle when I play for a longer time on the smartphone.
Nonetheless, the smartphone got some pretty good power inside for its price and yes, the pricing of the smartphone is really excellent.
realme defended its crown as the country’s best selling phone, as it dominated the 12.12 sale on Shopee and Lazada.
During the promo period, the brand offered its Big Year-Ender Sale, allowing consumers to enjoy a 62% discount on select smartphones and other techlife devices. realme also offered FREE shipping and incredible giveaways during the promo.
Here are the details:
SHOPEE
Number 1 brand for mobile and tablet based on units sold
3rd best selling brand in the wearables category
LAZADA
Number 1 brand for mobile and tablet
Second biggest brand for the overall electronics category
Fourth best selling brand in the TV category
“We are truly happy to be one with our Squad this holiday season. We could not have achieved our recent 12.12 success if it weren’t for the love and support of everyone part of the realme community. Rest assured, we will continue to give our all to be the best tech and lifestyle companion of every Filipino,” Austine Huang, realme Philippines’ VP for Marketing, addressed.
Meanwhile, realme announced its #realmeWithYou Christmas Raffle promo, where winners can bring home exciting prizes, including a new Mitsubishi Mirage G4. Promo runs until January 2, 2022.
CHERRY opened its new kiosk at SM City Grand Central, giving Filipino consumers access to affordable yet quality tech products.
The new kiosk caters to consumers located in central Luzon. It features phones, tablets, mobile accessories, and essentials.
Moreover, to make the event more exciting, the brand’s own, Cosmic, joined the event.
To date, there are 11 CHERRY kiosks, 29 Cherry Mobile kiosks, and 7 in-shop kiosks nationwide. In addition, the brand now has 37 Cherry Mobile Concept Stores and 8 CHERRY Concept Stores in the country.
Meanwhile, you can visit the kiosk at the 4th level, Cyberzone, SM Grand Central, Caloocan City.
Share this latest update from CHERRY to allow more Filipinos to score affordable tech products!
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. named Minsu Chu as the new president of Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation (SEPCO).
Chu has over two decades of experience, including 11 years in Samsung. In fact, he was previously the president of Samsung Electronics New Zealand. Leading a Philippine team isn’t new for Chu, as he used to be the business director of the Mobile business in SEPCO.
“I am very pleased to return to the Philippines which I have long considered as my second home. This country has immense potential with its dynamic economy and a large and young population,” said Mr. Chu. “Even with the unprecedented global crisis, the country has remained resilient and has already shown signs of strong recovery, putting economic growth back on track.”
Chu also revealed that he aims for a more potent synergy between Mobile, Visual Display, and Digital Appliances.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics recently announced a newly merged Device eXperience (DX) Division. This comprises the Visual Display Business, Digital Appliances Business, Health & Medical Equipment Business, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business, and Networks Business.
The realme design studio has partnered once again with Naoto Fukusawa to bring the forth Paper Tech Master design so they can create a sustainable product design with “The Future in Paper” as the core design inspiration.
