One of the newest smartphones from OPPO Philippines is the Reno4 and it brings a lot to the table including a sexy and clean design smartphone and also a powerful camera. But of course, we’re also getting here a better chipset inside which is more than enough for most people.
OPPO Reno4 Review: Design and Hardware
One of the strengths of OPPO smartphones is they know how to style their smartphone and with the OPPO Reno4, we’re getting here a stylish design with colors that are appealing to the eye. We got here a polycarbonate build on the smartphone with a frost design at the back that looks pretty cool and resistant to smudges and we also got here a blue gradient color at the back.
Aside from that, there’s the curved sides and the lightweight body of the smartphone which adds to the ergonomic feel of the OPPO Reno4 which makes it easy to bring anywhere. On the side of the smartphone is where you can find the power button while the other side is the volume rocker.
Thankfully we got here an in-display fingerprint scanner which makes the smartphone look cleaner but of course, it isn’t as fast as the side fingerprint scanner on other smartphones and then there’s the face unlock in case you want to unlock the smartphone faster.
The battery of the smartphone is pretty good too and we got here a score of 11 hours and 23 minutes on PC Mark Battery Test.
OPPO Reno4 Review: Display
As for the display of the smartphone, there’s AMOLED display on the smartphone with a size of 6.4-inch and then there’s the Full HD+ resolution. There’s a punch-hole too for that looks like a pill and it allows you to different gestures on the smartphone and also adds privacy like the anti-peeping
The display of the smartphone was good and it will do just fine when using outside. It’s not the best display out there but it does have an advantage compared to other manufacturers thanks to its AMOLED panel.
OPPO Reno4 Review: Software and performance
The smartphone runs on Android 10 with ColorOS 7.2 and as expected, it’s skinned but it’s clean and it’s fast to use and of course, there are bloatwares on these smartphones. There are also some cool features including Smart AirControl that allows you to scroll in different applications with a swiping motion and there’s the anti-peeping feature which is another cool feature that will surely give you some privacy.
For the performance, there’s the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Octa-Core processor which is one of my favorites in the mid-range segment as we can experience here a seamless and smooth experience on most applications and light apps.
When it comes to gaming, the OPPO Reno4 can run most games right now but of course, you have to turn down the settings on some of these games. Check out our benchmark of the smartphone below:
For gaming, you can check out our gaming review here:
OPPO Reno4 Review: Camera
The smartphone consists of a quad-camera setup with the main 48MP main camera with Sony IMX 568 sensor and then there’s the 8MP ultra wide-angle camera, 2MP macro, and a 2MP portrait camera and then for the selfies, there’s the 32MP Sony IMX 616 selfie camera paired with a sensor for gestures.
In our shots, we noticed that the OPPO Reno4 produced great photos at decent lighting conditions and they were sharp on most of my shots and the details were great. Check out the shots that I took using the smartphone:
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OPPO Reno4 Review: Verdict
The biggest selling point of the OPPO Reno4 is the design of the smartphone. It is a finely design smartphone and the colors are easy on the eyes. The charging on this one is fine too with its 30W VOOC fast charging and of course, there’s the Snapdragon 720G processor which can do the job most of the time. The camera is capable too on this one did its job as well.
The OPPO Reno4 is now available for Php18,990.
OPPO Reno4 Specs
Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Octa-Core Processor
6.4-inch AMOLED FHD+ Display
8GB RAM
128GB Internal storage expandable via MicroSD card
48MP main camera + 8MP ultra wide-angle + 2MP Macro + 2MP Mono
Samsung Philippines has just announced that the Odyssey line-up of gaming monitors will be available in the Philippines and yes, we’re definitely getting the Odyssey G9 and G7 gaming monitors which are known for its immersive 1000R curvature and also the design that gamers would surely love.
“This year’s Samsung Odyssey line-up brings together the key elements of next-level game
play: comfortable curvature, immersive interaction and perfect picture quality. This is the gaming monitor that every gamer deserves, set to surely reinvent the total gaming experience,” said James Jung, president of Samsung Philippines.
The Samsung Odyssey G7 and G9 will be arriving here in the Philippines and they’ll be offering a 1000R curvature with the G9 packing the world’s first dual Quad HD gaming monitor thanks to its 49-inch display that curves around the user to give you a more immersive experience
While for the people who want a gaming monitor with consistent performance and also something that wouldn’t break the bank that much then you might want to opt for the Odyssey G7.
The Odyssey monitors offer 240Hz refresh rate with 1ms response time so you can have better experience when playing games especially the FPS ones. These monitors also comes with G-Sync compatibility and also FreeSync Premium Pro support so you can have a tear-free experience gaming.
The Odyssey gaming monitor line-up from Samsung will be available at Samsung.com, PC Express, PCWorx, Complink retail and online stores. You can also get it at Lazada and Shopee. These monitors come in the following price and variants:
Motorola Philippines has just unveiled the Moto G 5G Plus in the Philippines and it’s really exciting as the smartphone offers the most affordable price for a 5G smartphone but of course, it doesn’t lack in other hardware as we got here a quad-camera setup at the back and then there’s the dual-selfie camera and also a large 6.7-inch display.
Another bonus on the smartphone is that we got here a 21:9 display with a 90Hz refresh rate with HDR that gives a smoother experience on the display of the smartphone.
For the camera, we got here a quad-camera setup with a main 48MP Quad Pixel Camera paired with 8MP ultra-wide camera, 5MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor. For the selfie camera, we got here the 16MP quad pixel main selfie camera and an 8MP ultra-wide camera.
Moto G 5G Plus Specs
Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 Processor
6.7-inch IPS Full HD+ Display, HDR10, 90Hz refresh rate
8GB RAM
128GB Internal storage expandable via MicroSD
48MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 5MP macro + 2MP depth
16MP main selfie + 8MP ultrawide selfie camera
5G, LTE, Dual SIM
Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
20W Charger
5000mAh battery
Android 10
The Moto G 5G Plus is the most affordable smartphone with 5G and Snapdragon 765 inside in the Philippines. The Moto G 5G Plus will be available in the Philipppines this December 2020 for Php16,990.
The ASUS VivoBook S and the ASUS Zenbook got a refresh yesterday as the company has just unveiled their latest notebooks in the market with 11th Generation Intel CPU inside. They’re currently the first PC brand in the country to offer the 11th Generation Intel Processors that promises a leap in performance and efficiency.
The first one to get a refresh is the ASUS ZenBook 13 which is the world’s thinnest 13″ notebook with full I/O ports and of course, this one is portable too as we got here a 1.11kg lightweight and a thin chassis. The best part? It packs an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor paired with Intel Iris X graphics which is expected to have a leap in terms of performance.
And then there’s the VivoBook S S433 that also got a refresh. This time, we’re getting here an up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor paired with MX350 graphics. There’s a lower variant too that packs an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU with Intel Iris X graphics. This one comes with plenty of ports but my favorite one is the Thunderbolt 4 USB-C support and also WiFi 6. The ASUS VivoBook S promises a 1.4kg lightweight design and also 14.9 hours of battery life.
For the price, the ASUS VivoBook S14 starts at Php49,995 and it comes with an Intel Core i5 with Iris X GPU and then there’s the Intel Core i7 variant with Nvidia MX350 GPU for Php59,995.
The ASUS ZenBook 13 with Intel Core i5 with Intel Iris X GPU starts at Php54,995.
We finally have our first taste of Intel’s discrete graphics card powered by the Xe Architecture in the form of Acer’s Swift 3X laptop. Intel Xe is Intel’s first dGPU offering which is lead by former AMD Radeon Graphics head, Raja Koduri. Alongside the Iris Xe MAX, the Acer Swift 3X also comes with Intel’s latest 11th Gen Tiger Lake processor.
The Acer Swift 3X highlights “on-the-go” performance for both work and gaming thanks to the Tiger Lake + Iris Xe MAX combination. Coming in at only 1.37 kg, the Acer Swift 3 is definitely a light laptop and Acer claims up to 17.5 hours of battery life thanks to Intel’s latest processors.
The Swift 3X has a 14-inch 1080p IPS screen covering 72% NTSC color gamut with an 84% screen-to-body ratio. Since it’s powered by Intel’s 11th generation Tiger Lake CPU, the Swift 3X also supports Intel Wi-Fi6(Gig+), USB-C, Thunderbolt 4, and USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports for expanded connectivity.
The Acer Swift 3X will be available in North America by December starting at $899.99(Php 43,562). There is no word yet on Philippine availability but we should expect it to arrive by the holiday season as well.
vivo Philippines has finally launched its newest smartphones in the country and it’s the vivo V20 series. The smartphone series comes in three different flavors that come in different specifications.
vivo V20 SE
This is the most affordable of them all and the vivo V20 SE features a quite dated processor which is the Snapdragon 665 but of course, it still packs an interesting camera here as we got here a 32MP Selfie camera and also a 48MP rear camera. The smartphone also comes with Super Night Selfie
For the display of the smartphone, we got here a Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 6.44-inch display. Another cool feature on the smartphone is the inclusion of the 33W FlashCharge and the thin 7.83mm ultra-thin body of the smartphone.
vivo V20
The vivo V20 is the middle brother among the three and it packs an almost similar design to the vivo V20 Pro but this one packs a slower Snapdragon 720G processor. For the camera, there’s the 44MP selfie camera that can focus on your eyes and then there’s the 64MP night camera and also the 33W Flash Charge.
The smartphone also features a 6.44-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ Resolution and for the camera, there’s the 64MP main camera paired with 8MP wide-angle camera and also a 2MP mono camera.
vivo V20 Pro
The smartphone is similar to the vivo V20 but this one has more pro features. First, this one features 5G thanks to the Snapdragon 765G processor inside the smartphone which is one of my favorites out there.
It’s also one of the thinnest 5G smartphones out there as we got here a 7.39mm thin design on this one. The camera setup of the smartphone is almost the same to the vivo V20 but this one has an extra 8MP super wide-angle camera so yeah, you can expect a better camera on this one as we also got here a better chipset.
For the pricing, you can check out the prices of the smartphones below:
vivo V20 SE – Php15,999
vivo V20 – Php19,999
vivo V20 Pro – Php24,999
You can check out the freebies of the smartphone below:
The pandemic gives a silver lining for gamers looking to complete their backlog of games and discover new ones thanks to their free time. And while we get free games from Steam and Epic Games Store from time to time, you don’t usually see recent triple-A titles slashed at a 100% percent. If you’re looking to get some of the latest games at a discount, here are the top 5 game stores that you should check every now and then.
Remember that free game you got because someone posted it on social media? Chances are it’s from Humble Bundle. Humblebundle.com is known for its incredibly cheap game bundles and triple-A monthly game subscription loot. Buyers can opt to donate the Proceeds from bundles and game package subscriptions to charity.
GOG Galaxy is well-loved by gamers thanks to its no DRM policy. Most of the games they offer can be played offline. Moreover, unlike Steam, Origin, and Uplay, GOG’s gaming client is optional since most of its games are DRM-free, thus removing the need for a “constantly checking” software. One thing I personally love about GOG is its hassle-free 30-day refund program.
G2A is a hit or miss if you’re looking for great deals. The site is also a marketplace platform for third-party sellers to offer game keys at a discount. Due to the nature of the marketplace, some keys might be sourced from illegal means. Nonetheless, it’s still one of the best stores that offer huge discounts and has the largest game library available.
Fanatical might sound new to the ear but you’ve probably stumbled upon their former name, bundlestars. Fanatical is also a bundle-based store similar to humble bundle. Fanatical also offers random steam game keys for a set amount.
Green man gaming is a mixture of all of the sites mentioned above. What’s unique about GMG is it offers console games and VR games as well. GMG also hosts flash sales so be sure to check on it every other day.
Here’s a surprise from Huawei at today’s launch. The Huawei Mate 40 series was just announced today at their online event and the smartphone series is comprised of the Huawei Mate 40, Mate 40 Pro, and the Mate 40 Pro+ and as expected, the Huawei Mate 40 won’t get some features of its pro brothers but it still packs some interesting feature inside.
Kirin 9000E vs. Kirin 9000
First, the Kirin 9000 chipset that we’re getting on the Huawei Mate 40 is different. Inside the smartphone is a Kirin 9000E chipset that packs fewer GPU cores and also fewer NPU cores but the CPU remains the same with the combination of the Cortex-A77 and A55.
While the GPU comes with fewer 22-cores but still the same Mali-G78 GPU inside which might affect a little bit of your gaming experience and for the NPU, there’s only a single Big core on the Kirin 9000E while the Kirin 9000 comes with a Dual big core.
Not only that, the Huawei Mate 40 only supports 40W Huawei SuperCharge and there’s no support for wireless charging on this one.
Huawei Mate 40 comes with a headphone jack
Here’s the surprise for the day. Flagship smartphones are slowly denying the existence of the 3.5mm audio jack on smartphones but on the Huawei Mate 40, it has made a comeback. In the smartphone’s spec sheet, it was clearly stated that the smartphone would pack a 3.5 mm earjack while the P40 Pro and P40 Pro+ will rely on USB-C ports for their external wired audio.
Huawei has just unveiled their newest smartphone series in the market that is set to shake the flagship segment with its powerful hardware inside and also the amazing features including the largest camera sensor on a smartphone and of course, a groundbreaking performance thanks to the Kirin 9000 processor of the smartphone.
Some of the cool features that we can find on the Huawei Mate 40 series are 5G which will give you fast speeds and better latency. They’ll also come with a feature called Eyes on display in where you can use your favorite gif or picture on the display of the smartphone even when the screen is off. It will only activate when you glance at the front camera of the smartphone.
The multi-screen collaboration has been upgraded too on the PC and you can have simultaneously apps on display on your PC so you can do online shopping and also open your chat groups on your multi-screen collaboration. The smartphone also support touch-free interactions too which will let you control your smartphone with gestures.
Huawei Kirin 9000E chipset with 22-core Mali-G78 GPU
8GB RAM
256GB Internal storage
50MP ultra vision wide camera f1.9 + 16MP Cine Camera ultra-wide f2.2 + 8MP telephoto f2.4
13MP Ultra Vision Selfie Camera
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
LTE, 5G
3.5mm headphone jack
40W Huawei SuperCharge
4200mAh battery
EMUI 11 based on Android 10
Unlike the Huawei P40, the Huawei Mate 40 features a 3D curved display and this one only packs a single selfie camera with a triple-lens rear camera but don’t worry because this one is still good too.
The Kirin 9000E 5G SoC will bring a powerful performance as this one can go up to 3.13GHz and then there’s the 22-core Mali G78 GPU inside and of course, there’s the NPU inside that helps in the AI on the smartphone.
Huawei Kirin 9000 chipset with 24-core Mali-G78 GPU
8GB RAM
256GB Internal storage
50MP ultra vision wide camera f1.9 + 20MP Cine Camera ultra-wide f1.8 + 12MP telephoto f3.4
13MP Ultra Vision Selfie + 3D Depth sensing camera
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GALILEO
LTE, 5G
66W Huawei SuperCharge
50W Huawei Wireless SuperCharge
4400mAh battery
EMUI 11 based on Android 10
As expected, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro features a larger and better curved display compared to the Mate 40. Not only that, but it also comes with a faster Kirin 9000 processor inside with 24-core Mali-G78 GPU inside. The smartphone also comes with a better camera setup and also a selfie camera with 3D depth sensing camera.
There’s a way faster 66W Huawei SuperCharge and also a 50W Huawei Wireless SuperCharge.
Huawei Kirin 9000 chipset with 24-core Mali-G78 GPU
12GB RAM
256GB Internal storage
50MP ultra vision wide camera f1.9 + 20MP Cine Camera ultra-wide f1.8 + 12MP telephoto f3.4 + 8MP SuperZoom f4.4
13MP Ultra Vision Selfie + 3D Depth sensing camera
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GALILEO
LTE, 5G
66W Huawei SuperCharge
50W Huawei Wireless SuperCharge
4400mAh battery
EMUI 11 based on Android 10
While the Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ packs a similar specifications inside the Huawei P40 Pro but this one has a more premium material inside. The camera has also been upgraded too as we got here an additional 8MP SuperZoom f4.4 camera.
Last August, Samsung has unveiled its newest Galaxy Note device, the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra. It’s a more refined smartphone compared to the Samsung Galaxy S20 and of course, it a lot better and powerful compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ that we’ve reviewed before.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Review: Design and Hardware
One of the features that a lot of people love on Samsung flagship smartphones is the solid build quality and the Galaxy Note20 Ultra doesn’t disappoint. In our review unit, we got the mystic bronze color and it features a haze finish that feels premium, cleaner, and a lot better. Not only that, but it also attracts fewer fingerprints because of its haze finish.
One noticeable thing about the smartphone after you hold it is the camera module at the back of the smartphone and it’s annoyingly big and thick. But it’s the colors and the design of this one is pleasing to look at and it’s perfect for the Mystic Bronze color that we have right now. But again, it’s still a thick camera module.
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra is massive and if you have small hands, you might want to reconsider this one but the curves of the smartphone fit perfectly well in my hand but I highly recommend that you still get a case on this flagship smartphone to fully protect the device.
As expected, still no headphone jack on this smartphone and you can find the USB-C port below and oh, the S-Pen has been moved to the other side and as a long time Galaxy Note user, I found it confusing at first maybe because of habit but don’t worry because you’ll get used to it. As expected, the volume rocker and the power button are placed on the right side of the smartphone and it will do just fine.
Aside from being a productivity device, the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra is also a great device for multimedia. We got here a loud and crisp speaker which is perfect for watching movies on Netflix on the go and combined with that beautiful display, this one was really an awesome smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Review: S Pen
This is probably one of the reasons why people are embracing the Galaxy Note series. People love stylus especially if you need to sign contracts and you always need to make annotations to your presentations. In my case, I use it to draw and to write my notes and with the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra, we’re getting some upgrades in here including penmanship to text in just a tap
But the best part? It now has a latency of 9ms and everytime I use the S Pen to write on the display of the smartphone, there’s a writing scratch sound too when you’re using the S Pen so you could feel that you’re really writing on a paper. Is the upgrade good? Yes, definitely but it’s not drastic.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Review: Display
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra does have the best display in the market right now. We got here a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display here with a WQHD resolution. Just like the S20 series, we’re getting here a 120Hz refresh rate and yes, the panel on this smartphone is powerful and also beautiful at the same time. There’s a curved display here too similar to the Galaxy Note10+ but it isn’t distracting or distorting when writing notes on this smartphone.
The display is really bright and I really had no problems with it. The viewing angles are really good too and since this is an adaptive display, the smartphone automatically adjusts its refresh rate so you can conserve a lot of battery life for this one. The only problem that you might encounter on this smartphone is that you can only run 120Hz at Full HD resolution.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Review: Battery
Before we get down to the battery life of the smartphone, let me just remind you that in the Philippines, we’re getting the Exynos variant which means that we’re getting the smartphone with Exynos 990 instead of the Snapdragon 865+ chipset which can be found on Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra in some territories including the US.
So the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra comes with a 4500mAh battery and in our review, it was frustrating that the smartphone easily drains in my usage which is not surprising as Exynos 990 is known to be a power hog. In our PC Mark test of the smartphone, we achieved a score of 8 hours and 12 minutes which is disappointing. But in our usage, the smartphone can last up to 9 hours of average to heavy usage before asking for juice.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Review: Software
As expected, this one is running on One UI 2.5 but of course, this one has a lot of perks compared to other Samsung smartphones as we got here wireless dex and other applications that can help you be productive such as S Note and Microsoft MyPhone which lets you open apps and mirror your smartphone to your Windows PC which is really cool.
You can also expect here the Samsung applications such as the Galaxy Store and the Samsung members app. The UI and UX of the smartphone is still familiar and there has been a minimal change from the previous generation so if you’re coming from a Samsung smartphone then you won’t have any problems running this one.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Review: Performance
This is probably my biggest gripe about the smartphone. Again, we’re still using Exynos 990 on this smartphone which is the same processor as the Samsung Galaxy S20 series but it’s still far from Snapdragon 865 when it comes to performance and the power efficiency isn’t as good as the chipset from Qualcomm.
A lot of improvements are needed on this smartphone and we definitely notice the effect of this. In some games like PUBG Mobile, the smartphone is only capable of up to Ultra framerates while the Snapdragon 865 lets us run the game at the highest graphics settings with extreme framerates. But before we get down to the gaming review of the smartphone, check out our benchmarks of the smartphone below:
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As you can see in the scores, the scores are already high and you can definitely classify the smartphone as a flagship one but again, it’s not as powerful as the Snapdragon version. When it comes to gaming, the smartphone is capable of running games without problems or hiccups but I had issues like what I’ve mentioned earlier and the smartphones get a little bit hot when playing for a long time. Check out our gaming review of the smartphone below:
As expected, the smartphone was able to run games without problems and we even scored up to 120fps on some games but again, it’s a problem when it comes to some games as the graphics settings aren’t as optimized as the one on Snapdragon.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra: Camera
The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra never failed to amaze us when it comes to the camera. We lost the 100x zoom on this one but we’re getting here a 50x zoom which is more refined than the S20 and the autofocus issue is gone already on this smartphone. Our shots on this one were really good whether I’m shooting on lowlight or at decent lighting conditions. And oh, we do get here an 8K video recording too at 24fps.
Actually, why don’t you check out the shots that I took and be the judge of that:
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The selfies on the smartphone is excellent and the rear camera? They’re really good. I mean in ALL aspects. There’s Pro Video mode too on the smartphone so you can finally adjust the settings for video on the smartphone including the audio input and if you have the Galaxy Buds Live, you can also use that one as an audio input. Actually, I’ve used the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra in shooting some of my b-rolls and videos on YouTube. Amazing right?
Overall, the camera of the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra is a lot better than the previous generation and even the Galaxy S20 series. They’ve refined all the problems and shooting videos on this one is just an amazing experience.
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra Review: Verdict
Once again, the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra has ticked a lot of boxes that you need on the smartphone. We got here a productivity device thanks to the large and beautiful 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2x of the smartphone and of course, the camera of the smartphone is just excellent however, you must take note with the limitations of the Exynos 990 processor that also affects the battery life of the smartphone.
So if you need a flagship device that will definitely boost your productivity and also a smartphone for multimedia and also if you love mobile photography then the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra is the one for you. Oh and the S-Pen? It’s really something that you would love on the smartphone
