Looks like we’re getting two more flagship-level smartphones from Samsung in early 2020 as two smartphones from Samsung have just leaked and these are the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and the Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite. This is very different as there were no Lite versions of the Galaxy Note line and there’s the Samsung Galaxy S10e which is basically the “lite” version of the Samsung Galaxy S10.
Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite (L) & Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite (R)
So what can we expect from the lite versions of these smartphones? Well, there a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display on both smartphones and they’ll be running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset.
There’s the main 48MP f/2.0 shooter at the back too with “tOIS” or “tilt-OIS” and also a 12MP ultra-wide lens. There’s a 32MP selfie camera too and both smartphones are running on Samsung One UI 2.0 with Android 10 onboard.
The Samsung S10 Lite features a 4,500mAh battery with 45W fast charging and it will be priced at €679.99 (Php38,248)
The rise of gaming and the wide adoption of games have allowed lifestyle brands to collaborate with designers, publishers, and even gamers themselves for limited edition clothing or sneakers. The rise of eSports, especially in the mobile market thanks to Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Rules of Survival, and PUBG: M, compelled Puma to release the first-ever sneaker for gamers. I honestly thought Razer will be the first one to do it, but boy I was wrong.
Puma’s gaming sneaker official name si the Active Gaming Footwear. It retails for $105 and is first launched in the UK and Australia.
“Created with console gamers in mind, the gaming sock is the first edition Active Gaming Footwear. Designed for indoor and in-arena use, it delivers seamless comfort, support and grip so gamers can adapt to different active gaming modes and game their best,” – PUMA
It has a special full knit upper for a sock-like fit similar to Adidas’ Primeknit technology. The active gaming footwear is designed for indoor and in-arena use thanks to its gamer-centric features. Here are the exclusive “gaming features” of the new Puma Active Gaming Footwear(according to their press release):
Medial wrap-up grip in SEEK mode
Lateral wrap-up support in ATTACK mode
Heel wrap-up stability in CRUISE and DEFENSE mode
While this is Puma’s first Gaming sneaker, it’s not the brand’s first venture in the gaming industry. Months back, Puma and Playseat collaborated to develop a gaming chair with a price tag of $255.
The Huawei P series smartphones are known to have an amazing cameras and it has changed the game ever since but recently, their newest flagship series , the Huawei Mate 30 series, didn’t pack Google Play services.
And now, the Huawei P40 series is also expected to follow suit and use HMS too instead of GMS according to Richard Yu, the head of Huawei’s consumer division.
The Huawei P40 and P40 Pro is expected to have advancements in its camera technology again along with the latest Kirin 990 chipset which is used by the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. The Huawei P40 series is still expected to run on EMUI 10 based on Android 10 but it will not have Google services pre-installed on the smartphone.
Recently, Huawei has been building up the Huawei Mobile Services or HMS which is their own alternative to Google Mobile Services or GMS. We found that HMS is really extensive and it opens a lot of opportunities for developers in the recent APAC Huawei Developer’s Day Conference at Singapore.
In my usage of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, the smartphone proved that you don’t need GMS in order to sell smartphones. Not only that, the technology and features of Huawei smartphones are definitely enticing and they were really ahead of the game especially when it comes to camera.
For those people who wants to use Google Play on their Huawei Mate 30 Pro, well, we do have a guide in here on how to install Google Play on their Huawei Mate 30 series smartphones.
The Vivo V17 Pro is one of the biggest smartphones from the company and it’s a mid-range smartphone that is an upgrade from the Vivo V15 Pro but this one has a lot of more features a more premium build compared to the predecessor. So what do I think about the smartphone? Check it out below.
Vivo V17 Pro Review: Design and hardware
The Vivo V17 Pro features a more premium build compared to the predecessor and the curves of this one are just perfect for my hands despite having a chunky and thicker build and trust me, this is the best-looking Vivo V-series smartphone that we’ve ever seen. The one that we got comes in white and the color of the smartphone is just really easy and comfortable to the eyes.
Then we have here the glass material at the back. Yep, a real glass just like the flagship smartphones and I love looking at this one. Not only that, but the smartphone also packs an aluminum frame which adds more premium and a solid feel to the smartphone. Again, it’s chunky but the curves on the sides on the smartphone helps in the ergonomics and grip of the smartphone. Also, there’s a hard case that comes with the smartphone.
Just like the previous generation, the Vivo V17 Pro packs a dedicated button for Google Assistant and it’s really helpful and useful especially if you use Google Assistant a lot like me and then, of course, we still have the power button and also the volume rocker on the other side of the smartphone.
The Vivo V17 Pro uses USB-C port and it also comes with fast charging. Thankfully, the Vivo V17 Pro is boasting a 3.5mm headphone jack which can be found on the top of the smartphone which is just beside the pop-up front camera of the smartphone.
The Vivo V17 Pro also features an in-display fingerprint scanner which is fast enough to accommodate the users however, the face unlock is still missing on this one despite having a pop-up dual front-facing camera. My guess is that Vivo doesn’t want to wear out the Vivo V17 Pro’s pop-up camera that much.
Vivo V17 Pro Review: Display
One of the strengths of this smartphone is that the Vivo V17 Pro features a Super AMOLED display which makes the smartphone superior compared to other mid-range smartphones as this one shows a vivid and colorful display with really nice blacks compared to other smartphone displays.
Using this smartphone outside will not be a problem as the brightness on this one is pretty good along with its viewing angles It’s a very good display for a mid-range smartphone.
Vivo V17 Pro Review: Battery life
Inside the Vivo V17 Pro is a 4100mAh battery and thanks to the hardware inside and also the Snapdragon 675 processor, we were able to get a pretty good battery life on this one. We were able to last a single workday of usage with the Vivo V17 Pro and of course, we tested it at PC Mark and we got a work 2.0 battery life of 12 hours and 36 minutes which is greater than most smartphones in the market. That translates to almost a day and a half of usage on the smartphone.
Vivo V17 Pro Review: Software and Performance
The Vivo V17 Pro is running on FunTouch OS based on Android 9 Pie out of the box and yes, the UI is heavily skinned on this one and you might find it confusing if you’re not into smartphones and you are already used to other Android smartphones. As expected, you can swipe up from below to check the settings and functions and you can swipe down from the top to get the notifications of the smartphone.
The Vivo V15 Pro uses the Snapdragon 675 processor and it’s a decent mid-range processor, however, the Vivo V17 Pro still rock the same processor that is still partnered by Snapdragon 675 processor. Yeah, the Snapdragon 675 can handle most games without problems but you’ll have to turn down some of the settings that on some games to enjoy most of the games on the Vivo V17 Pro. If you’re curious about how this one performs, check out the benchmark scores that we got on the Vivo V17 Pro.
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When it comes to gaming, the Vivo V17 Pro can handle most of it but again, I highly suggest to turn down the settings to fully enjoy the game.
The Snapdragon 675 and the 8GB of RAM should have no problems running most games however, it was weird that we’re not getting a full FPS stability on the smartphone but I believe an update to those games will fix the FPS issue.
The Vivo V17 Pro’s biggest upgrade over the predecessor is the camera. On the Vivo V17 Pro, we got a 48MP rear camera, 8MP ultra wide-angle camera, 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro camera. And on the front, we got a 32MP selfie camera and also an 8MP wide-angle camera.
First, let’s talk about the selfie camera of the smartphone. The main 32MP selfie camera of the Vivo V17 Pro is great and it’s one of the best selfie smartphones out there and probably the best one in its price range. The colors are nice and the details were really good on this one, however, the wide-angle selfie camera of the Vivo V17 Pro isn’t as good as I expected but it will do just fine if you want to take group selfies with your friends on the smartphone.
Now, let’s talk about the quad-camera setup at the back of the smartphone. I love the camera of the Vivo V17 Pro. It’s a great smartphone when it comes to the camera and you can get really decent shots on this one. Using the portrait mode on this one has been better compared to the previous V series Vivo smartphones and most of the details that we shot using the 48MP rear camera of the smartphone are really good. Check out the shots below:
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Of course, the wide-angle lens has a lesser quality compared to the main camera of the smartphone but overall, the Vivo V17 Pro still did a pretty good job in producing photos like these. The night mode of the smartphone doesn’t fail to impress me too and the AI? It’s really good especially the beautification mode in where you can get more controllable features to have better selfies on the smartphone.
Vivo V17 Pro Review: Verdict
The Vivo V17 Pro is a smartphone with a camera and design in mind. It may not be a perfect smartphone as we got here the same Snapdragon 675 processor but the premium build quality, the amazing camera on both rear and front, and the display of the smartphone is something that you should really take a look at.
The Vivo V17 Prio is priced at Php21,999 and unfortunately, some people might find it expensive but if you’re looking for a smartphone that can shot good selfies and your pegged is at this price range? Then the Vivo V17 Pro might be the one for you.
Vivo V17 Pro Specs
Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 Octa-Core processor
6.44-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED, Ultra Fullview display
8GB RAM
128GB Internal Storage expandable via MicroSD
48MP Main + 8MP wide-angle + 2 MP Bokeh + 2MP Macro rear camera
32-megapixel + 8MP Wide-angle elevating front camera
Here’s an interesting technology that we might see in the future. Samsung has just unveiled the 144MP image sensor that is based on the 14nm FinFET process. So what does this mean? We just saw the 108MP rear camera of the Xiaomi Mi Note 10, well, we’re gonna see 144MP sensors on smartphones soon.
FinFET process is a process you’ve probably heard when creating smartphone processors but they’re also using it for sensors too and with 14nm FinFET process, the 144MP sensor will be 42% more efficient at 10FPS image capture and 37% on 12MP readout at 30-120fps.
This is a good start for image sensors as we can see a big difference in power consumption.
Realme has been aggressive these days with their smartphones ranging from the entry-level Realme C2 up to their best one that is available in the country – the Realme XT. The Realme XT might have the same processor with the Realme 5 Pro which is a Snapdragon 712 but there’s a 64MP quad-camera on this one and man oh man, I did love the camera of the Realme XT. Curious about the smartphone? Check out our review of the smartphone below.
Realme XT Review: Design and build
One of the best things about the Realme XT is the design and build of the smartphone. First, the design of the Realme XT is very similar to the Realme 5 Pro which is perfect for the hands and very ergonomic due to its curves, however, this one has a glass body that a more premium and solid build and yes, the smartphone is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 all over the smartphone.
Again, the back of the Realme XT is made up of glass and then there’s the protruding camera at the back of the smartphone too which is noticeable. The one that we got for review is the pearl white color and it does offer some effect at the back depending on the light that passes through it.
When it comes to buttons, the Realme XT has a perfectly placed power button on the right side and the volume rocker on the other side while the USB-C port is placed below the smartphone and the 3.5mm headphone jack is beside it. Thankfully, they didn’t ditch the headphone jack of the Realme XT.
The smartphone may not have a fingerprint scanner at the back unlike the Realme 5 and the Realme 5 Pro because the Realme XT features an in-display fingerprint scanner which is already fast enough but if you want, the face unlock of the smartphone is pretty reliable too.
Realme XT Review: Display
Another big advantage of the Realme XT over the Realme 5 Pro is the display. There’s a 6.4-inch display on the smartphone with Full HD+ resolution and of course, there’s the Super AMOLED display too that helps in the vivid colors of the smartphone along with the blacks that are really black on the smartphone.
As expected, the colors on the smartphone are really nice and then the viewing angles are really fine. The smartphone’s display is also bright enough to be used outside which is really nice.
Realme XT Review: Battery life
The Realme XT features a 4000mAh battery inside and of course, there’s the support for 20W VOOC 3.0 Fast Charging and in my usage, I can fully charge my smartphone at around an hour which is pretty great already and when it comes to battery life, I was able to get a score of 11 hours and 19 minutes on PC Mark Work 2.0 battery life and yes, that is really good and in my usage, I was able to last from 10 AM – 8 PM on a single day of usage.
Realme XT Review: Software and performance
All of Realme smartphone runs on Color OS similar to OPPO smartphones but unlike OPPO, Realme smartphones have a cleaner and more user-friendly look that looks nearer to vanilla Android. The Realme XT runs on Color OS 6.0.1 on Android 9 Pie but like what I’ve said earlier, the Realme XT has a cleaner and better look and the Color OS is fast. But of course, there are still pre-installed apps on the Realme XT including game center, theme store, phone manager and Lazada. Most of them are useful and none of them really bother me so it’s really fine with me.
When it comes to performance, the Realme XT will do just fine as this one packs a Snapdragon 712 processor along with 8GB of RAM and the 128GB internal storage. That hardware inside is similar to the Realme 5 Pro but don’t get me wrong because the Realme XT can do just fine when it comes to gaming and most applications so you won’t have problems with this one. But before we check out the gaming segment of the Realme XT, check out the benchmark scores that we got using the smartphone.
I was not surprised by those scores and those numbers translate to a pretty good performance in real life. Speaking of real-life usage, how does the Realme XT fare in our gaming review? Well, just check out the FPS and FPS stability below.
Basically, the Realme XT will handle modern games such as NBA 2k20, PUBG Mobile, and Call of Duty Mobile just fine but of course, you can experience better gameplay if you turned down the graphics on these games a little bit.
In NBA 2k20, we were able to max out the graphics while in PUBG Mobile, I had to set it at high settings to have a max framerate and in PUBG Mobile, I have to set it at balanced settings to have ultra FPS. I wished the smartphone used a Snapdragon 730 processor inside but hey, this isn’t bad at all.
Boy oh boy, the camera of the Realme XT definitely amazed us. One of the biggest advantages of the Realme XT over the Realme 5 Pro is the 64MP rear camera and shooting on the Realme XT is purely amazing. Why? Because the night mode on the Realme XT has definitely exceeded my expectations and shooting on this one at decent lighting conditions made us wonder how did Realme achieved on having a mid-range smartphone like this that has a camera that can compete in the higher range.
The ultra 64MP will give you more detailed shots but it does sacrifice the lighting a little bit and binning it to 16MP helps in producing better photos. Almost all of the photos that I got were good and the colors are really nice. In night mode, I noticed that it gets a little too vivid but the low light performance of this one is still amazing. Check out the shots that we took using the Realme XT
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When it comes to selfies, I was actually surprised that the Realme XT can capture selfies really well even at lowlight conditions. I’m not saying that it’s perfect but it can get the details done on selfies despite having only a little lighting.
Realme XT Review: Verdict
Realme XT is a great smartphone. First, the design and build quality of the smartphone is really good. Second, the battery life is really well on this smartphone and there’s the beautiful AMOLED display that features really good colors. Lastly, the 64MP camera of this one is mind-blowing for a mid-range smartphone.
However, the Realme XT still used the Snapdragon 712 processor which is the same processor used by the Realme 5 Pro. It’s not a bad processor but if you’re hoping for an upgrade from the Realme 5 Pro when it comes to performance, well, you might not much of it but hey, we still got a premium build on this one and also a great 64MP rear camera.
Huawei Philippines has just launched its newest smartphone in the country that is aimed at the entry-level market and it’s the Huawei Y6s. The smartphone packs a pretty powerful enough Mediatek MT6765 processor that is paired with 3GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage and of course, we got here a decent 6.09-inch HD+ IPS display on the smartphone.
One of the main highlights of this smartphone is its large IPS display and also the Helio P35 Octa-Core processor which is powerful enough for most apps and some games.
Huawei Y6s Specs
MediaTek MT6765 Helio P35 Octa-Core processor
6.09-inch HD+ IPS Display
3GB RAM
64GB Internal storage expandable via MicroSD
13MP rear camera
8MP front camera
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Dual SIM, LTE
micro USB port
3020mAh battery
EMUI 9.1 based on Android 9 Pie
The Huawei Y6s is now available in the Philippines for only Php6,990.
This Christmas, Vivo wants to be the Santa by giving the NBA fans a chance to see their favorite NBA superstars in the NBA All-star event this 2020 at Chicago, USA. How? Well, Vivo is having the shoot for the stars raffle promo and Vivo customers will get a chance to win freebies or even a trip to the NBA All-star 2020 event!
Forty (40) Titan 22 Gift Certificates worth P2,000 each, 20 Vivo Y17 smartphones, and 5 Vivo NEX 3 smartphones also await 65 lucky Vivo fans who will participate in the raffle promo.
Customers who will purchase a Vivo smartphone amounting to Php9,999 and above at Vivo Stores and Vivo Philippines shops on Lazada, Shopee, Argomall, and Akulaku will get one entry for the shoot for the stars raffle promo.
But if you’ll be purchasing a Vivo S1 Pro, Vivo V17 Pro or Vivo NEX, you can also get a chance to win the raffle by earning two entries.
Huawei is spreading the spirit of Christmas the company has just announced that the buyers of the Huawei Y6s will be getting freebies including the buyers of the Watch GT 2 42nm Active Edition and also the Freebuds 3 as part of their Together 2020 Christmas promotions. So what are the freebies and how can you get it?
Well, the promo is available only tomorrow starting at 1:30 PM at SM Megamall Building A, Activity Center. So what are the freebies?
First 100 buyers of Y6s get a free Huawei lifestyle box and gift vouchers
First 100 buyers of Watch GT 2 42mm Active Edition will get a Free Huawei moonlight selfie stick and power bank
Purchase the FreeBuds 3 and get a free power bank
Purchase the FreeBuds 3 along with select phones (nova 5T, Mate 30, Mate 30 Pro, P30 Pro, P30) and get 2,000 off
*promo for bullets 3 and 4 are separate and cannot be used in conjunction*
So if you are planning on getting the Huawei Y6s then you better get the Huawei Y6s tomorrow.
One of the newest gaming smartphones to arrive in the Philippines is coming from Xiaomi and it’s the Black Shark 2 Pro. The smartphone has gaming in mind and they are currently one of the most powerful smartphones out there as this one runs on Snapdragon 855+ octa-core processor paired with 12GB RAM.
The Black Shark 2 Pro will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 955+ processor and also a 12GB+256GB memory with UFS 3.0 technology. For gamers, they would be happy to know that the smartphone comes with a liquid cooling system inside for better cooling and performance.
The smartphone also packs a 48MP rear camera and also a decent 6.39-inch display that comes with RGB lights no the side. The smartphone will come in Shadow Black and Iceberg grey and it will also have a special Gulf Blue color.
The Black Shark 2 Pro is now available at SM Megamall, SM North EDSA and SM Mall of Asia with the following prices
Black Shark 2 Pro 8GB/128GB – Php 27,990
Black Shark 2 Pro 12GB/256GB – Php33,490
Black Shark 2 Pro Specs
6.39-inch AMOLED Full HD+ Display
2.84GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
8GB/128GB + 12GB/256GB Memory
48MP main camera +12MP dual rear lens camera
20MP f2.0 front camera
Dual SIM, LTE
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Headphone jack
Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0 27W
USB-C
4000mAh Battery
Android 9.0 Pie
The Black Shark 2 will also be available and it’s running on an older Snapdragon 855 processor and also a downgrade in camera
