The Samsung Galaxy A80 was announced a few months ago at Bangkok, Thailand and finally, the smartphone will be available in the Philippines next month. The smartphone comes with a new infinity display that offers a notch-less and a bezel-less body as this one packs a triple lens rotating camera.
The Samsung Galaxy A80 will also come with a Snapdragon 730G processor which is pretty powerful and capable enough to play most of the latest games. Since we have a rotating camera in this smartphone, the triple lens camera also serves as both the selfie and rear camera of the smartphone. The triple lens rear camera of the smartphone is composed of a 48MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 3D depth camera that lets you blur photos and even videos.
We also had a hands-on and initial impressions of the smartphone before during its launch. Check out what we think about the smartphone here:
And of course, we also tested for playing games and we’re pretty happy with the results that we got on the Samsung Galaxy A80 here:
The Samsung Galaxy A80 will be available this July 12 for Php 34,990 and the smartphone will come in Phantom Black and Angel Gold.
Samsung Galaxy A80 Specs
6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED New Infinity Display, 2400×1080
Smart has recently partnered with OPPO to push the usage of LTE smartphones in the Philippines. This partnership the affordable entry-level smartphone, OPPO A3s to Smart, TNT, and Sun at a discounted price. This will definitely increase the adoption rate of LTE in the country as this is essential to have fast internet and better consumption of media on the internet.
The OPPO A3s will be available at Smart for only Php5,990 which is down from the original price of Php6,990. The smartphone will also come with a Smart LTE Prepaid SIM with data freebies. Upon activation of the SIM, you’ll get a 1GB free data and an additional 1GB upon loading P100 within 3 days, valid for days. And of course, it will also come with a 500MB free data for every Php150 accumulated load valid for days, for a year.
If you’re not familiar with the phone, the OPPO A3s features a 6.2-inch IPS HD Display with a notch, 1.8GHz Octa-Core processor and 2GB of RAM. There’s a 16GB internal storage too that is expandable up to 256GB. The best part? it comes with a 4230mAh battery.
MediaTek has unveiled a new chipset that is set for the mid-range segment and it’s the Helio P65 chipset. The new chipset features an octa-core processor that is composed of 2 Cortex-A75 CPU and 6 Cortex-A55 cores. To give you an idea, the A75 is 22%faster than the A73 being used in the P60 and 18% boost on the A53 which means that we might see better single-threaded performance on this one.
The NPU of this processor is also expected to be twice as fast as the P60 and P70 however, this one uses an ARM Mali-G52 GPU which is a little slower compared to the P60 and P70. There’s hardware support too for 48MP quad bayer sensors and multi-frame noise reduction. In terms of connectivity, this one will support 4G VoLTE, WiFi 5, BT 5 and indoor navigation. The Helio P65 unfortunately only supports eMMC 5.1 and it doesn’t support LPDDR4X RAM.
Expect the Helio P65 processor to be used by future mid-range smartphones soon.
Cherry Mobile Flare X3 is the newest smartphone in the block and they got some surprises for us in this smartphone as we got a 5 AI cameras on this one and it’s pretty well and then there’s the Helio P60 Octa-Core Processor inside which is decent and pretty powerful enough. But what do I think about this smartphone? Check out our hands-on and first impressions of the smartphone below.
The smartphone does look beautiful thanks to the gradient color at the back of the smartphone that combines the red and blue colors on the smartphone. But of course, the smartphone doesn’t just look good in our eyes because this one has a premium feel thanks to the glass back and also to the metal sides of the smartphone.
The Cherry Mobile Flare X3 still features a headphone jack thankfully despite using a USB-C port for the smartphone however, the fingerprint scanner of the smartphone is placed on the side and it’s still different from the power button which the fingerprint scanner redundant as it will be easier to have a power button and the fingerprint scanner as one
One of the advantages of having the Cherry Mobile Flare X3 is the full HD+ display where some of its competition is still using HD display. It might not be the perfect display but it will be just fine to use and then there’s the notch at the top. The notch is wide due to the usage of dual lens front camera but honestly, I’m not really bothered with its wide notch at the top of the smartphone.
When it comes to software, the one that we’ve used is still a prototype and it doesn’t have all the feature and it isn’t polished according to Cherry Mobile but surprisingly, they did a pretty good job on this one as the Cherry Mobile Flare X3 features only a few bloatware and navigating and using apps on the smartphone is flawless.
We also tried PUBG Mobile on this smartphone and it ran well on the smartphone. I didn’t have any problems running it however, the smartphone is limited to running it at HD settings with high framerate. Nonetheless, the experience was just fine and was smooth.
The camera app of the Flare X3 is not yet final but the UI is almost similar to other Cherry Mobile smartphones but the quality of the photos has definitely improved. There are 5 cameras on the smartphone — 2 on the front and 3 at the back. The rear camera is composed of a 12MP main rear camera, 5MP monochrome camera, and a 2MP depth sensor while the front camera is composed of 20MP main selfie camera and a 2MP depth sensor.
The rear camera of the smartphone performs well and we can clearly see that the AI of the camera really worked for this one especially at dark conditions. Most of the shots were taken inside the office of Cherry Mobile and they’re better than I expected. However, the selfie camera still needs some work but it still did a good job.
Cherry Mobile did a great job on the Flare X3. The smartphone might not be a perfect one but it definitely added more choices in the mid-range segment. The Cherry Mobile Flare X3 doesn’t have a price yet but we definitely liked its design and camera. Hopefully, Cherry Mobile can reveal the price of this smartphone soon.
Cherry Mobile Flare X3 Specs
6.18-inch Full HD+ TrueView 19:9 Notch Display
MediaTek Helio P60 Octa-Core Processor
6GB RAM
64GB Internal storage expandable via MicroSD
12MP Main Camera + 5MP Monochrome Camera + 2MP Depth Sensor
The Cherry Mobile Flare X3 is the newest smartphone in the mid-range segment and just like the previous X series smartphones from Cherry Mobile, this one will definitely make the local mobile industry exciting again as the smartphone packs a powerful processor inside, competitive specifications and sexy design. Not just that, the price of this smartphone will be competitive too. Wanna know more about this? Check out the specifications of the smartphone below
Cherry Mobile Flare X3 Specs
6.18-inch Full HD+ TrueView 19:9 Notch Display
MediaTek Helio P60 Octa-Core Processor
6GB RAM
64GB Internal storage expandable via MicroSD
12MP Main Camera + 5MP Monochrome Camera + 2MP Depth Sensor
20MP Selfie camera + 2MP Depth Sensor
Dual SIM, LTE
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Side Fingerprint Scanner
USB-C Port
4000mAh Battery
Twilight Purple Color
The Cherry Mobile Flare X3’s main selling point is its 5 AI camera. There are 3 cameras at the back and two cameras at the front. The three cameras at the back of the smartphone are composed of a 12MP main camera, a 5MP monochrome camera, and a 2MP depth sensor.
The Flare X3 also packs the same processor of the Flare S7 Plus but this one has a bigger 6GB RAM which is better for gaming and also running multiple apps simultaneously on the smartphone.
At MWC 2019, OPPO has premiered its newest technology to hit their smartphones soon and it’s the under-screen camera. Yep, no need for notches on the display because OPPO will have a selfie camera that is placed below the display of the smartphone. What does this mean in the future? It means that there’s no need for notches and moving mechanisms for the camera as this one hides under the display of the smartphone.
So how does this work? Well, OPPO has used a customized display and camera module for this one to work. The part of the display in where the camera hides is highly transparent so that light will still pass through the camera but of course, OPPO has used algorithms too to make sure that the front facing under-screen camera of the smartphone will not get blurred due to the display blocking the camera. They’ve adjusted and calibrated the colors to make sure that the smartphone’s under-screen camera will still work well.
Well, it’s an amazing technology that we got here but let’s hope that we’ll get to see this technology in the smartphones that will be available in the consumers soon. But hey, it’s a working prototype tech already and we can already see this tech live at MWC Shanghai 2019.
Staying true to its brand promise of keeping things “simple and maaasahan”, Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) launches PaSend, their newest service that enables its depositors or users to easily transfer cash to anyone at any time of the day. PaSend is an available service option via PSBank Mobile App, and where recipient can withdraw cash received to any PSBank or Metrobank ATM nationwide.
The service fee is priced at a minimal cost compared to other domestic remittance platforms. PaSend does not require the cash recipient to have a bank account, making it convenient for the unbanked Filipinos, and those who may need funds in the form of cash.
“Around 77% of Filipinos do not have a bank account and while we are one with the industry in efforts to enhance financial inclusion in the country, the PaSend service hopes to address the growing need for a low-cost cash remittance service that will cover even those without an existing deposit account.,” PSBank Senior Vice President and Marketing Head Noel Tuazon said.
Here is how PaSend service works:
Log in to PSBank Mobile and select “PaSend” from the menu
Choose the source PSBank account
Specify the amount intended to be remitted or paid out
Nominate a random 4-digit PIN(referred to as “PIN 1”)
Indicate the beneficiary’s name and mobile number
After the validation process, the Bank approves the transaction request and will automatically send to the beneficiary’s mobile number a one-time system-generated 6-digit PIN (PIN2) together with the remittance amount. In order to complete the transaction, the sender will advise the one-time self-nominated PIN1 to the beneficiary, who will have to go to any PSBank or Metrobank ATM to get the cash via PaSend/Cardless Withdrawal option. The sender will be notified via email and/or text message confirming the completion of transaction.
The sender can send amounts as low as Php 200 up to Php 5,000 per transaction in multiples of 100. The recipient should withdraw the cash in full as partial withdrawal is not allowed and must be completed within a specific time period. PaSend transactions are subject to daily and monthly limits on both sender and beneficiary as applicable. PaSend processing fee is non-refundable. The fee for ATM cash withdrawal is free for PSBank ATMs standard ATM fees apply for those using Metrobank ATMs. All fees are for the account of the sender.
If you’re the type of person who wants to be one of the first to try out the latest iOS then you better read this one up as Apple has just released the iOS 13 Beta to the public. The new iOS 13 features a whole new look with dark mode and of course an upgrade to its camera with its new features.
Some of the new features on the new operating system includes portrait lighting control, high-key mono on the camera and then the apps like maps, photo editor, video editor, and the photos app are upgraded. If you want to check out the new features on the iOS 13, you may head over to this: https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-13-preview/
And if you want to experience the iOS 13 Beta by yourself on your iPhone then head over to https://www.apple.com/beta and just sign in your Apple account and follow the instructions. You only have to install a profile that lets you update to your iOS 13 Beta.
One of the game changing smartphones in the industry is the Vivo APEX. Last year, Vivo has also introduced the Vivo APEX 2018 in where the smartphone introduced a lot of new technology including the pop-up camera and this year, the Vivo APEX 2019 wants to change the game again by offering features such as a Super Unibody design, full-display fingerprint scanning and 5G.
The Super Unibody Design of the Vivo APEX 2019 is unique as it took out all of the physical buttons on the smartphone and replaced with a touch sense technology that has a pressure-sensing and capacitive-touch which makes the APEX 2019 a button less smartphone.
Aside from that feature, the APEX 2019 also features a MagPort at the back which replaces the USB port of the smartphone which is a magnetic power connector that can charge your smartphone and also transfer data. And again, the smartphone has also transformed its display into a speaker via screen vibration which eliminates the speaker grill of the smartphone.
Another unique feature of the smartphone is the full-display fingerprint scanning technology on the APEX 2019. Yep, you can touch anywhere on the display for its fingerprint light function and of course use it to unlock the smartphone.
Lastly, there’s the 5G inside the smartphone paired with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 playform with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. It might not be the first 5G smartphone in the market but the company definitely showed they’ll be having this technology in their future smartphones.
Well, the APEX line of smartphones from Vivo aims to shows us the different features of their future smartphones. With the introduction of the Vivo APEX 2019, the smartphone industry is about to get more exciting.
Xiaomi has a surprise for us this morning as Xiaomi has just launched the Mi 9T in the Philippines. The Mi 9T is a mid-range smartphone that packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor with a 48MP triple lens camera and a glass back. The smartphone also features a pop-up front camera hence, a full-screen display on the front with no notch. interested? Check out the specs and price of the smartphone below.
Xiaomi Mi 9T Specs
6.39-inch Full HD+ Full-Screen AMOLED Display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 processor
6GB+64GB/6GB+128GB
48MP main camera + 13MP Ultra wide-angle camera + 8MP telephoto lens
20MP pop-up front camera
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
In-display fingerprint scanner
USB-C
18W Fast Charger
4000mAh battery
MIUI based on Android Pie
The Xiaomi Mi 9T will be available for pre-order today starting at 12 noon until June 30 2019 at the Official store on Lazada and at Mi Authorized stores. It will come in Carbon Black for a price of Php15,990 and Php17,990 for the 6GB+64GB and 6GB+128GB respectively.
