OPPO Philippines has updated their mid-range smartphone, the OPPO A7 and it now comes in a smaller 3GB RAM variant but still retained the 64GB internal storage. Of course, the rest of the hardware of the smartphone is still the same including the Snapdragon 450 chipset inside, 13MP+2MP Dual rear lens camera, 16MP Front camera, and the huge 4230mAh battery inside.
OPPO A7 3GB Specs
6.2-inch In-Cell HD+ Display
1.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Processor
3GB RAM
64GB Internal Storage
13MP+2MP Rear camera with LED Flash
16MP Front Camera
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Dual SIM, LTE
Fingerprint scanner
ColorOS 5.2 with (Android 8.1 Oreo)
4230mAh battery
The smartphone will still be available in Glaring Gold and Glaze Blue which are really eye-catching. The OPPO A7 3GB is now available in the Philippines for Php10,990.
Tablets are not yet dead. Despite the availability of large smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy Note9 that offers a large 6.4-inch display and offers S-Pen, we still see tablets everywhere. Actually here in the Philippines, we still have some mid-range tablets like the one that we’re reviewing today, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5. Check out our review of the tablet below
Design and construction
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 doesn’t have the same solid and premium feel of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 but the plastic build of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 does feel sturdy to me and it doesn’t have a hollow feeling into it. But surprisingly, despite the plastic build of the tablet, it isn’t as light as I expected which adds to a more sturdy feel of the tablet.
When it comes to ports, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 got everything that we need on a tablet, it features a USB-C port that supports fast charging and then there are the quad speakers with Dolby Atmos surround sound and yes, it was crisp and clear which is perfect for movies and videos but I couldn’t say that this is the best one that I’ve seen on a tablet. The tablet also comes with a headphone jack in case you want to use earphones or external speakers.
The smartphone doesn’t come with Bixby button but the power button and the volume rocker is placed on one of its side and on landscape mode, we got a larger bezel on the sides which makes the tablet easier to hold when watching videos on YouTube or Netflix. But the placement of the selfie camera and, buttons, and the rear camera is made for portrait usage. Nonetheless, these placements don’t really affect how I use the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5
Another welcome addition to the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is the cellular data functionality. There’s the single sim card tray and also the MicroSD card slot on one tray and yes, you can send messages and even make calls on this tablet. However, I strongly suggest that you only use this tablet for browsing the web as using this as your main phone might be awkward since this is a giant tablet.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 features a 5-megapixel front facing camera and then there’s the 8-megapixel rear camera with AF. When it comes to camera quality, I’ll still suggest getting a smartphone for that but the smartphone’s camera will be just fine if you’re gonna use it for video calls.
When it comes to battery life, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is quite decent as it can reach up to 11 hours of 33 minutes on PC Mark which is long and perfect for media purposes.
Screenshot 20181202 173217 PCMark
Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 features a large 10.5-inch display with WUXGA resolution (1920×1200) which is a 16:10 display aspect ratio. It might not be the best aspect ratio for watching movies but this one is definitely good if you’re planning to do multitasking on the tablet as the 16:10 display aspect ratio gives you enough space when using split-screen mode on landscape mode which is really cool.
When it comes to display quality, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 wasn’t the best one in its class despite having a WUXGA resolution because of its use of TFT instead of Super AMOLED display which is way more colorful than the former. Nonetheless, it’s still big enough for playing games and also watching movies on Netflix.
Software
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is running on Android Oreo with a UI that is more optimized for tablets. Well, it does look like a giant phone (Actually, you can use the Galaxy Tab A 10.5 as a phone). It does come with some features and apps that are exclusive to Samsung but nothing really special about it.
Though what I like about the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is that I can do multi-window on landscape really well due to the 16:10 display aspect ratio. I do have a decent spacing in different applications and event games. In my opinion, 16:10 is the perfect aspect ratio when doing multi-window on landscape mode.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 features a Snapdragon 450 chipset which is available in the market for a while now and then there’s the 3GB RAM. Well, the performance of the tablet will be just fine if you’re just into watching videos on YouTube and streaming Netflix. Of course, you could still do Ragnarok M: Eternal love on this one but don’t expect too much on heavier games on this one as the Snapdragon 450 chipset is won’t be as powerful as most tablets.
PUBG Mobile – Smooth graphics, high framerate
If you want to know more about the performance of the tablet, here are the benchmark scores that we got on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 isn’t the most powerful tablet in the market but this tablet will be just fine if you’re into watching Netflix and doing some casual stuff. I like the battery life on this tablet and the quad-speakers of the tablet is good especially when you’re watching movies or videos but it isn’t the best one. The multi-window on its 16:10 display was also good as I can have better viewing on that one.
However, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is still using a Snapdragon 450 which doesn’t really shine in performance but it will be enough for basic app usage and some casual games including Ragnarok M. While we do like the aspect ratio, we find the display quality a little bit lacking to me.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 is now available for Php24,999
Finally, one of the Redmi smartphones that a lot of people are waiting for is here and it’s the Redmi Note 7 Pro. The smartphone looks similar to the Redmi Note 7 but this one got an upgraded specs but we still have some of the features that we love on the smartphone including the 48MP camera and then there’s the Dot Notch display.
4/64GB & 6/128GB expandable via MicroSD up to 256GB
48MP + 5MP AI Dual Rear Camera
13MP Selfie Camera with AI Face Unlock
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
LTE, Dual Sim
Fingerprint Sensor
IR Blaster
USB-C
3.5mm headphone jack
4000mAh battery
Quick Charge 4.0
The Redmi Note 7 Pro does have a more powerful processor with its Snapdragon 675 chipset and then of course, we still have the gradient glass back with aura design which makes the smartphone really beautiful.
The Redmi Note 7 Pro will be available in Nebula Red, Neptune Blue, and Space Black at the following prices:
People nowadays prefer using their smartphones for taking photos and even some photographers are using their smartphones to take photos as these devices can still capture good photos and it can even snap some “million-dollar shot” that is worthy of Instagram or Facebook post.
Last year, Vivo has introduced the NEX flagship in where it features a periscope-like elevating selfie camera and of course, a notch-less full-screen Ultra FullView Display. The smartphone also features a 6.39-inch Super AMOLED Ultra FullView Display which is really immersive.
With the success of the Vivo NEX series, it will be only a matter before we get to see a new mid-range smartphone in the local market that will sport an elevating selfie camera and an ultra FullView display.
To those Filipinos who are really excited to capture “the perfect shot”, they’ll truly have a blast with Vivo’s upcoming smartphone with an exciting camera features.
There will be a one day only sale for Cherry Mobile and they’ll be selling phones at an affordable price. How much? Only Php10. Yep, you can buy a phone that you can use for call and text for only Php10 which is really cheap. This promo is in celebration of their 10th year anniversary.
The promo will be happening this March 10, 2019 from 12:00NN to 1:00PM at select concept stores nationwide. The phone that they’ll be selling for only Php539 is the Cherry Mobile C26i feature phone and they be available only for limited units. They’ll be selling from 12NN to 1PM to strictly one device per customer to serve 100 customers on a first come, first serve basis. If you want to get one be sure to line up on March 10 at the following stores.
OPPO has hosted their global innovation event in Barcelona, Spain in where the Chinese company has unveiled their latest tech, a 10x lossless zoom that is expected to change the camera smartphone game and also their first 5G smartphone.
The 10x lossless zoom by OPPO was earlier unveiled last month but it is just in Barcelona, Spain in where the company has detailed and demoed the capabilities of their 10x lossless zoom.
5G is also one of the main highlights during the event and OPPO has unveiled that they have a huge commitment on the technology with the OPPO 5G Landing Project in where the company has proposed and committed to bring carrier partners like Swisscom, Telstra, Optus- and more in-depth collaboration with potential partners like Singtel to promote 5G products.
Not only that, the company has also announced its first 5G smartphone and we can expect that it will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset with X50 5G modem with integrated RF transceiver and RF front-end solutions.
So the future looks bright for OPPO when it comes to 5G.
The Chinese company, Xiaomi, has recently unveiled their latest flagship smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi 9. The smartphone, as expected, packs the latest and greatest features that we need on a smartphone. First, it has a beautiful gradient design. Second, the smartphone packs a triple lens camera with one of them as the 48MP rear camera and another 16MP for wide-angle lens and 12MP for telephoto lens.
Xiaomi Mi 9 Specs
6.39-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display, 18.7:9 display aspect ratio
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Octa-Core Processor
6GB/8GB/12GB RAM
128GB/256GB Internal storage
48MP f1.75 camera + 16MP f2.2 Ultra wide-angle camera + 12MP f2.2 telephoto lens
20MP f2.0 front camera
Dual SIM, LTE
Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, A-GPS, BD, GLONASS
In-display fingerprint scanner
3300mAh battery
Android 9 Pie with MIUI 10
The Xiaomi Mi 9 is priced at CNY 2999 (Php23,248~) for the 6GB/128GB and CNY 3299 (Php31,000~) for the 8GB/128GB variant.
2019 is the year of foldable phone and as expected, Huawei has also joined the game with their Huawei Mate X foldable phone. The implementation of the Huawei Mate X’s folding mechanism is different from Samsung as this one packs only a single screen that can be folded and the Chinese company has touted the smartphone as the World’s Fastest Foldable 5G phone.
Huawei Mate X Specs
6.6-inches display for the front panel 2480×1148, 6.38-inches for the back panel, 2480×892, OLED
8-inches unfolded display, 2480×2200
Huawei Kirin 980 chipset with Balong 5000 5G Modem
8GB RAM
512GB Internal storage expandable via NM card with support up to 256GB
The smartphone packs an 8-inch flexible OLED display and you can fold it to get a 6.6-inch display on the front and 6.38-inch display at the back. There’s a triple lens camera at the back too which can also be used as a front camera when the display is folded.
Inside of course is the Kirin 980 chipset which is used on the Mate 20 series and of course, there’s the Balong 5000 5G modem inside. Another cool this about this foldable phone is the 4500mAh battery that comes with 55W Huawei SuperCharge. This is the fastest charging tech that we’ve seen on a phone.
Here’s the thing. The Huawei Mate X is really impressive and innovative but it will be more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Fold. The Huawei Mate X is priced at 2299 Euros (Php135,707~). That’s pretty steep but hey, the future of smartphones with foldable tech is getting really exciting.
Well, we’ve first seen the Samsung Galaxy Fold at Unpacked 2019 here at San Francisco, California. Unfortunately, there were no live demo units of the smartphone but thankfully, Samsung has just released a new video showing the capabilities of the $2000 smartphone and why you should buy their smartphone.
The 5-minute video of the Samsung Galaxy Fold doesn’t have any background music or any commentaries about the smartphone but we do get new shots on the smartphone including how the apps are working on the smartphone including Instagram and also the camera app.
Xiaomi has also joined the 5G race with the announcement of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G. The smartphone is similar in looks from the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 but some internals has been changed to cater 5G. So what’s up with this one? Well, do check out the specifications of the smartphone below.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G Specs
Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor with X50 5G Modem
6.39-inch 19.5:9 Full HD+ AMOLED display with 93.4% screen-to-body ratio
6GB,8GB,10GB RAM
128GB & 256GB Internal Storage
12MP f/1.8 + 12MP Rear camera with LED Flash
24MP + 2MP Front Camera
Dual SIM
LTE, 5G (Depending on the variant)
USB-C
Fingerprint Scanner
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Android 9 Pie with MIUI 10
3800mAh battery with QC 4.0+
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G is priced at EUR 599 which is directly converted to Php35,353. No word regarding availability in the Philippines
