The future of what smartphones might look like in the future is here. Vivo has finally unveiled the Vivo APEX 2019 which is their next flagship smartphone as it is powered by the latest Snapdragon 855 chipset, 256GB storage, 12GB RAM, 5G, and most importantly, it will have a buttonless design with a different take on the charger as it will use a MagPort charger.
The smartphone features a holeless design with MagPort charger, a magnetic connector at the back that is used for charging and data transfer. It will not have a speaker hole too as the smartphone uses a piezoelectric transducer as its speaker.
Another interesting feature about the smartphone is found in its 6.39-inch AMOLED display as it packs a fullscreen in-display fingerprint scanner which is a first that we’ve seen in a smartphone. The smartphone features a 12MP+13MP rear camera with LED flash but we’re not sure if the smartphone will have a selfie camera or where it is placed.
The best part? The smartphone will pack 5G thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 platform. This will make sure that video viewing, cloud gaming and a variety of features will be open on this smartphone.
In the future, vivo promises to bring AI, IoT, augmented reality, and virtual reality with deep integration to 5G and AI.
The APEX 2019 will be showcased in Barcelona, Spaoin at MWC 2019 and visitors will be able to try out the devices for first-hand viewing.
Samsung flagship store at SM Megamall is now open and you can now experience the tech giant’s interactive zones and also their state-of-the-art displays. Not only that, you’ll also get to experience their innovations and products with their Newness table that is designed to showcase the latest Samsung innovations.
There’s the U-shaped center bars too that can facilitate one-on-one communication with the customers about the devices that are on display. There are also accessory walls in where you can experience and touch these products. There’s the Gear Tablet too which is a dedicated hands-on station featuring the Gear S watches and straps too.
Guests can also check out the Samsung Gear VR at the 4D VR lounge and also their audio products at the music section. There’s a gaming corner too in where you can experience their Curved gaming monitor and TVs. Finally, you can also get to try out Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+ and Galaxy Note9’s intelligent camers at the photo booth and try out the AR emojis.
If you want to check out and experience the latest Samsung products, you can visit the store at the 4/F CyberZone, Building B, SM Megamall.
If you want to buy a brand new Honor 10 Lite, now is the time to get one as the smartphone is avialble for Php8,491 which exclusive on Shopee. Starting today, the Honor 10 Lite will have an exclusive 15% off on the new Honor 10 Lite, the latest mid-range smartphone from the company.
In addition to the discounted Honor 10 Lite, the smartphone will also come with a limited edition bundle featuring an Honor Band 4, Honor Gift Box, and an Honor foldable luggage worth Php3,000 for the earliest buyers of the Honor 10 Lite on Shopee.
The Honor 10 Lite is a beatiful mid-range smartphone from the company as it features a gradient design and a dewdrop display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio. The smartphone is also powered by Kirin 710 processor and it has a 13MP+2MP rear AI camera and 24MP front camera.
The Honor 10 Lite will be available in Sapphire Blue, Midnight Black, and Sky Blue exclusively at Shopee from January 25 for Php8,491.
Redmi will have a new smartphone in the lineup soon and the Philippines is one of the first to have it and it’s the Redmi Go. The smartphone is expected to be the first Android Go smartphone from the company and we expect that the smartphone will have a basic-level specifications.
Our friends from Revu.com.ph also managed to get a copy of the specifications of the smartphone and it suggests that the smartrphone will run Snapdragon 425 chipset, 8GB storage, 1GB RAM, and Android Oreo Go Edition.
Redmi Go Specs
5-inch HD LCD Display, 1280×720
Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, Adreno 308 GPU
1GB RAM
8GB Internal storage expandable via MicroSD up to 128GB
One of the newest smartphones that Huawei Philippines has launched before the end of 2018 is the Huawei Y9 2019. It’s a decent smartphone and it will not cost you that much on your wallet. And despite being in the Y-series, the Huawei Y9 2019 is a smartphone that you should really take a look at.
Design and hardware
The Huawei Y9 2019 might belong in the Y family but the design and feel of the smartphone don’t feel like it has been compromised. The back is made up of plastic surprisingly but it does feel like glass and it’s very premium to hold. Despite the large footprint of the smartphone, the Huawei Y9 2019 does feel comfortable to hold thanks to the curve sides of the smartphone similar to the Huawei Nova 3.
The Huawei Y9 2019 is noticeable big but that isn’t a bad thing as I can hold the smartphone pretty well. The Huawei Y 2019 doesn’t lack in ports as we got a micro USB port in here along with the headphone jack beside it. The smartphone also has a speaker grill just beside and actually, it’s just fine for its price range.
The smartphone is really a decent one when it comes to design as the smartphone only features a minimal notch with a tiny bezel. The smartphone’s volume rocker and the power button are placed on one side and despite the size, the Huawei Y9 2019 does feel ergonomic to me.
At the back of the smartphone is the fingerprint scanner and it was pretty fast but in case you want a faster and easier way to unlock the smartphone, there’s face unlock too which is as fast as most Huawei smartphones that we’ve reviewed before.
Overall, the build quality of the smartphone is surprising to me for a Huawei smartphone at this price range.
Battery life
The Huawei Y9 2019 sports a 4000mAh battery and it’s actually pretty big if you ask me. In our usage of the smartphone, we were not surprised that the smartphone lasted really long in PC Mark as we got a score of 10 hours 55 minutes. In our average usage, we’ve managed to reach a day and a half which lasted really long.
Display
Another thing to love on the Huawei Y9 2019 is the display of the smartphone. There’s the 6.5-inch display with a 19.5:9 display aspect ratio and a Full HD+ resolution. Actually, I was expecting that the Huawei Y9 2019 will sport an HD+ display instead of FHD+ since we’re dealing with a smartphone with a more affordable price than the Huawei Nova 3i.
Of course, the notch at the top is expected and it wasn’t really that wide. The size of the notch is almost the same with the Huawei Nova 3i and the Huawei Nova 3 which isn’t that bad. But of course, we wouldn’t say that it’s the best as other smartphone manufacturers are already selling smartphones with a tinier notch.
When it comes to display quality, the Huawei Y9 2019 is pretty decent. Again, it isn’t the best one in its price range but the color accuracy of the display is pretty nice and I can use it well even at direct sunlight.
Performance
The Huawei Y9 2019 comes with a Kirin 710 processor inside along with the 4GB of RAM. Actually, I was not expecting that the smartphone will have the same specifications of the Huawei Nova 3i as Huawei might compete for the Y9 2019 with their own smartphone.
Like what we’ve experienced before in our review of the Huawei Nova 3i, the Huawei Y9 2019 is a decent smartphone when it comes to performance. It might not be as powerful as other chipsets in the market, but the Kirin 710 is really reliable when it comes to thermals and efficiency. Adding to that is the GPU turbo which is why we really saw an increase in performance in games like PUBG Mobile.
The benchmark scores that we got on the Huawei Y9 2019 is pretty fair. The scores are pretty good in its price range and it can definitely compete with other smartphones.
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As seen in the benchmark, the Huawei Y9 2019 fared well in the gaming segment too. But in some games, you might want to lower the settings to get more enjoyable frame rates.
The Huawei Y9 2019 might have a lot of similarities with the Huawei Nova 3i but when it comes to camera quality, the Huawei Nova 3i has a superior performance. The Huawei Y9 2019 features a 13MP+2MP at the back and a 16MP+2MP at the front and yes, the smartphone supports AI so it can produce better shots and better colors as the smartphone can recognize the objects that you are shooting.
Despite having an inferior camera compared to the Huawei Nova 3i, I was surprised that the smartphone packs a night mode and it might not be as good as other Huawei smartphones in the higher range but it surprisingly works in our tests. Actually, it’s a surprising feature that other smartphones in this price range don’t have.
When it comes to camera quality, I can’t say that it was great but shooting at decent light conditions was fine to me at some times but it wasn’t great, however, shooting at you’ll notice that it was greater than I expected especially with the night mode. And oh, the AI really works on the Huawei Y9 2019. Check out the shots that we took using the smartphone below.
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Verdict
The Huawei Y9 2019 is undoubtedly a great smartphone for its price range. You have solid and decent build quality, the display is really fine and the performance of the smartphone is pretty well. The camera of the smartphone also supports AI but don’t expect too much from it but I’m quite satisfied with its performance.
The Huawei Y9 2019 is now available for Php12,990 and yes, it does have a really good price.
We got another set of live pictures of the Samsung Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10+ but this time, it’s clearer and it confirms a lot of new features about the smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ is now confirmed that the smartphones will pack a hole-punch camera or Infinity-O display with the Samsung Galaxy S10+ packing a dual-lens front camera.
Another confirmed features of the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ is the triple lens camera of the smartphones which is the first in the Galaxy S flagship line. Thankfully, Samsung is still using a USB-C port along with the headphone jack below.
It seems that the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+ loses the fingeprint scanner so we may see an in-display fingerprint scanner on these smartphones too. The Samsung Galaxy S10 series is expected to be unveiled this February at San Francisco, California.
PUBG Lite is the version of the game that is made for PC with lower specifications and also for those people who want to play the game but they want it free. There’s no need for emulators here as the game is made exclusively for the PC and now, the game has started its open beta in Thailand. Actually, you can now download PUBG Lite for PC at the link below.
Realme Philippines is expanding to 1000 stores nationwide and to celebrate this milestone from the comapny, they’re having a cool promo for the consumers this coming weekend, January 26-27.
If you’re buying the Realme C1 this January 26-27, you’ll be able to get freebies like the headphones, earphones, bluetooth headphones, power banks, backpack, and a ringholder depending on the store where you’re buying.
These are the freebies that you can get from each dealers:
Wow mobile center — Free ring holder or monopad
Yanas gadgets — Free tripod
Y Telecom — Free earphone
Aerophone — free earphone
DG Phone cards — Free headphone
Fonestyle — Free bluetooth headset
Fun mobile — Free magnetic grip holder, selfie stick, & LAS 6000mAh powerbank
Galleon Enterprises — Free bag
Infinity — Free monopod
Presnet — Free monopod
The Realme C1 is now available for Php5,990.
Realme C1 Specs
6.2-inch HD+ display, 88.8% screen-to-body ratio
Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Processor
2GB RAM
16GB Internal storage expandable via MicroSD up to 256GB
The Samsung Galaxy S10 is definitely one of the most exciting device this year and there were a lot of leaks already showing the smartphone. And now, there’s another leak showing the front panel of the smartphone with a small cutout camera at the top right of the smartphone.
Cryptocurrency is one of the hottest things that happened in 2017 up to 2018 but the hype definitely died when the value of cryptocurrency crashed and surprisingly, Samsung Galaxy S10 will have the Samsung Blockchain KeyStore in where the smartphone can store or create a new wallet for supported cryptocurrencies. The leak shows that it supports ETH or Ethereum and I expect that the smartphone’s Blockchain KeyStore will also support BTC too.
The ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 is one of the best smartphones from the company as it features a budget pricing that starts at Php12,995 for the 4GB/64GB variant. The smartphone features a powerful Snapdragon 660 processor inside along with the 5000mAh battery which makes the smartphone perfect for longer gaming usage.
ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 Specs
6.3-inch Full HD+ all-screen IPS Display with Gorilla Glass 6
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Octa-Core chipset
6GB RAM
64GB Internal Storage expandable via MicroSD
12MP+5MP Rear Camera with AI
13MP Front camera
Dual SIM, LTE
Fingerprint Scanner
Face Unlock
5000mAh Battery
Stock Android 8.1 Oreo with coming upgrade to Android 9.0
And now, the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 is now available in a new color — Cosmic Titanium which is basically silver for those who have no idea. There’s no change in hardware specifications or the price of the smartphone so yeah, the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 is still affordable but the Cosmic Titanium is only available in 6GB/64GB variant for Php14,995.
