Xiaomi has just unveiled the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 alongside with the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2. The Mi Note 3 is basically a larger Xiaomi Mi 6 but we got a different processor running inside the smartphone. But don’t worry because the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 is still affordable and yet powerful.
There’s a bigger 5.5-inch display and there’s the dual lens camera at the back that lets you have bokeh-effect shots. The Xiaomi Mi Note 3 is also running on Snapdragon 660 processor which is the latest and most powerful in the Snapdragon 600 series.
Xiaomi Mi Note 3 Specifications
5.5-inch Full HD IPS Display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Octa-Core Processor
6GB RAM
64/128GB Internal Storage
Dual 12-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash, 2x optical zoom
16-megapixel front camera
Fingerprint Scanner
USB Type-C
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Android 7.1 Nougat
3500mAh Battery
The Xiaomi Mi Note 3 comes in 64GB, 128GB Black, & 128GB Blue Variants comes in RMB 2499 (Php19,495), RMB 2899 (Php 22,616), & RMB 2999 (Php 23,396)
The displays on our smartphones are getting even more ridiculous. Xiaomi has just announced the Mi Mix 2 and golly wow, the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2’s display looks even better than the predecessor as this one has a lesser chin, cleaner look, and a better hardware. The Mi Mix 2 now features a smaller 18:9 5.99-inch display but because of its change in display ratio, the Mi Mix 2 is now ergonomic and taller.
Despite having a small bezel, the smartphone still manage to have a front camera which is placed on its chin and also an earpiece at the top. The smartphone also comes with a powerful hardware inside as the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor inside and also 6GB of RAM.
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 also packs a 12-megapixel Sony IMX386 sensor at the back and unfortunately, there’s no dual camera on the back unlike the Xiaomi Mi 6.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Specifications
5.99-inch 18:9 2180x1080p Bezel-less display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Processor
6GB/8GB RAM (Only available in Special Edition)
64/128/256GB Internal Storage
12-Megapixel Rear Camera with LED Flash
5-Megapixel Front Camera
Fingerprint Scanner
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
LTE
USB Type-C
3400mAh Battery
Android 7.1 Nougat with MIUI
The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 will come in 6/64GB, 6/128GB, & 6/256GB variants with a price tag of RMB 3299 (Php25,707) , RMB 3599 (Php28,045) , & RMB 3999 (Php31,162) respectively.
The ASUS FX series notebooks are the affordable gaming notebook series of the Taiwanese company. It may not be a member of the Republic of Gamers notebook series but the FX series of ASUS still got some power as these notebooks come with dedicated GPUs. So what’s the difference between the two? Well, the ASUS ROG Gaming got a different chassis and more features
The ASUS FX Series starts at P39,995 and it will already come with 15-inch Full HD display, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD + 128GB SSD, Windows 10, and RX460 GPU. But the bang for the buck notebook in the FX series is the FX553VD. It comes with an Intel Core i5-7300HQ Processor, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, GTX 1050 2GB GDDR5 GPU, and it comes with Windows 10.
You can also go for the ASUS FX502VM that comes with the powerful Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Windows 10, and GTX 1060.
The gaming notebook competition is about to get hotter as ASUS Philippines has recently teased the arrival of the ASUS ROG Notebook powered by AMD Ryzen, the ASUS ROG GL702ZC. This is the first AMD Ryzen powered notebook and we first saw this notebook running at Computex. It is no different from other notebooks when it comes to aesthetics but inside, you got an AMD Ryzen 1700 8-core processor. You can check out what we think of the AMD Ryzen-powered notebook here:
We still don’t have any idea that much when it comes to pricing but again, it’s really interesting to see an AMD Ryzen-powered notebook competing in the Intel-dominated notebook industry.
The ASUS ROG GL702ZC will be launching this September in the Philippines.
Cherry Mobile has a lot of smartphone offerings but despite that, each of their smartphones has a unique selling point. In the affordable category, you can barely see the difference between those smartphones. Well, one of their smartphones, the Cherry Mobile Flare J1, stands out in the tough business as the Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017 does have a really tough and strong display. Interested? Well, let’s check out the other aspects of the smartphone aside from its display.
A plastic build
Well guys, what can you expect on an affordable smartphone like the Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017? It isn’t the cheapest smartphone in the market but it is definitely affordable and a smartphone made for masses. The smartphone is made up of plastic and at the back, you can see the plastic faux leather. The build quality of the smartphone isn’t the most ideal even at its price range.
The smartphone has a slightly thick build but don’t worry because the smartphone is still ergonomic thanks to its curved back which fits perfectly on our hands. While on the front, you can see the three capacitive buttons below the screen and unfortunately, these buttons don’t light up.
Compared to most smartphones these days, the Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017 has a removable back and you can only see this feature mostly on smartphones that are below P5,000. Inside the smartphone is the removable 2300mAh battery, the two sim card slots, and also the MicroSD card slot.
The power button and the volume rocker of the smartphone are rightly placed on the right side of the smartphone while the 3.5mm audio jack and the micro USB slot are placed on the top of the smartphone. Unfortunately, the placements of these ports are too close to each other and you cannot fit in a micro USB port and also the earphones at the same time.
A really tough display
The unique selling point of this smartphone is its display. The Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017 got a 5-inch display. Before we talk about how tough the glass of the display is, let’s talk about the quality of the display first.
Well, the display of the Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017 isn’t really the best one the industry and you can really notice that the smartphone’s display is a little bit washed out. The quality isn’t that good even at its price range and you can notice that the color reproduction isn’t on point and you don’t have a really good viewing angles on this one.
But here’s the feature that you cannot on most smartphones. The toughness of the display of the Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017 is just really amazing. If you’ve seen my unboxing and hands-on of the smartphone before, you’ve probably seen how tough the smartphone is when I smash the smartphone on the edge of the wooden table and also when I dropped it on the floor. Yep, no breaks and no cracks. The display of the Cherry Mobile Flare J2 is really damn tough.
Performance
The annoying pop-up ads
The smartphone is not really a performer but that’s already expected on a smartphone with a really affordable price. Inside the smartphone is a 1.3GHz Spreadtrum SC7731 Quad-Core processor and also a 1GB of RAM. It’s not an ideal processor for performance but it can do its job if you’re just planning to use the smartphone for light and casual apps.
However, if you’re planning to use the smartphone for heavy gaming then you might have a problem. I’ve used the smartphone for Mobile Legends and yes, the smartphone can run the game, however, don’t expect that the smartphone can run the game smoothly and at enjoyable frame rates. Well, better to stick to your light and casual games when you get the Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017.
Camera
Well, don’t expect too much from its camera. The smartphone packs an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash and then there’s the 5-megapixel front camera. Again, the camera of the smartphone isn’t really a performer and since you’re buying a very affordable smartphone, expect that it won’t perform as expected. The Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017 takes shots that are a little bit overexposed and I noticed sometimes are a little bit oversaturated. Check out the photos that I took using the smartphone below:
IMG 20170717 154635
IMG 20170717 165136
IMG 20170828 172602
IMG 20170828 172609
IMG 20170901 115114
IMG 20170901 115142
IMG 20170716 111523
IMG 20170716 150846
Verdict
The smartphone is definitely for people who are just looking for an affordable smartphone. Well, there are actually a lot of smartphones that are in the affordable line but this one stacks up against most smartphones when it comes to the toughness of the display. But the rest of the hardware? Well, nothing so much special about it but I wish they could improve it in the next generation.
So who do I think will buy this smartphone? Well, if you’re not into games and you just want a cheap and affordable Android smartphone that is really tough because you keep on breaking the display of the smartphone, well, here you go.
The Cherry Mobile Flare J1 2017 is now available for P2,699
We saw the Vivo Y69 a few days ago at a Vivo Kiosks and finally, Vivo has finally launched the Vivo Y69 in the Philippines. The smartphone is a mid-range smartphone and despite its affordable price, the smartphone is actually a selfie-centric smartphone as this one packs a 16-megapixel front camera and also the smartphone still packs some punch as this mid-range smartphone runs on MediaTek MT6750 processor and also 3GB of RAM.
VIVO Y69 SPECIFICATIONS
5.5-inch HD IPS Display
1.5GHz MediaTek MT6750 Octa-Core Processor
3GB RAM
32GB Internal Storage expandable via MicroSD
13-megapixel rear camera w/ LED Flash, f/2.2
16-megapixel front camera, f/2.0
LTE
Bluetooth, Wifi, GPS, A-GPS
3000mAh Battery
Android 7.0 with Funtouch OS 3.2
The smartphone also runs on Android 7.0 Nougat now compared to other Vivo smartphones and yes, the design of the smartphone is better than the previous Vivo smartphones as this one is cleaner however, the smartphone is still made up of plastic.
The display might be the same 5.5-inch HD display but I noticed that the display of the Vivo Y69 is even better than most smartphones with the same display. It’s bright and the color reproduction of the display was quite great.
The camera of the smartphone might be the same but in my short usage, I noticed that they’ve improved their camera and the selfies that I got produces better colors and better skin tones.
The Vivo Y69 is now available for P10,990. You can check out our short live hands-on of the Vivo Y69 below.
Meizu Philippines has just launched their newest smartphone in the country. It’s one of the unique smartphones from the brand as the Meizu Pro 7 packs a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED Full HD display and also a secondary 2-inch AMOLED display at the back that you can use for taking selfies using the rear camera. While the Meizu Pro 7 Plus has a bigger 5.7-inch and better QHD display.
Meizu Pro 7 Specs
5.2-inch Full HD AMOLED Display
2-inch AMOLED Rear Display
MediaTek Helio P25 Octa-Core Processor
4GB RAM
64GB Internal Storage
Dual 12-megapixel rear camera with Dual LED FLash
16-megapixel front camera
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Fingerprint Scanner
USB Type-C
3000mAh Battery
Android 7.0 Nougat with Flyme OS 6
Meizu Pro 7 Plus Specs
5.7-inch QHD AMOLED Display
2-inch AMOLED Rear Display
MediaTek Helio X30 Deca-Core Processor
6GB RAM
128GB Internal Storage
Dual 12-megapixel rear camera with Dual LED FLash
16-megapixel front camera
WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
Fingerprint Scanner
USB Type-C
3500mAh Battery
Android 7.0 Nougat with Flyme OS 6
Speaking of camera, the Meizu Pro 7 also comes with a Dual 12-megapixel cameras with Sony IMX368 sensors in which one of them is a monochrome lens while other one is a color lens for better photos even at low light. The front camera still doesn’t disappoint as the Meizu Pro 7 as this one packs a 16-megapixel front camera.
The Meizu Pro 7 also features a Helio P25 Processor that comes with 4GB of RAM and also a 64GB of Internal Storage while the Meizu Pro 7 Plus has a better MediaTek Helio X30 Processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of Internal Storage. The Meizu Pro 7 also comes with 3000mAh battery while the Meizu Pro 7 Plus packs a 3500mAh battery. I believe those batteries are enough for each smartphone.
The secondary display of the smartphone at the back isn’t just a gimmick as this one can display notifications such as the latest notifications, weather, music you’re listening to, and the best one, the live view of the camera when taking selfies using the rear camera.
The Meizu Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus will be available for Php 22,990 and Php 31,990 respectively
Vivo has just announced the new Vivo V7+ with FullView Display and 18:9 display ratio which makes the smartphone taller than most smartphones however, the 5.99-inch display only has a 1440x720px resolution. The smartphone also uses the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Octa-Core Processor and also 4GB of RAM.
The smartphone also packs a 64GB Internal Storage, a 24-megapixel front camera with flash and there’s also a 16-megapixel rear camera. The smartphone still didn’t pack the on-screen fingerprint scanner as you can find the fingerprint scanner at the back of the smartphone.
The Vivo V7+ will be available first in India at Amazon and it will be available on September 15 for 21,900 INR (Php17,363).
Vivo V7+ Specs
5.99-inch IPS FullView Display with 1440×720 Resolution
OPPO Philippines has just launched the A71 in the Philippines. It’s the latest smartphone from the company and it is powered by Color OS 3.1 which is now running on Android 7.1.1. The smartphone also features an Octa-Core MediaTek MT6750 processor and also a 3GB RAM which is more than enough for some games and applications.
The OPPO A71 is one of their affordable smartphones as this one is priced at below P10,000 and yet, it doesn’t fail when it comes to performance as our experience with its chipset was quite pleasant as it can run most games and applications without a problem.
The smartphone also packs a unibody plastic construction and also a slim ergonomic design which is comfortable to hold and then there’s the 5.2-inch HD IPS display. The smartphone also packs a decent battery rated at 3000mAh which makes it sure that the smartphone can last up to a day of use. The smartphone also comes with a triple card slot so you can use your two nano sim cards and also a MicroSD card slot along with it. The smartphone has notably missing a fingerprint scanner.
OPPO A71 Specs
5.2-inch HD IPS Display with Scratch Resistant Glass
The iPhone 6 might be over a year old already but it is still selling like hotcakes to the Filipinos. Recently, we spotted the iPhone 6 with 32GB storage at MemoXpress in Makati and it now sports a more affordable price of P19,990. The iPhone 6 was announced 3 years ago but until now, many people are still clinging to this device as the iPhone 6 still has a comparable performance to a mid-range Android smartphone and Apple has continued to update this smartphone even after 3 years.
I’ve used a 16GB iPhone 6 before and it was really a pain to use as the smartphone really has a limited storage even after installing only a few apps and taking a few photos. The 32GB on the other hand is a better option as this one is ideal for those who wants to use their smartphones for some casual games and of course taking some photos.
You can now get the iPhone 6 32GB at stores nationwide however if you want a more affordable iPhone 6, you can go for the 16GB variant with a price tag of P18,490 or if you want, the older iPhone 5s 16GB for P12,990.
