Category: Phones

5 Reasons why you should buy the TECNO Spark 7p now

It’s been a while since TECNO released the Spark 7p and I have been using it for close to three weeks. As someone who loves to “demand” a lot from the performance of devices, I kept in mind that the Spark series are entry level devices.

Over the last three weeks however, I have been amazed by how well the Spark 7p performs if held by the entry level standards.

What’s more, some of my friends who used the device have also held similar views especially in the areas of gaming and battery life.

Today, I want to explore with you some of the reasons why you should get the Spark 7p if you are looking for a budget device that performs well too.

Let’s get into it.

Good Gaming Experience

Everyone loves to game on their smartphones nowadays. The Spark 7p can comfortably play some of the most popular Android games at normal graphic settings. Games like NBA2K20, Asphalt 8 and 9, PUBG, and Call of Duty Mobile all play at good speeds with very minimal frame drops.

So if you are looking for an affordable device to play your games with, the Spark 7p is definitely a good starting point. Check out a full gaming test of the Spark 7p below.

Great Battery Life

The Spark 7p really has a good battery life when you are using it and not just on paper as you would find on some other devices in this range. The device comes with a 5000mAh capacity battery which in itself is good.

So when gaming for about 30 minutes intense, you only have about 5% to 8% drop in the battery life as seen in the video above.

Also, with normal use with Instagram, Telegram, Facebook, Phoenix Browser, Chrome Browser, Spotify and some gaming (Sonic Dash), the battery was still able to last me a full day and over.

On one particular day, I forgot to charge the phone and stepped out of home with a 17% battery. By using the Ultra Battery Saver mode, I still had 11% battery remaining when I returned home later. As with all devices, you need to pick up some good battery-saving habits to even enjoy longer battery life.

Budget Friendly

Everyone buys a phone that is within their budget. So when a budget phone comes around offering a lot more than basic features, then it is worth considering.

The TECNO Spark 7p is selling on the market now in Ghana and selling for GHS 750 for the 64GB + 4GB variant and GHS 895 for the 128GB + 4GB variant.

Well, some might say the price is too steep to be called budget. However, when you look at the prices of phones nowadays, this is as affordable as it gets for a device that can be used for 2+ years with the right software updates.

With the large storage available, you should not have an issue with space. If you do, you could utilise Google Photo’s backup features.

AI Camera Features

I’m not a big fan of big terminologies for small functions. When it comes to camera’s I just want it to work. However, considering the market the phone is targerted at, the AI features TECNO has in the camera will help to take nicer photos.

Now, you don’t need to be an expert photographer to change modes for the camera. The camera can detect if you want to take selfies and switch to portrait.

If your background is over lit, the camera even brings on the HDR Backlight function to help keep your image properly exposed. The camera also detects the eyes in photos and uses that to focus images better.

Big Screen to do more

The 6.8″ Dot Notch Screen that is on the TECNO Spark 7 is big enough to give a good viewing experience. When watching YouTube or other media, you can even zoom in so the media fill the whole screen.

Also, when it comes to gaming, you are able to have your hands on the phone and also enjoy a good view of the game. The screen works fairly well in the sunlight and has colours that are almost true tone. Be careful of the eye care settings as this changes how the colour outputs on the device.

Overall, this screen is big enough to give you maximum enjoyment whether you are on instagram, YouTube or you are just gaming your hearts out.

Conclusion

The TECNO Spark 7p is the affordable under GHS 900 option phone to get right now. With good battery to game and move around with and a screen that allows you to enjoy your content, this phone has a lot of basis covered.

If you want to have an experience of any of the devices in the TECNO Spark 7 series, you can walk into any of TECNO’s accredited shops nationwide. For a list of the shops, click here; https://www.tecno-mobile.com/gh/stores/#/

You can also buy online via this link https://bit.ly/3asO1Gk.

May 11, 2021
Unboxing: TECNO Spark 7p — Good Speed & Budget-Friendly all day long
TECNO Devices in Ghana are now synonymous with affordability, style and long battery life.

With a lot of their customers coming from the middle to lower spending bracket on smartphones, TECNO’s Spark Series is targeted at those areas while still pushing to give some class and premium feel. The TECNO Spark 7p fits this description so well.

We recently unboxed the device and would want to share the experience and what we found during the unboxing to you.

TECNO Spark 7p Specs

Before we get started, let’s look at the specs of the TECNO Spark 7p:
- Display: 6.8″ Dot Notch Screen
- Front Camera: 8MP Front Camera with Dual Flash
- Rear Camera: 3 AI Camera Setup – Depth lens + 1^MP Primary Camera with F/1.8 aperture + Macro lens with Quad Flash
- OS: Android™ 11 with HIOS 7.5
- Network 4G LTE/3G/2G
- Storage: 64/128 GB
- RAM: 4 GB
- Processor: Mediatek Helio G70
- Battery: 5000mAh
- Card Slots: 2 nano sim cards + 1 micro SD (up to 128GB)
- Other Features: Compass, Fingerprint Sensor, GPS, Proximity, Touchscreen, WiFi, Face Unlock 2.0
- Colours: Magnet Black, Alps Blue, Spruce Green, Summer Mojito
Now to the unboxing.

TECNO Spark 7p Unboxing

My TECNO Spark 7p came in a very exciting yellow-like box. The packaging reels you in to what you would find inside the box.

Inside the box of the TECNO Spark 7p, you get:
- The TECNO Spark 7p Phone
- A 13-month warranty Card
- A transparent Silicon case
- A rectangular head sim ejector
- A Power Adapter
- A micro USB cable and
- A 3.5mm earpiece
This particular device we unboxed was provided by TECNO Ghana and it came in the Alps Blue colour with the very evident TECNO branding behind it.

At the front of the phone is the 6.8″ Dot Notch Screen with a 90Hz Refresh rate. Yes, a 90Hz refresh rate on a TECNO Spark device. Inside the phone’s settings however, you can decide to change it to 60Hz refresh rate if longer battery life is what’s most important to you.

Otherwise, just leave the refresh rate settings at “Auto-Switch” and take advantage of all those apps that can offer you more smoothness when needed.

Behind the phone, there is the evident TECNO Spark branding. The branding is even very visible from the silicon case.

Also, there is the fingerprint sensor which is conveniently positioned just to the right of the Tripple AI Camera set up. The position of the fingerprint sensor makes it difficult to miss it. And after I set it up, in 9 out of 10 times, it unlocked almost immediately.

Also at the rear of the TECNO Spark 7p, there is the AI Camera setup consisting of three camera’s positioned vertically. Just to the right of depth sensor camera, there is the quad flash light and an inscription below that.

TECNO seems to make sure that consumers see the “AI” branding with no chance to miss it. While using the Camera, I realised the AI mode changes scenes based on what you are looking at via the camera viewfinder and it is pretty accurate too.

The left of the phone follows the TECNO tradition with a tray that houses 2 SIMs and an SD Card.

To the right, there is the power and volume buttons.

Overall, holding and using the Spark 7p felt very natural. It fitted right in my hands and was not so big to hold as I feel with some devices.

If you want to get good value for money in the below GHS 900 range, then the TECNO Spark 7p is definitely worth considering.

Where to buy TECNO Spark 7p in Ghana

The TECNO Spark 7p is available on the market now in Ghana and selling for GHS 750 for the 64GB variant and GHS 895 for the 128GB variant. Both come with 4GB RAM.

If you want to have an experience of any of the devices in the TECNO Spark 7 series, you can walk into any of TECNO’s accredited shops nationwide. For a list of the shops, click here; https://www.tecno-mobile.com/gh/stores/#/

You can also buy online via this link https://bit.ly/3asO1Gk

Pictures of Unboxing of the TECNO Spark 7p

See below the full gallery of our unboxing of the TECNO Spark 7p:
April 29, 2021

Huawei Y7a (2021): Specs, Price, Features & Best Deals

2020 was one of the years that would go down in the history books as one that people will never forget in their lives. While other companies were cutting off their workers and shutting down, the mobile phone business was instead making the most out of it.

One of such companies that were busy manufacturing mobile phones was Huawei. You cannot talk about mobile phone production in Ghana without talking about Huawei.

Some of the mobile phones that were produced in 2020 by Huawei include the Huawei Y7p and the Huawei Y8s.

On October 21^st, 2020, Huawei added the Huawei Y7a smartphone to its mobile phone stock. Read on to know all the specs and features that the Huawei Y7a has and why you should get one for yourself.

Huawei Y7a Specs

Huawei Y7a	Specs
Operating System	Android 10, EMUI 10.1, no Google Play Services
Display	6.67 “ LCD (IPS)
Chipset	Kirin 710A (14 nm)
Memory	4GB RAM
Storage	64GB, 128GB
Main Camera	Quad Setup 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 8 MP, f/2.4, 120⁰(ultrawide), 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro), 2 MP, f/2.4, depth
Selfie Camera	8 MP, f/2.0, (wide)
Battery	Li-Po 5000 mAh, non-removable + Fast charging 22.5W
Connectivity	Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Special Features	Side-mounted Fingerprint, accelerometer, proximity, gravity, compass 3.55mm headphone jack
Colours	Crush Green, Blush Gold, Midnight Black

What is found in the box of Huawei Y7a?

The following will be found in the box of the Huawei Y7a:

1 Huawei Y7a
1 charger
1 Type-C USB cable
1 Eject pin
1 Protective case
1 TP protective film
Quick start guide and other documents

Huawei Y7a Features

Design

The Huawei Y7a promises to be a love at first sight smartphone. This is as a result of the refined craftsmanship and exquisite coating. This elegant look combined with the amazing curved edges gives you that comfortable touch in your hands.

The available three dynamic colours i.e. Crush Green, Blush Gold, Midnight Black even makes the smartphone worth buying. The width of the Huawei Y7a is 76.88 mm, 165.65 mm, and a depth of 9.26 mm, making it one of the sleekest smartphones released in 2020.

5000 mAh Battery

One most important thing to look at when you are buying a brand new smartphone is the battery capacity. And the Huawei Y7a comes with a 5000mAh non-removable Li-Po battery.

Also equipped with it is the 22.5 W Huawei SuperCharge allowing you to charge your smartphone in just a few hours. With your Y7a, you can watch videos for another 2 hours with just 10 minutes of charging.

If you are a mobile phone geek, then you probably know that the Y7a has one of the biggest battery capacities. You can play your games and watch your videos on your Y7a with just a little charge.

But, it is advisable that you carry your charger along when you are going for long distances.

Display

In the display department, the Huawei Y7a has a 6.67 inches screen that has a rounded corner design. It also has an FHD + 2400 x 1080 display resolution with 16.7 million colours.

It also has a screen-to-body ratio of 90.3% allowing you to see everything in clear pictures and colour. If you use your smartphone to do lectures and other zoom conferences, then you have enough space to do just that.

Camera

Almost all the Android smartphones that were released in 2020 have a quad-camera setup and the Y7a is no exception. Instead of the usual 2 side-by-side layouts, the Huawei Y7a has a vertical layout, meaning all the four (4) cameras are laid out vertically.

The rear camera has a 48 MP with f/1.8 aperture + 8 MP with an f/1.8 aperture, 26mm (wide), 8 MP with f/2.4 aperture, 120⁰(Ultra-Wide), 2 MP with an aperture of f/2.4, (macro), and 2 MP with an aperture of f/2.4, depth.

The front camera also has an 8 MP camera with an aperture of f/2.0.

The 48 MP high-resolution camera helps you capture your best unforgettable moments with your smartphone in clear and precise pictures. Whether you love taking landscapes or portraits, you are assured of super clear picture quality.

Also, due to the intelligent AI algorithms, you are allowed to explore the beauty of every scene in low-light. If you are a night party type, then you are really going to appreciate the Huawei Y7a.

Price of the Huawei Y7a in Ghana

The Huawei Y7a is available to buy in Ghana starting from 12th February 2021. Here are the shops you can get from and their prices.

Store	Price	Contact
Mfidie Shop (Nationwide Delivery)	GHS 1119	0546090871
Jumia Ghana (Nationwide Delivery)	GHS 1119	0544991140

February 9, 2021

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra hands-on and key features
The Mi 10 ultra is Xiaomi’s newest device and it has its most advanced camera system that brings the craziest charging speeds you have ever seen.

The Back camera is the most amazing and impressive – it comes with everything you can ever imagine in the world of recent technology, that is, a 48MP camera sensor which relies on a new Omni-Vision with an OIS lens then comes another 48MP Sony camera with a 5x zoom lens, a 12MP portrait for photos and a 20MP camera with a 12mm ultra-wide lens for ultra-macro shots.

The phone is far one of the best phones you can buy so far because it pushes the limits of mobile technology with the latest screen, super-fast charging, and top-notch cameras.

MI 10 Ultra: Key Features

Design

The Mi 10 Ultra is a flagship design for a flagship phone, made of an aluminum frame with Gorilla glass and it’s comfortable in the hand with the transparent edition.

It is super cool through the clear back when you gaze upon the phone’s internals although we’re pretty sure parts of what you can see are just stickers.

The most amazing design feature is the Quad camera arrangement. The camera bump is quite large that when you’re holding the phone it’s very noticeable but using a protective case is less uncomfortable due to that camera bump.

Holding this phone might feel comfortable for other people because everybody has a different hand size from the small, medium, and large, experience may vary.

Display

The Mi 10 Ultra is built around a curved 6.67 inch OLED display which has a small punch hole cut-out for the 20-megapixel selfie camera.

This display has a 1080p resolution with an impressive fast 120-hertz refresh rate & a super responsive 240-hertz touch sampling rate so moving objects look smooth.

On top of that, the interface itself is the newest MIUI 12 over Android 10. For unlocking the phone there’s an under-display fingerprint reader which is quite fast and responsive.

Audio

The media experience is rounded out by a pair of stereo speakers, also there’s no headphone jack but plenty of on-board storage for your media, up to 512GB which isn’t expandable.

Camera

The MI 10 Ultra’s headline feature is its impressive camera setup.
There’s;
- A 48 megapixel Quad Bayer main camera,
- A 48 megapixel Quad bear Periscope telephoto camera with five times optical zoom,
- A 12-megapixel telephoto camera with two-times optical zoom,
- A 20-megapixel ultra-wide camera with autofocus that can take macro shots.
overall, the camera provides an incredibly well rounded and versatile camera experience day or night.

Performance

According to benchmark scores, Mi 10 ultra could be the best setup out there now. The Mi 10 ultra has a flagship-grade Snapdragon 865 chipset with peak performance.

The phone comes with a liquid cool 2.0 vapor chamber and a graphite heat sink for thermal management which is excellent for sustained performance and thermal management.

Battery

Another great feature of the Mi 10 Ultra is fast charging. The phone has a massive 120 Watt turbocharger in the box.

Xiaomi claims

”can charge the 4500 mAh battery from 0% to 100% in just 20 minutes”.

The phone also supports an incredible 50-watt wireless charging and 10-watt reverse wireless charging which are both the fastest.

Conclusion

The device is an awesome flagship for anyone who wants a high-end camera phone that can top up his battery as fast as possible and also the price is decent, starting at the equivalent of $900.

The phone has a major flaw which is availability because Xiaomi doesn’t intend to sell this device outside of China.
January 29, 2021
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus: Key Feature
There are very few android manufacturers that are interested in producing tablets for the Android operating system like Google and Samsung.

Unlike the Galaxy Tab, the slates are just the only ones that can compete and get work done this is because Google is yet to do much to expand the capabilities of android with larger screen sizes.

This is the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, it’s one of the most powerful Android tablets.

If you’ve seen Samsung’s new flagship phones both the interface and features of this will feel quite familiar. Galaxy Tab S7+, I’ve found myself both impressed by the relatively polished software experience and frustrated at the pervasive shortcomings of Android itself as a tablet platform

Galaxy Tab S7 Plus

Design

The Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is pretty sizable, it’s built around a 12.4-inch screen which is quite thin and relatively light. Samsung is offering the Galaxy Tab S7+ in Mystic Black, Mystic Silver, or Mystic Bronze.

The sandblasted mystic black finish looks like graphite and feels satisfying to touch though it does tend to attract plenty of fingerprints.

Display

The tablet’s display is an AMOLED with 2800 by 1752 resolution which gives you a total of 266 PPI which is plenty sharp for this kind of device.

A unique feature is the high 120-hertz screen refresh rate which means supported content and UI elements will look much smoother to the eye.

The Display has a fingerprint reader to unlock the device just like smartphones with AMOLED screens. The fingerprint location of the Tab S7+ is different from the Galaxy S7, it has an optical fingerprint sensor built into the display.

Audio

The Galaxy Tab S7 Plus has a loud Quad Stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos’ support. Watching content and playing audio is satisfying.

Stylus

An attractive feature of the S7 Plus is the updated stylus which is the same Advanced S-Pen that you see on the Note 20 Ultra and it brings super-low nine-millisecond latency which is responsive and coupled with the screen’s high refresh rate, the writing sensation feels quite authentic.

The stylus also grants you a variety of air actions that are controls for the UI or supported apps. Charging the S-Pen isn’t a problem because it wirelessly charges to the magnetic strip on the back of the tablet.

There is also a keyboard that can be attached to the Tab S7+ making it behave more like a laptop but the keyboard is sold separately.

Performance

For Onboard storage, you can up to 128GB or 256GB of storage which is expandable via Micro SD, unlike the iPad Pro.

The Tab S7 Plus brings a Snapdragon 865+ chipset which as far as android’s chips go should be plenty of power for your mobile tasks and gaming and also offers support for connectivity to 5G networks.

Battery

Another impressive area is battery life, it packs a huge 10,000mAh battery which’s much larger than what last year’s model had.

The battery should be able to keep you going for hours and when it’s time to charge up, it supports 45 Watt fast charging which you have to buy the charger separately.

Camera

The same Dual Camera setup as last year’s Galaxy Tab S6;
- 13 Megapixel main camera,
- 5 Megapixel ultra-wide.
The selfie camera is;
8 megapixels same as last year’s model.

However, expect an upgrade in software processing for the cameras and also you get night mode this time around for better results when shooting photos in dark conditions.

Conclusion

The Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is a cutting-edge android tablet that’s much like a super-sized galaxy note 20 Ultra. So understandably it doesn’t come cheap, It’s €900 for the Wi-Fi version and over €1,000 for the 5G Variant.
January 28, 2021
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE: Key Features
2019 was the first year where Samsung has launched a light version of their flagships.

However, this year after the first premiere of the S20 Series comes to their light version being launched now around six months later. Samsung is calling it the Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition or Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.

As expected since it’s the lower variant of the S20 Series, they have been some cutout in minor places to keep the price low, like the screen resolution, RAM, the charger, and plastic back. Looking at the Galaxy S20 FE cutback you would think it’s not one of the best phones but actually, it is for the price.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE Features

Design

Like the current Samsung S Series phones, there’s a large screen with a small centered hole punch on the front and on the back, a candy bar like camera bump, and the texture is more matte than the original S20.

The Galaxy S20 FE comes in a wide range of colors which you can take a pick from Navy, Lavender, Mint, Red, White, and Orange, and noticeably some corners were cut when it comes to durability.

It’s has IP68 rated protection which is great but the front display has Gorilla Glass 3 instead of Glass 6 and the back panel is made of plastic which honestly is disappointing considering this phone is priced at $700.

You should also know that the phone can be a bit of a fingerprint magnet so getting a case will help.

The FE’s dimensions are more are like to the S20+ than the smaller S20 but a tad wider with slightly more noticeable bezels but it’s still a comfortable phone to hold.

Display

The screen barely has any curve (a huge boost for flat displays lover), a 6.5-inch super AMOLED panel with FHD resolution, and a 120hz refresh rate. it’s colorful, bright, and large (definitely looks like a promising media consumption experience).

Apart from durability, the fingerprint is an under-display fingerprint that is optical and is slightly faster than the ultrasonic on the S20 flagships. This has a stereo speaker which means you’re covered as far as sound is concerned.

Performance

The FE has an Exynos 990 chipset for the 4G variant and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 for the 5G version.

The Snapdragon is known to be 10-20% faster than the Exynos and also more power-efficient (something to consider when buying). Galaxy S20 FE has a 4500 mAh battery (same as the S20+), considering it has the same chipsets, similarly-sized screens expect the endurance to be the same.

As far as charging is concerned, there’s a 25W QC 3.0 charger which isn’t mind-blowing in 2020. The phone has android 10 with Samsung’s One UI 2.5 which has a ton of options:
- Navigation gestures
- Dark mode
- Edge panel
Samsung also improved the wireless Dev mode and made WIFI connectivity a little bit smarter. A future upgrade will roll out for android 11.

Camera

The camera setup has the same as the Galaxy S20:
- 12-megapixel main camera with OIS and
- A similar though smaller 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor and
- An 8-megapixel telephoto camera with three times optical zoom and OIS.
Where there is a major difference is telephoto. The selfie camera is much better because it’s a 32-megapixel shooter with a brighter f/2.0 aperture.

Conclusion

With S20 FE, you’re getting a large display, big battery, flagship chipset, and even a good camera setup. Taking a good look at the specs of S20 FE, a major issue is price launching at a time when the prices of the original S20 Series are going down effectively.

The Galaxy S20 FE is what you say that a company actually listened to what the fans want, made what they actually wanted, and trim the rest.

It gives you a fast refresh display, 5G and triple cameras for just $699 which save you $300 from the regular Galaxy S20.
January 27, 2021
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2: The Major Upgrades
The folding phone was last year headline-worthy. Now, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G can fold. if you haven’t forgotten, a lot happened last year with the galaxy fold but the benefit of being Samsung is just experimenting, make mistakes, and learn a lot from it.

They learn a lot from their mistakes and so one thing I’ve noticed about the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is a lot of these changes are learned directly from the Fold 1.

Looking at the Z Fold 2, there are areas with major improvements, that would be the Screen, Hinge, Cameras, Design, and Improved specs.

Specs
- Snapdragon 865.
- 12GB ram.
- 4500mAh Dual battery.
Galaxy Z Fold 2 Major Improvements

Design

It feels more refined, has a little bit of weight and a beautiful satin finish.

Screens

The cover screen and main screen got big upgrades. The cover screen is now full size and it goes from the little 4.6-inch display with huge bezels to a full-size 6.2-inch display with tiny bezels.

The 6.2-inch display is going to change the way we use the fold because the tiny cover screen was pretty limiting. On the inside of the Fold is your Second big screen, the bezels inside are a little thinner. Now, it’s a 7.6″ Display versus 7.3″ Display huge corner cut out from last year.

The Display is impressive and the main screen has been upgraded with a high refresh rate of 120Hz and it’s an adaptive refresh rate. So, it can modulate from 11Hz to 120Hz depending on what’s happening on the screen.

Hinge

The hinge in foldable is the most important part of a folding device just like the surface duo’s hinge is one of the most impressive things in any piece of tech.

The hinge is the second version of their Zero Gap Hinge and looks Pretty similar to the first one conceptually. It’s still the same hinge and backplate but this year, Samsung will let you customize the back-plate color.

The hinge will allow a free stand anywhere to 115°, meaning it can stay put at any reasonable angle.

There’s a bunch of software features built around this new hinge which I will dive into in a Full review.

Cameras

The first-generation Fold had pretty good cameras with flagship quality. The Z Fold 2 comes with flagship quality cameras:

A triple 12-megapixel camera on the back with a regular telephoto and ultra-wide.

The camera isn’t the major improvement but the update is the layout of the cameras that squared-off Camera bump like Note 10.

The front camera display is a 10 Megapixel selfie hole-punch camera which is better than the huge bezel camera cut-out of the previous fold.
January 26, 2021
Galaxy A51: Could Be The Best Mid-Range Devices
Today we are going to have a first hands-on, all about Samsung Galaxy A51. Samsung’s Galaxy A-series is known as mid-range smartphones but far from being as expensive as the Galaxy S flagships.

The A-series is one of Samsung’s most popular smartphones and Galaxy A51 in particular is one of these smartphones. Samsung is making a big push to get people into buying those kinds of phones.

Galaxy A51 Review

Display

The screen is 6.5 inches OLED display at 1080p which is a big screen and gets pretty bright for outdoor usage.

Having a big screen and display like this is awesome and I don’t think there are a lot of other USD 400 phones out this year with screens which are this good except with a whole bunch of selfie camera and that’s fine.

I have no problem with the hole-punch selfie cutout camera but Samsung did do something new with a shiny chrome ring around the selfie camera which is in the middle of the screen. The shiny chrome ring is visible and sometimes distracting.

There is a fingerprint sensor underneath the display which a bit slow, it’s an optical sensor. Staring at the optical sensor on the display, there is this little green circle design and it unlocks in under a second.

Camera

A Quad camera setup with a nice bar design;
- The main camera is a 48-megapixel sensor that shoots at 12-megapixel images by default.
- 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor.
- 5-megapixel macro sensor and
- A depth camera.
The selfie camera inside that chrome ring is 32 megapixels.

The photos are good for a USD 400 Samsung phone, white balance is okay. Samsung used software to remove shadows in daylight photos but during night photos it just freaks out and takes terrible pictures, the details when you zoom in are just kind of messy.

The ultra-wide and the macro lenses take great photos.

Performance

The battery to be honest after testing battery life doesn’t suck, you’ll probably get more than a day with awesome expectation because it has a 4,000 milliamp battery and it has a processor which is Samsung’s Exynos 9611 which is an overclocked version of the last one and so it should be fast but it’s not.

You can tell and it’s trying hard even with 4gigs of RAM on it and you could tell that it’s just kind of slow when you’re using an app and gaming which is okay but sometimes it just makes you wait. There’s no wireless charging but there’s128 gigs of storage which is expandable with a micro SD card, included is a headphone jack.

Conclusion

The overall design and build quality of this phone is nice, the material is sort of like plastic and glass but it’s doesn’t feel cheap and it looks premium. I like the design of this phone.

The Galaxy A51, it’s not an overachiever and performs exactly as well as you would expect a $400 Samsung phone to perform in 2020 which is better than it would have been a couple of years ago but it’s still not awesome.

You do get a really solid big 6.5-inch screen and it is the best thing about this phone because the screens are really important on any phone
January 20, 2021
Poco X3: Key Features
In the world of smartphones, POCO is a name recognized for Xiaomi flagship phones.

The brand is doing something New with POCO X3 NFC which is a true mid-ranger with some great specs and a price as low as €200.

Poco X3 Key Features

Design

The POCO X3 NFC is in the shadow gray finish and its line patterns and large POCO logo give it a unique look.

The X3 NFC is a solid mid-range device with an attractive price. It makes sense that the back would be made from plastic but the device is IP53 rated dust and splash resistance which is a nice feature.

Display

The POCO X3’s display is a large 6.67 inch LCD with a 1080p resolution and is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

At the top is a punch hole cut-out for the 20 Megapixel AI selfie camera. The display is special because it has a super high 120hz refresh rate, so supported apps, and UI elements will appear much smoother to the eye especially when you’re scrolling. Additional is the screen has a fast 240hz touch sampling rate.

Therefore, touch latency will be much lower giving you better responsiveness for Gaming.

Audio

This is another field in which the POCO X3 NFC stands out.

It has a hybrid stereo speaker setup with one bottom-firing unit and the earpiece acting as the second speaker, also you get a 3.5-millimeter audio jack for plugging traditional headphones.

Performance

Games should run great on this device because it’s the first device to come out with the new Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 732G chipset, which is said to be the most powerful Non 5G chipset in their 700 series.

Needless to say, this should provide great peak performance because of the liquid cooling system involving a copper heat pipe and sheets of graphite.

The phone runs Xiaomi’s new MIUI 12 based on Android 10, which has a clean and snappy interface with few new features.

An example feature is the notification shade which can be split into two different panels, one for the notification panel and the other a control panel. The device support expandable memory on top of the 64/128GB built-in.

Unlocking the POCO X3 NFC is done with a side-mounted capacitive fingerprint reader which doubles as the power button and is quite responsive.

Battery

Also as far as battery life goes, expect good things from the POCO X3 because it’s rocking a large 5160mAh battery, and Xiaomi claims

” it can last over two days of moderate use on one charge”.

Charging the device won’t be a problem because it ships with a 33 Watt charger in the box and it should be able to get the phone from 0% to 60% in just half an hour.

Camera

The POCO X3 NFC has four cameras on the back;
- 64 megapixel Quad Bayer main camera.
- 13 Megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera.
- 2 Megapixel macro camera and
- A depth sensor.
This should offer a pretty versatile camera experience for the money.

Conclusion

The POCO X3 NFC looks to pack a ton of great features to deliver on, for €200 this may end up as one of the best value phones you can find this season.
January 19, 2021
Sony Xperia 5 II: Top Features
When it comes to Sony, they dance to the beat of their drums and their latest Xperia is no different. The Sony Xperia 5 II is every bit the flagship as its bigger brother (Xperia One II).

Key Features Of The Sony Xperia 5 II

Design

The New Xperia 5 II is very slim and its screen features a unique ratio of 21:9 form factor.

This is a small device that is easy for one-handed than the larger Xperia One II, it is also easily pocketable, unlike the previous generation. However, the corners are more rounded which might be disappointing for fans of Sony’s classic box aesthetic.

The back is the same reflective back as the previous generation and it’s also a bit prone to fingerprints. The power button and fingerprint sensor are now integrated into one single key while next to it is a dedicated google assistant button.

The phone has gorilla glass 6 on both sides, an aluminum frame, IP68 dust and water-resistant.

Display

The screen is a 6.1 inch AMOLED panel with no notch and the front camera is in the bezel at the top.

It might not be a 4k display like the Xperia One II in resolution but the Xperia 5 II has a boost of its own on the display with a 120hz refresh rate.

Audio

When it comes to sound, this phone has everything. It has a headphone jack and a set of front-facing stereo speakers and a dynamic vibration system which will make the audio have more bass.

In case you prefer wireless headphones, the phone supports Bluetooth 5.1 for excellent Bluetooth connectivity.

Performance

The phone comes with a 5G capable Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and 8 gigabytes of RAM. This flagship chipset should be able to handle everything you throw at it.

The New Xperia 5 has a 4000 mAh battery which is surprisingly the same as the Xperia One II, with Sony Xperia 5 II smaller screen size expect better endurance than its bigger sibling.

The phone can charge from 0% to 50% charge in half an hour thanks to quick charge 3.0 and for software, it has android 10. Sony is planning to release an upgrade to Android 11 shortly and the whole UI seems almost like stock android.

Camera

The cameras on the phone have a triple camera setup on the back with a;
- 12 Megapixel main camera
- 12 Megapixel telephoto camera and
- 12 Megapixel ultrawide camera.
The main camera has OIS and EIS for better video stabilization and there’s also an autofocus option when capturing human subjects (the camera system is the same as on the Xperia One II).

Conclusion

Xperia 5 II is the smaller and cheaper sibling of the flagship roster of Sony but it doesn’t skip on any of the features of its bigger brother. The cameras are just as good, the battery is just as large and the flagship chipset is the same. There’s a specs upgrade for the Xperia 5 II with a high refresh rate screen.
January 16, 2021