In this review, we are going to take a look at the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE (Fan Edition) smartphone, which is powered by the Samsung Exynos 2200 mobile SoC!
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE : Flagship Class Performance!
The Galaxy S23 FE runs on Samsung’s best in-house mobile chip – the Exynos 2200, which is fabricated on the 4 nm process technology.
Launched in January 2022, this is a flagship-class mobile SoC (System-on-a-Chip) designed to compete with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It has eight processor cores with a tri-cluster architecture:
a Cortex-X2 prime core running at up to 2.8 GHz,
three Cortex-A710 cores running at up to 2.5 GHz, and
four Cortex-A510 cores running at up to 1.8 GHz.
This mobile SoC also comes with the Samsung Xclipse 920 GPU, a dual-core NPU, and DSPs to support 8K video decoding at up to 60 fps, and camera resolutions up to 200 MP.
The Samsung Exynos 2200 also has a built-in 5G modem that supports Sub-6Ghz and mmWave connectivity, as well as LTE Cat.24 download and LTE Cat.22 upload speeds.
We first tested the Galaxy S23 FE using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
Work 3.0
S23 Ultra
Z Flip 5
Z Flip 4
S23 FE
S22 Ultra
Mobile Platform
SD 8
Gen 2
SD 8
Gen 2
SD 8+
Gen 1
Exynos
2200
SD 8
Gen 1
Performance Score
16408
14655
14429
13971
12860
Web Browsing
15680
11404
12097
11664
10442
Video Editing
7879
7943
7387
7369
7444
Writing
22257
19525
17593
18138
15471
Photo Editing
35533
324420
31762
27060
30177
Data Manipulation
12171
11788
12523
12616
9691
Not bad! The Exynos 2200 is certainly no match for the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but it actually beat the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 by 9%, and came within 3.3% of the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1!
I should point out that these are peak performance results. The truth is – you won’t be able to actually tell the difference between the three mobile processors in normal usage.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE : Storage Performance
PCMark also has an Android Storage 2.0 benchmark that measures the smartphone’s storage I/O performance.
Storage 2.0
Z Flip 5
S23 Ultra
S23 FE
S22 Ultra
Z Flip 4
Mobile Platform
SD 8
Gen 2
SD 8
Gen 2
Exynos
2200
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 8+
Gen 1
Storage Score
48435
41647
31839
27808
27271
Sequential Read (MB/s)
2676.53
2592.42
1584.66
1457.68
1350.51
Random Read (MB/s)
49.95
38.25
31.25
37.73
33.94
Sequential Write (MB/s)
2631.38
603.29
510.16
856.21
256.81
Random Write (MB/s)
76.66
81.44
81.13
47.20
50.29
Samsung appeared to have used slower flash storage to reduce the cost of the Galaxy S23 FE. Its storage performance is much closer to last year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra, than the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Interestingly, its random write performance was exceptional, matching the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and almost double that of the Galaxy S22 Ultra,
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE : Gaming Performance
For gaming, we tested the Galaxy S23 FE using 3DMark, with these results :
3DMark
Z Flip 5
S23 Ultra
Z Flip 4
S22 Ultra
S23 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 8
Gen 2
SD 8
Gen 2
SD 8+
Gen 1
SD 8
Gen 1
Exynos
2200
Solar Bay Unlimited
5481
NA
NA
NA
4570
Wild Life Extreme
Unlimited
3705
3814
2636
2220
2233
Wild Life Unlimited
14823
14554
11144
9106
8671
Sling Shot Unlimited
16661
16344
10690
11094
11348
The Samsung Exynos 2200 powering the Galaxy S23 FE is almost identical in performance to the Galaxy S22 Ultra‘s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 – the difference between their performance is less than 0.7%!
Like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Galaxy S23 FE will have no problem handling most games. Only when it comes to more strenuous games (as tested by the Wild Life benchmark) does it lag significantly behind the Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.
But the good news is that the new Solar Bay ray-tracing benchmark shows that the Exynos 2200 is able to hold its own – it is just 17% slower than the Galaxy Z Flip5, which is powered by the Snapdragon Gen 2 for Galaxy processor.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE : Overall Performance
We then tested the Galaxy S23 FE using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
AnTuTu
S23 Ultra
Z Flip 5
S23 FE
S22 Ultra
Z Flip 4
Device
SD 8
Gen 2
SD 8
Gen 2
Exynos
2200
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 8+
Gen 1
AnTuTu Score
1212174
1187296
1166868
889167
856357
CPU
261886
393404
329078
203090
205939
GPU
538823
282780
425455
402617
362669
Memory
236163
291048
193981
146002
135707
UX
175302
220064
218354
137458
152042
The AnTuTu benchmark tells a slightly different story. According to its tests, the Galaxy S23 FE is about 31% faster than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, and 36% faster than the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Not bad!
The Galaxy S23 actually came within 2% of the Galaxy Z Flip 5‘s performance, at least in the AnTuTu Benchmark. In fact, it was only 3.7% slower than the Galaxy S23 Ultra!
But note that its temperature jumped by almost 12°C! At peak performance, the Galaxy S23 FE can get quite toasty!
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE : Performance Summary
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE is a rather chunky smartphone, so one would expect better cooling performance, compared to something thinner and foldable like the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
It shows in the benchmarks – the Galaxy S23 FE comes admirably close to the performance of the Galaxy Z Flip 5, even though it’s using a mobile processor that is one generation older.
The Samsung Exynos 2200 might not do quite so well at high-resolution games, compared to the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but that’s a different price point altogether.
Ultimately, the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE punches above its weight in everything except gaming performance. Unless you are an avid gamer, this is flagship-class performance at a more affordable price point.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Fan Edition Price + Availability
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE comes with colour options of Mint, Lavender, Gray and Silver, with two exclusive colours on their website – Tangerine and Indigo. They are all offered with two RAM and storage options:
6 GB + 128 GB
8 GB + 256 GB
These are the available models and launch prices for the Galaxy S23 FE :
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and here is my hands-on experience of its latest foldable behemoth in all three main colour options!
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 : My Hands-On Experience!
I was one of the few who had the rare opportunity to get my hands on not one, but three Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 smartphones, which allowed us to do a proper colour comparison.
And now, I present to you – my own hands-on experience with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 smartphone… in all three main colours!
I apologise for the shaky video – Samsung still insists that I do not take photos or record videos with a smartphone, even though it’s their own Galaxy S22 Ultra!
When folded, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 looks like a rather tall and chunky smartphone. Its 6.2-inch Cover Screen is large but has a tall aspect ratio. You can use it like any regular smartphone, without opening the foldable display.
The hinge mechanism, which occupies its entire left side, has been improved, allowing the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to fold completely flat, reducing its folded thickness by 15% to just 13.4 mm! It is also 10g lighter at 253 grams.
At the bottom, you will find the USB port, together with a row of speaker ports and a microphone port; while at the top are another row of speaker ports with what looks like three more microphone ports.
On the right side, you will find the Power button, with a built-in fingerprint sensor; and the volume buttons. You will also find the SIM tray near the top. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 supports two physical nanoSIM cards, and an eSIM.
The Cover Display itself features a 10 MP punch hole camera with an f/2.2 aperture, while at the back, it features the same triple camera setup, which consists of:
a 50 megapixels Dual Pixel camera
a 10 megapixel telephoto camera, and
a 12 megapixel ultra wide angle camera
When unfolded, you will get a massive 7.6-inch display with a squarish 5 by 4 ratio, which offers about twice the screen space as a regular smartphone.
This super large display is what makes the Galaxy Z Fold 5 such a productivity powerhouse. It also features a hidden 4 megapixel camera under this large main display.
When unfolded, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is about as thick as a regular smartphone, like the Galaxy S23. And from the back, it actually looks like two smartphones welded together!
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is protected all around by a tough Armour Aluminium frame. Incredibly, it is IPX8 water-resistant, even though it is not dust-resistant due to its hinge mechanism.
What may put some people off is how tall and thick it is when folded. It is quite hard to fit the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in most pockets. That’s probably why the Z Flip design is more popular, despite having a much smaller display.
But what people who have tried it out will realise – its large display is incredibly hard to give up, because you can do so much more on it.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 : Specifications
Here are the key specifications for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 smartphone :
Just in case you are wondering, the launch prices for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the same as the launch prices for the Galaxy Z Fold 4. There was no price increase year-on-year.
Here are some online per-order and purchase options for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 :
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just launched the Galaxy Z Flip 5, and here is my hands-on experience of its latest compact foldable smartphone in all four colours!
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 : My Hands-On Experience!
I was one of the few who had the rare opportunity to get my hands on not one, but four Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 smartphones, which allowed us to do a proper colour comparison.
And now, I present to you – my own hands-on experience with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 smartphone… in all four main colours!
I apologise for the shaky video – Samsung still insists that I do not take photos or record videos with a smartphone, even though it’s their own Galaxy S22 Ultra!
Samsung maintained the same design from last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 4, so you may not be able to distinguish between the two models… until you turn it on.
Then you will realise that it has a much larger 3.4-inch front display, which is now called the Flex Window, instead of the Cover Screen. It is now much more useful. Not only can you check notifications, and send quick replies to text messages, it comes with 14 essential widgets out of the box!
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has the same large 6.7-inch foldable display as the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4, which supports a Full HD+ resolution, and a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. The difference this year lies in its No-Gap Flex Hinge and improved Ultra Thin Glass with a droplet fold, allowing the Galaxy Z Flip 5 to fold completely flat.
Like the previous models, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is IPX8 water-resistant, even though it is still not dust-resistant due to its hinge mechanism. It is protected on all sides by a tough Armour Aluminium frame, and on the back by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
On the left side, you will find the SIM card tray, which only supports a single nano SIM card. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 also supports an eSIM, so you can use up to a total of two SIMs.
At the bottom, you will find the USB port, as well as the speaker and microphone ports. On the right side are the Power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor, and the Volume control buttons.
In the front, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a punch hole camera hidden at the top of its foldable display. This is the same 10 MP camera from Galaxy Z Flip 4, albeit with a slightly larger f/2.2 aperture. So you can expect it to perform slightly better in low-light conditions.
At the back are the same two 12 MP cameras from the Galaxy Z Flip 4 – a main camera with f/1.8 aperture, and an ultra-wide angle camera with a 123° field of view, and f/2.2 aperture.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 also comes with the same 3,700 mAh dual battery as the Galaxy Z Flip 4. But it now supports 25 watt fast wired charging, with a suitable charger.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 : Specifications
Here are the key specifications for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 smartphone :
Just in case you are wondering, the launch prices for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 only went up by RM100 (~US$22 / £17 / A$33 / S$29) over the launch prices for the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Here are some online per-order and purchase options for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 :
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
In our in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, we will share with you everything you need to know about this premium tablet.
Find out why we are so impressed with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet, that we gave it our Editor’s Choice Award!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Flagship Tablet
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a premium tablet built around the most powerful mobile SoC available for Android devices – the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
It boasts a massive 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display, quad AKG speakers and a large 11,200 mAh battery – all packed into a compact chassis that weighs just 726 grams!
In this review, we will check out its key features, and show you why it is really the best Android tablet you can buy in 2022!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Unboxing : A Complete Package
What we really like about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 tablet is that it comes as a complete package.
Unlike competing tablets, it comes with an awesome keyboard cover and S Pen in the package. There is no need to pay extra for either. Everything you need is in the box. Well, almost everything.
Once you fully unbox it, this is what you will find inside the box :
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Book Cover Keyboard
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra S Pen
Set of Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 documents
USB Type A to Type A data and power cable
microSD tray ejector pin
The only thing missing is the charger. The package does not include the 45 watt power adaptor. Not even a standard 15 watt Samsung charger.
But that’s how most of the brands are rolling these days, in the name of reducing digital waste, so we won’t hold it against them.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is arguably the largest and most powerful tablet you can buy in 2022, so let’s take a closer look at its key features.
14.6-inch Super AMOLED Display
This first thing that you will notice when you see the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra for the first time, is just how large and beautiful its display really is.
That is a 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display you are looking at – larger than the display on most laptops; with a WQXGA+resolution of 2960 x 1848 pixels, and support for two fixed refresh rates :
High : Get smoother animations and scrolling with a 120 Hz screen refresh rate
Standard : Get longer battery life with a 60 Hz screen refresh rate
This large, high-resolution display allows you to fit multiple windows, and open different apps at the same time, for greater productivity.
This display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, and also by the bundled Keyboard Cover when it’s not in use.
Flagship Class Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 runs on the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform, which boasts a powerful Adreno 730 GPU, as well as eight processor cores in a triple-tier architecture :
a Cortex-X2 prime core running at up to 3 GHz,
three sustained-performance Cortex-A710 cores running at up to 2.4 GHz, and
four energy-efficient Cortex-A510 cores running at 1.7 GHz.
Those eight processor cores are paired with a powerful Qualcomm Adreno 730 graphics processor.
Performance is not only the key advantage of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Built on the latest 4 nm process technology, it also offers lower battery consumption.
We will show you just how fast it runs in the benchmarks, and how efficient it is, later in this review.
RAM + Storage Options
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a variety of RAM and storage options :
8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage
12 GB RAM + 256 GB / 512 GB storage
16 GB RAM + 256 GB / 512 GB storage
You don’t have to worry too much about running out of storage, as it comes with a microSD card slot, allowing you to add up to 1 TB of additional storage.
Two Front Cameras
Catering to the new hybrid workspace reality today, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with two cameras in the front.
Both 12 MP cameras, one has a wider f/2.2 aperture for better low-light performance, while the other supports a wider angle – to fit more people in the same photo / video call.
Two Rear Cameras
This is a really large and hefty tablet, so you wouldn’t expect photography to be a focus. However, it still comes with two cameras at the back.
The main camera has a 12 MP sensor, with a wide f/2.0 aperture for better low-light performance.
It also comes with an ultra-wide camera at the back, but oddly enough, only with a 6 MP sensor.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : S Pen, Book Cover, Speakers, Battery
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is more than just a tablet, because it comes with both an S Pen stylus, and a Book Cover Keyboard.
Ultra-Low Latency S Pen
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a new S Pen with ultra-low latency of just 2.8 milliseconds!
This is a full-size stylus that feels like a typical pen or pencil, letting you draw and doodle with up to 4,096 pressure levels!
You can also write naturally with the S Pen, and turn your handwriting into text in Samsung Notes.
The S Pen magnetically locks onto a glass strip at the back, which acts as a recharging dock. The S Pen automatically recharges whenever you place it on this glass strip.
Don’t worry about losing it with the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, because it comes with a Book Cover Keyboard that has a special cover for the S Pen!
Book Cover Keyboard
This year, Samsung included the really awesome Book Cover Keyboard with every Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet.
This cover not only provides really solid protection for the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, it also converts it into a 2-in-1 tablet with a kickstand!
You don’t just get a full-size keyboard with the Book Cover Keyboard, you also get a large touch pad! This really gives you a laptop-like working experience.
In addition, the Book Cover Keyboard has a special S Pen cover that prevents your precious S Pen from falling and getting lost.
As I shared in my Galaxy Tab S7 Book Cover Keyboard review last year, this is a must-have accessory, and I’m really glad Samsung included it as part of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra package.
Quad AKG-Tuned Speakers
Another premium Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra feature that Samsung does not really speak much of is the quad speaker system tuned by AKG.
They are not only powerful, they deliver really crisp sound from this tablet. They are also positioned to radiate from both sides with the Book Cover Keyboard installed.
Large Battery
To power all that, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a large 11,200 mAh lithium-ion battery.
It supports 45 watt fast recharging, but as pointed out earlier – it doesn’t come with any charger, so your mileage in this sense really depends on the charger you have.
In the next section, we will show you just how long this battery lasts, and how long it takes to recharge this massive battery!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Battery Life Comparison!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a massive 11,200 mAh battery, which is more than the size of the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s battery!
To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the ambient brightness changes.
We then ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, and this was the best result we obtained with 60 Hz and 120 Hz refresh rates :
Astoundingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra only has a battery life of 6.5 hours with High refresh rate enabled, and a more acceptable 8 hours with the Standard refresh rate!
This is a slight improvement over last year’s Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. There is no doubt that its much larger 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display is a significant drain on battery life.
Let’s compare its battery life against the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile SoC.
Standard Refresh Rate (60 Hz)
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra delivers the best battery life with the Standard refresh rate of 60 Hz.
The Tab S8 Ultra appears to use 9% more power than the Tab S7 Plus, but I have to point out that it has a 39% larger display.
Fortunately, the battery life deficit is “covered” by its 11% larger battery.
Work 3.0
S22 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Tab S7 Plus
(60 Hz)
Tab S8 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Display Size
6.8-inch
12.4-inch
14.6-inch
Battery Capacity
5,000 mAh
10,090 mAh
11,200 mAh
Battery Life
14 hrs 15 mins
7 hrs 55 mins
8 hrs
3 mins
Utilisation
per min.
4.68 mAh
16.99 mAh
18.55 mAh
High Refresh Rate (120 Hz)
Switching on the High refresh rate of 120 Hz cut its battery life by 17.6% – almost 1.5 hours!
But the data shows that its larger 14.6-inch display only used 3.4% more power than the Tab S7 Plus.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra supports up to 45 watts of wired fast charging, but unfortunately, does not come with the charger in-the-box.
So we relied on the standard 15 watt Samsung fast charger than shipped with their previous smartphones and tablets – something we believe most users will end up doing.
Recharging Speed
Tab S8 Ultra
Tab S7 Plus
S22 Ultra
Display Size
14.6-inch
12.4-inch
6.8-inch
Battery Capacity
11,200 mAh
10,090 mAh
5,000 mAh
Charger Output
15 watts
15 watts
15 watts
Battery Life
86.5 mins
86 mins
64.5 mins
Recharging Speed
(per minute)
103.6 mAh
93.9 mAh
62.0 mAh
Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra recharged faster with a standard 15 watt charger, than the Tab S7 Plus or even the Galaxy S22 Ultra!
This is really good news. It means that Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra owners need not worry too much about its recharging speed with the older 15 watt chargers.
In fact, you don’t need to splurge on a new 45 watt fast charger. The Tab S8 Ultra fully recharges its massive battery from 20% to 100% in just under 1.5 hours with the standard 15 watt Samsung charger!
We first tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
Work 3.0
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy Tab
S7 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 888
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 865+
SD
778G
Performance Score
13317
12860
12351
12348
9747
Web Browsing
11637
10442
9696
11864
7355
Video Editing
7762
7444
6194
7664
6028
Writing
15316
15471
14411
12659
10512
Photo Editing
25357
30177
31774
26230
22188
Data Manipulation
11938
9691
10449
9511
8505
Surprisingly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Get 1 was slightly slower than the Snapdragon 888 used by the Galaxy Z Flip 3, but the difference was just 7%, which means you won’t actually notice the difference.
For certainly, it will easily handle anything you throw at it, whether it’s just posting your latest Instagram pictures or editing a 4K video.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Gaming Performance
For gaming, we tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using 3DMark, with these results :
3DMark
Galaxy
Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Device
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 888
SD 865+
SD 778G
Sling Shot Unlimited
10728
11094
9248
8793
6688
Wild Life Unlimited
9838
9106
3952
–
–
Wild Life
Extreme
Unlimited
2221
2220
1174
–
–
Look at that! The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was a head above the competition when it comes to gaming!
It was 16% to 150% faster than the Snapdragon 888, and 22% faster than the Snadragon 865+!
For certain, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will crush any game you throw at it.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Overall Performance
We then tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
AnTuTu
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Device
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 888
SD 865+
SD 778G
AnTuTu Score
950630
889167
696767
577726
508008
CPU
213689
203090
206228
161243
157465
GPU
417669
402617
242573
230859
155115
Memory
161903
146002
133586
98269
79972
UX
157369
137458
114380
87355
115456
The AnTuTu benchmark confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a veritable beast of a performer, beating even the very fast Galaxy Z Flip 3 by 36%.
Its GPU performance was, in particular, spectacular, delivering 72% better performance than the Galaxy Z Flip 3, and 81% better performance than the Galaxy Tab S7+!
Interestingly, it was 7% faster than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. This is likely due to better cooling – its temperature only increased by 0.3°C, whereas the S22 Ultra’s temperature spiked by over 10°C!
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra was meant to be the ultimate Samsung tablet for 2022, and it does not disappoint.
The display is a magnificently large and beautiful 14.6-inch Super AMOLED panel, which offers an expansive amount of space to play and work with.
Built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 – the fastest mobile SoC that exists for Android devices – you can count on the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra to easily handle anything and everything you throw at it.
It also has surprisingly good battery life – delivering over 8 hours of non-stop use at 60 Hz, and over 6.5 hours at 120 Hz; despite sporting such a large display.
It also offers very good recharging speed, even using the standard 15 watt fast charger. So you don’t really need to invest in expensive 45 watt chargers.
But beyond those hardware features, what I really like is how the Samsung offer a complete experience by bundling the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra with not just the S Pen, but also the Book Cover Keyboard.
The ultra-low latency S Pen gives you the premium pen-on-paper like experience working on a tablet, while the Book Cover Keyboard gives you a laptop experience. You literally have the best of both worlds in a single box!
If you want the best-possible Android tablet money can buy, you can’t do wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
In fact, we like this premium tablet so much, we are giving it our Editor’s Choice Award!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Take a look at the performance of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, and find out how well this ultra-premium tablet performs!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Flagship Class Performance!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra runs on the most powerful mobile SoC available for Android devices – the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Fabricated on the latest 4nm Samsung process technology, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 boasts a powerful Adreno 730 GPU as well as eight processor cores in a triple-tier architecture :
a Cortex-X2 prime core running at up to 3 GHz,
three sustained-performance Cortex-A710 cores running at up to 2.5 GHz, and
four energy-efficient Cortex-A510 cores running at 1.8 GHz.
On paper, this is about as powerful as it gets in 2022, but let’s take a look at how it actually performs!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Work Performance
We first tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
Work 3.0
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy Tab
S7 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 888
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 865+
SD
778G
Performance Score
13317
12860
12351
12348
9747
Web Browsing
11637
10442
9696
11864
7355
Video Editing
7762
7444
6194
7664
6028
Writing
15316
15471
14411
12659
10512
Photo Editing
25357
30177
31774
26230
22188
Data Manipulation
11938
9691
10449
9511
8505
Surprisingly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Get 1 was slightly slower than the Snapdragon 888 used by the Galaxy Z Flip 3, but the difference was just 7%, which means you won’t actually notice the difference.
For certainly, it will easily handle anything you throw at it, whether it’s just posting your latest Instagram pictures or editing a 4K video.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Gaming Performance
For gaming, we tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using 3DMark, with these results :
3DMark
Galaxy
Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Device
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 888
SD 865+
SD 778G
Sling Shot Unlimited
10728
11094
9248
8793
6688
Wild Life Unlimited
9838
9106
3952
–
–
Wild Life
Extreme
Unlimited
2221
2220
1174
–
–
Look at that! The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was a head above the competition when it comes to gaming!
It was 16% to 150% faster than the Snapdragon 888, and 22% faster than the Snadragon 865+!
For certain, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will crush any game you throw at it.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Overall Performance
We then tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
AnTuTu
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Device
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 888
SD 865+
SD 778G
AnTuTu Score
950630
889167
696767
577726
508008
CPU
213689
203090
206228
161243
157465
GPU
417669
402617
242573
230859
155115
Memory
161903
146002
133586
98269
79972
UX
157369
137458
114380
87355
115456
The AnTuTu benchmark confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a veritable beast of a performer, beating even the very fast Galaxy Z Flip 3 by 36%.
Its GPU performance was, in particular, spectacular, delivering 72% better performance than the Galaxy Z Flip 3, and 81% better performance than the Galaxy Tab S7+!
Interestingly, it was 7% faster than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. This is likely due to better cooling – its temperature only increased by 0.3°C, whereas the S22 Ultra’s temperature spiked by over 10°C!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Performance Summary
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra was meant to be the ultimate Samsung tablet for 2022, and it does not disappoint.
Built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 – the fastest mobile SoC that exists for Android devices – it offers a tremendous boost in GPU performance, which should make gamers and mobile content creators happy.
The benchmark results amply demonstrates, you can count on the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra to easily handle anything and everything you throw at it.
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
In this guide, we will show you how to setup your new Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra for the first time!
How To Setup Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : A Video Guide!
We have the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet with us, and soon you will get yours too.
Let us show you how to setup the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra for the first time, as a new device!
The process is very easy as our video shows, so you will be able to enjoy using it within minutes!
How To Setup Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Step-By-Step Instructions
It is very easy to setup the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra as a new device.
This should take no more than 10 minutes, will be much longer if you are transferring data from an older tablet.
Press the Power button to start up your Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet.
It will take 23 seconds to boot up for the first time.
Click Start to begin the setup process.
The first thing you need to do is select a language.
Next, you will need to select your country or region.
Then, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra will reboot – a process that takes about 32 seconds.
After it boots up again, you will be asked to agree to the EULA (End User Licence Agreement) and the Privacy Policy.
You can skip sending Samsung your Diagnostic Data.
In the next screen, you will have the opportunity to turn off certain Samsung apps and services.
These are all key features that will greatly impact your use of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, so I recommend that you leave them all enabled.
Next, you will be allowed to log into your Wi-Fi network for Internet connectivity.
Select your Wi-Fi network and key in the password to connect.
Once your Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra connects to the Wi-Fi network, it will automatically look for updates, and prepare the device.
It can take a few minutes to finish, so don’t fret.
Next, you will be given the option to transfer apps and data from your old tablet.
This is a long process, which you can do now, or do it later after setting up the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
To do it later, or set it up as a new device, simply click on Don’t copy.
Now you will be asked to log into your Google Account, or create a new one.
To skip for now and do it after setting up the tablet, click on Skip.
But you will lose access to certain Google services until you log in.
Next, you will be given the option of disabling certain Google services.
Generally, I would recommend leaving them enabled, except sending Google your usage and diagnostic data.
Now you will be asked to protect your Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra by selecting a preferred login method – Face recognition, Fingerprint, Pattern, PIN or Password.
If you select the Face Recognition or Fingerprint option, you will need to select a secure screen lock method using Pattern, PIN or Password.
Next, you will need to go through the Face Recognition / Fingerprint training process
After that, you will be asked to log into your Samsung account, or create a new one.
To skip for now and do it after setting up the tablet, click on Skip.
But you will lose access to certain Samsung services until you log in.
That’s it! You have successfully setup the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra as a new device! Enjoy!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has an Adaptive mode that dynamically refreshes between 1 Hz and 120 Hz for better battery life.
The 120 Hz refresh rate option in the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is fixed at 120 Hz. This guarantees you an ultra-smooth 120 Hz refresh rate all the time, at the expense of battery life.
In the next section, we will look at how the two refresh rate options affect the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra’s battery life.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Battery Life Comparison!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a massive 11,200 mAh battery, which is more than the size of the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s battery!
To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the ambient brightness changes.
We then ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, and this was the best result we obtained with 60 Hz and 120 Hz refresh rates :
Astoundingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra only has a battery life of 6.5 hours with High refresh rate enabled, and a more acceptable 8 hours with the Standard refresh rate!
This is a slight improvement over last year’s Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. There is no doubt that its much larger 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display is a significant drain on battery life.
Let’s compare its battery life against the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile SoC.
Standard Refresh Rate (60 Hz)
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra delivers the best battery life with the Standard refresh rate of 60 Hz.
The Tab S8 Ultra appears to use 9% more power than the Tab S7 Plus, but I have to point out that it has a 39% larger display.
Fortunately, the battery life deficit is “covered” by its 11% larger battery.
Work 3.0
S22 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Tab S7 Plus
(60 Hz)
Tab S8 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Display Size
6.8-inch
12.4-inch
14.6-inch
Battery Capacity
5,000 mAh
10,090 mAh
11,200 mAh
Battery Life
14 hrs 15 mins
7 hrs 55 mins
8 hrs
3 mins
Utilisation
per min.
4.68 mAh
16.99 mAh
18.55 mAh
High Refresh Rate (120 Hz)
Switching on the High refresh rate of 120 Hz cut its battery life by 17.6% – almost 1.5 hours!
But the data shows that its larger 14.6-inch display only used 3.4% more power than the Tab S7 Plus.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra supports up to 45 watts of wired fast charging, but unfortunately, does not come with the charger in-the-box.
So we relied on the standard 15 watt Samsung fast charger than shipped with their previous smartphones and tablets – something we believe most users will end up doing.
Recharging Speed
Tab S8 Ultra
Tab S7 Plus
S22 Ultra
Display Size
14.6-inch
12.4-inch
6.8-inch
Battery Capacity
11,200 mAh
10,090 mAh
5,000 mAh
Charger Output
15 watts
15 watts
15 watts
Battery Life
86.5 mins
86 mins
64.5 mins
Recharging Speed
(per minute)
103.6 mAh
93.9 mAh
62.0 mAh
Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra recharged faster with a standard 15 watt charger, than the Tab S7 Plus or even the Galaxy S22 Ultra!
This is really good news. It means that Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra owners need not worry too much about its recharging speed with the older 15 watt chargers.
In fact, you don’t need to splurge on a new 45 watt fast charger. The Tab S8 Ultra fully recharges its massive battery from 20% to 100% in just under 1.5 hours with the standard 15 watt Samsung charger!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just sent us the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra – their largest and most powerful tablet, with a massive 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display!
As you will see in this video – this is a really large tablet, and it is pretty hefty too at 726 grams. But it is very solidly built, and weighs half as much as a typical laptop.
It also comes with a new full-size S Pen with an ultra-low latency of just 2.8 milliseconds.
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra runs on the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform boasts a powerful Adreno 730 GPU as well as eight processor cores in a triple-tier architecture :
a Cortex-X2 prime core running at up to 3 GHz,
three sustained-performance Cortex-A710 cores running at up to 2.4 GHz, and
four energy-efficient Cortex-A510 cores running at 1.7 GHz.
Powering all that is a massive 11,200 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, with 45 watt fast charging capability!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Book Cover Keyboard : Hands-On!
This year, Samsung included the really awesome Book Cover Keyboard with every Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet.
This cover not only provides really solid protection for the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, it also converts it into a 2-in-1 tablet with a kickstand!
In addition, the Book Cover Keyboard has a special S Pen cover that prevents your precious S Pen from falling and getting lost.
As I shared in my Galaxy Tab S7 Book Cover Keyboard review last year, this is a must-have accessory, and I’m really glad Samsung included it as part of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra package.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Specifications
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
Display
14.6-inch Super AMOLED Display
– 60 Hz or 120 Hz refresh rate
Protection
Gorilla Glass 5 (Front + Back)
OS
One UI 4.1 (Android 12)
Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
CPU
1 x Arm Cortex-X2 core (3.0 GHz)
3 x Arm Cortex-A710 cores (2.4 GHz) 4 x Arm Cortex-A510 cores (1.7 GHz)
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Let’s unbox the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, and see what we find inside!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Flagship Class Performance!
Samsung just launched the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra – their largest and most powerful tablet, with a massive 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display!
It runs on the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform, which boasts a powerful Adreno 730 GPU as well as eight processor cores in a triple-tier architecture :
a Cortex-X2 prime core running at up to 3 GHz,
three sustained-performance Cortex-A710 cores running at up to 2.4 GHz, and
four energy-efficient Cortex-A510 cores running at 1.7 GHz.
Powering all that is a massive 11,200 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, with 45 watt fast charging capability!
If you want the biggest and most powerful Android tablet, this is the ultimate choice!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
We recently had the opportunity to get some hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy A33 that was just launched, and here is our hands-on preview!
Samsung Galaxy A33 with 48 MP Quad Camera System!
Samsung just launched their Galaxy A33 mid-range smartphone, which boasts a 48 MP quad-camera system!
We had the exclusive opportunity to get some hands-on time with the Galaxy A33 smartphone recently, and here is our hands-on video experience!
6.4-inch Super AMOLED Display
The Samsung Galaxy A33 comes with a large 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display.
It has a Full HD+ resolution, and a dynamic refresh rate of up to 90 Hz!
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy A33 runs on the new Samsung Exynos 1280 mobile platform, which has a dual-tier CPU architecture :
four sustained-performance ARM Cortex-A78 cores running at up to 2.4 GHz, and
four energy-efficient ARM Cortex-A55 cores running at 2.0 GHz
It also comes with a ARM Mali-G68 GPU running at 1.0 GHz.
Memory + Storage Options
The Samsung Galaxy A33 comes with 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of internal flash storage.
The memory capacity can be expanded through the RAM Plus feature, while storage can be expanded through a microSD card (up to 1 TB).
Cameras Galore!
The Samsung Galaxy A33 is targeted at those who love to take photos and videos.
In the front, it has a 13 MP camera, with an f/2.2 aperture, and in the back, it has a quad-camera system that consists of :
a 48 MP Dual Pixel camera with f/1.8 aperture
an 8 MP ultra-wide angle camera with f/2.2 aperture
a 5 MP macro camera with f/2.4 aperture, and
a 2 MP depth camera with f/2.4 aperture
IP67 Dust + Water-Resistance!
You will also love the fact that the Galaxy A33 is IP67-rated for dust and water-resistance! That means it can withstand immersion in up to 1 metre of fresh water for up to 30 minutes!
Battery + Charging
The Samsung Galaxy A33 comes with a large 5,000 mAh battery, that supports up to 25 watts of fast charging.
The only downside – Samsung is not providing the 25 watt charger in-the-box.
Samsung Galaxy A33 Specifications
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy A33
Display
6.4-inch Super AMOLED
– 90 Hz dynamic refresh rate
Protection
IP67
OS
One UI 4.1 (Android 12)
Platform
Samsung Exynos 1280
CPU
2 x ARM Cortex-A78 cores (2.4 GHz)
6 x ARM Cortex-A55 cores (2.0 GHz)
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
We recently had the opportunity to get some hands-on time with the Samsung Galaxy A53 that was just launched, and here is our hands-on experience!
Samsung Galaxy A53 with 64 MP Quad Camera System!
Samsung just launched their Galaxy A53 mid-range smartphone, which boasts a 64 MP quad-camera system!
We had the exclusive opportunity to get some hands-on time with the Galaxy A53 smartphone recently, and here is our hands-on video experience!
6.5-inch Super AMOLED Display
The Samsung Galaxy A53 comes with a large 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display.
It has a Full HD+ resolution, and a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 Hz!
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy A53 runs on the new Samsung Exynos 1280 mobile platform, which has a dual-tier CPU architecture :
four sustained-performance ARM Cortex-A78 cores running at up to 2.4 GHz, and
four energy-efficient ARM Cortex-A55 cores running at 2.0 GHz
It also comes with a ARM Mali-G68 GPU running at 1.0 GHz.
Memory + Storage Options
The Samsung Galaxy A53 comes with 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of internal flash storage.
The memory capacity can be expanded through the RAM Plus feature, while storage can be expanded through a microSD card (up to 1 TB).
Cameras Galore!
The Samsung Galaxy A53 is targeted at those who love to take photos and videos.
In the front, it has a 32 MP camera, with an f/2.2 aperture and the ability to combine pixels for better low-light performance.
In the back, it has a quad-camera system that consists of :
a 64 MP Dual Pixel camera with f/1.8 aperture
a 12 MP ultra-wide angle camera with f/2.2 aperture
a 5 MP macro camera with f/2.4 aperture, and
a 5 MP depth camera with f/2.4 aperture
IP67 Dust + Water-Resistance!
You will also love the fact that the Galaxy A53 is IP67-rated for dust and water-resistance! That means it can withstand immersion in up to 1 metre of fresh water for up to 30 minutes!
Battery + Charging
The Samsung Galaxy A53 comes with a large 5,000 mAh battery, that supports up to 25 watts of fast charging.
The only downside – Samsung is not providing the 25 watt charger in-the-box.
Samsung Galaxy A53 Specifications
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
Display
6.5-inch Super AMOLED
– 120 Hz dynamic refresh rate
Protection
IP67
OS
One UI 4 (Android 12)
Platform
Samsung Exynos 1280
CPU
2 x ARM Cortex-A78 cores (2.4 GHz)
6 x ARM Cortex-A55 cores (2.0 GHz)
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just introduced the Galaxy Tab A8 – a tablet targeted at families!
Take a look at the new Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, and find out if this is the tablet for you!
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 : What You Need To Know!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is a thin and lightweight tablet designed for learning and entertainment, with a very attractive price tag.
It has a large 10.5-inch display, with a sleek metal body that is only 6.9 mm thick and weighs just 508 grams.
Powered by an octa-core processor, it comes with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded through a dedicate microSD card slot.
The large display not only gives you a more immersive viewing experience, its multi-window support allows you to split the screen in half to do two things at the same time!
On top of that, this highly-affordable tablet comes with four speakers that support Dolby Atmos surround sound, for exceptional audio clarity and depth.
Don’t worry about the Galaxy Tab A8 running out of juice. It has a massive 7,040 mAh battery, which supports 15W fast charging!
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 : Specifications
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8
Model
SM-X200
Display
10.5-inch TFT Display
– 1200 x 1920 pixels
Protection
NA
Water Resistance
NA
OS
One UI 3 (Android 11)
Platform
UNISOC Tiger T618
CPU
2 x Arm Cortex-A75 cores (2.0 GHz)
6 x Arm Cortex-A55 cores (2.0 GHz)
GPU
Arm Mali-G52 MP2
Memory +
Storage
3 GB + 32 GB
4 GB + 64 GB
External Storage
microSD slot (up to 1 TB)
Front Camera
5 MP camera
Main Cameras
8 MP camera
Connectivity
Wi-Fi : Up to Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth : BT 5.0
USB : USB Type C 2.0
Fingerprint Sensor
Yes, Side-Mounted
Other Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic,
Hall Sensor, Light Sensor
GPS
GPS, GLONASS, QZSS
NFC
No
Audio
Quad speakers with Dolby Atmos
Battery
7,040 mAh Li-Po battery
Charging
15 watt fast charging
Dimensions
246.8 mm wide
161.9 mm tall
6.9 mm thick
Weight
508 grams
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 : Price + Availability!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is available in three colour options – Gray, Silver and Pink Gold, with two variants globally :
3GB + 32GB
4GB + 64GB
Here in Malaysia, it is only available in 3GB + 32GB variant in either the Gray or Pink Gold colour options, with a recommended retail price (RRP) of RM999 (about US$238 / £178 / A$336 / S$322).
From now until 28 February 2022, every purchase will come with two freebies :
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
vivo just launched their V23 5G smartphone, offering dual front cameras with dual LED spotlights for selfie-lovers!
Take a look at the new vivo V23 5G, and find out if this is the selfie pal you have been waiting for!
vivo V23 5G : For Selfie + Photography Enthusiasts!
The new vivo V23 5G smartphone is designed for selfie and photography enthusiasts, offering really great front and rear cameras at an affordable price point.
Let’s take a look at its key features, so you can figure out if this is the smartphone you have been waiting for!
6.44-inch Display
The vivo V23 5G smartphone comes with a massive 6.44-inch display, with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, and a 90 Hz refresh rate.
It uses an AMOLED panel, which delivers much better colour gamut and brightness than regular LCD displays.
Flagship-Class Mobile SoC
The MediaTek Dimensity 920 is a new and faster flagship-class mobile SoC, with an integrated 5G modem, and :
two high-performance Arm Cortex-A78 cores running at up to 2.5 GHz,
six power-efficient Arm Cortex-A55 cores running at up to 2.0 GHz, and
an Arm Mali-G68 MC4 GPU to accelerate 2D and 3G graphics
RAM + Storage
The vivo V23 5G comes with two RAM and storage options :
8 GB of RAM + 128 GB of internal storage
12 GB of RAM + 256 GB of internal storages
Dual Selfie Cameras!
When it comes to photography, the vivo V23 5G offers expanded creativity with dual selfie cameras, supported by dual-tone LED spotlights!
For high-resolution portraits, you have an incredibly high-resolution 50 MP front camera, with a large f/2.0 aperture for great low-light performance.
But if you need to fit many people in, you can opt for the 105° super wide-angle 8 MP camera, with an f/2.28 aperture!
The dual-tone LED spotlights help to ensure even and adequate lighting, even in ultra low-light conditions!
64 MP Triple-Camera System
In the back, it has a 64 MP main camera with a wide f/1.89 aperture, together with an 8 MP wide-angle camera, and a 2 MP macro camera for really close-up shots (as close as 4 cm).
The main camera features the Samsung ISOCELL GW1 image sensor, which lets you take really great photos in low-light conditions by combining four pixels into one, through its Tetrapixel technology!
5G Connectivity
While 5G connectivity is still not available in Malaysia, and sparse around the world, the integrated 5G modem means you’re future-proofed.
More importantly though are its other connectivity options. It comes with support for dual-band WiFi-AC, Bluetooth 5.2 and a reversible USB Type C port.
Premium Colour Changing Glass Body!
The vivo V23 5G features a Fluorite AG glass-covered aviation aluminium chassis, with a layer of crystals that changes colour with the light!
The glass-aluminium body not only imparts a premium feel, it offers a sleek profile that is just under 7.6 mm thick, and weighs about 180 grams.
Large Fast Charging Battery
The V23 comes with a large 4,200 mAh battery to give you a full day of usage and then some!
On top of that, it supports 44 watt flash charging, and best of all – vivo included the charger in the box!
The vivo V23 5G is available in two colour options – Sunshine Gold on the left, and Stardust Black on the right.
vivo V23 5G : Launch Deals!
The vivo V23 5G has a launch price of RM2,099 – approximately US$502 / £367 / A$694 / S$675.
From 14-16 January 2022, every purchase will come with free gifts worth RM688:
vivo TWS 2e wireless earphones
1 Year Extended Warranty
1 Year Screen Crack Protection
From 14-16 January 2022, every purchase will come with free gifts worth RM558:
Wireless vacuum cleaner
1 Year Extended Warranty
1 Year Screen Crack Protection
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Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
vivo just introduced the X70 Pro and X70 smartphones featuring ZEISS optics and a unique gimbal camera!
Find out if the new vivo X70 gimbal smartphones are what you have been waiting for!
vivo X70 Gimbal Smartphones : What You Need To Know!
vivo just launched their X70 series of professional photography flagship smartphones, with two models – the X70 and the X70 Pro.
Both models come with ZEISS optics for their cameras, and a unique Ultra-Sensing Gimbal Camera, to allow users to capture the best possible photos and videos, even in the most challenging conditions.
Here is what you need to know about the new vivo X70 series smartphones…
Large AMOLED Display
Both the vivo X70 and X70 Pro come with a large 6.56-inch AMOLED display, with a resolution of 1080 x 2376 pixels.
They both support a 120 Hz refresh rate and a 240 Hz response rate, as well as HDR10+ support and Hi-Rest certification.
There is a subtle difference between the two models though – the vivo X70 display has a 2.5D edge, while the Pro version has a 3D curved edge.
Performance
Both models are powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 – a 5G mobile SoC built on the 6 nm process, with eight processor cores that consists of :
a high-performance A78 core running at 3 GHz,
three sustained-performance cores running at 2.6 GHz, and
four high-efficiency A55 cores running at 2 GHz.
In addition to its 8 processor cores, it has a 9-core Arm Mali-G77 MC9 GPU, and a 6-core MediaTek APU 3.0 AI processor.
RAM + Storage
The vivo V70 comes with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, while the Pro version comes with a whopping 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.
Even though they both come with a lot of memory, they support Extended RAM 2.0 – giving them additional 4 GB of memory on call!
There is no option to upgrade storage through a microSD card, but they both come with more than enough storage for most users, and most importantly – it’s super fast UFS 3.1 flash storage!
Cameras Co-Engineered With ZEISS
Both models have a high-resolution 32 MP front camera, with a triple camera system for the X70 and a quad camera system for the X70 Pro.
Both camera systems were co-engineered with ZEISS and feature lenses with ZEISS T* coating to reduce unwanted light flares, ghosting, stray light and other image artifacts.
The pièce de résistance of both models is the unique Ultra-Sensing Gimbal Camera, which is coupled with the Gimbal Stabilisation 3.0 technology, to let you capture steady images and video even in the most challenging conditions.
They also support VIS 5-Axis Ultra Stable Video technology, which integrates enhanced optical image stabilisation (OIS) with electronic image stabilisation (EIS) to aggressively stabilise the X/Y-axis as well as Z-axis rotation for silky-smooth video.
Rounding that up is a slew of AI-enhanced photography and videography technologies, like Real-Time Extreme Night Vision, Super Night Video, Pure Night View, Pro Cinematic Mode and more.
Battery + Charging
The vivo X70 Pro and X70 come with large batteries – 4,450 mAh and 4,400 mAh capacities respectively, for a long battery life.
On top of that, they both come with a USB charger in-the-box, which supports 44W FlashCharge for extremely fast charging.
vivo X70 Gimbal Smartphones : Specifications
To make it easier for you to decide between the two models, we created this table to compare their key specifications :
vivo X70 Gimbal Smartphones : Price + Pre-Order Deals
The vivo X70 is priced at RM2,499 – approximately US$598 / £437 / A$822 / S$806.
Here are the freebies you will get if you pre-order one from now until 1 October 2021 :
Protection Plus : 1 year extended warranty + 1 year screen crack protection
Premium Gift Box : Bluetooth speaker + car charger + 1-month Viu subscription
The vivo X70 Pro is priced at RM3,299 – approximately US$789 / £577 / A$1,085 / S$1,064.
Here are the freebies you will get if you pre-order one from now until 1 October 2021 :
Protection Plus : 1 year extended warranty + 1 year screen crack protection
Premium Gift Box : Bluetooth sound bar + 1-month Viu subscription
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
HUAWEI just launched the 2021 MatePad Pro, which runs on the new HarmonyOS 2!
Here is what you need to know about the 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro tablet!
2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro : What You Need To Know!
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro looks superficially like the 2020 HUAWEI MatePad Pro, but they are quite different beasts altogether.
It is now much bigger 12.6-inch tablet, built around the Kirin 9000E mobile platform and runs on the brand new HarmonyOS 2 operating system!
Flagship Performance
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro is built around the Kirin 9000E, the world’s first 5nm 5G mobile SoC.
It has a triple-core CPU architecture, with a boosted Cortex-A77 core at 3.13 GHz, three high-speed Cortex-A77 cores at 2.54 GHz, and four low-power Cortex-A55 cores at 2.05 GHz.
It has a 22-core Mali-G78 GPU, and two Neural Processing Units – one Big-Core NPU and one Tiny-Core NPU.
Memory + Storage
The 2021 MatePad Pro comes with 8 GB LPDDR4x memory and 256 GB built-in storage, with the option of adding an NM card for additional storage (up to 256 GB).
Large OLED Display
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro sports a massive 12.6-inch OLED display, with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.
Thanks to its ultra-narrow 5.6 mm bezels, this FullView Display offers a 90.1% screen-to-body ratio.
On top of that, it has a colour accuracy of ∆E < 0.5, making it a great portable second monitor for professional photographers!
Improved HUAWEI Share Capabilities
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro offers improved HUAWEI Share, offering the next level of device connectivity :
You can not only mirror your HUAWEI smartphone onto your tablet, you can also transfer and share files across multiple devices even laptops, simply by dragging and dropping them!
2nd Generation HUAWEI M-Pencil
HUAWEI is introducing the 2nd generation M-Pencil with the MatePad Pro. This optional stylus has a much lower input lag – as low as 9 ms, with 4,096 levels of pressure and tilt sensitivity.
Designed to give you the natural writing experience, it offers the feel of a real pencil on paper. It also supports HUAWEI FreeScript, which transforms handwritten content into machine-encoded text in real time.
If you need to switch into different modes like Instant Shape or Instant Table, all you need to do is double-tap it!
HUAWEI Smart Magnetic Keyboard
The HUAWEI Smart Magnetic Keyboard is a full-sized keyboard with a key travel of 1.3 mm; and supports Bluetooth and wireless charging.
This magnetically-paired keyboard quickly converts the MatePad Pro into a full-fledged laptop, offering greater working productivity.
Large Battery + Super Fast Charging
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro tablet comes with a large 10,050 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery built-in for a very long battery life.
On top of that, it supports 40 watt SuperCharge, when used with a 40 watt HUAWEI Super Fast Charger.
2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro : Specifications
Here is how the 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro compares to the 2020 MatePad Pro!
Specifications
MatePad Pro
2021
MatePad Pro
2020
Display Size
12.6-inch
10.8-inch
Display Panel
OLED
LCD
Display Resolution
2560 x 1600 pixels
Max. Brightness
400 nits
540 nits
Colour Gamut
DCI-P3
Operating System
HarmonyOS 2
EMUI 10.1 (Android 10)
System Platform
HUAWEI Kirin 9000E
HUAWEI Kirin 990
Memory
8 GB
6 GB / 8 GB
Storage
256 GB
128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB
External Storage
256 GB NM Card
Front Camera
8 MP selfie camera
Rear Cameras
13 MP main camera
8 MP wide-angle camera
13 MP main camera
Connectivity
WiFi-AX
Bluetooth 5.2
USB Type C
WiFi-AC
Bluetooth 5.1
USB Type C
Stylus
Optional
M-pencil Gen 2
Optional
M-pencil
Fingerprint Sensor
No
NFC Support
No
Audio
8 Speakers
HUAWEI Histen 7.0
4 Speakers
HUAWEI Histen 6.0
Battery
10,050 mAh
7,250 mAh
Charging
40 W SuperCharge
20 W fast charging
Dimensions
286.5 mm wide
184.7 mm tall
6.7 mm thick
246 mm wide
159 mm tall
7.99 mm thick
Weight
609 g
492 g
2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro : Price + Deal!
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro will be available for sale in Malaysia from 18 June 2021 onwards, in the Matte Grey colour.
It has an official launch price of RM 3,999 (about US$970 / £686 / A$1,253 / S$1,286). Here are online purchase options :
After introducing the V21 4G smartphone, vivo just launched the V21 5G Exclusive Edition variant!
Here is what you need to know about the new vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition smartphone!
vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition : OIS Cameras FTW!
The vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition is the ultimate vivo V21 flagship smartphone.
Built around the MediaTek Dimensity 800U, it offers flagship-class performance, with OIS cameras in both front and rear!
Let’s take a look at its key features!
6.44-inch AMOLED Display
The vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition comes with a large 6.44-inch AMOLED display, with 500 nits of maximum brightness and a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels.
On top of that, its HDR10-certified display has a higher 90 Hz refresh rate, and is protected by AG Matte Glass.
Performance
The vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 800U, which is a new mid-range mobile SoC, roughly equivalent to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G.
It has two fast ARM Cortex-A76 cores running at 2.4 GHz for sustained performance, six power-efficient ARM Cortex-A55 cores running at up to 2.0 GHz, and a tri-core ARM Mali-G57 MC3 GPU.
Memory + Storage
The V21 5G Exclusive Edition comes with 8 GB of RAM, but has the ability to expand it with 3 GB of Extended Memory (virtual memory).
It also comes with 256 GB of internal UFS 2.2 storage, which offers 110% faster read speed and 95% faster write speed, compared to the vivo V20.
Its storage can be further expanded using a microSD card – shared with SIM2 in a hybrid SIM tray.
44 MP OIS Selfie Camera
The vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition comes with a 44 MP selfie camera, with a wide f/2.0 aperture; and support for Super Night Selfie and AI Night Portrait.
This 44 MP selfie camera boasts two world-leading features :
its 44 MP selfie camera supports optical image stabilisation (OIS), which allows you to take super-steady photos and videos even while walking!
it is the first phone to feature Dual Selfie Spotlight, for radiant selfies even in low light conditions!
Triple Rear Camera System
The vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition features a triple camera setup, that consists of:
a 64 MP main camera with f/1.79 aperture,
an 8 MP wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture,
a 2 MP macro camera with f/2.4 aperture, and
a single LED flash.
The 64 MP main camera with a 4-axes OIS technology, allowing you to take photos and record videos with incredible stability.
Large Fast-Charging Battery
The vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition has a large 4,000 mAh battery, which supports 33 watt fast charging. And yes, it comes with the 33 watt FlashCharge 2.0 charger in box!
vivo V21 5G Exclusive Edition : Specifications
We created this table to take it easier for you to compare the 4G and 5G variants of the vivo V21!
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
Network : 4G LTE
Wi-Fi : 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz
Bluetooth : BT 5.1
USB : Type C
GPS
GPS, Beidou, Galileo, GLONASS
Battery
4,000 mAh
Charging
33 W fast charging
Dimensions
73.90 mm wide 159.68 mm tall 7.29 mm thick
74.37 mm wide
161.24 mm tall
7.38 mm thick
Weight
176 g – 177 g
171 g
Unboxing The vivo V21 Smartphone!
The vivo V21 comes in a premium-looking box. Once you unbox it, this is what you will find inside.
vivo V21 smartphone
vivo V21 clear TPU bumper case
Set of vivo V21 documents
vivo V3330L0A0-UK charger (supports 33 watt Flash Charge 2.0)
USB-A to USB-C data and power cable
USB-C to 3.5 mm audio adaptor
One pair of wired earphones
SIM tray ejection pin
vivo V21 Smartphone : Our Hands-On Experience!
vivo sent us a unit of the V21 smartphone to try out, so here is our hands-on experience and its key features!
6.44-inch AMOLED Display
The vivo V21 comes with a large 6.44-inch AMOLED display, which is HDR10 certified.
While this is the same size as the V21e, it comes with a brighter 500 nits panel, which supports a higher 90 Hz refresh rate.
Performance
The vivo V21 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 800U, which is a new mid-range mobile SoC, roughly equivalent to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G.
It has two fast ARM Cortex-A76 cores running at 2.4 GHz for sustained performance, six power-efficient ARM Cortex-A55 cores running at up to 2.0 GHz, and a tri-core ARM Mali-G57 MC3 GPU.
Memory + Storage
The V21 comes with 8 GB of RAM, but has the ability to expand it with 3 GB of Extended Memory (virtual memory).
It also comes with 128 GB of internal UFS 2.2 storage, which offers 110% faster read speed and 95% faster write speed, compared to the vivo V20.
Its storage can be further expanded using a microSD card – shared with SIM2 in a hybrid SIM tray.
44 MP OIS Selfie Camera
The vivo V21 comes with a 44 MP selfie camera, with a wide f/2.0 aperture; and support for Super Night Selfie and AI Night Portrait.
This 44 MP selfie camera boasts two world-leading features :
its 44 MP selfie camera supports optical image stabilisation (OIS), which allows you to take super-steady photos and videos even while walking!
it is the first phone to feature Dual Selfie Spotlight, for radiant selfies even in low light conditions!
Triple Rear Camera System
The vivo V21 features a triple camera setup, that consists of:
a 64 MP main camera with f/1.79 aperture,
an 8 MP wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture,
a 2 MP macro camera with f/2.4 aperture, and
a single LED flash.
The 64 MP main camera with a 4-axes OIS technology, allowing you to take photos and record videos with incredible stability.
Large Fast-Charging Battery
The vivo V21 has a large 4,000 mAh battery, which supports 33 watt fast charging. And yes, it comes with the 33 watt FlashCharge 2.0 charger in box!
Heck, vivo even threw in a USB-C to 3.5 mm audio adaptor, and a pair of earphones too.
vivo V21 + V21e : Price + Availability
Both models are available for purchase with immediate effect, at these launch prices :
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Kingston just announced that their eMMC memory has been selected to be used in the NXP iMX 8M Plus reference board!
NXP iMX 8M Plus To Use Kingston eMMC Memory!
On 8 April 2021, Kingston Technology announced that their eMMC embedded memory will be featured in NXP iMX 8M Plus evaluation kits.
Although Kingston did not reveal which eMMC part was selected, the picture they released appears to show the EMMC08G-MB29, which boasts these key features :
8 GB capacity
3D TLC in pMLC NAND memory
eMMC 5.1 standard
11.5 x 13 x 0.8 mm package size
They will be used as storage in the NXP iMX 8M Plus reference boards, which will be used for development and engineering verification.
NXP iMX 8M Plus : What Is It?
The NXP iMX 8M Plus is an application processor – a System-On-a-Chip (SoC) designed for infrastructure solutions like smart home, intelligent city and industrial IoT devices.
two or four ARM Cortex-A53 processors (up to 1.8 GHz)
a neural processing unit (NPU) operating at up to 2.3 TOPS
ARM Cortex-M7 controller (up to 800 MHz)
32-bit DDR4 and LPDDR4 interface (up to 4.0 GT/s)
dual image signal processors (ISP) : up to 12 MP, up to 375 MPixels per second
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The OPPO Reno5 Pro comes with 12 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage. The larger storage capacity is important, because it does not support external storage through a microSD card.
Cameras Galore
The OPPO Reno5 Pro has a high-resolution 32 MP front camera, with an f/2.4 aperture. Despite its high resolution, it only supports 1080p video recording, at up to 30 fps.
In the back, it has a quad camera system that consists of :
a 64 MP main camera, with f/1.7 aperture
an 8 MP ultra-wide camera, with f/2.2 aperture
a 2 MP macro camera, with f/2.4 aperture, and
a 2 MP depth sensor, with f/2.4 aperture
The 64 MP main camera can record videos at up to 4K @ 30 fps, or 1080p @ 60 fps.
Beyond that, OPPO is trying to promote their new Dual-View capability, which combines videos from both the front and rear cameras.
5G Connectivity
5G connectivity is a key selling point for the OPPO Reno5 Pro, which supports both 5G SA (Standalone) and 5G NSA (Non-Standalone) modes.
However, you are unlikely to be able to actually utilise this capability for quite some time, as the 5G rollout will take years.
Small Fast-Charging Battery
The OPPO Reno5 Pro has a small 2,175 mAh battery, but it supports 65 watt SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging capability.
And yes, it comes with the charger in-box.
OPPO Reno5 Pro : Specifications Compared
Here is our comparison of the key specifications of the Reno5 Pro with its cheaper brother, the Reno5 :
Specifications
Reno5
Reno5 Pro
Model
CPH2145
CPH2201
Display
6.4-inch AMOLED
6.5-inch AMOLED
Resolution
1080 x 2400 pixels
Pixel Density
410 ppi
402 ppi
Colour Gamut
93% DCI-P3
135% sRGB
97% NTSC
100% sRGB
Display
Brightness
430 nits to 600 nits
500 nits to 800 nits
Display
Features
90 Hz refresh rate
180 Hz sampling rate
Protection
None
Operating System
ColorOS 11.1 (Android 11)
Platform
Qualcomm
Snapdragon 765G
MediaTek
Dimensity 1000+
Memory
8 GB
12 GB
Storage Options
128 GB
256 GB
External Storage
None
Front Camera
32 MP (f/2.4)
Rear Cameras
64 MP (f/1.7) main camera
8 MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera
2 MP (f/2.4) macro camera
2 MP (f/2.4) depth sensor
Connectivity
5G / 4G / 3G / 2G
Wi-Fi : WiFi-5
Bluetooth : BT 5.1
USB : Type C
5G / 4G / 3G / 2G
Wi-Fi : WiFi-6
Bluetooth : BT 5.1
USB : Type C
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Xiaomi just introduced a new entry-level 5G smartphone – the Redmi Note 9T!
Take a look at the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T, and see if this is what you have been waiting for!
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T : New Entry-Level 5G Smartphone!
Xiaomi just introduced a new entry-level 5G smartphone – the Redmi Note 9T! This is the 5G big brother of their Redmi 9T. Confusing naming, indeed!
6.53-inch FHD+ Dot Drop Display
The Redmi Note 9T sports a large 6.53-inch Dot Drop display, with a FHD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels.
It is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, and is TUV Rheinland-certified for low blue light.
MediaTek Dimensity 800U
The Redmi Note 9T is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 800U mobile platform, with 5G and WiFi-AC connectivity.
It has an 8-core processor, with two high-speed ARM Cortex-A76 cores running at 2.4 GHz, and six low-power ARM Cortex-A55 cores running at 2 GHz.
It comes with the ARM Mali-G57 MC3 GPU, and a built-in AI accelerator.
Memory + Storage Options
Xiaomi is offering two memory and storage options – 4 GB RAM + 64 GB storage, and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage.
Five Cameras
In the front, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T has an 13 MP selfie camera, with a f/2.3 aperture. At the back, it has a triple-camera system that consists of :
a 48 MP main camera, with f/1.79 aperture and 4-in-1 Super Pixel capability
a 2 MP macro camera, with f/2.4 aperture, and
a 2 MP depth sensor, with f/2.4 aperture
Power + Charging
Powering all that is a large 5,000 mAh battery, which supports 18 watt fast charging. Oddly enough, it comes with a 22.5 watt charger in the box.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T : Specification Comparison
To help you differentiate between the Redmi 9T (4G) and the Redmi Note 9T (5G), here is their specification comparison.
If you like our work, you can help support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
HUAWEI just launched the P40 Pro Plus / P40 Pro+ smartphone, featuring a 50MP Leica penta-camera system!
Here is a quick overview of the new HUAWEI P40 Pro Plus – its key features, price and availability!
HUAWEI P40 Pro Plus : A Quick Primer
The HUAWEI P40 Pro Plus is the big brother of the new P40 family of smartphones. It has a 6.58-inch OLED display, with a resolution of 1200 x 2640 pixels, and a 90 Hz refresh rate.
It comes only in 5G variants, powered by the Kirin 990 5G. HUAWEI will offer it with 8 GB of memory, and storage options of 256 GB and 512 GB.
In front, it has a 32 MP camera, with a depth camera. But its marquee feature is its rear Leica penta-camera system, which consists of :
a 50 MP main camera with f/1.9 aperture (OIS support),
a 40 MP ultra-wide camera with f/1.8 aperture,
an 8 MP 10X SuperZoom camera with f/4.4 aperture (OIS support),
an 8 MP 3X telephoto camera with f/2.4 aperture (OIS support), and
a 3D depth sensor
Powering all that is a large 4,200 mAh battery, which supports 40 watt HUAWEI SuperCharge wired charging.
HUAWEI P40 Pro Plus : Specifications
HUAWEI P40 Pro+ (5G)
Display
6.58-inch OLED display
– 1200 x 2640 pixels, 90Hz refresh
Protection
IP68
Operating System
EMUI 10.1 (based on Android 10)
System Platform
HUAWEI Kirin 990 5G
Processor
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.86 GHz)
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.36 GHz)
4 x Cortex-A55 (1.95 GHz)
Leica Penta Camera System
– 50 MP main camera (f/1.9 with OIS)
– 40 MP ultra-wide camera (f/1.8 aperture)
– 8 MP 10X SuperZoom camera (f/4.4 with OIS)
– 8 MP 3X telephoto camera (f/2.4 with OIS)
– 3D depth sensor
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
HUAWEI just launched the P40 Pro smartphone, featuring a 50MP Leica quad camera system!
Here is a quick overview of the new HUAWEI P40 Pro – its key features, price and availability!
HUAWEI P40 Pro : A Quick Primer
The HUAWEI P40 Pro is the middle brother of the new P40 family of smartphones. It has a 6.58-inch OLED display, with a resolution of 1200 x 2640 pixels, and a 90 Hz refresh rate.
It comes only in 5G variants, powered by the Kirin 990 5G. HUAWEI will offer it with 8 GB of memory, and storage options of 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB.
In front, it has a 32 MP camera, with a depth camera. But its marquee feature is its rear Leica quad-camera system, which consists of :
a 50 MP main camera with f/1.9 aperture (OIS support),
a 40 MP ultra-wide camera with f/1.8 aperture,
a 12 MP telephoto camera with f/2.4 aperture (OIS support), and
a 3D depth sensor
Powering all that is a large 4,200 mAh battery, which supports 40 watt HUAWEI SuperCharge wired charging.
HUAWEI P40 Pro : Specifications
HUAWEI P40 Pro (5G)
Display
6.58-inch OLED display
– 1200 x 2640 pixels, 90Hz refresh
Protection
IP68
Operating System
EMUI 10.1 (based on Android 10)
System Platform
HUAWEI Kirin 990 5G
Processor
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.86 GHz)
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.36 GHz)
4 x Cortex-A55 (1.95 GHz)
Leica Quad Camera System
– 50 MP main camera (f/1.9 with OIS)
– 40 MP ultra-wide camera (f/1.8 aperture)
– 12 MP telephoto camera (f/2.4 with OIS)
– 3D depth sensor
If you like our work, you can help support our work by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donating to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!
HUAWEI just launched the P40 smartphone, featuring a 50MP Leica triple camera system!
Here is a quick overview of the new HUAWEI P40 – its key features, price and availability!
HUAWEI P40 : A Quick Primer
The HUAWEI P40 is the little brother of the new P40 family of smartphones. It has a 6.1-inch OLED display, with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels.
It comes in 4G and 5G variants, powered by the Kirin 990 and Kirin 990 5G respectively. HUAWEI will offer it with either 6 GB or 8 GB of memory, and either 128 GB or 256 GB of storage.
In front, it has a 32 MP camera, with an IR camera. But its marquee feature is its rear Leica triple-camera system, which consists of :
a 50 MP main camera with f/1.9 aperture,
a 16 MP ultra-wide camera with f/2.2 aperture, and
an 8 MP telephoto camera with f/2.4 aperture (OIS support)
Powering all that is a large 3,800 mAh battery, which supports 22.5 watt HUAWEI SuperCharge wired charging.
HUAWEI P40 : Specifications
HUAWEI P40 (5G)
HUAWEI P40 (4G)
Model
ANA-NX9, ANA-AN00, ANA-TN00
ANA-LX4
Display
6.1-inch OLED display
– 1080 x 2340 pixels
Protection
IP53
Operating System
EMUI 10.1 (based on Android 10)
System Platform
HUAWEI Kirin 990 5G
HUAWEI Kirin 990
Processor
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.86 GHz)
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.36 GHz)
4 x Cortex-A55 (1.95 GHz)
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.86 GHz)
2 x Cortex-A76 (2.09 GHz)
4 x Cortex-A55 (1.86 GHz)
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The new Samsung Galaxy S20 smartphones are powered by the Exynos 990 – the latest, greatest mobile platform developed by Samsung themselves.
But just how fast is the Samsung Exynos 990, compared to other mobile platforms? Let’s find out!
Samsung Exynos 990 : What You Need To Know
The Samsung Exynos 990 builds upon Samsung’s first mobile platform with an integrated 5G modem – the Exynos 980, but focuses on performance instead of 5G connectivity.
It boasts a range of significant improvements – new Samsung Mongoose 5 (Exynos M5) and ARM Cortex-A76 cores, and a new Arm Mali-G77 GPU.
Faster Processor + GPU
According to Samsung, its new custom Mongoose 5 (Exynos M5) cores are 20% faster than the Mongoose 4 (Exynos M4) cores used in the flagship-class Exynos 9825 used in the Galaxy Note 10 smartphones!
Its Arm Mali-G77 GPU uses the new Valhall architecture, and promises to offer a 20% boost in graphics performance or power efficiency.
Faster LPDDR5 Memory
The Exynos 990 will be the first Samsung mobile platform to use the new LPDDR5 memory, which offers a 31% higher clock speed – increased from 2093 MHz to 2750 MHz.
This allows it to deliver up to 5,500 Mbps or 687.5 MB/s in memory bandwidth. It should also allow for lower power consumption.
Faster NPU + DSP
Its AI capabilities also received a big boost with a new dual-core NPU and improved digital signal processor (DSP) that can process over 10 trillion operations (TOPS) per second!
Well, this is quite a nice surprise! Samsung Exynos has historically been rather poor at work performance.
The last-generation Exynos 9825 and Exynos 9820, for example, were significantly slower than their Qualcomm counterparts – the Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon 855+.
But the new Exynos 990 was 36% faster than the Exynos 9820 (its predecessor), and 13% faster than the Snapdragon 855.
Samsung Exynos 990 Gaming Performance : 3DMark
For gaming, we first tested the Exynos 990 using 3DMark, with these results :
Not bad at all! Samsung caught up with Qualcomm in gaming performance as well.
The new Exynos 990 was 7.5% faster than the Snapdragon 855+, that powered high-end gaming smartphones like the Black Shark 2 Pro, in Sling Shot Extreme, matching it in the easier Sling Shot benchmark.
Notably, the Exynos 990 was 50% faster than its predecessor, the Exynos 9820 that powered the Galaxy S10+.
Samsung Exynos 990 Gaming Performance : AnTuTu
We then tested the Exynos 990 using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
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Samsung just unveiled details of the Exynos 990 mobile platform, which boasts the new Arm Mali-G77 GPU and a new dual-core NPU!
Here is EVERYTHING you need to know about the new Samsung Exynos 990 mobile platform!
The Samsung Exynos 990 Mobile Platform
The Samsung Exynos 990 builds upon Samsung’s first mobile platform with an integrated 5G modem – the Exynos 980, but focusing on performance instead of 5G connectivity.
It boasts a range of significant improvements – new Samsung Mongoose 5 (Exynos M5) and ARM Cortex-A76 cores, and a new Arm Mali-G77 GPU.
Faster Processor + GPU
According to Samsung, its new custom Mongoose 5 (Exynos M5) cores are 20% faster than the Mongoose 4 (Exynos M4) cores used in the flagship-class Exynos 9825 used in the Galaxy Note 10 smartphones!
Its Arm Mali-G77 GPU uses the new Valhall architecture, and promises to offer a 20% boost in graphics performance or power efficiency.
Faster LPDDR5 Memory
The Exynos 990 will be the first Samsung mobile platform to use the new LPDDR5 memory, which offers a 31% higher clock speed – increased from 2093 MHz to 2750 MHz.
This allows it to deliver up to 5,500 Mbps or 687.5 MB/s in memory bandwidth. It should also allow for lower power consumption.
Faster NPU + DSP
Its AI capabilities also received a big boost with a new dual-core NPU and improved digital signal processor (DSP) that can process over 10 trillion operations (TOPS) per second!
No Built-In Modem
Interestingly, the Samsung Exynos 990 does not appear to have a built-in modem, not even for 3G and 4G connectivity.
Instead, it appears to be designed to be paired with the new Samsung Exynos Modem 5123 multi-mode 5G modem with transfer rates of up to 7.35 Gbps in mmWave, and 5.1 Gbps in sub-6GHz.
In addition to 10-bit video and HDR display support, the Exynos 990 comes with a 120 Hz refresh rate driver.
Better Photographic Capabilities
Its advanced image signal processor (ISP) not only supports up to six image sensors, it can process images from three of them concurrently! It supports sensor resolutions of up to 108 MP.
Its Multi-Format Codec supports encoding and decoding of 8K videos at up to 30 fps, or 4K UHD videos at up to 120 frames per second. It also supports HDR10+ with dynamic mapping in videos.
Samsung Exynos 990 vs. Exynos 980
Features
Samsung Exynos 990
Samsung Exynos 980
Process
7 nm EUV
8 nm FinFET
Design
Tri-Cluster (2+2+4)
Bi-Cluster (2+6)
Processor
2 x Mongoose 5 cores (2.73 GHz)
2 x Cortex-A76 cores (2.5 GHz)
4 x Cortex-A55 cores (1.9 GHz)
2 x ARM Cortex-A77 cores (2.2 GHz)
6 x ARM Cortex-A55 cores (1.8 GHz)
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Cooler Master just unveiled the MM710 lightweight gaming mouse that features a unique honeycomb shell design!
Here is EVERYTHING you need to know about the new Cooler Master MM710 gaming mouse!
The Cooler Master MM710 Gaming Mouse
Thanks to its honeycomb shell, the MM710 is Cooler Master’s lightest mouse – weighing just 53 grams! It is further paired with an ultra-light braided cable.
The light weight of the Cooler Master MM710 allows for quicker movements, and less fatigue and wrist pain during long gaming sessions.
Lightweight Honeycomb Design + Ultraweave Cable
The Cooler Master MM710 features a new, perforated honeycomb shell that reduces its weight to less than 53 grams. This also necessitates a redesign of its internal components, to increase durability and reduce flex on the mouse sides.
It is paired with a durable and light Ultraweave cable to reduce cable pull while swiping. They both allow for faster movements while reducing fatigue during long gaming sessions.
PixArt PMW3389 Optical Sensor + Omron Switches
The Cooler Master MM710 features the PixArt PMW3389 optical sensor, which supports up to 16,000 DPI.
Paired with a 32-bit ARM processor, the mouse is fully customisable via software – sensor sensitivity, button response time, surface tuning, lift-off distance, polling rate and more!
For greater durability, its left and right buttons use Omron switches that are rated for 20 million presses.
Superior PTFE Mouse Feet + Ambidextrous Design
The Cooler Master MM710 features an ambidextrous design, with a slight hump to provide extra palm support for gamers who prefer the claw grip.
It is also small enough to fingertip for most hand sizes, while allowing smaller hands to use the palm grip.
For a low-friction, consistent glide, its feet use 95% pure PTFE that is significantly better than the standard mouse feet.
Cooler Master MM710 Price + Availability
The Cooler Master MM710 is available with immediate effect, at these recommended retail prices :
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