Realme 11 Pro 5G Review: Should you consider this over the 200MP Pro+ variant?- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros
– Vegan leather back
– Uses the same display as the Pro+ variant
– Has the same SoC as the Pro+ variant
– Battery management and battery life
– Impressive dual camera setup
– Great speakers
– Seems to be better tuned and optimised than the Pro+ variant
– Almost as good as the

Cons
– Tons of bloatware and ads
– No ultrawide camera

Price: Rs 27,999 for the tested 12GB + 256GB variant (starts at Rs 23,999)
Rating: 4/5

The Realme 11 Pro has an older sibling, the Realme 11 Pro+. Despite their similarities, the 11 Pro offers a more budget-friendly option by cutting back on certain features. It features a dual-rear camera setup instead of a triple-camera system, a lower resolution selfie camera, and supports 67W fast charging instead of the impressive 100W of its sibling, the Pro+.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Realme’s positioning of the Realme 11 Pro is a bit complex. Not only is the 11 Pro a massive upgrade over last year’s 10 Pro, it is also an upgrade over the 10 Pro+. And, barring a few things, there isn’t much of a difference between the 11 Pro and the 11 Pro+, especially when it comes to performance.

In this review, we try to assess whether the sacrifices made in the Realme 11 Pro take too much away from the experience, how it fare against its elder sibling, and if someone goes for the more budget-friendly option out of the two, what exactly do they give up on

Realme 11 Pro 5G review: The Design
Differentiating between the Realme 11 Pro and Pro+ can be challenging at first glance, but careful examination of their camera modules can reveal the distinction. The Realme 11 Pro has a subtle engraving in small letters that reads ‘100MP OIS camera’, while the Realme 11 Pro+ reads a ‘200MP OIS camera’. Plus, the Realme 11 Pro has two cameras instead of three, so in the camera module, there is a dummy placeholder.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Review (2)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Other than this, there’s no difference whatsoever in the design of the device. Whether it’s the dimensions, ports, finish, or colour options, both devices are virtually identical. We received the Sunrise Beige colour variant, which in the vegan leather, looks and feels great.

In case you want to take a deep dive into the design of the device, take a look at our detailed review of the Realme 11 Pro+.

Realme 11 Pro 5G review: The Display
The Realme 11 Pro is equipped with the same 6.7-inch curved OLED display that we find on the Realme 11 Pro+. It has the exact same peak brightness of 950 nits and the same refresh rate of 120Hz. Even the bezels and curved edges are the same. Like the Realme 11 Pro+, the 11 Pro has a Widevine L1 certification, allowing it to stream content in FHD resolution.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Review (3)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

However, it’s important to note that, unlike the 11 Pro+ models, the regular 11 Pro smartphone does not currently support HDR capabilities on popular streaming platforms like Netflix.

The display, clearly, is the best in its segment, especially if you’re going for the base variants, which comes in at Rs 23,999.

For a more detailed dive into the display of the Realme 11 Pro, read our review of the Realme 11 Pro+.

Realme 11 Pro 5G review: The camera
It is when we come to the cameras that we get to see some major differences between the Realme 11 Pro and the Realme 11 Pro+. The Realme 11 Pro gets a dual camera setup at the rear.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Review (7)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The Realme 11 Pro is equipped with a 100MP OIS primary sensor, which is a downgrade from the 200MP sensor found in the Pro+ model. Additionally, it features a 2MP portrait unit. The primary sensor produces 12MP images by default, which are excellent when photos are shot in the daylight. The colours pop out and the dynamic range is pretty good. However, when zoomed in, the level of detail may appear slightly underwhelming.

Nevertheless, the overall results are satisfactory. In low-light conditions or indoor settings, noise tends to become noticeable. However, the phone manages to preserve details quite well. The device also offers a night mode, which reduces noise in images, but it has the tendency to overprocess and smooth everything out.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Review (11)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The primary camera of the Realme 11 Pro captures daylight photos with remarkable precision and vivid colours. It offers a dynamic range comparable to high-end flagship devices, benefiting from its large sensor that allows ample light to illuminate landscapes accurately.

The Realme 11 Pro offers a digital zoom capability of up to 20x, but the company claims that the in-sensor 2x zoom can capture lossless images. However, when using this mode, some warmth is taken out of the picture, and upon closer inspection, there are noticeable watercolour-like effects on foliage, which can degrade the overall image quality.

In the Street mode, there are two options available: 26mm and 52mm, which correspond to 1x and 2x zoom. One particularly enjoyable feature in the Street mode is the auto-zoom effect. By simply tapping on the subject, the focus locks and the camera gradually zooms in. This not only looks cool but also reduces the need for precise subject tracking and pinching the screen. The portrait mode also performs well, producing a good blur effect to enhance the subject separation.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Review (1)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The 16MP front camera captures acceptable selfies with good detail and accurate skin tones, especially in well-lit conditions. However, there is a slight issue with oversharpening, which can make the images appear artificially sharp. In low-light situations, the camera’s performance is average, and the resulting images may lack the desired level of quality.

Click here for some unprocessed and uncompressed images from the Realme 11 Pro 5G.

Realme 11 Pro 5G review: The performance, software experience and UI
The Realme 11 Pro 5G is powered by the same MediaTek Dimensity 7050 SoC, which we find in the high-end 11 Pro+. Our test unit was equipped with 12GB RAM and 256GB ]internal storage. Again, there is the option to virtually add another 12GB of RAM.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Review (10)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Surprisingly, the Realme 11 Pro, fared marginally better than the Realme 11 Pro+ across a bunch of benchmarks. To ensure that our results weren’t contaminated for some reason, we reran the benchmarks on the Realme 11 Pro+ and had the same results.

But, as we have always said, benchmarks are only indicative of what performance is like. In day-to-day usage, the Realme 11 Pro is exactly the same as the Realme 11 Pro+.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Performance 2
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

During our experience, we found that the Realme 11 Pro provides smooth gameplay when playing games like Asphalt 9 and Call of Duty Mobile, when set to the high graphics settings, at a consistent 60fps. We didn’t encounter any issues or performance issues during gameplay.

The Realme 11 Pro 5G runs on RealmeUI 4.0, which is based on Android 13. The user interface offers an impressive range of features, and easy customization options, and provides a user-friendly and intuitive experience.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Performance 1
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

You get Dolby Atmos support in the stereo speakers-powered audio setup, here as well.

The software experience, of the Realme 11 Pro, is marred by bloatware and ads, just like it happens with the Realme 11 Pro+. We have a detailed dive about this in our review of the Realme 11 Pro+, which you can check out here.

All things said and done, we have to say that RealmeUI 4.0 is actually intuitive, customisable, and overall easy to use.

Realme 11 Pro 5G review: The battery life
The Realme 11 Pro is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery, which offers sufficient capacity to last an entire day on a single charge, even with moderate gaming and occasional navigation. In my usage, which involved streaming, web browsing, and gaming, I was able to achieve around six hours of screen-on-time with the device.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Review (8)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

During our regular usage, with the display set to 70 per cent brightness, the Realme 11 Pro can deliver over 8 hours of screen-on time and more than 15-16 hours of overall usage time.

This includes various activities such as video watching, web browsing, gaming, email handling, and video calls. The device’s battery life is impressive and can easily keep up with extended periods of usage without requiring frequent recharging.

While the Realme 11 Pro lacks the 100W fast charging support found in its higher-end counterpart, the Pro+, its 67W fast charging solution still provides satisfactory performance. Using this, the device can be fully charged from 0 to 100 per cent in well under an hour, ensuring quick and convenient charging.

Realme 11 Pro 5G review: The verdict
The Realme 11 Pro is priced at Rs 23,999 in India, about Rs 4,000 cheaper than the Realme 11 Pro+. This pricing makes the Realme 11 Pro a bargain, given that it performs just as well as its elder siblings in most aspects. The 100MP primary camera, although not as headline-worthy as the 11 Pro+’s 200MP sensor, is also pretty impressive.

Realme 11 Pro 5G Review (5)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Having said that, the lack of an ultra-wide camera is a notable drawback as it limits the phone’s ability to capture a wider field of view and include more details in photos. The excessive bloatware gives the interface a slightly cluttered appearance. Despite these shortcomings, the Realme 11 Pro remains a solid choice that offers reliable performance and overall satisfaction.



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MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: The performance brute, reborn with more power and grunt- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros:
– The sheer brute performance
– The CherryMX Mechanical keyboard
– Expandability and upgradability in terms of Storage and RAM
– PCIe Gen 5 M.2 Storage slot
– Excellent thermal management
– The subtle but aggressive aesthetics
– The 4K 144Hz MiniLED display
– Great selection of ports and I/O
– Choice of materials could have been better

Cons:
– The price
– Average webcam considering the other specifications and the price
– Too bulky, even for a gaming laptop

Price: Rs 6,71,990/-
Rating: 4.75/5

Last year, when we reviewed the MSI Titan GT77 UHS, we were very impressed by it. Powered by the Intel i9-12900HX & the NVIDIA RTX 3080Ti Laptop GPU, it was very easily, the most powerful computer that we had used last year. In fact, we had stated in our review that most people don’t have full-fledged desktops that could go toe to toe against the Titan GT77.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Well, MSI is back with another iteration of the Titan GT77 and is more bonkers than ever before. At first glance, it seems that not a lot has changed – it still has that patently bonkers gamer aesthetics, and backbreaking heft and bulk from last year. Look closely though and you’ll see that the newest generation of the Titan GT77 is a beast that has reincarnated in a much more stronger avatar. MSI seems to have taken all the numbers from last year’s Titan GT77, and have turned it up to 11.

The newest MSI Titan GT77 is a true enigma in this regard. The Titan GT77 continues to be a legitimate desktop replacement, delivering desktop-level performance in a reasonably portable form factor. Yes, there are a few gaming laptops that have the same sort of specifications that the new MSI Titan GT77 comes with, but they have some omissions or others, that leaves a sour taste in your mouth, especially when you know that there exists a machine, that makes absolutely no compromises when it comes to sustained performance, not just in gaming but other intensive tasks as well.

As always with the Titan GT77, while you can use this machine for intense gaming and experience impressive results, its true purpose lies in tackling far more demanding tasks. Who exactly and what task? Well, that’s exactly the question we will tackle in this review of the MSI Titan GT77 and explore the intended audience for this desktop replacement laptop.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: Specs and features
The unit we tested was the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI, featuring an Intel Core i9-13950HX CPU. Our specific configuration included 64GB (2x32GB) of DDR5 RAM in a dual-channel setup, running at 4800MHz. However, it’s worth noting that the laptop supports up to 128GB RAM thanks to an additional two So-DIMM slots

Retail units of the MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI will be equipped with an Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU, which has slightly more powerful cores, up by 100Mhz. This is supposed to aid in lighter, more office-oriented tasks.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (8)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

As for the GPU, we had the laptop variant of the NVIDIA RTX 4090, offering 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM. The laptop-grade GPU has a total of 175W of power to play with, so you know that the GOu is well-fed. Additionally, the laptop includes Intel’s UHD Graphics for lighter tasks.

The display on our test unit was a 17.3-inch UHD 4K (3840X2160) MiniLED display, boasting an impressive refresh rate of 144Hz, and certification for HDR1000.

In terms of storage, our unit came equipped with 2 PCIe Gen 4 SSDs of 2TB for a total of 2TB. The MSI Titan GT77 features three M.2 slots, one of which supports PCIe Gen 5.

As for the ports, you get the following:

  • 1x Type-C (USB / DP / Thunderbolt™ 4) with PD charging
  • 1x Type-C (USB / DP / Thunderbolt™ 4)
  • 3x Type-A USB3.2 Gen2
  • 1x SD Express Card Reader
  • 1x HDMI™ 2.1 (8K @ 60Hz / 4K @ 120Hz)
  • 1x Mini-DisplayPort
  • 1x RJ45 that supports up to 2.5G

For wireless connectivity, you get a Killer AX1690i module that supports WiFi 6E as well as Bluetooth 5.3.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (10)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Powering the device is a non-removable 4-cell, 99.99Wh battery, accompanied by a 330W charging brick with a proprietary connector.

For security features, the Titan GT77 offers an IR camera and fingerprint-based biometrics, a webcam shutter for the integrated camera, and Firmware Trusted Platform Module(TPM) 2.0.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: Design and build quality
Like last year, The design of the latest generation of the MSI Titan GT77 is far from understated. MSI is actually continuing with the same design that we saw last year, which makes one thing very clear – the Titan GT77 has a legacy and a lineage that MSI feels should be recognisable at once.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (9)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The laptop sports an all-black colour scheme and has a very aggressive styling. The prominent vents on the sides and back clearly are the first identifiers of the performance beast that’s lurking under the chassis, even when you switch the RGB lighting off. The rear exhaust vents feature customizable RGB lighting, allowing users to assign different colours to each vent outlet using the SteelSeries GG app.

The MSI Titan GT77 is built like a tank – you can feel the heft just by looking at it. Weighing over 3.3 kilograms on its own it may seem heavy on its own. The power brick to keep this beast juiced up, weighs another 1.4 kilograms. However, considering its purpose as a true desktop replacement and the performance it delivers, the weight becomes more reasonable.

The laptop features a metallic top lid that houses the display. The lid is sturdy and shows minimal flex, and is slightly recessed from the edge of the clamshell, creating a noticeable protrusion at the rear.

Additionally, the lid showcases the illuminated MSI shield logo, enhancing its gamery vibes. It is attached to a robust yet solid hinge that can be easily opened with one hand, preventing unnecessary swaying of the panel As for the bezels, the left, top, and right edges boast thin bezels, while the bottom edge contains a thicker bezel with the MSI logo.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (3)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The interior of the laptop is primarily composed of plastic, but it doesn’t feel cheap. However, the choice of materials could have been better as the entire laptop is a fingerprint magnet. This clean and sharp aesthetics of the device are easily besmirched by the user’s fingerprints, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t clean up the laptop with a microfibre cloth every 5 minutes.

The keyboard shows virtually no flex, and on the left and right sides of the keyboard, there are 2W speakers. Towards the bottom-left corner of the keyboard, we see the Cherry MX branding, again, illuminated with RGB.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (6)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The bottom of the laptop consists of two parts. The top half is made of metal, most likely aluminium, allowing for better heat dissipation due to the presence of well-positioned vents. The other half is constructed of plastic. Additionally, two 2W woofers can be seen on the bottom of the laptop.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: Keyboard and trackpad
The MSI Titan GT77 is equipped with a low-profile mechanical keyboard developed by SteelSeries, incorporating Cherry MX switches. From the feel and sound of it, it seems to be a Cherry MX Brown switches. This results in one of the finest laptop keyboards available, offering a delightful typing and gaming experience. Additionally, there is a dedicated numeric keypad on the right-hand side, albeit with slightly smaller keys, which enhances typing convenience. It’s important to note that the keys on the numpad, function row and arrow keys may not feel as tactile as the Cherry switches and have a more membrane-like sensation.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (7)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Similar to other keyboards featuring Cherry MX switches, the key switches on the Titan GT77 offer excellent actuation and a satisfying tactile feel. The keyboard is equipped with per-key RGB backlighting, allowing users to customize the lighting according to their preferences. The included SteelSeries GG software also allows users to easily create and manage custom profiles, making it one of the most user-friendly configurators.

The trackpad on the laptop is notably large and lacks physical buttons. It functions as a standard multi-gesture trackpad, providing responsive and precise control. The surface of the trackpad feels smooth and pleasant to touch, and it has very precise palm rejection, which is particularly beneficial considering its size. Furthermore, it is very accurate. MSI need not have gone for such a good trackpad for the Titan GT77, considering that a majority of the users will be using a mouse with it anyway. Having said that, we’re glad that MSI did go for it.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (11)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: Webcam and speakers
The MSI Titan GT77 still uses a 720p camera which is housed in the thin top bezel of the display. the fact that some people may think of using the webcam to stream, it would have been preferable to see at least a 1080p sensor instead. Further still, considering what people will pay for the laptop and the fact that it is the best of the best when it comes to specifications, a 4K sensor would have been ideal.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (5)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Having said that, the image and video quality produced by the webcam is decent enough to serve general purposes, like attending a meeting or a video call. Like last year, the camera gets some IR capabilities, which makes it great for biometrics. One thing that has been added to this year’s GT77 is a physical web shutter for increased privacy.

The built-in microphone, unlike the webcam, performs well and is suitable even for streaming. During video calls, it effectively isolates the speaker’s voice from any surrounding background noise.

The audio output of the device consists of a pair of 2-watt speakers and a pair of 2-watt woofers, all facing the user. These speakers provide high-quality sound with a distinct mid-range, ample separation between high and low frequencies, and a satisfying bass presence. Throughout our testing, we encountered no instances of rattling, distortion, or any other undesirable problems when playing bass-heavy tracks. Although the maximum volume level is somewhat on the lower side, it can still reach sufficient loudness to fill a room, albeit it might leave some users slightly disappointed.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: Display
Last year, the unit we tested came with a 17.3-inch 1080P IPS display that had a refresh rate of 360Hz. The units available in India come with a 4K, 120Hz IPS display. This year, MSI has made some massive updates to the display. For the 2023 version, we get a 4K resolution, measuring 3840 x 2160 pixels, and a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Additionally, there is an alternative option of a QHD IPS screen with a refresh rate of 240 Hz.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (4)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Mini-LED screens ensure true black images without any backlight bleeding. MSI promotes over 1000 dimming zones, although some blooming may still be observed. When bright objects are displayed on dark backgrounds, the entire dimming zone illuminates, resulting in bright clouds. However, this effect is primarily noticeable when logos are displayed and not during gaming or regular usage. The average brightness is measured at 600 nits, and the low black value contributes to a remarkably high contrast ratio.

The panel supports HDR 1000, and our tests show that it has a maximum brightness of over 1000 nits. Users will need to manually activate HDR. Moreover, the different colour profiles that come with MSI’s True Color software cannot be used, and HDR cannot be utilized while on battery power. This is because Windows falls spectacularly short when it comes to implementing HDR.

Speaking of True Colour, the Titan GT77 comes equipped with the True Color software, which provides various preconfigured settings for colour spaces and situations such as gaming, office work, and movie viewing. Additionally, the software allows users to calibrate the screen according to their preferences.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: Performance in Productivity and Gaming
This is where the MSI Titan GT77 shines the brightest, and the main reason why the select few people who can actually afford this laptop, should go for it. Last year’s Titan GT77 was a beast when we were looking at its performance. The newer, 2023 version fo the GT77, is an even more powerful, and surprisingly, more efficient beast – but, a beast nonetheless.

The 2023 version of the Titan GT77 comes with an Intel Core i9-13950HX CPU which boosts up to 5.5 GHz, has 32 threads and 24 Cores, 8 of which are the top-tiered Performance Cores, and an additional 16 Efficiency Cores. The P-Cores boost all the way up to 5.5Ghz whereas the E-cores go all the way up to 4GHz.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (1) Benchmarks
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

As far laptop grade CPUs are considered, this is bested only by the Intel Core i9-13950HX, which is what retail customers will be getting. Needless to say, it is the best of laptop CPU out there right now.

Even the Intel Core i9-13950HX CPU is a pretty powerful CPU. The only difference between the two CPUs is the 13980HX offers a 100 MHz higher maximum clock for the P-cores and lets go of the vPro support. vPro won’t help that much with gaming, but it does slightly help with work-related stuff. Nonetheless, the CPU again is a great example of just how raw power and efficiency can be packed into a single SoC. Intel does that using Intel’s hybrid architecture is.

As for the GPU, we get a laptop version of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, again, the best that a laptop can be equipped with right now. The RTX 4090 in the MSI Titan GT77 boosts up to 2340Mhz and comes with 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM and a TDP of 175W. What this means is that the GPU has plenty of room to stretch its legs and perform as a 4090 should.

The net result is that the Titan GT77 truly is the king of performance among portable laptops. The Intel Core i9-13950HX crushes all benchmarks that you throw at it and is bested only by proper desktop-grade K-series CPUs from Intel. During our testing, it fared better than almost all other laptops that we tested this year, by quite a margin. And thanks to Intel’s hybrid architecture, it got some of the highest scores we have seen across benchmarks, both in single-threaded and multithreaded workloads.

The GPU too crushes every synthetic benchmark that is thrown at it. MSI has given the RTX 4090 a TDP of 175W. Both, the Intel Core i9-13950HX and the RTX 4090 are properly fed when it comes to power. Intel actually allows you to play with the clock speeds of the Core i9-13950HX using MSI Centre’s profiles. We did all of our testing of the laptop, benchmarking and gaming at its Extreme Performance to get the best out of the device.

Apart from keeping the giants properly fed, MSI has also ensured that the CPU and the GPU are adequately cooled. The Titan GT77 comes with a slightly updated version of MSI’s Cooler Boost Titan system that helps maximize the i9-13950HX’s and RTX 4090’s performance efficiency. This year, you get 4 fans and a heat sink with 8 pipes and 6 exhausts.

In benchmarks, the Titan GT77 tops nearly every benchmark that you run it through, as it should. In 3DMark Time Spy it scores 20140, in Cinebench R23 it scores, 2120 for the single core and 30065 for the multicore tests. In PCMark 10, it gets a very solid score of 8801, the highest we have seen in a laptop.

In Pugetbench, it has an overall score of 1213 for Photoshop, and 1530 in Lightroom. And, in Crossmark, it is 1864 for productivity, 2441 for creativity, 1623 for Responsiveness and an overall score of 2051.

We have only seen top-tier desktop CPUs and GPUs scores that are comparable to this. Having said that we have always maintained that benchmark numbers do not necessarily reflect how a device actually performs in real life. For that, you have to turn to gaming and other real-life applications.

We tested out games like Far Cry 5, Far Cry 6, Shadow of The Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus, and the recent Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. We also played CS:GO, but did not include it in our test results, and the results were just ridiculous, but more on that later.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (1) Gaming
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

As stated earlier, we did all of our testing, including the benchmarks using MSI’s Extreme Performance mode to extract the maximum possible juice from the processor and GPU package. As for in-game settings, we were at the highest possible presets, enabling DLSS where possible, and antialiasing. We tested the game at 1080P because that is what most gamers would go for given the size of the panel, and in 4K given that our unit had a 4K panel.

In 1080P Gaming, with the settings turned all the way up where we could have, and with DLSS on when possible, we had more than an awesome experience. In Far Cry 5, we were averaging 158 FPS, in Far Cry 6, we were getting a comfortable 142 FPS. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we were consistently getting an average of 212 FPS. Metro Exodus was giving us an ultra-smooth 131 FPS. And, in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022) we were averaging 174.

We get to see a similar story in 4K gaming as well. In Far Cry 5, we were getting 131 FPS, in Far Cry 6, we were getting a pretty smooth 87 FPS. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we were getting an impressive 101 FPS. In Metro Exodus, we were getting a very much playable 79 FPS. and, in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022) we were averaging a very healthy 83.

Coming to CS:GO, we were getting a ridiculous 600+ FPS at 2K with the details cranked up. We did not bother testing it on 4K, but rest assured, it should be somewhere between 300-400 FPS, at the minimum

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: Battery
The Titan GT77 comes with one of the largest batteries to be ever fitted to a laptop. It has a 4-cell, 99.99W/hr battery, and a 330W charging brick. But because of the hardware that this laptop packs and the performance that it delivers, the Titan GT77 isn’t anything to write sonnets about. Still, it lasts a little longer than the last generation’s battery.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (1)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

On an average day of work, which consisted of a ton of writing, some photo editing, and quite a bit of content consumption on YouTube and Netflix, we got about 6-7 hours of usage at about 40-50 per cent screen brightness. Do note, that this was in Silent mode, which is another and on the Intel GPU.

During our extended battery testing, where we play a 4K Video on YouTube on 75 per cent brightness and 50 per cent volume, with all RGB lights on, the MSI Titan GT77 lasted just under 5 hours. This, from a laptop that is as performance-packed as this, is actually very impressive.

While gaming without the charger, the laptop conked off after 1 hour or so of gaming with reduced screen brightness. The performance did take a minor hit without the charger.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review: Verdict
The MSI Titan GT77 is not a machine for everyone, not even the most avid of gamers. Unless you’re planning to take up e-sports and gaming as a career option, or are planning to get into AI/ML development or to render a lot of CAD designs or videos, this is not the laptop for you, For most games and purposes, it is an overkill.

So, who is the Titan GT77 designed for? We believe it is tailored for high-performing content creators, gamers, machine learning engineers, data scientists, and game developers who are frequently on the move and require a true desktop replacement that can be easily transported.

MSI Titan GT77 HX 13VI Review (12)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

As powerful as the Titan GT77 is it has a few drawbacks. We wish we had a higher-quality webcam, and that it wouldn’t have been priced this prohibitively. Nevertheless, once you experience the powerful synergy between the Core i9-13950HX processor and the RTX 4090 graphics card, these minor drawbacks fade into insignificance.

If you seek uncompromising and unrestrained performance, and if you have the financial means to invest in a laptop priced at around Rs 6.5 Lakhs, then look no further. This is the epitome of what laptops for serious professionals and professional gamers were always intended to be.



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OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review: More of the same again- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros:
– Good build quality and design
– Surprisingly good main camera in good lighting
– Android 13 with periodic updates
– 256 GB internal storage option available
– Good battery backup
– 3.5 mm headphone jack, MicroSD card slot, 5G ready

Cons:
– Hardly any substantial changes from the Nord CE 2 Lite
– Camera performance drops drastically even in average light
– No ultra-wide camera, sub-par macro camera
– Charging speed is a lot slower than it should be

Price: Rs 19,999 onwards
Rating: 3.3/5

Typically, OnePlus launches a new Nord series with the top-of-the-line phone from the series with respectable specifications and features. In the subsequent months, the company starts to cut corners and add suffixes like CE and Lite to come up with scaled-down but more affordable versions of the new Nord phone. This year, the company is looking to take a different route. The first of the Nord 3 series isn’t the Nord 3 itself but the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G which target’s the sub-20K segment.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Exactly 12 months ago, we reviewed the Nord CE 2 Lite and were far from impressed. We termed it the most non-OnePlus phone ever as it was underpowered, missed out on certain signature elements of the brand and didn’t offer anything special. If we compare the spec-sheets, its successor doesn’t seem to offer anything drastically different either, barring an 108MP primary camera. Would that be enough to make the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G a viable option that trumps the competition? Let’s find out.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G: Design (3.5/5)
The Nord CE 3 Lite design, though not striking, isn’t bad at all, especially the new Pastel Lime shade. The phone is constructed out of good-quality plastic with a smooth matte finish on the frame and all-out gloss at the back. The build quality is good but the back does attract smudge marks. There are no rough edges on the phone though. Just like its predecessor, the bottom bezel is quite thick, and the punch-hole for the front camera has moved from the top left to the top centre.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review Back
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

A volume rocker and a SIM + MicroSD card tray are located along the left edge of the phone, while the power button can be found on the right side. The surface of the power button also doubles up as a fingerprint scanner. The scanner here is a lot more responsive than the one on our Nord CE 2 Lite unit and unlocks the phone briskly. The placement of the volume rocker and power button are well thought out and you don’t have to stretch your fingers much to reach them.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review Buttons and SIM slot
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The bottom edge of the phone has a speaker, a USB-C charging port and a 3.5mm headphone jack that’s present on all CE series phones so far. There are dual speakers on this phone with the other located behind the earpiece on top of the screen. The phone is 8.3 mm thick and weighs 195 grams which is on the heavier side for a phone without a metal frame or a glass back. The phone also feels fairly large in hand courtesy of its sizable display which we will talk about next.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review Bottom edge
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G: Display (3.25/5)
The display on Nord phones keeps getting larger. The Nord CE 3 Lite 5G has a 6.72-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate. The display is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass (version not specified). While the display is large and fairly bright, it isn’t the best we have come across in phones around Rs 20,000. It could have done better in sharpness and colour accuracy. There aren’t too many screen calibration options either that you get in more expensive OnePlus phones.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review Display
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

You get to choose between Vivid and Natural colour profiles, and you also get a manual colour temperature adjustment slider, which is certainly handy given that the default colour temperature of this screen is on the colder side. The vivid profile makes the colours look over-saturated, while Natural makes them appear dull. If you have to choose between the two, we would suggest going with Natural and pushing the colour temperature slider halfway towards the warmer side from the centre for the best results.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G: Hardware and performance (3/5)
OnePlus literally went Lite on processing power on the Nord CE 2 Lite by using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G chip, and a year later, they have decided to continue using the same on the Nord CE 3 Lite 5G too; a questionable decision. You get two variants of the phone, but unlike the CE 2 Lite, you get 8 GB RAM on both and a choice between 128 GB or 256 GB UFS 2.2 internal storage. You can expand the storage further with a MicroSD card.

The performance of the phone is acceptable for general usage but not special. Things work smoothly in day-to-day tasks like using social media apps, browsing, watching videos or switching between multiple apps. You can do a bit of casual gaming too but at medium to low settings. The phone doesn’t get too hot, which is good. The speakers on this phone produce a loud and punchy sound output with a decent stereo effect. You also get a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a slightly downgraded Bluetooth 5.1 (its predecessor had v5.2) to plug in wired or wireless earphones. The call quality and reception were fine during testing.

Let’s look at some benchmark numbers for reference. We cannot have a direct comparison with its predecessor in Geekbench as we have moved on to version 6 of the benchmark, while the older phone was tested using version 5. The Nord CE 3 Lite managed to score 911 and 2107 points in the single-core and multi-core benchmarks respectively. In PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark, it returned a score of 8347 as compared to 7777 on the Nord CE 2 Lite despite using the same SoC.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review Benchmark scores
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Clearly, the newer version of Android and further optimisations is getting more out of the Snapdragon 695 chipset. The same cannot be said in gaming benchmarks where the scores are neck and neck. In 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme – Vulkan benchmark, the Nord CE 3 Lite goes as high as 2754 points, which is just 21 points higher than the CE 2 Lite. Similarly, in the 3DMark Wild Life benchmark, the Nord CE 3 Lite scores 1215 points as opposed to 1213 on the CE 2 Lite. Thus, not even a 1% jump in performance. Clearly not a phone for gamers, this.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G: OS and User interface (3.5/5)
The OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G runs the latest Android 13 with OxygenOS 13.1. If you are expecting one more rant on this topic, it is not happening! No no, not because OxygenOS is back in its old glory, but we have just given up on it. It is now very much ColorOS, and not ‘like ColorOS’. We are done ranting; it’s time for you to deal with it and move on too. For those who haven’t experienced older iterations of OxygenOS in its glory days, OxygenOS 13 is perfectly usable.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review User interface
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

It remains free of ads and excess bloatware, which is great. The UI is smooth, lag-free and fairly easy to comprehend even for a novice. It offers a handful of tweaks to customise it further, and it doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. Even better, the company has committed to two years of major Android updates and three years of security updates for this phone. That is one promise OnePlus has delivered on over the years.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G: Camera performance (3/5)
The new Nord CE 3 Lite gets a 108MP main camera as compared to the 64MP unit on its predecessor; probably the only notable change on this device. The 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor have been retained, while an ultra-wide camera remains absent. The 16MP front camera also keeps its place (though it has moved under the earpiece from the top left. Neither the main camera nor the front camera can record videos at 4K resolution.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review Cameras 2
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The max video resolution is capped at 1080p at 30 fps courtesy of the not-so-powerful processing hardware. It drops further to 720p at up to 120 fps in case you wish to record slo-mo videos. At first, I thought the 108 megapixels that the main camera flaunts is also a marketing gimmick, but I am happy to report that it’s not. In fact, in good light, the performance is surprisingly good.

When shooting outdoors in good light, the captured images exhibit lively colours and good dynamic range. The colours feel slightly over-saturated (especially the reds) and look more vivid than the original subject. Ironically, some users may actually like it that way. There is a good amount of detail in shots and most areas are well exposed. When shooting indoors or in sub-optimal lighting, the captured images look noticeably soft and low on detail.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G Long Term Review Cameras
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

As the light drops, the quality of the output gets progressively worse. Night Mode does make certain low-light photos usable but a great amount of detail is lost and the photos look flat probably due to the aggressive noise reduction algorithm. The macro camera output is just like that of any other low-end 2MP macro camera, barely usable. The portrait shots come out reasonably well in proper lighting with good foreground and background separation.

While there is no telephoto camera on this phone, you get a 3X zoom toggle in the camera app, but that’s a digital zoom. If you need 2X zoom, you will need to manually adjust the level of zoom from the app. Again, images captured using up to 3X zoom in good lighting are more than decent, but beyond that, they look dull and void of detail. I would strongly advise against using Zoom in low light. The results are bad. The 16MP front camera does a fair job with selfies and video calls.

Click here for uncompressed camera samples clicked on the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G:

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G: Battery backup (3.5/5)
The battery backup on this phone is pretty decent. The phone retains the 5000 mAh battery that easily lasts for a day and a half of moderate use, and at times even touches two full days. While the battery capacity is the same as its predecessor, the charging capacity has almost doubled in theory with the Nord CE 3 Lite supporting 67W SuperVOOC charging as compared to 33W on the Nord CE 2 Lite. The company includes an 80W fast charger in the bundle. Strangely, it takes about 70 minutes to charge this phone fully, which is just 5 minutes less than what a 33W charger takes to charge the Nord CE 2 Lite fully.

At launch, we were informed that the company has taken note of this issue and a fix is being worked out in an upcoming firmware update. Post that update, the bundled charger is expected to charge 80% of the battery in just 30 minutes. As of now, it only gets to 50% in half an hour. The Nord CE 3 Lite did receive a couple of updates during the course of our long-term review, but neither of them improved the charging times. We also tried using older 65W and 80W chargers from OnePlus with this phone, but they didn’t charge it any faster.

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G: Price, verdict and competition
The 128 GB storage variant of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G can be purchased for Rs 19,999, while you will need to shell out Rs 2,000 more for the 256 GB storage option. That makes it the most affordable OnePlus phone around, but not necessarily the best option around 20K given the competition. While the CE 2 Lite had some tough competition to deal with a year ago, things may get even tougher for the CE 3 Lite.

Two options that come to mind straight away are the Motorola G82 5G and iQOO Z7 5G. Both phones offer much sharper OLED/AMOLED displays and flaunt primary cameras with optical image stabilisation (OIS) that’s lacking in the Nord CE 3 Lite. The Motorola also has an ultra-wide camera at the back. While the Moto packs the same Snapdragon 695 chip, the iQOO has a much more powerful Dimensity 920 chip at its core, making it a better phone overall.

As you can see, the competition is better equipped in this segment, and we don’t have a compelling reason to recommend the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G over it. OnePlus had a full year to empower the CE 3 Lite with more than just a higher-megapixel camera and faster charging (in theory). If OnePlus is serious about competing in this highly competitive sub-20K segment, they really need to do a lot more. They cannot afford another strike against the next CE Lite.



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AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review: Presenting the new king of 1080P gaming- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros:
– Awesome performance in 1080P ultra settings
– Pretty decent performance in 1440P ultra settings
– Ports, especially DisplayPort 2.1
– Compact design, meaning can be fit into smaller cases
– AV1 support
– Price to performance. A true VFM GPU

Cons:
– 8GB VRAM and 128-Bit bus are adequate for now but will struggle in a few years
– Faces tough competition from previous-generation cards
– Lacks bling. No RGB

Rating: 4.25/5
Pricing: Rs 26,500

In the last couple of years, AMD has really made a case for itself that would force any casual gamer to take their GPUs seriously and a properly viable option. This is mainly down to three factors – NVIDIA, the people who would like you to believe that Moore’s law is dead (long live Moore’s Law!), has been all over the place with the pricing, as well as the performance of their RTX 3000 series and RTX 4000 series GPU. The 4000 series, particularly, has been very questionable.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Second, Intel, despite designing a very good GPU has been haunted by its drivers since the day of their launch. Yes, over the months, their GPUs have become a force to be reckoned with, but the impression their cards gave at the time of the launch is hard to shake off.

And finally, and most importantly, AMD, for the last two to three generations of their CPUs, have been performing very solidly, especially when you consider the price-to-performance ratio. Sure, it may not have topped all benchmarks or gaming FPS charts, but the price that they came in, usually meant a difference of a few percentage points – something that’s barely noticeable in real-life applications.

The headlines that the RX 6600 made last year were largely positive because it was a damn good card, especially for its price back then. Today, the situation is different. GPUs are easily and readily available, and no matter how much they try, NVIDIA can’t gouge its customers as easily as it did last year.

AMD is positioning the RX 7600 as a 1080p gaming GPU, mainly because, as per Steam’s hardware survey, 65 per cent of gamers play at that resolution, with most of them using either a GeForce 1060 6GB or an RTX 2060 6GB. For such gamers, the RX 7600 with its RDNA 3 architecture, is supposed to be the perfect GPU to upgrade to. In such a scenario, is the RX 7600 worth it?

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review (2)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review: Specifications and Features
The Radeon RX 7600 is built on AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture and is produced using TSMC’s 6nm manufacturing process. It features 128 Texture Mapping Units, 64 Raster Operation Processors, and 32 Ray Tracing units. With 2,048 Streaming Processors, it operates at a base clock speed of 2,250MHz and can boost up to 2,625MHz. The GPU is equipped with 8GB of GDDR6 memory and a 128-bit memory interface, providing a maximum bandwidth of up to 476.9 GB/s thanks to AMD Infinity Cache.

To connect to your PC, it utilizes a PCIe Gen 4.0 X8 slot. According to AMD, the GPU has a power draw of 165W TBP (total board power), requiring a 1X8-pin connector. However, a 550W power supply is sufficient to fully utilize the GPU’s capabilities, so there is no need to upgrade your power supply unit.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review (3)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Design-wise, the Radeon RX 7600 is a simplistic card – it has no RGB lighting of any sort, but the reference card that we tested had a rather cool-looking backplate. There are two fans with 9 blades each with integrated rims, which are 78mm in diameter. The whole GPU itself is about 8-inches in length. The GPU occupies up to full-length slots on your typical chassis. What this means is that the card isn’t as thick as some of the latest offerings from NVIDIA, and can actually be used in compact builds as well.

While the 128-bit bus may seem narrow, AMD is able to not only remedy this but improve efficiency and performance, by using the 2nd Generation AMD Infinity Cache which has been increased. This cache level brings a new approach to data delivery in GPUs. The cache hierarchy has been carefully optimized to strike the right balance between Infinity Cache and L2 cache, ensuring optimal performance and efficiency.

The 2nd Generation AMD Infinity Cache serves as a global cache, providing fast access to data and acting as a powerful bandwidth amplifier. It enhances the GPU’s performance by delivering high-performance bandwidth while maintaining superb power efficiency. This innovative cache design significantly contributes to the overall efficiency and capabilities of the RDNA 3 architecture.

The Radeon RX 7600 has the usual three DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR13.5 ports and a single HDMI 2.1 port. This is one area where AMD’s latest generation hardware exceeds Nvidia’s Ada design, which still uses DisplayPort 1.4a.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review (4)
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AMD has designed the Radeon RX 7600 with a particular focus on streamers. That is why you get support for hardware-accelerated media like AV1, HEVC, H.264, VP9 etc.

The RX 7600 also has a bunch of features that make gameplay very smooth, thus making the GPU very appealing. For example, we have FSR 2.0, or AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2, the latest iteration of AMD’s open-source spatial upscaling technology. This innovative technology is designed to enhance framerates and provide gamers with exceptional high-quality, high-resolution gaming experiences. Think of FSR 2.0 as a magic sauce that AMD applies on your games that make them run buttery smooth, crisp and tack sharp.

In addition, AMD’s Radeon Super Resolution (RSR) utilizes the power of AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 1 spatial upscaling within the driver. This feature allows for enhanced performance in thousands of games, completely free of charge. RSR can be enabled globally or on a per-game basis, giving users flexibility in their settings.

When enabled, a slider becomes available, offering further customization options to adjust the sharpness effect of Radeon Super Resolution. A display box will indicate whether RSR is active or inactive, along with the resolution that has been upscaled. To provide an example, if you have a 1440p monitor and you lower your game’s resolution to 1920×1080, RSR will upscale the 1080p resolution to match 1440p.

We have previously discussed the RX 7600’s SAM (Smart Access Memory) feature. SAM allows the GPU to communicate directly with the CPU, enabling the spillage of frames from the VRAM to the system RAM when the VRAM becomes filled. In simple terms, Smart Access Memory (SAM) is an optimization technique that enhances the processor’s access to a graphics card’s VRAM memory.

This enables the CPU to efficiently transfer a large amount of data to the GPU and offload its graphics calculations. As a result, the GPU can generate frames at a much faster rate, significantly reducing the time required for frame generation. In essence, SAM improves the collaboration between the CPU and GPU, resulting in faster graphics rendering and a smoother overall gaming experience. Do note that SAM or ReBAR is available on recent CPUs only. For Intel, you need 11th Gen CPUs or later, and for AMD, Ryzen 5000 Series CPUs and newer, along with 400 Series motherboards or newer.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review (5)
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Additionally, AMD SmartAccess Video intelligently distributes decoding and encoding workloads across all available video engines. By utilizing the video compression engines on both the Ryzen processor and Radeon graphics, it optimizes the distribution of video-related tasks. This results in fewer dropped frames and an overall faster experience when it comes to video editing and transcoding.

The RX 7600 comes with hardware-level support for AV1 encoding and decoding, making it a compelling choice for streamers. AV1 offers significantly better image quality compared to H.264, while requiring only a fraction of the bitrate. As a result, video game streaming with AV1 encoding places much less strain on computing resources compared to the traditional H.264 standard. This feature allows streamers to deliver high-quality streams with reduced computational overhead, enhancing the streaming experience for both content creators and viewers.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review: Our testing rig
We paired our test unit of Radeon RX 7600 GPU with an AMD 7900X, 32GB Kingston Fury (2X16) RAM rated at 6000 MT/s, all connected to an Aorus X670E Master motherboard from Gigabyte. Cooling the CPU was an AMD Wraith PRISM cooler. Powering everything was the CoolerMaster MWE 750W V2 80 plus bronze PSU.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review (6)
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As always we did not overclock or change any settings before running our benchmarks and testing out games. The only change that we made was to enable EXPO so that our RAM operated at its rated speed and ensured that ReBAR or as AMD calls it Smart Access Memory, or SAM was enabled, which, AMD enables by default if you have a compatible motherboard and GPU. Other than this we ran everything on stock.
The reason why we checked if SAM was enabled is simple – although not all games benefit greatly by ReBAR or SAM, the ones that do, have 18-20 per cent more frame rates compared to systems that don’t have the option to enable SAM or ReBAR.
We ran the games at the highest possible settings whenever possible. We also had FSR 2.0 enabled in all the games that supported it. We also tested the games at 1440P.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review: Performance
The Radeon RX 7600 is heading straight for the RTX 3060, without making any qualms. The RX 7600 simply crushes the best of RTX 3060s in practically almost every scenario, and that too while coming in at a considerably lower amount. In fact, in some scenarios, it performed almost as good as the RTX 3060Ti as well as the RTX 3070.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review (6)

The 3DMark scores for the Radeon RX 7600 align with our expectations. It performs comparably to the RTX 3060, showing similar performance levels. However, in Furmark, the RX 7600 outperforms the competition by a significant margin. In terms of compute performance, LuxMark results are not in favour of the RX 7600, as it falls behind other cards. Nevertheless, its performance in Superposition remains highly competitive when compared to the aforementioned cards. Overall, the RX 7600 demonstrates strong performance in various benchmark tests, showcasing its capabilities in different scenarios.

SOTR-2

Indeed, the Radeon RX 7600 is well-suited for 1080p gaming, making it a reliable choice for that resolution. However, it doesn’t limit you to just 1080p gaming. Less demanding games will perform excellently at 1440p, and in certain cases, even 4K resolution is achievable. On the other hand, there may be extremely demanding games that struggle to run smoothly at 1080p with maximum settings. Nevertheless, in general, mainstream GPUs like the RX 7600 are typically considered ideal for 1080p gaming, offering a balance between performance and affordability.

F1-22

What worries us, however, is the 8GB VRAM and 128-bit bus. Sure, it is good enough for most games today. And in certain games where the 8GB VRAM fell short – like in The Last Of Us bumping down the settings from Ultra surely does help.

CS GO-2

But consider this – game developers are spending less and less time on optimising their games for budget hardware. Moreover, in 2024 and 2025, we have games like GTA VI launching. We can only imagine what sort of texture packs are those going to bring, by the time they come to PC. While 8GB VRAM and 128-bit bus be adequate for now for 1080P ultra gaming, they won’t be nearly as adequate in a couple of years when games become more demanding, and people start moving towards 1440P and possibly even 2K or 4K.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review: Conclusion
When considering whether to purchase the Radeon RX 7600 or explore options from NVIDIA or Intel, several factors come into play. Taking into account the price difference between the RX 7600 and even the basic RTX 3060 GPUs, we wholeheartedly recommend the RX 7600 for those building a new system specifically for 1080p gaming. Even at 1440p, the RX 7600 remains a sensible choice, especially when considering the Arc 750 from Intel.

However, if you’re planning to upgrade a GPU that is only a couple of years old or if your system is equipped with an older CPU (such as Intel’s 8th Generation or earlier, or an older AMD CPU), it may be more advantageous to explore other options.

AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU Review (7)
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In terms of gaming performance, the RX 7600 performs almost as well as the RTX 3060 in most games and even outperforms it in some cases. If ray tracing is of utmost importance, even more so than higher frame rates, then opting for an RTX option may be preferable, albeit at a higher cost.

For 1080p gaming, the Radeon RX 7600 emerges as a strong contender and arguably the best option currently available. While the card may have some limitations, it surpasses many of its competitors and offers a more appealing price point.

While Nvidia’s offerings are a viable alternative, they come at a significantly higher cost, and the performance increase in most tests and games do not justify the extra expense. Therefore, if you prioritize a balance between performance and affordability for 1080p gaming, the Radeon RX 7600 is a compelling choice that delivers solid results without breaking the bank.

The RX 7600 boasts certain advantages over its NVIDIA counterparts, making it the preferred choice in many scenarios. For streamers and content creators, the Intel Arc 750 appears to be an ideal GPU option. Similarly, for those building, a budget-oriented editing and/or gaming PC, the RX 7600 remains a strong contender. Additionally, the support for AV1 video, although not immediately crucial, is a format that streamers and content creators who understand its benefits will likely transition to in the future.



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Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review: Going berserk with a hardcore machine- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros:
– Mind-boggling performance
– Phenomenal display with Dolby Vision
– Subtle but aggressive aesthetics
– Great selection of ports
– Small footprint considering the specifications
– Keyboard
– Loud and dynamic speakers
– Upgradability
– Pricing, compared to other similarly specced laptops

Cons:
– Battery life
– Fans can get a little loud
– CPU and GPU can get a little toasty under heavy load
– Can be a bit cumbersome to carry around

Price: Rs 3,59,990/-
Rating: 4.5/5

The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7, truly is an enigma. From a brand that has made a reputation for itself for making some of the best business-class laptops (also read as serious, sophisticated and tack sharp), we have a laptop that has a lot of zing, flamboyance and character.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

On the surface, the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 seems to be a bit bulky for a laptop. However, the sheer performance that proper hardcore users will be able to extract from this laptop is truly amazing. There’s no point in beating around the bush – as far as performance is concerned, this is as near the top as it gets, without breaking the bank.

Yes, even at Rs 3,59,990, the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 is a bargain, considering that similarly specced laptops from other manufacturers easily charge a lakh and a half more. Some others, meanwhile, give you way less than what you pay for, while charging you a premium.

So who is the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 meant for? And does the fact that it is priced sensibly, mean that Lenovo has cut corners? We take a look.

Specs and features
We received the 82TD009KIN model of the Legion 7i Gen 7 as our test unit, which was equipped with an Intel Core i9-12900HX CPU. Our test unit featured a dual-channel configuration of 32GB DDR5 RAM (2x16GB), operating at a speed of 4800MHz, to complement the i9 12900HX processor.

In terms of graphics, our test unit was equipped with the laptop version of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080Ti, boasting 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM. Additionally, Intel’s UHD Graphics is also available for handling less demanding tasks.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (2)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The display on our test unit was a 16-inch QHD+ (2560X1600) IPS antiglare screen, with a refresh rate of 165Hz. Notably, this display was certified with Dolby Vision, ensuring enhanced visual quality.

In the storage department, our unit came with a 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 SSD. For connectivity, users had access to two Thunderbolt 4 ports, which are USB4-rated and offered a speed of 40Gbps. These ports also supported DisplayPort 1.4. Additionally, there aretwo USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, one of which supports Always On functionality. Furthermore, there was one USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, an HDMI 2.1 port, an RJ45 Ethernet port which is rated at 2.5Gbps, and a 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack.

As for wireless connectivity, we get WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 through an Intel-based Killer 1675i chip on this laptop.

The battery on our unit had a capacity of 99.99Whr, and it was accompanied by a 300W charging brick with a proprietary connector. Security features included fingerprint-based Windows Hello biometrics, while a 1080p FHD camera with an e-camera shutter was provided for video purposes.

Design and build quality
The design of the Legion 7i Gen 7 exemplifies the concept of “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” The laptop’s construction combines anodized aluminium and polycarbonate, with Lenovo referring to the colour as Storm Grey. The bottom half of the laptop, known as the chassis, features an RGB strip powered by Legion Spectrum, offering over 16 million colours and various effects. However, the overall design remains understated and simple. By turning off the RGB lighting, the laptop appears like any other device suitable for a professional corporate setting.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (11)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The presence of large vents on the sides and rear hints at the exceptional performance capabilities of this high-end laptop, surpassing typical expectations. Even the exhaust vents at the rear receive the RGB treatment.

The metallic top lid houses the display and exhibits minimal flex. It is slightly recessed from the edge of the clamshell, resulting in a noticeable rear protrusion of about an inch. The lid also features a glowing Lenovo Legion logo, enhancing the gaming aesthetics of the machine. It sits on a sturdy hinge that can be easily opened with one hand while ensuring the display remains stable without unnecessary movement. The bezels surrounding the screen are thin on the left, top, and right edges, with a slightly thicker bezel at the bottom housing the Legion logo.

Through the Lenovo Vantage app, users can customize settings and create up to six profiles, granting control over the RGB lighting options available.

The placement of ports is well-considered and user-friendly. The right edge accommodates an audio combo jack and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port. New to the Gen 7 model is the webcam cutoff switch, which proves more effective than a simple privacy shutter by physically disconnecting the webcam from the laptop.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (5)
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On the rear, you’ll find additional connectivity options, including Ethernet, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, HDMI 2.1 video output, and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports. The rightmost USB-A port supports device charging even when the laptop is turned off.

The Legion 7i Gen 7 is built like a tank, evident from its weight of over 2.5 kilograms. While the weight may initially seem like a drawback, considering the laptop’s specifications and the necessary cooling system inside, the weight becomes more understandable and less cumbersome.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (7)
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Keyboard and trackpad
The keyboard on the Legion 7i Gen 7, while slightly shallow, provides a comfortable and enjoyable typing experience. The keycaps are well-sized and spaced, even with the inclusion of a numeric keypad. The key switches offer a snappy feel, and deliver a satisfying tactile feedback while preventing accidental keystrokes. 

Each key features RGB backlighting and supports 100 per cent anti-ghosting. Additionally, the WASD keys are equipped with force sensors, making them ideal for gaming. The package also includes four extra switchable keycaps.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (3)
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Although it may not be the absolute best laptop keyboard available, it certainly ranks among the top options. It offers a comfortable and pleasant typing experience even during long periods of use.

Despite being a gaming laptop, the Legion 7i Gen 7 features a decently sized trackpad. Positioned towards the left side to accommodate typing, this layout creates extra space on the right. The trackpad is accurate and easy to use, providing excellent tracking and sensitivity. It is suitable for daily tasks, although gamers may prefer to use an external mouse, making any minor trackpad issues less significant.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (10)
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Webcam and speakers
The webcam is housed on the top bezel of the display, which is actually very thin. We get a 1080p FHD webcam, with a dedicated kill switch for security and privacy. As a result, you don’t need a physical shutter to cover the lens. 

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (9)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The image and the video that you get from the camera is more than good to get the basic job done, but if you are planning on streaming while you game, you will want to invest in something else. It gets the colours right and works well in some challenging situations. It will do just fine for most of your video conferencing needs.

You also get Tobii Horizon Technology which brings in-game camera control via user head movements for a seamless expansion of the field of view.

The speakers, again, are great. You get two stereo 2W speakers at the bottom, which have good depth, great bass, decent treble and do hit the midranges pretty well. All in all, they are balanced really well. They also get pretty loud without any distortion. You can easily fill up a room without having to raise the volume beyond 70 per cent. 

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (6)
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However, due to how they’re placed on the flat underbelly, you’ll need to be careful not to cover and muffle them when not using the laptop on a desk.

You also get the Nahimic app which has sound presets and a graphic equalizer.

Display
The unit we tested featured a 16-inch QHD+ (2560X1600) IPS anti-glare screen with a refresh rate of 165Hz. Although the refresh rate may not be exceptionally high, the QHD+ resolution compensates for it. The display has a 16:10 aspect ratio, which results in black bands on the content. As for the hinge, it has a one that opens up to 180 degrees.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (12)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The display is Dolby Vision certified, bringing colours to life and offering HDR 400 support. It covers 100% of the sRGB colour space and features Nvidia G-Sync to eliminate frame tearing. Additionally, it has an anti-glare surface to reduce reflections. With excellent brightness and colour reproduction, this display appears to have everything one could desire.

With a peak brightness of 500 nits, the colours are vibrant and the contrast is impressive for an IPS display. Content consumption is a delight, and games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider truly come to life.

The display’s exceptional colour accuracy makes it well-suited for photo editing and colour grading tasks.

The Legion 7i also offers MUX support, specifically in the Hybrid – Advanced Optimus modes.

Performance: Productivity and Gaming
The Legion 7i Gen 7 is equipped with the powerful Intel i9 12900HX CPU, which can boost up to 5 GHz and features 16 cores and 24 threads. Among these cores, 8 are high-performance cores, while the remaining 8 are efficiency cores.

For the GPU, the laptop is equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080Ti, a high-end graphics card with 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM and a TDP of 175W. This configuration allows the GPU to perform at its full potential, delivering excellent graphics capabilities.

The overall performance of the Legion 7i Gen 7 is remarkable. The i9 12900HX CPU excels in all benchmark tests, showcasing its superiority in both single-threaded and multithreaded workloads. Thanks to Intel’s hybrid architecture, it achieves some of the highest scores across various benchmarks.

Similarly, the GPU performs exceptionally well, outperforming synthetic benchmarks. With a TDP of 175W, Lenovo has provided ample power for the RTX 3080Ti to deliver impressive graphics performance. Both the i9 12900HX CPU and the RTX 3080Ti are effectively powered.

To maintain optimal performance, the Legion 7i Gen 7 incorporates Lenovo’s advanced cooling solution called Legion Coldfront 4.0. It features a vapour chamber for improved heat dissipation. The cooling system includes a 20 per cent more powerful fan system with thinner liquid crystal polymer blades, ensuring quiet operation. Additionally, the laptop’s design includes multiple intake holes and ports to enhance airflow and optimize cooling.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (8)
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The Legion 7i Gen 7 effectively manages its heat during intensive workloads and demanding games. While it may get warm towards the top near the power button, the keyboard area, where users typically place their fingers, remains relatively cool.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review Benchmarks 1
Image Credit: Tech2

While benchmark numbers don’t always reflect real-life performance, the Legion 7i Gen 7 excels in most benchmarks, as demonstrated by the chart. The gaming performance is equally impressive, showcasing the capabilities of the i9-12900HX CPU and RTX 3080Ti GPU.

In 3DMark’s Time Spy test, we got a score of 11,852. On Cinebench R23, we had a single-core score of 1,926 and a multicore score of 12,469. PCMark10’s overall score was 8,150. In Crossmark, we had an Overall score of 2,072, a Productivity score of 1,920, Creativity score of 2,360 and a Responsiveness score of 1,901.

During testing, games like Shadow of The Tomb Raider, Far Cry 6, Far Cry 5, GTA V, Valorant, and Metro Exodus were played at the highest presets, with a resolution of 2650X1600, ray tracing turned off, and DLSS set to its highest setting. The Performance mode in Lenovo Vantage was used for all tests. We also ran the gaming benchmark at 1080p.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review Benchmarks 2
Image Credit: Tech2

In 2.5K we were averaging 115 fps in Shadow of The Tomb Raider, 87 fps in Far Cry 6, 133 fps in Far Cry 5, 85 fps in GTA V, 285 fps in Valorant, and 80 fps in Metro Exodus. 

In 1080p we were averaging 138 fps in Shadow of The Tomb Raider, 120 fps in Far Cry 6, 162 fps in Far Cry 5, 162 fps in GTA V, 378 fps in Valorant, and 98 fps in Metro Exodus. 

Battery
The Legion 7i Gen 7 comes with one of the largest batteries to be ever fitted to a laptop. It has a 4-cell, 99.99W/hr battery, and a 300W charging brick. However, given its bulk, size and performance, and the fact that this is a hardcore gaming laptop with a performance that you wouldn’t find on most desktops, the GT77 Titan has a very mediocre battery life for a laptop.

On an average day of work, which consisted of a ton of writing, some photo editing, and quite a bit of content consumption on YouTube and Netflix, we got about 5 hours of usage at about 65 per cent screen brightness. 

During our extended battery testing, where we play a 4K Video on YouTube on 75 per cent brightness and 50 per cent volume, with all RGB lights on, the Legion 7i Gen 7 lasted just under 2 hours. As wit all the serious, hardcore gaming laptops that we have tried, battery life isn’t a strong suit for the Legion 7i Gen 7. 

Verdict
The Legion 7i Gen 7 is a pricey laptop that is not within reach for many individuals. Additionally, the machine’s high-performance capabilities are only necessary for specific use cases, which means that not everyone requires such tremendous processing power.

Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 7 Gaming Laptop Review (4)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

So, who is the target audience for the Legion 7i Gen 7? We believe it caters to high-performing content creators, gamers, ML engineers, architects, and game developers who are frequently on the go and need a laptop capable of competing with high-end desktop computers. 

We can confidently state that the Legion 7i Gen 7 surpasses the power of most desktop computers in India, including some of the best-dedicated gaming desktops. Additionally, the presence of an impressive display is an added bonus.

Certainly, there are a few drawbacks, but they are almost inconsequential and minimal. The laptop tends to generate some heat, particularly when placed flatly. Additionally, the battery life could have been improved, and the Lenovo Vantage app could benefit from better design and a user-friendliness approach.

However, once you experience the incredible combination of the i9-12900HX processor and the RTX 3080Ti graphics card, working together seamlessly, the minor flaws of the Legion 7i Gen 7 fade away. If you seek uncompromised and unparalleled performance and have the means to invest Rs 3.5 Lakhs in a laptop, look no further. Plus, with the Intel 13th Gen CPUs and RTX 4000 series GPUs becoming more common, you can easily expect the price to go down a little.



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Samsung Galaxy S23+ review: The perfect all-rounder that balances the best of both worlds- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros
– Bright and vivid display
– Awesome performance
– Brilliant camera performance
– Great battery life
– Understated, but premium design
– Speakers
– Great ergonomics and feel in the hand
– Long software update commitment

Cons
– Cameras not as great as that of the Galaxy S23 Ultra
– 45W wired charging, with no charging brick in the box
– System applications take up a lot of memory

Price: Rs 94,999 for the 8GB + 256GB variant
Rating: 4.75/5

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best Android smartphone that money can buy right now if you’re looking for an option from a safe and reliable smartphone brand. On the other hand, The Galaxy S23, is the best compact smartphone in the market right now, no questions asked.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The Galaxy S23+, therefore falls straight in between these two smartphones and packs a lot of the same features as that of its elder and younger siblings. Yes, you won’t get the features of the Galaxy S Pen, and you also don’t get some of the awesome cameras of the S23 Ultra. Despite these shortcomings, the Galaxy S23+ is a brilliant smartphone. 

However, because of the way it has been positioned, it has a lot of competition. In fact, we will go as far as to say that the Galaxy S23+ has taken all the competition that the S23 Ultra and the petite S23 had, onto itself. 

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (11)
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Having said that, the S23+ is such a solid smartphone that, all things considered, it stands up to its competitors rather well.

Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G review: The design
Just like the other devices in the Galaxy S23 line-up, the Galaxy S23 has an unmistakable air of premiumness. Unlike most of Samsung’s competitors, there are no fancy tricks being played here –  you get a device that is actually as premium as it looks. Furthermore, it isn’t as large and unwieldy as the S23 Ultra, which is a behemoth in every sense of the word, nor is it as tiny and petite as the S23 – it just strikes the right balance between the two.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (4)
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When it comes to aesthetics, the Galaxy S23+, just like the S23 Ultra and the S23 is truly a sight to behold. Sure, it isn’t as comfortable to hold as the S23, but it still is compact and wieldy enough that makes it very easy for one-handed operations. Moreover, the device has been designed very thoughtfully and scores very high on ergonomics and on giving a very easy and pleasant user-friendly experience.m

From a distance the S23+ looks exactly the same as the S23, but only slightly larger. As a result, the S23+ truly looks premium. Make no mistake, the S23+ make heads turn.

In contrast to last year’s S22 series, this year, Samsung chose to go with a cleaner design for its S series. The S23+ sports a cleaner, flat-back design, in which the rear cameras and flash merely float, unlike the S22, which had a noticeable camera housing. Similar to the S23 Ultra, the cameras are encircled by a metallic ring on all of the glass components. 

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (8)
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The Galaxy S23+ is built like a tank and you feel that the moment you pick the device up. Our test device was a cream-coloured, which looked particularly stunning, thanks to its matte finish. However, we reckon the phantom black version looks particularly stunning. These are the only two colours that you get. Given that the rest of the S23 series has a bunch of colour options, we would have loved to see a few more options with the S23+ as well.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (7)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The placement of buttons on all three S23 models is identical, with the volume rockers and power button is situated on the right-hand side. Despite being smaller in size, the power button and volume rockers on the S23 are of the same size as the S23 Ultra and have been slightly spaced out, making them easy to differentiate.

At the bottom, the device features a familiar setup, including a speaker grille for one of the speakers, a USB Type-C port, and the SIM tray, except for the S-Pen.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (6)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Samsung’s commitment to sustainability is evident in the Galaxy S23, with both the front and back panels incorporating a substantial amount of recycled materials like glass and plastic, as seen in the S23 Ultra. Additionally, the aluminium frame is made of recycled aluminium.

Samsung has gone to a great lengths to ensure that the exterior of the S23+is made using recycled plastic, glass and aluminium. The rear panel is made out of 80 per cent recycled PET plastic, and 20 per cent recycled ocean-bound plastic, whereas the front glass has been made using 22 per cent recycled glass.

Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G review: The display and audio
Samsung has some of the best displays for portable devices on the market that are also used by its competitors. Obviously, then, the Galaxy S23+, just like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Galaxy S23 has the best display that money can buy.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (5)
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The Galaxy S23+ boasts a stunning 6.6-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED display, which is just excellent. With a resolution of 2340×1080 pixels and a pixel density of 393 ppi, the display is as sharp as it can get. It also has outstanding contrast, which results in vibrant colours. We also get support for a dynamic refresh rate of 120Hz, a broad colour gamut, and HDR10+. Because of this, content consumption on the S23+ is a joy. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

One remarkable feature of the display is the range of brightness. With a minimum brightness of only 0.8 nits, the Galaxy S23+ can be comfortably used in complete darkness without causing any eye strain. On the other hand, the maximum brightness is significantly higher than before, reaching approximately 1,100 nits in tests, making it one of the brightest phones available. In certain lighting conditions, the screen can even peak at an impressive 1,750 nits for short durations, providing exceptional visibility in bright environments.

The Galaxy S23+ also offers users the choice of two different colour profiles. The natural colour profile provides an sRGB-grade colour accuracy, while the vivid colour profile enhances the content viewing experience for those who want the best possible visuals. 

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (9)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The display produces colours that are not only rich and vibrant but also exceptionally contrasty, resulting in a beautifully saturated and immersive display. The images are displayed with impressive sharpness and clarity, providing an overall crisp viewing experience. 

Furthermore, even under direct sunlight, the display performs admirably, and users should have no difficulty reading or viewing content on the screen. 

All in all, the display of the device is truly exceptional, delivering a visual experience that is sure to impress.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (2)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The stereo speakers on the Galaxy S23 are an excellent addition to the already impressive screen. They are loud and deliver clear sound quality. With the Dolby Atmos feature enabled, users can enjoy a wider soundstage that provides an immersive audio experience. Additionally, gamers will appreciate the dedicated ‘Dolby Atmos for Gaming’ audio profile in the sound settings, which enhances the speakers’ performance in select game titles.

Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G review: The camera
The camera setup on the Galaxy S23+ is quite similar to that of the Galaxy S23. It features a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 10MP telephoto camera on the rear. Additionally, the device has a 12MP front-facing camera.

The primary 50MP sensor comes equipped with dual-pixel PDAF and OIS, while the 10MP telephoto camera also uses PDAF and OIS. The front-facing 12MP camera for selfies also employs dual-pixel PDAF.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (3)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The 50MP sensor on the Galaxy S23+ is set to shoot 12MP binned photos by default, which produce stunning results. However, the sensor can also be used to capture 50MP RAW photos and even try astrophotography with the Exper RAW mode, all of which can be accessed directly within the main camera app.

The primary 50MP sensor takes photos with vibrant colours, sharp contrast, and a wide dynamic range, particularly under optimal lighting conditions. The resulting images have a slightly warm tone and bold colours, although this might not be ideal for those who prefer to edit their photos later. However, for most users, the photos are ready to share on social media without any post-processing.

Switching to the 12MP ultra-wide sensor may result in some loss of detail and brightness, but the images still appear relatively sharp. The Portrait Mode, which uses the 10MP telephoto lens, produces gorgeous portrait shots with creamy bokeh and excellent edge recognition and details.

The night mode on the Galaxy S23+ performs admirably, capturing plenty of detail even in low-light conditions. While there may be some noise, overall, users will be satisfied with the device’s performance in challenging lighting situations.

The zooming capabilities of the Galaxy S23+ are noteworthy, although it doesn’t offer the 100X zoom found in the S23 Ultra. However, the 30X zoom available on the S23+ produces detailed images that are more than satisfactory.

In well-lit conditions, the 12MP front-facing camera captures decent detail and colours, although some flattening of facial features may be noticeable. The HDR feature is impressive, and the portrait mode on the front-facing camera is exquisite.

When it comes to video recording, the Galaxy S23+ can record at 8K resolution at 30 frames per second. The footage from the device features accurate colour tones and crisp images. Moreover, video stabilization has been improved compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S22.

Check out some unedited photo samples from the Galaxy S23+ here.

Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G review: The performance, software experience and UI
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is considered the fastest Android smartphone currently available, and it may even surpass the Galaxy S23 Ultra in speed, according to some benchmark tests. The reason for this impressive performance is that the Galaxy S23 is powered by the same custom overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset found in the S23 Ultra, making their performance comparable.

The unit that was tested had 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 internal storage. Unfortunately, none of the devices in the S23 series come with a microSDXC slot.

In day-to-day tasks, the Galaxy S23+ just glides by everything, no matter what you ask of it. And when you try to push its limits by going bonkers, it hardly breaks a sweat. 

During our comprehensive testing, we did not encounter any issues such as stuttering or lagging with the Galaxy S23. The device offers quick app loading times and smooth multitasking, providing an impressive user experience. Even when subjected to demanding tasks like playing graphics-intensive games or rendering videos, the Galaxy S23 maintained stable and reliable performance.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (16)

We tried pushing the S23+ to the edge to see if it showed any chinks in the armour, if it overheated or if the SoC throttled in any way. We are happy to report that despite throwing everything at it, the S23+ just took on the punishment and performed exceptionally. 

During our testing, we found that the Galaxy S23+ can handle graphically intensive games like Genshin Impact, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Apex Legends with ease, even at the highest settings, achieving 45-60fps without any issues. Ray tracing support at a hardware level is also present, but we couldn’t test it out as there aren’t any games available for that feature yet.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (15)

The Samsung Galaxy S23+ runs on OneUI 5.1, which is based on Android 13. It comes packed with numerous features, and exploring them all may take a few days. 

Like the S23 Ultra, the Galaxy S23+ has all the features of a modern-day flagship device, such as Bluetooth 5.3, USB C 3.2, and support for all the necessary 5G bands. However, it lacks WiFi 7, which is supported by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. 

Also, neither the S23 Ultra nor the S23 or S23+ supports satellite connectivity, even though Qualcomm demonstrated the feature on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-equipped device that could send and receive texts over satellite. However, satellite connectivity may be specific to certain regions and unlikely to launch in India due to government regulations.

As with all the devices in the S23 series, S23+ will also be getting four generations of OS upgrades for these phones and five years of security upgrades.

Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G review: The battery life
The Galaxy S23+ has the same 4700mAh battery, which is more than what we had in the S22+ last year. However, the battery life will take you by surprise. Without any sort of optimisations, we were getting around 7-8 hours of screen on time with 70 per cent brightness, with about a quarter of power still left after a 13-hour day. 

The S23+ can easily be an all-day device. Thanks to its larger battery, FHD+ screen, and a super-efficient Snapdragon SoC, the Galaxy S23+ has a phenomenal battery life.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (10)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The charging speed of the Galaxy S23+ may be considered unimpressive by some, as it only supports 45W wired charging with a compatible charging block, and does not come with a charging brick, but only a USB-C to USB-C cable. 

Other manufacturers are offering higher wattage fast charging options, with some budget midrange phones even supporting over 100W fast charging. It would have been ideal for the S23+ to support at least 80W fast charging, considering the charging technology offered by other competitors. However, it does compensate with support for wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy S23+ 5G review: The verdict
The Galaxy S23 is a top-notch smartphone that’s difficult to fault when you consider it as a complete package. The only drawback we could find is the lack of a fast-charging technology that’s suitable for a flagship device. Samsung should come up with a better charging solution, particularly for their high-end smartphones, as 45W charging doesn’t seem to be sufficient.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (12)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Despite this, the Galaxy S23+ excels in all other areas that are essential for a flagship smartphone. While the S23 Ultra has gained a lot of attention and rightfully so, the regular S23+ is a great choice for most people. It’s much cheaper, has the best battery life in its class, superb speakers, excellent performance, and a stunning display. The cameras are also fantastic and more than enough for most users’ needs.

The S23+ has a lot of competition, especially from Xiaomi and OnePlus. There are areas where devices from these manufacturers are slightly better than what the S23+ has to offer. However, they make some glaring omissions as well, which spoil the experience of the user. 

Moreover, Samsung has made a name for itself with stable OS releases and updates – then there’s the fact that Samsung has a very robust after-sales service, something that most Chinese smartphone manufacturers still haven’t been able to crack.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus Review (14)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

If you want us to summarise our experience of the Galaxy S23+, it would be this – unless you absolutely need the S23 Ultra’s smart pen, are planning to get the best Android smartphone on the market, and are not very keen on getting a compact smartphone, the Galaxy S23+ has to be at the top of the list. Barring a few instances, it is just as good as its more expensive and gargantuan elder brother, the Galaxy S23 Ultra. 



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OnePlus Nord Buds 2 Review: Nord Buds with ANC and better value for money- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros:
– Punchy sound output
– 6-band equaliser to tweak the sound further
– Comfortable in-ear fit, good passive noise isolation
– IP55 dust and fluid resistance
– Impressive battery backup, fast charging
– Good call quality

Cons:
– Average ANC
– No wear detection sensors or volume control on the earbuds
– Bulky charging case, though it looks better than before

Price: Rs 2,999
Rating: 4/5

The first OnePlus Nord Buds was an interesting pair of TWS earbuds that introduced a few firsts from the brand despite being their most affordable then. It had a unique design and was the first time that OnePlus provisioned custom audio presets, a feature that was later added to their more expensive audio products. The sequel has arrived that looks a bit more polished and offers active noise cancellation (ANC) at a similar price point. Time to take a closer look.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

OnePlus Nord Buds 2: Design and Comfort (7.5/10)
OnePlus took a different design approach with the first Nord Buds with the unique pill-shaped stems, and they have stuck to that design language here too. In fact, the Nord Buds 2 earbuds have the same shape, just with different colour options and finish. We got the Thunder Gray variant for review and it has a smooth matte finish on the buds and the case. It is a big improvement from the glossy finish of its predecessor that made it look too plasticky. 

While the case is smooth to the touch, the finish looks a tad grainy due to the ‘tasteful speckled accents’ that OnePlus has added. Tasteful is a matter of individual taste; I mistook it for dust and tried to clean it in vain. The good part is the charging case is pretty much smudge-free and now has rounded edges all around making it look much better than that of the first Nord Buds. It is marginally smaller and lighter too but still far from pocketable (over an inch in thickness), unless you don’t mind a big bulge in your pocket.  

OnePlus Nord Buds 2 Review Earbuds
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Battery capacity is still the same at 480 mAh, but it promises better backup. A charge indicator LED is located at the front of the case, while a USB-C charging port along with a perfectly camouflaged Bluetooth pairing/reset button are present at the back. The buds are fairly light too at 4.7 grams each. The fit is snug and comfortable, and they don’t pop out of the ear during a workout or a jog. The right-sized silicon tips offer good passive noise isolation and eventually, help in improving ANC too. 

The touch-enabled zones at the back aren’t marked with metallic paint and elevation like before but are more subtle with a bit of gloss. The touch sensitivity is good and the buds produce a small beep every time you tap in the zone. The Nord Buds 2 are IP55-rated dust and fluid resistant, which is good. But unlike more premium OnePlus TWS earbuds like the Buds Z2 or Buds Pro 2, the charging case does not have any ingress protection.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2: Features and Specifications (8/10)
Each earbud is fitted with a 12.4 mm dynamic driver with titanized diaphragm; same size as the original Nord Buds. They still have two microphones each despite the addition of active noise cancellation here. Yes, ANC is the biggest change in these new buds. OnePlus has kept things simple in this department by not bothering with varying degrees of noise cancellation like in the Buds Pro series. You get to choose between ANC On, ANC Off and Transparency mode that lets ambient noise through. More on this in a bit.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2 Review Charging case
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

While the company has added ANC, wear detection sensors continue to be absent on the Nord Buds 2, something I would have preferred to see here. While codec support remains the same – SBC and AAC, the Bluetooth version has been upgraded from 5.2 to 5.3. There’s support for Dolby Atmos too when paired with compliant devices. You don’t need to install any app if you use these buds with a OnePlus 6 or a more recent OnePlus phone running OxygenOS 11 or later. You get access to various settings of the buds in the Bluetooth settings itself. 

For other phones, you will need to install the HeyMelody app and sync the earphones to access the same features. The app is available for Android and iOS both. You get to alter the sound profile, configure the controls and update the firmware. You can assign play/pause, previous/next track, voice assistant or nothing to single tap, double tap and triple tap gestures. Touch-and-hold lets you switch between the ANC profiles. Just like all OnePlus buds, volume control cannot be assigned to any of the gestures on the Nord Buds 2 either. 

OnePlus Nord Buds 2: Performance (7.5/10)
For starters, loudness won’t be an issue on these buds as they are perfectly audible close to 50% when indoors, and I don’t remember pushing the volume beyond 60% too often even in noisy areas outdoors. Similar to its predecessor, the default sound signature of the Nord Buds 2 on the ‘Balanced’ preset is clearly bass-heavy. If anything, the treble is a bit more distinct in this mode this time. However, the excess bass impacts the midrange frequencies and causes noticeable auditory masking. 

OnePlus Nord Buds 2 Review Nord buds vs Nord Buds 2 - buds design
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

And yes, we are still talking about the Balanced preset and not ‘Bass’, that’s also one of the four options available here; one that needs to be ignored. The ‘Bold’ preset actually offers better balance, and the ‘Serenade’ preset tends to lower the bass further and offers a brighter sound which isn’t very enjoyable in music but can be useful in voice heavy content like podcasts. As we learnt from the first Nord Buds, the sound presets are just a formality and the real deal is the Sound Master EQ (Equaliser) that lets you tweak the audio to your liking, which is available here too in the companion app.  

You get a 6-band equaliser, two each for lows, mids and highs, that lets you readjust the sound profile and create your own audio presets. While it doesn’t turn things on its head, it does make a noticeable difference to the sound output. Pushing the 1KHz and 4KHz bars up by a few units improves the vocal clarity and certain midrange sounds. Similarly, you can reduce the bass EQ to your liking. Feel free to play with the equaliser till you get the best possible results. You also get a BassWave slider here that’s best left untouched.

After a few sound tweaks, the Nord Buds 2 produce a punchy sound output with a better balance and sharpness, and still with ample bass. The soundstage here is not too broad but fine for the segment. The latency is low enough as there was no noticeable lag between the video and audio when streaming videos from OTT platforms. The wireless range is as advertised with a strong connection up to 10 metres with a clear line of sight. 

Coming to the final point about the new addition to the Nord Buds series – active noise cancellation. These buds can reduce ambient noise up to 25 dB, which used to be the mark for entry-level earphones with ANC over a year or two ago. Numbers aside, the ANC here is far from impressive and just about functional. It does reduce certain ambient sounds but doesn’t come close to cutting you off from your surroundings when ANC is turned on. Even indoors, it cannot eliminate the sound of the fan entirely.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2 Review Nord buds vs Nord Buds 2 case
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Thankfully, the passive noise isolation is good here, and that plus the ANC helps you reduce some background chatter when in public transport once the audio starts playing. The Transparency mode is decent but could have done with a bit of boost to the vocal frequency range. Now, while the ANC here is not something I would recommend these earphones for, one must factor in its sub-3K selling price, which is close to that of its predecessor that did not offer ANC. So some degree of noise reduction is better than none at all when you aren’t paying a big premium for it.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2: Call quality (8/10)
The OnePlus Nord Buds 2’s call quality is quite good indoors as well as outdoors. People on the line were clearly audible to each other. When outdoors, the AI noise reduction does a more than decent job of isolating your voice from the ambient noise, and though it cannot eliminate the background noise entirely, it doesn’t impact the conversation much. Even in noisy areas your voice is transmitted with very good clarity. The Nord Buds 2 can be a good option for those looking for budget TWS earbuds primarily for calling.

OnePlus Nord Buds 2: Battery life (8.5/10)
Just like its predecessor, the battery backup remains impressive. The company claims 5 and 7 hours of audio playback for the buds with ANC on and off respectively, and 27 and 36 hours overall with the charging case in similar operating conditions. With the loudness mostly under 60% during the test process, the earbuds actually managed to match those figures with the buds going on for close to 5 hours with ANC on and a shade over 7 without ANC. The case could recharge them four more times. 

OnePlus Nord Buds 2 Review USB port, Bluetooth pairing button
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

That translates into an overall battery backup of about 30 hours for the buds and case combined with intermittent use of ANC, and close to 35 hours if you do not use ANC or Transparency at all, which is quite impressive and even better than the first Nord Buds. And they support fast charging too! A 10-minute charge promises close to 5 hours of playtime with the buds and case combined without ANC, which is not bad at all. The buds can be charged fully in less than an hour, while the case takes 30 more minutes for a full tank. 

OnePlus Nord Buds 2: Price and verdict
The OnePlus Nord Buds 2 can be purchased for Rs 2,999 with a one year warranty. That makes it just Rs 200 more than the first Nord Buds, and you get some form of ANC, a better looking case, marginally improved sound quality, better battery backup and much better call quality for that tiny premium. Good elements like a custom equaliser, configurable controls, fast charging and that striking buds design have been carried forward here. All things considered, the Nord Buds 2 is a feature-rich pair of TWS earbuds that’s fairly easy to recommend under 3K.

As for competition, there isn’t much except for two of its ever-present not-so-distant cousins – the Realme Buds Q2 and the Realme Buds Air 2. They both offer slightly better ANC in this budget, comparable sound quality, customisable touch controls, three sound profiles but no custom EQ. Their battery life and call quality is pretty decent but not as good as the Nord Buds 2. The Buds Air 2 that sells for a similar price has wear detection sensors. The Buds Q2 is more affordable at Rs 2,499 and even cheaper during online sales. Choose one depending on the features that matter to you most.



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Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: A performance beast dressed as a sleek thin and light- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros:
– Phenomenal AMOLED Display that is very responsive to touch
– Solid build quality despite being a thin and light
– Top-notch performance in productivity tasks
– Solid-sounding speakers
– Sleek design 
– Keyboard and trackpad combo is a joy to use
– A whole suite of software features
– Integrates well with other Samsung devices

Cons:
– On the more expensive end of the spectrum
– Battery life can be a hit and a miss at times.

Price: Starts at Rs 1,55,990/-
Rating: 4.5/5

From an engineering standpoint, a thin and light ultrabook is one of the most difficult pieces of tech to make. Not only does the device need to be ultraportable, sleek and magnificent to look at, it also cannot compromise on performance, the very thing that makes it an ultrabook, a machine fit for the pros. 

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

In this regard, the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 truly lives up to the word “Pro” in its name. In our regular day-to-day office work, there was hardly anything that made it break a sweat – editing videos, editing photos, tons of writing – it did all of it and did it well. 

What makes the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 so special is its suite of software features. Samsung is really going all out in making its own ecosystem as robust as that of Apple. While it may be hard to believe for some, they are doing a pretty incredible job in that regard. With the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360, they certainly get one step closer to perfection.

Make no mistake – if you’re looking to replicate the Apple ecosystem on Android and Windows, Samsung is your best bet as of yet. As for the laptops, there are certain aspects to it that actually makes the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 a better option than the best MacBook you can think of. Read on to find out why.

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: Specifications
The Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 we assessed was equipped with the 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1360P CPU, which has a total of 12 cores comprising 4 Performance cores and 8 Efficiency cores. The CPU operates at a base core frequency of 2.2GHz and offers Performance cores that can reach up to 5Ghz and Efficiency cores that can reach up to 3.7Ghz.

In terms of memory, our unit featured an integrated 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and Intel’s Iris Xe graphics. The device sports a 16-inch 3K AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, touch input capabilities, and an S Pen. Samsung refers to this as the Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display.

Our unit also boasted top-of-the-line storage with a 1 TB PCIe 4.0-based NVMe M.2 SSD and a 76Wh battery. It provides various ports, including one USB 3.2 Type-A port, two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, one 2-in-1 audio port, and a microSD card slot.

The device is equipped with WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless connectivity.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: Design and Build
The design of the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is understated, minimalist and elegant. It is a versatile device that can transform from a laptop to a tablet with ease, thanks to its convertible 2-in-1 design. This feature offers users the flexibility to switch between a traditional laptop setup and a tablet-like configuration for creative tasks, especially with the inclusion of the S Pen stylus.

For those who enjoy streaming content, the tent mode is an ideal option as it provides a convenient viewing angle that can be adjusted to suit individual preferences. With the display flipped around and propped up, the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 can be used for streaming movies or TV shows, making it a perfect choice for entertainment on the go.

The S Pen stylus also adds a new dimension to the device, as it provides a comfortable and natural way to write, draw or take notes directly on the screen. This feature is particularly useful for artists, graphic designers, or anyone who needs to jot down their ideas quickly and conveniently. 

The ultrabook looks humongous in size, but at 1.6 kilograms, it is pretty light and easy to carry around. The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 boasts an aluminium build that not only adds durability but also creates a high-end appearance that makes the device feel more valuable. 

What’s really impressive is the fact that there is virtually no deck flex, even when you’re typing away furiously. The screen has very little wobble; the hinges have great travel, feel solid and have a very smooth feel when opening or closing.

This sophisticated look is consistent in both laptop and tent modes. Whether you’re working in a coffee shop or a professional office, this ultrabooks aesthetic is sure to impress anyone who takes even a cursory look at it – it looks expensive and sophisticated. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 boasts an impressive array of ports. On the right, you get a USB-A port, a microSD card slot, and a headphone/mic jack. On the left, we find an HDMI port, two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports.

We really like the fact that Samsung has bothered to include a USB-A port at all. Most thin and lights have practically ditched the humble, but mighty USB-A port. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The full-sized HDMI port is also a useful addition, as it allows users to connect the device to an external monitor, and is a port that we usually don’t see on a thin and light ultrabook.

We also like the fact that the vents of the display are tucked away and are usually not visible when you have the device in its laptop orientation and are using it regularly. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: The Keyboard and trackpad 
Despite being somewhat shallow, the keyboard on the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 offers a comfortable typing experience thanks to its well-sized keycaps and ample spacing, which remain unaffected even with the numeric keypad included. 

The key switches are soft yet snappy, giving a satisfying tactile response while typing, which provides enough precision to prevent accidental keystrokes. While it may not be the best keyboard ever to be built into a laptop, it surely ranks near the top as it provides a rather comfortable and pleasant experience even for extended periods of typing. The keyboard also has a fingerprint reader, which is integrated into the power button. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The touchpad, on the other hand, is on a completely different level. Without a doubt, it is one of the best in its class. It takes up the entirety of the available space on the palm rest, making it large enough to allow for easy gesture control. Additionally, the touchpad’s buttons have a quiet but firm response, providing a satisfying clicking sound without being too noisy. It’s not that the trackpad is just huge in size – it is pretty accurate as well. Palm rejection on the trackpad also works really well. 

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: The Webcam and Speakers
The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 comes with a 1080p HD webcam that is pretty decent. It isn’t the greatest webcam in the world, but as far as integrated webcams are concerned, it is pretty impressive. It gets the colours right and works well in some challenging situations. It will do just fine for most of your video conferencing needs. There is no physical shutter for the webcam, as some other brands have, but there is a quick keyboard shortcut to turn off the camera and microphone electronically.

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The audio experience on the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is quite impressive, thanks to its four speakers comprising two 5-watt woofers and two 2-watt tweeters. These speakers provide ample volume without any noticeable distortion even when turned up to maximum. The mids and highs are distinct and well-defined, and the bass is more pronounced than one would expect from a laptop. 

However, some users may find that the bass lacks the punch and depth they desire, though this is not a significant issue for most use cases. Overall, the quad speakers on the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 produce solid audio that is clear and balanced across the spectrum.

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: The Display
The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 boasts an impressive 16-inch 3K (2,880 x 1,800) AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 16:10 and a refresh rate of 120Hz, making it suitable for both work and play. Samsung has stated that the display can reach a maximum brightness of 400 nits, which is quite apparent when viewing the screen. 

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review (10)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

There were times when the display felt a little better than what we get in the 16-inch MacBook Pro – at other times, it seemed almost at par. Yes, the specs would suggest that Apple’s display is of a higher resolution, but honestly, so far, we really haven’t been able to discern much difference in terms of resolution.

The display covers 100% of the sRGB colour gamut and 85.2% of the more demanding DCI-P3 colour space, which is an excellent achievement. The display is as stunning as OLED panels can be. The blacks are deep, and the colours are vivid without appearing oversaturated. At 3K the display is impressively sharp. Additionally, the display is VESA DisplayHDR 500 certified, which makes it capable of playing HDR content with solid performance.

So good is the colour performance of this display, that we can confidently edit photos and colour grade videos on this, without any worry.

As for the construction, there are virtually no bezels around the display, apart from a chin at the bottom. The chin, sort of curves into the laptop, which gives it a premium look.

All in all, whether you’re using the laptop for your work, or for content consumption (or even content creation) it is a joy to use the display. 

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: Performance
The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 comes with a powerful Intel 13th-generation Raptor Lake Core i7-1360P processor, which operates at a 28-watt power consumption. This processor boasts 12 cores, including four Performance cores and eight Efficient cores, and 16 threads to handle multiple tasks with ease.

With a maximum Turbo Frequency of 5.0 GHz, the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 offers lightning-fast performance, making it ideal for demanding applications such as video editing, gaming, and 3D modelling. Its high-performance processor ensures smooth multitasking, faster data processing, and quick app launching. The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is a great choice for power users who need a powerful and versatile laptop.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Do keep in mind that you’re only getting Intel’s Iris Xe graphics on the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360. Because of this, it isn’t really suited to carry out graphics-intensive tasks, nor is it suited for heavy gaming. Yes, you can play a few indie games, and games such as Rocket League, but that’s about it. 

On paper, the Intel Core i7-1360P may look a little underwhelming to some, but this 28W beast is more than capable of pulling its punches. The Core i7-1360P does pretty well in most synthetic benchmarks. We did all of our testing in its Optimised or balanced setting.

According to the results of Geekbench 5.4 and 5.5 the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 achieved a commendable score of 1,882 on the single-core test and 8,450 on the multi-core test. The single-core test evaluates the performance of a processor while performing a single task, while the multi-core test measures the processor’s ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. 

The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 delivers a solid performance and is a great option for users who require a fast and reliable laptop for their work or entertainment needs. 

Despite its impressive performance, the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 does have one minor issue that is common among thin and light laptops. The device tends to heat up a little, particularly under heavy loads that require sustained usage. This was observed during benchmarking and an extended period of colour correction. 

While the laptop does get a bit warm under these circumstances, it’s not to the point where it should be a cause for concern. Additionally, even during these thermal peaks, there was no sign of thermal throttling, which is a mechanism that reduces the processor’s speed to prevent overheating. Therefore, although the laptop may get a little toasty, it does not appear to affect its performance or longevity.

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: Software features
As we stated earlier in our review, Samsung is trying to build out its own ecosystem, which means that there are quite a few niche features that really drive up the value proposition of the device if you already are using a premium Galaxy device. 

For example, there’s the Samsung Multi Control feature, which allows you to control your Galaxy smartphone using the laptop’s keyboard and touchpad. Additionally, Multi Control enables you to copy, paste, or drag and drop files between your laptop and smartphone, making it easier to transfer data and files seamlessly.  

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Another useful feature of the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is the Second Screen feature, which turns Galaxy tablets into an additional monitor. This feature allows you to expand your laptop’s screen real estate by using your Galaxy tablet as a second display, increasing productivity and multitasking capabilities. 

Another feature of the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is its compatibility with the S Pen. The device comes with an S Pen included in the box, which is comfortable to hold and works exceptionally well. The S Pen provides a natural and intuitive way to interact with the device, particularly when it comes to drawing or taking notes.

Additionally, the S Pen’s menu system is the same as the one found on the Galaxy Note, which has been ported over to Windows. This provides a seamless experience for users who are familiar with the Galaxy Note’s features and functionality.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The ability to launch a hotspot on your phone from the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is another useful feature on the go. It’s a little tricky to set up the first time because it’s not enabled by default, but the feature works well once it’s done. 

Photos from Samsung’s Expert RAW app can be automatically transferred to Adobe Lightroom on your laptop. You can also use Samsung’s Quick Share tool to transfer files directly from your phone to your PC and vice versa.

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: Battery Life
The Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is powered by a 76Wh battery and comes with a 65W charging adapter. One of the shortcomings of the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is its battery life. In our typical usage, which involves a ton of writing, some photo editing, and watching a few videos on YouTube and Netflix, with 80% screen brightness, the battery would last us about 7 hours before the 20 per cent battery warning would pop up. 

If we let it drain out completely, it manages to just touch 8 hours of battery life.

Although this might not look shabby you have to consider that similar laptops at this price point provide slightly better battery life. Having said that the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360’s battery life is still workable and not something that actively holds you back.

During our harder battery testing, where we replayed a 4K video on loop, the laptop lasted just over 6.5 hours.

Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 review: Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 is a pretty impressive 2-in-1 convertible laptop that is well-suited for everyday use. It provides reliable performance and is lightweight, making it easy to carry around. Furthermore, the device’s responsive touchscreen allows it to double as a decent Windows tablet, providing an additional level of versatility.  

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

However, the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360’s battery life is its only real shortcoming. While it’s not terrible by any means, it falls short when compared to other devices on the market.

And that OLED display, is really something that would make you want to ignore any shortcoming that you may see – it is that good. Then, there are a ton of exclusive software features that work in Samsung’s own ecosystem.

Samsung has made a pretty solid laptop, even for people who are not yet integrated into Samsung’s ecosystem. For those who are, those who already have a flagship-level Samsung device, this is almost a no-brainer, especially if you’re usage involves using a touch screen and a stylus.



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Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review: A solid, mid-level all-rounder that stands up to its promise- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros
– Excellent Battery life
– Premium-looking design 
– Solid build quality
– Impressive camera setup
– Vibrant Super AMOLED, 120Hz display
– Samsung’s software update policy

Cons
– 25W charging, with no charging brick in the box
– Should have been priced a little lower.
– Bloatware and banner ads that too at this price point.

Price: Rs 40,999 for the 8GB + 256GB variant
Rating: 4.25/5

Despite the n number of smartphone brands that operate in the mid-range segment in India, Samsung, for the most has consistently been one of the best-performing brands in the market, thanks to their Galaxy A series. 

The latest offering, the Galaxy A54, hopes to take the legacy of their A series forward. But does it manage to do that? In short, yes, it does.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The Galaxy A54 offers a very well-rounded user experience. It has a camera system that works really well even in some challenging conditions, a battery that will easily last you a day even if you are a very demanding user, and it performs well in regular, everyday, day-to-day tasks.

Moreover, with a slightly refreshed design, it looks pretty premium, almost as premium as some of Samsung’s flagships. 

But does that make the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G a solid choice, especially when there are so many options to choose from at this price point? We take a look.

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review: The design
Unless someone is a hardcore tech enthusiast, anyone who just takes a casual look at the Galaxy A54 5G is likely going to mistake it for a Galaxy S23 Plus. Only when you take a closer look, do you get to see the differences between this mid-level Galaxy A54 5G and the flagship-level Galaxy S23 Plus. 

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review (5)
Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Needless to say, in terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy 54 5G is as premium-looking as a Samsung smartphone of this generation can get. Just like the Galaxy A34 5G, it is the materials used in the device’s manufacturing that tell you it is actually a mid-level smartphone.

Our test device was a lovely looking violet-coloured one. As opposed to the Galaxy A34 5G and the S23 series, the rear panel of the Galaxy A54 5G has a glass panel with a glossy finish, which gives it a premium and stylish look in its own way. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

However, as premium as the glass rear panel looks, it is very susceptible to fingerprints and grease marks. And because it is a glass panel, you will have to use the device with a case.

Other than the violet colour, which Samsung is calling Awesome Violet you to get to choose from two more colours – Awesome Lime and Awesome Graphite. We reckon our Awesome Violet unit is the best-looking colourway for this smartphone.

On the front of the display, we get to see a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel, which is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. As opposed to the Galaxy A34 5G, this display has a centred punch-hole cutout that houses the front-facing camera. The hole-punch cutout gives the device a premium-looking feel even from the front, which is something that the Galaxy A34 5G sorely lacks. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The device has some bezels, but they are very thin. Also, they look equally proportioned across all the sides of the device, and the chin does not stand out in any way.

The layout of the buttons, SIM tray, mic holes is similar to that of the A34 5G. The power button and volume rockers are located on the right side of the smartphone. There are no buttons on the left. A microphone and a SIM card slot are located on the top. Just like the Galaxy A34 5G, you can either use a microSDXC card in this slot or add a second SIM card.

At the bottom, we see a speaker grille that houses one of the speakers, as well as the USB Type-C port and another mic.

The three rear cameras are arranged linearly towards the back, together with the LED flash. The fact that there isn’t a casing around the camera per se gives the device a luxury, minimalistic look that is only emphasised by the metal deco rings surrounding each camera. This enhances the device’s premium appearance.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Both the front and back panels are flat, but the railing, which is made of plastic, is slightly curved, making the smartphone very easy and comfortable to grip. Also, this gives the Galaxy A54 a sturdy and well-built feel. Like the Galaxy A34, the Galaxy A54 also comes with an IP rating of 67.

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review: The display
The Galaxy A54 5G has one of the best displays in this price segment. The display actually ticks most of the boxes that a user might expect from a more premium, almost flagship-level device.

The display is 6.4 inches in size, Full HD+ Super AMOLED panel, with a refresh rate of 120 hertz and a maximum brightness of 1000 nits. As for the resolution, we get a panel with a 1080 x 2340 pixel resolution set in a 19.5:9 aspect ratio.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The display is just like any classic premium Samsung display, that is in some of the company’s top-tier premium smartphones; it is colourful, sharp, and a joy to look at. The colour reproduction is fantastic and vibrant, which is quite aesthetically pleasing. The blacks do get pretty dark, even though they may not be as intense as some of the other premium display panels used in higher-end Samsung devices. Both, games and the content are razor-sharp.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The punch-hole is tiny and far less obtrusive than the teardrop notch on the Galaxy A34. Overall, the A54’s display is as reliable as it gets for a smartphone at this price point, and perhaps better than some of the other devices that cost considerably more.

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review: The camera
The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G has three cameras on the back and one on the front. The main camera has a 50MP sensor and an f1.8 lens, as well as a much better, wider, and enhanced OIS and VDIS.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Following that is an ultrawide 12MP camera with an f2.2 lens, followed by a 5MP macro camera with an f2.4 lens. At the front, there is a 32MP selfie camera that performs admirably.

Daylight shots from the 50MP sensor are pretty amazing, and the camera captures a good amount of detail, creates well-exposed photos with good dynamic range and detailing, and dynamic range can be improved further by enabling HDR mode from the settings, which automatically turns on HDR when needed. The 12MP camera’s ultra-wide shots are also good, especially in daylight.

The images taken at night were also quite good. Yes, there were some indications of Samsung’s software at work, but it wasn’t overly aggressive or off-putting.

The attention to detail in the selfies is also quite impressive. The images are occasionally oversharpened, but this does not appear to be a problem. The skin tones are accurate. The front-facing camera has a habit of slightly overexposing the face as is the case with all Samsung smartphones. The portrait mode also works pretty well and does a pretty good job with edge detection.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The Galaxy A54 can record videos in 4K at 30 fps on its front, rear and ultra-wide cameras. The rear camera can also shoot 1080p 60fps videos. Normal stabilisation works with both the ultra-wide and main cameras, but only the main camera has improved OIS. VDIS (video digital image stabilisation) has also been improved. There is a separate Super Steady mode that captures video in 1080p 30fps using the ultra-wide camera, which makes things very smooth.

Check out a few unedited shots from the Galaxy A54 here.

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review: The performance, software experience and UI
The Galaxy A54 5G is powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 1380 SoC which is based on the 5nm node. Along with that you get a Mali-G68 GPU. Now, although the device is pretty smooth in day-to-day life, it does tend to get a little warm to the touch under sustained heavy tasks such as gaming. With that being said, it doesn’t break a sweat in regular day-to-day tasks. Juggling between apps and multitasking feels buttery smooth.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

Our device had 256 GB of internal UFS 2.2 storage and 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM, which can be virtually expanded by another 8GB thanks to Samsung’s RAM Plus. You also have a dedicated microSDXC slot that can accommodate cards up to 1TB.

The A54 performs well in benchmark tests, and it performed pretty well in our daily usage. While the device handles multitasking pretty well, it does have some issues when it comes to gaming. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

The device handled games like Asphalt 9 and Call of Duty Mobile very easily. We were able to play these games at the medium settings and were consistently getting 60fps. However, after about half an hour, the device became considerably warm, but not to an alarming level.

The Samsung Galaxy A54 comes with OneUI 5 operating system, which is based on Android 13. This is great because you get Android 13 right out of the box. Despite being a mid-range smartphone, the Galaxy A54 includes some of the best features available in Samsung’s One UI. Among these are AI-based Photo Remaster, which allows you to remove shadows and reflections from photos, improvements to the dynamic weather widget, Smart suggestions widget, and much more.

There is some bloatware, including some from Samsung’s app ecosystem. What is truly heinous, however, is Samsung’s Galaxy Widget, which displays advertisements for a variety of things. Yes, it can be disabled, but given the cost of the device, we believe this was excessive, especially when it already has Glance. For any device that costs over 35,000, this is going to be annoying. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

For connectivity, the Samsung Galaxy A54 has WiFi, Bluetooth 5.3, and a USB Type-C 2.0 port. Because of Dolby Atmos, the device’s pair of stereo speakers can get very loud while remaining balanced and clear, with no distortions.

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review: The battery life
The Galaxy A54 5G has a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging support, and no, Samsung didn’t include a charger, so you’ll have to buy one or use one you already have at home. The good thing though, is that the A54 5G is very efficient in managing its battery, which can easily last you a day, even if you’re a hardcore and demanding user. 

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

At 70 per cent brightness, you can easily get more than 9-10 hours of screen time and more than 20 hours of usage time. Our regular usage comprised watching videos, accessing the internet, playing a few games, checking emails, holding office conference calls, etc. 

We wish Samsung works on their fast charging for the more budget segment of their lineup. 25W charging just doesn’t cut it anymore. Usually, it took us over 2 hours to get the device charged from zero per cent to 100, using a 65W third-party charging brick. When using an official 25W Samsung charging brick, the charging time gets cut down significantly. However, we reckon not many people would have a 25W charging brick from Samsung lying around. 

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G review: The verdict
The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a pretty solid smartphone that lives up to what it promises to be – a solid mid-level device that has an awesome set of cameras and performs well. And even though the Exynos SoC may seem out of place for a smartphone at this price point, it stands up to get the job done rather well.

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Image Credit: Tech2 | Mehul Reuben Das

What becomes an issue, however, is that Samsung has a lot of competition at this price point, most of which are solid performers and offer slightly better specs at least on paper. We are of course talking about devices from Nothing, Google, and OnePlus. 

Where Samsung beats all of them is the surety of a reliable after-sales service that is very difficult to beat and the fact that Samsung has guaranteed that they will be giving four major Android updates and 5 years of security updates. 

Then, there is also the fact that Samsung’s OneUI 5 is a clear favourite among users mainly because it has a healthy set of features and the fact that Samsung takes the security of its user’s data very seriously. 

At Rs 40,999, the Galaxy A54 seems a bit overpriced at first. However, there are areas where the premium that you’re paying for the device seems justified. Having said that, had the Galaxy A54 been priced a little more competitively, had it not walked straight into the territory of some of its current competitors, it would have been a lot easier to recommend the device, no questions asked. Still, the Galaxy A54 manages to be a pretty solid choice for anyone who is looking for a capable device that looks and feels premium.



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OnePlus 11 5G Long-term Review: The most loaded OnePlus non-Pro phone to date- Technology News, Firstpost

Pros:
– Sturdy build, feels great in hand
– Certain features are even better than OnePlus 10 Pro
– Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC – as fast as they come
– Excellent QHD+ LTPO3 AMOLED display
– Good main camera performance even in low light
– Capable support cast in photography department
– Good battery backup, charges fully in less than half hour

Cons:
– RIP OxygenOS
– No ingress protection
– Bulky charger, no wireless charging

Rating: 4/5
Price: Rs 56,999 to Rs 61,999

At the start of 2022, a lot of techies and OnePlus fans were excited about what the company would bring to the table in the supposed OnePlus 10; a number that fascinates many. By the end of year, the excitement turned into disappointment as the phone was a no-show. To make matters worse, the OnePlus 10T that the company released towards the end of the year seemed more like a R series phone, thus fueling rumours that the iconic series was on its deathbed.

Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Come 2023, OnePlus put to bed all those rumours with the launch of the OnePlus 11 5G, a fitting representative of the series (non-R/non-Pro). In fact, the new phone is packed with certain features that one would generally associate with the Pro series. So much so that it creates an existential crisis for the OnePlus 10 Pro. After having used the OnePlus 11 5G for over a month, it is time to see if it is indeed worth its not-so-modest asking price and also a better alternative to the 10 Pro.

OnePlus 11 5G Design: Premium build; smart design makes the phone feel compact
The OnePlus 11 5G looks a lot like the 10 Pro with a curved display, slim bezels and a punch-hole at the top left of the screen for the selfie camera. The same applies to the back of the Titan Black variant that we got for review, with a matte glass that is a neat little throwback to the sandstone finish of the first OnePlus phone, and it also remains smudge-free. For the first time since the OnePlus 8T/9R, you get an Aluminium frame on a non-Pro OnePlus device. The frame is a touch glossy here as compared to the matte finish on the 10 Pro. 

OnePlus 11 Review
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The alert slider is back, which inexplicably went missing on the 10T. While the position of the rear cameras remains similar to the 10 series phones, the squarish camera island now makes way for a circular one on the 11. It is hard to say which one looks better, but neither look bad, so no complaints. It does blend nicely into the frame just like the display. The display is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, while the back has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection against scratches.

The OnePlus 11 5G is 0.3 mm slimmer than the 10T, but the weight is quite similar, and tilts the scale at 205 grams. I wouldn’t term this phone compact or light, but courtesy of its smart design and even weight distribution, the phone neither feels too big nor too heavy in hand. The volume rockers are placed along the left edge while the power button and alert slider are on the right. A SIM tray, speaker and a USB-C port can be found along the bottom edge. The in-display fingerprint scanner is located a good inch and a half above the bottom edge, which makes it ergonomic. 

OnePlus 11 5G Display: Non-Pro goes QHD with a LTPO3 AMOLED display
One of the big changes here is the display, and it’s not just the curved edges I speak of. For the first time ever on a non-Pro OnePlus phone, we have a QHD+ display with a resolution of 3216 x 1440 pixels, as opposed to a Full HD+ screen. That’s similar to what you get on the 10 Pro. The display on both phones has an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz, but while the Pro uses a LTPO2 AMOLED display, the OnePlus 11 5G flaunts the new LTPO3 standard with a variable refresh rate ranging from 1 Hz all the way to 120 Hz for better power efficiency. 

OnePlus 11 Review
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

Both phones have 6.7-inch HDR10+ compliant displays, but the one here offers Dolby Vision compliance too; a welcome addition. The 10-bit display on the OnePlus 11 can get up to 1300 nits bright, and is bright enough even under direct sunlight. You get four screen colour modes – Vivid, Natural, Cinematic and Brilliant, along with a slider for colour temperature adjustment. Natural mode lives up to its name, but if you find the output a tad dull, you can always try Vivid or Brilliant and move the colour temperature slider a bit to the warmer side for good results.

OnePlus 11 5G Performance: As fast as it gets at the moment
OnePlus has opted for the latest and the most powerful Qualcomm SoC around, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2; the first phone in India with that SoC. You get two variants of the phone here, one with 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128 GB UFS 3.1 storage and the other with 16 GB RAM and 256 GB UFS 4.0 storage. Needless to say, it is blazing fast, and the scores are consistently higher than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip found in the OnePlus 10T and 10 Pro.

We ran a few synthetic benchmarks to gauge the difference in performance between the OnePlus 11 5G and OnePlus 10 Pro. In Geekbench 5, the 11 5G scored 1079 and 4077 in the single-core and multi-core tests respectively, while the 10 Pro managed to score 968 and 3377 in the respective tests. Thus the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip delivers a 11.5% and 20.7% jump in single-core and multi-core performance respectively, which is impressive. The PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark score was neck and neck with the two phones scoring 10355 and 10374 respectively. 

OnePlus 11 Review

To test the gaming capabilities, we ran the Wild Life and Wild Life Extreme tests from the 3DMark suite, and both phones were too powerful for the Wild Life benchmark and maxed it out. In the Wild Life Extreme benchmark, the OnePlus 11 5G managed to score 3623 with 21.7 average FPS, while the 10 Pro scored 2581 with 15.5 average FPS. That is a massive 40% jump in performance for the Adreno 740 GPU over the Adreno 730, which is mighty impressive. Needless to say, the OnePlus 11 5G managed to run every game we tried on it smoothly without a stutter at the highest setting.

This phone has two speakers, one behind the earpiece and the other at the base of the phone. Collectively they produce a fairly loud sound output with good stereo separation. The phone is Bluetooth 5.3 compliant and has dual-band WiFi with support for a/b/g/n/ac/6/7 standards. We had no reason to complain about the call quality or reception during the course of our testing. 

OnePlus 11 5G Battery performance: Good battery life, brisk 100W charging
The battery capacity has seen a slight increment from 4800 mAh on the 10T to 5000 mAh here. It lasts for almost a day and a half of moderate use thanks to the powerful yet power efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. Of course, long hours of gaming will drain the battery faster. But worry not, the bundled 100W charger takes the battery from 1% to 100% in the promised 25 minutes. Charging speed is the only area where its predecessor, the OnePlus 10T has the upper hand, thanks to its 150W SuperVOOC charger. 

 

OnePlus 11 Review
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The bundled charger here is relatively slower in comparison and takes 5 additional minutes to charge the OnePlus 11 5G as compared to the 10T, which is perfectly acceptable. Since I had an older 65W OnePlus charger at hand, I tried using that with the 11 too. Interestingly, it takes just 30 minutes to charge this device fully. Now, the bundled 100W charger is quite bulky and heavy, so if you have an older 65W charger lying around, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to use that during travel, leaving the big guy at home.

OnePlus 11 5G Camera performance: Smart choice of rear cameras, very good image quality
You get three cameras at the back of the OnePlus 11 5G, and no, it is not that typically boring 50MP+8MP+2MP combination that the company slapped on most of their phones over the past year or two right from the Nord series to the 10R to even the 10T. The choice of cameras here is far more sensible and versatile; no unnecessary units to fill up marketing sheets. The star of the show is a 50MP primary camera with a Sony IMX890 sensor and optical image stabilisation (OIS). 

The second camera is a 48MP ultra-wide shooter based on aSony IMX581 sensor with 115-degrees FOV and auto-focus. This is probably the first time since the OnePlus 7T that auto-focus returns to the ultra-wide camera on a non-Pro OnePlus phone. That lets this camera double up as a macro camera too. And lastly, there is a 32MP telephoto camera with Sony’s IMX709 sensor and 2X optical zoom that can also be used for clicking high quality portrait shots.

OnePlus 11 Review
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The OnePlus 11 5G benefits from Hasselblad’s colour tuning as well as their expertise in portrait photography. Moving on to image quality, the primary camera clicks some excellent shots with very good detail and impressive dynamic range. Colours are indeed close to natural in most cases, though not as natural as the Google Pixel 7 Pro’s images. The hint of extra saturation is something several users may actually prefer for social media posts. 

The low light photography here sees a big improvement over its predecessors, especially on the main camera. It preserves a great amount of detail in low-light captures with minimal noise. Even the colours look natural. When the light drops further, the Night mode kicks in automatically. I quite liked the Night mode here as it makes things just a tad brighter without making the image overly bright, which is the case with several other phones.

The ultra-wide camera is equally impressive in well lit conditions. The colour reproduction and dynamic range are comparable, and the images have a good amount of detail. But as the light drops, the images tend to get softer, and I would suggest switching to the main camera in low light. As I mentioned earlier, the ultra-wide camera has auto-focus, and lets you capture macro shots too. When you get closer to a subject, the phone automatically switches to macro mode. 

Phone back
Image Credit: Tech2 | Ameya Dalvi

The macro shots can be a hit or a miss as it tends to struggle with the focus at times. So best to click a couple of extra shots in this mode with steady hands. When it focuses right, the captured images are quite good and way better than most ‘dedicated’ 2MP and 5MP macro cameras that you get on several phones. The telephoto camera does a good job, and 2X zoomed shots look sharp enough. Anything beyond 2X is digital zoom and up to 5X zoomed shots are usable. Beyond that they look washed out.

The real purpose of the telephoto camera here is to capture ‘professional grade’ portrait shots, somewhat on the lines of Hasselblad cameras with XCD 30 mm and 65 mm lenses.  Yes, the 2X optical zoom is quite handy when capturing portrait shots. Since I haven’t used the above lenses, I cannot compare the results here with what they are capable of, but the portrait shots here are quite impressive, especially with human subjects. It works well with animals too if they stay still long enough, but the edge detection isn’t as smart with other subjects.

The 16MP fixed focus front camera remains unchanged for a while now. It does a decent job with selfies with natural skin tones when the face is well lit. While the front camera is limited to 1080p video recording, the main camera can now record 8K videos at 24 fps. You also have an option for recording 4K videos at 30 and 60 fps, and can go as high as 240 fps for 1080p videos. You get OIS and EIS support to compensate for shaky hands. Best results are obtained with 4K videos and the footage is sharp and stabilised. You get quite a few modes to play with.

Click here for unedited camera samples.

OS and user interface: OxygenOS 13, who?
Don’t get me started! I will try and keep it short. The OnePlus 11 5G runs Android 13 with ColorOS… OK fine, OxygenOS 13, if you say so. When OxygenOS 12 was criticised for having quite a few elements of Oppo’s ColorOS, OnePlus had promised that the next iteration would restore the popular UI’s past glory, but they have clearly gone in the other direction. If OxygenOS 12 had shades of ColorOS, version 13 has sucked the Oxygen out of it completely and is very much ColorOS itself. 

If you have never used an older OnePlus phone with OxygenOS 11 or prior, or are willing to let go of the past, OxygenOS 13 is perfectly usable. It remains free of ads and excess bloatware. The UI is smooth, lag-free and fairly easy to comprehend even for a novice. For the fans of the older interface, you can either live with that or live in hope for the coming of ‘the UI that was promised’. The good part being, OnePlus has promised three major Android updates on this phone along with regular security updates over the next few years. That’s more than handy.

Final words: Oh so pro… almost!
The OnePlus 11 5G can be purchased for Rs 56,999 for the 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage variant and Rs 61,999 for the one with double the RAM and storage, with a one year warranty. That would make it probably the most expensive non-Pro OnePlus phone to date. But then, it is also their most loaded, and does offer certain features that are comparable and some even better than the OnePlus 10 Pro. It does miss out on a couple of features like IP68 rated ingress protection and wireless charging that is available on the Pro, but what you get here far outweighs what you don’t.

You get a phone with the most powerful SoC around, ample RAM and storage with a faster interface, an excellent LTPO3 QHD+ display, good battery backup with fast charging and last but not the least, versatile and competent rear cameras. User interface aside, one can expect OS and security updates for another three years keeping the phone relevant for a lot longer. All things considered, the OnePlus 11 5G is a good all-round phone and easily the best from the company in the past two years. As for alternatives, check this out.



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