tech2touch

Author: Aniruddh

  • Honor Play Review with Pros and Cons

    Honor Play is a midrange smartphone with a special focus on gaming. It has Huawei’s flagship HiSilicon Kirin 970 chipset, notched display, dual camera setup and the bunch of other useful features. In this Honor Play review, let’s try to find out the strengths and weakness of this device.

    Honor Play Review

    Honor Play Review with Pros and Cons

    Honor Play Pros

    Design and build quality

    Honor Play comes with a metal unibody design. With minimal bezels in the sides of the screen, a tall and thin display panel makes it compact and feels sturdy.

    Display Panel

    The device comes with 6.3-inch full-HD+ IPS LCD panel has a resolution of 1080×2340 pixels and a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The quality of the panel used is impressive. It delivers good color reproduction and has great viewing angles. Brightness is also decent.

    Performance

    Huawei’s flagship HiSilicon Kirin 970 chipset with 6GB of RAM and GPU Turbo option technology delivers the great real-world experience. Whether it is a multitasking or heavy games, the device does not disappoint. Honor Play comes with a new antenna design to improve call quality. Signal reception and cellular call quality are best in the segment.

    Battery Life

    Honor Play comes with 3750 mAh battery with Huawei’s fast charger. Battery life decent and manages to complete the full day with medium to heavy usage.

    Software and Fingerprint scanner

    Huawei’s custom skin EMUI 8.2 on top Android 8.1 Oreo does provide the good user experience. It packs useful functions such as one-handed mode, navigation gestures, a Themes catalog, Wi-Fi+ etc. The face recognition was fast and accurate. Sound output via 3.5mm headphone jack is crisp and loud.

    Honor Play Cons

    Here is the list of Honor Play cons which we felt could have been better.

    Camera

    At the rear, Honor Play sports vertically aligned dual camera setup. First one is 16-megapixel primary camera with a f/2.2 aperture. Another one is the 2-megapixel depth sensor with a f/2.4 aperture. This is assisted with dual LED flash. There is a 16MP front-facing camera.

    The rear camera does take good images in most of the situation. However, at times it fails. The hit or miss performance is a bit of concern considering high standard set by recent  Honor smartphones. Video recording and front facing camera performance are decent and at par with the competition.

    Relatively bigger size

    It is subjective. Because of the large 6.3-inch display screen, in spite of narrow bezels, the device feels a bit uncomfortable in hand.

    Weekly Sale model

    Currently, Honor Play is selling through amazon.in. The sale happens once in a week at a specified time. A limited number of the device will be available. So it is difficult to buy one for yourself unless you are very quick in ordering.

     

  • Xiaomi Mi A2 Cons – Top 5 not so impressive features

    Mi A1 was the first smartphone from Xiaomi which provided vanilla Android experience under the Android One program. Mi A2 being the successor comes with many improvements over its predecessor. Latest and more powerful processor, improved camera, modern-day 5.99-inch full-HD+ 18:9 display are the key highlight of the device. It is a good value for money device. However, there are few things which we felt could have been better. So here is the list of Xiaomi Mi A2 Cons or demerits.

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    Xiaomi Mi A2 Cons

    Xiaomi Mi A2 Cons – Top 5 not so impressive features

    Display Brightness

    Xiaomi Mi A2 comes with 5.99-inch full-HD+ display screen with  2160x1080p resolution and 403ppi pixel density. The viewing angles are decent. But when it comes to brightness it disappoints a bit. In outdoor conditions, the legibility on the screen takes a hit. Also, the color accuracy is not great.  Both these demerits may be fixed through software updates in the coming days.

    3.5mm headphone jack

    One of our favorite feature on Mi A1 was quality audio output via the headphone jack. Unfortunately, Xiaomi decided to omit the 3.5mm headphone jack on Mi A2.  There is a USB Type-C dongle in the box. But carrying an additional dongle along with device all the time is not so convenient.

    Battery Life

    Xiaomi Mi A2 sports 3000 mAh battery with support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+. The battery capacity is less compared to the competition and charger which comes with the device is not a fast charger.

    Lack of microSD card support

    Mi A2 is currently available in India with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. 6GB RAM variant will be coming in the future. In this price segment, most of the smartphones do come with dedicate or hybrid microSD card slot. Mi A2 does not support expandable storage via microSD card.

    Availability

    It is becoming a trend to sell the smartphone in flash sale. Mi A2 continues to follow the same way as most of the other Xiaomi phones. The sale happens once in a week at 12 PM. The first sale happened on 16th August and units got sold out fast due to the limited number of units. Next Mi A2 flash sale happens on 23rd August. Unless you are really quick in hitting the buy button, it will be difficult to buy one for yourself.

    In my view, these are the main Xiaomi Mi A2 Cons or disadvantages which users might not appreciate.

  • Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580 – Top 5 Features

    Asus recently announced a collection of ZenBook Series: ZenBook Pro 15 (UX580), ZenBook S (UX391), and ZenBook 13 (UX331).  Along with innovative features and powerful internals, these laptops come in a stylish compact design. In this post, we will have a quick look into Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580 top 5 features according to us.

    Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580

    Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580 – Top 5 Features
    1. All new ScreenPad instead of the regular touchpad

    Apart from the improvement in accuracy and software-based gesture support, there was no major innovative change in the touchpads from its inception. Introduction of ScreenPad on Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580 is a big leap forward in that aspect.

    Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580 sports 5.5 inch full HD Super IPS+ display which also works as the touchpad.  Some of the salient features of ScreenPad are

    • ScreenPad Launcher: This provides faster ways to launch your favorite apps. Simply tap an app icon to launch the app. You can also add and personalize it by adding or removing apps from the Launcher by tapping on the edit button next to the X in the upper right-hand corner.
    • ScreenPad Online Video Player & Music Player: It has built-in full Google Chrome-YouTube support with a Chrome extension, for video playback including ad skipping, full-screen mode, and volume and timeline adjustment. The music player on the ScreenPad allows you to instantly change tracks, browse tracks and playlists, and adjust the volume. Enjoy the music without affecting your on-screen task.
    • ScreenPad Office: Instant fingertip control for common functions when managing Excel, Word or PowerPoint documents. Using ScreenPad for edit functions means, a bigger workspace on the main screen.
    • ASUS Sync: Pair your phone wirelessly with your laptop using ASUS Sync to access all its functions via ScreenPad.
    • Screen Extender mode: The ScreenPad can also be used as an extended screen. It is seen as a dual-display in Microsoft Windows settings. You can use it to keep an eye on your social media account, email, or anything else!.

    These are some of the things you can do with the ScreenPad. More and more functions can be accessed by installing new apps.

    2. Powerful Performance

    Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580 features up to a super-fast 8th generation Intel CoreTM i9-8950HK hexacore processor, powerful GTX 1050 Ti graphics, 16GB of high-speed 2400MHz memory, and up to a 1 TB PCIe-based SSD with up to 3.2GB/s read speeds. The ZenBook Pro 15 is the first ZenBook to feature 802.11ac Intel Gigabit Wi-Fi. It provides the fastest wireless network speeds when paired to compatible routers that are becoming increasingly common.

    3. 4K UHD Display.

    ZenBook Pro 15 has a 15.6-inch, 4K UHD touch display which has a wide 178° viewing angle and 1200:1 contrast ratio for deep blacks.

    The touchscreen also supports the ASUS Pen stylus (sold separately) for precision input. It is claimed to have the color reproduction that covers 100% of the Adobe RGB gamut with a Delta E color difference of <2, and it has been PANTONE validated for its high color accuracy.

    4. 8-cell battery design for long battery life

    ZenBook Pro 15 comes with Li-Ion 8CELL 71WH which is claims to provide good battery life.

    5. Connectivity Ports.

    ZenBook Pro 15 comes with the host of connectivity options. To name few ultra-fast Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1 Gen 2 and Gen 2 data transfer formats, USB Type-C and Type-A ports and full-sized HDMI port.

     

  • OnePlus 6 Tips and Tricks to get the most out of your phone

    Oneplus 6 is the latest smartphone from OnePlus. Super fast performance, beautiful design, large display and impressive camera are the key attractions of this device. Here are some of the OnePlus 6 tips and tricks which may help you to customize your phone the way you want.

    OnePlus 6 Tips and Tricks

    How to hide the display notch

    Notch is becoming the trend of 2018 smartphones. If you don’t like the notch, Oxygen OS provides an option to hide it.

    • Go to Setting >Display > Notch Display.
    • Select “Hide the notch area“.

    OnePlus 6 Tips and Tricks

    Now full-screen apps will not be using the notch area.

     How to enable ambient display in OnePlus 6?

    Ambient display options allow you to show clock, a customized message as soon as you lift up your display. By default, this option is disabled.  If you want to enable this feature,

    • Go to Setting->Display->Ambient Display.
    • Enable Lift up display by moving the slider to right.
    • You can customize the clock by tapping on Clock Style and select the one which you like.
    • You can enter the message in the Display message menu.

    Is there a way to hide apps from app tray in OnePlus 6?

    If you want to hide some of your apps from app tray, there is a simple way.

    • Just swipe right on the screen in the all apps page.
    • You will find hidden space.
    • Tap on Plus(+) symbol.
    • Select the apps you want to move to the hidden area.
    • Now go back to the hidden area to see the apps.
    • If you want to unhide the app, in the hidden area, long press the app icon and select unhide.

    What are the different customization available on OnePlus 6 to show battery life and network speed?

    To change the battery life style, go to Setting->Status bar and select Battery style. You have 4 different styles to choose from.

    For displaying network speed in OnePlus 6, under Setting->Status bar, enable Display network speed.

    How to take screenshot on OnePlus 6?

    To take the screenshot on OnePlus 6, there are two different methods available.

    First, one is using the power button and volume down method. Simply go the screen on which you want to capture screenshot and press and hold volume down and power button simultaneously. The screenshot will be captured.

    The second one is using three finger swipe method

    To use this method, first ensure three finger swipe method is enabled in the Settings->Three-finger screenshot option. Now on any screen, swipe on the screen with three fingers. The screenshot will be captured. Detailed step by step guide is provided here. OnePlus6 screenshot methods.

    Video guide on how to take screenshot on OnePlus 6

    How to take the long screenshot on OnePlus 6?

    To take the long screenshot on OnePlus 6, follow any of the above-mentioned methods. While screenshot preview is displayed on the screen tap on rectangle box icon(3rd from left). It will start capturing the long screenshot. Tapping on the screen will stop taking long screenshot.

    These are the just a few of the OnePlus 6 Tips and Tricks to customize your phone. There are lot many options to play around and customize. If you have any query, please write in the comment section below.

  • Moto G6 Review- Pros and Cons

    Motorola India launched 6th gen Moto G smartphones in India with new design language and tall 18:9 displays. Moto G6 price starts at Rs.13,999 for the variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. How well this fares with others in the same price range?. Let us have a quick look into  Moto G6 Review in the form of pros and cons.

    Moto G6 Review

    Moto G6 Review- Pros and Cons

    Before starting of pros and cons, let’s have a quick look into the specifications of Moto G6.

    • Snapdragon 450 SoC(Octa Core) with Adreno 506 GPU.
    • 5.7 inch full HD+ IPS panel with 18:9 aspect ratio.
    • 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage or 4GB of RAM with 64GB of internal storage.
    • Dual nano sim card support with dedicated microSD card slot.
    • Rear dual camera 12MP+5MP.
    • 16MP front facing camera.
    • 3000 mAh battery with fast charging.

    Moto G6 Pros

    Here is the list of features which we liked on Moto G6.

    • Good look and feel: Gone are the days when the budget phones had a shabby design. Moto G6 sports a premium design which gives the impression of a phone which priced double of this.
    • Near Stock version of Android Oreo: Like the previous iteration of Moto G, this device too comes with near stock version of Android with few useful software add-ons. This includes Moto Actions, Moto Key which allows entering the password using the fingerprint scanner, Motorola’s One-Button Nav gesture in fingerprint scanner etc.
    • Decent Display screen: Moto G6 screen provides good viewing angles and accurate colors. However, max brightness and sunlight legibility are mediocre.
    • Dedicated microSD card slot: Along with dual sim card slot, it does provide dedicated microSD card slot.
    • Good battery life with fast charging: The 3000 mAh battery performance is impressive. It easily lasts more than a day with juice left for more. The inclusion of fast charging is a bonus.

    Moto G6 cons

    • Average performance: Snapdragon 450 processor with clean near stock android does provide optimal performance. However, the phone does struggle while handling the intensive workloads. Also, we noticed some lag while playing heavy games like Asphalt 8.
    • Slow and inaccurate facial recognition: The face recognition on the Moto G6 is not accurate. It fails to recognize our face many of the times.
    •  Average Camera performance: Dual camera setup in the back, as well as front-facing camera, does take decent photos and videos in the well-lit conditions. However, in indoor and low light conditions, it struggles a bit.

    Moto G6 Review summary: It is a decent smartphone with an attractive price tag. Considering the competition, we felt it could have been better if it had a better processor and camera setup.