techENT Tech & Tonic

Apple's event just happened last week and they launched a couple of new things. They launched the Apple iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, the 9th generation iPad, the 5th generation iPad Mini, and the Apple Watch Series 7.  With the logical flow of the Apple event, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro was meant to be the stars of the show.

The Apple iPad Mini stole the show though. The new Apple iPad Mini packs Apple's latest A15 Bionic processor. You have an 8-inch Super Retina display on the iPad Mini and support for the 2nd generation Apple Pencil. It is also finally sporting the USB Type-C port, following the Apple iPad Air. For the first time as well, the Apple iPad packs a powerful 12-Megapixel front-facing camera with Center Stage feature for video calls.

The Apple iPad Mini is really a smaller and more powerful version of the Apple iPad Air that was launched last year. It is also one of the most powerful regular iPad devices to date. In a sense, it becomes a more appealing device compared to the Apple iPhone 13 devices in the launch. What do you think though?

ThevVivo X70 Pro+ launched globally last week. We haven't heard of its official pricing just yet, but we got a taste of what it would be capable off, at least on paper. The powerful flagship will come with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888+ SoC platform. It will also come with a 50MP sensor under a Zeiss lens. At the same time, the vivo X70 Pro+ comes with a 48MP shooter with an on-board gimbal for an ultra-steady, ultra-wide shots. Photos are all processed through vivo's own Imaging Chip V1, which is vivo's standalone image processor, relieving the stresses of image processing from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ for improved performance on the end of photo taking and even everyday operations. 

The thing is, as good as it sounds, the vivo X70 Pro+ does not sound like much in terms of innovation. Its predecessor was the first in its class to offer a gimbal stabilised camera within the smartphone housing. They were the first manufacturer to introduce technologies like in-display fingerprint sensor and even pop-up selfie cameras. The new flagship, compared to its predecessors, feels a little half-baked. 

That got us thinking, has innovations n smartphones stagnated? Are there more innovations to come other than folding displays and stabilised cameras? All this and more in this episode of #TechnTonicPodcast.

In the past few weeks ASUS has launched a new collaboration product with Alan Walker. They launched a new gaming laptop with Alan Walker that is also designed together with Alan Walker. They also launched a new ROG Gaming Phone 5s that they sort of announced a few weeks ago. 

In that sense, ASUS ROG has gone from a gaming PC brand that turns out to be a lifestyle brand now more than ever. They are not just selling notebooks and PCs anymore. They are now selling T-Shirts, jackets, sweaters, hoodies, and even bags. They are a fashion brand now too. But this is not a unique thing that is started by ASUS. Acer has started doing similar things with their Predator brand. This whole thing can be tracked back to Razer and their pursuit in the larger global gaming market too. 

Still, the transformation of tech brands becoming lifestyle brands is becoming even more widespread now. Samsung is taking a more lifestyle approach for their flagship devices. Other smartphone brands like Xiaomi is also following suit with approaching the market as a lifestyle brand instead of a tech brand. How far is too far though? Is it a good thing? We explore this and more in this episode of #TechNTonicPodcast!

Last week TSMC announced that they are going to have to increase prices of the chips that are coming out from their production line. That announcement basically tells us that chips that we want to buy will be more expensive. But it does not just impact the PC and other electronics business.

So many things today are relying on micro chips on a circuit board. TSMC is one of the largest foundries in the world and they are barely keeping up with demands, hence the price increase. The thing is, it is not just PC and smartphones that will be impacted. Cars will be more expensive too with the price hike on chips. At the same time, there are not enough products to go around because production plants are being halted due to the larger problem that is the chips that are supposed to get into the cars.

Is there a solution to this? What do we think of this whole situation? When will we see the end of this? We discuss this and more on the #TechNTonicPodcast!

OnlyFans is a very popular platform. It gained notoriety as a sort of platform where users get to subscribe for all sorts of NSFW contents. A paid subscription on the platform gives users access to various exclusive contents from its vast content creators. Majority of the most popular content creators focuses on nude and sexual contents, and the vast majority of its users are on the platform for these sort of contents. 

Last week OnlyFans made a huge U-Turn for its content creators on their platform. OnlyFans' announcement is a big shock to the world. They are going to start banning sexually explicit contents from their platform starting in October 2021 onward. 

Sexually explicit contents, from what we understand from their statement, consists of contents with genitals, or showing genitals in offensive matter. It also consists of sexual intercourse or act of self pleasure. That also means partial nudity will still be allowed on the platform in the future.

We think this is going to really backfire for OnlyFans though. But this move has been a demand from OnlyFans' investors and bankers. What do we think will happen? Find out on our Tech & Tonic Podcast Season 2 Episode 25.

Samsung's August Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event happened just last week and we were graced with a few devices. We were graced with two smartphone devices as well. There is a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. The announced and launched devices should have come as a surprise though. Samsung has been aligning themselves to prioritize development for foldable devices and betting their future on it. 

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 are big step ups from their predecessors though. It seems like they made the devices a little thinner, every so slightly thinner. They designed them to look a little more seamless too. If we have to describe how they look, they look great.

For the Z Flip 3, Samsung has also increased the size of the external display which should add more to its functionality. Everything that was great about the first Z Flip is retained in the device too though, except for the overall design. At the same time, the Z Flip 3 can truly be a modern flagship with modern internals in 2021.

The Z Fold 3 is supposed to address plenty of the UI inconsistencies with the older devices. It is also the first Samsung Galaxy device with an under-display camera. The under-display camera is a mere 4-Megapixel, but you will not use it most of the time with the presence of three 12-Megapixel cameras out the back. 

The biggest step up they made though is in the pricing. Well, it may sound more like a step down with big price cuts compared to its predecessors. The Z Flip 3 starts at below MYR 4,000 and the Z Fold 3 starts at below MYR 7,000. This should make the devices a lot more accessible to people. Keep in mind though you do not get an S Pen for that price. 

In this episode of Tech & Tonic, we spend some time discussing an age old question when it comes to buying a new PC. Should you buy a laptop, because it is versatile, powerful, and convenient? Or a desktop PC, because you get more bang for your buck that way? Even when you decide on a desktop, should you buy a pre-built from a big brand, or build a custom one? 

This is a multifaceted question of course. The laptop PC is the most versatile option. It is the most portable option of the three. It is also the most versatile, because it is an all-in-one device. You can work with it conveniently anywhere without needing to build a full set up. At the same time, at home it is the least space consuming option.

Pre-builds can be amazing too, in terms of its footprint and size. With big brands, you are also buying into their whole support system. You may not need to approach individual vendors for each part that is broken or malfunctioning, you just need to send it back to the brand, and they sort everything out for you. You are buying a peace of mind, a sort of convenience.

Then there is custom builds where you get to choose what you want, from who you want. It can be expensive, but it can also be a lot more budget friendly that the other option. You pay for what you need and what you can afford, instead of paying silly for an expensive pre-built PC or even a laptop. In that sense, for the budget conscious, this should be the one you go for, right? But is it the right choice at this time though? We discuss that and more on the Tech & Tonic Podcast show. 

Scarlett Johansson got Disney into a pickle last week. She filed a lawsuit against the entertainment giant for breach of contract over the launch and release of Black Widow in theaters and Disney+ Premiere a week or so ago. According to the lawsuit, the actress' contract was not renegotiated for release on Disney's own streaming platform. 

This brings us back to the question we had when Disney+ was coming to Malaysia; are we paying too much for streaming services? With Disney+ Premiere, we could easily be paying even more for the latest movies and blockbusters. But the lawsuit also puts a lot of things into perspective for us enjoying these services because it also happened to platforms like Spotify. We started thinking about how are the actor's pay managed by the streaming services. 

At the same time, we are already paying for multiple streaming services at this time because they all offer different exclusives. How much is too much for these exclusive contents though? Would it make sense for us to go back to cable TV in this case? Maybe, maybe not, but we discuss all this in today's episode of #TechNTonicPodcast. 

There are a few things coming our way in August 2021. Before the eventful month though, it is a little on the quiet side, understandably. At least Tokyo 2020 Olympics games are finally under way at this time. We focus on things we can look forward to in August though.

HUAWEI is finally launching their HUAWEI P50 series at the end of July 2021. While there are no word on global availability on the new HUAWEI flagship series yet, we are expecting big things from the Chinese electronics giant. We are also excited for what is next for Mobile Photography by HUAWEI, especially since there has been renders and teasers from HUAWEI.

Samsung is also having their big event in August. Unfortunately it is no more a Samsung Galaxy Note event. Instead, we are most definitely getting the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip devices for the year 2021/2022. The new Z Fold device is also touted to come with S Pen compatibility. We are expecting more improvements obviously with the foldable display technology. 

Obviously, it will not be Samsung's August Galaxy Unpacked event if they do not announce the next generation Samsung Galaxy Watch series. The new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is supposed to be one of the first, if not the first smartwatch to come with Google's new Wear OS 3. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is supposed to also come with their own One UI touch up done on top of Google Wear OS 3. This will also be the first time Samsung packs their smartwatch with Google's Wearable platform. 

The Google Wear OS 3 a huge departure from both Samsung's Tizen and Google's own Wear OS 2 though. It is such a huge departure that most current generation Wear OS devices and all of Samsung's older Galaxy Watch platform will not be updated to the platform. So is it still the right time to buy a smartwatch as an Android user?

Valve announced a handheld gaming device they are calling the Steam Deck. It is an all-AMD piece of kit powered by Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architecture chip. The specs makes the Steam Deck sounds more like the next generation consoles from Microsoft's Xbox camp and Sony's PlayStation camp too.

The Steam Deck though, as mentioned, is a handheld device with a 1,280 by 800 resolution 7-inch LCD display. While Steam Deck runs on a custom overlay for Steam, it is a Linux based device too. That also means it can run as a PC with a proper dock or any USB Type-C dock. In that mode, you can run third party apps on Steam Deck.

While not the first kind of device of its kind, Steam Deck is a one of a kind handheld gaming device that plays PC games. While it might not sound like much, the gaming device should have no problems running PC games at HD resolution. Most of handheld gaming devices running on Windows feature processors without discreet GPUs too, but none of them are made to be as thin and small as the Steam Deck at the same time.

Prices start from US$ 399 for the Steam Deck with 64GB memory module. It tops out at 512GB in SSD storage at US$ 649. While it is not going to be advisable for you to remove the back plate to swap out the SSD, the memory is expandable via Micro SD. Unlike the Nintendo Switch, the controllers are not detachable. 

While it is more expensive than the Nintendo Switch, it is a little more functional than the Nintendo Switch itself. It is also still cheaper than a gaming PC. Is it worth buying then?