POCO X3 GT launched, local pricing and availability announced

POCO, a popular technology brand among the world’s young techies, has announced to global debut of POCO X3 GT, a performance speedster designated for entertainment and mobile gaming. It will be available soon in multiple regions, including Southeast Asia, Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

The POCO X3 GT boasts a MediaTek Dimensity 1100 chip with Dual 5G SIM, 120Hz DynamicSwitch DotDisplay, a high-resolution 64MP triple camera, and — for the first time ever on POCO smartphones — 67W Turbo Charging technology to rapidly charge its 5000mAh high-density battery.

Plus, POCO X3 GT is built tough, with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus prevents most scratches and cracks.

“X series is one of POCO Global’s three available product series, and it’s gaining massive popularity. As of now, we’ve shipped more than 8.8 million* POCO X-series phones globally with our two X models, POCO X3 Pro and POCO X3 NFC. And as of July 25th, 2021, POCO has shipped a total of 20 million* smartphones since the initial launch of POCO F1 in 2018,” said Kevin Qiu, Head of POCO Global. “And we’re excited to continue delivering on our customers’ expectations with POCO X3 GT, a true powerhouse capable of the demanding mobile gaming and flagship entertainment experience.”

Extreme performance powered by Mediatek Dimensity 1100

POCO X3 GT introduces multiple POCO X-series firsts. Under the hood, POCO X3 GT is a beast that’s equipped with MediaTek’s flagship-level Dimensity 1100 5G chipset. Dimensity 1100 stands out to deliver a faster CPU and better connectivity.

This is developed on the back of a 6nm chipset, the first POCO smartphone equipped with this power-efficient flagship process technology. Power up a favorite game and be blown away by the leap in speed and efficiency. POCO X3 GT operates on the latest four powerful Arm Cortex-A78 cores at up to 2.6GHz, and four Arm Cortex-A55 efficiency cores.

This CPU architecture, combined with an improved nine-core Arm Mali-G77 GPU running at 836MHz, brings more high-fidelity gaming to the device. Plus, you’re well connected with an integrated 5G modem, dual SIM card slots, and WiFi 6 support.

Meanwhile, POCO X3 GT remains cool throughout thanks to LiquidCool Technology 2.0, the flagship-level liquid cooling that ensures long-lasting performance.

To top this off, UFS 3.1’s blazing fast performance makes accessing and saving files lightning fast, so you can do more and do it faster.

Experience immersive entertainment without interruption

The first POCO phone to feature 67W Turbo Charging, charging from 0% to 100% in only 42 minutes, POCO X3 GT is designed to endure and react to the most demanding content.

Its massive 5000mAh battery, keeps users powered all day, while its high-end display with flagship-level 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate makes POCO X3 GT highly responsive so users will never miss a beat.

DynamicSwitch from 30Hz to 120Hz intelligently adjusts refresh rate to match the needs of each content, largely optimizing power consumption.

POCO X3 GT has been tested to perform reliably even in high temperatures, while its display is Corning Gorilla Glass Victus — a leading display material that’s highly resistant to drops and scratches and arriving for the first time in a POCO phone.

To enhance user experience, POCO X3 GT comes with practical features users will enjoy day-to-day, such as multifunctional NFC and the flagship-level X-axis linear motor for a better haptic experience with every vibration of the device.

Playback breathtaking footage captured by 64MP Triple Camera

POCO X3 GT’s cutting-edge features come together and shine through its versatile 64MP triple camera, including a 64MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, and 2MP macro camera.

With this set up, capture not just Pro Time-Lapse shots and select the best shots from a burst of photos with AI Shutters, but also shoot like a pro with ample video recording features that’ll empower users with tools to rival the look and feel achieved by professional vloggers.

These include real-time bokeh video, while HDR video recording on both the front and rear cameras can capture a wide range of colors and depth.

Once that perfect shot is recorded, one of 8 cinematic movie filters can be applied, or users can select from one of five vlog templates.

When viewing their favorite entertainment formats, users will be mesmerized by realistic stereo sound. Flagship-level dual speakers certified by Dolby Atmos offer an immersive audio-visual experience.

Upgrade your style with three premium colors

POCO X3 GT has been freshly designed to showcase a more refined, premium look. The rounded edges and lightweight design, weighing only 193g with a thickness of 8.9mm, offers a comfortable grip.

POCO X3 GT is available in three stylish color- Stargaze Black provides a classic glossy finish, while Cloud White and Wave Blue give a dash of personality in contemporary design.

POCO X3 GT will be available in two variants, 8GB+128GB which will retail for PhP 15,990 and 8GB+256GB which retails for PhP 17,990.

There will be a Global Open Sale this August 3 and a Local Sale on August 10 which offers an early bird price of PhP 14,990 and PhP 15,990 respectively.

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Huawei Y5P Review: More than a basic smartphone

06/21/2020

When looking for a new phone and you sort of have a tight budget, it doesn’t mean you need to settle for a really basic device. Smartphone manufacturers have been offering really solid entry-level phones and one of them is Huawei. For this review, we’re looking at the Huawei Y5P.

At just PhP 4,490, is it something you’d want to buy?

Design

The Y5P comes with a pretty standard design. Starting from the back panel, it has a slightly textured finish and the cover is made of hard plastic. On the upper left corner is a square-ish camera module housing its 8-megapixel sensor and LED flash.

Its power button is on the right and is lined up alongside the volume rocker. On the other side, we see the dual-SIM and microSD card tray that can accommodate up to 512GB to further expand your storage.

The bottom houses its micro USB port. Of course, we prefer the faster performance of USB-C but at this price range, one couldn’t really complain. Up top is its 3.5mm audio jack and that pretty much sums up the button and port placements of the phone.

As you may have noticed, there’s no speaker grille at the bottom since its earpiece is actually where the speaker is. Sound coming from it is decent and can go loud, but don’t expect too much from it.

One upside of its placement, though, is you don’t accidentally cover the speakers unlike when it’s down below. The device itself is thin and compact so together with its 5.45-inch display, navigating through the phone is really easy to do with one hand.

Finally, we have the Phantom Blue color but there’s also Midnight Black and Mint Green available if you prefer those.

Its HD+ FullView display comes with 1440 x 720 resolution. For me, that’s good enough for a screen this size. It also has a forehead and chin so looking at it from up front makes it seem like a standard phone from a few years back.

At full brightness, the screen can display vibrant and clear images enough for watching videos online.

Cameras

For the Y5P, there is no multiple camera setup as we’re normally accustomed to seeing these days. It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with an LED flash and selfies are taken care of by its 5-megapixel front shooter.

Its cameras are pretty straightforward in a way that it’s not packed with too many extra features. Although, it carries the essentials like Panorama mode, HDR, Pro mode, and of course Beautification.

For the quality of its rear camera, it’s decent when shooting in well-lit environments and even has up to 4x digital zoom. Of course, there’s a bit of quality loss when you zoom all the way in and low light shots tend to be a little grainy. But overall, we’re contented with the quality that its rear camera produces.

They’re not great, but definitely good enough for posting on social media.

As for selfies, they’re also decent and tend to brighten up the face which is a good thing. Beautification also works effectively smoothing out the skin and you can adjust the intensity from 0 to  10.

AppGallery

The Huawei AppGallery is the company’s official app distribution platform to search, download, manage, and share mobile apps. Yes, it’s not a secret that it doesn’t have access to Google’s Play Store but the AppGallery itself has a slew of available software ready for download.

And for a random fact, Huawei’s AppGallery is now the third biggest app store globally, with 180 billion downloads and over 390 million monthly active users worldwide.

Some of the apps you can have on your phone include Facebook, Viber, and TikTok for your social needs, Lazada for shopping, and GCash, BDO, and PayMaya for your online banking needs.

There are more apps you can find in the AppGallery, but if you can’t specifically find the one you’re looking for, you can download APKs directly to your phone from the Huawei Browser or get them from third-party app stores.

We’ve been using some of these apps for a while and they’re pretty much the same experience as when you get them from anywhere else.

Performance

On the software side, it comes with AI facial recognition that adds a layer of security for your phone. It’s easy and quick to set up and is reliable enough to instantly scan your face and unlock the device.

Its EMUI 10.1 based on Android 10 is also pre-installed. You get features like battery-saving, gestures, and Digital Balance which tracks how long you use your phone each day. 

The Y5P is equipped with a MediaTek octa-core processor and is accompanied by 2GB of RAM with 32GB of internal storage. This tandem proved to be sufficient for everyday tasks like browsing the web, reading through your social media, watching videos online, and casually playing games.

It also comes with GPS, Bluetooth for wireless connectivity, and 4G LTE for faster internet speeds.

Battery Life

As for battery life, the device is powered by a 3020mAh battery which is a pretty sizable capacity despite its thin form factor. While playing games with Wi-Fi connectivity active, it was able to last us for almost eight hours which is not bad thanks to its modest display size, resolution, and energy-saving features.

However, charging it from 0-100% took a bit of time at almost three hours. 

Creature Feature

In our reviews, The Modern Creatures aims to find that one special feature in a device that makes it worth having — something that gives the product a slight edge from among its peers. For the Y5P, we would have to say its 32GB storage is an attractive offering, especially for this price point.

Plus, if you need more space to store your files, you can always add a microSD card up to 512GB.

Conclusion

It’s nice to know that with today’s offerings, one doesn’t necessarily have to shell out a lot of money just to get your hands on a decent phone that you can use everyday.

With phones like the Huawei Y5P, customers are offered decent performance, straightforward camera features, and a battery life that can last you an entire day.

The Huawei Y5P is a great phone to give as a gift, for example, as it doesn’t cost much and performs well. It could also well be your reliable secondary phone, a phone for your child to play games in, or simply your daily driver if you think you don’t need the complexities of other, more expensive phones.

Huawei Y5P specs:
5.45-inch LCD display, 1,440 x 720 resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio, 73.8% screen-to-body ratio
Octa-core MediaTek Helio P22 processor
2GB RAM
32GB expandable storage (microSD, up to 512GB)
8-megapixel camera with flash
5-megapixel front camera
3.5mm headphone jack
3,020mAh battery
EMUI 10.1 based on Android 10, Huawei Mobile Services
Colors: Mint Green, Midnight Black, Phantom Blue

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