Apple iPhone 11 Review: Best 2020 Smartphone Alternatives

apple iphone 11 review

It’s the least expensive smartphone in the Apple 11 series and has been ranked as one of the top smartphones of 2019. As we look forward to better smartphone releases in the future, it may not stand out that much, but still offers great features, making it a great alternative smartphone to get in 2020. So we ask the question: Is it really worth the buy? Let’s find out more about this Apple iPhone 11 review.

 

 

Apple iPhone 11

Display: 6.1-inch Liquid Retina HD LCD (828 x 1792) | OS: iOS 13 | CPU: A13 Bionic chip | Storage/Memory: 64GB/4GB, 128GB/4GB, 256GB/4GB | Camera: Dual-12MP (wide), 12MP (ultrawide); Dual selfie-12MP (wide) & depth sensor | Battery: 3110mAh | Weight: 194g

 

 

 

Overview

The Apple iPhone 11 offers a great number of features, to see and explore. First, it comes with a large 6.1-inch HD screen. Second is its solid performance processor and the choice of storage, from 64GB up to 256GB.

The third is the good quality dual-lens camera which is one of the best features of the phone. And lastly, the great design features and outstanding battery life. Let’s break it down further piece by piece.

 

Design

First off, there’s nothing really wow about the design here, as it borrows from the previous iPhone XR model. On the flip side, it comes with a glass aluminum frame that offers great durability and great resistance to scratches, water, and dust.

There are six bright colors to choose from, starting Black, Green, Yellow, Purple, Red, and White. Overall, it has premium looks with bright colors and great durability.

 

Display

The Apple iPhone 11 comes with a large 6.1-inch IPS LCD screen, with 828 x 1792 screen resolution, good color accuracy, and brightness. 

Pictures and videos look great on this large screen, with great quality text and good color accuracy. 

A few drawbacks to note. Firstly, it comes with a lower HD quality screen. Second, it does not support HDR10, and thirdly, the screen resolution may be less than 1080p. Yet the lower quality screen offers benefits to battery life.

Overall, the iPhone 11 has a stunning HD display. It may not be Full HD or OLED but it makes the best of what it has to offer.       

 

Performance

The iPhone 11 comes with an A13 Bionic chip processor with 4GB of RAM and is available in three storage models from 64GB up to 256GB. This processor chip has been ranked as one of the fastest performing components to date, beefing up the overall speed and performance of the iPhone 11 to outstanding, and making it one of the most powerful phones out there today.

 

 

Camera

The iPhone 11 comes with a dual-camera lens with 12MP wide and 12MP Ultra wide cameras. This supports night mode, portrait mode and can record up to 4K videos at 60fps. The selfie camera comes with a 12MP dual-camera lens camera and a depth sensor.

The overall camera works really well. The main camera produces high-quality images that are rich in detail, with accurate colors. The selfie camera equally delivers great images in portrait mode as well. Pictures in ultra-wide and night mode are also good with very little blur.

With videos, the iPhone 11 delivers 4K videos maxing at 60fps. Again, great detail, and good stabilization, from the main camera.

The iPhone 11 camera is not to be underestimated. To really relish it, you need to try it out. It definitely is the way to go and one of the best features the phone has.

 

Battery Life

The iPhone 11 is packed with a 3110mAh battery that supports wireless charging and up to 18 watts of fast charging.

If you can find yourself an 18 watts Apple charger, then you can juice up the phone from 0 – 55% in 30mins. The one you get on purchase is only 5 watts that can only juice it up from 0 – 18% in 30mins.

Otherwise, the iPhone 11 comes with a long battery life that offers up to 18 hours of talk time, 15 hours of web browsing and up to 19 hours of video viewing.

The bottom line, the battery life here is great. There’s more than one way to charge it and comes with plenty of power to last a good day’s use.  

 

Verdict

The Apple iPhone 11 may not have the highest quality resolution but strives in offering a great display. Great speed and performance, check. Dual-camera delivering excellent pictures and video, check. The battery life still remains the best in the Apple iPhone series, and the iPhone 11 does not disappoint. 

Overall, this is still one of Apple’s top 2019 smartphones, and can still serve you well as a great alternative, as it’s available at a lower price and comes with great features.

It is a smartphone I recommend and worth getting. If the next iPhone 12 or the more expensive big brothers, iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max is not in your budget, then the iPhone 11 is a great choice alternative. 

Thanks for checking out my Apple iPhone 11 review. If you have any questions or comments, you are more than welcome to leave them below. To see the latest price on offer, click here.   

 

Introducing Extraordinary Laptops with Long Battery Life

 

Introducing Extraordinary Laptops with Long Battery Life

 

Believe it or not. There’re laptops out there that last longer than 4 hours on a single charge. That means more work done, more time to chat and visit social media, and no more work lost. In other words, more things for you to do on your laptop.

Let me introduce to you my recommendations of laptops with long battery life.

 

 

MSI Prestige 14 (2020)

 

DISPLAY: 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: 10 Gen Intel Core i5 / i7 | MEMORY: 16GB RAM | STORAGE: 512GB SSD / 1TB SSD | GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 MaxQ | BATTERY: 50 Whr | WEIGHT: 2.8 lbs (1.3 kg) | OS: Windows 10 Pro 64 

Rating: 4.0 out of 5

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Available in beautiful choices of colors such as pink and white
  • Attractive and unique design features
  • Really lightweight
  • Excellent battery life
  • Nice design keyboard
  • Great system and gaming performance

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Displays a little dim
  • Weak audio speakers
  • No HDMI port
  • Pricey

The Prestige 14 from MSI is one of the best laptops with long battery life. With up to 9 hours, losing power is the least of your worries.

Its portability and lightweight makes it easy to carry. With up to date hardware, looks and premium features, it offers impressive system and gaming performance and comes with looks that will turn heads.

It may be expensive, lacks the means to connect to your HDTV, and comes with low-quality sound speakers, but overall, it offers great performance, long battery life, and an attractive design.

 

 

Dell XPS 13 9300 (2020)

 

DISPLAY: 13.4-inch FHD+ / touchscreen (1920 x 1200) | CPU: Quad-core 10th Gen Intel Core i7 | MEMORY: 8GB RAM | STORAGE: 256GB SSD | GPU: Intel Iris Plus | BATTERY: 52 Whr | WEIGHT: 2.6 lbs (1.2 kg) / 2.8 (1.3 kg) | OS: Windows 10 

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Attractive design
  • Really lightweight
  • Excellent battery life
  • Really thin bezels
  • Great quality display
  • Good performance

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Input ports very limited
  • Pricey

The Dell XPS 13 is a great business laptop that offers a great screen quality view, attractive design, impressive performance and long battery life.

With over 8 hours of battery life, you can get your work done, go to social media, and casual gaming yet still have enough power.

There are many things this laptop has to offer. If the long battery life does not captivate you, then the full HD+ screen will amaze you with the thinnest bezels to optimise a wide view experience, the lightweight for easy portability, and not forgetting the great system performance.

Even though it lacks common input ports and may need you to dig deeper into your pocket, overall, this is a great business laptop from Dell. It offers an amazing display, good design features and long hours of battery life. 

 

 

HP Spectre X360 13 (2019)

 

DISPLAY: 13.3-inch touchscreen FHD (1920 x 1280) | CPU: 10th Gen Quad-core Intel Core i7 | MEMORY: 8GB RAM | STORAGE: 256GB / 512GB SSD | GPU: Intel Iris Plus | OS: Windows 10 Home

Rating: 4.0 out of 5  

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Great system performance
  • Both a laptop and a tablet
  • Excellent display quality
  • Great design
  • Comfortable and great design keyboard
  • Excellent battery life

REASONS TO AVOID

  • May include bloatware
  • Standard quality audio speakers
  • Low battery life in 4K version
  • Pricey

The HP Spectre X360 13 is a 2-in-1 laptop that comes with a beautiful design, a slim bezel display and a nice looking keyboard. Inside it comes with a good hardware spec that offers great performance and over 13 hours of battery life. That’s the highest ever tested from a 2-in-1, making it one of the best laptops with long battery life.

Minor shortcomings such as bloatware which can be deleted and low-quality audio speakers can easily be overlooked. Note that the 4K model has less battery life compared to the Full HD model, yet it has better screen quality.

Overall, if you want a 2-in-1 laptop that offers long battery life, great performance and great design, then look no further than 2019’s HP X360 Spectre 13. 

 

 

Razer Blade Stealth 13 (2019)

 

DISPLAY: 13-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) | CPU: 10th Gen Quad-core Intel i7 | MEMORY: 16GB RAM | STORAGE: 512GB SSD | GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti MaxQ | OS: Windows 10 Home | WiFi, Bluetooth

Rating: 3.8 out of 5

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Impressive 120Hz display
  • Good battery life
  • Good performance
  • Least expensive Razer

REASONS TO AVOID

  • 4K not ideal on 13-inch
  • Single-colour RGB keyboard
  • Gets warm pretty quickly
  • Least powerful Razer

The Razer Blade Stealth 13 gaming laptop is one of a kind. It’s the less expensive in the Razer Blade series. It offers smooth gameplay thanks to the 120Hz display. And lastly, it offers up to 7 hours of battery life.

Unlike other Razer Blade gaming laptops, this one is the least expensive but also the least powerful. It maintains the traditional Razer chassis design with the signature RGB logo behind the display and includes the RGB keyboard.

And since it’s a gaming laptop, the battery drains a lot of power whilst gaming so it is best to keep it plugged in.

Overall, the Razer Blade Stealth 13 has more battery life compared to other gaming laptops for now and is worth the buy at its price.     

 

 

MacBook Pro (2020)

 

DISPLAY: 13.3-inch Retina FHD+ (2560 x 1600) | CPU: 10th Gen Quad-core Intel i5 | MEMORY: 8GB / 16GB RAM | STORAGE: 512GB / 1TB SSD | GPU: Intel Iris Plus | OS: macOS | BATTERY: 58.2 Whr | WEIGHT: 3.1 lbs (1.4 kg) | WiFi, Bluetooth, 720p webcam

Rating: 4.2 out of 5

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Great keyboard layout and large touchpad
  • Good system performance
  • Large SSD for entry model

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Limited input ports
  • Thick bezels
  • 8th gen processor in entry model
  • Pricey

The MacBook Pro offers better performance with its trademark retina display, popular design, and offers up to 9 hours of battery life making it one of the best MacBooks or laptops with long battery life.

MacBooks have always won the race for best battery life against other Windows 10 laptops, and this year’s model is no exception.

Not only does it offer improved performance, but the MacBook Pro also comes with 58 watt-hour battery that grants you more hours to do business, video conferencing, explore social media, and stream videos using its gorgeous display.

It may come with limited input ports, a mid-range processor, and thick display bezels, but it’s a great MacBook that is pricey but worth the purchase.

 

 

Impressions

 

Here are my impressions of these here laptops with long battery life. Firstly, bigger may not always be better. They each come with a 13-inch full HD/HD+ screen except for the MSI Prestige which comes with a 14-inch.

Smaller displays tend to consume less power yet deliver good quality views. In other words, smaller screen laptops are a better choice.  

Secondly, 4K laptops are great and offer amazing quality displays but consume more power and hence less battery life.

Full HD laptops still offer good quality displays yet tend to consume less power so you get more battery life. Know that your choice will come with consequences.

 

Let’s summarise here below. 

 Laptop Battery Life (hours and minutes)
 Dell XPS 13 9300 (2020)
8:14
 HP Spectre X360 13 (2019) 13:19
 MSI Prestige 14 (2020) 9:49
 MacBook Pro (2020) 10:00
 Razer Blade Stealth (2019) 7:00

(credit: Techradar, Tom’s Hardware)

 

From the table above you can see that the laptop with the longest time, and long battery life, is 2019’s HP Spectre x360. 

So if you’re looking for a laptop that will last longer on a single charge, then here they are, amazing laptops with long battery life.

 

 

Close off

 

If smartphones are more of your thing, check out these smartphones with long battery life

So what do you think of my recommendations? Are you happy with them? Do you have one of these laptops already? Please leave comments below.  

 

Introducing Powerful Razer Blade Gaming Laptops

Introducing 2020’s new series of Razer Blade gaming laptops to buy. If you’re looking for the best-looking, and best-performance gaming laptop, then Razer Blade is the name to look out for. But there are so many great gaming laptops out there, all with similar specs, making it a challenge to choose which is best for you. To help you out, here are four Razer Blade gaming laptops to review and consider when next you’re looking for a gaming laptop.

 

 

Razer Blade 15

CPU: 6-core 10th Gen Intel Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660Ti / RTX 2070 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) / OLED 4K Touch, IPS 144Hz | Storage: up to 512GB SSD | Battery: 65Wh | Weight: 4.56 / 4.83 lbs (2.07 / 2.19 kg) | Rating: 4.0 out of 5

REASONS TO BUY

  • Lightweight & sleek design
  • Comfortable & impressive RGB keyboard
  • Great gaming performance
  • Great for gamers, and creatives
  • 7 hours battery life for normal use

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Looks like a normal laptop
  • Expensive
  • Battery lasts 3 hours when gaming

Introducing the Razer Blade gaming laptop, the Razer Blade 15.  This is the base model and one of the best gaming laptops to get right now. Starting off, the Blade15 comes with great gaming performance thanks to the Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia GPU, and 16GB of memory.

Secondly, it’s lightweight, portable, and well-designed. Thirdly, the keyboard offers a good typing and gaming experience, as well as a responsive touchpad. And lastly, it comes with a good battery life of 7 hours.

Overall, this is a great Razer Blade gaming laptop. It has a good standard in the series and has everything you need for great gaming and for normal usage.  There are other great gaming laptop alternatives to consider in that price range. Should you buy it you ask? If you can afford it, then yes, most definitely.  

 

 

Razer Blade 15 Advanced

CPU: 8-core Intel Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q / 2070 Super Max-Q / 2080 Super Max-Q | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) / 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160), IPS 300Hz | Storage: up to 1TB | Battery: 80Wh | Weight: 4.56 / 4.83 lbs (2.07 / 2.19 kg) Rating: 4.2 out of 5

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Sleek design
  • Comfortable & impressive RGB keyboard
  • Great gaming performance
  • Very high refresh rate
  • Best gaming laptop
  • 7 hours of battery life for normal use

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Heavier than the base model
  • More expensive
  • Fans get loud in performance mode
  • Similar design to the base model
  • Same features as the base model

The next Razer Blade gaming laptop is the Razer Blade 15 Advanced. This is the much-improved version of the base Razer Blade 15. It comes with a more powerful Intel i7 processor, a higher refresh rate, more storage, and more battery life. 

It may be better than the base but it packs a little more weight yet is still portable, the same design as the Blade15, and fans get loud but bearable in high-performance mode. Overall, this is a great Razer Blade gaming laptop. It’s more powerful than the base model but nothing has really changed in the looks department. If you’re looking for a more powerful gaming laptop, then this one’s for you. It’s pretty expensive but it definitely makes up for it. 

 

 

Razer Blade Stealth 13

CPU: Quad-core Intel Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) / 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) IPS 60Hz | Storage: 512GB SSD | Battery: 53.1Wh | Weight: 2.82 / 3.04 lbs (1.28 / 1.38 kg) | Rating: 3.8 out of 5

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Impressive 120Hz refresh rate
  • Acceptable battery life
  • Really thin & lightweight
  • Works well with older gaming titles
  • Acceptable performance

REASONS TO AVOID

  • 4K not great on 13-inch screen
  • Typing uncomfortable
  • A single color RGB keyboard
  • Heats up upon long use

The Stealth13 is not much of a gaming laptop as it lacks the better things that make its larger-screened big brothers great. Yet it’s still a Razer Blade gaming laptop with a smaller but great quality 13-inch screen, good design, a high-performance processor, a mid-range GPU, plenty of space, and up to 7 hours of battery life.

The best feature is the impressive full HD screen at a 120Hz refresh rate. It produces a good-quality display with bright, lively colors. There’s also the more expensive one with a 4K screen but it doesn’t really mix well with a 13-inch.

With performance, the Stealth13 gets top marks for outstanding everyday uses but lacks the best means for top gaming titles. Play older and casual games, it works well. Play newer games and hardware-demanding games, but it doesn’t work so well. Because of the mid-range GPU, you’ll have to play those games on normal graphic settings.

Other drawbacks include uncomfortable typing experiences and heating of the laptop after long gaming sessions. Overall, this is Razer’s budget gaming laptop. It comes with an impressive quality screen, great looks, good performance, and good battery life. It’s good for light gaming sessions, it’s easy to carry, and for doing everyday tasks.

Check here for other great budget gaming laptop alternatives, but if the Razer Blade Stealth 13 meets your needs, then it’s a great choice.  

 

 

Razer Blade Pro 17

CPU: 8-core Intel Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 / 2080 Super | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 17.3-inch FHD 300Hz / 4K Touch 120Hz | Storage: 512GB / 1TB SSD | Battery: 70.5Wh | Weight: 6.06 lbs (2.75 kg) | Rating: 4.2 out of 5

 

REASONS TO BUY

  • Large & fastest 17-inch screen at 300Hz
  • Impressive gaming and CPU performance
  • Great audio output
  • Sleek design 

REASONS TO AVOID

  • Really expensive
  • 3 hours battery life
  • Almost 3 kg
  • Cooling fans get loud

The Razor Blade Pro 17 is the top-range gaming laptop in the Razer Blade series.  The difference here is that it comes with a larger 17-inch, full HD or 4K screen, with a top-performance Intel i7 processor, bigger storage, and the best line of GeForce RTX series GPU.

Expect smoother gameplay with gorgeous-looking graphics at work or at play. This is by far the best-performance Razer Blade gaming laptop ever produced by Razer. With the best comes a high price, literally. This is one of the most expensive gaming laptops made. It has average battery life, weighs close to 6 pounds (3kg), and includes loud but bearable cooling fans.

Is it worth the buy? If you want one of the fastest, high-performance gaming laptops, then yes this it’s worth getting, but the high price will cause us to turn the other way. But if you have the means, get the Razer Blade Pro. Overall, the Razer Blade Pro 17 deserves the title of best Razer Blade gaming laptop has the best performance, an impressively large screen, great for gaming.

 

Verdict

I have to admit, there are really great Razer Blade gaming laptops. They each have great features and deliver great gaming performance. Not much change from previous models in terms of design, but they go with what works. These gaming laptops here are expensive, and the average battery life on normal gaming laptops may be a hit or miss for some, but the short time you use it for gaming is worth the risk.

Best gaming performance is the selling product here and Razer does it really well. If you can afford it, the Razer Blade 15 Advanced is your best bet. Stick to the Full HD version. 4K definitely looks great too but you may have to dig deeper into your pocket.

The Razer Blade Pro is also a great buy, yet it’s really expensive. If you can afford it, then get it. Just be mindful of the short battery life and the weight. Another thing you can do is look at previous models. They will be less expensive and can still play the latest AAA title games. Check out more Razer Blade gaming laptops hereWhat’s left now is for you to pick one of these great Razer Blade gaming laptops, but be warned. Once you do, you will never go back.

 

Close off

There you have it. Four Razer Blade gaming laptops to choose from to satisfy your need for gaming.  So what do you say? Are these gaming laptops worth considering? Which one here is your pick? Do you agree with my recommendations? Tell us about your experience with Razer Blade gaming laptops. If you have comments you are more than welcome to add them below. That’s all from me. Take care. Stay safe. Good gaming.

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Review: One Best Runner-up For 2020

 

Let me introduce to you the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 smartphone from Samsung. It’s the entry model of the Note 20 series that has been released this year alongside the top-range smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 UltraFor now, let’s focus on the Note20 smartphone. Is it that good of a smartphone? Does it have what it takes to compete or even beat other rival brands? Let’s find out from this Samsung Galaxy Note 20 review.

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

 

Display: 6.7-inch, Super AMOLED (1080 x 2400) | CPU: Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865+ (USA)/Exynos 990 (Global) | Storage/Memory: 128GB/8GB RAM, 256GB/8GB RAM | Main Cam: Triple, 12 MP, f/1.8 (wide) + 64 MP, f/2.0 (telephoto) + 12 MP, f/2.2 (ultra-wide) | Selfie: 10 MP, f/2.2 (wide) | Battery: 4300 mAh | OS: Android 10 | Weight: 194g

 

 

Overview

 

 

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 comes with a glass/plastic frame that’s lightweight and durable, with a large full (1080p) HD display and curved edges.  Inside consists of a Snapdragon/Exynos processor, with 8GB memory, a choice of storage from 128GB to 256GB, and a 4300 mAh battery. Let’s check more features in detail.

 

 

Design & Display

 

The flat screen gives a nice premium look to it. It may be quite a large phone, but its glass-plastic build makes it feel lighter and more comfortable to hold. The IP68 means that it can survive a 1.5-meter water dive and dust, making it a very durable mobile device. As for the display, the AMOLED tech gives it crisp detail, color accuracy, and good brightness. The refresh rate is locked a 60Hz and the resolution at 1080p.

 

Yes, those are specs of a typical mid-range smartphone, yet the screen looks great. It’s a drawback that you can easily undermine. The stylus ‘S-Pen’ included not only makes for easy touch access to apps but makes for smooth writing. Overall, the Note20 has a great quality screen with decent features and a good design. Never mind the drawbacks as you can easily undermine them thanks to the Note20.

 

 

 

Performance

 

The performance of the phone is top-notch thanks to the high system and the good quality processor. Android 10 responds well with smooth transitions from one app to the other and a responsive user interface. Gaming on this phone is a great experience even though it’s no gaming smartphone. The GPU does a great job of delivering great model texture and smooth gameplay.

One thing to note is the difference in performance between the US and global releases. The Snapdragon 865+ CPU is the more powerful, as it’s used to power up other great smartphones such as the ASUS ROG 3 Gaming phone, and is currently the fastest mobile CPU in 2020. Overall, performance on the Note20 is great. It performs up to standard and is in line to be best. Even though there is a slight difference in performance, it’s only noticeable when comparing the US and global.

 

 

Battery life

 

The Note20 comes with an impressive 4300mAh battery, that will provide you with all-day battery life on a single charge. It supports fast-charging, wireless, and reverse-wireless charging. The Note20 Ultra has a bigger 4500mAh battery, but a smaller display, lower resolution, and refresh rate mean less power consumed, and more hours of battery life. 

 

 

 

Camera

 

When it comes to the camera, the Note20 is not as amazing as its big brother Note20 Ultra but works well. First, it comes with a 12MP wide sensor to help take in more light for those low-lit areas. Secondly, it has a 64MP telephoto sensor with up to 30x zoom function. Thirdly, it comes with a 10MP wide selfie camera. Then lastly, it records up to 8K video quality. Pictures and videos are presented in great detail, thanks to color accuracy. The zoom function works well but loses detail beyond 10x zoom. Overall, the camera takes great quality pictures and videos except for the loss in details upon zooming. 

 

 

Impressions

 

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is a great phone. It comes with a gorgeous display, decent design, great battery life, and a great camera set. It may come with low features than the Note20 Ultra, but it works well and can be an alternative. As for me, the Samsung Note 20 is a great phone and one I recommend to all. 

 

 

Closing Off

 

If you prefer the more robust Note20 Ultra, check out the review here. Other Samsung Galaxy alternatives to consider, check them out here. If you’ve read this far, thanks and I much appreciate it. So what do you think? Do you like this review? What can you say about the Note20? Any comments? You’re more than happy to leave them below.   

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Review: Best Phone of 2020

 

Last year, Samsung released the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Note 10 Plus. This year, it’s the new Galaxy Note 20 and the awesome Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. For now, let’s focus on the new Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra smartphone. 

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Review

 

Screen: 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED, 1440×3088, 120Hz (FHD), 60Hz (QHD) | Processor: Exynos 990 (Global)/Snapdragon 865+ (USA) | Memory: 12GB RAM | Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB | OS: Android 10 | Main camera: Triple lens, 108MP (wide) | Selfie: 10MP (wide) | Battery: 4500mAh

 

 

 

Display & Design

The Note20 Ultra comes with all the best technology. First is the massive 6.9-inch screen with an adaptive refresh rate capable of 60Hz and 120Hz support. The second is the 1440p screen resolution. That’s 4K.

Next, is the gorgeous color accuracy, and good brightness management, for clarity and details. And lastly, the refined pressure detection for the stylus pen is called the S-Pen’.

Not only is navigation much smoother, but you can also pretty much use the S Pen to literally write your messages onscreen instead of typing.

It’s really impressive the number of technology is put into an impressive display. It really is an impressive and the most impressive of all top-range smartphones.  

 

 

With the design, the Note20 Ultra is available in three colors: Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, and Mystic White. It’s built using glass and a stainless steel frame. It’s durable with water/dust resistance, weighs 208 g, and comes with curved round edges.

The phone includes a stylus pen called an S Pen, that fits comfortably in its own slot. 

 

Performance

The Note 20 Ultra is packed with the best hardware to optimize performance. Why do I say so? Inside includes a Snapdragon 865+ processor for US release and the Exynos 990 for release to the rest of the world.

In terms of memory, it’s set at 12GB of RAM and choice of internal storage starting from 128GB up to 512GB. That also includes a micro SD slot to expand storage.

Performance is solid here thanks to the processor and the high memory installed. The Android 10 OS moves with ease, feels pretty smooth and is quite responsive.

The US release comes with a little more performance as the Snapdragon processor is highly rated and used in other top smartphone brands such as the ASUS ROG Gaming Phone 3

Speaking of gaming, this is no gaming smartphone yet it packs the power to be. It’s not the best but gaming graphics look good, well-textured with smooth gameplay.

To sum up, Note 20 Ultra is fast, fluid, and smooth, but it’s not the best.

There is a difference in performance between the US and global releases but the phone works just as well. If you can, get the US release. 

 

Battery

The Note 20 Ultra is powered by a 4500 mAh battery that supports fast charging, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.

At full charge, the battery packs a good 23 hours of battery life. With fast charging, it charges from 0 to full charge in less than 90 minutes.

Compared to other top-range phones, the Note 20 Ultra falls behind in terms of charging speed yet it’s a factor that’s easily undermined.

So in a nutshell, great battery life, premium battery features, but the fast charge is not competitive enough to beat other top-range phone models. 

 

Camera

The Note 20 Ultra comes with a triple-lens main camera with a single teardrop-lens selfie camera.

The main camera features the following:

    • 108MP, f/1.8 (wide) 
    • 12MP, f/3.0 (telephoto) with 50x zoom 
    • 12MP, f/2.2 (ultra-wide)
    • 10MP, f/2.2 (wide) selfie camera

 

 

With a top-range smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, you can expect premium technology that delivers superb detailed pictures and videos. From an amateur to a pro photographer, the Note20 has the right tools for both day and night.   

 

Impressions

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is an impressive smartphone. It comes with the best display, good battery life, premium features, and design. You can say it’s the most outstanding smartphone of 2020. Yes, it has its flaws, but it’s easily overlooked. 

If you’re planning to get this smartphone, I highly recommend it. If you can, get the US version. It has slightly better hardware that will offer a better experience. If it’s not within your budget then the Note20, or other top-range Samsung smartphones.

 

Closing off

So what’s your comment? Are you convinced that this is the smartphone for you? Do you have one already? What experience have you had with the Note20 Ultra? If you have come this far, you have my thanks and my gratitude. If you have any comments please leave them below.

 

A30 vs A31: Which Cheap Samsung Galaxy Smartphone to Buy

 

A30 vs A31: Which Cheap Samsung Galaxy Smartphone to Buy

 

The Korean smartphone giant has released a lot of mobile devices in the past couple of years, ranging from the cheap Samsung Galaxy smartphone range to the top-range ‘ultra’.

The ones we are looking at here are the Samsung Galaxy A30s and A31 smartphones, with premium features, at a good price. But with prices this low, what’s the catch? Let’s find out on this overview.

 

Samsung Galaxy A30s

Display: 6.4-inch, 720p HD, Super AMOLED | OS: Android 9 | Processor: Exynos 7904 | Storage/memory: 32GB/3GB RAM, 64GB/3GB RAM, 128GB/4GB RAM | Main camera: 25MP (wide) triple camera | Selfie camera: 16MP (wide) | Battery: 4000mAh (supports 15W fast charging) | Weight: 169g

REASON TO BUY

    • Good quality display
    • Decent camera features
    • Good battery life & fast charge
    • Affordable price

REASON NOT TO BUY

    • Below average memory
    • Average screen resolution
    • Average performance
    • Less photo detail
    • Average design

 

RATING: 7.5/10

When looking for an affordable smartphone, the A30s may be your best, cheap Samsung Galaxy smartphone. Priced less than 250 USD, the A30s provides accessibility, great display, good battery, and a decent camera package. However, the low price comes with compromises in the form of performance and premium features.

Inside the glass plastic frame is a typical hardware spec of a budget smartphone. But don’t be fooled because there are some premium features included. First is the large 6.4-inch screen which comes with the latest tech for clear, vivid views, and great picture quality. The second is the battery life that lasts up to 16 hours. It comes with a fast charger that juices up the phone to full charge in less than 2 hours.

 

Next, the A30s comes with a triple-lens rear camera and a front-facing selfie cam. The package consists of a 25MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 5MP depth camera. It creates decent pictures with vibrant colors but shows a loss of detail. 

Overall, the A30s is a solid device for anyone looking for a cheap Samsung Galaxy smartphone. The great display, good battery life, and camera features make for a good choice. If you’re looking for an affordable smartphone with more performance, takes better camera pictures and a better design, you might be better off looking for another smartphone. 

 

 

Samsung Galaxy A31

Display: 6.4-inch, 1080p FHD, Super AMOLED | OS: Android 10 | Storage/memory: 64GB/4GB RAM, 128GB/4GB RAM, 128GB/6GB RAM | Main camera: 48MP quad-camera | Selfie camera: 20MP | Battery: 5000mAh (supports 15W fast charging) | Weight: 185g

REASON TO BUY

    • 1080p Full HD screen resolution
    • Solid & unique design
    • Quad camera lens 
    • Good quality display
    • Good performance
    • Good battery life & fast charge

REASON NOT TO BUY

    • Slow response fingerprint scanner
    • Gaming performance not great
    • No video stabilizer
    • Video records at 1080p but 30fps

RATING: 8.2/10

When comparing the latest smartphone with older models, it’s a no-brainer that it’s going to have better performance, and better features just like the cheap Samsung Galaxy, the A31. It’s an affordable smartphone with a great display, good battery life, a good hardware spec, and good camera features. The price may be a little higher than other budget models and minor drawbacks, yet the core necessities were greatly focused on and improved to you this smartphone.

The screen is 6.4-inch but with a 1080p resolution. This means a full HD display, vibrant colors, and better visuals. The battery is bigger at 5000mAh, looking at up to 20-hour battery life, and full charge is done in less than 3 hours. Next, the A31 comes with a quad-lens rear camera and a front-facing selfie cam. The main camera features a 48MP, with 8MP ultra-wide, 5MP depth, and 5MP macro. The level of detail is better and noticeable. It takes decent pictures. It falls short when it comes to bight mode or low-lit areas. 

Overall, the A31 is a great mobile device for anyone looking for a cheap Samsung Galaxy smartphone. The great display, big battery life, and camera features make for a good choice. This is a better budget smartphone with better performance and takes decent pictures. If you’re not very picky with the design, and just need a phone that comes with good essentials, then this may be your one cheap Samsung Galaxy smartphone. 

 

Lasting Impressions

Both of these mobile devices are pretty solid. They both come with a good display, good battery life, and includes one or two premium features like fast charging and decent camera features. But low price means compromises. You’ll most likely come across some cons with these affordable devices. So it’s good to know which features cater to or appeals to you. 

If you can afford it, get the Samsung Galaxy A31. The A30 is still a good phone, more affordable, but has fewer features and comes with performance issues. If these two, however, don’t suit you, then take a look at these affordable Android smartphones.

Thanks for reading up to this point. If you got comments, questions please leave them below. Stay safe. Take care. Check you next time.  

 

ASUS ROG Gaming Phone 3 Review: Best Gaming Masterpiece

The ASUS ROG gaming phone series has brought you gaming to your fingertips.  From design to gaming features, the latest model may be the best gaming phone. ASUS ROG has released its next best smartphone, the ASUS ROG Gaming Phone 3.  This may be another great release, with hopes to challenge the gaming market. Will it be the best smartphone in 2020?  Let’s find out from this review.

 

ASUS ROG Gaming Phone 3 Review

6.59-inch AMOLED, 144Hz, 2340 x 1080p, HDR10+  |  Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865+  |  8/12/16GB RAM  |  128/256/512GB internal storage  |  Android 10 OS, ROG UI  |  Triple-lens cam: 64MP f/1.8 (wide),  13MP f/2.4 (ultra-wide), 5MP f/2.0 (macro)  |  Single-lens selfie cam: 24MP 2.0 (wide)  |  6000mAh battery  |  240g (0.53lbs)

 

 

Overview

The ASUS ROG gaming phone 3 is a gaming smartphone. It works as a phone and works as a gaming device. You get a large 6.6-inch AMOLED display with a small dot single-lens selfie. On both sides of the display are small audio speakers. Inside the ASUS ROG gaming phone is a Snapdragon 865+ processor with a 6000mAh battery. Choice of model options is from 8GB to 16GB RAM and storage options from 128GB to 512GB. 

Display

The ROG 3 comes with hi-tech display technology, with high refresh rate options. First, the AMOLED screen has a 1080p resolution. Second, the high refresh rate produces vivid colors, good contrasts and brightness. Third, it looks better with smoother viewing and offers a great gaming experience. And last, it has an on-screen fingerprint sensor for quick unlock. Overall, the screen looks great and produces the best overall screen quality.

Design

 

 

The phone’s made of glass aluminium with a glossy black colour called ‘Black Glare’. Same design as its predecessor, but with more weight and looks bold. No water and dust-resistant.

Performance

The phone’s powered by the Snapdragon 865 Plus processor. If you’re looking for the fastest in the market, this is the one. It runs at a clock speed of 3.1 GHz. It includes an overclocked GPU delivering 10% more graphics performance. Includes a 16 GB of memory that is 600Mhz faster than other top-range phones. I know it’s a lot of techs but you get the idea. To sum it up, the ROG 3 comes with a powerful processor. Better than that, it delivers powerful graphics. This means that this phone delivers top overall performance.

Software

The ROG 3 includes the ROG UI based on the Android 10 OS. The OS works well and responds well to the touch. To optimize your gaming experience, the phone includes apps to help you manage your gaming profile. Things like video capture, records of gaming sessions, performance management, and key mapping, are here.

There’s even a gaming hub to scroll through all your gaming apps, where you can tune and configure more gaming options. They can be overwhelming and complex if you’re not familiar with them. Overall, the OS works well. The gaming enhancement apps needs you to get some knowledge to understand how it works. 

Battery Life

Looking for a mobile gaming device with awesome battery life? The ROG 3 has a massive 6000mAH non-removable Li-on battery, the biggest in the ASUS ROG gaming phone series. Battery life? You’re looking at up to 12 hours of battery time. It supports fast charge as well (thanks to the 30W fast charge adapter) with battery charge speed from 0 – 80% in just an hour. No support for wireless charging. With its massive battery, long battery life, and fast charging, this is the ideal gaming phone. 

Camera

 

 

The ASUS ROG 3 comes with a triple-lens camera set at the back, and a single-lens selfie cam in front.  The overall quality is decent. Photos taken using main and wide lens look excellent during the day, with good depth and bright accurate colors.  At low light, photos from the main camera look decent but flat, showing signs of loss of detail from the wide lens. The selfie cam produces good day photos in portrait mode. At low light, there’s a great loss in detail. Video clips are recorded to up to 8K. The detail is good thanks to the video stabilizer, producing good colors and video detail. Overall, the phone comes with a good camera. It takes excellent day photos, decent low-light photos, and records excellent 8K videos. 

Audio and Other Features

The front-facing stereo speakers are powerful and provide excellent sound quality.  Bass sounds natural, treble is crisp, and no distortions here. The sound is great and awesome for gaming. There are several software features to enhance sound quality. All installed and made to deliver good sound both through audio speakers and headphones. The ROG 3 comes with a few accessories, the USB-C adapter and a cooling fan attachment. There are several more accessories available but sold separately. 

Overall Impression

For starters, it comes with a large, high refresh AMOLED screen, a bold and glossy design. Next is the great set of audio speakers, and long battery life. Then there’s the excellent performance and amazing apps for a better gaming experience. On the downside, the phone has no headphone jack. It’s vulnerable to water and dust. No slot for storage expansion. The high price. The gaming enhancement apps will take you a while to get used to.

If you’re looking for one of the best gaming smartphones of 2020, then the ASUS ROG gaming phone 3 is it. The price is pretty high but worth the buy. As a fellow gamer myself, I recommend getting it. If you can get this phone, then you will have the best gaming device this year. So what do think, is this the phone you’re looking for? What do think of this review? If you have comments, or feedback you’re more than welcome to leave a few below. Thank you for making it this far. You’re the best. Feel free to explore other reviews and articles on this website. That’s all from me. Stay safe. See you next time.

 

Introducing the Amazing Huawei P40 Phone Series

 

Introducing the Amazing Huawei P40 Phone Series

 

Huawei introduces the new Huawei P40 phone series called the P40, P40 Pro, and the P40 Pro Plus. These latest smartphones come with the latest technology.

They each come with great performance, design, a quad-camera set with video recording, and other premium features.

With the lack of Google services and apps, it faces limitations in the supply of good apps to us consumers.

With this in mind, will this stop one of the best mobile device giants from creating good quality smartphones? Let’s find out from this review the latest Huawei P40 phone series.  

 

Huawei P40 Series: Huawei P40, Huawei P40 Pro & Huawei P40 Pro Plus

 

 

Huawei P40 5G

Compact Model of the Huawei P40 Phone Series

6.1-inch OLED FHD (1080 x 2340)  |  Kirin 990 processor 5G  |  Mali-G76 GPU  |  6GB/8GB RAM  |  128GB/256GB storage (NanoM SD, up to 256 GB)  |  Triple-lens main cam: 50MP (f/1.9) main, 16MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide, 8MP (f/2.4) telephoto  |  Selfie cam: 32MP (f/2.0) wide, depth sensor  |  3800mAh battery, 22.5Whr fast charge  |  EMUI 10.1 base on Android 10 OS  |  175g 

Pros

    • Up to 5G network
    • Nice glossy colour & premium design
    • Splash-proof & good durability
    • Great quality OLED display
    • Great performance
    • Good battery life with fast charge
    • Great quality camera & video
    • Responsive on-screen fingerprint sensor

Cons

    • No headphone jack
    • No water resistance
    • No wireless charging
    • No Google services
    • Limited access to apps
    • Uses nano SD cards, not micro SD
    • Night photos lack quality and detail

 

Overview

Let’s start with the Huawei P40 phone. At first glance, it’s the smallest of the three with a 6.1-inch full HD display with a 1080p resolution. Inside is a Kirin 990 5G processor, 6 or 8 GB memory, 128 or 256 GB internal storage, and a 3800mAh battery. 

 

Design & Display

The phone’s made from durable glass aluminium. There are five colors available with a glossy design finish (silver frost, blush gold, deep-sea blue, ice white, black).

On the left corner of the display is the 32MP double-lens selfie camera. On the right are the power and volume buttons. And at the back is the triple-lens camera set.

The P40 display looks great with the brightness and contrast well managed and producing great images.

 

Audio

Not much to say about the audio. The phone comes with a normal stereo speaker which produces average sound quality. No headphone jack here.

 

Storage

The P40 is available from a choice of storage preferences: 128 GB or 256 GB. To expand storage, the P40 supports but uses nano SD cards instead of normal micro SD cards.

 

 

Battery Life

Battery life is great. The P40 comes with a 3800mAh battery that will last several hours to a whole day’s use and supports fast wired charging, (0-60% in half an hour). However, there’s no wireless charging. 

 

Software

Sadly, no Google services and no access to Google apps here. Huawei has its own app store called AppGallery. For now, it’s has a limited set of apps but will grow in time. For even more apps, check out other third-party app stores like Amazon and APK Pure.

The EMUI 10.1 OS runs smoothly with a pretty responsive GUI. Performance is great, gaming graphics look good and decent gameplay.

 

Camera & Video

The camera performance is great too. The triple main camera takes good quality pictures. It has good zoom functionality, and up to 4K video recording. 

 

Verdict

To summarise, this is a good phone. It comes with great looks with a gorgeous display. Next is the all-day battery life with fast charging. And then there’s the great camera set, and it’s better than the earlier model Huawei P30.

But the phone has no access to Google apps and services. It comes with average sound output and no wireless charging. Those are the big drawbacks here. Yet, it’s the cheapest one in the Huawei P40 phone series and an alternative of the three.             

 

 

Huawei P40 Pro 5G

Best Overall Huawei P40 Phone

6.58-inch OLED (1200 x 2640)  |  Kirin 990 5G processor  |  Mali-G76 GPU  |  8GB RAM  |  128GB/256GB/512GB storage (NanoM SD, up to 256 GB)  |  Quad-lens main cam: 50MP (f/1.9) main, 40MP (f/1.8) ultra-wide, 12MP (f/3.4) 5x zoom, TOF 3D (depth)  |  Dual selfie cam: 32MP (f/2.2) wide, TOF  |  4200mAh battery, supports 40Whr fast charge, 27W wireless charge  |  EMUI 10.1 base on Android 10 OS  |  209g 

Pros

    • Up to 5G network
    • Nice glossy colour & premium design
    • Dust and water-resistant
    • Great quality and high refresh display
    • Great performance
    • Good battery life with fast & wireless charge
    • Great quality camera & video
    • Responsive on-screen fingerprint sensor

Cons

    • No headphone jack
    • No Google services
    • Limited access to apps
    • Uses nano SD cards, not micro SD

 

Overview

Next, we look at the Huawei P40 Pro smartphone. In front, it comes with a 6.6-inch curved OLED with a 1200p screen resolution. The quad-camera lies on the back with a dual selfie camera in front. 

Inside is a Kirin 990 5G processor, with 8 GB of memory, a choice between 128 GB to 512 GB of internal storage depending on your choice of model. It comes with a large 4200mAh battery. 

 

Design &Display

The P40 Pro is made of glass aluminum with water and dust protection. It’s available in many colors: silver frost, blush gold, deep-sea blue, ice white, and black.

The OLED display has a 90Hz refresh rate with good accurate colors, well-controlled brightness, and contrast. It also supports HDR+. There’s also a fast and responsive fingerprint sensor on the bottom of the screen, and a face-unlock feature for security. 

 

Audio

The audio is average but better than the entry model.  The sound is crisper, louder with good emphasis on bass and treble. No headphone jack to plug in headphones.   

 

 

Software

No Google services and no access to Google apps here. Huawei has its own app store called AppGallery. It’s got apps but limited apps. For even more apps, you would need to install other third-party app stores like Amazon and APK Pure.

The EMUI 10.1 OS runs smoothly with a pretty responsive GUI. Performance is great here with good-looking gaming graphics and great gameplay.

 

Storage

The P40 Pro is available from a choice of storage, that ranges from the entry-level 128 GB up to 512 GB.  To expand storage, the smartphone supports it but uses nano SD memory cards instead of normal micro SD cards.

 

Battery Life

Battery life is great. The P40 Pro comes with a 4200mAh battery that will last several hours to a whole day’s use and supports fast charging, (0-80% in half an hour). Wireless charging is supported here and also reverse charging to charge up another mobile device. 

 

Camera &Video

The camera performance is great on the P40 Pro. The quad main camera takes good quality pictures, ultra-wide photos look decent, and decent night mode photos as well. 4K video recording is supported as well. 

 

Verdict

To sum it up, the Huawei P40 Pro comes with a lot of premium features. It has great looks and a curved design. It comes with a gorgeous high refresh display, with a good day battery life.

Next is the great quad-camera set making it a must-get for photo experts.

But with no access to Google apps is the main drawback of this phone. If you can manage to enjoy the premium features, then the P40 Pro is for you. 

 

 

Huawei P40 Pro Plus 5G

Best Camera Huawei P40 Phone

6.58-inch OLED (1200 x 2640)  |  Kirin 990 5G processor  |  Mali-G76 GPU  |  8GB RAM  |  128GB/256GB/512GB storage (NanoM SD, up to 256 GB)  |  five-lens main cam: 50MP (f/1.9) wide, 40MP (f/1.8) ultra-wide, 8MP (f/4.4) periscope telephoto 10x zoom, 8MP (f/2.4) telephoto 3x zoom, TOF 3D (depth)  |  Dual selfie cam: 32MP (f/2.2) wide, TOF  |  4200mAh battery, supports 40Whr fast charge, 27W wireless charge  |  EMUI 10.1 base on Android 10 OS  |  209g 

Pros

    • Up to 5G network
    • Nice glossy colour & premium design
    • Dust and water-resistant
    • Great quality and high refresh display
    • Great performance
    • Good battery life with fast & wireless charge
    • Great quality camera & video
    • Great 4K quality videos using selfie cam
    • Great detailed zoom 
    • 3x and 10x zoom functions
    • Responsive on-screen fingerprint sensor

Cons

    • No headphone jack
    • No Google services
    • Limited access to apps
    • Uses nano SD cards, not micro SD
    • Pretty expensive

Overview

Then we move on to the Huawei P40 Pro Plus. If you notice, the phone comes with the exact same hardware specs and premium features as the P40 Pro, with a number of additional features.

 

Features

First, the P40 Pro Plus is made of a combination of glass and a ceramic frame. Secondly, the camera set includes a five-lens camera with added 3x and 10x zoom functions, and last, it’s boosted to optimize better quality photos and video.

 

 

With its boosted camera features you can do a number of things. First, you can zoom up to 10 times to get the perfect shot in great detail, and lastly, you can use the selfie cam to take 4K photos and videos.  

 

Verdict

So really the only thing to say here is the Huawei P40 Pro Plus is the P40 Pro with a better camera. If you are looking for a smartphone with great camera features then the P40 Pro Plus is for you. If you want a standard top-range smartphone, then get the P40 Pro.    

 

 

Huawei P40 Lite/Nova 6 SE/Nova 7i

Best Affordable Alternative Huawei P40 phone

6.4-inch LPS IPS FHD (1080 x 2310)  |  Kirin 810 processor  |  Mali-G52 MP6 GPU  |  6GB RAM  |  128GB storage (NanoM SD, up to 256 GB)  |  Quad-lens cam: 48MP (f/1.8) main, 8MP (f/2.4) ultra-wide, 2MP (f/2.4) macro, 2MP depth  |  16MP selfie cam  |  4200mAh battery, 40Whr fast charge  |  EMUI 10 base on Android 10 OS  |  183g

Pros

    • Nice glossy colour & premium design
    • Lightweight
    • Good durability
    • Great quality display
    • Great performance
    • Good battery life with fast charge
    • Good quality camera & video
    • Fast and quick side-mounted fingerprint sensor

Cons

    • No water resistance
    • No 5G network
    • No wireless charging
    • No Google apps and services
    • Uses nano SD cards, not micro SD
    • No AI video stabilizer

 

Overview

If the smartphones are too much for you, then the more affordable Huawei P40 Lite may be best for you. It’s also known as Huawei Nova 6 SE, and Huawei Nova 7i in other markets and countries.

The phone comes with a 6.4-inch full HD display. It comes with a single lens selfie, with a quad-camera lens set at the back. Inside includes a Kirin processor, with 6 GB memory, 128 GB of internal storage, and a 4200mAh battery.

 

Display & Design

The phone comes with a 6.4-inch full HD LCD that supports 1080p screen resolution and the standard 60Hz refresh rate.

It’s made of plastic aluminum. It’s lightweight, comfortable to hold, and comes with a curved edge design. But It’s not water-resistant. 

 

Audio

With audio, the phone comes with a single audio speaker at the bottom. It produces average sound quality with a headphone jack included and free earphones in the box. 

 

Storage

The P40 lite comes with 128 GB internal storage. To expand storage, it uses nano SD memory cards, not normal micro SD cards.

The P40 Lite comes with a fingerprint sensor side-mounted on the right. It’s fast and responds well to touch. 

 

 

Software

No Google services. No access to Google apps here. Huawei introduces its own app store called AppGallery. It has limited apps but will grow in time. For even more apps, you would need to install other third-party app stores like Amazon and APK Pure.

The EMUI 10 OS runs smoothly with a pretty responsive GUI. Performance is great here with good gaming graphics and gameplay.

 

Battery Life

Battery life is great. The P40 Lite comes with a 4200mAh battery that lasts several hours to a whole day’s use. Charging is fast, with 0-70% in half an hour. No support for wireless charging.

 

Camera & Video

The overall camera is decent. The camera takes good quality pictures. Ultra-wide photos look decent and the selfie cam takes good photos at night. Videos got up to 1080p which is acceptable at its price range.

 

Verdict

Overall, the P40 Lite is a great alternative mid-ranger. It comes with a good quality display, with great performance on both normal and gaming. Next, it includes good battery life with fast charging and a decent camera set.

On the downside, video recording lacks detail. The lack of Google services. Yet it’s a great smartphone and a great affordable alternative. 

 

 

Last Impressions

What can I say these are great and wonderful smartphones. Because of Huawei’s ban from Google, they have made ways to provide apps.

I recommend the Huawei P40 phone series, I’m impressed with the P40 Pro. Nothing special, it just comes with great features.

The P40 Pro Plus is a great smartphone as well but it’s expensive. It’s got one of the best camera sets phones to get. I recommend it but to those who can afford it and want to take good quality pictures and videos. 

The P40 and the P40 Lite are the mid-rangers here. P40 is more expensive. Between them, they are good compact phones but it’s a challenge to recommend which one. I’ll let you decide which is best for you.

Thank you for reading this far. Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with you on the Huawei P40 phone series. Any questions, comments, you are more than welcome to leave them below.

If you like this article, then check out more on the on Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

If budget smartphones are more your liking, then check out the best budget and mid-range Android smartphones.   

That’s all from me. Take it easy. Stay safe. See you in the next one.

 

Huawei P40 Lite Review: Affordable & Attractive

 

Huawei P40 Lite Review: Affordable & Attractive

 

Nowadays, mid-range smartphones are becoming more affordable but lack premium features found in top-tier phones. Yet they pull it off well with innovative and attractive phone designs. This Huawei P40 review aims to show you how pretty the phone is, making it look premium, yet you can pick it up at an affordable price.

 

  Huawei P40 Lite / Nova 6 SE / Nova 7i

6.4-inch LPS IPS FHD (1080 x 2310)  |  Kirin 810 processor  |  Mali-G52 MP6 GPU  |  6GB RAM  |  128GB storage (NanoM SD, up to 256 GB)  |  Quad-lens cam: 48MP (f/1.8) main, 8MP (f/2.4) ultra-wide, 2MP (f/2.4) macro, 2MP depth  |  16MP selfie cam  |  4200mAh battery, 40Whr fast charge  |  EMUI 10 base on Android 10 OS  |  183g

 

Overview

If you cannot afford one of the main flagship smartphones, from the Huawei P40 series, then consider the mid-range and the more affordable Huawei P40 Lite, also known as the Huawei Nova 6 SE, also known as the Huawei Nova 7i in other markets and countries.

As mentioned earlier, the Huawei P40 Lite is a mid-range smartphone catered for the budget market. It’s compact, more affordable, and comes with premium features.

To start off, it comes with a large 6.4-inch full HD display, with a single-lens selfie placed on the top-left, and a quad-camera set at the back. Secondly, inside includes a Kirin processor, with 6GB memory, 128GB of internal storage, and lastly, it includes a 4200mAh battery. Overall, it’s a mid-range phone that comes with good inner and outer specs. 

 

Display & Design

The phone comes with a large display and a premium look design. To begin, the 6.4-inch full HD LCD display supports 1080p screen resolution and the standard 60Hz refresh rate.

The phone is made of plastic, making it lightweight, comfortable to hold, and comes with curved edges. Sadly, it’s not water-resistant.

Lastly, it comes with a fingerprint sensor side-mounted on the right. It’s fast and responds well to touch.

To sum up, good looking screen at a normal refresh rate, and a well-designed frame. Sadly, it’s less durable due to no water resistance.  

 

Audio

With audio, the phone comes with a single audio speaker at the bottom. It produces average sound quality than the P40, comes with a headphone jack and earphones included. 

 

Storage

The P40 Lite comes with 128GB internal storage with an option to expand storage. To expand storage, the smartphone only accepts nano SD memory cards from Huawei however, instead of normal micro SD cards.

 

 

 

Software

Sadly, no Google services and no access to Google apps here, but Huawei has its own app store called AppGallery. For now, it’s has limited apps but will grow in time. For even more apps, you would need to install other third-party app stores like Amazon and APK Pure.

The EMUI 10 OS runs smoothly with a pretty responsive GUI. Performance is great here with good-looking gaming graphics and great gameplay.

 

Battery Life

Battery life is great. The P40 Lite comes with a 4200mAh battery that will last several hours to a whole day’s use. Charging is fast too, with 0-70% in half an hour. No wireless charging is supported.

 

Camera & Video

The overall camera is decent. The quad main camera takes good quality pictures, ultra-wide photos look decent and the selfie cam takes good photos at night. Video quality got up to 1080p which is acceptable at this price range. 

 

Verdict

Overall, the P40 Lite is a great alternative mid-ranger. It comes with a good display, great performance on both normal and gaming, good battery life with fast charging, and a decent camera set.

On the downside, video recording from the main camera lacks detail and the lack of Google services are the main drawbacks here, yet it’s a great smartphone and a great affordable alternative. 

Thank you for being part of my Huawei P40 Lite review. If you have any comments, you are more than welcome to leave them below.

By the way, click here to check out my overview of the Huawei P40 series smartphonesThat’s all for me, stay safe and take care.

 

Asus Zephyrus G14 Review: Best Mid-range Gaming Laptop

 

Asus Zephyrus G14 Review. The best gaming laptops are usually the top-performing gaming devices, that include top-range hardware and unique features, but not everyone can afford to experience the luxuries and satisfaction because of the high price tag. Nowadays, mid-range gaming laptops are less expensive but come with compromises in hopes of gaining customers in a gaming market. One such is the Asus Zephyrus G14, a mid-range gaming laptop that is challenging the gaming market and is in line to be one of the best gaming laptops this year. But is it worth the investment? Here’s the Asus Zephyrus G14 Review. 

        

Asus Zephyrus G14

14-inch FHD 120Hz (1920×1080)  |  AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS 3.0GHz CPU  |  NVIDIA RTX 2060 Max-Q 6GB GDDR6 GPU  |  16/24/40GB DDR4 RAM  |  1/2/4TB PCle NVMe SSD  |  4-Cell 76WHr Battery  |  Windows 10 Home/Pro  |  3.5 lbs (1.6 kg)  |  includes WiFi, Bluetooth, backlit keyboard, input ports include 2xUSB type-C, 1xHDMI, 2xUSB 3, 3.5mm audio jack 

 

 

Overview

The Zephyrus G14 is a mid-range gaming laptop that comes with a 14-inch full HD display, with a backlit keyboard, touchpad, and input ports that include 2 USB Type-C, 2 USB 3, HDMI, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Under the hood, the Zephyrus G14 is equipped for gaming with the latest hardware including an AMD Ryzen 9 CPU, an NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD internal storage (entry-level). 

 

Display and Design

The Zephyrus G14 comes in two models, the 14-inch with a 1080p resolution and a refresh rate of 120Hz, and the 1440p resolution with a refresh rate of 60Hz. others prefer the Zephyrus G14 with a 1080p 120Hz, the 1440p has a high refresh rate that translates to a better, clearer, and nicer display than the latter, the 1080p has good display quality but there is a slight delay in response time, however, it’s rare to find a gaming laptop with a high resolution in a 14-inch display that has that great detail.

 

The design looks great. The build material is made of strong magnesium alloy. The two colors available are white/silver and grey/silver. The Zephyrus comes with an LED animation panel on the back of the display, that you can use to customize to your liking. It shows animations such as dates, time, memes, short animations, logos, etc., which is a nice feature at first but after a while, it becomes really unnecessary. In essence, it’s a great 14-inch laptop that packs a solid design, unique features, and amazing display quality. 

 

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is a standard QWERTY layout, with well-spaced out keys, comfortable to type, very responsive and has unique key layout design. The drawback here is the back-lighting of the keyboard. It’s not very bright. In fact, it’s better with it off in a dim room. The touchpad is there. It works well. Nothing special to it. In short, the keyboard has a great layout. The back-lighting is not great, and the touch-pad is there and works well. 

 

Performance

The Zephyrus G14 is run by AMD’s latest Ryzen 9 4000 series processor that is set to challenge the brands like Intel. According to CPU performance tests done, this gaming laptop beats the processing performance of the well-known Razer Blade 15 and matches Intel’s i9 processing speeds included in top range gaming laptops. 

In short, this gaming laptop comes with great system performance that matches even the top-range gaming laptops.

 

Battery

It’s a great surprise to see that the Zephyrus G14 has an impressive battery life, compared to other gaming laptops. With this gaming laptop, you are looking at a 76Whr battery, that’s guaranteed to give you up to 12 hours of battery life. 

That’s nearly double the battery life compared to other gaming laptops as the normal endurance for a gaming laptop is up to 5 hours. No need to take your laptop charger anymore whenever you go out because you won’t need it. So if you want a gaming laptop with great battery life, then the Zephyrus G14 is it.

 

Sound

Zephyrus G14 comes with two speakers on the sides of the keyboard and two more at the bottom. They produce good quality audio for a mid-range gaming laptop, not the best but enough to enjoy yourself while playing games.

 

 

Other Features

A few things to note about the Zephyrus G14. The heat management is good. The cooling fans do however make a noise but not very loud. There is a manual mode to switch to if you wish to amp up the cooling fans, but it increases the noise. There’s a fingerprint sensor on the power button as a security feature to quickly log back in from standby mode. it’s a pretty convenient feature as it’s very responsive, similar to a fingerprint sensor on a smartphone.

Input ports include a 2 USB-C, 2 USB-3, an HDMI, 3.5 mm headphone/microphone jack, and the laptop charger port. Just to note, the charger port is on the middle-left side of the laptop, and there’s no Ethernet port and micro SD slot. The laptop comes with a unique hinged lid that raises the back end of the laptop slightly when opened. It elevates the keyboard at a more comfortable angle and raises up the display just a bit for more comfortable viewing.

     

Verdict

The Zephyrus G14 isn’t just a great gaming laptop; it’s the smallest on the market and gets the award for one of the longest-lasting batteries. The display is great, the audio is rich and robust, and the performance offered by the latest AMD Ryzen 9 processor, together with the powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, is the best that you’ll find. The fact that you can get all of this for an unbelievably better price is pretty amazing.

 

 

It’s not the perfect gaming laptop though and will come with faults, like the missing webcam and the not-sure-bright backlit keyboard. But aside from these minor matters, the Zephyrus G14 is an astonishingly capable and well-designed gaming laptop. It delivers better performance than any other same-sized gaming laptop.

It matches the performance of even the more expensive Razer Blade Pro, it’s less expensive and more portable than the closest rivals. I love it. I strongly recommend it to all fellow gamers looking for a cheaper alternative. This is by far the best small beast of a gaming laptop ever made.

See other great mid-range or budget gaming laptops

See the best top-range gaming laptops of 2019

Thank you for taking part in this Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Review. To find out more and to see the latest prices, click here within the article. If you have any comments, concerns, feedback, or just want to give the review good points, please leave them below.  

 

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S Review: Great Mid-range Smartphone

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S Review: Great Mid-range Smartphone

 

The Redmi Note 9S from Xiaomi is a great mid-range smartphone alternative that caters for budget and top-tier users. But with other smartphone rivals, it will be a challenging market to gain top rank as they offer similar or better features. The Note 9S is surely ready for the challenge as it comes with great features at an affordable and fair price tag. But is it really good enough to compete in this challenging market? Well, here’s the Redmi Note 9S review. 

 

Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S

 

6.67-inch FHD display (1080 x 2400) | Snapdragon 720G | 64GB, 4GB RAM/128GB, 6GB RAM | Quad camera: 48MP (wide), 8MP (ultrawide), 5MP (macro), 2MP (depth) | 16MP (wide) selfie camera | 5020mAh battery | 209 g (0.46 lbs) | Dual Nano SIM | WiFi, Bluetooth, infrared, fingerprint sensor (side-mounted), 4G LTE,  up to 4K video recording

 

 

If there’s one word to describe this phone, the word would be ‘Incredible’. This is one incredible, mid-range smartphone. It comes with a huge 6.67-inch display, a quad-camera setup, a high-performance Snapdragon processor, a big battery and stunning design features. All this at a great value price.

 

 

Design and Display

 

 

The body of the phone is made of a plastic frame, with Gorilla Glass front and back. It’s splash-proof and can survive accidental droplets or spills.

It feels pretty lightweight, grips and rests well on a hand, and is available from a choice of trendy colours: Intersteller Grey, Aurora Blue, and Glacier White. 

The display is pretty clear and great thanks to the IPS LCD. The screen comes out with pretty images, thanks to the high 1080p resolution, with good colours, manageable brightness and contrasts. It makes for a pretty good display.  

One thing to note is that the smartphone display easily gets messy with fingerprints from continuous touching. Overall, the display is gorgeous, and the phone design is trendy and attractive.

 

Performance

Inside the Redmi Note 9S includes a high-performance 8-core Snapdragon 750G processor, available with either 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage or the 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage model.

Yes, there’s the choice of two models here with the 6GB, 128GB being the much more favoured model of choice, thanks to more system memory for apps management and bigger storage space.

 

The overall performance is great with this phone. First, the Android OS works well with a smooth and flowing interface. Secondly, the GPU works even for gaming. Thirdly, the performance of the processor has scored pretty well, matching scores with other rival mid-range phones and making it one of the most efficient.

 

Gaming

With gaming performance, this is not a gaming smartphone but the Note 9S says it can be. Thanks to the Adreno 618 GPU and the game boost feature, gaming looks great visually and the gameplay is decent. This is a great phone for casual gaming just not too much as it will affect the battery. 

Overall, the Note 9S performs great with a responsive OS, good management of apps, and a great mid-range gaming performer as well. 

 

Battery life

The Note 9S is powered by a large 5020 mAh Li-ion battery and supports 18W quick charge. With the charger that comes with the phone, you can expect a 100% charge time in no less than 2 hours.

This is an impressive battery as from other reviews the battery has produced good scores, starting with up to 40 hours of talk time, 19 hours of web browsing and up to 16 hours of video playback. 

Overall, expect good long hours using this phone on a single charge, what else can you expect from a big battery. 

 

 

 

Audio Output

The audio speaker for Redmi Note 9S is on the bottom right next to the USB-C charger input. From me experimenting with the phone, the sound output is quite loud and comes out clean. It does lack that thumping bass but vocals sound decent. Not much really to expect from speakers on a smartphone.

 

Camera and Video

 

 

The Redmi Note 9S has a square ‘hump’ at the back that houses all four cameras, the 48MP wide sensor, 8MP ultra-wide sensor, the 5MP macro, and the 2MP depth sensor. For a more professional finish, the Note 9S includes a Pro mode that offers settings such as white balance, focus, ISO, and shutter speed. 

The video quality is amazing here. Firstly, video recording modes available go up to 4K at 30fps. Next, video stabilisation is excellent here. Thirdly, the finished video clips look very well detailed for this mid-range phone. It’s good to experiment to find your ideal mode but from my experience, 1080p at 60fps is more favoured.

To sum up, experiment with Note 9S, take a few pictures and videos and find your perfect mode. For a mid-range phone like the Note 9S, you’ll be surprised by the camera and video features available.

 

Overall Impressions

Thanks to the specs, it has a great battery life with fast charging, a clear display with a good design, great performance and decent camera features.

A few things to note, however: first, it smudges easily with fingerprints from constant touching of the screen; second, it has no 5G connectivity; third, it takes average night mode pictures; and lastly, it doesn’t come with earphones.

 

 

Overall, this is a great mid-range alternative to get if you can’t afford a top-range smartphone. It’s great for those looking for a budget alternative. 

Thanks for reading my Redmi Note 9S review. If you can, I recommend purchasing the Note 9S 6GB, 128GB instead of the 4GB 64GB. It has better performance but costs more but the latter is more affordable.

Any points you want clarity on or want to add comments, please feel free to leave them below. Stay safe. Live long and prosper until next time. 

Check out the best top-range smartphones

Check out great mid-range smartphones

 

Affordable & Best Chromebooks for Students

Looking for an affordable laptop to get you through the day, complete an assignment and meet deadlines, then here are some of the high-ranked best Chromebooks for students. In this day in age, top-range laptops are for those who want serious performance for their money, but unfortunately, you’ll need to pay a lot of money to get one.

However, there are laptops out there for those who don’t want to pay so much money and just want one to handle the bare essentials. Chromebooks are one such as they are affordable, and come with good features. Here is a list of affordable Chromebooks to look out for and to buy, perfect for students, young scholars, and others looking for affordable laptops.   

 

HP 14 Chromebook

 

14-inch HD display (1366 x 768) | AMD A4-9120 2.20 GHz CPU | 4GB RAM | 32GB eMMC storage | AMD Radeon R3 series GPU | Chrome OS | 1.5 kg (3.4 lbs) | Other features include WiFi, bluetooth, microSD, webcam  

 

 

Pros

    • Comfortable keyboard 
    • Good quality touch-pad
    • Good quality display

Cons

    • Low battery life
    • Average laptop performance
    • No touchscreen

The HP 14 Chromebook is a budget clam-shell laptop that manages to balance efficiency and affordability.

Why I say this is one of the best Chromebooks for students, is because firstly, it comes with a great quality 14-inch HD display with a comfortable keyboard, good quality touch-pad, and weighs 1.5 kgs.

Secondly, it comes with a dual-core AMD A4 processor, 4GB of system memory with 32GB of internal storage.

And lastly, the Chromebook is affordable and perfect for those who want a simple device that can get them through the day and help them with everyday tasks. 

Although the budget HP 14 Chromebook comes with at most 5 hours battery life and average laptop performance, it works well and is worth considering.

To date, It’s one of the best Chromebooks for students to get right now.

 

 

Acer Chromebook 15

 

15.6-inch HD display (1366 x 768) | Intel Pentium CPU | 2GB RAM | 16GB SSD storage | Intel HD Graphics 400 GPU | Chrome OS | 2 kg (4.3 lbs) | Other features include WiFi, bluetooth, microSD, webcam  

 

 

Pros

    • Good build quality
    • Insane battery life
    • Nice back-lit keyboard
    • Audio speakers on top 

Cons

    • Disappointing touch-pad
    • Average laptop performance
    • No touchscreen
    • Heavier

With the best battery life and good build quality, the Acer Chromebook 15 is a budget laptop that has definitely made its mark. 

Starting off, it comes with a 15.6-inch HD display, comfortable keyboard with audio speakers. Next, it comes with an entry-level Intel Pentium processor, 2GB of system memory, and 16GB of SSD storage. This is one of the most affordable Chromebooks to date. However, it has its setbacks.

Firstly, it comes with average performance with lower system memory and smaller internal storage. Secondly, the touchpad is a disappointment thanks to its loose and clunky function. And thirdly, it’s heavier than other Chromebooks. 

Yes, it may have a few setbacks but let’s not forget, this is a budget Chromebook and these are minor. i.e. using a mouse instead of a touchpad. But overall, this is an affordable Chromebook that can help you with everyday tasks.     

 

 

Lenovo Chromebook 500e

 

11.6-inch HD touch display (1366 x 768) | Intel Celeron N3350 CPU | 4GB RAM | 32GB Flash Memory storage | Intel HD Graphics GPU | Chrome OS | 1.7 kg (3.8 lbs) | Other features include WiFi, Bluetooth, Webcam

 

 

Pros

    • Good starter for teen scholars
    • Lots of USB ports
    • Stylus included
    • Impressive battery life and durability
    • Laptop and tablet features

Cons

    • Low screen resolution
    • No HDMI port
    • Display bezels are really thick
    • Poor audio output

The Lenovo Chromebook 500e is a 2-in-1 laptop that comes with an 11.6-inch touchscreen, a comfortable keyboard and a responsive touch-pad. To top it off, it comes built from plastic aluminum material.

On the inside, it’s powered by an entry-level Intel Celeron processor, with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The Lenovo 500e is ranked one of the best Chromebooks.

Firstly, it’s a 2-in-1 laptop that includes hinges that can open up the screen up to 360 degrees and comes with a stylus pen. Secondly, it comes with normal input ports including a micro SD to increase storage.

Thirdly, it can survive against shock damage, vibrations, high temperature, water spills, and other environmental hazards, making it a very durable laptop. And lastly, the battery life of the Lenovo 500e is really impressive. On a single charge, you’re looking at up to 15 hours of usage time.

Overall, the Lenovo Chromebook 500e has good features in its class, making it a worthy buy. However, there’re some flaws to note. 

To start, the touch screen works well with good image colors and contrasts, satisfactory brightness, and good glass protection, but the screen resolution is low and the glossy surface that reflects light and other things spoil the viewing angles. The display comes with thick bezels which almost narrows the view.  

Secondly, there’s no HDMI port to connect the Chromebook to a better display. Third, the audio speakers are placed underneath, therefore the sound output is not very good.

To finish off, if you can handle the low-resolution display, then the Lenovo 500e Chromebook will be a good pick for you. It’s one of the best Chromebooks for students because of its good features.      

See more great Chromebooks

 

 

Asus Chromebook C523

 

15.6-inch HD display (1366 x 768) | Intel Celeron N3350 CPU | 4GB RAM | 32GB Flash Memory storage | Intel HD Graphics 500 GPU | Chrome OS | 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs) | Other features include WiFi, Bluetooth, Webcam  

 

 

Pros

    • Sleek aluminium design
    • Comfortable keyboard and touch-pad
    • One of the most portable and lightweight
    • Good battery life

Cons

    • No back-lit keyboard
    • Poor audio output
    • No touch screen

The Asus Chromebook C523 features a dual-core Intel Celeron processor, 32GB of flash storage, 4GB of RAM. It includes a 15.6-inch non-touch display, with a comfortable keyboard, responsive touchpad, and an aluminum design finish. So what makes this Chromebook a winner?

Well, firstly, it comes with a 15-inch screen with thin bezels on the sides. Secondly, it’s made from aluminum material and is lightweight. With this one, you’re looking at up to 10 hours of battery life which is not bad, but it has no backlit keyboard, a glossy screen that reflects light and other things back at you, and has poor audio.

If you can get yourself good headphones, don’t mind the low-resolution display then this Chromebook will serve you well. There’s the option of getting the 1080p version with better quality and a touch screen but it will cost you a bit more.

To sum it up, this is the more affordable Asus Chromebook, and a good pick if you’re a student and looking for a budget laptop.    

 

Last Impressions

The reason why I chose these Chromebooks are first, they have been reviewed and top-ranked. Second, they are the most affordable laptops to get right now. Thirdly, they each have unique features that range from big screen, durability, lightweight, to portability and flexibility. 

Keep in mind that they are not the fastest performing Chromebooks becomes they each have entry-level hardware specs and, yes, there are bound to be a few drawbacks.

However, since these are Chromebooks there’s a lot to appreciate about them such as you’ll have access to hardware services like Google Drive to store documents or media files and get access to apps to help you manage your work from the Google Play Store. 

Overall, these are for all who need an affordable laptop to work on. These are some of the best Chromebooks for students, young scholars, and those who just want a laptop to get work done.

I hope you enjoyed reading up on four of the cheapest and best Chromebooks for students. Thanks for reading my post. If you have any comments or opinions, please leave them below.

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Unbelievably Good and Cheap Smartphones

 

Unbelievably Good and Cheap Smartphones

 

Looking to get yourself one of the best good and cheap smartphones? Good for you. Because nowadays, top-range smartphones are pretty pricey and come with really nice features that only a few consumers use. Therefore in simple terms, if you want a good, no-fuss smartphone that’s easy to pick up and get going, then here are some of the best, affordable smartphones that could suit your budget. 

 

Samsung Galaxy A50

One of the best good and cheap smartphones with great features

 

6.4-inch AMOLED FHD+ (2340 x 1080) | 8-core Exynos 9610 | 4GB RAM | 64GB internal storage | 25MP, f/1.7 wide + 5MP, f/2.2 depth + 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide | 25MP, f/2.0 wide selfie camera | Android 9 Pie | 4000 mAh battery | 166 g (0.37 lbs) | Supports LTE/4G+/3G/GPS/dual-band/WiFi/Bluetooth/Type-C/Micro-SD

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Pros

    • Great triple-lens camera setup
    • Gorgeous AMOLED display
    • Great battery life
    • Onscreen fingerprint scanner
    • Good for casual gaming

Cons

    • Mediocre picture quality
    • No 4K image/video recording

Let’s start by saying, Samsung has a good number of budget smartphones, and the Samsung Galaxy A50 is no exception. Here’s why.

Firstly, it comes with a beautiful 6.4-inch good quality display, with a 25MP teardrop selfie camera, and a 38MP triple camera at the back.

Secondly, the hardware includes an 8 core Exynos processor, 4GB of memory with 64GB storage and a big 4000 mAh battery that guarantees long battery life.

Thirdly and most impressive, it’s one of the first budget phones with a fingerprint sensor onscreen. However, out of all the great features, the camera setup may be good but camera pictures and video are mediocre quality. 

In conclusion, I’d say this is one of the best good and cheap smartphones to get right now, as it has great features at an affordable value.

 

 

Motorola Moto G7 Power

One of the best good and cheap smartphones for battery life

 

6.2-inch LTPS IPS LCD (1570 x 720) | 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 | 3GB RAM | 32GB internal storage | 12MP main, 8MP selfie camera | Android 9 Pie | 5000 mAh battery | 193 g (0.43 lbs) | Supports LTE/4G+/3G/GPS/dual-band/WiFi/Bluetooth/Type-C/MicroSD

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5

Pros

    • Great battery life
    • Good for casual gaming
    • Fast Charging
    • Water repellent

Cons

    • Limited WiFi connectivity
    • Mediocre sound output
    • Takes mediocre pictures
    • Average phone design

The Moto G7 Power is a good and cheap smartphone, thanks to the massive 5000 mAh battery pack that ups the battery life to whole days before charging.

There are other factors to consider. Firstly, it’s performing well with casual games. Secondly, it charges quick and thirdly, it can survive a few water splashes from rain and accidental spills. 

In contrast, it’s huge, comes with normal features and struggles to connect with WiFi. 

Overall, if you want a smartphone that can last you a good couple of days, and doesn’t cost you a fortune, then this one’s for you.  

 

 

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7

One of the best good and cheap smartphones with a unique design

 

6.3-inch FHD+ IPS LCD (2340 x 1080) | 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 | 3/4/6GB RAM | 32/64/128GB storage | 48MP (wide) + 5MP (depth) | 13MP (wide) selfie | Android 9 Pie | 4000 mAh battery | 186 g (0.41 lbs) | Supports LTE/4G+/3G/GPS/dual-band/WiFi/Bluetooth/Type-C/MicroSD

Overall Rating:

4.2 out of 5

Pros

    • Solid build quality
    • Great battery life
    • Takes great quality pictures 
    • Trendy design colours
    • Good performance UI

Cons

    • No 4K video recording
    • No NFC

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 is another good and cheap smartphone. Firstly, it comes with nice features, good choice of colours, and is really affordable.

Secondly, the phone comes with a 6.3-inch screen with a teardrop 13MP selfie camera, with a 48MP dual camera and a fingerprint sensor at the back.

Thirdly, inside is an 8-core Snapdragon processor, the choice between 3 to 6GB RAM, 32 to 128GB storage and a 4000 mAh battery. 

The Note 7 is a surprisingly good smartphone, with amazing features like good durability, great battery life, and good system performance. It also takes great pictures and videos and comes with a good choice of trendy design colours. 

However, be mindful that this is a budget phone so common performance issues will apply, especially when you have too many apps on standby. 

To finish off, it’s one of the best value smartphones to look out for. It’s a must-buy if you want a smartphone that can handle the essentials and comes with a few more features.     

 

 

Huawei P Smart (2019)

One of the best good and cheap smartphones for design

 

6.2-inch LTPS IPS LCD (1080 x 2340) | 8-core Kirin 710 | 3GB RAM | 32/64GB storage | 13MP (f/1.8) + 2MP (depth) | 8MP selfie | Android 9 Pie | 3400 mAh battery | 160 g (0.35 lbs) | Supports GSM/HSPA/LTE/WiFi/Bluetooth/NFC/Nano SIM/MicroSD

Overall Rating:

4.0 out of 5

Pros

    • Stylish two-tone colour
    • Good quality display
    • Good battery life
    • Good performance
    • Google services included
    • Good for casual gaming

Cons

    • No 4K recording
    • Average sound output
    • No video stabilization

You still looking for a Huawei, then get the P Smart 2019 update model. To start off, it’s a budget smartphone that comes with a 6.2-inch screen with a 15MP dual camera and fingerprint sensor at the back, along with an 8MP tear drop selfie camera.

Next, it comes with an 8-core processor, with 3GB memory, a choice between 32 or 64GB internal storage, and a 3400 mAh battery. 

Thirdly, it’s lightweight, comes with good battery life, a unique two-tone colour design, and takes good decent quality pictures.

On the other hand, the phone records up to 1080p video clips, which is a good feature but lacks video stability. The sound output is loud but not that great either.

In conclusion, this is a decent budget phone. It comes with good features but lacks in sound output and video quality. Check the price above and see it for yourself.  

 

 

Nokia 4.2

One of the best good and cheap smartphones with great value

 

5.7-inch IPS LCD (720 x 1520) | 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 | 3GB RAM | 32GB internal storage | 13MP f/2.2 + 2MP depth | 8MP selfie | Android 9 Pie | 3000 mAh battery | 161 g (0.35 lbs) | Supports GSM/HSPA/LTE/WiFi/Bluetooth/NFC/Dual Nano SIM/MicroSD

Overall Rating:

3.8 out of 5

Pros

    • Really affordable
    • Great quality build material
    • Message LED in power button
    • NFC compatible

Cons

    • Average overall performance
    • Not CDMA compatible
    • Smaller display
    • Smaller battery

The Nokia 4.2 is a very affordable alternative yet lacks the quality features that comes default with most budget phones.

Firstly, the smartphone comes with a smaller 5.7-inch screen, with a 15MP dual camera, a fingerprint sensor at the back, and a teardrop selfie camera in front.

Secondly, it’s powered by an 8-core Snapdragon processor, with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage and a smaller 3000 mAh battery. 

Thirdly, it comes with a dedicated Google Assistant button on the side that functions to issue voice commands, with the power button that acts as a notification, LED that glows when messages come in. Lastly, it also comes with the good built quality and an affordable price tag. 

Those are nice features for a good and cheap smartphone but expect average performance for this one. The display and battery are smaller compared to other budget smartphones but it’s a really affordable phone.   

Therefore, this is purely a budget smartphone that has not-so-many-wow features but covers the basic essentials.   

 

 

Final Verdict

These five are some of the best rated good and cheap smartphones to get right now. First, they all have great features, next they are more affordable. And third, they perform well. It’s true that mobile manufacturers know that we don’t really want all the fancy features top-range smartphones have.

One thing that impresses me is they each have that one extra feature that separates the rest. Whether it’s the bigger display, more battery life, or an attractive colour design, they each have more to offer. However, compromises had to be done to match the price offered.

In short, if a budget phone is what you looking for, take these five here into consideration. If you’re looking for more affordable yet powerful Android smartphones, click here to see them.

So now, you know what they are, how they look, the benefits and costs and the affordable price offered. So you need to ask yourself, which one of these good and cheap smartphones do I purchase next?

Thanks for reading this post. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

 

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Amazingly Good but Cheap Gaming Laptops to Buy Now in 2020

 

Amazingly Good but Cheap Gaming Laptops to Buy Now in 2020

 

Gaming laptops are one of the best sources of entertainment, whether you’re a pro or a casual gamer. Problem is that the best ones are really expensive right now so if one is looking, they would have to dig deep in their pockets.

However, there’s hope for those who are looking for good but cheap gaming laptops. So if you’re one of those, then this here will help you. Why? Because it covers affordable gaming laptops to see and consider investing in.

 

Acer Nitro 5

15.6-inch FHD IPS (1920×1080) | AMD Ryzen 5 2500U CPU | 8GB RAM | 1TB HDD Storage | ATI Radeon RX 560X GPU | Windows 10 Home

Rating: 4 out of 5 

Pros

    • Decent gaming performance
    • Good battery life
    • Thinner display bezels
    • Plenty of storage space
    • Able to control cooling fans

Cons

    • Troublesome touch-pad
    • Mediocre sound quality
    • HDD not SSD

The first out of the good but cheap gaming laptops is the Acer Nitro 5.  It’s a gaming laptop placed in the budget range and is perfect for those looking for one that can handle the most demanding games. 

This one comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 quad-core processor, an ATI Radeon RX 560X graphics card, 1TB HDD hard drive, and 8GB RAM. On the outside, it comes with a full HD 1080p screen with thin display bezels and a comfortable and single RGB backlit keyboard.

The overall performance is good, especially in gaming. It runs games well at medium to high graphic settings. The laptop design is good, has decent screen quality, and comes with a dual cooling system that you can control for long gaming sessions.

The sound is not one to say ‘Wow’ to, but it works. The touchpad becomes frustrating at times. Best that you get yourself a portable mouse and good quality headphones for a better gaming experience.

It would also be a better idea to include SSD storage instead of an HDD, as it’s a better performance hard drive. But I suppose that would make it more expensive. 

Overall, If you can manage the setbacks, this will become a good but cheap gaming laptop for you. The gameplay is decent with good performance and good visuals. It’s available now priced under US$1000. So get it while stocks last.

 

 

HP Pavilion 17

17.3-inch FHD IPS (1920×1080) | Intel Core i5-9300H CPU | 16GB RAM | 256GB SSD Storage | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 GPU | Windows 10 Home 

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 

Pros

    • Unique look and design
    • Low price for a big 17-inch
    • Good overall performance
    • Good audio output
    • Decent cooling

Cons

    • Smaller storage
    • Plastic material built body

The HP Pavilion 17 is the next in the good but cheap gaming laptops category. It comes with a big 17-inch full HD screen, a plastic body finish with a single RGB backlit keyboard. Inside is a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card, with 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD storage drive.

This is a good performance gaming laptop, thanks to more memory, and a bigger screen. It delivers decent gaming performance at medium to high graphic settings. The sound comes out well as its speakers are placed on top, and the thermal heating is well controlled. 

The downside is the internal storage, and the plastic body finish. The drive is SSD, which is the better performance hard drive, but it comes at 256GB. That’s a small storage space but can be upgraded. The plastic build material used for the chassis body is common with budget gaming laptops and is not really favored by most people. 

Overall, the HP Pavilion gaming laptop is a must-have. Good gaming performance, well-managed cooling, good sound output, and the huge display make it worth the buy. If you want a more affordable gaming laptop with a bigger screen at the affordable price offered, then this one’s for you.          

 

 

ASUS TUF A15

15.6-inch 144Hz FHD IPS (1920×1080) | AMD Ryzen 7 4800H CPU | 16GB RAM | 512GB SSD Storage | NVIDIA GTX 1660i GPU | Windows 10 Home 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 

Pros

    • Good gaming performance
    • Nice dark logo art on top
    • Good cooling system
    • Good battery life
    • Good price for a 17-inch

Cons

    • Mediocre sound quality
    • Below mediocre touch-pad

The ASUS TUF A15 is another budget gaming laptop from ASUS. It comes with a smaller 15.6-inch screen with an aluminum and plastic finish and a single RGB backlit keyboard. Inside includes an 8-core Ryzen 7 series processor with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660i graphics card, 512GB SSD internal storage, and 16GB of RAM. 

This gaming laptop is another great buy. It can play most gaming titles well at normal to high graphic settings. The cooling thermals keep their temperature low. Battery life tested up to 5 hours and comes with a 144Hz display. Overall, you get another great gaming at a reasonable price. 

The keyboard is comfortable but the touch-pad gets frustrating at times, best you use a portable mouse for this one. The sound is acceptable but not the best. It does get loud but since speakers are placed underneath, it lowers the quality. Best you get headphones for this one.      

Overall, this definitely deserves a place with the good but cheap gaming laptops category. It’s well made and is a great buy. Right now, it’s priced less, so if this one is more to your liking, then give it a go and enjoy the experience.  

 

 

MSI GF63 THIN

15.6-inch 120Hz FHD IPS (1920×1080) | Intel Core i7-9750H CPU | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD Storage | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU | Windows 10 Home 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 

Pros

    • Really lightweight
    • Decent battery life
    • Nice backlit colour keyboard  
    • Best in medium graphic settings
    • Good heat management 

Cons

    • Keyboard too soft to use
    • Average sound output

The MSI GF63 Thin is a high-performance gaming laptop available at a low price. This one comes with a 6-core Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti graphics card, with 8GB memory, and 512GB SSD storage. On the outside, is a 15.6-inch display with full HD 1080p quality, and a black-and-red design finish.       

The GF63 is a great gaming laptop thanks to its great overall gaming performance. With up to 5-hours of battery life, lightweight, and good heat management, you can’t go wrong. Common budget gaming laptops get better performance at medium to high graphic settings and this one is no different.

However, it does sacrifice performance for portability. The lighter the gaming laptop, the less the gaming performance expected. The speakers placed underneath really dampens the sound quality. The keyboard looks, great thanks to the red RGB backlit keyboard, but it’s too soft and will take a while to get used to. Best to get portable headphones when gaming.

Overall, this gaming laptop is a good buy. It’s well designed, really lightweight, and best for gamers who like to play games on the go. If this one’s your pick, get it now.     

 

Overall Impressions

And there you have. Good but cheap gaming laptops to consider if you looking for a cheap gaming device. The common thing to note here is that with these budget gaming laptops, sacrifices were made to lower the price. Typical features include: 

    • Plastic builds quality material
    • Best gaming performance at medium graphic settings
    • Use of budget hardware such as HDD instead of SSD   

Either than that, it’s best to know what you getting yourself into before making the purchase. That’s why this website exists, to guide you into making better decisions in purchasing electronic devices. If you like what you see or read, please leave a comment below, questions too and I’ll answer ASAP.

If you’re satisfied with the good but cheap gaming laptops category, click here for more powerful laptops. 

That’s all for me now. Take care now. 

 

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Microsoft Surface Go 2 Review: The Next Great Tablet-on-the-go

Microsoft Surface Go 2 Review

Here is the second release series of the Surface Go 2-in-1 laptop-tablet from Microsoft. It comes into 2020 with new upgrades and features from the 2018 model and starts at a mid-range price.

It comes with the intention to compete with other top tablet brands, with a sleeker look, good display, and better performance. It may not be a cheap buy but it’s very much capable and versatile for all to use.  

 

Microsoft Surface Go 2

 

 

Specs

Display: 10.5-inch PixelSense Touchscreen
1920 x 1280 resolution
Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 Protection
Memory: 4GB/8GB RAM
Processor: Intel® Pentium® Gold 4425Y/8th Gen Intel® Core m3
Graphics: Intel® UHD Graphics 615
Storage: 64GB eMMC drive/128GB Solid-state drive (SSD)
Connections:

 

1 x USB-C®
3.5 mm headphone jack
1 x Surface Connect port
Surface Type Cover Port
Micro SDXC Card Reader
Compatible with Surface Dial*

 

 

Overview

Microsoft Surface Go 2 is a tablet that can be used as a laptop with the right accessories. From the first view, it looks pretty decent with a 10.5-inch touchscreen.

Inside the tablet includes an Intel Pentium or Core m3 processor, with choices between 4 to 8GB RAM, and choices of internal storage from 64 to 128GB.

Initially, it’s a tablet but easily becomes a 2-in-1 laptop when you add the ‘Surface Go Type Cover’, where you can freely type and use the touch-pad like a normal clamshell laptop.

 

Design & Display

The Surface Go 2 comes with a 10.5-inch ‘PixelSense’ touchscreen with 1920 x 1280 resolution. It’s bright and vibrant.

The bezels are thinner. The screen is a half-inch bigger than the 2018 model. Overall, the screen is slightly bigger and has a better quality view.   

 

 

With the design, it’s pretty much the same as the older version. It has two lens webcams, one front-facing and one at the back.

Speaking of which, at the back is also a kickstand to hold the tablet upright, and a micro SD slot to add more storage. 

On the right side is the charger port (Surface Connect) to charge the mobile unit, along with a USB-C port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. On the left side is the SIM card tray.

On the top is the power button, along with the volume button. On the bottom lies the port to connect the ‘Surface Go Type Cover’ 

Therefore, the overall design may be the same as the older model, but it worked well. It’s still simple to use, and easy to connect to the keypad. 

 

Performance

The base entry model comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. That’s typical specs of a budget tablet.

From the first test and usage, the performance of the tablet is good and works pretty well. The experience of doing daily tasks was delightful with no slowdown in system performance.

However, it starts to slow down though when you switch between apps on stand-by. But overall, the tablet performs well and is capable of handling everyday tasks with ease. 

This is no gaming tablet. You may get away with light gaming on the go but won’t work well with intense 3D games.

Sadly, the hardware won’t support that type of gaming, not like gaming laptops. Overall, casual gaming is fine but not hardcore gaming. 

 

 

 

 

 

Battery life

With battery life, the Surface Go 2 tablet lasts longer in tablet mode, however, it’s shortened when you attach the keypad and switch to S Mode.

From tests conducted without S Mode, with the keypad attached, the battery life of the tablet lasted up to 5 hours. Without the keypad, the tablet lasted up to 7 hours.

Therefore, the battery life of the tablet lasts longer in tablet mode. It’s best to detach the keypad if you’re not using it to save battery life.

 

Audio

The tablet comes with 2W stereo speakers in front. It sounds good and has detailed audio quality but sadly lacks bass and it’s not very loud. Therefore, the overall sound is typical of a normal tablet.     

 

Camera

The tablet comes with two cameras: a 5MP front-facing and an 8MP back-facing.

They both support 1080p video, meaning sharp and clear full HD quality videos. That also means good HD videos and images, sadly not 4K but hey, this is a budget tablet.  

Additionally, the front webcam comes with infrared sensors for face recognition that works well with Windows Hello. It’s a security feature to help prevent unauthorized access. 

Bottom line. The tablet comes with two cameras that deliver full HD quality videos and the front camera comes with security features. 

 

Verdict

Surface Go 2 is great to use and has the potential to be a great 2-in-1 tablet. With a bigger display, reliable performance for everyday use, and features, it’s a fun, portable mobile device to use wherever you are. 

I recommend this tablet to students, corporate or technical professionals, and others who are looking just to do daily tasks. The entry model is a great start at a retail price of US$399.99.

The other models are more expensive, but provide better performance and more internal storage options. 

So there you have it. This was the Microsoft Surface Go 2 review, the compact 2-in-1 laptop/tablet.

If you have comments, feedback, or just want to add to the review, please leave them below. If any questions, please leave them as well and I’ll find get back to you ASAP.