iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: No earphone jack confirmed.

As expected, Apple took of the wraps off their new iPhones, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus (No iPhone 7 Pro it seems).


With most rumours hitting the mark, no more audio jack, same design and the inclusion of water resistance being the most famously talked about, let's take an official look at the newest release by Apple.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus has mostly similar dimensions with their predecessors, even sharing the overall shape. The major difference would be the placement of the antenna lines and the cameras.

Instead of the antenna lines going straight across the body, you'll find it going across the top and botton of the phone. It's still too early for  me to decide whether this is a better or worse design decision by Apple.








Moving on to a hot feature, there is a new camera(s) to on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. For the first time, the cameras on Apple's two iPhones are significantly different.  The iPhone 7 getting an upgraded 12 MP iSight camera with a bigger aperture of f/1.8. The iPhone 7 Plus meanwhile gets a dual camera setup consisting of the standard wide-angle lens with a telephoto lens.





What it does is give the iPhone 7 Plus the ability to have 2x optical zoom. It also helps in creating the Bokeh effect, something that was usually restricted to DSLR (though nowadays you can find an app that can replicate this).

To make things clearer, Apple has put a new Quad-LED true tone flash that is 50% brighter than the previous flash.

At the front, you'll be getting a 7MP camera. This should translate into better FaceTime videos and better selfies as well.


Moving onto the display, it still maintains the same resolution as their predecessors. iPhone 7 being only HD while iPhone 7 Plus is Full HD. Though there is a wider gamut of colour now and it's 25% brighter.


To ease (burden?) your mind, there is no longer an audio jack for you to plug-in your earphone/headphones. For this, you'll have to use the Lightning adapter provided for free with the new iPhones. This means that you can't listen to music with your old earphone while charging your phone. For me, it's quite a bummer.

You'll also be getting a new earpods with Lightning connector as all matter regarding listening to music, transferring data and charging will be done through the Lightning connector.

Another solution would be for you to go and get a bluetooth earphones. Prices are going down but a good pair is still quite expensive and wouldn't be in the reach of the average Joe. Apple also introduced their own version, which are the Airpods. Design wise, I really don't like. Plus, it's expected to cost quite a lot.

We all know that the iPhone chip is going to be the most powerful in a smartphone, just to emphasize that fact Apple named its latest processor as the A10 Fusion. Two times faster than the A8. It's a quad-core 64-bit processor that is also said to increase the iPhone's battery life.


Other notable features are:

• Stereo speakers: with the other speaker being at the top.
• Internal storage now starts at 32GB, 128GB and 256GB

Sadly though there will not be any blue coloured iPhone as rendered in some rumours, but what we do get is a new Jet Black with a redesigned matte black. Yes, two black iPhones with the Jet Black being the more premium. If I'm not mistaken the Jet Black iPhone is only available in the highest configuration.

As to when it will be coming to Malaysia? Well don't hold your breath because Malaysia is not even in the second wave of countries to receive the latest iPhones.

This has always been something that bugs me, how come Malaysia is not selected. Are we not economically attractive enough? 

Prices starts at: 

iPhone 7 $649  and iPhone 7 Plus $769

Lowyat.net has made assumptions on the possible prices for the iPhones when they reach Malaysia.

Do check their article here.

Lowyat.net: How much will they cost in Malaysia?

For now pre-orders from online retailers such as Lazada has already begun.

Sources: Apple , TrustedReviews

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7: the complete round-up

I didn’t miss a number. The next big thing from Samsung is called the Galaxy Note 7.

You may asked why did Samsung decided to skip the 6, reason being to simplify things and tally their product line with the S series.

Getting back to the main topic, we finally have it. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7! Unveiled during last night’s  (MYT) Samsung’s Unpacked event. There are many new features to be in awe of! (Spoiler: Iris Scanner XD)

Continuing on the design language of Samsung’s flagship smartphones, the Note 7 is made using glass and aluminum. Damn does the phone look gorgeous. Taking inspiration from the Edge variant of the S series, the curved screen can now be found on Samsung’s Note line,  but looking all the way awesome as it curves into the side metal frame.  

The new curved screen on the Note 7 is a bit subtle compared to the one in the S7 Edge but nonetheless gives the benefits of giving an immersive feeling. You’ll find a beautiful (and big) 5.7-inch Super AMOLED QHD (2560x10) display with a high ppi of 518 at the front of the device. (Note: iPhone 6S Plus only has a 720p display).  

It should also be stronger with the use of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (one of the first smartphone to be using this). Improvements over the Gorilla Glass 4 seems to make this an attractive feature as they say that 80% of the time, drops from around 1.6m should not be able to break the glass. Good to hear that because from what I’ve heard, replacing a curved display is expensive.

Specification wise, the processor inside is Qualcomm’s top of the line Snapdragon 820 or the Exynos 8890 depending on the region. Malaysia should be getting the Exynos variant like the S7/Edge, which has more cores and is said to be very slightly more powerful than the Snapdragon 820 in terms of real life performance. 4GB of RAM is equipped in the phone which would definitely make multi-tasking and heavy gaming a breeze.

It now uses a Type-C port and Samsung gives out free micro-USB to Type-C adapter

As with all Note series, there’s a big 3,500 mAh battery (you also now have Fast Wireless Charging with the Note 7) which is non removable and for good reasoning. You might have expected it, the Note 7 is now IP68 Water & Dust Resistant (translates, can be submerged into 1.5m of water for 30 minutes). It’s not just the phone, the S-Pen is also protected from the inside out. In a way, telling you that you can now take notes underwater. I don’t see when you’ll need this feature but what the heck, an extra feature like this never hurts.

The S-Pen, which made the Note series distinct and famous, is now more refined. The tip is thinner at 0.7mm which should give more precise inputs. The Screen-off memo now allows you to display certain memo on the Always-On-Display which should act as a nice reminder. S-Pen is now a translator as well, you’ll only need to highlight the word and the option to translate would come out. Oh and the Note 7 has a Smart 

Select feature that allows you to create GiFs!

One thing that you won’t find in ANY other smartphone is the Iris Scanner. Adding another layer of security to your smartphone, you can now unlock it in a glance (pun intended). It uses an Iris camera and and Iris IR for this. Apart from unlocking your device with your eyes, this can also be used to validate payments through Samsung Pay and also to unlock your Secret Folder. Secret Folder is a new app by Samsung to safeguard your most important docs/photos/videos. You can even decide to hide it from normal view if you want.

Camera wise, you get the same rear 12MP camera as the S7/Edge. This means it has the best camera on a smartphone. Front camera is a 5MP shooter.

Connectivity wise you’ll get Wifi AC, Bluetooth 4.2 and LTE. The Note 7 comes at a basic configuration of 64GB with the option to expand the memory through a microSD card of up to 256GB. For this, you have a hybrid dual-sim.

Colours available are: Black Onyx, Silver Titanium, Gold Platinum, and the new beautiful Blue Coral. 

Can’t wait to get it? Well you don’t have to suffer long because according to one of the best site for Technews, Lowyat.net, Malaysia is apparently being one of the first countries to get it on its launch date (August 18) at the price of RM3,199. Pre-orders should start within the next few days.

With all these features that highlight the best of Android, I would daresay this is the smartphone to beat now. 

Sources: Samsung, Lowyat.net, GSMArena, TechRadar:Note 7 vs Note 5, TechRadar: Note 7 vs iPhone 6S Plus

Gallery of Samsung's Unpacked event: 

iPhone SE: Probably the most boring iPhone ever released

This is not actually a surprising move. It has been predicted that Apple would come out with a 4-inch iPhone this year, although details on the specifications on the device is as usual shrouded. They have been many rumours though as with every iPhone but I would have to say this is the least exciting iPhone I have ever experienced.  Here is the iPhone SE

No your eyes are not deceiving you, and I’m also not trying to trick you. This is the new iPhone SE. Yes it looks exactly like the 5/5S, except if you’re using the latest colour addition, the Rose gold and the writings SE on the back.

Words to describe the SE: Safe, boring. One word to describe Apple: Lazy? Some have argued that this is an excellent strategic business move by Apple, they can save on R&D cost while clearing their old stocks. I would still say that they are a lazy bump. Why you asked? Here’s a picture of a custom iPhone 5/5S housing that can be found in certain shops in our country. The name of the shop is ChamoGadget, do pay them a visit if you need to repair your iPhones/iPads and they also provide custom housing replacements.

Yes, third party manufacturers have come out with iPhone 6 Mini housing for the 5/5S. If they can, don’t tell me Apple can’t. At least in terms of design you’ll be getting something different, albeit without needing too much inspiration but still you get something new.

Enough of me ranting on the design, lets talk specs! As this is considered an upgrade of the 5S, that will be the iPhone that I will be comparing it with. Internally the iPhone SE is actually an iPhone 6S embedded into the body of a 5/5S. Yes, you’ll be getting the same high-end latest processor by Apple (A9) with 2GB of RAM (versus 1GB in the 5S) alongside their 12MP iSight camera as well but that is where the similarity ends. The battery in the  SE is also slightly bigger than the one found in the 5S, 1642mAh vs 1560mAh. 

The screen still maintains the same resolution and the Touch ID is still the same. Colours are the same except for the new Rose Gold.

Overall a solid 4-inch smartphone that has some serious processing power and an excellent camera but the thing that still would not make me recommend the phone to someone would be the price. 

Even though Apple opted to use an older design with same display, mostly same components the price can be considered as closing to the high-end market.

For the 16GB model, you’ll have to fork out  RM1,949  while the 64GB (which you should get this one over 16GB if you are really intent in getting one) will cost you RM2,449. Oh and note that there is not 32GB option, cause well Apple want you to buy the more expensive and higher profit margin 64GB. More expensive than some other flagship smartphones (Huawei P9, Huawei Mate 8) and only slightly cheaper than the current best smartphone in the world, the Galaxy S7. 

For me, it’s just not worth it. At that price you could be getting the highest variant of the Xiaomi Mi 5 for example that should deliver the same processing power. But the choice is still in your hands, it’s a controversial issue but I personally would not recommend this even though it’s “the world’s most powerful 4-inch smartphone” as quoted by Apple. 

Maybe if one day they decide to drop the price a little bit more.

Source: Apple Malaysia, Digital Trends