Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (Review) – A Galaxy Worth Exploring

The Indian smartphone market is maturing as you read this line. Do not get me wrong, it is still the same price-sensitive market as earlier. What has changed is the sheer amount of competition and phones to choose from in a galaxy of phones. Samsung witnessed massive success with the S20 FE and riding that success, the S21 FE seems like a good package. Is the Samsung phone worth your attention?

Lightweight with a vibrant display

The S21 was questioned over their choice of materials at the rear. The S21 FE adds to the entire package by completely shifting to a high-quality polycarbonate (read – Plastic) structure wrapped in a thicker, well-rounded metal frame. The camera humps are also integrated into the plastic design. Overall, this phone tends to be lightweight at 177gms despite a 4500mAh battery, a welcome departure from regular glass sandwich dense and heavy phones. The rear does little to feel premium, but overall, the phone is built well.

There’s IP68 water and dust protection with wireless charging capabilities both for direct and reverse wireless charging on offer. This phone also comes in iPhone-ish colours for an added variety of choices. There’s no headphone jack, the earphone turns into a stereo setup with the downward-firing speaker, and overall, the phone exudes a premium yet lightweight design. Buttons are metal and clicky, while the overall bezel is aluminium adding to the sturdy feel. The 6.4-inch FHD+ display is excellent with vibrant colours, amazing visuals, HDR, deep blacks, and 120Hz enabled out of the box. Despite their display naming scheme, this display can only do 60 or 120Hz with always-on, extra-low dim settings, 240Hz touch sampling, excellent sunlight viewing legitimacy and much more.

Latest Android, great cameras but questionable performance

I use more than 150 apps on my main phone, and replicating the same with the Samsung S21 FE, things became a lot clearer. The S21 FE uses the same camera sensors (12MP primary sensor with OIS + 12MP ultra-wide) as the regular S21 except for an 8MP OIS telephoto camera against the 64MP used by the S21. The pictures and videos from all sensors are brilliant for social media standards and capture memories. Samsung vibrancy is seen throughout the shots and videos. The front 32MP camera is also an excellent addition to the overall setup, and there are 4k 60fps capabilities on both front and rear cameras. The camera setup is top-notch, even in low light conditions.

The phone also comes with Android 12 based One UI out of the box. As you read this line, Samsung has been pushing updates for the phone, refining their UI apps to optimise them for Android 12. Powered by a 5nm Exynos 2100 5G SOC with 8GB RAM, 128GB ROM, dual 5G sim capabilities, and optimised new UI make this phone feel snappy for most of your usage. But, launch a game or play around with the cameras for longer, and the Exynos starts showing its flaws. The phone can barely sustain peak performance in demanding situations for not more than 30mins, post which it throttles and slows down the UI and overall the phone in general.

These demanding tasks also drain the battery to dire conditions if that isn’t enough. If you are used to flagship processors, you are well versed with its general nuances. But, if you aren’t doing heavy tasks on your phone, then the S21 FE performance won’t be that big of a deal. Wifi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 on this phone connect well, and the call quality is excellent too.

Verdict

Overall, with an average battery life and performance figures coupled with an excellent display and great set of cameras, the S21 FE is an absolute winning package from the house of Samsung. Adding to the fact is that this phone is also lightweight and comes with all sorts of protection, from IP ratings to Gorilla Glass Victus upfront. Some things still leave us wanting more, like optimising their processor, no accessories in the box and 25W wired charging. But with the addition of wireless charging, wireless Samsung dex, the whole Samsung PC, amazing vibrant display, Android 12, 3-4 years of software updates and impressive cameras, the Samsung S21 FE with ample 5G bands is a vast galaxy worth exploring. The flagship suite is open to be explored in this relatively affordable galaxy.

Specs:

Samsung Exynos 2100 Octacore SOC, 6/8 GB RAM, 128/256 GB ROM

6.4 inches 403 PPI, Dynamic AMOLED120 Hz Refresh Rate

12 MP + 12 MP + 8 MP Triple Primary Cameras, 32 MP Front Camera

4500 mAh, Android 12, 177gms, 4 colour options

Good – Vibrant SAMOLED display, amazing camera setup

Bad – No charger in the box, Exynos 2100 lacks optimisation

Ugly – 25W wired charging and price tag

OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G – First Impressions

Gone are the days when the month of February was celebrated as a month of love, as this year it’s undoubtedly going to be a month of smartphones as several top players from the smartphone industry are in the pipeline to launch their newbies in the market.

Earlier in the month, we witnessed a launch of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Series & Galaxy Tab S8 Series at the Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event, and today, another smartphone tycoon, OnePlus, launched their Nord CE 2 5G in India during a virtual event.

Alongside the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, the company also launched two smart TVs – Y1S and Y1S Edge in India, which comes under a company’s affordable Y-Series smart TV lineup. The company claims that the new TVs will bring a more “accessible connected ecosystem experience” across different screen sizes at an affordable price point.

First Impressions:

The OnePlus Nord 2 exactly looks like its elder sibling Nord CE 1, but when you turn it around, it seems poles apart as it features an all-different camera alignment, though both the smartphones are pretty sleek and stylish. The new Nord features an AI triple camera setup, where the primary camera has a 64-megapixel lens, the secondary camera has an ultrawide 8-megapixel lens and a 2-megapixel macro lens.

The company unveiled the smartphone on the OnePlus India YouTube channel and the company’s website. Design-wise, the smartphone looks premium, and has the power to hold your attention. It comes with Android 11 out of the box and sports a 6.43-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz, HDR 10+ support, and Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

The handset comes with a 16-megapixel selfie camera on the front, which provides you with a prospect to shoot videos in 1080p@30fps. The 5G-ready smartphone boasts a MediaTek Dimensity 900 Octacore Chipset and 65W SuperVOOC fast Charging, which will fill the smartphone in mere 30 minutes.

The new Nord comes with two variants, 6GB/8GB of RAM, both in 128 GB of storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro SD slot that supports up to 1TB. The smartphone runs on Oxygen OS, and it will be available in two colours – Bahama Blue and Gray Mirror. The base variant of the smartphone is priced at ₹23,999, while the 8GB variant is priced at ₹24,999.

Oneplus Nord CE2 5G | Unboxing & First Impression

OnePlus launched their Nord CE 2 5G in India during a virtual event today, alongside two smart TVs with Y1S and Y1S Edge in India. The sleek and stylish smartphone sports a 6.43-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 90Hz, HDR 10+ support, and Corning Gorilla Glass protection.

In Conversation with Arjun Kapoor | Exhibit

Watch our cover star – Arjun Kapoor “The Transformation Man” – where he talks about being the best version of yourself, what success means to him, and his favourite toys – gadgets and cars included.

Vivo T1 5G | Unboxing & First Impression| Exhibit Magazine

Vivo has recently launched their T phone series in India and T1 5G is the first product under its wing. The base variant of Vivo T1 5G costs 14,990, 6GB+128GB costs Rs 15,990, and you can buy the 8GB variant for Rs 18,990. The device will be available online only and the sale will go live from 14th February. Check out the unboxing and first impression of Vivo T1 5G.

Decoding Amazing features of the Apple Watch Series 7!

The Apple Watch Series 7 brings a couple features to the best smartwatch in the world. It works very well with the iPhone and packs a bunch of interesting features. Check out this video and see why Apple marches way ahead of its competitors.

Oppo Set to Launch Company’s First Foldable Smartphone on 15th Dec

We’ve witnessed several launches of foldable smartphones in the past couple of years, including Moto Razr 5G, Microsoft Surface Duo, and the most recent one is Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G. The foldable smartphones are new-age toys, and every smartphone manufacturing company wants at least one such smartphone in their purse.

Oppo was left little behind in this segment, but with Oppo Find N, the company is now ready to launch its first foldable smartphone in the market. Oppo Chief Product Officer Pete Lau recently revealed a glimpse of the new foldable smartphone on which the company has spent about 4-years to finish the research and development work.

The upcoming foldable smartphone from Oppo is teased with a tagline, “a small enough, big enough folding screen phone,” and is expected to offer a proprietary software experience to deliver a distinctive user experience. The phone’s layout is very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3, and the design is claimed to be simple, practical, and easy to use.

The teaser video shows the inward folding design of the Oppo Find N and appears to have a hole-punch design, at least for its foldable display. The smartphone has the main folding screen on the inside and another smaller one on the outside, similar to the Galaxy Z Fold series. The video also hints that the foldable smartphone would come with a USB Type-C port and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor.

In his letter, Lau further claimed, “With the Find N, we have solved the main pain points in previous foldable smartphones, such as the crease in the display and overall durability of the device, by inventing perhaps the best hinge and display designs available today.” The first foldable smartphone from the house of Oppo, the Find N, is set to be launched on December 15, 2021.

Top 5 Black Friday Smartphone Deals on Flipkart

Black Friday has slowly become a global phenomenon, and the deals have already kicked off online markets across the globe, and we don’t want you to miss some of the top smartphone deals. So, if you’re looking to grab a smartphone with a huge discount or if you have missed the recent festival sale, then Flipkart is offering another opportunity to you in the name of the Black Friday sale. We have handpicked a list of the top 5 Black Friday smartphone deals on Flipkart, and we hope you’ll get what you missed at the previous sale.

Realme GT Master Edition (6GB)

Sale Price: ₹21,999*

The mid-range master Realme GT Master Edition is priced at ₹26,999, but the Black Friday deal allows you to purchase the phone from as low as ₹21,999*, and it appears like one of the best smartphone deals available on Flipkart today. The smartphone is one of the first phones in India that arrive with the new Snapdragon 778G processor. The smartphone offers a high-quality Super AMOLED display and a battery that charges up from zero to 100 per cent in about 35 minutes. The device packs in a 120Hz AMOLED display, 65W fast charging, 64MP triple camera setup, and is labelled one of the top-notch smartphones under ₹30,000.

Oppo Reno6 5G

Sale Price: ₹29,990

Oppo Reno6 5G is perhaps one of the most beautiful smartphones manufactured in recent years. The successor of the Reno 5 Pro is available priced initially at ₹35,990, but thanks to the Black Friday deals, you can get the smartphone for just ₹29,990. The smartphone carries almost all the features of its bigger sibling with some exceptions, such as it comes with flat edges and a matte-finished metal frame design. The iPhone 12 look-a-like smartphone sports a 6.43-inch full HD+ display, triple rear camera setup, 32MP selfie camera, and an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor paired with 8GB of RAM.

iPhone 12 Mini

Sale Price: ₹46,990

Vivo recently launched the X70 Pro and X70 Pro+ smartphones in the market and expanded its premium smartphone range. The X70 Pro+ has already been competing with the likes of iPhone 13 Pro and Galaxy S21 Ultra in terms of camera features. While the X70 Pro isn’t just a half-baked refresh of its predecessor X60 Pro but an updated version of the X60 Pro+ with a better AMOLED display and an improved camera system. The smartphone boasts a 6.56-inch full HD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and is powered by MediaTek MT6893 Dimensity 1200 5G. The smartphone supports a 44W Flash Charge adapter which offers 60% of battery in just 30 minutes.

iPhone 12 Mini

Sale Price: ₹42,999*

Apple launched the iPhone 12 Mini in India last year. It is an affordable and compact yet powerful flagship phone the company has produced ever. If you’re one of those people who have been dreaming of a small phone but don’t want to compromise on quality, then iPhone 12 Mini is the best option out there for you. The phone offers a versatile camera, fabulous display, added benefits of 5G and MagSafe battery pack. Since its launch, it has been a favourite phone of many people as it sports almost all the features of the iPhone 12, and at the same time, it consumes a tiny space of your pocket.

Motorola Edge 20 Pro

Sale Price: ₹34,999

Motorola Edge 20 Pro is Motorola’s top-notch flagship model of 2021, which features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset and 12GB of RAM.

The smartphone arrives with an impressive 144Hz display and clean near-stock Android. The Edge 20 Pro offers certain flagship features such as a periscope camera for greater camera zoom range, a bigger battery and an improved chipset. The sleek and slim Moto phone boasts a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with HDR10+ support with a camera hole at the top centre and thin bezels all around. The smartphone is powerful enough to run almost anything you throw at it on the performance front without any hiccups.

Why Does c Want You To Trade In Your Old iPhone?

Almost 70% of smartphone owners in the world can not live a single day without their smartphones, and more than 50% of smartphone owners believe that their phone is the most valuable asset they own. Being born in a tech-driven world, we naturally get attracted to every other newly launched smartphone, especially iPhones. Nowadays, many major smartphone brands offer remarkable trade-in promotions for users looking to upgrade their phones, and Apple is one such company.

Apple first launched its trade-in program in 2013 and encouraged a vast number of people to obtain the program and do their part for the planet and become beneficiaries by trading their old iPhones or smartphones after they are done with it. The company offers a substantial amount of credit to the consumers when they trade in their old phones, but why does the company offer such a deal? Why is that promotion so valuable to the company? What does the company do with old devices?

Apple Trade-In

Apple plays a mind game with its customers, and being faithful customers, we easily fall for the trap. The company knows human psychology, and they offer programs/promotions basis on it. After using the iPhone for about 2 or 3 years, they know that people start looking for another device and either hand over the old one to someone in the family and friends looking for a phone or sell their old iPhone as a second-hand unit to the local smartphone dealer. Unfortunately, all of the above acts hammer down the company, resulting in reduced sales of new iPhones.

Apple introduced a trade-in program when the company’s first quarterly profit decreased in 2013 after a long time, but the Cupertino, California, headquartered firm, started focusing more on it through advertising after the launch of the iPhone X. The idea was simple, the iPhone X was the costliest iPhone when it was launched for the first time and purchasing it was quite a hefty investment. A large number of customers wanted to buy it but couldn’t afford the price, and that’s when Apple aided consumers with a trade-in promotion and offered them a credit value for their old iPhones.

How does it work?

iPhone’s durability leads customers to buy older versions without any second thought, and since Apple launched its trade-in program, customers are on cloud-9, but if you look at the big picture, it’s supremely profitable for the company. Whenever customers opt for a trade-in program, they move from an older iPhone to a newer iPhone, automatically keeping users locked into Apple’s ecosystem, which best benefits the company. Secondly, by refurbishing the older iPhone and reselling it for a more affordable price in the market, Apple makes double profits from a single handset, boosting their overall revenue.

The company has built a specialised robot called Daisy that is capable of recovering any recyclable materials in a phone, which helps the company recover money from damaged devices. The robot is programmed to recycle a minimum of 200 phones per hour, recovering high-priced materials that could otherwise end up in a junkyard. The trade-in promotion arrives with a win-win situation for everyone, including the environment, as it helps the company reuse working elements from older phones instead of transferring them to the landfill.

A step-by-step guide to trade in your old iPhone or smartphone with Apple:

Answer a few questions about your current smartphone, such as questions related to the brand, model and condition.
After you finish the array of questions, the company will give you an estimated trade-in value and apply it as instant credit towards your purchase.
Add the instant credits to your new purchase and place the order for a new iPhone. You’ll get a confirmed delivery date of your new iPhone along with a trade-in exchange.
By the time the courier guy arrives at your doorstep, you should be ready with your old iPhone so they can run a diagnostic test and verify that your smartphone works.
The courier guy will check your old phone’s physical condition of the touchscreen, enclosure or back glass, camera lenses, front and back camera functionality, battery wear and tear, storage capacity, performance speed, Wi-Fi, mobile functionality and will ask you to turn off Find My iPhone and initiate a factory reset.
That’s it! Clear all these necessary steps, and you’ll have a new iPhone with the advantages of the trade-in value.

With this, Apple plans to retrieve materials from the old devices to make new devices. The action will subtract the need to extract new metals and components from the earth, helping the environment stay intact. According to Apple’s most recent environmental report, the average Apple device generates 252 pounds of CO2, accounting for about 77 per cent of the company’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The renovation method is preferable to save the environmental issues, and Apple might allow third-party companies to repair iPhones in the future.

IQOO Z5 Tale of Hits And Misses!

I have been using the IQOO Z5 for two weeks, and never during this time period have I thought of switching it for some other smartphone. Since I am starting my review with this pitch, you must be aware of what’s coming ahead. But wait, it’s not all black and white with this one. IQZOO Z5 is going to be a roller coaster ride!

The 8GB RAM and 128GB ROM variants of this smartphone cost Rs 23,999, whereas the 12GB and 256GB variants will cost you Rs 26,990. There are also a few deals running on the smartphone that can save you a thousand bucks or two.

When I first looked at the smartphone, I thought it had a glass finish at the back, but to my surprise, the IQOO Z5 has a matte finish with a bit of texture. The smartphone has got a premium feel to it with that gradient design and squarish camera. What I liked about Z5 is that it has an excellent weight distribution since it doesn’t feel too heavy in hand, irrespective of the fact that it weighs about 195 grams.

IQOO Z5 comes in two colors; Mystic Space and Arctic Dawn. On the right-hand side of the smartphone, we have a volume rocker and a power on/off button. It has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that works flawlessly. On the top, we have a headphone jack and a secondary microphone for noise cancellation. At the bottom, we have stereo speakers, which go missing on a lot of premium smartphones.

IQOO Z5 has a 6.67-inch screen and has an IPS LCD instead of an AMOLED display, which instantly snatches away the appeal at some levels. The smartphone has a 120 Hz refresh rate and runs on Android 11, primarily on FunTouch OS version 12. It is powered by the Snapdragon 778G processor. Also, instead of the LPDDR4 RAM, which is most commonly used in smartphones of this range, Z5 uses the expensive and much more power-efficient LPDDR5 RAM, which is why one cannot complain about the performance of this smartphone.

IQOO Z5 uses liquid cooling technology, further reducing the chances of overheating while playing heavy games. I was switching between Call of Duty and Injustice, both highly graphical, constantly between hours, and did not face any performance or overheating issues.

Z5 is backed up with a 5000 mAh battery, and with the Snapdragon 778 chipset, the device becomes quite power-efficient. You also get a 44W fast charger along with a smartphone that can charge the device fully in about an hour.

Now coming to the most crucial part, the camera functionality, that more or less makes the smartphone lead either from the front or from the back in this hyper-competitive market. The smartphone packs a triple camera setup, with the latest 64MP Samsung GW3 Sensor, 8MP wide-angle, and a 2MP Macro Camera. In the normal lighting conditions, I clicked some pretty good pictures.

The primary and the ultra-wide cameras captured colors and skin tones quite well, if not perfectly. On the front, there’s a 16MP punch-hole camera that captures selfies well under normal lighting conditions. Interestingly, the Z5 smartphone offers a camera feature where you can operate both front and rear cameras simultaneously. There are also various modes in which you can click photographs or record videos. In artificial lighting, the device captured some pretty good pictures with natural skin tones.

Honestly, it’s not the best out there but works quite well for the price. If you are all about ‘Made in India’ stuff, you can grab the deal with no regrets.

Does Vivo X70 Pro Really Redefine Photography?

First things first! As soon as you open the premium-looking box, you are reminded of what this smartphone represents. “Photography. Redefined.” is the first thing you see when you open the box, and it instantly reminds you that Vivo X70 Pro is all about neat and premium photography.

Along with the smartphone, a TPU or a transparent case, a 44W charger, a C-type cable and good quality Vivo earphones are offered inside the box.

Vivo X70 Pro has curved glass and a glass-metal sandwich design with a beautiful colour that adds more grace to the smartphone. The multicolour design turns slightly greenish and bluish as light falls on it. It is slightly slim and weighs around 190gms.

Now let’s talk about what each side of the smartphone consists of. At the bottom, there’s a speaker grille, a Type C port, a microphone and a sim card tray. The left-hand side is immaculate. The top has a noise-cancelling microphone and an IR blaster. For those who are unaware of what an IR blaster is, it uses electronic bursts of electromagnetic radiations to communicate with everyday devices in your home, like TVs and DVRs. On the right, there’s a volume rocker and a power button.

Vivo X70 Pro has a 6.5-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen with a 120Hz fast refresh rate. Now, what I noticed between Vivo X70 Pro Plus and its younger sibling X70 Pro is that Pro Plus has an LTPO screen, which means that it is an adaptive fast refresh rate screen; from 1Hz to 120Hz will adapt according to your usage. X70 Pro, on the other hand, has the LTPS screen, which does not adapt but has a fast refresh rate.

I have also noticed that a lot of junkware apps like Amazon, Josh, Phonepe, ShareChat, Spotify, and a few others come pre-installed on the smartphone. You can remove or uninstall these apps if they are of no use to you.

The Vivo X70 Pro runs on a customized MediaTek Dimensity 1200 processor. It has a base variant of 8GB+128GB and 12GB+126GB internal. The smartphone has a 4500 mAh battery and comes with fast charging.

Here comes the most exciting part! The Camera. As soon as you flip the phone to the back, you know there is something very interesting, very spectacular about its camera. There is a ZEISS T* logo on the lens, which gives the smartphone a premium feel. Sony cameras often have the T* logo humbly displayed on their lens.

Due to these T* coating, while clicking a portrait, the colours look richer and better. Because of the layer, the ghosting and flares that occur during low-light photos get eliminated.

Not only does the phone allow you to take incredible night images, but there is also a Super Night Video Mode which allows you to take night videos. Isn’t that awesome?

There is a quad-camera setup and neither of those seems like a gimmick, making each one equally useful. All four cameras have optical image stabilization which is pretty rare even in premium and high-end smartphones.

Vivo X70 Pro has 50MP Sony IMX766 wide camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, 12MP telephoto, and 8MP Periscope camera. On the front, there’s a 32MP selfie sensor.

Vivo X70 Pro has excellent gimbal stabilization, and that is what makes this smartphone stand out. I tested the gimbal mode on this phone, and I loved it to the core. There were very few jerks in the camera even though I was running, and in the walking mode, the camera gave a cinematic experience.

If you are pretty specific about the camera, this is one smartphone you should have on your checkout list. If you can get your hands onto Vivo X70 Pro in a store or somewhere, check the specifications out yourself, and you would definitely feel the premium quality that the smartphone offers.