Bucket Tech: Huawei Nova 8i & Watch 3

Last night would have been the launch of the third device from Huawei's Nova series in South Africa, the 8i but due to bad weather and the event being an outdoors one it had to be cancelled which is really sad, apart from the many months of planning and money spent on the set up, the brand really know how to put on a show, so I'm sad that we never got to see what they had planned. Regardless there was a make-shift plan B which saw us getting to experience the new devices from the Chinese brand. Suffice to say we were not disappointed to see the new hardware up close and personal over dinner with the Huawei Execs. 

So lets get into it, the Nova 8i, Huawei classify it as a "Gen-Z" smart phone, encapsulated in a stunning metal unibody design, the device is ultra slim and surprisingly light, weighing it at just 190g. It features a 6.67" Huawei edgeless display that offers unmatched viewing experience for devices in its pricing bracket. With this great display, it makes it the perfect device for watching movies and for the avid gamers. As with most smartphones, the first thing people look at is what camera it's packing, the Nova 8i does not disappoint in this regard, as it has a 64MP AI Quad camera that photographers will love. The camera system compromises of a main camera, an ultra wide angle camera, a macro camera and a depth sensing camera which come together seamlessly to take professional-looking shots. 

The Nova 8i comes with a 4300mAh three-electrode battery which works in tandem with Huawei SuperCharge technology which allows for more battery life when in use. The SuperCharge is a 66W which means that the device can be fully charge in less than 40 minutes, or charged for two hours of gameplay within just five minutes. Internal storage on the device is 128GB which allows you to save more on the device. The Nova 8i is powered by a Snapdragon octa-core chipset which is designed to keep up with your demands,  with high-performance specs like Huawei smart memory technology and 8GB RAM, this means it gives the user a smooth experience even when running multiple background apps at once. 

Also announced was the introduction of the Huawei Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro. Both stunning smartwatches that offer convenient and smart life experiences through enhanced interaction, independent connectivity and all-scenario interconnectivity. What makes these wearables great is that they support a standalone communication system that allows you to stay connected even when you're doing outdoor activities without your smartphone. This is done by simply activating the eSIM service on your Huawei Health APP on your smartphone. This will basically clone your SIM for your watching so you have the same phone number on your watch and enjoy the same data and voice tariff plans from your phone. Battery life on the Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro is claimed to be up to 21 days in ultra-long battery mode, this is extremely significant and much greater than its competitors. Both devices are beautiful to look at and wear with 3D curved glass and clear, vibrant display with is elegant, smooth, scratch-proof and fingerprint-resistant. The body of the Watch 3 is made up of 316L stainless steel that has undergone a cold forging and PVD coating process. The Pro is made of an aerospace-grade titanium fused with sapphire glass lens. 

Pricing of the devices are as follows. 

HUAWEI nova 8i - R6,999 

HUAWEI Watch 3 - R7,299

HUAWEI Watch 3 Pro - R7,999

All devices have specific pre-order deals with bundle gifts offered for each, more info can be found on the HUAWEI online consumer store.

Bucket Tech: Samsung Galaxy A31

Samsung's Galaxy A series was introduced to the market as a medium level smart device which gave the consumer a feel of what the higher end devices are like but at a reduced price. It's been quite popular seeing that the price range of these phones are very attractive and the features that they offer were damn good, it's always been a key area for Samsung and they believe thanks to the Galaxy A Series more people can enjoy Samsung's premium smartphone innovations at an affordable price. This month saw Samsung release their latest in the range of the A series, the Galaxy A31, the devices is designed for a generation that wants to express themselves to the world and look good doing it, anytime and anywhere (but while maintaining social distancing and obeying the lockdown regulations). I just added that part in since I don't think Samsung anticipated the current scenario the world faces. One of the major talking points on the Galaxy A31 is the multi-purpose quad camera, a feature that was normally reserved for its higher end devices. The Quad cam lets you shoot with more perspective, with ultra high-res 48MP main camera for crisp, clear photos no matter the time of day, it has a 123 degree 8MP Ultra wide camera which captures more of the view,  a 5MP Macro camera to capture those objects and details up close, finally in the quad cam setup we have the 5MP depth sensing camera which adjusts during live focus for imagines that will be less blurred. 

The screen size on the A31 is pretty decent with it having a 6.4" Infinity-U display with wide aspect ratio that fills content from end to end. Another great feature on the A31 is the great battery life, the phone comes with a 5,000mAh battery which is plenty sufficient for a full days use and if it is running low, the phone comes with a 15W fast charging so a quick 30 minute charge could top you up with enough battery life for a good few hours. The Galaxy A31 comes with a decent processing unit consisting of an advanced octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM which delivers smooth and efficient multi-tasking performance. The device has 128GB internal storage and can accommodate upto a 512GB microSD card. Gamers will be please to note that the phone comes with Game Booster which is a dedicated interface and easy to each menu. The A31's graphics is a smooth like-like motion and enables you to play at your best which it optimises battery, temperature and memory.  Security wise the Galaxy A3 has defence grade security and an on screen fingerprint scanner. 

Bucket Tech: Huawei P30 Series

Today in Paris Huawei showcased its latest flagship smart phone, the P30 and the P30 Pro, along with other cool products and accessories to go with it. With Samsung having unpacked their artillery with the Galaxy S10 launch not so long ago, all eyes in the technology industry were keen to see what the Chinese had up their sleeve to match or beat the Korean's at and Huawei didn't disappoint. I won't be giving away too much in this post as I will be attending the local launch of the P30 Series next week and will have a more detailed analysis of the devices then but for now I'll just skim through the really cool features that was showcased at today's global launch.

The main feature or talking point about the P Series phones has always been it's camera, it was on the P9 that Huawei announced it's partnership with Leica and launched the world's first dual lens camera phone and it only got better from there. With the P30 much is the same with it having the world's first Leica Quad Camera, this helped  P30 Pro achieve the highest score ever by Dxomark Mobile of 112, the next  two phones on the list received 109 and those devices are also Huawei's, the Mate 20 Pro and P20 Pro. Some of the main area's Huawei targeted with the P30 camera is taking pictures in low light, with P30 Pro's camera brings in as much light as possible into it's pictures to get the best quality imagines in low light or the dark and it does this on auto settings with just one click. No need for a fancy tripod or night mode. At the launch Huawei were blunt as ever, having two of their competitors devices to showcase live to the crowd how much better their phone is.

The camera functions don't just stop there, with incredible pictures being able to be capture in auto mode, the night mode feature just takes it to the next level with you being able to capture the galaxy with the P30 Pro and Huawei's Richard Yu was quick to point out that the Samsung Galaxy couldn't replicate the feat. Huawei's P30 Series also comes with phenomenal zoom capabilities, with hybrid zoom which means you can zoom in and not lose quality of the picture or video, it truly is astounding as proven again by their live demo at the event. It also has the option of a dual video function, where the camera uses a wide angle lens and a normal lens for a cinematic effect, it will add a new dimension to videos going forward.

The battery on the P30 Pro is pretty impressive and it also has all the same qualities as the Mate 20 Pro with reverse charging and fast charging. With the screen to body ratio being so minimal, Huawei have made an acoustic display whereby the speak sits under the screen, transforming the screen into your earpiece speaker, quite revolutionary for a device and will be featured in many others to come. The P30 Series comes in a few colour options, my favourite being Aurora which I presume will be one of the favourites when launched locally. Cost wise, the P30 launched at €799 and the P30 Pro starting from €999. We will have to wait till next weeks launch to find out the costing for us in SA.

Also at the launch Huawei took the opportunity to launch other products like their new watch and wireless ear buds but one that stuck out from the lot was their Smart Eyewear which is the world's first Smart Spectacles. Well, yes Snapchat did have their one but this makes that one look like a Fisher Price toy, mind you the name of Huawei's product also sounds like a kids today "Gentle Monster". It's design is fashionable and trendy, it has no buttons and operates by touch. Has a built in antenna, microphone and dual speaker so you can take a call with it while doing whatever it is you're doing. You can even ask it for info like you would for your phone and it will give it to you. The glasses comes in it's own unique pouch which serves as a wireless charging station for it and is the worlds first contact less wireless charging device.

Getting back to the P30 Series, we've only touched on just a few things that this device is capable of doing, we'll have a more indepth look at the device once it's launched locally, and have local pricing available for the phone and to see what cool accessories Huawei chose to bring to the country.