Bucket Tech: HUAWEI Nova 9

So a few weeks back I attended the official launch of the HUAWEI Nova 9, the flagship device in the Nova range so far and while I did give you key product highlights of the phone I thought it would be a good idea to do a proper review, not so much an in-depth one as I would need to have one on test to do that. So what is the Nova 9 all about? Well it has a host of features but one that stands out the most is the flag-ship grade camera technology, one which will rival some of the best phones in the market. What makes it so special you may ask? Well it boasts a Quad lens camera system that features a powerful 50MP ultra-vision camera, as well as an ultra-wide angle camera, a macros camera and a depth camera. The camera system include a colour filter array and an XD Fusion Engine, which help you to capture impressive stills and videos, even in low-light settings, it also automatically enhances the images detail and quality. On the front end, the phones selfie camera is a 32MP high-resolution camera that supports 4K video recording with built-in AI image stablisation, enabling you to record high quality videos that would be perfect for Insta stories and TikToks without the use of a hand held gimbal or tripod. Thanks to continuous front/rear recording, you can also switch between the front and rear cameras, fluidly capturing your story in a single video file.

Huawei have always maintained that their Nova series has been focused on the youth, as it combines powerful performance and beautiful aesthetics at a reasonable price tag. That has been evident throughout the range and is no different with the Nova 9. The design is sublime, with a 6.57" curved display fitting onto a metal unibody and comes in an eye catching new colour, Starry Blue which adds a unique texture to the chassis. Apart form just looking good the device has a powerful chipset, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 4G, the HUAWEI nova 9 also intelligently prioritises tasks and optimises performance for a seamless gaming experience. Its powerful processor is complemented by an equally powerful cooling system, which is designed to dissipate heat fast and efficiently. This means that your device can run at full throttle while staying cool to the touch – even after hours of gaming or streaming videos.

The 6.57-inch Original-Color Curved Display with a tapered surface that minimises the left and right bezels for a more immersive viewing experience. It can display over one billion colours and features a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 300Hz. Gamers will know exactly what these specs are all about. Every single one comes together to ensure a spectacular gaming experience with smooth visuals, vivid colours, incredible details and ultra-fast response times.

Buy the HUAWEI nova 9 now, priced at R12,999 and you’ll receive a HUAWEI FreeLace valued at R1,499. Ts and Cs apply.

Bucket Tech: Google Pixel 6

Tuesday evening saw the launch of Googles latest variation of their smart phone the Pixel, it is 6th generation the Pixel is available in a normal and Pro models. While there wasn't as much fanfare about this device as the Apple event the Pixel still remains a key competitor in the European and American markets. Seeing that Googles OS is being used by so many other manufacturers around the globe, them making their own device that is custom made for the OS should be pretty good too? Well lets take a look at what it has to offer. 

The Pixel 6 has a 6.4-inch FHD Plus touch screen with a high refresh-rate display that switches between 90Hz and 60Hz depending on the lighting and what application you're using the device for. The Pixel 6 Pro on the other hand has a larger 6.7-inch QHD LTPO (low temperature polycrystalline oxide) that also has that neat refresh rate trick but adjusts from 10Hz to 120Hz, the Pro's screen also has a curved edge giving that seamless look. The Pixel has always had great cameras , I mean its in the name, and that trend continues with the 6 series, with Google boasting that is the most advanced smartphone camera, the Pixel 6 comes with a dual camera system that includes a 50-megapixel wide lens, 12-megapixel ultrawide lens and Pro has a triple camera system that has the same two lenses as the 6 but with an additional 48-megapixel, 4x optical zoom telephoto camera. The Pixel 6 comes with an 8-megapiel front facing camera with 84-degree field of view that can record 1080p video at 30 frames per second while the Pro has an 11-megapixel selfie camera with a wide 94-degree field of view that can record in 4K at 30fps. 

Looking at battery life, being a 5G supportive device this is crucial in choosing a smartphone, the Pixel 6 comes with a 4,614mAg battery and supports 30W USB C fasting charging but the actual fast charger doesn't come with the device and is sold separately. The Pixel 6 Pro has a slightly larger 5003mAh battery that also supports the 30W fast charging and has fast wireless charging of 23W.  Powering the Pro is an Octa-core CPU with a Google Tensor 5nm chipset, which has a Mali-G78 MP20 GPU. While there is no slot of external memory card as Google is encouraging the use of their cloud services, the devices are available in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB internal storage capacity. The Pixel 6 has the same CPU and Chipset but only available with internal storage up to 256GB.  Both devices are IP68 rated and boast strong build quality with the only difference being that the Pro has Gorilla Glass Victus and the Pixel 6 has Gorilla Glass 6. 

Pricing on the Pixel is fairly competitive to the new Apple iPhone 13 Series with the Pixel 6 128GB coming in at $599, the Pixel Pro 128GB kicks off at $899. Again, highly doubt these devices will make it to South Africa at all but its nice to keep an eye on what Google are getting up to as they are one of the greater used platforms in the local market. 

Bucket Tech: Huawei Mate 30 Series - First Impressions

While still under a huge cloud of uncertainty over their relations with the US, Chinese tech giants Huawei launched their much anticipated flagship device series in Munich, Germany yesterday. The event which was live streamed world wide was hosted by Executive Director Richard Yu who showcased the companies latest assets in the Mate 30 Series as well as new wearables, accessories and a television!

The biggest question on everyone's minds was what was going to power the new Mate 30 Series seeing that Google had put a trade block on Huawei due to the US sanctions, well the answer was given, Mate 30 features Androids open source OS, Android 10 which runs on EMUI 10, the user interface is identical to that of your normal Android device until you realise there is no Google Apps. So no Gmail, no Google Maps, no YouTube, and most importantly, no Google Playstore. Whether or not you can download these apps via a 3rd party remains to be seen but for now, it looks like you have to access some of these apps the old fashion way, via the browser. Huawei though have their own AppGallery which has over 45,000 applications already. 

Now with the device taking such a big knock already due to the US sanctions in terms of OS capabilities, the phone has to make up for it right? Well Huawei weren't going to take this lying down, the device is powered by the most advanced 5G chip-set on the market being the Kirin 990, the device also has the most advanced cooling system on the market making it up to 30% more cooler at run time. The Huawei Mate 30 Series also has the most 5G antenna's making it the best connectivity device on the market. The 5G speeds capable by the Mate 30 are phenomenal beating competitors in a speed test by almost 600mbps! That's over half a gigabyte more in the same amount of time. Huawei claim to have the best overall 5G experience with this Mate 30 device, giving you faster speeds, with a cooler device, with dual 5G sim slots and better battery performance. 

Speaking of the battery, the Mate 30 Pro comes fitting with a monster 4500mAh battery which the company claim can give you two full days of heavy usage. Being such a big battery you'd expect it to be big and heavy but its not, its actually smaller and lighter than any other competitors battery which is a major plus. Overall size to screen ratio is vastly improved on the Mate 30 Pro as it features fully bezel sides. The screen which extend over to the side has functionality too, and aren't just there for appearance. You can control the volume and has camera functions built in as well. 

The camera on the Mate 30 has stepped up big time and features a quad camera system developed with Leica in an exquisite halo ring design. Inspiration for this was taken from Leica camera lenses them self. The Mate 30 Pro camera features a 40MP (18mm) Ultra Wide lens, a 40MP (27mm) SuperSensing Wide lens, 8MP Telephoto zoom lens and a 3D depth sensing lens to give you those bespoke Bokeh shots. While it doesnt have the periscope lens of the P30 Pro, it still is able to give you up to 3x Optical Zoom with 45x Hybrid Zoom. The massive step up is on the video size, with Huawei saying that they're giving users the world's first 40 MP Cine camera that is capable of filming in 4K at 60fps, it has 4K HDR time lapse and ISO 512 000 which can shoot video in extreme low light, so not only low light photography but videography too. It has a real-time Bokeh effect recording with depth of field and dual OIS + AIS for more stable recording. The biggest surprise was its ultra slo-motion feature which captions video at 7680fps! that just blows the competition away by miles with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ only being able to achieve 960fps.

There's so much more to this device that really excites us and while the Mate 30 Pro is the one to have, the normal Mate 30 isn't too shabby either. Huawei also announced another Porsche Design Model with the Mate 30 RS. We will have to wait and see what the local offering and pricing is for the devices in the next week. So far its looking like the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer has steadied the tide against it with these but time will tell how the market will react to it. 

Bucket Tech: Panasonic at CES 2018

In its centenary year, Panasonic chose to announce at CES 2018, held in Las Vegas that they have invested in a diversity of domains, including electric cars, voice assistant integrations and developments in the much-loved lifestyle appliances that have made Panasonic a household name. Panasonic South Africa's marketing managing director, Hidetoshi Kaneko believes that these investments align with Panasonic's quest to make daily life a better experience for people across the globe. "We are proud to expand our repertoire to include next-generation technology to create a better life and a better world for our consumers."

Panasonic also showcased some of its latest products, one of which they're held in great respect for. Since the dawn of the flat screen TV, Panasonic have been in the forefront of technology and quality in this industry. Their units were quite sort after since the value in their products were so great and reliability was second to none. The prices on their products were slightly steeper to competitors but it wouldn't take the consumer long to figure out why this is the case with some light research. With 4K OLED TV's now being the industry lead, Panasonic showcased its FZ950 and FZ800 series, featuring the HCX video processor and supporting HDR10+ dynamic metadata technology, as well as four new Ultra HD Blu-Ray players to maximise the leisure of any living room. Panasonic's high-end audio line, Technics, has unveiled the specs for its most premium turntable ever, which is bound to please vinyl lovers both young and old. 

Other notable products that were launched are their new line of 4K camcorders and the Lumix still camera range. CES 2018 proved to be the perfect introduction to Panasonic's future vision which will pave the way for the next 100 years and promises to be just the beginning for the appliance giant in the realm of technology and innovation.