Bucket Tech: Apple Event 2021

If you're a fanboy of the tech giants based in Cupertino, California, last nights Apple Event did not disappoint with the company launching a host of new devices, one of which was the highly anticipated iPhone 13. So lets jump straight into what the 13 has to offer, just like the previous model the 12, the iPhone 13 comes in four models:

• iPhone 13 mini - $699
• iPhone 13 - $799
• iPhone 13 Pro - $999
• iPhone 13 Pro Max - $1099

Some of the standard out characteristics and features on the 13 mini and normal 13 include five new colours to suit the users style and personality, of which include New Pink, New Blue, New Midnight, New Starlight and New Red which is the show stopper. The device has a ceramic shield, which makes it tougher than any smartphone glass at the moment. Screen sizes on the 13 and 13 mini measure in a 6.1" and 5.4" respectively and are Super Retina XDR display. The new flat-edge design of the devices make it more durable and robust than previous generation phones from the brand and also they are water resistant. Apple redesigned the camera lens architecture on these devices to make the housing of the lens at a similar size to the previous generation but adding a larger lens, this was achieved by arranging the lens in a 45 degree to fin in. This camera system with its biggest Wide camera sensor also includes a sensor-shift optical image stabilization. The Ultra Wide camera also features a faster sensor helping you focus on the subject more quicker than ever. On the video side of things, the camera has a cinematic model which automatically creator beautiful depth effects and focus transitions.

Taking a quick look at the big boys, the Pro and Pro Max, Apply have gone all out with these two, in keeping with the design from the smaller two 13's, the Pro and Pro Max come in four colour variants, namely Sierra Blue, Silver, Gold and Graphite. The Pro and Pro Max are both manufacturer from Surgical-grade stainless steel which can be seen on the side profile of the device, giving it that more elegant and modern feel to it. Both devices also get the Ceramic Shield Apple claim is tougher than any smartphone glass on the market this protects a custom OLED screen that is 25% brighter outdoors. . The Pro and Pro Max are also both IP68 rated, which makes it dust and water resistant. The camera system on the devices have received the biggest upgrade ever, with next-level hardware that captures so much more detail. With this in mind, the Macro photography has been enhanced thanks to its redesigned lens and powerful autofocus system, with the new Ultra Wide camera focusing on a subject at just 2 cm, making even the smallest details seem epic. With the new camera ,they've also highly focused a lot on low light, with the wider aperture and the large sensor, it leverages the LiDAR Scanner for Night mode portraits, additionally the Telephoto camera now benefits from night mode as well, it features a 77mm focal length and 3x optical zoom which Apple say is great for classic portraiture or shooting clearer photos and videos from far away. It also has the Cinematic video feature which can be recorded with the Wide, Telephoto or TruDepth camera. Cinematic mode in the Pro and Pro Max supports Dolby Vision HDR. There's a lot more features to the camera with multiple photographic styles on hand to try and master. They also made it much more easier to edit photos and videos using their own built-in apps and don't worry about storage limitations and as the iPhon3 Pro is the first iPhone with 1TB or storage!

All devices are powered by Apples new A15 chipset which is a 5-core GPU which delivers up to 50% faster graphics performance than any other smartphone chip. The new CPU performance and efficient cores powe through complex tasks and preserve battery life. Overall the GPU is 30% faster than anything else on the market and is capable of running 15.8 trillion operations per second. All iPhone 13 models will be run on iOS 15 which will be available as a free software update from Monday, September 20th for all iOS users. Devices will be available locally from 8th October, local pricing yet to be announced. 

Bucket Tech: Samsung Galaxy S21 Series - First Impressions

Samsung dropped their latest flagship series smart devices last week when they launched or "unpacked" the new Galaxy S21 Series which consists of the S21 5G, S21+ 5G and the S21 Ultra 5G. All three devices will be available for purchase in SA and have a host of upgrades and features which are whetting the appetites of many. So what do we know about the new trio? Well all come with 5G capabilities so you will have access to the fastest network around, all come in a metallic uni-body with elevated camera on the phones top left corner. The design is simplistic but very chic, also with the array of colours that the devices are available enhances the elegance of the device itself. The displays vary in size with the S21 having a 6.2" infinity-o display with dynamic AMOLED 2x, the S21+ has a 6.7" while the range topping S21 Ultra has a 6.8" display, all have eye comfort shield as well as a super smooth 120hz refresh rate.

Camera wise, Samsung have a refreshed layout for the camera, both the S21 and S21+ come with a 10MP front facing camera while they have a triple lens system rear camera which consists of a 12MP wide-angle, a 12MP ultra-wide angle and a 64MP telephoto lens which has 30x Space Zoom, letting you zoom right into pictures.  All this adds up to a great photographic experience capturing even more detail and clarity that makes photos look like a work of art. Samsung say that their Portrait mode features settings that enable you to be "Instagram Ready" which means not much editing or filters required to post your picture as it has built-in options to choose from. Low light photos are now even easier to take with the S21 & S21+ it being able to capture stunning pics with minimal lighting. The big flex has to be the video recording capabilities, as all devices record in 8K at 24fps, with you able to extract 33MP quality images from the recordings. The camera also comes with Super Steady setting which records at 60fps to ensure a smooth recording all the time. With multiple recordings the AI system on the device can take all your content and make a personal video for you via the editor. The S21 Ultra camera system is a Quad format which has a 108MP wide lens, 10MP periscope telephoto lens, 10MP telephoto lens and a 12MP ultra wide lens with the front facing "selfie camera" having a 40MP lens. 

All devices have Super Fast Charging, Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 and Wireless PowerShare enabling you to charge other devices with your phone. The intelligent battery on the S21 range is a 48000mAh battery and features new power-efficient display and processor which can push the life to well beyond the 24-hour mark, even when using full 5G. The devices come fitted with the worlds fastest processing chip, the 5nm process is fast enough to keep up with the action, so you can do more even faster. It features 8GB of RAM and has a built-in memory of up to 256GB. All devices are IP68 rates so they're dust, water and shock proof. A big talking point from the Apple iPhone 12 launch was merely ignored for this one, the Galaxy S21 series also do no come with a charge or headphones, merely just a USB cable, seems to be the trend now it seems. Samsung also released their new Buds Pro on the night, another great quality wireless headphones from the brand. 

Pricing for the devices are as follows:

• Galaxy S21 5G - R17,999
• Galaxy S21+ 5G - R21,499
• Galaxy S21 Ultra - R27,999