Bucket Tech: New from Lenovo

Today, Lenovo announced several new products and solutions at its annual holiday product launch. The new additions to the portfolio – which include AI-tuned innovations in gaming, a ground-breaking 3D monitor, software solutions, versatile accessories, and more – are available to explore here.

Gaming on the Go: Lenovo Legion™ Gaming Handheld Device and Accessories Untether PC Gaming

The new Lenovo Legion Go is the company’s first Windows gaming handheld device that gives gamers more freedom to game however—and wherever—they want. The Lenovo Legion Go is designed for gamers who will settle for nothing less than top-tier specs and visuals on their handheld device. Along with the new micro-OLED-equipped Lenovo Legion Glasses and new Lenovo Legion E510 7.1 RGB Gaming In-Ear Headphones, the debut of the Lenovo Legion Go is a marked expansion of the Lenovo Legion ecosystem of gaming devices, monitors, accessories, software, and services that empower gamers to immerse themselves in their games.

The new Lenovo Legion Go brings Windows PC gaming power to a handheld mobile form factor, powered by AMD Ryzen™ Z1 Series processors that bring games to life on its 8.8-inch Lenovo PureSight Gaming Display.

For gamers who want to take their Lenovo Legion Go portable gaming experience to the next level, the new Lenovo Legion Glasses leverage micro-OLED technology to provide a large screen viewing experience that fits in the pocket.

For a truly immersive gaming experience, the new Lenovo Legion E510 7.1 RGB Gaming In-Ear Headphones offer hi-res 7.1 surround sound audio with a multifunction inline controller.

The King of Cool: Lenovo Legion 9i is the World’s First AI-Tuned Gaming Laptop with an Integrated Liquid-Cooling System1

The Lenovo Legion 9i (16”, 8) is the first top-of-the-line 16-inch gaming laptop in Lenovo Legion’s ecosystem—and in the world—with a self-contained liquid-cooling system1, designed for gamers and creators with heavy graphic workflow requirements who need a full development studio in their bag. The Lenovo Legion 9i leads the Lenovo Legion line-up that also includes the Lenovo Legion Pro series for competitive gamers and the Lenovo Legion Slim series for gamers who value agility, as well as Lenovo Legion displays and peripherals. Also announced today are the Lenovo Legion 16” Gaming Backpack GB700 and GB400, two backpack options that give gamers a choice between slim and lightweight agility or extra storage without sacrificing protection for their Lenovo Legion 9i (16”, 8) or any other laptops and accessories.

Transforming Digital Workspaces: New Devices and Software Power the Future of Hybrid Work

In addition to new gaming devices, Lenovo is unveiling new cutting-edge tech tools and essentials tailored to empower the dynamic, evolving needs of today's business end-users. Its new monitor, software, and accessories are not only designed to boost the capabilities of today’s remote and hybrid workforces, but also to address significant challenges faced by businesses as they digitize operations across departments. Lenovo research shows that managing a remote workforce and global teams remain central tasks for CIOs.2 That’s why the new offerings integrate impressive processing power, immersive 3D, and advanced security to create a unified, human-centered experience.

For professional content creators who require immersive 3D visualization, the new ThinkVision™ 27 3D Monitor – a stunning 27-inch, glasses-free, 2D/3D compatible monitor – offers seamless 3D effects and real-time eye-tracking.

The new Lenovo Wired VOIP Headset and Lenovo Wired ANC Headset Gen 2 are high-quality audio solutions for professionals in hybrid work environments, include an inline call control box, active noise cancellation with the latter, and compatibility with popular conferencing platforms.

For remote work and to support sustainability efforts, the cloud-based Lenovo Device Manager will roll out enhanced new features that include a comprehensive AI-powered energy management solution that efficiently manages device fleets and optimizes power usage.

To round out the new line-up are a selection of sophisticated and comfortable carry cases, the Lenovo ThinkPad Professional 16inch Backpack Gen 2,​ and the ThinkPad Professional 16inch and 14inch Topload Gen 2.

Bucket Tech: OPPO A98 5G

OPPO recently introduced the newest addition to its A series family of smartphones, the OPPO A98 5G, in South Africa. A98 5G features flagship-level battery performance with 67W SUPERVOOCTM charging, a large 5,000mAh battery, and OPPO's Battery Health Engine. Furthermore, equipped with an incredible 120Hz Silky Smooth Large Screen, RAM Expansion technology, and the latest ColorOS 13.1, A98 5G delivers an incredibly fast and smooth experience from start to finish.

Battery performance designed for the times smartphone for the times

Designed to go all day, OPPO A98 5G is equipped with one of the best configurations in flash charging and battery in its price range. It is a smartphone that is designed for the times, as South Africa battles with rolling blackouts and loadshedding. 

Upgrades in flash charging and battery mean that the OPPO A98 5G can be charged to 100% in just 44 minutes using 67W SUPERVOOC TM, while a 5-minute charge is enough to enjoy 6 hours of phone calls or 2.5 hours of typical YouTube video viewing. The 5,000mAh battery can provide up to 39 hours of phone calls, 16 hours of YouTube video viewing, or 8.4 hours of gaming on a full charge to deliver a long-lasting, smooth smartphone experience all day. After a full charge, the battery can also last for up to 17.5 days of standby with the Always on Display.

“The A98 5G, demonstrates our commitment to creating devices that prioritise user experience has been the cornerstone of our operations, " says Liam Faurie, Head of Operations & Go-to Markets at OPPO. He continued, "We understand that the South African market is looking for this type of device that can go all day. This device meets this requirement, with one of the best configurations in flash charging and battery in its price range.”

The charging performance is supported by OPPO’s Battery Health Engine, which allows the battery to maintain 80% of its original capacity after as many as 1,600 charging and discharging cycles, thus keeping the battery performing at close to optimal capacity for up to four years of use if charged once per day on average.

Stay Stylish with Premium Cover and High Durability

OPPO A98 5G is available in two color finishes - Dreamy Blue and Cool Black. Both finishes are brought to life with the iconic OPPO Glow process to create a beautiful shimmering crystal effect and fingerprint-resistant finish. Weighing around 192 g and measuring about 8.2 mm in thickness, the handset also features a 3D Curved Back Cover for a reliable yet comfortable grip in a visually thinner body.

“Having passed six major tests designed to measure resistance to physical drops, water, radiation, climate damage, repeated small drops, and signal stability. It is built to stay stylish and durable,” says Faurie.

Upgraded Hardware and Software System Brings Peak Performance to Life

OPPO A98 5G features a 6.72-inch display with a flagship-level 120Hz Ultra High Refresh Rate. With its high refresh rate, the display delivers a much smoother and more responsive experience, no matter whether users are scrolling Instagram or playing the latest games.

Featuring the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 695 5G Mobile Platform, the OPPO A98 5G provides powerful and reliable performance. OPPO A98 5G is equipped with 8GB RAM and 256GB large ROM of storage and supports up to 1TB SD card expansion. With OPPO’s RAM Expansion technology, the phone’s RAM capacity can convert up to 8GB of unused ROM storage into temporary RAM, doubling the amount of RAM available.

In addition to its high performance, A98 5G also passes the 48-Month Fluency Protection tests conducted in the OPPO lab. Recording an average aging rate of less than 10% after four years of daily use, A98 5G offers a 4-year guaranteed fluency compared with the previous generation of A series phones.

Unleash Creativity with the Outstanding Camera System

With its advanced 64MP AI Camera, 32MP Selfie Camera, 2MP Depth Camera and 2MP Microlens, OPPO A98 5G provides photography enthusiasts with an entirely upgraded photography experience to unleash their creativity. The phone is also equipped with other impressive features like Portrait Mode, AI Portrait Retouching, Selfie HDR, AI Color Portrait, and more that deliver stunning, high-quality images in a wide range of situations.

With up to 40-times magnification, the Microlens offers exceptional detail when exploring the microscopic world beyond the naked eye. Users can now dive right into the microscopic world to uncover a whole new perspective on life, exploring more secrets behind everyday objects.

Market Availability

OPPO A98 5G is already available locally, priced at R11 999. 

Bucket Tech: OPPO - MWC 2023

OPPO is showcasing a range of its latest innovative technologies at Mobile World Congress 2023 (MWC2023). During the event, OPPO is not only showing a selection of flagship devices including the pocketable OPPO Find N2 Flip, but also introduces a number of industry-leading innovations based on its four Smart Initiatives - smart entertainment, smart productivity, smart health, and smart learning, such as OPPO Wi-Fi 6 Router AX5400, OPPO Zero-Power Tag, MariSilicon Y Bluetooth audio SoC, OHealth H1 family health monitor, OPPO Air Glass 2 and more. By delivering enhanced, connected experiences through these virtuous innovations, OPPO is reinforcing its position as a future-focused company that seeks to unlock new possibilities for smart living.

" As the world’s fourth largest mobile phone brand, OPPO has showcased a series of innovations at MWC23, from folding flagship phones to the latest technology behind the Internet of Experience. By bringing new technology breakthroughs to market, we are unlocking new possibilities for smart living to better serve our users worldwide,” said Billy Zhang, President of Overseas Sales and Service of OPPO.

Focusing on Smart Living Initiatives, OPPO showcases milestones in “Virtuous Innovation”

Based on its four internal Smart Initiatives: smart entertainment, smart productivity, smart health, and smart learning, OPPO has brought a number of technology breakthroughs to the event, providing more ways to empower smart, connected experiences in the future.

In “smart productivity”, OPPO has further expanded its communication technology product portfolios. OPPO Wi-Fi 6 Router AX5400 is OPPO’s first Wi-Fi router product, supporting the Wi-Fi 6 AX5400 standard, and is capable of providing a 2.4GHz+5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi signal at the same time. The combination of its high-gain antennas, OPPO’s self-developed anti-interference algorithm and network directional speed-up technology enables Wi-Fi with wider coverage, enhanced stability, and faster speeds.

OPPO Zero-Power Tag is the first prototype device based on OPPO Zero-power Communication technology. Leveraging key technologies such as RF signal harvesting, backscattering, and low-power computing, it harvests radio waves from the surrounding area to power its own functionality and communicate battery-free in order to meet the diverse needs of IoT in the coming 6G era. This is the first time that OPPO has demonstrated the OPPO Zero-Power Tag’s capabilities in item identification and positioning, and data collection from temperature sensors, both powered by RF energy.

OPPO is also showcasing its extensive achievements across other Smart Initiatives, such as OPPO’s first self-developed flagship Bluetooth audio SoC, MariSilicon Y, the new-generation, ultra-light AR glasses, OPPO Air Glass 2, OPPO’s first family health monitor concept device OHealth H1, and OPPO’s first end-to-end power management chip SUPERVOOC S, etc.

In addition, OPPO is also jointly demonstrating a number of technological milestones with different partners, including select proposals from the OPPO Research Institute Innovation Accelerator: EEG Hearables from IDUN Technologies and Cynteract’s glove designed to help people with hand injuries to recover more effectively; hardware accelerated ray tracing technology on the Snapdragon®8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform; innovative Android features like Nearby Share and Fast Pair on OPPO flagship smartphones, and trails of Google One and YouTube Premium for up to 6 months, with selected OPPO devices.

Revolutionizing the vertical foldable experience, OPPO Find N2 Flip will turn flips into users’ first choice

OPPO Find N2 Flip, OPPO's first vertically folding phone recently launched globally in London, has become a major draw to OPPO’s booth. OPPO Find N2 Flip and Find N2 have both been appointed as Official Smartphones of the UEFA Champions League. UEFA Champions League Ambassadors and football stars, Michael Owen and Luis Garcia both join OPPO on the first day of MWC, becoming the first global users to experience the incredible OPPO Find N2 Flip.

Actively practicing corporate social responsibility, OPPO has committed to achieving carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2050

Under its corporate mission of “Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World”, OPPO has taken action to integrate sustainability into its long-term development strategy. By the end of 2022, OPPO managed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 6,000 tons annually. Starting with the European market in 2023, OPPO will remove virtually all plastics from the external packaging of its mobile phone products and will ensure that all packaging materials are made from 100% biodegradable materials.

On the opening day of MWC2023, OPPO has also published its first <OPPO Climate Action Report>. The report proposes OPPO’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2050, and outlines its future blueprint for low carbon development. With these plans, OPPO will transform its entire business into a low-carbon enterprise.

Bucket Tech: OPPO Find X

OPPO took to the stage recenlty at the Snapdragon Summit 2022 to introduce a collaboration between OPPO and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. in ray tracing graphics for mobile devices. The two companies have been collaborating since early phase of the next-gen driver development. Thanks to the great effort, users can experience a fully optimized hardware-based ray tracing feature on the flagship Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform when it releases. At the Snapdragon Summit, OPPO also demonstrated the breakthroughs achieved in its collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and Google to implement Google Vertex AI Neural Architecture Search (Google NAS) on a smartphone for the first time. The new solution will boost energy efficiency and latency of AI processing on mobile devices. 

As a long-term partner of Qualcomm Technologies, OPPO has also announced that it will use the latest launched premium Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform in its next Find X flagship devices, delivering a leap in video, gaming, and connectivity experiences for mobile users worldwide.

OPPO’s next Find X flagship smartphone will be one of the firsts to be powered by the Premium Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform ）

Pete Lau, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer at OPPO, said: "OPPO’s collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies has reached a new stage. Together, we have carried out research into several cutting-edge areas of technology that will support the development and implementation of innovative technologies on mobile devices. Drawing on OPPO’s extensive experience in mobile graphics and AI, and the powerful capabilities of the new flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, OPPO and Qualcomm Technologies have delivered a breakthrough in mobile ray tracing technology and brought Google NAS to smartphone for the first time. We look forward to extending our cooperation with Qualcomm Technologies as we redefine the smartphone experience and place more cutting-edge technology into the hands of millions of users around the world."

“We are excited to work with OPPO to bring hardware accelerated ray tracing experience to mobile games," said Ziad Asghar, Vice President of Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "The collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies and OPPO in this area allows game developers to take full advantage of desktop-level quality ray tracing to provide the highest visual fidelity, life-like aliasing free shadows, reflections on curved surfaces and global illumination to unlock next-level gaming experience on mobile, all in real-time at usable frame rate. The collaboration covers the entire render stack, this is a significant step in driving forward the mobile gaming ecosystem. We look forward to deepening our cooperation with OPPO, to further explore the possibilities of innovation landing on mobile devices powered by premium-tier Snapdragon platforms."

OPPO and Qualcomm Technologies deliver breakthroughs in mobile graphics processing and AI through underlying technology optimizations

As the first smartphone manufacturer to provide an open-sourced ray tracing solution for mobile, OPPO has collaborated with Qualcomm Technologies to conduct software optimizations based on the new generation Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform. These optimizations enable OPPO’s ray tracing technology to be applied to complex, large-scale game scenes on mobile devices.

Visitors to the Snapdragon Summit 2022 were able to experience this ray tracing technology on live game demos, making OPPO the only smartphone manufacturer at the Snapdragon Summit to demonstrate such technology on handsets powered by the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform. 

Running on a device powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, with multiple ray tracing effects turned on, top mobile games can run at a steady 60 FPS while providing life like soft shadows and reflections for the highest gaming visual quality. Compared with previous software only generation, ray tracing render efficiency increased by a factor of 5 and reduced the CPU workload by 90%1. These advances will enable the mobile game industry to step away from its reliance on using software simulation to achieve ray tracing effects, and instead bring advanced, ultra-realistic lighting to complex, large-scale game scenes on mobile devices.

OPPO was the first smartphone manufacturer to develop ray tracing technology on mobile devices through software. Since 2020, OPPO has been building an open ecosystem around the technology that brings together creators, game developers, and game engine developing platforms with the PhysRay SDK — the first open-sourced ray tracing solution on mobile devices released by OPPO. To better cater to the various needs of developers, OPPO has continued to optimize the PhysRay engine for enhanced compatibility between different hardware and software configurations. The Open, Convenient, Adaptive and Balance ray tracing solution acts as a much-needed bridge between hardware and software when implementing ray tracing on mobile devices. 

In addition to the cooperation in mobile ray tracing technology, OPPO has been working with Qualcomm Technologies and Google to enhance future AI capabilities on mobile devices. Under the collaboration, OPPO has successfully integrated the hardware power reward into Google NAS for the first time. Through optimizations to the AI algorithms based on the specific chip characteristics, OPPO’s implementation achieves a 27% reduction in power of the target detection algorithm and a 40% reduction in computing latency. Together, these improvements will enable AI models to be trained with greater energy efficiency and hardware friendliness in a shorter timeframe2. 

With ‘Inspiration Ahead’， OPPO is working with Qualcomm Technologies to bring more innovative technologies to mobile devices

OPPO and Qualcomm Technologies’ efforts in ray tracing technology and AI are part of a long-standing collaboration between the two companies. Snapdragon flagship mobile platforms have featured on several OPPO smartphones, through which they have brought 5G mobile experiencers to more users worldwide. In 2022, OPPO Find X5 Pro flagship smartphone was one of the firsts to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, delivering unprecedented experiences in connectivity, AI, gaming, video, audio, and security. Earlier on, OPPO released many smartphones that feature Snapdragon 5G mobile platforms, including the Find X3 Series and Reno6 Series.

Through its brand proposition of ‘Inspiration Ahead’ OPPO will continue to collaborate openly with industry leaders like Qualcomm Technologies to provide more enhanced experiences to users worldwide through advanced technologies on mobile devices.

Bucket Tech: HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Series

If you love sporting the latest in wearable technology, then you’ll be delighted to know that Huawei’s brand-new range of smartwatches, the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Series, has been launched in South Africa. This flagship series features some of the most impressive smartwatches on the market to date, including the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 46mm, the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 42mm and the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Runner.

For the first time, all three watches are powered by HarmonyOS 2.1, Huawei’s proprietary operating system. This enables the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Series    to deliver a more powerful and convenient user experience, one that is dynamic, intelligent and capable of keeping up with the intensive demands you set for it.

Health and fitness fans will be especially impressed by the smartwatches’ breakthroughs in health monitoring and scientific training. The heart rate monitoring technology, TruSeenTM 5.0+, is especially remarkable. It offers substantial upgrades in heart monitoring accuracy and is able to keep track of your heart rate, even in fast-changing heart rate situations such as swimming, running and skipping. The HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Series smartwatches also provide continuous, real-time, and accurate SpO2, sleep, stress and menstrual cycle monitoring.

The HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Series serves as a personal trainer, right on your wrist. It records and analyses your workout data and intelligently identifies and adjusts the training intensity of your workouts based on your athletic ability and goals. It also comes with an upgraded workout monitoring feature that consists of over 100 workout modes, including 18 professional workouts, 12 outdoor workouts and six indoor workouts.

Looking for personalised input into your health, fitness and wellness? The HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Series supports customised features, including AI Running Coach and Healthy Living Shamrock, a health and fitness assistant that helps you stay healthy and active. 

 AI Running Coach creates a weekly training plan, which is automatically adjusted based on previous performance. This allows for meaningful, iterative improvements in your training and ensures that you get more out. Healthy Living Shamrock, on the other hand, has been designed to meet your daily health needs. By personalising the settings, you can receive regular reminders about drinking water, practicing mindfulness, going to sleep on time, exercising and staying positive.

The HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Series has also experienced substantial aesthetic upgrades. Inspired by nature, the overall design is sleek, minimalist, lightweight and futuristic. Without a strap, the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 46mm weighs just 42.6g with an overall thickness of 11mm, and the HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 42mm weighs 35g with an overall thickness of 10.2mm. Both will likely feel lighter and thinner than any other smartwatch you have ever worn before.

The HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 46mm supports a 14-day battery life, while HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 42mm offers a seven-day battery life. This allows you to wear your watch all the time, even while you sleep.

The HUAWEI WATCH GT 3 Series also supports third-party apps that help manage not just your health and fitness, but your work, travel, gaming and entertainment too.

Bucket Tech: CallApp

The age old saying "time is money" applies to our daily lives now more than ever and one of the biggest time wasters is unwanted, unsolicited calls which not only disturbs you from whatever you doing but also changes your mood, your train of thought and just ruins that moment you were in. While there are various App's available on the market to detect unwanted calls by means of screening and notifying you before hand, many have their gripes, but over the past week I've been testing one of the newer Caller ID apps on the market called "CallApp", while it works very similar to the others, there's a whole lot of added features to it that make it a little different from the rest.

CallApp was designed to quickly identity the source of the calls and notifies you the type of call it is, so you can choose to answer, ignore or even block repeated calls from the same numbers. It's main aim is to protect you from unwanted calls, all while keeping you privacy safe. While the number one annoyance is spam/ telemarketing calls, CallApp also identifies potential Vishing Scams. What is "Vishing"?  It's the fraudulent practice of making phone calls or leaving voice messages purporting to be form of a reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information such as your Identity Number, Banking Details, Credit Card numbers and the sorts. It's fast becoming the highest cyber crime with criminals obtaining methods to make the whole experience sound legit. CallApp picks these calls up and identifies them as such with a red colour screen. 

Keeping your privacy safe in this digital age is of utmost importance and hence having tools like CallApp will protect you from these potential threats as they will come when you least expect them, the last thing you want is to be caught off-guard and succumb to one of these criminals and with CallApp identifying the threat before hand, it gives you an advantage over them. CallApp can also assist with getting regular numbers blocked and reported, could be a stalker or a crazy ex, don't stress, CallApp has you covered. Or in the event of you needing to record a call, it has the option on the call screen to start recording at any time you want without having to go into sub-menu's to find the function. 

Another great thing about CallApp is that you can personalize it to suit you, by chosing personalized video ringtones for each contact as well as background and profile pictures. There is even a dark mode setting which switches everything from bright colours over to dark colours which has a less harsh impact on your eyes and lowers battery consumption. Personalisation is even further demonstrated where you can even choose different backgrounds for your dialing pad. There is even an analytics section where you can personalize your date to see how much time you spend on calls, text messages, WhatsApp and other message services. How many times have you received a call but were too busy to answer at the time and said you'd call them back later but forgotten to? I do that quite a lot but with CallApp, it reminds you of calls you missed so you can call them back. As with most applications like this, it creates a profile for you, where you can search for others as well search for places such as restaurants and businesses, CallApp also notifies you if someone has searched and viewed your profile.

 For those that need to keep track of calls received and made, there is a call history back-up where you can choose to back-up your call logs either on Dropbox or Google Drive. CallApp is also available on certain wearables so you don't have to view your phone but rather your smart watch when incoming calls come through. CallApp is available for free on the Google Play Store but with the free version there is a lot of adverts, even voice adverts when making calls which can be annoying, to get the premium CallApp, this removes all adverts from static to voice, but you will get notifications of new features or deals on the CallApp itself. 

Overall experience has been a great one with CallApp, and looking to get the Premium paid version could give you a better user experience that is hassle free and saves you, not only time but your digital safety. 

To download CallApp on your smart phone, follow the link below. 

Google Playstore: CallApp

Bucket Tech: Bang & Olufsen Beoplay HX

Bang & Olufsen launches Beoplay HX, a powerful and authentic sound experience with digital ANC, up to 35 hours of play time and elevated comfort, exemplifying Bang & Olufsen’s expertise in sound, design, and craftsmanship.

 “Our dedication to create the best audio products has resulted in Beoplay HX which delivers an immersive and accurate sound experience, ultimate comfort and a refined user interface to meet our customers habits, values and needs. Whether working from home, travelling for business or pleasure, escape from the noise of everyday life and revolutionize your listening experience with our new headphones”, says Bang & Olufsen SVP of Product Management Christoffer Poulsen.

OUTSTANDING SOUND

Beoplay HX offers a powerful listening experience through two custom designed 40mm speaker drivers with neodymium magnets and bass ports which ensures optimal bass performance. Four dedicated microphones create an impressive call quality by utilizing advanced beamforming technology, while the battery optimization ensures up to 35 hours of play time – the equivalent of five working days of listening experience without having to recharge the battery.

Bang & Olufsen’s signature sound is further enhanced due to improved speech delivery and the listening experience is even finer and more immersive thanks to the introduction of the next generation of Digital Adaptive Active Noise Cancellation technology which cancels unwanted noise without compromising on sound quality.  Escape the everyday with Beoplay HX’s enveloping sound that transports the listener to the feeling of being at a concert with the music on full volume. Through Bang & Olufsen’s dedicated app, users can easily change sound profiles, ANC presets, while also accessing the most essential features directly on the refined headphone interface.

ULTIMATE COMFORT

Comfort is essential for wearing headphones and Beoplay HX has been designed with well-being in mind. Lightweight and designed for durability, the ergonomic design ensures that the headphones can be worn all day in total comfort for a broad variety of head sizes. This is due to the revamped headband which has a center-relief zone for long-time wear.

Crafted from authentic materials, the ear cushions are made from soft lambskin and the inner material consists of memory foam that adapts to the shape and curves of the ear for supreme comfort. The upper headband is made from cow hide with a smooth grain, while the lower headband is covered in a knitted fabric. Beoplay HX includes a form-fitting fabric case which protects the headphone and its accessories while on the move.

ENHANCED TECHNOLOGY

To further elevate the headphones, Beoplay HX has been created so that it can reach up to 35 hours of playtime which makes it one of the stand-out options in the market. It offers fast, strong, and stable connectivity through Bluetooth 5.1, Microsoft Swift Pair, Google Fast Pair and Made for iPhone (MFi). The product set-up process is convenient on both Android and Apple-devices, leading to a better and more frictionless interaction. 

ELEVATED CRAFTSMANSHIP

Known for refined Scandinavian design and craftsmanship, Bang & Olufsen have used the best materials for Beoplay HX to create the most luxurious headphones, incorporating soft leather and polished aluminum for aesthetics as well as their ability to enhance comfort, acoustics, and durability. The arm sliders are made of anodised, pearl blasted recycled aluminium with a light brushed detail in the upper part. The disc is crafted from aluminium with a diamond spin finish which is nestled within a polymer-painted recycled plastic structure, creating contrast between the alternating smooth and matte sensations.

Available in Black Anthracite, Sand, and Timber, Beoplay HX has a global three-year warranty upon registration, underlining the quality customers can expect when purchasing Bang & Olufsen headphones

Locally the Beoplay HX is priced at R9,999 and available at all B&O distributors. 

Bucket Tech: Huawei Y5p

With the "new norm" now being in full effect with everyone adjusting to working from home, and doing things differently, technology has played a big part in making this transition less problematic than normal. This unfortunately comes at a price, a high one most of the time but in the effort to get everyone being able to access such, Huawei has continued to its commitment of making technology more accessible to everyone with the launch of their Y5p, the most affordable phone yet. The new entry level device stems from the Y Series range has been designed to offer a large display, long-lasting battery and a good amount of storage for users. It has Huawei's EMUI's intuitive user experience, Huawei's high-quality product DNA, and their affordable pricing, the Huawei Y Series smartphones have been widely favoured by consumers around the world, including South Africa. 

Some of the key featured of the Y5p is the large 5.45  inch LCD FullView Display gives exceptional viewing experience, displays content in vibrant colours and has a screen-to-body ration of 81.2 percent. Memory wise, the Huawei Y5p comes with a standard 2GB RAM and 32GB of storage ensuring you have enough space for all your favourite apps, games and to store all the pictures and videos you will be capturing with it, speaking camera the device has an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front facing selfie camera. The rear main camera supports HDR mode which will automatically adjust brightness when required. The battery life of the phone is quite decent as well with it featuring a 3020mAh battery which gives you an average of 17 hours of continuous video playback, or up to 21 hours of 4G calling. 

Overall, the Huawei Y5p is one of the best entry level devices on the market, powered by MediaTek's octa-core processort that includes eight Cortex-A53 cores which poweres Huawei's AI tech on the device, this all comes together to give the user a smooth and fast performing smartphone at a fraction of the price. You can purchase the Huawei Y5p for the RRP of just R1,899 from the Huawei online store of any of their partners. 

Bucket Tech: Huawei MateBook D Series

Everyone knows Huawei for their brilliant mobile devices and of recent their smart tablets have been getting more exposure but they also make laptops and quite frankly they're just as good if not better than most of their competitors on the market! The MateBook D series comprises of two models, the D15 and D14, both of which are essentially the same with the only difference being screen size. Huawei says the main selling point for the MateBook D Series is its pricing point and while they always cater for the masses by giving us value for money products, this notebook is much of the same, they have not compromised on performance or quality in these products and the price is pretty reasonable and in most cases cheaper than the competition. The D Series laptops feature some of the innovations available on the market today, its equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 3500U processor and a Radeon Vega 8 graphics card, the system design and capabilities enable these laptops to realise the full potential of their CPUs and GPUs output. The result is machines that work hard and play hard, and will be able to deliver any task you set them. 

Huawei have made these the first Windows PC's to use fingerprint technology for log-in, which works really well when you boot up, all you do is scan your finger and it logs straight in, no need to input passwords. The laptops come with 8GB of DDR4 memory, thats enough to handle most high-load apps no the market. While these laptops are high spec'd, their main aim is for work output as well as browsing, they are capable of running games as well but not on the highest graphics setting. 

Huawei market these as lifestyle laptops, depending on your circumstances and needs, they integrate seamlessly with other Huawei devices. With Huawei share, all you have to do is touch your mobile device to the laptop and it instantly syncs the devices with a virtual screen of your phone on the laptop. You can access your phones files directly from the laptop screen and can drag & drop documents with ease. No need for cables and security settings. 

The Huawei MateBook D15 laptop measures just 16.9mm thick making it the thinnest and lightest laptop in its price bracket, with its 15.6" FullView display offers a borderless viewing experience with 1080p FHD IPS screen. The top and side bezels are only 5.3MM thick which means its a 87% screen-to-body ratio, again the highest yet on a Huawei MateBook D. The D14 laptop on the other hand has a 14" FullView display, with an 84% screen-to-body ratio and is just 15.9mm thick. The MateBook D battery life is particularly impressive as its approximate life is 9.5 hours on video playback while the D15 has a 6 hour battery life. 

Overall, its yet another great product offering from the Chinese manufacturer, pricing is on point with the both having a RRP of R13,499 and are available from the Huawei online store or other Tech outlets. 

Bucket Tech: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Unpacked

Wednesday saw Samsung unveil their latest in the Note model of flagship devices to the world, the Note 20 series showcased just why it remains one of the worlds leading business orientated smart devices. Experiencing the launch from home was a first for many of us media partners but hats off to Samsung SA for having a private launch for us so that we could ask some questions to the big wigs before the global proceedings. So whats new with the Note? Well lots, first up there's three variants, the Note 20 LTE, the Note 20 5G and the Note 20 Ultra 5G. With global demand shift to 5G networks its understandable that most models would be 5G ready, SA has already begun its roll-out in main business areas and slowly it will make its way all over, with this in mind Samsung SA chose to also bring in the LTE version of the device seeing that many wont be able to make full use of the 5G services. 

Both devices are styled beautifully, both in a full metal unibody available in a host of mystic colours, with the pick of the bunch being mystic bronze. The Galaxy Note 20 features a 6.7" Infinity-O Display with the Ultra having a bigger 6.9" Infinity-O Display and a refresh rate of 120Hz! Camera wise, both devices feature packed optics with both having a triple camera systems, the Note 20 features a 64MP main camera with 3x hybrid optical zoom and the Note 20 Ultra having a 108MP main camera with 5x Optical zoom from the telescope lens. The Note 20 Ultra has 8K recording capabilities hence the high refresh rate on the screen, for ultra clear and crisp footage. Battery life on both devices is as good as it gets, with the standard Note 20 having a 4,300mAh battery and the Ultra coming with a 4,500mAh battery.  

The key selling point for the Note is how it is transforming the way we work, with the drastic change in times that we're in, working from just about anywhere is critical so with the Note 20 it is trying to give you an all in one business capable device. With easy synchronization from Dex via Microsoft or Google, you can start off working on documents from your phone and finish them off on your PC or tablet. With the dynamic new S-Pen, you can jot down notes and the new AI converts them into text, the AI learns as you write and predicts what you're writing for faster point taking. It can also record conversations or lectures as your write so you can listen to what was being said while you were making notes, a real game changer for many. 

While the Note 20 might be seen as a business device, Microsoft came in to ensure that it has a fun aspect to it as well with its Xbox pairing system. With the Bluetooth controller and clamp you can use the Note 20 as a second screen for gaming or carry it around wherever you go and continue your favourite games when you have nothing to do. It's perfect for all you gamers out there as with the Xbox controller, you don't feel out of touch having to readjust to using the phone as your controller. Don't have an Xbox? Well thats okay too, you can cast your phone screen to your smart TV and then your Note 20 becomes the controller!

Samsung also launched some other goodies at the launch, first being their new Galaxy Buds Live, a retake on the  conventional wireless earphones. This all new design looks like a bean, has a perfect in ear fit thats not only comfortable but sits well too, so there isn't a risk of it falling out while you're on a run or doing vigorous exercises. The Buds Live also works well with the video camera on the device, where it can pair up with the mic and record your voice clearly while in a crowd. It has a 6 hours playing time and the carry case has up to 21 hours charging time for the buds. Also launched was the Galaxy Watch 3, a stylish new edition to the smart watch models in the range, it features a host of apps, as well exercises which pair to your phone and can be cast to your TV so you can see follow the training from there. It also has built GPS to track your runs and workouts, an ECG setting to check how fit you're are as well as give you accurate blood pressure readings on the go. Another cool feature is how you can personalize the watch face by snapping a picture of what youre wearing, the AI will select faces with colours close enough to match your outfit!

Local pricing for the devices are as follows.

• Galaxy Note 20 LTE - R24,999
• Galaxy Note 20 5G - R27,999
• Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G - R36,999
• Galaxy Buds Live - R3,999
• Galaxy Watch 3 LTE - (45mm) R10,499/ (41mm) R9,999
• Galaxy Watch 3 Bluetooth - (45mm) R9,499/ (41mm) R8,999

All these devices will be in the country from the end of August with pre-orders already open on the Samsung e-Store. Pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 20 will include a R4,000 voucher to spend on anything from the store. Samsung Global launch also showcased the Galaxy Z Fold 2 which will be available in the country from September. 

Bucket Tech: Huawei P40 Pro

To say I'm a fan of Huawei's P series products is putting in mildly, I'm on my 4th device right now, the P30 Pro and its absolutely brilliant. Negate the phenomenal camera which allows you to zoom and take pictures of the moon and in no light at all, the phone itself is capable of multiple tasks with ease. No over heating, no stalling, no unexpected restarts and that is what you essentially want in a phone. To perform what you need it to do with out any hassles. So when Huawei sent me their new P40 Pro a couple of weeks ago to test out, I was very interested to see how different it would be given that this phone is after the US trade ban era, so the biggest thing from that would mean zero Google services present on the device. I knew it wasn't going to be a smooth transition but apart from that, what would be the major noticeable changes in terms of performance and general functioning of the device? Find out more below. 

DESIGN

I'll be straight up with you, I hate the bevel sides on a phone, yes when Samsung first launched the "curved" sides it was pretty cool but for me, its a solid no. I still curse it with my P30 Pro but as the common saying goes "it is, what it is". Design on the P40 Pro is similar to the P30 Pro, the metal unibody is still the same great quality, it feels a bit more slicker and stylish. Comfortable in hand and in pocket. The actual finish feels a bit slippery but in saying that, I didn't have a scare with it and I took the phone to some interesting spots which required quite a tight grip or its gone forever, needless to say I still had it and sent it back in one piece. I think in terms of build quality there's not much to add to Huawei, they really know what they're doing, the quad camera layout on the back is pretty to look at and has a glass back plate over it to protect the lenses. With the screen being slightly bigger than the P30, it has a more prominent screen to body ration so it looks great. The "notch" has been moved to be more on the left side with the dual sensors. It doesn't really hamper your view of things so this is good. 

PERFORMANCE

There's no shortage on power when it comes to this device, powered by the Kirin 990 5G processor, the P40 Pro has an Octoa-core which is made up of 2 x Cortex -A76 based 2.86 GHz + 2 x Cortex - A76 Based 2.36 GHz + 4 x Cortex-A55 1.95Ghz. GPU is 16-Core Mali-G76. So very close or slightly better than previous chipsets we're seeing in competitor devices. The operating system is Huawei's EMUI 10.1 which is based on Android 10, so it's not completely different, as there will be similarities for you to go on from when getting the device. Memory, the phone has 8GB RAM and an internal memory of 256GB, the P40 Pro supports NM SD Card of up to 256GB. Battery life has been really great on the P40 Pro, it has a 4200mAh, it gave me roughly 2 days of usage, so 16+ hours of use which included taking pictures and videos. The SuperCharge works superbly, with a max of 40W, its considerably faster that the P30 Pro. I didn't have a 5G Sim to test the true 5G speeds and the number of 5G networks currently available are few and far between at the moment. 

CAMERA

We don't need to delve too much into this aspect, while the P40 Pro and P30 Pro cameras are pretty similar in terms of functionality, there is a difference in the quality with a much better, crisper end product on the P40. Even with the hybrid 50x zoom, the images are sharper with more detail. This is obviously thanks to the rear 50MP Ultra Vision Camera. The Image stabilization is incredible, either in video or when utilizing that mad zoom on the 12MP telephoto camera. The 3D depth sensing camera also adds levels to your pictures, giving you that real feel when looking at pictures. 4K video recording is brilliant, I'm yet to watch it on a 4K TV but so far on the phone it looks crispy and smooth. The super slow video also manages to capture so much more detail at an insanely slow frame rate. Overall, one of the best cameras on the market and this isn't even the Pro+ which I have news about at the end of the blog. 

VERDICT

You've read the brochure part of the review, now its time to talk about the hard truth. Without Google Services, it was a bit of a mission. I think it will be for anyone, most would understand this sort of issue when migrating for IOS to Android on vice versa but its not all that bad given that EMUI is based on Android in anycase. So there's a lot more familiarity with this user interface. It's about making the adjustment and finding apps which you're normally used to use on Playstore on the Huawei App Gallery. While there are app's being populated by the thousands every week on the Gallery, there's no significant ones to speak off. Huawei are still working very hard on getting this right, most of the major banking apps are there, funnily enough FNB wasn't one of them but they do say they are in the process of releasing one soon. For more Gmail, I used to just log on via the browser, same goes for some social media applications. The lack of notifications was actually a blessing and also aided to not draining the battery. Being still based on Android software, there are always hacks and ways to get around this There's tonnes of videos online on how to get Google Playstore on the device and get all your favourite apps. Like I said previously, something has go to give, either guys like Facebook and Twitter will come to the party and release versions for the device or the US may take a u-turn on their decision.  While there is a learning process, its not something that will cripple your use of the phone and once you get into it, you will soon realise what a masterful piece of tech this is. 

Huawei have announced that the Huawei P40 Pro+ will be available to purchase locally from tomorrow, August 1st 2020. Check their online store for more. 

SAMPLE PICS FROM THE P40 PRO