Xiaomi customers have yet a new addition to the manufacturer’s premium devices just days after the famous Tech-October and before the curtains finally comes down on 2019. The manufacturer has gained traction in recent years and finally earned the right to inclusion on every smartphone shoppers list, who are keep to get devices that both spell value and affordability. With the unveiling of the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 in Madrid today, Mid-rangers are definitely on the lookout for something that’s close to the likes of galaxies without necessarily inheriting their price tags.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Specifications

Breaking limits with a 108Megapixel Camera

I’ve been a bit hesitant to credit large camera sensors with best quality photos, simply because there’s quite a ton of aspects that need to be achieved for picture-perfect sensor. While the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 is breaking the limits by stretching its camera sensor beyond a hundred border line, we are a bit skeptic whether it will rival or surpass the majestic Galaxies or Superior iPhones on the horizon. But the phone maker has gone beyond its comfort zones to venture in a territory previously prevailed by the industry leaders. It houses a penta-camera setup that promises superior detail photos and more. There’s a 12megapixel, 40megapixel cameras complementing the 108MP sensor. We also expect the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 to capture steady videos even without a tripod thanks to optical image stabilization. Selfie lovers will be thrilled to get a 32Megapixel sensor on the phone’s front.

Design

Xiaomi has excelled in producing some of the best designed phones in the industry with attractive color choices and the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 is not an exception, it includes Aurora green, Glacier White and Midnight Black on the shelf.  The front panel is almost completely covered by the display panel except for the notch housing the selfie camera. The device comes with what Xiaomi calls an Arc AMOLED display panel that stretches 6.47 inches with a 3D curved glass featuring rounded corners and tempered edges.

Features,

Always on display is now a core feature on the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 with some interesting design choices of what to put on your panel. The notification light is now within the display panel rather than having an independent LED at the top of the display panel. Basically the display panel lights up in several colors when there’s a pending notification courtesy of MIUI 11.

Dual Clock

The possibility of having two clocks both representing different time Zones will definitely fancy travelers across the world with an option to having the home clock and the other with time zone from their destination.

Performance

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 comes with a Snapdragon 730G processor coupled with 6GB memory and 128GB internal storage with a massive 5260mah battery that supports a 31w fast charger that’s included in the box.

Price in Kenya

Prices are expected to start from Ksh. 63,000 here in Kenya and should start appearing anytime once it becomes globally available.

After becoming available globally, Huawei has finally revealed its latest smartphone here in Kenya – the Huawei P30 lite new edition. The device is a slightly watered-down version of the flagship P30, compromising in places that don’t completely diminish the feel and glory of the flagship sibling. Unlike the elder sibling, it comes with a mid-range categorized Kirin 710 chipset which is touted to still get the job done.

Huawei has faced one of its toughest times in history after the US president signed an executive order limiting US firms from selling their tech to the Chinese tech giant. The company saw a slump in its sales after it became apparent that some of the most loved and used apps as well as Google services would not come pre-installed on its devices. Imagine having a device that doesn’t run popular apps such as YouTube, Gmail and Chrome? It’s a scenario most consumers couldn’t fathom living with; hence the slump in Huawei’s mobile devices.

Speaking on the development, Huawei’s mobile Kenya country president Steven Li, said the launch follows a successful performance of the P30 series lineup that prompted a release of another version to the family. He emphasized that the Huawei P30 lite new edition was equipped with superior capabilities by combining an exquisite design with Huawei’s innovations.

The smartphone comes with a triple rear camera combination that support ultra-wide-angle photography as well as incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) features. This camera setup enables users to take quality photographs and continues Huawei’s vision of making devices that capture stunning images.

Most phone manufacturers have unveiled their ‘Lite’ moniker, that borrows some aspects of the pricier sibling’s such design without high-end specs that often drive prices higher. It brings some of the most coveted design language to a lower priced sibling without necessarily having similar internals such as processor and display technology.

Huawei P30 Lite New Edition Specs and Compromises

Display Panel

We love the fact that Huawei kept the 6.15-inch display screen pleasantly with dense pixel count, this should make everything pop though not as vibrant as OLED panels on the pricier P30 series, instead it utilizes IPS technology. It packs a 2312 x 1080 resolution and you also get a dewdrop notch allowing for a smaller bezel around the screen.

Battery endurance

Battery performance for smartphones hasn’t evolved much over the years; however, the Huawei P30 Lite new edition comes with a larger 3340mAh cell which should hopefully make it through the day without having to connect to a plug every now and then. The device’s endurance is supported by the EMUI 9 software which Huawei layers over Android 9. It’s not the slickest software you’ll find on an Android phone and certainly could do with a design rethink, but it does boast loads of battery optimizations.

Huawei P30 Lite New Edition Cameras

Talking of the center-point for this device, it’s camera setup definitely contributes a ton to the phones appeal considering the underneath Leica-engineered lenses that capture stunning photos. While you won’t see that Leica branding here, instead the triple camera array does things a bit differently.

The setup comprises of a main 24-megapixel camera followed by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a 2-megapixel bokeh camera for helping add some depth to photos. And if you’re into the selfie fuss, a 32-megapixel camera should definitely do the job.

Huawei P30 Lite New Edition Price in Kenya

Call it ‘lite’, ‘mini’ or ‘compact’, these are monikers known to borrow heavily on pricier sibling’s design while opting for more affordable tech instead to pull the prices down. While we admire this device’s intention, it’s still highly priced here in Kenya at Ksh. 28,499 as compared to the likes of Oppo A9 2020 or Tecno Camon 12 Pro.

The budget smartphone portfolio has always seemed so controversial in developing countries such as Kenya, consumers often lookout for a device that has a combination of both premium and pocket friendly price tags. And when looking at the latest offering from Oppo; the Oppo A9 2020, there’s so much to look out that often than not, will confuse many of us out there. It comes with a standout 48MP camera sensor that is just as controversial depending on the angle you are looking from. But as most say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and most of us could easily fall in love with this device.

Our thoughts on the latest Oppo A9 2020

Display Panel

The first place I’d lookout for before purchasing a smartphone is always the screen, it’s the most used component on a smartphone and could easily determine whether or not you’d be pleased with it. I understand most of us will find the large 48MP camera sensor a bargain to skip this device, I say this because the display panel falls short of our benchmark. Its large enough at 6.5inches just as you’d expect from most devices in this category but the resolution is just disappointing at 720×1600 resulting in an overall 270 pixels density! The screen on the Oppo A9 2020 is not outrightly mediocre but it’ll be hard to entertain for those of us who are keen or have used panels with denser pixels. In our opinion, we expected Oppo to come out better than the Tecno Camon 12.

Primary and Selfie Cameras

If there’s one thing that stands out on this gadget, is the back-camera combination. Oppo decided to house four separate sensors at the back with a 48MP leading the way for 8MP ultrawide sensor, 2MP depth sensor and an additional 2MP sensor. We appreciate the effort, but then again, we understand there’s a lot of tweaks that goes into making those photos pop besides the number and size of sensors. That’s why the likes of Pixels, Apple and Samsung manage to take amazing shots despite having lesser sensors. At the front, there’s a modest 16MP camera that’ll take those selfies just fine.

Performance

In the android world, nothing contributes to performance more than system RAM does. 4GB has become the sweet spot and the Oppo A9 2020 delivers just that and beyond. You’ll have an option of 4GB with 128GB internal storage or double at 8GB with 128GB internal storage. For that amount of RAM, the Oppo A9 2020 should sweep through most applications without a hustle.

We love the fact that Oppo decided to use a Qualcomm chipset rather than Mediatek as we’ve seen in the recent Tecno offering. We expect the chipset to perform just fine as this combination has worked fine on other devices running android version 9 (pie). The internal storage should be enough for normal functionalities but the device provides an option to add more storage via a 3 slot MicroSD card capability.

Design

Rather than having large bezels we’ve seen in older devices, we’ve grown to embrace notches and Oppo has done a commendable job, utilizing a water drop notch to house the selfie camera and maintain a minimal bezel portfolio.

Price in Kenya

Oppo A9 2020 will cost anywhere from Ksh. 28,000