Home » Gadget Reviews » Gadget Reviews Roundup: April 2018

Gadget Reviews Roundup: April 2018

New month, new gadget roundup. For the month of April, we have the Xiaomi Redmi 5A, Huawei P20 Pro, OPPO F7, ASUS ZenFone 5, Samsung CHG90 Gaming Monitor, and Fujifilm X-A5, to name a few. If you missed some our reviews, then check out our Gadget Reviews Roundup for April 2018.

Xiaomi Redmi 5A

Once again, Xiaomi proved that they have what it takes to produce a performer even at the entry-level category. So, is the Redmi 5A the entry-level smartphone king? Well, in some regards, yes but it does lose its crown in one aspect. Performance-wise, the Redmi 5A is, without a doubt, one of the best in its category.

Huawei P20 Pro

The Huawei P20 Pro is looking to be a solid flagship phone, armed with an impressive camera system never been seen before. Huawei is certainly flexing its R&D muscle and this is evident with their obsession with AI-enabled features and over-the-top camera system. Beautiful design and solid craftsmanship coupled with an impressive camera and great over-all performance — the Huawei P20 Pro is definitely an early contender for this year’s best flagship smartphone.

ASUS FX503VM

The ASUS FX503 definitely carries over the mantle of last year’s FX502, keeping a good design, build quality, and user experience, particularly in its thermal management and speakers. Still, you get all you need overall, and this variant (FX503VM-E4070T) is still a great buy for anyone looking to get a 7th-gen i7/GTX 1060 device. Its true potential just has to be unlocked.

Samsung CHG90 Gaming Monitor

The Samsung CHG90 gives the user a lot of possibilities and is definitely a capable gaming monitor, but it’s also quite dank, though not in a bad way. Dual monitors are still definitely in, and you can still get a lot of multitasking capability from a 21:9 Ultrawide display, but if you’re crazy enough to go for a 32:9 monitor? Well, Samsung has just the display for you.

Nubia M2 Lite

The Nubia M2 Lite is certainly an interesting device. It has a respectable screen, an excellent set of cameras, and a good number of features and gestures. On the downside, though, it falls short on battery life and still runs on an outdated version of Android. With a price tag of Php6,499USD 111INR 9,388EUR 105CNY 807, the Nubia M2 Lite is certainly a contender. So can it compete in the budget segment? If they can at least address some of its shortcomings like updating its OS, the answer to that is yes.

OPPO F7

One of OPPO’s strategies is to adopt the popular tech trends that are normally found in more expensive flagship devices, then implement them in their powerful mid-range devices at a lower price. They have successfully done that once again with the OPPO F7. For Php17,990USD 307INR 25,988EUR 292CNY 2,233, you’re getting a device with a good build, attractive design, large immersive display with a notch, powerful mid-range performance, good cameras, and above average battery life.

ASUS Zenbook Flip 15 UX561UD

The ASUS Zenbook Flip 15 UX561UD has promising specs and features for a 2-in-1 ultrabook. It is solid and well-built, it has a responsive and snappy touchscreen, a vibrant and color accurate display, loud, and clear sound speakers. The performance is pretty good since the device uses an 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor.

ASUS ZenFone 5 (ZE620KL)

The ASUS ZenFone series first earned its reputation by having phones with good specs at reasonable price tags. The ZenFone 5 (ZE620KL) is certainly one of those devices. For under Php20K, it offers a large high-resolution display, powerful Snapdragon 636 chipset, 4GB of RAM, good dual-rear cameras, and Android Oreo out of the box. The company may have flopped with the ZenFone 4, but with the ZenFone 5, it looks like they’re getting back on track.

Huawei Y6 (2018)

The Huawei Y6 2018 has its imperfections but for an entry-level smartphone, its specs are competitive. While its performance is average, the good viewing experience, camera quality, and face unlock capabilities are what it makes the device unique than the other smartphones out in the market. This device is one of our recommended smartphones if users are tight on budget.

OPPO F7 (6GB+128GB)

One of OPPO’s strategy is to adopt the popular tech trends that are normally found in more expensive flagship devices, then implement them in their powerful mid-range devices at a lower price. They have successfully done that once again with the OPPO F7, and even released a 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant for heavy users.

Acer Nitro 5: Thanos Edition

The Acer Nitro 5 Thanos Edition is simply a must-to-be-purchased gaming laptop if we let our hearts decide on it. If the packaging itself made our mouths water, our eyes are teary-eyed when we saw the actual unit itself. The performance is decent enough for daily tasks and playing games but is it really worth the Php70K price tag? If users are more than willing to spend extra money to have this limited edition design, then go ahead.

Fujifilm X-A5

So is the X-A5 worth buying? The answer is yes. But with a lot of emerging entry-level mirror cameras that are coming out in the market, it might be a little tough for the X-A5 to catch consumers’ attention. The additional 4K video recording feature would’ve been a great attraction only if it were rated at 24p or higher, but sadly it was pointless and didn’t justify the camera’s Php34K pricepoint.

Huawei P20 Lite

The Huawei P20 Lite is like the mix of the old and the new. It has the same Kirin 659 chipset, RAM, and storage capacity as the Nova 2i, but with a new design and premium build. It has a good, high-resolution display which is perfect for watching movies and viewing photos. If you like taking photos, the dual rear cameras and selfie camera are up to the task.

Acer Swift 3: Iron Man Edition

Sadly, the special edition Acer Swift 3 falls short in truly representing Iron Man. While it does nail the look and feel of Tony Stark’s bad-ass form, it lacks the firepower and performance. The laptop though is a good fan service for Marvel fans. It has an excellent Iron Man design and feel, a good display, an enjoyable keyboard, and a good selection of ports.

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