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Xiaomi enters the laptop market with Mi Notebook 14

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Xiaomi is known to disrupt categories they enter and the laptop market is the latest category they have set their sights on.

Competing with the likes of Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus and many more, Xiaomi is trying to challenge the status quo with two offerings – the Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition.

Both notebooks are powered by Intel’s latest 10th-gen Core i5-10210u or i7-10510u processor along with 8GB of RAM, up to 512GB SSD storage and Nvidia GeForce MX series GPU (MX250 or MX350, depending on the SKU). There’s a 46Wh battery that promises a backup of up to 10 hours and comes with features like a 14-inch Full HD display, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, DTS Audio, scissor-mechanism keyboard.

The Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition run Windows 10 Home edition and support features like Mi Blaze and Mi Smart Share that makes it easy to unlock the laptop with another Mi device or share files.

Both laptops boast a clean look at the back with no logo or design on the laptop lid but look premium with the magnesium-aluminum alloy body with anodized sandblasted coating.

The notebooks will go on sale from June 17 on Amazon.in, Mi.com and Mi offline stores starting from Rs. 41,999 for the Mi Notebook 14 and Rs. 54,999 for the Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition. Customers with an HDFC credit or a debit card can also avail an instant Rs. 2,000 discount.

boAt Airdopes 441 are TWS earbuds at affordable prices

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Known for their affordable audio products, boAt has launched their Airdopes True Wireless series. The boAt Airdopes 441 is priced at Rs. 2,999 and possess similar features to the already-available iterations of the Airdopes, like the 311 V2, 381, 451 and earbuds of other companies like Ambrane. But, even though there’s very little to no new additions that make these TWS earbuds stand out, the 441 does come in the traditional, saturated, and funky colours of older boAt products.

Like others, the Airdopes 441 possess the “Instant Wake N’ Pair” (IWP) technology which allows the earbuds to connect to the phone once their case is opened. With 6mm drivers, each earbud of the Airdopes 441 has a battery life of 3.5 hours per charge and it can go on to 25 hours with the help of the charging case which has a 500mAh capacity. It hosts a USB Type-C port, fostering a full charge time of 90 minutes.

boAt Airdopes 441 uses Bluetooth v5.0 connectivity and support the A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and is IPX7-rated, making it resistant to sweat and dust. The Airdopes 441 weigh just 11g and around 48.5g with the case and are also equipped with an in-built sensitive microphone that supports voice assistant features.

When it comes to the design, with ear-hooks on each earbud, the Airdopes 441 strives to provide a secure fit, which comes in handy during workouts and runs. Each earbud also has touch controls on its side, which helps control the volume and playback along with providing access to the instant voice assistant.

Right now, the boAt Airdopes 441 is available on Amazon in ‘Raging Red’, ‘Active Black’ colour variants but other colour variants like ‘Bumblebee Yellow ’, ‘Spirit Lime ’, and ‘Sporty Blue’ will be available soon. The Airdopes 441 also comes with a 1-year warranty.

Asus India launches AMD Ryzen-powered PCs

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Asus today announced a powerful lineup of gaming laptops and desktops powered by AMD’s Ryzen processors. The laptops, A15 and A17 are from the TUF series and are powered by the new 7nm Ryzen 4000 series that starts from Ryzen 5 and goes up to Ryzen 9.

Both laptops are designed with gamers in mind but are equally powerful and good looking for content creators who seek a portable option. The A17 can be paired up with GeForce GTX 1660 Ti while the A15 can go with the GeForce RTX 2060 with 3200MHz DDR4 RAM going as high as 32GB. Both A15 and the A17 feature vIPS Full HD display with a refresh rate of 144Hz and 120Hz respectively.

The TUF A15 and TUF A17 pricing starts from Rs. 60,990.

Asus also announced the ROG GA15 and ROG GA35 desktop PCs. The GA15 is a sleek and stylish looking desktop that is designed to sustain higher clock speeds for better gaming and multitasking performance. The chassis sports widened vents for better airflow and heat dissipation and is quiet enough during intense workload. On the hardware side of things, the GA15 comes with up to Ryzen 7 3700X, up to Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU, up to 32GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM, up to 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD and plethora of connectivity options.

The GA15 pricing starts from Rs. 65,990.

The GA35 is the star of today’s announcement and it’s packed with serious grunt. The top-of-the-line GA35 SKU will be powered by AMD’s Ryzen R9-3950X with the option to go up to 128GB RAM and GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPU. With liquid cooling system onboard, the PC also paves the way for overclocking, if one wants to test the true limit of the processor. Moreover, the GA35 supports the latest-gen PCI Express 4.0 SSD and comes with two hot-swap SSD bays that lets you add more storage without opening the whole chassis.

The GA35’s base variant starts from Rs. 1,79,990 while the maxed out variant will go for Rs. 3,49,990.

Moto G8 Power Lite’s takes on the entry-level smartphone market

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What is possibly one of Motorola’s most affordable smartphones yet, the Moto G8 Power Lite may just be a strong competitor in the saturated entry-level smartphone market, competing against the likes of Realme Narzo 10. The Moto G8 Power Lite is priced at a highly-affordable price of Rs. 8,999 and it’s available only in the 4GB+64GB variant with a host of other features.

The Moto G8 Power Lite is equipped with a 6.5-inch Max Vision HD+ display, with an aspect ratio of 20:9. Powered by a 2.3GHz MediaTek Helio P35 octa-core processor, the Moto G8 Power Lite offers a storage capacity of 64GB and can be pushed to accommodate up to an additional 256GB of data through a dedicated microSD slot. It also offers a large 5000mAh battery and Motorola claims that the phone can run for a maximum period of 2 days on a single charge. Additionally, the Moto G8 Power Lite runs on Android 9.0 (Pie).

The Moto G8 Power Lite features a triple camera system in the rear, with a 16MP f/2 camera with phase detection autofocus (PDAF), a 2MP f/2.4 macro camera and a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor which helps with better portraits.

For its price, the Moto G8 Power Lite features some unique features like ‘Moto Actions’, where the phone flashlight can be turned on when one chops down twice with the phone and a launching a camera gets easier by just twisting one’s wrist twice. It also features a sneaky fingerprint reader located within the phone’s logo.

The Moto G8 Power Lite will be on sale through Flipkart on May 29, 2020 and is available in two colours, which are Royal Blue and Arctic Blue.

Review: Nioh 2

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It’s a true test of your gaming skills
Rs. 3,999; PS4

Nioh 2 builds on a reputation of a difficult game and if the original Nioh feels difficult and unplayable, you can safely skip Nioh 2. But if you are up for a challenge, Nioh 2 is the game to play, which is what I did during the lockdown. Playing Nioh 2 is one part satisfaction and many parts frustration. Frustration because the game is unforgiving and one small mistake can cost you everything.

Set in the 1500s in Japan, Nioh 2’s story is a prequel to the first game with a few chapters, in the end, moving the lore forward. Players take control of Hide who is half-human and half-yokai and if you love customising your character, the game offers in-depth character creation to truly personalise the protagonist.

The story isn’t one of the strong points of the game but in fact, it’s the combat. It doesn’t matter how good you are at action games, Nioh 2 tests your gaming skills. Like really test them. It’s not your button-mashing hack and slash skills but your agility, understanding of the weapon you are fighting with and observing enemy moves. Do it right and you are rewarded with satisfaction (albeit short-lived until you move onto the next foe) but make an error and you will be dealing with the same enemy multiple times. For hours, even. Adding to the combat are a selection of weapons and their unique combat style along with the ability to turn into a yokai to deal more damage briefly. No matter how you play, there’s death at every corner in Nioh 2 and while it can put you off but also work as a motivating factor to get rid of the pesky yet vulnerable enemies.

Visually, Nioh 2 is not as appealing as recent PlayStation games that rely on realism but it scores high when it comes to handling fast-paced action combat.

That said, Team Ninja has done an excellent job. Nioh 2 is a worthy follow up to the original game with hours of gameplay and amped-up difficulty.

RATING 4/5
WE’RE IMPRESSED Combat variety
WE’D IMPROVE Overwhelming for new players
THE LAST WORD Nioh 2 is right in the alley if you are looking for a challenge