Actress Eniola Badmus appointed SA to House of Reps Speaker.
Nollywood star, Eniola Badmus has bagged a federal appointment and is set to work with the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Tajudeen Abbas.
According to reports by Wahala Network, Eniola Badmus was appointed by Tajudeen Abbas as his Special Assistant for Social Events and Public Hearings.
Clips from the swearing-in and when Eniola Badmus was given her appointment letter emerged online and went viral on Friday, May 10, 2024.
The actress was among the most vocal Nollywood stars who supported Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
DAILY POST recalls how Eniola Badmus was constantly bullied and trolled online by netizens for supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Last year Huawei launched its Eyewear 2 smart glasses with interchangeable Zeiss prescription lenses, built-in speakers and an 11-hour battery life. The company is now teasing a sunglasses version of the same product which will launch on May 15 at its Huawei Summer 2024 product launch event in China.
The Eyewear 2 sunglasses are expected to feature the same specs as the prescription glasses version. Huawei is also expected to launch several other products at its May 15 event including the MatePad 11.5 S and MatePad Pro 13.2 tablets, as well as the MateBook 14 laptop and other IoT devices.
Samsung Galaxy S22 series One UI 6.1 update released outside South Korea
Samsung released the One UI 6.1 update for the Galaxy S22 series in South Korea earlier this month, which was halted in a day due to a bug. The rollout was resumed with a new build recently in Korea and has now expanded to other regions.
The One UI 6.1 for the Samsung Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 Ultra is rolling out in Europe and could be released in other countries soon. The update comes with firmware version S90xBXXU9EXE1 but doesn’t come with the May 2024 Android security patch.
If you live in Europe and haven’t received the One UI 6.1 update on your S22/S22+/S22 Ultra, you can check for it manually by heading to the phone’s Settings > Software update menu.
The success of the Galaxy A54 has set the bar high for the just-released Galaxy A55. After the Samsung Galaxy S and Z foldable series, the Galaxy A5x series is likely the most popular in the company’s portfolio for good reason.
This year’s model makes gains in key areas. The new A55 boasts a bigger display, a more powerful chipset, more RAM in the base configuration and a tougher and more premium build.
Samsung Galaxy A55 specs at a glance:
Body: 161.1×77.4×8.2mm, 213g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), glass back (Gorilla Glass), aluminum frame; IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1m for 30 min).
Most other aspects of what made the Galaxy A54 successful remain untouched – the microSD card support, good primary camera garnished with a decent ultrawide shooter, dependable battery life and IP67-rated build. Moreover, this time, it uses an aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection.
But will this be enough to persuade potential buyers? After all, the sub-€500 competition in Europe is fierce, and the same goes for the Indian INR 40,000-ish bracket. What made the A54 good in 2023 doesn’t necessarily mean it will be enough in 2024. The competition is catching up, and we’ve seen some pretty solid midrangers come out in the first quarter of this year, so stick around to see if the A55 is worth your hard-earned money.
Unboxing the Samsung Galaxy A55
The Galaxy A55 comes in a modest retail box with only some user manuals, a SIM tool and a USB-C to USB-C cable for charging and data transfer. There’s no charger included.
Design, build quality, handling
At first glance, the Galaxy A55 looks almost identical to the A54, but some subtle changes have made it feel like a different phone in hand, and we mean that mostly positively.
The front glass is now Gorilla Glass Victus+. That’s a welcome upgrade from last year’s model, which had a plastic frame and dated Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The handset is still IP67-certified against water and dust. The back uses a more regular Gorilla Glass, and Samsung hasn’t revealed which type.
The back is painted in either Iceblue, Lilac, Navy (the one shown in our photos) or Lemon. For some reason, the Navy color looks black in the renders.
With the flat aluminum side frame and the slightly larger camera lenses on the back, the device feels a lot like the Galaxy S24. If it wasn’t for the size, we could have easily mistaken it in a blind test. The slightly elevated area around the power key and the volume rocker gives it away.
Samsung Galaxy A55
On the other hand, some may find the device a bit awkward to hold due to the sharp edges where the frame meets the front and back panels. But no matter the side frame, button placement and fingerprint reader position are well thought out. Everything is within reach.
Samsung Galaxy A55
Unfortunately, that’s all the good we could say about the fingerprint reader. It has been a while since we last used such an unreliable scanner. We even tried creating two different entries with the same fingertip, and it was still difficult to read correctly.
Slightly larger 120Hz OLED
This year’s Galaxy A55 basically borrows the A54’s display and adds 0.2″ on top. The A55 is now built around a 6.6-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and regular old 1080 x 2340 pixels resolution. The panel also supports HDR10+ and has the necessary Widevine L1 certification for high-quality, HDR-enabled streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Despite its modern features, the display doesn’t have the modern looks for 2024. The 2024 trend is toward trimming bezels, and Samsung might have missed the memo. Some competitors, including even cheaper Redmi Note 13 phones, have visibly thinner bezels. Surely, it isn’t a deal-breaker, and some people wouldn’t mind the bezels, but it’s something worth noting.
Back to the actual substance – the Galaxy A55’s display performance hasn’t changed coming from the A54. We got up to 1,010 nits of maximum brightness in auto mode, while manual control can only get you to 446 nits.
Max display brightness test
White test pattern, 75% fill (nits)
Manual mode
Auto mode
Xiaomi 13T
1264
6.67″ AMOLED1220 x 2712 px
Galaxy A35
1024
6.6″ Super AMOLED1080 x 2340 px
Galaxy A55
1010
6.6″ Super AMOLED1080 x 2340 px
Galaxy S23 FE
985
6.4″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X1080 x 2340 px
Nothing Phone (2a)
981
6.7″ AMOLED1080 x 2412 px
Galaxy A54
980
6.4″ Super AMOLED1080 x 2340 px
Anything above 1,000 nits is pretty solid for this price bracket and will provide good enough sunlight legibility. However, it would be unfair not to note that some cheaper phones beat Samsung at its own game and offer more than 1,400 nits of brightness.
Refresh rate
Refresh rate control is pretty standard. You have two options – Adaptive and Standard. The latter puts a cap at 60Hz, while Adaptive will try to keep the refresh rate at 120Hz in most scenarios. However, when showing static images or playing video, the display will dial down to 60Hz.
Battery life
Our new Active Use Score is an estimate of how long the battery will last if you use the device with a mix of all four test activities. You can adjust the calculation based on your usage pattern using the sliders below. You can read about our current battery life testing procedure here. For a comprehensive list of all tested devices so far, head this way.
The Galaxy A55 uses the same 5,000 mAh battery as its predecessors, but it’s running a new Exynos 1480 chipset, which promises improved efficiency. However, we have to take into account the display, which is now 0.2″ larger and could contribute to increased power consumption.
Yet, we see a significant improvement in battery life over the Galaxy A54. There are notable improvements in all tests except gaming.
The new Galaxy A55 achieves an Active Use Score of 13:27h, which is very good. Web browsing and call time see improvements, but our video streaming test is by far the biggest upgrade compared to last year’s model.
Samsung Galaxy A55
13:27h
ACTIVE USE SCORE
:3708h
:1140h
:1853h
:718h
GSMARENA MIX
20%
30%
30%
20%
CALLS
WEB
VIDEO
GAME
Compared to its rivals, the Galaxy A55 clearly does well, beating each and everyone except for the Nothing Phone (2a). The Exynos 1480 seems to be spot on for power efficiency.
Charging speed
The charging speed has stayed the same as the Galaxy A55 still relies on the 25-watt Power Delivery protocol, which isn’t very competitive in its price bracket. It takes about 1 hour and 3 minutes to complete a full charging cycle, while a 30-minute charge would only bring the battery to 55%.
As you can see from the chart below, plenty of other similarly priced phones outpace the Galaxy A55 by a good margin and come with the appropriate charger in the box, too.
You’d have to buy a 25W Samsung charger separately or a third-party 25W PD 3.0, PPS-capable brick to get the most out of the charging.
Charging speed
in 15 min
in 30 min
Time to full charge (from 0%)
Xiaomi 13T
70%
5000 mAh67W
Nothing Phone (2a)
59%
5000 mAh45W
Galaxy S23 FE
58%
4500 mAh25W Samsung PD + PPS
Galaxy A54
56%
5000 mAh25W Samsung PD + PPS
Galaxy A55
55%
5000 mAh25W PD
Galaxy A35
52%
5000 mAh25W Samsung PD + PPS
Speakers
Like its predecessors, the Galaxy A55 features a hybrid stereo speakers setup, meaning it has a main, downward-facing speaker and one that also acts as an earpiece. Naturally, there’s a significant discrepancy in loudness between the two speakers, but Samsung managed to narrow the gap. The bottom-firing speaker is still louder, but not by much.
We don’t know whether the A55 uses the same speakers as the A54, but they are tuned differently now and slightly louder. A score of -25.6 LUFS earns the Galaxy A55 a “Very Good” rating in terms of loudness.
Quality-wise, the speakers leave a bit more to be desired from the high-frequency sounds at maximum or near-maximum volume, but the bass is prominent and the vocals sound way cleaner than before. In fact, the A54 sounds muffled compared to the A55, so it will most likely be a great option for watching movies or listening to podcasts without headphones.
Speaker frequency responseSamsung Galaxy A55Samsung Galaxy A54Xiaomi 13T1/2
Is the Galaxy A55 the most comfortable design we’ve tried? Far from it. But is it one of the best in terms of overall feel and materials? It’s right up there with the best.
Anyim Vera, Dunamis International Gospel Center, DIGC member who went viral after she was accused of lying during a testimony has been arrested by the Police.
Vera was reportedly detained by the Nigeria Police Force on Tuesday over a breach of etiquette.
Recall that Vera’s story had gone viral after the Senior Pastor of the church, Dr Paul Enenche obstructed her testimony at the Church Headquarters.
Enenche, who wondered how a supposed law graduate would speak incorrect English, asked some questions for clarification.
Vera, in her response, said she did a BSc in law at the National Open University of Nigeria, prompting the clergy to send her back to her seat, saying the testimony was a lie.
He, however, apologized to her, saying he never intended to disgrace Vera, when he interjected while she was testifying.
Support our anti-corruption fight – EFCC tasks hoteliers, journalist.
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede, on Thursday called on Nigerian Journalists, hotel owners and bank compliance officers to discharge their duties with more vigilance and support the fight against corruption.
In a courtesy visit to the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalist, Olukoyede, who was represented by the Acting Zonal Director, ACE I Effa I. Okim, stated that the importance of the media in the fight against graft cannot be overemphasized.
Olukoyede thanked the media for its effort in eradicating corruption and financial crimes by educating people and setting an agenda for the public.
He said “The essence of the visit is to appreciate your efforts and to solicit for more cooperation and collaboration.We must come together to stop corruption, I want you to be available.
“The time has come for us to take up the gauntlet to fight corruption, let us deepen our reportage on corruption that has eaten into every fabric of our society.”
Speaking to Executives of Hotel Owners Association in Edo and Delta State, Olukoyede urged hotel owners to ensure that their hotels do not become a hiding place for internet fraudsters and other criminal elements in the society.
He also charged Compliance officers in banks to adhere strictly to banking ethics and regulations in the discharge of their duties.
vivo’s X100 Ultra is getting official on Monday, May 13, and it’s been quite the hypebeast recently, seeing as how a vivo exec said it would be a “professional camera that can also make calls”. Today we have some newly leaked details about its camera system, and while the “professional camera” claim might still be a slight exaggeration, this is shaping up to be the most beastly cameraphone ever made, very worthy of its Thanos codename (Marvel fans will get that reference).
It will employ the 50 MP Sony Lytia LYT-900 1-inch type sensor for its main camera, a 50 MP Sony Lytia LYT-600 ultrawide, and a 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1 selfie snapper with support for 4K@60fps video recording.
But the star of the show will undoubtedly be the 200 MP periscope zoom camera, which will use a Samsung ISOCELL HP9 sensor co-developed with vivo. This will be the largest sensor ever used for a periscope telephoto camera. Compared to Samsung’s existing HP3, the HP9 improves light sensitivity by 12%, thanks to a vivo-developed technology that optimizes pixel light sensitivity.
The lens will use fluorite glass, which is currently the industry’s strongest low-dispersion glass material, which will also improve image quality. The same material is used in Sony’s new G Master lenses, by the way, which isn’t surprising considering the involvement of Zeiss with both vivo and Sony. This material has previously only been used in professional cameras, hence the aforementioned quote from a vivo exec.
With regards to image stabilization, the telephoto should be class-leading too, since in addition to OIS it also features some exclusive software algorithms to further compensate for shaking.
Aside from the monster camera setup, the X100 Ultra should be a top of the line device through and through, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, and having a “2K” Samsung-made AMOLED screen, as well as a 5,500 mAh battery with support for 80W wired and 30W wireless charging.
The vivo X100 Ultra is expected to start at CNY 6,699 (approximately $928 or €861) with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The top version with 16GB/1TB should go for CNY 8,499 ($1,178 or €1,092). While an international launch is in the cards, it might come a bit later, if we go by what happened with the X100 and X100 Pro.
The next flagship Galaxy tablet is here, and it is huuuge! The Tab S9 Ultra is among the largest slates on the market, and it encompasses everything Samsung has to offer in 2023 for design, screen, hardware, and pen input.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is actually part of a trio of tablets (S9, S9+, S9 Ultra), which differ in size and camera count. They all have OLED screens, the latest hardware, aluminum unibodies, and bundled S-Pens.
So, the Tab S9 Ultra is based on a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen and runs on the most powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip for Galaxy. It is wrapped in a classic aluminum unibody, one that is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance.
This tablet has the most cameras among the Tab S9 generation. It has a 13MP primary and an 8MP ultrawide cameras at the back. And then it packs a 12MP standard and a 12MP ultrawide imager at the front. The latter is responsible for the controversial screen notch.
The specs sheet is well-rounded with four powerful speakers, a large 11,200 mAh battery, 5G connectivity, a microSD expansion slot, and a UD fingerprint scanner. There is also a bundled S-Pen, IP68-rated at that, which rechargers magnetically on the back of the tablet. The Tab S9 Ultra comes with Android 13, One UI 5.1, and DeX support.
We think the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is packing everything a tablet these days should offer. In fact, it could have spared us a camera or two, and we would have still said that.
Unboxing the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
The retail box of the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is incredibly thin, and there is a reason for that – it contains only the 5.5mm tablet, an S-Pen, and a USB-C cable. There is nothing else in the box.
The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra supports 45W fast charging, so if you want to make use of that – you will need to shop for either Samsung’s or a third-party USB-PD/PPS fast charger.
Design, build quality, handling
The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is a large tablet, alright, but impressively thin and well-balanced. There is little to experiment with the tablet design, understandably, so Samsung has been sticking to the basics for a while, and we do think it has found a rather timeless classic it can continue to safely use in the generations to come.
The Tab S9 Ultra uses an aluminum unibody with rounded corners and flat sides. The huge 14.6-inch AMOLED is covered with a Gorilla Glass sheet, while everything else is metal with a matte surface.
The frame, which is a part of the unibody, is also flat and incredibly thin – it’s 5.5mm only! Its rather sharp edges do help for a comfortable and secure grip no matter the tablet’s orientation.
The Tab S9 Ultra is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance, which is not expected from a tablet but is always nice to have. You can work, read, browse, game, watch or listen to multimedia in the tub or by the pool worry-free.
The S-Pen that comes bundled with the tablet has a dedicated charging bed on the back, with strong enough magnets to properly hold it there. You can also stick the Pen to either of the long sides, but it cannot charge there.
By the way, Samsung has improved the S-Pen, and it is now IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. It is an active one and supports low-latency input (2.8ms).
And now, a quick tour around the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.
The front has the 14.6-inch AMOLED screen with high resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+ support. Unlike the other Tab S9 models, it features a small notch on one of its longer sides. Here are the two front 12MP cameras with a wide- and an ultrawide-angle lenses. We can argue that this was entirely unnecessary, but it is what it is.
There is also an under-display fingerprint scanner near the bottom if you are holding the tablet in portrait orientation, near the USB-C port. Most tablets these days lack a fingerprint scanner.
The Tab S9 Ultra has four speakers, two on each of the short sides. Also, on the short sides – one has the USB-C port, and the other one has a microphone.
The power/lock key, the volume control, the SIM and microSD bed, and two microphones are on the long side that serves as a top if the Tab S9 Ultra is in landscape orientation.
Keeping this orientation in mind, the keyboard dock connector is at the bottom / the other long side.
Remember that both long sides have hidden magnets to hold the S-Pen.
Finally, the back is flat, with a visible spot for the S-Pen’s charging bed. The two rear cameras are around with jutting out metal rings. There is also a single LED flash.
The Ultra supports 5G connectivity, among all sorts of other connections, so you can clearly see its antenna around its body.
The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is a massive device, no two ways about it. It’s wonderful for movies and browsing, great for working with a wireless keyboard, too. It is not that easy to handle and operate even with two hands, but if you must have that size – you will eventually get used to it, just like we did after a couple of days.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra has a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display of 2,960 x 1,848 pixels or 239ppi density. It supports dynamic 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+ streaming.
The panel has a small notch, which is a rare sight on a tablet and a controversial one, too.
The display protection is handled by a piece of Gorilla Glass, though the exact revision is unclear.
While the screen does support a wide color gamut, there is no 10-but color depth and hence the default 16.7 million possible colors. Samsung has no 1B display so far, and we didn’t expect it to premiere one on this tablet anyway.
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Let’s start with our display measurements.
This generation of tablets introduces Vision Booster, which improves the text and photos, and other content, under bright light. It boosts the screen brightness and uses contrast improvements, and it can offer up to 1,750nits of peak brightness.
We measured 353 nits of maximum brightness when controlling it manually from the slider. The screen can go up to 642nits in Auto mode when faced with bright light. These are solid numbers for a tablet. The screen goes brighter when the white surface goes smaller, so we do believe it will go way over 1,000nits in a small area when needed.
The minimum brightness at point white was just 1.7nit.
Max display brightness test
White test pattern, 75% fill (nits)
Manual mode
Auto mode
Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
642
14.6″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X1848 x 2960 px
Huawei MatePad Pro 11 (2022)
591
11″ OLED2560 x 1600 px
Galaxy Tab S7 FE
522
12.4″ TFT LCD1600 x 2560 px
iPad mini 6
518
Xiaomi Pad 6
500
11″ IPS LCD1800 x 2880 px
Huawei MatePad 11
497
11″ IPS LCD2560 x 1600 px
Galaxy Tab S7+
484
12.4″ Super AMOLED1752 x 2800 px
Color accuracy
The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra offers two color modes – Vivid (wide color, DCI-P3) and Natural (standard color, sRGB). The accuracy of both is consistently good across both models.
The Vivid mode has a slightly cooler color temperature compared to the Natural one, but you can tune the temperature via a dedicated slider and get similar results.
You can also tune RGB saturation to your liking if that’s your thing.
Refresh rate
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra has two Motion Smoothness modes – Adaptive and Standard. According to the description, the Adaptive one switches automatically between different modes and can do up to 120Hz, while the Standard one does the same but only goes up to 60Hz for longer battery life.
According to the device hardware scanning apps, the screen supports these fixed steps – 30Hz, 60Hz, and 120Hz.
When using the Adaptive mode, we saw the screen use 120Hz across the interface and all compatible apps and many games (excluding those limited to 60fps). When the picture is static, then the software usually dials down to 30Hz.
Video streaming and playback are done in an adaptive fashion, too, depending on the actual video. For example, 24fps and 30fps videos are shown at 30Hz refresh, while above 30fps clips use 60Hz.
When using the Standard mode, the refresh rate behaves as in Adaptive but with a cap of 60Hz. Meaning it uses 30Hz, where applicable.
Streaming and HDR
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra displays support HDR10+, which is recognized by all popular streaming apps. And thanks to the Widevine L1 support, they all stream 1080p HDR10 content hassle-free.
Display options
Battery life
The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is powered by a large 11,200mAh battery. It supports 45W fast charging.
The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra clocked 7 hours and 45 minutes on our web browsing script, which is an alright score for a tablet. Many of our pages have bright backgrounds, which usually affects the test significantly, given the large OLED screen that needs lighting up.
When it comes to video playback, the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra did 10 hours and 28 minutes before its battery dropped to 10% when playing looped videos in fullscreen view.
We don’t calculate tablet endurance ratings as our formula for phones takes standby battery draw into account. Applying the same formula for tablets with their larger batteries doesn’t make sense because their standby power draw is minimal, so we focus on the active screen-on tests instead.
Charging speed
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra supports up to 45W fast charging. There is no adapter supplied with the tablet. We used Samsung’s 45W PD+PPS charger for our test.
The 45W adapter recharged the empty 11,200mAh battery to 17% in 15 minutes and up to 32% in 30 minutes. A full charge took 2 hours and 8 minutes.
Charging speed
in 30 min
Time to full charge (from 0%)
OnePlus Pad
50%
9510 mAh80W Oppo SuperVOOC charger
Huawei MatePad Pro 11 (2022)
40%
8300 mAh40W bundled charger
Xiaomi Pad 6
38%
8840 mAh33W
Huawei MatePad Pro 12.6
33%
10050 mAh40W SuperCharge
Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
32%
11200 mAh45W Samsung PD + PPS
iPad 10.2 (2021)
24%
8557 mAh20W PD
iPad 10.2 (2021)
24%
8557 mAh20W PD
The battery options include features like Power Saving mode, Adaptive Battery (puts some apps to sleep automatically), enable/disable fast wired charging. There is also the Protect Battery option, which limits the maximum charge of the battery to 85% for prolonged maximum lifespan.
Battery options
Speakers
The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra has four speakers with suppor
BREAKING: House of Reps member, Dogonyaro is dead.
Member representing Garki/Babura federal Constituency of Jigawa State in the House of Representatives, Isa Dogonyaro, is dead.
Mohammed Bello El-Rufa’i, who is one of his colleagues, disclosed the death of the lawmaker on his Facebook wall Friday morning.
He wrote, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. Earlier today, we lost a colleague in the House of Representatives, a brilliant parliamentarian and an overall good man. May Allah SWT forgive him and grant him Aljannatul Firdaus”.
The Deputy House Spokesperson, Phillip Agbese , confirmed the death to Daily Trust, saying he learnt about the death of the lawmaker through posts on social media and on WhatsApp groups of the House of Representatives.
“There are the usual Islamic prayers and tributes by colleagues on various platforms. There is no official communication to the House yet. The family has not communicated to the House.
“That is the tradition. It is when the family communicates through the Speaker that we will officially announce his death. I learnt that the funeral prayer is scheduled in Abuja this afternoon.”
It’s been seven months since the launch of Apple’s premiere smartphone. The iPhone 15 Pro has been in regular service with us every day since then, put through the daily grind just like any other phone. We didn’t even bother putting on a case just to see how that titanium holds up, even though we had Apple’s fancy new FineWoven case at hand.
At this point, the iPhone 15 Pro needs no introduction. It’s the phone you get when you are either seemingly made out of money, have been part of Apple’s ecosystem for years, or want a break from Android (while also being made out of money). And we wouldn’t blame you for it; the 15 Pro, along with its Max, variant was listed in six out of ten of our top phones of 2023 lists across all our editors so clearly Apple was onto something this generation.
That something doesn’t have to be any one particular thing but rather a combination of several things done at once. After all, you wouldn’t want your expensive flagship device to just be excellent at one thing and mediocre at others. Being an all-round impressive device is really what you should be hoping for after paying that much and few smartphones do it as well as the iPhone, especially in the Pro range.
So with that out of the way, let’s see what the iPhone 15 Pro does so well in a way that makes it the crowd favorite while also unpacking the less savory things that you only learn after living with something for months.
Design
The design of the iPhone 15 Pro remains special in one specific way: size. In a world where compact smartphones are now on the endangered species list, Apple continues to produce its mainline smartphones in a size almost anyone would find comfortable. Sure, there are always the Plus or Max models if you have dinner plates for hands but the default iPhone or iPhone Pro is always this compact, accessible size.
For anyone who carries their phone in their front pants pocket, the advantages of a compact phone need not be mentioned. It slips into the pocket easily, doesn’t stick out too much when you sit, and there’s even some room left for your AirPods case. Even if you put a case on, the entire device is still more compact and usable than most other phones in this category without a case.
With the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple pushed the accessibility needle further than its predecessor by switching over to titanium. This resulted in almost 20g of weight loss compared to the 14 Pro, which is pretty significant and noticeable when switching between the two phones.
Since we are on the topic of titanium, let’s talk about it a bit further. Titanium is exceptionally strong for its weight but there were some concerns regarding how well the color finish would last on the models that do have color on them. After seven months of use without a case, we can say that the metal and the color of our Blue Titanium variant look as good as they did when it was new. Aside from being prone to attracting smudges, the metal shows no signs of damage nor has the color faded or scraped anywhere.
Of course, this may just be the result of taking care and never dropping the device but that’s the bare minimum that is expected from you as the user of a super-premium device.
But while we do appreciate the weight savings of the titanium over the stainless steel and the fact that it comes at no loss to durability, the material just does not feel special in hand. If we were never told that it was titanium we most likely would have assumed it was just aluminum. That’s what made the stainless steel body of the previous models so good as there was a jewelry-like quality to them that made them look and feel special. The titanium just feels ordinary in hand and the bland colors with matte brushed finish don’t help.
The camera bump is also not particularly pleasant to look at. While the use of a different texture to the glass surrounding the lenses is a nice touch (even though it’s the same as the rest of the back glass panel), the three lenses jut out too much. We also find having to clean all three lenses individually a bit annoying as on most other phones there is a single, easy-to-clean glass covering all the lens elements, and the design is definitely starting to show its age.
What’s not showing its age is the flat-sided design. While many other phones recently have adopted this shape, it only really works well on a compact design like the iPhone 15 Pro as you can grip the entire phone properly, and feels impractical on larger devices. Also, the way Apple manages to make the two glass panels seamlessly meld into the metal frame is truly artful. There is no lip or raised edge to feel here as you slide your finger around the corners; one second your finger is gliding over glass, the next metal, and once again glass like it was nothing. It’s not easy to achieve this without affecting the structural integrity of the glass but Apple gets it done somehow.
The inclusion of the Action button on the side was something new for this generation. After trying out the various preset options and even messing around with the Shortcuts feature to assign a custom workflow (like launching a new Safari tab, for example), we eventually just settled on using it as a mute switch the old-fashioned way. The old alert slider was a legendary feature for a reason and remains a very handy tool that we wish more phones had. So while the customizable aspect of the Action button is nice, mute still seems like the best fit for this button.
The last exterior feature we want to touch upon is the inclusion of USB-C. It’s hard to imagine now after seven months just how much ink was spilled on this one aspect before and immediately after the iPhone 15 Pro was launched.
Looking at it now, it just feels like a normal feature you’d find on a normal phone, which is a good thing because it makes the iPhone 15 Pro feel like a normal phone that blends into your life and workflow instead of being a special princess that demanded its own special accessories that didn’t work with anything else. Going on a trip somewhere with your laptop, camera, and phone? Guess what, you can now just charge all of them with the same cable. Want to borrow a stranger’s charger because you forgot your own? Well, you can do that now because they probably have a USB-C charger, too.
Why it took this long and the looming threat of a government body intervening to get here is beyond us but we are glad it finally happened. Let’s never talk about Lightning again.
Display
The display on the iPhone 15 Pro is unchanged from the previous generation model. You get the same 6.1-inch, 2556 x 1179 resolution 120Hz OLED panel with a peak brightness of up to 2000 nits.
The way Apple handles the displays on its devices is definitely something to take inspiration from as the company rarely ever misses. We already have all the numbers in our full review from last year but the sheer accuracy of the colors and the way it handles wide color content is something every phone manufacturer should take lessons from. There are no color presets to fiddle with; the colors always look the way they should, provided you don’t have True Tone or Night Shift enabled.
Even better is the handling of HDR content, although this may be controversial. HDR content always loads in high brightness and Apple takes advantage of the phone’s display to make the non-video parts of the screen maintain its original SDR brightness levels. This means you can have an HDR video playing in a portion of the screen in the Instagram app and while the video will be searing bright, the rest of the UI around it will maintain the same brightness as non-HDR content. At times it almost looks like the rest of the screen has dimmed but that’s only because your eyes have adjusted to the brighter HDR content on screen.
The reason this is controversial is that people don’t like being flashbanged by random HDR videos on their timelines while just scrolling through Instagram in bed at night. Instagram supports Apple’s HDR video and because iPhones that can record in Dolby Vision have the feature enabled by default (without most people realizing), a lot of video content on the app is now unintentionally in Dolby Vision, which can get seriously bright as it appears out of the blue on your feed. At present, neither Instagram nor Apple provide a way to disable viewing this content in HDR, which annoys a lot of people.
The display’s high brightness does come in handy outdoors, as the iPhone 15 Pro has exceptional visibility under direct sunlight. The display seems completely unaffected by the fact that it is competing with a star for brightness and remains exceedingly clear outdoors no matter how bright it gets.
The 15 Pro also benefits from the smallest bezels yet on an iPhone. These are some of the thinnest bezels we have come across and a lot of the time it feels like just holding the screen as the bezels just meld into the dark body of our Titanium Blue model.
As for the Face ID pill at the top, it becomes second nature to ignore it when using the phone normally in portrait orientation. It’s only when you turn the phone around and hold it sideways to watch videos or play games do you notice it and then it’s hard to ignore. It especially takes up more space on the smaller iPhone 15 Pro than it does on the Max model since it’s the same size regardless of the phone. If you are someone who regularly uses your phone for videos or games then this is another reason to go for the bigger model.
One thing we noted over our time using the phone was the oleophobic coating slowly eroding around the bottom left and bottom edge of the phone. These are usually the places you tend to swipe from to go back and to go home and there were permanent smudges there. For now, these are just tiny slivers around the edges of the glass and are barely visible but could grow over time.
Lastly, we had a few notes regarding the refresh rate behavior. While it’s cool that Apple got on the high refresh rate train a few years back with the iPhone, the way it’s enforced does leave something to be desired. It seems Apple does leave it up to the developer to implement high refresh rate the way they see fit. We have come across apps that either don’t support it at all or do so where some animations are clearly taking place at 60Hz even if the rest of the app is animating at 120Hz. These can be quite distracting and we have yet to come upon anything similar on Android, where an app either supports high refresh rates totally or not at all.
Having said that, Apple’s own apps and many of the well-made apps work just fine. Even the default Camera app refreshes at 120Hz, something you’ll never see on Android where the camera app is usually locked to 60Hz resulting in choppy UI. Also, a lot more games support high refresh rates on iOS than they do on Android. Games like Genshin Impact don’t even have high refresh rate support on Android but can go up to 120Hz on the iPhone. It’s just another reason why you would want to be on Apple’s platforms if you are into mobile gaming.
Software
The iPhone 15 Pro shipped with iOS 17 last year and is running 17.4.1 at the time of this writing.
iOS 17 has been less than ideal at times during our usage. We have seen iOS stability slip a few times in the past and there have been some legendary releases that are now known only for being buggy (we are looking at you, iOS 13). While iOS 17 has been nowhere near as bad, it has been far from reliable. While most of the issues can best be described as minor, the overall frequency of them has been notable and unbecoming of a phone at this price point.
Many of the other gripes are not necessarily with iOS 17 specifically but with iOS in general. It’s one thing that the launcher does not let you arrange icons with empty spaces (although we hear that may be changing soon) but it’s another how frustrating it is to move icons wherever you want. It often feels impossible to move an icon to where another icon already is and have that icon move to make space. Instead, the OS keeps assuming you want to make a new folder. And if you want to move an icon inside the folder, the folder just refuses to open and instead moves around to make space. It’s as if no actual human has ever used this basic feature before shipping it as there is no other explanation why it is so incredibly frustrating and hard to use.
The OS is also filled with animations that take far too long to end. Swiped to a picture in the Photos app and quickly want to double tap to zoom? Too bad, it won’t work because the photo is still slowly sliding into place even though it looked like it stopped moving. Only when the animation completely stops will it accept the double tap gesture to zoom and it’s hard to tell when exactly it stops.
Then there is the lockscreen. Never mind the fact that the flashlight and camera icons can neither be removed nor replaced, but why does the camera icon exist at all? You can swipe left on the lockscreen to launch the camera, a gesture all iPhone users are familiar with because of how often you accidentally trigger it by simply holding the phone in your hand while walking (it happens less often if you use a case). So why is there a button that needs to be pressed and held to do the exact same thing but slower?
Maybe this is also a good time to mention how a down swipe on the homescreen brings up Spotlight, a gesture that has existed on the iPhone forever but has rarely ever made sense as most people would rather access the Notification Center or the Control Center instead. To this day there is no way to change this gesture so instead we had to resort to using the double and triple-tap accessibility gestures on the back of the phone to access notifications and settings. The only problem is that these gestures trigger far too easily when you don’t want to and not easily enough when you want to.
We also had issues with many of the third-party apps for the platform. Just to preface this, Apple has several clearly laid out human interface guidelines for its developer community, and many developers out there are making exceptional apps for the platform that are some of the finest, period. However, a lot of the apps on the platform come from regions where Android is predominant, and the developers there seem to simply not understand that navigation on iOS works fundamentally differently.
iOS relies on the back swipe gesture by the app for navigation. It’s also not the same as the back swipe gesture on Android, which simply emulates a back button press and is handled by the OS. On Android, an app doesn’t have to have a back navigation gesture because the OS takes care of it. On iOS, the app needs to support the said gesture otherwise there is no easy way to navigate. Many developers just forget this part and think adding a back button at the top is how you implement the back navigation gesture in the app. This results in a poor experience for the user as the back swipe gesture they are used to does not work and they have to stretch their thumb every time to hit the back button on the top.
It’s not uncommon to come across comments from users complaining about how navigation on iOS is worse than on Android because the button is hard to reach. In reality, that button is merely a backup solution and any good app following Apple’s HIG should have a back swipe gesture built-in. But so many apps these days don’t because their developers are clueless or only used to building for Android and the end result is frustration for the user and animosity towards the platform as a whole. Apple needs to do better here by either educating developers used to building for Android or simply having the OS itself detect a back swipe and emulate a back gesture.
Another perplexing thing about iOS is just how many interactions and gestures are completely obscure. You could be using the phone a certain way for years only to find out through a TikTok video that there was an easier way to do it through a gesture that no one knows. Text editing alone has a dozen different gestures you could be using to make your life easier but for some reason, Apple rarely ever talks about them.
We could go on with the complaints and trust us, there is a lot to work with here. iOS has become a quagmire of poor design decisions that have piled on over the years and will likely stay that way as the company cannot afford to give a whiplash to its users with a completely revamped design; we all saw how that went down when iOS 7 was released.
The side effect of this is that anyone moving over from Android often has an immediately worse user experience because so many things just feel counterintuitive. The old adage of iOS being easier to use just doesn’t hold true anymore. If you are a long-time user then navigating these quirks and inconveniences may have become second nature but a user completely new to smartphones will likely find stock Android much easier to grasp than iOS with all its idiosyncrasies, not to mention a lot more customizable if something doesn’t sit right with them.
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom. There are some things iOS does better than its competition and many of them are quite aspirational. The focus on security and privacy has been a rallying cry for the company for years and as far as we can tell Apple has always put its money where its mouth is. Never mind the bigger picture things, simply being able to hit ‘Ask App Not to Track’ every time the pop-up appears is incredibly gratifying knowing full well the app no longer has any idea what’s going on the rest of your device. You are unlikely to see that on Android any time soon as it would be pretty hypocritical of Google to stop other apps from tracking your usage when Google itself does it all the time.
Then there is the software update policy. Other companies have now started promising even longer software support but as of now they are simply castles in the air. Apple never put a figure on its support duration but the company’s track record speaks for itself and if there’s one thing you are guaranteed with an iPhone it’s long-term software support.
Then there’s the App Store. While it may not please Tim Sweeney and the EU very much, the App Store is home to some of the best apps you can find on any platform. But what truly sets it apart is the quality of games that you can get. While this has always been true, the recent release of top-shelf AAA titles such as Resident Evil 4 and Death Stranding puts iOS in a completely different league compared to Android even though the latter has innumerable gaming-focused devices. And if you want more, Apple Arcade offers access to a wide range of excellent titles without any ads or in-app purchases, some of which are developed specifically for the platform.
So yes, there are still many valid reasons to move to or stick with iOS. Some may even say the presence of iMessage alone justifies that decision, although we aren’t American enough to agree. Also, with the EU breathing down Apple’s neck, the company may be forced into making several other changes that should bring iOS closer in line with Android. While the company does seem to be fighting this in the end we think it will be good for the consumers and the platform as a whole.
Tecno’s Camon 30 Premier offers some high-tier features that punch above the price range. Above all, the Camon 30 Premier is marketed as a cameraphone.
And indeed, the specs sheet suggests the Camon 30 Premier’s centerpiece feature is the camera hardware. The device features a potent triple 50MP camera setup on the back, along with an AF-enabled 50MP selfie camera.
The main 50MP camera uses a respectable 1/1.56-inch sensor, but the 50MP, 2.76″ periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom is arguably more impressive. The two cameras are complemented with another 50MP ultrawide unit, while the front offers a rare find – 50MP selfie unit with AF capability.
Tecno Camon 30 Premier specs at a glance:
Body: 162.7×76.2×7.9mm, 210g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), aluminum frame, aluminum back with silicone polymer finish (eco leather); IP54, dust and splash resistant.
The display department isn’t overlooked either. In fact, some flagship offerings don’t get LTPO OLED panels, but the Camon 30 Premier surprises with one. It has a higher resolution than usual, supports HDR and can go up to 120Hz refresh rate. The Dimensity 8200, a nice upper-mid-range solution, is tasked with driving all those pixels. The only available memory configuration is 12GB/512GB, so we can overlook the missing microSD card slot.
And as for the battery, it’s business as usual – 5,000 mAh with fast 70W charging, which we expect to be quite competitive.
Before we continue, the design and build deserve a brief mention too. The Camon 30 Premier may not have the highest ingress protection (just IP54) but it offers a robust design with a Gorilla Glass 5 front sheet and aluminum chassis with a touch of vegan leather.
Unboxing the Tecno Camon 30 Premier
The handset comes in a standard retail box containing the usual user manuals along with the appropriate USB-A to USB-C cable and 70W-rated charger.
Tecno also gifts a protective silicone case with a seemingly metallic ring around the camera island.
Our review unit arrived with Tecno TWS Buds 3, allegedly part of the retail package and not sold separately. Tecno advertises that the headphones have a cool extra feature allowing you to use them as a camera remote – a double tap snaps an image.
Design and handling
The Camon 30 Premier is aiming for a high-end feel and build and we think Tecno has nailed it with this one. Sure, the handset is graded with just IP54 ingress protection and the Gorilla Glass 5 sheet on the front isn’t the latest, but the overall build and materials are pretty solid.
The side frame, along with a small portion of the back, is made of aluminum, while the rest of the back panel is vegan leather. But the eco leather feels different than usual. It has a fine, soft-touch texture, which feels exceptionally nice but isn’t very grippy.
The available colors are Alps Snowy Silver and Hawaii Lava Black. As evident from the photos, we have the former.
Despite the handset’s understandably higher weight, it doesn’t feel hefty in hand. It’s also somewhat thinner than expected – 7.9mm without the camera bulge. The flat side frame is slightly curved toward the edges and creates a seamless transition with the back and front panels.
Tecno Camon 30 Premier
We also liked the buttons and their placement. In contrast to most Android smartphones, the Camon 30 Premier has its volume keys on the left and the power key on the right. All buttons are conveniently placed, but the power could require some finger gymnastics for people with small hands. Good thing the button itself is relatively big and easy to distinguish.
Tecno Camon 30 Premier
The same cannot be said about the under-display fingerprint reader. It works well – snappy, responsive and accurate, but it’s placed a bit too close to the bottom edge, which isn’t ideal.
In any case, the design is memorable and the overall build feels extra nice to the touch, albeit being a bit on the slippery side.
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is the headliner of the reimagined (P)hotography series by Huawei. It packs the best camera the Chinese maker could conjure up, coupled with the best design, screen, Kirin chipset, and battery technology, of course.
Despite the name change, the Huawei P series is alive and kicking, promising as ever, even without Leica or other trendy partnership being present for marketing hype. And, yes, the US sanctions are still at play, but Huawei seems to be on the verge of making those irrelevant.
Back to what we do best – smartphone inspection – we are nothing short of thrilled by our time spent with the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra. And while we are in the process of reviewing it, we decided to give you a glimpse of what’s coming your way.
The Pura 70 Ultra is one of the few phones on the market you can immediately pick among a hundred phones in a second. The triangular camera design and unique back panel are quite nice, even if the housing is, well, huge.
Then we have a large 6.8-inch LTPO OLED screen of 1260p resolution, 1B colors and 120Hz refresh rate. The Kirin 9010 chipset with 5G connectivity will probably initiate a new portion of investigations, but it does look promising with improved capabilities.
The camera is the real showstopper here and rightfully, so. The retractable main camera is thoroughly interesting with its unique mechanical design, sure, but we cannot wait to test its 1″ sensor, one that makes use of sensor-shift stabilization, variable aperture lens and laser-assisted AF. Next is a 50MP telephoto camera for 3.5x optical zoom and up to 10x hybrid zoom, one that can do macro photos from as close as 5cm away! The 40MP ultrawide camera promises really wide field of view with its 13mm aperture lens, and it is AF-capable.
The 13MP selfie camera also has wide-angle lens supports autofocus, too.
Finally, the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra packs a 5,200mAh battery capable of 100W wired and 80W wireless charging, plus 20W reverse wireless charging!
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra specs at a glance:
Body: 162.6×75.1×8.4mm, 226g; Glass front, aluminum frame, silicone polymer back (eco leather); IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 2m for 30 min).
The Pura 70 Ultra is the only Pura phone to feature 1″ sensor for the main camera in addition to higher-res tele and UW cameras, plus it also has the exclusive Crystal Armor Kunlun Glass for the screen.
Unboxing the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
The Pura 70 Ultra ships into one large and thick luxury-looking box. Inside you will find the phone itself, one premium case with a matching color but a different P-styled texture, a 100W power adapter and a USB cable.
Notice the charger has both USB-C and USB-A ports, though it is not a dual-charger – you can use one of those at a time.
Design, build quality, handling
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is a typical cameraphone, one that comes with a captivating design, huge camera housing, and proper grip all-around. The phone is also IP68-rated for dust and water resistance.
The screen glass is advertised as Crystal Armor Kunlun Glass, 300% stronger than the Kunlun Glass on top of the Pura 70 Pro and Pura 70 displays. It is made of a highly transparent amorphous diamond carbon material and should have it all – incredible scratch resistance and impressive drop resistance. Huawei even suggested we do various torture tests so we can experience the toughness of the glass. While we were surely tempted, we think we would wait to wrap our review first.
This special Kunlun glass has 2.5D edge, which adds a touch of premium on top of everything.
The frame is slightly curved and made of polished aluminum and it is painted in silver with a hint of gold on our Green version.
Then we have the eco-leather back with a matching 2.5D curve to the front panel. Huawei calls the design here Forward Symbol Design because of its simple geometric lines .
The complicated camera island is the star of show, of course. It has metal housing around the triangular glass and the metal extends over the LED flash, too.
The three cameras here are the 40MP ultrawide, followed by the retractable 50MP primary, and finally comes the periscope lens for the 50MP zoom camera.
Huawei needed to come up with the retractable lens for the 1″ primary sensor as otherwise the housing would have become way too big and would have compromised its safety. The maker claims the mechanism has been tested and it is going to endure over 300,000 retracting cycles.
The Pura 70 Ultra is also available in white, brown and black colorways.
The 6.8-inch LTPO OLED screen called X-True Display has impressively thin frame one nicely small perforation for the 13MP AF selfie camera. It has 1,260 x 2,844 pixels, 1B colors, HDR10, 120Hz refresh rate and 2,500nits of peak brightness.
We can confirm the display is of an excellent quality, smooth and colorful, with great contrast and brightness. More on its capabilities will be shared in our in-depth review.
Some other things you cannot see it first at the front – the under-display fingerprint scanner and the top speaker/earpiece.
The Pura 70 Ultra boasts a stereo speaker setup of the hybrid variety – the earpiece doubles as a speaker and there is also another bottom-firing gull-blown speaker. The setup is balanced, offers rich sound with bass, good vocals, and excellent high frequency range. We expect it to score well on our loudness test, too.
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is available in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB versions and there is no NV card here.
The Pura 70 Ultra measures 162.6 x 75.1 x 8.4 mm and weighs 226 grams, which is about the same as the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The new Pura 70 Ultra is a flagship of exquisite design, excellent build and packs some impressive hardware. It also offers superb grip even with case, which is super important for a cameraphone and we do applaud Huawei for taking the extra steps here. Overall, even with the gigantic camera housing, we really liked this Pura 70 Ultra phone and we have nothing but positive impressions.
Harmony OS 4.2 and Kirin 9010
Harmony OS 4.2 is the latest version of the proprietary Huawei OS and it will be available to over 100 devices worldwide. The version of smartphones includes new interactive and magazine themes, new and improved features for Celia assistant, better security, better Health app, and support for Ark Engine. You can also expect new watch faces for the number of wearables that will get this update.
The global Harmony OS 4.2 still includes an Android (12) core inside, so Android apps are still supported. And GBox works fine, in case you’ve wondered.
Pura 70 Ultra also features Huawei’s new Kirin 9010 chipset featuring an 8-core CPU – 1x 2.3 GHz Taishan Big + 3x 2.18 GHz Taishan Mid + 4x 1.55 GHz Cortex-A510 cores. It is rumored to be manufactured on a 7nm process locally in China like the Kirin 9000s inside the Mate 60 series. It also contains the Maleoon 910.
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra comes with 16GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of UFS storage.
Here are some benchmarks results to get you warmed up for our review.
GeekBench 6
Multi-core
Single-core
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
7060
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3512GB, 16GB RAM
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
4482
Kirin 90101TB, 16GB RAM
Tecno Camon 30 Premier
3930
Dimensity 8200 Ultra512GB, 12GB RAM
vivo V30 Pro
3575
Dimensity 8200512GB, 12GB RAM
Galaxy A55
3350
Exynos 1480128GB, 8GB RAM
vivo V30
3181
Snapdragon 7 Gen 3512GB, 12GB RAM
Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G
2751
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2512GB, 12GB RAM
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G
2597
Dimensity 7200 Ultra512GB, 12GB RAM
AnTuTu 10
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
2014262
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3512GB, 16GB RAM1440 x 3200 px
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
987197
Kirin 90101TB, 16GB RAM1260 x 2844 px
vivo V30 Pro
972568
Dimensity 8200512GB, 12GB RAM1260 x 2800 px
Tecno Camon 30 Premier
949550
Dimensity 8200 Ultra512GB, 12GB RAM1264 x 2780 px
vivo V30
831644
Snapdragon 7 Gen 3512GB, 12GB RAM1260 x 2800 px
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G
779812
Dimensity 7200 Ultra512GB, 12GB RAM1220 x 2712 px
Galaxy A55
726158
Exynos 1480128GB, 8GB RAM1080 x 2340 px
Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G
581979
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2512GB, 12GB RAM1220 x 2712 px
3DMark (offscreen)
Wild Life (1440p)
Wild Life Extreme (2160p)
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
17244
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3Adreno 7501440 x 3200 px
vivo V30 Pro
6693
Dimensity 8200Mali-G610 MC61260 x 2800 px
Tecno Camon 30 Premier
6381
Dimensity 8200 UltraMali-G610 MC61264 x 2780 px
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
5775
Kirin 9010Maleoon 9101260 x 2844 px
vivo V30
5372
Snapdragon 7 Gen 3Adreno 7201260 x 2800 px
Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G
4341
Dimensity 7200 UltraMali-G610 MC41220 x 2712 px
Galaxy A55
3831
Exynos 1480Xclipse 5301080 x 2340 px
Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G
3107
Snapdragon 7s Gen 2Adreno 7101220 x 2712 px
It seems that the new Kirin 9010 is as powerful as the Dimensity 8200 chipset by MediaTek, which is not bad at all considering all those restrictions.
Camera
The camera system on the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is something that everyone will be talking about for a while.
There are three cameras on the back. The primary one is the most interesting one – it uses a 50MP 1″ sensor with sensor shift stabilization and retractable lens with variable aperture. Huawei added a retractable mechanism to the main camera’s lens which pops the camera up when in use. The rotating telescopic lens features an intricate motorized structure which Huawei tested for 300,000 cycles of expansion and contraction.
The main shooter has a variable f/1.6 – 4.0 lens and features a 22.5mm focal length. Huawei introduced a new XD Motion engine to help handle fast moving objects.
The second camera on the back uses a 50 MP sensor, which sits behind a periscope 90mm f/2.1 telephoto lens featuring OIS and 3.5x optical zoom. This camera also doubles as a macro shooter, allowing you to get as close as 5cm from your subject with its 35x super macro mode.
The ultrawide shooter has a 40 MP sensor and 13mm equivalent focal length. It offers autofocus and is also capable of macro photography.
Finally, the selfie camera uses a 13MP sensor coupled with an 18mm f/2.4 lens. Autofocus is supported. There are three crop modes here, just like on other Huawei phones – 0.6x (full view), 0.8x and 1x.
Here are some photos we shot with the cameras on the Huawei Pura 70 Pro. We will discuss the quality in our review.
Main camera
Main camera, 2x zoom
Telephoto camera, 3.5x zoom
Telephoto camera, 10x zoom
Ultrawide camera
Selfies: 0.6x • 0.8x • 1x
First impressions
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is a formidable cameraphone, just like the Huawei Pxx phones before it. Plus, it has an impressive design and build, an excellent display, superb charging capabilities, flagship-grade speakers, and whatnot.
What it doesn’t have is the Snapdragon 8 Gen performance and 5G connectivity outside China. It also doesn’t have Google’s Mobile Services, though this has not been that much of an issue since the existence of Gbox and the alternatives.
We can see Huawei fans getting this phone in a heartbeat because it is shaping up to be that good. But it will be a tough job to convince anyone that is not after Huawei’s camera experience, not outside its homeland at least. But does it matter anyway? Huawei is expecting to ship over 10 million Pura 70 units, most of them in China, which is plenty enough to keep it going.
Still for those who ponder the thought of getting the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra – it will be available together with the Pura 70 and Pura 70 Pro in Europe. The sales will begin on May 22 and the price for the 512 GB model is €1499.
Meanwhile, stay tuned for our complete in-depth review.
A year later, the Note that isn’t returns. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra brings predictably minor upgrades – camera tweaks here and new chipset there, mostly – but how much can you really improve on the S22 Ultra in just a year? We’ll attempt to answer that question and see if the new Ultra can spark excitement in ways the specsheet couldn’t.
And it’s an expansive specsheet, of course. At the Ultra’s heart is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and it’s one specifically made for the Galaxies – with higher clock rates than competitors get. The latest Qualcomm top-end chip also comes with efficiency promises, and we would never say no to some extra endurance.
The camera sees the introduction of a new 200MP sensor, up from the 108MP resolution of Ultras past. The couple of telephotos remain a staple of the lineup and a standout feature in the market where 10x optical zoom is nowhere to be found outside of the Samsung offerings. The 2023 Ultra is still the only model in the lineup with an autofocusing ultrawide – more of an ongoing rant we just had to include here about the lack of it on the lesser S23s than an actual noteworthy feature of the ultimate Galaxy.
Galaxy S22 Ultra (top) next to Galaxy S23 Ultra
The otherwise lengthy list of numbers and features below doesn’t really bring major changes from the previous generation. Battery capacity remains the same as does the charging rating; the ultrasonic fingerprint reader hasn’t gotten optical all of a sudden, proprietary features like DeX and Samsung Pay are still here, and you can count on the display being the best in the business. A small victory is the 256GB base storage – last year’s model started at an unreasonably low 128GB – so yay?
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra specs at a glance:
Body: 163.4×78.1×8.9mm, 234g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins).
We did call the S23 Ultra a Note from the get-go, and the S Pen is indeed here to stay – despite habitual pessimists around the office writing if off after the beloved Note moniker disappeared with the S22 Ultra. Sure, you can have an S Pen (a different one) for your Fold, but no S Pen case beats the convenience of an in-body stylus like the one you get here.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra unboxing
You don’t get a lot else, though. The Ultra shows up in what has become the norm for Samsung high-end phone packages – a thin as possible black cardboard box with a likeness of the handset printed on the lid in a corresponding color to the actual unit inside.
The size of the box guarantees there’s no charger inside, but there’s still a USB-C cable – despite our continued droning how ‘this time may be the last time you’re getting a cable’, Samsung actually persists in including one – does that count as winning? There’s also a SIM eject pin, which we normally wouldn’t mention, but the unboxing section could use the extra words.
Selena Gomez reacts to Justin and Hailey Bieber’s pregnancy with defiant post.
The star has reacted to the Bieber’s happy announcement on Instagram
The star has reacted to the Bieber’s happy announcement on Instagram.
Selena Gomez has seemingly reacted to Justin and Hailey Bieber’s announcement that they are expecting a baby together.
Ever since Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber announced that they would be getting married, there has been a lot of speculation about if and when they might announce that they are expecting.
Taking to their Instagram pages they posted the happy announcement, with each captioning the post simply by tagging the other.
On Justin’s account the announcement consisted of pictures of the pair appearing to do a photoshoot together, with Justin photographing Hailey
Hailey was wearing a loose-fitting sheer white gown reminiscent of a wedding dress.
In one image the pair pose together, with Hailey showing off her small growing bump.
Selena Gomez has since made a post of her own on her Instagram page.
For those (somehow) not in the know, Selena and Justin were once Hollywood’s ‘It’ couple, with them dating on and off between 2010-2018.
Anyway, just after the Bieber’s pregnancy announcement, Selena posted a picture of herself with current boyfriend Benny Blanco, as well as referencing her upcoming cooking show streaming on Max.
While the Disney star hasn’t directly addressed the couple’s happy news, it hasn’t stopped some from speculating the timing of her Instagram Stories.
Hailey has previously addressed the flurry of pregnancy rumours that have been circulating online in an interview with GQ.
She told the outlet: “Recently, everybody was like, ‘Oh, my God, she’s pregnant,’ and that’s happened to me multiple times before.
“There is something that’s disheartening about, ‘Damn, I can’t be bloated one time and not be pregnant?’”
The star added: “When there comes a day that that is true, you— you, as in the internet — will be the last to know.”
Now, the pair have finally announced their pregnancy to the internet.
Hailey hinted to GQ that it was something which she had been thinking about for some time.
She said it was “something that I look forward to. It’s also such a private, intimate thing. It’s something that’s going to come when it comes.
“Let me do what I want to do with my body and you guys can do what you want to do with your body — and let’s just let it be that.”
People have been sharing their reactions to the amazing news, with one fan writing: “AHHH YESSSS I love yall so much. You’re literally gonna be the greatest papa ever. So excited for this new chapter.”
Another commented: “Can’t wait. love you guys,” and a third posted: “I literally am dying to see your reaction when she told you about the pregnancy.”
UNILAD has reached out to representatives of Selena Gomez for comment.
UNRWA closes East Jerusalem headquarters after arson attack
“Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem,” Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X.
The headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem has been closed following a fire on the premises.
“Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem,” Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X. “This took place while UNRWA and other UN Agencies’ staff were on the compound.
Mr Lazzarini added, “In light of this second appalling incident in less than a week, I have taken the decision to close down our compound until proper security is restored.”
‘UP NEPA’, advocacy film on Nigeria’s erratic electricity supply, premieres in Abuja
‘UP NEPA’ probes Nigeria’s unreliable power supply and its impact on individuals, businesses and the economy.
‘Up NEPA’, a documentary that chronicles the lingering challenges of electricity supply in Nigeria, has premiered in Abuja
The filmmakers, industry stakeholders, representatives of relevant institutions and electricity consumers were present at the film’s screening on Thursday night in Abuja.
The documentary was produced by Griot Studios, a multimedia company acclaimed for producing and distributing content with socio-cultural effects towards a better society.
Germany may follow U.S. lead in withholding arms shipment to Israel
The U.S. is Israel’s main backer, but President Joe Biden threatened to restrict supplies further if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with a major offensive.
The German defence minister says Berlin is considering similar steps that the U.S. took to withhold further arms should Israeli troops begin a large-scale push into the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
“This is currently being discussed,” Boris Pistorius said on Friday.
However, he said the responsibility lies with the Chancellery and the Foreign Office.
Some 110,000 people have left Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip since the Israeli army started advancing on the city.
Observers gather to witness the ruins in Gaza strip [Photo credit: NBC News]
Some 110,000 people have left Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip since the Israeli army started advancing on the city.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Friday.
“@UNRWA estimated around 110,000 people have now fled Rafah looking for safety,” the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said in a post on the X platform.
WHO publishes new guidelines to reduce infection from catheter use
It said, “This can lead to serious conditions such as sepsis and difficult-to-treat complications in major organs like the brain and kidneys.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published the first global guidelines to prevent bloodstream and other infections caused by catheters placed in minor blood vessels during medical procedures.
The organisation made this known in a statement on Thursday, adding that poor practice in the insertion, maintenance, and removal of catheters carries a high risk of introducing germs directly into the bloodstream
It said, “This can lead to serious conditions such as sepsis and difficult-to-treat complications in major organs like the brain and kidneys.”
After 13 years, court dismisses malicious prosecution case against NCC
After 13 years of litigation, the FCT High Court dismissed a case of alleged malicious prosecution against NCC.
After 13 years of litigation, the FCT High Court dismissed a case of alleged malicious prosecution against the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).
A movie producer filed the case, Charles Ayiga, who alleged that NCC maliciously prosecuted him for offences he did not commit.
Specifically, he said NCC maliciously prosecuted him for a purported obstruction of its officer while carrying out his official duties and unlawful possession of Federal Government documents.
