The latest phones and gadgets tested and reviewed in our labs
iQOO today launched the iQOO 13 smartphone in India as the second phone to be powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. This has several upgrades from the iQOO 12 in terms of display, performance, battery life and lots more while there is not much hike the price. Is this the best flagship phone in the market in the 50K price range? Let use dive into the review to find out. Continue reading “iQOO 13 Review: The all-round flagship gets better”
OPPO launched the Find X8 series smartphones for the global markets and in India earlier last week, and here we have the review of the Find X8, the smaller model in the series. The company is launching the Find series phone in India after 4 years since the Find X2 series launch in 2020. Continue reading “OPPO Find X8 Review: A solid flagship”
OPPO launched the Find X8 series smartphones for the global markets and in India earlier today, and here we have the review of the Find X8 Pro, the top-end model in the series. The company is launching a Find series phone in India after 4 years since the Find X2 series launch in 2020. Continue reading “OPPO Find X8 Pro Review: Back with a Bang”
Google launched the Pixel 9 Pro, the company’s latest flagship Pixel phone, back in August. Howver, the phone went on sale only in October after the Pixel 9 and the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
The Pixel 9 Pro sits in between these as a compact flagship, but with better screen and cameras, while retaining the same Tensor G4 SoC and the battery from the Pixel 9. Is it worth the price? Let us dive into the review to find out. Continue reading “Google Pixel 9 Pro Review: Compact camera flagship”
In 2017, Google introduced the first-generation Pixel Buds, signaling its foray into personal audio devices. These earbuds featured real-time language translation and seamless integration with Google Assistant. The subsequent release of the Pixel Buds Pro series further solidified Google’s presence in the competitive true wireless earbuds market, offering features such as Active Noise Cancellation and spatial audio. To enhance its audio technology capabilities, Google acquired several audio-related startups, including Dysonics and Tempow, in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Also, in late 2020, Google acquired certain assets from Synaptics’ audio hardware division for $35 million. This transaction included patents related to audio hardware and active noise-canceling earbuds, as well as the integration of Synaptics’ staff into Google’s team. A combination of all these factors have now led to the creation of one of the most comfortable true wireless earbuds ever made, and that is the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. Let’s dive in and find out what the latest audio product from Google means for us.
Continue reading “Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: Comfort Max Ultra”
In the past, gaming laptops were known to be big, heavy devices that were difficult to carry around and got very hot during use. With the latest generations of CPUs and GPUs, it has become a lot easier for manufacturers to design a reasonably powerful gaming laptop while not sacrificing portability. The ASUS TUF A14 is one such example, powered by AMD’s latest Ryzen AI 9 HX series and NVIDIA’s GeForce 40-series GPUs, all packaged in a thin-and-light chassis. The TUF series of laptop’s aren’t as premium as the more expensive ROG laptops, so what compromises did they make for the latest TUF A14 and is it worth the price? Read on in my review to find out.
ASUS typically reserves their most premium materials and design for their ROG gaming laptops. The TUF series on the other hand, are known to use cheaper materials and have bigger, bulkier designs.
The TUF A14 changes that formula completely, with a sleek looking design and premium build that punches well above its price bracket. The design is clean, minimal and understated, with no extra gamer-frills or accents. The lid and the bottom panel are made out of aluminium, which is uncommon for the TUF series, and while the keyboard deck is made out of plastic, it feels high-quality.
The laptop is only 1.69cm thick and weighs only 1.46KGs, making the laptop incredibly portable, especially for the amount of performance it offers. And the keyboard deck flex is minimal, so the laptop feels sturdy. It is also MIL-STD-810H certified, which is standard for most TUF series laptops, so that is good to see here too.
The lid is hinged on both the left and right side and it goes all the way to 180°. The tension is perfect in my opinion and it can also open smoothly with one finger, which is extra nice. The bezels are thin on three sides, and you also get a 1080p webcam with Windows Hello recognition, which is a first for a TUF series laptop. Branding is unobtrusive too, with a simple TUF logo in the corner of the grey coloured lid (which ASUS calls as “Jaeger Gray”). There is also a tiny ASUS logo in the bottom bezel of the lid, but that is all.
Overall, ASUS knocked it out of the park with the design of the TUF A14. It is easily one of the best in the series, and I am hoping the design language is adopted across the entire lineup.
ASUS almost always does a great job with their laptop displays, and the TUF A14 is a clear example of that. You get a 14-inch, 2.5K resolution (2560 x 1600) IPS display with a 165Hz max refresh rate and 3ms response time. The aspect rate is 16:10, which I love for productivity, and it is matte coated, which eliminates glare really well. It can reach a peak brightness of 400 nits and it supports 100% sRGB color gamut.
Honestly I was quite impressed that ASUS was able to provide this good a display at this price. Sure, you don’t get some fancy features such as Pantone Validation, but the panel is also NVIDIA G-Sync capable, which is typically reserved for higher-end laptops. The compromises are very few, and completely acceptable for the price range.
Sound was another area that I was pleasantly surprised with. While the dual bottom-firing speakers will not blow you out of the water, they sound pretty decent. They get plenty loud and the quality is alright. The speakers on the Zephyrus G series definitely perform better, but the TUF A14 can hold its own. It is certainly better than the abysmal speakers from the past Windows gaming laptops. Although for gaming, I would still recommend getting a dedicated headset.
You also get Dolby Atmos support and ASUS’ Two-Way AI Noise cancellation technology for the microphones, which runs on the CPU to isolate voices and make you sound better.
With the 2024 models of the TUF A14, you get the choice between AMD’s Ryzen 8000-series processors or AMD’s latest Ryzen AI 300-series processors. Our review model is equipped with the latter. The GPU paired with the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor is either the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 or the RTX 4060, which we have in our model. For RAM, it is equipped with 32GB of 7500MT/s memory and for storage it has a 2TB WD SN740 PCIe 4.0 SSD. The storage is expandable, with an extra slot free. However the RAM is non-upgradeable.
The Ryzen AI 9 HX processor equipped laptops also feature AMD’s XDNA NPU, capable of up to 50TOPS of computing power. This is required to enable certain Microsoft Co-Pilot features on the laptop.
Regardless of which variant of the Ryzen processor you get, the performance is excellent. Our model features a 12 core/24 thread processor that can boost up to 5.1GHz and it based on AMD’s latest Zen 5 architecture. With a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce 4060 GPU that can draw up to 100W of power, the TUF A14 offers a serious amount of performance for the price.
Check out benchmarks below:
The thermal performance was also pretty good. All of the venting is rear-focused and under-load, the fans do get noticeably loud. However, they do not get annoying and can easily be drowned out with a headset. Under lighter loads, the fans noise disappears and the laptop stays cool. The power efficiency of AMD’s Ryzen processors are a real advantage for the TUF A14.
Coming to the keyboard and trackpad, ASUS did not miss the mark here either. Let’s start with the keyboard.
The keys are adequately spaced, with good stability and snappy feel. The keys do bottom out a little softer than expected, which I quickly became used to. The generous 1.7mm of key travel results in a pleasant typing experience and another thing I noticed is that the keyboard was quiet to type on, which I like in a laptop. The backlight is single zone and is only white in colour, not RGB.
I had no complaints with the layout either, and like most ASUS ROG laptops, you get the same 4 hotkeys on top for volume control, microphone mute and Armoury Crate. There is no built-in way to reassign the keys, which is disappointing. Especially when ASUS has removed the left CTRL key in favour of Microsoft’s Co-Pilot button. It would be great if that button alone could be reassigned.
The trackpad is also great, with a large size and a 16:10 aspect ratio that matches the display too. It is glass-topped and the tracking was accurate. The click mechanism is not as good as the Zephyrus G14, but it is much better than older TUF series laptops, which often compromised on the trackpad.
For ports, the TUF A14 is equipped with the following ports
For a thin and light gaming laptop, this is an excellent selection of ports. Personally I would have liked to see a full sized SD Card reader, but its not a deal breaker.
Regarding wireless connectivity, the TUF A14 does support WiFi 6E, which is nice. However it utilizes a MediaTek chipset, which is not great. My WiFi connection did drop a couple of times, which is not ideal. Thankfully, the chip is replaceable, so you can switch to an Intel WiFi chipset if it causes too much trouble. Other than that, the laptop supports Bluetooth 5.3 too.
Thanks to AMD Ryzen’s amazing power efficiency, the TUF A14’s boasts rather impressive battery life for a gaming laptop. It is equipped with a 73WHr cell, which is pretty big for a thin and light machine.
With light-to-medium use, I was able to consistently get between 6-8 hours of screen-on-time, so I was able to comfortably last a work day without needing the charger. With heavier use, especially in applications that use the dedicated NVIDIA GPU, the battery would drain much faster.
When you do want to charge the laptop, the included 200W adapter can quickly charge the laptop up to 50% in less than 30 minutes. Another bonus is support for USB PD charging on the left Type-C port, which can be handy in a pinch.
ASUS has stepped up the game in a big way with the TUF A14, and it is safe to say that I am incredibly impressed with it. It offers good performance, an amazing display, an excellent keyboard, plenty of ports and great battery life. The laptop’s build is high-quality and the design is clean.
In many ways, the TUF A14 is a less-expensive version of the ROG Zephyrus G14. That is great news for those who want a thin-and-light gaming laptop, but don’t want to spend as much for the G14. If you want a laptop that is built better and offers higher performance, then you can consider the G14, otherwise the TUF A14 will be a better choice for most people. Especially when you take into consideration the difference in price.
Between the two variants of the TUF A14, both the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPUs are good choices. So you can choose between the two based on your budget.
The model we reviewed is priced at Rs. 1,69,990 and is available for purchase in ASUS Offline stores and on Amazon.
Sony launched the MDR-MV1 Reference Monitor Headphones, designed for music creators, audiophiles, and sound engineers, a few weeks back as the successor to MDR-7506. It has a lightweight design, and comfortable fit, reducing ear fatigue during extended use and utilize a specially developed driver unit that achieves ultra-wideband playback from 5Hz to 80kHz. Here we have the review of the headphones. Continue reading “Sony MDR-M1 Review: Professional Closed Monitor Headphones”
Gaming hardware is undergoing a radical miniaturization process, accelerated by the release of Valve’s Steam deck, which opened the gates for a form factor that has long been the favorite of nomadic PC gamers. “Handheld Gaming” machines got a boost with the release of the Nintendo Switch way back in 2017. Then Steamdeck happened in 2022. Since then, the market has expanded to include the PC manufacturers who have their own gaming brands. Companies like Lenovo are now able to expand into new territory, getting a boost beyond laptops, custom PCs and gaming accessories. Lenovo’s Legion is analogous to ASUS’ ROG Ally series and MSI Claw series. Lenovo has chosen to go for some interesting design decisions and are now firmly in the scene. Technically, this category of devices is still in the early adopter phase, so let’s dive in to the review, assuming we know this category is in its alpha stage and that battery life is the biggest hurdle to a seamless experience.
Continue reading “Lenovo Legion Go Review — Chunky Powerplay”
vivo launched its V40e smartphone in India last month, as the successor to V30e which was launched a few months back. This retains the curved AMOLED screen with a 50MP eye AF camera inside the punch-hole, and a 5500mAh battery, but replaces the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC with Dimensity 7300 SoC. Is this the worthy upgrade to the V30e? Let use dive into the review to find out. Continue reading “vivo V40e Review: Subtle enhancements”
Apple launched the iPhone 16 series last month as the successor to iPhone 15 series. Here we have the iPhone 16 Plus, the bigger model in the series. This gets upgraded ultra-wide camera with macro option, Camera Control button, Action button, faster A18 chip with support for Apple Intelligence features, and a bigger battery, while retaining the same price. Continue reading “Apple iPhone 16 Plus Review: Upgraded performance, stellar battery”
ACEFAST, popular for its chargers, cables and audio products, recently launched its 218W Desktop Power Station Z4 with 3 x USB-C Ports a USB Type-A port so that you can charge a MacBooks and other laptops or Ultrabooks, iPhones, and other smartphones at the same time. Let us check out the review to find out what this has to offer. Continue reading “ACEFAST 218W Desktop Charging Station Z4 Review”
It’s 2024 Pixel time! Google has 3 variants of their flagship series now (9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL), unlike last year’s 2 (8, 8Pro). It kind of mirrors the Apple iPhone line up like 16, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max and Samsung with their S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra series. Google is definitely playing the big game here. In fact, it is their biggest game and bet on the symbiosis between leading edge hardware and a custom “Gemini-powered, Pixel-heavy” user experience. The Pixel 9 Pro XL is their best effort at producing a flagship that is worthy of our hard-earned money. What’s Google’s play this time? Can they join the big league of blockbuster flagships this year? Will this be your phone-to-get this holiday season? Or is it another phone-to-forget? Let’s find out. Continue reading “Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Review — Creator Favorite”
In the fiercely competitive premium smartphone market, the HONOR 200 Pro makes a bold statement, blending high-end capabilities with a design that exudes elegance.
Launched in India in July, this phone commands a price of Rs. 57,999. However, with discounts it is available for less than Rs. 45,000. Available in two captivating colors—Green and Black—the HONOR 200 Pro targets users who crave top-tier performance, a sleek aesthetic, and exceptional multimedia features. Does it live up to the expectations? Let’s delve into the details to find out. Continue reading “HONOR 200 Pro Review: A Feature-Packed Smartphone with a Premium Touch”
Amazfit launched the GTR 4 New, the company’s latest smartwatch in the GTR series, two years after the launch of the original GTR 4. It has a 1.45-inch AMOLED screen, has built-in microphone and speaker for voice calling capabilities, comes with GPS support and runs Zepp OS 3.0. I have been using the latest smartwatch from Amazfit for about a week now, and here is the review. Continue reading “Amazfit GTR 4 New Review: Feature-Packed Smartwatch”
motorola launched the edge 50 neo, the company’s latest smartphone in the edge 50 series, in India last week. The successor to last year’s edge 40 neo gets a better display, faster processor, better cameras, and it is the first phone from motorola to get 5 OS updates. It retains IP68 ratings and also gets military-grade durability. However, this has a smaller battery. Is this the best Continue reading “motorola edge 50 neo Review: Good display, Great value”
