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Alvin

@sondesix

Jun 4

iQOO Neo 10 - Full Review:
A Solid Performer in Speed and Endurance – and Your Wallet’s Still Happy!

Meet the new iQOO Neo 10!
In Blaze Orange, this phone looks radiant and beautiful. 🔥

These are the highlights of the Neo 10 👇
✅ World's first Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 phone
✅️ Dual-chip Architecture (+ “Supercomputing Chip” Q1)
✅ Ultra-fast LPDDR5X RAM + UFS 4.1 storage
✅ 7000 mAh battery, 120W charging
✅ 1.5K 144 Hz display, 5500 nits peak brightness

It is the first Neo to launch in Indonesia. I'm excited to show you what iQOO, as a sub-brand from vivo that focuses on performance, has in store for us.

Grab your snacks – let’s dive into the review! 🍿

IQOO NEO 10:
HIGHLIGHTS

Before I get into my detailed thoughts by category, let’s first review the highlights of my impressions of this phone. 👇

✅️ Reasons to Get:
• Excellent performance, with great heat management. Nice for multitasking, thanks to the flagship-grade RAM and storage specs.
• Superb as a gaming phone. It manages to sustain the performance very well, and it has a nice upscaling technology that works very efficiently.
• Outstanding endurance, paired with awesome charging speed (at 120W). It has a 7000 mAh battery without making the body thick.
• The 1.5K 144 Hz display is fluid, vivid, and it is not afraid of the bright sunlight.
• It is a well-designed phone. Feels great, thin, light, and looks distinctive with that Porthole Design. Blaze Orange is an eye-catching colour.
• Funtouch OS 15 on the Neo 10 is smooth, stable, very customisable, and feature-rich. The AI features are identical to other vivo phones.
• The optical fingerprint scanner works very rapidly, and it is reliable to use.
• Great haptics, nice to use for navigation gestures, gaming, and daily use.
• Good overall audio quality, especially when using wireless earbuds.

🚫 Reasons to Avoid:
• The ultra-wide camera does not perform that well, because of hardware limitations (8 MP sensor).
• It is not for you who needs a great camera system.

📈 What to Improve:
• The audio quality coming from the speakers is “only” nice. While it is loud and has some bass, it lacks that extra “oomph”, clarity, and presence that higher quality speakers have.
• It still has a matte plastic frame. Using a metal frame would’ve been even better.

PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT

After using phones with a circular rear camera housing for months, it feels refreshing to switch back to a phone with a different camera design.

The iQOO Neo 10 uses the distinctive Porthole camera design that has become iQOO’s unique identity for years now.

Unlike the iQOO 13, the Neo 10 doesn't feature the “Dynamic light” effect around the camera housing, but that doesn't significantly detract from the phone's uniqueness.

That's because the rear side pattern is very iconic, and it makes the Blaze Orange colour stand out even more.

This colour looks striking, with a bold orange finish that covers the entire back cover and the frame.

Read 23 tweets

Alvin

@sondesix

Mar 21

vivo V50 - Full Review:
Striking Gaze, Lasts for Days, Reliable Always.

Meet the sleek and gorgeous vivo V50 in Harmony Red!

With the V50, vivo has made some improvements that may seem minor on paper, such as:
✅ The new “Rounded-edge Design” with a micro quad-curved display
✅ 6000 mAh battery and 90W charging, all without making the phone bulky, thick, and heavy
✅ An Aura Light that is larger with 100% more lighting area
✅ Underwater Photography feature

After using this phone for more than three weeks, my initial impressions started to change as I found some unexpected improvements along with other findings that made me think that this phone is better than I expected.

So, settle in as we explore the ins and outs of the vivo V50, from its design, camera, performance, battery life, and everything in between. 👇

VIVO V50:
HIGHLIGHTS

✅️ Reasons to Get:
• It looks beautiful while being thin, light, and unique, without trying too hard to look bold
• Very good overall camera performance for the class, great ultra-wide for the class and nice for street photography
• Incredible battery life paired with super-fast charging speed
• Very good performance with great heat management and good sustainability
• It has the fastest fingerprint scanner I’ve ever used on a mid-range phone
• Smooth and stable software, full of features and customisation options
• The balance between design, battery, performance, and camera reliability makes it easy to recommend

🚫 Reasons to Avoid:
• A small overall upgrade over the V40
• The LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage might sway your purchase decision

📈 What to Improve:
• A metal frame instead of plastic would’ve been great
• The display resolution should’ve stayed at 1.5K
• Funtouch OS needs to look and feel more like OriginOS
• It should’ve used an x-axis vibration motor for a better haptic feedback

PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT

At the first glance, the vivo V50 might look similar to the V40 in terms of design language.

But with the V50, vivo adopts a new design language that they call “Rounded-edge Design."

This design aims to make the phone feel comfortable to hold and premium to look at.

And I think they are very successful in delivering that vision. vivo V50 looks beautiful, especially in this elegant Harmony Red colour.

It is a beautiful red finish that looks elegant, without being too unappealingly flashy. It is close to a wine or scarlet red, which are my favourite kind of reds.

Aside from looking great, it also feels extremely comfortable to hold vertically (when using the phone normally) and horizontally (when playing games or listening to a song).

The camera housing area looks very distinctive. I would say that it is unique without being a try-hard.

People who don’t like phones with a huge circular camera housing on the rear side might prefer the look of the V50’s camera bump.

The edges on the rear side are rounded, so that’s why the phone feels so nice to hold.

The frosted glass rear side also feels smooth and delicate, without any rough parts that can ruin the experience of using the phone.

Read 25 tweets

Alvin

@sondesix

Feb 28

2 Weeks with the Galaxy S25 Ultra:
The Art of Perfecting an Old Formula.

Two weeks. That’s all it took for the Galaxy S25 Ultra to either impress me… or leave me wanting for more.

On paper, this phone might be very familiar to some. But just like with all Samsung phones, it’s the detail that matters the most.

I have been using this phone as my true daily driver, and I have uncovered some very interesting stuff. Some changes are significant, some are subtle, and some might just affect your purchase decision.

Now, grab your popcorn as we dive deep into all of the features, improvements, and shortcomings of Samsung’s latest flagship phone of 2025. 🍿

SAMSUNG GALAXY S25 ULTRA:
HIGHLIGHTS

✅️ Reasons to Get:
• A breathtakingly stunning design that is more rounded, minimalistic, lighter, and feels solid to hold
• A gorgeous anti-reflective display that is bright, vivid, and responsive
• One UI 7 is the best smartphone OS/skin I’ve ever used. Beautiful, silky smooth, feature-rich, and reliable
• Awesome performance with a very good overall heat management
• Excellent overall audio quality, the best speakers I’ve heard on a smartphone
• Super fast and reliable ultrasonic fingerprint scanner
• Excellent haptics, very precise, powerful, and customisable in strength
• Very good overall camera performance, powered by a versatile camera system that is mostly reliable, including the selfie camera and one of the best smartphone ultra-wide lenses out there

🚫 Reasons to Avoid:
• Minimal change in camera system, almost a sidegrade
• The 3x lens, while nice as an intermediary zoom level between the main and 5x lenses, has an extremely old sensor that ruins the low-light performance

📈 What to Improve:
• Some photos and videos need to have more depth in the results. They can look so unnaturally flat sometimes
• Battery life, while very good, is not as good as other phones with a larger Silicon Carbide battery. So it would be nice for them to finally adopt a newer technology
• Video is still not the best in class. Far from the most noiseless and not the best in exposure & highlight control. I am almost 100% certain it is a processing problem rather than a sensor limitation

PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT

I think this is one of the main highlights of the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Some people might say that Samsung has lost its identity for using this “generic” or “widely used” design. This design is a big departure from the signature rectangular Galaxy S Ultra or Note Series devices. But, I do believe that this change has brought more benefits than the shortcomings.

Overall, I think the Galaxy S25 Ultra has a spectacular design in both look and feel. It looks incredible, feels astonishingly solid, and it is very comfortable to hold because of how much lighter it is.

Compared to the S24 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Ultra has much more rounded corners but with a flat frame resembling the regular S25 Series models.

The rear side still has the “Floating camera design” with five circular islands consisting of four camera lenses and a Laser Autofocus sensor array. It uses a flat frosted glass material on the rear side. There’s a Samsung logo under the back cover that looks as if it is blurry or double-layered when you view it directly.

I also love the minimalism, in the sense that this phone has absolutely no text (except for the Samsung logo) on its body. No camera specs near the camera housing, and nothing on the sides except for the buttons and ports.

Read 40 tweets

Alvin

@sondesix

Jan 22

Capturing Portraits with the vivo X200 Pro:
“ZEISS Multifocal Portrait” in Action!

As you might have known, vivo X200 Pro brings the “ZEISS Multifocal Portrait” feature that allows us to capture portrait photos using several focal length options, portrait lens kits/presets, bokeh flare types, and styles.

In this post, I will tell you all about my experience of using the portrait mode of this phone after around a month of usage.

Enjoy the post! 👀

I’ll just tell you a story about the ZEISS Multifocal Portrait feature on the vivo X200 Pro along with the camera samples for you to see.

With the X200 Pro, there are five different portrait focal length options that you can choose from. That includes the new 135 mm option that is great for close-ups. It is equivalent to around 5.9x zoom.

vivo considered them as “golden focal lengths” and I think it is a versatile solution for your portraits.

I love how vivo shows the focal length in mm (for example: 23 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, and 135 mm) instead of the magnification level (1x, 1.5x, 2.2x, 3.7x, and 5.9x).

Below, you can see several portrait camera samples captured by the vivo X200 Pro:
• 23 mm, Natural flare type
• 50 mm, Natural flare type
• 85 mm, Natural flare type
• 135 mm, Natural flare type

vivo X200 Pro also has several presets that are tailored by the company for specific scenes.

You can choose from:
• 23 mm Landscape Portrait: this one uses the vintage tone and the ZEISS Distagon bokeh flare style, and is recommended for scenic spots and “landmark check-ins.”
• 35 mm Street Portrait: this preset is tailored for city street scenes & stores. It uses the textured tone and the ZEISS B-speed bokeh flare.
• 50 mm Classic Portrait: this preset is suitable for outdoor nature scenes. It uses the crisp colour tone with the ZEISS Biotar bokeh flare style.
• 50 mm Natural Portrait: this one is versatile, suitable for any scene. It uses the natural tone and the Natural (default) bokeh flare.
• 85 mm Cultural Portrait: suitable for sunny days or scenes with natural lighting, this preset uses the B&W colour tone and the Natural bokeh style.
• 85 mm Figure Portrait: this preset uses the “Nautical Blue” colour style and the ZEISS Sonnar bokeh flare. It is suitable for outdoor photos (on a sunny day, sunset, or a night scene).
• 135 mm Close-up Portrait: this portrait preset is suitable for daily indoor activities or scenes with natural lighting. vivo claims that it has extremely high detail level, and it uses the ZEISS Planar bokeh flare with the “Gray” colour style.

This can be a very quick solution for you to capture portrait photos as you just have to choose the preset that you desire for the scene.

You just need to learn the character of vivo’s camera app and how the “ZEISS Multifocal Portrait” system works.

Read 16 tweets

Alvin

@sondesix

Jan 10

3 Weeks with the vivo X200 Pro:
An Outstanding Superphone Filled with Surprises – “Pro” in Name, “Ultra” in Experience

In the past three weeks, I have been using the vivo X200 Pro extensively as my true daily driver.

Now, I can tell you so many reasons why I love this phone (and how vivo can improve it).

With the X200 Pro, vivo introduced several new and improved features:
✅️ “200 MP ZEISS APO Telephoto Camera,” inherited from the X100 Ultra
✅️ The new LYT-818 “ZEISS True Colour Main Camera”
✅️ MediaTek Dimensity 9400 chip
✅️ 6000 mAh Silicon Carbide battery with 90W charging
✅️ “ZEISS Master Colour Display”
✅️ Refined design with brushed metal frame and a quad-curved display

Before we start, I just want to let you know that even though it is an “imaging flagship phone,” it is an ultimate all-rounder that can compete with all other phones in its class.

Now, grab your snacks and enjoy the review! 🍿

VIVO X200 PRO:
HIGHLIGHTS

✅️ Reasons to Get:
• Incredible overall camera performance for photos and videos, especially when using the main and periscope tele lenses
• Gorgeous display that gets super bright with vivid colours
• Very elegant yet minimalistic design with a comfortable in-hand feel
• Fantastic performance with great thermals and sustainability
• Awesome battery endurance, can be charged very rapidly
• Excellent haptics that feel very tight and precise
• Extremely fast and reliable ultrasonic fingerprint scanner
• Very good audio quality, whether it is when using the speakers or earbuds

🚫 Reasons to Avoid:
• It is very top-heavy

📈 What to Improve:
• Funtouch OS 15 is nice, but it needs some extra refinements in terms of the customisation tools, features, and the overall polish
• Again, the display is gorgeous but it should have 2K resolution instead of 1.5K
• The ultra-wide and selfie cameras are unchanged compared to X100 Pro

PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT

Out of all phones with this type of “huge circular camera bump” on the rear side, I think vivo X200 Pro has the neatest, most elegant design. This phone looks so beautiful and it feels awesome to hold.

I get it, some people don’t like this circular camera housing design. But honestly, I’ve grown to love it so much, especially if it is well-designed and not trying too hard to look unique.

Starting from the rear side, vivo X200 Pro keeps the circular camera design on the rear side, but with the outer camera ring being symmetrical instead of being shaped like a crescent moon like its predecessor.

Aside from that, I also love the fact that they have removed the “Xtreme Imagination” text under the camera housing. As a result, the whole phone looks a lot cleaner now.

The rear side texture itself is soft and smooth. It is an extremely well-made frosted (matte) glass that looks very simplistic and elegant at the same time.

The Titanium Grey unit that I have has this luxurious metallic look that I truly love. It is a warmer grey colour that can look different depending on the angle when you view it.

What I noticed when seeing this phone for the first time is the gorgeous brushed metal frame. It is an Aluminium frame in grey, which supports the “Titanium” look of the phone without actually using a Titanium material.

It is a nice little detail that makes the phone look so nice and feel so comfortable to hold. It is not slippery.

The frame is symmetrical and flat.

The frame doesn’t flow seamlessly with the curved back cover of the phone, but it doesn’t feel sharp to hold because it isn’t rough on the edges.

Read 23 tweets

Alvin

@sondesix

Nov 28, 2024

iQOO 13 - Full Review:
A phone that took two big steps forward, one step back.

After the successful launch of the iQOO 12, the company is hoping to make another huge noise with the new iQOO 13.

This is Indonesia's first smartphone to launch with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, and possibly also the first one with the same chip in some other regions.

It also brings some other new advancements like a huge 6150 mAh battery, “Supercomputing Chip” Q2, a bigger vapour chamber cooling system, a 144 Hz 2K LTPO AMOLED display, an ultrasonic under-screen fingerprint scanner, and more.

In the past two weeks, I have tested this phone as one of my daily drivers and now I'll tell you all about it.

So now, please grab your snacks and enjoy the review! 🍿🍟

#iQOO13 #DualChipsetMonsterInside #MonsterInside #DoubleTheMonster
@iqoo_id

PART 1:
DESIGN AND COMFORT

As a whole, the iQOO 13 has a similar design language as its predecessor. It still has that iconic design that has become iQOO's identity in the past year or so.

They called it the “Porthole Design” and I think it's a breath of fresh air when compared to a sea full of smartphones with circular camera housing designs. This design language is unique, despite the fact that some other brands have started to get inspired by it.

The unit that I have is the Black variant that they called Alpha, and I think it looks minimalistic, classic, and elegant. It is a safe and versatile colour, and even though I still prefer the White (Legend) variant, this one still looks great!

What I love is that they have changed the look and feel of the glass back cover from what looked more textured or gritty to something that looks and feels smoother. It is still matte glass, but much more refined.

The Alpha iQOO 13 model is only 7.99 mm thick and it weighs 207 grams. It is heavier than the Alpha iQOO 12, but the weight distribution is very good as it is not top heavy unlike a lot of phones with a huge circular camera housing.

On the front side of the iQOO 13, you can see a slightly bigger display than the iQOO 12 (6.82” vs 6.78”). The front side looks nice, similar to the iQOO 12 and a lot of other phones in its class.

It is still a flat screen, and I think it feels nicer for playing games even though gestures feel less satisfying.

iQOO 13 has thinner bezels on all four sides compared to the iQOO 12. Despite the increase in screen size, the phone is only 0.15 mm longer.

The only “bad” thing about it is that the bottom bezel/chin is still thicker than the other three bezels. A small thing to judge, tbh.

Read 32 tweets

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