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Spider-Man Remastered PC Review: A Tad Overpriced, but Worth the Wait

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hitesh
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Spider-Man Remastered PC Review: A Tad Overpriced, but Worth the Wait

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Spider-Man is finally on PC — and it might be the greatest decision Sony has made to expand its outreach. If the headline didn’t give it away, I’m talking about Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, the updated next-gen version of the 2018 award-winning title. As someone who doesn’t own a PlayStation console, this is quite eventful — being able to experience the iconic web slinger’s escapades first-hand, albeit a few years past its relevance. The friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man swings onto PC this week, bringing with it a range of graphical options that the PS5 and PS4 lack. Co-developed by Insomniac Games, this version comes with high-resolution assets, support for ultra-wide screens, and ray-tracing out of the box. This is in addition to the diverse peripheral controls designed solely for PC gamers.

Having had the pleasure of playing Spider-Man Remastered ahead of launch, here’s what I think of it. Full disclosure: I have never played the original game on PS4 or PS5, or even watched walkthroughs on YouTube. So as you’ll see in the review below, I will gradually take you through personal experiences during gameplay.

The PC version of Spider-Man Remastered is a basic port, offering a slightly refined affair with overhauled graphics. You play as the titular spandex-wearing superhero and swing around town, facing multiple baddies hailing from the Marvel universe. Those on PC can compare this experience to Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham franchise, whose blueprints and inspiration can be seen sprinkled throughout.

Spider-Man Remastered PC review: controls

Insomniac has offered full keyboard and mouse controls with Spider-Man Remastered on PC, with button-mapping to suit your convenience. The default layout is intuitive for the most part, except for the dodge button, which is set to the left control key. Getting used to it takes a while, since it translates to the “crouch” action in most video games. It’s an odd placement. During intense combat, I accidentally kept hitting the ‘Windows’ button instead of dodging, whenever the Spidey-Sense tingled, giving me all the more reason to swap.

Spider-Man Remastered also comes with full gamepad support, featuring an inbuilt setting to enable haptic feedback on the PS5 DualSense controller. This implies that PC players won’t have to set up the DS4Windows software to allow seamless compatibility. Now, I personally don’t own one, so I can’t directly attest to this.

That said, testing the game with a Logitech controller gave ideal results, with precise response times and comfort. Even if you aren’t used to playing on a gamepad, the mapping is designed perfectly to suit an action-adventure title as such. In fact, I would say it’s much easier to play Spider-Man Remastered with a controller than keyboard and mouse.

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While it provides intuitive keyboard and mouse controls, Spider-Man Remastered is best played with a controller
Photo Credit: Sony/Insomniac Games

Spider-Man Remastered PC review: graphics and gameplay

Every time you launch Spider-Man Remastered, it will throw up a pop-out window, letting you manually adjust settings before you enter the actual game. This is similar to most Square Enix titles, allowing for some important alterations such as V-sync and window mode, with a dedicated slider for the motion blur effect. And while the latter is notorious for causing motion sickness in most games, here, it’s nowhere as obnoxious.

Once you’re inside Spider-Man Remastered on PC, you’re in for a treat. The visuals look spectacular, with highly-detailed textures and lighting options that bring these fictional icons to life. Character models have clearly received special treatment here, as they seem least affected by changes in graphics quality. Even on the lowest settings, skin and clothing texture look decent, with sacrifices made in the reflection department. Likewise, any pieces of text, logos, reused assets, and buildings are marred by blurry renders.

Spider-Man Remastered on PC provides five different graphics presets to choose from: “Very Low”, “Low”, “Medium”, “High”, and “Very High”. Starting with the lowest, every parameter is set to the base bottom, excluding lens flares, chromatic aberration, and vignettes that add a level of angelic look to them. Akin to the photography in a Terrence Malick or Sean Baker film. In these settings, objects such as glass look plasticy, debris looks like unset clay, and far-off buildings lack detail. Some of this can be countered by tweaking the depth of field.

Cranking the preset up to ‘Low’ only enables bloom, creating a natural glow effect when light bleeds through objects, like tree branches. Interestingly, the anti-aliasing is set to TAA (temporal), regardless of the chosen preset, leading to smoothened edges. You can set this to SMAA or simply turn it off to gain more frames at the cost of rough, polygonal edges. Enabling screen space reflections, as the name suggests, throw a spitting image of the tall skyscrapers onto windows. But when climbing walls, Spider-Man’s reflection can only be seen at specific, narrowed angles. This can be amplified by toggling on ray-traced reflections as seen in the PS5 version, though I couldn’t test it first-hand due to the lack of an RTX card.

All You Need to Know About Spider-Man Remastered PC

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Particle effects can also be adjusted, though it won’t be as prominent during gameplay
Photo Credit: Sony/Insomniac Games

Even on a budget build, the ‘Medium’ presets in Spider-Man Remastered manage to throw striking images, upping the ante with facial pores and individual, defined hair strands. In previous settings, these were airbrushed, making stubbles look like goofy ink smudges. Shadows and weather particle effects can also be adjusted to your liking, with higher values adding stress to your GPU — so tread lightly. Be mindful of how much these two variables matter to you, as you’ll just be swinging around town during 90 percent of outdoor sequences.

Similarly, you can fiddle around with texture filtering to get the best images when viewing from extreme angles. Unlike most options on the list, this one isn’t as demanding on modern GPUs. So, feel free to dial it to at least 4x anisotropic, ensuring reduced jaggies on Spider-Man Remastered PC. But if you still face difficulty running the game on your system, just take it down to the less-advanced trilinear filtering option.

It’s when you enter ‘High’ regions that you start seeing magic on Spider-Man Remastered PC. The lighting gets an instant facelift, while the graphics look hyper-realistic with visible dust particles floating in the air. Traversing the sprawling city of New York feels exhilarating, as you freefall down to honking cars and cheerful applause from bystanders. In quick response, you then thwip out your web and propel upwards, only to be blinded by divine golden sun rays off the coast — mimicking the final scene from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. I couldn’t ask for a finer experience.

The most notable difference when comparing low and high settings would be the textures, the effects of which can be seen live due to the menu’s placement, taking up half of the screen real estate. Furthermore, games that manage to apply their graphics settings without needing a restart are a plus in my books — and this one ticks the box.

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The settings menu placement allows you to see graphics changes live
Photo Credit: Insomniac Games. Screenshot by Rahul Chettiyar/Gadgets 360

Upon returning to the game, the settings take a few seconds to fully apply, causing a heavy stutter, or on rare occasions, a crash. And while I do appreciate the Spider-Man Remastered PC menu telling me what jargon implies what, it still lacks a VRAM usage indicator at the bottom right. So when you adjust these options, there’s no telling at what point you’re hitting the threshold and causing lag spikes — the schematics of which we’ll get to later.

On ‘Very High’ settings, the difference is negligible, featuring some light glows with higher quality weather particles. For some reason, the texture filtering never climbs to 16x anisotropic automatically. Nothing concerning, since the petty shift is only visible in Spider-Man Remastered PC cutscenes. Then there’s the varied display support, offering options between 21:9 ultrawide and 32:9 panoramic for an immersive experience, alongside several accessibility features.

Spider-Man Remastered PC review: performance

In addition to looking super appealing on PC, Spider-Man Remastered is fairly well-optimised. My test rig consisted of a 3.6GHz AMD Ryzen 5 2400G processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super GPU with 6GB VRAM, 16GB RAM, a full-HD monitor, and a 256GB SSD. Since the files are hefty, weighing 65.25GB, I took the typical gamer approach of installing it on a hard drive. But unless you’re running a decked-out PC, this isn’t the ideal route.

SSDs are commonly associated with faster load times. But here, the impact is seen instantly in-game with smoother frames, quicker asset loading, and transitions between cutscenes. We also left motion blur on here, as it never feels as jarring and emphasises Spidey’s acrobatic moveset. On the lowest settings, Spider-Man Remastered chugs out a maximum of 105fps, while dancing between 73–76fps on average. During intense fights or populated set pieces, it fell to 68fps.

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spider man remastered pc review SSD spider man remastered pc review

It is recommended that you install Spider-Man Remastered PC on your SSD, as here, it helps with smoother frames and quicker asset loading
Photo Credit: Sony/Insomniac Games

Moving up the ladder, the low preset maxed out at 92fps, but struggled a bit when swinging outdoors in Spider-Man Remastered PC. From here onwards, grappling around town would cause frames to drop to the 50s, causing micro-stutters that aren’t obvious to the naked eye. With bloom enabled, the game averaged 68fps and dropped to 60fps during outdoor combat or particle explosions.

At medium, on our budget build, Spider-Man Remastered PC manages to shell out 80fps maximum, while maintaining a smooth 64fps performance on average. Meanwhile, mingling with crowds or swinging past towers plummeted the framerate to 50. Understandable, given the sheer volume of artefacts it needs to process in a short interval.

Shifting to High preset, elements like lens flare and depth-of-field became prominent, with freeform traversal appearing janky, dipping to 30fps at one point. Still playable, but inconsistent when compared to other metrics in this preset. Standard gameplay averaged 52fps with highs of 70fps (interior segments). During a lengthy wave-type combat segment in Spider-Man Remastered involving guns, rocket launchers, and shock batons, the lowest recorded framerate was 40fps. There’s no discernible slowdown, but some camera smoothening could have helped.

With similar PC specs, if consistent frames is your goal, go for the Medium preset with Spider-Man Remastered. Push for High if you don’t mind some dips at random.

But it wasn’t until I hit the Very High preset — where Spider-Man Remastered averages 47fps with constant slips to the 33fps region — that it made for an unpleasant gameplay experience.

According to the official spec sheet, running Spider-Man Remastered on these settings demands an Nvidia RTX 3070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT GPU. Even if you aren’t into ray-tracing, 8GB VRAM is necessary to get satisfying results, with added benefits of DLSS. As mentioned earlier, the settings menu doesn’t offer a threshold indication, thereby forcing players to go look up the requirements online.

Should you buy Spider-Man Remastered on PC?

When compared to past PlayStation ports such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone, Marvel’s Spider-Man (Remastered) is in a much better technical state. It’s quite forgiving on both performance and visual ends, allowing players to run the game on old-gen hardware, dating back to the GTX 950 days.

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When compared to past PlayStation to PC ports, Spider-Man Remastered is in a much better technical state
Photo Credit: Sony/Insomniac Games

The performance issues I encountered, although uneven, didn’t shatter the immersion for me, and it manages to run like a charm on a tight, budget-build system. Bear in mind, this review isn’t even based on the final build of Spider-Man Remastered, which is expected to be delivered as a day-one update.

Spider-Man Remastered on PC warrants a second playthrough, especially for PS4 owners who still haven’t been able to get hold of a PS5. New players on PC are in for a treat, as they can expect a compelling narrative, bound by smooth, free-flowing gameplay that rivals the Batman: Arkham games. (I’m counting out Batman: Arkham Knight here, which had a terrible launch on PC.)

That said, I do believe that the Rs. 3,999 price tag is a bit too much for a basic remaster — for a title that’s now nearly four years old, with the PS5 remaster itself nearing its second anniversary. Sure, one could argue the “remastered” tag carries a bit more weight, but that doesn’t explain why God of War (2018) launched with identical features at a Rs. 3,299 price tag earlier this year. But hey, at least Marvel’s Spider-Man is now finally on PC.

Pros:

  • Decently optimised
  • Stunning visuals
  • Intuitive keyboard and mouse controls
  • DualSense haptic feedback
  • Motion blur is not obnoxious
  • No need for restart when changing graphics settings

Cons:

  • No VRAM usage indicator
  • Lacks camera smoothening
  • Swinging around town causes micro stutters
  • Quite demanding specs for ray-tracing
  • Graphics difference is negligible in higher presets
  • Pricey when compared to past PlayStation PC ports

Rating (out of 10): 8

Gadgets 360 played Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on a PC with AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6GHz, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super GPU 6GB, and 16GB RAM.

Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is priced at Rs. 3,999 on Steam and Epic Games Store.

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 First Impressions: Iterative Upgrades

By
hitesh
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 First Impressions: Iterative Upgrades

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Samsung has just announced its next generation of foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4. These new smartphones are accompanied by brand new accessories such as the Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. For this impression piece, we’ll only be looking at the new smartphones. If you were expecting major upgrades like we got with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 smartphones, you might be a little disappointed. The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 are iterative updates with slightly tweaked designs, upgraded cameras, and a current-gen processor. However, some of the changes, albeit small, are quite meaningful and could be enough to win the favour of prospective buyers.

Let’s begin with the Galaxy Z Fold 4. It’s priced starting at $1,799.99 (approximately Rs. 1,42,830 before taxes). According to Samsung, the main highlights of the new Fold are its flagship-grade cameras, a more powerful SoC, and a lighter body. The latter is the first thing I noticed and even though this model still weighs 263g (the Z Fold 3 is 271g), the weight now feels better distributed. It’s still very chunky and the two halves of the phone don’t sit flush with one another when closed, like with the Flip.

The metal frame is flatter this time and all the ports and buttons are in their familiar positions. The overall dimensions are also said to be slightly smaller compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, although it’s really hard to tell without seeing both devices side by side. The hinge of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 feels solid and it can be opened at various angles, depending on how you wish to use this device.

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a tweaked design and is lighter than its predecessor

 

Samsung has borrowed some of the camera hardware from the Galaxy S22 series and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 now supports the ‘Nightography’ features, which is the company’s marketing-speak for better low-light photos and videos. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 features a 50-megapixel primary camera with OIS, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom and up to 30X zoom digital zoom. The selfie cameras seem unchanged. 

The inner and outer displays of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are the same size as on the older model but there are a few changes. The outer display is now protected by Corning Gorilla Victus+ and has an adaptive refresh rate of 48Hz to 120Hz, while the inner folding display has a more power-efficient refresh rate range of 1Hz to 120Hz.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 runs OneUI 4.1.1 based on Android 12L. The software is largely similar to what we’ve seen with the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but Samsung has added a new taskbar feature so the bottom row of apps on the homescreen stays pinned alongside the navigation controls whenever you open any app fullscreen. Samsung had introduced this concept as a Labs feature on the Galaxy Z Fold 3, but this implementation on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 feels less intrusive.

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Samsung has addd some new multitasking features to OneUI for the Galaxy Z Fold 4

 

The taskbar will also show you recently opened apps and multi-window app pairs, if any. Besides pinned icons, there’s a drawer to access the rest of your apps. I think this could be a better multitasking solution than using the slide-out app carousel, which I’m not a big fan of, but that’s still an option if you wish to use it.

Coming to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, it too gets the flattened-frame treatment. The phone looks stylish in this purple trim, although I’m not a big fan of the glossy texture of the frame. Our biggest gripe with the Galaxy Z Flip 3 was its battery life, and thankfully Samsung has fitted a larger 3,700mAh (vs 3,300mAh) battery this time for better performance in that regard. The battery is also said to be able to charge from zero to 50 percent in just 30 minutes. This device will be priced starting at $999.99 (approximately Rs. 79,350 before taxes) when it goes on sale internationally.

The hinge on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is now smaller at 1.2mm. The cover screen sadly hasn’t gotten any larger. It can still perform all the same tricks such as letting you capture a selfie when the phone is folded, and now Samsung says you’ll also be able to send automated replies to certain messages from the outer display, although I wasn’t able to test this.

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 has a larger battery than to the previous model

 

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 features similar ‘Flex mode’ features in certain apps when you have the phone folded halfway. Flex Cam is something new, and lets you initiate a timed capture by holding your palm to the camera. The Flip 4 also boasts of ‘Nightography’ features from the Galaxy S22 series, but the sensors seem to be the same 12-megapixel pair for the wide and ultra-wide cameras that the Z Flip 3 has.

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 boasts of a larger battery and a smaller hinge

 

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are both powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. Both have IPX8 ratings for water resistance, as well as stereo speakers and wireless and reverse wireless charging. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is available in three variants with up to 512GB of storage, and all of them have 8GB of RAM. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 can be fitted with up to 1TB of storage and all variants will have 12GB of RAM. We will have to wait and see which variants actually make it to India, and at what prices.

Even though both smartphones are iterative updates over their respective predecessors, the upgraded cameras and newer SoC does make them more competitive and might help justify the premium pricing. For the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the lower weight should make a difference in prolonged use, however that might be moot if you plan on using a case with it. The Galaxy Z Flip 4’s larger battery should address the biggest gripe we had with its predecessor. We’ll be bringing you full reviews of both these smartphones closer to their India launches, so do stay tuned.

Disclosure: Samsung sponsored the correspondent’s flights and hotel for the trip to Bengaluru.

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Chromecast with Google TV Review: Simple, Yet Effective

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hitesh
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Chromecast with Google TV Review: Simple, Yet Effective

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One of the first real streaming devices of the current era was the Google Chromecast, which adopted a novel approach to let you wirelessly access Internet-based content on an ordinary, non-smart television. The device didn’t have a user interface or remote of its own, but when used with a compatible smartphone or tablet, it allowed you to stream content easily, thanks to Google’s ‘casting’ protocol. Streaming devices have, since then, become much more capable, with independent functionality and dedicated remotes in most cases.

That’s where the new Chromecast with Google TV comes in. Launched globally in 2020, this standalone streaming device with the new and improved Google TV user interface has come to India only recently, and is priced at Rs. 6,399. With a convenient form factor, a dedicated remote, and Ultra-HD HDR streaming capabilities, is this the best streaming device you can buy right now? Find out in this review.

chromecast with google tv review ui Google

The Chromecast with Google TV, as its name suggests, runs the newer and more content-centric Google TV user interface

 

Chromecast with Google TV design and specifications

Unlike much larger devices such as the Mi Box 4K or Amazon Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen) which need to be placed on a table top, the Chromecast with Google TV is considerably smaller and lighter, and can safely hang from your TV when connected to an HDMI port.

Although this device is available globally in different colour options, you can only buy it in the ‘Snow’ colour in India. The streaming device is available on Flipkart for now, but Google has confirmed that it will also be sold at offline retail stores in the coming weeks.

The Chromecast with Google TV is oval-shaped and flat, with a fixed rubber cable leading to an HDMI plug on one end, and a USB Type-C port for power on the other end. Included in the sales package is a USB Type-A to Type-C cable and wall socket adapter, which is the recommended way to power the Chromecast. Certain TVs might be able to supply power through a USB port with just the cable, but this is typically a less reliable way to do it.

The device supports streaming at up to Ultra-HD (3840×2160 pixels) at 60fps, with support for high dynamic range content in the Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HDR10 formats. There is also Dolby Atmos support when used with compatible televisions or speaker systems. Dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are supported for external connectivity.

Chromecast with Google TV remote and features

What truly stands out about the Chromecast with Google TV is its remote. This is a small, conveniently-shaped unit powered by two AAA batteries (included in the sales package). It has just a few buttons, including a direction pad, back, and home keys for navigation, hotkeys for YouTube and Netflix, a button to invoke Google Assistant, and volume buttons on the right.

The curved shape of the remote makes it easy to hold, and the side-mounted volume keys are convenient to reach without needing to adjust your grip. There is an IR emitter to control connected devices such as TVs and soundbars, and Bluetooth to control the Chromecast itself and transmit voice commands to Google Assistant.

chromecast with google tv review remote Google

The remote of the Chromecast with Google TV has hotkeys for Netflix and YouTube

 

HDMI-CEC support on the device meant that I was able to control basic functionality such as power and volume adjustments on the television as well as the soundbar that I had connected, using just the Chromecast’s remote. This didn’t need any additional setup, and worked flawlessly during my review. Apart from Google Assistant, the Chromecast also features the classic casting capabilities of its predecessor devices.

Chromecast with Google TV software and performance

The Chromecast with Google TV runs on Android TV 10, with the Google TV user interface on top. This new and improved user interface was introduced in 2020 with the Chromecast, but has since also been made available to other Android TV devices, including Sony televisions and the Realme 4K Smart Google TV Stick. The biggest advantage of Android TV compared to other smart TV and streaming device platforms is the number of available apps; the Google Play store has over 5,000 apps, purpose-built for television screens.

The Google TV user interface is different from the original stock Android TV UI in that it puts a greater focus on content recommendations, and also replaces the erstwhile Google Play Movies and TV app with purchases and rentals directly in the UI. Apps and games are the same on Google TV as on the older UI, since these rely on the base Android TV software.

Content curation and recommendations on Google TV are interesting, with large banners featuring movies and TV shows that the algorithm thinks you will like. These are sorted into various rows based on genres, themes, and content such as titles similar to what you’ve already watched. Some of these rows are quite unique and creative; I had recommendations for ‘Shows set in Los Angeles’, ‘Movies nominated for Best Film Editing Oscar’, and ‘Monsoon Hits’, among others.

chromecast with google tv review back Google

The Chromecast with Google TV supports Ultra-HD and HDR streaming

 

Of the services I’m subscribed to, Google TV was able to integrate with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Apple TV+, and Disney+ Hotstar to suggest content. This made for a great mix of recommendations, and usefully, the interface showed Rotten Tomatoes ratings for almost all recommendations. Rather sensibly, the UI prioritises the easiest and most affordable way to watch each title. It directed me to services I’m subscribed to already wherever possible, to watch specific movies or shows for free.

Actual performance on the Chromecast with Google TV was largely problem-free for me. Connectivity was stable with a 5GHz home Wi-Fi connection, and all apps and content loaded quickly and without any issues. Streaming was similarly hassle-free, with my capable Internet connection ensuring that content would immediately stream in Ultra-HD and HDR when available, or bump to the higher resolution and format within seconds.

Ordinarily, the Chromecast with Google TV streams in the best available resolution and dynamic range, reliably setting up the picture for the native settings of specific content. However, the device has an interesting toggle in the settings menu to force Ultra-HD and Dolby Vision for all content. This made the user interface look a fair bit better and sharper, and seemed to improve the colours even in Full-HD standard dynamic range content by forcing my Dolby Vision compatible television to use those specific picture settings.

Verdict

Streaming devices usually exist to satisfy very specific requirements for the user; you either don’t have smart connectivity on your existing television and aren’t ready to replace it yet, or you don’t like how your TV’s integrated smart connectivity works. The Chromecast with Google TV works reasonably well in either case, and you should not have any trouble with its excellent software and user experience. The fact that it needed minimal setup and tweaking, and pretty much just worked well from the get-go, made me like the Chromecast even more.

It’s a bit expensive, but it does exactly what it’s supposed to and can work with most mainstream audio and video formats right now. It might be worth considering the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max if you’re more in tune with Alexa, but the Chromecast with Google TV is geared for Google Assistant, and works just as well for its core functionality.

Price: Rs. 6,399

Pros:

  • Convenient shape and size
  • Excellent remote
  • Ultra-HD, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos support
  • Very easy to set up and use

Cons:

Ratings (Out of 10):

Design and specifications: 9
Features: 8
Value for money: 6
Overall: 8

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Oppo Reno 8 5G Review: Familiar Wine in a New Bottle?

By
hitesh
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Oppo Reno 8 5G Review: Familiar Wine in a New Bottle?

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Oppo has expanded the Reno series with the introduction of the Reno 8 5G and the Reno 8 Pro 5G (Review). These two smartphones are being marketed as “The Portrait Expert” by Oppo. We’ve already reviewed the Reno 8 Pro 5G which impressed us with its design and build quality, but it didn’t offer as much value as the competition when it came to performance. Will the Oppo Reno 8 5G deliver a similar experience or does it have an edge over the competition? Let’s find out.

Oppo Reno 8 5G price in India

The Oppo Reno 8 5G is priced at Rs. 29,999 for the lone variant with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Oppo does offer the phone in two finishes, Shimmer Gold and Shimmer Black. The pricing puts it up against the OnePlus Nord 2T 5G and the Mi 11X 5G.

oppo reno 8 5g ports gadgets360 Oppo Reno 8 5G Review

The Oppo Reno 8 5G has all the ports at the bottom

Oppo Reno 8 5G design

The Oppo Reno 8 5G has a stylish design and the Shimmer Gold variant I have grabbed attention quite easily. In line with the current design trends, Oppo has flattened the sides of the Reno 8 5G. This makes it easy to hold and comfortable to use single-handedly. The corners are curved and they don’t dig into your palms while using the phone. The frame is made out of plastic and doesn’t feel very premium to the touch.

You get a big 6.4-inch display in the front of the Oppo Reno 8 5G, with a cutout in the top-left corner for the selfie camera. It has fairly thin bezels which help offer an immersive experience, except for the chin at the bottom. Oppo has used Corning Gorilla Glass 5 over the display for protection.

At 179g, the Reno 8 5G isn’t heavy and does not cause fatigue when used for extended periods. The power and the volume buttons are positioned towards the middle of the frame on either side, making them easy to reach. These buttons have a reassuring click which helps avoid second-guessing an input. The top of the frame only has the secondary mic. The SIM tray is at the bottom along with the USB Type-C port, speaker and the primary microphone.

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The Shimmer Gold variant can hide fingerprints quite well

The Oppo Reno 8 5G has a triple camera setup at the back and the module is moulded into the back panel. The camera lens cutouts are huge which easily draw attention to the camera module. The design does remind me of the OnePlus Nord 2T (Review).

Oppo Reno 8 5G specifications

The Oppo Reno 8 5G sports an AMOLED display with a full-HD+ resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, and 180Hz touch-sampling rate. While the OnePlus Nord 2T also has a 90Hz refresh rate, other competing devices such as the Motorola Edge 30 (Review) offer a higher 144Hz refresh rate.

The Oppo Reno 8 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1300 SoC, an octa-core SoC clocked at 3GHz. There is a RAM expansion feature that allows you to extend the RAM up to 5GB. The fixed storage space could be a cause of concern for a few people since it is non-expandable. smartphone. Oppo could have offered a variant with higher storage.

You get two nano-SIM slots and the tray has a rubber ring around it to offer some ingress protection from dust and water. However, the Reno 8 5G isn’t officially IP certified. It has support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, dual-5G standby, and dual-4G VoLTE. It also has six satellite navigation systems. The Reno 8 5G has a 4,500mAh battery with support for 80W fast charging. Oppo also bundles a compatible charger in the box which is a big plus.

oppo reno 8 5g side buttons gadgets360 Oppo Reno 8 5G Review

The plastic frame on the Oppo Reno 8 5G doesn’t feel premium to the touch

The Oppo Reno 8 5G runs ColorOS 12.1 on top of Android 12. It was running the July 2022 Android security patch at the time of writing this review. The phone has a fair amount of bloatware preinstalled such as Byju’s, Dailyhunt, FinShell Pay, HeyFun, Josh, Moj, Netflix, Paytm, Snapchat, and a few more. Most of these apps can be uninstalled. Oppo offers multiple customisation options through the Theme Store app. You also get the option to change accent colours to match the colour of your wallpaper.

Oppo has added Air Gestures which allow the user to interact with the smartphone using hand gestures without touching the screen. I found this feature to be gimmicky and it didn’t work as expected. You still get traditional gestures such as the three-finger swipe for a screenshot, double-tap to wake the screen up, and flip to mute incoming calls among others.

Oppo Reno 8 5G performance

The Oppo Reno 8 5G offered a smooth experience and showed no signs of lag or stutter during my use. The 8GB RAM onboard coupled with the 5GB of storage allocated as RAM allowed for seamless multitasking. I did not have to wait for long for apps to load either. The in-display fingerprint as well as face recognition were consistently quick at authentication.

The AMOLED display was crisp and had good viewing angles. The Reno 8 5G only has a single bottom-firing speaker, but dual speakers would have improved the video watching experience. Thankfully, the single speaker is loud enough. Scrolling through the menus felt smooth on the 90Hz display. The panel is set to 90Hz by default but you do have the option to switch to 60Hz. There is no option for dynamic refresh rate. I used the phone at 90Hz throughout the duration of this review.

oppo reno 8 5g camera module gadgets360 Oppo Reno 8 5G Review

The primary camera on the Reno 8 5G uses a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor

 

In Geekbench 5, the Reno 8 5G managed to score 603 in single-core and 2,522 in multi-core tests. In AnTuTu, the Reno 8 5G managed to score 592,361 points. In graphics benchmark GFX Bench, the phone managed to score 60fps in the T-Rex and 41fps in Car Chase test suites. These scores are very similar to the OnePlus 2T 5G. The Motorola Edge 30 was also close in terms of performance with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G+ SoC.

Gaming performance was good and the Reno 8 5G could run Call of Duty: Mobile at ‘High’ graphics and ‘High’ frame rate settings. The game ran at these settings without any hint of lag or stutter during gameplay. I played the game for 20 minutes and noticed a four percent drop in battery level. The phone was barely warm to the touch after gaming.

Battery life was very good and I could easily go up to two days with my usage, which usually consisted of surfing Instagram, browsing Reddit, replying to WhatsApp messages and watching YouTube videos. In our HD video loop test, the phone managed to run for 22 hours and 48 minutes which was impressive. The bundled 80W charger helped keep charging times low. It managed to charge the phone to 84 percent in 30 minutes and was completely charged in under 40 minutes.

Oppo Reno 8 5G cameras

The Oppo Reno 8 5G sports a triple camera setup. It has a 50-megapixel primary camera with a Sony IMX766 sensor. This camera sensor is widely used in smartphones such as the Nothing Phone 1 (Review), Realme GT Neo 3, OnePlus 10T and even the Oppo Reno 8 Pro 5G (Review). This primary camera does not have OIS and relies on EIS instead. The other cameras are an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 120-degree field of view, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. For selfies, the Oppo Reno 8 5G sports a 32-megapixel selfie camera. I found the camera app to be easy to use.

Photos from the primary camera were quite detailed and had accurate colours. Even in bright conditions, the Reno 8 5G managed to capture colours accurately. The ultra-wide-angle camera had a slight drop in quality compared to the primary shooter. However, it did not have any barrel distortion and I couldn’t find a big difference in colour tones. The camera app has an AI scene optimisation toggle which bumps up colour saturation to make photos more vibrant.

(Top to bottom): Primary and ultra-wide angle camera samples (Tap to see full-size image)

Closeup shots were good and the phone didn’t take much time to lock focus. Portraits too had good edge detection and a natural blur for the background. Macro photos were good, but I constantly had to move the phone around to ensure the shot had proper focus.

(Top to bottom): Close-up and macro camera samples (tap to see full-size image)

 

 

Low-light camera performance was decent and the phone did manage to capture good shots in well-lit environments. Darker areas of the frame had a water-colour like effect. With Night mode enabled, the phone took long-exposure shots which did result in blurry photos if the subject moved a bit.

Low-light and Night mode camera samples (tap to see full-size image)

 

Selfies from the 32-megapixel camera were excellent in daylight as well as low light. Even selfie portraits were quite detailed. In low light, the phone automatically enabled the screen flash which helped capture a brighter image.

(Top to bottom): Daylight group selfie and low-light portrait selfie (tap to see resized image)

 

Video recording topped out at 4K 30fps for the primary camera and 1080p for the selfie shooter. The phone relies on EIS to stabilise footage and does a decent job while shooting at 1080p resolution. However, jitter was visible in the output while shooting at 4K in daylight and was more prominent in low light.

Verdict

The Oppo Reno 8 5G is a well designed smartphone with capable hardware priced under Rs. 30,000. It offers good performance that’s on par with others in the segment and has decent cameras for the price. ColorOS has good features but the amount of preinstalled bloatware could get annoying to someone who prefers a clean Android experience. The lack of OIS also does adversely affect camera performance, especially when shooting photos in low light.

Given the amount of smartphones that have launched in this price range in the past year, the Reno 8 5G has its work cut out. The OnePlus Nord 2T 5G (Review) is the closest alternative and it is nearly identical to the Reno 8 5G in terms of hardware. The Motorola Edge 30 (Review) is priced similarly and focuses on a slim design while offering a 144Hz refresh rate display and clean near-stock Android. The Mi 11X 5G (Review) is also worth considering for anyone purely looking for good performance at this price.

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 Sale: Best Deals to Pick Under Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 1,000

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 Sale: Best Deals to Pick Under Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 1,000

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale is already underway exclusively for Prime members. It brings offers and discounts on various products across different categories. The sale will end on Sunday and shoppers will be able to get deals on smartwatches, truly wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, e-book readers, accessories, and much more. So, if you are shopping with a budget of Rs. 5,000 in mind, here are some of the products you can check out during the Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale.

Best deals under Rs. 1,000

Mivi DuoPods A350

The newly launched Mivi DuoPods A350 are listed with a discounted price of Rs. 999 during the ongoing Amazon Prime Day sale 2022. They are said to offer up to 50 hours of playtime and are IPX4 rated for sweat and water resistance. The truly wireless stereo (TWS) earphones feature Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity. For calls, the earphones come equipped with two MEMS microphones.

Buy now at: Rs. 999 (MRP Rs. 1,499)

Boat Rockerz 450

The Boat Rockerz 450 Bluetooth earphones are listed with a price tag of Rs. 799. They are said to offer up to 15 hours of playback time and feature padded ear cushions to ensure comfortable fitting. The Boat Rockers 450 earphones have 40mm dynamic drivers and support dual mode connectivity via Bluetooth as well as aux input.

Buy now at: Rs. 799 (MRP Rs. 3,990)

Best deals under Rs. 5,000

OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2

The OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 are available during the Amazon sale at Rs. 1,799. The earphones come in a neckband-style design and are equipped with 12.4mm drivers. On a single charge, they are claimed to deliver up to 30 hours of playback time. The OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z2 are IP55 rated for dust and water resistance.

Buy now at: Rs. 1,799 (MRP Rs. 2,299)

Realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo

The Realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo are listed for Rs. 1,299, instead of the original launch price of Rs. 1,499. The Realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo feature 11.2mm dynamic drivers and are claimed to offer up to 17 hours of battery life. They support environment noise cancellation (ENC) and are IPX4 certified for water resistance, and support 88ms low-latency listening.

Buy now at: Rs. 1,299 (MRP Rs. 1,499)

Jabra Elite 3

The Jabra Elite 3 are currently available with a price tag of Rs. 3,499, instead of the original price of Rs. 6,999. The Jabra Elite 3 TWS earbuds feature 6mm drivers and have a four-microphone call technology. The earbuds include support for Qualcomm aptX HD audio and offer noise isolation with Jabra’s HearThrough awareness feature. When bundled with the charging case the earbuds are claimed to deliver up to 28 hours of total battery life. The earphones are IP55-rated for dust and water resistance.

Buy now at: Rs. 3,499 (MRP Rs. 6,999)

Realme Power Bank 3

The ongoing sale on Amazon is currently offering the Realme Power Bank 3 at Rs. 1,498, down from the original price of Rs. 1,999. The portable power bank has 10,000mAh capacity and supports 22.5W fast charging. It is available in a single Black shade and can charge a variety of devices including smartphones, tablets, fitness bands, and Bluetooth headsets.

Buy now at: Rs. 1,498 (MRP Rs. 1,999)

Echo Dot (4th Gen) Smart speaker with Alexa

Amazon Alexa-powered Echo Dot (4th Gen) Smart speaker is available for purchase at Rs. 2,099, instead of the original price of Rs. 4,499. Users can ask questions, play music, control the smart home, and more with this device. It provides hands-free music control options and can be used as a standalone speaker or connected it to other speakers. It can be paired with a phone to use as a Bluetooth speaker

Buy now at: Rs. 2,099 (MRP Rs. 4,499)

Fire TV Stick 4K Max

One of the best deals that you can get under the Rs. 5,000 segment is the Fire TV Stick 4K Max which is listed for Rs. 3,799, down from the launch price of Rs. 6,499. It comes with Alexa Voice Remote and is claimed to be 40 percent more powerful than the Fire TV Stick 4K. It is capable of offering 4K video streaming, along with support for Dolby Vision, HDR 10+, and Dolby Atmos.

Buy now at: Rs. 3,799 (MRP Rs. 6,499)

Redmi Watch 2 Lite

The ongoing Amazon sale has brought the price of Redmi Watch 2 Lite to as low as Rs. 2,999. The smartwatch comes with features including a 1.55-inch colour touch-supported display and up to 10 days battery life. It comes in Black, Blue, and Ivory colour options with a heart rate tracking feature and has a 5ATM water-resistant design.

Buy now at: Rs. 2,999 (MRP Rs. 4,999)

Fire-Boltt Ninja 3

The Fire-Boltt Ninja 3 smartwatch with a 1.69-inch HD touchscreen display is available for purchase at Rs. 1,599, down from the launch price of Rs. 1,799. It offers 60 different sports modes and multiple watch faces. It provides drink water reminders, and music control, among others. The battery of the smartwatch is claimed to last seven days. The smartwatch is available in five different colour options.

Buy now at: Rs. 1,599 (MRP Rs. 1,799)

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 Sale: Best Offers on Electronics

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 Sale: Best Offers on Electronics

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale is currently live on the e-commerce platform, and you can find great deals, offers, and discounts on a wide range of electronic items. Amazon is currently offering up to 75 percent discount on smart TVs, laptops, wearables, audio devices, and more. Furthermore, ICICI and SBI card users can save up to 10 percent on credit/ debit card or EMI purchases. The Prime Day sale is exclusive to people with Prime subscriptions and will last until Sunday.

Check out this list of some of the best deals that you can find today on Amazon Prime Day 2022.

Sony WH-1000XM4

If you are planning to get premium wireless over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation, then this might be a great time to do so. The Sony WH-1000XM4 is available for Rs. 19,990 (including bank offers) during the ongoing sale, down from the retail price of Rs. 29,990. The no-cost EMI options start at Rs. 2,221. The Sony WH-1000XM4 has gesture controls and feature 40mm dynamic drivers, with a frequency response range of 4-40,000Hz.

Buy now at: Rs. 19,990 (MRP Rs. 29,999)

Mi NoteBook Ultra

During the Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale, customers can grab the Mi NoteBook Ultra with Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM for Rs. 52,990, instead of the original price of Rs. 59,999. Amazon is offering an exchange discount of up to 19,100. No-cost EMI options start at Rs. 2,494. The Mi NoteBook Ultra features a 15.6-inch Mi-Truelife+ display with 90Hz refresh rate and TUV Rheinland low blue light certification. It packs 70Whr battery as well.

Buy now at: Rs. 52,990 (MRP Rs. 59,999)

Honor MagicBook X14

Honor MagicBook X14 was launched in India with a price tga of Rs. 51,990 for the Intel Core i5 model. Now, Amazon has listed the laptop with a starting price of Rs. 41,990. Further, the e-commerce website is offering up to Rs. 19,100 exchange discount. The Honor MagicBook X 14 features 14-inch FullView full-HD IPS anti-glare display with TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification and Flicker Free Certification. The laptop is powered by an up to Intel Core i5-10210U processor, along with Intel UHD graphics and up to 8GB of DDR4 RAM. It also houses 512GB of PCIe SSD storage.

Buy now at: Rs. 41,990 (MRP Rs. 51,990)

Redmi Smart TV X43

The Redmi Smart TV X43 is available for Rs. 25,999 during the Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale in India this weekend. Customers can grab an additional instant discount worth up to Rs. 4,100 by exchanging their old smart TVs. The Redmi Smart TV X43 was launched in India in February this year for Rs. 28,999. It has a 43-inch 4K OLED display with support for Dolby Vision and packs 30W speakers. The TV runs on Android TV 10 and features the company’s PatchWall 4 UI.

Buy now at: Rs. 25,999 (MRP Rs. 28,999)

OnePlus (32-inch) 32Y1 HD Ready LED Android TV

During the Amazon Summer Sale, customers can purchase the OnePlus 32-inch 32Y1 LED Android TV at Rs. 13,989, which is lower than its original price of Rs. 19,999. In addition to the discount, customers can also avail of an exchange discount up to Rs. 4,140 on specific TV models. The smart TV sports a 32-inch LED HD Ready (1,366×768 pixels) display with a bezel-less design. It is equipped with 20W box speakers and offers Dolby Audio support.

Buy now at: Rs.13,989 (MRP Rs. 19,999)

Noise ColorFit Pulse 2

Noise’s budget wearable ColorFit Pulse 2 is receiving discounts in the ongoing Amazon Prime Day sale. It is listed with a price tag of Rs. 1,799, instead of the original launch price of Rs. 1,999. Further, there is a Rs. 100 cashback for payments using Amazon Pay Later. The Noise ColorFit Pulse 2 smartwatch sports a 1.8-inch TFT LCD display and supports 50 sports modes. It packs a heart rate monitor and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitor.

Buy now at: Rs. 1,799 (MRP Rs. 1,999)

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 Sale Is Now Live: Here Is All You Need to Know

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 Sale Is Now Live: Here Is All You Need to Know

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale is now live. Scores of products including smartphones as well as electronics items such as laptops, smartwatches, digital cameras, speakers, TWS earbuds, and other electronics will be available with discounts and offers on the e-commerce giant. Customers are being offered a 10 percent discount to ICICI Bank and SBI card users alongside other Amazon Pay-based offers. This Amazon’s Prime Day sale event is open exclusively to Prime subscribers and you can purchase a subscription starting at Rs. 179 per month.

The Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale event will be live from midnight, July 23 until July 24, 2022. Amazon had already started offering Early Access Deals exclusively to Prime subscribers a few days before the event live. It also offered freebies before the sale began. Amazon will also run limited-period discounts under its ‘Wow Deals’ banner between 4pm to 6pm during the sale.

Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale will offer discounts on smartphones. We have listed a small selection of popular mobile phones that will be available at reduced prices or with deals. The list includes smartphone models from companies including Xiaomi, Realme, and iQoo. Apart from discounts, Amazon will also offer no-cost EMI payment options and exchange offers.

Amazon is also offering up to 60 percent discount on electronics such as TVs as well as up to 75 percent off on laptops, smartwatches, cameras, TWS earphones, speakers, tablets, printers, and PC peripherals.

Furthermore, Amazon is offering heavy discounts on Alexa products including Fire TV Stick (3rd Gen) with Alexa Voice Remote, Fire TV Stick 4K, Kindle e-book readers as well as bundles such as Echo Dot (4th Gen) + Wipro 9W LED Smart Bulb. You can refer to our guides on how you can find the best deals during Prime Day and save money.

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Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster Review: Make Appliances Smart Again

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hitesh
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Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster Review: Make Appliances Smart Again

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Polycab is best known for its industrial-grade electrical cables and wires, but the company has also recently expanded into the field of home appliances such as fans, lighting, and switches. The company’s latest foray is into smart home and home automation solutions, with its Hohm range of IoT products. The product I’m reviewing today is the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart Infrared Blaster, a small device which allows you to control traditional IR-based appliances with a smartphone app or voice commands.

Priced at around Rs. 1,200 in India, the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster is a compact, uncomplicated device that can be used to add smart controls to not-so-smart IR-based appliances such as air conditioners, televisions and set-top boxes, fans, and audio equipment, among others. How does this device work, and is it effective at making your home appliances smart? Find out in this review.

polycab hohm mirai smart ir blaster review logo Polycab

The Polycab Hohm Mirai is compatible with just 2.4GHz Wi-Fi

 

What is the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster?

The Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster is a rather simple, unassuming device to look at. It’s a small black box with the ‘Hohm’ logo on the top, an indicator light at the front above the IR emitter, and two Micro-USB ports — one at the back and one at the bottom — either of which can be used to power the device. There is also a hook on the underside to wall-mount the device, if needed.

Included in the sales package of the Polycab Hohm Mirai is a USB Type-A to micro-USB cable, and a power adapter to connect to a wall socket. Once powered up, the device will need to be positioned such that the IR emitter points at the receiver of the appliances that need to be controlled. There is no power switch, but there is a pinhole for the hard-reset button, and a 3.5mm socket at the back. The latter can presumably be used with a compatible IR emitter accessory to extend the range and angle of the IR beam, but the accessory for this isn’t included in the box.

The Hohm app (available on iOS and Android) is used to set up and control the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster. The process to install the Mirai Smart IR Blaster was fairly simple, and I was able to connect it to my Wi-Fi router quickly and without any trouble by simply following the steps on the screen. The device is only compatible with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, and it maintained a stable connection with the router during my review.

polycab hohm mirai smart ir blaster review app Polycab

The app lets you control any linked appliances, as well as add new ones and configure the Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster

 

How does the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster work?

Once setup was completed, the app showed ‘Smart IR’ as a device in the app; if you have any other Hohm-compatible devices, they’ll appear here as well. The Mirai Smart IR Blaster itself can control multiple IR devices, which can be set up within its device listing. The list of supported devices includes televisions, set-top boxes, air conditioners, fans, lights, projectors, audio and DVD players, heaters, and purifiers across a huge list of global brands.

In the rare scenario where your IR device isn’t on the list, there is also a process to ‘teach’ the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster the specific IR signal for your devices, using the DIY or ‘Learn Match’ methods in the app. I tested the Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster with an Atomberg remote-controlled ceiling fan and Carrier air conditioner in my home, both of which were part of the list of supported devices and could be set up easily using preloaded profiles.

For the Atomberg fan, I had to manually set up additional buttons on the remote by ‘training’ the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster; this involved pointing the Atomberg fan’s remote at the Hohm device and pressing the buttons to give it instructions on how to interact with the ceiling fan.

polycab hohm mirai smart ir blaster review bottom Polycab

The Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster can be wall-mounted or placed on a table

 

Once done, the button interface in the app for the Atomberg fan was a bit messy and had a bunch of unnecessary buttons, but I was able to control all the desired functions as needed. The air conditioner’s button interface was a lot cleaner, and had all key functions available without any further intervention on my part. Usefully, the Hohm Mirai IR Blaster was able to control both devices from a single convenient angle in between the two appliances, so its infrared range is quite wide and the beam is suitably powerful.

You can also link the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster to Alexa or Google Assistant, and operate the device and any configured appliances with voice commands either through your smartphone or smart speakers. This worked reasonably well on both voice assistants to turn on or off the devices, but more complicated functions such as adjusting the fan speed were not supported through voice commands, and could only be controlled using the app.

It’s also possible to create automation routines through the Hohm app, based on factors such as weather conditions, your location (such as when you leave your home), and timed schedules, among other things. It took a bit of effort to create certain routines, but once done this feature worked as expected, and some of these routines were even supported by Alexa and Google Assistant for voice controls.

Verdict

The Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster is the perfect answer for anyone who has had to deal with the frustration of getting up and finding the remote for a device or appliance in their home. It’s easy to set up, supports a wide variety of IR-controlled devices, can be controlled via popular virtual assistants, and works reliably. Although the app interface isn’t perfect, there’s always a way around, which is easy enough to find. The Hohm Mirai successfully does exactly what it’s designed for — make non-smart appliances smart.

At Rs. 1,200 or so, it’s inexpensive, and very flexible since it can control multiple devices in the same room and enables voice controls or automation routines too. However, the most important point here is its reliability, and the Polycab Hohm Mirai Smart IR Blaster checks this box to earn my recommendation.

Rating: 9/10

Pros:

  • Easy to set up and use
  • Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
  • Supports lots of IR-based appliances
  • Can be used with multiple devices in the same room
  • Reliable, does what it’s supposed to do

Cons:

  • Somewhat awkward UI with some appliances
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Amazon Prime Day 2022 Sale: Best Early Access Deals on Smartphones, TVs, Smartwatches and More

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 Sale: Best Early Access Deals on Smartphones, TVs, Smartwatches and More

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale in India is all set to begin on July 23, but the ecommerce platform is offering discounts and deals on select products two days before the sale starts. These Early Access Deals include offers and discounts on smartphones, Amazon devices such as smart speakers and Fire TV Sticks, smartwatches, laptops, and TVs. The deals can be combined with bank offers and EMI for a bigger effective discount. The Amazon sale will go on till July 24 and will be exclusive to Prime members.

Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale: Best Early Access Deals on mobile phones

Redmi 10 Prime (2022)

Redmi 10 Prime (2022) is available at a starting price of Rs. 10,999. It was launched at a starting price of Rs. 12,499 for the base variant.

Buy Now at: Rs. 10,999

iQoo Z6 Pro 5G

The iQoo Z6 Pro 5G price starts at Rs. 20,990 for the base version after including various offers and discounts. I was launched at a price of Rs. 23,999. It comes with a Snapdragon 778G SoC, triple rear camera, and a 6.44-inch AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate.

Buy Now at: Rs. 20,990

Xiaomi 11T Pro

The Xiaomi 11T Pro is available at a starting price of Rs. 29,999 (including coupon and bank offers) under the early access deals. This is an effective discount of Rs. 15,000. The smartphone features a 120Hz AMOLED display, 120W fast charging, and an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC.

Buy Now at: Rs. 29,999

Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale: Best Early Access Deals on TVs

Redmi 43-inch X43 4K Ultra HD Smart TV

The Redmi 43-inch X43 TV is currently priced at Rs. 25,999 after getting a 40 percent discount. The discount includes Rs. 2,000.00 Prime savings. It comes with a 4K ultra-HD (3,840×2,160 pixels) display, 30W speakers with Dolby Audio, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth v5.0.

Buy Now at: Rs. 25,999

AmazonBasics 55-inch Fire TV (AB55U20PS)

The AmazonBasics 55-inch Fire TV AB55U20PS is available at a price of Rs. 34,999 after Rs. 31,001 discount.

Buy Now at: Rs. 34,999

Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale: Best Early Access Deals on smartwatches

Fire-Boltt Ninja 3

The Fire-Boltt Ninja 3 smartwatch is available at a price of Rs. 1,499 after an 81 percent discount. It comes with a 1.69-inch display and 60 sports modes.

Buy Now at: Rs. 1,499

Boat Wave Lite

The Boat Wave Lite smartwatch is available with a 77 percent discount at a price of Rs. 1,599. It comes with a 1.69-inch display and a metal frame.

Buy Now at: Rs. 1,599

Amazfit T-Rex Pro

The Amazfit T-Rex Pro is priced at Rs. 9,999 during the Prime Day Early Deal after a discount of 44 percent. It comes with SpO2 (blood oxygen) and heart rate monitoring.

Buy Now at: Rs. 9,999 

Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale: Best Early Access Deals on laptops

Honor MagicBook X14

The Honor MagicBook X14 can be purchased at a deal price of Rs. 33,990 after a 38 percent discount. It comes with a 14-inch full-HD display , Intel Core i3 10th generation processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD storage.

Buy Now at: Rs 33,990

Dell Vostro 3510

The Dell Vostro 3510 can be purchased at a price of Rs. 35,990, which is down Rs. 16,185 (31 percent) from its list price. The laptop sports a 15.6-inch screen, has 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

Buy Now at: Rs. 35,990

Asus VivoBook 14 (2021)

The Asus VivoBook 14 (2021) is available at a 23 percent discount price of Rs. 29,990. It packs an Intel Pentium Silver N6000 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. You get Office 2021 and Windows 11 pre-installed.

Buy Now at: Rs. 29,990

Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale: Best Early Access Deals on Alexa Products

Fire TV Stick (3rd Gen) with Alexa Voice Remote

The 3rd gen Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote can be purchased at a discounted price of Rs. 2,199 after a Rs. 2,800 discount. It comes with a 1.7GHz quad-core processor that is claimed to be 50 percent more powerful than the Fire TV Stick (2nd Gen) and a redesigned user interface for Fire TV OS.

Buy Now at: Rs. 2,199

Echo Dot (4th Gen) + Wipro 9W LED Smart Bulb

The Echo Dot (4th Gen) and Wipro 9W LED smart bulb combo can be purchased at a price of Rs. 2,149 after a massive listed discount of 67 percent. The smart speaker has a new spherical design and improved bass performance compared to Echo Dot (3rd Gen).

Buy Now at: Rs. 2,149

Fire TV Stick 4K

The Fire TV Stick 4K can be bought for Rs. 2,999 after a 50 percent discount. It comes with support for Dolby Vision, HDR, and HDR10+. It also comes with support for immersive Dolby Atmos audio on select titles with compatible home audio systems.

Buy Now at: Rs. 2,999

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Amazon Prime Day 2022: Early Deals on Alexa, Fire TV and Kindle Announced Ahead of Upcoming Sale

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hitesh
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Amazon Prime Day 2022: Early Deals on Alexa, Fire TV and Kindle Announced Ahead of Upcoming Sale

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Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale in India is set to begin on July 23, but the e-commerce company has already begun listing its devices at a discounted rate, ahead of the upcoming sale. Starting from July 20, customers can purchase Amazon Echo and Fire TV devices at a discount of up to 55 percent, while the company’s Kindle readers will see a price cut of up to Rs. 4,000. Prime members can also take advantage of deals on smart home combo offers with Amazon’s smart speakers, paired with smart bulbs.

Ahead of the upcoming two-day Amazon Prime Day 2022 sale event, here are some of the discounts and bundled offers available as part of the early deals on the e-commerce website.

Amazon Prime Day 2022: Best early deals on Amazon devices

Echo Dot (4th Generation)

Released in 2020, the fourth generation Echo Dot will be priced at Rs. 2,249, down from the listed price of Rs. 4,499. The smart speaker supports voice commands in English and Hindi and lets users stream audio from services like Amazon Prime Music, Spotify, JioSaavn, Gaana, and Apple Music. The Echo Dot also allows users to control their smart home devices with their voice and schedule them to turn on at a specific time every day.

Buy now: Rs. 2,249 (MRP Rs. 4,499)

Echo Show 5 (2nd Generation)

Like the fourth generation Echo Dot, the Amazon Echo Show 5 (2nd Generation) allows users to stream music from their favourite services. It is also equipped with a 5.5-inch display that can be used to stream movies and TV shows from Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. The inbuilt 2-megapixel camera can also be used to remotely monitor your home via the Alexa app, or as an “intercom” feature for friends and family who also use the Echo Show smart display, and according to the company.

Buy now: Rs. 3,999 (MRP Rs. 8,999)

Fire TV Stick Lite

For customers who don’t want to buy a new smart TV to replace their existing television, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick Lite is one of the most affordable ways to add internet connectivity and support for streaming services. The device offers full-HD streaming and comes with the Amazon Voice Remote Lite. Users can gain access to streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, ALT Balaji, Discovery+, ZEE5, SonyLIV, and Sun NXT. They can also access free services like YouTube, YouTube Kids, MXPlayer, TVFPlay, and YuppTV.

Buy now: Rs. 1,799 (MRP Rs. 3,999)

Kindle (10th Generation)

Equipped with a 6-inch glare-free display that is designed to look like paper, the Kindle (10th generation) features adjustable lighting that lets users read in different types of lighting. Amazon Prime members can access several books and comics, according to the company. The reader also allows users to highlight passages, look up specific words, and translate text without exiting the content they are reading. It is equipped with 8GB of storage, offers Wi-Fi connectivity, and comes with free cloud storage for Amazon content.

Buy now: Rs. 6,499 (MRP Rs. 7,999)

In addition to the deals on specific Amazon devices, the company will also offer combo offers with its smart speakers, along with smart bulbs. Customers can pick up the Echo Dot with a Syska 12W smart bulb, which will be priced at Rs. 2,349, down from the retail price of Rs. 6,698. Similarly, another combo offer features the Echo Show 5 paired with a Mi LED smart bulb, that will cost Rs. 4,049, instead of the combined retail price of Rs. 9,998. Meanwhile, you can also check our handy guide on how to find the best deals during the upcoming Amazon Prime Day 2022 that begins on July 23.

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