Alleged Realme Pad Spotted In The Wild

A couple of photos were recently shared online via SlashLeaks, featuring what is believed to be the upcoming Realme Pad. As revealed by its India-based CEO Madhav Sheth last month, the device will be the brand’s first tablet product which is also expected to launch alongside its first ever laptop, the Realme Book.

The photos depict preview units of the Realme Pad being used in the wild, showing both its front and back design. As per the teaser images provided by Sheth, the new tablet sports a tall form factor, rounded corners, and a flat edge frame that is similar to current generation iPads. On its back appears to be a metal or aluminium shell with a protruding single camera lens on the upper left corner. Due to the poor quality of the photo that showcases its front design, it is difficult to make out whether the Realme Pad would feature a in-display or a bezel mounted one front-facing camera, its screen-to-body ratio, and other details.

Realme has been quite silent about the tablet’s specifications and features, and even unofficial information regarding its potential hardware has been pretty scarce. Most sources believe that the device could offer some form of interconnectivity with other Realme devices such as its smartphones and upcoming tablet. It is also expected that the Pad will feature the current or latest version of the Android 11 operating system.

The brand has yet to announce when it is planning to officially unveil the Realme Pad and Realme Book. Although, it is very likely that Realme will be disclosing more information of either device in order to build hype soon, especially when their expected launch date (or dates) closes in.

Realme Book Specs And Design Leaks; Reportedly Launching In Late August

Alleged renders of Realme’s first laptop has made its way online, showcasing the product in its full glory. The leak was provided by reliable tech insider OnLeaks (in collaboration with website GizNext), who also shared tidbits regarding the Realme Book’s specifications.

As mentioned earlier, the renders detailed the upcoming laptop in every angle – revealing more than what was teased by Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth back in June. To no one’s surprise, the Realme Book appears to be yet another device that has drawn inspiration from a certain MacOS-powered laptop in terms of design and form. Maybe if you squint a little, it might resemble something from one of Realme’s more closer rivals instead.

This is somewhat disappointing, considering that the brand has been very aesthetically vocal about its branding and strong use of colours on its products – especially its smartphones. But then again; these renders are merely leaks, so there is a chance that they may end up being inaccurate.

Moving on.

Specs-wise, OnLeaks and GizNext claim that the Realme Book will feature a 14-inch display, the “latest” Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processors, and will be offered in various RAM and SSD storage configurations. Other features include a power button + fingerprint scanner combo, two USB-C slots, one USB-A port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It will also come with pre-installed Windows 10 and Microsoft Office, the report added.

Lastly, the leak suggests that the new Realme Book is expected to launch by late August 2021 in India, at a competitive price of just under Rs40,000 (~RM2,247) for the lower-end variant. The report did not mention if the laptop would launch alongside the Realme Pad, the brand’s first tablet product which was also leaked a few days prior to this.

realme Narzo 30 To Launch In Malaysia On 18 May

realme first announced the Narzo 30 Pro 6G and the Narzo 30A back in February. The latter has also made its way to Malaysia a month later. Now, it looks like the company is finally announcing the base model in the lineup. And it will be launching in Malaysia next week.

For now, realme Malaysia has revealed that the Narzo 30 will come with a MediaTek Helio G95 chipset. This is done via a post on its official Facebook page. Unfortunately, that’s all that the company is willing to reveal for the time being.

From the chipset, it’s probably safe to assume that the Narzo 30 sits in between the Narzo 30A and 30 Pro. But beyond that, other items on its spec sheet is still up in the air.

It’s also worth pointing out that the realme Narzo 30 will be launching in Malaysia before anywhere else. Which is interesting because new phones by the brand usually first launch in its largest market, India. Chances are this is a one-time thing with this model, but that remains to be seen.

As for the launch, realme Malaysia is set to have its launch event streamed on its Facebook page, as it usually does. This will take place on 18 May 2021, at 12PM.

realme Announces Watch S Master Edition; To Be Available On 8 May For RM429

Over the weekend, realme Malaysia announced a wide range of products which it puts under its AIoT umbrella. Among them is the realme Watch S Master Edition.

Despite the name, the realme Watch S Master Edition is a special edition version of the base Watch S. You are paying a RM60 premium for the special look, but beyond that, it is effectively the very same smartwatch. So you can expect features like heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, a well as Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.

In addition to the special edition Watch S, realme Malaysia also announced the Watch 2. This comes with a 1.4-inch display, which has a 30Hz refresh rate. And it has a 315mAh battery, which the company claims can keep it alive for up to 12 days. It also has, as the company claims, 90 sports modes. And to better fit the outdoors, it has an IP68 rating.

The realme Watch S Master Edition and Watch 2 are priced at RM429 and RM229, respectively. The former will be made available on 8 May, but the company did not say when it will be making the latter available.

In addition to these watches, realme Malaysia also announced the Buds Air 2 Neo, and the Buds Q2. Their prices are RM169 and RM129, respectively, with release dates of 5 May and 11 May. Adding to the list of products announced is the Cobble Bluetooth speaker and Motion Activated Night Light. Both are priced at RM99 and will be available on 5 May.

Keeping the strangest item for last, we have the realme alkaline batteries. These come in packs of 10, with AAA batteries costing RM24, and AA being priced at RM29. No availability dates for these yet.

realme Buds Air 2 with ANC Coming To Malaysia This April For RM 199

realme has recently announced its plan to launch the new Buds Air 2 in Malaysia next month. Based on the specs stated on realme Malaysia’s website, the new true wireless earbuds (TWEs) seemed to offer plenty of upgrades over their predecessor while being made available at a much lower price point.

In many ways, the Buds Air 2 seemed to carry on the torch from the Buds Air Pro rather than the original Buds Air. Powered by the brand-new R2 chip, the second generation model adopts the in-ear design and also features active noise cancellation (ANC) although at up to 25db, the effective range is not as high as the Buds Air Pro that can go up to 35db.

Equipped with a pair of 10mm drivers which realme claimed have been covered with carbon coating to make them more durable, the Buds Air 2 also features a mode called Bass Boost+ that apparently was co-created by the well-known EDM duo, The Chainsmokers. The new TWEs have also been designed to meet the IPX5 standard which means that they should be able to withstand sweats during your workout.

In terms of battery life, the TWEs can run for up to 4 to 5 hours depending on whether the ANC is on or off while the total operational hours can go up to 25 hours when you add Buds Air 2’s charging case into the picture. There is also a fast charge feature that allows users to obtain 2 hours of playback with 10 minutes of charging time.

Price-wise, the new realme Buds Air 2 goes for RM 199 when it is made available in our shores at realme Brand Store and authorised dealers nationwide on 3 April 2021. For those who prefer to purchase the TWEs online, they can do so starting from 8 April via realme’s official store at Lazada.

AnTuTu Bans Realme GT For Allegedly Cheating Its Benchmark

AnTuTu has called out Realme for cheating on its benchmarking platform. It alleged that the brand had used deceptive measures during testing in order to rake in a high score for its latest Snapdragon 888-equipped flagship smartphone, the Realme GT.

In late February, brand vice president Xu Qi Chase shared a screenshot of the GT’s AnTuTu benchmark results on Weibo, revealing an impressive score of around 770,000 points. This placed it ahead of another Snapdragon 888 device, Xiaomi’s recently launched Mi 11 flagship, which scored around 708,000 points.

However, AnTuTu themselves were skeptical of the Realme GT’s overachieving score and decided to conduct the test on their own. The platform then took to Weibo to announce that the phone scored only 688,602 points – around 80,000 points less than what was claimed by the smartphone brand.

The platform explained the Realme GT used thread delay tactics during the multi-core test, which enabled it to hold back some threads that were meant to run on the smaller CPU cores and rerouted them to run on the larger and powerful cores instead. In the UX test, the smartphone was discovered to have skipped much of the processing involved with JPG decompression by relying on mosaic colour blocks to reduce the quality of an image. Both of these methods allowed for faster processing times, which in turn rewarded the GT with more points from the benchmark.

Consequently, AnTuTu has banned the Realme flagship from its platform for a period of three months due to cheating – removing its listing and score, as well as preventing any future tests involving the GT from taking place. It also issued an ultimatum to the brand, demanding Realme to address the issue within the given time frame or risk having the phone permanently banned.

Responding to the allegation, Xu Qi Chase issued a statement on Weibo saying that no tampering has been done to the particular Realme GT unit that was used for the benchmark. In the meantime, brand correspondents also told several outlets that it is currently communicating with AnTuTu in order to resolve the problem.

Cheating on mobile benchmarks is nothing new. Smartphone brands such as OnePlus and even chip manufacturers such as MediaTek have been previously caught tweaking their products in order to get higher scores. These numbers play an important role in terms of marketing and  bragging rights, especially when comparing performance results with the competition.

realme C21 Now In Malaysia For RM 499: Features 5000mAh Battery and 13MP Triple Camera

realme has recently expanded its budget-oriented C Series lineup in Malaysia by introducing the new realme C21. Powered by MediaTek Helio G35 processor, the new phone also features a 6.5-inch Full HD screen which also houses a 5MP selfie camera on its teardrop display notch.

Aside from that, the new budget phone also carries a 13MP camera on its back. realme has also decided to include monochrome and macro cameras even though both of them are equipped with a 2MP sensor and f/2.4 3P lens.

Another major attraction of the new C21 is its humongous 5000mAh battery that also supports fast chargers with a power rating of up to 10W. The phone also comes with reverse charging capability but realme somehow has chosen to equip a Micro-USB port into C21 which is an odd choice in 2021.

Priced at RM 499, the new realme C21 comes with just one memory and storage option though which is 3GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage. If you are interested to get your hands on a unit, just head on to realme’s official store on Lazada Malaysia or your nearest realme retailers.

realme Announces Narzo 30 Pro 5G and Narzo 30A

realme has announced two more devices to add to its Narzo line. They are the realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G, and the Narzo 30A. The company launched the two devices in its largest market currently, in India.

So what’s the deal with these two devices? Starting with the realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G, it is not only a mouthful of a name, but also the first device in the line to support 5G. It has a 6.5-inch Full HD+ 120Hz display with a 180Hz touch sampling rate. On the inside, it runs the MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset, and has a 5000mAh battery. For cameras, it has a 48MP main + 8MP wide angle + 2MP macro camera setup at the back, and a 16MP camera in front, in a punch hole cutout on the top left corner.

As for the realme Narzo 30A, this comes with a HD+ display, and a MediaTek Helio G85 chipset. The highlight here is definitely the 6000mAh battery. It looks to have three cameras at the back, but the company has only specified two of them, one being the 13MP main camera, and the other an unspecified monochrome camera. The third one may serve as a depth sensor. In front, is has an 8MP camera, this time in a waterdrop notch.

Both devices are made available in two RAM and storage configurations. For the realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G, the 6GB + 64GB model is priced at INR16999 (~RM948), while the 8GB + 128GB model comes with an INR19999 (~RM1116) price tag. Then there’s the Narzo 30A, with the 3GB + 32GB model being priced at INR8999 (~RM502), and the 4GB + 64GB one priced at INR9999 (~RM558). No word on when these will be coming to our shores just yet.

realme X7 Pro 5G Now Official In Malaysia; Priced At RM1999

Following last week’s announcement, realme Malaysia has finally launched the X7 Pro 5G. And as it has done with prior models, the company is bringing in only the top-of-the-line configuration of the device to the country.

In terms of specs, basically everything the phone had when it launched in its home country remains true here. The realme X7 Pro 5G indeed has a 6.55-inch AMOLED 120Hz Full HD+ display with a 240Hz touch sampling rate. On the inside, it comes with the MediaTek Dimensity 1000 Plus chipset, and a 4500mAh battery that supports 65W charging.

We also get a full breakdown of what the quad-camera setup consists of now. Beyond the 64MP main shooter, there’s also the 8MP wide-angle camera, the 2MP monochrome portrait and 2MP macro lenses. The front-facing camera is the 32MP unit sitting in the punch-hole cutout.

As mentioned earlier, realme Malaysia isn’t bringing in every possible configuration of the X7 Pro 5G. Instead, you will only get the option to buy the 8GB + 256GB model. And this will be priced at RM1999. It will be available starting midnight of 2 February 2021, via the company’s official store on Shopee. Get it early and the company will be throwing in a RM50 discount. The Shopee link is naturally not live yet, but will be so come 2 February.

realme Malaysia To Announce The X7 Pro 5G On 26 January

realme Malaysia has announced that it will be launching the X7 Pro 5G phone at the end of the month. This comes, as the company admits itself, just a month after the launch of the realme 7 5G just last month. The company says that, like many launches before, it will be streaming the event via its Facebook page.

The phone itself was already launched back in September, in the brand’s home country of China. Looking at the launch back then, the realme X7 Pro 5G comes with a 6.55-inch Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED display, with a 240Hz touch sampling rate. It also features a MediaTek Dimensity 1000 Plus chipset, and a 4500mAh battery which supports 65W charging.

The phone launched at the time with a choice of 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB configurations. For its cameras, the realme X7 Pro 5G has a 64MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP configuration at the back, and a 32MP front-facing shooter.

Locally though, it remains to be seen if we will be getting the same device with the same configurations. But we’ll find out on 26 January. If you want to catch the event live, you can do so from the realme Malaysia Facebook page at noon.

realme 7 5G Makes Its Way To Malaysia; Priced At RM1299

The realme 7 first appeared on our shores back in September. Now the company has announced its 5G capable variant, which will also be available locally very soon.

The company claims that the realme 7 5G is the first phone in Malaysia to sport the MediaTek Dimensity 800U chipset. The 6.5-inch screen has also been bumped up from a 90Hz refresh rate to 120Hz, to match its touch sampling rate.

Beyond these improvements, it’s pretty much the same realme 7 from before. It has the same 5000mAh battery with 30W fast charging as it did. The 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage is familiar as well. Naturally, so are the 48MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP quad camera setup at the back, and the 16MP shooter in front.

Probably the best of all  about the realme 7 5G is the price. It will go on sale at RM1299, which is the same as the original device. It will be available starting midnight, 18 December, on the official realme store on Lazada.

Get it early, and the company is also throwing in an extra year warranty, with some additional freebies. These include what the company calls the realmeow Hipster pouch, which looks like a fanny pack, and some badges with the same aesthetic.