Samsung Galaxy Buds2 To Retail In Malaysia At RM499

Joining the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3, Z Flip3 and Galaxy Watch4 series‘ expected arrival in Malaysia by late September 2021 is the newly launched Galaxy Buds2. Similarly, preorders for the earbuds will be open to customers this Thursday on 19 August as well.

As a quick recap, the new Galaxy Buds2 comes with active noise cancelling (ANC) – a much appreciated listening enhancement that was included in Samsung’s Buds Pro and Buds Live earbuds, but not the original 2019 model. Another newly introduced feature on the Buds2 is a machine learning-based solution that intelligently filters out unwanted noises from your voice during hands-free calls.

In terms of battery-life, Samsung claims that the new earbuds can last up to five hours of play time with ANC on, with an additional 15 hours of juice when topped up from the accompanying charging case. With the noise cancelling feature turned off, the Buds2 is said to be capable of lasting up to 7.5 hours on a full charge, with an additional 21.5 hours via its case.

The new Samsung Galaxy Buds2 is offered in either Graphite, White, Lavender, and Olive colour options, which also applies to the casing’s interior. Its exterior, on the other hand, will feature a white glossy finish regardless of which colourway you’ve chosen. Price-wise, the new earbuds will retail at RM 499, which is similar to its predecessor’s launch price when it arrived in Malaysia.

ASUS ROG Swift PG32UQX To Launch In May; Will Retail For US$3000

ASUS recently announced that its upcoming ROG Swift PG32UQX gaming monitor will be available for purchase starting from next month. The monitor is technically a follow-up to the PG27UQ, the primary difference between the two is its size and its new panel.

Specs-wise, the PG32UQX is a 32-inch 4K display, but more importantly, it is ASUS’ first gaming monitor to be fitted with a Mini LED IPS panel. On top of that, the display also retains the 144Hz refresh rate and NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultimate anti-screen tearing technology, as well as the Quantum Dot technology that was introduced with the PG27UQ.

There are obviously other aesthetic changes with the PG32UQX. For starters, the display has a higher peak brightness of 1400 nits, along with DisplayHDR 1400 certification. On top of that, it also sports significantly thinner bezels on the sides and top of the panel. As for the stand, the monitor still employs ASUS’ twisted 3-leg stand, complete with an LED projection of the ROG logo.

The ASUS ROG Swift PG32UQX will retail at US$3000 (~RM12308). At the time of writing, ASUS did not specify local availability or pricing.

Shopping Malls and Retail Industry Not Happy With The HIDE List and Closure Directive

Three trade associations that are said to represent shopping malls and retail industries in Malaysia have publicly urged the government to stop releasing the daily list of high-risk locations as detected by the Hotspot Identification by Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) COVID-19 early warning system.

Through a joint statement, the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPKM), Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA), and Malaysia Retail Chain Associations (MRCA) said the first HIDE list which was published yesterday published incomplete information and didn’t provide an accurate picture of the real-life situation.

The statement pointed out that HIDE does not include premises and operations that did not adhere to proper SOPs including the implementation of MySejahtera check-in. Hence, they would not appear as a hotspot in the system even though they could be one in real life.

The trade associations also insist that shopping malls have adhered to all SOP requirements and have also performed enhanced cleaning as well as sanitisation in a frequent manner to make sure that they are safe to visit. They also cited the recent analysis by Code Blue which said that only 4.78% of COVID-19 cases from late February to early April came from shopping areas as opposed to factories that covered 48.06% of the cases.

Through the same statement, PPKM, MRA, and MRCA have also opposed the closure order announced by Senior Minister for Defence, Ismail Sabri Yaakob. They collectively said that the directive is premature and will cause “irreversible damage” to businesses.

Despite the protest though, premises that have been listed by HIDE including the well-established large shopping malls such as Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Suria KLCC, Mid Valley Megamall, and Sunway Pyramid did adhere to the directive from the government even though it was imposed on such a short time frame.

(Source: PPKM [pdf]. // Do note that the main image was not captured today, but instead, it was taken on 10 May 2020.)