Smartphones keep growing bigger and bigger, except for a few exceptions – phones like the Asus Zenfone 10 bring a lot of power in a fairly compact package. Sure, it’s not smaller than the Galaxy S23, but the S23 doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack.
The Zenfone has a 144Hz AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and a larger 4,300mAh battery (400mAh more than the S23). It also has 30W wired and 15W wireless charging with an extensive set of options and settings. While not an ROG phone, it does bring a lot of the gaming-related and performance-tuning features of its sibling line.
Another thing that you get with the Galaxy S23 is more than 8GB of RAM – the Zenfone 10 has a version with 16GB (which also comes with 512GB storage).
The Realme 11 Pro+ combines a distinct look with a rare camera. You can have it either with faux leather with decorative stitching or the more subdued matte black model. Either way, you will be getting a 200MP camera on a mid-ranger, plus 100W fast charging. That 200MP camera really impressed in our review, though its 8MP ultra wide companion is pretty basic.
The older Realme 10 has stuck around as an affordable 4G phone. It has a Helio G99 chipset, plus a 6.4” 90Hz AMOLED display. The camera setup is pretty basic with a 50MP main and a 16MP selfie, but you get a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging.
Last week we mentioned a Pixel 8 offer, this week we saw both models available paired up with the Google Pixel Buds A-Series. Both also come with a discount from their original price.
It would have been better if the Pixel 8s were paired with the Pixel Buds Pro instead. The A-Series buds are available separately with a good discount of their own, if you just want new headphones.
The Steam Deck OLED stole some of Asus’ thunder, but the ROG Ally still has higher resolution on its display (1,920 x 1,080px vs. 1,280 x 800px) and a higher resolution (120Hz vs. 90Hz). Few titles will be able to get to 120fps on the Ryzen Z1 Extreme, even 90fps would be a challenge. And the IPS LCD isn’t as good as the new 7.4” OLED of the new Deck. Still, the €150 discount makes the Ally more competitive.
We wrap up with another entertainment option – the Chromecast with Google TV, the 4K version specifically. Basically all TVs these days are smart TVs, however, only a few have a good smart platform. The Google one has some restrictions (which are easily bypassed if you want), but it’s one of the best.
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