STACK #235 May 2024

TECH FEATURE

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The major smartphones hog all the attention, but they’re far from the only options – explore off the beaten track and you’ll find some quirky and capable alternatives. Words Michael Irving HOT NEW SMARTPHONES OUT THIS MONTH!

Motorola edge 50 pro One of the early pioneers of mobile phone technology,

Motorola is still at it in 2024, with the edge 50 pro demonstrating some intriguing features that other phones might start copying in a few years. Among its coolest quirks are smart gestures to quickly turn on the flashlight, launch the camera or take a screenshot, and edge lights that alert you to calls, notifications, and alarms. Expected phone features aren’t neglected, either. It’s the world’s first smartphone with a Pantone Validated camera and display, for accurate colour capture and reproduction. Dolby Atmos-enabled stereo speakers blast sound, and AI enhancements get the most out of photography. And the battery lasts up to 40 hours, with 125W TurboPower fast-charging providing a full charge in as little as 18 minutes. Cameras: Front 50MP, Rear 50MP main, 10MP telephoto, 13MP ultra-wide Display: 6.7” Super HD 144Hz OLED Battery: 4,500mAh Memory: 128GB/256GB/512GB storage, 8GB/12GB RAM

Nothing came out of nowhere a few years ago and reinvented the smartphone with a sense of style. The company’s central design principle is to bring the fun back to these everyday devices that we now take for granted – without skimping on the power and features. The company’s latest devices, the Nothing Phone 2 and 2a, pack a versatile, high-def camera suite, a big, bright, better-than-HD display, and a battery that lasts two full days. Where most phones have plain, featureless backs, Nothing puts theirs to work with the Glyph Interface, a customisable light configuration that contacts, music visualisation, or even the progress of a delivery. It gives you the most important updates without needing to check the screen and risk getting distracted. Nothing Phone 2 and 2a can be set to different patterns for notifications from different apps or

Cameras: Front 32MP, Rear 50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide Display: 6.7” Full HD+ 120Hz OLED Battery: 4,700mAh (2), 5,000mAh (2a), 45W Fast Charging

Memory: 256/512GB storage, 12GB RAM (2) 128GB/256GB storage, 8GB/12GB RAM (2a)

Asus Zenfone 11 Ultra

The latest from Asus is the sleek and powerful Zenfone 11 Ultra. It’s running a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor with up to 16GB of RAM, to effortlessly churn through whatever tasks you throw at it. That includes the ability to intelligently tweak your refresh rates to suit your current activity or content on the large, HD+

AMOLED display, all the way up to a silky smooth 144Hz. The three rear cameras and 32MP selfie camera work together to capture everything, with up to 30x zoom and an ultra-wide FOV of almost 90°. Best of all, AI is incorporated

algorithms can be put to work on jobs like noise cancellation, transcription, call translation, wallpaper generation, smart searching through your photo library, or getting the most out of your photos and videos. It’s all finished in an elegant, durable, water-resistant outer shell in blue or black.

through every aspect of the Zenfone 11 Ultra. Intelligent

Cameras: Front 32MP, Rear 50MP main, 32MP telephoto, 13MP ultra-wide Display: 6.78” Full HD+ 144Hz AMOLED Battery: 5,500mAh Memory: 256GB/512GB storage, 12GB/16GB RAM

52 MAY 2024

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