Mid-range phones that offer flagship features at friendly prices
The Nothing Phone 3a brings style and substance to the mid-range game. It has a transparent design, bright AMOLED display, and triple-camera setup that includes a 2X optical zoom. Powered by the Snapdragon 7S Gen 3 and backed by a 5,000mAh battery with fast charging, it handles everyday tasks with ease. The Glyph lights on the case add design flair (though not real functionality) that sets it apart from bland designs.
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Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro+ (S$569; Usual Price: S$619)
This features a 6.7-inch Amoled display that supports HDR10+, 3,000 nits of peak brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth visuals. Its 200MP main camera captures crisp, detailed shots, while the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip keeps things running smoothly for everyday use. It supports 120W fast charging and Xiaomi says it can go from 0 to 100% in under 20 minutes with supported chargers.
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Honor 400 (S$599)
The Honor 400 features a 6.55 inch Amoled display with 5,000 nits peak brightness. Its 200MP main camera delivers sharp, vibrant shots. Its Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 processor offers smooth performance and is backed by six years of Android updates. Storage starts at 256GB and its 6,000 mAh battery is capable of lasting all day.
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(S$646)
We tested the Galaxy A56 and liked its display and premium finish. Its 6.7-inch Super Amoled display offers 120Hz refresh and a sleek glass-and-metal design. Its 5,000 mAH battery supports 45W wired charging. Powered by Samsung's Exynos 1480 chip, it's great for everyday use, and offers six generations of OS upgrades and six years of security updates.
Display: 6.77 inch Amoled, HDR10+, 120Hz refresh rate
Resolution: 1,080 x 2,340
12GB RAM, 256GB storage
45W wired charging, 5,000mAh battery
IP67
Exynos 1580 processor
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(S$699; Usual Price: S$799):
The OPPO Reno13 5G offers IP66/IP68/IP69 protection in a stylish package. The camera setup includes a 50MP main shooter, 8MP ultrawide and 50MP selfie cam with AN underwater mode for creative shots. With a 5,600mAh battery and 80W fast charging, it's built to keep up with you (and the occasional splash).
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Google Pixel 9a (S$799)
The Pixel 9a brings flagship-level smarts with its powerful Tensor G4 chip. It also offers a a clean Android experience with Google's latest AI features like Magic Editor and Circle to Search. The 48MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide deliver stunning photos, while the 5,100mAh battery keeps you going all day. It's backed by 7 years of OS, security and Pixel Drop updates. The previous-gen Google Pixel 8a (S$599) is also crdible option at its reduced price.
Display: 6.3 inch polymer Oled, HDR, 120Hz refresh rate
Resolution: 1,080 x 2,424
8GB RAM, 128GB storage
23W wired/ 7.5W wireless charging
5,100mAh battery
IP68
Google Tensor G4 processor
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Straits Times
39 minutes ago
- Straits Times
BlueSG needs time to develop software, refresh fleet, say ex-insiders after winding-down news
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The two-door electric cars that launched the BlueSG car-sharing service in 2017 are no longer in production. SINGAPORE – The need for a robust software to power the service and for better vehicles has been cited by former BlueSG insiders as two possible reasons behind the electric car-sharing service winding down operations on Aug 8 and relaunching in 2026. BlueSG said it was doing so to upgrade its platform, which includes enhanced technology and a refreshed fleet, to make the service more reliable and efficient. The software manages the vehicle fleet, works with the user database and handles payments. BlueSG switched to its current software in late 2023 from another one that was used before the car-sharing service was sold in 2021 to Goldbell, a Singapore-owned company known for commercial and industrial vehicle leasing. This was because the rights to use the previous software expired, Mr Ng Lee Kwang, a BlueSG board director between 2021 and 2023, told The Straits Times. The new software drew user complaints on issues such as car bookings and payments. Mr Franck Vitte, who founded BlueSG in 2017 and served as its managing director until October 2021, when it was sold, told ST on Aug 5 that the software needed by the car-sharing service is complex to develop and difficult to run reliably. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore More train rides taken in first half-year, but overall public transport use stays below 2019 levels Asia Philippines, India shore up ties amid China tensions, US tariff risks Singapore 'She had a whole life ahead of her': Boyfriend mourns Yishun fatal crash victim Singapore Doctor hounded ex-girlfriend, threatened to share her intimate photos, abducted her off street Asia Trump's transactional foreign policy fuels 'US scepticism' in Taiwan Singapore Beauty industry consumers hit by 464% rise in prepayment losses in first half of 2025 Singapore Over 5,900 vape products found in car at Woodlands Checkpoint Singapore 13 taken to hospital after accident involving SBS buses, car in Tampines He said that while it is possible to continue the service and make the switch to a new software platform when it is ready, the company's decision to take a pause in this way would allow it to focus on developing the planned changes and not be distracted by correcting bugs. He also suspects that the developers may have realised that a thorough rework of the foundations, rather than patching fixes to the software, is needed to ensure that the system will operate smoothly. Even though there are ready-made, off-the-shelf software solutions, adapting them to the specific requirement of BlueSG will take a lot of work, Mr Vitte said. This includes handling Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges, parking fee payments and having access to the call centre from the smartphone app. The two-door electric cars that launched the BlueSG car-sharing service in 2017 are no longer in production and some of the replacement parts are difficult to source. Mr Ng said there is a need for newer electric cars that can be charged up faster and have longer operating range, so that the cars can be used more frequently to generate more revenue and boost profitability. This comes as BlueSG posted a net loss of $31.1 million between January 2023 and March 2024, based on its latest publicly available financial statements. This is more than two times the $11.4 million net loss the company incurred in the financial year ended December 2022, according to statements filed with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. The company attributed the losses to the heavy investments made over the years, which were part of its strategy to achieve its growth plans. It is a marked change of fortune for the firm, which had posted a $1.8 million profit in the financial year ended December 2021. BlueSG is Singapore's first electric-only car-sharing service. Its launch in 2017 was supported by the Land Transport Authority and the Economic Development Board. The car-sharing service has two types of electric vehicles in its fleet: a compact two-door hatchback, a specially built model for BlueSG that entered service in 2017, and the Opel Corsa-e, a larger, four-door hatchback, which was introduced in 2022. BlueSG's revenue leapt to $21.1 million in 2021, from $14.3 million in 2020. Revenue continued to rise steadily to $23 million for the 12 months ended December 2022, and to $24.6 million in the January 2023 to March 2024 period. No financial statement was filed for the 2023 financial year. Responding to ST's queries, BlueSG chief executive Keith Kee said the figures must be viewed in the context of the company's 'deliberate, front-loaded investment strategy'. He added that the company has invested about $70 million over the past years in building up BlueSG. 'We committed to scaling the business in a way that it would support long-term growth, and made a conscious decision to invest ahead of the curve, fully aware that it required upfront capital commitment,' said Mr Kee. In its 2021 announcement about its plans for BlueSG, Goldbell said it planned to invest more than $70 million over five years to grow the car-sharing service's fleet and back-end technologies to boost operational efficiencies and customer experience. Goldbell also aspired to take BlueSG to other cities in the Asia-Pacific. The car-sharing company said its relaunch in 2026 will see an upgraded platform, a refreshed car fleet and more locations for users to rent and return cars. The company is also laying off an undisclosed number of staff. The latest available financial statement, which is for the January 2023 to March 2024 period, showed that BlueSG's costs came to $40.3 million – 46 per cent more than the $27.6 million incurred in the January to December 2022 period. This was due to factors such as the cost of insurance, maintenance and storage of its electric vehicle fleet, which came up to a combined $9.3 million, 42.9 per cent more than 2022's figure of $6.5 million. BlueSG said it has a fleet of 'almost 1,000 electric vehicles' and more than 1,500 charging points. Since it was acquired by Goldbell, its subscriber base has grown from 140,000 to more than 250,000, but it declined to say how many users are active. BlueSG is unique among car-sharing services in Singapore because the hired car does not have to be returned to the same location from where the vehicle was rented out. Using the service involves signing up as a member and booking a car over a smartphone app. The app also unlocks and starts the car. The service is charged on a per-minute basis, instead of larger 30-minute or hourly blocks, which are more common.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
GlobalFoundries forecasts hit by slow smartphone demand recovery, shares fall
Contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries forecast revenue and profit for the third quarter below Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as it grapples with a slow recovery in demand from clients in the consumer electronics market. Shares of the world's third-largest chip foundry, already down around 15 per cent this year, fell another 6 per cent in premarket trading. U.S. tariff-led economic uncertainty has pressured smartphone sales, with buyers pulling back on orders especially in the low-end segment. Data from IDC in July showed smartphone sales growth slowed to just 1 per cent in the June quarter. CEO Tim Breen, who was named to the top job in February, said the company was awaiting a "return to meaningful growth across the consumer-driven end markets". The company expects third-quarter net revenue of $1.68 billion, plus or minus $25 million, lower than the analysts' average estimate of $1.79 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Adjusted profit per share is expected to be 38 cents, plus or minus 5 cents. The midpoint of that was below the 41 cents estimated by analysts. Still, lower costs and strong growth in its automotive and datacenter businesses helped GlobalFoundries surpass adjusted profit expectations for the second quarter. The company recently deepened its push into autos with a chipmaking deal with Continental. It also struck a deal in July to buy chip architecture supplier MIPS for an undisclosed sum to boost its offerings in industrial and AI processors. In June, it increased its investment plans to $16 billion, allocating an additional $1 billion to capital spending and $3 billion to research in several emerging chip technologies, including those used in electric vehicles and AI servers. Net revenue rose 3.7 per cent in the three months ended June to $1.69 billion, slightly above estimates of $1.68 billion. Adjusted profit per share of 42 cents also beat estimates of 35 cents.
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Exclusive-Intel struggles with key manufacturing process for next PC chip, sources say
SAN FRANCISCO :The production process that Intel hoped would pave the way to winning manufacturing deals and restore its edge in churning out high-end, high-margin chips is facing a big hurdle on quality as it puts newer technologies to the test, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters. For months, Intel has promised investors it would increase manufacturing using a process it calls 18A. It spent billions of dollars developing 18A, including the construction or upgrades of several factories, with the goal of challenging Taiwan's chipmaking heavyweight, TSMC. Intel wants to round out its business designing chips that it largely makes in-house and TSMC helps it produce, with a contract manufacturing business that can compete with this key supplier. But whether Intel revives advanced chip production in the U.S. and gets its contract foundry on solid footing depends on closing the technology gap with TSMC. Early tests disappointed customers last year, but Intel has said its 18A is on track to make its "Panther Lake" laptop semiconductors at high volume starting in 2025, which include next-generation transistors and a more efficient way to deliver power to the chip. The chipmaker has hoped that producing such an advanced in-house chip would grow external interest in its foundry, at a time when new CEO Lip-Bu Tan has explored a major shift to course-correct that fledgling business, Reuters previously reported. Yet only a small percentage of the Panther Lake chips printed via 18A have been good enough to make available to customers, said the two people, who were briefed on the company's test data since late last year. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because Intel did not authorize them to disclose such information. This percentage figure, known as yield, means Intel may struggle to make its high-end laptop chip profitably in the near future. Yield may inch up or down as a foundry optimizes its manufacturing process. Companies also calculate yield in a variety of ways, which can make this critical data a moving goal post, the two people and two additional sources with knowledge of Intel's manufacturing operation said. Yields generally "start off low and improve over time," Intel's Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner told Reuters in a July 24 interview. For Panther Lake, "it's early in the ramp," he said. In a statement on July 30, Intel added: "Our performance and yield trajectory gives us confidence this will be a successful launch that further strengthens Intel's position in the notebook market." Intel in the past has aimed for a yield north of 50 per cent before ramping production because starting any earlier risked damaging its profit margin, three of the sources said. Intel typically does not make the lion's share of its profit until yields reach roughly 70 per cent to 80 per cent, key for a chip as small as Panther Lake where many defects would make it a tough sell, the three people said. Profit also flows from market expansions and building up factory output, Intel said. An immense yield increase would be a tall task by Panther Lake's fourth-quarter launch, the two people with knowledge of Intel's manufacturing operation said. But without such a jump, Intel may have to sell some chips at a lower profit margin or at a loss, the two sources briefed on test data said. Panther Lake is "fully on track," Intel said in its July 30 comment. Intel did not specify the yield threshold at which its chips become profitable. The company has warned it could exit leading-edge manufacturing entirely if it does not land external business for 14A, which is 18A's next-generation successor. 'HAIL MARY' Intel's 18A process involved big manufacturing changes and introduced newer technologies all at once, such as a next-generation transistor design and a feature that would improve the delivery of energy to a chip. This created manufacturing risks due to the complexity of fabricating chips, three of the sources said. Intel took on this challenge to close the performance gap with TSMC, but its aggressive timeline for a rollout of unproven systems set it up for failure, said the two people briefed on the company's test data. One likened the effort to a "Hail Mary" football pass. In April, Intel said it had begun a crucial step toward printing Panther Lake chips via 18A known as "risk production." The company also showed off several laptops it said used Panther Lake chips at the Taiwan Computex expo in May. But problems have persisted. One way chip manufacturers gauge progress is to measure the number of defects per area of a chip, which can vary based on a semiconductor's design. Relative to industry standards, the Panther Lake chips had about three times too many defects for Intel to start high-volume production, the two sources briefed on test data said. As of late last year, only around 5 per cent of the Panther Lake chips that Intel printed were up to its specifications, these sources said. This yield figure rose to around 10 per cent by this summer, said one of the sources, who cautioned that Intel could claim a higher number if it counted chips that did not hit every performance target. Reuters could not establish the precise yield at present. In the interview with Reuters, Zinsner disputed these figures and said "yields are better than that." He did not give a number for July or late 2024, and Intel declined to provide this data. "Our expectation is every month they'll get better and better, such that we're at a yield level that is good for production-level Panther Lake at the end of the year," he said, adding: "I wouldn't say that margins are accretive even at those yield levels, so we still have to make improvement." Tan has tapped supply-chain contacts more than usual for Intel and has given them data to help improve chip yields, Zinsner said. For now, Intel remains partly dependent on TSMC to make its in-house designed chips. An Intel executive said in June that Nova Lake, a chip it is planning after Panther Lake, will be made partly on TSMC, too.
