Thoughtful consumer tech & audio commentary. Periodic product reviews. Writer @PiunikaWeb. Photography | 🏳️🌈 | Pop culture. Mail: [email protected]
Bangalore, India
Joined August 2021
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TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
Conducting a short 1-minute survey on smartphone service experience. Would be really kind of you if you can fill this: forms.gle/rXPr9t564ZfWmXPd6
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
Arc is the reason I will never switch browsers ever again.
I used Chrome for years and years and years but, despite the high switching costs, Arc was cool enough for me to pull the trigger and try something new.
I loved, I recommended it to friends. It was buggy but I really really loved it. Just yesterday I was using Chrome with vertical tabs and reminiscing on how good Arc’s tab management was, how much I enjoyed using that browser.
Then, less than a year after I switched, they announced Dia and put Arc on life support. And now, it’s gone.
I have limited interest in AI browsers, but even if I did, I would never switch to Dia? Why would I use a browser that could be sunset at any point?
Chrome 4 life I guess. Fuck me for trying something new.
We've decided to sunset Arc on December 22, 2026.
That's not an easy sentence to write. We spent years building Arc and celebrating each and every release along the way: we have so much pride and love for what we made alongside the Arc community.
Our priority is to deliver best-in-class security for our members. Keeping a browser secure takes constant, dedicated work that is only increasing in the age of AI. Dia was built from the ground up to meet today’s security standards, so that's where our engineering and security teams will focus moving forward.
We've worked to make switching to @diabrowser as easy as possible for Arc members. Here's how:
· Your passwords, bookmarks, extensions and history come over to Dia seamlessly.
· Spaces, Folders, and Tab Groups are in Dia and import over with your data intact.
· Dia now surpasses Arc benchmarks in stability, speed, and security.
· The browser features you use in Arc are free in Dia, and the AI is optional.
Thank you for using Arc, for pushing us to make it better, and for building alongside us. The team that made Arc is the same team behind Dia, and some of our most ambitious work is just ahead. We'd love for you to be there with us when it lands.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
Mivi One impressions thread.
Overall, it's a competitively priced, well-specced device for the 2026 market that's powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2.
It also comes with a 1/2.76" main sensor, and the only "obvious" major catch for the price is the display.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
Mivi One 5G Initial Impressions after 10 days
• Performance: This comes with a Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 paired with 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage and 4, 6, or 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM. I have the 6/128GB variant. This processor and storage type combo is one of the best under ₹15k right now, as competitors offer eMMC storage with weaker and less efficient Dimensity or Unisoc processors.
Due to this combination, day-to-day tasks are smooth, and even games like CODM run fairly well. I'll be posting a more in-depth performance test in a few days.
• Cameras: The rear camera is a 50MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor with a sensor size of 1/2.76". This once again is one of the best options in the segment right now. Competitors are offering 32MP or 13MP sensors with a significantly smaller sensor size.
The shots from this lens come out decent with balanced colours, fairly controlled noise, and good HDR processing, even with harsh backlights. (few samples in the replies)
The selfie camera, however, is an 8MP sensor, and this just about does the job for normal shots. Nothing to write home about.
• Battery & Charging: It comes with a 6000 mAh cell paired with an 18W charger in the box. The battery life is good and gives around 6-8h of screen-on time with light-to-moderate use over the course of 2 days. With less standby use, you can easily expect 8-10h of screen-on time.
• Software: It comes with Android 16 out of the box, with 2 years of OS and 3 years of security updates. The software is close to stock Android and hence bloatware-free. It contains limited system apps and some Google apps.
Due to the light software skin, the day-to-day performance is smooth, and there are proper animations around the UI, unlike budget ColorOS and OriginOS. However, some areas, like the folder animations, are unpolished, but it's not a dealbreaker.
• Display: It's a 6.75" HD+ IPS LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. This is honestly the weakest aspect of this phone, but this is unfortunately not exclusive to this phone. All the phones in the sub-₹15k price range have made 720p LCD the new standard.
The display in real-world use is fine, nothing special. It's as sharp as any other 720p panel. The sunlight legibility is average due to 400 nits of brightness, but it's manageable. However, the colours are decent, and it's smooth thanks to the 120Hz.
• Build quality: It's an all-plastic build with a plastic back and plastic frame. The usual stuff in this segment.
Overall, the Mivi One is a solid offering under ₹15k right now. The 4/128GB, 6/128GB, and 8/128GB variants start at ₹12,999, ₹13,999, and ₹14,999, respectively, with ₹1k bank offers. In my opinion, the 6/128GB variant is the most balanced combo.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
I have to put this out there:
Google makes the absolute worst apps.
- YouTube is the least enjoyable video app. Terrible and outdated app design, slow, janky, a disrespectful number of ads in the free plan. Shoving Shorts down your throat every time you search something.
- Gmail is one of the worst-designed and organized mail apps. It’s all over the place.
- Google Photos, again, is janky, slow, stuttery, and has weird sync issues. There’s been an issue for years that when I download a photo from the cloud, it gets duplicated and the duplicate also uploads to the cloud separately. This was on the Android app, so annoying that I completely stopped using Google Photos several months ago.
And it’s not that these apps only look bad on iOS because they look out of place; they look bad on Android too.
Most of Google’s apps don’t even follow Android’s Material design properly.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
BBD Sale is the time when influencers and YouTubers promote a LOT of products.
Take it as their work, not as a duty towards you.
Even after watching 10 different videos about a product, do your own research before buying an electronic item.
Don’t let someone else’s recommendation replace your own decision making during this time.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
Pova 8 Pro review: Priced at ₹50,000, how well does this design-centric device actually fare in daily use?
[Thread]
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
Kefine Klean SV Review
The original Kefine Klean continues to be sold, but the SV variant is now available for Rs 4200. Is it better than the original?
The bass has been reduced, so it won't sound as warm or heavy as the original one, and I personally prefer the SV's graphs.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
I've been seeing some posts justifying this e-waste under the guise of the "RAM crisis," but it is a massive pile of electronic GARBAGE, despite any sort of crisis
> 4/64GB base
> 720p LCD
> 13MP rear (unknown size, likely very bad)
> 5MP selfie
The newly launched Lava Virat Curve 5G is a phone that is much, much, much better, and even the Mivi One 5G is better despite being cheaper.
If you want more established brands, then there is the Poco C85 and Moto G37 Power, which are still much better.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
After seeing the recent launches from these established smartphone brands, I genuinely feel that we were too slow to judge the OnePlus N6x 5G.
> It’s got a 720p display, so your battery doesn’t drain too fast.
> It’s got Dimensity 6360 5G processor and low-grade UFS 2.2 which has speeds of eMMC 5.1, so you don’t spend too much time using your phone.
> The camera is a 1/4” main and 1/5” selfie, so you live in the moment and don’t have to worry about taking photos.
> It’s got only 64GB of storage, coz you can buy Google cloud storage anyway.
> Charging speed is 15W, so you don’t become patient zero.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
I’ve decided: I’m not buying iPhone Duo.
I can’t lie, Duo intrigued me more than any other foldable.
1. The software seems to be the best on any fold. Actually through-out, and optimized for the form factor.
2. The hardware is decent too. It looks stunning.
3. It runs iOS which is my preferred OS.
However, the problem is, slab phones are just SO GOOD.
Slab phone form factor is just so perfect it doesn’t make sense to steer away from it.
On a foldable, you have to decide which display to pick every time you use it. And depending on whichever you pick, you’ll face compromises.
Slab phones have no compromises.
You get the best aspect ratio, decent screen space, and the best typing experience (which is very important for someone like me typing all day).
Plus, I absolutely love my Face ID and don’t wanna settle for Touch ID on the Duo.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
Moondrop Chu 2 vs Chu 3: Which one's a better buy, and is the Chu 3 an upgrade?
I... like the Chu 2 better. The bass has better quality to my ears, with a tighter punch with just the right quantity, and also good sub bass.
The Chu 3 increases the bass/heft region to a point where the attack for drums sounds "heavy" and a bit on the weight side.
It's not to the point of being muddy, but it does sound more boomy. Partly because of the dropped upper mids, and partly because of increased bass.
The Chu 3 is a comparatively more relaxing listen, thanks to a higher midbass quantity, evened out upper treble peaks, and less energy overall.
If you're treble sensitive, found the Chu 2 shouty/aggressive, or the treble presentation itself bothered you, you'll find the Chu 3 to be better sounding.
If you're like me, and prefer a slightly livelier and more energetic presentation, with just enough note weight and good mid bass slam, the Chu 2 is better for you.
The 2 fits me better as well, but this depends on your ear shape. Fit can influence sound tuning. Upper mids and treble, and even bass. So, get that right. Either way you won't have an issue with the fit since the shells are quite small. Just tip roll.
The box contents are identical, but the Chu 3 is priced higher, and has a much worse quality copper cable that just feels a lot cheaper. The Chu 2 shipped with a better quality silver cable. I'd take that anyday.
Chu 2 also has a DSP variant which the 3 doesn't for now.
As per my subjective opinion, the Chu 3 is a downgrade. The tuning is worse to me, it's too weighty and boomy and warm leaning which isn't what the Chu lineup really stood for, the cable is worse, and the price is higher.
But objectively, if you like warmer, fuller sound with heavier note weight more, the 3 would sonically be an upgrade for you. That doesn't mean the Chu 2 is thin or dry or lacks note weight and impact. It has all of that and executes it all perfectly. It's just in comparison that the 3 sounds heavier.
For technicalities, Chu 3 has really good imaging and stage for the price, and I genuinely enjoyed that part, though I did not find it to be better than the Chu 2 by much.
For me, tuning > tech.
If I were you I'd buy the Chu 2 before it goes out of stock.
While the 2 remained a segment lead for years and came out among the top despite massive competition, I don't think the same can be said for the 3. Many IEMs are on par or better.
They shouldn't have discontinued the 2. It'll become an IEM people will dearly miss, like the Hola.
TechWhirl Ultimate retweeted
Tecno HiOS 16 software review
The device used is the Pova 8 Pro, & the post will explain how it feels using this software through various categories.
I have used & reviewed XOS 15 last year, so I'll also go through what has improved & whatever shortcomings are still there.
