Everyone is getting into AI these days, and although the tech is now almost everywhere, if you think of it, it’s got some security concerns around it. Now, though, the internet’s favorite privacy-focused search engine, DuckDuckGo, is getting an AI chatbot. And, as you might expect, it’s here with a strong focus on respecting your privacy and keeping your data safe. DuckDuckGo’s AI chat is private and allows you to use AI models like OpenAI’s GPT 3.5 Turbo, Anthropic’s Claude 3 Haiku, and Meta’s Llama 3 anonymously. The company says everything you do with these chatbots is between you and them, and it won’t be used to train future or existing models.
In fact, DuckDuckGo’s solution isn’t perfect and it does have some caveats. DuckDuckGo warns that its supported models may store your conversations temporarily in order to deliver responses. Of course, the company underlines that all metadata is removed from the logs and that the agreements when building these AI chats ensure everything is deleted from servers in 30 days.
Image Source – DuckDuckGo
The app is now live. DuckDuckGo has a daily usage limit for the free version though, and the company has plans to introduce a paid version. The paid option will also offer more advanced models. You can try the tools at duck.ai, and it’s also available within the top bar of DuckDucGo’s search engine. Honestly, these privacy features should probably inspire other companies that use AI to take privacy more seriously. I sincerely do hope so.
Izzy, a tech enthusiast and a key part of the PhoneArena team, specializes in delivering the latest mobile tech news and finding the best tech deals. Her interests extend to cybersecurity, phone design innovations, and camera capabilities. Outside her professional life, Izzy, a literature master’s degree holder, enjoys reading, painting, and learning languages. She’s also a personal growth advocate, believing in the power of experience and gratitude. Whether it’s walking her Chihuahua or singing her heart out, Izzy embraces life with passion and curiosity.
Cybersecurity threats rise during this peak season as millions embark on the annual Hajj pilgrimage. This article offers crucial tips for pilgrims to safeguard themselves online while ensuring a safe and fulfilling Hajj experience.
Every year, millions of Muslims embark on the Hajj pilgrimage, a deeply spiritual journey, to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. However, the forever-widening scope of cybercrimes has made the event vulnerable to a range of cyber threats.
According to Resecurity’s cyber threat intelligence team’s research, shared exclusively with Hackread.com ahead of its publication, this year’s Hajj season is marred with an extensive range of frauds and scams.
The pilgrimage involves a multitude of logistical steps, from booking travel and accommodation to managing finances and staying connected with loved ones, for which pilgrims typically rely heavily on mobile apps and websites.
This reliance can expose them to frauds like fake travel agencies, online registration scams, sub-standard travel arrangements, and unlicensed travel companies created by organized crime groups, etc. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) reports cases where individuals paid for sub-standard or non-existent travel arrangements, resulting in financial losses for victims.
These scams often involve fake websites or invitations, duping people into providing personal information and money. Scammers also use social media platforms to promote fake Hajj packages and entice people with attractive offers, ultimately leaving individuals without a tour and no way to recover their money.
According to Rsecurity’s blog post, researchers found that a fraudulent website Registergovcom was part of a larger identity theft campaign, which involved several fake websites disguised as free Hajj applications, tricking victims into sharing sensitive data. The information is used by threat actors for identity theft, fraud, and other cybercrime.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia’s official digital platform, Nusuk, launched to facilitate secure planning, booking, registration, and payment for Hajj and Umrah, is also exploited by cybercriminals. One of the phishing campaigns involving a fake site nusuksacom was found redirecting users to a payment interception form, stealing sensitive information.
Screengrabs of the scams targeting Hajj Pilgrimage (Credit: Resecurity)
In addition, scammers are using generative AI and Troll Factories to spread deceptive content on social media and defraud individuals. Resecurity has blocked over 630 accounts suspected of distributing fraudulent content targeting individuals preparing for Hajj season. The team also successfully blocked a resource collecting payment data.
Researchers call for stronger collaboration between platforms, law enforcement, and the private sector as Hajj approaches. Consumers are advised to be vigilant against online scams involving money exchange services, which can result in significant financial losses. To avoid falling victim to these scams, do your research on reputable services, verify their credentials, and exercise caution online.
It’s been a long time since I’ve used a Motorola phone, so when Motorola sent over the new Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 I was eager to check it out. The mid-range phones with affordable pricing aren’t usually the types of phones I tend to go for. I prefer the powerhouses with best-in-class cameras and top-notch specs. Basically the flagship phones. Unfortunately, those also come with a much higher price.
So it’s nice to see that for $399, Motorola can put together a smartphone that quite honestly, performs very well. That might not be something you expect to read about a phone that costs a mere $399. Let me tell you though, powerful, fun phones don’t have to cost an arm and a leg anymore. In fact, a fun phone that comes with tons of excellent features is more readily available at lower prices these days than you might think. Motorola didn’t exactly spearhead this movement, but it’s certainly contributing in a big way.
Enter the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024. A smartphone that puts the fun back into phones for a price that you won’t feel guilty about paying. But how does the Moto G Stylus 5G this year stack up compared to other devices in the same price range? Is it worth your $399? Let’s dive into this review and find out.
Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 Review: Hardware & Design
Motorola has been around for decades building phones. Longer than some of today’s most popular brands. So you can bet it knows a thing or two about designing a good-looking phone, not to mention building one that feels like a quality product. The Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 is exactly those things. A stylish phone that feels very well-built. My last experience with a Moto G was several years ago. It wasn’t my phone either, rather, it was the phone I bought for my parents when they were ready for upgrades.
My mom’s second Android phone, and my dad’s first smartphone. While the phone was affordable and offered plenty of features, the one thing that sticks in my mind about it was how many issues both my parents had with it. It just wasn’t a very good phone. The fingerprint sensors were finicky and didn’t work nearly half the time, and there were numerous other problems that they were always calling me about in hopes I could fix the issue. The Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 is so far removed from that experience that it’s almost like it doesn’t come from the same brand.
When I first picked up the Moto G Stylus 5G, it felt like I was holding something more premium than what the price tag is demanding for this device. The frame is a fingerprint magnet, but it looks nice. And the vegan leather back feels so good to the touch. Plus it actually looks really good. Now it’s not real leather so unfortunately it won’t develop that nice patina that happens as natural leather gets older and more worn. That’s ok though. Because the back of this phone still looks great. I ended up with the Caramel Latte color but the Scarlet Wave also looks very nice.
The one thing I don’t love about the design is the camera bump. It’s not super tall, but the narrowness of it means the phone doesn’t lay completely flat face up. So if I tap the display to wake it up and see notifications or the time, it rocks a little. And that will never not annoy me. It’s a preference thing. Aside from that, Motorola gave this phone a pretty solid design. It’s got an upgraded stylus for one.
But also a 3.5mm audio jack for wired headphones, which is a rare sight these days. It also has a USB-C port on the bottom, speakers on the bottom (the phone also has dual stereo speakers), buttons on the side, and a mic on top.
The buttons for power and volume also feel solid and they’re easy to press without being too easy if that makes sense. Overall, the hardware is good and the design is even better. It’s a phone that doesn’t look cheap, even though the price would have believe it is.
Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 Review: Display
These days you’re almost bound to get a suitable display on any phone that costs around $400 or more. That’s not to say there aren’t some stinkers out there in this price range. However, I was surprised at how good the display looks here. Not to mention the upgrades Motorola gave it to make the phone better than last year’s. For starters, this is a 6.7-inch 1080p display compared to the previous model’s 6.6-inch. It’s big and bright and lends itself well to any entertainment you want out of it.
It also comes with a 120Hz refresh rate which is excellent for anything. If you’re scrolling around menus or browsing the web or using apps, everything is nice and fluid. And of course, the main reason I like it is because the 120Hz means good things for gaming. Not all games will support 120 frames per second. But plenty of them do and you’ll be glad you have that support here. It’s just wild to see in a phone that costs $399 when some phones that cost several hundred more don’t go above 60Hz or 90Hz.
In terms of brightness, the display could be a bit better. It’s not bad but I did notice that it had a little more of an issue with glare out in the bright sunlight than devices like the Pixel 8 or ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition. Now that might not be a problem for you if you aren’t using your phone out in the Summer sun a whole bunch. But if you’re an outdoorsy person you will notice. Luckily, you can still see the display pretty well and I imagine when it gets even brighter in a month or two during the day, it’ll still do just fine.
When it comes to colors, there’s absolutely no complaints from me. The colors pop off the display and they’re nice and vibrant with some saturation. If you don’t like this there is an option in the display settings menu to change it so the colors look more natural. I feel like this takes away from how good the display looks when it’s bright outside though. And you definitely want your colors to be a little more saturated for games.
Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 Review: Performance
Ok so the phone looks good, it’s built well, and it has a decent display, but how does it perform? Honestly, pretty good. I never really noticed any hitching or jitters when using the device. it also felt perfectly fine when playing games like Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves (another anime-style action RPG with high-fidelity graphics and fast gameplay).
I was surprised at how good games felt here given the phone is running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 Mobile Platform. It’s not exactly a flagship CPU. But it’s certainly no slouch either. And the upgrade from 6GB of RAM to 8GB doesn’t hurt. I do think it is worth considering though that for $499, the OnePlus 12R offers better gaming performance thanks to the use of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside it, while also having more RAM. So if gaming is one of the main things you’ll be doing on your phone, you’ll want to weigh if it’s worth paying $100 more for something like that.
As I said though, gaming felt good here. By no means was it industry-leading. But I think there’s a real incentive to save that $100 and go for something like this phone instead when games didn’t feel sluggish. That being said, I didn’t try every game I usually play. But if I can run around in Genshin Impact for over an hour with the graphics settings maxed, and not have any noticeable issues, there’s probably not much you’d have problems playing. In short, the performance is pretty decent, although you wouldn’t necessarily know it from the benchmarks.
The Benchmarks
Like we’ve been doing in all our phone reviews for the past few months, we ran a series of benchmark tests on the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024. This includes 3D Mark, Geekbench 6, our own test we created called the CapCut test, and a series of thermal tests.
The results for some were less impressive than others. So on paper, it doesn’t look as good as using the phone actually feels. Let’s start with the CapCut test. For this, we take a 60-second video and upload it to CapCut. We then export it at 1080p at 30 frames per second and see how long it takes to export. The Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 did fine here, though it was noticeably slower than the more high-end devices. In the end, though, it was able to export the video in 23.79 seconds. Which is fine.
The 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress test was a different story. With a best loop score of 611 and a lowest loop score of 604, it doesn’t look great. The silver lining is that it had a stability of 98.8% which is pretty good. As for Geekbench 6, we ran both the CPU and GPU tests. The CPU test resulted in a single-core score of 935 and a multi-core score of 2746. While the GPU test ended up with a GPU OpenCL score of 1341. Nothing to write home about but not terrible considering the price and the chipset. And again, real-world usage still delivered decent performance anyway.
The Thermals
You might not think about the thermals of your phone but it is a pretty important factor. When using things like video recording or watching long pieces of video content at high brightness, the phone can warm up quite a bit. This is especially true when playing more demanding games. I’m happy to say that the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 did pretty well here. And it should, considering the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 isn’t a powerhouse CPU and GPU combo so it’s not exactly pumping out immense heat.
For the thermals tests, we do a few different things. We play Genshin Impact for around an hour or so with the display at max brightness and the graphics settings maxed out. We also run the phone through the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress test and measure the thermal temperature directly after the test is over. Lastly, we set up a video recording on the phone with video at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second, and then check the temperature after it records for 5 minutes, and again at 10 minutes.
For the Genshin test, the phone reached 108.6 degrees Fahrenheit which is around what I was expecting. The phone didn’t feel that warm though so this was a good sign. For the 3D Mark test, it got to 99.1 degrees, and the camera test ended up at 100.4 and 102.7. So all-in-all, the thermals are good. You won’t have to worry about the phone heating up and being uncomfortable to hold.
Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 Review: Battery Life & Charging
I’ve been spoiled on battery life for the past few years because I’m used to using ASUS’ ROG Phones which have massive batteries and come with 65W chargers. So the batteries last a really long time and they charge up quickly. The Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 comes with a pretty decent-sized battery at 5000mAh, and it does appear to last a fairly long time. I typically unplug my phone around 7AM or 8AM in the morning. It then stays unplugged till about 11PM or 12AM when I go to bed.
This is how I used the Moto G Stylus 5G in my time with it and battery life was decent but not great. After about 4 hours and 25 minutes, I was typically just under 50%. I would end the day with about 40% battery life from about 6 hours of screen-on time. It’s not the best. However, it was more than suitable for my usual daily needs. Where it gets a little concerning is with the charging speeds. Motorola packages this phone with a 30W TurboCharger. Turbo is in the name. Yet it felt anything but turbo in my opinion.
It took just over an hour and a half to charge up this device using the charger that came in the box. There are certainly slower-charging phones. But one hour and thirty minutes felt slow. Motorola says you can get a day’s worth of power in just 30 minutes. And I found that to be pretty accurate. The battery would charge to around 50% in that time. But it would slow way down after that. Taking exceedingly long to reach 100% from a little over halfway.
Benchmarks
Just like with the regular benchmarks, we run a set of tests for the battery life and charging. We did this for the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 using the same methods we do for every other phone. For the battery life rundown, we charge the phone to 100% overnight. Then we play the same 24-hour YouTube video and let it run til the battery reaches 1% so we can see how long it lasts. For this test, the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 lasted for 19 hours, 29 minutes, and 53 seconds.
For the charging test, we simply plug it back in and see how long it takes to reach 100%. As I said earlier, it took a while for this phone. Taking a total of 1 hour, 30 minutes, and 17 seconds to charge completely. Not great. But in the grand scheme of things, it will depend on how you use the device. In my opinion, though, you’ll want the device to charge faster. So this is something to consider if you use your phone heavily throughout the day.
Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 Review: Software
The software experience can be just as important as any other factor on a phone. And I think this is where Motorola is really shining. At least with this device. There were a lot of nifty little touches that made the user experience a joy and although some might call this bloatware, I found Motorola’s little additives to be fun and useful.
Now you’re not getting stock Android 14 here, but that’s honestly fine. Because it’s “mostly” stock Android 14 with a few UI tweaks. What I think users are really going to like is all the little customization options. For instance, you can personalize things like the font, custom colors, the layout and more. These are all things that you can do with a third-party launcher app. But Motorola baked it right into the phone. You can also enhance the experience with more advanced gestures.
One that I particularly liked using was flipping the phone to put it into Do Not Disturb mode. Normally with DND, you have to toggle it on and off. But with this gesture, you simply flip the phone and it enables DND right away. You still get alarms and such, but phone calls, messages, and any other notifications are all blocked. The magic is that you only have to flip the phone back over. Then DND turns back off. You don’t have to press a single button for the whole thing. Aside from enabling this gesture of course.
There’s also a really cool game bar you can enable for while you’re in games. It’s not as advanced as what ASUS has. Then again this isn’t a gaming phone. What Motorola does give you though are some nifty tools. Like a go live button, a screenshot option, and more all from a collapsible game bar panel. Then of course there’s Moto Notes and everything you can do with the stylus. I didn’t use this much for notes. I did use it for marking up pictures of strategy game boards though. This came in handy when I needed to confer with a teammate about what our plan should be.
Overall, the software experience is great on this device and it was one of my favorite things about it.
Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 Review: Camera
Now we come to the final part of our review – the camera. For a lot of people, the camera is going to be the most-used function. The best camera is the one you have on you, and these days, that’s probably your smartphone. So if you like taking pictures, you want your phone’s camera to be good.
Motorola packs in a 50MP main camera sensor on the back with a 13MP ultrawide lens with macro functions and more. Then there’s a front camera for selfies that’s been upgraded from last year’s offering. The camera experience was pretty good and I’d say most photos came out looking nice. I wouldn’t put it on par with the likes of the Pixel 8 or Samsung’s Galaxy S flagships. However, for $399, you’re getting a pretty decent setup.
In a lot of the images I took, there was a high amount of detail and decent color. Some photos though did appear oversaturated. This was minimal though so I think overall, the color you get from the photos on this phone is nothing to worry about. I also noticed that the phone could be a little heavy-handed with the HDR in some shots. I feel like if the lighting is poor or the area is dimly lit, then the camera tries to compensate for this, and in some instances it overcorrects.
The good thing is you can tune things a bit with the camera settings to find a good balance. I don’t think it will end up making a massive difference but it should be enough to improve the images a bit. What I do love is that there are loads of camera features. Slow Motion, Portrait, Pro mode, Spot Color, and even Time Lapse.
There’s a lot for users to play around with. It might feel daunting at first, but trust me you get used to it quickly the more photos you take. The takeaway here should be that you’re getting a pretty decent camera for the price.
Should you buy the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024?
There are an awful lot of options for affordable smartphones out there. But I think Motorola has done a really good job here at separating itself apart from the competition in most cases. For $399 the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 is a very good setup. That being said, there are other really good options that are close to its price point. The Pixel 8a is $499. The OnePlus 12R is $499, and both of these are excellent. If you’re ok with spending $399, then you might be ok with spending $499.
If that’s the case, then the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 could be a hard sell. However, the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 has a lot going for it, and I think this review shows that. It’s fun to use, has some great features, and it looks really good. Those are all great reasons to buy this phone. It also comes universally unlocked so it should work on essentially any carrier in the US.
While it has a few faults I’d like to see improved, I think overall it’s a solid choice in the $399 price range.
You should buy the Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 if:
You want a good phone that won’t cost a lot of money
Due to the growing popularity of Apple devices, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting iOS and macOS with malware.
The App Store is no longer secure, and iCloud is a new target, as Apple’s allowance of third-party app stores in Europe is expected to be exploited.
Existing Android malware is being modified to target iOS, as seen with GoldPickaxe, a Trojan that steals facial recognition data.
As hackers find new ways to exploit Apple devices, it is crucial to understand iOS malware analysis.
App managers Sileo and Zebra
Checkm8, a bootrom vulnerability found in 2019, is a hardware flaw that cannot be patched with software updates and allows attackers to bypass iOS security measures and compromise devices.
Analyze any MaliciousURL, Files & Emails & Configuration With ANY RUN : Start your Analysis
While Apple has implemented mitigation strategies for newer chips, older devices remain susceptible.
Malicious actors are exploiting checkm8 to brute-force passcodes.
Since Apple devices share an ID, a compromised device can put other devices linked to the same ID at risk, which highlights the importance of updating to secure devices and using strong security practices across all Apple products.
Request for permission to execute an application for jailbreaking
Jailbreaking an iPhone for forensic analysis allows access to app data beyond what standard backups provide, which leverages vulnerabilities in the device’s bootrom to achieve a “jailbroken” state.
The Checkm8 vulnerability is usable on iPhone X models running iOS 16 for full app analysis, where a tool called Palera1n can be used on MacOS to jailbreak the device, but for forensics, a more specialized agent is recommended to minimize modifications made to the device.
Settings menu to permit to running of the application
The research by Group-IB instructs on jailbreaking an iOS device with an A11 processor running iOS 16 using a rootless method with a palera1n-macos-universal tool, where the device must be completely reset and not have a passcode set before proceeding.
After establishing a trusted connection between the device and a computer, the tool is used to jailbreak the device, and upon successful jailbreak, a package manager like Sileo is installed.
Output of the command bagbak -l
Frida is then installed on a separate Linux-based machine and used to connect to the jailbroken device.
Finally, the tool bagbak is used to decrypt and extract a desired iOS application (.ipa file) from the device for further analysis.
Hardware vulnerabilities like Checkm8 exploit the boot ROM, making them persistent and difficult to patch, while new exploits emerge to target these vulnerabilities, leaving older devices at risk.
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Announcing the latest version of Malwarebytes, which brings a faster, responsive, and consistent user interface, integrated security and privacy, and expert guidance to keep you secure.
Here’s what you can expect:
1. Unified user experience across platforms
The new generation of Malwarebytes now delivers a consistent user experience across all our desktop and mobile platforms. The reimagined user interface is faster, more responsive, and managed through an intuitive dashboard, giving you a streamlined experience wherever you use Malwarebytes.
Why? Sophisticated hacking tactics and various entry points mean you can’t afford to have blind spots in your protection. A seamless experience across all platforms and devices means you don’t have to figure out more than once about what to do next. We’ve also made it easier to find everything, encouraging you to keep your guard up on all your devices.
2. Premium Security and Privacy VPN integration
We’ve merged our award-winning Premium Security and ultra fast no-log Privacy VPN into a single dashboard, making it much easier for you to take control of your privacy. With just one click, you can now protect your Wi-Fi or hotspot connections and change your location to visit the site you want at the speed you need. Don’t forget to also use Browser Guard on your desktop to block ad trackers and scam sites from your browser.
Why? We know that the distinction between security and privacy is not clear-cut, and you need both products to work together to minimize your exposure (risk of threats and lack of privacy). Integrating the two makes it much easier to protect both your devices and data (at home and on the go), with an easy set-and-forget experience that doesn’t require adding another program. You shouldn’t have to guess whether the next attack will compromise your Wi-Fi connection, browser, or files through phishing emails, spyware, or malware. Let the technology do this for you.
3. Trusted Advisor, your security coach
On the Malwarebytes dashboard, Trusted Advisor provides unbiased expert guidance at your fingertips. Your easy-to-understand individual Protection Score enables you to act on any potential security gaps, unlocking the full power of technology.
Why? In our recent report, “Everyone’s afraid of the internet, and no one’s sure what to do about it,” we found that only half of the people surveyed felt confident they knew how to stay safe online, and even fewer said they were taking the right measures to protect themselves. Trusted Advisor empowers you with real-time insights, an easy-to-read protection score, and expert guidance that puts you in control of your security and privacy. We’re by your side guiding you through what to do next to fill your security gaps for each device and platform (Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS).
The OPPO Find X8 Ultra is coming to global markets with an improve periscope camera
The company said that the next Find X flagship will go global. That clearly points to the most powerful OPPO Find X smartphone, and that will most likely be the OPPO Find X8 Ultra.
The OPPO Find X7 Ultra is an outstanding phone, and it’s a shame it didn’t get a chance to shine in markets outside OPPO’s homeland. OPPO is looking to set things straight with the OPPO Find X8 Ultra, though.
That being said, a tipster has just informed us that the phone will come with an improved periscope telephoto camera. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra already arguably has the most complete camera setup on the back. OPPO went all out.
The exact camera details were not shared, but the tipster did hype up its performance
Well, its successor is looking to improve things even further. He did not share the exact sensor that OPPO will use, nor the details around it. He did say that the performance will humble even the Vivo X100 Ultra’s periscope telephoto performance.
The OPPO Find X7 Ultra utilizes the Sony IMX858 sensor, which is a 50-megapixel camera. That camera is able to provide users with 6x optical zoom, which is also backed by a second IMX858 sensor for the regular telephoto camera (3x optical zoom). It remains to be seen what will OPPO do next.
The Find X7 Ultra has a quad-camera setup on the back, four 50MP cameras
The OPPO Find X7 Ultra has a quad-camera setup on the back, led by the Sony LYT-900 sensor for the main camera. That is arguably the best mobile camera sensor out there at the moment.
The OPPO Find X7 Ultra’s camera prowess is also backed by Hasselblad. The company had input in a number of ways, and it definitely did a great job of tuning the colors of the end product (photos).
That phone launched in January this year, but its successor could come even sooner, in December. We’ll have to wait and see.
Remember back when Spotify ventured into the hardware market? Sorry to make you relive that trauma, but the Spotify Car Thing was an interesting device. Well, as you may know, Spotify is discontinuing it. According to a new report, the Car Thing is actually open-source, but it’s ultimately a pretty useless device.
Spotify discontinued this device a while back after very few people bought it. Those who used it thought that they would be able to keep using it for a while. However, they got the news that the company is actually deactivating these devices, making them Spotify-branded paperweights. That’s a bummer, as it’s only a few years old at this point.
The Spotify Car Thing is open-source
Devices are like eggs, you GOTTA crack into them! There are tinkerers that unlock all of the secrets hidden within the devices we use. How else did we find out that the Rabbit R1 is basically an Android app? In this case, the tinkerer is Josh Henderickson.
He was able to look under the Car Thing’s hood and discover some interesting information about it. For starters, the device’s software is actually running on an open-source Linux kernel. The source code for its U-boot is freely available on GitHub. The device isn’t running on the most complicated software, but that should have been expected. The Car Thing didn’t need to be more than a bloated web browser that navigates to spotify.com.
Along with that information, Henderickson was able to see the chip powering the whole show. It’s an Amlogic chip. Amlogic is a fabless chipmaker based in Santa Clara, California. He found out that the chip can run custom code.
With that information, you should expect to see Twitter posts of someone running Windows 11 on it, right? Wrong. It turns out that, while this device’s software points to it being able to run different systems, the Amlogic chip is extremely underpowered. Spotify didn’t exactly shell out for a high-powered Qualcomm chip for this device because of the Car Thing’s limited purpose.
So, it looks like there’s no afterlife for this device. It’s unfortunate because it was a promising gadget. It was a nice way to stream audio while driving safely.
Apple’s next WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) is just around the corner, and we are gearing up for a slew of announcements about iOS 18, Siri, and the integration of AI across the company’s ecosystem. Now, it looks like there is a new app on the horizon, too.
iOS 18 to debut Apple Password app
According to the well-known Apple insider Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, the tech giant is gearing up to unveil a new in-house app next week called Passwords. The latter is designed to simplify the login process for customers on websites and software.The tech giant is reportedly integrating the new app into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. Sources familiar with the matter, who preferred to remain anonymous because the project hasn’t been officially announced, revealed that the software will debut on June 10 at WWDC. The app is designed to generate passwords and securely manage them.
The upcoming app will leverage the iCloud Keychain, an established Apple service known for syncing passwords and account details across various devices. For now, this functionality is tucked away within the settings app or surfaces when users log into websites.
At the moment, to see your saved passwords and passkeys, you have to:
Head to Settings and scroll down to tap on Passwords
Use Face ID or Touch ID when asked, or enter your passcode
Pick the website or app to view the password or passkey
With the transition of this feature into a standalone app, Apple aims to encourage more users to adopt secure passwords, thus enhancing the privacy and security of its devices.
The app will reportedly present a list of user logins categorized into different sections, including accounts, Wi-Fi networks, and Passkeys – a password replacement promoted by Apple that uses Face ID and Touch ID. Similar to most password managers, this data can be automatically filled in when users log in to websites and apps.
Plus, the software is said to be usable with the Vision Pro headset and Windows computers. It should also handle verification codes and act as an authentication app, much like Google Authenticator.
With this new standalone app in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15, passwords won’t be tucked away in the Settings menu anymore. This means users will have quicker and easier access to their saved passwords, which is a definite improvement. Plus, if it’s indeed available for Windows as well, cross-platform users will find it much simpler to manage all their accounts.
Trellix research exposes the dangers of fake antivirus websites disguised as legitimate security software but harbouring malware. Learn how to identify these scams and protect yourself from threats like identity theft and ransomware attacks.
Imagine searching online for an antivirus program to protect your computer, only to stumble upon a website that infects your device with information stealers. This is the deceptive tactic employed by fake antivirus (AV) sites, a growing threat detailed in Trellix’s research titled “A Catalog of Hazardous AV Sites – A Tale of Malware Hosting.”
Deception Disguised as Security
In April 2024, Trellix Advanced Research Center team members discovered several fake antivirus sites hosting sophisticated malicious files like APK, EXE, and Inno setup installers. These sites are used to distribute SpyNote trojan, Lumma malware, and StealC malware. The malware hosts include avast-securedownload.com, bitdefender-app.com, and malwarebytes.pro.
Avast-securedownload.com:
It hosts a sophisticated APK called Avast.apk that delivers SpyNote Trojan, which can install and delete packages, read call logs, SMS, contacts, storage data, phone state, and more. It also has a recorder, touch activity tracker, and update capabilities.
Bitdefender-app.com:
This website delivers a zip file with an EXE named “setup-win-x86-x64.exe.zip” with a discreet TLS callback function. It delivers Lumma malware, targeting sensitive information like PC name, username, HWID, screen resolution, CPU, installed memory, running process, login data, history, cookies, tokens, and user profile information.
Malwarebytes.pro:
The website delivers RAR files containing legitimate DLLs, Inno Setup, and StealC infostealing malware. The contents are compressed in gzip and transferred to the attacker’s C2 server. The stolen information includes account tokens, Steam tokens, saved card details, system profiles, Telegram logins, running process names, installed browser lists, and common system information.
Malicious Binaries
According to Trellix’s blog post, researchers also discovered a binary called AMCoreDat.exe, which facilitates the deployment of stealer malware. The attacker uses a sophisticated method to obfuscate the payload, stealing victim information, including PC name, username, browsing history, cookies, tokens, etc., and sends it to a C2 server.
Fake Avast, Malwarebytes and Bitdefender sites reported by Trellix
Possible Dangers
Unaware users, seeking to safeguard their devices, get easily tricked into downloading malicious software disguised as antivirus programs because these sites appear professional, complete with logos, fake testimonials, and urgency-inducing language about potential threats.
The consequences of falling victim to these scams can be severe, including identity theft, financial loss, sensitive data breaches, ransomware attacks and potentially hefty ransom demands.
Researchers suspect these website addresses are distributed by malicious advertising and SEO poisoning strategies. To mitigate risks, it is recommended to follow security measures like using strong cybersecurity solutions, avoiding pirated software, and verifying software legitimacy with your end-point provider.
Huawei decided to rebrand its ‘P’ series smartphones this year. The Huawei P series became the Huawei Pura series. So instead of the Huawei P70 series, Huawei launched the Huawei Pura 70 series. Having said that, the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is the most powerful smartphone in that series, and this is our review of that device. The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is also Huawei’s new flagship smartphone. That phone did arrive in a global variant too, and that’s the model that we’re reviewing, just to be perfectly clear.
This is a phone that I’ve been looking forward to since it launched, mainly due to its camera and in-hand feel. Those are the two areas Huawei basically always exceeds on, and truth be said, this time is not different. The phone offers absolutely outstanding cameras and camera performance, and despite its size, it’s a joy to use. Let me stop getting ahead of myself, though. Let’s move forward one step at a time, starting with the phone’s design.
Table of contents
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Review: Hardware / Design
As I spoiled in the intro, this phone offers a great in-hand feel. It’s made out of metal (aluminum), and vegan leather aka eco-leather. I always welcome eco leather on smartphones, especially large ones. Why? Because they add much-needed grip to phones. Smartphones with glass backs are too slippery, and you basically have no option but to use some sort of a case. This handset, however, doesn’t need a case… even though one is included in the box, more on that later, though.
The in-hand feel is outstanding. It’s very comfortable to use, and it actually doesn’t seem as large due to the way it’s built. One thing to note is that it’s quite top-heavy, which is not surprising considering its camera setup. The front and back sides are proportional and nicely curved. The display also has that curved feel on all sides, even though it seems to be like only the glass on top of the display is curved.
The bezels are proportional
The bezels on the front are very thin and proportional, which is always nice to see. A display camera hole is placed at the top. All the physical buttons sit on the right-hand side of the phone, and while the power/lock button has a red line on top of it, it feels the same as the volume up and down buttons, so it’s not as easy to differentiate just be feeling it. That’s a missed opportunity on Huawei’s part, I’d say. I didn’t really miss the power/lock key all that much, though, for what it’s worth. It’s well-placed. The buttons are also very tactile, as expected. A Type-C port sits at the bottom of the phone, while an IR blaster is located at the top. There is no audio jack here.
The camera setup on the back is quite large, which is unsurprising considering today’s standards. It also has a unique design, and the main camera is retractable. We’ll talk more about that in the camera section, though. All that is a part of the same camera island, which is located in the top-left corner of the phone’s back. The company’s logo also sits on the back of the phone, by the way, as per usual.
It is a bit top-heavy, though, but that’s to be expected
Other than the missed opportunity to place a different finish on the power/lock key, and the fact it’s top-heavy, I don’t really have any complaints on this design. Those are very minor things when you consider everything, of course. Everything else is basically spot on, and the phone also screams quality when you use it. So Huawei really nailed the design here, as is usually the case with the company’s flagships.
Accessories
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra comes with both a charger and a case. Many other OEMs ship their flagships without both of those, so this is definitely nice to see. You’re getting a 100W charger in the box, to enable max charging on the phone. On top of that, Huawei includes a nice case. That case has a similar feel to the back of the phone itself, on the outside. It feels like a thin layer of eco-leather is applied on top of it. The case is very thin, and it does protect the display, but not the rear camera setup, unfortunately (the camera setup protrudes even with the case on). The sides are exposed, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Review: Display
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra has a very, very nice display. It includes a 6.8-inch 2844 x 1260 LTPO OLED panel. That display has an adaptive refresh rate, it can move from 1 to 120Hz in order to save battery. A 300Hz touch sampling rate is a part of the package too. This panel also supports HDR content, and the peak brightness is technically at around 2,500 nits. Huawei calls this panel the ‘Huawei X True’ display. A 1,440Hz PWM dimming is also a part of the package, in case you were wondering. The screen-to-body ratio is at around 89 percent, in case you were wondering. The display is protected by Kunlun Glass (Basalt-tempered). This is a new version of an already extremely durable Kunlun Glass which has proven its worth on previous Huawei phones.
The display itself is flat, but the glass on top of it is curved on all sides. That makes for a very smooth usage of the display itself. I did remove the pre-applied screen protector (a plastic one) before I started using the phone, to be quite honest. I do that for a couple of reasons. First, I hate how greasy plastic screen protectors get. The second reason is the fact that my finger gets caught on the edge of screen protectors on curved displays or displays that have curved glass on top. The third reason is to test out the display protection through everyday wear and tear.
The display is great, vivid & protects your eyes
So, when it comes to actual usage, is this display any good? Yes, actually, it’s outstanding. The vast majority of mainstream flagships have great displays, and so does the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra. The display is not only vivid and sharp, but it also has great viewing angles, and it’s more than bright enough in all situations, basically. Its adaptive refresh rate works really well, and the touch responsiveness is also really good. High-frequency PWM dimming is always a welcomed addition, and those of you who get headaches from using your phones with OLED displays will certainly appreciate that. It will also help keep your eyes safe over time.
I had a great time using this display and also appreciated that the glass on top of it is curved on all sides. I also didn’t notice a single scratch on the Kunlun display, even though I removed the screen protector on day one. Do note that I didn’t drop it a single time, so I can’t really attest to that. The day-to-day wear and tear, however, Kunlun did a fantastic job.
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Review: Performance
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is fueled by Huawei’s very own chip, made by SMIC. The chip in question is the Kirin 9010, a 7nm processor. That is Huawei’s best chip at the moment, as the company didn’t really kickstart its chip-making business until last year. The US ban managed to mess up their plans years ago. In any case, this chip enables 5G connectivity in China, but not outside of it. Despite the fact the global variant contains that chip, due to restraints, only 4G connectivity is available. That was not a problem for me at all, as 4G is great where I live, but keep that in mind if you’re planning to get the device. Huawei can technically enable 5G is something changes down the road.
What about the performance? Well, this is technically a mid-range chip, based on its performance. It’s in the same ballpark as really good mid-range chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it performs really well, but just keep in mind it’s not on the same level as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or anything like that. Huawei is prevented from making 3nm and 4nm chips at the moment. A 5nm chip, however, is expected to arrive later this year.
It doesn’t have a top-tier chip, but that shouldn’t bother most of you
The fact that this is not a top-of-the-line chip didn’t really bother me during usage. Why? Because I didn’t notice it. During day-to-day use, the phone’s performance was immensely smooth. I didn’t really notice any lag or anything like that. You’ll realize that this is a mid-range tier chip if you run benchmarks, or if you end up playing a truly demanding game. Basically everything that you’ll find in Huawei’s AppGallery app store runs really well on this chip. I even tried sideloading some games to see how they’ll fare, and it did a good job. Chances are you’re not considering this device if you’re in the market for a gaming machine either way.
I’m not sure if this chip will stand the test of time, in terms of performance, but it performed admirably here. Huawei is really good when it comes to optimization, and this is also the company’s very own processor, so… that surely helps in that regard. The bottom line is, the performance was great.
Temperature Genshin Impact
Geekbench 6
3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test
Best loop: 1,390 Lowest loop: 1,379 Stability: 99.2%
Video export test (CapCut)
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Review: Battery
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra has a 5,200mAh battery on the inside. If you’re worried about battery life, there’s really no need to be. The device provides great battery life. Not once were I forced to charge it during the day or anything like that. With my regular usage, boosted by testing the device, I was comfortable getting over 6 hours of scree-on-time with plenty left in the tank. When I pushed it a bit more, it crossed the 7-hour screen-on-time mark and still had almost 20% left in the tank. That happened several times. I had no problems with battery life whatsoever. The only thing that I didn’t do on those days was play games, but with plenty of camera use and everything, it did an admirable job.
Even in our battery drain test the phone did great. I also did not notice that 4G connectivity is draining the battery more than usual. The difference between being connected to WiFi and 4G was not noticeable, which is always good to see. Another thing to note is that the battery life was constant, basically. There were no usage cycles when the battery dropped off too fast or anything like that, which is something we’ve seen happen, mostly with Google’s Pixel phones at times.
Charging
Even if you run out of battery before it’s time, there’s no need to fret. Why? Because this phone charges immensely fast. That goes for both wired and wireless charging. A full charge takes less than 50 minutes. It took us 46 minutes to fully recharge the device with the bundled 100W charger. Do note that the charging slows down after you cross the 80% mark, though. A Type-C to Type-C cable comes included too, by the way. The phone gets to a 30% charge in only 5 minutes, while a 60% charge takes around 15 minutes. So you can technically get up to 80% immensely fast.
In addition to offering 100W wired charging, the phone also supports 80W wireless charging. We did not have a compatible charger for that, so we really couldn’t test it, but that’ll also get the phone charged up really fast. On top of that, 20W reverse wireless, and 18W reverse wired charging is supported. That makes this phone the most complete charging package in the market, basically. You can technically charge phones faster with this phone, wirelessly, than Apple’s most expensive phones can charge themselves with the original charger. Let that sink in for a bit. You have a ton of options here.
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Review: Camera
On paper, the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra has a great camera setup, as expected. That, combined with the company’s camera software, makes for a truly compelling camera offering here. This is easily one of the best-performing camera smartphones to date. Let’s take it one step at a time, though, starting with the hardware.
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra includes a triple camera setup on the back. A 50-megapixel main camera is the phone’s main camera. Huawei utilizes the Sony IMX989 1-inch sensor from Sony here. On top of that, it offers an f/1.4-f/4.0 variable aperture and a recractable lens. There is also sensor-shift stabilization included in the package. We’re looking at a 22.5mm focal length here, and Huawei also threw its XD Motion engine on top of everything, for handling fast-moving objects. It actually works really well, more on that later.
Its ultrawide camera is very capable, but the periscope telephoto unit truly impresses
A 40-megapixel ultrawide camera is also included here. It has a 13mm equivalent focal length, and it supports autofocus too. This camera is also supposed to be used for macro photography, though I used the telephoto unit more for that purpose, as it’s actually meant to be used for macro shots You can do it with the ultrawide shooter too, though. It all depends on what you’re trying to capture.
Speaking of which, the third camera on the back is a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto unit. The sensor itself is placed behind a periscope 90mm f/2.1 telephoto lens. OIS is supported here, and this camera offers 3.5x optical zoom. Huawei claims you’re getting ‘lossless’ zoom up to 10x thanks to software. Much like the ultrawide camera, this one is also meant to be used for macro shots, it all depends on what you’re taking a picture of. You can get up to 5cm to the subject of the shot thanks to the 35x super macro mode on this camera. On top of these three cameras, Huawei also included a 13-megapixel selfie unit. That one is coupled with an 18mm f/2.4 aperture lens. It supports autofocus.
Variable aperture does play a role here… an important one
The performance you can get here is… outstanding. The variable aperture aspect does come into play in the end results, as this camera adapts to different lighting conditions with ease. This is a 9-stop variable aperture, well, at least when it comes to fixed steps. You can take manual control if you want. You get immense control of depth of field too, thanks to variable aperture. If you want, you can really tune down your shots to absolute details, or allow Huawei to do it for you. The phone does a great job in auto mode, and all the camera samples that you’ll see at the very end of this entire section are taken via auto mode.
By default, the main camera takes 12-megapixel photos. The details you can get during both day and night are excellent. During the day, the sharpening is spot on, it’s not overboard, and there’s no noise to speak of. The dynamic range is very good, but also not too strong, which makes the photos look more realistic. The white balance is very good, though that’s one area that could use a tiny bit more optimization in some (rare) situations. The colors are vibrant, but not too much. There’s a Vivid mode that you can switch to if you want, though, which will boost the colors, and contrast of the shots too. There are several shooting modes, actually, Original, Vivid, Bright, and Mono.
2x photos look outstanding
The 2x shots are also great, taken with the main camera. They look almost the same as the ones you take with the main camera, which is great to hear. There are very rare occasions that you’ll spot a difference if you really zoom in and look for it, some artifacts, but that’s extremely rare.
What I was most interested in when it comes to this camera is its ability to shoot fast-moving objects. Its fast shutter and Huawei’s XD Motion engine are supposed to make that happen. Is that the case? Yes, indeed it is. My dog is hyperactive, to say the least, and this camera did a fantastic job of capturing her while she was playing around. I tried to take pictures of some birds in the park, and so on. It did a fantastic job. I was having a hard time getting a blurred photo, to be quite honest. The same thing also works in low light. The reliability is a bit lower, but still, it was immensely impressive, as not a single phone I’ve used was able to do the same… not even close.
Fast shutter camera samples:
What about low light? As you’d expect, it’s excellent. This phone not only has the largest camera sensor on the market (a phone sensor), but it also offers sensor-shift stabilization and f/1.6 aperture lens (variable aperture). That allows it to adapt to various lighting scenarios, including low light. Boosted by Huawei’s image processing, this phone delivers some great low light shots. You don’t even have to switch to a dedicated night mode, not at all. The phone will do that for you, automatically.
The result is that you’ll get plenty of details, basically no noise, and very nice-looking saturated colors. The exposure is also spot on, and yes… the dynamic range too. There’s really nothing to complain about when it comes to low-light shots here. If we really, really had to nitpick, then we would highlight the fact that noise reduction can be a bit aggressive at times, but for a reason. What about the dedicated night mode? Well, if you fire it up, the photos will look even brighter, but unnaturally so. If you really need more detail from a photo for some reason, you can fire this up, but the auto mode does a far better job overall.
Main camera samples:
The ultrawide camera offers good, balanced photos
When it comes to the ultrawide camera, it’s very useful. You’re getting a very wide field of view here. The phone managed to provide ultrawide photos with a bevy of details. The dynamic range is good, and the sharpness is also spot on. There is a little bit more noise than in photos from the main camera, but it’s still very minimal. As I mentioned earlier, this camera can be used for macro photography, but you’d be better of sticking to the telemacro camera (the phone’s telephoto shooter).
Low light photos with the ultrawide camera end up looking good, but the quality does drop off compared to the main camera, of course. There’s enough detail in the pictures, though, low levels of noise, and excellent dynamic range. You’ll also be getting nice colors as a result. They’re great, all in all.
Ultrawide camera samples:
When it comes to telephoto camera, it’s outstanding across the board, basically. The 2x lossless zoom photos we already mentioned, as they look basically the same as the ones taken at 1x. You can see the difference if you’re pixel-peeping, but… yeah. What about 3.5x? Well, those also look great during the day. The colors are in line with the main camera, and you’re getting plenty of detail, great white balance, outstanding colors, and no noise. Up to 10x, this phone provides great photos. Up to 7x they’re simply great, and from 7-10x very good. Everything over that is… well, what you’d expect.
Macro shots from the telephoto camera are some of the best around
Macro photos from this camera look outstanding. You can get as close as 5cm to your subjects/objects, and the photos do look great. There’s plenty of detail in them, and they’re well-balanced.
When it comes to low-light telephoto photos, well…the 3.5x photos provide more than enough detail and manage to keep noise in check. The colors end up looking great, and the dynamic range too. 10x photos don’t look bad either, considering that we’re talking about hybrid zoom here. The details are not as great, but they’re well-balanced with good colors, and dynamic range. Just stick to auto mode, don’t use night mode for telephoto night mode pictures in general.
Telephoto camera samples:
When it comes to video recording, it’s good, but not the best around. For stills, you can argue that the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is the best camera around, but not for videos. The phone can capture videos up to 4K at 60 FPS, and they do look good. During the day, there’s enough detail, though that area could be better. They do tend to look a bit overexposed, however, and the dynamic range is very wide. There’s no noise to speak of, and the colors are as great as you’d expect them to be.
Videos in low light are good. In fact, I preferred low-light videos to daytime ones. The colors are outstanding, and the noise is kept in check. The dynamic range is excellent, and you’re getting plenty of details.
Colors sample controlled environment:
TEXT
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Review: Software
As many of you already know, the story with Huawei’s Android software is a rather complicated one. The US ban managed to complicate things a lot for the company, as Google Play Services are not an option since then. Huawei has its own services rolling on top of its Android OS implementation. HarmonyOS 14 comes pre-installed on this phone, on top of Android 12. It’s Huawei’s very own implementation, and… well, you have to prepare for what you’re getting. It works really well, but just keep in mind it’s not as simple as firing up the phone and downloading all the apps you had on your previous phone.
Let’s get into that app situation first, before we get to the UI design and everything else. Huawei has its own app store running here, AppGallery. There are plenty of apps on there, but chances are you’ll be missing quite a few you’re used to using. So, for example, TikTok is available, Facebook is not. Viber is available, WhatsApp is not, etc. Huawei does pull up recommendations from app repositories as well, though, so you can easily install the app if it’s missing from the AppGallery. There are also third-party Android app stores, like Aurora Store, that will even pull up your purchases from the Google Play Store if you log in with your credentials.
I managed to get Google apps working without a problem… if that’s what you need
With that being said, the vast majority of apps that I installed from third-party sources worked really well. Some, though, unfortunately, require specifically Google Play Services. Such apps are very few and far between, but it’s worth noting. If you’re wondering what about Google apps? Well, you won’t find those on the AppGallery either. Even if you download them, the vast majority of them won’t work due to the lack of Google Services… well, unless you use a tool like GBox. GBox is an emulator of sorts, and it allows you to access Google apps. That app worked great for me, and I was able to run whatever I wanted, pretty much. I had the same experience with GSpace back in the day until it started being a problem battery-wise, and also some apps stopped working. GBox works great thus far, though.
In regards to the UI, it’s different than stock Android, but if you’ve used an Android phone thus far, it’ll also be very familiar. The notification shade and quick toggles are split, though. If you swipe down from the top-left side, you’ll get access to the notifications, if you do the same from the top-right, you’ll get quick toggles.
EMUI 14 is different… but good
EMUI 14 does come with some nice features, like the fact that you can swipe from the right side and pause to access quick apps. One-handed mode is handled differently too. You need to swipe along the bottom of the phone to either the left or right side to make the screen smaller and thus easier to reach. Big folders are also a part of the offering, making it easy to launch apps directly from an unopened folder. Another feature worth noting is widget stacking, which not many Android phones offer, and it can be really useful.
I’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to features, though, of course. EMUI 14 works great on this phone, and it’s very smooth. Huawei handles animations with grace, and they didn’t bother me at all. Most animations do annoy me as they’re too slow, this is a really nice balance, and they work really well. The notifications are not as well-handled as on stock Android, as you’re missing some shortcuts and the sheer look of notification cards is not my cup of tea, but all in all, everything works well enough. The app issue is still here, though, and you need to prepare yourself for that if you intend on getting this phone.
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Review: Audio
The Huawei Pura 70 Ultra is equipped with a stereo speaker system. There is a bottom-facing speaker backed by the earpiece. Do note that the earpiece does have two sound outlets (front and top-facing), though. The bottom speaker is louder than the top one, but the sound balance is really good. It’s worth noting that the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra doesn’t have the loudest speakers around, not at all. In fact, it’s not as loud as any of the recent flagships, even though it’s not far from that point. Don’t let that worry you, as the speakers are plenty loud as they are, and not many people will have a problem with that.
We’ve used our own audio tracks in order to test out this setup. The audio output is very good and well-balanced. The vocals are nicely highlighted, and there’s enough bass included here too. Higher and lower ends up fo the spectrum are well-balanced here, and we did not notice a single major issue with the audio output. There is no audio jack here, though, so keep that in mind. You can use either the Type-C port at the bottom or if you prefer wireless audio, there’s always Bluetooth 5.2 which is offered here.
Huawei Pura 70 Ultra: Should you buy it?
Should you buy the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra? Well… there are a lot of factors that you should consider here. This is a great phone, there’s no doubt about that. It has an excellent camera performance, some of the best. It’s immensely comfortable to hold and use, and it has a great display too. The software is very optimized, plus it’s the most versatile phone on the planet when it comes to charging.
There are a lot of benefits here. You need to consider the elephant in the room, though, apps. AppGallery grew so much, but chances are you’ll still have to rely on app repositories, GBox, and Aurora Store. If that’s not a problem for you, you can get pretty much any app running on the phone. Still, the experience is not as streamlined as it would be if Google Services came pre-installed. This is not a phone for everyone, but if you’re willing to make a couple of sacrifices along the way, it is a very compelling device.
You should buy the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra if you:
…want to step away from Google. …don’t play a lot of games on your phones. …want one of the best camera smartphones in the market. …need a large smartphone that is truly comfortable to hold and use. …would love to have the most versatile smartphone in terms of charging. …love thin bezels on phones. …don’t want to buy a charger separately.
You shouldn’t buy the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra if you:
…use Google applications. …if you use a lot of apps and you’re not willing to use app repositories/third-party app markets. …play a lot of games on your phones.
