×
Tech trend alert: High-tech Bluetooth CD players are making waves

Tech trend alert: High-tech Bluetooth CD players are making waves

Tech-news

Gen Z and Gen Alpha trendsetters have already brought back the iPod and wired headphones. Now, another piece of retrotech is making a comeback: CD players.

But the new generation of CD players isn’t like the CD players Gen X once rocked in the ’90s to listen to Radiohead, Wu-Tang Clan, Nirvana, or Alanis Morissette, depending on their subcultural allegiance, or lack thereof. The new wave of CD players offers modern features like Bluetooth connectivity, bringing a touch of the future to the retrotech world.

I first came across these devices while researching the best tech gifts of the year. And at the MoMA Design Store, I found the Retradisc Portable Bluetooth CD Player. While you can listen to The Life of a Showgirl with your favorite wired headphones, this music player will also connect to your favorite wireless headphones. The product description states, “Watch your CDs spin as you play them with this 21st-century version of the personal player that combines old-school cool and high-tech Bluetooth compatibility. Its see-through, anti-skip design gives you the freedom to listen anywhere to anything, including rediscovering the joy of experiencing a single album without notifications, recommendations, or distractions.”

Instead of batteries, the Retradisc charges via USB-C, another modern touch. So, there’s no need to overpay for refurbished ’90s tech at retailers like Retrospekt or hunt down old Sony Walkmans in junk shops. You can listen to music like your Gen X ancestors without sacrificing modern technology.

Mashable Light Speed

The Retradisk isn’t the only high-tech CD player making the rounds right now. See also: Shanling’s EC Zero AKM portable CD player, which supports high-res audio. The EC Zero can even rip CDs (look it up, Gen Alpha readers). This device supports two 3.5mm audio lines, claims an 18-hour battery life for wireless listening, and has multiple USB-C ports.


Credit: Shanling

While the Retradisc favors a trendy transparent design, the Shanling evokes old-school HiFi record players, with a metal body, tempered glass lid, volume slider, and LCD display.

Over at Amazon, you can find plenty more high-tech CD Players for sale. The R300 CD Player looks particularly cool, but you can also invest in the FiiO DM13, the KLIM Nomad, and others.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the CD collection to support an investment like this, but now I’m wishing I had held onto my old CDs and high school mix tapes. And if you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas for a cool teen or anyone who bought The Life of a Showgirl on CD, you know what to get.

$99.89
at Amazon

$119.99
Save $20.10

 

Source link
#Tech #trend #alert #Hightech #Bluetooth #players #making #waves

Related Posts

F31 Pro+ implemented this formula pretty well, and the Chinese smartphone maker is back at it again, with the F33 Pro.

It’s an interesting phone with a design that turns heads, a new processor family, and camera sensors. Sadly, without beloved AI companions jacking up RAM prices and ruining value smartphones, I wondered: how does the F33 Pro justify its price tag? To find out, I called OPPO, got the F33 Pro two weeks back, and made it my daily driver, using it to take hundreds of photos, play BGMI, and scroll through reels. Here’s my experience.

OPPO F33 Pro Review

Hisan Kidwai

Summary

The OPPO F33 Pro has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense.

Design & Hardware

OPPO F33 Pro Review: Looks Premium, Survives Drops, But Is It Worth ₹37,999? When smartphones first became mainstream, durability took a back seat. We were expected to take care of our precious electronics and protect them from the elements. Somewhere along this journey, though, durability changed course and phones became resilient. OPPO’s F-series is a prime example, with a reputation for being the toughest phones money can buy. Last year’s F31 Pro+ implemented this formula pretty well, and the Chinese smartphone maker is back at it again, with the F33 Pro. It’s an interesting phone with a design that turns heads, a new processor family, and camera sensors. Sadly, without beloved AI companions jacking up RAM prices and ruining value smartphones, I wondered: how does the F33 Pro justify its price tag? To find out, I called OPPO, got the F33 Pro two weeks back, and made it my daily driver, using it to take hundreds of photos, play BGMI, and scroll through reels. Here’s my experience. OPPO F33 Pro ReviewHisan KidwaiSummaryThe OPPO F33 Pro has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense. Design & Hardware OPPO is known for making gorgeous phones, and if I just had to use one word for the F33 Pro’s design, it would be, drum roll please, gorgeous. I’ve yet to see such an exquisite-looking midranger, and don’t even bother with the white; the red is the way to go. It looks super sophisticated, with a matte texture that picks up 0 fingerprints. The camera plateau does resemble the iPhone in shape, but that’s not a complaint. OPPO has added a halo ring around it, creating a floating effect and making it look super premium. While the inside of the plateau is the same color, OPPO has made it shiny and added sparkles for some flair. It’s not something I can easily describe with words, but if you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everyone I gave the phone to thought it cost much more than it actually does, and some, including my mum, wanted to switch over to it. The sides are, of course, made of plastic, and the same color as the back. In my clumsy day-to-day use, the phone held up decently well. I dropped it a couple of times, including once from head height, and it escaped with little more than a dent. The F33 Pro earns some brownie points in the comfort department, too. It’s not an overly large phone, similar in size to the OPPO Find X9, and you can reach the top corners of the screen with average-sized hands. As expected, the F33 Pro packs all the IP ratings available on the market. These include IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, which mean your phone should stay just fine under high-pressure jets and full immersion for up to 12 hours. While I didn’t leave it submerged, I did wash it once after dropping my protein mix on it. It handled it pretty well, but I do recommend not submerging your phone under water since water damage isn’t covered under warranty. Display The OPPO F33 Pro features a 6.57-inch flat FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s not much to say about the panel, except that it is plenty good. Text and messages appear super sharp, and the AMOLED panel keeps colors popping with deep blacks. I took the F33 Pro outside on a hot summer day, and the 1400-nit peak brightness kept everything legible without me having to squint. As a result, the colors and HDR performance during the latest episode of The Pitt were amazing. I had no problems throughout my testing. OPPO has also done a good job with the bezels on three sides, except for the chin, which is ever so slightly bigger, but still not by much. In terms of protection, OPPO has installed AGC DT-STAR D+ glass. While I haven’t heard of this protection before, it fared pretty well against drops and my usage, with no major scratches. On a positive note, OPPO pre-installs a screen protector, so I’d recommend keeping it on. Performance Performance is what makes or breaks a phone. Last year’s F31 Pro+ was decent in terms of performance. I didn’t describe it as blazing fast, but good enough for everyday tasks. And the same can be said for the F33 Pro. At the beating heart of the F33 Pro lies the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) processor, essentially a bumped-up version of the 6300 we saw on the K14. ColorOS, being the best Android skin, keeps everything running super smooth without hiccups. The 8GB of RAM was enough to keep most of my apps in memory, and it was nice to see a mid-range phone with premium ColorOS features, including full lock-screen customizations and dark-mode icons. It’s a capable phone that can handle every daily task, be it scrolling through reels, watching Netflix, or reading a book. The OPPO F33 Pro gets a dose of my favorite AI features, such as AI Recompose, which looks at the photo you captured and improves it. The object eraser works exceptionally well, and the portrait glow is decent for when you need to relight the subject. That all being said, there’s plenty of bloatware. Even though I said no to installing the recommended apps, the phone did install about 20 of them. After which, I had to sit and manually delete them one by one. Since this is a review, I also put the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) through its paces by running some benchmarks. The results? About what you’d expect for this segment. The F33 Pro scored 1,039 on Geekbench’s single-core test and 2,833 on the multi-core test. On the flip side, in AnTuTu, the device scored 1,189,871 points. As benchmarks never tell the full story, I also played a few games on the F33 Pro, namely BGMI, since that’s the only game I’m actually good at. The experience was pretty decent; there’s no high-frame-rate support, but 60fps was maintained throughout the session without overheating. Battery Life & Charging Probably the biggest reason to consider the F33 Pro, aside from the design, will be its massive 7,000 mAh battery. I consider myself a heavy user, but even with my usage, I couldn’t kill the phone in a day. For context, I started my day with the excellent activity of scrolling reels, then replying to texts, capturing camera samples, taking the phone with me to struggle at the gym, and ending the day with BGMI sessions. When it was eventually time to recharge, the 80W fast charging came in handy. It brought the battery back from zero to full in just over an hour. Cameras Optics on the OPPO F33 Pro are headlined by a 50MP OmniVision 50D40 sensor, and that’s essentially it. Like last year, you don’t get any UltraWide or telephoto sensor, except for a 2MP depth lens. Despite my reservations, the F33 Pro’s cameras aren’t that bad. Give the sensor enough light, and the photos it produces are detailed, with slightly boosted colors, without blowing out the highlights. Sure, there’s some struggle with harsh sunlight, but it’s occasional, not a consistent issue. Similarly, low-light performance, when you use night mode, is decent. While you’ll find some noise creeping in, the results still retain decent sharpness, and colors weren’t washed out at all. Since there’s no telephoto lens, the main sensor doubles as the portrait sensor, and it works pretty well. Skin tones are true to life, and OPPO’s processing effectively separates the subject from the background. OPPO, when launching the F33 Pro, talked heavily about the 50MP Ultra-Wide GC50F6 selfie shooter, and I’m happy to report it works like a charm. You don’t have to worry about playing hand gymnastics to fit multiple people in the shot, as the 100-degree FoV does the job for you. The shots are detailed enough, and colors do tend to be accurate. That said, there’s quite a lot of over-sharpening action when taking a selfie at night. Another big complaint is the lack of any 4K video recording support, which in 2026 should be a no-brainer. Verdict Like many other smartphones this year, the F-series has received a price bump, with the F33 Pro now starting at ₹37,999. It has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense. #OPPO #F33 #Pro #Review #Premium #Survives #Drops #WorthOppo

OPPO is known for making gorgeous phones, and if I just had to use one word for the F33 Pro’s design, it would be, drum roll please, gorgeous. I’ve yet to see such an exquisite-looking midranger, and don’t even bother with the white; the red is the way to go. It looks super sophisticated, with a matte texture that picks up 0 fingerprints.

The camera plateau does resemble the iPhone in shape, but that’s not a complaint. OPPO has added a halo ring around it, creating a floating effect and making it look super premium. While the inside of the plateau is the same color, OPPO has made it shiny and added sparkles for some flair. It’s not something I can easily describe with words, but if you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everyone I gave the phone to thought it cost much more than it actually does, and some, including my mum, wanted to switch over to it.

Sides of the F33 Pro

The sides are, of course, made of plastic, and the same color as the back. In my clumsy day-to-day use, the phone held up decently well. I dropped it a couple of times, including once from head height, and it escaped with little more than a dent. The F33 Pro earns some brownie points in the comfort department, too. It’s not an overly large phone, similar in size to the OPPO Find X9, and you can reach the top corners of the screen with average-sized hands.

As expected, the F33 Pro packs all the IP ratings available on the market. These include IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, which mean your phone should stay just fine under high-pressure jets and full immersion for up to 12 hours. While I didn’t leave it submerged, I did wash it once after dropping my protein mix on it. It handled it pretty well, but I do recommend not submerging your phone under water since water damage isn’t covered under warranty.

Display

HDR video playing on the phone

The OPPO F33 Pro features a 6.57-inch flat FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s not much to say about the panel, except that it is plenty good. Text and messages appear super sharp, and the AMOLED panel keeps colors popping with deep blacks. I took the F33 Pro outside on a hot summer day, and the 1400-nit peak brightness kept everything legible without me having to squint. As a result, the colors and HDR performance during the latest episode of The Pitt were amazing.

I had no problems throughout my testing. OPPO has also done a good job with the bezels on three sides, except for the chin, which is ever so slightly bigger, but still not by much. In terms of protection, OPPO has installed AGC DT-STAR D+ glass. While I haven’t heard of this protection before, it fared pretty well against drops and my usage, with no major scratches. On a positive note, OPPO pre-installs a screen protector, so I’d recommend keeping it on.

Performance

Lock screens closeup of the OPPO F33 Pro

Performance is what makes or breaks a phone. Last year’s F31 Pro+ was decent in terms of performance. I didn’t describe it as blazing fast, but good enough for everyday tasks. And the same can be said for the F33 Pro. At the beating heart of the F33 Pro lies the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) processor, essentially a bumped-up version of the 6300 we saw on the K14. ColorOS, being the best Android skin, keeps everything running super smooth without hiccups. The 8GB of RAM was enough to keep most of my apps in memory, and it was nice to see a mid-range phone with premium ColorOS features, including full lock-screen customizations and dark-mode icons. It’s a capable phone that can handle every daily task, be it scrolling through reels, watching Netflix, or reading a book.

The OPPO F33 Pro gets a dose of my favorite AI features, such as AI Recompose, which looks at the photo you captured and improves it. The object eraser works exceptionally well, and the portrait glow is decent for when you need to relight the subject.

Gen AI features

That all being said, there’s plenty of bloatware. Even though I said no to installing the recommended apps, the phone did install about 20 of them. After which, I had to sit and manually delete them one by one.

Since this is a review, I also put the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) through its paces by running some benchmarks. The results? About what you’d expect for this segment. The F33 Pro scored 1,039 on Geekbench’s single-core test and 2,833 on the multi-core test. On the flip side, in AnTuTu, the device scored 1,189,871 points. As benchmarks never tell the full story, I also played a few games on the F33 Pro, namely BGMI, since that’s the only game I’m actually good at. The experience was pretty decent; there’s no high-frame-rate support, but 60fps was maintained throughout the session without overheating.

Battery Life & Charging

A person holding the F33 pro

Probably the biggest reason to consider the F33 Pro, aside from the design, will be its massive 7,000 mAh battery. I consider myself a heavy user, but even with my usage, I couldn’t kill the phone in a day. For context, I started my day with the excellent activity of scrolling reels, then replying to texts, capturing camera samples, taking the phone with me to struggle at the gym, and ending the day with BGMI sessions.

When it was eventually time to recharge, the 80W fast charging came in handy. It brought the battery back from zero to full in just over an hour.

Cameras

Closeup of the camera module

Optics on the OPPO F33 Pro are headlined by a 50MP OmniVision 50D40 sensor, and that’s essentially it. Like last year, you don’t get any UltraWide or telephoto sensor, except for a 2MP depth lens. Despite my reservations, the F33 Pro’s cameras aren’t that bad. Give the sensor enough light, and the photos it produces are detailed, with slightly boosted colors, without blowing out the highlights. Sure, there’s some struggle with harsh sunlight, but it’s occasional, not a consistent issue.

Similarly, low-light performance, when you use night mode, is decent. While you’ll find some noise creeping in, the results still retain decent sharpness, and colors weren’t washed out at all. Since there’s no telephoto lens, the main sensor doubles as the portrait sensor, and it works pretty well. Skin tones are true to life, and OPPO’s processing effectively separates the subject from the background.

OPPO, when launching the F33 Pro, talked heavily about the 50MP Ultra-Wide GC50F6 selfie shooter, and I’m happy to report it works like a charm. You don’t have to worry about playing hand gymnastics to fit multiple people in the shot, as the 100-degree FoV does the job for you. The shots are detailed enough, and colors do tend to be accurate. That said, there’s quite a lot of over-sharpening action when taking a selfie at night. Another big complaint is the lack of any 4K video recording support, which in 2026 should be a no-brainer.

Verdict

Back Design of the F33 Pro

Like many other smartphones this year, the F-series has received a price bump, with the F33 Pro now starting at ₹37,999. It has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense.

#OPPO #F33 #Pro #Review #Premium #Survives #Drops #WorthOppo">OPPO F33 Pro Review: Looks Premium, Survives Drops, But Is It Worth ₹37,999? When smartphones first became mainstream, durability took a back seat. We were expected to take care of our precious electronics and protect them from the elements. Somewhere along this journey, though, durability changed course and phones became resilient. OPPO’s F-series is a prime example, with a reputation for being the toughest phones money can buy. Last year’s F31 Pro+ implemented this formula pretty well, and the Chinese smartphone maker is back at it again, with the F33 Pro. It’s an interesting phone with a design that turns heads, a new processor family, and camera sensors. Sadly, without beloved AI companions jacking up RAM prices and ruining value smartphones, I wondered: how does the F33 Pro justify its price tag? To find out, I called OPPO, got the F33 Pro two weeks back, and made it my daily driver, using it to take hundreds of photos, play BGMI, and scroll through reels. Here’s my experience. OPPO F33 Pro ReviewHisan KidwaiSummaryThe OPPO F33 Pro has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense. Design & Hardware OPPO is known for making gorgeous phones, and if I just had to use one word for the F33 Pro’s design, it would be, drum roll please, gorgeous. I’ve yet to see such an exquisite-looking midranger, and don’t even bother with the white; the red is the way to go. It looks super sophisticated, with a matte texture that picks up 0 fingerprints. The camera plateau does resemble the iPhone in shape, but that’s not a complaint. OPPO has added a halo ring around it, creating a floating effect and making it look super premium. While the inside of the plateau is the same color, OPPO has made it shiny and added sparkles for some flair. It’s not something I can easily describe with words, but if you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everyone I gave the phone to thought it cost much more than it actually does, and some, including my mum, wanted to switch over to it. The sides are, of course, made of plastic, and the same color as the back. In my clumsy day-to-day use, the phone held up decently well. I dropped it a couple of times, including once from head height, and it escaped with little more than a dent. The F33 Pro earns some brownie points in the comfort department, too. It’s not an overly large phone, similar in size to the OPPO Find X9, and you can reach the top corners of the screen with average-sized hands. As expected, the F33 Pro packs all the IP ratings available on the market. These include IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, which mean your phone should stay just fine under high-pressure jets and full immersion for up to 12 hours. While I didn’t leave it submerged, I did wash it once after dropping my protein mix on it. It handled it pretty well, but I do recommend not submerging your phone under water since water damage isn’t covered under warranty. Display The OPPO F33 Pro features a 6.57-inch flat FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s not much to say about the panel, except that it is plenty good. Text and messages appear super sharp, and the AMOLED panel keeps colors popping with deep blacks. I took the F33 Pro outside on a hot summer day, and the 1400-nit peak brightness kept everything legible without me having to squint. As a result, the colors and HDR performance during the latest episode of The Pitt were amazing. I had no problems throughout my testing. OPPO has also done a good job with the bezels on three sides, except for the chin, which is ever so slightly bigger, but still not by much. In terms of protection, OPPO has installed AGC DT-STAR D+ glass. While I haven’t heard of this protection before, it fared pretty well against drops and my usage, with no major scratches. On a positive note, OPPO pre-installs a screen protector, so I’d recommend keeping it on. Performance Performance is what makes or breaks a phone. Last year’s F31 Pro+ was decent in terms of performance. I didn’t describe it as blazing fast, but good enough for everyday tasks. And the same can be said for the F33 Pro. At the beating heart of the F33 Pro lies the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) processor, essentially a bumped-up version of the 6300 we saw on the K14. ColorOS, being the best Android skin, keeps everything running super smooth without hiccups. The 8GB of RAM was enough to keep most of my apps in memory, and it was nice to see a mid-range phone with premium ColorOS features, including full lock-screen customizations and dark-mode icons. It’s a capable phone that can handle every daily task, be it scrolling through reels, watching Netflix, or reading a book. The OPPO F33 Pro gets a dose of my favorite AI features, such as AI Recompose, which looks at the photo you captured and improves it. The object eraser works exceptionally well, and the portrait glow is decent for when you need to relight the subject. That all being said, there’s plenty of bloatware. Even though I said no to installing the recommended apps, the phone did install about 20 of them. After which, I had to sit and manually delete them one by one. Since this is a review, I also put the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) through its paces by running some benchmarks. The results? About what you’d expect for this segment. The F33 Pro scored 1,039 on Geekbench’s single-core test and 2,833 on the multi-core test. On the flip side, in AnTuTu, the device scored 1,189,871 points. As benchmarks never tell the full story, I also played a few games on the F33 Pro, namely BGMI, since that’s the only game I’m actually good at. The experience was pretty decent; there’s no high-frame-rate support, but 60fps was maintained throughout the session without overheating. Battery Life & Charging Probably the biggest reason to consider the F33 Pro, aside from the design, will be its massive 7,000 mAh battery. I consider myself a heavy user, but even with my usage, I couldn’t kill the phone in a day. For context, I started my day with the excellent activity of scrolling reels, then replying to texts, capturing camera samples, taking the phone with me to struggle at the gym, and ending the day with BGMI sessions. When it was eventually time to recharge, the 80W fast charging came in handy. It brought the battery back from zero to full in just over an hour. Cameras Optics on the OPPO F33 Pro are headlined by a 50MP OmniVision 50D40 sensor, and that’s essentially it. Like last year, you don’t get any UltraWide or telephoto sensor, except for a 2MP depth lens. Despite my reservations, the F33 Pro’s cameras aren’t that bad. Give the sensor enough light, and the photos it produces are detailed, with slightly boosted colors, without blowing out the highlights. Sure, there’s some struggle with harsh sunlight, but it’s occasional, not a consistent issue. Similarly, low-light performance, when you use night mode, is decent. While you’ll find some noise creeping in, the results still retain decent sharpness, and colors weren’t washed out at all. Since there’s no telephoto lens, the main sensor doubles as the portrait sensor, and it works pretty well. Skin tones are true to life, and OPPO’s processing effectively separates the subject from the background. OPPO, when launching the F33 Pro, talked heavily about the 50MP Ultra-Wide GC50F6 selfie shooter, and I’m happy to report it works like a charm. You don’t have to worry about playing hand gymnastics to fit multiple people in the shot, as the 100-degree FoV does the job for you. The shots are detailed enough, and colors do tend to be accurate. That said, there’s quite a lot of over-sharpening action when taking a selfie at night. Another big complaint is the lack of any 4K video recording support, which in 2026 should be a no-brainer. Verdict Like many other smartphones this year, the F-series has received a price bump, with the F33 Pro now starting at ₹37,999. It has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense. #OPPO #F33 #Pro #Review #Premium #Survives #Drops #WorthOppo

implemented this formula pretty well, and the Chinese smartphone maker is back at it again, with the F33 Pro.

It’s an interesting phone with a design that turns heads, a new processor family, and camera sensors. Sadly, without beloved AI companions jacking up RAM prices and ruining value smartphones, I wondered: how does the F33 Pro justify its price tag? To find out, I called OPPO, got the F33 Pro two weeks back, and made it my daily driver, using it to take hundreds of photos, play BGMI, and scroll through reels. Here’s my experience.

OPPO F33 Pro Review

Hisan Kidwai

Summary

The OPPO F33 Pro has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense.

Design & Hardware

OPPO F33 Pro Review: Looks Premium, Survives Drops, But Is It Worth ₹37,999? When smartphones first became mainstream, durability took a back seat. We were expected to take care of our precious electronics and protect them from the elements. Somewhere along this journey, though, durability changed course and phones became resilient. OPPO’s F-series is a prime example, with a reputation for being the toughest phones money can buy. Last year’s F31 Pro+ implemented this formula pretty well, and the Chinese smartphone maker is back at it again, with the F33 Pro. It’s an interesting phone with a design that turns heads, a new processor family, and camera sensors. Sadly, without beloved AI companions jacking up RAM prices and ruining value smartphones, I wondered: how does the F33 Pro justify its price tag? To find out, I called OPPO, got the F33 Pro two weeks back, and made it my daily driver, using it to take hundreds of photos, play BGMI, and scroll through reels. Here’s my experience. OPPO F33 Pro ReviewHisan KidwaiSummaryThe OPPO F33 Pro has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense. Design & Hardware OPPO is known for making gorgeous phones, and if I just had to use one word for the F33 Pro’s design, it would be, drum roll please, gorgeous. I’ve yet to see such an exquisite-looking midranger, and don’t even bother with the white; the red is the way to go. It looks super sophisticated, with a matte texture that picks up 0 fingerprints. The camera plateau does resemble the iPhone in shape, but that’s not a complaint. OPPO has added a halo ring around it, creating a floating effect and making it look super premium. While the inside of the plateau is the same color, OPPO has made it shiny and added sparkles for some flair. It’s not something I can easily describe with words, but if you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everyone I gave the phone to thought it cost much more than it actually does, and some, including my mum, wanted to switch over to it. The sides are, of course, made of plastic, and the same color as the back. In my clumsy day-to-day use, the phone held up decently well. I dropped it a couple of times, including once from head height, and it escaped with little more than a dent. The F33 Pro earns some brownie points in the comfort department, too. It’s not an overly large phone, similar in size to the OPPO Find X9, and you can reach the top corners of the screen with average-sized hands. As expected, the F33 Pro packs all the IP ratings available on the market. These include IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, which mean your phone should stay just fine under high-pressure jets and full immersion for up to 12 hours. While I didn’t leave it submerged, I did wash it once after dropping my protein mix on it. It handled it pretty well, but I do recommend not submerging your phone under water since water damage isn’t covered under warranty. Display The OPPO F33 Pro features a 6.57-inch flat FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s not much to say about the panel, except that it is plenty good. Text and messages appear super sharp, and the AMOLED panel keeps colors popping with deep blacks. I took the F33 Pro outside on a hot summer day, and the 1400-nit peak brightness kept everything legible without me having to squint. As a result, the colors and HDR performance during the latest episode of The Pitt were amazing. I had no problems throughout my testing. OPPO has also done a good job with the bezels on three sides, except for the chin, which is ever so slightly bigger, but still not by much. In terms of protection, OPPO has installed AGC DT-STAR D+ glass. While I haven’t heard of this protection before, it fared pretty well against drops and my usage, with no major scratches. On a positive note, OPPO pre-installs a screen protector, so I’d recommend keeping it on. Performance Performance is what makes or breaks a phone. Last year’s F31 Pro+ was decent in terms of performance. I didn’t describe it as blazing fast, but good enough for everyday tasks. And the same can be said for the F33 Pro. At the beating heart of the F33 Pro lies the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) processor, essentially a bumped-up version of the 6300 we saw on the K14. ColorOS, being the best Android skin, keeps everything running super smooth without hiccups. The 8GB of RAM was enough to keep most of my apps in memory, and it was nice to see a mid-range phone with premium ColorOS features, including full lock-screen customizations and dark-mode icons. It’s a capable phone that can handle every daily task, be it scrolling through reels, watching Netflix, or reading a book. The OPPO F33 Pro gets a dose of my favorite AI features, such as AI Recompose, which looks at the photo you captured and improves it. The object eraser works exceptionally well, and the portrait glow is decent for when you need to relight the subject. That all being said, there’s plenty of bloatware. Even though I said no to installing the recommended apps, the phone did install about 20 of them. After which, I had to sit and manually delete them one by one. Since this is a review, I also put the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) through its paces by running some benchmarks. The results? About what you’d expect for this segment. The F33 Pro scored 1,039 on Geekbench’s single-core test and 2,833 on the multi-core test. On the flip side, in AnTuTu, the device scored 1,189,871 points. As benchmarks never tell the full story, I also played a few games on the F33 Pro, namely BGMI, since that’s the only game I’m actually good at. The experience was pretty decent; there’s no high-frame-rate support, but 60fps was maintained throughout the session without overheating. Battery Life & Charging Probably the biggest reason to consider the F33 Pro, aside from the design, will be its massive 7,000 mAh battery. I consider myself a heavy user, but even with my usage, I couldn’t kill the phone in a day. For context, I started my day with the excellent activity of scrolling reels, then replying to texts, capturing camera samples, taking the phone with me to struggle at the gym, and ending the day with BGMI sessions. When it was eventually time to recharge, the 80W fast charging came in handy. It brought the battery back from zero to full in just over an hour. Cameras Optics on the OPPO F33 Pro are headlined by a 50MP OmniVision 50D40 sensor, and that’s essentially it. Like last year, you don’t get any UltraWide or telephoto sensor, except for a 2MP depth lens. Despite my reservations, the F33 Pro’s cameras aren’t that bad. Give the sensor enough light, and the photos it produces are detailed, with slightly boosted colors, without blowing out the highlights. Sure, there’s some struggle with harsh sunlight, but it’s occasional, not a consistent issue. Similarly, low-light performance, when you use night mode, is decent. While you’ll find some noise creeping in, the results still retain decent sharpness, and colors weren’t washed out at all. Since there’s no telephoto lens, the main sensor doubles as the portrait sensor, and it works pretty well. Skin tones are true to life, and OPPO’s processing effectively separates the subject from the background. OPPO, when launching the F33 Pro, talked heavily about the 50MP Ultra-Wide GC50F6 selfie shooter, and I’m happy to report it works like a charm. You don’t have to worry about playing hand gymnastics to fit multiple people in the shot, as the 100-degree FoV does the job for you. The shots are detailed enough, and colors do tend to be accurate. That said, there’s quite a lot of over-sharpening action when taking a selfie at night. Another big complaint is the lack of any 4K video recording support, which in 2026 should be a no-brainer. Verdict Like many other smartphones this year, the F-series has received a price bump, with the F33 Pro now starting at ₹37,999. It has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense. #OPPO #F33 #Pro #Review #Premium #Survives #Drops #WorthOppo

OPPO is known for making gorgeous phones, and if I just had to use one word for the F33 Pro’s design, it would be, drum roll please, gorgeous. I’ve yet to see such an exquisite-looking midranger, and don’t even bother with the white; the red is the way to go. It looks super sophisticated, with a matte texture that picks up 0 fingerprints.

The camera plateau does resemble the iPhone in shape, but that’s not a complaint. OPPO has added a halo ring around it, creating a floating effect and making it look super premium. While the inside of the plateau is the same color, OPPO has made it shiny and added sparkles for some flair. It’s not something I can easily describe with words, but if you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everyone I gave the phone to thought it cost much more than it actually does, and some, including my mum, wanted to switch over to it.

Sides of the F33 Pro

The sides are, of course, made of plastic, and the same color as the back. In my clumsy day-to-day use, the phone held up decently well. I dropped it a couple of times, including once from head height, and it escaped with little more than a dent. The F33 Pro earns some brownie points in the comfort department, too. It’s not an overly large phone, similar in size to the OPPO Find X9, and you can reach the top corners of the screen with average-sized hands.

As expected, the F33 Pro packs all the IP ratings available on the market. These include IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, which mean your phone should stay just fine under high-pressure jets and full immersion for up to 12 hours. While I didn’t leave it submerged, I did wash it once after dropping my protein mix on it. It handled it pretty well, but I do recommend not submerging your phone under water since water damage isn’t covered under warranty.

Display

HDR video playing on the phone

The OPPO F33 Pro features a 6.57-inch flat FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s not much to say about the panel, except that it is plenty good. Text and messages appear super sharp, and the AMOLED panel keeps colors popping with deep blacks. I took the F33 Pro outside on a hot summer day, and the 1400-nit peak brightness kept everything legible without me having to squint. As a result, the colors and HDR performance during the latest episode of The Pitt were amazing.

I had no problems throughout my testing. OPPO has also done a good job with the bezels on three sides, except for the chin, which is ever so slightly bigger, but still not by much. In terms of protection, OPPO has installed AGC DT-STAR D+ glass. While I haven’t heard of this protection before, it fared pretty well against drops and my usage, with no major scratches. On a positive note, OPPO pre-installs a screen protector, so I’d recommend keeping it on.

Performance

Lock screens closeup of the OPPO F33 Pro

Performance is what makes or breaks a phone. Last year’s F31 Pro+ was decent in terms of performance. I didn’t describe it as blazing fast, but good enough for everyday tasks. And the same can be said for the F33 Pro. At the beating heart of the F33 Pro lies the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) processor, essentially a bumped-up version of the 6300 we saw on the K14. ColorOS, being the best Android skin, keeps everything running super smooth without hiccups. The 8GB of RAM was enough to keep most of my apps in memory, and it was nice to see a mid-range phone with premium ColorOS features, including full lock-screen customizations and dark-mode icons. It’s a capable phone that can handle every daily task, be it scrolling through reels, watching Netflix, or reading a book.

The OPPO F33 Pro gets a dose of my favorite AI features, such as AI Recompose, which looks at the photo you captured and improves it. The object eraser works exceptionally well, and the portrait glow is decent for when you need to relight the subject.

Gen AI features

That all being said, there’s plenty of bloatware. Even though I said no to installing the recommended apps, the phone did install about 20 of them. After which, I had to sit and manually delete them one by one.

Since this is a review, I also put the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) through its paces by running some benchmarks. The results? About what you’d expect for this segment. The F33 Pro scored 1,039 on Geekbench’s single-core test and 2,833 on the multi-core test. On the flip side, in AnTuTu, the device scored 1,189,871 points. As benchmarks never tell the full story, I also played a few games on the F33 Pro, namely BGMI, since that’s the only game I’m actually good at. The experience was pretty decent; there’s no high-frame-rate support, but 60fps was maintained throughout the session without overheating.

Battery Life & Charging

A person holding the F33 pro

Probably the biggest reason to consider the F33 Pro, aside from the design, will be its massive 7,000 mAh battery. I consider myself a heavy user, but even with my usage, I couldn’t kill the phone in a day. For context, I started my day with the excellent activity of scrolling reels, then replying to texts, capturing camera samples, taking the phone with me to struggle at the gym, and ending the day with BGMI sessions.

When it was eventually time to recharge, the 80W fast charging came in handy. It brought the battery back from zero to full in just over an hour.

Cameras

Closeup of the camera module

Optics on the OPPO F33 Pro are headlined by a 50MP OmniVision 50D40 sensor, and that’s essentially it. Like last year, you don’t get any UltraWide or telephoto sensor, except for a 2MP depth lens. Despite my reservations, the F33 Pro’s cameras aren’t that bad. Give the sensor enough light, and the photos it produces are detailed, with slightly boosted colors, without blowing out the highlights. Sure, there’s some struggle with harsh sunlight, but it’s occasional, not a consistent issue.

Similarly, low-light performance, when you use night mode, is decent. While you’ll find some noise creeping in, the results still retain decent sharpness, and colors weren’t washed out at all. Since there’s no telephoto lens, the main sensor doubles as the portrait sensor, and it works pretty well. Skin tones are true to life, and OPPO’s processing effectively separates the subject from the background.

OPPO, when launching the F33 Pro, talked heavily about the 50MP Ultra-Wide GC50F6 selfie shooter, and I’m happy to report it works like a charm. You don’t have to worry about playing hand gymnastics to fit multiple people in the shot, as the 100-degree FoV does the job for you. The shots are detailed enough, and colors do tend to be accurate. That said, there’s quite a lot of over-sharpening action when taking a selfie at night. Another big complaint is the lack of any 4K video recording support, which in 2026 should be a no-brainer.

Verdict

Back Design of the F33 Pro

Like many other smartphones this year, the F-series has received a price bump, with the F33 Pro now starting at ₹37,999. It has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense.

#OPPO #F33 #Pro #Review #Premium #Survives #Drops #WorthOppo">OPPO F33 Pro Review: Looks Premium, Survives Drops, But Is It Worth ₹37,999?

When smartphones first became mainstream, durability took a back seat. We were expected to take care of our precious electronics and protect them from the elements. Somewhere along this journey, though, durability changed course and phones became resilient. OPPO’s F-series is a prime example, with a reputation for being the toughest phones money can buy. Last year’s F31 Pro+ implemented this formula pretty well, and the Chinese smartphone maker is back at it again, with the F33 Pro.

It’s an interesting phone with a design that turns heads, a new processor family, and camera sensors. Sadly, without beloved AI companions jacking up RAM prices and ruining value smartphones, I wondered: how does the F33 Pro justify its price tag? To find out, I called OPPO, got the F33 Pro two weeks back, and made it my daily driver, using it to take hundreds of photos, play BGMI, and scroll through reels. Here’s my experience.

OPPO F33 Pro Review

Hisan Kidwai

Summary

The OPPO F33 Pro has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense.

Design & Hardware

OPPO F33 Pro Review: Looks Premium, Survives Drops, But Is It Worth ₹37,999? When smartphones first became mainstream, durability took a back seat. We were expected to take care of our precious electronics and protect them from the elements. Somewhere along this journey, though, durability changed course and phones became resilient. OPPO’s F-series is a prime example, with a reputation for being the toughest phones money can buy. Last year’s F31 Pro+ implemented this formula pretty well, and the Chinese smartphone maker is back at it again, with the F33 Pro. It’s an interesting phone with a design that turns heads, a new processor family, and camera sensors. Sadly, without beloved AI companions jacking up RAM prices and ruining value smartphones, I wondered: how does the F33 Pro justify its price tag? To find out, I called OPPO, got the F33 Pro two weeks back, and made it my daily driver, using it to take hundreds of photos, play BGMI, and scroll through reels. Here’s my experience. OPPO F33 Pro ReviewHisan KidwaiSummaryThe OPPO F33 Pro has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense. Design & Hardware OPPO is known for making gorgeous phones, and if I just had to use one word for the F33 Pro’s design, it would be, drum roll please, gorgeous. I’ve yet to see such an exquisite-looking midranger, and don’t even bother with the white; the red is the way to go. It looks super sophisticated, with a matte texture that picks up 0 fingerprints. The camera plateau does resemble the iPhone in shape, but that’s not a complaint. OPPO has added a halo ring around it, creating a floating effect and making it look super premium. While the inside of the plateau is the same color, OPPO has made it shiny and added sparkles for some flair. It’s not something I can easily describe with words, but if you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everyone I gave the phone to thought it cost much more than it actually does, and some, including my mum, wanted to switch over to it. The sides are, of course, made of plastic, and the same color as the back. In my clumsy day-to-day use, the phone held up decently well. I dropped it a couple of times, including once from head height, and it escaped with little more than a dent. The F33 Pro earns some brownie points in the comfort department, too. It’s not an overly large phone, similar in size to the OPPO Find X9, and you can reach the top corners of the screen with average-sized hands. As expected, the F33 Pro packs all the IP ratings available on the market. These include IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, which mean your phone should stay just fine under high-pressure jets and full immersion for up to 12 hours. While I didn’t leave it submerged, I did wash it once after dropping my protein mix on it. It handled it pretty well, but I do recommend not submerging your phone under water since water damage isn’t covered under warranty. Display The OPPO F33 Pro features a 6.57-inch flat FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s not much to say about the panel, except that it is plenty good. Text and messages appear super sharp, and the AMOLED panel keeps colors popping with deep blacks. I took the F33 Pro outside on a hot summer day, and the 1400-nit peak brightness kept everything legible without me having to squint. As a result, the colors and HDR performance during the latest episode of The Pitt were amazing. I had no problems throughout my testing. OPPO has also done a good job with the bezels on three sides, except for the chin, which is ever so slightly bigger, but still not by much. In terms of protection, OPPO has installed AGC DT-STAR D+ glass. While I haven’t heard of this protection before, it fared pretty well against drops and my usage, with no major scratches. On a positive note, OPPO pre-installs a screen protector, so I’d recommend keeping it on. Performance Performance is what makes or breaks a phone. Last year’s F31 Pro+ was decent in terms of performance. I didn’t describe it as blazing fast, but good enough for everyday tasks. And the same can be said for the F33 Pro. At the beating heart of the F33 Pro lies the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) processor, essentially a bumped-up version of the 6300 we saw on the K14. ColorOS, being the best Android skin, keeps everything running super smooth without hiccups. The 8GB of RAM was enough to keep most of my apps in memory, and it was nice to see a mid-range phone with premium ColorOS features, including full lock-screen customizations and dark-mode icons. It’s a capable phone that can handle every daily task, be it scrolling through reels, watching Netflix, or reading a book. The OPPO F33 Pro gets a dose of my favorite AI features, such as AI Recompose, which looks at the photo you captured and improves it. The object eraser works exceptionally well, and the portrait glow is decent for when you need to relight the subject. That all being said, there’s plenty of bloatware. Even though I said no to installing the recommended apps, the phone did install about 20 of them. After which, I had to sit and manually delete them one by one. Since this is a review, I also put the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) through its paces by running some benchmarks. The results? About what you’d expect for this segment. The F33 Pro scored 1,039 on Geekbench’s single-core test and 2,833 on the multi-core test. On the flip side, in AnTuTu, the device scored 1,189,871 points. As benchmarks never tell the full story, I also played a few games on the F33 Pro, namely BGMI, since that’s the only game I’m actually good at. The experience was pretty decent; there’s no high-frame-rate support, but 60fps was maintained throughout the session without overheating. Battery Life & Charging Probably the biggest reason to consider the F33 Pro, aside from the design, will be its massive 7,000 mAh battery. I consider myself a heavy user, but even with my usage, I couldn’t kill the phone in a day. For context, I started my day with the excellent activity of scrolling reels, then replying to texts, capturing camera samples, taking the phone with me to struggle at the gym, and ending the day with BGMI sessions. When it was eventually time to recharge, the 80W fast charging came in handy. It brought the battery back from zero to full in just over an hour. Cameras Optics on the OPPO F33 Pro are headlined by a 50MP OmniVision 50D40 sensor, and that’s essentially it. Like last year, you don’t get any UltraWide or telephoto sensor, except for a 2MP depth lens. Despite my reservations, the F33 Pro’s cameras aren’t that bad. Give the sensor enough light, and the photos it produces are detailed, with slightly boosted colors, without blowing out the highlights. Sure, there’s some struggle with harsh sunlight, but it’s occasional, not a consistent issue. Similarly, low-light performance, when you use night mode, is decent. While you’ll find some noise creeping in, the results still retain decent sharpness, and colors weren’t washed out at all. Since there’s no telephoto lens, the main sensor doubles as the portrait sensor, and it works pretty well. Skin tones are true to life, and OPPO’s processing effectively separates the subject from the background. OPPO, when launching the F33 Pro, talked heavily about the 50MP Ultra-Wide GC50F6 selfie shooter, and I’m happy to report it works like a charm. You don’t have to worry about playing hand gymnastics to fit multiple people in the shot, as the 100-degree FoV does the job for you. The shots are detailed enough, and colors do tend to be accurate. That said, there’s quite a lot of over-sharpening action when taking a selfie at night. Another big complaint is the lack of any 4K video recording support, which in 2026 should be a no-brainer. Verdict Like many other smartphones this year, the F-series has received a price bump, with the F33 Pro now starting at ₹37,999. It has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense. #OPPO #F33 #Pro #Review #Premium #Survives #Drops #WorthOppo

OPPO is known for making gorgeous phones, and if I just had to use one word for the F33 Pro’s design, it would be, drum roll please, gorgeous. I’ve yet to see such an exquisite-looking midranger, and don’t even bother with the white; the red is the way to go. It looks super sophisticated, with a matte texture that picks up 0 fingerprints.

The camera plateau does resemble the iPhone in shape, but that’s not a complaint. OPPO has added a halo ring around it, creating a floating effect and making it look super premium. While the inside of the plateau is the same color, OPPO has made it shiny and added sparkles for some flair. It’s not something I can easily describe with words, but if you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Everyone I gave the phone to thought it cost much more than it actually does, and some, including my mum, wanted to switch over to it.

Sides of the F33 Pro

The sides are, of course, made of plastic, and the same color as the back. In my clumsy day-to-day use, the phone held up decently well. I dropped it a couple of times, including once from head height, and it escaped with little more than a dent. The F33 Pro earns some brownie points in the comfort department, too. It’s not an overly large phone, similar in size to the OPPO Find X9, and you can reach the top corners of the screen with average-sized hands.

As expected, the F33 Pro packs all the IP ratings available on the market. These include IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, which mean your phone should stay just fine under high-pressure jets and full immersion for up to 12 hours. While I didn’t leave it submerged, I did wash it once after dropping my protein mix on it. It handled it pretty well, but I do recommend not submerging your phone under water since water damage isn’t covered under warranty.

Display

HDR video playing on the phone

The OPPO F33 Pro features a 6.57-inch flat FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s not much to say about the panel, except that it is plenty good. Text and messages appear super sharp, and the AMOLED panel keeps colors popping with deep blacks. I took the F33 Pro outside on a hot summer day, and the 1400-nit peak brightness kept everything legible without me having to squint. As a result, the colors and HDR performance during the latest episode of The Pitt were amazing.

I had no problems throughout my testing. OPPO has also done a good job with the bezels on three sides, except for the chin, which is ever so slightly bigger, but still not by much. In terms of protection, OPPO has installed AGC DT-STAR D+ glass. While I haven’t heard of this protection before, it fared pretty well against drops and my usage, with no major scratches. On a positive note, OPPO pre-installs a screen protector, so I’d recommend keeping it on.

Performance

Lock screens closeup of the OPPO F33 Pro

Performance is what makes or breaks a phone. Last year’s F31 Pro+ was decent in terms of performance. I didn’t describe it as blazing fast, but good enough for everyday tasks. And the same can be said for the F33 Pro. At the beating heart of the F33 Pro lies the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) processor, essentially a bumped-up version of the 6300 we saw on the K14. ColorOS, being the best Android skin, keeps everything running super smooth without hiccups. The 8GB of RAM was enough to keep most of my apps in memory, and it was nice to see a mid-range phone with premium ColorOS features, including full lock-screen customizations and dark-mode icons. It’s a capable phone that can handle every daily task, be it scrolling through reels, watching Netflix, or reading a book.

The OPPO F33 Pro gets a dose of my favorite AI features, such as AI Recompose, which looks at the photo you captured and improves it. The object eraser works exceptionally well, and the portrait glow is decent for when you need to relight the subject.

Gen AI features

That all being said, there’s plenty of bloatware. Even though I said no to installing the recommended apps, the phone did install about 20 of them. After which, I had to sit and manually delete them one by one.

Since this is a review, I also put the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX (6nm) through its paces by running some benchmarks. The results? About what you’d expect for this segment. The F33 Pro scored 1,039 on Geekbench’s single-core test and 2,833 on the multi-core test. On the flip side, in AnTuTu, the device scored 1,189,871 points. As benchmarks never tell the full story, I also played a few games on the F33 Pro, namely BGMI, since that’s the only game I’m actually good at. The experience was pretty decent; there’s no high-frame-rate support, but 60fps was maintained throughout the session without overheating.

Battery Life & Charging

A person holding the F33 pro

Probably the biggest reason to consider the F33 Pro, aside from the design, will be its massive 7,000 mAh battery. I consider myself a heavy user, but even with my usage, I couldn’t kill the phone in a day. For context, I started my day with the excellent activity of scrolling reels, then replying to texts, capturing camera samples, taking the phone with me to struggle at the gym, and ending the day with BGMI sessions.

When it was eventually time to recharge, the 80W fast charging came in handy. It brought the battery back from zero to full in just over an hour.

Cameras

Closeup of the camera module

Optics on the OPPO F33 Pro are headlined by a 50MP OmniVision 50D40 sensor, and that’s essentially it. Like last year, you don’t get any UltraWide or telephoto sensor, except for a 2MP depth lens. Despite my reservations, the F33 Pro’s cameras aren’t that bad. Give the sensor enough light, and the photos it produces are detailed, with slightly boosted colors, without blowing out the highlights. Sure, there’s some struggle with harsh sunlight, but it’s occasional, not a consistent issue.

Similarly, low-light performance, when you use night mode, is decent. While you’ll find some noise creeping in, the results still retain decent sharpness, and colors weren’t washed out at all. Since there’s no telephoto lens, the main sensor doubles as the portrait sensor, and it works pretty well. Skin tones are true to life, and OPPO’s processing effectively separates the subject from the background.

OPPO, when launching the F33 Pro, talked heavily about the 50MP Ultra-Wide GC50F6 selfie shooter, and I’m happy to report it works like a charm. You don’t have to worry about playing hand gymnastics to fit multiple people in the shot, as the 100-degree FoV does the job for you. The shots are detailed enough, and colors do tend to be accurate. That said, there’s quite a lot of over-sharpening action when taking a selfie at night. Another big complaint is the lack of any 4K video recording support, which in 2026 should be a no-brainer.

Verdict

Back Design of the F33 Pro

Like many other smartphones this year, the F-series has received a price bump, with the F33 Pro now starting at ₹37,999. It has the same ingredients as its predecessor, including a stellar battery, protection that’ll withstand the end of the world, and a beautiful design. Sadly, it’s not perfect. The cameras aren’t as versatile, and the performance is only good enough for everyday tasks. The F33 Pro is for people who value design, protection, and battery over anything else. And if you’re that person, then the F33 Pro makes a ton of sense.

#OPPO #F33 #Pro #Review #Premium #Survives #Drops #WorthOppo
recording you discreetly, you probably don’t like smart glasses. Video and photo capture are easily some of the most divisive aspects of the form factor, if not the most divisive. However divisive the recording part is, though, there are unifying aspects of smart glasses with cameras—things that fans and critics can hate together. Take subscriptions, for example.

As noted by Wired, L’Atitude 52°N, a smart glasses company that successfully crowdfunded last year, just launched its Berlin model of AI specs, which is set to go on sale May 26, and they have one tiny little quirk that I haven’t seen yet, or at least not to this extent: the AI features on the smart glasses (a good deal of the stuff that might actually convince you to buy them) will all be paywalled after a year’s trial.

Smart Glasses Are Eyeing the One Thing People Hate More Than Being Spied On If you don’t like the idea of someone recording you discreetly, you probably don’t like smart glasses. Video and photo capture are easily some of the most divisive aspects of the form factor, if not the most divisive. However divisive the recording part is, though, there are unifying aspects of smart glasses with cameras—things that fans and critics can hate together. Take subscriptions, for example. As noted by Wired, L’Atitude 52°N, a smart glasses company that successfully crowdfunded last year, just launched its Berlin model of AI specs, which is set to go on sale May 26, and they have one tiny little quirk that I haven’t seen yet, or at least not to this extent: the AI features on the smart glasses (a good deal of the stuff that might actually convince you to buy them) will all be paywalled after a year’s trial. © L’Atitude 52°N Per Wired, which spoke to L’Atitude 52°N CEO Gary Chen, there’s no word on how much the 9 smart glasses’ subscription will cost, but if you don’t pay up, Berlin will be limited to “base features,” which include playing music and capturing media. I guess anyone interested in buying Berlin will have to be okay with a looming, unknown cost down the road. It’s an interesting choice for a company that positions its smart glasses as being ideal for travel, pitching stuff like an “AI tour guide” that uses computer vision to provide information on your surroundings as a centerpiece of that travel functionality. Outside of a tour guide, the Berlin smart glasses also appear to lean into translation and a voice assistant in the AI department. On the bright side—call it transparency if you want—at least Chen is being honest about future ambitions to squeeze recurring profits out of anyone who buys the company’s smart glasses. A lot of the time, that’s just an unacknowledged minefield customers unknowingly step onto when buying any gadget with a cloud service. If you’re okay with potentially having to cough up a monthly sum to get the most out of your smart glasses, the Berlin look like a decent pair, but not quite the best. There’s no screen, but there’s a 12-megapixel camera, which is the same as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, though there’s a significant difference in capture resolution. The Berlin have a max recording resolution of 1080p, while the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses can record in 3K. They do look stylish, or at the very least unique, and if they can compete on open-ear audio, they might be a worthy consideration even with that very annoying subscription caveat. I’m skeptical that smart glasses are practical enough to justify paying for monthly, but I guess the only way to find out is by adding to everyone’s already Sisyphean monthly subscription budget. #Smart #Glasses #Eyeing #People #Hate #Spiedsmart glasses,wearables
© L’Atitude 52°N

Per Wired, which spoke to L’Atitude 52°N CEO Gary Chen, there’s no word on how much the $399 smart glasses’ subscription will cost, but if you don’t pay up, Berlin will be limited to “base features,” which include playing music and capturing media. I guess anyone interested in buying Berlin will have to be okay with a looming, unknown cost down the road.

It’s an interesting choice for a company that positions its smart glasses as being ideal for travel, pitching stuff like an “AI tour guide” that uses computer vision to provide information on your surroundings as a centerpiece of that travel functionality. Outside of a tour guide, the Berlin smart glasses also appear to lean into translation and a voice assistant in the AI department.

On the bright side—call it transparency if you want—at least Chen is being honest about future ambitions to squeeze recurring profits out of anyone who buys the company’s smart glasses. A lot of the time, that’s just an unacknowledged minefield customers unknowingly step onto when buying any gadget with a cloud service.

If you’re okay with potentially having to cough up a monthly sum to get the most out of your smart glasses, the Berlin look like a decent pair, but not quite the best. There’s no screen, but there’s a 12-megapixel camera, which is the same as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, though there’s a significant difference in capture resolution. The Berlin have a max recording resolution of 1080p, while the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses can record in 3K. They do look stylish, or at the very least unique, and if they can compete on open-ear audio, they might be a worthy consideration even with that very annoying subscription caveat.

I’m skeptical that smart glasses are practical enough to justify paying for monthly, but I guess the only way to find out is by adding to everyone’s already Sisyphean monthly subscription budget.

#Smart #Glasses #Eyeing #People #Hate #Spiedsmart glasses,wearables">Smart Glasses Are Eyeing the One Thing People Hate More Than Being Spied On If you don’t like the idea of someone recording you discreetly, you probably don’t like smart glasses. Video and photo capture are easily some of the most divisive aspects of the form factor, if not the most divisive. However divisive the recording part is, though, there are unifying aspects of smart glasses with cameras—things that fans and critics can hate together. Take subscriptions, for example. As noted by Wired, L’Atitude 52°N, a smart glasses company that successfully crowdfunded last year, just launched its Berlin model of AI specs, which is set to go on sale May 26, and they have one tiny little quirk that I haven’t seen yet, or at least not to this extent: the AI features on the smart glasses (a good deal of the stuff that might actually convince you to buy them) will all be paywalled after a year’s trial. © L’Atitude 52°N Per Wired, which spoke to L’Atitude 52°N CEO Gary Chen, there’s no word on how much the 9 smart glasses’ subscription will cost, but if you don’t pay up, Berlin will be limited to “base features,” which include playing music and capturing media. I guess anyone interested in buying Berlin will have to be okay with a looming, unknown cost down the road. It’s an interesting choice for a company that positions its smart glasses as being ideal for travel, pitching stuff like an “AI tour guide” that uses computer vision to provide information on your surroundings as a centerpiece of that travel functionality. Outside of a tour guide, the Berlin smart glasses also appear to lean into translation and a voice assistant in the AI department. On the bright side—call it transparency if you want—at least Chen is being honest about future ambitions to squeeze recurring profits out of anyone who buys the company’s smart glasses. A lot of the time, that’s just an unacknowledged minefield customers unknowingly step onto when buying any gadget with a cloud service. If you’re okay with potentially having to cough up a monthly sum to get the most out of your smart glasses, the Berlin look like a decent pair, but not quite the best. There’s no screen, but there’s a 12-megapixel camera, which is the same as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, though there’s a significant difference in capture resolution. The Berlin have a max recording resolution of 1080p, while the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses can record in 3K. They do look stylish, or at the very least unique, and if they can compete on open-ear audio, they might be a worthy consideration even with that very annoying subscription caveat. I’m skeptical that smart glasses are practical enough to justify paying for monthly, but I guess the only way to find out is by adding to everyone’s already Sisyphean monthly subscription budget. #Smart #Glasses #Eyeing #People #Hate #Spiedsmart glasses,wearables

, you probably don’t like smart glasses. Video and photo capture are easily some of the most divisive aspects of the form factor, if not the most divisive. However divisive the recording part is, though, there are unifying aspects of smart glasses with cameras—things that fans and critics can hate together. Take subscriptions, for example.

As noted by Wired, L’Atitude 52°N, a smart glasses company that successfully crowdfunded last year, just launched its Berlin model of AI specs, which is set to go on sale May 26, and they have one tiny little quirk that I haven’t seen yet, or at least not to this extent: the AI features on the smart glasses (a good deal of the stuff that might actually convince you to buy them) will all be paywalled after a year’s trial.

Smart Glasses Are Eyeing the One Thing People Hate More Than Being Spied On If you don’t like the idea of someone recording you discreetly, you probably don’t like smart glasses. Video and photo capture are easily some of the most divisive aspects of the form factor, if not the most divisive. However divisive the recording part is, though, there are unifying aspects of smart glasses with cameras—things that fans and critics can hate together. Take subscriptions, for example. As noted by Wired, L’Atitude 52°N, a smart glasses company that successfully crowdfunded last year, just launched its Berlin model of AI specs, which is set to go on sale May 26, and they have one tiny little quirk that I haven’t seen yet, or at least not to this extent: the AI features on the smart glasses (a good deal of the stuff that might actually convince you to buy them) will all be paywalled after a year’s trial. © L’Atitude 52°N Per Wired, which spoke to L’Atitude 52°N CEO Gary Chen, there’s no word on how much the 9 smart glasses’ subscription will cost, but if you don’t pay up, Berlin will be limited to “base features,” which include playing music and capturing media. I guess anyone interested in buying Berlin will have to be okay with a looming, unknown cost down the road. It’s an interesting choice for a company that positions its smart glasses as being ideal for travel, pitching stuff like an “AI tour guide” that uses computer vision to provide information on your surroundings as a centerpiece of that travel functionality. Outside of a tour guide, the Berlin smart glasses also appear to lean into translation and a voice assistant in the AI department. On the bright side—call it transparency if you want—at least Chen is being honest about future ambitions to squeeze recurring profits out of anyone who buys the company’s smart glasses. A lot of the time, that’s just an unacknowledged minefield customers unknowingly step onto when buying any gadget with a cloud service. If you’re okay with potentially having to cough up a monthly sum to get the most out of your smart glasses, the Berlin look like a decent pair, but not quite the best. There’s no screen, but there’s a 12-megapixel camera, which is the same as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, though there’s a significant difference in capture resolution. The Berlin have a max recording resolution of 1080p, while the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses can record in 3K. They do look stylish, or at the very least unique, and if they can compete on open-ear audio, they might be a worthy consideration even with that very annoying subscription caveat. I’m skeptical that smart glasses are practical enough to justify paying for monthly, but I guess the only way to find out is by adding to everyone’s already Sisyphean monthly subscription budget. #Smart #Glasses #Eyeing #People #Hate #Spiedsmart glasses,wearables
© L’Atitude 52°N

Per Wired, which spoke to L’Atitude 52°N CEO Gary Chen, there’s no word on how much the $399 smart glasses’ subscription will cost, but if you don’t pay up, Berlin will be limited to “base features,” which include playing music and capturing media. I guess anyone interested in buying Berlin will have to be okay with a looming, unknown cost down the road.

It’s an interesting choice for a company that positions its smart glasses as being ideal for travel, pitching stuff like an “AI tour guide” that uses computer vision to provide information on your surroundings as a centerpiece of that travel functionality. Outside of a tour guide, the Berlin smart glasses also appear to lean into translation and a voice assistant in the AI department.

On the bright side—call it transparency if you want—at least Chen is being honest about future ambitions to squeeze recurring profits out of anyone who buys the company’s smart glasses. A lot of the time, that’s just an unacknowledged minefield customers unknowingly step onto when buying any gadget with a cloud service.

If you’re okay with potentially having to cough up a monthly sum to get the most out of your smart glasses, the Berlin look like a decent pair, but not quite the best. There’s no screen, but there’s a 12-megapixel camera, which is the same as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, though there’s a significant difference in capture resolution. The Berlin have a max recording resolution of 1080p, while the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses can record in 3K. They do look stylish, or at the very least unique, and if they can compete on open-ear audio, they might be a worthy consideration even with that very annoying subscription caveat.

I’m skeptical that smart glasses are practical enough to justify paying for monthly, but I guess the only way to find out is by adding to everyone’s already Sisyphean monthly subscription budget.

#Smart #Glasses #Eyeing #People #Hate #Spiedsmart glasses,wearables">Smart Glasses Are Eyeing the One Thing People Hate More Than Being Spied On

If you don’t like the idea of someone recording you discreetly, you probably don’t like smart glasses. Video and photo capture are easily some of the most divisive aspects of the form factor, if not the most divisive. However divisive the recording part is, though, there are unifying aspects of smart glasses with cameras—things that fans and critics can hate together. Take subscriptions, for example.

As noted by Wired, L’Atitude 52°N, a smart glasses company that successfully crowdfunded last year, just launched its Berlin model of AI specs, which is set to go on sale May 26, and they have one tiny little quirk that I haven’t seen yet, or at least not to this extent: the AI features on the smart glasses (a good deal of the stuff that might actually convince you to buy them) will all be paywalled after a year’s trial.

Smart Glasses Are Eyeing the One Thing People Hate More Than Being Spied On If you don’t like the idea of someone recording you discreetly, you probably don’t like smart glasses. Video and photo capture are easily some of the most divisive aspects of the form factor, if not the most divisive. However divisive the recording part is, though, there are unifying aspects of smart glasses with cameras—things that fans and critics can hate together. Take subscriptions, for example. As noted by Wired, L’Atitude 52°N, a smart glasses company that successfully crowdfunded last year, just launched its Berlin model of AI specs, which is set to go on sale May 26, and they have one tiny little quirk that I haven’t seen yet, or at least not to this extent: the AI features on the smart glasses (a good deal of the stuff that might actually convince you to buy them) will all be paywalled after a year’s trial. © L’Atitude 52°N Per Wired, which spoke to L’Atitude 52°N CEO Gary Chen, there’s no word on how much the 9 smart glasses’ subscription will cost, but if you don’t pay up, Berlin will be limited to “base features,” which include playing music and capturing media. I guess anyone interested in buying Berlin will have to be okay with a looming, unknown cost down the road. It’s an interesting choice for a company that positions its smart glasses as being ideal for travel, pitching stuff like an “AI tour guide” that uses computer vision to provide information on your surroundings as a centerpiece of that travel functionality. Outside of a tour guide, the Berlin smart glasses also appear to lean into translation and a voice assistant in the AI department. On the bright side—call it transparency if you want—at least Chen is being honest about future ambitions to squeeze recurring profits out of anyone who buys the company’s smart glasses. A lot of the time, that’s just an unacknowledged minefield customers unknowingly step onto when buying any gadget with a cloud service. If you’re okay with potentially having to cough up a monthly sum to get the most out of your smart glasses, the Berlin look like a decent pair, but not quite the best. There’s no screen, but there’s a 12-megapixel camera, which is the same as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, though there’s a significant difference in capture resolution. The Berlin have a max recording resolution of 1080p, while the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses can record in 3K. They do look stylish, or at the very least unique, and if they can compete on open-ear audio, they might be a worthy consideration even with that very annoying subscription caveat. I’m skeptical that smart glasses are practical enough to justify paying for monthly, but I guess the only way to find out is by adding to everyone’s already Sisyphean monthly subscription budget. #Smart #Glasses #Eyeing #People #Hate #Spiedsmart glasses,wearables
© L’Atitude 52°N

Per Wired, which spoke to L’Atitude 52°N CEO Gary Chen, there’s no word on how much the $399 smart glasses’ subscription will cost, but if you don’t pay up, Berlin will be limited to “base features,” which include playing music and capturing media. I guess anyone interested in buying Berlin will have to be okay with a looming, unknown cost down the road.

It’s an interesting choice for a company that positions its smart glasses as being ideal for travel, pitching stuff like an “AI tour guide” that uses computer vision to provide information on your surroundings as a centerpiece of that travel functionality. Outside of a tour guide, the Berlin smart glasses also appear to lean into translation and a voice assistant in the AI department.

On the bright side—call it transparency if you want—at least Chen is being honest about future ambitions to squeeze recurring profits out of anyone who buys the company’s smart glasses. A lot of the time, that’s just an unacknowledged minefield customers unknowingly step onto when buying any gadget with a cloud service.

If you’re okay with potentially having to cough up a monthly sum to get the most out of your smart glasses, the Berlin look like a decent pair, but not quite the best. There’s no screen, but there’s a 12-megapixel camera, which is the same as the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, though there’s a significant difference in capture resolution. The Berlin have a max recording resolution of 1080p, while the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses can record in 3K. They do look stylish, or at the very least unique, and if they can compete on open-ear audio, they might be a worthy consideration even with that very annoying subscription caveat.

I’m skeptical that smart glasses are practical enough to justify paying for monthly, but I guess the only way to find out is by adding to everyone’s already Sisyphean monthly subscription budget.

#Smart #Glasses #Eyeing #People #Hate #Spiedsmart glasses,wearables
L’Atitude 52°N’s glasses is called Goya, named after Francisco Goya, the famous Spanish artist who painted renowned masterpieces of romanticism.

CEO and founder Gary Chen, who has worked on wearable devices for companies like Oppo, OnePlus, and HTC, says his company’s glasses are focused on travelers, with AI features that act like a tour guide and talk about all the paintings in famous museums.

“Basically, you can say, ‘Hey, Goya, what is the story about Mona Lisa?’” Chen says. “You can ask anything and, with your permission, they will take a photo to analyze what’s in front of you.”

I ask if you could quiz it about perhaps the most famous Goya painting, the terrifying, Gothic horror-esque image of Saturn devouring his own son.

“Yes, yes,” Chen says, “It can also give you some recommendations about restaurants.”

Image may contain Accessories Sunglasses and Glasses

Berlin-based L’Atitude 52°N is a new player in the smart glasses space, selling its first pairs on Kickstarter in September 2025, where the campaign surpassed its funding goal and raised more than $400,000. There have been some bumps since then, as shipments were delayed from an originally announced release date in February 2026, and one model in development was scrapped outright. Now, L’Atitude 52°N has announced an official release date for its smart glasses.

Preorders for one model, called Berlin, start on May 19. The glasses actually go on sale on May 26. This might be a disappointment for Kickstarter backers, as the most recent official update from the campaign came in March and said shipping would begin on April 15 for Berlin units and June 7 for the second model, called Milan. L’Atitude 52°N still hasn’t set an official launch date for the Milan, except to say that it will be “arriving in the second quarter of 2026.”

The Berlin glasses cost $399. Add another $50 for the photochromatic lenses. There is one very big catch: The AI features enabled on the device will only work for 12 months, which L’Atitude 52°N calls an “AI feature trial.” After that, customers have to pay for a subscription service, or will be limited to the base features, like playing music and capturing media.

How much will that subscription service cost? Chen says he doesn’t know.

#Smart #Glasses #ExOnePlus #Engineers #Hidden #Costsmart glasses,wearables,design,gadgets">These New Smart Glasses From Ex-OnePlus Engineers Have a Hidden CostLots of smart glasses have AI bots inside them now. The one in L’Atitude 52°N’s glasses is called Goya, named after Francisco Goya, the famous Spanish artist who painted renowned masterpieces of romanticism.CEO and founder Gary Chen, who has worked on wearable devices for companies like Oppo, OnePlus, and HTC, says his company’s glasses are focused on travelers, with AI features that act like a tour guide and talk about all the paintings in famous museums.“Basically, you can say, ‘Hey, Goya, what is the story about Mona Lisa?’” Chen says. “You can ask anything and, with your permission, they will take a photo to analyze what’s in front of you.”I ask if you could quiz it about perhaps the most famous Goya painting, the terrifying, Gothic horror-esque image of Saturn devouring his own son.“Yes, yes,” Chen says, “It can also give you some recommendations about restaurants.”Berlin-based L’Atitude 52°N is a new player in the smart glasses space, selling its first pairs on Kickstarter in September 2025, where the campaign surpassed its funding goal and raised more than 0,000. There have been some bumps since then, as shipments were delayed from an originally announced release date in February 2026, and one model in development was scrapped outright. Now, L’Atitude 52°N has announced an official release date for its smart glasses.Preorders for one model, called Berlin, start on May 19. The glasses actually go on sale on May 26. This might be a disappointment for Kickstarter backers, as the most recent official update from the campaign came in March and said shipping would begin on April 15 for Berlin units and June 7 for the second model, called Milan. L’Atitude 52°N still hasn’t set an official launch date for the Milan, except to say that it will be “arriving in the second quarter of 2026.”The Berlin glasses cost 9. Add another for the photochromatic lenses. There is one very big catch: The AI features enabled on the device will only work for 12 months, which L’Atitude 52°N calls an “AI feature trial.” After that, customers have to pay for a subscription service, or will be limited to the base features, like playing music and capturing media.How much will that subscription service cost? Chen says he doesn’t know.#Smart #Glasses #ExOnePlus #Engineers #Hidden #Costsmart glasses,wearables,design,gadgets

’s glasses is called Goya, named after Francisco Goya, the famous Spanish artist who painted renowned masterpieces of romanticism.

CEO and founder Gary Chen, who has worked on wearable devices for companies like Oppo, OnePlus, and HTC, says his company’s glasses are focused on travelers, with AI features that act like a tour guide and talk about all the paintings in famous museums.

“Basically, you can say, ‘Hey, Goya, what is the story about Mona Lisa?’” Chen says. “You can ask anything and, with your permission, they will take a photo to analyze what’s in front of you.”

I ask if you could quiz it about perhaps the most famous Goya painting, the terrifying, Gothic horror-esque image of Saturn devouring his own son.

“Yes, yes,” Chen says, “It can also give you some recommendations about restaurants.”

Image may contain Accessories Sunglasses and Glasses

Berlin-based L’Atitude 52°N is a new player in the smart glasses space, selling its first pairs on Kickstarter in September 2025, where the campaign surpassed its funding goal and raised more than $400,000. There have been some bumps since then, as shipments were delayed from an originally announced release date in February 2026, and one model in development was scrapped outright. Now, L’Atitude 52°N has announced an official release date for its smart glasses.

Preorders for one model, called Berlin, start on May 19. The glasses actually go on sale on May 26. This might be a disappointment for Kickstarter backers, as the most recent official update from the campaign came in March and said shipping would begin on April 15 for Berlin units and June 7 for the second model, called Milan. L’Atitude 52°N still hasn’t set an official launch date for the Milan, except to say that it will be “arriving in the second quarter of 2026.”

The Berlin glasses cost $399. Add another $50 for the photochromatic lenses. There is one very big catch: The AI features enabled on the device will only work for 12 months, which L’Atitude 52°N calls an “AI feature trial.” After that, customers have to pay for a subscription service, or will be limited to the base features, like playing music and capturing media.

How much will that subscription service cost? Chen says he doesn’t know.

#Smart #Glasses #ExOnePlus #Engineers #Hidden #Costsmart glasses,wearables,design,gadgets">These New Smart Glasses From Ex-OnePlus Engineers Have a Hidden Cost

Lots of smart glasses have AI bots inside them now. The one in L’Atitude 52°N’s glasses is called Goya, named after Francisco Goya, the famous Spanish artist who painted renowned masterpieces of romanticism.

CEO and founder Gary Chen, who has worked on wearable devices for companies like Oppo, OnePlus, and HTC, says his company’s glasses are focused on travelers, with AI features that act like a tour guide and talk about all the paintings in famous museums.

“Basically, you can say, ‘Hey, Goya, what is the story about Mona Lisa?’” Chen says. “You can ask anything and, with your permission, they will take a photo to analyze what’s in front of you.”

I ask if you could quiz it about perhaps the most famous Goya painting, the terrifying, Gothic horror-esque image of Saturn devouring his own son.

“Yes, yes,” Chen says, “It can also give you some recommendations about restaurants.”

Image may contain Accessories Sunglasses and Glasses

Berlin-based L’Atitude 52°N is a new player in the smart glasses space, selling its first pairs on Kickstarter in September 2025, where the campaign surpassed its funding goal and raised more than $400,000. There have been some bumps since then, as shipments were delayed from an originally announced release date in February 2026, and one model in development was scrapped outright. Now, L’Atitude 52°N has announced an official release date for its smart glasses.

Preorders for one model, called Berlin, start on May 19. The glasses actually go on sale on May 26. This might be a disappointment for Kickstarter backers, as the most recent official update from the campaign came in March and said shipping would begin on April 15 for Berlin units and June 7 for the second model, called Milan. L’Atitude 52°N still hasn’t set an official launch date for the Milan, except to say that it will be “arriving in the second quarter of 2026.”

The Berlin glasses cost $399. Add another $50 for the photochromatic lenses. There is one very big catch: The AI features enabled on the device will only work for 12 months, which L’Atitude 52°N calls an “AI feature trial.” After that, customers have to pay for a subscription service, or will be limited to the base features, like playing music and capturing media.

How much will that subscription service cost? Chen says he doesn’t know.

#Smart #Glasses #ExOnePlus #Engineers #Hidden #Costsmart glasses,wearables,design,gadgets

Post Comment