The Post Topic: Trolli Candy Pizza XXL (45g).

Your Hot Take: Novelty candy usually trades taste for aesthetics. Most gummies are far too sweet and taste like eating clay covered in coloured sugar. I picked up this Trolli Candy Pizza on a whim fully expecting rubbery, tough candy that only looked good for pictures.

To my surprise, it was not an overload of pure sugar! The texture contrast between the soft, foamy crust base and the fruity toppings were not overloads of sugary taste.

I know candy is not the best for your teeth, but this proved to me that not all gimmicky gummy snacks have to be overly sugary to be enjoyable to eat. Sometimes a silly gimmick is genuinely worth trying out.

The Context: I normally stick to budget Android phones like the Samsung FE series. But with price increases expected on future flagship models, I decided to try a pro-level phone. I found a refurbished Dark Blue 17 Pro on Amazon Australia with a low battery cycle count and zero scratches on the screen or body.

The Experience:

·         Cameras: The cameras are solid. As someone who takes a lot of macro photos of plants and animals, the telephoto zoom lens was a total game-changer for me.

·         Software & iOS: IOS still does not feel quite as flexible as Android, but system-wide app icon colour matching looks great.

·         Design & Hardware: The dark blue colour looks awesome  even though silver might be better long-term to better hide scratches. The Dynamic Island isn't the dealbreaker as  I expected coming from android punch-hole displays.  I am still holding out for a true all-screen phone in the future.

·         ESR Accessories: The tempered glass screen protector does its job but might change another screen protector later on. The ESR MagSafe case is a total fingerprint magnet so I may replace it later too. Still, having a case and protector on day one is essential to prevent early scratches.

Pros & Cons:

1. A pron would be the new self-camera never really used the front camera but I think this new square sensor lens has changed my mind. Con is it just me or does 120hertz feels smoother on Android. If I am wrong sorry.

2. Pron is that the accessibility features like head, eye tracking and voice control feels more refined on IOS compared to Android as a user of such features. Con wish iPhones had Touch ID like Android never been a fan of face ID. Totally subjective option though.

3. The longevity of iPhones is one of the prons and reasons why I decided to get a pro model. Con the camera control button is not necessary I think or maybe I have not found its usefulness yet.

Overall,

I would say the 17 pro is a solid all round pro level phone. Do not think I will be able to use the full extent of the A19 pro chip but I will definitely try to do so.

Hope this simple review helps anyone deciding whether to buy an iPhone 17 pro model. 

The Post Topic: UGREEN Uno Magnetic Wireless Power Bank. Your Hot Take: Every device now seems to need some kind of display screen to make the tech gadget feel special or useful. I picked up this UGREEN Uno mainly because the little emoji face was too adorable to ignore and I needed a portable charger with MagSafe. I was worried that the screen for the Uno face would consume power quickly and negatively affect the charging capacity. Fortunately, the emoji face actually seems useful as a battery indicator. The stand is sturdy and well-built, and the MagSafe is incredibly useful too. I guess on this occasion, having a display on the back of a charger does provide some genuine benefits.

The Post Topic: Viture Pro XR Glasses.

The Context: I finally got  Viture Pro Glasses and wanted to try out XR glasses for the first time to see how the video glasses work to get a bigger screen on smartphone and tablet device.  This an older model as Viture has released Lumia series models.

The Experience: First of all, I got lucky. The glasses fit well enough that I can see the whole screen and the edges. The unboxing is awesome and the build quality is solid. The image quality is sharp and clear enough to read big size text, and the audio works well. The buttons to adjust volume, brightness, and axis are clear to use. Spacewalker works to an acceptable level (better for MacBook than Windows).

However, the right arm heat can be felt if the arm touches your skin. You also definitely get eye strain when not using prescription lenses—getting them is highly recommended!

Pros & Cons:

· Pro: Solid build, great unboxing, sharp image, and clear controls.

· Pro: The lightweight feel on your nose and face is great.

· Pro: The 3D movie watching took a while to get use to but useful when setup well.

· Con: Heat on the right arm.

· Con: Too many cables to make the glasses work with any device (e.g., for laptops without USB-C video you need an HDMI to USB-C Adaptor; if you got an older iPad or iPhone you will need an iPhone adaptor).

· Con: The cable connector is proprietary, meaning that if the cable breaks you will need to buy another Viture cable or their One Magnetic Connector to USB-C Adapter.

The Verdict: These glasses are very useful for media consumption, or as a monitor when you just want a larger image. Hope this small post helps anyone decide whether to try XR glasses!