For some reason, the first week of January 2026 is a hot week for phone launches. OPPO, Honor, POCO, and realme all have plans to unveil new phones soon. In fact, realme will not only launch the realme 16 series but also the realme Neo8 series.

As we bid 2025, we can expect to see new year greetings from friends and family. In this social media age, it means e-cards or fancy stickers via messaging apps. And when it comes to the latter, WhatsApp is the popular choice for Malaysians.

The first half of January is set to be hectic, as more companies announce plans to launch new smartphones soon. POCO is the next to join that list, as it confirms the launch of the POCO M8 5G next week. Here's what we know so far.

Last week, realme confirmed plans to launch the realme 16 series on 6 January 2026. Since then, we've received more updates on the specs. The realme 16 series will feature two models at launch day, including the realme 16 Pro+. Here are more details of the new phone.

In early December, I came across a nostalgic Facebook post reminiscing about how simple the platform once was, before reels, algorithms, and endless noise took over. Having used social media since 2009, that moment made me realise how much not just Facebook, but all major platforms have changed, and why I now find myself pulling away from them more often: social media nowadays is worse than ever.

With a whole exhibition hall to itself at CES 2026, Samsung will have many products to showcase. Among them will be new TVs and soundbars, which are included in Samsung's portfolio. In fact, Samsung already has some news on the audio side.

Remember the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and how it was permanently cancelled? The same thing could happen to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the future, with companies hosting their own events. That seems to be what Samsung plans to do in 2026.

The switch from lithium-ion to silicon-carbon has seen smartphone batteries become progressively larger in 2025. However, we haven't seen the peak yet. Companies have begun to push for phones with a battery capacity of over 10000mAh, and Honor is set to launch one soon.

Flash Malaysia Express recently and officially announced that it will shutdown operations in Malaysia. COD (Cash-on-Delivery) booking will stop from 24 December 2025 while orders will end on 15 January 2026. All outstanding and existing orders on or before this date will be delivered. 

Larger mobile batteries were more for tablets in the past, but that changed when brands started using silicon-carbon batteries for smartphones. Thanks to higher energy density, smartphone batteries can now be larger, with realme likely to take the record soon.