What’s the difference between a Smart TV and Android TV? | Ask Us Anything #40

Welcome back to another episode of Ask Us Anything, where we gather your questions from the internet and answer them.

In today’s episode, we find out the difference between a smart TV and an Android TV, 3rd party wireless charger for iPhones, and whether the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 supports eSIM.

Difference between a Smart TV and Android TV?

Smart TV is a category of TV that can connect to the internet and download apps. An Android TV runs Google’s Android TV OS, which is now rebranded to Google TV and connects to the internet allowing you to download apps from the Google Play store, which makes it a smart TV. Examples of TV manufacturers that use Android TV or Google TV are Sony, Panasonic, Philips, and Xiaomi.

If you have a dumb TV with an HDMI port, you can easily turn it into an Android TV by plugging in an Android TV media box or stick from Xiaomi or Realme. Other examples of smart TVs are Samsung with Tizen OS, LG with WebOS, and Hisense with Vidaa OS.

How to choose a 3^rd party wireless charger for an iPhone?

Okay, the first thing you need to know is that when you use an Apple MagSafe wireless charger or MagSafe-certified 3rd party wireless chargers, the iPhone 12, 13 and 14 will charge at a maximum of 15W while the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini will go up to 12W.

Using a MagSafe charger with other iPhone models will only push around 5W of power. Using a standard Qi wireless charger with any iPhone model will charge at a maximum of 7.5W. So, keep these factors in mind when choosing a 3rd party wireless charger.

Therefore, if you’re looking for a MagSafe-certified charger, this Belkin BoostCharge PRO Portable Wireless Charger is a good example. It comes with a braided cable and a built-in kickstand to hold up the phone in landscape. It also comes with a hefty price tag, partly thanks to the certification, of RM399.

Moving down the price range, you have the Belkin BOOSTUP 15W Wireless Charging Stand for RM155. Since this is not a MagSafe-certified charger, your iPhone will only charge at a max of 7.5W despite the 15W output. You can get compatible Android phones to charge at 15W.

Belkin notes that this charger is not compatible with the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini simply because they are too short to reach the charging coils.

For greater compatibility, you might want to go with a charging pad instead of a charging stand like this Belkin BOOSTUP 15W Wireless Charging Pad priced at RM189.

A cheaper alternative would be this RM79 wireless charger from Mcdodo.

Do note that some wireless chargers, especially the budget ones will not come with a power plug. Therefore, it’s recommended that you use a USB Power Delivery or PD charger, ideally 20W or greater.

Does the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 support eSIM?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 has support for dual SIM with one of them being eSIM. Maxis is an example of a telco that offers eSIM in Malaysia.

Once you’ve purchased a mobile plan for the eSIM, simply head on over to your Settings page > Connections > SIM card manager > Add mobile plan. Scan the QR code provided by Maxis and simply follow the instruction to activate your eSIM profile.

Examples of other telcos are Digi, Celcom, Umobile, and Yoodoo. eSIM support will depend on the mobile plan for some telcos so it’s best to check with the telco of your choice for supported plans.

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