Welcome to the final part of the SoyaCincau Awards 2023, where we look at everything the technology sector has to offer. A lot has happened in the past year, both good and bad—from the Asus ROG Ally to Fahmi Fadzil’s reign as the Communications and Digital Minister.
This section gives recognition to their impact on this vast industry. Between the successes, the disappointments and the surprises, there’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it.
In case you were wondering, the panel members for the Soyacincau Awards 2023 consist of Alexander Wong, Najib Hamid, Raymond Saw, Jonathan Lee, Hanif Azrai, Putra Aziz, Sharil Abdul Rahman, Chief Chapree, and Sudarshan Duke, with our social media manager Amalin Aisyah also contributing.
Read the rest of our Awards
- SoyaCincau Awards 2023: The best smartphones of the year
- SoyaCincau Awards 2023: The best tablets of the year
- SoyaCincau Awards 2023: The best laptops and gadgets of the year
- SoyaCincau Awards 2023: The best electric vehicles this year
- SoyaCincau Awards 2023: The best telcos this year
Gadget of the Year
GOLD: Asus ROG Ally
From an April Fool’s joke to a reality. A lot of people would not have guessed that Asus would produce a portable gaming console like the ROG Ally. And it became a sensation as soon as it was launched, even though the Steam Deck had been around for ages.
What makes it properly attractive is its relatively affordable pricing, along with support for a wider catalogue of games thanks to it running Windows 11. It also comes with everything a true gamer needs, such as the intuitive console-style controls, speakers that can get very loud and a stunning display. – Najib Hamid
Learn more about the Asus ROG Ally here.
Read our full review of the Asus ROG Ally here.
SILVER: BYD Dolphin
What’s an electric vehicle doing being one of the contenders for Gadget of the Year? Well, the BYD Dolphin transcends the automotive segment by democratising EVs, putting them within reach of the average Joe. Okay, RM100,000 isn’t exactly chump change, but the next cheapest EV costs RM40,000 more.
And the Dolphin backs that up with substance—a pleasant cabin packed with kit, just enough performance for daily use (more so if you plump for the Premium Extended model) and a genuinely comfortable ride. Just in case you need any more proof that this thing deserves a place here, look at it this way: it’s a Chinese product that offers supreme value for money and comes with slightly iffy software—it’s basically a Xiaomi phone on four wheels. – Jonathan Lee
Learn more about the BYD Dolphin here.
Read our first drive impressions of the BYD Dolphin here.
BRONZE: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
Just when we thought Samsung could no longer surprise us with its same-old-same-old foldables, the company pulled a blinder on us by giving its flip phone the full-face cover screen it was begging for. Okay, so the move was telegraphed months in advance thanks to a veritable landslide of leaks, and the Korean tech giant wasn’t even the first to the market; Motorola beat it to the punch with the Razr 40 Ultra.
What really sets the Galaxy Z Flip 5 apart (well, aside from the fact you can’t buy the Razr here) is just how fun the cover screen software is. Scrolling through your different lock screens is akin to flipping through vinyls at a record shop, you can actually see that selfie you’re trying to take, and it’s a delightful novelty to watch videos on such a tiny display. The rest of the phone may not be all that different compared to its predecessor, but the Z Flip 5 is proof that a foldable can really be greater than the sum of its parts. – Jonathan Lee
Learn more about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 here.
Read our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 here.
Tech Brand of the Year
GOLD: Samsung
From mobile devices to home appliances, Samsung’s products don’t just exist to fill a gap in the market, but they almost always shake up the market with innovative features, a fresh take on functionality and a stylish design. Samsung’s mobile division has always been setting new benchmarks in design, hardware, performance, and software, as seen in the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Z Flip 5 this year.
Samsung also offers TVs and monitors with the latest display technology while the Samsung Gaming Hub allows for game streaming, essentially turning the TV into an all-in-one entertainment centre. With everything that Samsung has done to improve and advance consumer electronics, it’s unsurprising that the Gold Award for Tech Brand of the Year is presented to Samsung. – Sudarshan Duke
Learn more about Samsung here.
SILVER: Xiaomi
It’s been a huge year for Xiaomi. The Chinese giant not only solidified its position in the smartphone scene with some impressive smartphones this year with the likes of the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13T series but also expanded its product range. Xiaomi recently showed off its first-ever electric vehicle, the Xiaomi SU7—a stylish electric sedan set to take on the likes of Tesla in the Chinese EV scene. It was also the first manufacturer to launch a smartphone powered by the next-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, with the Xiaomi 14 series debuting shortly after the processor.
For the average consumer, though—those who mostly deal with their smartphones and smart devices—perhaps the biggest change they will notice with Xiaomi moving forward is with its software. MIUI is dead, long live MIUI. In its place will be HyperOS, a brand new operating system built by Xiaomi as a mix of MIUI and its Xiaomi Vela platform for its IoT devices. HyperOS is already on Xiaomi 14 devices, and you’ll see even more of it moving forward, with Xiaomi improving on its software support policy for smartphones too, beginning with the Xiaomi 13T series. – Raymond Saw
Learn more about Xiaomi here.
BRONZE: Asus
Asus is already considered a top electronics manufacturer and a brand many trust, especially if you’re big into PC and gaming hardware. This year is a continuation of that trust that many users have with Asus, as it presses on with their quality computer components, continues to lead the OLED revolution with laptops, and expands upon the mobile gaming scene with this year’s ROG Phone 7 series too.
This year, we also saw Asus become the biggest name around the gaming hardware scene when it launched the ROG Ally. This little Windows-powered device pushed powerful handheld gaming devices into the mainstream, something that the likes of the Valve Steam Deck before it couldn’t do, mostly thanks to Asus’ presence as a global manufacturer.
It’s been a big year for Asus, and hopefully, it can build on it going into 2024. – Raymond Saw
Learn more about Asus here.
Disappointment of the Year
GOLD: Communications and Digital Ministry
There were high expectations when the government announced the Communications and Digital Ministry (formerly known as the Communications and Multimedia Ministry) in December 2022 which aims to address connectivity and digital threats. Unlike the last MSAP implementation in 2018, there wasn’t a significant reduction in broadband prices which many had hoped for, especially for the entry-level fibre plan.
There’s also the lack of action to hold telcos accountable for not being transparent about their advertised promotions such as speed quota and FUP as well as unfair termination policies. While the government has expedited the rollout of 5G, the adoption rate remains low and there’s still a lack of indoor 5G coverage.
Online scams and data breaches are a growing concern, particularly in 2023. Despite the repeated calls by the public, the ministry has failed to introduce strong and effective measures to hold social media platforms accountable for abetting and amplifying online scams. Our neighbouring countries have introduced or amended existing laws to compel big tech companies to do more to ensure the online safety of their citizens.
Meanwhile, the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in its current form requires an urgent revamp as it currently doesn’t apply to government bodies and agencies which have been prone to data breaches. If Malaysia aims to roll out MyDigital ID, it needs to build the trust and confidence of the people to ensure that their privacy and data are well protected. – Alexander Wong
Learn more about the Communications and Digital Ministry here.
SILVER: Neta V
The Neta V is what happens when a car that’s built to a price runs headlong into legislation preventing it from being sold at that price in the first place. One look at this bulbous electric hatchback and you can see where the corners were cut, not least the lack of seat height adjustment and the also-fixed steering wheel mounted so low that our colleague Duke—who, to be fair, towers over all of us at 189cm tall—couldn’t fit. Not to mention the presence of just two airbags and no driver assistance features whatsoever.
It would’ve needed to be very cheap to justify those shortcomings, but the government’s RM100,000 minimum price for full-imported vehicles meant it wound up competing head-to-head with the vastly more competent BYD Dolphin. Rumours of a sizable discount came to nothing, and Neta instead had to offer a wallbox charger and an apologetic bodykit to make the price (barely) easier to stomach. The real crime is that the car isn’t actually all that bad to drive, which somehow makes this sorry affair worse. – Jonathan Lee
Learn more about the Neta V here.
Read our first drive impressions of the Neta V here.
BRONZE: 5G in Malaysia
5G has been talked about as the next big thing in the telco and smartphone space. In Malaysia, there have been a lot of debates about retaining Digital Nasional Berhad as the single wholesale network for 5G and whether we need more players to create infrastructure competition to boost 5G adoption.
On the consumer front, there isn’t much motivation for users to jump on the 5G bandwagon just yet. Despite Malaysia claiming to have 76% 5G population coverage, the adoption rate remains pretty low at just 10.8%. And that’s after all 5 major telcos have started offering 5G with free 5G phone bundles on contract.
In addition, there’s still a lack of proper 5G coverage indoors where most users will be spending most of their time. Imagine trying to pay using your eWallet in a mall and there’s no coverage. As a result, most users would still need to depend on the 4G network to get their things done.
And of course, there’s also the matter of pricing. The single wholesale network model promises to deliver 5G at a cheaper price than 4G. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case for all telcos as some are charging monthly or even weekly access fees for 5G on existing plans. Most of them have introduced all-new 5G plans which offer loads more data for less but some telcos still impose extra restrictions on speed and hotspot quota.
The true potential of 5G is in the enterprise sector. We’ve seen lots of 5G use cases for years but there aren’t that many commercial examples in Malaysia that truly harness the full advantage of 5G. – Alexander Wong
Learn more about 5G in Malaysia here.
Surprise of the Year
GOLD: Asus ROG Ally
In case it isn’t obvious by now, we really dig the ROG Ally. And yet come to think of it, when we first heard about it, we weren’t even sure if it was a real thing. Whoever planned out the marketing for the ROG Ally at Asus’ HQ certainly deserves a raise, as their plan of releasing the teaser for the handheld gaming PC on April Fool’s day earlier this year managed to get just about everyone talking about it.
Thankfully then, it ended up being a real product and became the game changer the handheld gaming scene needed, making it go from a niche category into the mainstream. Previously, you only really had the Valve Steam Deck which was limited to a few regions officially and other boutique manufacturers like GPD and Ayaneo. But the ROG Ally didn’t just turn Windows-powered handheld gaming PCs into a reality, they crucially did so at a price that was relatively affordable too. And to think, we almost thought the ROG Ally was a prank. – Raymond Saw
Learn more about the Asus ROG Ally here.
Read our full review of the Asus ROG Ally here.
SILVER: BYD Dolphin
The Atto 3 already made waves when BYD launched it late last year, but even back then we knew a tsunami was coming, thanks to a short preview of a then-upcoming car at the event itself. The Dolphin was one of several models slotting under the SUV in the Chinese carmaker’s lineup, and in our incredibly price-sensitive market, that could only be a good thing. So when the car debuted earlier this year with the headline-grabbing RM100,000 starting price, it wasn’t such a surprise.
What was a surprise was just how much you got for the money. A lot of the toys come as standard, such as LED head- and taillights, automatic air con and the Atto 3’s giant rotatable 12.8-inch touchscreen, along with every single driver assist you could possibly want. Couple that with some of the most comfortable seats in the business and that ride and it blows the Neta V completely out of the water—as evidenced by how many of these things you see on the road already. – Jonathan Lee
Learn more about the BYD Dolphin here.
Read our first drive impressions of the BYD Dolphin here.
BRONZE: Yes 5G selling iPhones
Yes might be the youngest telco in Malaysia but they are the first to offer 5G services across prepaid, postpaid and broadband. However, the last piece of the puzzle is the iPhone and Yes… it’s finally available on Yes 5G. Yes 5G is Apple’s latest telco partner and customers can finally get full Apple services on the Yes network.
Not only does Yes offer one of the cheapest unlimited 5G plans, but they are also offering the cheapest iPhone commitment on contract with a postpaid plan for as low as RM58/month. On top of that, Yes also offers the easiest eSIM activation ever and that’s how eSIM should be unlike other telcos. – Alexander Wong
Learn more about Yes here.
