For this week of Tech Unboxed, the MMDA has finally rolled out its website for tracking NCAP violations, while HONOR surprised everyone with the official price of the HONOR 400 in the Philippines. Ending the week is a surprise announcement from TECNO with their first Ultra device.
Here are the Tech Unboxed stories you need to know for the Week of June 15-21:
May Huli ka ba? The MMDA has rolled its website for checking NCAP violations using your Plate Number and MV File Number. It’s a handy site for checking if the vehicle you’re using incurred any violations without waiting for the notice to be delivered to your house at a later date–which may incur more penalties for late payments. The system’s not perfect yet, with MMDA flagging reports of bad actors creating phishing sites that disguise themselves as an NCAP violation tracker. We expect MMDA to make improvements to the site–just like how it’s expected to refine the NCAP system.
TECNO goes Ultra. After itel revealed their Ultra phone months ago, fellow Transsion brand TECNO has revealed their own Ultra offering under the POVA 7 series. From what has been revealed, it’s going to be a midrange gaming phone that uses a Dimensity 8350 processor, has a 144hz AMOLED display, and comes equipped with a 6000mAh battery that supports 70w wired and 30w wireless charging. The revealed specs make it sound similar to the Infinix GT 30 Pro, so we’ll have to wait and see what makes the POVA 7 Ultimate different.
BYD’s new subcompact crossover. BYD brings the Sealion 5 DM-i to the Philippines as its latest plug-in hybrid, this time catering to the subcompact crossover segment. Competing against the likes of the Toyota Yaris Cross and Nissan Kicks, the Sealion 5 DM-i brags a combined range of 1000km, with the Ramirez brothers proving that through a 1400km road trip around Cagayan and Ilocos. It has a very enticing Php 1.2 million early bird price, making it the most affordable plug-in hybrid crossover from BYD.
Great pricing for the HONOR 400. The HONOR 400 has become official in the Philippines, and the brand surprised everyone by making it priced lower than its predecessors at launch. With an official price of Php 22,999 and a compelling set of preorder freebies, the HONOR 400 strikes gold as a competitive midrange phone that stands out with its array of AI features–notably its ability to transform photos into short videos with AI image-to-video generation using Google’s Veo 2. It may lose the telephoto camera from its predecessor, but the HONOR 400 makes up for it with a more compact design and a large 6000mAh battery inside.
POCO F7 is coming. POCO’s 2025 F series will be complete, as the F7 is comfirmed to launch globally–including the Philippines–on June 24. That’s literally a few days from writing this, and it looks to be an exciting flagship killer from POCO. The global version may only get a 6500mAh battery unlike the humongous 7550mAh cell found on he Indian version, but we’re more intrigued with its use of a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4. The POCO F7 will debut the said processor globally, and we can’t wait to see what kind of performance it offers.
