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AMD Surpasses Own 2014 Pledge To Make 25x Faster Laptop Chips

Six years ago, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) publicly pledged to spearhead the next major evolution in mobile processing, stating that it will improve mobile CPU speeds by a factor of 25 come 2020.

Six years later, the company not only delivered on that promise but actually surpassed it by a considerable margin, with its latest Ryzen 7 4800H CPU outperforming the original baseline approximately 31.7 times, as per AMD’s laboratory testing. Which still leaves plenty of wiggle room for this promise to have also been fulfilled in real-world usage scenarios. Most notably gaming, one of AMD’s core focus points since forever.

As expected, this achievement is largely based on AMD’s no-compromise commitment to techonological integration instead of a bling pursuit of clock speeds or some other arbitrary metric. This state of affairs is reflected in the fact that every new generation of AMD CPUIs isn’t just faster and more powerful, overall, but also significantly more energy-efficient.

Of course, it bears reminding that this R&D strategy is hardly unique to AMD.; its long-time rival, Intel, has been practicing pretty much the same philosophy since it became a serious player in the silicon industry. If anythiong, it would be impressive to consistently move to tinier process nodes without delivering both efficiency and processing prowess improvements.

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Samsung Removes Ads from Its Applications

Many people are annoyed by those pesky ads showing every time to open some (or better to say – most) applications. However, there is a difference in delivering them, so while some show from time to time, other applications show them each time we click something. Some users are so frustrated that they decide to delete the whole application! So Samsung, as one of the leaders in the global application market, decided to stop this practice.

Earlier this month, this company confirmed it would remove ads from its primary, pre-installed applications like Samsung Weather, Samsung Themes and Samsung Pay. This news came from South Korea, and for now, it is not exactly clear if this practice will take place only in this country or globally. Ads are supposed to be removed by One UI software updates, but it is still unknown if they will happen gradually or in the next big update.

Android operating system often pushes annoying ads after the user downloads some application from the Google Play application store, and sometimes overloaded web pages look even more messy and annoying. However, there are Android hacks that can help you remove those ads and let you wander through the wilderness of the Internet more freely and carelessly.

Later This Year

Many things are still not clear with this news, so the exact date. However, some information says everything will be ready by the end of the year. One source from Samsung stated for the newspapers: ‘Our priority is to deliver innovative mobile experiences for our consumers based on their needs and wants. We value feedback from our users and continue our commitment to provide them with the best possible experience from our Galaxy products and services. Therefore, the update will be ready by later this year.’

Enjoyable Experience

Since Samsung is one of the core players in the gadget market, its decisions can make a difference in our lives and influence other global players in this field. The company decided that users’ enjoyable experience is more valuable than the money earned from ads.

This change will be an excellent step for most of Samsung’s popular applications since it will make it much easier to use them. Nobody will have to make anything shady to get rid of ads or switch to other, similar applications with the same functionality. The phone’s essential apps will look clean and neat and will function well.

Win-win Option

This shocking announcement seems like a win-win option both for the company and its users. We have already noted what it will bring to users, but how will it help Samsung itself?! Even though this is still a huge company, things are not goldy as before. For example, Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has been eating a considerable part of Samsung’s business, and this brand has already pushed ads from most of their primary applications. Also, Samsung has already put a lot of effort into a more extended software update policy, meaning most of its gadgets should last longer, plus frequent security updates. The company decided to fight, and all this seems like an excellent way to go!

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Oculus Quest 2 System Apps Updated With 90Hz Support

Oculus began rolling out a new update to the Oculus Quest 2 firmware that enables a variety of new features, introduces some key changes, and fixes a bunch of other stuff at once.

At the front and center of this software upgrade is system-wide support for 90Hz refresh rates which should deliver a substantial improvement to the overall user experience associated with the VR headset. The gadget technically supported 90Hz rendering from day one, but that was not the case for all of its system apps such as Expore, Store, Browser, and Oculus TV.

In fact, Facebook’s subsidiary was rather coy in talking about this feature prior to the headset’s October release, so this is more like them making good on their original promise instead of introducing a completely new functionality to the Quest 2. Some of the games that support 90Hz VR displays include Superhot, Beat Saber, Job Simulator, Echo VR, Space Pirate Trainer, and Racket: NX.

More such titles are promised to follow in the very near future as developers are still scrambling to update their games with 90Hz support. In the meantime, Oculus Link has been updated to allow for switching across 72Hz, 80Hz, and 90Hz mode directly from your Windows PC, depending on the exact level of performance your rig allows for.

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Samsung Joins Google’s Android Enterprise Portfolio With Smartphones And Tablets Alike

Samsung has been holding out on Google’s Android Enterprise Recommended program for years, but it has finally agreed to join the said ecosystem with a wide array of both smartphones and tablets alike. The two companies announced the move in a prepared statement published just moments ago.

This is arguably the biggest expansion of the Android Enterprise Recommended initiative since its inception. As it covers pretty much every Galaxy-branded device that is running Android 11 or will be running Android 11 in the future. Some of those include the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, and the Galaxy XCover Pro 4, as well as higher-end tablets such as the Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7+.

For clarity, “Android 11” in the context of Samsung devices means One UI 3.0 and above, as that is how Samsung is calling its own implementation of what’s otherwise a largely (but not entirely) open-source operating system for mobile devices and IoT offerings. Following this expansion, enterprise customers will have even more options when it comes to choosing devices that they can deploy at a large scale in order to support their employees.

Meaning all of the aforementioned Samsung products will be managable using existing G Suite tools for administrators.

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Zepp Z Is A Stylish Smartwatch You Can Afford

Chinese digital health company Zepp announced several new wearables earlier today, with the star of its online product event being the Zepp Z, a sleek-looking smartwatch that punches way above its weight in terms of both functionality and design.

At $349.99, this device is advertised as a modern smartwatch that you can afford

With the focus of its user interface and capabilities being managing and keep track of one’s health in a convenient manner.

To do that, the Zepp Z will depend on your ability to pair it with a smartphone, but the good news is that it works with pretty much any such device that you are likely to be using as your daily driver. It features an always-on display that, paired with some of its first-party watchface designs, will make it a rather inconspicuous device that you can’t really tell apart from a traditional timepiece unless you know what you are looking for.

That’s largely due to its high-fidelity, 326ppi display capable of reproducing 100% of the NTSC wide-spectrum color gamut that can easily play the role of a mechanical watch. The device is already available for pre-orders as of today and will start shipping to U.S. customers by early December.

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Best Buy Prematurely Reveals DJI Mini 2 U.S. Release Date

In what appears to be another example of a retail listing gaffe, Best Buy appears to have revealed the U.S. release date for the much-anticipated DJI Mini 2 drone, a device that promises to offer a rather praiseworthy combination of form, function, and pricing.

According to a fresh pair of reports citing carefree Best Buy employees who are just trying to enjoy life and offer a stellar customer service in the process of doing so, the DJI Mini 2 is pegged to hit the United States next week. That fateful day is said to be the 4th of November, which falls on next Wednesday.

So, here you go: that is the all-but-guaranteed release date of the next mainstream remote aircraft from the industry’s long-term leader. The Chinese company has been mum on the subject of a new Mini drone being in the works, but given the amount of pretty official-looking press renders and screenshots of email correspondances with multiple super-forthcoming Best Buy reps, even if the DJI Mini 2 doesn’t end up launching next week, its official unveiling certainly appears to be imminent.

Which is understandable as despite the likely logistical issues DJI has been dealing with throughout 2020, much like every other consumer tech company on the planet, not putting out an attention-grabbing product in time for the shopping-intensive holiday season in the world’s largest market for premium gadgets – the U.S. – would constitute a pretty devastating end to the calendar year.

And that is really saying something this time around, so we have no doubt that DJI will do everything it can to launch the Mini 2 in the U.S. ASAP.

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New Canon AI Cameras Are So Sensitive To Light That We Suspect Alcoholism

Canon’s latest mirrorless flagship that costs nearly $4,000 – the EOS R5 – has a maximum native ISO sensitvity of 51,200. Not bad, right? Well, depending on your point of reference, as illustrated by the company’s newly announced range of artificial intelligence cameras optimized for recording footage in the absolute worst of all photography scenarios – those devoid of any significantly sizable light sources.

Enter the Canon ML-100 and the Canon ML-105 which aim to quite literally test the limits of physics with their ultra-sensitive CMOS sensors offering a bafflingly high level of sensitivity to light amounting to ISO 4,500,000. These impressive models, each available in configurations for two of Canon’s mounts for a total of four possible combinations, leverage machine learning algorithms with extremely photon-sensitive sensor cores in order to raise the bar in log-light photography.

Well, in a general sense of that word, mind you, as this kind of specialized hardware is naturally intended for industrial use alongside thermal imaging equipment and similar tech your average photography enthusiasts probably can’t afford while still maintaining ownership over any other property.

As such, it is no wonder that Canon isn’t publicizing any specific price tags to go alongside this military-grade equipment.

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Lenovo Amid First Ryzen 9 4900H Adopters With Legion Slim 7

Not long after AMD took the wraps off its Ryzen 9 4900H, mathematically the most powerful mobile central processing unit ever created, Chinese laptop maker Lenovo jumped on the first opportunity to leverage this impressive silicon.

In fact, it ended up being one of the first companies to do so. Which brings us to today’s announcement of the Legion Slim 7, Lenovo’s latest Windows 10 laptop catering specifically to aficionados of video games. Besides the powerful AMD processor in question, Lenovo’s newest ultrabook also features the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, a Max-Q design GPU allowing for real-time ray-tracing on the go.

Interestingly, the company opted against using the second-generation ray-tracing GPUs from NVIDIA which just got announced several weeks ago under the RTX 30 Series brand. That is most likely a result of recent shortages, however, and not an outright technological or product design decision.

Anyway, this 15-inch gaming powerhouse will be available for purchase in the United States in just a few days’ time, with its official release window being late October. It will start at approximately $1,369.99, according to Lenovo’s MSRP information, so better start saving if you’re hoping to pick up one of the top configurations, though this introductory price isn’t that steep relative to the competition.

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New Razer mouse boasts an 8,000Hz polling rate

Razer’s latest gaming mouse, the Viper 8KHz, will ping your PC 8,000 times per second in an effort to deliver a truly lag-free experience.

Is this a gimmick, or something that will make a real difference?

Razer’s patented HyperPolling Technology is what enables this level of control precision. At 8,000Hz, the Razer Viper 8KHz surpasses the response frequency of an average gaming mouse by a factor of eight. Razer claims this will translate to an eightfold improvement in terms of input delay, down to one-eighth of a millisecond (0.125ms). Granted, that might not make a huge difference at the Silver IV tier of CS: GO. But that shouldn’t matter, since the Viper 8KHz is targeted at the highest echelons of competitive gaming where even the smallest advantages can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

U.S. consumers can already purchase the Razer Viper 8KHz – either directly from the company or one of its authorized resellers. The cutting-edge gaming mouse is priced at $79.99. You’ll be able to fine-tune its performance and RGB profiles via the Razer Synapse 3 app, as is the case with every other contemporary Razer peripheral. Assuming this product launch is a success, the Viper 8KHz likely won’t be the last mouse with HyperPolling support that Razer releases.

Source: Razer.com

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Unity Ditches OpenVR Support In Surprising Snub To Valve

One of today’s most popular game engines, Unity, is ditching support for OpenVR in a surprising snub to Steam creators at Valve. The company announced the move earlier today, clarifying that it will also be ending support for Samsung’s GearVR and Google’s Daydream virtual reality platform as part of the same decision aimed at improving its operating efficiency.

Valve already confirmed it is working on a replacement for Unity’s lack of official support for its platform that wasn’t expected to affect OpenVR seeing how that particular technology ecosystem is still in active development and hasn’t been effectively abandoned by its creators like Daydream and GearVR were. For reference, OpenVR is the same technology that powers SteamVR, one of today’s most widely used VR APIs and a direct rival of Facebook’s Oculus solutions.

The decision appears to have been rooted in technical reasons, however, as Unity has so far offered support for the aforementioned VR systems through a plugin system that has since been abandoned in favor of more universal support for extended reality headgear. None of the older tech really fits the bill and so Unity Technologies is pulling the plug on them altogether, leaving Valve to figure out how to extend the support moving forward.

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Google’s Tilt Brush Just Got Ported To PS VR

Tilt Brush, Google’s award-winning tool for creating works of art in a virtually real environment, is finally available on the PlayStation VR platform – and PS4, by extent – as of today. Google and PlayStation said this port is something fans of both companies have been clamoring for years.

They did not, however, reveal what made them finally pull the plug on the porting project right now, i.e. why haven’t they done so much sooner. Regardless, Tilt Brush is now here for everyone to download and enjoy for a one-time fee of $22.99. This is the same price attached to the PC version of the app. And in case you don’t have a PSVR setup ready to go, then a new PS Move Motion Controller Two-Pack & Tilt Brush Bundle are here to facilitate your entry point into the world of VR art.

Furthermore, if the PC platform is anything to go by, expect Tilt Brush to be regularly available on the PS Store at a discount. Apart from a PSVR headset and two PS Move motion controllers, the app also requires a PS Camera, and a PS4 console, ideally the PS4 Pro in order to function properly, though it should also be supported by the upcoming PS5.

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GoPro HERO9 Black Debuts As The Cheapest Mainstream 5K Camera In The U.S.

GoPro today unveiled the HERO9 Black, which is the stylized name associated with its latest action camera; one that is debuting as the convincingly most affordable mainstream option for 5K video capture for virtually every consumer demographic in the United States.

Of course, this is still a device designed primarily for recording extreme sports and other such adrenaline-filled situations, yet at $499 and given its newly improved stabilization features and new lens modules, it certainly looks like a tempting proposition for even much tamer circumstances.

GoPro, for its part, appears to have gotten this year’s messaging spot-on, as the HERO9 Black is advertised alongside a memorable tagline promising “more of everything.” And it is pretty straightforward to see what exactly its marketing was going for, which is more than what could have been said of many past GoPro product launches, so we are more than eager to give credit where it is due right now.

If you happen to be a GoPro subscriber, you can even slash off an extra $100 off the HERO9 Black price, the company confirmed. Both GoPro and its nationwide distributors are now accepting HERO9 Black orders, though it may be a few more weeks until the entirety of the new camera’s accompanying lens portfolio also makes its way to the market.

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LG K92 Lands In The U.S., Offering Affordable 5G

LG’s latest Android smartphone, simply called the LG K92, is available to buy in the United States starting from today. Its very name already reveals its mid-range ambitions, but no single model number can do justice to the value proposition LG has in store for us this fall.

Namely, the K92 retails at only $359, thus being one of the cheapest avenues toward the fifth generation of mobile networks currently available stateside. The only device that seemingly outclasses it in terms of pricing is the Galaxy A51 5G released by its largest domestic and global rival Samsung. But that particular handset is a decisively entry-level contraption and, therefore, one that is just as likely to frustrate tech aficionados as impress them with 5G.

The LG K92, on the other hand, uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 690 SoC, which is a known quantity only a step below the Pixel 4a 5G, LG’s closest 5G-ready mid-range competitor which is about $150 more expensive to acquire right now.

Combined with 128GB of flash storage, 6GB of RAM, a 4,000mAh battery with Quick Charge 4.0, and a quad-camera setup centered around a 64-megapixel sensor, the LG K92 should make for a truly great 5G-enabled gift this holiday season.

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Global smartphone chip shortage is imminent, Qualcomm warns

A global smartphone chip shortage is imminent but will hopefully be resolved come summer, industry giant Qualcomm warned as part of its latest quarterly earnings report.

Which manufacturers are most at risk?

In other words, the effects of all of the unexpected logistical challenges arising from 2020 are still going strong. And despite its undisputed status as an industry leader in terms of both turnover and volume of high-end chipsets, Qualcomm anticipates the incoming shortage will affect it as much as anyone. Not least because it still depends on foundry businesses from TSMC and Samsung to manufacture its acclaimed system-on-chip designs for mobile devices. Ultimately, smaller smartphone players such as Sony and OnePlus might be the most affected by the shortage. As their chip orders weren’t a priority, to begin with. Ditto for LG, which was reportedly pondering exiting the smartphone market completely even before supply issues over key components seemed as certain as they do now.

Lost business is lost business, however, which is a large part of the reason why the mood at Qualcomm is far from celebratory, even as it just reported a massive 62% revenue increase over the final three months of 2020. In total, Qualcomm generated in excess of $8.2 billion, with approximately $2.45 billion in profit. The latter figure is even more impressive as it illustrates how Qualcomm managed to keep bolstering its profit margins in an aggressive fashion. The chip giant attributed this achievement to strong momentum in the 5G segment that smartphone manufacturers were rather eager to embrace in recent times. As for this year’s chip shortage, San Diego said anticipates things to return to normal in the second half of the year.

Source: Qualcomm.com

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Qulacomm Unveils Next-Gen Reference Design For Wireless Earbuds

Qualcomm is hoping to facilitate the adoption of its latest and greatest wireless audio technologies with its newest reference design for one such product, called the QCC5141. That name does not exactly roll off the tongue, but it isn’t meant to, anyway, this is something aimed at consumer electronics manufacturers and not the mainstream market.

That does make it a good look at the future of such products, however. Almost three out of four U.S. consumers want to be completely free of wires when it comes to audio, according to recent market data, and that is what Qualcomm is trying to promote with its newest wireless technologies such as the FastConnect system announced earlier this year.

The QCC5141 reference design is based on the company’s new Bluetooth audio system-on-chip of the same name which is meant to be both the brains and the storage of modern wireless audio solutions as small as earbuds in the vein of the AirPods and Galaxy Buds from Apple and Samsung, respectively.

Though it is still too early to say who will be making use of the said SoC from Qualcomm as the company still isn’t naming any names for the time being. That should change come spring, however.

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Huawei Introduces New Wearables, High-End MateBook Laptops

“Huawei Seamless AI Life New Products Global Launch” is the elegant name of today’s online event that the Chinese company used to announce its fall 2020 lineup of consumer electronics.

The new products include two wireless audio solutions, a pair of wearables, and another couple of high-end Windows laptops from the MateBook family. The lattermost category consists of the MateBook 14 and the MateBook X, both of which feature largely bezel-free designs and pretty sizable trackpads for maximum comfort.

Then there are the Huawei FreeLace Pro wireless (but wired to each other) earbuds designed for workouts like running, as well as the more stylish FreeBuds Pro, a pretty obvious rival to Apple’s AirPods Pro. Finally, the new wrist-worn wearables are similarly divided into one that is more closely targeted toward athletes in the Huawei Watch Fit, and another general-purpose fashion statement with a chop in the form of the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro.

With today’s announcement out of the way, Huawei is almost done with high-profile product launches for this year. The only remaining range of devices that it is yet expected to announced before 2020 comes to a close is the Mate 20 series of Android flagships. Those traditionally launch in the second half of October, so more details on the matter will probably follow very soon.

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Facebook books Snoop Dogg for Venues on Oculus Quest

Snoop Dogg, aka DJ Snoopadelic, is preparing a virtual performance for the “Venues on Oculus Quest” app.

Can a VR concert be anything like the real thing?

The famous musician teamed up with Tidal and Facebook’s virtual reality unit for this upcoming – and unconventional – performance. The announcement came earlier this week that we’ll get the chance to experience first-hand the event, taking place on February 19th, at 6 pm PT in Venus on Oculus Quest. The famous rapper will spin funk, hip-hop, and R&B records and perform some of his most famous hits. This happening is part of Oculus’ Made By collection that is focusing on the Black creatives and experiences during Black History Month. Fans will have a spot on experience since they’ll be able to interact with each other – as they would during a live performance – in the Venues lobby before, after, and during the event.

This is the second of six-concert series. The first one featured English singer-songwriter, electro-pop star Charlie XCX on October 9th last year, and it was quite a performance. In case you’ve missed it, or won’t be able to attend the new gig, you can watch the best moments later on Oculus TV and Venues.

Source: Oculus.com

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Affordable AR prescription eyewear becoming a reality this spring

Luxexcel and WaveOptics created consumer smartglasses that combine a 3D-printed prescription lens, a waveguide, and a projector.

But how will they look?

As many glass wearers know, there’s only so much of AR you can enjoy the higher your prescription goes. But Luxexcel, a tech company specializing in 3D printed prescription lenses, and WaveOptics, designer of waveguides and light engines, announced last week the showcase of their AR prescription smartglasses. Glasses integrate three important elements of AR: an encapsulated waveguide, in the curved body of a 3D printed prescription lens, and a projector. With the waveguide being completely flat, the images are fairly high-fidelity-looking, and thanks to the 3D printed structure, the projector offers perfect alignment in an optical module. Knowing that almost 70% of adults today need eyewear, this news will definitely intrigue many. Smartglasses are supposedly compact and robust enough for real-world usage, yet the provided waveguide is thin and lightweight, making it comfortable to wear.

Besides glasses being comfortable, they’ll also look fashionable, so consumers will have a chance to proudly show off their new eyewear. Smartglasses will debut at the SPIE. AR, VR, MR conference on March 18th, 2021, while the prototype samples will be available in Q2 2021.

Source: Luxexcel.com

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Razer Blade 17 Gaming Notebook Launches In The U.S.

The Razer Blade 17 is how Razer is calling its latest high-performance Windows laptop, officially unveiled for the United States earlier today. This is a new edition of the most popular laptop lineup from Razer to date, which refers to the 17-inch display category.

As that tends to be the most popular combination of screen real estate and portability among consumers interested in no-compromise ultrabooks, highly compact computers that are still suitable for carrying around without much effort. The Razer Blade 17 uses Intel’s 8-core i7 processor line up to the 10th-generation i7-10875H CPU.

It pairs this processor powerhouse with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super graphics card in its most expensive configuration, as well as a 17.3-inch display offering an insane, 300Hz refresh rate, also courtesy of the said NVIDIA tech. Of course, don’t expect a 300Hz refresh rate from any 4K mode, but 4K 120Hz functionality isn’t anything to scoff at – we are still talking about a laptop, after all.

Now, for the worst part – the fact that this thing, in all its high-tech glory, will indeed cost an arm and a leg to acquire. Razer already confirmed U.S. pricing starts at $2,599.99, and that is before any sales tax you might be required to pay.

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ASUS Unveils Two Slim Powerhouses In U.S.-Bound M415, M515

ASUS has taken the wraps off a pair of new slim ultrabooks in the form of the M415 and M515, both of which are bound for the United States and Canada in the coming weeks. The duo primarily differs by screen real estate as the ASUS M415 offers several 14-inch LED configurations, whereas the ASUS M515 is equipped with a more traditional 15..6-LED panel.

Both boast screen-to-body ratios just short of 85% and support for resolutions up to 1080p. While the default configurations will be sold with one of several available Windows 10 versions, ASUS also intends to do a limited release of Windows-less M415 and M515 models which will run one of today’s most bizarre Linux distros in wide circulation called Endless OS. Both notebooks will be offered with AMD Radeon Graphics GPUs in either the RX Vega 8 or the more higher-end RX Vega 10, though ASUS is also working on one entry-level variant without a dedicated graphics for each form factor.

The 14-inch M415 weighs approximately 1.5kg (3.3 Ibs) in total, which makes it one of the most portable workstations at this performance level money will soon be able to buy. Speaking of which, a concrete release date with specification options and detailed pricing structure are all expected to be publicized by ASUS before the end of the year.

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Apple overtakes Samsung in Q4 2020 smartphone sales

There’s no doubt 2020 took a heavy toll on the smartphone industry, but it seems nobody notified Apple about that ordeal, a new IDC report suggests.

Does Apple have a non-zero chance to retain this lead in Q1 2021?

The analytics firm estimates the global smartphone market shrunk 5.9% year-over-year, dropping by about 80 million device shipments to 1.29 billion. At the same time, Apple moved 15 million smartphones more than in 2019, shipping 206 million units in total. That’s a 7.9% improvement largely fueled by the iPhone 12 which allowed Apple to easily overtake Samsung in Q4 shipment volumes, as the figures attached herein illustrate. In the meantime, Samsung’s mobile businesses declined at a much faster rate, losing out on around 29 million product sales, or 9.8% annually. Note that for the purposes of IDC’s report, the term “shipments” is used interchangeably with branded sales. Meaning it doesn’t denote the actual, physical movement of inventory between manufacturers and their distribution chains.

It goes without saying that Apple’s fourth-quarter lead is all but guaranteed to dissipate during the opening three months of 2021. Primarily because the Cupertino-based tech giant isn’t putting out any high-margin smartphones in the coming weeks. Whereas Samsung will be kicking off this year’s flagship race in under 24 hours, seeing how the Galaxy S21 series is scheduled to go on sale tomorrow – both in the U.S. and abroad.

Source: IDC.com

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HMD Pledges To Bring More 5G Nokia Smartphones To The U.S.

HMD Global will start bringing a proportionally larger volume of its new Nokia smartphone models to the United States, the company announced in a prepared statement issued just earlier in the day. The main focus point of the partnership will be 5G. That is to day: 5G smartphones, something HMD’s R&D department has been working on quite intensively in recent years.

The company itself revived the Nokia Mobile brand in 2017 after former owner Microsoft exited the investment. But up until now, it hasn’t released that many devices in the U.S. At least not officially, though importing them was never too big of a challenge seeing how many EU retailers are still more than happy to ship internationally via Amazon.

Either way, it would appear at least half a dozen or more Nokia Android smartphones compatible with 5G networks will be releasing stateside in the immediate future. To that end, the company just secured a massive $230 million investment from major tech industry names such as Google and Qualcomm. The Finnish Nokia also participated in the round, HMD said in today’s press release.

Moving forward, the company will try to establish a relationship with wireless carriers across the country instead of just selling unlocked units via Amazon and similar storefronts.

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Concrete Jungle Where EVs Are Made Of: NYC Cabs Now Include Tesla Model 3s

Your daily reminder that there is nothing quite like the Big Apple anywhere else in the world is here, this time in the form of reports detailing the very first sightings of Tesla Model 3s strolling around the streets of New York City while sporting a metallic finish in a rather familiar-looking yellow hue.

Namely, it would appear we have our very first Tesla owners among NYC cabbies. At a base price of just under $40,000 and with little in the way of electricity consumption costs to speak of, the Model 3 certainly doesn’t appear to be the worst choice of a taxi vehicle intended to crawl through the ever-crowded streets of the Concrete Jungle.

Then again, with Tesla’s Model 3 waiting list not getting any shorter this year, not to mention the relative lack of tourist activity, the timing of this sighting is at least slightly befuddling. Especially since the good ol’ Internet is already rife with calculations showing how a Model Y and even a Model X are a better overall choice for a taxi vehicle.

Ultimately, however, the first NYC cabbie driving a Model 3 was probably waiting for their EV since last year and was angling for this very head-turning factor that we happen to be admiring at this very moment. With that said, the possibility of this sighting being the beginning of a wider near-term trend is dubious at best and frivolous if we are being real.

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Microsoft announces the Xbox Series X|S Wireless Headset

Microsoft announced its first-party accessory for the Xbox Series X|S that didn’t come out the same time as the console.

How much will this pricier gaming segment headset cost?

Surprising the whole industry (by keeping this a secret up until now), Microsoft announced yesterday the release of its Xbox Wireless Headset. This could present the start of the second wave of Microsoft’s accessories for the new generation of Xbox, and the pre-orders are already opened. The headset will cost $99 USD, and it will be available on February 16. Although Xbox Series X|S consoles attracted much attention and recorded market shortage, the same issue isn’t expected when it comes to accessories.

Microsoft, on the other hand, shouldn’t lose its sleep worrying about the sales of the newest headset, since its gadgets are quite valued on the market. Microsoft learned its job on the surface line – first with tablets/hybrids, then with everything else, including headphones. Xbox Wireless Headset can reach up to 15 hours of battery life and has dual beamforming microphone elements thanks to which it focuses on the speech audio and not the surrounding sound. It connects to mobile devices via Bluetooth 4.2 and offers support for almost all relevant 3D sound technologies.

Source: Xbox.com

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10th-Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK Is World’s Fastest Laptop CPU

Santa Clara, California-based silicon giant Intel today announced a new member of its high-end mobile processor series. Based on the 10th generation of the company’s proprietary chip designs, the Intel Core i9-10980HK is debuting with a claim of being the fastest portable central processing unit in the world.

“Portable,” in this instance, means one intended to be used in battery-powered devices such as laptops, ultrabooks, notebooks, and whatever other buzzword for describing those you can think of. Compared to the previous generation of Intel’s mobile CPUs, the i9-10980HK promises up to 54% more frames per second during 3D games rendering, almost as high of an overall, system-wide improvement to performance, including both processing power and energy efficiency, and up to twice as fast exporting and rendering of video projects in 4K resolutions.

These enchancements are made possible thanks to a record 5.3GHz Turbo functionality covering all eight cores of the i9-10980HK. The CPU also comes with 16 threads, a whopping 16MB cache system enhanced with AI management algorithms, Wi-Fi 6 AX201 support that can potentially nearly triple the speed of your downloads, and Thunderbolt 3 support. Expect the Intel Core i9-10980HK to start debuting in gaming-oriented Windows laptops and workstations in the coming months.

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Latest GoPro Filmmaking Light Is So Omnipotent It’s Called Zeus

A product named after an ancient deity, one meant to rule every other ancient deity, at that, certainly does not lack in confidence or subtlety. Which is kind of par for the course whenever GoPro is concerned, for better or worse. Though, to be frank, this newly unveiled product, announced by GoPro earlier today, at least appears to be a decently priced offering catering to a wide variety of filmmakers.

Naturally, with a special focus being given to extreme sports photographers, videographers, and other such adrenaline junkies because that is what this brand is all about. And while extreme biking and similar activities are hardly scenarios in which you can afford to play with lighting to a significant extent, the Zeus Mini is hoping to change that.

Between its magnetic swivel clip capable of attaching to stuff that is hopefully securely attached to a given camera person, support for the signature GoPro Light Mod, hands-free operation support, and certified resistance to the elements, this product promises to be the best possible camera light you could take biking in the mountains.

Disclaimer: we are still not entirely convinced doing so is a good idea in the first place, but GoPro’s gonna GoPro – less it goes broke, no?

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Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition is out

In addition to announcing its second-generation foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 2, Samsung today also took the wraps off a very limited and equally special edition of the same gadget. It is called the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition and promises to pair the curious form factor with top-line specs and a lot of style.

The latter part of that promise is something Samsung appears to be taking quite seriously as the outside of this device has been designed by the popular American fashion brand. As you might suspect, it is quite a pricey affair as a result of that product decision. More specifically, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition will set you back $3,299, not counting any applicable sales tax in the United States that differs on a per-state basis.

That is quite a financial commitment that Samsung will be asking of some of its most hardcore fans this fall, which is when the Galaxy Z Fold 2 Thom Browne Edition is scheduled to hit the market in extremely limited quantities.

On the bright side, this is more of a bundle than a single product that is on offer here, as picking one up will also net you an equally custom-designed Galaxy Buds Live, as well as a Thom Browne-customized Galaxy Watch 3, in addition to a very special smartphone case, smartwatch band, and earbuds case to go along with your high-end gadgets.

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Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom In Development For Apple’s New M1 Mac CPUs

Adobe is already in the process of porting arguably its two biggest commercial software staples – Photoshop and Lightroom – to Apple’s newly launched M1 CPUs, i.e. Macs utilizing the said silicon. That is the gist of what the Cupertino company and its partners at Adobe announced earlier today.

The right data and proper benchmarks are still missing

This news should alleviate some recent concerns about the first-generation M1 processors which Apple itself prompted by avoiding in-depth disclosures of technical information. The partial specs sheets available right now are not nearly enough to paint the entire picture about the M1 family as individual metrics such as per-core operating frequencies and process nodes are not suitable for comparing entirely different CPU architectures.

The confusion was even greater once Apple announced it will be prioritizing the lowest-end Mac configurations with its initial M1 production run.

Today’s announcement from Adobe at the very least confirms these chips will be able to hold their own when tasked with tackling professionač photography workflows.

Modern video editing software may not be in the same boat, however. Adobe’s first M1 port is scheduled to hit the Mac Store at some point next month. The app in question is Lightroom, whereas Photoshop is currently planned to make its own M1 jump in the first quarter of 2021.

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Dell G5 15 Embraces Most Powerful AMD CPU To Date

Dell had enough of waiting around this year and is now jumping on board of the latest hype train originating from AMD’s Santa Clara HQ. If that does not make sense, we are talking about the Ryzen 9 4900H, AMD’s latest flagship processor based on the company’s proprietary Zen 2 architecture, also known by its French-sounding codename “Renoir.”

Announced back in Spring, AMD’s latest CPU line hasn’t been making that many adoption waves ever since, but not due to a lack of awesomeness. Instead, the ongoing economic instability hit premium electronics supply chains harder than most, leaving the American processor manufacturer without as many orders as it would have won in a regular year.

Here to alleviate some of those issues is the Dell G5 15 Special Edition, a newly launched family of gaming laptops equipped with the very same pioneering CPU that has been devouring pretty much the entire Intel 2020 lineup, including cloud-oriented scientific microprocessors.

And if paying north of $1,300 for a laptop isn’t on your holiday to-do list, you will be pleased to know that this newly introduced lineup also offers more affordable configurations equipped with only slightly less imposing Ryzen 9 4600H and 4800H CPUs. The entire Dell G5 15 Special Edition range will be available to buy across the U.S. by the end of the week, starting at $879.99.

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U.S.-Bound Nreal Light Is The Most Stylish Pair Of AR Glasses Yet

It took a while for Nreal to find its feet following its impressive debut at CES 2020 back in January. Which is hardly something to hold against the augmented reality startup seeing how even much more experienced companies have been tripping over themselves for the majority of this wild rollercoaster of a year.

Thankfully, the company’s first commercial product, a pair of AR glasses simply called the Light, is now on the verge of releasing in a number of major markets, including the United States. Before coming to North America, however, the headset will debut much closer to Nreal’s HQ in Beijing, China.

As the gadget will first be releasing in South Korea on the 21st of August. The consumer version of the futuristic device will then arrive to the U.S. on the very last day of August, priced at $499. There is also another, enterprise-focused model that’s in the works, though that one will set its corporate owners back $1,200 a piece.

Either way, the Nreal Light looks like a legitimate contender for the title of the most stylish-looking pair of AR glasses (or AR-anything, really) to date. Though its functionality is as dubious as that of any other AR gadget we have seen so far, this thing at the very least looks impeccable. To the point we’d have no trouble believing this was an Apple product if we didn’t know better.

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Nikon D6 DSLR Now Available To Buy In The U.S.

The Nikon D6 is very likely to be the final truly flagship, hardcore DSLR camera from the Japanese company. As mirrorless cameras are already close to matching DSLRs in the rare few remaining segments in which they haven’t already done so or even surpassed them. But in the meantime, this one last absolute unit of a camera is now available for purchase throughout the United States and Canada, Nikon had announced in a prepared statement circulated earlier in the morning.

The recommended retail pricing of the Nikon D6 remains unchanged

Sitting at an imposing $6,499.95. That’s a body-only figure, mind you. Though no one who might actually need one of these bad boys will be surprised to learn that Nikon has not even bothered coming up with anything resembling a starter pack for the D6.

The body will hence retail on its own for the time being, as buying one also means you’re the kind of photographer who wouldn’t use any lens with a mention a dreaded “kit” in its name for anything besides perhaps putting it out of its mysery by gouging out its crippled insides and repurposing the remaining outer shell into a hot beverage canister. So, yeah, the Nikon D6 means business.

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Apple iPad Pro (2020) Models Announced, U.S. Pre-Orders Already Live

Apple’s iPad Pro lineuip is scheduled for an immediate refresh as the company today announced the 2020 variants of the 12.9-inch and 11-inch iPad Pro tablets. This happens to be the fourth generation of the former and second generation of the latter, so do not let that confused you if you end up shopping for a new general-purpose iOS slate this holiday season.

In terms of specs, the iPad Pro (2020) range utilizes the Bionic A12Z chipset from Apple and starts at 128GB of storage. Its RAM capacities will have to wait for unofficial teardowns, as is always the case with Apple’s new mobile products. On the other hand, there’s an actual LiDAR on offer inside both of these devices now, together with Face ID and optional cellular connectivity, albeit without 5G support.

The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 or $949 for the Wi-Fi model, whereas the 12.9-inch iPad Pro retails at $1,149 for the cellular version or a dollar below $1,000 if you can make do without mobile networks. Both can be pre-ordered across the United States as of this very moment, with Apple promising to start fulfilling the first shipments as quickly as the following week.

There’s a new Magic Keyboard with a trackpad (at last) on offer as well, but that accessory won’t be releasing for a few more months due to unspecified reasons.

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Nikon’s New 50mm f/1.2 Prime Is A Z Mount Monster

Nikon has a new nifty-fifty and it’s about as monstrous as you’d expect, with a steep price tag to match its promise of unprecedented performance. Called the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S, this bundle of glass, metal, and transistors is meant to be used with Nikon’s modern full-frame mirrorless cameras, as that Z mount reference in its name suggests.

This is one of the fastest primers – and hence lenses, in general – Nikon ever released and its extremely bright aperture rating also means it will bend light in such beautiful ways that it will absolutely spoil you in terms of bokeh expectations.

Seriously, expect some truly dreamy results with this thing. But don’t worry about not being able to snap back to reality, that’s what the price tag attached to the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 is for. As its MSRP is set at about $2,099.99 and it may end up being even higher in the near term given how severe shortages are basically a given, what with everything that’s been happening this year and the fact this is an extremely niche product in terms of its target demographic.

With that said, the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S should become available for purchase in the U.S. over the next few weeks.

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Iron Man VR To Include PSVR-PS5 Adapters

The numerous delays of Iron Man VR led to a situation in which many gamers who pre-ordered the much-anticipated release will only get to experience it on the next generation of Sony’s gaming consoles.

Unfortunately, the PlayStation VR headset won’t work natively with the PlayStation 5 console, or better said, it will require an adapter in order to communicate with the new PlayStation Camera.

Sony has now confirmed that this inconvenience will not affect players who already made the switch or will make the switch by the time Iron Man VR is finally released. As the Iron Man VR bundled, advertised as an entry point into the world of VR entertainment, will be shipping with these adapters in the U.S. and Canada. Which makes it the first such VR bundle to be confirmed outside of Japan.

The adapter in question still doesn’t have an official price tag, but hopefully won’t end up being too pricey to acquire. As everyone just assumed PSVR will work on the PS5 without any additional investments. And Sony itself hinted at this being the case on numerous occasions before revealing otherwise.

As for Iron Man VR, the bundle in question now retails at $350 and will most likely have its price slashed even further by this year’s holiday season.

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Sony Launches New Camera Grip And Wireless Speaker In The U.S.

You know your tech means business when its very name says “serious.” Or something close to that. Anyway, the Sony SRS-WS1 Immersive Wearable Speaker is now widely available for purchase the United States following a brief period of limited retail availability in December.

It is joined by the GP-VPT2BT, a new portable camera grip designed for a wide variety of filmmaking scenarios Sony made the announcement earlier today, noting that both devices are targeting cinema aficionados and customers with a vested interest in powering highly immersive entertainment experiences. The WS1 is quite literally a speaker that you are supposed to wear.

On your shoulders, to be exact

Doing so will provide you with a level of surround audio Sony says cannot be emulated using any other more convenient audio setup. Naturally, this is the type of tech that is just ripe for being outclassed by something much smaller and convenient further down the road, but that future may not be as close as one might have wanted.

In the meantime, the SRS-WS1 will set you back $299.99 plus applicable sales tax. Whereas the GP-VPT2BT camera grip has an MSRP of $140 and will be available for purchase from all of the company’s stateside distributors by the end of January.

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Extended Reality Entertainment Is Already A $6.7 Billion Industry

The extended reality market which includes both augmented reality and virtual reality technologies and associated content is already a $6.7 billion industry. In other words, that is how much it is expected to generate in revenue for 2020 alone, as per a new report coming out of imarket analytics company SuperData.

Which is a lot, but still falls short of the company’s original assessment for the global XR market, which pegged the industry to pull nearly $7 billion across the entirety of this year. Following the latest forecast revision, BigData projects the industry will nearly double over the course of the next two years, growing to $11.3 billion in annual revenue by 2023.

The main reason behind the $200 million correction is the lukewarm market reaction to the Oculus Quest 2 headset from Facebook which just released in the U.S. and abroad last month and was originally expected to be a much larger contributor to the yearly XR revenue report than it ended up being.

As for the near future, AR is expected to finally generate some additional momentum relative to its sister technology. And the lockdown we have been enduring throughout this year have, naturally, played a large part in the increase in AR and VR usage since people have been spending a lot more time at home than usual.

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Microsoft Introduces Holiday 2020 Lineup Of Surface Devices

Microsoft today announced a new lineup of Surface devices, having done so just ahead of the holiday season. That timing is notable because there’s hardly a better period of the year for trying to sell any product, least of all a luxury good, and especially in a first-world country like the U.S.

Enter Surface Laptop Go, the new addition to the Surface family that has the most potential to do well in the coming weeks, sales-wise. As you might suspect, that’s because we are not looking at a $2,000 device that this series isn’t short of.

Instead, the Surface Laptop Go is meant to offer an optimal combination of price and performance, having been designed as a capable and well-rounded mid-ranger that starts at $549.99. Which is a pretty commendable price point, especially since Microsoft is (obviously) selling this thing with Windows 10 pre-installed.

If you expect a somewhat more demanding audience, however, a second-generation Surface Pro X is also part of today’s announcement and can already be ordered directly from Microsoft, starting at $1499.99. Additionally, some half a dozen first-party Surface accessories are also being introduced today, led by the Microsoft Designer Compact Keyboard and 4K Wireless Display Adapter, going for $69.99 each.

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HP Continues Cord-Cutting With New Omen Gaming Peripherals

Hewlett Packard appears to be planning to end the summer on a high note, as the iconic computer manufacturer today announced a an entire array of new PC gaming peripherals, the majority of which appear to have been designed around the concept of cord-cutting. Not in the sense of ditching cable TV but literal cables traditionally used by mice, keyboards, headphones, etc.

This new wave of product announcements all boasts support for Warp Wireless, which is how HP is calling its cord-less platform designed for freedom of movement and a clean aesthetic. Of course, wireless gadgets are hardly a novelty and HP itself has been releasing such devices for years by now, at least on a smaller scale.

Lately, however, the company feels the tech, including its own proprietary Warp Wireless standard, became good enough to warrant a more serious foray into the world of cordless experiences, whether in the context of casual gaming or even competitive esports. To that effect, HP is hoping to intrigue you this fall with devices like the OMEN Spacer Wireless TLK Keyboard, Omen Vector Wireless Mouse, and the OMEN Frequency Wireless Headset.

All three will be hitting the U.S. market in the weeks ahead, starting at $99 for the mouse and going up to $169 for the said headset (or $10 less for the keyboard).

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Logitech Z407 Bluetooth Speakers Aim To Be This Year’s Universal Holiday Tech Gift

Computer peripheral manufacturer Logitech has a few more aces up its sleeve before this year’s holiday season is upon us, with its latest such offering coming in the form of the Z407, a portable Bluetooth surround setup including two speakers and a subwoofer that appears to have figured out that optimal balance of quality, practicality, and competitive pricing.

Those three factors combined will be making it a rather formidable gadget gift to beat this holiday season. Which is a prediction that we are largely basing off of the pricing of the Logitech Z407, seeing how this sleek miniature surround system will be hitting the United States next Friday, October 23rd, with a $79.99 MSRP. Right?

Decent-looking enough not to look like you cheaped out

And versatile enough to be appreciated by everyone from kids to grandmas. A 3.5mm headphone jack, a separate wireless control dial, and Bluetooth 5.0 support are all part of this system, as per the official specs sheet. Logitech definitely knows what it’s doing with the Z407.

This cute speaker set certainly won’t be winning any excellence awards in the near future, but that’s alright, because Logitech has other product lines designed to scoop up awards. This thing, though? This thing is here to sell – hard.

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Lenovo’s tablet business exploded in 2020, growing by 120%

While most electronics manufacturers struggled throughout 2020, Lenovo had quite a remarkable showing in the tablet segment, ultimately growing its market presence by 120% annually.

What’s the secret to Lenovo’s explosive growth?

According to a new report from Strategy Analytics, the Chinese tech giant expanded its tablet operations by as much as the three largest players did, combined. And just for clarity, the said trio also happens to consist of the only three tablet manufacturers that are still larger than Lenovo in terms of both shipments and revenues. Those would be Apple, Samsung, and Amazon, in that order. As things stand right now, Amazon won’t remain ahead of Lenovo much longer, however. Granted, the Kindle family did fairly well last year, accounting for over 17 million shipments, nearly 2 million more than in 2019. And yet that improvement seems minuscule compared to Lenovo’s jump from 8.5 million tablet shipments in 2019 to 14 million devices last year.

Strategy Analytics believes portfolio variety was a massive factor contributing to this achievement. Lenovo is pretty unique in this regard, seeing how it’s equally eager to keep making high-end Windows hybrids, intelligent displays with smart assistants like the Yoga Smart Tab (pictured above), and traditional Android-powered slates hoping to rival the iPad.

Source: StrategyAnalytics.com

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Meet Canon EOS M50 Mark II, YouTube’s New Favorite Camera

The EOS M50 Mark II may be a lot of things, but insecure definitely isn’t one of them. Because Canon’s newest mirrorless camera is unapologetically obsessed with catering to the needs of a modern YouTube creator.

Luckily for the Japanese imaging giant, there is no shortage of those folks in this day and age. And much like the original EOS M50, this gadget offers an extremely affordable entry point into the world of enthusiast photography that won’t take long to show you why exactly does a dedicated camera make sense over just using a smartphone.

Starting at $599.99 for just the body or $699.99 for a combo with an ordinary EF-M 15-45mm zoom kit (which you should probably avoid, to be honest, even if only to purchase a used 50mm f/1.4), the EOS M50 Mark II both looks and acts the part. Which is to be a reliable partner to an up-and-coming content creator or anyone dreaming of becoming one, which can be a crucial first step toward stardom.

And whenever you feel like you have graduated from Canon’s EF-M mount, both the EOS M50 Mk2 and all of its native lenses should retain enough value to give you a nice boost while you’re getting into the real-real thing, even if the next step happens to be in the direction of full-frame DSLRs, which some might argue are a sidegrade by now.

Either way, expect this promising shooter to release in the United States in late November.

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Meta to Cut 13% of its Workforce

Meta, the owner of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, has announced to lay off 13% of its employees. Over 87,000 people will lose their jobs in the firm’s first mass lay-offs. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, describes these layoffs as the most difficult changes in the firm’s history. The news came after Twitter announced cutting about half of its staff.

“I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted,” Zuckerberg wrote in a statement.

Zuckerberg said that many people, including himself, had predicted constant acceleration after the unprecedented increase in the firm’s revenue during the pandemic and therefore, decided to up the investment.

He said that he takes full responsibility for getting it all wrong. He explained how increased competition and the macroeconomic downturn caused a monumental decrease in revenue.

Zuckerberg informed hundreds of Meta executives of this big decision on Tuesday, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Employees who have been laid off will be notified via emails and will get the opportunity to ask questions about the decision.

Employees working in the U.S. will get redundancy payments for 16 weeks plus a week for every year they have been with Meta. They’ll also get additional benefits, including continuance of family health insurance for six months.

Non-U.S. employees will receive similar support. The redundancy process, however, will vary depending on local employment laws.

Facebook Ireland HQ

Layoffs in Ireland and the UK are still unknown

Meta’s European branch, headquartered in Dublin, has over 3,000 employees and a large number of contractors. Meta has refused to reveal the number of layoffs it will make in the UK and Ireland. A Companies House filing, however, shows that the company had more than 5,000 employees in the UK alone as of December last year.

Kevin Poulter, an employment solicitor at Freeths, told the BBC that confidence in the tech sector had greatly diminished within a week due to Meta’s mass layoffs decision. He also emphasized that Meta must follow UK laws on layoffs.

Poulter contrasted the two massive layoffs in the tech job market, saying that, unlike Twitter’s CEO, Elon Musk, Zuckerberg was remorseful of the firm’s decision and publicly took responsibility for things going south. Poulter said that the tone of Twitter’s statement was very different from that of Meta.

Zuckerberg is not really known as a “people’s person” and publicly taking responsibility for a wrongly calculated decision is unlike him. Since his former chief executive officer stepped down in August this year, Zuckerberg has had to smooth the waters himself.

What’s Next For Meta?

Meta is planning to cut costs in all areas, including building and office expenditures. The firm’s CEO announced that the company would now focus on its long-term vision for the metaverse and other high-priority growth areas like advertising and artificial intelligence.

The creation of the Metaverse, a virtual universe similar to the physical world, could take over 10 years. This virtual world will have everything that we have in the real world, from houses to restaurants to casinos.

Zuckerberg is also being criticized for choosing his metaverse fantasy over 13% of his employees. In public opinion, Meta’s decision to lay off 11,000 employees also boils down to his dream of creating a virtual world that will be as good as the physical world.

What’s Next For The Tech Sector?

As the tech sector deals with the global economic downturn, many companies are planning to lay off employees. Amazon recently made a decision to freeze hiring in its corporate offices, while Silicon Valley companies Lyft and Stripe have issued statements about conducting large-scale layoffs.

Most of Meta’s revenue comes from its advertising business. However, the current economic downtown has forced many companies to cut ad budgets.

The tech industry is facing many challenges, including inflation, an economic slowdown, and an end to pandemic-driven growth.

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Apple enlists TSMC’s help in latest AR push

Apple and TSMC are working on ultra-advanced displays which the tech giant is supposedly planning to use in its forthcoming AR devices.

Why is Apple interested in AR devices?

The unknown source informed the world today of Apple’s newest tech venture. The tech giant started collaborating with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in an attempt to develop ultra-advanced display technology in Taiwan. Micro OLED displays, embedded in chip wafers, are no news in the tech world, Samsung Electronics is the main leader in this field, but it’s also Apple’s major competitor in the smartphone sector in the US. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Apple is trying to build its own prototype with its main chip supplier, TSMC. Micro OLED displays are slimmer and tinier than the ones previously used. They use less power and that makes them an appropriate choice for the AR devices (such as AR and VR glasses, but also for the other consumer products), which present the future growth potential goal for the company that earned its’ spot in the market filled with iPhone, Macs, AirPods, and Apple Watches.

Apple is also said to look more into the micro-LED technology – it has smaller components and doesn’t need the backlight modules. As a result, displays are thinner and have high contrast. And more and more companies are working on the development of this technology as well.

Source: Reuters.com

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Intel Makes History With PhiSat-1, First-Ever AI-Controlled Satellite

The PhiSat-1 is the name of history’s first space satellite designed to be fully controlled by artificial intelligence. This scientific and technological breakthrough was just presented with a short demonstration held at the Turin, Italy offices of space pioneers Tyvak International last month.

The demonstration saw a smallish satellite the size of a ceral box, as per Intel’s vivid descriptions, launched from a rocket dispenser as part of a larger ejection wave that included 45 other such contraptions.The experiment was a success, with the PhiSat-1 now traveling at a speed of over 27,500 km/h (17,000 mph) some 530 km (330 m) over Earth.

Intel used the opportunity to demonstrate how its CPU tech is already advanced enough to be entrusted with tasks as critical as spaceflight. Which is a far cry from the days in which we have sent a man to the moon on a rocket whose computer was less capable than your average calculator – from the ’90s.

There is still no word on whether Intel will be expanding into spaceflight in the immediate future however. As for the tech in question, the CPU powering the PhiSat-1 is called the Intel Movidius Myriad 2 Vision Processing Unit and is typically used in smart cameras and drones instead of spacecraft.

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Amazingly Feature-Packed 1.5 Update Now Reaching GoPro HERO9 Black Units

Not even six weeks have passed since the official market release of the GoPro HERO9 Black in the United States, and the action camera company is now pushing out yet another firmware upgrade to its latest compact imaging powerhouse. As for the contents of the said over-the-air release, we are looking at a rather remarkable package.

Because this seemingly minor bump up to the version 1.5 of the native firmware will provide your 2020 GoPro with a vast array of new features, not to mention a decent chunk of comparably consequential improvements to some key system functionalities.

Looking at the changelog, you can expect improved touchscreen performance, more consistent still photography in virtually every scenario, color accuracy improvements to both video and photo capture modes, faster smartphone connectivity, a new Slow-Mo scene shortcut found on the rear display, an entirely new dimension of technical optimizations meant to benefit the new HyperSmooth 3.0 stabilization software, wireless offload support, bug-free scheduled captures, improved GPS accuracy, and so on.

Looking at this list, it’s almost difficult to avoid the thought that the vanilla version of the GoPro HERO9 Black was kind of underbaked, but that’s just the thing – it wasn’t. So, let us hope there is more after-sales support goodness where that came from.

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Nokia 3650 rumored for a 2021 reboot

The next Nokia phone might not be a smartphone, as new industry rumors suggest the iconic Nokia 3650 is getting rebooted this year.

What about the ‘new’ Nokia 3310?

HMD Global, the current owner of the Nokia Mobile brand, has been rebooting popular feature phones from the Finnish manufacturer since 2017. Its first attempt at doing so was also its most successful, by far. This shouldn’t be surprising, given how that move brought back the beloved Nokia 3310. The meme-level status this phone enjoyed has also been fueling its sales. While it’s unlikely that a new Nokia 3650 could mirror that kind of success, HMD management previously went on record to claim the company isn’t done remaking its classics just yet.

As for the original device, the Nokia 3650 debuted in 2003, aka the VGA mobile camera era. While its design wasn’t as iconic as that of the Nokia 3310 or some of the later rivals, the look of the phone is hardly set in stone. The same goes for its feature set, so assuming this rumor is legitimate, you can at the very least expect a capable browser, 4G LTE connectivity, and excellent battery life. The Nokia 3650 reboot would follow HMD’s attempts at revisiting the Nokia 8110, 2720, 5310, and 6300, on top of the aforementioned 3310.

Source: NokiaMob.net

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Facebook is working on a smartwatch used mainly for messaging

Facebook is apparently ready to enter the smartwatch market since it’s developing a smartwatch that should hit the market next year.

What will it focus on?

It’s no news that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, wants to target all computing platforms. Therefore, it wasn’t that big of a shock when the news about Facebook’s newest plans spread over the internet the last weekend: the company is building its first smartwatch. Although it’s still unsure whether it will run on Google’s Wear OS, it will definitely be Android-based. It will focus mostly on messaging, so it’s safe to assume that messaging on Facebook’s platforms – Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram – will be available. Besides that, the usual smartwatch features (the ones concerning fitness and health) shall also be included.

We can probably expect Facebook’s smartwatch next year if it all goes according to plans. Smartwatch will join Facebook’s hardware ecosystem which includes Oculus VR headsets and Portal video calling devices. In the meantime, Facebook is working on its’ ambitious projects such as Ray-Ban smart glasses and an AR research initiative called Project Aria. It all just goes to prove just how much the company is moving in the consumer products direction. How will the consumers react though, remains to be seen.

Source: Theinformation.com

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AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Announced With U.S. Pricing, Availability Details

Advanced Micro Devices, or just AMD in short, today announced the official arrival of its newest series of high-end computer graphics cards in the form of the RXadeon RX 6800 XT. The said GPU will be joining the ranks of the standard RX 6800 and the RX 6900 XT, with all three now being confirmed for a nationwide release in the coming days.

More specifcially, the Radeon RX 6800 and its XT counterpart will both be hitting brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce platforms alike on November 18th, with that release date being confirmed for the entire United States market. The Radeon RX 6900 XT, meanwhile, will be out a bit later, on the 8th of December, AMD said in a prepared statement from earlier today.

All three are meant to rival NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 30 Series announced in early September, with the $999 RX 6900 XT being the flagship model of this generation. Yet it is the $649 Radeon RX 6800 XT that is expected to make the most waves across the consumer electronics market as the ostensible best-buy option for most PC gaming rigs in the foreseeable future.

Granted, that title may also be scooped up by the RX 6800, an even more affordable solution set to retail at $579.

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Apple Starts Rolling Out macOS Big Sur Across The U.S.

Apple started rolling out a new major operating system upgrade for the Macs and MacBooks in the form of the macOS, release version 11.0. The deployment commenced hours ago across the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world, according to the company’s own disclosure.

A refreshed Control Center and even more robust customizability

While a major part of this release focuses on Apple’s very own M1 chips which the firm is now beginning to implement into the lower end of its portfolio, there are plenty of chip-agnostic features, improvements, and fixes on board of the said release, as well. Safari, Maps, and Messages constitute a trio of apps that stand to reap the largest benefits from the debut of the macOS Big Sur, as Apple itself has been claiming since earlier in the year.

Of course, this would not have been a true Apple upgrade had the company not tinkered with the design of its personal computer OS. A lot of the visual changes on board here originate from a completely refreshed Control Center promising to deliver even more robust customizability while simultaneously being easier to navigate in just a few clicks.

Ditto for Safari, which should also render pages more efficiently after a jump to 11.0 Big Sur, all the while offering more privacy-conscious user settings, better iCloud integration, and more. The Messages app is now part of the planetary popular ecosystem of Memoji stickers, whereas Maps have been refreshed to look in line with the rest of the flat design language permeating the entirety of macOS Big Sur.

On the privacy front, app-specific improvements play second fiddle to system-wide changes meant to make app permission reports more transparent, especially in terms of real-time feedback, as Apple is proud to highlight. A new version of Xcode 12 targeting the first-generation M1 CPUs from Apple completes this firmware package that should already be available for download on your end.

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Windows 365 Cloud Computing Service Has Arrived

After a couple of years in the rumor mill, Windows 365 has recently come to fruition. It is possibly one of the most significant Microsoft cloud service projects after Microsoft 365, looking into providing an affordable cloud computing service for private and enterprise use cases. The idea behind cloud computing is to allow for multiple hardware configurations to be rented and streamed over the Internet to a compatible display or monitor. This shift could significantly impact companies that employ many employees (over 1,000, for example), where every individual gets assigned to a physical laptop or a desktop computer. With Windows 365, these individual computers might get replaced with login credentials to the cloud computing service.

Windows 365 Benefits for Businesses

Getting the Windows 365 platform up and running, there is a single requirement for the device to have a running HTML5 browser and a DSL connection. The rest of the specifics, such as the required total bandwidth, depends on the workload above all else. However, Microsoft has published some general guidelines regarding hardware requirements, including at least a 1GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of hard drive space, and a graphics card compatible with DirectX 9, running a resolution of at least 800×600.

With such humble minimum hardware requirements, Windows 365 has the potential to cut costs for medium to large businesses where remote access is a preferred option. In industries such as iGaming and sportsbooks websites, nearly all employees have their own assigned computers, creating additional expenses and downtimes, especially when the computers need servicing. This industry is currently experiencing a significant rise in popularity, and it is common to see classic casino games implemented into the games collection. With the increase in traffic and more casino-based games added to the bunch, Windows 365 can be used as the safety net for employees’ computers to stay operational at all times.

Windows 365 Options and Pricing

At the moment of writing, Microsoft offers Windows 365 in three subscription plans for businesses and enterprises. The basic plan costs US$31 per user per month, offering 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The standard program provides 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $US41 per user per month, while the Premium plan comes with 16GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and a 4vCPU for $US66 per month. Subscriptions can get cancelled at any time, and depending on the timing, and users are eligible for a partial refund for that month. In addition, if users might require more processing power for specific tasks, the subscription model can get seamlessly upgraded. With all that said, Windows 365 certainly has the potential for cost reduction, especially for businesses on the rise. Furthermore, running costs can get significantly reduced since it is possible to use Windows 365 over any platform with an enabled Microsoft Remote Desktop application (iOS, macOS, or Android) while still having more than sufficient processing power.