Business Articles

The Google Pixel 4 phones just don't offer enough value. (Source: Google)

Opinion | The Google Pixel 4 still feels like an overly elaborate joke

It's been almost a week since Google unveiled the Pixel 4 phones in New York but it's still baffling just how poor the phones are—the smaller Pixel 4, in particular. In fact, some choices by the company were so off the mark that o...

Ricci Rox, 20 Oct 2019 15:29

Opinion | Most OEMs treat AMD CPUs like second-class citizens when it comes to laptops. Now is the time for change

Microsoft had the cojones to put both AMD and Intel on its flagship Surface series. In contrast, other OEMs offer AMD options only for their lower-end to mid-range product families. The Ryzen 5 3500U and Ryzen 7 3700U are comparab...

Allen Ngo, 20 Oct 2019 10:02

Renders of the Pixel 4 XL. (Source: BGR)

Who made the display on the Google Pixel 4 XL - Samsung or LG?

The Pixel 4 XL's 90 Hz QHD+ AMOLED display has been hailed for its impressive quality, even winning DisplayMate's "Best Smartphone Display" award. That raises a few questions, of course, the most important being: who exactly made ...

Ricci Rox, 19 Oct 2019 15:48

No Snapdragon 730G: New Redmi Note 8T leak will leave expectant fans disappointed

A leak a few weeks ago claimed that Xiaomi was set to release a Snapdragon 730G-powered Redmi Note 8T. A new report counters that, though, and while a Redmi Note 8T may actually be on the way, fans of the company are unlikely to b...

Ricci Rox, 19 Oct 2019 15:44

AMD Zen 5 is already being designed and should launch in 2022, new Zen 2 chips coming soon

Next-next-gen Zen 5 architecture is already in development, confirms AMD

With some Zen 2-based processors still in the pipeline, AMD confirmed that the design of the Zen 3 architecture is complete and the testing/manufacturing stages should soon follow. Even more, Zen 4 and Zen 5 are both being designe...

Codrut Nistor, 18 Oct 2019 22:37

Xiaomi celebrates Redmi Note series sales milestone that shows its dominance in the mid-range segment

Since the launch of the first-gen Redmi Note back in 2014, Xiaomi's Redmi Note series has consistently offered the best value for money in the mid-range segment. The company has announced that it has now sold a hundred million Red...

Ricci Rox, 18 Oct 2019 15:36

AMD vs Intel: Does the new AMD ThinkPad X395 challenge the Intel ThinkPad X390?

We have just released our review of the Lenovo ThinkPad X395, an AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 3300U powered 13.3-inch subnotebook. The Ryzen 3 PRO 3300U integrates a Radeon RX Vega 6 GPU too, which is known to have better graphics performance ...

Alex Alderson, 17 Oct 2019 23:57

US$295 for the 128 GB Pixel 3 XL. (Source: Google)

Opinion | Google's Pixel 4 trade-in program is laughable

If you own a Pixel 3 and were about to use the Pixel 4's trade-in program to get Google's latest device for significantly cheaper, think twice. You see, Google seems to be of the opinion that the 128 GB Pixel 3 XL is worth a measl...

Ricci Rox, 17 Oct 2019 19:51

OnePlus will maintain a steady course for now. (Source: Pocket-lint)

OnePlus has no intention of becoming Huawei or Xiaomi (yet)

OnePlus' chief executive officer, Pete Lau, has given an interview on the company's future in its home market. Its main message was that the company has no plans to diversify into non-premium smartphones at present. Furthermore, n...

Deirdre O Donnell, 16 Oct 2019 19:52

This is why Xiaomi opted for the weak Snapdragon 439 on the Redmi 8

Xiaomi fans may have felt confused when the Redmi 8's spec sheet was released, as the device features a Snapdragon 439—the same SoC on the cheaper Redmi 8A, and a much weaker chipset than the Snapdragon 632 on the Redmi 7. Xiaomi ...

Ricci Rox, 16 Oct 2019 15:55

The Redmi K30 is coming. (Source: Xiaomi)

The Redmi K30 is on the way with a Galaxy S10 Plus-eque punch-hole design

Xiaomi is set to release a successor to the immensely successful Redmi K20 Phones. The Redmi K30 is on the way and it will feature both 5G support and a dual selfie camera setup reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus.

Ricci Rox, 16 Oct 2019 10:22

Intel's 10nm plans on the desktop are still some time away from fruition. (Source: ExtremeTech)

Intel refutes rumors of eliminating 10nm from the desktop, but don't expect anything till 2022

Fresh rumors have surfaced indicating that Intel would scrap 10nm on the desktop altogether and instead, directly launch 7nm Meteor Lake chips sometime in 2022 as 10nm has not yet reached the high clocks and yields required for de...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 15 Oct 2019 15:38

The new NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens. (Source: Nikon)

Nikon evokes a 58mm classic with its "fastest NIKKOR lens ever"

Nikon has launched the new and expansive NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens. This product name may sound familiar as it has been chosen to honor an iconic lens of the past. The new S-series lens has manual focus and an aperture of u...

Deirdre O Donnell, 14 Oct 2019 19:54

The X55 modem will move beyond smartphone integration soon. (Source: Qualcomm)

The Snapdragon X55 modem will power 5G fixed broadband equipment for over 30 OEMs

Qualcomm has announced that over 30 manufacturers have taken the Snapdragon X55 modem up in order to produce their 5G fixed wireless broadband consumer-premises hardware. This means the equipment carriers and ISPs will install in ...

Deirdre O Donnell, 14 Oct 2019 18:59

Intel is reportedly planning to offer discounts to counter AMD's rising market share. (Source: Fstoppers)

Intel reportedly planning to unleash its financial might to counter AMD, price cuts for Core and Xeon processors to cost US$3 billion

A leaked internal Intel slide courtesy of AdoredTV talks about Intel's plans to counter AMD's increasing marketshare via price cuts that would cost the company around US$3 billion. Intel hopes that these price cuts would help its ...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 14 Oct 2019 09:02

Renders of the Honor View 30 show it with a Mate 20 Pro-esque camera array. (Source: AndroidSaint)

Details of the Honor View 30 revealed - Two phones, OLED, 5G, and a monstrous 60 MP camera

The Honor View 30—or V30 depending on where you buy it—will be Huawei's next premium phone. A short while ago, the first image of the device leaked. This time out, though, details of the phone have surfaced. Notable takeaways incl...

Ricci Rox, 13 Oct 2019 12:00

The 'round-camera' Nokia phone series has its 2nd member. (Source: 9to5Google)

The Nokia 6.2 sneaks onto Amazon.in for about US$250

The Nokia 6.2 has been launched in India, albeit to comparatively little fanfare. It is a 4GB RAM device with 64GB of internal powered by the Snapdragon 636 SoC. It also has a round camera housing with a triple camera.

Deirdre O Donnell, 11 Oct 2019 20:22

Some new Galaxy A phones may be on track for 2020 launches. (Source: Firstpost)

The Samsung Galaxy A71 and A51 inch towards release with new certification

Some more evidence of the Galaxy A series from Samsung persevering into next year has come to light. It comes in the form of a certification that mentions what may be partial model numbers for the A71 and A51. This Indian registra...

Deirdre O Donnell, 11 Oct 2019 15:40

Call of Duty Mobile hits 100 million downloads in its first week, shattering record

Call of Duty Mobile recently claimed the award for most downloads in the first week after launch for any mobile game in history, surpassing 100 million unique installs after its first week. Sensor Tower estimates peg total downloa...

Sam Medley, 10 Oct 2019 17:59

The first handhelds sporting the new Snapdragon 865 could be showcased this November. (Source: Trusted Reviews)

Chinese leak claims Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 SoC may launch next month

Pressured by the new Apple and Huawei flagship SoCs, Qualcomm plans to launch the Snapdragon 865 model 1 month in advance, and the first handhelds to sport the new SoC will apparently come from smaller smartphone makers like Oppo ...

Bogdan Solca, 10 Oct 2019 17:47

Intel launches new Xeon W-2200 HEDT CPUs based on Cascade Lake-X

Intel announced its new Xeon W-2200 HEDT CPUs earlier this week. The Cascade Lake-X chips offer some upgrades over the current Xeon silicon, including clock speeds up to 4.8 GHz and 18-core/36 thread CPUs. Most interestingly, Inte...

Sam Medley, 10 Oct 2019 16:47

Keeping the Galaxy Fold mint could get expensive. (Source: Samsung)

Breaking a Galaxy Fold's screen more than once could cost as much as a whole premium phone

Samsung has released an updated schedule of repair charges for a number of its newer phones. The recently-released Galaxy Fold is at the top of this list. It shows that an out-of-guarantee repair for its flexible screen costs US$5...

Deirdre O Donnell, 09 Oct 2019 22:25

HP EliteBook x360 830 G6: HP laptop does not deliver its promised LCD brightness

HP promises a brightness value of 1000 cd/m² for its EliteBooks with SureView screens. The recently reviewed HP EliteBook x260 830 G6 has an extremely bright screen – but it does not manage to hit the brightness value that the man...

Benjamin Herzig, 09 Oct 2019 17:00

The new 12-layer 3D DRAM packaging will first be integrated in 24 GB HBM2 modules. (Source: Samsung)

Samsung completes development of 12-layer 3D TSV DRAM for high-capacity HBM2 modules

The jump from 8-layer to 12-layer 3D TSV DRAM designs will enable AIB integrators to include as much as 96 GB of HBM2 DRAM on a single board, increasing the memory bus to 4,096-bit. The resulting increase in memory bandwidth will ...

Bogdan Solca, 09 Oct 2019 15:44

New Lenovo ThinkPad E14 & E15 embrace thinner design at the expense of one RAM slot

Lenovo updates its affordable ThinkPad E series with Intel Comet Lake. The new models ThinkPad E14 and ThinkPad E15 are more than simple CPU updates though, as Lenovo has redesigned them compared with their predecessors ThinkPad E...

Benjamin Herzig, 09 Oct 2019 11:27

The 2019 TCL 8-series will be available soon. (Source: TCL)

TCL releases its new 8-series of Roku-enabled TVs through Best Buy

TCL's 2019 8-series of TVs are based on QLED technology and integrate the Roku streaming platform. They are 4K HDR panels that support Dolby Vision and 100% of the DCI-P3 color space. The new TCL 8-series will become available thr...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Oct 2019 23:01

Semiconductors are not going anywhere any time soon. (Source: Flickr)

The semiconductor market will reach US$573 billion by 2024

New research has shown that the market for semiconductors is estimated to grow to US$573 billion in 5 years. This may be driven by a demand for these materials in wireless communications, vehicles and online connectivity. However,...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Oct 2019 21:34

The subscription service trends over the last few years. (Source: Parks Associates)

46% of US households with broadband have multiple streaming subscriptions now

New research has found that nearly 50% of all US households with broadband subscribe to 2 or more subscription-based services in 2019, whereas this figure was 33% in 2017 and only 20% in 2014. The apparent demand has driven the nu...

Deirdre O Donnell, 08 Oct 2019 20:22

The Kaby Lake-G was a good experiment that didn't find many takers. (Source: Intel)

Updated: Intel Kaby Lake-G family goes the way of the dodo

Intel has issued a new Product Change Notification (PCN) document that lists the Kaby Lake-G family as End of Life (EOL) citing market demand for other Intel products. The EOL date is effective from today and OEMs will not be able...

Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, 08 Oct 2019 16:07

HP ZBook 14u G6 laptop review: The mobile workstation has problems with performance

The hardware in the HP ZBook 14u G6 mobile workstation often has to apply the brakes

Hewlett Packard's mobile workstation features good input devices and a great display. This is joined by a docking port, good battery life and a Thunderbolt 3 port. There are problems with performance.

Sascha Mölck, 08 Oct 2019 07:22

The Acer ConceptD series has won some 2019 awards. (Source: AnandTech)

Acer wins Good Design 2019 awards for its ConceptD notebooks

The Acer ConceptD 7 and 9 models have won at this year's Good Design awards. Unsurprisingly, this is due to their innovative, creator-focused form factors. Acer have also won 2 more of these honors for the Swift 7 and TravelMate P...

Deirdre O Donnell, 07 Oct 2019 23:46

Sony unveils the Xperia 8 but it's just so...disappointing

Sony has unveiled another device, the Xperia 8. The Xperia 8 is a mid-range phone that raises more questions over the logic in Sony's naming scheme while simultaneously managing to offer an overwhelmingly disappointing package at ...

Ricci Rox, 07 Oct 2019 11:26

Facebook Libra is shaking - PayPal bails out

Is Facebook Libra doomed to fail? PayPal withdraws from the project

Libra Association, the 28-member nonprofit organization that was formed back in June 2019 to oversee the creation of Facebook's cryptocurrency and its consumer rollout, has just lost one of its supporters. Sadly, the brand that ha...

Codrut Nistor, 07 Oct 2019 10:55

Computational photography: we take it for granted now. (Source: Engadget)

The computational photography market may be worth nearly US$30 billion by 2024

Computational photography - or imaging that depends at least as much on software as on hardware - was worth US$7.9 billion as a market in 2018. However, the latest analysis indicates that this valuation will grow to $29 billion ov...

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Oct 2019 21:01

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. (Source: Apple)

Some iPhone 6s or 6s Plus units may fail to power on, but Apple is fixing it

Apple has initiated a recall for certain iPhones of the 6S series, saying that it has found that the relevant units may become unable to start under certain circumstances. The Cupertino-based OEM will not disclose which aspects of...

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Oct 2019 19:25

Sony unveils its new a9II full-frame flagship camera

Sony has launched its latest alpha-series flagship, the a9II. This new 24.2MP premium unit is distinctly pitched at professional photographers in sports reporting and other fast-moving fields. It is designed for continous shooting...

Deirdre O Donnell, 06 Oct 2019 15:43

Some wireless chargers may be restricted under iOS 13.1. (Source: ChargerLab)

Researchers claim Apple restricts wireless charger speeds in iOS 13.1

The blog ChargerLab claims to have found that some wireless chargers are being restricted to 5 watts (W) of power while iPhones are placed on them with the new iOS update, whereas the same devices could deliver 7.5W under the olde...

Deirdre O Donnell, 05 Oct 2019 22:07

Surprise! It turns out we could be getting the Mi Mix 4 after all

The highly anticipated launch of the Mi Mix 4 has been something of a wild ride so far. Fans expected a launch event last month but were left disappointed. Since then, though, it's been multiple conflicting reports on the existenc...

Ricci Rox, 04 Oct 2019 21:28

The Reno2 F is the latest in its series. (Source: GSMArena)

OPPO will launch its Reno2 series in the UK in October 2019

The Reno2 line of smartphones will become available in a new market, the UK, on October 16, 2019. OPPO is calling this event "Reno Studio Earth", during which the Reno2, Reno2 Z and Reno2 F will be released to this region. The las...

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Oct 2019 20:31

The iPhones 11 may be the most popular of their series so far. (Source: Apple)

The iPhone 11 may prove more popular than its Pro or Pro Max siblings already

A new report from Taiwan indicates that Apple needs new stocks of its iPhone 11, but not of the Pro or Pro Max variants. Sources who claim to be close to the suppliers in question have noted that this is a surprising uptick in ord...

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Oct 2019 18:08

Google Shopping is back. (Source: Google)

Google Shopping re-launches in the US, integrates with Lens this time around

Google has announced the re-institution of its Shopping service, albeit for users located in the US only. The company claims that the renewed feature can analyse millions of retail listings and other data in order to show customer...

Deirdre O Donnell, 04 Oct 2019 16:33

The Dell Latitude 3400: An affordable business laptop with great battery life. (Image source: Dell)

Dell Latitude 3400: An affordable 14-inch business laptop with a significant shortcoming

The Dell Latitude 3400 offers excellent battery life, input devices and a wide selection of ports. Our review unit impressed us during our tests, not least because of its value for money. However, there is one area that could have...

Alex Alderson, 04 Oct 2019 15:21

Samsung's last Chinese phone factory has closed its doors. (Source: Cash Tech News)

Samsung closes the last of its Chinese smartphone manufacturing facilities

Although it plans to keep selling mobile devices in China, Samsung no longer intends to make them in the same country. This move is thought to have been taken in order to cut costs, and also due to overwhelming competition from ot...

Deirdre O Donnell, 03 Oct 2019 19:56

Is this how the iPhone SE line will evolve? (Source: MacRumors)

The cut-price iPhone SE2 will arrive in 2020: Ming-Chi Kuo

The latest leaked research note allegedly sent to TF International Securities by the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicates that Apple does have a second-gen SE in the works. It will apparently be released in the first quarter of 2020 and...

Deirdre O Donnell, 03 Oct 2019 18:39