Business Articles

Is NVIDIA worried about AMD's RX product stack? Well, its latest round of price cuts would suggest so. The company has unexpectedly dropped the RTX 2060 Founders Edition from US$349, conveniently just ahead of the release of the RX 5600 XT.

Alphabet has become the US fourth company to crest the US$1 trillion market cap. This puts it up there with Apple, Amazon and Microsoft which are the only other companies to achieve the milestone.

Once, long ago, Blu-ray was touted as the gold standard in media playback. Now, however, it has sunk into obscurity among a world's worth of streaming services compatible with high-res displays. The format's market value is now thought to fall considerably until 2025.

OPPO has released the F15 to the Indian market. It is technically a new device, although it ships with an older chipset: the MediaTek Helio P70. It costs the equivalent of US$280 and will ship from January 28, 2020.

AMD has just announced the release of the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition (20.1.2). It confers support for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, as well as Vulkan 1.2. It also fixes a problem for some UE4-based games in which they could not load under its predecessor.

PC shipments increased by a small percentage in 2019 and this is mostly due to Microsoft discontinuing support for the venerable Windows 7 OS. 261 to 267 million PC system shipping throughout 2019 are nothing to scoff at, but these figures pale in comparison to the amount of smartphones shipped solely in Q3 2019.

The mid-range ProBook series will be refreshed with AMD's latest Ryzen 4000 U-series APUs for SMBs. HP is promising BIOS-level security features including Sure Start and Sure Sense to make up for the fact that there are not yet 3rd gen AMD Ryzen PRO processors for mobile yet.

Intel has announced a shake-up in its line of Xeon scalable processors. The OEM will cease sales of the M variants of these server-grade SoCs (the Xeon Platinum 8280M, for example) will. However, their L (the Platinum 8280L, and so on) counterparts will take their place in this tier of chipsets.

Asus goes over core details on the upcoming VivoBook S series, Chromebook Flip C436, TUF Gaming A15/A17, G-Sync-enabled TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A monitor, ROG Strix GA35 gaming desktop, and the Zephyrus G14 laptop equipped with 4th gen AMD Ryzen H series CPUs.

MediaTek has announced the Helio G70 and G70T, a pair of processors that, like the G90s before them, are aimed at gaming-phone OEMs. However, the new chipsets are also intended for a lower tier of that market compared to their predecessors. They have 8 cores made of ARM Cortex-A75 and A55 cores, 4G connectivity and "HyperEngine game" technology.

Google researchers unveiled their AI-based "precipitation nowcasting" solution, which can predict rainfall at a 1km resolution, 6 hours ahead of time, with just 5-10 minutes of calculation. The new approach could mean better crisis management and reduce life and property loss.

The tech billionaire tweeted a picture of a Model 3 Tesla driving by as its speakers play a brief audio clip that says "Well don’t just stand there staring, hop in." The clip hints at Musk's plan to turn all Teslas into a giant fleet of autonomous taxis.

Samsung is expected to release a new foldable phone at its Galaxy Unpacked event on February 11. Information points towards the phone sporting a Motorola RAZR-esque design, and it will apparently be called the Galaxy Z Flip.

The media outlet Android Police asserts that the OnePlus 8 will be compatible with Verizon's 5G network when it is released to the US market. Not only that, in fact, but it will also apparently launch through this carrier. However, the OEM already has such a partnership with T-Mobile in the same country.

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart has announced that it is adding laptops to its MarQ sub-brand with the Falkon Aerbook. The Falkon Aerbook is a thin and light laptop for professionals and students made in collaboration with Intel and Microsoft. The Aerbook will be powered by the 8th gen Intel Core i5 processor and will be available on January 17 starting from ₹39,990 (US$564).

A study of device repair in Germany for the year 2019 found that 30.7% of those conducted by users were carried out on Apple phones. Samsung was second in these terms at 29.7%, followed by Huawei at 21.6%. Owners were most likely to replace their phones' batteries by themselves, and to resort to a professional for screen repairs, last year.

CTL has launched its new NL71 series of education-focused Chromebooks. They are intended to be durable, and some are also convertible PCs with touchscreens. These devices are also capable of advanced connectivity thanks to their up-to-date processors.

The Smarter Camera platform is an AI-powered solution for the future of industries such as security, logistics and retail. It has been developed by the company AnyConnect, which has just announced a partnership with Asus to deliver it to the market. This will be done using the Taiwanese OEM's Tinker Edge hardware.

The Wacom One is a new, 13-inch digital-art display. It has an FHD panel and in-built, foldable legs for various modes. It is aimed at those looking to get into electronically-enhanced or -generated art, and can also leverage Microsoft Office features with its corresponding pen.

iPhone sales in China leapt to 3.18 million units in December, a year-over-year increase of 18.7%. While many analysts are excited about what this could mean for Apple's sales in China, it should be noted that October and November were terrible months for Chinese iPhone sales.

Initially expected to hit the market in late 2019, the DDR5 RAM standard will first be introduced to server systems in the second half of 2020, as Micron is currently sampling RDIMMs for its industry partners. DDR5-6400 modules are expected to be 85% faster than current DDR4-3200 modules, but DDR5 memories can certainly be pushed to even higher frequencies.

Amazfit has launched a series of products in a category new to this brand: personal work-out equipment. It consists of the SMART GYM HUB, a 43-inch vertical screen with AI and a ToF sensor that can deliver fitness classes right in the home. This device can also integrate with the new Home Studio or AirRun treadmills.

A new study of those who use voice-activated searches have found that 64% of this group set the assistant in question off by mistake during December 2019. An accidental press of a hardware button was found to be the culprit in 49% of these cases. In others, an AI "mishearing" a user's speech resulted in these mishaps.

Ossia has brought its new Cota HOME device to CES this year. It is a residential-grade transmitter for its truly-wireless system in which energy is "beamed" to compatible devices in lieu of cables of any kind. The OEM is confident that this type of power is ready to take over, especially in view of the 5G revolution.

Israeli startup Adshir claims that its "algorithmic" LocalRay ray-tracing solution can be scaled to run on 2W smartphones. At CES 2020, the company showcased a non-RTX graphics card running LocalRay demos at 60 FPS. Is LocalRay set to transform ray-tracing in gaming?

OnePlus has come to its first CES event to unveil the Concept One. This device is built around the idea of color-shifting glass, and how it can be integrated into a phone to hide the main cameras while not in use. This material is found in a backing that also features leather in the OEM's brand-partner McLaren's signature shade of orange.

The Wearbuds are well known as the first true-wireless (TWS) earbuds that come with an innovative wrist-band into which they can slot and use to charge, rather than a case that has to be carried around. Now, their maker Aipower has unveiled an updated version of the same at CES 2020.

Lenovo is starting out the new decade with a bang by announcing a deluge of new products all at once. We can expect gadgets as small as the silent Bluetooth mouse to expensive toys like the $2500 ThinkPad X1 Fold all launching within the next few months.

The B250i is Acer's latest projector. It uses LEDs to throw a FHD image at a brightness of 1000 ANSI lumens. The OEM has also outfitted it with 5W speakers, passive radiators and in-house TrueHarmony and Waves Maxx Audio technology.

The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus joins a growing list of productivity-focused notebooks with dual or secondary screens. This version has a unique twist in that the added display is an e-ink panel found on the PC's cover. The OEM asserts this will enhance productivity and work-flow for today's multi-tasking professionals.

After teasing the device last year, Lenovo is officially announcing the first ThinkPad with a flexible screen. The unique 4:3 OLED screen used here enables users to fold the device in the middle, giving this first its kind foldable PC a very small footprint when it is closed down and enabling various interesting use cases.

The GF65 Thin is an MSI laptop that usually ships with a standard-issue dark-metal tones and logo. However, the OEM has developed new SKUs of this PC with an "on-trend" camouflage design. It is found on the notebook's lid, which may also come with updated specs.

Mini-LED backlighting is the next big thing in consumer TV sets and MSI will be the first to integrate the technology onto laptops with the upcoming 17.3-inch Creator 17 designed for professional users.

Asus has finally realized that the name "Asus AsusPro" is silly. The business-centric "Asus AsusPro" series will now be called the "Asus ExpertBook" series to better appeal to professional office users.

The 13.3-inch Portege X30L will offer RJ-45, full-size HDMI, Wi-Fi 6, expandable RAM, a bright 470-nit matte display, vPro, and a hexa-core CPU all for well under 1 kg when it launches in the U.S. this Summer.

The Dragonfly gets a minor internal update with new Comet Lake-U processors, WAN options, and a "Sure View gen 3.5" display. There will be no Ice Lake version since Intel has no current plans to integrate vPro onto the Ice Lake series.

At just 0.58 inches (14.9mm) in depth, the Lenovo Legion Y740S is a strikingly skinny 15.6-inch laptop. However, the OEM asserts it is rated for up to 8 hours of battery life. It can be configured with up to 10th-gen core i9 processors, supports eGPUs and has 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Samsung's popular Galaxy A series is into its 2nd generation this year. A new leak asserts that one of these phones will be called the A01. It has allegedly been certified alongside less surprising upcoming phones such as the Galaxy A11 and M11.

For six years, Lenovo sold the "ThinkPad Compact Keyboard", the external ThinkPad keyboard with the iconic TrackPoint. Now Lenovo is replacing it – the new ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard II is not a big revolution, but rather a small evolution.

The NEC Lavie Pro Mobile is an incredibly light laptop aimed at business professionals. The Core i7-8565U CPU is wrapped is a sleek Bordeaux case that weighs a mere 837 grams (1.85 pounds).

Citing supply chain sources, Taiwanese outlet Apple Daily predicts that AMD is set to become TSMC's largest 7nm customer by the end of 2020, displacing Apple in the process. The spectacular success of Ryzen and Apple's move to 5nm are likely reasons.

Sina Mobile reports that Huawei managed to ship 12 million Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro units. The Chinese tech giant managed to ship these high volumes despite having been blacklisted by the US government. This raises questions about exactly where these units are being sold.

Donald Trump recently signed off on the TRACED Act. The Act, which received bipartisan support in the US Congress, imposes stiffer penalties on robocallers. It also seeks to tackle the issue of caller ID spoofing.

Much like the XPS 9000 series, the new Latitude 9000 series will prioritize sleek and lightweight form factors aimed at business users as a direct response to the ultra-thin Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and HP Elite Dragonfly.

Dell's new line-up of UltraSharp monitors are all USB type-C this year. They are headlinded by the 43-inch U4320Q, a 4K panel that can be split between up to 4 separate devices via the OEM's Picture-by-Picture (PBP) feature. There are also 27- and 25-inch models in this year's productivity-focused screen series.

The Dell 86 4K Interactive Touch Monitor is a monster 85.6-inch touch display targeted at boardrooms and collaborative workspaces. The monitor supports 20-point multitouch, allowing multiple people to work at the board at once. It also supports an array of ports.

The Core i7 and GeForce Super mini PC offers 270 degrees of ventilation in a chassis size of just 5.85 L. The new white color is similar to the white color used for the Razer Studio laptops and MSI Prestige laptops.

In- or under-display fingerprint sensors are becoming more and more common among mobile devices. However, they are also mostly confined to AMOLED panels, which means getting this spec is likely to entail spending more on a new phone. Goodix, a company that makes these components, has announced that it is ready to mass-produce sensors that can work in LCD panels.

A new report published by a Chinese media outlet asserts that the flexible-display maker Visionox has agreed to supply its displays to the OEM Huawei. This agreement will apparently take effect from early 2020. Therefore, this brand (not to mention its subsidiary Honor) could start producing devices with next-gen screens very soon.