Business Articles

The latest estimated PS5 sales numbers have the console rapidly approaching five million units sold. Rumors have been circulating that there will be a considerable restock within the next few days, and fans in Thailand now have a pre-order date, launch date, and price for the PlayStation 5 console.

The 5G version of the Pixel 4a launched in just one color: black. Unless, of course, you went with the Verizon-exclusive white option instead. However, Google has now announced it is releasing unlocked SKUs of device in both colors from January 28, 2021.

Apple App Store users spent a record US$540 million on New Year's Day, capping off a week that saw total App Store spending of $1.8 billion. The App Store continues to be one of Apple's most successful lines of business; since its inception, developers have earned over $200 billion and Apple has earned an estimated $85 billion over the past 12 years.

Those who own current-gen Xbox consoles have reportedly been sent a survey by Microsoft about their experiences with the devices to date. It also contains some pointed questions about how they would like to see it go in the future, hinting at the possible prospect of a new controller with up-to-date features from that for the new PlayStation.

OnLeaks has leaked Nokia's next mid-range smartphone. Called the Nokia 6.3 or Nokia 6.4, the device will feature a 6.45-inch display and four rear-facing cameras. There will also be a headphone jack, a USB Type-C port and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Apple is thought to finally introduce iPhones with 120 hertz (Hz) refresh rates with the successors to the 12 series. However, only their highest-end variants are thought to get LTPO OLED displays, which, according to the latest word on this subject, are to be made by Samsung. However, LG might take over in this department in 2022.

Intel investor Third Point is urging for the adoption of serious measures to restore the chip maker's market position. Suggested solutions include selling off unnecessary acquisition and splitting up the manufacture and design operations, plus outsourcing some of the production to the new Oregon facilities built by TSMC. Intel should present a clear course of action in its financial report scheduled for late January.

Acer has introduced the Chromebook Spin 514 — the first Chromebook to be powered by AMD Ryzen 3000C series of Chromebook APUs. The Chromebook Spin 14 is offered in both consumer and Enterprise variants and sports a durable chassis, adequate port selection, and support for Android apps from the Play Store. The Enterprise version can also be availed as part of Acer's Device-as-a-Service program.

Eve has two products in the pipeline this year, four years on from the ill-fated release of the original Eve V. However, there are still concerns about missing refunds for orders placed over three years ago. At least US$225,000 is allegedly owed.

Honor's first phone of 2021 is said to be powered by a MediaTek chipset. However, according to a new report, its next launch after that may feature a Snapdragon processor instead. Now that it is out from under the Huawei umbrella, it can partner with Qualcomm to make "normal" Android phones again.

Lenovo has improved the CPU performance of the current ThinkPad X1 Extreme, but the Intel CPU is still inferior to AMD's current processors. The X1 Extreme Gen3 is a very good multimedia laptop and we especially like the excellent keyboard, but there is still room for improvements for upcoming iterations.

After a great debut that has managed to bring in over 1 million concurrent users, Cyberpunk 2077 has already dropped to less than quarter of that. This happened with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as well, but after three months. Unfortunately, Cyberpunk 2077 took the dive in less than a month after release.

With 100% coverage of both sRGB and Rec 709 color gamuts, the new Asus ProArt Display PA278CV professional monitor features a 27-inch IPS panel with 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, a rich set of connectivity options, Adaptive-Sync (48~75 Hz), as well as an ergonomic design with adjustable tilt, swivel, pivot, and height.

It has been reported that AMD will launch the Radeon RX 6700 and RX 6700 XT graphics cards by the end of March. Apparently, both parts will feature 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and utilize Navi 22 GPUs. However, rival Nvidia appears to have a busy few months planned with rumors of numerous new GeForce RTX 30 series cards springing up.

The Redmi Note 8T was released as a variant of the Redmi Note 8, but with NFC support. Xiaomi is set to release the successor to that device, in the form of the Redmi Note 9T, and details of the phone have now surfaced ahead of launch.

DG2 refers to second-gen discrete graphics solutions from Intel, said to launch in the first half of 2021 (1H2021) at the earliest. It is rumored to have an increased execution unit (EU) count compared to its Xe Max predecessor. According to code allegedly found in a new driver from the OEM, this may indeed be the case.

Dell has unveiled the next step in its unique solution to a key problem of all-in-one PCs: upgradeability. The new Dell OptiPlex 7090 Ultra is an iteration on 2019's OptiPlex7070 ultra, a tiny flat desktop designed to fit into a monitor stand. The new OptiPlex 7090 Ultra brings 11th Gen Intel CPUs, Intel's Iris Xe Graphics, and more to the form factor.

The new 23.8-inch UltraSharp monitors from Dell feature IPS panels with a wide 178-degree viewing angle, wide color coverage (100% sRGB and 85% DCI-P3), multitasking features, as well as a productivity hub (U2422HE only) with RJ45, USB-C, and more. As usual, availability and pricing depend on the market and retailer.

With a generous screen size of 37.5 inches, the new Dell U3821DW curved UltraSharp monitor features 95% DCI-P3, 100% sRGB and 100% Rec 709 color accuracy, dual 9 W speakers, multiple multitasking facilities such as KWM, PIP, PBP, and Easy Arrange, as well as multiple ports grouped in a hub that includes RJ45, USB-C, and more.

The new 27-inch monitors from Dell feature IPS panels with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and a color depth of 1.07 billion colors. The U2722D and U2722DE models are almost identical, but the latter also features a hub with RJ45 and USB-C connectivity that can deliver up to 90 W of power.

Dell's new 24-inch C2422HE, 27-inch C2722DE, and 34-inch C3422WE monitors are the world's first ones to be certified for Microsoft Teams. Their list of features includes a pop-up 5 MP IR camera, dual 5 W integrated speakers, a noise-canceling microphone, as well as Dell's ComfortView Plus blue light reduction hardware solution.

Dell's new business mid-rangers have a brand new design as well as Intel Tiger Lake. There are many changes happening for the new Dell Latitude 5320, Latitude 5420 and Latitude 5520. One is especially interesting: Dell is getting rid of its equivalent to the ThinkPad TrackPoint.

Just beneath the flagship segment, Dell places the Latitude 7000 series. This high-end lineup gains a new member this year: The Dell Latitude 7520 is the first 15.6 inch version of this class. Also, the pre-existing models are updated. The new Dell Latitude 7420 and Latitude 7320 are available as both laptop and convertible versions.

The new 55-inch and 65-inch 4K interactive touch monitors from Dell, labeled C5522QT and C6522QT, feature built-in 20 W speakers, dual-tip stylus, 20-point touch support, anti-glare and anti-smudge coatings, ComfortView for reduced blue light emissions, 90 W USB-C power delivery, and more.

Dell has spruced-up its premium Latitude 9000 series lineup with a design refresh and internal upgrades. The Latitude 9420 comes in both 2-in-1 and traditional laptop form factors. Both variants sport 16:10 displays and are powered by Intel 11th gen Tiger Lake processors with vPro configurations. The new Latitude 9420 also offers an automatic SafeShutter for the webcam and AI-powered Dell Optimizer software.

The Dell OptiPlex 3090 Ultra is an ultra-compact zero footprint modular all-in-one PC that can be directly mounted behind a monitor. The OptiPlex 3090 Ultra allows for easy deployment and maintenance while offering a choice of Tiger Lake Core i3, Core i5, and Celeron processor options along with flexible RAM and storage choices.

With a release date that still has to be disclosed, the Dell Optimizer software solution promises to deliver a wide range of improvements and optimizations. Dell describes this piece of code as a built-in AI solution that "learns and adapts to the way you work" and is the first of its kind.

The Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved U4021QW is a monitor that is geared towards ultimate business productivity. The UltraSharp 40 Curved is a 5K IPS panel with 100% sRGB and 98% DCI-P3 coverage with a delta E less than 2. The UltraSharp 40 Curved offers a wide range of ports and can control two PC inputs at once thanks to Dell's Auto KVM feature.

Dell is introducing a new Latitude 13 7320 Detachable tablet with looks that are reminiscent of a Microsoft Surface Pro X. The Latitude 13 7320 Detachable is powered by Intel 11th gen Tiger Lake vPro processors and offers a 500-nit 3:2 FHD+ display, 4G LTE WWAN connectivity, AI-accelerated Dell Optimizer tuning, and more.

Asus has revealed that a wide range of its premium graphics cards and motherboards have had their prices increased. For example, the Asus ROG Strix Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 White OC Edition Gaming card now costs over US$2,100, and the ROG Strix LC AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT that was US$899.99 at launch is now priced at US$1,079.99.

At CES 2021, LG will be showcasing two new OLED display technologies. One is what the manufacturer calls a Bendable Cinematic Sound OLED panel that can curve or flatten as per viewing preference. The other kind of display is a transparent OLED that enables simultaneous information display and transparency for use in homes and commercial settings.

The Mi AX6000 router is a powerful new source of home Wi-Fi that Xiaomi will release for the first time on January 8, 2021. The OEM has hyped this cutting-edge product by seeing which device could use its up-to-800Mb/s signal first: an iPhone 12 Pro Max or a brand-new Mi 11.

With CES 2021 coming up, retailers are likely trying to clear stock ahead of all the inevitable announcements. Now would be the time to find a lot of deals on both last generation and current generation laptops.

Sony's original plan was to launch the PlayStation 5 on November 19, 2020; however, they fell through with no sign of the console in the country since. It has now at least released details on its re-scheduled launch, as well as the start of pre-orders with channels such as Flipkart.

According to a slew of recent certifications, Samsung has a new product called the Galaxy Smart Tag in the works. It, as the name suggests, is a Tile- or AirTag-like gadget that can connect to a phone via Bluetooth in order to locate it, or the other way around. It might be ready to debut alongside the OEM's new flagship phones.

With a daily low of less than US$29,000 and a maximum price of no less than US$31,388.38, today is a very exciting day for Bitcoin investors. The value of this cryptocurrency is now 25% higher than a week ago, and the monthly growth is an impressive 63.95%. Considering these, the "US$100,000 in 2021" predictions no longer seem outrageous.

The office convertible holds a few trump cards: It is quiet, sturdily built, has good input devices, a nice display, an excellent microphone, a fast card reader, and component maintenance is no foreign concept either. Will you hold all the trump cards with the Latitude 5310?

Huawei had reportedly removed all Tencent games from its first-party mobile app market, AppGallery, following an objection from the software giant as to how much of the takings it retained from sales of the app in question. This remuneration structure has also led to disagreements between the OEM and other developers.

Xiaomi received over 226,000 pre-orders for the Mi 11 and those have translated sweetly to actual sales, with the company announcing that it sold over 350,000 units of the new flagship in just five minutes. That works out to right about US$230 million in sales, no doubt in part due to the Mi 11's outstanding value proposition.

2020 will go down as one of the worst years in history and that's a sentiment that should also be echoed by keen lovers of the smartphone world. Starting with the underwhelming Galaxy S20 Ultra, to the Galaxy Note 20 with its plastic back, down to the trend of selling phones without a charger—2020 sure dropped the ball.

The PlayStation 5 (or PS5) has not been on the market long, and is not even available everywhere on Earth yet. Nevertheless, a new report claims that it has sold 3.4 million units already, more than any of its predecessors to date. The PS5 is also now projected to sell much more in 2021.

The new Xiaomi Mi 11 has now been unclothed in a teardown video revealing its internal components, layout, and design. The phone's camera hardware has also been detailed, although some may consider the 108 MP camera to be on the aging side.

Word on the street is that 2021 could be huge for Xbox with UPlay rumored to be coming to Xbox Game Pass next year. Several big ticket titles such as non-MMO Bethesda games, Forza Horizon 5, Starfield, Wolfenstein 3, and other AAA games are expected to come to Xbox in 2021. Microsoft's plans of acquiring Sega may also finally bear fruition next year.

The display-maker TCL is now the focus of allegations that it has included "backdoor" software in TVs intended for the American market. These suspicions allegedly come from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Then again, the OEM denies the claims, and that the administration in question has yet to bring these accusations to it directly.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 smartphone hasn’t even been officially launched yet and it already seems like it will be a great sales success for the company. Over 226,000 people have already signed up for Mi 11 preorders via a single platform. There is some speculation that sales for the Xiaomi Mi 11 series will start in China on January 1, 2021.
Update: The bookings figure has now reached over 400,000.