Comment articles on Notebookcheck

Intel could greatly benefit from spinning off its fabs in the long term. (Image Source: Extreme Tech)

Industry insiders believe Intel can spin off its fabs with a solid long-term plan that involves acquiring even more fabs

Even though certain investors continue to pressure Intel into spinning off its fabs, the new CEO is adamant that the company will continue to function as an IDM and only outsource select lineups to third-party foundries when neede...

Bogdan Solca, Wed, 03 Feb 2021 18:13:00 +0100

With a recent price drop and new advert, Microsoft is pushing Surface Pro 7 sales. (Image Source: Own)

New Microsoft advert claims the Surface Pro 7 is a better option than the MacBook Pro 13, including for gaming

Microsoft is heavily promoting the Surface Pro 7 with recent price drops now accompanied by a new advert comparing the Surface Pro 7 to the MacBook Pro 13 M1. The advert is done in a presentation style and shows why Microsoft thin...

Column by Craig Ward, Sun, 24 Jan 2021 06:35:00 +0100

The Galaxy S20 Ultra was the first disappointing phone in a year that too many of those. (Source: NextPit)

Looking back, 2020 was a pretty bad year for smartphone enthusiasts

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 plas...

Column by Ricci Rox, Fri, 01 Jan 2021 09:26:00 +0100

Playing with RTX off is often more practical, because sacrifices in resolution and graphical fidelity are so severe as to make RT effects not worth it.

I believe in ray tracing, but I do not believe in Nvidia's RTX 3000-series GPUs

It is possible to believe in real-time ray tracing while also at the same time acknowledging that the RTX 3000-series GPUs have, basically, no place in that future.

Column by Stanislav Kokhanyuk, Sun, 13 Dec 2020 05:18:00 +0100

Final nail in the coffin: Bar-raising AMD Ryzen 9 5950X somehow lags behind four Intel parts including the Core i9-10900K in average bench on UserBenchmark despite higher 1-core and 4-core scores

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X has been impressing many with its various appearances on synthetic benchmarks. However, it is the Intel Core i9-10900K that tops the average bench charts over at UserBenchmark, while the powerful Zen 3 Vermee...

Column by Daniel R Deakin, Tue, 10 Nov 2020 18:21:00 +0100

The One UI 2.5 update breaks Gcam. (Source: Trusted Reviews)

Do not install the One UI 2.5 update if you value Gcam on your Samsung Galaxy phone

The One UI 2.5 update has been sent out to a host of Galaxy smartphones across the globe. If you haven't received it, it may be a good idea to not install it even when you do get the OTA—if Google Camera support means anything to ...

Column by Ricci Rox, Sun, 08 Nov 2020 18:41:00 +0100

The PlayStation 5 stands out in design and size. (Image source: Sony via Reddit - u/batgamerman)

PlayStation 5 devkit and final next-gen console designs are revolutionary in comparison to previous efforts leaving high expectations for the PS6

Looking through images that compare PlayStation devkits with the final products reveals a couple of things: Both the PlayStation 5 devkit and final design PS5 console are revolutionary in comparison to their predecessors, and a lo...

Column by Daniel R Deakin, Mon, 26 Oct 2020 10:44:00 +0100

Is a 120-Hz display worth it? It depends. (Image source: OnePlus)

Do smartphones really need 120-Hz screens?

New smartphones are constantly outbidding each other with ever faster displays. The newest example is the OnePlus 8T. But do 120-Hz panels really make sense in a smartphone?

Column by Florian Schmitt, Sat, 24 Oct 2020 17:40:00 +0200

Opinion: This is why the Apple iPad 10.2 is a sustainable product

Apple has begun its push for sustainability well before Greta Thunberg by reducing the carbon footprint of its products and not using toxic materials for its devices. Since climate change became a major political issue, Apple star...

Daniel Schmidt, Wed, 21 Oct 2020 07:57:00 +0200

Could the iPhone SE 2020 stop people from buying the cheapest iPhone 12? (Image source: Apple).

Analyst prediction for the most popular iPhone 12 model is counter to recent trends

Apple’s upcoming release event, dubbed “Hi, Speed”, will feature its highly anticipated iPhone 12 series. Within the series are four rumoured devices, the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 Mini, 6.1-inch iPhone 12, 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, and 6....

Craig Ward, Mon, 12 Oct 2020 06:55:00 +0200

More lenses will not necessarily produce better images. (Image: Notebookcheck)

8P objectives are the "next big thing" when it comes to smartphones, but are they really better?

Comment Smartphone manufacturers have spent the last few years shouting ever bigger numbers at their customers: 108 megapixel camera sensors, 100x zoom functions and slow motion at 960 frames per second are just the beginning; the battle ...

Column by Hannes Brecher, Thu, 24 Sep 2020 11:43:00 +0200

We're calling it now: 2021 will introduce new laptops with way better webcams than ever before

COVID-19 and work-from-home orders have been a boon to virtual gatherings and Zoom meetings for office workers, students, doctors, and so much more. We strongly believe that this will accelerate the development of laptop webcams t...

Column by Allen Ngo, Mon, 14 Sep 2020 13:11:00 +0200

There is a reason why the PlayStation maker is often called

The exasperating PlayStation 5 wait might be the greatest trick Sony ever pulled - but don't worry, the PS5 does exist

Doritos, 4chan, Soony, and a parody song: PlayStation 5 waiting fatigue has really started kicking in hard, just as a likely controlled leak from Microsoft has given up the potential prices of the Xbox Series X and S. But to parap...

Column by Daniel R Deakin, Tue, 08 Sep 2020 10:13:00 +0200

Intel's dismissal of synthetic benchmarks is not entirely justifiable. (Image Source: Intel)

Intel still leans on gaming comparisons to prove its worth, but it may have shot itself in the foot this time around

Intel has been emphasizing the need to move away from traditional benchmarks for quite some time now. A recent press briefing to APAC journalists saw Intel extolling its advantages in gaming and postulating it as a more realistic ...

Column by Vaidyanathan Subramaniam, Wed, 26 Aug 2020 10:04:00 +0200

Over 30 million Command & Conquer games were sold between 1995 and 2009. (Image source: EA)

Remastered Command & Conquer, remade The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth, and rejuvenated Age of Empires can breathe life into expiring RTS genre

The real-time strategy (RTS) genre has been eclipsed over recent years by the highly popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) offshoot. However, it seems RTS fans have not been completely forgotten as beloved titles in the g...

Column by Daniel R Deakin, Thu, 20 Aug 2020 04:07:00 +0200

The Samsung Galaxy Fold — where do we go from here? (Image source: Samsung)

Thin bezels, under-display cameras, and foldables are overpriced stopgaps on the way to the post-smartphone paradigm

The rise of ultra-expensive foldable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Motorola Razr, and Apple’s rumoured iPhone/iPad hybrid underline a greater issue with the smartphone industry on the whole: the lack of genuine innovation ...

Column by Arjun Krishna Lal, Thu, 13 Aug 2020 19:05:00 +0200

How Intel can get back on top

Rocket Lake could be Intel’s comeback, its victory run and its redemption. All Intel has to do is win the core count game in the mainstream space.

Column by Stanislav Kokhanyuk, Wed, 29 Jul 2020 12:37:00 +0200

The Sony PlayStation 4 offers some fantastic exclusive titles, and the same strategy should lead the PS5 to success. (Picture: Teddy Guerrier, Unsplash)

Opinion | The Sony PlayStation 5 will win the next console battle, but the future belongs to Microsoft

History repeats itself: Sony and Microsoft will launch new consoles in the fall, but while the PlayStation 5 focuses on the upcoming console war, the Xbox team looks to the future that Microsoft does not want to miss again.

Hannes Brecher, Tue, 21 Jul 2020 14:12:00 +0200

16:10 displays are about to become mainstream on Windows laptops (Image source: Dell)

16:10 displays are about to become more mainstream on Windows laptops

Dell has kicked off the 16:10 race with the XPS 13, XPS 15, and XPS 17 and it's only a matter of time before other OEMs follow on those footsteps. The aspect ratio has proven that it has a place on consumer-centric laptops instead...

Column by Allen Ngo, Wed, 15 Jul 2020 22:13:00 +0200

The Mi A3 was released about a year ago. (Source: AndroidPit)

What is going on with the Xiaomi Mi A4?

The Mi A3 was launched right about a year ago. Going by Xiaomi's usual release schedule, one would expect the successor to that phone, the Mi A4, to be set for launch now. That doesn't seem to be the case, however, as there's been...

Ricci Rox, Sun, 12 Jul 2020 19:23:00 +0200

The OnePlus Z/Nord is coming. (Source: OnePlus)

OnePlus Z/Nord: US market set to get the short end of the stick again

OnePlus has confirmed the imminent launch of its upcoming mid-range phone. The phone is expected to be the OnePlus Z or OnePlus Nord, and will be a spiritual successor to the OnePlus X. Sadly, though, a US release looks to be in d...

Column by Ricci Rox, Wed, 24 Jun 2020 15:31:00 +0200

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 still looks fresh. (Source: BGR)

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was the last truly great Android flagship

Feature Samsung released the Galaxy Note 9 two years ago. Unlike most flagship phones from that era, however, the Note 9 still manages to look fresh, while offering premium features and performance, even by today's standards. And that, pe...

Column by Ricci Rox, Sun, 21 Jun 2020 19:55:00 +0200

Huawei and Honor aren't learning from their webcam mistakes

Huawei and Honor aren't learning from their outdated webcam mistakes

With shelter-in-place guidelines and Zoom meetings becoming increasingly common, the flaws of laptop webcams are jumping to the forefront. Huawei hasn't gotten the memo about "nosecams" and the last thing we want is for users on t...

Column by Allen Ngo, Tue, 16 Jun 2020 18:58:00 +0200

The PS5 was made for Kratos. (Image source: @BT_BlackThunder)

PS5 vs Xbox Series X: Sony has already won a crucial battle in the next-gen console war with the jaw-droppingly sexy PlayStation 5 design - but it also needs to come in black

Sony has revealed the PS5 design in all its glory and by doing so has won an important battle in the upcoming next-gen console war against the Xbox Series X. The unique and futuristic look of the PlayStation 5 has sparked a huge d...

Column by Daniel R Deakin, Sat, 13 Jun 2020 06:30:00 +0200

The Dell XPS 15 series would utterly dominate the market if it had 7 nm AMD Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 options

The Dell XPS 15 would utterly dominate the market if it had 7 nm AMD Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 9 options

How about an AMD-powered XPS 15? It's already one of the most popular and well-known Ultrabooks in the market, but it can be even better and faster with an AMD Ryzen 7 4800H, Ryzen 9 4900HS, or the Ryzen 5 4600H. Fans would eat up...

Column by Allen Ngo, Sat, 06 Jun 2020 00:39:00 +0200

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA. (Image source: PlayStation)

Opinion: Sony has made the right decision postponing the PS5 event

Sony has made the right decision by postponing the upcoming PS5 event that was originally scheduled for June 4, because “more important voices” do need to be heard at the moment. PlayStation 5 fans should support the company’s mov...

Column by Daniel R Deakin, Tue, 02 Jun 2020 02:09:00 +0200

One UI is a brilliant skin by all metrics. (Source; Samsung)

Opinion | It's about time we got better mobile hotspot controls in One UI

Samsung's One UI skin is generally hailed as one of the best OEM skins available right now, and is packed full with in-depth power-user features. All of that seems to be sorely missing in one segment: mobile hotspot, with Samsung'...

Ricci Rox, Sun, 31 May 2020 16:16:00 +0200

The Dell XPS 15 9500. (Image source: Dell)

Opinion | The Dell XPS 15 naming scheme is a mess

The XPS 15 naming scheme continues to cause confusion among fans of the series. With the XPS 15 9500 replacing the XPS 15 7590, which in turn replaced the XPS 15 9570, where does Dell go from 2021 onwards?

Alex Alderson, Thu, 28 May 2020 14:18:00 +0200

The EMUI 10 rollout for the P20 Pro has been limited. (Source: AndroidPit)

Opinion | A host of Huawei P20 Pro and Mate 10 Pro owners are still without EMUI 10

Back in February, Huawei claimed that the Mate 10 Pro and P20 Pro would receive the EMUI 10 update in March. Here we are months after, though, and most owners of the two phones remain stuck on EMUI 9.1. Comparatively, phones from ...

Ricci Rox, Sun, 24 May 2020 22:17:00 +0200

YouTube on longer offers HD content to Indian users on mobile (Image source: YouTube)

Opinion | YouTube, stop with the 480p bandwidth discrimination in India already

A month ago, YouTube decided to limit Indian mobile users to a maximum of 480p, citing bandwidth constraints. However, with 85 percent of YouTube users residing outside India, completely unaffected, the decision prompts questions ...

Arjun Krishna Lal, Mon, 18 May 2020 09:20:00 +0200

The LG V40 still looks good. (Source: Mashable)

Feature | The LG V40 ThinQ was the underappreciated flagship no one bought

The LG V40 had it all: three versatile rear cameras, five cameras in total, an excellent display, and competitive pricing. And yet, it never quite managed to hit the heights attained by its contemporaries; why?

Ricci Rox, Sun, 17 May 2020 17:33:00 +0200

Epic's Unreal 5 tech demo draws heavily on intricate, early and medieval Indian architecture (Image source: NeoGAF)

Opinion | Epic Unreal 5 Nanite and Indian architecture: complicated pyramids coming soon to a PlayStation 5 near you?

Epic's recent Unreal 5 tech demo, Lumen in the Land of Nanite, showcased the engine's Nanite micro-polygon rendering system and seemed to draw heavily from intricate ancient and medieval Indian architectural orders. Will next-gen ...

Arjun Krishna Lal, Thu, 14 May 2020 12:26:00 +0200

The ZenBook 14 inexplicably pairs a powerful Vega 7 iGPU with the MX350 (Image source: ASUS)

Opinion | The NVIDIA GeForce MX350 barely beats the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U's Vega 7 iGPU: Why are some OEMs using it anyway?

A new ASUS ZenBook 14 model sports the Ryzen 7 4700U APU, together with an Nvidia GeForce MX350 discrete graphics card. However, considering the narrow performance difference between the MX350 and the 4700U's iGPU, why does ASUS b...

Arjun Krishna Lal, Fri, 08 May 2020 09:25:00 +0200

Over 10 million gamers used Xbox Game Pass last quarter (Image source: Microsoft)

Opinion | Almost 1.5 percent of the entire world was on Xbox Live last quarter, thanks to COVID-19: Will Project xCloud and PS Now make the PS5 and Xbox Series X redundant in a post-COVID world?

Microsoft's Satya Nadella said that record numbers of users logged onto Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Live, and Project xCloud over the past few months. With social distancing set to remain, this raises questions about the future of gaming...

Arjun Krishna Lal, Thu, 30 Apr 2020 16:03:00 +0200

Both Microsoft and Sony will likely have to take a loss with the next-gen console sales. (Image source: GamersRD)

Opinion | If Sony doesn't accept a loss on initial PS5 console sales then Microsoft's Xbox Series X will wipe the floor with the PlayStation 5

Holiday 2020 is gearing up to be a true battle of the console giants: PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series X. Gamers have been discussing specifications, components, power, exclusive titles, backwards compatibility and more to decide whi...

Daniel R Deakin, Sun, 19 Apr 2020 13:04:00 +0200