Latest Tech News

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved 2 new Samsung devices, the SM-R880 and SM-R885, for sale. As they are thought to be 2 versions of the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4, this may put the flagship wearables closer to launch than ever. Furthermore, the regulator has confirmed that one of these products has 4G/LTE connectivity.

Lenovo US now offers the new Legion 5 with AMD silicon via its webstore. The 165Hz 15-inch PC is available with the Ryzen 7 5800H processor and either RTX 3060 or 3070 graphics. The OEM touts it as "battle ready" for the thin and light gaming laptop arena.

Apple has released an alternative to its popular AirPods Pro, this time under its Beats brand. The Beats Studio Buds is not only cheaper than the AirPods Pro, but it also has a USB Type-C port on its charging case. The Beats Studio Buds features ANC too and even has longer battery life than the AirPods Pro.

Microsoft has unveiled a new entry in its Xbox series, the Xbox Mini Fridge. According to the company, the Xbox Mini Fridge keeps drinks cooler than all its competitors thanks to Xbox Velocity Cooling Architecture. The Xbox Mini Fridge should hold up to 10 cans, too.

According to a report, Apple has settled on the design for its next iPad mini. The so-called iPad mini 6 contains numerous changes from the current model, including a more modern design, an Apple A14 Bionic SoC and an optional 5G modem. Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support are also due for the upcoming tablet.

We tested the PWM and display response times in our 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro with M1 and found that there are some downsides to Apple's transition to mini LED tech this year. The 2021 12.9-inch iPad Pro not only shows lower PWM compared to the 2020 model but also has noticeably higher response times, particularly in black-to-white transitions.

Mobvoi has updated its Android app to reflect that it will soon be selling the TicWatch E3, two days before its official unveiling. A hands-on video has confirmed most specifications about the smartwatch too, including its SoC, RAM and storage.

Xiaomi has announced that it will release a new smartwatch to the Indian market soon. This new wearable is called the Active version of the Mi Watch Revolve, and does not appear hugely different from that pre-existing smartwatch. Then again, it may have an updated UI, driven by a new "Watchful Living" philosophy.

Apple's next personal audio devices are projected to come from the Beats brand and to be called the Studio Buds. The prolific leaker Jon Prosser now asserts that these TWS earbuds will cost no more than US$150 and may launch very soon. They will apparently do so in the black, white or red SKUs hinted at in earlier renders.

A new report says that Samsung may hold off on launching the Galaxy S21 FE in August. It seems that the company has trouble procuring the Snapdragon 888 chipsets that power the smartphone. Another rumour suggests that Samsung could postpone the entire Galaxy Unpacked event by a month or two.

A report out of China has stated that Nvidia will drastically cut the supply of GeForce RTX 2060 cards to bolster production efforts in regard to the Ampere-based GeForce RTX 30 series of boards. Gamers around the world have struggled to get their hands on Nvidia’s latest and greatest, so this purported plan will be welcomed by many.

Wacom has announced that the entry-level, non-wireless version of its Intuos drawing tablet has joined the Works With Chromebook program. This means the device is certified to integrate "seamlessly" with Chrome OS PCs via USB type A. This might represent a useful new prospect for beginner artists and creators, not to mention remote educators.

A new Twitter leak suggests that Samsung has won the contract to supply Qualcomm with the successor to its flagship mobile SoC, the Snapdragon 888. Should this be the case, the South Korean giant will make this chipset alongside its own next-gen top-end processor, the Exynos 2200, possibly using the same "4nm" process.

AYA has just proven all the naysayers wrong by shipping its first batch of NEO units earlier this month to initial backers. A second round of shipments is expected early July with an official online storefront to come at a later date.

The trend for laptop displays is currently moving towards a longer 16:10 aspect ratio. The result is smaller bezels below and above the screen, more space for documents - and much better usability in tablet mode. This is shown by the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga Gen 2, for example.

NVIDIA released a low-key update on its plans for end-of-lifing cards based on the Kepler architecture. According to a new post on NVIDIA's support site, Kepler cards like the GeForce GTX 780 Ti will no longer receive driver updates from August 2021 onwards.

The die shots showcase Sapphire Rapids ESF parts that utilize MCM, enabling Intel to creates chips with up to 56 Golden Cove cores. Multi-socket implementations could offer enterprise customers a new Xeon option with higher IPC, better temps at 10nm, scaling up to 3-digit core counts.

Google is projected to return to offering an XL (even if it is rumored to be called the Pro now) variant with the upcoming Pixel 6 series. Now, a screen protector allegedly made for this phone has shown up on SlashLeaks, as has one for the vanilla 6. They seem to line up with earlier tips pointing to the devices' case designs.

The Galaxy M32 is a phone reportedly destined for the Indian market in 2021. The latest rumors state that Samsung will finally have this device ready to go in June of this year. It is expected to launch with quad rear cameras, a 6,000mAh battery and an FHD+ Super AMOLED display.

Sony may have teased the design and innovation of a future Xperia 1 IV smartphone in recent adverts for its WF-1000XM4 headphones. In at least three promo clips, users of the new noise-cancelling headphones can be seen accessing a smartphone that looks like a Sony Xperia 1 III from the rear but something else from the front.

Lenovo's latest Windows tablet is barely 4 months old and it's already being discounted. If you're in the market for a Windows Surface Pro, then you may want to consider getting the ThinkPad X12 instead.

The smartphone brands Realme and OnePlus are rumored to be working on phones powered by the Dimensity 1200 SoC: the X9 Pro and the Nord 2 respectively. Now, a Weibo-based leaker insists that they are in fact one and the same, and will be marketed as the latter for international release. Meanwhile, a second X9 Pro with a different processor is slated to be a Chinese-market exclusive.

The JMGO 01 and JMGO 01 Pro are both ultra-short-throw projectors that undercut their competitors on price. The pair support Amazon Alexa and should last up to 45,000 hours, while the 01 Pro also features Leica-optimised optics.

The reServer is a compact server powered by Intel Tiger Lake processors. The device is also compatible with Arduino and supports up to 64 GB of RAM, among other features.

Razer has launched the new Opus X headphones via its own website. These new wireless accessories have emerged as a new mid-range variant of their series, compared to the original Opus cans. They support active noise cancellation (ANC) and a low-latency connection, yet lack the THX certification of their predecessors, not to mention a 3.5mm port for a wired mode.

The wow-factor of the new slim-bezel iPad Pro's design on its reveal may have quickly transmuted into anxiety when the popular YouTuber Zach Nelson found that its super-slim frame rendered it extremely susceptible to destruction should it encounter bending forces. Now, it is finally time to see how the latest, mini-LED iteration of this tablet holds up to the same kind of testing.

After months of radio silence, From Software finally offered a solid update on the state of Elden Ring. A new trailer showcased gameplay and art design that hew closely to Dark Souls. From also announced a release timeframe, with Elden Ring expected to drop in January 2022.

Following the security incident at CD Projekt Red, it appears that Electronic Arts is dealing with the aftermath of a data breach. Hackers have reportedly made away with nearly 1 Terabyte of sensitive data, including the source code for the Frostbite engine.

Information about Age of Empires IV has been shared after details and screenshots of the upcoming RTS game were seemingly accidentally posted on Steam. The file size for Age of Empires IV, which will apparently be released on October 28, has also purportedly been leaked.

Samsung’s next major Galaxy Unpacked event is tipped for August 3. The event is expected to see the unveiling of the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Flip 3 and Galaxy Watch 4 series.

The model number for the Nintendo Switch Pro’s SoC has been shared by a noted leaker. The tipster states that the Big N will use a customized processor for its future Switch console, utilizing Ampere architecture from Nvidia and Hercules microarchitecture from ARM. The apparent Switch Pro SoC model number associates it with the Tegra Orin chip.

Rumors are flying that Microsoft has acquired no less than three more studios to join its growing list of game developers that make up the Xbox Game Studios. While no names have yet been confirmed, it’s widely believed that the makers of Crysis, Crytek, will be one of the companies focusing their future output on the Xbox Series X|S and Windows.
Update: New rumors suggest Microsoft has acquired five studios.

The manufacturer is likely clearing room for the eventual ThinkBook 15 G3 model with AMD Ryzen 5000U series options later this year. If you want a prosumer laptop for a budget price, then this deal will check a lot of boxes.

Realme has set the international launch of its flagship smartphone, the GT, for June 15, 2021. Now, its latest teasers hint that it has an additional new product by the same name to debut alongside it. This prospect is presented alongside images that might show the profiles of not only its rumored first laptop, but a tablet as well.

OtterBox has unveiled a new product aimed at the problem of controller drain while gaming on the Xbox Series X, S or One. It consists of the new Power Swap Controller Batteries, along with a charging cradle for the same. The OEM asserts that it is optimally designed to enable one-handed battery reloads without a break in play.

When a smartphone does exactly what is expected from its price range, this can definitely be an advantage. At least this is the impression given by the Oppo A94 5G.

Games could see up to 28% fps improvements with faster RAM kits, but the average is around 10% at 1080p max settings or 15% for 1080p low settings. The absence of a MUX switch raises the performance gap to 33% in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, so we might want to wait for the more expensive versions that allow us to disable the iGPU.

Nostalgic about GPUs from the past few decades? This museum has everything from the console and arcade boards of the '80s, ISA cards, 3DFX SLI setups, the first true GPU - the GeForce 256 from Nvidia, pre-AMD ATI dual-GPU beasts and even separate sections dedicated to the Chinese e-sport scene sponsored by Colorful iGame or VR and high-end racing simulators.

HMD Global has presented the Nokia C20 Plus, another budget smartphone for the company. The C20 Plus retails for equivalent to US$110 and comes with 3 GB of RAM, a 4,950 mAh battery and 32 GB of expandable storage.

The June 2021 security patch has arrived for the Mi A2 Lite, courtesy of its V11.0.20.0.QDLMIXM update. V11.0.20.0.QDLMIXM is rolling out now as an OTA, but it may be the Mi A2 Lite's penultimate update.

The next major upgrade to Android, simply known as 12, has started on its path to a final form with the launch of its second beta. The vice-president (VP) of engineering at the OS' team has released an interesting statistic to go with this new milestone: its immediate predecessors apparently attracted the most downloads and installs of any pre-stable Android version in its history.

CD Projekt Red may have released Cyberpunk 2077 last year, but Seagate has decided to release a limited edition as a tie-in. The Cyberpunk 2077 Limited Edition SSD comes with a large yellow heat sink, the Cyberpunk logo and RGB lighting.

Apple has registered new iPhone model numbers with the EEC, ahead of the iPhone 13 series presumed launch this autumn. The model numbers are brand-new and could only refer to upcoming iPhones.

Sony has finally made professional-grade drones for cameras like the Alpha 1 in-house for the first time. However, all the seamless compatibility, enhanced connectivity, speed and control over aerial footage implied with the launch of the Airpeak S1 comes at a near-five-figure cost. Furthermore, the new gimbal designed for the UAV does not even come in the box with it.

Four months ago, CD Projekt Red revealed that it had become the victim of a ransomware attack. Initially, the company brushed off the attack, but it has now confirmed that people are sharing sensitive information online.

The first signs of a new Intel-based Mac Pro have made their way online courtesy of an Xcode 13 beta. The first beta contains references to 3rd Generation Xeon Scalable Processors, server-grade CPUs based on Intel's Ice Lake architecture. Currently, these 10 nm processors are available with between 8 and 40 cores.

Contrary to previous reports, Mobvoi has denied that the TicWatch Pro 3 will necessarily receive Wear OS 3.0, or 'Wear' as Google now calls it. Supposedly, Mobvoi awaits 'official confirmation...from Google' on the matter.

According to reports, neither the Surface Duo nor the Surface Duo 2 will receive Android 12 this year. An Android 11 release date has been mooted for the Surface Duo, though. For some reason, Microsoft plans to release the Surface Duo 2 with what will be an outdated OS by that point, albeit with flagship components.

Sony has added to the colour options in which it already sold the WH-1000XM4. From the middle of this month, the company will begin selling its latest over-ear headphones in Midnight Blue, which also has gold accents. The Midnight Blue model will not be a limited edition and is US$100 cheaper than the limited Silent White version.

Apple's WWDC was a mixed bag. There were a lot of updates to apps, but not a lot of apparent OS-level or UI changes. In particular, many fans of the new extremely powerful iPad Pro models were left disappointed by the seemingly little effort Apple put into fully leveraging it through its iPadOS 15 upgrades.