Latest Tech News

TCL has launched new smartphones at its latest press conference. They include the 20 Pro 5G, which offers this brand's NXTVISION 2.0 screen optimizations and the Snapdragon 750G processor. However, the 20 L and 20 L+ also have an interesting new feature to introduce: a new TÜV Rheinland-certified polarizing treatment designed to make their displays easier to use while wearing sunglasses.

We may still be two months from the Galaxy Tab S7 Lite's release, but Evan Blass has delivered several marketing renders. Shown in Mystic Black, the 12.4-inch tablet is expected to launch with a Snapdragon 750G, 5G connectivity and S Pen support.

Mobvoi is not stopping with the TicWatch GTH, which it released this week. Instead, the company also plans to launch the TicWatch E3, a smartwatch that will run Wear OS. The TicWatch E3 has a round watch face, slimmer bezels than the E2 and two physical buttons.

Evan Blass has revealed Galaxy Book marketing renders, Samsung's cut-price version of the Galaxy Book Pro and the Galaxy Book Pro 360. The cheaper model will start at under US$1,000 and will come with a Core i7 processor from Intel's Tiger Lake family. The 15.6-inch laptop appears to lack Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, though.

A new blog post from Sony has spilt the beans about what Days Gone has in store for us on PC. It will support ultrawide monitors, third-party controllers, unlocked framerates, and more. It retails for US$49.99 and is up for pre-order on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

The latest version of the Parallels Desktop VM manager is optimized for the new M1-powered MacBooks and allows users to run virtualized Windows 10 at native speeds. Compared to previous Intel-based MacBooks, the new M1-based models are 2.5 more energy efficient, up to 60% faster in DX 11 games and up to 30% in general when running a virtual instance of Windows 10.

Nvidia is reportedly working on a new GeForce RTX 3060 variant with enhanced anti-crypto protections. It will use a new GA106-302 GPU which will require completely new drivers. The new RTX 3060 variant is expected to hit shelves in May 2021.

Sony has released a new update for the PlayStation 5, its ninth-generation games console. The latest update is a big one and contains numerous fixes and improvements. Some of these include the ability to game at 1080p and 120 Hz, extended HDMI-CEC support and the option of disabling HDR, among others.

Pre-order prices for both the Sony Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III have been published on the company’s country-specific site for Russia. While the prices for the new phones are expectedly high, it seems there is a decent headphones-related gift to be had for Russian Xperia fans who make a timely pre-order booking.

An alleged Geekbench record for the just-launched Sony Xperia 1 III has been shared on Reddit, showing the flagship smartphone surpassing the Samsung Galaxy S21 devices in both single-core and multi-core disciplines. The Xperia 1 III with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC completely overwhelms the Xperia 1 II with SD865.

The manufacturer still hasn't revealed how much it will cost, but it promises coupon codes and a free carrying bag for early bird buyers.

At a current price of about 89 Euros (~$106), it's almost impossible to find anything cheaper than the Redmi 9AT. However, Xiaomi cuts some corners in its entry-level phone in order to push the price below 100 Euros (~$119). Our review of the Redmi smartphone also reveals some unexpected differences compared with the Redmi 9A.

Amazon has announced its Echo Buds (2nd gen). The company claims to have addressed multiple issues customers had with their predecessors: they are now rated for better audio quality, active noise cancellation and fit in the ear. They are not available for purchase yet, though, but can be ordered in May 2021.

We have been using the EZVIZ C4W and C6CN security cameras for a few months now, and are just two in the company's vast range. Both are versatile cameras with plenty of features, but a few could do some with refinement, not least their Amazon Alexa and Google Home integration.

Xiaomi has started rolling out MIUI 12.5 to the Mi 11, one of its latest flagship smartphones. The update includes not only bug fixes from MIUI 12, but also new features and noticeable performance improvements. MIUI 12.5 should reach other Xiaomi smartphones later this year.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 will certainly pack a punch, what with its choice of Tiger Lake-H45 processors and NVIDIA Ampere GPUs. Amazon China has now shown what the upcoming 16:10 laptop looks like from multiple angles and has confirmed almost every specification about the flagship model.

Microsoft has restricted the smaller Surface Laptop 4 to the AMD Ryzen 5 4680U, but not if you buy the 'for Business' edition. Better still, the Surface Laptop 4 for Business version is also the cheapest way to get Microsoft's laptop with an 8-core processor, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage.

Logitech has killed Harmony, just as it did with Harmony Link and Squeeze Box. Apparently, Harmony servers will remain active, as will its database. For how long remains to be seen, though.

NVIDIA's CFO Colette Kress has spoken out about the ongoing graphics card shortage again. Apparently, demand is expected to outstrip supply for 'most of the year', which is another way of saying that there will be no GPUs at MSRP until next year.

The brand-new G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Elite DDR4 memory kits come with a multi-faceted crystalline design across the heat spreader and feature CL16 to CL22 timings, stock frequencies between 3600 MHz and 5333 MHz, and come in capacities between 16 GB and 64 GB. Shipments should begin next month.

Apple has just confirmed that its next Special Event will take place on April 20, 2021. Huawei has also gone ahead and scheduled a "new tablet debut" for the same day. This announcement, made through the OEM's official Japanese-language Twitter account, might lead to the unveiling of the MatePad Pro 2, a rumored iPad Pro competitor.

The new JiangXing X15 budget gaming laptop from Colorful comes with i5-10300H and i7-10870H processor options, which can be coupled with 8 or 16 GB of RAM (upgradable to 32 GB) and 512 GB SSD storage, plus an Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti dGPU. Even though these are sub-$1,000 models, Colorful still included high-quality 15.6-inch 1080p IPS displays with 144 Hz refresh rate and 100% sRGB coverage.

BlackBerry's latest owner, OnwardMobility, has committed to bringing the brand's signature physical keyboard back in a 5G phone soon. A tech blog has published work that imagines how such a phone might be designed in 2021. It combines triple rear cameras and a curved display with a new take on the classic feature.

The Redmi Note 10 series is now available in India - on the other hand, it is missing its vanilla 5G variant. Now, there are signs that this Dimensity 700-powered phone is coming to the market after all, albeit under a different name. Xiaomi has attested that it will bear the POCO brand in India - and possibly in the US as well.

The same 12-liter chassis from previous Corsair One mini ITX models can now be equipped with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 5900X or Intel Core i9-11900K, plus a desktop-grade RTX 3080 GPU. The systems also include 32 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, 1 TB NVMe + 2 TB HDD storage combo and quad video outputs. The Intel models come with a Thunderbolt 3 port.

According to famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the 2022 iPhone line will include massive 48-megapixel sensors and will be able to record 8K video. Kuo also claims that Apple will kill off the Mini model that has so far struggled to sell.

Apple has been making misleading claims about the Pro Display XDR, according to The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK. Now, Apple can no longer claim that the Pro Display XDR offers 'far beyond HDR' in the UK, although it continues to do so in the US and other countries. The same goes for the company implying that the display covers 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut.

Gigabyte has released a trio of AORUS gaming monitors, the AORUS FI32U, AORUS FV43U and the AORUS FO48U. All are 4K monitors with HDMI 2.1 ports, but only the flagship 48-inch model has an OLED panel. The three monitors should deliver excellent colour accuracy though, and can output at up to 144 Hz in most cases.

Samsung may have teased the announcement of a new Galaxy Book laptop, but Safety Korea has already revealed what the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 Convertible will look like. Both have 15-inch displays, number pads and are expected to feature Intel Tiger Lake-U series CPUs, along with optional NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPUs.

Sony has introduced two new Xperia premium phones — the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III. Both phones sport largely similar specifications including the Snapdragon 888 5G SoC with the main differences being with respect to the display, storage options, wireless charging, and a 3D ToF camera. The highlight of this launch is the introduction of a variable telephoto lens that offers a focal length between 70 mm and 105 mm.

Apple is prepping an under-display Face ID system for its iPhones, according to renowned Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo. The system will debut in Apple’s 2023 models and will mean the elimination of the controversial display notch creating a true all-screen iPhone for the first time.

AMD has released its Ryzen 5000G and Ryzen 5000GE-series of desktop processors with integrated graphics. There are currently three SKUs in each series, with the Ryzen 7 5700G being the top-end model. AMD claims the new OEM-only Cezanne Zen 3 desktop APUs have “the world’s fastest graphics in a desktop processor” with the presence of up to a Radeon Vega 8 iGPU.

Motorola is geared to release its next budget device, the Moto G20, in the near future. Specs, features, and images of the phone have now been revealed, with a major talking point being the SoC—Motorola eschewing offerings from Qualcomm and MediaTek in favor of a UNISOC T700.

Sony has unveiled the Xperia 10 III, which builds on the Xperia 10 II. The Xperia 10 III retains its predecessor's design, but Sony has upgraded its battery capacity to 4,500 mAh. Additionally, the Snapdragon 665 from last year's model has been swapped out for a Snapdragon 690.

Acer is now offering select configurations of its refreshed Nitro 5 lineup in India. The Nitro 5 will be available in both Intel and AMD flavors. The Intel SKUs feature a Core i5-11300H with GTX 1650 graphics while the AMD variants are powered by a Ryzen 5 5600H with a choice of either the RTX 3060 or the GTX 1650. Unfortunately, the higher spec options in the global variants are not yet available for the Indian market.

A new single-board computer from Chinese semiconductor designer Allwinner will feature an SoC based on the RISC-V 640bit architecture. However, the board lacks power due to its single-core CPU. Since it supports Linux and should cost less than US$15, the SBC should still be versatile enough for tinkering and projects.

The newest installment in the Pokemon Snap franchise, titled New Pokemon Snap, is set to hit the Nintendo Switch on April 30. The game is essentially a carbon copy of the 1999 original; players travel through a preset path and snap photos of Pokemon that pop up. The title is available for preorder now.

Alternatively, users can spend $50 more for the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti version for roughly 10 percent faster graphics performance. The IdeaPad 3 is one of the least expensive gaming laptops you can get with a 120 Hz display.

Samsung has teased its third Galaxy Unpacked even for the year, scheduling it for April 28 at 10am ET. The event promises to reveal “the most powerful Galaxy” device yet launched, but is unlikely to be a new Galaxy smartphone which what people typically think of when they hear or see “Galaxy” anywhere.

The LG Wing is, as it turns out, one of this OEM's last ever high-end smartphones. It is also the only one around with an innovative "swivel-action" main display. It is currently on sale for 62% (or ~US$665) off its normal price via Flipkart in India: clearly, the retailer has noticed LG has left the smartphone market.

Mobvoi has announced the TicWatch GTH, a new affordable smartwatch. Unlike many other examples of this OEM's wearables, however, it has a square face with rounded edges. It is also its first device to be capable of measuring the user's temperature.

The newer S333EA option costs about the same, but it comes with a handful of useful features and even performance upgrades over the S333JA that every user can take advantage of. The USB-C port on the S333JA is far more limited in comparison.

Google Camera modders have found what could be an exciting feature of the Pixel 6. It seems that Google has added support for Samsung's camera sensors to its Super Res Zoom feature, indicating that the next Pixel could use an ISOCELL camera sensor.

Microsoft has upgraded the Surface Laptop to Intel Tiger Lake and newer AMD Ryzen processors. The Surface Laptop 4 retains its predecessor's design, which is to say that it is available with 13.5-inch and 15-inch displays that have 3:2 aspect ratios. Unfortunately, both sizes have their compromises.

Huawei regularly adds features to the Watch GT 2, one of its most popular smartwatches. This time around, Huawei has refined the weather app and has added the ability to download watch faces via a connected iPhone. The Huawei Watch GT 2's April 2021 update should be available to download now.

Apple has announced that it will host its next hardware event on April 20, although Siri confirmed the existence of the 'Spring Loaded' event before Apple did. The event will commence at 10:00 am PDT and is expected to showcase several products, including next-generation iPads.

The latest update for this custom Android ROM now supports four more Xiaomi handsets and integrates the latest security patch from Google. The list of added features includes multiple UI changes, fixes, as well as always-on scheduling, system-wide app locking, and a new ringtone.

Square Enix launched a public beta of Final Fantasy XIV (14) for the PlayStation 5 today. The public beta is open to all and free of charge. The PlayStation 5 version of the popular MMORPG will include new features like support for 4K/60 fps gameplay, 3D audio, and more.

The PS5 is all set to receive its newest software update, which contains a mix of major and minor QoL updates. One can now move PS5 games to an external hard drive, fine-tune their game library, pre-download game updates, and more. However, users still cannot expand the console's internal storage via the included NVMe SSD slot.

With the rising LCD production costs and the sub-par QD-OLED panels developed by Samsung Display, the Korean giant apparently has no other choice but to sign a deal with LG for 5 million OLED TVs supplied throughout 2022. Quite ironic for Samsung, as it has been trying to prove OLED panels are inferior to its QLEDs for the past few years.