Latest Tech News

A popular Sony digital camera news blog has published what it claims to be the first leaked image of the Japanese manufacturer’s A9II flagship camera. Sony released the full-frame mirrorless A9 camera in 2017 and there are many keenly awaiting its successor. The alleged A9II looks practically identical to its predecessor.

A demonstration video created by Luminous Productions has shown the incredible level of graphics quality that could be wielded by next-gen consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Project Scarlett. Although the Back Stage clip was designed with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, the ray-tracing capability on show is something AMD should be providing for the upcoming gaming devices.

A device simply called “Huawei Dev Phone” has been spotted on the AI Benchmark, and both the phone and the HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G mobile SoC it features have completely outclassed the competition in the benchmark’s performance rankings. The smartphone’s final AI score was more than twice the amount of its nearest rival, the Honor 20S.

An image showing three Google Pixel 4 smartphones in different colors has seemingly leaked on Weibo. Unsurprisingly, both a black and white SKU are visible, but the choice for the third color has caused some eyebrows to be raised. It had already been leaked that Google was going with orange as one of the Pixel 4’s color options.

Qualcomm has announced that its chipsets for the premium, premium mid-tier and mid-tier mobile devices of the future will all come with 5G as standard. This is because they will have support for these next-gen data bands built into them directly as systems-on-chips (SoC). Of these, the 5G 7-series is already being used to design phones by OEMs such as Nokia and LG.

A recent tweet posted by Ice universe has made strong implications that Samsung will be focusing on the camera equipment used in future devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S11. Although the tipster did not reveal any specifics, his somewhat cryptic message will offer hope to Samsung fans tired of reading about superior iPhone and Pixel cameras.

The anticipated successor to the Pixel 3 has appeared on Geekbench. It shows that the device has 4GB of RAM, is powered by the Snapdragon 855 SoC and runs Android 10. Therefore, it stands a decent chance of actually being a Google phone - however, the leak does have some inadequacies.

Senior XDA member 'kdrag0n' has released the new Proton Kernel for the Asus ZenFone 6. Apart from bringing several enhancements, the Proton Kernel enables a 75 Hz display refresh rate option for smoother visuals. The Proton Kernel can be installed over the stock Asus ZenUI 6 Android Pie image after a bootloader unlock.

Some images of a potential GPD prototype device have been leaked onto Baidu, showing something that is not entirely dissimilar to the Nintendo Switch. GPD has become renowned for its innovation in the gaming device field, and it could be possible that the Chinese company wants to take a bigger bite out of the hybrid console market.

Although the concept of gaming-professional hybrid laptops isn't new, the advent of Nvidia Studio has accelerated the adoption and selection of such high-performance models. Existing laptops designed for professionals like the Gigabyte Aero series have been getting more exposure as a result. This comparison will show what features the gaming-professional Aero 17 has to offer when compared to a "pure" gaming laptop from Razer.

The JBL Pulse 4 is the latest in a series of portable Bluetooth speakers that also light up as they stream audio. This iteration also has an IPX7 rating and an estimated 12 hours of playback. Its LEDs are controlled by a proprietary app, which also allows it to sync with multiple compatible devices from the same brand.

The online security company Kaspersky has reported the presence of dangerous programs in the digital versions of educational content for university students. These essays and texts were found to contain malware of varying severity and virulence. Some were described as capable of infecting whole networks from a single student's PC.

The charging accessory brand Arun has a new travel product that can charge both mobile devices and full notebooks. This "power station" has variants with 22000mAh or 30000mAh capacities, both of which has a full AC outlet, as well as USB type A and C ports. The latter can charge a mobile device at up to 45 watts (W), whereas the former can deliver up to 100W.

The price of entry for Razer laptops has always been on the high side. The new entry-level GTX 1660 Ti SKU should make it a little easier for users to pull the trigger by dropping the minimum price of a 2019 Blade 15 from $2000 to $1600 USD.

Qualcomm has introduced its latest "add-on" for its 2nd-generation 5G modem, the Snapdragon X55. The QTM527 is an antenna that confers mmWave reception on the chipset. It is intended to enable the X55 to handle fiber-level connections for homes and businesses, regardless of their location.

Although it is not cheap at all, the Galaxy A90 5G is Samsung's first non-flagship handset with support for the fastest mobile connectivity standard available for the masses (depending on region, of course). Sadly, although it is more expensive than most 4G flagships currently on the market, the Galaxy A90 5G will only get a new security patch every four months.

Unlike other OEMs that immediately jumped on the Ice Lake bandwagon, Dynabook decided to stick with Whiskey Lake and powered the new Tecra X50 with a Core i7-8665U CPU. The business-class notebook also comes with a 15.6-inch IGZO FHD LCD display, 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB NVMe SSD storage, Wi-Fi 6 and two Thunderbolt 3 ports.

The Z1x retains the Snapdragon 712 SoC, 6 GB and up to 128 GB storage from the previous Z1 Pro, but introduces premium features like a Super AMOLED screen with in-display fingerprint reader and a rear triple-cam with 48, 8 and 2 MP sensors. The battery got downgraded from 5,000 to 4,500 mAh since the AMOLED screen requires less power, but it still features the 22.5 W FlashCharge tech.

After more than a decade in the industry, Movere is joining Microsoft to boost its cloud capabilities. Movere is a discovery solution that allows for easy cloud migration, but also optimizes, monitors, and analyzes IT environments to help administrators stop wasting time for manual data gathering and processing.

The Schenker XMG Fusion 15 features a Core i7-9750H processor, either an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti or RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU and up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM. The XMG Fusion 15 comes with a 94 Wh battery, Thunderbolt 3 and a 144 Hz 1080p 15.6-inch IPS panel too. Schenker will officially launch the Fusion 15 on September 17.

Acer has announced a total of four Chromebooks at IFA 2019. Of these, the Chromebook Spin 311 is a 11.6-inch convertible while the remaining three sport a traditional laptop form-factor. All Chromebooks are powered by entry-level Intel CPUs and feature USB Type-C ports, Gigabit Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0.

HMD Global has announced a new a mid-range smartphone at IFA 2019 — the Nokia 7.2. The Nokia 7.2 features a 48 MP triple camera setup with ZEISS optics and AI enhancements for improved low-light photos. The Nokia 7.2 sports an always-on 10-bit HDR FHD+ display powered by a dedicated Pixelworks visual processor and will be available September-end starting from €299.

As expected, LG has officially revealed its latest flagship smartphone at Berlin’s IFA 2019 expo. The new LG G8X ThinQ is also offered with a new sleeker second-screen accessory that also includes a third monochrome 2.1-inch ancillary on its rear for notifications when the second screen accessory case is folded over the main display.

Lenovo has unveiled new Yoga C- and S-series models. As expected, they conform to Project Athena and feature premium materials and features in many variants. Some also offer up to 10th-gen Intel Core processors and AI features intended to boost performance and cooling under certain circumstances

According to a purported leak, the OPPO A5 (2020) will have the exact same SoC, screen, battery, and camera as the A9 (2020). The main difference between the two handsets will be RAM and storage: the A5 (2020) tops out at 4 GB/128 GB, while the A9 (2020) can only be configured with 8 GB/128 GB. The price difference is rumored to be less than US $40.

The well-known tech tipster IceUniverse claims to have attended a Vivo event in which this OEM outlined plans to use Samsung's newest SoC in one of its own phones. This chipset, the Exynos 980, is thought to be best suited to mid-range phones - albeit ones with 5G. Vivo apparently plans to release just such a device before the end of 2019.

Facebook Dating is finally launching in the US for everyone after spending almost an entire year in a limited testing stage. Also available in other 19 countries across South America and Asia, Facebook Dating is expected to hit Europe by early 2020. Obviously, the Dating profile is separate from the main Facebook profile.

Motorola has announced the release of 2 new smartphones, the One Zoom and Moto E6 Plus. The former has a 6.4-inch 1080p display, a 4000 mAh battery and Dual OIS for its quad rear cameras. The new Moto E, on the other hand, is a dual-camera phone with a 6.1-inch HD+ display.

Have the rumours about the Mate 30 Pro got you clamouring for its launch event on September 19? Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but recent renders published by OnLeaks and Pricebaba paint the Mate 30 Pro as one of the uglier flagships of 2019. Some of its rumoured features look more gimmicky than innovative too.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (or VESA) is the body that can confer official certifications for state-of-the art quality standards such as DisplayHDR on new screens. Its latest update to the criteria by which they are granted is called version 1.1. It calls for ultra-modern specs such as active dimming, as well as tougher yardsticks for color gamut and luminance.

Sony has revealed that the long-awaited compact variant of its 2019 flagship is called the Xperia 5. It shares an OLED "TV-grade" screen with the 1; however, this panel measures 0.4 inches less than its regular-sized counterpart. The 5 also has the same triple cameras and Snapdragon 855 SoC as the 1.

Hours after Acer announced its thinnest and lightest book with the introduction of the new Swift 5 model, Asus retaliated with the unveiling of a thinner and lighter AsusPro B9 business-class 14-incher. The AsusPro B9 is only 0.58 inches thick and weighs 1.94 lbs, yet it can still integrate Ice Lake quad-core CPUs, up to 32 GB of RAM, a dual 1 TB NVMe SSD storage combo and a Thunderbolt 3 port.

Upgraded with a Snapdragon 855+ SoC, improved liquid cooling solution and USF 3.0 storage, the Red Magic 3S from Nubia is scheduled to begin shipping on September 9 in China. As per usual, Nubia is looking to maintain aggressive prices, and the latest model is no exception, as the flagship variant costs ~US$531.

The Zen 2-based AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series keeps setting benchmark records, with an engineering sample showing the world what it is capable of on UserBenchmark. The 32 core processor outscores the Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX by 37% in Extreme workloads, with it besting the Core i9-9980XE by 98% too.

Puma has launched its first Wear OS powered smartwatch. The famous sporting brand partnered with watch maker Fossil to bring the device to market.

The wait is over. Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy Fold in its home market of Korea. Locals will get the Fold in a 5G variant with 512 GB of storage on board while other markets will also get the 5G option or a 4G LTE version.

If you're a light or casual gamer, Intel wants you to consider its 25 W Ice Lake-U Core i7-1065G7 with Iris Pro Graphics instead of dedicated GeForce MX graphics or AMD's integrated Vega series. We'll have to see ourselves in a few weeks through real-world retail units if Intel's claims are reproducible.

Nintendo announced today that 20 SNES games would be making their way to the Nintendo Switch Online service tomorrow, September 5th. The bundle, available only to NSO subscribers, includes classics like Super Mario World, Star Fox, Super Metroid, and Super Mario Kart.

A new graphics driver from AMD will optimize performance in Gears 5 for those users lucky enough to have an RX 5700 XT graphics card in their system. The red team has made the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.9.1 available for optional download, although ironically it could also cause a minor issue with the new title from Xbox Game Studios.

The respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now estimates that Huawei could seize up to 50% of its domestic market next year. However, he also believes that the OEM will now miss a previous projection of 260 million units shipped this year. This company is also planning to grow stronger based on further investment into research.

The Honor MagicBook Pro is an ultrabook that seems to take after the MacBook in design. It was launched with Intel Core i7-8565U or i5-8265U CPUs. Now, it maker has launched new variants that replaces them with AMD APUs.

G.SKILL today announced new high-performance memory kits available in 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) and 64 GB (8 x 8 GB) configurations. There are two kits: one is clocked at 4300 Mhz, while the other is clocked at 4000 MHz. Both variants offer relatively low CAS latency, considering their sizes and speeds. The kits will be available in the 4th quarter of this year.

Lenovo ThinkPads have a very long history. Even the naming scheme of the business laptop line has a history, as it is more than 10 years old in its current iteration. Its roots are even older and date back to the IBM ThinkPad days. Now, it has apparently run its course, as the ThinkPad L13 does not adhere to the known naming scheme – and it seems like its not going to be the only upcoming Lenovo ThinkPad model.

Acer's new series of XV3 gaming monitors offer modern refresh rates of up to 240Hz and response times of as low as 1 millisecond. They are also G-SYNC ready with the variable refresh rate (VRR) necessary to handle either the RTX or GTX 10-series of graphic cards. These new IPS panels come in either 24.5- or 27-inch variants, and will start at €249 (about US$275).

The OEM OnePlus has succeeded in releasing a build of Android 10 shortly after Google formally introduced this fresh version of the OS. It is an Open Beta compatible with the 7 series from the Chinese phone-maker. The ROM updates the UI and contains many long-awaited Android 10 features.

Xiaomi is apparently set to disrupt the iPhone 11 Pro and Mate 30 Pro with the Mi Mix 4, with latest rumours suggesting that the 108 MP monster will be released on September 24 alongside MIUI 11. Xiaomi seemingly has no plans to return to a slider mechanism for the Mi Mix 3 successor either.

Samsung does not directly specify this, but the Exynos 980 appears to be aimed at premium mid-range handhelds like the top-of-the-line Galaxy A-series. Its main features include a 5G modem with E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity for downloads speeds of up to 3.5 Gbps, WiFi 6, a faster NPU, plus support for single 108 MP cams.

Banners put up by Huawei at the IFA 2019 venue confirm that the upcoming flagship Kirin 990 SoC will feature an on-die 5G modem instead of an external solution. The Kirin 990 will be the first SoC to be fabbed on TSMC's new 7nm FinFET Plus EUV process and will also be the first to support native 4K 60 fps video recording.

The successor to the GPUs powering Intel's new Ice Lake-U series has appeared on GFXBench, and boy is it currently a stinker. The GPU, identified as the UHD Graphics Gen12, performed miserably in benchmarks. However, as it is not slated to arrive for another eighteen months, we are certainly looking at an early engineering sample.

Acer has updated the Swift 3 and Swift 5 notebooks to offer Intel Ice Lake and NVIDIA GeForce MX250 options. The new Swift laptops are thin and extremely lightweight thanks to a magnesium alloy chassis. Both the Swift 3 and Swift 5 come with features such as Wi-Fi 6, Thunderbolt 3, and a long-lasting battery with fast charge that can offer up to 12.5 hours of runtime.