Acer's mid-range Nitro 5 gaming laptop is currently on sale and heavily discounted at Best Buy, making it a noteworthy deal for everyone who has passed on similar Black Friday or Cyber Monday offers.

Steam's hardware survey sometimes offers intriguing insights into the popularity of certain CPUs and GPUs among gamers, but after the October release of Windows 11 it has now given a noteworthy clue about gamers' willingness to upgrade to Microsoft's latest operating system.

The new "visual update" of Office is now becoming official. This cosmetic adjustment makes the productivity suite match the new Windows 11 look, although some users still on 10 might also see the update. It mostly functions to add the new rounded corners and dark themes to 4 of Microsoft's classic work-focused apps.

Car thieves in Canada are abusing the functionality of Apple's AirTags, which have reportedly been used for tracking the location of expensive vehicles in an attempt to later steal them. Apple iPhone users should be aware of a certain notification that can thwart the relatively simple procedure employed by such criminals.

SiFive is aiming to catch up to ARM by committing to deliver significant performance improvements in record time. The Performance P650 processors releasing next year will scale to 16 cores and deliver up to 81% performance increase per core compared to ARM's Cortex-A75.

OPPO has confirmed that it is "one of the first" OEMs to have laid hands on the all-new top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, and that the phone based thereon will be out by the end of the first quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, it has also certified a new device that may or may not be its inaugural foldable mobile device.

RISC-V International is pushing for increased adoption with the introduction of 15 new specifications for the RISC-V ISA. Most prominent are the Vector specs that expand support for AI / machine learning, the Scalar Cryptography specs that make it easy to add improved security features even on the smallest IoT devices, and the Hypervisor specs that add compatibility with other OSes for data center environments and allow for increased malware protection.

A European retailer has leaked several SKUs of upcoming MSI gaming laptops, all with Intel Alder Lake-P processors and NVIDIA RTX 30 Ti GPUs. The GE66 Raider, GE76 Raider, GS66 Stealth and GS76 Stealth will also be upgraded, but prices will be steep.

Xiaomi is building momentum for the release of the Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12X, both expected to arrive this month. As executives continue to tease its upcoming flagships, it is also preparing behind closed doors to bring Android 12 and MIUI 13-based builds to MIUI's Stable channel.

Huawei is now said to launch its inaugural clamshell-style foldable as early as December 2021. A new patent lends more weight to this theory by depicting an innovative new kind of "heat pipe" that looks designed to fit into such a device. It can bend in the middle, thereby potentially lining up nicely with a smaller foldable smartphone's hinge.

Not content with the various versions of the ONEXPLAYER that it already sells, One-netbook is also looking to bring an ONEXPLAYER mini to market. A new gameplay video shows what to expect from the 7-inch handheld, which should launch with a 1200p display.

Xiaomi is preparing to release the Redmi Note 11 4G globally. The device has already been certified in Germany and the US, but there could also be an Indian variant. The device has a 90 Hz display, a 5,000 mAh battery and a 50 MP primary camera, among other features.

According to reports, a 2022 release is on the table for Google's first smartwatch. However, expect to charge the Pixel Watch daily and to shell out over US$300 for a smartwatch that has proprietary straps.

Samsung has issued One UI 4 beta to more former flagship smartphones. This time, the company has upgraded the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10 Plus, which are both expected to receive stable builds in January 2022.

Users of the popular Zoom video conferencing app between March 2016 and July 2021 can now file for compensation as part of a class-action lawsuit which the company has decided to settle outside of court for US$85 million. According to terms of the settlement, users who have taken any of Zoom's subscription plans are eligible for a US$25 settlement while free users can claim up to US$15. The deadline for filing the claim is March 5, 2022.

A new report from Digitimes tells us that Intel and TSMC are close to negotiating a deal for the latter's 3nm capacity. Pilot production for the node has already kicked off, and it is expected to churn out 40,000 wafers per month starting in H2, 2022.

To help patients navigate the perplexing in or out-of-network specifics of the U.S. healthcare industry, Google Search is now offering providers the options to list which insurance they take. Given the exponentially higher charges patients can incur when going to an out-of-network practice, the service aims to make emergency decisions easier. Moreover, doctor's Google Search business listings can now be filtered by Medicare insurance and by languages spoken by the practice.

BadgerDAO has warned customers that it recently suffered a hack, affecting multiple cryptocurrency wallets linked to the company. In total, it is estimated that US$120 million (~€106 million) worth of cryptocurrency, including bitcoin and ethereum, has been stolen by the bad actor.

The rush of new all-electric cars continues apace with Polestar teasing its first SUV. The electric-only car brand offshoot of Volvo has relieved a heavily camouflaged version of its forthcoming Polestar 3, but there enough to see to suggest it could be a winner.

AMD will reportedly launch the Radeon RX 6500 XT sometime in mid-January 2022. Its younger sibling, the Radeon RX 6400, will follow suit sometime in March.

Nvidia’s plans to acquire fabless chip designer Arm look to be on increasingly shaky ground. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing to block the deal on concerns that it will undermine competition and innovation following complaints raised by Google, Microsoft and Qualcomm.

Xiaomi could only be a few weeks away from unveiling the Xiaomi 12, one of the first smartphones with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. In the meantime, a somewhat questionable render has leaked, as has an image of the upcoming device's back panel. Reportedly, Xiaomi is turning to new methods to obscure the Xiaomi 12's camera housing, too.

According to reports, Apple is set to shift from 5 nm to 3 nm nodes between M2 and M3 SoCs. TSMC should have its N3 node ready in time for the A17 Bionic too, both tipped for releases in 2023.

Being more than 40% cheaper than its lists price, the ultra portable Chromebook x2 by HP is a suitable laptop for people who need to deal with light workloads on the go.

The K’Watch Glucose smartwatch from PKVitality is currently undergoing clinical trials in the US. The device promises painless continuous glucose monitoring for diabetics and utilizes a replaceable K’apsul with SkinTaste technology to take blood sugar readings. The K’Watch Glucose should be priced at US$199/€199 upon release.

Lenovo has announced an inaugural Developer Preview version of Android 12L for the Tab P12 Pro .The OS has been designed to offer the best possible UI for the flagship slate's display size. Thus far, the new software is only available for the device's Wi-Fi only variant and may not support all its functions as yet.

After the recent OS update for the Raspberry Pi caused numerous issues, the company has now released a legacy version of the Raspberry Pi OS based on an earlier version of Debian, also known under the codename "Buster".

When it comes to storage solutions for NAS servers, capacity is often more important than performance, which is why Seagate has now unveiled its largest IronWolf Pro and Exos hard drives yet with a massive disk space of 20TB.

If you've ever wanted a gaming laptop that's the size of a subnotebook, then the Blade 14 has got you covered. Its Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU and RTX 3070 GPU can outperform many larger gaming laptops out there.

The Huawei Qingyun L420 laptop with 5 nm Kirin 9006C chip has had its specifications leaked along with a couple of related images. The ARM-based device is clearly the incoming successor to the Qingyun L410 laptop that sported a Kirin 990 SoC. The L420 also comes with 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 512 GB of UFS 3.1 storage.

The Redmi K50 series is on the way. In addition, Xiaomi will release the Redmi K50 Gaming lineup, and a new leak has now revealed when to expect the phones, as well as corroborating prior information from typically reliable quarters.

Pininfarina has exhibited the Foxconn Model E at the Hong Kong MotorXpo. The 750 hp saloon also has up to a 750 km range and is being showcased under Foxconn's vehicle division, Foxtron.

The Black Shark 4S Pro is officially the fastest Android smartphone of November 2021. However, its immediate successor might outrun it, as it will launch with Qualcomm's new top-end processor, the Snapdragon 888+. The Xiaomi brand's CEO has hinted that it will combine the SoC with other custom and premium specs to form a mobile gaming powerhouse in 2022.

Microsoft has announced a new feature exclusive to Microsoft Edge users, Clarity Boost, which enhances the visual quality of Xbox Cloud Gaming streams. Clarity Boost is the newest optimisation feature revealed by the company and is available on the most recent version of the Microsoft Edge Canary build.

More details about the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 and Intel Arc A380 have emerged. While the RTX 3050 is tipped to launch with 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, the Intel Arc A380 could come in with 6 GB. The Intel Arc A380 is thought to offer GTX 1650 SUPER levels of performance, too.

Today, Tesla announced the Cyberquad, a quad bike heavily influenced by the Cybertruck. The Cyberquad has 10 mph top speed, a 15-mile range and is designed for people weighing up to 150 lbs (~68kg).

Honor has announced that it will be delivering two major upgrades to the Band 6, a fitness tracker that it released last year. The upgrades would bring the Honor Band 6 to par with Huawei's fitness trackers before the pair split.

Xiaomi has confirmed that it will be announcing a new monitor later this month. The unnamed monitor will operate natively at 4K with PANTONE certification. It will also cover 99% of the Adobe RGB and DCI P3 colour spaces, among other features.

Gigabyte could soon hike the prices of the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, RX 6800, RX 6700 XT, RX 6600 XT and the RX 6600. It is expected to be effective in the coming weeks.

Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, has scheduled a December 8 Congressional hearing titled the "Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States." The hearing will see crypto platform execs testify before Congress for the first time. Witnessed include the Coinbase CFO and five others who will appear amidst a regulatory oversight push by SEC's Chair Gensler. He again demands that cryptocurrency exchanges register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Typically, Google restricts Feature Drops to its Pixel smartphones. This month, the company has expanded eligibility for its new features to numerous Android devices, including those still running Android 6.0. One of these features is Digital car key (DCK) support, although there are some caveats.

The Galaxy A73 has leaked, courtesy of @OnLeaks. According to the leaker, the Galaxy A73 will be smaller than its predecessor and about the same size as the Galaxy A71. However, the Galaxy A73 will share the Galaxy A72's design, albeit without a 3.5 mm headphone jack.