Launch

HP has announced a refreshed EliteBook x360 830 G8 with Intel Tiger Lake processors, up to 32 GB RAM, and up to a 2 TB NVMe SSD. The EliteBook x360 830 G8 can be configured with an optional 1000-nit HP Sure View Reflect panel and also offers optional Active Pen G3 with proximity alert and 5G connectivity.

HP has launched the EliteBook 830 G8 and EliteBook 840 G8 tailor-made for work from home professionals. They ship with 11th-generation Intel Tiger Lake CPUs, up to 64GB of RAM, 2TB of solid-state storage and a nano-SIM card slot that can be used with both 4G and 5G-enabled SIM cards. Both notebooks will be available for purchase in December, and HP will tell us their prices at a later point.

The new 14-inch models come in a slim 1.45 Kg case and can be equipped with either the Core i5-1135G7 or the i7-1165G7 Tiger Lake CPUs integrating the Iris Xe GPU with 96 EUs. There is also an Nvidia GTX 1650 dGPU for more demanding games. Users can customize the laptops with up to 64 GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and up to 2 TB of NVMe PCie 4.0 SSD storage.

Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 888 SoC is finally here. It comes with a new integrated 5G modem that supports both sub-6GHz and mmWave networks and an ISP that is up to 35% faster than its predecessor. The chipset is likely to make its debut alongside the Xiaomi Mi 11 series soon.

NVIDIA has announced the first GPU in the RTX 3060 family, the RTX 3060 Ti for US$399. The RTX 3060 Ti effectively replaces the RTX 2060 Super but is slated to offer more performance than the RTX 2080 Super at lower power draws. The RTX 3060 Ti will be available as a Founders Edition card from NVIDIA and as custom AiB cards from December 2 worldwide.

The Blade 20 Pro 5G is ZTE's latest smartphone. It is this OEM's take on the mid-range Snapdragon 765G-based device, having a waterdrop-notched-display and a 4000mAh battery. It also has a quad rear camera with a 64MP main sensor.

Streamview is an Austrian-based retailer specializing in TVs and streaming boxes. Its latest launch is for new Nokia TVs for the European market. They have 32- to 75-inch screens, most of which are also 4K and support Dolby Vision. They will be available to order within the EU in December 2020.

The first-ever Redmi smartwatch is finally here. Dubbed as the Redmi Watch, it comes with a 1.4-inch display, a heart rate sensor, various pre-installed fitness modes, Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC. It costs CNY 299 (US$45) and is expected to be launched internationally as the Mi Watch Lite.

QNAP has launched the TVS-h1288X and TVS-h1688X, 2 new enterprise-grade NAS servers with the Intel Xeon W-1250 6-core/12-thread processor. They are also compatible with PCIe Gen 3 cards that can augment them with up to 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports. These storage solutions are also the first to launch with the new QuTS hero OS.

BOE has announced that it has made active-matrix quantum dot light-emitting diode (or AMQLED) technology 4K and TV-sized for the first time. This emerging display standard is based on quantum dots, as is QLED, but does not require a backlight. This may mean it offers more consistent colors and brightness compared to those high-end panel types.

Estimated sales figures for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles in Japan have revealed that Sony’s device is outstripping sales of Microsoft’s hardware by over 5 to 1, but overall sales are down on the previous generation. November 19 was PS5 launch day for the rest of the world, as the now current-gen console lands in 65 countries around the globe.

The 5G version of the Realme 7 —the Realme 7 5G— has been launched in Europe. It features a MediaTek Dimensity 800U SoC, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, four rear cameras, a 6.5-inch IPS LCD panel clocked at 120Hz, and a 5,000mAh battery that can be charged at 30W. It will cost €229, but for a limited time only.

Vivo held its Developer Conference today (November 18, 2020). This event was dominated by the introduction of OriginOS, a new UI the OEM has developed in order to replace Funtouch OS on its smartphones. With its adaptive, dynamic widgets, "behavioral" wallpapers and Multi-Turbo 5.0 engine, it may be a vast improvement over its predecessor.

The Zepp Z smartwatch from Huami has now officially launched, and it is a striking vision packed to the brim with useful functions. The Zepp Z comes with a complete lineup of health-related utilities, including 24-hour heart-rate tracking and SpO2 blood oxygen level measurement. The price tag for the beautiful new wearable with an always-on AMOLED is US$349/€349.90.

AMD has announced what it calls the world's fastest HPC GPU, the Instinct MI100 based on the CDNA architecture. The Instinct MI100 offers up to 11.5 TFLOPs of FP64 compute performance when paired with 2nd gen EPYC processors. The MI100 is slated to offer better performance per dollar compared to the NVIDIA A100 GPU along with support for the new ROCm 4.0 software platform.

Huami has been teasing more of its upcoming Zepp Z smartwatch, which is scheduled to launch on Tuesday 17 November. Three new promo videos have been shared on the Zepp Twitter account that hint at the Zepp Z featuring a typical circular design but containing cutting-edge health management systems for the wearer to utilize.

Scalpers are already making bank on the PS5 launch with successful listings ending at around $1000 USD or two times the retail price of the actual console. The system will likely remain out of reach for most users throughout the rest of the year.

Samsung's newest mid-range mobile chipset, the Exynos 1080, is finally official. It features a 1+3+4 configuration with four Cortex-A78 and Cortex-A55 cores, an ARM Mali-G78 GPU, and an integrated 5G modem that supports mmWave and sub-6GHz networks. It is expected to be released alongside the Vivo X60 soon.

After revealing a stellar Zen 3 lineup, AMD is now looking to strengthen its position in the low-TDP embedded market with the new Ryzen Embedded V2000 processors featuring up to 8 Zen 2 cores and improved Vega IGPUs. Team Red prepared two 10 W models to take on Intel's ULV Comet Lake processors, plus two more 35 W models that appear to beat the i7-9750H models.

MediaTek's new MT8195 and MT8192 chipsets are the company's newest Chromebook-centric chipsets. The former is powered by ARM's latest Cortex-A78 cores, while the latter uses previous-generation Cortex-A76 cores. Both chipsets use the same ARM Mali-G77 GPU, though. They are expected to hit the market in Q2 2021.

Nokia has just completed its latest product unveiling, and it's a new version of the 8.3 5G. This smartphone is a variant optimized for the Verizon network in the United States. To this end, it has much the same specs as the original mid-ranger on which it is based, but also has 3 "powerful" antennae for its carrier's mmWave 5G.

Eluktronics will be one of the first to offer Advanced Optimus on its MECH-15 G3 and MAX-15 Ultra laptops this month for a starting price of $2100 USD. The reseller promised in September that it would begin shipping the systems before the end of the year.

AMD offered a glimpse into how Zen 3 processors can be beneficial for gaming. Comparison with corresponding Intel Comet Lake processors shows Zen 3's new CCX architecture helps eliminate most latency issues and allows much improved single-threaded and gaming performance across the board.

The launch of Realme's first round-faced smartwatch has been predicted for some time through numerous leaks. Now, this wearable has made its debut, albeit in only 1 market (Pakistan). Nevertheless, this event may offer hints as to its pricing and availability in other markets.

Intel has detailed its new Iris Xe Max DG1 discrete GPU solution for Tiger Lake laptops. Xe Max works together with the Xe iGPU in Tiger Lake processors to offer accelerated AI and media encode performance for creative workflows. While it does not work in an SLI-esque mode for gaming, Intel says Xe Max offers great 1080p gaming performance that rivals an NVIDIA GeForce MX350 for thin and light gaming notebooks.

Realme launched its first ever 6000mAh battery phone in July 2020. The C15 also had a 6.5-inch HD+ IPS display, quad rear cameras and the MediaTek Helio G35 SoC. Now, the OEM is releasing a version of this phone with 1 crucial difference: a Snapdragon processor.

Noctua has announced new additions to its chromax.black line-up. For the uninitiated, they are versions of this Austrian OEM's PC coolers or fans in an all-matte black finish. These latest examples are new versions of the award-winning NH-D15 asymmetric cooler and the NH-U9S compact fan.

AMD introduced the RX 6800 as the most vanilla of its all-new RDNA 2-based line-up today (October 28, 2020). However, based on its specs, it may pack a punch of its own. It offers the same GDDR6 memory and Infinity Cache as its higher-end siblings, albeit with fewer compute units (CUs) and the series' lowest base clock thus far.

LG has just introduced its revolutionary Wing smartphone to the Indian market. The display-swiveling device has been joined there by a 4G/LTE version of the Velvet. This variant swaps its normal Snapdragon 765G processor for an 845 SoC. The two phones will start to become available from October 30, 2020.

The purple smartphone may not be the sleekest or most powerful, but it's one of the least expensive Android 10 smartphones you can without being tied to year-long contracts.

DOOGEE's latest in its line of durable smartphones is the S96 Pro. This device counts a 20MP Sony "night vision" sensor among its 4 rear cameras. It also has a colossal battery of over 6000mAh in capacity, an ingress-protection rating of up to IP69K and the MediaTek Helio G90 SoC.

Xiaomi has now launched its newest device, the Redmi K30S, in its home country of China. The Redmi K30S is, for all intents and purposes, a rebranded Mi 10T for certain markets, and it carries an appropriate price tag, starting at €325 versus the Mi 10T's €499.

Asus doesn't want to miss out on that lucrative holiday shopping season by launching not one, but eleven different Intel Tiger Lake laptop models and even more SKUs for users to choose from.

LG now has a few generations of its TONE FREE AirPod-clones under its belt. Now, it has announced a new one. These buds look much like the old, except that they support active noise-cancelling (ANC) this time. Their series' UVnano self-disinfecting technology is also still here.

OnePlus' two new low-cost smartphones are now up for grabs in Europe. The OnePlus Nord N10 5G comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 SoC, a quad-camera array, a 4,300mAh battery, and will cost €329. At €179, the OnePlus Nord N100 gets you a Snapdragon 460n, three rear cameras, and a 5,000mAh battery.

iQOO has launched the uncharacteristically budget U1x smartphone in China. With its Snapdragon 662 SoC, relatively small HD display and 5000mAh battery, it should get a lot of screen-on time, at least. It has debuted alongside a new RAM/storage option for the more premium Dimensity 1000+-powered Z1.

The Xiaomi Fast LCD 24.5-inch Monitor has been launched in China with a regular price tag of 1,499 yuan (US$224), although it is on sale to early-bird purchasers. The gaming-friendly external Fast LCD Monitor promises 144 Hz refresh rate, Full HD resolution, 2 ms GTG response time, HDR400 display, and Adaptive-Sync for reduced tearing and stuttering.

Huawei has unveiled its Mate 40 line of smartphones and its latest Kirin 9000 and Kirin 9000E chips. The Huawei Mate 40 and Mate 40 Pro come with a triple camera array, while the Mate 40 Pro+ and Mate 40 RS comes with four lenses. All four devices are powered by 4,400mAh batteries that support wired charging at 66W. Prices start at €899 (US$1,062) for the Mate 40 and max out at €2,295 (US$2,713) for the Mate 40 RS (Porsche Design).

Huami has launched the Amazfit Pop smartwatch in China for a surprisingly low price: 349 yuan (US$52). The bright and breezy wearable features non-medical grade monitors for blood oxygen saturation, atrial fibrillation, sleep quality, and 24-hour heart-rate monitoring. The Amazfit Pop comes in a choice of three colors and is water resistant.

Acer has teamed with Porsche Design to offer the Porsche Design Acer Book RS with a carbon fiber lid and a premium unibody design. The Acer Book RS is powered by the Intel Tiger Lake Core i7 processor and comes with 16 GB RAM and optional GeForce MX350 graphics. Acer is also making available a Porsche Design premium Travel Pack RS accessory set, which includes a Bluetooth mouse, mouse pad, and an ECCO Palermo XA leather travel bag.

In order to bring the total weight down to 643 grams, Fujitsu had to reduce the number of components, replace the metallic upper cover with carbon fiber and redesign some of the ports and internal circuitry. The UH-X / E3 models are powered by the Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU and includes a small 25 Wh battery, but Fujitsu also offers the slightly heavier UH90 / E3 models with 54 Wh batteries and the UH75 / E3 models powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U APUs that weigh just under 1Kg.

Acer is targeting mobile content creators with the Swift 3x. The Acer Swift 3x is powered by the latest Tiger Lake processors and features the Intel Xe Max dGPU, formerly known as DG1. The Swift 3x also sports a vibrant 14-inch FHD display with a 72% NTSC coverage and will be available from December starting from €899.

The new Travelmate models come in slimmer yet sturdier chassis made of an aluminum-magnesium mix. Upgrades include the latest Tiger Lake CPUs with Xe iGPUs, up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, up to 1 TB NVMe SSD storage, a Thunderbolt 4 connector and a larger battery that can last up to 15 hours.

Acer has redesigned its convertible Acer Swift 3 with a new 16:10 WQXGA (2,560x1,600) touchscreen. It also features Intel's new Tiger Lake processors and comes with an upgraded battery. The notebook will be available for purchase in January 2021 for €999 (US$1,181)

Acer has released an updated version of its Spin 5 convertible notebook with 11th-generation Intel processors. It also comes with a 3:2 screen protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass. Prices start at €1,099 (US$1,300) for the base variant, which will be up for grabs in December 2020.

Today (October 21, 2020), Acer has unveiled its latest gaming monitors. The Predator X34 GS is the likely headline here, as it combines a 34-inch 1900R panel, a UWQHD resolution and a new stand type in one. Then again, the 24.5-inch XB253Q GW is the one with the highest (280Hz) refresh rate here. There is also a new Nitro XV272U KV which offers some attractive specs for a decent price.

The CXI4 is Acer's new Chromebox with up-to-date connectivity, featuring Wi-Fi 6, USB 3.2 Gen 2 and type C ports. Therefore, it may prove an option for the processing needed in retail or learning spaces. It also has the dimensions and VESA mount necessary to hide it behind nearly any screen paired with it in these environments.

Infinix has thrown its hat in the 2020 low- to mid-tier ring with its new Note 8 series. It offers big screens and quad rear cameras. Both the 8 and 8i also have large 5200mAh batteries. Can they really compete with other MediaTek Helio G80-powered devices such as the Redmi 9/Poco M2?

Intel's latest Celeron 6305 and 6305E processors have a number of up-to-date features and specs that may make devices based on them particularly worthy of consideration. There may have a lower base clock here compared to its immediate forebear, but it also supports double the cache, as well as faster memory and graphics. And, of course, Thunderbolt 4 is here in these newer models.