Tablet

Samsung has proudly announced that its SmartThings Find network is now made up of at least 200 million devices (counted as individual "find nodes") worldwide. The OEM's Apple Find My rival has taken less than two years to grow to this extent. Its success is attributed to the release of the first-gen Galaxy SmartTags, which allow users to find things besides Samsung hardware through the service.

The Indian Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has ruled that the mobile device OEM OPPO is liable for fines equating to ~US$550 million for practices that allegedly amount to the evasion of custom duties in the country. OPPO does not completely agree with the findings, yet states it is committed to acknowledging and rectifying the situation.

According to reports straight out of China, Xiaomi is working on four new tablets, with sizes ranging from 10.4" to a massive 14" model that looks set to be positioned as a cheaper alternative to Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. The Xiaomi Pad 6 series is on its way, it appears.

Realme has announced a date in July 2022 for its next multi-device Indian-market launch, strongly hinting at the arrival of the Pad X 5G as a headline moment. However, the OEM is also now teasing a completely new product to debut alongside it: its first ever monitor. It may emerge alongside some additional peripherals and a new wearable.

The Honor Tablet 8 is on the verge of launching in China. Due for release on July 21, the tablet will sport a thin chassis with narrow display bezels, a 12-inch display and a colourful back panel. The Honor Tablet 8 looks more than a bit like the Xiaomi Pad 5, though.

Realme has just confirmed that its square-faced smartwatch series is indeed headed for a third generation. The Watch 3's teasers are now running alongside those for the Pad X on the OEM's official Indian channels, suggesting that the 5G-capable slate will take the stage next to the new wearable later in July 2022.

According to reports, Honor is working on a new mid-range tablet. Rumoured to be running on the Snapdragon 680 4G, the Honor Tablet 8 could also feature a 2K display and reasonably fast charging. There is no word on a global release yet, though.

HMD Global has presented the Nokia T10, an affordable tablet running Android 12. Priced at US$159, the Nokia T10 is available with LTE connectivity and can serve as a Windows PC's secondary display. The Nokia T10 should receive 2 years of OS updates and 3 years of monthly security updates, too.

Netflix has announced that it has partnered with Sennheiser to bring spatial audio to its platform. However, this new feature does presume that the individual user has a device that can support it. Accordingly, it should kick in automatically on many Apple products, although those from some other brands might require some adjustment.

Vivo's division and subsidiaries in India have been subject to raids by the country's financial Enforcement Directorate. The governmental body has confiscated balances - some gold bars included - totalling about US$59 million from a vast array of accounts held by the company. The move is reportedly linked to alleged tax evasion related to all Vivo sales made in India thus far.

The third-generation Tab M10 Plus has four speakers and a high-resolution 2K panel. Furthermore, the 10.6-inch display supports stylus input, which is hard to find in this price range. Nevertheless, the low price comes at the expense of various drawbacks.

Alldocube has released the iNote, a new budget Android tablet powered by the MediaTek Helio P90. Also equipped with a 10.5-inch display, 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of expandable storage, the Alldocube iNote retails for CNY 1,099 (~US$164) in China.

Teclast has unveiled the M40S, a budget tablet powered by a Unisoc Tiger T610 chipset. Debuting in Japan for JPY 25,900 (~US$191), the Teclast M40S has 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, among other features.

HTC has unveiled a new tablet that directly competes with Apple's budget iPad. With a 10-inch IPS display, expandable storage and a metal chassis, the HTC A101 has the basis of a decent, if cheaper, Android tablet. There are a few drawbacks though, not least the tablet's thick display bezels.

Samsung has announced that it has successfully begun the process of manufacturing its inaugural chips of a 3 nanometer (3nm) architecture, projected to become the cutting edge of consumer processing power in 2023. The OEM already claims that its first-gen 3nm silicon is capable of performance that is over 20% improved compared to that of its 5nm predecessor, with a ~50% boost to power-efficiency on top of that.

ARM has made the Cortex-X3 official today. With its up-to-25% performance boost over the X2, It will probably be a marquee core for next-gen flagship mobile SoCs; however, the OEM asserts that the equally new A715 and refreshed A510 have their places right alongside it thanks to their complementary power-efficiency and scalable specs.

Google has released a new version of its camera app, which has now reached version 8.5. While the update contains minor changes, it seems that Google has also added references to the upcoming Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro and next year's Pixel tablet. Surprisingly, the Pixel tablet misses out on some existing Pixel camera features, including the ability to record 4K videos.

Nura's latest offerings are already shaping up to be a crowdfunding hit thanks to claims that these new Pro accessories are the world's first wireless earbuds to ship with support for lossless audio over Bluetooth. They will do so thanks to Qualcomm's latest aptX technology, rated for "CD-quality" sound and a high bit-rate.

Qualcomm asserts that its latest radiofrequency front-end (or RFFE) solution is the ideal companion for an up-to-date mobile modem, as it confers the new spec of "5G/Wi-Fi coexistence" on a given device, as well as battery savings and improved performance. It is compatible with smartphones - as well as other use-cases such as IoT, VR headsets and in-car systems for the first time.

The alleged price tags for upcoming Apple M2 iPad Pro tablets have been leaked along with some minor but interesting information about both a future iPad mini slate and the next-generation iPad (10th gen). There are also some conflicting details shared about the rumored 14.1-inch iPad Pro or “iPad Studio”.

TSMC has outlined its latest semiconductor technology during its 2022 North America Technology Symposium. N2 is in fact the next generation on from the "cutting-edge" N3 and N3E FINFLEX architecture, on which the highly-anticipated 3 nanometer (nm) processors rumored to dominate 2023 are to be based. However, TSMC claims that N2 will be even faster again with greater power efficiency.

Samsung is now rumored to launch the full-scale manufacture of its next-gen, 3 nanometer (3nm) chips by very late June or early July 2022. Doing so would allow it to beat its rival TSMC to announcing such a breakthrough. The South Korean giant is expected to apply its patented form of gate-all-around field-effect transistor (GAAFET) to its latest cutting-edge production node.

Xiaomi has reportedly registered a new smartphone and a new tablet with the Chinese Ministry for Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), almost instantly sparking speculation that these new tips pertain to Redmi's highest-end phone of the year thus far and the Pad 5's successor respectively. They are also both now backed to launch in the second half of 2022.

It's been nearly a year since the Xiaomi Pad 5 series debuted in China. The Xiaomi Pad 6 is in development, of course, and new information has now surfaced about an enigmatic tablet that will likely be powered by a MediaTek chipset.

The Teclast M40 Air is the third entry in the M40 series, following on from the regular M40 and the M40 Pro. With a 10.1-inch display, LTE connectivity and Android 11, the Teclast M40 Air could be a good option for those after a cheaper tablet. The M40 Air is orderable in multiple markets, including Europe and the US.

Motorola is now said to have a new Moto Tab G-series device in the works. Going by its alleged model number, the G62 may not have all of its G70 predecessor's better attributes. On the other hand, it is slated to have 4G/LTE-capable SKUs, which might be reasonable enough in terms of price.

The latest version of Huawei's in-house operating system, HarmonyOS 3.0, has emerged in the form of its first-ever Developer Preview. The new beta is already compatible with smartphones, phablets, tablets and foldables. However, the list of devices capable of downloading and using it is not long, being confined to some of the OEM's latest high-end devices at present.

Samsung has announced that its new Wallet app has been set up to replace and subsume its existing Pass and Pay apps. The merge should offer a user a kind of one-stop-shop for their travel cards, some IDs and records as well as their payment methods and cryptos. Its roll-out has started in South Korea, although it is also expected to hit markets such as the US and Germany soon thereafter.

Samsung has presented the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2022 Edition) in Europe, where it starts at €379. The mid-range tablet ships with One UI 4.1 based on Android 12, while pre-orders include a free Targus keyboard case. The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2022 Edition) should deliver noticeable performance improvements compared to the original model, too.

According to reports, Apple remains on track to release a 10th generation iPad this year with its A14 Bionic SoC. Not only will the entry-level iPad receive 5G connectivity, it will also gain a larger display, among other changes. The choice of the A14 Bionic means that the 10th generation iPad will be incompatible with Apple's new multitasking features in iPadOS 16.

In addition to the generous battery life of up to 10 hours, the new HyperX MIX come with both 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth connectivity for increased device compatibility. A USB-C adapter is also included, so gamers can enjoy these earbuds with their smartphones and tablets, but also with their laptops and desktop PCs.

LG is reportedly working on a tablet for "educational purposes". The LGE 10A30Q, known internally as Project Jetta, packs a 10.3-inch screen, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB storage and runs Android 12 out of the box. It could see a limited release in South Korea, and is unlikely to be launched internationally.

A new report details next-generation iPad Pro tablets, shortly after Apple unveiled its new Apple M2 chipset. Reputedly, next-generation iPad Pros will reach shelves in a few months with several major upgrades, not just the Apple M2.

Telegram's founding organization has long been suspected of switching to a paid model; now, its leader has released a post formally outlining this new "subscription plan". The app will still be available for free, although full use of its latest features will only be available to those who subscribe to this new Premium tier, which will launch soon.

The development of Android 13 remains on schedule, with Google now having released Beta 3 to the Pixel 6 series and older Pixel smartphones. Beta 3 also marks the start of Platform Stability for Android 13, as well as introducing new features.

Dell has introduced the XPS 13 2-in-1, also known as the XPS 9315 2n1. Launching this summer with a detachable keyboard case, the XPS 13 2-in-1 has a 3:2 display, optional 5G support and a choice between two Intel Alder Lake-U series processors.

Reportedly, Apple could expand the iPad Pro range this year with a 14.1-inch model. To launch alongside refreshed 11-inch and 12.9-inch models, all iPad Pro 2022 tablets are expected to rely on the new Apple M2 SoC, which should offer numerous performance advantages over Apple M1.

At its annual Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple saved the best for last with the introduction of iPadOS 16. The next version of Apple’s tablet-tailored operating system delivers rich enhancements to multitasking, expanded tools for professionals, and genuinely useful external display support. The catch? Most features are M1-exclusive.

Elon Musk had agreed to buy the social media company Twitter for a sum of over US$40 billion. However, the Tesla CEO has subsequently raised objections to this deal going ahead, citing alleged discrepancies in the proportion of accounts on the platform that belong to "real" users. The latest move in this vein is a securities filing that has sparked speculation that Musk is now trying to terminate the acquisition.

Most of the new upcoming iPad Pro-centric features also apply to iPhones and Macs. On the other hand, some might work best with iPadOS 16's target form-factor; furthermore, there are some potentially long-awaited additions, which include a new Desktop-Class App initiative that benefits Apple tablets.

The New York State Senate and Assembly have approved the motion to sign the Digital Fair Repair Act into law. The bill is intended to oblige OEMs to make it easier for users to restore their personal devices on their own within the state. Its new law is now viewed as a watershed moment for right to repair throughout the rest of the United States.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 5G is one of the fastest Android tablets on the market with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, but it has more to offer than just performance. The S Pen also turns the 11-incher into a productive work station.

Sony's new SRS-XE300 and SRS-XE200 wireless speakers are portable tower-style accessories not unlike many others in their market. However, their OEM asserts that they have an edge over this competition thanks to its new Line-Shape Diffuser. It is designed to push the new X-Series variants' sound out over a wider area in front of them.

New Xiaomi Pad 6 rumors have cropped up on social media that claim the next tablet series from the Chinese OEM will be an all-Snapdragon-powered affair. In addition, there is an early display-related leak, exciting news about the Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro, and even a whisper about a Xiaomi Pad 6 Ultra joining the lineup.

The Google app is now rumored to add a feature called "Personal Speech Recognition" in the course of a future update. It is slated to help the OEM's Assistant to respond better to words or names uttered most frequently by the user - however, this requires that the same user allows the AI to record their voice on their device.

Google may have already presented its first tablet with Pixel branding, but many aspects still remain unknown. The Universal Stylus Initiative has shed some light on what to expect from the Pixel Tablet though, along with the tablet's codename.

The messaging app Telegram has been linked to a shift to a subscription-based model as of late. Now, the developer Alessandro Paluzzi claims to have spotted more signs that the service is preparing for this change. It consists of the re-wording of a reassuring page many users may recognize as part of the UI furniture.