Labour joins Facebook advert boycott over 'hateful material'

Labour is joining the advertising boycott of Facebook "in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement", one of the party's senior MPs has said.

Shadow minister Rachel Reeves told the BBC the party wanted "to express our concern about the failure of Facebook to take down some hateful material".

Companies including consumer goods firm Unilever have also joined the campaign.

Facebook has said harmful posts would be removed but some could stay if they have news value.

Facebook to tag ‘harmful’ posts as boycott widens
Parties splurge ...

Huawei: Why the UK might hang up on 5G and broadband kit supplier

These are tense times for Huawei and the UK's telecoms providers.

The prime minister will shortly review use of the Chinese company's equipment, with MPs set to be informed of his decision on Tuesday.

It seems likely that Boris Johnson will set a deadline by which time the firm should stop being involved in the country's 5G network. But what's unclear is whether he'll also order it to be stripped out of other mobile and fixed-line broadband systems too.

The decision will not only have an impact on the rollout of high-speed data services but could also encourage other ...

Colorful Announces Two sub-$130 micro-ATX B550 Motherboards

With AMD's B550 models now on the shelves, a lot of focus around its launch was based on pricing - or rather the lack of very low-cost entry-level models.

The motherboard manufacturer Colorful has today unveiled two new micro-ATX sized B550 motherboards: the CVN B550M Gaming Frozen V14 and B550M Gaming Pro V14 models. Some of the primary features include a Realtek ALC892 HD audio codec, two PCIe M.2 slots with one Gen4 and one Gen3 slot, as well as a Realtek Gigabit Ethernet controller.

The most striking of the new pair from Colorful is the CVN B550M Gaming Frozen V14 model. ...

First impressions: Dell XPS 17 (9700) is simply magnificent

Dell has been doing some remarkably exciting things lately in the laptop space that are hard to ignore. Its XPS revamp, which started in late 2019, has culminated now in the recently reviewed XPS 15 (now in arctic white) and the new 17-inch XPS 17 (9700), with the latter, just arriving on our doorstep.

The XPS 17 (9700) is arguably more interesting than the XPS 15. While the XPS 15 is now like a 14-inch laptop in size, the XPS 17 is closer to what a 15-inch workstation was like in 2019.

While it is undoubtedly bigger, the XPS 17 also has a new vapor chamber thermal solution, ...

At 1TB, this is the cheapest large capacity USB drive right now

Patriot does a lot of things for tech fans; solid state drives, gaming keyboards, gaming mice, headsets as well as RGB memory modules. It's a popular brand and one that has been well received by reviewers (including us) for more than a decade. 

However, unbeknown to many is that they have a USB flash drive brand (AKA thumb drives) that is nothing short of exceptional for two reasons.

First, its flagship model, the 1TB Supersonic Rage Elite (PEF1TBSRE3USB) is one of the cheapest 1TB USB flash drives on the market. At the time of writing, it was the most affordable one, costin ...

These Are the Best Games You Can Play on a Chromebook

Android apps are now a fixture on Chrome OS and Chromebooks, but they don’t all run as smoothly as you might hope – and that includes games. If you’re looking for gaming experiences that work well on a bigger screen, run without a hitch, and even offer keyboard and trackpad support (in some cases), then these are the best games we’ve found for playing on a Chromebook.

1. Game Dev Tycoon (£5)

Play a game about developing games – why not? Game Dev Tycoon takes the tried and trusted tycoon sim format and applies it to the scenario of an up-and-coming software studio. Your job i ...

TikTok deleted 49 million 'rule-breaking' videos

TikTok says it deleted more than 49 million videos which broke its rules, between July and December 2019.

About a quarter of those videos were deleted for containing adult nudity or sexual activity, the business said, in its latest transparency report.

The video-sharing app also revealed it had received about 500 requests for data from governments and police, and had complied with about 480 of them.

The US has suggested it is "looking at" whether to ban the Chinese-owned app.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo suggested that downloading Ti ...

Coronavirus: Ireland's Covid Tracker app is out - where's England's?

This morning I installed Ireland's just-released contact-tracing app on my phone, where it joined Germany's Corona Warn-App, which was released three weeks ago.

Gibraltar recently released its Beat Covid Gibraltar app, based on the Irish code.

The Republic's Covid Tracker software is also the foundation of an app Northern Ireland is promising to release within weeks. And now there's a hint Wales could go the same way.

"We remain in discussion about a range of options to achieve a working app, including development in Northern Ireland," a Welsh Government sp ...

Huawei: UK government weighs up ban of Chinese firm's telecoms kit

The government has received a report into Huawei that is likely to change its policy over the Chinese firm's role in the UK's telecoms networks.

Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre had delivered its findings.

NCSC is believed to have said it can no longer assure the security of Huawei's products because of new US sanctions.

"We're now examining it and understanding the implications of it," Mr Dowden told BBC Radio 4's Today.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has yet to deliver its conclusions ...

Razer's First Non-Gaming Headphones Give You a Sony-Like Experience For Less

Countless companies have tried to dethrone Sony from its noise-cancelling headphone throne, but none have succeeded. Now Razer is taking a different approach with its first pair of headphones designed for a wider consumer audience – not just gamers – by paying homage to the Queen with a look that emulates Sony’s excellent and much-loved WH-1000XM3s. You can definitely hear the difference between the two, but with a price tag that’s £130 cheaper than Sony’s, the Razer Opus is a compelling alternative.

Aside from the midnight blue finish (which is the only colour option currently avai ...

Reckful: Twitch and gamers pay tribute after star's death

Tributes have been paid to video games streamer Byron Bernstein, known as Reckful, who died on Thursday.

Mr Bernstein was a well-known and loved e-sports player and had 960,000 followers on streaming site Twitch.

His brother Gary Bernstein confirmed that Reckful had taken his own life, aged 31.

Twitch said Reckful was a "streaming pioneer" and that it was "devastated" to hear of his death.

Mr Bernstein had built his following in part by playing World Of Warcraft.

When his death was reported on Thursday evening, fans held virtual me ...

George Floyd: Twitter drops 'master', 'slave' and 'blacklist'

Social media platform Twitter is dropping the terms "master", "slave" and "blacklist" in favour of more inclusive language.

The terms are frequently used in programming codes which originated decades ago.

US bank JPMorgan has also announced a similar move as more companies address racism following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.

Replacing the terms could cost millions and take months, according to experts.

Quaker Oats acknowledges 'racial stereotype'
Microsoft's GitHub drops master-slave jargon
...

Dell XPS 17 (9700) Review: Big-Screen Machine

Dell’s XPS lineup has long included some of the best ultrabooks and premium laptops, but it’s been over a decade since we saw a 17-inch version. The XPS 17 (9700) is a triumphant return after a decade away, with a gorgeous display that almost floats in air on thin bezels, as well as solid CPU performance and the option for a gaming-grade GPU. If you were waiting for a bigger screen with this design, you’re finally getting one (and getting the performance to match).

Design of Dell XPS 17 (9700)

Dell has followed in Apple’s footsteps with the XPS lineup, making each laptop loo ...

LG's rollable smartphone to arrive early next year with a BOE screen

While it's having none of that foldable action, at least so far, LG is apparently working on a rollable smartphone, that was pictured in 3D renders in August last year. Those renders are based on a patent LG filed for, and sometimes with patents nothing actually comes out of them in the form of a real product.

This time things seem to be different. According to a report from LG's home of Korea, the company will launch the rollable smartphone currently codenamed Project B at some point in early 2021.

Interestingly enough, the display panel will be provided by BOE, and not LG ...

Motorola Moto G Pro in for review

Say hello to the Motorola Moto G Pro - the Europe-bound counterpart to the US Moto G Stylus. The pair is basically indistinguishable, specs-wise.

So let's see what's in the box. Motorola has provided all you need to get started - an 18W charger, a USB-C cable and a complimentary silicone case.

Unlike the Moto G Stylus, the G Pro's name doesn't tease the built-in accessory, but it's there - tucked into the right bottom corner of the phone. You need to pry it out with a fingernail - there's no push-to-pull-out mechanism like on the Galaxy Note10 series. Unlike the Note10's S P ...

WhatsApp set to relaunch controversial feature after unexpected ban

WhatsApp could finally be given the green light to restore one of its most anticipated new features – after it was unceremoniously ditched last month. Last month, the Facebook-owned chat app kickstarted the rollout of its WhatsApp Payments feature after years of development.

As the name suggests, the new functionality is designed to allow WhatsApp users to send money to friends and small businesses wirelessly within the app. Following extensive testing in India, WhatsApp launched the Payments feature in Brazil - its second largest market - last month.

Days after the launch, ...

Google's Fitbit takeover probed by EU regulators

The EU is questioning whether Google's proposed takeover of Fitbit will harm competition, or give it access to too much personal data.

Fitbit makes fitness-tracking watches that monitor the wearer's heart rate and activity levels.

A group of 20 consumer groups and privacy advocates have called for Google's takeover to be blocked.

Google said it would not use Fitbit data to target advertising and would be "transparent" about the data gathered.

It announced it was buying loss-making Fitbit for $2.1bn (£1.68bn) in November 2019.

The move would ...

Best Intel Z490 motherboards

The best Intel Z490 motherboard is a must If you’ve made the decision to jump onto the Intel 10th Gen Comet Lake train and want to get the most out of your new CPU. Intel’s Z490 boards are equipped with the new LGA 1200 socket, and even the more affordable B460 options feature improved connectivity, networking, power delivery components and (take this with a grain of salt) future 11th Gen Rocket Lake compatibility.

So while you need a whole new motherboard platform for Intel’s new chips, there’s a strong chance it will last for a few CPU generations to come. ...

Gigabyte's Aorus Liquid Coolers Tame Intel Core i9-10900K at 5.2 GHz Without a Sweat

Overclocking the Core i9-10900K and keeping the processor's operating temperature under check could prove to be a difficult task. Have no fear, though, as Gigabyte thinks that the brand's lineup of Aorus liquid coolers can get the job done.

Gigabyte demostrated the Aorus liquid cooler's prowess by submitting an overclocked Core i9-10900K for some Prime95 beating for over 30 minutes. The manufacturer overclocked the Core i9-10900K to 5.2 GHz on all ten cores. CPU-Z and HWiNFO64 reported voltages of 1.392V and 1.423V, respectively. During the stress test, the processor pulled over 320 ...

Google discontinues the Pixel 3A and 3A XL

Google has discontinued its mid-range Pixel 3A and 3A XL smartphones, the company announced today . “Google Store has sold through its inventory and completed sales of Pixel 3A,” Google said in a statement to The Verge. “For people who are still interested in buying Pixel 3A, the product is available from some partners while supplies last.”

That might be disappointing to hear for people who were on the market for a more affordable Google-made phone. In his review last year, my colleague Dieter Bohn found the 3A had an excellent camera, especially for its low price.

The 3A is ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra official render leaks from Samsung website

An official render of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra has just been leaked...by Samsung itself. And it looks a lot like previous renders of the upcoming top-tier flagship phone.

Leaker Max Weinbach was seemingly the first to reveal a pair of images, noting he’d found them on a Russian Samsung website. Other leakers quickly spread the word, with Ben Geskin even tweeting a link – which was still live at press time – that pointed to one of the photos on Samsung’s official site.

Leaker @OnLeaks noted the similarity between the new image and the unofficial render he had leaked b ...

Lego pulls ads on Facebook over 'hate speech'

Lego has become the latest big name to join an advertising boycott on social-media platforms, saying "urgent action" is needed to end hate speech, discrimination and misinformation.

It would pause paid advertising on all social-media platforms for at least 30 days, the Danish toy company said, and spend the money "on other channels".

More than 400 companies have joined the Stop Hate for Profit campaign.

It wants "hate, bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism and violence" dealt with.

Facebook said artificial intelligence rooted out 90% of ...

Hands-on with iOS 14’s Sound Recognition feature that listens for doorbells, smoke alarms, more

iOS 14 brings a range of valuable new features, and some of them are designed as Accessibility options but happen to be useful for just about everyone. Read along for a hands-on look at how to use iPhone Sound Recognition to get alerts for things like doorbells, running water, smoke alarms, crying babies, animals, and more.

Another one of the Accessibility features in iOS 14 that’s appealing for lots of use cases is the new “Back Tap” feature. That lets users create custom controls with a double or triple tap on the back of their iPhones.

Sound Recognition is also an Accessi ...

Polar Just Made Its First Affordable, Stylish Smartwatch

Polar smartwatches aren’t exactly chic. Like many fitness-first wearable companies, Polar’s strength has always been its in-depth metrics and platform. When it comes to style, Polar usually relies on that plain, sporty aesthetic, as it did with the M400, M600, A300, and the A360 fitness tracker. But today it’s launching a new smartwatch, the Polar Unite, and it doesn’t make my eyes bleed! It’s also £135, which, as far as Polar smartwatches go, is pretty dang affordable.

The Unite has many of the same features Polar introduced with its Ignite smartwatch, which was released last year ...

Huawei: Ministers signal switch in policy over 5G policy

The government has signalled it is set to take a tougher line against Chinese telecoms equipment-maker Huawei.

A review is under way into how forthcoming US sanctions would affect the UK's continued use of its products.

"Given that these sanctions... are extensive, it is likely to have an impact on the viability of Huawei as a provider for the 5G network," said Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden.

He added he wanted Samsung and NEC to become 5G network kit providers.

They would help make the UK's mobile networks become less dependent on the other two su ...

India bans TikTok, WeChat and dozens more Chinese apps

In a statement, it said the apps were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".

In total, 59 apps were banned - among them popular messaging app WeChat. It follows escalating tensions along the disputed border between the two powers.

Both India and China deployed more troops to the Ladakh region in June.

Clashes have left at least 20 Indian troops dead. Satellite images also appear to show that China has built new structures overlooking the Himalayan border region.

India's Ministry of ...

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 GX550 Review: Two-Screen Cool

It’s been a long time since I’ve been this impressed with a laptop’s design. As I unpacked the Asus Zephyrus Duo 15 GX550 and booted it up for the first time, I thought I knew what to expect, having tested both the ZenBook Pro Duo and the smaller ZenBook Duo. But the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 takes things to another level —literally —and delivers some serious cooling innovation in the process. It’s one of the best gaming laptops you can buy, particularly if you value the utility of a second screen more than comfortable input devices.

The second touch display that sits above the keyboard ( ...

Ampere Preps 7nm 128-Core Server CPU to Take on AMD and Intel

Today, Ampere announced plans to expand its Altra family of server processors with the Altra Max chip, which arriving by the end of the year with a whopping 128 CPU cores.

Similar to the Amazon Graviton2, the Ampere Altra is based on Arm's Neoverse N1 (codename Ares) microarchitecture. TSMC carves the Altra for Ampere with its 7nm FinFET manufacturing process. The Altra family currently features 11 different models, however, the list and specifications are subject to change. 

Each core inside the Ampere Altra corresponds to a single thread and comes with its own cache. We're ...

Mobvoi's new smartwatch doesn't change much, but does bring two useful new tools

It seems 2020 is the year of incremental upgrades for Mobvoi smarwatches - the new TicWatch Pro (2020) didn't change up much but upgraded the specs, and the newly-announced TicWatch C2+ tells much the same story.

The TicWatch C2+ is mostly the same as the TicWatch C2 smartwatch from 2018, but with two significant adjustments, and they might make this a more interesting smartwatch than the largely unchanged specs list would suggest.

Firstly, the TicWatch C2+ has 1GB of RAM, which is twice as much as the C2, and this should make scrolling the menus and accessing apps a lot smo ...

Samsung's radical Galaxy Fold 2 design change revealed

Samsung is working on a follow up to last year's Galaxy Fold that's expected to launch this August , and while the Korean manufacturer was almost certainly going to shake things up with the design, given the issues it had with its first attempt at the Fold, the latest leak suggests quite the turnaround. 

A new collection of renders have surfaced, reportedly based on a patent filed by Samsung this week that seems to incorporate elements from the Galaxy Z Flip - which was blissfully unencumbered by any of the problems we saw with the Fold - and the Galaxy S20 Ultra. It's certainly a v ...

Acer's new Predator gaming chair will soothe you in ways others don't

So you've got one of the best gaming chairs, have you? Does it play soothing music and massage you while you game? Thought not. Though it probably also doesn't cost $999 either… Still, Acer's got you covered if you deem relieving your aching shoulders priceless, as from July you'll be able to pick up the new Predator Gaming Chair x OSIM. At the moment, however, it's looking like it's a North America-only product, so some of us are going to have to stick with finding someone else to rub us down after a hard gaming session. 

Maybe it's down to the OSIM co-branding, but the latest Pred ...

This new Dell XPS 13 build is ditching Windows 10 for Ubuntu

A new build of the Dell XPS 13 has gone on sale with one major difference - it has dropped Windows 10 in favour of Ubuntu.

The new Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition ditches Microsoft's software in favour of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS preinstalled to work straight out of the box, giving developers a new ultra-portable and powerful laptop option.

The Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition is now available in North America and selected EMEA countries including UK and Ireland from today costing $1,049/around £899.

Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition

The launch is is the first system availabl ...

AMD is going to make it easier to submit bug reports when your GPU crashes

Back in March, AMD had said that while posting about graphics issues related to its Radeon hardware on Reddit is helpful, submitting an actual bug report directly to the company is the better course of action. Pretty soon, that will be easier to do right from within AMD's Radeon Software utility.

As spotted by a user on Reddit (Ceremony64), there is a new bug reporting tool in the latest Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition driver package (version 20.20.01.05) for people who are participating in the Windows Insider program, who also are testing out the latest Windows Subsystem for ...

ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS DUO 15 REVIEW

This beautiful-looking beast is the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15, the very latest ultra-modern gaming laptop from the Republic of Gamers brand and the true successor to the original, ground-breaking Zephyrus machine. The GX550LXS has got the latest Nvidia graphics card, the latest Intel CPU, and a second, large touchscreen monitor built into the surprisingly svelte chassis. But I'm afraid I don't really get it.

I mean, I do like it. The build quality is excellent—more effective than the first, mildly flimsy Zephyrus notebook—and the performance is pretty outstanding when you push it as ...

ADDLINK S90 1TB PCIE 4.0 NVME SSD REVIEW

It may not look like much, but the Addlink S90 is a tiny revolutionary. A small drive trying to upset the status quo. Conventional wisdom says quality storage only comes from a few big players. Names like Samsung, Western Digital, Crucial, Intel et al. Addlink doesn't have much respect for the old ways though, so following the success of its S70 (which makes a prominent appearance in our best NVMe SSD guide), the S90 moves things up a level by offering speedy PCIe 4.0 throughput. Which isn't bad for a company predominantly seen as a budget player.

If you've followed the shift to PCI ...

Apple reimagines the iPhone experience with iOS 14

iOS 14 introduces new ways to customize the Home Screen, discover and use apps with App Clips, and stay connected in Messages

Cupertino, California — Apple today previewed iOS 14, introducing the biggest update ever to Home Screen pages with beautifully redesigned widgets and the App Library, a new way to tap into the App Store with App Clips, powerful updates to Messages, and more.

The new widgets present timely information at a glance and can be pinned in different sizes on any Home Screen page. Users can create a Smart Stack of widgets, which uses on-device intelligence t ...

watchOS 7 adds significant personalization, health, and fitness features to Apple Watch

Introducing watch face sharing, sleep tracking, and automatic handwashing detection

Cupertino, California — Apple today previewed watchOS 7, delivering enhanced customization tools and powerful new health and fitness features to the world’s most advanced smartwatch. Personalization is taken to an entirely new level with shareable and discoverable watch face configurations, while sleep tracking, automatic handwashing detection, additional workout types including dance, and a new hearing health feature give greater insight into overall well-being and are designed with privacy in mind. ...

Will your iPad get iPadOS 14? There's good news for owners of most iPads

Apple has finally unveiled iPadOS 14, the newest (and second, not fourteenth) version of its iPad-only operating system that'll bring new tweaks and features to your faithful tablet.

There's good news for people who like using iPadOS and are keen to try the newer version – every iPad that supported the original version last September will get iPadOS 14, as well as the newer iPads released since then. 

That brings the total number of slates that support the operating system up to 15, so some of the best tablets on the market are about to get better.

iPadOS is impressi ...

How to password protect a file or folder in Windows 10

When you get a new Windows 10 PC, or any version of Windows for that matter, there are a couple of things that you must do before you actually start using your PC. Of course, downloading Chrome is one of the things many us do, but there are other equally important things that you should pay attention to, especially if your PCs have sensitive information such as personal photos, videos, bank information, or anything that you don’t want anyone to get access to.

If you don’t follow the right steps, your sensitive information may get into the hands of the people that might cause you har ...

Realme X3 with 12GB of RAM appears on GeekBench

Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth recently confirm the company was working on the Realme X3 which he referred to as the company’s next flagship. The model has been confirmed to launch alongside the Realme X3 Zoom on June 25.

The Realme X3 has now been spotted on benchmark database GeekBench. The device appears with model number RMX2085 and it is listed to have a 12GB RAM onboard. Earlier, the X3 was rumoured to have an 8GB RAM onboard and we can assume there will be more than one RAM variants. However, the single and multi-core scores are not in the terrain of Snapdragon 865-powered mod ...

Wear OS now supports hardware-accelerated watch faces for smoother animations

While Android 11 for phones and tablets is expected to launch in Q3, Wear OS is still running Android 9 Pie. That said, the wearable platform is still getting updates with watch faces now able to take advantage of hardware acceleration.

Hardware acceleration lets watch faces render at a higher frame rate with smoother animations and transitions. Google says “these benefits are self-evident” for end users.

Behind-the-scenes, Wear OS apps already take advantage of hardware-accelerated graphics rendering, but watch faces are implemented using canvasses. Google last month update ...

Video tests MacBook Air thermal and CPU performance with improved cooling design

A new video from Linus Tech Tips today sheds light on the MacBook Air’s thermal design and how various different tweaks can affect performance and heat dissipation. The results show an increase in performance, but not quite as you would expect.

The video starts by explaining Apple’s somewhat odd design decision. Instead of placing the fan right next to the CPU, where the majority of the heat is generated, Apple placed the fan on the far side of the MacBook Air. This leaves the MacBook Air CPU with around 10W of CPU cooling capacity, the video explains.

In the video, a variet ...

First ARM Macs will be MacBook Pros and an all-new iMac: report

Apple is set to unveil its long-awaited Mac transition from Intel to ARM processors today at its online WWDC 2020 keynote, and analyst Ming-chi Kuo has issued his predictions for the first Macs that will use the new Apple-designed processors. His research note was reported on by MacRumors, 9to5Mac, and AppleInsider.

First of all, Kuo says the last new Intel-based Mac ever will be a brand new iMac design with thinner bezels and a 24-inch display. This iMac is said to be planned for a release in Q3 2020, but an ARM version will follow it in the first quarter of next year.

The ...

Facebook removes Trump ad over 'Nazi hate symbol'

Facebook says it has removed adverts for US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign that featured a symbol used in Nazi Germany.

The company said the offending ad contained an inverted red triangle similar to that used by the Nazis to label opponents such as communists.

Mr Trump's campaign team said they were aimed at the far-left activist group antifa, which it said uses the symbol.

Facebook said the ads violated its policy against organised hate.

"We don't allow symbols that represent hateful organisations or hateful ideologies unless they are pu ...

Coronavirus: Health minister says app should roll out by winter

A government minister has said the NHS coronavirus contact-tracing app is "not a priority" and he was not sure it would be out by winter.

The app, which has been trialled on the Isle of Wight, was initially expected to launch nationally weeks ago.

The BBC can also reveal that the project's two lead managers - NHSX's Matthew Gould and Geraint Lewis - are stepping back.

And Simon Thompson - a former Apple executive - is joining to manage it.

Mr Thompson is currently chief product officer at the online grocer Ocado. He has been appointed to Baroness Di ...

Abuse and threats aimed at wheelchair user over faked photo

A Newcastle woman says she received death threats online after being turned into an internet meme that mocked her wheelchair use.

Emily Morison, 24, woke up last week to messages from friends about one of her photos which had been edited to include a pro-Trump message she didn't write.

The comments included telling her to "wheel herself off a cliff", and another encouraging murder, she said.

Facebook has removed the post - but TikTok did not.

Ms Morison is a blogger who writes about accessibility and equality.

On 14 June, she woke up to see ...

Germany has its Covid-19 app, so where's the UK's?

Around the world, major countries are unveiling new contact-tracing apps as they emerge from lockdown.

Germany has just launched a decentralised app based on the Apple and Google platform. Switzerland, Ireland and Austria are testing theirs. And Japan is said to be unveiling something similar, with the help of Microsoft, later this week.

So the inhabitants of an island just off the south coast of England could be forgiven for asking - has everybody forgotten about us?

Six weeks ago, a trial of the NHS contact-tracing app was launched on the Isle of Wight with great f ...

Would you pay to Zoom Keanu Reeves or Star Trek's Riker?

Actors Keanu Reeves and Jonathan Frakes are among the celebrities offering fans the opportunity to chat one-to-one via Zoom during lockdown.

Reeves is auctioning a 15-minute Zoom call for a children's cancer charity.

The highest bid at time of writing is $9,800 (£7,800).

Meanwhile, on the celebrity message platform Cameo, £166 will buy a 10-minute Zoom call with Star Trek actor Jonathan Frakes or skateboarder Tony Hawk.

Cameo said there had been "a tonne of interest" in its Zoom service, Cameo Live, despite just 31 celebrities - only four of whom ar ...

Instagram 'will overtake Twitter as a news source'

Photo-sharing app Instagram is set to overtake Twitter as a news source, research suggests.

The 2020 Reuters Institute Digital News report found the use of Instagram for news had doubled since 2018.

The trend is strongest among young people. It said nearly a quarter of UK 18-24-year-olds used Instagram as a source of news about coronavirus.

But social media platforms were also among the least-trusted sources.

Just 26% of people said they trusted social media as a source of information about the virus. A similar percentage said they trusted news that had been ...

Former eBay executives charged with cyber-stalking

Six former eBay executives and staff have been charged with cyber-stalking in a campaign against a couple who ran a newsletter critical of the company.

Prosecutors allege the harassment included sending the couple live cockroaches, a bloody Halloween mask and a funeral wreath, as well as threatening messages.

EBay said it did not tolerate such behaviour and apologised to the couple.

The firm fired the employees last September after its own probe.

That inquiry also uncovered "inappropriate" communication by former chief executive Devin Wenig, but it ...

Riot Games executive resigns after 'abhorrent' George Floyd post

A gaming firm executive has resigned over a meme he posted about George Floyd, who died while being arrested.

Ron Johnson, who was head of consumer products at Riot Games, shared an image detailing Mr Floyd's criminal record.

He wrote that it was "no reason to condone his killing" but added: "This type of criminal lifestyle never results in good things."

Riot Games said the Facebook post was "abhorrent" and told staff Mr Johnson had exercised "poor judgment".

The Los Angeles-based firm produces the hugely popular League ...

Firm defends algorithm that 'spots women's orgasms'

A firm that claimed to have built an algorithm to identify women's orgasms has defended itself after ridicule on social media.

Cyprus-based Relida Limited said its algorithm could "validate" female orgasms 86% of the time.

Slides from a presentation it produced were posted on Twitter and were retweeted thousands of times.

The company said it had wanted to help developers test sex tech products and that its work had been "twisted".

The presentation was posted on Twitter by Stu Nugent, brand manager at the sex toy label Lelo, after he was se ...

PlayStation 5: Sony games chief says PS5 offers a paradigm shift

The PlayStation 5 has finally broken cover in all its curvy glory.

Not everyone's convinced by its black-white-and-glowing-blue design. But for many consumers, it's the games that count rather than the aesthetic appeal of the box.

Dozens were teased in an online event. But Sony is remaining tight-lipped about the machine's price.

Any new console will have a hard time navigating the tough economic waters that lie ahead, but Sony's reluctance to tell us how much its next machine will cost won't help consumers figure out if they can afford it.

But PlayStation ch ...

George Floyd: Microsoft bars facial recognition sales to police

Microsoft has become the latest US company to limit the use of its facial recognition technology by police.

The firm said it would not start sales to US police departments until the country approves national regulation of the technology, which critics say is racially biased and easy to abuse.

Amazon and IBM have already made similar moves.

These followed widespread protests over police brutality and racial discrimination.

Amazon on Wednesday banned police from using its tech for one year, while IBM earlier said it would stop offering the technology for " ...

PlayStation 5: Sony to give gamers first look at new platform

Sony will give gamers their first look at the PlayStation 5 during a special event later on Thursday.

Fans will finally get to see a range of yet-to-be-announced titles that are currently in development for the highly anticipated platform.

The showcase is one in a series of updates to the console that Sony is set to reveal over the coming months.

The Japanese firm will stream the event live at 20:00 GMT on YouTube and Twitch.

The event was initially set to go ahead on 4 June, but Sony postponed due to the on-going Black Lives Matter protests across the US.

...

Developer warns VR headset damaged eyesight

A software developer has tweeted about how wearing a VR headset for hours a day has damaged his eyesight.

A visit to the opticians left him "worried about my future VR use" after a doctor blamed the technology for a problem with his vision.

Glasses should correct the issue but would normally only "be prescribed to 40-year-olds", he tweeted.

The Association of Optometrists said it had not seen evidence that VR headsets could cause permanent eye damage.

Facebook-owned Oculus states in its handbook that one in 4,000 may suffer "dizziness ...

George Floyd: Twitter to make Juneteenth a company holiday

The boss of Twitter and Square has said that both firms will honour Juneteenth as a company holiday in America.

Jack Dorsey also said Twitter was working to identify which days it made most sense to recognise the end of slavery in other countries.

Juneteenth is observed by many African-Americans on 19 June every year to mark the emancipation from slavery in the US.

It comes as companies respond to Black Lives Matter protests around the world.

The roots of Juneteenth, which is also known as Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, date back to 1865, when Union Army Genera ...

Babylon Health admits GP app suffered a data breach

Babylon Health has acknowledged that its GP video appointment app has suffered a data breach.

The firm was alerted to the problem after one of its users discovered he had been given access to dozens of video recordings of other patients' consultations.

A follow-up check by Babylon revealed a small number of further UK users could also see others' sessions.

The firm said it had since fixed the issue and notified regulators.

Babylon allows its members to speak to a doctor, therapist or other health specialist via a smartphone video call and, when appropriate, s ...

Samsung: Court rejects Lee Jae-yong arrest warrant request

A court in Seoul has denied an arrest warrant request for Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, after prosecutors accused him of accounting fraud and stock manipulation.

The ruling provides at least temporary relief for the de facto head of the South Korean conglomerate.

But Mr Lee isn't completely in the clear yet as prosecutors said they will continue with their investigation.

They can still return with new evidence and seek another arrest warrant.

Last week state prosecutors asked the court to issue an arrest warrant against Mr Lee related to their probe into account ...

Xbox Series X: Microsoft tailors launch plans for the pandemic

The biggest challenge facing Microsoft and Sony's next generation consoles - the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 - might not be proving the most powerful or having the best games at launch but the fallout from Covid-19.

Many gamers will have less spare cash to spend. And there has been speculation supply-chain problems caused by the pandemic will lead to manufacturing delays and higher costs.

This was supposed to be the week of the giant E3 games expo, in Los Angeles, a chance to build hype for the launches.

Instead, Xbox will give a first look at some games in devel ...

Huawei launches media blitz as UK weighs its role in 5G networks

Huawei is launching a newspaper and internet campaign to mark 20 years of business in the UK.

In an open letter to the public, the Chinese telecoms company says it is "as committed as ever" to provide "the best equipment" to the UK's 5G mobile and full-fibre broadband providers.

It comes amid a new security review that could lead the UK government to ban use of Huawei's 5G network kit.

Huawei's local boss said he expects the UK to act in the nation's interests.

The initiative follows a report in Saturday's Daily Telegraph, which said Londo ...

Coronavirus face mask lights up with moving mouth shapes

A light-up face mask that responds to the sound of the wearer's voice has been developed by a games developer in California.

The BBC's Chris Fox spoke to designer Tyler Glaiel and had a go at making the mask himself - although he keeping his purely as a novelty.

Snapchat stops promoting Donald Trump's account due to 'racial violence'

Snapchat says it has stopped promoting President Donald Trump's account.

As a result, it will no longer feature in the app's Discover section. The firm said it would "not amplify voices who incite racial violence and injustice".

The decision follows Mr Trump saying that "vicious dogs" and "ominous weapons" would have been used on protesters if they had breached the White House fence.

It follows Twitter's decision to hide some of the president's posts.

Snapchat's parent company Snap said: "Racial violence and injustice have n ...

Coronavirus: France's virus-tracing app 'off to a good start'

France's digital minister has said its coronavirus contact-tracing app has been downloaded 600,000 times since it became available on Tuesday afternoon.

StopCovid France is designed to prevent a second wave of infections by using smartphone logs to warn users if they have been near someone who later tested positive for the virus.

But a last-minute launch delay led some citizens to download the wrong product.

England has yet to confirm when its own app will roll out nationwide.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock had originally said it would be by 1 June, and then l ...

Grindr removes 'ethnicity filter' after complaints

Dating and hook-up app Grindr says it will remove the "ethnicity filter" from the next version of its app, following years of criticism from its users.

The app currently lets people filter potential matches according to their age, height, weight and ethnicity.

But critics say the ethnicity filter fuels discrimination and that the app does too little to tackle racism.

Announcing the change, Grindr said it had a "zero-tolerance policy for racism and hate speech" on its platform.

Analysis
by Ben Hunte, LGBT correspondent

For ye ...

George Floyd death: Jake Paul denies looting Arizona mall

YouTuber Jake Paul has denied looting during a protest against racial inequality in Arizona.

The 23-year-old says he was only there to film content for his 20.1 million YouTube followers.

Photos and videos seen on social media claim to show Jake, whose estimated wealth is over $11 million, involved in looting an Arizona shopping mall.

"Neither I nor anyone in our group was involved in any looting or vandalism," he wrote on Twitter and Instagram.

12 people were arrested at Scottsdale Fashion Square after "millions of dollars of damages and theft ...

Amazon UK website defaced with racist abuse

Amazon has blamed a "bad actor" for racist abuse that appeared on multiple listings on its UK website.

The abuse, now removed, appeared when users searched the online shop for Apple AirPods and similar products.

It was unclear how long the racist language remained on the site, but it sparked outrage on Twitter and the sharing of screenshots and video grabs.

"We investigated, removed the images in question and took action against the bad actor," Amazon told the BBC.

The company did not elaborate on the "bad actor", nor give detail ...

Microsoft 'to replace journalists with robots'

Microsoft is to replace dozens of contract journalists on its MSN website and use automated systems to select news stories, US and UK media report.

The curating of stories from news organisations and selection of headlines and pictures for the MSN site is currently done by journalists.

Artificial intelligence will perform these news production tasks, sources told the Seattle Times.

Microsoft said it was part of an evaluation of its business.

The US tech giant said in a statement: "Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can ...

Trump signs executive order targeting Twitter after fact-checking row

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at removing some of the legal protections given to social media platforms.

It gives regulators the power to pursue legal actions against firms such as Facebook and Twitter for the way they police content on their platforms.

President Trump accused social media platforms of having "unchecked power" while signing the order.

The order is expected to face legal challenges.

Legal experts says the US Congress or the court system must be involved to change the current legal understanding of prot ...

Myka Stauffer: Backlash after YouTubers give up adopted son

A couple who documented on a popular YouTube channel their life with an autistic toddler adopted from China are facing a backlash after they revealed he had been placed with another family.

Myka Stauffer and her husband James, based in Ohio, produced videos about Huxley's adoption and his challenges.

Since 2017 the couple received sponsorship deals and video revenue.

While some understood the decision, critics accused the pair of exploiting Huxley to build their YouTube career.

The news that Huxley is living permanently with another family was revealed on Tue ...

Pulling apart a £339 anti-5G USB stick

A device costing more than £300 promises to protect your family from 5G, using ground-breaking quantum technology - but does it work?

The rollout of the new 5G mobile networks began in the UK only last summer and has not yet reached outside urban areas.

Yet across the country there is already a cottage industry offering protection against the supposed negative health effects, even though they have been dismissed by regulators and mainstream scientists.

The 5GBioShield was recommended by a member of Glastonbury Town Council's 5G Advisory Committee, which has called fo ...

Video streaming: Lockdown sees fifth of UK homes sign deals

One in five households in Britain – six million – signed up to an online video subscription service during the Covid-19 lockdown, data suggests.

The majority of those sign-ups, 52%, are going to Disney+, according to market research firm Kantar.

The most-enjoyed piece of content, though, was Netflix’s exclusive documentary series Tiger King.

AppleTV+ struggled to engage TV viewers, however, according to the research.

Kantar’s data shows the tech giant’s TV service was popular on smartphone and tablet devices, but lagged behind competitors in ...

Twitter tags Trump tweet with fact-checking warning

A post by US President Donald Trump has been given a fact-check label by Twitter for the first time.

President Trump tweeted: "There is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent."

Twitter put a warning label under the post and a subsequent tweet under its new policy on misleading information.

Mr Trump responded by tweeting again, saying the social media giant "is completely stifling free speech".

Twitter's notification displays a blue exclamation mark underneath the tweets, suggesting readers & ...

Facebook shareholders try to block encryption plan

Investors at Facebook's annual stockholder meeting will vote on a proposal to postpone the firm's plans for end-to-end encryption.

The firm says it wants to make the measure the default option across its messaging platforms to protect privacy.

But activist shareholders say this would make it nearly impossible to detect child exploitation on Facebook.

The group wants the company to delay the move until after its board of directors studies the risk further.

"As shareholders, we know that privacy is important to a social media company, but it should not com ...

Huawei: What would happen if the UK ditched the Chinese firm?

Huawei's future in the UK is in doubt - again.

The consequences could affect how quickly improved internet access is rolled out and how much it will cost. This a time when the country's economy is already in a precarious state because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The catalyst for a potential rethink is the US's move to restrict the firm's ability to buy chips, which was justified on "national security grounds".

On Sunday, the UK's National Security Centre (NCSC) confirmed it was examining what impact this would have on the UK networks that use Huawei's tech ...

Could coronavirus kickstart more accessible tech?

Many people have changed the way they work during the coronavirus pandemic, but for some disabled people this has brought some specific challenges.

Improvements in accessible technology has seen artificial intelligence software provide real-time, on-screen transcriptions of what someone is saying in video calls, but there are concerns that some video calling platforms and apps are not as accessible as they could be.

BBC Click’s Paul Carter finds out more.

Fresh UK review into Huawei role in 5G networks

The UK government is conducting a new review into the impact of allowing Huawei telecoms equipment to be used in British 5G networks.

The National Cyber Security Centre involvement comes after the US brought in fresh sanctions on the Chinese company, citing security fears.

In January, the UK resisted US pressure to ban Huawei from contributing to 5G.

A UK government spokesman said: "The security and resilience of our networks is of paramount importance."

"Following the US announcement of additional sanctions against Huawei, the NCSC is looking ...

Wikipedia sets new rule to combat “toxic behaviour”

Wikipedia is to institute a new code of conduct to battle what the firm called "toxic behaviour" by some volunteers.

The Wikimedia Foundation, the organisation that runs the site, voted on new measures that will be finalised by the end of the year.

Wikipedia is written and updated by volunteers.

Many, particularly women and members of the LGBTQ community, have complained of abuse and harassment from other editors.

Wikimedia's board of trustees said maintaining civility was a core value.

"We must work together to create a safe, inclusive ...

Australia 'records fastest internet speed ever'

Researchers in Australia claim they have recorded the fastest ever internet data speed.

A team from Monash, Swinburne and RMIT universities logged a data speed of 44.2 terabits per second (Tbps).

At that speed, users could download more than 1,000 high-definition movies in less than a second.

According to Ofcom, the average UK broadband speed currently is around 64 megabits per second (Mbps) - a fraction of that recorded in the recent study.

Australia lies in the middle of global rankings for internet speeds, and slow connections are a regular source of compl ...

Coronavirus contact tracing: My new skill

It could be the most important job of our times. And now, after receiving a 95% pass rate in my final exam, I can proudly say, I am a qualified contact tracer.

What is not clear is just how well trained most of the people undertaking this vital task in the UK will be.

A contact tracer does the detective work of calling up people known to be infected with a disease and working out where they have been in recent days and who they might have met.

The idea is then to track down those with whom they have been in close proximity and tell them to go into quarantine.

...

Coronavirus: MPs demand answers on misinformation

Twitter has begun labelling tweets that spread misinformation about Covid-19, including some from Mark Steele, who posts about links between 5G and coronavirus.

But tweets from other 5G conspiracy theorists, such as David Icke, remain unchallenged.

MPs have asked Google, Twitter and Facebook to return to Parliament to answer their questions about content.

Only Facebook's head of global policy Monica Bickert has agreed to attend.

Chairman of the DCMS (Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) select committee Julian Knight said MPs had been "very disappointed&qu ...

Grandmother ordered to delete Facebook photos under GDPR

A woman must delete photographs of her grandchildren that she posted on Facebook and Pinterest without their parents' permission, a court in the Netherlands has ruled.

It ended up in court after a falling-out between the woman and her daughter.

The judge ruled the matter was within the scope of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

One expert said the ruling reflected the "position that the European Court has taken over many years".

The case went to court after the woman refused to delete photographs of her grandchildren which she had ...

Apple and Google release marks 'watershed moment' for contact-tracing apps

Apple and Google have released a software tool that will make it possible for nations to release coronavirus contact-tracing apps that adopt the firms' privacy-centric model.

It offers developers access to added Bluetooth functionality to solve a problem existing apps have of iPhones sometimes failing to detect each other.

Android and iOS device owners will have to carry out system upgrades.

But some countries - including the UK - are pursuing a different approach.

"The release of these APIs [application programming interfaces] along with the operating-s ...

Man sentenced to death in Singapore via Zoom

A man has been sentenced to death via a Zoom video call in Singapore, as the country remains on lockdown following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

Punithan Genasan, 37, received the sentence on Friday for his role in a drug deal that took place in 2011.

It marks the city's first case where such a ruling has been done remotely.

Human rights groups argued that pursuing the death penalty at a time when the world is being gripped by a pandemic was "abhorrent".

The vast majority of court hearings in Singapore have been adjourned until at least 1 June, when th ...

Coronavirus: Apple shoppers required to wear masks

Apple is gradually reopening its US stores, following easing of lockdowns intended to slow the Covid-19 pandemic.

But there will be strict rules for customers, including the wearing of a face mask. If customers don't have their own, one will be provided.

Visitors will also be asked a set of health questions at the door and have their temperature checked.

There will be a reduced number of customers in the store and deep cleans will happen throughout the day.

About 100 Apple stores have already reopened worldwide.

In a post detailing how the new measure ...

Coronavirus: Isle of Wight contact-tracing app trial - a mixed verdict so far

It is 10 days since all Isle of Wight residents were invited to test the NHS app at the heart of the government's test, track and trace strategy. So how's it going?

Mixed would probably be a fair verdict.

The big concern was how many people would download it. Epidemiologists suggest that for the UK as a whole, about 60% of the population needs to install and use the software for it to live up to its full potential.

So when Downing Street says there have been roughly 60,000 downloads, that's not a bad result. The island's population is 140,000, and its inhabitants are ...

Disney's head of streaming to become CEO of TikTok

Disney's head of streaming Kevin Mayer is stepping down to become the boss of social media platform TikTok.

He has been named the chief executive officer of TikTok and chief operating officer of ByteDance, the platform's Chinese parent company.

TikTok, an app where users post short videos, has seen an explosion of growth since its US launch.

But that increased popularity has led to scrutiny by the US government over its ties to China.

Mr Mayer will be responsible for ByteDance's "global development" including emerging business, gaming and music.

...

Europe's supercomputers hijacked by attackers for crypto mining

At least a dozen supercomputers across Europe have shut down after cyber-attacks tried to take control of them.

A pan-European supercomputing group says they seem to have tried to use the machines to mine cryptocurrency.

"A security exploitation" disabled access to the Archer supercomputer, at the University of Edinburgh, on 11 May.

Staff said they were working with the National Cyber Security Centre to restore the system, which had recently installed a pandemic modelling tool.

"We now believe this to be a major issue across the academic commun ...

Universities' move online 'must be done the right way'

Harry Ashworth should be in the final term of his first year at Oxford University, studying music.

Instead he is stuck at his parents' house in south London hunched over a laptop, listening to lectures via Zoom.

He doesn't feel that the sudden and dramatic change in circumstances has affected his learning too much, but he is missing some aspects of university life.

"I am in a jazz orchestra and that isn't really happening now. And I would have been playing at the summer balls, so there are social events that I've missed."

Some of his more practical ...

Coronavirus: Film piracy streaming trebles in lockdown

Newly released films have been downloaded illegally in huge numbers since stay-at-home lockdown measures were imposed in the UK.

According to Fact, the UK's intellectual property protection organisation, overall links to illegal streaming sites doubled between February and April.

And for some recently released films, it had trebled.

Kieron Sharp, chief executive of Fact, said it was no surprise.

"It's essential to remember that the only legal way of watching films is through the official providers.

"Every pirated link that we detect denies t ...

Facebook buys GIF-maker Giphy to add to Instagram team

Facebook has purchased the GIF-maker Giphy and plans to make it part of the Instagram team.

A report from Axios values the deal at $400m (£330m), but Facebook would not confirm the final price.

In a blog post, Instagram's VP of Products Vishal Shah said third party firms would still have access to Giphy's library of GIFs and stickers.

But many of those sites including Twitter and Pintrest are direct competitors to Facebook.

A Graphical Interchange Format or GIF is an animated image or short soundless video that plays on a continuous loop without requiring the ...

Disney forces explicit Club Penguin clones offline

Disney has ordered unauthorised copies of its Club Penguin game to close, after the BBC found children were being exposed to explicit messages.

Visits to fan-run Club Penguin Online surged during the coronavirus pandemic with more than a million new players.

But racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic and sexual messages flow freely on the unauthorised platform.

Disney said it was "appalled" by the website, and has ordered it to close or face legal action.

Club Penguin Online appeared to go offline on Friday afternoon.

One man involved in the site ...

Coronavirus: German contact-tracing app takes different path to NHS

Germany's forthcoming coronavirus contact-tracing app will trigger alerts only if users test positive for Covid-19.

That puts it at odds with the NHS app, which instead relies on users self-diagnosing via an on-screen questionnaire.

UK health chiefs have said the questionnaire is a key reason they are pursuing a "centralised" design despite privacy campaigners' protests.

Germany ditched that model in April.

And on Wednesday Chancellor Angela Merkel said there would be a "much higher level of acceptance" for a decentralised approach, which ...

Wristband helps workers maintain social distancing

A wristband which notifies the wearer with a vibration if they get too close to maintain safe social distancing has been introduced at the port of Antwerp.

BBC Click finds out more.

Coronavirus: Musk defies orders to reopen Tesla's California plant

The local police department said that it was aware of the situation, but that it would act at the discretion of county health officials.

The Alameda County Public Health Department said on Monday it was "actively communicating" with Tesla about reopening plans and that it was taking the same approach it had taken with other business that had violated lockdown orders.

In an email seen by Reuters, Tesla also reportedly told workers the decision to reopen was in line with California guidelines.

Mr Musk wrote on Twitter that Tesla had been "singled out", saying that othe ...

Coronavirus: A4-sized face shields 'too narrow' for PPE

The British Standards Institution (BSI) says that A4-sized face shields do not always protect healthcare workers' faces from exposure to Covid-19.

Faced with a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), many communities have started making their own to help frontline workers.

These include 3D-printing and laser-cut designs.

Some incorporate A4-sized acetate transparent paper, designed for overhead projectors, to make the visor.

"People are trying to use materials that are readily available," said Nathan Shipley, PPE group certification manager ...

China's factory activity shrinks as slowdown worries rise

Chinese factory activity contracted for a second straight month in January, the official Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) showed.

The index ticked up to 49.5, but remained below the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction.

China reported its weakest economic expansion in 28 years in 2018, and growth is expected to slow further.

Already, a number of multinationals have said sluggish growth in China has affected their bottom line.

The manufacturing data was up slightly from the 49.4 level recorded in December.

Marcel Thieliant, economist at ...

RTX Voice: Noise-destroying tech put to the test

Graphics card-maker Nvidia is developing noise-cancellation technology that can eliminate nuisance sounds from video calls and livestreams.

The first version of its technology uses spare capacity on its high-end graphics cards.

BBC Click's Chris Fox put the system through a series of increasingly complex challenges, alongside existing noise-cancelling software Krisp.

Coronavirus: 'Plandemic' virus conspiracy video spreads across social media

Major social networks are rushing to take down a new coronavirus conspiracy theory video which has rapidly spread across the internet.

The so-called "Plandemic" video is edited in the style of a documentary, with much higher production standards than many conspiracy videos.

The video is filled with medical misinformation about where the virus came from and how it is transmitted.

Despite efforts to remove it, users are constantly re-uploading the clip.

Since the 26-minute video first appeared earlier this week, it has exploded across YouTube, Faceboo ...

Tech Tent: An experiment on the Isle of Wight

An island off the south coast of England is now the focus of the world's attention - or at least that part of the world that wants to know whether contact tracing apps can help deal with the coronavirus.

On this week's Tech Tent we hear how a trial on the Isle of Wight could determine which kind of app - if any - is the best way forward.

Listen to the latest Tech Tent podcast on BBC Sounds
Listen live every Friday at 15:00 GMT on the BBC World Service
A good proportion of the island's 140,000 residents have now downloaded the NHS Covid-19 app, among them Andy S ...

Coronavirus: NHS reveals source code behind contact-tracing app

The NHS has released the source code behind its coronavirus contact-tracing app.

More than 40,000 people have installed the smartphone software so far.

The health service is targeting the Isle of Wight only, at this stage, but it says this is the first stage of the app's rollout - not a test.

Tests carried out on behalf of BBC News confirm the developers have found a way to work round restrictions Apple places on the use of Bluetooth in iPhones.

In a related development, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has announced that Baroness Dido Harding will head up the w ...

Coronavirus: Will offices be safe for a return to work?

As lockdowns start to ease in many countries, so the tentative return to work begins, leaving people understandably concerned about how safe a space an office will be in the middle of a global pandemic.

Alongside some mouldy old food in the communal fridges, there is likely to be an increase in the amount of technology used to monitor employees.

From thermal cameras taking your temperature when you enter the building to apps or wearables to alert you if you get too close to colleagues, work could soon have the feel of the Minority Report movie.

The Edge in Amsterdam ...

Sonos Arc soundbar makes jump to Dolby Atmos audio

Sonos has announced a new flagship soundbar with the latest surround-sound technology.

The Sonos Arc is the firm's first model to incorporate Dolby Atmos - which bounces audio off the ceiling to create the impression that sounds are being emitted from different heights.

The launch comes nearly five years after Yamaha was first to bring an Atmos soundbar to market.

Sonos may benefit from the coronavirus having caused many cinemas to close.

But company watchers have warned that people's concerns about their jobs and personal finances may deter them from buying ...

Coronavirus: Hands on with NHS Covid-19 contact-tracing app

For an app with so much riding on it, NHS Covid-19 is at first sight very simple and extraordinarily unexciting.

At this stage it is only available to NHS and council workers on the Isle of Wight.

On Thursday, other residents of the island will get a leaflet containing a link that will trigger a download.

And eventually anyone will be able to download it directly from the UK versions of Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store.

I have been given special early access.

When you install it, you are asked to enter the first four characters of your post ...

Coronavirus: Cyber-spies hunt Covid-19 research, US and UK warn

The UK and US have issued a joint warning cyber-spies are targeting the health sector.

Hackers linked to foreign states have been hunting for information, including Covid-19 data and vaccine research, they say.

UK sources say they have seen extensive activity but do not believe there has been any data theft so far.

Those behind the activity are not named in the alert but are thought to include China, Russia and Iran.

The three countries have all seen major outbreaks of the virus but have denied previous claims of involvement in such activity.

The join ...

Facebook and Twitter allow scammers 'free rein'

Social-media companies are failing to clamp down on scammers selling people's personal details through their platforms, an investigation from consumer watchdog Which? has shown.

It found 50 profiles, pages and groups on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offering stolen credit-card details, and Netflix and Uber Eats accounts.

And much of the content had remained on the platforms after being reported.

Facebook and Twitter said such activity was not tolerated and would be removed.

The investigation, carried out before the coronavirus lockdown, found one Facebook p ...

Tesla warns on shutdown as Musk calls for end to lockdown

Demand for Tesla's electric cars held up in the first three months of the year, despite upheavals caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Quarterly revenues jumped 30% from last year to $5.9bn (£4.7bn), allowing the firm to turn a small profit of $16m.

It is the third quarterly profit in a row for the company, marking a turnaround after years of losses.

But Tesla said forced shutdowns and limits on deliveries had clouded its forecast for coming months.

"Frankly I would call it forcibly imprisoning people in their homes against all their constitutional rights ...

Coronavirus: UK contact-tracing app 'ready in two to three weeks'

Building a coronavirus contact-tracing app that might help the UK emerge from lockdown has been a titanic effort - and it has largely taken place in private.

But now the NHS chief responsible has told MPs he hopes the first version will be ready in a fortnight's time.

Matthew Gould also disclosed plans to log the location of whenever two or more people are in close proximity for minutes at a time.

That will disturb privacy campaigners.

However, NHSX - the health service's digital innovation unit - has told BBC News this extra request will be "opt in" ...

Coronavirus-themed game banned in China

A coronavirus-themed game has been blocked on Steam in China because of its politically motivated content.

In order to win Coronavirus Attack, players have to stop "selfish zombies" from escaping a country infected with the virus.

Players reported the game for using the same colour scheme as the Chinese flag, with virus-shaped animations in place of its stars.

The game has been inundated with negative reviews on Steam's store.

China and the US trade coronavirus conspiracy theories
Fortnite's virtual concert attracts 12 million
"A ...

NHS rejects Apple-Google coronavirus app plan

The UK's coronavirus contact-tracing app is set to use a different model to the one proposed by Apple and Google, despite concerns raised about privacy and performance.

The NHS says it has a way to make the software work "sufficiently well" on iPhones without users having to keep it active and on-screen.

That limitation has posed problems for similar apps in other countries.

Experts from GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre have aided the effort.

NCSC indicated that its involvement has been limited to an advisory role.

"Engineers have ...

Coronavirus: DJI Mavic Air 2 jettisons drone safety feature in Europe

DJI has launched its first consumer drone to warn of nearby planes and helicopters via its controller.

The inclusion of the safety feature follows multiple reports of near-misses with other aircraft.

However, the firm says supply chain problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic mean it is only equipping the Mavic Air 2 with the ability in North America at this point.

Buyers in Europe and elsewhere will be offered a version lacking the facility.

DJI also said that logistics problems caused by the virus meant that it had been forced into a staggered launch.

...

UK spies will need artificial intelligence - Rusi report

UK spies will need to use artificial intelligence (AI) to counter a range of threats, an intelligence report says.

Adversaries are likely to use the technology for attacks in cyberspace and on the political system, and AI will be needed to detect and stop them.

But AI is unlikely to predict who might be about to be involved in serious crimes, such as terrorism - and will not replace human judgement, it says.

The report is based on unprecedented access to British intelligence.

The Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank also argues that the use of AI ...

Coronavirus: Australians download COVIDSafe contact tracing app

More than a million Australians have downloaded a coronavirus contact tracing app within hours of it being released by the government.

The COVIDSafe smartphone app uses a Bluetooth wireless signal to exchange a "digital handshake" with another user when they come within 1.5m (4.9ft).

The app then logs this contact and encrypts it.

Users will be notified if they have had more than 15 minutes of close contact with another user who tests positive.

Australia has recorded 6,694 confirmed coronavirus cases and 80 deaths from the virus, according to data f ...

Coronavirus: 'I faked having Covid-19 on Facebook and got arrested'

Michael Lane Brandin knew his Facebook post would cause a stir.

What he didn't realise was that he'd be arrested, lose his job and face a trial that could see him behind bars.

It was an otherwise dull afternoon in March and the debate about how to cope with the potential outbreak of Covid-19 was all over his timeline.

So he decided to, in his words, "do a social experiment".

Mr Brandin posted that he'd tested positive for coronavirus. And then he added that doctors had told him that the virus was now airborne.

That would mean it had suddenly ...

Coronavirus: Influencers' glossy lifestyles lose their shine

It's hard to believe that even in lockdown, life on Instagram can look idyllic.

Last month, Manchester-born Jack Morris posted a photograph in his swimwear, standing in an infinity pool against a pink sunset in Bali.

"Lauren and I are trying to stay inside in our villa as much as possible and comply with social distancing," he wrote.

"It sucks but if everyone does their part, the quicker this will be over!"

The post caused some of his 2.7 million followers to lash out, responding with comments like: "Things could be worse, mate." ...

Coronavirus: State surveillance 'a price worth paying'

A major increase in state surveillance is a "price worth paying" to beat Covid-19, a UK think tank says.

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), founded by the former prime minister, says it could offer an "escape route" from the crisis.

In a report, the Institute argues the public must accept a level of intrusion that would normally "be out of the question in liberal democracies".

The rollout of contact-tracing apps has provoked a global debate.

The paper argues all governments must choose one of three undesirable outc ...

Coronavirus: What is contact tracing and how does it work?

Governments around the world are proposing contact tracing as a way of limiting the spread of coronavirus after lockdown.

Contact tracing can be done from memory, but smartphones apps that can automate the process have also been developed.

BBC Click's Chris Fox explains what contact tracing is, and some of the methods that have been proposed.

Coronavirus: YouTube bans 'medically unsubstantiated' content

YouTube has banned any coronavirus-related content that directly contradicts World Health Organization (WHO) advice.

The Google-owned service says it will remove anything it deems "medically unsubstantiated".

Chief executive Susan Wojcicki said the media giant wanted to stamp out "misinformation on the platform".

The move follows YouTube banning conspiracy theories falsely linking Covid-19 to 5G networks.

YouTube stars urge fans to stay at home
Coronavirus: Facebook launches UK Covid-19 symptom survey
Mrs Wojcicki made the re ...

Coronavirus: NHS contact-tracing app is tested at RAF base

The NHS is testing its forthcoming Covid-19 contact-tracing app at a Royal Air Force base in North Yorkshire.

It works by using Bluetooth signals to log when smartphone owners are close to each other - so if someone develops Covid-19 symptoms, an alert can be sent to other users they may have infected.

In its current state, it tells users either: "You're OK now," or: "You need to isolate yourself and stay at home."

The health secretary for England said the trials "are going well".

"The more people who sign up for this new ap ...

Musk says SpaceX is 'fixing' brightness from satellites

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said the company was "fixing" the brightness of his company's satellites.

Stargazers around the world and including many Britons have witnessed unusual constellations made up of the low earth orbit spacecraft.

SpaceX has been launching large batches of satellites as part of its Starlink project to improve global internet coverage.

The most recent launch took place on Wednesday.

Responding to a question about the brightness of the Starlink satellites on Twitter, Mr Musk said it was due to the angle of the satellites s ...

Fortnite reluctantly comes to Google Play store

Epic Games has released Fortnite on Google's Play app store after a long-running dispute with the tech giant.

The title had previously only been available to Android users outside of the marketplace. It means Google will get a cut of in-game purchases.

Google introduced opt-in security measures which block apps distributed via other means in March.

Epic said the move pushed it to release the game on Google's platform. Experts suggest the move will benefit players.

Fortnite is one of the world's most popular video games, attracting millions of players and view ...

DForce hacker returns $25m in 'stolen' crypto-currencies

A mystery hacker allegedly stole $25m (£20m) in crypto-currencies - and then returned the funds two days later.

Records show that funds in a variety of crypto-currencies were withdrawn from the DForce platform based in China.

A sum of $10m was taken in Ethereum, for example, while a further $10m was taken in digital coins tied to the US dollar and $4m in other coins.

Roughly the same amount has now been returned - although in a different mix of crypto-currencies.

DForce is an online service that allows users to make crypto-currency transactions with one anoth ...

Coronavirus: Apple and France in stand-off over contact-tracing app

France is pressing Apple to let its forthcoming coronavirus contract-tracing app work in the background on iPhones without building in the privacy measures the US company wants.

The country's digital minister confirmed the request in an interview given to Bloomberg.

France's system would let it glean more information about participating smartphone owners than Apple and its partner Google want to allow.

Privacy experts view it as a test case.

"Apple has no reason to agree to this demand and it would open the door to many other requests from other countrie ...

Netflix sign-ups jump during coronavirus lockdowns

Netflix has seen subscriber numbers surge this year, as lockdowns around the world keep people at home where they want to be entertained.

Almost 16 million people created accounts in the first three months of the year, the firm said.

That is almost double the new sign-ups it saw in the final months of 2019.

However, the streaming service, which is behind some multi-million dollar productions, said shutdowns have halted "almost all" filming around the world.

And sharp declines in the value of many currencies has meant new subscribers outside of the U ...

Mumsnet launches subscription plea in 'squeaky-bum time'

Mumsnet, the UK's biggest parent platform, has launched a subscription service following a steep decline in ad revenue.

The £4.99 monthly fee is not compulsory, and does not yet offer any bonus features, although Mumsnet said it would look at building extra tools.

Founder and CEO Justine Roberts said: "Frankly, it is squeaky-bum time."

She has taken a salary holiday and other staff have volunteered to reduce their hours, she added.

Ms Roberts said there had been "a great response" so far to the request, and said she did not want people to ...

The stealthy little drones that fly like insects

When Storm Ciara swept across the UK in February, Alex Caccia was strolling on Oxford's Port Meadow watching birds take to the air.

He marvelled at their indifference to high winds: "While airliners were grounded by the weather the birds couldn't care less!"

It was more than just a passing thought for Mr Caccia, who is the chief executive of Animal Dynamics, a technology start-up applying lessons from wildlife to drone design.

Formed in 2015 to pursue the science known as biomechanics, his company already has two drones to show for an intimate study of bird ...

Coronavirus: Why are there doubts over contact-tracing apps?

There are growing tensions over the best approach to coronavirus contact-tracing apps and whether or not the technology can live up to its promise.

Smartphone software is being developed to alert users when someone they were recently near becomes infected.

But the Ada Lovelace Institute has said there is "an absence of evidence" such tools are practical, accurate or technically capable.

Others stress the initiative must be backed up by an army of human checkers.

To further complicate matters, a schism has emerged among technologists working together ...

Facebook bans events that violate social distancing orders

Facebook has banned event listings that violate government social distancing policies.

On Monday, the social media giant removed the listing for anti-quarantine protests in California, New Jersey, and Nebraska.

The discussion sparked outrage from some including the son of President Donald Trump who claimed the company's move violated free speech.

Protests have been planned for across the US calling for the lifting of stay-at-home orders.

Facebook said it consulted with local governments and would only take down events that violated states' guidelines.

...

Facebook reveals Gaming app to rival Twitch and YouTube

Facebook has launched a dedicated gaming app earlier than planned, in its latest attempt to grow its presence in the online gaming world.

Facebook said the "accelerated" launch was a direct response to the Covid-19 lockdown.

The app lets users follow high-profile gamers, watch live gaming streams and leave comments without interacting with the rest of Facebook.

It also lets gamers broadcast their own smartphone screen.

While Facebook remains the largest social network on the planet, it has struggled to compete against dominant players Twitch and You ...

Coronavirus: AI steps up in battle against Covid-19

It feels as if a superhuman effort is needed to help ease the global pandemic killing so many.

Artificial intelligence may have been hyped - but when it comes to medicine, it already has a proven track record.

So can machine learning rise to this challenge of finding a cure for this terrible disease?

There is no shortage of companies trying to solve the dilemma.

Oxford-based Exscientia, the first to put an AI-discovered drug into human trial, is trawling through 15,000 drugs held by the Scripps research institute, in California.

And Healx, a Cambridge ...

Coronavirus: UK's first 'TikTok house' opens during outbreak

Six of the UK’s most popular TikTok content creators have moved in together and are trying to meet a surge in demand from teenagers in lockdown, despite some doubts about the timing.

The Bytehouse collective planned the move prior to the coronavirus pandemic and completed it before the UK lockdown on 23 March. It is the UK's first "TikTok house", a phenomenon already established in the US.

The video-makers are proceeding despite their families and others having expressed reservations about the timing of the initiative.

One industry expert has also suggested ...

Coronavirus: Will Covid-19 speed up the use of robots to replace human workers?

As a pandemic grips the world, a person could be forgiven if they had forgotten about another threat to humanity's way of life - the rise of robots.

For better or worse the robots are going to replace many humans in their jobs, analysts say, and the coronavirus outbreak is speeding up the process.

"People usually say they want a human element to their interactions but Covid-19 has changed that," says Martin Ford, a futurist who has written about the ways robots will be integrated into the economy in the coming decades.

"[Covid-19] is going to change co ...

Google blocking 18m coronavirus scam emails every day

Scammers are sending 18 million hoax emails about Covid-19 to Gmail users every day, according to Google.

The tech giant says the pandemic has led to an explosion of phishing attacks in which criminals try to trick users into revealing personal data.

The company said it was blocking more than 100 million phishing emails a day. Over the past week, almost a fifth were scam emails related to coronavirus.

The virus may now be the biggest phishing topic ever, tech firms say.

Google's Gmail is used by 1.5 billion people.

Individuals are being sent a huge va ...

Coronavirus: Electricity use up during day as nation works from home

Home energy use is up by up to 30% during the middle of the day, new analysis by energy firms reveals.

Much of the population is working from home and schools have closed, meaning home computers and televisions are busier than ever.

The highest peak is at lunchtime, when cooking is added to the power consumption of working from home.

But overall, the country is actually using less energy because of businesses being closed.

The National Grid reports that morning and afternoon electricity demand is down by nearly 20%. But most of that is due to lower demand fro ...

Tech Tent: Learning to code during lockdown

Could one of the few upsides to the current health crisis be that a generation of young people acquire new digital skills?

On this week's Tech Tent podcast, we hear how parents are using the lockdown to get children interested in coding.

Listen to the latest Tech Tent podcast on BBC Sounds
Listen live every Friday at 15.00 GMT on the BBC World Service
Take Ruth Moore and her sons Reuben and Jonah, aged eight and five.

Stuck at home in Oxford and looking to vary the boys' diet of schoolwork, Ruth - who, full disclosure, is my wife's niece - started think ...

Coronavirus: AI steps up in battle against Covid-19

It feels as if a superhuman effort is needed to help ease the global pandemic killing so many.

Artificial intelligence may have been hyped - but when it comes to medicine, it already has a proven track record.

So can machine learning rise to this challenge of finding a cure for this terrible disease?

There is no shortage of companies trying to solve the dilemma.

Oxford-based Exscientia, the first to put an AI-discovered drug into human trial, is trawling through 15,000 drugs held by the Scripps research institute, in California.

And Healx, a Cambridge ...

Google blocking 18m coronavirus scam emails every day

Scammers are sending 18 million hoax emails about Covid-19 to Gmail users every day, according to Google.

The tech giant says the pandemic has led to an explosion of phishing attacks in which criminals try to trick users into revealing personal data.

The company said it was blocking more than 100 million phishing emails a day. Over the past week, almost a fifth were scam emails related to coronavirus.

The virus may now be the biggest phishing topic ever, tech firms say.

Google's Gmail is used by 1.5 billion people.

Individuals are being sent a huge va ...

Coronavirus: NHS contact tracing app to target 80% of smartphone users

A contact-tracing app could help stop the coronavirus pandemic, but 80% of current smartphone owners would need to use it, say experts advising the NHS.

The University of Oxford's Big Data Institute has modelled a city of one million people to simulate the software's impact.

If there is lower uptake, academics say the app would still help slow the spread of Covid-19.

They add that letting people self-diagnose the illness could be critical.

That means users would only have to answer an on-screen questionnaire before being judged to be at significant risk of in ...

Coronavirus: Facebook alters virus policy after damning misinformation report

Facebook is changing how it treats Covid-19 misinformation after a damning report into its handling of the virus.

Users who have read, watched or shared false coronavirus content will receive a pop-up alert urging them to go the World Health Organisation's website.

A study had indicated Facebook was frequently failing to clamp down on false posts, particularly when they were in languages other than English.

Facebook said the research did not reflect the work it had done recently.

The California tech firm says it will start showing the messages at the top of n ...

Selena Gomez sues fashion game for 'using face'

Actress and singer Selena Gomez is suing the makers of a smartphone game, alleging they used her likeness without permission.

The Clothes Forever Styling Game app lets players dress celebrity avatars that resemble stars such as the Kardashians, Adele and Gomez.

But Gomez's legal action calls it "reprehensible" and a "gross violation" of her publicity rights.

And it asks for a jury trial to hear the case.

The app store describes Clothes Forever as the "hottest new fashion game".

"Kardashian, Gigi, Beyonce, Taylor and ...

TikTok bans under-16s from private messaging

New rules on the hugely popular TikTok app mean under-16s will no longer be allowed to send or receive direct messages.

It is the first time a major social-media platform has blocked private messaging by teenagers, on a global scale.

A survey by UK regulator Ofcom suggested TikTok was used by 13% of 12- to 15-year-olds last year.

Critics say the new rules will not stop children lying about their age online.

'Bold move'
Until now, all users have been able to send direct messages to others, when both accounts follow each other.

The change means t ...

Epic Games delays the release of Fortnite's new season

Epic Games has delayed the release of its new season of Fortnite until June.

Chapter 2, Season 3 of Fortnite was scheduled to be released in just two weeks, but the company said it would extend the current season instead.

Fortnite is one of the world's most popular video games, attracting millions of players and viewers.

Epic Games would not say why the delay had occurred or if it was related to coronavirus restrictions that have forced developers to work from home.

This is not the first time though that Fortnite has pushed back the release of a season.

...

Apple announces new iPhone SE to target mid-range market

Apple has announced a new iPhone SE, reviving a mid-market brand it had discontinued in 2018.

It resembles the form of 2016's iPhone 7 with a 4.7in screen, and a fingerprint ID sensor but not a depth camera for facial recognition.

It is powered by the same processor as the flagship iPhone 11 Pro, but lacks multiple rear cameras.

The handset costs the same as the original SE in the US, but is more expensive in other markets.

The iPhone SE is priced at $399 in the US and £419 in the UK.

One analyst said that having a mid-range phone again could help App ...

BT delays removal of Huawei from EE's core network by two years

Huawei's involvement in the most sensitive parts of EE's mobile network is to continue longer than planned.

In December 2018, owner BT said it would take just two years to remove Huawei equipment from its core network.

But it now says "100% of core mobile traffic" will be on its new Ericsson-built equipment by 2023, the government deadline announced in January 2020.

And it blames the government for also ruling 65% of the network's periphery must be rid of Huawei equipment too.

Huawei set for limited role in UK 5G networks
Huawei warns UK agai ...

Coronavirus: Apple tracks changes in travel behaviour

Apple has launched a tool that reveals changes in the travel behaviour of people who use its Maps app.

The Mobility Trends Report produces three daily percentage figures, showing how many fewer people are driving, walking and using public transport compared with on 13 January, before the coronavirus lockdowns came into effect.

It covers major cities and national figures for 63 countries. Hong Kong is included but not mainland China.

It follows a similar effort by Google.

Google's Covid-19 Community Mobility reports are arguably more detailed - they cover 130 ...

Coronavirus: 20 suspected phone mast attacks over Easter

The UK's mobile networks have reported a further 20 cases of phone masts being targeted in suspected arson attacks over the Easter weekend.

Trade group Mobile UK said it had been notified of incidents in England, Wales and Scotland.

One of the targeted sites provides mobile connectivity to a hospital in Birmingham.

The figure represents a lower incidence rate than had been the case the previous weekend.

Mobile UK added it had received no reports of staff being targeted over the period.

Attacks on 5G masts pre-date the coronavirus pandemic. But there a ...

Coronavirus: Apple tracks changes in travel behaviour

Apple has launched a tool that reveals changes in the travel behaviour of people who use its Maps app.

The Mobility Trends Report produces three daily percentage figures, showing how many fewer people are driving, walking and using public transport compared with on 13 January, before the coronavirus lockdowns came into effect.

It covers major cities and national figures for 63 countries. Hong Kong is included but not mainland China.

It follows a similar effort by Google.

Google's Covid-19 Community Mobility reports are arguably more detailed - they cover 130 ...

Epic Games delays the release of Fortnite's new season

Epic Games has delayed the release of its new season of Fortnite until June.

Chapter 2, Season 3 of Fortnite was scheduled to be released in just two weeks, but the company said it would extend the current season instead.

Fortnite is one of the world's most popular video games, attracting millions of players and viewers.

Epic Games would not say why the delay had occurred or if it was related to coronavirus restrictions that have forced developers to work from home.

This is not the first time though that Fortnite has pushed back the release of a season.

...

Coronavirus: Microsoft offers protection to healthcare staff

Microsoft will provide security tools to healthcare organisations around the world amid a spike in attacks during the Covid-19 pandemic.

AccountGuard will be free to healthcare, human rights, and humanitarian groups during the crisis.

The program tells users when Microsoft has detected an attack, and provides guidance on stopping it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been among the victims of attempted cyber-attacks over the last month.

MPs summon China-owned firm execs over security concerns
Coronavirus: Huawei urges UK not to make 5G U-turn aft ...

Coronavirus: Trump berates media at jaw-dropping briefing

On Monday morning I had a delivery to my apartment from the nearby off-licence - or liquor store, as they say over here.

And I put a jokey picture on Twitter of a bottle of gin and eight bottles of tonic, with the caption that at least I had the next week sorted.

After leaving the White House Briefing Room on Monday evening following a marathon two-hour 24-minute press conference, I felt I could have knocked off the whole lot in one sitting.

This has been the most dizzying, jaw dropping, eyeball popping, head spinning news conference I have ever attended. And I was a ...

Coronavirus: Raspberry Pi-powered ventilator to be tested in Colombia

A team in Colombia is to test a ventilator made with a Raspberry Pi computer and easy-to-source parts.

The design and computer code were posted online in March by a man in California, who had no prior experience at creating medical equipment.

Marco Mascorro, a robotics engineer, said he built the ventilator because knew the machines were in high demand to treat Covid-19.

His post prompted a flood of feedback from healthcare workers.

He has used the advice to make improvements.

"I am a true believer that technology can solve a lot of the problems ...

MPs summon China-owned firm execs over security concerns

A leading UK-based firm will be summoned on Tuesday by MPs to answer questions over security concerns.

There are concerns that the Chinese owner of Imagination Technologies has renewed efforts to transfer ownership of sensitive security software to companies controlled by China.

Lawmakers worry the coronavirus crisis is diverting attention from controversial technology transfers.

The fear is that networks in the UK, Europe and the US could be compromised.

Speaking to the BBC, Tom Tugendhat, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee said he was concern ...

Coronavirus: Churches live-stream to reach worshipers

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, religion is offering spiritual calm for some.

But with mass gatherings banned, communities from many religions are unable to come together in the way they normally would.

As some Christians prepare to celebrate Easter Sunday, BBC Click’s Sophia Smith-Galer finds out how some churches are connecting with their congregations online.

Coronavirus: Apple and Google team up to contact trace Covid-19

Apple and Google are jointly developing technology to alert people if they have recently come into contact with others found to be infected with coronavirus.

They hope to initially help third-party contact-tracing apps run efficiently.

But ultimately, they aim to do away with the need to download dedicated apps, to encourage the practice.

The two companies believe their approach - designed to keep users, whose participation would be voluntary, anonymous - addresses privacy concerns.

Their contact-tracing method would work by using a smartphone's Bluetooth sig ...

Coronavirus: Phone and tablet donations help patients speak to families

People are donating tablet computers and mobile phones so hospital patients and care home residents can speak to family they may not see again.

Highly restrictive visiting policies - including visitor bans - have been imposed by health boards and local authorities because of coronavirus.

Sara Platt started a Facebook group which facilitates the donation of items to NHS staff, wards and patients.

Ms Platt said she had received emergency requests for the devices.

The NHS Kindness Wishlist Facebook group has gained more than 16,000 members in less than two weeks ...

Final Fantasy 7 Remake: 'This is not just for the players of the original'

Cloud Strife and his iconic mop of spiked blonde hair emerge through the rising steam of an overcrowded city.

The main character of Final Fantasy 7 has his distinctive buster sword strapped to his back.

This time, however, he's not a pixelated image as seen in the 1997 PlayStation original - he's been fully rendered in life-like modern graphics.

It's been five years since gamers got a first glimpse of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, when the first trailer dropped.

The remake, which is out now, is a completely rebuilt version of a role-playing game that has sold m ...

Coronavirus: Airbnb restricts UK bookings to coronavirus key workers

Home rental firm Airbnb is to temporarily restrict UK bookings to key workers and “essential stays” because of the coronavirus crisis.

The firm said that the measure would last until at least 18 April.

Key workers - such as NHS and social care staff, and transport and food retail employees - can still book through a programme called Frontline Stays.

The decision comes after the government criticised opportunistic hosts.

The BBC had reported on Monday that some listings were letting customers use the “instant book” function without requiring them to be vetted. ...

Coronavirus: UK tech sector begs for help - but does it need it?

The UK's high-growth tech companies say they need help from the government to get through the coronavirus crisis - and at the moment they are not getting it.

That was the message of a letter to the chancellor from 12 leaders of some of the country's best-known tech businesses.

They include Babylon, Citymapper, Deliveroo and Improbable.

But just hours after the letter arrived at the Treasury, there is confusion about what it intends to achieve and some criticism - even from within the tech sector - of an appeal for government money from firms that may not actually nee ...

Coronavirus: Ofcom formally probes David Icke TV interview

The UK's media watchdog has launched a formal investigation into a TV network's broadcast of an interview with conspiracy theorist David Icke about coronavirus.

Ofcom acted after London Live screened the programme on Wednesday evening.

The regulator received more than 40 complaints following the broadcast.

It follows YouTube's introduction of stricter misinformation rules after a later interview with Mr Icke by the same team was streamed on its platform.

"We have assessed this programme, and we are concerned that it raises potential issues under our rule ...

Coronavirus: Google Duplex AI arrives in UK to ask about opening hours

Google’s AI phone assistant Duplex is contacting businesses across the UK and asking them what their coronavirus business hours are.

It is using the responses to update company listings shown on Google Search and Google Maps.

The Duplex AI assistant can be used by people in the US and New Zealand to make restaurant bookings and other reservations.

But those features are not yet coming to the UK.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post that Google was planning to start using Duplex “where possible” to contact businesses about opening times....

Coronavirus: Covid-19 detecting apps face teething problems

Two leading universities are trying to develop apps that listen to users' coughs and voices to predict whether they are infected with the coronavirus.

But the two projects are taking different approaches to privacy.

The Cambridge University effort seeks to keep volunteers anonymous, but says this is currently limiting its work.

Meanwhile, a team at Carnegie Mellon University says it is critical that users register themselves, but it has had to temporarily go offline.

The two initiatives are independent of one another.

Both rely on machine learning, a ...

Facebook and Samsung donate thousands of devices to NHS

Mobile giant Samsung is donating 2,000 smartphones to the NHS, for staff to use in Nightingale hospitals.

It will provide Galaxy XCover 4s phones, which are designed to be more robust and can be used while wearing gloves.

Samsung said NHS England had already ordered an extra 20,000 phones and tablets, which it had agreed to supply at cost price, without taking a profit.

Facebook is also donating 2,050 of its Portal video-calling screens.

The Portals are designed to enhance video chats by using artificial intelligence to keep callers in view as they move about ...

Coronavirus: Call for apps to get fake Covid-19 news button

Social networks need a dedicated button to flag up bogus coronavirus-related posts, an advocacy group has said.

The Campaign for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) said the apps had "missed a trick" in combating the problem.

The call coincides with a study that indicates 46% of internet-using adults in the UK saw false or misleading information about the virus in the first week of the country's lockdown.

Ofcom said the figure rose to 58% among 18-to-24-year-olds.

The communications watchdog said the most common piece of false advice seen during the week ...

Tesla cuts staff pay as coronavirus halts production

Electric car-maker Tesla will reduce staff pay and put non-essential workers on furlough while production of its vehicles is stopped due to coronavirus.

Work at its factory in Fremont, California halted on 23 March.

In a letter to staff, the company said it hoped to resume operations on 4 May, "barring any significant changes".

Most remaining workers will face a pay cut of 10%, while director pay will be cut by 20% and vice-presidents and above will lose 30% of their salary.

The letter was shared with business news site CNBC.

Furloughing is ...

Zoom banned by Taiwan's government over China security fears

Zoom has been banned from government business in Taiwan in the latest setback for the hugely popular video-calling app.

It follows revelations that some Zoom traffic was "mistakenly" routed through China, which does not recognise Taiwan's independence.

Taiwan's government said public bodies should not use products with security concerns "such as Zoom".

But competitors like Google and Microsoft were acceptable, it said.

China considers Taiwan a breakaway rebel province, destined to be reunited with the mainland.

China links 'may mak ...

Coronavirus: YouTube tightens rules after David Icke 5G interview

YouTube has banned all conspiracy theory videos falsely linking coronavirus symptoms to 5G networks.

The Google-owned service will now delete videos violating the policy. It had previously limited itself to reducing the frequency it recommended them in its Up Next section.

The move follows a live-streamed interview with conspiracy theorist David Icke on Monday, in which he had linked the technology to the pandemic.

YouTube said the video would be wiped.

During the interview, Mr Icke falsely claimed there "is a link between 5G and this health crisis" ...

Coronavirus: Twitter boss pledges $1bn for relief effort

Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter and payment app Square, has said he will donate $1bn (£810m) towards efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

According to Mr Dorsey, the donation represented approximately 28% of his wealth.

He made the announcement on Twitter, writing that the "needs are increasingly urgent".

Mr Dorsey did not lay out exactly where the funds would be sent to help in the battle against Covid-19.

In the US there is a shortage of ventilators and personal protective equipment, and business and individuals are also struggling econ ...

Apps to help you stay social during lockdown

Having a social life while having to stay indoors could be a challenge.

BBC Click's Chris Fox comes to the rescue highlighting the apps and technology you can use to make a variety of video calls, play games with other people online, go dating and even share VR experiences.

Airbnb hosts defy lockdown laws with 'Covid-19 retreats'

Airbnb hosts advertising properties as coronavirus hideouts are "dangerous and irresponsible", the government says.

Owners have listed homes as being "Covid-19 retreats" and "perfect for isolating with family" in the British countryside.

New coronavirus laws say holiday accommodation should be provided only to keyworkers needing to self-isolate.

But some listings on the site allow instant booking of rentals without any vetting, BBC News discovered.

The properties advertised as places to self-isolate include an "idyllic cotta ...

Coronavirus: Offline sex workers forced to start again online

Most sex workers meet customers in person. For them, the coronavirus spells economic ruin.

"The virus is a disaster for client-facing businesses - and sex work is no different," says Goddess Cleo, a dominatrix from London.

"Most of my income is generated from one-on-one sessions and events. I [normally] only make a bit of money through online avenues."

But like many others, Cleo has switched focus to digital since the lockdown came into effect.

Online dominatrix Eva de Vil says: "There's lots of new girls joining the scene right now - ...

Short-form streaming app Quibi launches to rival Netflix

The mobile-first streaming service Quibi launched in the US on Monday, despite concerns the coronavirus outbreak might impact its viewership.

The company has raised $1.8bn (£1.47bn) for the project intended to rival Netflix and YouTube.

Quibi's shows are 10 minutes or shorter and movies are broken into segments.

It has lined up a host of Hollywood and showbiz stars including Idris Elba, Sophie Turner, Steven Spielberg, Chrissy Teigen and Jennifer Lopez.

Viewers are meant to watch the shows on their mobile phones, and a feature called Turnstile allows the vide ...

Coronavirus: Exercise bike firm Peloton stops live classes

Exercise bike company Peloton has cancelled its live classes, days after one of its employees tested positive for coronavirus.

It sells exercise bikes, the cheapest of which costs nearly £2,000, for use with its online classes.

Users must purchase a subscription for £39 a month to access both live-streamed and recorded classes.

Peloton emailed members to announce it had suspended production in its New York and London studios until 30 April.

Until May, members can only access pre-recorded classes.

“We had continued to operate both our New York and Lond ...

Pixar pioneers behind Toy Story animation win 'Nobel Prize' of computing

In the opening scene of Toy Story, released in 1995, a cluster of boxes is scattered across a child's bedroom. The sun streams into the room as a Mr Potato Head doll demands money from a seemingly stricken cast of plastic and plush toys outside a cardboard bank.

Into the picture arrives the hero - a cowboy sheriff made of plastic and fabric with a pull-string to make him speak. The sheriff casts a shadow over the villainous potato who flees from the law.

It's a scene plucked from a child's imagination. It was also the culmination of decades of development in computer animati ...

Coronavirus: Tech firms summoned over 'crackpot' 5G conspiracies

The culture secretary is to order social media companies to be more aggressive in their response to conspiracy theories linking 5G networks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Oliver Dowden plans to hold virtual meetings with representatives from several tech firms next week to discuss the matter.

It follows a number of 5G masts apparently being set on fire.

The issue will test the companies' commitments to free speech.

Earlier in the week, blazes were reported at masts in Birmingham, Liverpool and Melling in Merseyside.

A spokesman for Vodafone's mobile net ...

Coronavirus: Video games add 'stay at home' Covid-19 adverts

Three of the UK's leading video games developers are to display coronavirus safety advice within their titles.

Candy Crush Saga, Dirt Rally 2.0 and Sniper Elite 4 are among the games that will feature the messaging.

The initial ads will focus on the theme: "Stay home. Save lives."

Rebellion - one of the companies involved - also publishes 2000AD among other comics, and has also offered space in these for the government's campaign.

"I reached out to DCMS [Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] a few days ago to say is there anything w ...

Coronavirus: 'Not smart' memo shows Amazon's union stance

Leaked notes from an internal Amazon meeting throw light on how executives are dealing with increased worker unrest during the Covid-19 crisis.

A lawyer suggested focusing on a sacked worker, who had organised a protest about safety in his New York warehouse.

Christian Smalls was described as "not smart, or articulate."

He should be the story, rather than the wider questions about conditions, the lawyer said.

According to the memo, seen by technology news website Vice and not disputed by Amazon, general counsel David Zapolsky advised: "He is no ...

Coronavirus: Garden centres switch to virtual personal shopping

Garden centres and nurseries are offering online personal shopping services to reduce wastage.

Companies have been livestreaming videos of their centres and FaceTiming and emailing customers to offer advice and guidance on orders during lockdown.

The industry has warned millions of plants, shrubs and trees could be thrown out in the coming weeks.

Some 2,000 garden centres and nurseries have been shut down at what is usually their busiest time of year.

Independent traders have said that adapting business to online orders, delivery and collection is enabling th ...

Zoom 'unsuitable' for government secrets, researchers say

The hugely popular video meetings app Zoom has "significant weaknesses" which might make it unsuitable for secrets.

A team at The Citizen Lab found that Zoom was using a non-standard type of encryption, and transmitting information through China.

Government use - such as Boris Johnson's use of the app for Cabinet meetings - may not be wise, the researchers warned.

But the app is fine for keeping in touch for most people, they said.

Until recently, Zoom was used mainly by large businesses for video conference calls. But the explosion in users during ...

Coronavirus: 'Not smart' memo shows Amazon's union stance

Leaked notes from an internal Amazon meeting throw light on how executives are dealing with increased worker unrest during the Covid-19 crisis.

A lawyer suggested focusing on a sacked worker, who had organised a protest about safety in his New York warehouse.

Christian Smalls was described as "not smart, or articulate."

He should be the story, rather than the wider questions about conditions, the lawyer said.

According to the memo, seen by technology news website Vice and not disputed by Amazon, general counsel David Zapolsky advised: "He is no ...

Coronavirus: Google reveals travel habits during the pandemic

Google is to publicly track people's movements over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

The tech firm will publish details of the different types of places people are going to on a county-by-county basis in the UK, as well as similar data for 130 other countries.

The plan is to issue a regular updates with the figures referring back to activity from two or three days prior.

The company has promised that individuals' privacy will be preserved.

The readings are based on location data gathered via the Google Maps app or one of the firm's other mobile service ...

Zoom boss apologises for security issues and promises fixes

Zoom is to pause the development of any new features to concentrate on safety and privacy issues, in the wake of criticism from users of the app.

In a blog, the chief executive of the video conferencing app apologised for "falling short" on security issues and promised to address concerns.

He said that the use of Zoom had soared in ways he could never have foreseen prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

One security expert said he hoped the company culture would change.

Zoom is now being used by millions of people for work and leisure, as lockdowns are ...

Coronavirus: Privacy in a pandemic

These are strange times. Germany, perhaps the most privacy conscious nation on earth, is considering a mobile phone app that would trace the contacts of anyone infected with Covid-19.

Earlier this week the British Prime Minister shared a picture of an online Cabinet meeting, complete with the Zoom meeting ID and the usernames of ministers. And millions of us are sharing views of our kitchens over this and other video-conferencing apps, without apparently being too concerned about poor privacy controls.

Meanwhile, the National Health Service in England has sent out a document ...

Coronavirus threatens the next generation of smartphones

Every Autumn, Mazen Kourouche heads to the biggest Apple Store in Sydney, Australia, and queues up for hours to be one of the first people in the world to get his hands on the latest iPhone.

"Since the iPhone 7 came out I've been lining up for the new Apple devices for a few reasons: firstly the hype associated with them, secondly because of the resale value, and thirdly because Australia is the first country to get access to the devices, so people are interested in hearing about it," he says.

According to Mr Kourouche, who develops software for the iPhone operatin ...

Coronavirus: Israeli spyware firm pitches to be Covid-19 saviour

A controversial Israeli cyber-security company is marketing software that uses mobile phone data to monitor and predict the spread of the coronavirus.

NSO Group says it is in talks with governments around the world, and claims some are already testing it.

The surveillance software-maker is being sued by WhatsApp for allegedly sending malware to the phones of human rights activists and journalists.

It has denied that allegation "in the strongest possible terms".

The company also faces a lawsuit in which it is accused of supplying software to the Saud ...

Coronavirus: Moscow rolls out patient-tracking app

Moscow is launching an app to track the movements of people in the capital diagnosed with coronavirus, who have been ordered to stay at home.

The city's IT chief said the service would become operational on Thursday.

The move coincides with a separate initiative to help European health authorities create virus-tracing apps that communicate with each other. This could help relax border restrictions.

Germany is expected to announce its own app that ties into the scheme shortly.

NHSX, which is working on something similar for the UK, has been in communication wi ...

Amazon Prime allows in-app purchases for Apple users

Amazon has begun allowing iPhone and Apple TV users to make in-app purchases and rent movies and shows from Amazon Prime.

The move is a reversal for Amazon which had forced Prime users to leave the app and go to Amazon's website via a browser to make purchases.

It is also a change for Apple which will allow Amazon to use its own payment system.

The changes apply to Amazon Prime users in the US, UK and Germany.

People using iPhones, iPads and iPod touches as well as Apple TVs began to see the changes on Wednesday.

A message from Amazon alerted users to ...

UK government defends PM's use of Zoom

The UK government has defended using Zoom to hold cabinet video conferences.

Questions had been raised about potential security risks after the prime minister tweeted a picture in which a meeting ID was visible.

"In the current unprecedented circumstances, the need for effective channels of communication is vital," a government spokeswoman told BBC News

A source added the app was quick to set up between the varying systems used by different government departments.

Over time, a more coherent system was expected to be introduced, the person said.

...

Coronavirus: Racist 'zoombombing' at virtual synagogue

A synagogue service being held online has been hijacked by racist accounts which posted anti-Semitic abuse to congregants, the BBC has learned.

The meeting was being held on video chat app Zoom.

"Zoombombing" - where uninvited guests enter meetings - is on the rise as more people use the app to stay in touch during the coronavirus restrictions.

Experts advised people to secure meetings against intruders.

A BBC employee who attended the meeting at a synagogue in London explained what happened: "There were about 205 of us logged on - including lo ...

Apple buys weather app Dark Sky

Apple has purchased the weather predicting app Dark Sky and plans to shut down the Android and Wear OS versions.

Dark Sky is known for its hyper-local weather predictions and ability to forecast minute by minute.

The app's creator Adam Grossman said the partnership would allow Dark Sky to reach "far more people".

Owners of Android phones or wearable devices not made by Apple will have access to the services until 1 July.

On social media, many users complained about Apple's decision to remove Dark Sky from Android.

Coronavirus: 3D-printer owners rally to create NHS face masks

Some 1,400 3D-printer owners have pledged to use their machines to help make face shields for the NHS.

Started by palliative-medicine doctor James Coxon, the 3DCrowd UK group is now looking to recruit more volunteers.

It says thousands of its 3D-printed masks have already been made and donated to hospitals, GPs, pharmacies, paramedics and social-care practices.

Healthcare workers say they are having to put themselves at risk because of a lack of personal protective equipment.

“We are basically asking all the people around the country with 3D printers to join ...

Coronavirus: Racist 'zoombombing' at virtual synagogue

A synagogue service being held online has been hijacked by racist accounts which posted anti-Semitic abuse to congregants, the BBC has learned.

The meeting was being held on video chat app Zoom.

"Zoombombing" - where uninvited guests enter meetings - is on the rise as more people use the app to stay in touch during the coronavirus restrictions.

Experts advised people to secure meetings against intruders.

A BBC employee who attended the meeting at a synagogue in London explained what happened: "There were about 205 of us logged on - including lo ...

Coronavirus: UK considers virus-tracing app to ease lockdown

A coronavirus app that alerts people if they have recently been in contact with someone testing positive for the virus "could play a critical role" in limiting lockdowns, scientists advising the government have said.

The location-tracking tech would enable a week's worth of manual detective work to be done in an instant, they say.

But the academics say no-one should be forced to enrol - at least initially.

UK health chiefs have confirmed they are exploring the idea.

"NHSX is looking at whether app-based solutions might be helpful in tracking an ...

Coronavirus: Fake news crackdown by UK government

The government is cracking down on misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic.

A rapid response unit within the Cabinet Office is working with social media firms to remove fake news and harmful content.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said action was needed "to stem the spread of falsehoods and rumours, which could cost lives".

The specialist unit is dealing with as many as 10 incidents each day.

It will try to tackle a range of issues online, such as fake "experts" issuing false medical information and criminals running phishing scams. ...

Coronavirus: Tech firm Bloom Energy fixes broken US ventilators

A Californian company that usually makes green-energy fuel cells is due to deliver 170 repaired ventilators to Los Angeles later on Monday after transforming its manufacturing process.

An engineer at Bloom Energy downloaded the service manual and taught himself how to dismantle and rebuild them in a day, the Los Angeles Times reported.

They had been in storage since the H5N1 bird flu outbreak of the mid-2000s.

Bloom says it is now working to find other stockpiles of disused machines.

On Saturday, as California Governor Gavin Newsom visited the manufacturing p ...

Coronavirus: Start-ups use Zoom app to lay off staff

Tech start-ups worldwide are cutting jobs as the coronavirus pandemic undermines their ability to make money.

To make matters worse for staff, they are not being told face to face.

Electric scooter-maker Bird axed about 400 posts on Friday, about 30% of its staff. And the Californian company used a Zoom conference call to tell them.

Zoom can connect up to 1,000 users on a single call - but many of the workers were unable to log on and found out via messages from colleagues posted online.

Details of Bird's lay-offs first emerged via a second-hand report on Twi ...

Coronavirus: YouTube stars urge fans to stay at home

More than 100 YouTube stars have recorded a video message urging their fans to "stay home" during the coronavirus outbreak.

The video is introduced by entertainer JJ Olatunji, known online as KSI, who has more than 21 million subscribers on the video clip platform.

"We're here looking to spread awareness on the UK government's current advice to stay at home," he says.

The video was posted by the Sidemen, who have 7.6 million subscribers.

The group, which KSI is part of, came up with the idea for the montage themselves.

Skip Youtube ...

Coronavirus: What if this had happened in 2005?

We are living through the most disruptive period in our nation's history since the end of the war.

I just about remember seeing the newsflash about President Kennedy being shot. The fall of the Berlin wall and 9/11 are seared in my memory. But nothing compares to this pandemic in terms of the impact on everyday life.

But as I spend my day holding video-conferencing sessions with colleagues, FaceTiming my son and granddaughter stuck in a flat across London, and updating my various social networks, one thing strikes me: what if this had happened in 2005, just before the smartp ...

Coronavirus: YouTube stars urge fans to stay at home

More than 100 YouTube stars have recorded a video message urging their fans to "stay home" during the coronavirus outbreak.

The video is introduced by entertainer JJ Olatunji, known online as KSI, who has more than 21 million subscribers on the video clip platform.

"We're here looking to spread awareness on the UK government's current advice to stay at home," he says.

The video was posted by the Sidemen, who have 7.6 million subscribers.

The group, which KSI is part of, came up with the idea for the montage themselves.

As well as Y ...

Coronavirus: NHS turns to big tech to tackle Covid-19 hot spots

The NHS has confirmed it is teaming up with leading tech firms to ensure critical medical equipment is available to the facilities most in need during the coronavirus outbreak.

It blogged the firms would create computer dashboard screens to show the spread of the virus and the healthcare system's ability to deal with it.

These will draw on data gathered via 111 calls and Covid-19 test results.

The first should be made available to government decision-makers next week.

Four tech firms were named in the blog. Three are US-based: Microsoft, Google and Palantir. ...

Manufacturers cast doubt on ventilator target

The UK may not have all the ventilators it needs by the time coronavirus cases in the country reach their peak, engineering firms warned.

Health officials expect the UK to experience its highest number of infections in around two weeks' time.

The UK has just over 8,000 ventilators, significantly fewer than the 30,000 the government estimates are needed to cope with the fallout from the peak.

Manufacturers told the BBC they cannot produce enough to meet that deadline.

However, one firm involved in the plans to produce the life-saving machines, said that by ear ...

Coronavirus: Zoom is in everyone's living room - how safe is it?

Zoom, the video-conferencing app that has seen a huge rise in downloads since quarantines were imposed around the world, is now being used by millions for work and social gatherings.

This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted a picture of himself chairing a Cabinet meeting via the app.

This led to questions about how secure it was for government meetings.

Zoom has angrily defended its security record, saying it would answer any questions the government had.

A 3D-printed ventilator designed for Spain's coronavirus patients

A Spanish team has rapidly designed an emergency-use ventilator out of 3D-printed parts.

It hopes the device will soon be approved to help the country's coronavirus patients.

Coronavirus: What if this had happened in 2005?

We are living through the most disruptive period in our nation's history since the end of the war.

I just about remember seeing the newsflash about President Kennedy being shot. The fall of the Berlin wall and 9/11 are seared in my memory. But nothing compares to this pandemic in terms of the impact on everyday life.

But as I spend my day holding video-conferencing sessions with colleagues, FaceTiming my son and granddaughter stuck in a flat across London, and updating my various social networks, one thing strikes me: what if this had happened in 2005, just before the smartp ...

Coronavirus: Tesla donates hundreds of ventilators to New York

Elon Musk has promised to provide New York with hundreds of ventilators to help meet demand from the growing coronavirus outbreak.

The Tesla chief executive said the first batch of donated machines would be delivered later on Friday.

The ventilators were purchased from US government-approved manufacturers in China.

The mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio thanked Mr Musk on Twitter writing "We're deeply grateful."

"We need every ventilator we can get our hands on these next few weeks to save lives," he tweeted.

The ventilators wil ...

Huawei P40 flagship phones launch amid Covid-19 crisis

Huawei has launched a range of new flagship smartphones despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The firm unveiled the P40 phones a day after the firm's founder announced that 90% of the company's 150,000 China-based employees had returned to work.

But experts say demand for the handsets will likely be weak outside of its home market, at least in the short-term.

They say many consumers and businesses are focused on buying laptops, PCs and tablets if they are spending at all.

"Smartphones are not a priority and certainly not premium ones," commented Marta P ...

The uncertain future for China's electric car makers

Han Zhu is on a mission to go green. The 29-year-old data analyst wants her next car to be electric. But her reasons for buying an electric vehicle are in part practical.

In the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, government restrictions on the number of petrol cars sold each year mean she would have to enter a lottery or auction to be able to buy a petrol vehicle.

"There is a possibility you may never get it. With the electric vehicle green licence, you don't have to wait in line," she says.

Shenzhen has become the showpiece capital for the Chinese electric ...

Coronavirus: NHS uses tech giants to plan crisis response

Data collected gathered via the NHS's 111 telephone service is to be mixed with other sources to help predict where ventilators, hospital beds, and medical staff will be most in need.

The goal is to help health chiefs model the consequences of moving resources to best tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

Three US tech firms are aiding the effort - Amazon, Microsoft and Palantir - as well as London-based Faculty AI.

The plan is expected to be signed off by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

"Every hospital is going to be thinking: Have we got enough ventilators? ...

Coronavirus: UK’s WhatsApp bot working after false start

A Covid-19 WhatsApp bot set up by the UK government is finally working after problems during launch on Wednesday.

Members of the public who message the bot can access pre-determined chunks of advice on symptoms or how to avoid spreading the disease, for example.

But it failed to work for some users after its launch, providing nothing more than an error message.

However, the BBC has verified that the bot, which also warns about coronavirus myths, is now working as intended.

One of those who encountered initial teething problems, Hashir Milhan, says all seems t ...

New online communities help those facing isolation

New social media groups are springing up around the country as people come together to help their neighbours who may be self-isolating or need help with shopping.

BBC Click's Stephen Beckett finds out more.

Following the recording of this film the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has outlined strict new measures to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. Find out more here.

Coronavirus: Tracking app aims for one million downloads

An app that tracks the symptoms of Covid-19 in the UK has become one of the most popular downloads.

Its creators aim to deliver insights into why some people get the disease more severely than others.

They also hope to create a map showing where outbreaks are happening and help distinguish cases from those of the common cold.

It is one of many such new apps. Experts have warned people to be cautious about which they download.

At present, Covid Symptom Tracker is the third most popular app in Apple's UK store and second in Google Play's new releases chart for ...

Coronavirus: Millions yet to receive UK government's Covid-19 text

Millions of mobile users in the UK have yet to receive the government's text message alert about coronavirus.

The SMS - telling people to stay at home - began being sent early on Tuesday morning.

But Vodafone has confirmed it only expects to complete the process later this Wednesday.

One expert said that it highlights the shortcoming of not having a system that can flash a message to people's phones simultaneously.

Vodafone is the only one of the UK's big four networks that has not finished the task.

Three told the BBC it had delivered the text to a t ...

Coronavirus: Radio listening booms while music streaming stalls

People staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic appear to be listening to more radio rather than music apps, figures suggest.

Global, which owns Capital FM and talk station LBC, said online radio listening had risen by 15%.

The BBC said streaming of its radio stations had risen 18% since last week.

Meanwhile, data from two US analytics companies suggested use of music-streaming apps such as Spotify had dipped by about 8%.

"These figures indicate that the public are turning to radio in times of crisis," a Global spokeswoman said.

BBC R ...

Openreach halts home-visit broadband connections

BT's Openreach says it will no longer install new broadband connections when a home visit is involved.

The division, which runs the broadband network for a range of internet service providers, says it will now focus its efforts on other "essential work".

It means work to switch customers between suppliers will not be done if it requires engineers to enter a customer's house or flat.

But exceptions will be made for "vulnerable" users such as the elderly.

In addition, those who lack access to either a broadband or telephone connection, may s ...

Coronavirus: Minecraft offers free lessons to children

Minecraft is making its educational worlds available free, to help pupils no longer able to attend school because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 12 digital lessons will be available to download until the end of June.

They include tours of the International Space Station and the inside of a human eye, which "can be played on your own, or with parents or friends".

The worlds offer creative writing and puzzles as well as build challenges.

Other lessons include:

puzzle games to teach students how to code and think like programmers
a tou ...

Coronavirus: Dyson develops ventilators for NHS

Dyson has announced it will develop a new type of medical ventilator for the NHS, to help with coronavirus.

The firm, headed by British inventor Sir James Dyson, said it had responded to the government's request for help.

Meanwhile, a consortium of more than a dozen companies aims to build ventilators based on two existing designs.

Some industry insiders have suggested that Dyson's approach to create a new model will take too long.

In a statement, Dyson said it had been working with The Technology Partnership, a medical company based in Cambridge, to develop ...

Coronavirus: Mobile networks send 'stay at home' text

For the first time, all the UK's mobile networks are sending out a government message to their customers with details of the new shutdown measures.

The text reads:

GOV.UK CORONAVIRUS ALERT. New rules in force now: you must stay at home. More info and exemptions at gov.uk/coronavirus Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.

Some customers have already received the message, while others are set to get it later in the day.

The network O2 told the BBC it was sending the texts in batches adding it could take until 22:00GMT to complete the task.

The gover ...

UK coronavirus app 'must respect privacy rights'

UK health chiefs are being urged to safeguard people's privacy as they develop an app to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

An open letter published by a group of "responsible technologists" warns that if corners are cut, the public's trust in the NHS will be undermined.

And it urges those in charge to be more open about their data-collection plans.

The BBC asked both NHSX - the health service's tech leadership unit - and the Department of Health to respond.

South Korea, Singapore and Israel are among countries that have already deployed apps tha ...

Firefly's school apps struggle with 'unprecedented demand'

A leading provider of remote-learning tech to schools says it has struggled with record demand, causing its service to run slowly and suffer periods of being offline.

Firefly Learning said its service in Europe had been worst affected, but that steps were being taken to mitigate the problem.

The London-based firm is used by about 500 schools in the UK.

Schools closed their gates to most pupils last week due to coronavirus.

"There will be teething problems as we are dealing with a completely unprecedented situation," Firefly's chief executive Simon H ...

Coronavirus: Private clinic defends charging £375 for test

A private healthcare clinic in London has defended its decision to charge £375 ($434) for a coronavirus test.

The Private Harley Street Clinic said the price reflected "the costs of these logistic and clinical services that we provide" and added that it was offering free tests for NHS staff.

It followed newspaper reports that the clinic had sold several thousand at full price.

According to its website, the test is no longer available.

In a statement released on Monday, the clinic said it was "pausing" the service now that the UK government ...

Coronavirus: Frozen birthday party saved by Zoom video chat app

When coronavirus caused one pre-schooler's family to isolate, it looked like his birthday party would have to be cancelled.

But a London-based drama group found a way to save the day by offering a video chat-based celebration for Harry and dozens of friends via the app Zoom.

Coronavirus: Smartphone sales collapse amid pandemic

Sales of new phones have collapsed in the biggest fall since the invention of the smartphone.

Research firm Strategy Analytics said shipments in February fell by 38% year-on-year.

The outbreak of the coronavirus in China had a huge impact, report author Linda Sui said.

"Some Asian factories were unable to manufacture smartphones, while many consumers were unable or unwilling to visit retail stores and buy new devices," she said.

The report said that smartphone shipments dropped from 99.2 million in February 2019 to 61.8 million in February 2020.

...

Step-by-step guide: How to video call your family

If you are self-isolating at home, video-chatting can help you stay in touch with your friends and family.

This guide will show you how to make a video call using a smartphone, or receive one using your desktop computer - or help you explain how to do so to others.

How to video call with an Android phone
If your phone is made by OnePlus, Google, Honor, Huawei, LG, Samsung or Sony, it is an Android phone. Several other companies make Android phones too.

There are plenty of free apps you can use to make video calls including Google Duo, Facebook Messenger, Skype ...

Coronavirus: Frozen birthday party held on Zoom video chat app

When coronavirus caused one pre-schooler's family to isolate, it looked like his birthday party would have to be cancelled.

But a London-based drama group found a way to save the day by offering a video chat-based celebration for Harry and dozens of friends via the app Zoom.

Coronavirus: The school of Mum and Dad

All schools in the UK closed their doors on Friday, and there's no timetable for when they might re-open.

Parents, who may need to work and juggle childcare, will have to fill the gap.

While no-one expects them to replicate school, there is plenty of online help to stave off boredom.

Will schools provide the resources?
If your school already puts work online, using Google Classroom or similar software, it is likely that this will continue.

Secondary schools generally make more use of this than primaries, and older pupils are more likely to be in the ro ...

IT systems 'exploited by coronavirus scammers'

Criminals exploiting the coronavirus outbreak have compromised council computer systems, a council has warned.

Middlesbrough Council said local authorities were being targeted with fake emails.

In a communication to workers it said Rotherham Council's IT system had been compromised by an email with "COVID-19" in the subject field.

The council's IT department cautioned staff to report emails from the authority "immediately".

It said "criminal organisations are taking the opportunity to exploit the outbreak of the coronavirus".

...

Coronavirus: Elon Musk 'child immunity' tweet will stay online

A tweet by entrepreneur Elon Musk suggesting children are "essentially immune" to coronavirus did not break Twitter's rules, the company has said.

This week, Twitter pledged to remove misinformation and tweets denying scientific facts about the virus.

It even cited claims about child immunity as an example of misinformation that it would remove.

But even though children can catch and transmit the virus, it said it did not break its rules when read in context.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued special guidance about caring for children w ...

Coronavirus: Smartphone sales collapse amid pandemic

Sales of new phones have collapsed in the biggest fall since the invention of the smartphone.

Research firm Strategy Analytics said shipments in February fell by 38% year-on-year.

The outbreak of the coronavirus in China had a huge impact, report author Linda Sui said.

"Some Asian factories were unable to manufacture smartphones, while many consumers were unable or unwilling to visit retail stores and buy new devices," she said.

The report said that smartphone shipments dropped from 99.2 million in February 2019 to 61.8 million in February 2020.

...

Coronavirus: BT has 'plenty of capacity' despite Netflix quality cuts

BT says its broadband infrastructure has plenty of "headroom" to cope with increased demand as more people stay home due to coronavirus.

The company said that since Tuesday, data use on its network had increased by between 35-60%.

On Thursday, Netflix said it would lower the picture quality of movies in Europe, to reduce data use.

But BT said daytime and evening usage was still much lower than the highest levels it had ever recorded.

In a statement, BT said: "The additional load... is well within manageable limits and we have plenty of headroom ...

Coronavirus: How to clean your smartphone safely

While you may want to clean your smartphone, some substances can damage the device.

Dr Lena Ciric, a microbiologist from University College London, says you can effectively clean your phone using just household soap and water.

Video journalist: Chris Fox

EASY STEPS: What can I do about the virus?
A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?

UK mobile networks face problems

The UK's mobile networks have experienced problems with their services.

EE told the BBC it was something "affecting all operators and we are working closely to fix it".

The problem has been blamed on "interconnect issues" between the operators.

"We don't believe it is connected to the rise in home working [due to the coronavirus]," added EE.

O2 had posted on its website that some customers were experiencing issues with its voice service but added that a full service was being restored. The alert has since been removed.

In ...

Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days

Netflix will reduce the video quality on its service in Europe for the next 30 days, to reduce the strain on internet service providers.

Demand for streaming has increased because large parts of Europe are self-isolating at home due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The video-streaming provider said lowering the picture quality would reduce Netflix data consumption by 25%.

But it said viewers would still find the picture quality good.

The change appears to include the UK but Netflix has not responded to the BBC's request for confirmation on this.

Video qua ...

Game-playing robot admits mistakes, plus other news

BBC Click’s Kitty Knowles looks at some of the best technology news stories of the week including:

The UK government rules Chinese firm Huawei will be allowed to be used in non-sensitive areas of the country’s 5G mobile network
Yale University develops a game-playing robot capable of admitting its mistakes to help humans communicate better
Weather data helps to create 3D-printed sweets in Japan

Apple's new iPad has built-in laser depth-scanner

Apple has announced its first mobile device to feature laser-scanning technology, which the firm says will aid augmented reality apps.

The iPad Pro's Lidar scanner will allow the shape and location of objects in a room to be detected.

This should mean graphics and real-world views can be mixed together more accurately than before.

The announcement came via a press release rather than a media event, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is the first time I can remember that Apple has announced such a high-profile product with such little fanfare,” sai ...

Coronavirus: Vodafone and TalkTalk report surge in internet use

Vodafone has said it is experiencing a 30% rise in internet traffic across its UK fixed-line and mobile networks.

More people are working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, putting more demand on all networks.

TalkTalk, another internet provider, said that its daytime network traffic had risen 20% since Monday.

One EU official has suggested that online TV services should stream content in lower resolution to protect broadband infrastructure.

On Wednesday evening, European Union commissioner Thierry Breton called on content providers to switch ...

Facebook content moderators paid to work from home

Facebook will pay its third-party US content moderators to work from home.

On a call with reporters, Facebook's chief Mark Zuckerberg said the contract workers would still get their full salaries even if they were unable to do all their normal tasks.

The company will also increase use of artificial intelligence to moderate content during the coronavirus crisis.

Mr Zuckerberg said its work-from-home policy would last until the "public health response has been sufficient".

But one workers' rights group said Facebook's move did not go far enough.

...

Amazon is temporarily refusing to stock certain items in its warehouses, to cope with overwhelming demand for household essentials due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It means third-party sellers of non-essential items could find it difficult to ship orders to customers.

The move will last until 5 April and cover warehouses in the US and Europe.

Some items – including many brands of toilet paper – remain out of stock on Amazon’s UK website.

The decision to restrict warehouse stocks to household essentials and medical supplies has been met with dismay by some sellers of other products.

“My sales just doubled and Amazon halted all my shipments,” said one in a post on discussion site Reddit.

“This is absolutely crazy,” wrote another – though they added they had been “prepared” for disruption.

Third-party sellers can still list and sell items on Amazon but they would have to carry out packing and shipping of the products themselves.

Amazon told the BBC: "We are temporarily prioritising household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfilment centres so we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers. We understand this is a change for our selling partners and appreciate their understanding."

Amazon was "doing the right thing", one US-based seller told the BBC.

"Small businesses will hurt because of it and some will completely go bankrupt if the supply chain disruption goes beyond a month," said Samantha Morrison, who sells a range of electrical and computer-related goods via Amazon.

She said it was nonetheless important that Amazon remained able to provide essential items to people in a time of need.

Ms Morrison added that she thought her own business would be minimally impacted as she had enough stock to "weather the storm".

Andrew Helgeson, a seller based in Lincoln, said he had "no idea" how many fewer orders he would be able to ship because he has been relying on Amazon's services for eight years.

Mr Helgeson sells items including DVDs and Blu-ray discs and said he would have to switch to packaging the products individually himself at home.

"We will get around it, always do, you have to be able to adapt," he told the BBC.

He added that he had already applied for a three-month mortgage holiday from his bank and would be seeking other government help.

Coronavirus: How easy it for the UK to make more ventilators?

British engineering firms have been called on to switch to making medical ventilators as concern grows about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

For patients critically ill with Covid-19, access to a ventilator could be a matter of life or death. The machines get oxygen into the lungs and remove carbon dioxide from the body when people are too sick to breathe on their own.

That might sound simple but it is crucial to keep pressure to a minimum to avoid causing further damage. In addition, if the oxygen level is too high, that can do harm.

As a result, intensive ...

Coronavirus: Social giants police web with AI as staff sent home

Major websites are turning to automatic systems to moderate content as they tell their staff to work from home.

YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are all relying on artificial intelligence and automated tools to find problematic material on their platforms.

The tech giants admit this may lead to some mistakes - but say they still need to remove harmful content.

The coronavirus scare has led to a surge of medical misinformation across the web.

Google, which owns YouTube, said appeals about content wrongfully removed could take longer under the new measures.

< ...

UK mobile networks face problems

The UK's mobile networks have experienced problems with their services.

EE told the BBC it was something "affecting all operators and we are working closely to fix it".

The problem has been blamed on "interconnect issues" between the operators.

"We don't believe it is connected to the rise in home working [due to the coronavirus]," added EE.

O2 had posted on its website that some customers were experiencing issues with its voice service but added that a full service was being restored. The alert has since been removed.

In ...

Trump angers Beijing with 'Chinese virus' tweet

China has reacted angrily after US President Donald Trump referred to the coronavirus as “Chinese”.

A foreign ministry spokesman warned the US should “take care of its own business” before stigmatising China.

The first cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

However, last week a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman shared a conspiracy theory, alleging the US Army had brought it to the region.

The unfounded accusation led US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to demand China stop spreading “disinformation” as it tried “to shift bla ...

Coronavirus: Broadband firms say no issue with extra demand

UK broadband companies say they can cope with increased demand as many more people stay at home during the coronavirus crisis.

Internet service providers (ISPs) say they have contingency plans in place and that the network can deal with extra daytime demand.

Video calls and other work applications should have little impact.

But some traffic-heavy services are seeing a surge in use around the world as people stay home.

"Nobody should expect broadband to crash or anything like that," said Mark Jackson, editor of ISP Review. "That's not how these ...

Coronavirus: 3D printers save hospital with valves

A 3D-printer company in Italy has designed and printed 100 life-saving respirator valves in 24 hours for a hospital that had run out of them.

The valve connects patients in intensive care to breathing machines.

The hospital, in Brescia, had 250 coronavirus patients in intensive care and the valves are designed to be used for a maximum of eight hours at a time.

The 3D-printed version cost less than €1 (90p) each to produce and the prototype took three hours to design.

Italian journalist Nunzia Vallini put the hospital in touch with Isinnova chief executive Cri ...

Google's coronavirus site launches amid Trump confusion

A coronavirus testing project by Google has been thrown into confusion over comments made by US President Donald Trump.

He said the company was developing a website for all Americans to check whether they should get tested.

However, Google's sister company Verily had actually been working on a pilot limited to California's Bay Area.

Two sites launch on Monday - but only the localised one contains screening features for tests.

The Verily site was "in the early stages of development and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expandi ...

Apple hit with record €1.1bn fine in France

France's competition authority has imposed a record €1.1bn (£1bn; $1.2bn) fine on US tech giant Apple for what it sees as anti-competitive practices.

It is the biggest fine ever imposed by the French regulator.

The firm and two of its wholesalers in France were found to have an unfair agreement to control prices.

The investigation began in 2012, following a complaint by eBizcuss, which sells Apple products as an Apple Premium Reseller.

The authority's chief Isabelle de Silva said "Apple abusively exploited the economic dependence of these premium reselle ...

Coronavirus: US slashes rates and launches huge stimulus programme

The US has cut interest rates to almost zero and launched a $700bn stimulus programme in a bid to protect the economy from the impact of coronavirus.

It is part of a co-ordinated action announced on Sunday in the UK, Japan, eurozone, Canada, and Switzerland.

Announcing the US move, the Federal Reserve said the "outbreak has harmed communities and disrupted economic activity in many countries".

Fed chairman Jerome Powell will hold a news conference later on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump said the Fed's action "makes me very happy".

...

Spain's King Felipe VI renounces father's inheritance

Spain's King Felipe VI has renounced the inheritance of his scandal-hit father Juan Carlos.

In a statement, the palace said that Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, would also stop receiving an annual grant of €194,000 (£174,800; $217,100).

This comes as the 82-year-old former king is being criticised for his lavish lifestyle.

Juan Carlos, who reigned for 39 years, is also facing an investigation by the Swiss financial authorities.

This follows media reports that he had received $100m in 2008 from Saudi Arabia via an offshore account.

The former monar ...

Coronavirus: How to work from home, the right way

Google, Microsoft, Twitter. Hitachi, Apple, Amazon. Chevron, Salesforce, Spotify. From the UK to the US, Japan to South Korea, these are all global companies that have, in the last few days, rolled out mandatory work-from-home policies amid the spread of Covid-19.

And it’s realistic to assume that shifting to the ‘home office’ will become the new normal for many of us for a while, given Wednesday’s announcement by the World Health Organization that the coronavirus has officially reached ‘pandemic’ status.

Some employees will be working from home for the first time, which mea ...

Does being 'TikTok famous' actually make you money?

When I meet up with Jake Sweet (aka Surfaceldn on TikTok), he's buzzing.

He's about to be flown out to the MTV Video Music Awards in Spain as a special guest. Dinner will be laid on, he explains, and there will be aftershow parties where he will rub shoulders with music's biggest stars - but best of all, says the 21-year-old, he will hang out with other social media influencers he admires.

He got his invite because he has just over three million followers on the TikTok video sharing app (more than twice as many as pop star Dua Lipa). His presence at the event will boost its ...

Minecraft ‘loophole’ library of banned journalism

It started out as a project in an online forum and turned into the best-selling video game of all time, but now Minecraft is being used for something even its creator would not have dreamt of.

The iconic game based around placing Lego-like blocks with more than 145 million players each month has been turned into a hub of free speech.

A virtual library has been meticulously created to host articles written by journalists which were censored online.

Work by Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist killed by Saudi agents in 2018, can be read among the plethora of books in the li ...

The tech boss who lost more than a billion

The BBC's weekly The Boss series profiles different business leaders from around the world. This week we speak to UK technology pioneer Andrew Rickman.

How would you feel if you lost more than £1.4bn ($1.81bn) almost overnight?

That was the situation faced by Andrew Rickman back at the end of 2000, when the dotcom bubble spectacularly burst, sending shares in his company Bookham Technology plummeting.

"It was like a nuclear winter," he says looking back.

Andrew had set up Bookham in 1988 in the kitchen of his home in Wiltshire, when he was 28. It gr ...

Coronavirus: How hackers are preying on fears of Covid-19

Security experts say a spike in email scams linked to coronavirus is the worst they have seen in years.

Cyber-criminals are targeting individuals as well as industries, including aerospace, transport, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare and insurance.

Phishing emails written in English, French, Italian, Japanese, and Turkish languages have been found.

The BBC has tracked five of the campaigns.

1. Click here for a cure

Researchers at the cyber-security firm Proofpoint first noticed a strange email being sent to customers in February. The message pur ...

Tech Tent: Controlling coronavirus with apps

It's the first pandemic of the smartphone era - and that means governments have access to new ways of tracking the spread of Covid-19.

On this week's Tech Tent, we find out about the apps that are monitoring people with the virus and look at whether they pose a long-term threat to civil liberties.

In South Korea, the authorities have created an app that lets them know whether people who should be in quarantine have broken the rules. In China, the Alipay Health Code app, created by e-commerce giant Alibaba, lets users know if they are allowed to leave home or use public trans ...

Apple's WWDC annual showcase cancelled in favour of online event

Apple's annual showcase, the Worldwide Developers Conference, has been cancelled in favour of an online-only event.

"The current health situation has required that we create a new WWDC 2020 format," Apple said in a statement.

The June conference is often used to announce new products and software features.

Only open to Apple software developers, the $1,600 (£1,280) tickets sell out every year.

Apple said it "will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June...[in] an entirely new online format".

Full details will follow ...

Is this the digital future for Bank of England banknotes?

The Bank of England is considering the introduction of electronic banknotes for use by consumers and businesses.

Governor Mark Carney said: "We are in the middle of a revolution in payments," saying the Bank must look into how electronic money could work.

He said this would complement, not replace, paper banknotes while people still wanted physical cash.

But it could open the door to programmable money to integrate with home appliances or the tax system.

Carney calls for crackdown on crypto-currency 'mania'
Budget 2020: Pledges on the future ...

Coronavirus: Amazon offers unlimited sick days to halt spread

Amazon workers can take unlimited sick days this month - but only those in quarantine for the Covid-19 virus will be entitled to extra sick pay.

Many US warehouse workers are entitled to only 10 days' leave a year - for all holidays, sickness and emergencies.

And some had asked Amazon to change its policy to stop coronavirus spreading.

Some workers also say they are being told increase their hours, known as mandatory extra time, because of increased demand and staff shortages.

'Financial distress'
In a blog, Amazon said: "The health and safety of ...

Apps 'must check images for child abuse before publication'

Internet companies must do more to tackle "an explosion" in images of child sex abuse on their platforms, a UK-held inquiry has concluded.

The panel also said the technology companies had "failed to demonstrate" they were fully aware of the number of under-13s using their services and lacked a plan to combat the problem.

It has called for all images to be screened before publication.

And it said more stringent age checks were also required.

'Reputational damage'
Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat were identified as the most commonly c ...

Coronavirus: Amazon offers unlimited sick days to halt spread

Amazon workers can take unlimited sick days this month - but only those in quarantine for the Covid-19 virus will be entitled to extra sick pay.

Many US warehouse workers are entitled to only 10 days' leave a year - for all holidays, sickness and emergencies.

And some had asked Amazon to change its policy to stop coronavirus spreading.

Some workers also say they are being told increase their hours, known as mandatory extra time, because of increased demand and staff shortages.

'Financial distress'
In a blog, Amazon said: "The health and safety of ...

5G judged safe by scientists but faces tougher radiation rules

5G phones are to be subject to tougher radiation limits.

But the standards body behind the new rules says there is no evidence that mobile networks cause cancer or other illnesses.

It has spent several years reviewing scientific literature on the effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.

It says the new guidelines will provide improved protection for forthcoming 5G technologies that use high frequencies.

It is the first time since 1998 that the guidelines on protecting humans from radiation from phone networks, wi-fi and Bluetooth have been updated.

...

Google tells staff to work at home due to coronavirus

Google's parent company Alphabet has asked its North American staff to work from home to reduce the potential spread of the coronavirus.

Last week the tech giant sent a memo to staff recommending that employees in Washington state work from home.

It has now expanded that request to all of its almost 100,000 workers across 11 office in the US and Canada.

Alphabet is the latest company to make such an announcement as US coronavirus cases have risen to almost 1,000.

"Out of an abundance of caution, and for the protection of Alphabet and the broader communit ...

Budget 2020: VAT on e-books and newspapers scrapped

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the 20% tax on e-books and online newspapers, magazines and journals will be abolished on 1 December.

But the BBC has learned that it will not apply to audiobooks, something that the Royal National Institute said was "disappointing".

A letter calling for the tax to be axed was signed by more than 600 authors and presented to Parliament in October.

Physical books and periodicals are already exempt.

In October 2018, the EU allowed member states drop sales taxes on electronic publications and many countries have alr ...

Coronavirus: UK tactics defended as cases expected to rise

The decision to delay closing schools and introduce other strict measures to combat coronavirus has been defended by England's deputy chief medical officer.

Dr Jenny Harries said experts are assessing new cases on an hourly basis to achieve a "balanced response".

It comes as a man in his early 80s became the sixth person with the virus to die in the UK.

Meanwhile, many airlines cut thousands of flights, including to and from Italy, in the wake of the outbreak.

According to the latest figures, there were 373 confirmed cases as of 09:00 GMT on Tuesday ...

Sextortion hackers use 'friend's naked girlfriend' lure

A novel attempt to convince people to open malicious email attachments is spreading online, purporting to offer nude photos of a friend's girlfriend.

Instead of threatening to distribute stolen private images, this new attempt claims to have already "sextorted" the recipient's friend, who refused to pay.

It tells them it is now emailing nude photos to every contact of the supposed victim - and to check the attachment.

Researchers said the "new take on sextortion is quite remarkable".

Recipients who click on the attachment open a Word docum ...

Dyson straighteners' cost will make your hair curl

Dyson has launched a £399 product designed to halve the damage caused by traditional hair straighteners.

But production of the Corrale, in Malaysia and the Philippines, has been hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

"It has caused problems, we have some components made in China," chief executive Sir James Dyson said, adding he was "hoping to overcome" the issue.

Dyson shifted production from the UK to Asia in 2002 and last year announced it was also moving its HQ to Singapore.

Battery life
The Corrale, which has spent seven years in deve ...

Cambridge Analytica: Australia takes Facebook to court over privacy

Australia's privacy regulator is taking Facebook to court over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner said Facebook had seriously infringed the privacy of more than 300,000 Australians.

The social media giant left personal data "exposed to be sold and used for... political profiling".

The scandal involved harvested Facebook data of 87 million people being used for advertising during elections.

"Facebook failed to take reasonable steps to protect those individuals' personal information from unautho ...

Twitter labels edited Biden video 'manipulated tweet'

Twitter has used its new "manipulated media" tag for the first time on an edited video of a speech by Joe Biden.

The tag, introduced on 5 March, tells readers when a picture or video has been "significantly altered or fabricated".

The footage of Mr Biden, posted by Dan Scavino, White House director of social media, claimed to show the Democrat calling for people to vote for President Donald Trump, a Republican.

The video was shared by Mr Trump twice.

In the clip, Mr Biden appeared to tell a crowd in Kansas City: "We can only re-elect ...

Asus Unleashes Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini for Intel NUC 9

Asus has shrunk its Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super graphics card to fit inside Intel's NUC 9 Extreme (codenamed Ghost Canyon) debuted at CES 2020 and other small form factor (SFF) enclosures. The new graphics card carries the Mini branding to denote its miniature footprint.

The Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini checks in at 19.7cm long with a 2-slot design. The graphics card flaunts a elegant, black shroud with very subtle RGB lighting. A pair of Axial-tech cooling fans are in charge of active cooling duties.

According to Asus, the Axial-tech design utilizes a smaller hub, long ...

LG repudiates G9 ThinQ renders

Like most company's, LG does not tend to comment on rumours. However, its Head of Global Corporate Communications, Ken Hong, does apparently comment on renders. Specifically, @OnLeaks renders. The prolific leaker released a set of renders for the G9 ThinQ at the turn of the year, which we referred to as being a "potentially polarizing huge phone".

@OnLeaks' renders have been proven mostly correct over the years, with some minor details differing from the final products. Ken Hong disagrees about the G9 ThinQ, though. According to PhoneArena, Hong had this to say about the r ...

CHUWI HI10 X OFFICIAL UNBOXING PICTURES REVEALED

CHUWI has launched a new product Hi10 X recently, which is the new model of Hi10 series tablets. Equipped with Intel Gemini-Lake N4100, the ninth-generation GPU, 6GB RAM, and 128GB eMMC combination, Hi10X has upgraded a lot in the configuration. Besides, a 10.1-inch full-laminated IPS screen, high-quality full metal unibody, and dual USB-C ports also make it a competitive 10.1-inch tablet.

CHUWI also released the unboxing video of Hi10X, which showed its configuration and user experience specifically.

Hi10 X unboxing

Hi10X has a 9mm full-metal body, 10.1-inch screen, ...

Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 price could be much, much cheaper than we expected

The original Samsung Galaxy Fold cost $1,980 / £1,900 / AU$2,999, which made it a startlingly pricey handset even if it was the first widely available foldable phone. If you wanted a phone with a bendable display but were put off by the price, you might be in luck, because a new rumor suggests the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 could cost less than half what its predecessor did.

This comes from South Korean news site iNews24, which suggests the Galaxy Fold 2 will be available from between 1 million South Korean won (roughly $860, £660, AU$1,250) and 1.5 million won (around $1,290, £990, AU$1 ...

Microsoft Launcher 6.0 impressions: Testing the Surface Duo’s launcher

The Microsoft Launcher has been around for some time. Before it was rebranded as such in 2017, it was known as the Arrow Launcher. But a lot has changed since then, and with the impending Microsoft Surface Duo, the company has big plans for its launcher. So, now that the new and improved Microsoft Launcher 6.0 is available in the Play Store via an alpha preview, we thought we would take it out for a spin to see if it will be ready for the Duo. 

Microsoft Launcher’s new look and feel

Some of the main changes Microsoft has made with the 6.0 launcher update include tweaks to th ...

Xiaomi Mi 10 leaked hands-on pictures look a lot like the Mi Note 10

One of the most anticipated phones of early 2020 is the Xiaomi Mi 10, and new hands-on shots have given us the first 'real' pictures of it (other than leaked renders). Fans of Xiaomi phones might find these pictures eerily familiar though – they show a device that looks a lot like the Xiaomi Mi Note 10.

These pictures come from TechDroider, who posted them on Instagram. It's not clear where these pictures originated though, and the posting refers to them as a 'concept device'.

But based on some contextual clues (a wire attached to the device, and a visible placard in the bac ...

Microsoft re-launches Edge browser on Windows and macOS, now based on Google’s Chromium

Microsoft Edge, the web browser that replaced Internet Explorer with the release of Windows 10, has been given a dramatic overhaul in the last year or so to be rebuilt on the same Chromium source code that Google Chrome is based on. Today, the new version of Microsoft Edge, based on Google’s Chromium, has been officially launched on Windows and macOS.

Late in 2018, Microsoft confirmed rumors that the company was rebuilding its Edge browser on Chromium, the open source base for Google Chrome. At the time, the reason given was for Edge to be able to offer “improved compatibility” over ...

Samsung's Galaxy Watch Active2 Made Me More Aware of My Habits

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 is a fine smartwatch. It controls my music, pings me with notifications and shames me for sitting at my desk too long. I don't like smartwatches, but it did a fairly good job convincing me of its merits. While I was reluctant to use it at first, it definitely helped me learn more about myself.

I'm a fairly private person, and I don't use my phone often. During work hours, it'll be within arms reach, but the moment I'm home I barely touch it. I often dream of moving to a farm with no mobile service, where my phone will never ring, and nobody ever trie ...

How to enable Android’s built-in screen recorder on Google Pixel

One long-requested feature for Android finally popped up in Android 10’s beta releases, but it didn’t end up in the final release, unfortunately. However, there is a trick to bring it back. Here’s how to enable Android’s built-in screen recorder on Google Pixel devices.

To enable the built-in screen recorder on Google Pixel smartphones, you’ll first need to ensure you’re on the latest update. That’s the January update which rolled out early in the month. Apparently, Google brought the feature back quietly in that update as was spotted by someone on Reddit and it should work on Googl ...

4 SAMSUNG GALAXY CHROMEBOOK MODELS PASS THROUGH BLUETOOTH CERTIFICATION

You should probably go ahead and assume that for the next 6 weeks or so, we’ll be discussing the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Chromebook in every way, shape and form that we can. The newest Chromebook on offer from Samsung is simply the best overall Chrome OS device we’ve ever seen and we’re clearly excited about it. More interesting than that, it seems the tech world as a whole is also intrigued by this new Chromebook, and that is something we rarely (if ever) see from a Chromebook release.

One of the tidbits of info most people have already heard about is the Galaxy Chromebook’s starti ...

DRAM breakthrough puts us one step closer to instant-on PCs

After all these years, we are still not at the point where our PCs turn on instantaneously, or restore an active session in Windows. Waking from sleep or hibernation can take anywhere from a short while to what feels like an eternity, depending on the system. Part of the reason for is because of the PC's reliance on DRAM, and how it works. Good news though—researchers at the University of Lancaster in the UK have created a type of non-volatile memory that could one day make instant-on PCs a reality.

They're calling it UK III-V memory. Non-volatile memory is not new by any stretch, b ...

AMD 600-Series Chipset Expected to Land Before 2020 Ends

The B550 and A520 chipsets aren't out yet, but there are already whispers of the 600-series.

AMD's upcoming 600-series chipsets might not be as far off as we think, based on a DigiTimes report today. The Taiwanese news outlet's unnamed "industry" sources claimed that the next wave of AMD chipsets should arrive at the end of 2020.

As The China Times reported earlier this month, ASMedia is expected to start producing AMD's budget-focused B550 and A520 chipsets in Q1 of this year. According to today's DigiTimes report, ASMedia has already secured orders from AMD for t ...

Galaxy Buds+ have a larger battery, no active noise cancellation

The Galaxy Buds+ will be among the products that Samsung launches at its Unpacked event next month. We have been hearing about the company’s new earbuds for a while now. It was initially rumored that they might feature active noise cancellation.

We have now received some details about the upcoming earbuds from reliable sources. The bad news first: The Galaxy Buds+ don’t come with active noise cancellation. This will certainly disappoint people who were excited about this feature.

Galaxy Buds+ won’t have active noise cancellation

Many Samsung fans believed that active ...

ASUS Unveils ROG Z11 Mini ITX Chassis For Gamers

In addition to its new notebook, Chromebook, and system announced during CES 2020, ASUS has unveiled a new gaming chassis designed for mini-ITX motherboards. The ASUS ROG Z11 features an 11-degree tilted interior design for improved heat dissipation and better cable management.

The ASUS ROG Z11 case is constructed with an aluminium outer frame, with steel interior, and comes with a specially designed motherboard try which is off to an 11-degree angle in comparison to standard motherboard tray implementations. This design is to allow for more airflow which is critical in high-perform ...

MSI's 300 Hz Gaming Laptops, the GS66 Stealth & GE66 Raider

MSI demonstrated a revamped version of its sleek and light GS-series Stealth gaming notebook at CES 2020 this week. The GS66 Stealth laptop continues to feature a low-profile design, but now comes in a 'Core Black' aluminum chassis and features the latest internal hardware. In addition, MSI has an all-new compact GE66 Raider gaming notebook with panaramic aurora lighting and new internals. However, the main advantage of the new models over predecessors is its optional display panel with a 300 Hz refresh rate.

Nowadays mobile gamers demand thinner and lighter notebooks, but are not r ...

It looks like OnePlus is killing its pop-up camera, and that's a bummer

When the first OnePlus 7 Pro renders trickled out, showing off what appeared to be a pop-out camera mechanism, even I was critical of the concept. External moving parts on a device that suffers as much abuse as a phone seemed like a design that was destined to fail, even in just a mechanical sense.

Well, I'm not afraid to say that I was entirely wrong. OnePlus' pop-up selfie camera has proven to be a fantastic idea, and I'm upset it looks like OnePlus' next high-end "Pro" phone won't get one.

The advantages of a pop-out camera are subjective, but pretty clear: Righ ...

Corsair Announces The A500 CPU Cooler, Back to Air Cooling

Although Corsair's cooling division is more widely known for its extensive range of CLC CPU cooling solutions, Corsair has once again moved back into the air-cooled CPU cooler business. Corsair has once before tried to tackle the market with its older A50 and A70 models, the new A500 looks to target Noctua's NH-D15 with some very interesting features.

Moving back into the air cooling market after the launch of the Corsair A50 and A70 air CPU coolers, the new Corsair A500 looks to add a new dimension to its current cooling line-up. More known for its closed-loop liquid solutions, the ...

TRX80 and WRX80 Don’t Exist: Neither Does the ‘Intel LGA1159’ Socket

For anyone that isn’t following the minutiae of desktop computing, one of the more prominent rumors in AMD land is the presence of upcoming sockets called TRX80 and WRX80. These parts, assumed to be aimed at ‘casual’ and ‘workstation’ users, have formed the basis of many rumors and a lot of speculation, especially on the back of TRX40 which does exist for the latest generation of AMD Threadripper CPUs. Similarly, recent news has been posted about the potential existence of a theoretical LGA1159 socket for Intel, despite the fact that LGA1200 is often cited as the next generation socket for ...

WhatsApp: If you block someone on WhatsApp do they know? How to block someone on WhatsApp?

WHATSAPP is the world’s most popular messaging platform, helping more than one billion users keep in contact around the world. WhatsApp users who wish to stop receiving messages, calls and status updates from certain contacts can do so via the block option. Express.co.uk reveals everything you need to know about blocking WhatsApp contacts.

How to block WhatsApp contacts:

Users have several options available to block contacts on WhatsApp.

Start by selecting Settings, Account, Privacy, Blocked and Add New on Whatsapp.

Users should then select the contact they w ...

SAMSUNG GALAXY M31 CAMERA MODULE USES A FIVE-HOLE DESIGN

Recently, the camera module parts of Samsung Galaxy M31 hit the internet. From the unverified images, we can see that this smartphone rear camera module will use a five-hole design. This means that this device will probably come with a quad-rear camera setup plus a flash. According to reports, an anonymous but reliable industry insider revealed the Samsung Galaxy M31 mobile phone camera module. The image also suggests that the Samsung Galaxy M31 mobile phone will use an “L” shape four-camera design. 

Regarding other information about the mobile phone, there are reports that this dev ...

CORSAIR Announces First Mechanical Keyboard to Integrate Elgato Stream Deck Controls

One of the biggest surprises from CORSAIR’s CES 2020 presentation wasn’t in its hardware or content creation technologies but rather in some of the software that will be powering the newest line of CORSAIR keyboards. The newest line of CORSAIR keyboards will be receiving the functionality to use a select row of macro keys as command buttons for the Elgato Stream Deck software suite.

The recently unveiled CORSAIR K95 PLATINUM series of keyboards will be the first (and currently) only lineup of mechanical keyboards to receive Elgato Stream Deck software as well as CORSAIR iCUE functio ...

Ultra-thin MSI GS66 dares to be thicker and heavier in the name of performance

One of our biggest complaints about the older GS65 was its flexible chassis. As lightweight and thin as it may be, MSI went a bit too far in that direction for the GS65 and chassis rigidity suffered. Competing ultrathin laptops like the Razer Blade 15, Dell Alienware m15, or Asus Zephyrus S would feel comparatively sturdier and more well-made in the hand.

MSI will be addressing these issues directly with the upcoming GS66. The redesigned chassis will be marginally thicker (0.78-inch vs. 0.69-inch) and heavier (4.6 lbs vs. 4.19 lbs) than the outgoing GS65. In return, the GS66 will be ...

CTL DEBUTS NEW LINEUP OF RUGGED AND POWERFUL GEMINI LAKE-R CHROMEBOOKS

CES 2020 saw the debut of four new Chromebooks that are all exciting for their own, unique reasons but these weren’t the only devices announced this week. While not there as an official exhibitor, Oregon-based CTL revealed an entirely new lineup of rugged EDU devices that feature an industry-first for any Chromebook on the market.

The all-new NL71 line of Chromebooks from CTL may look like common fare at first glance but what’s on the inside make them some of the best machines on the market for not only educational institutions but the savvy consumer looking for a rugged laptop that ...

Lian Li Announces New LANCOOL II Chassis, Now With Mesh

A regular fixture at CES, revered chassis manufacturer Lian Li is once again at this year's event, showcasing its latest addition to the LANCOOL range of cases, the Lian Li LANCOOL II Mesh. The Mesh builds on the LANCOOL series with an integrated mesh front panel for improved airflow.

An alternative to the original LANCOOL II chassis, the LANCOOL II Mesh encompasses a mesh front panel and flip shroud panels which are designed to provide better airflow throughout. This allows builders with high-end CPUs and video cards to still receive plenty of cooling, as mesh panels allow more air ...

Gigabyte water-cooled eGPU

Gigabyte was showing the world’s first water-cooled eGPU at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. The powerful AORUS RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Box was designed to accelerate workflows by offering incredible boosts in performance. It has been designed for video editing, 3D animation, photography, graphic design, gaming, architectural visualization, and broadcasting.

This is an eGPU for windows-based PCs. It isn’t for use on a Mac. The eGPU was first announced back in November 2019.

KEY FEATURES

powerful GeForce RTX™ 2080 Ti delivers incredible performance for games, creators and A.I.

...

ASUS Going Fast: Quad PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD Storage Add-in Card Hyper M.2

One of the driving features of performance in the high-end desktop space is the creator community: the need for fast CPUs and fast storage is strong, regardless of cost. Rendering video, requiring large 8K datasets, and being able to mix and match the hardware to meet the required performance is in-of-itself an exciting area to delve into. In order to meet the needs of the most demanding creators, ASUS is upgrading its quad M.2 card it put into the market last year to now support PCIe 4.0 SSDs for the latest AMD systems.

The card is essentially a mounting point to take a full x16 PC ...

Here's a bigger case to house Intel's tiny Ghost Canyon NUC

Cooler Master's NC100 small form factor case enables pairing the Ghost Canyon NUC with a full length graphics card.

Intel's recently unveiled Ghost Canyon NUC seems to have struck a chord with some of its hardware partners, several of which have announced products specifically designed for the modular gaming PC. One of them is Cooler Master's NC100 small form factor (SFF) case.

In case you missed it, the Ghost Canyon NUC is a fully self-contained PC in its own right, with the option of adding a shortened graphics card inside the comparatively small chassis. It's significantl ...

Micron starts sampling DDR5 memory, but your PC will have to wait

DDR4 memory hasn't been around very long, at least on consumer-level hardware—Intel switched to it with the sixth-generation Core CPUs (Skylake), and AMD adopted DDR4 with the release of the first Ryzen processors. Now we have DDR5 to look forward to, as Micron has announced it has started sending samples of the high-tech RAM to its hardware partners.

Micron promises that DDR5 will deliver "more than an 85% increase in memory performance," while also doubling memory density. We're still very far off from mass production of DDR5 RAM, much less the technology trickling down ...

Monoprice Zero-G 35-Inch Gaming Monitor Review: A Curved Ultra-Wide Bargain

While the prices of curved ultra-wide monitors have come down some since they first appeared a few years ago, they are still a premium purchase. If you add things like fast refresh and adaptive sync, the price can still go north of $600. Ever the one to challenge the market, Monoprice's Zero-G 35-inch gaming monitor (model number 38035) offers an ultra-wide 3440 x 1440 resolution with a 100Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync for just $410. You'll just have to miss out on some luxuries of the best gaming monitors, like USB ports and the ability to adjust the stand. 

The Zero-G 35 checks ...

CES 2020: HP’s Envy All-in-One 32 w/ Core i7, GeForce RTX 2080, HDR600, 2.1 Audio

Although all-in-one desktops are rather popular among many casual users, high-performance AIOs remain exotic and yet have to take off. At CES 2020, HP has introduced its new Envy 32 All-in-One desktop with ingredients that will make many fully-fledged desktops jealous. The system has an advanced Intel Core i7 CPU, NVIDIA’s high-end GPU, a sophisticated audio sub-system, and, even more importantly, a very good 4K display.

HP’s Envy 32 All-in-One system is based on Intel’s 9th Generation Core i7 processor with up to eight cores and up to 65 W TDP that is accompanied by up to NVIDIA’s ...

CES 2020: ASUS Unveils All-White Concept Strix X570 Motherboard

Amid a plethora of ASUS announcements and product showcases at CES 2020, one of the more interesting pieces of hardware on display came on the motherboard side. In what ASUS is currently calling a concept, it had a full system with white components on display, including an X570 Strix motherboard dressed to the nines in white heatsinks and covers.

While ASUS hasn't given much away about which model it's based on. the specifications list include support for DDR4-4400 memory with a capacity of up to 128 GB, with an Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface, and a Realtek RTL8125-AG 2.5 G ...

MediaTek Announces New Dimensity 800 Mid-Range 5G SoC

Today MediaTek has announced a new entry into its new “Dimensity” 5G SoC product lineup. The new chip is called the Dimensity 800 and represents a mid-range solution for lower cost devices compared to the larger Dimensity 1000 flagship SoC. The chip’s main feature is the fact that it supports 5G connectivity in the sub-6 spectrum, making this amongst the first 5G designs at this price range.

The SoC is powered by an octa-core CPU setup, including 4x Cortex A76 cores at 2GHz alongside 4x Cortex A55 cores at also 2GHz. It’s interesting to see this segmentation in the IP – the A77 core ...

Samsung’s Odyssey G9 is the most extreme ultrawide gaming monitor

Samsung’s Odyssey G9 gaming monitor is an incredible thing to behold in person. It’s on the show floor at CES 2020, and pretty much everyone who sat in front of the 49-inch 1440p display was dazzled.

You’re going to have an impossible challenge trying to find a rig that can push the latest PC games at 240Hz. But if you’re a competitive e-sports player who specializes in older titles, this display could be a dream. Those not running it at 240Hz can still take advantage of its sharp resolution and that immersive 1000R curvature that pretty much envelops your whole field of vision.

...

Epson unveils new mini laser projector with Android TV and Netflix support

There are not many projectors with Android TV built-in ⁠— we reviewed the Anker Nebula Capsule II and XGIMI Mogo and walked away impressed by them, but didn't like that neither of them has any official support for Netflix. Though you can always sideload the Netflix mobile app, it can be difficult to control and quite janky. The newly announced Epson EF-100 projector isn't quite comparable to those two ⁠— with no battery, it's not very portable ⁠— but it's the first Android TV projector we've come across with official Netflix support, and that's pretty exciting.

The projector utilize ...

New Chuwi Hi10 X 2in1 tablet with more power will hit the market soon

Chuwi is starting the new year on the… right foot as they’ve already announced several new devices that will hit the market soon. Today, they updated their website and one more new device appeared: Chuwi Hi10 X. The new member of the Hi10 tablet series comes with upgraded hardware so it’s more up-to-date with today’s standards.

Hardware configuration upgrade

The Hi10 X comes equipped with the Intel N4100 CPU that is manufactured using the 14nm process and its highest frequency reaches up to 2.4GHz. Thanks to the new CPU and 9th Gen UHD Graphics 600 GPU, the device can be use ...

Diesel Fadelite has Wear OS and not enough RAM, but hey look at the transparent band

One of the few strengths of Wear OS is the huge variety of hardware available. Today at CES 2020, Diesel is announcing a new Wear OS watch with the Diesel Fadelite, and it’s got one of the most unique designs we’ve seen to date.

Diesel, a part of Fossil Group, is no stranger to Wear OS. So far, it’s put out two watches including the Full Guard and Axial. With those watches, Diesel went for a more industrial aesthetic, but the Fadelite takes a different approach.

The Diesel Fadelite is smaller than the brand’s other smartwatches for one thing, with a 43 mm case size. It also ...

Corsair Returns to Air Cooling with A500 CPU Heatsink and Launches Updated AIOs

At CES 2020 Corsair has announced its latest foray into the world of CPU chilling in the form of its A500 dual-fan CPU cooler. This high-performance $100 CPU heatsink, packs in twin Corsair ML120 magnetic levitation fans, operating between 400 and 2400 RPM, drawing air across a highly dense tower supported with a copper “quad direct-contact” heat pipe design. 

The dark brushed aluminum tower also features a “ratcheting slide-and-lock fan mount” system which enables you to adjust fan height to improve DRAM compatibility. According to Corsair the A500 is impressively easy to install a ...

SanDisk unveils a portable 8TB SSD prototype and 1TB USB-C thumb drive

If you're in the market for a portable SSD, you're probably looking at drives that are at most 2TB in capacity -- 4TB SSDs exist, but they're few and far between. SanDisk is plowing ahead, though, and is showing off an 8TB SSD prototype at CES. The company says it's the world's highest capacity, pocket-sized SSD with a transfer rate of 20Gbps. The drive looks a bit bigger than the company's current Extreme Portable External SSD models, but that's to be expected, since it has a much higher capacity and transfers data roughly four times faster.

Since this is a prototype, there's no te ...

Watch out Bose and Sony, JBL reveals new noise-cancelling headphones with 24-hour battery

JBL unveiled its newest headphone series, CLUB, at CES in Las Vegas earlier today. The newest cans come in three models: the CLUB 700BT, CLUB 950NC and CLUB ONE – each boasts a varying price point and feature set. The American firm said it was inspired by touring musicians to create its latest series of headphones that vary in both on-ear and over-ear designs.

JBL CLUB 700BT • £129.99

Let’s start with the cheapest entry in the new CLUB series, the CLUB 700BTs. These cans sport an on-ear design and come with JBL’s signature Legendary Pro Sound and are certified for high-res a ...

$200 vs $4,000 Camera: Is Your Phone Good Enough for Travel Photography?

Sensor image quality has advanced so much over the last few years that phone manufacturers are boasting photographs that rival those from larger mirrorless and DSLR cameras. Some, like the Xiaomi Mi CC9 at 108 megapixels, quadruple the resolution of my best camera.

The iPhone 11 Pro and Google Pixel 4 have incredible night mode capabilities using imaging algorithm and stabilization that’s comparable to the high ISO capabilities of my Sony Alpha. Most of them shoot 4K video at 60 FPS. Between using Filmic Pro for film and Snapseed for photos, I have more options than ever with what t ...

Panasonic HZ2000 OLED TV replaces one of last year's best TVs

Panasonic has a new television darling for 2020: the HZ2000 OLED, available in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes. The successor to last year’s GZ2000, which garnered a full five stars in our review, it again features a custom-made OLED panel and broad HDR support, with a few enhancements that could again make these some of the best TVs in their price range.

The first is Filmmaker Mode, which we first heard about in late 2019, promising to display movies ‘as intended’ by their directors and creators. 

These attempts at color control often make for flat viewing experiences, though, as ...

Xbox Scarlett APU Die Shot Analysis: Die Size Estimated

A picture of the upcoming Xbox Scarlett APU was posted by the 'head of Xbox' Phil Spencer and almost everyone went into a frenzy analyzing the die shot. This is our take and without any further ado, let's begin with the starting image:

Here is our methodology (A big shout out to WhyCry @Videocardz for helping us with image processing): the original image was enhanced and then perspective corrected (prioritizing the die and not the package). The cleaner parts of the image were then oriented to scale using an older image of the Xbox Scorpio APU, using two different points as an anchor ...

Sennheiser reveals cheap rival for Sony WH-1000XM3 at CES 2020

Sennheiser has launched two new wireless headphones at CES 2020 in Las Vegas – one of which looks to be a real (cheaper) alternative to the class-leading Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Headphones. 

Building on the success of the HD 4.50BTNC (which we awarded 4.5 out of 5 stars in our review), the new HD450BT over-ear headphones offer a 30-hour battery life and instant access to your voice assistant of choice thanks to a dedicated button. 

Furthermore, the HD450BT also offer active noise cancelation, allowing you to listen to your music without distracting environmental noise cramp ...

Lenovo's ThinkBook Plus is a laptop that doubles as a Kindle

It wouldn't be CES if Lenovo didn't have a bevy of new laptops to announce, but I can't say we saw the company's new ThinkBook Plus coming. It's available with a 13.3-inch matte, full HD IPS display, one USB-C Gen 2 port, a pair of full-size USBs and an HDMI-out. And since this isn't a one-size-fits-all sort of machine, you can configure it with up to a 10th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, either 8GB or 16GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of onboard storage. (Sorry, folks, no discrete graphics here.)

What makes the ThinkBook so strange, though, is the 10.8-inch, touch-sensitive E-Ink displa ...

Nikon finally updates its most popular full-frame DSLR

This week at CES, Nikon is announcing the new D780 DSLR. It’s the long-awaited successor to the D750, which came out in 2014 and is described by Nikon as its most popular full-frame DSLR ever.

The D780 still has a 24-megapixel full-frame sensor, but now it has backside illumination that should further boost the camera’s low-light performance. ISO is now up to 51,200 native and expandable to 204,800. The image processor has also been upgraded to the Expeed 6 chip found in the latest Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras.

Nikon says the autofocus system is much-improved, making use of ...

Modder Proves X570 Boards' Chipset Can Be Cooled Passively With Custom Heatsink

For some reason almost all AMD X570 motherboards come with a tiny little chipset fan, some even hiding inside covers that look like passive heatsinks. Modder "DerRuehrer" didn't like the pesky little fan on his Asus ROG Strix X570-E motherboard, and thus decided it was time for some DIY work, as detailed by OC3D. 

He did this by milling his own heatsink out of a block of aluminium, which he covered with a layer of paint to make it match the motherboard's theme. This didn't quite do the job, so he also added a heatpipe along the bottom of the heatsink along its length, whic ...

The race is on to launch the first gaming laptop with a 300Hz IPS display

Acer, Asus, and MSI are each planning to launch laptops with a 300Hz refresh rate for fast-action gameplay.

Now that CES has kicked off in earnest, Acer and Asus are once again teasing gaming laptops with displays supporting ultra-fast refresh rates of up to 300Hz. There's still no word on which machine will be available to buy first, but it's no longer a two-horse race—MSI is saddling up a 300Hz stallion of its own. More on that in a moment.

We first heard about these laptops with speedy refresh rates back in September. Had things stayed on schedule, Asus would have launche ...

Sony Xperia 5 Plus renders shows a ToF sensor and more

The release of the Sony Xperia 5 in late 2019 may be followed up sometime soon with the launch of the Sony Xperia 5 Plus. That’s according to gadget leaker Onleaks, who has just posted some renders of the phone via Slashleaks.

The renders, along with a 360-degree 3D video, showcase a few differences between the Xperia 5 and the Xperia 5 Plus. One big one is that the triple rear camera setup on the Xperia 5 has been upgraded with an additional ToF sensor for the Xperia 5 Plus. Another difference is that the Plus model has an old-fashioned 3.5mm headphone jack on top. In our review of ...

Acer’s Predator X32 is a beastly monitor with a monstrous $3,599 price tag

Acer is getting ready to launch of trio of Predator gaming monitors, the smallest of which sports a 32-inch display—which also happens to be the most expensive of the bunch. It will be available in the second quarter of this year for $3,599 in the US, and €3,299 in Europe.

What could possibly justify more than three and a half large on a gaming monitor? I'd like it to be attached to a robotic butler that can clean my home and take care of the pets when I'm out of town, but unfortunately it's not. Instead, this is a relatively new breed of G-Sync Ultimate displays.

G-Sync is ...

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is a ridiculous 64-core CPU – and it's coming February 7

AMD has announced the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X at CES 2020, confirming its incredibly powerful enthusiast processor, with an unprecedented 64-cores – something we've never seen in a consumer CPU.

This will offer a level of performance that is usually reserved for servers and data centers, and the CPUs they run on usually cost huge amounts of money.

WIth the Ryzen Threadripper 3990X, AMD wants to bring that kind of high performance component to enthusiasts and consumers, crucially with a price that is (relatively) affordable – and undercuts its chief rival Intel.

Grea ...

CHROMEBOOK TABLETS GET SECOND LIFE STARTING WITH THE LENOVO IDEAPAD DUET

It wouldn’t be CES without a few pre-show surprises, and this year is no different. Google has gone and unvelied 3 new Chrome OS devices this year before the show even gets underway. All three have been on our radar, but now we have official names, some official pics, and a handful of official specs for the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C436, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook.

We’ve talked about the new ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 and the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, but this affordable tablet from Lenovo is perhaps just as big of a deal. The other two announc ...

Asus reveals world’s fastest 14-inch gaming laptop, and much more at CES 2020

Asus has revealed a whole load of gaming hardware at CES 2020, with both desktop PCs and laptops, the latter of which are headed up by a model the firm claims is the world’s most powerful 14-inch gaming notebook.

That would be the Asus Zephyrus G14 which certainly packs a decent amount of power into a pretty slim chassis which is 17.9mm thick, and the device weighs in at a palatable 1.6kg.

The G14 runs with one of AMD’s new mobile chips, and it’s powered by up to a Ryzen 7 4800HS with 8-cores and 16-threads. That’s partnered with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics car ...

HP Elite Dragonfly G2 promises 5G connectivity, 1000-nit touchscreen and an improved Sure View privacy filter

The Original Elite Dragonfly is barely half a year old and it's already getting a successor. The Elite Dragonfly G2 will be available next month with a couple of new upgrades over the previous generation.

Firstly, the Dragonfly G2 will receive 10th gen Intel Comet Lake-U Core i3, i5, and i7 options whereas the first generation model was limited to Whiskey Lake-U. The reason to go with Comet Lake instead of Ice Lake is simple; Intel will integrate vPro support for its Comet Lake series this year which many businesses rely on for security purposes.

The second upgrade relates t ...

Lenovo's latest Legion gaming laptop relies on an external GPU

Lenovo is kicking off 2020 with a gaming laptop that needs a companion to thrive. It's introducing the Legion Y740S, a slim 15.6-inch laptop (billed as Lenovo's "thinnest and lightest" gaming model) meant to couple with the company's first external GPU, the Legion BoostStation. It has some decent horsepower with up to a Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe SSD, but you're stuck with integrated Intel graphics if you buy nothing else -- you absolutely need that eGPU if you're going to play any modern 3D games. At least the 4.18-pound weight and 0.58-inch thickness make it e ...

Arlo’s new Floodlight Camera doesn’t need any wiring

Arlo is announcing its newest security camera, the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera, which has a plate of powerful LEDs to better light the area in the camera’s field of view. Unlike other floodlight security cameras, Arlo’s Floodlight Camera doesn’t require any wiring; it can run entirely on rechargeable batteries.

The Floodlight Camera seems to share many of the same features as the Arlo Pro 3, including 2K video with HDR, a built-in siren, color night vision, a 160-degree field of view, and two-way audio. Arlo tells The Verge that the Floodlight Camera is weather-resistant, and we’ve ...

MSI details upcoming gaming monitors, PCs and AIO coolers ahead of CES 2020

We’ll start off with the new monitors set to appear, including the Optix MAG342CQR. This is the world’s first 1000R curved gaming monitor, representing MSI’s strong confidence in the curved monitor market. That confidence is backed up with data from analysts, which estimate that curved monitors make up 60 percent of the gaming monitor market at the moment.

Other new monitors we expect to see include:

Optix MEG381CQR- first HMI intelligent gaming monitor with a secondary OLED interactive display.

Optix PS321QR- A 165Hz gaming display with high colour accuracy, includi ...

HP’s 15-inch Spectre x360 gets upgraded with smaller bezels and a good trackpad

Last year, HP overhauled the 13-inch Spectre x360 convertible laptop with some much-needed improvements: a slimmed-down design, reduced bezels, and a functional trackpad. At CES 2020, the company is bringing those same improvements to the larger 15-inch model, too.

Much like last year’s Spectre x360 13, the differences between the old x360 15 and the new one are drastic: HP has massively reduced the bezels on the 2020 model, resulting in a device that’s 13 percent smaller than the previous generation. Plus, despite the vastly smaller size, HP is still offering the excellent-looking ...

macOS Catalina: How to master Dark Mode for Mac

Dark Mode for Mac premiered in macOS Mojave as a simple way to toggle the system appearance from the default bright theme. The new macOS Catalina release is a software update that improves how Dark Mode works with new features.

The new OS version lets you schedule when Dark Mode is activated. This is based on sunset and sunrise by default. There are also ways to quickly toggle between light or dark themes and set specific apps to their own theme. Read on to master Dark Mode for Mac.

Getting started

Older macOS versions turned the Dock and menu bar dark, but window ch ...

Apple 2020: Coming 13-Inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air — Processor, Keyboard, Display Upgrades

There are some big upgrades possible this year for the 13-inch MacBook Pro — in addition to the usual internal upgrades.

It’s 2020 and the fourth-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro, introduced in late 2016, is getting long in the tooth.

That means the 13-inch MBP is overdue for some major changes, following Apple’s 16-inch overhaul of the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air is also due for some tweaks.

Keyboard: It’s a safe bet that the next generation of the 13-inch MacBook Pro will have the same scissor-switch keyboard as MBP 16. And that will likely carry over to t ...

Acer is launching three new Predator monitors, including a giant 55-inch model

Acer is announcing three new Predator monitors at CES 2020 today, and that includes a massive, 55-inch 4K OLED model.

The giant Predator CG552K is a 4K OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, support for Nvidia’s G-Sync, and support for variable refresh rate via HDMI. Essentially, it’s a TV-sized gaming monitor, and the idea is that it will offer fast refresh rates and lower response times that most televisions can’t, in effect offering a much more immersive and responsive PC gaming experience. It’s similar to Alienware’s 55-inch OLED display that was announced last August, and both f ...

AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT full specs accidentally spilled by XFX

AMD’s almost certainly imminent Radeon RX 5600 XT has had its specs spilled by two GPU manufacturers, no less, with XFX being the latest vendor to publish details of the graphics card on its site (before swiftly yanking them down, after realizing its mistake presumably).

Previously ASRock highlighted the RX 5600 XT on its website, before removing the details of the GPU which is expected to be unveiled tomorrow by AMD at CES 2020.

So what are the official specs of the 5600 XT according to XFX’s product page which was briefly online? As Videocardz reports, the RX 5600 XT Thicc ...

Leaked Vivo Patent Shows Outlandish Quad Front-Facing Camera Orientation

We've seen a lot of subtle design changes take place in the smartphone space over the years. Bezels kept getting smaller, leaving less space for front camera hardware. And then in 2018, we saw the hideous display notch make its debut. 2019, on the other hand, had a more sane approach towards maximizing screen real estate. Enter the hole-punch design that eliminated the notch by punching a hole in the screen and placing a camera sensor there. It appears that Vivo has taken that to another level, based on its recent patent filing.

A lot of Vivo's marketing strategy has been centered a ...

Oppo A9 2020, hands on: A good-value large-screen handset with great battery life

Oppo made an impression in 2019 with handsets like the mid-range Reno 2Z (£329), RX17 Pro (£479) and Reno 10x Zoom (£450) earning plaudits from ZDNet's reviewers. Even the top-end Find X (£799) with its pop-up backplate housing the front and rear cameras was well received.

To kick off the new year, we have the Oppo A9 2020, a handset costing just £220 (inc. VAT) that gives you an impressive amount of capability for the cash.

Some obvious compromises have been made to meet this budget price point. The screen is large at 6.5 inches, but it's LCD rather than AMOLED, and has a r ...

Alienware is making a 25-inch IPS monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate

Just days before CES kicks off, Alienware announced a revamped version of its 25-inch AW2518HF gaming monitor. The size and specs of the upcoming AW2521HF are largely the same, except it swaps out the TN (twisted nematic) screen on the old model for a higher quality IPS (in-plane switching) panel without sacrificing any speed.

That's to say it retains the same 240Hz refresh rate as its predecessor, making it suitable for competitive gaming. We have already seen some larger size IPS displays ramp to 240Hz, including Alienware's own AW2720HF. However, I'm not aware of any 24-inch or 2 ...

Dell slathers on factor XPS 13 to reveal new shiny with... ooh... a 0.1 inch bigger screen

Dell is kicking off 2020 with a significant refresh of its XPS 13 laptops, including the Ubuntu-powered XPS 13 Developer Edition.

The XPS 13 9300 boasts Intel's 10th generation Core processors, ranging from the i3-1005G1 on the basic model, all the way to the quad-core i7-1065G7. It's worth noting that the pricier XPS 4K ships with Chipzilla's latest silicon. However, the standard 1080p lineup has languished on Intel's eighth-generation kit for some time. This update promises to give a welcome boost to performance, graphics and battery longevity.

Similarly, the entry-level s ...

ASUS CHROMEBOOK FLIP C436 PASSES THROUGH FCC JUST IN TIME FOR CES 2020

Robby just spent the better part of the morning drawing out our exhaustive list of CES expectations as we gear up to head to the massive trade show in Vegas next week. If all goes as planned, this will be the biggest year yet for Chrome OS at CES with the possibility of multiple OEMs bringing next-get flagship devices to the party. Now, just days away from the kickoff of CES, one of the highly-anticipated Comet Lake Chromebooks is making its way through the FCC.

ASUS CHROMEBOOK C436

Discovered back in October, details surrounding ASUS’ next premium Chromebook are scant but w ...

Google Pixel 4a renders have got gadget fans excited as 2020 kicks off

Google has got into the habit of releasing its own phones each year under the Pixel branding. And while the flagships Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL were met with lukewarm reviews, 2019’s more affordable Pixel 3a was highly praised. It took everything that was good about Pixel phones – namely the camera and the stock Android experience – and put it into a budget package that neatly undercut the likes of Apple’s iPhones and Samsung’s Galaxy phones. Now a series of renders have emerged of a ‘Pixel 4a’ that may see the light of day later this year. Gadget fans are anticipating the Pixel 4’s dual-camer ...

Inside Intel's Secret Overclocking Lab: The Tools and Team Pushing CPUs to New Limits

We get an exclusive tour of the facility where Intel pushes chips to their absolute limit.

Intel says it loves overclocking, but saying it and proving it are two different things entirely. We here at Tom's Hardware certainly love overclocking, so we visited Intel's Jones Farm campus in Portland, Oregon, recently for an exclusive tour to see how the company designs and architects its chips for maximum overclockability. 

Intel's overclocking lab has silently steered the company's overclocking efforts for years and, understandably, the company has been hesitant to open it up to ...

It’s not outlandish to think AMD will launch a 48-core Threadripper 3980X CPU

A 48-core Threadripper processor would slot in nicely between AMD's 32-core and upcoming 64-core options.

When it comes to PC hardware, the period between Christmas and New Year's Day has historically been the quiet before the storm that is known as CES, the annual tech event that sees a blizzard of announcements. Will new a new Threadripper 3980X processor be among them? It very well could be, if a popular utility is any indication.

A 3980X has been the subject of rumors for at least a couple of months, though as of right now, AMD has not made any mention of it. However, My ...

The MacBook Pro 16 Needs to Be the Future of Apple Laptops

If you’ve bought an Apple laptop in the last few years and you try out the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, you will be furious. It’s so good. It works precisely as a laptop should—the issues that have plagued Apple’s laptops in recent years seem absent. Everything about the device seems to follow an age-old Apple edict the company forgot: It just works.

So while I’m delighted by the existence of the new MacBook Pro, I’ll admit there’s some frustration, too. It very much feels like Apple should have been making this device or something like it for the last decade. Instead, we’ve been saddle ...

AverMedia hints at an external 4K60 HDR capture device coming in 2020

The new device would up the ante over the Live Gamer Ultra by supporting 4K HDR recording at up to 60 fps.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas kicks off next month, and that means a whole bunch of product announcements are right around the corner. Presumably, one of them will be a new external capture device with support for recording 4K HDR streams at 60 frames per second.

AverMedia teased the pending announcement on Twitter. The company didn't specifically say that the unveiling will take place at CES, only that it's slated for 2020. However, we'd be surprise ...

LEXAR’S NM600 SSD, DEFINITELY FASTER THAN AN SD CARD

PITY ABOUT THOSE 4K RESULTS THOUGH

Lexar has moved into the NVMe SSD market with the release of their NM600 line, with 480GB and 240GB models. Inside you will find Micron 64-layer 3D TLC flash and Silicon Motion’s SM2263XT controller, fairly familiar to those keeping up with PCIe 3.0 SSDs. At $67 for the 480GB model and $40 for the 240GB you can afford to pick one up for someone you know that still hasn’t experienced what an NVMe drive can do.

Kitguru’s testing of this cacheless drive showed the expected performance in the vast majority of testing, apart from the 4K tests wh ...

Dear Samsung, please let me exclude screenshots from Google Photos backups

After years of using mostly stock-Android phones, I bought a Galaxy S10e for myself a few months ago, and I've used it almost every day since that point. While the software experience isn't perfect, Samsung does usually provide options to disable functionality I don't care for. However, there's one software quirk that can't easily be fixed: screenshots are constantly backed up to my Google Photos library.

I'm sure every Samsung phone owner is thinking "welcome to the club" right about now, but for those of you unaware of this absurd behavior, allow me to elaborate. By def ...

Chrome for Android tests new UI for tab groups, designed for Duet

Earlier this year, Google Chrome officially launched tab groups on Android, confirming the change from the classic tab switcher to the new grid-based design. Google’s next step for their mobile browser is to integrate Tab Groups into Chrome for Android’s recent “Duet” redesign.

As it stands today, Chrome for Android’s tab groups UI uses a bar along the bottom of the screen to allow you to quickly switch among your current group of tabs. At the same time, Chrome for Android’s “Duet” redesign moves the browser’s UI from the top of the screen to the bottom.

As both of these fea ...

This 144Hz MSI gaming monitor is on sale for $200 right now

Bigger isn't always better, though when it comes to gaming monitors, I'd argue that staring at a larger display is more enjoyable than looking at a smaller one, even if only at 1080p. If you agree, then check out MSI's 27-inch Optix MAG270VC. It's on sale at Best Buy for $199.99, which is $100 below its list price.

Sure, a 27-inch panel is a good fit for 1440p, but if you're not looking to spend a premium for a higher resolution and still want a larger monitor, this one fits the bill. It's the same size an resolution as the Pixio PXC273, which we consider one of the best gaming moni ...

Microsoft Confirms Windows 7 ESU Customers Will Still Get Security Updates

Microsoft plans to officially stop supporting Windows 7 on January 14. Kind of. People who've signed up for the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program will still receive, well, security updates even after the rest of the operating system is abandoned. But there was some confusion around that extended support, which is why Microsoft engineer Mike Cure recently offered some clarity in a recent AMA.

The Tech Report summarized this episode by explaining that an FAQ for ESU (which is a surprisingly catchy combination of initialisms) was responsible for the confusion. That FAQ article sa ...

Intel is coming for AMD if these leaked Comet Lake specs are any indication

Just a little while ago we were able to catch a glimpse of the Intel Core i3-10300, a hyperthreaded entry-level chip from the upcoming Intel Comet Lake-S lineup. But, now, thanks to a new leak, we may have seen the entire range of 10th-generation desktop processors. 

Some leaked slides from Intel appeared on Informatica Cero showing a broad lineup of desktop processors, from the 4-core, 16-thread Intel Core i3-10100 to the 10-core, 20-thread Intel Core i9-10900K. If these leaks are to be believed, we should see some much improved multi-core performance out of Intel in 2020.

...

ADATA XPG Product Portfolio Broadens to Monitors, Laptops, Gaming PCs

ADATA is currently known for its high-performance DRAM and solid-state storage options, and with this existing stance, The ADATA XPG product stack is set to include monitors, gaming PCs, and laptops as of 2020.

ADATA XPG - Xtreme Performance Gear Lineup Broadens

ADATA has announced plans to expand its Xtreme Performance Gear gaming products, specifically in the form of the Xenia for laptops, Gaia for gaming PCs, and Photon for monitors. As of this moment, ADATA is set to introduce more details on these upcoming products at CES 2020, though, in the meantime, some information ...

HP Omen 15 with GTX 1660 Ti, 144 Hz Now $999

The holiday season is winding down, but there are a number of great after-Christmas sales on laptops going on, including this one. Walmart has the HP Omen 15 with a GTX 1660 Ti GPU, 144 Hz display, Core i7-9750H CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for just $999.

With these specs, the Omen 15 should provide smooth gaming at demanding settings and 1080p resolution. The 144 Hz screen will allow you to have tear-free gaming even at extremely-high settings.

While we haven't reviewed the HP Omen 15, we've had great experiences with members of the HP Omen lineup. Our sister site, Lapt ...

ThinkPad P73 has a problem with the fan control – Lenovo is working on a solution

Lenovo's ThinkPad P73 is a classic mobile workstation, which does not use the slimmest chassis, but has a focus on good thermals and numerous ports instead. This is why we were surprised by the comparatively bad performance utilization of the Nvidia Quadro RTX 3000, especially under sustained workloads. The fans were very restrained at the same time; it appeared as if Lenovo favored a quiet operating noise.

Lenovo was also surprised by our results and contacted us. However, we were able to confirm our findings with an additional test sample of the ThinkPad P73, this time with the mo ...

WE COULD FINALLY SEE FLAGSHIP CHROMEBOOKS WITH POWERFUL AMD PROCESSORS AT CES

It has been a full 9 months since Gabriel unearthed the first signs of an AMD-powered Chromebook beginning development with the newer, more powerful Picasso chipset inside. That device was revealed to have the codename ‘Zork’ and all we knew about it at the time was the fact that it looked to be the first Chromebook packing a truly competitive APU from AMD inside.

Last year at CES, quite a few education-focused AMD-powered Chromebooks made their debuts. We had announcements from Acer and devices on-hand from HP, but these Chromebooks were 100% in either the super-affordable category ...

OnePlus 6 and 6T Android 10 update rolling out again as Oxygen OS 10.0.1

Reports have been trickling in for the last couple of hours that the stable Android 10 update for the OnePlus 6T has been rolling out — apparently without any fanfare or an associated announcement at the OnePlus forums, as is customary. In addition to bringing all the Android 10 features you can expect, the OxygenOS 10 update for the 6T also includes the company's Game Space feature and the "Contextual display" ambient display feature.

This timing corresponds to the best-case scenario for the company's initially projected roadmap, which claimed the OnePlus 6T and 6 would g ...

Apple's 2019: Macs to the max, but don’t mention Siri

How did Apple fare over the course of 2019? That’s what we’re aiming to discern in this piece, taking a look at the big launches for the company this year, and the positive advances, as well as the niggles and missteps, or even downright fails.

There was certainly a flurry of action at the close of 2019 in terms of new Mac products, as you probably noticed. But did these really hit the mark? In short, we think so, but read on for the much longer and more in-depth answer.

Note that we are primarily focusing on the computing side of Apple in this article – by which we mean Mac ...

DS4Windows 2.0 release makes pairing a DualShock 4 to your PC easier than ever

Most PC games that support controllers are designed to work with the XInput Windows API, which is perfect for Xbox controllers, but not so much for the Sony DualShock 4. The DS4Windows utility fixes this by emulating an Xbox controller when a DualShock is connected, and now the incredibly-useful program has received a major update.

DS4Windows 2.0 was released yesterday, and as you might guess from the major version change, this is a big update. The interface is improved, the macro editor has been overhauled, and the entire program promises to be "snappier."

Here's ...

Google Chrome affected by serious security flaw

Another serious security flaw has been found in the popular Google Chrome Internet browser.

Known as Magellan 2.0, it is actually a set of five vulnerabilities relating to how Chrome uses the SQLite function to work with data.

Discovered by researchers at the Tencent Blade Team, the Magellan 2.0 vulnerabilities come just after a year since the same team discovered a similar set of issues within the Chrome browser.

SQLite flaws

These vulnerabilities all relate to how data input is validated by Chrome's built in SQL database, specially the way its WebSQL API ch ...

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X review

The AMD Ryzen 9 3950X is the baddest cat in town when it comes to processors that don’t land in the HEDT (high-end desktop) category of processors. But, with the specs and performance it offers, it may break apart that classification system altogether.

The Ryzen 9 3950X is built on AMD’s 7nm Zen 2 architecture, and is the highest tier in the Ryzen 3000 series. That naturally makes it the most expensive, but it also shows just how well AMD is scaling performance to multiple cores and threads. And when it comes to the Ryzen 9 3950X, there are a whopping 16 cores and 32 threads.

< ...

Intel's First Discrete GPU, the DG1, Listed with 96 EUs

According to information that has appeared online, Intel’s first discrete graphics chip, referred to as DG1, will pack 96 execution units (EUs), as many as Tiger Lake’s integrated graphics. Although by working together with the CPU, DG1 might double Tiger Lake's graphics performance.

The information originated from the Eurasian Economic Union on Wednesday and was posted on Twitter. The register entry contains the development kit with in its name its number of execution units: ‘DG1 External FRD1 96EU Accessory Kit’.

DG1 is Intel’s first discrete graphics chip based on the Xe ...

The CAMERADACTYL Brancopan: A 35mm Panoramic Camera You Can Print at Home

My name is Ethan Moses, I make cameras at CAMERADACTYL. I 3D print film cameras and ship them all over the world. I want to share the newest camera I’ve made: the CAMERADACTYL Brancopan, a 35mm wide format camera that makes 20x 24x58mm frames in a 1:2.4 aspect ratio on standard 36 exposure 35mm film.

This article will cover camera specs and features, a bit of how it works and how to use it, some pictures I’ve taken with the camera, but it will also talk about the process of designing and prototyping the camera, as well as the business economics of running a small camera company, and ...

NOW EVEN YOUR BUSINESS CARD CAN RUN LINUX

It takes a lot of work to get a functional PCB business card that’s thin, cheap, and robust enough to be practical. If you can even blink a few LEDs on the thing and still hand them out with a straight face, you’ve done pretty well for yourself. So you can imagine our surprise when [George Hilliard] wrote in to tell us about his $3 business card computer that boots into a functioning Linux environment. If this were a bit closer to April, we might have figured it was just a joke…

Of course it helps that, as an embedded systems engineer, [George] literally does this kind of thing for ...

This fast Alienware gaming monitor with G-Sync is on sale for $340

Since your monitor is the portal to actually using your PC, it makes sense to invest in a good one. Of course, the best gaming monitor for your needs depends on how you use your PC, and if ultra-fast framerates is your thing, check out this deal on the Alienware 25 (AW2518H).

This isn't very big at 24.5 inches, and the resolution stands at just 1920x1080. However, that makes it easier on your hardware to utilize the rapid native 240Hz refresh rate it offers, making this a great choice for less demanding esports games (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive comes to mind). And as for the s ...

In The Lab: ASRock Radeon RX 5700 XT Taichi X 8G OC+ Graphics Card

Since AMD unveiled its products on the 7 nm process node, we've seen numerous CPU launches and announcements with the Ryzen 3000 series of processors. Not only processors but graphics cards too with AMD's launch of the RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT graphics cards back in July. Aimed at occupying the mid-range consumer graphics market, both the new Navi 10 graphics cards are based on its RDNA architecture which is completely re-worked from what we've seen from the company in previous releases such as the Polaris based 12 nm cards. As part of our ASRock X570 Aqua build, the company also sent us one ...

16-Inch MacBook Pro vs Razer Blade 15 Studio: Photo Editing Shootout

Last month, we reached out to Razer to see if they would lend us a Razer Blade 15 Studio Edition for testing. With the 16-inch MacBook Pro just announced and on its way in as well, it seemed like the perfect time to see which top-of-the-line laptop would take the photo editing crown.

Introduction

There was a time when all new “creatives” naturally drifted towards Mac. In 2007, I was… Maccurious, and so I tried switching from a Sony Vaio to that iconic white plastic MacBook.

I was hooked, and for years you couldn’t shake Apple off of my personal computing pedestal no ...

G.Skill announces a bevy of high-performance DDR4 RAM kits up to 256GB

G.Skill is closing out the year with dozens of new DDR4 memory kits designed for Intel's X299 and AMD's TRX40 Threadripper platforms, under its Trident Z Royal and Trident Z Neo product lines. Several of the kits are based on its new low latency 32GB modules, including a bunch of 256GB capacity kits at different speeds.

This raises the question, does RAM speed and capacity matter for gaming? And the answer is yes, up to a certain point. Generally speaking, there is a definite improvement in upgrading from 8GB to 16GB of RAM, though the jump to 32GB and beyond is less substantive. A ...

GIGABYTE Unveils MU71-SU0 and MD71-HB0 Xeon Motherboards For Professionals

Outside of the plethora of AMD-related announcements of late, GIGABYTE has announced a pair of Intel motherboards for its workstation and server board users. The GIGABYTE MU71-SU0 is designed for Intel's Xeon W-3200 processor family and is based on the C621 single-socket chipset. The other model is the GIGABYTE MD71-HB0, which is dual-socket on the C622 chipset and supports Intel's Xeon Scalable processor product stack.

MU71-SU0

Starting with the GIGABYTE MU71-SU0, the single-socket Intel C621 model has plenty of workstation features designed for use with Intel's Xeon W-3200 ...

G.Skill's New DDR4 Kits With 32GB Modules Have Very Low Latency

G.Skill today announced some new 32GB RAM kits with capacities ranging from 64GB in dual-module kits to 256GB in kits with eight DIMMs. The best part about these modules is that they feature very low timings for their capacities, meaning they should offer both high-capacity and snappy memory at once when they arrive in Q1 2020. 

The kits are outed in a handful of lineups, the Trident Z RGB, Trident Z Royal, as well as the Trident Z Neo lines, so there will be plenty of options. 

The 32GB modules will run at 3,200 MHz DDR4 speeds with CL14 timings. More pacifically, the CL ti ...

What Is a Favored Core? Intel CPUs With Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Explained

Like we’ve proven with AMD processors, not all CPU cores are created equally, and that applies to Intel’s silicon, too. The silicon wafer fabrication process lends to discrepancies between each core’s voltage, power and thermal characteristics that lead to better performance. These faster cores are identified to the operation system as a favored core.

The term favored core first came with the arrival of Intel’s Broadwell-E line of HEDT (high-end desktop) CPUs in 2016. 

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0

Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 is a feature used by some ...

OnePlus launches bug bounty program

After falling victim to a data breach back in November, OnePlus promised it would launch a bug bounty program by the end of the year in order to further secure its phones.

Now the Chinese smartphone maker has launched its bug bounty program to help prevent future breaches but at this time, only select security researchers will be invited to to look for vulnerabilities in its systems.

OnePlus will also be highlighting the work of the program's top contributors by updating a leaderboard which will feature the top three contributors on the main page of its bug bounty program....

This is the best value large capacity SSD you can buy right now

SSD drives have fallen in price in the past few years as a slew of products from the big guns (Samsung, Intel, Micron) have pushed the price of the SSD terabyte to less than $90.

However, there’s one small player which is defying that trend. US-based vendor Patriot has dropped the price of its Burst internal SSD to $74.99 after a $5 rebate card at Newegg. 

The offer will last till Christmas and includes free delivery - and although you will need to print and fill the rebate form, we believe the hassle is definitely worth the saving.

Patriot Memory is not a household ...

‘KRANE’ CONFIRMED AS A PURE CHROME OS TABLET COMING SOON BY LENOVO

‘Krane’ is a Chrome OS device in development that we’ve not talked about too often. As a matter of fact, we mentioned it upon its arrival in our consciousness in April of this year and once again as Gabriel found it would be only the second Chrome OS device to make the questionable decision of ditching the headphone jack. Other than those two posts, we’ve not really tracked anything unique about this device, but we have a few more clues to add to the pile that tell us a bit more about this upcoming tablet-only device.

First up, let’s get the clues from the Chromium Repositories out ...

No Motorola Razr comeback orders in 2019: Costly foldy nostalgia mobe pulled back

We've got some bad news for the deeper-pocketed nostalgia-tinged tech fans out there: Motorola is pushing back the launch of its foldable reboot of the Motorola Razr.

Preorders of the revived flip-phone were expected to open on December 26, with the first units trickling out on January 9, but those dates have been ditched in favour of an unspecified time next year.

In a statement issued by parent company Lenovo, Motorola said it was delaying the launch to "better meet consumer demand."

"Demand has been high, and as a result, has quickly outgrown supply ...

Windows 7 dies Jan. 14. Here's what you need to do

If you're still using Windows 7, it's time to move on. The venerable and much-loved 2009 version of Windows gets its last security update on Jan. 14, 2020 (unless your company pays for extended support) and the free Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus program will (probably) no longer be supported either.

As we get further into 2020, Windows 7 machines will be more likely to become infected by malware, and any deep-rooted flaws in the operating system that arise almost certainly won't be fixed. 

That's not good for the roughly 28% of Windows users who still use Windows ...

This Casio Smartwatch Perfectly Illustrates the Struggles of Wear OS

The history of Wear OS watches is long, and mostly disappointing. Over the years, Qualcomm’s less-than-snappy Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip bore a decent chunk of the blame. The arrival of the 3100 was supposed to offset that, and it’s better sure—but not by a degree that offsets years of stunted development. Knowing all this, I wasn’t expecting much when mulling around a showcase of Casio watches a few weeks back. Until a proud spokesperson showed me the Pro Trek WSD-F21HRRD and said Casio designed its own processor for Wear OS.

It’s not unheard of for a company to design its own silic ...

RAZER BASILISK X HYPERSPEED REVIEW

The Basilisk X Hyperspeed is Razer's latest stab at the affordable wireless mouse market. Its big selling point is that it boasts the same wireless tech found in the Viper Ultimate and the Basilisk Ultimate—but while those mice cost $150-plus, the Basilisk X Hyperspeed is just $60.

Razer claims the technology is 25 percent faster than any other wireless tech. In practice, as I said in my Viper Ultimate Review, that translates to ultra-speedy performance and near-zero latency. No matter what I threw at the Basilisk X Hyperspeed, from shooters to strategy sims, it felt lightning quick ...

OWC launches Accelsior PCIe SSD for Mac Pro, up to 8TB with speeds up to 6000MB/s

Just as Apple announced the 8TB SSD option for the Mac Pro, OWC has launched a PCIe SSD with storage up to 8TB capacities and speeds hitting up to a blazing 6000MB/s. The OWC Accelsior 4M2 SSD is slot powered and starts at $480 for the 1TB model.

OWC announced the launch of its new PCIe SSD in a press release today:

the all-new Accelsior 4M2 ultra high-performance PCIe M.2 NVMe internal SSD that delivers over 6,000MB/s real-world speeds in capacities up to 8TB. The Accelsior 4M2 is the fastest SSD ever built by OWC and is the perfect storage solution for large format video e ...

This Apple Watch charger plugs directly into a USB-C port so you can carry fewer cords

If you’ve been looking for an Apple Watch charger that isn’t yet another long cable that can get tangled up in your bag, Satechi’s new USB-C Apple Watch charging dock might be the charger you’ve been looking for.

The dock looks to be pretty straightforward — it’s just a magnetic Apple Watch dock that can plug into a USB-C port. You can also plug the dock into an included USB-C male to USB-C female cord and plug that cord into a USB-C port, if you need a little extra space between the dock and a USB-C port.

I actually think this could be kind of handy if you want to top up yo ...

This pint-sized Radeon RX 5700 would be a perfect fit for a small form factor PC

PowerColor is apparently selling a mini-ITX version of AMD's Radeon RX 5700 in Japan, and I really hope the company decides to make it more widely available. If so, this could end up being the best graphics card for small form factor (SFF) builds.

I say this because the full-size 5700 is already one of the top GPU options in terms of frames per dollar—the bang-for-buck factor is high, and compares favorably even to Nvidia's Super counter-punch to Navi. Given that the mini-ITX landscape is somewhat of an afterthought for higher end GPUs, I think PowerColor's pint-sized card could sel ...

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3970X vs Intel Core i9-10980XE: High End Flagships Fight

If you just so happen to be in the market for some serious firepower, both AMD and Intel have new high-powered HEDT (high-end desktop) processors designed for the heaviest workloads. Intel recently launched its Cascade Lake-X family, spanning from ten to 18 cores, while AMD unleashed the third-generation Ryzen Threadripper chips with models that come with either 24 or 32 cores.

The 32-core 64-thread Ryzen Threadripper 3970X is the current flagship for AMD's Ryzen Threadripper lineup, although that will change soon when the chipmaker rolls out the 64-core Ryzen Threadripper 3990X nex ...

ASRock's X299 Taichi CLX Mothboard Now Supports RDIMMs up to 256GB

ASRock has released a new firmware (Version 1.4) for its X299 Taichi CLX motherboard that brings support for RDIMMs (registered DIMMs). Standard DIMMs currently max out at 32GB per stick. RDIMMs, on the other hand, hold up to 256GB on a single module. However, there are two caveats.

For starters, RDIMM support is solely coming to the Intel Skylake-X family of processors. For reasons unknown, ASRock couldn't get the modules to work with Intel's Skylake-X Refresh or Cascade Lake-X chips. Secondly, although the X299 Taichi CLX will boot with RDIMMs, they will only operate if it's not i ...

Adata announces stylish XPG Hunter DDR4 memory for desktops and laptops

The new XPG Hunter DDR4 modules come in both conventional DIMM and SO-DIMM form factors.

Adata is expanding its memory line with a new XPG Hunter DDR4 series, available for both desktop PCs (conventional DIMMs) and laptops (SO-DIMMs). The latter form factor also applies to some mini-PCs. The best DDR4 memory kits combine higher speeds with tighter timings, and maybe some RGB bling as a bonus.

"The XPG Hunter modules are made with high-quality chips selected through a strict filtering process. They are equipped with the finest PCBs and pass rigid reliability and compatib ...

Intel DG1 GPU Will Be 23% More Powerful Than Tiger Lake, Struggling To Meet 25W TDP

According to chatter on the grapevine, Intel's first-ever DG1 GPU will be just 23% more powerful than Tiger Lake graphics and is currently struggling to meet its TDP envelope of 25W. Oh and notice the rumor tag and its implications, or forever hold thy silence. Intel's Xe GPUs have captured the imaginations of tech enthusiasts everywhere and practically all of us cant wait for the duopoly to become a triopoly. But if this rumor is true, (and this is the second time we are hearing something along these lines) there might be more than a few hiccups before that dream can become a reality.

...

AMD's FEMFX Deformable Physics Library Lands: Benefits From Lots of CPU Cores

PhysX has been Nvidia's party trick for well over a decade, but it seems that after all these years AMD wants to play catch up on that front too. The red team's latest announcement is that its new FEMFX library is finally available, which offers deformable physics effects through the GPUOpen set of AMD-built libraries for developers.

The name FEMFX stems from FEM, which stands for Finite Element Method. AMD describes this as "Solid objects are represented as a mesh of tetrahedral elements, and each element has material parameters that control stiffness, how volume changes with ...

The ADATA XPG SX6000 Pro 1TB SSD Review: Realtek's Entry-level NVMe Solution

Continuing our dive into newcomer Realtek's SSD controller lineup thanks to several ADATA products, we turn to the ADATA XPG SX6000 Pro, an entry-level NVMe SSD.

As mentioned in our previous SSD review, Realtek is a well-known PC components supplier that is relatively new to the SSD controller business. ADATA has provided Realtek with their most significant SSD design wins, starting with the original SX6000 that used Realtek's very first SSD controller, the RTS5760. The SX6000 Pro targets the same entry-level NVMe market segment, but switches to the second-generation RTS5763DL contr ...

CHROME OS 79 FIXES THE ONLY REAL ISSUE I HAD WITH THE PIXELBOOK GO

We’ve not been shy about reporting on the Pixelbook Go’s appeal since it was released a little over a month ago. I have zero issues telling anyone I talk to that it is the best Chromebook experience on the market right now even if the asking price is a tad bit high in some people’s opinions. I have no problem proclaiming that it is my favorite Chromebook ever made and that until some of the upcoming ‘Hatch’ Chromebooks hit the market, I’m not even considering buying anything other than it for my daily workflow.

But we’ve also been pretty blunt about the one big flaw the Pixelbook Go ...

Microsoft Drops 'Series X' From the Next-Gen Xbox's Name

Microsoft finally revealed its next-generation console at the 2019 Game Awards on December 12. The device was revealed as the Xbox Series X, but yesterday, Business Insider reported that Microsoft actually plans to call its next-gen console "Xbox."

So does that mean there won't be a device called the Xbox Series X? No. It turns out that there will be a specific version of the upcoming Xbox called "Xbox Series X." 

"The name we're carrying forward to the next generation is simply Xbox," a Microsoft rep told Business Insider. "And at The Game ...

CHUWI UBOOK PRO FIRST OFFICIAL UNBOXING REVEALED

Recently, CHUWI has launched UBook Pro Intel N4100 processor version. Not only Intel N4100 processor performs well in daily usage, but also regulates power consumption intelligently. With great performance and decent price, UBook Pro can be more cost-effective.

CHUWI has released the unboxing video on Youtube, which showed the detailed hardware information and actual experience of UBook Pro Intel N4100 version. As you can see in the video, the unboxing suit include UBook Pro, power adapter, keyboard and stylus.

UBook Pro has a 9 mm full-metal body, equipped with 12.3 inch 3: ...

Chrome OS 79 rolling out: New tablet Overview mode, media lockscreen controls

After rolling out to Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux, version 79 of Chrome OS is now available. Notable features in Chrome OS 79 include a reworked Overview mode for tablet devices and lockscreen media controls.

Virtual Desks widely rolled out with last month’s release. Chrome OS 79 continues iterating on them by having links you click always open in the current workspace.

Dedicated Chrome OS tablets are still relatively rare, but all 2-in-1s have the same tablet mode. An updated Overview mode for slates, convertibles, and detachables lets you scroll vertically through open ...

Apple iOS 13.3’s Epic New Security Feature: An Essential Guide

Apple iOS 13 comes with a number of cool security and privacy features, including the ability to better control apps such as Google and Facebook. But iOS 13.3 has upped the stakes even further by adding the ability to use security keys such as Yubico’s YubiKey in Apple’s Safari browser.

When iOS 13.3 dropped last week, I wrote about the basic considerations that need to be taken into account when using security keys. The best option for now is the YubiKey, which is the first featuring USB-C and lightning connectors on a single key. Also worth noting is that YubiKey maker Yubico now ...

This New HP Laptop Is a Pretty (and Potent) Little Package

The previous iteration of HP’s premium convertibles did nearly everything right. They had an eye-catching design, a wide range of components, solid build, you name it. But sadly, those highlights were often drowned out by a clunky touchpad experience that left people feeling frustrated. But now, HP has returned to fix the Spectre’s lingering issues and then some, and the result is simply one of the best all-around 13-inch laptops you can get right now.

On the outside, aside from a new Poseidon blue paint job (along with the existing black and silver model seen here), the new Spectre ...

This GTX 1660 Ti-powered gaming laptop deal is under $1,000

This build of the G7 15 gaming laptop has a 9th Gen i7-9750H, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD/256GB SSD storage, and a GTX 1660 Ti graphics card. Throw in a reasonably bright IPS (around 300-nits) display, and you have a pretty powerful entry-level system. You'd be able to play most games at a generous frame rate at 1080p, with some concessions in the settings for demanding games. You won't be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 on ultra settings, but you could probably play this Cyberpunk-inspired map in Minecraft.

I always prefer it when my gaming laptops don't look like gaming laptops. If you're the s ...

GALAXY S11 CAMERA WILL HAVE FEATURES NEVER SEEN BEFORE

The Samsung Galaxy S11 series are phones that we are looking forward to thanks to the different leaks we have seen about them. We have already learned that the distribution of cameras on the Galaxy S11+ will not be as messy as we saw in its first renderings, but there is still more information about it. Samsung’s next flagships are changing the key sections that users look for in the latest phones. This year, the camera will undergo a breakthrough.

Among other things, we know that these phones will have a 120 Hz refresh rate display. Which will allow you to enjoy a much more fluid u ...

SAMSUNG 144MP SENSOR BUILT ON 14NM PROCESS COMING

Smartphone cameras have exponentially increased in size within a year. The 48MP camera smartphones crowded the first part of 2019. Soon after, we saw phones with 64MP cameras which were eventually followed by smartphones like the brilliant concept Mi MIX Alpha and the commercially available Mi Note 10 with 108MP cameras. And now, according to one of the popular leakers, Ice Universe, Samsung is rumoured to introduce a 144MP camera manufactured using 14nm FinFET process. 

In case you are aware of, though Sony jump-started the megapixels game with a 48MP sensor, it was Samsung who out ...

‘KODAMA’ COULD BE LENOVO’S NEW CHROME OS TABLET

Just a few weeks back, a post went up on Reddit from a Lenovo employee asking for testers to partake in an early trial of an upcoming Chrome OS tablet from the company. We’d seen this type of thing before with the Lenovo Smart Clock and that testing request showed up just weeks before the Smart clock was officially announced. Though there was a bit of back-and-forth around this new tablet post on Reddit, it ended up coming out that the whole thing was legit and truly from Lenovo.

We can only assume some folks have since been contacted by Lenovo about the test device, but we have no ...

EMUI 10 Beta arrives Huawei Mate 10, P20, and Honor 8X

On the Club Huawei forums, the company confirmed the latest batch of devices to receive the EMUI 10 Beta. The list includes several Huawei smartphones intended for the Chines market. Currently, the Public Beta is only announced for Chinese variants of the following device.

Even with Huawei blacklisted from doing business with the US, it has still managed to keep up sales globally and pushed the latest Android 10-based EMUI update to much of its portfolio.

Huawei has already updated most of its other flagships to EMUI 10 including the Mate 20 series, the Honor 9X, the P30 ser ...

HP Spectre x360 13 (late 2019) review: yeah, this tracks

T here’sThere’s really just one thing you need to know about the latest Spectre x360 13 from HP: the trackpad doesn’t suck. For years, HP has built excellent laptops under the Spectre branding that have all been let down by terrible trackpads. The company insisted on sticking with poor performing Synaptics drivers, even while the rest of the Windows laptop industry (including HP’s own business laptops) switched to the far superior Precision drivers provided by Microsoft.

But HP has seen the error of its ways (or it got tired of reading reviews bemoaning its trackpads), and the new S ...

First proof that the Samsung Galaxy S11 will be faster than the iPhone 11 Pro

The forthcoming Samsung Galaxy S11 is going to be more powerful than the Apple's iPhone 11 Pro, at least according to our benchmarks of the Snapdragon 865 chipset.

Qualcomm, the chipmaker behind the Snapdragon 865, gave TechRadar the chance to test out an 865-loaded reference device, and with that, we ran all of the usual benchmarking applications: Geekbench, GFxBench and AnTutu to name a few.

What's important are these two things:

The Samsung Galaxy S11 is likely to be powered by the Snapdragon 865 chipset in some countries where Samsung doesn't use its own Exynos c ...

Microsoft gets ready to roll out the new Edge to Windows 10 via Windows Update

Beginning January 15, 2020, Microsoft will be delivering its new Chromium-based Edge browser automatically to Windows 10 users via Windows Update, unless its Edge Blocker Toolkit is applied.

Microsoft officials have said the new Chromium-based Edge browser will be generally available starting January 15, 2020. They also said in early November that the new Edge will be bundled with Windows 10 right after the general availability date, though this will happen in a staggered/staged manner. This week, the Redmondians are providing links to more details about the coming Edge rollout for ...

Lenovo Yoga C940 15 review: The rare workhorse convertible

When Lenovo announced its new Yoga C940 at IFA this year, it was a sure winner. It takes the best of last year's Yoga C930 and combines it with the best of this year's S940 clamshell.

It keeps those features that I really loved last year, like the rotating Dolby Atmos soundbar in the hinge, and the built-in pen. And it shares the design language of the IdeaPad S940, packing the reverse notch, which doesn't really serve a purpose anymore other than to provide an easier way of lifting the lid.

This is also the first 15-inch convertible to come out of the Yoga 900 series, and i ...

HUAWEI VR GLASS LIGHT & FOLDABLE VR HEADSET HITTING THE MARKET ON DECEMBER 19TH

On October 23rd, Huawei officially launched the HUAWEI VR Glass which – as the name suggests – is a pair of VR glasses. The product was announced with a price tag of 2999 Yuan, around $430 at the current exchange rates. Today, we learn that the headset is finally hitting the market on Thursday, December 19th; while also acquiring further details.

So, let’s start with a very important factor when talking about virtual reality glasses: the weight. Huawei‘s VR Glass come weighing just 166 grams, for a thickness of the lens system of about 26.6mm. According to the company, this is a hug ...

Dell XPS 13 with Core i7, 16GB Now $1049, $1143 with 512GB SSD

Dell's XPS 13 is widely-regarded as the pinnacle of ultrabook excellence. This 13-inch notebook weighs just 2.7 pounds and lasts over 12 hours on a charge when you have its default, 1080p non-touch screen. It also has a slew of attractive features such as a nearly-bezel free display and a luxurious soft-touch deck (on the silver / gold models).

While the XPS 13 typically starts at less than $900 for a stripped-down model with a Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM and a paltry 128GB SSD, you usually have to pay a lot more than $1,200 to get it with a decent processor, RAM and storage. However, r ...

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X Overtakes Higher-Clocked Core i9-7920X for wPrime World Record

As spotted by Shaun Fosmark, Australian overclocker jordan.hyde99 has set a new world record in wPrime 1024M with AMD's Ryzen 9 3900X processor. What's fascinating is the fact that the AMD processor was running a much slower clock speed than the previous record holder, the Intel Core i9-7920X.

The Ryzen 9 3900X and Core i9-7920X are both equipped with 12 cores and 24 threads, so both chips are on even ground in terms of core counts. The first is based on AMD's Zen 2 microarchitecture and rocks a 3.8 GHz base clock and 4.6 GHz boost clock, while the latter utilizes Intel's Skylake mi ...

Leaked Intel Six Core CPU Reveals a New Architecture Coming Soon

A leaked Intel CPU has been discovered on the SiSoft database. This CPU has six cores, Hyper-Threading, and was used in a server or workstation configuration with another identical six-core for a total of 12 cores and 24 threads. What's interesting, however, is that the amount of L2 cache per core has been increased from just 256 KB on Coffee Lake CPUs, like the Core i9-9900K, to 1.25 MB. This is even more cache per core than offered by the Core i9-10980XE (1 MB) and Ice Lake mobile CPUs (512 KB).

The amount of L2 cache per core is important to note because it has a big architectura ...

NZXT's H700 mid-tower PC case is on sale for $80, its lowest price ever

NZXT is having a fire sale of sorts, with discounts on a whole bunch of stuff. One that stands out is its H700 mid-tower chassis. This is similar in design to the H710i, one of the best PC cases around, except you're trading built-in smart functionality for a lower price tag.

In this case, we're talking about an even $80. That's $49.99 below its most recent list price. Though it could sometimes be found for below its MSRP earlier this year, we've never seen this case dip below the $100 mark. So, you're saving a decent chunk of change on this one.

You may recall that we compa ...

PC gamers: Rate and review the RTX 2060 Super or 2070 Super

Affordable, fast and with excellent dual-fan cooling, NVIDIA's two new ray-tracing cards (the RTX 2060 Super and the 2070 Super) took the place of the company's excellent Ti lineup. NVIDIA's release of the GPUs was, according to senior editor Devindra Hardawar, "clearly a response to AMDs new midrange" cards. Dev managed to get impressive frame rates and gaming performance out of each, awarding the 2060 Super a score of 87 and the 2070 an 86.

Last week, we asked users who had chosen from AMD's GPU lineup to share their experiences with the cards. This week we want to hear ...

This iPhone App Transforms Your Smartphone Into an iPod Classic

Rewound is a music player app that uses skins and haptic feedback to recreate the feeling of using an iPod Classic.

The catch is that the app doesn't offer up the skin - something that would immediately get it flagged given that Apple doesn't allow the use of images of its products or UI by people that aren't Apple. It's up to you to download the skin, and you can use any image you like, so it's a just a matter of doing it after the fact.

“You can program physical appearance of a device," developer Louis Anslow told The Verge. “It could become anything.” Currently, that ...

Kodama appears to be a 10.1-inch Lenovo Chrome OS tablet, coming soon

Over the summer, details of a MediaTek-powered Chrome OS tablet codenamed Kodama appeared, and there’s strong evidence to suggest that this new tablet will be brought to market by Lenovo. Back in August, Chrome Unboxed found the first code commits for Kodama, noting it could be the first ARM-powered detachable Chrome OS tablet. Keep in mind the image above is an old Lenovo 10.1-inch Windows tablet, not the actual Kodama device.

Based on a number of code commits and some other circumstances, I believe that the August report is correct. And I’ve found some additional information.

...

Western Digital: Expect More Energy-Assisted Tech For 24 TB & Beyond

Western Digital has been promoting its microwave assisted magnetic recording (MAMR) technology for over a couple of years now, yet surprisingly, its upcoming 18 TB and 20 TB drives are not really using the tech. The reason for this lies in the company's decision to use what they consider to be the right technology at the right time. To that end, Western Digital not only plans to use MAMR in the future, but is open to use heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology when time comes.

Energy assisted magnetic recording (EAMR) technologies will enable future nearline hard drives w ...

CalDigit's USB-C Pro Dock Adds Ports to Your Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C Mac, or Even an iPad Pro

Over the past few years, Thunderbolt 3 docks have become nearly ubiquitous, with a variety of different docks offering varying sets of ports in a few different body styles. Similar docks, albeit with more limited capabilities, exist for connecting over USB-C to machines that lack the more powerful Thunderbolt 3 standard, even in some cases including the iPad Pro.

Since the introduction of Thunderbolt 3 docks, users have typically had to choose either a Thunderbolt 3 or a USB-C dock to provide additional connectivity for their devices. Thunderbolt 3 docks offer more capabilities, but ...

Sigma fp review

The Sigma fp is a camera that defies labels. It is so small that you can actually carry it around in a trouser pocket. Admittedly, that's without a lens fitted... but it does give you a fair idea of just how compact this camera is. But despite looking like a chunky compact camera, the Sigma fp is in fact a full-frame interchangeable lens camera that is designed for both serious stills shooting and 4K cine shooting alike.

This is Sigma's first full-frame digital camera, but already this 24.6 megapixel mirrorless camera has its own family of lenses and accessories, thanks to Sigma's p ...

Overclocker Gets 1TB of RAM Running on X299 Motherboard Limited to 256GB

ASRock announced this week that renown overclocker Nick Shih has filled ASRock's X299 Taichi CLX workstation-grade motherboard with 1TB of memory when the motherboard only officially supports up to 256GB.

To achieve this feat, Shih paired an Intel Core i9-7900X with eight SK Hynix 128GB LRDIMM (load-reduced DIMM) modules. This is quite fascinating, considering we were told that the X299 chipset doesn't support EEC (error-correcting code) memory, much less LRDIMMs. It's unknown what kind of magic Shih had to use to get the aforementioned memory to work on the ASRock X299 Taichi CLX.< ...

AOC Preps Two Gaming-Ready Ultrawide 1440p Monitors

AOC is coming with not one but two new ultrawide gaming monitors: the CU34G2 and the CU34G2X, which are almost identical, with just a couple subtle but very relevant differences, as spotted by ComputerBase this week.

They both share identical chassis and similar panels, offering 34-inches with a 3440 x 1440 resolution. The panels are 8-bit VA units with WLED backlighting and a 3,000:1 static contrast ratio. 

The design is clearly oriented at gamers with a sleek housing, elegant stand and red accents. Plus, both support AMD FreeSync.

That’s where the similarities end ...

New PCMark 10 Storage Tests Debut

Long-awaited by storage enthusiasts like myself, today UL Benchmarks released an update to the company’s PCMark 10 dedicated storage benchmarking tools.

The new benchmarks enable provides the tools to test and compare drive performance. Unlike previous versions of PCMark’s Storage Benchmark, it aims to be the modern benchmark for modern drives. PCMark 10’s storage benchmarks are designed to be used with both the slowest and fastest storage devices, including Intel’s Optane SSDs.

Real World Relevance

Unlike synthetic benchmarks, PCMark 10’s aims to relate manufacturer ...

New "Resume on Reboot" feature will make OTA updates faster

If a recent sighting on Android Gerrit is to be believed, the process of installing updates on Android devices could be receiving a significant speed boost. The listing discusses a new feature called “Resume on Reboot” which would allow certain phones to complete the update process without requiring a manual unlock.

Currently, an OTA update does not finish without forcing the user to unlock their phone. This step occurs once the device has been rebooted — after the reboot, many apps still need to update to work properly with the new software. This means that even if you leave your ...

FIRMWARE FOR THE CHUWI HIPEN H6 GOT UPDATED

Tablets and 2-in-1 convertibles from the CHUWI brand are quite often equipped with the stylus support, so the company is also famous for making quality stylus pens. The latest one in their portfolio is the CHUWI HiPen H6, which is compatible not just with their new UBook Pro, but also with Microsoft Surface models and more. All that of course with a pretty customer-friendly price point, unlike some of the comparable models from the competition.

CHUWI HiPen H6 can offer quite a delicate drawing experience with 4096 pressure levels so even professionals will not be limited by it. It a ...

How to use Google Keep Notes with Google Assistant

It’s felt like we’ve waited for years, but Google Assistant users can finally make notes using Google Keep from their phones, a speaker, or other devices. However, the functionality isn’t enabled by default. Here’s how to connect Google Keep Notes to Google Assistant.

How to connect Google Assistant to Keep Notes

Open Assistant settings

Find “Notes & Lists”

Set Google Keep as your default notes service

Note: This integration started rolling out on December 6th and may take time to hit all devices.

Open Google Assistant settings

Fir ...

HP Spectre x360 13 (2019 5th-Generation) First Impressions

HP’s newest Spectre x360 13 brings forward its predecessor’s iconic design but in a much smaller package. As important, it appears that HP has fixed a major issue I experienced with the previous generation Spectre x360 13.

Before getting to that, let’s take a look at the most startling change: This 5th-generation Spectre x360 is 13 percent smaller than its predecessor. That doesn’t sound like much, but when you place the new unit on top of the old, you’ll find that the older 4th-generation Spectre x360 13 is almost one inch deeper than the new unit.

Obviously, something had ...

Chrome 79 for Mac, Windows rolling out: Tab freezing, phishing protections, more

Google is rolling out the latest version of Chrome for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Chrome 79 readies tab freezing to make the browser less resource-intensive, and a slew of security features related to phishing protections.

A new “tab freezing” feature introduced with Chrome 79 works to save memory, CPU, and battery resources on desktops. Tabs that have been in the background for over 5 minutes will be frozen and not able to perform tasks. There is an exception for playing audio and video, as well as recording, while site developers can experimentally opt-out.

This release also ...

Fujifilm X100V could launch in February 2020 with a surprising price tag

Fujifilm’s X100 series of premium compact cameras have become cult classics among street photographers, but there hasn’t been a new model in the range since early 2017. Well, the long wait for a successor to the X100F could soon be over if recent leaks are to be believed, with the Fujifilm X100V rumored to be launching in early 2020.

The usually reliable Fuji Rumors claims to have been told by sources that the Fujifilm X100V, the fifth model in the series, will arrive in February 2020. The site also claims that the price will be around US$1,500; there are no leaked prices for the UK ...

Canonical co-sponsors Windows Subsystem for Linux conference

There may never be a "Year of the Linux desktop" per se, but Linux on Windows, via the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), is certainly gaining popularity. Canonical, Ubuntu Linux's parent company, has just announced it will help sponsor WSLConf, the first WSL-specific conference.

Hayden Barnes, the founder of Whitewater Foundry, a startup focusing on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and sponsor of Pengwin, Whitewater's Linux for Windows, started the conference. WSLconf will be held from March 10 to March 11, 2020, at Building 20 on the Microsoft HQ campus in Redmond, Wash ...

Silicon Lottery Overclocks Most AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Samples to 4.1 GHz

Silicon Lottery's binning stats show 56% of its samples were able to of hit 4.1 GHz on all 16 cores.

According to statistics shared by binning company Silicon Lottery, the majority of AMD Ryzen 9 3950X CPUs it's tested have been able to hit a clock speed of 4.1 GHz. The vendor's data on the CPU was compiled by a user on Reddit. 

Silicon Lottery overclocks its samples to the same speed on all of their CPU cores. The company puts the overclocked chips through stringent tests to guarantee their stability. It's unknown how big of a sample size Silicon Lottery worked with, but th ...

HP Elite Dragonfly Review First Impressions

HP’s Elite Dragonfly is aimed at mobile trailblazers who don’t want to compromise on quality, portability, and performance. Put another way, it’s a beautiful and lightweight successor to the EliteBook 1030, one of the best portable computers I’ve ever used.

Oh, and it’s blue. Or what HP calls Iridescent Dragonfly Blue.

That will be the first thing you notice about this new 360-degree convertible laptop.

But once you get your hands on it, and pick it up, your mind will start to drift elsewhere because the Dragonfly, as I’ll now call it, is also the lightest and most p ...

The Motorola One Hyper brings a pop-up camera, all-screen design for $400

Motorola has what might be the best-looking mid-range smartphone with the "Motorola One Hyper," a $400 phone with flagship touches like an all-screen front design and a motorized, pop-up camera. It's like a mini OnePlus 7 Pro! You won't find any notches or other screen blemishes here.

For specs, you have a 6.5-inch 2340×1080 IPS LCD, a 2GHz Snapdragon 675, 4GB of memory, 128GB of storage, and a 4000mAh battery. The are two rear cameras: a 64MP main sensor and a 8MP wide angle lens, and a 32MP front camera. Both the main front and back cameras have a pretty high megapixel c ...

Intel Comet Lake-S 14nm Desktop 10 Core & 6 Core ES CPU Benchmarks Leak Out – Z490 Motherboards Spotted Too

As Intel preps up its 10th Generation Comet Lake-S desktop lineup, there have been several leaks including performance tests which were performed on engineering samples of the said lineup. The Intel Comet Lake-S desktop family is once again going to feature an enhanced 14nm process node that would deliver faster clocks but the biggest improvement of the lineup over 9th Gen would be the addition of multi-threading across all SKUs.

Intel Comet Lake-S 10 and 6 Core Desktop CPUs Tested, More Threads Equal Higher Multi-Threading Performance

Since our previous leak, there have bee ...

Cheap primes lenses – affordable fun lenses for DSLRs and mirrorless cameras

Is there any such thing as the best cheap lens? Surely lenses should be optically brilliant, which costs money? Well, not necessarily – on both counts. First, for many photographers, lenses are about getting the right 'look', regardless of technical quality. Second, there are quite a few cheap lenses that are actually rather good, mostly because they're basic but effective designs that don't cost a lot to make.

Most of us have already got standard and telephoto zooms that cover pretty much any eventuality, so any new lens has either got to offer up whole new shooting opportunities, ...

AOC’s Agon AG493UCX: A 49-Inch Ultrawide Curved Monitor w/ 120 Hz Refresh & VRR

In recent years, displays with an ultrawide aspect ratio have gained traction both among gamers and among prosumers. At first, monitors with a 21:9 aspect ratio were released by a handful of manufacturers, but more recently, most of leading brands launched even wider LCDs featuring a 32:9 or 32:10 ratios. TPV Technology – which makes displays under AOC and Philips brands – was among the first manufacturers with professional-grade 32:9 monitors, so now it's following-up with the gamer-focused AOC Agon AG493UCX.

The AOC Agon AG493UCX uses a 5120×1440 VA panel that features a 1800R cur ...

Following the wild, roaring success of its Snapdragon 8cx Arm laptop chip, Qualcomm's back with the 8c, 7c

Qualcomm will today expand its range of Snapdragon system-on-chips for always-connected Arm-based Windows 10 tablet-laptops from one to three.

Last December, it launched the 7nm 64-bit Arm-compatible Snapdragon 8cx, aimed at fanless lightweight slabtops that are always connected to the internet one way or another, via a built-in 4G/LTE modem or Wi-Fi, and have smartphone-like battery lives.

Despite all that fanfare, machines using the system-on-chip are rather thin on the ground. The $999 13.3" Samsung Galaxy Book S is one example of an 8cx laptop, though it's not actua ...

While we wait for MSI’s 240Hz portable gaming monitor, here’s a 60Hz version

MSI managed to earn a CES innovation award for a portable gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate, which we wrote about a few weeks ago. It's now available, but with a much lower refresh rate—it's listed at 60Hz instead of 240Hz. So, what's going on?

The Optix MAG161V now available is a precursor to faster versions that will debut sometime later. Even though the MAG161V's product page for the MAG161V prominently displays the same award badge as the MAG161 (no "V" at the end) that was touted in MSI's award announcement, it's a different monitor—I'm told MSI will release tw ...

Patriot wants to light up you PC with fast RGB SSDs up to 2TB

The new Viper VPR100 is a performance-oriented SSD, with a price tag to match.

I don't know exactly how many M.2 form factor NVMe SSDs have RGB lighting (it's not many), but Patriot's new Viper VPR100 is one of them. It's also fast, at least on paper, though not quite as speedy as the small handful of drives that leverage the PCI Express 4.0 bus.

Not that it matters much if you're looking for the best SSD for gaming. PCIe 4.0 drives come with some caveats—they need to be paired with an AMD X570 motherboard to take advantage of their full speed capabilities, and even then, yo ...

Dell Precision 5750 shows up on Geekbench, suggests 17-inch XPS may be coming soon

We've known since Dell's leaked XPS roadmap that a 17-inch model was slated for development, but recent Geekbench Browser benchmarks suggest that we just might see a new 17-inch Precision and as well as XPS members of the family sooner rather than later.

Japanese-language twitter account 188 tweeted two new Geekbench Benchmarks today for a device called "Precision 5750". The 15-inch Precision 5000-series uses the same chassis as the XPS 15, with the most recent Precision being the 5540. A model number of 5750 suggests the same style metal and carbon fiber (or perhaps even ...

Dell Precision 5750 shows up on Geekbench, suggests 17-inch XPS may be coming soon

We've known since Dell's leaked XPS roadmap that a 17-inch model was slated for development, but recent Geekbench Browser benchmarks suggest that we just might see a new 17-inch Precision and as well as XPS members of the family sooner rather than later.

Japanese-language twitter account 188号 tweeted two new Geekbench Benchmarks today for a device called "Precision 5750". The 15-inch Precision 5000-series uses the same chassis as the XPS 15, with the most recent Precision being the 5540. A model number of 5750 suggests the same style metal and carbon fiber (or perhaps even ...

Sony rolls out Android TV updates to some Bravia models w/ Pie, AirPlay 2, more

Sony is perhaps the biggest name currently using Google’s Android TV platform in consumer products, and this week it’s rolling out a big update. Several of Sony’s 2018 and 2019 Bravia TVs are getting updates with Pie, AirPlay 2, and more.

Android Pie has only rolled out with a handful of Android TV products so far including Shield TV, the JBL Link Bar, and a few other brands. Sony’s Android Pie update is being provided for select 2019 and 2018 models so far.

On a support page, Sony details that the 2019 XBR Z9G, A9G, X950G, and X850G series are all getting Android Pie. This ...

Your Google Chrome web browser just got one-upped by rival Mozilla Firefox

GOOGLE CHROME is being outflanked by Mozilla Firefox, which has announced a slew of new privacy-focused features that execute an idea floated by Google some seven months ago at its Google IO developer conference.

Mozilla has announced a new feature for its Firefox web browser designed to safeguard you from being tracked and watched as you move around the web. Dubbed fingerprinting, the technology allows companies to watch your habits to better surface advertisements that might appeal to your tastes.

Unlike cookies, which provide a similar function for companies, fingerprints ...

How to clone a hard drive

If you're upgrading to an SSD or need to replace an aging disk with a fresh one, here's how to clone the contents of the old hard drive to the new.

Cloning a hard drive is a surprisingly easy process, so long as you have the right software or hardware. Even if your new drive has a smaller capacity than the old one - a common scenario if you're replacing an older laptop or PC drive with a modern SSD - it's still possible to clone the data between the drives so long as there's less data on the old drive than the capacity of the new one.

There are two ways to clone a hard drive ...

Why I love extreme motherboards

There's nothing quite like HEDT motherboards, even if they're totally impractical.

Last month, AMD and Intel launched new high-end desktop (HEDT) processors, providing us a taste of the future. The chips are extremely fast in the right workloads—they're not the best CPUs for gaming, but the Threadripper 3970X is over three times as fast as Intel's Core i9-9900KS in 3D rendering, for example. But what I really love about HEDT builds is the attention to detail and the "everything plus the kitchen sink" approach to motherboards. Forget about price for a moment, these boards a ...

Asus went nuts overclocking this white-themed RTX 2080 Ti

The use of 'hand-selected chips' allowed Asus to give this card an aggressive overclock.

Asus is rolling out an ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti White Edition graphics card that is as fast as the model name is long. It sports a factory overclock, like many custom cards do, except we're not talking about a measly 15MHz, or even a 50MHz bump.

"We tune these hand-selected chips at the factory to run at up to 1,770MHz in the card’s OC Mode clock speed profile, up from a 1,545MHz boost frequency on standard RTX 2080 Tis and higher even than the 1,665MHz the normal ROG Strix car ...

Apple admits some new MacBook Pro laptops are suffering ‘random’ but very serious problems

Apple has admitted that some of its MacBook Pro models have been hit by a very annoying bug. The news is likely to dismay people who bought the expensive, but undoubtedly very desirable laptop. It affects the MacBook Pro models released this year which has a 13-inch screen and two Thunderbolt 3 ports and makes the computer ‘randomly’ switch itself off. Prices for this basic model start at just under £1,300. Apple wrote: ‘If your MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) keeps shutting down Learn what to do if your MacBook Pro randomly turns off even though the b ...

Chrome extension gives Google Tasks a full-screen UI

One of Google’s simpler services is Google Tasks, which offers traditional to-do lists that are synced across your devices with your Google Account. However, while Google Tasks has a convenient app for Android and iOS, the only way to access it from the web is from the sidebar of other Google apps like Gmail. A third-party developer has created an alternative way to access Google Tasks in full-screen on your laptop, desktop or Chromebook.

While there are undoubtedly more featureful to-do apps available, Google Tasks is used by many for its simplicity and integration with Gmail. Unfo ...

AMD may be spicing up the graphics card game with the Radeon RX 5500 XT

AMD may not keep us waiting much longer for the anticipated Radeon RX 5500, which the company unveiled back in October. The new graphics card, particularly the rumored Radeon RX 5500 XT could be coming next week, according to VideoCardz.

There's still little detail on the Radeon RX 5500 XT. We know the 5500-series graphics cards will have 22 compute units with 1408 stream processors, a bit more than half of those found on the RX 5700 XT. The new cards will use a 128-bit memory bus (half that of the 5700-series) and offer up to 8GB of GDDR6, according to an official slide from AMD, s ...

Qualcomm's larger in-screen fingerprint sensor could seriously improve security

Qualcomm took a different approach from the rest of the smartphone industry last year when it announced its 3D Sonic in-display fingerprint sensor. Instead of relying on an optical image of your finger for authentication, the 3D Sonic system uses ultrasound to get an impression of the surface texture of your prints. That method has a couple of benefits, namely the ability to use the scanner with wet fingers as well as better security over optical sensors. Today, the company is announcing the 3D Sonic Max fingerprint sensor that it says is the world's largest and is 17 times larger than its ...

Amazon may be preparing a 32-core ARM chip to rival Intel Xeon and AMD Epyc

Rumor has it that AWS (Amazon Web Services) is set to bring in more powerful second-gen processors for use in its servers and data centers, with the ARM-based CPUs apparently bristling with as many as 32-cores.

The next-gen chips will reportedly be based on ARM’s Neoverse N1 architecture and would succeed current AWS’ first-gen Graviton processors, being something like 20% faster, according to a report by Reuters which cites two industry sources.

As Anandtech, which spotted the report, further notes, Neoverse N1 is designed around providing maximum single-thread performance, ...

Android 10 gestures for other launchers, Pixel Themes come to older Google phones

The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL launched with a newer version of Android 10 that included features not found on the public release in September. Gesture navigation on third-party launchers and a handful of other features are now available for the Pixel 3a and older Google phones.

Late in the Android Q Beta, Google announced that its new gesture navigation system would not be compatible with third-party launchers until a post-launch update. The December security patch allows you to use gestures with a homescreen experience other than the Pixel Launcher.

This notably includes swipi ...

Huawei’s Latest Smartphones, Network Gear are “America-Free”

Here’s one thing the U.S. government might not have considered when it banned Huawei from doing business in the country: The Chinese networking and smartphone giant doesn’t necessarily need the U.S. to thrive. In fact, its latest smartphones and 5G networking equipment are now “America-free.”

According to an analysis by UBS and Fomalhaut Techno Solutions and cited first by The Wall Street Journal, the Huawei Mate 30 series of handsets are made entirely without any U.S. parts, a first. The expectation is that all 2020 Huawei smartphones will be made similarly.

And it’s not ju ...

Nikon D3500 + TWO lenses + Luminar 4 for only £397 in crazy Cyber Monday deal

There are plenty of deals on older camera models right now, but the D3500 is a current model in the Nikon line-up, and it has a winning combination of simple controls, novice-friendly interface and a low, low price – and to get a Nikon 70-300mm lens, 32GB memory card and a license to Skylum's Luminar 4 software is just something else!

We rate the Nikon D3500 as one of the best cameras for beginners right now, not to mention one of the best DSLRs all round. This would be a pretty good price even with the camera and the kit lens, but to get the 70-300mm lens too is just terrific. It's ...

iPad Pro and MacBook Pro could switch to mini LED displays in late 2020

Never mind Apple expanding the use of OLED in its devices -- it may go one step further with its future hardware. Well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (who has a reputation for largely accurate Apple predictions) believes that Apple will start using mini LED displays in its devices in late 2020, starting with updated versions of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (what, no love for the 11-inch model?) and the 16-inch MacBook Pro. There will eventually be four to six products in Apple's lineup using mini LED, Kuo claimed, but there will be a gradual transition.

In theory, mini LED offers many of the ...

HUGE DEALS ON A PURE LAPTOP WITH PURE POWER IN THE ASUS CHROMEBOOK C425

When ASUS took the wraps off two new Chromebooks late in 2019, I was a bit skeptical. In my review of both the ASUS Chromebook C425 and the Flip C433, I was honestly just baffled by their introduction into the ASUS Chromebook lineup. Sure, ASUS didn’t have a ton of devices in the portfolio, but the Flip C302 and Flip C434 were basically legendary Chromebooks and many users’ favorite devices. Why would you mess with that formula with a couple knock-off type Chromebooks at similar prices?

When both of these devices surfaced, they came with price tags that were way, way too close with ...

20 Chrome tips and tricks you should know about

Chrome is the most popular mobile browser, with over 60% market share as of August 2019. This comes as no surprise considering the lightweight browser offers great features, speed, and ease of use. Not to mention the fact that it comes pre-installed on most Android phones. But even if it didn’t, people usually go out of their way to use Google’s popular browser.

With this in mind, we wanted to bring some of the coolest Chrome for Android tips and tricks to your attention. While Google’s mobile browser is known for its simplicity, it has plenty of features (both official and experime ...

MSI Radeon RX 580 Armor Revision – Polaris 20 Lives On

AMD's Polaris 20 seems to have received a second wind with MSI preparing a new variant of the Radeon RX 580 Armor. This is most likely an attempt to clear out stock of remaining Polaris GPUs in favor of upcoming Navi GPUs.

MSI's Latest Radeon RX 580 Comes WIth Revised Cooler Design - Polaris Lives On in 2019

The new Radeon RX 580 Armor is a redesigned version of existing Polaris graphics cards by MSI such as the original MSI Radeon RX 580 Armor and MSI Radeon RX 580 Armor MK2. MSI has deviated from the initial white and black color scheme to an all-black fan shroud.

...

HONOR MAGICBOOK 15 GOES ON SALE STARTING AT 3099 YUAN ($440)

The latest Honor MagicBook 15 and the MagicBook 15 early adopter version (with Linux) are now officially on sale. The laptops will be available in China on the Huawei Mall, Honor Mall, Jingdong Mall and Tmall Mall.

The Honor MagicBook 15 series was officially released on November 26th. The laptops retain the typical all metal body design of the MagicBook line while upgrading the display to a larger 15.6-inch panel.

Honor also reduced the upper and side bezels, which meant the camera had to be hidden within the keyboard. Numbers wise, the MagicBook 15 sports an 87% screen-to- ...

SONY XPERIA COMPACT WITH SD665 & A 5.5-INCH DISPLAY COMING SOON

Japanese manufacturing giant, Sony, is currently struggling with its smartphone business. However, this is not stopping the company from releasing new devices. According to recent information, the company will release a new Xperia Compact (compact) mobile phone. The Sony Xperia Compact will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor and a 5.5-inch screen.

Recently, there has been news of the new Sony Xperia mobile phone which will officially arrive at MWC 2020. In addition to the flagship models, there should also be a mid-range version. From recent reports, all new smartphones f ...

PROOF OF A NEW CHROME OS TABLET FROM LENOVO IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

We’ve been saying the same thing for months at this point: Google may have stopped making in-house tablets, but plenty of Chrome OS tablets are on the way and in large number. It could be pretty easy to look at the current Chromebook landscape with Google’s grand tablet exit and conclude that Chrome OS is going to simply stick to clamshell and convertible laptops.

If we weren’t tracking multiple devices in the ‘Kukui’ family of Mediatek 8183 powered tablets, detachable ‘Hatch’-based devices, and the small fleet of Snapdragon 845 Chrome OS tablet/detachables, we’d be inclined to thin ...

Most Europeans now prefer AMD CPUs as sentiment turns against Intel

AMD’s CPUs are again winning big against Intel, not just in current sales, as we’ve previously seen, but also sentiment in terms of future processor purchases that consumers might make, at least according to a new report.

The survey from the European Hardware Association (EHA) canvassed the opinions of tech enthusiasts across Europe (specifically folks who read EHA publications), and found that they “expressed a distinct preference when asked about the next desktop processor that they would buy, with over 60% choosing AMD”. Obviously that leaves 40% in the Intel camp.

This i ...

WhatsApp secrets: The one hidden feature every Android and iPhone user should know

WHATSAPP has a hidden feature buried deep within its settings menu on Android and iPhone that every user should know about.

Did you know WhatsApp has a menu that lets you see exactly how many text messages, GIFs, stickers and more you’ve sent each and every one of your contacts? Well, you do now. Here’s how to load up this hidden feature.

Eager to see who you spend the most time chatting to? Open up WhatsApp and head to the settings menu – the iPhone app has a tab at the bottom dedicated to settings while Android users will need to press the three small buttons at the top ri ...

Intel Rocket Lake-S Desktop CPUs Reportedly Feature Gen 12 Xe GPUs, Up To 8 Cores at 125W & Up To DDR4-3733 Natively

Intel's 11th Generation Rocket Lake-S desktop CPU details have started appearing in the online rumor mill. The latest details from the Chinese based PTT PC forums reveal that Rocket Lake-S will feature a couple of changes compared to the 10th Generation Comet Lake-S processors which arrive next year.

Intel Rocket Lake-S 14nm CPUs Reportedly Feature Gen 12 Xe GPUs, Up To 8 Cores at 125W & DDR4-3733 MHz Support

The details are very interesting considering we didn't have a lot of information for Rocket Lake-S CPUs aside from the fact that they were going to be based on the ...

VIVO TO UNVEIL ALL-NEW JOVIOS ALONG WITH THE VIVO X30 SMARTPHONE NEXT MONTH

Since the official announcement, Vivo X30 has been gaining momentum especially since the official launch is nearing. The smartphone is expected to see its official unveiling next month i.e. December 2019. As you might know, the Chinese company has collaborated with Samsung to integrate the Exynos 980 chipset with 5G connectivity. So far, the device has been teased numerous times by the brand itself. It seems like the company is also planning to unveil its all-new UI dubbed JoviOS during the X30 launch event.

VIVO TO LAUNCH NEW SOFTWARE DUBBED JOVIOS NEXT MONTH

As per the rec ...

Genius WhatsApp trick reveals who you speak to the most – and it might shock you

You can check which of your friends you send the most messages to, and track the exact number of texts you've sent.

WhatsApp has a hidden message counter built right into the app.

You can find the number of texts you've sent and received in a chat, and how many times you've shared locations.

It also shows how many photos, GIFs, videos, voice messages, documents and stickers have been sent – and the amount of storage space they're taking up.

Finally, you can even see exactly how much storage space your chat with a person is clogging up overall. Maybe your pals ...

Samsung gets closer to building 'QD-OLED' TVs that rival LG's OLED

While Samsung has become dominant in using OLED technology on mobile displays -- even Apple uses its screens for iPhones -- in TVs, the big name in OLED is its competitor, LG. LG's TVs have wowed testers with their ability to control light precisely because each pixel is self-illuminating, unlike the "QLED" branded quantum dot LCD tech Samsung relies on exclusively, which still puts LED backlights behind a filter.

That could change soon, however, as Samsung announced in October that it's investing $11 billion by 2025 to build a plant capable of manufacturing true QLED TV s ...

Europe Is Officially out of IPv4 Addresses

RIPE (Réseaux IP Européens), the regional Internet Registry for Europe, announced Monday that it has run out of IPv4 addresses. Any new allocation will be drastically limited in the future. 

RIPE said this should not come as a surprise to network operators, as the IPv4 run-out has been long anticipated and planned for by the RIPE community. 

IPv4 Waiting List

RIPE said that it will continue to release IPV4 addresses in the future, but only based on a waiting list. It also plans to give them out to companies that didn’t receive an IPv4 allocation from RIPE at all in t ...

The Motorola One Hyper will be unveiled on December 3 - Moto's first pop-up camera

The Motorola One Hyper will be unveiled on December 3 in Brazil. The teaser released for the event clearly shows a pop-up selfie camera and there’s only one phone in the rumor mill that matches this description.

The phone was handled extensively last month, revealing most of the key specs. The pop-up cam will house a 32MP sensor, half the resolution of the rear sensor – this will be Moto’s first phone with a 64MP camera (its neighbor is not very interesting, just an 8MP depth sensor).

Camera department aside, the Motorola One Hyper is shaping up to be a mid-ranger with a 6.3 ...

Adobe discloses security breach impacting Magento Marketplace users

Adobe disclosed today a security breach that impacted users registered on the company's Magento Marketplace, a portal for buying, selling, and downloading themes and plugins for Magento-based online stores.

In an email sent to customers, the company said the point of entry was a vulnerability in the Magento Marketplace website that allowed "an unauthorized third-party" to access account information for registered users.

Impacted users include both regular users who registered on the site to buy themes and plugins for Magento-based online stores, but also plugin and ...

Google Photos rolling out manual face tagging feature, but with a caveat

Google Photos is probably one of the company’s best products ever, but it’s not been without some flaws. For quite some time, users have been asking for manual face tagging in Google Photos to no avail, but now, the feature is finally rolling out.

The folks over at Android Police first caught wind of this new feature and put together an extensive guide of everything it’s capable of. The long story short? Google is giving users way more control over faces tagged in their photos and that’s a huge plus.

Manual face tagging in Google Photos probably isn’t the best name for what’ ...

Fancy an RTX2060 rig and monitor bundle for under £1000? You’ll have to be quick

Dell has unveiled a cracking Black Friday offer on a desktop and monitor combo. This Dell Inspiron Gaming Desktop – Bundle gives you an 8th Gen i7 and RTX2060 GPU rig along with a 24-inch 1080p monitor for just £999.

Whether you are looking to enter the PC gaming market or just fancy an upgrade, this Dell deal offers a saving of £456.27 on a bundle that really is the full package. At the time of writing, this deal is 72% claimed so you haven’t got long to grab one for yourself.

The set-piece of the bundle is the graphics card housed inside the desktop PC. The RTX2060 provide ...

The Fujinon 200mm f/2 From the Point of View of a Portrait Photographer

The Fujinon 200mm f/2.0 is a beast of a lens designed mostly for sports and wildlife, but as a portrait shooter I wanted to see how it stacked up. 

Before I dig into anything specific let's start with the specs of this lens. The (deep breath now) Fujinon XF 200mm f/2 R LM OIS WR kens, AKA the Fuji 200mm, weighs in at a whopping 5lbs, and a front element that is 105mm in diameter this is a serious piece of kit.

Look and Feel

The Fuji 200mm feels hefty and solid. It feels like it can take a few hits and keep on ticking. Not that I would recommend treating the lens care ...

Blackmagic ATEM Mini review

Small sleek, and straight forward, the Blackmagic ATEM Mini. This is the latest production switcher (AKA Vision Mixer) in the ATEM family by Blackmagic Design. It is most affordable entry level product to date, with other products in the family costing thousands the budget-priced ATEM mini gives a lot of bang for its buck. 

The Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini allows you to create high end professional live multi camera productions for streams, recordings or video presentations. Multi-camera broadcasts have been an industry standard for years, but with this powerful device you can now br ...

HP Elite Dragonfly Hands-On: 1 kg Business Convertible with plenty of features

HP already announced its new business convertible a while ago. The highlight of the Elite Dragonfly is definitely the low weight, which can be shy of 1 kg for certain SKUs. It is still a full-fledged business convertible with all security features you know from the EliteBook series.

You might think the new Eilte Dragonfly is a successor for the EliteBook 1030 G4 at first, which has a very similar footprint, but a noticeably higher weight. However, this is not the case; the new Dragonfly is a dedicated product and the EliteBook x360 1030 will still be continued.

The lower wei ...

Ubuntu 19.10: It’s fast, like “make old hardware feel new” fast

Leaves are turning. Temperatures have dipped. These are sure signs—if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, at least—that Canonical's Autumn release is upon us. Things are a bit different in 2019, however. Not only is Ubuntu 19.10 nicknamed Eoan Ermine (no, I don't know how you pronounce it either), but it's the best non-LTS Ubuntu release Canonical has ever put out.

I should qualify that statement somewhat, because really, as the newest version, it had damn well better be the best Ubuntu ever. But there's more than recency bias behind the sentiment. I've been reviewing Ubuntu for 10 ...

Overclockers Create Frankenstein-Style RTX 2080 Ti Super Graphics Card

The overlocking team over at Brazilian publication Teclab has successfully transplanted memory chips from two RTX 2080 Super graphics cards into an RTX 2080 Ti to make what would be the equivalent to an RTX 2080 Ti Super.

The RTX 2080 Ti is equipped with 11GB of GDDR6 memory clocked at 1,750 MHz (14,000 MHz effective). On the other hand, the RTX 2080 Super has 8GB of GDDR6 memory rated for 2,000 MHz (16,000 MHz); however, it runs at 1,937 MHz (15,496 MHz effective). Basically, we're looking at a 10.7% difference in memory speeds between the two Turing-powered graphics cards.

...

Philips OLED+984 Ambilight TV review

Philips has taken its partnership with lauded Hi-Fi company Bowers & Wilkins to the next level with the OLED984 (also known as the OLED+984). 

Bowers & Wilkins had already proven their audio chops last year’s OLED903, but here it’s been given free reign to produce the best sounding TV audio system it can. The result could make you rethink what you want your next television to be.

Long story short: the OLED984 is a brilliant, bold and uncompromising audio visual performer, and one of the best TVs we’ve seen this year. At a £4,499 price tag, too, you'd certainly hope s ...

Apple Is Apparently Working on AR Headphones

At this point, it’s no secret that Apple’s working on augmented reality glasses. However, a patent reveals that the company is also tinkering around with augmented audio in headphones.

The headphones are positioned as a useful tool for conference calls. That’s because you’d be able to hear where a person is in the room, even if they’re not physically there. In the patent’s abstract, Apple describes a “pre-processor” that’s able to receive each caller’s audio signal, associate it with corresponding metadata, and then spit out a virtual, spatial representation of where that signal wou ...

This Alienware gaming PC with an RTX 2070 is discounted $430 right now

A big discount on a fast gaming PC with hardware support for real-time ray tracing.

Building a PC is fun, but if you're wanting to skip the manual labor and just plop a wad of cash on a fast gaming PC that is ready to go, Dell is offering a compelling Black Friday deal on a decked out Alienware Aurora desktop.

This particular configuration is marked down $430 from its list price, to $1,549. That gets you a burly 8-core/8-thread 9th generation Intel Core i7-9700 processor paired with GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card. It's a potent one-two combo for gaming, with plenty of punch. ...

How risky is buying refurbished hardware, really?

Many Black Friday deals have already arrived, and there are plenty of great discounts on everything from gaming monitors to graphics cards to SSDs. However, some of those discounts are for refurbished (or "renewed") products, which means they aren't strictly new.

You might have seen a few sales and discounts for refurbished products already, and more are sure to come. To help you sort through everything, we'll answer a simple question with a somewhat-complicated answer: when should you buy refurbished PC hardware?

What is refurbished?

Before explaining when ...

Asus $899 ZenBook 14 Laptop Deal Features Core i7, 16GB of RAM and Free Smartphone

Normally hunting for the best Black Friday tech deals means finding the best discount on typical selling prices, but we’ve spotted a deal this time around that also sweetens the pot by including a phone. The deal in question is the Asus ZenBook 14 for $899.99, which comes a Asus ZenFone Max included .

The ZenBook 14 itself doesn’t lack for specs either. It comes packed with an Intel Core i7-8565U CPU, which is a U-series, ultra-low voltage processor but still a genuine quad-core unit with Hyper-threading, and it can boost (albeit briefly), up to a clock speed of 4.6 GHz for when a l ...

RX 5700 XT Sale: ASRock Taichi OC+ RGB Graphics Card Now $50 Off

The ASRock Radeon RX 5700 XT Taichi OC+, which debuted in September at $480, is currently sale on Newegg for $429.99, its lowest price ever. ASRock's offering is a souped up version of AMD's latest Navi-based Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card. 

The Radeon RX 5700 XT Taichi OC+ bears a 10+1 phase power delivery subsystem and has a default base and game clock of 1,810 MHz and 1,935 MHz, respectively. However, it also comes with an overclocked profile that bumps the base clock up to 1,885 MHz and the game clock to 2,000 MHz. The graphics card's 8GB of GDDR6 memory remains untouched at 14 ...

Windows Central Podcast 156: Surface Earbuds delayed

On this episode of the Windows Central Podcast: 20H1 RTM is near, Surface Earbuds delayed, Cortana mobile is going away, and more.

We're back with another exciting episode of the Windows Central Podcast, and this week, Windows 10 20H1inches closer to reality with a new build in the Fast ring. Cortana mobile apps are going away for users in most markets, except for the United States. The release of Surface Earbuds has been delayed until Spring 2020, possibly to address their value compared to other Bluetooth earbuds?

Zac also reviews Google Stadia as he and Daniel discuss the ...

Palo Alto Networks acquires Aporeto for cloud security

Palo Alto Networks on Monday announced plans to acquire Aporeto Inc., a machine identity-based microsegmentation company, for $150 million in cash. Aporeto's technology should bolster Palo Alto's cloud security suite, Prisma. The deal is expected to close during Palo Alto's fiscal second quarter. 

Founded in 2016 and based in San Jose, Calif., Aporeto uses identity-based access control to secure workloads across all infrastructures. Its technology should help strengthen the Prisma suite of cloud security services, which it launched earlier this year. 

Aporeto co-founders Dim ...

Here’s how to find out when your iPhone 11 camera is using Deep Fusion

A new update to the free metadata photo and video app Metapho for iPhone has brought what looks like the first way to tell when your iPhone 11 shots were taken with Deep Fusion (at least for now). Follow along for more on this neat app that not only allows you to check if Deep Fusion was used, but also view and edit EXIF metadata.

Metapho launched its latest update over the weekend that includes data on whether or not Deep Fusion was used in a photo (via MacStories). This is notable, as the feature was made by Apple to be intentionally invisible to users even when inspecting an imag ...

XIAOMI INTRODUCES THE REDMI NOTE 8 PRO IN THE NEW OCEAN BLUE COLOR

Today, almost 3 months after the start of sales of the controversial bestseller Redmi Note 8 Pro, Xiaomi showed off the device in a new Ocean Blue color, confirming recent leaks.

Just a week ago, Xiaomi introduced a new version of Redmi Note 8 Pro for the Chinese market with an increased storage capacity of 8/256 GB (previously two versions were available: 6/64 GB and 8/128 GB). However, it remains unknown whether the blue version of Redmi Note 8 Pro will receive an enlarged storage capacity.

Also, live photos of the smartphone in the new color have appeared on the network, ...

WhatsApp tips, hacks and tricks that you might not know about

With more than 1.5 billion active users, WhatsApp is the most popular mobile messenger app in the world.

If you're an avid user then you'll most likely have the basics of the app covered, but there are several features that you could be missing out on.

Speaking exclusively to Mirror Online, WhatsApp has revealed its top ten tips for making the most of the messaging service.

From bookmarking messages to reading them in stealth mode, these commonly unknown tips and tricks are sure to make you a WhatsApp wizz.

1. Record hands-free voice notes

Voice ...

Intel Releases SSD 665p: Second-Gen QLC

Two months after being announced, the Intel SSD 665p is set to be released today. The 665p is the successor to the 660p, the most (only?) successful consumer SSD based on four bit per cell (QLC) NAND flash memory. The 665p makes minimal changes to the design of the 660p; the most important of which is switching from Intel's 64-layer 3D QLC NAND to their newer 96-layer 3D QLC NAND.

Intel claims to have the first 96L QLC in production, though Western Digital has already announced they are shipping products using their own 96L QLC (albeit not in internal SSDs yet). It appears that prod ...

Samsung Confuses Everyone Over S11 Lite

Samsung Galaxy S11 rumours have been heating up but a new piece of information suggests some predictions, like the addition of a Galaxy S11 Lite, have been a bit off.

While it doesn't look like we were right about getting a Galaxy S11 Lite, we might be getting a new S10 product out of it. According to a new inclusion on the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) database, a Galaxy S10 Lite is on the way with the model number SM-G770F, as spotted by SamMobile.

Ishan Agarwal, a known leaker, has said the Lite will come with a Snapdragon 855 processor and an impressive ...

MacBook Pro 16 Vs Dell XPS 15 7590: LCD Vs OLED, Keyboard, Speakers— The Winner Is...

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro and Dell’s 2019 XPS 15 are arguably the two best big-screen laptops.

I have both laptops in-house and here are some brief impressions.

This is a short review which focuses on changes to the new MacBook Pro such as the display and keyboard.

Compared configs are:

16-inch MacBook Pro:

16-inch 3072‑by‑1920 pixel IPS LCD, 500-nit brightness

2.3 GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 processor, turbo boost up to 4.8 GHz

AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with support for up to two 6K external displays

1TB SSD

32GB DDR4-2666MH ...

Lenovo ThinkBook 14s review: The best of ThinkPad, without the ThinkPad

Earlier this year, I reviewed the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s, but that device came alongside a larger one, the 14s. Now that device is in, and it's a very similar machine. It's a bit bigger, and it has dedicated graphics, but it's just as awesome.

If you're unfamiliar with the ThinkBook brand, that's OK, because it's new. It's pretty much Lenovo rethinking its Think business laptops. There are plenty of people that love ThinkPads, but there are also plenty of people that don't like them at all. The latter people don't want TrackPoints, the traditional black color, or that annoying placeme ...

Windows 10 November 2019 Update brings new File Explorer Frozen and Unresponsive issue

Microsoft has started to roll out the Windows 10 November 2019 Update to Windows 10 users, currently “seekers” ie. those who specifically check for updates.

The update is meant to be minor and therefore trouble-free, but it appears Microsoft has not managed to avoid any issues.

One of the few new features in the November 2019 Update is changes to search in Windows 10, which is now separate from Cortana. This means the Search box in the File Explorer is now more powerful, including showing you previews of files you are searching for as you type.

It appears this featur ...

HUAWEI MATEPAD PRO ALLEGED PRICING AND SPECIFICATIONS LEAKED

Huawei’s new flagship table dubbed MatePad Pro is expected to be launched alongside a number of other products at an event on November 25. The forthcoming tablet has been already leaked as well as teased by the company itself confirming a punch-hole, dual rear cameras, and support for M-Pen. Though the launch is only a few hours away, we are subjected to more details about the tablet, thanks to a pre-mature published review from China which has now been taken down.

The teaser video posted by Huawei a few days back confirmed all the previous leaks including a dual-camera setup at the ...

The 10 WhatsApp tips, hacks and tricks that you might not know about

WhatsApp is the most popular mobile messenger app in the world with more than 1.5 BILLION active users.

A lot of Brits now use it as their main platform of communication with their friends and family and have conversations over the app on a daily basis.

If you're an avid user then you'll most likely have the basics of the app covered, but there are several features that you could be missing out on.

Speaking exclusively to Mirror Online, WhatsApp has revealed its top ten tips for making the most of the messaging service.

From bookmarking messages to reading th ...

Samsung Galaxy A71 appears in renders: L-shaped quad camera and Infinity-O AMOLED display

After we got to our first look at the upcoming Galaxy A51 last week, a new set of renders just revealed its bigger brother - the Samsung Galaxy A71. The phone appears to follow the same design language with a centered punch hole in the display, slim bezels all around and an L-shaped camera on the back.

The Galaxy A71 is believed to feature a 6.7-inch Infinity-O AMOLED display with a built-in fingerprint reader and 32MP selfie cam. The front design is quite similar to that of the Galaxy Note10 series with the exception of the flat glass.

Going around the back we see a clean d ...

IBUYPOWER INTEL Z390 I9-9900KS GAMING DESKTOP REVIEW

iBuyPower is one of the more affordable PC builders out there, making our list of the best gaming PCs. Of course, the price of your build will vary based on what components you put in it, and if you add any extras like an extended warranty or a new monitor to your purchase. But when it comes to the usual up-charge of paying someone else to build your PC, iBuyPower isn't much more than a DIY home build. This value proposition is on display with its Intel Z390 9900KS gaming desktop.

For $2,300, you're getting a well-designed high-end build in a beautifully unique case that's small eno ...

Intel ‘sincerely apologizes’ to customers for lingering CPU shortage

Intel is still not producing enough 14-nanometer processors to meet demand, many of which are on our list of the best CPUs for gaming, and in a rare move, the company issued an apology to customers for coming up short. At the same time, Intel says it has "not yet resolved this challenge," so expect the shortage to continue.

"I’d like to acknowledge and sincerely apologize for the impact recent PC CPU shipment delays are having on your business and to thank you for your continued partnership," Michelle Johnston Holthaus, executive vice president and general manage ...

Fancy £1000 off an RTX gaming laptop? Don’t miss this Asus Zephyrus GX351 deal

Amazon has priced the Asus Zephyrus GX351 down to its lowest ever price. Previously, you’ve had to fork out almost three and a half grand for this epic gaming device – grab it now for less than £2500.

Gaming laptops are a pricey bunch but, thankfully, Amazon and Asus have answered our prayers. This corker of a deal delivers over £1000 off the RRP – making Asus Zephyrus GX351 just £2499.99.

The stand out feature of the Asus Zephyrus GX351 is its graphics card. The GX351 brings the mammoth Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 8GB to a mobile form-factor.

If you aren’t aware, RTX me ...

Chrome OS 80 likely to fix notification actions on external monitors

Lately, I’ve been using an external monitor with the Pixelbook Go for testing purposes and didn’t realize that Chrome OS notifications don’t quite work correctly.

According to an open bug report, when a notification pops up it does appear on both the internal and external displays but isn’t always actionable on the external monitor:

when there’s a screenshot or a file downloaded, the notifications mirror on both the internal and external display.

– But for screenshot, you can’t press COPY on the external monitor. You can on the internal monitor for the same noti ...

Google Assistant will now help you read to your kids from across the world

Google today launched a nice new Assistant feature called My Storytime that lets parents simulate reading to their kids when one parent is away from home. A parent will be able to record themselves reading chapters of stories, and the other parent (or babysitter) can ask Google Nest to read those recordings to the kids.

Google says that, once the feature is set up, the person at home just has to say “Hey Google, talk to My Storytime” to their Google Nest, and they will be able to pick the recording of the chapter they want to listen to with their children.

Recording a story ...

Microsoft Surface Earbuds aren’t coming any time before March 2020

Microsoft announced a suite of Surface products earlier in October, and that included a new audio option in the form of the Surface Earbuds. 

The earbuds had originally been planned for a 2019 release, but Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay has just confirmed their launch is being pushed back globally to Spring 2020 (March through May for the southern hemisphere).

Panos announced the delay in a tweet.

A number of Twitter responses to the tweet from Panay are positive about the company's choice to delay the product rather than launching it in a sub-par state. ...

Duet Air update brings ability to use a Mac or PC as an external display

Duet Air is getting a nice update that allows customers to make use of a Mac or PC as a secondary external display. This offers great flexibility, especially for users in both ecosystems.

Duet launched the new functionality with the release of Duet Air 2.0. With less than 30ms latency and 256-bit encryption, the latest software from the company offers a fast, secure, and flexible way to expand your digital workspace beyond just an iPad as an external display.

This means you can use a Mac or a PC as the source computer with either one becoming an external display. It also sol ...

Lian Li built a sub-$100 case with flip panels and modular cable covers

Lian Li is no stranger to our roundup of the best mid-tower cases, and depending on how you feel about the aesthetic, the company's new Lancool II (stylized as LANCOOL II) might be a contender as well.

To be clear, I have not spent any hands on time with the Lancool II. I'm also undecided in how I feel about the front design. Part of me thinks it looks like some of the fugly gamer cases of old, and part of me thinks it's fine, adding a bit of flair without going too far over the top.

That aside, there are some interesting features here for the money. There are two versions, ...

WhatsApp update 2019: Flaw in messaging app could allow hackers to read your messages – here’s how to stop it

Messaging app WhatsApp has had a tricky year when it comes to security issues. First, there was the fake “WhatsApp Gold” update doing the rounds, then there was the spyware issue, and now it seems there is a another hacking attempt on the app.

A few days ago, WhatsApp posted a security advisory message on Facebook following the discovery of a security flaw which would allow hackers to access someone’s messages by sending a malicious video file. The Facebook-owned app didn’t reveal whether you needed to physically open the video in order to be affected. 

The flaw affected Wha ...

If a 49-inch super-wide monitor is too big, try this 43-inch model on for size

Not everyone has room for a 49-inch super-wide monitor, so Philips has come out with a 'smaller' 43-inch version. Problem solved!

Okay, maybe not—if you're short on space, a 43-inch monitor is probably still too big. But for those who can fit one onto their desk (or wherever else), the new 439P9H brings a super-wide (aka, doublewide) form factor into the fold at a slightly less massive scale than the crop of 49-inch monitors, including the 492P8 that Philips introduced last year.

The smaller 43-inch model is also touting a curved (1800R) VA panel like its bigger sibling, alb ...

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) review

Two minute review

With the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), Apple set out to make the best MacBook Pro ever, giving fans of existing MacBook Pros – in Apple’s own words – “more of what they love.” By listening to the feedback from its customers, Apple has managed just that, improving the MacBook Pro in a wide range of ways.

While the new larger screen is probably the most noticeable upgrade, there are other improvements under the hood that prove even more important. Previous MacBook Pros were saddled with a keyboard with Butterfly switches that a sizable number of people encount ...

Scythe's Low-Profile Shuriken 2 Cooler Lands in December

Scythe is increasing its CPU cooling lineup with its Shuriken 2 SCSK-2000, as reported by TechPowerUp this week. The cooler is a smaller variant of its Big Shuriken line of coolers and comes as a simple top-down CPU cooler with a slim, 92mm PWM fan.

The Shuriken 2 fan can spin at speeds between just 200 and 2,500 RPM, meaning it can operate very silently when the system is idling but still dissipate up to 100W, which is a perfectly good figure for a low-profile CPU cooler. CPU socket support is said to include AM4 and LGA115x. 

The heatsink itself is made with a nickel-plate ...

Microsoft's new Cortana app for Windows 10 gets productivity-focused updates

Microsoft is working on a new Cortana app for Windows 10, and it's been in testing with Insiders in the 20H1 development branch for some time now. Today, Microsoft shared a blog post detailing some new changes coming to this new Cortana experience, specifically for users in the Fast ring. The updates are aimed at boosting productivity, which is part of Microsoft's vision for Cortana, positioning it as an assistant for productivity.

Some of the changes were already known of, like the fact that the new Cortana app isn't docked to the taskbar anymore and you can move it anywhere on the ...

Best Mechanical Keyboards: the top mechanical keyboards for gaming in 2019

The best mechanical keyboards aren’t just designed to be robust, boasting longer lifespans that can take all the abuse without falling apart. They’re also built specifically to deliver very high accuracy and super fast response times. Mechanical keyboards, therefore, make for some of the best gaming keyboards.

What’s more, the best mechanical keyboards are designed to be very ergonomic, so that they’re not just easy and comfortable to use, but they also improve your typing experience whether you’re gaming for long hours or just typing up emails and documents all day long. This makes ...

Rugged, Versatile Storage: Fstoppers Reviews the Gnarbox 2.0 SSD

Photographers and videographers are working on the go and traveling more and more, and their needs for advanced data storage devices are growing. The Gnarbox 2.0 SSD seeks to fill those needs while housing those capabilities in a rugged device made to stand up to the elements. Check out our review of this powerful device.

The Gnarbox 2.0 SSD comes with an array of features meant to make it an all-in-one solution for creatives on the go. I have been using it for the last few months, and it has been quite useful in my workflow.

Specs

2.4 GHz quad-core Intel CPU 

< ...

HUAWEI MATEPAD PRO APPEARS ON GEEKBENCH, REVEALS SPECIFICATIONS

Huawei is all set to introduce its next-gen premium tablet dubbed Huawei MatePad Pro in its homeland i.e. China. The tablet has already been leaked numerous times before revealing bits of information every single time. We are already aware of the fact that the device will come with thin bezels, stylus support, and a massive 40W fast charging. Furthermore, the tablet is also expected to come with a punch-hole camera on the front. After bagging the 3C and TENAA certification, the tablet has finally made its way to the GeekBench listing.

HUAWEI MATEPAD: SPECIFICATIONS, FEATURES

...

Pixio PXC273 Curved Gaming Monitor Review: 144Hz and DCI-P3 on Budget

When shopping for a new monitor, the first thing most consider is price. Features and performance are important, but price is king, especially if you’re on a tight budget. A relatively new brand, Pixio offers the PXC273 with specs that can challenge some of the best gaming monitors. That includes a speedy 144Hz refresh rate in a 27-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution package. The best part is it sells for just $200 at the time of writing. But that low price also means making some sacrifices, including around image quality

The PXC273 starts with a high-contrast VA panel running at 1080 ...

Update to modified Ryzen power profile delivers further performance tweaks

The power profile modifies Collaborative Processor Performance Control, making adjustments to CPU task scheduling on Windows to deliver snappier performance for AMD Precision Boost, which dynamically adjusts clock speeds. The end result is better performance and core usage while idling or performing heavy load tasks. AMD will likely be investigating these improvements itself too to improve Precision Boost behaviour in the future.

The 1usmus Ryzen power profile is now in version 1.1. As the creator himself explains, this new update adjusts the Windows task scheduler to “must use best ...

WHATSAPP USERS URGED TO UPDATE APP IMMEDIATELY OVER SPYING FEARS

WhatsApp users are being urged to update to the latest version of the app due to fears that spy agencies are snooping on people through a major security vulnerability.

The issue relates to a malicious video that allows hackers to access people’s messages simply by sharing the MP4 file across WhatsApp. The Facebook-owned messaging app fixed the bug earlier this week – but anyone who has not downloaded the latest update remains vulnerable to the hack.

India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) posted an advisory outlining the “high” severity of the threat, warning that ...

Intel releases free file transfer app to help you ditch Windows 7: how to download it

If you still need to switch from Windows 7, Intel and software developer Laplink have released a free tool that will transfer your files to a new PC.

There are now just two months until Microsoft ends support for Windows 7, but despite this – and in spite of the fact that the operating system is now an astonishing 10 years old – huge numbers of people are still using it. Why?

But with end of support for Windows 7 fast approaching, the millions of people still using the operating system are at risk of missing security updates from Microsoft – in addition to using very old sof ...

THIS CORE I3 CHROMEBOOK IS WAY TOO GOOD TO BE $279

We featured this Chromebook deal a few days ago but I felt that it deserved a second visit for a couple of reasons. The first reason is the price. Walmart knocked $100 off the already inexpensive Core i3 Acer Chromebook 715 but now, you can get if for even less. $279 will score you a 15.6″ Full HD Chromebook with a Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a whopping 128GB of storage. This model also happens to be one of the first on the market to include a built-in numeric keypad.

The chassis of this Chromebook is solid with what feels like an all-aluminum build and overall, it just feels ...

Star Wars-Themed Galaxy Note 10+ Launches Next Month

Samsung has unveiled its Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Galaxy Note 10+ ahead of the film's release on December 20.

The black handset sports the red detailing - which extends to the S Pen - and includes a specially-designed case with a metal badge. It screams Dark Side, and may just lure you over if you have the cash. It drops in the US on December 13 with a price tag of $1,299.99.

The phone is set for release here in the UK at some point, but a date and price has yet to be confirmed. If we work on the assumption of a straight conversion, that puts the cost in the ballpark ...

Intel Comet Lake-S 10-Core CPU Benchmarks Surface

Fresh benchmarks for Intel's 10th-Generation Comet Lake-S (CML-S) processors have started to appeared in the Geekbench 4 database. The results reveal the chips' core counts, L2 and L3 cache, as well as the preliminary base and boost clocks. But as always, it's wise to take these with a some grains of salt, since they are submissions of unreleased hardware. 

As a quick refresher, Comet Lake-S will replace Intel's current Coffee Lake Refresh lineup. The upcoming Comet Lake-S chips continue to hail from Intel's 14nm process node. However, they're likely to be based on an improved 14nm+ ...

Gaming laptops may be getting Nvidia's Super GPUs early next year

Nvidia recently shook up the graphics card market with its line of Super RTX and GTX cards, and now it appears the company may be preparing to deliver that same performance boost to the mobile computing market. Mobile Max-Q versions of Nvidia's GTX 1650 Super up through the RTX 2080 Super have shown in a leak from NotebookCheck translated and shared by Hothardware .

The refresh is expect in March 2020, and the leaked graphics cards are believed to be the following:

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q with 8GB GDDR6 (80W TDP)

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q with 8 ...

The new Motorola Razr is one of the most exciting phones ever made

Nostalgia is a hell of a drug, and one that multimillion-dollar tech companies take advantage of all the time. From Netflix listings that are stuffed full of remakes to the retro consoles that line store shelves for Christmas, it’s hard not to approach this reboot culture without some cynicism. That is why the unveiling of the new Motorola Razr initially filled us with equal parts glee and trepidation.

As one of the most iconic phones in history (and one we used with pride and joy), it’s impossible not to fall for the hype, without the fear of getting hurt. With a folding screen mag ...

Biostar: AMD B550 Motherboards Are Ready

Korean media Brainbox's latest interview with Biostar Product Manager Vicky Wang has revealed some pretty interesting information about forthcoming AMD and Intel motherboards.

When asked about Biostar's future products, Wang responded that we can expect new offerings with both AMD and Intel chipsets. In regards to the much-anticipated AMD B550 chipset, the executive said corresponding motherboards are ready to go. 

Sadly, Wang didn't reveal the specific date on when they will actually hit the shelves. However, a DigiTimes report in June claimed motherboard manufacturers are ...

HUAWEI WILL REVEAL OVERALL STRATEGY RELATED TO HARMONY OS ON NOVEMBER 20

Today, at the second global technology conference held by CNBC, Huawei revealed that it will release the overall strategy related to Harmony OS on November 20.

Liang Hua, chairman of Huawei, introduced that Huawei is making great efforts to redesign the products. After the arrival of the new 5G, the market demand is very high.

According to previous reports, Vincent Pang, senior vice president of Huawei, recently told Business Insider that Huawei will decide whether to bring Harmony OS to the smartphones in the next six to nine months. But seems this will happen sooner becaus ...

MSI Announces Radeon RX 580 Armor Series Graphics Cards

MSI has announced a new version of the mid-range GPU of the RX 580, This fully black graphics has been called the RX 580 Armor and the Armor MK2. This graphics card is still based off of the AMD's Polaris chipset, meaning it still is a generation old graphics card when comparing it to the RX 5700 and the RX 5700 XT.

MSI Intros New Custom RX 580 Cards, The Armor & The Armor MK2

This new card does have some changes to it compared to MSI's older RX 580 cards, the design change from the red and black color scheme to the new all-black (yes including the fans) design theme is ...

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III review

The new OM-D E-M5 Mark III is lighter, sharper and better than the older Mark II version. It has 20 million pixels instead of 16, it has better autofocus, and an improved image stabilization system. That's a pretty good start!

It’s arrived just after Olympus’s 100-year anniversary and fits between the more novice-orientated Olympus PEN models and OM-D E-M10 Mark III, and the professional OM-D E-M1 Mark II and E-M1X models. 

The existing E-M5 Mark II already offered a great set of features in a highly compact camera, but its ageing 16MP sensor held it back. The Mark III conti ...

Asus launches a $70 Wi-F 6 network card to boost your desktop’s wireless speed

Asus has gone and quietly introduced a PCI Express expansion card (PCE-AX3000) that adds Wi-Fi 6 connectivity to your desktop PC. Under the right circumstances, it can boost the wireless speed of your system, though other gear is required.

Namely, you also need a Wi-Fi 6 router to take full advantage of a Wi-Fi 6 adapter. The reason why is because Wi-Fi 6 is a next-generation standard (also known as 802.11ax) that introduces features not supported by previous generation Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) hardware.

The biggest benefit of Wi-Fi 6 is that it is better equipped to handle multip ...

Intel end-of-lifing BIOS and driver downloads for dusty hardware

Intel is removing drivers and BIOS for its old desktop boards so anyone running an old Pentium-based PC has four days to get hold of anything they might need.

The warning on Intel's download center page says:

End Of Life - This download, BIOS Update [RL86510A.86A] P21, will no longer be available after November 22, 2019 and will not be supported with any additional functional, security, or other updates. All versions are provided as is. Intel recommends that users of BIOS Update [RL86510A.86A] P21 uninstall and/or discontinue use as soon as possible.

Opinion on messa ...

Honor Watch Magic 2 launch date confirmed

Honor is set to unveil its Watch Magic 2 smartwatch on November 26 in China, and more than a week ahead of the launch TechRadar can share some exclusive pictures of the smartwatch.

While they're not hugely revealing, they show us enough about the upcoming wearable to give us a good idea of what to expect when it launches.

Something we can tell from the images is that the body of the Honor Watch Magic 2 has seen a re-design from its predecessor – the bezel looks to be thinner, and rises less from the screen of the watch. 

This indicates a departure from the 'classic' ...

AMD might unveil a new GPU with ray tracing support at CES

It's only a matter of time before AMD rolls out a GPU architecture with hardware-based real-time ray tracing support (though not in time for any Black Friday deals), to take on Nvidia's growing army of GeForce RTX graphics cards. But might we see something in that regard at CES in January, 2020? According to the latest rumor mill chatter, the answer is yes.

Take this with a dose of skepticism, but according to Chiphell forum member Wjm47196, AMD will be previewing a second-generation Radeon DNA (RDNA) Navi GPU architecture at the annual convention in Las Vegas, as spotted by WCCFTec ...

LENOVO Z6 PRO 5G VERSION OPENED AN APPOINTMENT

Recently, Lenovo announced its own 5G smartphone and said all upcoming phones of the company will support 5G. Today, on November 18, the Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G version opened an appointment on the official website. It costs 3,299 yuan (8GB + 256GB), which is equivalent to $470. However, the handset will go on sale only on December 12. As you can see, this is by far the most cost-effective 5G smartphone. So there is every reason to think it will be quite competitive.

As it is released in China first, many may wonder which networks this phone support. The Lenovo Z6 Pro 5G version supports 5 ...

Asus launches ProArt StudioBook Pro X workstation laptop with Quadro RTX 5000 graphics for a hefty $5000 USD

Not to be outdone by the Razer Blade Studio series, Asus will be launching its own lineup of thin and sleek laptops aimed at professionals. The ProArt StudioBook Pro X sits at the top of the family with its Xeon E-2276M CPU, Nvidia Quadro 5000 GPU, 64 GB of RAM, and 17-inch 1200p display with a chassis design that borrows unabashedly from both the consumer ZenBook and gaming Zephyrus S series.

The most noteworthy characteristics of the ProArt StudioBook Pro X are its ScreenPad, Xeon CPU, and 16:10 17-inch display. The ScreenPad can be convenient if used correctly, the Xeon processor ...

Apple fixes more weird bugs with new iOS 13.2.3 update

Apple is releasing iOS and iPadOS 13.2.3 today to address a variety of odd bugs that have been introduced with the release of iOS 13. The latest update includes a fix for the Spotlight system search feature that had been failing for some users recently. Search should now work consistently at the system level and in the Mail, Files, and Notes apps.

If you use an app that downloads content in the background and you’ve noticed weird issues in iOS 13.2.2 or before, Apple is now addressing this in the new update. Mail is also getting updated to fix problems fetching new messages or quoti ...

MSI Unveils Cubi 5 10M Palm-Sized PC: Comet Lake with 64 GB of RAM & Wi-Fi 6

MSI has introduced one of the industry’s first ultra-compact desktops powered by Intel’s 10th Generation ‘Comet Lake-U’ processors, the Cubi 5 10M. With Comet Lake-U available in up to 6 core configurations and supporting up to 64 GB of memory, the Cubi 5 10M is powerful enough that it can be used for a wide variety of applications, including productivity, photo editing, design, and multimedia playback.

Measuring 124×124×53.7 mm and weighing 550 grams, MSI’s Cubi 5 10M compact PCs are quite literally palm-sized. Under the hood, they pack one of Intel’s 10th Generation Core i3/i5/i7 ...

GALAXY A80 WILL GET A NEW 256GB STORAGE VARIANT IN CHINA

Samsung released the Galaxy A80 will all its flagship-esque style and fanfare back in April. However, the smartphone only came to China in July this year. We can pretty much say that the A80 is Samsung’s most ambitious smartphone in the Galaxy A-series. Of course, it doesn’t come with a Snapdragon 8xx chipset but has a unique style that is missing in Samsung galaxy flagships. It has a full notch-less display, without notches or fancy punch-holes. To achieve this, the Korean firm equipped it with triple rear cameras that rotate to double as front-facing cameras. Samsung only released a singl ...

Thermaltake Announces Their Commander G Mid-Tower PC Cases

Thermaltake has just announced the New Commander G series PC case, a Mid-Tower case which has RGB lights and a Tempered Glass panel. This case as a high airflow case with its specially designed mesh front, this case has two case fans pre-installed.

The New Commander G series cases offer high airflow, a tempered glass panel, and a vertical GPU mount.

The RGB fans that come pre-installed are able to sync the lights through most motherboard RGB controllers such as ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync, and ASRock Polychrome, these fans also support if the m ...

Gigabyte unleashes Aorus Radeon RX 5700 XT with Silent Mode

Gigabyte has released yet another variant to the Radeon RX 5700 XT, AMD’s reference GPU (graphics cards), and it’s boosted with more features than the last. Over the weekend, the Taiwanese manufacturer unleashed the Aorus Radeon RX 5700 XT 8G, which is basically Radeon RX 5700 XT on steroids.

It’s been months since the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT hit the streets, and the Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT GAMING OC 8G has also been out for a while. However, considering the graphics card’s success, delivering excellent 1440p gaming performance and a number of forward-looking feature, you can hardl ...

MacBook Pro 16 Vs Dell XPS 15 7590: LCD Vs OLED — First-Look Review

After some hands-on time with the spanking-new MacBook Pro 16, it’s ripe for a side-by-side with Dell’s badass XPS 15.

This is a brief first-look which focuses on changes to the new MacBook Pro such as the display and keyboard.

To set the stage, let’s start with the Dell XPS 15 7590 OLED, which I have in-house. Note that there’s a pretty big price gap between the XPS and MBP 16– in Dell’s favor.

Dell XPS 15 7590 OLED config:

15.6-inch 4K 3,840-by-2160 AMOLED display, 500-nit brightness

Intel Core i9-9980HK 8-core "Coffee Lake" CPU, turbo boo ...

Microsoft Prepares x86-64 Support for Windows on ARM Devices

In a report from Neowin, Microsoft is preparing x86-64 software support for Windows on ARM devices. This is quite the change considering Qualcomm's Miguel Nunes claimed back in 2016 that x86-64 software emulation wasn't going to happen.

x64-86 Support - ARM-Based 64-Bit Computing

The potential of x86-64 programs becoming compatible with Windows on ARM machines is high, but due to the microarchitecture of ARM processors, 64-bit computing is far slower than 32-bit computing. This is primarily because of ARM's RISC architecture which translates to smaller registers and limited ...

LG G8X ThinQ review: Double your pleasure, double your fun

On its own, LG's G8X ThinQ isn't that exciting of a smartphone; well, to be fair, let's say it's not anymore exciting than the G8 ThinQ that came out earlier this year. What's more exciting is the LG Dual Screen, an accessory for the G8X that in most cases, comes with the device, and gives you a dual-screen experience.

The accessory plugs into the G8X and adds a second 6.4-inch FHD OLED display; in fact, it's the exact same panel, providing a complete dual-screen experience. LG added some additional software support as well, such as allowing you to use one screen entirely as a keybo ...

Intel recalls the Xeon 2274G Due To Inadequate Stock CPU Cooler

On November 13th, Intel officially started recalling the boxed Xeon E-2274G processors from store shelves and distributors. This is due to the stock cooling fans has been proven to be insufficient to cool down the Intel Xeon E-2274G. The stock cooling fan was unable to cool down the 4-core / 8-thread processor which is based on the 14nm++ "Coffee Lake" and has a TDP of just 88 watts.

The Boxed Intel Xeon E-2274G is currently on recall as the stock cooling fan was found to be insufficient

The fan that comes with the Xeon E-2274G is the E973708-003 which is supplied ...

Chromebook settings show Chrome OS end of support date, but it’s not enough

I was thrilled to read this news over at XDA Developers: A new Chrome OS change will show the exact date for when your Chromebook software updates will end. The information will appear in the Settings, when you click or tap the “About Chrome OS” option.

And this news coincides nicely with Google’s recent decision to extend the AUE, or automatic update expiration, for more than 130 Chromebooks and Chromeboxes. In some cases, older devices gained two or more years of software support, which includes both new features as well as security patches.

There’s still a problem that ne ...

Intel Recalls Quad Core Xeon CPU Because of Inadequate Stock Cooler

Intel this week recalled one of its boxed processors because the bundled cooling system the company supplied was insufficient and the CPU may not have performed as intended. For any Intel partners with stock, this specific chip is being recalled and those who need the chip are recommended to use a tray/OEM version which does not come bundled with a cooler and thus use your own.

The processor in question is the boxed quad-core Xeon E-2274G (Coffee Lake) with a TDP of 83 W. The boxed CPU was supplied with Intel’s DHA-A heatsink (PN: E97378-003) that apparently cannot cool down the chi ...

XIAOMI WATCH FIRST UPDATE TO ARRIVE ON DEC 3: ADDS IOS SYSTEM ADAPTATION

Today, the general manager of Xiaomi Ecological Chain, Xiaoheng, said on Weibo that the first batch of Xiaomi Watch is already with users. The company is already getting loads of feedback for its first smartwatch. He thanked customers for the feedback saying “this is the most important help for the continuous improvement experience”.

In addition, Xiaoheng said that the first OTA system upgrade will arrive on December 3. It’s interesting to note that this update will bring better adaptation with the iOS system adaptation as well as other upgrades

iOS App online

On-lin ...

Samsung ‘Never-Die’ Solid State Technology – NAND Gate Detection

Samsung has developed a new technology that seeks to detect faulty NAND chips and relocate data in order to increase the lifespan and reliability of its upcoming PCIe 4.0 SSDs. Samsung aims to deploy this technology to data centers in the near future, and with this, the possibility of it filtering down to the consumer level may exist.

Fail-In-Place Technology - FIP

Samsung has developed a new technology known as Fail-in-Place (FIP). FIP aims to detect faulty NAND chips onboard an SSD, and by doing so, prevents the death of the SSD. Rather than losing the entire storage devic ...

Chrome for Android testing awful, cramped tab switcher redesign in experiment

With just one look at some of Google’s apps — like Google Tasks and even the recently released Google Stadia app — and you can tell they have some of the best UI designs on Android. However, not every Google design is going to be a hit. Today, Chrome for Android is trying out a less-than-stellar redesign for the tab switcher, which tries to squeeze too many things on screen at once.

In the past year or so, Google has tried a number of redesigns for the tab switcher of Chrome for Android, before finally committing to the grid layout we have today. However, it seems Google isn’t quite ...

Currys has docked a whopping £1000 of this gorgeous LG E9 OLED TV

The Currys PC World Black Friday sale has started early with this stonking deal on a 65-inch LG E9 OLED TV, saving you a swift grand.

On any other day of the week, this stunning set would put you back by an eye-watering £3499. Thanks to the Currys Black Friday sale however, that same great TV can be yours for just £2499.

As part of its Black Friday sale, Currys is also implementing a price promise guarantee, meaning that the retailer will refund the difference if you spot a cheaper offer on Black Friday. You can’t ask for fairer than that.

While we’ve yet to review t ...

ASRock is ready to party like its 2017 with a new Radeon RX 550 card

When the Radeon RX 550 first debuted, cryptocurrency mining was just getting its legs, and Ethereum had not yet shot up in value. It's a much different landscape now two and a half years later, though be that as it may, ASRock has quietly introduced another RX 550 graphics card.

As odd as that may seem, it's not completely nonsensical. There are no budget Vega cards, and the latest round of 7nm Navi GPUs has not yet dipped into entry-level territory yet, either. So, hardware makers (or at least ASRock) are apparently not finished milking Polaris.

The new Phantom Gaming Radeo ...

How to change virtual memory size on Windows 10

On Windows 10, virtual memory (or paging file) is an essential component (hidden file) designed to remove and temporarily store less frequently use modified pages allocated in RAM (random-access memory) to the hard drive. Using this approach allows the system to prioritize faster physical memory for more frequent processes and applications, improving the overall performance and preventing the device from locking up in the event it runs out of system memory.

In addition, the paging file is important to support crash dumps during a system crash (Blue Screen of Death), as without a lar ...

Chrome OS 80 will start using Debian 10 Buster on new Linux installations

At Google I/O last year, Google announced Linux app support for Chrome OS. This is made possible thanks to installing a GNU/Linux distribution, specifically Debian 9 “Stretch”, in a Linux container. Earlier this year, the Debian project announced Debian 10 “Buster,” but Google wasn’t ready to upgrade the default Linux container on Chromebooks just yet. Now, after months of testing and bug fixing, Google is ready to enable Debian 10 “Buster” as the default Linux container in Chrome OS.

According to a recently merged commit we spotted in the Chromium Gerrit, new Crostini (the code-nam ...

Alienware AW5520QF 55-Inch OLED Gaming Monitor Review: Better Than a TV

Many have ditched computer monitors in favor of large-screen TVs when it comes to gaming. With today’s immersive titles, there’s no screen that’s too big. Gaming on a TV has a few drawbacks, though. Nearly all of them top out at a 60Hz refresh rate and don’t have G-Sync or FreeSync for fighting screen tears, and input lag is often too high to compete with the best gaming monitors.

The 55-inch Alienware AW5520QF answers the call with a large display, FreeSync and one more huge thing: an OLED panel. Nowhere else can you find an OLED monitor with gaming-ready specs, like the AW5520QF’s ...

AMD Ryzen 9 3950X Review: 16 Cores Muscles Into the Mainstream

AMD's Ryzen 9 3950X lands today, bringing the ultimate threaded performance to the mainstream desktop with an industry-leading and unprecedented 16 cores and 32 threads, paired with the bandwidth-doubling PCIe 4.0 interface for $749. The CPU upsets Intel's positioning in mainstream desktops and disrupts it's vaunted high-end desktop (HEDT) lineup in the process. 

Aside from the deep dive on the CPU that we're tackling here, we've also tested and reviewed they Ryzen 9 3950X in Alienware's redesigned Aurora R10 gaming desktop. That system trounced competing high-end gaming rigs in man ...

Tokina to Release a New 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens for Canon and Nikon DSLRs Very Soon

According to the most recent leaks, Tokina is preparing to reveal a redesigned 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens for Canon and Nikon full-frame DSLRs very soon. The lens will allegedly replace the brand’s current 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D seen above.

The news comes to us from the ever-reliable Nokishita, who tweeted about the upcoming lens last night. “It seems that Tokina will announce ‘ATX-i 100mm F2.8 FF MACRO’ in the near future,” reads the translated tweet. “The mount is Canon EF and Nikon F.”

According to Nikon Rumors, the lens will feature Tokina’s more modern Opera design ...

TURN YOUR PHONE INTO A FOLDING CHROME OS TABLET: MEET CASTAWAY™

Over the past few years, we’ve spilled a fair amount of digital ink talking about what a Chrome OS phone could or should look like. (If someone were to take the initiative to make one.) For the most part, I’ve imagined a device that looks and functions just like any other smartphone, only running Chrome OS and Android in tandem. That device would work as a phone but then be able to dock and extend a full version of Chrome OS to another display.

It seems that one company has decided to take the leap into this arena but have come up with a very unique twist on the concept and I must s ...

Intel 7nm Xe GPU ‘Ponte Vecchio’ Leaks Out – Uses Foveras Technology With CXL Interconnects

Videocardz has done it again. Looks like Intel is working on a powerful new Xe-based 7nm GPU codenamed "Ponte Vecchio" - after an old bridge in Florence, Italy. A quick Google search of the codename also comes up with a Linkedin recruitment ad for an Engineer that will be working on Arctic Sound/Ponte Vecchio-based solutions. Intel's 7nm Xe-based Ponte Vecchio GPUs will be featured in Project Aurora - an exascale supercomputer from Intel which is expected to go online in 2021.

Intel Ponte Vecchio GPUs will be featured in Aurora Exascale Supercomputer - based on 7nm Xe GPU ...

Microsoft improves the Surface Pro X with new Edge Chromium ARM beta

Microsoft is allowing Surface Pro X owners to get access to early native ARM copies of its Edge Chromium browser today. The software giant is making the ARM version of Edge available in the daily Canary channel, and it will mean that devices like the Surface Pro X will gain access to a more capable and more performant browser.

Microsoft released the Surface Pro X earlier this month with the older Edge browser preinstalled, but owners have so far had to use an x86 copy of Chrome or Edge Chromium in emulation mode. This hits battery life and performance on ARM-powered devices signific ...

Asus Hooks Up With Google to Create Tinker Board for AI

Asus Japan announced this week that it'll show off two new single-board computers at the upcoming ET & IoT Technology 2019 event kicking off November 20 in Yokohama, Japan. The latest Tinker Edge T and Tinker Edge R are designed specifically for IoT (Internet of Things) and edge AI applications.

The Tinker Edge T measures 85 x 56mm, which is around the size of a credit card. The Tinker Edge R adheres to the Pico-ITX form factor (100 x 72mm). Both single-board computers depend on a small heatsink with an accompanying cooling fan to stay cool during operation. 

Asus Tinker ...

Xbox X019: when is it, how to watch and what we expect from Microsoft's event

It's that time of the year again: X019, Microsoft's annual celebration of all things Xbox, is upon us once more. This year the global Xbox celebration is taking place in the Copper Box Arena, London with Microsoft promising the event will be "filled with news, first looks and surprises, and Xbox FanFest, all livestreamed and starting on Inside Xbox".

Last year's event saw Microsoft announce the big news that Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment had joined Microsoft Studios, alongside Xbox Game Pass updates, some Black Friday deals news and a bunch of new Xbox On ...

Player three has entered Cray's supercomputing game: First AMD Epyc, now Fujitsu's Arm chips

Cray has said it will build a family of supercomputers for government research labs and universities. The kicker? The exascale machines will be powered by Arm-compatible microprocessors.

The HPE-owned biz has partnered with Fujitsu to roll out the beefy big iron. Fujitsu will supply its homegrown A64FX processors – understood to be 48-core 64-bit Armv8-compatible beasts – to drive applications on the systems, while Cray will integrate the chippery into its line of CS500 supers.

It’s still early days, so the full specs aren’t out yet nor even the codenames for the exaFLOPS-gr ...

Seagate FireCuda 520 PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD for gamers launched

Seagate has bulked up it range of storage for gamers with the launch of the new FireCuda 520 PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD and the 4TB FireCuda Gaming Dock. The first of these products is pretty straightforward, it is a M.2 2280 double-sided PCIe Gen4 ×4 NVMe 1.3 SSD and will be made available in capacities of 500MB, 1TB and 2TB. The 4TB FireCuda Gaming Dock can be summarised as an external 4TB HDD that interfaces to your PC via Thunderbolt 3 - however it includes niceties such as an NVMe M.2 expansion slot, DisplayPort 1.4, RJ45 Ethernet, audio interface and more.

"Next-gen gaming is all ...

Motorola Razr 2019 release date, price, features: all the latest news

The Motorola Razr, which was a household name in the mid-00s at the height of the popularity of flip-phones, is getting a reboot from Motorola this year. The latest report says that the 2019 Motorola Razr will be launched on Wednesday, 13 November 2019 at an event in Los Angeles. Scroll down and you'll see the video invite that was sent out for the event.

The return of the Razr became certain in mid-April 2019, when the new Motorola Razr was officially confirmed as existing and indeed called the "Motorola Razr" in an official Bluetooth certification body listing, which als ...

Intel Warns of Critical Info-Disclosure Bug in Security Engine

The issue is in an Intel chip used for remote management.

A critical security bug in the Intel Converged Security and Manageability Engine (CSME) could allow escalation of privilege, denial of service or information disclosure.

The details are included in a bug advisory that in total covers 77 vulnerabilities, 67 of which were found by internal Intel staff. The silicon giant has rolled out firmware updates and software patches to address these, which range in severity from the one critical flaw to a low-severity local privilege-escalation issue.

The affected products ...

ASRock Rolls Out The Phantom Gaming Radeon 550

ASRock has silently added a new member to its Phantom Gaming family. The Phantom Gaming Radeon 550 2G serves as an entry-level graphics card for consumers that don't want to be confined to integrated graphics.

The Phantom Gaming Radeon 550 2G sports a dual-slot design and measures 169.58 x 130.89 x 42.05mm. It employs a black shroud with the characteristic Phantom Gaming colors. A single double ball bearing fan takes care of the cooling.

Just like any other Radeon 550, ASRock's offering is built on TSMC's 14nm process and employs the Lexa Pro silicon. The graphics card is eq ...

Save $550 on this Alienware M15 gaming laptop with a GTX 1660 Ti

If you've held off buying a new gaming laptop but don't want to wait another minute, good news—you can score an Alienware M15 with a fast processor and one of Nvidia's newest generation Turing GPUs for $1,126.99, which is $550 below the list price. You just need to input coupon code AW15550AFF to get the hefty discount.

This one comes configured with a 9th generation Intel Core i7-9750H processor, which is a 6-core/12-thread CPU with a 2.6GHz base clock, 4.5GHz max boost frequency, and 12MB of L3 cache. It's flanked by a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU (6GB GDDR6) and 16GB (2x8GB) of DDR4-2 ...

XIAOMI MI 10 RENDERINGS SHOW WATERFALL SCREEN DESIGN AND MORE

Just now, Techconfigurations exposed a set of renderings of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 10 flagship smartphone. As the source claims, this handset is going to be a performance beast. The machine inherits the newly controversial 108MP camera. And of course, under the hood, it will carry the Snapdragon 865 mobile platform. As for the screen, it seems the waterfall screen of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro and the likes will become mainstream. At least, the author of the renderings thinks the Mi 10 will sport such a screen design. The back of the phone will use a glass material.

At present, the only ...

Don't miss this patch: Bad Intel drivers give hackers a backdoor to the Windows kernel

Nearly three months after infosec biz Eclypsium highlighted widespread security weaknesses in third-party Windows hardware drivers, you can now add Intel to the list of vendors leaving holes in their all-powerful low-level code.

In a follow-up report to its August DEF CON presentation, Eclypsium found that not only are those third-party kernel-mode drivers still vulnerable, widely used Intel drivers also contain many of the same holes.

As was noted in that conference talk by Jesse Michael and Mickey Shkatov, vulnerabilities in drivers are a huge risk because the code typical ...

Seagate launches a fast PCIe Gen4 SSD and an expandable storage dock for gamers

Seagate is expanding its storage lineup with a couple of products it's marketing toward gamers. One is a new generation FireCuda 520 SSD, and the other is the other is a FireCuda Gaming Dock.

Starting with the former, the FireCuda 520 SSD is one of a handful of drives that leverages the PCI Express 4.0 bus for incredibly fast read and write speeds. For sequential reads, it tops out at 5,000MB/s, which is par for course among current PCIe 4.0 SSDs. And for sequential writes, it's rated to deliver up to 4,400MB/s. (The maximum throughput of an x4 Gen4 link is around 8,000MB/s, so we'r ...

GOOGLE MAKES THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR FINAL VIRTUAL DESKS GESTURE NAVIGATION

In most functional ways, Google’s Virtual Desks for Chrome OS fully arrived in the latest version: Chrome OS 78. With all the animations, features and new set of keyboard shortcuts now available to users right out of the box, Virtual Desks feels nearly complete. We talked briefly about the last, lingering piece that was missing in gesture navigation with Chrome OS 78 and that was the inability for users to move between active Virtual Desks with a gesture on the trackpad.

When turning on the single flag needed to enable this feature, the choice of gestures is a tad bit questionable.  ...

Dual AMD Epyc Rome 7H12 Server CPUs Benchmarked in Cray Supercomputer

A Geekbench 4 submission today shows off the power of two AMD EPYC Rome 7H12 64-core, 128-thread server-grade processors in one Cray Shasta supercomputer. AMD added the 7H12 to its second-gen EPYC line in September. 

AMD currently has three 64-core, 128-thread EPYC chips in its arsenal; although, more might be on the way. With a 2.6 GHz base clock and 3.3 GHz boost clock, the EPYC 7H12 is the fastest performer out of the three existing models. The chip is rated rated for 280W, which is 55W higher than the EPYC 7742, so the 7H12 should have a higher all-core turbo clock.

The ...

This RGB memory kit runs faster in certain Gigabyte Aorus motherboards

Gigabyte has added an interesting feature to its newest Aorus RGB memory kit, one that allows it to run faster in certain motherboards with minimal fuss. It's called "Aorus Boost," and it gives users up to a 4 percent bump in performance.

Even without the boost feature, Gigabyte's new 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3600 memory kit is the fastest one it has released so far. At 3600MHz, the timings are configured at 18-19-19-39, according to the RAM's main product page and Gigabyte's press release. (Curiously, the specifications section lists slightly higher timings—19-19-19-43 on Intel ...

Chinese SSD Manufacturer Races Forward to PCIe 5.0

According to a report by Chinese media IThome, Jiangsu Huacun Electronic Technology has demoed its PCIe 5.0 controller at the 2019 Nantong New Generation Information Technology Expo. The memory and storage manufacturer is optimistic that the controller will be in mass-production by the end of 2020.

It was only this year that computer hardware started to arrive with support for the PCIe 4.0 standard. Presently, PCIe 4.0 is still limited to AMD's current Ryzen desktop CPUs, Ryzen Threadripper HEDT (high-end desktop) CPU line and Epyc server processor portfolio. Intel has yet to board ...

WhatsApp Update Drains OnePlus Batteries

OnePlus users beware: WhatsApp will (probably) drain your battery.

According to posts on Reddit and the OnePlus official forums, the latest version of WhatsApp (v.2.19.308, which dropped at the end of last month) is seriously eating into the battery life of a whole range of OnePlus phones, including the OnePlus 7T series that only arrived in October. The issue is affecting devices running either Android 9 or 10 and those hit by it are seeing up to 50 per cent of their battery life being consumed by WhatsApp, even overnight.

Users have found various workarounds for fixing som ...

Microsoft Edge is coming to Linux. But will anybody use it?

At Microsoft Ignite last week, a slide announced that Microsoft's project to rebase its perennially unloved Edge browser on Google's open source project Chromium is well underway. Release candidates for the new Chromium-based Edge build are available on consumer and server versions of Windows (including Windows 7 and Server 2008, which have already left mainstream support), as well as MacOS, Android, and iOS.

Sharper-eyed attendees also noticed a promise for future Linux support.

Curious folks can download canary or beta versions of the new Edge for most operating systems fr ...

Intel NUC 10 appears with 10th Gen Comet Lake-U CPUs

The Intel NUC 10 has started appearing at online retailers, and seemingly this is the "Frost Canyon" NUC that has been rumored as the next NUC release.

Intel's newest NUC is seemingly the rumored "Frost Canyon" and might look the same as it's the predecessor

Not all the details pertaining to the newest NUC is available at this time, but it does look like this NUC will be in a similar (or the same) 4 x 4 enclosure. From a tip per the leaker @momomo_US, the upcoming Frost Canyon NUCs will be powered by Intel Comet Lake-U CPUs.

Intel's Frost Canyon N ...

The 16-inch MacBook Pro reportedly still in production with release date unknown

Apple may not have launched the 16-inch MacBook Pro in October when some projections had expected it to show up. But, with that timeline passed, 2020 is looking more likely, and it may currently be in production according to IDC Analyst Jitesh Ubrani, Forbes reports.

Explaining the signs that the 16-inch MacBook Pro was still coming, Ubrani said, "We're also starting to see early signs of this from the supply chain. However, the timing of this is still uncertain."

This would suggest that a November launch date of this year may also be too soon to hope for. Forbes a ...

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 review: the XPS 13 to get

Dell’sDell’s XPS line of laptops has long trended toward the conservative side. The XPS 13 and 15 models have had the same basic design for years, with only minor feature changes between generations. Neither of them are particularly exciting — they are pragmatic workhorses designed to be as functional as possible, while maintaining their compact and portable dimensions.

The XPS 13 2-in-1, however, has been a bit more daring. The first model, released nearly three years ago, took the XPS design language and added a 360-degree hinge for flipping between a standard clamshell laptop and ...

WHATSAPP UPDATE DRAINS BATTERY ON ANDROID PHONES, USERS CLAIM

The latest update to WhatsApp is draining the battery of Android phones, according to some users.

Owners of OnePlus phones appear to be particularly affected by the issue, with reports appearing in forums, Google Play Store comments and across social media.

Other problems with the popular messaging app also seem to have surfaced since the release of the most recent version for Android.

"Unfortunately, since the last update I can't download nor send photos [or] videos," one user wrote in one of the most popular comments on WhatsApp's Google Play Store page.< ...

The new Chrome OS release notes on Chromebooks are already old

Some weeks back, Google added a dedicated set of release notes that are easily seen on any Chromebook after the latest software update. I’ve been asking for this feature for over two years, back when I worked with the Chrome team at Google, so I was thrilled to see this. You just click the “See what’s new” option in the About Chrome OS settings menu. Or you can view the dedicated webpage, which shows the same info.

Now that Chrome OS 78 landed last week, I went to see the release notes just to verify that I didn’t miss any big, new features.

Here’s what I saw on both a Pixe ...

HP Envy 17: Comet Lake performs no better than Whiskey Lake does

Laptops beyond 15-inches tend to offer superior cooling than their smaller counterparts in part because of their larger footprints. So, we expected the HP Envy 17-ce1002ng to demonstrate the best that Comet Lake-U, and specifically the Intel Core i7-10510U, had to offer. However, the device not only falls short of the multicore performance of what we have come to expect from the Core i7-10510U but also even its Whiskey Lake-U predecessors.

Oddly, our review unit exceeding our expectations of its GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce MX250. The device consistently achieved above-average results in ...

64-core Ryzen Threadripper 3990X may have accidentally been revealed in TRX40 motherboard overview

A seeming uh-oh from MSI coincides with the rumours floating around of yet another third gen Threadripper, this time a 64 core 128 thread behemoth based on the 7nm Zen 2 architecture which will likely put further pressure on team blue.

This week, a video from MSI introducing their TRX40 Creator motherboard went live, which fortunately enough for us showed a distant shot of CPU usage on task manager. The video has since been removed and replaced with an edited version, but wccftech was able to snag a screenshot beforehand, where we can spot 8 vertical and 16 horizontal tiles, indicat ...

Surface Pro X teardown finds a new high in ‘repairability’ for Microsoft

Microsoft’s Surface Pro X is even more repair-friendly than the Surface Laptop 3, getting a bigger thumbs-up from the teardown experts over at iFixit.

While iFixit scored the Surface Laptop 3 as a 5 out of 10 when it came to repairs, the freshly unleashed Surface Pro X managed to creep ahead with a 6 out of 10.

The most positive facet was the SSD being ‘truly user-replaceable’ as it’s accessed without having to remove the screen, and can be taken out with just a SIM eject pin (and a T3 Torx screwdriver is needed to undo a single screw).

“That’s awesome to see in such ...

Chromebook drop test crowns Google Pixelbook as most durable, ‘an absolute tank’

A lot of Chromebooks out on the market today are rated to take a beating, but dropping any laptop is still a scary thought. In a recent Chromebook drop test, it was actually Google’s premium Pixelbook that came out on top.

LaptopMag sought out to find the toughest Chromebook on the market today with a drop test. The outlet took 11 different models that are currently available for purchase including the Pixelbook, Asus C434, Lenovo C330, and many others.

The test saw these machines pushed off of a table from 2.5 feet onto carpet and concrete while closed. Then, to simulate fa ...

Gears 5 update adds a new setting to sharpen graphics using AMD tech

There is a new update available for Gears 5, and with it comes an implementation of AMD's FidelityFX technology. When enabled, images should look sharper on PCs outfitted with either a Radeon or GeForce graphics card.

FidelityFX is AMD's open source image quality toolkit that is available to developers. It combines the Contrast Adaptive Sharpening (CAS) algorithm, which is a dynamic sharpening filter, with Luma Preserving Mapping (LPM) to sort of clean up images. Since it's open source, it's for all GPUs, not just Radeon cards. And according to AMD, there is not much of a performanc ...

AMD TRX40 Motherboard Roundup For 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs Ft. ASUS, AORUS, ASRock, MSI

AMD's 3rd Gen Ryzen Threadripper processors are here along with the next-gen sTRX4 socket-based TRX40 motherboard lineup. With the launch of the new motherboards, AMD's top AIBs which include ASUS, AORUS, ASRock, and MSI have released their respective TRX40 motherboard lines which deliver an amazing set of features and powerful power delivery systems to support up to 64 core and 128 thread Threadripper CPUs.

AMD TRX40 Motherboard Roundup Ft. ASUS, AORUS, ASRock & MSI - The Next-Gen, Industry Leading HEDT Platform

The TRX40 series motherboards come in various price catego ...

Intel Trims Cascade Lake Xeon Scalable Lineup

Intel this week initiated end-of-life plan for two of its 2nd Generation Xeon Scalable (Cascade Lake) processors, possibly in a bid to reduce the number of SKUs in the new family. The CPUs in question are the Xeon Gold 6222 as well as Xeon Gold 6262 and Intel recommends to use different versions of these products instead.

Intel’s 20-core Xeon Gold 6222 (1.80/3.60 GHz, 27.5 MB cache) and 24-core Xeon Gold 6262 (1.9/3.6 GHz, 33 MB cache) processors with two UPI links were not officially a part of the Cascade Lake family introduced in April and were probably available to select c ...

PowerWatch 2, the never-needs-recharging smartwatch, is now available to buy

The PowerWatch 2, a smartwatch that draws enough body heat to never need recharging, is officially on sale in the US and UK - and it’s shipping out to folks who preordered.

The smartwatch - or more accurately, a robust fitness watch - is available on the PowerWatch online store. The standard PowerWatch Series 2 comes in a black steel finish with silicone strap and costs $499 / £499, while the Series 2 Premium with silver finish and stainless steel bracelet runs $599 / £599. At the top of the list is the Series 2 Luxe, which packs a titanium finish and stainless steel milanese bracel ...

Microsoft has made a Surface slab that mere mortals can dismantle

The Surface Pro X is in the hands of US users and the iFixit crew has already ripped into it. The repairability results might please Microsoft's legions of loyalists but give iPad fanbois pause for thought.

While the Surface Pro X components were on display for all to see at Microsoft's Ignite event, the chippery was securely hidden behind a do-not-touch sign. After successfully tearing apart Microsoft's new Surface Laptop 3 with surprisingly little difficulty, the team were keen to see if mere mortals could achieve similar levels of disassembly with the Pro X.

The answer is ...

Seagate is skipping the hard drive's funeral, plans to have 50TB HDDs in 2026

It was barely over a month ago when Jarred shoveled dirt on the mechanical drive, saying HDDs were dead to him because "even large SSDs are now affordable." He's not wrong. At the same time, Seagate says hold the boat—it's planning to launch more capacious HDDs in the near future, and if things go to plan, will have a 50TB HDD by 2026.

"Today, Seagate is the only company mass producing 16-terabyte drives, which are the capacity benchmark for the industry. We are preparing to ship 18-terabyte drives in the first half of calendar year 2020 to maintain our industry capac ...

The left-handed version of Razer’s Naga MMO gaming mouse is returning in 2020

Razer once made a left-handed version of its Naga Trinity, which we consider the best gaming mouse for MOBAs and MMOs. It's also one of very few gaming mice made specifically for left-handed users. So, it was unfortunate when it widely disappeared from retail channels, but there's some good news if you are in the market for something like this—it's coming back.

This was not always a foregone conclusion. Razer notes this is a "costly venture," and in a Facebook post last year, company co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan offered some further clarification. He said Razer had shi ...

Apple rolls out iOS 13.2.2 update with fix for annoying multitasking bug

Apple has just released iOS and iPadOS 13.2.2, with a fix for a frustrating bug that led apps to close in the background much quicker than usual. Even a jump between two apps could be enough for Safari windows to reload or to lose your place in a YouTube video. The issue is also fixed in the iOS 13.3 update that went into beta testing this week, but it’s great to see that Apple is fast-tracking a fix to all customers.

iOS 13.2.2 also addresses an issue where iPhones could “temporarily lose mobile signal after a call” and another “where mobile data may temporarily not be available.” ...

Why HP’s printers are a lesson for today’s tech leaders

In tech, nothing lasts forever. But when judged against the frenetic pace at which new businesses rise and fall, some things feel like they come pretty close.

HP’s invention of the personal laser printer four decades ago was the culmination of one of the most successful corporate “skunk works” projects ever undertaken. A group of engineers far from HQ came up with a hit product that created a new market. It came complete with a business model, based on making money from follow-on sales of ink cartridges, that proved an even more effective innovation. 

The profits from laser ...

Razer launches a pair of wireless gaming mice, one for $59 and the other for $149

Razer has taken its Basilisk gaming mouse from last year, cut the cord, and spun the resulting rodent into two separate models at two very different price points. The Basilisk Ultimate (shown above) is the pricier of the two at $149.99 (€169.99), while the Basilisk X Hyperspeed is comparatively affordable at $59.99 (€69.99). So, what's the difference?

At a glance, they look very similar, though there are some key differences (as you might expect, given the wide price disparity). Starting with the higher-end Basilisk Ultimate, Razer dipped into its bag of bells and whistles and outfi ...

Intel Xe GPU Rumors: Launch Date, Specification and Pricing

Intel confirmed that they had powered on their Xe GPU in their labs for the first time and we now have independent confirmation of the fact as well. The Intel Xe GPU DG1 prototype was run through GFXBench using a driver that basically did nothing except validate power on. While this doesn't have any further information it does show us that the clock down to a discrete Intel Xe GPU has finally started. We thought it would be a good idea to do a round-up of all the information we have so far regarding Intel's upcoming Xe GPU.

Intel Xe GPU launch date

The GFXBench detection was ...

Oppo Reno 2 review: this could be the best-value phone in Oppo's line-up

The flood of affordable, well-designed, well-specced phones from the east continues, with Oppo joining the likes of Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, OnePlus, Vivo and others in sending high-quality Android handsets in our direction. In this case, we've got the Oppo Reno 2.

You can think of the Oppo Reno 2 as a less powerful, more affordable variation on the Oppo Reno 10x Zoom – that's the phone to get if you want the best that Oppo can offer right now, but if you want to save yourself some money, then this might suit you better.

Besides the less powerful processor running everything t ...

“LENOVO ONE” WILL MERGE WINDOWS AND ANDROID SYSTEMS

According to recent official reports, Lenovo is working on a new system that will merge Windows and Android systems. According to a Lenovo official, the “Lenovo One” will merge the smartphone-friendly Android with laptop-friendly Windows. Unfortunately, he did not say how the company hopes to achieve this plan. In fact, we do not exactly know what “Lenovo One” refers to but it appears to be a new system for smartphones in the 5G era.

The Weibo post says “PCs large-screen productivity, meet, 5G era smartphones. What kind of world will be #Lenovo One#…Windows and Android will merge in ...

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000 Packaging Leaked

As leaked by VideoCardz, it appears that AMD has revamped the packaging for its upcoming Ryzen Threadripper 3000-series (codenamed Castle Peak) processors. 

The purported packaging looks like a normal cardboard box that's decked out with fancy graphics, and the concept is similar to AMD's packaging for the previous-gen of Ryzen Threadrippers. There's a huge cutout in the middle where you can see the Ryzen Threadripper logo and a preview of the chip. VideoCardz noted that the packaging is numbered, so this would be a limited edition packaging.

The processor itself seems to co ...

Chrome OS: Yo dawg, I heard you like desktops so we put a workspace in your workspace

Google has added virtual desktops to its Chrome OS, used in Chromebooks, enabling users to create multiple workspaces and switch between them.

The virtual desktop feature is the biggest of several updates. Once the update is installed, a New Desk icon appears in the top right corner of the desktop. You can display virtual desktops full screen or side by side, and drag windows between desktops. These operations can be done with touch, mouse, trackpad or using keyboard shortcuts.

Virtual desktops have been available in Windows 10, macOS and Linux for some time so Google is cat ...

HP's Pavilion Gaming 15 comes with a lot of processing power and even more stamina

The Pavilion Gaming 15 series includes 15.6-inch gaming laptops with midrange graphics chips. The series sits below the HP Omen series. Nvidia's GeForce RTX GPUs are exclusive to the latter, however. Our test device is powered by a Ryzen 7 3750H APU and a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q GPU.

The performance of the hardware matches our expectations: All of the games in our database run smoothly. Usually, Full-HD resolution and medium to high settings can be chosen.

Surprisingly, the battery life is very good. The Pavilion lasts much longer than most office laptops. However, the gam ...

Fingerprint unlock arrives in WhatsApp for Android – here's how to enable it

After testing the feature on beta users for a little while, WhatsApp is now rolling out fingerprint unlock to all Android users. It brings biometric security to Android some 8 months after similar options landed on iPhone.

The Fingerprint Lock security feature is available in version 2.19.222 of the Android WhatsApp app, and it gives Android users a security option that is more in line with what is available in the iOS version of the app. iPhone users already have Touch ID and Face ID support, and now WhatsApp says: "today we're introducing similar authentication, allowing you ...

Chrome 79 beta: Tab freezing, shared clipboard, DNS-over-HTTPS trial

Following version 78’s release on Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux, the next beta release of Google’s browser is rolling out. The Chrome 79 beta features tab freezing on desktops to conserve resources, shared clipboard, and a trial of DNS-over-HTTPS.

A new “tab freezing” feature in Chrome 79 works to save memory, CPU, and battery life. This feature is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux browsers, as well as Chrome OS. Tabs that have been in the background for over five minutes will be frozen and not able to perform tasks. There is an exception for audio and video, while sites can ...

Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7 suffering slow Wi-Fi after waking from sleep

An Intel Wi-Fi adapter bug is causing headaches for Surface Pro 7 and Laptop 3 users, but there's a possible temporary workaround.

Over the past week, several Reddit users have reported issues with their Surface Pro 7 and Intel-based Surface Laptop 3 devices have suffered from an issue that causes Wi-Fi speeds to tank after waking them from sleep. Microsoft has yet to acknowledge the issue, but there is currently an open thread on the Microsoft Answers forum as well.

According to another Reddit post, the issue appears to be related to how the Intel AX201 Wi-Fi adapter handle ...

Huawei's upcoming Android tablet is an iPad Pro with a hole-punch display

Rumor site 91Mobiles has spotted renders of a new Huawei tablet that could sit at the high-end of Huawei's mid-screen range. The tablet has a smooth look with a thin bezel and a 'hole-punch' selfie camera on the front screen.

Leaks label this tablet with an internal codename "Marx," but prolific Twitter leaker Evan Blass chimed in to say this would be the Huawei "MatePad Pro."

The device is pictured with Huawei's professional-looking keyboard attachment, similar to Apple's iPad Pro keyboard. 91Mobiles also claims the tablet will support Huawei's M-Pen sty ...

Raspberry Pi 4 Update Cools Temps, Adds Network Booting

The latest Raspberry Pi is about to get a whole lot cooler, literally speaking. The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a firmware update for the Raspberry Pi 4 which reduces its power usage and correspondingly its heat output -- and this time it doesn’t come with a nasty bug that causes certain USB 3.0 devices to switch from throughput measured in hundreds of megabytes to single-digit kilobytes. For those willing to play with beta software, there’s also a new bootloader to unlock the Raspberry Pi 4’s long-awaited network boot functionality.

Test, Then Test Again

The Raspbe ...

Intel Fires 10nm Cannon Lake NUC Into Oblivion

Intel is wheeling a ton of its NUCs (Next Unit of Computing) into the retirement home and, maybe even more notably, the ones based on the chipmaker's unfruitful Cannon Lake (CNL) microarchitecture.

Cannon Lake will forever be a dent in Intel's push for 10nm supremacy. With just one single chip, the Core i3-8121U, to show for it, it's a wonder why Intel didn't retire Cannon Lake sooner. Only a handful of devices, including Intel's own NUCs, employed the Core i3-8121U. While the chip's performance wasn't horrible, the lack of integrated graphics certainly didn't earn it any extra poin ...

MSI is dishing up boot-shortening BIOS updates for its X570 motherboards

As the company previously promised, it has begun rolling out firmware updates based on AMD's latest microcode (AGESA 1.0.0.4), for its X570 motherboards, some of which are on our list of the best gaming motherboards. According to MSI, these BIOS updates bring with them over 100 improvements and fixes, and can shorten boot times as well.

"The latest 1.0.0.4 Patch B BIOS (SMU v46.54) comes with a massive improvement at all points concerning debugs and optimization for the previous version. There is a loooooooooong list regarding improvements and amendments. The most attractive on ...

Hands on: Motorola Moto One Macro review

Having just lifted the lid on three new smartphones, the Moto E6 Play, Moto G8 Plus and the Moto One Macro, Motorola has further flooded the market with midrange budget camera phones - but with a dedicated 2cm macro lens, it’s the Moto One Macro that’s piqued our interest the most.

Packing midrange internals, a triple rear camera setup, huge battery and generous amounts of storage (the same starting capacity as the iPhone 11 and Pixel 4), we can’t fail to be impressed, given the Macro’s price.

Motorola Moto One Macro price and release

The One Macro costs £179.99 and ...

Microsoft somehow managed to push a Windows 10 update to the wrong users

Did I ever tell you about the time Microsoft doled out a Windows 10 update to the wrong set of users? Probably not, because I don't recall it happening before now. I'm not saying it never has, I just can't think of another time, other than this one.

This one, by the way, refers to KB4523786, an optional update offered alongside a cumulative update for Windows 10 version 1903 with fixes for several bugs. The optional KB4523786 offers "quality improvements to Windows Autopilot configured devices."

Business and IT admins use Autopilot to set up and configure new devic ...

Redmi Note 8T comes with NFC support and 18W charging

It seems that Xiaomi isn't done with the Redmi Note 8 lineup just yet. As per a rumor from a few days ago, a Redmi Note 8T is in the works and a leaked live image suggested that it will be almost identical to the original Redmi Note 8 but will add NFC support. A newly surfaced NCC listing confirms that.

Since the vanilla Redmi Note 8 doesn't have NFC support - as most Chinese market-oriented smartphones do - it would make sense for Xiaomi to release the 8T for the global market with proper NFC support. Now the NCC Certification in Taiwan confirms the NFC support and also adds 18W fa ...

Leaked AMD Renoir APU Benchmarks Point to DDR4 Support

Someone has posted data claiming to be 3DMark 11 benchmark results for the upcoming AMD Renoir APUs on Reddit. According to the Redditor, these are results that aren't accessible by the general public because they're set to "private." 

There are three results which seem to show Renoir APUs running on a 'Celadon-RN' motherboard. We suspect that Celadon could be the name of the platform for Renoir. Unfortunately, the results don't reveal APU model names or core counts. We have no way of telling if the results are supposed to represent one, two or three different APUs. All th ...

HONOR WATCH MAGIC 2 TO LAUNCH BY THE END OF 2019

Last year, Honor launched its very first smartwatch dubbed Honor Watch Magic in China. It seems like the company is now working on the next generation of smartwatch. Although the name of the upcoming smartwatch is still unknown, we expect it to be called Honor Watch Magic 2. Earlier today, the smartphone maker confirmed the launch timeline as well as shared a glimpse of the design. Here is what we know about the upcoming smartwatch as of now.

HONOR WATCH MAGIC 2: LAUNCH TIMELINE, AVAILABILITY

According to the recent report, Watch Magic 2 will see its official unveiling by th ...

Razer made a brighter and thinner version of its original RGB mouse pad

If there is one thing computer accessories are in desperate need of, it's more RGB lighting, right? Maybe, maybe not, depending on your perspective. Either way, like a runaway freight train coming down the side of a steep mountain, there's no stopping the RGB locomotive. Rather than try, Razer went the opposite direction and outfitted its new Firefly V2 mouse pad with more and shinier RGB lighting than the original version.

There are two parts to the lighting upgrades. Razer says the Firefly V2 uses brighter LEDs than the original Firefly, and there are also now 19 lighting zones ar ...

Gigabyte Accidentally Lists Four TRX40 Motherboards for AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000

Yesterday we reported on rumored prices for Asus’ upcoming AMD TRX40 motherboards, with the TRX40 chipset targeting AMD's upcoming 3rd-generation Ryzen Threadripper CPUs. Today we bring you a new rumor: a list of Gigabyte’s upcoming TRX40 boards, as spotted by Computerbase. Sadly, we don’t have pricing for the boards this time around.

The info (PDF) comes from a compatibility listing for Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 AIC Adaptor and lists the following motherboards:

TRX40 Aorus Xtreme

TRX40 Aorus Master

TRX 40 Aorus Pro Wi-Fi

TRX40 Designare

Aorus is ...

LG G PAD 5 10.1 TO COME WITH 8,200MAH BATTERY: IMAGES, SPECS, PRICE LEAKED

Even though the tablet market has been quite stagnant for a while, the year 2019 introduced new-generation of modern tablets. It seems like LG is also working on its next tablet dubbed LG G Pad 5 10.1. As the name suggests, the tablet will come with a massive 10.1-inch of the estate on the front. Fortunately, we have the first-ever leaked images of the device along with the expected pricing and specifications. Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming G Pad 5 10.1.

LG G PAD 5 10.1: PRICE, AVAILABILITY

As per the recent report, the tablet will come with a price t ...

Android 11 may finally bring a proper, native Wireless ADB implementation

For Android app developers, ADB is an indispensable tool for debugging applications . With the ability to generate logs, push and pull files, sideload APKs, and enter the shell, ADB gives developers a lot of control over a test device while using a PC. While it’s possible to use ADB wirelessly by connecting to your device via TCP/IP*, many developers might not know about this so they simply stick with using a wired connection. Plus, wireless ADB currently isn’t that convenient if your device doesn’t have a static IP address or you’re dealing with multiple test devices. Finally, data transfe ...

Samsung introduces a fleet of Ultrabooks with the first QLED displays for laptops

Samsung's phones might get most of the attention, but the company has its share of laptops as well. And, with the introduction of the new Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion lines, it's delivering even more in the way of Ultrabooks.

The Galaxy Book Flex is a 2-in-1 with a built-in S Pen, while the Ion is a more traditional laptop, incorporating the now-trendy, raised-hinge design to create more airflow below the computer and a better typing angle.

Both laptop lines come in a 13.3- and 15.6-inch variant, and all of them feature Full HD displays. But, they're not the typical ...

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Black Edition 2-in-1 (7590) review: This 4K laptop's graphics can't keep up

The Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Black Edition 2-in-1 is a laptop whose biggest selling point is at odds with a harsh reality.

The laptop’s most notable feature is a 15.6-inch 4K display with Dolby Vision HDR, giving it one of the crispest and most vibrant pictures you’ll find on a consumer-grade notebook today. But using this laptop at its full resolution comes with a trade-off: In certain applications, animations and scrolling become choppy as the system struggles to keep up with the demands of its 4K display. The result is a feeling of sluggishness that’s unbecoming for a laptop current ...

Lenovo's 15.6-inch IdeaPad C340-15IWL convertible beats most office laptops in terms of battery life

With the IdeaPad C340-15IWL, Lenovo has a 15.6-inch convertible in its range. The 360-degree foldable IPS touchscreen display allows for various usage modes. Not only can it be operated with the fingers but also with the optional Lenovo Active Pen 2 (about 50 to 60 Euros (~$55 to ~$66)). The display provides stable viewing angles, a good contrast and a reasonably decent color reproduction. However, the maximum brightness is too low, and the color-space coverage isn't convincing either.

The convertible's highlight is the excellent battery life, which many office devices can't achieve ...

Top Linux developer on Intel chip security problems: 'They're not going away.'

Greg Kroah-Hartman, the stable Linux kernel maintainer, could have prefaced his Open Source Summit Europe keynote speech, MDS, Fallout, Zombieland, and Linux, by paraphrasing Winston Churchill: I have nothing to offer but blood sweat and tears for dealing with Intel CPU's security problems. 

Or as a Chinese developer told him recently about these problems: "This is a sad talk." The sadness is that the same Intel CPU speculative execution problems, which led to Meltdown and Spectre security issues, are alive and well and causing more trouble.

The problem with how In ...

Microsoft Has a Plan to Get You Locked Into the Next-Gen Xbox Now

The subscription wars are in full-swing but today, Microsoft offered a compelling reason to give it more of your money. The company reintroduced its Xbox All Access program for players in the UK, US and Australia – which also includes the option to upgrade to its new console, Project Scarlett, once it hits shelves in 2020.

What you get with the Xbox All Access program is, well, an Xbox One, an Xbox wireless controller, a 24-month membership to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. In the UK, that means you roughly pay £18 a month for two years. Plus, the ability to upgrade to a Project Scarlett ...

Google says Chrome OS 80 will bring easier Android app sideloading for developers

Last week at the Android Dev Summit, Google announced a feature that Chrome OS enthusiasts have wanted for years: the ability to sideload Android apps without enabling Developer Mode. We’ve seen code commits in the past that would have enabled this feature, but none of those implementations ever made their way to the stable channel. Now that Google has officially confirmed this feature will arrive in Chrome OS 80, which is set for a stable release in the second week of February 2020, we no longer need to religiously monitor the Chromium Gerrit for this feature addition.

As you can s ...

This rugged phone has a unique feature that the Samsung Galaxy S10 and iPhone 11 should copy

Motorola got heads turning in 2017 when it launched its Moto Mods, which were modular accessories that added to the versatility of the Moto Z2 Play and earned it a solid 4.5 stars from us two years ago. Now, a challenger brand, Doogee, wants to do the same thing with its new flagship model, the S95 Pro.

While its rival Blackview focuses on one single unique selling point, a FLIR IR camera, in its latest product, the heat-seeking BV9800 Pro, Doogee opted for expansion capabilities. 

You can add a battery module or a speaker module; the latter has two 27mm speakers and an inte ...

HP’S OTHER USI-CAPABLE CHROMEBOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE

USI (Universal Stylus Initiative) devices are most certainly an emerging tech. While there are some big-name players on board with the cross-device technology, finding computers the feature USI compatibility is still a tough task to take on. Getting your hands on an actual USI-capable stylus is even more difficult. The USI product showcase lists three companies said to produce the styli and HP is supposed to be releasing one with their own branding. Unfortunately, finding them available anywhere is all but impossible.

Still, USI technology is coming and HP is the first out of the ga ...

iOS 13.2 reveals Apple’s Tile-like device could be called AirTag

Apple has been rumored to be launching a Tile-like item tracker for months now, and it appears the device could be named AirTag. 9to5Mac has spotted references to AirTag within the iOS 13.2 update that shipped to devices today, hinting that this Tile-like device may even appear very soon.

References to Apple’s potential location tracking tags first appeared in early iOS 13 beta code, and rumors suggested Apple would introduce the devices alongside the iPhone 11 at last month’s event. That Apple event came and went without a mention of AirTag or any Tile-like features, but the hints ...

AMD ‘Big’ Navi GPU Passes RRA Certification – Powerful New High-End Radeon Flagship?

After what seems like ages, there seems to be news on the high-end AMD GPU front. An AMD device codenamed "ATI-102-D18802" recently passed RRA certification and while this might seem like just a random string of digits, I used to trawl the now-dead Zauba all day long for relevant shipping entries which followed the same naming convention - and was quickly able to decipher it. The GPU in question is a much powerful variant of the Navi GPU (judging from the nomenclature) and here is the full story. That said, considering this is based on just a certification which could end up being ...

A new 24-inch FreeSync monitor from Asus looks promising, if the price is right

Asus is rolling out a new gaming monitor that has the potential to be a nice upgrade, based on the specifications. However, that will depend in large part on how pricing shakes out for the new TUF Gaming VG249Q.

On paper, there is not much to complain about. The monitor is built around a 23.8-inch (we'll just call it 24 inches) IPS panel, so it should offer better visuals and a much large viewing sweet spot than a TN display.

It's a Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. That latter figure is an MPRT (moving picture response time) ...

GOOGLE'S NEWEST PHONE IS JUST A PIECE OF PAPER

Google may be one of the world’s biggest smartphone makers but it has come up with a way to help people use their device less.

Dubbed the Paper Phone, the tech giant’s latest experiment is aimed at promoting “digital wellness” by offering a simple solution to smartphone addiction.

It allows users to give up their phone for an entire day by putting any information needed – such as contact details, map directions and meetings – into a printable, phone-sized booklet.

“A lot of people feel like they spend too much time on their phones and miss out on the things that are ...

Apple Finally Announces AirPods Pro, and These Ones Might Actually Fit in Your Ears

It seems as though the an upgraded version of Apple's AirPods have been rumoured for months. We had a minor upgrade earlier this year, but all those came with was better connectivity and battery life. Both are very useful, but not the kind of thing people were expecting. Now, though, Apple's gone and made the AirPods Pro official.

The first thing you might notice about the AirPods Pro are that they have a brand new design. Rather than that rubbish design that always seems content to sit in your ear without any sort of secure fit, these are in-ear earbuds. In other words Apple has pr ...

Micron Sets New DDR4 Memory Frequency World Record at 6024.4 MHz With AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

Micron has surpassed the record set by G.Skill Trident Z, which was set a mere month and a half ago. Micron set the new record speed of DDR4 ram to 6024.4MHz which might not seem like a lot of a difference until you learn that this RAM was rated for 4000MHz. This means that the Micron was able to overclock this ram to an amazing 151% off the original base clock.

Micron was able to achieve a new DDR4 memory frequency world record of 6016.4MHz With AMD's Ryzen 3000 CPUs

Micron had to make a dry ice rig to cool both the CPU and the RAM, otherwise, that would've most definitely ...

Google Assistant is ready to find your Tile tracker

As promised, Google Assistant can now help find your Tile trackers with very little effort. Link the Bluetooth gadget in the Google Home app, set up Voice Match in Assistant and you can ask the voice helper to locate your trackers (and hopefully, the items attached to them) using a simple sentence rather than adding a prefix like "ask Tile to" every time. You can tell Assistant to ring your keys or find your bag.

This works on any Assistant-capable device, although you will need the Tile app on Android or iOS for the initial setup. While Assistant's support for Bluetooth t ...

First Intel Core i9-10980XE review gives an early look at performance

Romanian tech site Lab501 apparently managed to get an early sample for the upcoming Extreme Edition chip and got it running on a Gigabyte Aorus Master X299 motherboard with an updated BIOS. The CPU-Z screenshot lists this chip with (ES) in the specification, indicating that it is an engineering sample, rather than the final retail version. 

Since the Ryzen 9 3950X and 3rd Gen Threadripper CPUs have not launched yet, the Core i9-10980XE is compared to the Ryzen 9 3900X, Ryzen 7 3700X, Ryzen 7 2700X, Core i9-9900K, Core i7-9700K and Core i7-8700K. 

We’ll run down a few exampl ...

Hands on: Realme X2 Pro review

The Realme X2 Pro is the first mainstream phone to hit Europe with Samsung’s 64MP camera sensor, which sits alongside three other cameras to deliver a flagship-grade wide/ultra-wide/telephoto setup.

Realme is a relatively unknown entity in the UK, but it’s part of the same group that owns OnePlus and Oppo, so is definitely not small fry. Its latest X2 Pro is an aggressive effort to claim the affordable flagship crown from devices like the OnePlus 7T and the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro.

It’s doing this by making waves with its specs, and that 64MP camera is most definitely leading the c ...

Variable Rate Shading, A Possible Addition To The AMD Strategy?

AMD's patent which was filed all the way back in February of this year seems to suggest that for either an upcoming update or upcoming graphics card, VRS or Variable Rate Shading, would be implemented. Variable Rate Shading is a technique already in use by Nvidia in its graphics cards, VRS allows the GPU to spend more of its focus to the more complex/action orientated part of the screen, by saving resources on the less complex parts of the screen. The technique has helped Nvidia stay ahead of the AMD when it comes to raw performance.

AMD's new graphics cards could come with VRS (Var ...

When will watchOS 6 be released for Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2

watchOS 6 has been available for over a month…but only for the Apple Watch Series 3, Series 4, and Series 5. If you have an older Apple Watch Series 1 or Series 2, you’re still waiting on that watchOS 6 update. Here’s what we know about when it might be released.

What does watchOS 6 include?

In case you missed it, watchOS 6 includes several notable new features for the Apple Watch. A range of new watch faces are arriving with watchOS 6, but those unfortunately aren’t supported with Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2.

For all Apple Watch models, watchOS 6 brings severa ...

Chrome OS update will allow higher-end Chromebooks to use more memory for Linux

Here’s an interesting Chrome OS change coming up considering that I now use a Chromebook with 16 GB of RAM: A new code commit will change how memory is allocated to the Linux environment on Chromebooks with more than 4 GB of RAM. Those devices will see more memory provided to the Linux container…. a lot more, as it stands now.

The code commit description says it all and I was surprised to see that if you have more than 4 GB of memory in your Chromebook, all but 1 GB of it will go towards Linux.

I understand the specific reason noted above that would require this memory alloc ...

Crucial Introduces X8 Portable SSD

Micron's consumer brand Crucial is entering the portable SSD market with the new Crucial X8 Portable SSD. The X8 has a USB-C 10Gb/s (USB 3.1 Gen 2) connection and internally uses a NVMe SSD based on the Crucial P1 with QLC NAND flash. The Crucial X8 is intended for general-purpose consumer storage workloads that are mostly read-intensive; even though it can handle up to ~1GB/s read speeds, the use of QLC NAND means it cannot sustain high write speeds for long and videographers would be disappointed. Instead, Crucial is touting the X8 for transferring or backing up files and photos, or for e ...

Micron launches new hard drives to challenge Intel in data centers

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Idaho-based memory chipmaker Micron Technology on Thursday challenged rival Intel Corp with a new line of hard drives aimed at data centers, just as the two companies are on the cusp of formally ending a joint venture of more than a decade that developed the technology.

Micron and Intel worked together starting in 2006 to bring to market what is called 3D cross-point memory technology. The technology uses three-dimensional features on storage chips to make them faster.

Micron said a year ago that it would buy out Intel's ...

x86 PC Smaller than an iPhone: GIGABYTE's GA-PICO3350 with an Apollo Lake CPU

Hidden underneath the mass of news is a new small Pico-ITX based SoC motherboard from GIGABYTE, the GA-PICO3350. Smaller than the latest iPhone 11 smartphone, the GIGABYTE GA-PICO3350 is 100 x 72 mm and includes an Intel Celeron N3350 Apollo Lake SoC processor, with a single SO-DIMM DDR3L slot, and a Realtek ALC887 HD audio codec.

Slightly larger than a Raspberry Pi 3 B+, the new Pico-ITX sized GIGABYTE GA-PICO3350 is based on Intel's Apollo Lake SoC with an Intel Celeron N3350 dual-core processor which has a base core frequency of 1.1 GHz, with a burst frequency of 2.4 GHz with a T ...

Pick up this XPS Tower with a GTX 1660 for less than $700 from Dell

Looking for a cheap gaming desktop deal? Dell's had a recent string of killer deals on a number of their desktops and laptops. This XPS Tower normally goes for $1,099.99, but Dell is slashing the price down to $685, courtesy of this killer coupon code: XPSDTAFF0. That's a $400 savings for a solid 1080p budget system.

The XPS Tower has an Intel Core i5-9400, 8GB RAM (upgradable to 64 GB), 1TB HDD, and a GTX 1660—a nice build for budget gamers who still want the room to upgrade. You can play all your favorite games in 1080p at medium presets without major issues. A larger SSD instead ...

Hands-on with a new foldable phone concept that's the largest and most daring yet

I've opened and closed foldable phones hundreds of times by now. But even after reviewing the Galaxy Fold (twice), playing with Huawei's Mate X and bending slim concept designs, nothing has prepared me for TCL's prototype dual-hinged phone, which folds in three parts and opens into a huge, 10-inch tablet. 

The most remarkable thing about TCL's phone is that the hinges themselves move in different directions. The DragonHinge fold in, like a book, or like the Galaxy Fold, while the Butterfly Hinge folds the opposite way.

The two hinges create a zigzag shape as you open and clo ...

Intel Unveils 10nm Atom Tremont Microarchitecture

Intel pulled back the veil on its 10nm Tremont Atom architecture today at the Linley Fall Processor Conference. Intel's ULP (ultra-low power) architectures don't grab the flashbulbs like its venerable Core series of chips, but Atom processors power an untold number of low-power devices, like micro-servers, tablets, and Internet of Things (IoT) equipment. These segments still serve as a bastion for Intel, as AMD doesn't have competitive chips to tackle these areas. 

Intel's move to the 10nm Atom Tremont architecture begins with a focus on single-threaded performance but also brings o ...

ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 vs. Pixelbook Go: Which should you buy?

2019 has been a good year for powerful Chromebooks. Since the ASUS C434 has been out a few months already, we can say it is 100% worth purchasing over the Pixelbook Go outside of some niche cirumcstances. Here's why the C434 may not be the sexier Chromebook, but it's definitely the better one to buy.

Function and form: ASUS has both

Let's talk design philosophy for a moment here: the Google Pixelbook is a softer, rounder, more kind-looking Chromebook with warm colors and a simplified design with only one or two ports on each side. It's a good laptop to use out in public, lik ...

Micron Finally Rolls 3D XPoint SSD: X100 Billed as 'World's Fastest' with 2.5 Million IOPS and 9 GBps

Micron announced its X100 SSD today, which its bills as the world's fastest SSD with 9GB/s of sequential performance in both read, write, and mixed workloads, and up to 2.5 million random IOPS. 

Micron touts the new PCIE 3.0 x16 device as delivering an impressive 8 microseconds of latency, which is faster than Intel's claimed 10 microseconds of latency from its Optane SSDs. The SSD is also notably faster at sequential and random performance than any of Intel's competing Optane devices.

Intel and Micron co-developed the revolutionary 3D XPoint storage media, which blends &quo ...

AOC is launching a fast 27-inch FreeSync 2 HDR monitor next month for £439

AOC is getting ready to expand its growing gaming monitor lineup with a high refresh rate model, the Agon AG273QX. It's a 27-inch display with a VA panel capable of up to 165Hz at 1440p.

This is also a certified FreeSync 2 HDR monitor. As such, it supports variable refresh rates to keep the action in sync with your Radeon GPU for smoother gameplay, and technically supports HDR content.

I stay "technically" because the brightness level peaks at 400 nits. That's enough to qualify for VESA's entry-level DisplayHDR 400 certification, but for LCD monitors, brightness pl ...

It's Refresh Time For Intel's Gemini Lake CPUs

FanlessTech, the source for news on miniature PCs, has published the purported specifications for Intel's Gemini Lake Refresh (GLK-R) processors. The refreshed chips are rumored to come out next November, and you'll probably start to find them in budget and low-power desktops and laptops.

The original Gemini Lake (GLK) chips are built on Intel's 14nm process node and feature the chipmaker's Goldmont Plus microarchitecture. Gemini Lake Refresh will most likely follow suit, but we do expect the new processors to arrive with higher clock speeds.

The Pentium Silver J5040 and Cel ...

Chrome OS 80 to bring sideloading of Android apps to Chromebooks

Like many of you, I’ve been tracking a feature request to sideload Android apps on Chromebooks for more than two years. And finally, this feature is coming soon: Likely with Chrome OS 80 to be exact.

Oddly, I didn’t find this out by the bug from September of 2017. Instead, I noticed earlier this week a non-public bug as well as corresponding code changes that will bring the sideloading of Android apps to the Android container on Chromebooks.

Here’s the change description:

While this feature is under development, it will require a special command when starting the C ...

Apple releasing fourth developer beta of iOS 13.2 today

iOS 13.2 beta 4, iPadOS 13.2 beta 4, watchOS 6.1 beta 5, and tvOS 13.2 beta 4 are now available. iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2 public beta 4 also now available.

Apple today is releasing the fourth developer beta of iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2. Today’s release comes exactly one week after the release of the third iOS 13.2 beta with Deep Fusion camera technology, Siri changes, and more.

Deep Fusion is Apple’s new camera processing technology that works in the background to improve image quality for iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro users.

In addition to Deep Fusion, iOS 13.2 also in ...

USB-C brings a golden age of charging accessories

The move from old-style USB ports to the newer USB-C has had its share of growing pains. But the updated design is leading to a profusion of new products to charge your gadgets.

The biggest reason is that USB-C can charge both your phone and your laptop -- and, increasingly, other things like Bluetooth wireless earbuds and MiFi portable hotspots.

That means one charger or one battery pack can be useful in a multitude of circumstances. No more do you need lots of different chargers for lots of different devices, and if you're on the go, you can move your laptop charging cable ...

Treble is actually making a big difference when it comes to Android updates

We're all familiar with Android's dirty "F" word: fragmentation. Turns out, we can't really depend on phone manufacturers to keep devices updated out of the goodness of their own hearts, so Google has been rolling out changes like Project Treble meant to make that job as easy for them as possible. Based on some recently published metrics, Treble is making a big difference.

Treble debuted as part of Android 8.0 Oreo, all the way back in 2017. Google understood that it would take a long time for the new feature to make an impact — only new devices would support it, and a cha ...

Xiaomi (yes, the smartphone maker) debuts its first gaming monitor

There are no shortage of options if you are in the hunt for the best gaming monitor, and in case you have not heard, a couple of newcomers have joined the fun—Razer and Xiaomi.

We already wrote about Razer's Raptor 27, which is now available after being introduced at CES the beginning of this year. Now we've learned that Xiaomi is expanding its product catalog as well.

Xiaomi is best known for its smartphones, though it does dabble in other hardware categories: smart TVs, fitness bands, battery packs, and even electric scooters. Its new Mi Surface 34, however, is the company ...

Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Show Multi-GPU Xe Support

The Intel graphics driver work for the Linux 5.5 kernel contains work on multi-GPU support, including handling integrated and discrete graphics concurrently.

Intel’s latest driver work for Linux 5.5 has shown that it is working on multi-GPU capabilities for its discrete Xe and Gen 12 graphics solutions. The capabilities would include integrated and discrete graphics working concurrently.

Phoronix already reported in August on work Intel has been doing for its graphics driver to support multiple devices concurrently. Phoronix said the muti-GPU support would most commonly be f ...

AMD Might Have More 280W EPYC CPUs In The Works

AMD's Product Master guide, which the chipmaker has since removed, has been a source of multiple nuggets. The rumor mill continues to spin as eagle-eyed leaker @KOMACHI_ENSAKA has spotted a few interesting unannounced EPYC, codenamed Rome, enterprise chips.

The EPYC 7H12 is the crown jewel of AMD's second-generation EPYC family of processors. The core-heavy 280W chip sports 64 cores, 128 threads and 256MB of L3 cache. It has a 2.6 GHz base clock and 3.3 GHz boost clock. 

Like the EPYC 7H12, the EPYC 7742 and 7702 have the exact number of cores and L3 cache. However, the two ...

How to use the ‘Remind when messaging’ feature on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Along with the other changes Reminders received with iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina, there’s a useful new way to get a nudge about a reminder you’ve set when using the Messages app. Follow along for how to use the “Remind when messaging” feature on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Reminders got a big redesign with the latest software for iPhone, iPad, and Mac including the option to make subtasks and sublists, 72 options for list icons and colors, a new UI, and more.

Another subtle yet handy feature is to set a reminder to trigger when you text someone in the Messages app.

...

Intel's Ice Lake Might Work Its Way Into Desktop PCs

A Linux kernel patch from earlier this month, which was spotted by leaker @KOMACHI_ENSAKA, reportedly adds 10nm Ice Lake (ICL) desktop and server processors. Kan Liang, who is a Senior Graphics Software Engineer at Intel, signed off on the patch. 

Despite recent rumors, Intel hasn't given up on its 10nm process node for desktop chips. However, the chipmaker hasn't dropped any specific processors names into its recent statement that it would bring 10nm chips to the desktop. However, the Linux patch does seem rather convincing that Intel's 10nm desktop processors could debut with the ...

AMD ROCm Code Suggests BFloat16 Support in Future GPU

A recent GitHub update for AMD's open-source ROCm software suggests that future AMD GPUs might support the increasingly popular BFloat16 numeric format for deep learning training, following in the footsteps of Google, Intel, and Arm.

The update on GitHub was a commit in the ROCm Software Platform Repository, AMD’s open-source HPC platform for GPU computing, titled “more BF16 TN sizes.” The reference to BF16, short for BFloat16 or bfloat16, suggests that AMD might implement it in hardware in a future GPU architecture.

BFloat16 is a recent numeric data format developed by Goog ...

Chrome 78 for Mac, Windows rolling out: New tab overlays, click-to-call, and more

Google is rolling out the latest version of Chrome for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Chrome 78 readies customization options for the New Tab page, a nifty click-to-call feature, and new tab overlays.

Announced last month, Chrome will soon get more customization options than just adding a background to the New Tab page or using a theme from the Chrome Web Store. Accessible from the same “Customize” button in the bottom-right corner of the New Tab page, the “Background” option remains unchanged. Google offers a gallery or you can upload an image. “Shortcuts” refer to the grid of website fa ...

Chromebook 101: what’s different about the Chromebook keyboard?

One of the first shocks that you may experience when you buy your first Chromebook probably comes when you look at the keyboard. Where is the Caps Lock key? What (if you have a Pixelbook) is that strange-looking key between the Ctrl and Alt keys? What is that strange key in the top row that looks like a square with two straight lines next to it?

Google has tweaked the keyboard of its Chromebooks in ways that emphasize the way in which Chrome OS differs from Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS. And what makes things even more confusing is that the layout of the keyboard can vary depend ...

Hands On With Samsung's New Galaxy Fold

New form factors are always exciting, but nothing else in recent years has captured people's imaginations quite like foldable screens.

When it comes to the Galaxy Fold, drama has ensued. From its micro-debut at Samsung's Developer Conference in 2018, to faulty review units, there have been many question marks around how it would eventually perform.

And while some may have even assumed that the first generation of the Fold would become Vapourware, it made a surprise appearance at IFA 2019. And we got to spend 45 glorious minutes with it.

To set the scene, we tried the ...

Intel's curious "The Element" shows up insides a teardown of its latest mini-computer

Earlier this year, Intel showed off the NUC Compute Element, previously known simply as The Element, and it was one of the best PC components at Computex. But, it was unclear just what sort of product we'd see built around it. Now, the details are starting to come together.

In a recent teardown from Chinese form KoolShare, spotted by Tom's Hardware, we've seen a glimpse of something called "The Element" inside Intel's upcoming NUC 9 extreme. 

By all outward appearances, the NUC 9 Extreme is a fairly straightforward computer, albeit a small one. Intel's trick with t ...

Razer’s first gaming monitor (27-inch, 144Hz) is now available for $699

It's been nine months since Razer trotted out its Raptor 27 gaming monitor at CES, and if you've been waiting for this one, you can finally purchase the display—Razer is now accepting orders, with the Raptor 27 priced at $699.99.

That's a bit on the high on side compared to other gaming monitors with similar specs. More on that in a moment, but first, here's a rundown of the vitals:

Screen Size—27 inches

Resolution—WQHD (2560 x 1440p)

Panel—IPS

Refresh rate—144 Hz

Response rate—4ms with Overdrive, 1ms with Motion Blur reduction, 7ms typical

...

AMD May Be Prepping More 280 W EPYC Enterprise CPUs

Back in September, AMD announced its 64-core EPYC 7H12 processor - a 280 W TDP behemoth with an increased base frequency designed specifically for the high-performance computing market. Based on AMD’s Product Master list inadvertently published by the company earlier this week, the company may release more EPYC CPUs with an extended TDP.

As it turns out, the EPYC 7H12 will not be the only Rome CPU with a 280 W TDP. AMD’s Product Master document lists the EPYC 7R22 and the EPYC 7R32 with a 280 W TDP, as well as the EPYC 7V12 with a 240 W TDP. We have no idea whether these CPUs are to ...

Lenovo: Foldable ThinkPad X1 to Launch in 2020

At Canalys Channels Forum last week, Lenovo finally revealed launch timeframe for its foldable ThinkPad X1 hybrid notebook that was first revealed in May. The company says that the machine is ready from hardware standpoint, but it needs its software partners to polish off their programs for the innovative unit.

Lenovo’s foldable ThinkPad X1 features a 13.3-inch OLED display featuring a ‘2K’ resolution that can be folded in half to fit it into a small bag. The hybrid notebook can be used in tablet, book, and clamshell modes to serve different purposes. It can also be attached to a st ...

THE ASUS CHROMEBOOK FLIP C436 IS SHAPING UP TO BE ITS MOST PREMIUM CHROMEBOOK YET

It would be an understatement to say that ASUS’ Chromebook strategy has been a bit odd of late. When they debuted their very-excellent Flip C434 back in January at CES 2019, it seemed they had a clear vision as to what constituted a great Chromebook. The Flip C434 was and is a great example of a great Chromebook that brings nearly everything users would want to the table.

As the months wore on since then, the Flip C434 has been awarded as the year’s best Chromebook from multiple outlets and even seen pretty regular price drops from multiple retailers. As the price slid down, the num ...

Kingston unveils another SSD line for users still clinging to 2.5-inch SATA drives

Kingston on Monday announced its new KC600 family of solid state drives, and no, they're not of the fancy PCI Express 4.0 variety. They're not even PCIe/NVMe or M.2 form factor drives—the KC600 line unabashedly gives another go-round to the 2.5-inch SATA form factor. For gaming, there's nothing wrong with that, and the best SSD for gaming can very well be a 2.5-inch SATA drive when factoring in the cost. Besides, with Black Friday deals right around the corner, prices may drop well below what Kingston is offering at launch.

In most cases, there is virtually no perceptible difference ...

Intel may have a 6-core Comet Lake S CPU to challenge AMD in desktops

Intel may have moved onto 10nm process nodes for its Ice Lake processors (CPUs), but it looks like 14nm is still where its focus is for desktop. And, it may not be such a bad thing, as a recent leak has shown what could be a new Intel Core i5 CPU with 6 cores and 12 threads using the new Comet Lake-S architecture, HotHardware reports.

The leak shows an Intel CPU tested on an H400-series motherboard, one we understand to be designed for desktop Comet Lake-S processors using the LGA 1200 socket. Beyond the chip's 6 cores and 12 threads, it's shown having a base clock speed of 2.0GHz a ...

Mac running Catalina? Apple has released a new update to macOS 10.15

Just under a week ago, Apple released a supplemental update to macOS Catalina with various bug fixes and performance improvements. Now, Apple has made a revised version of that same supplemental update available to users.

On its developer website, Apple says that a new version of the macOS Catalina supplemental update has been released today. If you installed the original supplemental update released last week, you might not even receive today’s revised version with Apple focusing on people who hadn’t yet installed the initial supplemental update.

The release notes for today ...

SK hynix introduces 1Znm DDR4 memory

The company claims productivity of the new 1Znm memory modules has been improved by approximately 27% over the previous generation 1Ynm line. However, the manufacturing process does not require expensive extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithology so 1Znm production will be cost-effective.

SK hynix 1Znm memory supports up to 3200Mbps data transfer rates, which is the fastest data processing speed from the DDR4 interface. The new 1Znm memory modules have increased power efficiency, therefore successfully reducing power consumption by around 40% compared to modules of the same density from pr ...

Razer Raptor 27

Razer isn't known as a company that makes gaming monitors—mainly because it never has made one before. But if the company's first model, the $699 Raptor 27, is any indication of what we can expect going forward, it won't be long before it's arm-wrestling with the top gaming-monitor manufacturers in the market. The Raptor 27 wows us with exceptional color results, ultra-low input lag, and a unique design that is wholly Razer, all of which are enough to earn the display our Editors' Choice. It's one of the best gaming monitors of 2019.

A Mostly Intelligent Design

On the design ...

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super Specs Seemingly Confirmed

A listing on JD.com lists specifications for the unreleased Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super graphics card, as spotted by longtime hardware leaker @momomo_us.

There have many leaks about the GTX 1660 Super already, so expected specs have been out for a while. However, this is the first official listing of a custom model, and it helps corroborate early reports.

Let's start with what hasn't changed. The GTX 1660 Super is expected to retain the same number of CUDA cores, 1,408, as the original GTX 1660. The clock speeds are reportedly the same too, which means we're looking at a 1 ...

Gigabyte Reveals Threadripper 3 Motherboard With Chipset Fan, Plethora of PCIe and M.2 slots

Gigabyte South Africa has revealed an image of a new Threadripper motherboard, which is likely part of the Threadripper 3 launch in November. Threadripper 3 boards are rumored to use the TRX40 chipset and even a new socket (which is expected to be physically identical to the TR4 socket, but different nonetheless). This board from Gigabyte is almost certainly one of the high end offerings, likely an AORUS or a motherboard more in line with a workstation-focused brand.

From the image, we can see four full-sized PCIe brackets (all of which are reinforced), three M.2 ports all equipped ...

Intel's 'Element' Comes To Life In Ghost Canyon NUC

A Chinese user from the KoolShare forums has reviewed and dismantled an engineering sample of Intel's upcoming NUC 9 Extreme, codenamed Ghost Canyon. It appears that the NUC (Next Unit of Computing) actually uses Intel's 'The Element' module that was revealed earlier this month.

The Intel NUC 9 Extreme measures 238 x 216 x 96mm (L x W x H) and is the chipmaker's largest NUC yet. Intel will reportedly offer three 45W processor options that span from four cores up to eight cores. You can pick between the Core i9-9980HK, Core i7-9750H and Core i5-9300H.

The NUC's front panel ho ...

Android 11: what we want to see

The 2020 Android update is set to be Android 11 – that’s not speculation, but fact, since Google has confirmed the name itself. This follows, because with Android 10 Google pledged to follow a numerical system of operating system organisation.

That means while Android 9 was Android Pie, Android 10 wasn’t Android Quiche, and Android 11 won’t be Android Rhubarb and Custard (sadly) - but it will be packed with updates and, likely, a few long-awaited features.

Android 11, Google’s next operating system, is set to be revealed in mid-2020, before being released for Pixel devices a ...

OnePlus 7T review: Snapdragon 855+, 90Hz OLED display, and more for a low price

While the OnePlus 7T has a flashy new design with a circular camera housing, its key feature is what we previously only saw in the OnePlus 7 Pro: the 90Hz OLED display. With its fast chipset and UFS 3.0 storage, the faster refresh rate just makes things feel that much smoother. And what's cool is that it only costs $599, much less than pretty much any other flagship smartphone.

After I'm done with this review, I'm still going to say that the OnePlus 7 Pro is the best Android smartphone you can buy in the U.S., despite the slightly faster chipset in the 7T. Unfortunately, the 7T Pro ...

Open-Source C.A.S. Vulkan Layer - Similar to Radeon Image Sharpening But For Any GPU

AMD's Radeon Image Sharpening feature is designed to improve image quality with minimal performance costs. However, it is only supported by Radeon Polaris / Vega / Navi graphics cards and only under Microsoft Windows 10. An independent open-source project has implemented contrast adaptive sharpening support for Vulkan that is similar to Radeon Image Sharpening but will work for any Vulkan-enabled GPU -- including NVIDIA GPUs.

vkBasalt is this new open-source project that provides contrast adaptive sharpening for any Vulkan game with its implementation being a Vulkan post-processing ...

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X, 3970X, and 3990X expected to be announced on November 5, require new TRX40 chipsets and new sockets

AMD has three new Threadripper processors lined up for a November launch, according to information obtained by Videocardz. These include the Threadripper 3960X, 3970X, and the 3990X. The Threadripper 3960X and 3970X will be unveiled on November 5 with review embargo lifting on November 19. The Threadripper 3990X will be officially launched during CES 2020 although, it will still be teased alongside the other two Threadrippers. The Threadripper 3980X can also be expected to be unveiled during CES 2020. 

The specifications of the 3rd generation Threadrippers are all speculation as of ...

PIXELBOOK GO LISTING IN THE GOOGLE STORE HINTS AT ADOBE PREMIERE RUSH RELEASE

Adobe Premiere Rush is the dangling carrot that has been just out of reach for Chromebook users everywhere for well over a year at this point. To be fair, Adobe only previewed the cross-platform application when it debuted in June of 2018, but the path from that debut took nearly a year for Premeire Rush to actually land on devices. When it did arrive in May of 2019, again Chromebook users were told it was “coming soon” only to sit around and wait for months on end for Adobe to actually deliver on its promises.

Nearly six months since that actual product debut, we’ve heard next to n ...

The best spy cameras you can buy in 2019

Think of a spy camera and you may visualize someone shuffling along in a trench coat, wide brimmed hat tipped forward over the eyes. Or perhaps you’ll imagine an intrepid soul hanging out of a rickety biplane strafing the trenches during the First World War. In the past, famous spy camera brands have included the reliable Minox, used by George Lazenby in his Bond outing ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. However, in the digital age the choice for covert captures has broadened and innovation increased – especially since every smartphone in our pockets already has a mini camera built in.

...

Chrome rolls out new protections preventing password and data theft

Google is temporarily increasing the rewards it pays for hacks that exploit holes in a beefed-up security protection that debuted in desktop versions of Chrome last month. Chrome for Android, meanwhile, is receiving a slimmed-down version of the same protection.

For a limited time, Google will boost its normal bounty amounts for exploits that allow one site the browser is interacting with to steal passwords or other sensitive data from another accessed site. Google is also broadening its vulnerability reward program to include bugs in Blink—the core software that Chrome uses to rend ...

Razer’s Blade 15 Studio Edition is now available, with a whopping 16GB of graphics memory

Razer’s new Blade 15 Studio Edition laptop is now available in the US and Canada. Its design fits right into the company’s lineup of gaming-focused laptops, but this one is built specifically for creative professionals who demand especially high-end specs and who have a lot of money to spend.

The only configuration that’s currently available costs $3,999 and comes in “mercury white,” which looks silver. Its 15.6-inch touchscreen is a 4K OLED with a 1ms response time that covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. For its processor, Razer selected the 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H h ...

AMD RX 5700 Series Selling Like Hot Cakes, AIB Sales Up 100%+

AMD's latest Radeon RX 5700 series are selling like hot cakes, latest AIB financial reports show. With TUL Corporation, an exclusive AMD add-in-board partner and owner of subsidiary PowerColor, growing its revenue by 103% in Q3 2019.

And while AMD is not scheduled to announce its quarterly financial results until the end of the month, TUL's enormous financial success - because it's an exclusive AMD AIB -- is a direct indicator of what we should expect to see in AMD's GPU sales numbers come Q3 earnings.

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT & RX 5700 Lead Graphics Card Sales in Europe &a ...

Apple releases second developer beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.1

Following the release of the first beta last week, Apple today has released the second developer beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.1. The update includes changes such as new emoji and new Siri privacy settings.

The latest macOS Catalina 10.15.1 beta is available now to developers via the System Preferences application. macOS Catalina 10.15.1 focuses primary on bug fixes and performance improvements, with two other notable changes.

For one, there are new Siri privacy settings. A new splash screen will ask you if you want to help improve Siri by allowing Apple to store and review a ...

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Review: The Last of a Dying Breed

They just don’t make Android tablets like they used to. Actually, a lot of companies don’t bother making them at all nowadays. With more and more consumers opting for hybrid devices, Chrome OS has become a more popular choice for 2-in-1 tablets, while other companies, including Google, have gotten out of the tablet making game completely. That means if you want a fancy new high-end tablet with Android that can handle both work and play, your only real option is Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S6.

For 2019, Samsung gave the Tab S6 several useful upgrades while also addressing some of my biggest ...

XIAOMI MONITOR AND XIAOMI SURFACE DISPLAY OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED

This morning, Xiaomi launched two monitors. One of the Xiaomi Monitor comes with a 23.8-inch FHD display, while the Curved Screen Gaming Display is at 34 inches. With the launch of these two models, Xiaomi officially entered the display market.

XIAOMI MONITOR 23.8-INCH

The 23.8-inch variant of the Xiaomi Display has a square shape. In some sense, it looks like a Dell model. The menu control buttons are on the lower right side of the display.

It also has a cylindrical bracket of 23.8 inches. But seems it doesn’t support height adjustment. Although it can be adjusted ...

Another independent antivirus testing lab gives Windows Defender high marks

For the second month in a row, Microsoft can point to the newest data from an independent testing lab as validation that Windows Defender provides sufficient protection against malware.

AV-Comparatives published its malware protection test results for September 2019. The data is kind of all over the place, but the gist of the report is Windows Defender provides a high level of protection, albeit at the expense of flagging a higher number of legitimate files as malicious than several other AV programs—looking strictly at false positives, Windows Defender fell around the middle of the ...

ANDROID 10 WITH MAGIC UI 3.0 ARRIVE FOR HONOR 20 AND 20 PRO

Since the arrival of Android 10, companies have got to work to provide the new version of Google’s operating system for their terminals. During this month, it was planned that the top of the range of the Huawei subsidiary, the Honor 20 and 20 Pro would receive the Android 10 beta. This has already occurred and users of both devices will begin receiving it shortly.

A couple of months ago, Huawei announced which terminals would be updated to Android 10. In the coming months under the renewed EMUI 10 and Magic UI 3.0 layer. Although some Huawei devices have already begun to receive the ...

Nvidia's new Shield TV Pro leaks on Amazon with launch coming very soon

Rumors had already been swirling about a pair of new Nvidia Shield TV products, and a recent leak on Amazon suggests one will be an Nvidia Shield TV Pro launching on October 28, Android Authority reports.

The product listing showed a similar design to the existing Nvidia Shield TV, but an updated remote with backlit buttons. The price was listed at $199, which would fit the $199 / £189 / AU$249.95 launch price of its predecessor.

But, there are some clear reasons to upgrade, including the new Nvidia Tegra X1+ chip, which can boost performance up to 25%, plus, and support for ...

Half of all iPhones are already using iOS 13 while most other flagships are still waiting on Android 10

Apple's new iOS 13, which launched alongside the iPhone 11, hasn't even been available for a month, yet the tech giant has confirmed that 50% of iPhones have updated to the new operating system already, showing strong adoption by users.

The data is all the more striking considering how Apple has broken down the adoption rates. While half of virtually all iPhones in the wild have upgraded to the new operating system, considering only iPhones released in the last four years raises that rate to 55% (38% of those remain on iOS 12). So, however it's measured, the adoption is large.

...

The new Google Assistant doesn't support button navigation, to the dismay of users

The new Google Pixel 4 and Google Pixel 4 XL brought with them a new and improved version of Google Assistant. The updated app includes some welcome additions, such as a smarter, pared-down look and improved voice recognition, but not every change has been warmly received.

Google has also decided to abandon the three-button interface from previous versions of Assistant and replace it with gesture controls – and not everyone is happy about it.

A new Google support document explains that although three-button navigation is still available in Android 10 (and can be activated th ...

Philips' 346B1C USB-C Ultrawide Monitor Targets Both Productivity and Gaming

Today, Phillips released a new ultrawide monitor, the 346B1C. This is a curved 34-inch monitor with a VA LCD panel, but contrary to what you would think, it isn’t manufactured by Phillips -– rather, this is an MMD monitor being sold under the Philips brand.

Philips’ new monitor is built to be a productivity-oriented monitor, but that doesn’t stop it from having some qualities that would make it work as a gaming monitor. On the productivity front, it’s got a large 3440 x 1440 resolution, and on the gaming front it’s has a respectable 100 Hz refresh rate and adaptive sync for fighting ...

Arctic launches a massive CPU cooler for Threadripper CPUs with up to 64 cores

AMD is set to debut a 24-core/48-thread Ryzen Threadripper processor based on its Zen 2 architecture next month, and we can only guess how high the core count will go on other models to follow. If Arctic's new Freezer 50 TR cooler is any indication, a third-generation Threadripper with 64 cores and 128 threads could be looming around the corner.

The Freezer 50 TR is Arctic's largest CPU air cooler to date. It features a dual-tower design measuring 147.8 (L) x 149.5 (W) x 165 mm, and weighs 1,242g. For reference, Arctic's Freezer 33 TR cooler measures 123 x 89 x 155 and weighs 705g.  ...

'Now Playing' music detection feature gets better with the Pixel 4

Google first debuted a feature called 'Now Playing' with the Pixel 2 and 2 XL, which listened for music being played around you and matched it with a locally-stored database (it doesn't send a continuous stream of audio to servers for matching). The Pixel 4 was announced today, and among its many upgrades include changes to Now Playing.

Now Playing should match far more songs than before, thanks to "federated analytics." Here's how a support page explains it:

The counts of songs recognized across Pixel 4 phones are aggregated using a privacy-preserving technology ...

Performance Review: How does the Intel m3-8100Y CPU perform on the new Chuwi UBook Pro?

Chuwi released its new 2in1 tablet, UBook Pro, on Indiegogo and according to the company it is a very powerful all-around machine. It is mainly designed for office work as well as students, it comes with a 12.3″ IPS display and 3:2 screen ratio as well as the Intel Core M3-8100Y CPU that allows a 50% performance boost over the previous UBook. But how powerful is it when benchmarked? Let’s see in the benchmark test we conducted recently.

CPU-Z

We used the CPU-Z application to see the specs of CPU and do a benchmark test. As you can see, it comes with the already mentioned Int ...

Google Nest Mini vs Google Home Mini: what’s new with the latest Google smart speaker?

The Google Nest Mini has officially been unveiled as the successor to the company’s most affordable smart speaker, the Google Home Mini. 

Launched in 2017, the original Google Home Mini delivered all the smarts of Google Assistant in a compact form, allowing it to act as a cheap hub for your smart home, as well as nifty little speaker. 

While popular, the Google Home Mini did have its issues; namely poor audio quality, which the tech giant is hoping to rectify with the new Nest Mini. 

So how does the new model stack up against its predecessor? While we haven’t had th ...

This smartwatch uses your body heat to offer infinite runtime

PowerWatch claims to have produced the world’s first smartwatch that can be powered solely using its wearer’s body heat. This opens up the possibility of an infinite runtime.

PowerWatch Series 2 key specs

Smartwatch powered by wearer’s body heat

200m water resistance

Integrated solar charger

GPS location tracking

Sleep monitoring

3rd party app integration

“The world’s most accurate calorie counter”

PowerWatch range starts at $499 (international pricing TBC)

The PowerWatch is based on a thermoelectric engine, whi ...

Corsair levels up its compact PCs with Intel 9th gen CPUs and RTX graphics

Corsair has expanded its range of compact desktops to include three new models, the Corsair One i145 and i164, and Corsair One Pro i182. Each one is powered by a liquid-cooled 9th generation Intel Core processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics, housed in the familiar 12-liter chassis Corsair has been using since it introduced its One series in 2017.

The original One earned a high mark when we reviewed it several years ago, and so did the i160 configuration we evaluated earlier this year—the latter model made our list of the best gaming PCs. We were not as enamored by the One Pro i18 ...

Oppo working on under-display sensors for supposed quad-curve ‘3D waterfall’ display

Smartphone innovation has been at an all-time high in the past couple of years with new designs akin to the pop-up camera, under-display fingerprint technology, and waterfall displays we’re already seeing. The latest patents filed by Oppo suggest we could see a display that’s curved at all edges. This could be possible thanks to another technology that Oppo has also patented: placing sensors under the display.

The patents outline a light sensor and another infrared light sensor, both of which could function from below the display. This would eliminate the need for a bezel to house t ...

Razer's Blade 15 Advanced gets an optical mechanical keyboard

We've seen gaming laptops with mechanical keyboards before, but Razer is taking things to a new level with the latest Blade 15 Advanced. It's the first notebook to feature an optical mechanical keyboard, meaning it relies on light sensors instead of physical switches to register inputs. We first saw those switches on the Razer Huntsman Elite, and we weren't too impressed. But they may serve a greater purpose on a laptop, since they allow for a thin profile keyboard with a decent amount of feedback.

Since they're light based, Razer claims the new keyboard doesn't have any of the boun ...

How to check iPad and Mac Sidecar requirements

Sidecar is a slick new feature that’s arrived with macOS Catalina and iPadOS 13 that lets users turn their iPad into an external Mac display either wirelessly or wired. Follow along for how to check iPad and Mac Sidecar hardware requirements and more.

Sidecar worked with any iPad that was able to run iPadOS 13 during the developer beta period. But with the official release, only newer iPads are able to take advantage of the feature (Apple may have seen performance issues with Sidecar on older iPads or other problems).

In addition to your Mac running macOS Catalina and your i ...

Relocated Items in macOS Catalina Explained

After upgrading to macOS Catalina, you may be surprised to discover a shortcut on your Mac's desktop to a Relocated Items folder that wasn't there previously. The generation of this folder is actually normal behavior when upgrading an older version of macOS to Catalina, but we're highlighting it in this article because a lot of users are confused about why the folder exists and what to do with its contents.

What Are Relocated Items?

Relocated items are older files and data from previous macOS installations that Apple is not sure what to do with after upgrading to Catalina....

The Pixel 4 Won't Come With USB-C Earbuds or a 3.5mm Adaptor

Nobody was really happy when the phone companies decided that the headphone jack was to be made extinct, but the blow was softened by the fact they started throwing in 3.5mm adaptors and USB-C (or Lightning, if you're an iPhone user) earbuds into the box. But that trend is slowly dying off, and it seems Google is sticking to that trend for the Pixel 4.

Last year the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL came with both a USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor and a pair of wired Pixel Buds, meaning anyone who bought one had the option could use their old wired headphone or opt for Google's newer earbuds. But this ...

The best APS-C compact cameras

Camera phones have anhialiated the conventional compact camera market, so for a standalone compact to really stand out these days, it needs to deliver clearly superior image quality. The best way to acheive this is to fit a big image sensor, and there's a decent selection of cameras packing large APS-C-sized sensors that can outgun even the best camera phone for image quality. With an APS-C compact, you're essentially getting DSLR image quality from a camera that can fit in a jacket pocket.

APS-C compact cameras are almost the perfect blend of performance and practicality, but there ...

Google launches USB-C Titan security key

After making its Titan security keys available for purchase last August, Google has announced that it will add a new USB-C key to the product line which will be soon be available on its store for $40.

The company's Titan security keys provide users with an ultra secure method of two-factor authentication for a number of online services over USB-A, NFC or Bluetooth.

Google's new USB-C key features similar functionality to its existing USB-A and Bluetooth keys and the device is also built to comply with the FIDO standard.

The new USB-C key is compatible with Android, C ...

Intel Brings Wi-Fi 6 and 2.5GbE to the Desktop With Cascade Lake-X

As Intel disclosed during its Cascade Lake-X launch, the company is bringing new networking tech to the desktop with its i225-V controller for 2.5Gbps Ethernet, while its AX200 module slots in for Wi-Fi 6 wireless connectivity. Coincidentally, those are two technologies that chief competitor AMD does not have as in-house IP, adding to Intel’s value proposition.

2.5Gbps Ethernet Appears

After over a decade of 1 Gbps Ethernet, Intel is now moving to a 2.5GbE PHY with its i225-V Ethernet controller, codenamed Foxville. Phoronix was first to discover Foxville in 2018 via Linux k ...

AMD Confirms B550A chipset for OEMs

We have been expecting B550 motherboards for quite some time, but now AMD has finally commented on the value-oriented chipset. Well, sort of.

As spotted by Computerbase.de, Robert Hallock, one of AMD’s chief marketers, made a statement on the AMD subreddit about the existence of the B550A chipset, which is apparently different from the rumored B550 chipset.

On a post about a user spotting a pre-built system using a B550 motherboard from ASRock, Hallock commented to correct the user that the OEM system uses a B550A motherboard and not a 'standard' B550 board.

“No, it ...

Nikon Z 50 vs D7500: mirrorless vs DSLR

This Nikon Z 50 vs D7500 comparison might look like it has an obvious winner; the Z 50 is newer, smaller, lighter and has a faster continuous shooting speed than the D7500, which has been around since 2017. It’s also a battle between mirrorless vs DSLR cameras, which many people imagine has already been won by mirrorless cameras. But let’s not be too hasty, because there’s more to this than meets the eye.

The Nikon Z 50 is Nikon’s first APS-C mirrorless camera. It uses the same Nikkor Z lens mount as the existing full frame Nikon mirrorless cameras, the Nikon Z 6 and Z 7, but a smal ...

USB-C Has Finally Come Into Its Own

The Surface Pro 7. The Kindle Fire HD 10. The PlayStation 5. All major gadgets announced or detailed this week, each with a bevy of enhancements. But more important than any of those flagship products on its own is the fact that together they embraced something their predecessors did not: USB-C.

You know USB-C. If you own a premium Android smartphone, chances are you’re already using it. But its ubiquity otherwise has been slow in coming. WIRED and others first anointed USB-C as “the port of the future” in 2015, when Apple’s entry-level, 12-inch MacBook introduced it to the masses. ...

HMD testing 5G Nokia 8.2 (?) proto with 64MP camera, bigger sensor & a hole-less display

HMD has already posted teasers about its 5G Nokia value flagship with a new Snapdragon 7XX processor coming in 2020. It even teased the design of the upcoming 5G Nokia value flagship with a bezel-less, notch-less display.

Now, our sources confirm to us that this display will not even have a punch-hole and rather will have a pop-up selfie camera. This was in fact posted as part of a rumor and we can now confirm that a proto with pop-up selfie camera and 5G capability is already in testing.

One more important detail that our sources want to add is about the rear camera that th ...

New Tools & IP Accelerate Development of 5nm Arm ‘Hercules’ SoCs

Arm, Synopsys, and Samsung Foundry have developed a set of optimized tools and IP that will enable chip designers to build next-generation SoCs based on Arm’s Hercules processor cores on Samsung’s 5LPE (5 nm, Low Power Early) node faster. The three companies expect the tools and IP to be used by designers of SoCs for a wide variety of applications.

The set of Synopsys tools are certified by Samsung Foundry for its 5LPE manufacturing technology, and now includes the Fusion Design Platform as well as QuickStart Implementation Kit that are enabled to optimize power, performance, and ar ...

Misfit Vapor X review

Want to make a Wear OS watch with personality? It’s not easy. These days, most smartwatches have the stand-out appeal of bags of white flour.

Misfit does not fall into the trap of trying too hard with its design. The Vapor X looks clean, clear and tasteful, unlike the fairly ugly TicWatch watches.

It also has all the features you need, including GPS, Google Pay and a heart rate sensor. However, getting around a day of battery life under real world usage won't impress anyone, especially when there are longer-lasting alternatives like the Fitbit Versa, Samsung Galaxy Watch and ...

How to share Notes app folders on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

A lesser-known but very useful feature included with iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina is improved sharing in the Notes app. Follow along for how to share Notes app folders on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Folder sharing for iCloud Drive in the Files app was originally planned for the launch of iOS 13, but it’s been pushed back for now. However, folder sharing in the Notes app is live now for iPhone, iPad, and Mac with the latest software and is handy while we wait for iCloud Drive folder sharing as well for the long term.

How to share Notes app folders on iPhone, iPad, and Mac ...

Samsung will PAY YOU to use this new Galaxy S10 feature

SAMSUNG will pay owners of its smartphones to use a new feature that has just released for the S10, Note 10 and numerous other Galaxy devices.

Samsung has announced a new feature dubbed Samsung Pay Cash. This virtual card wallet will compliment its existing tap-to-pay system, Samsung Pay.

While the latter lets you hold your smartphone near a contactless payment point (as well as those infuriating swipe-based terminals the USA insist on using) to pay with your debit or credit card.

Using Samsung Pay Cash, Galaxy smartphone owners will be able to keep money within the ...

Radeon Software Getting More Features Come This December

AMD and the team at Radeon Technologies Group have been bolstering their feature stack in their software side for quite some time now and taken to an annual major update that started back when they moved away from Catalyst Control Center to their Radeon Software Crimson Edition. Currently sitting in their Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition we now know, thanks to the eagle eye of Mark at OC3D, that Frank Azor of AMD has taken the stage in China to talk about Radeon and what to expect from them and that's even more, come this December.

We've seen some of the biggest innovations from Ra ...

G.SKILL announce a series of high-performance, high-capacity memory modules

Included in the new specifications are G.SKILL’s Trident Z Royal and Trident Z Neo ranges of high-speed DRR4 memory. All of the new series will offer 32GB capacity modules and, in some cases, offer to support the demands of Intel’s new HEDT Cascade Lake-X Platform which allows for up to 256 GB memory.

New Trident Z Royal Kits will be available in DDR4-3200 CL16 256GB (32×8) configurations which will offer high density, high-performance memory at consumer level. G.SKILL Trident Z Royal DDR4-3200 CL16 256GB is validated on the latest Intel X299 ASUS ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore mothe ...

Corsair announces Void Elite and HS Pro headsets with upgraded audio

Corsair is once again refreshing its Void headset with the promise of better audio, courtesy of new custom tuned 50mm neodymium drivers with an expanded frequency range.

Incidentally, the original Void Wireless we reviewed in 2015 also used 50mm drivers. However, the custom tuned drivers in the new Void Elite series gives these headsets a rated frequency range of 20Hz to 30,000Hz, up from a 20,000Hz at the top end. Whether or not this expanded range will be enough to crack our list of the best gaming headsets remains to be seen (er, heard).

There are three Void Elite models, ...

NEW CHROME OS FILES APP FEATURE TAKES A MAJOR STEP TOWARDS CHROME OS & ANDROID UNIFICATION

One of the longest-running complaints I’ve had with Android apps on Chromebooks is the lack of consistency across the board from a UI standpoint. From separate app stores to multiple ways to add accounts, Android has always had a bolted-on feel when being utilized on a Chromebook. Even the way apps scale to fit the screen was handled separately at one point along the way, forcing users to navigate to a special Android setting just to get scaling to work on both Android and Chrome apps alike.

Over the years since Android and Chrome OS started hanging out together on Chromebooks, many ...

I bought a Galaxy Fold and used it for ten days—here are my thoughts

For the last several years, smartphone manufacturers innovated primarily in the way of camera technology, while the form factor has increasingly stagnated into a bunch of boring, glass-backed slabs. Many have been asking for more innovation, and with the Samsung Galaxy Fold we see a radical departure from the ordinary. But phones that fold are, in a way, a return to the past.

Nearly a decade ago, we had foldable phones like the Nokia E7 and T-Mobile Touch Pro 2. They were known as "slider" phones, and featured displays that folded away to reveal physical QWERTY keyboards, ...

All MacBooks will ditch the Butterfly keyboard by mid 2020, analyst claims

Famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted some of the best potential news surrounding MacBooks in years: by mid 2020, all MacBook models will use traditional scissor switches within their keyboards.

Of course, it’s widely expected that the rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro will lead this charge by dropping the… challenged Butterfly keyboard design in favor of a more traditional scissor switch method.

Thanks to Kuo, and first reported by MacRumors, we can now expect the same improvement to come to the rest of Apple’s laptop lineup before the middle mark of 2020.

Older ...

What’s new in iOS 13.2 beta 2? New emoji, Siri privacy setting, more

The second developer beta of iOS 13.2 is now available. In addition to features like Deep Fusion and Announce Messages with Siri, the second developer beta has more in store. Here’s our full roundup of what’s new.

The first beta of iOS 13.2 was released last week with Apple’s new Deep Fusion image processing technology. In addition to Deep Fusion, iOS 13.2 also includes things such as the addition of Announce Messages with Siri, new iPadOS settings, HomeKit tweaks, and more.

Today’s release of iOS 13.2 developer beta 2 includes even more changes. Read on as we roundup them u ...

Hands-on Pixelbook Go images reveal the upcoming Chromebook in full

We've previously heard that Google would follow up its Pixelbook – the company's flagship Chromebook – with a lighter and more affordable product than its premium predecessor, and now we've just gotten our best look at the Pixelbook Go yet.

Thanks to a trusted source close to 9to5Google, the Pixelbook Go has been revealed in full, with extensive shots of the device itself in a salmon color scheme (visit the original article for a full gallery of images).

Ribbed for your pleasure

As pointed out by 9to5Google, the Pixelbook Go prominently sports a textured bottom panel ...

OnePlus 7T Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus

2019 has been the first year OnePlus has truly made phones that compete with the best flagships around, first with the OnePlus 7 Pro, and now with the OnePlus 7T Pro.

It’s not a huge upgrade on the 7 Pro but it’s an upgrade nonetheless, making it the highest-end phone OnePlus has to offer, and its clearest competitor to the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus.

Samsung’s phone is somewhat older, launching towards the start of 2019, but it remains one of the most accomplished Android flagships around and tops our best phones list, so does the OnePlus 7T Pro have what it takes to compete? ...

MSI Radeon RX 5700 Gaming X 8 GB Graphics Card Review – Navi 10 Lite Gets The Gaming X Treatment!

AMD's Radeon RX 5700 series is finally getting the much-awaited custom variants and MSI is out with an entirely new lineup designed just for RDNA based graphics cards. Launched last month, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 lineup introduced very competitive prices for mainstream tier graphics cards which would go against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX lineup, now AIBs are further expanding the lineup with their own non-reference variants that offer better cooling performance and higher out of box clock speeds.

The Radeon RX 5700 series uplifted AMD by bringing a modern architecture design and moving a ...

Lenovo ThinkPad E14 with Comet Lake is thinner, lighter

Lenovo’s follow-up to the ThinkPad E490 is the new ThinkPad E14 which is a little thinner, a littler lighter, and a little more powerful thanks to the move to 10th-gen Intel Core “Comet Lake” processors.

But as spotted by NotebookCheck, those improvements come at a cost: the new laptop has only a single SODIMM slot for memory, unlike its predecessor, which had two.

Lenovo hasn’t announced pricing or availability details yet, but spec sheets for the new Lenovo ThinkPad E14 are online at Lenovo’s website, along with specs for a new 15 inch model called the ThinkPad E15.

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AMD + ITX + TB3? It's the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 Motherboard Review

When it comes to small form factor systems, options are few and far between. For AMD's X570, out of the 35+ motherboards currently available, just four of them are smaller than mATX. This doesn't give users much to choose from. In this case, mini-ITX implementations have to get it right, and over the last few years ASRock has been at the forefront of the enthusiast small form factor market with an array of models. Today we are reviewing its latest mini-ITX motherboard, the ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3. This unique product incorporates Thunderbolt 3 into the frame, pairing it with 802. ...

Lenovo ThinkBook 13s Review

While it’s fair to debate whether it was necessary for Lenovo to create another sub-brand catering exclusively to small- and medium-sized businesses, I’m starting to understand the decision. The firm’s thinnest and lightest business-class laptops, in the ThinkPad X1 series, are desirable but far too expensive for most. And so ThinkBook can fill that hole, delivering the best of ThinkPad but without some of the luxuries that put the X1 series, in particular, out of reach.

Lenovo currently sells two ThinkBook models, the 13.3-inch ThinkBook 13s that I’m reviewing, and the 14-inch Thin ...

Canon EOS M200 review

The Canon EOS M200 is the brand's smallest, most affordable mirrorless camera – does it have more than price on its side?

The Canon EOS M200 is the company's smallest, most affordable mirrorless camera. As such it doesn’t have a very extensive set of features, but the fact that it has a 24.1MP APS-C Dual Pixel CMOS sensor (to enable phase detection autofocusing), plus Canon’s latest Digic 8 processing engine and the ability to record 4K video makes it an attractive proposition. 

It’s also designed to be easy to use, which makes it a good choice for beginners, but it could be ...

XFX to release THICC III RX 5700 XT

As reported by VideoCardz, XFX is set to release another RX 5700 XT, dubbed the THICC III. The THICC II has been around for a couple of months now (and we have a review coming soon, so stay tuned for that) and sports an attractive shroud design with a dual-fan cooler.

The THICC III takes the same core design and just amps it up, with an extra fan giving it a triple-fan cooler, while it looks like there is a significantly larger heatsink as well. Card thickness appears to be the same ‘2.7 slot’ design as the THICC II, and the card also sports an attractive ventilated backplate.

...

Google Pixel Watch could be coming alongside the Pixel 4

The Google Pixel Watch could launch alongside the Pixel 4 when Google shows its new tech off, according to a source close to the matter. 

That unidentified source was speaking to Nikkei Asian Review, a site that's accurately preempted tech launches before, so the rumor is worth taking seriously. The source states that as well as the Pixel 4 and 4 XL, there will be a Google Pixel 4 5G, a new notebook device, and a smartwatch.

While the Google Pixel Watch isn't named, if Google is to unveil a new smartwatch, it'll likely be the Pixel wearable. 

Rumors in 2018 suggested ...

Remember Intel Kaby Lake-G? Well, it's dead now

Remember Intel Kaby Lake-G? It was Intel's line of laptop processors that paired Kaby Lake silicon with AMD Vega graphics for gaming laptops. And, well, it's been discontinued. 

This all comes via a Product Change Notice, spotted by our friends at Tom's Hardware. These processors were the product of an unholy union of Intel and AMD, and according to the report "Market demand for the products listed in the "Products Affected/Intel Ordering Codes" table below have shifted to other Intel products." Intel is on the cusp of releasing its own dedicated graphics archite ...

We snuck a Cinebench Run on the Intel Ice Lake Core i7-1065G7

Dell’s sleek XPS 13 2-in-1 uses the second highest-end 10th Gen Ice Lake processor currently available – the Intel Core i7-1065G7. That G7 suffix signifies the use of Intel’s highest-end, 64 EU Iris Plus Gen 11 graphics in the quad-core CPU. On paper, the i7-1065G7 is a four-core, eight-thread 10th Gen processor built on Intel 10nm process architecture. The clock speeds are 3.9GHz for maximum Turbo Boost speed, with a 1.50GHz base clock in the 25W configurable TDP-up implementation.

We ran Cinebench R20’s all-core benchmark to see how the i7-1065G7 scored, and also to track its oper ...

Any laptop or PC can get Wi-Fi 6 with this single upgrade

The new Wi-Fi 6 standard is here in a pre-release form, replacing the older 802.11ac Wi-Fi found on many recent laptops, desktops, and mobile devices with 802.11ax. 

But, just because the standard is available for manufacturers doesn't mean devices are getting hardware to support it. It's still new, and even some of the best laptops come without it. But, we've got good news: In many cases, you can add Wi-Fi 6 to your device after you've bought it.

How you get Wi-Fi 6 support on your device will depend on the type of device you have. Right now, there are few Wi-Fi 6 modules, ...

Team Group wants to blitz your Ryzen PC with new DDR4 RAM and a fast SSD

Here comes another PCIe 4.0 SSD with a blistering 5,000MB/s read speed.

Yet another SSD leveraging the PCI Express 4.0 bus to deliver insanely fast read and write speeds has emerged. Called the Cardea Zero Z440, it's one of two new products by Team Group built specifically AMD's X570 platform, hoping to join the ranks of the Best NVMe SSDs.

The other is a new line of T-Force Dark Z α (Alpha) memory. Granted, RAM kits should work in any supported platform, but some modules are tested and validated for certain AMD and Intel builds.

In this case, Team Group says its T-F ...

Final Cut Pro X gets a speed boost through Apple's Metal

The latest Final Cut Pro X update, released today, takes advantage of Apple's Metal API to provide leaps in performance. With a new Metal-based engine, the updated Final Cut Pro X improves playback and accelerates tasks like rendering, real-time effects and exporting on Metal-compatible Macs. According to Apple, the changes will make video editing 20 percent faster on the 15-inch MacBook Pro and 35 percent faster on the iMac Pro.

On the new Mac Pro, the updated Final Cut Pro X offers support for multiple GPUs and up to 28 CPU cores. Apple says that translates to rendering that's up ...

macOS Catalina Cuts Ties With the Past While Ushering in the Future

It’s fall again, so it is time to consider yet another new version of macOS. This year, it is macOS Catalina, named for a small island off the coast of California.

Apple has pretty much dropped version numbers from its marketing materials, but Catalina is macOS version 10.15, the 16th major release since Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah shipped way back in March 2001.

Like Mojave before it, Catalina support both Light and Dark Modes, but Apple has added an “Auto” appearance that changes the desktop wallpaper, mode and Night Shift white balance as the day progresses. There are actually ...

OnePlus Teases Another McLaren-Brand Phone Because It Can't Keep Anything to Itself

OnePlus is big on sharing things with its community, and its upcoming 7T Pro McLaren Edition, which has yet to be officially announced, is one of those things.

CEO Pete Lau tweeted out an image of a black and orange box that we assume is the packaging for the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition that was leaked last month. This is hardly a surprise given that the last year's OnePlus 6T also got a McLaren Edition, but neither the 7T Pro nor this particular edition have been officially announced.

The OnePlus 7T was unveiled a couple of weeks ago and the company has a second event se ...

The Modular PC: Intel’s new Element brings Project Christine to Life

Way back at CES 2014, Razer’s CEO introduced a revolutionary concept design for a PC that had one main backplane and users could insert a CPU, GPU, power supply, storage, and anything else in a modular fashion. Fast forward to 2020, and Intel is aiming to make this idea a reality. Today at a fairly low-key event in London, Intel’s Ed Barkhuysen showcased a new product, known simply as an ‘Element’ – a CPU/DRAM/Storage on a dual-slot PCIe card, with Thunderbolt, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB, designed to slot into a backplane with multiple PCIe slots, and paired with GPUs or other accelerators. B ...

This is Google Photos’ black-and-white ‘Colorize’ filter in action

Back at I/O 2018, Sundar Pichai showed Google Photos re-creating a black-and-white photo in color. This May, the Google Photos team provided an update saying that “Colorize” is still on track. Today, we’ve enabled a beta of the filter.

The Google CEO framed Colorize as AI delivering delightful, “unexpected moments.” Originally scheduled to roll out “over the next couple of months,” the filter clearly missed that deadline. Back in May, Google said that “it’s in the works” and that the Photos team “just didn’t want to rush it.”

Or if you happen to have a very special memory. S ...

OPPO RENO ACE GUNDAM EDITION COULD LAUNCH ON OCTOBER 10 TOO

Oppo has a small surprise in store for the upcoming event on October 10th. Alongside Reno Ace, in fact, it will also debut a variant born of the collaboration between the Chinese brand and Gundam, a franchise of the famous Japanese giant robots created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise. The VP of Oppo Shen Yiren revealed this.

Although the exact name has not been officially mentioned, it is possible to assume that the smartphone can be called Oppo Reno Ace Gundam Edition. Already in May it was anticipated that as part of this collaboration Oppo would launch a smartphone in a special e ...

Roll your own high-speed portable storage solution with this SSD enclosure

Having trouble finding an external storage solution that is fast and stylish enough for your liking? Asus may have what you're looking for, assuming you're interested in going the DIY approach and want something that looks aggressive. If so, the company's ROG Strix Arion fits the bill.

The Strix Arion is an external enclosure that is compatible with a range of M.2 form factor NVMe SSDs—those are the ones shaped like a stick of gum. It supports full-size M.2-2280 SSDs, and also smaller drives, including the M.2-2260, 2242, and 2230 form factors.

This enclosure leverages the P ...

macOS Catalina released today: One feature that will make your MacBook even better

macOS Catalina has just been released in full and it comes with this brilliant new feature that's never been seen before on a MacBook and iMac.

UPDATE: Apple has now officially released macOS Catalina with it available to download on the Mac App Store.

ORGINAL STORY: If you own a Mac have now upgraded to macOS Catalina, you can now access Apple Arcade, the tech firm’s new all-singing, all-dancing app subscription service centred around games.

Apple Arcade provides instant access to a deluge of games, many of which are exclusive titles from renowned developers.

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AMD Ryzen 9 3950X can overclock to 4.3GHz on all cores, blowing away Intel Core i9-9900K

AMD’s Ryzen 9 3950X lands in November (after it was delayed), but beforeit hits the street some interesting fresh details have been spilled on the CPU and its overclocking potential.

This comes from hardware vendor Gigabyte which made an overclocking guide for its Aorus X570 available online, detailing the firm’s results when juicing up the Ryzen 3rd-gen processor.

AMD’s graphics cards are also crushing it, beating out Nvidia

Best CPU cooler 2019: top CPU coolers for your PC

These are all the best processors

We already knew that the 3950X boosts up to ...

DNS-over-HTTPS causes more problems than it solves, experts say

The DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) protocol is not the privacy panacea that many have been advocating in recent months.

If we are to listen to networking and cybersecurity experts, the protocol is somewhat useless and causes more problems than it fixes, and criticism has been mounting against DoH and those promoting it as a viable privacy-preserving method.

The TL;DR is that most experts think DoH is not good, and people should be focusing their efforts on implementing better ways to encrypt DNS traffic -- such as DNS-over-TLS -- rather than DoH.

WHAT IS DOH AND A SHORT HISTOR ...

Nvidia 1660 Super clock frequency and memory detail confirmed

Some of Nvidia’s upcoming GTX 1660 Super graphics card specifications have been leaked, which show the card will be released to fend off the competition coming from AMD’s 5500XT which is due to launch very soon.

The guys over at igor’s Lab recently confirm the Nvidia GTX 1660 Super clock frequency and the memory standard implemented into the design. With this information, we can safely assume Nvidia will be targeting AMD’s upcoming 5500XT. Looking at the specifications closer, it may mean the 1660 Super will beat the 5500XT in terms of performance.

Information from board par ...

The new Surface Pro 7 will support USB-C charging

Apart from the 10th gen Intel processor, the biggest upgrade in the new Surface Pro 7 device is the addition of USB-C port. While this newly added port can be used to connect your Surface device with thousands of USB-C accessories, you can also use this port to charge your device. Yes, instead of using Microsoft’s Surface Connect charger, you can use a standard USB-C charger to charge the new Surface Pro 7. Even some portable power banks can be used to charge this device.

Samsung closes its last Chinese manufacturing plant as sales plummet

The big picture: Samsung has announced plans to shut down its smartphone assembly facility in Huizhou, China, just a year after they said goodbye to their Tianjin plant. With no smartphone plants operating in China as of this month, Samsung has all but abandoned the 400-million strong Chinese market amidst competition from local brands Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

In 2013, Samsung held the top spot in the Chinese phone market with a volume share of 19%, but last year, they couldn’t grab even 1%. Analysts suggest this may be because Samsung failed to appreciate the difference in t ...

ASUS Republic of Gamers Announces Strix Arion

External SSD enclosure offers screwdriver-free installation and delivers ultrafast data transfers with support for M.2 NVM Express SSDs and USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity.

BERLIN, Germany, September 4, 2019 ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced Strix Arion, an external solid-state drive (SSD) enclosure that lets gamers create their own high-speed mobile storage solution. Compatible with M.2 NVM Express® (NVMe) SSDs with 2230, 2242, 2260 and 2280 form factors and featuring USB-C™ 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity, ROG Strix Arion enables transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps for ultrafast perf ...

AGESA 1.0.0.4 to be released alongside Ryzen 9 3950X

Before the weekend we talked a bit about the 100 new features/fixes and updates to the pending 1.0.0.4 AGESA update from AMD. A few more details are now surfacing, the firmware update would become available in the same timeframe as the 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X release. Next to that there will be updated boost tweaks.

The boost adjustments invoke the timing of Precision Boost 2 and Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO). And as noted there will be be improvements to CCX overclocking, ie the ability to use tools, for individual CPU core complexes tweaks. Our bud Yuri "1usmus" from the DRAM Calc ...

Apple iOS 13 Warning Issued For iPhone Users

Apple iOS 13 has had a disastrous launch. Not only is it full of bugs and security concerns but after three rushed updates in two weeks, it is still a no-go area. And now iPhone users running iOS 13 have a new problem they need to know about. 

ChargerLab has revealed that Apple is quietly slashing the performance of third-party wireless chargers for iPhones running iOS 13. Moreover, there’s currently no guidance for manufacturers to avoid this so owners who have paid for expensive fast wireless chargers may find their money has been wasted. 

What ChargerLab found specificall ...

EMUI 10 (ANDROID 10) ARRIVES THREE HUAWEI SMARTPHONES

Last week, there were reports that Huawei will release the EMUI 10 based on Android 10 to 33 Huawei/Honor smartphones. These devices will get the update between October and December. Now, three smartphones from the list are now getting the beta update as scheduled. Presently, Huawei is recruiting EMUI 10 (Android 10) beta testers for Huawei Enjoy 10 Plus, Miamang 7 and nova 4e.

Huawei needs 2000 users for this beta. However, if the user details are not filled correctly, the update will not arrive. The recruitment time is between October 5 and mid-October. Please note that duplicate ...

What’s taking eSIM so long to become mainstream?

eSIM has been available in smartphones for years now, see the Google Pixel 2 as an early example, yet the technology still hasn’t caught on in the mainstream. Only a handful of smartphones released each year include eSIM technology and even fewer carriers support the full range of devices. Furthermore, iSIM, eSIM’s eventual successor, doesn’t appear close to permeating the tech enthusiast lexicon, let alone mainstream consumers.

Ditching the old-fashioned analog SIM card for a smart digital alternative seems like a long-overdue change. Did you know that the first SIM card was develo ...

Gigabyte Guide Leaks OC feisty Ryzen 9 3950X specs incl Benchmarks

A guide from Gigabyte details AMD's upcoming mainstream flagship, you can get an all-core clock of 4.3 GHz. Gigabyte published an overclocking guide for its X570 motherboards. And the Ryzen 9 3950X, which is still waiting for its market launch, serves as a reference CPU. Gigabyte also leaks their own results based on Cinebench R15.

For the test, a X570 Aorus Master Mainboard was used with 16 GB DDR4-3200 memory, for the cooling of the CPU they used an EK-KIT P360. The Ryzen 9 3950X is a stable all-core overclock of 4.3 GHz at 1.416 Achieve volts (that's all 16 cores). The temperatur ...

LENOVO Z6 PRO 6GB+128GB PRICE PLUNGES TO 1999 YUAN ($280)

There is currently a special offer for the Lenovo Z6 Pro 6GB+128GB version which takes the price 1999 yuan ($280). This sale is currently active in the Jingdong mall. The Lenovo Z6 Pro was released in April this year. This smartphone comes with a 6.39-inch 2340 × 1080 waterdrop screen.

This smartphone uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 flagship SoC. In the camera department, the Lenovo Z6 Pro comes with a quad rear camera setup. It uses a 48MP + 16MP + 8MP + 2MP AI quad-camera. On the front, we have a 32MP camera. The battery capacity is 4000 mAh and it runs on ZUI 11 system based on An ...

UK Spy Agency Alerts Users Of Numerous VPN Vulnerabilities Under Exploit

While VPNs provide privacy to users, they can also threaten users security from security bugs. Recently, a unit of UK spy agency GCHQ has issued alerts for users of various VPN brands for vulnerabilities. The VPNs from Pulse secure, Fortinet, and Palo Alto have these bugs under active exploitation. UK Spy Agency Alerts Of VPN Vulnerabilities The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a warning for users of numerous VPNs. NCSC, which is a unit of UK’s spy agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), alerts the users for multiple VPN vulnerabilities exploited in the wild. A ...

iPhone 11 Pro: the best small phone available

A cracking camera, great screen and 32-hour battery life – but at an eye-watering price.

Apple’s iPhone has gone “pro” for its 11th iteration, with dramatically improved cameras and longer battery life, which make the smaller iPhone 11 Pro the king of more manageable phones.

Costing from £1,049 the iPhone 11 Pro is one of a rare breed: a premium flagship smartphone that doesn’t have a ginormous screen and is therefore small by today’s standards.

Everything is relative, of course. The iPhone 11 Pro’s 5.8in screen is considerably larger than the 4in iPhone SE, but comp ...

Sony Xperia 8 announced with 21:9 screen, Snapdragon 630 SoC and dual cameras

Hot on the heels of the Xperia 5 release, Sony announced a new midrange device in Japan - the Xperia 8. It packs the signature 21:9 display with a 6-inch diagonal in a body that’s quite similar to the Xperia 10 but features Gorilla Glass 6 on the front and back this time. Another change comes around the back where the new Xperia 8 packs a 12MP F/1.8 main shooter alongside an 8MP F/2.4 ultrawide angle camera.

Upfront, we have the 6-inch FHD+ 21:9 display with an 8MP F/2.0 selfie shooter. Unlike the flagship Xperia models, the Xperia 8 comes with an LCD panel. The right side features ...

Cryptic tweet by Raja Koduri points at Intel Xe June 2020 release

We might start seeing Intel’s Xe graphics cards in the summer of 2020. At least, that’s what Raja Koduri, Intel chief architect, was hinting at in his tweet on October 3.

The reigning processor (CPU) manufacturer is entering the discrete graphics cards market with its forthcoming Intel Xe cards, and for the first wave of these Xe graphics cards, it’s already committed to a 2020 schedule.

Raja Koduri’s tweet, which Tom’s Hardware reported on, is a photo of what we’re assuming is the rear of his Tesla Model S bearing a custom license plate with the words ‘THINKXE,’ ‘June’ and ...

OPPO RENO ACE LEAKED IN SPY PHOTOS, SHOWING QUAD-CAMERA AND MORE

The next smartphone to come our way from OPPO’s Reno is called the OPPO Reno Ace. It’s set to hit the market as soon as on October 10. Thus, we have to wait for a few more days. But even now we know everything about this device. Moreover, the phone has been leaked in spy photos. So we can take a look at its appearance as well.

Previously, various leaks and TENAA documents revealed its key features. Particularly, we knew the OPPO Reno Ace will come in dimensions of 161.0×75.7×8.7mm and a weight of 200g. The phone will offer three colors of blue, green, and purple. Even this informati ...

Google Pixel 4 will let you communicate with Google Assistant in an entirely new way

The Google Pixel 4 will allow users to communicate with Google Assistant just by raising the handset and starting to speak, reports Android fansite 9to5Google.

This will co-exist alongside the option to launch Google Assistant by mumbling "Hey, Google", squeezing the handset by the frame and making an on-screen gesture.

There's no word on whether the feature comes enabled out of the box, or whether it will even be available when the Google Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL launch on October 15.

In an attempt to keep user information safe, voice-recognition takes place ...

HDR Display Duel! ASUS Versus Acer

35 INCHES OF 3440 X 1440 VA PANEL

In one corner is the Asus ROG Swift PG35VQ and in the other corner you will find the Acer Predator X35, both of which will cost around $2500 at launch. There is a twist in this review from TechSpot, which has nothing to do with Nematics at all, seeing as how both of these monitors will use the exact same VA panel. The 35″ panel has an 1800R curvature, with ultrawide 3440×1440 resolution, HDR1000 support and up to a 200 Hz refresh rate with G-Sync Ultimate support.

This means the review focuses more on the implementation and the differences i ...

Oxygen OS 9.0.17 and 9.0.9 OTAs for OnePlus 6, 6T prep for Android 10 update

The latest Oxygen OS 9.0.17 and 9.0.9 OTAs for the OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T include preparations for the full Android 10 upgrade — which could be as soon as late October.

While the reports out of China suggest that the Hydrogen OS variants will get Android 10 as soon as late October, there is still no official word on when the upgrade is set to extend globally. The Oxygen OS 9.0.17 and 9.0.9 updates were officially announced on the OnePlus forums with the changelog hinting at a not-too-distant release and almost confirming that we could see Android 10 on OnePlus 6 and 6Ts very soon. ...

New Amazon Eero mesh Wi-Fi system is here to tackle Google Wifi

Amazon has unveiled a new and upgraded version of its Eero mesh Wi-Fi router system, at a much cheaper price than its first model, and offering even easier setup.

The Eero base station is available right now in the US at the time of writing for just $99 / £99 / €99), while a three-pack containing the base station and two beacons for expanded coverage is priced at $249 / £249 / €279. A launch in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK is coming this November.

The new router was unveiled at Amazon's product launch event at its Seattle, Washington headquarters,

Conside ...

Intel Announces SSD 665p: Denser, Faster QLC NAND

Intel's Memory and Storage Day event today in South Korea was mostly focused on enterprise and datacenter products, but they did announce an upcoming consumer SSD: The Intel SSD 665p. This is the successor to the Intel 660p, the first and most successful consumer SSD to use four bit per cell (QLC) NAND flash memory. The 665p isn't a major update: it keeps the same Silicon Motion SM2263 4-channel controller but updates the NAND to Intel's second-generation 96-layer 3D QLC NAND. This newer QLC keeps the same 1024Gb per-die capacity while shrinking overall die size, so we don't expect any chan ...

You will soon be able to plug an Oculus Quest headset into a PC to play Rift games

Some nifty updates are headed to the Oculus Quest, the best VR headset in terms of bang-for-buck. In addition to hand and finger tracking set to arrive next year by way of a firmware update, in the more immediate future, you will soon be able to plug the Quest into a PC and play titles developed for the higher-end Rift headset.

The magic will happen through Oculus Link, special software to enable playing Rift games on the Quest. Once it rolls out, Quest owners will be able to plug the headset into a gaming PC via USB-C and play Rift games—this essentially transforms the Quest into a ...

MSI is readying an all-black X570 motherboard for builders tired of RGB

I don't think RGB fatigue is an official ailment, but if it ever becomes one, MSI's upcoming Meg X570 Unify motherboard could be a potential cure. It is an "all black beast" based on AMD's X570 chipset for Ryzen.

We only get a teaser shot of the motherboard, with MSI inviting users to "embrace the darkness." It looks like a promising option for an all-black build, and dark-themed cases are easy to come by these days. At the same time, I could also envision this inside an all-white chassis for a sort of tuxedo look.

Aesthetics aside, the full specs are not ...

Windows 10 20H1 build 18990 now rolling out to Fast ring Insiders

This build brings a new setting to automatically restart UWP apps when signing back in.

Windows 10 20H1 build 18990 is now available for Fast ring Insiders. This update brings a couple of new features to the fore, but is mostly focused on bug fixes and performance improvements.

The most notable new feature is the ability to set UWP apps to automatically restart when signing back in to a PC. Microsoft rolled out this ability for registered desktop apps in a prior build, but it now works with UWP apps as well.

There are also some improvements to the Windows Subsystem f ...

Google Assistant comes to more Chromebooks with Chrome OS 77

When people think about simple laptops that can do the job, most people think about Chromebooks. After all, Chrome OS is a very simple, lightweight desktop OS that is mostly geared towards a user’s web experience over anything else. This has slowly been changing during the course of the past few years, with features such as support for Android apps, as well as the Google Play Store, being introduced to Chromebooks wide and large. The latest addition is something that has been available to some Chrome OS users: Google Assistant.

Google Assistant support was first introduced to Chrome ...

Intel Ethernet 800 Series To Support NVMe over TCP, PCIe 4.0

Today at the SNIA Storage Developer Conference, Intel is sharing more information about their 100Gb Ethernet chips, first announced in April and due to hit the market next month. The upcoming 800 Series Ethernet controllers and adapters will be Intel's first 100Gb Ethernet solutions, and also feature expanded capabilities for hardware accelerated packet processing. Intel is now announcing that they have implemented support for the TCP transport of NVMe over Fabrics using the Application Device Queues (ADQ) technology that the 800 Series is introducing.

NVMe over Fabrics has become t ...

Adobe's Fantastic iPad App for Drawing and Painting is Finally Available

Today Adobe has officially released Fresco for the iPad bringing an impressive set of drawing and interactive painting tools to Apple’s tablet, which will further help legitimise its use as a serious creative tool. The app was announced nearly a year ago in October of 2018, and we spent quite a bit of time with it ourselves last month.

The app is currently freely available to Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers or can be purchased as a standalone app for £9.50 a month with the first six-months free if you buy it before the end of the year. Adobe is also making it available free to use, ...

Heads up, Gigabyte just updated its gaming monitor warranty for the better

It doesn't seem like dead or stuck pixels on LCD monitors are as big of a problem as they once were (I don't have any data to back up this assumption, it's just an observation), but should you buy an Aorus model, Gigabyte now guarantees against them entirely.

Gigabyte recently revised its warranty policy with a new "Zero Bright Dot Guarantee," which is valid for the first year of ownership (from the date of original purchase). It applies to all six of its Aorus branded "tactical" gaming monitors, including the AD27QD, KD25F, FI27Q, FI27Q-P, CV27F, and CV27Q.

...

Microsoft announces plan to make the Xbox carbon neutral

Microsoft has joined other major tech companies such as Amazon, Googleand Sony in laying out some new commitments to mitigate climate change. One of the more eye-catching measures it detailed was a pilot project to make 825,000 Xbox consoles carbon neutral. It says those'll be the first carbon-neutral consoles.

"Microsoft's business operations have operated carbon neutral since 2012," chief environmental officer Lucas Joppa wrote in a blog post. "Today, we are beginning the journey of extending that to our products and devices." The Xbox pilot is the first stage ...

GOOGLE EXTENDS END OF LIFE FOR HANDFUL OF CHROMEBOOKS: SIGN OF THINGS TO COME?

There was a time that I was a voice in the wilderness that heralded a strong defense for Google’s relatively short Auto Update Policy for Chrome OS. End of Life policy if you prefer. Three years into this and I have conceded that it is time for a change. Chromebooks are coming into their own and the average price for a decent device has nearly doubles. If you really wanted to, you could drop nearly $2,000 on a Chrome Enterprise machine and that gives me a serious pause when I consider it may only get updates for 5-6 years.

Okay, before we get too far off into the weeds, we’ll put a ...

This 8TB storage drive stuffs four SSDs into a PCIe card to hit 15,000MB/s

Pair this with a next-gen Threadripper CPU and you've got a drool-worthy configuration.

The arrival of PCI Express 4.0 on consumer systems has led to the release of several blazing fast solid state drives capable of sequential read performance of up to 5,000MB/s. That's around nine times faster than the speediest SATA-based SSDs. It's also almost pedestrian next to Gigabyte's upcoming add-in card (AIC) solution with four high-speed NVMe SSDs stuffed inside.

First introduced at Computex a few months ago, the upcoming Aorus Gen4 AICfeatures four 2TB SSDs configured in a RAID 0 ...

ADATA Announces Their Ultraportable SSD and High Speed M.2 Drive

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories announced the launch of the XPG SX8100 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 Solid State Drive (SSD). Utilizing PCIe Gen3x4, 3D NAND Flash, and featuring 3500/3000MB/s read and write, the SX8100 M.2 2280 SSD gives DIY enthusiasts, overclockers and graphics professionals the performance they seek. ADATA also announces the launch of the ADATA SC680 external solid-state drive (SSD). The SSDs features a stylish and compact form factor for easy portability and implements the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interf ...

Huawei builds world’s biggest all-flash storage array

Huawei used its annual shindig HUAWEI CONNECT in Shanghai last week to show off its latest all-flash storage array, the OceanStor Dorado V6. And it’s a monster – with the biggest capacity that Blocks and Files has seen in a storage array.

The company has not announced availability but prior to launch it has pumped out some big numbers via a press release and a marketing page.

The Dorado V6 performs up to 20 million I/O operations per second (IOPS) – twice as much as the next-best player according to Huawei, which did not name the rival. We think it is referring to Dell EMC’s ...

A Dell XPS 15 with a foldable dual-screen OLED display could be a reality in the near future

Despite all their quirks, foldable displays have managed to cause quite the stir ever since the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X. While the technology is still yet to mature for smartphones, laptop OEMs have started considering foldable designs for the future as well.

Shortly after Lenovo introduced the ThinkPad X1 with a foldable dual-screen display in May, Dell's then VP of XPS and Alienware Frank Azor indicated that the company was indeed experimenting with such a device. LetsGoDigital has now accessed a patent published on September 12, 2019, which w ...

LG Z9 88-inch 8K HDR OLED TV review: The future of television

There’s no 8K content to watch. Let’s just get that out of the way right now. But that doesn’t mean 8K TVs aren’t worthwhile. That’s especially true for the LG Z9.

What we have here (again) is a classic chicken-or-the-egg-scenario. Which should come first? The 8K content, or the TV to watch it on? If the path 4K took nearly 8 years ago is any indication, the TV must come first.

Hollywood, along with production houses like Netflix, HBO, and many others, need some convincing. Moving to 4K was a hard sell several years ago (though HDR gathered support relatively easily), but se ...

New Surface Pro 7 Leak Confirms Exciting Update

Ahead of Microsoft’s launch event on October, new documents confirmed the latest feature for the Surface family.

Thanks to Microsoft’s fillings with the FCC earlier this month, we now know that it is working on a stylus pen that includes wireless charging capabilities similar to other styli. And the obvious inference is that the upcoming Surface Pro is going to have an updated Surface Pen with this capability.

I’ve looked out the pen that came with the first Surface machines back in the day, and it was a passive unit relying on induction to calculate the tip’s location. The ...

New leak confirms the colours and names of Google Pixel 4

In less than a month, Google is expected to announce the Pixel 4 series. While we have already seen extensive leaks of the device including the colours, Google loves taking shots at other manufacturers with colour names. The same is true for Pixel 4 as well.

According to 9to5google, the colours of Pixel 4 will be Just Black, Clearly White, and Oh So Orange. Apart from that, Google will be introducing colour cases for Pixel 4 as well. The cases will be available in Blue, Chalk, Black and Orange. Yup, no fancy cheeky names here from Google.

Google Pixel 4 is expected to come w ...

Samsung Galaxy S11 could end the Apple iPhone 12 with a SLIDING screen

Samsung has something big in store for the Galaxy S11, and that could be a sliding screen. According to a recent patent filing, the South Korean firm is exploring the option of a handset with a display that can extend along a vertical plane. To do this, it's experimenting with a 21:9 aspect ratio — meaning the screen is long, rather than wide. This is advantageous for one main reason: You can fit more on the screen, from top to bottom. It also makes for a more immersive viewing experience when watching cinema-style 21:9 footage, like a movie on Netflix or a trailer on YouTube.

Argua ...

New Microsoft Surface Pro could get a beloved iPad Pro feature

The next-generation Microsoft Surface Pen, expected to be announced alongside a range of new Surface products next month, is likely to boast wireless charging capabilities.

An FCC filing published earlier this week, Microsoft details a new stylus that includes its own charging coil, which could be used for wireless charging capabilities .

Currently, the accessory is charged using a AAAA battery so, either way ,the presence of a coil means wired or wireless charging. Given recent trends, we’d expect the charging coil to be for wireless replenishment.

For example, the ...

Chrome for Android officially getting grid layout and tab grouping

Since Chrome for Android launched in 2012, the core experience of using the browser has fundamentally stayed the same. Google this fall is rolling out the biggest set of usability changes to date that make Chrome more powerful on mobile.

Chrome tab grid layout

Chrome has been visually redesigned over the years, with the Google Material Theme coming last September. However, navigation within the browser has remained just a top bar with address field, tab button, and overflow menu. The tab switcher consists of vertically-arranged cards that overlap in an interface reminiscent ...

iOS 13 release date has arrived, here are all the blockbuster iPhone features coming today

APPLE has finally launched its feverishly-anticipated iOS 13 update. The release date, which was announced during the iPhone 11 launch last week, brings a bevy of new features and faster speeds to your iPhone. Here's all you need to know about this new operating system.

iPhone fans are in for a treat as Apple has now officially released its blockbuster iOS 13 software update across the world.

The free upgrade was first announced earlier this year at Apple's WWDC Developers Conference in San Joe, California. iOS 13 not only includes new features, but also a number of improvem ...

NVIDIA GeForce NOW gets a major redesign on Windows and macOS

Streaming services are all the rage these days, and with services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ being examples of highly successful video streaming services, tech companies are now trying to bring the same premise to gaming. Game streaming services are now being pushed as the possible future of gaming, or at least a viable alternative for those who can’t afford full-blown gaming systems for their homes. One of many such game-streaming services is GeForce NOW, NVIDIA’s own alternative which, among other things, features GeForce graphics among its stand-out features. It has been available i ...

The HP Elite Dragonfly is the lightest compact convertible laptop in the world

There are lightweight laptops, and then there's the HP Elite Dragonfly ($1549). The sleek hybrid weighs less than 1kg, which according to HP makes it the lightest compact business convertible in the world. Although we can't vouch for that claim with absolute certainty, packing so much tech into a machine that weighs about the same as a chunky book is a pretty impressive feat. Speaking of which, aside from being floaty light, the Elite Dragonfly also sports a durable CNC-machinese magnesium body, an ultra-lightweight quiet keyboard and touchpad, an 8th Gen Intel Core vPro processor, 24.5 hours ...

5 reasons a Chromebook is better than an iPad and 5 reasons it's not

What's a computer? No, seriously, what is it?

The computer we know today is very different from just a few years ago, with big, bulky laptops being replaced by convertible tablets everywhere you look. In 2019, two of the most popular "computers" on the market are Chromebooks and iPads.

We're big advocates for Chromebooks around these parts, but as much as we love them, we'll be the first to say that Apple's iPad lineup does have some key benefits of its own.

Today, we'll be pitting Chromebooks and iPads side-by-side to see the strengths and weakness of each ...

MacBook users face disappointment as iOS 13 arrives, but macOS Catalina is still missing

APPLE is gearing up to launch some major software upgrades today, including iOS for the iPhone and watchOS for the Apple Watch.... but MacBook and iMac owners will need to wait a little longer to get the latest update, dubbed macOS Catalina.

It's a big day for Apple with the US firm releasing its new iOS 13 update for iPhones.

This blockbuster upgrade includes new features such as Dark Mode along with improvements to the security and speed of these devices.

However, despite smartphone users getting this swathe of new features the same can't be said for MacBook and iM ...

Western Digital Reveals 18 TB DC HC550 'EAMR' Hard Drive

Marking an important step in the development of next-generation hard drive technology, Western Digital has formally announced the company’s first hard drives based on energy-assisted magnetic recording. Starting things off with capacities of 16 TB and 18 TB, the Ultrastar DC HC550 HDDs are designed to offer consistent performance at the highest (non-SMR) capacities yet. And, with commercial sales expected to start in 2020, WD is now in a position to become the first vendor in the industry to ship a next-generation EAMR hard drive.

18 TB Sans SMR

The Western Digital Ultrastar ...

Intel Core i9-10900X Cascade Lake-X Benchmarks Emerge

Someone has seemingly benchmarked the Intel Core i9-10900X with the Geekbench 4 software. The unreleased processor sports the 10000-series branding, so it's most likely one of Intel's upcoming HEDT (high-end desktop) parts based on the Cascade Lake microarchitecture.

Based on the core count on the posting, we suspect the i9-10900X is the same Cascade Lake-X (CSL-X) chip that surfaced in SiSoftware's database back in April. The processor will most likely serve as the direct replacement for the existing i9-9900X. 

If the Geekbench listing is accurate, the i9-10900X's latest ap ...

Chrome gets Back-Forward cache in the latest Canary update

A couple of months back Google announced (via Techdows) that they are exploring the possibility of preserving cache when the user navigates away from a page to reduce loading times. This would allow Chrome to cache the page when the user clicks back or forward so the page is not loaded from scratch when the user returns to it.

Google demoed an early prototype of the feature back in May 2019 and has been working on implementing it to both Android and Desktop since then. Today, Google rolled out a new update to Chrome Canary which adds a flag to enable the feature. If you’re using Chr ...

New Samsung SSDs for servers double in speed and can 'never die'

Samsung's solid-state drives (SSDs) are about to get a lot faster. The company already has some of the best SSDs on the market, and it's introducing two new SSD series that will take advantage of the new PCIe 4.0 interface for dramatically increased throughput.

The new Samsung SSDs are called PM1733 and PM1735 for now, and between them will introduce 19 new SSD models. They'll come in two form factors: PCIe add-in card and 2.5-inch U.2 types. Between those two styles, they come in storage capacities ranging from 0.8TB (or 800GB) on the lowest end up to 30.72TB on the highest end.

...

Gigabyte launches a 27-inch 'tactical' FreeSync 2 HDR gaming monitor for $459

It "deepens the details" in dark areas of a scene for a supposedly tactical edge.

Gigabyte has introduced what it claims is the "world's first tactical" gaming monitor, the Aorus CV27Q. At the root of Gigabyte's claim is its Black Equalizer 2.0 technology.

As Gigabyte explains it, this feature "divides the screen into 1,296 subareas and equalizes each subarea individually, so gamers can see the dark areas more clearly without having overexposure in the bright areas." In theory, this is done without affecting other areas of a scene.

Accor ...

Google Pixel Watch fans are going to be seriously disappointed during the Pixel 4 launch

GOOGLE looks set to reveal a slew of new products during its Made By Google hardware event next month, including upgraded Google Home smart speakers, Google Wi-Fi, and the all-new Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL. But one thing we won’t see from the Californian company is a smartwatch – with the Pixel Watch being binned from any future plans, reports claim.

Google is planning to launch a truck load of new technology at its annual Made By Google event next month, but those hoping to see an Apple Watch Series 5 competitor will be sorely disappointed.

That’s because Google will not be an ...

Has Lenovo made an iMac killer?

The Lenovo Yoga A940 is a powerful all-in-one PC that’s geared towards creative professionals – essentially taking on Apple’s iMac and Microsoft’s Surface Studio 2.

Both of those are accomplished all-in-one PCs that combine powerful performance and stylish designs. While the iMac had been the go-to all-in-one for creatives for years, Microsoft did a fine job competing against it with the Surface Studio. Windows users finally had a viable alternative to the iMac.

The Lenovo Yoga A940, also a Windows 10 machine, wants to compete with both – but how does it fare against its two ...

LG’s vision for Android 10 revealed in leaked V50 screenshots

Google released Android 10 on its Pixel devices earlier this month, but it will be some time before many other OEMs catch up, because they each want to bring their own look and feel to Android. LG, one of the many phone makers working on an update, has had multiple Android 10 screenshots leak out, showing their progress.

Over the past few years, one thing that LG has certainly not been known for is their ability to put out speedy updates for their phones. While these screenshots may inspire some hope that our LG devices will not be left behind for long, there’s no reason to believe ...

iOS 13 release - Four things every Apple iPhone fan must do before upgrading

APPLE’S iOS 13 will finally be released later today and there’s three vital things every iPhone user must do before upgrading.

After months of waiting, Apple is finally ready to unleash its iOS 13 operating system to iPhone users across the globe.

This blockbuster update was first announced back in June with it including a nee Dark Mode, improved photos app and an easier way to send messages via the QuickPath keyboard.

Security is also beefed up in this upgrade and there’s an overall performance boost which should make your iPhone feel a little faster.

If you ...

How to prepare your PC for major Windows updates

Sometimes routine updates go wrong, and it pays to be prepared.

Ten years back, probably my biggest fear with my PC was the potential for data loss. Stick with computers long enough and a complete drive failure is bound to happen. I've had several drives go kaput over the years, including multiple SSDs. It sucked. Thankfully, so much of my critical data is in the cloud now that I don't really worry about it. My email sits on Google, along with most of my pictures and videos. But that doesn't mean I'm completely safe.

Sometimes, Windows itself can be the problem—there have be ...

Nvidia's Mobile RTX 2060 Less Powerful Than Desktop Version

You might want to wait before emptying your wallet for an RTX 2060-equipped gaming laptop. Notebook Check reported on Sunday that Nvidia's latest entry-level mobile GPU performs worse than expected--anywhere from 20% to 25%--when compared to its desktop counterpart.

Nvidia previously made it clear whether a GPU was made specifically for a laptop or not. It no longer does so, however, opting instead to use the same name for different parts. Someone could theoretically buy an RTX 2060-equipped laptop without realizing it's not going to offer the same performance that an RTX 2060 deskt ...

Canon 1D X Mark III to Feature IBIS and Significant Jump in Resolution: Report

We all expect Canon to announce its EOS 1D X Mark III before the Tokyo olympics, but the rumor miss has been surprisingly quiet on what exactly Canon is planning to do with their next flagship DSLR… until now.

According to Canon Rumors, a “very solid source” has confirmed that the 1D X Mark III will arrive in 2020, and shared a few very exciting specs that promise to compete with, and possibly outperform, Nikon’s upcoming D6.

CR’s source, who seems to have hands-on experience with a 1D X Mark III prototype, says the current iterations have in-body image stabilization (no sur ...

Best Budget Camera Phones in 2019

It's no secret that camera quality is near the top of the list when it comes to requirements for a smartphone. And that's the case no matter how much you're spending. Thankfully there are plenty of phones out there that offer solid camera experiences without breaking the bank. The best of the best is the Google Pixel 3a. It gives you flagship camera quality, front and back, for a fraction of the cost — and stands out particularly well at night and for selfies.

Best Overall: Google Pixel 3a

The Pixel 3a has almost a perfect copy of the much more expensive Pixel 3's camera, an ...

New HP Chromebook X360 12 appears prior to an official announcement

While there are numerous HP Chromebook X360 models across a $1,000 price range, consumers and students are probably most familiar with the $299 HP Chromebook X360 11. That entry-level device uses an 11.6-inch display with rather large bezels. And it appears to be getting an upgrade, losing some bezel size and gaining a barely larger 12-inch display in the new HP Chromebook X360 12.

This model hasn’t been officially announced yet, but it does currently appear on Amazon’s site, complete with all of the specifications. Roland Quandt spied both the product listing and shared it on Twitt ...

Samsung Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ are the first Wi-Fi Certified 6 smartphones

The Samsung Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ are the first smartphones to get the “Wi-Fi Certified 6” designation from the Wi-Fi Alliance. This signifies that the Notes fully support the new standard and will allow networks to function optimally.

The Notes aren’t alone, the Galaxy S10 trio also features Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. However, it seems they are not getting the “Certified” accreditation. You can find the full list of devices here. Note that the new iPhone 11 trio also features Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, but isn’t on the Certified list yet.

In case you missed it, Wi-Fi adopted a us ...

Windows 10 1903 is Now Having Problems with Network Adapters

Microsoft has acknowledged another problem in Windows 10 version 1903 where user's are reporting that their network adapters suddenly stop working after installing a cumulative update.

In the Windows 10 Health Dashboard, Microsoft has stated that some Intel and Broadcom Wi-Fi adapters are having a compatibility issues with NEC computers and will cause the adapter to no longer work.

"Microsoft and NEC have found incompatibility issues with Intel Centrino 6205/6235 and Broadcom 802.11ac Wi-Fi cards when running Windows 10, version 1903 on specific models of NEC devices. I ...

Verizon could carry OnePlus phones beginning in 2020

Verizon may soon carry OnePlus phones. According to Android Police, sources say Verizon and the Chinese manufacturer signed a deal and that the phones could arrive in 2020. It's unclear which model (or models) that would include, but PhoneArena claims the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition will be a Verizon exclusive in the US.

This is all still hearsay, though, as neither Verizon nor OnePlus have announced the partnership. Given that OnePlus is now available through T-Mobile and Sprint, a Verizon deal wouldn't be entirely surprising. OnePlus is expected to unveil the 7T at a North A ...

See how an AI system classifies you based on your selfie

Modern artificial intelligence is often lauded for its growing sophistication, but mostly in doomer terms. If you’re on the apocalyptic end of the spectrum, the AI revolution will automate millions of jobs, eliminate the barrier between reality and artifice, and, eventually, force humanity to the brink of extinction. Along the way, maybe we get robot butlers, maybe we’re stuffed into embryonic pods and harvested for energy. Who knows.

But it’s easy to forget that most AI right now is terribly stupid and only useful in narrow, niche domains for which its underlying software has been ...

OnePlus 7T Pro may debut on October 10th

You might only have to wait a few weeks more if you've been holding off for a OnePlus 7T. The historically accurate OnLeaks and Compareraja have claimed that both the OnePlus 7T and 7T Pro will be unveiled on October 10th, with availability slated for October 15th. The apparent scoop also includes specs for both, although it's clear these are incremental upgrades -- you won't be in a rush to upgrade a OnePlus 7 Pro.

Both phones will reportedly tout slightly faster Snapdragon 855 Plus chips, the long-rumored 16-megapixel ultra-wide camera and a host of photography modes that includes ...

Laptop Review: HP Spectre x360 vs. Dell XPS 13

If you’re pricing out a new 13-inch laptop, you’ve probably considered the HP Spectre and Dell XPS lines—particularly the HP Spectre x360 and the Dell XPS 13.

Both of these laptops are the core workhorses in their respective lines, which are kitted out to appeal to higher-end consumer and business audiences. Hewlett Packard often wins corporate bidding due to its more budget-conscious pricing, though you give up some fit and finish to make those cost breakpoints. Dell machines tend to be more solidly built, but also tack on extra cost to cover those details.

All of the Hewle ...

Latest Windows 10 cumulative update causes network adapter failure for some users

Microsoft's latest round of Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 10 were released earlier this week, bringing a number of unexpected issues. First, the Redmond giant confirmed that problems with the Start menu and Windows Search were being investigated. Later, reports started emerging from users regarding audio issues including missing audio effects and volume sounding much lower than usual. More specifically, the problems are being faced by those on build 18362.356.

This doesn't seem to have been the last of unanticipated issues, however, as some users are experiencing network adapter ...

New Surface Leak Reveals Microsoft's Confident Challenger

Microsoft has announced a major launch event in New Yorkwhere it is widely expected to reveal the latest Surface hardware, and it looks like there could be a surprise in store for Surface Laptop fans.

Taking place on October 2nd, the latest information is that Microsoft will be updating the Surface Laptop portfolio to include its first 15-inch model. Although the Surface Book has a 15-inch screen option (and Apple is heavily rumored to up the 15-inch MacBook Pro to a 16-inch display, assuming Apple really cares about this market), the appearance of the 15-inch option with the Surfac ...

At Just $329, Apple’s New iPad May Finally Replace Your Laptop

Ever since its inception, the iPad has operated in the liminal space between toy and tool. Great for streaming movies and casually browsing, it’s never quite been enough to replace a laptop. Apple’s newest iPad may change that.

At its event in Cupertino this month, Apple revealed the specs on its newest entry-level tablet. The 7th-generation model will feature a 10.2-inch Retina display, A10 Fusion chip, smart connector for a full-sized keyboard and a host of cool new multitasking features in iPadOS.

The net effect: an iPad that’s significantly more powerful than its predece ...

iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max: 6 things you didn't know about Apple's new phones

Apple's press event, where it debuted the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, came and went on Tuesday. And while a lot of noise was made about the handsets' creepy-looking camera setups, the 11 Pro's polarizing Midnight Green color and the obnoxiously termed "slofie," there were a few other iPhone 11 features that flew under the radar.

It's understandable why these details were overlooked -- either Apple didn't make them explicit during its keynote or the features, though useful, aren't exactly "sexy." Now that the dust has settled from the Tuesday's hubbub, howev ...

Pixel 4’s latest leaks come with one disappointing news

Another day, another set of leaks for Google’s worst-kept secret of 2019. It’s probably for the best since fans will have an idea what they’re getting into before the day arrives. So far the leaks have been to everyone’s expectations, but that doesn’t mean there are no disappointing turns. In fact, even in this latest flood of new information, there is one small detail that makes the Pixel 4 look less competitive than this year’s late 2019 flagships.

The appearance of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL is hardly any secret by now. Google even preempted those leaks by confirming that it will ...

Apple’s HomePod set to gain some long overdue functionality this fall

It’s no secret that the HomePod’s software updates have been a bit sluggish, which made it all the more alarming that the device was barely touched on in yesterday’s Apple event.

Well, even as pre-launch promises are still getting ironed out, by the fall Apple says that its home smart speaker will be gaining new functionality including multi-user support, live radio and a relaxing “ambient sounds” mode, according to an updated product page on the company’s website. Some of this functionality was detailed at Apple’s June services event.

Multi-user support is “coming this fall ...

Galaxy S11 colors may have been leaked months before the phone’s reveal

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ last month, but leaks don’t care about release dates. On Tuesday, SamMobile shared its second substantial Galaxy S11 leak in as many weeks, purportedly revealing the color options for a flagship phone which almost certainly won’t be announced until 2020.

According to SamMobile, the Galaxy S11 will be available in Blue, Pink, Black, and White. All four of these colors are also available for the Galaxy Note 10 (though not in every territory). Apple expanded its color palette with the launch of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro earl ...

Comment: This is Google’s year to target iPhone upgraders with Pixel 4

More than every other major Android flagship, the Google Pixel has targeted iPhone buyers. In comparison to the rest of the Android space, the company has focused heavily on user experience over gimmicks, aesthetics over spec sheets. Its success in actually converting people away from Apple’s walled garden has been limited at best, but Pixel 4 year might pose a unique opportunity…

Pixel’s biggest strength is its camera

If you missed it, Apple just announced a bunch of new iPhones. There’s the iPhone 11, which is the followup to last year’s every-man iPhone XR. And there’s th ...

Apple stops signing iOS 12.4, blocking downgrades following jailbreak release

Following the release of a public jailbreak last month, Apple today has stopped signing iOS 12.4. This means users can no longer downgrade from iOS 12.4.1 to iOS 12.4.

A week after the jailbreak was shared publicly, Apple released iOS 12.4.1 to close the vulnerability. The jailbreak was released after it was discovered that Apple accidentally unpatched a vulnerability that was originally fixed in iOS 12.3.

The bug in question was first reported to Apple by Google’s Project Zero team. Apple detailed the fix in the security release notes for iOS 12.3. The jailbreak took advant ...

Apple Seeds watchOS 6 Golden Master to Developers

Apple today seeded the golden master version of watchOS 6, the software that runs on the Apple Watch. The new update comes two weeks after the ninth beta and over three months after Apple first unveiled the new watchOS update at the Worldwide Developers Conference. 

To install the watchOS 6 beta, you'll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the beta can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update. The golden master version of watchOS 6 ...

Apple finally includes a fast charger with the iPhone 11 Pro

After years of rumors, Apple will finally include a fast charger with at least one of its iPhone models. Starting with the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, the company will ship an 18W power adapter inside the box. The 18W USB-C power adapter is the same one the company ships with the 2018 iPad Pro. Since the iPhone 11 Pro still features a Lightning Port, Apple is also including a USB-C to Lightning cable, which means you'll finally be to connect your iPhone to one of the company's current Macs without buying an additional cable. This marks the first time one of Apple's smartphone hasn' ...

Apple iPad 2019 hands-on: A 6th-generation iPad in a 2019 iPad Air’s body

CUPERTINO, Calif.—Apple's iPad lineup has been in considerable flux of late. Just in the past year, Apple totally overhauled both iPad Pro sizes, introduced a new iPad Air based on the chassis of the prior iPad Pro, and relaunched the iPad mini (albeit without much in the way of modern hardware to recommend it).

Today, the company's representatives took the stage to announce new iPhones, but they also revealed a major update to the entry-level iPad.

The biggest news here is that the screen is bigger, at 10.2 inches. That's thanks to a significant bezel reduction, among other ...

iOS 13 file confirms Apple is testing an augmented reality headset

Hints pulled from iOS 13 code have already shown signs of the rumored AR headset that Apple is supposedly working on, but now there's clearer proof than ever. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith points out a readme in a new release that explains to employees how they can run the augmented reality apps on an iPhone without using the actual headset.

9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo showed how the iOS 13.0 gold master and iOS 13.1 beta releases contain Apple's "StarBoard" system shell to run AR apps as well. According to Smith, the code suggests that rendering could be handled on the iP ...

6 things you may have missed during the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro launch

What did you think of the iPhone 11 keynote? The word on social media appears to be “meh”, largely because the iPhone 11 appears to be going through its Gillette razor blade period: 

“What will we do this year, guys?” 

“Put another camera in there!” 

But while the iPhone’s clearly going through a protracted period of incremental improvement there were still plenty of interesting things to take away from Tim Cook and company's talk. 

We saw the future of the iPad, worked out what the Apple Watch is actually for and discovered that nobody in the organisation or ...

Microsoft unveils all-new To Do app, encourages Wunderlist users to make the switch

Microsoft today has officially unveiled an all-new version of its To Do application as it continues to integrate features of the Wunderlist platform it acquired in 2015. The company touts that the new To Do application is a major upgrade, with a new design, deeper integration with other platforms, and more.

The To Do app features a more “polished design,” according to Microsoft. The company says colors have been overhauled, while there are also new customizable backgrounds and smaller headers. Dark Mode is also supported on Mac, and will come to iOS “soon,” according to Microsoft....

Xiaomi announces 30W Mi Charge Turbo wireless charging to debut with Mi 9 Pro 5G

Xiaomi has announced a new wireless charging standard that's the fastest to date. The standard, which Xiaomi is calling Mi Charge Turbo, will be able to push up to 30 watts to compatible devices — which, so far, means only the upcoming Mi 9 Pro 5G. Xiaomi says its upcoming wireless charging stand can charge the Mi 9 Pro 5G's 4,000 milliamp-hour battery from zero to 50 percent in under a half hour.

The original, non-Pro Mi 9 is capable of 20-watt wireless charging, which was already industry-leading. Xiaomi's 30-watt charging stand will be actively cooled, with fans that "blow d ...

Mate 30 Pro video teaser hints at design, key features

The Huawei Mate 30 series launch is mired in controversy because of the expected lack of Google Play Store support. Word is Huawei might have to tell users to install Google apps on their own after they purchase the Mate 30 or the Mate 30 Pro. The company is still under a U.S. trade ban that stops Google from doing business with it. However, that’s not stopping Huawei from heavily teasing the Mate 30 series on Twitter.

Huawei’s new Mate 30 video teaser seems like a nod to all the main features headed to the phone. We already have a bunch of rumors that give us a sense of what the Ma ...

New Google Pixel 4 promo video leak confirms nifty astrophotography mode

The Google Pixel 3 range is amongst the best camera phones money can buy but the latest leak could confirm previous rumors that the next generation Pixel smartphones will outshine the 2018 Google flagships on the camera front.

Spanish website AndroidPro has discovered what appears to be an official marketing video for the Google Pixel 4 that shows off a feature no other smartphone has been able to do before: capture the stars.

According to the video, Google has improved on the camera system's low-light performance that could add an astrophotography mode to the Pixel 4.

...

Google Docs could soon show you word counts while you type

If you want to see how many words you’ve typed in a Google Docs document right now, you currently gotta select that from a drop-down menu first: Tools > Word Count. (There’s a keyboard shortcut, sure.)

But starting this week, G Suite (read: Google Docs for business) customers can activate alive word counter that shows you word counts while you type:

“We’ve heard that displaying this information is helpful to users working on docs that require minimum or maximum word count,” writes Google.

No kidding, Google.

It should be rolled out to all G Suite users by ...

Samsung says Galaxy Fold will run ‘hundreds’ of optimized apps at launch

Samsung’s Galaxy Fold was delayed so much we were beginning to think it wouldn’t even come out this year. Luckily that all changed last week. If there’s one benefit to the delay – besides, you know, a phone that won’t immediately break – is that it’s also given Samsung and developers some time to optimize software for the world’s most famous bendy phone. Case in point: Samsung says ‘hundreds’ of apps have been optimized for the Galaxy Fold.

Samsung and Google worked closely together to make the Android more flexible for the Galaxy Fold. With Android 10, Google made it easier for app ...

iPhone 5G ‘likely’ and will drive iOS in 2020: IDC

The iPhone 11 is not expected to have 5G support but an iPhone 5G is “likely” in 2020, IDC said Monday.

That means waiting for an iPhone with 5G “later in 2020,” which will impact sales, IDC said in a research note on Monday.

And 2019 will be challenging.

2019 will remain a challenging year for iPhone shipments with volumes expected to drop to 177.9 million, down 14.8% year over year, mostly due to market maturity as well as a lack of 5G devices. –IDC Market Forecast, September 9, 2019

But the 2020 iPhone should fix things

IDC goes on to say that a “m ...

The real reason Apple hasn’t launched a pocket-sized iPhone

Apple’s new iPhone SE2 is stunning. The slim, elegant successor to the defunct SE clocks in at less than 5 inches long and 2½ inches wide. It’s 40% smaller and lighter than a flagship iPhone such as the XR and XS Max. But, thanks to the new edge-to-edge design, this pocketable little phone still boasts a screen size of around 5 inches.

The problem? The iPhone SE2, alas, doesn’t actually exist. And the AppleAAPL, -0.01% rumor mill, which is usually pretty reliable, is not predicting Tim Cook will unveil one alongside other new iPhone models at the Apple launch event on Sept. 10.

...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+: A Quick Follow-Up

I’m obviously weeks behind other reviewers when it comes to the Note 10+. So here’s a quick check-in on my experience.

It’s been mostly positive: The Note 10+ display is gorgeous, even in its default FHD+ (2280 x 1080) setting—it can be manually configured to use its native WQHD+ (3040 x 1440) resolution or HD+ (1520 x 720) instead—which I assume is a good balance of looks and battery life. I see no reason to change that, and so far, at least, the battery life has been great. I don’t really go out into the world like many people each day, but I’d be surprised if it didn’t last for a ...

Huawei Mate X will immediately be obsolete when it launches next month

Product launch schedules aren’t rocket science but those are also carefully made with certain windows of opportunity in mind. When they miss those schedules, there’s a very strong chance it will affect other products or be affected adversely. That definitely seems to be the case with Huawei’s first and so far only foldable phone that has been delayed by half a year. It may finally launch next month but it might already be outdated and replaced by a new model in just a few months.

To its credit, the Mate X didn’t undergo the same criticism and problems that Samsung’s Galaxy Fold did. ...

Redesigned Galaxy Fold fixes past mistakes: What's different about Samsung's foldable phone

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is back, and promising better behavior. After design flaws began causing reviewers' phone screens to break, Samsung postponed the Fold's release date and went back to the drawing board to fix the problem. Now, a new and improved Galaxy Fold will go on sale in September, starting in Korea and branching out throughout Asia and Europe before heading to the US. (Here's what we know about preordering the fixed Fold.)

I got a chance to go hands-on with the redesigned model, which Samsung says will avoid incurring the kind of damage that caused some reviewers' scree ...

Lenovo’s Yoga C940 15.6-Inch: Eight Cores and GTX 1650

Lenovo today introduced its brand-new Yoga C940 convertible laptop with a 15.6-inch display that is aimed at performance-driven consumers and creative professionals. In addition to a large screen, the new hybrid notebook got a discrete GeForce GTX GPU, a first for the product family.

At first glance, it looks like the Lenovo Yoga C940 15.6 is an extension of the Yoga 9-series family with a product featuring a 15.6-inch Full-HD or Ultra-HD HDR-supporting display and better graphics. It comes in an all-metal Iron Grey CNC-milled chassis featuring a 360° watchband hinge that looks very ...

Lenovo has two new Android tablets w/ Google Assistant ‘Ambient Mode’ from $119

Earlier this year, Lenovo debuted an Android tablet that doubled as an Alexa smart display. Now Lenovo is giving a pair of its Android tablets the same treatment, this time with Google Assistant Ambient Mode and prices starting at $119.

If you don’t recall the Lenovo Smart Tab, it’s a pretty standard Android tablet from the company. However, with an added dock and some software tricks, it turned into a fully functional Amazon Alexa smart display. It was a clever way to make a tablet more useful.

Today, Lenovo is launching the Lenovo Yoga Smart Tab and Lenovo Smart Tab M8. O ...

Sony Xperia 5 hands on: Sony’s smaller take on the flagship

For ages, Sony has taken its best device of the year and downsized it to a more compact form factor. And so it has again here in 2019 with the Sony Xperia 5, a slightly reduced variant of the Xperia 1 that debuted earlier this year.

The new phone carries over most of the former’s specs and features, but does make a few adjustments along the way. Learn more in Android Authority‘s Sony Xperia 5 hands-on look.

Same old Sony

I’m glad to see Sony take the Xperia 1 down a notch. It was a beast of a phone and awkward to use thanks to the combination of the size and shape. T ...

Google Assistant gets new 'Ambient Mode' for phones and tablets

Among all of the hardware announcements coming out of IFA 2019, Google's using the event to talk about some software news relating to the Google Assistant.

Among these announcements, the one that sticks out to me the most is the new "Ambient Mode." When charging a phone or tablet, Ambient Mode kicks in as a Smart Display-like interface for the Google Assistant. With Ambient Mode, you can browse through your pictures on Google Photos, control smart home devices, access music playback, see upcoming calendar appointments/reminders, and more.

While not identical to the ...

Windows Insider Program Finally Cleans Up Its 19H2 Mess

Microsoft is finally allowing all Insiders in the Slow ring to actually test Windows 10 version 19H2 features: Today, it released Windows 10 18362.10019 with all 19H2 features enabled.

“Today we are releasing 19H2 Build 18362.10019 to ALL Windows Insiders in the Slow ring,” the Microsoft announcement notes. “Everyone in the Slow ring should be on the same build now with all the 19H2 features turned on.”

As you may recall, only 10 percent of Insiders in the Slow ring were previously given the opportunity to test new 19H2 features. Now, everyone in the Slow ring—those who prev ...

How to Use Android 10's Dual SIM Feature on Your Pixel 3a or Pixel 3a XL

With Android 10 rolling out, users are finding some unexpected surprises included in the update. For example, an upgrade to the Pixel 3a and 3a XL’s Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) feature that (finally) enables true dual-SIM card support on these devices.

DSDS lets you have two SIM cards (one physical and one eSIM card) connected to separate networks—a convenient way to switch between carriers for any reason. Before the Android 10 update, Pixel 3a users were forced to swap their SIMs to access different networks; in Android 10, Pixel 3a owners can use each network simultaneously and s ...

Samsung Galaxy Fold: what has changed for the version you'll be able to buy?

Samsung has announced that the Galaxy Fold is finally being released this week, and the company has made some changes to the foldable phone for its second attempt at a full, public launch.

Back in April 2019, some tech press got their hands on the first samples of the Galaxy Fold and - after they publicized a handful of glaring flaws - less than a week later Samsung had delayed the release of its cutting edge phone, deciding it just wasn't ready for the market.

The company went back to development to fix the issues and bring out a second, refined version of the handset, whic ...

Samsung’s A-Series 5G Smartphone: Galaxy A90 5G

With multiple makers of smartphones launching expensive high-end 5G smartphones this year, it was a matter of time before more reasonably priced 5G handsets emerge. Samsung is among the first companies to introduce a 5G-enabled smartphone that promises not to break the bank. In addition to faster networks support, the Samsung A90 offers a bunch of first-class features, including an advanced SoC as well as premium imaging capabilities.

Equipped with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display featuring a 2400×1080 resolution and a raindrop selfie camera module, the Galaxy A90 5G is based on Qual ...

USB 4 is official, brings faster speeds and 100W charging support

There’s a new USB spec in town and it brings faster speeds with it. Announced earlier this year, the USB-IF has signed off on the latest standard. Of course, USB 3.2 is far from commonplace so it is going to be a while before you see USB 4 compatible products.

So what’s new with USB 4?

USB 4 doubles the peak data transfer rate from 20Gbps to 40Gbps. It uses the same dual-lane architecture as USB 3.2 but doubles individual lane-transfer speeds to 20Gbps to reach a cumulative 40Gbps. You will need USB 4 certified cables to take advantage of these speeds. Of course, Thunderbolt ...

Samsung launches its first 5G-integrated CPU

Today, Samsung announced the launch of its newest mobile processor, the Exynos 980. This system-on-chip, which should enter mass production later this year, includes an integrated 5G modem, NPU (neural processing unit), and Mali G76 GPU.

How much should we care about 5G?

5G itself is probably not going to be a very big deal for most people. Aside from how relatively few and scattered 5G networks are for now, the really big speed increases for 5G happen on 5G FR2, the millimeter-wave band. The problem is, RF at millimeter wavelength has near-zero penetration—signals are easil ...

The New Magic Number for Gaming Laptops Is 300Hz

Gaming laptops were out in force today at IFA in Berlin, as both Acer and Asus held their main press conferences just before Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show opens to the public. But while I was buried in computers of all shapes and sizes, two beefy gaming laptops caught my eye: The Acer Predator Triton 500 and the Asus Zephyrus S GX701. Not because they’re particularly beautiful, or come with flashing RGB lighting—they’re notable because they both boast 300Hz displays.

If that sounds ridiculous, it sort of is. Up until now, the fastest refresh rate on a gaming laptop was ...

How to try Android 10’s best new features

If you’ve got a Pixel or the Essential Phone, chances are that you’ve got — or are about to get — the full stable release of Android 10, which has a bunch of interesting new features that are worth checking out.

But where do you find them? I installed Android 10 on my original Pixel XL late yesterday (yes, I’ve still got the first version of the Pixel — so sue me), and except for a few stylistic changes, the new features weren’t immediately obvious.

You can find them easily enough, though, if you know where to look.

INSTALLING ANDROID 10

First, of course, you ...

Category-defining foldable device inspires new mobile experiences with custom UX, mobility and powerful multitasking

Samsung Electronics today announced the launch of the Galaxy Fold—a completely new category of mobile technology—available in Korea on September 6, followed by select countries including France, Germany, Singapore, U.K., U.S., and more, in Cosmos Black and Space Silver. With a 5G-ready option in select countries, consumers will be able to unfold the future on the fastest network speeds available.

Galaxy Fold was designed to inspire new experiences: When closed, you can access your essentials on the cover display comfortably with one hand, and when opened, you can explore new ways to ...

How to fix high CPU usage after installing update KB4512941 on Windows 10

Are you seeing unexpected processor spikes after installing Windows 10 update KB4512941? You're not the only one — Here's how you can fix it.

On August 30, Microsoft started rolling out update KB4512941 to address a slew of issues with devices running the Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903), but it appears that the update is causing some new problems.

According to a number of complaints from users seen here and here on Reddit, Microsoft forums, and Feedback Hub app, after installing update KB4512941 — which bumps the version to build 18362.329 — Task Manager may report ...

OnePlus TV will come in 55" size with QLED display according to company exec

Earlier today, a regional vice president for OnePlus tweeted out details regarding the hotly anticipated OnePlus TV, revealing that it will come in a 55" size (among others, most likely), and the 55" version will sport a QLED panel. Also, although we were pretty sure that the OnePlus TV would be "smart" thanks to Android TV based on prior leaks, @androidtv_rumor confirms that Google has just certified a new device named "Dosa."

Previous leaks via the Bluetooth Launch Studio (which enumerates product listings approved for use with the tech) have included ...

OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7 get Android 10 open betas on launch day

Today is the official stable launch day for Android 10. On the same day as that launch, the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro Android 10 open betas are available.

While an open beta of Android 10 is certainly not the same as a stable version, OnePlus’ open betas usually are quite reliable. This means that a large chunk of OnePlus 7 Pro owners will have access to a fairly-stable version of Android 10 on the same day as Pixel owners get the official release.

Below, you’ll find the official changelog for this Open Beta 1 for the two OnePlus 7 devices. This changelog shows the differe ...

Apple patents Watch band that could ID you from your wrist skin

It looks like Apple is playing with the idea of making the Apple Watch’s band a bit smarter.

As spotted by PatentlyApple, the company was granted a handful of patents this morning, all focused on bringing new tricks to the Watch by way of the band.

The first patent describes a sensor built into the Watch or the watch’s band that could use infrared to build a thermal image of your wrist and its identifying traits (like skin texture/arm hair) to identify who is wearing it — sort of like a fingerprint, but from your wrist.

Unlike most of Apple’s other devices, the Apple ...

LG imagined the best answer to the Galaxy Note 10, and it’s foldable

When the first Galaxy Note launched at IFA 2011, it was quite a head-turner. Samsung wasn’t the first company to manufacture a smartphone with a huge display, but the original Note turned out to be the best concept of its kind. Moreover, the phone had an additional signature feature, the built-in stylus, which was not available on any other device. Fast-forward to 2019, and the Note line still lives, in spite of that massive Note 7 battery disaster, with the Note 10 representing the best possible smartphone Samsung can mass-produce right now.

One thing did change over the years; the ...

Google Maps for Android adds a Street View layer

The amount of fun you can get out of Google Maps Street View is endless. Between the frequent Buzzfeed articles detailing the same funny/creepy locations to check out, the searching for your own house, and the attempts to find funny place names, Maps is more than just a navigation service. With that being said, though, most of the funny stuff has been done on a PC, as the desktop implementation of Street View is a little more feature-rich. That is until now. The Google Maps Android app was just updated to fall more in line with the browser implementation of Street View.

Previously, ...

Apple’s iPhone 11 event: What to expect

All eyes will be on Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., next week when the tech giant unveils its latest iPhones.

The tech giant is expected to launch three new iPhones at the event next Tuesday. It'll be held at the Steve Jobs Theater on the company's campus, according to reports.

“The main event of next week's launch will be the flagship iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max, as these smartphones represent the crux of improvements coming in this year's releases,” Wedbush Securities analysts Daniel Ives and Strecker Backe wrote in a research note. “The new triple c ...

USB4 brings better speeds and compatibility — but loses the space in the name

The organizations behind the widely used USB standard have released some new info on the latest iteration of the interface, and it’s nothing but good news for consumers. It’ll be faster and bring improved compatibility, with no need to pay close attention to which cable or port you’re using. And pedants take note: there’s no longer a space after “USB” and the number.

USB4, as it’s now styled (versus USB 4), was announced in March with a few promises regarding features, but now the actual technical specifications have been released to anyone who cares to inspect them. It’s another st ...

Google finally adds image blocking to Gmail on the iPhone

Google today added a new setting to the iOS version of its Gmail app that will let you more easily block unwanted email tracking. The setting in question, the ability to prevent Gmail from automatically loading attached images, used to be found only on the web version of Gmail. Toggling that setting on allows Gmail to block incoming images, including invisible email trackers hiding in the body of email messages that, in most cases, will tell senders when and sometimes even where you opened the message.

This is a pretty clear response to the Superhuman controversy that erupted back i ...

Dell XPS 15 7590 review: The OLED screen is the star

Dell's XPS 15 laptops are high-end, high-spec machines with a starting price of £1,499 (inc. VAT; £1,249.17 ex. VAT), rising higher if you want an OLED display. As well as the OLED option (the first time this technology has made an appearance in an XPS laptop), features include discrete graphics, long battery life, up to 2TB of SSD storage, 9th generation Intel processors, and Wi-Fi 6. It may pack a premium price, but the XPS range offers a lot of bells and whistles.

With a starting weight of 1.8kg the 15-inch XPS 15 7590 is no ultraportable. It's relatively bulky too, measuring 357 ...

Windows 10 Gets a Cloud Reset Feature, Here’s How it Works

The Windows 10 20H1 Update will introduce a new cloud recovery feature that allow users to reset their PC using Windows files downloaded from Microsoft’s servers.

Historically, when Windows users use the "Reset this PC" feature, Windows 10 will reinstall Windows using files already found on the computer.

With Cloud Recovery, Microsoft wants to make the process of recovering a corrupted installation of Windows 10 much easier by downloading a fresh copy of Windows files directly from Microsoft, without the need of Windows media.

"The cloud download optio ...

iOS 13 code hints Apple may be testing an AR headset

Apple's long-rumored plans for an augmented reality headset appear to be taking shape. MacRumors claims to have seen documentation for an internal iOS 13 build that points to work on AR headset support. They reference a "STARTester" app that can switch to a head-mounted mode, a "StarBoard" shell (a possible parallel to iOS' Springboard) for stereo AR apps and code references to special modes, views and scenes. It even references a codename for one device, Garta, that might be linked to the previously rumored T288 project.

Earlier stories have painted varying pict ...

New iPhone 11 Leak Reveals Apple's Single Biggest Advantage

With just over a week until Tim Cook takes to the stage and the hand-picked audience prepares to act surprised at the new hardware, the final details of the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max are coming into focus. And there’s a solitary advantage that many will be picking up.

Support for the Apple Pencil is (finally) expected to arrive in the iPhone.

The Apple Pencil was launched alongside the iPad Pro, bringing Apple’s implementation of stylus input to its platform. Since then it has supported more of the iOS powered tablets but has not made the jump to the sm ...

Most 5G phones we’ve seen so far have been variants of products at the top end of manufacturers’ lineups: see the Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G, the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, and so on. Samsung’s latest 5G phone, however, is the Galaxy A90 5G, which means it fits into its mid-range Galaxy A lineup below phones like the S10 and Note 10.

Samsung has recently released other Galaxy A models that focus on high-end features like quad-camera systems and flip-up camera mechanisms as part of a strategy to combat aggressively competitive Chinese manufacturers. And to be clear, the Galaxy A90 5G would have s ...

Warning Issued For Millions Of Microsoft Windows 10 Users

Windows 10 users haven’t had it easy in recent months. And while some problems were out of Microsoft’s control, the company has brought a lot of problems on itself. And now users need to watch out for another. 

Picked up by the eagle eyes of Windows Latest, users are warning that Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 update is hitting performance hard. And what’s most frustrating is Microsoft was warned about this prior to release, shipped it anyway and continues to ignore it. 

Showing up for anyone who hits the ‘Check for updates’ button in Windows Update, KB4512941 was released to ...

Galaxy Note 10 Plus Vs iPhone XS Max: Performance, Camera & Design

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 lineup is official, and a big question that’s on everyone’s mind is how well do the freshly launched gadgets compare against Apple’s 2018 iPhones. The iPhones XS and XS Max are among the best smartphones in the market right now, despite it being a year since their launch. Samsung’s Note 10 lineup features brand new displays coupled with camera features that make them a complete (non-iterative) upgrade over their predecessors.

So, if you’re wondering how well the Galaxy Note 10 lineup stacks up against the iPhones, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve taken ...

The iPhone-Hacking Sites Google Found Apparently Went After Android and Windows Users Too

Those hackers Google’s researchers sussed out earlier this week apparently went after more than just iPhone users. Microsoft’s operating system along with Google’s own were also targeted, according to Forbes, in what some reports are calling a possibly state-backed effort to spy on the Uighur ethnic group in China.

Google’s Threat Analysis Group was the first to discover the scheme earlier this year (news of the campaign was first disclosed Thursday). It involved a small group of websites aiming to infect visitors’ devices to gain access to their private information, including live ...

Huawei confirms Mate 30 will land on September 19th

Huawei has confirmed the launch date for its next flagship phone line. In a short teaser video posted to Twitter, the company says that the upcoming Mate 30 series will be unveiled in Munich, Germany on September 19th. The tagline for the event is “Rethink Possibilities.”

Huawei will indeed have had to rethink the possibilities of its Mate 30 phones — Google toldThe Verge that they won’t be allowed to ship with core Google services on board, as US companies are still banned from doing business with Huawei. We called the Mate 20 Pro “the best phone America can’t get” last year, but i ...

IPhones infected with spyware over two years in serious hacking incident

Security experts are calling a newly announced security vulnerability the worst yet affecting Apple's iPhone.

Researchers say suspected nation-state hackers infected Apple iPhones with spyware over two years in what security experts called an alarming security failure for a company whose calling card is privacy.

A mere visit to one of a small number of tainted websites could infect an iPhone with an implant capable of sending the smartphone owner's text messages, email, photos and real-time location data to the cyberspies behind the operation.

"This is definitel ...

Samsung's First Bixby Speaker Still Isn't Out, But Now There's a Mini Version

More than a year ago, alongside the reveal of the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung announced that it was working on a smart speaker powered by its Bixby digital assistant called the Galaxy Home. And even though the original Galaxy Home still hasn’t gone on sale, it seems Samsung already has a Galaxy Home Mini in the works.

Rumors of a smaller Bixby speaker have been swirling around for a little while after an FCC filing from Samsung popped up earlier this spring, but now, it seems the Galaxy Home Mini is ready for testing after Samsung posted a signup page on its Korean website (first detaile ...

Microsoft unveils new tablet experience for Windows 10

Microsoft is planning to redesign the tablet experience for Windows 10. The software giant has started testing a new design for 2-in-1 convertible PCs that will keep the user interface more similar to the existing desktop design. Currently, Windows 10 throws you into a more tablet-optimized UI that removes task bar icons and puts the Start menu full-screen when a device automatically switches into “tablet mode.” Microsoft is now walking back some of those changes, while keeping some touch-optimized elements for 2-in-1 PCs.

In the new tablet experience, the desktop will remain in ful ...

Google's Pixel 4 XL Beats Pixel 3 XL With Six Upgrades

I’ve owned (and reviewed) Google's Pixel 3 Xl since launch and whilst my initial and long-term impressions are positive overall, there are serious issues Google needs to address in the upcoming Pixel 4. 

The most glaring problems surfaced after a few months with the device and I’m not alone in thinking so - the Google Product forums are active with complaints. The good news is that Google has room to improve and a solid base to do it on. 

Pixel phones are fundamentally good devices and Google is ostensibly a few upgrades away from comfortably the best phone of this generatio ...

Garmin’s Newest Smartwatch Gets Its Power From a Surprising Place

The Garmin Fenix series is the one to buy for those who head out on long trail runs,hiking trips and backpacking adventures. Garmin announced its newest edition, the Fenix 6 series, right as the UTMB begins. The UTMB is revered in the trail running world for its gritty terrain throughout the Alps in Chamonix, France, and you’re likely to spot athletes using the new Fenix series there. The latest releases boast a plethora of added features, but one of the most surprising is the ability to solar charge.

The highest-end model, the 6X Pro Solar, features a solar panel on the watch face ...

OVERHAULED CHROMEBOOK SETTINGS MENU IS AVAILABLE IN CHROME OS 76

Chrome OS ushered in a small but significant change to the overall settings menu UI for Chromebooks, and I still advocate that the tiny shift in the sidebar menu makes a big difference from a usability standpoint. That change is not what we’re here to talk about as it rolled out in Chrome OS 76 without any flags or additional settings needed. This new overhaul is not a small change and it holds some pretty staggering differences compared to what we’ve seen for years.

First off, to understand where this is all going, we need to talk about what the differences are between Chrome and C ...

Dark Mode Comes to Microsoft Outlook on Android

As a part of Microsoft’s big Dark Mode reveal for Microsoft 365, the company also announced that dark mode is coming to Outlook on mobile. That means a full dark experience for Android and iOS in the near future for everyone, with the first wave starting today.

The dark mode, like others, is there to help ease eye strain or when a bright white screen is not appropriate. You’ll find the darker theme in both your inbox and the built-in calendar of Outlook when activated.

Microsoft will give everyone a toggle to turn on dark mode, but with Android Q, they’ll be ready for the sy ...

Samsung's Stunning Smartphone Will Make You Forget Its Galaxy Fold Mistake

Has Samsung revealed the designs under consideration for the Galaxy Fold? Ahead of an expected relaunch of the folding smartphone at Berlin’s IFA in September, a new design patent filed this month shows the thoughts of the South Korean company in terms of hinge placement

The design patents were first reported by Ilse Jurrien at Let’s Go Digital, who have provided Forbes with this exclusive concept rendering of the new design.

What has caught my eye about these patents is the filing dates. They were published on August 26 2019, but filed just twelve days previously, on August ...

Sony announces super fast A6600 and A6100 mirrorless cameras

Sony has announced two new APS-C mirrorless cameras: the flagship A6600 and the lower-tier A6100. The A6600 has several high-end features that position it as the successor to the A6500, which was introduced in October 2016.

Like the A6500, the new A6600 features 5-axis in-body image stabilization, a 24.2-megapixel APS-C Exmor CMOS image sensor, and super fast autofocus (AF), which can find the subject in 0.02 seconds. It also has Real-Time AF tracking and the new Real-Time Eye AF tracking that originally debuted in the A6400, which we reviewed earlier this year. Sony has added a 3.5 ...

Huawei Mate 30 can’t launch with official Google apps, says Google

Huawei may face a major roadblock for its next flagship phone, the Mate 30 — it won’t be able to launch with Google apps and services due to the White House banning US companies (like Google) from doing business with the Chinese telecommunications firm, according to a report from Reuters.

That means that the Mate 30 — and presumably, other upcoming devices like the now-delayed foldable Mate X — could be severely limited at launch. They’ll still run Android, which is at its core open-source software that’s freely available. But Google has confirmed to The Verge that the Mate 30 and M ...

iPhone 11 Surprise As Invisibility Effect Confirmed By Apple

The recent rush of leaks around the new iPhone handsets have given us a good idea on what to expect. The latest leak reflects well on the advanced camera software expected to feature in the iPhone 11 family when they are launched next month.

And the leak comes from an impeccable source… Apple.

Earlier this week Apple released a point update to the beta of iOS 13. Tucked away inside the code of iOS 13.1 are some notes regarding the video encoding software. The new version of the iOS operating system will support encoding HEVC videos with an alpha channel, as PhoneArena report ...

What’s new in iOS 13.1 beta 1?

Apple today surprisingly released the first developer beta of iOS 13.1, despite the fact that iOS 13 is not yet publicly available. Read on as we roundup all of the changes and everything new in iOS 13.1 beta 1.

One key focus in iOS 13.1 is seemingly restoring features that were initially available in iOS 13 but removed later in the beta testing process. This includes things such as Shortcuts Automations and the Share ETA functionality in Apple Maps.

So what does this release mean for iOS 13? It’s hard to know for sure – but it seems likely that Apple is planning to release ...

New Lenovo ThinkPad laptops with 10th generation Intel CPU have launched

The release of Intel's 10th Gen chips has seen many device manufacturers release updated versions of their most popular laptops and now Lenovo is following suit with the launch of new ThinkPads that will feature the chip giant's latest processors.

However, design-wise these new laptops are quite similar to the company's previous models, though they do feature better specs and some sport Intel's Project Athena label which means they're guaranteed to provide at least nine hours of battery life.

The new seventh generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon will include Intel's 10th Gen Comet L ...

The 10 best features of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10 you might have missed

Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 is out and available for all to buy, and for those who are reading this on their shiny new Note 10, or thinking of buying it, there are some cool features to know about.

Oftentimes, it can be hard to follow what Samsung's added to its new smartphone. The company takes an "everything under the sun" approach, and the Note 10 is no different.

New features and improvements have been added to the Note 10's note-taking ability, camera, and S Pen, and one feature even extends the Note 10 onto your Windows 10 or macOS computer.

Check out th ...

Dell launches new enterprise-focused Chromebooks

Google is bringing Chrome OS to the enterprise with the launch of two new business-focused Dell Latitude laptops running the search giant's operating system.

Dell's Latitude line is already popular with enterprise users running Windows 10 but the company worked together with Google for more than a year to create two new Chromebook Enterprise devices that can be easily managed by organization's IT departments.

These new Chromebooks will come bundled with a range of Dell's cloud-based support services that make it easier for IT admins to control how the devices are rolled out ...

Microsoft announces Surface event for October 2, could launch new dual-screen hybrid

Microsoft today announced that it will hold a Surface-focused event on October 2nd in New York City. This event comes in the midst of Apple’s fall event season, with the company expected to introduce new iPhones, iPads, and a 16-inch MacBook Pro.

As detailed by The Verge, Microsoft is developing a new dual-screen Surface device. This is designed to be a dual-screen tablet and laptop hybrid. While it’s a possibility we’ll see it at the October event, it’s not necessarily certain – but The Verge says Microsoft is targeting a release in 2020.

Microsoft demonstrated this new dev ...

Note 10 Plus camera night mode helps Samsung catch up to rival phones

Samsung's Galaxy cameras have a history of excellence, but have struggled to keep up with low-light night mode shots compared to rival devices, like the best-in-class Huawei P30 Pro and Google Pixel 3. Baking in a dedicated night mode into the Note 10 and Note 10 Plus changes that -- it's the difference between night and day. 

The dedicated night mode feature arrived over the air for Galaxy S10 phones in a software update after criticism (including mine) over the then-new automatic night mode that Samsung called Bright Night Shot.

Cameras, along with screen quality and batte ...

This new Google feature helps fight your Android app addiction

If your apps are sucking up too much of your time, you can outsource some self-discipline. Focus Mode is a new feature, announced in May, that brushes aside distracting apps -- maybe for you it's Facebook, YouTube or Instagram -- while you mentally dive into what you need to do, by applying a timer that keeps you from accessing certain apps for a set amount of time. When the time's up, Google will unpause the app.

Focus Mode is Google's latest feature intended to promote something it calls digital health. It builds off Wind Down mode, a part of Android's Digital Wellbeing feature se ...

The best gaming laptop performers of 2019

AMD and Nvidia are (still) fighting it out for gaming dominance, with new products like the Nvidia RTX Super line and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 series. Right now, the landscape can be confusing, but generally the best gaming laptops are running Nvidia's RTX graphics, which first came to desktop PCs in late 2018, and to laptops in January 2019.

For this roundup, we've taken all the laptops with discrete graphics hardware we've tested over the past year and a half and ranked them based on 3D performance. Below are those with top performance from that group, and you can also scroll throug ...

LineageOS adds official support for OnePlus 6T and 7 Pro

The LineageOS custom ROM is best known for its wide range of device support. In the past month alone, the project has added the Razer Phone, Zenfone 6, and other phones to the official roster. It seems a bit strange that they weren't already available, but ports for the OnePlus 6T and 7 Pro are now live.

LineageOS has now added support for the OnePlus 6T (code-named fajita) and 7 Pro (guacamole), thanks to the work of maintainers LuK1337, PeterCxy, and Tortel. Both devices are receiving daily builds based on LineageOS 16 (Android 9 Pie). Since these are officially-sanctioned releas ...

Leaked PlayStation 5 design looks out of this world in renders

The design of the PlayStation 5 reportedly leaked through patent drawings, featuring a much different look compared to the console’s predecessors.

The patent, spotted by Dutch blog Let’s Go Digital, was submitted in Brazil in May and published on August 13 at the World Intellectual Property Office, where it falls under the category of electronic devices. It appears that Sony’s technical director, Yushiro Ootori, is the man behind the concept.

Let’s Go Digital later created renders for the drawings found in the patents, potentially showing the first look at the PlayStation 5. ...

Snapdragon 875 Could Be Qualcomm’s First 5nm SoC; Additional Snapdragon 865 Details Also Leaked

As we move closer and closer to the end of the year, Qualcomm will hold an announcement possibly announcing the Snapdragon 865, which we’re definitely excited for. However, it looks like before the latter is officially unveiled, a potential name of its successor, the Snapdragon 875 Mobile Platform has come forth and is expected to be made in partnership with TSMC.

TSMC Already Commenced Risk Production This Year, With Its 5nm+ Manufacturing Process Slated for Mass Production in 2021

According to a fresh report published on Sina, a few details surrounding the Snapdragon 865 M ...

RTX 2080 Ti Super is apparently exclusive to the (not always working) GeForce Now RTX

Nvidia recently announced that their beta game streaming service, GeForce Now, would get the upgrade from Pascal to Turing and with it, ray tracing – only it didn’t. Not only were users reporting that ray tracing options were absent, but the performance was up to 50% worse, leading the more inquisitive to investigate and discover their games were running on a new GeForce RTX T10-8 GPU -- along with a variety of new and inadequate CPU and memory configurations.

Ten days ago we wouldn’t have been able to say what the T10-8 is, but last week’s AIDA64 update included a reference to it a ...

Google’s betting on SMS 2.0 to get its messaging groove back

Google’s gotten a lot of grief for its messaging strategy, and rightly so. While Facebook and Apple have seen their messaging platforms become indispensable to users and businesses alike, Google has launched a litany of apps whose pithy names (Buzz, Wave, Allo, Hangouts, and the list goes on) couldn’t save them from the dustbin of chat history. 

But lately it seems like the search giant has got its messaging groove back.

Getting to RC-yes 

By now you’re probably familiar with RCS, the new telecom standard that’s supposed to rescue old fashioned text messaging from th ...

iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11R and 11 Max: The specs, features and prices we expect from Apple in September

With all the buzz about the 2020 iPhone, what exactly are we going to see this year?

We expect Apple to unveil a brand-new iPhone in less than three weeks. And yet, oddly, many of the rumors -- and nearly all of the most exciting rumors -- about forthcoming Apple phones do not concern that particular model, expected to be called the iPhone 11. Rather, most of the really cool stuff is slated to debut on the following iPhone, which probably won't be introduced until September 2020. 

So, then, what exactly are we getting this year? 

According to a series of reports publ ...

Workplace digital assistant startup Capacity raises $13.2M from Midwestern VCs

Solving information scatter inside enterprises seems to be the founding idea behind dozens of enterprise software startups. Capacity, which recently rebranded from Jane.ai, is raising new cash to tackle the issue with its corporate data search platform.

The company just closed a $13.2 million Series B, funded entirely by Midwestern private investors and angels.

The St. Louis workplace startup helps its customers pull all of their organizational data together into a platform that makes company information more accessible to people inside the company. It’s all done through a c ...

Microsoft, Intel and others are doubling down on open source Linux security

Microsoft is continuing its broad ongoing push to contribute with open sourceprojects, joining the newly created Confidential Computing Consortium, an initiative launched by The Linux Foundation which aims to provide better security for data which is actually in use by apps on a computer, or in the cloud (as opposed to at rest, or not being used).

Microsoft is far from alone in this endeavor, and is joined by Intel in the consortium, along with ARM, Baidu, Google Cloud, IBM, Red Hat and other tech giants.

The overarching aim is the adoption of ‘confidential computing’ and th ...

iOS 13 and macOS Catalina: Enterprise Preview

Wait, no, don't close the tab! Don't you do it! Yes, it's enterprise. I know. But, just hold on a hot damn second. These new features for iOS 13, iPadOS, and macOS Catalina in enterprise are cool. Mostly because I kinda love what they just might be hinting at for the future of all of Apple's operating systems… and for all of us.

Security

I'm going to break this into three parts. Well, two parts actually since the first part, security, I covered already in my hour-long macOS Catalina video.

That includes read-only system volumes, kernel extensions, DriverKit, Gatekeep ...

Android Q has a name: Android 10. Here's how you'll use it

Google just announced Android Q will be called Android 10, and that we should expect its official release in a few weeks. Software and operating system updates like Android 10 add new features and capabilities and can be refreshing if you're growing tired of your phone. Google released the first beta of Android Q in March, and more recently, released the sixth -- and final -- beta before the official launch. 

With each beta release, Google has added new features to Android 10 beyond what the company announced and previewed at Google I/O in May. There's a Bubbles notification feature ...

iFixit teardown takes a look inside the Note 10+ 5G

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G will be available online and in stores tomorrow. Just in time, the folks at iFixit are sharing a peek inside the new device. Most notably, the phone borrows one major design queue from the iPhone, and it won't be super easy to repair.

Like the iPhone X, the Note 10+ positions the motherboard at the top half of the phone. While this allows the battery to be wider, it requires cables between mother and daughterboard. Those block access to the battery. They can be moved to the side, but they'll add a challenge to repairs.

Speaking of repairs, iFix ...

The Bose Portable Home speaker sports sleek looks and 360-degree sound

Bose has long been a huge player in the world of portable speakers – and its latest model, the Bose Portable Home Speaker, should serve to cement that reputation even further.

The new Bluetooth speaker packs wireless connectivity, a 12-hour battery life and 360-degree audio into a super compact form, coming in at just 2.3 pounds (around 1kg).

The best portable speakers of 2019

All the best wireless speakers we've reviewed

Staying close to home? Check out the Bose Home Speaker 500

The Bose Portable Home Speaker, which will be available in black and sil ...

Dell Launches Their Vostro 13 5391 Laptop: 10th Gen Core For Road Warriors

Capping off Dell's spate of laptop updates, today the company also announced an updated Vostro 13 laptop for small business. The relatively inexpensive Vostro 13 5391-series feature a solid build quality along with numerous enhancements that will be appreciated by business users, road warriors, and even consumers. The new machines pack Intel’s 10th Gen Core processors and a discrete GPU into a thin and light package.

The Dell Vostro 13 5391 comes in an aluminum and plastic chassis that is 14.9 mm thick, with total system weights starting from 1.18 kilograms, which is comparable to m ...

Microsoft pushes out small system update for Xbox 360

Do you still have an Xbox 360 lying around? If so, there's a surprise update for the console available now. As you'd expect from an update for the aging console, there's nothing significant here, however.

The release notes for the update only cite "minor bug fixes and improvements." So, if you're still using your Xbox 360, your console may operate a little better after the update, but it's unclear what issues it addresses.

In 2019, however, you'll probably want to start eyeing an upgrade to an Xbox One if you're still holding onto an Xbox 360. The newer console inc ...

Case Maker Expecting Smaller Apple Pencil for Upcoming 2019 iPhones

At least one case maker is expecting Apple Pencil support for the upcoming 2019 iPhones, despite no solid rumors suggesting the new devices will work with the Apple Pencil. 

Case site Mobile Fun is, as of this morning, stocking an "iPhone 11 Pro" case from Olixarwith a built-in mini Apple Pencil holder. The case maker seems to believe Apple is designing a smaller version of the Apple Pencil that will work with at least the larger 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max successor. 

The case in question is a rendering, not a real case, and it therefore doesn't offer concrete evidence ...

Intel reveals first AI chips

Intel has unveiled two new CPUs designed for large computing centers which will be the chipmaker's first to utilize artificial intelligence (AI).

The two chips are the company's first offerings from its Nervana Neural Network Processor (NPP) line and one will be used to train AI systems while the other will handle inference.

The Nervana NNP-T, codenamed Spring Crest, will be used for training and comes with 24 Tensor processing clusters that have been specifically designed to power neural networks. Intel's new system on a chip (SoC) provides users with everything they'll nee ...

Microsoft tests more control for apps that restart with Windows 10

As much as PCs have changed in recent years, at least one thing has stayed the same: at some point, you'll need to restart your computer. With that in mind, the first of next year's two big Windows 10 updates could offer a subtle but helpful tweak to how the operating system handles restarts.

As part of the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build (build 18965, if you're counting), Microsoft is testing a new setting that gives Windows users more explicit control over whether their apps automatically launch when they restart their PC. Outside of the latest Preview Build, the option th ...

Google Go now works on your regular Android phone (even with a bad connection)

There are a lot of pretty nifty apps designed for Android Go, Google’s version of Android designed to work best on entry-level devices. Google Go is one of those apps which brings the power of Google in a very, very tiny app package (just over 7MB!).

Previously, you could only use Google Go on an Android Go device or in specific countries, but now everyone can enjoy the “lite” version of the main Google app. Just click here to visit the app’s page on the Google Play Store or click the button at the bottom of this article.

The Google Go app might be small in size, but it’s pr ...

Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge browser is now in beta

Microsoft today launched the first beta builds of its new Chromium-based Edge browser for Windows and Mac. The new beta channel, which will see a new update roughly every six weeks, will join the existing dev and canary channels, which will continue to see daily and weekly updates, respectively.

Over the course of the last few months of preview releases in the existing channels, Microsoft gathered about 140,000 pieces of feedback. With this — and a sufficient amount of telemetry it also received from early adopters — the company now feels that it knows enough about how well Edge wor ...

Nvidia Game Ready Update brings ultra-low latency mode, integer scaling, and more

Why it matters: Nvidia released some "Game Ready" drivers today in conjunction with Gamescom. The new drivers utilize the capabilities of its GeForce RTX or GeForce GTX 16-Series GPUs. Added features include integer upscaling for retro and pixel-art games, lower latency, and freestyle sharpening to DX and Vulkan games.

Nvidia had some exciting news to share at Gamescom 2019. In addition to ray tracing and Android support for its game-streaming platform GeForce Now, Nvidia has also released driver update (436.02) bringing integer scaling, freestyle sharpening, an ultra-low ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+

There's a lot going on with the Galaxy Note 10+ ($1,099.99 and up), Samsung's biggest phone. There always is; the Note line is the epitome of Samsung's technology. It's where the company piles all of its features in, with price and size being no object. And I admire it, but I find it hard to love. A lot of this comes down to how many phones Samsung's been slinging out this year with similar features, as well as my own growing lack of patience with $1,000+ handsets. Ultimately, the Galaxy S10+ ($799.99 and up) and the smaller Galaxy Note 10 ($949.99) are slightly more affordable ways to get ...

Dell Reveals Alienware 34 Curved Monitor: WQHD IPS with 120Hz G-Sync

Dell this week has introduced its new top-of-the-line curved gaming display, the Alienware 34. The new AW3420DW monitor resembles its predecessor from 2017, with the same resolution and G-Sync functionality, however it builds upon that with a greater display brightness, a different design, and features an IPS panel with Nano Color technology.

The Alienware AW3420DW is the company’s latest flagship display that is based on an IPS panel featuring a 3440×1440 resolution, 350 nits brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, a 120 Hz native refresh rate, a ‘fast’ GtG response ...

Gmail’s new spelling and grammar check works in real-time on the web

At the moment, Gmail’s built-in spell check functionality has to be enabled manually and brings users into an editing mode. Google is now rolling out real-time spelling detection that can make automatic corrections, as well as grammar suggestions.

On the web, the current “Check spelling” feature has to be enabled from the “More options” menu in the bottom-right corner of the compose window. All errors are highlighted in red with a click offering suggestions. After you make any change, you have to manually “Recheck” the email.

Spell check suggestions now work in real-time. Er ...

Dell Launches 55-Inch Alienware OLED Display: 4K at 120 Hz with Deep Blacks

Today at Gamescom, Dell has officially launched its new flagship OLED gaming monitor, the Alienware 55. First demonstrated back at Computex, the display uses a 4K OLED panel featuring a 120 Hz refresh rate, making it among the fastest 4K monitors available. The Alienware 55 supports AMD’s FreeSync variable refresh rate technology, which is what sets the monitor apart from OLED UHDTVs, yet not in its HDR implementation.

The Alienware 55 is based on a 55-inch OLED panel featuring a 3840x2160 resolution, 400 nits peak brightness, a 130,000:1 contrast ration, a 0.5 ms gray to gray respo ...

REDMI 8A REAL IMAGE APPEARS ONLINE WITH A SNAPDRAGON 439 SOC AND 5000 MAH BATTERY

After the announcement of the 64MP sensor by Xiaomi, there have been speculations about an upcoming Redmi smartphone to use this sensor. Yesterday, a new Redmi device appeared on TENAA. This smartphone with model number M1908C3IC uses a waterdrop display and a dual rear camera. It also has a Redmi logo on both sides as well as a rear fingerprint sensor. Now, we have the first real image of this smartphone which is believed to be the Redmi 8A.

Like the TENAA image, we have the dual rear camera, LED flash and rear fingerprint sensor in a vertical alignment. These sensors are in the mi ...

Intel's 10th-gen 18-core beats Core i9-9980XE by 11%, Ryzen remains faster

Why it matters: Intel’s next glorious 18-core behemoth has thundered into the Geekbench 4 arena where it has vanquished the i9-9980XE by 11% in the multi-core test, a bold display of dominance for an engineering sample. But can it handle the heat of the Ryzen 9 3950X it was doubtlessly built to combat? Apparently not, given the unreleased Ryzen chip scores 12% higher in the multi-core, and 9% higher in the single-core.

Before we tread further into the forest of CPU stats and figures, let me remind you that public Geekbench entries are very limited indicators. Geekbench results overe ...

Apple Watch Series 5 Could Come in Ceramic, Titanium

Apple's software betas just can't keep secrets.

Less than a week after the iOS 13 beta suggested a Sept. 10 debut for the iPhone 11, the watchOS 6 beta is tipping people off about what kind of Apple Watch models to expect this fall.

The leak was spotted by iHelpBR, which also broke the news about iOS 13tipping the iPhone 11's launch date. According to the site, Apple's watchOS 6 includes setup screens that refer to titanium and ceramic cases for the Apple Watch.

There's currently no titanium version of the Apple Watch. The Series 2 and Series 3 versions of the Apple ...

Microsoft releases new patches for the Windows 10 October Update and older versions of the OS

Microsoft has quietly released new optional updates for older versions of Windows 10 this weekend, including the October 2018 Update. If you’re still running this version of the OS, the build 17763.720 (KB4512534) is now available for you with the following fixes:

Improves the reliability of push notifications about app deployments to Microsoft HoloLens 1 devices.

Addresses an issue that prevents Windows Hello Face Authentication from working after a restart.

Addresses an issue with downloading digital rights management (DRM) files from certain websites using Microso ...

Apple Accidentally Reveals Stunning Apple Watch Series 5 Upgrade

Apple Watch Series 5 is almost certainly going to be unveiled next month alongside the new range of iPhones. It looks highly likely that Tuesday, September 10 will be the big day.

And a new leak has just confirmed that the smartwatch will be available in different finishes from the current range.

I say confirmed because the leak comes from an unimpeachably good source: Apple.

In an exclusive report by iHelp BR, Filipe Esposito has spotted something very interesting in the watchOS 6 operating system developers' beta.

It was Esposito, by the way, who spotted th ...

MIT experts find a way to reduce video stream buffering on busy WiFi

Is there anything more annoying that trying to watch a video on a slow internet connection shared with a bunch of other users? Skips, endless buffering, and ugly pixelation can ruin the experience of watching a movie or TV show when everyone in your house is trying to stream at the same time.

Now a team from MIT have come up with a tool to help multiple people share a limited WiFi connection. The group from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed the Minerva system which analyzes videos before playing them to check how much they would be im ...

Everything the iPhone 11 needs to be successful

Commentary: The next iPhone doesn't need a radical redesign, but it does need some solid upgrades and new features to be a success.

Every year in September, Apple holds an event to announce the next iPhone. And with the iPhone 11 (or whatever it'll be called) looming near, it's time for Apple to step up. iPhone sales fell 12% in the fiscal third quarter, more people are trading in their iPhones for Androids, and rivals like Samsung's Note 10 and 10 Plus are packed with an abundant amount of compelling features. The iPhone doesn't need a radical redesign, but for Apple to really make ...

Dell’s new XPS 13 2-in-1—a notable redesign—goes on sale today

Today, Dell began taking orders in the US for the new 2019 version of the XPS 13 two-in-one convertible laptop. In this update, the XPS 13 two-in-one has seen a hardware redesign, with a different hinge and keyboard. And many people will be glad to hear that the laptop's formerly infamous webcam is now placed above the screen, not below. (That has been one of our main criticisms of this otherwise strong laptop in previous reviews of this product line.)

In terms of internals, the new XPS 13 two-in-one sports 10th-generation Intel Core CPU options ranging from the Core i3-1005G1 at th ...

Google search isn’t showing new content due to indexing issues

Google is having indexing issues today, meaning that some new content across the internet is not showing up in search results. A look at the Top Stories in Google News, for example, shows that while some of the stories are from the last couple hours, many are from yesterday. Search Engine Land first reported on the issues.

The company confirmed on Thursday at 4:28AM ET that it was seeing reports of indexing issues, and later added that it was seeing “issues in the URL Inspection tool within Search Console.” Google said that the URL issue was fixed as of 11:41AM ET, but it hasn’t pro ...

Apple Has Begun Software Locking iPhone Batteries to Prevent Third-Party Replacement

Apple has begun locking its batteries with software to prevent third-party replacements from reporting their status properly. The company is apparently activating a feature that it’s previously built into its products. The message persists, even if you swap in a genuine Apple battery, and it’s an attempt to shove customers towards using Apple and Apple-authorized resellers to the exclusion of third-party stores.

According to Justin at The Art of Repair, via iFixit, the message will pop up if you replace the battery on an iPhone XR, XS, or XS Max. The messaging from Apple pops up in ...

Blackmagic announces Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

Blackmagic Design has revealed its latest compact camera for cinematography, the Pocket Cinema Camera 6K. It looks pretty similar to the 4K camera introduced last year, which is to say that it looks like a Minolta SLR from 1993, but it has a bigger sensor — it shoots in Super 35 format (similar to APS-C) with a resolution of 6144 x 3456.

Resolution aside, the switch to Super 35 will allow for much better low-light performance and control over depth of field. The 6K camera also uses Canon’s EF lens mount, rather than the 4K’s Micro Four Thirds, and Blackmagic is claiming 13 stops of ...

Galaxy Note 10 Plus: A 6.8-inch phone that kills the headphone jack

Take one look at the Galaxy Note 10 and it's clear that Samsung is attempting something different this year. First, there's not just one Note 10, but two: the 6.3-inch Galaxy Note 10, starting at $949, £899 or AU$1,499, and the 6.8-inch Note 10 Plus, which starts at $1,099, £999 or AU$1,699. (See how to preorder a Note 10 here.) The phones turn color up a notch with a brilliant prismatic backing on two of its color options, shining back the rainbow. And -- you might want to brace yourself -- Samsung has killed off the headphone jack in both Note 10 phones.

The Galaxy Note 10 and Not ...

Where the 2013 Mac Pro went right — and wrong

Unlike the original Mac Pro introduced on August 7, 2006, the 2013 version is already fading into memory and may be remembered for its flaws instead of its benefits.

The first-ever Mac Pro would go on to define the best that Apple was capable of, and it was the range that would become a kind of canary for the company's attitudes. Whenever the consensus was that Apple was ignoring its pro users in favor of consumers, it was always because the Mac Pro was lagging behind. We've now seen how opinions of the firm changed as soon as the 2019 Mac Pro was shown, but we've been here before.< ...

Everything new in iOS 13 beta 6

Developer beta 6 of iOS 13 has been released. Here are all the changes found this time around including tweaks to folders, Control Center, and more.

Several apps have new splash screens upon launch after updating. The App Store touts the new update location —as well as Apple Arcade. Photos teases the new video editing and immersive experience. Game Center also has a splash screen when launching an app that utilizes it.

Dark mode now has its own top-level toggle inside of Control Center. This avoids the annoyance of having to 3D Touch on the brightness toggle. It can be enabl ...

Apple's Version of ASMR Is Like Nails on a Chalkboard to Me

Once again, Apple has made shivers run down my spine—but not in a good way. Today, as part of its “Shot on iPhone” campaign, Apple released a series of four ASMR videos to its YouTube channel. There’s some lady whisperingabout weird shit, a dude carving wood, crunching noises on a hike, and what’s supposed to be soothing rainfall.

ASMR is big on YouTube, with categories ranging from nerdy cosplay to glamorous baking channels. Some fans say the amplified sounds give them relaxing, tingling sensations—a sort of eargasm if you will. For me, ASMR feels like I’m a ghost and someone’s pou ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Unpacked event: How to re-watch the show online

Samsung usually schedules several events throughout the year, but the most interesting, by far, are the "Unpacked" events for its updates to the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines. The latest Unpacked, on Aug. 7, focused entirely on the Galaxy Note 10.

Also: Galaxy Note 10: Rumours, features, and release date

As with many smartphone launches, you were able to stream the show online. Although the live stream itself has now concluded, Samsung kept it available so that people can tune in and watch or re-watch whenever they have time.

How to watch Samsung's Galaxy ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10, Note 10 Plus unveiled starting at $949: Everything Unpacked

Samsung's summer Unpacked event, traditionally the company's annual unveiling of its big-screen Galaxy Note line of phones, brought us the Galaxy Note 10. We went into the event with some big expectations for it.

The event took place just weeks after the company announced that the Galaxy Fold will relaunch sometime in September after fixing problems with the screen. But the Note, which used to be the flagship in which Samsung debuted the latest and greatest technologies, has some work to do to get out of the shadow of the Fold. And as frequently happens when newer, pricier models a ...

Google's Pixel 4 could have an extra-fast OLED screen

Google may lean on considerably more than touch-free gestures to reel in would-be Pixel 4 buyers. Sources for 9to5Google claim that both the base Pixel 4 and the larger Pixel 4 XL will include fast 90Hz OLED displays marketed under a "Smooth Display" name. Much like the OnePlus 7 Proand a few other devices, you'd get a silkier, more responsive screen that could be ideal for playing games and watching high frame rate videos.

There might also be more camera tricks in store. It's no secret that the Pixel 4 line will have dual rear cameras (a 12MP standard shooter and a 16MP t ...

Samsung didn’t mention Bixby once during its entire Galaxy Note 10 event

Not once during Samsung’s Unpacked event for the new Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plusdid anyone on stage say the word “Bixby.” Samsung’s virtual assistant — positioned as an alternative to Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri — was never directly brought up over the course of the Note’s introduction and several other product sequences featuring the Galaxy Watch Active 2, Galaxy Tab S6, and other devices. Bixby wasn’t included in any demonstrations of the Note 10’s many new software tricks, productivity enhancements, and features designed with convenience in mind.

It was a remarkable exc ...

How to Get Google Assistant to Read Notifications From Third-Party Apps

Google Assistant has quietly received a major upgrade to its messaging features, giving the AI helper the ability to read messages from third-party apps.

The lack of official announcement for the new feature is odd, especially considering Android users have wanted this functionality for some time. Previously, Google Assistant could only read messages from Android Messages and Google Hangouts aloud—and not very well, either. Now, the sky is the limit: Google Assistant can read your messages from third-party apps such as Slack, WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram, and even Google’s own finick ...

Samsung Just Beat the iPhone Where It Matters Most

If you live in the United States and you own a Samsung, chances are that you are enjoying much better download speeds than people using iPhones. That’s one of the findings from independent network analysis firm Opensignal.

According to the company’s latest report — published this month under the title “How the smartphone affects mobile network experience” — Samsung users in the United States “experience download speeds 8.2 Mbps faster than iPhone users” on average. In Norway, if you have a Galaxy you will enjoy a whooping 14 Mbps advantage over iPhone users and 12 Mbps more than Hua ...

Google Images on desktop adds a side panel and feels more purpose-driven

If you’re browsing Google Image search results today, you might notice a new interface element: A sticky side panel that displays any images you click on, providing a closer look at the specific image you want to see, including related images, additional info like ratings, price and in-stock status, ingredients and cooking times, depending on whether you’re searching for products, recipes or something else.

The new sidebar replaces a full-width, in-column interface element, with the advantage that the new interface allows you to continue to browse the image result thumbnails returne ...

Test your Google Pixel 3 to see if it has this annoying camera issue

Although the Google Pixel 3 camera is one of the best you can get in a smartphone, it appears there could be a substantial issue plaguing the handset at the moment. According to numerous reports on the internet, the camera gets shaky when capturing photos or video.

You can read the complaints on places such as Reddit and Google’s own product support forums (as spotted by Android Police). The general consensus seems to be that the Google Pixel 3 camera issue is a hardware problem which could be related to either the optical image stabilization (OIS) or autofocus hardware. It does not ...

CVE-2019-1125 "SWAPGS" Is The Newest Spectre Vulnerability

CVE-2019-1125 was made public today or also referred to as the "SWAPGS" vulnerability as a new variant of Spectre V1 affecting Windows and Linux with Intel (and according to mixed information, AMD - though the current Linux kernel patches at least seem to only apply to Intel) x86_64 processors. 

The SWAPGS vulnerability allows attackers to gain read access to privileged memory and builds off existing Spectre fixes. Red Hat has a great write-up on the technical side of this new vulnerability. There is also the CVE text. 

Microsoft has already patched Windows 10 quie ...

We believe Apple will announce the iPhone 11 on this day

Every year, Apple needs to whip up something exciting if it wants to get people hyped about the next iPhone. The same holds true especially for this year. With iPhone sales falling 12% in the fiscal third quarter, profits expected to dip to $9.6 billion and more people trading in their iPhones for Androids, the company needs to make sure its iPhone 11, 11R and 11 Max (or whatever they'll be called) will be compelling enough to draw new customers or keep current customers updating.

So when will Apple officially announce the 2019 iPhones? The company hasn't sent out invitations to any ...

This leak might be our first look at the unreleased OnePlus 7T Pro

Anyone who follows OnePlus phone releases has been wondering whether the Chinese smartphone maker would launch more handsets this year since the 7 series was introduced a few months ago. That’s because the OnePlus 7 series comes in three different versions for the first time, including the regular model, the 7 Pro, and the 7 Pro 5G. We now may have our answer, because it appears as though the upcoming OnePlus 7T Pro just leaked for the first time.

Posted on Weibo and picked up by SlashLeaks, these images purportedly show the OnePlus 7T Pro. We’re looking at an all-screen phone encas ...

Update Your Nvidia Drivers Right Now to Fix Critical Vulnerabilities

Windows: Most gamers love updating their graphics card’s drivers to score the best performance for their favorite titles. But even if you’re a “filthy casual,” you’re going to want to make sure your system’s Nvidia drivers are up to date. Nvidia recently found a few critical vulnerabilities in its display driver that need fixing, pronto.

As Nvidia noted in a Friday security bulletin, five different issues impact Windows users running GPUs from the company’s GeForce, Quadro, NVS, or Tesla lines. (For most people, that’s just GeForce—everything else is for professional workstations or ...

We believe Apple will announce the iPhone 11 on this day

Every year, Apple needs to whip up something exciting if it wants to get people hyped about the next iPhone. The same holds true especially for this year. With iPhone sales falling 12% in the fiscal third quarter, profits expected to dip to $9.6 billion and more people trading in their iPhones for Androids, the company needs to make sure its iPhone 11, 11R and 11 Max (or whatever they'll be called) will be compelling enough to draw new customers or keep current customers updating.

So when will Apple officially announce the 2019 iPhones? The company hasn't sent out invitations to any ...

Check Out the Silence Unknown Callers Feature in iOS 13 for Blocking Spam Calls

Spam phone calls have become increasingly problematic in the United States over the course of the last few years, and most people receive multiple spam calls per week, and some, per day. 

Apple is aiming to help combat spam phone calls in iOS 13 with a new "Silence Unknown Callers" feature, which does what the name suggests - it silences incoming phone calls from numbers that are not in your contacts list. In our latest YouTube video, we checked out this feature to demonstrate just how it works. 

With the Silence Unknown Callers feature activated, all incoming call ...

Asus Zenfone 6 now available for pre-order in the US

The Asus Zenfone 6 will soon be available in the US. B&H has it available for pre-order – here’s the link – but note that the shipping date is yet to be set.

The 64GB model costs $500 and while the phone has a microSD slot, you may want to go up to the version with 128GB storage anyway – that’s $550. Both versions come with 6GB of RAM. By the way, the card slot can house two SIMs in addition to the microSD card (it’s not either-or like with hybrid slots).

Last year, the Zenfone 5z launched at that exact same price point - $500. That’s right, unlike Samsung, OnePlus and A ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Latest rumors, features, and release date

On Wednesday, Samsung is all but guaranteed to announce the Galaxy Note 10 at an Unpacked event in Brooklyn. Over the past few days, weeks, and even months, we've seen a steady stream of leaks and rumors surrounding the company's latest phablet.

From early rumors that the Note 10 wouldn't have any buttons to more recent leaks indicating there will be two sizes of the Note 10 this year -- there's been a lot to keep up with lately. 

Samsung's Galaxy Note line may not be a wild success like the Galaxy S-series, but each Note release has made waves of its own. With the Note seri ...

Apple will end up doing what Intel could not

With its recent billion dollar purchase to take Intel's scrapped 5G modem business off its hands, Apple is more in control of its destiny than ever.

A cursory analysis would quickly reveal that Cupertino is more than happy to lessen its reliance on Qualcomm, a company that Apple is unlikely to send a Christmas card to any time soon.

It continues Apple's long tradition of bringing more of its component design in-house, and while Intel could not hit its own targets, the silicon powerhouse that is Apple is more than likely to turn that around in the coming years.

That w ...

Razer’s new Viper is a light and fast ambidextrous wired gaming mouse

The $79 Razer Viper is the lightest wired gaming mouse I’ve ever used. It weighs just 69 grams, which I learned is the weight of two standard-sized light bulbs. What are the benefits of such a feather-light gaming mouse? It depends on who you ask. Those who prefer a hefty mouse with added weights won’t want much to do with it, but during my week with the Viper, I really liked how easy it was to flick along the mouse pad whenever the in-game moment demands some brisk, twitchy movement.

The relative weightlessness — at least compared to the Logitech G502 Lightspeed I’ve been using, wh ...

Android Q Engineering AMA Tidbits: Time-based Dark Theme, Screen Recording, more

With the release of Android Q Beta 5, Google announced that they would be hosting a Reddit AMA, to answer our burning questions about Android Q and almost everything else Android related. That AMA took place this afternoon, with the Android engineering team providing fun and interesting tidbits about, among other things, Android Q and what may be coming with Android R.

Screen recording

In the early releases of the Android Q beta, it was possible, with only a minor Settings change, to enable a handy, built-in screen recording UI. Unfortunately, this screen recorder was short- ...

Razer’s new Viper is a light and fast ambidextrous wired gaming mouse

The $79 Razer Viper is the lightest wired gaming mouse I’ve ever used. It weighs just 69 grams, which I learned is the weight of two standard-sized light bulbs. What are the benefits of such a feather-light gaming mouse? It depends on who you ask. Those who prefer a hefty mouse with added weights won’t want much to do with it, but during my week with the Viper, I really liked how easy it was to flick along the mouse pad whenever the in-game moment demands some brisk, twitchy movement.

The relative weightlessness — at least compared to the Logitech G502 Lightspeed I’ve been using, wh ...

Android Q Engineering AMA Tidbits: Time-based Dark Theme, Screen Recording, more

With the release of Android Q Beta 5, Google announced that they would be hosting a Reddit AMA, to answer our burning questions about Android Q and almost everything else Android related. That AMA took place this afternoon, with the Android engineering team providing fun and interesting tidbits about, among other things, Android Q and what may be coming with Android R.

Screen recording

In the early releases of the Android Q beta, it was possible, with only a minor Settings change, to enable a handy, built-in screen recording UI. Unfortunately, this screen recorder was short- ...

Google will start using its text-to-speech technology for emergency calls on Pixels

Google is adding an automated text-to-speech feature to the Phone app on Pixel devices, enabling a one-tap system to relay location information to medical, fire, or police responders without the need for speech.

The system is simple: when on an emergency call, the Phone app will now offer three additional buttons, labeled “Medical,” “Fire,” or “Police.” Tapping the button will activate a text-to-speech feature that will read out a message informing the operator that the caller is using an automated service, describing the kind of help the caller needs and the caller’s current locati ...

Intel Reveals New 10th-Gen Core Processors Suitable for MacBook Air and Base 13-Inch MacBook Pro

Intel today introduced its first 10th-generation Core processors, codenamed Ice Lake. Built on a 10-nanometer process, the chips are designed for thin-and-light notebooks, meaning they could potentially make their way to future entry-level 13-inch MacBook Proand MacBook Air models. 

Intel says the Ice Lake chips have increased board integration, allowing manufacturers like Apple to release notebooks with sleeker designs. The chips also feature Intel's all-new Gen11 graphics architecture for up to double the graphics performance, and integrated Thunderbolt 3 and Wi-Fi 6, aka 802.11ax ...

Update to iOS 12.4 Right Now to Block New Vulnerabilities

Most of you are running iOS 12. And that’s a good thing, because you’re getting a speedier experience with as many patched bugs and vulnerabilities as possible. It’s especially important, too, given that Google researchers recently disclosed six serious iOS vulnerabilities that Apple fixed up in the iOS 12.4 release earlier this month.

The problem? It’s twofold. First, there are still plenty of people who aren’t using iOS 12 for whatever reason—and likely not even iOS 12.4. Though Apple’s own statistics don’t break down specific iOS versions, the company shows that roughly 13 percen ...

New ‘Sex Simulator’ Ransomware Pops Up on Android

Many people keep their most important files on a mobile device without ever thinking about backing them up to a computer. That makes their phones a prime target for ransomware, and there’s a new attack spreading to Android phones right now. The new Android Filecoder.C malware uses weird “sex simulator” landing pages to trick people into downloading it, but you’ll pay for that click with more than your self-respect. 

The Filecoder.C malware first appeared on Reddit and XDA Forums as spammy messages directing people to the aforementioned sex simulator. Yes, people clicked on the links ...

Google unveils advanced G Suite protection for high-risk employees

Google is levelling up its security for businesses. The company unveiled a host of new protections for its G Suite, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Cloud Identity customers at the Next Tokyo summit. G Suite Enterprise admins can choose to enroll high-risk employees in an advanced protection program, automatically receive anomalous activity alerts and enable one-click access to additional apps.

A version of the Advanced Protection Program it launched two years ago is now available to G Suite business clients who are high-risk for a targeted online attack, such as IT administrators, C ...

Here is the teeniest gaming laptop you ever did see

Few designs can be called timeless and iconic enough to translate well into miniature versions of themselves. Horses is obviously the main one, but the ThinkTiny, a miniature version the Lenovo ThinkPad comes pretty close. Created by Paul Klinger, the ThinkTiny uses the laptop’s iconic red TrackPoint nub as a joystick for classic arcade games like Snake, Tetris, and Lunar Lander.

The tiny laptop runs on an ATtiny1614 microcontroller and features a 128 x 64 OLED screen. It’s all housed in a 3D-printed case that’s complete with a glowing “Think” logo. Sadly, the ThinkTiny cannot runDo ...

7 times Google was behind the curve with its Pixel phones

The Google Pixel phones represented a major shift for Google back in 2016, as the Mountain View company sought to take a bigger role in the design of its phones. The results have been pretty neat to say the least, as the phone series delivers top-notch camera quality and lean, clean software.

However, Google’s Pixel phones haven’t always been ahead of the curve, as the company has often been seriously late to the party with several ubiquitous features. Let’s take a look at a few times Google Pixel phones had questionable missing features.

1. Water resistance

The orig ...

AMD CEO Confirms 7nm High-End Navi Radeon RX GPUs and 7nm Mobility Ryzen CPUs – Aimed at High-Performance Gaming PCs and Notebooks

AMD announced their Q2 2019 earnings yesterday and revealed a bunch of information on their upcoming 7nm products during the earnings call. The products that were highlighted include the Ryzen processor series and the Radeon RX graphics series for mainstream and high-end desktop PCs.

AMD CEO Confirms 7nm Navi High-End Radeon RX Graphics Cards For Enthusiast Desktop PCs and 4th Gen Ryzen CPUs For High-End Notebooks

During the Q/A session, the question was raised about the high-end 7nm Navi graphics cards and 7nm mobility processors to which AMD’s CEO, Dr.Lisa Su, replied that ...

Google Play Pass spotted in testing, provides ‘access to hundreds of premium apps’

Google’s work on a “Play Pass” subscription first came to light last June. The company has now confirmed that it’s in active testing, with the first screenshots detailing a monthly service that provides “access to hundreds of premium apps.”

Thanks to images acquired by Android Police, we now know that “Google Play Pass” lets subscribers “Try new apps and master all your favorites, without interruptions.” According to these details, Google Play Pass features a “curated catalog” in the hundreds.

The service includes both applications and games, with Google’s copy touting “fitn ...

AN IPHONE APP THAT PROTECTS YOUR PRIVACY—FOR REAL THIS TIME

THE DATA ECONOMY has too often betrayed its customers, whether it's Facebook sharing data you didn't even realize it had, or invisible trackers that follow you around the webwithout your knowledge. But a new app launching in the iOS App Store today wants to help you take back some control—without making your life harder.

The Guardian Firewall app runs in the background of an iOS device, and stymies data and location trackers while compiling a list of all the times your apps attempt to deploy them. It does so without breaking functionality in your apps or making them unusable. Plus, ...

Nvidia Shield TV finally gets Android 9 Pie and much more in latest update

Today, Nvidia announced the Shield Experience Upgrade 8.0 update for the Shield TV. The update finally brings Android 9 Pie to the Shield TV, the first Android TV device to get Google’s latest version of Android.

Pie streamlines the interface to make it easier to access your apps and settings. Along with an updated interface are updated colors, improved organization, and a streamlined set-up process. There’s also a heavier emphasis on Google Assistant, with an enlarged microphone icon and search area at the top of the main menu.

The update also highlights the updated Hulu wi ...

The Galaxy Tab S6 shows Samsung isn’t giving up the tablet fight

It’s no secret that Android tablets are in an awkward position. While Apple’s iPad remains an important part of its product line-up, even Google has given up on making an equivalent. But Samsung hasn’t given up on Android tablets just yet. Today it announced the Galaxy Tab S6. It’s clear the tablet has taken some inspiration from the new iPad Pro, but it has a few tricks of its own too.

First, the specs:

10.5″ Super AMOLED Display

6GB + 128 GB or 8GB + 128GB RAM and storage configurations

Snapdragon 855 or Exynos 9610

7,040 mAh battery (15 hours batte ...

AMD Releases New Chipset Drivers For Ryzen 3000: More Relaxed CPPC2 Upscaling

It’s been nearly three weeks since AMD’s launch of the new Ryzen 3000 series CPUs and our extensive coverage of the new parts. Among one of the things that didn’t quite go as smoothly is AMD’s BIOS and software situation where as things were still very much in flux following the launch.

One issue that was repeatedly brought up by the community over the past weeks was the new CPU’s idle behaviour both in terms of temperature as well as voltages. In particular, the new parts seemingly looked like they rarely idled at lower performance states and instead looked to remain at high freque ...

How to Change the Size of Your App Icons in iPadOS 13

One of the more jarring experiences you’ll encounter when updating your iPad to Apple’s iPadOS 13 this fall—including having to call it that from now on—are the slightly smaller icons now gracing your iPad’s Home screen and pages.

Like a juice cleanse, this icon diet is only a temporary fad. It appears Apple is going to let you revert back to the beefier icons you’ve been using all this time if you prefer your apps to look like a delicious thicc steak than a lean patty. At least, that’s my impression based on the latest iPadOS 13 beta—version 5!—which now comes with a little setting ...

Gears 5 Xbox One controller possibly leaks

Gears 5 is a third-person shooter that launches in September and The Coalition keeps on providing us with new details about the upcoming game. Recently, Gears 5 Multiplayer Design Director Ryan Cleven discussed servers and balance tuning. The franchise will feature 60 Hz servers for the first time with Gears 5 and there is one tuning setup across core and competitive multiplayer modes.

The servers that track action at 60 Hz should make shooting feel much more precise. This should give every shot more meaning. You can read Cleven's comments on Twitter below.

The Coalition wan ...

This might look like the next Apple Watch, but it’s actually Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 2

There’s no smartwatch as popular as the Apple Watch, and Apple keeps selling millions of units every quarter. Apple’s smartwatch is quite easy to tell apart from its main competitors, as its design is instantly recognizable. But come next week, Samsung will launch a Galaxy Watch 2 that looks very familiar.

“The best I can do is pass along details from trusted sources. Nothing I say should ever be taken as gospel until the press release is out,” prominent leaker Evan Blass commented on Twitter about a recent Galaxy Note 10 specs leak he posted. “Unless there are pictures,” he followe ...

Massive Note 10 Plus 5G revealed in several leaks

We’re just starting to see leaked images of the stylus-packing Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and its higher-specced Plus version, but there’s something new in the mix: leaked information on and images of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G.

The first image came courtesy of reputable leaker Evan Blass (who supplied earlier leaks of the Note 10 Plus, among others), who tweeted out what appears to be ad copy pairing the new handset with Verizon’s next-generation network, which reads: “Galaxy Note10 Plus 5G meets Verizon 5G. Pre-order today and get a Note10 free.*” He followed it up with a twee ...

Google is getting rid of Android Auto's smartphone UI — here's why

The new Android Auto started rolling out today (and it's pretty good), but unfortunately, all of its various improvements are only coming to in-car displays. The version of Android Auto you can run on your phone's screen standalone won't be getting the same face lift — and as a matter of fact, it's eventually going away entirely (though we're not sure exactly when). Here's what's happening.

Why is Google phasing out Android Auto's smartphone mode?

The short answer is that Google wants to get rid of the need for a discrete driving mode app on your phone. The long answer is, w ...

Apple iMessage Flaw Allows Remote Attackers to Read iPhone Messages

Remote exploitation can be achieved with no user interaction.

Five bugs in Apple’s iMessage service for the iPhone have been uncovered that require no user interaction to exploit, including one that would allow remote attackers to access content stored on iOS devices.

First discovered by Google Project Zero security researcher Natalie Silvanovich, Apple has fully patched four of the flaws as part of the 12.4 iOS update.

CVE-2019-8646 is the bug that allows an attacker to read files off a remote device with no user interaction. An exploit could leak the SMS database, ...

Microsoft Working on ‘Cloud Download’ Recovery Option for Windows 10

Microsoft has seemingly abandoned the idea of rolling out new distinct versions of Windows every couple of years. Instead, it just releases more updates for Windows 10. It let one update sneak out before it was ready last week, showing off a revised Start menu. That build also has another secret to spill. Microsoft is apparently working on cloud recovery options in Windows 10, PCMag reports. 

We’ve all been there: some horrible, data-destroying thing has happened to your computer, and you need to reinstall Windows. At times like that, the last thing you want to do is dig through box ...

Another Nintendo Switch Game Gets VR Support

If you happen to own Nintendo's new VR Kit, Captain Toad has an adventure for you. Nintendo Europe has announced that Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker has a free software update which uses the virtual reality goggles--and it's available now.

Captain Toad's new mini VR adventure lets you view courses in 360 degrees and explore four courses in virtual reality. One lets you pan around the stage to better gauge what's around pillars and obstacles, while another puts you in a minecart to hunt for treasure. Check out the announcement trailer below.

Treasure Tracker isn't the only ga ...

Samsung to fight falling profits with midrange phones, 'mainstream' 8K

As Samsung expected, its Q2 profit is off from last year's by about 56 percent. An operating profit of $5.6 billion (6.6 trillion Korean won) is no small figure, but obviously not up to par for the electronics giant, and follow a similar result in Q1 of this year. A big reason for the fall is a drop in prices for memory chips, which Samsung is a major supplier of for products like smartphones and servers. It's also negatively affected by weak iPhone sales since it supplies Apple with parts, and is facing slower sales for its own high-end phone models.

Last year Samsung was looking t ...

Android TV Getting Hulu With Live TV Support

This week, Hulu announced that Android TV will soon be a supported platform for its Hulu + Live TV service.

Detailed by Hulu, “Starting in early August, Hulu + Live TV and our updated UI will be available across a variety of Android TV devices, including Sony’s Android TVs, NVIDIA SHIELD, Xiaomi Mi Box, and Hisense Android TVs.”

Hulu says that in order to get some Live TV action fired up on your Android TV, keep checking this Google Play listing for when it’s compatible with your Android TV device.

New LG UltraFine 5K display now on sale, works with Mac or iPad Pro

Apple is now selling a new generation of the 5K LG UltraFine display. For the first time, the 5K UltraFine is now compatible with the iPad Pro, finally offering a 5K display option for 2018 iPad Pro users.

Previously, the 5K UltraFine display would only work over Thunderbolt. Now, it can output 5K over USB-C DisplayPort, which means it can now work with any of Apple’s current Mac and iPad Pro lineup.

Up to now, it has been basically impossible to find a compatible display that the iPad Pro can drive at full 5K resolution. The USB-C port enables a wide range of connectivity, ...

Everything New in iOS 13 Beta 5: iPad Home Screen Options, New Volume Levels, Updated Share Sheet and More

Apple today released the fifth beta of iOS 13 to developers, bringing new bug fixes and adding and refining various iOS 13 and iPadOS features. 

In the fifth beta, changes and updates are getting more minor than changes made in earlier betas, but beta 5 still has some notable additions and feature removals worth highlighting. 

- iPad Home Screen - in iPadOS, there's a new feature in the Settings menu that lets you customize the Home screen. You can set the app grid to be 4x5 or 6x5, which results in bigger or smaller icons. The "More" setting shows up to 30 smaller ...

Windows 10 19H2 Update: Everything you need to know

Following the May 2019 Update, the next major release of Windows 10 will be the 19H2 Update. Appropriately code-named for the second half of the year 2019, this update is still in beta testing with Slow Ring Windows Insiders and is set to be released sometime in the fall.

While it will not bring a major overall to Windows as previous versions have, there are still a few changes coming in 19H2. Here’s everything you need to know about the next major update coming to Windows 10.

PRICE AND RELEASE DATE

With Windows 10 19H2, Microsoft made significant changes to the way ...

Everything we know so far about Apple’s upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro

We first heard about Apple’s plans for a 16-inch MacBook Pro back in February through an investor note from Ming-Chi Kuo. Since then, we’ve learned a lot more about the new MacBook’s design, price, screen, and more.

Read on as we round up everything we know about Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro.

Design

When he first reported the larger MacBook Pro’s existence back in February, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo teased that it would have an “all-new design.” It still remains unclear as to what exactly this means, but there are a few logical possibilities.

A report from Di ...

Watch what happens when you bend a foldable phone past its breaking point

YouTuber JerryRigEverything‘s claim to fame is his collection of phone torture tests – especially the parts where he tries to break a phone by bending it with his beefy arms. But what happens when that phone is actually meant to bend?

At first, it seems the perfect foible, until you remember bendable phones are only meant to bend one way.

The star of this most recent bit of tech gore is the Royole Flexpie, a phone that beat Samsung and Huawei to the punch in making the world’s first foldable phone. 

Before the folding test, JerruRigEverything – who’s real name is Zac ...

Apple’s future iPhone might add a time-of-flight camera — here’s what it could do

We’re still a few months away from Apple announcing its 2019 iPhones, but rumors have already started for next year’s models, with the ever-reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claiming in his latest report that two of the 2020 iPhones will feature a rear time-of-flight (ToF) 3D depth sensor for better augmented reality features and portrait shots, viaMacRumors.

It’s not the first we’ve heard of Apple considering a ToF camera for its 2020 phones, either. Bloomberg reported a similar rumor back in January, and reports of a 3D camera system for the iPhone have existed since 2017. Other ...

The Pixel 4 proves the "Big Smartphone Reveal" is dead, and that's fine

Today, Google fully detailed two of the as-yet-unannounced Pixel 4's features most likely to receive top billing when it debuts in October: 3D facial recognition and radar-powered gesture controls. While only the Soli radar stuff is truly novel in the smartphone industry, Google will also be launching first Android phone with truly secure face unlock rivaling that of Apple's in the iPhone X (other Android phones have used it, but Android as an OS couldn't fully take advantage of it yet).

Following on the tease of the phone and its design earlier in the summer, Google is providing an ...

Forget Apple's iPhone 11, This Is The Smartphone To Buy

Apple is being surprisingly open about the iPhone you should buy, and it’s not the iPhone 11. Moreover, this just confirmed it. 

In a new report attained by MacRumors, famed Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo has confirmed that Apple will now upgrade all three of its 2020 iPhones to 5G. Kuo previously revealed that Apple planned to only upgrade its two premium iPhones to the next-gen standard, but that changed after it acquired Intel’s smartphone modem business. And that’s just the start. 

Kuo also explains that all three 2020 iPhones will support 5G with mmWave and sub-6GHz spectru ...

Galaxy Note 10 Exclusive Reveals Samsung's Surprising Design Change

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 is going to divide opinion. The two new modelsget a lot right and a lot wrong, but a stunning new leak has revealed one area where they will be truly class-leading. 

Hugely popular Samsung insider Ice Universe has revealed that the flagship Galaxy Note 10+ will have the highest screen-to-body ratio of any smartphone, thanks to a combination of stunningly thin bezels and a redesigned camera. 

Breaking down the details, Ice states that the Note 10 bezels will measure just 2mm (top), 3.7mm (bottom) and 1.5mm (sides) while the all-new central front camer ...

LG's CineBeam ultra short throw 4K projector is a budget buster

In brief: With a peak brightness of 2,700 ANSI lumens and a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1, the HU85LA is said to produce clear images in any indoor environment. That's great news if you're looking to set up shop in a living room without blackout curtains.

LG at the Consumer Electronics Show in January demoed an impressive ultra short throw projector in the LG HU85LA. Now more than seven months later, it’s finally available although coercing your wallet to agree to the purchase could prove difficult.

The LG HU85LA can project a 90-inch image from just 2.2 inches away. Pull it ...

Verizon Moto Z2 Force Getting Pie, Which Means 5G Moto Mod Support

We learned recently that Motorola decided against shipping out Pie to the Moto Z2 Force for customers on AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. However, the Pie update was still green lit for Verizon, because without the Pie update, the phone wouldn’t support the 5G Moto Mod, and thus, not be able to access Verizon’s mobile 5G network.

Today, that Pie update is rolling out to Moto Z2 Force owners on Verizon.

While having Pie is great, and it comes with all of the features you expect to be inside of Pie (new navigation options, improved Do Not Disturb, etc.), this update brings supp ...

New iPhones won’t be the only competition for the Galaxy Fold this September

Three months after it indefinitely delayed the device, Samsung finally announced a revised September release date for the Galaxy Fold on Wednesday. As well as putting it in line to potentially compete with Apple’s 2019 iPhone models, releasing it in September also means Samsung’s foldable will have to more directly compete with Huawei’s Mate X. Huawei’s take on the foldable smartphone also broke cover this week after being spotted in the hands of Huawei consumer business CEO Richard Yu at the Shenzhen International Airport, according to a Weibo post spotted by Gizchina.

Although Yu ...

Apple's new MacBook Pro keyboard could launch this year

The scissor keyboard could replace the butterfly design in the Pro as well as the Air in 2019.

Apple is reportedly planning to launch a scissor keyboard on its rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro later this year. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the tech giant would be replacing the unpopular butterfly keyboard in 2019 rather than 2020, according to MacRumors Thursday.

Apple had rolled out its butterfly switch design starting with its computer revamp in 2015 in an effort to make the laptops lighter and thinner. But users complained about sticky keys, as well as letters typing in dupl ...

Apple to acquire the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business

Cupertino and Santa Clara, California — Apple and Intel have signed an agreement for Apple to acquire the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business. Approximately 2,200 Intel employees will join Apple, along with intellectual property, equipment and leases. The transaction, valued at $1 billion, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, including works council and other relevant consultations in certain jurisdictions.

Combining the acquired patents for current and future wireless technology with Apple’s ex ...

Apple's Three Upcoming iPhone 11s Reportedly Confirmed

After countless leaks and renders, a report from 9to5Mac confirms all three versions of the alleged iPhone 11 and their flagship features are coming soon.

According to insider Guilherme Rambo, “people have seen the devices” that are meant to replace the current line of iPhone X products. Each of the three new models will have the same screen resolutions as their predecessors, including one model with a limited LCD.

Each model will also sport brand new A13 processors code-named “Cebu.” The chipset will power a new “Smart Frame” camera tech, which records outside standard fram ...

Google brings its hearing assistance app to older Android phones

Google's app for the hard of hearing is now within reach of many more people. The tech firm's Sound Amplifier app now supports devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later, not just 9.0 Pie like it did months ago. You won't need a relatively cutting edge device to understand a conversation or sound from a TV -- just a decent set of headphones. There's a new look with a visualization feature, too.

We've asked Google what changed to allow Sound Amplifier on older phones and will let you know if it can elaborate. The initial version required Android Pie's Dynamic Processing Effect. ...

Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro already challenged by Huawei's MagicBook Pro

Huawei's sub-brand Honor has just released a new laptop that's positioned to challenge Apple's expected 16-inch MacBook Pro, and it has a 16.1-inch display of its own in an Ultrabook form-factor, Gizmochina reports.

The new Honor MagicBook Pro has all the trappings of an Ultrabook, including some of the latest trends in screen design. Honor has reduced the screen bezels on either side of the display to just 4.9mm. This let's it fit a 16.1-inch display into a laptop with a form factor closer to that of a 15.6-inch laptop. And, it's weight stays trim, too, at about 3.75 pounds (1.7 kg ...

New Start screens revealed for Windows and Xbox

On Wednesday, Microsoft revealed new looks for the Windows 10 and Xbox start screens: one deliberately, and one inadvertently.

A “canary” daily build of Windows 10 leaked into the wild on Wednesday, revealing a new, spartan Windows 10 Start menu. It does away with the tiled look and feel of the traditional Start menu, and replaces it with a sea of icons that look more like the “Share” option that accompanies a file.

Images of the new Start menu were captured by various Twitter users. (Unfortunately, PCWorld’s Insider machine was offline at the time. Microsoft’s Dona Sarkar, ...

The Pixel 4 is stealing one of the iPhone XS’s signature features – and we couldn’t be happier

When the Pixel 4 launches this fall, it’ll feature several signature features, some more exciting than others. For example, the phone will pack the first dual-lens camera in Pixel history, and we know that thanks to Google’s official Pixel 4 teaser that showed the phone’s rear design. Several reports also claimed that the front side of the handset will house at least two features that were never before seen on Pixel handsets, including one that’s not available on any other smartphone to date. Now, Google just confirmed one of them in the best possible way.

Leaks a few days ago showe ...

Google sets new privacy standards for Chrome extensions, but will they be enforced?

Browser extensions have become a critical attack vector, especially since many of them require access to all sites. Some malicious extensions were able to read passwords as you type them in or mine cryptocurrency in the background before Google removed them. Google has implemented several new changes for extensions over the past few months, and new ones will come into effect this October.

The first new requirement is that extensions can only request access "to the least amount of data." For example, if someone made an extension that changed how Android Police looks, it co ...

Revamped Xbox One home screen layout coming soon

Ever since the Xbox One launched in 2013, Microsoft has continued to iterate on the software. While it was initially slow and quite buggy, now it's stable and packed with features. Despite the fact that the company's next console, Project Scarlett, is coming out in Holiday 2020, that hasn't stopped the team from working on the Xbox One.

Today on Xbox Wire, Xbox Insider Team Lead Bradley Rossetti said that a new home screen layout is coming to the console, along with updated voice commands. The new layout looks sleek and should speed up the interface. You can read about all the chang ...

Galaxy Fold Ready for Launch starting from September

At Samsung, we’ve always focused on pioneering the next generation of mobile innovation: new products and technologies that push the entire industry forward and help users do what they can’t. Earlier this year, we announced Galaxy Fold—Samsung’s first foldable device, and the beginning of an entirely new mobile category. Since then, we’ve made improvements to Galaxy Fold to ensure consumers have the best possible experience.

Samsung has taken the time to fully evaluate the product design, make necessary improvements and run rigorous tests to validate the changes we made. These desig ...

This Wireless Charger Just for AirPods Is Equal Parts Awesome and Overkill

Studio Proper is a product design studio based in Australia (Melbourne) that makes really elegant cases, stands and charging accessories for your favorite products. A lot of what it makes, if we’re being honest, are things you didn’t know you wanted until you see them — but probably still don’t need. Take its newest creation, the Wireless Charging Dock for Apple Airpods ($75), which does exactly as its name describes.

The dedicated wireless charger will only work with AirPods that have a wireless charging case (which anybody can buy on Apple’s website for $79), making it fairly limi ...

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active Gets a Big Ol’ Update

Samsung’s newest watch, the Galaxy Watch Active, picked up a sizable update this week that improves Bixby, general usability, activity tracking, and heart rate alerts. It’s a big one!

The images below describe exactly what the new stuff is, so I’m not going to go too deep on this. The basics are that Bixby on your Watch Active can now control SmartThings, start customized exercise routines, find out time differences between cities, and learn your style to become more useful over time.

Samsung is also tweaking their app drawer to be less annoying and now work with side-to-sid ...

The 11 iPhone apps I couldn't live without

My iPhone X is my most-used gadget. It's my alarm clock in the morning, in my hands all day long, and it's the last thing I see before I go to bed.

The magic of the iPhone lies in its applications. There are literally millions of different apps out there, for every kind of need: If you want to learn how to cook, or edit your photos to look like artwork, or learn another language, or anything else you can possibly think of, there's probably an app for that.

Your favorite iPhone applications might be way different than mine, and that's okay! But these are the 11 applications I ...

Google Welcomes Android TV to Soundbars

After months and months and months of delays, the Android TV-powered JBL Link Bar finally went up for sale two weeks ago. Neither Google or Harman/JBL acknowledged that fact, but have now done so today. Android TV is officially available on a soundbar.

As a refresher, the JBL Link Bar is indeed a soundbar that includes full Android TV. It connects to your TV through a single cable to provide the Android TV experience you might get from a box, like the SHIELD TV. Of course, as a soundbar you get the extra benefit of it featuring sound as well to hopefully improve your TV’s audio expe ...

Release of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti SUPER graphics card could depend on AMD

With the latest SUPER upgrades from Nvidia joining the company’s extensive lineup of graphics cards, there has been some speculation that the green team could also release a SUPER variant of the top-end GeForce RTX 2080 Ti. Although an Nvidia executive has categorically stated there are no plans to release such a product, it may depend on what AMD has in store.

The graphics card market struggle between Nvidia and AMD has been particularly vigorous this year so far, and that state is unlikely to change throughout the rest of 2019. While AMD has its Navi-based offerings to tempt gamer ...

How to Set Up Wireless Audio Sharing in iOS 13

iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 come with a new feature that makes it much easier to share audio with your friends. Sure, you can go the “two of you use one half of a pair of earbuds” route, but that isn’t the best way to experience music or watch videos—both listeners miss out on one channel of audio, after all. And while you could always get a 3.5mm splitter, we doubt you’re rocking out with your friends that much.

The new iOS (and iPadOS) audio-sharing feature uses Bluetooth to split audio between two different devices. Specific requirements change depending on which sharing method you use ...

New Samsung Note 10 rumor suggests ‘Zoom Audio’ and stylus gesture control

We’re weeks away from the Samsung Note 10 launch on August 7, but the rumor mill is running at full steam. The latest claims the smartphone will get a few radical new features, like gesture controls through the S-Pen audio and video that only records audio from one source. 

Other details seem to confirm previous rumors, like a two-model release (the standard Note 10 and a larger Note 10 Pro), but the more exciting claims are new. According to Greek site TechManiacs, which cited a knowledgeable source, the S-Pen will support gesture controls to navigate and produce context-appropriat ...

Sony WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds review

Good sound and great noise cancelling make for a solid AirPod competitor -- particularly for Android users

I would have had a review of the WF-1000XM3s up sooner, but they arrived while I was traveling. That was a bummer for two reasons. First and most obviously is the fact that I hate being late with a review. Second and more selfishly, I really wanted to try them out on those 16-hour flights I just took to Hong Kong and back.

It’s a use case for Sony’s new fully wireless earbuds. The company’s clearly got the Bose market firmly in its sights with a pair of premium buds spo ...

Hands-On With the New July 2019 13-Inch MacBook Pro

Apple earlier this month introduced a surprise update to its MacBook Pro line, overhauling the entry-level 13-inch machine to bring it in line with more expensive models that were updated back in May. 

We went hands-on with the new MacBook Pro to take a look at the new features, including a Touch Bar, an updated processor, a new keyboard, and more. 

Prior to the update, the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro hadn't been refreshed since 2017, so it was the last remaining MacBook Pro still using older keyboard technology that retained a row of function keys. 

The new mode ...

RTX 2080 Super matches the Titan V in leaked benchmark

Why it matters: The GPU scene has seen no shortage of action and beautiful, glorious competition lately at every price point but one: the $700+ mark. Finally, it appears the venerable GTX 1080 Ti will be replaced by a worthy competitor, the RTX 2080 Super. Tipped to release on July 23 for $700 and bringing around a 10% performance boost with all the extra RTX goodness, it’ll be a fan favorite for sure.

As seemingly happens before every GPU release, the RTX 2080 Super has appeared in the Final Fantasy XV public benchmark database with a score of 8663, roughly the same as the Titan V. ...

Windows 7 vs Windows 10: The next big challenge

It's been some time since Windows 10 overtook Windows 7 to become the most used PC operating system, but with the final end of Windows 7 support looming, there's still much work to do.

With six months until Windows 7 goes out of extended support there's quite a lot of data around to provide at least a rough picture of the current state of play.

According to a survey by IT company Kollective of 200 UK and US decision makers, just under one in five large enterprises haven't migrated to Windows 10, even though that's a significant number that's still down from 43% when the comp ...

Microsoft Begins Testing Windows 10 Controlled Feature Rollout

Microsoft has started testing the new Window 10 Controlled Feature Rollout feature with Windows Insiders in the Slow ring. This feature allows Microsoft to slowly roll out new features without releasing entirely new builds.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that starting with Windows 10 Insider 19H2 builds, Microsoft would be testing a new feature called Controlled Feature Rollout or CFR. Using this feature Microsoft can ship builds with disabled features that are gradually enabled by Microsoft to small groups of users.

This allows Microsoft to test these new features ...

How to Use Faster Context Menus in the Latest iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 Beta

The fourth iOS 13 and iPadOS beta has rolled out for developers, and while there are the usual list of changes and bug-fixes in Beta 4, one of the more interesting tweaks is a much more responsive Context Menu that you’ll be able to pull up on any device running iOS or iPadOS 13.

To try it out, simply long-press your finger on any app. You’ll need to spend less time doing so than you otherwise would on an iOS 12-running iPhone XS—the “Haptic Touch” feature that serves as its substitute for 3D Touch.

Apple has even dropped a new, special command in this Context Menu: “Rearran ...

Samsung Readying 12Gb LPDDR5 Mobile DRAM for Galaxy Note 10

Ahead of flagship phone announcements, Samsung usually announces the beginning of mass production for upgraded RAM and processors. This week, it has announced an industry-first 12Gb LPDDR5 mobile DRAM for, “premium smartphones.” We’re assuming this means it’ll be inside the Galaxy Note 10.

According to Samsung’s presser, this DRAM is optimized for enabling 5G and AI features, which seems like great timing with 5G networks popping up all over the world.

For the nerds here, the DRAM is capable of data rates consisting of 5,500Mbs and is approximately 1.3x faster than previous ...

This is apparently a Nokia feature phone running Android

Nokia's been killing it in the Android space for the last couple of years. Under the ownership of HMD Global, we've seen a relentless number of Nokia handsets dominate the mid and low-end market, but now thanks to a hands-on photo, we have our first look at a new venture for the company — an Android-powered feature phone.

The photo comes via 9to5Google, and if this is legit, we're looking at a phone running Android without a touchscreen of any kind.

Taking a look at the interface, the home screen has a microphone icon in the top-center, likely an easy shortcut to the Google ...

Delete These Banned Apps From Your Android Phone

Google recently removed several apps from the Google Play Store after discovering they violated the Play Store terms of service—and, more importantly, could be used as stalkerware. That doesn’t mean they’re deleted from your Android device, though, so now’s a great time to remove them.

If you’re unfamiliar with the phrase, “stalkerware” involves giving a third party access to another user’s device, location data, and other sensitive information. These apps often present themselves as “normal” tracking tools—for employee activity on company phones or your children’s whereabouts (a mo ...

What to Expect From the 2019 iPhones: Hands-On With Dummy Models

Ahead of every new iPhone release, we're inundated with rumors, part leaks, mockups, and dummy models, all of which give us a good idea of what to expect when new devices launch. 

2019 is no exception. We've seen all of the above, and now, we've managed to get our hands on three dummy models of the upcoming iPhones, which offer up a look at the designs and feature changes we're likely to see later this year. 

Like the 2018 iPhone lineup, the 2019 iPhone lineup is expected to include three iPhones: a 5.8-inch OLED device, a 6.5-inch OLED device, and a more affordable 6.1-inch ...

Galaxy Tab S6 shown off in every angle and color with S Pen and new design

Trading the headphone jack for dual cameras and a wirelessly charging S Pen.

We saw some obfuscated leaks of Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Tab S6 a couple of weeks ago, but a scoop from Android Headlines gives us a complete collection of product renders, showing off the tablet and some of its accessories in all their glory.

We're expecting to see the Galaxy Tab S6 unveiled at Samsung's upcoming Unpacked eventalongside the Note 10, or possibly a bit later on this year at IFA in Berlin, and these leaks show that we can expect three color options; blue, gray, and rose gold.

...

What’s new in iOS 13 developer beta 4?

Apple today has released the fourth developer betas of iOS 13, iPadOS 13, tvOS 13, and watchOS 6 to developers. Read on as we recap all of the changes in today’s updates.

Apple released macOS Catalina beta 4 to developers yesterday, and the update did not include any major changes other than normal beta bug fixes and improvements. Today’s updates to iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS are likely a bit more fruitful.

If you spot any changes in iOS 13 beta 4, or the other new betas from Apple today, let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @9to5Mac.

What’s new in iOS ...

Sony a7R IV: First Impressions and Real-World Photos

A few weeks ago, Sony asked me if I wanted to do a quick test run with the (at that time) unannounced Sony a7R IV. I was pleasantly surprised as I (and I am sure many others) expected the a7S III to come out first. I agreed and was excited to be one of the first in the world to test the new camera.

Full disclosure: The author, photographer Albert Dros, is a Sony Global Ambassador of Imaging.

I was only able to test the camera for about 2.5 days, so I can’t go too in-depth. This article is about my first impressions.

Note: I was only able to shoot in JPEG with the cam ...

Here's Microsoft's updated roadmap for Chromium-based Edge features for the enterprise

Microsoft is enabling enterprise features by default in the Dev Channel builds of Chromium-based Edge. Here's what's available to IT pro testers now and what's coming later.

Late last week, Microsoft officials said they were ready for IT pros to start kicking the tires of the coming Chromium-based Edge browser. But it wasn't until today, July 16, that we got some updated details about what Microsoft is doing for businesses with its new browser. 

In a new blog post, Microsoft officials said the Dev Channel for Chromium-based Edge ("Chredge") now has enterprise featu ...

Apple Seeds Seventh Beta of iOS 12.4 to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the seventh beta of an upcoming iOS 12.4 update to developers, one week after seeding the sixth iOS 12.4 beta, and two months after releasing iOS 12.3, a major update that introduced a revamped TV app. 

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.4 beta from Apple's Developer Center or over the air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center. Public Beta testers can download the beta over the air.

There were no new features discovered in the first six iOS 12.4 betas, so it's not entirely clear what's coming in t ...

Google homescreen redesign rolling out to Lenovo Smart Displays

With the Nest Hub Max in May, Google introduced a new homescreen for Smart Displays. Already available on the Nest Hub, this revamped — and somewhat controversial — redesign is now rolling out to Lenovo Smart Displays.

The Ambient Mode — which allows for fullscreen clocks or Photo galleries — stays the same. When users tap the screen, the current background is blurred while a Google News “Top stories” card slides in from the right. This is the default card if media is not playing or you have no upcoming events.

Time and day/date appears in the bottom-left corner, while the w ...

Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 855+, Which is Probably Headed for the Note 10 and Pixel 4

Qualcomm unveiled a new version of its Snapdragon 855 this morning, called Snapdragon 855+. Sort of like how we had the Snapdragon 820 and 821 back in 2016, this new 855+ is a slightly improved version of Qualcomm’s high-end mobile processor to help take us through the rest of the year.

What’s different? Qualcomm bumped the CPU up from 2.84GHz to 2.96GHz. They also boosted the GPU by 15%. That’s it. Those are the only two differences. Oh, they added a “+” or “Plus” to the name too.

It’s still a 7nm chip that is ready for 5G connectivity and will likely power the next wave of ...

Sony WH-XB900N review: How much bass is too much bass?

Whether you work remotely or commute, chances are you’re constantly on-the-go, making quiet time a rare indulgence. Sony recently released a more affordable pair of ANC headphones, the Sony WH-XB900N, to accompany you on your daily subway excursion. These bass-heavy, lightweight cans are a great Beats alternative and boast Sony’s top-tier noise-canceling technology for less than the rest.

What are the Sony WH-XB900N like?

These are lightweight for on-ear headphones (254g), which is especially important if you intend to use them for travel. Ample memory foam padding on the he ...

Stunning Apple Leaks Confirm Disappointing New iPhone

The drip of leaks from the once impenetrable Apple has become a stunning tsunami. From details of the circuit board, through close examination of the camera unit, to 3D prints of the leaked CAD models, it’s possible to come up with a very clear view of Apple’s upcoming iPhones. And the picture is pretty boring. Looking at the information in aggregate, I keep coming back to one simple question.

Apart from the hardcore fanatics, who exactly will be interested in 2019’s new iPhone?

2019’s iPhones will come with iOS 13 and Apple has a number of new software features in the code ...

Windows 10 preview could bring Alexa to your PC's lock screen

Amazon Alexa can be helpful on Windows, but you can't quite treat your PC like a supersized Echo when third-party voice helpers don't work until you've signed in. That might not be a hurdle in the near future. Microsoft has released a Windows 10 preview on the Slow ring that allows the use of third-party assistants "above" the lock screen. The company doesn't mention Alexa by name, but it's the only major AI helper on Windows beyond Cortana -- Amazon would just have to update its app to enable voice commands in more situations.

There aren't other major updates, although ar ...

Apple Insider Leaks Radical iPhone Redesign

iPhone fans, it’s time to save you from an expensive mistake. We already know almost everything about Apple’s surprisingly disappointing iPhone 11and we also know the company has more ambitious iPhone plans. And now they look even better. 

Building on an explosive report from JPMorgan, China Times has attained information from a presentation by multinational investment bank Credit Suisse which reveals Apple is planning a far more radical iPhone than we imagined. In fact, it has the potential to be the most exciting iPhone the company has made in years. 

Credit Suisse says Ap ...

Galaxy Note 10 availability details leak to complete the picture

The Galaxy Note 10 has been leaked to death by now, but one thing that was left undecided was its launch date and price. Samsung has already announced when the phone will be unveiled but, as always, the exact details of when it would hit shelves have yet to be revealed. With less than a month left, that information is coming out to give prospective buyers the chance to save up and prepare for the most expensive Galaxy Note phones yet.

The price of the Galaxy Note 10 isn’t that surprising. The line has always been more expensive than its Galaxy S counterparts though. With every year, ...

Windows 10 KB4507453 Cumulative Update Causes Restart Alert Loop

The Windows 10 KB4507453 Cumulative Update released by Microsoft on July 9 is reportedly causing a restart notification loop on some of the computers where it was installed.

This issue was reported by Windows users on several websites and computer support forums across the web [1, 2, 3], with all of them describing the exact same problem — being told to reboot their devices again to finish installing the KB4507453 update even though it was already installed.

While multiple Windows 10 Version 1903 and Windows Server Version 1903 users have been already impacted by this issue ...

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 revealed in these leaked photos

Samsung will reveal the Galaxy Note 10 smartphone on August 7.

But fans don’t need to wait until next month to see the phone for the first time — photos of the device have already been published by the Federal Communications Commission.

On Thursday, the FCC published routine certification documents on Samsung’s upcoming high-end smartphone. One document, focusing on the testing environment, included several photos of the unannounced device.

The images reveal that the Galaxy Note 10 will not include a headphone jack, following a trend set by Apple in 2016, when it rem ...

Google to roll out redesigned News tab

Google will soon unveil a refreshed News tab that places a priority on publishers, rather than headlines. The company today tweeted a preview of the redesigned news section for the desktop version of its search engine, which will roll out to users over the next few weeks. The change falls in line with recent efforts by the search giant to be more responsive to the needs of publishers and cut down on fake news.

While it's too early to tell what exactly the revamped News tab will accomplish, it's clear that it's a step in an entirely different direction. A look at the "Before and ...

Google defends letting human workers listen to Assistant voice conversations

Google is defending its practice of letting human employees, most of which appear to be contract workers located around the globe, listen to audio recordings of conversations between users and its Google Assistant software. The response comes after revelations from Belgian public broadcaster VRT NWS detailed how contract workers in the country sometimes listen to sensitive audio captured by Google Assistant on accident.

In a blog post published today, Google says it takes precautions to protect users identities and that it has “a a number of protections in place to prevent” so-calle ...

iPhone 11: What to expect and why waiting may be your best option

You might want to remain patient before buying your next iPhone.

Sure, the expected unveiling of Apple’s iPhone 11 (if that's what it's called) is still roughly two months away, and all we are going on at this stage are leaks and rumors. 

But there are already hints that the 2019 iPhone upgrade cycle will be comparatively modest, if not actually a bit of a bore, with far more significant changes coming in 2020. Most notably, if you’re looking for an iPhone compatible with the blazing-fast 5G networks that carriers have started to roll out, you’ll almost certainly have to wai ...

Google has stopped the rollout of Android Q Beta 5 OTA update

Android Q Beta 5 rolled out to devices today via OTA updates on beta-enrolled Pixel phones. It seems an issue has cropped up for a number of users, and Google has subsequently announced that the OTA update rollout of Android Q Beta 5 has been temporarily stopped.

Late this evening, Google added an update to the top of the Android Q Beta 5 announcement post on Reddit, spotted by Android Police. The company hasn’t shared much information on why the update has been stopped, other than to say that some users are running into an issue with installing the update.

We’re aware of an ...

Galaxy Note 10 image leaks spoil Samsung's party

So much for Samsung maintaining even the slightest bit of secrecy around the Galaxy Note 10 ahead of its August 7th debut. Both Ishan Agarwal (via MySmartPrice) and WinFuture have obtained what look to be official press images for the regular Note 10 and its larger Note+ counterpart (shown above). As you might have suspected, the two phone appear to push the Galaxy S10's nearly-all-screen concept even further. The more rectangular design has virtually no bezel, and the only interruption is a hole-punch camera located at the top center of the display.

You will find a few tidbits else ...

APPLE'S NEW MACBOOK PRO GOES ALL IN ON THE TOUCH BAR

THE SUMMER IS a time for rejuvenation, don’t you think? A time to reflect on what’s important and what can be let go. That applies also to Apple’s laptop line, which on Tuesday got a midsummer refresh. It involves shuffles and spec bumps big and small, but mostly: If you need a MacBook Pro, hope you like the Touch Bar.

The Touch Bar, first introduced in 2016, had already subsumed most of the MacBook Pro line. But until now, the entry-level, 13-inch MBP retained physical function keys. Its status as a holdout earned it an unofficial nickname: MacBook Escape, after the key that the To ...

The Raspberry Pi 4 doesn’t work with all USB-C cables

The Raspberry Pi 4 is a great little beast, but Tyler Ward identified a flawin the USB Type-C connector. The Raspberry Pi Foundation confirmed to TechRepublic that the design flaw is real, and that your Raspberry Pi 4 might not work with all USB-C cables.

It’s not really a dealbreaker, but you can expect a future board revision with a proper implementation of the USB-C protocol. But if you find yourself scratching your head and you don’t understand why your Raspberry Pi is not powering up, now you know why.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released the schematics of the board ...

AMD's Third Generation Ryzen CPUs Are Just Terrific

AMD did it. It produced a ridiculously fast series of CPUs that use a lot less power than their competitors and predecessors while also being cheaper and adding some bonus features, like PCIe 4.0 support, only hardcore PC users need. The new $500 Ryzen 9 3900X and $330 Ryzen 7 3700X deliver on many of AMD’s promises about power and price from the last several years.

(I should note right at the outset that there’s a catch in the form of a very annoying flaw that could ruin installation for first time builders. It’s minor, if potentially devastating, so I won’t detail the complaint un ...

New AirPods 3 reportedly on track to launch by the end of 2019

Apple refreshed the AirPods only a few months ago, although it was a relatively minor upgrade that included a new H1 chip and a case that can be recharged wirelessly (which was supposed to work with the now-canceled AirPower universal charger). But Apple is expected to launch a third version of its wireless earbuds by the end of the year, complete with a new design, new features, and higher price points.

The news comes from a Wedbush research note seen by 9to5Mac that claims the AirPods 3 will deliver design enhancements as well as waterproofing. That would also explain the higher p ...

Zoom for Mac made it too easy for hackers to access webcams. Here’s what to do

As this post was being reported, Zoom developers reversed their previous position and issued an update that changes the contested behavior.

"Initially, we did not see the Web server or video-on posture as significant risks to our customers and, in fact, felt that these were essential to our seamless join process," Zoom's Jonathan Farley wrote. "But in hearing the outcry from our users in the past 24 hours, we have decided to make the updates to our service."

The update makes the following changes:

complete removal of the local Web server and

...

AMD Radeon RX 5700 vs RX 5700 XT: what's the best AMD GPU for you?

Right now, we're having a tough time thinking of a better time to buy a new graphics card, thanks in large part to the new Nvidia Super RTX graphics cards, and of course, AMD Navi. Why's that? Well, before the AMD Radeon RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT, we've never seen graphics cards this affordable that can provide such amazing performance in this price range. 

But, no matter how awesome these graphics cards are, it can be hard to decide once and for all which AMD graphics card is best for you – especially when they're priced so closely together. 

Luckily, here at TechRadar we've s ...

Serious Zoom security flaw could let websites hijack Mac cameras

Today, security researcher Jonathan Leitschuh has publicly disclosed a serious zero-day vulnerability for the Zoom video conferencing app on Macs. He has demonstrated that any website can open up a video-enabled call on a Mac with the Zoom app installed. That’s possible in part because the Zoom app apparently installs a web server on Macs that accepts requests regular browsers wouldn’t. In fact, if you uninstall Zoom that web server persists and can reinstall Zoom without your intervention.

Using Leitschuh’s demo, we have confirmed that the vulnerability works — clicking a link if y ...

Apple Releases Second Public Betas of iOS 13 and iPadOS

Apple today released the second public betas of iOS 13 and iPadOS to its public beta testing group, two weeks after seeding the first public betas and a week after the third developer beta. The public beta gives non-developers a chance to test out iOS 13 ahead of its upcoming fall launch date. 

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will receive the iOS 13beta update over-the-air after installing the proper certificate on an iOS device. 

Those who want to join the beta testing program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website, which gives users ac ...

Sony is making a foldable, rollable tablet ready for late 2019

It’s not just Samsung and Huawei who are getting into the foldable phone bandwagon. Almost everyone is doing it, including OPPO and Xiaomi and even Microsoft. The ones you don’t expect to be making one are those who are struggling to even stay afloat. And yet, surprisingly enough, Sony is rumored to be doing exactly that. Even better, it will have a rollable “Nautilus Design” when others can barely do simple foldable screens.

Sony is definitely the last company you’d expect to be working on a foldable phone. It’s not in the red but its mobile busi ...

Three Very Important Features For Microsoft's New Surface Laptop 3

As well as the transformative Surface Book and the ultraportable Surface Pro, Microsoft is expected to update the Surface Laptop later this year. Since the release of the second iteration last October, the competition has overhauled the attraction of the Windows 10-powered laptop.

What could the third Surface Laptop have that would take back the crown? Here are three areas which could provide such an impact… the screen, the chips, and the connections.

I wouldn’t expect the basic design of the Surface Laptop to change. Microsoft’s research team may be hard at work working on ...

New leak shows the screen protectors of Galaxy Note 10

Samsung is expected to announce the new Galaxy Note 10 on August 7 in Brooklyn. The company hasn’t revealed too much in its official invites but we know almost everything about the device, thanks to the extensive leaks.

Now a latest leak from Samsung insider Ice Universe shows the screen protector for the Galaxy Note 10. The screen protector seems to confirm the previous leaks related to the device. The image shared by Ice Universe shows two different designs which could be Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus. Apart from that, there seems to be a triple camera vertical setup on th ...

The Windows 10 misinformation machine fires up again

The loudest voices screaming about Windows 10 sometimes have no idea what they're talking about. Case in point: This dire warning from Gordon Kelly at Forbes, who is as ill-informed as ever.

Gordon Kelly of Forbes is at it again, pushing his unique blend of scary words about Windows 10, mixed with an absolutely overwhelming lack of knowledge about the underlying technologies.

I thought we had seen the last of Gordon three years ago, when he slinked away after credulously hyping some gibberish about Windows 10 telemetry and then writing the most incomprehensible retraction ev ...

AMD RADEON RX 5700 AND RX 5700 XT REVIEW: COMPETITION HEATS UP

THE NAVI ERA HAS BEGUN

AMD RADEON RX 5700 AND RX 5700 XT TESTED

The summer of 2019 has been one of rumors, leaks, dramatic product reveals, and price wars. And it’s only July 7. And what would 7/7 be without the launch of a 7nm GPU? How about three of them? AMD has officially released the new Radeon RX 5700, RX 5700 XT, and RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary Edition today.

We received two of these cards to test (the Radeon RX 5700 and standard RX 5700 XT) and are now ready to show our initial finding with the first Navi GPUs. And no, the lineup of game presented here is not ...

AMD's Ryzen 5 3600X overtakes Intel's Core i7-9700K in UserBenchmark speed test

AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600X processor has turned up on UserBenchmark and has amassed excellent scores in the speed tests. The upcoming Zen 2 chip managed to zip past rivals such as Intel’s Core i7-8700K and Core i7-9700K. The impressive performance of the Ryzen 3000 processor means it currently holds 13th position in UserBenchmark’s average bench chart, out of 1,160 entrants.

Leaks and benchmarks are starting to fly in regard to AMD’s heralded Ryzen 3000 series of chips. Various SKUs have appeared on benchmarks lately, usually offering up incredible results, especially when the expected pri ...

Samsung Confirms Serious Failure Of Radical New Galaxy Smartphone

Samsung may have started teasing Galaxy Note 10 features, but the company cannot hide from the serious failure of its most exciting smartphone in years. And now Samsung has made a brutally honest revelation about it. 

Speaking to popular UK newspaper The Independent, Samsung Electronics CEO DJ Koh has called the company’s failed launch of its radical screen-bending Galaxy Fold “embarrassing”. Moreover, Koh has taken personal responsibility, admitting “I pushed it through before it was ready”. 

This impetuousness has had serious consequences. While initially lauded by Samsung ...

Apple will soon ditch its butterfly keyboard design

After years of controversy and technical difficulties, Apple could be about to give up on the butterfly mechanism keyboard in its MacBooks. According to a report authored by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo -- who has a decent record in accurate Apple predictions -- the company is on track to release a refreshed MacBook Air later this year, this time with a keyboard design based on scissor switches.

Apple's butterfly keyboards have been troublesome from the get-go, and are well known to fail as a result of debris or overheating. Apple rolled out a worldwide repair program for 2015-and-lat ...

Xbox Game Pass PC And Xbox One Early July Lineup Announced

Xbox has announced its next two batches of games included with its all-you-can-eat Game Pass subscription service. The announcement covers games coming over the next two weeks, and once again it lists the games as coming to console, PC, or both.

On July 4, Undertale will be available on PC, and Middle-earth: Shadow of War and My Time at Portia will be on both console and PC. Then on July 11, Timespinner and Unavowed will come to Game Pass for PC, Lego City Undercover will hit the console version, and Dead Rising 4 and Blazing Chrome will come to both.

Xbox Game Pass is avail ...

Microsoft Rolls Out Android Remote Control for Windows 10

Microsoft added several improvements and features to the Your Phone app with the rollout of Windows 10 20H1 Build 18932 to Insiders in the Fast ring, the addition of remote control for Android devices from touch-enabled PCs being the highlight of the release.

"You will now be able to interact with your phone screen using one-touch tap and long press. This handy feature will allow you to conveniently open apps, select items, click on links, and more, directly on your touch-enabled PC," says Microsoft in the Insider Preview Build 18932 announcement.

Microsoft also hi ...

FaceTime feature in iOS 13 feigns eye contact during video calls

Apple introduced several of the headlining features of its upcoming iOS 13 during WWDC, but people playing with the closed beta version have uncovered some additional tools. One newly found addition is FaceTime Attention Correction, which adjusts the image during a FaceTime video call to make it look like a person is looking into the camera rather than at their device’s screen.

In practice, that means that while both you and your contact are looking at each other’s faces, you’ll both appear to be making direct eye contact. Mike Rundle and Will Sigmon were the first to tweet about th ...

This wild new computer with two screens made me excited about what could be next for the laptop

Laptops went through a transformation around 2012 and 2013 when Microsoft launched its much-criticized Windows 8 operating system, which ushered in a new era of PCs that function as both laptops and tablets. But even then, the basic form factor remained the same: a screen that worked in tandem with a keyboard.

In recent years, however, laptop makers seem to be trying to change that with new designs that incorporate a second screen. One recent example of this is the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo, which has a 14-inch 4K touch display that sits right above the keyboard in addition to its 15.6-i ...

Microsoft is teasing Windows 1.0 and other 1980s software

Either Microsoft is gearing up for a very odd promotional effort or somebody on the Windows team has hijacked a functioning time machine.

Yesterday, the company posted a video boasting an "all-new Windows 1.0" to its social channels. It even went so far as to completely wipe all its previous posts from the Windows Instagram account, so all you'll find is the clip of its logos over the years. The video scrolls from the simplicity of Windows 10 through the pixellated rainbow flag of Windows XP and Windows 95.

Whatever the situation is, the stunt is giving Windows' so ...

Samsung has reportedly fixed the Galaxy Fold

Samsung has redesigned the Galaxy Fold to address the screen durability issues that torpedoed its launch, Bloomberg reports, with the folding phone soon to begin commercial production. The company still isn’t able to confirm a release date, however, and one person told Bloomberg that the phone is unlikely to resurface at next month’s Galaxy Note 10 event.

Samsung is said to have made the screen’s protective film “flow into the bezels so it would be impossible to peel off by hand.” Previous review units shipped with a film that looked like a removable screen protector, even though re ...

Google's Pixel C Android tablet may not get any more security updates

Google's Pixel C, the last first-party Android tablet released all the way back in December of 2015, may have just stopped getting monthly security patches. There has been no official announcement, and device-specific delays have happened before, but the Pixel C wasn't among those that received today's July set of updates, and the precise timing is awfully suspicious.

Although Google does not list the Pixel C on its update schedule help page, the company does note when discussing Pixel phones that they "get security updates for at least 18 months from when the Google Store last ...

Microsoft's October release of Windows 10 will be deliberately anticlimactic

If you’ve been wondering what Microsoft’s next feature release of Windows 10—19H2—has in store, the answer is: not much.

Microsoft said Monday that the upcoming 19H2 release, due in September, will include “a scoped set of features for select performance improvements, enterprise features and quality enhancements.” The goal appears to be to enhance what’s already in Windows, with an eye toward enterprise and partner deployments, rather than add consumer-facing features.

As part of that schedule, Microsoft said that it will release new 19H2 builds as part of the Slow Ring, the ...

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 10 on August 7th

You can expect it to inherit features from the S10 family.

The rumors were true -- Samsung has announced that it's holding its second Unpacked event of the year on August 7th at 4PM Eastern in Brooklyn's Barclays Center. The company hasn't said anything about what to expect, but the pen-centric teaser image (above) doesn't leave much to the imagination. The Galaxy Note 10 will clearly be the star of the show, and it's just a matter of pinning down the finer details.

This could be one of the biggest Galaxy Note introductions yet. Current rumors and leaks suggest the Note 10 w ...

iOS 13 and iPadOS public betas: How to download and install them now

The final versions of Apple's iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 software for your iPhones ($1,000 at Amazon) and iPads ($249 at Walmart) are coming your way this fall, but you can get a jump start now on everything the OSes offer. The public beta is open to anyone who wants to help test early builds of the operating system that will run on iPhones ($1,000 at Amazon) and iPads ($249 at Walmart) later this year. That's right, this year we have two different versions of iOS. One, iOS 13, is for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the other, iPadOS 13, is dedicated to the iPad and brings with it new multitasking fea ...

Apple's Shock iPhone Redesign Suddenly Confirmed

Apple’s rough month continues. In June hackers blew the security off 1.4BN iPhones and iPads, Apple was fined due to missed iPhone estimatesand the company’s stunning 2020 iPhone gave users doubts about upgrading to the ugly 2019 model. And now those fears have been realised. 

In a new exclusive, hugely popular YouTuber Filip Koroy (aka EverythingApplePro) has managed to attain retail iPhone 11 cases and they serve only to confirm users’ worst fears about the shock departure of Apple’s head designer Jonathan Ive.

Attained via a Chinese supply chain source, Koroy admits “I ha ...

Dell’s new XPS 15 with a 4K OLED screen is now available

Dell’s 2019 refresh of the XPS 15 2-in-1 laptop is now available. One of the most notable changes in this year’s model is the placement of the webcam: it’s now shifted up above the screen, where it should have been all along, instead of near the hinge.

Prices for the XPS 15 start at $1,099, and all four of Dell’s configurations include 9th Gen Intel processors, fast M.2 SSD NVMe storage, and a 97Wh battery. If you’re more of a power user, the $1,549 model is built with a more capable Intel Core i7 9750H CPU and a dedicated Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics card. These specs put it in line wi ...

How to create a bootable macOS Catalina 10.15 USB install drive

Creating a bootable macOS Catalina USB install drive is an effective way to generate a clean installation of macOS on your Mac. This hands-on tutorial will work with both the macOS Catalina developer beta, the macOS Catalina public beta, and the final version of macOS Catalina scheduled to launch later this fall. Follow our easy-to-use step-by-step video tutorial for the details.

Flash drive

Before beginning you’ll need to acquire a USB flash drive. In the age of USB-C, it’s preferable that you use a USB flash drive with a USB-C connection if possible.

You’ll want a ...

Commodore 64 system to return with classic games, fully-functional keyboard

Modern versions of iconic gaming consoles have been popularized in recent years, but the rebirth of this latest product will surely resonate with early computer users.

Manufacturer Retro Games announced this week it is working on an updated version of the beloved Commodore 64 8-bit computer launched in 1982 and cost $595 at the time. It was teased in a trailer set to the theme song of popular 80s-themed Netflix show “Stranger Things.”

Called THEC64, the computer is a more complete replica of the mini-version also released last year by Retro Games. The updated product comes w ...

Apple’s older iPad Pro is as cheap as the new iPad Air, and better in a few ways

The 2017 iPad Pro (64GB, Wi-Fi) is currently $474 at Walmart, and as for why you might consider buying an older iPad instead of one of the newer models, there are a few reasons. The 2018 iPad Air is practically a carbon copy of this model and has most of its best features, like the True Tone tech that adjusts the screen’s color temperature based on the ambient light in the room, and it has a Smart Connector for Apple’s Smart Keyboard.

The Air features a newer processor, and will likely be the faster of the two tablets after a few years, but it actually has less RAM than the Pro (2GB ...

Apple Music surpasses 60 million subscribers

Today’s major Apple news may be the departure of its design guru Jony Ive, but the even as the company stomachs the executive loss, their software plows ahead. Today, in an interview with French news site Numerama, Apple honcho Eddy Cue revealed that the number of Apple Music subscribers has now climbed to 60 million.

The company seems to give updates every time it surpasses another additional 10 million subscribers, we last heard that they had crossed the 50 million mark back in April.

Now, the company’s music service is well past the halfway market in its mission to surpas ...

Microsoft is playing with AMD silicon for its upcoming Surface devices

Something to look forward to: Microsoft's Surface line owes a big part of its success to Intel's CPUs, but the company has been playing with competing silicon in its labs, possibly paving the way for an AMD-powered Surface laptop. The Redmond giant's longstanding relationship with Intel is said to be less than rosy due to the Skylake blunder and is looking to diversify the chips it'll use in upcoming devices.

Microsoft is expected to unveil new Surface devices later this year and into the next, and while many enthusiasts are looking forward to see the mysterious dual-screen Surface  ...

Forget the Galaxy Note 10: Samsung is making a more affordable 5G phone

The Galaxy Note 10 is launching soon, complete with a brand new design and a few novel features, but this Samsung flagship will be at least as expensive as the Galaxy S10 series that launched earlier this year. And if you’re gunning for a 5G version of the Note 10, then you’ll have to pay even more.

But Samsung is also doing something it hasn’t done before; it’s working on a brand new flagship device that won’t be as expensive as the S10 or Note 10. Moreover, this rumored Galaxy A90 phone will deliver 5G connectivity as well as 45W charging speeds — something that hasn’t been availa ...

Your iPhone will soon be able to identify dogs and cats thanks to Apple's new detector

A new feature in an upcoming version of Apple's iOS will enable iPhones to look at images and identify which parts of that picture are cats or dogs.

The feature isn't for the public. It's for developers to build image recognition features into their apps.

Apple has been investing a lot of resources into computer vision, which is a core underlying technology for self-driving cars and augmented reality.

A new feature in an upcoming version of Apple's iOS will enable iPhones to look at images and identify which parts of that picture are cats or dogs.

The softwar ...

Xperia 1 pre-orders come with Sony's latest premium headphones

Sony has a simple, straightforward way to entice would-be Xperia 1 buyers in the US: offer a bundle that might be hard to refuse. The tech giant is starting American pre-orders on June 28th, and those who purchase ahead of the July 12th release will get a pair of the company's WH-1000XM3headphones at no extra cost -- that's $350 of (frankly excellent) wireless audio for free. If you're buying the Xperia 1 to watch movies mid-flight or stream music during your commute, you might have everything you need.

Of course, Sony can afford to do this in part because the phone costs a hefty $9 ...

Apple bolsters its chip team by hiring architect who worked at ARM, Intel, AMD

Apple has hired an experienced CPU designer to join its team. Mike Filippo joined Apple last month with the title Architect, according to his LinkedIn profile. The move ends a decade spent at ARM, where he was lead architect on several chip products. Filippo also spent time working on CPUs at Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.

The hire is a big get for Apple. ARM is responsible for technology that powers the A series chips Apple has been using in its mobile devices. For instance, the A12X in the iPad Pro springboards off the big.LITTLE architecture from ARM.

"Mike was a ...

Next Microsoft Surface device may beat PC and Android at last

The next generation in Microsoft Surface hardware was tipped this week to take a radical position. Radical compared to what Microsoft’s tried before with real, live, market-ready hardware that is to say. This new device would have two displays that work as one, would be surprisingly robust, and would be able to run both Windows and Android apps, with ease.

Microsoft seems to be envisioning a future in which the smartphone is a sort of child’s toy. Where anyone using a device made mostly for games and social networking is considered something for the youth market. The future, it woul ...

Microsoft might beat Apple to market with an ARM-powered laptop

Apple is expected to replace Intel chips that typically power MacBooks with ARM-based creations of its own, and we keep seeing rumors pointing in that direction. But while Apple hasn’t confirmed that it’s working on A-series processors that could deliver desktop-grade performance, its partner (and rival) Qualcomm has already launched a bunch of ARM processors that can run Windows.

The latest one is the Snapdragon 8cx that has been engineered specifically for notebook use. And that’s the platform Microsoft might use on an upcoming Surface laptop.

Windows Central’s Zac Bowden ...

Is there a place for augmented reality in Apple Stores?

Apple loves augmented reality. Tim Cook says we won’t be able to imagine our lives without it. New products are designed with hardware specifically tuned for AR experiences. A suite of tools unveiled this year at WWDC was built to make creating ARKit apps easier than ever.

Considering the enthusiasm, it’s surprising that Apple’s online and physical retail store environments have largely stood clear of AR to date. How might Apple augment its shopping experience? Is the current technology appropriate for a retail setting?

When discussing the Apple Store experience, it’s import ...

This Absurd Samsung Rumor Claims a Foldable 'Clamshell' Smartphone Is in the Works

If rumors are to be believed, Samsung doesn’t know when or how to quit. South Korean news outlet ET News reports that Samsung is developing a 6.7-inch clamshell smartphone. You know, even though its flagship bendy phone, the Galaxy Fold, is still missing in action.

ET News reports that like the Galaxy Fold, this next generation clamshell phone will feature a display when the phone is folded. In this case, it’ll be a 1-inch display that can be used for “simple information.” Unlike the Galaxy Fold, however, when unfolded the clamshell version won’t get much bigger as the phone is mean ...

Microsoft's new OneDrive Personal Vault ups your cloud storage security

It seems when one box closes, another box opens. Microsoft announced Tuesday it will add a new feature to its OneDrive cloud storage service called Personal Vault, which provides a secure solution for your most sensitive and important data. This new service may fill a vacuum left by Dropbox's recent transition from its original online data storage model to a central collaboration hub.

Personal Vault is essentially a partitioned sector of your OneDrive account that requires a strong password or two-factor authentication for entry. This could be face or fingerprint scan, a PIN or code ...

Chasing the Google Nest Hub: The best smart displays of 2019

Since the Amazon Echo Show launched in 2017, roughly a dozen smart displays have hit the market, with a new batch launching this summer. This blossoming category of smart-home tech combines the always-listening voice assistance of a smart speakerwith a touchscreen for watching videos, controlling your smart home and more.

If you're ready to upgrade your smart speaker, or you're just starting your smart home and you find the touchscreen appealing, here are the best smart displays available now.

Note that the products discussed here are independently chosen by our editors. CNE ...

At last, a camera app that automatically removes all people from your photos

As a misanthrope living in a vibrant city, I’m never short of things to complain about. And in particular the problem of people crowding into my photos, whatever I happen to shoot, is a persistent one. That won’t be an issue any more with Bye Bye Camera, an app that simply removes any humans from photos you take. Finally!

It’s an art project, though a practical one (art can be practical!), by Do Something Good. The collective, in particular the artist damjanski, has worked on a variety of playful takes on the digital era, such as a CAPTCHA that excludes humans, and setting up a dial ...

Leica Unveils the M-E (Typ 240) Entry-Level M Rangefinder

Leica has just announced the new M-E (Typ 240) digital rangefinder camera. The camera is designed for newcomers to the M system, “making it the new entry-point of Leica M rangefinders.”

Inside the M-E (Typ 240) is a 24-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor backed by a Leica Maestro image processor and a 2GB buffer (up from the 1GB buffer of the original M240). The ISO range is 200 to 6400.

Each of the cameras is handcrafted in Germany. The body is resistant to spray water and dust, and the leather trim across the surface provides a safe grip.

The top and base brass plates ...

Raspberry Pi 4 Launched: Quad Cortex-A72 Single-Board Computer For $35

This morning the Raspberry Pi Foundation took the wraps off of their next generation hobbyist project computer, the Raspberry Pi 4. The eagerly anticipated update to the Raspberry Pi lineup – which is actually arriving a bit ahead of schedule due to some good fortunes in SoC development – offers a significant upgrade to the family thanks to its new 28nm Broadcom SoC, which among other things incorporates a more powerful quad Arm Cortex-A72 CPU cluster. The single-board computer is available now, and like its predecessors, prices start at $35.

Long a favorite for tinkers, makers, and ...

Apple's iPadOS is here, and Hulu just reminded me my iPad 2 is obsolete

The latest and greatest iOS 13 and newly christened iPadOS arrived for public beta testing this week. Too bad my crotchety old iPad will never know the joys of a modern Apple operating system, just as it will never again stream a Hulu show.

I stared in mild shock. What?! I had just tapped on the Hulu app icon on my iPad 2, ready to catch up on the second episode of season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale. Instead of Elisabeth Moss, red dresses and dystopian angst, I got a message of doom from Hulu.

"Version 4.10.1 is no longer supported. Please upgrade to the latest version.&qu ...

Samsung Galaxy Note 10: What we expect

We’re only a few months away from an official Samsung Galaxy Note 10 announcement. The Note 10 is Samsung’s true flagship and we expect it to compete with just about any handset on the market. The Galaxy Note 9 took home our best of Android 2019 award, so the Note 10 has a big pair of shoes to fill.

We are still a ways out, but we can put together some guesses for this year’s Note device.

We fully expect the Galaxy Note 10 to come packed to the gills with features and specs. That includes the latest Snapdragon 855 (or Samsung’s latest Exynos 9820), at least 8GB of RAM, at le ...

New Surface Book 3 Will Offer Gamers A Secret Surprise

Is Microsoft going to open up the Surface Book family to explicitly support PC gamers? Any move to do so might dilute the messaging around the X-Box’s ‘Project Scarlett’ announced at E3 2019, but there are signs that the Surface Book 3 will be an option for mobile gamers.

The Surface Book machines are pitched at the high-end market - if you’re looking for an ‘all-rounder’ direct from Microsoft then the Surface Laptopis probably worth investigating. By virtue of those high specifications there’s already an element of gaming in the Surface Book thanks to the materials used and the har ...

Microsoft's foldable Surface PC with Windows Core OS will run Android apps

A new report from Forbes is claiming that Microsoft's upcoming foldable Surface PC, which I revealed to be in the works late last year under the codename Centaurus, will be able to run Android apps. In addition, the report also provides a few specifications, including screen size and possible CPU.

According to Forbes, Microsoft's foldable Surface PC will sport two 9-inch displays with a 4:3 aspect ratio, along with a 10nm Lakefield Intel processor. I can confirm that Centaurus is indeed an Intel device, and does feature two separate displays, not a single foldable display like found ...

Windows 10 Will Now Notify Users When Version 1903 is Blocked

Windows Update will now alert Windows 10 users when a featured update such as the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, or version 1903, is blocked from being installed.

For most users running older versions of Windows 10, they will be greeted with a message stating that the "Feature update to Windows, version 1903" is available to download and install now.

For users, though, who are using certain older bluetooth drivers, older versions of the anti-cheat BattleEye software, certain AMD Raid drivers, or even certain Intel drivers, Microsoft will block them from receiving vers ...

New Pixel 4 leak shows off Google's next flagship in subtle 'mint green' color

After last year’s long lineup of Pixel 3 leaks, Google apparently decided to take matters into its own hands with this year's 4th-iteration of the flagship phone line, officially revealing a teaser image of the Google Pixel 4 on its Twitter account last week.

That proactive stance doesn't seemed to have done much to stem the flow of leaks, however, with another series of alleged renders of the upcoming Google flagship popping up via leaking site IndiaShopps. 

The renders show off what appears to be the smaller non-XL model of the Pixel 4 in three different colors, including ...

Samsung exec says the Galaxy Fold is ‘ready to hit the market’

As we asked back in February, “We’re ready for foldable phones, but are they ready for us?” The answer, so far, has been an enthusiastic, “not really.” The Galaxy Fold was pushed back after multiple review units crapped the proverbial bed. And just last week, Huawei noted that it was holding off on its own Mate X release, citing Samsung’s issues as a cautionary tale. 

Samsung, at least, may finally be ready to unleash its foldable on the world, two months after its planned release. “Most of the display problems have been ironed out,” Samsung Display Vice President Kim Seong-cheol to ...

Microsoft’s Chromium Edge browser now available on Windows 7 and Windows 8

Microsoft is making its Chromium-powered Edge browser available on both Windows 7 and Windows 8 for testing today. The release comes two months after Chromium Edge first debuted on Windows 10, and a month after it appeared on macOS. Microsoft is releasing the daily Canary builds initially, and plans to support the weekly Dev channel “soon.” You can download the installer over at Microsoft’s Edge Insider site.

“You will find the experience and feature set on previous versions of Windows to be largely the same as on Windows 10, including forthcoming support for Internet Explorer mode ...

What's New in iOS 13

Messages, one of the quintessential apps on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, is the home of iMessages, Apple's exclusive device-to-device messaging protocol indicated by those well-known blue chat bubbles. 

If you're an iPhone user you know how the Messages app works, but in iOS 13, the Messages app is getting some useful new features that are worth highlighting. Read on for a rundown of everything that's new, and check out our list of how tos for instructions on how to use all of the new features. 

User Profiles

Messages in iOS 13 lets you add a photo of yourself (or an A ...

Apple could be developing Project Catalyst versions of Messages and Shortcuts for the Mac

We’ve heard quite a bit about Project Catalyst and what it means for developers who want to bring their iPad applications to the Mac with macOS Catalina. Apple is using Catalyst itself to improve existing Mac apps like News and Home, as well as bring new apps like Podcasts to the Mac.

Now, evidence within the macOS Catalina beta suggests Apple has more in store for Project Catalyst.

Developer Steve Troughton-Smith took to Twitter this week to showcase evidence that Apple is working on Catalyst versions of two new applications: Messages and Shortcuts.

As for Mes ...

Chrome OS change means Android apps will sometimes be offered in lieu of web apps

Chrome OS has become one of the best operating systems on the market today by its ability to seamlessly combine traditional web browser experiences with progressive web apps, Android apps and Linux apps. Now, Google is looking at shaking up the Chrome OS experience, for better or worse, by sometimes preferring Android apps over web apps.

As it stands today, when you’re browsing a website that can be installed by Chrome OS, you’ll see a handy little icon in your Omnibox. Clicking this Install button puts the PWA (progressive web app) into your Chrome OS launcher, just like any other ...

Update Your Firefox Browser Right Now to Fix a Serious Security Bug

On the heels of the Firefox 67.0 release, Mozilla has rolled out Firefox 67.0.3, which fixes a major security bug. According to the Mozilla Security board, hackers have reportedly been using the bug to take over PCs running unpatched versions of Firefox 67.0. All Firefox users should update to the latest version immediately to protect themselves from the exploit, which is easy enough to do: download the latest version of the browser directly from Mozilla, or click on the hamburger icon in the upper-right corner, then Help, then About Firefox.

Originally reported to Mozilla by member ...

Apple offers big discounts on refurbished iPad Mini 4 and iPad Pro 10.5-inch

Apple is clearing out some of its stock of refurbished iPads, offering discounts of up to $200 off various models. You can buy these with confidence: not only do they have a new battery and outer shell to make them look brand new, but they also carry the same one-year warranty as a brand-new iPad. If you’re looking for discounts on more Apple products, we’ve also found some pretty solid savings on MacBooks and a few Apple Watch deals here and there.

The best refurbished iPad deals currently in stock were on the iPad Mini 4. We found a savings of $180 on the iPad Mini 4 Wi-Fi 64GB No ...

More Bad News For Apple As New iPhone Designs Exposed

For Apple, the tide is turning fast. Following news that every version of iOS can be hacked, a move which threatens 1.4BN iPhones and iPads worldwide, we now know there is no good reason to buy a new iPhone in 2019. 

Covered by Forbes’ Ewan Spence, acclaimed industry insider Ming-Chi Kuo has leaked Apple’s grand plans for its 2020 iPhones. And looking at the ramifications from this, they are hugely significant for anyone considering an iPhone upgrade this year.

What Kuo reveals is that 2020 will be the year Apple delivers the big crowd-pleasing upgrades which it will skip in ...

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 reportedly launching on August 7th

Google might be content to just tweet out photos of its upcoming phones, but Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 looks to be following a more traditional script. The latest: Shara Tibken atCNET is reporting that “people familiar” say it will launch on August 7th in New York City. The first week of August certainly is the right timeframe for a Note launch.

The Note is traditionally Samsung’s premier platform for showing off new phone technology (setting aside the Galaxy Fold for a moment, anyway). This year, rumors point to the company creating two different sizes, one of which will be 5G, and ...

Adobe’s upcoming iPad painting app is called Adobe Fresco

Adobe's forthcoming iPad art app -- Project Gemini -- is being rebranded as Adobe Fresco, a nod to the centuries-old Italian painting technique. The company revealed that the latest addition to Creative Cloud Suite is currently available for private beta testing, with a full launch later this year. Aimed at professional artists, the app is intended to give them access to a wide range of tools outside their desktop. Fresco will combine raster, vector and dynamic brushes in a single app, and allow artists to sync their brushes in Photoshop CC.

"Adobe scientists have studied the c ...

US recommends Windows users patch against worm vulnerability

Microsoft Windows users who haven't patched their OS (or are using an unsupported version) are at risk of attackers exploiting a vulnerability known as BlueKeep. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Homeland Security's lead cybersecurity agency, said it successfully tested a working exploit for the BlueKeep vulnerability. Specifically, the agency was able to remotely run code on a Windows 2000 computer using BlueKeep, it stated in an advisory. The bug effects computers that are running Windows 7 or earlier (as well as Windows Server 2003 and 2008), and gives potentia ...

Everything we know about the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max so far

We’re likely just three months away from the announcement of Apple’s 2019 iPhone lineup, including the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max. Apple this year is expected to introduce three new iPhone models, including successors to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, and a refreshed iPhone XR.

Read on as we roundup all of the rumors about the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max.

iPhone 11 Design

In terms of design, the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Max are expected to be nearly identical to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. Earlier this month, 9to5Mac went hands-on with iPhone 11 ca ...

Nikon Confirms D5-Equivalent Top-Tier Mirrorless Camera Coming

The Nikon D5 sits atop Nikon’s DSLR roster as the company’s top-of-the-line camera for professional photographers. While the high-end Z7 is currently at the top of the Z series above the mid-level Z6, it’s not going to be Nikon’s top-of-the-line full-frame mirrorless camera for long.

Nikon President Toshikazu Umatate confirmed the company’s plans to launch a higher-end camera in an interview with Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, a Japanese manufacturing newspaper.

Besides revealing that Nikon will be launching a flagship mirrorless camera that’s the ...

AMD vs Intel: Which is better for 2019 and beyond?

With Computex and E3 2019 behind us, now is a great time to look at the AMD vs Intel tug-of-war. Both introduced new products, with AMD slated to launch new CPUs and GPUs in July. Intel won’t launch its new tenth-generation processors until the end of 2019. Intel’s new line of discrete GPUs won’t appear until sometime in 2020.

The state of AMD

AMD entered the x86 processor market as a sub-contractor for Intel. The contract allowed AMD to use Intel’s x86-based 8086 design to manufacture processor clones. These chips would help Intel fulfill orders for IBM’s new PCs.

O ...

Windows 10: The Upcoming Features and Improvements in 20H1

Microsoft continues to test new features for Windows 10's Spring 2020 Update, officially codenamed 20H1. As Windows 10 20H1 builds are available to Windows Insiders, we are able to get a glimpse of upcoming features, improvements, and bug fixes that users have been waiting for.

In this article, we'll take a closer look at the changes and improvements included in Windows 10 20H1 preview builds.

Sandbox improvements

The Windows Sandbox is a new feature that shipped with Windows 10 May 2019 Update that allows you to test programs and downloads in a virtual machine that ...

How Microsoft's Surface Failure Created Success

This week is the seventh anniversary of the launch of the Microsoft Surface(nee Surface with Windows RT), one of Microsoft’s awkward hardware releases, but one that ultimately helped define Microsoft’s approach to hardware and software for the second decade of the twenty-first century.

What went wrong with the Surface, how was the design changed, and why are these ideas still found in the successful Surface portfolio Microsoft now has?

The Surface RT - I’m going with the common name - was a simple proposition. A tablet-based Windows experience, optimised for portability, fea ...

New Nintendo Switch models are already in production and coming soon

New Nintendo Switch models are on the way, sources say, and they won’t cost you an arm and a leg — despite the potential threat of Donald Trump’s tariff war with China.

We told you in March that Nintendo will launch two new models of the console this year, rumored to be revealed at E3 2019. The announcement did not happen at the annual video game event, but according to the Wall Street Journal (and sources within Nintendo’s supply chain), the devices have already entered production.

One of the new Nintendo Switch models will reportedly look the same as the original version, ...

Apple Pencil: All the changes coming in iPadOS 13

Apple didn’t announce any new versions of the Apple Pencil hardware at this year’s WWDC, but it did announce some substantial improvements to how we’ll use it. The stylish stylus only took up a few minutes of Apple’s iPadOS presentation, but those moments were enough to demonstrate that Apple’s transforming it into more of a necessity than a novelty.

Apple is taking care to show that the Pencil isn’t just a tool for artists. Indeed, the WWDC presentation spent more time showing how we might use it in an office environment—in other words, more like a pen and legal pad. Here’s what yo ...

Apple just registered 7 laptop models we might see this fall

Apple has registered seven unreleased Mac models with the Eurasian Economic Commission today. These models, first spotted by MacRumors, are all described as “portable” computers, making it increasingly likely that each belongs to a new MacBook that could arrive in the next couple of months.

The filings contain no information about the new models, beyond noting that each is running macOS Mojave (rather than recently announced macOS Catalina). It seems likely that at least one of these is a new 12-inch MacBook, and another could be the rumored release of the 16-inch MacBook Pro.

...

Huawei's lock screens unexpectedly turn into advertisements

According to Huawei users on Twitter, ads for the hotel reservation site Booking.com are popping up on the lock screen of some Huawei smartphones. As Android Police reports, the ads seem to appear on devices using the preinstalled landscape wallpapers. They've been spotted in several countries -- including the UK, Netherlands, Ireland, South Africa, Norway and Germany -- and on various models.

On Twitter, users were quick to question and criticize the ads. Given Huawei's recent press, the company certainly doesn't need more bad publicity. And while Huawei has scaled back smartphone ...

Samsung’s $100 Galaxy Fit tracker focuses on the basics

It's been more than a year since Samsung last updated its Fit line of activity-tracking bands, and it's high time for a refresh. After first announcing the new Galaxy Fit in February alongside the new Galaxy S10and Galaxy Watch Active, the company is finally ready to roll it out in the US. Starting today, you can get the Galaxy Fit for $100. That puts it in direct competition with the Fitbit Inspire HR, which launched earlier this year for the same price.

I've barely had the Galaxy Fit for a day, and I'm already impressed. It tracks a comprehensive suite exercises (about 90, accordi ...

Pixel 4 leak: 3 reasons Google did this

In a rare move by any tech company, Google confirmed the existence of the Pixel 4several months ahead its anticipated release in October. The tech giant not only posted the news on its own Made By Google Twitter account, but it also included an image of the phone, which depicts a square camera bump, with multiple rear cameras. Judging by the reactions from the tweet, many were taken aback by the information -- not due to the phone itself, but because Google decided to unveil the news at all.

To drop an upcoming device's name and an official image this early is unusual. Despite numer ...

Huawei cancels MateBook laptop launch because of US export ban

Huawei was planning to announce a new MateBook laptop this week, but an executive confirmed that the company cancelled the launch because of US sanctions against the Chinese company. It's not clear when—or whether—the laptop will be released.

The US has banned sales of technology to Huawei, which uses Intel chips and the Windows operating system in its MateBook PCs. Huawei "planned to unveil the new Windows laptop at the CES Asia 2019 trade show in Shanghai this week" but "indefinitely postponed" the launch because of the US export ban, The Information reported y ...

Windows 10’s Linux Kernel Is Now Available

Microsoft just released a new Windows 10 Insider Preview build featuring the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. WSL 2 includes a real Linux kernel that lets you run more Linux software on Windows and with better performance than WSL 1.

This is part of Windows 10 Insider Preview build 18917, released on June 12, 2019. It’s part of the fast ring of updates. You can experiment with it today, although you’ll have to join the Windows Insider program and get unstable builds of Windows 10 on your PC.

Microsoft’s Windows Command Line blog offers more information about WSL 2, complete wi ...

Microsoft will offer console streaming for free to Xbox One owners

Microsoft’s Sunday E3 pressure was all about the games. In fact, while the company did offer some information about hardware and services, the information all arrived fast and furious at the end of the conference. While it’s probably unsurprising that the company had very little to offer in the way of information about its upcoming 8K console, Project Scarlett, most of us expected Project xCloud to get a lot more face time on stage.

The company powered through a whole lot of information about its upcoming streaming offering like it was going out of style (or, perhaps, like the light ...

Google Decouples Drive and Photos

Google announced today that it will no longer automatically sync photos between its Drive and Photos services.

“Many of you store your photos and videos on both Google Drive and Google Photos, which keeps them safe and easy to access,” a new post to the Google Photos blog explains. “We’ve heard feedback that the connection between these services is confusing, so next month, we’re making some changes to simplify the experience across Drive and Photos.”

Today, new photos and videos that appear in a user’s Google Photos automatically appear in that user’s Google Drive as well. ...

Pixel 4 leak: 3 reasons Google did this

In a rare move by any tech company, Google confirmed the existence of the Pixel 4several months ahead its anticipated release in October. The tech giant not only posted the news on its own Made By Google Twitter account, but it also included an image of the phone, which depicts a square camera bump, with multiple rear cameras. Judging by the reactions from the tweet, many were taken aback by the information -- not due to the phone itself, but because Google decided to unveil the news at all.

To drop an upcoming device's name and an official image this early is unusual. Despite numer ...

Opera launches a ‘gaming browser’ with Twitch integration

“You’re probably asking, ‘what is a gaming browser?,’ ” Opera PM Maciej Kocemba says in the opening of the Opera GX introduction video. Fair enough. My first thought when the Norwegian browser company mentioned the concept to me was something akin to Google Stadia, with remote game streaming.

Turns out a gaming browser — in this instance at least — is more about providing a custom browser for PC gamers, rather than a browser that does the heavy lifting for gaming itself. Instead, the system is more interested in minimizing system requirements as gamers game.

The browser’s ce ...

AMD launches Navi as the $449 Radeon RX 5700 XT

AMD took the stage at E3 to announce its "Navi" family of GPUs. The company's new graphics cards are officially the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and Radeon RX 5700. The 5700 series is launching July 7, making the GPUs a one-two punch alongside AMD's Ryzen 3000 series CPUs.

AMD isn't tackling the flagship GPU market with the 5700 series. Instead, the company is aiming for more mainstream pricing with mainstream performance: the 5700XT is $449, while the 5700 is $379. AMD is positioning the cards against Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2070 ($499) and 2060 ($349), respectively, and claims per ...

Apple and Microsoft made a new iCloud for Windows app

Apple and Microsoft teamed up to create an iCloud Drive experience that will hopefully resolve some compatibility issues. A brand new iCloud for Windows app is available today in the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 users. The iCloud app will use the same technology as Microsoft's OneDrive's On-Demand feature -- a very rare collaboration from tech's two biggest rivals. Users can now easily access photos, videos, mail, calendars, files and other information from their iCloud accounts from their PC or smartphone.

Any proud Windows user who has bit the bullet and sprung for an Apple devi ...

Atari VCS pre-orders open, will ship in March 2020

The Atari VCS finally has a launch date. Pre-orders for the retro console are available now at GameStop, Walmart, and directly from Atari, with units scheduled to ship in March 2020.

Those who backed the project through the crowdfunding site IndieGoGo can expect their units later this year.

Starting at $249.99 for a console with 4 GB RAM, Atari’s new device costs quite a bit more than the NES Classic or PlayStation Classic did at launch ($59.99 and $99.99 respectively, though Sony’s console has seen several price drops). In fairness, though, it’s a much more powerful system. ...

Apple looks to acquire Intel's German phone modem business, report says

Apple is reportedly looking into acquiring Intel's German smartphone modem business. The acquisition could help Apple's attempts to develop its own 5G chip for the iPhone, The Information said Tuesday, citing four people briefed on the Apple-Intel discussions.

Apple had originally used modems from Germany's Infineon when it launched the iPhone 10 years ago, before switching to Qualcomm in 2011. Intel then bought Infineon in 2011, but those chips weren't used again until the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 after a dispute over Qualcomm's licensing fees.

When Apple and Qual ...

iOS 12.3.2 fixes a camera bug but doesn’t do much else

Today, Apple is pushing out a new update to iOS, its software for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch—but this update is targeted at fixing an issue on just one device: the iPhone 8 Plus.

iOS 12.3.2 doesn't seem to do anything else worth remarking upon. Apple's notes simply say:

iOS 12.3.2 resolves an issue that could cause Camera to capture Portrait mode photos without depth effect on some iPhone 8 Plus devices.

Updates don't get much more minor than this. Apple typically releases updates that contain new features for macOS, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS simultaneously. But s ...

Samsung still doesn't know when the Galaxy Fold will launch

Remember how Samsung said it would narrow down its plans to relaunch the Galaxy Fold sometime in mid-May? Well, it's been a month -- and now those rumors of an extended delay appear to be coming true. A spokesperson has reiterated to CNET that a new release date is still due sometime in "the coming weeks," suggesting that you might not get a new release date until July or later. Given that the phone was originally supposed to be in customer's hands in late April, would-be buyers might just face a delay of three months or more.

Not that Samsung necessarily wants to rush. Th ...

Apple may have leaked the Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR release month

Apple introduced two pricy and powerful pieces of pro-targeted hardware at its developer conference last month: the modular desktop tower Mac Pro, and the creative-focused Pro Display XDR. Although Apple said the devices would come this fall when discussing them during its keynote stage last week, the industry giant didn't get any more specific than that. But an apparent mistake in the Apple Store may have narrowed down the date.

Earlier today, MacRumors and 9to5Mac discovered that, when you clicked on the option to "Notify Me" of availability for the products, they were p ...

Pixel 4 renders just leaked, and it looks like an iPhone 11 copycat

When you’re talking flagship smartphones, devices like the iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S series typically garner most, if not all, of the attention. Over the past few years, though, Google has made impressive strides with its Pixel line. Especially with the launch of Night Sight mode a few months back, the PIxel 3 quickly catapulted itself into the upper echelon of the smartphone market.

For as compelling as the Pixel 3 is, Google is seemingly prepared to take things to the next level with the launch of its next-gen Pixel. And with the release date now less than 6 months away, we’ve ...

AMD Zen 2 Microarchitecture Analysis: Ryzen 3000 and EPYC Rome

We have been teased with AMD’s next generation processor products for over a year. The new chiplet design has been heralded as a significant breakthrough in driving performance and scalability, especially as it becomes increasingly difficult to create large silicon with high frequencies on smaller and smaller process nodes. AMD is expected to deploy its chiplet paradigm across its processor line, through Ryzen and EPYC, with those chiplets each having eight next-generation Zen 2 cores. Today AMD went into more detail about the Zen 2 core, providing justification for the +15% clock-for-clock ...

Microsoft Announces Xbox Scarlett At E3 2019

As we expected, the Xbox E3 2019 press conference brought the official announcement of the next generation of Xbox. For the time being, the project is codenamed "Scarlett" and has a release window of Holiday 2020. It will coincide with the release of the highly-anticipated Halo Infinite, which got a new trailer and during the press conference, but we won't hear much more about that game until 2020.

Lots of details remain unclear: We didn't see what Scarlett looks like or find out how much it will cost, among many other things. Instead, Microsoft talked up Scarlett's incred ...

Xbox and PlayStation gamepad support extends across iOS 13

During Apple's WWDC 2019 keynote the company showed off so many things even our cut-down version of the event lasts nearly half an hour. One of the reveals was that tvOS 13 will be compatible with PlayStation 4 and Bluetooth-equipped Xbox One controllers -- convenient for both Apple's own Arcade gaming plans and any others with cloud aspirations -- but in case it's unclear, it also extends to iPad and iPhone.

Once iOS 13 rolls out, you'll be able to use these console controllers easily with your device, no workarounds needed. With Apple reportedly spending "hundreds of millions ...

This is the new volume indicator in iOS 13

iOS 13 finally includes a redesigned volume HUD. The new volume slider sits on the left side of the screen where the volume up and down buttons are. It first shows as a big bulbous slider, but then shrinks down to a more discreet thin line.

The volume HUD had become the butt of many jokes in the iOS community as the old UI was a large square overlay that covered the center of the display. The new look is smaller and shrinks down to an even smaller presentation after a beat.

The new UI is interactable. In addition to the volume buttons, once the volume HUD is visible, you can ...

Apple Maps gets a makeover

Apple Maps is getting a new look.

Apple on Monday unveiled a more detailed Maps app that the company said will roll out to US users by the end of 2019 and to more countries by 2020. The company also has added new features that make it easier for users to navigate to places they frequently visit, such as their home or work addresses. 

The announcement, which Apple made during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, shows how the tech giant is trying to compete with Google Maps and Waze apps. Apple said it drove 4 mi ...

Apple's New 'Find My' App for macOS and iOS Can Find Your Devices Even When They're Offline

Apple's "Find My Friends" app is being revamped in macOS Catalina and iOS 13, and will now be called simply "Find My." The new version of the app combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends. 

The major feature of the updated app is that it can now locate Apple devices that are offline, making it even easier to find your iPhone or MacBook if you ever happen to lose it. 

Apple said that when a device is offline and sleeping, it sends out a secure Bluetooth beacon that can be detected by other Apple devices nearby, even the ones owned by other people. This r ...

Leaked image claims to show one design Apple considered for iOS 13’s new volume indicator

Back in April, 9to5Mac reported that iOS 13 will include a long-overdue design of the volume indicator. Now, an alleged image of an early iOS 13 internal build has emerged that claims to show one design considered by Apple for the new volume HUD.

The design shown on Twitter, shared by Ben Geskin, is very similar to the volume indicator currently found within Control Center. It’s smaller than the current volume design, which takes over the entire interface, but still quite large.

9to5Mac has heard, however, that the redesigned volume indicator will actually be smaller and loc ...

AMD assures Ryzen 3000 will perform equally across B450, X470, and X570

Something to look forward to: Owners of socket AM4 400-series motherboard shouldn't have much to worry about as AMD is promising performance parity across B450, X470, and X570 with Ryzen 3000 processors. If you're not planning to take immediate advantage of the PCIe 4.0 interface and bandwidth, there's little reason to upgrade your motherboard.

AMD finally trotted out its 7nm Ryzen 3000 family of processors at Computex 2019. AMD promises higher instructions per clock, better memory support, higher clock rates, and more cores at the top end. With the new chips, AMD is also maintainin ...

Samsung reportedly has ‘multiple’ AR and VR products on the way

Samsung apparently plans to release a couple of new headsets in the coming months, according to a company executive, who noted that it plans to release “multiple AR and VR products,” and that it might involve its stagnated Gear product line.

The comments come via Variety, which noted that Farshid Fallah, Samsung’s director of developer relations for XR and gaming, spoke at a panel at the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, California last Thursday. Fallah spoke about the company’s broader efforts with VR, its Gear headset, and about the AR capabilities of the company’s Galaxy S10 p ...

Samsung announces new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros

Just ahead of WWDC 2019, Samsung has announced a couple of new laptops. They happen to go by the name of Notebook 7, but they’re so obviously and intensely inspired by Apple’s current laptop that Samsung is begging to be called out.

There will be 13-inch and 15-inch versions of this Windows 10 laptop, each with design features that are practically identical to the MacBook Pro. It has diamond-cut edges, a wide trackpad, and slim bezels surrounding its screen. Samsung is flexing its dedication by cribbing even the small details: the font used on the keyboard and the wallpaper are a lo ...

AMD Navi RX 5700 Brings RTX 2070 Performance at Half the Die Size

It’s been just a few days since AMD’s groundbreaking Computex 2019 keynote where CEO Dr. Lisa Su unveiled the company’s next generation Ryzen 3000 series CPUs and Radeon Navi RX 5700 GPUs. Despite the event ending several days ago, we’re still getting a steady trickle of exciting details pertaining to the company’s next generation products.

AMD Navi RX 5700 Series Bring RTX 2070 Performance to The Midrange With Half the GPU Die Size

Earlier today we’ve managed to confirm that the company’s upcoming Navi GPU, which was unveiled for the first time earlier this week and is set ...

Google Insider Leaks Stunning Pixel 4 Design

Google’s new Pixel 3a is by far the best sub-$500 smartphone you can buy. But the Pixel 4 is where all the most excitement lies and now it’s easy to see why. 

In a new tweet, SlashLeaks, the site now run by remarkably accurate leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer, has revealed the Pixel 4 has an all-new design. And it shows Google will finally give the Pixel range some style with a perfect hybrid of the Galaxy S10+ and iPhone XS, following years of wrapping great tech in dated chassis.

Slashleaks obtained its images via case maker Skinomi, which is so confident in its sources that it ...

Hands-On With Apple's New 7th-Generation iPod Touch

Apple earlier this week introduced new iPod touch models, updating the 4-inch device for the first time since 2015. Not a lot has changed, but there's a new processor and updated storage tiers. 

We thought we'd go hands-on with the new iPod touch to see if it still has a place in Apple's lineup in 2019 and who might want to purchase one. 

The new 7th-generation iPod touch is now Apple's smallest device and the sole device that has a 4-inch display. The smallest iPhones (7 and 8) have 4.7-inch displays, so the new iPod touch is a good bit smaller and comparable to an iPhone 5 ...

OnePlus 7 review: designed to make you want the OnePlus 7 Pro

OnePlus pulled some sleight of hand with its naming of the OnePlus 7 series. It announced the 7 Pro like it’s the new addition to the lineup, and that is indeed a phone full of new things, but the novelty for OnePlus’ strategy is that the company is now doing an Apple-esque upcycling of older models as its entry-level offering. That’s what the OnePlus 7 is: a OnePlus 6T with an update to a Snapdragon 855 processor and a 48-megapixel camera and not much else.

Am I complaining? Only a little. The 6T had the fastest and smoothest performance of any Android device until the OnePlus 7 P ...

Samsung Galaxy Fold gets delayed once more, may arrive in July

Following the Samsung Galaxy Fold's initial delay, it was expected that the troubled foldable device would arrive sometime in June. Now, it appears the smartphone-tablet hybrid may arrive a month later in July, according to comments made by a Samsung Electronics official.

As reported by Yonhap News Agency, the Samsung representative stated that the Galaxy Fold's "release schedule has not been decided, and we are in a position to announce the launch schedule in a few weeks."

Due to the uncertain future of Huawei's Mate X foldable following strict US sanctions that h ...

A New Collection of HP Envy Convertible Laptops with Wooden Palmrests

On the opening day of Computex, HP introduced its first laptops and convertible notebooks featuring premium wooden inlays on their palmrests. The new HP Envy PCs will be available later this year in a variety of configurations.

The look and feel of laptops in general and convertible laptops in particular are no less important than their performance and display quality. Makers of PCs tend to experiment with various materials, but when it comes to high-performance premium PCs, it generally all comes down to various alloys of aluminum. Late last year HP introduced a notebook featuring ...

MediaTek's New 5G-Ready Chip Is Exactly the Kind of Competition Qualcomm Needs

We’re still in the early days of 5G, but if you take a quick look around the smartphone world, it’s clear Qualcomm has gotten a head start when compared to other chipmakers. Nearly every 5G phone on the market today is powered by a Qualcomm modem, and while Qualcomm recently got slapped for violating antitrust laws, with its next high-end mobile chip MediaTek could finally deliver some well-needed competition in the 5G space.

While the chip itself doesn’t have an official name yet, MediaTek claims that its upcoming SoC (system-on-a-chip, AKA processor) is the “world’s first fully-in ...

Intel's beautiful dual-screen concepts show what laptops could be in 2 years

The company had dual-screen versions of productivity and gaming laptops.

Laptops have gotten thinner and smaller, but their basic design hasn't really radically shifted. Intel thinks that will change within two years. 

At Computex 2019, the chipmaker brought several proof-of-concept devices that show what laptop makers like Asus, Dell and HP can do with its tech. The common denominator across the devices? Dual screens. Keyboards, it seems, will soon be so2019.

First up is the Ultrabook concept, Twin Rivers, a futuristic take on thin-and-light laptops like the Dell XP ...

INTEL ANNOUNCES THE CORE I9-9900KS CPU WITH ALL CORES RUNNING AT 5 GHZ

At its Computex Kickoff Event, Intel previewed its latest products including a new special edition 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9900KS processor and a sneak peek of the performance of its upcoming 10 nm ‘Ice Lake-U’ CPU that comes integrated with its new Gen11 graphics.

Intel Core i9-9900KS features

The Intel Core i9-9900KS is a special edition desktop CPU with eight cores and 16 threads. This will be the first every processor where all the eight-cores will be running at a turbo boost frequency of 5 GHz. This means whether the system runs on a single-core intensive workload or a mu ...

Hands-On with Industry’s First 5G Laptop: A Lenovo with Qualcomm’s 8cx SoC and X55 Modem

Lenovo and Qualcomm introduced the world’s first laptop with an integrated 5G modem at Computex. The convertible notebook is based on Qualcomm’s latest platform for Windows 10 on Arm systems, the Snapdragon 8cx, and further includes the company's upcoming Snapdragon X55 5G modem. The PC is expected to be available later, but Lenovo is not disclosing its exact launch timeframe.

While Qualcomm and Lenovo have always promoted these devices as being super-efficient for ‘always connected’ workflows, leveraging the smartphone modem inside, these devices have actually seen more success whe ...

NVIDIA Releases Quadro RTX, Quadro T, and Quadro P620/P520 GPUs for Notebooks

Along with today’s NVIDIA Studio branding announcement, NVIDIA is also using Computex to update their lineup of Quadro GPUs for notebooks and mobile workstations. Along with bringing some of the existing Quadro RTX desktop parts to the mobile space, the company is also launching a sub-series of parts under the Quadro T series, and finally a pair of new Quadro P series graphics adapters for the low-end.

Starting things off, we have the mobile Quadro RTX parts, which are all new for the mobile space. Like NVIDIA’s GeForce mobile counterparts, these Quadro RTX mobile parts are essentia ...

ASUS unveils limited edition ZenFone 6 Edition 30 with 12GB RAM, 512GB storage

ASUS is launching a special variant of the ZenFone 6 to commemorate its 30th anniversary.

ASUS is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and to commemorate the occasion the Taiwanese manufacturer rolled out a series of limited edition products, including motherboards and laptops. On the phone side of things, ASUS is introducing the ZenFone 6 Edition 30, a special variant of the ZenFone 6 with an "exclusive design" at the back that's reminiscent of older ASUS devices.

The limited edition phone is backed by a 30-month warranty, and comes embossed with the Editio ...

HyperX announces first gaming keyboard with its own switch design

HyperX has been making gaming keyboards for a few years now, and like many other manufacturers has mostly been using Cherry MX or Kailh keyswitches depending on the price point. Today at Computex, however, HyperX is announcing its first keyboard to use a new keyswitch design from the company itself.

The keyboard is called the Alloy Origins, and as you can see from the above photo, HyperX’s switches are based on typical reds, which are a popular choice for competitive gamers because of their high responsiveness. HyperX has tweaked the red design further, however, shaving the travel d ...

After 5 MacBook 'Butterfly' Keyboards: My Verdict (12-Inch MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air)

I've had five Apple "butterfly" keyboards.

Let's see, two 12-inch Retina MacBooks: first*- and second-generations, a 15-inch MacBook Pro (mid-2017), a 13-inch MacBook Pro (mid-2017), and 2018 Retina MacBook Air.

So, in short, I've used every generation of butterfly keyboard on five different MacBooks save the very latest on the updated 2019 MacBook Pro announced May 21.

tl;dr: I've never had the problem described widely in the media (e.g., keys that aren't responsive or failure in general) with any of the Butterfly keyboards on the MacBooks listed above.

...

With Huawei’s and Samsung’s current troubles, is the foldable phone trend cursed?

After years and years of rumors, patent filings and promises, 2019 was supposed to be the year a foldable smartphone with a flexible display would finally go mainstream. Two of the biggest phone makers in the world, Samsung and Huawei, both announced plans to launch foldable phones: the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X.

In just the last few weeks, it now looks like the foldable phone trend is in deep trouble — for reasons that we could not have predicted back when both of these devices were first revealed. After reports of display failures on the Galaxy Fold from a few medi ...

Two big reasons why the 2020 iPhone might be worth the wait

Apple’s most recent patent filing reveals plans to beef up Touch ID and bring it back to the iPhone in 2020 along with 5G connectivity. Also, the most important updates to Apple's new MacBooks.

In today's roundup, we're dissecting Apple's latest patent filing, which reveals new details of a revamped Touch ID that could come to the next generation of iPhones. We're also breaking down all the most important changes to the new MacBook Pros, including what the company's doing about the keyboard. And in case that wasn't enough, Apple also sent out WWDC invites this week revealing some po ...

ARM's latest chip designs promise 60 percent faster AI on phones

ARM isn't boasting about PC-crushing performance like it did in 2018, but it still has plenty of swagger going into Computex 2019. The designer has unveiled two new chip architectures that promise giant strides in performance, especially for AI. The Mali-G77 GPU touts 40 percent faster overall graphics than the G76, and a whopping 60 percent increase in machine learning speed. Your phone could handle computer vision, device optimization and similar tasks far more gracefully. The G77 might also avoid killing your battery when it's 30 percent more energy-efficient and uses 40 percent less ban ...

AMD Ryzen 3000 Announced: Five CPUs, 12 Cores for $499, Up to 4.6 GHz, PCIe 4.0, Coming 7/7

Today at Computex, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su is announcing the raft of processors it will be launching on its new Zen 2 chiplet-based microarchitecture. Among other things, AMD is unveiling its new Ryzen 9 product tier, which it is using for its 12-core Ryzen 9 3900X processor, and which runs at 4.6 GHz boost. All of the five processors will be PCIe 4.0 enabled, and while they are being accompanied by the new X570 chipset launch, they still use the same AM4 socket, meaning some AMD 300 and 400-series motherboards can still be used. We have all the details inside.

A lot of people have been ...

Systems administrators: You need to know about this Windows 10 1903 patching change

Microsoft is changing how WSUS and Configuration Manager will handle patches as of Windows 10 1903. Here's what admins need to know.

Administrators who manage Windows updates should know about a change Microsoft has made to how patches will be handled starting with the May 2019/1903 update. The change is connected to work Microsoft is doing underpinnings to the Microsoft update systems infrastructure. 

I first learned about this change thanks to Configuration Manager architect Bryan Dam who runs the damgoodadmin.com site. Microsoft blogged about the change late in the day on ...

What to expect at the 2019 WWDC from iOS 13 and watchOS 6

It's going to be a big year for iOS and that's not just wishful thinking, that's based entirely on what we know is coming. Here's what the evidence says Apple is bringing to our iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.

Nothing is certain until Tim Cook steps out on stage at WWDC 2019 and says "Good morning." Yet if this year there are very many hopes for what Apple will reveal at San Jose's McEnery Convention Center on June 3, there is also a lot that is as close to certain as can be. 

Here's what Apple will definitely announce for iOS, plus what strong evidence says the ...

First 8-core MacBook Pro performance gains spotted in Geekbench results

The first Geekbench results have landed today for the new 8-core MacBook Pro. Both the single-core and multi-core scores show improvements for the new notebook over the last generation MacBook Pro, with the multi-core result coming close to Apple’s claim of up to 40% faster performance.

Spotted by MacRumors, performance results for the new 8-core MacBook Pro were posted to Geekbench today. The single-core score came in at 5879 for the new notebook compared to 5348 for the 2018 MacBook Pro. That’s almost a 10% increase in performance.

Meanwhile, the 2019 MacBook Pro saw a mul ...

MSI puts Intel Core i9 processors and Nvidia RTX GPUs into its Trident desktops

Computex 2019 is right around the corner, and besides massive announcements like the expected release of AMD's Ryzen 3000 CPUs and Navi graphics cards, plenty of other companies have kit to show. MSI is one of them, as it has upgraded its small form-factor gaming PC, the MSI Trident X, with new internals from Nvidia and Intel.

The new MSI Trident X Plus comes alongside upgraded models of two MSI laptops, the GE65 Raider and GT76 Titan. 

The new Trident model will feature Intel's 9th-Generation Core i9 processor (CPU) and Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics for the best gaming perfor ...

Apple Suddenly Confirms Three New iPhone Models

We already know a lot about the upcoming iPhone 11 and iPhone XR2 and their controversial design changes. But now Apple has helpfully confirmed all three of its new iPhone models. 

Spotted by the ever-alert 9to5Mac, Apple has chosen to publicly file model numbers for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max and iPhone XR2 in the Eurasian database, an official regulatory body. The model numbers are: A2111, A2160, A2161, A2215, A2216, A2217, A2218, A2219, A2220, A2221 and A2223 and there identify two clear product lines: the A21 and A22.

Coming in three variants, the A21 line-up will be ...

SONY EXPLORING PS5 CROSS-GEN PLAY WITH PS4 THANKS TO BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY

Sony suggested it’s exploring PlayStation 5 cross-gen play with PlayStation 4 thanks to backward compatibility in its next-generation console. During a Sony Investor Relations Day 2019 Q&A session, PlayStation heads indicated PS5 could include cross-gen play with PS4 players through the PS5’s backward compatibility features, suggesting people playing PS4 games on their PS5 would still be able to play online with others who are using a PS4, or potentially even play cross-gen titles across these systems.

Deputy president of Sony Interactive Entertainment John Kodera said through a ...

How to Use Valve's New Steam Chat App

Steam has mainly been a gaming marketplace for PC games over the years, but Valve appears to be doubling down on the platform’s social aspects with its newly launched Steam Chat messaging app for Android and iOS.

While Steam Mobile has let users manage their accounts and send messages from their smartphones for years, Steam Chat splits the platform’s messaging service off into its own dedicated app. Steam Mobile isn’t going away, though; both apps will exist simultaneously, with Steam Chat dedicated to communication and Steam Mobile covering other parts of the service—such as purcha ...

Apple sends out WWDC 2019 keynote invites to Mac and iOS developers

It'll kick off its annual developer conference with a presentation by CEO Tim Cook and other execs at 10 a.m. PT.

Apple on Wednesday sent invitations to members of the media for its annual keynote address at its Worldwide Developers Conference. The WWDC 2019 presentation will take place at 10 a.m. PT on Monday, June 3 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.

The confab is in its 30th year, and this will mark the third year for Apple to hold its developer conference in San Jose. The city -- the third biggest in California and 10th largest in the US -- is abou ...

Smart assistants have totally slept on sleep timers and I’m tired of it

Smart home assistants need smarter timers. Today, you can use Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri to set timers. You can use all three smart assistants to control your smart home gadgets. But frustratingly, you cannot use the two features together: setting your lights to arbitrarily turn off in 30 minutes is impossible with today’s most sophisticated, cutting-edge smart home technology.

Now, you could use a pre-programmed routine, but that’s not the same thing. You can set your lights to go on when a motion detector goes off, have your motorized shades close at sunset, or have your air ...

Hands-On With the New 4K 23.7-Inch LG UltraFine Display

Apple this week began stocking a new 4K 23.7-inch LG UltraFine Display, which replaces the original 21.5-inch 4K LG UltraFine Display that was pulled from retail stores and the online Apple Store earlier this year. 

We picked up one of the new 23.7-inch UltraFine Displays and thought we'd check it out to see if it's worth the $700 price point. 

The new 4K display looks quite similar to the prior-generation 4K and 5K UltraFine displays with a black plastic body with relatively thick bezels and a black aluminum stand. Like prior models, it can be VESA mounted if you prefer. ...

Select Bose smart speakers get Google Assistant

A week after Sonos added long-promised Google Assistant integration to a pair of speakers, Bose is following suit. The company’s bringing the popular smart home AI to a trio of existing models, the Home Speaker 500 and Soundbar 500 and 700. The forthcoming, pint-sized Home Speaker 300 will be hitting the market with the feature built-in.

Like Sonos, you’ll get your standard array of Assistant queries, including music playback, Chromecast TV control and the ability to control connected home features like smart lighting. All of that will be accessible through the built-in ...

Apple offers free repairs for 2016 MacBook Pros with faulty backlights

More models are likely affected, however.

Apple isn't just trying to fix the MacBook Pro's keyboard. The company has launched a repair program that offers free fixes for 2016 13-inch MacBook Pros affected by an issue with flex cable stress (aka "Flexgate") that produces a stage lighting effect on the display's backlight before it eventually dies altogether. You won't have to risk a costly out-of-warranty repair just to keep using your machine.

This might not be the end to the story. While 2018 and newer revisions use longer cables that shouldn't be at risk, iFixit pointed ou ...

A New Approach To Updates: Windows 10 May 2019 Update

For those eager to get the latest and greatest production build of Windows 10; good news. For those who would rather watch from the sidelines until the kinks are worked out; good news. Today Microsoft has officially launched the spring 2019 update for Windows 10, affectionately called the Windows 10 May 2019 Update. There’s a few new features under the hood, but the biggest change to Windows 10 this time is not a new feature you may or may not use, but instead a new approach to updates, and after almost four years of users not being in control, Microsoft has put the control back in th ...

Google stored some passwords in plain text for fourteen years

In a blog post today, Google disclosed that it recently discovered a bug that caused some portion of G Suite users to have their passwords stored in plain text. The bug has been around since 2005, though Google says that it can’t find any evidence that anybody’s password was improperly accessed. It’s resetting any passwords that might be affected and letting G Suite administrators know about the issue.

G Suite is the corporate version of Gmail and Google’s other apps, and apparently the bug came about in this product because of a feature designed specifically ...

Seven Safari Tricks on iOS You Might Not Know

Safari on iOS has a surprising number of hidden tricks, letting you manipulate tabs, conduct page-specific searches, and more, and not all of these features are immediately obvious due to the gestures involved.

We've rounded up some useful must-know Safari tips that you might not be aware of or may have forgotten, so make sure to check out our video because we bet there's something here that's going to be new to you.

Close All Tabs - Have hundreds of tabs open in Safari on your iPhone? You can close them all at once. Just long press right on the "Done" button in the tab view ...

A New Approach To Updates: Windows 10 May 2019 Update

For those eager to get the latest and greatest production build of Windows 10; good news. For those who would rather watch from the sidelines until the kinks are worked out; good news. Today Microsoft has officially launched the spring 2019 update for Windows 10, affectionately called the Windows 10 May 2019 Update. There’s a few new features under the hood, but the biggest change to Windows 10 this time is not a new feature you may or may not use, but instead a new approach to updates, and after almost four years of users not being in control, Microsoft has put the control back in the hand ...

Apple offers free repairs for 2016 MacBook Pros with faulty backlights

More models are likely affected, however.

Apple isn't just trying to fix the MacBook Pro's keyboard. The company has launched a repair program that offers free fixes for 2016 13-inch MacBook Pros affected by an issue with flex cable stress (aka "Flexgate") that produces a stage lighting effect on the display's backlight before it eventually dies altogether. You won't have to risk a costly out-of-warranty repair just to keep using your machine.

This might not be the end to the story. While 2018 and newer revisions use longer cables that shouldn't be at risk, iFixit  ...

Corsair’s Vengeance 5185 PC: Core i7-9700K + GeForce RTX 2080, and Lots of RGB

Having launched their Corsair One small form-factor PCs, as well as Bulldog PCs for the living room, Corsair is now entering the market of mainstream gaming machines with its Vengeance series of computers. The new systems are Micro-ATX PCs designed for gamers looking for performance and style, but not necessarily looking to build a machine themselves.

The Corsair Vengeance family of PCs currently includes two models — the Vengeance 5180 and the Vengeance 5185 — which use a Micro-ATX version the company’s Crystal Series 280X RGB case. The 680X offers two chambers, three tempered glas ...

Chrome OS 76 finally moves the “Clear All” notifications button to the top

Chrome OS has come a long way since its humble beginnings. Gone are the days of it being widely labeled as a “glorified web browser.” In addition to Progressive Web Apps, modern Chromebooks now support Android apps and Linux apps natively. With each app ecosystem, of course, comes notifications and those can pile up quickly in the recently redesigned Chrome OS menu.

Only last Fall did it become possible to clear all notifications with one tap, and it takes some doing to find the button. In the stable, beta and dev channels you have to swipe up on the bottom-most notification to even ...

Google changes how the Escape key is handled in Chrome to fight popup ads

Google Chrome v76 is getting a new security feature to fight popup spam.

Google engineers are planning to change how the Escape key works in the Chrome browser, and it's all being done as part of a security-focused change meant to make it harder for shady sites to open popups.

The feature is expected to ship with Chrome version 76, scheduled for release at the end of July 2019.

The general idea is that starting with Chrome 76, pressing the Escape key on your keyboard will not "activate" a page and prevent it from running JavaScript code -- like it did until ...

How valuable is Android, or any other operating system, without Google?

Would you buy any product that limited your access to Google's services?

The dust-up between the U.S. and Huawei has pushed the idea of how dependent on Google a phone manufacturer can be. Huawei is one of the biggest companies in the world, and having access to Google's services is what drove its smartphone market share into the sky — now nearing 20% globally, above Apple. Watching consumer reaction as that access is revoked gives a feeling that any future growth has ground to a complete stop and Huawei is in a heap of trouble as far as Western markets are concerned.

I'm no ...

Google Calendar and Google Keep get dark mode on Android

Rolling out to phones via an app update.

Over the last few months, Google's been steadily adding an official dark mode to more and more of its apps. Following the likes of Google Messages, News, Contacts, and others, Google's now announced dark modes for Calendar and Keep.

In the next few days, you should receive an update for both the Google Calendar and Google Keep Android apps that will add the new dark mode functionality. To enable dark mode in Calendar, you'll go to Settings -> General -> Theme. If you're using Keep, the process is Settings -> Enable Dark Mode. ...

Google deals Huawei major blow by cutting Android licence

Huawei has relied on the Google-developed Android operating system to power its popular range of smartphones.

Google has dealt a major blow to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei by blocking the firm from using critical apps and services like Gmail and YouTube on its range of smartphones, according to reports.

Just like other major smartphone makers including Samsung and LG, Huawei relies on the Google-developed Android operating system to power its mobile devices.

But, amid a US crackdown on Chinese technology companies due to ongoing security concerns, Reuters ...

Worried About LED, OLED Blue Light Eye Damage?

A widely-covered report out of France this week said that the blue light in LED lighting can damage the eyes. Dell, seeing the writing on the wall, isn't taking any chances.

Blue light can damage the retina and disturb natural sleep rhythms, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) said in a statement, according to a report* from France24. 

"Exposure to an intense and powerful [LED] light is 'photo-toxic' and can lead to irreversible loss of retinal cells and diminished sharpness of vision," the agency said. LEDs are of ...

OPPO K3 WILL GET A POP-UP CAMERA, SNAPDRAGON 710 SOC

The OPPO K3 just received an official launch date today. The budget mid-ranger that will spearhead OPPO’s attack on aggressively priced products like Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 7 is due for a debut on May 23. There’s much we know about the handset but all that is mostly restricted to specifications. Now, OPPO’s newest teaser posted today on Weibo sheds light on a key aspect of the design that was suspected earlier. The new OPPO K3 was recently unearthed from China Telecom’s website with its complete specifications which we will mention below.

As for the new teaser, it clearly shows a pop-u ...

Lenovo shows off foldable Razr with a fan render

A short video reveals more details about the rumored phone.

It's no secret that Motorola is working on a foldable phone. According to Sina Tech, Lenovo shared a video with media today that shows the new, RAZR-like phone in action -- Engadget has since learned the video was an edited fan render Lenovo was using for a press demo. The video offers a glimpse of the device folding in half and opening flat.

Last month, we saw the first leaked images, and while you could see a hinge, the phone was displayed open. Now, in addition to demonstrating the phone's foldability, this video ...

OPPO A9X WITH HELIO P70 SOC, 48MP CAMERA TO DEBUT SOON

Smartphone launch season is in full force in May 2019 as we’ve been literally having a launch every day for three days straight. And it’s not going to stop any time soon. A new improved variant of the OPPO A9 was spotted on OPPO’s official store in China which essentially laid bare everything about the handset. It’s called the OPPO A9X and it will be going on sale in China on May 20th at a price of RMB 1,999 (around Rs 20,300). OPPO is also announcing the OPPO K3 on May 23.

Now, the listing which has been taken down as of this writing mentioned that the OPPO A9x would be equipped wi ...

macOS 10.14.5 goes live with security and bug fixes

Apple on Monday released the finished version of macOS 10.14.5, the latest update for Mojave, as it paves the way for macOS 10.15 to land this fall.

The software is available through Mojave's Software Update tool, found under the Apple menu's System Preferences section. If automatic updates are on, the software should be installed in the near future.

Apple previously issued multiple developer builds of the code along with matching public betas.

Specific bug fixes and feature additions include AirPlay 2 support for sharing videos, photos, music and more from a Mac dir ...

It sure looks like the Lenovo Smart Clock is launching soon

The $80 smart display just got one step closer to being released.

Back at CES 2019, Lenovo announced the Smart Clock -- a super tiny smart display with a 4-inch screen designed to be the perfect modern alarm clock. After months of not hearing a word from Lenovo, it looks like the company is finally getting ready to launch the gadget.

If you take a look at the official Lenovo Forums, you'll see that it's been updated with a lot more information regarding the Smart Clock. Some of this includes an FAQ section, user guide, and a spec sheet.

While the updated forums don't ...

Apple Releases New 12.3 Software for HomePod

Alongside the iOS 12.3 update that introduces a new TV app for the iPhone and the iPad, Apple has also debuted a new 12.3 software update designed for the HomePod. 

The new HomePod software will be installed automatically on the HomePod after you update to iOS 12.3, but you can also manually update and check your software version by following the instructions in our HomePod software how to. 

According to the release notes for the update, it is focused on enterprise networks, adding support for "joining some types of enterprise networks that require credentials." ...

WhatsApp discovers 'targeted' surveillance attack

Hackers were able to remotely install surveillance software on phones and other devices using a major vulnerability in messaging app WhatsApp, it has been confirmed.

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, said the attack targeted a "select number" of users, and was orchestrated by "an advanced cyber actor".

A fix was rolled out on Friday.

The attack was developed by Israeli security firm NSO Group, according to a report in the Financial Times.

On Monday WhatsApp urged all of its 1.5bn users to update their apps as an added precaution.

...

Lenovo foldable ThinkPad X1 prototype: A big screen that bends

Bigger than the Samsung Galaxy Fold, this 13-inch tablet folds into a laptop shape for typing and productivity.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold isn't the only flexible screen in town. Briefly demoed by computer giant Lenovo, the ThinkPad X1 folding prototype shows what happens when you apply those same design ideas to a bigger screen and more powerful hardware.

In this case, it's a 13-inch 4:3 OLED 2K display. When fully open, it looks like a large Windows slate or an iPad Pro. Fold it over, and you have a 9.6-inch screen along with same size on-screen keyboard on the bottom half....

With Android Q, Google is pushing for more elegant, standardized gestures

At last year's developer conference, Google gave us our first taste of Android Pie's gesture-based navigation system. It was, uh, pretty rough: the classic, three-button navigation scheme was replaced with a back button, a "pill" and a handful of swipe gestures that, to me at least, never felt particularly elegant or natural. Thankfully, Allen Huang, Google's product manager for Android's system interface, explained it was always meant to be a transitional step and never meant for it to last "in its current form" for more than a year.

That's a big deal because, a ...

OPPO RENO TO BE RELEASED IN INDIA ON MAY 28TH, SAYS REPORT

OPPO recently announced its new Reno series of phones with some serious USPs like a hybrid 10X zoom that only exists on one other phone – the Huawei P30 Pro. The Reno and Reno 10X Zoom Edition are already official in Europe and will soon be on sale (Reno) in France, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Poland on May 10. The 10X Zoom Edition will go on sale in China tomorrow. Now, the two handsets will also be launched in India on May 28th, suggests a report by 91mobiles.

The standard Reno smartphone comes with a Snapdragon 710 SoC while the Reno 10X Zoom model has a flagship Snapdragon ...

Google Podcasts officially rolling out to desktop, iOS through Google Search

At I/O 2019, Sundar Pichai announced a “Podcasts about this story” feature for Google Search that indexes podcasts to surface relevant episodes by content instead of just title. Ahead of that, Google Podcasts is officially coming to the web for iOS and desktops.

When Podcasts launched last June, it was specifically for Android and Google Assistant devices, like Home speakers. Google is now bringing the service to Search for the desktop and mobile web. Looking for a podcast on Google.com will feature a card of “Recent episodes.”

Tapping any will take users to podcasts.google. ...

New macOS 10.15 Music app code based on iTunes, not iOS

We previously discovered the new standalone Music app to be included in the next major version of macOS, 10.15. In that post, we mentioned the new Music app would be made using Marzipan, that lets iOS apps run on the Mac. Recently, sources familiar with the development of the OS reached out, correcting that information.

The new standalone Music app on macOS will actually be an AppKit application, based off of iTunes. It will include many of the advanced features iTunes users are accustomed to, including things such as smart playlists, advanced library management, syncing with iPods ...

How Do Apple's New Powerbeats Pro Compare to AirPods?

Earlier this week, we shared a hands-on look at the Powerbeats Pro earbuds launching tomorrow, and today, we thought we'd do an in-depth comparison with the AirPods, giving MacRumors readers a closer look at the similarities and differences between the two devices. 

AirPods and Powerbeats Pro look nothing alike, as the former is designed for casual use and the latter is aimed at those who live a more active lifestyle. The AirPods feature an iconic design that's reminiscent of the EarPods design Apple has used for years, with the earbuds meant to fit ears of all shapes and sizes with ...

Android Q Beta 3: How to enable and use Android Q’s fully gestural navigation

With the release of Android Q beta 3 yesterday we’ve seen yet another revision to gestural navigation on Android. The newest effort certainly shows promise, but it might take longtime Android users some time to get used to it.

If you are taking the plunge and installing the Android Q beta, you aren’t thrown into the deep end by starting out with the fully gestural navigation enabled, so if you are looking for the full Android Q experience you’ll need to enable it first.

How to enable Android Q Fully Gestural Navigation on Pixel

Open Settings

Scroll down and t ...

MORE HONOR 20 PRO PROMO IMAGES EMERGE REVEALING MORE OF ITS BEAUTY

Yesterday, the Honor 20 was revealed through a couple of promo images showing the new machine in red, white, blue, and green color options. Today, the folks at GSMarena, got their hands in a set of new artsy promo images for the Honor 20 Pro. They are similar with the images of its sibling, however with a refreshment that makes us believe that they are part of an entire promo campaign.

Of course, the images are non-final, since the rendering of the phone is somewhat broken, especially judging by the camera’s design. Apparently, these images were poorly converted vector graphics. Tha ...

What Happened to the Lenovo Smart Clock?

Remember the Lenovo Smart Clock? Lenovo introduced their mini-smart display back at CES in January, saying at the time that we would see it in the Spring for around $79. It’s now May and we’re starting to wonder what’s going on with it.

A couple of readers asked us about Lenovo’s cute little Smart Clock today, probably because Google I/O is about to wrap-up and there wasn’t a lot of news surrounding smart displays, outside of Google’s Nest Hub Max announcement. The two readers asked if we knew if the product was cancelled or if they’d have an opportunity to buy one soon.

We’ ...

Everything we know about iOS 13: Dark Mode, iPad improvements, Sleep Mode, more

We’re less than a month away from Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California. At WWDC this year, Apple will announce new features for each of its operating systems, including iOS 13, watchOS 6, macOS 10.15, and tvOS 13.

Over the last several weeks, we’ve reported a lot of what you can expect to see in this year’s update for iPhone and iPad. Read on as we round everything up ahead of next month’s event.

iOS 13 features: Dark Mode |

iPhone and iPad users have been waiting on Dark Mode to come to iOS for several years, and iOS 13 will finally ...

AMD Removes Third Generation Ryzen Threadripper From Their Roadmap For No Reason

When presenting its quarterly figures, AMD has shown a roadmap stating which products will be published this year. The third generation of AMD Ryzen Threadripper processors based on the 7nm process node and Zen 2 architecture are no longer included; in March that was still the case. There was no explanation of the removal.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3000, 7nm HEDT CPUs Snapped From Latest Client Roadmap

The AMD Client roadmap states that the third generation Ryzen processors will be released mid-year. New Threadripper processors are no longer listed. The second generation EPYC p ...

How to Quickly Free Up Space on Your Windows PC

Windows: The concept of “spring cleaning” fills me with dread. Organizing your archives of stuff—physical or digital—is a lot easier to do as a year-round activity, rather than on one terrible day (or days) when it’s pretty outside and you’d rather be doing anything else.

Thankfully, it’s incredibly easy to see if you’re wasting precious space on your computer, a practice that sounds incredibly dorky to do but is worth every gigabyte saved if you don’t have that much spare room on your desktop or laptop’s drive to begin with.

I don’t set an annual reminder for myself to do t ...

All Chromebooks launched this year will be Linux-ready

Last year, Google brought Linux support to Chromebooks. It's a really nifty feature, and it's only been improving since I/O 2018. But this year, Google announced that all Chromebooks launched in 2019 will be Linux-ready right out of the box, which is great for developers, enthusiasts, and newbies alike.

These announcements have been quick and brief, but at least this news is straight to the point, though every Chromebook I've tested recently had Linux support. As someone who regularly distro hops on my personal machines, the Linux installation process on Chrome OS is top-notch for e ...

ANDROID Q: AN EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT DARK MODE, BETTER GESTURES, AND AN IMPRESSIVE NEW ACCESSIBILITY FEATURE

Android 10 Q beta 3 is available today on more devices than any previous Android beta has been available on before.

A full release is expected this fall, but Google is announcing new major features for the tenth version of Android today at Google I/O. Android Q has oft-requested UI changes like dark mode and improved gestures. Even though those are the things most people will notice, they aren’t the most important (or impressive) parts.

The more important parts are things that address real user needs and resolve longtime problems with the Android platform. There’s a new acce ...

Dell confirms that fixing S3 sleep is next on the agenda for the XPS 15 9570

Further to its backtrack last month, Dell has now confirmed that it is focussing its efforts on addressing S3 sleep mode for the XPS 15 9570. The company removed the mode over a year ago with the release of BIOS 1.3.0.

Slowly, but surely, Dell is addressing the issues that have plagued the XPS 15 9570. First, the company fixed the NVIDIA GPU issue that affected some machines, albeit by creating an additional issue, and then it released a BIOS revision to address DPC latency issues. You may also remember that we reported Frank Azor's confirmation about Dell "working on a solutio ...

Intel Optane Memory: everything you need to know

Modern PCs have become incredibly fast, with the best CPUs running at clockspeeds in the 4-5GHz range, and the best graphics cards can crunch through trillions of calculations each second. But the data feeding those number crunching beasts doesn't stick around when the power goes out, so we need longer-term storage solutions like hard drives and solid-state drives. The problem is that SSDs are still relatively expensive while HDDs are slow. Intel's Optane Memory tries to bridge the gap between mechanical storage and SSDs. Here's what you need to know about how Intel Optane Memory works, the ...

Hey Google, it’s time for a dark mode on Smart Displays like Home Hub

Having Google Assistant ready at all times is a handy tool in day-to-day life, and Smart Displays only enhance that with visual components. However, these displays are annoying to use at night because Google’s UI is a stark white. It’s time for Google to add a dark mode to Smart Displays like the Home Hub.

The Smart Display UI is awesome, but blinding at night

Going all the way back to our review of the first Google Assistant Smart Display from Lenovo, I’ve praised Google over the UI for this form factor. It’s simple, intuitive, and doesn’t lack much. However, much like Goog ...

The regular OnePlus 7 looks familiar, but will have big upgrades inside

So far, OnePlus has kept the marketing spotlight on its upcoming OnePlus 7 Pro, the company’s next flagship phone with a pop-up camera and “breakthrough” display that will supposedly have a buttery-smooth 90Hz refresh rate. (It’s also apparently somewhat water resistant.) But there’s also a standard OnePlus 7 model coming alongside it, and today WinFuture shared some images of that device. It looks incredibly similar to last year’s OnePlus 6T, from the teardrop notch to an in-display fingerprint sensor and the dual-camera arrangement on back.

OnePlus has more than once reused the sa ...

The Honor 20 Lite brings three rear cameras and a budget-friendly price

With the Honor 20 and Honor 20 Pro still under wraps until May 21, it’s the Honor 20 Lite that gets first dibs in the limelight. The good news is that the phone brings flagship-like features and a budget-friendly price.

Starting with the front, the Honor 20 Lite features a 6.21-inch display with Full HD+ (2,340 x 1,080) resolution and a 32-megapixel selfie camera. The selfie camera lives in the waterdrop notch up top.

The Honor 20 Lite loses some luster when you notice the Micro-USB port at the bottom. The presence of a headphone jack is greatly appreciated, but the aging Mi ...

Microsoft is going to ship a full Linux kernel in Windows 10

Microsoft has surprised many in the Linux developer community in recent years. Surprises have included bringing things like the Bash shell to Windows, or native OpenSSH in Windows 10, and even including Ubuntu, SUSE Linux, and Fedora in the Windows Store. Microsoft is now going even further, with plans to ship a full Linux kernel directly in Windows 10.

“Beginning with Windows Insiders builds this Summer, we will include an in-house custom-built Linux kernel to underpin the newest version of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL),” explains Microsoft program manager Jack Hammons. “Th ...

Apple Warned iPhones Have A Serious Battery Problem

Apple’s controversial new iPhone 11 design is already taking flak (despite recent improvements), but now the company’s current models have been hit by a much more immediate problem.

In a shocking new report, highly regarded UK consumer advocacy group Which? (equivalent to Consumer Reports in the US) has discovered Apple is overstating the battery life of its iPhones by a massive margin.

“Which? tested nine iPhone models and found that all of them fell short of Apple’s battery time claims. In fact, Apple stated that its batteries lasted between 18 per cent and 51 per cent lon ...

7 macOS Settings You Should Change Right Away

Apple specifically designs its products to “just work.” When it comes to its computers, that means that macOS is an incredibly intuitive and easy-to-use platform out of the box. But there are still a few default macOS settings you should change (besides display settings, which we’ve previously covered). From tweaking the Finder to making Siri more useful in quiet environments, continue reading to learn about seven quick settings you should change on your Mac right away.

HUAWEI P SMART Z APPEARS ON GEEKBENCH WITH KEY SPECS

Renders of the Huawei P Smart Z have been doing the rounds revealing what might be Huawei’s first smartphone with a pop-up selfie camera. The device even recently was briefly listed on Amazon Italy with its price and specifications, and now it has surfaced on the popular Geekbench site for the usual benchmark test, an indication that it could debut soon.

The smartphone passed through Geekbench bearing model number Huawei STK-LX3/LX1, though both variants appear to sport similar specs. The benchmark database reveals that the alleged Huawei P smart Z will be powered by an Octa-core So ...

Flashable Windows 10 ROMs now available for Lumia 950 XL

The project to run Windows 10 on ARM on the Lumia 950 XL has continued to make progress, and the latest development is about making it easier for others to take part in the fun.

The LumiaWOA project now has firmware you can download and install using WPinternals which makes installation as easy as flashing with any other firmware. It does replace the Windows 10 Mobile install, so users need to back up their data of course.

If your Lumia 950 XL is only gathering dust in an old draw, there is likely nothing to lose by trying out the hack.

Galaxy Note 10 Exclusive Reveals Samsung's Surprise Upgrade

Samsung is heavily redesigning the Galaxy Note 10 with some killer tech, but it appeared the company was about to blow the basics. Until now. 

Following news Samsung is pulling 25W fast charging from the Galaxy Note 10 (seemingly because it’s rubbish), popular insider Ice Universe has updated his information to reveal Samsung will actually fit a charger more powerful than 25W. Moreover, I have also been able to verify this myself through a trusted source.

“You should be thinking bigger [not smaller]. That’s all I can say about it right now but expect to be pleasantly surpris ...

Microsoft Issues New Windows 10 Update Warning

Windows 10 is finally getting the update we all wanted, but until it rolls out widely users are going to need to keep paying attention to Microsoft’s regular upgrade warnings. And they have struck again. 

Picked up by CNet, Microsoft has confirmed it has found updates to Windows 10’s built-in Control Flow Guard (CFG) security feature which can cause massive performance issues for Google Chromium-based browsers (such as Chrome, Microsoft’s Edge browser, Vivaldi and many others). The problem was first identified by Vivaldi then replicated by Google, after which Microsoft acknowledged ...

How to Screenshot Entire Web Pages Without a Chrome Extension

Chrome: Capturing screenshots is easy, whether you’re on Windows (hit the Print Screen button your keyboard) or Mac (Shift-Command-5). And while you can isolate down to just your active window using various keyboard commands or on-screen options, which makes it easier to snapshot whatever you’re doing, that’s still not ideal if you’re trying to take a picture of a full website—more than whatever’s on your screen, that is.

There’s no shortage of browser extensions that promise to take full-page screenshots on your behalf, and a number of them are pretty great (assuming you don’t have ...

Samsung Denies Existence of 2 TB 970 Pro SSD

In an unusual move, Samsung on Monday denied existence of a 2 TB version of its M.2-2280 970 Pro SSD. The company said that it did not have plans to release such a product, yet did not exclude a possibility of launching such a storage device in the future.

“Samsung has not released a 2TB version of the [970 Pro] drive and there are currently no plans,” a spokesperson for Samsung said Monday. “We will let you know if that ever changes.”

Samsung's public rejection comes after two international retailers in China and in Germany posted product listings for the drive last week. T ...

Nubia Red Magic 3 Smartphone Shoots 8K and Has a Built-In Cooling Fan

The Chinese smartphone company Nubia has unveiled the Red Magic 3, a phone that shoots 48-megapixel photos and 8K video. The performance of the device is so intense that it features liquid cooling via a copper heat pipe and a built-in cooling fan.

The Red Magic 3 is marketed as a smartphone that excels at gaming, but it’s beast on the photography and video fronts as well.

Inside the phone is a 1/2.0″ Sony IMX586 sensor for 48-megapixel f/1.7 rear photos. The front features a 16-megapixel f/2.0 camera.

On the video front, the smartphone sets new records among smartpho ...

New leaked pictures show Motorola’s upcoming foldable Razr in full

We’re still not entirely sure who the rebooted Motorola Razr is for, but it is without a doubt one of the most intriguing phones of 2019. Rumors of a foldable Razr have been floating around since last summer, and this weekend, a Weibo user going by sunniton shared what appear to be marketing photos of the unannounced device. While they might be fake, every new phone leaks eventually, and the foldable Razr is expected to be unveiled soon.

The phone in the image above looks virtually identical to the device that was pictured in a patent at the beginning of the year. It has the same la ...

Windows 10 Now Requires a Minimum of 32GB Storage Space

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it would begin using ~7GB of user hard drive space for the application of future updates. The advantage of this system is intended to be that it doesn’t break the update process halfway through by a system running out of space. The disadvantage is that it would eliminate virtually all of the storage available on small systems — and Windows 10’s previous minimum storage requirement was 16GB for a 32-bit installation. That plus 7GB of storage only left 4-5GB of data for programs on a base install.

When Microsoft announced these changes, we c ...

Leak reveals Pixel 3a also comes in purple, because why not

As the days count down to May 7's Google I/O keynote, Android fans are hungry for any leaked information on the handsets Google is expected to unveil there: the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. Well, Evan Blass, the tipster behind the leaked high-res render of the former, fueled that anticipation again this week after sharing another image of the Pixel 3a, this time in the color purple.

Other color variations for the new mid-range Pixel phones remain a mystery, but if purple's your favorite color then today's your lucky day. Though it seems a little too conveniently timed with the release ...

Please be the Foldable Moto Razr

Motorola is working on a foldable phone that we expect to look a lot like the old Razr flip phones, only with all of the modern features you get from smartphones of today. That would mean a foldable phone that looks like a small flip or clamshell, but that’s actually a big-screened device when unfolded. It might be the dream setup for those of us who have no interest in a phone that unfolds into a tablet.

Today, the new foldable Motorola Razr (2019) has purportedly leaked, thanks to a post over at Weibo from user @JJUT_. The post has since been deleted from what I can tell, but the ...

What's the difference between Windows 10 Home and Pro?

What's the difference between Windows 10 Home and Pro? Building a PC can be an expensive venture, especially if you aim to play the latest games at their highest settings. When setting your budget, it’s easy to forget about the cost of your operating system. Unless you plan on using Linux, you’ll need either Windows 10 Home or Pro. Retail versions cost $119 for a Windows 10 Home license or $199 if you go with the Pro version—OEM keys that are bought with a hardware purchase cost $109 and $149. That’s a $40-$80 difference that could be put towards a better video card or more memory, but only ...

Windows Security Update Caused Recent Antivirus Conflicts and Freezes

According to an updated McAfee support bulletin, a Windows security update for the Windows Client Server Run-Time Subsystem (CSRSS) service appears to have caused the recent conflicts between enterprise antivirus software and Windows.

On April 9th, 2019, Microsoft released their April 2019 Patch Tuesday updates and since then users have reported performance issues and freezes in Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 2008, Windows 2008 R2, Windows 2012 and Windows 2012 R2. 

As reported by Microsoft in numerous support articles for April Windows updates [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8], if ...

The real deal with the Galaxy Fold's screen crease, notch and air gap

The entire reason that the Galaxy Fold exists is because of the screen. Unlike other phones, where screens are an afterthought to camera quality and battery life, Samsung designed the entire phone around the fact that its display bends in half. The perils of foldable phone design are sucking up all the oxygen in the room, after five early production Galaxy Fold review units experienced major problems. That's important, but so is the Fold's screen on a working model like mine.

Before the Galaxy Fold screens started breaking, it was the plastic crease running down the center of the Fo ...

Android Q teases better and smarter contextually-suggested actions

The first beta of Android Q rolled out over a month ago, and although we've spent hours dissecting every feature it brings, from the bigger ones to the absolute smallest, there are still some surprises that we haven't discussed in detail yet. The most interesting — also the most hidden and difficult to reproduce — are some mysterious actions that surface for a few users in specific places, only to disappear and never be seen again. They are a sign of things to come though, even if they're not fully reproducible just yet.

What are these actions?

The actions discussed below ac ...

Lenovo ThinkPad X390 unboxing and first impressions

Announced at Mobile World Congress this year, Lenovo's ThinkPad X390 is the company's top-end ThinkPad without going into the X1 lineup. This 13-inch machine comes in at only 2.6 pounds, and with narrow bezels on the sides, Lenovo says that it fits into a 12-inch footprint.

It's 12% thinner and 5% lighter than its predecessor, which was actually the X380 Yoga. Last year's model only saw a convertible from the X-series, so it makes sense that Lenovo was able to slim it down.

This PC packs all of the features you need though. It has an IR camera combined with the ThinkShutter ...

Galaxy Fold: The real deal with Samsung's screen crease, notch and air gap

The entire reason that the Galaxy Fold exists is because of the screen. Unlike other phones, where screens are an afterthought to camera quality and battery life, Samsung designed the entire phone around the fact that its display bends in half. The perils of foldable phone design are sucking up all the oxygen in the room, after five early production Galaxy Fold review units experienced major problems. That's important, but so is the Fold's screen on a working model like mine.

Before the Galaxy Fold screens started breaking, it was the plastic crease running down the center of the Fo ...

Motorola releases Pie kernel source code for Moto G6 Play

Due to Huawei ending its bootloader unlock program, and HMD Global/Nokia never having one to begin with, Motorola is still the king of customizable budget phones (in the United States, anyway). The company just released the Android 9 Pie kernel source for the Moto G6 Play, making it easier for developers to create custom Pie-based ROMs and recoveries for the phone.

The kernel source code package is for 'AlJeter,' the codename for the Moto G6 Play. You can download the code from the source link below.

Microsoft Issues Important Windows 10 Upgrade Warning

Windows 10’s most significant upgrade to date is almost ready, but Microsoft has now issued an important warning for everyone who wants to get it. 

In a new advisory, Microsoft has warned users that they will need up to twice as much free storage on their PCs to receive Windows 10 1903, the upgrade which finally gives all users control over Windows updates. The new requirement will apply to all versions of Windows 10: Home, Pro and Enterprise.

The new minimum is 32 GB, double the previous 16 GB stipulation of 32-bit Windows 10 and almost 40% more than the 64-bit editions. Fo ...

OnePlus confirms triple camera array for OnePlus 7 Pro as launch event tickets go on sale

The OnePlus 7 Pro is expected to have more bells and whistles than any device in the company’s history, and today we’re getting confirmation of its rear camera setup. As previous leaks have shown, the OnePlus 7 Pro will indeed have a triple camera array.

In a teaser on Twitter today, OnePlus explicitly confirms a triple camera array on the back of the OnePlus 7 Pro. This comes as no surprise as previous leaks of the phone have shown this off in detail. A recent leak even confirmed some of the specifications.

Apparently, we can expect a standard 48MP primary camera and a tele ...

Compulab Launches Airtop3: A Fanless PC with Core i9-9900K & Quadro RTX 4000

Compulab has introduced its new Airtop3 passively-cooled desktop platform, which is aimed at commercial and industrial users looking for a high-performance passive PC. The Airtop3 combines high-end, high performance components with significant expansion capabilities (e.g., operate up to seven displays, integrate up to five SSDs, etc.) as well as compatibility with Compulab’s proprietary FACE customization modules. Compulab will sell its Airtop3 machines in different configurations targeting a variety of applications.

Just like predecessors, Compulab’s Airtop3 relies on the company’s ...

HUAWEI P SMART Z LEAKED OUT WITH POP-UP SELFIE CAMERA DESIGN

Just when you thought the hole punch display introduced by Samsung and Huawei was the best all-screen display solution, Samsung in what many see as a surprising move introduced the Galaxy A80 with a rear-facing camera that can rotate to double as a selfie camera joining the leagues of Chinese OEMs with multitude of devices with the pop up camera system. So far, only Chinese smartphones maker like VIVO and OPPO has committed to making devices with pop up cameras, and that could be changing soon, as a major player in the smartphone market is about hopping on the trend.

Following Huawe ...

ADVANCED EXTERNAL CAMERA CONTROLS COMING TO CHROMEBOOKS

All Chromebooks come with a camera or two, so Chrome OS is no stranger to handling camera inputs. While the camera software on Chrome OS is still a bit of a work in progress across the board, the general camera functions are there and have been there for quite some time. What we are currently seeing in the Chromium Bug Tracker, however, shows us that more complicated controls are coming for external cameras.

You can have a look at this bug report and see pretty clear evidence that external cameras are getting ready to get some interesting new controls baked right into Chrome OS: spe ...

Galaxy Fold loss could help other foldable phones succeed

After five reports of broken Galaxy Fold review units and an official delay of Samsung's $2,000 foldable phone, Samsung is in trouble. But for rivals like Huawei's foldable Mate X, the rumored Razr flip phone and all the rest, Samsung's pains with the Galaxy Fold could spell opportunity. 

Samsung's rivals are watching the company's every move, taking notes and assuredly devising their own plans to either to cut and run if buyers grow cold or to extend their own brands as "true" foldable successes by avoiding the Galaxy Fold's pitfalls. 

Samsung, Huawei and Motorola ...

PIXEL SLATE VS. HP CHROMEBOOK X2: THE BEST DETACHABLE CHROMEBOOK

In the realm of detachable Chromebooks, there are few at this point. Two, specifically, and we’ve been asked time and again to pit them against one another to determine which is the best purchase. Between the Pixel Slate and the HP x2, there are lots of similarities and just as many differences. While it isn’t as simple as one over the other, we want to break down both devices and help you decide which you should spend your money on.

For these versus videos, we keep things pretty simple and keep to our standard 5 sections: build quality, screen, keyboard/trackpad/pen, internals/port ...

Windows 10’s big May 2019 Update is blocked on PCs using USB storage

Microsoft hasn’t officially released Windows 10’s May 2019 Update to everyone just yet, but the company is already warning of a very weird bug with it. Microsoft is blocking the update on PCs that have a USB hard disk like a thumb drive attached, or machines with an SD Card in the SD Card reader. “Inappropriate drive reassignment can occur on eligible computers that have an external USB device or SD memory card attached during the installation of the May 2019 update,” warns a Microsoft support article.

This means that if you had a USB drive with the D: letter assigned by Windows, af ...

Two new AirPods models may be coming later in 2019

Apple released its second-generation AirPods just last month, but we may see a new version of its wireless headphones before 2019 is over. This information comes from a DigiTimesreport, which also claims that a noise-canceling feature will be part of the next AirPods iteration. The ability to block outside sound had been rumored to be a part of Apple’s recently released model, but it may actually be coming this year with the new headphones.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst whose predictions of Apple product launches have proved accurate in the past, recently affirmed a late 2019 release for ...

Anker Roav Bolt adds Google Assistant to the car w/ convenience even Android Auto can’t match

Google is on a mission to bring the Assistant basically everywhere. Its latest endeavor? Google Assistant powered car accessories and the first of those is the Anker Roav Bolt. Here’s why it’s the most convenient way to bring Assistant to your car.

Anker Roav Bolt Hardware |

The Anker Roav Bolt is pretty simple on the hardware front. It’s basically a car charger, and looks the part of one. The Bolt plugs into the cigarette lighter in your car and sticks out just a bit.

Along the side of the product, there are two USB ports. These offer “PowerIQ” charging speeds, whic ...

If you have the lost Honor 20 prototype, Huawei has $5,600 for you

If you happened to be on the ICE 1125 train to Munich, Germany, which departed at 6:06 AM CET on April 22, you may have grabbed a smartphone that fell out of someone’s backpack. If so, you have what is likely a prototype for the upcoming Honor 20 series, and Huawei and Honor would like it back.

If you return it, Honor will give you a 5,000 euro (~$5,611) reward.

The official German Honor Twitter account posted about the lost (or possibly stolen) prototype and announced the reward (as spotted by PhoneArena). Check it out below (in German, obviously):

The Honor 20 prot ...

Hands-On With Razer's New Core X Chroma eGPU

Razer last week announced the launch of its latest eGPU, the $400 Razer Core X Chroma, equipped with, as the name suggests, Razer's signature Chroma lighting. 

Razer sent us one of the Core X Chroma eGPUs to check out, and we've gone hands-on with it in our latest YouTube video to see how well it works with Apple's Macs. 

The Core X Chroma looks similar to the previous-generation Core X eGPU, with a rather large all-aluminum enclosure that will support NVIDIA GeForce RTX, GeForce GTX, and Quadro cards along with AMD XConnect-enabled Radeon and Radeon Pro cards (note that the ...

Android Q's new hidden back gesture could be an important foundation for something bigger

Google may be taking a clue from MIUI and the iPhone to deeper integrate horizontal gestures in Android Q.

We've speculated that Google may be shaking up navigation gestures in Android Q to make up for the bland and boring system it revealed with Android Pie. Companies like OnePlus and Xiaomi have used their own gestures for awhile, and their mature offerings made Google's attempt look a little weak. This hidden gesture discovered by XDA member paphonb seems to indicate that Google is experimenting with a new side-scrolling feature to move forward and back. You'll see what I mean if ...

Go Get Your New MacBook Keyboard Fixed Right Now

The never-ending saga surrounding Apple’s newer MacBook keyboards just saw a slightly refreshing update. In a leaked internal memo, the company says that all keyboard repairs must now be done in store with a one-day turnaround. So if you’ve been putting off getting your sticky or unresponsive keys fixed, now’s the time to make a Genius Bar appointment.

The Apple memo, obtained by MacRumors, is aimed at Genius Bar employees who have to deal with angry customers with broken keyboards. Titled “How to support Mac customers with keyboard-related repairs in store,” the document reads:

...

Dell’s new XPS 15 will put the webcam above the screen where it belongs

Dell’s XPS line has some of the best, most well-rounded Windows laptops you can buy, and the 15-inch variant is about to get even more versatile. Alongside announcements of new models in its gaming-oriented G-Series line and from its Alienware subsidiary, Dell is also revealing that a new XPS 15 is on the way, and it will come with improved graphics that let it double as an entry-level gaming laptop.

Even better: the new XPS 15 will also finally get the proper webcam design fix that we saw pop up on the refreshed XPS 13 from earlier this year, Dell XPS (and Alienware) boss Frank Azo ...

The curiously missing piece in Google's Chromebook puzzle

Chromebooks come in all different styles and sizes, but one critical option is still missing from the list of available choices.

2019 has already shown itself to be the year of funky phones with Android — foldable phones, sliding phones, and even phones with hidden screens on their backs (for some reason). For all the wild experimentation in the phone arena, though, there's one area where we aren't seeing enough willingness to do something different.

I'm talking about the Chromebook — and specifically, the Chromebook designed to function as a tablet. We've been talking for w ...

BIG CHANGES COMING TO DECLUTTER YOUR CHROME EXTENSIONS

If you’ve been a Chrome user on any platform for any amount of time, you know how quickly those Chrome Extensions can start to add up in the space to the right of your URL bar, slowly but surely encroaching on your URL bar’s horizontal real estate. Sure, you can hide those extensions pretty easily, but for all the ones you need to click to interact with, that’s not really an optimal workaround.

Spotted by Techdows, a new way to wrangle your Chrome Extensions looks to be on the way at least by Chrome 75 or perhaps sooner. The feature is behind a flag for the time being, but is availa ...

AMD vs. Intel: What's the difference between CPUs?

Which CPU is best, and everything else you need to know about AMD and Intel CPUs.

The competition between AMD and Intel CPUs has been going on for decades. Most of that time, Intel has held the lead, but I'm not concerned so much with the past. Here's the current state of AMD and Intel CPUs, what are the pros and cons of each, and everything else you really need to know about the great CPU debate. And if you're wondering which one to buy, check our guide to the best CPUs for gaming.

Note that for this article, I'm focusing primarily on mainstream desktop CPUs. Both AMD and I ...

SAMSUNG PREPPING 9TH-GEN INTEL COMET LAKE CHROMEBOOK: PRO V2?

Robby has been busy chasing down every little detail he can find on the new Comet Lake Chromebook codenamed ‘Hatch’. Even though Intel’s 9th Gen processors aren’t expected until mid-year, we’ve now identified one manufacturer that is working on a Comet Lake device and it should be exciting news for a lot of Chrome OS users.

Arguably, Samsung ushered in the next generation of Chromebooks with the poster child Chromebook Pro that debuted at CES “way back” in January of 2017. Since that time, we’ve seen the birth of Google’s Pixelbook, the first Chrome OS tablets and detachables and a ...

Galaxy Fold release postponed while Samsung investigates breaking screens

Samsung's beleaguered Galaxy Fold is no longer launching April 26. After several incidents with screens last week left early-production review units unusable, Samsung announced on Monday that it will delaying Friday's scheduled sale date of its foldable phone, saying it will announce a new released date "in the coming weeks."

"Initial findings from the inspection of reported issues on the display showed that they could be associated with impact on the top and bottom exposed areas of the hinge. There was also an instance where substances found inside the device affecte ...

Microsoft quietly axes Windows 10's long-promised Sets feature

Windows 10 was supposed to receive a Sets feature that kept your app data, sites and other info in check through browser-like tabs, but you'll have to find another way to organize your digital life. ZDNet sourcesunderstand that Microsoft quietly killed Sets and has no plans to revive it. Reportedly, the feature just "wasn't well received or understood." The team still wants to introduce tabs into the Windows Console, according to the sources, but it can't use Sets as the groundwork.

The decision to re-do Edge using Chromium helped Microsoft make the decision, the tipsters ...

Google Chrome is Testing a New Extension Menu

In order to provide better access to extensions and a less cluttered interface, Google is testing a new Google Chrome extension menu that is accessible from the toolbar. This menu will contain a drop down list of all installed extensions, which can be utilized by selecting their icon.

In order to enable this experiment and test the new menu, users can install the Chrome Canary build and go to chrome://flags and enable the experiment called Extensions Toolbar Menu. 

Once enabled, a new jigsaw puzzle piece icon () will be shown that when selected will display a menu containing ...

Custom GeForce GTX 1650 GPUs From Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI Leaked

Today, respected graphics card leaker VideoCardz released information on numerous unreleased custom GeForce GTX 1650 graphics cards from some of Nvidia's biggest partners, including Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI. Obviously, these aren't the brands' entire lineups, but the leaked graphics card are probably the most important models. Believe it or not, some custom models, like the MSI GeForce GTX 1650 Ventus and GeForce GTX 1650 Aero ITX, have even already gone up for preorder at foreign Amazon sites.

Images of future products leaking on the Internet a few days just before an official launc ...

How to backup Windows 10

Whether you just want to backup your files or create an entire copy of Windows, we've got you covered.

As our lives become increasingly integrated with digital technologies, keeping your most treasured memories and files backed up in one fashion or another is one of the most important things you can do. But keeping your Windows 10 installation backed up is a great idea too, as if something major goes wrong you can revert to it and get back to work or play more quickly than a full reinstall.

Just as there are many third-party backup utilities that offer all sorts of different ...

HP Chromebook x360 14 First Impressions

HP’s business-class Chromebook x360 14 targets the modern workplace with its premium design and versatile form factor.

As I write this, I’m in Pittsburgh for a long weekend of college tours with my wife and daughter. That we are an HP household is on display: My daughter uses an HP Envy 13, my wife uses an HP Spectre 13, and I’ve had a hard time separating myself from the new HP EliteBook 1040, which just might have the best typing experience of any portable PC I’ve ever used. (Yes, I’m overdue in publishing that review. Soon, I promise.)

But there’s a fourth HP laptop along ...

Microsoft Discontinues Windows 10 Sets Tabbed Window Feature

The much anticipated Windows 10 tabbed window feature called Sets has been discontinued according to a tweet from a Microsoft senior project manager. 

The Sets feature enabled Windows 10 users to organize related applications, documents, and tasks into one tabbed windows. This would allow them to work easier with all of the necessary information for a particular task located in an organized "Set".

When Microsoft announced this feature, users were excited as it would finally bring the highly requested tabbed File Explorer and tabbed console to Windows.

While ...

Intel's 1TB NVMe solid state drive hits a new low at $101

Figuring out the best SSD for gaming can change by the moment. Prices keep dropping, paving the way for new bargains. Today, for example, you can march over to Newegg and grab a 1TB Intel 660p NVMe SSD for only $101.99.

It's on sale for $109.99, but entering promo code NEFPBL24 at checkout brings it closer to a Benjamin. That makes it cheaper than one of our favorite SSDs of the same capacity, Crucial's MX500, which is a SATA-based SSD.

If there's a downside, it's that QLC NAND as featured on Intel's drive is somewhat new. It's also slower than the fastest NVMe SSDs, but is ...

AMD Ryzen CPU prices get slashed ahead of Ryzen 3000 release

AMD’s Ryzen 3000 CPUs are just around the corner, but you don’t have to wait for the latest and greatest processors to get a great deal on a new chip. In an effort to clear away older stock ahead of the launch of a new-generation of high-power CPUs, prices for a number of fantastic Ryzen 2000-series and 1000-series chips have come crashing down and now’s a great time to take advantage of them.

One of the better deals is for the AMD Ryzen 1600 with six cores and 12-threads, which has fallen almost $70 below its launch price to just $119 . As TechSpot highlights, if you have a MicroCe ...

Microsoft makes Windows 10 1903 available on MSDN

Surprise: Microsoft has made the Windows 10 1903 (May 2019 Update) and Windows Server 1903 bits available for download on MSDN, a month earlier than many were expecting.

On April 18, some tech pros began noticing that Microsoft had made its Windows 10 1903/May 2019 Update release available on MSDN for download. If Microsoft hadn't changed its Windows 10 servicing cadence a couple weeks ago, this would be business as usual. But, in early April, Microsoft officials said the plan was to make Windows 10 1903/May Update available to consumers and business users starting in late May, not ...

HP DEBUTS THEIR FIRST-EVER 15.6″ CHROMEBOOK, NUMERIC KEYPAD INCLUDED

Last week, we saw Acer unveil the first Chromebook to ever equip a numeric keypad (and only the second to implement a fingerprint scanner). While we anticipated more devices to come with the productivity-focused keyboard, it was quite a surprise when HP announced their own 15.6″ device a mere week later. So, without further ado, here’s a closer look at the first-ever 15.6′ Chromebook from HP.

The HP Chromebook 15 is already listed as “coming soon” on the PC maker’s website and like Acer, the HP Chromebook 15 will offer a variety of processor options ranging from the Pentium Gold 441 ...

LG’s ‘Software Upgrade Center’ has done nothing, 255 days without a single Android Pie update

Nearly a year ago to the day, LG announced that it was opening an “industry-first” Software Upgrade Center in an effort to provide better support for its devices over time. With time passed, we can look back at that project and see what a laughable failure it has been, especially looking at Android Pie.

ComputerWorld detailed this week just how bad LG has gotten at pushing software updates to its devices. 371 days after the Software Upgrade Center opened, it’s done basically nothing. True to its word, LG did deliver Android Oreo to the LG G6 (on Verizon) not too long after the cente ...

Dell seemingly cannot fix the XPS 15 9570's DPC latency issues

Despite giving assurances to the contrary, Dell is still yet to fix the latency issues that have plagued the XPS 15 9570 since its launch. Get your act together, Dell.

Another missed self-imposed deadline, well done Dell. Over two weeks ago, Frank Azor stated the following on Twitter:

New BIOS to solve most of the other root causes is in development and testing. Working to get it published within [the] next 14 days.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dell has failed to meet that timeframe, on which we previously reported. The company has issued no new BIOS revision at the time ...

NEW CHROMEBOOK ‘HATCH’ TO GET 3:2 PIXELBOOK-LIKE SCREEN

In the history of Chromebook devices since the original Samsung Chromebook Plus launched, there have been a few Chromebooks that leveraged a screen similar to what we see on the Pixelbook. That screen – for those unaware – is bright, colorful, and 3:2 in its aspect ratio and has been used on the Samsung Chromebook Pro, Plus, HP Chromebook x2 and the Pixelbook. The Pixel Slate is a similar 3:2 display, but with a 3000×2000 resolution.

That 3:2 ratio is important as it approaches a more square layout that really helps give users more screen real estate at smaller diagonal measures. A ...

My Samsung Galaxy Fold screen broke after just a day

Look closely at the picture above, and you can see a small bulge right on the crease of my Galaxy Fold review unit. It’s just enough to slightly distort the screen, and I can feel it under my finger. There’s something pressing up against the screen at the hinge, right there in the crease. My best guess is that it’s a piece of debris, something harder than lint for sure. It’s possible that it’s something else, though, like the hinge itself on a defective unit pressing up on the screen.

It’s a distressing thing to discover just two days after receiving my review unit. More distressing ...

Microsoft Issues Serious Windows 10 Update Warning

Windows 10 just made the most important change in its history, but rewriting the update rules matters for nothing if Microsoft has to keep apologising for the quality of the updates themselves. And it has happened again. 

Just one week after freezing Windows 10 computers with an earlier update, Microsoft has warned users of serious new problems with another. Writing on the page of update KB4493509, Microsoft has confirmed the update can freeze PCs both in operation and boot up.

Freezes in operation are more likely to impact business PCs as it impacts Cluster Shared Volumes ( ...

LG's revolutionary upgrade letdown

Congratulations, LG! You set out to make your mark on the realm of Android upgrades — and one year later, you've certainly earned the right to recognition.

Ladies and gentlemen, the results are in — and I'm delighted to report that LG has officially revolutionized Android upgrades as we know them.

Hang on — lemme clarify: By "revolutionized Android upgrades," I mean that the company has brought a new level of laughable absurdity to an already absurd area.

It's now been just over a year, y'see, since LG made a big show of unveilingits "Global Software U ...

MSI won’t be blocking Ryzen 3000 support on all older motherboards after all

One of MSI's support agents recently told a customer that none of the company's X370 or B350 motherboards would support AMD's upcoming Ryzen 3000 series processors (Zen 2), which caused a bit of a brouhaha when word spread. After all, AMD has said from the beginning that its AM4 socket would extend several generations, negating the need to buy a new motherboard with each new round of CPUs. It turns out, however, that the support agent was "misinformed."

After reading the complaints on Reddit and in a few subsequent articles, I reached out to MSI for clarification.

...

HONOR 20 PASSED THROUGH 3C CERTIFICATION, COMING WITH 22.5W CHARGING

We know the Honor 20i smartphone will be announced tomorrow in Beijing. This handset is going to be one of the most affordable devices in its niche, at the same time coming with a high-res 32MP AI camera. The original Honor 20 series devices are set to debut on May 21 in London. Today, it appeared in the 3C certification organization website, hinting its launch date will remain unchanged.

According to the 3C documents, the upcoming Honor 20 will come with a 22.5W fast charging support. Under the hood, it’s said to sport a Kirin 980 chip. On the front side, the Honor 20 will feature ...

HP's latest pro-grade laptops pack new Intel chips and bright displays

Intel has introduced a new generation of pro Core processors for laptops, and HP is determined to make the most of them right from the word "go." The PC maker has unveiled a string of work-oriented laptops that all take advantage of Intel's latest hardware, including computational speed boosts and faster WiFi 6 networking. The star of the show is arguably the updated ZBook line -- the 14-inch ZBook 14u (above) and 15.6-inch ZBook 15u both tout up to a quad-core 1.8GHz Core i7, 32GB of RAM and Radeon Pro WX 3200 graphics, giving it up to a 50 percent graphics boost for tasks like 3 ...

Apple’s latest macOS software update may have made your new MacBook Air brighter

Apple’s latest macOS software update may have made your 2018 MacBook Air’s display brighter. Those who eventually install the update might be pleasantly surprised to find that their laptop’s Retina display is suddenly 100 nits brighter than it was before, for a new total of 400 nits brightness.

The brightness change has been confirmed by users on Reddit and MacRumors; Apple’s recent macOS 10.14.4 update released on March 25th “corrects the default screen brightness” of the newest MacBook Air models. Apple has also updated the new MacBook Air’s technical specifications page to note t ...

MacBook Pro 2019: What About That Big, Brash 16-Inch Model?

Undoubtedly the most interesting MacBook Pro (reportedly) coming down the pike is the 16-incher.

That rumored 2019 MacBook was summarily canceled this week -- then uncanceled (because of, apparently, a mistranslation of the Chinese).

Peering inside a future high-powered 16-inch laptop

If it is indeed still on track, the massive MacBook would fall somewhere between 16- and 16.5 inches in size, as disclosed by a several Apple enthusiast sites earlier this year.

Anandtech has discussed potentially suitable silicon, i.e., the arrival of 9th generation H series mo ...

Samsung's Massive Galaxy Note 10 Upgrade Suddenly Makes Sense

Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note 10 will be stupidly big, but now the company’s decision makes a lot more sense. 

Popular Samsung tipster Ice Universe has revealed it will be called the Galaxy ‘Note 10 Pro’ and Pro seems the only name which justifies the flagship’s bonkers 6.75-inch display. In fact, put this massive Note 10 Pro alongside the previously leaked affordable 6.28-inch Note 10e and the new look line-up appears far more compelling.

Furthermore, Samsung securing the Pro name is smart. For years, Apple has been rumoured to launch an elite iPhone Pro range and recent r ...

ONEPLUS 7 LAUNCH DATE MIGHT HAVE JUST LEAKED

Although we are yet to get a better picture of the upcoming OnePlus 7’s specs and design, recent leaks suggest the Chinese firm will be breaking its yearly tradition by taking a leaf from Samsung with its S10 series and Huawei with its P30 series. If the leaks turn out accurate, then the Chinese firm would end up releasing three different versions of the OnePlus 7 at once, and that could include the basic OnePlus 7, the OnePlus 7 Pro and of course a 5G variant of the Pro model.

While that remains unconfirmed, a new leak from China may have hinted us about the Oneplus7 launch and rel ...

Google reveals additional sessions for I/O about Chrome OS, Android Q, and more

Google I/O is less than a month away, but the schedule is still in flux. The initial list of presentations and sessions was announced late last last month, but now many more sessions have been added to the list, including talks about Android Q and Chrome OS.

For Chrome OS, there's an Adapting Android Games Beyond the Phone session scheduled for May 7th at 6pm, which aims to help developers get their Android games running on Chrome OS. There are also events about using the Linux system on Chromebooks and audio programming on Chrome OS (and Android).

On the topic of Android Q, ...

Samsung's flagship tablet, the Galaxy Tab S4 is getting updated to Android 9.0 Pie

It appears that Samsung has kicked off the Galaxy Tab S4 Android 9.0 Pie rollout, a long-awaited update that consumers who bought the flagship tablet will be able to enjoy very soon. The slate that made its debut on the market back in August is still running Android 8.1 Oreo, which is not surprising considering Android 9.0 Pie was only released around the time of its launch.

The Galaxy Tab S4 shows up in all our previous reports about Samsung's Android 9.0 Pie update plans, so we definitely expected the tablet to receive the update at some point this year. Apparently, the first Sams ...

Anker’s new USB-C charger / battery combo is amazing but awkward

How badly do you need fewer things in your bag?

I’m excited about an AC adapter. It’s a weird thing to be hyped about, but this one is special because it is about the most cutting-edge thing you can use to charge your laptop. It’s called the Anker PowerCore Fusion Power Delivery Battery and Charger, which is more like a string of buzzwords than an actual product name. I’ll be calling it the PowerCore PD, which may or may not help you differentiate it from the other PowerCore Fusion products that Anker makes.

It costs $99.95, which is a lotto pay for a third-party (or any) ch ...

Google Home devices now no longer repeat every action in Assistant routines

Arguably one of the biggest and most frustrating aspects of Google Home devices is the constant repeating of actions it has performed when you ask it to run an Assistant routine.

For example, when asking your Google Home or Google Assistant to run a self-created routine, the novelty of your speaker loudly repeating “Turning on your office lights” followed by “Turning on your printer” quickly wears off. I know first hand as this happens every single day I run my morning “office” routine.

Luckily this pretty frustrating little repeating game has now been deactivated . The Goog ...

Moto Z4 release date, price, news and rumors

The rumored Moto Z4 specs are beginning to take shape