Dell XPS 13 Plus review: Beauty vs. usability - Engadget

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Dell XPS 13 Plus review: Beauty vs. usability - Engadget )
https://ift.tt/UJX3VNe
Technology

Porsche unveils latest generation 911 GT3 car - Motorsport.com

Listen to this article

The aim during design and development of the new car based on the 992-shape 911 was to make it “fast for longer,” according to Sebastian Golz, project manager on the latest-generation 911 GT3 R.

“Our task was less about making the new 911 GT3 R even faster – the classification within performance windows set by the Balance of Performance quickly cancels out this advantage,” explained Golz. “For us, it was primarily about our customers being able to drive the racing car fast for longer.

“This requires durability, and that’s why we focused predominantly on improved driveability.”

Porsche 911 GT3-R

Photo by: Porsche AG

Central to the concept of the car is a larger-capacity version of Porsche’s normally-aspirated flat-six engine, which has been increased from four to 4.2 litres over its predecessor based on the previous-generation 991.2 Porsche 911.

This has allowed Porsche to increase torque at the bottom of the rev range by approximately 9% and by 4-5% in the top half.

The engine has been tilted front to rear by 5.5 degrees to improve the weight distribution and to create room for a larger rear diffuser.

Porsche 911 GT3-R

Photo by: Porsche AG

The car also has a pronounced aerodynamic step under the nose of the car, which has been made possible by cutting away part of the boot structure at the front.

The revised front-end aerodynamics allow for a cleaner airflow to the rear diffuser underneath the car.

Together with an increased wheelbase this has created “more stable and constant aerodynamics and lower loads on the rear tyres”, according to Golz.

Porsche has also aimed at lowering running costs of the new GT3 by 10 percent over the car it replaces.

The new car ran for the first time in July 2021 at Porsche’s Weissach test track and has so far notched up 112 hours of running, including a trouble-free 30-hour endurance run at the Barcelona circuit.

Porsche 911 GT3-R

Photo by: Porsche AG

Porsche Motorsport hasn’t ruled out undertaking a test race this year, most likely one of the late-season rounds of the Nurburgring Long-distance Series (formerly the VLN), but its competition debut as a homologated car will be at next January’s Rolex 24 Hours IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opener.

The car will also be eligible for the Le Mans 24 Hours from 2024 when the FIA World Endurance Championship and its sister European Le Mans Series adopt GT3 rules as the basis of a new category to replace GTE provisionally called LMGT.

The new car, which will be on display in the paddock at the Spa round of the GT World Challenge Europe from Saturday, retails at €511,000.

That compares with the 2022 list price of €459,000 for the current 911 GT3 R introduced ahead of the 2019 season.

There are, however, more standard features on the latest car that were extras on its predecessor, including a tyre-pressure monitoring system.

Read Also:

Porsche 911 GT3-R

Photo by: Porsche AG

shares

comments

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Porsche unveils latest generation 911 GT3 car - Motorsport.com )
https://ift.tt/oIkcZ7D
Technology

Amazon Drive is shutting down at the end of 2023 - The Verge

Bad news for the (presumably few) people out there who have relied on Amazon Drive for storing their important files in the cloud: Amazon is shutting down the service. On the plus side, you’ve got well over a year to figure out an alternative and get everything moved over.

The company says Amazon Drive will no longer be supported as of December 31st, 2023. That’s when access will be completely cut off. Uploads are going away earlier and won’t be accepted as of January 31st. The Amazon Drive apps for Android and iOS will be taken down on October 31st, 2022.

“We will continue to provide customers the ability to safely back up, share, and organize photos and videos with Amazon Photos,” Amazon said in an email to customers. But for all files that aren’t images or videos, you’ll have to download them. On its FAQ page, Amazon recommends using the Amazon Photos desktop app for Windows or macOS if you’re trying to retrieve larger files. You can also go here to cancel your Drive subscription.

As for why Amazon is making the decision to sunset Drive after 11 years, the company says, “We are taking the opportunity to more fully focus our efforts on Amazon Photos to provide customers a dedicated solution for photos and video storage.” Perhaps that means Amazon has big ideas in mind for taking on Google Photos and Apple’s iCloud Photo Library. But the Drive news will definitely be a disappointment to those who grew accustomed to housing their files on Amazon’s dependable servers.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Amazon Drive is shutting down at the end of 2023 - The Verge )
https://ift.tt/hOLgrQY
Technology

Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data - Ars Technica

Enlarge / A smartphone gets repaired.

Getty Images / krisanapong detraphiphat

Samsung is introducing an interesting new feature for people sending in their Galaxy phones for repair: "repair mode." When shipping off your phone, you might want to do something to protect your data, and the new feature sounds like a great solution. It locks down your data, but not your phone.

Handling data during a mail-in repair process is tough. You could wipe your phone, but that's a big hassle. You don't want to just send in a completely locked down device, as technicians can't thoroughly test it if they're locked out of everything. While in repair mode, technicians can still poke around in your device and test everything, but they'll only see the default apps with blank data. When you get your device back, you can re-authenticate and disable repair mode and you'll get all your data back.

The feature was first spotted by SamMobile, and Samsung has so far only announced the feature in a Korean press release; it is first launching in Korea for the Galaxy S21 (the S22 is Samsung's latest flagship phone). Repair mode can be turned on from the settings menu, and Samsung says (through Google translate), "You won't be able to access your personal data, such as photos, messages, and accounts," and anyone with the phone will "only use the default installed apps."  Repair mode can be exited the same way, though you'll need to authenticate with a pattern, pin, or fingerprint.

Samsung doesn't explain how the feature works, but Android has a number of built-in capabilities that would make it relatively simple to implement such a feature. Android supports multiple user accounts, which allow for multiple separate sets of apps and data. It wouldn't take much to lock down the primary user and spin up a "guest" user with no data for the repair people to work with. It's also possible that Samsung is locking down the entire user data partition. Repair technicians could get a temporary data store and access to the read-only system partition, which houses all the OS files you would need for testing.

However the feature works, it's a great idea, and it's something we'd like to see other manufacturers implement. For now, repair mode is only available on one model of device and only in Korea, but Samsung says it will get a wider rollout in the future.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Samsung’s “repair mode” lets technicians look at your phone, not your data - Ars Technica )
https://ift.tt/WXGP4Ib
Technology

Sony Working to Increase PS5 Supply in Time for the Holidays - IGN - IGN

Sony says it's increasing production of PlayStation 5, and is "working to bring forward more supply into the year-end holiday selling season."

During its latest earnings results, Sony explained that both software sales and gameplay engagement have dropped year-on-year – not a huge surprise given the huge increase in gaming during COVID-19 lockdowns.

"Taking this situation into account," Sony explained, "we intend to take action to increase user engagement in the second half of the fiscal year, during which major titles including first party software are scheduled to be released, primarily by increasing the supply of [PS5] hardware and promoting the new PlayStation Plus service."

Sony says it still expects to meet its forecast of 18 million units sold during this financial year, and is seeing positive signs for supply after lockdowns lifted in Shanghai, a major components production hub. As a result, Sony now believes it can bring forward production and sell many of those units during the holiday season, a boom-time for sales.

Sony has previously promised to ramp up production this year, but supplies have remained constrained, with new units selling out almost immediately. In a Q&A session, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said, "We want to produce more units as soon as possible."

Sony's been improving its hardware and services consistently since the launch of PS5, most recently adding an update to support 1440p monitors, and introducing the new PlayStation Stars loyalty service.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Sony Working to Increase PS5 Supply in Time for the Holidays - IGN - IGN )
https://ift.tt/Rd6APCc
Technology

Google's new Play Store rules target annoying ads and copycat crypto apps - The Verge

Google is trying to cut down on annoying, unskippable ads in Android apps and overall bad behavior in the Play Store (via TechCrunch). The company announced wide-ranging policy changes on Wednesday that update rules across several categories to be more specific, clamping down on loopholes developers may have used to skirt existing rules.

One of the changes that will impact your everyday phone usage the most is for ads. Google says its updated guidelines, which will go into effect on September 30th, help ensure “high quality experiences for users when they are using Google Play apps.” The new policy tells developers that apps can’t pop up a full-screen ad that won’t let you close it after 15 seconds. There are some exceptions — if you voluntarily choose to watch an ad to get some sort of reward points, or if they pop up during a break in the action, those rules won’t necessarily apply.

Google’s current policy says ads “must be easily dismissible without penalty” and that you have to be able to close out of full-screen ads, but the 15-second benchmark is new. While that’s still a bit of a wait, it does make it so that you won’t have to sit through a two-minute long ad where the (tiny, hard to see) “x” only appears after 70 seconds, right in the middle of a game or while trying to do something else.

The new rules also specify that ads shouldn’t be “unexpected,” popping up right after you load a level or article. Again, the current rules already say that surprise disruptive ads aren’t allowed, but the new rules give additional concrete examples of violations.

It’s worth noting that the ad policies for apps made for children are stricter. While Google’s not changing a ton about what types of ads developers can show to kids, it will be making some changes to the tools that developers use to deliver those ads, starting in November.

Google’s also making changes to how apps can implement and use Android’s built-in VPN (or virtual private network) tools. Apps won’t be allowed to implement their own VPNs to collect user data unless they get explicit permission from the user, nor will they be able to use VPNs to help users bypass or change ads from other apps. Mishaal Rahman, a technical editor for Esper, pointed out on Twitter that this could help clamp down on ad fraud where users pretend to be clicking on ads from one country while actually being in another but says that it could also affect things like DuckDuckGo’s privacy-focused app tracking protection.

Google’s new rules include several other changes as well. For example, developers will be required to link to an “easy-to-use, online method” for canceling subscriptions in their app if their app sells subscriptions — the company does say that linking to Google Play’s subscription center counts. Google’s also cracking down on health misinformation, adding a section that says apps can’t contain misleading information about vaccines, unapproved treatments, or “other harmful health practices, such as conversion therapy.”

The update also makes some changes to the language around monitoring apps, or “stalkerware,” saying that any app made to track people has to use a specific flag telling Google what it’s doing and that apps have to say that they can monitor or track you in their Play Store description. (These sorts of apps are still only allowed to track employees and children — Google explicitly says using these apps for tracking someone else, like a spouse, is banned, even if the user claims the person being tracked is aware of it.)

There’s one slightly humorous tidbit in the updated “Impersonation” section — in addition to other companies, developers, and organizations, Google’s new rules say that developers can’t try and trick people into thinking that their app is associated with an “entity” if it’s not. As an example of what this means, Google shows an app with iconography that could trick users into thinking it’s associated with a government or cryptocurrency project. (There’s also a funny line about how you can’t name your app “Justin Bieber Official” unless you’re actually Justin Bieber or have his permission, but it was already in the existing guidelines.)

This example appears to be perfect timing on Google’s part. While the policy won’t go into effect until the end of August, the company announced it just a day before Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent it a letter asking for more information on scammy crypto apps on the Play Store.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Google's new Play Store rules target annoying ads and copycat crypto apps - The Verge )
https://ift.tt/AnheBx1
Technology

TikTok vs. Instagram Reels vs. YouTube Shorts: Who Will Win the Short-Video Race? | WSJ - Wall Street Journal

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( TikTok vs. Instagram Reels vs. YouTube Shorts: Who Will Win the Short-Video Race? | WSJ - Wall Street Journal )
https://ift.tt/72q5QH1
Technology

Samsung aims for foldable phone sales to overtake those of its now-dead but very popular Note devices - CNBC

In this article

• SSNLF

Samsung Electronics Co. said it is aiming for sales of its foldable phones to surpass its now-discontinued Note series of smarpthones as it looks to boost profitabiltiy for its mobile division.

SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Samsung is hoping to take its foldable phones mainstream, saying Thursday that it's aiming for sales of such devices to exceed its popular Note series of handsets.

The South Korean electronics giant is looking to push sales of its folding handsets to boost the profitability of its mobile division, which has been hit by rising materials costs and waning consumer demand.

Samsung first launched the Note smartphone model in 2011. It found success over the years due to its larger screen size in an era where its rivals had smaller displays.

But as smartphones continued to get bigger, including Samsung's flagship S series of devices, the Note was eventually discontinued. Instead, the company's Galaxy S Ultra model filled the void. The Note 20, released in 2020, was the final phone in Samsung's series.

Samsung's first folding phone, the Galaxy Fold, was launched in 2019 after some technical issues. Since then, the company has released a number of other models.

But foldable phones are still a niche portion of the overall smartphone market. Samsung is hoping to turn them "mainstream," according to its earnings statement released Thursday, with the view of boosting profitability for its smartphone division.

"In the second half we will continue to maintain the sales momentum of our S series and also use the new foldable series that will be launched in order to deliver sales volume that are above the sales volumes we used to report using the Note series," Sung Koo Kim, vice president of the company's mobile experience division, said on a conference call on Thursday.

It is unclear what timeframe Samsung is referring to for foldables to take over Note sales, given that the latter device is now discontinued. Samsung was unable to clarify when contacted by CNBC.

For reference, Samsung shipped 190 million Note devices over the phone's lifetime, according to IDC. So far, Samsung has shipped over 10 million foldable phones.

Samsung shipped about 12 million Note 20 phones, the last of the series, and about 14 million Note 10 devices. That compares to 8 million Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 devices, the latest Samsung foldable phones.

The company is gearing up to release new foldable devices next month.

"It makes sense for Samsung to place its bets on foldables: it's a premium and high margin product that drives average selling prices, and differentiates Samsung from the competition," Bryan Ma, analyst at IDC, told CNBC.

"Even if the Note line still has dedicated fans, it's also a decade old now, so putting the company's ambitions on foldables keeps the company ahead of the curve."

Indeed, profitability in its smartphone division is the main focus for Samsung. In the second quarter, earnings in the mobile business fell quarter-on-quarter due to higher costs and "adverse currency effects," Samsung said. However, revenue rose year-on-year due to increased sales of premium models such as the S22 smartphone and Tab S8 tablet series.

Samsung's Kim expects the smartphone market to remain flat or grow slightly in the second half of the year. Foldable phones will be a key part of Samsung's drive to boost profitability.

The company said it will "secure solid profitability by targeting sales of foldables that surpass those of the Galaxy Note-series and fully mainstream foldables via delivering a differentiated consumer experience enabled with global partnerships."

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Samsung aims for foldable phone sales to overtake those of its now-dead but very popular Note devices - CNBC )
https://ift.tt/JkEAMb7
Technology

Likely camera sensors for Pixel 7, 7 Pro, and Pixel tablet uncovered in code - 9to5Google

New details about the camera sensors used in the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel tablet have been uncovered, suggesting minor upgrades for the Pixel 7 and the affordability of the Pixel tablet.

Last month, our APK Insight team was able to uncover some details about the specs and software features that Google has planned for the Pixel 7 series and Pixel tablet, thanks to an update to the Google Camera app.

On Twitter, Android researcher Kuba Wojciechowski has shared findings about the specific camera hardware that the next Pixels will use.

Pixel 7/7 Pro camera hardware

For starters, Kuba noted that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will both use the Samsung 3J1 as a front-facing sensor, making them capable of 11MP selfie photos. This is a change from the Pixel 6 Pro, which used a similarly specced Sony IMX663.

We had previously reported that the two phones would likely use the same front sensor, as the Google Camera app lists both Pixel 7 models as offering 4K selfie video recording. By comparison, the Pixel 6 had a smaller, 8MP selfie camera compared to the Pixel 6 Pro’s 11MP front-facing sensor.

The more interesting tidbit for the front camera is that the Samsung 3J1 sensor, like the IMX663 before it, features dual-pixel autofocus (DPAF) capabilities. While DPAF is often used for creating spectacular portrait/bokeh photos, we’ve also learned that the camera’s depth data should also play a role in the face unlock system Google is still actively developing for the Pixel series.

Otherwise, it looks like the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro will have very similar camera hardware to the Pixel 6 series before it. The main sensor will still be the Samsung GN1, weighing in at 50MP, partnered with the Sony IMX381 for the ultrawide. One difference Kuba noted is that the telephoto sensor this year will be the Samsung GM1 instead of the IMX586, though the two “are pretty similar in their performance.”

Pixel tablet camera hardware

Turning attention to the Pixel tablet (code-named Tangor), announced to be arriving next year, it seems Google is equipping it with two Sony IMX355 sensors — one on the front, one on the rear. These have been in Google hardware since 2018, powering selfies in phones like the Pixel 3 and Pixel 6. It also served as the rear camera for Google’s most recent tablet, the 2018 Pixel Slate.

These lower-end camera sensors point to the ways that Google may be planning to make the Pixel tablet easily affordable, albeit at the cost of losing the top-notch photography that the Pixel series has become known for. Kuba’s findings corroborate our reporting that the Pixel tablet would likely be missing quite a few Google Camera features, such as 4K recording, Audio Zoom, and Slow Motion.

‘Lynx’ speculation

Kuba also shared some findings about the Pixel device code-named “Lynx,” which we were first to report earlier this year. While it’s not yet clear what sort of device Lynx is intended to be, Google is reportedly equipping it with the same Samsung GN1 main sensor as the Pixel 6 and 7 series.

Where things begin to differ is in the inclusion of a Sony IMX787, speculated to be used for taking telephoto shots. This is particularly notable as the IMX787 is capable of taking 64MP shots with its 1/1.3-inch sensor, the same size as the Samsung GN1.

On the front, Lynx will reportedly feature the Sony IMX712 sensor. While this particular model has not yet been announced by Sony, it should be capable of 13MP photos. One possibility is that Lynx is simply a test bed for Google to experiment with newer camera hardware for the Pixel series, but there’s also a slim potential for there to be a Pixel device with even higher-end photography capabilities.

For the time being, though, all we can do is speculate until more evidence becomes available.

More on Pixel:

---

Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Likely camera sensors for Pixel 7, 7 Pro, and Pixel tablet uncovered in code - 9to5Google )
https://ift.tt/yfe4Fzi
Technology

Chromecast with Google TV finally supports streaming live video from new Nest Cams, Doorbell - 9to5Google

To mark this week’s ninth anniversary of the Chromecast line, Google has announced that the Chromecast with Google TV is finally getting support for watching live video feeds from the newest Nest Cam devices.

This covers the almost one-year-old Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor, battery), Nest Cam (indoor, wired), Nest Cam with floodlight, and Nest Doorbell (battery). This has been a glaring ecosystem and compatibility oversight that the company has been working to correct since last year. It comes as Amazon Alexa picked up support in May. The workaround has been to use the mobile apps or Nest Hub and other Smart Displays around the house.

Google offers the following instructions, and there does not appear to be any setup process:

Chromecast Voice Remote: Simply use your voice remote to say which device you want to stream the live feed from. For example, just say “show me the front door camera” to see your doorbell feed. 

Google said this feature is rolling out “starting this week” and means that now “all Nest Cams and Nest Doorbells will be supported.”

The Chromecast with Google TV was the only set-top box named today, but Nest Cam streaming hopefully encompasses all Android/Google TV devices. 

Looking ahead, the Google Nest team promised that a desktop web portal is coming sometime in 2022 to see video feeds and history on devices other than mobile ones. 

More on Chromecast:

---

Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Chromecast with Google TV finally supports streaming live video from new Nest Cams, Doorbell - 9to5Google )
https://ift.tt/ZswRrlm
Technology

Video: Digital Foundry's Technical Analysis Of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 On Switch - Nintendo Life

Image: Nintendo / Monolith Soft

If there's one area that the Xenoblade series has struggled with on Switch, it's performance and resolution — especially in handheld mode. But the folks at Digital Foundry have some pleasant news to deliver regarding Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the latest game in the series which releases this Friday.

Something we noted in our review of the game was that "this new entry is a big step up from its predecessors" in terms of performance. And Digital Foundry has reached a similar conclusion to us in its technical analysis of the game.

The first big improvement it notes is in the image quality. The game will render at 1080p docked and 720p in handheld mode, which is a jump from the previous entry in the series, Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Digital Foundry has even gone on to say that this game delivers "one of the sharpest images from all the high-end titles we've seen on Switch", even if the resolution can slip to lower levels at times.

Character and world rendering are two of the game's best assets, and improvements have been made to the game's animations, including areas where the character's feet will adapt to the surroundings, resulting in less clipping. Cutscene animations have also seen a boost, with per-object motion blur used (both in cutscenes and in gameplay too!).

There are, however, some constraints to environmental rendering. The level of detail pop-in is mixed when transitioning between quiet and busy environments, with trees, rocks, and other background details appearing. But this doesn't diminish from the majesty of the world.

Performance, while having seen a bit of a bump, is still hit and miss says Digital Foundry. While the game maintains a steady 30 fps throughout the environment, it varies on what's going on at any one time, as well as the size and scope of the area. But the game is much more mixed when it comes to combat, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 introduces a seven-character party system. So all of the effects and animations on screen are multiplied compared to previous entries.

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube

So, essentially, while there are some hiccups, this seems like a pretty big step-up for the series! You can check out the full breakdown from Digital Foundry above, and let us know whether you're impressed by what you've seen and heard about the game in the comments!

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Video: Digital Foundry's Technical Analysis Of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 On Switch - Nintendo Life )
https://ift.tt/x951EQV
Technology

Google is making it easier to edit PDFs on Chromebooks - The Verge

Starting next week, editing PDFs on a Chromebook is going to be a breeze. Users will be able to highlight text, fill out forms, sign documents, and add text annotations directly within the Gallery app.

Gallery is the default photo editing app on Chromebooks. Similar to Photos on Windows, it’s where a batch of photos first appears when you open it. Most Chromebooks don’t come with a PDF editor by default, and while free third-party options exist, their features tend to be limited, and editing directly in Gallery seems like it would involve significantly less hassle.

This could be a big help for students, a demographic among which Chromebooks are widely used. Not only could they more easily mark up texts and assignments but also they can annotate handwritten notes from class (which can be exported as a PDF from the Cursive app in ChromeOS).

Google is bringing a number of other features to Chromebooks this fall, including a “new movie editor and video editing features” in Google Photos, which will come to Chromebooks first. Users will be able to, “with just a few taps,” compile a video out of the clips and photos that are stored on their account. It looks like you just need to select a theme (“Love Story,” “Pet Movie,” etc.) and subjects, and Google will do the rest.

Those who want more control will also be able to use a more advanced “movie editor” to arrange clips, apply filters, and adjust settings like brightness, contrast, and white point.

Other features coming to Google Photos in August include light and dark themes as well as wallpaper integration.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Google is making it easier to edit PDFs on Chromebooks - The Verge )
https://ift.tt/oq9acEt
Technology

This 11th Gen Core i3, 8GB convertible Chromebook is only $294 - Chrome Unboxed

12th Gen Intel Chromebooks are finally arriving and by the end of the year, we should have a solid selection of powerful Chromebooks from which to choose. That’s not even counting the slew of ARM-based devices that we’ll see powered by MediaTek and Qualcomm. (Perhaps even Google’s own Tensor at some point.) That said, the current class of 11th Gen Intel Chromebooks is still very worthy of your time and attention if you happen to be in the market for a new laptop.

The best part about buying an 11th Gen Intel Chromebook is that you can often score some of the latest and greatest features that ChromeOS has to offer while saving some serious cheddar. One such device is currently on offer over at Amazon and it features an 11th Gen Intel Core i3 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 13.3″ convertible form-factor that makes it extremely versatile.

The Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i iterates on Lenovo’s 10th Gen model with simple but powerful upgrades. Thanks to its price-to-features ratio, the Flex 5 family has long been one of our favorite devices. It cuts some corners here and there to keep the price down well below other “flagship” devices but does so without feeling or looking cheap. The 2021 model comes in a few configurations but the version in question here is equipped with a Core i3, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a backlit keyboard. You’ll also get those up-firing speakers along with USI compatibility for the stylus users out there.

This model of the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i appears to have gone on clearance to make room for the upcoming 12th Gen version and multiple Amazon stores have it new in the box for the extremely low price of $295 or less. You can find the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i available from third-party sellers as well as listings fulfilled by Amazon and they are new devices with a full factory warranty. For under $300, you’d be getting a whole lot of Chromebook for very little money and updates through June of 2028 guaranteed by Google. You can find all the buying options for the Flex 5i over on the Chrome Shop at the link below.

Latest Posts

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( This 11th Gen Core i3, 8GB convertible Chromebook is only $294 - Chrome Unboxed )
https://ift.tt/yh6aHtO
Technology

iPhone power in Galaxy phones? Samsung poaches Apple chip specialist - PhoneArena

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

1. iPhone power in Galaxy phones? Samsung poaches Apple chip specialist  PhoneArena
2. Samsung has hired a semiconductor specialist from Apple  SamMobile - Samsung news
3. Apple semiconductor expert hired by Samsung in rare poaching  9to5Mac
4. Samsung poaches Apple chip specialist to allegedly work on Galaxy exclusive SoCs  gizmochina
5. Apple Chip Expert Leaves Company to Join Samsung  MacRumors
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Article From & Read More ( iPhone power in Galaxy phones? Samsung poaches Apple chip specialist - PhoneArena )
https://ift.tt/yLjFCTg
Technology

Google is paying some much-needed attention to its Android tablet apps - The Verge

Google is rolling out some much-needed upgrades to its Android tablet apps, the company has announced, as it attempts to make them work better on devices with larger screens. Updates are coming for apps including Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Keep, and Google’s announcement says they should arrive over the coming weeks.

Docs, Sheets, and Drive are being updated to support drag and drop, letting you easily pull elements like text and images from one app to another. Meanwhile, Drive is getting the ability to open two files side by side, similar to the functionality Apple brought to the iPad with 2019’s iPadOS update. Keyboard shortcuts are also coming to Drive, Docs, and Slides, which should make them much more efficient to use for anyone with a Bluetooth or wired keyboard attached to their Android tablet.

The updates are arriving as Google has taken a renewed interest in Android tablets over the past year. Early in 2022, it released Android 12L, an update to the operating system optimized for large-screen Android devices like tablets and foldables. Then, at its I/O developer conference in May, the company said it was working to improve the app ecosystem for Android tablets. It said it was working with third-party developers to better optimize apps like TikTok, Zoom, and Facebook and that it would be releasing updates for over 20 of its own apps — some of which we’re seeing today.

There are a couple of different theories about why Google is now paying more attention to Android on tablets after arguably letting this area of development sit on the back burner for years. First is the fact that Google is planning to make a big return to the Android tablet market next year, releasing a tablet of its own for the first time since 2018’s disappointing Google Pixel Slate. Investing in its tablet app ecosystem now will inevitably help this tablet’s chances when it’s released. It will also benefit other Android tablet manufacturers who’ll see the software on their devices improve.

There’s also the steadily growing market for foldables, which rely on having software that’s optimized for large-screen devices (aka tablets) in order to get the most from the increased screen real estate. Although they’re still niche devices in the context of the broader smartphone market, interest is growing. Samsung recently announced that the industry shipped 10 million foldable devices last year, a 300 percent increase over 2020. And there have been persistent rumors that Google is developing a foldable device of its own.

Regardless of whether these bigger plans pan out, Android tablet owners will no doubt be thankful for these more practical upgrades in the here and now.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Google is paying some much-needed attention to its Android tablet apps - The Verge )
https://ift.tt/zAIRDF8
Technology

Google Play gets a new logo for its 10-year anniversary - The Verge

Google Play is getting a new logo today to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Google has slightly tweaked the overall shape of its Google Play logo, but the most notable changes are the less vibrant colors that more closely match the green, yellow, blue, and red hues that Google uses for many of its other services. It’s a subtle adjustment that also complements the new Chrome logo updated earlier this year.

“We’re introducing a new logo that better reflects the magic of Google and matches the branding shared by many of our helpful products — Search, Assistant, Photos, Gmail and more,” explains Tian Lim, VP of Google Play. The new logo and iconography also mark 10 years of Google Play after it was rebranded from the Android Market in 2012.

“A decade later, more than 2.5 billion people in over 190 countries use Google Play every month to discover apps, games and digital content,” says Lim. “And more than 2 million developers work with us to build their businesses and reach people around the globe.”

To mark the 10 years of Google Play, Google is also offering a boost to Google Play Points. If you activate the points booster (the start dates vary by country) you’ll earn 10x points on purchases, including most in-app items.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Google Play gets a new logo for its 10-year anniversary - The Verge )
https://ift.tt/f8dZVq9
Technology

Anker’s new GaNPrime chargers are iterative upgrades to its lineup - The Verge

Anker just showed off a slew of new gallium nitride (GaN) chargers dubbed GaNPrime, which adopt the latest GaN 3 fast-charging tech to push up to 150 watts of power while taking up even less space than the previous generation. Anker points out that its new flagship 150W GaNPrime charger is 38 percent smaller than Apple’s 140W GaN MacBook Pro charger, and Anker’s 120W version is 39 percent smaller than Apple’s 96-watt MacBook Pro charger, which provides an obvious edge in portability.

Compared to Anker’s own previous generation chargers, the sizes are only slightly smaller. But they can still provide more power for more devices. “The new [737 GanPrime] 120W charger is 8 percent smaller in volume than the Anker 736, but can output 20W more power ... the increased power output and increased number of charging ports achieve our goal: reduce the number of chargers consumers have to juggle around on a daily basis,” said Anker’s head of communications, Edo Campos, in an email this week.

They also include new power allocation smarts that Anker calls Power IQ 4.0 and ActiveShield 2.0 temperature management to keep things from overheating. All combined, it helps GaNPrime gear achieve about a 1.6 percent hop in AC-to-DC conversion efficiency.

In its higher watt chargers (100W or more), Anker’s tech uses a digital power controller and IPS switch from Infineon to replace slower silicon material as well as GaN power ICs from Navitas. In a November Decoder episode, Anker CEO Steven Yang explained that the company’s early relationship with partners developing GaN components is why it has released chargers with the technology months ahead of similar products.

The new 150-watt Anker 747 is the company’s newest flagship charger for the US. It features one USB-A port and three USB-C ports with Power IQ 4.0, which Campos tells us can identify the demand of the devices plugged in and dynamically redistribute power from plug to plug. According to Campos, Power IQ does not see the percentage of power remaining per device; rather, it prioritizes higher-demand devices while also making sure there’s power going to each device.

If it works as described, it could make the multiport chargers easier to use by making sure everything gets charged as quickly as possible, with less thinking about where things are plugged in and how many ports are being used. The Anker 747 150W is available for preorder for $109.99 and will ship in “late Q3.”

Anker’s 727 Charging Station is a combined power strip and 100W device charger. It’s only 18mm thick but can accommodate two grounded AC plugs straight in from the top, and the front side has two USB-C PD ports plus two USB-A. ActiveShield 2.0 is also here to make sure the station doesn’t overheat, and while the power cord is detachable, be careful not to lose it, as the in-line three-prong port is non-standard. It’s on sale now for $94.99.

There’s also a cool little AC power extension cord with a built-in 65W power supply that lets you wrap its cord around the body and snugly hide it away into a silicone cocoon — reminiscent of the old Quirky Powercurl MacBook charger wrap. It’s got two USB-C ports and one USB-A port to go with the two AC outlets and is available now for $69.99.

The PowerCore lineup also got an upgrade with the Anker 733 (pictured at the top), which is available now for $99.99. It’s capable of 65W of power through two USB-C ports and one USB-A port and can fast charge an iPhone to 50 percent in 30 minutes while in its 10,000mAh power bank mode.

Anker also has two more chargers for the US, UK, and EU markets: the Anker 737 120-watt charger and the Anker 735 65-watt charger. The 737 has two USB-C and one USB-A port and is available now in the US for $94.99 and in August for €94.99 / ₤89.99 in other markets. The 735 is available worldwide today for $59.99 / €59.99 / ₤54.99.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Anker’s new GaNPrime chargers are iterative upgrades to its lineup - The Verge )
https://ift.tt/mxenQby
Technology

Xbox Series X and S Will Soon Boot Up Faster - IGN - IGN

Microsoft will soon implement an Xbox Series X and S update that makes the console boot up faster.

As reported by The Verge, Xbox's director of integrated marketing confirmed on Twitter (below) that the new feature being tested in Xbox Insider builds cuts the console's boot time in half.

Xbox has created a new animation that, while it doesn't seem too different, cuts the original boot time of nine seconds down to a much quicker four, meaning Xbox users can now get into their consoles and games even faster. As it's currently just in a beta testing phase the update isn't available for all Xbox users but will likely be released fully soon.

Can confirm - worked with @harrisonhoffman and @jakerose27 to create a shorter boot up animation (~4s) from the original boot up animation (~9s), helping to reduce the overall startup time.

— Josh Munsee (@joshmunsee) July 23, 2022

The faster time will only be available those who set their consoles to Energy Saver mode - which results in slightly slower start-up overall but is better for the planet and energy bills - as those on Standby mode typically skip the start-up screen altogether.

Microsoft has implemented a number of changes to make its Energy Saver mode more appealing, including an update in March that allowed updates to be downloaded while switched to this setting.

The Best Games to Play on Xbox Series X|S

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( Xbox Series X and S Will Soon Boot Up Faster - IGN - IGN )
https://ift.tt/cghwYjE
Technology

AirPods Pro Now 1000 Days Old: What to Expect From Next Model - MacRumors

The AirPods Pro launched 1,000 days ago today and are the oldest current-generation Apple device still on sale.

Apple announced the AirPods Pro on Monday, October 28, 2019. The earbuds went on sale immediately and orders started arriving to customers on Thursday, October 31.

Apple went on to release the AirPods Max in December 2020 and the third-generation AirPods in October 2021. After the discontinuation of the iPod touch earlier this year, which itself is 1,153 days old today, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ are the oldest current-generation Apple device still on sale, followed by the 2019 Mac Pro, which is 957 days old today.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, and Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes have repeatedly said that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 will launch in the second-half of 2022, so the new model is now likely just a matter of months away. According to reports from a range of sources, the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 are expected to feature:

It has also been suggested that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 will feature an updated chip, self-adaptive noise cancellation capabilities, heart rate and temperature sensors, hearing aid capabilities, and a USB-C port, but Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman have cast doubt over this information.

It seems likely that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2's sound-emitting charging case will integrate into the Find My app, similar to how users can currently emit a sound from their individual AirPods inside the case to help find them. This lines up with alleged leaked photos of the next-generation AirPods Pro, which showed a charging case with speaker holes to emit a sound for location tracking, allowing the earbuds and the case to be located separately.

Support for Lossless audio is among the biggest upgrades expected for the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 and could have ramifications for the AirPods lineup in the future. All of Apple's current AirPods products, including the third-generation AirPods, ‌AirPods Pro‌, and ‌AirPods Max‌, do not support Lossless audio.

This is because AirPods play audio via Bluetooth, limiting them to the AAC codec. Higher quality Apple Lossless Audio Codec files may need to be streamed to AirPods directly to circumvent Bluetooth and enable a Lossless listening experience, but it is possible that Apple could develop an alternative solution to bypass the current limits of Bluetooth.

Kuo has narrowed down the launch of the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 to the fourth quarter of 2022, which runs from October through December of the year. This means the ‌AirPods Pro‌ 2 could arrive around three years after their predecessors. For more information, see our detailed AirPods Pro 2 guide.

Adblock test (Why?)

Article From & Read More ( AirPods Pro Now 1000 Days Old: What to Expect From Next Model - MacRumors )
https://ift.tt/pLCB8xg
Technology