Motorola zooms in on a launch date for its next big camera phone, the Motorola X30 Pro.
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TV and projector maker Hisense announced that its flagship line of L9G Laser TV projectors have received a free Dolby Vision upgrade. The upgrade was supplied this week via an automatic firmware update, allowing L9G owners to immediately experience the benefits of Dolby Vision high dynamic range.
While Hisense isn’t the first company to announce a projector with Dolby Vision – Xiaomi has released a model with Dolby Vision compatibility, though that model is only available in China – the L9G is the first such model in the US market to provide that feature, which is commonly found in the best 4K TVs, but not in projectors.
Otherwise, the L9G is a complete A/V package consisting of a 4K ultra short throw (UST) projector and bundled ambient light-rejecting (ALR) projection screen. The projector, which sits approximately 12 inches from the wall-mounted screen, features a built-in 40-watt Dolby Atmos audio system, Android TV for streaming, and Google Assistant voice control. It’s sold with either a 100-inch screen for $5,499 (about £4000, AU$7500) or a 120-inch screen for $5,999 (about £4400, AU$8000)
Hisense calls the L9G a ‘TriChroma’ projector based on its advanced light engine that uses separate red, green, and blue lasers to beam images. Along with high brightness – the L9G delivers a specified 3,000 lumens light output – Hisense’s UST projector is said to achieve 107% of BT.2020, the recommended color space for Ultra HDTV. (Few TVs or projectors are capable of hitting anywhere near full BT.2020, which is not even supported by current streaming or disc-based video formats.)
Why did it take so long for Dolby Vision to arrive in projectors? Compared with regular flat-panel TVs, projectors have limited light output. The HDR10 format that 4K models do support is a basic high dynamic range variant where the movie or TV program conveys its maximum and average HDR brightness to the display (either a TV or projector) and it then accommodates that static information to the best of its capability.
Dolby Vision, on the other hand, is a dynamic HDR format where the contrast range of images are determined on a scene-by-scene or even a frame-by-frame basis. With Dolby Vision, the display (again, a TV or projector) can convey information about its maximum brightness/contrast potential to the source, and video content can then be ‘tone-mapped’ on a dynamic basis to make the most of the system’s potential.
Note that I used the word ‘system’ there. With a pre-configured projector-and-screen package like Hisense’s L9G, both the projector’s light output and the contribution of the screen to the brightness and contrast levels of images are a known quantity. This differs from most projector setups, where screens with different gain (the ratio of projected light that’s reflected back by the screen material) levels are used, or there’s no projection screen at all.
With its high brightness, TriChroma laser light engine, and bundled screen with predictable performance characteristics, Hisense’s upgraded L9G Laser TV seems to be the right candidate for launching Dolby Vision in projectors. TechRadar previously reviewed the LG9 and commented favorably on its picture quality. Maybe we’ll have to call it back in now to see how it performs with the Dolby Vision upgrade.
AMD’s incoming Ryzen 7000 desktop processors could launch when mid-September rolls around, if inside sources are to be believed.
This rumor comes from DigiTimes – not always the most reliable outlet in our experience, but that said, one definitely worth listening to regarding supply chain chatter – and the assertion of a middle of September release comes from sources at motherboard manufacturers. (Those companies are, of course, making the AM5 mobos with a new socket for AMD’s next-gen desktop chips).
The sources claim that the launch is pitched for that month to allow breathing room for continued sales of current-gen Ryzen 5000 CPUs, of which there is ‘excess’ stock hanging about apparently, at OEMs and presumably retailers too.
Obviously once Ryzen 7000 chips are even unveiled, and we get a glimpse of what they can really do – and that’s rumored to be a lot, in terms of this being an entirely new Zen 4 architecture – Ryzen 5000 processors are suddenly going to be in a lot less demand, as folks will be tempted to wait for the beefier line-up just around the corner.
Take all this with a good old helping of skepticism, as ever with this kind of ‘sources said’ report, but there are several rumors which corroborate this. One of which claims a September 15 launch date for Ryzen 7000, which is bang-on the middle of September of course – though granted, it’s on shaky territory. There have been other whispers of a September launch before this, though, so the weight of rumors is growing.
It’s also interesting to hear that selling through current-gen Ryzen stock is a concern here – which suggests that in fact, AMD could get Ryzen 7000 out of the door earlier if it wanted, and the situation allowed for this.
For us, AMD really must get Ryzen 7000 out before Raptor Lake, simply because as it stands, Ryzen 5000 is feeling rather dated and has lost ground to Intel’s current Alder Lake processors – which are widely regarded as the top choice for gamers now. So Team Red can’t afford to let Raptor Lake steam into town without an answer, as it were.
Zen 4 certainly seems like it’s going to be a convincing answer, but the rumors around Intel’s 13th-gen CPUs are that they’ll pull the goods out of the bag for gaming, so all of this leads us to believe that AMD must be confident it can still beat Raptor Lake to the punch with a September launch.
If, of course, any of the speculation we’re hearing is on the mark. The latest we’ve heard is Raptor Lake is due in October, so that’d fit with this picture.
If Zen 4 processors do turn up in September, it’s likely that only a small number of models will go on sale to begin with. Those might be the Ryzen 7950X, 7900X, 7800X and 7600X, according to another leak, and that’d make sense given that those were the initial tiers of CPUs released with current-gen Ryzen chips.
Invitees who are yet to join a Google Meet call will now be visible under a new “Also invited” heading, making it easier to see whether all expected participants have joined.
Also visible from within the video call interface will be the RSVP status of invitees (previously only accessible via Google Calendar), including those whose attendance is considered “optional", further helping to monitor attendance.
It will now be easier to send messages to invitees to check their status too, all from within the Google Meet tab. This is in a bid to help callers using Google’s collaboration tool to save time, by eliminating the need to open a new tab or find another method of contact with no-shows.
"We hope this feature makes it easier for you to start meetings more efficiently by quickly determining who has not joined and sending them a nudge via Chat directly from Meet," explained Google.
The rollout of the new feature begins today, 29 June 2022, and is expected to complete within the next two week.
The “Also invited” panel and upgraded Chat options will be available for users in Google Workspace by default, where a Calendar event has been created. Google has confirmed that there are no admin controls for the new features.
The update will be available to all Google Workspace customers, with the exception of Essentials and Enterprise Essentials customers, and personal users.
These changes come less than two weeks after Google announced the addition of picture-in-picture for Meet in Chrome, as the company continues to invest in its video conferencing suite for both personal and business users.
The latest beta edition of Google Chrome (Beta 104) has offered a glimpse of a number of useful changes coming to the popular web browser.
The updates will be available on Android, Chrome OS, Linux, macOS, and Windows devices, with Chrome for iOS notably running a slightly different version.
Headlining the list of updates in version 104, available since earlier this week is Region Capture. Browser-based video conferencing has long been supported in Chrome, but screen sharing has sometimes resulted in the so-called "hall-of-mirrors effect".
In its latest form, Chrome’s Region Capture can now crop a video track and remove content - such as the live video feed of other call members - before sharing it remotely. This means no more awkward video sharing of participants when using video conferencing suites like Google Meet.
Media Queries, an important part of the responsiveness in the design of most web pages, have also been updated with new features. Developers can now use ordinary mathematical comparison operators, as well as logical operators “or” and “not,” when putting together a page.
On top of that, cookies set with an explicit “Expires” or “Max-Age” attribute are now capped to 400 days, which Google says is a number picked thanks to its roundness and its proximity to 13 months, or a little over one year. Previously uncapped, this will make sure that sites visited roughly once per year will continue to work as expected.
Other changes include allowing sites to place full-screen content and a pop-up window on separate, secondary screens; changes to permissions for the Web Bluetooth API; and improved Color Canvas Management for WebGL, which now includes “display-p3.”
Furthermore, changes to Origin Trials have been implemented. Set to be in trial until Chrome version 106, the browser’s Secure Payment Confirmation tool now lets users opt out of storing their credit and debit card details.
Also undergoing testing is the “Focusgroup” CSS property, a handy web development tool that is set to add focus navigation more consistently without the need for custom solutions.
Rounding out the list of updates are a number of service retirements, including the removal of the Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) API, which has now been replaced with the Web Authentication API.
Well, it happened. Nvidia’s much-rumored GTX 1630 GPU has arrived, with an official launch today and confirmed models coming from major GPU manufacturers including EVGA, MSI, Gigabyte, and Zotac.
The GTX 1630 is based on Nvidia’s older Turing architecture, similar to the GTX 1650 released in 2019. This is the first Turing-based GTX card to be released in two years, and will compete with AMD’s Radeon RX 6400 and Intel’s new Arc A380 in the super-budget GPU stakes - both of which run on current-generation architectures.
As far as specs go, it’s not very impressive. Power consumption and VRAM are basically identical to the original GTX 1650, but the memory bandwidth is cut in half and the die uses fewer CUDA cores too.
These stats line up with recently leaked specs for the GTX 1630, which were compared frequently to Nvidia’s six-year-old GTX 1050 Ti (pictured above). Since this is the older Turing architecture, there’s no support for newer features like ray-tracing or DLSS.
TechPowerUp (via VideoCardz) has reviewed an early GTX 1630 unit from manufacturer Gainward, and concluded that while the card runs quietly and power-efficiently with great thermal performance, it’s just not powerful enough to warrant a purchase unless you need a very low-end discrete GPU for something specific.
Pricing on the new card is also a bit unclear; Nvidia’s RRP seems to be around $150 based on initial pricing in China, but EVGA is listing its model for $200 and Colorful’s will retail for $169.
Considering that Nvidia already has an effective stranglehold on the higher end of the GPU market with the mighty RTX 3000 cards (and RTX 4000 on the not-too-distant horizon), it’s difficult to understand why Nvidia would release this low-end card now, when the market is relatively crowded.
When you look at the pricing, it becomes even weirder. AMD’s RX 6500 XT officially retails at $200, and the massively dialed-back memory bandwidth on the GTX 1630 means that it offers less than half the in-game performance of the AMD card despite not being much cheaper.
I can’t see any reason why someone would want to buy this new GPU, considering that it’s barely capable of playing modern games at 1080p and it’s not even that cheap.
One interesting thing that could save the GTX 1630’s functionality is AMD FSR, Team Red’s answer to DLSS, which unlike Nvidia’s upscaling tech is actually hardware-agnostic and could theoretically run on the 1630 to improve performance - albeit with a healthy dose of irony, given that the GTX 1630 can't even run Nvidia's own FSR competitor.
It’s possible that Nvidia had planned to launch this card earlier in the year to directly combat AMD’s budget GPU launch and provide some relief to cash-strapped gamers drowning in a world of scalpers and crypto miners. We know the GTX 1630 was hit with multiple delays, which could explain why it’s being kicked out the door without much fanfare now.
There’s also a chance that Nvidia wanted to get rid of surplus stock of the 12nm TU177 chip that powers this GPU (and older GTX cards) before the RTX 4000 series launches.
I couldn’t really fathom Nvidia’s reasoning, but hey; the GTX 1630 here, and it, well… it doesn't look good.
Sony is rumored to be readying a couple of gaming monitors aimed at the PS5, and a new leak has detailed some purported specs and pricing for the 27-inch screens, as well as a claim that these ‘InZone’ products will be launched today. We know for sure that something’s coming in a press event later today which as the tagline ‘Find Your New Zone’.
Chatter about the new InZone gaming brand from Sony sprang up around a week ago, with the word being spread that the initial products could consist of some gaming headsets, and the two aforementioned monitors which will be marketed as ‘perfect for PlayStation 5’ – but equally good for PC gaming purposes, as you might imagine.
New Sony Monitors, Inzone M3 and Inzone M9 with exclusive Features for PS5.#FindYouNewZone pic.twitter.com/4qixEe2BzmJune 27, 2022
The fresh spillage on Twitter reveals the supposed Sony InZone M3 and M9 monitors, along with the specs they might run with. Both are 27-inch models, with the M3 apparently being a 1080p screen with a 240Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and 400 nits brightness, along with 99% coverage of the sRGB color gamut.
The M9 ups the ante to 4K resolution with 600 nits of brightness, and 95% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, offering a 144Hz refresh rate (with 4K / 120fps support), plus both monitors will sport a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports with VRR (variable refresh rates) for PS5 gamers.
Those console gamers will also benefit from some PS5-targeted features (hence that ‘perfect for PS5’ labeling). These reportedly include Auto HDR Tone Mapping (to better show detailing in very dark or light areas), and Auto Genre Picture Mode to automatically optimize the screen’s settings based on the content being displayed.
As for the price in Europe, rumor has it that we’re looking at €800 (around $840, £690) for the M3, and a predictably beefier outlay of €1,300 (around $1,370, £1,120) for the M9 monitor.
As mentioned, these 27-inch monitors could be great screens for PC gamers, not just PS5 addicts, and indeed we can see that in the higher levels the refresh rates have been pushed to here (240Hz for the 1080p panel, and 144Hz with the 4K screen). Sony is also including an automatic KVM switch feature, which allows you to switch seamlessly between two different PCs at will (using the same monitor, mouse, and keyboard with either computer).
We’ll certainly be interested to see how monitors from Sony will stack up to the competition from existing and well-established gaming monitor brands. Obviously Sony is no stranger to quality panels when it comes to TVs, but monitors are something of a different kettle of pixels.
Regarding the extra features pitched at PS5 owners, we’ve seen these on some Bravia TVs already. Auto HDR Tone Mapping is a nifty boon, for sure, although all the automatic picture adjustment function does is simply switch between gaming and movie modes on Sony’s supporting TVs. (Might it be expanded to separate display modes for different game genres, perhaps?)
The good news is that we should get a glimpse of these monitors in action very shortly, and confirmation on the spec and pricing – assuming this rumor doesn’t go wonky at the last minute, of course.
Hulu has canceled political comedy Woke after two seasons.
Launched in the fall of 2020, Woke was loosely based on the life of its co-creator, Keith Knight, an American cartoonist and musician known for his accessible yet subversive comic strips The K Chronicles.
It starred Lamorne Morris – best known for his long-running role as Winston Bishop on beloved comedy New Girl – as Keef, a black cartoonist on the verge of mainstream success via his Toast & Butter comic series. Keef takes pride in his comics being light touch and avoiding controversy or political content like the plague.
On the verge of signing a huge new publishing deal, Keef is then the victim of racial profiling by overly aggressive policemen and, unsurprisingly, left traumatized. In the wake of the incident, Keef finds that he's able to see and hear inanimate objects talking to him, plus he's now more sensitive to racism, with everyday microaggressions that he has spent his life trying to avoid acknowledging in every situation, suddenly pronounced. Now, quite literally 'Woke', Keef must live with his new reality.
The show, which was a mixture of live-action and animation, ran for two eight-episode runs on Hulu, one in 2020 and a second which debuted in April of this year.
Starring alongside Morris were Blake Anderson, T. Murph, Rose McIver and Sasheer Zamata, with Eddie Griffin, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, Jack McBrayer and Cedric the Entertainer appearing in voice-only roles.
Woke, which was a co-production for Hulu between Sony Pictures Television and ABC, was axed on Friday.
No statement for its cancelation has been given yet, with Morris only issuing a tongue-in-cheek tweet over the weekend, but the show's second season was a troubled production with filming forced to shut down three times due to positive Covid-19 cases. That will have undoubtedly seen production costs shoot up, and, it seems like they got too much for a third season to be greenlit. Which is a shame, because critics rather liked it.
The show's first season enjoyed lukewarm ratings, with a Rotten Tomatoes' score of 74%, but the show's second was a tour de force, with a 97% rating on the same website.
Audiences enjoyed the first run, too, giving it 87%, which is seems like Woke ran into the trap that falls a great many shows. Those who liked it really enjoyed what was on offer, but no-one else stuck around.
Hulu spends big on comedy as it is, with The Orville, Only Murders In The Building and How I Met Your Father, while they've recently forked out on acquiring Schitt's Creek back catalog. They're also not shy about canceling things, with hit comedies Shrill and Dollface axed recently. Again, both had passionate fanbases and critics liked them, but they clearly didn't win the audiences Hulu demands.
Chris Hemsworth has suggested that Thor: Love and Thunder might not be his final Marvel movie outing after all.
Speculation has been rife that Hemsworth will call time on his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters in July. The upcoming Marvel movie will be the eighth time Hemsworth has played the character, while Thor will become the first MCU superhero to star in four solo adventures.
It stands to reason, then, that Hemsworth may have given serious thought to calling time on his MCU journey once Thor 4 is released. And, with Hemsworth previously telling Wired that Love and Thunder "may be my last [Marvel movie]" earlier in June, the actor hasn't exactly played down reports that he might walk away after the forthcoming MCU Phase 4 flick.
However, speaking to ExtraTV before Thor 4's world premiere, Hemsworth appeared to walk back on those claims, suggesting that he would certainly be open to reprising the role in the future.
Asked if this would be his last outing as Thor, Hemsworth said: "Every time I play Thor, I'm like 'this is the last time they'll let me do it', so I don't know."
When the interviewer indicated that Hemsworth's use of the phrase 'let me' suggested that the actor would be open to returning, Hemsworth added: "I love it. I'd come back for more and more until someone kicks me off the stage. My whole career has been based around playing this character. Coming back and play him again with different directors and cast members has been an absolute joy. We'll see what the fans want. I'm down for whatever."
This isn't the first time that Hemsworth has seemingly retracted his answer from his Wired interview either. Speaking to Vanity Fair, Hemsworth said he'd "absolutely" love to return as the god of thunder. Meanwhile, chatting to Den of Geek, he reiterated his stance on reprising the role, saying: "If the opportunity comes up and presents itself, I’m just open to whatever creative exploration can happen."
It won't be long until we find out if Thor is even able to return (more on this in a moment) for future MCU movies. Thor: Love and Thunder will exclusively bolt its way into theaters on July 8 (US and most international territories), while it lands on July 7 in the UK.
With four solo superhero movies under his mighty belt, Thor has stuck around longer than most of those who featured in the Avengers' original line-up.
Sure, Hawkeye and Hulk will claim that they share equal billing with the Norse god – you know, as they're still alive (unlike Iron Man and Black Widow) or active as superheroes (unlike Captain America). However, with Hawkeye starring in his own Disney Plus show and Hulk set to play a prominent role in another MCU TV series – She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – it seems that their time on the silver screen is at an end.
Thor, then, is the only original Avenger whose MCU film journey has continued post-Avengers: Endgame. Clearly, there's been more story to tell in his Marvel movie arc. But, with a new batch of superheroes emerging with Phase 4's arrival, now might be the right time for Hemsworth's Thor to take a backseat in proceedings.
Truth be told, he's deserved it. Thor has endured his fair share of grief and trauma over the past 11 years and, while he's bounced back from that pain time and time again, he deserves to finally put his feet up and enjoy a well-earned rest. You know, just like Nick Fury was doing during Spider-Man: Far From Home's post-credits scene.
Of course, this isn't to say that we don't want to see Hemsworth play Thor again. The MCU's next generation of heroes will need mentors, so Thor could always pop up in a co-starring capacity. Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye and Mark Ruffalo's Hulk have (or will have, in Hulk's case) performed similar roles with Kate Bishop and Jennifer Walters, so whose to say Hemsworth's Thor won't do likewise to a kindred spirit? If Jane Foster's Mighty Thor survives the events of Love and Thunder, we suspect she could use a mentor in her former flame.
Alternatively, Hemsworth could make surprise cameo roles in other Marvel projects. He's already voiced Frog Thor in Loki season 1, plus an animated version of Thor in Marvel's What If...? anthology series. Hemsworth could lend his talents to other animated versions of Thor in the future, then, or even make a hugely surprising cameo in Loki season 2 as a live-action, alternate universe version of the Norse god. We'd love to see that if nobody else would.
Thor's MCU future will ultimately depend on how well Love and Thunder performs at the box office – after all, Marvel Studios would be silly to put a cap on Thor's MCU series if Love and Thunder powers its way past the $1 billion mark globally. Even so, Thor: Love and Thunder seems like the perfect time for the god of thunder to finally find that inner peace he's searching for, pour himself a giant glass of Asgardian ale, and retire from the superhero business. He's certainly earned a rest, in our view.
For more MCU-based content, check out our ranking of every Marvel movie to date before Thor 4 lands in theaters.
Apple usually has a bunch of new products launch at the end of each year, but it sounds like the iPhone 14 might get more than its fair share of gadget companions, according to a big name in Apple leaks.
This comes from Mark Gurman, in his weekly Power On newsletter about upcoming Apple news and rumors. Gurman mentions loads of products expected to launch "between the fall of 2022 and first half of 2023" - or peak Apple period.
The main one of these is the iPhone 14, with Gurman saying there will be four models - we've heard this many times before from leakers, with the expected line consisting of the standard model as well as an iPhone 14 Max, Pro and Pro Max.
Much of the other information provided about the upcoming iPhone Pro models are things we've already heard about like its always-on display, high-res rear camera and improved front camera - but the non-Pro versions are supposedly weaker.
Next up is the AirPods Pro 2, though all Gurman says is "I’m also still expecting new AirPods Pro earbuds with an updated chip and support for higher-quality audio", so there's not much information on these.
Apple is said to be releasing new iPad Pros for 2022 that are packed with the new M2 chipsets - Gurman says there will be 11-inch and 12.9-inch versions, but does address the rumors of a larger 14-inch one by saying this could come in the next year or so.
That's not all in the iPad party though, as a new entry-level iPad (2022) is tipped with 5G, a new chipset and a USB-C port - this is all stuff we've heard before.
As the headline says, more smartwatches are expected too, and it's not just the top-end Apple Watch 8 (though not many changes are expected for that device).
No, a new Apple Watch SE 2 has been tipped, as well as a ruggedized version of the standard model intended for extreme sports users.
Gurman also lists plenty of new Macs coming up using multiple versions of the M2 chipsets, with MacBooks and Mac Minis expected.
Finally, Gurman points to a 'mixed-reality' headset using the M2 chip and 16GB of RAM, something that fans expected to hear about at WWDC 2022 (an annual Apple tech launch in the middle of the year) that never actually debuted.
Let's recap what we've just heard about:
Apple usually has one big launch event at the end of each year - usually around September - and normally, we'd see loads of products all show up at the same time.
But given how long that list is, there's no way they're all showing up at one event - not unless they get five seconds of screen time each and Eminem has to do the announcing - so they'll likely show up at multiple events.
This isn't something that's a total surprise - in 2020, the company had two launch events, one for iPads and Apple Watches, and the other for iPhones. Apple will likely have to repeat that in 2022 for all the aforementioned products - or even have a third launch. Gurman does say that some of the devices could come in early 2023.
Either way, if there is a launch event for the iPhone 14 and Gurman's projections don't all come true, that doesn't necessarily mean these devices aren't coming.
The failure of tvOS 16 to launch at the recent Apple WWDC 2022 came as a disappointment for fans of the company’s Apple TV 4K streaming box. And while we have been able to glean potential new features from the tvOS 16 beta version currently available to developers, evidence that’s turned up of a new Siri remote is what’s really grabbing our attention.
The news comes to us via MacRumors, which cites contributor AaronP613 at online software and device database AppledB as having unearthed references to “SiriRemote4” in the iOS 16 beta. According to the MacRumors article, other references to a Siri remote in the iOS 16 beta top out at SiriRemote3 – the version included with the current Apple TV 4K box released in 2021 – so SiriRemote4 could indicate a new remote to be included with a forthcoming new streaming box.
MacRumors goes on to say how a new, lower-cost Apple TV 4K, one designed to compete with less expensive Roku and Amazon Fire TV streamers, is something that Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has already predicted, and it could arrive as soon as the second half of 2022.
Beyond the possibility of new Apple TV 4K hardware, the tvOS 16 beta indicates that owners of current boxes can potentially look forward to HDR10+ high dynamic range and updated smart home support (including Matter). In addition, various hooks will allow developers to better integrate Apple devices with tvOS apps, and there should be expanded support for Bluetooth game controllers.
That’s a fair amount of stuff to look forward to, but the big story here is the possibility of a new box. Given the lack of official tvOS developments coming out of WWDC 2022, the prospect of a new, more affordable Apple TV 4K streamer arriving in the fall seems like the best possible outcome.
As a latest-gen Apple TV 4K owner, I’m completely happy with the remote control that comes with it. Apple’s Siri remote is well-designed and solid, with an all-aluminium casing that makes the handsets that come with other streamers seem cheap in comparison.
Beyond its impressive build quality, the current Siri remote improves upon many of the shortcomings of the previous version. Primarily, the circular clickpad located at the remote’s top allows for easy navigation and playback control. This puts it miles ahead of its predecessor, which featured a flat, overly-sensitive touchpad that users would find themselves accidentally hitting, with the frequent result being the show you were watching being scrolled forward to the ending. Talk about spoiler alerts!
But really, we’re not talking here about the existing Siri remote, which is clearly a success, or any new, rumored replacement for it. What’s at issue is the possibility of a new streaming box, one that would sell at a more affordable price than the current stratospherically priced version.
At $179 / £169 / AU$249 for the 32GB version and $199 / £189 / AU$279 for the 64GB one, the Apple TV 4K is a luxury streaming purchase. Given the current state of the global economy, it would be a sensible and entirely welcome gesture for Apple to offer something cheaper.
Password manager firm Keeper Security has announced a new feature it says will allow users to securely share records with anyone on a time-limited basis.
The new solution, dubbed Keeper One-Time Share, will be useful for those of us who want to share confidential information with a friend, family member or co-worker without exposing it over email, text message, or online messaging.
The news comes as concerns abound about employee approaches to sharing sensitive information. A multinational survey by Western Digital found 68% of data managers believe employee behaviour is a bigger threat to the security of their highly sensitive data than external hackers and various malicious actors.
Keeper Security assures us that One-Time Share links are restricted to the recipient’s device only and automatically expire at a time of the user’s choosing.
One-Time Share records can only be used on one device, and even if the user forgets to un-share the record, it will expire automatically, and the recipient’s access will be revoked. The solution can also be used to share data with recipients who do not have a Keeper account.
In addition, One-Time Share can also be delivered using QR Codes, Airdrop, email, SMS, or other out-of-band channels.
As an additional layer of security, One-Time Shares are apparently also device-locked, which means that only the original recipient can access and decrypt the data.
If the link is later opened by a third party or the user’s email account is compromised, the data cannot be decrypted, except on the original recipient’s device even someone did manage to lay their hands on the relevant security keys.
Keeper Security isn't the only firm rolling out new features for its business password manager offering, however.
1Password recently released a new solution it claims will help firms improve their overall security posture.
Insights from 1Password contains tools to help firms monitor data breaches, password vulnerabilities, and team usage within shared vaults, while also providing suggested next steps and allowing businesses to notify employees of data breaches.
Keeper One-Time Share is currently available for all customers (both paid and free) as well as for commercial customers (including Business, Enterprise, and MSP plans).
Following the launch of iOS 16 later this fall, you will no longer be able to use an iPad as a smart home hub to control HomeKit devices.
The news comes by way of iOS developer and MacRumors writer Steve Moser who dug through the code of iOS 16 Beta 2. He posted his findings on a long Twitter thread that goes through some of the other changes coming to Apple devices.
MacRumors reports that, upon updating an iPad to iOS 16, a new message will appear in the Home app that reads "A home hub is required to take advantage of features like receiving accessory notification and allowing other people to control your homes. You will not be able to view shared homes until those homes are also upgraded to the latest HomeKit. iPad will no longer be supported as a home hub here."
If you go over to the iOS 16 preview page and scroll all the way down to the finer print, Apple further confirms this by stating only Apple TVs and HomePod devices can be used as home hubs. We reached out to the tech giant and asked if they could explain their motive for removing the iPad support, but didn’t get a response. MacRumors suggests the change may have to do with the new Matter support.
Matter is an upcoming smart home standard being developed by multiple tech companies including Apple, Google, and Amazon. It’s meant to be a universal protocol aimed at saving the smart home industry. The standard is slated for release sometime during Fall 2022, which just so happens to be the same launch window as iOS 16.
Apart from the iPad drop, the majority of changes are relatively minor. Moser states a lot of text will be tweaked. For example, Apple Car Key will now say “Passive entry may be available when your iPhone needs to be charged.” Certain apps, like Health, will have slightly different icons. It’s mainly tertiary stuff, but there are a few noteworthy additions.
For starters, Apple Maps will be getting new optimized routes for e-bikes. There will also be a “Game Mode”, but not much is known beyond that. iOS 16 does natively support Nintendo Switch Pro controllers, so this mode may be connected to Apple’s newfound gaming support. Moser also found Apple is working on a 3:2 aspect ratio for the iPhone Camera app that hasn’t been enabled. He claims it could be an addition coming to a future iPhone.
Remember this is just a beta. It’s unknown if and when any of these will be coming out. Except for iPads losing home hub support; that appears to be set in stone. You can actually try out the new iOS 16 beta for iPhones and iPads by downloading it from Apple’s developer website. However, unless you are an app developer, we wouldn't recommend it. These early betas are buggy and not intended for the device you depend on for communication, work, entertainment, and more. The good news is that public (read "more stable") betas are probably just weeks away.
If you want to learn about how to establish a smart home, TechRadar has a guide on the best devices for 2022 to help you get started.
QNAP network-attached storage (NAS) users just can’t seem to catch a break. The company has just released a security advisory, warning users to patch up their endpoints immediately, to fix a flaw that allowed potential threat actors to execute code on the devices, remotely.
The flaw is found in PHP, it was said, and can be found in these devices: QTS 5.0.x and later, QTS 4.5.x and later, QuTS hero h5.0.x and later, QuTS hero h4.5.x and later, and QuTScloud c5.0.x and later.
Users are advised to patch to version QTS 5.0.1.2034 build 20220515 and later, as well as QuTS hero h5.0.0.2069 build 20220614 and later.
The flaw isn’t exactly new, the company further clarified. It was known for approximately three years, but apparently, wasn’t a viable option to exploit until now.
QNAP seems to be withstanding an everlasting barrage of cyberattacks. Lately, it seems that a week can’t go by without the company fixing some high-severity vulnerability that’s placed its customers at immense risk.
Just this week it was said that QNAP NAS drives users were under attack from the ech0raix ransomware threat actors again, the same group that targeted these devices in December last year.
Furthermore, earlier this year, Deadbolt threat actors left many NAS devices encrypted.
A year ago, the company has had to release a patch to address the problem of cryptomining, as many threat actors were taking advantage of vulnerable NAS devices, installing cryptocurrency miners on them, for their own personal benefit.
While cryptominers don’t necessarily hurt the target endpoint, they do take up the majority of computing power, leaving the device almost unusable for anything else, until it’s removed.
Besides ech0raix and Deadbolt, QNAP was also observed targeted by Qlocker.
Via: Tom's Hardware
It’s been more than three decades since the Linux operating system first saw the light of day, yet creator Linus Torvalds is still continually “surprised and pleased” at the amount of innovation coming to the platform.
During the Open Source Summit, currently taking place both online and in Austin, Texas, Torvalds discussed the state of Linux with Chief Open Source Officer at the Cardano Foundation, Dirk Hohndel.
Speaking of Linux, Torvalds said the project has had the same process and the same release schedule for at least 15 years now, which made it “very calm and not exciting from a process standpoint”, but added that he believes that’s exactly what the users want.
“You want to have a stable process so that people don’t get upset about how all the infrastructure is changing," said Torvalds.
Despite being “boring and predictable”, Linux is still very exciting on the innovation front, he added. “One of the things that I, personally, enjoy the most is that we’re not a dead project."
For example, the programming language Rust is coming to Linux, an announcement that made the crowd at the Open Source Summit cheer in satisfaction, VentureBeat reported. Unlike C, in which Linux is written, Rust is better at utilizing and protecting compute memory resources.
At first, Torvalds added, the new programming language will be introduced in a very limited capacity, probably due to the fact that the earlier introduction of C++ ended up being a failure.
“Technical people want to do something new and fun, and I think rest makes a lot of technical sense,” Torvalds said.
Despite Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS running the show, Linux has been holding steady since day one. Most of today’s Internet of Things (IoT) devices and many data center servers are powered by Linux, while Android, the world’s most popular mobile operating system, is based on Linux OS. There also remains a healthy market for Linux-based laptops.
Via VentureBeat
At least two threat actors have recently been observed distributing malicious Windows shortcut files designed to infect victims with malware.
Late last week, cybersecurity researchers from Varonis reported seeing the dreaded Emotet threat actor, as well as the lesser-known Golden Chickens group (AKA Venom Spider), distributing .ZIP archives via email, and in those archives, .LNK files.
Using Windows shortcut files to deploy malware or ransomware on the target endpoint is not exactly novel, but these threat actors have given the idea a brand new spin.
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The majority of older readers are probably guilty of customizing their game desktop shortcuts in the past, at least on one occasion.
In this particular campaign, the threat actors replaced the original shortcut icon with that of a .PDF file, so that the unsuspecting victim, once they receive the email attachment, can’t spot the difference with a basic visual inspection.
But the danger is real. Windows shortcut files can be used to drop pretty much any malware onto the target endpoint, and in this scenario, the Emotet payload is downloaded into the victim’s %TEMP% directory. If successful, the Emotet payload will be loaded into memory using “regsvr32.exe”, while the original dropper gets deleted from the %TEMP% directory.
The best way to protect against these attacks, researchers are saying, is to thoroughly inspect every email attachment coming in, and to quarantine and block any suspicious content (that includes ZIP-compressed files with Windows shortcuts).
Admins should also restrict the execution of unexpected binaries and scripts from the %TEMP% directory, and limit user access to Windows scripting engines such as PowerShell and VBScript. They should also enforce the need for scripts to be signed via Group Policy.
While it's no secret that Battlefield 2042 had a rough launch, developer DICE is sticking it out. For the time being it will be working only Battlefield 2042 and no other projects, such as games like Mirror's Edge.
"We are only focusing on Battlefield 2042," Coutaz told GI.Biz. "There is no time for anything else and this is what we want to do. In three years, we want to be the first-person shooter powerhouse that DICE deserves to be, and that is what we’re going for."
DICE is best known for the Battlefield series but since being acquired by EA in 2006, it's occasionally branched out. Alongside Mirror's Edge, its past ventures also include Medal of Honor (2010), the rebooted Star Wars Battlefront series, Mirror's Edge, and its less well-received sequel Mirror's Edge Catalyst. While Coutaz doesn't deny the studio will return to other projects in the future, we shouldn't expect anything anytime soon.
Coutaz finds herself in an odd position, having joined last December after Battlefield 2042's launch, and now being responsible for getting the game back on track. Still, this interview shows she's taking clear responsibility, reflecting on the post-launch mood in DICE.
"The launch of Battlefield 2042 was not as expected," Coutaz explains. "Our players and community were disappointed, but so was our development team." Admitting that quitting the game was never an option, DICE sought the help of EA's other studios to assess what went wrong, and how to fix it.
"That analysis took us a couple of months, and we are now fixing it," Coutaz continues. "We're getting reorganized, restructured, improving processes, adapting them to be able to make these monster games that we are making in co-development... and also working in the hybrid model."
She admits "it's far from perfect and we have many things still to learn" but on the whole, Coutaz paints a more optimistic picture for the game's future. With the previously delayed Battlefield 2042 Season 1 launching two weeks ago, maybe things will finally turn around for DICE's latest effort.
Anker is launching a new pair of athletic wireless earbuds under its Soundcore brand that have a unique hook design to fit snugly around your ears.
They’re called the Sport X10 earbuds and were, the company says, made with comfort in mind. In a statement, Anker claims people complained how athletic earbuds have a “bulky design” and would often fall out during a sweaty workout. Anker’s solution was to add ear hooks that can rotate 210 degrees so people can adjust the buds until they find that sweet spot.
To combat sweat, the Sport X10 has a water resistance rating of IPX7 which means they can be submerged up to a meter (around three feet) underwater. The devices also sport Soundcore’s SweatGuard tech to protect “against the corrosive properties of sweat.” Anker is so confident about the X10’s water resistance it claims you can rinse the earbuds under a faucet after a tough workout and they will still work.
Aside from the sweat protection and hooks, the Sport X10 buds have fairly long battery life and an assortment of features for optimal audio. On a single charge, they can last up to eight hours or 32 hours when used alongside the charging case. Anker also added a Fast Charging feature to allow “two hours of playback” after a 10-minute charge.
Under the hood, the Sport X10 has 10mm dynamic drivers with Soundcore’s BassUp feature that adjusts a song’s bass level in real-time. You can also control the earbuds’ sound by connecting them to the Soundcore app (available on iOS and Android) and selecting one of 22 EQ presets. For people who want even more control, the app has a 9-band custom EQ setting for tweaking the finer details.
Other notable features include a six-microphone system for making calls and hybrid noise cancellation to block out ambient noise. On a windy day, you can turn on Wind Noise Reduction in the app to further improve call quality. Conversely, the earbuds have a Transparency mode so you can hear the outside world and pay attention to what’s going on.
And the last key feature for the Sport X10 earbuds is Stereo Mode for controlling songs. For example, pressing the right-side earbud twice plays or pauses a song while pressing the left bud twice skips a track.
While not as impressive as the Sony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds, the Sport X10 is still a decent package. The earbuds are available in the US ($79) , Europe (€99), UK (£89), and Canada ($119 CAD). You can get the pair in either Black or Oat White on Soundcore’s website or Amazon. A red model is planned to release around late July to early August; no exact date given.
If you’re in the market for a pair of good athletic headphones, TechRadar has a list of the best ones for 2002.
Windows 11 users are set for a newly spiced up search function with the latest round of updates.
The new “Search Highlights” feature promises to “present notable and interesting moments of what's special about each day – like holidays, anniversaries, and other educational moments in time both globally and in your region” via clicking or tapping on the taskbar.
The feature could be good news for those of us on business computers and business laptops, who might need a little bit of extra help to avoid forgetting an all-important colleague’s birthday.
The feature is set to roll out via a "phased and measured" approach over the next few weeks and months to Windows 11 users.
The feature was rolled out to Windows 10 users in March 2022, and is available in Windows 11 version 22H2, which you can test out if you’re lucky enough to be a Windows Insider.
The new feature will also allow users to explore additional content inside the search home, including “word of the day”, Microsoft Rewards offers, and trending searches.
The left side of the search home will also show an extended list of your recently launched apps, files, settings, and websites to help users get back to what they were doing last.
If you’re not a big fan of the feature, not a problem - users can remove the feature by going to “Privacy & Security”, then heading to “More Settings”, and then deselecting “Show search highlights”.
There are also additional controls available for organizational administrators, which you can check out by heading here.
Microsoft has been active in terms of rolling out new services for developers on Windows.
Microsoft Dev Box will give developers self-service access to high performance, cloud-based workstations that are pre-configured and ready-to-code for specific projects, benefiting devs that don’t have access to powerful mobile workstations.
I've been using the iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) for years now, and it's served me well; but recently, I was given the opportunity to upgrade to the iPad Pro 12.9 (2021). Naturally, I leaped at the chance.
My 2018 was a faithful device, but it had a few flaws that made it increasingly less reliable as a gaming and working tool. It would get way too hot when I played games; the Keyboard Folio would only register a keyboard press about once every 20 depressions; and the battery life had become abysmal. I needed a change.
I was hoping the iPad Pro 2021 would be this change, allowing me to play more than 10 minutes of XCOM 2 without catching fire, or work in a coffee shop without the battery dying on me on my way in. But, I was wrong.
While pulling the new iPad Pro out of the box, I was surprised by its heaviness. It only weighs 50g more, but what a difference those extra grams make.
I was also concerned about the weight as I attached my keyboard accessory – instead of Apple's Keyboard Folio, which I used for my last slate, I used the company's Magic Keyboard. The Magic Keyboard feels a lot bulkier, and more rigid, than the Folio.
I did keep using the iPad Pro's Apple Pencil 2 though, since it's the same stylus for both models. No sense in getting a new one, right?
I was excited to start using the new iPad Pro, but early warning bells started ringing when I began setting up the thing.
Setting up a new Apple device is meant to be easy, and when I started booting up the new iPad, it simply told me to move the old iPad near so it could start copying over my files.
This didn't work – and even after rubbing the two tablets up against one another, like two dolls I was trying to make kiss, they didn't want to connect. And I couldn't use iCloud for backup either as the 5GB-tier I'm on didn't really have space for the near-terabyte of data I had on my old iPad (and given that I'm an avid Google Suite user, I'm not paying for iCloud on top of Google Drive space).
Eventually, I just rebooted both iPads and waited a few hours; for some reason, the transfer started working. Why? I've no idea.
The tablets said it'd take 12 hours to transfer over all my data – remember, I had nearly 1TB of 'stuff' on my old iPad. But in the end, it was closer to five hours. And after that, the new iPad felt just like the old one, except... new.
I was impressed by how much of the new tablet experience felt copied over from the old one.
Apps were all in the same places on my menu, and for most of them, I was already logged in, without even having to see a sign-in page. Many had projects open that I'd been working on with my old iPad.
What most impressed me was that progress in my various different games was carried over. I could dive straight into my save file from midway through an XCOM 2 battle.
It wasn't a total port though, and some apps failed to send data between iPads. One annoying example was Final Draft Mobile, a screenwriting software. I had to send the near-hundred scripts I had stored there over to the new iPad on my own.
But after minimal work, my new iPad was as good as... old. But that's when any improvements ended.
There are two things I am really hoping for in a new iPad (not including a fixed keyboard, which isn't technically part of the iPad itself). You know what these are; you read the introduction to this article.
After playing some games, doing some video editing, watching loads of videos and of course working, I noticed with chagrin some key things. Most importantly, none of the issues I had with the previous iPad are addressed in the new model.
My first issue was that my 2018 iPad Pro got way too hot when I used it to play games. It would even heat up when I worked. In hindsight, I don't know why I thought it'd be better with the new model; the M1 chip clearly likes to broil. Admittedly, I didn't do any scientific tests on the matter, but it feels like the new iPad Pro heats up quicker than the old one.
Battery drain is also still a huge issue, much more of one than I thought. Just watching a video drops the battery percentage at lightning speed – and don't get my started on how little gaming time I get when I'm not plugged into the wall. It is really disappointing.
'Surely, simply having a faster chipset balances out these issues though' some might say, but I don't even notice any speed difference. Loading and rendering times aren't any different, so what's the point?
I've also got to say, I really don't like the Magic Keyboard. The trackpad is redundant given that the iPad Pro has a touch screen – and software designed for such touch screens. Plus, it only holds the iPad at a very limited arc, so you can't pull the thing to face up or down much. I prefer the Keyboard Folio, for its suspension angles.
I'm glad that I finally have a working keyboard though. Purely on that merit, I'm going to be sticking to the newer iPad Pro. But between the overheating and the battery drain, the latest model really doesn't feel like an upgrade. We all deserve better. This means the upcoming 2022 iPad Pros will really need to justify their existence to get people to upgrade.
Deep blacks and super smooth motion look set to be on tap with JVC’s just-announced new line of 4K OLED TVs.
Coming in 55-inch and 65-inch options, the new 9200 series TV’s are set to offer refresh rates up to 120Hz and feature HDMI 2.1 connectivity to rival the best 120Hz TVs available today.
Alongside an Auto Low Latency mode (ALLM) which automatically switches to the TVs’ lowest latency setting (a key feature of the best gaming TVs), there’s also support for Dolby Vision with the TVs running the latest version of Google’s Android TV operating system.
A new SuperResolution feature, meanwhile claims to refine and upscale sub-4K images, using JVC’s Micro Dimming algorithm to further enhance dynamic contrast ratio.
Alongside those promising picture features, the 9200 also looks like having a solid audio support, with built-in support for Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual, while the HDMI ports will feature eARC, which will please anyone looking to rig the TV up to the best soundbars.
There’s plenty to admire about the design as well, with the TVs boasting a frameless bezel look alongside a fancy swivel-base stand for fine tuning viewing angles.
While no price tag is currently available for these new models, with those specs and JVC traditionally being a competitively priced brand, we’re expecting these new OLED TVs to be hovering around bargain territory considering the features.
Now for the bad news – the 9200 range’s availability looks set to be restricted to a select few European countries. The TVs are manufactured by Turkish display giant Vestel which licenses the JVC brand, but that license doesn’t appear to extend to even the totality of Europe, with the UK, France and Nordic countries being excluded.
So that's frustrating for those of us in the US, UK, Australia and beyond… but still, its happy days for the likes of Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, with the 9200 range set to go on sale in those countries next month.
JVC was synonymous with offering great tech at great prices back in the day, so it’s nice to see the resurrected brand being linked to what appears to be a well-specified line of new OLEDs.
We’ve still plenty of questions to ask, in terms of what generation of LG Display panels are being used, if the 9200 range can do 4K 120Hz over HDMI, and of course, their price.
But with the initial information we have and what we know of JVC’s usual price points, these new TVs could be hard to beat – it’s just a pity that not many of us look likely to get a chance to grab one. Perhaps that'll change, but with the way the TV business works, it looks unlikely.
While some people have zero trouble falling asleep in a dark, quiet room, the rest of us need a little help. Sleep podcasts are popular here, and a new study by retailer Sleepseeker has revealed the best podcasts to help you fall asleep more easily.
The study used a variety of metrics to create its Top 35 sleep podcasts, including rank and podcast score. The Sleep With Me podcast came out on top with a podcast score of 8.77, closely followed by the Nothing Much Happens sleep podcast, with a score of 8.35. Rounding out the top three is the Get Sleepy podcast, with a score of 8.23.
The study also looked at which sleep podcasts had the most subscribers. Sleep With Me ranked number one with over 200,000 Castbox subscribers, followed by Tracks to Relax with over 50,000 subscribers and the Deep Energy Podcast with over 33,000.
Here are the Top 10 podcasts for better sleep, according to the study:
As one of the world’s most popular sleep podcasts, we aren’t surprised to see Sleep With Me ranked first. What is surprising is the gulf in the number of listens and subscribers between Sleep With Me and its competitors.
So what is it and why is it so popular? Launched in 2013 and hosted by Drew Ackerman, Sleep With Me is inspired by late-night comedy radio, which Ackerman said was the only thing that helped him fall asleep when dealing with insomnia.
It’s essentially a story-telling podcast, with stories inspired by Ackerman’s childhood and beyond. Ackerman’s tone of voice and slow pace are relaxing, and what he talks about won’t get your brain fired up, giving you a better shot at relaxing and falling asleep. People who listen to the podcast swear that it helps them fall asleep faster.
You can listen to Sleep With Me for free on Spotify, or you can track it down on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Listen with RadioPublic, and Android.
Sleep podcasts help you feel calmer in bed, which can be tricky if experiences with insomnia, night terrors or pain during sleep make you feel agitated about sleeping. A good sleep podcast will distract your mind from worrying about falling asleep, so there’s zero pressure. You can access some podcasts via your sleep tracker too, depending on compatibility.
They come in a wide variety, but the most popular sleep podcasts have narrators with unobtrusive voices, who (to put it politely), drone on in the background while you lie down and relax.
If you want more bedtime stories, meditation music and sleep sounds though, we’d recommend one of the best sleep apps instead. Calm is one of our go-to apps, and as we explain in our Calm review it’s full of sleep meditations to calm bedtime anxiety.
Your bedroom makes a difference to your relationship with sleep. If you dread entering because of past sleep struggles, you’ll build a negative association between your bedroom and poor sleep. A good sleep therapist can help you unwind a lot of the psychology around this, but in the meantime, ensure your room is as cool and stress-free as possible.
That includes picking the best mattress for your body type and the position you feel comfortable falling asleep in, as this is the position you’ll stay in the longest. No budget for a new bed but yours is lacking comfort? Try a good mattress topper instead, as these are a fraction of the cost.
Think about airflow too, as the cooler and fresher the air in your bedroom, the better you sleep. If you find white noise soothing, consider investing in a fan to circulate a breeze. You could also leave the window open, depending on outside noise and how hot it is.
Clear away clutter, dim the lights to a level you’re comfortable with, and grab your best pillow dressed in a clean pillowcase (fresh sheets help you sleep better). Then lie back, fire up your sleep podcast, and enjoy this time for yourself.
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