If you've been waiting for the next generation of gaming laptops, Intel is finally ready to deliver. The first wave of its 11th-generation H-series mobile processors were meant for ultraportables but weren't really meant for heavy processing. So welcome another family of 11th-gen H-Series chips! According to Intel, these promise up to a 19 percent speed improvement over the last generation. And just like the less powerful H-series lineup (which are dubbed H35 by Intel due to their lower thermal profile), the new chips have the company's 10nm, a major upgrade from 14nm architecture of the past, offering those speed gains alongside efficiency improvements.
As is tradition, all the major laptop makers, from ASUS to Razer, had new models to showcase Intel's newest chips. Alienware might be making the biggest splash, with a new cooling system. The new X-Series will use a new thermal interface material (TIM), likely a pad rather than a paste, it's calling Element 31. Made of gallium-silicone, it will offer "a decrease to overall thermal resistance over the previous generation and extraordinary improvement in contact resistance," Alienware says. There's also a new quad-fan design (patent pending) to keep things running fast but cool.
Tech giants want the US to fund domestic chip production
Apple, Google and Microsoft are just some of those in a new alliance.
Talking of chips, US tech companies want the federal government to help fund domestic chip production, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to squeeze chip supply amid a whole lot of demand. Companies including Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft as well as carriers like AT&T and Verizon have formed the Semiconductors in America Coalition to land funding for the recently enacted CHIPS for America Act. This greenlit incentives for domestic chip manufacturing and research but, alas, didn't supply the necessary money. Weirdly, it's not as if these major tech companies are struggling for money at the moment. Continue reading.
In 2015, Vizio filed for an IPO, and we found out the details of its grand plan to make money from selling audience data and advertising via smart TVs. Then a messy interaction with LeEco interrupted things, but here we are in 2021 with Vizio finally acting as a publicly-traded company and releasing its first quarterly financial report.
Execs revealed in the last three months, profits from the Platform+ business — which includes advertising and viewer data — were $38.4 million, which brought them closer to the profits from its hardware sales, which were $48.2 million. Vizio said it now has 13.4 million active SmartCast accounts, with viewers spending 52 percent of their viewing time on SmartCast inputs. It also launched 32 new free streaming options in the last quarter and plans to keep pushing those channels as it partners with brands to sell targeted advertising.Continue reading.
Maybe this will help your smart lightbulb talk to your smart dishwasher.
Project Connected Home over IP (Project CHIP) is now known as Matter. The Connectivity Standards Alliance, an organization of more than a hundred device manufacturers, including giants like Apple, Amazon, Google and Samsung, announced the rebranding on Tuesday. Those companies came together to work on CHIP in 2019 with the hopes of building an open smart home standard that connects all their disparate devices.
Even if you've never heard of Project CHIP, you may already have compatible hardware inside your home. At launch, Matter will support Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, as well as Ethernet, WiFi, Thread and Bluetooth LE for connections. Thread isn't as well known as the others, but the mesh networking tech is included in Google's Nest Hub Max and Nest WiFi, as well as Apple's HomePod mini and new Apple TV 4K. Some of the first devices featuring Matter branding will go on sale in late 2021. Continue reading.
We mentioned in yesterday's TMA that it was a bit of a struggle to get the new consoles from either Sony and Microsoft. The latter is making a concerted effort to get consoles to its biggest fans, though, with its new Console Purchase Pilot program. If you already own an Xbox One and are an Xbox Insider, you'll be able to register to reserve the newer Series X or S.
No guarantees you'll actually get one, but, hey, it offers some degree of hope. Continue reading.
SoundControl is the first FDA-approved set you can buy directly.
Bose is dipping into hearing aids for the first time. Its SoundControl device is apparently the first FDA-cleared hearing aids to be sold directly to customers.
There's plenty of Bose tech at play. A CustomTune feature in the companion mobile app can personalize volume levels, tone, treble and bass for your ears within 30 minutes. You can also magnify quiet sounds to avoid strain or highlight vocal frequencies to better hear the people around you. Bose will start selling SoundControl in a few states, including Massachusetts, Montana, the Carolinas and Texas on May 18th for $850. A wider rollout will come later. Continue reading.
Half a year since launch, and it's still a challenge for a lot of us to get our hands on a next-gen console. Sony has reportedly said there will be supply constraints for the rest of the year, but we didn't even need to be told. If you've tried to buy an Xbox Series X or PS5, you've probably had to shop around (online, mostly) for stock. And get very lucky.
Security video shows the car's owner getting into the driver's seat.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report on the fatal Tesla Model S crash that killed two men in Texas last month. The report says security camera footage from the home of the owner of the vehicle shows him entering the driver's side door. When police first started investigating the crash, they told reporters they were "100 percent certain that no one was in the driver seat driving that vehicle at the time of impact."
There's been a lot of speculation over whether the owner of the Model S was attempting to use Autopilot, and this report doesn't clarify much just yet. The fire from the crash destroyed the onboard storage device and damaged the restraint control module. The latter stores data related to the car's speed, acceleration, as well as seat belt and airbag status. Continue reading.
Leaked images suggest they'll look vastly different from the terrific WF-1000XM3.
Sony's excellent noise-canceling WF-1000XM3 true wireless earbuds have been around for a few years, so it's about time for a refresh. According to a leak, the next-gen buds could look a little different. Images obtained by The Walkman Blog suggest that, although the WF-1000XM4 will ditch the flatter design for a rounded outer shape, they could protrude less from your ears. Continue reading.
With President Biden's vote of confidence, the first flight unit composed entirely of Space Force Guardians graduated from Air Force basic military training, last week. The boot camp saw 35 recruits undergo seven and a half weeks of drills following a tailor made curriculum. Continue reading.
Back in 2019, Harley-Davidson released the LiveWire, its first all-electric motorcycle. Now, it plans to use the LiveWire name to launch an all-electric motorcycle brand. LiveWire will announce its first EV on July 8th — don't miss Ford's electric F-150 event next week — revealing the bike at the International Motorcycle Show, one day later. Continue reading.
Eventually, you won't be able to chat with anyone.
With its controversial privacy policy slated to go into effect this weekend, WhatsApp says it won't delete or deactivate the accounts of individuals who don't want to share their information with Facebook. "No one will have their accounts deleted or lose functionality of WhatsApp on May 15th because of this update," the company said in its own support article.
However, you will start to lose some WhatsApp functions if you continue to not accept its new privacy policy. At first, you'll lose access to your chat list. The only way the app will allow you to message or call someone is if they contact you first and you tap on the notification from WhatsApp.
After several more weeks, the app will stop sending messages and calls to your phone altogether. At that point, your options are particularly limited. You can export your chat history or download a report of your account. Or you can just delete your WhatsApp account and start using one of several alternatives. Continue reading.
