Xiaomi pushes half a million Redmi Note 11 devices in one hour

Xiaomi introduced the Redmi Note 11 series last week with three amazing smartphones, and unsurprisingly they sold out during the first flash sale. According to official sources, over 500,000 units were sold in the span of one hour - that includes the Redmi Note 11 that was on sale, as well as pre-ordering Redmi Note 11 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro+. The new series arrived with aggressively low prices, right in time for the November 11 shopping holiday in China, and customers immediately took advantage of the situation. The Redmi Note 11 starts from CNY1,199 (around $185) and has a...

Top 10 trending phones of week 42

A couple of events took place this week that had a major impact on our trending chart. Xiaomi's new Redmi Note 11 lineup stormed the top with the Pro+, leading from the regular Pro, while Sony's new Xperia Pro-I rounded up the top three. We then have the vanilla Redmi Note 11, meaning the entire top 4 consists of newly announced phones. But it doesn't end there - the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge which is merely the rumored name of the Pro+ in India is in sixth, splitting last week's leading Google Pixel 6 duo. The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max was slipping down from the lead over the past two weeks...

Oppo Reno6 Pro 5G in for review

Oppo announced the Reno6 5G, Reno6 Pro 5G, and Reno6 Pro+ 5G in China in May, and the first two began their global rollout in July, starting with India. The Pro+ variant arrived in Europe in September, but under the Reno6 Pro 5G moniker. That means you get a Snapdragon 870 SoC with the European Reno6 Pro 5G, unlike the Indian model that has the Dimensity 1200 chip at the helm. We did a hands-on review of the Dimensity model a few months ago, and now we've received the Snapdragon variant for review at the office in the Arctic Blue color, but you also have the option to pick one in Lunar...

Week 43 in review: Redmi Note 11 series debut, Xperia Pro-I is here with 1-inch type sensor

Another week to recap, let's begin. Xiaomi introduced three new phones in China - Redmi Note 11 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro+ and the more affordable vanilla Redmi Note 11. The two Pro devices are identical aside from one key difference - the Plus variant brings 120W fast charging, while the regular Pro has a bigger battery. The Redmi Note 11 is going to be available in Gradient, Black, and Mint Blue colors and start from CNY1,199 ($187). The first flash sale will take place on Monday, November 1. Redmi Note 11 Pro will follow on November 5 in Black, Aurora Gradient, Violet, or Forest Green...

Weekly poll: is there a market for professional phones like the Sony Xperia Pro-I?

If you go to Sony’s website you will see that it sells phones in two categories – Smartphones and Professional smartphones. And the company really means professional, not like those iPhone Pros or Redmi Pros where “Pro” just stands for “slightly better”. The Sony Xperia Pro-I really is positioned as a professional tool, which is why it comes with a hair-raising price tag of $1,800/€1,800. This isn’t something you buy as a personal phone, you get this as a work phone or your company gets one for you. What kind of work? Vlogging was the main use case presented. In fact, Sony...

Weekly poll results: Pixel 6 duo well loved, but availability holds it back

It seems that Google finally did it – it created phones that many people want. Unfortunately, it is not a phone that many can get. And no, it’s not because of the price, the $600 Pixel 6 and the $900 Pixel 6 Pro are priced well. But being available in less than a dozen of countries leaves out a lot of would-be buyers. Last week’s poll shows that many are in just that situation. Though considering how quickly the stock ran out, serving more markets might not have been feasible. Putting aside the question of availability, 80% of the votes in the poll are positive. That’s a lot better than...

Flashback: Samsung S8500 Wave, the first phone with Super AMOLED and first with Bada OS

Do you know which was the first phone with a Super AMOLED display? Some of you may have answered “the original Galaxy S”, but that is not the case – if you read our story of OLED displays on mobile phones you will know that it was the Samsung S8500 Wave, which beat the Galaxy S to market by two months. Back then we called this a "modest retail package" - if only we knew what was coming Or maybe you answered correctly because you still remember the Wave phones and the OS they ran – Bada (Korean for “ocean”). It was a precursor to Tizen, the OS that runs on Samsung smart TVs today...

Oppo Reno7 series fully revealed ahead of launch

Oppo is readying its Reno7 series and contrary to popular belief, there won't be a Reno7 Pro+ version, so instead, we will see a lower-end Reno7 SE. This leaves the Reno7 Pro on top of its series. Anyway, the report suggests that the standard Reno7 and Reno7 Pro share a good chunk of the hardware. They will be built around a 6.5-inch OLED panel, but the vanilla will settle for 90Hz refresh rate while the Pro boasts 120Hz. The same 4,500 mAh battery with 65W fast charging support will be powering up both handsets. Oppo Reno6 series The camera department segregates the two - 50MP...

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE rumored to be announced during CES 2022

Samsung's mythical Galaxy S21 FE should have been released by now, but a string of unfortunate events forced the company to delay the launch of one of the most anticipated Samsung devices. The wait might soon be over, according to sources related to SamMobile Rumor has it, the Galaxy S21 FE will launch during next year's CES, which will take place in Las Vegas, January 5-8, 2022. This appears to be in line with an older report citing January 11 as a possible announcement date. SamMobile argues that the new report sounds quite plausible since the handset won't get much competition...

Redmi Smart Band Pro announced with 1.47" OLED display, Watch 2 Lite tags along

The rumored Redmi Smart Band Pro has just been announced, about a year after the original Redmi Smart Band. As the name suggests, however, the new version is better equipped and offers more features. For starters, we have a 1.47-inch AMOLED panel with 450 nits of maximum brightness and 282 ppi. It's protected by a 2.5D tempered glass while the body is made of polycaprolactam (type of nylon, plastic), reinforced with glass fiber and it can go under 50m under water. The strap, of course, is made of soft silicone. The device adopts the usual accelerometer, gyroscope and PPG heart...

Xiaomi 12 spotted in the wild

As per tradition, the Xiaomi 12 should arrive at the beginning of next year, but that's still not confirmed and judging by the leaks for the past couple of weeks, the handset might arrive earlier than usual. In fact, the latest live images of the Xiaomi 12 suggest an imminent launch. Alleged Xiaomi 12 The original images have been shared on Weibo showing the smartphone handled on the subway. The phone is wrapped with a case to keep prying eyes away. Sadly, the case does its job well and doesn't give away too much. Perhaps the device looks a bit longer than usual, suggesting a...

Apple and Samsung phones depreciate the least after one year

An interesting report by a UK online retailer of refurbished electronics, musicMagpie, gives us interesting data on how smartphones depreciation over 12 months. And unsurprisingly, Apple tops the chart, followed by Samsung, as their phones hold value better than the rest. According to the report, the average UK consumer changes his phone every 16 months and that costs him about 50% of the old phone's value. Apple devices seem to lose 41% of their value in the first 12 months on average and that metric goes up to 60% after 24 months. A Samsung phone, on the other hand, loses 64% of its...

Xiaomi won't sell the Mi 11 Ultra in India again

Earlier this year Xiaomi decided to launch the Mi 11 Ultra in India, following its global release. It went on sale in the subcontinent in July, but only in very limited quantities, and thus went out of stock very quickly. After a while of not being in stock, the phone simply disappeared from Xiaomi India's website, where it's still nowhere to be found. According to a new report from India Today Tech, this is no accident. It turns out that Xiaomi does not intend to sell the Mi 11 Ultra in India ever again. The company has allegedly sold the entire stock it had for the Indian market and...

OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro get an update that fixes call screen lag issues

Today OnePlus is sending out a new update for the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro smartphones launched back in 2019. Before you ask - no, it's not Android 12. It's way too soon for that. The new version is OxygenOS 11.0.4.1, still based on Android 11 as the name implies. This brings with it the October 2021 security updates, which is welcome to see while we're still (barely) in October. Additionally, perhaps the most interesting bit about this update is that it purports to fix a longstanding issue on these phones whereby the incoming call interface would be displayed with a very...

Canalys: Apple retakes second spot in Q3 global smartphone shipments

The complete set of data on global Q3 smartphone shipments from Canalys is in and it confirms Apple is back in second place behind Samsung. A total of 325.5 million units were shipped in the July-September period which represents a 6% decline compared to the same time last year. The big reason behind the fall in shipments is the ongoing global chipset shortage. Samsung shipped a total of 69.4 million phones outpacing all other makers though the figure is 13% less than its performance from a year ago. Apple managed to ship 49.2 million units which is a 14% increase on the yearly basis...

Sony Xperia Pro-I as a video camera

JioPhone Next unveiled, will start at INR 1,999 via installment plans

Reliance Gio and Google have finally unveiled the JioPhone Next over three months since its initial announcement back in June. The affordable device which boots Pragati OS - an optimized version of Android will start as low as INR 1,999 ($27) with monthly installment plans for 18 and 24 months ranging from INR 300 ($4) to INR 600 ($8) per month and a INR 501 ($6.70) processing fee. These installment plans also include Jio call and data services. Retail pricing for the JioPhone Next without installments is INR 6,499 ($87). First sales start on November 4 via JioMart online and retail...

CIRP: Apple tops user loyalty chart in the US

Apple has always enjoyed a strong position in the United States - and the latest report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) revealed over 90% of iPhone users remain loyal to the brand. For comparison, under 70% of Samsung users purchase a new phone from the same company. CIRP pointed out that a large part of that is the vertical integration that means Apple is the only company to make iOS devices. In comparison Android users easily can move from one maker to another while retaining their favorite features. In fact the Samsung percentage is pretty high because American...

Redmi Note 11 Pro+ tipped to arrive in India as Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge

Xiaomi unveiled the Redmi Note 11 series in China yesterday, and today we already have rumors about the phones' arrival in international markets. And as Xiaomi often does it will rename the phones in the new market. According to one Twitter tipster, the Redmi Note 11 Pro will be called Xiaomi 11i in India, while the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ is going to be known as Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge. Yes, really. So yeah, #RedmiNote11Pro in India = #Xiaomi11i#RedmiNote11ProPlus in India = #Xiaomi11iHyperChargeNo rebrands for Global. pic.twitter.com/URB92udDwC— Kacper Skrzypek 🇵🇱 (@kacskrz) October 29,...

Google is working on a second generation Tensor SoC

9to5Google spotted an interesting reference within the Pixel 6 family's source code. It mentions what appears to be a second-gen Google Tensor SoC with the codename "Cloudripper". The research team believes that Cloudripper isn't actually the name of the chipset nor it's the name of the next year's Pixel 7. This is likely the codename of the platform used to test the chip, which carries a model number "GS201". That's compared to the current Tensor SoC's model name "GS101". When you think about it, it's not too far-fetched for Google to already be working on a Tensor successor....

Gigaset GS5 official with Helio G85 and 4,500 mAh removable battery

German-based smartphone brand Gigaset Communications unveiled its latest phone called the GS5. The name probably doesn't ring a bell, but the company is actually a former division of Siemens and has a broad range of midrange and rugged smartphones. The GS5 comes with an interesting curved design with flush rear cameras and something you don’t see that often - a removable 4,500 mAh battery. Gigaset GS5 (images: Gigaset) The phone is made in Germany and sports a 6.3-inch FHD+ waterdrop notch display with a 16MP selfie cam. It’s using MediaTek’s Helio G85 chipset coupled with 4GB...

Huawei shares the list of devices getting EMUI 12

While Huawei is busy switching its Chinese smartphones to its HarmonyOS, international units are still running on EMUI. And it appears they will continue to do so far a while as the company just announced the list of devices getting EMUI 12 starting in H1 2022. Huawei isn't saying on what version of Android is EMUI 12 is based but judging by the recently launched nova 9, it's probably safe to assume that it's Android 11. Here's the official list. The latest Huawei Mate and P series should expect a beta version of the software in the coming months. Much like Harmony OS 2.0, EMUI...

Apple posts record revenue in Q4: iPhone, iPad and services all up

Apple closed out its fiscal year with a record $83.4B in revenue and quarterly earnings per share of $1.24. Despite big success across all of Apple's divisions, the maker missed Wall Street's $85B expectation. The iPhone sales for Q4 accounted for $38.9B - up from the $26.4B in Q4 of 2020. The Mac achieved an all-time fourth-quarter record with $9.2B in sales. The iPad generated $8.3B - a 21% increase YoY, while Services and Wearables, Home and Accessories scored $8.8B each - a 26% and 11% YoY increase, respectively. For its full fiscal year, ending September 2021, Apple's sales...

Image of Meta's smartwatch found inside the Ray-Ban Stories app and it shows a camera

Facebook Inc was restructured into Meta yesterday and virtual and augmented reality will be a major focus going forward as the future of how people connect with each other. It’s not going to be all about AR/VR headsets, though, the company appears to be working on a smartwatch. The image below was discovered in one of the iOS apps, reports Reuters. It’s a squircle-shaped watch, its display has rounded corners and a notch for the front-facing camera. Yes, a camera on a watch. The image was found in the app for the Ray-Ban Stories, the camera-equipped smart glasses that Facebook,...

OnePlus starts a month of Black Friday deals, 8T is $250/€200 off, OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro also discounted

Black Friday deals are a great way to save a few bucks and some last longer than a single Friday – some go on for a week and others, like the promo campaign that OnePlus is starting today, will last a whole month. The exact details vary from country to country, so head over to the promo page to see what kind of deals are available in your neck of the woods. You should see discounts on 2-3 phones and the promise of more deals to come. The OnePlus 9 Pro is $100/€150/£150 off and can be had for $970/€750/£680. The OnePlus 9 is down $70/€100/£100, making its price...

Canalys: Honor is the third-biggest smartphone maker in China for Q3 2021

Honor is now a Top 3 smartphone manufacturer in China, Canalys revealed in its latest report. According to the research agency's data for Q3, the newly independent company brought over Huawei users, and managed to ship 25% more phones than it did before it was separated. The top two spots remain occupied by vivo and Oppo, but the former Huawei sidekick is now closer than ever to their spots. Q3 '21 shipments(in million) Q3 '21Market share Q3 '20 shipments(in million) Q3 '20Market share Annual change vivo 18.3 23% 15.3 ...

One UI 4 beta for Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 now open in South Korea

South Korean owners of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 are now able to sign up for the One UI 4 Beta program. Just two days after announcing its plans, Samsung has now opened registrations for its One UI 4 beta to owners of its latest foldables. Those willing to try out the beta will have to sign up via the Samsung Members app with their corresponding Samsung account. Entering the One UI 4 beta should happen when the user selects the banner in the Samsung Members app. Both carrier locked and unlocked versions of the two foldables are eligible though for some reason it appears...

Realme Q3T extensively leaked by China Telecom

A new Realme smartphone was listed on China Telecom’s page for certified devices, and it is called Q3T. However, after further investigation, it appears to be the Realme Q3s with a new name, likely to sound exclusive to the carrier. It has the same Snapdragon 778G chipset, 8/256 GB memory and even the same price tag of (the equivalent of) $250. Realme Q3T The Realme Q3T is pictured with three cameras on the back - the main one is 48MP, coupled with two 2 MP auxiliary shooters. The front hosts a 6.6” LCD of Full HD+ resolution and a punch hole in the left corner for...

Sony's smartphone division is up 25% YoY for Q2 2021

Sony's latest earning report is out for Fiscal Q2 2021 for three months ending on September 30 and the balance sheet shows a significant boost in sales revenue in its Mobile Communications division(includes smartphones and internet-related service business) for the quarter. This is a 25% increase over the same quarter last year. Sony's Mobile division earned JPY 99.1 billion (~$872.6 million) in Q2 2021 compared to JPY 79.1 billion (~$ 696.8 million). Sony reports that the increase in this division is due to "Increase in unit sales". Sony Xperia Pro-I and Xperia Pro Sony's...

Facebook the company rebrands as Meta to take us all into the metaverse

Over the past few weeks we've heard increasing rumors about a Facebook rebranding as Metaverse, and well, some of that turns out to have been true. Facebook the company is now called Meta (no -verse). That said, Facebook the social network is still going to be Facebook. Meta is now the name of the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. Meta will be structured in two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. Those names are pretty self explanatory, with all of the apps you know and hate (or love?) living under the former, while everything VR and AR is...

Infinix Note 11 Pro review

Xiaomi has sold over 240 million Redmi Note phones globally, will soon have 10,000 stores

During today’s Redmi Note-focused event Lu Weibing, general manager of the Redmi brand, revealed that the Redmi Note series has sold over 240 million units globally. It seems that things have been moving pretty fast since May when the number stood at 200 million. Before that it was 140 million in November last year and 100 million in October of 2019. So, in the last 5 months Xiaomi managed to sell 40 million units – that’s 8 million a month on average. Over 240 million Redmi Notes have been sold • The series will target a CNY 2,500 price point What does the future hold for the...

Realme GT Neo2 disassembly reveals it’s fairly easy to replace battery and screen

The latest device to get the teardown treatment on PBKreviews is none other than the Realme GT Neo2 which debuted back in September in China before going global earlier this month. The phone earned a decent 8/10 reparability score with a fairly easy access to the screen and pull tabs for the battery. Like almost all teardowns this one begins by applying heat to the phone’s back to loosen up the adhesive. With the back pried off, we see a plastic cover put in place with 17 screws and which also requires a pry tool to detach. The mainboard houses the cameras, chipset, memory and storage...

Redmi Watch 2 unveiled with 1.6" AMOLED display, cheap Redmi Buds 3 Youth Edition follow

Today’s Redmi event introduced the new Note 11 series phones, along with the sequel to the Redmi Watch from last year as well as a Youth Edition of the Redmi Buds 3. Redmi Watch 2 Xiaomi was able to slim down the bezels of the watch and to fit a larger screen – the Redmi Watch 2 boasts a 1.6” screen (up from 1.4”). Another upgrade is the switch to AMOLED (the old one had an IPS LCD). The screen became taller and its resolution is now 320 x 360 px. The new Redmi Watch 2 has a 1.6" AMOLED display (the original had a 1.4" IPS LCD) Efficiency also improved, so now the watch can last...

Three-strong Redmi Note 11 series debuts, Pro+ brings 120W fast charging

Xiaomi introduced three new phones in China today - Redmi Note 11 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro+ and the more affordable vanilla Redmi Note 11. The two Pro devices are identical aside from one key difference - the Plus variant brings 120W fast charging, while the regular Pro has a bigger battery. Redmi Note 11 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro+ These two phones are the same on the outside. The front panel is a 6.67” AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate, and features a particularly small selfie camera punch-hole at just 2.96mm in diameter. On the inside, we have...

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra to have the brightest screen yet

Samsung's flagship phones have always had cutting edge displays and the S22 Ultra is not going to be an exception. According to renowned Samsung tipster IceUniverse, the OLED panel used for the device is going to top brightness charts. The peak brightness of the handset's display is said to be the highest Samsung has ever recorded on a smartphone. No actual numbers were quoted, but known how bright current smartphones get that's already quite the statement. The current Galaxy S21 Ultra peaks at 1500 nits so we should be looking at a number higher than that. The tweet ends with a...

Some early Pixel 6 buyers report screen issues: weird flickering, green tint, a second punch hole

Google is not the best when it comes to quality control of hardware. Previous generations of Pixel phones typically developed some kind of malady and the 6-series is no exception. Here are a few issues reported by new owners. One Pixel 6 Pro that drew attention exhibited a weird issue when powered off – pressing the Power button would cause the screen to flicker. Here’s what it looks like on video: Another issue that cropped up is a green tint on the display of a Pixel 6. It’s not an uncommon issue with OLED panels, many brands have experienced it, Google included (on the Pixel 4 XL...

Samsung Q3 earnings report confirms record-breaking profits

As expected Samsung’s Q3 earnings report brought record-breaking profits with KRW 73.9 trillion ($63 billion) in revenue and KRW 15.8 trillion ($13.4 billion) in operating profits – the highest in the past three years and second highest in Samsung history. Revenues rose 10% on a yearly basis while profits increased by 26% compared to Q3 2020. As expected, Samsung’s semiconductor business propelled profits with extended demand for data centers and cloud servers. Total sales in the semiconductor department totaled KRW 26.4 trillion ($22.5 billion) which is a 16% improvement compared to last...

Poco will bring M4 Pro on November 9

Poco announced another M series phone will arrive by the end of the year. The company scheduled an online launch for November 9 where we’ll see the arrival of the Poco M4 Pro 5G. The Poco phone will be “fun” and “powerful”, according to the official hashtag of the launch campaign. This is all we have from the official source at this point, but we'll undoubtedly get more specific as the brand ramps up its hype campaign in the 10 days leading up to the event. Previous rumors suggested the M4 Pro will be identical to the Redmi Note 11, expected to arrive later today in China. Its...

Honor X30 series unveiled with large displays and Dimensity chipsets

Ahead of China’s biggest shopping holiday – Single’s Day (November 11) Honor went ahead and released two new midrangers – the X30i and X30 Max. They are powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity chipsets, pack spacious LCDs and ample sized batteries. Honor X30i 5G X30i brings a 6.7” LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. There’s a punch-hole cutout centered at the top for its 8MP selfie cam while the back features three modules headlined by a 48MP main shooter. The remaining two are a 2MP macro cam and a 2MP depth sensor. MediaTek’s Dimensity 810 5G chipset sits at the helm...

Apple releases iOS 15.2 beta with App Privacy Report and improved Notification Summary

Shortly after seeding iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1 to compatible devices, Apple is now releasing iOS 15.2 to beta testers and developers. The latest iteration focuses on bringing some promised features that weren't available with the initial release of iOS 15. One of the most notable ones is the so-called App Privacy Report, which allows you to track how often certain apps have accessed your private information such as location, photos, mic, contacts and camera in the last seven days. The feature keeps tabs on apps contacting other domains in the background too. Emergency SOS or...

Huawei introduces affordable Enjoy 20e with two different chipsets

Right on schedule Huawei introduced its latest entry-level smartphone dubbed Enjoy 20e. The phone arrives in two different variants - one that is pretty much identical to the Enjoy 10e with Helio P35 chipset, and another that runs on the Kirin 710A platform. The Enjoy 20e with the HiSilicon chip will be sold with 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage. It will run HarmonyOS 2 out of the box, while the MediaTek "standard" version will boot EMUI 10 and have 4GB of RAM. This means that the only thing setting the P35 Enjoy 20e from the Enjoy 10e is the fingerprint scanner on the back of the newer...

About time: Instagram now lets everyone share links in Stories

Instagram has announced that it's expanding the link-sharing feature in Stories to all its users. The company started testing this feature in June and replaced the swipe-up links with it in late August. Since the latter was only available to accounts that are verified or have more than 10,000 followers, Link stickers will enable more users to share external URLs through Stories irrespective of their accounts' verified status and follower count. Additionally, Link stickers will allow Story viewers to reply to it and engage with the account, unlike the swipe-up link Stories, which didn't...

Asus is recruiting Android 12 beta testers for Zenfone 8 Flip

Asus will begin rolling out the Android 12 stable update for the Zenfone 8 Flip from December, but if you can't wait, you have the option to get a taste of the latest version of Android by enrolling in the Zenfone 8 Flip's Android 12 beta program. Those interested in checking out Android 12 beta on their Zenfone 8 Flip have time until November 8, 2021 to enroll in the beta program. Just navigate to the phone's Settings > System > System update menu, click on the gear icon in the top-right corner, then click on "Enroll in the Beta Test Program," fill up the required information, and click...

Watch the Google Pixel 6 Pro battle it out with the iPhone 13 Pro Max in a speed test

Google's Pixel 6 Pro seems like the company's first earnest attempt at a proper flagship smartphone in years - one that looks like it's actually competitive in all areas, not just one or two like before. The new phone is due to be released in a few hours in the handful of markets where Google sells its devices. So it might be interesting to find out how Google's latest and greatest would fare compared to Apple's latest and greatest, right? Say, in a side-by-side speed test? Well, that's just what we have for you today, courtesy of PhoneBuff. The Google Pixel 6 Pro is pitted against the...

Google unveils Android 12L, tailored to tablets, foldables, and ChromeOS devices

Google only released Android 12 last week, and now it's already announcing the next "feature drop" which it's calling Android 12L. That L stands for Large screens, as the focus of this release will be all about better adapting the OS to tablets, foldables, and ChromeOS devices. Android 12L will become available early next year, "in time for the next wave of Android 12 tablets and foldables". A developer preview of Android 12L is now out for emulator use, and it will be available "soon" for Lenovo's Tab P12 Pro. Later a public beta for Pixel devices will be opened too, as Android 12L...

Intel announces new 12th Gen Core desktop processors based on Alder Lake architecture

Intel today announced its new 12th Gen Core processors for the desktop. The six new models being announced today are the first of Intel's new generation of processors based on the company's Alder Lake architecture using a 10nm fabrication process. Three of the six models being launched today include the Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K, and the Core i5-12600K, with the remaining three being the KF variant of the aforementioned models (the F signifies a lack of an integrated GPU). Aside from the new architecture, the headlining feature of this generation of CPUs from Intel is the...

Zound announces three Adidas branded TWS earbuds

Zound Industries, the Swedish brand behind Marshall and Urbanears audio products is partnering with Adidas on three new TWS earbuds. The Adidas Z.N.E. 01 ANC is the leader of the pack with active noise cancelation, 6mm drivers and 20-hour battery life with the included charging case. They pair over Bluetooth 5.2, come with 3 mics in each bud and are IPX5 sweat-proof and water-resistant. Pricing is set at $189 and you can pick between Light Grey and Night Grey colors. Adidas Z.N.E. 01 ANC (image: Adidas) Z.N.E. 01 skips out on ANC but offers larger 12mm dynamic drivers and a more...

Apple Music now available on the Sony PlayStation 5

Apple today released the Apple Music app on the Sony PlayStation 5 console. This makes the PS5 the first console to get Apple Music support, after it was rumored earlier this month that the service might be coming to consoles soon. With the new app, PlayStation 5 users will have access to all the Apple Music content, including over 90 million songs, thousands of curated playlists, music videos in 4K, and Apple Music Radio. Apple Music integrates neatly within the PlayStation 5 UI. It can be accessed through the Control Center by pressing the PS button on the DualSense controller....

Microsoft revenues rise by 22% in Q3 led by Intelligent Cloud services

The latest earnings report from Microsoft reveals $45.3 billion in revenues for the FY22 Q1 period which encompasses July 1 to September 30. The figure represents a 22% jump compared to last year’s performance and is accompanied by a 27% rise in operating income which totaled $20.2 billion. Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment raked in $17 billion in revenues, followed by the Productivity and Business Processes which reported $15 billion in revenues. Server products and cloud services saw a 35% rise in revenues while Azure grew by an even more impressive 50%. More Personal Computing...