Upcoming Snapdragon 7 series chipset to feature Cortex-A710 and A510 cores
The well-known tipster on Weibo, Digital Chat Station, revealed key specs of an upcoming Snapdragon 7 series SoC. The tipster says the upcoming chipset will have 4x Cortex-A710 CPU cores and 4x Cortex-A510 CPU cores alongside an Adreno 662 GPU.
That’s just a step behind the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which trades one of the Cortex-A710 cores for an extra powerful Cortex-X2 core.
The upcoming chip will likely be called Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 – in line with the company’s revamped naming convention.
There is still not much information about who will make this chip. It could be based on Samsung’s 4nm process or TSMC’s 5nm.
Radeon RX 6×50 XT cards are coming on May 10, RX 6400 now on sale
AMD’s Radeon RX 6×50 XT series of graphics cards are coming on May 10, not April 20 as previously expected.
The RX 6650 XT, RX 6750 XT, and RX 6950 XT are all based on the 7nm Navi 21 XTXH architecture and are support 18 Gbps memory throughput. A leaked image reveals that all three cards will get an all-black design and that the RX 6650 XT will be a dual-fan card, matching custom RX 6600 XT models.
Meanwhile the RX 6400 card, which is also expected to launch on May 10, is now on sale in China and Argentina. Though the price should be around $250, it’s being sold at around $450 by dealers. These are early units that dealers want to ship out quickly before the product goes officially on sale.
One note is that early RX 6400 units are being tested and showing a memory speed of 14 Gbps (1750 MHz), and not the 16 Gbps (2039 MHz) the card is listed with by AMD. It could have been a report error on a preproduction card.
This DIY digital hourglass delivers a retro feeling without the messy sand
It’s hard to believe, particularly for those in the maker and mod communities that until a few years back, it was feasible to make decent looking “hacks” or electronics projects at home. Single-board computers or SBCs like the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi made it super cheap to put decent computers inside those DIY contraptions, while 3D printers made it possible to dream up your own designs. While you may still have to use a soldering torch for certain projects, the final results are often worth it. Digital versions can be made of an analog tool, but they don’t have to include all the parts.
Designer: Engineercly
Everyone has a smartphone these days, and all smartphones come with some sort of timer app. This makes it almost impossible to have an hourglass. However, the charm of an old-fashioned tool is still there, as are many other non-digital artifacts. However, a hobbyist might find creating a sandclock difficult. Fortunately, we now have the ability to create an hourglass digitally.
No, this isn’t about having a screen that displays a sand clock, which would be boring and too easy to make. The DIY project aims to replicate the feeling of an hourglass. It can be turned upside-down or sideways and the “sand”, as it drops, slowly. Naturally, it doesn’t use any sand at all but utilizes LED lights to convey the same visual effect.
This project will require a bit more familiarity with electronics, though, as it involves multiple parts that need to be soldered and put together properly. All those parts can be bought online or even off-shelf, though you still need access to a 3D printer to craft the parts. Fortunately, the engineer behind the project provides the pattern that you can feed into any 3D printer or send to a printing service.
The Digital Sand Clock isn’t just a hardware project, though. There is also a bit of coding involved, especially in animating how the LEDs light up to mimic falling sand. That part is actually what makes the entire endeavor rather impressive, given how it can use motion (technically an accelerometer) to control the “movement” of the sand, and the lights adjust accordingly as if they were actually movable solid objects.
DIY projects like these often make people raise their eyebrows, especially after seeing all the components and work involved in making them. Beyond being an enjoyable pastime for hobbyists and makers, it is also a demonstration of how far we’ve come in enabling such creations without being at the mercy of large companies and production plants. This is not just an enabler, but it’s also a source for inspiration and design ideas for engineers and budding designers who are interested in a more democratic method of making things.
iQOO 9 gets a new color-changing Phoenix Orange variant in India
iQOO launched the iQOO 9 in India in February in two colors – Legend and Alpha. These are today joined by a third version in the country, dubbed Phoenix Orange. But, unlike the other two variants, this one comes with color-changing technology, making it the fifth smartphone in India after the vivo V23 5G, vivo V23 Pro, Realme 9 Pro, and Realme 9 Pro+ to have a color-changing back panel.
iQOO tells us that the rear panel of the Phoenix Orange iQOO 9, covered with Frosty AG Glass, changes to orange color when exposed to sunlight or other artificial sources of UV light. To get an even better understanding, you can see the clip below.
Apart from the paint job, everything else remains the same on the iQOO 9 Phoenix Orange as the other two regular versions, meaning you get the Snapdragon 888+ SoC (Chinese variant has Snapdragon 8 Gen 1), 6. 56″ 120Hz FullHD+ AMOLED screen, Android 12-based FuntouchOS 12, in-display fingerprint reader, and a 4,350 mAh battery with 120W charging.
Photography is handled by a 16MP selfie shooter on the front, while the camera system on the rear consists of a 48MP primary (with gimbal OIS), 13MP telephoto, and 13MP ultrawide units.
iQOO 9 in three colors
The iQOO 9 Phoenix Orange’s pricing also remains the same – INR42,990 ($570/EUR520) for the 8GB/128GB model and INR46,990 ($625/EUR570) for the 12GB/256GB model. Although with cashback and other offers you can get it for a lower price. It’s available for purchase on iQOO India’s official website and Amazon.in.
Our iQOO 9 review is underway, but you can read our first impressions here in the meantime. You can also head this way to read our iQOO 9 SE hands-on.
Samsung Galaxy M62 is receiving Android 12-based One UI 4.1 update
The Samsung Galaxy M62 announced last year with Android 11-based One UI 3.1 is receiving the One UI 4.1 update based on Android 12.
The update brings refreshed design to the Galaxy M62 with the usual Android 12 and One UI 4.1 goodies. It also bumps up the Android security patch level on the smartphone to March 2022.
The new firmware comes with version M625FXXU2BVC3 and is seeding in Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Indonesia, and the UAE. If you haven’t received it yet, you can check for it manually by navigating to your Galaxy M62’s Settings > Software update menu.
Valve is saying it’s starting to ramp up Steam Deck production and will be sending more order availability emails every week to those who reserved. It’s currently sending the first set of emails to Q2 reservers and says that no reservation windows have been changed or delayed.
We’ve also updated the Steam Deck product page to clarify what Q2, Q3, and After Q3 mean in terms of months. There have not been any changes or delays to the reservation window. We just added some information. Log in and visit this page to see your quarterly estimate: https://t.co/AcuGmUPbNN
Any of three tiers of Steam Deck ordered now are estimated to arrive in October, or possibly later. According to Valve’s Lawrence Yang in an interview with IGN in February, ramping up of production will happen very quickly – tens of thousands in the first month, hundreds of thousands in the second month.
Having your Steam Deck delayed may be a blessing in disguise as early reviews have reported many issues. Some have deemed the device unfit for gaming, while others say it’s very much a work in progress, but having huge promise. All things in keeping with the Steam Deck’s first-gen nature.
Samsung discontinues Galaxy S9 series software support
Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ smartphones will no longer receive software updates. Samsung has removed the 2018 flagships that were eligible for security upgrades from its list of eligible devices.
The Galaxy S10 series meanwhile were moved from monthly to quarterly updates, now that they are over 3 years old.
The Galaxy S9 series is following the path of its predecessors. Back in early 2021, Samsung demoted the S9 from monthly to quarterly security updates, when the Galaxy S8 was completely taken off the list, and the same thing happened to the Galaxy S7 phones a year earlier.
The Galaxy S9 series’ last major update was to One UI 2. 5 package, received in late 2020.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 and Buds Live gets 360 Audio in new software update
Samsung announced the Galaxy Buds Pro back in 2021, and until now they were its only wearable with 360 Audio by Dolby. The Korean maker just pushed a software update to Galaxy Buds 2 and Galaxy Buds Live, bringing them closer to the Pro experience.
360 Audio is based on Dolby Head Tracking technology, and is similar to Spatial Audio by Apple – the sound appears as if it’s always coming from the device screen, even if you move around or turn your head.
It is worth noting that although Galaxy Buds 2 and Galaxy Buds Live devices from all over the world are getting the software update, you need a Samsung phone running One UI 3. 1 or higher to actually be able to use the feature.
The update is just 3 MB in size and has release code R177XXU0AVC8 (for Buds 2) or R180XXU0AVC2 (for Buds Live). It also brings improvements in call quality, Bluetooth connectivity and overall stability.
Motorola Moto G22 launching in India on April 8 with faster charging
The Motorola Moto G22 unveiled last month will debut in India on April 8. This revelation comes from Indian online retailer Flipkart, which set up a promo page on its website for the Moto G22, revealing the smartphone’s specs and color options for the Asian country.
The Moto G22 is powered by the Helio G37 SoC and runs a “near-stock” version of Android 12. It has 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage onboard and a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion up to 1TB.
The smartphone’s built around a 6. 5″ 90Hz HD+ LCD and has a water-repellent design. It features a 16MP selfie shooter and sports a quad camera setup on the rear comprising 50MP primary, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth units.
You also get a side-mounted fingerprint scanner on the Moto G22 for biometric authentication, and fueling the entire package is a 5,000 mAh battery, which, in India, will support 20W charging instead of 15W.
The Motorola Moto G22 was announced in three colors – Pearl White, Cosmic Black, and Iceberg Blue. Flipkart only lists the first two colors, suggesting that the Pearl White model won’t be available in India. At least not on April 8.
Today is the first Monday in each month. This can only be understood as an Android update by Google. Right on time, the company has issued the April update for the Pixel smartphones it still supports, and for the first time the latest Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are actually getting a monthly update at the same time as the other handsets. No more delays for the most recent Pixels.
Hopefully this is a good sign, which means there will also be less bugs in the software releases for the 6 and 6 Pro, but that remains to be seen. For now what’s clear is that this April update fixes a ton of high risk security vulnerabilities, and so you should install it as soon as it pops up on your phone. This may be a Google rollout and Google loves to speed up its updates.
Aside from the security fixes, the update also packs some other improvements for Pixels. The update also includes improvements for Pixels in other areas. For example, wireless charging should perform better with certain accessories (unnamed). Additionally, the front camera preview won’t appear zoomed into “in certain applications” and the green screen which occasionally appears in the camera preview has been removed. These only apply to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.
The rest of the improvements are for all Pixels that are still supported. The following issues were fixed: A crash in System UI when you use apps in Picture in-Picture mode, an issue causing an error message when setting a wallpaper for the desktop; an issue causing Quick Settings and the Notification Shade to disappear after changing wallpapers; an issue causing animated messages to not display correctly when you cancel a search in your app drawer; an occasional issue preventing navigation in overview screens while TalkBack is active and an issue that could sometimes prevent the Recents button showing an overview when using third-party launcher
The new build number is identified as SP2A.220405. 004 for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, and SP2A.220405. 003 for all the other devices.
