Today is a rather eventful date for laptop hardware. Intel has officially dropped its 10th Gen Core Comet Lake-H CPUs and Nvidia gave us RTX Super cards for mobile. Naturally, neither of these announcements comes as a surprise to major laptop vendors, who have been hard at work, refreshing models and integrating the new silicon. Now that the floodgates are open, so to speak, there is an avalanche of new laptop announcements to dig through as well.
Kicking off with the 2020 Razer Blade 15. The new revision of the popular gaming notebook will be available in May in what are actually two separate, very similar, yet a bit different versions. Among other design tweaks, both are getting a new keyboard layout, which now has a smaller, but arguably better-positioned arrow key arrangement – the older layout was subject to quite a bit of criticism.
Starting with the base Blade 15 variant, for $1,599 you get a new 10th Gen i7-10750H processor, which packs six cores and eight threads and a base clock of 2.6GHz, with a boost of 5GHz. It comes with a GTX1660 Ti in its base configuration and can be configured with the older Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q.
It starts with a matte 144Hz FHD LCD and can be upgraded to an OLED. It also gets an Ethernet port, which is not the case on the “Advanced model”.
Speaking of, the Razer Blade 15 “Advanced” gets a UHS-III SD card reader and the ability to charge via any of its Type-C ports. There are other external and internal differences in the “Advanced” as well, including, but not limited to a more complicated Vapor Chamber cooling design, per-key RGB Razer Chroma illumination and, of course, higher-tier silicon.
It packs the new eight-core, sixteen-thread 10th Gen i7-10875H beast, which might not be the highest-tier i9, but still goes up to a 5.1GHz turbo. It starts with one of the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super cards and can be specked-up to the RTX 2080 Super. Both of these are of the Max-Q variety, which Nvidia claims has seen a generational improvement in power efficiency up to 50%. In the monitor department, you get a 300Hz LCD in the base model, or, you can upgrade to an OLED. The OLED panel even comes complete with touchscreen and Corning Gorilla Glass for protection.
Both the base and “Advanced” Blade 15 models ship with 16GB of DDR4 RAM, employ a glass-covered trackpad with Windows Precision drivers and use an expandable M.2 2280 SSD – 256GB and 512GB, respectively.
Moving on to another “flashy” gaming offer, we have then Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15. The big party trick here being that besides the main 15.6-inch display, you also get a secondary 14.1-inch 3840 x 1100 pixel display, propped-up at a convenient 13 degree angle, by a hinge that also makes room for some extra air intakes. Obviously, it takes after the dual-screen design of other company offers, like the Zenbook Pro Duo and the Zenbook Duo. While those are decently competent for gaming in their own right, the Zephyrus Duo 15 is officially part of the ROG line and has the aesthetics to match the horsepower.
And boy does it have horse power. Currently, Asus has detailed a few configuration. The top-of-the-line one will set you back $3,699.99 and should be available on June 1. It features the beastly new flagship Core i9-10980HK (8 cores and 16 threads, with a ludicrous max single core Turbo of 5.3 GHz), 32GB of RAM, 2TB of storage and a full-fat RTX 2080 Super (no Max-Q here). Top that off with a 4K 60Hz panel.
Asus has another option in the display department, though – a FullHD panel, that can do 300Hz. Apparently, it will be available on two configurations, starting June 29. The first $3,499 one is identical to the top-tier, but drops the RAM down to 16GB and the storage to 1TB. The most “affordable” $2,999 will also get the 300Hz panel, but drops the CPU down to a Core i7-10875H and the GPU to an RTX 2070 Super (again not Max-Q). Interestingly enough, it does pack the full 2TB of storage and 32GB of RAM.
All of the configurations get a 90Wh battery and USB Type-C charging support. The 4K panel option covers 100% of the Adobe RGB color space and is more geared towards creative work. As for utilizing the secondary display, beyond things like multi-tasking in Windows, with UI for streaming and chatting, Asus has also partnered with Adobe to develop special interfaces. Same goes for Techland, who are working on optimizing Dying Light 2 and there area already companion apps for League of Legends, Fortnite, and CS:GO.
Asus is also in the process of refreshing some other parts of its laptop lineup with Intel and Nvidia’s new chips. This includes a new Zephyrus S17, Zephyrus S15, and Zephyrus M15. Also Strix Scar 15, Strix Scar 17, as well as ROG Strix G15 and G17. Those will be coming to North America in Q2 and Q3.
Xiaomi’s video and 5G-forward flagship smartphone series debuts alongside five new ecosystem products for global markets
Global technology leader Xiaomi today launched the latest devices in its popular Mi smartphone lineup – Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro, and Mi 10 Lite 5G – alongside five new ecosystem products. For the first time ever, each device in Xiaomi’s new flagship line is 5G-ready out of the box, enabling the next generation in mobile connectivity. The new ecosystem products slated for Xiaomi’s global markets include Mi AIoT Router AX3600 , Mi AIoT Router AC2350, Mi TV 4S 65”, Mi Air Purifier 3H, and Mi True Wireless Earphones 2.
Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10: Boasting Xiaomi’s most compelling all-round smartphone experience
Creators’ Choice: quad camera setup with ultra-clear 108MP sensor captures the ultimate photo and video content
Mi 10 Pro brings photography and videography to the forefront with its impressive hardware setup and software features. Packed with an impressive 108MP primary sensor, Mi 10 Pro offers one of the biggest smartphone sensors currently on the market.
In addition to shooting ultra-clear 108MP shots, users can document scenes in full perspective, thanks to Mi 10 Pro’s 20MP ultra wide-angle lens. The device includes two dedicated telephoto lenses that cover a wide range of focal lengths: users can snap gorgeous portraits at 2x zoom, or faraway subjects up to 50x zoom with the OIS-stabilized ultra long-range zoom lens.
The main camera’s laser autofocus module, AI 2.0, Night mode 2.0, and dual-flash join forces to capture unrivaled details during daytime photography and brighter, clearer photos at night. Mi 10 Pro offers the world’s most compelling photography experience with a DxOMark score of 124, ranking #1 globally at launch.
When it comes to videography, Mi 10 Pro goes all in. Achieving a DxOMark video score of 104, Mi 10 Pro is the top-ranked device for videography. The device offers the industry-leading UHD 8K 30fps video recording feature to capture every moment in detail, while its unique video modes – including Portrait video, Color focus, ShootSteady, Vlog, and slow motion – allow users to easily create movie-grade content. Mi 10 Pro also offers a Pro mode with additional software options for those striving for a more professional video quality.
Mi 10 Pro
World’s best smartphone audio experience with symmetrical dual speakers
Leveraging best-in-class audio hardware, both Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 sport a symmetrical dual speaker system on both the top and bottom. The setup involves two 1216 super-linear speakers and a 1.2cc/1.0cc-equivalent speaker chamber with up to 0.65mm/0.5mm speaker amplitude, respectively. Both devices have been specially tuned at every discrete volume level which assists in producing superior sound fidelity. These features come together to create an extraordinary and immersive smartphone audio experience, with Mi 10 Pro earning a DxOMark Audio score of 76, ranking #1 globally.
Introducing Xiaomi’s most elegant smartphone design with unmatched TrueColor Display
Beauty and functionality join forces to form Xiaomi’s most elegant smartphone design ever. Both Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 sport a 3D curved front and back with smooth contoured edges and slim side bezels to enable the Mi series’ most comfortable in-hand feel yet. To ensure durability, both devices are outfitted with Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 on both the front and back. Mi 10 Pro flaunts an anti-glare finish and frosted glass rear panel, while Mi 10 offers a gorgeous glossy back. Moreover, the devices’ specially designed discrete in-display front camera minimizes bezels and allows for more display area.
Featuring a dazzling 6.67” curved AMOLED edge-to-edge DotDisplay with TrueColor technology, Mi 10 Pro offers unparalleled color accuracy for serious creatives and casual consumers alike with a JNCD <0.55 and △E <1.1. This new generation display technology yields higher brightness (up to 1200nit maximum brightness) and better power efficiency over its predecessor, while a 90Hz SmoothSync display provides fast and fluid screen response for a stutter-free experience.
All in all, Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 deliver Xiaomi’s most pleasant display ever. Dual brightness sensors offer accurate brightness detection, while various brightness modes ensure ultimate eye comfort. In fact, both devices are TÜV Rheinland low blue-light certified, and verified by HDR10+ for their vivid visual experience.
Mi 10
Leading performance and speed with Snapdragon™ 865 + LPDDR5 + UFS 3.0
Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 feature the latest 5G-enabled flagship Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 865 5G Mobile Platform. Enhancing CPU, GPU, AI performance and the overall user experience, the 7nm chipset features a maximum clock speed of 2.84GHz with the new Kyro™ 585 based on the ARM Cortex-A77 architecture, and also touts improvements in power-efficiency. The powerful chipset is accompanied by ultra high-speed RAM and storage combinations – LPDDR5 and UFS3.0, offering exceptional write-read data and powerful computing capabilities.
Moreover, the devices boast LiquidCool 2.0 – an advanced cooling system consisting of a large vapor chamber, as well as multi-layer graphite and graphene stacks that dissipates heat generated during long-term use to ensure peak performance. This robust overall hardware setup earned Mi 10 Pro a compelling AnTuTu benchmark score of 602,660.
Catering to the increasing demand for high speed content consumption in the 5G era, Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 not only offer 5G network connection, but also support 5G MultiLink for simultaneous connection to three networks (2.4G/5G Wi-Fi and mobile data) at once for quick connection switching. Additionally, both devices feature Wi-Fi 6 support, the most advanced Wi-Fi standard currently available. This significantly increases the upload and download speed, while reducing network congestion when connected to multiple devices.
Wireless charging-enabled high capacity batteries team up with ultra-realistic haptic feedback systems for the ultimate smartphone experience
Under the hood, Mi 10 Pro packs an ultra-high-capacity 4500mAh battery that enables a triple fast charging experience with 50W wired charging, 30W wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging. Mi 10 sports a 4,780mAh battery and offers 30W wired and wireless charging, as well as reverse wireless charging.1
Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10’s ultra-realistic vibration system delivers crisper, more realistic haptic feedback than ever before with 150 different vibration options. These updated haptics improve acceleration strength and consistency, and provide sophisticated vibration for the user.
Mi 10 Pro and Mi 10 also offer multifunctional NFC and IR blaster for daily access of swift payment transactions and quick remote control of home appliances.
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 865 5G Mobile Platform, up to 2.84GHz clock speed
Storage
LPDDR5 + UFS 3.0
Cooling System
LiquidCool 2.0 – Vapor Chamber + multi-layer graphite + graphene with up to 10.5°C CPU temperature reduction2
Rear Camera
108MP main lens with 1/1.33” sensor, 8P, 1.6μm 4-in-1 Super Pixels with OIS 20MP ultra wide-angle lens, 117° FOV 12MP telephoto portrait lens with dual PD 8MP telephoto lens with 10x hybrid zoom and OIS
108MP main lens with 1/1.33” sensor, 7P, 1.6μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel with OIS 13MP ultra wide-angle lens, 123° FOV 2MP depth sensor lens, 1.75μm 2MP macro lens
Front Camera
20MP discrete in-display camera
Connection
Multifunctional NFC, IR blaster
Security
Ultra-thin in-screen fingerprint sensor
Battery & Charging1
4,500mAh (typ) high-capacity battery 50W wired fast charge (45 mins to 100%2) 30W wireless fast charge Reverse wireless charging 65W in-box charger
4,780mAh (typ) high-capacity battery 30W wired fast charge (56 mins to 100%2) 30W wireless fast charge Reverse wireless charging 30W in-box charger
Audio
Dual 1216 linear speakers, symmetrical speakers system 1.2cc sound chamber Hi-Res Audio certification
Dual 1216 linear speakers, symmetrical speakers system 1.0cc sound chamber Hi-Res Audio certification
Motor
X-axis linear vibration motor
System
MIUI 11 based on Android 10
Storage Variants
8GB+256GB
8GB+128GB 8GB+256GB
Mi 10 Pro is available in two colors, Alpine White and Solstice Grey, in 8GB+256GB at €999. Meanwhile, Mi 10 has two variants 8GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB, in Twilight Grey and Coral Green, starting at €799 and €899 respectively.
***
Introducing 5G to everyone – the brand-new Mi 10 Lite 5G
In an effort to make the endless possibilities of 5G accessible to every user, Xiaomi unveiled an additional member to the Mi 10 family during today’s launch – Mi 10 Lite 5G.
Inheriting the flagship screen and camera offerings from the Mi 10 series, Mi 10 Lite 5G features a 48MP AI quad-camera setting and a 6.57’’ AMOLED TrueColor display with optimized color accuracy. Paired with incredible photography and videography features, such as Night mode 2.0, AI Dynamic Skyscaping, and Vlog mode, Mi 10 Lite 5G allows users to create stunning static and video content with top-notch visual performance.
Featuring a Qualcomm®️ Snapdragon™ 765G and an integrated X52 modem, Mi 10 Lite 5G offers blazing 5G connectivity to power even the most hyper-connected lifestyle. With its Kyro™ 475 chip processor, stellar RAM and storage combo, LPDDR4X and UFS 2.1, Mi 10 Lite 5G ensures a powerful computing performance and efficient operating system.
Mi 10 Lite 5G packs a 4,160mAh large battery and up to 20W fast charge for all-day use, as well as QC3.5 and FFC support.
Mi 10 Lite 5G will be available for purchase starting at €349 in May.
***
Advanced technology sets new ecosystem devices apart: Mi AIoT Router AX3600 , Mi AIoT Router AC2350, Mi TV, Mi Air Purifier 3H and Mi True Wireless Earphones 2
Mi AIoT Router AX3600: Leading the next generation of network speed, Mi AIoT Router AX3600 is Xiaomi’s first Wi-Fi 6 enabled router, offering the latest wireless connectivity standards. It sports a dedicated AIoT antenna and Wi-Fi chip, allowing for automatic discovery of IOT devices and easy pairing with one-click configuration. It also supports connecting up to 248 devices simultaneously. Mi AIoT Router AX3600 will be available soon for €119.99.
Mi AIoT Router AC2350: Mi AIoT Router AC2350 is the Wi-Fi 5 variant of Mi AIoT Router AX3600 and supports up to 128 devices. Featuring Wi-Fi speed up to 2183Mbps, the device’s seven external power amplifiers ensures great coverage and stable connection. Mi AIoT Router AX2350 will be available soon for €49.99.
Aside from the two routers, Xiaomi also introduced an array of ecosystem products armed with advanced technology that sets them apart from other products on the market. These offerings include:
Mi TV 4S 65’’: Boasting a truly cinematic experience, Mi TV 4S 65’’ offers best-in-class picture quality with 4K and HDR10+, along with superior sound quality via DTS-HD and Dolby Audio support. Featuring a variety of content providers including Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, and more, viewers will enjoy an extensive library of entertainment options. Additional apps can be downloaded from the Google Play Store for even more content options, and users can take advantage of convenient features such as Chromecast and Google Assistant.
Priced at €549, Mi TV 4S 65’’ will be available for purchase this June at Authorized Mi Stores.
Mi Air Purifier 3H: Featuring a significantly improved purification performance, the newly released Mi Air Purifier 3H offers an upgraded CADR of 380m2 which efficiently covers up to 45m2 of space. It also sports a true HEPA filter that eliminates 99.97% of micro-particles and an OLED touch display that shows real-time air quality and allows users to manually adjust settings. Mi Air Purifier 3H can also be controlled via the Mi Home App and is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
Mi Air Purifier 3H will be available soon, starting at €179.99.
Mi True Wireless Earphones 2: The brand new Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 offer a premium sound experience with amplified bass and noise cancellation technology (ENC). Boasting Bluetooth 5.0, the new and improved earphones allow for a faster and more stabilized signal transmission. Users will enjoy the simplified experience with a pop-up pairing function3, automatic detection for device in/off ear status, and a quick double-tap function to access music or voice assistant.
Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 will be available starting at €79.99.
Product availability may vary between markets. For more details, visit www.mi.com.
1 Wired and wireless charging compatibility and actual charging speed may vary depending on the charger. 2 Data sourced from Xiaomi labs. 3 Only specific Xiaomi smartphone models on up-to-date MIUI versions support this feature. Additional device support will be available via OTA.
Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Android, YouTube, Google Play and other related marks are trademarks of Google LLC.
It wouldn’t be normal if the top tech reviewer of Youtube did not give us a very first review of the 2020 MacBook Air.
According to the Youtuber words is a weird time to be alive as the corona virus outbreak is at its peak. And he explains that, despite that the fact all the tech events are cancelled and the all the Apple stores are closed hence Apple is launching a product.
The product is the 2020 Macbook Air, which is an updated version of Apple’s most popular laptop.
Introduction of the New Magic Keyboard (which is basically the scissor keyboard a better alternative from the previous failed butterfly keyboard)
Fast separated touch id key to unlock the laptop using your fingerprints
Inverted arrow keys are also back (everyones favourite)
It has to be mentioned that the product is great for those who afford to pay a premium quality product to do what it does. Simple daily stuff such us emailing, word processing, browsing through the web and maybe basic social media image processing (and of-course many others).
Also another thing that needs to be mentioned is that the Macbook Air is not targeted for pro users or IT people who have higher specs expectations, but if you are a typical user who needs to do the basics everyday and you can afford it, I believe it is a great machine.
Now lets watch together the video and let me know in the comments with your thoughts.
Microsoft has released yet another glitch-ridden update to Windows 10, with KB4535996 causing more problems than it’s managed to fix.
The KB4535996 cumulative update for Windows 10, released by Microsoft at the end of February, promised to bring with it fixes for a number of issues affecting search functionality, printing and battery performance.
Since installing the update, however, Windows 10 1909 and 1903 users have flocked online to report numerous glitches that appear to have been caused by the update itself. These, to name but a few, include boot issues, crashes, performance problems, audio issues and broken developer tools. RECOMMENDED VIDEOS FOR YOU…
And, while Microsoft hasn’t released an official fix – or even acknowledged that there’s serious issues with this latest update, it has told at least one user to uninstall the update, even if it was to fix an issue with Visual Studio rather than the chronic BSODs.
Falling apart
One user over on the Microsoft Answers website complains: “I just had this update on my PC and now it will not boot. Fails the BIOS POST test with a series of beeps, completely blank screen. I bought it only 5 days ago, have tried re-seating the RAM and GPU.”
Another user, who bravely installed the KB4535996 cumulative update across their organization, reports that more than 200 PCs are now crashing and displaying the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).
“Seeing this issue with about 200 machines. Uninstalling the update doesn’t come off cleanly and still gets lockups on initial boot,” they write.
Other disgruntled users, who should be used to this kind of thing by now, are reporting that the sound in Windows 10 has gone kaput, that their machine is now unable to enter safe mode, and that that Visual Studio code-signing tool signtool.exe no longer working.
Though Microsoft has yet to formally acknowledge this barrage of issues, it did acknowledge the glitch affecting Visual Studio, of all things, in response to one miffed customer.
“We’re aware of issues with signtool.exe after installing the latest optional update for Windows 10, version 1903 or Windows 10, version 1909 (KB4535996),” the company said.
“If you are encountering issues or receiving errors related to signtool.exe, you can uninstall the optional update KB4535996,” Microsoft added, all but confirming that this latest release is the culprit.
Though there’s no official fix in sight, there is some good news. As it’s an “optional” update, meaning it won’t be automatically installed onto your machine, these glitches shouldn’t be affecting too many people. As we’ve previously reported, you should uninstall this update if you have it – even Microsoft doesn’t have an official workaround yet, so it’s better to just avoid the update for now.
We’re still waiting for an official annoucnement of Intel Comet Lake processors for desktop PCs, but a new leak may indicate more of what’s in store.
There could be a whole new slew of F-series CPUs to round the product stack based on details in a leaked presentation slide reported on by Informática Cero and shared by Videocardz. The slide shows off six new CPUs split in half between unlocked and locked models. Here’s a breakdown of the products listed:
Intel Core i9 10900KF – 10-core/20-thread at 3.7GHz/4.8GHz all-core turbo
Intel Core i7 10700KF – 6-core/16-thread at 3.8GHz/4.7GHz all-core turbo
Intel Core i5 10600KF – 6-core/12-thread at 4.1GHz/4.5GHz all-core turbo
Intel Core i9 10900F – 10-core/20-thread at 2.8GHz/4.5GHz all-core turbo
Intel Core i7 10700F – 6-core/16-thread at 2.9GHz/4.6GHz all-core turbo
Intel Core i5 10600F – 6-core/12-thread at 2.9GHz/4.0GHz all-core turbo
As you can see, all six chips listed include the “F” in their name that typically indicates the omission of Intel’s integrated graphics. This has generally resulted in a small price cut compared to the non-F versions without otherwise making significant changes to what the CPU itself could offer.
The product stack lines up well enough with what we might expect from Intel, and even some recent leaks. An Intel Core i7-10700K benchmark leaked about a week ago and showed an 8-core/16-thread chip with a 3.8GHz base clock and 5.3GHz turbo boost.
The base clock of the 10700K even lines up with the base clock of the 10700KF. The difference in the turbo boost clocks could be a result of an actual difference between the two chips aside from the disabled iGPU on the 10700KF.
Good news for gamers
Not everyone needs an integrated GPU like those found on many of Intel’s processors. Gamers generally use dedicated GPUS anyways, as they’re needed to run their favorite games, and that leaves the CPU’s integrated graphics sitting mostly idle. It becomes wasted space while adding to the initial cost of the processor.
If Intel is preparing a stack of Comet Lake-S desktop processors that include these F-series chips, gamers will have an easier time choosing what they want to get.
The extra bit of price reduction Intel can offer on these chips will also help it compete against AMD, which has been an a winning streak with its Ryzen 3rd generation processors. Most of the Ryzen processors offer excellent value with incredible multi-core performance thanks to their high core counts – and most of these don’t include integrated graphics, either.
Of course, the Ryzen processors are already on sale. We still don’t know when Intel will come out with desktop Comet Lake-S chips. It’s already starting to feel like Intel may be running behind schedule since AMD’s Ryzen 3rd generation has gone mostly unanswered for the better part of a year.
It may just be the case the Intel is running late, as a product listing was recently posted for a CPU cooler compatible with the unannounced LGA 1200 socket that is expected for Comet Lake-S, PCGamesN reports. That could suggest the manufacturer was anticipating a launch date that Intel couldn’t make.
It certainly seems like Intel Comet Lake-S chips are on the way. The question is just whether Intel will launch them in time to compete with Ryzen 3000 or if it will have to face up against Ryzen 4000.
Apple Arcade’s latest hit started out as a joke. The developers at Singapore-based Mighty Bear Games had already pitched an idea to Apple for its new subscription service, but two days before CEO Simon Davis was set to fly to California to iron out the details, someone on the team came up with a pun so powerful it derailed everything. That pun was “butter royale,” and it got the studio thinking about ways to make the ever-popular battle royale genre more approachable. It’s a space dominated by behemoths like Fortnite, PUBG, and Apex Legends, but Davis thought there was enough room to try something different. “We wanted to give an alternative that was much more accessible and family-friendly and non-threatening,” he explains.
Butter Royale, which is out now, is similar to those games in that the ultimate goal is to be the last player or squad standing. Thirty-two players drop onto a quaint suburban cityscape, and you have to gather up gear and weapons to defend yourself as an encroaching storm forces everyone closer and closer together. But that’s about where the similarities end. For one thing, despite being a top-down shooter, Butter Royale is decidedly nonviolent. It’s less battleground, more food fight. You’ll sling popcorn and hot dogs at other players and fire rockets that are actually baguettes. The encroaching storm, which forces players closer together, is a giant wave of melted butter.
Violence wasn’t the only thing the team wanted to change. Butter Royale is also noticeably simpler than its contemporaries; all you can really do is move and shoot. There’s no building or upgrades to fuss with, and you can only carry one weapon at a time. Similarly, the matches are short, usually clocking in at around five minutes. The goal was to boil the genre down to its essentials so that virtually anyone could pick it up and play. It was a philosophy inspired in part by Nintendo. “Mario Kart is a great example of a universal game that you can play regardless of age or skill,” Davis explains. “But there’s nothing really like that from a shooter perspective.”
Butter Royale is also different in that it doesn’t ask you for money. As an Apple Arcade release, it’s completely free to subscribers, with no in-app purchases whatsoever. For players who are used to spending cash to get the latest skins in Fortnite or Overwatch, it’s a welcome and occasionally jarring change. Despite this, Butter Royale maintains a familiar structure, with what is essentially a “battle pass” where players unlock content over time. There’s also an in-game shop where you can buy things like new characters with in-game currency, but everything in the game is unlocked entirely through gameplay.
“One of the beauties of being on a subscription service is that you don’t have to worry about monetization,” Davis says. “You just focus on creating the best possible experience for everyone. We know that for online games, people want to unlock content over time, and have something that they can keep working towards. The battle pass system works well in that respect. I think the fact that we’re not pushing power-ups or anything like that, also works in our favor. People generally feel pretty good about it. And having the high-level skins can feel like a marker of status.”“YOU JUST FOCUS ON CREATING THE BEST POSSIBLE EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE.”
The game features a huge and — as you can probably guess from the name — very quirky cast of characters to unlock. That includes everything from a grandma with curlers to a young father with a baby strapped to his chest to a bride in a wedding dress. They’re strange, silly, and — most importantly — very diverse.
According to Davis, around 20 people worked on Butter Royale, with staff hailing from eight different countries. That, combined with the international nature of Apple Arcade (all games have to be localized in a large number of languages, for instance), meant diversity was particularly important. “We wanted to create a game that really reflected who we are and who our players would be as well,” Davis says. “We wanted everyone who plays, wherever they are in the world, to be able to play as someone who looks like them.”
The team is being quiet on what, specifically, fans can expect in the future. Changes to how progress works are coming, alongside the usual content updates like new weapons and characters. The developers may even experiment with Fortnite-style limited time game modes. But Davis says that Butter Royale has already garnered a very dedicated audience, and the plan is to change the game, in large part, based on their feedback. “We plan to support the game and really listen to our users,” he says.
Apple’s first earnings report for 2020 soundly beat Wall Street’s estimates, landing it an all-time quarterly revenue record: $91.8 billion (about £70.5bn, AU$135bn).Advertisement
What’s more important than this 9% year-over-year growth are the products that drove it – the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, the AirPods and AirPods Pro, and the Apple Watch 3 and Apple Watch 5 – and what they tell us about Apple’s strategy going forward. The company also cited ‘services’ as a key revenue booster.
Yes, officially, Apple keeps things vague, saying that “iPhone, Wearables and Services drove all-time record revenue.” But we dove into the sales numbers and put on our analyst hat on to examine Apple’s bounce back from last year’s declines.
Why is this important? If Apple shifted its strategy recently (which we think it did), it’s likely to continue down this path to maximize profits and that may mean the company will continue to release similar products in 2020 and beyond. Here’s what we found.
1. The Apple Watch 3 was too cheap to ignore
Apple cites ‘wearables’ as a key revenue driver and, to us, that translates into sales of the Apple Watch 3. Yes, the new Apple Watch 5 likely drove a chunk of revenue given its higher price, but most people didn’t need an always-on screen – they bought into the idea of an Apple Watch at a reasonable price.
The Apple Watch 3 at $199 / £199 / AU$319 became too difficult to ignore for people who’d resisted Apple’s smartwatches previously, or who were stuck with the original Apple Watch and in a dire need of an upgrade to the watchOS 6software.
Apple doesn’t break down its ‘Wearable’ sales (in fact they’re lumped into ‘Wearables, Home, and Accessories’), but the company did say it had trouble keeping up with Watch 3 demand, according to Reuters, and that the Apple Watch accounted for 75% of all wearables purchases in its latest quarter.
The winning strategy? Think about it: when the Apple Watch first launched, it cost $349 / £299 / AU$499. Almost five years later, we have a wholly better smartwatch in the Apple Watch 3, and it’s $150 cheaper than 2015’s technology. The Apple Watch finally became affordable, and that’s been a win for everyone.
(Image credit: Future)
2. AirPods for everyone
Apple’s AirPods – also lumped into the Wearables category – were popular this past Black Fridaybecause there were three kinds on sale at once (technically four kinds, as we often found the original AirPods 1st gen on sale ridiculously cheap).
Apple is known for expensive gadgets, but it has begun to appeal to a wider range of consumers who want to buy into the true wireless earbudsphenomenon. There’s something for nearly everyone with the AirPods without wireless charging, AirPods with wirelessly charging, and its top-of-the-line AirPods Pro.
The winning strategy?Apple continued to tout its prestige as a premium brand with its noise-canceling AirPods Pro, yet it kept in stock two other versions of the AirPods for a cheaper price – at least when it could make enough of them.
(Image credit: Future)
3. That iPhone 11 camera rocked
“I wish Apple would release a Pixel.” Someone actually said that to us after seeing the Google Pixel 3 camera quality in 2018. And we knew exactly what they meant. It was clear that Apple needed to play catch-up to hit a ‘super cycle’ of upgrades.
It did just that in September 2019 when the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Maxlaunched with superior cameras, matching or exceeding the photo quality of flagship Android smartphones in 2019. The Pixel 4 didn’t wow us nearly as much.
Apple introduced a triple-lens camera with the two iPhone 11 Pro models, and a photo-fixing Night Mode on all three new iPhones. We don’t take many Slofies with the front-facing camera, but Apple marketed this slow-motion video feature as if it was the next big thing. Well played.
The winning strategy? iPhone 6 holdouts, stranded without a way to upgrade to iOS 13, finally had enough reason to upgrade to the iPhone 11, which had a camera that we found performed markedly better and, importantly, looked different. That hypnotic, trypophobia-triggering iPhone Pro cameras set the stage nicely.
Apple also doggedly pushed its trade-in program to reduce the advertised iPhone 11 price, which made it seem much cheaper. In the US, carrier-subsidized iPhones at one time cost $199 (carrier plans cost more over time), and while we aren’t back to that price, consumers aren’t being alarmed by the full retail price either.
OnePlus has announced new details of its Concept One smartphone, a prototype device that the company will be unveiling in full at CES 2020 next week.
The Chinese phonemaker has been teasing the Concept One since December, with some speculating that it could be the firm’s first foldable. But the actual unveil is a bit less exciting, with OnePlus tweeting that the main features of the Concept One will include an “invisible camera” array on the rear of the device and “color-shifting glass technology.”
There may be more to the Concept One than this, but we’ll have to wait until CES to find out.
A design sketch of the Concept One.
The “invisible camera” effect is created by an electrochromic sheet of glass covering the phone’s rear-facing cameras. The glass can switch between tinted and opaque with an electrical signal, letting OnePlus hide the phone’s lenses without using mechanical covers. According to a report from Wired, whose reporter saw an early version of the Concept One, seeing the effect in person is “a little anticlimactic.”
“When you think ‘disappearing camera,’ you might envision some sort of magic act, or a more pronounced physical transition,” writes Wired’s Lauren Goode. “This is just a camera you can barely see. On the upside: There are no bumps.”
OnePlus has been working with car company McLaren to integrate the technology into the Concept One. McLaren offers electrochromic glass as an option in some of its high-end supercars, and OnePlus has previously worked with the luxury British firm on earlierdevices. According to Wired, the design of the Concept One is similarly high-end, with a “papaya orange” stitched leather back, and camera specs borrowed from the OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition: a 48-megapixel primary lens and 16-megapixel ultra-wide angle lens.
We’re bringing the #OnePlusConceptOne to #CES2020, but you don’t have to wait: you can get a sneak peek at it right here, along with its groundbreaking “invisible camera” and color-shifting glass technology. pic.twitter.com/elsV9DKctn
That’s all we know about the Concept One in terms of hardware, though. There are no details yet on processor, RAM, display, etc. (Though if the phone is using the same cameras as the 7T McLaren Edition, we’re not expecting too many surprises.)
OnePlus’ cofounder and CEO Pete Lau told Wired that the Concept One was a “bold exploration for OnePlus, and is also a representation of overcoming a lot of [engineering] challenges.” And while the device is a prototype that may never be available to consumers, Lau added that the company will be looking for “feedback” from its unveiling and will examine “the possibility of making a device that’s available for users more widely.”
In other words: you might see more of OnePlus’ “invisible camera” in future. We’re certainly looking forward to seeing more of the device ourselves at CES on January 7.
Just in time for the launch of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (and capitalizing on the ongoing dark mode trend), Facebook has rolled out a new theme for its Messenger app inspired by the dark side of the Force.
Unlike most dark modes, this one isn’t intended to conserve battery life or relieve eye strain; it’s just for fun. In addition to a star-scattered wallpaper, you get a set of Star Wars emoji, cartoon stickers, and augmented reality filters to liven up video calls and selfies.
Facebook says that the theme is ‘limited edition’, but hasn’t clarified exactly what that means. It seems likely that it’ll remain as part of the app until some point int he new year, once excitement about the new movie has died down.
How to try it
The new theme is rolling out worldwide right now. To enable it, make sure you have the latest version of Facebook Messenger from the App Store or Google Play, then open a chat (or start a new one) and tap its name at the top of the screen. If you’ve received the update, you should see a ‘Theme’ option at the top to access the new Star Wars design.
If you can’t see the option, you may have to wait a little longer for it to arrive, but you should get it well before the new film launches on December 19.
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