SK hynix has just announced that it is the first in the industry to successfully develop HBM3 -- or High Bandwidth Memory 3 -- the world's fastest DRAM.

HBM3 will have vertically connected DRAM chips that will have up to 819GB/sec of memory bandwidth, up from the 460GB/sec on HBM2E and 410GB/sec from HBM2. SK hynix will also have the largest capacity VRAM with 16GB and 24GB HBM3, with SK hynix noting that its engineers ground the height of a DRAM chip to approximately 30 micrometer, which is the "equivalent to a third of an A4 paper's thickness" before vertically stacking 12 chips using through-silicon via (TSV) technology.

Note: TSV is an interconnecting technology that links the upper and lower DRAM chips with electrode that vertically passes through thousands of fine holes on DRAM chips.

Apple has quite the beast on its hands with its new M1 Max SoC which was unveiled during Apple's 2021 MacBook Pro unveiling event, with the latest custom silicon made on TSMC's new 5nm process node.

The new Apple M1 Max SoC is faster than Sony's PlayStation 5 console in pure compute performance, with the Apple M1 Max SoC having 10.40 TFLOPs of performance while the semi-custom APU inside of the PS5 is capable of 10.28 TFLOPs.

Apple has 10 CPU cores and up to 32 GPU cores inside of the new M1 Max, with up to 64GB of unified RAM with 400GB/sec of memory bandwidth. Sony has 16GB of shared GDDR6 (between the system and GPU) inside of the semi-custom APU inside of the PS5, with 448GB/sec of memory bandwidth -- 48GB/sec more than the M1 Max SoC. Apple has much more memory (up to 64GB versus 16GB inside of the PS5 APU).

Google has made its new flagship Pixel 6 Pro smartphone official, with the most premium Android phone from the company packing some serious hardware chops.

First off, we have a huge 6.7-inch 3440 x 1440 LTPO AMOLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate, with battery life expanded with the LTPO display dynamically adjusting between 10Hz and 120Hz, depending on the content displayed on the screen.

Google is using its own Tensor Processor inside of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, made on the TSMC 5nm process node and joined by a secondary Titan M2 co-processor. We have 12GB of RAM across the board, with the new Pixel 6 Pro available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities. Battery life shouldn't be an issue with a 5000mAh battery, 30W fast charging, and 23W wireless charging -- Google provides no charger in the box.

Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple is facing production delays around its upcoming enterprise-class VR headset. The headset was thought to be going into production in mid-2022, but apparently, the advanced design of Apple's headset is too challenging to make.

According to 9to5Mac, who claims to have seen Kuo's investor note, the cause of the production delay is not a shortage of components. Kuo said that Apple's design requirements are "much higher than competitor's products," suggesting that manufacturers are not yet prepared to meet those standards.

Earlier leaks about Apple's upcoming XR headset indicate that the company is going after the upper end of the XR market. The headset could cost as much as $3,000 and will almost certainly be an enterprise-class device. If word of the delay is accurate, it would be disappointing to wait longer, but it's also good that Apple is taking hardware manufacturing so seriously.

Netflix re-affirms its commitment to not charging extra for its new video games.

Netflix is getting into gaming. The company plans to bundle new video games for free with all existing Netflix subscriptions with no added cost to consumers. The company also reiterates that there won't be any in-game purchases, monetization, or microtransactions--unlike most games on the market today. Instead of making money, Netflix says it's focusing on user enjoyment above everything else.

"As a reminder, games on Netflix will be included in members' subscriptions and will not have advertisements or in-app purchases so game play is purely focused on enjoyment versus monetization," the company said in its Q3'21 earnings report.

Shortly after removing its PS5 Darkplates from sale, Dbrand has resurrected the custom shells with a new design.

Dbrand's Darkplates are back on the market, but they're a little different than before. Instead of just making a black version of the often-memed PS5 casing, the new Darkplate 2.0 design removes plate fins altogether.

There's also two vents on either side of the plates aimed at improving air circulation from the console's massive 120mm dual-intake fan, and thus keeping vital components cooler during demanding 4K graphical loads.

The Witcher 3's next-gen version is likely to meet its initial 2021 release timing.

New ratings for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X version have been spotted on PEGI's ratings database, signalling an upcoming announcement and impending release. The listing, which is for the Game of the Year SKU with all expansions, suggests Witcher 3's next-gen port may not be delayed and meet its original 2021 release plans.

New ratings for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X version have been spotted on PEGI's ratings database, signalling an upcoming announcement and impending release. The listing, which is for the Game of the Year SKU with all expansions, suggests Witcher 3's next-gen port may not be delayed and meet its original 2021 release plans.

Marcus Lehto helped make one of the most iconic shooters in the history of gaming. Now he's opening a new studio for Electronic Arts.

Halo veteran Marcus Lehto today announced he will serve as game director for a new EA studio based in Seattle. Lehto says the studio will focus on what he does best--first-person shooters--and may possibly be set in a new franchise or IP. Electronic Arts CEO has said in the past that new IP is currently in incubation and development stages, however EA has two billion-dollar hits with Battlefield and Apex Legends.

Lehto has worked on every single Halo game leading up to Reach and has been an invaluable force in shaping the franchise's legacy. More recently, Lehto opened up a studio V1 Interactive which shipped the failed service game Disintegration.

A new Splinter Cell game is in development at an undisclosed Ubisoft studio, sources tell Video Game Chronicle.

Reports say that Ubisoft has finally approved a new Splinter Cell game. The project is reportedly in early pre-production phases of development outside of its Montreal-based studio.

The news comes during an interesting time for Ubisoft, who is starting to shift towards mobile and free-to-play games development. Ubisoft also just shook up its internal editorial team, a division that oversees the creative decisions behind all in-development and upcoming games. Ubisoft leadership is now focusing on differentiating its games following the lackluster performance of The Division 2 and Ghost Recon Breakpoint--both of which were derivative.

Apple's new M1 Max chip has a monstrous 32-core GPU with 10.4 TFLOPs of power (that's a bit higher than a PS5), but compatibility may be the chip's Achilles' heel.

Yesterday Apple announced its new MacBook Pro notebooks aimed at professionals. The new line includes supercharged M1 SoCs--the M1 Pro, and the monstrous M1 Max, which features a 10-core CPU, a GPU with up to 32 cores, and up to 64GB of unified memory. It's a powerhouse for high-end workloads. Gaming, however, isn't the main selling point.

As Moor Insights and Strategy's Patrick Moorhead notes, the MacBook Pros aren't well-positioned for gaming. It's not because of the SoC horsepower; on paper, the M1 Max checks a lot of the boxes for gaming. The issue is compatibility, namely on PC's biggest storefront.