Latest News - Page 1104

If video killed the radio star, then Microsoft is killing the mechanical HDD as a boot option to Windows 11... at least according to data storage industry analyst firm Trendfocus.

A new report says that OEMs have said that Microsoft is pushing OEMs to not support HDDs as the primary storage device in pre-built Windows 11 PCs, using much faster SSDs in their place. Microsoft has plans to do this by 2023, so we should expect the world of all-SSD PCs of the future by next year.

Windows 11 minimum requirements from Microsoft are for a "64GB or larger storage device" right now, but this will most likely change when Microsoft makes the big change to drop HDDs as the primary storage option on pre-built PCs with Windows 11. At the moment: Microsoft DirectStorage and the Windows Subsystem for Android both require an SSD, but those features aren't forced on you... you can use a HDD and not use those features.

1TB in your smartphone isn't something new for Android users, but it will be new for Samsung's flagship foldable smartphone with the new Galaxy Z Fold 4.

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Fold 4 smartphone will be revealed and released later this year, with rumors suggesting Samsung will offer a 1TB variant of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 foldable smartphone. The current Galaxy Z Fold 3 is offered in 256GB and 512GB variants, so a bump to 512GB and 1TB for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 feels like an appropriate upgrade.

The company offered up to 1TB of storage on its highest-end smartphones for a few years now, usually joined by 512GB internal storage and 512GB microSD storage -- but then the company offered 1TB internal storage without a microSD card with the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Intel's new Arc Alchemist A730M graphics card has been tested in the flesh, inside of the new Machenike Discovery Edition 2022 laptop which is available for sale in China.

We've now got a couple of gaming benchmarks with the Intel ACM-G10 GPU inside of the Arc Alchemist A730M graphics card, with both Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition and Hitman 2. The new Arc Alchemist A730M with the ACM-G10 GPU was tested against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU by Golden Pig Upgrade.

Both of the laptops used were running an Intel Core i7-12700H processor, where in Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition at 1080p on High quality the Arc a730M outperforms the RTX 3060M by 6.5%. But then Arc a730M gets its ass whooped by RTX 3060M in Hitman 2 with 76FPS versus 100FPS.

AMD's new Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 series CPU has fallen into the hands of an "unnamed overclocker" and been instantly delidded. Check it out:

TechPowerUP reported the image, noting that the "person who shared this picture should most likely not have done so and as such, we won't be posting a link to the source". The photo shows us the IHS that is pretty damn thick, but you've also got the two CCDs and the IOD soldered to it.

The two CCDs in question are part of a two-chiplet design: each chiplet packs up to 8 x Zen 4 CPU cores (16 cores in total for up to 16 cores and 32 threads in the flagship Zen 4 processor). The I/O die is also new, with an integrated RDNA 2 GPU, and made on TSMC's fresh 6nm process node.

Intel's next-gen Xeon "Sapphire Rapids" CPUs have been delayed, where the original plans that Intel had for its new Xeon volume ramp hitting a big bump in the road.

This isn't the first delay, but now the second that Intel is putting Sapphire Rapids through since it was meant to debut in Q1 2021 this year, with Intel shipping initial SKUs to customers a few months ago and they're still being validated. But now, Intel is building in more platform and product validation time, with a delayed production ramp deeper into 2022.

Intel Executive Vice President, General Manager, Datacenter and AI Group, Sandra Rivera explains: "At this point we are building in more platform and product validation time, so we see Sapphire, you know the ramp being later in the year than what we had originally forecasted, but the demand is still very high".

Apple unveiled its next-gen M2 at its recent WWDC 2022 event, offering some upgrades over its M1 predecessor, but now it's time for M2 Pro and M2 Max rumors.

Apple's upgraded M2 Pro and M2 Max SoCs will be upgraded versions of the M2, and act as next-gen replacements to the M1 Pro and M1 Max SoCs, leaving a hole for the M2 Ultra afterwards to replace the current-gen M1 Ultra replacement (which is effectively 2 x M1 Max SoCs glued together).

9to5Mac is reporting that Apple will "continue with TSMC as its Apple Silicon chip supplier. The Taiwanese semiconductor company is expected to start mass production of Apple's new "M2 Pro" chip later this year, which reportedly will be built on the 3-nanometer process". The difference here is that the upcoming M2 is being made on second-gen 5nm at TSMC... while the beefed-up M2 Pro and M2 Max will be made on the next-gen 3nm process node at TSMC.

New Call of Duty franchise sales figures reveal that Activision has sold more than 25 million CoD games in one year.

Call of Duty is still the third-best selling video game franchise on the planet behind Super Mario (680 million) and Tetris (495 million), but soon it could be #2. According to the latest figures provided by Activision, the Call of Duty franchise has sold over 425 million copies of games to date. The last figure Activision had shared was 420 million back in April 2021, which means the company sold 25 million+ games in little over a year.

While 2021's Call of Duty Vanguard is included in the number, last year's release doesn't make up all the game sales. Call of Duty titles are periodically on discount throughout the year, especially evergreen titles released on older platforms. The sales range from older games released on Xbox 360 all the way to more modern titles like 2019's Modern Warfare and 2020's breakout hit Black Ops Cold War.

The Call of Duty franchise has made $30 billion from game sales and microtransactions from 2003 to present, Activision has confirmed.

Today Activision and Infinity Ward announced Modern Warfare 2 features, content, and launch info. The publisher expects Modern Warfare 2 to deliver high sales and reinvigorate the franchise after Vanguard's flop. But how badly did the game underperform?

Nestled in a promo interview with The Washington Post is confirmation of franchise revenues. Call of Duty has made $30 billion to date, WaPo reports. The last figure was $27 billion as of December 31, 2020. This means the Call of Duty franchise made more than $3 billion from all of 2021, which includes Vanguard's launch, and half of 2022. These are lower figures considering Call of Duty made an incredible $3 billion in 2020 alone thanks to Black Ops Cold War's high sales, COD Mobile revenues, Warzone's strong monetization, and the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S helping spark game purchases.

Saudi Arabian prince Mohammed bin Salman has invested $1 billion into Embracer Group's video games business.

Savvy Gaming, which is run by the Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, just purchased a $1 billion worth of Embracer Group shares. The PIF purchased over 99 million class B shares and Savvy Gaming Group is now a long-term shareholder. Embracer says it will use the proceeds to "continue executing its successful acquisition strategy."

Embracer Group is one of the largest and most diverse games companies on the market, with access to over 200 IPs and franchises and a multitude of developers, projects, and media platforms including board games and video distribution. The Saudi PIF has billion-dollar investments in major games companies including Capcom, Take-Two Interactive, and Nexon. It recently purchased $3 billion worth of Nintendo shares.

Twitch streamer Quin69 spent 3,229 NZD ($2,000 USD) during a 13-hour live stream of Diablo Immortal and didn't get a single 5-star legendary gem.

Diablo Immortal isn't just a name. Evil never dies and it looks like you have to be immortal to find 5-star legendary gems in this game. Our legendary gem drop rate calculations show that gamers have a 1 in 2000 chance of finding a five-star legendary gem. The odds are against you, and the house (of the devil) always wins.

Case in point: Twitch streamer Quin69 just held a massive 13-hour live stream hunting legendary gems in Diablo Immortal. The stream is titled NON-STOP $25 RIFTS UNTIL I GET ONE 5/5 GEM OR GO BANKRUPT IRL. After spending o13 hours and $2,000 USD on legendary crests, Quin69 still hasn't found a single 5-star gem.

Fortnite could transform into a fully-fledged battle royale FPS soon and take on Apex Legends and Call of Duty Warzone.

Known insider and Fortnite news reporter HYPEX says that Epic Games is currently experimenting more with a first-person camera view in Fortnite, possibly in the next season. Fans have been clamoring for some sort of FPS mode for a while now, and this new first-person view could be a great fit for Fortnite's newer Zero Build mode.

If first-person is added, it's likely that Epic will allow gamers to switch between third-person and first-person in specific gametypes. Going first-person would impact cosmetics quite a bit and gamers wouldn't be able to see the outfits they spent money on. At the same time, it's possible Epic could be working on an FPS-only mode with special cosmetics and weapon trinkets.

Intellivision gives an update on its Amico console...and things aren't looking good.

Things don't seem to be going well for Intellivision's business, and its iffy Amico console sounds like more of a risky bet. Intellivision recently emailed investors with an update on the Amico's progress and said it hopes to start shipping consoles sometime in 2022, but production and shipments could be delayed due to higher costs and market uncertainties. Initial shipments will be focused mainly on fulfilling pre-orders.

The company also says that it has fired a significant portion of its staff to help lower its operating costs. For reference, Intellivision reported an operating loss of $3.2 million in 2021. Amico refunds may be affected by the staff reduction and Intellivision warns of refund delays, but the company intends to fully honor any refunds...eventually.

The artificial intelligence (AI) bot was trained by YouTuber Yannic Kilcher using content from 4chan.

Kilcher dubbed his bot GPT-4chan, referencing the successor to the GPT-3 language model developed by Open AI that uses deep learning to generate text. Kilcher's bot was trained on 3.3 million threads from /pol/, the "Politically Incorrect" imageboard on 4chan for political discussion. As a result, he has created "the most horrible model on the internet."

Germany disabled its space telescope aboard a Russian spacecraft earlier this year in protest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The X-ray telescope managed by the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Germany is named eROSITA and flies aboard the Russian-German Spektrum-Rontgen-Gamma space observatory, or Spektr-RG for short. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, reportedly plans to restart the eROSITA without German assistance after the MPE put it into safe mode in protest.

JetPack Aviation has unveiled a new prototype, the P2 Speeder Air Utility Vehicle (AUV).

The P2 Speeder was created by Mayman Aerospace, a subsidiary of JetPack Aviation, which was launched to develop vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The P2 Speeder was unveiled at the Draper Venture Network CEO Summit in California and is the third full-scale prototype developed by Mayman Aerospace.

The prototype is about the size of a motorbike, has a carbon fiber body, and comes with a seat so that it can be piloted in person. It also features a modular design that allows it to be flown remotely or autonomously. The prototype has eight jet engines fueled by Zero Net Carbon or Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and controlled by a proprietary onboard computer system that can rebalance thrust across the engines as needed.

The navigation sensor for NASA's Ingenuity helicopter on Mars has recently stopped working.

In a blog post providing the latest update on Ingenuity by Havard Grip, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Chief Pilot at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Grip revealed that Ingenuity's inclinometer navigation sensor is no longer functional. The fault while the Ingenuity team was recommissioning the helicopter over the last several days for more flights.

Ingenuity can keep track of its current position, velocity, and orientation, thanks to a suite of sensors that its onboard flight control system can monitor. These include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) for measuring acceleration, a laser rangefinder for determining altitude, and a navigation camera for photographing the ground below.

The European Union (EU) has agreed to implement a mandated charging standard on Tuesday, June 7th, 2022.

EU member states and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) believe having a standardized charging cable for electronic devices will reduce electronic waste (e-waste). Apple, however, maker of the iPhone and its proprietary Lightning cable for charging, believes that move will stifle innovation.

A USB Type-C port for charging will be required on portable devices like smartphones, digital cameras, headphones, headsets, portable speakers, and E-readers, starting in late 2024. However, the law will allow laptops more time to adapt to the upcoming change.

Earlier this year rumors started swirling that Google was working on a "less expensive" version of their Chromecast video streaming dongle. It would make sense for Google to offer a device for the market segment that does not need a device that supports more than a 1080p resolution as the current model supports 4K HDR.

Recently it has been revealed that Google has submitted a device, G454V, for review to the FCC. In the filing, it is described as a "wireless device", which in the past Google has used the same description for products like the Nest Audio, Chromecast Voice Remote, and Daydream View Controller.

From the filing, the device supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The biggest reveal of what this device could possibly be comes from its description in the test configuration, which describes it as a wireless streaming device. Additionally, the unit is being tested with a remote control device being described in the FCC testing documentation.

TSMC has released two new renderings of its new office building in Phoenix, Arizona, USA -- which is still under construction -- but check it out:

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is still building the chip-making facility on a large 1129 acres of land, with an even larger $12 billion investment. TSMC's new facility is near Interstate 17 and Loop 303, which the Taiwanese giant purchased back in December 2020.

According to TSMC representatives, the new facility in Arizona should be operational by 2024. According to AZcentral: "Structural construction of the fabrication facility, called the fab, is nearing completion, and the office building has about half of its glasswork completed. As of June, there are 38 cranes working on the massive site".

Apple has unveiled its new MetalFX upscaling technology, entering the realm of upscaling technologies alongside NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), and Intel's Xe Super Sampling (XeSS).

Apple's new MetalFX upscaling technology has support for temporal anti-aliased upscaling (DLSS, FSR 2.0, and XeSS) as well as spatial upscaling (FSR 1.0). Senior Director of GPU Software Jeremy Sandmel announced during Apple WWDC 2022 that No Man's Sky would be one of the first with MetalFX, dropping onto the iPad and Mac later this year.

Resident Evil Village is launching on the Mac later this year, with Masaru Ijuin, manager of Capcom's Advanced Technical Research Division, adding: "It's with great pleasure that we're bringing our latest Resident Evil installment to Apple's amazing Mac lineup, powered by Apple silicon. With its incredible performance, now the Mac with Apple silicon is a great platform for games. And with our support for new Metal 3, our game screams on Apple Silicon from the MacBook Air to the blazing-fast Mac Studio".