Latest News - Page 280

Apple's upcoming ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air smartphone will reportedly have 12GB of RAM, up from the 8GB of RAM in previous rumors.

The new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air with 12GB of RAM will bring it closer to the higher-end iPhone 17 Pro, which is said to have 12GB of RAM. The new rumors suggest that the base models will continue on with 8GB of RAM, while the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and flagship iPhone 17 Pro Max will all have 12GB of RAM.

Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital" says that the three higher-end iPhone 17 smartphones will have 12GB of RAM, while the base iPhone 17 sports 8GB of RAM. This creates a much wider gap between the non-Pro iPhones, as the iPhone 16 Plus featured the same A-series processor and RAM configuration as the base iPhone 16.

The ASUS ROG Ally gaming handheld has been modded, adding much more battery life thanks to the use of the ROG Strix G15 gaming laptop battery, and an SSD update. Check it out:

In a new video from YouTuber Miner TechTips, he upgraded the 2023 ASUS ROG Ally gaming handheld to the ROG Ally X specs. The original ROG Ally features a 40Wh battery, but he replaced it with a 90Wh battery that he used from an ASUS ROG Strix G15 gaming laptop.

The modification to the ASUS ROG Ally required physically replacing the battery, but because of its far larger size, he 3D-printed a custom back panel. The additional space allowed the YouTuber to upgrade the SSD to a full M.2 2280 form factor SSD, using a special 90-degree bracket.

ASUS is celebrating 30 years in the GPU business, but now it's planning a new "special" GeForce RTX 50 series GPU, which could be the flagship ROG MATRIX GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card.

In a new special website where ASUS explains the terms and conditions of its 30 years in the GPU business, the company details its prize pool, explaining: "Join us in celebrating three decades of innovation and excellence in graphics card technology. Play your way through thrilling challenges in our commemorative browser game to earn points and for a chance to win incredible prizes, including a coveted ASUS GeForce RTX™ 50 series graphics card and much more".

In the Grand Prize section, ASUS teases "something BIG is coming soon" and will be a GeForce RTX 50 series GPU of some form, and it'll be released on August 19. ASUS says "these prizes include GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards and power supply units, as well as a top-secret grand prize we'll announce on August 19".

Chinese AI companies want to secure 115,000 NVIDIA AI GPUs to power new data centers in the desert, in the middle of US export restrictions stopping high-end AI chips from entering China.

In a new report from Bloomberg, we're hearing that futuristic structures are data centers that Chinese AI companies want to equip with high-end American semiconductors, chips that the US government doesn't want China to obtain. Bloomberg News has analyzed investment approvals, tender documents, and company filings that show Chinese AI companies aim to install over 115,000 of NVIDIA's high-end AI GPUs.

The companies want to install the AI chips in over 36 data centers across China's western deserts, with operators in Xinjiang planning to house most of the AI chips in a single compound, which, if achieved, could be used to train foundational LLMs (large language models) like those of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.

Apple is reportedly set to introduce a Vision Pro successor this year, with performance improvements in the use of its newer M4 processor, improved AI functions, and a more comfortable strap.

In a new report from Mark Gurman inside his new PowerOn newsletter, we're hearing that the updated Vision Pro will sport a faster M4 processor and other components that can "better run" AI, according to the usual "people familiar with the matter". There will also be a new strap that will make it easier to wear the Vision Pro for longer periods of time.

These won't be the only upgrades Apple includes in a new Vision Pro headset, as there is a redesigned model coming in 2027 that "significantly reduces the weight of the headset" according to Gurman's sources. The initial upgrade to the Vision Pro headset will use the M4 processor that Apple has inside of its new iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and iMac, representing a big upgrade in performance over the current Vision Pro which is powered by the M2 processor.

NVIDIA AI GPUs are being used as collateral for huge loans, with UK-based startup Fluidstack using its arsenal of NVIDIA AI chips to secure over $10 billion in loans.

In a new report from The Information picked up by insider @Jukanrosleve on X, we're hearing that in the past CoreWeave pioneered a new financial model by raising $9.9 billion in funding through GPU-backed financing to purchase AI chips and leasing them out to clients including OpenAI, effectively "paying off debt with GPUs".

Led by CoreWeave, multiple AI cloud computing startups are expanding their financing using high-performance AI chips as collateral, with the total loan volume exceeding $20 billion. However, there are potential risks involved with this financing model because of the short product lifecycle of NVIDIA GPUs which sees the AI chips depreciating rather quickly.

JEDEC has just announced the publication of its new LPDDR6 memory standard dubbed "JESD209-6" which has been designed to boost memory speeds and efficiency, for the future of mobile devices and AI.

The new LPDDR6 memory standard represents a significant advancement in memory technology, increasing performance, power efficiency, and security. In order to enable AI applications and other high-performance workloads, the new LPDDR6 standard uses a dual sub-channel architecture that allows for flexible operation while maintaining a small access granularity of 32 bytes.

Mian Quddus, JEDEC's Chairman of the Board of Directors, explains: "JEDEC is proud to introduce LPDDR6, the culmination of years of dedicated effort by members of the JC-42.6 Subcommittee for Low Power Memories. By delivering a balance of power efficiency, robust security options and high performance, LPDDR6 is an ideal choice for next-generation mobile devices, AI and related applications to thrive in a power-conscious, high-performance world".

The new Superman movie is here and NVIDIA is celebrating in the best way possible with a new giveaway, a one-of-a-kind Superman-themed GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card that has been signed by the legendary Jim Lee.

The official NVIDIA GeForce account on X posted about the giveaway, where you can win the one-of-a-kind Superman-themed GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition that has been hand-painted and signed by Jim Lee. Lee used acrylic paint, featuring Superman and his loyal companion Krypto. On the card's front face, Lee personally signed it, too.

Lee is the President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics, with NVIDIA's new Superman-themed GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card giveaway representing a huge chance for Superman fans. As for the movie, Superman hits theaters on July 11, directed by James Gunn, who was behind the camera for the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy when he was at Marvel.

Samsung has unveiled its new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 foldable smartphones, with its new Galaxy Z Flip 7 featuring a bigger battery, a sleeker design, and powered by the company's new in-house Exynos 2500 processor.

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 smartphone has multiple new tweaks, with a sleek new design that has flat edges and rounded corners, measuring in at just 13.7mm thick folded and 6.9mm when unfolded. The new Galaxy Z Flip 7 weighs in at just 188g, making it a tiny bit heavier than the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and thinner.

Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 7 has a new cover display with a new 4.1-inch Super AMOLED Flex Window, while the main display has been increased from 6.7 inches on the Galaxy Z Flip 6 to a larger 6.9 inches on the new Galaxy Z Flip 7. It's also smoother with a 120Hz refresh rate, and higher peak brightness of up to 2600 nits.

Samsung has just unveiled its new Galaxy Z Fold 7 smartphone with a beautiful new design, which is thinner than the previous Galaxy Z Fold 6, with a bigger display, the lack of the S Pen, and powered by Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite processor.

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 smartphone is now thinner than ever before at just 4.2mm when unfolded and only 8.9mm when folded, compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which was much thicker at 12.1mm when folded. The new flagship foldable smartphone also weighs only 217g compared to the 239g of the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

Samsung has also boosted the size and resolution of the outer display, which is now wider with a 6.5-inch panel and 2520 x 1080 resolution, which makes it around the same aspect ratio as a regular smartphone. Inside, the inner display is 8 inches making it nearly as large as an Apple iPad mini 7, bridging the gap between a small tablet and smartphone.

Oblivion Remastered was surprise dropped on April 22 and gained a massive amount of attention from long-time fans of the series, and seemingly new players who have heard about the game that put Bethesda on the map, but couldn't play the original due to its age.

Bethesda gave Oblivion more than a facelift with its Remaster. The studio behind the overhaul, Virtuos, added new systems, modernized the combat, and added a pretty fresh coat of paint, breathing new life into the classic title. Most importantly, for players returning to the game, Virtuos captured the essence of what made Oblivion, Oblivion, keeping many of the same old bugs, quirks, and hidden elements.

However, there was a common complaint by players, and that revolved around the difficulty settings for the title, specifically the gulf between "Adept" and "Expert". Players reported there being an intense jump between these two difficulty settings, with Adept players reporting they want the combat to be a little bit more difficult, while Expert players are reporting that the combat is overwhelmingly difficult.

Some new research is suggesting that AI may cause burnout in employees who heavily use the tech.

A survey from the Upwork Research Institute (spotted by ZDNet) drew some interesting conclusions and highlighted a big difference in the impact of AI usage in staff members employed at a company versus freelancers.

There's a clear enough message that AI can help drive better productivity, with 77% of executives saying that they had observed gains in that department thanks to the tech, and employees estimating that they're 40% more productive using AI tools.

After spending two years at the helm of what is probably the most contentious social media platform in the world, Linda Yaccarino has officially stepped down as CEO of X.

In a recent X post, the now former CEO of the Elon Musk-owned social media platform announced her departure from the helm of the company, writing that when she accepted the position two years ago she knew it "would be the opportunity of a lifetime." Yaccarino added that when she first discussed Elon Musk's vision for X, she knew it would be an incredible opportunity for her to be entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out his vision, protecting free speech, turning the company around, and creating what is now considered to be the "Everything App."

X owner Elon Musk responded to the departure message from Yaccarino by writing, "Thank you for your contributions." Musk has yet to announce the next CEO for the company. As for other X-related news, Grok was recently updated and began spilling antisemitic remarks across the platform, causing xAI to respond by taking the AI chatbot offline. These remarks came after Musk said that Grok's responses were too "woke" and that users can expect a change in the behavior of the AI chat when the next update is rolled out.

NVIDIA has become the first company in the world to reach a staggering $4 trillion market cap, despite the company's stock valuation being somewhat sluggish at the start of the year.

The new record was broken on Wednesday when shares of NVIDIA rose as much as 2.5% to an all-time high of $164, which pushed the total market cap for the company briefly over the $4 trillion mark. At the time of writing, NVIDIA is sitting at $3.94 trillion. For those who don't remember, NVIDIA's stock took a $600 billion tumble at the start of the year when Chinese AI company DeepSeek shook the entire AI sector, and by at large, NVIDIA, when it unveiled a new AI model that's performance was on par with Western AI models, but only required a fraction of the processing power.

The emergence of the DeepSeek AI model cast doubt on whether companies looking to expand their AI infrastructure actually needed NVIDIA's AI GPUs for more raw processing power, or would be better off investing in improving the efficiency of their current AI models on the software side. NVIDIA reached a $1 trillion market value for the first time in June 2023, and in just a single year, it managed to triple that valuation, beating the pace of other industry tech juggernauts such as Microsoft and Apple.

Halo Studios has reportedly been hit by the Microsoft layoffs that impacted as many as 9,000 employees across various companies falling under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella.

A developer from Halo Studios has informed Engadget that "at least five employees" from Halo have been fired as part of the recent sweeping Microsoft layoffs, following employees receiving an email last week from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer about incoming "organization shifts" intended to "increase agility and effectiveness." According to the report, affected Halo Studios employees were brought into a meeting with team leaders and informed about the incoming layoffs.

The developer also informed the publication that the environment at Halo Studios is quite tense, even before the scheduled layoffs. The reason for the tense environment is that the current state of the new Halo game isn't great, with that title currently undergoing significant development struggles. The developer said, "I don't think anybody is really happy about the quality of the product right now. There's been a lot of tension and pep talks trying to rally folks to ship."

Amazon Prime members can grab some compelling games for free this month, as the retail giant has pulled out the big guns due to the Prime Day sale.

The freebies for July include Football Manager 2024 and the very much underrated Marvel's Midnight Suns, so there's a heavy dose of strategy, planning, and thinking between those two games.

Amazon is also offering Amnesia: The Dark Descent for free, and the classic Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.

A sophisticated and alarming malware campaign has been enacted through web browser extensions, with the result that 2.3 million users across both Chrome and Edge have fallen victim to this large-scale scam.

Koi Security carried out an investigation into a color picker extension (software that lets you copy any color from a website, if you want to use that particular shade in a project of your own) and discovered the 'RedDirection' malware campaign behind it (and 17 other extensions for Chrome and Edge).

The gist of it is that these extensions are essentially the software equivalent of a long con. They have been around for a long time, are professionally implemented, and do what they say on the tin - and they do it well. As such, the extensions have accrued a whole load of positive reviews, Google certification (the verified badge), plus a ton of installs.

Universal Flash Storage (UFS) offers high-performance, low-power storage for mobile devices. With KIOXIA now sampling its new UFS Ver. 4.1 embedded memory devices to partners, it's set to usher in a new era for next-generation mobile applications and smartphones with powerful on-device AI.

KIOXIA-powered UFS Ver. 4.1 devices incorporate the company's latest 8th generation BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory, which introduces CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array) technology to boost power efficiency, performance, and density. This is a triple win for mobile devices as it offers a performance increase of up to 45% when compared to the previous generation.

KIOXIA UFS Ver. 4.1 devices will also lead to faster downloads and smoother app performance, and will be available in capacities of 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB. Here's a breakdown of the performance gains, covering read/write and power efficiency.

Compared to the previous version of Windows, Windows 11 comes with quite a lot of unnecessary software that users who care about having a clean PC, free of any unneeded applications, need to spend time removing when installing a fresh version of the operating system.

Unfortunately, this can be a time-consuming process, and removing specific applications, such as Microsoft Edge or OneDrive, can even require the user to delve into PowerShell, a command-line program. Getting into this territory of Windows can be daunting for some users, which is why many users wanting to remove Windows bloatware typically look for third-party software specifically designed to remove it from a new installation of Windows. An example of this, and something I use regularly, is Talon. Check that out here.

However, there now appears to be a new way to remove Windows 11 bloat, and it's designed by Microsoft itself. Windows Insiders have discovered a feature in Windows 11 version 25H2 that allows users to remove pre-installed apps. The setting is called Remove Default Microsoft Store Packages, and is located under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Package Deployment. The apps are removed after the user selects which ones they want to keep and which ones they want to discard from the installation.

Last week, reports surfaced from Call of Duty: WWII PC players that an exploit existed that allowed hackers to infiltrate player PCs mid-game and take control of them.

Some players who were experiencing this problem reported hackers taking control of their PC and opening up pornographic videos and even Notepad with a message informing them they have been hacked and need to contact some named users about the hack. Players who noticed this pointed to a Remote Command Execution (RCE) exploit, which, for those unfamiliar, enables a malicious actor to execute code on a target device. Essentially, RCE exploits mean a bad actor can install malware, viruses, or even harvest data from the target PC.

Reports of Call of Duty: WWII being vulnerable to an RCE exploit increased substantially after it was added to Game Pass, presumably due to the number of people it became readily available to, a small portion of whom would have taken advantage of the RCE exploit. Now, Activision has responded by taking Call of Duty: WWII offline, with TechCrunch reporting that an individual with knowledge of the topic said Activision took the game offline due to the reports of hacking while it fixes the issue.