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The iPhone 16 could get the iPhone 15's funky color-infused glass finish
Apple is strongly expected to announce the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro families of devices at an event likely to take place this coming September, and we're hearing more and more about the unconfirmed devices as time rolls on and that launch gets closer. We heard recently that it was possible Apple could bring the iPhone 15's color-infused back glass to the iPhone 16 Pro, and now a new report has said that the finish will come to the iPhone 16.
While it isn't yet clear whether this report leaves the iPhone 16 Pro out of the equation because it isn't expected to get the same finish, or if it is just a case of the leaker believing they covered all bases by iPhone 16, time will no doubt tell. However, it does look increasingly likely that at least one of the new models will take the same finish as last year's non-Pro models.
This latest report comes via Weibo-based leaker 'Fixed focus digital' in a post picked up by MacRumors. According to the report the leaker claims to have seen an iPhone 16 color scheme, adding that the same process used on the iPhone 15 will also be used for the back glass of the new models. It's already been suggested that new colors will be added to the mix this year, with a potential for seven colors being offered to iPhone 16 buyers.
Claims Apple's OLED iPad Pro will use a new M4 chip given weight by a new iPadOS code discovery
Over the last few months, there have been almost never-ending rumors that Apple is getting ready to launch an all-new OLED iPad Pro with both 11-inch and 12.9-inch screen sizes expected. We'd been told to expect the tablets to upgrade the current M2 chips to the latest M3 silicon, as would make the most sense. But a report over the weekend suggested that Apple had chosen to skip the M3 entirely and usher in a new wave of chips with the arrival of the new 2024 iPad Pro.
That was according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman with the chip in question being the unconfirmed M4. We already knew that Apple was working on Macs that would use the M4 series of chips and that it intended to launch them towards the end of this year and the beginning of next. But now it appears that Apple could give the new chip to the iPad Pro first.
Following Gurman's claims 9to5Mac now reports that code found in the iPadOS 17.5 beta suggests that the M4 chip might actually be used despite reservations among those following along with Gurman's report. The code was found to reference new display firmware for the OLED iPad Pros, as expected, but it's the model identifiers that are most notable; iPad16,3, iPad16,4, iPad16,5, and iPad16,6.
Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage finally gets an offline mode - with a catch
Microsoft's OneDrive is getting a mode that allows you to work with your files in the storage locker when you don't have an internet connection.
The catch we mentioned in the headline? This is that the feature is rolling out to begin with only to OneDrive work and school users (across the globe), but surely a broader deployment to consumers will follow soon enough.
How does offline mode work with OneDrive? You can continue to interact with the following views: Home, My files, Shared, Favorites, People, and Meeting.
Windows 11 has a couple of useful tweaks in testing for File Explorer and widgets
Windows 11 has a couple of fresh changes which are hidden in preview builds, which a leaker has uncovered using ViVeTool.
As anyone who follows Windows leaks will doubtless be unsurprised to learn, this is PhantomOfEarth (who accounts for a lot of spillage around the OS, as well as Albacore on X).
The first change which has been dug up using ViVeTool (the Windows configuration utility) is an improvement for File Explorer tabs which you can see in the above tweet.
Manor Lords sold a million copies on launch day, set new Steam player record for strategy games
Manor Lords, which became the most wish-listed game on Steam during its development, is now out - and day one sales reflect its most-wanted status.
For those who missed it, Manor Lords is a medieval-themed city builder that mixes constructing a settlement with a side order of tactical battles - and some seriously nifty visuals.
As publisher Hooded Horse declared in a post on X (formerly Twitter), on the initial day sales topped 1 million copies on Steam. Manor Lords also managed to achieve the highest ever concurrent player count for a city builder on Valve's platform, with some 173,000 PC gamers indulging in being a Lord at the same time on launch day.
Elon Musk lays off senior Tesla executives, even a production supervisor who lived in his car
Elon Musk has just terminated multiple senior executives at Tesla, with hundreds of other Tesla staffers let go at the 'send' button of an email from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The Information is reporting that Musk wrote in an email to Tesla staff that were being laid off: "Hopefully, these actions are making it clear that we need to be absolutely hardcore about headcount and cost reduction. While some on exec staff are taking this seriously, most are not yet doing so".
Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of Tesla's Supercharger business, and Daniel Ho, the head of new products, will both be leaving Tesla today. Tesla has a global workforce of around 140,000 with the electric vehicle giant ordering a culling of over 10% of its workforce, which results in 14,000+ layoffs. The hundreds of people let go today are just a new wave of layoffs, it seems. Two senior leaders, battery development chief Drew Baglino, and Patel have both announced that they're leaving Tesla.
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su named 2024 CEO of the Year by Chief Executive Magazine
AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su has been named 2024 Chief Executive of the Year by her peer CEOs, in an announcement from Chief Executive magazine today.
Dr. Lisa Su was selected by an independent committee of CEOs for her work in leading "one of the most spectacular turnarounds in the history of the technology sector". AMD has gone from second-best to class-leading with its Ryzen and EPYC processors, the company has semi-custom designs inside of Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S and Sony PlayStation 5 consoles, as well as countless handhelds, laptops, and more.
Ed Bastian, chief executive of Delta Air Lines and Chief Executive magazine's 2023 CEO of the Year, who served on this year's selection committee, said: "Lisa Su's leadership in transforming AMD into a global leader in innovation and technology is truly remarkable. Just as impressive is the fact that she never forgets the people behind the technology-her employees and customers are always front and center. Her values-led approach is exactly the type of leadership we need as we move into an exciting and unprecedented future driven by AI innovation and emerging technology".
China's black market price of NVIDIA's H100 AI GPU has plummeted, H200 is coming soon
The price of NVIDIA's Hopper H100 AI GPU in the Chinese black market is coming down "rapidly," with spot prices falling more than 10% in the short term.
In a new report from UDN, the market is watching the impact of this wave of selling on the overall supply and demand, and whether the normal market for AI GPUs will be affected. NVIDIA's new H200 AI GPU is about to be released, upgraded with HBM3E memory, meaning that the price of AI servers with H100 AI GPUs on the black market in mainland China have plummeted in anticipation of H200.
At the time of replacing the old H100 AI GPUs with newer H200 AI GPUs, scalpers who previously had lots of stock of H100 AI GPUs are trying to get rid of them all -- and sometimes, in large quantities -- which is quickly bringing the price down on the black market.
Samsung's new Apple Vision Pro competitor will use OLEDoS panel from Sony for its XR headset
Samsung is reportedly set to use an OLED on silicon (OLEDoS) display provided by Sony for its new extended reality (XR) device.
The news is coming from Korean media outlet TheElec, which reports that Samsung's smartphone business has decided to use Sony's display over its own in-house Samsung Display panel. Samsung is working on its own OLEDoS panel technology, with TheElec pointing out that Samsung needs a new person to look over the development of new semiconductor products (and not just consumer electronics, but electronic components, including OLED panels, transistors, and more).
TheElec also points out that Samsung's smartphone business should've used Samsung Display technology over Japanese competitor Sony, "if there had been close collaboration between the Samsung affiliates in the first place".
AmpereOne-3 CPU teased: 256 cores, TSMC 3nm process node, PCIe 6.0 support, 12-channel DDR5
Ampere Computing already has its first-gen AmpereOne CPU on the market, but its next-generation AmpereOne-2 and AmpereOne-3 processors have been teased: AmpereOne-3 will reportedly be offered with up to 256 cores ready to go.
AmpereOne features 192 physical cores, a 350W TDP, and 8-channel DDR5 memory, meaning it competes against Intel Xeon and AMD EPYC processors, but now we're hearing about AmpereOne-2 and AmpereOne-3. The Next Platform has the scoop, with Ampere gearing up for its second-generation AmpereOne processor known as AmpereOne-2.
The new AmpereOne-2 processors will feature an upgraded "A2" core architecture, and support for 12-channel DDR5 memory for even more performance. Ampere Computing says that its next-generation AmpereOne-2 processor will have a 33% increase in DDR5 memory controllers (12-channel versus 8-channel) with 50% more memory bandwidth, which will provide some very nice performance improvements.
MSI Claw gaming handheld gets firmware, GPU driver updates: up to 150% performance increase
MSI's Claw gaming handheld has received a new BIOS and GPU driver update, which boosts performance across the board by 5% to 40%, while 7 Ways to Die gets a huge 150% performance boost.
The company claims it has "smooth gameplay" across 100 of the most popular games on Steam, with MSI's new "106" BIOS also making it easier to update your Claw in the future. You will no longer need to use a USB flash drive to install a new BIOS, which is something you'd expect to be standard at this point... at least it's coming.
All of the benchmarks you can see in the image above are running on the Performance Mode on the MSI Claw at 1080p, with Low in-game graphics settings, XeSS upscaling set to Performance, V-Sync disabled, and the FPS limitation has been disabled.
Apple's next-gen iPad Pro rumor: next-gen M4 chip, and a 'huge focus' on AI
Apple has been a bit quiet when it comes to its AI hardware and software offerings, but a next-generation M4 processor inside of a next-gen iPad Pro with AI capabilities will fix that.
In a new post on Bloomberg, Mark Gurman, reiterates that he talked about Apple bringing upgrades to its processors in the form of the M4 chip later this year, with some new iMacs, MacBook Pros and Mac minis. But the "big change" for the M4 chip is a new neural engine that will "pave the way" for fresh AI capabilities.
Gurman says there is a "strong possibility" that the new chip in the new iPad Pro will be the M4, and not the M3, and that he believed Apple will position the new iPad Pro as its "first truly AI-powered device" and that is will "tout each new product from then on as an AI device".
MSI unleashes new updates for Claw handheld giving up to 150% fps boost for games
MSI has made a much-needed move - actually two moves - to improve the performance of its Claw gaming portable.
Firstly, MSI has deployed an updated BIOS and complemented that with new Intel GPU drivers to give a claimed boost of up to 150%.
The updates give the MSI Claw the wherewithal to play the top 100 most popular games on Steam "smoothly" the maker tells us.
Roblox and Walmart change gaming forever
Roblox and Walmart are working together to change retail--and gaming--forever.
Today, Walmart announced that gamers can now buy real-world products right within Roblox. The feature is part of the Walmart Discovered experience on Roblox, which gamifies a visit to the big box retailer in a fanciful and colorful way.
Only this time it's more than a simulation--users can buy actual physical products directly within the Roblox client. Yes, you can actually shop for goods right in the virtual Walmart Discovered level. There's three items up for sale: a Sparkly Golden Tumbler for $15, a Fantastical Flower Bag for $20, and a pair of Radiant Headphones for $50. Each item comes with a "virtual twin," a more lavish and exciting digital version of the product.
Continue reading: Roblox and Walmart change gaming forever (full post)
Apple's latest HomePod and HomePod mini will go on sale in these two countries in May
Apple has today announced that it intends to bring its smart speakers to two new countries starting next month, with buyers able to choose from multiple colors when they place their order.
Apple says that the HomePod and HomePod mini will be released to the public across Malaysia and Thailand starting on May 10, the first time that these smart speakers have been made available in those countries.
Both of the HomePods are essentially functionally the same although there are some slight changes. HomePods can be used to wirelessly stream audio from Apple Music and select other streaming services, while AirPlay can also be used to take audio from Macs, iPhones, iPads, and other devices and play it with minimal fuss.
The Apple Pencil 3 could arrive next week and have a haptic surprise
Apple is set to hold a streamed event on May 7 and while it hasn't yet confirmed what that event will be about, the rumors heavily point to some sort of new iPad unveiling. We've been expecting updated iPad Air and new OLED iPad Pro lineups for months now, and now a new report suggests that we can expect something big in the way of accessories as well.
There have been hints that a new Apple Pencil is on the way with Apple CEO Tim Cook saying that people should pencil the date in on the X social network. Now, a new report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, has added further fuel to the fire by saying that the new Apple Pencil will have something no Apple Pencil has been able to boast to date - haptic feedback support.
Gurman didn't offer much in the way of details but he did say that the stylus would have feedback for the first time. It isn't yet clear what that will look like in terms of new features, but it's possible that the vibration motor could be used to simulate the experience of writing on a piece of paper rather than a glossy piece of glass.
Continue reading: The Apple Pencil 3 could arrive next week and have a haptic surprise (full post)
Apple's iOS 18 iPhone software update will bring big upgrades to apps you use daily
Apple is expected to announce the iOS 18 iPhone software update in June with the annual WWDC event normally the place when new updates are previewed to the world. We've been hearing various things about what that update will offer for months now, and it's believed that there will be a big focus on new AI features. However, there's an expectation that there will be some updates to apps that people use every day as well, and it's those apps that could be the biggest improvement for people who use iPhones on the daily.
Now, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the paywalled version of the Power On newsletter, has shared details about what he expects from the new iOS 18 software update. He was asked by one reader what would be new in iOS 18 beyond the heavily rumored AI focus, and Gurman said that he believes there will be improvements to a number of Apple's core iPhone apps.
According to Gurman, we can expect that Apple will overhaul the Photos, Mail, Notes, and Fitness apps this year which means that some of the apps people use the most will benefit from whatever Apple has in mind. It's possible that the AI focus could bring new features to those apps as well, with Apple previously rumored to have plans for a new Notes feature that ties in with the calculator app as well.
Apple's upcoming OLED iPad Pro will use the 'best panels on the market,' analysts say
With Apple set to stream an announcement event on May 7, many are expecting that the company will announce not one, or even two, but four new iPads. Two of those will sport OLED displays for the first time, and a new report says that we should expect some of the best displays in the business when they arrive.
The iPad Pro has long been tipped to be getting new OLED displays this year, and that's now expected to happen next week. The switch to OLED has the potential to bring improved colors and contrast to the best iPads, and a new report by the display supply chain watches at DSCC says that we can expect the displays to be particularly impressive. In fact, the report says that the new iPad Pros will feature the best OLED tablet panels available on the market, including support for a 120Hz refresh rate.
The report goes on to say that the displays will use a tandem stack and glass construction which will result in ultra-thin and light displays with a high brightness rating. Despite that, the new displays will reportedly offer extended battery life for those who use their new tablets heavily. The display will also last for a long lifetime, we're told.
This iPhone 16 dummy unit leak confirms (almost) everything that already leaked
You don't need to be the biggest Apple fan in the world to know that the company, generally, announces new iPhones every September. And this coming September Apple is expected to announce four new handsets in the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The four handsets have all been leaking in recent months, and now a new leak has given us our best look at the new iPhones yet.
That leak comes via the leaker Sonny Dickson in a couple of posts on the X social network. Those posts show photos of dummy iPhone units that appear to show all four new iPhones in all their glory. And assuming they're legit - and we've no reason to suspect otherwise - these new dummy units confirm almost everything that we've been told to expect in previous leaks.
The first thing that most will notice is the redesigned camera layout of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, something that has been rumored for some time. The cameras will move to a vertical orientation rather than the diagonal one that has been used since the iPhone 13. That change isn't all about cosmetics, either, with Apple's switch allowing the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to capture spatial video for the first time. Those spacial videos will then be played back on the Apple Vision Pro.
NVIDIA's new variant of RTX 4070 graphics card is now out with AD103, but don't get excited
NVIDIA has a new spin on the RTX 4070 graphics card using the AD103 chip rather than the lesser AD104, but it's no different to the latter vanilla model - this is just Team Green repurposing silicon that'd otherwise go to waste.
If you've been following the thread about NVIDIA possibly using different chips for certain models of Lovelace graphics card, it was previously rumored the RTX 4070 would get AD103.
And now that's been confirmed by TechPowerUp, who were contacted by a reader who'd bought an MSI Ventus 3X RTX 4070 graphics card, and found that the GPU-Z utility couldn't detect the GPU correctly.






















