Latest News - Page 666

Apple has long been rumored to have plans to announce new iPad tablets and portable Mac laptops within the next few weeks and even though the company has yet to confirm that, it has taken steps to get ready. According to a new report, Apple has updated an internal document about "unannounced or unreleased products". The move comes amid the new product rumors, although it's also important to note that there is no guarantee that the two things are related.

The document, reported by MacRumors, is designed to tell Apple support teams how to respond when customers have questions about future devices that have yet to be announced. According to the report, apple has today restructured and optimized the document although it isn't yet clear what that actually means - this si simply what the changelog says so it isn't known which changes were made specifically although the timing does seem suspect.

Apple is rumored to be readying updated tablets and laptops for a launch in the final weeks of March or early April.

Microsoft might be planning a very smart AI-powered feature for the Paint app in Windows 11.

If you recall, yesterday we reported on clues that pointed to a mysterious AI feature in Paint, and PhantomOfEarth on X (formerly Twitter) posted that this capability might be something called 'LiveCanvas.'

While the leaker didn't profess to know what this could be, MS Power User (via TechRadar) made the interesting observation that LiveCanvas is a generative AI tool in Leonardo.Ai.

There are many advantages to buying an iPhone but one of those is regular software updates that continue for years after the device was bought new, and with iOS 18 set to be announced within the next few months it appears that pattern is set to continue. While Apple is yet to officially confirm when the software will be announced or when it will arrive, a new report claims to know which iPhones will be supported when iOS 18 ships.

The report, which came via a post on X by a protected account that has since deleted it, claims that Apple's iOS 18 update will be compatible with the iPhone XR which means that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max will also be included by way of using the same A12 Bionic chip. This account has a good track record of sharing details about upcoming Apple software updates and the post was reported on by MacRumors after it was deleted.

While the account did delete the post, it has done that with posts in the past and it has also proven to be accurate in the past which suggests the deletion shouldn't color our expectations. If the post is indeed accurate, the iOS 18 software update will support all of the same models that were supported by the iOS 17 update that arrived last year.

Apple's iPadOS 18 software update is currently in development and we expect that Apple will announce it during the WWDC event that is likely to be announced in June. If Apple follows its usual release cadence we then expect the company to make the software update available for download in September, but a new report suggests that we should expect some iPads to be dropped in terms of support.

According to a private X account that has now deleted its post, Apple will not support the first-gen 10.5-inch iPad Pro or second-gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro when the iPadOS 18 software update arrives. That's according to the source who has a solid track record when it comes to sharing details about future software updates before they are officially announced by Apple.

The post was spotted by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris and shared on the outfit's website after it was deleted, and it appears to suggest that Apple will stop supporting devices with the A10X Fusion chip inside. If that's the case, it also likely means that the standard A10 Fusion chip will also be removed from support which will mean the sixth-generation and seventh-generation iPads will also not be supported.

Windows 11 users are encountering a bug that prevents the installation of the February cumulative update (KB5034765), and Microsoft has acknowledged this problem.

Bleeping Computer noticed that Windows 11 23H2 systems (and 22H2) were in some cases reporting installation failures with the download stopping just short of 100%, and throwing up an '0x800F0922' error code.

That's a typically meaningless stop error of the kind we're often treated to when Windows goes off the rails, but this time, Windows 11 does provide a more informative error message afterwards: "Something didn't go as planned. No need to worry - undoing changes."

The Pokemon Company today announced a new game, Pokemon Z-A.

It's official: The next big Pokemon game isn't coming until 2025. It's called Pokemon Z-A (it's been 3,000 years!), and while official details are light, it sounds like the game could have some sort of building and/or crafting functionality to keep players engaged.

"An exciting adventure awaits players in Lumiose City as it transforms into a place for both people and Pokémon," reads the official description. That's not a lot to go on, but players have pieced some things together.

NVIDIA's RTX 5090 could be with us late this year - or that's the rumor, anyway (though some disagree) - and we've just heard a bit more about how one YouTube leaker feels this graphics card might pan out.

In a new 'Broken Silicon' episode (246), Moore's Law is Dead (MLID) touches on the topic of the RTX 5090, and retreads some of the rumors aired in the past about the Blackwell flagship, while adding some fresh theories into the mix.

MLID replies to a question about whether the RTX 5090 (built on the GB102 chip) will be cut down for CUDA cores to a greater extent than the RTX 4090 (AD102), or about the same, or whether it'll be closer to the full loadout of cores than the current Lovelace flagship GPU.

The Apple Arcade game subscription service has been around since 2019 and it gives gamers the chance to play games on their iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV without any additional fees. That means that all of the games are free to download while there are also no ads or in-app purchases to contend with, either. However, while that's a pretty good deal for users it seems that those who have to actually make the games are starting to lose faith.

According to a new report by MobileGamer, developers are growing increasingly unsure about the Apple Arcade subscription and their place within it with a number of reasons cited as issues they have to deal with.

According to the report, the lack of transparency is a key issue, specifically about how much developers are paid. It's said that payouts have been falling for years with several developers saying that payments started to decline around October 2020 and have been doing so ever since. Getting payments isn't always easy either, with Apple paying bonuses based on something it calls a "qualifying session," but developers don't know exactly what that is although it's thought to be how long people play a game for after it was launched or how often they choose to return to it.

Netflix, the hugely popular streaming platform, previously stopped allowing people to sign up for its service and pay via the App Store subscription option on iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV devices. But those who were already paying that way were left to continue binging the latest must-watch TV shows and movies. However, it was only going to be a matter of time before that changed - and it's now started to happen.

According to a new report by The Streamable, Netflix has begun to reach out to those who pay for the streaming service via the App Store to warn them that their time is running out. Subscribers will need to find a new way to pay for their Netflix subscription if they want to make sure that they maintain access to the streamer's growing library of content.

The reason for the move is simple - Netflix doesn't want to pay Apple. Like other apps and services available via the App Store, Apple takes a cut of all payments made via the App Store payment system. Netflix knows that it's giving up a chunk of money that would be better in its own coffers, so it's now warning users that they need to switch to an alternative non-App Store payment method. Emails have started to go out in some territories, and others are sure to follow.

Apple has been testing the iOS 17.4 iPhone software update for a long time, and we're expecting it to release the new devices pretty soon. Now, a new report suggests that the final beta is just around the corner and, in fact, it could be released to developer testers today.

Apple's iOS 17.4 update will bring with it a number of notable changes, especially for those who live in EU countries, and it's one that has been tested in beta form for weeks. Apple rarely confirms when we should expect updates to ship but we do know that it has to make iOS 17.4 available for download before March 6 - the date that new EU Digital Markets Act rules come into force. With that in mind, the final beta arriving today makes plenty of sense.

The impending iOS 17.4 Release Candidate was first shared by X user @aaronp613, a developer who has built something of a reputation for sharing details about what Apple is working on based on clues he finds in its software. Now, he says that Apple is already starting to roll out some changes to the App Store's servers that will enable support for third-party app stores, dubbed App Marketplaces.

The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus aren't expected to be announced until 2025 and we still have the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models to arrive before that. Now, a new report appears to have detailed what displays the new models will sport including new features that have previously only been available to those who bought the best models each year.

The report, via the supply chain watchers at The Elec, claims that Apple is set to bring LPTO OLED display technology to the non-Pro models for the first time in 2025. That move would mean that all four iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro devices would use the same display technology, a first for Apple. Previously, the non-Pro models used different LPTS OLED displays as a means of differentiating between the lineups, but that now seems unlikely to be the case starting from 2025.

According to the report, Apple is already lining up display outfit BOE as the source of its new iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Plus displays, and samples produced by the company have already been sent for inspection. However, should BOE fail to pass the quality tests required of it Apple will instead likely turn to other companies like LG Display and Samsung Display instead.

Husqvarna is planning "one hell of an update" to its Automower NERA robotic lawnmower models in April, which will let product owners play the 1993 game DOOM.

The new DOOM x Husqvarna lawnmowers were recently shown att the gaming event DreamHack Winter 2023, with an update coming exclusively for owners of Husqvarna Automower NERA models, where you can sign up to play now, between April 9 and September 9, 2024.

Husqvarna explains on their own website: "Prepare your robotic Lawn mower for an adrenaline-fueled experience filled with dark corridors and hell-spawned demons. The legendary 1993 video game DOOM® will be playable on Husqvarna Automower® NERA robotic lawnmower models from April this year".

SAFEDISK has broken a totally new world record, finishing a SuperPi benchmark run in under 3 minutes using Intel's flagship Core i9-14900K processor.

Intel's new Core i9-14900K processor was installed into an ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore motherboard. Then, SAFEDISK disabled all but 4 cores and 4 threads of the Raptor Lake Refresh CPU power (of its maximum 24 cores and 32 threads). The 14900K was overclocked to an incredible 8449.22MHz using 1.79V and some exotic LN2 cooling to keep the 14900K processor at sub-zero temperatures.

RAM inside of this build was in the form of G.SKILL DDR5-7800 CL36 memory that was overclocked to an incredible 9000+ with CL32-48-45-36-2T timings. In the end, SAFEDISK completed the SuperPi benchmark run in 2 minutes and 59.919 seconds, the first-ever SuperPi benchmark run in under 3 months... which is mind-blowing. A new world record.

Intel has reportedly been pitching its new Intel 18A process node to South Korean fabless chip companies, where it wants to secure contracts to manufacture chips for these companies.

TheElec reports: "Intel was increasing its sales activity against South Korean fabless chip companies. The US chip giant was heavily pitching its 18A process node to South Korean chip startups and is promising various incentives". TheElec's sources said: "Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger last year met with senior executives of these companies and updated them on its chip foundry plan".

Microsoft recently announced it has chosen a chip design based on the new Intel 18A process node, but now we're hearing that Intel is pushing its new 18A node into the wild in South Korea (and I'm sure other countries and companies worldwide).

Micron has just announced it has started volume production of its bleeding-edge HBM3e memory, with the company's HBM3e known good stack dies (KGSDs) shipping as part of NVIDIA's upcoming H200 AI GPU.

NVIDIA's new beefed-up H200 AI GPU will feature up to 141GB of ultra-fast HBM3e memory from Micron, which will be from its mass-produced 24GB 8-Hi HBM3e memory, with data transfer rates of 9.2GT/s and a peak memory bandwidth of over 1.2TB/sec per GPU. This is a 44% increase in memory bandwidth over HBM3, which provides the extra AI grunt the H200 has over the H100 AI GPU and its regular HBM3 memory.

The 141GB of HBM3e memory on the NVIDIA H200 AI GPU will feature up to 4.8TB/sec of memory bandwidth, which is up from the 80GB of HBM3 memory and up to 3.35TB/sec of memory bandwidth on the H100 AI GPU.

Today, we've got another fantastic deal on a powerful Mini PC from GEEKOM for TweakTown readers. Powered by Intel's 13th-Gen Core i7-13620H processor, the GEEKOM Mini IT13 comes equipped with an impressive 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and the latest in USB4 and fast Bluetooth 5.2 and W-Fi 6E wireless technologies.

This GEEKOM Mini IT13 can be yours for just $609, including free shipping in the United States, and it comes with Microsoft Windows 11 Pro pre-installed. When not on sale, this highly capable SFF computer sells for $629, but right now, you can save $20 when buying it from GEEKOM.

Enter coupon code TweakTIT13 at the checkout and save! You can also buy from Amazon and UK readers can buy here from GEEKOM.

Sabrent has just opened up the pre-order floodgates for its new Rocket 5 SSD, where you can saturate that PCIe 5.0 bandwidth at up to 14GB/sec with a new Rocket 5 SSD inside of your PC.

The company has just sent out an email announcing its new Rocket 5 SSD is now available for pre-order, with the Rocket 5 2TB and 4TB SSDs recently reviewed, with benchmarks showing that for content creators and gamers, it's the very fastest SSD on benchmark charts.

If you don't want to see those insane 14GB/sec read speeds thermal throttling, the company includes a beautifully styled heatsink that ensures the Sabrent Rocket 5 will never throttle. It features top-grade, thermally conductive materials, an efficient dual-heat pipe design, and rugged durability, which are "pleasant side effects," says Sabrent.

OpenAI blew everyone on this planet out of the water with its surprise Sora text-to-video AI service, which has forced China's entire AI industry to work out how to deal with this, as it has the country feeling like they've lost a battle they thought they had a huge chance in.

China has been at the forefront of the global AI race, but the country has been on the baback footince the release of ChatGPT back in 2022 by OpenAI, and now text-to-video Sora is teased... China is speechless. It thought it was succeeding in AI, but it's so far away it's not even in the game.

The country has countless storage and data to feed into its AI, with functions like facial recognition being superior to many countries. But, the huge advancements in generative AI by other countries -- the US for example -- using text, images, and videos... have changed the AI completely, putting China in a very lagging light.

Helldivers 2 continues to spread democracy throughout the galaxy, with the smash hit new game pulling in 1 million sales in just 4 days after it launched on February 8. But now, the game has reportedly exploded to over 3 million sales in just over two weeks since its release.

In a new report by Chris Dring from GamesIndustry, we know that Helldivers 2 improved its European sales by 40% from the first week to the second week. Normally, this doesn't happen, as games start their strong sales in the launch weeks and then fall off, but that's not happening with Helldivers 2; it has been getting more popular.

As more and more people are playing the game -- myself included -- you start to spread democracy, uh, the word, about Helldivers 2. Or gamers are reading news about the game like this, or seeing the gameplay videos popping up on social media, or seeing it on YouTube. It's everywhere right now. Dring also said that 60% of those sales are on PC, leaving 40% to the PlayStation 5.

Windows 11's Paint app could get another AI feature, or at least that's what the grapevine is suggesting.

Windows Latest grabbed the scoop on this one, with the website spotting a file which is called 'NPUDetect' in the Paint client.

What does that mean? Well, as you're doubtless aware, Paint already has a Cocreator AI feature (which can knock up images as needed, using Dall-E 3 which is seriously impressive), so it's presumably hinting that another AI capability is inbound. One that will make use of the NPUs which are coming on-board modern CPUs (such as Intel's Meteor Lake laptop chips).