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Apple iPhone design boss joins Jony Ive, Sam Altman to build the 'iPhone of AI'
Apple's "legendary designer," Jony Ive, and OpenAI founder Sam Altman have now acquired another Apple design veteran: Tang Tan.
Tan will join LoveForm and will help the company shape the look and capabilities of its new products, according to Bloomberg's sources. Altman has been at the forefront of AI for a while now, with ChatGPT used by millions across the planet, where Altman has plans to provide the software side of things -- AI -- to new devices.
Ive worked with Steve Jobs at Apple and created some of the most iconic designs of our times, with devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac all getting that Ive touch. Tan will be leading a new hardware engineering product at LoveForm, leaving his former position as Apple's vice president of iPhone and Watch product designs.
This Redditor passively cooled his PC with Ryzen 7 7700X and GeForce RTX 4060
This passively-cooled gaming system is something a Redditor did himself, passively cooling an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card.
Redditor "Prestigious_Gate_615" posted some pictures of his custom system that's cooled by dual Noctua NH-P1 heatsinks and 3D-printed parts. The system itself features an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X processor, 64GB of G.SKILL Flare X5 DDR5-6000 CL30 memory, and a GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060 WINDFORCE graphics card.
These parts were specifically chosen for their lower power consumption and, thus: less heat output. The less heat being pumped out of the CPU and GPU means that a custom, passively cooled gaming system can be had... and it looks awesome, too.
Lenovo Legion Y7000 and Y9000 gaming laptops teased with Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU
Lenovo's new wave of Legion Y7000 and Y9000 gaming laptops have been leaked, which will be new gaming laptops exclusive to the Chinese market.
The company unleashed a new teaser trailer for its Lenovo Legion 2024 laptops, which will be unveiled on January 8, 2024... just when Intel will be unveiling its new 14th Gen Core "Raptor Lake Refresh" CPUs with the new flagship Core i9-14900HX mobile processor with 24 cores and 32 threads with boosted CPU clocks above the 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" CPUs.
Lenovo is going with a Mission Impossible-style marketing campaign for its new Legion Y7000 and Legion Y9000 gaming laptops, with the teaser showing a mission involving a heist to steal the new Lenovo Legion Y9000 gaming laptop with the Intel Core i9-14900HX processor inside.
Seasonic recommends using a hair dryer to bend 12VHPWR & 12V-2×6 power cables
Seasonic has new 90-degree angled 12V-2x6 power connector cables on the way after the incredibly frustrating -- and sometimes catastrophic -- launch of the 12VHPWR power connector used on NVIDIA's current-gen GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs.
PCI-SIG and power supply manufacturers were quick to resolve the issues surrounding the sometimes problematic issues with 12VHPWR power connectors with the new ATX 3.1 / CEM 5.1 specifications, which started the journey of the new 12V-2x6 power connector. These new connectors and cables will be shipped and bundled with new PSUs and new GPUs from AIB partners in 2024.
Seasonic has just announced its new 12V-2x6 power connector cables, with a 90-degree angled design in an L-shape coming in 2024. These upgraded 12V-2x6 power cables will be supplied with the latest ATX 3.1 PSU series with users that own a Seasonic ATX 3.0 PSU (in the FOCUS, Vertex, or PRIME series) can get this cable shipped to them, all for free.
SK hynix announces next-gen HBM4 memory development kicks off in 2024
SH hynix has published a new blog post, announcing that the company will kick off the development of its next-generation HBM4 high-bandwidth memory in 2024.
We have both Micron and Samsung also producing HBM4 memory in 2024, where the companies are expecting HBM4 memory to be ready for 2025-2026. SK hynix explained that it plans on commencing production of its next-gen HBM4 memory in 2024, whereas Senior Manager Kim Wang-soo explained that SK hynix will also be pushing out new HBM3 memory in 2024 with boosted speeds and larger capacities.
GSM team leader Kim Wang-soo explained: "With mass production and sales of HBM3E planned for next year, our market dominance will be maximized once again. As development of HBM4, the follow-up product, is also scheduled to begin in earnest, SK Hynix's HBM will enter a new phase next year. "It will be a year where we celebrate".
Continue reading: SK hynix announces next-gen HBM4 memory development kicks off in 2024 (full post)
Lenovo's new ThinkBook 14+ 2024 laptop features Intel Core Ultra CPU, OCulink connector
Lenovo's new ThinkBook 14+ laptop has been teased, with a few nice tricks up its sleeve in the form of featuring Intel's new Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" CPU and its first laptop with an OCulink connector.
The next-gen Lenovo ThinkBook 14+ laptop has shown up on multiple Chinese social media platforms, along with other laptops Lenovo has in the works that'll be unveiled at CES 2024 early next year; the ThinkBook 14+ is an interesting offering. We've seen gaming handhelds feature an OCulink connector, providing faster gaming performance through using an external GPU with more bandwidth over Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 connectivity.
OCulink is considered an external PCIe connector, meaning that it doesn't fight with the CPU overhead that Thunderbolt does. Thunderbolt has more functionality as an external connector, but it's slower than OCulink... OCulink is somewhere between 15% and 20% faster than using Thunderbolt 4 or USB4, with OCulink capable of delivering up to 63Gbps of bandwidth... much better than Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4, which are all limited to just 40Gbps.
HP's new Omen Transcend 32-inch 4K 240Hz OLED gaming monitor teased, rocks DisplayPort 2.1
HP's new OMEN Transcend 32-inch 4K 240Hz gaming monitor with an OLED panel and DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity is on its way in 2024. Check it out:
The new HP OMEN Transcend 32-inch 4K 240Hz OLED gaming monitor sounds absolutely delicious, featuring a larger 32-inch OLED panel, native 4K resolution, and super-smooth 240Hz refresh rate. HP is using its in-house "Omen Tempest Monitor Cooling Tech," which will help out with burn-in issues, but the company needs to make it known if the cooling system is passive or active cooling... we'll know more at CES 2024.
HP provides a native 4K resolution with a 240Hz refresh rate and up to a peak brightness of 1000 nits in HDR mode. We don't know about any VESA certification, but the new OMEN Transcend OLED gaming monitor definitely has AMD FreeSync and Dolby Vision support.
Ads coming to Amazon Prime Video in January, ad-free will cost extra
Starting January 29, 2024, Amazon Prime users will soon have their viewing sessions interrupted by ads.
Amazon Prime Video started out as an added value to boost the appeal of its world-changing Prime subscription, but the streaming wars have kicked content investment into overdrive. Amazon has spent hundreds of millions of dollars creating original programming and adaptations like the Lord of the Rings series, Wheel of Time, and The Boys.
As is the case with other streaming services, that cost is starting to trickle down to subscribers. Rather than raise Prime Video's subscription costs outright, Amazon will instead use ads to make more revenue. The company has announced that all existing Prime Video users will be subject to "limited advertisements" in late January of next year. Users can pay an extra $2.99 per month to avoid these ads on Prime Video.
Continue reading: Ads coming to Amazon Prime Video in January, ad-free will cost extra (full post)
Opinion: AI may be a secret weapon for Game Pass, PS Plus subscription retention
Next-gen PlayStation 6 and Xbox Next consoles may use dedicated AI chips that unlock new opportunities for Sony and Microsoft.
Reports indicate that Microsoft's new Xbox will have an AI processor, potentially an NPU (Neural Processing Unit), that handles a multitude of tasks. Sony's next PlayStation 6 console (or even the PS5 Pro) may likewise have a dedicated AI processor to help streamline operations and unlock new features.
In fact, Sony recently patented a solution for real-time predictive assistance that's powered by artificial intelligence. The patent would essentially use AI to help players beat difficult in-game levels or bosses with tips and tricks being shown on the screen. The tech relies on libraries of player characteristics data that's collected, analyzed, and interpreted by AI. The PlayStation console would create player profiles based on things like skill, game preference, use of services, etc.
ASUS ROG OLED gaming monitor will also have 4K 240Hz with 1080p 480Hz mode switch
ASUS has just teased its next-gen ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP gaming monitor, with a blistering 4K 240Hz setting that can be tweaked on-the-fly to 1080p at an even more blistering 480Hz. Check it out:
The new ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP gaming monitor features a gorgeous OLED panel that will run at either 1920 x 1080 at 480Hz or its full spec of 3840 x 2160 at 240Hz. ASUS will include a quick switch functionality into its new monitor, where you could be playing particular games that your GPU can handle at 4K 240FPS+ or esports-style games like Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2, League of Legends, and plenty of others at 1080p and an insane 480FPS... all on an OLED panel.
We have a large 32-inch 4K OLED panel with up to 240Hz at its highest-end use, with a beautiful ASUS ROG-style bezel, passive cooling, and an integrated KVM switch to hook the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP gaming monitor up to multiple sources. This could be multiple gaming systems or a gaming PC and a console like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X.
id Software's rumored Mandalorian game may be fake
Rumors indicate that legendary Doom developer id Software is working on a new game based on Star Wars' popular The Mandalorian serial TV show, but there's not a lot to substantiate this claim.
Now that the 10-year Star Wars exclusivity deal with EA has ended, Disney has conscripted a wide variety of developers for new Star Wars games. Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment, the team behind The Division 2, is making Star Wars Outlaws; the French choice-and-consequence masters at Quantic Dream are working on Star Wars Eclipse; Respawn is making Jedi 3 and another shooter; and Amy Hennig's Skydance New Media is making a new ensemble-based game with Star Wars 1313's Dominic Robilliard involved in the project.
Star Wars games are all over the map right now, and rumor has it that id Software is working on its own Star Wars game. There's just one problem with this claim: No one has heard anything about it. In a recent episode of the XboxEra podcast, Giant Bomb reporterJeff Grubb said the reports probably weren't real.
Continue reading: id Software's rumored Mandalorian game may be fake (full post)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth influenced by The Witcher 3's dramatic quests
Square Enix's Creative Business Unit I took direct inspiration from CD Projekt RED's masterclass in open-world RPG design while making the new Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth game.
Since its launch in 2015 (hey, that's almost 10 years ago!), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has influenced countless open-world games. CD Projekt RED set a new high watermark for meaningful and interesting sidequests; gone are the days of rote fetch quests and escort missions, here The Witcher 3 creates dramatic and engaging quests that are just as satisfying as the main storyline.
This didn't go unnoticed, and we've seen companies like even Nintendo leverage this formula with its modern Zelda duology. Now this influence is carrying over to Final Fantasy, namely FF7 Remake's second chapter.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth won't be on Xbox Game Pass
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will be a full-priced $69.99 game and it won't release on Xbox Game Pass.
SEGA and Capcom were among the last publishers to raise video game prices to $69.99, and now both firms are charginging the new MSRP for their premium-priced games. Offsetting this price hike are value-oriented subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass, and SEGA in particular has been a strong Japanese partner for the service.
That support only goes so far, though. SEGA isn't about to release all of their big games on Game Pass--that would eat into full game sales as more consumers opt to buy into the subscription than pay full price. Some games, including the new mainline Like a Dragon game, will skip Xbox Game Pass in a bid to sell more copies.
Continue reading: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth won't be on Xbox Game Pass (full post)
China approves 105 games after draft rules wipe $80 billion from top firms
Shortly after shaking up its domestic video games market, Chinese regulators have approved over a hundred games for sale and play within the overseas country.
China is an incredibly lucrative market for video games publishers and developers, but only if their games adhere to the country's strict rules and regulations. China is notoriously fickle and requires game-makers to abide by controlled policies that are aimed at regulating how much time and money Chinese citizens spend on video games.
The National Press and Publication Administration recently published a draft of rules that, if implemented and made into law, would shake up the video games market. Under the new rules, game-makers would be forced to cap player spending in games, cut out all daily login rewards, and any items that are included in blind-bag style lootboxes would also have to be offered for direct purchase. Also, any kind of promotion of big-earning lootboxes would be prohibited.
Fallout London mod took 'tens of thousands of hours' to make, releases April 2024
Fallout London looks to be one of the most ambitious Fallout 4 mods ever made, and it finally has a release date.
Fallout London is an impressive expansion-sized mod that's coming in April 2024 to Fallout 4 on PC. The team spent tens of thousands of hours crafting a realistic irradiated London city that's replete with UK culture, complete with its own overseas Pip-Boy variant, the Atta'boy.
The sheer size, scope, and dedication of Fallout London is noteworthy. The mod is just as big as the entire original game combined with the excellent Far Harbor DLC. There's a multitude of customization options, including custom races, and even extra companions with unique dialog options.
Insomniac's live service Spider-Man game was cancelled a while back
According to reports, illegally-obtained confidential material stolen from Insomniac Games indicates the studio had pitched a live service Spider-Man game, but this project had been cancelled a while back.
Microtransactions are great for business. Sony's games division makes billions of dollars a year from its 30% commission on live service games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and Genshin Impact. PlayStation sees how much money these games make and now it wants a piece of the pie. That's why Sony has embarked on an ambitious plan to release 6 live service games by 2025--it used to be 12, but Sony delayed half of these games.
Some games, like Naughty Dog's online multiplayer take on The Last of Us, have been cancelled. Other cut projects include a multiplayer Spider-Man game pitched by Insomniac Games.
Continue reading: Insomniac's live service Spider-Man game was cancelled a while back (full post)
Unsuspecting PlayStation game was hiding a big secret for 23 years
This unsuspecting PlayStation 1 game was hiding a big secret for 23 years.
Alien Resurrection released in 2000 for the PlayStation 1 and was generally received as a competent first-person shooter. On the surface, there wasn't anything truly groundbreaking or remarkable about the sci-fi FPS, but the final game actually contained something it shouldn't have ever shipped with: an exploit that allows gamers to play burned PSX game backups.
For over 2 decades now, Alien Resurrection has been hiding a PlayStation 1 boot exploit which offers a nifty trick for playing pirated/burned games. Alien Resurrection's boot exploit is only accessible via a special cheats menu. The secret was revealed by original game developer Martin Piper, who broke his silence by informing YouTuber Modern Vintage Gamer about the feature.
Continue reading: Unsuspecting PlayStation game was hiding a big secret for 23 years (full post)
PS5 Pro or next-gen PlayStation 6 may use AI processor for real-time predictive gaming
A new patent from Sony Interactive Entertainment could hint at dedicated AI processors in future PlayStation consoles.
Sony has filed an interesting patent (US20230405461) that may rely on AI tech in order to operate. The patent is for a robust "predictive assistance" solution that leverages artificial intelligence to study play patterns through a predictive lens, and then react accordingly, providing tips to players when needed.
For example, if a player is trying to beat a boss but repeatedly fails, the patented tech would give the user an on-screen hint on how to defeat the enemy. Sony already has something similar to this with the PS5's Game Help feature, but that isn't reactionary and is instead a series of static Wiki-style tips and tricks. Sony's patent would be more dynamic, smart, and highly conditional by contrast.
PlayStation 5 outsold Xbox Series nearly 3:1 through 2023, analyst firm estimates
As Sony achieves 50 million units sold to consumers, Microsoft may be struggling to find market share in video games hardware.
Sony has high hopes for the PS5. The company hopes to ship 25 million consoles this fiscal year, and eventually beat the PS4's 117.4 million sales. Data shows that Sony is almost halfway there, having achieved hefty PS5 metrics like 50 million sell-through and over 46 million sell-in.
Microsoft, on the other hand, appears to be once again having trouble gaining market share. New estimates from analyst firm Ampere Analysis indicate that Microsoft has sold 7.6 million Xbox Series X/S consoles throughout 2023, compared to the PlayStation 5's strong 22.5 million.
Tesla insiders reveal biggest production problem with the Cybertruck
A new report has revealed what appears to be Tesla's biggest hurdle when it comes to getting Cybertruck production up to the expected 250,000 per year by 2025.
Reuters has released a report that details Tesla's biggest problem when it comes to Cybertruck production being slowed down is the 4680 batteries with its new dry-coating technology. At the moment, Tesla's Giga Texas factory is only making 24,000 of these batteries per year, which simply isn't enough to meet the demand for the Cybertruck, per the aforementioned publication, which cited "nine people familiar with the matter."
The nine people who spoke to Reuters did so under the condition of anonymity and explained that Tesla has yet to develop its dry-coating technique for 4680 battery production at an industrial scale, which was a massive part of the vehicle manufacturers' forecasts in 2020 as it indicated it was moving away from the more expensive and time-consuming wet-coating method.
Continue reading: Tesla insiders reveal biggest production problem with the Cybertruck (full post)






















