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Last week, we reported on some interesting CPU news. NVIDIA and AMD (among others) were looking at creating new CPUs using Arm technology that could run Windows. Effectively, these would be for Windows PCs and, based on the original report from Reuters, would see the AI giant work alongside Microsoft to create Arm-based PC solutions for AI and other applications.

Throw in AMD and Qualcomm doing the same, and it's looking like PC hardware makers are following Apple to utilize Arm-based technologies to create new CPU designs. These PC chips for Arm-based Windows PCs could arrive as soon as 2025, with the eye-opening part being a situation where a desktop or otherwise traditional PC running Windows could feature an NVIDIA-developed Arm-based CPU.

NVIDIA and AMD have declined to comment on the report, but with news of Arm-based CPUs entering the PC race, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has chimed in as part of its latest earnings call with investors.

At this point, we're just curious to play Ubisoft's perpetually in-development and delayed Skull and Bones. With development led by Ubisoft Singapore, Skull and Bones began life as a spin-off to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, with the focus shifting to a full-on pirate high-seas "I'm on a boat" action.

That should clue you into how long this game has been in development; the team started working on it in 2013. The official reveal didn't happen until 2017; however, since that time, it's gone through several revisions, including restarts and pivots from live service to free-to-play to PVP to PVE and every trend from the last decade that you can think of.

As part of the latest financial earnings call, the company confirmed that Skull and Bones has been delayed once more to sometime during the first few months of 2024.

Video game acquisitions and buyouts will continue in 2024 as some of the biggest names plan to execute expansion efforts, investment firm Drake Star predicts.

This year, Microsoft made history by purchasing Activision-Blizzard for a record-breaking $68.7 billion. This combination was the biggest acquisition in the history of the video games industry, a segment that is poised to make over $180 billion in 2023. Multiple years of strategic investments and buyouts led to the Activision merger and the current availability of independent third-party publishers continues to dwindle.

According to investment bank Drake Star, this era of consolidation isn't over. M&A will continue throughout 2024 and big players like the $30 billion revenue Tencent, $26 billion Sony Interactive Entertainment, Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group, and the recently-merged Take-Two Interactive are expected to make buyouts.

If Samsung does announce the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra in January of 2024 as we expect it to, a new leak claims that the three phones will all get a feature that some other flagships have had for a long time.

That feature, according to X leaker Ice Universe, will be the ability to view photos in HDR quality within photo albums for the first time. That's a feature that has already been available for some time on other handsets, including Samsung's big competition in the shape of the iPhone.

The leak, embedded above, claims that the feature will be similar to Google's new Ultra HDR feature. The news comes after a previous report suggested that the new phones will feature displays with an incredible 2,500-nit brightness which will make viewing HDR content particularly impressive.

When Apple launched the iPhone 14 devices last year they came with an Emergency SOS via Satellite feature that has the potential to save lives. It does that by giving people a way to contact emergency services even when they don't have cellular service and now it sounds like Samsung's next flagship phones are going to have a similar feature.

That's essentially been confirmed by Park Yong-in, CEO of Samsung's System LSI division, although he didn't specifically name-check the Galaxy S24. He did say that the company will support satellite services starting next year which surely means the Galaxy S24 lineup will benefit from it.

Samsung is strongly expected to announce the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24 Plus, and Galaxy S24 Ultra during an Unpacked event in January of 2024 and it now seems increasingly likely that some sort of satellite communications feature will be part of the specification sheet.

Apple is currently testing the Journal app with the company's iOS 17.2 update, but there is currently no indication that it's going to come to the iPad or Mac any time soon. In fact, there's no suggestion that it'll make its way to those platforms at all.

Apple announced the Journal app as part of the iOS 17 update back in June before saying that it would arrive later this year. There's still no official date for that, but those who are testing the iOS 17.2 update are already able to take the app for a spin - although few are raving about its current capabilities. However, as 9to5Mac notes, there is currently no sign of the Journal app in the macOS 14.2 or iPadOS 17.2 betas. And Apple has so far been surprisingly quiet about the chances of the app coming to the Mac or the iPad at all.

Discussing the fact that there is no Journal app on those platforms, 9to5Mac notes that Apple's iOS 17 webpage is the only one that makes any mention of the mindfulness and journaling app - it can't be found anywhere on the macOS Sonoma or iPadOS 17 webpages.

The Apple AirPods Max are hugely popular among those who splashed the $550 needed to put a pair onto their heads, but they're starting to lag behind the most latest AirPods Pro. They also have the now-defunct Lightning port as well, and Apple has always been expected to update the headphones with a new USB-C port at some point in 2024. However, those hoping for that refresh to include some new features are going to be left disappointed.

That's after Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, shared that while we might get some new colors and a new port, that will probably be the extent of Apple's plans for the headphones in 2024.

Gurman says that the new AirPods Max won't arrive until late in 2024 with the USB-C port and new colors expected. But while he believes that Apple remains committed to the headphones - despite this being the first update since its 2020 release - he also doesn't expect them to get new features to give people a reason to upgrade.

Apple announced earlier this week that it will hold a special streamed event on Monday, October 30, and with that day almost here, we think we know exactly what the company will unveil.

We've been hearing rumors of new Apple Mac laptops for months now, and it now looks increasingly likely that they will be with us within a day or so. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that there are a couple of new laptops on the way, while a refresh of an iconic desktop Mac also appears to be in the cards.

Writing in a post on the Bloomberg website, Gurman reports that Apple will launch multiple Macs powered by an all-new M3 family of chips.

Apple's latest flagship phones, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Por Max, are both powered by the brand-new A17 Pro chip. The even newer Google Pixel 8 Pro features the equally new Tensor G3 chip, so which is faster? That's what YouTuber PhoneBuff set out to discover by putting both phones through their paces using so-called real-world tests.

Those tests consisted of opening the same apps on both devices and then timing how long it took. The result matches with the early Geekbench scores we'd seen - the iPhone 15 Pro Max used in the test toasted the Pixel 8 Pro. And then some.

Those Geekbench scores show that the iPhone 15 Pro manages a single-core score of 2890 and a multi-core score of 7179. Compare that with the Pixel 8 Pros single-core score of 1860 and multi-core score of 4442, and it perhaps shouldn't be all that surprising that it's Apple's phone that comes up trumps.

Apple has started to send out free gift boxes to some influencers with HomePods and sweet treats all designed to help build the excitement for the upcoming 'Scary Fast' event that will take place on Monday.

The event is set to kick off at 5 PM Pacific Time on Monday, October 30. And while Apple hasn't yet confirmed what it will announce at that event, the expectation is that there will be some new Macs shown off for the first time.

However, this care package sent to influencers including Lamarr Wilson includes AirPods Max with a note that suggests that the aim so to make their experience of the streamed event "more 'spatial'" which might suggest that there will be some sort of audio component to the event itself.

WhatsApp, the hugely popular instant messaging app and platform owned by Meta, is testing a new feature that could make it much easier to keep your location private when on a call.

The feature, which is currently only in beta testing and ahs no public release date, allows users to protect their IP address when on a call. The move means that it will be harder for other people to use that IP address to try and figure out the person's location if they don't want them to know it.

The new feature was spotted by the WhatsApp watchers over at WABetaInfo and is available in the latest WhatsApp beta that is now being offered to iPhone users.

We keep hearing every single drip and drop of information on NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER graphics card, with some fresh energy today from leaker "kopite7kimi" on Twitter.

The leaker tweeted out that NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER graphics card will be using the full AD103-400 GPU with 10240 CUDA cores in total, 320 TMUs, 112 TOPs, and 64MB of L2 cache. NVIDIA is expected to use a 256-bit memory bus, which should be matched with 16GB of GDDR6X memory, which could be clocked faster than the 22.4Gbps on the RTX 4080 to 24Gbps with new Micron GDDR6X chips.

Kopite7kimi tweeted:

Apple has already confirmed that it will be holding its 'Scary Fast' event on Monday but it hasn't yet said exactly what it intends to show off. It's pretty clear that there is going to be at least one Mac given its debut after people found a stylized Finder icon on the event's webpage on the Apple website. But which Macs, and what else might Apple be ready to show off?

There have been a lot of rumors about Apple's plans but it's now clear that there will be some devices missing from the big unveiling next week. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman is normally very well connected with people familiar with Apple's plans. Now, he's had his say on what will be unveiled at Monday's event.

Writing on the Bloomberg website Gurman says that while Apple is working on a 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 chip inside, that machine is unlikely to make an appearance on Monday. the same can also be said for M3 versions of the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs as well, leaving people to wait until 2024 for those machines.

Apple's move away from Lightning and towards USB-C is set to continue next week, with arguably the company's worst product getting a refresh.

That product is the much-maligned Magic Mouse, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reporting that the upcoming 'Scary Fast' event that takes place on Monday will see the unveiling of updated accessories to go with whatever Macs are announced. One of those accessories is of course the Magic Mouse, with Gurman claiming that the updated model will ditch Lightning for good, replacing it with the USB-C port that now also adorns the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro products.

The $79 Magic Mouse currently comes in two colors and there is no suggestion that more will be added with this update. There is also no suggestion that Apple is getting ready to fix the mouse's main problem - the fact that its Lightning port is on the bottom of the device. That means that the mouse cannot be used while it's plugged in, a fact that continues to make it the laughingstock of the accessory world.

Apple first announced the Journal app as part of the iOS 17 unveiling back in June of 2023. We knew that it wouldn't be ready for iOS 17's release when that happened in September, but Apple did say that the Journal app would launch before the end of the year. Now, with the release of the first iOS 17.2 beta, it looks like it's coming good on that promise.

The first iOS 17.2 beta is now available for testing and while it doesn't have as many big new features as the iOS 17 update did, it does have some notable additions. The Journal app is one of the biggest because Apple promised that it would make it easier for people to reflect on and relive special moments. But is it going to live up to the hype?

Our initial testing suggests that might not be the case. Right now all you seem to be able to do is create a new entry and then add media if you wish. You can also share information into the app via the Share Sheet, with the journal entry showing a card a bit like the Notes app does. But so far, none of the recommendation aspects of the Journal app appear to be working.

If you've ever looked at Apple's HomePod and thought that it would be way better if it had a display, you very much aren't alone. In fact, it now appears that even Apple would agree that its smart speaker should have a way to view content - because a new report claims that it's already testing one.

The report says that Apple is testing running the tvOS software on an iPad mini in an attempt to fathom how it would work on a touchscreen, something that is likely more complicated than just installing tvOS and leaving it to do its thing.

This report comes after 9to5Mac spotted that the latest tvOS 17.2 beta includes support for the iPad mini 6, a device that has no official reason for being listed. However, it's thought that Apple added support so that it can continue to test the latest version of tvOS on an iPad mini in an attempt to help develop a future HomePod with a display attached.

It has been more than a year since Elon Musk officially carried out the acquisition of the social media platform that was formerly called Twitter, and is now called X.

Leading up to the acquisition, Musk expressed that he wished to turn then-Twitter into the "everything app," a single app that encompasses all of the general needs of smartphone applications (calling, texting, communities, authenticated accounts, and finance). While there are many other aspects to include in the "everything app", the aforementioned features are what X is currently working on implementing, and now we are hearing about a coming payment system.

During X's latest earnings call, Musk explained that he plans on turning X into a bank that has a seamless payment system between users, and that this feature would be implemented into the platform by the end of next year. Musk further iterated that this payment system wouldn't be as simple as sending $20 to someone, but would also include support for securities to be moved from one individual to another.

We've been hearing about the ASUS GeForce RTX 4060 Ti graphics card with a built-in M.2 SSD slot, and now it's official: the new ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 4060 Ti SSD graphics card is here.

The new ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 4060 Ti SSD graphics card has a built-in M.2 SSD slot that will happily push over 6.5GB/sec sitting on the back of your GPU. You can use most PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs on the back of this card, enjoying that super high-performance NVMe SSD performance.

The card will support SSDs up to 80mm long, with the SSD transferring any heat generated into the card's own heatsink using a thermal pad, which provides a super-compact and neat-looking style. ASUS includes the M.2 Q-LATCH, which makes it easy to install or remote the M.2 SSD on the back of the ASUS DUAL GeForce RTX 4060 Ti SSD graphics card without needing any specific tools. There's a design that uses an easy-to-use simple locking mechanism to secure the drive, removing the need for any screws for the SSD.

I still remember running the original 3DMark99 benchmark repeatedly as a nerdy PC hardware enthusiast at 15 years old when it came out... making it 25 years old today after it was released in October 1998.

3DMark99 supported Windows 95 and Windows 98 at the time, with DirectX 6.0 compatible hardware. After that, 3DMark99 MAX was released, and then the unleashing of DirectX updates and the massively increased number of advancements in graphics cards from ATI and NVIDIA at the time.

3DMark2000 was released in December 1999, while my favorites of the day in 3DMark2001 and 3DMark2001 SE were released in March 2001 and February 2002, respectively. There have been plenty of 3DMark releases since then, which turned into the 3DMark suite back in 2013, which started with FireStrike, followed by TimeSpy, Port Royal, and then last year we had Speed Way.

Capcom is hard at work on its next-generation RE Engine, which was last used in Resident Evil 8... but it's being beefed up, and the company is providing developers working on the new RE Engine with some seriously powerful HEDT systems powered by AMD Ryzen Threadripper CPUs and a GeForce RTX 4090 24GB graphics card.

Just as Alan Wake 2 is launching using Remedy Entertainment's in-house Northlight engine, Capcom holds an overview of its RE Engine and even a tease of its next-gen RE Engine, which we'll go into more soon. This year, Capcom provided some high-end desktop PCs (HEDT) to engine developers with some seriously good specs: something that the company says will drop engine build time from 15 minutes with distributed builds to less than 5 minutes for local builds.

Inside, Capcom is using an AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5975WX processor with 32 cores and 64 threads, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 with 24GB of GDDR6X memory, a huge 256GB of RAM, and a massive 10TB of SSD storage. This is some seriously nice hardware to be developing on, with many developers probably reading this and being jealous compared to their far slower PCs used for development.