According to tipster Yogesh Brar (via 91Mobiles), OnePlus is working on a new affordable flagship dubbed the OnePlus 10R. The new model will be a direct successor to last year’s OnePlus 9R. The leaker has also shared CAD renders of the OnePlus 10R, giving us our first look at the upcoming phone. As you can see in the attached images, the phone sports a centered hole-punch display on the front with very narrow side bezels and a rectangular camera module on the back housing three camera sensors.

OnePlus 10 Pro on the left, Realme GT Neo 3 render on the right.

The new model seems to drop the famous Alert Slider, which has been an integral part of the OnePlus number flagships, including the OnePlus 9R. An interesting bit to note here is that the design of the OnePlus 10R is quite similar to the upcoming Realme GT Neo 3. Except for the placement of the LED flash and the branding, both phones look identical.

In terms of specifications, the OnePlus 10R will reportedly feature a 6.7-inch Samsung E4 AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Under the hood, the phone will be powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 chipset, paired with 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 flash storage. The phone is said to sport a 50MP primary shooter, accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP macro sensor. We’re told the phone will come in two variants: one model packing a 4,500mAh battery with 150W fast charging support and the other with a 5,000mAh battery and 80W charging support. Other rumored features include stereo speakers, Dolby Audio support, and an in-display fingerprint scanner.

The rumors have it the OnePlus 10R will be unveiled sometime in May. However, OnePlus hasn’t officially confirmed anything about the phone so far.

Via: 91Mobiles

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Stable update for Reno 4 Pro and Reno 4

As per recent announcements on the OPPO Community, OPPO has released a stable ColorOS 12 update based on Android 12 to the Reno 4 and Reno 4 Pro. The update is currently limited to the Indian and Indonesian models, with other regions to join in the coming weeks. If you own a Reno 4 Pro or Reno 4 and want to get your hands on the new update, you can look forward to receiving the OTA notification in the coming days. If you don’t want to wait for the automatic rollout, you can manually download the update by navigating to Settings > Software update > Trial version and clicking on “Apply now.”

ColorOS 12 beta for Reno 7 Pro 5G

The OPPO Reno 7 Pro 5G owners are also getting a taste of ColorOS 12 but in beta form. OPPO is inviting Reno 7 Pro 5G users in India to try out the new Android 12-based software and provide their feedback. The beta program is limited to 5000 users and will be open till March 31. If you want to sign up for the program, head to Settings > Software update > click on the gear icon in the top right corner, and click on “Apply for Beta Version.” If your application gets approved, you’ll receive the beta update in the next three days.

ColorOS 12 introduces several exciting features, including a new wallpaper-based theming system, Android 12’s Privacy Dashboard, camera and microphone indicators, Screen Translate, Background Stream Canvas AOD, etc. Check out our hands-on of ColorOS 12 if you want to learn more about the new software.

Source: OPPO Community [1], [2]

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This isn’t a terribly exciting update, considering Google released Android Automotive 12 near the end of last year. Still, this marks the second major update for the car, which originally shipped with Android 9.0. Android Automotive 11 includes a new search function in the Settings, new sorting options for the Dialer, customizable spacing for icons, fast user switching, cover art for tracks playing over Bluetooth, and a handful of other minor improvements.

Polestar says the update is rolling out as an Over-The-Air (OTA) upgrade, so you should be able to install it directly from your car. However, if that isn’t working, authorized Polestar workshops can also sideload the update.

Android Automotive adoption has been slow among car manufacturers. Polestar has seemingly invested the most in the platform, going as far as to partner with Vivaldi to bring a web browser to the Polarstar 2. Renault Group is working on models with Android Automotive, and other companies like Ford and Fiat are doing the same. In the meantime, the smartphone-based Android Auto remains far more common.

Source: Polestar 2
Via: Android TV Guide

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Counterpoint Research, a firm that analyzes sales trends for mobile devices, Internet-of-Things products, and other electronics, reports that Motorola’s sales in the United States more than doubled in 2021. The company supposedly had a 131% Year-over-Year (YoY) growth during that time, allowing it to reach third place in US smartphone sales behind Samsung and Apple.

USA smartphone sales by brand (Source: Counterpoint Research)

The higher market share was primarily due to LG leaving the smartphone business in early 2021 — once retailers had sold most of LG’s leftover inventory, Motorola’s budget devices filled the gap. In other words, Motorola’s growth isn’t really an indicator of improving popularity or product quality, just the result of market consolidation.

Motorola released a slew of smartphones throughout 2021, including several models in the company’s usual Moto G, E, and ‘One’ product lines. The Motorola Edge received an update in late 2021 with a 144Hz screen and Snapdragon 778G, and the company also released its first tablet in several years, the Moto Tab G20.

More recently in 2022, a new version of the Motorola Edge Plus became one of the first smartphones in the United States to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset — check out our full Motorola Edge Plus 2022 review for more information.

Samsung is also continuing to release new budget phones in the United States. The Galaxy A53 5G and Galaxy A33 5G were revealed two weeks ago, though the lower-power Exynos chipsets and missing headphone jacks make them less competitive than last year’s entries.

Source: Counterpoint Research

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XDA Recognized Developer Freak07 pointed out on Twitter that the kernel in Android 12L QPR3 Beta 1.1 includes support for Direct USB Access. That functionality allows more external USB DACs and 3.5mm headphone dongles to work, and fixes problems with audio apps like Tidal, Neutron, and USB Audio Player Pro.

Commit in AOSP that enables Direct USB Access on Pixel 6

Assuming Google doesn’t reverse course, this change should mean that the next major Pixel Feature Drop (currently set for July) should improve support for USB audio devices on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Freak07 was also able to backport the change to the kernel found in this month’s stable Android 12L/12.1 update, which does fix problems with Neutron Player and other USB audio applications.

In regards to this change I managed to port this back to stable 12.1.0 march update running with an updated kernel.

It successfully allowed HiRes Playback with my DragonFly Red over HiBy. Neutron Player is also confirmed working. https://t.co/dliFe2Ps41 pic.twitter.com/RVM68D9w6O

— Mile (@mile_freak07) March 25, 2022

If you have a rooted/unlocked Pixel 6, and you want to try the new USB functionality right now without flashing QPR3 Beta 1.1 or waiting a few months, the latest version of Freak07’s Kirisakura-Kernel custom kernel for the Pixel 6 series includes the backported code.

The Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 pro just received Android 12L, the March security patches, Verizon C-Band 5G support, and the March Pixel Feature Drop in a single combined update last week. The other Pixel phones received the same update earlier this month, minus the C-Band 5G support.

Source: Freak07 (Twitter)

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You can only invite people who have a public account and who follow you back. pic.twitter.com/rdYODJpjsd

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 29, 2022

Reliable reverse engineer and leaker Alessandro Paluzzi has shared his findings in a series of tweets. Twitter has seemingly been working on the co-authoring feature since at least December of last year. Considering this feature is still under development, it’s still unclear if the company will eventually release it widely.

As Alessandro’s screenshots display, the feature would allow two accounts to collaborate on a single tweet. There would be conditions for the co-authoring to work, though. For starters, you have to send an invitation to the co-author — who must follow you and have a public Twitter account. After they accept the invitation, the tweet would get posted on both of the accounts’ timelines for both sets of followers to see. Additionally, the tweet mentions both authors, rather than the original one only. The service already allows people to tag others in tweets and photos. However, tags don’t surface the tweets on the tagged person’s timeline.

Do you see yourself co-authoring tweets with other Twitter accounts if this feature gets released? Let us know in the comments section below.

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The new software update appears to be limited to the Google Nest Hub Max and second-generation Google Nest Hub, not the original that was called the Google Home Hub at release. The design doesn’t look too different at a glance, but an app drawer is now visible on the bottom panel (accessible by swiping up from the bottom of the screen). The below video from Reddit user TheBlazed_13 shows off the updated interface.

However, there’s a problem with the update: it’s causing some Nest Hub devices to bootloop. That’s right, the Nest Hub is reliving the glory days of LG smartphones. In some cases, unplugging the smart display from power and plugging it back in after a few minutes solved the problem, but others had to factory reset their Nest Hub devices.

Plugged in out ten times recovery method. Hard reset with volume buttons. As it’s currently powered off no I cannot see it via the app.

— David Doyle (@DaveDoyler) March 29, 2022

The Android-like app drawer in the new Nest Hub update is an interesting change, given that Google is adding many features to Android 13 that could be used in smart displays. Android 13 has new software features for user profiles and information overlays in screen savers, as well as a new “low light clock” that looks more or less identical to the clock on Nest Hub devices. The new app drawer could be intended as a transition towards a future Android-powered Nest Hub.

It’s not great when a piece of technology breaks after a software update, but at the very least, Nest Hubs don’t have any locally-stored data that you need to worry about losing.

Via: 9to5Google

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Navigate this article:

• Specifications
• Performance
• Pricing & Availability
• Which one should you buy?

Specifications

Before we begin the comparison, let’s take a quick look at the specifications of each processor. In Apple’s M1 lineup, we’re looking at three chips in total including the M1, M1 Pro, and the M1 Max.

Here’s a quick look at the specifications of the Intel Core i7-1280P processor to see how it stacks up against the Apple chips:

Apple M1 vs Intel Core i7-1280P: Performance

The Intel Core i7-1280P is the top-of-the-line chip in the Alder Lake P-series. This one replaces the Core i9 in P-series with 14 cores and 20 threads. One of the main differences between this one and Core i9-12900HK, for instance, is primarily the clock speeds and TDP rating. The Core i7-1280P, as you can see, is clocked at 1.8GHz base and 4.8GHz boost on the P-cores. This is slightly lower than the 2.5GHz base and 5GHz boost speeds of the 12900HK.

As far as the TDP is concerned, the Core i7-1280P defaults to 28W and tops out at 64W. This is significantly lower than the TDP ratings of the 12900HK. The lower TDP ratings allow it to be used in thin and light form-factors without having to deal with the high-thermal output.

The laptops powered by the new Core i7-1280P are yet hit to hit the shelves. We’re expecting a lot of the new ultrabooks powered by this new chip to be available soon, we’ll have more talk about them once we get a chance to use them. We expect the 14 cores to easily beat pretty much every 35W CPU from the outgoing 11th gen lineup. The overall performance sustainability, however, will entirely depend on the power limits and how good the thermals of a given system are. We think a high-end laptop powered by the Core i7-1280P should be able to handle pretty much anything you throw at it.

We expect the general performance of the chip to be on par with some high-end chips from the Alder Lake H-series, including the Core i7-12800H. In fact, we expect the Core i7-1280P to match the general performance of the 12900HK in some tasks. This means the new 1280P should easily be able to beat Apple’s older M1 chip. While we don’t expect the 1280P to beat the new M1 Max chip, we think it should be able to keep up the performance of the M1 Pro.

The built-in Iris Xe graphics adapter with 96EUs in the Core i7-1280P is essentially the same as the one that was built into the 11th-gen Tiger Lake-UP3 chips. While this graphics chip running at 1.45GHz should be able to handle the gaming workloads very well, we think it’ll have a hard time going against the M1-powered MacBook even it comes to content creation workloads. Both the new M1 Pro and the M1 Max chips have powered graphics units that is ideal for those who are looking to create content on the go.

Pricing & Availability

The laptops powered by Intel’s new Core i7-1280P chip, as we mentioned earlier, are yet to be available on the market. They’re expected to hit the stores soon, so keep an eye on this space for more info about the pricing and availability. Dell’s XPS 13 Plus is one of the first few laptops to be powered by this new chip. It’s not available to purchase just yet but you can check out our first impressions of the Dell XPS 13 Plus to find out what we think of that notebook.

Apple’s M1-powered MacBooks, on the other hand, are readily available to buy right now. We’re leaving links to buy both the older M1-powered MacBook Pro and the new M1 Pro-powered 14-inch MacBook below.

Apple M1 vs Intel Core i7-1280P: Which one should you buy?

While there are bound to be some performance differences between the Core i7-1280P and Apple’s M1 chips, we think they’re largely going to be better than a lot of older machines. In Core i7-1280P’s case, the general performance also depends on things like the accompanying graphics unit, the thermal performance of the laptop and more. That being said, you can’t possibly go wrong with either Apple M1 chips or the new 1280P processor.

The decision to buy either a Windows laptop or an M1-powered MacBook also largely comes down to the software and user experience. Both Windows and macOS have their pros and cons, so the choice largely comes down to personal preference. That being said, we think the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro systems are great for content creators. You can read our 16-inch MacBook Pro review for info. We’ll have more talk about the performance of the Core i7-1280P processor once the new laptops go on sale.

The post Apple M1 vs Intel Core i7-1280P: Which laptop chip is better? appeared first on xda-developers.

There have been many reports from Verizon subscribers about spam texts from their own phone number, many of which are disguised as confirmation messages for bill payment with a shortened link. The problem also seems to be affecting Verizon’s MVNO (or “digital carrier,” as the company insists on calling it), Visible. However, it doesn’t seem to be a problem for other MVNOs using Verizon’s network, such as Xfinity Mobile or Spectrum Mobile.

Ok just a warning @Verizon is not sending out free things, there is a company or group of people spoofing themselfs as YOUR OWN NUMBER. DO NOT TAP THE LINK! pic.twitter.com/NE4QeUmdqX

— Jakesladv (@jakesladv) March 29, 2022

The Verge noted that the links sent to its writers redirected to the website for Channel One Russia, a state TV network. Links in spam texts are fairly common, but the sender usually appears as a number other than the recipient’s, which makes the new trend more unusual.

At the very least, Verizon appears to be working on a fix. The company said in a support tweet, “We understand how scary this can be getting messages from your own number. We are currently working on getting this corrected as quickly as possible.”

Verizon’s main focus over the past few months has been enabling C-Band 5G across the United States, to compete with T-Mobile’s mid-band 5G in performance and range. However, the C-Band rollout hasn’t been problem-free, either — confusion over interference with altimeters in planes caused a temporary disruption to global air travel.

Source: The Verge, Verizon

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Clipchamp is a cloud-based video editor that Microsoft acquired last year in the lead up to the release of Windows 11. Upon launch, Windows 11 came with a shortcut for a Clipchamp PWA, which had to be downloaded and installed, but Microsoft recently started preinstalling the app with the OS. That’s when some users noticed that the pricing structure seems like a rip-off, considering the free tier only allowed users to export video at a measly 480p resolution. Even the first paid tier, which cost $9 per month, would only give you 720p exports.

Now, 1080p video exports are included all the way down to the free tier. All the other perks from the paid tiers are the same, which includes unlimited cloud storage and audio stock in the Creator tier ($9/month), a brand kit in the Business tier ($19/month), and unlimited video and image stock in the Business Premium tier ($39/month). Oddly enough, Microsoft still isn’t allowing users to export video at a resolution higher than 1080p on any of the Clipchamp tiers. If you’re interested in 4K video, this is still not ideal.

Still, this is a very necessary change, and an interesting one considering Microsft said it wasn’t going to be making changes to the pricing structure of Clipchamp. To be fair, the prices are the same as before, but the value proposition has changed significantly with 1080p video being available to everyone. It remains to be seen if new value will be added to the higher tiers or if Microsoft will just simplify the pricing structure in the future.

It would make sense for additional features to be tied to Microsoft 365, but there’s been no official indication of that happening. We’ve reached out to Microsoft about these changes and we’ll update this article if we hear back.

Source: FireCube (Twitter)
Via: Neowin

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In December last year, we first saw reports about Sony’s plan to launch a PlayStation competitor for the Xbox Game Pass. Sony has now confirmed its plans in a blog post, which highlights all the changes coming to its PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now subscription services. To begin with, Sony is combining the two into an all-new PlayStation Plus subscription. The new subscription service will be available in three membership tiers across the world, offering the following benefits:

• PlayStation Plus Essential
  • Benefits:
    • Provides the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members are getting today, such as:
      • Two monthly downloadable games
      • Exclusive discounts
      • Cloud storage for saved games
      • Online multiplayer access
    • There are no changes for existing PlayStation Plus members in this tier
  • Pricing for PlayStation Plus Essential remains the same as the current price for PlayStation Plus
    • US: $9.99 monthly / $24.99 quarterly / $59.99 yearly
    • UK: £6.99 monthly / £19.99 quarterly / £49.99 yearly
    • Europe: €8.99 monthly / €24.99 quarterly / €59.99 yearly
    • Japan: ¥850 monthly / ¥2,150 quarterly / ¥5,143 yearly
• PlayStation Plus Extra
  • Benefits:
    • Provides all the benefits from the Essential tier
    • Adds a catalog of up to 400 of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games – including blockbuster hits from our PlayStation Studios catalog and third-party partners. Games in the Extra tier are downloadable for play.
  • Pricing:
    • US: $14.99 monthly / $39.99 quarterly / $99.99 yearly
    • UK: £10.99 monthly / £31.99 quarterly / £83.99 yearly
    • Europe: €13.99 monthly / €39.99 quarterly / €99.99 yearly
    • Japan: ¥1,300 monthly / ¥3,600 quarterly / ¥8,600 yearly
• PlayStation Plus Premium
  • Benefits:
    • Provides all the benefits from Essential and Extra tiers
    • Adds up to 340 additional games, including:
      • PS3 games available via cloud streaming
      • A catalog of beloved classic games available in both streaming and download options from the original PlayStation, PS2 and PSP generations
    • Offers cloud streaming access for original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 games offered in the Extra and Premium tiers in markets where PlayStation Now is currently available. Customers can stream games using PS4 and PS5 consoles, and PC
    • Time-limited game trials will also be offered in this tier, so customers can try select games before they buy.
  • Pricing:
    • US: $17.99 monthly / $49.99 quarterly / $119.99 yearly
    • UK: £13.49 monthly / £39.99 quarterly / £99.99 yearly
    • Europe: €16.99 monthly / €49.99 quarterly / €119.99 yearly
    • Japan: ¥1,550 monthly / ¥4,300 quarterly / ¥10,250 yearly

In markets where cloud streaming is not available, Sony will offer a PlayStation Plus Deluxe tier. It will be a bit cheaper than the Premium tier, and it will offer the same benefits except for cloud streaming support.

As far as the game library is concerned, Sony says that the new subscription will offer the following titles at launch:

• Death Stranding
• God of War
• Marvel’s Spider-Man
• Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
• Mortal Kombat 11
• Returnal

Sony also says that it’s working with its game developers and third-party partners to bring more titles to the new PlayStation Plus library.

Sony will go with a phased regional rollout for the new subscription service, starting with several markets in Asia this June. North America, Europe, and the other regions where PlayStation Plus is currently available should receive the revamped subscription shortly thereafter. The service should become available globally by the end of H1 2022. For additional details, check out Sony’s official blog post by following the source link below.

Source: PlayStation Blog

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Both of these machines are fully kitted with some of the best internals that you’d find on all the modern gaming laptops out there. We’ll be taking a detailed look at the specifications table first before diving deep into some other aspects of the notebooks including the display, design, ports, and more. So without further ado, let’s dive right into the comparison to see which one’s making the cut to our collection of the best 15-inch gaming laptops.

Navigate this article:

• Specifications
• Performance
• Display
• Design
• Ports and Connectivity
• Which one should you buy?

Razer Blade 15 vs Alienware x15 R2: Specifications

Before we begin the comparison, here’s a quick look at the specifications of each notebook:

Both the laptops, as you can see, are pretty much identical in terms of specs, They both can be configured with Intel’s new Alder Lake H-series chip and have Nvidia’s new RTX 30-series GPUs including the RTX 3070 Ti and the RTX 3080 Ti. It’s safe to say that both notebooks are equally capable of running modern games without any issues. Now let’s dive a little deep into the specifications to see what are the other differences that each of them brings to the table.

Performance: Ultimate gaming machines

Both the Razer Blade 15 and the Alienware x15 R2 gaming laptops are powered by Intel’s new 12th generation Alder Lake mobile processors. As high-performance gaming notebooks, these machines pack the Alder Lake H-series processors. These new 12th-gen chips have Intel’s new hybrid architecture with performance and efficiency cores. Both the Intel Core i9-12900H as well as the Intel Core i7-12800H have 14-cores in total along with 20 threads.

The Core i9 variants in both notebooks are obviously going to be more powerful as they can hit a peak frequency of up to 5GHz. We haven’t had a chance to test these machines for a head-to-head comparison, but Intel says that the new Core i9 mobile chip is roughly 30% faster than the outgoing Core i9-11980HK processor. You can also check out our Intel Core i9-12900HK review to get an understanding of the kind of performance you can expect from this chip.

Both laptops in this comparison are equally powerful in the graphics side of things too as we’re looking at Nvidia’s new 30-series discrete graphics units. In fact, you get the option to configure both laptops with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, the latest and greatest from Nvidia in the notebook space. Even the lowest configuration of each notebook comes with an RTX 3060, which we think is very much capable of running even the modern AAA titles out there in 2022. We suggest you check out our review of the ASUS ROG Strix G15 (2022) with the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti to see how this GPU performs.

Between the CPU and Nvidia’s latest graphics options, we’re looking at two ultimate gaming machines that are kitted to deliver the best experience in gaming. The difference in performance between these two similarly specced variants of the Razer Blade 15 and the Alienware x15 R2 will purely depend on well each of them handle the thermals.

On the memory and the storage side of things, both laptops are kitted with the new DDR5 memory modules. The Alienware x15 R2’s dual-channel DDR5 modules have a slightly higher frequency, but we doubt if that will make a significant difference. On the storage side, however, the Alienware x15 R2 is a clear winner as it can be configured to have up to 4TB compared to just the 2TB on the Razer Blade. It’ll certainly cost you more but you can never have too much storage, can you?

Display: High-refresh rate or high-resolutions?

The displays on these two laptops are also very similar. Both laptops have 15.6-inches panels as standard, but you get the option to choose between different resolutions. The Razer Blade 15’s display is available in FHD, QHD, and UHD resolutions with 360Hz, 240Hz, and 144Hz refresh rate options, respectively. Dell, on the other hand, is only offering the Alienware x15 R2 with an FHD or a QHD panel. You get the option to choose between a 360Hz or 165Hz for the FHD panel, whereas the QHD panel is locked at 240Hz. The Razer Blade 15 is definitely the better pick in terms of the display option. That UHD panel option is great for content creators too, so that’s something you might want to consider.

Razer Blade 15

For a gamer, we think both laptops offer a good selection of panels with high resolutions and quick response times. We suggest you take a look at the specifications table once again to find out the best option for you. We think the QHD 240Hz panel on both laptops is going to be the one to go for as it offers the best of both worlds. Unless you are specifically working with 4K footage as a content creator, we think you are not going to notice a lot of differences between a 1440p and a 4K panel, especially on a 15.6-inch display. Thankfully, both laptops also retain the webcam on top of the display, but the Razer Blade 15 has a superior 1080p webcam as opposed to just a 720p camera on the Alienware x15.

Design: The Razer Blade 15 is more compact and lighter

Moving on to the design, we think the Razer Blade 15 looks a bit more professional. It’s still a powerful gaming machine but Razer has always managed to deliver some clean designs with minimal flair. While the new Alienware x15 R2 looks better than some of the previous chunky Alienware notebooks we’ve seen in the past, it still retains a lot of  “gamer” aesthetics with sharp edges and RGB lighting. The Razer Blade 15 is also more compact and lighter than the Alienware x15 R2, but they both are pretty much identical in terms of thickness.

You also get a decent keyboard with per-key RGB lighting on both machines, but the Alienware X15’s keyboard deck also has top-facing speakers along with a bunch of vents next to the Alienware logo. The Razer Blade 15’s keyboard deck, on the other hand, is very minimal with the to-facing speakers. While the design is purely subjective, we think the Razer Blade 15 looks more subtle and doesn’t come out as an overly obnoxious gaming laptop. It’s one of those machines that you can comfortably carry to a professional meeting and be totally fine with it. That being said, the Alienware x15 R2 also looks great. This machine has changed a lot over the years and we really like how these new Alienware laptops look. But if we were to pick one on the basis of portability overall, then we think the Razer Blade 15 is probably the better option.

Ports and Connectivity

Both laptops are well-equipped when it comes to the ports selection but we think the Razer Blade 15 has an edge over the Alienware x15 R2. The Razer Blade 15 has three USB3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports whereas the Alienware x15 R2 only has a single Type-A port. We’re also looking at two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports on the Razer Blade 15 versus a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with DP and PD, and a single Thunderbolt 4 on the Alienware x15 R2. The Razer Blade 15 also earns brownie points with its SD card reader, which is a great addition for content creators. The good thing about both laptops is that they’re both rocking an HDMI 2.1 port.

It’s also worth mentioning how the ports are evenly distributed on both sides of the Razer Blade 15 whereas you’ll find all the ports on the back of the Alienware x15 R2. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker but we think it can be a little difficult to reach the ports at the back at all times, so the Razer Blade 15 makes it more convenient.

As for wireless connectivity, both the Razer Blade 15 and the Alienware x15 R2 come with support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. This isn’t all that surprising because we expect to see these new connectivity options on all modern laptops in 2022.

Razer Blade 15 vs Alienware x15 R2: Which one should you buy?

If you read through the entire comparison, then you probably already know how both of these laptops are equally powerful in terms of specs. They both have newer 12th-gen Intel Core processors, the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs for running modern games, high-resolution panels, and more. The overall performance of the laptop itself will depend on how well each of them handles thermals. Alienware is said to have used a new cooling tech for its X-series gaming laptop, so it’ll be interesting to see how that performs in real-world scenarios.

But as far as other factors like ports, connectivity, design, etc., are concerned, we think the Razer Blade 15 has a slight edge over the Alienware x15 R2. Not only does the Razer Blade 15 has a better port selection, but it’s also more compact and weighs slightly less overall. It also comes down to your personal preference, though. If you are somebody who wants to buy a more compact machine with a minimal design then we think the Razer Blade 15 is the way to go. But if you are on the lookout for a gaming laptop with a striking design and a ton of RGB flair, then you can’t go wrong with the Alienware x15 R2. The Alienware laptop also costs slightly less for the base model compared to the Razer Blade 15, so keep that in mind.

Regardless of the one you pick, you’re bound to get a solid gaming performance out of it. They both pack some powerful internals that’ll allow you to play even some of the modern titles out there. You can explore more size options as both the Razer Blade and the Alienware X-series laptops are available in a smaller 14-inch form-factor too.

If none of these laptops have managed to catch your attention, then you might want to take a look at some of our collection articles including the best laptops or the best Dell laptops. Alternatively, you can also join our XDA Computing Forums to get more recommendations from the experts in our community.

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In its initial release, Windows 11 made some baffling changes to the way app associations work. Instead of being able to set a general default for tasks like web browsing or playing media, you now have to set associations for each protocol manually. That means you have to change the associations for HTTP and HTTPS protocols, plus things like HTML files if you want to open them with your default browser. This made the process much more tedious for end users.

With the latest update, if you go into the default apps page (Settings -> Apps -> Default apps) and you select a browser from the app list, such as Google Chrome or Vivaldi, you’ll now see an option at the top of the Settings page that lets you set it as your default browser. This will change all the web browsing-related associations to that browser in one go, so you don’t have to go through the trouble of doing it for each file type or protocol.

Microsoft had begun testing this change with Insiders in the Dev channel back in December, and it wasn’t immediately clear how it would be rolled out, but it looks like you won’t have to wait for a big feature update. It’s certainly a welcome change, considering the initial approach forced browser vendors like Mozilla to circumvent Microsoft’s guidelines in order to make it easier for users to change their default browser.

If you want to be able to change your default browser right now, all you need to do is check for updates in the Windows 11 Settings app (in the Windows Update section) and download install update KB5011563, which is an optional update. If you’d rather wait a little longer, this change should also be included in next month’s Patch Tuesday, which will be on April 12th. That will be a mandatory update, so that’s when most users will likely get it.

Via: Neowin

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Esper‘s Mishaal Rahman managed to activate the hidden complications for the “Colors” screen saver. “Colors” is a screensaver that exists alongside the Clock and Photos screen savers. Meanwhile, “complications” refer to pieces of data that are displayed over the screen saver. They can be activated by enabling the “Show additional information” toggle within the screen saver settings. When activated, users will see At A Glance widget, date and time, weather, and battery info overlayed on top of the screen saver, as seen in the video below.

Have a great weekend everyone! Before I sign off, here’s your first look at Android 13’s hidden screen saver complications! It’s quite buggy, but you can see the At a Glance widget (smartspace), time, date, weather, and battery overlaid on the “Colors” screen saver! pic.twitter.com/QemWatkUVh

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 25, 2022

While Android has supported screen savers since the days of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, they have hardly seen any major revamps. But it looks like Google is ready to give the feature a big and much-needed facelift in Android 13.

Note that the new complications aren’t live in Android 13 Developer Preview 2. The feature will likely go live in future beta releases. However, it’s not uncommon for Google to scrap in-development features, so we’ll have to wait and see if the feature makes it to the final Android 13 release.

Android 13 DP2 also includes code for a new wallpaper effects generation API that will allow users to apply various cool effects to their wallpapers.

The post Here’s what Android 13’s hidden screen saver complications look like in action appeared first on xda-developers.

We’re decades into the smartphone business now, and phone brandings date back to the very early days of their company’s smartphone business themselves. Every product success since the start has added its own piece of identity to the history of the lineup, making it harder for the next product to shake off the weight of expectations that comes with the moniker. So when product names stray from their expected trajectory, consumers yearn for explanations. Where is the OnePlus 4? Why is there an iPhone X and not iPhone 9 and 10? Has it been 22 phones already since the first Galaxy S? Why is the Galaxy S22 Ultra not a Galaxy Note? What even is a Pro Max, and is it better than an Ultra? The answer to each of these questions is different, but the essence remains the same: Why are you changing things when things didn’t need changing? Why are you taking away my familiarity?

The polar opposite to this familiarity is the introduction of new technology, and along with it, new product lines. Companies introduce new brandings all the time, and most such introductions are accompanied with an attempt to string the new product back to its ancestors and carry over some goodwill. When Samsung announced its entry into the foldable smartphone space, it did so with the “Samsung Galaxy Fold” — a name that carried the legacy of “Galaxy” forward into the foldable era. The name made sense: You could expect all the hallmarks of an Android smartphone from the house of Samsung, and then it would fold. Pros and cons of the phone aside, the name was simple and familiar, and I personally felt that Samsung had something very impactful and long-lasting in this name.

Samsung’s next foldable came in the form of the flip-phone-reminiscent “Samsung Galaxy Z Flip”….wait, where did the “Z” come from? Samsung suddenly decided to christen its foldables as “Z”, even though the shape that these phones made when folded/flipped was a very clear “L” or “V”. There was nothing Z-like on the Galaxy Z Flip, apart from Samsung’s insistence on adding this double-hinged letter to denote a single-hinge foldable. Then came along the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the Galaxy Z Flip 2, and the realization that the Z is here to stay for these foldables.

Schrödinger’s Z: Z and no Z at the same time

As the company was quoted at the time:

“With the Z Series, we are adopting a new naming convention for our foldable portfolio that shows our commitment to expanding the category to offer a variety of experience. We chose ‘Z’ for this series because it intuitively communicates the idea of a fold while delivering a dynamic, youthful feel.”

Do you know what else intuitively communicates the idea of a fold? Fold and Flip. The Z felt out of place then, and it continues to feel out of place even in 2022. It even makes the full name of the phone difficult to roll off the tongue and makes creating content about the phone avoidably cumbersome. It might have made sense to club Samsung’s foldables under the Z umbrella — but relegating them to an experimental niche is in stark contrast to attempts at mainstreaming then. If foldables are the future, then why can’t foldables sit alongside our Galaxies? Further, the price tag of these phones has so far ensured that Gen Z has largely stayed away from them. So who exactly was “Z” appeasing?

How clean and cool would “Samsung Flip” or “the iPhone 2020” sound?

But nah phone brands gotta wild out and give us something like “Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 2 Ultra 5G Blackpink Jennie Edition Premium”

— ben (@bencsin) July 6, 2020

Here a Z, there a Z. But not everywhere a Z.

News now arrives that Samsung has removed the “Z” branding from the name of its foldable in some European nations. Samsung has not shared any official statement on the reason for this removal, but speculation is that it has to do with the current geo-political scenario in Europe. As you can see below, regions like Estonia and Latvia now refer to the foldables as Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Flip, omitting the Z from the name.

Samsung has not rolled out the shorter name to the rest of Europe and the world, and there’s nothing to indicate that they will be doing so. But a disjointed branding hurts the prospects of future devices, especially when the speculated geopolitical triggers behind this change continue to remain uncertain and seemingly indefinite. Within the narrow topical confines of smartphones, it brings us back to a situation where a name was forcefully introduced and familiarized and is now being rolled back, snatching away the newfound familiarity. Will the next Galaxy foldable be called the Galaxy Z Fold 4 or the Galaxy Fold 4 across the world? Too early to speculate, but we hope for the latter, simply because it would make it simpler and easier to follow for everyone.

What’s in a name?

What’s in a name, you ask? To this I say, a lot. I have always been a function-over-form person, and the idea that a name could affect how a product performs sounded patently illogical to me in the past. But over the years, the realization has grown on me that names do hold considerable value, especially on a commodity like smartphones. Names breed familiarity and set expectations. And expectations set benchmarks that decide what is considered good and what is considered bad. These factors may not be enough to redeem a bad product nor sink a good one. But they do affect how an average consumer subconsciously perceives what is in front of them.

Companies have taken undue liberty of chaining together alphabets and letters, resulting in a confused cacophony of S, R, T, Z, SE, FE, Note, Lite, Mini, Pro, Max, Pro Max, Pro Plus, Ultra, and more, with 4G and 5G sprinkled on top as the garnish that nobody asked for. What we have ended up with is a web of rebranding and copycat names that reeks of misdirection and ends up making the smartphone space difficult to follow for the average consumer. It’s high time we hit the reset button on these 10-20 syllable names, and I hope OEMs and their marketing departments introspect.

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According to a recent post from YouTube, the new timed reactions feature will let you easily post a reaction at any given point in the video by opening the comments section and tapping on the reaction panel. The feature will also show you the moments that other viewers are reacting to, but the reactions will be anonymized. The following GIF showcases how timed reactions will appear on videos.

At the moment, YouTube is testing the feature with multiple sets of reactions, including Heart, 100, Question mark, Light bulb, Sun, and more. The platform plans to add or remove reactions based on how the experiment progresses, so the feature might roll out with a different set of reactions when it’s finally ready for primetime.

Since the reactions feature is currently available on a small number of channels, you might not see it right away. But if you happen to come across a supported video, you should see a pop-up highlighting the experimental feature. It’s worth noting that the feature is not available in the experimental features section on YouTube on any of our devices, but your mileage may vary. Sadly, Google has not released any information about the channels with which it is currently testing the feature. So, if you chance upon a video that supports the feature, make sure you drop the link in the comments to give other users a chance to experience the feature.

What do you think of YouTube’s new timed reactions feature? Would you use it? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Source: YouTube

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Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Specifications

For starters, the RTX 3090 Ti features a record-breaking 10,752 CUDA cores and boasts 78 RT-TFLOPs, 40 Shader-TFLOPs, and 320 Tensor-TFLOPs of power. It packs 24GB of the fastest 21Gbps GDDR6X memory, which is the same amount of memory, but slightly faster. This flagship Ampere SKU, featuring the GA102-350 GPU is also the first Nvidia GPU ever to use a PCIe Gen5 16-pin power connector. This connector replaces NVIDIA’s 12-pin Molex MicroFit 3.0 plug.

The new 16-pin connector is expected to make it other partner card designs too, as it can feed more power to the GPU. This is crucial because some RTX 3090 Ti designs are expected to have a TDP even higher than 450W. This is a good time to remind you to buy a new and more powerful PSU if you are planning to upgrade to the new RTX 3090 Ti. You can find some good options in our collection of the best power supply units.

Here’s a quick look at the specifications of the new GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics card (FE) to see how it competes with the older RTX 3090 GPU (FE) on paper:

As far as the gaming performance is concerned, the new GeForce RTX 3090 Ti is said to be 9% faster than the previous RTX 3090, and on average up to 64% faster than the RTX 2080 Ti. It can also be used to play, capture, and watch games in 8K HDR with DLSS. The RTX 3090 Ti, however, is more than just a simple GPU for gaming. It’s ideal for various other workflows including content creation, AI, and, processing large sets of data, more. This GPU is said to be capable of delivering anywhere between 42%-102% more performance than the RTX 2080 Ti and TITAN RTX in content creation workloads. We’ll have more to talk about the general performance of the RTX 3090 Ti once we manage to get our hands on this particular GPU for testing.

Pricing & Availability

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti graphics card is now available to purchase for a starting price of $1,999. The Founders Edition version of the RTX 3090 Ti will available from Best Buy online in the US. You can also pick up one of the partner cards instead of the Founders Edition unit from OEMs like ASUS, MSI, and more.

PNY is also one of the manufacturers to launch its custom RTX 3090 Ti called ‘PNY XLR8 RTX 3090 Ti’. In fact, PNY is also launching an overclocked version of the GPU called ‘PNY XLR8 RTX 3090 Ti Overclocked’, in case you need that additional power out of the box. The PNY card, as you can see, comes with a triple fan configuration and EPIC-X RGB lighting, both of which are not available on Nvidia’s Founders Edition design.

Partner cards may or may not have the new 16-pin connector, though, and it’ll be interesting to see how the market adapts to that. The pricing of these partner cards tends to be higher than the Founders Edition. We’ll add a couple of these new GPU variants to our collection of the best graphics cards, so be sure to take a look at them.

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At today’s launch event, Xiaomi unveiled three new devices for international markets — the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G, the Redmi Note 11S 5G, and the Redmi Note 10 5G. If these names sound familiar to you, that’s because Xiaomi has already launched devices with these marketing names in other regions. But, while they may look the same as the existing models, they’re completely different internally. Check out the table below for a quick rundown of their specifications.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G, Redmi Note 11S 5G, and Redmi 10 5G: Specifications

Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G

In January, Xiaomi debuted the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge in the Indian market. The new Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G is the same device with a different name, but don’t confuse it for the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G that is also available in the Indian market. The Indian Xiaomi Mi 11i and the Global Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G are identical in terms of design and hardware, with the Xiaomi/Redmi branding on the back panel being the only difference between the two. As such, the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G features a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1200nits of peak brightness, MediaTek’s Dimensity 920 SoC, a 108MP triple camera setup, a 16MP selfie shooter, and a 4,500mAh battery with 120W wired fast charging support.

The phone runs an older version of Xiaomi’s custom Android skin, MIUI 12.5, out of the box. Xiaomi has not clarified whether the software is based on Android 11 or Android 12. But it’s safe to assume that the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G is running Android 11 out of the box as the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge also launched with MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11.

Other noteworthy features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a 3.5mm headphone jack, AI Face Unlock, and TÜV Rheinland’s Safe Fast-Charge System certification. The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G comes in three colorways — Graphite Gray, Star Blue, and Forest Green.

It’s worth repeating that the new Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus global variant is NOT the same device as the one that Xiaomi launched in India earlier this month. Although the Indian variant features the same display and camera hardware, it packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 SoC, a larger 5,000mAh battery but with slower 67W wired fast charging support, and it runs MIUI 13 based on Android 11.

Redmi Note 11S 5G

The new Redmi Note 11S 5G is a 5G-enabled version of the Redmi Note 11S that Xiaomi launched in January. But it features the same hardware as the Redmi Note 11T 5G, which landed in India back in November last year. However, unlike the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus and the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge, there are some minor differences between the Redmi Note 11S 5G and the Redmi Note 11T 5G.

The new Redmi Note 11S 5G features the same design as the Indian variant of the Redmi Note 11T 5G. The devices are pretty much identical hardware-wise, featuring the same 6.6-inch 90Hz IPS display, MediaTek’s Dimensity 810 SoC, a 5,000mAh battery with 33W wired fast charging support, and similar RAM/storage configurations.

However, while both phones feature the same 50MP primary and 8MP ultra-wide cameras, the new Redmi Note 11S 5G features an additional 2MP macro sensor on the back. For selfies, the phone packs a 13MP front-facing camera instead of the 16MP sensor found on the Indian Redmi Note 11T 5G. Other noteworthy features include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and AI Face Unlock. The Redmi Note 11S 5G comes in three colorways — Midnight Black, Twilight Blue, and Star Blue.

It’s worth noting that the new Redmi Note 11S 5G and the Indian Redmi Note 11T 5G share the same hardware as the Chinese Redmi Note 11, with the third camera sensor and the selfie shooter being the only exceptions. Xiaomi also sells the same device as the POCO M4 Pro 5G in some markets.

Redmi 10 5G

The new Redmi 10 5G is also a rebranded Redmi Note 11 series device. It features the same design and hardware as the Redmi Note 11E 5G, which Xiaomi launched in China earlier this month. The device features a 6.58-inch 90Hz display with a waterdrop-style notch for the selfie camera, a MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC, a 5,000mAh battery with 18W wired fast charging support, and a 50MP plus 2MP dual-camera setup on the back.

The Redmi 10 5G also features a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a 5MP selfie shooter, and AI Face Unlock support. On the software front, it runs MIUI 13 out of the box. The Redmi 10 5G comes in three colorways — Graphite Gray, Chrome Silver, and Aurora Green.

It’s worth mentioning that Xiaomi will likely launch the device as the Redmi 10 Prime Plus 5G in the Indian market and the POCO M4 5G in some regions.

Pricing & Availability

At the moment, Xiaomi has not shared the final availability details for the three new devices. However, the company has released the recommended retail price for all variants. Check out the section below for more information.

• Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G (Global)
  • 6GB+128GB: $369
  • 8GB+128GB: $399
  • 8GB+256GB: $449
•  Redmi Note 11S 5G (Global)
  • 4GB+64GB: $249
  • 4GB+128GB: $279
  • 6GB+128GB: $299
• Redmi 10 5G (Global)
  • 4GB+64GB: $199
  • 4GB+128GB: $229

You can head over to Xiaomi’s website for regional pricing and availability details.

The post Xiaomi brings the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus, Redmi Note 11S, and Redmi 10 5G to international markets appeared first on xda-developers.

Upcoming Instagram features

Reliable reverse engineer and leaker Alessandro Paluzzi has shared some of the new features Instagram is working on.

Exclusives tab

#Instagram is working on a tab in the profile that will collect all the exclusive content for subscribers pic.twitter.com/xZe43xkPMT

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 28, 2022

Instagram appears to be working on a tab for exclusive subscriber content. So if you’re paying a creator, you would be able to easily access the section — which displays all of the paid goods they post.

Image replies to Instagram Stories

#Instagram is working on the ability to reply to Stories with images pic.twitter.com/1mpaDstcZw

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 26, 2022

The company is also developing an option to reply to a certain Story with an image of your choice.

Voice note replies to Instagram Stories

#Instagram is working on the ability to reply to Stories with voice messages pic.twitter.com/6fQNSxB04e

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 26, 2022

Similarly, Instagram is working on a new voice note button that is included as a reply option when viewing a Story.

Sharing Instagram posts through QR codes

#Instagram is working on the ability to share posts using a QR code pic.twitter.com/2RIaCW6ows

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 27, 2022

Instagram already allows users to directly share a post to several other social media platforms. The company is now implementing a QR code option that would provide you with an additional way to share a post with your friends.

Disappearing Story Reactions

#Instagram is working on Disappearing Reactions

Basically it means that you can send the reactions to Stories in chats with the vanish mode enabled. pic.twitter.com/y7JC7bosY8

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 25, 2022

Lastly, Instagram is developing Disappearing Story Reactions. These would vanish once the recipient views them — instead of sticking around in the chat history. The company already provides users with a Vanish Mode that affects regular direct messages (DMs).

All of these new Instagram features are currently under development, and there’s no way to tell when and if they’ll make it past this stage. It’s not uncommon for corporations to work on new features — only to drop them altogether later on. Considering all five could come in handy, we only hope that the company releases them to end users down the road.

Do you still actively use Instagram? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Instagram is working on several new features, including improvements to Story replies appeared first on xda-developers.

As discovered by Esper‘s Mishaal Rahman, Android 13 will introduce a new expanded picture-in-picture multi-window mode that will allow developers to create longer and wider PiP windows than it’s currently possible. But it seems the feature is intended for Android TV devices and not for smartphones.

Android TV 13 is bringing a new form of picture-in-picture mode called “expanded” PiP. This will enable PiP windows that are even longer or wider than before (ie. outside the 1:2.39 to 2.39:1 min/max aspect ratio).https://t.co/dh5AF9xX5d

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 25, 2022

The default aspect ratio of a picture-in-picture mode is 1.777778:1 (16:9). However, app developers can choose a custom aspect ratio between 1:2:39 to 2:39:1. But with Android 13’s new expanded picture-in-picture window, developers will be able to set a PiP window to be less than 1:2:39 or bigger than 2:39:1. As noted by Esper, the code for the expanded PiP multi-window mode can be found in the classes under com/android/wm/shell/pip/tv in SystemUI. The code also suggests that users will be able to move around the expanded multi-window on screen using DPAD key events.

In addition, Esper notes that Android 13 may also allow users to dock the expanded PiP windows side by side on Android TV devices. Note that Google hasn’t yet announced Android TV 13, so there’s no official documentation or guidance about the new expanded PiP mode.

Android 12 brought several refinements and improvements to PiP mode, including the ability to pinch-to-resize to make the PiP window smaller or bigger and stashing, which allows users to hide a window without having to completely close it by stashing it to the side.

Source: Esper

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