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Nvidia and MediaTek could be teaming up on gaming handheld chip

Wallpaper of logo of Nvidia

Nvidia and MediaTek are reportedly working together to produce a new chip that could power the handheld gaming PCs of tomorrow.

It all starts with an X (formerly Twitter) post from analyst Dan Nystedt, which reveals an industry rumour that the two chip giants are co-developing an Arm-based AI processor for PCs. Apparently, the design will apparently be finalised in the third quarter of 2024, and verified in the fourth quarter.

Manufacturing is said to be set for the first half of 2025 on TSMC’s 3nm process, and we could hear official news on the chip from MediaTek at Computex Taipei 2024 in June. With a price said to be around the $300 mark, this will be one premium PC chip.

Yep and Mediatek is also working on gaming handled SoC with Nvidia GPU as Jensen is frustrated by Nintendo and he sees a good market potential.
PS: its different than the new NV semi-custom div that tries to reenter the console market (some CN clients are already interested) https://t.co/sBuYVLJILc

— AGF (@XpeaGPU) May 15, 2024

Leaker XpeaGPU followed this up by confirming the rumour, as well as claiming that Mediatek was also producing a gaming handled SoC, with Nvidia providing the GPU.

With Nvidia already tipped to be supplying Nintendo with a custom Tegra chip for the Switch 2 next year, 2025 could be a big year for handheld gaming machines.

Indeed, the suggestion here is that Nintendo’s habit of using mature technology (which is both proven and cheap) is causing some frustration at Nvidia HQ – the ‘Jensen’ being mentioned here a reference to Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia. The Taiwanese company apparently sees a great deal of potential in the handheld gaming SoC space, and seems eager to press forward with a more advanced solution.

The post Nvidia and MediaTek could be teaming up on gaming handheld chip appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

The Galaxy S23 Plus is an underrated bargain at this price

Hand holding a Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus with triple cameras.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is a low key bargain over on Giffgaff right now.

O2’s budget-oriented mobile virtual network (MVNO) is currently offering the Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus in ‘like new’ condition for just £599.

This is a phone that was officially retailing at £1,049 less than a year ago. In other words: it’s a total bargain.

Get a 'like new' Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus for just £599

Get a ‘like new’ Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus for just £599

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus is available for £599 in ‘like new’ refurbished condition from Giffgaff.

  • Giffgaff
  • ‘Like new’ refurbished
  • Now £599
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If the ‘like new’ designation didn’t tip you off, these models are refurbished, and as such aren’t brand new. However, Giffgaff offers the assurance that they “look like new” with “no visible scratches” to be found. It also offers a reassuring 24 month guarantee.

Samasung’s Plus range always feels a little underrated or under-appreciated to us. Perhaps that’s because it falls in between the plain S and flagship Ultra lines.

All we know is that we rated the Galaxy S23 Plus highly in our review, scoring it 4 out of 5 and finding that “It has a good, big screen; versatile camera and long battery life”, and saying that it was “a reliable device to have by your side.”

One of our main criticisms with this 2023 model was that it was a tad on the pricey side, given what you could get for less money at the time. However, in light of this Giffgaff deal, that price is a whole lot more inviting.

We’d go so far as to say it’s outstanding value at £599, and that it tops a lot of current mid-rangers in virtually every department.

Especially given that you can now get Samsung’s Galaxy AI software, which debuted on the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S4 Plus, via an update.

The post The Galaxy S23 Plus is an underrated bargain at this price appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Need a Bluetooth speaker this summer? This deal has you covered

Anker Soundcore Boom 2 main

This Soundcore Boom 2 Bluetooth speaker deal is perfect for the summer, getting you an excellent outdoor speaker at a steep discount.

Amazon is selling the Soundcore Boom 2 for £99.99 right now, which is a 17% saving on the £119.99 RRP. It’s a limited time deal, though, so you’ll need to be quick.

Save 17% on the Soundcore Boom 2

Save 17% on the Soundcore Boom 2

The Soundcore Boom 2 is discounted on Amazon right now, with 17% chopped off the RRP.

  • Amazon
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  • Now £99.99
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The Soundcore Boom 2 might be a portable Bluetooth speaker, but there’s nothing small about its sound. It supplies an impressive 80W output, while a built in subwoofer lays on proper 2.1 channel sound.

This is a speaker that’s built for the outdoor life too, with an IPX7 rating making it effectively waterproof. It’ll even float if you drop it in the swimming pool after a few too many negronis.

Make no mistake, this speaker is ready for those epic pool parties, with RGB lighting, a built-in grab handle, 24-hour battery life, strong Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, and the ability to charge your phone up via a USB-A port.

We gave the Soundcore Boom 2 a positive review, scoring it 4 out of 5. “It’s one of the most powerful speakers in its price bracket, and the sound quality definitely gives other speakers from big-name players a run for their money,” we concluded. “It’s a great option that’s easy to recommend.”

Needless to say, at this new deal price of £99, it’s an even more competitive Bluetooth speaker offering.

The post Need a Bluetooth speaker this summer? This deal has you covered appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

AirPods are down to the perfect gift-giving price

AirPods 2

Apple’s second generation AirPods have dropped to a price that makes them a perfect gift idea.

When they first hit the market, the AirPods (2nd generation), also known as the AirPods (2019) would set you back £199. Right now, Amazon is selling them for just £99.

They’re not the latest version of the AirPods on the market, but Apple still sells them as new for £129. You’re saving big whichever way you look at it, whether it’s half the launch price or a 23% discount on the current RRP.

Save 23% on the AirPods (2nd generation)

Save 23% on the AirPods (2nd generation)

Amazon is selling the AirPods (2nd generation) for just £99, which is a 23% saving.

  • Amazon
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  • Now £99
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We gave the AirPods (2nd generation) a positive 4 out of 5 review back in the day. “The second-generation AirPods are simple yet great wireless earphones that are a pleasure to use,” was our no-nonsense summary of their appeal.

It all comes down to a couple of key things that these true wireless earphones do really well. They have great battery life, a brilliant charging case that can be charged wirelessly, and fantastic connectivity with iPhones.

The latter can be attributed to Apple’s H1 chip, which supplies impressively snappy connection speeds. It also enabled “Hey Siri” support in Apple’s mainstream earbuds range, letting you control your music playback or check the weather without the need to physically touch the ‘buds themselves.

All in all, these remain a classy, easy-to-use set of earbuds. At this new sub-£100 price, they become a tempting purchase for that iPhone owner in your life lacking a personal audio solution. They’ll thank you for it.

The post AirPods are down to the perfect gift-giving price appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

The Sony Xperia 1 VI is official, and it's lost its signature feature

Sony has officially announced its new flagship phone, the Xperia 1 VI, and it’s lost arguably the most unique thing about the series.

The company’s flagship smartphone range has never been a huge seller, but it has always gone above and beyond on the spec front. Most notably, at least from a back-of-the-box vantage point, the Xperia 1 range has always had a 4K display, including with last year’s Sony Xperia 1 V.

That’s finally changed with the Sony Xperia 1 VI, which has switched to a 6.5-inch FHD+ OLED display, skipping the QHD+ and even so-called 1.5K resolutions altogether.

Admittedly, 4K has always felt like overkill in a smartphone form factor, but it made sense with Sony’s media heavyweight branding. The Xperia 1 VI was the niche phone for cinema buffs, and we kind of always liked that.

There’s been another step away from Sony’s cinema-first focus with the Xperia 1 VI ditching the signature tall and thin 21:9 aspect in favour of a more ‘normal’ 19.5:9. It means that the latest film releases will no longer fill the screen, though it will likely be better at handling day to day tasks like web browsing.

Sony is still pushing this display as a film buff’s dream, highlighting its ‘Powered by Bravia’ AI image adjustment technology, which apparently reproduces the image quality of Sony’s TV sets. It’s also the brand’s first LTPO screen, which means it’ll be far more energy efficient, while Sony has cranked the maximum brightness up 50%.

Sony Xperia 1 VI in khaki green

The stereo speakers, too, have apparently received a buff, while adding a Premium Audio Circuit to the 3.5mm wired headphone jack is a reassuringly Sony touch.

Elsewhere, the Sony Xperia 1 VI is all upgrades. The other signature element of this range has been its steady drip of camera innovations, and the Xperia 1 VI brings a new and improved telephoto camera to the table. We’re talking a 12MP optical telephoto lens with a superior zoom range of between 3.5x and 7.1x – or a focal length of between 85mm and 170mm.

The main 52MP Exmor T sensor is the same as before, though it remains unique to Sony. The company has applied its own AI magic this time, this time to improve its already class-leading autofocus and subject tracking.

Sony’s camera hardware has never been an issue, of course. While its camera UI has always been extremely powerful, it’s hardly been intuitive, spread across several separate apps. The company is supplying a “significant update” to the app with the Xperia 1 VI, with a more user-friendly interface, and all functionality rounded up into the main app.

There’s a 5,000 mAh battery, which Sony claims can support double the video playback (probably down to that new display), as well as support for Wi-Fi 7. It’s all powered by the latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor too, as you might expect, this time backed by vapour chamber cooling. Previous Xperia 1 phones could run a little hot.

The design looks very similar to previous Xperia 1 phones, with the same ridged industrial look, lozenge-shaped camera module, and textured rear that we’ve seen before.

The Sony Xperia 1 VI launches in Black, Platinum Silver, and Khaki Green this June, with preorders starting on Sony’s website today. If you were expecting that climb down from 4K to produce a cheaper phone, you’d be mistaken – it’ll still cost £1299 / €1399.

The post The Sony Xperia 1 VI is official, and it's lost its signature feature appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Samsung might not release a cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 6 foldable after all

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 folded on a table

Samsung is reportedly having second thoughts about releasing a more affordable Galaxy Z Fold 6 foldable.

Back in January we reported on industry tittle tattle suggesting that Samsung was looking to introduce a new cheaper variant of its full-sized foldable smartphone in 2024.

This was followed in February by claims that the manufacturer was actually looking to go in completely the opposite direction, and release an ‘Ultra’ model of the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

If you’re sensing some indecision on Samsung’s part, then a new report from South Korean website The Elec would seem to support that. According to this fresh report, Samsung has now fully reconsidered its 2024 foldable plans, and has ditched – or at least delayed – its plans to launch a cheaper foldable.

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Kindle Paperwhite Summertime discount

Amazon’s super-light Kindle Paperwhite has just become even more of a bargain

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Apparently, the manufacturer has been unable to make its cheaper foldable prototype as thin as rival efforts from Huawei. It was thought that by omitting the technology needed for S Pen support, Samsung would be able to create a device that was lighter on your pocket in every sense, but that hasn’t borne fruit as yes.

Besides this lack of a crucial differentiating factor (aside from the price), the report cites general industry uncertainty as a reason for Samsung’s hesitancy.

There’s no mention of the Ultra model at all, though claims that the company will only release two foldables in 2024 – a Galaxy Z Fold 6 and a Galaxy Z Flip 6 – would suggest that this rumour too won’t be coming to pass. At least not in 2024.

The post Samsung might not release a cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 6 foldable after all appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

These discounted headphones are perfect for your next flight

Anyone in the market for a high quality set of discounted headphones before they head off on their travels should pay attention to this deal.

We’re entering summer holiday season, and what better way to ease the travel chaos than to invest in a new high-quality set of noise cancelling headphones, especially at a discounted price? Thankfully, Amazon has got you covered.

The retailer is currently selling the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Special Edition headphones for just £219.99. That’s a whopping 37% discount on the £349 RRP.

Save 37% on the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Special Edition headphones

Save 37% on the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Special Edition headphones

The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Special Edition headphones are on sale, with Amazon chopping 37% off the price for a limited time.

  • Amazon
  • Save 37%
  • Now £219.99
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We tested the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless a while back, and awarded them a hugely positive 4.5 out of 5 score. We called the it “an excellent pair of wireless headphones that deliver a balanced, neutral presentation, long battery life and very good noise cancellation”.

Some of the performance even strays into “class-leading” territory, with the 60-hour battery life in particular offering twice that of the Sony WH-1000XM5. They’re also extremely comfortable to wear, with deep cushioned earpieces and a padded headband meaning you’ll be able to put that stellar battery life to the test

One of our few criticisms of the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless was that it was a little drab compared to its rivals. This Special Edition model goes some way to addressing that, offering a fresh Black Copper finish with eye-catching metallic accents.

Amazon is calling this a ‘Limited time deal’, so we wouldn’t hang around for too long if you wanted to grab these stylish cans.

The post These discounted headphones are perfect for your next flight appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

iPhone 14 Plus just had a massive price crash at Amazon

iPhone 14 Plus side
iPhone 14 Plus side

Amazon has just dramatically sliced the price of the iPhone 14 Plus, making it a total bargain.

The online retail behemoth is now selling the iPhone 14 Plus for £599, which is £200 less than the £799 Apple is still selling it for. That’s a 25% discount right there.

You can even pick your colour from the five options on offer: (PRODUCT) Red, Blue, Midnight, Purple, or Starlight.

Save £200 on the iPhone 14 Plus

Save £200 on the iPhone 14 Plus

Amazon has lopped £200 off the price of the iPhone 14 Plus, bringing it down to a very reasonable £599.

  • Amazon
  • Save 25%
  • Now £599
View Deal

We like the iPhone 14 Plus a lot. In our 4.5 star review, we concluded that it was a better choice than the regular iPhone 14, thanks to its larger display and superior battery life.

The iPhone 14 Plus also benefits from excellent performance. Apple’s A15 Bionic chip is still a fast performer, and will remain so for several years yet. It’s also relatively light for a super-sized iPhone – certainly in comparison to the iPhone 14 Pro Max, at any rate.

Then there’s Apple’s legendary camera system. Dual 12-megapixel sensors might not sound like much, but the quality of their output is excellent.

Night shots are particularly strong, while the 12MP selfie camera produces excellent results, with more facial detail and natural skin tones than before.

Our one updated warning with the iPhone 14 Plus was the arrival of the iPhone 15 Plus, which is a better phone in every way. However, that phone’s price starts from £899, which is a whopping £300 more expensive than the iPhone 14 Plus right now.

The post iPhone 14 Plus just had a massive price crash at Amazon appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

The Pixel 8a already has a discount - and it's a big one

Google’s brand new Pixel 8a has already received a huge discount, and it’s literally just been released.

It’s Pixel 8a day, people. Google’s latest classy mid-range smartphone hits shots and doorsteps today, with a slightly hiked starting price.

That’s why we’re both pleased and immensely surprised to see this huge Pixel 8a discount over on Voxi. It gets you the 128GB entry model of the Pixel 8a for just £352.80.

Save £146.20 on the Pixel 8a

Save £146.20 on the Pixel 8a

The Pixel 8a has received an epic discount on launch day, shaving £146.20 off the price.

  • Voxi
  • Save £146.20
  • Now £352.80
View Deal

That’s a whopping £146.20 saving on the £499 RRP. Even better, you have options when it comes to paying that discounted fee off. You can either pay it all up front, or spread the payments over 12, 24, 30, or 36 months terms, interest-free.

We even know how long this brilliant deal is running for. Voxi claims that the deal ends on May 30, so you have a good fortnight in which to marshal your resources for this one.

The Pixel 8a updates Google’s mid-range offering with a smoother 120Hz display and the same Tensor G3 processor that powers the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Its design, too, is softer and rounder than the previous model.

It’s got the same excellent 64MP main camera as last year’s Pixel 7a, but with the added image processing power and AI knowhow that the aforementioned Tensor G3 brings.

Talking of AI knowhow, the Pixel 8a has all of the same on-device AI tricks as its bigger brothers, as well as the same outstanding seven-year software update promise.

The post The Pixel 8a already has a discount - and it's a big one appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Pixel 9 range photos leak on eve of Google I/O

Pixel 8 Pro home
Pixel 8 Pro home

The first live images of the Pixel 9 range have seemingly appeared online in a live photo leak just ahead of Google I/O.

Less than a day ahead of the big Google I/O event, photos of the company’s next flagship smartphone range have seemingly leaked online.

The images, from Russian-language website Rozetked (via Android Police), appear to show the three-strong Pixel 9 series. This includes the Pixel 9 itself, as well as the Pixel 9 Pro and the provisionally titled Pixel 9 Pro XL.

Said images serve to confirm Google’s forthcoming design language overhaul, which involves dropping the curves of the Pixel 8 series in favour of a more angular, flat-edged look. Meanwhile, the iconic camera visor no longer melds into the side frame, but stands apart as a distinct lozenge, rather like the Pixel Fold.

The Pro models seemingly got with a matte back and glossy sides, while the regular Pixel 9 goes with a matte frame and glossy back. The corners seem rounder than before.

Google Pixel 9 range photo leak
Image: Rozetked

We’ve heard previously that Google would be splitting its Pro range between smaller and larger models. It might sound like the Pixel 9 Pro XL is the new device here, but really it’s that smaller Pixel 9 Pro, which crams many of the same Pro features into a body the size of the Pixel 9.

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Kindle Paperwhite Summertime discount

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It seems the Pixel 9 has a 6.2-inch display, while the Pixel 9 Pro has a 6.3-inch and the Pixel 9 Pro XL a 6.7-inch screen, all with 120Hz refresh rates. The Pixel 9 Pro apparently offsets that slightly bigger display with smaller bezels compared to the Pixel 9.

The Pixel 9 Pro duo will apparently have three 50MP cameras, with the telephoto capable of a 5x zoom. The Pixel 9 will have a dual camera set-up, like previous non-Pro Pixels.

Products routinely leak in the days leading up to their launch, of course, but here’s the thing: the Pixel 9 series likely won’t be announced until November. With the Pixel 8a already out there, and the Pixel Fold 2 rumoured to now be part of the Pixel 9 line-up, Google may not have any Pixel phone hardware on show at tonight’s Google I/O keynote.

The post Pixel 9 range photos leak on eve of Google I/O appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Xbox Game Pass price hike could be sweetened by Call of Duty

Microsoft Xbox logo

Microsoft could be considering another price hike for its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which might be sweetened by the inclusion of future Call of Duty games.

The company’s beleaguered gaming division has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late, with its underperformance underlined by the recent shuttering of a couple of highly regarded internal studios.

In a recent piece examining Microsoft’s Xbox troubles, The Verge journalist Tom Warren has made a couple of noteworthy claims about potential solutions being discussed at MS HQ.

One of those solutions is apparently a straight up price hike for the company’s prestigious Xbox Game Pass game subscription service. Given that we’ve not long received such an increase, it might not go down too well with customers – especially in light of those developer closures. Why pay more for a service that has technically just gotten worse?

Perhaps the second solution being discussed can help out here. According to the report, Microsoft has been discussing adding future Call of Duty games to the Xbox Game Pass roster. Apparently, such discussions have been taking place internally for quite some time now.

It’s easy to see why this would be appealing, given that Call of Duty is one of the biggest properties in gaming, and one that’s almost synonymous with online play.

However, there are clear misgivings about the lost revenue this would incur on Activision Blizzard. Call of Duty is a juggernaut of a money maker as things stand, and the idea of giving its £70 games away for ‘free’ seems counterintuitive, if not downright perverse.

We’re sure Sony would have something to say about such a move, too.

The post Xbox Game Pass price hike could be sweetened by Call of Duty appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Nintendo Switch 2 spec leak points to major hardware upgrade

Switch OLED Joy-Cons

Fresh hardware specs for the Nintendo Switch 2 have leaked online, pointing to a significant hardware upgrade and a new microphone.

No sooner has Nintendo officially confirmed that the Switch 2 is a real thing (they can be remarkably coy about such things), then some solid hardware spec leaks have begun to flow forth.

Established Pokémon tipster CentroLeaks has taken to X (formerly Twitter) with a batch of convincing-looking details, apparently taken straight from the Switch 2 manufacturing line.

Nintendo Switch 2 new leaks. It appears information from manufacturing is starting to leak out.

– 12 GB RAM (two 6 GB 7500 MT/s LPDDR5 modules)
– 256 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage
– Seems like both the console will include a built-in microphone (and thus maybe controllers too?)

— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) May 9, 2024

According to this leak, the Nintendo Switch 2 will ship with 12GB of RAM, with the extra elaboration that it will come in the form of “two 6 GB 7500 MT/s LPDDR5 modules”. It’s such minor details that add extra credibility to such supply chain rumours.

By way of a comparison, the original Nintendo Switch ships with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, so this is a hefty upgrade, and points to serious ramping up of processing power and a scaling up of resolution output.

While 256 GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage might not sound like a huge amount for a portable device, meanwhile, it’s a massive ramping up compared to the original Switch’s 32GB. This points to a significant scaling up in game file size, again pointing to a significant increase in resolution.

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit here is that the Switch 2 could feature a built-in microphone, whether that’s in the body of the console or the controller. It’s not a quirky feature on a par with the 3DS’s 3D display or the Wii’s motion-controllers, but it might suggest that online social play is a focus for Nintendo’s next console.

The post Nintendo Switch 2 spec leak points to major hardware upgrade appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Google Find My Device can find a Pixel several hours after powering down

Google Find My device

Google has revealed that its new Find My Device network can help you locate a Pixel phone even several hours after it has powered down.

The company launched its updated tool for locating lost or stolen phones in North America last month, leveraging the vast number of Android devices out there to pinpoint where a registered phone is.

We knew at the time that Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro owners would get a bonus feature – the ability to locate your phone even when it’s offline or powered down. All we got by way of an explanation at the time was that this was thanks to “specialised Pixel hardware” that Google is working to bring to other manufacturers.

Now this feature has begun cropping up on Pixel 8-family devices, including the brand new Pixel 8a, along with a little more explanation.

As spotted by 9to5Google, the company has begun sending notifications to Pixel 8 phones that are signed up through the Find My Device app, revealing that the phone can be located for “several hours” after it has powered down.

In a related support page, Google explains that you’ll need to have your Pixel 8 device set to ‘With network in high-traffic areas only’ or ‘With network in all areas’ in the Find My Device app, and that you’ll need to have both Bluetooth and Location turned on.

Any device within the Find My Device network will use Bluetooth to scan for other nearby devices, and will then send secure location information where detected. The aforementioned “specialised Pixel hardware” in the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and now Pixel 8a can evidently keep this function going for a while after the handset has been powered down or run out of battery.

This expanded Find My Device feature only seems to be operating in the US and Canada at present, but the UK appears to be next up to gain support. Keep those eyes peeled, British Pixel 8 users.

The post Google Find My Device can find a Pixel several hours after powering down appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

New Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC set to be announced later today

Asus ROG Ally

Asus will announced a new ROG Ally handheld gaming PC later today, it’s been confirmed.

The company has posted a YouTube premiere video that’s set to go live at 8PM tonight, GMT. Its title is a fairly unambiguous “The next ROG Ally is coming…”.

Given that it’s been only a year since the launch of the original Asus ROG Ally – an expensive (£699), technically advanced gaming handheld – it seems unlikely this is going to be a full-blown ROG Ally 2 follow-up.

Rather, we’re expecting a relatively subtle refresh. Indeed, such a minor overhaul was predicted in a Videocardz report earlier this week. The website called this new handheld the ‘Asus ROG Ally 2024’ in reference to its “mid-product refresh” status.

That report claimed that the new ROG Ally would pack much the same hardware set-up as the first generation model, including the exact same Ryzen Z1 chip. On the improvement front, it may feature a larger battery, and should also fix the widely reported SD card reader issue that has plagued some units.

The Apple Pencil (USB-C) is now almost half the price of the new Apple Pencil Pro

The Apple Pencil (USB-C) is now almost half the price of the new Apple Pencil Pro

Whether you’re considering investing in one of the upcoming new iPads or just want to upgrade your current iPad experience, you can get an Apple Pencil (USB-C) for just £69 on Amazon.

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We gave the original Asus ROG Ally a positive 4-star review, praising it as “a more powerful alternative to the Steam Deck”. We particularly appreciated its streamlined design and its Full HD display.

On the negative side, there are obvious issues with the ROG Ally’s battery life, so rumours of a model with a larger capacity cell would make a certain amount of sense.

The post New Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC set to be announced later today appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro toughens up one of the best smartwatches around

Mobvoi has announced the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro, an altogether tougher take on last year’s excellent Wear OS smartwatch.

As the name suggests, the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro is closely related to the TicWatch Pro 5, but with a little extra – you guessed it – endurance. At least from a physical perspective.

It runs on the same Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip, together with the same 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Despite what that name might suggest, it also packs the same 628 mAh battery.

Not that the latter is remotely an issue. Together with a unique 1.43-inch dual-display (which switches between punchy OLED and efficient ULP), the TicWatch Pro 5 was capable of truly epic battery life – we’re talking several days on a single charge.

Where Mobvoi has made improvements is with the external build. The TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro has a new sapphire crystal display that’s way more resistant to nicks and scratches than before.

It also gains new reinforced bezel curves, so the area immediately around that new glass is also tougher. The body itself is formed from the same 7000-series aluminum and nylon as before, but it’s fractionally slimmer overall at 11.95mm (vs 12.2mm). The rotating crown is now bigger and more ergonomically crafted.

Mobvoi has swapped out the TicWatch Pro 5’s silicone band for a sportier “Fluororubber” one.

These are relatively minor embellishments to an already superb smartwatch, so it’s good to see that Mobvoi is keeping the pricing the same. It’s available to buy now at £329.99 / $349.99.

The post TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro toughens up one of the best smartwatches around appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Could the Galaxy S25 finally close the Exynos performance gap?

Samsung Galaxy S24 Exynos vs Galaxy S24 Snapdragon

The Galaxy S25 could finally be the phone that sees Samsung’s home-brewed Exynos chip line catching up to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon equivalent.

That’s the claim being made by established tipster Revegus over on X (formerly Twitter).

E2500-related news:

Internally at Samsung, it's judged that the E2500 doesn't lag behind the 8G4 in terms of quality. (However, it's unclear whether this is because the Nuvia cores of the 8G4 are not good, making the E2500 relatively better, or if the E2500 itself is good.)

— JH.C (@Revegnus1) May 8, 2024

The tipster is suggesting that Samsung is confident the E2500 – that is, the next-gen Exynos 2500 chip that will presumably power the global variant of the Galaxy S25 – won’t struggle for performance up against the 8G4 – that is, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 that will power the vast majority of Android flagship phones in 2025, including (presumably) the US model of the Galaxy S25.

Now, we’ve been burned too many times by Samsung’s assurances regarding its own processor efforts. Anyone remember the Exynos 2200 of 2022, with its AMD GPU support and bold claims of a console-style ray tracing?

While such Samsung efforts are generally fine for day to day usage, they almost invariably fall short of their off-the-shelf Qualcomm counterparts, whether in terms of performance or power efficiency.

Indeed, for a moment there in 2023 when Samsung went with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 across the line, we thought (hoped?) it might have thrown in the towel altogether. However, the Galaxy S24 has launched in recent months with the Exynos 2400 powering the global model, and it’s back to the old Exynos/Snapdragon performance gap.

You’ll forgive us for taking these latest claims with a pinch of salt, then. Indeed, the tipster throws an interesting question of their own into the mix – is Samsung confident that its next chip is really good, or is the company finding that Qualcomm has dropped the ball with its own next-gen effort?

We won’t know for sure until around February 2025, we suspect.

The post Could the Galaxy S25 finally close the Exynos performance gap? appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

What is the Final Cut Camera app?

Apple has announced a new initiative to enable multicam productions on your iPhone and iPad, with a new Final Cut Camera app playing a crucial role.

As part of its latest launch event, Apple announced the powerful new iPad Pro (2024) and iPad Air 6. It also announced some exciting new things you can do with its expanded slate of devices, including high-end video production.

So what exactly is the Final Cut Camera app? Read on to find out.

What is Final Cut Camera?

To put it briefly, Final Cut Camera is a forthcoming free app for iPhone and iPad that lets you capture and stream video footage back to an iPad as part of a wider multicam production.

Apple’s new version of Final Cut Pro will serve as a hub studio for multicam productions through its new Live Multicam feature, with Final Cut Camera serving as the means for actually capturing and broadcasting that video footage.

Final Cut Pro for Mac and iPad

You can shoot on up to four iOS devices using the app, and have them all stream wirelessly to a single iPad or Mac simultaneously.

The app also works as a standalone professional video capture app for iPhone and iPad, providing precise manual controls for advanced productions. Using the app, you can adjust settings like white balance, manual focus, ISO and shutter speed, as well as enabling focus peaking and monitoring recordings with zebras and audio meters.

When will Final Cut Camera be available?

Final Cut Camera will be available to download later this spring as a standalone app. It will be completely free to download, though a Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 subscription will also be necessary to run your multicam productions.

The post What is the Final Cut Camera app? appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

Google has made the Pixel Tablet slightly more tempting - here's how

hub screen on pixel tablet
hub screen on pixel tablet

Google has made the Pixel Tablet a much more tempting proposition, and fixed one of its core issues. Here’s how.

The Pixel 8a has just been unveiled, but that’s not the only exciting announcement from Google. We also learned that its somewhat awkward Pixel Tablet is being repackaged and repositioned.

Scroll down Google’s blog post on the launch and you’ll see that “Starting today you can also pre-order the Pixel Tablet without the Charging Speaker Dock for $399”. That applies to the UK too, where it now costs £399 sans Charging Speaker Dock.

That’s a £200 / $100 saving on the previous package price for a product that is, let’s face it, a pretty basic Android tablet at heart.

This move was widely predicted, as we reported around a fortnight ago. It’s extremely welcome, nonetheless. As you can see from our original 7 out of 10 review, we liked the Pixel Tablet, but found its positioning as a hybrid tablet/Nest Hub Max to be unnecessarily restrictive and not wholly convincing.

Divorced from that Charging Speaker Dock (which can still be bought separately for £139), we can now focus on what it is – a keenly priced mid-range Android tablet with a sharp 10.95-inch and the cleanest UI this side of an iPad.

Talking of which, the newly positioned Pixel Tablet unfortunately runs smack bang into a repriced iPad (10th gen), which has just permanently dropped from £499 to £349. Google’s tablet just can’t catch a break, can it?

The post Google has made the Pixel Tablet slightly more tempting - here's how appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

The iPad Pro 2024 has a surprising camera downgrade

The iPad Pro 2024 has received a somewhat unexpected camera downgrade.

An awful lot of copy has already been written on the many ways in which Apple’s new iPad Pro 2024 has gotten better. We’re here to tell you about one rather glaring way in which it’s gotten worse.

Apple’s shiny, expensive new tablet no longer comes with an ultra-wide camera.

The previous generation of the iPad Pro, aka the iPad Pro 2022 or iPad Pro M2, came with a 10MP ultra-wide camera to accompany its main 12MP snapper. However, the newly announced iPad Pro M4 only comes with the aforementioned 12MP camera.

Apple claims that the iPad Pro 2024’s camera system has been upgraded with “even more versatility”, including four mics for better videos and the ability to shoot “even better colour, improved textures, and detail in low light”. But still, it’s lost the ability to capture ultra-wide landscape shots.

Naturally, anyone who regularly uses their tablet for taking everyday photos is either evil incarnate or your mother, but that’s not really the point here. The point is that prices for the iPad Pro 2024 start from £999 / $999, which is a significant price rise from the £899 / $799 starting price of its predecessor.

We’re not unaccustomed to £100 / $200 price hikes in the current financial climate, at least when it comes to smartphones and tablets. However, you’d expect everything to be at least as good, if not better than before, for that extra expenditure.

Despite this notable omission, Apple’s new tablet lays on plenty of the good stuff, including a brand new OLED display (two of the things, in fact), a significantly slimmer design, and the company’s brand new AI-primed M4 chip.

The post The iPad Pro 2024 has a surprising camera downgrade appeared first on Trusted Reviews.

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