Intel beats AMD and Nvidia to become the first with full AV1 support with its new Arc GPUs
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Nowadays, the AV1 codec is a big deal as it it is a very efficient, potent, royalty-free video codec that competes with the likes of HEVC (H.265) and AVC (H.264). Companies would often find themselves infringing patents, like it happened very recently with Samsung. As such, streaming and video platforms, including the industry giants like YouTube, and Netflix, among others, have begun to work on integrating AV1 support. Microsoft, too, added support for hardware acceleration of AV1 on Windows two years ago.
With all this happening, Intel has been quick to respond and the company has become the first such GPU hardware vendor to have full AV1 support on its newly launched Arc GPUs. While AMD and Nvidia both offer AV1 decoding with their newest GPUs, neither have support for AV1 encoding.
From Neowin
OnePlus Nord Buds appear in live photos, confirm design
OnePlus is expected to launch TWS earphones under its affordable Nord brand. We saw renders of the alleged audio wearables, and today they were certified by the FCC. The listing came with photos of the actual earphones, as well as information about the battery capacity and what to expect in the retail box.
The buds will come with a small circular touch area and will have a short, wide, flat stem.
The OnePlus Nord Buds will have a 480 mAh battery in the case, while each bud will come with a 41 mAh battery. There appears to be a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging.
The name is also confirmed as well as the Black color version, but we expect at least one more option, likely white. The case has a model number E505A, with both buds sporting E505AR and E505AL. They were also spotted at BIS, meaning a launch in India is imminent.
The biggest question is how much would these TWS earbuds cost – currently, OnePlus sells its most affordable audio wearables, the Buds Z2, for $99/€99/INR4,999, but the Nord Buds should be able to go lower.
From Gsmarena
Fossil brings its stylish Skagen Falster Gen 6 range of Wear OS smartwatches to the Indian market
After launching the Fossil Gen 6 lineup of smartwatches in the Indian market last September, Fossil has now launched its Skagen Falster Gen 6 lineup in the region. The Skagen Falster Gen 6 smartwatch lineup is based on the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatches, but it has a slightly different design. If you’re in the market for a new Wear OS smartwatch, here’s everything you need to know about the new Skagen Falster Gen 6 smartwatches.
From XDA
Vivo X80 expected to feature the latest Dimensity 9000 SoC with DC-dimming AMOLED display
We may soon get to see the successor to Vivo’s X70 Pro+ smartphone in India now that the specifications of the X80 have been leaked. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer is expected to launch the flagship smartphone in China first and may eventually arrive in India later this year.
According to a report by 91Mobiles, the Vivo X80 is expected to feature a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 SoC. It is unclear if the device would launch with the same specifications in the Indian market or would come with the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
The report also states that the Vivo X80 may feature a 6.78-inch E5 120Hz AMOLED display with DC-dimming. The display technology on the smartphone is similar to the one found on the previous generation X70 series. The X80 is expected to continue supporting HDR10+ which would make the device great for content consumption. Unlike last year’s X70 Pro, the display size is hinted to be larger. However, we believe that the X80 could have a 6.5-inch display.
From Vivo
Realme 9 confirmed to launch alongside GT 2 Pro in India on April 7
Realme 9 has an official launch date for the Indian market. The company has announced that the device will be launched alongside the GT 2 Pro on April 7 at 12:30 noon.
Oppo’s sub-brand has already created a product page that covers many of the specifications of the Realme 9. The device would be the first to launch in India with Samsung’s ISOCELL HM6 camera sensor with a 108-megapixel ProLight camera, a 4cm Macro camera and a 120-degree ultrawide camera on the rear.
According to the company, the new sensors on the Realme 9 can let in 123% more light than the previous generation HM2 sensor which helps add brightness and reduce noise in low-light photographs. Realme calls this the 9-Sum Pixel Binning process.
From Techradar
Google Pixel 7 Pro leaked renders show a stunning sky blue shade
We’re not expecting the Google Pixel 7 range to land until October, but already we’ve seen high-quality leaked and unofficial renders for the range, and now a new set of renders has landed, showing the Pixel 7 Pro in a sky blue shade.
These renders were shared by MyDrivers, which appears to have got them from a source going by ‘Fast Technology’, but how this source obtained or created them is unclear, so we’d certainly take them with a pinch of salt.
Regardless, they show a design that’s similar to what we’ve seen in a previous leak, with a large camera block on the back, just like the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
This appears again to be a triple-lens camera, but this time around two of the lenses (likely the wide and ultra-wide) are grouped together, with a periscope lens off on its own to the right.
From Tedchradar
Realme Pad Mini arrives with an 8.7” screen and a $200 starting price
The Realme Pad Mini is finally official, with its debut market being the Philippines. The tablet has an 8.7” screen and fast charging. It is powered by an Unisoc chipset and has two memory options and LTE support.
The chip is Unisoc T616, an entry-level platform with an octa-core CPU and Mali-G57 MP1 graphics unit.
Upfront is an affordable LCD with a 1340 x 800 pixel resolution. The side bezels are rather thin, but the top and bottom are slightly thicker for better handling when in landscape mode.
Realme equipped the Pad Mini with an 8 MP f/2.0 camera on the back, with no LED flash to keep it company – the lens sits lonely on a tiny rectangular island. The front-facing camera has a 5MP sensor with an f/2.2 lens in front.
The device’s battery is 6,400 mAh, and Realme brought 18W fast charging with the appropriate adapter in the retail box. There’s also reverse wired charging support.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 5.0. There is a USB-C port on the bottom, right next to the 3.5 mm audio jack. The device itself weighs 372 grams, and measures in 211.8 x 124,48 x 7.6 mm.
The Realme Pad Mini is already available for pre-order at Lazada Philippines in Gray or Blue color. Prices are PHP9,990 ($195/€175) for the 3/32 GB Wi-Fi + LTE version or PHP11,990 ($235/€210) for 4/64 GB Wi-Fi + LTE. Early birds will get some discounts, and sources report there is an even cheaper 3/32 GB Wi-Fi only variant on the way, but it’s not available at this point.
From Gsmarena
AnTuTu charts show Dimensity 9000 is breathing down Snapdragon 8 Gen 1’s neck
Qualcomm used to be have the best-performing chipsets for Android and it still does. However, AnTuTu’s performance charts show that the competition is closer than ever. And it is smaller than ever too – HiSilicon is no longer a factor and Samsung just doesn’t sell Exynos flagships in China (where AnTuTu is based, so the charts are skewed towards that market).
Starting with the flagships, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phones hold the Top 3 positions: Red Magic 7 Pro, iQOO 9 (the Chinese version) and iQOO 9 Pro.
However, the MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000 is knocking on the door. The Redmi K50 Pro is in fourth (this should go global under a Poco F4 name), the Oppo X5 Pro (for China) is in sixth. The rest of the Top 10 are Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 devices, but the Dimensity is only a few percent off the best score.
From Gsmarena
Twitter for Android will soon let you select text from tweets
Twitter remains many people’s favorite social media platform. Despite its recent evolution and addition of new features — including a paid Blue subscription — it still is not as bloated as other services, like Facebook. The app remains relatively simple and under control — a statement I wouldn’t make about some of Meta’s apps. In spite of Twitter supporting media sharing, text is the focal point of this platform. Ultimately, its original vision revolved around sharing a message without exceeding the limited character count. Considering text is an essential element, it should be important for Twitter to provide some basic features for it. For example, text selection has been available on the iOS client for a long time now. However, it continues to be absent on Android phones. The good news is that the company is working on brining it to Android users. There’s no estimated time of arrival (ETA), though.
From XDA
Elon Musk Takes 9.2% Stake in Twitter
Elon Musk now owns a sizable chunk of Twitter, with a Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealing that the Tesla chief took a 9.2% stake in the social media site on March 14. That makes Musk its biggest stakeholder, as reported by Bloomberg on Monday.
The stake is worth $2.89 billion, based on Twitter’s closing price Friday, according to CNBC.
From Cnet
