Quick Shots-216

An Intel chip that mimics the human brain could end up in your next PC

Intel’s neuromorphic Loihi chips could end up in future CPUs though they might also be available as a cloud service.

After being in development for the past several years, we now have a better idea regarding several potential commercial use cases for Intel’s Loihi neuromorphic chips.

Unlike the traditional chips found in other Intel processors, neuromorphic chips mimic the neurons of the human brain and due to their pin-like structure, these chips use far less energy as they only consume electricity when contributing data.

When Intel first released its Loihi chips back in 2017, the chipmaker pitched them as a way to handle AI tasks faster using far less energy than traditional chips. More recently though, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in the US found that Loihi could be the future of high-performance computing (HPC) as Intel’s neuromorphic chips have the potential to make HPC more energy efficient, environmentally friendly and affordable.

According to a recent roundtable with journalists reported on by The Register, we now have a bit more insight into how Intel plans to offer Loihi as a commercial product to both consumers and businesses.

From Techradar

Amazon is working on a mysterious AR smart home product, according to job listings

Amazon might be the next big tech company to get into augmented reality, as the company is hiring for a “new-to-world smart-home product” that uses “XR” technology in some fashion, according to job listings reported on by Protocol.

There aren’t many specific details included in the listings, unfortunately. One for a “software engineer — XR/AR, XR/AR Devices” says the job will include “conceiving and developing key software and architecture for a new-to-world smart-home product.” The role is on a “new cross-functional team.” Another listing for a “Sr. Technical Program Manager, New Products — XR” describes how “you will develop an advanced XR research concept into a magical and useful new-to-world consumer product.” That listing and another include the following preferred qualifications: “experience building deeply technical products, e.g., AI/ML, robotics, games.” Amazon didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Many big tech companies are beginning to seriously dip their toes into AR / VR devices. Meta, formerly Facebook, has perhaps pivoted the most in this direction; it already makes the successful Quest headset and smart glasses in partnership with Ray-Ban, and it aims to release its first AR glasses in 2024. Apple’s long-rumored AR / VR headset may launch in 2023. Google hopes to ship its AR headset in 2024. Snapchat announced its true AR glasses in May, and although The Verge tried them in December, they aren’t available to the public. And Microsoft has been selling the HoloLens for years.

Amazon could have an advantage in AR (and VR if it decides to use that technology) given its vast range of smart home gadgets. I can imagine a scenario where a pair of Amazon AR / VR glasses connect with other Alexa-enabled devices to give you an at-a-glance picture of everything going on in your home right in front of your eyes. (And that would be a step up from what the current Echo Frames can do.)

But let’s not forget that this is the company that has created some out-of-left-field stuff before. The failed Fire Phone could change what you saw on the screen based on your perspective. The Amazon Echo smart speaker, which is commonplace now, was a pretty novel idea at the time. And Amazon even recently introduced a home robot called Astro. That’s all to say that Amazon might have some similarly interesting ideas for this new AR / XR device.

From The Verge

Intel might be delaying its desktop Arc Alchemist A-Series GPUs by several months

While Intel has already launched its mobile Arc GPUs, it seems that it may be delaying its Arc Alchemist A-Series graphics cards.

According to a leak from a reliable Intel leaker Enthusiastic Citizen and originally spotted by Wccftech, Intel’s desktop A-series might arrive as late as the end of Q2 or beginning of Q3 2022. It also looks like there are four desktop cards planned in the A-series: the A770, A750, A580, and A380.

The fastest one is said to be the A770, which is being compared to the RTX 3060 Ti in terms of performance. This particular detail, as well as the rumored delay, seem to be backed by Intel’s previous statement that some form of a ‘Limited Edition’ GPU would launch sometime in the middle of the year.

There also seems to be some confusion involving the A770, especially when it comes to the amount of memory. There are some leaks stating it to have a boost clock up to 2.4 GHz and 12GB of memory, while the new report indicates that it might have as much as 16GB VRAM.

The leaker who first revealed the leaks, ‘Enthusiastic Citizen,’ also stated that Intel has plans for a part called Arc A750, which past reports suggest would have 448 Xe Vector Engines (Execution Units). According to the grapevine, this and the A580 would feature 8GB GDDR6 memory.

From Techradar

Nearby Share could soon offer more seamless sharing between your devices

Nearby Share is Android’s own take on local file-sharing, inspired by Apple’s Air Drop feature. However, one mild annoyance is that you need to approve each incoming share, even when sharing files between your own devices. Fortunately, it seems like Google is working on a solution.

Former XDA-Developers editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman has uncovered the existence of a so-called Self Share mode for Nearby Share, detailing his find on Twitter.

This option will let you seamlessly share files between devices that are signed into the same Google account, without needing to approve the share first. It’s a small but convenient tweak, and you should still rightfully see the approval screen when receiving files from someone else’s device.

Rahman notes that the feature is present in the latest version of Google Play Services but isn’t available to users just yet. Nevertheless, the use of Google Play Services means that even users with older Android devices should theoretically have access to this feature.

References to this feature were also spotted in Chromium by Chrome Story earlier this year, suggesting that Chromebooks will get in on the action as well. So you won’t have to approve file sharing when transferring files between your Android phone and Chromebook.

From Android Authority

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 will not have an S Pen slot

Last November, we heard that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 will skip the S Pen slot, but in February, Korean media reported that the foldable smartphone will come with a dedicated S Pen holster. Now new information again claims that the Galaxy Z Fold4 won’t have an S Pen slot onboard.

Word comes from reliable tipster Ice universe, who also said that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 “will be a little smaller and thinner” without providing any specifics.

The Galaxy Z Fold4 not featuring an S Pen silo is hardly a surprise since its predecessor – Galaxy Z Fold3 – didn’t have one either. However, Samsung is rumored to bundle an S Pen with the Fold4, which wasn’t the case with the Fold3 since the stylus was sold separately.

From Gsmarena

Cloud PC VR gaming on Quest 2 is both frustrating and promising

Out of all the SteamVR players enjoying PC VR experiences, nearly half of them use the Quest 2 (as per the last Steam hardware survey) despite the headset not being designed for it. Some people use the official Link cable, while others use Air LInk or Virtual Desktop to preserve the wireless experience. But these players all have one thing in common: a VR-ready PC. 

Oculus’ long list of supported PC VR hardware means you don’t need a super-expensive rig. But based on low PC VR sales, it seems most Quest 2 owners tend to stick to Quest experiences.

Some PC- and Quest-owning users may not think it’s worth the set-up hassle when the Quest already has great games. But I suspect it’s more that Quest 2 owners can’t afford an expensive gaming rig. Even if your PC is VR-compatible, that doesn’t mean it’ll run Half-Life: Alyx or other popular games with the graphics you’d want.

Plutosphere was designed to change that. It’s a cloud PC VR platform that lets you connect your Quest 2 to a remote PC, download your SteamVR games, and run games for a small per-hour fee instead of investing thousands in your own hardware.

This early-access service was tricky to set up and definitely needs a lot of work before it’s on the level of something like Stadia or GeForce Now. But it left me with the hope that cloud VR gaming could be a way to offer more atmospheric and graphically intensive games on mobile hardware.

From Android Central

OnePlus Ace and Nord CE 2 Lite leak in official images

OnePlus Ace is scheduled to arrive in two days while a Nord CE 2 Lite 5G is said to launch next week and we now have some detailed press images of both phones at our disposal thanks to Evan Blass.

From Gsmarena

AMD announces its Ryzen PRO 6000 processors for business laptops

While AMD announced its Ryzen 6000 mobile processors earlier this year, now it’s time for its Ryzen PRO 6000 chips, which are being announced today. The company is calling them the world’s most advanced processors for business laptops, which is a bold claim as these stand up against Intel’s 12th-gen vPro chips.

First of all, AMD talked up performance a lot. It’s worth noting that a lot of this stuff isn’t particularly new, because the performance should be pretty comparable to the consumer parts. In fact, we’ve has laptops announced with these chips since CES, with Lenovo’s new ThinkPad Z-series. Any business laptop that uses AMD Ryzen processors should have PRO variants.

From XDA

Instagram Reels adds support for fundraisers in 30 countries worldwide

Instagram is adding the ability for users to create and donate to fundraisers directly from Instagram Reels, the app’s short-form video feature and TikTok rival. The feature was announced alongside a series of updates across Meta’s platform and services designed to celebrate Earth Day, including custom stickers for Instagram and Messenger, profile frames for Facebook, conservation-focused experiences for VR and more.

Fundraising on Reels is now available in more than 30 countries worldwide, the company notes, and will support donations to more than 1.5 million nonprofits. Already, some high-profile users — including Dave Burd (Lil Dicky), Maggie Baird, and Zyahna Bryant — have used the feature to fundraise for environmental causes. While Meta takes a fee on transactions from personal fundraisers, it covers the transaction processing fees for donations to charitable organizations, so they’ll receive the full amount of the user’s contribution.

From Techcrunch

Design from Samsung EV batteries could be adopted for smartphones to increase capacity

About a year ago Samsung SDI started producing 5th generation batteries for electric vehicles using a stacking method instead of the usual “jelly roll” method. This way the battery components can be packed tighter, resulting in a higher capacity for the same volume. Now The Elec reports that the company is preparing to use this method for smartphone batteries as well.

Batteries produced using the stacking method have at least 10% higher capacities than the traditional roll design. This means that a 5,000 mAh battery like the one in the Galaxy S22 Ultra could have 5,500+ mAh capacity instead. Alternatively, phones can be made thinner and lighter while keeping battery capacity the same.

From Gsmarena