Nvidia’s next-gen graphics cards are going to be a major step up from the current Turing models, delivering no less than up to 50% better performance, according to the latest from the rumor mill.
And this will be achieved while cutting power consumption in half compared to existing GeForce GPUs, claims a report in the Taipei Times, which cites Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co.
No further details were spilled on the potential of the next-generation cards, which may (or may not) be known as Ampere, but the report does also float a purported launch date, with the GPUs expected to pitch up in the second half of 2020.
Tom’s Hardware, which spotted this report, suggests the SIGGRAPH conference as a likely candidate for an initial launch, mainly because this is where Turing was unveiled previously – and so that does make sense.
This year, SIGGRAPH is being held in Washington and kicks off in July, so this could be an exciting month in the GPU world. Particularly if the aforementioned rumored performance gains are indeed realized, or are at least in a similar ballpark.
Given that Nvidia is moving to a new 7nm process with Ampere – with cards set to be manufactured by both TSMC and Samsung – considerable gains over existing Turing products on 12nm are expected.
Although the potential performance jump highlighted here is certainly going to raise some eyebrows. To manage to crank up performance like so while doubling power efficiency levels would be quite a feat, although we have to exercise the usual caution around speculation like this – and remember that the report says ‘up to’ 50% better performance.
So those gains might only be in certain scenarios, such as for example when using ray tracing. After all, other rumors about Ampere graphics cards have insisted that Nvidia is focusing on making ‘massive’ improvements with ray tracing cores on RTX 3000 models (as they will presumably be named). The truth is we just don’t know, and we’d be foolish to get carried away with any predictions at this point.
And as we’ve theorized before, a roughly mid-year launch would make sense in terms of Nvidia’s previous release schedule, and it would head off AMD’s incoming ‘Nvidia killer’ Navi GPU which is also rumored to be debuting in the middle of 2020.
A further potentially tantalizing element for Ampere is the possibility of slightly cheaper GPUs, at least at the high-end – while it’s really way too early to be talking about prices, there are some solid reasons as to why this could happen.
Although that said, the bigger the performance gains, the less likely there’s any chance of having money chipped off the asking prices of the incoming GPUs, arguably.
If Nvidia’s next-gen graphics cards really are only six months away now, the good thing is we will doubtless be getting more info about the GPUs leaked in fairly short order.
If you follow Killed by Google, it’s been a busy decade. No fewer than 150 apps and services have met their demise over the past 10 years, with some popular ones still extremely fresh in our memories. Just this year we waved goodbye to Inbox, Google+, and Allo. While technically still open, Hangouts will officially close its digital doors in June.
The 2020s might bring even greater carnage. With many of Google’s ancillary apps and services already in the graveyard, it stands to reason that some big-name products will get the ax over the next 10 years, as the landscape shifts away from traditional devices and new trends begin to emerge. Here are five major Google products that might not be around this time next decade.
Android TV
We nearly waved goodbye to Android TV this decade. After years of stagnation and the death of the Nexus Player, Android TV finished the decade on a high note, with an Android 10 update and a new developer-focused streaming media device. However, that might not be enough to save it. Android TV already lags behind Apple, Amazon, and Roku in the living room. There’s no reason to believe that gap is going to close by the end of 2029.
Google
Google
Mind you, I don’t think Google is going to be giving up on its TV ambitions—I just don’t think the future is under the Android umbrella. Rather, I think Android TV will undergo a rebranding at some point this year as either a Chromecast or YouTube device, with a smarter interface and deeper Assistant integration. Chromecast already does most of what Android TV does, so it wouldn’t take much to merge the two platforms into a single, low-cost device that firmly positions Google as an entertainment leader.
Wear OS
Google might have technically gotten to the wrist before Apple, but Wear OS is still trying to figure out what Wear OS wants to be. In just five years, Google’s wrist-sized platform has undergone a name change, a major redesign, and an injection of Google Assistant, all to very little avail.
Michael Simon/IDG
But Google is hardly giving up on building a wearable OS. I just don’t think Wear OS is going to carry the mantle. Now that Google is buying Fitbit, it’s extremely likely that a Made by Google wearable device will be making an entry within the next year or so. I’d be very surprised if it didn’t run a new OS that combines the best parts of Wear OS and Fitbit OS and finally delivers what Google promised with Android Wear all those years ago.
Google Voice
It’ll be a sad day when Google decides to pull the plug on Voice, but it’s basically inevitable at this point. With a web interface and RCS, Android Messages has gained many of the communication features that were once exclusive to Google Voice, making Google Voice mostly redundant except for, you know, the voice part.
Thinkstock
Thinkstock
Google has another calling app that fits the bill. Since its introduction in 2015, Project Fi has evolved into a full-blown MVNO service. With 5G ready to blow up, Google Fi is poised to become a serious player in the wireless world—especially once it gains a free tier. At some point this decade, it seems likely that Google Voice will merge with Google Fi to create the best of both worlds: a great mobile network if you want to pay, and a carrier-free number if you don’t.
Chrome OS
I know, it’s crazy to think that Google would ever consider dumping its desktop operating system, but Chrome OS might be reaching the limits of what it can do. Android apps via the Play Store haven’t really panned out, and high-end devices like the Pixelbook don’t get to show off their full power with such a lightweight operating system.
Adam Patrick Murray
However, the 2020s could bring major changes to Chrome OS. Google has made no secret of its ambitions for its Zircon-based next-gen OS, code-named Fuschia. We don’t know too much about the open-source project, but it has the potential to be a game-changer, so much so that a simple Chrome update wouldn’t do. Rather, I think Fuscia will replace Chrome OS with Google OS, a platform that’s modern, powerful, and adaptable OS and able to grow and evolve with the Chromebook.
Pixel phones
When Google launched the original Pixel phone in 2016, it was a high-priced utilitarian vessel that got the latest Android updates and features before any other phone. Four versions later, Google is still delivering on that promise—including the launch of a stellar low-cost model—but the Pixel hasn’t been the breakout hit it was supposed to be.
Michael Simon/IDG
I don’t think the Pixel is in any immediate danger, but I’d be very surprised if Google were still making them when 2029 comes to a close. I don’t necessarily think it’ll be a result of apathy or poor sales, either. Rather I think the 2020s will bring a new direction, as Google transforms the Pixel from just another hunk of pocketable glass into a true hub for everything Google does, breaking free from its handset confines.
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Another year, another XPS 13. Dell has once again revisited its flagship ultrabook, though you’d have to set the 2020 revision side-by-side with last year’s to even spot the differences – the unfortunate side effect of a design that was so close to perfect last time around.
As if to hammer home the point, almost every change that Dell has made for 2020’s model is in fact cribbed from the mid-2019 revamp of the convertible XPS 13 2-in-1 – a 16:10 aspect ratio, edge-to-edge keyboard, and Intel’s more compact and power-efficient 10nm processors to keep it even slimmer than before.
So to recap: Dell has taken the best laptop in the world and made it better by copying from itself. Here’s how.
Price and availability
First up, good news for the impatient: the new XPS 13 is out real soon. The laptop will go on sale in the UK, US, and a few European countries from 7 January, at a starting price of $999.
We don’t know UK or Euro pricing, but the 2019 XPS 13 started from £999/€999, so we’d expect the same again this year.
Naturally that’s only for the base spec, which will consist of a Core i3 processor, 4GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a non-touch FHD+ display. All of those are upgradeable, so expect pricing for the top model to break the £1500/$1500 line.
Design and build: Perfection perfected
It’s not for nothing that I say that the 2019 XPS 13 was about as good as a 13in laptop got. It’s spent the last 12 months sitting at the top spot in our best laptop chart – a spot it took from the 2018 model, which sat there for the 12 months before.
Of course, a 13in ultrabook isn’t the best laptop for everyone – others will want the power of gaming or creator laptops, the size of a bigger display, or the flexibility of more ports – but for those happy with the inevitable compromises of an ultrabook, Dell’s take on the format has never been bettered.
Well, except by Dell.
This year’s XPS 13 follow’s the annual rhythm of minor tweaks across the board, with two bigger changes both taken from the 2019 XPS 13 2-in-1: a larger, taller display; and a larger, wider keyboard. All in a smaller body, of course.
Let’s take the display first. The new 16:10 panel moves into the space previously occupied by the bottom bezel (and Dell logo), leaving a screen that’s all-but-borderless. There’s just about space for a webcam along the top border, but otherwise the display is basically edge-to-edge.
It’s 13.4in diagonally, with the choice of a 1920×1200 FHD+ panel or a 3840×2400 4K HDR upgrade. The 4K panel is only available with touch support, but the FHD+ variant gives you the choice of touch or not. Every screen variant runs to a respectable 500 nits brightness, with 100% sRGB colour gamut coverage too.
I’m a huge fan of 16:10 displays on laptops. The extra vertical screen space leaves a little extra room to breathe, especially on otherwise cramped 12in or 13in models, and is especially helpful if you use it to work rather than just watch Netflix. Losing the bottom bezel doesn’t hurt either, adding to the clean, modern impression of Dell’s design.
Then there’s the keyboard. Like the display this is now almost edge-to-edge, which leaves the space for larger keycaps across the board. Even the font’s been changed – it’s thinner and more modern, with a shift to lower-case across the non-letter keys.
The edge-to-edge keys are made possible by moving the fingerprint scanner into the power key – a touch that both saves space and leaves an overall cleaner aesthetic.
Importantly, while the keyboard size was inspired by the convertible XPS, this doesn’t use the divisive MagLev keyboard that model does – instead it sticks to the same rubber dome keycaps as before, with a 1mm travel that’s as comfortable to type on as ever – and more so once you factor in the larger keys.
Elsewhere things are much the same, though small changes about. The whole body is about 2 percent smaller – not enough to notice at a glance, but every little helps. And that’s despite the larger display, larger keyboard, and even slightly larger touchpad.
Ports are ever so slightly contracted however – two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 offer power deliver and DisplayPort functionality (down from three USB-C slots last time around), along with a headphone jack and microSD card reader.
The whole thing is made out of machined aluminium with a fiber finish, in the same choice of black or white – though the white model now features black rather than white bezels around the screen, a small touch which Dell says subtly improves the viewing experience.
Specs and performance: 10nm power
The other big change is internal: the adoption of Intel’s 10th generation 10nm chipsets, which allow for improved power efficiency and performance, along with that slightly smaller body.
As with last year there’s an i3 base model available, with the option to spec up to an i5 or i7. It’s worth noting that these are all quad-core chips, as Intel hasn’t made six-core versions available yet for its 10nm chips – so some may still prefer to opt for the late 2019 XPS 13 refresh that offers six-core processors.
As you’d expect at this size there’s no option for discrete GPUs, so you’re stuck with Intel’s integrated graphics – though there’s now the choice between UHD or its more powerful Iris Plus graphics chip. Meanwhile RAM ranges from 4GB up to 32GB of DDR4, with storage from 256GB up to 2TB – all SSD, naturally, and upgradeable rather than soldered on.
The battery is one area Dell hasn’t offered an upgrade, instead choosing to simply match last year’s model. There’s the same 52WHr power source, which should deliver a little over 10 hours of use going by previous models – good but not the best, especially if it’s powering a 4K display.
Connectivity has had a boost at least, with both Bluetooth 5 and Wi-Fi 6, the latest standards for each. There’s no 5G support – though Dell did include that in its new Latitude 9510, so look for it to make it into the 2021 iteration of the XPS.
Early verdict
I’ve only played with the 2020 XPS 13 for 15 minutes or so, which isn’t enough time to fully assess it. But both the 2018 and 2019 iterations of the laptop were best-in-class, and on paper this year’s model improves on almost every pain point.
We’d love to see a bigger battery – though that would in turn make the body bigger, so maybe not – but otherwise this is hard to fault.
Display: 13.4in UltraSharp 4K Ultra HD (3840×2400) InfinityEdge HDR 400 touch display or Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge touch or non-touch display
Memory: 4GB-32GB LPDDR4 Dual Channel SDRAM at 3733MHz (On Board)
Storage: 256/512GB/1/2TB PCIe SSD
Battery: 52Wh
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 3 with power delivery and DisplayPort (4 lanes of PCI Express Gen 3), microSD card reader, headset jack
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5
Dimensions: Height: 296 x 199 x 14.8 -11.6mm
Weight: 1.2kg
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Disney heeft een complete lijst vrijgegeven met content die verschijnt op Disney Plus in de VS. We vermoeden dat de lijst vrijwel hetzelfde is voor andere landen. Het is een heel lange lijst, maar het aantal highlights is vrij klein. De live-action films Aladdin (2019) en The Lion King (2019) behoren ongetwijfeld tot de headliners. Eerstgenoemde verschijnt op 8 januari, terwijl The Lion King op 28 januari zijn opwachting maakt.
Beide films kunnen toegevoegd worden aan je kijklijst. Dit betekent dat er nog maar een paar grote titels van 2019 missen op het de streamingdienst: Toy Story 4 en Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
Er zijn echter meer hoogtepunten te vinden. Denk aan de 2003 film Holes, met onder meer Sigourney Weaver. Ook is het derde seizoen van The Runaways, misschien wel de beste pre-Disney Plus Marvel TV-content, verschijnt op Disney Plus op 10 januari.
Nieuwe episodes van diverse DIsney Plus originals als Pixars SparkShorts en The World According to Jeff Goldblum komen er ook aan. Hieronder vind je de trailer met alle nieuwe content:
Hieronder vind je de volledige lijst van welke Disney Plus content je waarschijnlijk ook allemaal mag verwachten in de Benelux. Veel van de lijst is al verschenen op Nieuwjaarsdag, mocht het je nog niet opgevallen zijn in het menu van Disney Plus.
1 januari – Austin & Ally (Seizoenen 1-4)
1 januari – Disney’s Billy Dilley’s Super-Duper Subterranean Summer (Seizoen 1)
1 januari – Pixar’s Tales From Radiator Springs: Bugged
1 januari – Cool Runnings
1 januari – Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER (Seizoen 8)
1 januari – Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet (Seizoen 7)
1 januari – Dr. T, Lone Star Vet (Seizoen 1)
1 januari – Drain Alcatraz January 1 – Drain The Bermuda Triangle
1 januari – Drain The Great Lakes January 1 – Drain The Ocean: WWII
1 januari – Drain The Oceans (Seizoen 2)
1 januari – Drain The Sunken Pirate City
1 januari – Drain The Titanic
1 januari – Pixar’s Mater’s Tall Tales: El Materdor
1 januari – First Class Chefs: Family Style (Seizoen 1)
1 januari – Hacksaw
1 januari – Holes
1 januari – Marvel Rising: Battle Of The Bands
1 januari – Marvel: 75 Years, From Pop To Pulp!
1 januari – Pixar’s Mater’s Tall Tales: Moon Mater
1 januari – One Strange Rock (Seizoen 1)
1 januari – Out There With Jack Randall (Seizoen 1)
1 januari – Red Tails
1 januari – Pixar’s Mater’s Tall Tales: Rescue Squad Mater
1 januari – Soy Luna (Seizoen 1)
1 januari – Pixar’s Tales From Radiator Springs: Spinning
1 januari – Super Rhino
1 januari – The Golden Touch
1 januari – Disney’s The Lodge (Seizoen 1)
1 januari – The Proud Family (Seizoenen 1-2)
1 januari – Marvel’s Super Hero Squad Show (Seizoenen 1-2)
1 januari – Pixar’s Mater’s Tall Tales: Time Travel Mater
1 januari – Pixar’s Mater’s Tall Tales: Tokyo Mater
1 januari – Pixar’s Mater’s Tall Tales: Unidentified Flying Mater
CES 2020 is just around the corner, with hundreds of thousands of people set to descend on the Las Vegas Convention Center for one of the biggest events in the consumer tech calendar. The show is always a priority for Samsung, with a host of new products expected in its flagship keynote. Here’s all the details you need to know.
When is the Samsung CES 2019 press conference?
The conference takes place on Monday 6 January at 18:30 local time (PST).
If you’re watching the UK, that means you’ll have to stay up until 02:30 on Tuesday 7 January to watch live.
Where can I watch the Samsung CES 2019 press conference live stream?
The good news is you don’t have to attend in person to enjoy the action
Samsung typically live streams the event on YouTube, and we’ll embed that video here as soon as it’s available.
In the meantime, Samsung has an , which should help whet your appetite ahead of the event.
What to expect from Samsung at CES 2020
Samsung typically shifts its attention away from smartphones at CES, and expect 2020 to be no different. In 2015, co-CEO B.K. Yoon declared that every product Samsung makes would be internet-connected within five years.
While that may not be entirely true, we are expecting Samsung to expand its lineup of smart appliances, including stunning 8K TVs and a smart fridge that can recognise food.
The company is set to use its CES keynote to ‘showcase innovative ways to enrich people’s lives through its interactive and intelligent technology in the Age of Experience’. This description makes it easy to look beyond phones, but we can’t forget that they were among the first devices to offer a fully connected and personalised experience.
With that in mind, some rumours are suggesting Samsung will unveil a Galaxy Note 10 Lite at CES, a budget version of its late 2019 flagship. Don’t expect any news on foldable phones this year though, with the Galaxy Fold finally released in September.
We already knew that we’d see the OnePlus Concept One smartphone at CES 2020, and we now know what its party piece will be – hidden rear cameras.
The Chinese phone manufacturer took to Twitter ahead of its big reveal in Las Vegas on January 7, to post a teaser video of the new technology in action.
According to Wired, the OnePlus Concept One uses electrochromic glass. This is an electronically tintable glass, which can hide the rear camera lenses behind the flush glass rear of the handset, revealing the trio of sensors only when they’re in use.
While the cameras will disappear from view, you may still be able to see a faint outline as the glass transitions from transparent to translucent, rather than fully opaque.
This is the first time we’ve seen this technology feature on a smartphone, with handsets previously hiding cameras via pop-up mechanisms or sliders, as seen on the OnePlus 7 Pro, Oppo Find X and Xiaomi Mi Mix 3.
It’s not clear whether the OnePlus Concept One will feature any other new features, but we will be checking out the handset during CES to bring you everything you need to know.
Check out all of TechRadar’s CES 2020 coverage. We’re live in Las Vegas to bring you all the breaking tech news and launches, plus hands-on reviews of everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops and smart home gadgets.
It has been over ten years since Android was first outed by Google, and back then it was hard to imagine the sheer number of apps we’d have today.
There are apps for everything, and many of them are completely free, meaning you’re just a few downloads away from supercharging your smartphone at no extra cost.
Admittedly, the huge quantity of apps doesn’t mean they’re all quality – far from it in fact, and finding the good ones can be tough.
There are tools and techniques to help, with various lists in the Play Store providing you with Editor’s Picks across a range of categories, new releases and even apps that are specifically recommended for you based on your previous installs.
You can also hunt out apps that are similar to your favorites by searching for an app you have and seeing what else comes up.
And checking out user reviews and ratings can save you from downloading a dud of an app.
But even with all that, the sheer number of apps on Google Play means many of the best can often get lost, while weaker ones sometimes rise to the top.
So to make sure you never install a duff app here’s our selection of the best you should install right now – each one carefully chosen to ensure you’ll have a whole suite of fun, engaging and, dammit, useful apps on your phone or tablet.
We’ve sorted them into categories so you can more easily find what you’re looking for. But make sure to check back every two weeks for out latest app selection, which you’ll find below.
Best free Android app of the week
Every two weeks we add a new app to this list and you’ll find the latest addition below.
(Image credit: Shopify Inc.)
Arrive – Package Tracker
If you’re always ordering things online then Arrive – Package Tracker could become one of your favorite Android apps, as it lets you track all of your parcels, all in one place, and it can do so automatically.
Simply connect it to your Gmail account and Arrive will scan your inbox for anything you’ve ordered, adding tracking information to the Arrive app.
You can see more or less as much in the app as you can from a web browser, including live maps if the retailer offers them. You can also get a notification when a parcel has been delivered.
If you don’t have Gmail – or don’t always use it when placing orders – then Arrive is a little less useful, as while you can link other emails to it you have to manually enter tracking numbers for details to show in the app, whereas with Gmail the experience is seamless.
As such while it’s worth a try for any online shopping fanatics, it’s near essential for those who happen to use accounts linked to Gmail for said shopping.
Google
Thinkstock
