Page 678 – GadgetByte Nepal

Samsung Galaxy A40 launched with 25 MP selfie camera!

Pratima Adhikari

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March 21, 2019

Samsung Galaxy A40 launched with 25 MP selfie camera!

Following launch of the Galaxy A30, another A- series smartphone has been spotted in Europe, the Samsung Galaxy A40. Just a few days back, we saw the phone’s render’s surfacing on the internet and now it’s here. The phone bridges between Galaxy A30 and A50.

The A40 is a slight upgrade from the A30 in terms of the chipset with the Exynos 7885 on the upcoming device. The display seems to have shrunk down to 5.9 inches from the 6.4 inches on the A30. Similarly, both the devices come with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio display.

Also, read: Samsung Mobile price in Nepal

What has shrunk down is the battery which on the A40 is 3,100 mAh with 15-watt fast charging enabled. Like the A30 and A50, this one too has a Type-C port for charging.

Likewise, the Galaxy A40 comes with dual rear cameras of 16+5 MP, where the second lens is an ultra-wide angle sensor. The selfie game seems to have been taken a rise with a 25 MP camera. Other than that, the device comes with 4+64 GB memory configuration where you also get an option to expand the memory up to 512 GB using a dedicated SIM slot.

But, unlike the A50, you don’t get an on-screen fingerprint sensor, rather it resides on the back just like the Galaxy A30. Colors options for the phone include Black, Blue, White, and Coral.

Samsung Galaxy A40 Specifications:

Display: 5.9 inches Super AMOLED FHD+ display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio
Platform: Android 9.0 Pie
CPU: Octa-core Exynos 7885
Back camera: 16 MP f/2.0 + 5 MP f/2.2 (ultra-wide sensor) with LED flash, HDR, Panorama
Front camera: 25 MP
Video: 1080p@30 fps, 2160@30 fps
RAM: 4 GB RAM
ROM: 64 GB expandable up to 512 GB (dedicated slot)
Battery: Non-removable Li-Po 3100 mAh battery, USB Type-C 15- watt fast charging
Sensors: Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, proximity, compass, gyro
SIM (s): Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Connections: Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, hotspot, and NFC
Colors: Black, Blue, Coral, and White

Samsung Galaxy A40 Price and Availability:

The Samsung Galaxy A40 has been launched in Europe for around 250 EUR. The pricing and availability for other countries have not been specified by the company yet.

Google announces its Gaming Platform ‘Stadia’: A threat to the gaming consoles?

GadgetByte

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March 21, 2019

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Google announces its Gaming Platform ‘Stadia’: A threat to the gaming consoles?

Who doesn’t love playing the latest and graphics-intensive games? But sadly, playing such games requires a power PC or a good gaming console. Wouldn’t it be great if playing high-end games were as smooth as watching video contents on YouTube? Well, Google finally seems to hear the prayers of all the gamers. It launched a new gaming platform called “Stadia” (plural of Stadium). Google promises that, with this gaming platform, playing games would be as easy as streaming videos online. Furthermore, no powerful hardware would be required.

The project sounds ambitious but it looked ravishing when Google showcased the platform in GDC (Google Developer Conference). In the conference, a volunteer showed Assassin’s Creed Odyssey playing it on multiple devices. And the surprising thing about that is the game ran on a low-end gaming PC, Google Pixel 3 smartphone, a tablet, and television without a fuss. And what was even more exciting was the game streamed at 4K resolution and 60fps without a sign of stutter.

Stadia: A gaming platform

Google says the primary motive of the platform is to free the gamers from the hardware limitations of the gaming devices. And while playing the games in the platform, a user does not necessarily require powerful gaming hardware. That’s because the game does not run the device being used by a gamer, it will run on Google’s global network of data centers instead. Since Google’s data centers have a lot of computing power at its disposal, even the heaviest of the games will also run very smoothly. This also gives the developers an opportunity to build graphics-intensive games since there will be no computational limitations.

“When Stadia launches later this year, we expect to be able to deliver 4K 60 fps at approximately the same bandwidth requirements.”

Although Google said any controller at the users’ disposal can be used to control the games, Google also announced a gaming controller on its own. The Stadia Controller comes with an in-built microphone, a dedicated Screenshot button, and a Google Assistant button. It also has two joysticks, four action buttons, a full-size directional pad, and two shoulder buttons on either side.

Google announced to deliver gaming at 4K resolution and 60fps and to further go with 8K resolution in the future. That looks appealing but Google also described that the possible resolution and frame rate output to differ according to the internet connection of the user. Also, there is internet latency to consider. So although the concept looks tantalizing, we are not yet sure how the platform will be like when it comes to life. But if Google delivered as promised, the platform could be intimidating for the gaming consoles like PlayStations and XBoxes. It might affect the sales of powerful graphics cards as well.

Source: Engadget

Apple Announces AirPods 2: Wireless Charging case, bigger battery, and Hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ support

GadgetByte

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March 21, 2019

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Apple Announces AirPods 2: Wireless Charging case, bigger battery, and Hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ support

It must be a busy schedule for Apple this week. The iPhone maker firstly announced the new iPad Mini and iPad Air. And there was the launch of the new iMacs the other day. Continuing the streak, Apple then launched its beloved wireless earbuds, the AirPods. The newly announced Apple AirPods 2 features a new chipset, comes with a wireless charging case, a bigger battery, and Hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ support.

Firstly, let’s start the things with the chip. The earphone comes with Apple’s new H1 headphone chip. Apple claims that with this new chip on the board, the new AirPods will have a faster and more stable wireless connection than the previous generation. iPhone maker further claimed that the performance here will be 2x faster while switching between the active device (e.g. switching between an iPhone and a MacBook). With a new chip on the board, the device is also said to offer better battery backup. Apple wasn’t specific about the capacity of the battery though. But it said that the new AirPods will offer 50% more talk time than the previous generation. Needless to mention, the wireless connectivity has improved here with the inclusion of Bluetooth 5.0 support (earlier model had Bluetooth 4.0).

Design-wise, the new Apple AirPods 2 is the reminiscence of the first generation of AirPods. However, Apple gave a subtle touch by adding a small LED indicator light on the outside. It will now be easier to readily know about the battery life of the device.

But that’s just a small of the story. The big thing here lies on its charging case. This time, AirPods come with a wirelessly charging case, which is said to be Qi standard. We have already seen a similar move from Samsung on the newly announced Galaxy Airbuds. So it didn’t look quite innovative. Nonetheless, the feature is praiseworthy. Although there is no official information yet, the Apple AirPods 2 wireless charging case is rumored to get fully charged just in 15 minutes.

The earbuds also come with hands-free Siri Voice Control feature. On the previous model, users had to double-tap to summon the voice assistant. “Hey, Siri” command can also be used to change the audio volumes, change audio tracks, and make a call easily.

As far as the price is concerned, the new AirPods 2 costs $159 for the one with a regular charging case. The pricing remains unchanged than original AirPods. The AirPods 2 with wireless charging case, however, is slightly pricier. It demands a price of $199 on the purchase. The wireless charging case can also be used to charge the original AirPods and the interested ones can buy them separately at $79.

Vivo X27 Unveiled with FunTouch 9 based on Anrdoid 9

GadgetByte

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March 21, 2019

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Vivo X27 Unveiled with FunTouch 9 based on Anrdoid 9

While Vivo’s smartphone lineup may not be as confusing as some others (Xiaomi’s for instance), they do have a lot of phones. Vivo’s V-series are the mid-rangers right now, and I guess, the X-series are the flagships, or is it the Nex? See? It’s confusing. Anyway, Vivo recently launched the V15 and V15 Pro. And now, they already unveiled a new phone – Vivo X27. This has slight improvements over the V15 Pro, with quite the price.

Vivo X27 Overview

The Vivo X27, more or less, looks like the V15 Pro. Even the sizes and colors are similar. The X27 is also available in the two-tone gradient coloring, so, if you put them side by side, maybe you won’t be able to tell one from the other. Also, it has the same 6.39″ AMOLED display and no notches or bezels up front. So, yes, it seems Vivo will push their pop-up camera in most of its smartphones. The in-display fingerprint sensor is also there, and the back houses the triple camera setup in a similar layout.

In terms of the camera setup, both have the primary 48 MP camera with Quad-Bayer filter. So, you’ll get images of 12 MP by default via pixel binning. The improvement is on the Ultra-wide lens, as the X27 features a 13 MP 120-degree lens over 8 MP of the V15 Pro. The depth sensor stays the same at 5 MP. However, the selfie camera is a downgrade. While the V15 Pro packs a 32 MP selfie camera (with Quad-Bayer filter), the X27 has a 16 MP selfie shooter. But we should be able to get better image resolution on this one. Also, the motorized pop-up is a tad bit slower on the X27 at 0.68 seconds compared to 0.46 seconds of the V15 Pro.

In terms of power, the X27 runs on the Snapdragon 710 and 8 GB RAM. While the RAM is the same (for 8 GB variant of V15 Pro), the processor, to me, seems a bit doubtful. I mean, the Snapdragon 675 on the V15 Pro has a faster CPU, but a slower GPU than the 710. So, we can’t say which wins in overall performance. In terms of storage, however, the X27 packs a whopping 256 GB, by default. Also, there is a microSD card slot. And in terms of battery, the X27 has a 4000 mAh over 3700 of the V15 Pro.

However, the price of the X27 makes me think hard that the V15 Pro is a better value for money, here. Because while you get the V15 Pro for $345, the X27 sells for $535! Anyone can plainly see why V15 Pro is a better buy.

Funtouch OS 9

The hardware differences aren’t all that we get on the X27. It does come with FunTouch OS 9 out of the box. FunTouch 9 runs on Android 9 Pie, and while the V15 Pro runs on that too, there are apparently new features, or else why would they unveil that OS again?

So, apparently, the OS now comes with 72 new features, 55 new optimizations, 263 UI improvements as well as a simpler and more beautiful interface. It will also make for a more friendlier and smarter User experience – according to Vivo. But deep down, we all know, that we’d like to not see the iPhone – clone UI.

FunTouch 9 claims to have soft and restrained colors, as well as rich details. It also enables you to change themes, icon layouts, add rounded corners, and dark patterns. In addition, you also get some built-in semi-abstract wallpapers. So, now, you can be sure to see this OS in all upcoming Vivo smartphones.

Vivo X27 Specifications:

Display: 6.39-inch Super AMOLED display Full HD+ resolution (2340 x 1080 pixels), 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 2.5D curved glass
Rear Camera: Triple camera, 48 MP Quad Pixel Sensor with f/1.8, 1/2″, 0.8µm, 78-degree FOV + 13 MP Ultra-wide-angle, 120-degree FOV + 5 MP depth sensor, f/2.4, LED flash
Front Camera: 16 MP pop-up selfie camera
Chipset: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 710
GPU: Adreno 616
RAM: 8 GB
Storage: 256 GB; Dedicated SD card slot
OS: Android 9 (Pie) with FunTouch OS 9 on the top
Sensors: Fingerprint (under-display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Connectivity: Dual SIM (Nano + Nano), Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, Micro USB 2.0, USB OTG support, 3.5mm headphone jack
Battery: 4000 mAh with dual-engine fast charging technology

Apple updates its iMacs lineup with more powerful CPUs and GPUs

GadgetByte

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March 21, 2019

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Apple updates its iMacs lineup with more powerful CPUs and GPUs

Apple quietly announced the 2019 version of the iPad Mini and iPad Air. But that the only thing Apple launched this week. Apple refreshed its iMac lineup as well. And the new Apple iMac 2019 comes with seriously powerful upgrades over its previous models.

Although the new iMacs may look similar to the previous models on the outside, but on the inside, it is a different story. Apple refreshed both of its 4K and 5K iMac models with new notable processors and the graphics cards making it an amazing performer.

Apple iMac 2019 (4K 21.5-inch Model)

Talking about the smaller iMac (21.5-inch iMac) model, it comes in two CPU configurations. One with an 8^th generation Quad-core Core i3 processor clocked at 3.6GHZ and another with an 8^th generation Hexa-core Core i5 processor with a clock speed of 3.0GHz. But both of these variants are configurable with an optional 8^th gen Hexa-core Core i7 processor, which runs at 3.2GHz clock speed.

On the graphics front, the 4K model comes in three different variants. The base variant receives the Radeon Pro 555X graphics card with 2GB of GDDR5 video memory. Similarly, the higher end model gets the Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB GDRR5 memory. The higher-end variant also has an extra privilege on its sleeve. It can be reconfigured with a more capable Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4GB of HBM2 memory.

Apple iMac 2019 (5K 27-inch Model)

As far as the 5K 27-inch model of the iMac is concerned, the device comes with three variants in terms of CPU. The base variant comes with the 8^th gen Intel Core i5 Hexa-core CPU clocked at 3.0GHz. The mid-tier of the bunch gets the 8^th gen Intel Core i5 Hexa-core CPU running at a clock speed of 3.1GHz. The higher-end model, the powerful of the bunch enjoys a 9^th Gen Intel Core i5 with six cores on the inside clocked at 3.7GHz. If one wishes to make a more capable workstation to handle the workloads, the mid-tier and higher-end model can also be configured with the 9^th Gen Intel Core i9 processor with eight cores (3.6GHz).

Graphics wise, the base model is equipped with Radeon Pro 57X (with 2GB GDDR5 memory) and mid model with Radeon Pro 575X graphics card (with 4GB GDDR5 video memory). The higher-end model, on the other hand, boasts a powerful Radeon Pro 580X GPU (with 8GB GDDR5 memory). It can also be configured with more capable Radeon Pro Vega 48 (with 8GB HBM2).

Memory & Storage

On the memory side of things, all the five models (three variants of the 5K model and two variants of the 4K model) readily comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM (2666MHz) on the board. But they can be increased to 16GB or 32GB on any day. However, only the higher-end variant of the 5K model can also be boosted with whopping 64GB of RAM.

On the storage front, the choice of Apple is not particularly pleasing. The base variant of the 4K model gets 1TB of HDD (5400-rpm drive). Other models come with a slightly better Apple’s Fusion Drive, which is nothing but a fancy name for an SSHD. Except for the base variant of the 21.5-inch model and the high-end variant of the 27-inch model, all the newbies come with 1TB of Apple’s Fusion Drive. And in the case of higher end model (5K 27-inch), 2TB of SSHD comes out of the box. SSD configurations are also available but Apple offers them separately.

In terms of price, the 4K 21.5-inch model of the Apple iMac 2019 costs $1299 for the base variant whereas the better one demands $1499. And when it comes to the 5K 27-inch model, it costs $1799, $1999, and $2299 for the base, mid-tier, and higher-end variants respectively.

Samsung launching three new Galaxy A-series phones on April 10

GadgetByte

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March 20, 2019

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Samsung launching three new Galaxy A-series phones on April 10

Samsung looks all set to add new members of its revamped A-series lineup as the Korean giant has set a date for its next event.

In an official tweet, the company confirmed that it will launch the new devices on April 10. A video attached to the tweet has three displays, which proves that Samsung is unveiling three phones at the event.

If rumors are to be believed, the Galaxy A90 will be one of the releases that day. The device is believed to be Samsung’s first smartphone with a pop-up selfie camera. This camera could also have a rotating mechanism like the old Oppo N1. That will complement the triple rear cameras on the back according to speculations.

In previous years, Samsung usually had the Galaxy A9 as its premium mid-range smartphone. And the new Galaxy A90 is expected to be the same.

Samsung is also expected to launch the Galaxy A40 and the Galaxy A20 at the event. We don’t know much about the two devices yet, but they will probably feature Samsung’s own Exynos chipset, unlike the Galaxy A90 which will be powered by a Snapdragon one.

Don’t Miss: Samsung Galaxy A20: A better version of the M20?

The three devices will join the Galaxy A30 and the Galaxy A50 which have already arrived in the Nepali market. The two devices are mid-range devices available for the price of Rs. 28,490 and Rs. 33,490 respectively. Both the devices feature water drop notch on their displays and have 4,000 mAh battery inside.

Also Read: Samsung Mobiles Price in Nepal

Doctor Performs Brain Surgery on a Patient 1,800 Miles Away Using 5G Network

5G
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GadgetByte

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March 20, 2019

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Doctor Performs Brain Surgery on a Patient 1,800 Miles Away Using 5G Network

One of the major objectives of the 5G network is to decrease the latency speed during communications. For the step, Qualcomm has tried to cut down on the time it takes for a sender’s signal or message to reach the receiver’s device.

And just like the company had promised before, the speed of 5G connectivity has helped a Chinese doctor perform surgery over the network which could have easily passed as a miracle a few years ago.

Also Read: What is 5G? Why is it important?

The doctor performed brain surgery on a Parkinson’s disease patient who was 1,800 miles away. This was possible through the 5G network as the doctor controlled a robot to implant a ‘pacemaker’ like device into the patient’s brain.

Parkinson’s disease is a disorder where the nerve cells of the brain that produce dopamine are affected. This results in various muscle issues and there isn’t a cure for it. So, what doctors do is insert an implant in brains that help control some of the symptoms of the patients.

The surgery was conducted on Saturday by Dr. Ling Zhipei, a doctor for People’s Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing. From Sanya, an island located on the south coast of China, the doctor controlled the machine and carried out the surgery on the patient who was in Beijing. The operation was carried out in around 3 hours of time.

Talking to the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Dr. Zhipei said, “The 5G network has solved problems like video lag and remote-control delay experienced under the 4G network, ensuring a nearly real-time operation. And you barely feel that the patient is 3,000 kilometers away.”

According to CGTN, the procedure was performed on China Mobile Network with Huawei’s 5G technology.

Experts claim that 5G is a new era in terms of the internet and the devices connected with the internet. And the example that the network has helped control a device thousands of miles away in real time without latency is definitely a great example of how technology has evolved.

Samsung Galaxy A20: A better version of the M20?

GadgetByte

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March 19, 2019

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Samsung Galaxy A20: A better version of the M20?

After the Galaxy A10, A30 and A50, we now get the Samsung Galaxy A20, a better version of the Galaxy M20. Although, should you buy the M20 over the A20 still remains an interesting question. The M20 is obviously cheaper and comes with a bigger battery. Then again, the A20 adds an AMOLED display to the equation. On the other hand, the M30 poses a bigger threat to the A20. Pricing remains similar for both, but the M30 gets triple camera setup, more battery, and slightly better SoC.

Back to the Galaxy A20, the front of the phone comes with a 6.4-inch HD+ Infinity V Super AMOLED display. Powered by an Exynos 7884 SoC with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. The back is covered by a 3D glasstic design, which is a combination of plastic and glass. You also get a fingerprint sensor there, alongside the dual rear camera aided by a flash. It’s a 13MP f/1.9 main sensor aided by a 5MP f/2.2 depth sensor. The front gets an 8MP f/2.0 selfie shooter.

Samsung Galaxy A20 Specifications

6.4-inch (1560 × 720 pixels) HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-V display
Octa-Core Exynos 7884 (Dual 1.6 GHz + Hexa 1.35 GHz) processor
3GB RAM, 32GB Storage, expandable up to 512GB via micro SD card
Android 9.0 (Pie) with Samsung One UI
Dual SIM
13MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.9 aperture, 5MP secondary camera with f/2.2 aperture
8MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture
Fingerprint sensor
Dimension:158.4 x 74.7 x 7.8mm
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS
4,000mAh battery

The phone runs on Android 9.0 Pie as default. Details regarding its availability are still unknown, apart from Russia. The Samsung Galaxy A20 is priced at 13990 Rubles i.e $217 or around Rs 15,000 in India.

Xiaomi Black shark 2 is official: A gaming phone with a pressure-sensitive AMOLED display

GadgetByte

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March 19, 2019

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Xiaomi Black shark 2 is official: A gaming phone with a pressure-sensitive AMOLED display

Xiaomi Black Shark was a well-received device when it comes to gaming phones. And to lure more people into gaming devices, Xiaomi added a new handset in its gaming series lineup. The Xiaomi Black Shark 2 comes with a ton of improvements over the last year’s model. And the tech bloggers believe that it will set the bar for gaming phones quite high.

Overview:

The Black Shark 2 being a gaming phone, houses top-of-the-line Snapdragon 855 chipset on the board. To enhance the gaming capabilities, the phone features Snapdragon Elite Gaming graphics processing technology. On the memory side of things, the phone comes in 6GB, 8GB, and 12BG of RAM. As far as the internal storage is concerned, Xiaomi has brought 128GB and 256GB variants.

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 also comes with a Liquid Cool 3.0 liquid-cooling technology to dissipate the heat generated in the rigorous gaming sessions. With this technology, Xiaomi promises to lower the temperature of the device by 14-degrees. The handset also comes with a cooling case add-on equipped with a fan. The casing accelerates the cooling process thus lowering the temperature of the device by an extra 5 degrees.

Be it a gaming laptop or a gaming phone, manufacturers usually make a compromise on the display. But that’s no longer the case on the Black Shark 2. This gaming phone comes with an AMOLED display, which came from the Samsung itself. Since Samsung’s AMOLED displays usually offer a better color accuracy with punchy colors, the screen on this handset could be really satisfying. Furthermore, Xiaomi has optimized the display decreasing the latency to 43.5ms. That’s really impressive, especially for a touch screen device.

Xiaomi further added a pressure sensitive system on the device. This allows the users to achieve differing on-screen actions depending on the intensity of force applied on the screen. And beneath this screen resides a Samsung-made in-display fingerprint scanner, which works as a biometric authentication tool while unlocking the device.

On the camera front, the device flaunts a 48MP main camera backed by a 12MP telephoto shooter. With the telephoto camera on the board, the phone can capture images with lossless zooming up to 2x. Talking about the selfie shooter, a 20MP camera dwells on the front. Under the hood rests a 4000mAh battery, which also supports 27W fast charging.

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Specifications:

Display: 6.39-inch AMOLED display
Resolution: 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 aspect ratio @ 403PPI
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
CPU: Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3×2.41 GHz Kryo 485 & 4×1.78 GHz Kryo 485)
GPU: Adreno 640
RAM: 6/8/12GB
Storage: 128/256 GB; Non-expandable storage (No SD Card Slot)
OS: Android Pie (v9.0)
Rear Camera: Dual camera – (48 MP, f/1.8, 1/2″, 0.8µm, PDAF) + (12 MP, f/2.2, (telephoto), 1.0µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom), LED flash
Front Camera: 20 MP, f/2.0, 0.9µm
Sensors: Fingerprint (Under display), Gyro, Accelerometer, Proximity, Compass
Battery: 4000mAh non-removable battery; 27W fast charging support
Colors: Frozen Silver and Shadow Black

Xiaomi Black Shark 2 Price & Availability

The device comes in three color options: Frozen Silver and Shadow Black. As far as the pricing is concerned, the base variant of the device (6GB/128GB) is priced at CNY 3,199 (around $476 / £359 / AU$671 / AED 1,750). Similarly, the higher end variant (12GB/256GB) is up for sale at CNY 4,199 (roughly $625 / £471 / AU$881 / AED 2,297).

The device is already available for purchase in China. However, the Chinese smartphone maker is yet quiet about the launch of the device outside of China. But as far as the rumor goes, the handset is expected to make a debut in the international markets as well.

You don’t need an RTX card for Real Time Ray Tracing anymore

GadgetByte

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March 19, 2019

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You don’t need an RTX card for Real Time Ray Tracing anymore

Real-time Ray Tracing received all the hype since its inception last year. It wasn’t exactly a must-have feature, neither did it receive complete positivity from the community. It was certainly something cool, but with very little support from the developers, it is yet to take off. The added cost of RTX GPUs didn’t help either nor will the new news that we have for you today.

Ray Tracing in an AMD card

As you might have already seen, Crytek’s new demo called the “Neon Noir” showcasing the Real-Time Ray Tracing reflections. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can check the video out below. The Neon Noir tech demo, according to Crytek, ran on a Vega 56 graphics card and was “developed on a bespoke version of CRYENGINE 5.5”.

Though the demo was experimental, it ran on an AMD GPU and in 4k no less. There is still a lot we need to discover about it, and it should be a while before we see this implemented in any of the games. But hey, atleast we know we do not need an RTX card for real-time ray tracing right? Seems like Nvidia does too.

Nvidia’s backward compatibility (sort of)

Nvidia just announced their own 10-series chips will get this feature as well. Basically, a driver update will bring the “basic ray tracing”. The update is set to roll out starting next month. The quality or performance won’t be up on par with it’s RTX series. Older (10-series) GPUs weren’t designed to rendering lighting or shadow effects.

Nevertheless, they can still push out just enough to improve the lighting of the environment and characters. Nvidia says “It’s a lot better than not having it” and added, “We’ve been working very hard to optimize ray tracing across all our GPUs”. You can check out a demo that Nvidia showcased above.

Any increase of the graphics is always going to come with a corresponding decrease in performance

Ray Tracing will only be available starting GTX 1060 6GB and will go all the way up to Titan XP which includes the fresh GTX 1660 and it’s Ti version. Finally, Nvidia also addressed the sluggish adoption rate of RT supported games, announcing that more than a dozen game developers including Unity and Epic will adopt ray tracing this year.