HP Is Running a Huge Red Tag Sale on Laptops, Desktops, and Accessories

While the season of gifting has come and gone, the discounts are still going strong. If you’re looking for a hardware upgrade, the HP Store Red Tag Sale is definitely worth a look. This shopping event includes deals on laptops, desktops, displays, printers, and more, with up to 62% off standard prices.

One of the highlights is the HP Spectre x360 Laptop (13t Touch). Normally priced at $1,149.99, this lightweight yet powerful device is now just $729.99. The x360 runs Windows 10 on an 8th-gen Intel i5 processor, with 8GB of memory and 256GB of solid-state storage. It also has Intel UHD Graphics 620 for smooth gaming.

Another dazzling deal is $710 off the HP 340S G7 Notebook PC. This 14-inch laptop has a 10th Generation Intel i3 processor and great battery life. If you want more power, you can upgrade to an Intel i5 or i7 processor, up to 16GB of memory, and up to 512GB of storage.

You can also save 52% on the HP 24uh 24-inch LED Backlit Monitor. This impressive energy-efficient display offers full HD resolution at 60Hz, with a 5ms response time and a 10 million : 1 dynamic contrast ratio. During the sale, the monitor is only $119.99.

From gaming towers to security software, there are many more great savings in this sale. Head over to the HP Store now to find yourself a steal.

Prices subject to change.

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Lenovo announces the Yoga 5G 2-in-1 laptop with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx and $1499 price tag

At the Snapdragon Tech Summit in 2018, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8cx — a new mobile platform designed for Always On, Always Connected PCs. Devices with the new chip were expected to hit the market late last year and, as expected, Microsoft unveiled the Snapdragon 8cx powered Surface Pro X in October last year. Along with the Surface Pro X, the chip can also be found on the Samsung Galaxy Book S and now, it’s making an appearance on the Lenovo Yoga 5G 2-in-1 convertible.

Back at Computex 2019 last year, Qualcomm and Lenovo partnered to announce “Project Limitless” — a laptop powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx. The partnership has now finally come to fruition and we now have our first look at the Lenovo Yoga 5G 2-in-1 at the ongoing CES 2020. What differentiates the new Yoga from other Snapdragon 8cx powered devices is that it’s the first 8cx device to be paired with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 modem for 5G connectivity. The Snapdragon X55 modem can already be found on a number of Android devices and it supports both millimeter-wave full-band and sub-6 GHz 5G networks.

The Lenovo Yoga 5G offers a sleek design with a 360-degree hinge that we’ve previously seen on a number of Yoga devices from the company. The notebook weighs in a just 1.3kg and features a 14-inch Full HD IPS touch display with 400 nits of peak brightness. For graphically intensive tasks, the Yoga 5G packs in a Qualcomm Adreno 680 GPU that should be enough for high-definition media consumption. The Yoga 5G will pack in 8GB of RAM for fluid multitasking and up to 512GB of internal storage. The device is aimed at professionals and features an IR camera and a fingerprint sensor for security. Lenovo claims that the laptop can offer up to 24 hours of battery backup on a full charge, making it ideal for those of you who are constantly working on the go.

Since the Snapdragon 8cx is an ARM64 chip, the Yoga 5G will run Windows 10 on ARM out of the box. x86-64 bit applications will need to be recompiled to run on Windows 10 on ARM, though many x86- 32 bit application can be run through the emulation layer. In terms of I/O, the Yoga 5G packs in two USB Type-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack, and a nano-SIM slot for 5G SIM cards, however, the Yoga 5G will also feature eSIM support. Lenovo is set to release the Yoga 5G sometime in Spring this year at a starting price of $1,499.

Specifications	Lenovo Yoga 5G 2-in-1
Weight	1.3kg
Display Size	14″ IPS LCD with touch support
Display Resolution	FHD (1920 x 1080)
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx
Graphics	Qualcomm Adreno 680
RAM	8GB
Storage Options	256GB 512GB
Ports & Extras	2x USB Type-C ports 3.5mm combo jack Nano SIM slot Fingerprint scanner IR Camera
Battery	Rated for up to 24 hours
Operating System	Windows 10 on ARM

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Qualcomm announces the aptX Voice Bluetooth audio codec for improved voice call quality

At CES‌ 2020, Qualcomm has announced a new Bluetooth codec aimed at improving voice call quality. Aptly named aptX Voice, the new codec is part of the aptX Adaptive audio family. While mobile carriers have made great strides improving the voice call quality on their networks in recent years, users have not able to enjoy many of the improvements when they’re making calls over Bluetooth.

Qualcomm claims its new aptX Voice can fill this gap by offering the same HD‌ quality voice over Bluetooth that we enjoy on our smartphones.

“aptX technology revolutionized the Bluetooth stereo listening experience by bringing unprecedented wireless audio quality, and aptX Voice is set to do the same for voice calls”

James Chapman, VP and General Manager, Voice, Music and Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies International

Think of aptX Voice as aptX HD but for voice calls. The codec offers 32KHz sampled audio with a flat 16KHz frequency response which is significantly better than those offered by the narrowband Bluetooth codecs within the Bluetooth Handsfree Profile which are usually capped at 8KHz sample rate. Qualcomm says the super-wideband support allows the codec to deliver superior voice clarity and speech intelligibility compared to the existing codecs. The codec will also reportedly make it easier to hear faint talkers, accented speakers and double-talk i.e. when both parties are speaking at the same time.

The aptX Voice will be offered as an optional codec in the aptX Adaptive suite. The codec is already supported on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765 Mobile Platforms. It will be available for licensing to headphones and accessories makers as part of Qualcomm’s new range of Bluetooth Audio chips which the company plans to release later in 2020.

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Source: Qualcomm

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Intel’s Horseshoe Bend PC is a foldable laptop with a massive 17.3″ screen

Foldables displays have been luring enthusiasts at tech shows like the CES, Las Vegas, for over a decade now. The start was rough and patchy and all we saw were concept products. With time, we started seeing foldable OLED TVs and even though Samsung showed the first prototype of a foldable smartphone display in as early as 2014, the company took five years – and multiple hiccups – to realize that vision. After devices like the Huawei Mate X, the Galaxy Fold, and the Motorola Razr, there’s decent confidence in foldable smartphones but many laptop manufacturers like Lenovo have already started pitching ideas for foldable laptops. After Lenovo, chipmaker Intel is publicizing their own concept of a foldable “Horseshoe Bend” computer that can be folded into a 12.5″ laptop.

Instead of seeing this as a typical laptop, you can see Intel’s Horseshoe Bend concept as a desktop computer with special powers. The kickstand allows the concept device to sit straight on a table and hooked to a keyboard and mouse. In this orientation, the OLED screen measures 17.3-inches diagonally, which is quite a lot of real estate compared to a standard desktop monitor. Plus the display also supports touch which makes it even more useful.

Images courtesy of CNET

When folded along the center, the Intel concept becomes a mini laptop with a screen size of just about 12.5-inches. In a conversation with CNET, Intel GM Chris Walker insists that this is “not a reimagine tablet” but a mobile PC with full PC capabilities. CNET, which also got an exclusive look at the prototype, reports that Intel may not build this prototype into a commercial machine – after all Intel is not a PC manufacturer, but it is likely to sell this recipe to one or more OEMs for the latter to convert the concept to a product.

The Intel Horseshoe Bend concept is just 7.75mm in thickness and comes with “two hinges in parallel” to unite both the halves. Like the Galaxy Fold, there’s a gap towards the center when the display is folded. But this space, Intel suggests, can be used to accommodate a full-sized physical keyboard. The same keyboard can be used when the PC is fully stretched out for desktop usage. If you won’t like that much, a virtual keyboard comes up on the concept PC when it’s folded midway. For now, the prototype only seems to fold inwards and not outwards; so a tent mode may not be feasible just yet.

Images courtesy of CNET

Inside, the Intel Horeshoe Bend PC rocks Intel’s upcoming Tiger Lake 10nm mobile processor which will succeed the current Ice Lake Intel Core processors. The Tiger Lake processors will be announced later on in 2020 and not only is Intel showing the concept design but also using this chance to tease the new microarchitecture.

Clearly, the Intel foldable concept PC is far from being utilized as a commercial device. You obviously cannot buy it but the chipmaker will be working with other manufacturers to produce other pragmatic solutions. Naturally, there will a hefty price tag hanging from one of those but if you cherish technology irrespective of the money, you should be able to treat yourself with one of the devices based on this concept later this year.

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Featured image courtesy: CNET

Source: CNET

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OmniVision’s new 48MP OV48C image sensor seems better than the 64MP IMX686

In 2019, the most popular image sensor for flagship and mid-range smartphones was by far the Sony IMX586 48MP image sensor, which made its way to a surprisingly large number of phones. Flagship phones from the likes of Samsung, Huawei, Google, and Apple continued to use custom sensors, but vendors such as OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO, Honor, and others fully adopted the IMX586 Quad Bayer sensor, which proved more popular than its competitor, the Samsung ISOCELL GM1. In the latter half of the year, some high-profile phones did opt to use Samsung’s newer 64MP ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor, while the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 made itself a pioneer by featuring the 108MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor. In December, the IMX586’s successor, the 64MP Sony IMX686, started being included in new launches. These days, the competition in the mobile image sensor market consists mostly of Sony and Samsung, but there is another player in the market: OmniVision. While their products have had few design wins over the last few years, it has tried to make itself more relevant by announcing a new flagship 48MP image sensor for high-end phones in the form of the OmniVision OV48C.

The OmniVision OV48C is a 48MP image sensor with a large 1.2 micron pixel size. This makes it atypically large as all the other 48MP image sensors have a 0.8 micron pixel size. The higher pixel size is because the sensor is physically bigger. It has a 1/1.3″ sensor size, whereas the IMX586 and the Samsung GM1/GM2 have a 1/2″ sensor size. The 1/1.3″ sensor size is one of the largest for any smartphone image sensor, and it’s only smaller than the 2012 Nokia 808 PureView’s 1/1.2″ image sensor. The 64MP Samsung GW1 has a 1/1.7″ sensor size, which is still smaller than the OmniVision OV48C’s sensor. OmniVision states that this enables high resolution and excellent low light performance for flagship smartphone cameras.

The OV48C is said to be the industry’s first image sensor for high resolution mobile cameras with on-chip dual conversion gain HDR, which “eliminates motion artifacts and produces an excellent signal-to-noise ratio SNR)”, according to OmniVision. The sensor also offers a staggered HDR option with on-chip combination, which provides smartphone designers with flexibility to select the best HDR method for a given scene.

The 48MP flagship image sensor is built on OmniVision’s PureCel Plus stacked die technology. It integrates an on-chip, 4-cell color filter array (BCFA – Buried Color Filter Array) and hardware remosaic, which provides high quality 48MP Bayer output. This is an important differentiation versus sensors such as the IMX586, which have 48MP Quad Bayer sensors. Quad Bayer sensors have less color resolution than standard Bayer sensors. The OV48C seems to be the first mobile image sensor capable of handling 48MP Bayer output, which means it has higher resolution than the other 48MP and 64MP image sensors on the market. It can also output 8K video in real time.

Interestingly, OmniVision proclaims that in low light conditions, the sensor can use near-pixel binning to output a 12MP image for 4K2K video with four times the sensitivity, with a 2.4 micron-equivalent performance. The near-pixel binning part is puzzling, but a 2.4 micron-equivalent performance would likely lead to class-leading low light image quality, with the disclaimer that all other factors should remain constant. In either case, the OV48C is said to be capable of capturing “the best quality images without motion blur”, and it will also be capable of enabling digital crop mode zoom with 12MP resolution (this refers to lossless zoom) and fast mode switch. The sensor also offers features such as a CPHY interface that makes it more suitable for rear-facing main cameras in multi-camera configurations. For fast autofocus, the OV48C relies on 4C Half Shield phase detection.

The OmniVision OV48C can output 48MP at 15fps (this refers to the absence of zero shutter lag), 12MP with 4-cell binning at 60fps (ZSL), and 4K2K video at 60fps with the extra pixels needed for electronic image stabilization (EIS). It also offers 1080p slow motion video at 240fps in addition to 720p at 360fps, although this feature is arguably not impressive as competing sensors can go as high as 1080p at 960fps, while many phones can now record 1080p at 480fps.

OmniVision states that OV48C samples are available now, and the sensor will be demonstrated at the company’s CES hotel suite from January 7-10. As of now, the company hasn’t stated whether the sensor will actually be available in a phone this year. Apart from the OnePlus 2 in 2015, it’s hard to recall a major phone launch featuring an OmniVision image sensor. The specifications of the OV48C certainly sound impressive, but it remains to be seen how it will fare against Sony’s 64MP IMX686 and Samsung’s 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor in shipping phones.

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Source: OmniVision (press release)

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Bluetooth SIG introduces LE Audio with a new LC3 codec and support for Multi-Stream Audio, Hearing Aids, and Audio Sharing

At the ongoing CES 2020 trade show, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has announced a few new capabilities for the wireless technology. These new features will be rolled out with supported devices later this year under the LE Audio moniker and will enhance audio performance over Bluetooth, add support for hearing aids, and enable multi-stream audio and audio sharing.

As per a recent report from BusinessWire, audio transmission over Bluetooth will soon support two operation modes — LE Audio will operate on the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) radio, while the Classic Audio will operate on the Bluetooth Classic radio (BR/EDR). As the name suggests, Bluetooth LE Audio will allow devices to transmit sound across the low-energy spectrum, however, it will make use of a new compression algorithm, called the Low Complexity Communication Codec (LC3), that will maintain the same high audio quality that you get from Bluetooth at the moment. Thanks to this, manufacturers will be able to develop devices that offer nearly twice the current play time without sacrificing on the audio quality.

In a statement regarding the new codec, Manfred Lutzky, Head of Audio for Communications at Franhofter IIS, was quoted saying, “Extensive listening tests have shown than LC3 will provide improvements in audio quality over the SBC codec included with Classic Audio, even at a 50% lower bit rate. Developers will be able to leverage this power savings to create products that can provide longer battery life or, in cases where current battery life is enough, reduce the form factor by using a smaller battery.” Along with the new codec, Bluetooth LE Audio will allow users to transmit multiple, independent, synchronized audio streams between an audio source and one or more audio sink devices. The updated tech also includes support for hearing aids, which is expected to promote Bluetooth hearing aids that bring all the benefits of Bluetooth audio for people will hearing impairment.

On top of all that, LE Audio will also add broadcasting support to Bluetooth devices which will allow users to broadcast one or more streams to an unlimited number of audio sink devices. Thanks to this feature, users will soon be able to share their music with other by connecting multiple Bluetooth earphones with the same device. The report further adds that Bluetooth Audio Sharing can both be personal or location-based, with users getting the option to share their audio with others around them or share the audio at public venues. However, all of these new features are well into the future as the Bluetooth SIG has revealed no specific date for the launch of supported devices. The report just states that Bluetooth specifications that define LE Audio are expected to be released throughout the first half of 2020, with no word on the launch of supported devices. For more information on Bluetooth LE Audio, you can follow the source linked below.

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Source: Bluetooth Technology

Via: BusinessWire

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Realme X50 5G with a 120Hz dual hole-punch display, Snapdragon 765G, Realme UI launches in China

Realme has been parkouring through an otherwise declining smartphone industry. It rose to popularity with phones that offer excellent value for money, achieving this by downplaying profit margins even below what Xiaomi claims to operate at. Realme’s multi-fold growth over the last year shows that the brand is getting a lot of attention in markets around the world while their portfolio has evolved significantly from just being about mid-range phones to having an entire army of choices in every price segment. The company wrapped the year up on a high note by launching the gaming-centric Realme X2 (our gaming review), the flagship killer Realme X2 Pro (our review), and their ticket to the lifestyle product market i.e. a pair of truly wireless stereo earbuds. Today, Realme is announcing their first 5G powered phone – Realme X50 5G with a hole-punch display, quad cameras, and more.

Realme has been spilling beans on the Realme X50 5G officially for more than a month now. In a series of teasers, the company revealed key specifications about the smartphone including sweeping revelations about its design and its processor. Meanwhile, a recent listing on the website of the Chinese regulator TENAA also disclosed many details about the smartphone, all of which have been confirmed with the official announcement.

The Realme X50 comes with a 6.57-inch LCD display with a high refresh rate of 120Hz, which is a major leap from the 90Hz it launched on the Realme X2 Pro. The display also features a hole-punch design, allocating space on the top left for two selfie cameras. It has a 20:9 aspect ratio and is protected by 5th Gorilla Glass. Additionally, there’s a side-mounted fingerprint scanner just like the Redmi K30 5G.

Realme X50 comes in two colors inspired by ice as well as seawater. Both the color variants come with a 3D holographic back design that changes color with the intensity of the light falling on it.

When it comes to 5G support, the onboard Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G mobile platform enables support for non-standalone (NSA) as well as standalone (SA) 5G networks.

Realme projects 5G as an essential factor for online smartphone gaming and besides the new chipset, Realme is also partnering with NetEase Cloud Games, a company that offers cloud-based mobile games that can be played through a single app without downloading each game separately. Currently, its portfolio mostly has mobile games but its website has a section for PC games, suggesting we might see a service similar to Google’s Stadia in the future.

Further, The company has also upgraded its Game Boost feature to improve gaming which will also synchronize GPU rendering with the refresh rate of the display to prevent any jank or jitter while gaming. Additionally, there’s an 8mm copper conduit for conducting the heat away from the motherboard.

When it comes to the cameras on Realme X50 5G, Realme has been teasing the quad-camera setup. The TENAA listing also revealed the resolution of the various sensors but the official announcement clarifies the purpose of each of them. There’s a 64MP Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 as the primary sensor, a 12MP telephoto camera with 2X zoom, an 8MP wide-angle camera, and a 2MP camera intended for macro photography. The camera also comes with an advanced Night mode and support for RAW photography. The dual cameras on the front include a 16MP Sony IMX471 primary sensor and an 8MP wide-angle sensor.

There’s 30W VOOC 4.0 charging for the 4,200mAh battery on the Realme X50 5G. This helps the battery charge 70% in just about 30 minutes.

The Realme X50 comes in three variants – 8GB/128GB, 6GB/256GB, 12GB/256GB. The RAM/storage configurations appear unusual but the pricing confirms that this is intentional.

Realme X50 5G Master Edition

Realme has once again partnered with Japanese industrial designer Naota Fukusawa who had previously designed the Master Editions for the Realme X and Realme X2 Pro. This time, the design master drew his inspiration from the reflection of light on smooth metal surfaces. There are two new variants in the Realme X50 5G’s Master Edition – one has a grid of strips replicating a gradient from bright to dark metal surfaces, changing the brightness with the angle of the incident light, whereas the other is made up of a grid of discs with accentuated concentric circles on each that make each disc look like a vinyl.

Realme UI

Realme also announced its new Realme UI, which is based on parent OPPO ‘s ColorOS 7. On stage, the company’s marketing head Xu QI Chase said that the icons have been redesigned keeping uniformity of shape in mind. The principle of the Golden Ratio (based on Fibonacci Series) has been used to place key visual elements along the grid on the icon.

Realme UI features (translated using Google Lens)

Realme UI is based on Android 10 and also comes with new apps such as Realme Pay. Additionally, Realme claims that the app launch speeds have been increased by about 25%, battery life by 10%, and gaming performance by 20%. Furthermore, the touch response time has been cut down by 35%.

Realme Focus Mode

Additionally, Realme UI also comes with a Focus Mode that should help you disconnect from the digital world and reconnect with the physical world.

Realme X50 5G is the first smartphone from the company to come with Realme UI out-of-the-box. Other phones are expected to receive this with the coming Android 10 updates.

Realme IoT Ecosystem

After projecting itself as a lifestyle brand, Realme is ready to launch its own ecosystem of AI-powered IoT devices. In the coming months, Realme will launch a smart TV, wearables, and some more audio products – potentially with its own AI assistant built-in.

Realme Buds Air Special Edition

The Realme Buds Air TWS earbuds have already been announced by the company but the China launch saw a special color variant of the Realme Buds Air case. This includes what looks like a rubberized finish along with Realme’s “R/r” logos sprinkled around the entire surface. The case also has a loop so that you can attach it to, perhaps, a keychain.

Price & Availability

The three variants of the Realme X50 5G are priced as follows:

• 8GB/128GB – CNY 2499 (~$360)
• 6GB/256GB – CNY 2699 (~$390)
• 12GB/256GB – CNY 2999 (~$430)
• 12GB/256GB Master Edition – CNY 3099 (~$450)

The Realme Buds Air earbuds have been priced at CNY 399 (~$60) but will be initially available for CNY 369 (~$55).

The Realme X50 5G will be available for pre-booking via various online channels starting today i.e. January 7th and will go on sale starting January 14th.

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