Tag: existing

iPhone X: Software leak appears to confirm name, features, and specs

Enlarge (credit: Marques Brownlee ) Apple’s latest and greatest iPhone is called the iPhone X, according to information pulled from a leaked “Gold Master” of iOS 11, the operating system said to power the new phone. The same software leak also reveals the existence of the iPhone 8 and and iPhone 8 Plus, which are based on a similar design to the existing iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. According to 9to5Mac , which was one of two blogs able to download iOS 11 before it was pulled from Apple’s servers, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus feature a faster processor, wireless charging, and a new glass back panel. Unlike the iPhone 8, the iPhone X features an all-new design with an edge-to-edge 5.8-inch OLED display that removes the chunky bezels and home button. The design—which was originally shown in a separate software leak earlier this year—is a dramatic departure from iPhones to date, which have largely kept the same front-facing aesthetic since the launch of the original in 2007. By shrinking the bezels, much like Samsung did with the Galaxy S8 , Apple can cram a larger display into a smaller body, making the device more comfortable to use with one hand. Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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iPhone X: Software leak appears to confirm name, features, and specs

Nanomaterial charges everyday batteries in seconds

If you want a battery that charges in seconds rather than hours, you go for a supercapacitor . There are some catches to that, though: either you give up the long-lasting energy of a chemical battery (like the lithium pack in your phone) or have to resort to exotic storage tech to get a long lifespan. Drexel researchers think they have a better balance. They’ve developed electrodes based on a nanomaterial, MXene, that promise extremely quick charging times for chemical batteries. The near-2D design combines an oxide-metal ‘sandwich’ with hydrogel to create a structure that’s extremely conductive, but still lets ions move freely as the battery builds up a charge. In the lab’s design, you can charge MXene electrodes within “tens of milliseconds” — you could top up a phone in seconds or an electric car in minutes . As is often the case, the big challenge is scaling this up to production-quality energy cells. It could be years before this reaches something you can buy. However, its very focus on supporting chemical batteries makes it more practical. Factories would only have to adapt to the new electrodes, rather than throwing out their existing battery know-how. If nothing else, the existence of the MXene design shows that ultra-fast charging is becoming more realistic. Via: ScienceAlert Source: Drexel University , Nature

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Nanomaterial charges everyday batteries in seconds

Tesla reveals a sleek solar panel built for your existing roof

Tesla’s home energy efforts might be centered around its solar roofs , but it knows that not everyone can (or wants to) rip up their roof just to bring renewable energy to their home. To that end, the company is offering a first glimpse at Panasonic-made solar panels that would go on top of your existing roof. Unlike many aftermarket options, this would be relatively slick and unintrusive — the panels have “integrated front skirts and no visible mounting hardware.” While it’ll be patently obvious that you have solar energy on your roof, it shouldn’t be the eyesore you sometimes get with conventional designs. The company is taking requests for custom price quotes right now, but it tells Electrek that production for the 325W modules should start sometime in the summer. You’ll have to be patient if you’re determined to escape the conventional power grid. However, this is definitely not a secondary project for Tesla. The firm says that it’ll use these panels for all new residential projects (outside of tiles), so you’re really looking at the future of Tesla’s mainstream energy tech. Via: Electrek Source: Tesla

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Tesla reveals a sleek solar panel built for your existing roof

StarCraft remaster unveiled, and original SD version becomes free-as-in-beer

Enlarge / It finally exists. (credit: Blizzard Entertainment) A long-rumored StarCraft remaster for computers was finally unveiled on Saturday by Blizzard Entertainment, set for launch in “summer 2017.” No pricing info was announced, but Blizzard has confirmed quite a few other details about the 4K-friendly release. For one, it will be preceded by a patch to the 19-year-old StarCraft: Brood War  client, and this new 1.18a client will reportedly not change the mechanics of the game. To prove that out, this patched version will still be able to connect to players using the existing 1.16 patch (which came out all the way back in 2009). Among other tweaks, like better compatibility with newer versions of Windows, the new patch will include two important updates: the ability to connect to and play against owners of the upcoming remastered version, and the change to a wholly free product. Once the patch goes live, the original StarCraft Anthology  will be free-as-in-beer to download and play in both single- and multiplayer modes. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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StarCraft remaster unveiled, and original SD version becomes free-as-in-beer

How “Game Mode” will make games run better on Windows

SAN FRANCISCO—A few months ago, Microsoft announced that its upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update ( currently in testing ) would include a new ” Game Mode ” that improves the performance of interactive titles running under Windows by at least a few percentage points . At the Game Developers Conference this week, Eric Walston from the Xbox Advanced Technology Group explained a bit about how exactly that Game Mode will “focus the existing hardware on providing the best possible gaming experience.” Currently, on the Windows OS level, a game is just another process among many running simultaneously. With Game Mode, though, Windows will isolate CPU resources to be devoted exclusively to that game process and optimize the GPU to give the game as much attention as possible as well. On the CPU side, Game Mode allocates a majority of the CPU’s cores to be devoted exclusively to the target game, so an eight-core system might get six gaming-dedicated cores when running in Game Mode (depending on what other processes are running). The system then moves threads devoted to other processes off of those gaming-focused cores, reducing thread contention among the various gaming process threads and improving performance. Read 6 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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How “Game Mode” will make games run better on Windows

Bluetooth 5’s faster, longer-ranged wireless is here

Bluetooth is about to become a lot less hassle-prone. The wireless standard’s Special Interest Group has officially adopted the Bluetooth 5 spec, clearing the way for device makers to use the much-improved technology in everything from phones to wearables to smart home equipment. This doesn’t mean that you’ll see it right away, of course. The group expects Bluetooth 5-equipped products to hit the market in the next 2 to 6 months, or right around when the next wave of smartphones is likely to arrive. Again, the new spec is all about raw performance. You can expect up to four times the range, twice the speed and eight times the amount of data in broadcast messages. Those will be particularly helpful for smart appliances and the Internet of Things , where the existing Bluetooth 4.2 standard might not be powerful enough to connect an entire home. However, it should also make a difference anywhere that you notice Bluetooth’s existing limitations. Smartwatches could see a serious upgrade, for example — one of the biggest bottlenecks on wristwear is the slow connection to your phone. And regardless of the device you use, there are techniques to reduce interference with other wireless devices. Just don’t expect much of a boost to audio quality. While Bluetooth 5 could help with range, you won’t see improvements to audio compression, latency and power use until 2018. The newly adopted format is primarily about dragging Bluetooth’s range and speed into the modern era, and future efforts will build on top of that groundwork. Source: Bluetooth SIG

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Bluetooth 5’s faster, longer-ranged wireless is here