The international market for semiconductors would reach around US$ 1,340 Billion by 2029 as per World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS)
The US authorities thought deeply that US’ largest fab companies including Intel completely relied on Asian supply chains for manufacturing of their products
OtterBox is trying to differentiate itself from its rivals by offering up to $150 toward the repair of your iPhone screen if it breaks while using the Amplify or Alpha OtterBox screen protectors, the company said in a press release spotted by 9to5Mac. It's available with the updated OtterBox Protection Program that also covers the case and screen protector, for a price bump of around $5 over the same product with Antimicrobial protection only.
"Our robust limited lifetime warranty program already covers your case and screen protector, and the OtterBox Protection Program extends that protection to your device screen as well," said OtterBox CEO Jim Parke.
The extra protection is valid up to 12 months after purchase, and Otterbox promises that you can "easily activate and track coverage, and file a claim through the OtterProtect app." The eligible Amplify and Alpha screen protectors with the coverage range from $40 to $55 — just choose the "Antimicrobial + OtterBox Protection Program" when checking out.
The insurance won't cover the full cost of an iPhone screen replacement, but it'll certainly make it less painful if you don't have AppleCare. As far as I can see, there aren't many other (if any), screen protectors with similar coverage, other than a few niche offerings. The execution will also be key, but we should see soon enough if filing a claim and receiving payment is as easy as OtterBox says.
Renesas Electronics Corporation has announced the new RZ/N2L microprocessor units (MPUs) for Industrial Ethernet communication that make it easy to add network functionality to industrial equipment and devices. The RZ/N2L compl
When Intel introduced the Arc branding last year for its high-performance consumer graphics products, it demonstrated what the line's GPUs can do using video games. The company's latest Arc GPUs, however, aren't for gaming at all: They were designed for desktop and mobile workstations running apps like Adobe Premiere Pro, Handbrake and DaVinci Resolve Studio. Intel has launched its Arc Pro lineup with three models, starting with the Arc Pro A40 that has a "tiny, single-slot form factor." The Arc Pro A50 is a step up and has a larger dual-slot form, while the A30M was made specifically for laptops.
All three models offer built-in ray tracing and machine learning capabilities, but their key specs differ a bit from each other. The A40 and the A30M, for instance, have 3.50 teraflops of graphical power, while the A50 has 4.80 teraflops. Both desktop models come with 6GB of memory, wheres the one for laptops comes with 4GB. Plus, all models support AV1 hardware encoding acceleration in what Intel says is an industry first. The new GPUs also have four mini-display ports for multiple screen setups and can support two 8K displays with a refresh rate of 60Hz, one 5K 240Hz display, two 5K 120 Hz displays or four 60 Hz 4K displays.
Intel has yet to reveal how much these new discrete GPUs for workstations will cost, but it said they will be available starting later this year "from leading mobile and desktop ecosystem partners."
Snapchat has launched a parental control portal that allows parents to keep an eye on who their young teenagers have been chatting with. The new in-app feature called Family Center shows parents their kids' friends list, as well as who they've messaged in the last seven days. Take note that parents can only see who their teens have been talking to, but they won't be able to read their chat history. Snap says the center was designed to "reflect the way... parents engage with their teens in the real world" in that they know (for the most part) who their kids have been hanging out with but don't listen in on their conversations.
In addition, parents can confidentially report accounts they think might be violating Snap's rules straight from the Family Center. Back in January, Snapchat changed its friend recommendation feature following calls for increased safety on the app by making it harder for adults to connect with teen users: In particular, it stopped showing accounts owned by 13-to-17-year-old users in Quick Add. Teens also can't have public profiles and have to be mutual friends to be able to communicate with each other. Plus, their accounts will only show up in search results under certain circumstances, such as if the one searching has a mutual friend with them.
Snap promised to launch new parental controls and other features designed to protect underage users on its service last year. The company revealed its plans in a hearing wherein lawmakers put the pressure on social networks and apps that cater to teens, such as Snapchat and TikTok, to do more to protect children on their platforms.
Family Center is completely voluntary, and teens can always leave the portal if they want — they'll even be given the choice to accept or ignore a parent's invitation to join. And since the feature was made for underage teens, users who turn 18 will automatically be removed from the tool.
The company plans to roll out more features for the Family Center on top of what it already has. It will allow parents to easily see the newest friends their teens have added in the coming weeks. And over the next months, Snap will add content controls for parents, as well as the ability for teens to notify their parents whenever they report an account or a piece of content.
Sennheiser hasn't refreshed its over-hear Momentum noise-canceling headphones since 2019, but that changes today. The company has announced the Momentum 4, a new take on its flagship headphones that includes an exterior redesign, new features and a whopping 60 hours of battery life. What's more, Sennheiser is offering this host of updates for $50 less than the Momentum 3 at its debut.
First, the design Sennheiser had carried through much of the Momentum line since its introduction is gone. The mix of metal and leather with visible cables has been traded for a more simplified, more plastic affair. The new look is decidedly less premium than previous Momentum models. However, what the Momentum 4 may lack in aesthetics is offset by increased comfort. The company notes the new hinge easily adjusts and doesn't exert too much pressure on your head. Earcups also rotate flat now, which makes storage a bit easier. Another big change is the on-board controls: most of the physical buttons have been replaced with a touch panel on the right side.
Inside, Sennheiser says it opted for an "audiophile-inspired acoustic system" that relies on 42mm transducers for the sound. The company explains the setup creates "brilliant dynamics, clarity and musicality," plus you can use an EQ, presets and a new Sound Personalization feature to further adjust the tuning. Sound Personalization takes into account your personal preferences and adjusts "the listening experience" accordingly.
Of course, these are flagship headphones so active noise cancellation (ANC) is on board. The company says its updated adaptive ANC works to maintain sound quality even in the noisiest of surroundings. Transparency Mode is available as well and there's a slider control between it and ANC in Sennheiser's app. In other words, you're not just left with one or the other, so you can mix in a dash of environmental noise if needed. This model can automatically change sound settings based on your location too, a feature Sennheiser first debuted in March.
Sennheiser also offers a feature called Sidetone, which allows you to adjust how much of your voice comes through during calls. It's a tool that helps you feel less shouty and it works on top of automatic wind noise suppression for the Momentum 4's beamforming microphones during voice and video chats.
Sennheiser says you can expect up to 60 hours of battery life on a charge, and that's with ANC turned on. A quick-charge feature gives you six hours of use in 10 minutes. To help you conserve battery, the Momentum 4 is equipped with both automatic pausing and automatic on/off. The company says the headphones will power off when you leave them unattended and turn back on when you pick them up.
The Momentum 4 will be available for preorder in black and white color options on August 9th before shipping on August 23rd. The headphones are priced at $349.95, which is $50 less than the Momentum 3 when it debuted in 2019.
Take-Two Interactive has once again pushed back the release of Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Following a delay late last year, the upcoming tactical RPG from XCOM developer Firaxis was scheduled to arrive on October 7th. The publisher now plans to release the game sometime within its fiscal 2023 year, which ends on March 31st, 2023. Additionally, Midnight Suns won’t arrive on all consoles simultaneously.
“We have made the decision to move back the launch timing of Marvel’s Midnight Suns to ensure the teams at Firaxis Games and 2K deliver the best possible experience for our fans,” Take-Two said in a statement. “The title will launch later this fiscal year on Windows PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. The Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch versions will follow at a later date.”
It's not just that Midnight Suns was just delayed (the dev team getting more time is great)
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) August 8, 2022
.. it's that its PC/PS5/Xbox Series versions were delayed to later in fiscal 2023 (by March 31, 2023) but that the Switch and old-gen console versions now have no release date. Yikes pic.twitter.com/rNZ3xxzLok
Marvel’s Midnight Suns was first announced at Gamescom 2021. Unlike XCOM, the game includes a deck-building component. Battles still unfold over the course of multiple turns, but instead of each superhero bringing the same set of abilities to every battle, you’ll draw cards to determine their capabilities. Some of the characters that will join your roster include Wolverine, Iron Man and Blade. You’ll also create your own superhero named The Hunter.
Earlier today, Apple released the fifth iOS 16 developer beta. It adds a handful of changes, but if you’ve spent any time on Twitter, you know there’s only one thing everyone wants to talk about: the return of the battery percentage indicator. For the first time since Apple removed the icon in 2017 to accommodate the iPhone X’s notch, it’s possible to see exactly how much battery your iPhone has left without pulling down the Control Center shade.
ITS REAL pic.twitter.com/RKf2zkFS7i
— Ian Zelbo (@ianzelbo) August 8, 2022
If you’re enrolled in the developer beta, you can add the indicator to your status bar by opening the Settings menu and navigating to the Battery section. Once there, you’ll see a new toggle labeled “Battery Percentage.” The resulting icon is slightly larger than the one you’re probably used to seeing. Additionally, if you plug your iPhone into a charger, the icon will turn green and display a lightning symbol next to the battery percentage. Conversely, it's yellow when your iPhone is in low power mode.
The option to see battery percentage is not available on the iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 mini. We’ll also note it’s possible the feature may not make it into the final release of iOS 16. The next version of Apple’s mobile operating system will arrive later this year. Some of the more notable features Apple announced at WWDC 2022 include new lock screen customization options, the ability to edit and recall texts in iMessage and real-time notifications called Live Activities.
It took the better part of a year, but HBO Max's app should (hopefully) be more pleasant to use. Warner Bros. Discovery has finished rolling out its redesigned app on desktop, Android and iOS, delivering a more intuitive interface, a performance boost and some arguably overdue features. It finally supports tablets in both portrait and vertical modes, for instance. You'll also find a dedicated video download page, split-screen support, SharePlay (on Apple devices in the US) and a shuffle button on mobile.
The move ends a long and painful saga. In its haste to launch HBO Max, WarnerMedia based the original app on the same foundations as its aging Go and Now apps. The result was, frankly, a mess — it was buggy, sluggish and otherwise less polished than software from competing services. While the new app won't persuade you to subscribe on its own, it could reduce any skittishness.
The timing is less than ideal. Warner Bros. just recently confirmed that it's merging HBO Max and Discovery+ into one service next summer. The app you see today won't last long. With that said, the redesign promises a better starting point for the new platform.