Month: November 2019

Intel’s 11th Generation Rocket Lake-S desktop CPU details have started appearing in the online rumor mill. The latest details from the Chinese based PTT PC forums reveal that Rocket Lake-S will feature a couple of changes compared to the 10th Generation Comet Lake-S processors which arrive next year.

Intel Rocket Lake-S 14nm CPUs Reportedly Feature Gen 12 Xe GPUs, Up To 8 Cores at 125W & DDR4-3733 MHz Support

The details are very interesting considering we didn’t have a lot of information for Rocket Lake-S CPUs aside from the fact that they were going to be based on the 14nm process node and will be the last 14nm desktop mainstream family before Intel shifts to 7nm. The Intel Rocket Lake-S CPU family is expected to arrive on the mainstream desktop platform by 2021 and will be the 11th Gen family, replacing the 10th Gen Comet Lake-S lineup which is expected to launch in 2020.

The Intel Rocket Lake-S processors, once again, will feature an enhanced 14nm node. This will be the last and most advanced 14nm process node which we have seen to date and with most of Intel’s processors shifting to sub 14nm in 2021 (Xeon, Notebooks), there will be enough capacity to deliver a timely supply of mainstream desktop processors to consumers.

The 11th Gen family is expected to feature U and S series processors, but we will only be focusing on the S series which is aimed at the mainstream desktop platform. So, for starters, the rumor says that the Rocket Lake-S family will feature up to 8 cores and a TDP of 125W. This is two cores less than the Comet Lake-S family which will offer 10 cores with a TDP of 125W. Rocket Lake-S is also featuring AVX-256 and not AVX-512 like the 10nm Ice Lake or Tiger Lake family. There’s also DDR4 support for up to 3733 MHz (32 GB) and 2933 MHz (128 GB) native speeds.

The most significant detail, however, is that the Rocket Lake-S family is expected to feature the Gen 12 GPU architecture onboard the chip. Intel’s Gen 12 GPUs are based on the Xe GPU architecture which will also be featured on Tiger Lake CPUs. Now Tiger Lake is a 2020 part too aimed at mobility platforms but is based on the 10nm Willow Cove cores while Rocket Lake-S processors are based on a 14nm process node. There are 32 EUs featured on the Rocket Lake-S processors compared to 48 EUs featured on Comet Lake-S processors. The difference is that Comet Lake-S CPUs still get the older Gen 9 GPU architecture while Rocket Lake reportedly gets Gen 12 Xe GPU.

Here’s where the rumor gets interesting. For a while now, there has been a rumor going round that Intel would backport their new CPU architecture (say Sunny Cove or Willow Cove) to 14nm CPUs.

This would explain why there are Gen 12 Xe graphics featured on the 14nm Tiger Lake CPUs. But the same chip also has AVX-256 which Intel has upgraded to AVX-512 on their new cores. So that actually raises two possibilities, either the Rocket Lake-S CPUs indeed feature a 14nm backport of a newer core architecture that Intel has introduced on Ice Lake / Tiger Lake CPUs, but with some features cut-off, or the Rocket Lake CPUs are just based on an existing 14nm architecture, but have Gen 12 GPUs on the same die connected by EMIB which allows them to mix and match various IPs on a single chip rather than off-die.

Also, previous rumors have hinted that Rocket Lake-S CPUs would feature up to 10 cores while the notebook lineup indeed mentioned support for discrete 14nm/10nm graphics (Gen 12). It will be interesting to see what Rocket Lake-S turns out to be but still relying on 14nm in 2021 wouldn’t be a great thing for Intel when their competitor would be offering a highly enhanced Zen 4 core based lineup based on an improved 7nm or even sub-7nm process node.

Since the official announcement, Vivo X30 has been gaining momentum especially since the official launch is nearing. The smartphone is expected to see its official unveiling next month i.e. December 2019. As you might know, the Chinese company has collaborated with Samsung to integrate the Exynos 980 chipset with 5G connectivity. So far, the device has been teased numerous times by the brand itself. It seems like the company is also planning to unveil its all-new UI dubbed JoviOS during the X30 launch event.

VIVO TO LAUNCH NEW SOFTWARE DUBBED JOVIOS NEXT MONTH

As per the recent teaser, the brand might launch its new software called JoviOS along with the Vivo X30 smartphone. It seems like the company is finally leaving behind its 5-year-old FunTouchOS. Ge Yanan, FunTouchOS Project Manager, recently shared the news on its Weibo account. At the time of writing this story, we don’t have much information on the new UI. Since Vivo is rebranding its UI, we should expect some massive redesign along with the addition of new features. We might see more information on the new UI coming forward in the coming days. Here is the design sketch of the logo of JoviOS till then.

Since Vivo will be announcing the new software during the launch of Vivo X30, we’re expecting the device to feature the new JoviOS operating system. If that happens, then the X30 lineup will be the first smartphone to run on the new platform.

In other related news, a new teaser image has appeared on the web which showcases the top of the upcoming Vivo X30 smartphone. The top features the 3.5mm headphone jack along with a microphone. The device will also come with a triple rear camera module along with a periscope sensor. The sensor will offer up to 60x hybrid zoom. Other specifications include AMOLED display, 90Hz refresh rate, Exynos 980 and up to 12GB RAM.

You can check which of your friends you send the most messages to, and track the exact number of texts you’ve sent.

WhatsApp has a hidden message counter built right into the app.

You can find the number of texts you’ve sent and received in a chat, and how many times you’ve shared locations.

It also shows how many photos, GIFs, videos, voice messages, documents and stickers have been sent – and the amount of storage space they’re taking up.

Finally, you can even see exactly how much storage space your chat with a person is clogging up overall. Maybe your pals are a bigger burden than you thought?

In any case, these figures can reveal who your true WhatsApp bestie really is.

But beware: you might find that you’ve sent tens of thousands of texts to someone, and realise you have a major WhatsApp addiction.

How to check WhatsApp message counter

First, open the WhatsApp app and click on the Settings tab.

Next, open the Data and Storage Usage panel, then click Storage Usage at the bottom.

Here you’ll be presented with a big list of your chats, ordered in terms of storage space taken up.

The people are the top of the list will be sucking up the most storage, and can take up significant amounts if you trade lots of pictures or videos.

To see how many texts you’ve sent with a person, click on any of the chats and you’ll get a breakdown of stats.

While Samsung has become dominant in using OLED technology on mobile displays — even Apple uses its screens for iPhones — in TVs, the big name in OLED is its competitor, LG. LG’s TVs have wowed testers with their ability to control light precisely because each pixel is self-illuminating, unlike the “QLED” branded quantum dot LCD tech Samsung relies on exclusively, which still puts LED backlights behind a filter.

That could change soon, however, as Samsung announced in October that it’s investing $11 billion by 2025 to build a plant capable of manufacturing true QLED TV screens that self-illuminate. It tried building TVs with the technology earlier this decade, like the 55-inch Super OLED screens shown above. But it opted out of further development, claiming burn-in is too much of a problem and saying the TVs would have a short lifespan.

Now two Samsung researchers, Dr. Eunjoo Jang and Dr. Yu-Ho Won have published a paper in Nature about new quantum dot LED technology that relies on indium phosphide instead of toxic cadmium, and has a lifetime of up to a million hours. Their improved shell design appears to increase efficiency by preventing oxidation and energy leaks.

For Samsung to make that big investment in building “QD-OLED” displays it must believe any issues are going to be resolved soon, it’s just a matter of when we’ll actually see new TVs on shelves.