The little-known iPhone trick that allows you to take a screenshot without clicking a single button

iPhone users have just discovered a ‘mind-blowing’ trick to save time when taking a screenshot.

The little-known hack involves changing the settings to allow screen grabs to be taken quickly by simply double tapping the back of the phone. 

But the setting is only available on iPhone X and above with iOS 14.

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The feature was revealed on both Facebook and TikTok where thousands raved about the new find. 

To activate the feature, click on ‘accessibility’ in settings followed by ‘touch’ before turning on the ‘back tap’ button.

Once the double or triple tap has been selected, click on the ‘screenshot’ option to complete the activation.

While the setting may seem beneficial, some iPhone users weren’t convinced. 

‘It’s all fun and games until you accidentally take 50 screenshots in one day,’ one person said on Facebook. 

‘I had it on and it’s that sensitive that it took a screenshot randomly,’ another said. 

iPhone users have also discovered other distinctive features to make the most out of the device, including how to sign documents on the go, how to swipe and delete the last digit in the calculator as well as a built-in tape measure.

iPhone tricks that will enable you to get the most out of your device

Spotlight math: Instead of using the Calculator app, simply swipe down on your screen to open Spotlight and type in the math problem right there

Reachability: If you double touch, (not tap), the home button twice, it brings the entire screen down. By bringing the screen down, it allows your fingers can touch manoeuvre the phone without reaching

Say goodbye to pop-ups: The iPhone allows you to disable in-app pop-ups for ratings and reviews and frustrating feedback requests. It’s as easy as one two three: Settings, iTunes and App Store, turn off In-App Ratings and Reviews – that’s all

Best tablets 2020: our guide for all budgets

As the UK heads towards the holiday season, being able to easily entertain ourselves, read the news, play games and – more importantly than ever – video call our loved ones means having the right tablet can make a real difference.

Unlike most laptops, tablets have fairly good video cameras, support apps and make it simple to fire up that Zoom call. Here are the best available across a range of budgets.

Amazon Fire HD 8

Amazon’s Fire tablets are low-cost media consumption machines that get the job done without breaking the bank. They start at only £50 with the Fire 7 but my pick is the larger, better Fire HD 8 costing £90.

It has an 8in HD screen and stereo speakers for watching video. The processor is fast enough for basic things and light gaming, while the 32GB of storage can be augmented with a microSD card.

It runs Amazon’s Fire OS, which is Android but only has the Amazon App Store, not Google Play, so while most media apps and games are there, none of the Google apps are available. You need an Amazon Prime account to really make the best of the tablet.

Battery life is a solid nine hours of video playback. Charging with the included power adapter takes ages and is best done overnight but the tablet does support faster charging via USB-C.

The 720p webcam is a bit weak but is good enough for video calling in bright light over Skype or similar.

Verdict

If you want a cheap tablet for watching video, the Fire machines are great.

Apple iPad (8th generation)

The best tablet for most people is the standard 8th-generation Apple iPad.

It retains the old design with large bezels and the traditional Touch ID home button but the 10.2in screen is crisp, clear and bright, while the recycled aluminium body is attractive and durable.

Apple’s App Store has essentially every app for video, productivity or chat services. Note there’s no WhatsApp tablet app, and Fortnite is not available.

Video calling is great with a decent camera. Performance is very good compared with most rivals and the battery lasts nine-plus hours of video watching, with the tablet taking three hours to fully charge via the Lightning port.

It supports the £89 Apple Pencil for drawing and handwriting or various keyboard cases for use as a surrogate laptop. You’ll get at least five years of software updates, too.

Verdict

The best value general-purpose tablet.

Microsoft Surface Go 2

The Surface Go 2, starting at £399 (the keyboard is £99 extra), has a great 10.5in screen, stereo speakers and a low-power processor that gets the job done.

It runs Windows 10 for traditional desktop apps including Google Chrome. Some media apps such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are available but most services can be watched in the browser.

It has an excellent kickstand in the back, plus a good webcam and decent mics for video calling. Battery life is about five hours. There’s a USB-C port for connecting accessories, including monitors and printers. Windows Hello face recognition logs you into Windows in a flash.

If you need a bigger screen or faster performance the £799 and up Surface Pro 7 is a better workhorse capable of fully replacing a laptop. Check for deals that bundle the keyboard too.

Verdict

An excellent Windows 10 tablet PC that won’t break the bank.

Apple iPad Air 2020

Apple’s latest tablet is one of its very best. The new iPad Air inherits the stunning modern design of the more expensive iPad Pro, with slim bezels around a gorgeous 10.9in screen, flat sides and a recycled aluminium body.

It has a great set of stereo speakers, good mics, a good webcam and a Touch ID fingerprint scanner built into the power button for unlocking the tablet. It runs iPadOS 14 with the App Store and a mountain of software, plus will get updates for at least five years from release.

The A14 processor has class-leading performance for photo editing, gaming and productivity. The battery lasts for almost 10 hours of video and charges in 2.5 hours via the USB-C port to which you can connect a range of universal accessories, too.

The iPad Air also supports the £119 2nd-gen Apple Pencil and a range of smart accessories, including the £299 Magic Keyboard if you want to turn it into a luxurious tablet-laptop hybrid – cheaper keyboards from Logitech and others are available.

If you need a bigger screen for work, the 2020 12.9in iPad Pro is tremendous but very pricey at £969. Look for deals on the 2019 model if going that route.

Verdict

Not cheap but it is the all-rounder that will beat any tablet in its class.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

The best Android tablet, which, with its 12.4in display, has a screen that rivals TVs let alone other tablets.

It has four Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers for watching video, a good webcam and decent mics for video calls, the top Android processor for games, and battery life in excess of 10 hours. It comes with a fab stylus in the box and can be run in a mode that mimics a desktop PC with multiple windows open at once.

The Tab S7+ has the Google Play Store, including all major media apps, games and productivity apps.

Verdict

A fantastic screen and great speakers but a pricey option that is bettered by Apple’s iPad Pro for productivity.

HP EliteBook x360 1030 G7 Convertible Review: A Spectre Dragonfly Hybrid

The EliteBook x360 1030 G7 is HP’s latest high-end ultra-thin business subnotebook positioned to be above the more affordable EliteBook 830 or ProBook families. It is, in many ways, the gray version of the more visually ravishing HP Elite Dragonfly. Nonetheless, the EliteBook x360 1030 G7 introduces several changes both inside and out to make it better than both the outgoing EliteBook x360 1030 G4 and first generation Dragonfly.

SKUs are plentiful ranging from the 10th gen Core i5-10210U up to the Core i7-10810U CPU with vPro, FHD to 4K UHD AMOLED touchscreen, 8 GB to 32 GB of LPDDR4-2933 RAM, and up to 2 TB of storage with optional Optane 3D Xpoint. All configurations come with Comet Lake-U CPUs, Gorilla Glass, and integrated UHD Graphics 620. Our specific test unit is a mid-range SKU with the Core i7-10810U CPU, FHD display, and 16 GB of RAM for approximately $2400 USD.

Competitors to the EliteBook x360 1030 G7 include the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga, Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, Asus ZenBook S Flip, and other ultra-thin subnotebooks designed for office use.

Case

If you’ve held an EliteBook in the past, then you already have a good idea of how the EliteBook x360 1030 G7 looks and feels. HP’s design philosophy for the EliteBook series hasn’t changed for a sense of consistency between generations. The aluminum-magnesium skeleton may be getting smaller and lighter, but it still feels rigid with only a bit of flexing and creaking when twisting its sides. Larger and heavier business clamshells like the Dell Latitude 7400 feel sturdier.

The easiest way to distinguish the EliteBook x360 1030 G7 from the x360 1030 G4 is by looking at the rear corners and bottom “chin” bezel. HP has incorporated the “diamond-cut” visual design of the Spectre series while reducing the thickness of the bottom bezel even further to trim down overall volume.

The narrower bottom bezel has cut 11 mm off the length of the chassis. Consequently, the newer system is also lighter by about 100 grams (1.3 kg vs. 1.2 kg). The gen-to-gen changes may sound minor, but they’re certainly tangible especially when traveling or on-the-go where every gram and millimeter counts. Note that thickness hasn’t changed from the last generation model.

Connectivity

Port options and positioning are slightly different from the x360 1030 G4. HP has added a second USB-A port while the DriveLock port is now along the left edge. Note that there is still no SD card reader as HP is encouraging owners to use its QuickDrop software instead. QuickDrop allows a direct Wi-Fi connection between the PC and smartphone for much faster file transfers than Bluetooth, but users who rely on camera SD cards will still be out of luck.

Communication

Built-in wired and wireless communication modules, alternative solutions available (UMTS)?, Irregularities (radio reception)?

Security

This generation introduces HP Presence Aware on top of the usual fingerprint reader, webcam shutter, DriveLock, and HP Client security features. Presence Aware can detect when a user is nearby by up to a few feet in front of the laptop to automatically put the laptop to sleep if nobody is around. Conversely, it can also automatically login when combined with Windows Hello should it detect a nearby user. It is essentially HP’s version of Dell ExpressSign-In as found on sound high-end Latitude systems albeit with a wider field-of-view in front of the laptop (60 degrees vs. 40 degrees)

Maintenance

The bottom panel is secured by six accessible T5 Torx screws for easy servicing. Though RAM and WLAN are soldered, the WWAN module and M.2 SSD are removable.

Accessories and Warranty

The packaging includes a USB-C to USB-A cable and an HP L04729-003 active pen. The pen attaches to the left edge of the laptop magnetically, but we prefer to just put it in our pocket as it feels much more secure that way.

A one-year limited warranty comes standard instead of the three-year timeframe that we’ve come to expect from high-end business systems.

Input Devices

Keyboard

Keyboard size and feedback remain the same as on the EliteBook x360 1030 G4 which is a good thing because we found the laptop to be more comfortable for typing than the softer keys on the Asus ZenBook Flip and most other Ultrabooks. Instead, the bigger changes relate to the secondary functions on the first row of keys. The video conferencing and calendar keys on the last generation model in particular have now been replaced with a camera shutter toggle, airplane mode toggle, and a customizable programmable key. Such functions are arguably more versatile.

Touchpad

Clickpad size has changed ever so slightly from the x360 1030 G4 (11.6 x 6.3 cm vs. 11.1 x 6.5 cm). Its surface is completely smooth and with almost no sticking even if gliding at very slow speeds in contrast to most other laptops. A little bit of sticking would have been preferable for more accurate dragging and dropping, but that is merely a personal taste.

Meanwhile, the integrated mouse clicks are relatively soft in both feedback and clatter with shallow travel overall. Stronger feedback would have made clicking easier and more ergonomic. We definitely miss the TrackPoint and dedicated mouse buttons on traditional business laptops like the EliteBook 840 G5, but we can understand their omission here on a convertible designed for touchscreen use.

Display

Our EliteBook x360 1030 G7 uses a Chi Mei panel as opposed to the InfoVision panel on the older EliteBook x360 1030 G4. However, HWiNFO is unable to identify the exact panel name here other than the Chi Mei CMN13A9 controller. Our specific configuration comes with the base 400-nit 1080p panel which is already better than most subnotebook displays in terms of contrast and sharpness. Response times remain somewhat slow for noticeable ghosting, though this isn’t an issue for most office workloads

Color space covers >95 percent of sRGB while the pricier 4K UHD AMOLED configuration is expected to offer deeper colors covering all of AdobeRGB. We’re just glad to not see any cheap panels even on the entry-level configurations.

X-Rite colorimeter measurements reveal a decently calibrated display out of the box. Gamma, however, could be better as it’s unusually low. Calibrating the panel ourselves would improve colors and grayscale noticeably from average DeltaE values of 4.39 and 3.9 to 1.65 and 1.9, respectively. 

Outdoor visibility is average due to the glossy Gorilla Glass overlay. Luckily, HP offers 1000-nit display options which should improve visibility dramatically albeit at the cost of higher power consumption. All 1000-nit SKUs at the moment come with Sure View meaning you can’t have one without the other. Business subnotebooks from Dell or Lenovo have yet to carry such options. 

Performance

HP is sticking with the 10th gen Intel Comet Lake-U series at the moment due its support for vPro in contrast to the newer 11th gen Tiger Lake options. Users won’t be seeing any Iris Plus or Iris Xe graphics options here as a result. It’s too bad that there is no “EliteBook x360 1035” series with AMD options as that would have boosted graphics performance.

RAM is soldered meaning users must choose their configurations carefully. Our system was set to HP Optimized prior to running any performance benchmarks below.

Processor

CPU performance is faster than expected for short benchmarks while scores are a bit lower for longer benchmarks due to the short-lived Turbo Boost performance of the laptop. CineBench R20 xT, for example, is within 10 percent of the average Core i7-10810U in our database while shorter benchmarks like GeekBench or 7-Zip show favor our HP slightly more. Nonetheless, raw multi-thread performance is only slightly faster than the Core i7-1065G7 and even slower than the cheaper Ryzen 5 4500U in the HP ProBook x360 435 G7.

See our dedicated page on the Core i7-10810U for more technical information and benchmark comparisons.

System Performance

PCMark benchmarks are where we expect them to be relative to other Comet Lake-U systems. Core i7 Ice Lake and Tiger Lake systems like the XPS 13 and ZenBook Flip S are able to edge out the HP likely due to the faster RAM and integrated Iris GPUs.

We experienced no software or hardware issues during our time with the test unit. HP Presence Aware is enabled by default, but this can be easily toggled through the software.

DPC Latency

LatencyMon shows DPC latency issues when opening multiples tabs on our homepage. 4K UHD playback is otherwise smooth and with no dropped frames during our minute-long YouTube test.

Storage Devices

Our configuration comes equipped with the Samsung PM981a which is one of the fastest PCIe 3 NVMe SSDs available for consumers. Drives from Toshiba and Western Digital tend to be cheaper, but they are also slower as well.

See our table of HDDs and SSDs for more benchmark comparisons.

GPU Performance

Graphics performance is the same integrated UHD Graphics 620 that we’ve been familiar with for nearly half a decade. The GPU has become outdated especially in the face of newer Radeon RX or Iris Xe solutions, but this shouldn’t be a huge issue for the target audience of light office users. HP has yet to offer higher graphics options for its EliteBook convertible subnotebooks.

Emissions

System Noise

The fans range from being silent at 28.1 dB(A) up to 31.3 dB(A) when running undemanding loads. Such low levels are essentially inaudible in a typical office or conference room. Higher loads equivalent to gaming will boost fan noise up to 35 or 37 dB(A) which is not uncommon on Ultrabooks with no dedicated graphics. Fan noise is slightly higher-pitched than we would like since the individual fans are so small in diameter.

Temperature

Surface temperatures are never uncomfortable as the hot spot is close to the rear where skin and hands are unlikely to touch. A specific area of the keyboard can become as warm as 37 C when running extreme loads compared to 43 C on the 2020 Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga.

Stress Test

HP EliteBook subnotebooks typically can’t maintain very high clock rates when under stress and our Prime95 stress test proves it. Clock rates and temperature would boost to 3.1 GHz and 100 C, respectively, for just the first few seconds before quickly dropping to the 2.0 to 2.1 GHz range in order to maintain a cooler core temperature of 76 C as shown by our screenshots below.

Running on batteries will impact CPU performance slightly. A 3DMark 11 test on battery power would return Physics and Graphics scores of 8173 and 1893 points, respectively, compared to 8534 and 1942 points when on mains.

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Idling on desktop demands between 1.5 W and 10 W depending on the power profile and brightness setting to be slightly more power efficient than than what we recorded on the older x360 1030 G4 model. We’re able to record a temporary maximum draw of 68.9 W from the small (~8.8 x 5.3 x 2 cm) 65 W CA adapter when running Prime95 which is similar to many other Ultrabooks powered by Ice Lake or Comet Lake-U CPUs. Note that the Tiger Lake-powered Asus ZenBook Flip S is able to offer 150 percent faster GPU performance without necessarily drawing more power.

Battery Life

Though battery capacity hasn’t really changed from the older Whiskey Lake-U-powered EliteBook x360 1030 G4, WLAN runtimes are still about an hour longer on the newer G7 model for a total runtime of almost 10.5 hours. Charging from empty to full capacity takes about 1.5 hours.

Verdict

The HP EliteBook x360 1030 G7 is a tough convertible to beat. It’s got 4G LTE, proximity sensor, and 1000-nit panel options that most competing alternatives don’t offer. Its long list of features is impressive considering the small form factor involved. When compared to the outgoing EliteBook x360 1030 G4, the G7 is a worthy step up.

The main drawbacks to the HP convertible are the limited graphics performance, spongy clickpad, and high starting price. Owners will be stuck with the outdated UHD Graphics 620 while the clickpad is nowhere near as easy to use as the touchpad on the EliteBook 845. Be prepared to pay close to $2000 USD or more even for the least expensive Core i5 configuration. We understand that processor performance has never been a key selling point for any EliteBook convertible, but this is getting tough to ignore when even a Ryzen 5 4500U can outperform the best Comet Lake-U Core i7 option available on this $2000 system.

Where will HP go from here? We predict that future models might make the jump to 16:10, incorporate eSIM, wireless charging, or upgrade to Thunderbolt 4 via Intel’s 11th gen Core platform. But until then, this is easily one of our favorite 13.3-inch convertibles for both office and travel.

Microsoft plans to update your Windows 10 computer whether you like it or not

If you haven’t hit the update button on your Windows 10 PC in a while then you might find Microsoft will soon be doing it for you. It seems the Redmond firm can’t wait any longer for some users to switch to its very latest operating system and that means some users will soon be upgraded whether they like it or not.

Those affected by this automatic upgrade will be anyone who is still using Windows 10 version 1903 on their PCs with this ageing software no longer being supported by Microsoft from next month.

According to Windows Latest, Microsoft has now started informing users of the change and the news that they will be force upgrading computers without need any permissions.

This news shouldn’t come as a shock with Microsoft announcing earlier this year that it would be ending support for Windows 10 version 1903 on December 8 2020.

In a post on its website, the US tech giant said: “Windows 10, version 1903 will reach the end of service on December 8, 2020.”

This applies to the following editions of Windows 10 released in May of 2019:

• Windows 10 Home, version 1903

• Windows 10 Pro, version 1903

• Windows 10 Pro Education, version 1903

• Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, version 1903

• Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1903

• Windows 10 Education, version 1903

• Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, version 1903

“These editions will no longer receive security updates after December 8, 2020,” the firm added.

Although some Windows 10 updates have famously caused issues for users – with some seeing broken printers and the dreaded Blue Screen of Death – it’s still a good idea to keep you PC up to date with all the latest releases from Microsoft.

By regularly hitting the upgrade button your devices should be kept free of any cyber threats and you’ll get the latest features.

As the firm explains, “In Windows 10, you decide when and how to get the latest updates to keep your device running smoothly and securely. When you update, you’ll get the latest fixes and security improvements, helping your device run efficiently and stay protected.”

To stay up to date, select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Windows Update, and then select Check for updates.

If a feature update is available for your device, it will appear separately on the Windows Update page. To install it, select Download and install now.

Intel begins rollout of the first Wi-Fi 6E adapters for faster connectivity

I haven’t even owned my Wi-Fi 6 router for a full year yet and already there is a (slightly) newer wireless standard that is inching into the marketplace. That would be Wi-Fi 6E and, well, that’s the way it goes—technology never sits still. In this case, Intel is standing ready with its AX210, the first Wi-Fi 6E adapter.

This is not a proper launch (no press release, no big announcement), and there might not be one until early next year. In the meantime, a marketplace seller on Newegg is selling and shipping the adapter from China (via Tom’s Hardware) for $33. Intel has also apparently registered its Wi-Fi 6E adapter with the Eurasian Economic Commission, a popular landing spot for products that are getting ready to launch.

So, what is Wi-Fi 6E? It is sort of an extension of Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), as it supports the same features and technologies, including OFDMA, which is what makes it so great for crowded networks. But in addition to serving up connectivity over the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, Wi-Fi 6E adds a 6GHz band.

“6GHz addresses Wi-Fi spectrum shortage by providing contiguous spectrum blocks to accommodate 14 additional 80MHz channels and 7 additional 160MHz channels which are needed for high-bandwidth applications that require faster data throughput such as high-definition video streaming and virtual reality. Wi-Fi 6E devices will leverage wider channels and additional capacity to deliver greater network performance and support more Wi-Fi users at once, even in very dense and congested environments,” the Wi-Fi Alliance stated in January.

Incidentally, both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E have a theoretical maximum throughput of 9.6Gbps across multiple channels, so the latter is not inherently faster. But the advantage of Wi-Fi 6E is the added spectrum. By jettisoning some connections to the 6GHz band, the result is a less crowded network, which in turn could lead to faster speeds for your devices. It’s sort of like adding another lane on the highway, to help with rush hour traffic.

The very big caveat to this is the consumer hardware. As of this moment, there is not a single laptop, smartphone, or other device that supports Wi-Fi 6E. That is where Intel’s new adapter comes into play, as it can be installed in a laptop to support the latest wireless standard.

However, you also need a Wi-Fi 6E router in order to use the 6GHz band. I’m only aware of one existing model at the moment—the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE 11000, introduced in September, and which has not been released to retail yet.

Even then, it’s of little benefit right now, because Wi-Fi 6E devices simply do not exist. Your Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) will still connect to it just fine, but the advantage of the 6GHz band will go unused for the time being.

This is the same caveat that applies to Wi-Fi 6—to take full advantage of the standard, you need a Wi-Fi 6 router and several Wi-Fi 6 devices, which are starting to become more common. So if you just purchased a Wi-Fi 6 router, don’t feel like you made a huge mistake. It will take some time for Wi-Fi 6E to make a dent in the marketplace, by which time you might be ready for a new router anyway.

Vivo X60 and X60 Pro mistaken for the Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro in hands-on image

The Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro are already hotly anticipated, but the photo above is not of them. Seemingly first published on Weibo by the likes of DigitalChatStation, outlets like Gizchina asserted that the photo is of Xiaomi’s next flagships, which are reputedly due early next year. To the credit of DigitalChatStation, they did not explicitly state that we were looking at the Mi 11 series.

Instead, they merely hinted that the devices pictured would be announced by the end of the year. As a second photo demonstrates, the devices pictured are running OriginOS, the custom version of Android produced by Vivo. OriginOS is believed to be replacing FuntouchOS and may be coming to older devices like the Neo3 and iQOO Pro 3, among others.

According to another Weibo leaker cited by Sparrows News, the photos are of the Vivo X60 series, which will be Vivo’s next flagship smartphones. It would seem that the X60 and X60 Pro have been pictured, with the latter being the larger of the two devices shown. The X60 Pro is believed to feature Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon 875, although with a 6.65-inch OLED screen that has a 120 Hz display. By contrast, the regular edition will supposedly have an Exynos 1080 instead, for some reason. It is unknown when Vivo will announce the X60 series, but it will be before the end of the year, according to DigitalChatStation.

Samsung’s revolutionary SSD behaves like a (powerful) PC – and you’ll never guess why

The first virtual edition of FMS 2020 (Flash Memory Summit, not Football Manager) is well underway and the first announcements are already trickling through, with Samsung’s intriguing new enterprise SSD snatching the spotlight.

Meet the SmartSSD, which Samsung Semiconductor refers to as a Computational Storage Drive (CSD).

It is designed to “accelerate a variety of applications including database management, video processing, artificial intelligence layers, and virtualization”. In other words, like the coprocessors of yesteryear and the GPU of today, the CPU can offload specific tasks to this very useful sidekick.

Samsung used Xilinx FPGA to achieve what it calls the first adaptable computational storage platform. Xilinx was acquired a few weeks ago by AMD, one of the largest CPU vendors in the world. Ironically, therefore, a surge in demand for CSD’s could potentially have an impact on the sales of AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon processors.

Among the use cases put forward by Samsung are “search-in-storage”, with some processes seeing a 100x improvement in speed, while transparent compression technology enabled one provider to cram up to 10x more bytes into the storage.

Other scenarios include time-to-insight in big data analytics, video file transcoding and data encryption solutions.

The drive itself is a standard 2.5-inch SSD with a 25-watt power envelope and a 4TB native capacity – or up to 12TB using accelerated transparent compression. That’s a 3:1 compression ratio, which is slightly more than the industry standard of 2.5:1 adopted by the Linear Tape Open (LTO) organization.

New M1 MacBook Air smokes Core i9 16-inch MacBook Pro in Geekbench

Yes, you read that headline correctly: according to a new listing in the Geekbench 5 database, the M1 MacBook Air absolutely destroys the Core i9 16-inch MacBook Pro in both single- and multi-core tests. 

The scores apparently come from the MacBook Air 10,1. According to the Geekbench post, this MacBook Air runs macOS 11.0.1 and uses an “Apple Silicon” processor. The laptop posted an impressive 1687 and 7433 in the single- and multi-core tests, respectively.

Comparatively, the top-of-the-line 16-inch MacBook Pro with a Core i9-9880H performs about 35% worse in Geekbench 5’s single-core test and about 15% worse in the multi-core test. Average scores for the Core i9 16-inch MacBook Pro hover around 1100 for single-core and 6000-6500 for multi-core. 

This is quite the performance gap, especially considering this MacBook Air looks like the baseline model with 8 GB of RAM. Also, keep in mind that the M1 MacBook Air is fanless, suggesting that the new M1 13-inch MacBook Pro will perform significantly better than the best MacBook Pros currently on the market. The M1 MacBook Pro has active cooling, which should allow for longer sustained load operation.

The Geekbench post also shed some light on an M1 specification many have asked about: clock speed. According to the listing, the M1 has a base clock of 3.2 GHz. The Core i9-9880H, for comparison, has a base clock of 2.3 GHz. 

If this listing is legitimate, Apple has worked wonders with the M1 chip. That kind of performance in a passively cooled system with a TDP of 10 Watts is incredible, especially compared to an 8 core/16 thread 45 Watt monster like the Core i9-9880H. 

Apple’s statement that the M1 is the fastest CPU in the world may have been more than marketing fluff after all.

Microsoft releases Windows 10 Build 20257 with loads of important fixes

Insiders in the Dev Channel can look forward to test driving exciting new features in Windows 10 before anyone else. However, not every new build that gets rolled out can be a show stopper.

Sometimes, instead of exciting additions, what you get from a new flight is a bunch of fixes, which is the case in new Build 20257.

Changes and Improvements in this release include:

Based on feedback, Microsoft is updating its Start menu tile theming logic such that the tile background for Win32 apps will no longer adjust based on detected contrast ratio, except in the case of pinned Microsoft Edge PWAs.

Fixes include:

Fixed an issue starting with Build 20236 where installing games from the Store to a secondary non-OS drive would result in the secondary drive becoming inaccessible.

Fixed an issue causing some devices to experience a DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION bugcheck in recent builds.

Fixed an issue resulting in some apps crashing on launch in the previous flight, including Microsoft Jigsaw and Microsoft Minesweeper.

Fixed an issue resulting in File Explorer having a transparent line across the top when maximized on systems with multiple monitors.

Fixed an issue resulting in win32 app titles being unexpectedly highlighted in the title bar after enabling and disabling high contrast.

Fixed an issue where the windows.old folder is not completely deleted when performing disk cleanup.

Fixed an issue where if you reset your PC then and re-connected your MSA, then your MSA picture might never sync down.

Fixed an issue impacting Windows Hello Face recognition if the device was trained in a different orientation than the orientation used at unlock time.

Fixed an issue where setting up a kiosk (assigned access) account wouldn’t work the first time you tried, only subsequent tries.

Fixed a deadlock that could result in unexpected CPU usage. If you continue experiencing other performance issues, please take a moment to file feedback including details about the issue you’re seeing, and a performance trace. More info about collecting a repro trace is available here if needed.

Fixed an issue resulting in recently some apps being slower to accept keystrokes into text fields.

Fixed an issue that could result in links from apps failing to launch the browser.

Fixed an issue from the last couple flights that could result in audio playback unexpectedly stopping.

Fixed an issue that could result in not hearing audio after streaming certain content then turning your Bluetooth headset off and back on.

Fixed an issue that could result in Movies & TV failing to play some recorded HDR videos with error 0x80004001.

Known issues are:

Microsoft is looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.

Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. Microsoft is continuing to work on polishing this experience.

Microsoft is working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.

Microsoft is investigating reports that some users are seeing error 0x80070426 when using their Microsoft account to sign into various apps. If you encounter it, rebooting your PC may resolve this.

Microsoft is investigating an issue where, after taking this build, no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks in the classic Disk Management tool.

Microsoft is investigating reports that some screens incorrectly have black text on dark backgrounds when dark theme is enabled.

Intel Launches Its First Wi-Fi 6E-Capable Wireless Card

Intel has launched its first WiFi 6E-capable M.2 wireless card, the Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210. As of writing, we’re only seeing it shipping from China. It comes in a M.2 2230 form factor and supports both the 802.11ac and 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6 & Wi-Fi 6E) protocols. If you have a laptop or desktop motherboard with an M.2 WiFi module, this M.2 card will fit right in.

Of course, the real beauty of this card is its ability to run the new WiFi 6E standard. The Federal Communications Commission passed this upgrade to WiFi 6 just this year. WiFi 6E devices to operate on the 6 GHz band, rather than just the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. This will provide users a massive boost in bandwidth and speed. 

Beware though, you need to have a WiFi 6E-capable router, such as the new Asus ROG Rapture, said to be the world’s first Wi-Fi 6E-capable router.