iOS 13.5 is released. Why do you HAVE to upgrade ?

Finally iOS 13.5 update is here and are you thinking whether you need to update your iPhone? We think yes, it's worth the upgrade. This update from Apple is very COVID focused update. Didn't quite make sense? Let me ask you this question, in the recent times if you are frustrated when your phone doesn't unlock as Face ID couldn't recognize you because of the mask then you are not alone. I am sure these are times you might have missed that beloved touch ID more than ever before. Apple has addressed this issue in the latest release iOS 13.5. You ask how? They go by reducing the delay of showing the passcode screen if the Face ID doesn't recognize for any reason, not only that the latest update also lets you to enter PIN from the get-go making the whole process little less frustrating. Now moving on to serious stuff, after down pouring requests coming from across 22 countries in 5 continents Apple released an API embedded into this update which allow health agencies and app developers to develop contract tracing apps which can alert customers when one comes near a positive tested COVID patient. This feature is not enabled by default, but you can enable it by going on to Settings > Privacy > Health > COVID-19 Exposure Logging. This update let alone does not carry any such contact tracing apps but it allows app developers to use this framework and develop applications that can alert users if they are in close proximity to a positive  tested patient. Google is already making strides in developing applications along those lines but using their own Android OS. Apple stressed that the database to store whether or not a person is tested positive for COVID is done without harming customer's privacy at any cost. Apple and Google have already informed that these APIs are meant to help communities in these difficult time and have no interest to carry forward these features post pandemic. Last but not least, iOS 13.5 is added with another perk with respect to group Facetime. If you are the one not happy about seeing change in the size of tiles when new speaker is added to group Facetime then this update is for you, it prevents that tile resizing. I never had any problems with tile resizing as long as I see my friends and family in the call. So this one is subjective. I have already updated my iPhone to iOS 13.5 and it's holding pretty good in terms of switching from Face ID to traditional PIN mode if need be and Im happy with that. 

Source: Apple

Intel's 10th Gen Comet Lake (i9-10900K) !

Intel's brand new 10th Gen Comet Lake desktop processor has made their way into markets. It's no secret that Intel has plans from long time to come up with 10 Gen mainstream desktop CPU aimed with huge gaming specs. Now that it's out lets see the numbers that this desktop CPU has to offer.

Tech Specs:

Intel has jacked up i9-10900K to staggering 10 cores/ 20 threads, with processor clocking at base frequency of 3.7 GHz, shooting the frequency up to 5.3 GHz with the boost making it the most powerful gaming processor. With the processor running at such base clock frequency of puts lot of top-line processors to shame. Intel went by it's most successful and money making SkyLake architecture to build i9-10900K processor. This chip is equipped with Intel's new Thermo Velocity Boost (TVB) technology to keep the thermals under control at 70 C. Now the only number that matters to the most if not everyone is how much this bad boy costs? It's $488. Having such impeccable numbers is not just the end of story and it doesn't mean this chip can outrun all and/ or any other processors in the market. It also largely depends on mother board manufactures to full utilize the true potential of this chip (of course that's true with every chipset) or just disregard the Intel's specifications and go about under utilizing this monster. But all in all on the paper Intel's i9-10900K is most powerful processor desgined yet.

Source: Intel

Dell announces XPS 15 and XPS 17 2020

Finally it's official! Dell announced 15 inch and 17 inch XPS series laptops. They will be made available for purchase from May 13, 2020. Redesigned XPS 15 starts at a price point of $1300 and you can lay your hands on XPS 17 if you have $1500 (exclusive of taxes of course). Lets see what these two laptops have to offer.

XPS 15:

Looks like Dell finally heard what their customers want. XPS 15 was almost untouched without any major redesign from last 4 years. Now they have upped their game by adapting four sided razor thin bezels increasing screen to body ratio significantly compared to its predecessor, we are talking about 92.8% screen to body ratio looks almost magnificent border-less panel. XPS 15 comes with Infinity Edge display offering 16:10 aspect ratio. You have a choice of picking up the laptop with 4K resolution or FHD, both include top mounted 780p front facing camera. It's fair to say they pulled this off without disturbing aesthetics that signature XPS lineup offered till now which is pretty impressive. Starting at $1300 Dell XPS 15 is packed with some serious hardware as well. You can configure XPS 15 with up to 9th gen Intel's i9-10885 H processor, upgradable RAM from 8 GB to 64 GB, storage up to 2TB Pcie NVME SSD. Laptop comes with 2 USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, 1 USB-C 3.1 and an SD card reader. Unfortunately you don't get to see any USB-A ports this year on this laptop. Coming to graphics, users have an option to choose between Intel UHD integrated graphic or Nvdia GeForce 1650 Ti. Talking about battery there are two options, 86 watt hour battery and 56 watt hour. Dell says 86 watt hour battery can have your laptop running up to 25 hours with FHD+ configuration. We will have to wait and see on that. Overall that's broad range of options within "ok" price point in my opinion.

XPS 17:

This big boy is definitely in-charge of XPS 2020 lineup. But not many realize or does not know that this is the smallest 17 inch laptop in the market. You ask how! Remember the screen to body ratio that we were talking about with XPS 15, Dell went with the same form factor for XPS 17. It's astonishing to see that XPS 17 looks smaller than few other 15 inch laptops on the market. This one comes with similar screen specs as that of XPS 15 i.e. 16:10 aspect ratio and with an option of 4K res or FHD. If seen under the hood, you will be pretty happy to find upgradable RAM up to 64 GB and Pcie NVME storage of up to 2 TB. Starting at $1500 XPS 17 is jacked up in terms of graphics options. You can choose between rock solid Nvdia GeForce 1650 Ti-Max or monstrous RTX 2060. Another huge step up from it's smaller cousin XPS 15 is it has improved air-flow and custom vapor chamber to keep thermals of the laptop at check. XPS 17 houses 4 Thunderbolt USB-C 2 ports and an SD card reader.

 

Sony's concept EV

At CEC 2020 in Las Vegas, Sony unveiling it's vision-s concept electric vehicle is the biggest bummer (at least for me). Tesla/ Rivian fan boys don't you guys worry yet, Sony is far from stepping into auto industry but this feet is to draw attention or make a statement that they are heavily investing to make a break-through in automotive sensors. After knowing this, it's no surprise that they have deployed 33 of these sensors in their concept car with glittery ultra-wide-screen. Yeah I really mean it, it pans from east to west of the car occupying the entire stretch of the dashboard. Sony made clear about their ambitious plans of developing electric cars in all three three sizes i.e. Sedan, SUV and Coupe. At CES unveiling Sony revealed that the car is equipped with dual motor system weighing at 5180 pounds and it (Sony) claims that it's electric vehicle reaches 0 to 60 miles in 4.8 seconds and reaches top speeds up to 149-150 mph. But there are no details on battery capacity and range of the vehicle.

Sony's CEO Yoshida Kenichiro admits that they are open to inputs from other companies like Blackberry and Magna in designing the vehicle. It comes as no surprise from audio pioneer to showcase how they have implemented immersive 360 degree audio technology with each seat in the car equipped with a separate speaker. Similar to Tesla, Sony also made it clear that their EV is capable with over the air updates. To be honest, Sony has drawn so many eyes with this unexpected announcement but it is truly far from any other EV manufacturer in the space. Not to downplay Sony in this segment of the business, but it will be a long wait to see how fast they can catchup rest of the bunch.

Laptops under $1000

When picking up a new laptop it is not uncommon to be overwhelmed with almost endless number of options to choose from. The actual problem is not with so many options but rather with little to no clarity on what we exactly need. Still confused? Let me explain. A college going student doesn't need a fancy Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Ti GPU and Intel's octa-core processor with hyper-threading just to browse internet, complete assignments and stream Netflix occasionally. On the flip side of coin, a content creator/ professional gamer/ architect who would be doing CPU intensive jobs can take full advantage of latest quad core/ Octa core processors and high spec GPU if need be, for those spending that amount of money on a rig is not a waste because they do it for living. Don't worry when you come across fancy processor names and not-so meaningful CPU clock rates, I have been there and gone through it. I will keep this post as simple as possible to help you pick your new laptop. It makes much more sense to pay for what you intend to use rather than pay for something which you never use.

Asus Zenbook 13 UX333FA:

Price: Starting at $849

Pros:   Best overall laptop with amazing battery life, features microSD slot
Cons:  Cheap build quality, Dim screen, Keyboard with narrow travel distance (subjective)

Starting at $850, Zenbook 13 UX 333 features Intel i-5 8265U processor similar to Dell XPS 13. You get 1080p non-touch-display, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD, Intel UHD 650 GPU. Don't expect the build quality to be premium, its not too cheap and its not top notch either. Zenbook 13 weighs little heavier than its closest competitors in the category at 2.7 pounds. The bulkier chassis accommodates USB 3.1 port, USB type-A and type-C, along side HDMI 1.4 port. It also features microSD card slot along with headphone jack. Coming to the screen brightness at 225 nits, it's fair to say that Zenbook has disappointed with the other laptops in this category averaging the screen brightness at 321 nits. Talking about keyboard, the travel distance between keys are pretty narrow and the typing experience is not that great. One thing that blows Zenbook its competitors out of the water is its astounding battery life, from reliable sources we heard that laptop can stay alive for whopping ~13 hours, while the category averaging at ~8 hours. That's 10/10 for battery.



Photo source: asus.com


Dell G3 15:

Price: Ranging from $799 - $900

Pros: Best for gamers, flexibility in terms of CPU, GPU  and storage upgrades
Cons: Not for daily usage, not easily portable.

Now this is for gamers. Starting at $850 Dell G3 15 has a lot to offer in terms of GPU to satisfy gaming needs. It's not definitely for professional/ e-gamers but Dell G 3 15 coming with intel i5-9300H and Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650, 4GBDDR5  is much more than a daily laptop. I mean if 3-5 years back If I told that we'd be seeing a gaming laptop with this kind of specs at $850 price point you'd laugh your socks off. But here it is. I have to give this to Dell for nailing the look that straight up target Gamer audience. It's simple, bold and yet stylish. Looking at the brightness, its not brightest of the laptops in this price point, but to keep up with the combination of i5-9300 and GTX 1650 and have a decent battery performance that's the tradeoff i think most gamers are ok with. This bad boy comes at 15.6 inch FHD display with medium sized bezels. Weighing at 5.4 pounds (Yeah! it's heavy) Dell D 3 15 is still the second lightest in its category, Lenovo Legion Y545 occupying the first spot at 5.3 pounds. Left side of Dell G 3 15 houses USB 3.1 Type-A, USB Type-C, Ethernet, HDMI port and headphone jack. For $850 you will get 15.6 FHD display at 1920 X 1080 resolution, 128 GB M.2 PCIe NVME SSD, 1 TB 5400 rpm HDD, Bluetooth 4.1.





Photo source: dell.com


Acer Nitro 5:

Price: Staring from $750

Pros: Best for gamers, huge range of port selection, best thermal throttling performance
Cons: Not for daily usage, not easily portable.

Another entry level gaming laptop in this lineup is Nitro 5 from Acer. Acer Nitro 5 is equipped with 9th generation i5 processor and decent enough Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650, 8 GB DDR4 RAM, 512 GB PCIe, 128 GB SSD all starting from $750. This laptop features 15.6 inch display at 1920 X 1080 resolution weighing at 5.7 pounds. Acer Nitro 5 houses plenty of ports on either side of the laptop. Lets see what ports does this laptop has to offer, a Kensington lock, RJ45 Ethernet port, 2 USB Type-A ports, 1 USB Type-C port, USB 2.0 port and an audio jack. Wheww that's a lot! Acer claims that their laptop can survive 7 straight hours at a stretch. That's not bad for a laptop with i5-9550H processor along side GTX 1650. It's worth talking about thermal performance on this laptop. Acer did a pretty good job with deploying Nitro Sense fan cool app and dual fan ventilation cooling system which allows you to adjust the fan speed of your CPU and GPU as per the usage.


Photo source: acer.com


Asus Chromebook Flip 436:

Price: $799 and $999 (two variants)

Pros: Sleek design, Premium build quality, 1920 X 1080 resolution FHD display
Cons: Nothing, as the laptop has not flooded the market yet !

Asus unveiled new Chromebook Flip 436 in CES 2020 as the next version of Asus Chromebook Flip 434. But Flip 436 is not in the market yet, don't worry Asus announced that the Chromebook 436 is available for pre-orders on Amazon. Asus is releasing two variants of this Chromebook, the entry level starts at $799 and if you want to lay your hands on next variant keep $999 aside from your paycheck (exclusive of taxes). Let's dive little deep to see what specs this Chromebook from Asus has to offer and judge if it's bang for the buck. Not to disappoint you, but Asus has only outlined the specs for expensive version of laptop, which come with 14-inch full HD 1920 X 1080 display with Nano-Edge display frame and it's integrated with intel UHD graphic card. Talking about network connectivity the Chromebook comes with dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0. Gotta tell you that's impressive from connectivity side of things. As Chromebook is not meant for gaming don't expect more than an integrated intel GPU. Asus has absolutely nailed the design with magnesium alloy chassis which gives premium look and feel to the laptop. It comes with full-size backlit keyboard weighing at around 2.5 lbs. The cheaper variant comes with 10th gen i-7-10510U processor while the expensive version comes with i-5-10210U processor along with 16GB DDR3 RAM topping up with 512 GB NVME storage.




Photo source: cnet.com

What you need to know about Samsung's 2020 line up

Samsung came out all guns blazing with high end specs at Samsung Unpacked event 2020 in San Francisco with announcements of S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra.

Samsung S20:

As everyone expected Samsung has deployed Qualcomm's latest SD 865 across all of their flagship phones i.e. S 20, S 20+, S 20 Ultra (but not in Zflip, lets get into that detail later). Also let me mention the fact that depending on the region where you are purchasing these latest Samsung Phones you might as well get Samsung's very own Exynos instead of SD 865. Getting that fact out of the way, lets' see what S 20 has to offer for a $1000 price tag. Samsung S 20 supports 5G in one frequency band i.e. sub 6Hz. The phone comes with default 128 GB storage but expandable up to 1 TB. S 20 offers 6.2 inch display with Gorilla glass 6 featuring 120 Hz refresh rate that's a level up compared to 2019 Samsung's line up. Also Gorilla glass 6 is step up in terms of scratch, dust and impact resistance compared to its predecessors. But the screen resolution on S 20 is limited to 1080p, not to worry too much about as Samsung had bumped the touch response rate from 120 Hz to 240 Hz which means the screen's response time is twice as fast compared to 2019 Samsung phones. None of Samsung's 2020 flagship devices offer any headset jack, let that sink and expect this change going more mainstream across all the manufacturers. It comes with 4000 mAh battery with fast charging and wireless powershare.

Let's see the what hefty camera module is up to on this phone. S 20 boasts 12 MP ultra wide and wide angle camera lenses and telephoto camera offers up to 64 MP images. Space zoom on S 20 provides 3X hybrid optic zoom and 30X super resolution zoom. You can grab one in these colors Cosmic Gray, Cloud Pink and Cold Blue if you are ok shelling out 1000 bucks out of your pocket.

Samsung S 20+:

S 20 features 6.7 inch AMOLED display with super fast 120 Hz refresh rate. Also it's not different that S 20+ will come with SD 865/ Exynos 990 with 12 GB RAM. Unlike S 20 you get choose three different storage options with S 20+ between 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB and it comes with 4500 mAh battery. Huge bumpy camera module on the rear will provide 64 MP high resolution camera, 3X hybrid optic zoom and 30X super resolution zoom which is same as its sister S 20. You can get all these for $1200.

Samsung S 20 Ultra:

S 20 Ultra comes with all bells and whistles that i'm sure most of them will have hard time to digest and get used to. Now if we look at the numbers, this bad boy comes with quad camera module with 108 MP wide angle lens, 12 MP ultra wide angle lens, 48 MP telephoto lens with depth vision module. Front facing selfie lens offers more than enough 40 MP images which puts to shame few big names in the industry. Even the screen size is a big step up compared to S 20 and S 20+ with huge 6.9 inch along side supporting 45W fast charging. S 20 Ultra also supports mmWave along side sub 6Hz spectrum, meaning this bad boy is capable of supporting what 5G has to offer in two different frequency bands. What's the price you ask? Its $1399 for 128 GB, if you want to go for 512 GB be ready to put $1599 aside from your paycheck.

With these numbers in reality now Samsung is truly pushing it's competitors to GO BIG OR GO HOME. But what does these fancy numbers mean to a normal Joe? Should he care about this and put all his savings towards a mobile phone? Hell No. In my opinion S 20 is still best for most of us looking at specs it offers for $1000 price tag.

Let us know what you think? Which phone would you buy and why?

Tesla's Robotaxi

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk stated in company's Autonomy day that it expects to launch Robotaxi network as early as in 2020. Potentially this allows Tesla owners to add their properly equipped Tesla vehicles to ride-sharing app which allows users to make money whenever they don't need the car. But Tesla said it would take 20-30% cut of the owner's earnings (customers that make money through Tesla's ride sharing app). Still how cool is that to make money off of your car when you are relaxing/ at work/ sleeping. This makes a car no longer a depreciable asset but one can view as an investment (provided these claims go through as per the plan).

Musk estimated that owners can make as much as $3000 in gross profit every year by taking advantage of Tesla's ride sharing feature. He (Musk) also went on to say that there could be price hike on Tesla vehicle and suggested customers to grab the opportunity of buying right now before the price shoots up. As every time, Elon Musk promised that he'd expect to see 1 million Robotaxis to hit the road in 2020. Do you think Tesla can pull this off in 2020? Let us know what you think?