Gaming Chromebooks could launch soon to offer an alternative to Windows and Linux Gaming

According to a recent report, changes in the Chrome OS suggests that Gaming Chromebooks are coming soon. For the uninitiated, Chrome OS is a free and open-source operating system from Google. Most people primarily use it for basic tasks like document editing, surfing the web etc. However, Chrome OS is more than likely to get native Steam support in the near future. Not only that but you can also expect Gaming Chromebooks with dedicated GPUs to launch as well. 

Gaming Chromebooks To Feature Dedicated Graphics And RGB Keyboards

According to some recent changes in the Chrome OS code, it will soon have full support for RGB keyboards allowing for in-depth key customisation. A Chrome OS code suggests “*” as an upcoming brand of detachable keyboards for Chromebooks. The Chrome OS code also suggests two upcoming gaming Chromebooks namely - Vell and Taniks. 

Quanta computers based in Taiwan is most likely the candidate to manufacture Vell. Quanta’s employees recently developed products for HP and therefore an OMEN branded Gaming Chromebook could be on the cards. 

Meanwhile, LCFC electronics, the largest R&D and manufacturing base for Lenovo is probably developing the Taniks Gaming Chromebook. A recent report also suggested that Nvidia and Mediatek are working together to bring RTX graphics to Chromebooks. 

However, the most important announcement here is the Steam support for Google Chrome OS. At present, PC gaming is mostly limited to Windows OS with Linux gaming gaining popularity on small fringes. However, a natively running Steam app on Chrome OS could open the door for a lot of gamers to have a legitimate option other than WIndows. Considering how much time it took for Linux gaming to gain traction, I wouldn’t get my hopes up just yet for gaming on Chrome OS. Furthermore, Google is infamous for abandoning projects, what I mean is “none of your friends play on Stadia,” and they most likely never will. So keeping our hopes in check might be the best thing right now. 

from Laptops News https://bit.ly/3AKqFIk

Here are the best gaming deals to grab during the Amazon Grand Gaming Days sale

When it comes to deals and sale events, it’s always a tough one to separate the real deals from the ones that aren’t. The Amazon Grand Gaming Days surely do surprise us every time with a few very attractive deals. However, those deals don’t last for long, and hence all you gamers (and deal diggers), you surely don’t want to miss out on them. Here’s a list of the best gaming deals so far. We will keep updating this list and adding deals as and when we find them. 

The sale promises great deals on gaming laptops, desktops & monitors, headphones, gaming consoles, graphic cards, and TVs as well.  Some of the brands that are expected to come to the gaming party with offers are - Lenovo, Acer, ASUS, LG, HP, Sony, Dell, Corsair, Cosmic byte, JBL, and more. So, let’s get on with the best deals!

Best Gaming Laptop deal under Rs. 60,000: HP Victus Gaming (AMD Ryzen 5 5600H + Radeon RX 5500M)

This is surely one of the best budget gaming laptop deals out there. You get a six-core AMD Ryzen processor paired with the Radeon RX 5500M, which is most certainly better than the Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 GPU that is normally seen at sub 60K price points. What’s more, you get 512GB of SSD as well. Which is a better option than the usual 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD offered at sub 60K price points. We’ve tested this laptop and can assure you of actual gaming performance numbers across popular games. Here are the performance numbers below.

Full specs: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H 5th, AMD Radeon RX 5500M Graphics (4GB), 16.1-inch@60Hz display, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 10 Home, weight- 2.48kg.

Best deal on GeForce RTX 3060 laptop: ASUS TUF Dash F15

For Rs. 84,990, the Asus TUF Dash F15 is probably one of the cheapest laptops with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 under the hood. We must mention though, the TGP on this one is rather modest at 80W with a 5W boost option available when you push it to the limits, which is lower than the max potential that the GPU can achieve if fed with 130W of power. You will see about 15-20% lower performance than a full-blown RTX 3060. However, for the money, the Asus TUF Dash at 85k is a very sweet deal, especially for 1080P gaming at high settings, where you can extract 100+ FPS in most popular games and take advantage of the 144Hz display on this one. You also get 16GB of RAM and 512GB of NVMe PCIe 3.0 based storage with an additional M.2 Slot. The laptop is also fairly light, weighing approximately 2 kilograms, which is quite light and portable for a 15-inch gaming laptop. There’s another catch though, the Intel Core i5-11300H processor on this one kinda borders towards being just about adequate with 4 cores and 8 threads. The good part though is a very healthy base clock speed of 3.1 GHz (and turbo of 4.4 GHz). Full specs: Intel Core i5-11300H 11th Gen,  6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, Gaming, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 15.6-inch FHD display with 144Hz refresh rate, Windows 11 OS.

24-inch monitor with 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time under 14K: LG Ultragear 24GL650F

Most online stores are selling this popular gaming monitor at Rs. 14,500. So, at Rs. 13999, we surely think you are saving some cash here. Apply other applicable card discounts and you might be able to push the discount closer to 1K. About the monitor, well it sure is a very good buy for an entry-level (or even a budget mid-range) gaming PC. You get a decent screen size with a high refresh rate and a TN panel with a 1ms response time. The LG Ultragear is height adjustable, very much looks the part, and is well built too. The port selection is fairly wide and the placement is quite convenient as well.

Bang for the buck high-performance gaming mouse: Logitech G502 Hero

For Rs. 3800, the G502 from Logitech offers maximum performance/DPI per rupee (if ever there was such a ratio).  With the Hero 25K (25,000 DPI) sensor under the hood, adjustable weights, 11 programmable buttons, onboard memory, and the customary RGB support. The Logitech G502 leaves very little to complain about. Sure it’s not wireless but do you guys really dig a wireless gaming mouse for a desktop gaming PC? Especially when you need to decide between pure gaming-focused features versus the convenience of going wireless. Is it a tough choice?

 The deals and deal prices are as per the date of and time of publishing this story, they might change in terms of availability as well as pricing, depending on demand and stocks at Amazon’s end

from Laptops News https://bit.ly/3s1mDHl

Flipkart Electronic Sales: iPhone 12 available for INR 52,900

If you missed iPhone 12 deals in the Diwali festive season sales a few months back, now is another opportune moment. Both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini are available at attractive discounts as part of the ongoing Flipkart Electronics Sales.

The iPhone 12 64GB is retailing for INR 52,999 (as against the regular price of INR 65,999) and the iPhone 12 Mini is available for a discounted price of INR 41,999. Moreover, users can further avail attractive exchange offers and card discounts to further reduce the effective price!

Flipkart Electronics Sale 2022: Card offers 

Flipkart Electronic Sale 2022 will continue till January 31. As part of the sale, Flipkart is offering up to an 80 per cent discount on popular electronics and accessories as well as some lucrative exchange deals. Consumers can avail of an extra 10 per cent discount ( up to INR 1000) using Citi bank credit and debit cards, and an extra INR 500 off on Citi bank cards EMI transactions. 

Also Check: Apple enables Face ID with Mask and Universal Control in new Beta Updates

iPhone 12 Features and Specifications 

Although more than a year old, the iPhone 12 remains an attractive proposition for users willing to be a part of Apple’s ecosystem. The phone has a sturdy build with ceramic shield protective glass on the front and a chassis made from aerospace-grade aluminium. 

The biggest draw remains the powerful A14 Bionic chipset and promising camera performance. On the rear, the iPhone 12 consists of a primary 12MP camera and a 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera. On the front, there’s a 12MP selfie camera that can also record Dolby Vision HDR videos and should be particularly appealing to vloggers. Moreover, it can record 4K UHD videos at 60FPS with cinematic video stabilization while shooting in 4K, 1080p and 720p. 

The iPhone 12 features a large 6.1-inch AMOLED display (2532 x1170 pixels) which is also HDR certified.  The handset is IP68 rated which means the phone is water and dust resistant in up to 6 meters deep water for up to 30 minutes. The phone has a 2815 mAh battery and supports Qi wireless charging and fast charging.

from Laptops News https://bit.ly/33Wr4vh

WhatsApp beta version keeps crashing for some users, new fix out with latest 22248 update

It seems that WhatsApp’s new beta is crashing for some users. The new update was launched through the Google Play Beta Program. The latest version of the update is 2.22.4.6 and adds a few bug fixes and a few improvements but a few users are reporting that they are experiencing crashes on the platform. According to a report on WaBetaInfo, version 2.22.4.6 and 2.22.4.7 are experiencing crashes where the app will just stop functioning. This happens when users are trying to open the app or even when sending media, including images and videos. 

WhatsApp beta update crashing for some users

But fret not, as WhatsApp has just released version 2.22.4.8 which contains a fix for said problem. There was no mention of why the app crashes but there seems to be a fix for that. The report also goes on to give users a step by step set of instructions to try and alleviate the problem. Recommendations include transferring all your chat backups onto Google Drive before installing a version of the beta build. Or, users could also revert back to an older build just in case something goes wrong. 

In fact, we earlier reported that WhatsApp was working on a feature that will allow users to transfer voice chat histories from Android to iOS. The feature was first spotted on the WhatsApp 22.2.74 beta version for iOS. It also looks like the feature is still in its early stages as even beta testers do not have access to it. It was first spotted on the WhatsApp 22.2.74 beta version for iOS but has not been officially announced as yet. It also looks like the feature is still in its early stages as even beta testers do not have access to it. As of right now, users can move their chat history over from iOS to Samsung Devices. 

Also Read: WhatsApp could introduce new drawing tools for images and videos

from Apps News https://bit.ly/3rZwcqg

Apple iOS 153 and iPadOS 153 address a number of security vulnerabilities

Apple has patched a number of security flaws including a few that may have been ‘actively exploited’ with the release of iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 updates for its mobile devices.

The updates will roll out for iPhone 6s and later, all iPad Pro variants, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and the iPod touch (7th gen).

Important Vulnerabilities Fixed

The primary vulnerability is referred to as CVE-2022-22587. This is a memory corruption bug in IOMobileFrameBuffer (or FrameBuffer) which is a kernel extension that allows app developers to control the way their app handles the phone’s display. An app exploiting this vulnerability could execute malicious code with kernel privileges. 

Another notable vulnerability was a Webkit bug in Safari, referred to as CVE-2022-22594. This bug could allow any website using a specific JavaScript API to check on another tab that the user might have opened in Safari and thus track sensitive user information. The bug could also be exploited to track a user’s browsing history and Google Account information via Safari or any other third party browser. 

iOS 15.3 addresses a total of 10 vulnerabilities and issues related to gaining root privileges, iCloud exploits. 

The security updates come a week after Apple released a fix for a bug in iOS and iPadOS that could allow HomeKit to be exploited using Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. 

Should you update to iOS 15.3 or iPadOS 15.3?

Needless to say, this is an important update that addresses several privacy and security concerns. As always, the update will be pushed in a phased manner and you can go to Settings >> General >> Software update on your device to check if you have already received it

from Mobile Phones News https://ift.tt/3G86bKu

Apple Accused of Stifling Competition as Dozens of US States Back Fortnite-Maker Epic Games

Apple is stifling competition through its mobile app store, attorneys general for 34 US states and the District of Columbia said, as they appealed against a ruling that let the iPhone maker continue some restrictive practices.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/3ucZ7Kp

ASUS Expertbook B1400 Review: The Everyday Knight

The ASUS Expertbook B1400 is a thin and light laptop that has high versatility and a lot of features. It is very portable and has a solid build quality that can easily withstand daily wear and tear. The laptop also has a good selection of I/O ports, a decently capable processor, a great keyboard, and a lot more. However, the ASUS Expertbook B1400 does have a few chinks in its armour but they aren’t severe enough to stop it from getting our recommendation.

I am not fond of thin and light laptops. Their restricted footprint leaves little room for performance. However, I am proven wrong more often than not because such laptops continue to surprise me with their capabilities. By design, it is a kind of office laptop, but thanks to the latest revolution in CPU technology, these laptops are capable of a lot more. The ASUS Expertbook B1400 is one such capable laptop I recently tested and here’s my opinion on whether you should buy it or not.

ASUS Expertbook B1400 Review: Specs

Processor: Intel 11th Gen Core i5-1135G7 CPU 4-core 8-thread with 2.40GHz base frequency and 4.20GHz Max Turbo frequency Graphics Card: Intel Iris Xe graphics card running at 1.30GHz frequency Memory: 8GB DDR4 RAM Storage: 512GB SSD Display: 14-inch 1080p IPS LCD display Weight: 1.45kg 

ASUS Expertbook B1400 Review: Benchmark And Performance

The ASUS Expertbook B1400 is a thin and light laptop primarily designed for office use. In terms of performance, it has an Intel 11th Gen Core i5-1135G7 CPU featuring 4-cores and 8-threads. The CPU has a 28W TDP and also packs in the Intel Iris Xe discrete graphics chip. 

A thin and light laptop needs to be power efficient so that’s how I began the testing. The quad-core Intel CPU uses the most power during photo editing, gaming, rendering and visualisation. Under normal usage which includes opening and closing different applications, the CPU power usage remains at around 15W. However, during web browsing, it shoots up to 35W. In terms of the PC Mark 10 synthetic benchmark, the laptop scored 3545. Compared to some other Intel 11th Gen Core i5 powered laptops, here’s how the ASUS Exepertbook B1400 performed. 

As you can see it is almost in line with the other Core i5 laptops but lies on the lower to middle end of the spectrum when it comes to overall performance. I also ran the Cinebench R20 and R23 benchmarks to test the laptop’s CPU performance. Here’s how it performed to some other laptops in this price range. 

In real-life scenarios, the laptop handles all the basic tasks like photo editing in Vectr, video editing in Filmora and web browsing in Chrome very well. It does not lag and also comes with a dedicated high-performance mode. 

In terms of CPU thermal performance, the laptop managed to mostly stay between 75 to 45 °C while web browsing, running apps, editing documents and spreadsheets. The temperature did shoot up briefly during rendering and visualisation, a processing heavy workload. However, for the most part, the laptop remains relatively cool.

I tested some games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and it scored about 29 FPS. Meanwhile, titles like Valorant and Fornite ran easily at around 90 to 60 FPS respectively at low settings in 1080p resolution. In conclusion, the ASUS Expertbook B1400 performs well in daily productivity tasks and is also capable of some light gaming. 

ASUS Expertbook B1400 Review: Keyboard, Trackpad, and Speakers

The ASUS Expertbook B1400 has good build quality. It features an aluminium lid on top and a steel support bracket for the keyboard. The ASUS laptop has a solid hinge and its screen has minimal flex. The laptop's base which accommodates the keyboard also feels very sturdy and on its surface has a matte-absorbent coating, which makes typing on it for long hours very easy. With an overall weight of 1.45 kg, the laptop is quite portable and thanks to high build quality, can easily handle the wear and tear associated with daily travel. 

The Expertbook’s keyboard has a 1.5mm key travel. Several laptops come with 1mm of key travel and typing on them don’t feel as good. The 1.5mm key travel is ideal for most use cases making the Expertbook's keyboard worthy of praise. The ASUS laptop also has an ergo lift design that pushes the keyboard up thus making it easier to type. 

The trackpad on the other hand is also decent. The Expert Book B1400 laptop series also features an ASUS Numberpad 2.0, a secondary digital touchpad. However, my particular unit came with a normal trackpad and it works fine. The left-click on the trackpad is positioned slightly above the right click. Naturally, people use left click more than the right-click, so such a change feels welcome. However, it could just be a build quality anomaly and not an intended feature as the laptop spec sheet mentions no such thing.

ASUS has imbued the Expertbook B1400 with a webcam lid and fingerprint sensor over the power button. Both of them work as intended. The laptop also has an onboard mic with an AI noise-cancelling feature that filters background noise. I tested it and found that it lowered my voice’s volume as well. It did filter out a good chunk of background noise from the fan and AC at the apartment so it's a decent feature to have. 

The laptop has two downwards facing speaker vents and the audio is not good. I recently tested the Infinix INBook X1 and it had far superior speakers in this price range. Lastly, in terms of I/O, the ASUS Expertbook B1400 comes with USB Type-C with Display-out and power delivery support, Two USB 3.2 Type-A ports and one USB 2.0 Type-A port. The laptop also features a D-SUB port for connecting to external monitors in addition to USB Type-C. Furthermore, the laptop also has an HDMI out slot and an RJ-45 LAN port. 

ASUS Expertbook B1400 Review: Display Performance

The display is one area where the Expertbook B1400 laptop lets you down. It comes with a 14-inch 1080p display with just 232 nits of brightness. Ideally, the screen should have at least 300 nits brightness. 

The laptop’s screen has a 178° viewing angle but some portions of the screen, especially its top section, becomes darker when you view it sideways. The laptop's screen covers 64.7% sRGB and 47.7%DCI-P3 colour spectrum. However, some laptops at the Rs 50,000 to 60,000 price come equipped with a much higher specification display. During the Colorchecker analysis, I also found that the laptop's screen is not colour accurate.

ASUS Expertbook B1400 Review: Battery Life Performance

I tested the laptop's battery life two times. In the first test, I put the laptop in performance mode, the screen’s colour set to “vivid” and brightness to 100%. Naturally, the laptop managed a battery life of 4h and 21 minutes. 

In my second attempt, I put the laptop in balanced mode, changed the screen’s colour setting to “Normal” and reduced the brightness to 80%. Now, the laptop returned a battery life of 7h and 28 minutes. Therefore, I’d put this laptop’s battery life somewhere around 7 hours in real-world usage, which is pretty good. The laptop has a 45Wh battery which is a bit smaller than the 55Wh unit the Infinix INBook X1 comes with. 

ASUS Expertbook B1400 Review: In Conclusion

The ASUS Expertbook B1400 is a well-built laptop with decent performance and high portability. Its small size and high build quality make it a good daily driver and its impeccable keyboard makes working on it for hours a bliss. The laptop’s low-brightness screen is a letdown. However, its decent battery life, good I/O port selection and high build quality make up for it.

Personally, I’d connect an external monitor, a mouse and a keyboard to this laptop and use it as a work PC thanks to its great I/O port selection. The laptop has an approximate price of Rs 55,000 and for that it's a good choice for office work. You can also check out Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i or Acer Aspire 5 as some other viable options.

from Laptops Reviews https://ift.tt/3ADudfl