ARM Announces New Immortalis Mobile GPU With Ray-Tracing Support

Arm recently announced its latest flagship GPU, the Immortalis-G715. The new mobile GPU is the first of its kind to implement hardware-based ray tracing for mobile.

The Immortalis-G715 signals ARM’s shift in bringing its products into the mainstream, in the same way that Sony and Microsoft brought ray-tracing to their respective consoles. Specs-wise, the new mobile GPU is built on top of Mali and designed to accommodate between 10 and 16-cores, with a promised performance boost of up to 15% over previous generation Mali GPUs. This is alongside double the architectural machine learning (ML) improvements. 

With the presence of hardware accelerated ray-tracing, Andy Craigen, director of Product Management at ARM. says that the Immortalis-G715 will use approximately 4% of power per the shader core area while delivering more than 300% performance improvement. The trade-off here is that the Immortalis can and will use significant power, energy, and area within the SoC it is attached to.

The company has not provided any more particular details on what devices the Immortalis-G715 will be featured in, but you may expect that the first phones that have them will arrive at the beginning of 2023. 

Moving on, Arm also announced the Mali-G715 and Mali-G615 as premium GPUs, which are aimed at devices with lesser pricing, but with fewer cores and no ray tracing support. The Mali-G615 has 6 cores or less while the Mali-G715 has 7 to 9 cores respectively, but unlike the Immortalis-G715, they will only have Variable Rate Shading that provides up to 40% on frames per second (FPS) and Execution Engine.

ARM also gave a glimpse of its roadmap, which said that it plans on following up Immortalis other flagship mobile GPU next year, codenamed “Titan”, while it plans on bringing “Krake” in 2024. The chipmaker did not indicate if it intends to extend the same hardware-based ray-tracing to the other two.

AMD Announces Partnership With MediaTek With Development Of RZ600 Series Wi-Fi 6E Modules

AMD and MediaTek recently confirmed their partnership with each other by announcing that they are currently developing a new series of Wi-Fi 6E modules, dubbed the RZ600 series. The new Wi-Fi modules are expected to appear in next-generation Ryzen-powered laptops, as well as desktop PC components, starting in 2022 and well into the future.

The RZ600 Series Wi-Fi 6E modules will comprise two models: the RZ616 and RZ608, and both modules will house MediaTek’s Fliogic 330P chipset. Specs-wise, both modules will support the latest Wi-Fi 6E 2×2 and the latest Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity standards. What sets the two apart lies in the supported channels: the RZ616 module will support the new 6GHz spectrum at 160MHz channel bandwidths, with PHY rates of up to 2.4Gbps. The RZ608 module, on the other hand, supports the 6GHz spectrum at bandwidths up to 80MHz, and just half the maximum PHY rate of the RZ616, at 1.2Gbps.

On top of that, the new RZ600 series modules are small and M.2-ready, with the RZ616 available in two sizes, 2230 and 1216, while the RZ608 is only available in the 2230 configuration.

We’ve mentioned in the past that this isn’t the first AMD and MediaTek have gotten into bed together. To that end, the RZ608 module has already been around for a while and was ultimately rebranded as the MediaTek MT7921K. On that note, it is possible that the RZ608 module being listed here is an updated version of the original that only supported Wi-Fi 6 and not Wi-Fi 6E.

Also, in the case of MediaTek, the semiconductor maker has been around the block with several other major technology brands, including NVIDIA and Google.

MediaTek Announces Flagship-Tier Dimensity 9000 Chipset For Mobile Devices

MediaTek is finally looking to close the gap with its rival Qualcomm, which have been dominating in the smartphone chipset market for quite some time now. Just recently unveiled is the company’s latest 5G SoC, the Dimensity 9000, that is specially designed to power flagship-tier Android mobile devices – something that the company has been sorely lacking for several years.

The MediaTek Dimensity 9000 also holds several other firsts to its name, including being the first chip to be built on TSMC’s 4nm process, alongside ARM’s new v9 architecture. The latter includes a single 3.05Ghz Cortex-X2, three 2.85GHz Cortex-A710 cores, four 1.8GHz Cortex-A510 efficiency cores, and a 10-core Mali-G710 GPU.

For AI processing, the chipset features the company’s latest fifth generation six-core APU, which is claimed to offer four times the performance and power efficiency compared to its predecessors. Also onboard is MediaTek’s new 18-bit Imagiq Gen 7, the world’s first ISP (image signalling processor) that can support image captures of up to 320MP and transferring data at 9 gigapixels per second. Video-wise, its encoder is capable of recording up to 8K resolution videos at 30fps, supports simultaneous 4K video recording on three different cameras, and features Super Night mode for low-light capture.

Connectivity-wise, the Dimensity 9000 offers an onboard 5G modem with 3GPP release 16 features, 3CC carrier aggregation (supporting up to 7Gbps downlink speeds), and MediaTek’s own PowerSave tech for improved battery life. Despite being based on the company’s first mmWave modem, the chipset only supports sub-6GHz 5G connectivity at this stage. It is also claimed to be the first to support Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E standard.

The company did not mention any upcoming smart devices which would be equipped with the  Dimensity 9000 SoC at this time. Nevertheless, it won’t be long until we see the announcements pop up from the usual industry players, especially with the new year closing in. It remains to be seen whether the new flagship MediaTek chip is on par or better in terms of performance when compared to its Snapdragon-branded rival.

ASUS Announces GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition; Available Starting Mid-October

ASUS has officially pulled the veil back on its latest graphics card, the GeForce RTX 3070 Noctua Edition. As per its namesake, this variation of the RTX 3070 was designed and made in collaboration with the Austrian cooling brand, Noctua.

The RTX 3070 Noctua Edition uses a dual-fan configuration and more importantly, the fans that are attached to the card are NF-A12x25 fans that have been fine-tuned to run with an ideal performance-to-noise ratio. Further, and in true Noctua fashion, the card’s aesthetics are painted in the brand’s iconic brown and off-white themes, while the cooler shroud itself helps them look like its case fans. Performance-wise, Noctua says that its fans will produce 10dB lower sound pressure level, compared to an ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 OC Edition.

The RTX 3070 Noctua Edition comes in two SKUs, an OC edition and non-OC edition. Specs-wise, the cards house 8GB GDDR6 graphics memory, 5888 CUDA Cores, two HDMI 2.1 ports, and three DIsplayPort 1.4a ports. What sets the two apart are their factory-set clocks: The OC Edition ships out with OC mode and Gaming mode boost clocks of 1845MHz and 1815MHz, respectively. While the non-OC edition’s clocks are rated at 1755MHz and 1725MHz.

ASUS says that the ASUS RTX 3070 Noctua Edition is slated for availability sometime in the middle of the month, but didn’t provide an exact date. On that note, the company also didn’t provide local pricing for the card.

Corsair Announces XENEON 32QHD165 Gaming Monitor

Corsair officially threw its lot into the gaming monitor ring with the launch of the XENEON 32QHD165. As its name suggests, the gaming monitor is a 32-inch monster and is designed to complement much of the brand’s software ecosystem.

Specs-wise, the XENEON uses a 32-inch IPS LED panel, with a maximum resolution of QHD (2560 x 1440). Additionally, it has a maximum refresh rate of 165Hz and a response time of less 3ms GTG, and a brightness level of 400 nits.

On that note, the XENEON is also VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified that, when activated, boosts the brightness levels up to 440 nits. To that end, the monitor’s colour accuracy is also rated at 98% DCI-P3 and 100% AdobeRGB.

Moving on, the monitor is equipped with AMD’s FreeSync Premium anti-tearing technology, but Corsair states that it also passes as an NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible monitor. Last but not least, the monitor is also designed to integrate seamlessly with Corsair’s own iCUE and Elgato Stream Deck softwares.

The Corsair XENEON 32QHD165 will be initially available in the markets of North America, UK, select European countries, Australia, and New Zealand. At the time of writing, Corsair did not mention local availability or pricing.

Sony Announces New WF-C500 Earbuds And WH-XB910N Headphones

Sony has introduced two new devices to its list of audio products, with the WF-C500 true wireless headphones and the WH-XV910N overhead wireless headphones. While the company refers to the former as such, the device is actually a pair of TWS earbuds. In order to avoid any confusion (especially between the two), we will be referring to the WF-C500 as earbuds from now on.

Let’s start with the Sony WF-C500. The new product is intended to be one of the brand’s more affordable offerings from its earbuds category. While it lacks advanced features such as active noise cancelling (ANC) and touch-based controls, the WF-C500 does come with AAC support, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, Android Fast Pair and Windows Swift Pair support, as well as IPX4 water resistance. As for colour options, Sony is offering the new device in orange, green, white, and black.

Under its hood are 5.8mm audio drivers with a frequency range of 20Hz to 20,000Hz, and DSEE audio enhancements. Typical of any current day earbuds, the WF-C500 also comes with microphones for your voice calling needs. Battery-wise, Sony claims that the device is able to last 10 hours of audio playback and five hours of communication time on a single charge. The included charging case provides it an additional 10 hours of usage, and will take two and a half hours of charging via USB-C to max out its capacity.

Next up is the WH-XB910N wireless overhead headphones. Part of Sony’s Extra Bass line-up, it is equipped with 40mm drivers with sound and digital noise cancelling technology, as well as DSEE enhancements. The new headphones can be used wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.2 or through a wired connection, thanks to its onboard 3.5mm jack and included cable. The WH-XB910N arrives in blue and black colour options.

Like Sony’s high-end WH-1000XM4 headphones, it also comes with touch-based controls on its right earcup for playback, volume adjustment, answering calls, and activating/deactivating the onboard noise cancelling. Also featured on the device is Ambient Mode that lets you hear your surroundings while listening to music or making calls, and then there’s Quick Attention Mode that picks up nearby voices or announcements.

The WH-XB910N is claimed to last up to 30 hours with noise cancelling on and 50 hours with the feature switched off. Charging-wise, Sony says it would take 3.5 hours for the headphones to get a full top-up via USB-C.

The new WF-C500 and WH-XB910N are priced at RM449 and RM799, respectively. As for their local availability, Sony says Malaysia will receive the earbuds on 18 October onwards, while the headphones are expected to arrive later in November.

DHL Express Malaysia Announces Average 4.9 Percent Price Increase

DHL Express Malaysia today has announced a price increase by an average rate of 4.9%, while surcharge for overweight pieces and non-stackable pallets will be adjusted to RM410 per piece and RM840 per pallet. These adjustments are slated to be made effective by January 2022.

According to the company‘s official statement, the change is part of its annual price adjustments, which takes into account inflation and currency dynamics. It added that this also includes administrative costs related to regulatory and security measures that are regularly updated by national and international authorities in over 220 countries and territories that DHL Express serves.

“The annual price adjustment enables us to further develop our infrastructure while allowing us to apply state-of-the-art technologies and individual delivery processes to ensure best-in-class customer solutions,” said DHL Express Malaysia & Brunei Country Manager Julian Neo. “In response to the increased demand for logistics expertise due to rising item volumes in the e-commerce market, we have invested heavily in the renewal of our aircraft fleet as well as our global hub and gateway network.”

According to a comment to Bernama, Neo detailed that the company will use this opportunity to upgrade its fleet with the latest aircraft and vehicles, as well as expand its hubs and gateways. This would enable it to increase its overall capacity, as demands for the fastest possible cross-border shipping continues to grow.

ASUS Announces ROG Strix Arion S500 Portable NVMe SSD

ASUS officially announced the ROG Strix Arion S500, the brand’s latest USB-C portable NVMe SSD. The product is the brand’s latest accessory, giving consumer yet another ultra-fast storage option.

Specs-wise, the Strix Arion S500 uses a USB-C 3.2 Gen2 port, capable of maintaining sequential transfer speeds of up to 1050MB/s, while the provided storage is an NVMe Gen3 M.2 SSD, with a capacity of 500GB. Further, the SSD itself uses a Phison controller.

Of course, one of the main selling points of the Arion S500 is its weight: unlike the conventional HDD, this portable storage is made from an aluminium alloy. On top of that, the cover also doubles as a heatsink for the SSD, complete with thermal pads for more efficient heat dissipation.

At the time of writing, ASUS did not specify when the ROG Strix Arion S500 will be available. However, the SSD is already up for pre-order on the brand’s official Lazada and Shopee store pages. Price-wise, the SRP is set at RM559.

Nikon Announces Slow Shipment For Z FC Cameras, Delays New 28mm Lens Indefinitely

Nikon has announced via its website that it has finalised the shipping timeline for its newly launched Z FC mirrorless camera. However, the company also revealed in the same statement that it does not have the supply to fulfil all pre-orders for the device at this time. It noted that it will do its “utmost to deliver the product as soon as possible”, but did not provide an expected time frame for future shipments.

“We have received a large number of reservations for the Z FC and Z FC 16-50 VR SL Lens Kits that exceeded our expectations,” Nikon wrote in the statement. “For some customers who are currently making reservations, it may take some time before the product is delivered. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers who are waiting for our products.”

While it may take some time for some customers to receive the retro-inspired Nikon mirrorless camera, the same cannot be said for those who’ve also pre-ordered the Z FC 28mm f/2.8 Special Edition Kit lens. In a separate statement issued on the same day, the Japanese camera maker also announced the lens’ original planned release in late July 2021 has been postponed, presumably indefinitely. Again, the company noted that the delay in parts supply is to blame, and promised to inform customers of a new release date for the product once it has been decided.

Aside from Nikon, the currently ongoing shortage of silicon supply around the world has caused numerous delays for other companies – affecting product development from different industries including automotive, smart devices, PC hardware, and even video game consoles. Semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC and Foxconn warned that the shortage could continue into 2022, with major brands including Sony and IBM also expressing similar concerns.

Nikon globally launched its new Z FC camera back in late June 2021. Although its Malaysian branch (via) did not officially announce its pricing, local stores retailers such as ShaShinKi and YL Camera have listed the pre-order price for the retro-inspired mirrorless camera at RM4,488 (body only).

Samsung Announces ISOCELL JN1 Sensor; Reducing Pixel Sizes Even Further

Following the GN2 sensor announced in February, Samsung has now announced the new ISOCELL JN1 image sensor. As with its prior sensors, this one is for the smartphone camera. And it may result in smaller camera bumps in newer phones.

With the new ISOCELL JN1, Samsung has reduced the size of a single pixel down to 0.64 micrometres. Smaller pixels may, as mentioned, mean smaller camera modules on phones. That, or it will allow for other camera modules like telephoto or ultrawide cameras without making the camera bump bigger. This versatility will allow these supplementary cameras to have the same high resolution as the main camera.

But you might think that smaller pixels would reduce image quality, especially where brightness and exposure is concerned. And you’d be right. But Samsung says that this is compensated by the ISOCELL 2.0 tech itself, which enhances light sensitivity. Of course, the new ISOCELL JN1 will also make use of pixel binning tech, which Samsung calls Tetrapixel, which merges four pixels to work as one.

Samsung says that the ISOCELL JN1 is the first of an upcoming new lineup of 0.64 micrometre sensors. It’s also already in mass production. So you can see phones using one as soon as in the second half of the year.

Sharp Announces Aquos R6 Flagship Smartphone; Features Leica-Enhanced Camera

Sharp has recently announced its latest flagship smartphone for the Japanese market with the new Aquos R6. To everyone’s surprise, the phone comes with an imaging system co-developed by Leica – making Sharp the second company to feature the renowned German camera manufacturer’s branding and technology on smartphones besides Huawei.

Unique to the Aquos R6 is its display, which is a curved 6.67-inch Pro IGZO OLED screen. It features a WUXGA+ resolution of 2730 x 1260 pixels, a dynamic refresh rate between 1Hz and 240Hz. The phone’s display also comes with an under-display fingerprint sensor, and a tiny top-centered punch-hole cutout for its 12MP selfie camera.

Being a flagship-tier smartphone, Sharp’s latest device is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, paired with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS3.1 internal storage. Powering the phone is a large 5,000mAh battery with fast charging support via USB-C, although the brand did not specify its exact wattage.

While other manufacturers are keeping up with the trend of featuring multiple cameras on their smartphones, Sharp decided to do the complete opposite. Instead, the new Aquos R6 features a single camera which comes with a large 1-inch 20MP sensor and a f/1.9 Leica Summicron wide lens with a focal length equivalent of 19mm. Also featured in the central camera housing is a Time of Flight (ToF) sensor and a flash module. Below are the images claimed to be taken by the phone’s camera for your reference.

For more sample images, Sharp has set up a virtual gallery on its official website to showcase the Aquos R6’s photography capabilities. You may visit it via this link.

The new Sharp Aquos R6 will be available in Black and White colour options, and is slated to go on sale in Japan by mid June. The company has yet to reveal the price of its new smartphone, and to confirm if it will be shipped globally after its official launch in the country.

Samsung Announces 43-Inch And 24-Inch Smart Monitors

Samsung announced its Smart Monitors back in November, and brought them to our shores in December. Now, the company has announced additional sizes for them, on both the larger and smaller ends.

Starting on the larger end, Samsung has announced a 43-inch M7 Smart Monitor. Like the existing 32-inch model, this comes in UHD resolution, with support for HDR10. The company did not detail what else it has. That being said, it’s probably safe to say that it has the same features as its smaller counterpart.

It’s much the same story with the new size for the Samsung M5 Smart Monitor. Previously coming in at 27- and 32-inch models, the company has announced the addition of a 24-inch model. For its specs, the company only mentions a Full HD resolution. But since it’s of a smaller size, it’s also likely that it will be available at a lower price point.

Speaking of price, Samsung did not include the prices of the two new Smart Monitors in its announcement. But for context, the current 32-inch M7 launched with a price of RM1999. The 27- and 32- inch M5 models, on the other hand, launched with price tags of RM1299 and RM1099 respectively.

Marvell Announces PCIe 5.0 SSD Controller With Up To 14GB/s Transfer Speeds

Marvell recently announced the Bravera SC5, a PCIe 5.0 SSD controller which the brand boldly claims to be an industry first. To state the obvious, the controller is designed to support the yet unreleased PCIe 5.0 interface, as well as NVMe 1.4b.

Regarding NVMe 1.4b, the new transfer interface is said to have double the performance of current PCIe 4.0 SSDs. By that claim, the Bravera SC5 could achieve average sequential read and write speeds of 14GB/s. To break it down further, that’s about 4GB/s per lane, and up to 128GB/s in an x16 configuration.

As exciting as this may sound, Marvell says that the Bravera SC5 won’t be made available to the average consumers. Instead, the company is aiming its new controller towards data centres that wish to future-proof their systems with breakneck speeds and scalability in storage. Oh, and also applications with ultra-low latencies in real-time applications.

So far, Marvell is offering two variants of its new PCIe 5.0 controller, an 8-channel model and a 16-channel model. As mentioned earlier, both have maximum sequential read speeds of 14GB/s, while their sequential write speeds are capped at 9GB/s. In addition, both variants have random read and write speeds of up to two million IOPs and one million IOPs, respectively.

Kingston Announces New NV1 NVMe SSD; Starts From RM269

Kingston officially announced its latest SSD entry today, the NV1. The brand’s latest product is an NVMe Gen 3 SSD, designed and catered towards the entry-level market segment.

Specs-wise, the NV1 features relatively lower sequential read and write speeds at 2100MB/s and 1700MB/s, respectively and made for the PCIe 3.0 interface. In addition, this new M.2 2280 NVMe SSD is available in three storage configuration: 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. Regardless of capacity, all three SKUs will run at the established speeds out of the box.

As we said, while those speeds aren’t as blindingly fast as other PCIe 3.0 SSDs, Kingston isn’t targeting the NV1 towards consumers that demand high-speed and high-performance. Rather, the brand says that its new SSD would better suited for laptops or small form factor PC; provided that the motherboard of the latter is adequately equipped with the necessary M.2 slot and supports the PCIe 3.0.

At the very least. Likewise, Kingston has hinted at the NV1 being utilized as an external storage unit, provided that one has the appropriate enclosure.

The Kingston NV1 is available starting today in Malaysia, with prices starting at RM269 for 500GB, RM489 for 1TB, and RM 939 for the 2TB version. All three models come with a limited 3-year warranty.

realme Announces Watch S Master Edition; To Be Available On 8 May For RM429

Over the weekend, realme Malaysia announced a wide range of products which it puts under its AIoT umbrella. Among them is the realme Watch S Master Edition.

Despite the name, the realme Watch S Master Edition is a special edition version of the base Watch S. You are paying a RM60 premium for the special look, but beyond that, it is effectively the very same smartwatch. So you can expect features like heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, a well as Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.

In addition to the special edition Watch S, realme Malaysia also announced the Watch 2. This comes with a 1.4-inch display, which has a 30Hz refresh rate. And it has a 315mAh battery, which the company claims can keep it alive for up to 12 days. It also has, as the company claims, 90 sports modes. And to better fit the outdoors, it has an IP68 rating.

The realme Watch S Master Edition and Watch 2 are priced at RM429 and RM229, respectively. The former will be made available on 8 May, but the company did not say when it will be making the latter available.

In addition to these watches, realme Malaysia also announced the Buds Air 2 Neo, and the Buds Q2. Their prices are RM169 and RM129, respectively, with release dates of 5 May and 11 May. Adding to the list of products announced is the Cobble Bluetooth speaker and Motion Activated Night Light. Both are priced at RM99 and will be available on 5 May.

Keeping the strangest item for last, we have the realme alkaline batteries. These come in packs of 10, with AAA batteries costing RM24, and AA being priced at RM29. No availability dates for these yet.