Alleged M1X MacBook Pro Confirmed In YouTube Tags; Reportedly Scrapped Before WWDC 2021

Prolific leakster Jon Prosser seems to have managed to unearth some information pertaining to an alleged “M1X” processor. First unearthed by Max Balzer, the YouTuber discovered that Apple’s own video of its keynote contained the tags “m1x MacBook Pro” and “m1x”.

While the tags went largely unnoticed, they clearly suggest that Apple had intended on announcing a new MacBook and M1 successor during the keynote, but decided to scrap it at the 11th hour. Having said that, the tags do corroborate rumours of an enhanced “X” variant of the M1 SoC instead of moving on to the M2.

As a quick primer, it was previously reported that Apple has redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros in its pipelines and that they would launch “as early as this summer.” The report suggested the return of the SD card slot, HDMI port, and the trip-friendly MagSafe charging connector. Rumoured improvements include twice as many high-performance CPU and GPU cores and support for up to 64GB of RAM.

Of course, it is also possible that Apple may have simply just added the tags as a means to boost its WWDC 2021 keynote, which is fair, albeit a little misleading.

Twitter’s Unannounced Premium Subscription Confirmed In Apple App Store

Rumours of Twitter planning to introduce a new paid subscription to its platform have been circulating around the web for quite some time. Now it appears that the social media company itself has confirmed this by unintentionally listing the price of its unannounced premium plan on Apple’s App Store.

The listing of the subscription – known as Twitter Blue – was spotted by leakster Jane Manchun Wong, who also first discovered the premium subscription’s existence by reverse engineering the platform’s code. It is revealed that the plan is priced at US$3 (~RM16.50) monthly and would offer paid users with a variety of “premium” features that are not found on free accounts.

According to Wong, Twitter Blue provides users the ability to add bookmarks to tweets, a Collections feature for save and organise posts, and a new “undo tweet” feature. Well, it looks like we’re finally getting the edit feature that we’ve been asking for throughout the years. Unfortunately for us, it’s locked behind a paywall – so back to complaining we go.

There’s also a chance that the US$3 monthly charge is part of a multi-tier subscription model that Twitter is offering to its users. Wong says that those who subscribe to higher-priced tiers could enjoy even more premium services such as clutter-free news reading experience, among other things.

Keep in mind that this info is still unconfirmed at this time, as the platform has yet to officially announce Twitter Blue. That being said, now that the premium subscription’s name and pricing is now listed on App Store, it is very likely that we’ll hear from Twitter regarding this sometime soon. 

On a related note, Facebook had previously hinted at introducing a premium-based subscription plan of its own in order to “cope” with Apple’s anti-tracking policy. Now that Twitter is seemingly spearheading paid plans to social media, it wouldn’t be surprising for Mark Zuckerberg’s social media platform to also follow suit soon after.

Intel 7nm Meteor Lake CPU Architecture Confirmed; Tape-In Begins Second Quarter 2021, Launch In 2023

Pat Gelsinger, CEO at Intel, announced the chipmaker’s next-generation CPU architecture, Meteor Lake, during yesterday’s livestream. The future lineup will be based on the same Intel 7nm CPU architecture that was initially reported as “broken” back in July last year.

As per the announcement, Meteor Lake will utilise the x86 architecture and tile design, as well as multiple manufacturing processors made from Intel’s Foveros packaging technology. On a side note, Meteor Lake will not be the only CPU to be based on the 7nm process node; on the datacentre spectrum, Intel’s “Granite Rapids” datacentre processors will also be based on the 7nm architecture.

As to when we can see Meteor Lake CPUs, Intel says that the earliest 7nm architecture will be made available to the masses is sometime in 2023, but the tape-in for it is set to be completed within the second quarter of this year. In the mean time, the chipmaker already has plans to launch Raptor Lake, its 13th generation CPU lineup and successor to the upcoming 12th generation Alder Lake lineup, before the arrival of what is clearly set to be its 14th generation of CPUs.

While details for Meteor Lake are scarce, we can at least draw upon certain expectations based on what is expected to the debut with Alder Lake; as per earlier reports, the new lineup is expected to be one of the first to support the PCIe 5.0 interface, as well as the upcoming DDR5 memory standard. Further, it is also the first CPU to truly be based on Intel’s 10nm Enhanced SuperFIN process node.

OnePlus Watch’s Design Officially Confirmed

OnePlus has confirmed the design of its first ever smartwatch that is scheduled to launch alongside its flagship smartphones, the OnePlus 9 series, on 23 March. Interestingly enough, rather than providing an official image of the device, the company instead retweeted a post by Unbox Therapy that claims to have an exclusive look at the upcoming smartwatch.

From the OnePlus-endorsed “leak”, the device is shown to sport a circular watch face that is reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active series, and features two buttons on its right side. Also implied in the image is an Always-On function, which enables the OnePlus Watch to continuously display certain features while using less energy.

As usual from teasers such as these, the brand did not provide any further information regarding the smartwatch’s specifications. However, a recent tweet by OnePlus CEO Pete Lau suggests that the device will come with some form of water resistance. He also shared other significant details regarding the watch on the brand’s official forum, revealing that it will operate on a proprietary software platform and would also feature smart controls that will seamlessly connect with other devices under OnePlus’ ecosystem.

Lastly, Lau noted that the OnePlus Watch will offer consumers a “best-in-class experience at an affordable price point”. We’ll see if the brand’s first ever smartwatch will live up to the claim once more information regarding its specifications and pricing is officially provided during the upcoming launch.

OnePlus 9 Series Launching On 23 March; Hasselblad Partnership Confirmed

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has announced via the brand’s official forums that the latest OnePlus 9 series will be launching on 23 March. Lau also confirmed that OnePlus has signed a three-year partnership with Swedish camera maker Hasselblad to co-develop the imaging system for the upcoming smartphones as well as its future flagship devices.

Hasselblad is known to manufacture medium format cameras for both photography and video production. As emphasised in the recent promotional material for the upcoming OnePlus 9 series, the camera maker’s biggest accomplishment is the use of its 500 EL Data Camera models in several NASA moon missions – producing iconic photographs such as “Earthrise” by US astronaut William Anders during the Apollo 8 moon orbiter mission, and “First Footprint on the Moon” by Buzz Aldrin during the historical Apollo 11 moon landing mission.

According to Lau, both OnePlus and Hasselblad have been working closely together to create a new colour solution known as Natural Color Calibration with Hasselblad, which will serve as a new standard for all future OnePlus smartphone camera systems – starting with the OnePlus 9 series. The CEO promises that the new joint-developed imaging system on the new flagships will produce images with higher quality, sharper detail, and accurate colours.

While three years does seem pretty short for a major partnership such as this, the duration makes sense in a business and development perspective. OnePlus isn’t particularly known for the photography performance of its smartphones, and Hasselblad’s first foray into the mobile scene with Motorola in 2017 wasn’t as groundbreaking as most would’ve hoped. Therefore, playing it safe with a three-year deal is sufficient for both companies in order to determine whether the results of their collaboration are deemed significant, let alone profitable. Of course, we can expect the partnership to be extended longer should this end up being a success.

In the same forum post, Lau also confirmed that the upcoming OnePlus 9 series’ cameras will feature a custom Sony IMX789 for the main sensor, 12-bit RAW support for stills, a panoramic camera with 140-degree FOV (field of view), and a freeform lens for its ultra-wide camera that eliminates edge distortion. Video-wise, the series is capable of recording 4K footage at 120 fps and 8K at 30 fps, and also better HDR videos via the Hasselblad Camera for Mobile solution.

Aside from featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, other specifications of the OnePlus 9 series are still kept under wraps at this time. Unofficial sources suggest that the flagships may come with a 6.55-inch display with 120Hz refresh rate, dual stereo speakers, and a 4,500mAh battery with fast charging support at 65W for wired and 40W wireless.

The company will reveal more details regarding the upcoming OnePlus 9 series and its partnership with Hasselblad via a virtual launch on 23 March at 10pm. The event will be streamed live through the company’s official website, as well as its social media channels.

OM Digital Solutions Will Retain Olympus Branding For Now; New Products Confirmed

Sometimes change is inevitable, and coping with it can be challenging for those who are affected. Understanding this, OM Digital Solutions CTO Setsuya Kataoka told Japanese news outlet Asahi that the company will retain using the Olympus brand for its products, despite the recent change of hands earlier this year.

Kataoka explains that he doesn’t want the abrupt change of branding to cause “anxiety” and confusion to fans. “At least for the time being, we will use ‘Olympus,’” he said. “However, is it better to move away from Olympus as an entity and continue to work under the name Olympus? I want to think about it.”

The CTO did not reveal how long OM Digital Solutions plans to retain on using the original branding before switching to its own.

The newly established company’s name itself is actually a clever tribute to Olympus’ popular OM-D cameras, which should work well with long time followers of the product. As pointed out by the company’s CEO (and former Olympus executive) Shigemi Sugimoto via its official website, the name “OM” is a homage to the Olympus Maitani system, which revolutionised the imaging business’ camera designs in 1972.

When asked regarding the split from Olympus, Kataoka explained that cost reduction and structural reforms were necessary for the camera business to survive, especially with the recent camera market decline. “If the camera market shrinks, we will make products simpler, deliver them, and sell them to our customers. In order to create a structure that can do that, it is better to be independent of Olympus and to be able to do various things with our own difference so that we can continue our business,” he added.

The CTO also revealed to Asahi that “more than one” Olympus-branded products will be unveiled by OM Digital Solutions, and would have “special features” that will excite fans. Kataoka hinted that these new devices are expected to launch by late 2021. “I can’t tell you when, but I’m working hard now,” he added.