Mercedes EQS 450+ EV Goes Official In Malaysia For RM 699K

Mercedes-Benz has officially launched the fully-electric Mercedes EQS saloon in Malaysia today. It is the second EQ model to be made available here, just three months after the company marked the arrival of the fully-electric Mercedes EQ sub-brand in Malaysia by launching the EQA SUV.

Unlike EQA which was generally derived from the ICE-based GLA, the EQS was conceived using a modular architecture that is designed exclusively for luxury and executive-class electric vehicles. In fact, EQS is the first model that is based on the EV-specific platform.

Globally, the fully-electric saloon can be obtained in several variants but in Malaysia, it is only available in the form of EQS 450+ for the time being. Fully imported (CBU) from Germany, this particular variant has a rear-wheel drive setup and features a 245kW motor that can deliver around 333hp of power and maximum torque of 565Nm of torque alongside a top speed of 210 km/h.

Equipped with a 107.8kWh battery which provides the car with enough juice to travel between 631 km to 782 km according to WLTP standard, the EQS 450+ supports AC charging of up to 11kW while it is also capable of supporting DC chargers with a power rating of up to 200kW. When it comes to charging time, the car takes around 10 hours to reach from 10% to 100% when charged using an 11kW AC charger.

On the other hand, a 200kW DC charger can charge its battery from 10% to 80% within 31 minutes. The EQS 450+ relies on Type 2 / CCS2 combo port for charging and each owner will be provided with a 5m Type 2 charging cable.

As you can tell from the third letter in its name, EQS models are on the same level as per Mercedes S-Class line-up. This means that the EQS 450+ is part of the company’s top-of-the-line releases which is why the luxury saloon is filled with plenty of features inside and outside.

For example, the Malaysian-spec EQS 450+ comes standard with AMG Line exterior and body styling alongside 21-inch light-alloy AMG wheels. There are plenty of other items that were optional extras in other markets but made standard for the release in Malaysia such as the rear axle steering, the curved tri-display MBUX Hyperscreen, MBUX Augmented Reality Navigation, head-up display, THERMOTRONIC automatic climate control, and 15-speakers 710 watts Burmester surround sound system.

Driving Assistance Plus Package is also a standard for the Malaysian-spec EQS 450+ which covers safety technologies such as Active Distance Assists DISTRONIC, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Blind Spot Assist, 360-degree camera, Active Parking Assist, and DIGITAL LIGHT headlamps.

Given how S-Class models are also commonly used as chauffeur vehicles, things are no different with the EQS 450+ too. Aside from the luxurious interior all around which has draped in Nappa leather, rear passengers of the new EV are provided with their own infotainment displays and there is another detachable tablet that they can pull out from the centre armrest.

Naturally, the EQS 450+ comes with an OTR price tag to match at RM698,888. Covered by a 4-year unlimited mileage warranty in addition to a separate EV battery-specific 10-years 250,000km warranty, delivery is taking place immediately.

Intel Goes On Hiring Spree Of Game Developers For ARC Alchemist GPU

Intel appears to have jumped head-on into a hiring frenzy of late. The chipmaker has reportedly managed to fill four positions within the company, with each new member having a background in game development, in one form or another.

It should be noted that Intel’s new hires are being brought in to work on “gaming and graphics”, making it obvious that the company is recruiting hard for the development of its ARC Alchemist GPU. As mentioned, the list of individuals who have a gaming background but more specifically, they made their bones over at companies like Electronic Arts and AMD.

First of is Andre Bremer, who joins Intel as the Vice President (VP) and General Manager (GM) of Gaming and Graphics Workload Engineering, and previously worked EA, LucasArts, and Amazon. Next on the list is Michael Heilemman, who comes in as the Senior Director of Game Developer Tools and Technologies.

The third hire is Ritche Corpus, who now heads Intel’s Game Ecosystem Business Development and Developer Relations as Vice President and General manager. Prior to his latest appointment, Corpus was a member of the PC Gaming Alliance, working as its Treasurer.

Last on the list is Steve Bell, who joins Intel directly from AMD as the former’s new Senior Director of Gaming Developer Relations. Bell reportedly spent more than 13 years at AMD, working in exactly the same capacity as his current position.

Apple iMac M1 Now Available In Malaysia; Full Blown Specs Goes For RM 11,048

Following the arrival of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini with purple colourway as well as the M1-powered iPad Pro, here comes yet another new product from Apple’s Spring Loaded event into Malaysia. This time around, it is the all-new 2021 iMac which features not only an ultra-thin profile but is also equipped with the M1 chip.

As per previously released M1-based products, the variants available for the new iMac is generally based on the chip itself. For example, the M1 chip for the base model carries a 7-core GPU while the higher-end options come with 8-core GPU instead.

With a starting price of RM 5,599, the base model comes with 8GB unified memory, 256GB solid state drive, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse. It doesn’t come with Gigabit Ethernet as standard though, so customers need to fork out an additional RM 110 if they want this feature for their iMac.

On another hand, the price of the iMac M1 with an 8-core GPU starts at RM 6,449 which also includes 8GB memory, 256GB SSD, and Magic Mouse just like the base model with a 7-core GPU. However, it does come with extra features including two additional USB 3 ports as well as Gigabit Ethernet support and Magic Keyboard with Touch ID as standard.

If you’re curious on how much an iMac M1 with full specs would cost in Malaysia, that would be RM 11,048. For that price, it covers 16GB of memory, 2TB SSD, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Keyboard with Touch ID & Numeric Keypad.

Given the availability of the new iMac M1 through Apple Malaysia’s online store, expect it to pop up at local Apple Authorised Resellers very soon in case you prefer to take a look at the actual machine first before committing to it

Movement Control Order 3.0 Goes Nationwide From Now Until 7 June: Here Are The SOPs

 

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has announced that Malaysia is now placed under the Movement Control Order (MCO). These also include locations that were previously designated as Conditional MCO and Recovery MCO which include states such as Penang, Johor, Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka and others. 

In the announcement, he pointed out that the country is now facing the third wave of COVID-19 infections which could potentially cause a national crisis. This wave is also discovered to include newer strains of the coronavirus that also has a high rate of infection.

PM Muhyiddin stressed that the country has exceeded 4,000 cases as of 10 May 2021, with a total of 37,396 active cases and 1,700 reported deaths related to COVID-19. He noted that the major cause of the increased number of cases is attributed to various public gathering activities which have caused difficulties in maintaining social distancing practices.

In light of this, the National Security Council (MKN) have decided to take drastic measures by implementing MCO nationwide, with hopes to curb the further spreading of COVID-19 in the country.

For clarity, here are all the SOPs as stipulated by PM Muhyiddin in his announcement:  

• Interstate and interdistrict travel are not allowed. The exceptions being for emergency cases, or for health, work and economic related affairs, married couples who are located in different areas, or for vaccine appointments.

• Public social gatherings such as weddings, tahlil, dinner receptions, birthdays, and events are not allowed. This also applies to official events, face-to-face meetings, seminars and study courses.

• Marriage ceremonies are permitted but are required to adhere to the attendance restrictions and SOPs determined by JAIS for Muslims, and by the National Registration Department for non-Muslims. 
• All sports and recreational activities involving multiple individuals are prohibited. However, personal activities such as jogging, cycling and regular exercises in public areas are allowed – provided that social distancing is maintained.

• Educational institutions are required to close during MCO, but exceptions are given to students who will be sitting for international examinations. Meanwhile, daycare centres and kindergartens are allowed to operate with proper SOPs in place. 
• Personal transportation, taxis and e-hailing services are only allowed to carry three individuals, including the driver. Meanwhile, the individual capacity for freight vehicles, as well as those used for economical and industrial purposes, are determined by the limit described on their respective business licences. 
• As for public transportation, operators are required to maintain social distancing restrictions on their vehicles (LRT, MRT, buses) and also adhere to the SOPs that have been determined by the government.

• The economic sector is allowed to operate throughout the duration of MCO. 
• Dine-in at eateries is no longer allowed. Instead, the public is encouraged to rely on drive-thru, takeaways, and delivery approaches. 
• Workplaces are required to instruct employees to Work From Home (WFH), and to also maintain not more than 30% of management staff to be in the office at all times. 
• Open houses, house visits, and cemetery visits during Hari Raya Aidilfitri are not permitted. 
• Mosques and suraus with a capacity of supporting more than 1,000 individuals are only allowed to host 50 attendees for Aidilfitri prayers, whereas those that could only support less than 1,000 may only allow a total of 20 attendees. 
• Non-muslim places of worship will also see revised restrictions. These will be determined by the National Unity and Integration Department at a later date. 
• Specific measures that are implemented in the states of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as the Federal Territory of Labuan, will resume accordingly.

The restrictions on inter-district and interstate movements as well as on social, sports, and education activities are already in place starting from today until 6 June, following the announcement made by the Senior Minister for Defense, Ismail Sabri Yaakob on 8 May.

As for other restrictions, they will be enforced on 12 May instead and will last until 7 June. Please keep in mind that the ones listed above are just a small number from a larger list of SOPs that is likely going to be revised by MKN.

Currently, other possible changes such as operating hours for premises and services such as food delivery and so on are still not known. It is quite likely that the complete list of updated SOPs from MKN will be issued to the public by tomorrow morning or so.

On that note, we’ll definitely keep you posted for any updates.

Microsoft Goes From Submerging Servers To Flooding Them

Back in September last year, Microsoft announced that its underwater data centres experiment produced good results. Now, the company is taking its liquid cooling experiments even further. Rather than submerging its servers, the company is now flooding them.

Of course, Microsoft isn’t just dumping water into its server bath tub. Instead, it uses a special type of liquid which, according to The Verge, is fluorocarbon-based. And it boils at 50 degrees Celsius, half the rate of plain water. This low boiling point makes it evaporate up to the chilled lid of the server holding tank. This cooling process reverts the vapour back to liquid, which then flows back to the servers in a loop.

Microsoft says that it is the “first cloud provider that is running two-phase immersion cooling in a production environment”. But it’s not the first ones to have thought of the technique. Oddly enough, the inspiration came from cryptocurrency miners, who have done something similar for quite awhile.

At the end of its Project Natick underwater server experiment, Microsoft says that those servers had a one-eighth failure rate compared to normal servers. The company expects that this new liquid-cooled set will have a similar performance.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Fold Goes Official: Features The Company’s Own ISP and Liquid Lens Camera System

Still reeling from last night’s event which saw the launch of the expanded family members of Mi 11 Series that includes Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11 Pro, Mi 11i, Mi 11 Lite 5G, and Mi 11 Lite, the Day 2 of Xiaomi Mega Launch has several significant revelations in tow as well. In addition to announcing its entry into the electric vehicle market, the Chinese tech giant has also unveiled its first-ever foldable device, the Mi Mix Fold.

Xiaomi is positioning its foldable debutant as a flagship device and apt enough, it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor. Adopting a similar form factor as per Samsung Galaxy Fold, the Mi Mix Fold is equipped with an 8.01-inch 60Hz WQHD+ flexible OLED display on the inside while there is also a 6.5-inch 90Hz AMOLED display with 2520 x 840 resolution on the outside.

In order to ensure the phone’s reliability especially its U-shaped hinge design, the company claimed that the Mi Mix Fold has been subjected to extreme tests that involved up to 1 million bends. Supporting 5G and Wi-Fi 6, the phone offers up to 16GB of LPDDR5-3200 RAM and 512GB UFS 3.1 internal storage.

The launch of Mi Mix Fold also marked the arrival of the company’s Surge C1 ISP chip which apparently took two years to be developed. The new chip apparently provides an improved 3A algorithm and enhanced the phone’s low-light focusing capabilities which also improved its autofocus, exposure, and white balance that subsequently allows the Mi Mix Fold to deliver high-quality image output.

Not only that, Xiaomi has also claimed that Mi Mix Fold is the first device in the world to feature a rather interesting optics technology called Liquid Lens. Paired with an 8MP sensor, the company said that the lens is really made from transparent liquid and its curvature is being controlled using a high-precision motor that allows users to access telephoto capabilities from 3x optical zoom up to 30x maximum zoom.

Aside from that, the 8MP Liquid Lens camera can also act as a macro camera with a focusing distance as close as 3cm. Other than that, Xiaomi has also equipped the new Mi Mix Fold with a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor for its main camera and 13MP ultra-wide camera as well as a 20MP selfie camera.

Comes standard with a quad-speaker system that has been tuned by Harman Kardon and boosted by a 15V Smart PA amplifier, the Mi Mix Fold’s fingerprint reader is integrated into the phone’s side-mounted power button. Completing its basic specifications is a 5020mAh battery that can gain back its full capacity in just 37 minutes via a 67W wired fast charger.

The Mi Mix Fold’s international launch date is not yet known at the moment although it will be released in China in the middle of April with a price range of between CNY 9,999 (~RM 6,320) to CNY 12,999 (~RM 8,192). We will keep you posted if the new foldable is going to make its way to Malaysia, so stay tuned.

Tune Protect Cashless Medical Insurance Goes Live

With an eye on millennials, Tune Protect Malaysia just launched an online, cashless medical plan called PRO-Health Medical. It comes with an e-medical card for cashless admission at over 150 hospitals across Malaysia, and a zero-deductible feature, meaning that policyholders do not have to pay upfront before receiving treatment.

Like other medical insurance plans, PRO-Health Medical provides coverage for hospitalisation and surgical costs due to illness and accidents. But it also offers a year-long mental wellness program with Naluri for the first 1,000 customers and a lump-sum allowance for mosquito-borne diseases.

“The professional overall mental health and lifestyle coaching by Naluri is especially timely given the pressures of keeping up with the ‘new’ norm,” said William Foo, Tune Protect Malaysia CEO. Naluri is a digital platform that provides professional health and life coaching services.

Foo added, “If their goal is to lose that 3 kgs they gained while working from home, or to learn how to balance work-life pressures, our programme with Naluri will give them that added assurance and support.”

PRO-Health Medical has four plan types with Annual Limits ranging from RM30,000 to RM150,000. It’s available for Malaysians and non-Malaysians who legally reside in Malaysia, aged 18 to 45, and can be renewed up to the age of 65.

The online medical insurance can be purchased by downloading the Tune Protect app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. It can also be purchased from Tune Protect’s official website.