Microsoft Surface Pro 8 Leak Suggests 120Hz Display, Thunderbolt Ports

Microsoft has an announcement event coming up this week, which likely has to do with its Surface line of products. One of the products to get a reveal may be a Surface Pro 8, which has recently been leaked. And there’s more than just a pinch of detail here.

Twitter user @Shadow_Leak shared an image of the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 that looks to be from a Chinese retailer. And there’s a fair amount of info to gleam from it. Chief among which are the 13-inch display with 120Hz refresh rate, and the fact that it will have Thunderbolt ports. The tweet itself goes on to say that there will be two of these.

Other details include the inclusion of Windows 11, which is to be expected, an 11th gen Intel Core processor, and replaceable SSDs. This is a feature we saw with the Surface Laptop 4 which was made available on our shores in May. It’s an impressive feature to have, judging from the thinness of the Microsoft Surface Pro 8.

Naturally, none of this are confirmed just yet. But it won’t be long before we know for sure, since the scheduled announcement event by Microsoft is due in just a couple of days.

USB-C Ports Can Be Made To Behave Differently Depending On Plug Orientation

The USB-C is widely seen as the thing that saves us from having to flip cables around when plugging them in. And for the most part, it has been that way. But as it turns out, their ports can be made to behave differently depending on the orientation of the cable plug.

That’s exactly what mechanical engineer Pim de Groot shared on Twitter. And in the process, he explains why this is possible. The basic idea is that, while the USB-C 2.0 port has a symmetrical shape, the wiring inside the plug isn’t. Not exactly, anyway. Crucially, the D+ and D- contacts is not mirrored when the other contacts are.

With two microcontrollers, de Groot makes it so that a USB-C port reacts differently depending on which side of the port gets the D+ and D- connections. It’s probably one-of-a-kind, but it shows that it still matters which way you plug the cable in. Which kind of defeats one of the convenient purposed of the USB-C.

This will likely remain among the things that are good to know, but you’ll never need to apply such knowledge. Though it may have killed some of the appreciation and respect we may have had for the USB-C.

Nintendo Switch Gets A List Of New Games And Ports

The recent Nintendo Direct was quite the substantial one, being over 50 minutes long. There were a fair number of games being announced, including a few Nintendo Switch exclusives and ports.

Project Triangle Strategy

One of the highlights from the Nintendo Direct is Project Triangle Strategy by Square Enix. It’s a working title, but it’s a tactical RPG reminiscent of games like XCOM and Fire Emblem. Graphics wise, it has gone for the Octopath Traveler kind of retro style.

The game is set to be released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch in 2022. That being said, the company said that a free demo is now available on the eShop.

Splatoon 3

Another title that’s coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2022 is Splatoon 3. Nothing much was revealed about the game, besides the year of release. Though the trailer does reveal a new badlands type of locale, as opposed to the more vibrant Inkopolis in previous games.

The trailer also shows a character customisation menu and a new bow-type weapon. As mentioned, the game will only be out in 2022, so Nintendo will likely have more to reveal in the interim.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Nintendo is also remastering The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Switch. The remaster pushes the game’s framerates up to 60fps, and you can also make use of Joy-Con motion controls to play it.

This will be available on 16 July 2021, but pre-orders for it are already open. A special pair of Joy-Cons featuring prints from the game will also be made available on the same date. Though no pricing has been announced for either.

Neon White

Moving on to things that are not Nintendo Switch exclusives, we have Neon White. Made by Ben Esposito and published by Annapurna Interactive, it tells the story of an assassin from Hell, sent to deal with a demon invasion in Heaven. And you compete with others like you for a chance to stay in Heaven indefinitely.

The gameplay trailer shows a mix of cards and first-person shooter, the cards turn into limited use weapons that you use to dispatch foes. It’s an interesting twist, which makes it fortunate that the game isn’t locked to the Nintendo Switch. It will also be made available on Steam, and has a release window of Winter 2021.

Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection

Next in the list of non-exclusives is Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection. It consists of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge. Alongside the games are most of their game modes and DLC constumes.

The collection is slated for a 10 June launch. It will not only be available for the Nintendo Switch, but also PC via Steam, PS4 and Xbox One. You can naturally also play them on the PS5 and Xbox Series X via backwards compatibility.

Samurai Warriors 5

And finally, we have Samurai Warriors 5. Beyond the staple beat ’em up gameplay, this entry looks to be quite different from its predecessors. For one, the art style looks different, and even the character designs, while still recognizable, look very distinct. And rather than rehashing the exact same Warring States plot and getting more historically inaccurate with each installment, this one looks to be a prequel of sorts, taking place at the very beginning of the Warring States period.

While obviously not mentioned during Nintendo Direct, the game will be available on PC via Steam as well as PS4 and Xbox One, in addition to the Switch. The release date is still a vague Summer 2021, but a more concrete date will be announced on 25 Feburary.

Xiaomi Believes Future Phones Don’t Need Ports; Unveils One with Quad-Curved Waterfall Display

After revealing the Mi Air Charge Technology, Xiaomi has decided to showcase yet another conceptual product in the form of the quad-curved waterfall display concept smartphone. This particular concept device is pretty much an attempt by Xiaomi’s engineers to design a phone that is almost fully covered by the glass screen.

Xiaomi stated that among the challenging aspect of this project is to craft the hyper-curved glass panel which has an angle of 88-degrees and requires a long list of complex procedures to make it a reality. The company also claimed that it finally managed to come out with the final product after thousands of attempts.

Since all sides of the concept phone are covered by glass, the functions that were traditionally performed by physical buttons have been taken over by touch gestures. One such example shown in the video released by Xiaomi is how users just need to slide their fingers on the side of the concept phone to adjust its volume.

What made the concept phone even more interesting is the fact that it has no port as well which the company believes is a new direction for future phones. Xiaomi claimed that it has plenty of solutions that can make this happen including piezoelectric ceramics, flexible display acoustic technology, under-display camera, wireless charging, pressure-sensitive touch sensors, eSIM, and many more.

In fact, the new concept device was made possible through the usage of the company’s 46 patented technologies that were developed in-house. While Xiaomi has a habit of releasing its concept phone into the market, this particular model is likely not ready for the public as the company not only didn’t provide any details regarding its specs and availability but there is no product name for it as well.