Notebook / Laptop Reviews Australia

Incoming funeral: Tizen might be phased out in favor of Wear OS - Notebookcheck.net

If the data found in the latest version of the Galaxy Wearable app turns out to be accurate, Samsung's next-gen smartwatches will only run Google's Wear OS. The Galaxy Watch 4 and its Active sibling are expected to arrive later this year, more precisely befor…

Monopoly is anything but good for any industry, but it looks like there might soon be just one smartwatch/wearable operating system left for non-Apple devices. Now, Samsung's Tizen is doing all right and is in control of a sizeable slice of the pie, but this is expected to change with the launch of its next-gen smartwatch. According to the data discovered in the latest version of the Galaxy Wearable app, the upcoming Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Active are codenamed Fresh and Wise, will come in 40/41 mm and 44/45 mm sizes, and there will be two variants for each (Bluetooth and cellular, of course). However, the more interesting part is that the aforementioned APK file contains a new plugin (known as "water") that is Samsung's compatibility layer for Wear OS and there is also a reference to "newos" that suggests anything but Tizen. Obviously, the only alternative worth considering is Google's Wear OS, especially given the fact that Samsung has been deepening its partnership with the internet search giant lately. Samsung is expected to launch the new Galaxy Watch lineup before the end of the second quarter, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the next-generation Galaxy Buds showing up at the same time. For now, there is no accurate date to talk about, so be sure to stay tuned as we wait for more information (or at least rumors) to surface. Buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 on Amazon

The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 launches with a large AMOLED display, a SpO2 sensor and up to 19 days of battery life - Notebookcheck.net

Xiaomi's latest fitness tracker has a 1.56-inch AMOLED display, which is about 50% larger than its predecessor's display. Additionally, the fitness tracker supports sleep tracking, 30 exercise modes, a heart rate monitor and an SpO2 monitor, among other featu…

Xiaomi has officially unveiled the successor to the Mi Smart Band 5, the popular fitness tracker that it unveiled last year. The Mi Smart Band 6 contains many new features, but Xiaomi focuses on its 1.56-inch AMOLED display, which has a 326 PPI pixel density. According to the company, the Mi Smart Band 6 has a 50% larger display than its predecessor, although its marketing renders reveal that it still has noticeable bezels. Additionally, Xiaomi has included 30 exercise modes, of which 6 can be automatically detected. The Mi Smart Band 6 is also waterproof to 50 metres and has an SpO2 sensor for reading blood oxygen levels. The fitness tracker has a heart rate monitor too, along with the ability to track menstrual and sleep cycles. Another highlight of the Mi Smart Band 6 is its battery, which Xiaomi claims will last up to 19 days in power-saving mode. The battery should be good for 14 days of use between charges under normal use, also. We should stress that manufacturer estimates are, usually, optimistic, and it is unclear how Xiaomi has come to that 14-day claim. Xiaomi will sell the Mi Smart Band 6 globally, but it is yet to reveal when it will begin selling its fitness tracker outside of China. In its home market, Xiaomi will charge CNY 229 (~US$35) for the standard model and CNY 279 (~US$42) for the version with NFC. We do know that the Mi Smart Band 6 will start at 45 in the Eurozone, but this will be for the version without NFC. Purchase the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 on Amazon

Alleged Xiaomi Mi Band 6 live images show stunning full-screen display but supposed price for China starts at a surprising 250 yuan (US$38) - Notebookcheck.net

Alleged live images of the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 and some supposed domestic price tags for the upcoming smart bracelet have appeared on Chinese social media. The Mi Band 6 fitness tracker will soon be launched as part of Xiaomi’s Mega Launch event. It has been rum…

A couple of likely real-world photos of the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 (global: Mi Smart Band 6) have been shared on Weibo. One shows the fitness tracker powered up and worn on the users wrist while another seems to show the Mi Band 6 displaying a device meter. The full-screen display looks impressive when compared with that of the Mi Band 5, with the latest iteration utilizing as much space as possible. The purported real-life images of the Mi Band 6 dont really reveal any secrets ahead of launch. There is a clock face sandwiched between a step counter at the top and a heart-rate monitor at the bottom. Rumors concerning the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 have suggested it will also offer NFC functionality, Amazon Alexa for global model users, and a much larger selection of fitness modes compared to the previous-generation Mi Band. However, it seems that shoppers in China might be charged more than they expected for the additional features and full-screen display. While the Mi Band 5 was released at a price of 189 yuan (US$29) for the base model and 229 yuan with NFC (US$35), it has been claimed that the Mi Band 6 will up the ante with Xiaomi charging around 250 yuan (US$38) and 300 yuan (US$46) for the non-NFC and NFC variants, respectively. Buy the Mi Band 5 on Amazon

Dell G15 5515 hits 3DMark with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU and 16 GB of RAM - Notebookcheck.net

The Dell G15 5515 will launch with at least an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, according to a 3DMark listing. The 115 W GPU will be available with 16 GB of RAM and a fast 1TB SSD, too.

Earlier this month, Dell unveiled a refreshed G15 series, which it confirmed would be available 115 W NVIDIA RTX 30 series GPUs. It did not reveal multiple aspects of its new gaming laptops though, including the processors that would be offered or which 115 W cards would be available. Now, @_rogame has discovered a 3DMark listing for a certain Dell G15 5515. According to the listing, Dell plans to release the G15 5515 with a Ryzen 7 5800H, a 45 W APU using eight AMD Cezanne processor cores. The Ryzen 7 5800H has a 3.2 GHz base clock that can boost to 4.4 GHz and a Radeon RX Vega 8 integrated GPU with 8 Compute Cores (CUs). However, Dell has also included a GeForce RTX 3060. Incidentally, its 1,750 MHz boost clock exceeds NVIDIA's peak boost clock for a GeForce RTX 3060, which it lists at 1,703 MHz. Unsurprisingly, the G15 5515 has 16 GB of RAM and a WDC SN730 1 TB SSD. It is unclear if Dell plans to release a G15 5515 with an RTX 3070 GPU, but Dell stated that it would publish more details before the end of the month. Purchase the Dell G3 15.6 inch on Amazon

The Fitbit Charge 4 and Fitbit Inspire 2 receive new features in their latest software updates - Notebookcheck.net

Fitbit has brought new features to the Charge 4 and Inspire 2. The features will arrive in new software updates, which Fitbit has already released for the Charge 4. Fitbit states that the Inspire 2 will start receiving its latest software update from next wee…

Fitbit has announced in two blog posts that it will bring new features to the Charge 4 and Inspire 2. The company has bundled these features in new software updates for the device that Fitbit will distribute as over-the-air (OTA) downloads. The Fitbit Charge 4's latest update should be available now, while the Inspire 2's will be rolling out throughout next week. While Fitbit has announced the updates simultaneously, they bring different features to the two devices. Arguably, the Charge 4 has received a more significant update as Fitbit has added three features to the one that it has included in the Inspire 2's update. Specifically, the Charge 4 can now measure SpO2 levels overnight, which can be viewed within the Health Metrics Dashboard. Additionally, the fitness tracker can now detect and record changes in your skin temperature, which Fitbit asserts allows you to monitor for the onset of a fever or even ovulation. Skin temperature changes can be checked from within the Health Metrics Dashboard, which is the final addition to the Charge 4's feature set. According to Fitbit, the dashboard offers a free 7-day view of health metrics, but you must subscribe to Fitbit Premium if you want to view historical data. Currently, a Fitbit Premium plan runs to US$9.99 per month or US$79.99 annually. Meanwhile, Fitbit has added Tile tracking to the Inspire 2. Presumably, Fitbit has chosen Tile because the Inspire 2 lacks a GPS modem. Hence, the Inspire 2 relies on Bluetooth location data provided by a paired smartphone. The fitness tracker uses Bluetooth Low Energy to do so, which may prove helpful if you ever lose your Inspire 2 for some reason. Purchase the Fitbit Inspire 2 on Amazon

Google halves the "Play Store tax" levied on about 99% of Android app developers - Notebookcheck.net

Google has announced that it is reducing the cut of revenue made on apps sold via the Play Store from 30% to 15%. The change applies to all developers who make US$1 million or less per year on the platform. According to the Mountain View giant, this move is i…

Google has announced a "service fee reduction" for developers who sell their apps on its all-pervading Play Store for Android. Therefore, the cut of this revenue taken by Mountain View giant for access to this platform will be 15%, as opposed to the traditional 30%. Then again, the new rate only applies to the first US$1 million made per developer; all takings that pass this milestone each year will be subject to the old 30% levy. Google's vice-president of product management, Sameer Samat, asserts that this will benefit the 99% of developers subject to the new rate in terms of "scaling" (hiring new engineers, for example). Then again, as even the executive concedes, this kind of expansion does not necessarily stop at $1 million. In any case, the new entry-level 15% service charge is to come into effect on July 1, 2021. The move, which mirrors an earlier change made by Apple with respect to its own App Store, has met with a lukewarm welcome by opponents of the 2 mobile-services giants' business practices, such as Epic Games. The studio continues to insist that all developers should have more flexibility in terms of where they sell their apps in any case. Buy a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE on Amazon