We’re only six days away from the iPhone 13 Special Event, and renders of 2022’s iPhone 14 have already leaked! An unexpected — but welcome to some — tweet by reliable leaker Jon Prosser stated: “in 20 minutes, you will see iPhone 14”. And he, in fact, delivered twenty minutes later.
Following his attention-grabbing tweet, Jon posted a video on his FRONT PAGE TECH YouTube channel. The video revealed 3D renders of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, showing radical changes to the iPhone design. Prosser claims that the new iPhones will feature a titanium build with a flat back. The infamous “camera bump” could finally be going away with next year’s models.
He also shares that Apple is replacing the front notch with a hole-punch camera. Jon states that it’s safe to assume that Face ID will still exist. The extra sensors will presumably be working from under the display.
Another notable design change is the volume buttons. Apple is allegedly switching back to rounded ones. The combination of that and the flat glass back that sits on top of the antenna bands will certainly be bringing back iPhone 4 nostalgia.
It’s worth noting that the colors in the renders are not necessarily the actual ones of the final product. Prosser has stated that only the external hardware build and design have leaked, with no word on finish options or internals. He is pretty confident that these renders are final and will make it to the production phase next year, though.
And lastly, Apple will continue to use the lightning port for yet another year — unfortunately. While previous rumors have hinted that Apple could be switching to USB-Type C or going completely port-less, it seems that this change won’t be happening anytime soon.
You can check out the iPhone 14 renders in 3D using the AR viewer here. Will you still be buying the iPhone 13 — assuming you’ve had your eyes on it — or will you be waiting an extra year to get the redesigned iPhone 14? Let us know in the comments section below!
I have a thing about 17 inch laptops that don’t require special equipment. Let’s face it; everything is built for 15-inch laptops. I can’t tell you how many 17 inch devices I’ve reviewed where I can’t even fit them in my bag. But that’s where the Dell XPS 17 comes in. With the InfinityEdge screen, it’s a 17 inch laptop in a 15 inch chassis, so it fits in the places you need it to.
Last year’s Dell XPS 17 9700 was the first of its kind in a decade. With the XPS 17 9710, it’s mostly a spec bump with Intel Tiger Lake-H processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series graphics. While the larger screen makes for a more immersive experience, the larger chassis also allows for more power than we’ve seen from the XPS 15 (I’ve got one of those too, and the story of the sexiness of that screen is for another day; all I’m saying is stay tuned).
But the short version of this review is going to be, once again, that Dell knocked it out of the park with the XPS 17 9710.
Dell XPS 17 9710 Specs
CPU
11th Generation Intel Core i7-11800H (24MB Cache, up to 4.6 GHz, 8 cores)
User-facing camera 720p 30 fps HD RGBIr camera
Digital-array microphones
Input
English keyboard, black, backlit, Fingerprint Reader
Material
Aluminum
Color
Platinum Silver exterior, Black interior
OS
Windows 10 Home
Price
$2,999.99
Note that the base model comes in at $1,599.99, coming with a Core i5, 8GB RAM, a 512GB SSD, and an FHD+ display.
Design: The classic look of a Dell XPS
Some of Dell’s XPS laptops come in more colors these days, such as a frost color with a woven glass fiber keyboard. That’s not the case for the Dell XPS 17 though. This product still comes in the color that the company called Platinum Silver, and it’s got the black carbon fiber palm rest. It’s the classic Dell XPS design we’ve seen for years, and I assume it sells better than the other options on the XPS 13 and XPS 15; otherwise, that would be the default.
Note when I say the classic look, I mean that woven yet smooth keyboard deck and that grayish-silver lid with the metallic Dell logo stamped on it. The Dell XPS lineup was actually redesigned a couple of years ago, starting with the XPS 13, with the design coming to the XPS 15 at the same time the XPS 17 came out.
That new design has more metallic accents on the edges, and of course, has fewer ports. In fact, Dell’s flagship laptops are the only complete line of Windows laptops that’s devoid of USB Type-A. The only other place you’ll find that is on Apple’s Macs. And indeed, the Dell XPS 17 comes with four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two on each side.
This is kind of a big deal, and it solves my biggest complaint about last year’s XPS 17. Dell didn’t use full Thunderbolt 3 ports, using the base spec. Technically, Thunderbolt 3 is capable of doing the same thing as the Thunderbolt 4, but the base spec was half of that. You also had no way of actually knowing what you were getting, which is why it was always one of the first things I tested on review units.
So instead of supporting two 4K displays on a single, it would only support one, and the second screen would have a lower resolution. With the Dell XPS 17 9710, the port will support the full capabilities of your Thunderbolt dock.
On the right side, there’s also an SD card slot and a 3.5mm audio jack. The SD card slot is full-sized, a rarity in modern laptops, so it’s a nice touch. Dell has one on the XPS 15 too.
All-in-all, the Dell XPS 17 design is exactly what you’d expect, and is exactly the same as it was on last year’s model.
Display: The Dell XPS 17 comes with a 16:10 UHD screen
The screen on the Dell XPS 17 is 17 inches; I know that sounds obvious, but it’s actually more common for a 17 inch laptop to have a 17.3 inch screen. But this is sort of new territory. Over the last year or two, we’ve seen the resurgence of 16:10 screens on laptops. Dell redesigned its XPS 13 to include the new aspect ratio, and that was then included in the redesigned XPS 15 and the all-new XPS 17.
Since 17 inch laptops are somewhat rare, especially in the premium space, this display is somewhat unique. It comes in FHD+ and UHD+ flavors, and there’s no OLED version like there is with the XPS 13 and XPS 15. In fact, there are no 17 inch OLED laptops on the market; the panels simply don’t exist.
That’s OK though. One thing I’ve always noted about Dell’s OLED laptops is that it’s almost hard to tell the difference between that and the non-OLED models, because the non-OLED screens are so good. Dell sent me the UHD+ version of the XPS 17, and from my testing, everything is either 100% or near 100% in sRGB, Adobe RGB, NTSC, and P3.
Even a lot of OLED displays I test don’t get results that good. I’d say these are the best scores I’ve ever seen, but it’s impossible to do better. It’s probably better to point out that I don’t typically see scores this good, even on flagship laptops.
Dell competes with Apple's MacBook Pro in a way that few OEMs do.
Of course, Dell includes narrow bezels on all four sides. This is what allows you to fit such a massive screen into a chassis that can still fit in your bag. And of course, it provides an immersive experience. The webcam fits in the top bezel. Sadly, it’s still 720p, although there’s an IR camera for Windows Hello.
The current situation with the pandemic and people working from home actually has Dell in a bit of a tough situation. You might recall that a few years ago, the webcam used to be under the display. Every year, we’d get briefed on the new Dell XPS laptops and I’d ask if the webcam had been moved. They’d reply “Well how often do you use the webcam?” The answer at the time, of course, was never.
And that’s the truth. Two years ago, people simply didn’t care about webcams. That’s why you can buy a $3,000 laptop with a 720p webcam and you can buy a $300 phone with a 1080p 60fps front camera. It simply wasn’t a priority for the PC market, and given how long it takes to plan products, that’s showing in devices shipping today. It puts Dell in a tough position with XPS because now the bezels are so small, you can’t fit anything good in there.
If the webcam is super important, you should take a look at Dell’s Latitude lineups instead, which are all getting FHD webcams this year. You see, while webcams haven’t historically been important on consumer PCs, business customers have always used them.
Keyboard: The Dell XPS 17 has a giant touchpad
Dell has done a really great job of competing with Apple’s MacBook Pro in a way that few OEMs do. That’s not just because it has four Thunderbolt ports. It’s got a great keyboard, and also a giant touchpad.
The keyboard itself is backlit, as you’d expect, and it’s a fine keyboard. It’s comfortable, accurate, and has plenty of space. It’s also got dual Waves MaxxAudio Pro speakers on either side of it, and the XPS 17 includes two 2W woofers and two 2.5W tweeters for powerful and clear sound.
I do love that giant touchpad though. I feel like not enough OEMs really take advantage of the real estate on the keyboard deck, and Dell does on its XPS 15 and XPS 17. It just gives you plenty of room to move around, and is a more pleasant input experience.
Performance: Intel 11th-gen and NVIDIA RTX 3060
When you start getting into larger laptops, you really have to consider what you want, because they start splitting into different categories. If you’re looking for a productivity-focused ultrabook that just has a bigger screen, you might be interested in the 2.98 pound LG gram 17. But given the bigger chassis of a 17 inch laptop, that leaves room for more powerful internals, and that’s where the Dell XPS 17 comes in. It has Intel 11th-generation 45W processors and NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX 3060 graphics.
While something like the gram is focused on portability, the Dell XPS 17 is much more focused on power. If photo and video editing is your jam, this is the perfect laptop. The CPU can be up to an unlocked Core i9, and the RTX 3060 graphics come with NVIDIA’s Studio drivers that are designed for creative work. You can switch to Game Ready drivers too if you want, and yes, there’s plenty of power here for playing games.
It’s also important to note the new CPU and GPU is the main difference from last year’s XPS 17. Last year, it came with 10th-gen CPUs and an RTX 2060 as the first Dell XPS to offer RTX graphics. It was an impressive machine then, and it’s even better now.
If photo and video editing is your jam, the Dell XPS 17 is the perfect laptop.
Battery life is around six hours from my experience, and that’s with power on the balanced setting and the screen brightness right in the middle. This was while doing work; I don’t run battery tests by streaming endless hours of video, since that’s not how people actually use their PCs. I use it like I normally would, and record how long it takes for the battery to run out.
Six hours is pretty good for a machine like this, meaning for a laptop that’s got a lot of power behind it, along with a beautiful and bright 4K display. The 97WHr battery is as big as it gets, and the battery life is as good as it gets. You can stretch it further by making the screen dimmer or playing with the power slider, but I keep the screen brightness at the lowest level where I can comfortably work.
As you can see, the new XPS 17 9710 has quite a bit more power than last year’s Dell XPS 17 9700.
Conclusion: Should you buy the Dell XPS 17 9710?
If you’re looking for that perfect mix of power and portability, the Dell XPS 17 is it. With 45W CPUs and RTX 30 series graphics under the hood, and weighing in at just over five pounds, this laptop is just right.
But that’s not even all there is to this product. Not only does it have a UHD+ 17 inch 16:10 display, but it hits 100% or nearly 100% in every calibration test I did, a rarity for the entire market. Add to that the audio quality that comes from the Waves MaxxAudio Pro speakers, and it’s an all-around immersive and pleasant experience. The Dell XPS 17 is a laptop that just feels good to use.
The biggest downside is the webcam, of course. Not only is it 720p, but it’s just not very good given the tiny sensor that’s designed to fit in that narrow bezel. I almost feel bad about pointing it out, because there’s just no way the company could have done something else in the amount of time that we knew webcams were suddenly going to become more important in consumer laptops.
We could probably ding it for the price too, but I do think the Dell XPS 17 9710 is worth every penny. If you go out and spend $2,999 on the exact configuration Dell sent me, you probably know what you need it for, and you won’t regret it.
Microsoft has acquired Clipchamp, a cloud-based video editor that’s available on the web. The company announced the acquisition with the goal of empowering creators, which is something we’ve heard before.
There’s quite a bit of history that makes this acquisition all the more notable. Back in the 2000s and early 2010s, Microsoft has a tool called Windows Movie Maker, which was included in Windows and also got a couple of standalone releases. This was a basic video editor, but it let you put together clips, images, and music to create your own videos. This tool was discontinued, however, and after 2017, you could no longer download it from Microsoft directly.
Nowadays, if you want to edit videos on Windows, you can use the Photos app for Windows 10, but the feature set is much more limited and the UI isn’t as intuitive. Not to mention, it’s likely you didn’t even know it existed, since it’s a part of the Photos app instead of its own thing.
The video editor in the Windows 10 Photos app
The Clipchamp acquisition offers some hope that Microsoft may soon include a proper video editor in Windows 11. Clipchamp offers a fully featured video editor you can easily access anywhere. It supports multiple video and audio tracks you can combine in any way you’d like, trim, and so on. It even provides stock video, images and, audio you can use for your video projects.
As we mentioned at the top, Microsoft says it wants to empower creators, and it’s not the first time we hear that. Back in early 2017, Microsoft released Windows 10 version 1703, and it was called the Creators Update. That’s when it debuted Paint 3D – an app that was supposed to replace the classic Paint app – and Xbox live streaming with Beam (later renamed Mixer, and then killed off in 2020). It seems as though Microsoft’s efforts were misguided at the time, seeing as the two big creative features didn’t really go anywhere. We also didn’t get a proper video editing tool back then, not even with the Fall Creators Update (version 1709) that followed.
In the meantime, macOS ships with iMovie, a solid video editor for beginners that comes at no extra cost, making it the go-to for many aspiring creators. As Microsoft mentions in its blog post, without an easy-to-learn tool, it’s easy to feel lost when getting started with video editing. Interestingly enough, Microsoft doesn’t even mention its Photos app once in its announcement, which should show you how viable of a tool it is.
Microsoft says that Clipchamp fits right alongside the productivity tools in Microsoft 365, as well as Windows itself. That could suggest we’ll see the power of Clipchamp built into Windows 11 in the future, but also that it could connect with other Microsoft 365 apps. A potential use case could be embedding a video in a PowerPoint presentation, for instance. Another potential use case could would be adding those tools to Flipgrid, an educational video platform Microsoft also acquired recently.
Video editing timeline in Clipchamp on the web
Right now, Clipchamp is available for anyone to use for free, but you’re limited to exporting videos at 480p. Some paid plans are available that add higher exporting resolutions and cloud storage. If Microsoft plans to include Clipchamp tools in Microsoft 365, certain features could require a Microsoft 365, but the company could also choose to make more capabilities free as part of Windows 11.
Of course, that all remains to be seen, and the company says it will have more to share about its work with Clipchamp in the future. We’ve seen a few apps getting major changes in Windows 11, though, including Snipping Tool, Clock, Paint, and even Photos, so it certainly seems believable that video editing features would eventually make their way in as well.
A new feature coming soon to Google Meet will make conducting one-on-one calls a lot easier. Like Zoom, Google Meet relies on URLs to invite users to video calls, and while this is fine for group calls, it feels a bit redundant and unintuitive for one-on-one calls. But soon, users will be able to initiate ad-hoc Google Meet calls without creating a meeting and then sharing the URL with the participant.
Direct Google Meet calling (via VentureBeat) will be coming first to 1:1 chats within the Gmail app, allowing users to quickly ring their colleagues without using URLs. Google says initiating a call from 1:1 chat will ring the participant’s phone and also send a notification to Gmail running in a web browser.
This will ring their device running the Gmail mobile app and send a call chip to Gmail running in a web browser, so they can easily answer from any device
Direct Google Meet calling will be rolling out soon in the Gmail app and will come to “other Workspace endpoints in the near future.”
Alongside the Google Meet calling feature, Google has shared an update on its upcoming Companion mode. The Companion mode will let Google Meet participants use their laptop as a second screen for a video call. It will start rolling out to Meet users in November.
Meanwhile, a live-translated captions feature in Google Meet will arrive later this year, allowing users to translate meetings from English to French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Google Meet has gained a lot of new features over the past month. Back in April, the service received a more spacious design and video backgrounds. Meanwhile, a new update in July added new Snapchat-like filters and several lens effects to make meetings more fun.
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is one of the sleekest Chromebooks you can buy today. With up to an Intel Core i3 processor, plenty of RAM, and the first ever QLED display on a Chromebook, Samsung created the perfect device for media consumption. If you’re thinking about upgrading to the Galaxy Chromebook 2, we’re here to help. You’ll need some key details like pricing, availability, and specs to get you started.
Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about Samsung’s latest flagship Chromebook.
Samsung is well known for their design prowess and the Galaxy Chromebook 2 doesn’t disappoint. With an incredibly thin, light chassis and stylish lines, this is a good looking Chromebook. The Fiesta Red color is particularly beautiful, one of the most eye-catching hues you’ll find on any Chrome OS hardware.
The keyboard is very nice as well — solid key travel makes this an easy keyboard to type on for hours. You’ll notice the keyboard can be a little mushy in places, owing to the plastic surrounding the keyboard’s border. This was a strange decision from Samsung, as it seems like metal throughout the device would feel better and make more sense. You also get a sizable touchpad for a 13.3″ device, one you can easily use for productivity tasks or playing games.
Display
Despite downgrading the display from 4K on the original Galaxy Chromebook, Samsung still managed another Chrome OS first. The Galaxy Chromebook 2 is the first Chromebook with a QLED display. Samsung’s QLED panels are becoming very popular on their televisions, with many users preferring QLED over LG’s OLED, due to their high peak brightness. If you’re looking for a beautiful display that’s bright and crisp, this is the one.
For media consumption, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is absolutely perfect. The 1920 x 1080 resolution makes for the perfect 16:9 Netflix viewing experience. Combine this display with a solid pair of headphones or external speaker, and you’ve got the perfect machine for movies on the go. In addition to the beautiful panel, you also get a touchscreen for easy navigation and games that makes use of touch controls.
Performance
Performance on the Galaxy Chromebook 2 varies a bit depending on which configuration you choose. I personally own the Core i3 model and it flies through mostly every task I throw at it. You can easily open lots of Chrome tabs, multiple Android apps, and multitask with ease on this Chromebook.
If Android gaming is your thing, the Galaxy Chromebook 2 can also handle high-end mobile games. I’ve played both PUBg and Asphalt 9 with no hiccups or lag at all. The only limits I’ve reached on the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is with Linux apps. Running incredibly intense apps like MATLB can be a bit difficult for the Core i3 — it handles the workload but a bit slower than you’d like.
The fans on the Galaxy Chromebook 2 also kick in when using the laptop for demanding tasks. This isn’t a bad thing, since the original Galaxy Chromebook suffered from severe performance and battery life issues due to poor thermals. While the fans aren’t that loud, it’s worth noting as some users prefer a fan-less experience. Honestly, if you’re doing serious computing, some fan noise should be expected.
Battery and charging
One of the most disappointing aspects of the original Galaxy Chromebook was battery life. Chromebooks in general are known for great battery life, but the 4K display and fan-less design was a huge problem. Samsung remedied this issue on the Galaxy Chromebook 2 and thankfully battery life is much better this time around. Although Samsung claims up to 10 hours on a single charge, seven to eight hours in more realistic with true brightness settings and a reasonable workload.
Samsung could definitely improve charging speeds on their Chromebooks. Unfortunately, Samsung has a slow charging problem throughout their phone lineup as well, so this isn’t a huge surprise to those who follow the company.
Advanced features
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 features USI pen support and a 2-in-1 design. This is a great Chromebook for taking notes in school or at work. Unfortunately, Samsung didn’t include a bundled S pen or USI stylus with this device. This is a bit disappointing, especially since the stowed S pen was a huge selling point for the original Galaxy Chromebook.
Still, you can make use of Google’s new Cursive PWA with the Galaxy Chromebook 2, giving you an easy way to organize notebooks and sync across devices. The 2-in-1 design on the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is easy to use and writing on the device is fairly comfortable. You might consider a screen protector and case if you plan to use this machine primarily as a note-taking device.
Configurations and pricing
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook comes in two configurations. There’s the entry-level Intel Celeron model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage priced at $549.99, and the full-powered Intel Core i3 model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage which is priced at $699.99. You get eMMC with both models instead of SSD drives, which is a bit of a bummer for such a high priced device. Either configuration is available in Fiesta Red or Mercury Gray.
There’s no doubt the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is a great device, but it’s still a bit overpriced for what you get. Luckily, Samsung often runs sales on both configurations, in addition to their trade-in program. You should be able to find the Celeron model for around $350 or the Core i3 model for $450 if you wait for a good sale. If you have a device to trade in, or education email address, you can save even more on Samsung’s website.
Accessories
The Galaxy Chromebook 2 is the type of device you want to show off at the coffee shop. To do that, you’ll definitely need a few accessories for your travels. This machine is light and portable, so a case or sleeve is a necessity for carrying it around day to day. When you get to the office or back home, you can transform the Galaxy Chromebook 2 into a full workstation with an external monitor, mouse, and keyboard.
That’s not all. You can also add a backup USI pen for note taking, a dock for improved connectivity and more. The good news is we’ve already created a full selection of the best Galaxy Chromebook 2 accessories. With all those accessories in hand, you can travel in style and get plenty of work done at the office with your new Chrome tablet.
With the Galaxy Chromebook 2, Samsung removed a few premium features but also drastically reduced the price. As the first Chromebook with a QLED display, this machine still packs plenty of power and style for most users.
Hot on the heels of the Chrome 93 release for phones and PCs, Google has started rolling out Chrome OS 93 for Chromebooks. The latest version of Chrome OS brings improvements to Tote, stylus battery level, better handling of incompatible Android apps, redesigned keyboard language settings, and tons of smaller changes.
With Chrome OS 87, Google introduced Tote, a new feature built right into the Chromebook shelf that lets Chromebook users quickly access important files. In subsequent updates, Tote gained several new tricks like showing scanned files, saved PDFs, and the ability to pin important files for quick access. Now, it’s getting even better.
Starting with Chrome OS 93 (via Android Police), the shelf will now show three preview circles of recently taken screenshots and downloads without having to open Tote. You can hide these preview circles by right-clicking on them and selecting the hide previews option. Later this year, Google plans to add file download progress status in both the shelf preview and Tote.
Another new change in the new update is the battery status for your stylus. When you open the stylus settings from the status bar, you’ll now be able to see the current battery level.
Image courtesy: Android Police
While Chrome OS has had native Android app support for years now, many apps still don’t work or behave well on the large screens simply because they were built for phones and tablets. To address this, Chrome OS 93 will now lock the app window to its native layout instead of opening apps in free-form, resizable windows. For apps that aren’t optimized for Chromebooks, users will see a new menu in the center of the app title bar, which, when clicked, reveals three layout options: Phone, Tablet, and Resizeable.
Image courtesy: Android Police
Chrome OS 93 is also making the process of customizing keyboard input a lot easier by letting you customize it directly from the system preferences. On top of that, the update also adds a fresh Material Design look to the keyboard UI.
Apart from the changes noted above, there are several smaller improvements across the board. This includes the picture-in-picture window ditching sharp corners in favor of rounded ones, improved RAM management on devices running Android 10 and above, a new UI for spelling and grammar check settings, and so on.
Chrome OS 93 has started rolling out on the stable channel, and it should be available to download on your Chromebook or other Chrome OS-powered device soon. If you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network, your Chromebook will automatically download the update, and you’ll receive a notification when it’s ready to be installed.
Following the launch of the Galaxy Watch 4 series early last month, Samsung rolled out a significant update for the smartwatches. The update added Samsung Health to the watch settings, volume controls to the quick settings panel, and a new button to help users quickly cancel automatic workout detection. Now, Samsung is rolling out yet another update that brings a feature that should’ve been available at launch.
Samsung is rolling out updates for the Galaxy Buds plugins for the Galaxy Watch 4 (via Android Police). The update enables a handy feature that lets you control your Buds 2 from the watch while they’re connected to your phone. For the unaware, the Galaxy Watch 4 includes a Galaxy Buds app and widget that you can use to check the battery level of your earbuds. The app/widget also lets you enable/disable touch controls, ANC, and ambient sound. However, these features currently only work if your earbuds are directly connected to your smartwatch. This can prove to be a hassle if you’re listening to music via your phone.
(Images: Android Police)
The new update addresses this issue, and your Galaxy Watch 4 will now detect your earbuds even when they’re connected to your phone. In addition, your earbuds can now switch seamlessly between your watch and phone based on your actions. For instance, if you’re listening to music on your earbuds through your watch and play a video on your phone, your earbuds will now automatically switch to your phone.
It’s worth noting that the update has already started rolling out to users via the Samsung Store and the Google Play Store. If you haven’t received it yet, you can download the relevant APKs from the links below. The feature reportedly works with the Galaxy Buds 2, Galaxy Buds+, Galaxy Buds Live, and Galaxy Buds Pro, but it doesn’t work with the original Galaxy Buds from 2019.
Download the Galaxy Buds plugin for your earbuds from APKMirror:
