Technology - Google News

Samsung One UI 2.1 update set to come to Galaxy S10, Note plus S9 and Note 9 - 9to5Google
Cloud gaming provider Shadow lowers price to $11.99 a month - The Verge
MacBooks with ARM Processors Coming Late 2020 or Early 2021 - Wccftech

Samsung One UI 2.1 update set to come to Galaxy S10, Note plus S9 and Note 9 - 9to5Google

Posted: 12 Mar 2020 06:04 AM PDT

The release of the Samsung Galaxy S20 series also saw a minor bump up in One UI to version 2.1. At the moment, only four devices now run the slightly modified build of Android 10, but as expected, that is set to increase as Samsung is set to bring the update to older models.

According to official responses on the Korean Samsung Community portal, the admittedly minor One UI 2.1 upgrade will naturally come to the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 series, followed by the Galaxy S9 and Note 9, too. The One UI 2.0 update may have only just hit those handsets, but any time Samsung decides to increase support in the form of OS builds, we are very happy (via SamMobile).

Before we rejoice too much, it's worth noting that the One UI 2.1 update is mainly targeted toward the new hardware found in the recent Galaxy devices. That means UI tweaks for things like the 120Hz display and the fold on the Galaxy Z Flip.

Changes such as the Screen Zoom settings or the Samsung Quick Share options are likely to be added to older devices when the latest version of One UI filters down — although it's not entirely clear at this early stage which features might make the grade.

One UI 2.1 Samsung Community confirmation

There is no timeframe for when we could see One UI 2.1 on the Galaxy S9, S10, Note 9, or Note 10 just yet. Given Samsung's recent improvements in getting devices up-to-date, we hope that it's soon, though — or at least before the Note 20 series hits the market.

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Cloud gaming provider Shadow lowers price to $11.99 a month - The Verge

Posted: 12 Mar 2020 05:12 AM PDT

Cloud gaming service Shadow, from the French startup Blade, is drastically lowering its price in a bid to compete with a new wave of platforms from Google and Nvidia. Now, Shadow's service, which offers a full PC in the cloud with no restrictions on what you can download, will cost as low as $11.99 a month for the platform's "Boost" tier. That gets you a cloud PC powered by a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card, a quad-core 3.4 GHz processor, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.

Prior to today's announcement, Shadow was only available for $25 a month if you purchased an annual plan or $34.95 a month if you purchased the subscription monthly. Shadow began briefly running a $12.99 a month promotion for the annual plan starting last fall, but it's since discontinued the offering in the run up to today's announcement.

In addition to the $11.99 plan, Shadow is now offering a $24.99 a month "Ultra" plan that ups the GPU to an RTX 2080 card, with a slight boost to the processor, 4GB more RAM, and twice the storage. And for the $39.99 a month "Infinite" plan, Shadow will give you a remote PC with a Titan RTX card coupled with a six-core 4 GHz processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage.

The price drop should help Shadow stay competitive with offerings from Google Stadia and Nvidia's newly public GeForce Now service. While Stadia Pro currently costs $10 a month, Google doesn't actually offer subscribers access to a remote PC. Instead, you have to buy games that only work on Stadia and access them through a special web portal, a mobile app that functions only on certain Android phones, or through a Chromecast Ultra. Nvidia's GeForce Now is more similar to Shadow in design, in that Nvidia lets you use your existing library of Steam games via a Mac, PC, and Linux app.

But Shadow goes one step further than Nvidia by letting you access a full Windows 10 machine in the cloud, instead of just launching games via Steam. From there, you can install whatever software you like using Shadow. That also appears to help Shadow skirt the current licensing issues that have led big game publishers to yank their libraries from GeForce Now. Because Shadow advertises itself as a cloud computing platform that just happens to be a great way to play PC games, it doesn't seem like it's run into the same issues as Nvidia, which has positioned GeForce Now as more of a remote PC gaming platform that advertisers the ability to play hit games.

It's unclear whether the big game publishers are simply turning a blind eye to Shadow, or if the company's cloud offering is indeed distinct enough from GeForce Now to avoid running afoul of potential copyright and licensing issues. But Shadow's price drop may earn the attention of companies like Activision Blizzard and Bethesda, both of which removed their entire libraries fro mGeForce Now when Nvidia began charging $5 a month for a premium tier of its cloud gaming service in early February.

Regardless, Shadow's service isn't just getting new price tiers. The platform is also getting a revamped Android app, as well as redesigned Android TV app. Both have been reworked to launch you directly into your existing game libraries, so you don't have to clumsily tinker with a Windows 10 desktop screen using touch input in a phone or a gamepad connected to your TV.

Shadow has a few other announcements it's making today. The platform is expanding its coverage from roughly 90 percent of the US to support for all 50 states. It's also revealing its plans to launch an experimental closed beta for virtual reality streaming later this year. Lastly, Shadow is partnering with LG to help it expand its cloud gaming service in South Korea and to get its dedicated mobile and smart TV apps onto LG devices.

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MacBooks with ARM Processors Coming Late 2020 or Early 2021 - Wccftech

Posted: 11 Mar 2020 11:08 PM PDT

Apple is planning to launch new MacBooks with ARM processors by late 2020 or early 2021, as per a new research note by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Ming-Chi Kuo's note says that Apple is working on launching new MacBooks with its custom-designed ARM processors, and plans to launch it in the fourth quarter of 2020 or first quarter of 2021. His note does not clarify whether these MacBooks will be Air, Pro or just a different new model. Kuo had previously said that the first ARM based Mac with 5nm chips will launch in the second half of 2020.

Kuo also says that MacBooks with all-new designs will launch in second or third quarter of 2021, but does not share which MacBook models will these be.

In another report, Kuo said that Apple is working on launching new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with scissor-mechanism based keyboards, in second quarter of 2020. It is possible that these were going to be announced in the March event, which is rumored to have been postponed because of coronavirus. Mass production for these new MacBooks will start by the end of March, as Kuo expects operations at MacBook component suppliers to resume by then.

The rumor mill has been running at full speed recently with regards to MacBook news. Almost a week ago, Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is working on new products for 2020, with miniLED technology. These include a 10.2-inch iPad, 7.9-inch iPad mini, 27-inch iMac Pro, 14-inch MacBook Pro, and a 16-inch MacBook Pro refresh. It is unclear whether Apple's plans to release ARM based processors will coincide with its plans to introduce a new 14-inch MacBook Pro with scissor-keyboard mechanism, or if Kuo was referring to a different line of products. Apple had killed off the 12-inch MacBook, so it is entirely possible that the company might bring it back with a fresh design, improved keyboard, miniLED display and A-series ARM processor.

We laid out Apple's potential plan for switching from Intel to ARM recently. If Apple plans to roll-out ARM based Macs to users, WWDC 2020 would be the best time to announce the transition plan and release an SDK for developers. This will give developers sufficient time to develop and test their apps on actual ARM-based Macs, and also allow Apple enough time to ramp up production and iron out any software issues with the transition.

Apple had previously transitioned Mac from PowerPC to Intel chips, back in 2005.

via MacRumors

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